Heeey guys! Sorry for the (very late) update. I got sidetracked. ;-; Here's the next chapter, a bit dialogue heavy and short, but I pace things in my head chapter by chapter and there's certain things I want to hit in each one, so I go by that timeline in my head, rather than by the amount of words. Chapter 5 should be longer though. Possibly 4, no guarantees though.


Chapter 3 "Things aren't that black and white"

Iris stopped to stretch her arms. She was almost to Virbank City—or at least she thought. She didn't have a map handy, but Virbank wasn't too far from Flocessy Town.

Iris tilted her head to one side, listening. There was a stream nearby that flowed straight out of the canals of Virbank. The water wasn't the cleanliest—due to a semi-recent swarm of Grimer that made their home there. Last time Iris had visited, most of them had been flushed out by Pokemon Trainers and security. The pollutants dragged along with them, remained.

Following the sound of running water, the stream came into view. The water was as cloudy as Iris expected, and the plants were a sickly yellow color.

A lone bottle made a small splash as it drifted over stones. Rolling up her pant legs, she lunged into the water. She gasped—the water was ice cold. Gingerly, she waded toward the bottle. "Come on you stupid bottle…get a bit closer!"

Gritting her teeth as she tried to get used to the water, she took a step forward. The stream wasn't very deep—it came up a little below her knees.

She stepped on something squishy, and for a moment she wondered if it could be a leftover Grimer. She took another step, this time her foot tangling in some sea grass. She twitched her foot, trying to remove it. For the whole streambed appearing to be dead, the seaweed was certainly bursting with life.

Taking one more step, she tried to be careful not to lose her footing. The large amounts of algae made wading difficult.

The bottle was a few inches in front of her. Making a leaping jump, she managed to grab it with a splash.

She arose a second later with a sharp gasp. The chilly water sent tingles down her spine. Teeth chattering, she held the bottle up triumphantly.

"Careful, there's man-eating Basculin in there!" Trying to keep warm by hugging herself, Iris turned toward where the voice came from. Standing a few yards away from her was a girl with light purple—almost white—hair thrown into an awkward ponytail. Her eyes were an ice blue.

"Eh!?" she managed to utter through her clattering teeth.

"I'm just kidding. You're Iris aren't ya?" Iris gave her a small, confused nod and got out of the water. On closer inspection, she noticed the girl's face had several freckles.

"How did you know?" she asked, with the chills now starting to leave her.

"I heard about you from other Gym Leaders—oh, ooooh, I'm sorry. I'm Roxie, the leader of Virbank. It's nice to meet you." she said with an extended hand. She still looked a bit flustered; Iris could tell that she was new at this.

"It's nice to meet you too, how long have you been Gym Leader?"

Despite her earlier blunder, the girl began in a casual fashion. "So far I've been Gym Leader for around two weeks. Admittedly, it's been kind of hectic especially with…" Roxie stopped abruptly as if catching herself. Iris's ears immediately perked up.

"Huh?"

Roxie turned her head to look behind her. "Listen…I can trust you, can't I Iris?" she said in a hushed voice.

Iris nodded her head seriously and held out her little finger. "Pinky promise."

Roxie smiled a small grin. It was almost a smirk, Iris wasn't sure whether it was meant to be condescending or not.

"Psssh, I expected this much from you Iris. Let's head into town first, I'll tell you more there." Roxie looked cheerful enough, though still wearing her signature smirk; at the same time Iris could sense a bead of tension.

She followed Roxie along the river bank. Iris still had her bottle in hand and had to force herself to ignore the other litter that was visible within the river.

Iris could tell Roxie was still anxious. They hadn't spoken a word since.

"So…what have the other Gym Leaders said about me?" she asked, desperate to add a topic. Roxie blinked at her twice, and then chuckled.

"Well, some said you were always up to something, whether it was jumping in the fountain outside, playing pranks by putting bugs in Elesa's hair—"

"—That was an accident! They followed me inside…and only…liked her hair." Iris felt like she could almost bury her head in embarrassment, but she decided to try and tough it. She could tell it was getting Roxie's mind off of things.

"But you know, Iris? They all had something nice to say about you." Iris tipped her head and blinked. The Gym Leader flashed a smile, this time, smirk-free.

"Believe me, Iris. You are all they have been talking about; they can just see that you'll shine. They're all rooting for you." Iris blinked thoughtfully, and her cheeks felt warm. She hadn't expected that, especially after all the mischief she had caused. She felt flattered, she really did. It was nice to have support from her seniors.

Despite the nice words, her heart dropped a little. All of a sudden she felt the pressure of letting her fellow Gym Leaders down. She knew however, that not everyone in Unova supported her. Cilan momentarily flashed across her mind, and not just because he was a rival for champion—he was so distant from her, even though they just met —it almost felt like he held some secret grudge. His brothers too, probably didn't like her much either. She frowned, maybe they were jealous…

Suddenly Roxie slowed down. They had reached the town while Iris was still mulling over thoughts. She looked around frantically, with a small bead of sweat forming at her temple. Grabbing Iris's arm she took her into one of Virbank's alleyways.

"I think we're all clear…"

"Clear for what?" Iris said, tipping her head.

"I'll tell you what's going on." Roxie said; her voice barely a whisper. "In the local forest, there have been poachers, stealing Pokemon from the people and forest. " Iris's eyes widened at her revelation. Roxie paused a moment to breathe, and a small nervous blush formed on her cheeks. "I haven't exactly had the time to investigate it, due to the Gym."

"I'll stop them!" Iris said. She had barely given it a second thought, let alone any thought at all.

Roxie looked at her—clearly stunned. "Oh no, Iris, I couldn't let you do that! I mean, it should be my responsibility."

Iris shook her head calmly, though deep down she really wanted to be the one to shut down the poachers, and responded. "Don't you worry; I'll take care of it."

Roxie looked thoughtful for a moment, with her lips pressed in a small frown.

"Remember, this is the soon-to-be champion you're talking to." Iris said, hopeful. The light haired girl finally sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'll tell you what I know about them so far, but please be careful!"

-:-

Cilan stared absently into the forest. Dead pine needles pricked at his legs, which caused him to twitch uncomfortably. He blinked. It had taken him time to find his way back to camp—he had a hard night. Sleep wouldn't come.

A splitting headache made him wince. He rubbed his temples, and numbly fingered in his backpack for a pain reliever. He shook the bottle—empty. He'd have to buy more once he got to a city. With a weary sigh, he leaned back and rested his head on Serperior's muscular back. Her cold skin inviting, he stared distantly into the sky.

"Are you tired of it too?" he said. Serperior gave him a small glance and shook her head no. For a moment he wondered if she was being truthful; she was one of his most loyal Pokemon, she wouldn't want her weariness to cause him grief. Whatever the answer was, Cilan decided to push it aside.

"Do you ever feel lost?" he said, still staring at the sky, unblinking. Serperior's answer was to playfully flick the top of his hair with her tail. He didn't say anything. The sun peeked behind a cloud. He closed his eyes, relishing the warmth. He was sure Serperior would enjoy, hopefully becoming a bit more mobile.

"Here eat this!" a sharp voice said, and before he could react a berry hit him on the side of his head. He sat up; his partner had returned.

He grabbed the piece of fruit, it was a Sitrus Berry. He thought about eating it, but he wasn't really in the mood, so instead he sat it back down beside him.

"You better eat that, do you know how rare berries are in Unova? I was just doing a nice deed, Arceus." He blinked at her, concentrating on her mutilated arm.

"I'm not hungry." he said flatly. He tipped his head, examining her arm. "What is that, growing on there?" For the first time in a while, he felt a small spark of excitement building in the pit of his belly.

"It's nothing!" she said, quickly throwing her handless arm behind her back.

"Don't lie with me!" He got up and grabbed a small plastic bag and tweezers from the front pocket of his bag. He smiled as he held her small body firmly. "Tell me if this hurts." he said as he pulled off a small piece of the mystery growth.

"That pinches!"

"It was only a pinch." He looked at the sample now between the tips of the tweezers. It looked like a type of fungus. He carefully placed it into the baggy and marked it with the time and date. "I think I have some disinfectant."

"I can heal myself, thank you." Her words were lined with sarcasm. Nothing unexpected from her though. "How are you feeling today?"

Cilan shrugged as he pocketed the material. "A bit better, last night was the worst."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "I felt really lonely. This morning, I can't really explain it. I feel…lost?"

"You seem bright and cheerful right now." She shrugged.

"I try and get my mind off of things."

His partner gave her arm a quick glance. "You're weird."

"I did something bad yesterday." he said, opting to stare into the forest.

"What'd you do this time?" she said with irritation ringing in her voice.

"I lied."

"Go on." she prodded.

"I told Iris I'd beat her in the league." He heard a snicker from behind him. He turned to face her and she was rolling on the ground, in a fit of laughter.

"What were you thinking? You probably wouldn't even make it to the finals, let alone actually beat her."

"I was grasping."

His friend blinked thoughtfully. "It's not so bad of a lie, try and use it to your advantage."

"How so?"

"You need her trust, right? What better way to gain it than by having a common ground?"

"Things aren't that simple."

She stared at him blankly for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "Well you know more about that stuff than I do."

Cilan frowned, just thinking about his mission and what was yet to come made his stomach shift uncomfortably. The feeling was coming back, and he knew soon his headache would too.

"Hey Cilan, earlier you said you felt lost?"

"That's right…well actually now that I think about it, I'm not so sure. I feel almost as if there's a barrier between people I'm with and who I interact with," he paused for a moment. "Have I changed?"

His partner's blue eyes portrayed no emotion; it felt almost as if she knew something she didn't want to tell him. "Do you feel you've changed?"

"No, but people tell me I have."

"It's a funny thing. We've traveled far and wide, it's no wonder that you would change to other people, but then you ask yourself if you really have."

"What do you mean?" he asked, placing his head back onto Serperior.

"You change so gradual that it goes unnoticed by those closest to you, as well as you yourself. If you aren't aware that you've changed, then have you really? The world you live in is seen through your eyes, and your eyes only."

He nodded his head in contemplation, what she said made sense. His partner sat down beside him, copying his actions.

"The sun feels nice, doesn't it?" she said, with her eyes closed. Cilan mumbled an agreement.

"I'm beginning to have regrets—with our mission—I just wonder if it's going to be worth it in the end." Cilan said. His hand stung, he was gripping the pine needles below him firmly. He hated thinking that way.

His partner stayed quiet for a moment, seemingly to be deep in thought. "It's only natural. The world itself has its ups and downs, after all. I don't think any decision can be fully correct on the grand scale. There are just too many things that will go wrong."

The grand scale he thought while turning to look at his friend's arm. Nothing could prevent her arm from being bit off, it was an unfortunate case. "I gathered most of today's data. I just need to record what I find in the grotto near here."

"Hey Cilan, you always talk about this from being 'our mission.' I'd like to help you out more. How about you let me handle the grottos? I can tell you what's in them and you write it down!"

"That's sounds good, but first I think we should burn most of the data we have already. We don't want people finding out what we're doing, and it's getting heavy. I have most of it recorded on my flash drive anyway. I just have this newest book to finish."

-:-

The flames danced in front of his face. He only had a few more notebooks to burn. His partner kept her distance from the fire. She was always a little wary of fire; it reminded him of most of his Pokemon. Dragon Pokemon was what scared her the most. Just the very name of them sent her in shivers, and he didn't blame her—it was what had taken her arm.

"I got this one!" his friend said as she tossed a crinkly notebook with Cilan's name written on the cover.

Cilan's eyes widened. "Not that one." he said, and grabbed it as quickly as possible out of the fire. His hand hurt, and he quickly threw it on the ground to put out the small flame that engulfed it. He glared at her.

"Gee, don't blame me, you said 'all of them.'" she said sarcastically with a calm shrug.

"This one is special." he said as he cradled it in his arms. His partner looked like she was going to say something, but then stopped. She must have known there was no reasoning with him.

Cilan put the last two notebooks into his backpack, and latched it up. "I need to get going now. Contact me when you get the other grottos."

"Right, and um…Cilan?" a small hand touched his shoulder.

He turned to face her, her blue eyes were wavering. It almost looked like she was about to cry.

"When you said you had a lot of regrets on this mission…you don't regret meeting me…do you?"

Cilan blinked, he was sure he looked shocked. Wind blew, rustling the leaves in the nearby trees. A pinecone fell.

"Things aren't that black and white." he said, and walked off to his destination.