Chapter 11 – Counterbalanced
Sweat ran down to Yena's chin, but even as the Pokémon battle in front of her seemed to be at a halt,
she didn't take the time to wipe off her forehead or take a sip of water.
She looked at her two Pokémon on the small, open field. Oshawott was obviously tired, panting as he tried to keep an eye on his surroundings.
Munna was hovering just above the grass, slowly floating around in a circle.
Yena had spent a lot of time with her newest Pokémon in the past few days, hoping to form the start of a bond.
She had discovered Munna was a very calm and quiet one, but she seemed to appreciate the extra attention that was given to her.
The round, pink Pokémon suddenly stopped going around in circles, turning to the right like a compass.
Yena could hear her light voice as she seemed to say something to Oshawott.
"Mu-muuu…"
Oshawott looked in the same direction, just in time to see Tauros break through the cover of the trees, running towards them.
Yena could see this as well, but trusted her Pokémon to dodge Tauros' attack by themselves.
She scanned the trees around the open field while Munna swirled away from Tauros effortlessly, and Oshawott jumped aside with a little more difficulty, barely avoiding the stomping hooves.
Tauros disappeared between the trees on the other side of the field, but Yena knew this had been a distraction…
She may have fallen for this a couple of days ago, but now…
There! Quite close to Munna! There was some movement near the trees!
"Munna! Go the other way!"
Just in time, Munna hovered back as Zigzagoon leaped towards her.
"Oshawott, Water Gun!"
Her water-Pokémon breathed in deep, and sent a jet of water flying towards Zigzagoon.
Yena could hear Alex' whistled commands in the distance – the varied tones flew across the grass, and Yena wished, once again, that she could understand the communication between trainer and Pokémon.
Zigzagoon jumped aside in time to dodge the water.
"Munna! Psywave!"
The Psychic Pokémon seemed to glow, right before a ring of light was fired off.
Zigzagoon was a light-footed Pokémon, but the quick succession of attacks was a little too much:
The Pokémon was blown back, flying through the trees until he hit one of the trunks.
"Well done, Munna!"
Yena raised her hand in the air, waving to where she thought Alex was hiding.
"Alex! Is Zigzagoon alright? Let's take a break, okay?"
It took a moment before she got a response, but Alex appeared from the trees after a couple of minutes, quickly followed by Zigzagoon.
The Pokémon's coat looked a little more ragged than usual, but he didn't seem to be hurt badly.
Alex didn't seem to be affected by the sun too much, his face pale as ever.
"That last combo was a good one."
He looked to his right for a moment when Tauros appeared.
"Thanks, Tauros. You did good. Take a few minutes to catch your breath."
Tauros bowed its head, then trotted away to graze.
Yena interrupted the process of splashing water in her face.
"A few minutes, Alex? That's harsh.
Didn't you see how tired Oshawott was?"
Alex threw a look over his shoulder at Oshawott, but quickly backed away as he discovered Munna, hovering only inches from his face.
"Gah! Stop that already!"
The Pokémon's face barely showed any emotion, but she refused to take her eyes from his face.
Feeling annoyed and creeped out, Alex gestured at Yena.
"Call her back, before I let Zigzagoon attack for real. That thing won't leave me alone."
Yena placed herself between Alex and Munna, offering the Pokémon some tasty treats.
Her Munna had turned out to have quite a sweet tooth, so she was easily distracted by some of the Pecha Berries they had found in the forest earlier that day.
"I would look at you like that as well, if you referred to me as 'that thing'...
Give her a break, Alex."
"Give her a break…? She's the one hanging around me all the ti-…"
He abruptly stopped talking when Zigzagoon barked once and growled softly.
Alex turned his head, peering through the trees.
"Someone's there."
...
The young man frowned as stepped from between the trees, eyeing the snarling Pokémon at Alex' feet.
"Are you sure your Pokémon is trained well? He's growling like a wild Pokémon."
Alex cold glare was merciless.
"You spy on us, and you insult my Pokémon as soon as you're discovered?
Zigzagoon obeys me without question, and I will not hesitate to let him bite you if you're going to be like that…"
"Spying? I was simply observing your training…"
The immediate tension between the two was interrupted by a surprised laugh from Yena.
"Quinn…? Wow, is that really you?"
Both Oshawott and Yena rushed past Alex, happily greeting the newcomer.
"Hello, Yena! Hey, Oshawott! It's really been too long."
He spread his arms, hugging the blond girl.
She then took a step back to take a better look at him.
"It really has been, yeah! I can't believe how long your hair has gotten!"
"I know! And look at you…! You look amazing! I couldn't resist paying you a visit after speaking to Professor Juniper.
She told me you were in Striaton City."
Quinn was a tall, athletic, good-looking young man.
His dark brown, curly hair was hanging in his eyes, and on the sides of his face.
The short sleeves on his red shirt revealed tanned arms.
His brown eyes were now observing Alex again.
"But you sure picked a strange training partner…"
Alex' eyes were even darker than Quinn's, and currently displaying his barely contained anger.
"Stop picking a fight with me already!"
Quinn opened his mouth to give another reply, but Yena stopped him, giving dark looks to both him and Alex.
"Children, behave. You guys don't even know eachother yet."
She gestured at Zigzagoon, who was still flat on the ground, ready to pounce.
"You too. Relax already. Quinn is a childhood friend of mine."
Her eyes went to Alex.
"And Quinn, this is Alex. He knows the way to CasteliaCity, and I've learned a lot since I'm travelling with him.
Now be nice, you two."
Quinn was the first time to break the silence that followed.
He stepped forward, stretching out his hand towards Alex, closely observed by Zigzagoon.
"Maybe we got off to a wrong start. I actually watched you train, and you seem to be quite skilled."
Alex hesitated, clearly unwilling to have anything to do with Quinn.
With one last look at Yena, who folded her arms, he slowly accepted Quinn's stretched out hand, shaking it once before letting it go, not saying a word.
Feeling better after seeing the two shake hands, Yena grabbed Quinn's arm.
"How's Tepig doing? Do you have him with you? He got along with Oshawott so well!"
Quinn smiled at her.
"I think he'd like to see Oshawott again."
He removed one of the three Pokéballs attached to his belt.
"He's gotten quite a bit stronger…"
As his Pokémon appeared in front of them in a flash, Yena couldn't hide her surprise.
"Wow… Quinn! That's amazing! When did Tepig evolve?"
Pignite was considerably larger than the other small Pokémon around him, towering over Oshawott and Zigzagoon.
The Fire-Pokémon's small tusks were clearly visible when it grinned at Oshawott.
Oshawott got over its surprise quite quickly, jumping around Pignite, studying its new appearance, and chatting to its old friend in its own language.
Zigzagoon on the other hand, quietly sat down at Alex's feet, keeping a close eye on Pignite as well as its owner.
Quinn proudly watched his own Pokémon.
"Doesn't he look cool? He can do a lot of Fighting-type attacks now, as well."
He got out a little box, and opened it, showing the content to Yena.
"And he evolved at a perfect time, too. Right when I was fighting Nacrene City's gym leader…
You should have seen it, Yena."
Awestuck, Yena stared at the two badges displayed in the box.
"You have two badges already? That's incredible, Quinn! You should tell me all about it, especially about Striaton City's gym!
Alex and I have been preparing for our challenge there."
"Is that right? Then I have a great idea…
How about we go to Striaton City right now, and have lunch?
I know the perfect place."
He glanced over at Alex.
"Of course, if you feel like it, you're free to join us."
Alex frowned, looking disgusted.
"No way."
Quinn shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Let's go, Yena."
He offered his arm to Yena, who took it after a short hesitation.
With Oshawott and Pignite close behind them, the two started to make their way to the main road.
Alex turned around, wanting to stomp off in another direction.
He froze when he bumped right into Munna, hovering near his head.
"Argh…! You…! Go after them already, don't stay with me!"
After giving the pink Pokémon a decisive push after her owner, Alex put his hands in the pockets of his new pair of pants, looking over the open field where they had been training.
...
"I had no idea this was possible, Quinn…!"
"You should really take a look inside a gym before challenging it, Yena. It gives you an impression of what you're up against.
This gym is an enjoyable place to spend time in, too."
Quinn looked up at the waiter standing next to their table.
The red-haired man gave them a polite smile.
"Can I help you with anything…? Maybe some refreshments, or something to eat?"
Yena looked at the menu in front of her.
"It all looks so good… But I think I'll have the egg and ham sandwich, please.
And maybe a glass of milk?"
The waiter nodded, scribbling down her order in his little notebook.
"And I'll have the same omelet I had last time I ate here… the one with the onions…?"
"Our onion omelet, yes? Will that be all?"
"Yes, thank you."
Quinn leaned closer to Yena when the waiter walked away to pass on their orders.
"Tell me this, Yena… Did you know that man is one of the gym leaders here?"
Yena quickly looked over her shoulder, just in time to see the red-haired man walk into the kitchen.
"What? Really…?"
"It's true. You can observe your upcoming opponent right here, while he brings us lunch."
He thought for a moment.
"His name is Chili. But he's not the one you'll be fighting.
Because your first Pokémon is Oshawott, you'll have to face Cilan, who has a Grass-type Pokémon.
I fought Cress with my Tepig, back then."
Yena's eyes were wide open.
"I'm glad you told me about this, Quinn. I had no idea… Then who will Alex fight?"
He shrugged.
"No idea. I think they'll flip a coin to decide who will take the challenge, or something…"
Quinn pulled up his shoulders again.
"But… let's talk about more interesting things, shall we?"
...
The sun had almost set when Yena returned to Route 2.
It was awfully quiet on the small open field.
"Alex…?"
She tried to look through the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement.
A chill ran down her spine when a thought occurred to her:
Alex had always made very clear he'd be perfectly fine without her...
Would he move on towards Nacrene City, or to wherever he was heading, while she was having lunch in the Striaton City's gym?
Suddenly feeling lost without her travelling companion, she called out again.
"Alex, are you there…?"
She jumped when his voice sounded from above her.
"Of course."
Alex was sitting on a branch in a nearby tree, staring down at her with a cold look.
Yena sighed, and smiled, hoping to improve his mood.
"I'm so silly, Alex. For a second, I thought you had travelled on without me."
His expression didn't change.
"That's not a silly thought. I almost did it."
Yena tilted her head, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm glad you didn't. I want to train more, and challenge the gym together, Alex.
…Are you mad because I went with Quinn, just because you don't like him?
Can't two friends catch up over lunch?"
She stepped back as Alex dropped from the tree, slightly bending his knees as his feet touched the ground.
"Yeah, right… I don't trust that guy."
Yena surprised him by stretching out her arm, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"It's nice of you to be worried about me, Alex. But there's no need to do so."
When Alex shook off her hand, she turned around, quickly grabbing something from her bag.
"Oh, I have a little something for you, from when Quinn showed me some shops this afternoon."
The package she handed to him was wrapped in red paper, decorated by a blue ribbon.
She grinned as he opened it up.
"I bought one for myself, as well."
There was a brand-new box inside the package.
The upper half was yellow, the lower half was black.
As he opened it up, he saw the inside was cushioned, with eight open shapes in it.
"This is…"
"Your own badge case. Doesn't it match your yellow Pokédex nicely? I have a red one, myself."
He finally returned her smile with a grin.
"Now I'll have to challenge that gym, just to fill this up."
"That's right. There's no escaping it now."
"You know you'll have to train much harder tomorrow, right?
You might have escaped with that Don Juan today, but let's not make it a habit."
Yena laughed.
"Quinn was a real gentleman today, Alex. No seductive moves made."
"…Whatever."