Chapter 13: Nacrene
-Black-
Black felt absolutely winded as he stepped into the bright bustling Nacrene city. He really shouldn't have ran just now. AT least White is the same, and it made him feel a whole lot better.
"It sounds like there's plenty of people here," Jiao said absently. Heard was the most expected word you would hear from a blind person, or a blindfolded person in this case. (Seriously, a blindfold?)
"I think there's warehouses here, there,there, their brown, or red? Oh well, there's a fountain there..." the blindfolded 12 year old kid continued, pointing at the colorful warehouses along the street and the fountain at the square. How the heck did she know that? "How did you know that? Don't you know that the blindfold's black in color? You're literally like a blind person, you know?" Black asked out of curiosity.
"I don't know how I know. I just know," Jiao answered. White gripped the tomboy's hand and said in a firm voice," Even if you know your way around the city, I'm gonna lead you around. I am not risking the possibility of you wandering off or getting injured."
"I hate this blindfold. Couldn't I just wear a cap?" Jiao whined.
White shook her head, " Be grateful, girl. The blindfold is the best thing that can be used to cover your eyes. They're like Christmas tree lights."
Aha. Black took this opportunity to dump White, "Since you are so protective of Jiao, I'll leave the babysitting duty to you. See ya, White!"
And he ran off. White's cursing could be heard across the street. Maybe Jiao might learn a few naughty words from her. He didn't care much about that anyway.
Black ran to the direction of Nacrene Museum. Nacrene Museum was hard to miss, besides, you'll find it on every single map of Unova. Talk about a well-known museum! Of course, Black wasn't interested in the museum, it was the Pokemon gym at the museum he was heading for. Hey, Black doesn't charge into everything without a plan.
Well, he did not plan to bump into a stranger, and he did not know what trouble that stranger could be.
"I want to see things no one can see," the young man Black literally crashed into started. Black was surprised. He expected the guy to be furious or something, but with that as a starting line? That was wholly unexpected.
"Eh? Why are you telling me that?" Black asked. As if oblivious to Black's answer, the young man continued," The truths of pokemon inside poke balls. The ideals of how trainers should be. And a future where pokemon have become perfect. Do you feel the same?"
Black was totally thrown off by this wierdo's question. All Black could muster was,"No. I don't understand what you're talking about!"
The guy just stared at Black. Something about this fellow creeped Black out. Something is different about him. What was it? He looked normal enough.
-蛟-
Black was battling a trainer. Even only relying on hearing, I knew Black was in serious trouble.
"B-Black?!" White called out. Who was the foe? "Hey, who is Black battling?" I asked.
"I dunno! He's a total stranger!" My fingers were itching to take off the blindfold and take a good look at the stranger myself. The biggest disadvantage of being blind as a bat was that if the person being your eyes did not recognize a person, then you don't know the person. But over the din, I could here Faolan's warning growl. Black's opponent was obviously someone that had bad intentions.
" How do I untie this cloth?" I said through gritted teeth as I struggled with the blindfold.
"Don't take it off!" White's hand batted my hand away from the cloth.
"Just a peek!" I beg.
Black yelled from somewhere not so far away," White, if I lose this battle, then you will have to take my place!"
"What?!" White was alarmed. "I'd never battled a pokemon battle before! All those pokemon I have, they belong to the company! They're all actors!"
It was my turn to look-no, be shocked. I thought White seemed like a...seasoned trainer or something, but I guess I'll have to change it to novice trainer or something similar. Never mind, there are more important matters now.
"Black! I'll battle with you!" I volunteered and threw a poke ball. Something crashed somewhere near me.
"Snivvyy!" A pokemon cried out. Oh, so I sent out Snivy. Now I have to face the next obstacle: How am I supposed to command my pokemon when I can't see a thing?
"Are you sure? You can't see-" Black was cut off by his foe, "So it's you again."
Dread settled in my stomach as I recognized the voice. It was the odd young man: N
"Yes, I remember, you beat me black and blue and red back there at Accumula." I said flatly. I could feel those blank grey eyes observing me, trying to dig out my secrets.
"Why are you wearing a blindfold?" N asked. I felt goosebumps raise on every millimeter of my skin. N scares me so much . This is one of those times when I truly feel fear. Answer him, Jiao! Answer him!
"You do not need to know," I replied coldly. What good will the knowledge do to him anyway?
"Tympole, Echoed Voice," N spoke emotionlessly, attention back to the battle.
The tadpole, I mean, Tympole, let out the most horrid sound I heard. I felt its effect on my body, intense vibrations, and hurting ears. Oh no! Didn't they say about the human body cannot withstand supersonic or something? Strangely, this would work unexpectedly in my favor. But maybe not quite the same as what happened in the gym battle.
My consciousness split. Part of it went to Black's Braviary, War. Oops. Nevertheless, I called out, "War! Brave bird!"
I could hear Black's voice cutting through the vibrating air. "Wha...you...oing...don...comma..nd...my...pokem..on!"
I(War/Jiao) blinked my eyes at the sudden return of sight, then picked myself up from the ground and flapped my wings with great effort. This will take focus. I concentrate on Tympole. Nothing , the Echo Voice, Master(Black), the pain or anything present existed, except for Tympole. I charge at Tympole with a powerful Brave Bird, against the pressure of the sound. I smelled Tympole's shock just before I collided with him. Tympole fainted. I was jarred by the impact, but I was fine.
More of my consciousness slipped in. I could detect my master's disbelief and excitement. Black roared, "Fine! War, Aerial Ace at Timburr! Tepig, Ember at Pidove!"
It was perfect. Timburr was sent flying by Aerial Ace and crashed at N's feet, unconscious. Tepig's ember was so strong that Pidove dropped out of the sky. I hoped that a good number of its feathers are burnt. Tepig snorted, "Black is a good trainer and friend, we are happy with him!"
I raise my wings intimidatingly and cried, "I have been with Black since I was a Rufflet. We will stay with him, no matter what you say!"
The look on N's face was priceless. His eyes widened(which was probably the first sign of emotion he showed). His face resumed its blank expression immediately. I watch him carry his fainted pokemon gently. N spoke with a voice so quiet that it was almost a whisper, "Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all pokemon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world. So, I need power...power to make anyone agree with me."
N walked away. Then he stopped. He continued his unfinished thought," Now I know what power I need. Zekrom! The legendary pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to be that hero-and then you and I will be friends!"
For the first time ever, I saw N smile. It was strange indeed. How could someone speak of so-called "liberating" pokemon from trainers and yet smile like an innocent child? This guy is indeed, extremely strange.
Zekrom...the name sent my heart pounding ten times faster. Zekrom...I felt him before. I can feel a link, just like buried deep within my brain. Where, and why? I could literally feel the link strengthen, turning more stable, like a rope, and-
"Jiao? Hey, what is wrong with you? Helloooo, anyone home?" White's voice came from behind me. I turn around, and what I saw shocked me.
I saw myself. Standing, unresponsive, eyes covered by the black blindfold.
And I was zapped back to my body.
-Black-
" Jiao? Don't scare me like that, girl. Even if it's whatever weird tradition from another universe. Just SNAP OUT OF IT!" Black yelled. The result was spectacular. Jiao jerked and fell on the pavement right in the face.
" Yes sir!"
" Seriously? You're starting to worry me..." White twirled her hair anxiously. " That weird guy with green hair just left and then you were standing here like some human statue. Do you feel unwell or something?"
"Hey, the battle's over, right? Black won N, and...and..." she trailed off. What's the matter with her? She volunteered to assist him, and in the end he did all the work himself. Talk about some volunteer. Well, she did a bit, when she commanded War to use Brave Bird against the Echoed Voice attack and which led him to victory. In Black's history of pokemon battles, his mind had always stopped working whenever Echoed Voice was used, and it meant that he couldn't give commands to his pokemon.
"Hey...thanks for trying to help me out." Jiao gave him the huh? face before it clicked in. "Ah, no problem."
Black grinned. "Well, if I can defeat a tough trainer like that, I won't have any problem with Lenora!"
"Really, Black? Look at Musha, he's fainted," White told him sceptically. Black realized that Musha was seriously injured and immediately ran to Musha and cradled him in his arms. "Oh man, I'm sorry." Black apologized to his fainted pokemon.
"Okay, I guess I'm gonna take a day off. My pokemon are all worn out from that battle with that guy. Hey, you met him before?" Black asked Jiao all of a sudden. Jiao had acted like she knew N from before. Jiao shoved her hands into her jean pockets and mumbled, "Um, when I was in Accumula Town, N came out of the blue and started battling me. He told me that...pokemon are prisoners in poke balls. But...the pokemon with you all... they're all so happy. I wonder what made him think like that."
This irked Black. N certainly holds a grudge against humans for some reason. Why does he believe that humans harm pokemon? Black couldn't stand the thought of his pokemon getting hurt, any decent trainer wouldn't wish their pokemon to get hurt. Why think that trainers get their pokemon injured for their own satisfaction?
"I could see that N guy really cared for pokemon. The only problem with him is that has the wrong idea about trainers," Otherwise, he could have been a good rival, Black thought inwardly.
"Hey, if you're not going to challenge the gym today, then can I challenge the gym?" Jiao piped up. Black swivelled around to tell the younger girl ," No way! I'm gonna be the champion, and I can't just allow others to grab opportunities that belong to me!"
Jiao grinned cheekily, which looked more goofy than cheeky, "And I can't miss every opportunity I see."
The girl turned and walked briskly to the museum, hands on Faolan so as not to bang into lamp posts or any other hazardous objects. (At that time, Black wished that she would bang her head hard) Black felt annoyed, he finally got to the Nacrene gym and then poof! a weird trainer challenges him and now his traveling buddy was going to challenge the Nacrene gym instead . Fine, I'll get my gym badge right after her! He vowed to himself before racing off to the pokemon centre.
As usual, White was calling him to slow down. Black yelled back impatiently, " Then run faster!"
It's been a while since I've put up any new chapters. I have been overseas to visit my relatives and I had couldn't access my Fanfiction account. I'm sorry to keep everyone waiting after saying that I would update this story regularly. Anyway, please rate and review this story!