Chapter 9: A New Perspective

After resting for a couple of days Aoi was cleared to be released from the hospital. Luckily for him his mother wasn't notified of his condition because it wasn't very serious. Before he could leave he had to talk with the police about what happened.

"So let me get this straight kid you were attacked by team plasma and they even killed one of your Pokémon, and that if this roggenrola here hadn't jumped in you would be dead." Scoffed the first cop.

"Don'tcha know team plasma is a respected organization and are known for the peace demonstrations. You probably got hit on the head to hard. Next you're going to tell us that team rocket is back and that fairies exist." Laughed the second cop.

"If you're not going to tell us the truth then we can't help you. If you got nothing else to say then scram kid. We have more important things to deal with"

"Yeah your right officers I must be imagining things. I'm sorry for causing you trouble I'll take my leave now."

"At least you got manners kid unlike my partner here" Said the first cop as he slapped the back of his partner.

Aoi bowed and left the room as the two men started arguing. He made his way to the entrance way of the hospital and he found Eve there waiting for him.

"Yahoo Aoi! How are you doing?" she said waving her hand in the air

"I'm okay although I'm pretty disappointed in the Striaton city police force. Just because I'm not an adult doesn't mean they should think I'm lying." He said with a heavy sigh.

"Awwwh who cares about them what matters is your alright and you can continue your journey right."

"I guess you've got a point. Thank you Eve."

"Your very polite huh Aoi I'm sure Felicia would get along with you ahah. Anyway we should definitely do something about you clothes. I mean your shirt and pants are filled with holes and your jacket has blood on it." Aoi hadn't looked at himself but she was right he looked like he had been living on the streets for a while. Maybe that's why the cops didn't take me seriously Aoi thought to himself.

"I have some spare clothes in my ba-" Before he could finish Eve had taken his bag and started rummaging through it. "Hey what are you doing?!"

"Uggh this is all you have, another pair of jeans, two other plain shirts and a hat. Jeez Aoi are you a video game character or something. Quick put on some of your spare clothes and then I'm taking you somewhere special! I'll be in the shopping district so hurry ok" She tossed his backpack to him and started ran on ahead. Aoi found a restroom close by and quickly changed and with the help from a pair of gossiping housewives he found his way to the shopping district.

"Aoi over here!" Eve was jumping up and down in front of a store waving frantically.

"Sorry Eve I still don't really know this city that well. There were some nice old ladies who gave me some directions though. They mentioned something about a girl running into a pole I hope she's okay.

"A pole..ahaha I'm sure that they were just kidding …..Anybutt I bet you're wondering why we're here right! Well since you dress like a character from a Saturday morning cartoon I thought we could fix that problem"

"Ohh is there really a problem with the way I dress?" he said very confused.

"Oh my gosh of course there is! First you don't have any clothes for the winter and summer seasons of Unova. Second how are people going to treat you when they see you wearing the same pair of clothes every day. Finally there's no way any girl would like you when you look as plain as a ditto."

"Well I can always take off my jacket and grab a pair of shorts when it gets hotter and some gloves and a beanie when its colder so I d-"

"Shush your crazy talk Aoi just because you're going on a journey doesn't mean you can look good while doing it. So for the next couple hours I'm gonna give you a crash course on fashion! I hope you're a good listening because I will totes be quizzing you at the end." For the next couple of hours Eve dragged him to several shops and lectured him endlessly on all the finer points of fashion. Showing him the difference between a sweater and a cardigan, how to accessorize, and most importantly color coördination.

"Alright my pupil I've taught you everything I know Aoi! Now for your final test I want you to put together an outfit that will make all the other boys green with envy and all the girls go crazy! If you manage to win than lunch is on me but if you lose then you're buying" She said snickering

"Well if were talking about a free meal on the line then there's no way I'll lose!" Aoi said all fired up. Determined to win he headed back to into the stores. Unfortunately for Eve he was a quick study and she gave him more than enough info to be a fashion guru. A half hour later Aoi walked out of the store decked out in brand new clothes. He was like a completely different person, and Eve almost didn't recognize him.

"Wow Aoi is that really you?!" she said completely stunned. He was wearing a pair of black Capri pants, a checker boarded belt with metal triangle buckle, suede boots, a black and white stripped hoodie, a dark grey blazer to go over it and a new backpack to top it all off. "I didn't think you'd be able to pull it off this well. Although you coulda gotten a little more colorful but it's still a very good look Aoi!

"Well its fall so I shouldn't go to crazy with the colors right plus that store didn't offer too much in the men's dept. so I couldn't do too much, but if I was a girl then I would've done much more color wise."

"OK OK there's no need to lecture me. You're still just a poliwag in the ways of fashion! Now since you did such a fantastic job I've decided to treat you to something special. Now come on let's go." She led him back towards the route 3 gate. "There's a really amazing crêpe stand here that I've wanted to try for a while but I've heard there really picky about who they serve and they will only serve cute couples.

"Wait a second. You did all of this just so you could get some crepes!" Aoi said with an extremely annoyed face

"Now now that's crazy honey ahah I couldn't possibly be the cutest girl in the world." Exclaimed Eve, she then got really close to him and whispered "please play along I promise I'll make it up to you later." Aoi let out a sigh and scratched his head a bit.

"Alright I'll do what I can but after this I want you to ask you some questions."

"Ok you've got yourself a deal!" As she said the she locked her arm with his and they proceeded to walk up to the restaurant.

"My my what is it we have here? I don't think I've ever seen a couple quite like yourselves around these part. Where are you two from?" Asked the waiter who was cleaning the patio area.

"Hahaha I'm from Nuvema town." Giggled Eve

"And I'm from Pallet Town in the Kanto region sir." Aoi said with a little bow

"Mmhm can't say I've heard of there. That reminds me have you two heard of this place where it all about fashion and supposedly each town is known for having their own specialized boutiques. Oh it would be amazing to live in such a beautiful place like that. My apologies where are my manners, where would you like to sit and can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"It's quite alright sir outside is fine and can we get some tea please." The waiter led them to a table and handed them some menus and walked off to get their drinks.

"Wow I didn't know you were from Kanto. Isn't that like really far from here? She asked curiously

"Yeah i am but more importantly it's your turn to answer some questions. First off since your from Nuvema town then you know Cheren and Bianca right?

"Yeah I don't think there is anyone in Nuvema town who doesn't know them well at least among the kids that is.

"Okay do you know who Aya Arc is?"

"Sure why do you ask?"

"How well do you know her? What is she like?"

"Well I've known her since I was little really. She is pretty out going, fun-loving and always seems to have a smile on her face. If I remember correctly she moved away for a bit because of her parent's research."

"Mmhmm has she ever been in any fights or hurt anyone maybe?"

"Let's see…..Aya always had a knack for getting into trouble and into fights but it's not because she was a bad kid. Usually it was because she was trying to protect someone who was being picked on."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"About 6 months ago if I remember correctly I believe she started her journey at the end of April"

"Did she ever mention anything about the time she was away?"

"No not that I remember at least. I mean she just kinda came back and it was like she never left."

"Ok one more question. What color are her eyes?"

"Her eyes?! That's a really weird last question but whatever. Their green. You're really weird Aoi but your kinda fun to haha."

"Aren't you at all curious why I'm asking about her?"

"Not really I'm sure you have your reasons but it's not my place to ask"

"If I told you the reason I was almost killed in Wellspring Cave was because of Aya would you believe me?!"

"Mmhm I dunno that seems like a stretch but I'm not gonna call you a liar because what kind of friend would I be."

"I'm still not sure myself if it was here because she was wearing a cloak and it was pretty dark in there but what's bothering me is that when I knew her eyes were a bluish grey and when I saw her the other day they seemed to be glowing red…" with a pale look on his face.

"Was there anyone else there?"

"Team plasma.."

"Well it's simple Aoi! If you really want to find out if that was her or not then you need to follow team plasma around. I'm sure you're bound to see her again if you keep hanging around them haha."

"Yeah maybe your right. Thanks Eve for everything really."

"Awwh no problem what are friends for."

"Well how about we forget all this serious talk and let's enjoy some delicious crepes" she said with a huge smile on her face. After getting their crepes Eve said she had to go take care of something and that he shouldn't wait up for her and to watch out for the thick dark grass because that's where stronger Pokémon liked to hang out and it was much easier to get swarmed by more than one Pokémon in there. After parting ways with her he started heading towards Nacrene city.

-Chapter 9 End-