Author's Corner.
Scarlet: IT COMES AT THE END, ARCEUS-DAMMIT!
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON; ELSE ASH WOULD'VE BEEN SOME INCHES TALLER BY NOW!
Pinwheel forest, Unova Region.
Having stumbled into a Pokemon Center on the far edge of the forest, Scarlet had placed a request for a room and had silently prayed that his passport or some other form of identification wouldn't have been needed. To his relief, the ever smiling Nurse Joy on duty that night had only asked for a name to which he had given a fake.
"Andrew," he answered as he collected the key and left in search of the respective room number. Jolteon and Pignite were left in the care of the pink-haired nurse so he wasn't followed. Finding his room and laying the girl on the bed, he yawned sleepily and went to the bathroom nearby to take a shower. The plan had been to drop the girl off and leave immediately so as to escape any roaming rangers nearby but then he found out that the forest exit was closed for the night.
"Just my luck…" he muttered as he let the warm water run down his slender frame. He hissed slightly as the water washed across a bruise on his side. That relentless Scolipede had done a number on him without him knowing it. Luckily, he had kept a straight face throughout the forest trek so as not to scare his partner.
If only that dumb broad hadn't butted in, he would have been in Castelia City by now, he thought to himself as he turned off the shower and took out a towel. Before he left the bathroom, he took a look at himself through the large mirror by the tub. Horrendous scars lined his torso, all of which served to show that his occupation was not easy.
His reflection stared back at him with a look of … sadness? Scarlet scowled and turned away, twisting his characteristic black lock of hair. Stepping out of the bathroom, he started to do what he did best at the moment… thinking. If people knew that the most wanted hunter in the world was in Unova, his job would become complicated. Scarlet loved simplicity as much as he loved money and naturally avoided hassles if he could help it. Taking a moment to stare at the still-passed out girl's hair, he had an idea.
Later that night, Jolteon came in with a pokeball in his jaws and stopped to see a boy with jet-black hair and sky blue eyes admiring his reflection in the mirror. Dropping the red and white orb, the pokemon stood wide-eyed in surprise. Spotting Jolteon, the stranger turned and struck a pose.
"Well, what do you think? Genius right?" he asked with a slight accent and a toothy grin. Jolteon opened his mouth and snapped it shut as if about to make a snooty remark. He turned and hopped into the bed with the girl. In a few seconds, he was fast asleep.
"Suit yourself. You're probably just jealous because you don't look nearly as cool as me in black…" Scarlet murmured with a smirk. Seeing as the bed was taken, he dropped himself into a chair and nodded off.
The next day, a banshee cry permeated through the air and Scarlet woke with a start. Snapping open his cell phone, he heard a yawn.
"Nice wake-up call, brat…" he mumbled as he rubbed his droopy eyes.
"Hey Ginger. I heard you made quite the entrance when you got to Unova. Do you always leave destruction in tow every time you make a hunt?" Boss mocked. "Do you know how many anonymous donations I have to make in order to get those areas back to normal?"
"Someone forgot to change your diaper or something? You don't have to pay you know!" Scarlet shot back.
"Hey! Other hunters need places to hunt too! Besides, Mother Nature should be cheri- SNAP!" Scarlet had snapped his phone shut and gone to brush his teeth, stepping into the bathroom he picked his brush and turned to face the yellowest eyes he had ever seen.
"WOAH!" he yelped and jumped back, startled. The girl continued to stare at him making him slightly uncomfortable. She inched forward until she was almost nose to nose with him. He began to complain.
"Uh-"
"You had red hair and green eyes. Unless I was dreaming, why did you dye it?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side.
"I don't know what you're talking about…" he replied, she was quite accurate.
"…And your accent, you never had an accent," she stated matter-of-factly. Okay, this was scary. Met with silence however, the girl turned away from him after a brief moment and headed for the shower and it took Scarlet 2 solid minutes to realize that the girl had been naked during the interrogation. Pinching his nose and grabbing a tissue, he rushed out of the bathroom and out of the room in general and his electric pokemon could only wonder why his master was in such a rush with blood cascading beautifully down his shirt.
An hour later…
"Thank you for staying and I hope we meet again." Nurse Joy stated with a bow. She was kind enough not to question Scarlet's new look and he was thankful for that. Unova was a relatively crime-free region so people wouldn't have recognized a wanted hunter when they saw one. As he and Jolteon stepped outside, the girl quickly moved in front of them as if to block their path.
"First of all, I have to thank you for helping me out with that Scolipede. If not for you guys, I would have been minced by now-," she started, rubbing the back of her head.
"Don't mention it. You were outclassed anyway and with your training knowledge, I suggest heading back to trainer school," Scarlet deadpanned and received a sharp kick in the leg from Jolteon.
Obviously not catching the insult to her position as a trainer, the girl smiled and stuck a slender arm out to the hunter.
"I'm White by the way, "she said with a grin.
"Yeah, I can see that," Scarlet remarked while casting a wary eye at the outstretched hand. The girl giggled and shook her head.
"No," she corrected. "My name is White."
"Oh… who names their child White?" he asked in wonder and received another kick in the shin, "Nice to meet you then."
Ignoring her hand, he made to move past her. He avoided introductions not only because he wanted to keep his identity a secret but also because he wasn't a very social person. He waved slightly.
"Later rookie," he called and broke into a jog. Jolteon followed his master after giving the girl an apologetic nod. 5 minutes later, the duo turned to see White following them at a distance. Assuming that she too was heading for the exit, Scarlet ignored her and continued onwards. Soon, he could make out a majestic bridge over the horizon and picked up his pace. The sooner they were out of this place, the better for him, he thought to himself.
A while later, they were out of the forest and Skyarrow Bridge stretched out in front of them. Scarlet paused to catch his breath and whistled at the sheer height and length of the bridge. The area was quite windy and the girl behind him struggled to keep her hat on her head as her hair danced about in the breeze.
"Beautiful right?" she called out to the boy in front. He didn't seem to hear her as he trudged up the stairway and started his long jog through the bridge. White followed still holding on to her hat. She caught up later and started a one-sided chat with the silent hunter.
Why is she talking to me? He asked himself. I hope she's not trying to make friends or anything? That would just jeopardize my mission. So he kept silent and continued his jog, looking down once in a while to make sure that his partner was still by his side.
"And when I was five, Reshiram would fly me to the bridge at sunset! It was scary at first, but I got used to the height and-"
"Stop." Scarlet said trying to hide his surprise. He had heard that Reshiram had belonged to a Pokemon Champion but had disappeared after that champion had passed away.
"You're telling me you know Reshiram?" he gasped. The girl nodded.
"Yeah, so what's the big deal?" she replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world to say. Scarlet shook his head in disbelief.
"You're kidding right?" he asked in a low tone. White frowned a little.
"I don't lie. That's one of the many reasons why I'm called White," she stated flatly.
She's so modest about it too, the baffled raven-head sweatdropped. If this was true, then his mission could be over in a matter of days.
"You don't happen to know where it is, do you?" he asked in a tone laced with hope.
"I do!" She replied eyeing the sea underneath the bridge.
If this girl was telling the truth, he might just have a lead. This mission was in the-
"But I'm not telling-" Her playful tone broke his line of thoughts. EEHH? His mind screeched. "Unless you do something for me, that is."
Unless it involved paying, Scarlet would do anything. Making a curious expression, he nodded for her to continue.
White pointed a skinny finger at him. "Train me to become the best trainer in Unova."
It took a moment, but as Jolteon stared at his partner, a devilish smile graced the teen's scarred face. He could see the Klinklangs turning in his head and Jolteon knew that an evil plan was brewing.
5 minutes later...
"Um… is something wrong? You've been staring at the sky for a while now and you have that creepy smile plastered on your face," White asked looking confused. Was he having a tummy ache?
Scarlet snapped back to reality shortly after as White busied herself with collecting Swanna feathers. Looking at the innocent girl, his face took on a sadistic look briefly before changing to a plain, if not innocent, expression. Walking up to her and snatching a feather from the air, he tapped her shoulder lightly and handed the pretty feather to her with a smile.
Now that's something you don't see every day, Jolteon hummed as Scarlet took White's hand.
"You may not be very good at training, rookie, but I think you have the confidence to know what it takes," he chattered enthusiastically. "I'll whip you into shape faster than a Ninjask on crack!"
The airhead apparently caught his fake enthusiasm as she started to grin madly and jump around in excitement. "That was a yes, right? AWESOME!"
Truth be told, Scarlet was a very, very, very experienced battler (thanks to all his numerous brushes with rangers, Officer Jennies and those trainers with their annoying hero complexes) so he would make the perfect coach. Jolteon's speed and power could attest to that. But asking a total stranger to dedicate some precious weeks of his life to coaching all of a sudden would've sounded a bit brazen, not to mention ridiculous, to any ordinary, sensible human being.
White was no ordinary human being, Jolteon deduced. She was definitely lacking in some aspects of common sense too. She wasn't stupid, just innocent. She looked and acted way too innocent to be ordinary and for some reason, Jolteon couldn't help but feel a little bit disturbed by his master's plan. Scarlet was going to use that innocent, though slightly selfish, request of hers to capture Reshiram and she would most likely be crushed if she knew this. The way she had talked about the legendary pokemon a while ago proved to Jolteon that they were quite fond of each other.
"Alright coach! Let's head over to Castelia City so we can start training for my next gym battle!" She exclaimed as she took the hunter's arm and tore across the bridge.
"Scarlet." He chipped in. White turned to look at him. Only the Rangers and police knew his name or what he really looked like so it wouldn't hurt to tell.
"My name… It's Scarlet." He flashed an angelic grin and held out his hand. White grabbed it in a hearty shake and gave a goofy smile.
"Well then…..it's nice ta meetcha Ginger!"
Author's corner.
Scarlet: ...I sound like the bad guy here.
White: Awww, don't be sad. At least you'll get the classic bad guy end.
Scarlet: Oh yeah? Just what kind of end is that?
White: If I remember correctly, you'll make an epic stand, get caught and die with no regrets! That's not too bad, right?
Scarlet: Don't screw with me, broad! Slybill, that ain't happening right?
Slybill *scrunches up a script labelled Scarlet's Demise and shoves it behind the desk*: Mind running that by me again, Ginger?