An: And here's yet another chapter for you guys ^^ Before starting, I just wanted to point out I deviated from the timeline a bit. Technically speaking you're supposed to battle Cheren before the first gym, something I didn't do because, well, it wouldn't make sense with Cheren already having his badge. Thus, the battle takes place later than it's supposed to (This also means I changed the respective level of each Pokémon).
The second change is a bit bigger. I decided to cut out the dream professor from Striaton City, simply because I have no plans for her other than this and I didn't want to make this chapter any longer. I hope you guys don't mind the changes ^^
In addition I'd like to apologize for not editing last chapter correctly. I completely forgot the add the top line, though that has now been fixed ^^
at imaginair: Like always, thank you for your review ^^ They really make my day =) And, little spoiler warning: I don't plan to have any stalking shenanigans going on. However, I'm planning on changing a lot when it comes to N and Touko, as I want them to have a lot more meetings than they have in the game, therefore I don't need any questionable activities going on just to make one of them fall for the other. The blessing of writing FanFiction ^^
Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Pokémon. Equally sadly, I did not write the amazing One shot that is "The truth will prevail" by maydei, because if I did, I'd probably already been a published author right now (honestly, that one shot is great, go check it out)
Too little colours to describe the world
Chapter 9
What colour is Plasma? - not purple, that's for sure
.o.O.o.
"Alright, Touko! You can do this!", Bianca cheered loudly, clapping her hands in the process.
The blonde was standing on the sidelines of the battlefield, enthusiastically cheering her best friend on and earning some amused looks from some bored bystanders. A battle was just what they wanted to see during their break from school.
Touko had broken the news of her successful gym battle to Bianca the moment she had been out of the building and they had met up right afterwards, deciding that she should totally put her new abilities to the test.
By beating Cheren.
Luckily, the boy was still around, still occupied with teaching younger students. He had taken a liking to teaching and didn't mind postponing his journey.
Plus, he had secretly hoped he'd get to battle Touko anyway before they continued their gym challenge. He was glad she had managed to get the first badge. He needed a rival to keep him on his toes and he hadn't gotten around to train all that much and his slack was showing in his team's discipline.
Therefore, the moment Touko had told him the news, Cheren had proposed a so called "battle date" with her. They'd meet up at the trainer school and use one of their battling fields. He had asked his teacher's if they were okay with it and they had simply shrugged, asking him to occupy them during his lunch break, as to not disturb anyone.
They didn't have to tell him twice.
And so it happened that Touko found herself standing opposite to one of her best friends, nervously biting her lip.
She really wanted to win this. Even more so than the battle against Cilan, Maybe it was because she didn't get any redos or maybe it was because if she had lost against Cilan, he wouldn't tease her about it for the rest of her life.
Truly, it was a mystery.
They had decided to use one Pokémon each and they had decided their starters were out of the question. No type advantages either, just a battle of pure strength. And one of strategy. Though, there wasn't much to strategize with their rather barren surroundings.
"Well then, are you ready, Touko?", a taunting voice called out from the other side of the battle field. Determined, Touko simply nodded, before grabbing Lil's PokéBall.
And then, the battle was on.
Though Touko had to admit she was unsure whether she should have sent out Lil. The Lillipu was in a bad mood ever since the gym battle.
Maybe Touko was straining her too much?
N was studying when the two grunts came in. Rhetoric. He was studying rhetoric.
N hated rhetoric. Passionately (though no one would ever notice that, N made sure of it). Ghetsis, however, insisted.
"You need to know how to convince people, how to show them the truth by putting on a play. It is your duty as future King and you must be able to control the masses, be it without preparation."
N hated improvising things almost as passionately as rhetoric and large crowds whose attention was solely focused on him. The sage had a point though. Should he ever have to face someone else other than already loyal Team Plasma followers, he needed to be able to use his words. And although he understood his father's reasoning and agreed with it, he couldn't help but let out a growl (in his mind. Well, in his mind when other people were around) whenever the subject came up.
N knew what he had to do, he knew which stylistic device caused what reaction, he knew what was seen as too much and he knew what was just too little to cause a reaction. He knew all that and yet he felt like using those techniques was wrong. Wrong and dishonest. And N disliked dishonesty. Whenever he wrote yet another speech (some of them Father himself actually read out to a listening audience!) he felt like he was betraying the cause. Like he betrayed himself. They shouldn't have to hide their intentions behind well-meaning words. They should be open about them, show the people of Unova the wrong in their ways. They should be honest. But whenever N proposed this, Ghetsis simply sneered.
People didn't work that way. Humans didn't work that way. They were too caught up in the status quo to realize that changing things may be for the better. They were too selfish to see what was right in front of them.
Plus, he had started to ramble anyway. How would he convince anyone with the truth if he started rambling halfway through?
So rhetoric it was. It didn't mean he had to like it though.
Therefore, the to grunts cautiously entering his room were a welcome distraction. He could analyze them, look at them, try to guess their intentions and even though their obvious reference was a bit annoying (ever since he had noticed no one else treated him that way, N had decided he greatly liked traveling), he enjoyed the distraction. So, sparing the piece of paper not a second glance, he sat upright, excitedly looking at the two men in front of them.
There was quite some difference in the way they behaved, N felt. Both had their heads lowered, both wore the same clothes, the same hairstyle, showcasing Team Plasma's unity, a quality they were known for all across Unova.
But there were slight differences. The man on the right was trembling. Maybe in fear? But that wouldn't make sense. Why would he be afraid?
The other man didn't tremble. His head was bowed, his eyes cast down but something about him was off, as if he didn't mean it.
N was confused by this. All the empirical evidence suggested they two grunts thought and acted the same way. Maybe he was getting sick? Oh, well, it didn't matter. He should probably hear them out before the constant bowing caused any back problems.
"Yes?"
N cringed when he heard his own voice. It sounded too commanding and not welcoming enough, but Ghetsis had told him that he shouldn't speak more than necessary to people "that were beneath him" (N didn't get it – didn't Team Plasma need grunts like those two?) and so N didn't speak more than was utmost neccessary. His father knew far more about the world than he did after all. Mabe this was some unspoken protocol Anathea and Concordia had never told him about.
"Your majesty, we have come for your orders!", the two man said in unison. Like two robots and N really tried to feel happy about that. Robots were cool, but then again, it didn't fit.
They weren't robots after all.
Clearing his throat, N decided that didn't matter either and instead opted for gracefully picking up the orders sitting on his desk. Ghetsis had sent Retienne over just earlier, delivering them, without a word like she always did.
That woman was a mystery to N and would always remain to be one.
N didn't know what exactly the orders were. His Father had simply pointed out that he should hand them over, considering he was still in the area anyway and it would do good to have his face out some more, so people were reminded of what they were fighting for. His Father had also told him that this was the last thing he'd have to do in Striaton City before leaving for Nacrene Town to get his second badge, something N had been looking forward to ever since he had beaten the first gym. He enjoyed travelling. He had learned so much over the course of the last few weeks, he felt as if his entire education had been in vain.
Grasping the unopened letter in front of him he got up, handing it to the man on the right, warily eyeing the other one.
Something was off. But no. There wasn't anything off. It was just a stupid instinct he had.
"Your orders."
Again, N tried to keep it short. Ghetsis had told him so. Though, he really didn't like it. If it were up to him, he'd thank the two grunts for their service.
(Although he had no idea what those services were – Ghetsis had refused to tell him anything about the mission, claiming he shouldn't get distracted by such trivial matters. N hadn't bothered to disagree, seeing as he really didn't want to listen to any boring instructions).
The grunt on the right took the letter, cast to the ground, though his trembling had stopped. That was good. Were they scared of him? N didn't want anyone to be scared of him.
The grunts outside the castle walls sure were strange.
Unbeknownst to N, the man was brimming with happiness – and nervousness. He was meeting the King. It wasn't much, but...it was amazing. Something about the boy was intriguing, especially knowing that not to soon in the future he'd wield a powerful dragon. He was the reason he had joined the cause, although he barely knew anything about him, other than the stories that were told. About his upbringing. About his quest. And now he finally met him.
"Best of luck, my..."
N almost bit his tongue when the phrase crossed his mind. "Loyal subjects". Ghetsis had told him to adress them as "Loyal subjects" but N's consciousness somehow prevented him from finishing the phrase. It just...It didn't fit. It felt wrong on his tongue. So instead of saying it, he simply opted for another "Best of luck!". This time a bit more lively and earnest than the previous one.
One of the grunts grinned. The other didn't care, his eyes settled on the letter in his partner's hands, a strange (and frankly, unsettling) grin easing it's way onto his lips.
Their orders. He was holding their orders. Perfect.
"You...You may leave now", N said, hoping no one had heard his small stutter. He didn't get why he had to tell them they could leave. Weren't they free? Shouldn't everyone be free?
Oh well, at least they weren't confined to a small, uncomfortable capsule, depriving them from all those glorious things the world had to offer.
N tried his best not to shudder when glancing at the Pokéballs hanging from the grunts' belts.
"Yes, Sire!", on of the grunts, the one of the right, exclaimed loudly. Banging his fist on his chest.
"For Team Plasma! For you, my Lord! For glory!"
A blush crept up on N's checks. He could feel it. And he frowned when it happened. He was way too easy to flatter.
He expected the grunts to leave now and frowned when that didn't happen. He didn't hear any rustling or clacking, dead giveaways that the two grunts weren't making their was out of his room. Confused he turned around, had he missed something, had he broken protoc….
"For Team Plasma, for the King and for our glorious Sage Ghetsis!", the grunt on the left suddenly exclaimed, shooting to his feet and slamming his fist to his chest. He looked N directly in the eyes. Was something wrong…?
Then the grunt glanced at his partner who shot him a shocked look. But it didn't matter. Those order were from Ghetsis after all.
And then he turned and left, not looking back once.
If he had, he would have noticed a boy starring at them for a bit before shrugging and deciding he could just ask Anathea and Concordia.
The battle was practically over before it had begun. It took Fuscus a mere two moves to take out Lil, which was honestly to be expected. It had access to Pursuit, a STAB Move and while it was a little bit weaker than Tackle, Lil's STAB, it still dealt massive damage. Lil herself hadn't been able to use Bite, due to Fuscus' type and well, then there was the whole Fuscus was two level above Lil thing.
And according to Bianca, Purrloin had higher base stats than a Lillipup anyway.
The battle was doomed from the start. Not that it mattered. Or at least it shouldn't matter. It really shouldn't. Sure, Cheren was going to gloat about it for ages and sure, losing always sucked, but neither of the two trainers had fought tooth and nails for the victory. Touko had recalled Lil on time when she noticed there was no way they'd win and Cheren had completely ignored Touko's feeble attempt at handing over some price money.
"Just invite me for a nice, hot coffee and we're good to go."
Which Touko promptly did.
However, regardless of how easy-going the fight had been, Touko hadn't been able to enjoy it. She was supposed to. She knew. It was a battle between friend's, for Mew's sake! But...Something about Lil was off. And the almost desperate way she had tackled Fuscus (the few times she had attacked the Purrloin) made Touko shudder. What had happened? Had she done something wrong? She should probably talk to Lil, maybe battle some more, maybe the Lillipup was simply sad because of the loss, maybe…
"Well, well, well, looks like someone only got their gym badge because of a type advantage...", Cheren snickered, gloating once more and wearing that annoying smile of his. With the ease of someone who had just won a battle and was incredibly smug about it, he made his way to Touko and Bianca, who were waiting for him in one of the lounges of the PokéCenter that Bianca resided in. They had decided to meet up here, talk about this or that before separating. They had tracked through town to get there, but Bianca had insisted it was worth the trip. This PokeCenter apparently made the best coffee in town and in addition, was far of the central one and any other places that her father may be looking for.
Plus, this PokéCenter was usually only frequented by veteran trainers that explored Unova outside of normal bounds, meaning it was a great place to snatch up some much needed advice.
"Pah. You're just envious I got my badge through strategic thinking instead of brute forcing it!", Touko responded, leaning back in her seat. She sipped at her drinking before shoving Cheren's drink to him. Black coffee, without anything. Not even sugar. It was crazy.
"Ha. I wouldn't call using a type advantage as strategical thinking!", he responded, grabbing the cup and still looking so incredibly smug. Ugh. It was...urgh, Touko couldn't even properly describe it.
"Well, then why do they teach it at your school? On a blackboard that quite clearly spelled out "Strategy"?" "You had time to check out our blackboards?" "Uh, duh, it wasn't like that battle was all that difficult!" "I won!" "You got lucky!"
Bianca sighed and leaned back, watching her friends in their ever escalating banter. A few other trainers turned around and glanced at the two amused and some others chuckled. They had all been there at some point. They all had their own rivals and friends and though most of them were long past the state were the loss of one mere battle would bother them, it was fun to watch those two newbies do what they had done plenty of times before.
"Whatever", Touko eventually huffed. She glanced at the screen over the reception, searching for her name. Lil was currently getting taken care of and it would take them some more time apparently.
"So, what are your guys' plans for the following days?"
Touko would love to travel to the next city as fast as possible, but she'd also love to travel with her friends. While she may be behind when it came to the official schedule, it didn't mean she didn't have a few days to spare.
After all, it didn't matter how long she needed. She was going to be a trainer for longer than just a year. And spending time with one's friends was supposed to be part of the whole experience.
"I'll be leaving in two days, that's when the school will release me from my duties. Talking of which...I'll have to go soon..."
"Really? But we've barely been here!", Bianca exclaimed unhappily.
"What is it with you and always having to leave early?"
Nervously chuckling (the blonde had leaned forward and now pinned him down with that intesen stare of hers that somehow only he viewed as torture), Cheren emptied his cup, before pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
"Yeah, but, you know...Lunch break is only this long...Anyway, I still have some time to spare!"
He could always jog to the next metro station. As long as Touko didn't watch him. He knew full well she'd mock him for his non-existent stamina.
Huffing, Bianca stared at her milkshake, before dramatically taking another sip. The moment she tasted the sweetness she decided that this little inconvenience wasn't something to worry about and her face lit up once more.
Cheren blushed a bit. Touko simply snickered and filed that little interaction away for later teasing.
"Those milkshakes are delicious...Oh, but yeah. Plans!", the blonde suddenly exclaimed.
"I...I'm not sure yet? I, well, I still need my gym badge..."
Touko nodded. True. Bianca hadn't even battled the gym let alone won anything. Not that it mattered (it made her feel a bit better about herself though).
"And...Well...I guess I'll have to stay until I got it?"
She seemed so unsure about herself and Touko squeezed her shoulder in sympathy. She knew Bianca wasn't sure what exactly she wanted yet. It was something she wanted to figure out during her travels and it was one of the reasons her father hadn't wanted to let her go.
"You don't even know what you want! You don't even want to be a trainer!", he had said. And Bianca hadn't been able to disagree because he wasn't wrong. She loved Pokémon, but she had never felt this urge to battle and compare like her two friends.
"You know, you don't have to get the first badge. Sure, they try to pressure you into following the routine, but no one can force you. You can always come back later and collect the badge."
Cheren smiled at Bianca who was nervously playing with a strand of hair. But she nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah...I just, well, I wanted to try. At least once, you know?"
She looked at her friends and both of them nodded. Of course.
"So, uh, you know the Dreamyard? Because, I still need to train a bit. And, apparently there's a way to get into the old factory grounds? That basically no one knows of? With some wild Pokémon and some of them are super rare apparently! Just imagine how ecstatic Professor Juniper will be if we can catch them for the PokéDex!"
Oh. Yeah. PokéDex. Touko had almost forgotten why exactly she owned one. She should probably catch some more Pokémon for the Professor.
"But yeah. I thought I might as well train there for a day or so and then give the battle a try. And if it doesn't work out, well, then it didn't work out! And if it does, I'll have my first badge!"
Bianca's face lit up once more and so did Touko's. Training? That'd be amazing! She really needed some!
"I, I heard of that spot!", Cheren chimed in:"But no one ever told me how to actually get there...If I got it right, the locals don't just want to give away the best training grounds..."
"Oh, yeah, I know, Julian told me, but he said he wouldn't mind telling me..."
the girl trailed off, with a mysterious smile, before settling her gaze back on her two friends. Touko raised an eyebrow. Cheren cocked his head.
"Julian? Who's that?", he piped in, his eyes scanning Bianca's face worriedly. Touko, again, chuckled amused and leaned back, deciding she'd enjoy the show she might just get if she just kept her mouth shut.
"Julian? Oh, just some trainer I met a few days ago..."
"Another trainer?"
Cheren's gaze dropped back to his coffee.
"Should I be worried?"
"What? Oh, no, don't worry, your still the best trainer of our group!"
The blonde completely missed her friend's point and instead opted for affectionately ruffling his hair, ignoring Touko's offended "Hey!" in the process. Then she leaned back again, stretching.
"He's just some boy I met some time ago. We talked a lot and stuff like that and we're friends now..."
"Friends?", Touko raised an eyebrow. That hadn't looked like they were just friends. Plus, Touko enjoyed irritating Cheren who tended to be a bit overprotective when it came to Bianca.
Bianca simply laughed and waved her hand in dismissal.
"You're still the only one for me, Touko! We went on one date, two if you count that other one which was kind of not planned, but it just didn't, you know, spark? So yeah, just friends. He's super nice though! He left two days ago for Nacrene City and told me about this place before leaving. So yeah. Anyway. Do you guys want to come along? I need training and well, you guys probably need some training too!"
Bianca's eyes were brimming with excitement at the prospect of spending time with both of her friends. She hadn't told anyone directly, but she had missed the times where it had just been the three of them, instead of two, exploring the forest's around Nuvema Town. She hoped she could get her two friends to agree. They would spent even less time together now that they were traveling.
"Sure!", Touko agreed immediately. She needed some training. And she needed some team building. Emblitz still disliked her and ever since the gym battle he got along even worse with his two teammates than he had before.
And she needed to sort out whatever was on Lil's mind. Before she removed her from the team that was (that thought alone made Touko shudder from guilt and she didn't dare to look at the Pokémon next to her, snuggling up to Ollie). She couldn't leave her partner behind on such a bad note.
It was going to be hard enough to do it anyway.
Damn it, she shouldn't have named that little ball of excitement.
And damn it, she shouldn't have sworn herself to never ask her dad about stuff like that.
"Tomorrow? Oh, I'm sorry Bianca, but I can't. School duties. I might be able to drop in in the evening though!"
It was obvious that wasn't what Bianca had hoped for, but she also noticed that was all what she would be getting. So simply smiled at him before taking another sip from her milkshake. Then she watched Cheren glance at the clock and an apologetic smile spread across his expression.
"I'd love to stay, but, I have to go."
He got up, giving the two girls a half-smile. He seemed to be reluctant to leave but another look at the clock told him he really had to go
"Thanks for the coffee, Tou. I guess victory really does taste sweet, right?"
He smirked at her smugly, however the only reaction he was able to coax was an annoyed huff. And a murmured "That coffee sure as hell wasn't sweet". And then, Cheren gave his friends a last wave before making his way out of the door, a bit faster than he wanted to. But he was getting late and if he wanted to catch that metro, he had to hurry.
He really didn't want to mess with his teachers.
The two girls watched him leave, before returning to each other again, with Touko raising an eyebrow:
It was payback time right now.
"Sooooooo...", Touko started trailing off, while snatching at her straw, drinking the last few drops she still had in her glass. Bianca simply smiled, knowing full well what her friend was about to do.
But two could play the game. And Bianca was way better at playing that Touko could ever dream of.
"That one boy..."
"Julian."
"Julian, right. He just casually told you what the best training spot in the entire city is? That one, carefully hidden secret? Just you? Like it's nothing? My, my, Bianca, that is one romantic gesture, in trainer terms that's almost a proposal..."
It totally was. According to the shows she watched at least. They always had this totally romantic scene where one of the main couple (usually the sad, emo one) showed their love interest this amazing, pretty place to train and then they spent a day bonding there.
It was soooooooo amazing!
Touko didn't get to enjoy her moment of triumph (and day dreams) though.
"Is someone getting envious? Oh, but my, Touko, don't worry, I can get you a date!"
What? No! This wasn't what was supposed to happen! Why wasn't Bianca all flustered?!
"I remember a certain green-haired trainer you were absolutely smitten with."
"Bianca..."
"In fact, I'm pretty sure he's staring at you right now."
Against Touko's better judgment she first froze up and then whirled around, successfully upsetting her glass.
Luckily, she had already finished her milkshake.
Scanning the area behind her Touko looked for said trainer, just to turn up empty handed and handing her best friend some more teasing material.
An opportunity Bianca wouldn't let slip through her fingers.
Swatting at her best friend's hat she started giggling, the sound making Lil curiously sit up, eyeing the blonde amused.
She liked trainer's friends. They were nice.
"Come on, Touko, I was just kidding! But you do like him, don't you?"
"Bianca, I talked to him once!"
"And you said you think he's nice!" "Once, Bianca, once!" "And that's a great start! Imagine if he had been some kind of jerk!" "That's a normal start! I won't just hit it off with someone because "he's nice"!" "He was good-looking though! Plus, that's exactly how it works. You don't just suddenly walk into a room, dramatically stare into someone else's eyes and declare your everlasting love to your soul mate!" "Yes, you do!" "I swear Touko, those shows aren't good for you...Anyway, let's just hope you'll meet Mister Ice guy again, considering that I've never heard you talk about any boy as much as him. With exception of Cheren, but please, spare me the drama of ever dating him!"
Touko just blinked at her. Then she groaned, deciding to ignore that particular remark.
"I'm sure we'll meet again at some point. he's a trainer after all. We follow the same route..."
For a second Bianca didn't say a thing. It was a blissful second:
The she started cooing.
"Aww, is that hope that I hear in that voice of yours?"
"You know what? It's getting late and I'm so not having this conversation today. So, see you tomorrow!"
Bianca pouted for a second, seeing as her friend got up, before getting up herself too. Neatly she picked up her now empty glass and shuffled over to the return place thingy for dirty dishes.
"That's a pity. But you're right though. It is getting late. So, see you tomorrow, nine o'clock? Right here?
"It's a date then."
"It's a date then."
There were some murmurs heard as the two grunts made their way through the city. Usually Team Plasma Grunts were only seen in large groups and seldom only in pairs. Usually they were on their way to some kind of assembly instead of wandering through the streets of a city.
Though, they did look just as determined as ever.
Some people came up to them. Asked questions. Wondered if they could join. Wondered why they had been absent after making their grand entrance 15 years ago. Wanted to know whether they'd disappear again just like they had done before. Asked what was up with those rumors of a "king" everyone heard about. Was it Ghetsis?
The public tried their very best to explain Team Plasma's weird behavior. Which organization in their right mind would make such a grand (and expensive!) entrance, just to lay low for another For 15 years? Just to pick up some traffic again for two months until exploding with activity all of sudden? They were holding rallies and speeches and their leader (was he the King? But he wasn't addressed as such!) making a grand tour through all of Unova. It was weird, the public had thought. Weird and mysterious, as if they knew something they didn't.
They couldn't have been any closer to the truth.
People tried to find out more, people started looking them up and people started to join. Of course, many of them weren't loyal to the cause. Many of them didn't care about the entire plan. They thought an hour here and there would cause a revolution. Well, it didn't. Which was why he despised his partner's actions.
He talked to them. He answered questions. He was polite and he was wasting time. Those people didn't matter. Most of them didn't care about their goals. They should be going. They should be at the Dreamyard by now, they should be catching Munna, not stand around, pretending to be a living informative sign. And yet, yet he couldn't convince his partner to stop.
"They mean well. They won't understand the changes if we don't try to explain our position. We can't have a civil war just because Unova is too blind to see the truth!"
And then he had added that their King himself had asked them to spread the word.
He was doing what they were supposed to do.
And the other grunt was left to his own thoughts and ramblings, wondering why Ghetsis wasn't their King instead.
"Did we win the battle?"
Lil was sitting on the bed, next to Touko. She had played with her for an hour or so, before deciding she was tired and heading to bed. She could always take a shower in the morning.
And while Touko was slowly drifting of to sleep, her Pokémon were far from tired. Ollie had napped all day long and Emblitz tried to be as tired as possible during their training time. Just out of spite probably. That's what he said. Though Lil couldn't help and pick up his whimpers he let out during his sleep and wonder what really caused him to be so tired.
The Lillipup had avoided the Pansage ever since the gym battle. Which was to say for one day. But his words haunted her and after today, well...She pressed herself closer to the mattress.
Touko didn't notice.
Lil didn't expect an answer. She didn't really care about one either. Sure, she had been allowed to fight, but she had lost once again and surely her trainer was mad at her again! What other reason was there for the somewhat boring play time? Instead of training? Lil loved training – she knew that was the only way to become stronger. But apparently, her trainer had given up all hope after she had lost yet another battle. Or...had she? She glanced at her trainer, staring at that weird cubicle thing that was noisy and flashy. Soft Wave was looking at it too. Sometimes, Lil envied the Oshawott for having been raised by humans. She understood their trainer so much better while Lil was left to figure out how to be a good Pokémon.
The Water-Pokémon had told her plenty of times their trainer wasn't angry. She had told her about that one time her trainer had forgotten her. Or that other time she had absolutely terrified her (Ollie had tried her best to make it sound as if she already knew their trainer for ages, although she really was a clueless as everyone else when it came to Touko's behavior).
She wasn't mad. They'd notice. They'd definitely notice.
Right?
And then there had been the battle and now Lil was doubting herself all over again. Emblitz's sneering all throughout the evening hadn't helped her the slightest. Luckily, he was asleep now.
"Battle? Which battle?", Soft Wave asked. The Oshawott quickly looked away from the screen, examining her friend who just sat there, silently, ears pressed to her head. Then the Water-type Pokémon shrugged and her eyes flickered back to the screen. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but one of the humans had a really handsome Beartic and although she didn't know what he was saying (or what the humans were saying for that matter) it was still good enough of a pass time. Lil wasn't in the mood to talk, or hadn't been ever since that stupid gym battle, and Emblitz was annoying.
Though, Lil seemed to have changed her mind by now, much to Soft Wave's relief. She didn't like seeing her teammates hurt. Except for Emblitz. She really didn't like Emblitz.
"Battle against Purrloin? Against the black haired human?", Lil asked, worry spreading through every fiber of her being. If Soft Wave didn't know, then...then…
"No. I don't remember any battle. You must have been the only one battling. But how did it..."
The Oshawott's voice trailed off, realizing what that meant.
"Lil….Lil, I'm sorry! But don't worry, it will be fine!"
But Lil already wasn't listening anymore.
And Touko was once again clueless to her partner's distress.
The second grunt decided he didn't like his partner. They way he had behaved around the King had been nothing but disrespectful and bless their Lord's kind soul for not minding it. If anything, the boy had looked confused. He was the picture of innocence and childish wonder and he wasn't surprised he made such a great King.
Surely, Unova would see that as well. Surely, they'd see his kindness and pure intentions. Surely, they'd notice how he spoke the truth and nothing but the truth.
Surely they'd understand why the White Dragon would choose him. Without a doubt even the Hero of Ideals would cower beneath him, acknowledging their Lord's superiority.
The grunt started skipping. He couldn't wait for that day to arrive. He just couldn't.
But until then, he'd try his best to show all off Unova the greatness of their Lord and the pureness of their cause!
Screw his partner if he thought talking to them was wrong.
Bianca and Touko weren't the only one's heading towards the . In fact, there was another girl, eyeing them suspiciously, as if she was trying her best to hide something. That was, until Bianca asked what she was doing, where she was going and then promptly made a new friend who tagged along.
Not that Touko minded. She was just a bit envious of Bianca's ability to make friends. But Juliet was nice, especially after she started complimenting Touko's way of handling her Pokémon.
"You two look cute that way! I should carry my partner too!", she exclaimed, smiling at the brunette. Touko blushed, before looking down to Ollie, silently napping in her arms.
She did that an awful lot, lately. Napping.
"Oh? Yeah, she doesn't like walking..."
"Really? Hmm...I rarely ever see a trainer carrying their Pokémon like that, but, well..."
The girl chuckled amused, raising an eyebrow at the Pokémon's antics.
"That's going to be awkward once she evolves then."
For a moment Touko stopped, realization setting in. Juliet was right. There was no way she could carry her starter as a Dewott. She had to talk to Ollie about that.
"Ollie?"
The eyes of the Water-typed Pokémon twitched. Clearly she had heard her.
"If you ever evolve I'm not going to carry you around anymore."
Touko didn't really expect an answer. She doubted her starter had understood her anyway. But apparently she did, because Ollie straight out boxed her in the arm once the words had left her mouth.
Shrieking, Touko let the Pokémon fall to the ground, while simultaneously calling out:
"What the heck, Ollie?!"
Ollie, however, simply grumbled and rubbed her elbows. Stupid trainer. Don't evolve her then if that meant she had to walk.
But soon enough she was picked up again and then, after some more walking they finally reached their destination.
Had they paid attention, they would have noticed someone else had made their way through the secret entrance onto the factory grounds. But, alas, they didn't.
It was their second time, wandering through the abandoned factory grounds. Grass and flowers were giving the place its own, mysterious vibe and his partner seemed to be set on the idea to explore a bit. He had talked to him a bit more, bonding or so his partner had said. They had been assigned a mission together after all.
He had been a trainer, this partner of his. Had given up training after a serious injury. He had gotten hit by an attack and ever since that he had refused to sent his team out to face such pain.
It was disgusting, really, if you thought about it. This man had only stopped hurting his Pokémon after he had finally experienced the pain they went through on a daily basis himself. And someone like him was assigned his partner! His partner! He needed someone better than that!
But it didn't matter. He wouldn't disagree with Ghetsis. He didn't know about the sage's reasons, but he knew they were just.
They had been training for quite some time by now. Bianca's team was small after all. As in, it still consisted of only one Pokémon. Oinky.
Touko had tried to convince her to catch something else, to which Bianca had quickly responded with a "I did!".
And she had! She had caught every single Pokémon they could have caught so far (one for each sex too!), earning herself some praise from Professor Juniper (and reminding Touko once more that she should put more effort into the mission the woman had entrusted onto her).
However, although Bianca had plenty of Pokémon, she just didn't feel like any of them clicked with her.
"It's just...They stare at me, but that's it. There's no emotion there. No click. No bond. Not like I had with Oinky. Or you have with Soft Wave or Lil for that matter."
At that point Juliet had chimed in and reminded Bianca of the fact that you didn't just "click".
"Like you said. You think someone is nice and then you hit it off and then it clicks. You should listen to your own words, girl."
Touko seconded that (being somewhat glad Bianca had told Juliet about her supposed "boy troubles"). Bianca just smiled sheepishly, before trusting her only PokéBall in front of her chest, challenging Touko to another battle.
They'd probably have to head to the PokéCenter again after this.
But they had all the time they needed. It was only just noon.
Five hours. It had taken them five hours to finally locate a Munna. They were supposed to have accomplished the mission yesterday, but they had failed to do so.
The King had told them it was fine, they were trying their best, it really wasn't that important, but it only hardened his resolve. He wouldn't be patronized by his Lord. He knew the boy was lying. They had failed their mission, they had failed Team Plasma, they had failed Ghetsis.
His partner was of different opinion, but that didn't matter. They needed the Dream mist. They needed it.
And they had finally found it. Well, not the Dream mist itself, but a Munna and once they got the Pokémon to cooperate, they had finally accomplished their mission. They had contributed to Team Plasma's great design.
Except, the Munna didn't seem to want to cooperate. In fact, it seemed to almost laught at them, making fun of their "feeble" attempts to save its own kin. It just looked at them and kept calling out for its friends instead of puffing out the allegedly purple substance.
It was infuriating. It didn't matter what he did, he tried to bribe it, he tried to scare it, he was on the point of catching it….
"Are...Are you sure we should be doing this?", his partner interrupted him. He looked uncomfortable, glancing around the perimeter, not daring to lay eyes upon the scared Munna.
But the grunt didn't care whether his partner felt uncomfortable or not. Ghetsis had told them what they had to do, Ghetsis himself! Well, he had written them. But that didn't matter either. He had to fulfill his master's wishes at any cost!
Though, he doubted the sage had told his partner.
"I mean, are you sure? This doesn't look like protecting Pokémon at all..."
Furious, he turned around, looking at his partner whose eyes were filled with doubt. He kept glancing at the Munna that whimpered pathetically. Arceus, he couldn't believe it.
"We need this dream mist, don't we?", he all but hissed. His partner glanced at the Pokémon again, before slowly nodding.
"Then it's the best for Team Plasma! We have our orders!"
He whirled back around again, staring at the Munna. There had to be a way to get it to produce that stupid powder.
"Yeah, but we also have our codex and all and..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence. Because at that moment his partner decided to kick the innocent Pokémon and a certain brunette decided to barge into the clearing at that very moment, screaming at the top of her lungs:
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"You know...Maybe I'll catch something here, you know? I...I have actually no clue what kind of Pokémon lives in this place...", Bianca murmured when they had made their way back to Dreamyard after another battle. Touko was probably overprotective (Bianca was for sure) but she was afraid that whatever had happened to Lil would happen to her entire team and she really didn't want to overwork them.
Touko smiled at the prospect of her best friend expanding her team. Finding a new partner for Bianca sounded like fun. Their Pokémon deserved a rest and exploring had been on Touko's mind ever since they had first set foot onto the mysterious grounds.
A frown spread on Bianca's face.
"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if not even Professor Juniper knows what kind of Pokémon live here..."
At that thought, Bianca's eyes finally lit up.
"OH MY GOSH, what if she doesn't?! Professor Juniper would be soooo proud of me!"
She twirled around and in the same move, grabbed Touko's arm, getting just a tad too close.
"Touko, can you imagine?! I could present her with a new Pokémon! What if we can find a whole new species here, what if a new regional variant lives around this place, what if..."
And then she started rambling. And Touko started smiling.
And Juliet kind of felt like a third wheel, but she didn't say it out loud.
It took Bianca some time to come back down from the high that was her fantasizing about finding that new Pokémon species and deciding if she wanted to find one, she had to get a move on. So they did, all three of them chattering happily.
The Dreamyard was a beautiful place. Even more so if one spent some time on exploring every inch of it. Juliet had warned them from exploring the basement, explaining that it was dangerous – the Pokémon hiding there were far too strong for them to take on.
Bianca had to put some real work into convincing Touko to not search them out to check whether Juliet's words were actually true.
It was only when the girl's heard voices that their friendly chatter stopped. The voices were close, one sounding unsure and the other furious and was that a Pokémon's cry?
The three glanced at each other for just a second, before hurrying towards the sound – and then freezing, once they stumbled upon the scene.
Two Team Plasma grunts stood there, towering above a Munna. Its terrified screams made Touko's blood freeze in her veins.
The girl didn't get to do anything though, as Bianca dragged her behind a wall, gesturing her to be quiet.
"What are you doing, Bianca?!", Touko hissed, ripping her wrist from her friend's grasp.
"We have to help that poor Pokémon!"
"Yeah, but they're two adults! And who knows what they're doing! We should watch and just call the pol..."
And then one of the grunts kicked the Munna.
The words had left Touko's mouth before she thought about what she was about to do.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!"
Bianca followed her without hesitation, anger building up in the blonde's eyes. She was on the point of voicing her anger, but Touko was faster.
Her hands acted before her brain could possibly reason with her stubbornness. Grabbing the PokéBall at her belt she stretched her hand out, a dangerous gleam of determination setting into her eyes.
"GO, LIL!"
She didn't even give the grunts a moment to explain themselves. They could do that after she had wiped the floor with them.
An: Here's some nice little friendship fluff for everyone. I like friendship fluff (cries in not having any friends). Am I the only one who's personal favourite rival is Cheren I don't like the overly friendly rivals, but I don't like the complete jerk version either. And imo (or at least in my head canon – I haven't played these games in soooo long) Cheren is kind of a middle-ground there.
But anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and for everyone reading, I'll just spoil you a bit ^^ Next chapter there's going to be some sweet N and Touko interactions again ^^ I was planning it for this chapter first but that somehow didn't work out, so next chapter it is ^^
So, regardless of that, I have absolutely no clue about coffee and whilst I'm pretty sure there is a name for whatever it is that Cheren is drinking, I was too lazy to google. Also, my personal headcannon is that once you become a veteran trainer, you just ignore Route boundaries and do whatever the heck you want, because, really, who is going to stop you? This means that I might feature some places from the sequels later on, but probably not. I swear, writing this novelization is amazing, because I don't have to write an actual plot myself! Up to the point of the battle aftermath which is when I'm probably going to be sad, because really, I have yet to make an actual chapter outline for that.
Also, depending on the German foreign ministry's response I might go home sooner than expected (I'm currently still in China, but that whole lockdown business got me slightly worried). If I leave earlier, that will probably translate into me writing faster, because then I don't have to work anymore until university starts. So, uh, yay and not-so-yay I guess?
Regardless f this, please stay safe guys! Covid19 is not the deadliest of disease out there, but it can be deadly and if you get sick you don't just put yourself at risk, but everyone around you too. Stay safe, stay aware and I hope that all of this will be over soon!
PS: I should probably have googled how to properly call a "return place thingy", but I decided that this phrase was too much in character to be changed. And also, I'm one of the most lazy people out there.
PPS: I'm actually very proud of the title, because purple is the colour of royalty and also kind of of Munna. So, I was clever for once when it comes to naming my chapters ^^
