N
"What's going on?"
Cheren sighs. "By any chance, did any of you see the news this morning?"
"Sort of," Andrea thinks. "It was about something Team Plasma did a few days ago…"
"Well, it looks like they're doing it again. They're setting something up on the grassy knoll right outside."
"Oh my Arceus!" Bianca exclaims. "So that's what the preparations were for…"
All conversations in the café stop, with everyone clearly curious about what Cheren is saying and why Team Plasma is in their town. Cheren, noticing the attention he'd unintentionally attracted, motions for his friends to leave the restaurant. Cheren easily continues his conversation, as if he had never been interrupted in the first place, once they are outside.
"It's not the best idea for you guys to be seen—or for anyone to be seen with you, for that matter—after that stunt Andrea pulled, but I knew you wouldn't listen to me," Cheren sighs. "Besides, you wouldn't have had much of a choice…I saw some of the Plasma members walking into the apartment complexes to bring people outside."
"Shit man," Hilbert murmurs in between bites of his meal. "They can't just do that."
"Literally; that's like, illegal…probably," Bianca adds, sounding unsure of herself as her train of thought ended.
"Does it look like they care about the rules? I mean, they were blocking the exit for Arceus' sake…" Andrea scoffs while petting Kai in a comforting manner.
Cheren frowns. "It looks like a crowd is slowly being formed. I'm sure if we lay low, with the amount of people there are now, we won't be noticed."
"Screw it," Hilbert huffs, dramatically placing his hands on his hips. "Let's go."
The ensemble looks uncannily like an outdoor reenactment, with people dressed as knights sanctimoniously hanging up mysterious banners resembling that of a nationalistic kingdom of the past. An air of sublime sacredness, pervades the atmosphere, causing the citizens of Accumula town to question the true motives and nature of this strange, cult-like organization. People try to dismiss the pervasive feeling of uneasiness as voracious curiosity.
The cause of all feelings of apprehension, though, can be traced to a tall, green-haired man dressed in ornate robes. He stands out amongst the knights clad in gray uniforms as a figure who conjures power and respect. He coldly gazes down upon the town detached, calculating, analyzing, and manipulating variables the way one would do to an equation.
"Lord Ghetsis."
The addressed man continues to study the crowd for a moment until, at his own determined pace, turning toward the voice's source. Giving no other indication that he had acknowledged one of his underlings, he remains quiet and awaits her continued response.
"The problem we spoke of earlier is here," She curtly gestures towards a certain crowd member.
He forcefully sighs and slowly closes his eyes, exasperated by the pathetic attempt to be subtle. Finally, he looks in the direction pointed out and spots a group of young teenagers. He is easily able to pinpoint the individual his subordinate was referring to.
He scoffs. "A mere child…"
There is a succinct pause. It isn't the physical description that made the young girl identifiable; no, it is a fire within her that was to be reckoned with. It is dangerous, but if harnessed and groomed to his benefit, it could be not only promising, but a powerful weapon.
"She is of no concern."
He glances over at his underling, who meets his gaze with a face of frustration. How curious…
"Is that all?"
"Yes, Lord Ghetsis," She walks away and stands herself among the ranks in front of him.
"Hey, I don't want to sound paranoid, but…" Andrea trails off, "Is it just me, or did that Plasma woman from earlier just point me out to the man in the robe?"
"Hm?" Bianca looks up from the floor and scans the grassy knoll until her gaze lands on the robed man. His piercing, red irises, are locked ahead. "I mean, I wasn't really paying attention, but it does seem like he's looking in this direction…"
"How do you know he's looking at us?" Hilbert asks. "If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of people around us…Speaking of which, there's more people who live here than I thought there would be."
"But it's the same person dressed like a knight from earlier…"
"Well, you'd better hope they're not looking over here," Cheren bluntly retorts.
The remaining townspeople join the crowd after being lead out of the café by Team Plasma members. Silence eerily hangs in the air for an eternity. Then, a uniformed man, who stands in the center of the knighted ranks, steps to the side. The ominous man robed in strange insignias steps forward with refined arrogance.
"My name is Ghetsis. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I am here representing Team Plasma, an organization devoted to making the world a better place for pokémon."
Murmurs arose from the crowd: "Isn't the world already a great place for pokémon?" "How would we do that?"
Hilbert leans over to Andrea and whispers, "Is that the big boss they were talking about?"
"Seems like it," Andrea whispers back. "The big boss, huh?"
"Now, I'm sure you are wondering how to go about achieving such a goal. The only answer," Ghetsis' voice booms, "The answer the pokémon so rightly deserve, is liberation.
The crowd continues to speculate: "Liberation?" "What the hell does that mean?"
"I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. It has become a fact of life," Ghetsis states, "However...Is that really the truth simply because it is of the norm? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans only assume that this is the truth?
"Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers who view them as unfeeling tools; they get pushed around when they are said to be our "partners" at work. Our culture, that glorifies the abuse of pokémon, is destructive; it observes the lifelong abuse pokémon suffer at the hands of their trainers through rose colored glasses. We are here to reveal the unfortunate truth. Trapped in poké balls, pokémon are forced to fight one another for the selfish desires of Trainers. If they are not pitted against each other, they are being experimented on, unable to roam free, or used as tools for work or entertainment. Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?"
Andrea stares ahead. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…he…has a point."
Cheren gapes at her, "No way. I've known you to be a bit…different, when it came to these things, but…really, Andi?"
Ghetsis glances over at Andrea. He wonders if she regretted her earlier threat because she looks conflicted; troubled, even. Clearly, she is at least somewhat convinced by his words. Yes, this could be interesting.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. They are living beings who are intelligent and sentient. Tell me, what is our responsibility toward these wonderful beings called pokémon?"
The crowd continues to buzz like Combee: "Liberation?" "No way, I'll be way too lonely without my pokémon!" "It can't be…"
"That's right! We must liberate the pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and pokémon truly be equals. Pokémon exist for their own reasons and are not ours to use. Ladies and Gentlemen, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention."
Team Plasma left just as suddenly and peculiarly as they came. The crowd is left abandoned in a state of confusion and distress. They begin to talk amongst themselves, debating, justifying themselves, and trying to make sense of Team Plasma's mission.
"That was yet another of Team Plasma's infamous speeches regarding pokémon liberation," A reporter from afar declares. "As you can see, the onlookers have been significantly affected by Team Plasma's presentation, as they remain in the Accumula Plaza to discuss what they should do."
Andrea wonders if the reporters and cameramen were here from the beginning, and if they were, why she hadn't noticed them before. She mostly hoped she wouldn't get approached for an interview.
"What an odd proposition…" Cheren remarks, hand stroking his chin as to resemble a stock thinking pose. "Why would anyone want to separate humans and pokémon? Trainers and pokémon help each other out!"
"I can't help but wonder the same thing, young man," The owner of the café replies. Soon, many of the townspeople were joining in on their conversation.
"Separation, huh…" Andrea hums in thought, "Now that you say it like that…His speech did sound rather forceful, even if I did agree with some of his points."
"I suppose it sometimes takes a Wake-Up Slap to get your point across," A young man interjects.
"If what he said is true," A woman remarks, "If pokémon really are unhappy with us…is it our job to release them?"
Andrea winces at the harsh word. "Release" always brought a painful image to her mind that pained her heart. "But wouldn't we be able to tell if pokémon are unhappy?" she inquires. "Releasing my oshawott…it not only would hurt me, but I can only imagine it would hurt him as well."
Kai mewls in agreement.
"Yeah!" Bianca chimes in. "I think everyone knows that love is what's important in our relationships with pokémon!"
Eventually, the crowd slowly dissipates as people realize they cannot answer their own questions.
"I heard someone on this one television show saying that because there are different ideas, disputes will arise…" Hilbert comments. "But my aunt says that because there are different ideas, the world will grow…I guess they're both right. Point is, people are always gonna have different ideas," Hilbert concludes.
"Well said," Cheren remarks.
Andrea and her friends remain silent for a while; not even Bianca could think of anything to say to break the silence or change the subject.
"You know, I just remembered something my father often told me," Andrea begins. "He told me to always appreciate pokémon because they do everything in their power for people. Most people, I hope, love their pokémon and treat them with strong affection. That's what my dad thought human's mutual relationship with pokémon was.
"I suppose that's one of the reasons why I only want to catch pokémon for the purpose of friendship," Andrea continues. "My parents believe in the pure love between people and pokémon and I want to, too…"
Bianca smiles. "That's really sweet. I'm definitely gonna spend some more bonding time with my pokémon and give them lots of love!"
"One thing's for sure," Hilbert says. "This speech is making me rethink my relationship with my pokémon."
Cheren nods. "Agreed."
Andrea squats down to be closer to her oshawott. She lays her hand on his head. "Kai, you'd let me know if you were unhappy…somehow, you'd find a way and let me know…right?"
Kai squeals and urgently waves its hands in the air.
"He looks like he's trying to tell you something!" Hilbert exclaims.
Andrea sighs, simply watching Kai as he continues wildly gesturing and chirping.
"I'm not sure what you're saying, buddy, but I won't let people separate us…I promise."
He suddenly leaps into Andrea's arms and starts purring.
"Oh my Arceus," Bianca whispers, "That's sooo cute."
Andrea, too absorbed in cuddling Kai, doesn't notice the large shadow that hovers over her. Cheren, Hilbert, and Bianca certainly notice, though, and stare curiously at its source.
"Your Oshawott…just now, he was saying…"
Andrea looks up at the owner of the unfamiliar voice. The tall young man with long, green hair, gazes down at her with shock in his eyes. He is only a few years older than Andrea and her friends, but he seems to give a foreign knowledge of the mysterious and supernatural. He talks quickly, with a sense of urgency, as if his words will be snatched away from him if he spoke too slowly. Andrea feels a profound sense of déjà vu upon seeing him—he nags at her consciousness in a nostalgic and frustrating way, like she was trying to recall a word caught at the tip of her tongue.
She picks up Kai and stands up, slowly, and looks him in the eye, trying to recall a previous encounter with him to fill the lacuna in plaguing her memory. He is caught off guard by her scrutiny and flinches a little. He looks to the side uncomfortably.
"Slow down; you talk too fast," says Cheren, breaking the unusual silence where Andrea's response should have, and usually would have, been.
The young man sighs. "I said-"
"Have we met before?" Andrea blurts out.
"I...don't believe so," He replies warily, "Anyways, I was saying that your pokémon was saying something quite intriguing…" His pace of speech barely changes.
"My pokémon…was…talking?"
"Yes, of course he was." He is quick to reply, "Do you mean to tell me that you cannot hear them?"
"Uh...I guess not?" Andrea spares a backwards glance to her friends to exchange looks of disbelief and mockery.
He sighs. "It seems that most people are unable to hear the beautiful voice of pokémon…It's unfortunate that you can't hear them, either. It really is sad, especially because of what your Oshawott—"
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Andrea once again interrupts, unnerved by the stranger's odd demeanor and nagging familiarity.
The young man inhales deeply and closes his eyes in an attempt to quell his irritation at Andrea's brusqueness. He then opens his eyes and looks at her solemnly. "My name is N."
"Huh. Alright, then. Nice to meet you, N," Andrea holds her hand out for him to shake. He stares at it for a moment, as if analyzing every feature of her hand, before firmly shaking it.
Hilbert chuckles. "What kind of name is that?!"
Andrea turns around, puts her hands on her hip, and glares at Hilbert. "Was that really necessary?"
It is apparent, however, than Andrea is trying to push down a smile. She can feel laughter bubbling up to her chest, threatening to spill over.
"Hi N!" Bianca interrupts in hopes of averting Andrea's thoughts and squashing the laughter that threatened to burst out at any moment. Bianca was raised to be courteous (even as a toddler, adults always commended her manners), so she is worried about being rude to the young man. "I'm Bianca, and these are my friends Hilbert, Cheren, and Andrea!" She motions to each one of them.
N only glances at them momentarily before returning his attention to Andrea and her oshawott. "Andrea, hm?"
Andrea quickly turns around and met his intense gaze. His eyes are starry, filled with curiosity and fascination. Despite the icy color of his eyes, they are lit with an unworldly flame.
She tears her eyes away from his, unable to handle the tension. "Yup, that's me…"
"So where are you guys from?"
"We're from Nuvema! It's right down Route 1," Hilbert exclaims, pointing over his shoulder to demonstrate his point.
"Hm. I haven't heard of it."
"No one really has." Andrea shrugs. "I'm surprised we're still on the map."
"Yeah! We're like, in the middle of nowhere..." Bianca pouts.
"Interesting."
"I suppose we're on the map not only because there is a convenient trail connecting Nuvema to Accumula, but also because it's the hometown of Hilbert's father," Cheren comments.
"Oh yeah!" Hilbert grins with pride. "You've heard of Harvey Douglas, right?"
"Can't say I have," N replies, seemingly disinterested.
"Really?" Cheren stares at him with wide eyes. "Harvey Douglas, "The Unwavering Striker," the renowned fighting type gym leader of Aspertia?"
N remains silent, so Cheren continues. "He was—no, he is—iconic!"
"We get it, Cheren, you had a huge crush on my dad," Hilbert chuckles.
Cheren ignores him. "Honestly, he had enough skill to become an Elite Four member—dare I say he was so good at battling he could have been the Champion if he wanted to! That's what I don't get; he just quit his job, moved to stodgy Nuvema, stayed there, and wast—"
"I find it hard to admire someone who exploits the vulnerability of pokémon and uses them for something as barbaric as battling," N interrupts.
"Hey!" Hilbert yells, and makes his way towards N. Cheren and Andrea fight to hold him back. "Don't you dare—"
"Hilbert! Calm down!" Bianca cries.
He stills, shrugs Andrea and Cheren off of his arms, and glowers at N.
"Whatever. I don't wanna be near this freak anymore."
He menacingly glares at N for a second longer until he storms off to the pokémon center. Silence plagues the four remaining teens.
"Anyways, where are you from, N?" Bianca asks, attempting to lighten up the atmosphere.
N stiffens. "Far away…"
Bianca giggles. "Well, ok, but where exactly?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Andrea presses.
"Drea!" Bianca gasps, afraid of creating more tension. "You can't just ask that!"
"Oh. Sorry."
"Anyways," Cheren begins, also wishing to avoid conflict with a stranger, "we left our hometown to become trainers, explore Unova, and complete the Pokédex for Professor Juniper. My main goal is to become the Champion, though."
"The Pokédex, huh?" N questions.
Bianca smiles. "Yup! Professor Juniper gave them to us to help her research! Pretty neat, huh?"
"No."
Bianca's eyes widen in panic. "O-oh, umm..."
"That means you're going to confine many, many pokémon in poké balls for the purpose of research. I'm a trainer too…" N's face twists at the thought, as if he were swallowing bitter medicine, "...but I can't help but wonder…Are pokémon really happy that way?"
Bianca's stomach flips in embarrassment. A thoughtful yet uncomfortable silence hangs in the air.
"H-Hey, now that I think about it, that kinda reminds me of something Drea said earlier," Bianca remarks, desperately wanting to shift the spotlight away from her.
Andrea turns to Bianca, eyes wide and scolding. She, after witnessing Hilbert's lividity, doesn't want N triggering some deeply repressed feelings she had towards her absent father.
N set his curious gaze back onto Andrea. "Is that so?"
"Uhhh…" Andrea awkwardly looks to the side, feeling N's eyes burn into her. She warily continues, "So, like, my friends and I created a game to see who could catch the most pokémon on Route 1. I wasn't completely comfortable with the idea because my parents told me that I should only catch pokémon for the purpose of lifelong friendship. Even if the Professor encouraged me to catch pokémon for the Pokédex, it just…" she trailed off, struggling to voice her thoughts. "I don't know. It just didn't feel right."
N stares at her for a moment in fascination. "I didn't think trainers like you existed."
"That's...hard to imagine," Andrea laughs uncomfortably, astonished and embarrassed at his remark.
He smiles. "It's clear you care about how pokémon feel. I went on a journey to enact my dreams and see if my ideals are strong enough, but…you're already confusing me. I can't understand how a trainer who can't hear pokémon could feel the way you do."
"Uh...thanks?" She hears Cheren and Bianca whispering and whips her head around, glaring accusingly at them. What were they saying now?
She jumps up in shock as N lays both of his hands on her shoulders and leans down to meet her eye to eye.
"Andrea, please let me battle you. I want to hear your oshawott's voice again. I need to understand."
"What the—" She exclaims, instinctively shoving his hands off his shoulders and backing away. She defensively crosses her arms and shifts her weight to her right hip. "There's a thing called personal space, you know…"
His eyes widen. "Oh, I'm sorry…"
Andrea squints.
What the hell is up with this guy...Can't he recognize social cues?
Andrea drifts off to the imaginary zone of her mind, forming an image of herself shaking her head as if she were arguing with herself.
For all you know, he could just be a creep!
He looks at her with a face full of confusion. The trace of guilt evident in his eyes reflects itself onto Andrea, and his regretful frown touches her as if she was looking at a lost lillipup; she tries to squash the sense of culpability that now pervades her conscience.
Yeah, he's just weird.
She sighs. "Whatever, it's fine."
His visage brightens at her statement. Nothing is said between the two for quite a bit. Despite his odd idiosyncrasies, insensitivity towards Hilbert's late father, and her previous brashness towards N, she can't help but want to figure N out. If that meant getting to know him better, then so be it. He provokes her curiosity, the very same kind of curiosity she felt when dreaming of her adventure of a trainer: both seemed untouchable, like they held the very secrets to life.
"So? What do you say?"
Andrea pulls herself back to reality and looks into his curious eyes.
Oh, right, the battle!
"Wait…" Andrea frowns in confusion, recalling his pathos-charged statement about Hilbert's father. "A battle? You're ok with that?"
"Of course not," N says, as if it is the most obvious piece of knowledge in the world. "As I've previously stated, the whole idea of trapping pokémon and using them for battles sickens me."
"Then why do you do it?"
"I must test my ideals. By hearing the voices of pokémon in battle, I'll be reaffirmed of how tormented they truly feel. I also cannot help but wonder," N pauses, as if rearranging his thoughts into a logical order. He analyzed the order of his words, the way they were said, how they were said, to see which formula best suited his purpose: to explain himself. To reaffirm that, yes, he must do this to save the pokémon.
"Why do trainers find battles entertaining if the goal behind battling involves pokémon being harmed?" He continues, his thoughts rushing out like a flood breaking through a dam. It seems that no matter how hard he tried, his formulas couldn't account for his passion overriding his carefully plotted out thoughts. "Why do some pokémon appear to enjoy battling if they are inevitably harmed? Furthermore, why do some pokémon seem to love the trainers that force them into battles? These are the questions I must find the answers to. So, I implore you to battle me. Please."
Andrea, Bianca, and Cheren stare at him in shock. His passion rivals that of Team Plasma's, and something about it seems more powerful and quixotic.
Andrea is the first to shift out of her incredulous expression. She mockingly sighs in a melodramatic and showy manner. "If you insist," Her demeanor changes within seconds, as a devious smirk stretches across her face. "I'm pretty strong, though, so you'd better watch out."
Bianca, and even Cheren, jeer, "Ooohhh!"
N holds up a poké ball to his face, seemingly whispering something to it, before wordlessly tossing it out. A purrloin comes out, sitting primly and licking its paw.
"Alright Kai, let's go! Let's try water gun; I think you can do it!"
"Purrloin, use scratch."
Purrloin scarcely evades the jet of water. Nonetheless, it pushes forward and delivers a sharp scratch to Kai's torso.
"Watch out Kai, his purrloin is fast!" Andrea warns. Kai chirps in response.
N stares in awe. "More! Let me hear the voice of your pokémon!"
As the fervent battle continues, Cheren and Bianca talk among themselves about the mysterious N.
"He must be a Plasma sympathizer. He talks just like them."
"Oh wow, you're right Cheren," Bianca replies.
"Something else seemed off about him though…" Cheren ponders. "It seems like he has a lot to hide."
"Yeah! It's really weird he wouldn't tell us where he's from," Bianca says.
Cheren nods. "I don't know what it is about him but…something about him is very foreboding. How is he able to understand pokémon anyways?"
"I just think he's mysterious…in a kind of handsome way!" giggles Bianca.
"Bianca, he has to be much older than you," Cheren retorts, crossing his arms and staring ahead at the battle.
"Gosh Cheren, it's not like he's, like, 30!" Bianca huffs after having racked her mind for what she deemed an old age. "He's probably not even 20. And it's not like I'm gonna go out with him...I just think he's cute. Geez."
Cheren says nothing. Bianca joins him in silently observing the intense battle. The pokémon become blurs of color, zipping back and forth as they try to land a hit. Gravel flies up from the ground as Kai skids to a stop after tackling N's purrloin to the ground. N's arms fly up over his face. He commands purrloin to jump up and attack Kai from the air. His gestures and words are stiff and flat; he is clearly uncomfortable.
Andrea, on the other hand, is effervescent. Everything comes naturally, from the way her arms flow as she points out attacks, to the quickness of her reactions, to the strength of her voice, to the sparkle in her eyes, to the identically vibrant and confident smile she shares with Kai.
"Also, how could he not know trainers who care about pokémon existed?" Cheren asks no one in particular. "We may not be like Andi, but we're not cruel." He attests.
Bianca nods in agreement.
"Kai, use tackle!" Andrea exclaims.
Purrloin, too weak to dodge the decisive blow Kai delivers, wobbles for a second, but before it faints, N lunges down to catch it in his arms. Bianca looks at Cheren in this conclusive moment. His mouth hangs slightly agape his eyes unblinking, as if something in the battle had delivered a life-changing epiphany.
"Thank you, my friend," N murmurs before returning it to it's poké ball.
As Andrea praises Kai for a job well done, N returns Purrloin to its poké ball and walks over to the girl.
"I never expected a pokémon to say such things…My formulas never anticipated such an outlier. Kai is your oshawott's name, correct?"
Andrea nods with curiosity, a smile still wide on her face from the leftover high of a well-earned victory. N gingerly holds out his hand toward Kai's head. Andrea flinches at his nearness, causing N to look curiously at her. He seems oblivious to the fact that his hand is very close to her neck. Kai nuzzles his cheek into N's hand, and Andrea relaxes and smiles.
"It's obvious that he likes you," N notes.
"That's good to know," Andrea replies.
"Yes. It comforts me to have met a trainer that has such a touching bond with their pokémon. But…" He sighs. "Pokémon will never become perfect beings as long as they are confined in poké balls. I have to change the world for pokémon, because they're my friends. It's the least I can do…"
Perfect beings? What does he mean?
"I find myself wanting to know your beliefs, Andrea," said N.
"Really?" Andrea exclaims hopefully. Finally, after years of enduring weird stares from her friends and nostalgic, melancholic replies from her mother, there might be someone to talk to. She is finally meeting new people with new beliefs! This is so exciting!
He nods. "There's something about you that makes you stand out in this disorienting world…"
Andrea, at a loss for words, forces out an awkward, "Thanks."
"I'm afraid I must be on my way, now."
"I want to hear more about your dreams, too!" Andrea suddenly sputters, afraid that she will never see him again. She is conflicted about wanting to get to know him better—he's a stranger. He's weird. But he's different. He could be someone to learn from.
N seems taken aback by her response for a millisecond. It seems so unlike the childish, rash girl he had characterized upon first meeting her. Thinking of her response again, he smiles and nods resolutely. "I look forward to it. Until we meet again, Andrea."
"Bye," Andrea warily waves him off.
The trio of young teens silently watch N walk towards the setting sun and out of Accumula Town.
"He was, uhm...different," Bianca euphemizes. Andrea winces in response, as if in reluctant agreement.
"That was very unusual," agrees Cheren, "If he believes keeping Pokémon in poké balls is cruel, then why does he do so himself? Why would he want to, as he puts it, subject pokémon to pain just to quell his curiousity?"
Bianca waves her hand in front of Andrea, who is staring off into the distance. "Helloooo, earth to Drea…"
Andrea harshly blinks and then turns to face her friends. "Right…er, sorry for spacing out."
"It's fine, it happens to me all the time," Bianca grins.
"So," Cheren says, "I suggest we get some dessert from the café and relax at the pokémon center."
Bianca gasps and bounces up and down on the balls of her feet. "Yes! I am so getting that slice of pecha berry pie! Then again, the lum berry sorbet sounds pretty good too...ohhh, I can't choose...well, the sorbet would probably melt, so...Oh! I totally saw Hilbert eyeing the chocolate lava cake, so we've gotta buy him one!"
Cheren is so entranced by Bianca's excitement that he doesn't notice that Andrea has gone back to wistfully gazing at the sunset.
The quartet contentedly eats their desserts from to-go boxes as they watch a silly reality show about contest stars.
"This is terrible," Cheren sighs. "How can this be considered entertainment?"
"Oh, come on, you totally like it!" Andrea teases. "I saw you smiling just a couple minutes ago."
"I will admit that the sheer gaudiness and stupidity of it is rather amusing."
They continue to watch the show with vacant interest. Andrea finds herself distracted by thoughts of the day's events, though; she especially thinks about the mysterious young man they met.
"You know, I swear I've seen N somewhere before...he looks so familiar."
Hilbert stabs his lava cake at the mention of his self-proclaimed and newly sworn nemesis.
"Is that so?" Cheren replies. "I feel the same. Hmm…"
Everyone stays quiet as they wait for Cheren's breakthrough. They could see it happen; his eyes light up and a proud smile graces his face, and his whole figure perks up. It had become a signature reaction of his.
"Ah! That's it!"
"What?" Bianca asks excitedly.
"He was on the news this morning!" Cheren grins.
"You're right!" Andrea exclaims. Images of the green haired man passionately speaking to the news reporter flashes through her mind. How could she forget? It really has been a long day.
"But...that's not it…" she frowns and furrows her eyebrows in deep thought.
"I'm confused. Was he on TV or not?" Hilbert bitterly questions, unable to contain his curiosity.
"No, he was, but...there's something else...like, I've met him before, somewhere else, somehow…" Andrea groans in frustration. "Ugh, I feel like some memory of him is right out of my reach and—"
Ring, ring
Andrea immediately stops talking. She lunges at her bag for her cross-transceiver, knowing that it can only be her mom.
"Hey Mom, what's up?...I'm on the news?"
Andrea's eyes widen, signaling for her friends to change the channel. Hilbert quickly does so and finds one of Unova's most renowned news stations. Footage of Ghetsis' speech plays as a "Breaking News" banner scrolls across the bottom of the screen.
"Mom, it's just the back of my head…Oh yeah, can you believe that just happened today? Team Plasma must be getting pretty important if they're getting more immediate news reports…No mom, I didn't do anything reckless…"
She looks over to her friends and holds her finger up to her lips. She ignores Cheren as he rolled his eyes.
"Haha, that's silly, he couldn't have been…Relax Mom, don't worry about me…I love you too. Goodnight."
"Hey, I can see myself!" Bianca exclaims, pointing to a poofy green hat popping out from a crowd of heads.
Andrea joins her friends on the floor in front of the TV. "My mom's so paranoid; she thought that robe guy was looking at me too!"
"Arceus, that guy gives me the creeps," Hilbert shudders. "Are all plasma people creeps?"
Sensing that no one is interested in the news report anymore, Andrea flips the channel back to the reality TV show.
"Hey Drea, can I talk to you for a sec?" Bianca asks. "Outside, maybe?"
"Sure," Andrea blinks, wondering what was wrong. Could it be about her dad?
As soon as the girls left, Cheren and Hilbert begin tossing ideas back and forth of what the girls could be talking about. They give up after Cheren suggests they might be discussing Anistar's pregnancy scare on The Sweethearts of Hearthome. Hilbert tries to explain that girls don't say 'I need to talk to you alone' for that sort of thing, but Cheren honestly [doesn't] see why not.
Hilbert then proceeds to ask what happened with N after he left. Cheren obliges to divulge in precise, scientific detail.
"What a fucking freak," Hilbert continues to stab what little remained of his dessert.
"Do you really have such a primitive grasp of language that you must resort to curse words?"
"Shut the fuck up, Cheren."
Cheren sighs. "Are you mad at N solely because of what he said about your father? Or is there something else at play?"
Hilbert squints at Cheren. "What're you trying to say?"
"I'm only asking. You're very angry."
"No shit. But yeah; it's mostly because of what he said about my pops..."
Cheren raises his eyebrow. "Mostly?"
"That's all I'm gonna say...I'm sure you can figure it out with that genius IQ of yours," Hilbert retorts.
"I see."
The boys resume eating their desserts as they stewed in their own thoughts.
"Do you think that's what Andi and Bianca are talking about?" Hilbert wonders, not looking up from his punctured dessert. "N, I mean."
"It's probable, considering Andi was just talking about him. But who knows?" Cheren answers, looking over at Hilbert. "Girls are mysterious beings."
"Why is she, like, so obsessed with him? She literally just met him and he was being all creepy and shit, so…"
"He's the only person she's met who has similar questions and concerns about the world," Cheren remarks. "She's been dying for this sort of philosophical discourse with someone; she wants more. I know this—she was like that as a toddler, always wanting to listen to her father criticize modern society, even if she didn't understand half of what he was saying.
"Furthermore," he continues, "She really bonded with N through battle; not quite sure how that works, but I could tell."
Cheren is proud of his assessment; he feels like he hit the nail on the head. But Hilbert says nothing back. Cheren sees no point in pursuing this conversation, so he stays quiet. This happens sometimes, and it can get a bit quiet when it's just the two of them.
"Hey, do you want to watch The Adventures of the Hoenn Rangers Co-existence Force instead?" Cheren asks.
"Oh hell yeah."
Bianca leads Andrea up a hill that overlooks the far off Striaton City.
"What a lovely view. You know, even though this town is boring, it sure is pretty," Bianca remarks, looking up at the starry sky. "Besides, a lot of stuff happened today."
"You can say that again." Andrea glances over at Bianca, wondering if she had already forgotten why they were here. "So what's up? Is everything ok?"
"Oh no, I'm fine," Bianca smiles. "I just needed to get some fresh air. Away from the boys."
"Oh. I feel that."
For a while they simply stare into the night sky, making wishes on all of the stars they could count. Andrea points out a swanna constellation to Bianca, which makes her ecstatic.
Out of the blue, Andrea asks, "What do you think of that N guy?"
"He's so mysterious!" Bianca gushes. "He was kinda weird too, but I guess everyone's weird in their own way."
"That's true. He really marches to the beat of his own drum."
"I think you do, too."
Andrea laughs. "I don't know if I should be offended, or—"
"Oh no, not at all!" Bianca waves her hands rapidly. "You do what you want, when you want. Sure, sometimes it gets you into trouble, but sometimes you don't. At least you're not letting anything or anyone stop you from doing what you want! And you always question things and think differently from a lot of people; that's pretty cool. Maybe that's why N really likes you…"
"Uh, what?"
"Wait! Let me explain," Bianca exclaims. "He was like, only talking to you and he couldn't stop looking at you!"
"Kai must've said something really crazy, then," Andrea smirks nervously.
"Come on, Drea! He was totally into you; like, he literally said that he wanted to get to know you better...That means he wants to see you again..."
Andrea scoffs. "What the hell Bianca. He's this random guy I just—"
"Oops, I didn't mean it like that!" Bianca giggles. "You got awfully defensive—"
"Don't."
"I mean I wouldn't blame you, he is pretty cute!"
Andrea brings her hands up to hide her face. "Oh my Arceus."
"Then again, you always get fired up really easily!"
Andrea pauses, regains her composure, and chuckles. "I know. About that...Sorry about earlier today with the Team Plasma jerks."
"It's ok."
For a while, they say nothing, comfortable in each other's silence.
"'Until we meet again', huh?"
"What?"
"That's what N said right before he left," Andrea looks out into the sky. "I wonder if we really will meet again. He was so passionate talking about pokémon; I'm curious to hear more from him…"
"I'm sure you will," Bianca smiles. "I think things happen for a reason. I'm a really firm believer in destiny."
"That's nice."
"Anyway, it's getting late. We should get back to our room," Bianca replies.
"There's nothing else you wanna talk about?"
Bianca shakes her head.
Andrea cocks her head to the side. "You sure?"
Bianca pushes her two forefingers together and stares intently at them. Andrea knows that when Bianca fiddles with her hands, it's because she's apprehensive.
"Well, today was pretty crazy…we all got our pokémon and all the stuff that was going on today with Team Plasma was weird…and kinda scary…"
She continues, "And…Well, maybe my dad's right. Maybe it's too dangerous a-and maybe I'm not strong enough. I mean, you can handle it, because, well...you're you."
"So? That doesn't mean you're not strong."
"But it does!" She huffs. "You're the strongest person I know. And I'm nothing like you…"
"Bianca."
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to go on this journey?"
"Of course!" She replies easily, with a childlike gleam in her emerald eyes. "It's my dream to travel and meet new pokémon."
"Then so what if you're not like me, and so what if you're not strong, whatever that means? You've gotta do what makes you happy!" Andrea exclaims fervently. "You can't live your life full of doubts and regrets. You can't give up your dreams because you're worried you won't be good enough. Fuck what anyone else thinks!"
Bianca gasps upon hearing the swear word.
"Ugh, sorry about that," Andrea says. "But you know what I mean, right?"
Bianca nods shyly.
"So? What are you gonna do?"
Bianca turns in the direction of the swanna constellation, her gaze transfixed on the arrangement of stars. She turns to Andrea, looking determined.
"I'm gonna keep going! And I'll have you and Cheren and Hilbert help me get stronger! And I'm gonna be happy!"
"'Atta girl!"
Bianca tackles Andrea into a tight hug. When she lets go, she looks admirably at Andrea, who is in the middle of a languid yawn. "Aww, you must be tired. Why don't we head back? I swear that's all I have to talk about, and it really is getting late."
Andrea nods and waits for Bianca to walk by her side before heading off.
"You'd make a good mom."
Bianca blushes. "Thanks, that's really sweet."
"Someday I'd love to be the Cool Aunt to your kids. I'm not sure how Cheren would feel about me watching over your kids, though."
Bianca tilts her head to the side. "What does Cheren—Ohh…"
Andrea starts cracking up.
"Y-You know, he probably wouldn't be too happy about it, even if their darling Uncle Hilbert were there to help you out!"
Andrea turns red. "How could you?!"
"Gotcha!"
The girls' flustered, unfettered laughter drifts through silent night of the slumbering town.
"Hey, if a tirtouga doesn't have its shell, is it naked or homeless?"
Cheren looks at him strangely. "Hilbert, how the hell did we go from talking about battle strategies to…this?"
"Think about it, though."
To Cheren's relief, before he got the chance to really think about it, the door of their room opens. The girls have returned with flushed cheeks and bright smiles. Oh Arceus, what were they laughing about this time?
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm calling it a day," Andrea announces, breathing out a sigh of exhaustion.
"I think I'm gonna hit the hay, too."
Andrea is the first to change into her pajamas, a tank top and shorts, and get into bed. She shares a bunk bed with Bianca, who wishes to sleep on the bottom bunk. When lying on their sides, they are directly across from Hilbert and Cheren's bunk bed. Andrea crawls onto the top bunk and barely avoids landing on Kai, who is sleeping at the foot of her bed. Thinking he is soundly sleeping, she slowly and carefully tucks herself in so she won't wake him.
Bianca, after finally finishing her nightly beauty routine, comes out of the bathroom in her frilly nightgown. She wishes everyone a good night and sweet dreams before turning off the lights.
Shortly thereafter, Kai sits up, crawls towards Andrea, and starts purring as he curls up next to her.
That night, Andrea dreams of her father and his rockruff.