FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 31

To Electrify

January 26, 5001.

(Timothy's POV)

I honestly believed I was surrounded by idiots.

Ethan and Evan were utterly insane. I had no idea what had made them the way they were, but I couldn't help but be relieved that Rosalind was as naive and oblivious as she was. She didn't get any of the crude jokes they made, or when they hit on her at first. They had stopped, thank Arceus, and I think Evan instigated the end.

Currently, we were parked outside Nimbasa City, on the desert route, taking a break before heading into the city. The desert was a total contrast to everywhere else we had been. It was hot, smoldering hot. We had to ditch our winter clothes only to put them back on or freeze to death.

I hated all of this so much.

I was far, far away from home. Mom and Dad were probably worried sick about me. I was surrounded by idiots. Pokemon were everywhere, and people were pitting them against each other in fights. And I had to train my own stupid thing, this annoying Ivysaur who had obnoxiously attached itself to me.

I was currently sitting on a rock, taking a drink from my water bottle. The twins and Rosalind were a little farther off, chatting, laughing. I was just so irritated by them. Everyone around me was crazy. I thought Topaz would know better than to get involved with this lot, but I guess not. And, well, it ran stronger in her blood than it did in mine.

This was all just madness.

"Ivy," said the Pokemon at my feet, looking up at me with its evil red eyes. "Ivysaur!"

"Get away from me," I snapped, kicking at it with my foot.

The thing dodged out of the way, and then waddled a few feet farther away, and lowered itself onto the hot sand with a depressed sigh. I scowled, and took another drink from my water bottle. Ugh, I just wanted to go back to Twinleaf.

"That is not how you treat a Pokemon, you insolent gamin."

I flinched, startled, and turned around on the rock. It was that creepy girl from before; what was her name again? Raven, I thought. She was around my age, and had straight midnight black hair that framed her pale face, and startling dark violet eyes that made chills run down my spine. She was dressed unlike anyone I had ever seen before. I was shocked to see her here, in the desert of all places.

"I'll treat it however I want," I snapped, scowling.

"I shan't allow you, foolish boy," she said, her voice like ice. "You are in Unova, where everyone is treated equally, humans and Pokemon alike. You are not in the Empire, you sordid creature."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Who do you think you are? I don't even want to be here!"

"I am Raven Mortimer of the Elite Four," she said in her cold, flat voice. "It is my duty to see to it that all Pokemon are treated equally. It does not matter that you wish not to be here, because you are. And it appears I have work to do. You will respect Pokemon by the time I am through with you."

Great, just great.

...

"Whoa, Nimbasa's huge!" Ethan exclaimed, his gold eyes wide with shock.

He wasn't kidding. We had barely stepped through the gate, and already there were dozens of skyscrapers. This city gave Castelia a run for its money. But by the looks of the skyline, this city had more fun-oriented things—I saw a roller coaster and Ferris wheel in the background.

"Ohhh, I haven't been here in years!" Rosalind squealed, clasping her hands together. "We have to go to the amusement park!"

"Amusement park?" Ethan and Evan asked excitedly at the same time.

Rosalind laughed. "Yeah, the one and only!"

"Let's go, then!" exclaimed Ethan.

"What are we waiting for?" demanded Evan.

The two took off into the city, dragging Rose with them, leaving me alone. With the creepy girl. I glanced over at her; her face was void of any emotion, as always. I stuffed my hands into my pockets before heading off in the general direction the three teenagers had headed. I was pretty sure Raven followed me.

There was nothing for me to do in this stupid city. What was I supposed to do? Wander around aimlessly? Everyone in this region was crazy about Pokemon; it drove me mad. Was anyone here sane? My sister and her friends were going to get themselves killed for their idiotic cause. President Synis would crush them like they were nothing.

I had barely taken a few steps when a familiar voice called out to me.

"Oh my gosh! Timmy!"

It was Plato's little sister—what was her name again? Perla, I thought. She was two years older than me, and extremely hyper and annoying. If she was here, that meant Plato, Jade, and the latter's younger brother were as well. Great, more of the crazies. Just not any crazies either—crazies from the past. I couldn't escape, could I?

"Hey Perla," I greeted her once she reached me.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaimed. "The more people the better! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! Where are Ethan, Evan, and Rose?"

"Ran off somewhere," I said; I was glad to be rid of them.

"Oh, we'll just have to find them!" she said, looking around. "Oh my gosh, Raves, I didn't see you!"

The creepy girl had followed me after all, then. I turned slightly so I could look at both of them. Raven's expression did not change when Perla greeted her; I wondered if she had any emotions at all. The girl was cold as ice.

"Hello," said Raven in that ever present monotone.

"Come on, Big Bro, Jade, and Arge are further back! Let's go!"

She had no problem with grabbing my hand and dragging me along with her. That girl had no boundaries. I had no idea how far she dragged me; I just knew when she stopped, we had found her group. I was so annoyed now.

"Big Bro! Jade! Arge! Look who I found!"

She released me, and pushed me forward slightly. I was relieved to see that Plato looked irritated with her; he was probably one of the only sane people around here. Well, as sane as you could be to like Pokemon.

"Perla, you need to stop running off," he said sternly. "This is a big city; you could get lost. Something could happen to you."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Big Bro!" she exclaimed, waving him off. "I can take care of myself! Right, Argent?"

The redhead looked uncomfortable about being dragged into the conversation. "Yeah, but you should still be careful."

"Oh, you guys worry too much!" she whined, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're no fun!"

Arceus, everyone was so annoying.

"Okay, enough about this!" said Jade. "Tim, it's great to see you again! You too, Raven. Where's the rest of your group?"

"They ran off somewhere," I said. "Left me alone."

"Oh, sounds like them," Jade sighed. "Well, you're both welcome to come hang out with us! We're headed to the amusement park!"

Of course they were. I forced myself to go with them because I had to find Ethan, Evan, and Rosalind. Otherwise I would have been fine with finding the closest Pokemon Center and bedding down there. Ugh, I just wanted to go home.

Perla proceeded to drag Argent along with her, and though he looked annoyed, he didn't stop her. Jade took Plato's hand, and they proceeded after them. I followed them, and Raven followed me. I sighed. When would this end?

The amusement park was bustling with activity; people and Pokemon alike were everywhere. It was loud with the sound of everyone talking at once, and the rides. I could smell popcorn, cotton candy, and hamburgers being grilled. It was overwhelming.

"This is so amazing!" Perla gushed. "Oh my gosh, there's so much to do!"

"We should split up!" Jade said.

And the next thing I knew, I was alone with Raven once again.

Why did this keep happening to me?

...

(Jade's POV)

Ever since we had gone back to the past, I had wanted to go to the amusement park in Nimbasa. But now we were really here, in the future nonetheless. I was super excited; even though it was winter, there was so much we could do! Though I did feel bad about ditching Timothy, I wanted to spend some time with Plato alone.

We had been exploring the park for the past hour, and had finally reached the Ferris wheel. This was the main ride I wanted to go on. I turned to Plato, and tugged on his sleeve. He looked down at me, raising a eyebrow.

"We have to go on the Ferris wheel," I said.

He sighed. "It'll be cold up there."

"So?" I said. "We can snuggle!"

He sighed again, obviously getting that he wouldn't be able to get out of this. I grinned at him mischievously before snagging his hand, and dragging him to get in line to ride the Ferris wheel. We didn't have to wait long, thank Arceus. We climbed into the booth; Plato got in first, and then helped me up. I slid in next to him.

Moments later, the booth car was jerked, and then the ascent began. I took Plato's hand, and leaned up against him, resting my head on his shoulder. Already, I was enjoying this. Traveling with Argent and Perla limited us in a way; we couldn't do everything we wanted to with them around. I loved being with my brother and all, but I wanted some time with my boyfriend, too.

"Jade."

My eyes darted up to meet Plato's silver ones. "Mmm?"

"I've been thinking," he said. "About what I said around Christmas."

"What?" I blinked, confused, and then I remembered. "Oh!" I sat up, turning to face him. "What about it?"

He was silent for a moment. "I've decided that... I should make it official."

My jaw dropped, but no sound came out. Oh my Arceus, was this for real? Was this really happening to me? Oh my Arceus!

He pulled out a small velvet box out of his pocket; I wondered when he had got it. Oh, Argent had stolen me for a bit the other day when we were in Nacrene. That must have been when. He presented it to me, flipping it open, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring.

I couldn't believe this was happening.

"Jade Sakaki, I love you. As I've said before, I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you. So... Will you marry me?"

I was speechless. For a moment, I was so excited, I couldn't breathe.

"Yes!" I squealed, throwing my arms around him in a embrace. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

When I pulled away, he slipped the ring onto my finger. And then he kissed me. I put everything into the kiss; I was so happy. I was getting married! We were getting married! Plato would be mine, and I would be his. I couldn't ask for anything more than this.

The future really did look good now.

...

January 27, 5001.

The next day, we got up early with the intention to battle the Nimbasa Gym leader, and earn the Bolt Badge. I was eager and excited. I loved being able to take the Gym challenge; it made me feel normal, and it gave me some connection to the past. The only connection I could really have.

I could easily tell, when we met up with the rest of Timothy's group, that he did not want to be here. I kind of felt bad about forcing all this on him if he didn't want to be involved. But it was too late now; it couldn't be changed unless Timothy met up with either Topaz or Grey.

We all—that is, Plato, Argent, Perla, Timothy, Ethan, Evan, Rosalind, and me—had Raven lead us to where the Gym was since we couldn't find it in the bustling city. When we found the Gym, I swore I saw it before somewhere. How could we have missed it? It was covered in bright, flashing lights.

"This is the Nimbasa Gym," said Raven, sullen as ever. "Audra is the leader. She specializes in Electric types."

We headed for the door, and went inside. The Gym was dimly lit, with bright flashing signs hanging on the walls. Everything in Nimbasa was flashy, so why not the Gym, too? Raven walked ahead of us, probably to go find Audra. It was hard to see with all the flashing.

Suddenly, lights flashed on, lighting up the Gym. We could see fine now. Arceus, that was fast. I blinked to get my eyes to adjust.

"They are here, Audra."

The woman before us was absolutely stunning. She had to be in her twenties. She had long, wavy golden blonde hair, and brown eyes. She was wearing a golden yellow sweater dress, black leggings, and black leather stiletto boots. She was tall and thin, but not in a sickly way; it just worked for her. I wondered if she was a model like Elesa before her.

"Thank you, Raven," she said before turning her attention to us. "Welcome to the Nimbasa Gym. My name is Audra, and I am the Gym leader here."

We all introduced ourselves, but before Audra could say anything about who would be battling first, the door opened, and another person walked in. We turned around to see who it was. It was Delano; I was surprised to see him here. Maybe he was looking for Raven?

"Ah, Audra, they're here!" he said. "Wonderful! But this is a bad time, I take it."

"No, you can stay," she replied. "You can keep Raven company since she looks bored out of her mind."

I looked over at the twelve-year-old girl. How could you tell any emotion in that face? She must have practice.

"Anyways, who's going first? The kids?"

"Tim should go," Ethan said with a grin.

The youngest boy opened his mouth to protest, but didn't get a chance to say anything because someone else spoke.

"No," said Raven. "He is not to battle until he has fully understood the unity between humans and Pokemon, and until he treats his Pokemon as he should. Otherwise, the battle is futile and mere abuse. I cannot believe you have allowed him to battle for this long. Tis a disgrace."

Whoa. Timothy did not appreciate what she said, either, but he stayed silent, simply glowering at her.

"Well, one of us can go, then," I said.

"Very well," said Audra. "You can choose amongst yourselves. Meet me in the arena."

She walked to a door in the back, and went through, and I figured that led to the arena. We all gathered in a circle, then, to decide who would battle. It was a tough choice. But in the end, we all decided that I would go first.

We headed into the arena, ditched our winter clothing, and then I walked over to join Audra. I debated on who to use first; she specialized in Electric types. None of my Pokemon had her weakness, and a couple were weak to her. So I had to be careful.

But in the end, I decided to start off with my Furret, Brownie. Audra sent out a Emolga; I only recognized it because Alan had one. Otherwise, I never would have seen the Pokemon before.

"You may go first," said Audra.

"Okay!" I exclaimed. "Brownie, use Headbutt!"

The Furret leaped into the air, lunging at the Emolga, but the electric rodent was agile in the air, and easily dodged the attack. Brownie landed, and skidded several feet before whipping back around to face her opponent.

"Emolga, Discharge," said Audra.

"Ah, hang on, Brownie!"

Electricity discharged from the flying squirrel's body, sending little bolts of voltage everywhere. Brownie was hit several times, and took a lot of damage, more than I expected. Audra's Pokemon were higher leveled than the past two Gyms. Once the attack was finished, she looked like she was able to continue, however.

"Brownie, use Hyper Voice!" I ordered.

The Furret opened her mouth, and a high pitched sound came screeching out. I was used to it, so it didn't hurt my ears anymore. The Emolga was so shocked, it didn't dodge, and got hit by the sound waves that came from Brownie's mouth. It was sent spiraling.

"Now use Ice Beam!" I commanded.

A freezing beam of energy shot out of Brownie's mouth, caking the skin flaps that served as the Emolga's wings with ice. Our opponent went down, hitting the dirt, unable to say in the air. It tried to get up, but the ice was too heavy.

"Now finish it with Sucker Punch!" I said.

This attack allowed Brownie to get right up in the Emolga's face in a blink of an eye. She swung her violet covered fist, and punched the Emolga right in the face, sending it flying. It slammed into the wall, and collapsed, not getting back up.

One down, three more to go.

Next, Audra sent out a spider-like yellow Pokemon a little over two feet tall. Now I wasn't scared of bugs, but that thing just was creepy. She called it Galvantula. It had to be unique to Unova.

"Wild Charge," she said.

The Galvantula surrounded itself in electricity, and then charged at Brownie. I was caught by surprise, having never seen that move used before, and didn't tell the Furret to dodge. She was hit hard, and due to the previously sustained damage, was knocked out.

I returned Brownie to her Poke Ball, and thanked her for her hard work. Then I debated on who to send out next.

"Let's go, Pinkie!" I exclaimed, releasing my Wigglytuff.

Pinkie was my first Pokemon, the one who came with me from the past. I didn't remember any of that, though, which made me sad. I was just glad that I had her back. I knew we could do this together.

"Use Gyro Ball!" I commanded.

Pinkie began to spin wicked fast, and slammed hard into the Galvantula. The strange Pokemon slid back a couple of feet, but otherwise didn't look harmed. Darn it, I wished I had a Fire type so badly right now.

"Electroweb," said Audra.

A spider web that was charged with electricity shot out of the feelers in front of the Galvantula, and latched onto Pinkie. She cried out as it continue to shock her, and limited her movements. I had no idea what to do now; Psychic would barely do damage to a Bug type, and she couldn't move now, so Body Slam or Return were out of the question. I didn't think Rest would help at this point, either.

"Pinkie, try Psychic," I said, having no other choice.

The wave of energy shot across the arena, and hit the Galvantula. I was thrilled to see we had a critical hit. But by now, Pinkie was exhausted, on the brink of collapse. I had no choice but to return her. I grit my teeth, and took out another Poke Ball.

"You're up, Beryl!" I exclaimed, sending out my Meganium.

I knew it was risky, but I had to use my starter to finish the battle. She was my strongest after Pinkie. Hopefully we could end this quickly.

"Beryl, use Body Slam!" I commanded.

The Meganium lunged forward, and slammed into the Galvantula with the side of her body. The spider toppled over, landing on its back. Its legs squirmed violently as it tried to get back up. Yes, this was our chance!

"Again!" I ordered.

This time, Beryl jumped on the Galvantula, like a belly flop. And that was it for that Pokemon.

Next, the Pokemon that Audra sent out was something I recognized—a Zebstrika. It let out a battle cry before arching its neck and stomping its hoof. Beryl tensed from her position in front of me.

"Flame Charge," she said.

"Dodge it!" I ordered. "Then Safeguard!"

The Meganium leaped out of the way, and used the move I commanded, outlining her body with a pale, exotic green light. Now she could get neither paralyzed nor burned. We could do this.

"Flame Charge again," said Audra.

"Dodge again!" I commanded. "Then charge up Solar Beam!"

This time, when she leaped out of the way, she skidded to a stop when she landed back on the ground. Then she began to charge the attack. It was risky, seeing as the Zebstrika could attacks us while we waited for the move to power up.

But, to much of my surprise, we did not have to wait long. A beam of golden light blasted across the arena and hit the Zebstrika hard. It was knocked down, and struggled to get back onto its feet.

"Finish with Petal Dance!" I ordered.

Petals swirled from the collar around Beryl's neck, and began to circle the Zebstrika. The petals hit the Pokemon as they swirled, repeating the process of the attack several times. By the time it was over, the Zebstrika fainted.

We won!

...

January 29, 5001.

Today was our last day in Nimbasa. Ethan, Evan, Timothy, and Rosalind had to stay longer since Raven still wouldn't allow Tim to battle the Gym. I understood why she was doing that, but the younger kids were getting frustrated with her.

After my battle, we learned that Delano and Audra were dating. I was thrilled with that, and immediately added them to my ship list. I named them ThunderStorm. Also, after observing the younger kids, I came up with more ships. Evan seemed to have a little crush on Rosalind, though the girl was oblivious to it. I named them Citrine.

I also, just for the heck of it, decided to put Timothy and Raven in a ship. I named them Crow. I honestly thought they would be cute together. Raven was following them because of Timothy, even though it wasn't for romantic reasons. They were just so cute!

"Whatcha doing?" Perla asked me.

We were in our room in the Pokemon Center, bedding down for the night. I was laying back on my bed, with my red notebook in hand, writing down some ideas that came to mind concerning ships. And the occasional idea that came to mind concerning Plato's and my wedding.

"Oh, just writing down some ideas," I said.

"Like?" she pressed.

Perla was... innocent. Like Jewel, she didn't quite understand where babies came from, or what love was, or even that people could fall in love. It was refreshing... until it got annoying. But I wasn't about to warp her mind and give her the Talk just so she could understand what I was doing.

"Ideas for the wedding," I said instead.

Her orange eyes, which she got from her father, Pearl, brightened up. "Oooh, I wanna help!"

I smiled, and sat up all the way. I flipped to the wedding idea page in my notebook. "Okay."

...

January 30, 5001.

(Timothy's POV)

"You are not going anywhere until you get through your thick cranium that Pokemon are not bloodthirsty monsters," Raven said to me darkly, her eyes, for the first time, filled with anger, the first emotion she had ever shown. "Remember that you are holding back your friends the longer you take to get over your foolish beliefs."

I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest. "They're not my friends. I'm just stuck with them. I don't even want to be here."

We were in the hot desert outside of Nimbasa. I had no idea why she wanted to go back here. I hated it here, hated it here in the desert than in the city. Besides, it was dangerous out here. Who knew what dangerous monsters lurked in the sand and under rocks?

"You are a selfish fool," she snapped. "For the love of Arceus, get over yourself. The world does not revolve around Timothy King. You are a disgrace to the Rosso legacy. You disgust me."

"Then leave me alone!" I yelled. "Just shut up and leave me alone!"

I stormed off without another word. I was sick and tired of all this crap, and I wasn't about to take a self-important little girl tell me what to do. Who did she think she was?

Wait, did I just head deeper into the desert?

Crap.

I took the Poke Ball thing that held the Ivysaur off my belt. I stared at the monster inside the device, and then scowled. Ugh, this stupid thing was my only way of protection. I just wanted to go home. I sighed, and continued to walk.

I wandered onto some dark sand, and suddenly there was rumbling. Something exploded from the sand, sending me flying backwards. I hit the burning sand, falling right on my back. Then I heard a loud, furious roar. When the dust cleared, I saw a terrifying monster. It was dark red, with black stripes, and gaping jaws. It seemed to have a mask over its beady eyes. It was only a little taller than me.

I admit it. I screamed like a little girl.

I looked around frantically for my Poke Ball. It had been flung from my hand when I was sent sprawling. I had no time to look for it now.

"Jellicent, Hydro Pump."

I was surprised to see a blast of water come out of the middle of nowhere, and hit the monster. It fell down, knocked out in one hit. I scrambled back in the sand, farther away from the thing as fast as I could. Raven appeared, along with a floating pink thing.

"You are a fool," she repeated, looking down at me with pity in her eyes. Then she turned her back to me. "Come, let us get out of this horribly scorching place before you get yourself annihilated."

THIS CHAPTER = WIN.

Spring break is here, which means FASTER UPDATES. Also, just in case I don't update again in time for Sunday... HAPPY EASTER.

Yes, Citrine (I think that's correct, because I think Coral is Tim x Rosalind, I get those two mixed up, haha) is canon, just gotta actually SHOW it. Also, Crow (Tim x Raven) is canon. They have three wonderful little children that will be appearing in the second arc of Evermore: Ronne and Vasco (twins) and Atarah. Have to figure out how old they'd be first though, haha.

I FREAKING LOVE RAVEN. THAT GIRL IS SO FUN TO WRITE. AGH. WHY.

Hehe, SHINEEEEEEE. That was not the intent, I swear, but it just worked out. Sadly, the wedding won't be anytime soon.

Don't worry guys, Timmy'll straighten up soon. Hopefully. Yep.

All right, onto review replies.

To Spiritual Moon: No, not that I have currently planned. There was SUPPOSED to be a descendent of N, but that was when there was a hidden Resistance in Unova before I decided to make Unova free. I can't put him in now since everything else is pretty much planned out. As for Synis... No one is born evil. Something happens to MAKE you evil. All baddies, unless they are psychotic or something, start out as perfectly nice people, and then they snap and just go INSANE. *cough* Jewel has a bug phobia because I wanted her to have a bug phobia. No one else related to her is scared of bugs. Cyan started playing guitar in the past because his mom (Neela) taught him. Oh, Forever and Ever is what SHOULD have happened if Synis didn't kidnap the Pokedex Holders' kids, just to clear that up.

To Everyone: Well, technically, Alpha and Gamma Topaz are the same... Just different personalities. Beta is totally different.

To Anyone Else Who Complains About No Kummern: STOP SAYING YOU WANT IT BACK. I KNOW. I DO TOO. IT JUST ANNOYS ME TO KEEP ON SEEING THAT. Soon, there will be SO much fluffy Kummern it might make you SICK. Well, I hope it doesn't make you sick. But it gets really FLUFFY and INTENSE and NO ONE has to worry about Copal until late final arc.

Sorry. That just irks me. *coughs*

Next Chapter: Shirou, Alan, and Kate come to chill with Plato's and Rubin's groups when they all meet up. Budding MEZZOFORTE. Espouse being confirmed onesided on ?'s part. Jade going shipping crazy. Awkward convo between Rubes and Alan. MEZZOFORTE. Taking on the Driftveil Gym. MEZZOFORTE. Plato and Argent go off and chill together leaving the girls to talk with Cerise, Kate, and... Shirou. MEZZOFORTE.

MezzoForte, I swear, is my new OTP in the Trilogy.

OKAY, I'M DONE.

KEEP UP ON THE AWESOME REVIEWS.