Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 10: Stigma
AN: I hope you all had a happy new years! I'd like to start off 2016 on my part with a brand new chapter to give to you all!
And to respond to a bunch of reviews you all left for me since the last one:
I. M. Poik: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Hopefully you'll enjoy this one just as much!
Tony Anderson: Thanks, glad you like it!
Eris: Holy shit you left a really long one. It'll take up a LOT of room to reply to all of your points you made (since it's essentially you summing up your reaction to CoYS), but I'm glad you liked it, and glad that it helped you clear up a few things you didn't understand the first time for PoYS. It's a good thing to read the first piece before checking out its sequel after all haha. But you were spot on in regards to many points you made regarding PoYS, however, that'll all be revealed in the future. Yeah, action was lacking last chapter, since it was more for character development over anything. Hopefully this one makes up for it ^^'
Defender31415: Thanks, glad you liked it!
Guest (Nov. 30): Glad you liked the transceivershipping parts, even if you support visorshipping. Don't worry to all you visorshippers, I have something planned for all of you in the future.
xQEAx: Thanks man, glad you liked it, and the shipping moments!
zeldamaster456: Thanks! Glad you like the story, and hopefully it'll keep on delivering for you.
OblivionWings: Thanks! Although I do advise you read Color of Your Soul first (the one with Hilbert), even if you do prefer BW2 over BW, since it'll explain a lot of points PoYS makes, especially this chapter's points. Oh well, your call.
Kircsh: Thanks man! Yeah, seeing the one who usually all the cards in his hands fumble like that can be pretty cute if you imagine someone like him blush like that haha. You do have a point, I guess I do have a tendency to reuse a word a bunch of times ^^' I'll work on trying to variate my vocabulary a little. And well, juggling three stories is gonna be tough, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not confident in my ability to juggle these three, and my life at the same time; not to mention I have one non-Pokemon related story planned for release. But damn will I try my best. Hopefully you all can understand.
zeffron42: Hey, even if it is cheezy, if it works, then why not? It still makes for an effective way to expand on Yancy's character.
Guest (Dec. 31): In my defense, I never actually stated that this would be visorshipping. Hell, I haven't decided the final pairing for Nate yet.
Alright, on to the show!
From her side of the field, Elesa sent out a white flying squirrel-like Pokémon and a large yellow spider-like Pokémon from her side. The squirrel floated above the spider, while the spider made a loud thud as it landed on the field.
"From Elesa's side comes out Emolga and Galvantula! What will Nancy and her partner choose to combat these two electrifying menaces?"
Nate leered at the two Pokémon as he scanned them with his pokédex.
"Emolga, the sky squirrel Pokémon. It glides on its outstretched membrane while shocking foes with the electricty stored in the pounches on its cheeks."
"Galvantula, the EleSpider Pokémon. It creates barriers from electrified silk that stuns foes. This works as a weapon as well as a defense."
"So, any other rules we should be aware of?" Nate asked.
"I'll be using a team of four, while you two will use two each," Elesa explained. "Whoever loses all four first loses."
"Fair enough," Nate shrugged, before eyeing the emolga and galvantula. "Nite!"
"Audi!"
From the challenger's side, Nite and Audi emerged from their pokéballs, landing in front of their respective trainers. Nite pounded his hands aggressively, while Audi looked around, wondering what's going on.
"-Alright, let's show'em Boss!-" Nite roared.
"And from the challenger's side comes out Pignite and Audino!"
"You sure you can fight?" Nate asked Nancy skeptically.
"Well I still have to put up a show, at least," Nancy replied back.
Nate arched a brow, still intrigued at how much more confident 'Nancy' was compared to 'Yancy'.
"Alright then," Nate said. "I'll focus on Galvantula. You deal with Emolga."
"Got it," Nancy nodded.
"Let's start then!" Elesa boomed. "Galvantula, Thunder! Emolga, Air Slash!"
Galvantula shot a jolt of electricity into the air, while Emolga shot a blade of air at Nite. Nite barely dodged the Air Slash, while Audi defended herself from the incoming Thunder.
"Nite, Flame Charge at Galvantula!" Nate yelled.
"Audi, Ice Beam!" Nancy yelled out.
Nite covered himself in flames as he charged at Galvantula, while Audi shot a beam of ice at Emolga. Emolga dodged the Ice Beam, while Galvantula dodged Nite's Flame Charge. Nite landed behind the spider, but instantly shot back to it, managing to land a hit from behind.
"And Pignite manages to land a clean Flame Charge into Elesa's Galvantula, nailing in some super-effective damage, while gaining a much needed speed boost!"
"Emolga, Air Slash!"
As Nite crashed into Galvantula, Emolga shot an Air Slash at the fire pig, managing to hit it from behind.
"-Guh!-" Nite winced.
"Now, Thunder, Galvantula!"
As Nite flinched from the Air Slash, Galvantula took the opportunity to shoot down a Thunder at the pig, nailing him hard with the murderous jolt of electricity. Nite was fried by the Thunder, breathing somewhat heavily from the damage.
"Oh! But it looks like Elesa won't be letting the challenger have their way with a nasty double attack on Pignite!"
"Now, finish the pignite off with–!" Elesa commanded.
"Double-Edge!"
Before Galvantula could to anything, Audi suddenly shot out of nowhere and rammed into Galvantula, preventing it from attacking Nite any further. The force from Double-Edge managed to send Galvantula flying into Emolga, buying Nite much needed time to retreat.
"And Nancy comes in with a nice save with her audino's Double-Edge, giving them time to retreat and re-plan their attack!"
"The announcer's starting to piss me off," Nate said as Nite returned to him. "Nice save by the way."
"Is Nite alright?" Nancy asked in concern as Audi returned to her.
Nate glanced at Nite, who was panting heavily, while electricity coursed through him painfully.
"He's paralyzed..." Nate clicked his tongue. "There goes the speed boost from Flame Charge."
"Audi, Heal Pulse."
Audi faced Nite and emitted a serene, calm pulse at Nite, which began to heal his wounds.
"Follow it up with Heal Bell," Nancy said.
Audi nodded and clapped her hands, releasing a soothing bell sound that managed to cure Nite of his paralysis.
"What's this? It looks like Nancy's audino is healing up her partner's pignite! As expected from the super-idol Nancy! Strong, and considerate of her partner's Pokémon!"
At that response, the audience applauded, cheering Nancy's name as Nite shook himself and faced the opponents.
"Yeah, I really like the other gym battles more," Nate growled. "This announcer is really pissing me off and this crowd is like a hive mind. Thanks anyways."
"No problem," Nancy smiled. "I'll provide back up. Nate, you go on the offensive."
"Yes ma'am," Nate smirked. "Nite, Heat Crash!"
Nite nodded and bulleted towards Galvantula, before circling around the spider to confuse it and then swiftly jump over Galvantula and plummeting onto the spider in a burst of flames.
"-AAAAGH!?-" Galvantula hissed in pain as Nite's weight crushed it.
Emolga tried to go in to help Galvantula, but Nite saw the squirrel, got off Galvantula and grabbed him, before hurling the spider at Emolga.
"Now, Ice Beam!" Nancy commanded.
Right as Emolga and Galvantula were stuck together, Audi shot an Ice Beam at them, encasing them in one single prison of ice.
"Now, Rollout!" Nate yelled.
Nite rushed at the case of ice and rolled into a ball that charged at them at a blistering speed, before smashing them out of the ice and sending them into the air. Emolga managed to get back into the air, but Galvantula crashed into the wall, before regaining conscious and clinging onto it.
"Incredible! What teamwork! It looks like the challengers still got some game in them! As expected of Nancy, being able to synergize with her selected partner so easily!"
"Did your dad–manager pay off the announcer to kiss up to you or something?" Nate asked, getting increasingly annoyed at him.
"Perhaps," Nancy shrugged. "He'll do anything to boost up my image."
"So long as he doesn't start paying off assholes to pretend to be your boyfriend, and we're good," Nate mumbled.
"What was that?" Nancy asked.
"Not now," Nate shot her down.
"Not bad," Elesa said as Galvantula and Emolga returned to her. "You two are pretty good."
"Well y'know, if you've been doing this for a while, then you have to at least not suck," Nate replied.
"Well then, let's hope you can keep it up," Elesa challenged.
"Of course we can," Nancy responded rather haughtily. "We'll definitely beat you!"
"Wow! What a declaration of confidence from Nancy! It's obvious that not even a renowned gym leader can scare her off! Can her partner keep up with Nancy?"
And with that response ushered in the audience to cheer for Nancy once again, while managing to tick off Nate even further with that last remark.
"Obnoxious little..." Nate growled, his tone now laced in annoyance. "Nite, Rollout!"
Nite rolled into a ball once more and charged at Galvantula, who was barely keeping up its posture.
"Emolga intercept with Spark!" Elesa yelled.
As Nite charged at Galvantula, Emolga lunged into Nite in an electrically charged tackle, bouncing off the pig, but managing to stop Nite in his attack. As Nite recovered from the Spark attack, a sticky web was shot at him, covering him in the web.
"-What the–!?-" Nite blurted, seeing that he was covered in the web.
"The hell?!" Nate blurted as he glanced over to Galvantula, who was holding the end of the web.
"You're caught in Galvantula's webs," Elesa enlightened Nate. "Galvantulas likes to use electrically charged silk to ensnare prey. The electricity stuns the victim, allowing them to consume the target at its leisure."
"Oh fuck..." Nate muttered, realizing what the spider was about to do.
Galvantula grabbed the web with one of its pedipalps and sent a violent electrical charge through it, electrocuting Nite.
"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!?-" Nite screamed in pain.
"Shit!" Nate swore.
"Audi, get him out of there!" Nancy yelled.
"Emolga!"
As Audi was about to help Nite, Emolga rammed into the hearing Pokémon, leaving Nite at the mercy of Galvantula.
"Audi!" Nancy cried.
"Oh fan-fucking-tastic..." Nate groaned. "Nite! Show some back bone! I know you're tougher than that! Flame Charge!"
Wishing to answer to Nate's belief in him, the Fire-type roared in defiance, and ignited himself on fire. The fire caught onto the silk and traveled up until it touched Galvantula, and consumed the Elespider in its flames.
"-GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!-" Galvantula cried in agony as it let go of the silk to try and deal with the fire.
The fire from Flame Charge managed to burn through the silk, freeing Nite from it.
"Tear him down!" Nate roared, which Nite obliged by crashing into Galvantula.
"Oh no! Emolga help Galvantula out–!" Elesa hastily ordered.
"Not so fast! Audi Ice Beam!" Nancy interrupted.
Before Emolga could act, Audi shot another Ice Beam from behind, freezing the flying squirrel once more.
"Alright Nite, hurl the damn spider at 'em!" Nate smirked.
With his newly buffed speed, Nite rushed at Galvantula before the spider could recover from being lit on fire, grabbed it, and proceeded to swing it around violently before hurling it straight at the frozen Emolga. The burning spider ripped through the ice, crashing into Emolga. The ice broke off completely, leaving the two Electric-types unconscious.
"And Elesa's Emolga and Galvantula are down for the count! What great teamwork displayed by Nancy and her partner!"
"Well at least he's doing alright," Hugh commented as he and Rosa were spectating Nate's battle against Elesa from the VIP section.
"That's to be expected giving his skill," Rosa said. "At this point, it would be surprising if he couldn't get this far."
"Still, what a coincidence that Nancy would end up choosing Nate of all people," Hugh said.
Rosa glanced at said idol, who was giving off a somewhat proud smirk, waving to her erupting fans before glancing back to Nate rather dreamily. Said boy was paying more attention to Nite, who was exhausted, and proceeded to give him a Sitrus Berry to heal him.
"Yeah..." Rosa narrowed her eyes at Nancy. "Y'know, she seemed a bit too enthusiastic when picking him out."
"You think so?" Hugh asked. "I dunno, it's probably all in the act. She is an idol after all. These kinds of theatrics must be natural for her."
"I guess..." Rosa muttered, conceding for now.
Still, Nancy seemed a bit too close to Nate for it to be a mere act for the cameras. Rosa had observed the way they communicated during their battle; the bubblegum-haired idol listened to Nate intently, strictly supporting him as he took the offensive. For a mere act, they seemed to work in near-perfect sync.
And Nate, while being surprised by being sought out by Nancy given his previous expression he sent to them, he didn't seem too fazed by the sudden turn of event afterwards. Her friend (if she can actually consider him one yet), seemed to act way too nonchalant towards someone of her status. It was as if he already knew who she was and had no qualms ordering her around despite the fact that such a 'heinous act' (what her fans would probably consider it if they actually took note of it) would definitely earn for ire from them to him.
Then again it could just be Nate's usual personality; the boy doesn't seem like the type to care about things like her status as an idol or things normal people would probably care about (or their opinion for that matter). Nate didn't really care for those kinds of things, so he could well have easily just adapted to the situation and went along with it. Nate leered as he got into a defensive stance, signaling Nany to get ready. Ah, so Elesa decided to reveal her zebstrika and eelektross. Those two were powerful foes. She and Hugh had a hard time fighting them. Things would've turned not as well had Vibrava not evolved into Flygon mid-battle, giving them the much-needed boost to combat the two Electric-types. It pained her to admit it, but she wasn't sure if she could handle facing both of them had Vibrava not been there. Eve didn't prove to be too effective against them–.
No, now's not the time to think about it. Right now, she should be rooting for Nate. She could worry about her own team later. Besides, Eve would've found a way around that fight.
"You okay, Rosa?" Hugh asked.
"Huh?" Rosa blurted, glancing to the boy.
"You were staring pretty damn intently at Nancy," Hugh pointed out.
"I was...?" Rosa asked. She didn't even notice. "...Don't worry about it."
Hugh shrugged, glancing back to the battle. Rosa hadn't realized that she was staring so fervently at the idol. Sure she had her suspicions, but they weren't that bad. Nate could take care of himself regardless. Although she couldn't help but feel...something...as she watched how Nate and Nancy worked together rather smoothly, in spite of the obvious difference in skill between the two.
She couldn't help but feel some kind of disdain towards it all, and she couldn't understand why. One thing was sure however.
She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
"Zebsrika, the thunderbolt Pokémon. When this ill-tempered Pokémon runs wild, it shoots lightning from its mane in all directions."
"Eelektross, the EleFish Pokémon. It latches on to prey with its sucker mouth, sinking in its fangs and shocking the prey with powerful electricity."
Nate glanced at the data the pokédex provided about them. Nate mentally swore to himself as Nite pounded his front hooves. Zebstrika were known to be particularly fast among the Electric-types he encountered among Unova, and just as fierce. And Eelekross boasted the Levitate ability, meaning it was immune to its only weakness, Ground. Effectively making the lamprey boast no weaknesses. There were ways around it, but for the time being, they could only just hit it with their strongest moves to deal as much damage as possible.
"This is gonna be annoying..." Nate muttered. "Nite, Rock Smash!"
Nite shot towards Zebstrika and tried to smash his hoove onto its face, but Zestrika easily sidestepped out of the way, while Eelektross managed to grab him.
"-Wha–?!-" Nite blurted, before Eelektross threw him onto the ground like a ball.
Nite bounced off the ground, before Eelektross jumped up, grabbed Nite once again, and hurled him at Audi; the pig crashing into her like a cannon ball.
"Now, Zebstrika, Wild Charge!" Elesa commanded.
As Nite and Audi tried to get up, Zebstrika was already charging for them surrounded by violent electricity and crashed into them, blasting them away.
"Audi!" Nancy cried. Audi and Nite fell to the ground, no longer able to fight.
"And Audino and Pignite are down! Swiftly taken down by the terrifying teamwork of Elesa's Zebsrika and Eelektross! How will they pull this around now?!"
"Well that was fast," Nate muttered indifferently as he recalled Nite. "You did well Nite. A shame they used you for volleyball practice."
Nate then glanced to Nancy, who recalled Audi with a somewhat sad expression.
"You were great out there, Audi," she softly complimented her Pokémon.
"You have a mon with Earthquake?" Nate asked.
"Earthquake?" Nancy asked. "Well Snor knows Earthquake...but isn't Eelektross immune to Earthquake?"
"Good, because I have a plan," Nate assured her.
"Alright then," Nancy said, trusting Nate as she took out her next pokéball. "Snor!"
Nancy threw out her pokéball, releasing the giant snorlax, Snor, onto the field, briefly shaking the arena and the audience close by upon landing. The audience gasped at the sight of a non-Unova Pokémon making an appearance, before applauding madly.
"Wow! Nancy surprises us by unleashing a mighty large titan onto the field! I highly doubt her partner can conjure up anything that can rival this titanic monster! Will she be leading the forefront with this goliath of a Pokémon!?"
"Oh yeah?" Nate practically snarled as he released Luca. "Try this on for size, you annoying piece of shit."
The golden lucario landed gallantly onto the field, stealing everyone's attention from Snor, as she focused her attention on the two opposing Electric-types.
"O-Oh my goodness! A shiny lucario! What an extremely rare spectacle to behold! I've never thought I'd see the day I would witness my eyes upon a shiny Pokémon!"
The audience went crazy upon Luca's entrance, marveling at the uniquely colored lucario as she took a fighting stance.
"You know, we've been around Luca so much that I forgot shiny Pokémon were supposed to be extremely rare," Rosa commented from the VIP corner.
"Oh yeah," Hugh offhandedly muttered.
"-Uh, Nate...?-" Luca asked uncomfortably. "-What's going on?-"
"Ignore everyone around you," Nate muttered, pointing to the opposing two. "You and the bear have to fight those two."
"-But why are we...?-" Luca asked, glancing around to see the audience.
"Exhibition?" Nate shrugged. "I don't know, just finish this and we can get the hell out of here?"
"You have a shiny lucario?" Nancy asked, amazed at the sight of Luca.
Luca stared at Nancy for a moment, before glancing back at Nate.
"-Why's Yancy wearing that stuff?-" Luca asked Nate.
"Wait, how did you figure it out so fast?!" Nate gasped.
"-Well...it's not exactly rocket science,-" Luca shrugged. "-They do look practically the same outside of hairstyles.-"
"You can talk to Pokémon too?" Nancy asked Nate, awestruck.
"Not now," Nate muttered as he glanced back to Elesa.
"I do thank you for livening up the audience," Elesa said rather haughtily. "It's not very often you get to witness a shiny Pokémon. I do hope it's just not all show, however."
Luca narrowed her eyes at the supermodel gym leader, and immediately prepared a Bone Rush staff, before brandishing it.
"-I'll show you!-" Luca growled.
"Yeah, famous people are annoying," Nate declared, before noticing that Nancy looked offended and sighing. "Not you..."
Feeling better, Nancy got her act together, as Snor stepped up next to Luca.
"So this thing knows Earthquake?" Nate asked Nancy.
"Yes, why?" Nancy asked.
"Ok don't use it until I tell you to," Nate told her. "I have a plan, and I'd rather have you hide the fact that your snorlax has it until everything's ready."
"Alright," Nancy nodded.
"Are you two done flirting?" Elesa asked, grabbing their attention. "You two better give it your all if you want to defeat these two!"
"But of course!" Nancy shot back in a rather proud tone, doing her best to not flush in embarrassment over her last comment. "We won't go down so easily!"
The audience went up in another uproar as Elesa's Pokémon got ready to fight, while Snor let out a yawn before getting ready, and Luca was impatiently tapping her foot.
"And now the final round! Snorlax and Lucario versus Zebstrika and Eelektross! Who will prevail!?"
"...Is being famous this annoying?" Nate asked no one in particular.
"Eelektross, Discharge! Zebstrika, Volt Switch!"
Eelektross released a flare of electricity across the field, blasting every Pokémon around it with the electricity. Zebstrika seemed to be unfazed by the flare, but Snor had to withstand the discharge, while Luca quickly stabbed the field with her staff to let the electricity course through the field, avoiding any damage from the discharge. Zebstrika then shot several rings of voltage at Luca, who continued to brace herself with the staff plunged into the stage.
"Impressive," Elesa commented. "To use your Bone Rush as a redirector..."
"Pummel them!" Nate ordered.
Once the electrical onslaught had ceased, Luca pried her staff out of the ground and lunged at Zebstrika. As she went for a vertical slash, Zebstrika quickly sidestepped out of the way and got behind Luca, before ramming into her from behind. Luca clicked her tongue as she jumped back away from Zebstrika.
"Wild Charge!"
Zebstrika surged with violent electricity as it charged at Luca in an alarming speed, forcing Luca to block
"Tch, it's pretty fast," Nate muttered as Zebstrika charged for Luca once more.
"Eelektross, Drain Punch at Snorlax!" Elesa commanded.
"Meet it with Fire Punch!" Nancy quickly countered.
Eelektross's claw gripped into a fist with a green swirling energy surrounding it as the lamprey attacked Snor, who lit his paw on fire and met Eelektross's Drain Punch. The two punches clashed, before being forced back from the force of the collision.
"Continue with Discharge!" Elesa commanded with gusto.
Eelektross let out another flare of electricity that engulfed the arena, forcing Snor and Luca to defend themselves. Zebstrika used the opportunity to stomp Luca down, forcing the jackal down.
"Aura Sphere!"
As Zebstrika was about to stomp down on Luca, she quickly charged an Aura Sphere and shot it at Zebstrika, blasting the zebra away from her. Zebstrika managed to recover in the air and land back on its feet, glaring disapprovingly at Luca. Luca simply snorted and prepared another Bone Rush staff.
"She's pretty good," Nate mused.
"What now?" Nancy asked. "At this rate, we're stuck withstanding her attacks without being able to strike back."
"...What's Snor's full moveset?" Nate asked.
"Uh...Earthquake, Fire Punch, Hyper Beam, and Body Slam."
"...Use Hyper Beam the moment Luca manages to shoot them together with Aura Sphere. From there, I'll–."
"Volt Switch!" Elesa interrupted the two.
Zebstrika released another volt of electricity at Luca, who jumped out of the way. The volt struck the ground, leaving a charred spot on where it landed.
"It's stronger than before..." Nate muttered. "...Lightning Rod...?"
"Correct, dear boy," Elesa chuckled. "Lightning Rod allows Zebstrika to redirect and absorb all Electric-type attacks on the field, using it to boost her Special Attack."
"But since Discharge is a spread type move...it doesn't get redirected by Zebstrika's Lightning Rod..." Nate muttered. "So it gains the benefits while we're still hit by it."
"My, you catch on," Elesa commented. "Now how will you combat it now?"
"It won't matter if it doesn't hit me!" Nate yelled. "Luca, Extreme Speed!"
Luca brandished her staff, before sprinting at Zebstrika at an inhumane speed and striking the zebra on the side with her staff. Luca then flung Zebstrika at Eelektross, causing Zebstrika to crash into the lamprey.
"Now! Aura Sphere! Full Charge!"
"Hyper Beam!"
Luca charged an aura sphere to max capacity, while Snor charged a vehement amount of energy into his mouth. The duo then shot their respective projectiles at the two Electric-types before they could get back up, blasting them with the two projectiles.
"And the devastating combination blow of Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam nails Elesa's two Pokémon! Will that be enough to subdue them?!"
Snor slumped down, slightly panting in exhaustion.
"Hyper Beam forces Snor to rest before he can attack again..." Nancy commented to herself, glancing at Snor worryingly. "But it is a strong move...so hopefully..."
"If things turn out right, then that should be enough to take those two out," Nate finished for her as he checked out the cloud of dust that formed where Zebstrika and Eelektross were attacked.
"You know, you really are amazing, Nate," Nancy said to him.
"Huh?" Nate slurred.
"I mean, you were able to come up with such a good plan in such a short time," Nancy complimented.
"It's not really a 'good' plan," Nate shrugged. "More straightforward than anything."
"It's still better than what I could've done by myself," Nancy insisted.
"Is that so...?" Nate asked.
"Overheat!"
The two shot back to the dust cloud, where a giant fireball suddenly shot out from it, catching Luca off guard and blasting her with the infernos.
"-AAAAAGH!-" Luca cried in pain as the fire exploded.
"Luca!" Nate cried.
The dust cleared to reveal Zebstrika and Eelektross, standing defiantly, albeit exhausted.
"And a surprise Overheat from Zebstrika caught Lucario off guard, blasting the Steel-type fighter cleanly, and turning the tide on the battle!"
"They're still not defeated?!" Nancy gasped.
Nate shot his glance at Luca, who struggled to get back up, supporting herself with the Bone Rush staff.
"Lucario manages to stay standing barely! But with Snorlax needing to rest from using Hyper Beam, will they be able to make a comeback?! Or will Elesa show her dominance as the gym leader?!"
"Goddamn it..." Nate grumbled.
"So? How will you two overcome this conundrum?" Elesa asked rather tauntingly. "Your lucario is well in the range of fainting, and I highly doubt your snorlax can take on both Zebstrika and Eelektross by itself."
Nate and Nancy glared at Elesa, but the idol was secretly panicking inside. The plan instantly fell apart because Elesa's Pokémon actually managed to withstand both a Hyper Beam from Snor and an Aura Sphere from Nate's lucario. Not to mention they managed to score an Overheat on Lucario, which should've left a mark on her, considering that she's weak to the Fire-type move. Especially coming from a Pokémon who's had their Special Attack boosted twice. Frankly she was surprised Lucario can still stand.
At this rate, they were going to lose. She would lose in front of all these people. After all that confidence she put into this, she would lose to Elesa in front of everyone. And worse, she would lose in front of Nate.
What were they going to do now?
As Nancy began to sweat, Nate glanced at the internally panicking idol, before glancing at Luca. The jackal, albeit heavily exhausted, seemed to have enough energy to go a little longer. She glanced at Nate, who nodded in response. She acknowledged Nate's gesture with her own nod, before producing another staff.
"...Well it's a good thing we have one last trick up our sleeves," Nate said, getting Nancy's attention.
"What?" Nancy asked.
"...Luca! Restrain them!" Nate ordered.
Nodding, Luca growled as she gripped her staff and charged at Elesa's side.
"A futile effort..." Elesa shook her head. "Zebstrika!"
The zebra growled as she charged at Luca. Luca, however, evaded Zebstrika with Extreme Speed, before proceeding to slam the Bone Rush staff into Zebstrika's face. As the zebra was dazed, Luca suddenly hurled her staff at Eelektross. Eelektross quickly parried the staff, but Luca was already under the lamprey, where she proceeded to grab Eelektross and perform a suplex on Eelektross, slamming the Electric-type into the ground. Before Eelektross could recover, Luca pinned it to the ground, preventing it from escaping. Conveniently, Snor managed to recover from the Hyper Beam recoil, and was ready to fight once more.
"Incredible! It looks like Lucario still has some fight in it left, and has managed to pin down Eelektross! How will Nancy's side take advantage of this situation?"
"Now, Nancy! Tell Snor to use Earthquake!" Nate barked.
"Huh?!" Nancy blurted. "But...at this rate it'll hit Luca too–."
"I know that," Nate cut her off. "That was the plan. To get Zebstrika in a vulnerable state and to pin Eelektross down on the ground so that Earthquake will hit it."
"What?!" Nancy gasped, shocked that Nate would allow his own Pokémon to get caught in the impending attack. "But...!"
"Luca knew the plan, and understood the risks. Yet she went through with it," Nate reasoned with her. "She's fully prepared for it."
"But..." Nancy tried to protest.
"Do you want to win or not?" Nate asked.
"W-Win...?"
"It's only a matter of time before Zebstrika will recover and deal with Luca," Nate said hurriedly. "If that happens, then we pretty much lose."
Nancy still looked conflicted. She knew that Nate was right, but she still felt wrong in willingly hitting his Pokémon just to gain victory. It just didn't feel right. But before she could think about it any further, Zebstrika groaned, starting to regain some consciousness.
"Now or never!" Nate yelled, growing desperate and irritated.
"But–!" Nancy stuttered.
"JUST DO IT!" the boy snarled.
Nancy flinched from Nate's anger-filled yelling, but ultimately made her decision.
"Snor, Earthquake!" Nancy commanded.
"What?!" Elesa gasped.
Snor nodded, before slamming his body onto the stage, causing the entire arena; and everyone within a close proximity, to feel the earth shake and quake. The field began to falter; plates of the earth began to shoot out, stabbing Zebstrika, Eelektross, and predictably Luca with said plates from the earthquake.
Nancy felt her balance slipping, but Nate managed to catch her before she could fall, and shielded her from any stray debris that decided to shoot out from the earthquake.
"Nate..." Nancy said softly, watching in awe as the boy weathered the tremor for her and himself.
Once the tremor ceased, the field was covered in clouds of dust.
"Wh-what happened...?" Elesa coughed, having somehow withstood the tremor.
The clouds cleared, revealing a totally demolished arena. Predictably, Zebstrika and Eelektross were completely wiped out, having taken the full brunt of Snor's Earthquake. But to everyone's surprise, Luca was still somehow conscious; shaking violently as she wriggled in pain to slowly rise up slightly.
"-Don't...underestimate Nate...bitches...-" Luca swore silently, before her mind went black as she fainted.
"AMAZING! In one fell swoop, Snorlax was able to wrap up the match with a devastating Earthquake at the cost of hitting its own teammate! And with Snorlax still able to battle, Nancy's side is the winner!"
The crowd went wild, applauding for the battle. Ignoring the uproar, Nate went over and checked up on Luca, picking up the jackal.
"You did well, Luca," Nate smiled, before recalling her into her pokéball.
Nancy walked up to Nate, a rather guilty expression on her face.
"N-Nate..." Nancy mumbled.
The boy glanced up to Nancy, before sighing.
"Look, it was my idea to begin with," Nate said. "So don't worry about it. She knew the risks and went through with it too. You just went through with the plan."
Nancy still couldn't help but feel remorseful for taking out his Pokémon like that, but Nate placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, getting her to look up to him.
"You did pretty good out there," Nate comforted her. "You were a lot better than when we fought back at Virbank."
"R-Really?" Nancy inquired somewhat timidly.
"Yeah," Nate nodded.
"Congratulations are in order," Elesa interrupted them, walking up to the duo. "To think you had that kind of devastating move in your sleeves."
"It did make for the perfect surprise attack, did it not?" Nancy asked rather proudly as if she hadn't regretted attacking Luca just seconds ago.
'Well she's good at changing personas, that's something to keep note of,' Nate mused.
"Is your lucario going to be alright?" Elesa asked Nate.
"She's been through worse," Nate shrugged. "She'll be fine."
"But still, that was a formidable lucario you had there," Elesa complimented Nate. "Not to mention a rather beautiful and gallant one at that. It's not every day you get to see a shiny Pokémon."
"Well maybe not for you," Nate joked.
"Perhaps," Elesa giggled. "You're an even more wonderful trainer than I expected. Your cunning fighting style, not to mention the trust you put in your Pokémon, and into Nancy...they swept me off my feet!"
"Thanks, I guess..." Nate shrugged.
"Although this was an exhibition," Elesa continued. "Not rewarding you for such a great battle CANNOT be tolerated."
As she recalled Zebstrika and Eelektross, she snapped her fingers, where another woman showed up onto the stage, presenting her with a badge and a disk.
"The gym badge?" Nate asked.
"I already presented it to two other trainers who beat me before the exhibition," Elesa said. "And besides, you beat me after all. It would be redundant if you were forced to face me again afterwards."
Elesa picked up the thunderbolt-shaped badge and the yellow disk and presented them to Nate.
"The Bolt Badge. One of the Unova League's official badges, and the symbol of Nimbasa," Elesa said. "Also this TM contains 'Volt Switch'. It allows the user to switch out to another Pokémon upon using it."
Nate nodded, accepting his rewards and putting them into his bag.
"Now then, that concludes today's National Gymquier! I've been your host, Nancy!" Nancy exclaimed. "Have a good night Unova!"
The audience applauded loudly for the idol as she grabbed Nate's hand and brought him towards the back of the stage along with Elesa. As they approached the VIP section, Nate noticed Rosa and Hugh.
"Oh so that's where you two've been," Nate said.
"So you know all know each other," Elesa commented.
"That was pretty ballsy of you," Rosa commented. "Using yourself as bait to set up the snorlax to nail Zebstrika and Eelektross with Earthquake."
"It was pretty clever though," Hugh added.
"I guess," Nate shrugged. "And how did your battle go?"
"We won, obviously," Rosa scoffed with pride.
"Vibrava managed to evolve into Flygon during the fight," Hugh told him.
"Well that's good for you," Nate said. "So, what now?"
"So you all wish to challenge the next gym leader?" Elesa asked.
"Yes, do you know where the next gym is?" Rosa asked.
"Well the closest one is in Driftveil," Elesa said. "Just cross the drawbridge that's in Route 5 and you'll get there in no time."
"Alright then," Hugh nodded. "Let's rest up tonight, and leave tomorrow morning."
"Sounds like a plan," Nate said.
"Oh but first!" Nancy interrupted, grabbing Nate's arm. "I would like to interview my partner in private."
"Wait, wha–?" Rosa blurted.
"You don't mind, right Nate?" Nancy asked rather sweetly.
"Uh...I guess...?" Nate replied, unsure of what to say.
"Great!" Nancy exclaimed. "Oh don't worry you two, I'll release him once I'm done."
"Uh...sure..." Hugh muttered.
"Wait, wha–?" Rosa blurted, but Nancy already took Nate away.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to him," Elesa assured them. "You all just head back to the pokécenter. It's getting late, anyways."
"If you say so..." Rosa muttered unsurely.
Shrugging, Hugh turned to leave, while Rosa glanced at Nate and Nancy's retreating figures somewhat warily, before following Hugh out.
"Why do you look so troubled?" Hugh asked Rosa as she caught up to him. "It's not like she can do anything to him. He's too capable to let someone as frail-looking as that take advantage of him."
"I guess..." Rosa muttered, still not looking too convinced.
Hugh saw how wary Rosa was towards Nancy. Honestly he didn't quite understand it. There wasn't that much to worry about; Nate could more or less take care of himself. Frankly he was more worried about the idol. She probably didn't know what she got herself into becoming acquainted with him.
As they exited the gym and headed to the pokécenter, Rosa noticed something a nearby bench. She quickly went over to it, and got a closer look, where it was revealed to be an Xtransceiver; a rather old one at that.
"Huh?" Rosa mumbled to herself. "That's a pretty old model...wonder what it's doing here?"
"Rosa! What're you doing?!" Hugh called.
Rosa glanced up to the boy. He was already at the gate.
"Sorry! Just needed to throw something away!" Rosa called back as she proceeded to stuff the old Xtransceiver into her bag and rush over to her friend.
"So? Why did you bring me here, anyways?" Nate asked, sitting on a nearby chair.
"Why to interview you, of course," Nancy said matter-of-factly as she took a seat near him. "As the lucky fan who got picked by yours truly, you get to be interviewed."
"Yeah, 'lucky'," Nate rolled his eyes. It couldn't have been a more bias pick from her part even if he tried.
"C'mon, just roll with it," Nancy insisted playfully. "It wouldn't hurt."
"Fine," Nate huffed.
"So, how did you become a trainer?" Nancy asked.
"Huh? Well, I didn't intend to become one," Nate admitted. "But certain things happened, and I ended up being forced to become one."
"That's interesting," Nancy said. "So where did you meet Luca, anyways?"
Nate glowered slightly; his expression hardening slowly.
"I'd...rather not talk about it," Nate muttered in a warning tone.
Nancy noticed how Nate's tone suddenly changed, and decided to leave it be. It wasn't obviously the best of memories for him.
"Alright then..." Nancy said, deciding to ask a new question. "How many badges do you have?"
"As of now, four...? Was it four? Probably was four," Nate answered dismissively.
"That's quite a lot," Nancy commented. "How were all your gym battles up until now?"
"They were somewhat challenging, I guess," Nate shrugged. "Well since I end up challenging them with my friends, and one of them are persistent in making it a higher difficulty, so it was a lot more annoying than it could be."
"Sounds like you have a rather battle-crazed friend there," Nancy giggled.
"Battle-crazed, more like she's pretty prideful," Nate shook his head. "I mean sure I get that she wants to challenge herself by doing that, but sometimes I wonder whether or not she'll end up getting more than she can ask for at one point. When that happens, I'll be worried if her ego can handle the loss or not."
Nancy noticed the use of female pronouns Nate was using when addressing his friend. So it must be that 'Rosa' girl he was talking about. She did fit the prideful description alright. Nancy couldn't help but narrow her eyes a bit.
"So, what's your relationship with this friend of yours?" Nancy asked.
"Huh? Well, she's a traveling companion," Nate said flatly. "Boastful, arrogant, has a theatrical flair in her, and at the bare minimum annoying. And it's pretty fun to piss her off and see how she reacts."
"I see," Nancy said.
"However," Nate added. "While she can be annoying to deal with, her ambitions and ideals; while they are naïve and self-centered, are something that are worth admiring. And I can't deny the effort she put into her dreams. And when she doesn't have an overblown ego, she is pretty competent."
"I see..." Nancy muttered.
"Now if only she learned how to control her ego," Nate shook his head.
"She seems to be quite the handful," Nancy chuckled.
"Handful is an understatement," Nate laughed. "Well if anything, I can respect anyone who would pursue what they really want to do, regardless of whatever stands in their way."
Nancy glanced up at Nate as he continued.
"So even though I put her through a lot of shit and berate her a lot, she at least deserves some respect," Nate admitted. "Although she will have to learn humility if she truly wants to become what she wants to be."
Nancy stared at the boy, taking all the words he said to heart. That's the kind of person he admires. One who pursues their passions no matter what obstacle stands in their way. Essentially someone who stays true to themselves and their ideals. That was someone she so desperately wanted to be. She couldn't help but feel envious of that girl. She got to do whatever she wanted. She didn't have to listen to anyone like herself. She wasn't bound to the ground playing 'idol' for everyone.
Whether she realizes it or not, she's getting all of his attention.
"So? Anything else?" Nate asked.
"Huh?" Nancy snapped out of her stupor. "Oh no! I think that's enough. Thanks for sharing all of that with me."
"Whatever," Nate shrugged, before noting the time. "It's getting kinda late. I better get going."
"Yeah, it is," Nancy said, noting the time, before getting back up. "I'll see you off."
"Alright then," Nate nodded as he got up and the two began to head out of the building. "Oh yeah, so do you know what you plan to do now?"
"Huh?" Nancy asked as she walked next to him.
"How will you plan to make yourself known as 'Yancy' instead of the fake idol you claim you are?" Nate asked.
"...I...I don't know yet..." Nancy said. "I'll think about it."
"Suit yourself," Nate said. "Just don't do anything stupid."
"Right," Nancy laughed nervously as they reached the exit. "Well, I see you later then."
"Right," Nate replied. "See you later, Yancy."
With that, the boy left, leaving the idol to her own thoughts as she waved to the boy as he disappeared into the night. How would she do that indeed? Her position made it hard to just abandon everything she's built up without some kind of consequence. It's not like she could do much on her own anyways.
Or could she...?
"Nancy! Can you come here for a moment?!" her manager called out to her.
"Ah, coming!" Nancy called back as she headed back in.
It was food for thought, if anything.
As Nate wandered through the darkness-filled streets of Nimbasa, he glanced up to the sky. The moon stood out brightly in the night sky. The boy stared at it blankly. A cold haze surrounded the boy, making him stop and reach for his knives.
"-Courier,-" a chillingly monotone voice addressed him.
Nate looked up to see two familiar cryogonals hovering over him.
"...Right...I have to meet up with him," Nate muttered. "Pretty sure I still had one more day."
"-Perish the thought,-" the one on the left shot back. "-Master wishes to see you tonight.-"
"-He has sent us to inform you,-" the one on the right informed him. "-Meet him at the destination you mentioned. The Entralink, I believe.-"
"So what about you two then?" Nate asked. "I mean I highly doubt you two can get to the Entralink within the span of a few minutes."
"-You will take us there,-" the one on the left stated.
"Oh you freeloaders," Nate grumbled. "Fine."
Looking around to make sure no one was looking, Nate hid towards a nearby alleyway and took out his Xtransceiver.
"Goddamn it, how do I do this...?" Nate grumbled as he fidgeted with the device and going through the apps. "Oh here it is!"
Nate found the file he needed, and selected the icon that was labeled 'Entralink'.
-Would you like to access the Entralink?-
Nate pushed the 'Yes' option, where within moments, a portal of light surrounded them, making them vanish in a harsh bath of light. Once the light died down, Nate found himself standing in a lush grassland. In the middle of the plain were two small and thin trees intertwining with one another, standing in the middle of a pool of light. Beyond the tree, a vast forest was visible.
"So this is the Entralink..." Nate muttered, before taking out two pokéballs and released Luca and Brav.
While the eagle landed easily, Luca fell to the ground with a loud thud, groaning in pain.
"Shit, I forgot I never healed you yet," Nate uttered as he took out a hyper potion.
"-You...asshole...-" Luca groaned as Nate tended to his wounds.
"-Are you alright there, girl?-" Brav chuckled.
"-I've been stomped on, electrocuted, fried by a giant fireball, and had faulting plates of the goddamn arena smack my gut,-" Luca growled. "-Do you think I'm okay Grampa?!-"
"If she can complain that much, then she's fine," Nate rolled his eyes as he sprayed the potion on Luca's gut bruise.
"-Indeed,-" Brav let out a hearty chortle.
"-You both eat ass,-" Luca grumbled.
Nate simply cackled as he finished healing Luca's wounds, as the two cryogonals moved forward.
"-This way,-" the left cryogonal stated. "-Come. Master awaits.-"
The two cryogonals headed towards the forest first, as Nate and the others followed.
"-This is the meeting place?-" Brav asked as he and Luca followed Nate.
"Yeah," Nate replied. "In here, no one can possibly eavesdrop. There's also no way Plasma can interfere."
"-Speaking of,-" Luca interjected. "-What do you think Plasma's up to now?-"
"Hell if I knew," Nate shrugged. "Knowing that shitty priest, he's probably gonna try and take over Unova or some shit like that. Not that I'll let him. I still have to kill the fucker first."
The trio entered the forest, where an even colder air greeted them as they entered the dimly-lit insides of the forest. Greeting them was a large, gray and blue bipedal monster-like Pokémon of a draconic basis. It has a blue head and snout and has yellow eyes without pupils, has a pair of pointed light bluish horns on its head and a yellow crest on its skull. Three pointed teeth jut out the bottom of either side of its jaws, which are frozen shut by the ice covering its head. Its long, gray neck has lines running around its whole body, legs, arms and tail. Its two short arms are each jointed together to its oddly-shaped blue wings that have two spikes of ice on them. The two cryogonals floated next to the giant dragon.
The frigid monster glanced down; gazing down upon Nate.
"It's been a while, Nate,"the dragon greeted rather jovially in spite of its coarse and cold tone.
"Yo, Kyurem," Nate replied back.
"When I heard from these two that you were domesticated by the humans, I had to see to believe it," Kyurem said. "Suffice to say, they were right. This is humorous. Personally that look suits you; you actually look more presentable outside of that jungle child look you used to sport."
"Oh bite me," Nate grumbled. "So? Why did you want to meet up early? I said in three days."
"Oh, should I have a reason to check up on you?" Kyurem asked. "You are my favorite human after all."
"Yeah, since everyone else is afraid of you," Nate shrugged.
"I don't see how that's my fault," Kyurem scoffed. "The humans are such frail and cowardly worms as it is. They'll scream at anything that they can't comprehend and understand, just to make themselves feel better."
"...You're still not answering my question," Nate relented.
"Fine, let's get to the point then," Kyurem sighed. "I sense Reshiram and Zekrom near where you are."
Nate suddenly narrowed his eyes at the dragon.
"They are?" Nate asked.
"Yes, I can feel it..." Kyurem hissed. "Their aura...there's no mistaking it. It's them."
"...Is that so..." Nate muttered.
"I do hope you know what that means, right?" Kyurem asked.
"Yeah," Nate said with a slowly increasing smirk. "It means the heroes decided to make a homecoming."
"Indeed," Kyurem agreed. "Tell me Nate, you do remember your mission, correct?"
"Yes, yes," Nate scoffed. "Track down the Hero of Truth and Ideals, obtain both Reshiram and Zekrom, and bring them back to you."
"Excellent," Kyurem replied happily. "I doubt another chance like this will present itself in the future again. We can't ask for a better opportunity."
"-Might we remind you that you had an opportune chance two years ago?-" one of the cryogonals chastised. "-Both the hero of Reshiram and Zekrom were in one place, and in no position to retaliate. Yet you let the chance slide.-"
"Oh please, I stole the two dragons while they were down, sure," Nate argued. "And then what? The place was crawling with their allies. Only armed with Luca and Brav, how the hell do you want me to take on all of them? Especially with like half of them being at least Elite Four class?"
"Now, now, let's not punish him over old news," Kyurem softly scolded. "He had his reasons for his actions, or lack of. You can't change the past, so there would be no use in chastising him over it. However."
Kyurem glanced straight into Nate's eyes with his own empty yellow eyes.
"This time, you have no reason to fail," Kyurem said sternly. "I do expect to see you with the two dragons."
"...Of course," Nate replied indifferently. "I'll bring the two dragons to you. And then you'll be able to revert back to your original form. And then..."
"Of course...like we promised three years ago...we will exact our revenge upon the humans who wronged us our entire lives," Kyurem declared. "We will burn Unova to the ground, and finally be free of heart. I still remember, don't worry."
"As long as you do, then I have no qualms," Nate shrugged.
"Good," Kyurem nodded. "I think that's enough of a briefing for now. I'll be going now."
"Right," Nate nodded back, before remembering something. "Ah, right. I should also warn you."
"Hm? About what?" Kyurem asked curiously.
"...With the two heroes back in play, there's no doubt Plasma will act accordingly too," Nate explained. "In fact, they're already making their move as we speak."
"Plasma...you mean that terrorist group that was responsible for all of your despair and misery?" Kyurem asked. "The ones who also killed your father, if I remember correctly from what you told me?"
"And a bunch of other things I'd like to kill them for, but yeah," Nate replied. "They'll definitely act accordingly should they learn that Reshiram and Zekrom, along with their trainers are back in Unova. And there's a high chance they'll approach you. So be careful. Whatever you do, do not trust Team Plasma, and trust a man called 'Ghetsis' even less."
"You place unneeded worry in me," Kyurem scoffed. "I am not foolish as to aid the likes of humans; especially ones as despicable as them. I will however, heed your warning."
"Thanks," Nate said in relief.
"You on the other hand; you should be careful of yourself," Kyurem offered his own concerns in return. "It's becoming a lot more dangerous. Should Plasma be as treacherous as you make them out to be, then there's possibilities that you will be aimed for as well, along with anyone around you that you might have come to care for. Exercise as much caution as necessary."
"Keh! Like those plebs can do shit to me," Nate scoffed. "By the time Ghetsis makes a move, I'll already have the dragons ready to deliver to you, and then he'll be nothing to worry about. But thanks for the concern."
"But of course," Kyurem's expression softened. "We are partners after all."
"Yeah...I still owe you," Nate muttered. "...I better get going."
"The next time we meet," Kyurem said before he left. "Hopefully all the pieces will be in our grasp. And then, our dreams can finally be realized."
As Nate, Brav and Luca exited the forest, Nate took a deep breath, before enjoying the warmth of outside the forest after having weathered through Kyurem's frigid cold air that he always emitted.
"Well now, so Hilbert and Hilda decided to pay us a visit, after disappearing for two years," Nate muttered. "Along with that lime-haired revolutionist. Keh! Fools, the lot of them."
"-So, this time we take the dragons from them?-" Luca asked somewhat eagerly.
"Yeah," Nate grinned. "Last time I still had some hesitation in me. But now, there's no mercy this time. Reshiram and Zekrom will be mine. And then Kyurem can finally become complete...and then..."
Nate's grin transcended into a far more malevolent sneer, his cold brown eyes becoming far more feral and insane. Luca's expression became rather eager as she sported a rather evil smirk, while Brav instead looked grim; narrowing his eyes in a rather regretful manner.
"This world will finally burn...it'll experience the same pain and suffering it made me go through all those years ago..." Nate solemnly stated. "No one's gonna win...not the current dexholders...nor Plasma...but us...we'll win...and we'll be the ones to watch Unova fall into shambles..."
The mere thought of the apocalypse the brunette yearned for made him feel so delighted that he couldn't help but clutch his own face in excitement.
"He...ehehe...heehee...heeehehehe..." Nate began to giggle madly, before going into a full maniacal guffaw. "HYAAAAAAAAHA HA HA HA HA! AHA...HAAHAHAHA...HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!"
To be continued
AN: I also never said Nate was inherently 'good', did I? I mean yeah he isn't inherently 'evil' either, but he definitely wasn't playing for the heroes either; especially considering that Nate was quite possibly the biggest wild card out of the entire cast so far. Yep, probably predictably, his employer was the third dragon of Unova, Kyurem, and Nate's hidden agenda is finally revealed; which is pretty much destroying the world with Kyurem. Honestly I don't know who would be considered a bigger threat, the terrorist group or the megalomaniac plotting to restore a super legendary in hopes of destroying an entire region. Either way Unova's pretty much screwed. Does that mean Nate is going to become evil? Not necessarily, but you'll have to wait and see. Besides, that isn't the dirtiest secret he's keeping anyways.
And then there're the other characters; Yancy's pretty much questioning what she'll do with her life and Rosa's may or may not be starting to feel something the lines of jealousy (could this be...?) and picking up a certain Xtransceiver that a certain other idol lost. Hugh didn't get to do much this time, did he? ^^' Hey he got the biggest upgrade last chapter. He'll get more action later on.
Welp, that's about it for this chapter. Oh and a PSA: Platinum Witch is out, so I'd really like it if you could check it out. That and Fidelity. Judging from the initial reception I got for PW, I think I didn't screw up with it. Idk.
And to recap on the teams:
Nate: Luca (Lucario) / Nite (Pignite) / Kid (Elekid) / Brav (Braviary)
Rosa: Eve (Eevee) / Ottavia (Dewott) / Nina (Growlithe) / Mandi (Mandibuzz)
Hugh: Flygon / Servine / Magby / Tirtouga / Heracross
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, hope you all had a happy holidays and hopefully 2016 isn't already kicking your ass, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time.