Chapter 22 Unova's Bleeding Heart
Heads up! FFN is doing that fun thing where I get your reviews in my email but they don't post to the site, lol. They'll likely post later this evening or tomorrow sometime but if you submit a review and it isn't showing up, that's why. I'll still get it in the end so if you want to, feel free to still write one!
Update 07/12/20: Reviews are posting properly again!
Also, I realized I left out a crucial detail in the quick description of the plot relevance of the (ahem) NSFW part of the last chapter, so if you read that instead of the actual piece of the chapter, you should go reread that real quick. Sorry!
Most now know the story of the Unova Dragon and the two resultant halves, Reshiram and Zekrom, and how we are bound to the Heroes of Truths and Ideals, respectively. However, there is a tangent to this tale that is lost on the world at large. A dirty secret hidden by the original Twin Heroes and, I am ashamed to admit, even by myself and Reshiram. Nobody wants to talk about or think about Kyurem.
Kyurem is a husk. A shell. It is incomplete. If we ever see it, you will understand. Its broken body is filled with ice to give it the ability to walk and move, and although it longs for the sky, it cannot fly. It is mindless because it was given no mind during the original split. It is the glue that held me and Reshiram together. Without us, it is a monster. I know you don't like that word, N, but… it's the truth. Kyurem knows nothing except its own pain, its own incompleteness, and a burning hate for other living creatures it can tell are complete.
Reshiram and I, even during our initial war, felt sorry for this monster. Our old friends stowed it away in the Giant Chasm through chains and violence. Kyurem was gravely injured so that they could move it. I am sad to admit… Reshiram and I helped. We weakened and injured Kyurem even more. Near death and angry with those that had hurt it for reasons it couldn't hope to comprehend, Kyurem clung to its last shred of life in the mountains of the Giant Chasm. Over time, it recovered, but had learned to keep away from humanity.
From my understanding… there have been some accidents. Lacunosa Town, having the misfortune of lying close to the Giant Chasm, has been the target of some of Kyurem's outbursts. They learned that as long as they built a wall, however, the Beast of Black Ice couldn't reach them. That's what they called it… Kyurem would hunt residents and pokémon alike from that town and pick them off with insatiable rage.
As much as Reshiram and I have tried to repress Kyurem as well in our fear, we are all still connected. I can vaguely understand what Reshiram is feeling as well as Kyurem at any given time. I can track them, too, given the time… Someone has been hurting Kyurem again. It is furious…
I don't like to talk about Kyurem because I feel like I helped create a monster, N, and I don't know what to do to fix it… I don't think there is anything I—or anyone else—can do to fix it. Kyurem is broken on a primal level and I don't know how one would combine all three of us back to the Unova Dragon…
More guiltily, I'll admit… I don't think I'd want to even if I knew how…
Zekrom's story had rattled in N's mind for the last week or more as he had fled back to Unova. It had hurt so deeply to hear a tale so embedded with human cruelty… He had learned in recent times that not every person so easily gave into the darkness in their heart and that there were plenty of people that had the capacity for great, selfless deeds. Try as he might to tell himself that humans were not cruel by nature, that Ghetsis had used that as a fabrication to weaponize N's own empathy, N just… couldn't wrap his mind around Zekrom's story… how anyone could have looked at a broken, injured, suffering pokémon and harmed it worse with the intention of killing or hiding it… He understood that Zekrom had said it was violent, but… so were many people when cornered or suffering!
Upon arriving in Unova's skies again, however, Zekrom hadn't taken him straight to the Giant Chasm. In fact, Zekrom had taken him somewhere else entirely: to the forests near Virbank and Floccesy. N was puzzled but didn't have to vocalize his confusion. Zekrom interpreted it wordlessly and reassured N with a rumbling purr, an equally as silent gesture that N understood to mean everything was okay, a request for N to trust his partner. N did, relaxing and gripping Zekrom's crest more tightly.
They stopped at last at a lake. The body of water was surrounded by trees and had a single, craggy, stone island in the center of its calm waters. Zekrom landed them on that island and gestured to a dark entrance to what seemed to be a cavern. Zekrom huffed in a resigned fashion. I was drawn here, more urgently than to Kyurem's pain… Something feels very wrong in Unova, N… This is the Cave of Being.
N eyed the entrance with intense intrigue. The Cave of Being? What is that? N asked.
This is where Meloetta resides. It is also the tunnel that connects Unova to Sinnoh. Zekrom stepped forward and cautiously sniffed at the entrance of the cave. Zekrom paused momentarily and then chuffed, a light roar, that ricocheted off the cavern's internal walls. Then, Zekrom rapidly backpedaled as an orange figure rushed at it from within the cave. N tensed, ready for a fight, but they didn't get one.
Instead, a small, cream-colored creature with huge, V-shaped ears gawked at Zekrom with huge, blue eyes. Small wings fluttered fervently over its back, holding it in the air, parallel to Zekrom's muzzle. It flicked those enormous ears and small embers danced off the fur. Zekrom… you have returned! Its speaking voice was squeaky and excited. N was just relieved he could understand it decently well. You and the Hero of Ideals!
Zekrom, who is this? N pressed silently as he cautiously surveyed the new, smaller pokémon.
Zekrom rumbled another deep, inviting purr. N, this is Victini.
Victini flitted over to N and circled his head, gleefully and playfully plucking at his hair, then darted back toward the entrance of the cave. I wish we had time to catch up, Zekrom, but I must get back inside… Meloetta is not well. Hero of Ideals, please follow me! With that, Victini rushed back into the cave.
"What do you mean?" N loudly called after it, staggering toward the cave. Hesitating at the entrance, he glanced up to Zekrom. "Who is Meloetta? What does Victini mean?"
Zekrom snorted and lowered its muzzle, then shoved N harshly on the back, into the cavern. Go see and stop asking me, Zekrom jokingly growled at him.
N's breath hitched as he entered the cave. Moisture hung in the air like a thick, suffocating blanket, and N realized water had welled in the floor of the cave. It was shallow, only reaching just above the bottom of his shoes, and created eerie, echoing splashes as he pressed deeper in. At first, it was far too dark for N to make out anything, but as his eyes adjusted to the shadows, he caught sight of Victini in the farthest corners of the cavern by its glowing, lightly flaming ears.
N rushed closer only to be stopped in his tracks by a most alarming sight. Victini was standing ankle-deep in water, hunched, over a lump of green, white, and black. N had difficulty discerning it was a living creature until he saw its frail, thin body heave with the effort to breathe. Victini didn't look to N, but spoke, its earlier glee lost in the hopelessness of this cavern. This is Meloetta, it said. Meloetta… is like the heart of Unova… Meloetta helped create the diversity that Unova enjoys today by offering all those who saw it hope, offering people reasons to care about the world around them.
Morbidly, N thought that it didn't look much like a symbol of hope now. He dropped to his knees, numbly ignorant of the cold bite of the water, and ran a hand shakily across green hair that covered the pokémon's body. "What happened?" N asked in a voice hardly above a whisper.
Victini visibly deflated and it laid its head on Meloetta's form. As much hope and joy as Meloetta brings, it survives off the same, requiring the positive feedback to live. For a long time, Meloetta even had a beautiful voice… That was the first to fade, eons ago, but Meloetta still lived and brought joy to those it met. However… the people of Unova have been drained of happiness for a long time… so much darkness befell Unova in the last few years. Zekrom and Reshiram both left Unova just when they were needed most to help it heal. I'm glad to see Zekrom and you, Hero of Ideals, are back, but I fear you're too late…
N swallowed hard at the shame that fell over him. He had been needed in Unova? He didn't understand… Zekrom had gladly left with him and hadn't seemed bothered. Unova had seemed to be doing fine healing on its own… He shot Victini an alarmed glance. "Too late? What do you mean?"
I'm afraid Unova will never be happy or whole again if Meloetta dies, Victini answered quietly. It heated its V-shaped ears to provide Meloetta with some warmth. The people of Unova have worked hard to destroy themselves in the last few years… Insidious is a kind word to call it. One human grew so twisted that he intended to use Unova's own history to destroy it, intended to wield the Ancient Dragons of Unova as mere pawns in his plans for domination! Victini's ears flashed with a sudden burst of flame that painted the cave red briefly. My heat and my good luck are all that are keeping Meloetta with us for now. Victini's round eyes narrowed at N. I'm considered a lucky pokémon by people. That reputation means I create a happy, joyful aura. So, here I stay… but you. You were with Zekrom. You, the Hero of Ideals…
N felt like he was trying to swallow a wad of cotton. He nodded stiffly as he lightly brushed Meloetta with a hand again. Its breathing was so shallow, its head held above the water by a bed of moss and leaves… Its eyes were shut, but not tightly, allowing him to just barely see the sclera. "That's me," N responded breathlessly, "and I know exactly who you are talking about… Ghetsis. You are saying Ghetsis' cruelty has brought this upon Meloetta? Upon Unova?"
The human who ran Team Plasma, yes, Victini confirmed. His cruelty… Victini shivered violently. His cruelty knows no bounds. I am terrified of that man. We all are. I, the Swords of Justice, Meloetta when it was not catatonic… Even the djinns have grown restless and required more settling by the Swords of Justice to stop from wreaking havoc. We are all desperate for an answer, but none of us can stand up to Ghetsis now.
N licked his lips. "But Ghetsis is imprisoned…"
Victini huffed, blowing a small puff of black smoke. You believe that?
N shook his head violently, refusing to accept what Victini was getting at. "No, no, there must be some mistake, Ghetsis is imprisoned and—"
No, he's not. Victini's ears lit aflame again as it glared at N. Ghetsis runs the new Neo Plasma that terrorizes Unova far more directly than the original Team Plasma ever did. These people are violent and truly believe that you are a traitor, that humans are inherently cruel and deserve this treatment. They will destroy Unova given the time… and they may even move on once that is done.
N scratched the back of his neck and then, almost without thinking, clutched fistfuls of his long, green hair, pulling on it in his stress. He frustratedly let go at last and slammed a hand to the water below him, sending shockwaves through the pool and splashing his arm. "No! He can't be back!" I spent so long under his control and I finally got away! I'm finally free! I don't want to go back to dealing with him!
Ghetsis has hurt you, too. Victini mused, unaffected by N's outburst. I know. I would not try dragging you into this again if I did not think it was necessary… Victini whimpered. But we can't do this on our own, Hero of Ideals… We can't stand up to him on our own.
"Why…? I just… if you are all as mythological and powerful as you seem… Ghetsis is frightening." N cringed and closed his eyes, feeling that bolt of discomfort race up his back as he vividly recalled too many memories to even begin to describe. Somehow, the one memory he had of Ghetsis being truly affectionate was the most disturbing. Ghetsis had wrapped his arm around N in a comforting hug after N had angrily gathered the entirety of Team Plasma at the castle and fiercely discharged two members that had harmed a pokémon… Yes, Ghetsis was frightening and his venomous touch pervasive. I know that all too well… "But he is still just a man."
He is a man from the Harmonia line, Victini corrected him, and now he has started to gain control of Kyurem. Victini sighed and slumped, sitting in the pools of water below them. What fools we were. Back when Ghetsis was just beginning to tentatively plot his takeover of Unova, we all gathered, myself, Meloetta, the Swords of Justice, the djinns, and we discussed what to do. Meloetta and I were concerned that, given enough time, Ghetsis could threaten Unova as a whole. The others believed that as a member of the Harmonia lineage, Ghetsis would see reason, would come to understand the pokémon he harmed, and change his ways.
N bitterly looked down. "Needless to say, that didn't happen."
It all spiraled out of control before we knew what to do. More confusingly, Ghetsis had an ally in the Hero of Ideals and Zekrom… Further convincing the others that we had no place in stopping Ghetsis. I fear we are too late because even though we have all agreed to try to stop him now… Meloetta is already dying. Reshiram and Zekrom are the only ones that can oppose Kyurem truthfully… but they need each other to do so. Just as neither Zekrom can overpower Reshiram or vice versa, they cannot face Kyurem alone. It would be a bitter battle that would never end.
"Ghetsis has poisoned Unova. He has caused countless humans to suffer and in kind, innocent pokémon," N mumbled aloud to himself. He felt the prickle of anger begin at his hands, anger at Ghetsis, anger at himself for having left Unova, and anger at the world itself, moving slowly up his arms and to his chest. A delayed reaction as everything Victini said began to fall into place. Part of N just wished he could ask the world what it had to gain by creating a man like Ghetsis, what horrible alignment of the planets had resulted in such a monster's birth. N did not use that word lightly… Ghetsis was a monster. It was so painful and so hard to admit it, but he was.
Hero of Ideals… Victini fluttered so that it was level with N's gray, pained eyes. We need you and the Hero of Truths to stop Ghetsis. We need you to save Unova from being razed with ice and to save Unova's people from the dark cloud of heartache that are killing Meloetta before it's too late… We are running out of options and we are running out of time. A storm is brewing.
N overlooked Meloetta once more and steeled his jaw. He stood up and felt those seeds of anger from earlier erupt into red-hot fury, coursing from head to toe in waves. "I'll do whatever I can to stop him," N growled in conviction. "I cannot allow selfish humans to make pokémon suffer." He turned that hard stare to Victini. "But… there is one problem. The Hero of Truths does not recognize himself as such. Zekrom says so."
Zekrom is right. I've seen the Hero of Truths and he has lost his path. But you can make him recognize, Victini said with an encouraging nod of the head. Make him believe. You are the Hero of Ideals, the other half to a coin. He understands absolutes and reality, but he has difficulty seeing possibilities and hope. I know where he is. I can take you to him.
N tossed a look over his shoulder, back at the entrance of the cave. He could see Zekrom's red eyes glinting through the darkness. "Thank you, Victini," N whispered. "Will Meloetta be alright long enough for you to do that?"
Yes, Victini answered reassuringly. I can leave for short bursts of time… Victini lowered its head and the soft embers of its ears warmed Meloetta's body. I promise I will be right back, Meloetta, Victini mewed. With that, Victini flapped its tiny wings and flew just ahead of N. We have been trying to get the Hero of Truths to see that we need his assistance, but he is resistant to us… and I only have limited Psychic-type abilities. The most I can do is plant seeds of discomfort, which manifest in his subconscious, but they seem to have encouraged him to ignore Reshiram more than ever…
There is no need to worry, N insisted. I am sure I can help him see sense…
As N and Victini reached Zekrom, N felt guilt gnawing away at his insides, churning his stomach uncomfortably. As he contemplated asking Zekrom to revert to the Dark Stone so they would be less conspicuous in a town, both Zekrom and Victini both eyed him carefully. You're guilty, Zekrom hummed. Why?
N hung his head slightly and looked up at them both with a deep sadness painted on his face. "Not only did I help Ghetsis hurt Unova so deeply, but I feel like I assisted in the Hero of Truths'…" N paused and took a shuddery breath. "In Hil's denial… I refused to let him catch up to me in my travels. I thought I was doing him a favor by letting him come to the conclusion of what he wanted out of his life with Reshiram on his own… but I think that I perhaps made him believe he was wrong… made him deny Reshiram altogether…"
Victini cocked its head in concern and Zekrom hummed again, lowering its muzzle to bump N's shoulder affectionately.
"This is all my fault. I abandoned Unova to Ghetsis, taking Zekrom with me, and shook the Hero of Truths' beliefs."
You did no such thing, Victini hissed with conviction, shaking its head at him. Zekrom nudged N's shoulder again, grunting in agreement. You are as much a victim as the rest of us, the rest of Unova, as Meloetta is. Playing the blame game will get us nowhere. The important thing is that you're here now. Victini rubbed its head against Zekrom's in an affectionate display. Zekrom almost purred at the warmth. Focusing back on N, Victini hardened its stare. Welcome home, Hero of Ideals.
Zekrom sorrowfully looked back at N. I could hear you both from out here… I had no idea things were this bad… If you are guilty, N, understand you are not guilty alone. Perhaps we both made an error, perhaps we were both too eager to abandon Unova. But Victini is right. We are here now. We must assist now… He growled and electricity arced from the crest on his head. We cannot allow Ghetsis to cause any more suffering.
N set his jaw and nodded in wholehearted agreement. "You're right. Let's go get the Hero of Truths and fix the mess my…" N shook his head. He didn't accept Ghetsis as his father. He had heard forgiveness was something one did to ease their own mind, but N was not ready to forgive. "The mess Ghetsis created."
The helpful woman at the reception desk, once Rosa returned from her phone call, was able to sign them all up for a small tournament simply titled the Driftveil Tournament. It had eight participants total, and Nate was shocked when they arrived in the holding area just ahead of the pitch and found Dr. Colress was there, among a couple other people Nate didn't recognize. Nate had halted upon spotting the scientist and practically hidden behind Hugh and Rosa. Dr. Colress appeared busy badgering the unfamiliar two challengers, but he still didn't want to chance the doctor noticing him.
Hugh gave him a dubious look. "Uh… everything okay?" he asked awkwardly.
"Him," Nate muttered, gesturing with a small nod toward Dr. Colress. He noticed Rosa was also doing everything in her power to avoid looking at the man. "I don't… I don't like him," Nate clumsily said.
"Well, we don't have to be back here with him for long. Look at the bracket," Hugh pointed at a screen on the far wall of the room. Hugh and Nate's names were in big letters with a massive number '1' in front of them. Below, other matchups were listed: 2) Colress vs. Bobmasa, 3) Celsius vs. Rosa, 4) Cheren vs. Yareli. Relieved to learn he and Hugh would be battling soon, Nate nodded.
Soon enough, he and Hugh were called to the pitch. At first, the gathered spectators filled Nate with fear and apprehension, especially after having ran into Dr. Colress again, but he quickly identified the unpleasant feelings as just that: unpleasant. He didn't want them, so he decided he wouldn't have them. He defiantly puffed his chest as he crossed that catwalk to the battlefield, undaunted by the harsh lights and constant cheers. I am not controlled by that anymore.
Once he and Hugh faced each other, they locked eyes and Hugh cracked a slight smile. "C'mon, Nate," he said, bouncing a Poké Ball in his hand, "let's have some fun. We'll battle. Plain and simple."
"Sounds good to me," Nate nodded.
With that, the announcer gave their spiel, explaining who they were, but Nate tuned it out as he sent Risk out. As predicted, Hugh had started with his Servine. Ivy all but froze on the stage and under the strobing lights, but upon spotting Nate and Risk, he seemed to grow some courage and moved away from Hugh's feet.
Their battle was fast, and Nate found himself barely thinking in words as they went, more on instinct, as the heat of the encounter drew him to a point of excited aggression. Risk was invigorated by his loud words, the Unfezant easily finishing off Ivy within minutes. The rest of the battle was just as decisive, with Nate taking down Hugh's team of a Lucario, Bouffalant, Pansear, and his female Unfezant easily, first with Risk, then Spacey, and even Bitty had a small chance to shine. It had been such a lively, tense battle that Nate nearly didn't notice how red in the face with frustration Hugh was by the end of it.
As the announcers started up, Nate awkwardly thought to maybe ask Hugh if everything was alright, but the other let out a breath it seemed he had been holding for some time, some of the redness in his face dissipating, as he recalled his fallen final pokémon, his Unfezant. "You've gotten really good," Hugh hollered above the noise. Then, he clutched his Unfezant's Poké Ball tightly in his fest and grinned determinedly. "But, I'm gonna get stronger, too!"
Nate smiled back, relieved Hugh wasn't actually angry. "Good!"
"Looked like your pokémon were having fun, too…" Hugh commented as he started back down the walkway and into the holding area. Nate had the feeling that Hugh had intended to say that mostly to himself and felt a selfish sense of pride at hearing the remark. His pokémon did seem to be having fun, didn't they? Battling was an intensely pleasant experience for him, and even when he got a little barbed or loudmouthed with his pokémon, they didn't seem to mind too much. Spacey practically thrived off tension and just loved to get to fight at all.
Back in the holding area, Dr. Colress was nowhere to be seen, having been the next to go out to battle. After a few more matches between the other competitors, Nate found himself face-to-face with Gym Leader Cheren again. He didn't have much to say to Cheren… It wasn't that Nate hated the gym leader or anything, but there was something going on with him that Nate just honestly wanted no parts of. Whatever had happened between Cheren and his old friend, Hil, had clearly been quite upsetting, but Nate didn't know what to do for him, and he certainly wasn't going to pretend to be a replacement Hil. They shared a similar outward appearance; that was it. Hil had been an honest-to-Arceus hero, literally saving the entire region. Nate just wanted to cobble together some semblance of a normal life. Having the looming shadow of a moderately well-known hero over his head was not the way to go about that.
Defeating Cheren with similar ease to Hugh, Nate had intended to merely turn away and leave without saying a word, but Cheren had other plans. "Nate, wait a second," he called.
Tensing, Nate eyed him cautiously. "Yes?"
Cheren smiled at him in a way that looked somehow both sad and hopeful all at once. "You're definitely different than him. I'm sorry I made you feel like I was just treating you like a discount version of him… You've grown so much stronger in such a short time since you battled at my gym." He paused and tucked the black rulebook he kept at his side closer, stroking his free hand over his charcoal hair to smoothen it. "I made it where I am because pokémon were by my side. Because I had friends at my side. That's all I hope to teach people as Aspertia's gym leader… to seek the right path. I hope we can start over and you'll forgive me for how unprofessionally I was treating you before."
Relaxing, Nate nodded back at him slowly. He quite enjoyed having his differences from Hil validated and being praised was almost always pleasant. "Yeah… I think that's fine," Nate said. With a curt, respectful nod to one another, they stepped off the battlefield.
With the first wave of the tournament over, Nate surveyed the bracket again. He was surprised to find Rosa had lost. It took him a few seconds to spot her in the holding area, but eventually located her hunched over her Xtransceiver on a bench with her Pignite at her side, an empty Super Potion vial next to her. He waved at her as he approached. "Hey, Rosa. So… you lost, huh? Was that Celsius guy really tough?"
She didn't even look at him, just kept scrolling on the device in her hands. "You could say that," she said, deadpanned.
"Ah, Rosa…" Nate shuffled uncomfortably in place. "Not to pry, but… are you alright? You've been acting a little out of it here recently…"
"Just… Hugh stressed me out with the whole Plasma thing," Rosa said quietly, flicking her brown eyes up to him momentarily. "That's all. I'll be fine." Back to her Xtransceiver she went.
Nate nodded. He thought there was more to it than that but decided to swallow his questions. This was supposed to be fun; he was having fun battling, and admittedly, he didn't want to disturb that with potentially irritating Rosa. "Alright. Well, if you wanna talk or anything, just let me know. I'm gonna go look at the bracket…"
At the bracket, he was mortified to discover Dr. Colress had won in his battle against Celsius, Rosa's successor. At the flash of fear that came with realizing he'd face the uncanny doctor on the battlefield, Nate clenched his jaw and shook his head 'no.' He would battle Dr. Colress, but he would not let his discomfort get in his way. If anything, he should have looked forward to this. He'd be able to flaunt his strength against that creepy doctor in front of an entire audience! The defiant thoughts brought him courage, so much so that when he did find himself on the battlefield and facing Dr. Colress, he wasn't rattled with apprehension.
Instead, there was a sense of morbid curiosity. Dr. Colress had a screen flipped open on his white jacket's sleeve, a tablet in his free hand, and he said nothing to Nate once the announcers finished their explanations, merely throwing a Poké Ball wordlessly. The Magneton revealed pulsed with electricity, and instead of ordering it to attack verbally… Dr. Colress seemed to tap away at that tablet on his sleeve, and the pokémon obeyed, rushing Nate's Excadrill with a Supersonic. The loud, grating noise caused Crag to hiss and shake his head, clicking his claws irritably in rapid succession.
Nate just gawked at the scientist for a moment. What on Earth is he doing? Nate thought dumbly. He's not even taking this seriously! He's on his tablets! Frustrated, Nate jabbed a finger after the Magneton. "Crag, Bulldoze!"
Crag dazedly shook its head then stomped the ground madly, before charging madly at Magneton and swiping it cruelly with those enormous claws. They made a horrible ringing noise as they collided with the Magenton's gleaming body. Crag retreated to Nate's side and he unwittingly found himself waiting for the other to give his pokémon an order, but Dr. Colress once again just frowned at his tablets and then his Magneton attacked.
That was how it went throughout the entire battle, and it infuriated Nate on a primal level the longer it dragged on. Even though he was winning, it didn't feel like a victory when the opponent barely seemed to be paying the battle any mind at all. Dr. Colress was not fazed in the slightest by Nate's display of defiance and the gathered crowd was amused, laughing and calling out the doctor's name. When Nate finally sent Dr. Colress' last pokémon, a Klink, packing, he recalled his Excadrill and stamped a foot in aggravation. "What was that?" he barked at Dr. Colress. "You barely even paid attention!"
"Oh, quite the contrary!" Dr. Colress beamed, flicking that screen closed on his jacket and tucking the tablet between his arm and body. "I was recording certain data regarding our battle! You are quite the powerful opponent! I was using a mechanical approach to battle and you, a heartfelt one. Our pokémon are more or less evenly matched in experience but I have other variables I need to sort out before I can conclude whether our methods of raising our pokémon significantly impacted our battle." Dr. Colress flashed him a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Mr. Daniels! Goodbye, now!"
With that, they parted ways. Dr. Colress was free to leave the battlefield while Nate was celebrated as the victor of the tournament, preventing him from angrily bolting after the scientist. He supposed that was a good thing… He had at least gotten what he wanted. Dr. Colress didn't so much creep him out anymore as he did just piss him off. He quickly forgot about the annoying doctor as he was presented with a decent cash prize and a certificate for his victory in the tournament. He soon traded his anger at Dr. Colress for embarrassment… outside of gym badges, which were a little different anyway, he had never received an award before, much less one so publicly, and the flickers of photographs and people jostling for his attention felt so… new.
Not bad, just… new… Such a new rush of positivity that he had difficulty adjusting to, like someone had turned a light on after he'd been sitting in darkness for a long time.
By the time he managed to get back to the lobby of the PWT, Rosa, Hugh, and Cheren had already gathered there and were waiting for him. They congratulated him for his victory much the same as the announcers and crowd had, and Cheren offered to show them back to the Pokémon Center himself, stating he needed to head back to Nuvema shortly after.
Nate felt a deep sense of content he hadn't felt… ever, he thought, as they strolled out of the lobby.
…Which made it such a shame that, when they walked outside the PWT lobby, the first person they saw was a Neo Plasma grunt.
I. hate. writing. battles.
Anyway, QOTD(s): Soo... predictions for the inevitable N, Church, and Hil confrontation that may or may not happen? :D