Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 9: Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy
AN: Alright before hand, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Also you could probably tell by the title that this is gonna be majorly transceivershipping, so yeah heads up. Alright to the reviews:
I.M Poik: Well thanks friend and congratulations on ya for predicting right :D
Tony Anderson: Thanks friend :)
Defener31415: Oh...well shit. Didn't think that one through. Sorry for spoiling that Yancy = Nancy for you :P Hopefully this makes it up as I rip apart the pretense of that spoiler into many pieces.
Guest: Glad you like the visorshipping parts/Nate and Rosa starting to warm up to each other. Not sure if this will be your cup of tea though, considering it'll be majorly transceivershipping.
ne-kun: Glad you like the story so far, and glad you like how I portrayed Calem and Dawn.
Eris: Well welcome aboard new reader! Hopefully I meet your future expectations on PoYS and hope you continue to like it. Although I highly recommend you read CoYS first, since PoYS is a direct sequel to that. It'll clear up a few things that may confuse you (particularly the blood knight Keldeo and Colress). And glad you don't mind who I end up pairing Nate with, while I do see why you would favor visor over transceiver. And you are right: Shadow Ball has a chance to lower the of the target. You could consider that being a factor that helped Eve win against Mandibuzz.
Knight of Wings: Yeah the starters in-game do usually evolve around the second gym anyways. In terms of team dynamics, hopefully this chapter will suffice.
Aquille: Well glad you like PoYS. Although, the fact that you responded to what I said in the AN in chapter 5 claiming that it wasn't true, when I didn't specify anyone to begin with, kinda just blew your cover and gave everyone a clear answer to who I was referring to now. I'm not saying whether it's true or not, but the fact remains that now the readers can now easily just go back to CoYS, go through the reviews and see the reviews you left and see for themselves what I was talking about because you gave them a name to look for now. And in my opinion, your initial reviews weren't exactly 'motivating' and had an aggressive undertone in them when you 'asked' me to update CoYS, to the point where someone else actually reacted to one of your reviews within the reviews.
Alright let's get this going.
The heracross species are a species of proud warriors, very protective of their habitat that was the Lostlorn Forest. Never will they back down from a challenge, and will exert all of their strength and combating prowess to answer said challenge; no matter the stakes. Even against the likes of a Flying-type, they will do their best to heed the call of battle, even if it leads to impending doom. With their impressive techniques and unparalleled strength, no matter who the opponent is, the heracrosses will never go down without putting up a great fight.
Now, just because they are a proud race of Herculean beetle fighters, that does not excuse them for letting arrogance to cloud their decisions and lead them to underestimate their foes. No matter who they are facing, they must never underestimate their foe, less it shall be their downfall. That was what happened to that one heracross who was challenged by that one trainer who screamed flamboyancy to the nth level, along with his leavanny, who proceeded to make the beetle into a fool and capture him.
That was something Heracross did not want to happen to him. Should he ever get captured, it would be against a trainer and Pokémon who truly deserved the catch, and it would be after he fought to his very best.
That is the law that Heracross was taught his life. And he followed their practices of morale and honor to the dot. Even if his current opponent was a Grass-type, he must not underestimate him.
However, even the Hercules beetle had to admit, he was starting to get SERIOUSLY ANNOYED by the snake constantly avoiding his attacks and stalling him out with the continuous drain from an earlier Leech Seed.
The heracross was currently fighting against a servine owned by a rather angry-looking trainer with hair that reminded Heracross of a qwilfish, while the boy's two companions; a rather arrogant, yet admittedly attractive, girl with the strangest kind of ponytails and another boy who smelled like a Pokémon and even knew what he was saying, went to explore the forest.
Now back to the battle. Seeing that simply rushing in and attacking isn't doing him much favors, Heracross decided to try and lure the servine in. The beetle lunged forward recklessly, hoping to catch the servine in a false sense of security. Fortunately for Heracross, Servine fell for the bait, and easily jumped to the side. Heracross used the opportunity and flung his horn to where Servine jumped, managing to score a clean hit.
"Servine!" the trainer cried as Servine crashed into a tree.
Heracross grinned, before lunging forward, not wanting to let the snake do anything else. Servine quickly recovered and met the beetle's horn with a Leaf Blade. Heracross managed to push Servine away, but fell on his knees; the Leech Seed that was on him straining him and making him exhausted.
Unfortunately for him, both the blue-haired trainer and the servine noticed as well, with the trainer ordering Servine to go in for the assault. Exhaustion got the better of him, as Servine managed to land a clean hit against his head, flinching him long enough for the trainer to hurl a pokéball at Heracross, trapping the Herculean beetle inside the device for capture. Inside the ball, Heracross tried his damnedest to break out, but he was simply too exhausted, and allowed himself to get captured. The trainer didn't seem too bad, though. The servine proved to be a great adversary to fight against.
Maybe this trainer would be able to help him become even stronger.
"Finally," Hugh sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Managed to catch a heracross."
Servine sighed in relief as well as he slithered around Hugh's leg.
"Nice work, Servine," Hugh said to the snake, before releasing Heracross. "Now as for you. We need to get you healed."
Heracross glanced up to Hugh as he took out a super potion and sprayed Heracross's wounds with them.
"The name's Hugh by the way," Hugh introduced himself to Heracross. "You're a part of my team now. Let's get along."
Heracross stared at Hugh critically, before nodding in response and putting out his claw. Hugh smiled, before accepting the gesture into a handshake. Hugh then took out his other pokéballs and released the rest of his team.
"Alright you all," Hugh said. "This is our new teammate, Heracross. Get along."
Vibrava, Magby and Tirtouga gathered around Heracross and Servine.
"-Well, nice to meet you,-" Vibrava said.
"-Yeah, nice to meet ya!-" Magby exclaimed,
Heracross nodded, before glancing down to Tirtouga, who seemed to be examining him.
"-Hm...Another heracross...-" Tirtouga muttered.
"-And is that a problem?-" Heracross asked rather cautiously.
"-No, sorry,-" Tirtouga shook his head. "-It's just I fought a heracross before, and he was somewhat of a letdown. Hopefully you'll be much better.-"
Heracross leered at Tirtouga, slightly offended at the turtle's words. Before the beetle could retort, he felt something on his shoulder. Heracross turned to see Servine; his vine on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. The snake shook his head.
"-You...-" Heracross muttered.
"-Oh yeah, he can't speak, just a heads up,-" Vibrava said.
Heracross glanced at Vibrava, before glancing back at Servine. The snake simply smiled back.
"-...You're pretty impressive,-" Heracross stated. "-Must be hard not being able to speak.-"
Servine didn't seem to be fazed at all; simply smiling at Heracross. Hugh glanced at his team. Vibrava and Magby seemed to be accepting of Heracross as it is, but he could tell there was tension between Tirtouga and Heracross. That was something he'd have to fix soon, if he wanted everyone to cooperate smoothly.
Hugh looked around, taking in the view of the forest. Nate and Rosa had split up to explore the other parts of the forest. Hugh wondered how they were doing.
Rosa split the oran berry in half and gave the two halves to Eve and Ottavia, who accepted the berry halves and happily chowed down on them.
"How are they?" Rosa asked, where the two nodded happily, clearly enjoying the berry. "Well that's good. This forest has some good berries."
The bun-haired girl smiled as she looked around. She was currently resting near a clean stream, where she decided to have a lunch break. Fortunately, the forest was chock full of fresh berries that she could use to eat. Eve and Ottavia were eating their oran berries happily along with Nina, while Mandi was silently eating away at her own berry, watching over the group.
"-This is great!-" Eve squealed as she gulped down her oran berry.
"-Yeah, it's nice to just relax like this for once,-" Ottavia admitted.
"-Uh huh!-" Nina barked.
"-You're all too easy-going,-" Mandi sighed. "-But, I guess this is nice.-"
"-C'mon, don't be a stick in the mud,-" Nina barked. "-We're on a roll! We beat three gym leaders, two on Challenge Mode or whatever the heck that is at that!-"
"-Although I don't know how she managed on the first one,-" Mandi countered. "-She only managed to win the last one due to the type advantage you and I gave her. In a neutrality, I highly doubt it would've been any easier.-"
They all glanced at Mandi, who sighed as she plucked at her berry.
"-Look, I'm not trying to dampen the mood or anything...although I'm sure I'm a bit too late at that,-" Mandi said. "-But you all need to face reality. Eventually we will face an opponent we won't be able to handle and lose. It's up to the girl to see how she'll take in the reality of the world.-"
"-Rosa won't lose! She's the greatest!-" Eve barked at Mandi.
"-Hardly,-" Mandi rolled her eyes. "-It's quite obvious that the boys are much more skilled than her, yet she holds the biggest ego. At this rate, she won't take losing that well.-"
"-She won't lose!-" Eve growled at Mandi, offended by her slanders towards Rosa.
"-Oh? Then can you take on Vibrava? Pignite? Servine? Or will you test your luck against Lucario or Braviary?-" Mandi challenged.
Eve backed down slightly, a sweat drop rolling down her forehead. Even she knew she would struggle against them.
"-Look, I'm not saying that she's weak or anything,-" Mandi said. "-I'm just saying that eventually we will lose, and the girl needs to be able to take it along with the resulting strike to her pride.-"
Rosa looked somewhat worried at her team, being able to tell that the tension was high. Fortunately Mandi managed to calm everyone down, relieving Rosa as she took a bite out of a somewhat large pecha berry.
Their next stop was back to Nimbasa City, where they would take on the gym leader Elesa. Unova's famous supermodel and one of the region's role models to women everywhere, along with Unova's sweetheart idol, Nancy. A strong, yet kind and compassionate woman...truly a great person to look up to for women everywhere.
If she recalled, Elesa's gym consisted of Electric-types. That would prove to be quite difficult. Ottavia and Mandi would be at a disadvantage against the type, and Nina and Eve wouldn't fare too well either. Her only means of fighting back effectively were Eve's Dig and Mandi's Bone Rush, which would definitely not be enough to fight Elesa on Challenge. Hopefully with support from Vibrava and Luca would suffice.
"...Speaking of which, didn't Nancy have a concert at Nimbasa today?" Rosa offhandedly recalled.
Maybe she'll visit it after she took on Elesa, if it was still going on. While she did respect Nancy for being a role model to women–more specifically girls around her age, her goals prioritized over fandoms.
Nate simply stared up into the clear skies, in the deepest ends of the Lostlorn Forest. He had let his team out to relax, get some exercise, and allowed them to explore the forest, specifically telling them to give him some alone time for a while.
At least that's what he told them to do, but apparently he still didn't have full authority over Brav, who was content with sitting beside the boy.
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone, Old Man?" Nate asked.
"-Oh please, you said we could do whatever we wanted,-" Brav huffed. "-And frankly, you're still too young to be bossing me around outside of a battle or few. I still did raise you, y'know.-"
"And while I'm grateful, I'd still like it if my Pokémon at least listen to when their trainer want some alone time," Nate shot back, unfazed.
Brav didn't budge, so Nate sighed in defeat as he simply laid flat on the ground, aimlessly watching the clear skies.
"-...Y'know, boy,-" Brav said. "-You do seem to get along with the other kiddies...what were their name again...? Right, Rosa and Hugh.-"
"...What, you think I'm a loner?" Nate asked.
"-I'm just saying that I'd never thought I see the day you would make human friends,-" Brav mused aloud. "-And while you three seem to have your fair share of spats, especially with the girl, you seem to secretly enjoy their company.-"
Nate said nothing. As expected of the old man; he always manages to find a point. Sure those two idiots do tend to drive his nerves at times, but after the few days he was stuck with them, the two slowly began to warm up to him. Honestly, he didn't feel annoyed by them anymore. Sure they make stupid mistakes at times, and Bunhead's ego was still as large as a wailord, but they're learning. They seem to legitimately care for him. He could relate with Matis, and he had to admit, messing with Bunhead was genuinely fun, and the girl was indeed learning from her mistakes. She wasn't as big of an arrogant blowhard as initially back at Aspertia.
Of course he'd never admit it to them, but the fact was still there.
"What're you getting at though...?" Nate asked.
"-I'm just wondering...you're starting to enjoy yourself a lot more than before now,-" Brav inquired. "-Maybe it's even enough to–.-"
"Stop," Nate said firmly. "I'm not gonna just up and quit just because I managed to make a few friends. I've already gone this far. Turning back would just be an insult to me and all the effort I invested in the past three years, it would be an insult to him, who entrusted me with the job in the first place, and most importantly, it would be an insult to Luca, after everything she's been through in the past three years."
Brav had a rather sad look on his face as Nate's gaze hardened.
"-...Just promise me you won't regret your decisions, boy,-" Brav said.
"...Of course not, Old Man," Nate said, his gaze softening a little.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Nate and Brav looked up to see a backpacker standing above them. Nate shrugged, signaling the backpacker to sit wherever she pleased. Delighted, the woman sat next to him.
"Wonderful weather, huh?" the backpacker asked. "Perfect, calm, and clear for a forest like this, don't ya think?"
"Yeah, I guess," Nate said plainly. "So, what brings you to this dead end forest, anyways?"
"I'm a traveler," the backpacker replied. "I enjoy trekking around the world and talking with various people. What about you?"
"I was dragged here by my travel partner, who wanted to catch a heracross."
"I see," the backpacker said. "By the way, do you know a Pokémon called 'Zoroark'?"
"I've heard of it," Nate shrugged.
"Great!" the backpacker smiled. "Are you armed with the knowledge so that it won't trick you?"
"More or less."
"I see..." the backpacker said. "...A penny for your thoughts. What do you think would be better? To trust it and be tricked, or to live in doubt?"
"...Depends," Nate replied. "You're either afraid of being deceived, so you hide away from the truth in fear, or you seek out and reach out to the truth, even if it was all based on fabrications. In my opinion, I'd rather risk it all and reach out to a goal, rather than live in doubt, and regret what could've been."
"...Interesting," the backpacker said, before standing up. "I enjoyed talking with you. Here's a small present from me."
The backpacker took out a black disc and handed it to Nate. The thief accepted the disc and examined it.
"...Snarl...?" Nate asked.
"I like that move," the backpacker replied. "It's used for tactical uses, and I like tactics over brute strength."
The backpacker prepared her things to leave, as Nate put the disc away.
"...They say a zoroark settled in around here about two years ago," the backpacker said. "It changed the appearance of this grassland with its ability, 'Illusion', and tricked the people who would visit, and the Pokémon who lived here. It's an outrageous rumor, but a rumor has some truth in it."
"...Every rumor has a kernel of truth in them," Nate shot back.
"...You truly are an interesting person..." the backpacker smiled. "...I know this might sound strange, but if you ever reach Driftveil City, could you perhaps go and meet my son?"
"Your son?" Nate asked.
"Show him that disc, and he'll know that I sent you," the backpacker explained as she began to leave. "I'm sure you and him will become great friends."
"...Sure...I'll do that, woman," Nate said as he glanced back to his view, before his trademark malicious grin sported his face. "Or should I say...'vixen'...?"
Zoroark simply smirked as she disappeared into the trees. This boy was truly interesting.
Eventually, the trio regrouped at the entrance of the forest, where Hugh showed the others his newly caught heracross.
"So you got one, eh?" Nate asked, examining the Hercules beetle.
"Yeah," Hugh said. "What do you think?"
"...Not bad," Nate said. "You picked out a good one, Matis."
"Well that's good to hear," Hugh smiled. If the more experienced Nate said that Heracross was a rather good pick, then he's sure to bring many things to the table.
"So now we head back to Nimbasa City, right?" Rosa asked, eager to challenge the gym.
"Yeah, yeah," Nate grumbled as the trio headed back to the city. "Do you even have a plan for taking the gym on? If I recall correctly, it's an Electric-type gym, and like half of your team is weak to that."
"Well that's why I have you all," Rosa said.
"Well at least she admits she's using us," Nate drawled. "Ladies and gentlemen! Your future champion!"
"Shut up," Rosa grumbled, noting the sarcasm in his tone. "I know I don't have much of an answer to Electric-types, sue me."
The boy rolled his eyes as Hugh sighed. As they reached Nimbasa, the city seemed to be stirring with activity.
"What's going on?" Hugh asked.
"C'mon, we need to hurry!"
"Nancy's concert starts in fifteen minutes!"
The group looked around, listening into the commotion from all the scurrying people as they made their way.
"Looks like Nancy's concert is going on soon," Rosa came to that conclusion.
"You mean that idol?" Hugh asked.
"Yeah," Rosa replied.
Nate perked up, glancing at the direction the people were headed to. The concert seemed to be taking place at the amusement park. There was still the matter of whether this 'Nancy' was Yancy or not.
"The hell's an idol?" Nate decided to ask them.
"You don't know what an idol is?" Rosa asked in shock, receiving a shrug from the boy. "Well, to put it simply, an idol is a really popular singer."
"Popular singer, huh..." Nate muttered, glancing towards the park.
"Well, since Nancy's performing right now, we should go see the concert!" Rosa suggested.
"Why?" Hugh asked. "We shouldn't really be wasting time. We should focus on the gym leader."
"I don't see why not," Nate interjected, much to their surprise. "I mean, the gym's pretty much where the concert is."
"Are you serious?" Hugh asked, surprised that Nate actually sided with Rosa for once.
"I don't see the harm in just sneaking in and spectating," Nate shrugged.
"Alright!" Rosa exclaimed "Let's go then!"
Excited to see Nancy's concert, Rosa eagerly rushed to the amusement park, with Hugh and Nate trailing behind.
"What's with the sudden peak of interest?" Hugh asked as they followed Rosa.
"...Hm? Just because, I guess," Nate lied, not wishing to reveal his inner motives.
It was fifteen minutes before the concert. The pink-haired idol was having her make-up and her curled side ponytail by several assistants as her manager of a father was listing off the game plan for her concert.
"Alright, so the run down. You perform the songs as rehearsed yesterday, which should take about an hour," he explained. "Then after the concert, you're set for a short Q&A, where you'll be signing autographs shortly afterwards. Then there's the interview with Gym Leader Elesa as she picks some challengers from the crowd, where the exhibition match between you and Elesa takes place."
"R-Right..." the idol muttered.
"We've got a big day ahead of us, Nancy," the manager said, patting her on the shoulder. "Do your best."
"Right..." Nancy mumbled as the manager left, before sighing.
"You alright?"
Nancy turned to another boy, who had lime-green hair tucked under a black hat.
"Curtis..." Nancy said.
"You seem down," Curtis replied. "You alright Nance?"
"I guess..." Nancy mumbled. "It's the same old, anyways. Don't worry about it Curtis."
"I see," Curtis said. "Well, if you need to talk, I'm always free."
"Thanks, Curtis," Nancy smiled.
"By the way, did you happen to see my Xtransceiver anywhere?" Curtis asked. "I seemed to have misplaced it..."
"I haven't seen it," Nancy shrugged.
"Damn..." Curtis muttered. "Well thanks anyway..."
Curtis left, presumably to search for his Xtransceiver, leaving the idol to herself once more. Yes, this was usual. She, the famous idol popstar Nancy, must put up her best to cater to her adoring fans and be the compassionate, outgoing and ambitious role model for young girls all over the region they made her out to be.
Without any regards to how she truly feels.
Nancy simply sighed, where she felt something tugging at her dress. She looked down to see her audino tugging at it, looking at her worryingly.
"Audi..." Nancy said, before smiling and picking up the pink creature. "Thanks, but don't worry. I'm fine."
Audi didn't really look convinced, but managed to smile, deciding not to push the matter any further. Nancy couldn't help but giggle at Audi. She remembered how she caught the audino back at Virbank along with a wonderful boy she had the greatest of pleasures to become acquainted to. Sure he was a little gruff around the edges and was blunt to a fault, but he was still kind in his own way. Audi was a symbol of that meeting. She would always cherish her forever.
"Nancy! It's time!" her manager called out.
Nancy sighed, before recalling Audi to her pokéball. Time to do the same routine again.
Soon enough, the trio reached the site of the concert. If the giant crowd of people gathered around a certain border in front of a large stage with several security guards weren't enough of an indication, then the rogue didn't know what is.
"So how do we even get in without tickets?" Hugh asked, pointing to the gate, where they seemed to be accepting tickets.
"Crap, you're right," Rosa muttered. "I guess we sneak in?"
"Hm..." Nate muttered.
He had no idea what the hell this 'ticket' is, and why they need this thing just to go watch a chick sing in front of a bunch of idiots, but they did need it to get in.
Well 'legally' at least.
"Alright, let's go with the illegal method," Nate whispered.
"The illegal method?" Rosa asked.
Nate glanced around, before spotting a hidden path through a bunch of trees beyond the benches.
"Follow me," Nate whispered.
Nate quietly crept towards the hidden path, urging Rosa and Hugh to follow. The two followed the boy through the shadowy trees, quietly sneaking past the guards.
"And there..." Nate smiled once they were in the clear and emerged within the crowd. "Seriously, why do humans need whatever the hell these 'tickets' are in order to attend something as open like this?"
"Tickets are a source of profit for the organizer," Hugh explained. "They act as vouchers that indicate that a person paid for admission to an event."
"I see..." Nate muttered, scanning the area. "Let's go..."
The trio quietly snuck into the crowd, successfully mixing into the crowd. They managed to find a spot where they could see the stage clearly.
"So, what now?" Nate asked Rosa.
"Well, we just wait," Rosa shrugged. "Nothing else we can do really."
"Oh great," Nate groaned. "Although, while we're here..."
Nate's eyes shifted rapidly around him, narrowing with devious intent. So many naïve and unsuspecting humans were around him. All of their attention focused on the stage, eagerly awaiting for their idol to make an appearance. He was sure they wouldn't mind making a few unknown donations...
"Oh no you don't," Rosa said sternly, seeing what he was planning. "You are NOT going to go pickpocketing."
"Tch, annoying woman," Nate groaned under his breath. "Just had to ruin my fun, don't you?"
"Sorry for the wait everyone!"
Before the two could argue, a bubbly voice boomed throughout the speakers placed on the stage. The crowd began to go wild, signaling them to shift their attention to the stage, where a girl ran onto the stage, causing the crowd to go even wilder.
"It's Nancy~!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully. "I hope you're all ready to have a good time!"
As the crowd went ecstatic at the appearance of 'Nancy', Nate decided to examine the girl thoroughly. Long bubblegum pink hair tied up into a curled side ponytail, the girl wore a white dress with a gold sash on the waist with two hot pink straps that are covered by her puffy white collar that goes down to a pokéball symbol with ribbon coming from the symbol. A hot pink headband adorned her head with a large cream and pink bow on the right side, while a pink headset is placed over her left ear. And to finish the attire she had white and hot pink wrist bands on each of her wrist. The boy could understand how people would be attracted to her, she was decent eye candy.
"Yep...that's definitely Yancy alright," Nate muttered under his breath.
The bubblegum pink hair, the blue eyes, the pale white skin. Hell, they both even have the same mole under her left eye. Physically speaking, there's no doubt that Yancy and Nancy were the same person.
The personality, however, was a different story. From his short time with Yancy, he instantly learned that the girl was rather timid, somewhat shy and bashful, and very reserved. From the mere seconds since she made her entrance, Nancy had already shown a persona that was filled to the brim with an outgoing cheerfulness and confidence, something that seemed out-of-character for the modest Yancy. Could this be the real Yancy? Or is 'Nancy' simply a mask she puts on on-stage?
Either way, Nate had to admit: he was impressed. He never expected Yancy to be able to pull off such a façade.
"Alright then!" Nancy exclaimed. "Let's get going!"
The crowd went into an uproar as Nancy began to sing her first song. The melodious pop song that filled the area invaded everyone's ears, grabbing their attention with glee.
"She really is a good singer," Rosa commented. "So Nate, how do you like your first con–?"
Rosa turned to the thief for his opinion on being at a modern concert, only to be caught in surprise to find the boy completely entranced to the idol.
"Beautiful..." Nate murmured to himself.
Hugh managed to notice Nate's stupor along with Rosa, and was equally as shocked as the girl. Neither of them expected Nate of all people would be this enthralled by the modern music of a pop idol of all things. Rosa decided to take a picture of this while the boy was clearly distracted. Like she would let something like this pass by. The boy stayed in his stupor for the entire concert, as Nancy accepted the cheers of her audience as she proceeded to sing her next song, all for the entire hour until her last song was done.
"Thank you everyone~!" Nancy called out. "I'll be signing autographs shortly, where you can ask me anything you want, so come on by!"
"Wha–?" Nate finally snapped out of his stupor. "What the hell happened...?"
He then turned to Hugh and Rosa, who had the biggest smug grins on their faces.
"The hell's your problem?" Nate asked.
"Well we didn't know you liked pop music so much," Rosa teased.
"Huh?"
Rosa decided to humor him by showing Nate the picture of his entrancement to Nancy, making the boy blush a brilliant red shade.
"You erase that NOW!" Nate threatened, reaching for his knife.
"Geez, it was just a joke," Rosa said as she erased the picture and tucked her Xtransceiver away. "But still didn't expect you of all people to be that into it."
"I dunno, I guess since this was the first time I've ever been to a concert...or heard someone sing...at all..." Nate muttered.
"Really?" Hugh asked.
"Mom and Sis weren't really ones for lullabies," Nate shrugged. "I guess...I liked it..."
Rosa and Hugh glanced at each other, before turning back to Nate, who had a rather melancholic look on his face. The boy keeps acting so abrasive and cynical that it was simply a shock to see him look the part of an innocent and naïve boy. They forgotten how the boy had little to no contact with the human world, and how harsh his life must have been based on implications he dropped about his life here and there. Here, he had been just an innocent boy who had been treated to his very first concert.
"...Okay stop looking at me like that," Nate grumbled. "There's still one more thing to do, right?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, the Gym Leader!" Rosa exclaimed.
"...Gym Leader? Oh yeah that," Nate muttered.
"Wait, what were you getting at?" Hugh asked, noticing Nate's slip up there.
"Nothing," Nate turned the other direction.
"Wait..." Rosa said, putting the pieces together, before sporting the slyest grin on her face. "You want to get an autograph from Nancy, don't you?"
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Nate denied.
"Your expression says it all," Rosa smirked.
Nate couldn't help but get flustered, before glaring at Rosa, who simply snickered.
"C'mon, let's go then," Rosa said. "The booth should be over there."
Nate grumbled under his breath as he followed Rosa, much to the amusement of both Rosa and Hugh.
"You got the picture I sent you right?" Rosa whispered to Hugh.
The bluenette simply gave her a thumbs up, smirking crazily. Like hell they were going to just erase something that rivals gold to them.
"Thank you!" Nancy cheerfully said as she signed a boy's picture of her.
The boy smiled ecstatically as he rushed off to his group of friends with the picture in his hand. Nancy simply smiled as she attended to the next person; a small girl who timidly handed her a small teddy bear.
"Can you sign him?" the girl asked.
"Of course," Nancy smiled as she carefully signed the teddy bear to not ruin the fur. "Here you go."
The girl squealed in delight as she accepted the bear.
"Thank you Nancy," the girl said. "Uh, can I ask a question?"
"Of course you can, silly," Nancy giggled.
"Do you have a crush?" the girl asked innocently, catching Nancy slightly off guard.
"Do I have a crush, huh...?" Nancy asked. "Hm...Not that I can think of right now, but who knows."
The girl seemed satisfied with that answer, as she ran off to her mother, leaving Nancy to contemplate on what she said as she dealt with the next fan.
'A crush huh...' Nancy thought as she signed another fan's photograph. 'That's something to think about...it's not like I can't get any boy I want, but they only look at 'Nancy'. If there was a boy I would genuinely crush on, then it has to be...'
"Gah! Don't push me you little bitch!"
Nancy snapped out of her train of thought as a blue-cladded boy was shoved in front of the line by a bun-headed girl who was snickering crazily as she backed off, leaving the boy to grumble under his breath. The boy glanced to Nancy, before beginning to blush slightly.
Nancy stared at the boy for a good five seconds, before registering who he was and recognizing him. Her cheeks began to flare up as she went into panic mode.
'N-N-NA-NAATE?!' Nancy's thoughts screamed. 'WH-WH-WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?!'
"So...uh...yeah...you mind signing this...?" Nate muttered under his breath, handing her a clean piece of paper.
"Uh–Uh, okay..." Nancy mumbled timidly as she accepted the paper and began to sign it. 'Does he not...recognize me...?'
Nate stared at Nancy as she began to fumble with her pen.
'Wait, why's Yancy acting all funny? I mean we already know each othe–WAIT A MINUTE,' Nate thought, his brain beginning to work again.
Nate stared at her incredulously, as Nancy finally finished signing Nate's paper, before handing it back to him.
"H-Here you go..." Nancy mumbled.
"Th-thanks..." Nate muttered, accepting it, before finally calming down. "So...I can ask a question, right...?"
"Y-Yes..." Nancy mumbled.
"Do you enjoy being an idol?"
That question certainly caught her off guard. Nancy glanced back up to Nate, who had a more serious look on his face. Nancy began to think, before tilting her head down slightly.
"...Well, yes," Nancy replied. "I make people happy after all with my singing, and I help be an example for aspiring females everywhere, so yes, I enjoy being an idol..."
Nate's eyes narrowed slightly, sensing some kind of hesitation in Nancy's tone.
"I see..." Nate said. "Well, thanks for the answer Yancy."
"Yeah, no problem Na–!?" Nancy nonchalantly responded, before realizing her slip up and covered her mouth. The girl shot back up to Nate, who had a rather devious smirk on his face, as if a plan he devised worked splendidly.
'So he did recognize me!' Nancy internally screamed as Nate left. 'And he made me slip up!'
"Uh, are you alright, Nancy?" the next fan asked, noting Nancy's troubled expression.
"Huh?! Oh yeah, I'm fine," Nancy laughed nervously, before secretly taking out her Xtransceiver under her table and began to rapidly type up a text message and send it to a certain brunette.
"Admit it, you've fallen for Nancy," Rosa teased.
"Shut it, Bunhead!" Nate snarled, clearly embarrassed.
The trio, now having settled what they needed to do, headed straight for the gym to obtain their fourth gym badge. Or that was the original plan, but the gym guide told them that Elesa was out, and suggested checking the roller coaster house, since Elesa was known to visit and ride the attraction very often.
"You were completely entranced by her concert," Rosa went on. "I know boy are mesmerized by Nancy, but you were treating her like Grade-A eye candy."
"Okay actually shut up!" Nate growled in annoyance, still clearly flustered.
"C'mon, quit teasing him," Hugh defended Nate, deciding that enough was enough.
"Fine," Rosa huffed.
"Stupid bitch," Nate grumbled under his breath.
The trio reached the roller coaster park after stopping their fun time of teasing Nate.
"So, Elesa's here?" Rosa asked.
"I guess," Hugh shrugged.
"Alright then, let's go," Rosa said.
As the trio were about to head in, Nate suddenly received a message on his Xtransceiver.
"The hell?" Nate asked, stopping to go check his Xtransceiver.
Meet me in front of the Ferris wheel before 5.
I'll explain everything.
-Yancy.
"Uh huh..." Nate muttered. "Alright you guys go on ahead, I got shit to do."
"Huh?" Rosa asked.
"Cowlick wants me to go to the Relic Castle," Nate lied. "I dunno why, but he wants me to investigate."
"Alright then," Hugh shrugged. "We'll just go on ahead then."
"I'll meet up with you guys by tonight or something," Nate shrugged as he left, jumping onto a street lamp, before jumping onto the building and out of their sight.
Rosa and Hugh looked at each other, before shrugging it off and heading into the roller coaster park. Nate sneaked a peek down on the ground to make sure that Rosa and Hugh had left, before looking around to spot the Ferris wheel.
Leaping across building to building like a ninja, Nate managed to reach said Ferris wheel, while spotting a rather familiar white panama from the bird's view. Nate quietly landed near some bushes, before emerging and approaching the familiar girl. Nate smirked, before quietly creeping up behind her, and poking her on the shoulder, surprising the girl.
"No! I'm not who you think!" she panicked before turning around to see the boy. "Huh? Nate?"
"Surprised you, didn't I, Yancy?" Nate snickered.
"Sorry about that, I thought you were someone else..." Yancy mumbled. "So I was a little surprised."
"Yeah," Nate said. "So...you're an idol..."
"Y-Yeah..." Yancy mumbled, hiding her shame under her hat. "Did you...enjoy the concert...at least...?"
"You know what...yeah...I actually did," Nate admitted. "You're pretty good. I can see why you have a lot of fans at least."
"R-Really?" Yancy asked, perking up tremendously.
"Yeah," Nate said. Yancy seemed to have taken the news very well, judging from that dreamy look on her face. "Oh, that reminds me."
Nate began to dig through his bag, before taking out Yancy's Xtransceiver and handing it back to her.
"I believe this is your's," Nate said.
"Thank you," Yancy said, accepting the device.
"Whatever," Nate shrugged. "So, curious though, about your answer back then."
"My answer?" Yancy asked.
"Back when I asked you if you were happy with being an idol or not," Nate said, his smile dropping. "There was a tinge of hesitation in your tone when you answered me. You have any inner demons to worry about?"
Yancy had a rather nervous look on her face. Yep, there was definitely something she was hiding, even after her mask as an idol was found out.
"...Do you mind if we could ride the Ferris wheel?" Yancy asked. "I'd rather talk in private."
Nate stared at Yancy, before agreeing.
The two got onto the next available capsule, before the ride started and the capsule began its ascent.
"Y'know, Nimbasa's Ferris Wheel is famous for having a beautiful view," Yancy said.
"Uh huh," Nate muttered, glancing outside the window. The view was rather impressive. "So? You said you wanted to talk in private."
Yancy sighed, before glancing outside the window.
"...Three years ago, I was just a normal girl," Yancy started. "I lived with my father and brother. My mother had died when I was little from a disease. We were fairly peaceful."
'A dead parent...' Nate thought darkly. So she had some parallels too.
"I lived a fairly normal life," Yancy said. "Living with two men, I ended up picking up on their hobbies too...I was different from other girls. And that's what got me into getting bullied by the other girls at school."
"Bullied?" Nate asked, genuinely curious.
"I didn't make any friends back then," Yancy admitted. "I was the shy, lonely girl who would always sit in the back of the class not socializing with anyone, and always found solace in reading by myself. I was the perfect target for everyone to pick on.
"'You mom-less freak', 'your dad's a workaholic', 'you never have any clean clothing', 'why can't you be a normal girl', the list goes on," Yancy said darkly. "Because I didn't have a mom to go to, or a dad to bring to school one day, because we could only wash our clothes once a week to preserve as much money as we can, because I wasn't a normal girl...I was apparently a freak to everyone that justified being picked on by everyone else."
Nate clicked his tongue in disgust. Of course the humans would gang up on the one anomaly and haze them. Such pathetic acts could only be done by such trash.
"I was at first used to the insults, trying to ignore them all...but my patience eventually wore thin," Yancy went on. "I stopped going to school, unable to take any more insults...they just got stale and repetitive...I was sick of it all. I hated the girl I was that was targeted by everyone, and yet couldn't do anything about it."
"...And how does this lead to you becoming an idol?" Nate asked.
"Because I wanted to change myself. I wanted to escape the identity of that bullied girl Yancy..." Yancy answered. "That chance came when my father informed me that he had applied both my brother and I for an audition to be an idol. At first I was mad that he did that without me knowing, but I accepted it anyways. It was the perfect chance to change myself."
"And so you went to the auditions and ended up passing," Nate managed to conclude, earning a nod from Yancy.
"...Yeah, I did," Yancy said. "I passed the auditions, while my brother passed other auditions. It took a year until our actual debut, going through countless other auditions, appealing to gravure magazines, until finally we was acknowledged by the entertainment business. From there, I was given my stage name, 'Nancy', while my brother, Curtis, ended up becoming 'Christoph'. My father became our manager, and then, well, everything else became history. We managed to escape poverty, I was no longer bullied, and I ended up gaining a moniker, 'Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy'."
"Alright, now explain why you're not happy about it. I mean this was what you wanted," Nate inquired.
"Well, everything went well at first, but then it came the time to release information about 'Nancy', because everyone was interested in learning about their sweetheart," Yancy explained in a rather tired tone. "I was gonna be honest with myself, but Father told me to tweak some of the information to be published. I was a little upset; if there was anything, I'd always wanted to be honest with myself. But my father convinced me to go through with it; in order to better appeal to the mass; to further the distance from 'Nancy' and 'Yancy'. That's how they became two different people.
"Nancy liked sweet food. Yancy also liked sweet food, but would rather choose spicy food. Nancy liked to read romance. Yancy had no preference for specific genres, but would rather read mystery. Nancy was bubbly and talkative. Yancy was more reserved and timid. Nancy is notable and sticks out like a sore thumb in a middle of a crowd. Yancy is bland, and blends too perfectly into the crowd.
"Nancy is the role model of girls everywhere. Yancy was the loser bullied by girls everywhere.
"I didn't think much of it at first; I was just happy that I no longer had to deal with what I used to have to deal with. I was at peace," Yancy said. "But...eventually I realized that I wasn't myself anymore.
"Everyone only recognized me as 'Nancy', the sweet, bubbly, idol adored by Unova. No one remembered who 'Yancy' was. Even my own father stopped looking at me as his daughter. He only looked at me as 'Nancy', his means of keeping away from the poverty that plagued his life. I don't even remember the last time he called me by my real name. Only you, my brother and Roxie even call me Yancy anymore.
"Everyone's just focused on 'Nancy'. No one wants to know about 'Yancy'. I lied for so long...because 'Nancy' was nothing like 'Yancy'. No one knows the real me."
Nate narrowed his eyes as Yancy's tone dropped when she said that.
"...So you're longing for someone to see the real you, after building up a mask to get away from that," Nate summed it up. "...Talk about irony."
"Right?" Yancy laughed weakly. "I'm nothing but a liar; I have to lie to keep up everyone's expectations as 'Nancy', yet I want someone to look at me for who I really am. Because no one else will...Of course, I have no right to complain. It was my decision to discard my identity as 'Yancy' to become who I am now. I don't have the right to yearn for what I threw away."
Nate stared at Yancy for a long while, absorbing all the information presented to him. He knew Hugh shared a lot of parallels to him, and thus was why Nate could relate to the blue-haired trainer, but Yancy...
The similarities between the girl and him were staggering, even for him.
"You're right," Nate said sternly. "You don't have a right to complain about no one seeing the real you or wanting to regain your old self, whatever that is anymore, when you went through all the effort to throw it away in the first place. That's turning your back to all the effort you put in the past three years. That's simply running away from it all because you don't like what you've become."
"Yeah...you're right..." Yancy mumbled gloomily.
"In that case, remake it," Nate offered, confusing Yancy. "If no one remembers who 'Yancy' was, then remake that personality. From the scraps of your old personality, remake it into a new one; one that you're true to and that you'll be proud of."
Yancy stared at Nate in amazement, as the boy decided to glance out to the window.
"Huh, you're right, this is a nice view," Nate said.
Yancy glanced to where he was staring out to, and witnessed the breathtaking view of an orange sky over the glittering city of Nimbasa. It was truly breathtaking.
"At the very least, I'll help you," Nate offered.
"Help me?" Yancy asked.
"If you want people to know the real you," Nate said. "Then I'll be the first step for you. The first person to get to know the real you. Not 'Nancy' Unova's lying sweetheart, or 'Yancy' the loser no one seems to want, but you, the person who wants to be true to yourself."
"Nate..." Yancy said, before smiling. "Thank you..."
Eventually the Ferris wheel came to an end, and Nate and Yancy exited the capsule.
"Yancy!"
The two turned to see a boy with lime-green hair rushing up to them.
"Curtis?" Yancy asked.
"What is he, your boyfriend or something?" Nate asked.
"No, he's my brother," Yancy corrected him as Curtis rushed up to them.
"Where were you?!" Curtis exclaimed, gasping for breath. "Dad's really pissed right now!"
"What?" Yancy asked, before remembering that she was supposed to be doing something. "Oh no, what time is it?!"
"It's almost five," Curtis said. "Y'know, when Nancy's supposed to be interviewing Elesa and partaking in an exhibition match?"
"Oh no, I have to hurry back!" Yancy exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, you're supposed to be doing something," Nate mumbled.
"Wait, who's the guy?" Curtis asked.
"Later!" Yancy yelled. "Oh no, even if we run, it'll take us ten minutes to get ready AND to get to Elesa's gym for the interview!"
"How long you need to change?" Nate suddenly asked.
"Huh? Well, at least like 3 minutes..." Yancy said, before getting cut off as Nate suddenly carried her in his arms bridal style. "Wh–WHAT THE?!"
"I need to get her to the stage to change, right?" Nate asked Curtis.
"Huh? Yeah, but you won't make it–," Curtis said. Nate didn't let him finish, as the boy suddenly jumped onto the capsule, before jumping from platform to platform at an alarming speed, headed straight for the stage. He left Curtis in the dust, as the lime-haired boy was left with his jaw dropped. "...In time..."
One minute later, and Nate fell from the sky, landing onto the stage carrying a now flustered Yancy in his arms, alerting security, along with a pink-haired man.
"What in the hell?!" the man yelled.
"Alright, we're here," Nate said as he placed Yancy onto the ground.
"Nancy!" the man yelled.
"Ah, Father!" Yancy exclaimed as the man rushed up to her.
"Where were you?!" the man asked. "We were so worried that someone kidnapped you!"
"Oh yeah...sorry..."Yancy mumbled.
"Never mind now," the man shook his head. "Let's just get you ready and headed to Elesa's before the time limit."
The man grabbed Yancy and practically dragged the girl backstage without even acknowledging Nate.
"Oh, so don't even acknowledge the preteen who potentially kidnapped your idol daughter," Nate muttered. "Why are the dad-figures I run into just absolute shit tier? Man I miss Dad. He was cool."
Shrugging it off, Nate decided to make his way to Elesa's, supposedly Nancy's next destination.
"And Eelektross goes down! Meaning the challengers Rosa Echoes and Hugh Matis are the winner!"
Nate managed to sneak into the crowd while they erupted in applaud for Rosa and Hugh, as the duo sighed in relief. A primarily light green, slightly insectoid bipedal dragon was panting slightly, while Eve was laying on the dragon's back, completely exhausted. In front of them were a large eel-like Pokémon that resembles a lamprey, along with a zebra-like Pokémon, both defeated, while the duo's opponent, a beautiful woman with long black hair wearing a blue and yellow bikini, applauded for her challengers as she picked up her yellow puffy coat.
'So they actually won...' Nate thought as he hid himself among the crowd. 'And Vibrava evolved into Flygon mid-battle...wow that bastard's team's just getting better and better in such short notice.'
"Congratulations you two," the woman complimented. "You two did fantastic. Especially when your vibrava evolved into a flygon midway. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you Miss Elesa," Rosa said in a star-struck tone. "It was an honor fighting you."
"Likewise," Hugh said in a more normal tone.
"You two truly earned this," Elesa said as she gave each of them a lightning-bolt shaped badge, and a yellow disc. "The Bolt Badge, and the TM Volt Switch."
"Thank you ma'am," they both said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give another round of applause to the challengers!"
Rosa and Hugh received another round of cheers from the audience as they went to their Pokémon.
"You did amazingly, Eve!" Rosa squealed as she coddled the fox.
"-Yep!-" Eve barked in happiness.
"Nice work, Vibrava–wait, Flygon," Hugh congratulated his newly-evolved partner. "How do you like your new form?"
"-Not too shabby,-" Flygon grinned as he gave Hugh a thumbs up. "-I like having claws now.-"
"Alright now," Elesa said as she went to heal up her Pokémon. "I actually have an interview with Yancy right after this. Would you two like a special VIP seat?"
"Yes please!" Rosa practically beamed, while Hugh shrugged indifferently.
Giggling at Rosa's enthusiasm, Elesa led Rosa and Hugh to two seats near the large screen, which was divided off from the audience watching from the side of the catwalk, indicating that they were VIP seats. Nate simply eyed them from the crowd he was hiding in.
'Judging from both the eelektross and zebstrika...those two actually went through with Challenge Mode...' Nate thought. 'Well now, they actually handled themselves...'
His thoughts were broken off, as the crowd got even crazier.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The guest of honor has arrived! Let's give a warm welcome to Unova's Sweetheart, Nancy!"
The crowd went ballistic, as Nancy made her way down the catwalk, smiling and waving at the audience.
'Well she's really good at putting up a face,' Nate noted, considering they just had a rather sentimental conversation some ten minutes ago.
"Hello, Unova!" Nancy exclaimed with that bubbly tone she used during her concert. "It's Nancy, here with National Gymquierer, ready to interview the Shocking Supermodel, Elesa herself!"
As Nancy walked up to Elesa to do her interview, Nate glanced around, catching up on various side conversations that were going on while Nancy was interviewing Elesa.
"Man, both Nancy and Elesa at the same place? I can die happy now~."
"I can't decide who's hotter, Nancy or Elesa."
"Nancy's got that sweet, cheerful girl demeanor, but Elesa gives off the vibe of a cool, mature lady."
"Dude, check out Nancy! Man she is HOT! Those curves, that ass, that chest? I would totally fuck her!"
In response to that last comment, Nate took a coin from someone's pocket and angrily flung it at the teenage boy who made the comment.
"Ow!"
The coin pelted the boy's head rather painfully, as he looked around to see who did it. Nate smirked evilly as he shifted his attention back to Nancy.
"Well at least I can give her another reason to make a new persona," Nate grumbled.
"And now for the main event!" Nancy exclaimed once her interview was done. "I'd like to challenge Elesa to an exhibition match! However! I'd like to invite someone from the crowd to join me in battling Elesa!"
The crowd went insane, while Nate arched a brow. She would make this into a 2 vs 1? Well, if Rosa and Hugh could do it, then I guess it was possible. Especially if it was a simple exhibition; which shouldn't be too hard.
"Now, who will I pick today~?" Nancy asked playfully as she looked around the crowd, as spotlights began to hover above the crowd.
Everyone looked tense, many of them praying that Nancy would pick them to join her in battling Elesa. Some of the boys were even down on their knees praying. Nate looked surprised, but managed to hide a snicker. This kind of desperation was entertaining to watch, so long as he wasn't the one in the position.
Nancy's eyes hovered across the crowd, until they met Nate's unassuming eyes. Her fake grin turned genuine and increased in size as she pointed to the blue-cladded boy, signaling all the spotlights to shine upon him.
"You!" Nancy exclaimed with gusto. "You'll be my partner!"
The crowd's attention shifted to Nate, before it exploding once more in excitement.
"Heh?" Nate blurted as security workers lifted Nate and got him onto the catwalk.
"So tell us, what's your name?" Nancy asked, placing the microphone to his mouth.
'Fuck, live television...oh whatever...even if I use a fake name here, it probably wouldn't do much good anyways,' Nate thought. "Uh...Nate..."
"Well then Nate," Nancy inquired. "Will you do me the honor of joining me in battling Elesa?"
"...I guess," Nate shrugged.
"Great!" Nancy squealed as she grabbed his arm and led him down the catwalk.
The boy could notice the jealous glares from the boys from the crowd, and a few girls too.
"What the hell's going on?" Nate whispered to Nancy.
"Father wanted to spice things up by making this into a 2 vs 1, after watching the previous gym battle that took place," Nancy whispered to him.
"Oh great," Nate groaned.
Once they reached their soon-to-be battlefield, Nate noticed Rosa and Hugh at the VIP section, whom jaws were dropped at the sight of him being picked out by Nancy. Nate could only give them a shrug; it wasn't his idea to be picked out and dragged onto a field in live television anyways.
Either way, he owed them an explanation.
"Welcome to the main stage, my darling, where my beloved Pokémon and your beloved Pokémon shall compete," Elesa exclaimed with a theatrical flair in her tone. "Let us see whose star shines brighter!"
Well this was an interesting change of pace, to say the least.
To be continued
AN: Y'know this took up more of the chapter than I anticipated it would, not gonna lie. Oh well, I can always use next chapter. Not to mention the pacing in terms of plot progression in PoYS is faster than CoYS in the fact that the PoYS group is already in Nimbasa at chapter 9, while it took the CoYS group up to chapter 14 to reach Nimbasa. So potentially, PoYS might have less chapters than CoYS. Idk that's just a guess.
Well hope you guys liked how I pretty much revamped Yancy's character, and hope this fed you transceivershippers out there. Also I hope this makes Nate look a lot more decent in terms of being an actual human being. I mean I'm having a lot of fun writing the little bastard and his personality and morale is something to behold to me.
And to update:
Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid) / Brav (Braviary)
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)
Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga / Heracross
Wow, I just subtly upgraded Hugh's team without realizing it. Also if you haven't checked it out yet, I'd really appreciate it if you all could go check out my XY story, Fidelity. I mean if you're tired of seeing competent male leads, then the nervous wreck of a female lead I turned Serena into might be a fresh breath of air to you, since there's no way she's OP like Nate. And if you like bastards like Nate, then the elitist loner asshole I turned Calem into might fancy you.
Also...this might come to bite me in the ass later on, but:
Pokemon Platinum Story: Platinum Witch: Coming December 24.
Think of it as my Christmas present to you all since a lot of you want me to write a story about Platinum after Dawn's reception in CoYS, assuming I actually get it in on time. Hopefully along with one more update to PoYS and Fidelity, but we'll see.
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!