Counterbalanced – Chapter 25'Live Central Plaza! …And more! C U C P !' ...
Here for three days!
A great line-up of bands and other performers!- Tynamo Temptations
- Rock and Roll – ah!
- Hounds of Doom
- Night Wishcash
- Mienfoo Fighters
- Meloetta Melodies
- The Backstreet Baltoys
Central Plaza was usually quite a peaceful, spacious place.
But today, there were several stages put up on the grass, surrounded by loud music enthusiasts.
Because of the plaza's incredible size, a band could be playing at one side of the park, while another was performing at the other end, so there was always something to listen to.
Yena grinned as Lily hooked her arm into hers, pulling her a bit deeper into the crowd.
She turned her head to smile at Alex, who was following close by, but he didn't notice her, as he was constantly scanning their surroundings with his eyes.
He didn't look like he was enjoying himself, and his uneasiness reminded Yena of Lily's promise to stay on the edge of the park.
She tugged the white-haired girl's arm.
"We shouldn't go too far…"
Lily pulled a face.
"It'll be fine. Look…!"
She pointed at a nearby stage, where a band of five men was playing rock music.
Some yellow-red Fighting type Pokémon were doing a mock fight on the front of the stage, so elegant that it looked like they were dancing.
"They're the Mienfoo Fighters…! I love their music. Let's go there!"
Jumping on the beat, she took Yena's hand, pulling her into a wild dance.
Yena couldn't resist Lily's high energy level for long, and was soon laughing and moving along.
...
Something was happening on the large stage to their left.
"Ooooh…!"
The crowd cheered and pointed at the special Pokémon in front of the band.
Yena had never seen one like that before, and judging by the response from the people around her, it was not seen often.
The dog-like Pokémon lifted its head, its curled horns almost touching its neck, and howled to the sky.
A shudder of excitement went through the people in front of the stage. And when the band reached the next part of the song, the Pokémon produced a spectacular rain of fire, as it blasted a Flamethrower up into the air.
The crowd went wild, applauding to the band, and asking for more.
Without taking her eyes off the magnificent Pokémon, Yena tilted her head a bit to ask Alex:
"What kind of Pokémon is that…?"
When he didn't reply, she quickly got out her Pokédex.
The little machine immediately told her:
"Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon.
Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper."Lily had leaned in to hear the information as well.
Now she pointed at the picture on the Pokédex' screen, then to the Pokémon on the stage.
"It sure looks like a Houndoom, but this one has a blue coat!"
It was true.
The Houndoom on the Pokédex' picture clearly had short, black fur, and the Houndoom that was now running back and forth on the stage was showing off a splendid, blue coat.
Its underbelly and snout were lighter than any regular Houndoom.
A woman standing nearby overheard their conversation, and told them:
"It's incredibly rare for a Pokémon to have a different coloration.
Sparkles appear around them if they're summoned from their Pokéballs, so they're referred to as 'shiny'…
Isn't she gorgeous? That Houndoom is the main reason I visit these concerts…"
She turned away from them again, to enjoy the rest of the performance.
Yena was impressed, and because she wanted to know a bit more about the mysterious 'shiny' Pokémon, she didn't object as Lily pulled her towards the stage to take a closer look.
"Hey…!"
Someone on the side of the stage had yelled.
"Right there!"Yena looked around, and spotted a large, muscular man in black clothes staring in her direction.
As she watched him, two other men joined him.
"She's standing right there! …Don't stand around! Get her!"
Then they dashed forward, right through the surprised crowd.
It was so unexpected, and made so little sense to her, that it took a moment before Yena realised they were actually heading straight for her.
She took one step back.
Then a hand from behind grabbed her wrist, and she was pulled away from the stage.
Alex had acted alert and fast, he'd been watching the crowd from the start.
Yena had no choice but to sprint as he dragged her into a zigzag, to avoid crashing into unsuspecting people.
Behind them, surprised cries could be heard as the three men made no such effort.
Trusting Alex to lead her, Yena glanced over her shoulder.
"They're getting out their Pokéballs…!"
A long line of swear words escaped Alex as he tried to reach into his bag while running at full speed.
They had almost reached the edge of Central Plaza, and the men seemed determined to catch them before they did.
Their summoned Pokémon immediately started chasing them. They were all gray Pokémon, with pink, vein-like bands on their bodies.
But one of them was much larger, with muscular arms.
"I can't run any faster…!"
Yena was panicking as the Pokémon started to catch up to her.
Her lungs were working overtime to provide her with enough air.
"Why don't we… just ask them… what's going on…? It must be a misunderstanding…!"
Alex ignored her words, and pulled her arm to make a sharp turn around a couple of benches.
The three Pokémon and their owners simply jumped over the wooden seats.
"I can't… anymore… We won't make it!"
Suddenly, two Pidove dropped out of the sky, attacking the largest Fighting-Pokémon together, slowing them down by flapping their wings in their faces and scratching him with the claws on their feet. The next moment, Lily was running next to them, having taken another route through Central Plaza.
"My Pidove can't hold them back for long. We'll have to hurry."
As soon as they reached the shadows of the concrete buildings, Alex and Lily both sounded the alarm.
"Guardiaaans…!"The response from the roofs was immediate and effective.
They ran through the alleys, and flashes of light from all sides announced the help of dozens of Pokémon.
Finally, Alex had managed to get out his own Pokéball from his bag.
As he pointed it at the street behind him, he shouted:
"Zigzagoon! Distract!"
His Pokémon knew what to do.
He started digging the same moment his paws touched the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
So when the three men in black clothes turned another corner, they were faced by an unknown amount of angry, growling Pokémon, slowly appearing from a cloud of dust. The three hesitated. But after Chase's Sawk dashed through the group, its fist stopping just inches from the largest one's face, they were truly intimidated and turned around, running back to the park.
...
Alex didn't stop running until they reached their appartment, slamming the door shut behind them.
Panting very heavily, he finally let go of Yena's wrist, and leaned against one of the walls, desperately trying to catch his breath.
Yena didn't feel any better. She sank down on the couch, leaning back, trying not to feel the side stitches.
Lily, only slightly out of breath, was clearly the fittest of the three.
After a moment, she opened the window to let her two Pidove in, that cooed happily as they were reunited with their owner.
She whispered nice words to them as her hand went over their smooth feathers.
The appartment went quiet.
Both Alex and Yena had their breathing back under control, and were occupied by their own thoughts.
After a while, Zigzagoon came back too, scratching the door until Alex let him in.
Confused by what had happened, Yena started:
"Why…? Those guys… why were they after me…?"
Lily walked to the kitchen to fetch some Pokémon food for her Pidoves.
The pigeon-like Pokémon followed her like a shadow.
"Did you do anything to… you know… piss anyone off?"
"I can't think of… Wait…"
A thought went through her head.
"Maybe they were friends of… that man from Route 2…
You know, Alex…? The owner of that enclosure, where you caught Tauros…?
He could've told them about me, breaking into his home?"
Alex was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall.
His dark eyes had a strange look in them, and were piercing into hers.
His voice sounded both hoarse and harsh as he got up, stating with a loud voice:
"I think you should leave."
Yena blinked.
"…What?"
He opened the appartment's door.
"You heard me. Go home."