Author's Corner.
Slybill: White, you've been awfully quiet lately…what's wrong.
White: Well…there's this guy…
Slybill: WHO IS IT- I mean…what about this guy?
White: Every time I see him…my chest starts to hurt and I get hot all over…
Violet: Oh White, that's called a crush. Who's the lucky guy?
Aqua: Scarlet, right?
White: N-No…
Burgh: Bimbert?
Lightning: IT'S HILBERT-DE ARIMASU!
White: No…
Draco: Black? Cos you look like one of those girls with brother complexes.
White: No!
Lightning: Then who is it de-arimasuka?
White: Well…it's…it's-
DISCLAIMER: SLYBILL DOESN'T OWN POKEMON. AND DON'T JUMP TO THE END OF THE STORY JUST TO SEE WHO WHITE LIKES!
Training Grounds, Driftveil Pokemon Center, Unova Region.
"This shall be a two-on-two battle between White and Lightning! First one to knock out all three of their opponent's pokemon wins!"
The small crowd of trainers watched intently as the Nurse Joy acting as referee stepped over to the side of the battlefield. On the left end stood, Lightning looking extremely confident of a win. He was also a bit nervous of what would follow immediately after the battle should he come out victorious.
10 minutes earlier…
"So how does battling White solve your problems?" Scarlet asked, arching an eyebrow at Lightning who was busy taking out his pokeballs.
"When White beat me on our first battle, I realized that maybe White would like me if I were a better trainer-de arimasu. So during the two months following my loss, I caught and super-trained my pokemon in the toughest areas of Unova. I've battled some of the toughest gym-leaders in Unova, acquiring six badges too! To top it all off, I crushed Team Plasma's base in Nimbasa with just one of my pokemon making me a hero-de arimasu! If White sees the extent of my pokemon's growth, there's no way she'll not be impressed. And while she's too stunned by our awesomeness, BAM! I'll hit her straight with a swift, confident confession! She'll say yes for sure!"
Scarlet clicked his tongue in mild amusement. "You actually thought this out pretty well," he remarked and glanced in White's direction.
"Of course I did-de arimasu!" Lightning scoffed proudly. "I've been planning this for a month now!"
"What if you lose…?" the hunter sneered lowly and gave a mocking smile at the sudden look of confusion on the blonde's face. "Don't tell me you never considered that possibility. This is White we're talking about."
Lightning fell silent and lowered his head such that his eyes were covered by his large hat. Tightening his grip on the pokeball in his hand, the cowboy laughed and raised his green eyes to match Scarlet's blue ones.
"That's where you're wrong, Scarlet-de arimasu. I won't lose. That's that-de arimasu."
"Go! Bouffalant-de arimasu!" the blonde cried and tossed a pokeball into the air. His Bash Buffalo pokemon landed on all fours with a ground-shaking THUD.
"Scraggy!" White called and sent forth her Shedding pokemon. Upon seeing the familiar creature, the cowboy smirked. This was gonna be a cinch.
"Begin!" Nurse Joy declared and White took the first move.
"Aura Sphere!"
Scraggy jumped high into the air and generated the blue ball of light between his palms before launching it at calm Bouffalant.
"Head Charge-de arimasu," Lightning ordered and his pokemon bellowed loudly while coating its afro in reddish-yellow energy. In an instant, it rocketted off the ground and right into the incoming Aura Sphere, causing a small explosion upon collision. From the smoke, the pokemon's hulking form shot out and brushed past the unsuspecting Scraggy.
"Stomp!" the cowboy called and Bouffalant kicked at Scraggy's back, sending him down into the ground. "Giga Impact!"
"Dodge Scraggy!" White cried as Bouffalant began to meteor its way towards her pokemon. Eyes snapping open, Scraggy rolled towards the left, effectively dodging Bouffalant's powerful attack. "Close Combat!"
"Thrash!" Lightning countered. Bouffalant and Scraggy bounded towards each other and began their rapid exchange of blows. Thanks to Scraggy's small size, he was able to effectively dodge most of Bouffalant's attacks. Landing quick punches on its snout, the shedding pokemon grabbed its left horn and flung the Buffalo pokemon into a wall before holding his sides in slight pain. Note: He dodged, most not all, of Bouffalant's attack.
"Hyper beam!" the blonde ordered and a large red beam of light tore across the ground as it headed straight for Scraggy.
"Block it!" White yelled. Raising his baggy, orange fold of skin over his head, the beam collided with Scraggy's makeshift shield and scattered in different directions. Pushed back by the very force of the beam itself, the shedding pokemon grunted as his hands weakened and the shield lowered, allowing the rest of Bouffalant's beam to score a direct hit.
"Scraggy!" White cried as her pokemon wobbled uneasily.
"Giga Impact-de arimasu!" Bouffalant dragged a forefoot across the ground before charging energy in its head again and stampeding towards Scraggy. At that moment, White's eyes went violently purple and she called for the only move strong enough to stop Bouffalant.
"Double Edge!"
Scraggy's body glowed golden before he launched himself into the air and with a sound akin to a sonic boom, shot towards his opponent like a cannonball. Charging up all his power into his tiny fist, the shedding pokemon crashed hard into Bouffalant's afro and brought his fist down on the pokemon's skull generating another small explosion.
"Using high-end moves like that, those two're pretty reckless..." Scarlet mumbled and Jolteon nodded. In anticipation, the crowd leaned forward and peered into the passing cloud. Bouffalant trotted out with his unconscious opponent on his head and dropped him gently in front of White who rushed towards him and picked him up.
"You did great, Scraggy. Take a long rest," she said as she put him back in his pokeball and handed it to the other Nurse Joy on duty. Turning to her friend, she smiled and picked out another pokeball. "You've gotten way stronger, Fil! I'm getting fired up now!"
"Hilbert-de arimasu!" Lightning screeched instinctively before relaxing and putting on his proud smirk. "Are you gonna bring out your Sandile, or Pignite-de arimasuka?"
White grinned. "Nope, sorry! I'm gonna pull out the grass pokemon I just!"
"Eeeeehhh?" Scarlet exclaimed. "You said you didn't catch anything!"
White rose an eyebrow. "I was crying because I didn't catch Amoonguss. I never said that I didn't get any pokemon while I wandered off."
Scarlet thought back to when he had bundled her on the cycle.
"This wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a ditz, rookie~" he sang coldly before giving one final push and bundling her onto his cycle. "We're heading back for breakfast. You obviously didn't catch anything during your little adventure, right?"
White hung her head and anime tears poured like waterfalls from her golden eyes. "And to think I almost caught that Amoonguss too!"
Indeed, she hadn't exactly answered his question but anyone would've taken that as a no anyway.
"What's this pokemon then?"
White tossed the pokeball forward and a shape beamed forth from it before materializing on the ground. The pokemon was small. Around 2ft to say the most and it was green-skinned and standing on four short legs. Black fur covered its head and neck concealing everything but its mouth from view and a small horn-like tuft of hair stuck up from its head.
"That's not a grass pokemon..." Scarlet observed gaping at the pokemon. And he knew that without any knowledge of Unovan pokemon whatsoever.
"But she's green!" White protested and everyone sweatdropped.
"A Deino! And it's shiny too..." Nurse Joy remarked. "Where exactly did you catch her?"
White came to hazily and found herself atop her poisoned childhood best friend. Blinking slowly, she heard a squabble going on and weakly shifted her head to see her pokemon arguing loudly. From the bushes beside her, a soft chuckle was heard and she watched as a small head came into view. Maybe it was the poison but White could've sworn that the pokemon was mocking her. With the empty pokeball still in her hand, she threw with whatever strength she had left and crossed her fingers hopefully.
The Deino was promptly hit on the head and wobbled uneasily before falling out of the bushes. With a sinking feeling, she felt herself being pulled into the red and white orb and would've struggled out if not for the dizziness in her head. With a CHINK the ball stopped shaking and rolled back into White's outstretched hand.
"Serves you right for laughing..." she slurred weakly and clutched the pokeball as everything started going dark again. "I just caught...a grass...pokemon..."
"So you caught a rare shiny Deino just for revenge?" Scarlet asked and facepalmed as she nodded her head.
"I don't see how it's gonna help you though-de arimasu..." Lightning remarked. "Let's continue-de arimasu!"
"Of course!" White declared and in a blink, her eyes went purple again.
Going all out, are we? the ravenette observed and smirked. I wonder what she'll do with this tiny dragon...
"Start!"
"Bouffalant! Head Charge-de arimasu!" and the pokemon charged energy into its skull again...and ran head-first into a wall. "Huh...?"
Pulling itself out, Bouffalant turned and everyone noticed the red in its eyes.
"Confusion," White stated with a smirk and pointed to Lightning. "When it used Thrash to counter Scraggy's Close Combat, I had a feeling that all that tossing around might leave it dizzy. It was only a matter of time."
"I knew that-de arimasu!" Lightning remarked and pulled out a pokeball. "I took that into account! All I need to do is call Bouffalant back-"
"Pursuit!" White cut in and before the pokeball could beam Bouffalant back, Deino zoomed up to it in a burst of speed and slammed into its head. Never underestimate dragon pokemon, especially the small ones. "With all the damage from Scraggy and the added recoil from Head Smash, I could bet my life that Bouffalant wont stand after this Pursuit!"
True to her words, Bouffalant slumped heavily on the ground with swirls for eyes. Lightning huffed and called it back before taking another pokeball.
"If you wanna beat a dragon, use a dragon-de arimasu," he muttered and threw the pokeball in the air. "Hero Time! Haxorus-de arimasu!"
The tall, golden dragon-type pokemon reared up to full height and gave an intimidating roar that sent everyone into awe as they admired its majestic build.
He's not going easy on her, that's for sure, Scarlet remarked. Let's see how she does against this one.
"Start!"
"Deino, Dragon Pulse!" White ordered and Deino formed a large bluish-white sphere of light in front of her open jaws.
"Haxorus, show'em what a Dragon Pulse looks like!" Lightning cried and his dragon reciprocated the move only with a much, much bigger ball of light.
"FIRE!" both trainers called and their dragons launched their attacks at each other. The spheres collided and blew up, rocking the entire PC and everyone in it.
"Slash-de arimasu!" Haxorus jumped through the smoke with its tusks glowing white and ran towards Deino.
"Dodge and use Body Slam!" Deino leapt into the air, avoiding a deadly swing from the Axe Jaw pokemon and dropped herself unto it, only for Haxorus to side-step the attack and catch her in his small but strong arms.
"Throw it-de arimasu!" and with a roar, the bigger dragon threw its opponent right into a wall, smashing it on contact.
"Woah!" some boys gasped as the rubble crashed down on Deino and Lightning smirked in triumph before tipping his hat.
"I guess I win this-"
"Sorry Dilbert but White's Deino is far from fainting," Scarlet sneered and pointed.
"It's Hilbert-de arimasu," the cowboy sighed. "Besides, I don't think that Deino's gonna-"
"OUTRAGE!" White called suddenly and the rubble flew in different directions as an angry Deino charged towards the mildly surprised Haxorus. There was a reason she was called the Irate Pokemon for tick marks dotted her head and fangs from nowhere gritted loudly in her mouth. Leaping up, she tackled the giant in front of her before grabbing its long tail in-between her jaws and swinging it around before throwing it into a wall on the opposite side. The flying Haxorus not only flew through the wall, it also left two identical holes in the walls behind before landing in a fountain outside.
Lightning ground his teeth and pulled his hat down over his eyes. "I'm gonna confess whether you like it or not! Haxorus, OUTRAGE-DE ARIMASU!"
Silence followed for a moment and the Nurse Joy was just about announcing the cowboy's defeat when a savage roar rang throughout the PC. From the first hole, two clawed hands grabbed at the walls and Haxorus pulled itself into the battlefield looking absolutely livid with rage. It's red irises had disappeared leaving only the empty black corneas in its eye sockets and redd-sh energy wafted from its entire frame.
"This is gonna hurt," Scarlet remarked and Jolteon put a paw to his eyes. Both enraged dragon-types rushed towards each other and an all-out beat-down ensued. Naturally, Haxorus' attacks had the edge but being a part dark-type can teach a dragon a thing or two about tenaciousness coupled with a pinch of raw malice. In time, everyone noticed a boost in Deino's power as she gave Haxorus a very hard headbutt that sent it stumbling backwards.
"Hustle increases the user's Attack stat, but lowers the Accuracy of the user's Physical moves. Special and Status moves are unaffected by Hustle," Scarlet's pokedex beeped.
"No wonder," he remarked. If White played her cards right, Deino might just have upper hand in this brutal scuffle. However, Haxorus had more experience with Outrage so it landed well placed blows which clearly outclassed Deino's wild snaps and kicks. Before everyone knew it, Deino stopped and began to sway to and fro in confusion. Haxorus took advantage of the situation and delivered a sharp kick that sent her all the way into the roof. That seemed to snap her out of her confusion as she dodged a fist aimed for her head.
"Crunch!" White ordered and her Irate Pokemon opened her jaws, took a snap...and missed.
"Lowers Accuracy, hmm," Scarlet hummed as Deino took several more snaps at Haxorus and missed horribly even when her opponent left some openings for attacks.
"Haxorus, end this-de arimasu!" Lightning called and Haxorus gave a mighty swing of its golden tail, hitting Deino on the side before it brought itself down on her head sending her face-first into the floor.
"Deino..." White winced as her eyes returned to normal and she wobbled uneasily before falling to her knees in fatigue. Said dragon pokemon lay still on the floor and Haxorus gave a bellow of victory.
"Deino is unable to battle! Therefore the winners are Haxorus and Kilbert!" Nurse Joy declared.
"I'll let that slide for now-de arimasu," Lightning hissed as he walked up to Haxorus and patted its long, armor-plated neck. "Good job partner. Follow Nurse Joy and take a good rest-de arimasu."
Some Audino ran up to the fainted Deino and lifted her unto a stretcher before wheeling her away to receive medical care. Lightning took a deep breath and walked up to his panting friend.
"Need a hand-de arimasuka?" he asked, extending a hand out to her. Taking it, White was pulled up to her feet and gave a small smile that once again lit up Lightning's cheeks.
"You've gotten really strong, Dilbert..." she remarked and put a hand on his shoulder. "I guess you got me good for beating Oshawott."
Lightning caught sight of Scarlet and Jolteon crunching on popcorn, as if watching a love story unfolding. "Go on..." the ravenette mouthed and a group of guys nodded. Swallowing hard, the cowboy gave the hand on his shoulder a small squeeze.
"White! I have something important to say-de arimasu!" he said quickly and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "You've been my best friend for 9 years now and during those times you protected me from bullies and showed me how wonderful Unova really was. I became a trainer cos I wanted to show you that I'm not only strong enough to protect myself but also strong enough to protect others...strong enough to protect you-de arimasu..."
"I can see that," the girl grinned and Lightning gripped her shoulders lightly.
"Here it comes..." Scarlet whispered to the group behind him. "Place your bets boys. The Cowboy gets the airhead, for and against..."
Lightning stared into White's puzzled orbs and parted his lips. "White..."
"Yes..."
"I...I..." Go on, you've rehearsed this for one month straight-de arimasu! "I...I..."
"Someone get the rope..." Scarlet whispered lowly.
"I love you-de arimasu..." said Lightning in a small but clear voice. White stared at him before giving a big smile.
"Aww Hilbert," she said and placed her hands over his. "I love you too-" Wow, that wasn't so har- "Just like a brother!"
"...Nya...?"
"That's how close we're, right?"
CRACK!
That was the sound his heart made when his mind registered that no matter what he did, the highest his best friend would ever think of him...was as a brother.
"Gilbert? What's wrong? You look a little pale..." she asked in concern as her best friend's complexion changed and he turned flimsy. With a groan, he fluttered to the ground like paper and lay still. White might have lost the battle, but he was the one who felt most like the loser in this situation.
"HANG HIM!" was all he heard as he drowned in his self-pity and he felt hands grab at his shoulders. At that point, he almost felt like thanking Scarlet for that suggestion of suicide. NOTE: Almost.
"Get that thing away from me-de arimasu!" he screamed as the ravenette was about placing the rope over his head. "I'm miserable but not that miserable-de arimasu!"
"Awww man!" the boys groaned before dispersing.
"Damn, almost thought she was gonna accept you for a second," Scarlet remarked as he counted the money he had accrued from the bets. "A good thing she rejected you though."
"How is that a good thing-de arimasuka?" Lightning exclaimed and locked foreheads one more time with the ravenette. "You're probably happy cos you've still got a chance-de arimasu!"
"Are you deaf, blind or both?" he replied. "One, I'm into redheads. Two, White's a ditz, I can't even believe that you put up with her for 9 years. Three, I'm just relieved because if she had fallen for you, that might've set my plans back by months!"
"Plans-de arimasu?"
"..." Scarlet facepalmed. "You know what, Herbert, forget what I just said. It's not really important."
"Hilbert-de arimasu. And if it's not important, how come you're so relieved-de arimasu?"
Silence...
"I'm not gonna lie. You're suspicious-de arimasu," the cowboy stated lowly and leered at Scarlet. "My hero-senses tingle every time I'm near you. Like something bad's gonna happen if you keep hanging with White-de arimasu."
Not counting the numerous brushes with death at Team Plasma's hands, I'd say things have been pretty uneventful so far, the ravenette deadpanned mentally before staring back at Lightning blankly. "Tell your hero senses to take a breather. You've got no business with me."
Reluctantly, the blonde pulled his eyes away and walked back to the lounge inside. White, who up till then had been fingering the collar still on her neck, followed her friend and was about passing the door when a light shock of electricity danced through her veins.
"Where d'you think you're going, you little heartbreaker?" her coach called from the far side of the battlefield. "You've got training to do!"
"Why?" she whined and Scarlet stepped back a little, thus widening the distance between them and making White's hair stand on end from the new flow of current running through her.
"Can't have you losing like that to Driftveil's Gym Leader, can we?"
4:00PM
"Do you have to go, Filbert?" White asked and her friend bopped her head lightly before nodded.
"As much as I'd love to keep an eye on you and...him, innocent lives need saving and I've still gotta collect two more badges to compete in the League-de arimasu."
"He forgot to mention the fact that he needs his heart to heal," Scarlet muttered lowly.
"Shut up-de arimasu!" Lightning snapped and shot a finger at the ravenette. "I haven't given up just so you know-de arimasu! I'll make her see me differently when I've got the time, just you watch Scarface-de arimasu!"
"How I admire your optimism, Dickbert," the teen replied sarcastically and growled as the cowboy butted foreheads with him for the last tie that day.
"Now that was on purpose-de arimasu..." he stated icily before pulling away. "Before I leave, there's something I've gotta ask you-de arimasu."
"Whether I answer or not will depend on the question," Scarlet replied. Seeing as White was at a comfortable distance away, Lightning faced the sea.
"Why're you following White-de arimasu? There's obviously something in it for you."
Jolteon looked up at Scarlet who watched the cowboy's back coldly.
"You wouldn't believe me if I said I'm just doing this out of kindness, right?"
The blonde chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Not one bit-de arimasu."
"It's a personal reason, and it'd be a pain if you're dragged into it."
Lightning turned to gaze at the white-haired trainer standing at the pier nearby. "So long as she doesn't get hurt, I'm fine with it-de arimasu."
Scarlet let out a low sigh. Thank Arceus he hadn't pressed any further. Soon, a low sound from the train station nearby signified that it was time for the cowboy to say his goodbyes. Cramming his hat on his head, he ran up to his friend and embraced her tightly before giving Scarlet's hand a rapid shake and running into the awaiting train.
"Clay's pokemon're tough broncos, White! Be sure to lasso 'em in with super-strong moves-de arimasu!" He called as he stuck his head out the nearest window.
"Thanks Gil! Good luck in your gym battles and let's battle again sometime!" the girl replied with a smile and waved while Lightning pulled a face.
"Get it right already-de arimasu..."
Scarlet walked up to the train and looked up at the cowboy with his usual scowl. "Don't get me wrong, I'm only gonna say this cos you're White's friend and Jolteon told me to."
"Nya...?"
Clutching the bandana tied around his neck, Scarlet pulled Lightning closer and put a mouth close to his ear. "Be careful of Team Plasma. If they find out that you busted their hideout, rest assured that they'll come for you. FYI they've got some strong members and it seems like they hate humans in general so they won't hesitate to kill you. Got it?"
Grinning, Lightning pulled back and tipped his hat. "White was right, you're pretty tsundere-de arimasu," he remarked with a laugh. At that moment, the train started to move forward and Lightning took off his hat before waving it at them as his own farewell sign. "Don't worry about me-de arimasu!" he called. "Last time I checked, Lightning strikes but never gets struck-de arimasu!"
Scarlet rolled his eyes at the parting words while White jumped and waved at the disappearing train.
"Cheren called and said that Bianca's getting cranky from staying at the hotel. He asked us to give her some company when we're free," she stated and turned to face her coach with Igglybuff eyes. "Can we go? Please?"
Jolteon nudged at his master's legs and smiled up at him.
"You too?" the hunter deadpanned and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. But let's make it quick-"
"YAY!" White cut in and dragged Scarlet out of the train station with Jolteon running after them.
Lightning settled into his seat before pulling out his badge case.
"Maybe I should've challenged Elesa while I had the chance-de arimasu..." he muttered and snapped the case shut. Pocketing it, he gazed at the large map imprinted on the shiny walls. "Your sister's one tough cookie Black, but I'll get through to her for sure-de arimasu..."
"Excuse me, you're Lightning right?"
Turning his head to the side, he faced the man who had addressed him. Wavy hair framed the youngish face smiling at him and Lightning wondered why the young man's skin looked so pale. Beside him was an equally pale, disinterested-looking girl of 16 with curly strawberry-blonde hair, large headphones and the reddest irises he had ever seen.
"How did you know-de arimasuka?" the cowboy asked.
"We heard rumors that you put down Team Plasma in Nimbasa City," the man replied in a weird sing-song voice.
"I'm that famous already-de arimasuka?" Lightning chuckled and puffed up his chest in pride. "Well it's to be expected anyway. I am a hero after all-de arimasuka!"
Laughing, the man suddenly jerked forward and came nose-to-nose the unsuspecting cowboy. Is it me or is this guy's skin tone darkening-de arimasu?
"You're a hero alright," he started and opened his normally closed eyes slowly revealing blood-red eyes that made Lightning's hero senses tingle.
"A dead hero anyway..."
Author's Corner.
Slybill: Out with it White! Who's the guy?
Lightning: Yeah tell me so I can kill him-de arimasu!
Scarlet: That poor, poor man.
Violet and Aqua: Well?
White: It's...Edward...
Everyone: ELRIC?
White: No...Cullen...
Everyone:...
Lightning: Slybill, get me a shotgun.
Scarlet *puts on his gloves and grabs a dragon fang*: I wouldn't give my dog to Chip Sparklepants even if he paid me one million.
Burgh: First my sister and now White...this is one piece of art I'd like to paint with blood.
Slybill: Ed's not that bad. I don't really get why guys hate him so much.
Alphinia: Sly, that girl you've been crushing on for 7 years just called and said that she's getting hitched to that Cullen guy.
Slybill: ...
Draco: 3...2...1.
Slybill *put's on Light Yagami's smile*: Excuse me guys but I've gotta go write in my "special diary". BTW how d'you spell Robert Pattison.
Everyone: HE'S GOT A DEATHNOTE?