Chapter Three: Leviticus
Kuro watched with a small amused look on his face as the pretty officer woman lectured his Snivy with mock seriousness. "There's no running in the Pokemon Centers, young man." She told him, and Kizoku had the decency to look abashed—or, as much as a Snivy could appear.
They'd just arrived at Accumula Town, and Kuro had stopped at the local Pokemon Center to have his collected Pokemon healed. He had a good number of them caught, now, around five. Vultri usually stayed out of it's pokeball to sit on his shoulder, and was observing the situation with an almost-smirk.
"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" Officer Amelia asked, hands on her hips. Kizoku huffed and glanced away, eyes landing on Kuro for half a second, before he turned back to Amelia and held his hand... paw/leaf appendages—over his mouth, and shook his head.
Kuro rolled his eyes while Officer Amelia frowned in confusion. "Eh? You're not gonna even talk to me?" She complained, a hand over her heart. "How rude!"
Kuro pursed his lips and looked away as his very affronted Snivy puffed up indignantly and seemed to, without a sound, begin lecturing the bemused officer with very overemphasized hand gestures. It wasn't Kizoku's fault, really. All of Kuro's pokemon seemed to believe that humans could communicate with them without them having to make any sound at all, because Kuro never spoke a single word. His Purrloin acted like an adolescent lion while around strangers, unless Kuro was there—then, she acted more like your average house cat, if maybe a bit more prone to cuddling. She was, at the moment, being stashed away in his bag along with the other two that had just been healed. Vultri was the only one of his pokemon able to escape her pokeball—but she was tutoring Kizoku in her little thief-in-the-night tricks, so he might be able to pull it off soon. He was already able to get past the first safe guard for at least five seconds before the second one pulled him back in. Kuro didn't mind; as long as they didn't leave him, they could do whatever they wanted. He didn't like keeping them cooped up all day in the pokeballs anyway.
Well, his Patrat tended to stay in it's pokeball all day even when Kuro offered to let him out. He was such a lazy little rodent.
"Alright, alright!" Officer Amelia laughed, patting the still very-much-offended-looking Snivy on it's head, shaking her own in amusement. "I get it. You're a quiet guy."
Kuro almost chuckled—he didn't like to be caught laughing. It sometimes made people uncomfortable, when no sound came out of his mouth—and instead let out a sigh. Kizoku was actually a real chatty creature, and Kuro was trying his best to dissuade him from the idea that he wasn't aloud to talk since Kuro wasn't able to. Maybe it was Kizoku's way of letting Kuro know that he wouldn't leave Kuro no matter what, but Kuro found it an unnecessary notion. He already knew Kizoku was loyal to a fault, like Vultri and his Purrloin. His Lillipup was beginning to warm up to him extremely quickly as well, and his Patrat just seemed to be an aloof character all around. They were all around the skill-range classified, in the Trainer Handbook, as level 7. Vultri was level 28, however, as she was the eldest, and Kizoku was almost at level 10.
It was actually kind of puzzling. He'd read it took pokemon a bit longer to form attachments to their trainers after captures. The average pokeball 'incubation' stage, in the beginning, was recorded as at least a day-and-a-half before the pokemon calmed enough to be released and registered in the database. By three days after capture, the pokemon were suppose to have adjusted to life under a trainer.
Instead, his pokemon got over it at least half an hour after capture and had warmed up to him in a matter of a day and a half, instead of the supposed half a month to two months it took regular wild pokemon to bond with their 'captors.'
Either Bianca was right, and Kuro really did have a strange power to calm pokemon down and befriend them, or the pokemon he'd run into so far were just weird.
"Ah, so you're this little guys Trainer, then?" Officer Amelia's face was suddenly five inches from his own, and Kuro jerked back with wide violet eyes, blinking. When had she come over to him? Vultri hunched her shoulders forward in a tense way, and Kuro glanced behind the brunette policewoman to see Kizoku with his chest puffed out, annoyed at being called 'little.' Kuro's lip twitched into a half-smile and he looked back to meet Amelia's eyes, giving her a nod.
"He's a cute one. You let your pokemon out of their pokeballs most of the time?" She noticed curiously, tilting her head to the side as she stepped back to give him more space. He must have been zoned out, if she'd been up in his face like that to get his attention.
Kuro glanced at Vultri, who blinked back at him with wide blue eyes. Kizoku had made his way back to him and was clinging to the hem of his combat pants. Kuro gave another nod, shrugging.
"Hm," Amelia hummed. "Different from most. Most Trainers keep their pokemon in their pokeballs while they travel, so the pokemon don't get tired before a potential Battle, which you tend to run into a lot of while traveling the Routes."
She gave him a once over. "You new tot he Training business? I haven't seen you in this town before, and you look pretty young."
Kuro pursed his lips, slightly annoyed at how many questions she was asking him, but nodded once more. He supposed it wasn't really her fault. She didn't know he couldn't speak—back in Nuvema, he must have gotten too used to everyone knowing better than to ask him questions if they didn't know sign language.
Which reminded him—
As Officer Amelia went on to speak again, he lifted his hands and gave her a questioning look. She stopped, confused, and raised her eyebrows. He pointed at himself, brought his right index finger down on his left, as if striking it, then made the sign for four with his right hand and tapped his lips with his index finger on the same hand, gazing at her with an inquiring look.
Her face seemed to brighten in realization. "Oh! Can you—I mean," she paused, then lifted her own hands. Kuro felt a small smile stretch over his face as he watched her sign, I know sign language. Can you read lips?
Kuro blinked, then tilted his head, moving his hands to reply. He made the same signs from before, which meant, I can't speak, then pointed at himself again, before clenching his fists in front of him, the backs of his hands facing upward.
He brought them down once, then taps his right ear with his right index finger, which meant, I can hear.
Amelia nodded, a smile on her own face. "Would you like to sign, or is it okay if I speak? I'm still learning sign language, so I'm not very good at it yet. I don't want to say something that might accidentally insult you," she blushed, embarrassed, and Kuro eyes made little, upturned U shapes as he smiled at her. He nodded, and she relaxed.
"So," she began again, a thoughtful look on her face. "You said you were new to Training pokemon—lots of new Trainers travel to Accumula Town first thing because of all the low level pokemon around this area. It's a good place for beginners. Are you one of them?"
Kuro tapped his transceiver open and brought up the digital map of Unova region, scaling it over until it showed Nuvema Town's location. Amelia nodded, looking over his shoulder at the device.
"Nuvema Town then," she nodded to herself, as if that had been what she'd suspected all along, she turned back to look at him, which he was grateful for. Mute people tended to get nervous or uncomfortable when they couldn't see the face of people they were talking to, he'd read. And, even though he didn't need to read her lips to know what she was saying, and he wasn't one of those to get nervous without literal face-to-face comparison , he was still glad to know she knew her stuff regarding people with his disability.
"I know you have a Conduct Handbook, like all registered Trainers are required to have," Amelia was saying, "but it's required by me, as the first officer to make contact with you, to go over them with you. You don't mind, do you?"
Kuro shook his head, bringing up is hands to let her know he actually appreciated the opportunity to double check the laws with someone who was as well-versed in them as her. She beamed.
"Okay!" She said. "Let's sit down here." She pulled out a chair at the table in the Pokemon Center's lounge for him, then sat across from him. "I'm only required to go over the basic laws with you, but I'll answer any questions you have."
Kizoku realized his Trainer had just started a rather boring, to him, meeting, and retreated back into his pokeball, but Lillipup twitched inside his own pokeball—and Kuro let him out, knowing the pokemon was interested in what was on the pages of the book Doctor Juniper had given him. Vultri was a stickler for the rules, he knew, so Kuro wasn't surprised when she hooped off his shoulder and onto the table to get a better look at the book—and to get closer to hear what Officer Amelia was going to say. Lillipup curled up in Kuro's lap with both eyes on the paperback volume.
Amelia laughed, seeming delighted. "I always love pokemon who are interested in the laws of the regions!" She said, then leaned forward. "Alright, let's start with Age requirements. You have to be at least ten years old to officially own a registered pokemon, and twelve to legally start leveling your pokemon up without adult supervision—the adult having at least three years of Pokemon training under their belt. How old are you right now?"
Kuro pushed his Pokemon Trainer identification card across the table, and she leaned forward to examine it. "Oh! Wow, I mused seem rude, I didn't even ask you for your name!" She seemed embarrassed. Amelia coughed into her fist as Vultri gave her a smug look. Kuro knew that look—it meant his Victini was laughing at the officer. He reached over and swatted one of her ears. Vultri seemed to sulk a little.
"I see," Amelia spoke up, after looking closer at his card. Then, she smiled at him. "Kuro Shirosaki, Ace Trainer, ID No. 57511. So you're aiming to challenge the big leagues, huh?"
Kuro released a put-upon sigh, and nodded. Amelia laughed. "Not a big goal for you, then?"
Kuro raised his hands. I'm mostly doing it for my friends. They want to challenge the Champion and become famous Trainers. I just don't want to be left behind.
Amelia watched the signs he was making closely, mouthing words to herself. When he was finished, she blinked, then looked up. "I got most of that. Doing it for your friends, I think that's an admirable goal."
Kuro looked away, slightly embarrassed, and Amelia laughed. "For a while I thought you didn't make any type of face! Ah, you're really so cute, Shirosaki-kun!"
Kuro hid his face in Lillipup's fur, and the pokemon gave a quiet, amused bark.
"Okay," Amelia calmed herself, handing his card back. "So, you've got the papers for an Ace Trainer, that's good. Transportation laws next, I guess, and then we can talk about the rules for pokemon battles," She glanced down at the handbook to point the section out.
"It says it here. If you want to buy a bike, which might I say is pretty useful for getting around; first of all, you'll need the correct amount of money. Stealing a bike will land you in the nearest jail house for three days, and you'll also be fined /p/300. Same for stealing skateboards and rollerblades and such, but you don't need a receipt on hand for those if you get pulled aside by an officer like me, and the fine is only /p/120. Stealing other things, like another Trainer's items, is a lesser offense, so they'll only land you an single night in the jail houses, and you'll only be fined /p/50 per item, but it's still illegal. Motorbikes are very expensive, and you'll need a special license for them—plus, you have to be at least sixteen to buy one. Stealing one of those lands you a week in a jail house, and the fine is pretty hefty- at least /p/1,000.
"If you want a side-car on your motorbike for a pokemon or other passenger, you'll need to register it and have special papers signed by the Transportation Administration in Castelia City. You have to be eighteen to buy and drive a truck or a car, which also requires special papers, and the fine for stealing one of those is at least twice the amount of the fine for a stolen motorbike. Also, if you steal a truck, you'll be held in a jail house until they can transfer you over to the prison in Castelia City, where you'll be held until someone bails you out. There are other laws concerning stolen transportation, but I think you get the gist of that. You'll need to spend a year in Castelia Academy to gain permission to drive airships—like balloons and blimps—but to become a pilot you need to graduate the remedial classes, which takes two years and three weeks of remedial courses. It's the same to pilot submarines or ships, but you'll need to be recommended to the academy by an alumni for that."
Kuro blinked, reading the laws she was mentioned as Amelia spoke, then looked up when she paused to catch her breath. She grinned at him. "Lengthy, huh? But, if we didn't have laws, there would sure be a lot of chaos around the Unova region, wouldn't there?"
He nodded, cracking a smile. They weren't that hard to remember, and he wasn't going to be old enough to even try most of this for a few years, so he didn't think he'd have to worry about it just yet. He might invest in a bike, though. Not now, he didn't have the money—but maybe someday soon. Walking was bound to get old.
"Of course," Officer Amelia went on, taping her chin. "You can use pokemon for transportation too. Plenty of people do it, but that has laws regarding it too. If you want to teach a pokemon the ability Fly or Swim, you'll need to have it registered in the database along with the pokemon's information. There are certain aerial routes you'll need to memories and stick too if you utilize Fly, but Swim is pretty free reign for Trainers. Pokemon Rangers patrol the waters most used, though, so if you encounter any problems or have an complaints, you can speak to one of them. If you divert from the aerial routes without good reason that can be confirmed by an authority figure, then you'll be fined /p/1500. This law is here so you don't accidental run into any airships. You might get hurt."
Kuro nodded, flipping the pages until he reached the Battle laws. He already knew them all, but Amelia had mentioned she's talk about them next.
"You can only legally steal another Trainer's items in a sanctioned Battle—which means you and the other Trainer need to be in agreement that the winner can keep the stolen items before the Battle starts. Otherwise, stealing is prohibited, and even in a sanctioned battle, you cannot keep the items if you lose, even if you stole them during the battle. And it is absolutely forbidden to steal another Trainer's pokemon for any reason. That'll land you in the prison in Castelia City, three years for each pokemon you've stolen, and you can only get out if you settle a case in court in Lacunosa Town, with a lawyer—otherwise you'll be held on a five-year probation and will only be allowed to Battle with pokemon in official Battles with at least five witnesses—and one witness must be a member of the International Police; which means and officer like me, a Pokemon Ranger, or a Cadet. It's some pretty serious business, to steal a pokemon. The only way you can get a pokemon legally is if you're willingly given them, you catch them in the wild, or you acquire them in a sanctioned Trade. You catch all that?"
Kuro raised a fist, nodding it up and down a few times to give her inquiring look an affirmative Yes.
Amelia beamed. "Great! Alright, that should be it. Now, I just need to stamp your Trainer card so that other officers know you've already been talked to about this. Here," she pulled out a small case that looked like a square compact, before she opened it and pulled out a stamp. She pressed it neatly against his card, before lifting it to reveal the International Police's insignia, with two vertical bars next to it, in green.
"There you go!" Officer Amelia smiled at him, And Kuro put his card and Handbook away in his messenger bag. He'd given his backpack to Bianca when they, and Cheren, had all separated when they'd reached Accumula Town. Cheren had wanted to catch some more powerful wild pokemon before challenging the gym in Striaton City, and Bianca had wanted to explore the region some more before committing herself to leveling her pokemon up and starting on the journey to the gyms and the League. He'd moved his stuff into this messenger bag he'd bought at one of the Accumula Town shops, and Bianca had been on her way with Oshawott.
"Anyway, I wish you luck in your journey," Amelia told him, serious for once. Kuro blinked in surprise, before giving her a small smile and nodding. She smiled back, then continued. "I think I'd get worried about you, really, so I want to give you my transceiver ID, so you can contact me if you get into trouble. It'll only work if you're in an area with signal, but I'll feel a lot better. I don't normally do this—otherwise I'd have hundreds of numbers on my contact list," she laughed. "But, I think you're a special case—unless it offends you."
Kuro almost wanted to feel insulted, but he knew it was a good idea—and she was right, he was at a disadvantage, due to being mute. He brought up his hands to explain to Amelia about how forgetful of his pills he was, but then decided against it and settled for a nod. Amelia gave him her contact information, then added him into her own transceiver—her personal one, not the Bureau-issued one, which kind of surprised Kuro, since he hadn't been expecting that—then let go of his wrist he'd let her hold so she could view his contact information.
"Ha, now I feel better." Officer Amelia smiled, then cast a stern look toward Kizoku, who had sensed the end of the boring meeting and escaped his pokeball via Vultri, who'd pressed the open button for him with her little paw. Kuro rolled his eyes and Vultri purred, rubbing her nose against his ear after hopping back onto his shoulder.
"And you!" The brunette officer pointed an accusing finger at a seemingly unconcerned Snivy. "I better not catch you prancing around the Pokemon Center again! Or I'll make Shirosaki-san keep you in your pokeball for an entire day!"
Kizoku looked absolutely horrified at the prospect, which made both Amelia and Kuro chuckle a little. The Snivy let out a whine, then froze, before hiding his face behind on of the pockets of Kuro's combat pants. Amelia giggled.
"I think I understand now, why he doesn't want to make a noise." She winked at Kuro, then made her way back to her station, which was just outside the Pokemon Center. Kuro watched her leave, then exchanged a look with Vultri.
Kizoku made a strange, almost-hissing sound, then started to climb up his pant leg. Kuro sighed, bending down the scoop the Snivy up in his arms, and exited the Pokemon Center.
(~Pokemon~
Kuro frowned, hugging Kizoku to his chest as he surveyed the crowd gathered in the Accumula Town plaza. He spotted Cheren in a corner, leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Kuro sighed and made his way over to his older brother. Cheren would have been gone now, if it hadn't been for the irritating people dressed as knights of some cult or something, not allowing anyone to pass on to the next town until their leader made his 'speech.'
Cheren's eyes landed on him when he was a few feet away, and the raven pushed off the pillar and dashed over to him. "Isn't it outrageous?" He seethed. "They wouldn't even let me leave Accumula Town unless I was headed back down Route 1, and I'm not even interested in what they're so-called leader has to say!"
Kuro sighed, anticipating this kind of reaction from his somewhat tense friend. He reached forward and pulled Cheren into a quick hug, knowing it was one of the sure way to make the older boy relax. Sure enough, Cheren sighed and returned the gesture, mumbling under his breath.
"It's just," he frowned. "It's hardly fair. I don't think it's even legal for them to do—that officer that was outside the Pokemon Center earlier tried to get them to stop, but the refused to listen to her. She left to go meet the backup officers she called, but I don't think these guys will be here for much longer."
Sure enough, the knight-cosplaying group of pokemon trainers—they couldn't be anything else—had straightened into firm lines, and a tall, robed man with long green hair was now standing in front of the congregation of people.
The green haired man gave a charming smile that made shivers run down Kuro's spine. It was so utterly fake that Kuro didn't see how no one else noticed—and he didn't see how he noticed. Maybe it was the way the friendly upturn of the lips was perfectly crafted to look cheerful and inviting, maybe it was the way it didn't quite reach the man's eyes, maybe it was the way those eyes were so cold—Kuro wasn't sure. He just knew, somehow, that the smile was as fake as a smile could be.
"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen," he began, then seemed to run on right ahead to say what he'd come to say. "My name is Ghetsis, here to represent Team Plasma, and today I would like to talk to you all about pokemon liberation."
Kuro blinked, and exchanged a puzzled glance with Cheren as the people gathered before them began to murmur in confusion.
Ghetsis only nodded his head, almost respectfully, but Kuro narrowed his eyes and caught the slight edge of condescending. "I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and pokemon are partners, that have come to live together because we want and need each other."
Kuro's eyes narrowed further, and he leaned against Cheren's side. The older boy glanced down at him and wrapped an arm around him, glaring at Ghetsis as he continued to speak.
"However... is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that, perhaps, we humans only assume that this is the truth?"
Ghetsis began to pace before them as the crowd started to murmur to one another, frowns on their faces.
"Pokemon are subjects to the selfish commands of Trainers," he announced, and Cheren stiffened. Kuro hugged Vultri to his chest and she hissed almost silently, and Kizoku bristled from his place leaning against Kuro's foot. He could feel the three occupied pokeballs in his messenger bag tremble, and could have sworn his little Lillipup had just growled. Kuro sighed and focused back on the man, Ghetsis', words. He was confused. He didn't think he was being selfish. He knew his pokemon really enjoyed Battling with him. He could see it in their eyes, their expressions. Vultri had been ecstatic when he'd received Kizoku, and they had both been very excited when he'd caught them new friends. How was that selfish? He just wanted his small friends to be happy.
"They get pushed around, when they are out "partners" at work... Can anyone say, in confidence, that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" Ghetsis asked his audience.
The crowd began murmuring again, and Kuro almost wanted to scoff. He would have rejected this Ghetsis figure's entire speech, in complete confidence, if he could have. Instead, he was mute... Sometimes, Kuro hated it.
So, instead of speaking up, something he wasn't able to do, Kuro reached out to tap Cheren's side with a gently closed fist, then walked away form the gathered crowd. Cheren nodded after him and, however reluctantly, stayed behind to hear the rest of the speech. Kuro ignored whatever was being said and made his way to the exit of Accumula Town in the direction of Route 2, Kizoku chattering with small bursts of noise at his side, and Vultri curled up against his shoulder..
Before he could pass the sign dictating the road as just that, though, Kuro was stopped by a young teen with green hair similar to the Ghetsis man still speaking back at the plaza. Except, this boy's hair was a bit brighter, richer in color, he looked much closer to Kuro's age, and his eyes didn't have the same cold resonance in them as Ghetsis' did. Instead, the teen's green eyes were soft at the edges, holding some gentleness in them. His green hair was short and choppy at the top, but the back, though just as choppy, was longer and reached almost down to the boy's waist. This boy had a cleaner look about him than Ghetsis had.
"You..." The teen breathed, examining him closely with an occasional glance at Kizoku, who was hiding behind Kuro's leg again. "Your pokemon, just now it was saying..."
Kuro tilted his head, watching the other boy warily.
The boy blinked, then frowned. "You think I'm weird, saying that they talk. Pokemon do talk, though. Can't you hear them?" He asked, almost accusingly.
Kuro blinked, somewhat blindsided by this sudden confrontation. He studied the boy silently, then tilted his head to the other side, pulling Vultri down to hug her to his chest protectively—though, it was usually her protecting him.
"You can't either, then." The boy decided, almost turnign away from him. "How sad... My name is N."
Kuro felt a little offended, and let go of Vultri, who hopped down and went back to comfort the surprisingly shy—for such a chatty little guy—Kizoku. Kuro watched the boy with a small frown, then lifted his hands to sign, I know how they feel, isn't that enough? None of us usually talk, we like the quiet.
Which was a lie, Kuro very much disliked the silence, but he liked the way his pokemon communicated with him without noise. It was comforting, knowing they could understand him without words.
The boy, N, blinked at him in confusion, before understanding washed over his features.
"...You cannot speak." He whispered, and Kuro was almost vindictively pleased to hear the guilty lilt to his voice. He shook his head, and watched as a variety of emotions seemed to run their way across N's eyes, even as his face remained mostly neutral.
Finally, the boy started again, after biting his lip for a minute. "I apologize," he made a short bow. "I was rude, wasn't I? That must be why your Pokemon are so quiet... It confused me, they're usually very talkative creatures. I assumed you didn't let them make noise."
Kuro narrowed his eyes, feeling insulted once again. He didn't like how this boy had just jumped to conclusions and had accused him of abusing his friends. Vultri and Kizoku seemed to feel that same way, since they both turned to hiss at N. The boy's green eyes widened.
"I'm sorry..." The boy tilted his head down, eyes trained on the ground. "I just assumed... No, I can't assume things. That's not the way to make conclusions." He seemed to chastise himself, then raised his head to meet Kuro's eyes.
"Can we start over? I don't want... I don't want you to think of me as someone so uncivil..." He seemed to be confused at that, but shook the look off. Kuro tilted his head once more, then nodded, reaching forward to accept the boy's hand in a short shake.
N gave a small smile. "Alright, then. My name is N. What's yours?" He blinked, then shook his head. "Um, I don't know sign language... But I'll learn it, so that we can talk to each other next time we meet."
Kuro felt his eyes widen fractionally. No one had ever been so determined to be able earn the ability to actually speak to him, aside from Heiko, Ando, and his two sibling/friends. He was aware not many people would bother with learning sign language just so that they could speak with one person who wasn't able to—and definitely not strangers who had just only now met him. Kuro couldn't help but feel more respect toward this N figure, if he was willing to dedicate himself to learn an entire language just to be able to speak with Kuro...
Kuro swallowed, then looked away, reaching down for Vultri again. The Victini seemed to understand what Kuro's wanted, and jumped back into his arms so Kuro could bury his face into her fur.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and Kuro glanced up to see N looking down at him with an almost concerned look. "Are you alright..." he glanced at Kizoku, who yipped quietly, then blinked. "...Kuro?"
Kuro inhaled sharply, and examined N with wide eyes. He hadn't been aware N could actually understand what his pokemon were saying... Kuro had never meet someone else able to communicate so deeply with pokemon before, like he was able to... Sure, Trainers and other people talked to pokemon all the time, but Kuro noticed that they never really tried to listen, not even Ando—though, Ando was better than most people, admittedly. Kuro knew Ando had a deeper bond with his Violet than most trainer were prone too.
He shook his thoughts away and glanced back at N, who was waiting. Hesitantly, Kuro nodded, then took a step back and stared at the ground. He knew, without looking, that N was biting his lip again, and felt a small amount of helplessness descend over him. He wasn't sure what to do now.
"I know!" N brightened, and Kuro looked up. "Lets have a pokemon battle! Your friends look pretty skilled, so it will be good experience for the Purrloin I have with me. How about it?"
Kuro allowed a small smile to stretch across his face, and he nodded, letting Vultri jump down to fish his pokeballs out of his bag. He released all of them and let them decide who would Battle while N released his Purrloin, who purred happily and rubbed against N's leg—much like Kuro's would act, now that he thought about it.
As if realizing the same thing, Kuro's Purrloin sauntered over to her trainer and rubbed against his leg with a purr of her own, as if to say, 'And this one is mine.'
N saw this, and a small smile stole across his own face, the green eyes seeming to soften just a bit more. He looked back to Kuro, and they both pulled out their Battle Logs and traded them.
Kuro tapped the tab labeled "new Entry' on N's log, after noticing N was a rather experienced Battle Trainer, having battled many of Team Plasma's 'grunts.' He wondered briefly about that, as he filled in his Trainer information, then hit the button 'Challenge,' and handed the log back to N, who traded it for Kuro's own log. Kuro looked down at his log, and hit "Accept.' Both devices gave off a small 'ping!' sound, and the two Trainers stashed them back into their respective bags, then smiled minutely at each other.
"I only have Purrloin with me, at the moment," N told him, and Kuro nodded, looking back at his pokemon, who had just finished arguing. Vultri seemed to be sulking—it appeared that her own placement in the battle had been vetoed by the other pokemon due to her higher level. She sat off to one side and glared at her younger friends. Kuro sent her a smile that turned his eyes into small crescents and she huffed, but abated in her glaring. Neither of them noticed N watching Kuro's face avidly when he'd smiled down at the Victini.
Eventually, it was decided that Patrat would fight first, and the rodent pokemon let out a loud, put-upon sigh that made both N and Kuro laugh. Patrat slouched forward into the holographic battle rings that the aerial Battle Initiator N had tossed into the air projected onto the ground and gave the Purrloin a once-over, before sighing again. The feline pokemon appeared affronted at the reaction to her, and held herself up straighter with a nasty look in Patrat's direction. N hid a smile behind his hand and glanced at Kuro, only to be surprised to see that the other Trainer had actually sat down with his other pokemon friends to watch the battle, like he was in the audience and wasn't the battling Trainer.
N blinked, before hesitantly glancing at his own pokemon friend. The Purrloin sniffed at him, saying 'What's that look for? Don't worry about me, I can handle this by myself,' and N hid another smile, slowly wandering over to hesitantly sit beside Kuro. He relaxed as the other boy sent him a rather sweet, although small as it was, smile, and both Trainers turned to watch the battle unfold.
The Battle was like no other Battle N had ever experienced before. He had actually been able to just sit back to enjoy himself, and it even looked like the two battling pokemon were having the time of their lives. He looked over at Kuro, who had some amazing ability to communicate with his pokemon friends without speaking, and found himself almost feeling jealous of the boy. He wished for such a deep connection with his own pokemon friends, then scolded himself. He had that connection already. It was just that, Kuro enacted it in a different way than he did. And his pokemon friends went along with it happily.
N loved it, the Battle. Both Trainers had pretty much left the entire thing up to their pokemon to decide. N did call out moves, and he had a inkling that Kuro had somehow had as well, but in the end they left it to the two pokemon to ultimately choose which move to use on their opponent. It was like no other Battle N had ever had before, and he loved it. It was such a different strategy, once in which all participants, be it pokemon or Trainer, enjoyed themselves.
This was the type of world N had always wanted to live in. He was reserved with the way his father wanted to establish things, and he was uncomfortable with the rather competitive Battles everyone else seemed to be so entranced with. Kuro, though, he was... different. He was just the kind of person N had always been looking for, but had never thought he'd ever find.
This was the kind of person N wanted as a friend.
If only all the other humans were like Kuro, then the world wouldn't seem so cold or lonely t N anymore.
In the end, Patrat won—as N had expected. His small Purrloin friend got off with a bruised prise, but was otherwise unhurt as N stashed her away in her pokeball to heal her at a Pokemon Center later. He breathed in a content sigh and smiled much more freely at Kuro than he ever had at another human being.
"That was... so much fun." He decided, almost laughing in giddiness as he pulled out his Battle Log again, watching as Kuro did the same. "I've never had a Battle like that, it was amazing."
Kuro sent him a happy smile, and N actually grinned—and this time, it reached his eyes. They traded Battle logs again, both selecting Kuro's name as the winner and singing it with their respective signatures to officially acknowledge it, as was custom after a battle.
After handing the log back to Kuro, and stashing his own away, N cast a searching look at his new... friend?
"I have to change the world for pokemon," he found himself saying, "because they're my friends. I want to world to be warmer for them, and I want them to be happy and as carefree as our friends are. I don't want humans and pokemon to just be partners—it's such a cold term. I want them to be friends, too. Will... will you help me, with that?" He held his breath, gazing into the violet eyes of the boy he'd met only an hour ago. But he felt that this was right.
Kuro seemed to stare at him for an eternity, before the boy tilted his head with a smile. He lifted his hands to sign a few sentences, it seemed, and N burned the gestures into his memory, so that he could look them up later and finally understand.
Then, Kuro turned away from him and walked off down Route 2, in the direction of Striaton City, his pokemon friends fallowing at his heels. The Snivy, Kizoku, glanced back at him with a happy smile and chittered, before disappearing into the trees with his Trainer.
N blinked, stunned. Then, an ecstatic grin stretched across his face, and it felt like his heart would burst. He spun around and dashed back into Accumula Town, the reluctance to rejoin Ghetsis at the restaurant they'd agreed to meet back at overpowered by the happy flutter of something in his chest.
(~Pokemon~
"He said pokemon are different from humans," Cheren stressed t him over his transceiver as Kuro made his way down Route 2. Kuro chuckled at the affronted look on his big brother's face as Cheren went on to say, "And I get that, I really do. Pokemon aren't humans, so there's bound to be differences, you know? But the way he said it, otouto. I just—and then he said 'Pokemon are living beings with much unknown potential, and from whom we humans have much to learn.' which I also agree with ! But—I just—It was so hard to just disagree with him after you left, Kuro-kun! The way he said things, just had you nodding your head! It made me mad!"
Kuro sighed, nodding his head as Cheren's free hand went up to rub the bridge of his nose, under his glasses. "Then—then he said that-that we have a responsibility to liberate all the pokemon! Because only then will humans and pokemon 'truly be equals'— I just... ugh!"
Cheren's face disappeared for a moment, as the teen threw his hands up into the air(the transceiver being on his wrist, as they were supposed to be). Kuro blinked, shaking his head. Cheren's face reappeared, looking sheepish yet tired all at once, and Kuro frowned in worry.
"Sorry about that. This Ghetsis person, though, he just makes me—he makes me so mad! After we're done, I'm calling Bia-chan to warn her about that guy." Kuro nodded, thinking it was a good idea. Ghetsis had just rubbed the amnesiac the entirely wring way, and Kuro felt extremely uncomfortable knowing there was such a man out there as that, in the same region as his friends and him.
"Anyway," Cheren continued. "Tell me more about this N guy you met? You said he was with Ghetsis?"
Kuro blinked, then shook his head. He reached over to his transceiver's keypad with his free hand and typed out a message. -(( I didn't say that. I said he looked a bit like him, but much kinder. I think he was about your age, Cheren, but it was hard to tell. He was really tall.))-
Cheren frowned down at his transceiver's screen with a thoughtful look. "Maybe they're related?" He guessed. Kuro thought about it, but had a hard time connecting the shady man named Ghetsis with the gentle, somewhat lonely but kind looking N he'd met the night before. He shook his head. -((I don't think it matters, really. N actually means what he's saying, I could see it, and it wasn't anything like Ghetsis was talking about. 'Liberation' and such. N just wants his pokemon friends to be happy, like I do.))-
His big brother smiled slightly. "You and me both, Kuro-kun. Bia-chan, too, I'm sure. Her and her Oshawott are pretty close, I thought. Anyway, enough about this. Did you take your pills yet today?"
Kuro blinked, and suddenly cast the screen a rather sheepish look when Cheren groaned, an exasperated yet slightly panicked look coming over his face. "Kuro! Do I have to cal you everyday to remind you? I will! Does your chest hurt at all?"
Kuro tilted his head, then shook it slowly. Cheren studied him through the digital screen for a moment, then rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Take them anyway, just to be sure. I don't want you to collapse in the middle of Route 2, coughing up blood with no one around to help you."
Kuro fished his pill bottle out of his messenger bag while Cheren's face began to pale on the screen as the older teen predictable began to imagine all the possible scenarios that could happen to Kuro in such a situation. Kuro popped tow capsules into his mouth and swallowed them dry, before glancing back at the small screen on his wrist. He sighed typing out a message before tapping the screen a few times to get Cheren's attention before sending it over.
-((Don't worry so much, Nii-san. I've remembered so far, haven't I?))-
Cheren narrowed his eyes, then huffed. "Sure. Just make sure those pokemon of yours keep an eye on you. You hear me, Vultri? Make sure Kuro doesn't accidentally kill himself or something!"
Kuro rolled his eyes as Cheren's face paled once again, and the teen started to mutter to himself "Oh, god, what if he does, what something happens and—no, but what if he—and no one's—"
Vultri lifted up her nose and sniffed while Kuro tapped the glass again. Cheren glanced back at his transceiver and bit his lip. "Just be careful, alright? I don't want anything to happen to you. You know I worry about both of you, right?"
-((Hai, we love you too, Cheren-nii.))-
Cheren's face stretched into a smile. "Good. Just remember that before you go off into a risky situation, alright? I'm not going to worry about all this, but I'm fine to worry about you and Bia-chan. I'm headed toward Straiten City after you, to challenge the gym leader there. Aim to challenge gym leader after gym leader and level your pokemon up along the way, that's the best way to become stronger. Challenge the gym leader in each area, before making your way to the Pokemon League to challenge the champion. Aishiteimasu, Kuro-kun. Keep safe."
With that, Cheren's connection canceled, and the transceiver went back to the home-screen. Kuro flipped it shut, lowering his arms so Kizoku could reach up to hold his hand like the Snivy had been wanted to since the middle of his and Cheren's conversation. Kuro glanced at the sky, a thoughtful look on his face and he trudged forward on Route 2, his Lillipup wobbling down the road after him.
About an hour later, he was just wading through the tall grass near the middle ground of Route 2 when his transceiver rang again, making a small, three toned 'ping!' noise similar to the Battle Log's confirmation alert. Knowing it was either Heiko, Bianca, or Officer Amelia for whatever reason—as they, besides Ando and Cheren, were the only ones with Kuro's contact information, and Cheren had just called him—he brought his wrist up level with his collar bone and flipped it open.
Heiko—his adoptive mother's- face smiled up at him. "Ro-chan! Hi, how are you?" Kuro only smiled down at her, nodding his head. Heiko beamed.
"Ando-san is out right, now—But, I'm sure if he was here, he'd want to talk to you too, see how you're doing. How are you doing, anyway? I know you're alright," she chattered on, and Kuro couldn't help but smile fondly at his mother-figure. "But, you know—did you take your pills?"'
He nodded, and she sighed. "I know, I must seem a little oppressive right now but I'm just worried, you know? I just want you to stay safe," she smiled. "Do that, for me? Ando san might not show it, "She spoke quietly, in mock secrecy, "but everyone can tell he misses you too. And you should see Josept! He's been wailing about the absence of his little Bianca-chan all day!" She giggled.
Kuro felt his smile slip a little, and he frowned, thinking about recent events. Heiko waved her free hand around, eyebrows raised. "Not that—well, it'll take some getting used to, having you three gone, but we'll manage. Don't worry about us, alright, Ro-chan?"
Kuro breathed out, and nodded at her, deciding not to mention N or Ghetsis like he'd almost done. He didn't want to worry her or Ando unnecessarily. Instead, he sent her a smile and then tilted his head.
Heiko grinned. "Ah, just checking up on you? I swear I won't do it every day, that would be a little overboard even for me," she laughed. "Anyway, Ando san might send you a message in a few days—neither of you seem video-chat types of people, so I'll cut this short. You—you remembered to pack your running shoes, right?"
Kuro rolled his eyes in that unnoticeable way of his and nodded yet again, feeling slightly put-out.
Heiko sighed, giving him a fond smile that seemed slightly teary-eyes, and Kuro stiffened, hoping she wouldn't start to cry again. He really hated it when Heiko cried. "Alright, alright. I can see I'm starting to annoy you—oh, don't shake your head like that! I'm your mother, I can tell!" She huffed, shaking her own head, blinking away the wetness in her eyes. Kuro relaxed.
"Well, I love you, as always," Kuro nodded his thanks and mutually agreement at the screen, and Heiko smiled, acknowledging it. "Mhm, you love me too. Stay safe, alright? I'll check up in..." She glanced at him, and sighed reluctantly. "A week, how about? Okay?"
He nodded again.
"Ha, okay. Ravi might steal my transceiver to give you a call, though, so don't be surprised when he does. Love you!"
Kuro flipped the screen closed again, and Lifted his tired Lillipup into his arms. Vultri and Kizoku had both retreated to their pokeballs to sleep, and Kuro noticed it was getting a bit late as he looked up at the darkening sky.
Good, he thought. He was nearly to Striaton anyway.
And it wasn't that long, as it turned out. He soon found himself checking into the Striaton City hotel and fell into the soft yet unfamiliar bed, quickly falling into a rather fitful sleep.
The next morning was bright and warm. Kuro had eaten a small breakfast at the hotel cafeteria—which was admittedly far to fancy for his tastes, and then had made his way to find something to wake his pokemon up(he couldn't decide if it was bad luck or not, finding all the pokemon who absolutely abhorred mornings). After exiting the Striaton City Pokemon Center and getting his tired Pokemon healed and re-energized, Kuro decided to walk around the town for a while, watching the people.
It was a bigger city, far bigger than Nuvema or even Accumula Town. Much bigger than Kuro was used too, but still somehow felt... cramped. It made sense—Nuvema had a lot of people, which was surprising(even though most of them were the Pokemon Trainers that were out in the ocean challenging and catching wild aquatic pokemon), but they were all spread out over a wide and open area. Striaton City was all packed together—and if this was what a city was like, Kuro didn't think he'd enjoy the big renowned Castelia city too much. Sounded crowded.
He found himself back where he'd started soon enough, and looked over at the huge, fancy building next to the Pokemon Center he'd left only half an hour earlier. Before the doors stood a big, burly man in a white dress shirt and black slacks with a black waiter's apron tied around his waist. Sunglasses were perched just under his strong eyebrows. Kuro tilted his head curiously and made his way up to him.
The burly waiter man glanced down at him, raising one of the muscle-y blond eyebrows. Kuro watched it in fascination, before meeting the hard eyes behind the shades.
The man sighed, then spoke in a rather gruff voice that sounded like sandpaper. "You looking for the Gym leader? He's not here. He might be in the Trainer's school, but if you want to challenge him, you'll have to go and find him."
Kur blinked yup and the large man on the steps, then smiled softly and reached forward to pat him on the hand, which was clenched tightly on his crossed arms. The burly man paused, blinking down at him with a blank look, but Kuro turned and walked away before he could say anything else.
He wondered if Cheren had challenged the gym leader yet. Or found him, as appeared to be the case. Cheren had messaged him about arriving in Striated that morning, so it was a possibility.
Except, Kuro had read something about there being three gym leaders in Striaton city...
Kuro shrugged, making his way toward the garden he'd seen earlier but hadn't entered. Maybe he'd find Cheren and have a friendly Battle before challenging the gym leader. It get them both experience and show Kuro how much his big brother had improved since they last battled.
(~Pokemon~
Hi, it's me again. Yeah, I haven't updated in forever. I'm not apologizing though. I've been working my ass off in school trying to catch up. And midterms are just around the corner. I wasn't even going to write this chapter, since this story isn't on my priority list, if it hadn't been for Firehedgehog, who messaged me about it.
Anyway, I have no clue when I'll update, but I can say with certainty that this story will be finished eventually. As all my stories will, because they're my babies and like hell am I abandoning them :P
I DO have a question for you, though. I've already decided Kuro and N will have a close friendship bond, but I just wanted to know if any of you wanted this to be yaoi. Because I can totally write that, if you want it, just like I can totally keep it platonic between them, if you don't. It's your guy's choice—I'll be writing different scenes for it anyway. If the majority of you decide NO YAOI, then I'll be writing an alternate end that includes yaoi for those of you who do—but the main story will have the platonic friendship ending.
Anyway, that's still all pretty far off. I just wanted to know.
Please review and tell me what you want, and also give me your answer!
Thank you for reading :)
~Skye X