Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 7: A Sign of Progress
AN: Okay before I get into this; a quick question to those of you who have written and published stories on this sight and can do this: I went to check on my story stats since I haven't done so in a while and was generally curious to see how they were doing, but for like from Monday to today, it displayed that there were no new visitors. Sure that must mean either this story has gone down into obscurity and no one likes it anymore, so I shrugged it off; but the same thing happened for all my other stories. Now that doesn't seem right, considering I got a review for CoYS today and yet the story stat for today didn't have any visitors accounted for. When I tested it by randomly going through a bunch of chapters for one of my stories on my phone, checked the stats, and it still showed no visitors; even though there's clearly an 'anonymous' viewer who's currently viewing the story. Is this happening to anyone else? Or am I just going crazy?
If you're an anonymous guest or haven't published anything on this site, then please disregard the above paragraph.
Anyways let's answer some reviews:
Tony Anderson, Anonymous Trainer: Thanks! Glad you guys liked it!
Defender31415: Thanks! Yeah, Nate has a way with words. And indeed, Rosa and Hugh are starting to think outside the box.
flashyhero: Haha, don't worry about it. I'm not a grammar Nazi or anything. I'm only a grammar Nazi to my own work.
And well, Nate does have his handy-dandy superhuman suit, but there's also his past and the kind of life he had lived back then to account for as well. His suit just only amplified said already inhumane abilities.
xQEAx: Thanks. Welp, look forward to more transceivershipping chapters, cuz we're far from over with it. Frankly I'm still on the fence on which ship I should put Nate in.
Guest (Aug 9): Well expect more of visorshipping as well in the future; and besides it's not like Nate is a total bastard; he has a heart too. He just doesn't use it that much.
Blackhawk36: Glad you liked that small visorshipping moment. Eh, give or take on whether that movie comes to bite him in the ass in the future. It's not like he really minds, seeing as he wore a mask, so he believes he's safe (he doesn't know about ending credits, so there's that).
Guest (Aug 10): Gee, thanks! Glad to hear you don't mind on which ship I throw Nate into in the end :)
TheBrunigMan: Does this chapter count? I mean he does get pissed a lot of times in this chapter, so does that count? Hopefully it does. If not, well...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And for flying types, well don't expect Hugh to get one, considering he has Vibrava (eventually gonna be a flygon), and that can fly. For Nate and Rosa...well they're near Route 4...
I. M. Poik: Funny you'd mention that in your review...
greysky060: Thanks! Glad you liked how I turned Nate into a marauding troll. I never leave a story unfinished (unless the community REALLY doesn't like it or I have a legitimate reason to delete it), and you can bet your ass I ain't gonna drop this story anytime soon!
Knight of Wings: Always happy to see your detailed insight and feedback! I personally liked how I made Hugh and Snivy's fight against Roxie too. Well to answer your question, if all the gym leaders got to use their best pokemon without type limitations...considering Cheren got pretty close to beating Alder in this universe (for those of you curious, go read the epilogue part 1 of CoYS), then Cheren stands as a pretty freaking strong gym leader. Probably stronger than the others bar say, Drayden. Glad you liked the studio scene. Idfk why the Pokemon world has short films, go ask gamefreak. Who knows why Nate suddenly snapped at Roxie's dad, that'll all be up to the future to find out. I'm certainly not saying anything just yet. Well since you never played BW2, I'll just let you know that the Xtransceiver side quest shipping is probably one of the closest we're ever gonna get to an actual established romance between the MC and someone else. Either way, enjoy this love roller coaster that is gonna be visorshipping v transceivershipping. And of course, building up these relationships is key to a good romance. I mean, a lot of you guys REALLY enjoyed the chessshipping back in CoYS, and Hilda was pretty much a psychopath obsessed with Hilbert. Explain how Roxie and the water gym leader (he's called Marlon btw) got their positions? Hmm, maybe in future chapters I might dwell in that.
Murmur: While I can understand why you would think that, since Rosa is pretty much an arrogant blowhard with stereotypical views on things (chapter 1 gives a shining example of that), don't be too sure. Mostly cuz that idea is going somewhere else. Besides, she's a lot more insightful than you'd think.
Guest (Aug 22): Hmm...Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows but time.
Okay enough of that, let's start already.
"C'mon, move it already!"
At the VIrbank Harbor, a bunch of men wearing familiar-looking dark militaristic outfits were gathered around a boat.
"Is everything on the boat?" one of the men asked.
"Yep," another man grunted as he was carrying a heavy box. "That's the last one."
"Jesus...how much crap was stowed away in this part of Unova...?" another one asked.
"Apparently these are all back-up supplies stored in one of our old bases that was created at Aspertia before moving to the castle underground," the first grunt explained.
"Uh huh..." the second grunt muttered. "So...anyone knows how to work a ship?"
"I got it," the third grunt said. "You made sure no one spotted us, right?"
"Yeah," the second grunt said. "We should be safe for now..."
"STOP!"
The three grunts shot up to see a group of people racing towards the ship.
"You thieves!" Frederick yelled.
"What the–?!" the first grunt yelled, before glaring at the second grunt. "I thought you said no one spotted us!"
"I was sure no one spotted us!" the second grunt asked.
"Oh hell no!" Nate yelled. "Hey buggers! Get the hell off that ship! That's my ticket out of here!"
"Wait a minute, it's him!" the first grunt yelled, spotting Nate. "Get him!"
The three grunts sent out a patrat, a blue, bat-like Pokémon, and a purple rat-like Pokémon. Rosa took out her pokédex and scanned the bat, while Hugh took out his and scanned the rat.
"Zubat, the bat Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "It does not need eyes, because it emits ultrasonic waves to check its surroundings while it flies."
"Rattata, the mouse Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "It searches for food all day. It gnaws on hard objects to wear down its fangs, which grow constantly during its lifetime."
"Patrat, Tackle!"
"Zubat, Wing Attack!"
"Rattata, Hyper Fang!"
All three Pokémon targeted Nate and lunged for him.
"The hell!?" Nate blurted as he released his elekid, Kid, who released a Shock Wave at the three, electrocuting them and stopping their attacks.
"-About time you sent me out,-" Kid smirked as he prepped an Ice Punch.
"Ice Punch at Zubat," Nate commanded.
As Patrat and Rattata lunged for Kid, the Electric-type jumped on them, while lunging at Zubat and smashing his icy fist into the bat, sending it to the ground encased in ice.
"Why're they going after just Nate?" Hugh asked.
"Doesn't matter!" Rosa yelled.
Rosa released her growlithe, Nina, while Hugh released his magby.
"Nina, Fire Fang!"
"Magby, Fire Spin!"
Nina lunged at Patrat and sank fiery fangs into it, while Magby spewed a fiery tornado at Rattata, trapping it in a fiery vortex.
"Shock Wave!"
Kid rotated his arms quickly, charging up electricity and unleashed an electrical shockwave at the opposing enemies, blasting them with the electricity.
"Tch! These won't do!" the second grunt growled.
The three grunts recalled their first Pokémon, and released three new ones; an insectoid Pokémon in a hard, segmented shell, a tan, bipedal crocodile-like Pokémon, and a gray bipedal Pokémon with a large, round dark-violet nose.
"Whirlipede, the curlipede Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "Storing energy for evolution, it sits. But, when predators approach, it moves to stab them with poison spikes."
"Krokorok, the desert croc Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "Protected by thin membranes, their eyes can see even in the dead of night. They live in groups of a few individuals."
"Gurdurr, the muscular Pokémon," Hugh's pokédex read. "With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings."
"These look like they'll do some more damage," Nate muttered.
"Whirlipede! Steamroller on the elekid!"
"Krokorok, Crunch at the elekid!"
"Gurdurr, Dynamic Punch!"
Whirlipede began to roll, Krokorok prepared his teeth to gnaw, while Gurdurr reeled his fist, and they all lunged at Kid.
"Oh come on!" Nate groaned. "Low Kick at Krokorok!"
Kid dashed towards the three, avoiding Whirlipede and Gurdurr, and swiping his leg at Krokorok, making the desert croc trip and fall.
"Nina, Fire Fang at Whirlipede!" Rosa commanded.
"Magby, Flame Burst!" Hugh commanded.
Magby went ahead and shot smoldering fire at Gurdurr, stopping the fighting-type, while it shot off Gurdurr and blasted Whirlipede, stopping it in its tracks. While it was distracted, Nina lit her fangs on fire once more, as she lunged at Whirlipede and sank her fangs into the bug, causing it excruciating pain. Gurdurr went for Nina, but the pup hurled the whirlipede at Gurdurr, causing the bug to crash into the fighter,
"Now, freeze them with Ice Punch!" Nate yelled.
Kid's fist glowed in an icy aura, as he punched the ground in front of them, causing the ice to freeze the ground and encase the two in ice. As Kid was finished, Krokorok lunged at Kid from behind.
"Take Down!"
Nina intercepted Krokorok by crashing into it, knocking it down to the ground. It had enough force to knock it out.
"Damn it!" the first grunt muttered as they recalled their Pokémon. "We need to get out of here!"
"Oh hell nah!" Roxie yelled as she released Garbodor. "Toxic Spikes!"
Garbodor spat out several toxic spikes towards the grunts' escape route, stopping them in their escape. Kid took the opportunity to slam an Ice Punch into the ground, freezing the ground and encasing the grunts in ice up to their heads.
"Damn it!" the grunt swore.
"Now then," Nate said as he approached them. "Why the hell are you all targeting me?"
"Tch...Our boss put a bounty on you," the grunt decided to explain. "Whoever takes you out and drags you to him gets a hefty reward."
"Oh that's totally nice," Nate muttered sarcastically. "So tell me...where are you guys located next? Castelia perhaps?"
"Yeah," the grunt revealed. "Some of our other allies are over there doing a sweep."
"...You're surprisingly cooperative," Nate said. "Usually in these kind of situations, you all would say diddly squat until we threatened you."
"It's just delaying the inevitable if we played dumb," the grunt groaned. "Might as well tell you and get it over with."
"Is that so..." Nate said. "...So, mind telling us what Plasma's plans are?"
"Don't push it."
"Damn, worth a shot."
Hugh suddenly barged through Nate and grabbed the grunt by the head.
"You! Do you know of a purrloin that was stolen by you freaks back at Aspertia five years ago?" Hugh interrogated.
"The hell're you talking about?!" the grunt yelled.
Hugh leered at the other two, who had clueless expressions on them as well. None of them seemed to know what he's talking about.
"Keh! You're all useless then!" Hugh snarled as he threw the grunt into the other grunts.
Nate narrowed his eyes at Hugh as he stepped back.
"Anyways," Nate said, turning to Roxie. "They should be stuck there for a while, so call the police when you can."
"Thanks," Roxie said.
"Since we now know that they're probably in Castelia," Nate said, turning to Frederick. "To Castelia, good captain!"
"Right," Frederick said, turning to his ship. "Alright, all aboard!"
As the trio got onto the boat, Yancy stopped Nate, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket.
"So...you're leaving...?" Yancy asked.
"Huh...? Oh yeah," Nate muttered, facing the girl. "Well...it's been fun...I guess..."
"Will...we meet again...?" Yancy asked.
"Huh? Well, I'm sure we'll run into each other again," Nate said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Th-then...c-can you promise?"
"Heh?"
Yancy lifted out her pinky finger, and pointed it to Nate.
"Pinky promise...?" Yancy asked.
"P-Pinky promise...?" Nate stuttered.
"Did he just stutter?" Rosa whispered to Hugh.
"Uh...s-sure..." Nate muttered, accepting her pinky with his.
"Pinky, pinky bow-bell,
Whoever tells a lie,
Will sink down to the bad place,
And never rise up again."
Nate's promise was somewhat uneasy, still somewhat confused, while Yancy was more enthusiastic about it. Although the pink promise did bring back a nostalgic feeling in him.
A time of peace.
A blissful time when he didn't have to care about anything.
A...happier time.
To her surprise, the boy did break into a rather soft smile.
"Haha, this is pretty nostalgic," Nate mused.
"Huh? It is?" Yancy asked.
"Yeah...my brother and I used to do these all the time when we made promises..." Nate said.
Rosa and Hugh looked shocked at Nate's expression. It was soft, happy even. It was a major contrast to his usual snark and ice expression. Nate caught onto Rosa and Hugh staring at him, and quickly broke out of it, hiding it under his visor.
"A-Anyways," Nate muttered. "Let's go. We should reach Castelia by dawn."
Rosa and Hugh snapped out of their stupor and followed Nate onto Frederick's boat.
"I'm counting on ya, Dad!" Roxie yelled.
"Leave it to me, my daughter!" Frederick exclaimed.
"Bye Nate!" Yancy exclaimed.
Giving the bubble-gum haired girl a wave, Nate rode the boat, as it departed off into the open sea, headed straight for Castelia in pursuit of Team Plasma.
"You really developed a crush on him, didn't you?" Roxie decided to tease.
"Wha–?!" Yancy blurted, her face becoming as red as a pokéball.
"Oh don't try to play dumb," Roxie teased. "It was love at first sight or something like that."
"H-He was just nice to me," Yancy tried to defend herself.
"But still, you totally missed out on getting his number," Roxie giggled.
"Huh–Oh no! I totally forgot to exchange numbers with him!" Yancy gasped, before groaning while rummaging through her bag. "Darn it...it would've been the perfect way to keep in touch with him and get to know him better...huh...?"
Yancy looked through her bag again. And frantically repeated the process again. And then dumped the content of her bag onto the ground, before frantically looking through them.
"It's gone..." Yancy gaped.
"What?" Roxie asked.
"It's gone!" Yancy cried out. "My Xtransceiver is gone!"
"Huh?!" Roxie blurted as Yancy began to panic.
"Oh no oh no oh no oh no..." Yancy began to hyperventilate. "D-Did I drop it somewhere...? Maybe I dropped it somewhere...Maybe I dropped it at the complex!"
"Hold it there!" Roxie exclaimed as she grabbed Yancy's arm, stopping her from going off to the complex. "Look, it's already the dead of night. I can't have you running off to the complex on some wild goose chase. Besides, at this point, someone's probably picked it up by now. Just try calling it with my Xtransceiver and see who has it."
"I-I guess..." Yancy said. "Oh no...Father and Brother are gonna be pretty angry with me..."
"Look, I'll go apologize to them with you," Roxie told her.
"O-Okay..." Yancy muttered.
"Good," Roxie said. "Now head back to the gym, while I turn these guys in."
Yancy nodded as Roxie had Garbodor grab all three of the grunts within his arms and carried them to the pokécenter.
"I wonder who picked it up though..." Yancy muttered, now worried about who could have possibly picked up her Xtransceiver.
"...In the end, I still don't know who the hell this belongs to..." Nate muttered as he studied the old Xtransceiver he had picked up earlier.
The sea breeze hit his face as he leaned back on the railing in front of the boat. Rosa and Hugh had already gone to sleep in the bedrooms in the boat.
"Yo Captain!" Nate called out to Frederick, who was driving the boat. "How much longer till we reach Castelia!?"
"We'll reach it by dawn," Frederick called back. "Why don't you go to sleep?"
"In a bit," Nate trailed off as he glanced back to the Xtransceiver in his hand.
He still didn't know who this Xtransceiver belonged to, and he picked it up regardless. Whoever this belonged to must be worried sick that their essential phone is missing and in the hands of someone as shady as him.
Nate decided to check the internal data of the Xtransceiver. Surely that would shed some light at who this belonged to. The boy fiddled and pressed a bunch of buttons on it.
"Damn it..." Nate swore as he was struggling in working the damn thing. "C'mon, Nate...you've survived ten years in the wild...survived on the streets...dealt with faces worse than death...you can do this! You're not gonna let some piece of junk get the best of you!"
...Obviously the boy wasn't a technological genius. Further supported by the fact that Nate still struggled with working the Xtransceiver. Eventually, after several trial-and-error attempts, Nate finally reached the main menu of the device.
"Finally," Nate sighed. "Now...how do I check the user data...ah, here we go!"
After shuffling through the menu, Nate finally found the user data. To his surprise, the device belonged to a certain bubble-gum haired girl.
"...Well just my luck," Nate muttered. "In the end, she's stuck with me in one way or another."
Just as he was about to close the menu, it began to ring.
"Wah!? The hell?!" Nate muttered as he checked to see who was calling.
It was Roxie.
"Guitarist midget...?" Nate asked, before pressing the answer button. "Hello...?"
"Ah..." the other line muttered.
To his surprise, the one calling wasn't Roxie, but Yancy.
"...So I assume this is yours?" Nate asked.
"So you had it..." Yancy sighed.
"I found it at the Complex as we were leaving," Nate said. "Didn't know whose it was, so I held on to it. Didn't think it was that important until I actually checked the interior."
"Thank goodness..." Yancy sighed in relief. "I was worried that someone shady might've picked it up."
'I am kinda shady, y'know,' Nate thought. "So? What're you gonna do about your transceiver?"
"Well...I would like to pick it up as soon as possible..." Yancy said. "But I'm kinda stuck with family issues right now...so I won't be able to come pick it up for a while..."
"Is that so..." Nate muttered.
"So...could you hold onto it for the time being...?" Yancy asked.
Nate stared at Yancy's embarrassed, yet pleading expression.
...There probably was no problem with holding onto it for a while.
"...Sure, why not," Nate said.
"Thank you!" Yancy rejoiced. "Oh, I'll keep in touch with my old Xtransceiver for the time being, so we won't be able to converse face-to-face...is that okay?"
"I don't really see a problem," Nate replied.
"Great! I'll send over my old transceiver's number through Roxie's," Yancy said. "So that way, you'll recognize my number when I call you...oh wait...I need your number..."
"Uh...gimme a sec," Nate muttered. "Fucking Christ...how do you send a number over...?"
Nate took out his Xtransceiver and began to fiddle with it, retracing the steps he took with the old Xtransceiver.
"Uh...how do I do this...?" Nate muttered. "Goddamn it..."
"Uh...Nate...?"
"Gimme a second...God how does this work...?"
"Don't tell me...do you not know how to send a message with your Xtransceiver...?"
"Shut up! I can do this..."
Nate continued to struggle with trying to find his number, let alone send a message between grumbles and growling.
"If you can just tell me your number...I can write it down and send you my number later..." Yancy offered.
Nate grumbled, before complying, not wishing to waste any more time. Retracing the (unnecessary) steps he took to find Yancy's number, Nate managed to find his Xtransceiver's number.
"Oh, here we go!" Nate said.
Satisfied with himself for finding it, Nate told Yancy his number, who wrote it down.
"Alright, got it," Yancy said. "Alright, I'll send you my old phone's number through Roxie's."
"Got it," Nate said, before noticing Yancy giggling slightly. "What's so funny?"
"It's pretty funny seeing you rejoice over something as simple as that," Yancy giggled.
"Tch..." Nate groaned. "I suck at using technology, shut up."
"It's still pretty funny," Yancy said. "So even someone like you have something you're bad at."
"Keh! Sorry about that," Nate scoffed, leading to the two of them chuckling with each other.
"I gotta go..." Yancy said. "I'll talk to you later."
"Later..." Nate said, as the line cut off.
After a few minutes, Nate's Xtransceiver rang. Nate checked it to see a message on it, just like what Yancy said. The message did have Yancy's number, just like she had promised.
Once I get back home I'll call you, so remember this number, okay?
...Thank you for keeping my transceiver. I'm really glad that it's you who has it
Have a good night. Ttyl.
-Yancy
"...What the hell does 'ttyl' mean?" Nate asked, before dismissing it. "But still..."
Like he had thought, Yancy was nice. She was nice to him. She was grateful for him.
...That felt wrong.
In his years of struggling to live, he had seen the dark side of humanity: greed, anger, selfishness, perversity, cruelty, arrogance, ignorance.
...Hatred.
To the pathetic, normal humans, he was a freak of nature. He had inhumane strength and athletics, could lift things normal humans could only dream of lifting, wielded knives like sticks, could hack off an arm without batting an eye, could climb up walls with the ease of a galvantula, and most of all; he could talk to Pokémon and understand them.
He was a freak. A monster. He was ostracized for it, and viewed as inhumane.
With such treatment and experience, he had lost all hope in such a pathetic species.
"...There were exceptions..." Nate muttered. "But..."
What confused him greatly was the girl. He had helped out 'humans' on several occasion, contrary to what others would probably think of him, but the majority of the time, he was not rewarded at all. It further fueled their fear and hatred of him.
Yet with Yancy, everything seemed different.
She actually thanked him. She was grateful for him. She called him a nice person. He couldn't recall how long it had been since someone actually thanked him.
...What the hell was she?
Why the hell was she acting so nice to him?
Was it some kind of ploy? It wouldn't surprise him if it was, since he's experienced it before, but...she seemed truly genuine in her gratitude.
He recalled what his boss had told him before sending him off to his long errand.
"...Humans are pathetic...humans are evil...no good will ever come out from humanity..." Nate muttered to himself. "...That's the case...right...?"
Speaking of which, there were a few exceptions. Cowlick and Klutz, while somewhat infuriating, and were the reason why he was stuck on this stupid trip anyways, but they did provide him with clothing, a means of communication, and they didn't turn him over to the police. Not to mention they were friends of his brother; his only friends apparently.
Old Man Alder hadn't changed much; he was still as jovial and compassionate as he was all those years ago.
And then there was Rosa and Hugh. While the girl had an ego larger than a gigalith, and Matis was essentially the bad owner to the spoiled dog that was Bunhead, not to mention the number of times he and Bunhead bicker and argue in such a short amount of time, their intentions were pure. Bunhead at least, was serious on becoming the Champion, and was genuinely trying.
They didn't actually hate him, but treated him as an equal, although he was sure Bunhead wouldn't admit it.
They were all exceptions. And Yancy was the biggest one. The entire time he was with her contradicted everything he believed and was taught to believe about humanity.
...He just can't comprehend it.
"...What the hell is that girl...?" Nate muttered frustrated. "...Gah! Whatever!"
Nate shoved the transceivers in his bag in frustration and headed back to the bunks, deciding to no longer think about it.
"I'm really sorry!"
Yancy and Roxie were was currently bowing to an older man with short pink hair, and a young man with lime green hair and green eyes.
"Look, it's not your fault," the boy said. "It was an honest mistake, really, so you don't have to worry about it too much. And besides, you said it was with a friend, right?"
"Ah, yeah!" Yancy piped up. "It's in safe hands for the time being."
"Well, at least there's no worries of identity theft or anything," the man sighed. "...For now, you'll have to wait until you get a break, then go pick it up from your friend."
"I'm sorry, Father," Yancy mumbled.
"It's alright," the man assured her daughter. "Just be more careful next time. You got off very lucky this time, young lady."
With that, her father left, leaving the three kids to themselves.
"Don't look so down, Yancy," the boy said. "It'll be alright."
"I hope it is, Curtis," Yancy said.
"Y'know this is something I'd expect you to do," Roxie snickered at Curtis.
"Wha–I'm not that clumsy!" Curtis yelled at Roxie.
"C-Clumsy..." Yancy mumbled.
"Ah–I didn't mean it like–!" Curtis tried to reassure Yancy.
"You have a way with words, y'know that?" Roxie snickered.
"Shut up," Curtis grumbled.
As the two began to bicker off, Yancy's mind drifted off to her missing Xtransceiver, and how it was in Nate's hands at the moment. She couldn't help but worry about it; what if he lost it too? What if anything happened to him and the transceiver?
"No..." Yancy shook the doubts out of her head. "I'm sure it'll be alright."
With slightly flushed cheeks, Yancy decided to believe in Nate.
"WE'RE HERE! WAKE UP, YOU KIDS!"
The trio groggily opened their eyes, being met with the rays of the sun leaking from the windows.
"Urgh...already...?" Nate grumbled as he got up.
Rosa and Hugh got up from their bunk beds, stretching out their arms and yawning.
"Ugh...good morning," Rosa yawned.
"We're here...?" Hugh groaned, rubbing his eyes.
The three kids got out of the boat with all their belongings, stepping off onto the port.
"Welcome to Castelia kids!" Frederick exclaimed.
"Thanks for the ride!" Rosa exclaimed.
"Good luck with your journey!" Frederick called out as the trio headed into the concrete jungle.
"Now then..." Nate muttered. "So how do we find these bastards in this place?"
"I guess, we'll have to split up and search," Rosa said.
"Alright," Hugh said. "We'll each split up and search the city. If any of us find anything, make sure to contact the rest of us."
Rosa and Nate nodded in agreement as they all went their separate ways in search of Team Plasma.
"Even if he says that..." Nate muttered as he looked around in the alleyway he was in. "It's like finding a needle in a haystack..."
The boy searched through the alleyways, twirling his knives in his hand, discouraging any shady people from targeting him.
"Tch, worthless thugs..." Nate grumbled.
As he looked around for any suspicious signs, his Xtransceiver began to ring.
"Huh? Did they find something already?" Nate asked.
He checked his transceiver, but found that it wasn't either of them. The number displayed on it was familiar to him, despite it being the first time he had seen it on his transceiver. He answered it.
"Yancy?" Nate asked.
"Ah, Nate!" Yancy responded from the other line. "You responded."
"Well, yeah, you told me to," Nate said.
"I'd thought you'd forget," Yancy admitted shyly.
"Hey, give me more credit, I'm not that forgetful," Nate muttered. "Sorry, but you mind calling later...? I'm kinda in the middle of something..."
"Oh, sorry! I didn't know..." Yancy apologized.
"It's alright," Nate muttered.
"Are you searching for Team Plasma...?" Yancy decided to guess.
"Pretty much," Nate said as he resumed walking. "Although I dunno how I'm supposed to find them in this goddamn melting pot of 'humans'."
"It would be pretty hard, huh," Yancy said. "Anyways...I don't wanna get in your way...I'll call some other time."
"Sorry 'bout that," Nate muttered.
"It's okay! I called you when you were in the middle of something anyways," Yancy said. "I'm just glad you answered my call, like you said you would."
"Yeah," Nate muttered. "I'll talk to you later."
"Alright, talk to you again," Yancy said. "Good-bye..."
Yancy cut off the line, ending the call. Nate stopped, staring at the screen, before fidgeting with the transceiver. After some trial and error, he had the number recorded onto his contacts list.
"Hey!"
Nate looked up from his transceiver, to see a shady looking thug holding a knife out in front of him, the blade pointing at his chest.
"Gimme all yer money and precious items!" the thug sneered as he faced the knife at him.
Unfazed, Nate swiftly swiped his knife at the thug's knife, shattering the thug's blade into several pieces. The thug looked at his broken knife agape, before Nate faced his blade at the thug's necl.
"Gimme all yer money and precious items," Nate sneered, repeating the thug's exact words with a mocking grin.
Fearing his life, the thug dropped his wallet, before running for his life. Nate picked up the wallet, took all the money out of it and tossed it into a nearby dumpster.
"Wonder if she would still like me even if I was like this," Nate mused to himself as he continued his trek. "...Why the hell do I care all of a sudden?"
"Now then, where else to look..." Rosa mumbled as she took a lick out of her casteliacone that she had purchased.
Rosa had exited Mode Street and began to look around the central plaza, deciding to sit near the fountain standing in the middle. On her shoulder was Eve, who had been eyeing the casteliacone for a while.
"You want it?" Rosa asked her.
"-Uh huh! Uh huh!-" Eve barked.
Smiling, Rosa gave the remaining cone to Eve, who happily chowed down on it as Rosa cooled herself off from the intense heat. Eve rejoiced over the cold treat, and barked happily once she had finished it. Giggling, Rosa gently rubbed her tail, which Eve enjoyed greatly.
"C'mon, Eve," Rosa said. "We need to continue looking."
Rosa got up from her seat and headed for another street, but noticed Nate emerging from a different street.
"Huh? Nate!" Rosa called out, getting the thief's attention. "Nate!"
"Bunhead...?" Nate muttered as Rosa rushed up to him. "You find anything?"
"Nope," Nate shrugged. "You?"
"Nothing," Rosa shook her head. "Wonder how Hugh's holding up."
"Eh, he'll call us when he finds something," Nate muttered.
"I guess," Rosa shrugged it off, before fanning herself. "But man, it's pretty hot today."
As Rosa tried to cool herself off with her visor, Nate took out a bottle of water and tossed it to her.
"Huh?" Rosa asked as she caught it.
"Tried to buy a bottle, and I got two," Nate said as he took out another bottle.
"Thanks..." Rosa muttered, surprised that Nate would give her one.
"I don't blame you," Nate muttered as he fanned himself with his visor. "It is pretty hot today."
The boy opened the bottle and began to chug down the ice cold water, while Rosa decided to do the same thing after snapping out of her thoughts.
"...Hey," Rosa got Nate's attention. "Why did you agree with helping the professor with the pokédex, anywyas?"
"Huh?" Nate mumbled.
"I mean, you could've just slipped away after you were out of their sights," Rosa reasoned. "I don't get why you stayed with us on our journey."
Nate eyed Rosa, before staring up into the sky.
"Eh...I guess it corresponded with my own goals," Nate muttered as he took a chug out of his bottle.
"And those goals would be...?" Rosa asked.
"...None of your business," Nate shot back.
Rosa frowned at the boy, before dismissing it.
"Well, you keep pestering me about Hugh's past, and yet you don't want to share your own," Rosa huffed. "Talk about hypocritical."
"I have my reasons," Nate grumbled.
"If you say so," Rosa said. "...One more question."
"Shoot."
"Why did you start calling Hugh by name?"
"...Because he's starting to warm up to me."
"Huh…?" Rosa asked. "I thought you hated us?"
"I never said I hated you two," Nate muttered. "You two do infuriate me, I'll give you that, but I never actually stated that I 'hated' you two. I just found you annoying as hell."
"Well gee, thanks," Rosa grumbled.
"Hmph...Well at least you two have some redeeming qualities," Nate admitted. "Matis managed to prove his worth and pulled his weight around, and I can somewhat relate to him. And while you're pretty arrogant and don't know your own limits, you still have a goal to aspire for. And that's something to treasure."
"Nate..." Rosa said, staring at Nate in newfound awe.
"...Even if your goal is pretty unreasonable," Nate chided, once again irritating Rosa.
"Of course you have to add in a last-minute snide like that," Rosa huffed.
"Heh! It's gonna take lot more to earn my respect," Nate snickered, before getting up. "Now c'mon."
"Eh?" Rosa asked as she got up.
"Might as well search around together," Nate said. "If Matis does find something, then it'll be a lot faster if we stuck together when we regroup."
"I guess," Rosa shrugged, seeing the logic in his statement, following the boy as he went to another street.
Vibrava descended down from the skies, returning to Hugh's side.
"Anything?" Hugh asked.
"-Nothing,-" Vibrava shook his head.
"Tch...Nice job anyways," Hugh said, petting Vibrava on the head. "Figures this wouldn't be so easy..."
Hugh looked around, trying to not get sucked into the sea of people that flowed through the streets. Like what Nate said, finding Team Plasma in this was like finding a needle in a hay stack. They had plenty of places to hide; from the myriads of buildings in the city, to even within plain sight by disguising themselves into the people. Finding them would prove to be a hassle.
"Damn it...this city's too big to just leave on its own..." Hugh muttered. "Someone has to be keeping track of it all..."
As Hugh looked around, he noticed a sign. Checking it read 'Gym Street'.
"Gym Street...?" Hugh asked. "Gym...of course! The gym leader! Surely he would know something!"
Hugh looked around, easily spotting the gym. He rushed over to the gym, but found a man blocking the entrance.
"Huh...?" Hugh muttered. "Uh, excuse me..."
"Oh, hey there future champ!" the man exclaimed. "Sorry, but the gym leader, Burgh stepped out for a bit."
"Stepped out...?" Hugh asked.
"Yeah, he said there might be trouble and then took off!" the man explained. "You can go look for him if you want. Sorry."
Muttering under his breath, Hugh thanked the man, before leaving.
"Great, even the gym leader's gone..." Hugh muttered. "Now what do I do...I guess I could get Vibrava to look for Burgh. If I recall, he should stand out fairly well. Hey, Vibrava, you mind–."
Hugh turned to Vibrava, but noticed that he was gone. Looking around, he saw that Vibrava was being fondled by a girl with long deep purple hair tied back with yellow bangles in thick ponytails wearing a long-sleeved yellow shirt with a small pink skirt.
"Oh, aren't you just an adorable Dragon-type~" the girl cooed as she tickled Vibrava.
"-C-Cut it out–Ahaha!-" Vibrava tried (and failed) to endure the tickling and escape the girl's grasp.
Hugh looked at the situation with a perplexed look, before clearing his throat, getting the girl's attention.
"Oh, is this vibrava yours?" the girl asked.
"Yes..." Hugh said as Vibrava managed to pry himself out of her grasp and return to Hugh.
"Sorry," the girl said shyly. "Your vibrava was just too cute, so I couldn't help myself..."
"-Cute...?-" Vibrava murmured.
"I haven't introduced myself," the girl said. "I'm Iris."
"Hugh," Hugh greeted himself. "Sorry, but I don't really have time to chat; I'm in the middle of something."
"Looking for Team Plasma...perhaps?" Iris asked, getting the bluenette's attention. "Team Plasma disbanded two years ago. I'm fairly certain that they would be in the past now. But then again...it wouldn't surprise me if they did reform."
"How did you know that I was looking for them?" Hugh asked.
"Three kids running around asking about a villainous organization that had disbanded two years ago," Iris said. "You three do stand out even within this wide Castelia."
"I see..." Hugh muttered.
"Well, if I were a bunch of suspicious people that needed to hide from normal people, where would I hide...?" Iris wondered, putting a finger to her lips. "Aha! I know! The Castelia Sewers!"
"The sewers...?"
"The sewers are the perfect place to hide from normal people!" Iris exclaimed. "C'mon, I'll lead the way!"
"Ah–wait!" Hugh yelled as Iris grabbed his arm and rushed off to a direction.
Seeing no way out of it, Hugh managed to take out his Xtransceiver and dial Rosa's and Nate's number.
"Ah? What's up?" Nate responded.
"Hugh?" Rosa responded.
"I found a lead!" Hugh told them. "Head for the Castelia Sewers!"
"The...sewers...?" Rosa asked.
"I guess that would be a good place to hide," Nate muttered. "Got it. We'll head over there."
Nodding in confirmation, Hugh cut off the line with Rosa and Nate as he was dragged by Iris.
The duo reached Thumb Pier, heading straight for the entrance of said sewers.
"Well, here we are," Iris said as they arrived at a lower platform of said pier. "Over there's the entrance to the sewers."
Hugh went over to examine the entrance, when he noticed Rosa and Nate heading for their direction.
"Hugh!" Rosa called out as the two ran up to him.
"There you two are," Hugh said.
"So this is the place," Nate muttered as he eyed the entrance. "This would be a good place to hide."
"Alright, let's get searching then," Rosa said as she headed for the entrance.
"You're not gonna complain about entering the sewers?" Nate asked.
"It's not like we're actually gonna enter the waters," Rosa said. "The future champion can't whine about something as trivial as entering the sewers after all."
Nate looked somewhat surprised, before noticing Iris staring at him.
"Uh...the hell do you want?" Nate asked.
"You look familiar..." Iris muttered. "Have we met before?"
"I don't remember meeting you," Nate mumbled. "So probably not. Chances are you met my idiot brother though."
"Idiot brother?" Iris asked.
"He was the one with the psychotic yandere girlfriend."
"Hilbert?!"
"I like how you instantly linked it to Hilbert the moment I mentioned 'psychotic yandere girlfriend'," Nate laughed.
"Well I only met a few people with crazy girlfriends, and you look a lot like him," Iris commented.
"The fact that you implied you met others with psychotic girlfriends makes me fear the new generation," Nate shuddered.
"Psychotic...yandere...?" Rosa asked.
"Don't ask," Nate muttered.
"So you're his...?" Iris asked.
"Younger brother," Nate muttered. "And before you ask, no I don't know where the hell he disappeared to."
"Oh..." Iris mumbled. "I really wanted to talk to him again."
"Y'know he's taken right?"
"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Iris stammered. "I just wanted to talk to him again, see how he's doing..."
Nate raised an eyebrow at the girl, somewhat not buying it, but shrugged it off.
"Whatever," Nate muttered.
"Uh, Hugh?" Rosa asked him from behind. "Who is she anyways?"
"Some girl I met who was fondling with Vibrava," Hugh muttered. "She brought me here, saying that the sewers would be the perfect place for suspicious people to hide."
Rosa glanced at Iris skeptically, before back at Hugh.
"Seriously, what's up with you boys and meeting girls in strange circumstances?" Rosa muttered.
"Anyways," Hugh said, pushing the fact aside. "We should get going."
"Right," Nate nodded. "Alright you, quit pestering me about my brother whose God knows where. We have idiots to hunt down."
Iris puffed her cheeks in annoyance, but was dismissed by the maverick.
"Alright, let's go," Hugh muttered.
Nate and Rosa nodded in agreement, as the trio entered the sewers.
"Hey wait for me!" Iris yelled as she chased after them.
Damply dark and dimly lit from the sun from above ground. Filled with a foul odor that came from the muddy waters that filled the passageways beneath the concrete platforms and steel bridges. And full of those GODDAMN zubats and rattatas.
Yep. This was the sewers alright.
The group explored the dark corridors of the sewers, encountering several rattatas scurrying across the corridors, and zubats sleeping on the ceiling. They were careful to go at it rather quietly to avoid waking up the zubats and cause a swarm of them to assault the intruders.
The sewers themselves were like a labyrinth. The group explored the labyrinth of a sewer, searching for any trace of Team Plasma. After an hour or so, they all regrouped near the entrance.
"Anything?" Nate asked.
"Nope."
"Nothing."
"No luck."
"Goddamn it," Nate groaned. "They really are like cockroaches...Is there anywhere else we haven't searched?"
"Well there's over there," Iris said, pointing to the north section of the sewers. "They were blocked off previously by a bunch of researchers."
"How much you wanna bet they were over there this whole time?" Nate asked.
"Seems pretty likely," Rosa mumbled.
The group went down the only remaining passageway that they hadn't gone. At the end of the passageway, light shined down from the staircase that led up to the exit, along with two separating passageways.
"Wait, what's that?" Hugh asked.
They all looked forward. In front of the crossway was a man with wavy brown hair and wearing a light green shirt, a red scarf, and red and black striped pants with a belt with a butterfly symbol on it, kneeling on the ground defeated with a defeated thin, yellow, bipedal insectoid Pokémon who was unconscious. In front of the man was a scientist with blonde hair with a blue strand circling around his head and blank blonde eyes, wearing glasses and a lab coat. In front of him was a large saucer-like Pokémon with a thin edge circling the diameter of its body, and had three eyes; two on the ball additions on the body, with the center housing one red eye.
"Who the heck is that?" Rosa asked, scanning the two Pokémon.
"Leavanny, the nurturing Pokémon. Upon finding a small Pokémon, it weaves clothing for it from leaves by using the sticky silk secreted from its mouth."
"Magnezone, the magnet area Pokémon. Sometimes the magnetism emitted by Magnezone is too strong, making them attract each other so they cannot move."
"Hey! That's Burgh!" Iris gasped, pointing to the fallen man.
"That was an excellent demonstration of battling," the scientist commented, pushing up his glasses. "As expected of a gym leader."
The man shot a glare at the scientist, but cringed from pain.
"Did he defeat Burgh...?" Rosa asked.
"Seems like it," Hugh muttered. "Hey! Who the hell're you?!"
The scientist glanced at the group, his eyes widening.
"Oh, what do we have here?" the scientist asked. "A group of budding trainers...I see you've made it through the labyrinth that is the Castelia Sewers. That's a good feat."
Rosa, Hugh and Iris eyed the scientist suspiciously, but Nate's eyes were widened murderously.
"...Nate...?" Rosa whispered, noticing Nate's sudden change of expression.
Nate growled like a feral dog, his hair even standing up slightly.
"!? You...!" the scientist gasped, noticing Nate.
"COLLLREEESSSSS!" Nate howled, ripping out his two knives and suddenly lunging at said scientist.
"What the–?!" Rosa gasped.
Nate swung his knives fiercely, but the magnezone intercepted him with its magnet limbs, before shocking Nate with an electrical current.
"Nate!" Rosa cried.
Nate, while feeling the pain of the electricity, wasn't too fazed by it, and kicked Magnezone, allowing him to jump back and release Luca, who had already charged an Aura Sphere and launched it at the Pokémon, who shot a thunderbolt at said projectile, causing the collision to explode.
As the smoke cleared, Nate was already in a fighting position along with Luca, while the Pokémon that the scientist had was guarding him.
"...So it would seem that fate is rather cruel today," the scientist said.
The others ran up to Nate, was still in his savage position.
"Nate! What's the matter with you?!" Rosa yelled. "Do you know him!?"
"I guess that's my cue to introduce myself," the scientist said. "I am Colress. I am a scientist on the surface. Underneath it, however, I am the current leader of the recently revived Team Plasma."
"WHAT?!" everyone sans Nate gasped.
"So you got promoted, huh?!" Nate snarled.
"Ghetsis had other things to do, so he shoved the position to me," Colress sighed.
"So you're with Team Plasma...?" Hugh growled, suddenly becoming more aggressive in tone.
"Hugh...?" Iris asked.
"Oh no..." Rosa muttered.
"Indeed," Colress replied. "Although their ideals heavily clash with my research goals."
"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Hugh growled. "Never mind. If you are the leader, then you should know: one of your comrades stole a purrloin from a little girl at Aspertia City, five years ago. Do you know who it was?"
Colress eyed Hugh. He could sense an unfathomable rage from his expression. Colress internally sighed. Rage solves nothing. It only begets unnecessary hatred.
"Boy, I was recently appointed the role," Colress replied. "That incident you refer to happened five years ago. Back then, I was simply a researcher in charge of the groups' technology. I would have no idea who took your friend's Pokémon."
Hugh's eyes screamed pure fury. It was somewhat pitiful, to be honest. No one could possibly know what happened to that particular purrloin after so long. His ambitions were that of a wild goose chase.
Although Nate would be a better example of pure fury.
The boy was hatred incarnate. His eyes housed fury that dwarfed the bluenette's rage. He should know. He was also responsible for 'altering' his sibling, and was an 'accomplice' after all. He should feel revolted for betraying his best friend, and yet, he felt nothing. He couldn't understand why.
Either way, fate decided to have some fun, by having Colress face the younger brother of 'him', and the youngest son of his late comrade.
"It has been a while, Nate," Colress decided to say. "How have you been doing?"
"So you know him?" Rosa asked Nate, while Hugh shot a glare at the brunette.
"I'd rather not be associated with him," Nate hissed. "This bastard was an accomplice to the day I lost my family."
"What?" Iris asked.
"And you wanna know the best part?" Nate went on. "Hilbert Warren's ability to understand Pokémon? That was because he implanted a chip into his head when the guy was only eight! That's right this fucker had no qualms with experimenting on a child!"
"WHAT?!" Rosa and Iris gasped.
Colress had a neutral expression as all eyes turned to him.
"Indeed, while I was tricked into doing so, the fact remains that I went through with it," Colress admitted. "Whether I had my reasons or not, is something that you all wouldn't care about at the moment."
Nate snarled some more as Luca prepared to shoot an Aura Sphere. He proved to be extremely potent two years ago.
"How interesting," Colress pursed his lips as he snapped his fingers. "Magnezone."
In a flash, his Pokémon suddenly lunged at Luca, who jumped back, but was strangely pulled towards Magnezone's magnet limbs.
"-What the–?!-" Luca gasped, trying to break free, but to no avail.
Magnezone unleashed a current of electricity, shocking Luca, before slamming her into a metal pipe.
"Luca!" Nate yelled.
Magnezone let go of Luca, but the jackal was strangely stuck to the metal pipe, unable to pry herself off from it.
"Your lucario is extremely powerful," Colress admitted. "However, I want to see something new."
"What did you do?!" Hugh yelled.
"I simply had Magnezone charge magnetic components into the lucario, and then magnetized her onto a metal binding. Made much easier thanks to Magnezone's ability, 'Magnet Pull'," Colress explained. "She should be stuck there for a while."
True to his words, Luca desperately tried to pry herself off of the metal pipe, but she just couldn't. Clicking his tongue, Nate released Tep.
"-What the heck's going on?-" Tep asked.
"Oh, a tepig," Colress said. "So you did get something in these two years."
As if on cue, Rosa and Hugh released Ottavia and Snivy respectively.
"Very well," Colress said, getting the picture. "You three shall face me. Your starters versus my magnezone. This should prove to be of valuable data."
"Flame Charge!"
Focusing on the new battle, Tep ignited himself with fire, before charging at Magnezone.
"Flash Cannon."
Magnezone bolted away from ep as its body began to shine in luster. Tep couldn't reach the Steel-type, but Magnezone was able to shoot a blast of luster at the pig, shooting him down.
"Ottavia, Razor Shell!"
As Tep fell, Ottavia rushed at Magnezone with her blue blade.
"Thunderbolt."
Magnezone began to emit a violent current of electricity and shot it at Ottavia. The otter stopped, but was pulled back by Snivy's vines, barely avoiding the Electric-type attack.
"Thanks," Rosa said to Hugh. The boy nodded, before turning to Magnezone.
"Snivy, Leaf Tornado!"
Placing Ottavia down, Snivy lunged underneath Magnezone, and created a twister of leaves, getting into Magnezone's vision.
"Rock Smash!"
In the fray, Tep jumped at Magnezone, slamming his tail onto the magnet Pokémon. While the attack connected, it didn't seem to show any significant damage. Magnezone shot glares at Tep, before catching it with one of its magnets. Magnezone then trapped Snivy with the other magnet, before slamming Tep into the ground next to Snivy.
"-ELIMINATE,-" Magnezone groaned in a monotonous tone.
Magnezone unleashed another thunderbolt, allowing the current to flow into the small tykes and electrocute them. They cried in pain, as they tried to break free, to no avail. Magnezone continued with it, until Ottavia hurled her blade at Magnezone, stabbing it in the eye.
"-GAAAAAAAH?!-" Magnezone cried in pain as it released Tep and Snivy, floating back to recover from the pain.
"Now, Tep! Flame Charge!"
"Snivy, give him a boost!"
Snivy and Tep nodded at each other, as Snviy grabbed Tep with his vines. He spun around and hurled Tep at Magnezone, while the pig ignited himself in flames. Magnezone was too preoccupied with the blade in its eye to notice the bulleting pig.
"Discharge," Colress commanded.
Magnezone, despite the pain it was in, unleashed a flare of electricity around it, shielding itself from Tep, who was blasted by the electricity.
"-Agh!-" Tep winced as he fell.
"-Oh no, Tep!-" Ottavia cried.
Snivy pulled Tep back with his vine to safety, as Magnezone floated to its master. Colress eyed the shell in Magnezone's eye, before prying it out and crushing it in his hand.
"-Ah...!-" Ottavia blurted, witnessing her weapon being crushed.
"Impressive amounts of teamwork," Colress commented as the trio of starters gathered. "You're all bringing out your Pokémon's powers against a foe like myself...astounding. Simply astounding and interesting."
"-What do we do, Boss?-" Tep asked. "-This guy's tough...-"
Nate leered at Colress and his infernal Magnezone. He glanced at Luca, who was still trying to free herself.
"I do have to wonder, is this much potential possible by your bonds?" Colress decided to ask them. "You all work astoundingly as a team; pitting three weaker Pokémon against a much stronger Pokémon, and doing rather well considering the situation. Is it perhaps you all share a bond that brings out this much power?"
Nate glanced at Colress, before snorting.
"Heh! 'Bonds'? With these two?! Oh please, I'm simply babysitting!" Nate scoffed, earning himself the shocked, yet enraged glares from his two teammates. "If I had it my way, I wouldn't even be here. These two are simply thorns on my side."
"And yet, it would seem that you three work quite well, despite your poor opinion of them," Colress pointed out. "If you did truly find them insignificant, then this kind of display would not be possible."
"...Tch, I guess you're right," Nate muttered. "These two, while annoying as all hell, are giving it their all at the task at hand. They're starting to warm up to me."
Rosa and Hugh looked somewhat surprised at Nate.
"But above all, my hatred for you pieces of shit outweigh this so-called 'bond'!" Nate yelled. "We all just happen to share a similar hate towards you Plasmas, which is why we're able to work this well!"
'Is it truly that, however...?' Colress thought.
"As the future Champion, I will be tasked with the duty to protect this region," Rosa declared. "And that means standing in the way of the likes of you!"
"Enough small-talk!" Hugh yelled. "I have a goal to achieve. You're with Team Plasma, and in my way! I'll bring you bastards down!"
"See? What did I tell you?" Nate roared. "I'm not gonna call them 'friends', but I'll gladly say that we're good enough to wipe that infuriating smirk off your face, you goddamn nerd!"
In response, Tep, Ottavia and Snivy stood triumphantly and defiantly at Magnezone, before their bodies began to shine brightly.
"What the–?!" Rosa gasped.
"This is–?!" Hugh gasped.
"Evolution..." Colress mused.
The three Pokémon began to shine brightly and change form, evolving. Soon enough, the light cleared, revealing three new Pokémon. In Tep's place was now a rounder bipedal pig-like Pokémon, with yellow bands encircling his wrists, and swirled yellow designs bulging from his chest. In Ottavia's place was an otter with long whiskers, a pink nose, pointed crest at the back of his head, black fur on his waist where a second shell was held. And in Snivy's place was a slim bipedal Pokémon with a yellow V-shaped collar that extends from his chest to the back of his head.
"They evolved...!" Rosa gaped, as the trainers scanned their newly-evolved started.
"Pignite, the fire pig Pokémon," Nate's pokédex read. "The more it eats, the more fuel it has to make the fire in its stomach stronger. This fills it with even more power."
"Dewott, the discipline Pokémon," Rosa's pokédex read. "As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops."
"Servine, the grass snake Pokémon," Hugh's pokedex read. "When it gets dirty, its leaves can't be used in photosynthesis, so it always keeps itself clean."
"-ALRIGHT!-" Tep roared. "-I evolved! Now I'm even stronger!-"
"-Th-this is amazing...-" Ottavia gaped at her new body. "-I can feel so much more strength now...and I even have another scalchop!-"
Servine examined his new body, before smirking, satisfied with the results.
Colress looked genuinely surprised. They evolved in the midst of battle, as if to reply to their trainer's ambitions. If this wasn't from the bond of trainer and Pokémon, then he'll be damned to know what it was!
"Alright, Tep, new name! You're 'Nite' until you evolve again!" Nate yelled. "Heat Crash!"
"Show them your new strength, Ottavia!" Rosa cheered on. "Revenge!"
"Snivy–no, Servine!" Hugh commanded. "Leaf Blade!"
Ottavia and Servine lunged for Magnezone with a newly increased speed, while Tep, now Nite, jumped into the air. Servine was the quickest, sharpening the leaf on his tail and slashing at Magnezone; specifically targeting its injured and weakened eye.
The Steel-type cried in pain, giving Ottavia an opening. She slid underneath and smashed her fist underneath Magnezone, causing the Steel-type to fly into the air from the impact.
Ottavia jumped back, as Nite's body burst into flames, plummeting onto Magnezone and crashing into it. Nite jumped off, as Magnezone plummeted to the ground. Having withstood all the punishment, Magnezone couldn't take anymore and plummeted, unable to further battle.
"-How d'you like that?!-" Nite roared. "-That's what you get for messin' with the Boss!-"
"-Incredible...-" Ottavia gaped. "-We won...-"
Servine simply smiled at the results.
"Astounding..." Colress said as he recalled Magnezone. "You three certainly got my interest now."
Nate, Rosa and Hugh glanced up to the scientist.
"The bond between you and your Pokémon...is that truly the key?" Colress asked. "Well, this is only the beginning. I'll certainly have more time stuck in that infernal association."
Rosa and Hugh eyed the man rather suspiciously, while Nate glared at him.
"Y'know, if they do come back, you're going to become an enemy," Nate warned him. "If I recall, you did raise Hilda after that fiasco. Are you willing to turn your own foster daughter into your enemy?"
"...If the situation demands it, then I have no choice," Colress simply stated. "Something is on my mind, however..."
Colress glanced at Iris, who hadn't participated in the battle at all, and had been silently watching them.
"You...you emulate much more power than you let on, yet you didn't help your friends," Colress commented. "Why is that?"
"I figured these three would be just fine without my help," Iris shrugged.
Colress eyed Iris suspiciously, before suddenly releasing another Pokémon; a large robotic Pokémon with a turquoise, disc-shaped body and four legs, to assault Iris.
"Iri–?!" Hugh yelled.
Before Hugh could even finish, Iris released a bipedal Pokémon with a dark yellow-green covering on its back and most of the front, with large, black and red scythe like tusks. The dragon met the robot's punch with its own blades, before pushing said robotic Pokémon away.
"What in the...?" Rosa gaped as she scanned the two mighty titans.
"Haxorus, the axe jaw Pokémon. Its tusks are incredibly destructive. They can easily slice through a thick, sturdy steel column every time."
"Metagross, the iron leg Pokémon. With four linked brains, it's more intelligent than a supercomputer, and it uses calculations to analyze foes."
Metagross backed off, as Haxorus glared at the robotic spider.
"Impressive," Colress mused. "To take Metagross's attack with relative ease. That haxorus of yours is well trained."
"Thanks," Iris said, not taking her leering eyes off the scientist.
"Well, I must make my leave," Colress said as he turned around the other direction.
"Get back here–!" Hugh growled.
Hugh was about to chase after Colress, but Metagross smashed its fist into the ground, stopping Hugh from pursuing, as it followed its master.
"Who was that...?" Rosa muttered.
Nate glared at the direction Colress had left, before going over to Luca, who was still magnetized to the metal pipe.
"How the hell did he even do this?" Nate asked.
"-I don't know,-" Luca groaned. "-Just get me down from here!-"
Nate groaned, before grabbing Luca's arm and prying her off.
"-OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!-" Luca screamed in pain.
"Okay, let's try something else," Nate muttered as he let go.
He took out Luca's pokéball and recalled Luca into it. To his relief, Luca was sent back into her pokéball with much ease.
"Okay, so next time, just do that," Nate muttered. "Good. Good to know."
While Nate was doing that, Iris went over to help up the fallen Burgh.
"Hey, you alright?" Iris asked.
"Ngh...Oh, Iris..." Burgh groaned. "Fancy meeting you here."
"What happened?"
"There were rumors of Team Plasma around here, so I decided to check it out," Burgh explained as he helped up his leavanny. "While I was exploring the sewers, I ran into that scientist..."
"And he beat your ass, huh," Nate muttered. "Considering you're a Bug-type leader, and he mainly uses Steels, that's bound to happen."
"So who are you three?" Burgh looked up, seeing the trio.
"These three are new trainers going around searching for Team Plasma," Iris explained. "And get this. This boy over here, Nate, is Hilbert's brother!"
"Really now," Burgh said, intrigued. "Well then, thank you for helping me out at a time like this. All of you."
"Don't sweat about it," Nate grunted. "I had my own reasons. It wasn't like I was fighting to help you out."
"He's not exactly friendly, is he?" Burgh laughed nervously.
"Pretty much," Rosa muttered.
"Well, thank you all for helping me out regardless," Burgh said. "I assume you all want to fight me for the gym badge?"
"Of course!" Rosa exclaimed.
Nate glanced at Nite, who nodded furiously, before sighing and confirming that he would fight too. Hugh simply nodded in response, before glaring at the direction Colress went. Nate noticed that, and glanced at Hugh.
"Well, then come on by to my gym," Burgh offered. "I'll be happy to accept any challenges."
"Are you sure?" Hugh asked. "You're still beaten from that battle you had with that scientist."
"No worries, we went through worse," Burgh reassured him. "Now, c'mon, let's get out of here."
The group, seeing no more point in staying here, all recalled their Pokémon and began to head out for the entrance and their way out of the sewers. On their way back, Nate and Rosa noticed that Hugh was still in a foul mood; it was written all over his expression.
"Still salty that he got away?" Nate decided to ask him.
"He was with Team Plasma..." Hugh growled. "Anyone who sides with them deserve no sympathy. Not my sympathy at least."
"Hugh..." Rosa muttered.
"...Well, don't worry," Nate said. "This won't be the last time we run into him; that's for sure."
"What makes you say that?" Rosa asked him.
"Call it a hunch," Nate said.
Hugh eyed Nate, before glancing forward.
"So," Nate decided to ask Hugh. "You seem to be looking for a purrloin that was stolen from your sister five years ago. Care to explain in detail?"
Hugh glanced at Nate somewhat venomously, before sighing.
"...Five years ago," Hugh decided to explain, where everyone listened in while walking. "Team Plasma stole my little sister's...Val's Purrloin. It had been given to her as a present."
Iris looked shocked, while Rosa had a rather uneasy, somewhat sorrowful look.
"I was only a little kid back then...I couldn't do anything..." Hugh muttered. "So...So that's why I have to get stronger! I MUST become stronger, so that this never happens again!"
Nate listened to Hugh with narrow eyes. Fate seemed to enjoy prodding at him for kicks. Even his backstory strikes a few nostalgic backbones.
"...Was the purrloin special?" Nate asked. "I mean, if it wasn't, then it was just a purrloin. You could simply caught another one."
"...That purrloin was a gift from my grandfather," Hugh explained. "That's the ONLY purrloin in the world that my late grandfather caught for my little sister!"
Oh look, a dead family member. The parallels just keep coming, don't they?
"...You know what you're trying to do is essentially a wild goose chase, right?" Nate asked. "That happened five years ago. Who knows where that purrloin could be right now? It could have been trained to only obey the person who stole if from your sister. The odds that it will even recognize you are abysmal at best."
"I know!" Hugh snapped. "I know that! But...I still have to do this. For her. And for myself."
Nate leered at Hugh. His goals boil down to self-indulgence essentially. Well, he wasn't one to talk, but still; it really didn't matter if it was for his sister. Just being able to put past demons aside would be great for him.
"...Well, at least I know what the hell's wrong with you," Nate said, earning a surprised glare from Hugh. "Seriously, I was wondering why you kept snapping whenever Plasma gets into the mix; when you're normally a relevantly chill guy. Or at least the one holding the leash in this relationship with Bunhead."
"Hey!" Rosa yelled.
"I'll be blunt with you," Nate said, ignoring Rosa yet again. "What you're trying to do is in fact a wild goose chase. The odds of you succeeding are little to none."
Hugh was about to snap at him, but Nate stopped him.
"But," Nate said, interrupting Hugh. "I'll still help you."
"Wha–you will?" Hugh asked.
"That anguish. That sense of helplessness that you felt back then," Nate said without turning to glance back at him. "I can't say that I don't understand it. I have my own vendettas against Plasma to deal with, anyways."
"Nate..." Hugh muttered, touched that he would help him.
"...C'mon, let's get out of this shit hole," Nate grumbled before marching off ahead of the group.
The group reached the surface, basking in the sunlight that assaulted them upon exiting the sewers.
"I'll be going on ahead to my gym," Burgh informed them. "I'll be waiting."
With that, Burgh left, leaving the four kids to themselves.
"So, we head to the gym?" Rosa asked.
"You guys go on ahead," Nate suddenly said. "I got some business to attend to at Route 4."
"Huh?" Rosa asked.
"Don't worry about it, it won't take long," Nate muttered as he began to leave the group. "Actually, y'know what? Let's go."
"Wait, you're inviting us?" Rosa asked.
"You two are going to follow me anyways like a bunch of moronic stalkers," Nate shrugged, before heading off.
"Wait, what does that mean!?" Rosa yelled angrily as she ran after him.
Hugh was about to go after them, until Iris stopped him.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Hugh asked.
"Y'know, despite what Nate said, I think it's pretty noble of you, doing all this," Iris said.
"Uh, thanks..." Hugh muttered.
"So here!" Iris said cheerfully, handing him a pokéball. "I want you to have this."
"Wha–? Really?" Hugh asked, shocked that he was being presented with a pokéball.
Iris nodded, smiling, as she placed the pokéball into Hugh's hand. The ball registered Hugh as its new owner, as Hugh released the Pokémon inside to see what it was. From the pokéball came out a Pokémon resembling a baby leatherback sea turtle, its body primarily blue with black spots on the edges of its flippers, a black shell with six circular indentations on it, and had a black upper beak and a mask that covers most of its head. It had a rather bored look on its face.
"A tirtouga...?!" Hugh gasped as he scanned it with his pokédex.
"Tirtouga, the prototurtle Pokémon," it read. This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. It swam skillfully and dove to depths beyond half a mile."
"I got this little guy at Nacrene City while visiting there," Iris explained. "But he wouldn't listen to a thing I said, and frankly I think he hates me. Judging from how well-trained your Vibrava was, I'm confident that you'll have a better time with him."
"Are you sure?" Hugh asked.
"Positive!" Iris smiled. "Oh and let's trade phone numbers! You're pretty interesting, after all."
"Uh, okay..." Hugh muttered as he took out his Xtransceiver.
Iris took her transceiver out, and they both exchanged numbers.
"There," Iris smiled. "Now we can talk whenever we want."
"Yeah..." Hugh said somewhat skeptically, still dazed at the sudden exchange and gift.
"Hugh! The hell's the hold up!?" Nate yelled.
Hugh looked over to see Nate and Rosa, impatiently waiting for him.
"Shit..." Hugh muttered. "I gotta go. Well...see ya, I guess."
"Mhm! See ya later!" Iris said cheerfully, before skipping to her own path.
Shaking his head in confusion, Hugh ran over to his two friends, before they headed to Route 4. On their way, Hugh glanced at Nate, who decided to tease Rosa once more, much to her ire. The boy seemed gruff, antisocial, and cold at first. But now, well he pretty much is that. But in a short amount of time, the rogue had slowly, but surely showed a sign that he was warming up to them.
Hugh smiled to himself, as he listened to the two bicker yet again, happy at the progress they were making.
It was a sign of progress alright.
To be continued
AN: More characterization! More new characters introduced! And the first evolutions of the series! Hope you all liked this chapter. And aww, Nate's actually getting along with Rosa, Hugh and Yancy. Somewhat. Or at least he can sympathize with them. Anyways, he's starting to warm up to them, so that's a good thing. And then there's Iris, who's taken a liking to Hugh and gave him a brand-spanking-new tirtouga to play with.
Hey i can actually edit this for new evolutions now:
Current Team Roster:
Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid)
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe)
Hugh: Vibrava / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!