Chapter 10

Close enough to start a war, all that I have is on the floor. God only knows what we're fighting for. All that I say, you always say more. I can't keep up with your turning tables, under your thumb I can't breathe"- Turning Tables by Adele

Training was a complete success today over at Route 16! I'm glad to report that my team was in higher spirits. Maybe because it feels like an air has lifted. I feel much more optimistic now that dad has finally accepted and supported my choice in traveling. Truth is, I don't know if I'm ready to face Elesa. I've managed to move up all of my Pokémon to the low twenties, but is that enough?

Well...tomorrow is another day. Besides, I don't like to do my battling after sunset unless absolutely necessary.

I let out all of my lovelies when we get to the center. I battled enough trainers and won enough money to buy them all well deserved Poképuffs for their efforts (I was going to buy them those anyway, but now that I can actually afford them instead of berries is great). Ganon and Madge are more than excited to start eating again while Courage shares his with Munny.

Observing my Pokémon interact with each other is always an interesting watch. Ganon is quite protective of the others. He's something of a leader, despite his distracted nature. The more relaxed, levelheaded Madge sometimes has to take over his duties to watch over the bashful Munny and timid Courage. Meanwhile Courage has a deeper bond with Munny due to their place of origin. Munny's still shaken about the kidnapping, but her battling, eating, and petting have made her a bit less skittish, which general my goal with her. The experience share has been a blessing on my team, since she's been able to keep up with her peers. I'm still unsure about having her battling, though.

I'm petting Munny when I see White run into the center and I wave my hands to flag her down. "White! White!" I look like an idiot with my incessant waving as she doesn't even notice my presence. I have to follow her. "Guys? Follow me." With Munny on my hands, we trail White upstairs to the rooms. "White?" A nearby door slams, startling me. "White!" Madge begins to bark behind me.

Several banging noises are heard. I follow the direction of the noises and knock on the door. "White! It's me!"

"Go away!" she screams.

Oh no. White's distressed. This isn't something that happens too often to White, who is typically a pretty coolheaded individual. When she does have an emotional meltdown, it tends to be over something drastic. It's almost always her comforting me rather than the other way around. That's not good, 'cause I have no idea how to console her.

I softly knock on her door. "White, dear, if you want to talk to me, I'm always here." I begin to turn the knob. The door's unlocked and when I come in, White's sitting on the floor, her legs spread about. I can't tell if she's crying, has been crying, or is about to cry, but her heaving is problematic. I follow her lead and sit down besides her, letting Munny position herself in White's arms. I begin to play with her curls. I look back at my three remaining Pokémon and nod, giving them a signal to help me comfort White.

I don't ask her what's wrong. I know she'll tell me when ready. She's still not crying though. Instead, she sets Munny aside and brings her knees to her face, cradling herself back and forth. "I'm an idiot, Bianca. I'm such an idealistic idiot."

"You're not. That's supposed to be me," I joke. I get a death glare in reply. "Okay, no. You're the idiot." It worsens and my eyes automatically downcast. "Sorry."

White takes a deep breath. "I went to go challenge Elesa, but I saw N again instead. He was waiting for me and asked me if I was looking for Team Plasma. I forgot about the incident from a few hours back and he led me to the Ferris wheel. It was kind of sudden and mildly creepy."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

White buries her face between her knees.

"I swear on Giratina that if he hurt you, Ganon and I will end him." I glance at Ganon, who nods back, smacking a clenched fist against his hand.

"It's not that. I don't think he'd ever physically hurt me. You know how earlier today your dad confronted you and you said it was surreal? This was worse." I'm quiet, waiting for White to explain what actually happened. "As the Ferris wheel was headed up, he took my hand and gave me the strangest look. He looked helpless for that one moment. It's weird because I'm not going to ever forget how the sunset made his hair look orange...and..." White realizes she's trailed off. "I know you haven't seen N like Cheren has, but this is a guy who is pretty high and mighty so to see him like this was so jarring." Does White really have a thing for—"And then he admitted he was 'King of Team Plasma,'" she finishes in air quotes.

I do a double take. Wait, what?

"That was my reaction, exactly. Except I tried to throw him off the Ferris wheel, but he's got both height and weight on me so it was kind of impossible. I tried, though," she says a bit more casually, all while shrugging her shoulders. "But the point being is that I feel...I never expected someone so young to be running such a thing. I expected that Ghetsis freak to be the one behind this. N...he needs help. He found his guys, who were looking for him as I tried to murder him in my rage so he battled me. I won, and he ran away. It wasn't until then that it really absorbed me. This need. I have to help him, Bianca."

I take one of White's hands as soon as it goes free. Seriously? King of Team Plasma? In all of Unova's recent history, there hasn't even been an instituted monarchy.

"He told me to collect the badges from each area and prove my worth as a challenger." White pauses. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I'm overreacting to all of this. I've just been so overwhelmed by this whole Team Plasma thing. I've seen them literally every other day on this journey. I can't have a nice little self-discovery to myself. I just want to enjoy things. Why can't I have that? Maybe I'm just not meant for that." Munny senses her distress and rubs against her arms. Courage meanwhile tries to climb on me, but I don't let him.

"I'm sorry White. But you know what you have to do. You have a purpose, White. Your purpose is to take Team Plasma down. You're strong, smart, beautiful, and my best friend." She gives a small gruff, which sounds lighthearted to me. "Either way, I'll back you up and so will Cheren. Always. Anyway, have you even seen him?"

"Yeah. He's staying over at Desert Resort to grow stronger. He thinks he can resist the sandstorms if he stays long enough." I roll my eyes. Courage finally climbs onto me and I allow him to do so if only because I'm going to stand up in a minute or so.

"Hey White, do you want to go out for coffee? I know this amazing place."

She nods, forcing herself up. "Yeah. Take me please." It isn't until I let White out first that I hear her sniffling. I don't want her to cry tonight, but I'm pretty certain she'll cry when she's alone. And I can't help her there.

Cheren comes to town around mid-day, ready to take on the Gym and I tell him about my last few days with Plasma and my dad. We're having coffee together and his confidence is oozing. "I have studied the methods of the ground and of the sand. I am ready. My body is ready."

White's currently challenging Elesa so we're waiting for her. "Wow, Cheren. Way to sound too intense for your own good."

"I have seen documentaries. And if Alder could do it, then so can I."

"You know, if you want to be champion, wouldn't you try to do something original?" I say.

"I am! No one is brave enough to stay a few nights at the Desert Resort. It's creepy," Cheren says with a shudder. His glasses fall slightly below the bridge of his nose and he pushes them back up again. "There's that weird Pokémon, Yamask, which followed me around everywhere and when I scanned it, the Pokédex said that it was once a human." Cheren's impatience is really showing right now. "Is White going to come anytime soon? I kind of want to challenge Elesa already. Also, I have a question to ask, is Elesa hotter-I mean-more electrifying in person?"

"Totally," I say, blushing. I'm not attracted to girls, but I can judge them on their own physical attractiveness!

"She won't distract me from my goal though." Cheren used to have a giant poster of her a few years ago. It got replaced by Cynthia in a black bikini (it was a magazine spread that showed her splashing on a beach here in Unova) simply because she was a champion and totally his type more than Elesa and some of the other female champions were. It makes me feel a bit awkward whenever I see it.

And just on cue, White comes. "I did it!" She shows her Bolt Badge to us.

"I'm up! Bye guys!" Cheren says and excitedly takes off.

"Don't forget that—" But Cheren's out the door before she finishes, "Elesa isn't as weak to ground types as you'd think." She shrugs. "Oh well. His funeral. Anyway, I have nothing to do until Cheren beats her. The bridge to Driftveil is shut down and she's the only one who can call Clay." I sip my coffee some more.

"So what do you have planned?"

"Maybe watch a tennis match or something. You wanna come?" White's into sports a lot more than Cheren or myself. She was something of a jock in school, since she did a lot of track and field but she never meshed with her her teammates. She always preferred to hang out with us rather than them. It was ironic, because Cheren and myself would have probably tried a lot harder to befriend her teammates if we were as athletic. But still, I have no interest in sports.

"Not really. Maybe I'll go get some extra training while at it."

"Good idea. None of these leaders have given me a challenge so far. Elesa is a different story. She's got a pair of Emolgas and likes to use Volt Switch continuously. If you don't watch out, she'll waste you before getting to her Zebstrika. The battle with her took an hour and a half."

"Darn."

"Yeah. Cheren's in for a world of pain if he summons a ground type. Those Emolgas..." A silence lulls on us. "Anyway. I forgot to thank you about last night. It really was an overreaction. I just wasn't expecting that."

I shake my head. "It's fine."

White looks at her wrist and gives an impatient huff. "I need to get to Driftveil pretty quickly."

"After Cheren challenges her, I'll wait till later today. I might stay here another day so that you two get to Driftveil, though I can't really stall. Juniper's waiting for me and I'm working on my tardiness habit."

I might relax here a bit more but I also really kinda want to train. I don't know, really.

Juniper's right when she says Nimbasa's appeal quickly fades once you're there for too long. The amusement park aspect becomes kind of gimmicky and fake the longer you're exposed to it. Maybe it's because the wanderlust is kicking in.

I find myself skittering all over Nimbasa as the day fades and see Cheren off at the Center. Time for day two of my grind. Fun, fun, fun.

I come to challenge Elesa the next day...at least I want to. The problem with that is that the Gym is a roller coaster park. I don't like roller coasters. Well...I'm not particularly fond of high-octane movement speeds associated with gravity screws. I naturally scream each time the roller coasters take me from place to place and my heart stops when confronted with the loop-de-loop.

I frantically pat my hands against my hat, glad its still on my head. "Glad to see you've finally come, Bianca," Elesa says with an amused grin on her face. She's sitting down casually with her hands placed behind her, her long blonde hair touching the ground. "I was wondering when you'd show. No seriously, I've got a busy schedule and I'm planning on seeing my boyfriend soon."

"You've got a boyfriend?"

"Why does everyone sound so surprised when I say that?" Elesa says. "Anyway, if that roller coaster didn't make you dizzy, then I'll be here to make your head spin. Go Boris!"

"Go Madge!"

The expected Emolga is out, though it isn't the one from the musical (or the one that was there during the incident with dad). It flies about in the small platform. In a way, I can take advantage of the small battleground, as the Emolga can't fly too far from what I have planned.

"Madge, use Work Up!" Madge stays in place, pumping herself up.

"You know what to do, Boris! Volt Switch!" The Emolga falls back into her trainer's shoulder's and a second comes out. It's the one from the musical this time.

"Crunch!" Madge takes a big bite out of the second Emolga.

"Good job. Though that was a lucky strike. Natasha, use your Agility."

"Crunch her again!" But Madge misses. This is gonna take a while.

Elesa makes a switch noise with her hand. "Volt Switch." The female Emolga goes back to Elesa's other arm, the male one switching back with her.

"Keep Crunching." Madge opens her mouth over at the male Emolga, but the damage isn't as deep as the female one. I look at my app and see how my Pokémon are doing health wise. One more-

"Volt Switch!" And Madge faints from exhaustion. I have two I can possibly choose. Courage and Munny. There's no way I'd let Ganon out with these two flying menaces. "Your Herdier put up a good fight, Bianca. But it's important to realize that I may be a supermodel, but that doesn't interfere with my training." Natasha the Emolga is up next and I choose Munny to finish her off.

"Munny, use Zen Headbutt!" But it's too late as Elesa uses a Super Potion on her. The damage Munny gives her still keeps the female Emolga in the green zone. We're gonna be here a while.

"Volt Switch!"

"Zen Headbutt!"

"Volt Switch!"

"Moonlight!"

And the pattern continues who who knows how long. Once the male Emolga is in the red, Elesa uses her second potion on him. I'm lucky enough that the female one is in the orange zone, according to my app. I ask Munny to use Moonlight one more time and she makes her recovery. She's at full HP and not ready to back down. She's come a long way from being the weak link of my team.

"Use Volt Switch again, Boris." That's right where I want her.

"Use Zen Headbutt." The attack is critical and Natasha the Emolga goes down, finally. Her comrade Boris is out, ready to avenge her. "Use Zen Headbutt." I'm down to my last Power Point on it. It doesn't go down with that hit. I'm in trouble.

"Aerial Ace," Elesa says.

"Munny come back!" It's a risky move but I have to use Courage. "Courage, you're up next."

"Aerial Ace it!" The attack hits Courage really hard. Hard enough for him to be low on HP as well.

"Use Vine Whip!" Finally. FINALLY! Boris the Emolga is taken down.

"Good. You're first challenge is done. Few people get to defeat my Boris and Natasha. But my Zebstrika is even harder to take down." Out comes her famed Zebstrika. Its mane is something to behold, as it looks like thunder waves on a hilly plane.

"That's fine." Courage readies himself, even though he's about to fall over.

"Quick attack!" I expected Courage to fall down in that one hit, but I want to give Elesa some shock value as well.

"Munny, you're up again." Munny's up and at them. She gives the Zebstrika a smirk. She's prepared for what's going to happen, but hopefully she can withstand it. In order to do this, I need to beat Elesa at her own game.

"Zebstrika, use Flame Charge."

"Yawn!" The attack hits Munny pretty hard, but she manages to elicit a Yawn when he gets too close. I use a Super Potion on her. "Good job."

"Use Spark."

Munny barely survives the attack and when Elesa's Zebstrika hits her, she pauses in her steps, falling down, sleeping. I know this is a risky strategy as he can wake up at any given moment, but I call back Munny and switch her for Ganon.

Elesa is currently experiencing shock and awe as her Zebstrika is down.

"Use Arm Thrust!" The attack hits once…twice…three…four times. It isn't enough to take him out, but it's a start. Obviously Zebstrika doesn't attack back despite Elesa's pleas. "Use Flame Charge this time." Ganon grows faster in speed and manages to chuck down Zebstrika once more, leading him into the lower orange zone. When I look at Elesa, her serene poker face is gone.

"This is going to be my third defeat in a row as I have used up my maximum allowance amounts of potion usage. How dazzling! I didn't tell you why I felt the need to help you."

"Yeah? Go again with Flame Charge."

"When I was your age, I went out to find myself. My parents had no problem with it. I didn't know what I wanted in life, much like you said in your conversation with your dad and I figured. Like your dad, my parents wanted what was best for me." Zebstika wakes up. "Oh good. Maybe I can still win this. Use Spark."

Because Ganon is a powerhouse, it doesn't affect him very much. "You were saying?"

"My, you're different than the girl I saw the other day. Much more confident. I like this. Maybe you can try for a career in modeling. You're a bit on the short side, but we need more models with a hip to waist ratio like you. Anyway, I was discovered while walking on the pier in Castelia City. I was told I was a shining beauty and then took a headshot. The rest is history. Use Spark once more, darling."

But it's futile and the attack somehow misses. "Arm Thrust." Ganon takes it down on the second punch.

"I was excited to see my life ahead of me and when I told my parents, they callously rejected my newfound passion and disowned me for taking on a career that wasn't appropriate enough for them. We weren't quite as well off as we once were. It didn't help that it happened after my brother became a professional gambler as a result. I haven't spoken to my parents ever since my career took off." Elesa's expression quickly changes from wistful to ecstatic. "Congratulations, Bianca. I shall present to you the Bolt Badge. Go and find yourself!"

I open my badge case and put the badge back inside.

"Oh right! I have a date! Come with me!" Elesa takes my hand and sits next to me on the roller coaster. She yells excitedly as I cry out one last time in fear. Elesa, on the other hand, has her arms up in the air. "Roller coasters. I just love the thrill of the moment."

"Eep." Elesa gently shakes her head and adjusts herself.

"Leesee!" A male voice comes from the doorway.

"Arty! My love!" Of all people, I didn't expect to see Elesa running towards and passionately kissing Burgh of all people. If anything, I thought he was—

"Oh Bianca! It's nice to see you again."

"You two are together?!" I ask, completely incredulous.

"Why does everyone always think I'm gay? She's the one here who is higher on the Kinsey Scale," Burgh exclaims, pointing at Elesa, who is just smitten by him. Wait, I never even said or thought...You know what? Never mind.

"You two are totally adorable!" I say, not really putting much into what Burgh says.

"Aww," Elesa says. "But seriously. Burgh and I don't have much time to spend together because of our busy schedules so we really have to get going. I hope to see you go far, dear. You deserve to shine bright." Elesa walks away. Then she stops. "Oh. And you will someday face my brother in battle and he's much, much, much more of a challenge than I pose. Good luck with that!"

"Are you ready, my electric buggaloo?" Burgh says, crowning his arm so that she can take his.

"Oh but of course, my gallant Gavantula!"

But before they walk off into the sunset, Burgh pauses to speak. "Hey, Miss Bianca, are you still planning on seeing my art show soon?"

"I don't know if I'll be in the city again anytime soon, but I'd love to come and see it!"

"I'd love to see you and your friend there. Toodles!" And now they both walk adorably into the sunset. Aww...I hope I can someday find love like that. But for now, I have my Pokémon to love and that's totally okay!

It's so funny how I can very clearly remember writing this in March of 2014 and listening to Turning Tables on repeat. The album 21 is basically my WhitexN/Ferriswheel playlist.