Author's Note: Hiya, everyone! I noticed this story got a couple of follows and faves, so yay! As a note, this chapter contains a bit of backstory and headcanon if you catch my drift. But, I'm sure you'll find that out when you read this chapter. Enjoy the update I worked on for you guys! PS, I skipped the Join Avenue part because who cares.
The gates that led to Nimbasa City got an entire makeover from the last time I crossed it. Beneath me were squeaky clean floors that almost resembled a clear mirror, the ceiling was bright and reminisce of a glimmering aurora light, and people were gathered in different shops all around the corner.
"Welcome!" they all said individually.
"Hi there," I greeted back, waving.
"Greetings!" someone with sleek dark hair wearing a formal suit and tie chirped, running up to me with a briefcase full of several types of bottles. "Care for one? It'll make your skin feel smoother than a Happiny's bottom! Only 200 PokéDollars!"
"Well, I guess one wouldn't hurt," I decided, paying the fee and taking a bottle. "Besides, this'll come in handy in the morning. Thanks!"
Once the person was gone, I kept walking through the glamorous gate until I was on the outside. The bright sunny day only blazoned the exciting and scintillating sight of Nimbasa City. Nearly everything was still the same as two years ago; the buildings, the amusement park, the scurrying people just itching to get some sightseeing and activity in.
"Things never change," I laughed.
As I walked past a tall building near the Pokémon Center, something jumped out at me on one of the bridges. Upon closer inspection, it was a small yellow Bug-type with bright blue eyes, one that I now recognized after being in the Unova region longer.
"A Joltik!" I exclaimed, holding the tiny thing in my hands. "Where did you come from, little fella?"
"Hi! Let's play!" Joltik chirped, jumping around in my paws. "Wanna play, huh? Wanna play with me?"
"Well, I think we should get you back to your Trainer instead. Now, do you know where they are? What do they look like?"
"You found him! Pippy, come here!"
Pippy and I turned in the direction the mature male voice was coming from. Running our way was a tall man wearing a white and red-striped long coat, white pants and large shoes of the same color, and a white conductor's hat. In addition, the man had visible silver sideburns along with a grin that seemed almost contagious.
"Oh hey, is this your-"
My sentence was cut off by the man accidentally ramming into me, sending me, him, and Pippy over the bridge and into the canal. Despite the water not being deep enough to drench us, my hat unfortunately fell off and every inch of my hair got soaked along with my clothes. When the man (who was putting his white conductor's hat back over his messy silver locks) took Pippy back from my possession, he looked at me with sharp pale gray eyes full of awe and fascination as I wrung the water out of my hair after I let it down.
"I'm really sorry about that, Miss!" he insisted with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head as his cheeks turned rather pink. "Are you alright?"
"Yep," I answered, putting my damp hair back into a ponytail and fishing around for my hat. "Now, where's my-"
The man before me presented my wrung-out cap, which I took and placed back on my head after thanking him. I climbed out of the canal and back onto the bridge, the man following suit as Pippy clung to his hat.
"Thank you for finding Pippy!" he chirped, "I was wondering where he'd gone to!"
"Actually, I'd say he found me," I retorted. "Say, what's your name anyways?"
"I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss along with my brother. Wie heißt du?"
"Nice to meet you, Emmet! But, what was that last part?"
"Oops, mein fehler! I'm asking for your name, Miss."
"Oh! I'm Hynden."
"Hynden? Ah, a verrrrry pretty name for someone as beautiful as yourself," Emmet commented, suddenly taking my hand and kissing the top. "Say, would you like to challenge the Battle Subway? I'd be more than happy to battle you!"
"The Battle Subway? Where's that?"
"It's that building right there!"
Emmet pointed to the towering building with the jade green roof, and I stared at it with interest. I nodded to corroborate that I wanted to try it out. But then, another man walked up and approached us. The man looked exactly identical to Emmet, only whatever was white on Emmet (save for the dress shirt) was black on this guy. Secondly, this man had a rather serious expression on his face, which seemed to grow more grim when he took a look at me before diverting his attention back to Emmet. But, the man jumped a bit when Emmet immediately hugged him.
"Ingo! Where'd you go off to?" he chirped before letting the other man go.
"I think I should be asking you the question, mein lieber bruder," he said lightly. When he glanced at me, I flinched at the bitter scowl he gave me. "And who would you be? What exactly are you doing here? If you're lost, then I don't mind pointing you where you need to go."
"I'm Hynden," I introduced. "So, your name is Ingo? Are you a Subway Boss like Emmet here?"
"Yes, I am," Ingo confirmed. "Are you Emmet's latest 'catch'?"
"Catch? What do you- hey! FYI, I was about to challenge this Battle Subway you guys are in charge of!" I retorted, now getting angry with Ingo's attitude.
"Is that so? In that case, why don't we have a tag team battle right this moment?" Ingo suggested. "Nate, can you come over here please?"
Running this way now was a boy that looked to be around my age. He had messy brown hair separated by a carnelian visor, a blue short-sleeved jacket with black sleeves protruding from it, white shorts, black leggings with a single blue stripe on each leg, and red-and-black sneakers. He panted to catch his breath before standing up straighter.
"Yes, Mr. Ingo?" he asked.
"There's no need to use that much formality," Ingo insisted. "Anyways, I need you to be this girl's partner for a tag battle."
"A tag battle?" Nate questioned. "Okay. Are you ready, Miss?"
"More than ready! Let's see what the esteemed Subway Bosses are made of!" I proclaimed.
The four of us all made our way to the front of the Battle Subway. I was standing firmly besides Nate, just as ready to battle as he was. But, I noticed Ingo and Emmet were so synchronized that they almost looked like reflections of a mirror.
"Follow the rules and drive safely!" they both said boisterously, not missing a single word as they pointed. "All aboard!"
At the same time, Ingo and Emmet sent out a Gurdurr and Boldore respectively. My Pokémon of choice was Michi, and Nate's was his Dewott. Nate's Dewott attacked Boldore first with Water Pulse, but due to its Sturdy ability, it was still holding on for dear life.
"Michi, finish with Water Gun!" I commanded.
A powerful blast of water from my Marill's mouth effortlessly defeated Emmet's Boldore. Ingo commanded his Gurdurr to attack Michi with Wake-Up Slap, but Dewott came to her aid with another Water Pulse attack, which left great damage on its opponent.
"Michi, Bubble Beam," I told her.
Michi inhaled sharply and released a torrent of deathly bubbles at Gurdurr, defeating the Pokémon in seconds. Just as my Marill was cheering on her remarkable victory, a sudden whirlpool surrounded her and spread wide towards anyone and thing nearby (myself, Nate, and the twins included) as Michi started glowing bright. When the water submerged, we released our held breaths and were all soaked from head to toe, wringing out and drying anything that was sopping wet. As for Michi, she'd become an Azumarill at last.
"Two in a row!" Michi cheered, clapping her hands joyously.
"Well done," Ingo remarked. "Synchronization is key in a tag team battle. Without it, you wouldn't have been so lucky in defeating me and Emmet."
"Pffft, you call that luck?" I retorted. "Please, that was pure skill in that battle!"
"Excessive cockiness also leads to miserable defeat, bengel," Ingo spat back. "Don't get too full of yourself."
"I'll keep that in mind," I hissed, sharing a mutual glare with Ingo as we became face-to-face.
"You and Nate did a great job, Hynden!" Emmet encouraged, separating me from his brother and intertwining both my hands in his gloved ones. "You're free to come and challenge us anytime!"
"Wonderful! I'll see you next time!"
"Before then, why don't we keep in touch?" Emmet asked smoothly, still smiling. "Perhaps we could exchange Xtransceiver numbers?"
"I'd like that," I decided. "That way, we can rendezvous anytime you and I wanna battle each other. Sound good, Emmet?"
"Verrrrry good! Let's do it!"
I linked my Xtransceiver with Emmet's, and the PING-PONG-PING noise sounded off. Emmet seemed just as happy as I was (if not more), but I was startled when Ingo walked up and linked his own Xtransceiver with mine. I wound up with him as a contact when the noise sounded off after a few seconds.
"Well, that's just wonderful," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
"Trust me, I'm just as happy as you are," Ingo said back sarcastically. "Whatever you have to say to my younger brother, you can say to me as well. And I'll be checking over it too."
"Bruder!" Emmet whined, "You're acting just like a big ol' guard Houndoom again!"
"Let's go, Em," Ingo insisted, grabbing Emmet by the hand and walking inside with him.
"I'll see you later, Hynden!" Emmet called out, turning around to me and waving with his free hand as he kept following Ingo. "Give me a call SBWM!"
The acronym Emmet just used confused me, but I nodded in agreement as the Subway Bosses returned to the Battle Subway. After I congratulated Michi on a job well done, I recalled her and turned to Nate, who was celebrating with his Dewott.
"We make a good team," I said to him. "When I take on the Subway Bosses again, maybe we could team up again?"
"That sounds fine!" Nate agreed. "We'll challenge the Multi-Train together!" Nate took my hand and shook it. "I'm gonna go train on Route 16. Come see me when you wanna take on the Multi-Train."
"Got it! We'll exchange numbers then!"
When Nate waved me goodbye and left, I suddenly shivered a little despite the extremely warm weather. I had a sinking feeling Nate and I weren't the only two people listening to our conversation, but I decided to ignore the paranoia and start preparing for my battle with Elesa. After one trip to the Pokémon Center to stock up on healing items, I went almost directly south of the Battle Subway and returned to Route 4.
"Who am I gonna use for the fight?" I thought, "Michi and Rubella are out of the question. I could use Tidus, but Elesa might still have that Zebstrika that knows Flame Charge…"
My only remaining options were none other than Percy, Leon… and Eris. While I didn't have to worry much about the former two, I remembered how Eris just barely pulled through the fight against Roxie. If I wanted to win using her, then I was gonna have to train her pretty hard. Not only that, but I had to convince her to cooperate with Percy and vice-versa.
"Percy, Eris, Leon, come out!" I called, throwing all three of their PokéBalls up high.
My Pokémon landed in the deep sand pits, all scattered and in different positions. Leon's head was stuck in the sand, while Percy had landed on top of Eris. When Percy got up, he yanked Eris by the tail until she was freed from her sandy prison.
"Ouch! How dare you pull me by my tail?" Eris hissed, still being held upside down by Percy. "You could stand to show me more respect!"
"I don't owe a lazy-ass like you anything," Percy spat back, dropping Eris onto the more shallow ground. "When you prove you're not useless, then I'll consider it."
"Oi, what's with the tude? Be nice to Lady Eris here!" Leon snapped, getting closer to Eris.
"Such a gentleman," Eris purred, nuzzling her head against Leon, making him practically melt at her touch. "Much unlike this ruffian here."
"Yeah! You're a ruffian, Perce!" Leon taunted.
"Likewise, you're just a petty little kiss-up," Percy retorted. "Hynden, can we start training now?"
"That's exactly why I called you all out here," I explained, placing the Amulet Coin around Eris (which made her light up with joy at the shiny trinket). "You three are the only ones who can beat Elesa. So, if any of you are having trouble during training, you gotta help each other out."
"I'd be more than happy to be Lady Eris' aid!" Leon boasted as Eris giggled. "As for this bozo, he can help himself out." He added, pointing to Percy.
"Agreed. If Perseus is so tough, then I'm sure he won't have any struggle," Eris concurred. "Now, shall we begin? I'd like to rest up before I meet the Elesa!" Eris' voice became very hopeful and excited at the very mention of the Nimbasa Gym Leader.
The first opponent was a wild Darumaka, who used Fire Fang on Percy. Because he was now part Steel, the move did more than enough damage. He was still injured, but with a commanded Force Palm, Percy conquered the Darumaka.
"Great job, Perce," I encouraged him, spraying his body with a Super Potion. Just then, a wild Minccino appeared before us. "Eris, your turn. Use Scratch."
Sharpening her claws, Eris left a scratch on the furry body of Minccino. But, due to its oily fur, the attack wasn't as lethal as it could have been because Eris accidentally slipped. Minccino attacked with Swift, but the move hit Leon when he jumped in front of Eris.
"I'll take care of this, babe!" Leon insisted, spinning himself in a circle until his body ignited and rammed into Minccino.
"Allowing your boyfriend to fight your own battles, Eris?" Percy sneered. "Pathetic. You'll never survive that Gym."
"Yes I will! I'm not as much of a lazy cat as you think!" Eris spat back.
"Uh-huh, of course you're not. I totally believe you."
I decided to move my Pokémon to another spot in the desert, near a convenient building with a sign in front of it that said "Free Healing Sessions Here". At least then I didn't have to worry about running between here and the Pokémon Center. Just then, we encountered another wild Minccino, who was furiously brushing the sand off of its fur.
"Eris, try again," I told her. "Use Pursuit."
When my Purrloin started running towards Minccino, it ran away in a desperate attempt at freedom. But, she still caught up to it and attacked mercilessly. Its oily fur lubricated itself out of Eris' grasp and allowed it to go into hiding.
"Now, where has my little prey gone to?" Eris chuckled darkly, prowling around until she spotted the Minccino. "Found you!"
Minccino's second attempt at running away failed like the first. Percy, Leon, and I watched as Eris maimed and mutilated the Mincinno until it was a barely-breathing and bloody mess.
"G-Great job, Eris!" I stuttered, still amazed at her prowess.
"Wow, I'm surprised you actually managed to land a hit on that Minccino," Percy remarked dryly, arms folded against his chest. "Why can't you be more like that instead of being a lazy fatass, hmm?"
"Why I never!" Eris spat, "For your information, I'm nowhere near fat, nor am I 'lazy' like you presume! I have had battle experience!"
"Tch, right. Like I'm gonna believe that. All you do is sleep 24/7, and you only fight when you have to or when it benefits you!"
"Hey, stop disrespectin' Lady Eris!" Leon barked, ganging up on Percy.
"Leon, stay out of this," Eris insisted as Percy shoved Leon off of him and into a sand pit. "All this mongrel knows how to do is judge people based on a first impression, or how they seem rather than how they are. Simply pathetic."
"Listen, fat-cat," Percy growled, shoving a finger to an irked Eris' forehead. "If you were actually there in my past, then you wouldn't be so overly-trusting. I only trust people who prove their worth. Get that through your thick head!"
"You get away from me with that grubby finger of yours!" Eris snapped, pulling herself from Percy's finger. "Oh, why don't you go bully someone who'd actually waste their time with you?! If you were with me in my past, then you wouldn't use such slander against me!"
"What 'slander'? When I look at you, all I see is some primadonna fat cat who only cares when the situation benefits her! It's surprising Hynden even bothered to take you in! Because you lack proper discipline and fighting skills, you'd have been dead meat without her!"
"...Wh-What on Earth do you know?! You've just proved my point by insulting me based on what you've seen! But do you actually know me? NO!" I caught a few angry tears dripping from Eris' emerald eyes onto the sand. "Wh-Why should I even bother with a mangy mutt like yourself? If you're going to be so judgemental of someone you hardly know, then I train by myself! Good day!"
"Eris, wait! You can't-"
Eris didn't listen to me and instead ran off somewhere into the desert. My eyes filled with sympathy at my upset Purrloin, but quickly furrowed into anger and disappointment when I looked at Percy as I recalled a sand-drenched Leon.
"What?" he demanded to know. "It's not my fault Eris is so sensitive! She needs to learn to toughen up!"
"You still shouldn't have yelled at her like that!" I snapped. "Sure, she may not exactly battle when we really need her to, but she's right! You are too judgemental based on an outside impression! Especially if they're human!"
"I have every reason in the book to! Those who can't defend themselves are as good as dead, and the human race is sickening! If it weren't for them, then I'd still have a family! But no, your stupid species had to go and shoot everyone they didn't take from their homes dead!"
"What? Your family was hunted?"
"Yes! I was only a small Riolu then, but I saw everything! The Lucario line are known for being diligent and dedicated in training, so I merely left my home to do my daily training. Now, I wasn't exactly the 'strongest' of my people, but I wanted to improve on that." Percy let out a growl of frustration as his eyes furrowed deeper. "If only I'd have been as strong then as I am now, then I could have taken those damn poachers down with my bare hands! More of us could have escaped, maybe even my mother and adoptive father…"
I remembered Eunice telling me Percy had trust issues back when I found him at Floccessy Ranch, but I never thought his reason would be this extreme. When she said he wasn't culpable for his issues, I knew that was the understatement of the century. But, that still didn't justify his attitude at all.
"I can't stand those who don't bother to try and get strong when the situation calls for it," Percy added. "That's why Eris gets on my nerves. If only she'd just try, then maybe I wouldn't have to be so harsh."
"But she is trying," I told him. "Compared to when she first joined, Eris has definitely improved in fighting ethic. She may not win all the time, but it still counts for something. I mean, did you see the way she took down that Minccino?!"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Look. I understand you wanna become strong to protect yourself and those you care about, but that's no excuse to put others down when they don't fulfill your expectations. Just let her train at her own pace, and don't be such a hardass on others either, 'k?"
"...Very well," Percy agreed. "Let's go get Eris."
"Assuming we knew where she ran off to."
Percy and I searched all around Route 4 for our missing comrade. When we couldn't find her anywhere in the area, we checked the alternative spot: The Desert Resort. The blistering sandstorm and scorching weather made it nearly impossible to cross the area, but neither I nor Percy would yield. With my hand over my face to keep the sand away, I spotted a purple figure fighting off a Maractus, Darumaka, and Dwebble all by itself. Trudging closer, the figure turned out to be a Liepard. However, the Amulet Coin around its neck made me recognize it in a heartbeat.
"Eris?" I wondered, "Eris, over here!"
Eris couldn't hear me calling her, as she was busy fighting off her three opponents. Although she beat Darumaka with a Pursuit attack, she was suddenly trapped by Maractus' Cotton Spore, which made it more difficult for her to move. Then, she was struck down by Dwebble's Smack Down move, leaving her critically injured.
"Eris!" I gasped, rushing over to her with Percy, only to be knocked away by the Dwebble and Maractus.
I fell to the deep sand pit, billions of sand grains sneaking into my mouth and ponytail. Pushing myself up and spitting out the unwanted minerals, I watched Eris struggle to fight.
"Eris, you gotta stop!" I shouted, holding up an orange medicine spray bottle, "Let me at least give you a Super Potion!"
"No! I'm trying to prove to you guys I'm not some lazy weakling!" Eris coughed, still attempting to hit Maractus.
Just as Dwebble prepared to use another Smack Down move, evident by it summoning a large stone, Percy swiped the Super Potion from me and subdued Dwebble with Rock Smash. He then sprayed Eris' wounds with the medicine, healing them in seconds.
"Get away, mutt!" Eris hissed, "I don't need your help! You're just going to call me weak and lazy after this!"
"Shut up and fight! There's more coming!" Percy snapped, now facing the side opposite to Eris' and charging to combat another Darumaka and Dwebble.
Eris' claws glowed bright white, and she used an Assist attack that turned into Percy's Force Palm. She grabbed Maractus and tossed it far across the desert. As another Maractus came rushing in to fight, Eris defeated it with a Scratch attack followed by Pursuit when it tried escaping in fear. When no more came her way, Eris panted wearily and turned around to Percy, who had just finished a tiring battle with several Dwebble and Darumaka.
"Are you alright?" Percy panted.
"Why should you care?" Eris huffed, laying down onto the sand away from her teammate with her face in her paws. "You probably only came to help so you could rub my cute little nose in it."
"No. If I didn't help, then you'd most likely be dead." I gave Percy a look when I walked over, and he automatically knew what I meant by it when he looked at Eris sincerely. "Eris…"
"What now, Perseus?"
"...I'm sorry," he finally said. "Calling you weak and lazy was wrong. I merely hate seeing Pokémon who don't bother to try and fight when they need to. After all, if you can fight, then you can protect those you love."
"...Perseus, Hynden, allow me to tell you a story," Eris began, gazing at both of us as she got back onto her feet. "Once upon a time, there was a little Purrloin princess. Or rather, she might as well have been since everyone looked up to her family greatly despite having no royal blood. Anyways, this 'princess' lived with her revered father, grandmother, and four siblings."
"And what's bad about that?" I asked. "People looked up to you- I mean, the princess, didn't they?"
"Like I said, yes. But, it was only because the Purrloin and her family were considered aristocrats, so the reason everyone looked up to them was because they were financial elites and nothing more. Now anyways, this Purrloin 'princess' wasn't anything like her family; she loved to fight above all else. Sure, the pampering and compliments were divine, but nothing excited her more than to have a good spar or scuffle every now and again."
"Ah, so this was a fighting princess," Percy remarked. "I've never heard of that before."
"Well, now you have, now stop interrupting!" Eris snapped. "Anyways, the Purrloin loved battling other wild Pokémon more than anything. But, being the eldest of five kittens, her father and grandmother constantly told her she wasn't 'setting a good example' for the little ones. So each time they caught her doing what she loved, they would do nothing but punish, scold, and even berate her for not being a 'proper heiress' or 'role model'." Eris then sighed and hung her head somberly. "Eventually, the Purrloin gave in and had to surrender doing what she loved. She stopped sparring and training, and had no choice but to become the perfect heiress her folks wanted her to be. Just some lazy socialite who can't do anything but look good and behave when she's supposed to. Not only that, but she has to pretend to detest the thing she loves most. The end."
My Liepard turned away from me and Percy, downtrodden and frustrated with everything she explained in her past story. We could both hear her sniffling and forcing back sobs, tears leaking from her eyes and spilling onto the sand. But, then Percy walked over to Eris and made her look at him.
"Surely, this story has a better ending," was what he said to her.
"Oh please. That's the end of it, and nothing more," Eris sniffled, wiping her eyes with the non-sandy part of her paw.
"No it isn't. Then, the little Purrloin heiress was found by a trustworthy human, and joined her band of Pokémon who encouraged battling no matter what. Under the human's guise, the Purrloin became stronger and happier… even if she had to deal with a self-centered Lucario and a pigheaded Growlithe. Regardless, the Lucario chose to change his tune and help the evolved Liepard heiress do what she truly wants to, since he now knows who she really is."
"Now now, Leon is a nice fellow!" Eris retorted before processing what Percy just told her. "...He would really do that? Even after all the Liepard and the Lucario have been through?"
"Yes he would. To compensate for everything and call a truce. But, he'll only do that if the Liepard wishes to."
Percy stuck a paw out to Eris. As a response, she placed her own in it and shook once before letting go. I gave my Pokémon rubs on their heads proudly, walking them both out of the Desert Resort until we were back on Route 4.
"So, everything's alright now?" I asked Percy and Eris.
"Yes," they both responded.
"Good. Let's find some other Trainers to battle, and then we can start heading back to the city."
We all decided to head back to the healing house first so Percy and Eris could rest up. After that was done, we traversed the Route until we saw groups of battle-thirsty challengers. I looked at my Pokémon, knowing they were ready to fight. With that, we all marched towards the Trainers with confidence and the will to train.
Pokémon obtained: None.
Badges earned: 3/8
Boxed/Unboxed: None.
Author's Note: I'm taking German, so the Subway Masters' lines were a little easy for me to type (except for some of the special characters). I'm gonna do a little translation for each of the words and phrases:
"Wie heißt du" = "How are you called" (what's your name)
"Mein fehler" = "My mistake"
"Mein lieber" = "My dear"
"Bruder" = "Brother"
"Bengel" = "Brat"
"SBWM" = "So bald wie möglich" (ASAP)
So with that, I'll see you next time in Chapter 15! For any questions or comments, leave a review and I'll check it out! Stay tuned for the Gym battle!