Chapter 14 : Stall or Aid?

Today, I made sure to wake up early.

N wanted to meet up with me moderately early, but I still had some chores to do. Training either of my teams wouldn't be a problem; I trained both of them yesterday. However, I still needed to check up on the Striaton brothers and Lenora. Not to mention see if Gorm had anything for me on Route 1.

I sat up from my bed, not bothering to make it, and then changed into my uniform. I reached under my bed and pulled out my Team Plasma team and clipped them onto my belt.

I trudged down the stairs and out of my house. When I walked to Route 1, I didn't see anyone on the streets, so I wondered just how early I woke up. Save for the two grunts at the checkup to Route 1 of course.

When I finally made it to the meeting spot, I was surprised yet confused to see a mere grunt. Upon seeing me, he bowed.

I cringed. "Really... There's no need for formalities," I assured him.

The grunt merely shook his head at the notion. "Lady Hilda, Lord N requests that you do not wear your Team Plasma uniform."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did he say why?" I really wasn't looking forward to trekking back to my house.

The grunt shook his head. "No, he didn't. However, he said you should bring it with you."

"Oh, alright..." I couldn't help but wonder why. "Do I have to do anything else?"

"Not that I know of," replied the grunt. "That's all I've been told to tell you." With that, he bowed and jogged away towards Accumula Town.

"Alright then..." I muttered as I groggily marched back to my house. 'This is such a drag...'

I routinely unchanged, changed, packed my Team Plasma team into my satchel, marched back downstairs, back through Nuvema Town and Route 1, then Accumula Town, Route 2, and then I finally reached Striaton city. By this time, I was already sulking in the tediousness. I noticed that there were a few people out in Striaton City, but they all seemed like they had work to attend to.

I reconsidered not going to the gym, wondering if Cilan, Chili, and Cress were even awake. 'But then... What if I don't get another opportunity to visit them?'

I made my way to the gym. Thankfully there were no grunts outside, so I welcomed myself in without having to make any excuses. The first curtain was down again, leading to believe that Chili and Cress might be training, but I didn't hear anything.

Deciding to brand myself crazy, I called out, "Hello? I'm here looking for the gym leaders. You see, I have something they may want to hear."

I heard footsteps running in my direction, but when the curtain opened, I saw Amanita.

"Oh, um... Where are Cilan, Chili, and Cress?" I asked awkwardly. 'She still doesn't know about how I'm a rogue admin. Should I tell her?'

"Oh, they're still asleep," she answered indifferently. "They were up all night training!"

I raised an eyebrow. 'So they told them? Amanita doesn't seem too bothered by the news,' I observed. 'Oh well... Everything's out in the clear now then.'

"Cress was even able to make his Lillipup evolve into a Herdier!" Amanita announced proudly.

"I see, that's good news," I replied with a smile. "So, did they have anything they said they might want to give to me?"

Amanita shook her head. "Nu-uh... Not that I know of."

"Oh, alright then... Then I'll get going," I announced as I turned around. I halted when I remembered that I had Fennel's Munna. I turned around. "Oh, I have one more thing. Is Professor Fennel awake yet? I have something she may want."

Amanita looked curious. "Oh, no. She was up last night with the gym leaders trying to come up with a plan to-" Suddenly, Amanita cut herself short. She coughed and scratched her head. "Evolve Panpour and Pansear without evolutionary stones?" She was clearly hiding something, but I decided not to pry. If it was anything I should know, I knew that one of the Striaton brothers would tell me eventually.

"Oh, that's right... They need evolutionary stones, don't they?" I mused to myself. 'Didn't Cheren and Bianca find shiny stones in the forest?' I made a mental note to check it out later.

"But why do you need the Professor?" questioned Amanita. Her tone was purely curious.

"You see, when I visited the daycare yesterday, the daycare couple told me that Professor Fennel dropped off a Munna," I explained. "I'm here to give him back to her."

Amanita's eyes widened. "You have the Professor's Munna?!" she squeaked. "How much?!" she asked eagerly.

I sent her a questioning look. ''How much..?' Did she have more than one Munna?'

Amanita seemed to sense my confusion. "Cress and Chili said you returned their pokemon after they bribed you right? So how much for the Professor's Munna?"

I put on a stupidly wide grin. 'Was that their excuse? That they bribed me?' It took me all my might to not let out a single chuckle. Suppressing a laugh, I replied, "Um... You, uh, didn't how much of a gold mine they gave me last time..! Th-This one's on the house!" It was ridiculous how everything seemed funny to me while I was tired.

Amanita looked at me quizzically but shrugged off my odd behavior. She beamed when I handed her Fennel's Munna. "Oh, the Professor will be so happy!"

Suddenly, someone came out from behind the draped curtains. He looked semi-surprised to see me. "Hilda..? You're here today?" asked Cilan. "You, um, didn't come yesterday, so we assumed that you wouldn't be here for... Um, a while."

I nodded, a bit surprised to see him. "Amanita told me that you two were still asleep from training for so long."

Cilan shook his head. "I don't have my pokemon, remember?"

I bowed my head sympathy. "Oh, right..." I sheepishly recalled.

"So, I'm going to go show the Professor her Munna!" Amanita announced excitedly as she ran behind another curtain and out of her sight.

"So... Exactly how much did you pay me last time?" I asked jocosely with a cheeky grin. "I don't recall receiving any money, so should I assume that you guys have a tab?"

"Oh, um, that..." Cilan replied with a shy smile. "That was off the top of our heads." Cilan scratched the back of his head. "Um... How much time do you have?"

I shrugged. "As much as I need. Why?"

"Um... Two days ago, Professor Fennel received some secret files from Team Plasma," explained Cilan.

I was compelled to ask why, but I didn't want to cut him off and get him off track.

"She discovered that there's this super weapon that they're building out of a pokemon," he continued. "By the way... You still have Professor Fennel's dream mist, right?"

I nodded and patted my satchel. "Right in here."

"Oh, good..."

"Do you remember anything else about this pokemon?" I asked. 'Building a super weapon out of a pokemon?'

"It had a name... I think that it was called 'The Genesect Project,' or something similar," he informed me unsurely. "It's an artificial pokemon."

My eyes widened. 'Genesect..? It was an experiment?'

"Hilda... Do you know anything about this?"

I shook my head. "While I don't know anything about it, I did release it."

Cilan looked befuddled. "What do you mean?"

"Before I 'joined' Team Plasma, I did some snooping around," I explained. "I found their secret laboratory. It was small, but it had one interesting thing about it. In this corner, there was a giant base of some liquid with a robot looking thing in it. It had the name 'Genesect' engraved in a plate below it."

Cilan nodded, taking everything in. "So what happened to it?"

I pursed my lips, trying to remember every detail. "It kinda struggled in the basin, and each time it did, it was given an electric shock. When I let it free, it grew a jet pack and bolted out of the lab."

"Anything else?" Cilan asked eagerly.

"I noticed some broken glass on the floor next to it and some broken pokeballs as well," I recalled. "I think that they were trying to capture it, but failed."

Cilan mused to himself, "Professor Fennel will be interested to hear this..."

I suddenly remembered that Professor Fennel was given some things that helped her find out about Genesect. "Say, Cilan... Where exactly did Professor Fennel get this information from?"

"Oh, um... One of Fennel's old assistants, I think, gave it to her," replied an unsure Cilan. "Apparently, they're hiding in the Dream Yard."

"Is that so..?" I wondered to myself.

"If you're um, thinking of going... Can you pass on the information?" requested Cilan.

I nodded. "Of course. But I'm not going today," I informed him. "You see, we just took over Nacrene City yesterday, and I still haven't been able to contact Lenora, post Plasma invasion if you know what I mean."

"Already..?" Cilan wondered to himself, bewildered that the next raid would happen so quickly. Shaking his head, he replied a nonchalant, "Oh, of course," to my plans. Cilan didn't look the least bit troubled. "Just, if you can... If you can't, it's no big deal, er, I think. But did you say that you were going to go to Lenora?"

I nodded. "Yup. Did you want to pass on something to her?"

Cilan dug through his pockets and handed me a piece of paper. It was the same one that I gave to them two days ago. "We weren't able to decipher what it meant... Maybe Lenora knows."

'He has a point,' I agreed. I nodded. "Alright. I just hope she's willing to forgive me though..."

Cilan looked at me quizzically. "Why wouldn't she?"

I pursed my lips, not wanting to recall my act of betrayal. "Just because of what happened..." I kept my answer bland.

Cilan seemed to get the hint and gave me a stern nod. "Alright."

"So anyway, give the others my regards," I said as I headed for the door.

"Come back when you need to," Cilan called out when I left.

I held up a hand in acknowledgment as the large gym doors closed. 'It's a shame I couldn't save any of his pokemon...'

After some more long walking, I finally found myself in Nacrene City in front of the dreaded Nacrene Gym.

'Unlike the Striaton Brothers, I hardcore betrayed Lenora...' I relayed to myself, feeling my eyes arch in guiltiness. 'But even if she doesn't forgive me, I have to at least reveal myself. If she chooses to out me... Then, so be it.'

Sighing, I opened the museum door. It just wasn't the same not seeing the ladies at the counter. The whole museum was emptied out too, not a single exhibit left in place. However, I did hear a faint buzzing coming from one of the back rooms.

'I always wondered what was behind there...' I hopped over the counter and ventured into the back room, the thought of "privacy" not even occurring to me.

I saw Lenora bending down by a machine. Her head shot up upon sensing that someone was in the room with her. She looked in all directions until she laid her eyes on me, a dour expression taking place over her face.

I inwardly sighed. 'This is even more awkward than when I met with the Striaton brothers...'

Lenora just continued to glare at me, expecting me to say something.

'Another stare-down? Great...' I looked away and scratched on the back of my head. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "So, um... Whatcha' doing?" I asked awkwardly as I rolled on my heels and put my hands behind my back. 'Really..? That's the best I could come up with?'

"I suppose you're going to punish me for this, aren't you?" she spat out angrily.

I could feel an awkward bead of sweat rolling down the back of my head. I wasn't nervous, just embarrassed. 'Yeah, she's never going to forgive me...' I pursed my lips before choking out a "no." I didn't want to say the wrong thing; the last thing I wanted was an even bigger drift between Lenora and I. 'I mean, she said she trusted me! What a slap to the face!'

Lenora raised a suspicious eyebrow but still remained cautious. "Then why are you here?" she demanded.

I sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry..." Then I paused. '... What was I supposed to do now?' I shook my head. 'Man... I really shouldn't have stayed out training as long as I did.'

Lenora looked confused at my apology, but said nothing of it. She continued to glare at me with expectancy, anticipating me to explain. It was clear that she hadn't forgiven me.

'I highly doubt she'd believe that I'm against Team Plasma... I don't have anything to prove it,' I decided, still beating myself up for not saving her pokemon. 'But Cilan still wanted me to pass on this note,' I thought as I dug through my satchel for the note. I took it out and handed it to her.

She took it cautiously and eyed it down, visually befuddled. "What is this?" she asked guardedly without prying her eyes off of the paper.

"That's what I'd like to know..." I claimed, flicking some hair from out of my face. "You see, a spy gave this to me, saying it would interest me, but I didn't know what it meant. It's just a circle with the word 'Nacrene' under it, and another word that I can't comprehend."

"And why are you giving it to me?" she snarled.

"I gave it to the Striaton brothers, but they didn't know either," I explained. "They thought you might."

Lenora looked genuinely confused. "Why would they assist Team Plasma?"

'Oh, right... I didn't tell her.' I looked around the room, not knowing where to rest my gaze. I noticed a lot of machinery around. "You see, I'm not in Team Plasma because I want to be... That spy was helping me to try and take down Team Plasma."

Lenora didn't look convinced.

'Just as I thought...'

"And how are the Striaton gym leaders concerned?"

"I was able to save Cress' and Chili's pokemon, and they agreed to help me try to take Team Plasma down from the inside," I explained. I then sighed. "I honestly don't expect you to do the same, considering what I've done to you..."

Lenora ignored my second comment and continued to eye the piece of paper suspiciously. I thought I saw her eyes go wide for a second, but it must have been a trick of my lethargy. Eventually, she shook her head and handed the piece of paper back to me. "Sorry, I don't know what this means."

"Oh... Okay." I wasn't sure whether Lenora forgave me or not, so I decided to play it safe. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"It's never a waste of time," she said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Are we cool now, or what? Or is she just trying to usher me out of here?'

To confirm my suspicions, Lenora grimaced. "Now tell me... Why is Team Plasma's new admin trying to take them down?"

I blinked. 'At least she's giving me a chance to explain myself,' I thought happily. 'Yet again... I won't get by on much with just a simple sob story...' I sighed. "You heard about their King, right?"

Lenora nodded. "I haven't seen him, but I've heard a great deal from that grunt that announced it... Does he really have Zekrom?"

'Well... I'm pretty sure he does.' I nodded. "I saved his Vanillite from being ill, and since then, he's wanted me to join Team Plasma."

Lenora continued to nod, taking everything in. "I see... So this 'King N' forced you to join?"

I shook my head. "No, actually. It was the head of the seven sages. A council of some sort."

Lenora raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Ostensibly, to appease N. However, I feel like he has a second motive. I just don't know what."

Lenora looked irresolute. "But couldn't you just have easily refused?"

I chuckled to myself in a dark fashion. "If only that was possible..." I muttered under my breath.

Lenora seemed abashed at my response. She was almost reluctant to continue. "What do they have over you?"

"Me? Personally, nothing," I claimed, a faint smile coming across my face. 'Great... Now I'm some sort of weirdo.' Wiping the sad grin off of my face, I continued to explain to Lenora why I was where I was. "I think you remember Cheren and Bianca. You met them when Team Plasma first stole the Dragon Skull, and I think both of them earned a badge from you."

Lenora nodded, smiling. "Mhm. Nice kids. Friends of yours if I recall correctly."

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Uh-huh. The head sage is threatening to do something to them if I don't obey his commands... Well, Team Plasma in general."

Lenora's face softened. "You know... You could have just said so..." She looked guilty for some reason.

I looked away. "Yeah, but I didn't think you'd believe me. After all, I did cause the downfall of your museum." I mentally added, 'And it would've just sounded like an excuse.'

"But you had a reason," she decided. "If my husband was in the same situation, I would've done the same thing."

I still wasn't quelled. The Striaton Brothers back in Striaton City practically said the same thing. "But now, you don't have anything left... You're cooped up alone in an empty museum."

Lenora had a sly smile and shook her head. "Watch." Lenora turned around and continued to do what she was doing before. After a second, she grabbed something from a side table.

'Is that... A pokeball?' I examined, unable to see the object completely at this angle.

My deduction was confirmed when there was a flash of red. Lenora turned to me and held up the pokeball proudly. "See, Team Plasma didn't check the back rooms. I still had a few fossils back here."

I smiled. 'She had a backup plan!'

"Not only that," she bragged, "but I had all of my pokemon down in the basement with me. I may have used my strongest team, but I still have some decent pokemon with me."

"So are you planning to take back the city?" I asked eagerly.

Lenora shook her head. "The only pokemon I have are a Herdier, an Audino, a Claffable, a Dunsparce, and the newly revived Archen and Tirtouga... That isn't nearly enough to help me."

"Oh..." I sulked. 'Right...'

"Though, if you don't mind, I want in on your little rebellion you got going on with the Striaton gym leaders," she claimed with a smirk. She easily read my befuddled expression. "You didn't think I'd miss this one, did you?"

"N-No, I just thought that after what I did-"

"Which was perfectly understandable," she assured me, giving me a hard stare. "You shouldn't be so down on yourself for it."

"But Lenora..." I replied, not knowing what to say. 'I still ruined the city and separated you from your main team... Only to save two people that may have been an empty threat..?'

"What? Do I not qualify for your group of rebels?" she asked feigning a pout.

I waved my hands. "No, no, of course not! I was just a bit taken back, that's all."

She smirked. "Good. Next time you see the Striaton gym leaders, be sure to tell them that I'm in."

I smiled. "Thanks..."

"But if I recall correctly, did you say that you only saved Cress' and Chili's pokemon?" Lenora inquired.

I nodded. "Yeah, their gym pokemon. Cilan was out trying to retrieve all of their normal teams, but since he wasn't around, there wasn't anything I could do."

Lenora looked down at a table which I couldn't see at this angle. "I do have two fossils left..." she murmured to herself. "I have a full team, and one of these fossils happens to be a root fossil."

'A root fossil?' I echoed. 'Never heard of it...'

Lenora smirked, sensing my confusion. "A pokemon native to the Hoenn region; Lileep."

"Oh," I replied. "I think I've heard of it. Grass/Rock type, right?"

Lenora nodded. "Mhm. Not all of the exhibit was taken, just the ones on display." Lenora gave a hearty laugh. "Those imbeciles didn't even bother to check the storerooms!"

I giggled; her laugh was contagious, or at least while I was in this drowsy state.

"Come back sometime soon," Lenora invited while she returned her attention to some machine. "It takes a while to resurrect fossils."

"Alright..." I replied as I made my way out to the exit. "And thanks... Again."

'I still don't understand why Lenora was so forgiving...' I decided to drop the topic though; I had somewhere else to go, and Ghetsis would surely have my head if he knew I was late, whether it actually concerned him or not.

I was relieved when I arrived that the entrance of Pinwheel Forest and saw that N wasn't there.

'Good... Then I have some time to myself,' I decided as I searched my satchel for Purrloin's pokeball. "Come on out," I called out as I tossed Purrloin's pokeball in the air and watched him materialize. I crouched down to his eye level and smirked. "You know, I was a bit reluctant to take you out. Both times I did, you were threatened in some kind of way," I teased. Upon realizing my words, I scowled. 'Was that supposed to be funny?'

Purrloin continued to stare at me, unsure of what he should do or how he should react. He cocked his head in confusion.

I chuckled. "Anyway, I let you out just to ask if you were okay. After all, that looked like it hurt," I claimed, wincing upon remembering him being thrown against a tree.

Purrloin cocked his head the other way, still confused. He extended a paw.

'He's going to hit me again... Great...' I sighed. "Alright, I suppose you deserve to blow off some steam. Hit me with your best shot."

Purrloin retracted his paw and looked at me quizzically. He crept up next to my knee and started rubbing his head affectionately against it.

'Seriously... This Purrloin must be bipolar or something,' I thought, smiling warmly at his reaction. I scratched him behind the ears. "So I take it that you're okay?"

Purrloin purred in confirmation as he pounced up to my shoulder and perched himself there.

I stood up smiling. "That's good to know... When you first got out, I was a bit worried that you weren't." I looked from side to side. "Thing is, I'm not too sure if I can have you out right now."

Purrloin made a sound indicating his confusion.

"You see, I'm supposed to be meeting someone here," I explained. "I'm not too sure how he'd like to see you out." With that, I returned Purrloin to his pokeball and stuffed it back into my bag. 'After all, this guy is all about 'pokemon liberation,' isn't he?'

"I assure you, I wouldn't have minded."

I jumped at the sudden voice from behind me. I turned around to see the deadpan N staring at my now vacant shoulder. "Oh, you're here..." I blandly stated the obvious. "So, um... What did you want to show me?" I asked.

N shook his head. "Nothing at all."

'Then why did he want me out here?' I wondered.

"You see, before the day of the liberations, we have to scope out the town or city we go to, as well as prepare for the broadcast," explained N. "Usually the Shadow Triad and a handful of our scientists do it, but Castelia City is the largest city in Unova, so this time I'm helping out."

I nodded. 'It makes sense.'

"The seven sages resent me going alone though, despite the fact that I can handle myself," N continued. "That's why I was wondering if you'd assist me in surveying Castelia City."

I blinked. 'He'd ask me?' That was most definitely surprising, but I nodded and murmured an "okay." Now it made sense why I wasn't supposed to be in uniform.

I thought I saw N smile. "Great... Then if we're going to make it to Castelia City by the afternoon, we'll have to start going now."

I nodded as I turned to the entrance to Pinwheel Forest. "Do you think we'll have to battle any trainers on the way?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw N shrug. "We'll see."

And with that, we entered Pinwheel Forest. When I first entered, I thought I saw something purple standing on the empty tree stump some distance away. However, it turned out to be only a delusion. When I glanced over at N, he didn't seem to notice it.

"Anyway, we're not going the long route so if we do partake in any battling, it won't delay us by much," N claimed as we made a turn and followed the path.

I frowned at seeing the long line of trainers that we'd have to go through. I sighed. 'This'll take a while...'

To my surprise, we weren't challenged once. In fact, it seemed like all of the trainers blocking the road were trying to avoid us. Then it occurred to me that I defeated all of them when I first made my way to Castelia City, and N had probably done the same sometime in the past.

The walk on Skyarrow Bridge was pretty awkward in its own way. N and I had walked in complete silence, and I could have sworn that from the corner of my eye that I saw him look at me occasionally.

But finally, here we were in Castelia City. N and I have just left the route house connecting Skyarrow Bridge to the city.

N walked up to the map on our right and examined it with great interest.

I walked up behind him. 'It's time to break this silent streak,' I decided. "So, you said we had to survey around to make sure everything was ready for, ah... Tomorrow," I chimed in, making sure not to mention Team Plasma's plans out loud in case of eavesdroppers. "What exactly do we have to do?"

Without looking back, N answered, "The Shadow Triad will check out all of he potentially harmful buildings, and the scientists will wire the city. All we have to do is survey the gym. After all, the gym leader is probably our biggest threat here."

'Burgh...' I realized with reluctance. 'I wonder... Has he noticed that Nacrene City has undergone the control of Team Plasma? Surely someone has to have noticed Team Plasma's actions by now...'

"We just have to make sure that the gym leader won't have any tricks up his sleeves," explained N as he turned away from the map. "Tomorrow, I'm to go to the Unity Tower and oust any of its power. With the help of the device, of course."

'There's that mention of the device again!' I tried to eye N down to try and find it, but I saw nothing. I mentally sighed. 'Oh well... Maybe I can ask him.'

"I don't believe you know about it, do you?" inquired N, reading my mind. N started to walk away and I followed. "The scientists created a device that create a range of radio waves that disable the ability of pokeballs to work," he explained.

'What?!' I thought, bewildered. 'Such a thing can be created?!'

"It has a low range of influence and only lasts for so long, but it will be of great assistance," continued N. "The Unity Tower... Considering that it trades pokemon from all regions, it has a lot of influence over the region of Unova," explained N, clearly disturbed at the word "trades."

'But it makes sense why they'd send N there,' I thought. 'After all, he's a king taking down a 'kingdom' of its own. Castelia City and the Unity Tower itself are like giant symbols of Unova unity.'

"But you won't be coming with me," clarified N. "You'll be making sure that the pokemon gym is detained from making any action."

I frowned. 'Of course, I have to get the gym...'

"The gym may be a bigger threat than the Unity Tower itself..." mused N. It seemed like he was mostly talking to himself now. "The gym is composed of elite trainers with one of the strongest trainers in Unova running the place, while the Unity Tower only spectates the trade of pokemon, purely for luxurious purposes," N explained uncomfortably. "As if they were trophies." It was obvious that N was getting a bit tensed now. "Needless to say, I don't think any of those pokemon will be of a problem." N looked away. "Battle-wise," he added spitefully.

'I wonder... Does he usually talk to himself?' I decided to just let N vent away. After all, I didn't want to get on his bad side. N definitely had power over Ghetsis, so if I displeased him, the consequences were infinite.

N shook his head, almost as if to snap himself out of his daze. "I trust that you'll be able to handle Burgh, the gym leader, and all of the gym challengers inside?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I think I got it," I replied. 'Or at least I hope I do... Or don't? Meh, whatever works out best.'

"Anyway, we're here," claimed N as we came to a halt. He looked up at the gym's insignia before attempting to step in, but he was stopped.

Burgh exited the gym, but stopped upon seeing us try to enter. His gaze rested on me as he said, "Oh, Hilda. What brings you here?" he asked. He then turned to N. "And N, was it?"

"Oh, um, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing," I offered with a shaky smile. "How's the gym running?"

He grinned and nodded. "Quite well, now that you ask. Did you two come here together for something?"

N simply nodded.

Burgh sighed. "Unfortunately, can you wait?" he asked, a bit unwillingly.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"You see... One of the portraits in my gym has been slathered by honey," he explained. "A challenger just didn't know how to go through honey walls the right way."

'Of course he wouldn't!' I retorted in my head. 'It's hard to breath in those things!' I thought, cringing when I remembered being stuck in a wall of honey for a good five minutes until Bianca caught up with me.

Burgh sighed. "You see, the gym just doesn't feel right without having my paintings up, so I was going to go to Nacrene City and ask Lenora for a fossil."

N visually tensed up.

'Don't tell me... No one noticed that Team Plasma was advancing?!' I thought, disbelievingly. 'Still?!'

"You know, for a muse?" Burgh glanced to the side as he started to relay his to do list. "And after that, I got a tip off that Team Plasma is sneaking around the city, doing some suspicious work."

I started to feel relieved, but masked it in front of N. 'Burgh's bound to do something!'

"As a gym leader, I don't believe I should leave them be," explained Burgh.

N shook his head and put on an amicable smile. "Perhaps Hilda and I can help," he offered. "I can go to Nacrene City and tell the gym leader of your situation while Hilda here helps you scour the city for Team Plasma."

I felt myself frown a bit. 'So this guy is dead set on not letting anyone know about Nacrene City's submission...' I inwardly sighed. 'Oh well... Someone's bound to notice Team Plasma's motives once Castelia's under attack,' I tried to reason with myself.

Burgh smiled and nodded. "Great! Thanks for helping out, you two!"

N nodded. "It's not a problem. So all I have to do is retrieve a fossil from the Nacrene Museum?"

Burgh nodded. "That would be plenty help, thanks!"

"Alright then," N recited as he walked away. "I suppose I'll see the both of you later, then." Not too soon after, he dissolved into the crowded streets of Castelia City.

Burgh turned to me. "Alright, so I say we split up! That way we can cover more ground," Burgh suggested as he started running in a different direction. "I trust that you can handle them if something happens!"

"W-Wait!" I tried to call out, but it was too late; Burgh was already long gone and out of my sight. 'Again with the trust!' I frowned. 'My one chance to tell him about what was going to happen tomorrow...' I kicked a stray pebble. 'No. I have to warn him somehow...'

I was distraught on what to do though. On one hand, Burgh was trusting me to look for Team Plasma and stop them. On the other, N was dead set on making sure that Burgh didn't find out about Team Plasma's motives for tomorrow. If I assisted Burgh, would the grunts or Shadow Triad report me in for treason? On the other hand, what if Burgh thought that I was just lazing around?

'Man..!' I thought to myself, frustrated. I tried to contemplate on where I could go to warn. 'The Battle Company is a joke... They won't be able to accomplish anything,' I reasoned to myself, feeling a bit guilty of my opinion. 'Besides... It's a pretty popular place. I'm pretty sure that these supposed scientists would be hardcore wiring that place down.'

That didn't leave much places left. The only other place I could think of that might be of assistance was Gamefreak, but again, it was a pretty popular place. I was pretty sure that a scientist was lurking about in there.

Team Plasma grunts don't have the audacity to lurk around the gym for too long, though. They most likely knew Burgh would be on their trail if they stayed for excessive intervals of time.

'Alright,' I decided, looking through my satchel for anything that may be of use. 'I'll just have to leave something behind in the gym and hope that Burgh finds it...'

However, there was nothing I could find. I had my uniform, Fennel's dream mist, my Team Plasma team, a few TM's, a max potion, a handful of full heals...

'Have I ever heard of a pencil and paper?!' I scolded myself, looking through my satchel even more furiously. I was getting a few strange looks form some passerbyers, but I didn't really care. 'All I have is this note from... Cedric,' I relayed, still feeling a bit odd at being at a first-name basis. Cursing, I reread the note, trying to see if there was anything useful I could use.

"Hilda; I still haven't perfected those 'vitamins.' Perhaps you can assist me the next time I see you. I would give you my failed experiments, but those are with me to fix my past mistakes. As a professor and a scientist, I know that in order to advance in my results, I mustn't just learn from my mistakes, but keep them around to revel in my improvement. That's aside from the point though. I've noticed that you've never addressed me by my name. Is it because my daughter and I harbor the same last name? Then next time you see me, I expect you to call me by my first name, Cedric."

I furrowed my brows. Maybe I could use the sentences, "Perhaps you can assist me the next time I see you," and, "That's aside from the point though," but I just didn't know how to make them work with each other. Scowling, I tried to enter the gym, but noticed that Burgh locked it.

I sighed. 'Just great...'

I looked over the note once more. Declaring myself desperate, I ripped the card until it looked like a "P" and slid it under the door.

I sighed again and deadpanned at the note. 'That's definitely not noticeable... And how is a 'P' supposed to suffice as a clue?!' I scolded myself. I shook my head. 'No matter..!' I told myself as I turned around. 'There are tons of people here! I'm sure one of them will be willing to pass on the word or warn a mass of people!' I thought with a smirk.

There were tons of people rushing in the streets, all trekking to their destinations. I was sure that one person would be willing to stop and listen.

I ran over to the closest person. "Hey, can you help me out with-!"

The lady I tried to appeal to just brushed me off and continued to power-walk in the other direction.

I scowled. 'Gee, thanks lady.' I turned to the next passerby and extended my hand. "Excuse me sir, this is import-!"

"No time," he snapped without even giving me a glance as he continued to walk.

I turned to the next, a little more desperately. "Ma'am, please! You can determine the fate of Castelia City!" I screeched, throwing my hands up in desperation.

"Marketers there days..." she muttered to herself as she continued to trudge along with a rather large briefcase.

I groused in frustration. 'Alright... They won't listen, so it's time to force them!' I thought as I dashed to the middle of the street and held open my hands. I saw a businessman about to bump into me and smirked. 'Great... Now he'll have to stop and listen!'

Instead, before I could get a word out, the business man simply walked around me, almost as if I wasn't even there.

I turned around and stared at his back, dumbfounded. "Will someone listen to me?!" I screamed out, frustrated. When I glanced around, all I got were some disapproving glances, but still no one stopped. "It's important!" I tempted, but to no avail. Realizing that there were possibly some scientist grunts around, I sheepishly sunk back in the crowd, no longer compelled to try and get the attention of a random businessman or businesslady. I sighed.

If there wasn't the possibility of an incognito grunt being nearby, I would've just screamed out, "Team Plasma will try and take over Castelia City tomorrow!" But I couldn't. Instead, I could just look around to try and spot anyone who might be willing to listen. I spotted a building across the street. It had open doors, so I assumed it wasn't simply a business building and it accepted visitors.

Smiling, I jogged my way across the street and into the said building. I practically bolted for the welcome desk, but I definitely wasn't expecting to see this.

"Welcome," greeted the lady behind the counter. She was turned around, but quickly twirled to look at me. "Sorry, but we're clo-" She stopped short and looked at me wide-eyed. I probably mirrored her expression. "Hilda?! What are you doing here?" asked my mother.

"I-I could ask the same thing!" I retorted, my mouth agape. "I was worried sick about you, and all you've done was pick up a secretary job?!" I asked as I hopped over the counter.

As expected, she took me in her arms. "No, of course not!" she snapped. After a few more seconds, she was able to tell that I was uncomfortable and let go, but still held on to my shoulders. I was never a hugger. "You really don't know how worried I was about you!"

"Me?! Why?!" I demanded, still in shock at her rather untimely appearance. "You're the one they ushered out of town! "

My mother sighed. "That they did, I suppose..."

"Why the heck are you living it up in Castelia City?!"

My mother simply stared at me, waiting for me to calm down.

Seeing that she herself calmed down, I quelled my tone of voice. "Alright... I can tell that we'll have to keep this reunion short, so let's skip the 'I love you's, m'kay?"

My mom chucked to herself. "It's good to see that despite what happened, you're still your cheeky old self."

I raised my eyebrow and pursed my lips. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

My mom only continued to stare at me blankly. "You're right... We don't have much time together."

I scowled at her avoiding the question, but quickly nodded in agreement. "First thing's first... What are you doing here?" I demanded.

My mom looked to the side, trying to recall every detail. "You see, after they ushered me out of the house, they pretty much just left me to do what I pleased," she explained. "Of course... Except for going back in the house."

I nodded. "So how did you end up in Castelia City?"

"Well, I stayed at Cheren's parent's house... His mother was out looking for her son, but of course, the guards wouldn't let her inside," she recalled, a thoughtful look on her face. "That was when she offered for me to stay with them."

I continued nodding, soaking in all of the information. I didn't really know if I cared for her story; I think I only cared that she wasn't in any danger.

"The very next day, Team Plasma came into the house," she continued, pursing her lips. "They claimed that we, as the parents of the prime two suspects of something, we were a threat to the peace." She then looked around her. "Basically, they moved us here. The three of us take turns sitting behind here and telling any visitors that we're closed." She then looked at me with watery eyes. "But I'm really glad you're okay..!"

"But why did they move you here?" I pried. 'Sorry mom, I know how much you want to catch up and I do too, but you did confirm that we don't have a lot of time...'

"This is one of their bases," she explained.

Then it hit me. This was the building where Burgh, Iris, Bianca, and I chased down Team Plasma to find Bianca's Munna. Some guy in a black puffy hat claimed that this was their base. Being outed, I thought they would've abandoned it by now.

"While none of the grunts reside here, they do keep files upstairs," she revealed. "That's why the we're here; to send away anyone so that no one would snoop in Team Plasma's business." With a thoughtful look on her face she added, "In fact... Cheren's parents are up there resting right now."

"They do?" I asked excitedly, not acknowledging her assertion about Cheren's parents.

She nodded. "But they'll know if any of it is missing," she warned me. It was so like her to sense my motives.

"Oh..." I replied. 'I wouldn't want anything to happen to my mom or Cheren's parents because of it.' I looked down and then back at my mom. "Why couldn't the three of you just leave?" I wondered. Looking around, I added, "I mean, I don't see any grunts or cameras around."

Her eyes arched in worry. "You see, we were threatened."

"Threatened?!" I echoed angrily. "What were they going to do to you guys?!" I demanded, my hands balling into fists. 'If they did anything...'

My mother sensed my impulsiveness. "Now, don't try anything rash, dear!" she warned, trying to calm me down. "They didn't do anything to us!"

I calmed down, but only a little. "Then what?"

"They told us that if we left or told anyone about what they did in Nuvema Town, they would do something to you," she admitted reluctantly. "Our children."

I felt my eye twitching a little. 'Isn't that basically what they threatened me with?!'

"They didn't want us in Nuvema Town because they thought that as your parents, you'd come to us for assistance if you were doing anything wrong," she claimed. She furrowed her brows. "But that leads me to another question; how did you get out of Nuvema Town?"

"It's a long story," I claimed to her, much to her dismay. "I'll have to keep it short and allow no time for questions... I'm a member of Team Plasma," I admitted, much to her dismay. "In fact... I'm an admin, or rather, the admin."

My mother didn't look pleased, but she nodded.

"You see, we already took over Accumula Town, Striaton City, and Nacrene City," I recapped. "Tomorrow, we're aiming for here. Castelia City."

My mother pursed her lips in disapproval. "Out of everyone in town, I didn't think that you out of all people would succumb to Team Plasma's ideals..." she claimed, her tone waning. She shook her head. "You know I love and support you, but let me warn you, this 'pokemon liberation' thing must be a sham!"

I smiled when I heard her was relieving to hear that she didn't believe that Team Plasma were the benefactors that they claimed to be. I shook my head, still unable to wipe the grin off of my face. "I assure you, I don't agree with them."

She was visually surprised when her mouth went agape. "Then... Then why?"

I frowned and looked away, unable to look her in the eye. "You see, I was threatened as well, but similar to you and Cheren's parents, I'm not the one in danger."

She looked angry. "Who?" she managed to choke out. It was obvious that she didn't want to hear it.

I sighed. "Cheren and Bianca..."

My mother gasped and looked at me, expecting an explanation.

"Cheren and Bianca had pokemon with them and they were discovered," I explained. "Then, they were impounded with both of the Professor Junipers."

"But that still doesn't explain why it would apply to you," she retorted forcefully. It was evident that she didn't like the fact that Team Plasma was playing me.

I shook my head. "Team Plasma did something to the four of them and I don't know what," I claimed, frustrated. "One of the seven sages, they're kinda like a head council, claimed that if I didn't obey them, they'd do whatever they did again..."

My mother gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh dear, that must be a burden on you..."

I shook my head. "Not me, them!" I snapped. I muttered an apology at my tone but quickly added, "I don't think you should tell Cheren's parents about what may have happened."

My mother nodded in agreement. "But you better leave soon, dear..." she claimed with a tone of unwillingness.

I solemnly nodded my head. "Yeah... Yeah, I know..." When I looked down, I noticed something sitting by my mom's feet. "Mom, what's that?"

"Hm?" she hummed, stepping out of the way and finally ungripping my shoulders. She followed my gaze.

My eyes widened a little. "Is that..?" It couldn't be. The Patrat I caught for her? It was sleeping by her feet.

My mother smiled. "Yes... You see, it would be suspicious to see a building without a pokemon walking around, so they let me keep her," she explained.

I smiled. "At least you aren't alone, then..." I offered. 'At least she has that Patrat I caught...'

I recalled how I only caught the Patrat because of a contest Bianca, Cheren, and I decided to hold when we first begun our journeys; who could catch the most pokemon? I only caught my Lillipup and Patrat to win the contest, so imagine my vexation when I didn't win anything for having the most pokemon. I didn't really want a Lillipup, but I decided that I could deal with it. Patrat, however, I gave to my mother when she caught up with me to give me some running shoes.

My mother sighed. "I suppose so... But you should get going soon. I don't think you have any time to say 'hello' to Cheren's parents upstairs." My mother glanced around her. "A grunt is due soon; they're preparing for something."

I nodded in understanding. "But before I go, have you read any of these files that are supposedly upstairs?"

My mom blinked. "Well, no," she admitted, "but I've overheard Cheren's father frisking through it."

"What did they say?" I asked anxiously.

My mother shrugged. "I only heard so much of it," she admitted. "Something about a shell... A carcass?" she recalled, questioning her own memory. "Something they want to retrieve."

I nodded my head, unsure of what her words meant. "Alright... Thanks, mom. I have to go before I don't have a chance to tell anyone about the raid... That's why I came here in the first place."

My mom unwillingly nodded her head and gave me a hug, chuckling to herself when I uncomfortably shifted a bit. "Just be careful, okay? Keep your guard up; I know that Team Plasma has more to it than just 'pokemon liberation.'" She let go and looked me in the eye. "And I think it's best that we act like we never found each other."

My eyes widened at her request, but I nodded and bolted out the door. 'I don't want to drag on our conversation... If I do, I don't know if I would've ever been able to leave,' I admitted. 'But to think, she was safe in Castelia City this whole time..!' After I was a few good feet from the building, I halted. 'You're kidding me!' I inwardly screeched. 'I forgot to ask for a pen and some paper!' I pursed my lips at my thoughts. 'The first time I see my mother in about a week and all I could think about is a writing utensil?'

I realized that thinking about my mother wouldn't help me save the pokemon of Castelia City. While many people, if not all, had pokemon in Castelia City, they weren't really trainers. The pokemon here were really just walking companions for the many businessmen and businesswomen or muses for artists and musicians. None of them were really powerhouses unless a trainer journeyed over here to win a badge. The population was built up of workers and tourists, so battle-wise, the pokemon of Castelia City were generally useless.

I ran down the whole street and darted into business buildings, trying to warn people of what Team Plasma was planning. However, I was brushed off by the many secretaries who claimed that they had more to do than play around in a child's fantasies, and that they were doing more adult-like business. Although, a few crabby ladies were kind enough to point me out in the direction of the gym.

It took my all of my might to not lash out at them. Even a small request like "pen and paper" was denied. Sighing, I ran to the water fountain at the heart of the city. I considered standing on its rim and shouting out Team Plasma's plans, but again, I didn't know if Team Plasma was around, hidden in the crowd somewhere. Any passerby whose attention I tried to catch just walked past me again.

Scowling, I though, 'Who knew it would be this hard just to get one little warning out?!' I growled and furrowed my brows in agitation. 'Were the people of Castelia City always this ignorant?!' I exhaled to try and calm myself down, but it didn't work. 'No. They have to go to their jobs, which is apparently a lot more important than saving the city! Don't they realize that Team Plasma's out to do more than just take away their pokemon?! They're after the Unity Tower, for goodness' sake!'

I tried every street that stretched out, trying to find anyone who would listen. I was routinely kicked out by secretaries. Cafe's told me to "take it easy," and I was only shushed in art galleries. Apparently, my excessive screaming was "killing the mood." Even the lady at the Castelia Cone Stand shrugged me off, saying that they were "sold out," but I heard her just offer the guy before me twelve castelia cones and he only ordered one. She was still open for business and I knew it! I didn't dare to try going to Gamefreak, the Pokemon Center, or any other popular sites. I still wasn't risking being overheard by a grunt and reported to the sages.

But still... I didn't recall Castelia City being this... Shunning; for lack of a better word, anyway.

Giving up with a sigh, I trudged my way back down the long street from which I came, retreating back to the gym. I thought that if I couldn't catch the attention of a normal civilian, at the very least Burgh may be back by now, and hopefully N wasn't.

To my dismay, I only saw N looking up at the gym sign, a fossil tucked under his arm.

'Back already..?' I thought, shuddering. 'There goes warning Burgh... Probably the only person not under surveillance that would care to listen to me.'

N saw me and started walking towards me. "So I take it that you didn't go with Burgh?"

I shook my head. "He suggested that we split up."

"I see," N stated to himself as he rested his chin on his palm. He then looked up at the sky. "It's getting late and we still haven't examined the gym. I've tried to get in, but the doors are locked."

"So what you're saying is that we need to find Burgh," I clarified. "I've been around the whole city and the only places I haven't checked were the main docks and the sewers."

N nodded. "I don't think he'd have any reason to go to the piers..." N turned around. "Let's go get him," he said as we both walked the other way.

'So he wouldn't go to a pier, but he'd go to the sewers?' I thought, unconvinced. 'Whatever. It's not like I have any better ideas.'

"Take a look around you," urged N. "What do you see?"

I raised an eyebrow. ''What do I see?' What kind of question is that?' Despite the absurdity, I answered. "Well, I see businessmen and tourists walking around the city. Nothing unusual about that."

"Who do you see with them?" N continued to urge, still not bothering to look at me.

"Pokemon, of course." It was hard to make my tone sound leveled when stating the obvious, but I think I pulled it off.

"Take a closer look."

I pursed my lips, unsure of what he wanted to hear, but complied. When I looked at the people we were passing, if they had pokemon with them, the pokemon were trudging behind in a distraught fashion, finding it hard just to keep up with their owners blindly walking about while talking on their cellphones. I then looked to my right, and in the distance, I saw Machamps and Conkeldurrs tediously unloading cargo from ships onto the pier. Needless to say, they all looked miserable.

It was evident that the realization hit my face when N continued to preach. "You see, this is why pokemon need to be liberated. They're all miserable under the care of humans."

I wanted to retort, but it was kinda hard to in this situation. 'Was it always like this..? With the people and now the pokemon?' I scolded myself for being so ignorant.

Then I realized that this may have been why N asked me to show up today. I said I wanted to see the light of his reasoning, and here he was, showing it to me.

'The messes I get myself into...' Succumbing to the enemy's ideals wasn't supposed to be my mission. My eyes set sight on a familiar route house, thankfully diverting the attention away from my thoughts. "The entrance to the sewers should be right over there," I pointed out while we made a turn to the port.

"There's not even one sight of natural land around here..." muttered N. "The pokemon's land has been turned into ivory towers of greed... A gilded firm." N came to a halt. "We're here, anyway. The only place in Castelia City that we can find wild pokemon."

We were standing in front of the sewers. I've never been in there before, but word on the street was that it was a pretty good training spot that rookies went to for training to fight Burgh.

"We may have to battle some trainers or some wild pokemon down there," N alerted me. "Are you ready?"

I nodded my head. 'Sure, why not?'

And with that, we trekked into the sewers.

The air was musty, and the atmosphere itself was dark and dank. Moldy water was dripping from the ceiling, yet it was an ironically serene scene. N and I descended the stairs, an off-rhythm beat echoing around us. There were a couple of Trubbishes that scurried away from the entrance upon seeing the two of us, and they disappeared behind metal bars in small circular openings.

'Isn't that where the water's supposed to come out?' I thought. However, when I looked around, the area was drought, save for the drippings from the ceiling.

"Flooding happens during certain seasons, and that's why there's nothing in the canal-like features of the sewer," explained N, reading my thoughts. "That's also why there's stairs leading down," he said, gesturing to the stairs. "If we're going to find Burgh before sundown, we better hurry. The sewer is a large place."

I nodded in agreement. "Alright. Now where do we go first?"

N shrugged. "I'd like to see your sense of direction... You lead, and I follow." With that, he filed behind me.

I raised an eyebrow at his behavior. "I'd like to inform you that I've never been here before," I claimed, holding up a finger.

N didn't say anything and just continued to wait for me to take action.

I shrugged and chose to go down the stairs rather than stay on the platform we were on. I could feel that the ground was sticky beneath my shoes, and I wondered how we could even see down here. Before we could trek on, a wild Rattata and Trubbish jumped in front of us. I sensed N step back in surprise.

The Rattata snickered menacingly with equally sinister eyes.

"Trubbish," the Trubbish sighed, crossing his arms. He gave us a look that said, "You're not getting past here."

Knowing that N didn't approve of battling, I turned back to ask him, "What do you want to do?"

N continued to stare out. "They want to battle."

'That's what they want to do, but okay...' I searched through my satchel for any pokemon and decided to stick with Purrloin. 'He's the least trained, and the pokemon down here are novice leveled. He can earn some experience down here.' Throwing my pokeball in the air, I chanted, "Go, Purrloin!"

N dug out a pokeball of his own and mimicking my actions commanded, "You're up, Archen!"

The two pokemon materialized after the red light illuminated the musty ground. Archen flew up a foot or two, dutifully waiting for N's orders. Purrloin on the other hand pranced up to me and looked at me pleadingly.

'Am I asking too much of it at such an inexperienced level?' I wondered to myself. I crouched down to Purrloin. "Do you want to sit this one out?"

Purrloin cocked his head to the side and purred something before trotting back to his original position.

'Well... That was, um... What was the point of that?' I wondered. 'Did I do something wrong again?'

"That Purrloin... It just said..." muttered N to himself.

I glanced at him. "Huh? Something wrong N-I mean my King N?" I had almost forgotten that I was supposedly his underling. 'At least Gorm or Ghetsis wasn't here to witness it...'

N sent me a surprised and quizzical look before shaking his head. "It was nothing..." He looked back at the battle scene before him.

The Rattata and Trubbish were getting impatient. Rattata sprang forward as its teeth grew and glowed an ominous orange that brightened up a small range around it.

'That's hyper fang, I realized, 'and it's heading for Purrloin..!' I hurriedly ordered, "Jump!"

Purrloin complied and gracefully jumped, now a few feet above Rattata. Despite his success, Purrloin was clearly nervous. After all, I suspected that this was his first fight.

"Follow up with scratch!" I ordered.

Purrloin stuttered as he raised his paw for a scratch attack. His claws glowed white as they grew, but I noticed Trubbish charging in, aiming to hit him mid-air.

"Purrloin..!" I managed to croak out, unsure of what to tell him. Hit one, get beat by the other. In the end, though it was less than a second, I chose to command, "Aim for Trubbish!"

Purrloin twisted itself in the air and now directed its airborne attack towards and unsuspecting Trubbish. He managed to shock Trubbish and knock him back a few feet, but there wasn't a scratch on him. Now Purrloin was falling towards Rattata, who opened her mouth to use bite. Trubbish was also able to quickly recover and now charged at Purrloin again. There was an unmistakable mask of fear on Purrloin's face.

"Rock throw at Trubbish!" I heard N command.

'Alright, Trubbish is handled,' I observed. "Use assist in Rattata's mouth!" I followed up.

From the corner of my eye, I saw flying boulders going towards Trubbish's direction, but I chose not to distract myself with that. I saw Purrloin take a reluctant nose dive towards Rattata's open mouth. He closed his eyes in fear as he extended his arms. They were about to make contact with Rattata's tongue when a mass of undecipherable purple sludge exploded from Purrloin's paws to the Rattata's mouth with a power so overwhelming that Purrloin stayed airborne. The Rattata on the other hand had wide and fearful eyes and screamed muffled screams as his mouth was filled with overflowing sludge.

'Sludge bomb...' I thought guiltily. The attack had only been going on for a mere three seconds, but the Rattata was already glowing an ominous purple, making me guilty almost immediately after. I was too taken by my own battle that I barely noticed that N had already defeated Trubbish. "Alright, that's enough," I told Purrloin.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and jumped at the sight of Rattata. H fell back to the ground on four shaking paws.

"Such a strong attack and except for the poison, barely a scratch..." I examined, muttering under my breath. "Sorry, Purrloin... I know you're pretty young. I shouldn't have put that much strain on you for your first battle!" I called out. "Come back here, you're done for now!"

Purrloin looked at me, greatly confused and most definitely scared, and meowed something before shaking his head somewhat reluctantly and turning his back to me.

"Huh?" I wondered out loud. 'Hm... The rebellion phase. They grow up so fast!' I thought jocosely.

From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw N flinch.

'Did Trubbish get back up or something?' When I looked at him, he was looking at Purrloin.

Then he looked at me, but upon seeing that I was looking at him, quickly turned his head away. Despite his attempts, I was still able to see the cluttered look on his face. I couldn't tell if it was confusion or agitation or what.

The Rattata chattered something, causing N and I to shoot our heads to him. She was by Trubbish, trying to drag him away. It was a pitiful sight, especially with Rattata still glowing purple.

Purrloin looked back at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Return," I said simply as I held up his pokeball and returned him.

N looked away. "Let's continue on then," he ordered as he recalled Archen.

"Hold on a second," I requested, stuttering a sheepish "my king" after as I ran over to the poisoned Rattata.

She flinched upon seeing me, frozen with fear. I crouched down and dug through my bag and grabbed out a full heal. I sprayed it on Rattata, who was stunned by the cold sensation, but was visually surprised when she stopped glowing purple. She looked at me, confused, before scurrying off with Trubbish, visually better as well.

I hurriedly jogged back to N. "I'm sorry for holding you, my King," I apologized. ''My King...' Man, I'm never gonna get used to that.'

"Why?" was all N could manage to ask.

"Well, I know that it's customary that you leave a pokemon be after defeating it or it runs away, but I assumed that they wouldn't get very far with Rattata poisoned," I explained. "I had some spare full heals, so I thought I should use one."

"That wasn't what I-" N started, but cut himself off. "Okay."

"Oh? What's this? A lover's quarrel?" a voice asked from behind us. N and I whipped our heads in the direction of the voice. The source was a janitor. "Ha! Double the winnings!" he exclaimed in excitement as he withdrew two pokeballs from his utility belt. "Zubat and Trubbish, let's go!"

True to his proclamation, a Zubat and a Trubbish materialized after a red light.

I looked through my satchel for another pokemon, but I saw N hold up a hand to stop me. "My King?" I asked. 'Seriously... I'll never get used to that.'

"Allow me," N suggested as he re-summoned Archen. "My Archen is on the verge of evolving and he could use the experience."

'What? Are you kidding me? It's unfair to be two against one!' I retorted. I sighed. 'I'll never reach his senses with that argument though...' Deciding to mimic grunt speech, I said, "But my Lord, please let me assist you," in the cheeriest voice I could. It was so out of character that I cringed not too soon after.

"I assure you, I can handle this," urged N, his voice displaying confusion.

'So he sensed it too,' I thought a bit embarrassed.

"Now, what kind of relationship do you two have going on?" mocked the janitor. "You're one lucky fellow, young man!"

My eyes widened as I clenched my teeth in anger. 'What the?!'

N didn't seem to get the hint though. "Archen, use ancient power!"

Archen complied, and in mere milliseconds, Zubat and Trubbish were bombarded with glowing rocks. They crashed to the ground with loud "thuds" as Zubat and Trubbish writhed in agony. Zubat fainted as soon as the attack finished. The janitor didn't even have a word in; that's how fast this was finished.

"Finish it off with pluck!" ordered N while pointing at the twitching Trubbish.

Archen took a nosedive to Trubbish and sharply pierced his beak in his skin, and Trubbish too fainted.

"Blast!" exclaimed the janitor in frustration.

Suddenly, Archen started glowing white and his shape was fleeting in the light.

'Archen's evolving,' I observed in awe. However, I was unable to derive in the sight as I saw the janitor trying to flee in the distraction. "Hey, wait up, you chump!" I called out as I ran after him. I thought I heard N call out after me, but if he did it went deaf to my ears. "You forgot your pokemon and you owe us some winnings!"

The janitor stopped short and turned back to face me. He marched up to me and shoved some dirty wads of money in my palms. "Happy?! See ya'!" he snapped as he ran away again.

"Hey, wait up fool!" I called out, irked by both his earlier comment and his disrespectful behavior. "Aren't you forgetting your pokemon?!"

"Keep'em! They costed me my whole day's winnings!" he called out as he threw behind his pokeballs and rounded the corner. "I'll just catch stronger ones!"

I was both dumbfounded and angered by his claim. His pokemon crept up behind me and towards their abandoned pokeballs. It was clear that they just regained consciousness by the way Trubbish limped and how Zubat occasionally dropped an inch. While Trubbish spitefully destroyed his pokeball and skulked away, Zubat only floated over his and stared at the corner that its previous trainer ran away to.

'So he only borrowed the pokemon to earn some quick cash?' I wondered. The thought was sickening. I walked up to the Zubat. "You heard him... He's not coming back."

Zubat looked at me before sulking to the ground.

'I can't just leave him here,' I realized as I crouched down. "Go on then; you're free!" I offered, trying to lift its spirits. Seeing that it didn't work I ended up asking, "Or would you rather go with me?"

I heard footsteps behind me. "Why'd you run of?" N's voice demanded. He wasn't exactly angry, but his tone implied it. Perhaps he was just taken aback by my sudden outburst?

"Oh, um, sorry, my King N," I apologized. I really wasn't paying attention to him.

N caught up to me. "It's the janitor's Zubat..." he observed as he too crouched down. "Why is it here?"

"That janitor left him behind," I explained. "Apparently, he only kept those two around to make money off of the trainers training down here."

"It's not uncommon," N admitted. "Some of the staff down here are infamous for using the sewer pokemon to make a quick buck." He seemed sickened at the notion but didn't voice his opinion.

The Zubat chattered something before flapping his wings again.

"Hold on a second," I requested as I dug through my satchel. I found the one max potion that I brought with me and sprayed the Zubat with it. "Better now?"

The Zubat nodded and chattered again as it flew up higher.

I stood up, finally at eye level with the Zubat. "Alright, go on then. If you see that guy, he deserves a good beating!" I offered while slamming my fist into my open palm.

"This Zubat said that he'd like to accompany you," claimed N, surprise unhidden in his voice.

"What? Me?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Your act of kindness made him feel indebted to you..." N continued, now with a little more annoyance in his voice. He too stood up, glancing away from the Zubat.

'But I'm going to suppose that 'his highness' over here is against that idea,' I concluded. I looked at him. "May I?" Of course, I expected to be shot down, but it wouldn't hurt.

N let out a frustrated sigh. "The choice is yours... I'll be waiting back there when you've made your choice." With that, he walked away and out of my sight.

'You know... It doesn't take a person long to say 'yes' or 'no,'' I countered in my head. 'It really wasn't necessary to leave.' I reasoned that he might have just wanted time to think to himself, but what was that? A minute tops?

Zubat made a chattering sound, catching my attention.

"Alright, it looks like you're coming with me," I declared as I crouched down and picked up his pokeball. I returned him quickly, not wanting to hold up N, and I practically bolted back to where he came from.

"So you've chosen to keep him..." N muttered under his breath.

'Well, yeah! I couldn't just leave him there!'

I wasn't sure if he was irritated or angry. Or both. "Let's continue on then."

I directed us up two cases of stairs and eventually, we hit fresh air.

At first, all that came into sight was the concrete floor and the sight of tall buildings. However, when I stepped out more, I saw patches of grass and a tall tree in the middle. I heard N follow me up, but he didn't comment on anything.

'A place like this exists in Castelia City..?' I wondered. I didn't have time to revel in the sight, though. Burgh was standing right in front of a tall tree in the center of some grass patches. "Any luck, Burgh?"

Burgh twirled around upon hearing his name. "Oh, yes. I found some Team Plasma grunts, but they weren't doing anything suspicious of the sort," he explained. "They were only holding a rally by the fountain."

"So why are you over here?"

Burgh shrugged. "I just wanted to see the sights, I guess... I thought that perhaps the nature here could pose as my muse."

"So do you still need this fossil?" N asked. "If not, I can return it to Lenora."

"I suppose I can hold on to it for a while," Burgh said as he took the fossil from N's arm. "Thank you for running that chore for me."

'Speaking of the fossil... Where did N get it?' I wondered. 'I doubt Lenora would just hand it over.' Then I remembered that Team Plasma took everything on display.

"It's not a problem, but can we go to the gym?" requested N. He was getting impatient. "You see, Hilda and I were longing to see your new opuses."

"Oh, of course," Burgh replied with a smile. He took one last glance at the giant tree behind us.

'It's sunset already,' I examined, looking at the sky. 'It would make sense why N would want to go already.'

"Apparently, this is where it all began for Castelia City," claimed Burgh. He then took left for the stairs. "Come along, then. I suppose I have to reopen the gym some point before the day's over just in case there are any challengers." Burgh disappeared down the flight of stairs, followed by N.

It was my turn to examine the scenery. There were pokemon running in the tall grass, and despite being surrounded by all of these restricting buildings, they seemed rather happy.

'Is it because they're free?' I wondered. 'Or is it because this was where all of these creations first started?'

In the end, I had no alone time with Burgh.

Since there weren't any gym challengers, Burgh took the liberty himself to tour us around the gym, showing which paintings were new and explaining all of their inspirations. It was interesting, but my attention wasn't on him. I was anxiously waiting for the moment that we were alone, but it would never happen. N wasn't too fixed on Burgh either. His eyes were darting around like a hawk's, taking in every detail of the gym. Burgh didn't seem to notice our diverted attentions though.

When Burgh learned that we hadn't made any plans to stay in Castelia City, he offered us extra rooms in the gym, which of course N took. It was evident that he nor I knew that the gym even had any rooms other than the obvious ones.

I was almost sure that I'd have a moment alone with Burgh, but he retreated to his own room and left N and I alone in a small hallway with four doorways. Apparently they were all guestrooms except for the one at the end which was Burgh's, and N and I were welcome to choose whichever ones we wanted.

As soon as Burgh left us, N turned to me. He kept his voice low. "I didn't know that the gym leader had a back room behind where he usually resides while he waits for a challenger."

"Neither did I," I replied, cursing Burgh for his hospitality. 'How am I going to get into contact with him now?!' It wasn't as if I could sneak up to his room in the middle of the night. Even if I did, there was still the possibility of N noticing, and the last thing I wanted to do was have him tell Ghetsis that I was being a disobedient traitor.

"I didn't spot anything suspicious. Did you?"

I shook my head. "Nothing." And I wasn't lying either. "So, what do I do after I subdue Burgh?" I asked. I didn't want to be sulking around for the whole day, and if what my mom said was true, the building that she was staying in would have grunts swarming in and out of it all day.

"Sage Bronius will be here tomorrow to tell you," explained N. "The fact that we're residing in the gym is all the more convenient for our plans... You will not strike the gym until I have taken over the Unity Tower."

'Oh great... Another babysitter...' I nodded. "How can I tell when you do?"

"That's where we'll be broadcasting from," explained N.

I nodded. "Got it."

"You brought your uniform with you, right? asked N. "Not everyone was alerted of who specifically was promoted to admin."

"Um... Yeah, I got it," I replied, remembering stuffing it in my bag.

N nodded. "So I can trust you with this task, right?"

'Gosh! Again with the trusting!' I thought frustratingly. I nodded. "Yes, my King."

N rose an eyebrow. "Just remember to change into your uniform when you wake up."

I nodded. "Sure thing..."

And with that, we split up into our separate rooms.

There was no warning Burgh now.

Stall and Aid : End

Important announcement : Burgh is not Lenora's husband. You see, he was originally supposed to be there last chapter, and I forgot to edit his name out at one point, so yeah... To anyone who read the chapter prior to the update, Burgh is not Lenora's husband, LOL.

Alright, so I just realized that the protagonist's house doesn't have any couches, nor is the kitchen counter to the left. I don't know who's house I was thinking of O.o I was wondering if those details were important enough to go back and edit in. I also noticed that I got some of the routes down wrong. Route 2 connects Accumula to Striaton, and Striaton to Nacrene is Route 3, where the Daycare is. The small passageway connecting Nacrene City to Pinwheel Forest is actually considered Pinwheel Forest. Is that important enough to fix, or should I just ignore it?

When Burgh says, "And N, was it?" he has met N before. N needed all eight badges to get through the badge gates and challenge the Pokemon League. However, I don't think N was all that memorable to him. Of course Hilda was though, because they hunted down Team Plasma together in both Pinwheel Forest and Castelia City.

When Hilda's mom says the prime two suspects, that wasn't an error. Bianca was a big suspect, but Team Plasma's eyes were really only on Hilda and Cheren, until N visited Hilda of course. Then the suspicion shifted to Bianca. Also, their reunion wasn't so grand because both of them knew that they were short on time. It was some sort of unspoken agreement.

I know the sewers weren't in the first game, but I'd still believe that they existed during that time, kinda like Flocessy Town. There's evidence that they've existed before you set out on your journey, but you never visit it. N making Hilda lead was another reference to the games. Whenever you enter with a partner in some sort of location, he/she just follows you around.

There's a reason why the janitor showed up. Firstly, Hilda needed to catch some type of flying type pokemon for a later point in time, and I don't think N would approve of her catching more pokemon, if you know what I mean. Plus, I chose Zubat just to keep in the Team Plasma theme. Secondly, just to introduce Hilda to the idea of greed. Well, obviously she knew what greed was prior. I mean greed relating to pokemon, and how some trainers just use them as tools for earning money. (Heck, that's Black City.)

By the way, changing the chapter's title from "or" to "and" was intended. But hey, who actually reads the chapter titles? XD

It also appears that most of the people who reviewed want some N/Hilda, so if you're against this, this is your last chance to object. Now a warning here, I will make N/Hilda scenes (if that's what you all want), but if I do, they'll never actually be dating. I feel that concerning this story, their relationship would be stronger if they have moments that build up to it. Plus, I have no prior experience writing romance stories, and I just generally don't like the genre of romance. But I'll try if that's what you guys really want.

I really despise this chapter. I think I did a terrible job with it, it's the worst so far, and it seems like a pain just to read through. However, I saw no other way to fix it, and I've been trying (hence the long update time). Does anyone think I need to completely re-write it? It feels like a giant filler filled with irrelevant scenes.

I realize that there have been a lot of author's notes lately, but sorry. Anyway, I have a poll for anyone who's willing to review. Who do you see as the main character of Black and White 2? Nate or Rosa?

KawaiiJoltic : -.- Seriously, you have nothing to thank me for. Again, it should be the other way around. I haven't heard of Runs With Scizor, and when I tried to look him/her up on fanfiction, I got nothing, so I can't relate to your opinion, but I think that you should go on ahead and write the fanfiction if you really want to. If you do, you'll have one guaranteed reader. I haven't read any of your fanfictions (yet), but it's pretty easy to surpass me XD. Same here; for some reason, I loathe it when people use original names in fanfictions. And quit it. Thank you.

Roy's Little Girl : **Facepalm* My bad... I'm going to assume that you already figured out that Burgh isn't Lenora's husband =P And wow, five months? I hope I don't fall that behind. And sorry if this chapter didn't fit your expectations. It certainly isn't a favorite of mine...

Remepie : So I take it that you'd want N/Hilda in this fanfiction? =P And quit flattering me, I know you're just kidding. But thanks nonetheless for reviewing.

Jestie Uchiha : When I said rewriting, I meant fixing grammatical errors and maybe changing a few scenes around to make it more interesting, but it wouldn't be anything major or worth rereading. But I do see your point. If I am ever going to full-out re-write the story, I'll probably wait. But honestly, I'm considering writing this chapter. If you read the author's note, you can see how I really don't like this chapter. It just doesn't feel... Right? (for lack of a better word). But thanks for your words.
And I'll take it that you're also voting for some N/Hilda going on? =P
Yeah, I thought by making her "join" Team Plasma, it would open up some new possibilities. And I'm glad you see the Shadow Triad scenes that way; I wasn't too sure on how well I executed those. And Hilda would probably murder Ghetsis if he didn't have something over her, so you aren't alone there, lol. About a note? That'll be explained later (but it's not a significant reason, so don't get your hopes up for some intricate loophole =P) And it's not that the new team hates her, it's just that they were all stolen and molded by Team Plasma grunts, so you can imagine that they'd be somewhat distant. The Purrloin, as explained, was relatively young, so he was pretty wary of Hilda since he most likely endured abuse by the grunts that captured him. When Hilda "saved" him, he saw that she meant no harm. And you've just read her reconciling with her mother. I don't like how I wrote it, but I didn't know how else to write it. They both knew that they were pressed on time, and Hilda (or at least how I imagine her) doesn't seem like the affectionate type. N brought her to Castelia City to show her the horrors or pokemon trainers, but you probably already found that out . Sorry for rambling on there. I just get really excited when someone reviews.

Shadowkitten11 : Alright, another vote for Hilda/N =P Thanks for reading!

DigimonLoveForever : Alright, yet another vote for Hilda/N XD Thanks for the feedback and thanks for reading!