Casteel PKMN Center, Sinnoh
Sophie was the first to wake up, getting out of bed with her usual uninterested expression. She looked over to Oliver and Jacob's beds before realizing that they weren't there. She raised an eyebrow before walking up to the balcony, where both Jacob and Oliver were asleep on the floor nearby the railing.
The Snivy let out a silent sigh before picking Jacob up and putting him in his bed. She soon walked back over to Oliver before putting him in his bed as well. As she put him on the bed, she gazed at his sleeping face.
"Go without me!" Sophie yelled at the two. "Don't miss your chance, go!"
Both stood there, unsure of what to do. They were mere steps away from freedom, but what would having freedom really mean without the one that gave it to you?
Oliver seemed to be thinking by the same logic, and sprung off of his feet in order to reach Sophie. He ran forward before pulling up his scalchop and throwing it towards Binks, throwing off his balance.
The Oshawott noticed a familiar Monferno jumping towards them. "Jacob, hold him off!" Oliver shouted, to which Jacob nodded and tackled the Monferno to the ground. Oliver then grabbed Sophie's hand and pulled her behind him.
"Oliver... Why?" Sophie asked quietly.
The Oshawott turned back to her with a shaky smile, "Y-You just looked like you needed help..."
Sophie's hardened expression seemed to soften as she remembered what the Oshawott did to help her. She hadn't known what being friends with someone the same age as he would've been like. But she was glad that he was her friend now.
She dug into Oliver's backpack, knowing that he must've had some type of notebook in there. Her intuition was correct as she pulled out a small, black-colored notebook from inside. She opened the notebook from its back before neatly ripping out a piece of paper.
She quickly put the piece of paper down on the notebook before beginning to write on it. Once she finished, she put it on top of Oliver's face softly, so she wouldn't wake him up.
She silently walked out of the room, closing the door behind her softly.
Walking down the streets of Casteel City, Sophie was a bit on edge. She didn't have Oliver's kindness and Jacob's hyperactive nature to balance out her paranoia towards being out and about.
It made her feel a bit uneasy to be on her own. She knew that either Binks, or some of the other members of that gang could easily just pick her up and run off.
After all, Oliver, who was objectively weaker than her, had to protect her from Binks not too long ago...
Of course she was grateful for what he did, but it also made her feel wrong about it. How Oliver risked all of their progress just to go back for her.
She let out an almost faint sigh before continuing on her path.
Meanwhile...
Oliver's eyes opened slowly to be instantly met by a piece of paper laid on his face. The Oshawott reached up to his face to gently lift the paper from his face before sitting up.
"What...?" He asked himself, looking down at the paper. It was a note from Sophie, who, now that he looked around, wasn't in the room.
The note read; "Oliver and Jacob, I decided to go out for a bit to collect a few things. Don't worry, I'll probably be back by this evening. For now, you two just relax. ~Sophie."
The Oshawott let out a faint sigh, thinking about where she was going. He hoped that she hadn't just left him and Jacob behind. But she wouldn't do that... Right?
He hopped off of his bed, looking over to a sleeping Jacob. The Pikachu's mouth was slightly open as a faint snore came from him. He then walked over to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror.
He could visibly see the blatant worry in his own eyes, his eyebrows seeming to be stuck in a furrowed position, as if they had been pinned to the tops of his eyelids. The Oshawott turned on the sink, splashing some water on his face.
"It's Sophie... She'll be fine."
The cold water from the sink seemed to wash away both his grogginess and worry as he looked at the mirror with a faint smile.
He turned off the bathroom light before going to wake Jacob.
Sophie sneakily jumped from a roof, into her previous living space. Her old bedroom. Everything was left how she liked it. Her bed was exactly how it was when her and Oliver began the operation to rescue Jacob and get out of the base.
She noticed a familiar green backpack, leaned up against the frame of her bed. When she looked through it, it contained the tranquillizer pistol that she used to knock Oliver out. She briefly looked at it before throwing it aside, allowing it to hit the floor beside her.
The pistol then hit her dresser, shaking it enough for a small piece of paper to fall. Sophie noticed this, and knew that she hadn't placed any paper on her dresser. She picked up the piece of paper, her eyes widening as she did. It was a letter addressed to her.
It read; "I knew you'd be back sometime soon. But I also knew that this was going to be temporary. That's why I want to see you one more time before you depart. I'll be waiting in our usual place. ~Bianca."
The Snivy's eyes widened. She couldn't believe that in all the madness, she forgot about her dragon trainer, Bianca. She hadn't seen the Dragonite since their last training session, so she wondered what she thought about her now.
She packed her items in her green bag before hoisting it over her shoulders and heading out of her bedroom, taking one last look at it. Her expression softened as she closed the door, making sure to keep it unlocked.
Soon after leaving her room, She climbed into the vents before crawling through them. As she was crawling through the vents, she wondered how the rest of the gang were dealing with her "betrayal" of sorts.
Climbing out of the vent near the exit to her usual place to meet Bianca, she hesitated to open the door leading outside, despite the risk of still being in the base. Bianca was one of the only ones she could trust, and she was a bit concerned to know how she felt about her recent rebellion.
Once outside, she walked over to a familiar Dragonite, seeing her standing with her back turned to Sophie. Once she reached the Dragonite, she flinched once she turned around to face Sophie.
"Uh..." She hesitated, "I'm sorry-"
The Snivy was suddenly punched in the stomach, making her cough and sputter. Once she looked back up to Bianca, her stomach still firmly clutched, she could see her wearing an angry expression.
Did this affect her more than she thought? Sophie staggered back, her breathing rasped and shaky.
"I don't want to hear you apologize." Bianca spoke calmly. "You know what you did, right?"
"Huh?" Sophie looked up at the Dragonite.
"Do you know what you did?"
"...I just did what I felt was right."
"Exactly."
"Wait... What?" The Snivy looked at her mentor with wide and confused eyes.
With Oliver
Oliver and Jacob walked through the streets of Casteel City, both having agreed to see some of the sights of the city. Oliver seemed to be a little more reserved than usual, sometimes spacing out a bit too much to even answer some of his friend's questions about the city's sights.
"Ollie!" Jacob shook the Oshawott, a bit concerned for his friend.
"Gah! Huh?" Oliver snapped from his thoughts, realizing that they were in a completely different area than where he remembered.
"What's up with you?" The Pikachu asked, looking at him confusedly. "You've been spacing out for like... Ten minutes now."
"I have?" He asked, his eyes widening. "Oh, it's nothing..."
"Is it about that note Sophie left?" The Mouse Pokémon asked suddenly, making Oliver flinch.
The Oshawott looked down, thinking about it for a moment. He let out a sigh before looking back at Jacob.
"Yeah." He nodded, "I know she'd probably be fine, but I just hope she didn't leave us for good under false pretenses."
"You do have a good point there..." The Pikachu nodded. "...But where else could she go? Didn't she betray her gang back there?"
"She told me that she was only living with them." Oliver informed him, "She had nowhere else to go."
"Hm." Jacob's expression seemed to darken in thought before eventually nodding. "I guess that makes sense, based around how she got us out of that place."
The two eventually fell silent, only walking forward as they individually looked around at the sights.
"Hey, Jacob?" Oliver suddenly asked, "Can I ask you something?"
"What's up?" The Pikachu tilted his head confusedly.
"What do you plan on doing once you finish adventuring?" The Oshawott questioned, "It isn't something that will last forever, you know."
"I know it isn't." Jacob sighed, "But I never really thought about it. Getting older, finding a mate, getting married, or even having kids..."
"I get what you mean." Oliver nodded, "It seems so far off, that it doesn't even seem like in the same lifetime."
"Yeah, it's a lot to think about." The Pikachu nodded, "Especially the kids part. I know that my mom really wants grandkids... She's just waiting until I hit twenty to start asking." He chuckled.
"She is?"
"Your mom is, too." The Mouse Pokémon quickly interjected. "I heard her and my mom talking about what it would feel like to have grandkids a few years ago..."
"Well, I guess that's something I have to think about." Oliver laughed, "But maybe far into the future..."
"Yeah..." Jacob looked down as Oliver suddenly stopped. He noticed a strange movement from his right.
"What was that?" Oliver thought, his eyes narrowing.
"Ollie? What's up?" Jacob asked, noticing his expression.
"I think we might be being watched." The Oshawott answered, "There was a sharp movement in that alley over there. But don't look."
Jacob, not hearing the last part in time, was already looking towards the alley, where the movement sped up and ran in the opposite direction.
"Hey!" The Pikachu shouted, quickly running after the figure. Oliver sighed before running after him.
They chased the shadow to the end of the alley, where it quickly jumped up the wall, vaulting over it's peak.
"Man... That was a high jump..." Jacob gasped, looking up as he ran towards the wall. "But not one I can't do!" He jumped, only making it halfway up the wall. He flailed to try and reach the top, but began to fall down.
A familiar paw grabbed Jacob's, making the Pikachu look up confusedly. "...Ollie? How'd you get up?"
"Aqua Jet." He replied with a smile. "It gets the job done here. Now let's go!" He pulled him over the wall before the two jumped down to see the shadow round a corner into the midday light of Casteel city's sidewalks.
"They're getting away!" Jacob shouted as the duo ran after the shadow.
They slid out of the alley, running after the shadow. With light on their side, they could get a good look at the shadow that was in the not-so-far distance. Unfortunately, they were covered by a black-colored cloak.
"We're losing them!" The Pikachu exclaimed before Oliver let out a sigh.
"Hop on." The Oshawott told him.
Jacob didn't argue or ask any questions as he jumped onto Oliver's back. The Oshawott clenched his teeth together before water surrounded him, allowing him to fly across the sidewalks at high speeds.
Jacob held on tight as they glided across the sidewalks, dodging the occasional Pokémon walking the sidewalks.
They saw the cloaked shadow round a corner, Oliver soon doing the same. But when they did, they realized that they were heading straight towards what seemed like a wedding between two Raichu, the streets were even reserved for it.
The shadow quickly ran through the chairs, pretty much unnoticed. Oliver knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid them, but was still trying to get Jacob to his target. He still knew that he had to stop, though.
"Oliver, jump over it!" Jacob shouted.
"I don't have enough control for that yet!" Oliver shook his head. "I have to stop!" He quickly put his feet on the ground, quickly coming to a stop. However, the momentum sent Jacob flying diagonally up, barely missing the wedding.
As he flew, Oliver could hear an audible; "Noooooooooo!"
Back at the center, Jacob looked at Oliver with a light pout. The Oshawott was sweating nervously, trying to avoid his gaze.
"What the heck, dude?" Jacob suddenly asked.
"What else was I supposed to do?" Oliver defended himself. "It was a wedding!"
"Good point." The Pikachu suddenly calmed down, laying down on his bed.
Oliver shook his head with a light smile before heading out to the balcony to watch the sky. He wore a light smile, thinking about everything that had happened. From getting kidnapped, meeting Sophie, and now going on adventures around the city.
He found it a bit strange that he had been there for nearly a week, but it felt like it had been a longer amount of time. Maybe it was because he didn't realize how much fun he was having with his friends. Well... Maybe not when he and Jacob got kidnapped.
This adventure made him wonder a bit. Where would this lead him, Jacob, and Sophie next? Would Sophie actually stick around? If they made a friend here, and two back in the woods outside of Casteel City, who would he make friends with next?
Through all of his thoughts, he realized how much he would want to talk with his parents. He wondered how they were without him in the house, and if they were thinking about him as well. It was too bad that they didn't have a Pokémon Center in Kanet Village, so there was pretty much no way to contact them unless he went back personally.
He let out a sigh. Maybe one day he'd be able to contact other places from his home village.
He began to think about his life back home.
Beginning of Flashback
"Oliver!" A light, melodic voice called to him from the main room as he was reading one of his favorite books.
"Coming, Mom!" The Oshawott shouted back, placing a Sudowoodo bookmark on the page he left on before heading out of his room.
He walked into the main room before seeing his mother, a Primarina, sitting on the couch.
"What did you need?" Oliver looked around. "Is anything wrong?"
"Come here." She motioned for him to sit next to her.
The Oshawott complied confusedly, sitting down next to her. He looked up at his mother with a confused look before she began to sing a melody.
Oliver continued to look up at her, drowsiness in his eyes as he began to fall asleep on his mother.
Later on, Oliver's father arrived back, and walked into the house. "Olivia? Oliver?" The Samurott asked, walking in.
"Good afternoon, honey." Olivia, Oliver's mother, smiled.
"Don't tell me you put him to sleep again." Michael, Oliver's father, let out a sigh as he sat next to her, leaving a sleeping Oliver in the middle.
"Well, with you out all day, I needed some company." Olivia pouted childishly, looking at the Samurott.
"I have to work and help keep the village safe." Michael replied, "You and I both know that."
"Yeah..." She looked down, "...I know."
"Hey, but I'm here now." The Samurott replied with a smile, moving closer. "I get to see your face again."
"Aw..." The Primarina blushed, covering her mouth. "...You always know how to flatter me."
As the parents kissed the other, Oliver woke up from his sleep, looking up at them.
"What the...?" The Oshawott's right eye twitched, "You guys! Not in front of your son!"
End of Flashback
Oliver let out a faint sigh, chuckling from the memory. "I should visit them sometime..."
Meanwhile...
The Dragonite laughed at one of her previous statements. "This Jacob fellow seems like quite the riot!" She exclaimed, "But what about that other Pokémon? There was an Oshawott too, right?"
"Well, yes..." Sophie looked away.
"What's his name, then?" Her mentor asked with a faint smile.
"His name is Oliver." Sophie responded, "As you already know, he's an Oshawott."
"What's he like?"
"He's kind of quiet and submissive." The Snivy answered. "He always listens to whatever anyone says, despite how smart he is."
"Why do you sound so frustrated about it?"
"I'm not." Sophie replied flatly, looking back forward. "It's just... I don't understand why he's so submissive."
"There's a lot you need to understand about the Pokémon your age, Sophie." Bianca told her, lightly patting her back.
"I just don't get anything..." The Snivy sighed, "So much is going on... I'm a bit taken aback."
"Let me tell you something, Sophie." The Dragonite smiled, looking forward to observe the scenery. "The mind of each and every Pokémon is unique. Think of them as snowflakes."
"Hm..." She nodded, watching the scenery as well.
"No matter what others say, no two minds can truly think alike." She continued. "You'll never get the opportunity to see inside someone else's mind, to see how they really think."
She listened silently, thinking her words over.
"There's no way for you to understand how Oliver feels." Bianca told him. "But asking is never out of the question. My point is, before you try and theorize why he's like the way he is, realize that you can never know."
"You always have the longest lectures..." Sophie let out a soft sigh. "...But I get it. I'll talk to him whenever I get the chance."
"That's my Sophie." She chuckled.
The Snivy wore an almost faint smile as she stood up and began to walk off.
"Oh, and Sophie?"
"Yes?" She stopped, not bothering to look back at her.
"Good luck on that journey of yours." Bianca told her with a smile. "No matter what, you'll always be my student."
She tried to blink away an irritation in her eyes as she walked off. "Thank you, Bianca." She looked back, only to see a sunset forming behind Bianca.
"Yeah... This truly is..."
"...A sunset that marks a new tomorrow."