Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Sadly. =(
In addition, this FanFiction is still inspired (quite a lot at that) by the amazing OneShot "The Truth will Prevail" by maydei. It's absolutely amazing, so please, go check out the original work and, of course, the original author ^^
Review responds (This may annoy some people, but I want to make sure everyone who took their time to write a review sees them, as it means a lot to me):
At imaginair: Thank you for your second review ^^ And I absolutely agree, giving them more time is rather important, which is why I plan on writing some non-canon meetings between the two and other meetings will last longer than in the original games. In addition, I feel like I would have cheated the readers if Touko and N's first meeting after four chapters would just have been them being like "Oi, nice battle, wasn't it" and then they part their ways. I wasn't sure if people would like it (it's not canon after all), but I'm glad you liked the addition ^^
At mexmangafan: Thank you too for your review, I appreciate it a lot =) I'm glad you like the relationship between Ollie and Touko. I must admit, I was rather proud of myself to create a non-battle-happy Pokémon character, because I usually fail at doing so… =(
Anyway, I plan on giving each of Touko's Pokémon their own personality (though Lil's personality is a bit meh so far, I must admit) and I hope you'll like each one of them ^^
And now, without further ado, chapter six!
Too little colours to describe the world
Chapter 6
Firebrick, aquamarine and forestgreen
Touko came rushing out of the gym, holding both Pokéballs in her hands and storming toward the Center at lightning-fast speed. Luckily, it was just around the corner. Judging her own navigation skills there was no way she would have found her way through Striaton City without getting lost and, while her team hadn't suffered any major injuries, they did need some medical attention.
The brunette had successfully made her way through Route 2 and had arrived in Striaton City just yesterday. The journey had taken her the recommended amount of time, seven days, and she had put that time to good use, training her team.
Obviously, she had trained Ollie just a bit more than Lil, but she had tried her best to divide the time as equally as possible
And it almost felt as if Lil had understood that, considering she had behaved even more cheerful than usual.
Touko's starter was now roughly around level 12 to 13. On average they evolved on level 17, however it greatly depended on the specific Pokémon and how ready they felt.
Somehow, thinking about this made the girl think about that one other trainer and what he had said.
Pff. As if Pokémon didn't get to say anything!
Lil was around level 10-11. She had learned Bite and Baby-Doll eyes in the process and Touko felt confident that they would beat the first gym with ease. After just a bit more training, and, of course after getting more intel on the gym leaders.
In fact her flying out of the gym marked her first try. She had just been beaten which was normal. Usually you didn't win on your first try, not even against the first gym and especially not now that the League had employed this new kind of gym.
According to the official league-website, you were supposed to figure out your opponents strengths and attacks and strategy first before successfully being able to beat them. After all, depending on your own strength, they sent out a different team. And while it was true there were wikis, they were often badly made, as the League took down quite frequently. In addition, using them wasn't recommended. At least not if your goal was to take one the Elite Four – it wasn't even known which types they specialized on, although there were plenty of speculations and most members were easy guesses, judging from their attire alone. One had to sign a Non-disclosure-deal before being allowed to take them on.
Of course, Touko could have prepared herself anyway – there were no rules against it - and maybe, just maybe, she should have done that, but then again...She preferred to just do things. And now that she had had her first battle, she knew what to worry about. But then again, the only strange thing had been Lil's weird behavior during that battle, when faced with the opposing Lillipup. So far she had never minded battling other Lillipup...
Touko didn't have to worry about Cheren's stupid bet anymore either. His school had asked him to help them introduce the new class to the school and tell him a bit about his battle, seeing as he was still around. Considering said school sponsored his journey, Cheren hadn't really been able to refuse their request.
Plus, Touko suspected him to quite enjoy this "job".
Other than that, not much was going on. Striaton City wasn't all that impressive, not anymore. She had been here plenty of times, be it to go shopping or to welcome back her father once he had decided to head home once more. Of course he had always chosen to dine at the gym. What other option could he possibly choose?
Though Touko had to admit, the food could be worse.
But that didn't matter. Right now she had to heal her Pokémon, decide on strategy and, most importantly, she had a meeting with Bianca.
She was really looking forward to seeing her friend in person again. Probably, because she wouldn't dare to poke fun at her when Touko was standing right next to her.
It was amusing how much he had missed places like these, N contemplated while he was strolling through Route 2. He had never really noticed, his education had kept him busy, but he had. In fact, missed them, more than he'd like to admit and more than his father would allow. And though it wasn't Zorua who was accompanying him right now through his strolls across the land, he didn't mind Shiny Marble at all.
These silent places allowed him to stop analysing things – he didn't have to, after all. He knew this. He had lived in a place like this. This was more of a home to him than anything else. He could sit down and think and rest and relax. It was nice. It was a bit strange, after all those years of necessary confinement to his castle, but it was nice.
N had met with few other people so far, as he was still trying to analyse the conversation he had had with that girl Touko.
Humans were fascinating, really. It was rather amusing to see how easily one could manipulate them.
Other than that, he was working on his team. He had offered Shiny Marble to leave him, but she had decided to stay around for the time being. It wasn't like they were leaving the area after all and really, there was no way she was going to leave until she hadn't gotten her hands on that one shiny trinket of his...
N was still looking for more members, but he wasn't in a hurry. He knew his father wanted him to finish the gym challenge as fast as possible, but N preferred to enjoy his newfound freedom and the possibility to talk to so many free Pokémon.
He still detested the fact Team Plasma used them in battles too.
Oh well, it was a necessary evil.
Other than wanting to enjoy his freedom, he didn't want to pressure any Pokémon into joining him and he felt just by asking them he didn't leave them any other choice than to say "Yes". They were much more open and friendly to a human than he had expected after all, however N suspected this may be because of his natural gift. And he felt like they treated him like an exotic curiosity at times.
Not that he minded. He loved being loved by Pokémon.
It was such a nice feeling.
N and Shiny Marble were taking another walk (he had let her out of her ball the moment he had gotten her back) and she was pointing out the Pokémon-own landmarks of Route 2.
There were plenty to be seen.
"Burnt tree because of battle. I was there. It was fun!"
"Old stone best place for a nap!"
"This place beautiful! We call it flower palace!"
A sudden feeling of joy, joy only sparked by happy childhood memories, washed over N and he had to admit, he liked the flower palace much more than his own. It was missing the clear cut pattern that he enjoyed so much, but even in a place like this one could still find countless mathematical precision. Be it the simple Fibonacci sequence.
Shiny Marble kept pointing out places they had to look at until, at some point, she seemed to grow weary of it. She kept glancing at him and once in a while a half finished thought tucked at N's brain, but he never really understood what exactly she was trying to say. It was...it just didn't make sense…
It took Shiny Marble some time to realize that, although this human could communicate with her much more conscious, he still wasn't the most clever Reuniclus there was.
"When will we train?"
"What?"
N halted, looking at the small Pokémon strolling along next to him in confusion. Had he understood her correctly?
"Train. To beat the gym. You're a trainer, right?"
It took N a split second to realize what Shiny Marble was hinting at, but once he did, he lost his usual calm composure. Nervously, N chuckled as he scratched his neck. Had he really given off the impression of being a trainer?
Well. He had made her battle against that girl. Thinking about it, he was just as guilty of not asking for permission as Touko had been.
"You're...I mean, I'm not a trainer…"
"You're not? But you are."
He bit his lip, only to stop moments later, as he envisioned his father's disapproving expression.
"Uh...Well...No, I mean...It doesn't matter..."
N decided to let the topic rest. Technically speaking he was a trainer. Or, well, he was supposed to be one. So far they hadn't really done any training, like Shiny Marble had just pointed out.
But he wasn't going to stay one forever. And the reason he did this was to ensure it stopped happening. So he wasn't really a trainer. He'd never make a Pokémon do something against their will.
It didn't matter though. Not right now. He had to train, she was right, and for that, they'd need a sparring partner. Ghetsis had taught him that having faux-battles were the best way to train, as you trained to Pokémon at the same time in the very discipline they were supposed to excel in. And while N did not like the fact that Pokémon were reduced to battle machines, for the next few years he had to accept it.
"Do you know any place where we might find another partner? Do you know someone who might be interested in helping us?", he asked, shifting the topic of discussion. Sensing her request had brought him to his senses, Shiny Marble happily helped out.
"The grotto?", was all she to offer though, as N refused to take the normal paths all those other trainers took.
Usually, if one had any intention of partnering with humans or fighting them, you'd go there.
Her trainer sure was weird. But then again – all humans were.
They got to the hidden grotto in no time at all. They had been close by after all.
He recognized some of the Pokémon, including the helpful Patrat that had shown him the way to this secret hideout in the first place. N couldn't help but smile when he ran up to him, demanding some food. Luckily, he always brought plenty of berries with him, so that didn't pose a problem. The only…."problem" was, that said Patrat had no interest in joining him. He had to help his family after all.
N asked around some more, going deeper and deeper, until at some point, there weren't any Pokémon that he hadn't asked already.
Well, that wasn't the full truth. He hadn't asked any of the more mature Pokémon just yet, but he didn't want to. He...It felt wrong, N decided.
It was only when Shiny Marble got annoyed by her trainers reluctance that he was practically forced to do so.
The Purrloin simply marched up to one of the Watchog lunging around and them commanded it to follow her.
Curiously, the Watchog obeyed. It had heard rumours of this weird human that prowled the area and had wanted to see for himself anyway.
And this nervous looking trainer looked just like the right human.
"Human, human, what do you want?"
N gulped when it stood in front of him and although it only communicated curiosity, he felt just a tad bit intimidated. It was a bit taller than usually, so maybe that was it. Or maybe it was simply it's hypnotizing stare.
"Uh..."
Why was he nervous? He wasn't supposed to be nervous. Twindragon, he was a king! And it wasn't like Pokémon didn't like him...
"The Purrloin said you need a Pokémon for training?"
What, no! By the original dragon, he had to snap out of whatever this was.
He was nervous, sure, but he had to talk and ask. And plus, even if it was cheating the system, he hadn't trained the Pokémon after all, he was doing it for a just cause!
"May..."
N cleared his throat and fixed his collar, before continuing his speech. He was talking to a Pokémon. He had done that all his life and it was totally normal.
"May I ask you for assistance? To master the local gym? It were for four battles only. And really, I just require a bit of help, but if you don't want to help I fully understand and..."
"Sure. Sure", the Watchog simply replied.
This human was weird.
Again, N simply halted after hearing this answer. What..? It...It hadn't even asked for his goals! Why would it...
"You...You agree? Just like that?"
N frowned. He had expected some sort of disagreement. After all he was asking the Watchog to fight a battle he wasn't affected by at all. Surely it wouldn't want to hurt itself just for human entertainment, right?
"Challenge. I like challenge! I will help you. Sure. Sure."
And then, it walked up to N and snatched the Pokéball right out of his hand, effectively catching itself.
N was still a bit dumbfounded, even after the third click had long rung out.
When Touko arrived at the spot Bianca and she had decided to meet (in the park just on the outskirts of Striaton City), the brunette could already spot her best friend. And of course, she wasn't alone. Instead, she was talking to some boy.
Or rather flirting.
The blonde just always managed to get someone to adore her. Poor boy, because the second Bianca spotted her best friend, she was on her feet calling a few hasty words of goodbye, before ignoring the flabbergasted boy, that was still half leaning on the friable, knee-high wall.
"You...You know, you could have taken your time to properly say goodbye...", Touko said. She narrowly escaped her best friends attempt of suffocating her and now safely hugged the girl.
"What? Oh, I told him I'm waiting for someone and that I'd have to leave abruptly...And, since when do you care about the "proper way" anyway?"
Touko looked over her friends shoulder. The boy was still standing there. She felt kinda bad for him, but then again – not really.
"I already gave him my number and I'll call him up once you're gone...Can't just have you get a boyfriend on this journey, now can I?", the blonde teased, only getting a huff from Touko, before she snatched her friends arm.
"Lets go! What did you have in mind anyway?"
"A battle?"
Bianca snickered. Of course. What else could it possibly have been?
They had to go back, all the way to Route 2 for their planned battle. You weren't allowed to battle in the park (for obvious reasons considering what Touko's room had looked like after something that wasn't even a real battle) and all the official fighting spots were already taken. And thus, Bianca had suggested to choose a more scenic landscape. So Route 2 it was.
Touko's glance was way too determined and strict for the occasion and Bianca was shaking from excitement and happiness.
Her screeching was almost louder than that of a Swoobat.
The battle itself was rather quick, although it had been...more fun than the one with that other guy. It had been more relaxed. Half the time they hadn't even really battled and it had been more of a wrestling match between their Pokémon accompanied by a lot of laughing.
Their Pokémon seemed to enjoy it too. They weren't even really exhausted after the battle and just sat in the grass, chattering to each other with something qualifying as smiles on their faces. Touko even let Lil out of her ball to spend some quality time with her fellow Pokémon and the two girls quickly realized there was some serious chemistry going on between her and Oinky.
"She's cute though", Bianca remarked:"Maybe I'll get myself one too..."
At some point they decided to declare Touko as the winner. She accepted it and jokingly decided Bianca now owned her price money, to which Bianca simply responded she'd gladly invite her best friend to a milkshake.
So, eventually, they ended up back in Striaton City, sitting outside a Café, chatting about various things.
"So...you're sure you're going to meet that N guy of yours again at some point?", Bianca taunted.
"Sure, he's a trainer after a...Oh, come on! It was one battle!"
Touko could feel her cheeks heating up.
"Who was that boy I caught you earlier with anyway?", she grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her. Ollie was not amused by this, as her trainer's arms were firmly set above her ears and any stretching was now impossible.
"Julian? Oh, yeah, so, that's a fun story..."
Grumbling, Ollie tried to tackle her trainers arms away which resulted in her quickly not sitting on Touko's lap anymore at all.
Her mood worsened.
"...so yeah, we talked a bit after the whole Accumula Town incident and..."
Touko was attentively listening to her friend's tale, but she couldn't bear her starters stares and before long, she interrupted her best friend's story.
"Oh, come on, Ollie! I'm not your personal pillow! You can sit on a chair like Lil!"
Well, Lil wasn't sitting on her chair anymore. At first Touko had let her stay on the floor, but she had felt bad for her second Pokémon – especially because Ollie was allowed to stay on her lap. But putting two Pokémon in her lap...Well...No.
So, another chair it was, until Lil had decided that Bianca had a lap too and had jumped onto the Blonde. Right now she was contently snoring and getting a massage. She really liked Bianca. The girl was nice.
Lil was glad her trainer was friends with her.
But Ollie wasn't having it. She crossed her arms before demanding to be put back into her Pokéball for a lack of a better option.
It took the girls a solid five minutes to figure out what the Oshawott was trying to say. Once the Pokémon had disappeared, the girl resumed their conversation.
"So yeah, his name is Julian. He usually spends his time at the Dreamyard. According to him it's a nice place to train, although there aren't that many wild Pokémon. In the part you can get into, that is. I wonder if there is a way to get through the bushes..."
"Yeah, maybe I'll check it out at some point...I bet there are a bunch of amazing and rare Pokémon back there! But, anyway. So. This Julian guy..."
"You're not telling, so neither am I! But I am stoked to hear how your first battle with Cilan went…"
At the picture of a young man with slateblue hair Lil woke up with a startle. She pressed her ears to her head. She didn't like that man. He was strong. But Touko was too busy explaining all her strategies to her friend to notice the sudden surge of fear running through the young Pokémon's body.
She didn't like what her trainer was saying one bit.
"I have found the team that will take on the first gym, father", N reported faithfully. He was standing in his father's room, proper and tense like always, waiting for his father's reaction. It was cold, probably 10 degrees Celsius, as always, and a soft breeze made it's way through the room, causing N to shiver. Ghetsis was eating and only slowly turned to face his son, an expression akin to annoyance on his face. His posture seemed to be at odds with his words and voice, causing a dissonance within the whole situation, a familiar feeling for N. However, judging by hist father's mimic and gestures he wasn't in a necessarily bad mood, though N had yet to come up with a fitting formula for his father's behaviour – there was something he just kept missing.
"Did you? That is great news! Have you already won the first badge?"
For a second N was tempted to bite his lip when he heard his father say "you", implying that he would do anything, but he didn't.
Such behaviour wasn't appropriate for the likes of him.
"No, father", he said, although he had to restrain himself from clenching his teeth. He knew his father wouldn't like this news. Just as predicted there was this slight shift in Ghetsis manner and his expression darkened. Analysing the situation N still didn't believe himself in imminent danger of punishment.
"Are you clenching your teeth, son?"
Ghetsis sharp voice made N shudder. He shook his head and tried to calm himself. What was he afraid of? This man was his father!
But then again...N knew exactly what he was afraid of.
"No, father..."
"What was that?"
Now the sage fully turned, his attention resting on N.
"No, father!"
Ghetsis huffed and turned back.
"Of course you haven't. Really, what did I expect...Tell me, why is it that you're taking this long? Has your education taught you nothing?"
There was...a strange absence of any sharpness from the sage's voice.
It sounded, in fact, disappointed.
He had disappointed his father. He was right, he had learned so much about everything and he knew everything and yet he still needed a random girl to educate him on the basics and he still wasn't able if he was…
A sigh interrupted his spiralling thoughts.
"Tell me, Natural, what keeps you from challenging them?"
His father's voice now sounded so much softer and allowed N to relax a bit. Not much, but a bit.
He had tensed up again upon hearing his full name – he had always thought he'd prefer his full name over the nickname Anthea and Concordia had bestowed upon him, but clearly he had been wrong judging from his earlier experience.
"I...I'm not sure. They're gym leaders and thus…
"They're not real gym leaders", Ghetsis interrupted him. N felt insulted by his father's sudden interruption, but he didn't mention it, as, although he was taught interrupting people was rude, he understood why one would do it – plus, Ghetsis was his father.
The sage put his fork aside and sternly looked at his son again, a bitter expression in his eyes and for a second it seemed to N as if he was reminiscent about his past once more.
"Their only advantage is using new trainer's limited access to a variety of Pokémon and use their weaknesses, although they do that rather effectively...I'm getting off topic. On their own, they are, simply put, pathetic. There is now reason to worry."
N winced when he heard his father's harsh words. But then again, why would he mind? Those three were pathetic. They were trainers. They were gym leaders! They used Pokémon for their own entertainment and gain! They made them battle and serve and they didn't seem to feel on ounce of shame for this!
"I assume you won't keep that...Watchog of yours for long?"
Ghetsis sudden change of topic didn't confuse N anymore. By now he was used to it, as his father didn't like spending time talking about nothing.
Maybe that's why N enjoyed the Goddesses company so much.
And why he had thought the conversation with Touko so refreshing.
"No, father. I was planning on letting Reddest Eyes go once I move on to the next city. I don't want to remove him from his natural habitat for too long."
"Hmph. You'll eventually have to built steadfast team", Ghetsis pointed out.
N thought it better to not respond to this, as his father's response was evidently not an invitation to an open discussion.
N's silence seemed to almost amuse Ghetsis, but then he suddenly called out:
"Retienne!"
Seemingly out of thin air one of the shadow triad members materialized at an instant.
Her voice was rough and coarse when she spoke and even more devoid of any emotion than N's whenever he had the pleasure to talk to is father. She gave him the chills, as one could say, for no reason at all and N sincerely felt sorry for his unexplained cold feelings toward them.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Did you catch the required Pokémon?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Very well. Please hand them over."
N shifted uncomfortably while listening to this short exchange. Ghetsis had turned back to his dinner. Retienne now faced N.
N shifted even more. But there was no escaping it and he knew the woman wasn't evil. In fact, she was a loyal servant to his family and they would be forever indebted to them.
Though, he didn't necessarily like their methods.
Having experienced her in a less formal setting so far really was a stark contrast to her usual demeanour.
Regardless of what N thought of the ninja though, she walked towards him and held out three Pokéballs.
"I've taken liberty to let them catch three Pokémon for you, knowing you'd need some extra security. A Pidove, a Blitzle and a Goldeen. Regardless of which of the gym leaders will face you, you are prepared. That's all, Retienne."
"Yes, my lord."
The woman pushed the three Pokéballs into N's hand and then she disappeared again, as quickly as she had come.
"The same goes for you, my lord. My I ask for your permission to finish my dinner?"
His father's question snapped N back to reality, while he was focusing the three Pokéballs in his hand.
Oh. Right. He was supposed to be the king.
He had almost forgotten.
"Of course, f...Sage Ghetsis."
It was judgment day. Touko had trained. She had trained hard and she was going to win this battle, she was sure of it. Confidence accompanied her every step as she made her way into the arena once more.
She'd have to face Cilan once more and while his Pansage was pretty strong, she was sure she'd be able to counter it with Lil.
The last time she had opened her battle using Lil, as Ollie was still stronger and she didn't want to sent her ace out straightaway, however he had used his Lillipup first too and it even ended knocking out Lil.
It was a pity you weren't allowed to switch out Pokémon in official battles.
Afterwards his Panpour had made easy work of Ollie. However, this strategy was easily countered by training a bit and sending out Ollie first, to take care of his Lillipup. After that, she'd surely be able to finish his last Pokémon using the combined power of Ollie and Lil. It was easy, really. When it came to a more refined strategy...well...It wasn't like one had many options. She'd simply had to make sure he didn't get to use "Work Out" by constantly keeping him busy. There really wasn't anything else to do. They had to keep him busy.
She rushed trough the restaurant, following the endless sea of signs pointing the way to the gym part.
Oh, how often had she walked down this pathway! Whenever her father had come to visit and they had inevitably ended up at this restaurant, she had stolen those five short minutes just to stare at the entrance.
Every. Time.
This time though, she didn't even shoot as much as a passing glance at it.
Touko had wanted to show up five minutes earlier. Really. Really, really, really.
But then she had gotten too nervous and had started to jog around and eat too much and had generally been a pain to the public until it was almost too late.
She wasn't just rushing because of her excitement. This time the battle counted. She had to win it.
Panting, she arrived at the front desk, smashing her Trainer-ID onto the table and throwing the maid sitting behind the counter a smile.
Touko envied the woman. She was living the dream. Surrounded by capable trainers, battling and being with her Pokémon all day. Really, the brunette couldn't wait to finish her gym challenge so she could start her life as, well more than a boring clerk of some sort.
She simply wasn't made to sit behind a computer all day and type down stuff or stare at some moving pictures.
Unlike other people.
The maid put her phone away, throwing an annoyed glance at her Audino, and took Touko's ID-card. Then she looked at it. Next, she threw Touko a glance. Again, she looked at the ID again. Touko's heart beat accelerated. The woman squinted her eyes. Then she shrugged and looked at the screen in front of her. Finally she passed the card back to Touko, already awaiting it and murmured a "You're two minutes late, kiddo. Cilan's waitin'"
And then she took out her phone again, her Audino leaning over to see what was going on too.
They were probably watching battles, preparing for their next fight.
Touko's hands got all sweaty and she almost dropped her ID (well, actually she did drop it, but she never told anyone), and then she made her way to the battlefield. Proudly (as proudly one could while panting and having flushed cheeks) she walked past all the trainers she had already beaten. It was time for her to get her very first badge after all!
Cilan was already waiting for her. He was standing on the other side of the field, looking rather bored, however his posture changed ever so slightly once she arrived.
"Oh, hey! I'm glad you came!", he called out. Touko simply nodded as response, still short on breath. Her eyes flickered to the two men standing behind her opponent, his brothers. They seemed to be arguing about something – well, Chili was arguing. His brother was calmly standing next to him. Touko chuckled to herself.
"Um...Do you need a drink? Something refreshing? You look a..."
"What? No!", Touko interrupted him, defensively throwing her arms up. Arceus, no. No more delays please.
"Really? You're still panting and today we don't really have all that many challengers, so..."
He looked behind him, where his brother Cress was standing. Them being three and all made things much easier. They could simply rotate and therefor they could accept more battles. It was one of the reasons the league had chosen the three of them – to bulk the massive amount of trainers that all started out at the same time.
And this particular one should probably be given some time to...
"No, no, no! Really. I'm..."
Touko took in a deep breath.
"I'm ready. Totally. I can do this."
She shot him a smile before taking on her battle stance (her mom had told her it looked ridiculous, but her mom was also 45 years old). For a moment, Cilan looked at her confused, before shrugging and loudly declaring:
"Hereby I accept your challenge! May the better team win!"
And then the battle was on.
He sent out his first Pokémon, his Lillipup. No surprises there. Just like Touko had planned: Ollie was released from her ball and after a short second of contemplating she had already scrambled back to Touko, trying to get into the PokèBall.
No. She knew this place. There was no way she was going to fight that man again.
"What? No! Ollie! Get back onto the..."
Cilan chuckled while he watched the scene unfold. His Lilliipup was sitting loyally next to him. There was nothing extraordinary about this.
It was funny nonetheless.
"I swear", Touko grumbled, as she dragged her starter back to the battlefield. Then she took her own position again, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Sorry", she said, but Cilan simply shrugged it off.
"Ahem...Well then..! Wor..."
"WATER GUN!"
Touko's voice simply drowned out his voice, much to his surprise. The first time she had been just...less loud? This was unusual, he had taught her to be a normal trainer…
The first gush of water hit the Normal-Type Pokémon full on. It shrieked (the water was soooo cold!") and jumped back. Why hadn't his trainer said something? Well. He probably had to use "Raising". So he did. It didn't take long for his body to surge with energy. Now all he had to do was wait for another attack...and of course, evade the next Water Gun aimed at him!
He jumped out of the way just on time. Again, he hadn't heard his trainer say anything else and again he prepared himself for an attack. Anytime soon…
"WATER GUN!"
Arceus, she had come up with a better strategy than just spamming "Water Gun". At least she hit this time. But...what else was she supposed to do?! That stupid gym leader didn't even do anything!
Now, Cilan was sweating. He...well, he wasn't used to shouting. And really, he was a ne…
"Oh, come on! Just shout already!", Chili screamed, focusing his anger on his other brother. Cilan jerked, but then realized that his brother was right and finally, finally, dared to raise his voice.
It took Touko by surprise.
The Tackle was a critical hit. Touko watched in horror, as her starter fell backwards. In her mind, it looked worse. Far worse. She already saw her getting thrown across the battlefield, smashing into the walls and...Oh. She had only stumbled back a bit. Still, Touko really wanted to run onto the battlefield to comfort the Oshawott. However she couldn't. The fight was still going on.
"WE GOT THIS, OLLIE! GO! WATER GUN!"
The Water-Pokémon wanted to cry. This sucked. The beginning had been fun – getting to shoot water at someone was always fun – but the other Pokémon attacking her wasn't. But then again, at least it wasn't some stupid Plant-attack…Oh yeah, she should probably attack. Just, it was a tad too late now.
She jumped aside just on time to evade another Tackle thrown at her and nicely awaited her trainer's order. Although, if she'd use Tail Whip right now…
"WATER GUN!"
According to her own makeshift calculations, one Water Gun was all they needed to take out the Lillipup and then she could…
Ollie got hit by another Tackle while preparing the Water-attack. Really, the two Pokémon were standing way too close for her to have a realistic chance and while the Tackle wasn't a critical hit this time – it was powered up by those Work Ups.
For a second, Touko didn't really do much. She just stared at her starter, laying on the floor, biting her lips, waiting for her to getup. Just to realize, she wasn't going to get up. She was laying unconscious on the floor, but only when the announcer declared Ollie defeated, she finally understood what that meant.
Hastily, she took out the PokéBall and recalled Ollie, wondering what to do next. Cilan was still standing on the other side of the battlefield, his Lillipup was still energized – though, it looked a bit ruffled up and when looking closer…
"Does the challenger want to sent in a second Pokémon?"
It was a stupid question – of course. But rules were rules.
"Yes", Touko declared, firmly. Her voice wasn't shaking one bit, although she was still holding on to her starter's ball. No. She could do this. Lil could easily take out two Pokémon. The jolly Pokémon was strong enough to pull that off. One Tackle was all that they needed.
"GO, LIL!"
The moment the white light vanished, Lil started jumping around the gym as if she were a rather fluffy rubber ball. For a moment she stopped, recognizing the place she had been sent out in. But then she noticed her opponent – and all was well.
The opposing Lillipup was defeated easily indeed. One Tackle. Lil didn't even take damage, out speeding its opponent without breaking a sweat all the while happy declaring this the best day of her life. She remembered the Lillipup from their last encounter – back then, he had be stronger than her. Really, she hadn't wanted to fight them, it was pointless after all. Why fight a battle you were sure to lose? That didn't make sense. But her trainer had seemed to be sold on the idea. Hadn't she seen the difference in strength? But she had been proven right – fighting a stronger opponent was indeed useless. At least this one Lilipup hadn't been as strong anymore. And after all that was all there was to fight, right? And she had won! Won, won, won!
The moment Cilan send out his Pansage her happy mood shattered.
It was bubbling with energy, not unlike Lil. Except it was stronger. Definitely stronger. And she was already weakened. But she didn't have to fight him, right? Right? That surely was Ollie's job, right? After all, Ollie was stronger than her...She glanced at her trainer, who in return just looked at her with this fierce and dete…
Oh no.
Oh, no, no, no.
Slowly, Lil backed away. Didn't her trainer notice the difference in strength?
Touko did, in fact, not know about the difference in strength. One wasn't allowed to use the level-scanner build into most PokéDexes (even the not so fancy ones most kids got – her knowing the professor was rather advantageous), as the gym challenge was supposed to teach you stuff. And one of those things were to properly judge a Pokémon's strength without having to rely on modern technology.
Obviously, Touko had ignored this little fact and had simply rushed into every battle, without even trying to asses her opponent's strength. So far it had worked out after all, right?
Lil stood in the middle of the battlefield, shivering. Touko noticed, but she judged the situation wrongly – surely it was because of her excitement, right? After all, she was about to win her first gym badge!
The announcer did her job, telling the few people watching which Pokémon had been send into battle and then the fight was on again – or so Touko thought.
The moment Cilan's Pansage made a move, Lil decided there was no use. It was strange, really. So far she had never weaker than her opponents – she had never been faced with his problem. But it was just like her family again – she could battle everyone, but she'd never challenge her oldest brother.
And thus, Lil pressed her stomach to the ground, her ears laying flat on her eyes and she slowly backed away.
"What..?"
What was going on? What was Lil doing? Was it a new move? But Lillipup's weren't supposed to learn...
Cilan sighed, when he looked at the confused girl in front of him. He wanted to tell her about what exactly was going on, but he couldn't just walk across the battlefield, right? Right? Was that the right thing to do for a gym leader? Oh well. She was just another trainer. She'd have to figure out things by herself, if she wanted to be successful. Or so his brothers always said.
He shot a glance at his brother's, who were simply shaking their heads. New trainers could be rather amusing at times.
"THE CHALLENGER'S SECOND POKÉMON IS UNABLE TO FIGHT. HEREBY I DECLARE GYM LEADER CILAN AS WINNER!"
"You're fighting style is..rather unique, I'd say!", Cress congratulated N, after his second Pokémon had been finished off as easily as his first. By the same Watchog at that. He couldn't believe the boy had trained at Patrat all the way to level 20 just for the first gym.
Well. Endurance paid off, after all.
"You can recall your Pokémon now!", the gym leader added. He knew though the boy, N was it, right?, wasn't going to. He had already shown up with his entire team outside their confinement which had caused quite some trouble. Though he seemed to have an unexpectedly good grip on them – without even talking. It was amazing, really. Cress wouldn't be surprised if this one would make it.
Meanwhile N felt thoroughly uncomfortable. Everyone was starring at them, there were too many humans in the first place and their smiles were weird.
Plus he didn't like the way this...gym leader was talking about Pokémon. But what had he expected?! He was a gym leader! His entire existence was built upon the suffering of Pokémon and N should feel disgusted by that.
And he did. How dare he? He wasn't just an ill-advised part of an oppressive system, he was one of the many, many knowing perpetrators! He belonged into prison for all that he had done. And how dare he smile at him like this after his Pokémon had just been...brutally be…
N led his hang low. By the original dragon, he felt terrible. And being in the company of someone he truly and utterly despised didn't help at all.
"I'd prefer to keep Reddest Eyes outside of his confinement."
He didn't dare to look directly at the gym leader. He wanted to leave. Badly.
"Well, I won't force you. They're yours, treat them however you want"; Cress simply added, before handing over the badge.
N hardly noticed.
They were his. His.
Only seven more badges.
Only seven more.
Touko felt broken. Utterly broken.
She had been supposed to win.
But she had failed.
With teary eyes she stared at the two Pokéballs in her hand. And at the VisoCaster in her other.
What was she supposed to do now? You weren't supposed to need three times to win. There wasn't much known about the Elite 4, however everyone knew they had made it first try. So had the champion. So had Cheren.
Heck, so had her dad!
Touko had ignored Bianca's calls that had come in fairly soon after she had lost. Of course her friend had watched. Of course she had seen her lose.
Bianca herself would probably only need two tries too.
The brunette was sitting on the outskirts of Striaton Town. She had left the gym, barely concentrating on what was going on around her.
Arceus. She had lost. It hadn't even been close!
She had made her way around town, aimlessly wandering round, wondering what had gone wrong – well, she knew what had gone wrong. Ollie hadn't been able to beat the Lillipup. And Lil had refused to fight his Pansage.
Both of those things could have been prevented is she had been a better trainer. But apparently, she wasn't a good trainer.
Eventually she had found a place to sit down. Eventually her mind had cleared. Eventually she had decided she owned her Pokémon an apology. After all, she had failed them too. So she called them out of their Pokéballs, not daring to look at them, frantically biting her lip.
Ollie seemed to be fairly unimpressed by all the things that were going on. Sure, she seemed to be worried about her trainer at first, but upon noticing there wasn't an imminent danger she quickly lost interest. After all, she had been forced to fight. Of course, she didn't mind it all that much anymore – as long as she won.
Lil on the other hand...She didn't even move upon being released from her Pokéball. Instead she just sat in the grass, not looking at anything particular. It was unsettling. Almost as unsettling as seeing her slowly back down.
Lil wasn't sure what to think. Should she have fought? Probably. But it...It wouldn't have made any sense! She wouldn't have won anyway! Surely her trainer knew...but then that meant she had been sent into a battle just to be knocked out! Trainer...trainer wouldn't do that, right? Right?
She didn't want to know.
Touko didn't really know what she was supposed to do. She wasn't even sure what she was supposed to feel. She...She was...She wasn't mad or anything, but…But...ugh.
She let herself fall back.
And obviously, her head hit the bench
Arceus she shouldn't have done. She really shouldn't have done that.
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuwww"
She shot right back up, successfully catching her two Pokémon's attention.
Confused Ollie hoped onto her lap, examining her face and than paying closer attention to Touko's hand, rubbing her head.
Lil shot up too, being ripped away from her unhappy thoughts with an even unhappier reality. Trainer had been hurt! What was wrong?!
The moment Touko saw her Pokémon's loyal eyes, her arm fell into her lap. She sighed. Her eyes focused on everything but her Pokémon and Lil lay down again, her ears flat on her head, her tail not wagging happily like it usually did. She had disappointed her trainer, hadn't she? She should have just…
"Hey...Hey, Lil...it's...It's ok. Don't worry."
Touko had gotten up from her bench and now knelt in front of Lil, trying her best to give her a convincing smile.
"It's...after all it's..."
The girl stopped. Her eyes shied away from the Lillipup, looking at her with hopeful eyes while desperately trying to block of the thoughts Touko was sending out. Her trainer wasn't saying that, right? She didn't actually think it was her fault, right?
"After all, it's just a gym battle..."
Touko's voice was a mere whisper. And of course, Lil didn't understand her. Instead all she saw were the girl's feelings of utter despair.
The brunette got up. Bit her lip. Well. So much for a nice prep talk.
"So...we're close to the Dreamyard. Maybe we can train a bit there, what do you guys think? After all, we'll have to get stronger, right?"
Touko and her team spent quite some time in the Dreamyard. In fact she even managed to accept one of Bianca's calls. She even figured out why Lil had refused to fight. Apparently Lillipup didn't fight opponents evidently stronger than them. Some kind of hierarchy thing. But at least it meant all they had to do was train, right?
So, train they did. Or at least Lil did. Ollie was in no mood to do so. And while it was annoying from a trainer's perspective, it did cheer Touko up a bit. This felt...normal. After two hours or so at least. Sure, she had failed. Sure, it sucked. But she wasn't going to let that bring her down! And how often had her dad tried to beat the eight gym in Kanto again? Of course, that was a biiiiiit different, but if her oh so amazing dad was allowed to fail, so was she.
And Ollie reminded her of the fact, that really, nothing had changed. They were still the same people. And that was simply some stupid gym. Plus, she had all the time in the world! She didn't need to beat anything in a year! She could take however long she wanted!
Right now they were taking a stroll through the depths of Dreamyard. Well, not really. They couldn't access the actual factory grounds. But still. They were having fun. In fact, after a few more hours, when the sun was slowly setting, Touko had already practically forgotten about her former disappointment and so had her team. They were training like usual, laughing, doing stupid things, being a general nuisance and it was probably that what attracted the attention of someone else.
"You're...You're a trainer, right?", a shy voice behind her asked. Startled, Touko twirled around only to be faced with an innocent face and sad looking eyes.
The small girl in front of her seemed to feel very, very uncomfortable, as much was clear. Confused Touko looked around before she dared to respond.
"Uh...Yeah. Why?"
She recalled Lil out of instinct (and because everyone seemed to do that) without even noticing the Pokémon's disappointed expression.
"I...Well..."
The girl stopped. She didn't seem to be very convinced of whatever plan she had in mind, but then again, whatever it was, it seemed to be rather depressing.
"I have a favor to ask...", she eventually said, still not really facing Touko. Her eyes were glued to the ground and she was holding something behind her back. Touko could have easily glanced behind her, but that just felt disrespectful.
"It's...I have a Pokémon, but it doesn't...Well, we don't necessarily...We don't get along all too well..."
The girl still didn't look at her but something about what she was saying.
It cut deep. It hurt her on a very personal level.
"I..."
The girl took a deep breath. Touko still hadn't said a thing.
"Could you...Could it become part of your team? If not, that's ok, it's just, maybe...It deserves better than being unhappy!"
Finally the girl's hands appeared and she extended one, holding a normal Pokémon.
The Pokéball wasn't shaking one bit. Touko looked at it, dumbfounded. What..? What was going on?
"I'm...I'm not a trainer and...well...It's just...I don't know what I'm doing wrong! It just, well, doesn't seem to like me and seeing you and your Lillipup...Maybe it wants to become part of a team, you know?"
There was a hopeful glimmer in the girl's eyes Touko couldn't help but feel touched by. Although she still wasn't really sure what to make out of the whole situation.
She looked at the girl's extended hand, her eyes focusing on the Pokéball clutched by trembling fingers.
"I called him Berry. Because, you know, they're known for roasting berries on their head and I thought it sounded cute and...and..."
Now the girl was on the verge on tears. Wait. Did she…? She wanted to just give her a Pokémon? Why would...What..?
"I...I…
"Hey...Hey, don't cry!", Touko murmured kneeling down and trying to shush the girl.
Now, the tears had started running down her cheeks.
"Just...promise you'll take good care of him, will you?!"
The girl fell into Touko's arm and for a second the brunette was overwhelmed by the sudden sign of trust. Wiat, had she just accepted someone else's Pokémon on accident. But she...she didn't want someone else's Pokémon! It didn't fit into her team! And how was she going to explain that to anyone?! And why would this girl even...
"It's a Pansear by the way…I don't know, maybe he can help you with your gym battle...I heard a lot of people choose water because of surf...", the girl said, freezing Touko in the process.
A...A Pansear? That was ama...No. No. This was not a reason for joy. This girl was giving up her Pokémon.
Touko could only imagine how much that must hurt.
The girl let go of her and took a step back, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
"Here."
The girl extended her hand once more.
"What? No, I can't..."
"Please"
Seeing as Touko didn't immediatly took the ball, the girl simply shoved the ball into Touko's hand. It felt warm to touch, warmer than they did usually. A clear sign it contained a Fire-Pokémon. And then the girl ran away.
Touko didn't even get to say goodbye.
What...Touko still couldn't quite process what just had happened, but...Apparently, she now had a Pansear.
She looked over her shoulder, back at Striaton City. Well, brute force was one way to win a battle. A good strategy was another.
But in the end...no one could overcome a type disadvantage.
AN: Here we are, with another chapter. This could have been written much faster, if it hadn't been for a certain game that just came out and my want to get a living dex plus the fact that "The three kingdoms" is an amazing book series and, well, my overall lazyness.
Anyway. So. Yeah. First gym battle.
I'm not sure whether I've ever said anything about my thoughts on battles in FanFiction (and I'm waaaaaaay too lazy to look it up) so here's my opinion:
I'm bad at writing them. Therefore, I'll try to write as little battles as possible. As you may have noticed, I skipped two battles in this chapter, however I don't think they were all that necessary (not sure about N's first gym battle, but meh) and I hope you guys didn't miss them, because, I will most likely skip over a bunch more of them (though, of course, I'll write all the important once).
In addition, I did not forget about the battle with Cheren at the Pokémon school but I decided to move it to a different time, because with the current set-up I didn't really know how it'd fit in.
And maybe you guys noticed, but N's character was altered ever so slightly (at least imo) and that's something that I will generally edit. That includes him, hopefully, becoming a bit more socially awkward etc. I hope it will work ^^
With that out of the was, thank you again at imaginair and mexmangafan for your reviews ^^ they mean a lot too me =) And of course, also big thanks to whoever gave me a favourite and/or follow. It's much appreciated =)
And, like always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, I'd love to get a review. If you didn't – I'd still love to get a review (don't worry when it comes to being too harsh on me – I really don't mind) be it telling me about a grammar/spelling mistake.
Other than that, read you next time ^^
PS: I really need to come up with better ideas other than naming my chapters "something something colours red, green and blue". Alas, the title is indeed made out of three colour names (though, that should be obvious).
PPS: I just love the word "flabbergasted" and I should probably use it more often.
