Episode 17: The explanation

Niko was pacing back and forth on the train cart in a minor state of panic. There they were, in Anville Town, hundreds of miles away from Nimbasa City, where Warren was—and all of their stuff. While he was busy panicking, Charlotte flipped through her book to find out more about Anville Town—all for vain, though.

"There isn't much on this place, other than it's a resting stop for trains. Which is odd, since it's so far outside of the rest of the region." She said. "Let's get off, first, and then figure out our next steps…Niko?" She asked, looking up from her book. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not!" He said, raising his voice a little, shocking Charlotte. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Warren has no idea, and we're going to be late to the game!"

"It's just a game…"

"But it's a commitment, Charlotte!" Niko said, now nearly shouting. "When someone invites you to something, you make damn sure you go!"

"Okay, first off don't yell at me." She said decisively, slamming her book together and forcing it into her bag. "Secondly, I get the commitment thing. But we need to worry about getting back to Nimbasa first. Not about whether or not we'll meet our commitment. Warren will understand. We just didn't know where we were going or how long it would take. And on the positive side, maybe there's a train that immediately goes back."

Niko calmed down, looking more ashamed than anything. "Sorry." He muttered.

"Don't be, it's fine." She said, patting him on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go." She said, leading the way off of the train cart and into Anville Town.

Anville Town was pretty much all Charlotte said it was—a train station. There were small houses off in the distance, but it was clear that the town existed solely for the purpose of this train station. It didn't take long to make it to the ticket stand, which was roughly 100 meters from their train stop. As Niko looked up at the schedule he was suddenly dismayed—the next train to Nimbasa City wasn't for another couple of hours.

"The next ticket for Nimbasa City is in two hours and fifteen minutes." The man at the ticket stand said lazily, almost as if reading the minds of Niko and Charlotte. "Would you like a ticket for the next train?"

"Two, please." Charlotte said. Niko stood behind her, twiddling his thumbs. The man took the money she gave him in exchange for the tickets, and after giving Niko one of the them, the pair walked over to a nearby café to rest and eat something. "Wow, I'm hungry…"

"Battling does that to you." Niko said quietly, summoning Servine, Rufflet, and Roggenrola. He gave a Rawst Berry to Servine to heal her of her burn from Chandelure's flamethrower. "Are you alright, Servine?" He asked. The Grass Snake Pokémon nodded before looking to a surprised Rufflet and Roggenrola and explaining the battle with Ingo and Emmet to them. Meanwhile, Niko sat down with his tea and a sandwich and stared at it for a moment before beginning to eat.

"Are you alright, Niko?" Charlotte asked before digging into her own meal.

"Of course I am, why?"

"Because…you seemed to content with life earlier today, and that battle seemed to rattle you a little."

"I was mad at myself for not realizing we were going here, of all places." Niko said, raising his hands into the air to illustrate his point."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else on your mind?" Charlotte asked. When Niko shook his head, she continued. "If there is, you know you can tell me, right?"

"Sometimes you can't." Niko said curtly, biting into his sandwich.

"Yes, you can. But if you don't want to, I understand."

It was several more minutes before anything was said between the two. Meanwhile, their Pokémon all ate as well, with Servine and Smeargle eating the most to recover from the exhaustion from their battle with Eelektross and Chandelure. The entire time, Niko was thinking about what Emmet and Ingo said to him. It was plainly obvious to him that they knew who he was, and his history. And he knew Charlotte was aware that something was up. At this point, everything seemed to be pointing in the direction of Niko telling Charlotte about his past and who he was. He just felt too awkward about opening up about it. Fortunately for him, his chance was brought to him.

"Emmet and Ingo kept referencing that they knew who you were. Be honest, Niko—do you know them?"

"No."

"Then why would they say that? Sorry if I'm prying too much."

"No, you're not." Niko said, finally finishing his food. I guess I should come clean now. "They do recognize me, but I've never met them before." When Charlotte was silent, briefly locking eyes with Niko before he averted his gaze, Niko continued. "I'm not exactly who I say I am…"

"What do you mean?"

"I…I'm Niko from Pallet Town. I'm a Pokémon Trainer, and have been for over four years now. You probably have questions just based on that, but let me explain.

"I have travelled throughout the Pokémon World, competing in four different conferences—the Indigo, Silver, Ever Grande, and Lily of the Valley Conferences. I've raised and trained nearly two dozen different Pokémon in that time, and have won over 30 gym badges. For most of that time I travelled with my friends from home—Fay and JJ, as well as one of my closest friends that I met along my journey, Brittany. I also travelled with my brother, Jake, and my ex-girlfriend, Lauren." He then stopped, looking at Charlotte and then at his Pokémon. Charlotte didn't seem surprised, but Rufflet and Roggenrola were. Servine, understandably, was not, since she already knew part of Niko's history.

"I knew I recognized you…you were in the Lily of the Valley Conference!" Charlotte said.

"Yes, and the fact that you recognized me freaked the hell out of me."

"Niko…you were a great trainer! Why did you give that up? Why did you feel the need to lie to people like Warren and I?"

Niko let out a heavy sigh. "A few reasons. One of them was that I was losing sight of my goal. I wanted to be a Pokémon Master, and see the entire world for myself. I wanted to meet new Pokémon and become the best possible trainer that I could be. But for three years I kept placing the same spot in each Pokémon League I entered—Top 8. I wasn't improving. After Lily of the Valley, Lauren—my ex—and I competed on Battle Island, which was basically a Battle Frontier in the Sinnoh region. There, we had to win five Frontier Prints from each of the five facilities.

"We faced the first 'Frontier Brain,' Palmer. Both of us lost, and we vowed to rematch him when we had the other four prints. I eventually got them, and when Lauren and I rematched him, she won and I forfeited. Yeah, I quit. I didn't see a path to victory against his powerful Dragonite, when my strongest Pokémon and my ice type both were unable to battle. I quit being a trainer at that point. But that was only one reason—the fact that I didn't feel like I was improving as a trainer. I wasn't getting any better.

"The other reason is this guy named Hunter. He's the guy you saw me battle—the one with the Toxicroak. He's a real jerk, and he constantly belittled me and my friends every time we had the misfortune of meeting up with him. And over time he finally got under my skin. He nearly killed my Rampardos in battle, he never stopped insulting my close friend JJ and girlfriend Lauren. He told me that if I couldn't beat Palmer then I couldn't ever beat him, and I would never be considered as a strong trainer.

"So, just after I forfeited to Palmer, I broke up with Lauren. I ended the first real relationship I ever had because she told me she loved me. Truthfully, I didn't know how I felt, and it bothered her more than me, and so she just left. Our futures were uncertain, too, since she was offered the position of Frontier Brain for winning all five prints, and I had no idea what to do. But then, just as I got back to the Pokémon Center, ready to make my trip home, I got a call from my mom.

"My dad had suddenly gotten very sick. And he wasn't getting any better. So I had to take the first flight back to Pallet Town that I could, but by the time I got home, he had passed away. I didn't know how to deal with it—first the forfeit, then the break up, and now I lost my dad, whom I had always looked up to, who had always believed that I could be the greatest trainer in the world…" Niko began to tear up a little at the thought of his father. "And I couldn't handle it. A few days later, on the day of his funeral, I left Pallet Town. Left behind my family, my friends, and my Pokémon—all of them—and went on a journey without a destination. I didn't even go to my father's funeral.

"So that's how I ended up here in Unova. It was the first region that came to mind when I was choosing where to go next. It was far enough away that no one would think to find me here. And so I pledged to begin my new life in Castelia City, working as a dishwasher while living in an apartment with Warren. And I never, ever, wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer again. I was too scared. Too scared of trying again. And furthermore I lacked any will to try. I had failed myself and everyone around me, left everyone that ever cared for me to be alone in my own sorrows.

"That's when I met Snivy, a few months later. She reminded me of what I gave up. What I lost. And it was hard getting back into it—training Pokémon, going on a journey. I really didn't want to do it—I meant that. But Warren and you and Snivy all wanted to, and so I did to make all of you happy. That's it." Niko said, slouching a little bit in his chair, looking deeply disturbed. Rufflet wiped the tears from his eyes with his wings. Servine was completely silent, trying to take in all of the new information. Roggenrola, who still didn't know Niko that well, seemed genuinely curious.

Charlotte was silent for some time, also trying to absorb what she just heard. "Niko…I don't know what to say, honestly."

"You don't have to say anything. I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't want to confront my own past, and didn't want to admit that I was such a failure. I missed my own dad's funeral! At the lowest point in my family's life, I abandoned EVERYONE! My friends went to the funeral, and I didn't! I was bullied by a jerk trainer who nearly killed one of my Pokémon, and I didn't have the ability to do anything about it! If I was ever destined to be a Pokémon Master, then wouldn't I have beaten Palmer, or Hunter, or anyone?"

Niko slammed his elbows onto the table, and put his head in his hands. He then felt a small, soft hand clasp his wrist. Looking up, he saw Charlotte sitting there.

"I believe in you, Niko." She said simply.

"What…?"

"I believe in you." She repeated. "You have every reason in the world to feel the way that you do. And I won't doubt for a moment that your past is difficult to bring up. I am not offended in the least that you chose not to tell me. I don't know how Warren would feel, but I think he would understand, too. But I also believe that you're strong enough to move past everything that you've done, both to yourself and those close to you. You've had the strength to tell me and your Pokémon, now I think you can use that strength to carry your further with your Pokémon. And Warren and I will be by your side every step of the way. I promise you that."

"That's what my friends said to me before I left." Niko said.

"True, and the common denominator there is you. If you truly feel bad about what you've done, then I have all of the confidence in the world that you won't abandon Warren or I, or those three." She said in reference to the Pokémon in Niko's possession. "I'm not the best at giving advice, but I think you're on the right path. You're winning battles again, you have a strong relationship with your Pokémon. You have two friends with you, supporting you the entire way. You're a good person, Niko. A good person who made a lot of mistakes. And I think you've owned up to those mistakes, but don't know how to move past them. It'll take a while, but you certainly can."

"Thanks, Charlotte. I appreciate hearing that." Niko said, feeling a little better about the situation. "I'm glad I met you and Warren. Really glad."

"Same here. We're in this together. We made the choice to go on this journey together, and nothing will split us apart. Except, of course, this stupid Battle Subway." This elicited a laugh from the both of them, which significantly lightened the mood.

Time eventually passed, and Niko and Charlotte finally made it on to the train en route back to Nimbasa City. The trip back seemed to go by quicker than the departure trip earlier. They looked back at the small Anville Town. Neither of them would miss the train station.

"Hey, Niko," Charlotte asked as they noticed they were slowing down. "So how do you know Sabrina?"

"I challenged her for her gym badge in Kanto. It was the first gym battle I ever lost, and then won in the rematch with my bulbasaur evolving into ivysaur." Niko said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, and Elliot?"

"He's actually a relative of my friend Fay. I lost to him in the quarterfinals of the Silver Conference in Johto. That was actually the last time I saw him before a few days ago. I convinced him to keep quiet about me and my past, and I was surprised that he agreed. As for Sabrina, I can't explain how she didn't reveal who I was. I guess it might have been her psychic powers."

Charlotte nodded, feeling more satisfied by Niko's responses. They walked out of Gear Station just as the moon was rising in the night sky. "Looks like we've missed the game." She said.

"Yeah you have!" A familiar voice shouted to them. Warren walked over, embracing both Niko and Charlotte. "Where have you two been? I've been so worried!"

"So…we got a little off course." Niko said. He and Charlotte then explained the past few hours, with Charlotte purposely leaving out Niko's story, both on his request and her own volition. When they finished, Warren seemed to understand.

"That Emmet and Ingo pair doesn't sound nice. I'd have loved to give them a piece of my mind…" He said.

"They were really strong, Warren. But their Pokémon were pretty cool." He then pulled out his pokédex to show Warren Eelektross and Chandelure. He responded with a silent "oh" in agreement. "Anyway, how was the game?"

"Good. The Beartics won in a landslide. It wasn't even a fair game. The Aspertia Stoutlands were no match at all." He then looked around, as if searching for something. "Say, you two want to try out that Ferris Wheel again?

"Sure, hopefully the ticket guy isn't a jerk." Niko said and, alongside Charlotte, walked off with Warren towards the strip of land with the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel. Unlike earlier that day, the trio were able to get onto the Ferris Wheel. Somehow, all three of them managed to fit into one seat on the wheel, and they were off, slowly making their way up and around the wheel.

Niko looked out at the city beyond. Nimbasa City was unlike anything he had ever seen before. At night it was a truly beautiful sight—so lively and bright and colorful. As he was admiring the view, he felt a finger tap him on the shoulder from his left.

"Thanks for telling me about your story, by the way." Charlotte whispered to him politely.

"No problem, I guess." Niko whispered back. "And same goes to you—you can tell me whatever you need to."

"Alright, fair enough. But you need to consider talking to Warren about it."

"Talk to me about what?" Warren asked, leaning over to the other two. "What's up?"

"I—Charlotte and I were thinking that I should go to the Nimbasa Gym tomorrow. Maybe in the afternoon I would challenge the gym leader. That's what I wanted to tell you." Charlotte nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, yeah that works!" Warren said with a smile. "Ready to get your fourth gym badge?"

"Of course I am." Niko said, balling his hand into a fist. "And so are my Pokémon." He added, this time with a new resolve in his voice. After finally opening up to someone about the past that constantly troubled him, Niko finally felt at peace, even if just a little.