Chapter 22
"Can we stay right here in this atmosphere, Like we're flying in outer space, Don't look down, Up this high, we'll never hit the ground, Don't look down, See that sky, we're gonna reach it now"-Don't Look Down by Martin Garrix ft Usher
It's been a month since White beat Alder and won her championship. She's made so much money from her winnings that she sends them to her mother for home renovation purposes. I'm glad I'm away from home most of the time because the noise can be loud even from Juniper's lab.
Meanwhile, I am consumed by my work. Cheren is...absent.
The only person I seem to have a steady correspondence is with Colress. Even though we both get distracted by our lifestyles, we still manage to somewhat talk to each other, even if its about technology and our Pokémon. It's not much, though, but it's something.
"Tomorrow is a big day for us, Bianca," Juniper says as I pick up on the delivery of purebred starters for the upcoming trainers. "Tomorrow we embark to Castelia City as I have a speech to give for a Pokémon Origins class. Afterwards, I am giving you the choice to fight Skyla. I emailed her, and she's going to be in town as well so you can use Burgh's Gym to go and fight her. It's a good idea especially considering that her Gym's designs are constantly under scrutiny for Pokémon trainer injuries."
I've been training my Pokémon steadily since the battle with Clay. I'm very close to evolving both Sheik and Poe into a Mienshao and a Lampent, respectively, but I'm not going to use them in the battle against her. Not since there are three others I can use to a better effect.
"Professor Juniper, why do you always tell me things at the last minute?"
"Would it help if I gave you coffee?" Her and her bribing never ceases to fail and I eye her down.
"Yes."
"Anyway, you can then hang out with that friend of yours, because you haven't spent time with anyone, at least not since Hilda White came back to town that one time. I never see you hang out with friends so it'd be a nice change."
"That's because everyone's busy all the time." It's true. Juniper worries about me as much as any parent would. It's kind of comforting.
"You're young, though. I didn't think you'd be this devoted to the cause. I think you should live a little. What's that phrase the younger crowd says? Yolo? Yola? Yo yo yo?" She's making it worse.
Embarrassment floods through my cheeks as I cannot believe Professor Juniper used that phrase. I facepalm. "Never again." The room is quiet and I burst into loud giggles.
"My point still stands. I still want you to enjoy yourself. You're not going to be eighteen forever."
"Well, duh! I'm turning nineteen next week!"
Juniper gives me a sly smile and pats my hat. I go back to my work.
It took me forever to decide on what I was going to bring to the conference, but I ultimately decided to wear my orange blazer over a white long-sleeved undershirt, black pants over leggings, and green flowered earrings. Juniper said I had to dress seriously so this was the most appropriate outfit I could muster. It's feels kind of weird wearing pants since I've gotten so used to wearing my flowing skirts. It's winter, but it's not as cold as previous winters so I can manage with these clothes.
I can't decide on what I want to do with my hair. I always had long hair growing up, but there were several problems that came with having hair that went down your back. For one, it'd quickly get tangled and messy without doing anything to it. I'd take forever in the shower, and just thinking about the maintenance makes me shudder. It would also fall off like crazy and it would sometimes end up falling in unfortunate places, like inside my mouth whenever I ate. There was also the issue that I looked like my mother more with my long hair, but that wasn't as bad of an issue until I was about seventeen or so and wanted to go train but I had it lopped off by then.
But it's times like this where I actually do miss having longer hair, as I can think up dozens of hairstyles that can go with this outfit. Maybe I'll start growing out my hair again. Maybe. It's kind of a big "if" at the moment.
"Wow, you look serious, Bianca," dad says when I meet him in the kitchen.
"Really? I was hoping so." I give him a small twirl for effect.
"It's times like this when I look back and regret being so forceful towards wanting you to stay here. You've changed so much in these last few months and I want what's best for you. Please be careful in Castelia City." Dad gives me a big hug, which I return.
"I love you."
"Love you too."
When I get out of the door, Juniper's outside with her dad. She's dressed somewhat seriously and he's decidedly not. He seems to have a car, which is news to me, but I just roll with it.
Cedric takes us to Castelia City and I take Juniper's cue cards and number them while Cedric makes small talk. I also color-coded them to make sure she would stay on topic. I also wrote some subnotes telling her not to get distracted in her anecdotes while giving her speech. It's in these moments I realize how well I know Juniper and why she chose me to be her assistant.
She's not nervous or anything, but I'm nervous for her, if that makes any sense. I don't want her to trip onstage, even though that's more likely to happen to me than her. I'm just standing by the sidelines. Until the battle later on at Burgh's Gym, anyway.
I didn't realize how fast the car ride was and before I know it, I'm in front of Castelia University as Cedric drops us off and waves.
Oh my goodness, Castelia University. I have so many feelings associated with this school that I can't even begin to describe. I can't help but wonder what things would be like had I gotten in last year. I see all these students dressed up either casually or in lab coats and they're just walking in this messy synchronization. A part of me wants to be a part of that organized chaos, but another part of me doesn't. It doesn't feel right these days to fantasize about being a student.
The building close to where Cedric drops us off is this brand new building I have never seen before, though I think it was still in construction during my relentless stalking phase from last year. The facade of it is made of glass and aluminum, which lets me see the passing cars and bustling streets. It's really cool!
"Did you know this building has both a library and a café?" Juniper says. I know where she's going with this.
"No. You'll get too jittery. Just go onstage and then we'll talk coffee." I know Juniper well enough to know when her coffee limit has been met. If she consumes a certain amount, she won't stop shaking and it'll look bad and then people will start talking. I know Juniper doesn't care about people saying things behind her back, but I respect her too much.
I know she's my only source of coffee these days, but I know she can abstain, and so can I.
We're backstage and I take a peek on the side of the stage and see that it isn't quite filled at maximum capacity, but there's a decent amount of people. I can't see anyone's faces, but it makes me feel even more nervous.
"Hey Prof!" I hear an excited voice talking to Juniper. When I turn around, I see a six foot tall redhead in sky blue talking to Juniper. She's excitable and friendly and I think I remember her. She's Skyla, Mistalton's Gym Leader. I approach the two.
"This is my assistant, Bianca. Gym Leader Skyla here has helped me with my research on Sigilyph a few months ago." I knew that already thanks to the notes, but I smile and shake my hand with Skyla's.
"It was all you! You did the hard part. All I did was take you to Desert Resort and let you examine my Sigilyph. Oh, that reminds me!" Skyla takes out one of the Pokéballs in her fanny pack and a strange looking Pokémon comes out. Its multicolored and hovering. Its wings are primarily yellow and blue and red stripes and the center is green and black with what I think are eyes. But it has a top center part with another eye.
Oh gosh, its totally confusing me!
One thing is reading about it, but another thing is seeing it in the flesh. I remember how Cedric told me about the Ancient Unovans a while ago during the event at Dragonspiral. It was only a few months ago, but it feels like so long ago.
Neither Juniper, Skyla, or myself hear the cue that signal's Juniper's introduction due to how distracted we are in the conversation. I quickly hand over my notes to her, but the impact is so strong that some of them fall into the ground, scattering into a bunch of pieces. I knew I should have placed a rubber band on them!
"Ack!" I bend over and pick up as many as I can, sorting them to the best of my ability as quickly as possible. I think it was white, green, blue, purple, pink, red, orange and yellow. Or was it yellow before orange? I don't have time to read them, but I hand them back to Juniper.
I watch her from the sidelines, meaning behind the curtains while Skyla and her Sigilyph are nearby.
"Good afternoon. As you may know, I am Professor Aurea Juniper and am I here, oh wait, that came out wrong." She giggles to herself, and the audience laughs alongside her as well. "I am here to talk about Pokémon origins, the Pokémon Sigilyph in particular. This lecture will have a demonstration by a Professional League-Certified Trainer Skyla Anemone. Afterwards, if you want to see her in battle, she will battle my assistant Bianca after this lecture, showing how the Sigilyph works in battle, if you're curious to know."
I turn back, gulping at Skyla, who gives me a toothy grin, a wink, and a thumbs up!
"So as you know, my specialty is Pokémon origins and my goal is to document as many of Unova's native Pokémon as possible. It will only be in a few months in which I will finally finish my research on the Klink line, but I am sure you will all eagerly anticipate that soon. So Sigilyph, will you come out now?"
The Sigilyph and its owner both come out from behind me and a spotlight is centered on them. Skyla does some tricks with the Pokémon, as if it were gymnastics bars. Wow, shes'got some amazing upper body strength. I'm surprised that for a rather emotionless looking Pokémon, it seems really happy to be onstage.
"Sigilyph are typically found in the Desert Resort. While it is a mostly uninhabitable place, research has shown that it was once one of the capitals of the Ancient Unovans. Historians have been able to pierce together that there were two capitals. The first is Desert Resort, and the other is submerged underwater in Undella Bay. We are currently in process of funding an underwater team to unearth these treasures."
She doesn't mention that Lenora and her crew found Zekrom's stone there, but if that were the case, I'd like to place an educated guess that this was the capital where the Hero of Ideals stood, aka White's predecessor. As for the underwater exploration team, I only know the bare bones of that plot. Juniper wants to do this maybe three years down the line, as she's already got projects lined up that include The Swords of Justice and Meloetta. I know there's a man in Undella offering loads of money for their treasures.
"From what we understand, Sigilyph are Pokémon of the old ways. They require little to no food or water and can sustain themselves in a harsh environment. Their lifespans are unknown, meaning they will have likely outlived their trainers as Sigilyphs can live to be centuries old. Their duty is to protect their lands and watch out for invaders. When they take to a trainer, they categorize this data and reprogram, if you will, to protect their trainers." She nods towards Skyla.
"Yeah!" Her voice is much less stern and informative than Juniper's. "My Sigilyph is always watching out for me. Whenever I do my canonball stunts, she's usually hovering nearby the target and saving me when needed. I've had a few close calls and without her, I don't know if I'd be here right now." A panel shoots down and footage is shown from an airshow Skyla did that was dated four years ago that is completely muted. It shows her skydiving without a parachute, but she seems to have been a few seconds early on the draw and visibly freaking out. The footage then shows the Sigilyph quickly reacting and flying high enough to reach her. Even though I knew the outcome already, with Skyla being here, the look on her face in that video footage is enough to burn a permanent image.
Juniper goes on to explain the more technical aspects of the Sigilyph, which includes the newly discovered information on how they do not like making up new routes and despise change above all else. Even though there have been Sigilyph spotted in other regions, they are more openly hostile towards trainers due to how they aren't native to that land.
I then notice that she says the wrong thing at the wrong time, concluding things a bit early. I cringe as I realized I mixed up the last two cards. I whisper-hiss at Juniper and when she turns around, I make a flipping gesture to show her she's mixed up the cards.
"Oh right. Now for the battle!" I smack my hand against my forehead. That's not what I meant! "Aww, my assistant is a little bit shy." Shy? I didn't think I'd be put on the spot like this! I'd thought we'd battle it out in Burgh's Gym?! As I try to collect my thoughts, I hear clapping and cheering.
Oh goodness, they want to see a battle, don't they? It isn't until now that I realize that all of my formal battles haven't been in the public eye. This would be the first time I battle with spectators watching and it would be a few hundred in the right here and now. I catch my breath at this realization and gather up my strength.
I can do this. I show myself from the curtain and the cheers go wild.
"Welcome to our live Gym Battle. I am Professor Aurea Juniper and I have moderator status for Bianca Bel's sixth Gym battle."
"You have mod privileges?" I ask her.
"Of course! I'm the Pokémon distributor for Unova's League so I have some stake in it!" Makes sense, I guess. "Anyway, how many Pokémon will the challenger plan on using?"
I didn't really have time to think, but I was originally planning on going with Madge, Ganon, and Munny, but I think its better if I swap Munny with Poe. It will be Poe's first Gym battle, but I trust her. "I'll use three."
"I'll use three, too!" Skyla says.
"Madge, come out!" I decide to play it safe.
"Sigilyph, come back. Unfezant, come out!" She's going to even the score too by adding a normal type. Her Unfezant is quite small and its plainness indicates its a female.
"Use Quick Attack!" Skyla orders.
"Madge, use—" Skyla's Unfezant is instantly attacking Madge before I can issue any commands. "Use Wild Charge!" Despite the nearness to the Unfezant, Madge's attack misses.
"And it misses!" Juniper says on the mic. "Statistically speaking, electric attacks have a lower accuracy rate, but if it were to hit Skyla's team, then the damage would be supereffective!"
Oh crud. Now I have to think up a new strategy.
"Leer!" Skyla's battle strategy relies on speed so I have to think this through. Quickly, of course.
"Madge...um..." she awaits my command, "Use Return!" She manages to hit the Unfezant pretty hard, but it isn't enough to hit the orange zone.
"Leer at it some more!"
So she relies on speed and lowering defense. "Surf!" The water materializes from her fur.
The attack seems to take Skyla aback, as well as the crowd. Well, it isn't really common knowledge for a Stoutland to have learned Surf. I was surprised myself, but I now use it as a surprise tactic. Surf is known for a high accuracy, but I'm hoping it can attract what I have next planned. The Unfezant uses her Quick Attack on Madge and this is a critical hit, almost putting her in the red zone. I only have one chance to do this.
"Wild Charge!"
I hold my breath...and it misses. Uh-oh.
"Use Quick Attack and finish it."
Madge quickly falls.
"And Trainer Bianca's first Pokémon is down!" Juniper exclaims.
I take a deep breath, suddenly feeling very nervous. "Ganon, you're up next. I think you can take it down. Use Return!"
The Unfezant falls. "And Trainer Bianca gets her revenge on Gym Leader Skyla!"
Skyla smiles triumphantly, as though she never tied with me. "Swanna, go!"
I do a double take, my mouth falling. I did not expect this. I'm in trouble.
"It looks like Bianca is at a disadvantage. Swanna's primary type is Water and the secondary type is Flying and as you know, Emboars are Fire/Fighting types, meaning it has all to lose."
"Ganon, let's get this over with, okay? Use Wild Charge!" This is my one chance. I need to capitalize on my one double weakness attack before Skyla deals hers.
"Use Aerial Ace!"
Ganon stays put in his place, slowing generating electricity out of the fires. I know Ganon's concentrating. He's one for accuracy rather than swiftness. It's a huge risk, but I trust him completely. My problem right now is that I've lost sight of the Swanna so I can only hope Ganon can see his opponent. His body gives out a release and I can see the yellow blur that is the Swanna being electrocuted in mid-air.
It falls into the ground in one fell swoop.
"And what a shocking turn of events! Trainer Bianca has gone beyond the odds and one-shotted Skyla in one blow!"
"I guess that only means one thing! Sigilyph!"
"You did good, Ganon, but I want Poe to have some of the spotlight, if that's okay with you." Poe the Litwick comes out, as happy as ever. The crowd cheers for her and she flutters about. I've come to notice that out of all of my Pokémon, she's easily the most outgoing and least afraid of people. Her happiness incites a feeling spontaneity and motivation. I'm glad I'm finally able to use her in battle to her full potential.
"Use Hypnosis!"
"Overheat!" If Skyla's going to put Poe to sleep on her debut, Poe's gotta do at least something. We're both successful in our endeavors: Skyla's Sigilyph is burned while my Poe is fast asleep. One of them will make continuous damage while the other isn't totally ensured. Poe snores, her lights flickering on and off.
None of Skyla's attacks make a huge impact on Poe, but they do take her to the edge of the green zone by the time she wakes up and her light is back on.
"Poe, use Shadow Ball!" Poe takes in energy, a purple light emitting from her fire.
"Wick!" Her aim is a little off, especially since she's more speed based than my other Pokémon, but its enough to make an impact. The Sigilyph isn't down yet but with one more attack and I know I'll win my next badge. I can hear Juniper lecture about the Sigilyph's battling style, but I don't pay attention to it.
Skyla uses a Potion on her Sigilyph. I should have known.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Poe's attack hits a little better but she doesn't take down her opponent. I'm tempted to take out Ganon to finish this battle, but I want to see Poe's capabilities. I have to see her dynamics in serious battle.
"Put it to sleep again!" But the attack misses! Poe has vanished and floated to a different area of the stage.
"Use Shadow Ball again! Now's your chance!" Poe is able to quickly ambush and land a blow on her opponent, causing her to faint.
"The winner of the match is Trainer Bianca!" And the next thing I know, the spotlight is fully on me and Poe alone on the stage. I give a small smile while Poe keeps fluttering. I summon Ganon out to bow to the cheering, faceless crowd.
When the stage goes back to normal, I receive my Jet Badge and my nerves make me leap away from the stage. I don't know how White can do this constantly on national television. I can barely handle an audience of a few hundred. Maybe I should contact the League about seeing if I can avoid the cameras. I await for Juniper to finish her lecture, which isn't for much longer.
"That was fantastic!" Juniper says when she reaches backstage. "Anyway, I'm going to give you the rest of the afternoon off to do some sightseeing." I notice how she somehow has her steaming cup of coffee in her hands as though it came out of hammerspace. I don't know how she does these things.
I stand outside the glass building and make my way over to the wooden table.
I have a flashback to ninth grade P.E class where White and I would make slow laps around lake on Fridays and how we would always kind of chill out after and watch the clouds. White would lay back on the grass and I would find a table and lay myself down at the top, watching the clouds go by. Thinking of these younger and carefree days makes me miss White even more than I'd care to admit.
I do that in the here and now and stare into the mostly sunny skies and I realize that suddenly, I'm no longer in the mood to talk or hang out with people. I need to get to the next plan on action and defeat Brycen as quickly as I can. I have all to win against him, as two-thirds of my team are advantageous to him.
I scroll to White's number and being to type:
Hey White. I've got my 6th badge today. Just so you know, I'll see you soon.
White is quick to respond to my message. Congrats! Looking forward to it. So am I.
A/N: It took me a while to find a song describing this chapter, since it's kind of hard to find a song about flying and that fear of crashing, which is reflected in this chapter. Also, idk when you'll read this but thank you so much IcyAngels for reading and enjoying and reviewing this story (as well as for being super cool in general)! I also definitely recommend her story, Hoenn, The Land of Abundance, which is an adventure story about friendship and love (especially in the familial sense) and finding yourself.