That moment you realize you've passed your word count from your last multi-chaptered story.

Chapter 8

"Stooped down and out, You got me beggin' for thread, To sew this hole up that you ripped in my head, Stupidly think you had it under control"- Beggin' For Thread by Banks

For the last few days I've been here in Castelia, I've come to notice that I wake up thinking the same thoughts. Firstly, they run over to how I'm going to defeat Gym Leader Burgh. I have Ganon at a good enough level and he's enough to steamroll through his team, maybe, but I can't take chances. So that brings me to my second thought, which involve Munny's lower levels compared to the rest of my team. Munny is a bit weaker than her other three teammates and she tends to go down quickly even when Ganon hits her with an attack she ought to resist. My third set of thoughts wander to how as Roxie said Castelia was an expensive city and how I tend to waste away my money even when attempting to budget. It also doesn't accommodate Ganon's increasing appetite. He's the powerhouse of my team and I've come to terms with this, but he can't eat all of the experience away. Roxie and I spent the other day training with The Battle Company and when we beat their janitor, we won something called an Experience Share (Exp Share for short), which ought to help Munny out.

The last place and the one I try my best to resist are my thoughts on Colress. It isn't me droning on about how handsome I thought he was, but rather what Roxie said. I do, of course, regret not taking his info, but more importantly, it makes me realize what I'm missing when it comes toward interactions, especially with people of the opposite gender. I thought I had a general idea, what with guys like Cheren or the Striaton Trio, but I didn't realize how my views could probably have major flaws in them. Also, there's the fact that someone actually might have showed a legitimate interest in me is baffling. Me, the girl who most guys at school saw as White's ugly friend with the enormous hips.

"Yo," Roxie says as I come back from the bathroom from when I brushed my teeth. I've come to appreciate these last four days as her roommate. Neither of us are early risers and we tend to do things when we want. I didn't think I'd mesh well with her, but that thankfully got proven wrong. "As much as I'd like to stay here chilling with you, I have to get my ass to Nacrene." I glance over her bed and notice that she's packed her things.

I don't know why, but I feel sadness knowing that I'm going to leave another friend. I mean, I have her contact info and all that so it isn't a permanent thing. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah!" She gives a small chortle. "If you're ever in Viribank, hit me up. You can stay over at my place and we can go to this club where they play good music in. Or see the movies over at Pokéstar Studios." She picks up the small bag she's packed on her bed. "It's been good." Roxie gives me a one armed hug.

"Good luck!" I tell her.

"You too! Also. Remember your promise about that guy, okay?" I feel my face blush at the mention of this and watch her leave the room. I'm all alone now again. I plop down on my bed, my green pajama bottoms comfortably swirling with the thin blankets.

Plans. I have to make plans for the day. I count my dwindling funds and realize I only have enough for lunch. I'm in trouble once more. Time to go and find a brand new job to undertake! It's been a while since I've done that. Ever since the disaster at the preschool, I've focused so much on training that I haven't had the time to focus on myself at all.

I don't know if I'm ready to take on Burgh, though. On one hand, I've got Ganon and Madge, who are capable of getting the job done. Courage has to sit out this battle due to the disadvantage and Munny is too fragile. I don't know if I want to get another Pokémon on my team. I mean, I can barely afford one.

I walk up to the nurse who is attending the center. "Hello! Are you checking out?"

"Oh. Not today. I'm wondering what can I do to earn money in this city."

Her face contorts in a serious manner. "Hmm. That's a good question. There's a place always looking for helpers nearby. It's a small building called Passerby Analytics. It's located right here on the map." She points to a map of Castelia behind her, her index finger making a straight line left.

"Thank you."

I spend my last bit of money for all of us for lunch and find the building the nurse directed me to. It is indeed a small building. When I come in, the first thing I notice is how scattered everything looks. There's books, papers, and other miscellaneous items on the floor. There's only about three people in here and two of them are wearing lab coats. My breath holds for a moment until I realize that none of them are the one person in the lab coat I want to see again. The third person, the blonde woman wearing a pink blouse notices me.

"Hi! Welcome to Passerby Analytics HQ Building! How may I help you?" She's friendly enough so I walk up to her.

"Hello! Um. I was told that you are in need of people?"

"Why yes! We at Passerby always need all of the help we can get! Our mission statement is to go around wonderful Castelia City and gather up information that livens up this place and bring more tourism. We have thousands of trainers come in and volunteer, helping us achieve that mission. They're paid, of course. Are you inquiring about that?"

"Yes?" She talks so fast and her voice is so high pitched that I barely get a semblance of what's going on. I just nod.

"Good. So what's your name?"

"I'm Bianca."

"Okay. Bianca, tell me. What's your favorite season?"

"I guess I like the fall?"

"Good. And may I ask what your favorite subject in school is?"

"Um. I like them all." Truth be told, I'm pretty average in all of them and none of them hindered me as such.

"Interesting. And for a romantic partner do you go for someone smart or someone athletic?"

"Smart." What's with all these questions?

She writes all of my answers down. "See, this is a physical example of what we do here at Passerby HQ for kinesthetic learners. We like to take into account all possible walks of life." I look over my shoulder and see the door. It isn't too early to make a break for it, right? "Your job here is to go around Castelia City for a few hours and poll as many people as possible with questions like these and take notes. We supply you with a pencil and pad to write everything down."

Next thing I know I'm shoved a pad and pencil and given what seems like overtly complicated directions. I tune her out for the most part, trying to figure out how the files she gave me work and I think I understand them.

"Understood?"

"Yes?"

"Great! Now go out and ask people those questions!"

This was a terrible idea. I've spent the last few hours hanging around the city and its busy streets and I think I spent more time unsuccessfully getting my questions answered and ignored. I've only gotten about fifteen actual responses from people. I think back to when I walked into their office. They just have this quality about them that you want to ignore. I can be perky. I'm generally described as being perky when I'm with friends, but in public like this is exhausting!

It gets worse whenever I encounter people who are visibly rude. There was this one guy who purposely slammed into me earlier, knocking me down. The sheer force of it hurt more than my usual falls, even the one back at the Dreamyard. Wow, that feels like ages ago.

"Excuse me, sir?" I flag down a man wearing a fedora, but he walks by faster, pretending to not notice me.

"Ugh. I give up." Maybe having fifteen responses is good? I walk towards the wharf area, where there are typically less people. I want to sit down and rest for a moment, but then I see something I would have never expected to see on a day like today: Team Plasma. They're not really doing anything, I guess, but all of my senses go on high alert. Calm down, Bianca. Maybe they're not going to do anything bad this time. I walk as though nothing's wrong, but my plans are futile. They notice me and walk by my side. I'm gonna channel my inner Roxie right here, but damn it, they spotted me. Next thing I know, it feels as though they're circling around me like a flock of Mandibuzz.

"Hello there. Are you a trainer?" One of them asks, fake politeness under a glaring face. He's male and much taller than me. He's also got bright red hair like the last few of them have. Is that a thing for them? Nonetheless, I don't respond.

"He's talking to you. You speak when a member of Team Plasma addresses you." Without even looking at them, I make a break for it, going down the street I'm in, attempting and failing to make my way through the crowd. I make a quick left turn towards an empty alleyway.

I immediately regret this decision.

My legs aren't fast enough and they quickly catch up to me. The larger one apprehends me, his hands wrapping around my neck and waist. "I've seen you before, blondie, back at the Dreamyard. You've been resisting us and we don't like resistors," he says, whispering this into my ear. It's enough to make me shudder.

"Let go of me!" I begin to wiggle and squirm, my legs trying to kick him, but his grip is firm. My panic increases more and more as the other grunt takes my bag. I'm glad that it's a disorganized mess for once because all that falls out is a single Pokéball instead of four. Either way, dread seeps in and pours throughout my body, my back freezing in a state of paralysis.

"Miss trainer here is enslaving Pokémon and we need to teach her a lesson," the one with my bag says. He then drops the bag and runs off. The one holding me waits a few seconds and throws me to the floor. I fall on my face and look up to see them running away from me, a Pokéball in one of their hands. My first instinct is to pick up my bag and run behind them. Despite my adrenaline rush, when I reach the main street, they're out of my sight.

When I get to the wharf, where there's little people, I frisk through my bag wildly, counting my supplies. "One, two, three." I toss one in the air and the first to come out is Madge, who is barking furiously. Courage and Ganon are fine, but are somewhat beleaguered at my frantic expression. Munny. Munny, my sweetest and the one Pokémon who willingly went with me because I stopped the same people who...Who—

I fall onto the floor on my knees, wailing. There's only a few people here and I don't care if they see me. I failed to protect Munny. Munny...

"Lady? Lady?" I don't know how much time has passed since I've started crying but the tears won't stop. I remember when that little girl's Blitzle got stolen and how much it hurt me. This feels just as bad, if not worse. "Uncle Burgh!"

I look up to see a young girl awkwardly holding my shoulders. Her red eyes search my green ones. Her most stunning feature is her endlessly long and complicated deep purple hair. It contrasts beautifully against her dark skin. "They stole my Pokémon." I don't know how I can muster my voice, but it happens. Ganon, Madge, and Courage all huddle around me and the girl.

"Who?"

"Team Plasma."

"BIANCA?!" I see White run up to me. I didn't even notice her within my environment. She's accompanied by a man who is for some unknown reason, wearing a large peach colored scarf.

"Iris, I heard you calling for me. What's happening?" he says. White joins him.

"Bianca what happened?"

"I just saw this lady here crying on the docks. Her Pokémon got stolen by these guys named Team Plasma."

"Are you serious?" White says, incredulous. "They need to be reasoned with. They've got some serious hypocrisy going on."

I sniff, Ganon is hugging me tighter and Courage is crying as well for his missing companion. The guy in the scarf kneels down. "Hey, Bianca, is it? My name is Burgh. I'm the Gym Leader here and I swear on my position that I will find you your Pokémon. Even though finding these guys in a large city like this might be like finding a needle in a haystack." This obviously doesn't comfort me. I call them all back into their Pokéballs. I don't want them to see me into a slobbering mess. Not now.

I can only imagine how terribly they're treating Munny and a hundred possibilities float through my mind, all of them negative. I can't keep it together. I'm totally going to lose composure. Munny...

"Whoa. Those are some funny dressed people," the girl named Iris says.

"That's them!" White says. "After them!" White and Burgh tail them. Iris, meanwhile, stays by my side.

"Don't worry. Uncle Burgh always knows what he's doing. He and your friend will get the job done." Iris is awkward in her comforting but it makes me wonder if its because of her age. She's got to be around twelve, yet there's something about her that doesn't seem like she's that age.

I do feel hopeful now that they've been spotted.

"They ran in here!" White yells.

"Huh. That's right in front of my Gym. I mean, this building has been oddly unoccupied, now that I think about it."

Inside are the same people who stole Munny. Or at least I think they did. They all kind of blend in together after a while. I wonder if that's intentional.

"Excuse me, but we're going to have to ask solicitors to leave," one of them says.

"No! You've stolen my best friend's Pokémon and she wants it back," White demands.

Some talk happens, but I'm wayyyyy too nervous to actually listen in. All I can do is stare at the scary guy whose form I saw back in the Dreamyard. Ghetsis was his name. There's something off about him compared to the other two that are similarly dressed. For one, his arms are missing. He's also got that weird monocle. I do have to admit the Musharna did a spectacular job on getting him right. Except it was nowhere near as intimidating as the real thing. He catches my staring at me and I quickly look away.

"One thing we all have in common is that we all care a lot about Pokémon. Even meeting for the first time people can talk about Pokémon. Talk or battle or trade... Remember your speech at Accumula Town? You were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokémon. For that, I thank you. At that time, I made a promise... I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokémon even more strongly! What you guys are doing... Aren't you going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokémon even more?" Burgh says candidly.

The other two old men's mouths hang open at what Burgh has to say. He just took their message and warped it into his own little message. Cool.

Iris holds onto my hand.

"Give the girl back her Pokémon then."

"What? But what will the King have to say to this?"

"I don't care what your King thinks of this. Just do as I say." One of the grunts steps forward. Upon closer inspection, I kind of sort of recognize him as the one who went through my bag. I can't bring myself to glare at him as he gives me my Pokéball.

"Munny! Thank you so much for giving her back!"

"Bianca!" White says. "You shouldn't be thanking them for what they did."

"Sorry..." I am still grateful for getting her back.

"Thank you for your time. I hope you all have a great day," Burgh says, gracefully bowing out. The three of us follow, White and Iris both at my side. "Oh my gods, they're so frigging obnoxious."

"Wait, Uncle Burgh, what were you doing in Accumula?" Iris asks.

"My grandparents live there and I was visiting them. Anyway, what do you two plan on doing now that this fiasco has happened? I haven't seen any of you so I'll invite you to go and try out at my Gym. Here's two free passes." He digs into his stylish green and peach pants and hands us these tickets for some kind of art show. It says something about VIP and 16+ on it.

"What are these for?" White asks.

"You'll have to see..." Burgh says. "And what about you, Iris?"

"Oooh! I can be Bianca's bodyguard and we can train together."

"Uh-hm. That's great! Iris is a dazzling Pokémon Trainer, but she's like totally not used to the big city so it's kind of a give-and-take thing." It kind of reminds me of my earlier interaction with Roxie. I wonder what she'd think of all this. Burgh looks at his wrist and checks the time. "I'm totally late for my Kombucha. Toodles."

Burgh sashays off across the street.

"So what now?" Iris says.

"I should go challenge Burgh. After that, I kinda don't want to stay here at Castelia. Knowing Plasma's here has left a bad taste in my mouth."

"Word," I say. "I guess maybe we can go to Nimbasa together then?"

"Sounds like a plan," White says. "I'm off."

"Where do you want to train?" Iris asks.

"Before that..."

"I'm done. Only got about fifteen responses but I'm not doing that ever again!" I declare at the secretary with the pink blouse.

"Really?" I nod. I know it isn't much, but, "Wow! That's amazing! Here!" She hands me a large wad of cash.

"Wha..."

"No one can get past five! You earned that money! Next time you're in Castelia, consider coming back here. Have fun!"

Well...that went better than expected.

"What was that?" Iris asks as we set out.

"It was nothing. Let's never speak of this again. Now for that battle..." I quickly change the subject.

"Oh right. I'll start out easy on you! Axew come out!" But she doesn't throw a Pokéball. Instead a little green thing comes out of her large hair.

"Axew!" It jumps from it's point, landing almost perfectly.

"Madge!" Madge barks at the little dragon.

"Good choice. I think I like you, Bianca. Axew! Use your Dragon Rage!" Madge barely avoids the attack, but takes a decent amount if damage.

"Madge, use Take Down!" Iris's Pokémon is hit critically.

"Dragon Rage again!" Madge is hit and falls.

With that attack, Madge goes down. I have three left. I know Munny can take it out, but I don't know if she's emotionally available. Iris and I took her to the Center and got her checked, and she was given the okay to battle. "Give me a moment, Iris." I take Munny out of her ball. "Hey, Munny. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you did they?"

Munny has a small look of distress, her small red eyes sad. I give her a small hug. "I promise you that nothing bad will ever happen to you again. I also promise that I will somehow help take Plasma down. I don't know how, but we're gonna do it." Munny lightens up at that. "If you want to help me take out Plasma though, we'll have to train. Come on! I know you can take down that Axew." Munny positions herself into battle. "Munny use Psybeam!"

The attack takes the Axew out.

"That was really cool, Bianca!" The app I own buzzes, telling me that Munny has earned a ton of experience. She goes up all the way to level 18 and learns a new move called Moonlight. "I think we should go to the Center. Axew needs to get a little check up." Axew falls asleep in her arms.

"I'm going to go call my mom." I haven't been doing the best job calling her, but that's because I don't want to see dad and argue with him. When we get there, I go to one of the unoccupied booths and dial her number. She picks up.

"Bianca!"

"Hey mom."

"How's my girl doing?"

"I'm okay I guess. I wanted to check up on you."

"You look a bit hardened up from the last time you called." I don't want to tell her about what happened a few hours ago, to be honest. "Has your adventure been good? Make any new friends? Met any cute guys?"

"Yes."

Her face brightens up. "Yes to all of them! You know that if you meet a guy, he'll have to come here so I can meet him." Then a thought I never thought of comes to mind: the possibility of a guy meeting my dad. He'll get murdered. "Bianca..." Her face grows a bit more dire, as though she just read my mind moments ago. "Be...careful and be yourself." She looks over her shoulder. "He's grown more concerned by the day. He keeps talking about how he's going to come and pick you up. Do not, under any circumstances, go back home with him. This is your journey and your adventure and you have to experience everything for yourself. Understood?"

"Of course." Even though I've seen horrible things happen, I still don't regret anything. If anything, it's made me grow up more. I just know there's an impending conflict I'm going to deal with and it isn't going to be pretty.

Still, I wouldn't know what to do or how I'd act if my dad suddenly showed up and demanded I go back home. And that's the tiny concern that eats away while I try to sort things out for myself.