Disclaimer: This chapter was written by the amazing MortalInstrumentals and KaitouKiwi. River and Blithe belong to MortalInstrumentals and KaitouKiwi respectively.
New Kids on the Block
TWO WEEKS AGO
"Wow! Would you look at that?" River said as he stared out the small window towards the open sky. "They weren't kidding when they said that Azgil held every kind of Pokémon did they?" He pulled his bag from beneath the seat, careful not to bother the snoozing Sylveon on his lap. "I can't wait to see what kind of legends this new region holds, what about you?"
Blithe tried her best to imitate the Sylveon on River's lap. If she were asleep, it meant that she wouldn't have to deal with River's annoying antics. He had been staring out the airplane window just a few moments ago, talking his head off, before turning towards the dark haired girl. If only the content outside the window could keep him busy for the remainder of the ride. Yes, it was pretty amazing—all the different flying types soaring outside the cloudless blue canvas. Even Blithe couldn't help but be impressed by this new region they were about to arrive in, but she was never one to give in to River's tomfoolery.
"Blithe," he said. "Are you awake?"
Just keep your eyes closed and don't say a word, she thought.
"Blithe. . . I really think you need to see this. . ." His tone was urgent, but that meant nothing when it came to River. He made the smallest things seem as if it were Prism Tower. "Blithe!"
With a grunt, Blithe turned her head towards her fair haired companion. "What. Is. It. This. Time. River?" she said with no effort to hide her irritation.
"Look," he said, moving away from the small window of the plane, revealing the black tip of some unknown Pokémon.
"Is that. . ." she said as the propelled herself at the window. "It can't be?" This time she looked over at River who had his journal out, his eyes wide with fear.
"I think so. . ." he said, his voice a whisper. "But how? I thought it went back to sleep after everything that happened in Kalos with Team Veil."
Blithe met her friend's gaze with just as much panic. If it really was that Pokémon, then the entire region of Azgil was in grave danger. She had experienced its power at a very young age, and was lucky to have survived. Even the events back in the Kalos region were cutting it close for her. "We have to warn someone. Quick!"
"Blithe?!" River said as he tried to catch up to his friend. "Blithe, hang on a second?! Maybe we were just imagining things. Maybe it wasn't Yvel—"
"Don't even say its name," she said as she turned around violently, almost causing River to collide with her. "River, you know just as well as I do what that thing is capable of. If it weren't for Xerneas back in Kalos, we would have been screwed. And now the whole region is defenseless against it."
"I know, Blithe," he said soothingly. "I know that we need to warn the region, but we can't just rush in. We're—"
"No you don't know, River!" Blithe wasn't one to lose her cool, but there was no time to talk. She felt her Pokéballs squirm inside her bag as they sensed her rising panic. "Your family wasn't killed by it, River. You know nothing." She regretted it as soon as she said it.
"Don't tell me I don't know how you're feeling. . . Don't you ever say that!" River said before reaching down for his Sylveon and turning away. "Let's go Lottie."
Her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. Sure, River annoyed her. Their personalities were on opposite ends of the spectrum. She never went out of her way to be kind to him, and she tended to be snarky on most occasions, but Blithe didn't hate River. Watching him storm off, away from her, drudged up buried emotions. She didn't want to be alone, not again, but she couldn't stop the torrent of words that spilled from her mouth. "Fine! Leave! See if I care!"
The stinging sensation behind her eyes intensified, but she held the tears back. She hadn't cried for as long as she could remember. Hands shaking with rage, she turned on her heel and stalked off in the opposite direction of River. She let her boots drag along the ground, leaving Tillandsia City in her wake. She didn't know where she was going, but anywhere was better than here.
Her bag shook violently against her right hip and Blithe grunted, shoving her hand inside the main compartment and grabbing the single Pokéball that was responsible. With the click of a button, the ground was bathed in red light, subsiding to reveal a Phantump. "What do you want, Teagan?" Blithe strode past the little ghost Pokémon, making it chase after her.
Teagan cooed and cried, hovering next to his owner, trying to keep pace with her. With a lot of effort, the Phantump rammed its head against Blithe's leg. Blithe stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. "What are you doing, Teagan? Stop!" She took a second to really look at her surroundings. Trees. Trees everywhere. She'd been so focused on getting away from River that she hadn't been paying attention to where she was. The green light from the sun trying to cut through the leaves calmed Blithe. It was familiar.
Blithe stopped in her tracks, the anger finally dissipating. She was alone, just like she always despised. She sank to her knees, hoping no one was around to see. Why hadn't she just kept her mouth shut? River had always been there beside her, for her, even when she really didn't want him there. He knew her better than anyone else, and she drove him away. "Phan," said a small voice. Blithe looked down at Teagan, watching his red eyes waver. The ghost held its arms out and tried to wrap them around Blithe's arm, but he just phased through it.
"Hey," Blithe said, her voice shaking. She placed her hand on Teagan's head and gave it a solid pat. The sound echoed through the hollow stump, but Teagan cooed anyway, trying to hug Blithe again. She laughed and finally got back to her feet. "Thanks, Teagan. I know everything's going to be okay, but thanks for reminding me." Throwing her long, dark hair over one shoulder. "River will probably catch up to us eventually. But we have to keep going. We have to find someone that will believe me about. . . it."
Blithe was being completely unreasonable, but then again, River wasn't being completely fair himself. "What do I do Charlotte?" he said, petting his partner's head absentmindedly. In moments like this, River poured his mind and soul over to the young Pokémon, paying no attention to the hustle and bustle of the city around them. "I know what . . . that Pokémon's done to her, but for her to say I don't understand. She knows what I've been through. She knows about the fire."
"Syl," the fairy Pokémon cooed at the touch of her trainer's hand.
"I know. . . she wasn't as fortunate as I was, but still, she shouldn't have said that. Sometimes, I just don't think Blithe likes me at all."
At that statement, Charlotte looked up at her trainer, her blue eyes hinting at the fact that this was all ridiculous.
"You're right!" River suddenly burst up from the bench they were sitting on. "That's enough self pity for me. We should probably go find Blithe. She's not very good with directions. We'll be lucky if she's still in the city."
"Hey! You!"
River turned to find a man strutting straight towards him.
"You look like you got a lot of spunk in you, kid! How about taking me on?" Charlotte jumped down for where she was perched, slightly intrigued by the turn of events.
"I don't know," River said. "It's a bit too sudden. I should probably head over to the Pokémon center anyways."
"Nonsense! You should be fine! How about we just make it a one-on-one?"
It seemed as if there was no other way around it. "Sure, but before we start, is there someone I can talk to about something important? Actually, it's more of an emergency. . ." It'd probably be a good idea not to start wide spread panic, so River would keep as much information to himself as he could. . . at first.
"An emergency? Well, I'll tell you everything you need as soon as we finish our battle. Do we have ourselves a deal?"
River looked down at Lottie, who obediently awaited for his command. His body thrummed like it always did before a Pokémon battle. "Alright, you have yourself a deal! Lottie, go get 'em!"
Just as the Sylveon jumped out in front of her trainer, the entire city seemed to burst into life. The ground beneath their feet began to shift, and soon enough, both trainers were standing on a makeshift battlefield.
"What is all of this?!" River yelled over the settling mechanisms beneath the street. He and Charlotte studied that new field they were in, a crowd gathering at its outskirts.
"Is this your first time here?" the man said, as he reached inside his pristine suit for his Pokéball. "I'll take your confusion as a yes. Well let me introduce myself." He sent the Pokéball flying with a flick of his wrist. "My name is Aldwin, and I'm the mayor of Tillandsia City. Or as we're better known in this region, Battle City."
The roar of the crowd was deafening as a Flygon emerged from the Pokéball.
"BATTLE START," the announcer's voice boomed.
Aldwin didn't even give River a chance to take everything in as he set his Flygon straight for the offensive. "Juliet, let's open up with a Flamethrower."
The Flygon was too quick, releasing a jet stream of flames from its maw. The powerful flames made contact with Charlotte, throwing her at River's feet.
"Lottie get up!" River called over the announcer. The Sylveon got to its feet as if she weren't phased by the attack at all. With a sigh of relief, River called out his attack. "Misty Terrain!"
Charlotte readied herself as a pulse of energy suddenly enclosed the field in a pink mist, muffling out the sound of the watching crowd. "Now we can focus on our battle without all those distractions."
"Fine by me," Aldwin called out. "Juliet, use your Toxic attack."
Juliet flew over Charlotte and prepared to spew purple sludge from is open snout.
"Dodge it Lottie!" But his command was too slow, as Charlotte was doused in the goo.
"Too bad about that," Aldwin called from his side of the field. "You know what they say about Fairies and Poison, they just don't mix well."
River couldn't help but laugh out at his opponent. "Well you obviously don't know too much about Fairy types," he said with a wink. "Shake that stuff off Charlotte and hit 'em with a Disarming Voice."
Charlotte did as she was told. Leaping out of the purple puddle and letting out a startling cry.
"IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE," the announcer's muffled voice called out.
"Misty Terrain keeps us safe from any status condition for the next five turns, and it doesn't look like Juliet will last that long."
The Flygon struggled to get up from the previous attack. "Juliet's a lot tougher than you think, isn't that right, girl?" Juliet spread her wings and let out a powerful cry. "Steel Wing!"
Juliet's wings began to shimmer as it was enveloped by a coat of steel. With mighty flaps of its wings the entire terrain blew away to reveal the frenzied crowd. River and Charlotte glanced up as the Flygon took to the skies and began descending upon them. "Counter with Covet!"
Charlotte charged towards her opponent, a pink coat of energy enveloping her as she gathered momentum. "Syyyyyyyyyylveon!" Upon collision, the Pokémon were thrown back towards their trainers.
Both trainers called for their Pokémon, causing them to rise immediately.
"Let's finish this, Juliet! Dragon Breath!"
River let out a laugh at his opponent's mistake. "Charlotte, end it with Draining Kiss!" An array of pink beams shot from her muzzle at the approaching trajectory. The beams breezed through the approaching indigo flames with ease, making contact with the unsuspecting Flygon.
"Juliet?!" Aldwin called. With one last burst of effort, the Flygon got up from where she lay. One last roar was all she could muster before she plummeted to the ground.
"JULIET HAS FAINTED. THE BATTLE IS OVER, RIVER IS THE WINNER," the announcer cut through the silence and the entire crowd burst into cheers.
"You're good, kid," Aldwin said as he called Juliet back into her Pokéball.
"Thanks," River said, completely placated from his argument with Blithe. "If you think I'm good, then you should meet my friend Blithe."
"I'd be more than honored, but you were talking about an emergency before? What was that about?"
"Right?! It's Yveltal, sir. I saw it fly into the region while I was boarded on my flight. You've surely heard the legends?! The region is in dang—"
"Whoa kid, calm down!" Aldwin looked around the few stragglers that stayed after the match. "I think it's best we talk about all of this in private."
