C is for Challenge

"Just a little farther, Unfezant, and then you can take a rest. Can you fly a bit lower?"

"Unfe," the proud bird Pokémon replied before flapping her wings and flew lower so her wingtips gently touched the water, causing many ripples to form across the smooth blue surface.

Hugging the delicate Pokémon egg closer to her body, Touko watched as the sea slowly gave way to land. It had been a long time since she last took in nature's beauty. The past few months she had been focused on winning gym battles and getting to the Pokémon League. When that was over, she was preoccupied with thoughts about N.

It was only yesterday when she decided to set out on a search for the remaining six Sages, as per Looker's request. She hadn't wanted to do it but Pansage had managed to change her mind, telling her to do whatever it took to make herself happy. At least that was what she hoped he had said.

"Unfe, fezant!" Unfezant cried, bringing Touko out of her thoughts and back to the present. Flapping her wings once more, Unfezant landed on the sandy soil and stood still so Touko would have an easier time dismounting.

"Thanks Unfezant, have a nice rest. Return!" In a flash of red light, Unfezant was returned to her Pokéball, leaving Touko standing on the edge of the ocean, holding the egg.

She had managed to find Sage Rood at the end of Route 18, which was an accident. Having never been down that route before, her Pokémon had wanted to explore it thus leading her there. Finding one of the Sages and receiving a Pokémon egg for free were just a bonus.

Carefully putting the egg in the nook of her arm, Touko took out her map, wondering where she should go next.

Accumula Town was quite small and there weren't that many places that were isolated from the people while Striaton City had the Dreamyard. From her last visit to the Dreamyard, she knew that not many people visited the area and that it had a lower floor, which hardly anyone knew of, making it the perfect hiding place.


Three Sages down, three more to go and she was only in Nimbasa City and nowhere near finding out where N had gone. Every time she confronted a Sage, her heart would start beating faster, until Looker showed up and led them away. After hearing three Sages talk about Team Plasma, she had still yet to learn anything about N. Maybe it would be best to give up her search for N...

Why was she even looking for him in the first place? She loves him but his feelings for her were unknown. If he were to say he doesn't feel the same, she would most likely be crushed. Even if she were to find him, what could she do? Tell him her feelings and hope the two of them could spend the rest of their lives together? As if.

If N wanted to be found, then he most likely would've been found already. A person flying on a vast white Pokémon isn't an easy sight to miss. For all she knew, N could've left Unova and this entire search would be pointless

Letting out a sigh, Touko sat down on one of the park benches lining the sidewalks of Nimbasa. She was being too hard on herself and thinking too much. Grabbing one of her Pokéballs, she released Pansage.

"What do you think I should do, Pansage? Should I give up looking for N and focus on helping Looker find the remaining Sages? I don't even know what I want anymore," Touko stated sadly.

The grass monkey looked up at his trainer and frowned. Hopping up onto the bench, he wrapped his arms around her and attempted to give her a hug. "Pansage sage, pansage."

"I know I love him, I'm sure of that but it hardly means anything. He told me to do whatever it takes to fulfil my dreams but I'm not even sure what they are anymore. Before this all started, Cheren and I both wanted to be the strongest trainer in all of Unova, him more so than me. I don't want that anymore, it just doesn't seem important," she murmured to Pansage.

"I wouldn't mind settling down somewhere and just enjoy life while occasionally having Pokémon battles. At least then I won't be worrying about the future but I know a part of me will always regret giving up on being a strong trainer. I don't know anything anymore."

"Sage," Pansage mumbled, gently petting his trainer on the shoulder.

Touko could feel tears forming in the back of her eyes and she started blinking furiously, feeling pathetic for wanting to cry. She had shed many tears over the course of the past week and enough was enough. If only her feelings would listen to reason...

xxx

An hour had passed and Touko remained on the park bench, letting her thoughts and feelings take over. Pansage and all her other Pokémon, minus Zekrom, were wandering around in the Amusement Park. They were reluctant to go; the Amusement Park provided no entertainment for them while their trainer wallowed in unhappiness but they went nonetheless.

"Want to battle?"

Surprised by the sudden voice, Touko let out a small yelp before lifting her head. Her eyes met a pair of cinnamon brown eyes and she resisted the urge to run away.

"H-hello Touya, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen you since I left on my journey," he answered, smiling at her. Touko could see that the smile was faked. It was just a mask to hide his concern for her. He was definitely not the first one to try that tactic.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, eager for him to leave. She was sure he knew the reason behind her sadness but she didn't want to explain. Fighting her feelings had drained all her energy.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It had been a while since I came to Nimbasa City so I thought I'd come for a visit. Besides, my Pokémon like to play in the Amusement Park," Touya added with a smile, a real smile.

Touko nodded her head but didn't say anything back.

"So, would you like to battle?" Touya asked again.

"I-I'd rather not," she replied.

"C'mon Touko, I haven't ever had a battle with you. You got to at least give me a chance!"

"Pansage sage!" A chorus of Pokémon cries followed the grass monkey's, surprising their trainer.

"See, Touko. Your Pokémon wants to battle too. So, what do you say?"

xxx

"Go, Archeops!"

The first bird Pokémon let out a stern shout and flapped his wings, sending up dust clouds. Touya had led Touko to the battlefield in the back of the Pokémon center after she had reluctantly accepted his challenge.

Once they were on opposite sides of the field, Touya wasted no time and released his Archeops while Touko stood there, staring.

Seeing Archeops sent her brain into overdrive, digging up old memories, especially those of her last battle with N. He had also used an Archeops against her.

Touko's hand automatically reached for a Pokéball and threw it, releasing Pansage.

"Archeops, use Crunch!" Touya commanded.

The bird Pokémon flapped his wings again and dived toward Pansage with his mouth wide open, showing his sharp teeth.

"Dodge it then use Acrobatics!" Touko directed, watching as Pansage easily step sided the attack before striking back.

Archeops let out a cry as he got hit and lost altitude. Touya called out another attack followed by encouragement.

Giving Pansage another command, Touko watched the battle continue. Somehow, it all seemed like déjà vu, as if she had already experienced this exact moment...

That's when it hit her. Her battle with N had proceeded the same way, with him sending out Archeops and her sending out Pansage. Even the attacks were similar. She shivered as thoughts about N resurfaced.

"Sage pansage pan!" the grass monkey called, struggling to stand back up.

"You can do it Pansage! Hit him with Seed Bomb," Touko instructed.

Pansage slowly got up and faced the smirking Archeops before letting out an array of explosive seeds from his mouth. The dodging command came too late and Archeops was hit in the face with the Seed Bomb, knocking him unconscious.

It's just like the final battle with N...

xxx

Both trainers were down to their last Pokémon and both their Pokémon were starting to show exhaustion. Touya was left with his Vanilluxe and Touko was left with her Zebstrika.

Touko knew that Zebstrika wouldn't be able to continue battling for much longer as she had taken a lot of damage, which was mostly Touko's fault. She was shocked that Touya decided to use his Vanilluxe and seeing him reminded her of the final battle with N, again.

In her battle with N, she was also down to her Zebstrika while he only had his Vanilluxe left. It was an odd coincidence that that happened to be the situation in this battle and it surprised her.

"Finish him off with Flame Charge, Zebstrika!" Touko directed.

The thunderbolt Pokémon let out a cry before surrounding herself in flames and charged at the snowstorm Pokémon.

"Vani!" Vanilluxe cried in pain as the attack made contact and he fell to the ground. Touya recalled his Pokémon, telling him he did a great job before smiling at Touko.

Her eyes, however, were glazed over, her mind elsewhere. Zebstrika trotted over to her and rubbed her muzzle against her arm, snapping Touko out of her thoughts.

A weary and sad smile forced its way onto her lips as she petted her Pokémon. "Thank you, Zebstrika. Return."

"That was a great battle; don't you think so, Touko? I should've challenged you earlier!" Touya exclaimed, his eyes dancing. After defeating Iris at Opelucid City he had yet to find an opponent that stood a chance against him. Battling Touko was the greatest challenge he ever had since.

"Yeah, it was a great battle," she replied vacantly.

Touya noticed the look on Touko's face and decided to leave her alone. "I gotta go heal my Pokémon in the Pokémon Center. I'll see you some other time then."

"Bye," Touko said softly. After Touya disappeared from her view she too walked into the Pokémon Center, giving her Pokémon to Nurse Joy to heal.

Walking back out into the noisy streets of Nimbasa City, Touko found a seat on one of the park benches and sat down. The end of the day was nearing and she was back where she was just hours before: sitting on one of the park benches and still undecided about what to do next.

She was aching to see N again and to talk to him, now more so than before. All she knew was that she was going to continue her search for the remaining three Sages and hopefully get information about N from them.

"And someday, surely your dreams shall be realized!"

Standing up from her seat, Touko glared at the sidewalk, annoyed with herself. Her dreams will be realized? The only thing she dreamed of now was a happy future, possibly with N.

N...

Her heart throbbed and she bit down on her lip, blocking her feelings of anguish from escaping. She was getting tired of feeling this sort of hurt whenever she thought about N, which happened to be almost every waking moment.

Just don't think about him, Touko. It's not that hard. Think about finding the last three Sages. Where would they be? I wonder what they'll tell me when I find them. Maybe I'll get information about...

Why was it so hard for her to stop thinking about him?

Walking back to the Pokémon Center, Touko thanked Nurse Joy and picked up her Pokémon. After strolled out the door, she leaned against the big building and closed her eyes.

Now what?

Taking a deep breath, Touko opened her eyes and started walking, heading to the gate. The next town would be Driftveil and the Cold Storage would be the perfect place for a Sage to hide, especially since she had encountered them there before the final battle with...

No, she was not going to think about it. If the Sages tell her something about N then she would be grateful, if they didn't then oh well. It was time for her to stop dwelling on it and move on, even though her heart ached.

Only three more Sages were left to be found.

A/N: I apologize for the abrupt ending but I couldn't think of any other way to end it. Also, I know this doesn't exactly fit the prompt but I tried my best. This was my fourth attempt at C and this was the best.

Any reviews/comments will be welcomed

Happy Leafing~!