Chapter Ten: Defeat

Touko had watched the way N had left for a while, thinking about what he had said. Finally she had decided to move, heading into the building labeled as a Gym but named Nacrene Museum. It didn't surprise her this time though, considering that Striaton City's Gym was a restaurant as well as a Gym. As she stepped through and was greeted by the ladies at the counter, she heard a scientist-looking man talking to himself by a large statue.

"Wow! Whenever I look at this skeleton, I'm... fascinated!" Suddenly, he was aware of the eyes of his back. Turning around he smiled at Touko and shook her one hand in exaggeration. "What a lovely Pokemon Egg." He commented, noticing the Egg Container. "Welcome! I'm Hawes, the assistant director. Since you were kind enough to visit, I'll give you a tour of the museum. Touko smiled, she really was here for the Gym but she didn't mind old lore and didn't want to upset the man. He showed her the Dragon skeleton first in the middle. "This skeleton is of a Dragon-type Pokemon. There's a theory that it had an accident while it was flying around the world, and so it became a Fossil. He then showed her a meteorite which he was also very excited about. "This meteorite contains some kind of different energy from space!" He then went to the next thing, a plain white stone, his voice was tinged with slight embarrassment and he scratched his head. "Oh, this? It's an ordinary old stone. It was found near the desert, but other than the fact that it's old, it doesn't seem to have any value..." He laughed nervously and scratched his elbow. "We only display it because it's rather pretty to look at." Touko nodded but she kept her eyes on the stone. Though it did appear plain, something drew Touko to it yet she couldn't put her finger on it. Seeing what he thought was her bored expression, Hawes got even more nervous. "The Pokemon Gym is just beyond here." He pointed up the stairs which one could also see two big wooden doors. "At the end of the Gym, a very strong and kind Gym Leader is waiting." Hawes blushed as he talked about the Gym Leader, looking down. "By the way, the Gym Leader Lenora happens to be my wife!"

"I'll be sure to tell her you said hello." Touko smiled, she thought it was so cute the way he talked about her.

...

As Touko entered the arena, she saw the Gym Leader, Lenora, waiting for her at the end of a battle field. Unlike the Striaton City Gym, there didn't appear to be anyone watching which Touko was fine with.

"Welcome, Lenora waved at her from across the battlefield as Touko took her spot. "The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora!" She pointed to herself and puffed out her chest. Touko grinned, the Gym Leader was a bit loud and very outgoing. "I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokemon you've so lovingly raised!" Lenora narrowed her eyes at Touko, pulling out a Pokeball. "Herdier, let's show 'em!"

"Snivy, make me proud! Growth!" Touko didn't miss a beat, calling out her Snivy which landed gracefully on the battlefield.

"Herdier, Leer!" Lenora was fast, not missing a beat either. The Loyal Dog Pokemon bent down on its knees, glaring intensely at Snivy and causing her to shudder. "Keep it up, honey!" Lenora called to her Pokemon which barked and continued to glare.

"Snivy! Leaf Tornado!" Touko called out, her Pokemon spinning around and shooting a flurry of leaves towards Herdier. They hit her square and she flew backwards, but was able to pull herself to her feet.

"Take Down!" Herdier barked, her body glowing white and she charged Snivy, slamming straight into her stomach and causing her to fly backwards. She hit the wall hard and fell, indenting the ground and wall.

"Snivy!" Touko called to her Pokemon which was badly injured. She pulled herself to her feet and struggled to stand. "Vine Whip!" Snivy stood, though shaky and her vines flew.

"Herdier, dodge it!" Snivy was quick to respond though, her vines stopping Herdier's jump and slamming her back to the ground.

"Leaf Tornado!" Snivy blasted her leaves at Herdier, the Pokemon just recovering from the impact to the ground before it was blasted.

"Herdier!" Lenora called to her Pokemon but it was no use, he was down. She sighed, calling her Pokemon back and patting the ball. "You did good, honey." She took out her next Pokemon and grinned. "Watchog!" Touko saw the Pokemon and grimaced, it looked strong and healthy while Snivy was exhausted from just one attack.

"Snivy, Leaf Tornado!"

"Watchog, dodge and Hypnosis!" He was fast and quickly dodged the leaves before making eye contact with Snivy. His eyes blinked once and Snivy suddenly fell to the ground, fast asleep.

"Snivy! Wake up!" Touko called to her Pokemon, but it was no use.

"Sorry honey, but it's time to end this. Retaliate!" Watchog ran at Snivy, who was immune to the pleas of its trainer. Watchog slammed his fist down on Snivy and jumped away, leaving Snivy swirly-eyed. "Perhaps if that egg hatches you might of had more Pokemon." Lenora told her, Watchog standing in front of her. Touko said nothing, returning Snivy and picking up the still egg from the ground.

"Thanks." She muttered out to Lenora, heading out of the Museum with a sullen face. Hawes tried to talk to her but she was unsure of what it was and just waved a hand at him.

...

The sun was high in the sky, warming up the day albeit not Touko's mood. She knew that one day she was going to face defeat, but this was her first battle she had lost. She had healed Snivy at the Pokemon Center and then wandered around the city a little bit, holding onto her egg and looking down at the ground. Eventually, Touko found a small dining place off near the edge of the rural city. It was quiet and quaint, but many people who were there were local and love it. Figuring that maybe food would cheer her and Snivy up, she stopped in. They had tables inside, a bar, as well as tables outside. It was a beautiful day out and there were less people outside on the porch so she chose to sit there. Snivy was seated on the table, looking down at the table sullenly. Touko was silent as well, her Pokemon Egg out of the container and on her lap. She was shining it and occasionally running her finger along the intricate design. Finally she sighed and placed a hand on the egg. "I guess defeats happen, right?" She talked to both the egg and Snivy, looking up at the Grass Snake Pokemon which looked up to meet her trainer's eyes. Touko saw the defeat and sadness pooling in her Pokemon's eyes and her lip curved down. "Oh Snivy." She grabbed the Pokemon, hugging her close with one arm while holding onto the egg with another. "It's fine, you really did awesome. That Leer combined with Take Down was really powerful. But you did knock out Herdier." Touko forced a smile and Snivy looked up at her, a bit of sparkle returning to her eyes. "That's right, we've just got to train a bit." Snivy nodded, jumping back on the table and looking up as a waitress approached their table.

"Sorry miss, I couldn't help but overhear. Did you get beat by Lenora?" The waitress sat down at the table, touching Touko's shoulder gently.

"Yeah." Touko forced a smile. "But we're better about it." The waitress nodded and smiled.

"I challenged her once too, tough times. Her Herdier is something else, lowers your Defense and takes you out with one Take Down!" She shook her head with a sigh. "If you even get past it, her Watchog is a menace. She puts ya to sleep and then hits you with a Retaliate! Which does double the damage you did to knock out her Herdier!" The waitress shook her head in disbelief. "What a combo."

"Aye, get back to work!" The chef glared at the waitress through the window to the kitchen before presuming his work. She waved her hand at him and glanced back at Touko, smiling. "I'm going to help you. Meet me in the outer edge of Pinwheel Forest, just beyond here. I get out at five." Touko nodded with a smile, watching the waitress hurry back inside.

...

Touko had finished her meal, so had Snivy, both feeling much better. Just as they were leaving the diner, they heard a commotion.

"Aye! Get back here you thief!" Turning around, they saw a Tympole flopping off with a whole bag of potatoes in its mouth.

"Wow, that Tympole's strong." Touko remarked with a laugh, in which Snivy agreed and laughed as well. They then watched the Tympole hurry off into the woods bordering the restaurant. Just as it disappeared in the foliage, a group of chefs and bussers ran out the front.

"There! There it is!" Touko's eyebrows creased in confusion, she just saw the Tympole disappear in the woods. Following their line of sight, she saw another smaller Tympole sitting just on the border of the woods, looking confused and scared.

"That isn't the same Tympole!" Touko told Snivy, who nodded her head and crawled on top of Touko's head. The Tympole saw the group of people banging pots and pans and began to flop away, scared out of its wits. "Wait!" Touko ran to the group, waving her one hand and cradling the Egg Container with her other. "That's the wrong Tympole!" The group stopped and the chef glowered at her.

"Stay out of this missy! That Tympole's a thief!" The chef yelled and stomped up to Touko. "You and your little hippy self can just stop right there. That Tympole is terrible!" He stood right in front of her and she took a step back, frowning in fright and calling Snivy back to her Pokeball. This man was loud and even a bit scary, waving the pot he was carrying.

"I think she's right and you are wrong." Touko was aware of the voice behind her that quickly moved in front of her. She cradled her egg in her arms and was pushed against the man's back who stood in front of her.

"N?" Touko breathed out, recognizing the green hair from the back. He ignored her and continued to glare at the chef.

"No Pokemon is terrible, only people make Pokemon terrible." He frowned at the man who growled at N, but backed away. He was much taller than the stout man and he waved a dismissive wave.

"Whatever hippy. Go take your hippie girlfriend and go frolic in the forest." He grumbled, looking to where the Tympole had been. Touko blushed a deep pink at being called N's girlfriend, though neither she nor N said anything about it. "Besides, that Tympole's gone now." He frowned and walked away, his group following him. N stood in front of Touko for a bit longer before turning to face her. She met his eyes and looked up at him, forcing her legs to keep her standing.

"I'm surprised of you to do that. You would make a wonderful partner." He smiled and Touko said nothing, her mind racing a mile a minute. He placed a hand on her cheek and his emerald eyes held contact with Touko's sapphire ones. "You are so kind to Pokemon, Snivy agrees." Touko continued to say nothing, she opened her mouth a bit to say something, but she couldn't muster anything. Instead she drank in his features. His soft caress on her cheek, the closeness of his body and face to her own, the smell of mint on his breath, the gentle features of his relaxed face, and the unidentifiable sparkle in his eyes. Everything about him intrigued her and brought her closer to him.

"Kiss him." The voice in her mind was sudden and she couldn't believe it. She wanted to badly but she couldn't move her body, it wouldn't listen. She stood there frozen, trying to ignore the feelings of passion and the feelings of shock and unsafety for being so close to a stranger. Finally, N looked away and Touko had to mentally concentrate on keeping her legs supporting her weight. His eyes locked on hers were like a support and she felt an air of loneliness as he stepped away from her. He said nothing more and walked away in his typical fashion, leaving her wanting to call out his name and bring him back. She couldn't though as her mind was still processing all her feelings and she watched him walk away.