I am positively bored. Schools closed for another TWO WEEKS. I'm never gonna finish student teaching…
IRREGARDLESS, The Saga, will be updated!
Amy47101 does not own pokémon, only her OCs, Vale, Sara Knight/Agent Blitz, and the Bennet family.
o.0.o.0.o
The Adventure Saga
The Truth Behind Us
o.0.o.0.o
Start Date: June 2nd, X017
Current Date: November 1st, X017
o.0.o.0.o
"N, you should think about getting up, now."
N slowly blinked his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling of the cavern that acted as an alter. Vale was sitting adjacent to him, absentmindedly peeling the skin off of an orange. She offered him a smile as he squinted at her.
"What time is it?" he finally asked, mumbling to himself.
"About three in the afternoon. On November first."
"November first?!" N shot up. "No!"
"Yep." Vale offered him half of the orange. "You were asleep for one and a half days, I'm sure you're hungry."
N took the orange as his stomach grumbled loudly. As he did so, however, Vale gently grabbed hold of his wrist, staring at the runes now engraved there.
"Strange." she murmured, her thumb brushing over them. "These just appeared on your wrist… glowing red. They don't appear to be a rash or a reaction of first… it's almost like it's spelling something out."
N felt his stomach fluttering, like a flying type had somehow hatched in there and was trying to figure out how to use its wings. The back of his neck felt hot, and the heat trailed all the way to his ears and across his cheeks.
Suddenly, Vale stiffened, and dropped his wrist. Did she sense something like she had earlier?
"What happened to your jacket?" N finally asked, noticing that she didn't have the garment.
"I didn't have much, but I didn't want you to just lay on this stony floor without something. Probably would have ended with a pretty bad pain in the neck."
To prove her point, she pointed to the spot he was previously laying down, and he saw her jacket, folded together into a makeshift pillow.
"But what about you?" N turned his gaze back to her, eyes wide. "Aren't you cold? Where did you sleep?"
"I didn't sleep." Vale said simply, picking at the orange and popping a slice in her mouth. She had put a considerable amount of distance between her and him at this point.
"What?!" N exclaimed. "Vale, I think I lost consciousness on the thirty-first, at least in the evening. You've been up for almost forty-eight hours!"
"The uncertainty of the situation is what made it so hard to just sleep." Vale's face twisted into a scowl. "In addition…"
She trailed off, staring into the cavern that was filled with Galvantula webs. N followed her gaze, staring. Suddenly, one of the shadows moved, causing him to startle back.
"Your bodyguards have been out there for quite a bit." Vale elaborated.
"They didn't threaten you…" N felt his ire rise a bit, quietly glaring into the darkness, trying to see if he could spot them again. "Did they?"
"No, they did not." Vale answered simply. "However, since they've showed up, I can't say I've been exactly comfortable…"
"To be expected, considering your last interaction." N muttered, standing up. "Shadow Triad!"
Immediately, he saw wisps of movement, and three figures kneeled before him.
"What happened to Bronius and the knights?"
"Bronius had to be evacuated. The Hero of Truth is here, and she has been challenging and fighting with every single knight who has crossed her path. We tried to evacuate you, but Vale..." Jiro shot a disdainful look at Vale, who ignored him.
"Unfortunately, we were unsure how to proceed, since she was sitting at the entrance, and you didn't want us to hurt her…" Ichiro spoke simply. N found himself a little relieved at that, knowing they at least could follow the order to not hurt Vale…
But even still...
"How long has this been going on for?" N asked, appalled.
"I was monitoring her." Saburo spoke up. "She and that boy spent most of yesterday resting at their camp sight. After that, they started back on exploring the cave again. Around an hour or so ago, our grunts tried to halt their travels, but they ended up going through them surprisingly fast…"
"… This is bad." N muttered, glancing back at Vale. Had he known that making that deal with Zekrom would have knocked him out for a day and a half, he would have waited until he was at a less dangerous place. Now, Hilda and Black seemed to be catching up, and he still hadn't left the cave with the Dark Stone…
Father is probably worried…
"We need to get out of here." N muttered quickly, taking the Dark Stone and tucking it away into his bag, then grabbing Vale's jacket. As much as he wanted to confront Hilda with the ideal world he had planned… with her mistakes and to show her the light of the ideals. But he wasn't willing to risk Vale getting caught in this war, not now.
"Why? Where are we going?" Vale cast a suspicious glance at the triad, who was still kneeling at the entrance.
"Triad, I need you to go back and evacuate as many knights as possible." N ordered. "The pokémon will lead us to the quickest route out."
"You're not going to confront her?" Ichiro asked.
"As much as I would want to, there's to much at stake here." N explained, taking Vale's wrist and pulling her up. "We finally have the Dark Stone within our grasp, I can't risk loosing it now. We're so close…"
I can't let go of this ideal world now…!
"Go," he turned to the triad. "Go, now!"
They nodded in union, and then disappeared. Tessie suddenly crawled out of his hair, glancing at him.
"King?"
"Tessie, lead us to the nearest exit."
o.0.o.0.o
Bianca had been thinking for a long time about what she wanted to do. She kept thinking back to what she had told Cheren in Undella Town. They had recently separated, and since that conversation, she became more and more sure that she wasn't sure that she wanted to hold the responsibility associated with the pokédex.
It wasn't so much that she didn't mind data collection, or even studying pokémon. But the title, standing on the same line as Hilda or Cheren or Silver and Lyra… it just felt wrong.
Bianca was tired of being in the limelight, of having such lengthy responsibilities. She was forced into that all through childhood… She just wanted to do what she wanted, not what she was told to do.
So a part of her was grateful to have run into Professor Juniper as she left Driftviel. Because as she expressed these thoughts with hesitancy… Professor Juniper smiled.
"You know, Bianca, it's okay to follow your own dreams. I didn't give you that pokédex to burden you with responsibility… But I understand what the pokédex is coming to stand for."
"But… but your research… If I drop out now…"
"The pokédex is a useful tool for research, sure, but you could say that about a million things. Bianca, you need to find what you enjoy doing… What you think would be the best route for you."
Professor Juniper seemed so understanding, so willing to let her follow her own path. So willing to let her tag along and test out doing research. Professor Juniper's father wanted her to study a pokémon called Klink, as well as the evolutionary line. According to her, Cedric Juniper was interested in the biology of Klink, whereas Professor Juniper wanted to know about the origin era of the pokémon.
This research… it was interesting!
As they were researching Klink, Bianca began to ask about her about her own idea of study. She asked Professor Juniper about a "pokémons voice" and if anyone thought to research it before. She asked if it would be worth delving into researching the bond between humans and people.
"Have you become interested in studying pokémon, Bianca?"
"Yeah, but I'm not really smart… I don't know if I'd be any good as a researcher or anything…"
"Oh, Bianca, you're plenty smart. You're only sixteen years old, and you already recognize the bonds that pokémon and humans share. And not just that, you want to study it. Bianca, it doesn't take a big brain or straight A's across the board to be a professor. It takes drive… a certain spark, a passion to keep making new discoveries… and being prepared to never, ever stop."
"Oh, hey!"
Bianca grinned, raising her hand in a wave as she saw Hilda and Black sitting against one of the glowing stones. Hilda had a scowl on her face, and Black, while grinning, seemed tired.
"Ah, you two!" Professor Juniper smiled. "Hilda and Black. How are you two doing?"
"We've had better days." Hilda muttered, shoving her bangs off her forehead. "We've been battling Team Plasma for most of the day, they've been swarming this cave and just attacking us."
"How have you been holding up?" Black asked, glancing between them.
"Oh, well enough. We're researching a pokémon called Klink, and since we've been doing so, I think we've collected enough data in order to definitely determine when Klink came into existence."
"I've been helping as much as I can." Bianca popped up. "Although, I'm not sure I'm really that much help at all…"
"The girl sells herself short." Professor Juniper put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Her kind disposition naturally make pokémon want to approach her, so it makes it easier for us to get closer to pokémon. And while I'm not one to call myself old, having a younger set of eyes look at old carvings on the wall gives a whole new perspective."
Though her cheeks were red, Bianca couldn't help but light up at the praise.
"Sounds like you're forging a way for yourself." Hilda grinned. "Keep it up, Bianca."
"I-I will!" she nodded once, grinning. "Anyways, you guys… Are you going to make it to Mistralton City?"
"We're probably going to get outside the cave, then camp on the route before the city." Black said simply. "At least, thats the plan, so long as Team Plasma doesn't decide to throw anymore wrenches in the plan…"
"Very strange that Team Plasma is here yet we haven't run into them at all…" Professor Juniper murmured.
"I mean, we've been doing a decent job of cleaning up after them." Hilda shrugged. "You gonna stick around?"
"Most likely." Professor Juniper put her hands in her pockets with a shrug. "There's a couple more things I'm curious about here, plus my father wants me to collect a few more samples."
"Then I'm going to stay too!" Bianca nodded once, smiling at them. "Are you two doing okay, though?"
"Better than ever." Black waved her off.
"We'll see you again soon enough." Hilda shrugged. "Don't go getting maimed or nothing during your research, Bianca."
"Don't scare me into thinking I'll get maimed!" Bianca exclaimed back. Hilda just let out a whoop of laughter as the two pairs went their separate ways.
"They seem to be getting along well enough." Professor Juniper commented offhandedly. "At first, I was a little worried. Hilda looked like she wanted to kill him the first time she met him."
"Yeah, well, you know…" Bianca shrugged her shoulders. "I guess when you are around someone long enough, you learn to like them?"
"I suppose so!" Professor Juniper let out a laugh. "But anyways, Bianca… have you made your decision about the pokédex?"
Bianca was quiet for a moment.
"I believe that I have." she spoke simply. Professor Juniper nodded once, holding out her hand for the dex. Bianca reached into her bag, wrapping her fingers around the device. As she was digging, she continued to speak. "Say, professor, what's gonna happen to the dex?"
"What will happen?" Professor Juniper tapped her finger against her chin. "Well, I'll take it back to my lab, retrieve the data that you already collected, and wipe it for the next trainer."
"Wipe it?" Bianca echoed. "You mean, you're going to delete everything?"
"Yes, for the most part. I'll have gathered what I needed from the device. If you no longer want it, then there's no need to keep it active."
Her grasp tightened around the pokédex. All that work… only for it to be wiped away?
"Is something the matter, Bianca?"
"Um, is it possible just to remove my name from the dex?" she asked slowly. "And keep the data on it that I already gathered?"
"I guess. But why?"
"Well it's just…" Bianca held the device to her chest, quiet. "I dunno, it just seems like such a waste… Like you're cutting a story short, you know?"
"So then… what do you want to do with it?"
"I…" Bianca trailed off. However, despite her indecisiveness, Professor Juniper smiled.
"Let me see the dex, for a moment." she said simply. Reluctantly, Bianca handed it over, to which Professor Juniper took out a small cord, connecting it to her own personal phone. Bianca had no clue what she was doing, but suddenly, the dex let out a long beep, and then silence. She held it out to her. "Now then, it is yours to do with as you please."
"What did you do with it?" Bianca asked. Turning it on, she was greeted with the startup screen she saw when she first got the pokédex, asking for her name such.
"I simply removed your name and personal information from the device. All data that you collected should still be there… ready for whoever it is that you want to pass it off too."
"Really?!" Bianca glanced up at her. "You can do things like that…?"
"You'd be surprised what you can do with a little bit of technological finesse." Professor Juniper smiled. "You know, being a professor isn't just about discovering new things or sitting holed up in a lab, Bianca… it's about sharing those discoveries with the world. Thats why I think your area of study, or what you seem interested in looking into, is so great. Because being able to share something as groundbreaking as hearing a pokémons voice, to make it a universal ability among humans… Well, I think it could do a lot of good in the world."
"You really think so?" Bianca whispered under her breath.
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it."
Bianca stared at the pokédex in her hand, then let out a sigh, tucking it back into her bag. Following behind Professor Juniper, with a new resolve and goal in mind, Bianca for what felt like the first time in her life, knew exactly what she had to do next. A decision that she came to… all on her own.
o.0.o.0.o
"We're almost there, King!"
Tessie's verbose shout echoed over their sprinting footsteps. N found himself grinning as he saw the exit of the cave just ahead.
"N, hold on a minute!" Vale said from behind him. He hadn't released her hand yet. "Why are we running?"
"Because I can't let her stop me from keeping the Dark Stone!"
"Who?" Vale asked. "N, is it Hilda?"
N paused at that.
"It is, isn't it? I knew it." Vale stopped, just as they were nearing the entrance. "N, listen to me, I know that Hilda is standoffish and hard to talk to, but if you just paused and tried to see eye to eye with her, then we can avoid all this fighting."
"No, I can't." N shook his head. "She's out to destroy my utopia, Vale… I can't let her do that!"
"Hey!"
The sudden shout caught them both off guard. N glanced up, stomach dropping as he met Hilda's fiery gaze. The boy beside her, Black, glanced between him and Vale, his eyebrows slowly went up. N stooped down a little.
"Vale, go on ahead, I'll meet up with you later."
"Vale, you're alive!" Hilda exclaimed, her shouts almost drowning out his whisper. Suddenly enraged, she turned on him, pointing an accusing finger at him. "And you! You sent those ninja freaks after Vale?! What the fuck?!"
"I did not intend for that interaction to go as it did, you can ask Vale herself!"
"Fuck you!" Hilda screamed. N furrowed his brow, annoyed.
"Do you see why it is impossible to reason with her?" he turned back to Vale.
"Don't ignore me!" Hilda practically screeched.
"I'm not going, N." Vale held her ground. "This can be worked out civilly, without restarting a war or fighting pointlessly."
As much as N wanted to believe that, he knew that it was going to be impossible. His ideals and her truth were to different… He couldn't possibly hope to try to convince her, he had tried many times already. She was going to stubbornly refuse to see the light of his ideal world… It was destiny, fate.
A shadow moved suddenly, out of the corner of his eye.
"Ichiro, Jiro, Saburo." he called out their names, and the three ninjas suddenly appeared right behind Vale. Just as she turned to look behind her, he shoved them into their arms. "Take Vale to Mistralton. Do not overstep your bounds."
"Hey, N, wait-!" Vale was already starting to fight the triad, but before she could finish her sentence, they disappeared.
"Hilda, I'll see if I can intercept them!" Black exclaimed, already rushing forward. N raised his eyebrows a little. Could he also pick up on their presence…? "Can I trust that you'll handle this here?"
"You know it!" Hilda grinned. Nodding to one another, they went their separate ways.
o.0.o.0.o
"What is it?" Hilda snarled, grabbing at her pokéball. "Not going to send your weird ass knights or your ninja freaks after hime?"
"I trust that the Shadow Triad will escort Vale safely to Mistralton."
"Ah, yes, just like they safely escorted her to… I dunno, see you, I guess? Oh wait!" her voice rose an octave, mocking him. "I think that was them literally kidnapping her!"
"… It wasn't meant to be that way." N muttered, bowing his head. "Hilda Veritas, you are aware that you have been chosen, correct?"
"Chosen?" Hilda echoed, clenching her fists.
"Don't play dumb!" N exclaimed, snapping his head up. "Are you foolish or in denial? You are the latest descendent in the Veritas line, just as I am the latest descendent in the Harmonia line! I am the hero of ideals, and you are the hero of truth! Both of us have been chosen! How could it possibly surprise you that I've said that, when you've known it since you were born?!"
"The only thing that I ever 'chose' to do was fight you and your lot of crazies." Hilda hissed at him.
"I told Father about you and your friends." N continued on. "You, Cheren, Bianca, Black… Apparently, he used the Shadow Triad, among other resources, to find out about you, all of you."
He turned to his side continuing on and apparently not even picking up on the major creep feels that Hilda was feeling.
"Cheren pursues the ideal of strength, Bianca is faced with the sad truth that not everyone is meant to be strong…"
"Don't talk about my friends like you know them." Hilda hissed at him.
"Yet you stand here in the center, above the others," he continued as if he didn't hear her. "Not having to pursue strength nor being faced with the truth of not being strong enough… Because you are already strong within your own right."
"The way you speak about truth and ideals and all that… Like it's so simple..." Hilda cracked her knuckles, glaring at him. "It pisses me off! The truth can be harsh, that much is true, but forcing yourself to be perfect is stupid!"
"So the, would you say that to Black?" N asked. Hilda furrowed her brow. "Black… poor, poor Black. I think I feel the saddest for him most of all. It is one thing to be unable to reach an ideal. It is another to face harsh truths. Yet how must it feel to not only be constantly striving for an ideal version of yourself, but having to face the truth, the harsh reality, that you will never be able to achieve it? Hilda, would you be able to look him in the eye and tell him that he is stupid for being unable to achieve his dream?"
N raised his arms, continuing without missing a beat.
"Will you still tell me that I am wrong, for wanting to force an ideal world into fruition? A place where Cheren will stop pursuing strength that he'll never obtain, where Bianca will not have to imagine a life of not being as good as her friends… A world where Black can put his worries behind him, to no longer have to think about the sad, sad truth that he'll never be what is expected of him? Look me in the eyes, Hilda! tell me that I'm wrong for wanting that!"
"And what, you'll separate pokémon from people?! That is what's going to fix this fucked up world, N?!"
"Of course it will!" N exclaimed. "When all these values in the world mix together, everything becomes much to gray… The world needs to be separated into black and white, where pokémon will become truly perfect beings and humans can sustain themselves without pokémon! This is the only way that everyone can truly be happy!"
"So you're just going to completely discount the bonds that humans and pokémon share?!" Hilda demanded.
"Ever since humans began to control pokémon, they've become nothing but glorified weapons for humans to abuse! And with that, humans became corrupted with greed and a lust for power, it's shown through the gym challenges, people scrambling to be the best of the best… Once I separate the two, humans and pokémon alike will return to their purest state, their most ideal mindsets and forms!"
"So what, we're gonna go back to the old times where we fight with pointy sticks and scream at each others in tongues?!" Hilda demanded. "Shut up! You idiot, the bonds between pokémon and humans date back thousands of years, before the pokéball, before the pokédex! Pokémon are companions of people, and people are caregivers of pokémon! There will never be a black and a white, you can never separate the two!"
"So are you saying you do not wish for an ideal world for your friends? Do you not want their happiness, Hilda?"
"Don't put words in my mouth." Hilda glared at him. "Their happiness is for them to decide! Their happiness is something that they need to find themselves, and inevitably, that happiness will shine true and bright. It's not something that you get to decide for them, nor is it for me to decide!"
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.
"Are you trying to force this bullshit onto Vale?"
"You make it sound terrible." N's shoulders slumped a little. "I am only trying to build a world that I know will ensure her happiness…"
"Stop feeding me bullshit!" Hilda snapped at him. "Don't tell me that you would separate Vale from her Joltik! Don't tell me, with how much she cares about you and you seem to be… I don't know, obsessed with her, that you didn't notice that bond! Lets just discount Vale's feelings for the second, completely take it out of the equation, because at this point, we both know you and Team Plasma don't give a flying fuck about humans! Did you know Jolt hatched prematurely, and was so small that he couldn't sustain his body heat? Did you know that everyone thought he was gonna die, so no one was willing to give him a chance? How about that Vale raised that little guy from barely being alive to being able to sustain himself in battle? That she let him stay out of his pokéball and on her so he could feed off her static electricity? Jolt adores Vale, he loves her. Are you going to tear that apart, throw that little guy to the wild and break Vale's heart, all for the sake of your fever dream?!"
N fell completely quiet, staring at his shoes with his fists clenched tightly. Hilda felt like she had him pinned there, it was an undeniable truth. N was trembling slightly.
"All I ever wanted… was a world where the things that I love wouldn't get hurt anymore."
"Love…?" Hilda echoed. N turned his face away, hiding his expression under the shadows of his hat. She furrowed her brow in the silence, then, her stomach dropped. "Holy fuck, are you-"
"I thought that, if I presented to you a scenario in which the people you adore could finally find happiness, you would understand." N cut her off. "But it seems… I was wrong. Hilda… Don't you have a dream? Isn't there a goal you want to reach, at the end of this all?"
His voice warbled, like he was so shaken he was about to cry. Hilda furrowed her brow. Did she push him to far? She didn't mean to break the man to tears, but she just wanted to get her point across. Irregardless, she squared her shoulders and answered.
"Of course I do."
"So you also have a dream… That's wonderful." he turned away from her, continuing on. "They say dreams are reflections of an impossible world… An ideal, you could say…"
"Thats what you think." Hilda crossed her arms. "But there are also people who are so determined to see their dream become reality, they fight for all they're worth. A truth, you could say…"
"You and I will never see eye to eye, will we?" N sighed, gaze trailing upwards. "Vale suggested I try to talk to you, but it seems that you and I, we are meant to be nothing but enemies. You claim to have a dream, Hilda… I want to learn just what kind of dream that is… And I will do so in battle!"
With that, declaration, he whirled around, bringing his forefinger and his thumb to mouth, and whistled. The shrill sound echoed through the cavern. Waving his hands through the air, pokémon leapt from the shadows, coming towards him and preparing to fight. A Boldore, a Ferroseed, a Klink, and a Joltik.
"Not gonna battle normally, N?" Hilda asked, gripping four pokéballs in her hand.
"Nothing about you or I is exactly normal." N responded simply.
"Got that fuckin' right…" Hilda muttered, throwing the pokéballs in the air. Dewott, Victini, Eevee, and Braviary. The tension in the air was palpable as the groups of pokémon stared each other down.
Then, it snapped.
N made the first move. Throwing out his arm, Ferroseed shot out a Pin Missile attack. Immediately, Braviary threw out her wings, acting as a shield and taking on the brunt of the pins.
"Damn…" Hilda hissed, seeing the pins sticking out of Braviary's front and wings. "Braviary, you all right?! Are your wings okay?"
"I'm fine! It is the duty of a leader to protect her flock!" Braviary exclaimed, stretching out her wings and giving them a mighty flap to prove her point. Some of the pins fell out in the process, but others were still jutting out of her chest.
"Don't push yourself to hard!" Hilda exclaimed. N whistled lightly, and the pokémon moved again.
Klink sped forward and made a move against Eevee, only for Eevee to dodge at Hilda's shout. Just as she turned her gaze away to see what was going on, Eevee let out a shout. The Klink was using Gear Grind, and crushing Eevee's tail in it's grasp. As it was doing so, it unleashed a Thundershock.
"Victini!" she exclaimed, hoping to use a super effective attack to dislodge Klink before it dislodged Eevee's tail. As she indicated for the victory pokemon to charge, Ferroseed charged in front of Klink and Eevee, putting up an Iron Defense.
Dewott was going head to head with Boldore, and she trusted him to keep up the fight. She began indicating for Braviary to engage with Ferroseed, because she needed to get Klink off Eevee. Victini jumped on Braviary's back, and as she flew through the limited space, unleashing multiple Air Slashes on their opponents while Victini was shooting off Flame Bursts. Unable to sustain itself under the attacks, Ferroseed's Iron Defense was forced to go down.
As Ferroseed turned to start attacking Braviary, Victini leapt down enshrouded in flames. Slamming into Ferrothorn, then bouncing off using the momentum, and slamming into Klink.
"Do you believe pokémon battles help us understand one another?"
The question drifted over the chaos of the fight, causing Hilda to tear her gaze from the battle. Looking up, her and N made eye contact. Clenching her fists, she took a step forward as she spoke.
"Of course I do!" Hilda exclaimed. "I believe that, in pokémon battles, no matter what the pokémon is or what abilities or movesets or strengths they have… you can understand them and become stronger! Because no matter what pokémon it is, it's up to the trainer to make them shine! If you have the right trainer, any pokémon can be understood and they will become strong!"
"Strong pokémon, weak pokémon…" N lowered his gaze with a scowl. "You talk to candidly about such things… Just like everyone else! That is only the selfish perception of humans! Is that all that matters to you?! The difference between strength and weakness?!"
"Of course not!" Hilda snapped back. "But it's my responsibility as a trainer to raise them right, to make sure they become strong! With the right trainer, any pokémon, strong, weak, happy, sad, whatever it is… If they truly get along with their trainer, than there is not a doubt in my mind that they can be great!"
Off to the side, Hilda saw Eevee unleashing a swift on all their opponents, while Braviary swept in to save Victini from getting crushed by Klink. Dewott was still fighting against Boldore, who was keeping him at bay using Power Gem.
"I believe, with every fiber of my being…" Hilda continued, placing a hand over her heart as she spoke. "That there is a person for every pokémon out there! I believe that we were meant to coexist, to work together towards a better world! You say that pokémon are your friends? Why should you and your friends be separated?!"
"Because I know what will make them truly happy!" N exclaimed. "A world where humans and pokémon are separate is the only way that they will find peace, find refuge from enslavement!"
"Then ask your friends that!" Hilda exclaimed. "Ask them if that is what they want! You know they will answer!"
"Be quiet!" N exclaimed. "Stop talking about concepts that you lack the ability to grasp! You don't know what I've seen, what they've said, what I've heard… You know nothing!"
With that declaration, the battle resumed with equal strength and ferocity. His Joltik leapt up, unleashing static filled webs across the field.
"Hilda, I can't get close with this here!" Dewott exclaimed, leaping back and out of the reach of the dangerous webs. Braviary stayed off the ground with Eevee and Victini on her back. Hilda's gaze raked across the battlefield, and as she did so, she heard Eevee and Victini shout. Braviary threw them both off.
"Victini! Eevee!"
Hilda instinctively ran forward, catching them in her grasp, just as a Charge Beam lit up the cave with crackling power, slamming into Braviary. Hilda could tell she was putting on a strong act, trying to suppress her cry of pain.
"Braviary!" she exclaimed as she fell from the sky, right into a newly weaved trap courtesy of Joltik. Electricity wracked Braviary's body, until she fell still. Hilda put Eevee and Victini down, bringing out Braviary's pokéball, holding it out to return her. However, when the red beam of light hit Braviary, she was resisting it, eventually breaking free. Hilda stared at the pokéball, then back at Braviary. "What the…?"
"I… I cannot fall here…!" Braviary was struggling to get back up. Glaring a terrifying glare, she met N's gaze. "You! You claim to lead the people who stole my flock from me! Who marred me as a coward by attacking me from behind!"
"What the…?" N's brow immediately furrowed, confusion evident on his face.
"You will not injure my new flock, not under my watch! Hilda!" she snapped her gaze back to hers. "Give me an order, lead us to victory!"
"… All right, then." Hilda nodded once. "Braviary, come back, I'll treat you if you still wanna go! Eevee! Victini!"
She felt like she didn't need to give orders, because they already understood. Eevee was flipping through the air, unleashing a barrage of shining stars from his Swift Attack, while Victini let out a blistering Flare Blitz. Hilda was digging through her bag, pulling out a Full Restore and spraying it on Braviary's injuries. As she reached for the pins still stuck in her chest, Braviary spoke.
"Not now, we can focus on that later." she spoke simply. "For now, we must win this fight!"
Hilda paused, then retracted her hand.
"I understand, Braviary." picking up Dewott, she placed him on Braviary's back. "Dewott, use your shells as projectiles."
"Oh shit, I never thought of that!" Dewott exclaimed. "C'mon, Braviary, take me up there! I've only got two shots!"
"Right!"
Braviary took off with Dewott on her back, Dewott, charging up a Razor Shell.
"I will show you the love for my friends permeates every cell of my body!" N suddenly exclaimed, extending his arms. "Behold, this is the power of a hero!"
His pokémon leapt forward, Klink charging up a Charge Beam to attack Braviary and Dewott. However, before it could, Victini rammed into it using Inferno.
"Behold!" Victini seemed to be mocking N, turning around and unleashing another Flare Blitz. "This is the power of the legendary Victini! Extremely powerful and undeniably cute, this is a once in a lifetime chance to witness my greatness!"
"Watch yourself!" Eevee chastised. Unleashing a Shadow Ball on the Joltik that was trying to sneak up behind them.
"Now it's just you and me, stonehead!" Dewott was smirking, throwing one shell, and then the next. They frisbeed through the air, slashing into Boldore with major damage. As the now powerless shells fell lamely to the ground, alongside Boldore collapsing.
Silence settled over the battlefield as N stared on at his fallen pokémon, shoulder trembling.
"My friends getting hurt…" he muttered to himself, head bowed as he kneeled down beside them. "That's all pokémon battles are…"
As he spoke, he was breaking off bits of Oran berries and feeding them to his pokémon. The battle was said and done, but Hilda still kinda felt bad for him and his pokémon. Taking a step forward with a potion in hand, she was prepared to offer it to him, but he defensively held his pokémon away from her.
"Arceus fuck, I was just trying to help." Hilda muttered, returning her pokémon.
"I don't understand." N seemed to be muttering to himself. "Why? Is it impossible for me to win while feeling bad about using you in battle? What can I do? What should I do? As if I could pursue my ideals with something as meaningless as battle! As if that would make me worthy to become friends with Zekrom!"
"Hilda!"
Hilda glanced over her shoulder, and saw Bianca running towards her with a grin, only to trip and fall flat on her face just inches from Hilda. Standing up and rubbing her nose with a long whine, Bianca met Hilda's gaze.
"Hey! I thought I heard you!" she glanced over Hilda's shoulder, blinking slightly. "Oh, hey! I remember you! We met in Accumula Town! Your name was… uh… Hmm… N, right?"
N didn't answer, turning his gaze away bitterly.
"Bianca, you have good ears!" Professor Juniper said with a grin. "I can't believe you heard Hilda's voice from this far away!"
"Well, it's not like Hilda is exactly quiet." Bianca smiled over her shoulder.
"Very true." Hilda chuckled, crossing her arms. Professor Juniper finally took notice of N, raising an eyebrow.
"Hilda, who is this young man?"
As if that small question snapped N out of his revere, he stood with a couple of his pokémon in his arms, glaring at Professor Juniper.
"Professor Juniper, what are you thinking?!" he demanded. "You appear to have no qualms about the relationship between Pokémon and people! You put Pokémon into categories using arbitrary rules and think you can understand them like that... You preach so much about it, along with all the other 'professors' who 'study' pokémon, like they are nothing more than test subjects! The very idea of a pokédex revolts me! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Hey, why don't you fuck off with that attitude!" Hilda snapped at him.
"The pokédex is actually kinda cool, N…" Bianca trailed off. "You see-"
"Just be quiet." N turned his gaze away. "You wouldn't understand!"
"Okay, now you're crossing lines!" Hilda rammed her fist into her open palm. "What the fuck did I tell you about my friend?! Hate me all you want, but you don't have to be a jackass to them! I've been playing nice until now, but maybe if I introduced my fist to your face, you'd finally understand!"
"Easy, Hilda." Professor Juniper placed a hand on her shoulder, then took a step forward. "It seems you're not my biggest fan, are you, N? That's okay. Your opinion is valid, understandable, even. It happens to be different from mine, which is equally valid and understandable."
"The validity of our differing opinions doesn't make your research any less revolting!" N snapped back. "Perhaps I should propose we start categorizing humans based on 'types' and 'movesets' and 'abilities' and see how you feel then?!"
"Perhaps something like that would help pokémon understand us humans better." Professor Juniper answered calmly. "But then again… What if we just let all people get to decide for themselves how to relate to pokémon?"
"You're saying I should just allow people to think whatever they want and treat Pokémon however they want, no matter whether the Pokémon suffer?!" N was shouting now, clearly incensed by her rather innocent suggestion. Shaking his head violently, he continued. "No… No! I refuse to tolerate the existence of a world like that! That is unacceptable!"
With that, he turned on his heel and left the cave. Hilda swore she tears rolling down his cheeks as he ran.
"He sounded so sad…" Bianca murmured to herself, gripping her bag tightly, biting her lower lip. Hilda wanted to reprimand her for feeling bad for him, as he was the King of Team Plasma, but even she had to admit… A part of her felt bad for N too. The sorrow was palpable in his voice, the very thought of a pokémon being hurt seemed to rip through his soul and heart…
"Well, I didn't expect him to change his mind right away." Professor Juniper sighed, rubbing her temple. "But I hope he'll spend a little time trying to understand how others feel. It is true that there are awful people in this world who hurt pokémon… but in the same breath, there are also wonderful people who love pokémon with all their hearts. The good far outwieghs the bad in this world."
"Don't be insulted by him." Hilda sighed. "He's just… I think he's a few pokémon short of a full team. I've been trying to talk sense into him since I met him and he's still not listening."
"What are you going to do, Hilda?" Bianca asked curiously. Hilda looked at the entrance N just left out of, then spoke.
"I'm gonna go catch up with Black. Shit happened and he ran after some Team Plasma members while I fought N. I'm sure he's fine, but I wanna make sure he's all right, you know?"
"I understand completely." Professor Juniper nodded. "As for me… I think I'll go collect a little more data. For Pokémon and people to get along better, we need to take steps to learn more about them! Bianca, what about you?"
"Well, I'm your bodyguard!" Bianca grinned, fists to her chest as she turned back to the professor. "I'll stick with you! Hilda, we'll meet up in Mistralton City, okay?"
Hilda smiled, waving them off with a smile.
"It's a promise."
o.0.o.0.o
It is almost 4 in the morning, I am going to sleep the moment i publish this. But please enjoy!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^
