The Dreamyard
Andrea awakes to a fuzzy reality, her dream-world of perfection fading away into nothingness as she feels movement by her torso. She turns onto her side, trying to sink herself back into slumber and resume her dream. She can't quite remember what it was about, but she knows she is intrigued—she has the feeling it was a lovely, heartening dream. She feels her dreamworld beckoning her to sleep, as if what her mind conjured was something important.
Upon realizing there's no way she'd be able to remember her dream, she reluctantly sits up and stretches her arms. Her oshawott jumps onto her back and perches himself onto her shoulder.
"Ready for another day, Kai?"
The otter pokémon chirps in response and gestures curiously over his partner's shoulder.
Andrea peeks over her shoulder and glances at the boys' bunk bed, only to find it abandoned. Curious, she climbs down the ladder and approaches their side of the room. Hilbert's backpack is still by the television, but Cheren's stuff is nowhere to be found. Andrea spins around to tell Bianca, only to find that she is still soundly asleep.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a folded up piece of paper on Cheren's pillow. Without thinking, she grabs the paper, quickly unfolds it, and eagerly scans its contents. Kai jumps from his resting place onto Andrea's shoulder. He stares at his trainer as she reads the note with the utmost concentration.
Andrea glances at her pokémon, scratches his head, and sighs. "Well, I guess that explains Cheren…But what about Hilbert?"
It is only when the sound of running water abruptly stops that Andrea realizes the sound had been present ever since she woke up.
Oh, he's taking a shower…
"No! Stop!" She scolds herself for letting her thoughts drift, and she hides her flushed face in her hands. Kai, confused at his trainer's odd behavior, attempts to pry her hands away from her face. Playing along, Andrea lets Kai have his way; the first thing she sees upon opening her line of vision is Kais wide face peering at her with concern. She chuckles at the displayed naïveté and sets Kai back at the foot of her bed. He whines at the loss of her hold.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll be right back; I just have to get dressed!"
Kai watches helplessly as his partner grabs her bag and squirms her way into the small closet of the hotel room.
No more than 10 seconds later, Kai hears the rustling of blankets from underneath him. He climbs down the bunk bed ladder and plops onto the bed of Bianca, who is slowly stirring out of her much needed sleep.
Andrea clumsily exits the closet with her backpack over her shoulder and her hat in her hand. It takes her a couple of tries to close the closet door, and when she finally does, she does so with a triumphant slam. Right as she puts on her cap, Hilbert walks out of the bathroom—fully dressed, thankfully—and is drying his damp hair with a white towelette.
"Oh, hey Andi," he approaches the girl.
"Morning!" She smiles, trying to ignore the flush that crawls up her face.
"Ready to finally embark on our journey?"
"Yeah!" She beams. Her excitement comes to a sudden halt, though, and her expression falls. "Hey, uh, do you know going on with Cheren?"
He shrugs. "All I know is that he took off. I was half-asleep when I saw him run out the door, so…"
"What are you guys talking about?"
The two jump at the intrusion to their conversation and briskly turn around.
"Bianca?!"
The blonde sits perkily in her bed with her legs crossed. Kai has settled into her lap and is already starting to doze off.
"Oh, silly me; where are my manners?" She languidly yawns. "Good morning guys! "
"Morning," Hilbert and Andrea respond in unity.
"So," Bianca carefully maneuvers Andrea's pokémon out of her lap, fluidly rises out of her bed, and joins her friends. "What's going on?"
Andrea wordlessly hands Bianca the folded up piece of paper she found on Cheren's pillow.
"Woah, what's that?" Hilbert asks, leaning over Bianca's shoulder.
"Hang on just a sec!" Bianca stiffens and clutches the note close to her chest. "Here, I'll read it out loud:
Friends,
I had an epiphany last night. I want to become the Champion; the strongest trainer one can be, if you will. If I want to achieve my goals in life, I have to be strong, but I must do this on my own.
I have left to travel Unova to complete the Pokédex and battle all eight gyms to grow stronger. If I move forward I'll be stronger, but I have to keep moving. I don't know when we'll see each other again, so I'm leaving you all with a piece of advice.
Hilbert: Man up. Don't let anything—or anyone, for that matter-get in the way of your dreams. I know you like to take risks, so what's stopping you from taking a chance in other facets of your life? You won't know the results of your actions until you execute them. Also, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about because you know perfectly well that we both know.
Andrea: Honestly, where do I begin…Please, don't get yourself into trouble anymore. I know I encouraged Hilbert to take risks, but there is a line to cross-and you have crossed that line so many times, especially regarding that whole mess with Team Plasma. If you somehow happen to run into them again, just please…don't get involved. Use common sense and don't be reckless!
Bianca: Stay strong. Even though it may not seem like it at times, I really do have faith in you. Believe it or not, you have a lot of potential. I sincerely hope you can find your dream someday. Try not to get caught off guard, ok? Use good judgment and don't do everything that Andi does just because she thinks it'll be fun. I know you're curious, but your safety is more important that whatever could possibly be going on. I would hate for something bad to happen to you...Just be careful, ok?
Best Wishes,
Cheren
Bianca wipes at her eyes. "That was so sweet of him…"
"Yeah, for you it was!" Andrea retorts, face red with frustration.
"He's so passionate about his dreams," Bianca continues. "I'm upset he won't be traveling with us, but…I'm happy for him. I know he can do it."
"Don't worry, we'll still have a good journey!" Hilbert says.
"Yeah!" Andrea agrees. "Actually, let's stop moping around and go out right now!"
"Yeah!"
"Hey, let me get changed first!" Bianca exclaims. With approval from Hilbert, she rushes into the bathroom with her travel bag.
Closing the door behind her, she sits on the cold tile floor and leans against the bathroom door. She wistfully reads Cheren's note once more and hastily tries to dry off a teardrop that landed on the note before putting it in the front pocket of her bag.
"I think we have to go this way!"
"No way, you're all turned around!"
After several days of trekking through hills and groves, Bianca is tired of getting lost. If it weren't for the small towns scattered between Accumula Town and Striaton City, where she could sleep under a roof, Bianca is certain she would've gone crazy because of Andrea and Hilbert's stubbornness. In fact, she currently is on the verge of going crazy because she hasn't been able to wash her clothes this whole time; she feels like a dead woman walking.
Bianca holds Kai, trying to calm the pokémon as she helplessly watches Andrea and Hilbert nearly tear apart Andrea's map.
"Guys, why don't we just ask someone?"
"No!" Andrea and Hilbert hastily yell.
Bianca sighs. She really doesn't understand why they can't just ask someone for help.
If only Cheren were here...He would know what to do to get us out of this mess...
"Well, how about we find another place to stay at for tonight?" She asks, "Like that one town we came across a couple days ago!"
"The problem is, these towns are so small that they aren't on the freaking map!" Hilbert groans. "Look: it just says "Route 2" and shows a path from Accumula to Striaton."
"If only it were that easy…" Andrea says. "All these trees are throwing me off…"
"So…which way should we go?"
"I don't know…"
In the near distance of the forest, leaves conspicuously rustle and voices murmur.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Andrea asks.
"Yeah! There are other people out here too! I'm sure they know the way to Striaton!" Bianca exclaims. "Let's go ask them!"
"W-We don't need help!" Hilbert defensively sputters. "But they probably just came from the city...so I guess it wouldn't hurt to walk in their direction."
Bianca is happy enough with that. "Let's go already!"
Andrea pockets the map and takes her guileless oshawott from Bianca's embrace. They jog towards the voices, circling around trees in desperation to find their owners in hopes of getting anywhere near civilization.
Hilbert, having jogged away from the girls, is the first to see four mysterious figures in the distance. His jaw drops in a mixture of shock and dread. He runs back towards Andrea and Bianca as fast as he could and urges them to quietly walk away.
"Hilbert, what's going on? You're white as a sheet…" Andrea notes.
"Shhh!" He holds his hand over her mouth. "Those voices you heard? Yeah, that was Team Plasma."
Bianca gasps. "Oh my Arceus."
Andrea tore Hilbert's hand off her mouth and gives him a gesture that promised she would be quiet. "What would they be doing in the middle of nowhere?"
"I don't know."
"Must be something important…" Andrea raises her eyebrow.
"Andi, no. We can't; it's way too risky," Hilbert hisses.
"What is?" Bianca questions, not picking up on the unspoken scheme.
"Eavesdropping."
"Ohhh…" Bianca puckers her lips in wonder. "Well, I am curious…"
Andrea grins and wraps her arm around Bianca. "Atta girl!"
"But…" Bianca interjects, "Cheren did say to be safe…"
Hilbert sighs. "Yeah, we should just go."
The cautious duo started to walk away.
"Wait!" Andrea loudly whispers, ready to throw caution to the wind.
Bianca and Hilbert turn around and look at her expectantly.
Shoot…Come on Andi, think!
Her face suddenly lights up. "The only way to find out if they came from the city or not…is to listen in…"
Bianca gasps.
"…and maybe," Andrea continues. "They'll give us a hint as to where Striaton is."
"Ohhh, please Hilbert?" Bianca begs. "Don't you just want to get to the city?"
"Yeah, but—" His train of thought is abruptly cut off as he looks down at Bianca. He shortly realizes doing so was a mistake. No one could say no to those baby doll eyes; it would be like saying no to a kid who wants to play a game of tag.
Bianca pushes him further. "Don't be a killjoy like Cheren!"
"Alright, alright!" He hisses. "Anyway, Andi does have a point…"
Andrea smiles confidently. "Alright Hilbert, lead the way!"
Slowly, and making sure not to step on any twigs or leaves, they carefully slink their way towards the quartet of Team Plasma members. They crouch behind a dense bush near a cluster of trees. Light shines through the heavy foliage, fully illuminating the faces of the Plasma members.
"Shit."
Hilbert turns to Andrea worriedly. "What?"
"Those two are the ones who were blocking the gate in Accumula Town."
Hilbert grimaces and prays to Arceus that they wouldn't be caught as they tune into the ongoing conversation.
"So, basically, you two are telling me that the whole operation was a failure," says the intimidating female grunt who had stood in the Accumula knoll merely a week ago.
"It's not quite like that…" A young male grunt nervously stutters.
"Care to explain yourselves, then?"
"Well first of all, getting into the Dreamyard was a job in and of itself…It's surrounded by a wall and the only entrance is blocked by a tree thing…And apparently your pokémon has to know a certain move in order to get around the tree, but your Pokemon can only learn it if you beat the Gym Leaders…"
She stares at him. "Are you serious?"
He chuckles nervously and rubs the back of his neck. "Well, yeah…Kinda silly huh?"
She groans. "Oh Arceus, you can't be that stupid…Please tell me you got around the tree nonetheless. Please don't tell me you actually battled the Gym Leaders."
"After a thorough debate with Jude here," He pauses to gesture to a boy standing next to him. "We more or less decided that it doesn't matter if your Pokemon knows the move…I mean, I guess you can just maneuver your way around the tree..."
"Yeah. You can."
"Ok, glad we're on the same page, Lizzie," he bashfully smiles and bit his lip.
"It's Elizabeth to you," The now identified woman retorts. "Are you done?"
"Ah, right," The boy quickly replies. "So then we ran into the problem of actually getting the dream mist…"
Bianca covers her mouth and repeatedly taps Andrea on the shoulder. "Drea," She whispers.
The addressed girl turned to her friend with her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity, silently urging Bianca to continue.
"Didn't Professor Juniper mention dream mist?"
"That's right!" Andrea's eyes widen. "Something about a friend of hers, huh?"
"Yeah…"
Elizabeth's harsh voice pierces through the monotone monologue of the Plasma boy, shattering the white noise he has unknowingly created for the unwelcome eavesdroppers.
"W-Well, to answer your question…" The male grunt stutters. "The problem was…well, the munna weren't giving us the Dream Mist."
"What do you mean?" The other male grunt who had guarded the exit from Accumula, standing next to Elizabeth, inquires.
"They just…weren't expelling dream mist. I don't know what else to tell you."
Lizzie scoffs. "Yeah, try saying that to Ghetsis."
The boy audibly gulps.
"We'll just have to use a more…" Lizzie pauses thoughtfully, "forceful approach, to get the Dream Mist, then."
The other Plasma boy's head shoots up, somewhat distressed. "Y-You don't mean…"
Elizabeth apathetically looks down at him. "Jude, honey, look...I get it; you don't want to bring any harm to pokémon. That's what Team Plasma is about. It's a great ideal and all, but…"
"But what?" Jude replies, without an inch of defiance in his voice.
"Sometimes, to change the world, you have to use a little force," Elizabeth explains. "If we want to save the pokémon, a few sacrifices have to be made. It's just the way things are."
"Oh, ok…"
"You wouldn't have known this, being just a grunt and a kid and all, but that's why I'm here."
A long moment of strained silence hangs above the Team Plasma members.
"So," the man next to Elizabeth finally breaks the silence. "I will abstain from sending the report to Ghetsis, but we have to find something soon."
"I can't believe you guys," Elizabeth growls. "I would normally be calling you two incompetent right about now, but I'm gonna give you guys another chance."
"Wow, thanks Li—Elizabeth!" The naive Plasma boy's eyes sparkle.
"Yeah…" She pauses to prominently roll her eyes. "Anyways, Christopher and I will be accompanying you on your next trip to the Dreamyard to show you how things are done. And because we're short on time…You're taking us back to Striaton right now, and as soon as we get there, we're going to the Dreamyard."
With that said, the quartet of Plasma members walk off into the distance.
"See?" Andrea says once the coast is clear. "Now we know how to get to Striaton! We just have to follow their footprints…"
"Yay!" Bianca squeals and tackles Andrea into a hug. "Thank you!"
"No prob."
"I'm sure I eventually could've figured that out on my own…" Hilbert attests.
"Suuurree," Andrea jeers.
"Whatever! Let's just go…"
Andrea, Bianca, and Hilbert finally reach a clearing. They see all of Striaton City from their vantage point. To Hilbert's embarrassment, they hadn't been too far from the city.
"Yes!" Bianca exclaims. Excitement rushes through her veins, which she releases through a series of squeals and giggles before sprinting downhill. Hilbert and Andrea run after her with their newfound energy.
"So, what are you guys thinking of doing once we get there?" Andrea huffs in between breaths.
"I'm definitely going to challenge the Gym, first thing!" Hilbert declares.
"What about you, Bianca?"
Bianca slows down to a brisk walk so that she can speak. "Well, I'll probably go shopping…I mean, it's a city; they have to have shops!"
Andrea laughs. "I'm sure they do."
"What are you gonna do, Andi?" Hilbert asks.
"I'm going to go see what Team Plasma's up to."
"Oh ni—Wait, what?!"
"Professor Juniper said she knows someone in Striaton studying Dream Mist and she asked Bianca and I to help her out. So, it would only make sense to go to the Dreamyard and kill two Pidove with one stone…"
"Oh my Arceus."
"And!" Andrea raises her eyebrows. "Get this: Team Plasma was obviously up to something shady. They don't seem like the type of people to be going on missions; I mean, they just give speeches, right? So what could they be up to? Besides, that one girl said something about hurting Pokemon! I can't allow that!"
How noble, Andrea sardonically mocks herself.
"You know what? You're right, Drea," Bianca confidently straightens her back. "I'll join you!"
"Bianca!" Andrea beams. "Thanks! Last chance, Hilbert: you in or not?"
"Like I said, I really wanna challenge the Gym."
Andrea frowns. "Oh alright…"
Hilbert feels a flush heat up his face. "I-It's not that I don't wanna hang out with you…I really admire your heroic...ness? But…I just don't think it's a good idea to get wrapped up with those weirdos."
"You're probably right…" Andrea looks down at the grass.
"But you're gonna do it anyways."
"Yup."
The Dreamyard is the type of place that could appear in a fairytale: the shadowy forest where princesses sing and villainous figures lurk in the dark. It is mythopoeic, shrouded in mystery; one can't help but ponder the origins of crumbling floors and stairs, shielded from the world by a concrete wall, and how their destruction came about.
Several trainers battle each other, and although Andrea wants to join in, she focuses on getting a glimpse of what Team Plasma was up to. She does want to battle someone other than Hilbert and Bianca, as they were who she battled most on their trip to Striaton. She enjoys watching them grow stronger, though; somehow, within that short period of time, her friends had improved greatly.
Andrea hopes she's growing, too. But one thing is for sure: her and Kai are only growing closer with each and every battle.
A young girl with long, curly hair and dark skin eagerly runs up to Andrea and Bianca. She carries a battered cardboard box.
"You guys are trainers, right?"
Bianca and Andrea curiously look at each other.
"Yeah…"
"Ah, I knew it!" A relaxed smile graces her pretty face. "I'm in a really tight situation and I can't afford to take proper care of the litter my Pokemon had...so sadly I'm giving them away…"
Her dark eyes water.
"Do you think you could take them off my hands? I only have two left…"
"Of course!" Bianca cries.
Andrea feels immediate sympathy for the girl, who had to be around the same age as her and Bianca. "Yeah, we'd be happy to take care of them."
"Thank you so much! I have a grass type and a fire type," She pauses. "Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret…"
Bianca and Andrea lean in curiously.
"Since you're trainers, I'm sure you'll be battling the Gym Leaders, right?"
They both nod.
"Ok, so the Gym Leaders of this town will use pokémon with a type advantage over your starter pokémon."
"Wait," Bianca says. "There are multiple Gym Leaders?"
"Oops! Seems as if I've already given away too much," she chuckles. "Anyways, I'm gonna help you guys out. I'm guessing that oshawott on your shoulder is your starter?"
"That's right," Andrea smiles.
"Ok, I'm going to give you pansear, then," The girl hands Andrea a poké ball. "His name is Bernie. Go on and bring him out!"
Andrea does so, and a red monkey pokémon with large ears and a carefree smile appears.
"Aww, he's so cute," Andrea gushes, gingerly holding out a handful of berries. "Hey there, Bernie."
Upon seeing that he is reluctant to eat them, Andrea places the berries on the ground in front of him. The pansear rushes forward and uses the tuft of fur atop his head to roast them. Kai jumps in surprise and hides behind Andrea's head.
"Woah!"
Bianca and the girl giggle as they watched pansear eat the roasted berries Andrea gave him.
"So," The girl turns to Bianca, "What type is your starter?"
"Fire!" Bianca replies. "So if the Gym Leader has a type advantage, he'll use a water type...which means I'm getting a grass type!"
"Right; a pansage named Fern! Here he is."
Bianca happily takes the poké ball from her and throws it up in the air, exclaiming, "Come on out, Fern!"
A green monkey pokémon jumps about with a gleeful grin spread across his face.
"He looks like a broccoli!"
Andrea laughs at Bianca's observation, despite it being at the expense of the embarrassed pokémon.
"Bianca, we should actually get going so it's not too late when we get to the Dreamyard," Andrea says, hoping Bianca will understand her double-entendre.
Bianca's eyes widen in understanding. "Oh yeah, you're totally right! It was nice meeting you, uh…"
"Quiana."
"Quiana," Bianca echoes in fascination.
"Take good care of them for me, alright?" Quiana pleads.
"Of course!" Andrea replies.
"Good luck!" The girl calls out as she watches Andrea and Bianca walk away.
"Thank you!" They both reply and wave the mysterious girl goodbye.
"Oh, I hope she'll be ok…" Bianca sighs.
"Me too."
They walk in silence for a while until Andrea sees a lone tree standing in front of a hole in the concrete wall surrounding the ruins.
"This must be the tree they were talking about…"
"Y-you go in first," Bianca stammered.
Andrea was confused as to why Bianca would fear the Dreamyard, but then she realizes that she is nervous to encounter Team Plasma again.
"Good idea! I'll take a look at the area real quick," She grins.
"Just don't go too far, ok?"
"I won't! I'll be right here."
Andrea shimmies past the tree's trunk and finds herself in the ruins. What was once the concrete foundation of a building was now overgrown with lush grass and dark flowers. A quick scan of the area determined that Team Plasma is nowhere to be found.
"Hey, Bianca, the coast is clear."
Enthusiastically, Bianca squeezes her way by the tree and joins Andrea's side.
"Wow, it's kinda pretty...in a haunting way, you know?"
"Yeah…"
An eerily serene silence lingers in the air, the only noise being the occasional chirp of a bug pokémon and the swaying of the tall grass through the wind.
"Drea, maybe we should just go…"
"Why? Aren't you curious?"
"Well sure, but it doesn't seem like they're here...besides, I'm getting kinda spooked…" Bianca confesses.
Andrea sighs. "You're right. Let's just go."
Bianca walks alongside the sulking Andrea and tries to cheer her up. When they reach the tree, they hear the cry of a mysterious pokémon. They both whirl around and see a pink spherical pokémon levitating above dark grass in the middle of the ruins.
"Woah...what's that?"
Andrea whips out her Pokédex and cautiously takes a few steps towards the pokémon to get within scanning range. Bianca joins her side upon hearing the Pokédex's scanner activating.
"It's a Munna!"
"Oh my Arceus, really? It's so cute!"
Andrea shows Bianca the Munna's Pokédex entry. "So the dream mist comes from Munna, huh?"
Bianca, having scanned through the Pokédex's description of Munna, returns the Pokédex to Andrea. She hums with curiosity. "There's something I still don't get, though…"
"What?"
"What exactly is dream mist? What does it do?"
"Good question…"
"Maybe it can show us?" Bianca wonders.
"How?"
Bianca pulls out some berries from her bag and holds them out to the munna. It cautiously hovers over to her hand and hesitates.
"Hey, don't worry lil' guy. We're your friends," Bianca soothingly reassures.
The munna slinks forward and zealously eats the berries. Bianca giggles at the Pokemon's ticklish, feather-light touch. The Pokemon coos and backflips in the air. Kai jumps off Andrea's shoulder and leaps towards Munna in an attempt to play with it. Munna lowers itself to Kai's eye level. He touches her snout, and when Munna nuzzles into his touch, he tackles her into a hug.
"Oh my Arceus, that's adorable! I have to get a picture!"
Bianca swiftly pulls out her cross-transceiver and takes multiple pictures of the two Pokemon cuddling.
"Drea, can you get a picture of me with them?"
Andrea giggles. "Sure thing."
Bianca kneels behind the two Pokemon and holds up both of her hands in a peace sign.
Multiple clicks sound off from Bianca's cross-transceiver.
"Ok, I took a couple, so hopefully there's at least one good one…" Andrea hands Bianca back her cross-transceiver.
"Thanks!" Bianca takes a ruminative moment to judge the photos. Deeming them good enough, she gushes. "Aww, how cute!"
Kai glomps Andrea as she kneels to hold him. Munna hovers nearby and lets out a noise of joy as Andrea pets it. Andrea giggles, girlishly, in a way Bianca has rarely seen. Andrea loses awareness of the world around her as she watches the pokémon play with each other.
"And here we have the wild Drea in her natural state of being..."
Andrea turns to Bianca and sees her cross-transceiver pointing towards her.
"Oh my Arcues, are you actually recording me?"
Bianca giggles and cuts off the video as soon as Andrea moves towards the camera.
"Aww come on, don't be mad!" Bianca pouts. "One day, when we're done with our journey, you'll thank me for this! So you can always remember…"
Andrea sighs, smiling softly. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"
Munna hovers off slightly into the clearing, and Kai runs after it in hopes of being able to play some more. The two girls sit together for a while, forgetting they were just about to leave the Dreamyard, and chat and giggle about trivial things while they watch the pokémon play with each other.
The trivial turns to the worthwhile as Bianca suddenly begins to speculate about what is wrong with Cheren. Andrea eagerly listens to her, trying her best to be a good friend and not zone out, and occasionally offers Bianca her own piece of insight. She decides that it isn't an appropriate situation to tease Bianca about how much she clearly cares about Cheren.
Andrea is so absorbed in her conversation with Bianca, in fact, that she has blocked out odd voices in the distance. She sees a figure emerge from around a corner out of the corner of her eye, but when she turns around to get a clearer glimpse, the figure is nowhere to be seen.
"Bianca…" She whispers.
"It's ok Drea," Bianca shrugs, staring sadly at her clenched fists in her lap.
She stares at her, confused. She then quickly shakes her head upon realizing Bianca thought she was still trying to reassure her about Cheren. "No, I mean—"
"Don't worry about it...I'll be alright," She sighs wistfully, still not picking up on Andrea's tense tone. "I'm sure I'll see him again...I mean, it would be odd if we never ran into each other...he couldn't have gotten that far already, right?"
"There it is!"
The girls sharply turn around at the sound of familiar voices. They see four people dashing towards the munna. Andrea immediately stands up and inches closer to Munna and Kai upon recognizing the figures.
"Team Plasma!" Bianca exclaims.
Andrea grimaces at the prospect of having to be face-to-face with them.
If only I was more assertive just a second ago with Bianca…
But she knows Bianca is a sensitive girl who needed someone to talk to. But now they have to face Team Plasma. Again.
"Well, if it isn't the two pests from Accumula…" Elizabeth scoffs. "At least you know who we are this time."
"These guys mess with you before, Elizabeth?" The young boy they had spied upon from the route, who is clearly inexperienced and ditzy, exclaims as he poses in a pitiful fight stance.
Elizabeth groans, buries her face in her hands, and mutters something about how things would be much better without him. "In fact, why don't you and Jude just...go. Let the grownups take care of this."
Jude rolls his eyes and walks straight past Andrea and Bianca without any acknowledgement, muttering something about how his superiors aren't even that much older than him.
"No way!" The other boy exclaims. "I have to stay to help you! I'll show you I'm totally redeemable!"
"Alvar!" Jude snaps, arms crossed as he stands by the tree. "There are other things we have to do. Let's go."
Alvar sighs and whines as he stomps his way over to Jude. He stops right in front of Bianca and Andrea.
"You guys better not mess with Team Plasma! Especially Elizabeth, she'll show you-"
"Alvar!"
Alvar quickly turns to face Elizabeth.
"Oh, right…"
He finally makes his way over to Jude, but before he shimmies past the tree, he delivers a final warning to Andrea and Bianca.
"Watch your back!"
Everyone turns to him.
"Try to mess with us again...and things will turn Plasbad!"
"Oh my Arcues," Andrea whispers and tries to hold in a giggle.
"Can you believe this?" Elizabeth hisses to her partner. "The level of unprofessionalism…"
The girls turn their attention back to the two older goons.
"You're one to talk, Lizz," He coolly retorts.
She turns on him, fuming. "Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm just saying that you should analyze your behavior; take a moment to think before you act. Just a suggestion."
"Whatever Chris!"
Andrea cups her hand in front of Bianca's ear. "Are these guys really a threat?"
"I don't know, I'm kinda scared…" Bianca murmurs.
"Hey! What are you brats whispering about? Actually, what are you even doing here?" Elizabeth yells.
"None of your business!" Andrea retorts. "What are you guys even doing here? Why would Team Plasma care about the Dreamyard? Aren't you supposed to be, like, blocking people from leaving their towns and setting up stupid speeches?"
"First of all, how dare you mock Team Plasma-"
"Hard not to with your stupid costumes."
Bianca dramatically gasps at Andrea's rebuttal.
Elizabeth's face goes red. "You little-"
"Lizz."
Christopher's voice is enough to hold Elizabeth back from doing Arcues-knows-what.
"Second of all...like you so aptly put it, that's none of your business! Besides, I asked you first," Elizabeth continues sassily.
"Well, I asked you second," Andrea retorts with just as much sass.
"Unbelievable," Christopher mutters under his breath. "Alright, enough!"
Silence.
"Team Plasma is in a dire need of dream mist, which, as you may or may not know, comes from a pokémon called munna. If we can get a hold of the dream mist…" He pauses, the corners of his lips slightly tugging upwards, "We can enter people's dreams and convince them that pokémon liberation is the only option to separate the perfect pokémon from the selfish trainers who abuse pokémon!"
For a while, no one says anything.
"That….that's not right!" Bianca cries.
Andrea isn't quite sure why, but she agrees with Bianca. Her stomach is unbearably queasy, and her knees imperceptibly buckle.
"Why not?"
Bianca falters. "I-I don't know...it just...feels wrong! You can't force people to do something!"
The two grunts chuckle.
"Your naïveté is cute," Elizabeth sneers. "But it's not gonna get you anywhere. You have to use a little force to get your point across."
"Now," Chris approaches the munna, harshly grabs it, and begins to inspect it. "To get the dream mist…"
The munna uses all of its power to wriggle itself free from Chris' grip, but he is too strong. Bianca covers her mouth as her eyes go wide with horror.
"Now now, Munna. Don't be difficult…"
He squeezes tighter. Munna lets out a tortured whimper. Kai worriedly glances to Andrea.
"Hey, stop that!" Andrea exclaims, swiftly approaching the Plasma grunts.
"Damn it, give us the dream mist, you stupid Pokémon!" Elizabeth yells.
Everything that happens in the next few seconds is a blur.
Elizabeth kicks the munna. Bianca screams, her wail muffled by her hands. Andrea runs. Kai attacks Elizabeth. Elizabeth grimaces, curses, and swings her foot back, readying a mortal blow. Andrea dives in front of her pokémon, taking a harrowing kick to her stomach.
Time stops.
Then, Elizabeth speaks: "That's what you get for getting in our way."
Bianca is by Andrea's side in no time. Andrea, after having recovered from shock, and a barrage of coughs and sputters, slowly, and very shakily, makes her way onto her feet. Bianca's hands worriedly ghost over Andrea's shoulders, ready to steady her if needed be.
"What I don't understand," she begins, trying to push away the tears that threatened to spill over, "is how one minute, you go on and on about liberation, preaching about how pokémon suffer under abusive trainers, and then the next, you're kicking a munna."
"We don't want to use violence," Christopher says, "but non-violence isn't going to get us anywhere in this culture."
Andrea laughs, mirthlessly. "Bullshit. You're just a bunch of hypocrites."
Elizabeth glares daggers at Andrea. Christopher stays unnervingly stoic.
"If you want to get that munna's dream mist, you're going to have to go through me, first." Andrea's hand ghosts over Bernie's poké ball.
"M-Me too!" Bianca says, quickly joining Andrea's side.
Elizabeth scoffs, "This shouldn't take long. Thank god those imbeciles left us with their pokémon. Chris, you take the ditz."
"H-Hey!"
Andrea glares at Elizabeth and takes her hand away from Bernie's poké ball. "Alright Kai, let's go!"
"Patrat, go!"
As much as Andrea wants to battle with Bernie, she wants to form a bond with him before throwing him into such a serious battle.
"Patrat, use scratch!"
"Dodge it and use water gun!"
After a few successful hits at Team Plasma's patrat, Andrea chances a glance over at Bianca. It's clear she has gotten much better at battling; Andrea wonders if she even needs to keep an eye on her. Bianca is making better decisions in her battle, and Andrea can't help but feel proud.
Team Plasma's pokémon are different. They don't seem to obey every command that their trainers gave them. After an embarrassingly short time, Bianca and Andrea defeat Christopher and Elizabeth.
Andrea places her hand on Bianca's shoulder. "Good job, Bianca."
Bianca blushes in acknowledgment and confidence. "T-thanks…"
"B-but how?!" Elizabeth sputters.
Andrea grins victoriously, feeling larger than life itself. She finds it easy to grow addicted to the surge of adrenaline and power she feels upon winning a battle.
"Y-you guys better go now, o-ok?" Bianca trembles. "Just go a-and leave Munna alone!"
"Don't worry, Bianca." Andrea coldly observes the Plasma duo, "They can't do anything even if they wanted to; we beat all their pokémon. They were too weak to beat a couple puny brats like us."
Bianca gapes, shocked at her friend's uncharacteristic seriousness.
Elizabeth grits her teeth and lunges toward Andrea. "You little-"
"What is this?"
Elizabeth stops in her tracks. Everyone sharply turns to the sound of a deep, booming voice. Christopher and Elizabeth immediately kneel while Andrea and Bianca stand frozen, mouths agape and faces pale.
"Lord Ghetsis!"
The intimidating leader of Team Plasma, robes and all, seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He stands tall, waiting to see if he would get a response from his underlings.
"Must I remind you to speak when you're spoken to?"
"N-No my lord, please forgive us for our impudence," Christopher stammered.
"Hm," Ghetsis seemed anything but pleased.
Andrea is just happy that, for whatever reason, he wasn't paying any mind to her and Bianca.
"Well? Can you fools explain this failure to me?"
"My lord," Elizabeth begins, keeping her head bowed, "these bothersome girls intervened with our plans and-"
"Save your excuses for later!"
Bianca and Andrea turned their heads to the left. There they saw Ghetsis—a second one, that is.
"D-Drea, w-why are there two of him?" Bianca inquires nervously.
Upon hearing her inquiry, the two admins jerk their heads upwards and look back and forth between the two figures that have taken on the appearance of their leader.
"Chris, you don't think...H-has he-"
Before Elizabeth even gets the chance to finish her thought, both apparitions of Ghetsis vanish into thin air.
"Shit, we better get back to HQ!" Elizabeth stumbles to her feet and begins to run, pulling Christopher with her before he even gets the chance to stand on his own.
"Don't think you brats are safe! Just wait until we tell Ghetsis everything!"
And with that, all traces of Team Plasma were gone.
"Wow."
"Drea, that was so scary!" Bianca exclaims, latching onto her friend's arm. "Thank Arceus Cheren wasn't here; imagine how mad he would've gotten!"
Andrea winces. "I'd rather not."
She puts her hands on her hips, trying to ignore the sharp pain from her wound. "But...what even happened? Why were there two Ghetsis...es?"
Bianca shrugs. "I don't know...these people are really weird and scary! Speaking of which, are you ok? Let me look at your stomach…"
Andrea gingerly lifts the hem of her white tank top. Bianca winces. A red welt had already begun to form on Andrea's tan skin. Bianca grazes over the discoloration with the lightest of touches; Andrea hisses in pain.
"You know, maybe Cheren has a point about you always crossing the line…" Bianca's gaze is glued to the ground. "If you play with fire you're gonna get burned, right? You know I'm saying this out of love."
Just as Andrea opens her mouth to reply, a pokémon's cry coos behind them. They spin around and come face to face with a strange pokémon comforting the traumatized munna. Bianca brings out her Pokédex to scan the new mysterious pokémon. As Munna hovers closer to Bianca, the other Pokemon follows it.
"It's musharna, the evolved form of munna!"
"No way! Maybe that's why it's trying to take care of it…" Andrea notes.
"It says—"
"Fascinating!"
"Well ok sure but—"
"Bianca," Andrea can't help but chuckle. "That wasn't me…"
The two girls look over their shoulders and see a dark-haired woman, adorned in a white lab coat, passionately observing the pokémon.
"Ah, excuse me girls, but I must get a closer look!"
The woman squeezes her way by and begins to closely examine the musharna, not without suspicion from the shaken munna. Bianca and Andrea look at each other warily.
"That's odd...it seems really scared. Don't worry, I won't hurt you…"
She gingerly reaches her hand out to musharna and waited for a reaction. When it did nothing, the woman lays her hand on it, and her face lights up. Her excitement is childlike. She brings her fingers, covered in a powdery, pink substance, close to her face, and gasps.
"Dream mist…"
Bianca echoes her gasp. "Dream mist?"
"So it is...but what caused musharna to release this?"
There is a long silence as the young scientist gathers more of the substance, puts it into a test tube, and thinks.
"You!" She turns to Bianca.
"Uh, y-yes?"
"Is this munna yours?"
"No…"
"Really?" The scientist looks back to the pokémon in fascination. "This munna seems to be quite fond of you."
Bianca breaks into a teary-eyed smile and turns towards the Pokemon. "Is that true Munna?"
The munna nuzzles into Bianca's shoulder, and the blonde just about melts.
"Yet, the munna also appeared to be in a state of distress...hence why musharna was protecting it…" The woman swiftly turns around. "Girls, did anything strange happen here?"
Bianca and Andrea warily look at each other.
"Well, it's kinda a long story and—"
"Oh my Arceus!" The woman interrupts. "I can't believe I haven't introduced myself! I'm Dr. Fennel. I'm currently researching pokémon dreams and the effects of dream mist."
Then Bianca gasps. "No way! You're Dr. Fennel?"
"The one and only!" Dr. Fennel proudly exclaims, straightening her back. "Well, I think…"
"We're the trainers Professor Juniper gave the Pokédex to!" Bianca replies.
"No way!"
"Yeah! I'm Bianca, and this is Andrea!"
"What a coincidence!"
Andrea giggles fondly as she thinks about how this woman's flightiness reminds her of Bianca.
"Well, it's very lovely to meet you girls! But you must come back with me to my apartment and explain everything that happened! It is vital to my research!" Dr. Fennel beams.
"Sure thing!"
"Wait...your apartment?" Andrea questions warily.
"Well, you see…it kind of serves as my lab…" Fennel replies sheepishly.
Andrea shrugs, once again throwing caution to the wind. "Alright then. Let's go."
Andrea limps forward, winces, and wraps her arms around her stomach. Bianca wraps her arm around Andrea's shoulder and walks with her. Fennel doesn't seem to notice this.
Munna's eyes widen as it watched the girls leave. It swiftly glides towards Bianca, whining as it nudges Bianca's shoulder.
"Aww what's wrong?"
"Bianca, I think she's following you!" Andrea gushes.
Dr. Fennel nods in agreement. "Like I said, it appeared to be quite fond of you! Maybe it wants to join you on your journey!"
Bianca gasps. "Is that true? Do you want to travel with me, Munna?"
Munna backflips and squeals.
"Me too!" She rummages through her bag and pulls out a poké ball. "Alright Munna, let's do this!"
Bianca gently tosses the poké ball at munna. The poké ball falls to the ground, wobbles three times, and clicks effortlessly. Bianca picks up the poké ball and jumps into the air. "Yay!" She brings out her munna and leans down to greet it face-to-face. "Is it ok if I call you Mushie?"
The Pokémon mewls in approval.
"Well then, Mushie, welcome to the team!" Bianca beams. "Wait a sec...I already have four Pokémon! That's so cool!
Team Plasma, with all its public presentations, grandeur gestures, and television appearances could have been the butt of a joke; the prominence of a group dressed in medieval garbs is something to marvel and chuckle at. But after witnessing Plasma members outright harm a pokémon, can Andrea still see them as a joke? Can she move on, pretend this never happened, and make fun of their cult-like tendencies? She doesn't know. She has a feeling, primitive, deep in her gut, that tells her this—what had just happened no more than two minutes ago—will change everything. Team Plasma, ominous and foreboding to Andrea, birthed an unwelcome and foreign feeling that electrifies her nerves: fear.
But despite the pain she feels, and despite the threat of Team Plasma, the only natural thing for Andrea to do in this very moment is smile, for both her friend and munna's newfound happiness.
"So, anyways...what was I saying?" Fennel laughs sheepishly as she begins to unlock her apartment door.
"Umm…"
"Your career."
"Right, thank you Andrea!" Fennel struggles to get her keys out of the door. She forces her body weight onto the door couple of times in a desperate effort to open it. "Wow, if I had a poké dollar for every time this happened...haha…"
Andrea, filled with concern, stares at the scientist.
"Anyways," Fennel continues, completely abandoning her mission of opening the door, "I'm living my childhood dream of being an independent scientist! I'm currently studying dream mist, and—"
The door is suddenly opened by a young, auburn haired girl.
"And this is my assistant Amanita! She's the best. She also created a lot of the software you guys use on PCs and cross-transceivers!"
Amanita waves shyly to the two girls. As they walk into the apartment, Amanita scolds Fennel on how to open the door.
"Make yourselves at home!" Fennel explains. "You girls can tell me what happened at the Dreamyard over a cup of coffee! I'll be right back."
"Woah, coffee? My mom never lets me have coffee…" Bianca remarks.
"You're missing out," Andrea smiles. "Don't worry, it's not even as strong as everyone says it is!"
Then again, I grew up in a strong coffee drinking family!
Andrea sighs and tries to push back the tears that threaten to spill over at the thought of her dad. He liked his coffee black, without any sugar. Mom likes it with cream and barely a teaspoon of sugar. They both liked to dip cookies into their coffee. Mom would make coffee every morning and evening. I was too young to like the bitter taste, so I just sat at the table with them and ate cookies.
"Drea? You alright?"
She blinks, pushing those memories to the back of her mind and bringing herself back to the present.
"Yeah, I was just zoning out."
Bianca pouts, knowing better, but saying nothing.
"Alright, sorry for the wait guys!" Fennel announces as she walks in the main room with a tray. Amanita nervously glances at her as the tray wobbles oh-so-slightly.
"I'm not sure how you girls like your coffee, so I have the cream and sugar to the side."
"Thank you!" The girls exclaim in unison.
"And Amanita, here's your cappuccino."
"Just the way I like it. Thanks, Fennel."
Andrea puts some cream in her coffee. Bianca takes a sip of the coffee, without putting any sugar or cream in, and noticeably shivers at the bitterness. In one swift and eager motion, she scoops out two full spoonfuls of sugar, grabs the cup of cream, and mixed in both sweeteners until the coffee was a light brown color. Andrea somehow manages to hold in a giggle and pretend as if she had seen nothing.
"So. What happened in the Dreamyard?"
"Oh, right…" Andrea sighs, setting down her coffee. "Have you heard of Team Plasma?"
"Ah, yes! Such strange people," Fennel notes. "Their goal seems admirable enough, but their approach is rather…"
"Unorthodox."
"Exactly! This is why Amanita is so cool. We finish each other's…"
"Sentences," Amanita says rotely, as if she has to do this regularly.
"See?! Anyways, go on…"
"Right...So Bianca and I were at the Dreamyard when they came out of nowhere and started hurting the Munna to get dream mist."
"Do you know why?"
Andrea purses her lips, deep in thought. "They said something about entering people's dreams to convince them to liberate Pokémon…"
Fennel's eyebrows knit together in deep concentration. "Ok, that's weird…"
"Yeah, super...So anyways they tried to kick the Munna to take the Dream Mist, but then my oshawott here, Kai, stepped in to protect it. So Bianca and I battled them because what they were doing was, like, so wrong."
"Yeah, it was so cool!" Bianca beams. "Drea slid in front of Kai because one of the Plasma people was about to kick him!"
Fennel gasps. "Did you get hurt?"
"Yeah, but I'm fine…"
"I'm shocked Team Plasma would do something so violent if they want nonviolence for pokémon…" Amanita comments.
"Yeah, same," Andrea nods eagerly. "So do you know that one Plasma guy who's always on TV and gives the liberation speeches? Like, he wears this circus robe and has a weird thing on his eye-"
"Oh that guy!"
"Yeah, that guy. Well, anyways, after we beat the Plasma losers in a battle, he like, appeared out of nowhere and started scolding them!"
"But then another one of him appeared!" Bianca cries. "And they both disappeared into thin air! And—"
Fennel breaks into a gleeful grin. "Aha! I see what's going on here."
The girls look strangely at Fennel. "You do?"
"Yes!" She exclaims. "You see, musharna can use its dream mist to create images, mostly through someone's dreams. But this was different. Because it saw Munna get harmed, it used its power—making dreams into a reality—to save Munna."
"That's incredible," Andrea comments.
"Thank you!"
"I mean—"
"I didn't go to university for nothing!"
"Ok."
"Anyways," Dr. Fennel continues, "obtaining dream mist is a huge step towards our program! Amanita and I are working on an app that will examine the dreams of both Pokémon and humans alike!"
"Wow, that's really neat!" Bianca exclaims.
"Not to mention a little creepy…" Andrea mumbles under her breath.
"If you guys are interested you should definitely give me your contact info!"
"Wait, why do you want to look at people—and Pokémon's—dreams?"
"Great question Andrea! Let me explain," Fennel begins. "Psychologists have long believed in the significant meaning of dreams in relation to one's everyday life. Furthermore, dreams reveal our deepest subconscious desires and emotions. Oftentimes, we dream of things that happen in the past, or, strangely enough, we dream of future events. However, the latter rarely happens, and when it does, it is only for minor events—like eating a certain food while your friend tells you a very particular yet otherwise meaningless thing. This is one of the explanations for that feeling of "déjá vú." Dreams reflect reality. I would argue that the same can be said for pokémon—that they have a level of self-awareness that would allow them to dream in relation to the significance of their own lives. I intend to study dreams to answer the age long question of why people and pokémon stay together."
"No way," Andrea smiles in disbelief.
"Perhaps Team Plasma has a similar research theme. I theorize they wanted not only to enter the dreams of humans to convince them of liberation, but also to observe the contents of pokémon's dreams. Perhaps…" Fennel's eyebrows relax in realization "...Team Plasma expects pokémon to have nightmares of their human "oppressors." They would then expose these findings to the public, using guilt to separate pokémon from people. I would argue that, in extremely special and supernatural instances, one could manipulate dreams into reality. In situations like this, with Team Plasma's drive and influence, dreams certainly could become a reality."
Andrea and Bianca stare at her, utterly dumbfounded by the air-headed woman's intelligence.
"But thanks to you girls, they're probably not going to attempt that. Besides," Fennel continues, on a hypothetical roll, "I don't think many pokémon would have nightmares about humans unless they were abused."
"I hope so," Andrea murmurs in response to both of Fennel's statements.
"The study of dreams is pretty cool, huh?" Fennel smiles. "I have a friend from college who also studies dreams, so if you're curious about the topic, you guys should visit her in Castelia City! She has conducted some really interesting research. She's starting to focus her research on supernatural occurrences, but she'd be more than happy to talk to you two about dreams!"
"Really?" Bianca's eyes shine with interest. "What's her name?"
"Professor Burnet. I have her card around somewhere, just give me a second!"
Fennel disappears from the living room. She comes back a few minutes later with two business cards. Andrea carelessly pushes the one Fennel gives her into the expansive and messy interior of her bag, while Bianca neatly places the card into a blank slot in her wallet.
"Well, that's enough slacking off for me!" Fennel contentedly sighs. "I still have lots of research to do! I hope I see you kids around, and if you see Professor Juniper, please say hi to her for me!"
"Ok! Thanks for the coffee!" Andrea exclaims.
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you Dr. Fennel! Buh-bye!"
"Stay safe!"
Andrea entertained Bianca and walked around the city, in and out of shops. Then, they see Hilbert sitting on the stairs of a brick building.
"Hilbert!"
Andrea waves to him in the distance and runs towards him as soon as he waves back. She sits down next to him, daring to have their sides touch, while Bianca awkwardly hovers near them. Kai jumps down from Andrea's shoulder and rests in her lap.
"What's up? Did you beat the gym yet?"
"I was about to, but then something really weird happened…" Hilbert says as he leans back on the steps.
"Uh oh…" Bianca frowns. "What happened?"
"Well I was making my way through the gym; all gyms have some sort of puzzle, you know? Then this guy who works at the gym pulled me aside and told me that I couldn't battle the gym leaders because they had to deal with an emergency of some sort!"
"That's really weird," Andrea comments.
"Yeah! And I felt like I was so close to finally getting through the gym, too…" He sighs.
"I wonder what happened…"
"Oh well. Hopefully your guys' day went better; did you spy on Team Plasma?"
Andrea laughs sheepishly. "About that…"
"You ran into them, didn't you?"
"Woah, how did you know?" Bianca gapes.
"You two aren't exactly the most...stealthy people I know."
The two girls laugh sheepishly—Bianca flustered about her clumsiness, and Andrea pitying Bianca because she knows Hilbert is mostly referring to her spacey friend—before recounting the run-in with Team Plasma in vivid detail. Hilbert grows more shocked with every word they said.
"Wow...I'm proud of you guys."
Andrea flinches. "W-what?"
"Yeah, you guys stood your ground and did what was right. And Andi...damn, to take a kick for your oshawott…"
There is a pause as Andrea and Kai share a smile. As she looks up, she notices Hilbert's flushed cheeks as his eyes bore into hers.
"That's, uh, really cool...you're going to be a great trainer someday."
Andrea smiles warmly, relishing in the warmth that blossoms in her chest. "Thanks, Hilbert."
Bianca lets them stare into each other's eyes for a while, wondering how in the world she could contain her excitement at their prolonged interaction. She doesn't mind being the third wheel if it means they'll grow closer to each other.
Andrea is the first one to break eye contact with Hilbert, suddenly feeling embarrassed by the shared intimacy.
"So, uh, do you know when the gym leaders are coming back?" She asks.
"According to the guy who works at the gym, they should be back in about a week…" Hilbert sighs.
"A week?!" Andrea groans. "What are we gonna do for that long?!"
Hilbert shrugs. "Beats me."
Bianca looked back and forth between the two and giggles, the gears already turning in her head.
"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something."