Chapter 34: Gym of Shadows! Hibiki vs Noir!
As the moon began to rise on Alaria City and nightlife started, Hibiki was pacing around her room as she yawned. "So remind me, why do you need to be up at night again?" Sigma asked, his voice sounding extremely tired.
"Because Noir is a bit of a unique gym leader." Echo told Sigma, stretching as she sat by her computer.
"Yeah, I think I remember you telling me that they are a night only gym leader. Not only that, but you don't actually know who they are. How does that work again?" Sigma responded.
"To keep it short and simple, the League and IPP basically go through a selection process each year of about 10-20 people who they think would be qualified for the position before selecting one secretly. That person then becomes Noir for the League Season and that plays into their gym, which can be completed either via a battle like normal or by correctly guessing who Noir is via a deduction game." Cherry explained.
"Huh, interesting gym concept. I take it that the reason Hibiki seems so jumpy is because of the fact that she's not used to being up so late?" Sigma said, looking over at the jittering Hibiki.
"Correct you are Sigma, I normally am asleep at this time. The nervousness is mostly what is keeping me awake, thought the coffee I drank does help." HIbiki told Sigma.
"...Yeah that makes sense. I'll see you guys in the morning then." Sigma said as he laid down in bed.
"You're staying behind?" Echo asked.
"Look, I would like to see the battles, if any, but I am very tired and I would like to get some sleep." Sigma said.
"All right then, we will try to not wake you up when we get back." Cherry said as she got ready. Sigma gave a thumbs up as he closed his eyes and got into a comfortable position in bed before the three girls left the room.
"He'll be fine right?" Hibiki asked, a tad concerned for Sigma.
"I don't see why he wouldn't be, he'll be safe in the room." Echo responded. As they all walked out of the hotel, Hibiki was wowed by the various lights and how different Alaria City looked at night than during the day.
"Looks like someone is dazzled." Cherry commented, rolling her eyes at the result.
"You could definitely say that, is this why you tell me I should go out at night more often?" Hibiki asked Echo.
"Yes it is, but I also know better than to force you to do something." Echo responded.
"Hibiki is afraid of going out at night?" Cherry questioned.
"Yeah it's not something that comes up often, but after a few incidents with Ghost Pokemon scaring the crap out of me and nearly causing me to fall off a cliff in one case about five years, I kind of stay away from nightlife." Hibiki told Cherry.
"Oh that was you? I had heard about that incident but never learned who the girl was. I am sorry that happened to you." Cherry said.
"It's fine and I harbor no ill will towards the Pokemon who did it to me, mainly because I did get them back later on." Hibiki said.
"You've been getting better at coming out at night, but this will be your first time without mom right?" Echo questioned. Hibiki simply nodded as they all started to walk along the streets to where the gym was located. As they walked, Hibiki noted the various shops that were open at night, some that she recognized and others that were new to her. She also saw various nocturnal Pokemon coming out of their hiding places and starting to run around the city streets.
"God seeing the city at night is very different and weird." Hibiki commented to herself.
"Yeah it is, think you'll be good to explore it on your own when you get out of the gym?" Echo asked.
"I… should be, depends on how awake I feel after the gym." Hibiki responded. Cherry simply smiled as the three walked through the city for a few more minutes, Hibiki nervously and excitedly looking around, until they arrived in front of the gym building. The building was a relatively simple P.I. building with a gym logo on top and a red light on the door. "Mind if I go first?" Hibiki asked.
"Considering I know you want to go to bed as soon as possible, go ahead. Since we can't go in with you, we'll hang around and meet you back at the room." Echo responded. Hibiki nodded and sighed before walking towards the building as the light on the door turned green. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a small waiting room that was lit with fluorescent lights with various empty chairs numbered from 1 to 10 and a door with tinted glass and a speaker on it that led further in. She took a seat and sat as she waited to be called, a few more challengers arriving as she waited, filling all of the chairs. Eventually, the speaker buzzed to life as the light on the entrance turned red.
"Sorry about the wait, I had to rest a bit and make sure the previous group was all settled. Challenger 1, enter the door." a voice spoke. Hibiki took a deep breath before getting up and opening the door, closing it behind her as she entered a detective office overlooking a Pokemon arena. The office had various white boards with photos on them with pictures of various people and a wooden desk with Noir in a long beige trenchcoat and fedora looking away from the door. "Name?" Noir asked, their voice being altered via a voice changer.
"Hibiki Eversong." Hibiki responded. Noir paused for a moment before jotting down her name on a list and turning around to show their face covered in a purple mask with white eyes and a purple bodysuit with gold outlines.
"Yes, they actually made this my suit. It's ridiculous, but it's what I got." Noir said, the eyes of the mask rolling a bit. Hibki let out a nervous sigh as Noir walked over to the board with the pictures of people. "Now, are you going to battle me or do you want to take a stab at figuring out who I am? Keep in mind, you can still battle me if you guess incorrectly." Noir said, sounding a tad tired. Hibiki looked at the board for a second, looking at the pictures as she mulled the question over before turning to Noir, reaching for her Pokeballs as she did so. "Battle it is then, please head through the door on the right. Give me a second to go get my team and I'll meet you on the field." Noir told Hibiki.
"Got it." Hibiki said before walking towards the door. As she walked towards the door, she noted a few files on the desk that looked a bit familiar to her, but simply brushed them aside as she entered the door. After about a minute of walking, she walked out into the challenger side of the arena going over her options as she waited for Noir. She didn't have to wait long as Noir quickly entered the arena, nearly tripping over themselves. "Want to make this a quick one?" Hibiki asked, giggling a bit.
"No, it's fine. Just rushing cause I got a late start, battles don't usually take too long anyway." Noir responded, panting a bit.
"I wonder about that." Hibiki said as she got ready.
"Well I never said it would be an easy time. Now come on, show me what you can do." Noir told Hibiki as he got out his first Pokeball. Hibiki simply nodded and got out a pokeball of her own, ready to face this battle as a drone flew overhead.
"The match between Leader Noir and Challenger Hibiki will now begin!"
"Let's go, Ahsha!"
"Come on out, Honchkrow." As the two Pokemon appeared on the field, Honchkrow immediately took to the sky after they appeared, making Hibiki sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Ok, we can deal with this. Set up a Lightscreen and use Swift." Ahsha nodded before quickly covering herself in a protective screen and launching glowing stars at Honchkrow.
"Protect and follow it up with an Air Slash." Honchkrow cawed as it put a barrier around itself, stopping the stars and dispersing them, before his wings glowed and launched waves of energy towards Ahsha.
"Dodge." Ahsha quickly dashed out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack as it formed a dust cloud where she was.
"Chase her down with Aerial Ace." Honchkrow quickly dove towards Ashsha as its beak and claws glowed white.
"... Use Misty Terrain and follow it up with Dazzling Gleam." Ahsha acknowledged the command before surrounding the immediate area in a pink mist and letting out a blinding light. The light not only damaged Honchkrow, but it also caused it to look away and when it looked back, it saw that Ahsha was nowhere to be seen. It immediately stopped its attack before floating and looking for any sign of Ahsha through the mist. "Chilling Water." A burst of water emerged from the mist, hitting Honchkrow and causing it to shiver from the cold temperature of the water.
"Honchkrow, use Hurricane!" Honchkrow nodded before flapping its wings towards the ground and creating a violent wind that swept across the ground, blowing the mist away and revealing Ahsha's location.
"Had a feeling that would happen. Use Magical Leaf!"
"Use Aerial Ace to power through it!" Honchkrow nodded before diving into the attack, shrugging off the various leaves that flew towards him, before slamming into Ahsha. Ahsha screamed in pain as she flew backwards, sliding across the ground before coming to a stop and standing up.
"You doing good Ahsha?" Hibiki asked. Ahsha nodded yes in response before Hibiki paused as she thought of her next move.
"End this with Acrobatics." Honchkrow quickly turned back towards Ahsha as Hibiki remembered something and decided to take a gamble.
"Not our best option, but one I'm willing to risk. Ahsha, use Metronome." Ahsha looked a bit confused, but quickly changed her mind as she saw Honchkrow and started to wave her flower. Hibiki simply crossed her fingers as Honchkrow was right on top of Ahsha, who she finished waving her wand and a giant cross of flame emerged. Honchkrow went wide eyed and tried to dodge it, but was unable to as it was engulfed in flames.
"Of course you would hit Fire Blast at that moment." Noir said as Honchkrow landed on the ground and shook off the fire.
"All right, Calm Mind and follow it up with a Draining Kiss!" Ahsha breathing as she meditated for a moment before floating to the recovering Honchkrow and giving him a kiss that made him wince as Ahsha recovered a bit. "Dazzling Gleam"
"Dodge it!" Honchkrow quickly got into the air as the attack went off, narrowly missing getting hit by it.
"Not bad, then how about this. Petal Blizzard!" Ahsha quickly yelled as it summoned a storm of petals that she quickly launched at Honchkrow.
"Bust through it with Brave Bird!" Honchkrow nodded before glowing a bright yellow as it dived right through the Petal Blizzard and went straight for Ahsha. Ahsha braced for the attack and held her ground as she felt Honchkrow tackle her before he stopped glowing and went wide eyed.
"Dazzling Gleam!" Ahsha opened her eyes and yelled before letting out another burst of light that knocked him back and knocked him unconscious.
"Honchkrow is unable to battle!"
"Not bad Miss Eversong, same for your Floette." Noir said as he recalled Honchkrow. Hibiki rubbed the back of her head. "That being said, I need to put you in your place. Teach her a lesson, Bisharp." As he threw out the pokeball and Bisharp appeared , Hibiki and Ahsha looked at each other as he said the name of the Pokemon. Hibiki quickly got out the Pokeball as Ahsha began to
"Use Pursuit." Bisharp nodded and quickly dashed up to Ahsha before delivering a punch that knocked her back as she was recalled. Hibiki winced as she looked at the Pokeball before putting it to her forehead and getting out Melody's Pokeball.
"Fair enough. Now then, let's take care of this Melody." Hibiki threw out her Pokeball and called out Melody, who quickly took a read of the room and took a defensive stance.
"Throat Chop." Bisharp, as he saw Melody come out, kept his distance, but dashed in as he heard the order.
"Get some distance between you two and use Relic Song." Melody quickly dodged out of the way before jumping back to make some distance between the two and singing a song as she did so. While the attack didn't hurt Bisharp much, Melody did change into her Pirouette form as she took an offensive stance.
"Keep your distance and wait for an opening." Bisharp nodded at the command as he took a defensive stance and waited.
"Of course he would take a defensive play, one or two good hits from Melody would be all it takes to knock out Bisharp. The problem now is what is a good opening to attack?" HIbiki thought to herself. The two pokemon stayed still as they waited for their trainers, both sizing each other up.
"...Bisharp use Swords Dance and go on the offensive with Brick Break." Bisharp nodded before shifting to an offensive stance and dashing towards Melody.
"Use Grass Knot to slow Bisharp down." Melody nodded before concentrating on the ground and causing a small knot of grass to appear in the path of Bisharp. Bisharp did manage to see it and wasn't impeded by it, but Hibiki simply smiled at that. "Low Sweep now!" Melody nodded as she dashed forward and ducked under Bisharp's attack before sweeping Bisharp off his feet and onto the ground.
"Dig!" Bisharp quickly got back to his feet before digging a hole in the ground and disappearing from view. Melody stayed on guard as she waited for Bisharp to pop back up, but she was getting a bad feeling when he didn't immediately emerge.
"Something's up. Melody, stay on guard with Protect at the ready." Melody nodded as she got ready to use the move at a moment's notice.
"Now!" Melody felt the ground behind her shake and she turned to block the attack with Protect, but was thrown off when she saw Bisharp leap out into the air. "X-Scissor!" Bisharp quickly descended and hit Melody with a Cross attack, causing her to cry out in pain as she was flung back and landed on her. She panted as she winced in pain, the force from the attack hurting a lot more than she had anticipated.
"Are you still good for one more good hit Melody?" Hibiki asked. Melody gave a smile before shaking the pain off as she stood up straight, making Hibiki nod in affirmation and thinking of a strategy.
"Let's finish this off Bisharp! Stir up a Sandstorm and use Dig hide!" Bishap stuck his hand into the ground before summoning a fierce sandstorm, which caused Melody to shield her eyes to be able to see Bisharp, and digging another hole into the ground. Hibiki saw the hole before her vision was obscured by the sandstorm and got an idea.
"I'm going to need you to trust me here. USe Rain Dance and focus it over the hole!" Melody was a tad confused before realizing what Hibiki had in mind, and quickly dashed over to the hole that Bisharp had just made. She then quickly did a short dance that summoned a rain cloud over the arena, before mentally gathering them all in the general area around the hole and causing a torrent of rain to start filling up the hole.
"Bisharp, get out of there now!" Feeling the ground rumble a bit under her, Melody jumped away and readied an attack as Bisharp quickly emerged from the ground right in front of her.
"Drain Punch!" Melody yelled as it delivered a punch to Bisharp's chest, strong enough to knock him out of the hole he was in and knocked him clean unconscious.
"Bisharp is unable to battle!"
"Well played on that Rain Dance idea. Didn't think your Meloetta could pull it off, but given what I've heard, I should have been more careful." Noir said as he recalled Bisharp before giving a clap of appreciation.
"Have to get a little unnatural in order to beat you, you're the toughest challenge I've had yet." Hibiki said.
"Given what I've heard, I don't doubt that. Still, let's see if I can make you sweat a little. Lead me to Victory, Absol!" Noir threw out his last Pokeball and from it emerged Absol, who was ready to fight and roared.
"You feeling good Melody?" Hibiki asked. Melody gave an affirmative nod, feeling some energy return to her from the Drain Punch she used to knock out Bisharp. "Perfect, then let's see if we can't finish this. Use Swords Dance and try to slow him down with Ice Punch!" Melody nodded before twirling and taking an offensive stance as she lept towards Absol.
"Dodge and use Will-O-Wisp!" Absol leaped to the side, narrowly dodging the punch as Melody hit the ground, causing it to freeze as Absol launched several balls of fire that surrounded Melody and burned her. "Follow it up with Icy Wind!" Absol breathed in and let a gust of freezing wind that managed to hit Melody, who hopped out of the way and shivered a bit as she did so.
"Swift!" Melody shook off the pain, before conjuring stars and launching them towards.
"Charge through and use Megahorn." Absol nodded before dashing headfirst into the stars, taking the hits as his head blade turned a bright green.
"Use Protect!" Melody quickly obliged and created the protective barrier around her right as Absol slammed into it, green energy surging as Melody strained to keep the barrier up. "Hyper Voice!" Melody hopped back as she let the barrier fall before letting out a loud scratch that blew Absol back.
"Quick Attack and follow it up with X-Scissor!" Absol landed on its feet before dashing into Melody and slicing her with his claws, launching her back as she yelled in pain. As she tumbled back, she slowly got up to her feet and looked at Absol, breathing raged as she fought against the pain. "End this another X-Scissor!" Absol roared as it charged towards Melody, Hibiki getting ready to shout an order when Melody looked at her with a no nod. Hibiki was silent for a moment before nodding as she let Absol get closer to Melody, deciding on one last move to use.
"Thunder Punch now!" As Absol was about to hit Melody with its claws, Melody breathed as her fist became enveloped in lightning and managed to hit Absol right as she was hit with Absol's attack. The two were flung back to their respective trainers, Absol being relatively ok as it landed on its feet while Melody attempted to get up, but quickly fell back onto the ground.
"Meloetta is unable to battle!"
"You did a good job Melody and it looks like that gamble paid off." Hibiki said, walking up to Melody. As she looked up to see Absol, she smiled as she noticed him tense up a bit, Melody weakly doing the same. "Get some rest, Venemy will finish this up." Hibiki told Melody as she returned her to her Pokeball.
"I have to admit, didn't see that last attack coming." Noir said, a smile forming under the mask.
"Hey, sometimes you have to do stupid things and take chances to get results." Hibiki said as she walked back to her place and got out her last Pokeball. "Let's wrap this up, Venemy!" Hibiki threw out her last Pokeball and called out Venemy, who looked excited as he was ready to fight. "Use Sludge Bomb." Venemy nodded before unfurling and spitting out a ball of poison that Absol attempted to dodge, only for his body to tense up and get hit with the attack.
"All right Absol, let's see if we can close this out. Use Future Sight." Absol shook off the attack before concentrating and preparing an attack to launch at Venemy.
"Don't let that attack go off, use Gyro Ball." Venemy quickly rolled back up before spinning into a steel top and speeding towards Absol.
"Detect, now!" Absol closed his eyes as he heard the order, having finished focussing on the Future Sight, before immediately dodging out of the way of Venemy's Gyro Ball. "Rock Tomb!" As he finished dodging, Absol quickly jabbed a paw into the ground before causing four rocks to encompass Venemy, who did not enjoy the attack and stopped spinning.
"Use Iron Defense and follow it up with Rollout!" Venemy followed the order, hardening its shell before using roll out and bursting out of the Rock Tomb, rolling at a fast speed towards Absol. As Venemy started to pick up speed, Absol stood still and smiled as his eyes glowed a slight pink, letting out a psychic attack on Venemy that caused him to spin out and recoil in pain. Venemy quickly shook off the pain as he looked at Absol with some fear, who began to walk towards Venemy.
"Don't you dare give up Venemy. We'll blast through this challenge and be closer to the Pokemon League." Hibiki cheered on. Venemy nodded before perking up and nodding in confidence as he started to glow a bright white.
"Shit. Finish him off quickly with Fire Fang." Absol obliged, his mouth brimming with fire as he ran up to the evolving Venemy, who was slowly growing in size. As Absol tried to bite down, Venemy unfurled and swatted him away, causing him to slide and watch as Venemy's evolution continued. Venemy grew in size, growing small legs that it stood on and antenna on its head as the light faded.
"All right, you evolved into Scolipede! Now then, let's wrap this up. Use Poison Tail." Venemy nodded in agreement before roaring and turning to Absol, turning and swinging his now glowing tail at Absol.
"Dodge and use Zen Headbutt!" Absol attempted to follow the order, but felt his body tense up and was slammed with the tail, causing him to get tossed across the arena and flop on the ground. "Flamethrower!" Absol turned his head towards Venemy and breathed a stream of flame that hit Venemy, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Venemy use Rock Slide!" Venemy shook off the flames before planting its tail in the ground and tossing a bunch of rocks into the air towards Absol.
"Use Agility to dodge." Absol got up and quickly dashed around the falling rocks and got to safety, staring at Venemy when he did so. As the two Pokemon stared each other down, they both breathed raggedly as the exhaustion of the fight was catching up to them. "Ok Absol, let's end this with Psycho Cut." Absol nodded before gathering what strength he had left and concentrating it into his head blade, turning it a bright lavender before charging at Venemy with intent to end this.
"Meet them head on with Poison Tail!" Venemy nodded before gathering his strength and swinging his tail at Absol, clashing with the glowing head blade. The two were locked in a power struggle, seeing who would have the upper hand in the end with Absol having the clear advantage. "GOOOOO!" Venemy roared as he put more effort into his tail swing and slammed into Absol, causing him to get flung towards Noir and falling unconscious.
"Absol is unable to battle! The winner is Challenger Hibiki."
HIbiki breathed in and let out a long sigh before jumping for joy and running up to Venemy, hugging her newly evolved starter. "You did amazing, Venemy!" Hibiki said as she rubbed her face on to Venemy's side. Venemy gave a slightly exhausted sigh before proudly standing up straight as Noir walked up to the two of them.
"Well,I have to give it to you, that was some good playmaking form you and your team. Don't really see that many trainers who really know their Pokemon that well." Noir said, a smile present behind the mask.
"Thanks, I appreciate that compliment." Hibiki said, smiling and rubbing the back of her head.
"As always, it's a pleasure to present my challenger with the Detective Badge." Noir said as they reached into their coat pocket. They then got out a badge that looks like a magnifying glass observing a holding it out to Hibiki. Hibiki grabbed it with a smile before a door on the far side of the arena lit up with a green light.
"I take it that is my way out of here?" Hibiki asked, returning Venemy to his Pokeball.
"Yes it is, apologies about the roundabout exit, procedures and all that. This will drop you into an alleyway two blacks down from the gym." Noir told Hibiki.
"It's fine, I understand it." Hibiki responded as she walked to the door. As Hibiki walked back to the door, Noir paused for a moment as they debated something before walking up to Hibiki.
"One more thing, care just to take a stab at who I am just for fun? Not exactly like it would hurt to guess." Noir questioned. Hibiki paused for a moment as she looked at Noir up and down as well as recalling the various pictures that she did see on the wall, before remembering one that caught her attention.
"Allegro?" Hibiki responded. Noir was silent before taking off the hat and mask, revealing the sweaty and smiling face of Allegro underneath. "Had a feeling when I saw your pic on the wall, but I was committed to wanting the battle. That was some good battling." Hibiki said as she held out a hand.
"Coming from you, that compliment is good to hear. I was a bit surprised to hear that I was chosen to be Noir for this League season given I was still somewhat getting used to being an IPP Agent. Still, I was more than happy to accept and see how I can handle it." Allegro told Hibiki as she shook her hand.
"I take it you were in a bit of a rush to get from Import Harbor to here before us?" Hibiki asked curiously.
"Yes I was, but I made it comfortably. Now IPP work today was a bit tighter." Allegro said.
"Well I won't keep you any longer, have a good night Noir." Hibiki said as she waved goodbye and opened the door. As she turned to leave, Allegro put a hand on Hibiki's shoulder, making her turn her head to look at him.
"Be careful out there, who knows what Neo Cypher will try next." Allegro told Hibiki. Hibiki simply gave him a goofy smile and a thumbs up as Allegro let go of her shoulder. He returned the smile as he put the mask and hat back on before walking back towards his office, ready to continue his temporary job. As she closed the door behind her, she found herself at the base of a staircase that she ascended before coming out in an abandoned building.
"An abandoned building huh? Makes sense it doesn't just let out into an alleyway because then it would be too easy to sneak in." Hibiki thought as she navigated the building. Eventually, Hibiki managed to find the entrance to the building and was about to head out when she heard crying somewhere else in the building.
"...I really am about to go check out a crying voice in a dark building at night aren't I?" Hibiki thought to herself. She took a deep breath before walking away from the entrance and towards a halfway that was open. As she slowly walked towards the voice, she noticed that it wasn't a human voice, but one of a Pokemon. When she approached the room that she heard the crying coming from, she peeked inside and gasped slightly as she recognized the pokemon. The Pokemon in question was a small humanoid about the size of Kirlia with light gray skin, magenta eyes, and magenta hair with a pink dress, pink gloves and magenta boots, what Hibiki knew as a Curoine. Hibiki also noticed that the Pokemon was very bruised and a bit bloody, curled up in a ball as she was apparently crying.
"Hey." Hibiki called out without thinking. The Pokemon immediately looked up before attempting to take a defensive stance only to fall to one knee and pant in pain. HIbiki quickly walked up and knelt down to pick up Curoine before getting slapped away by the Curoine, who looked at Hibiki with a disgusted look. " Look, I get that you might have some beef against me, or probably just humans in general, but do you really want to stay here and suffer or do you want to potentially get back at whoever did this to you?" Hibiki asked. The Curoine went quiet before looking at Hibiki and nodding in confirmation before falling unconscious and into Hibiki's arms.
"...Looks like fate works in mysterious ways, huh grandma?" Hibiki thought before leaving the room and heading out into the alleyway. As she looked around, she exited the alleyway before getting her bearings and heading to a nearby Pokemon Center, which was almost empty aside from the Nurse Joy in charge and Cherry, who was resting on the bench and noticed Hibiki enter. "Nurse Joy, I found an injured Pokemon." Hibiki said as she walked to the counter. Nurse Joy quickly grabbed Curoine from Hibiki's arms before walking into the back and leaving Hibiki shaking a bit as she walked over to Cherry, who had taken notice and was waiting for her. "Hey Cherry." Hibiki said as she leaned on the wall next to her.
"Why can you never have normal days?" Cherry immediately asked, rubbing her face.
"Trust me, I ask myself the same question every day." Hibiki responded.
"So where was she? The alleyway where you left." Cherry questioned.
"The building I was let out in actually. I heard her in the distance as I was about to leave, so I went towards the crying I heard and found her there." Hibiki said.
"If she was as bruised up as she was, she was probably in a fight of some kind. That being said, Curoine isn't normally found in the middle of the city at night, so what was she doing here?" Cherry wondered. Hibiki was pondering that question herself for a few minutes as she and Cherry talked about various things until Nurse Joy walked back to the counter and motioned for Hibiki to come over.
"Well good news is that her injuries weren't that bad and she had no internal bleeding, so she'll be able to be released in the morning." Nurse Joy told Hibiki.
"That's good to hear. Does she have a trainer to go back to?" Hibiki asked.
"Doesn't look like it, no trainer has this Curoine registered. Would you like to take care of her?" Nurse Joy responded. Hibiki was about to say yes, but paused as she thought more about it and looked back at Cherry.
"...Can I talk with her if she's awake?" Hibiki questioned. Nurse Joy nodded and showed Hibiki to the room where Curoine was being treated, where said pokemon was laying down in bed with bandages all over her. She turned to look at Hibiki and sat up in her bed as Hibiki sat down next to Curoine while Nurse Joy left to go check up on other Pokemon in her care. "Hey there little one, good to see you're doing well." Hibiki told Curoine. Curoine simply nodded before looking herself over and attempting to get up, only to wince and immediately lay back down.
"Don't push yourself, don't want to open those wounds after all. Now, I have a suggestion for you that pertains to what I said earlier." Hibiki said, as she got out her phone. Curoine looked at Hibiki as she recalled what Hibiki had told her before she had collapsed from exhaustion. "I don't know exactly who did this to you, but I have a pretty good way of making sure. At any point in the last few hours did you come into contact with people who looked like this?" Hibiki told Curoine before showing her a picture of a Neo Cypher Grunt. Curoine immediately tensed up as she looked at it, which told Hibiki all she needed to know as she started to piece together some things in her head.
"Ok, so this is my proposal to you. If you really want to get back at the people who did this to you, then come with me. Be warned that they are very dangerous and will be in danger if you travel with me." Hibiki explained. Curoine paused and thought about the offer for a minute before simply nodding and slowly holding a hand out. "If you're sure, then I'm happy to welcome you to the team. That being said, I want you to rest up for the night and I'll come get you in the morning." HIbiki told Curoine. Curoine simply nodded with a small smile as she laid back down and closed her eyes, making Hibiki get up after making sure she was asleep. She exited the room and walked up to the counter, letting Nurse Joy know that she would come get Curoine in the morning.
"So you're taking her after all?" Cherry asked as Hibiki walked away from the counter.
"She confirmed it was Neo Cypher that attacked her and judging by her condition, I'm guessing she was able to run away thanks to some Pokemon she was friends with. I don't think I would be able to let myself live it down if I didn't take her with me and she got turned into a Shadow Pokemon." Hibiki responded.
"I take it that you wanting a Curoine on your team is also part of the reason?" Cherry asked, a playful smile on her face. Hibiki immediately looked away with an awkward smile on her face, just rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "I won't judge, you do you after all. That being said, just get ready to talk with Echo about this." Cherry said.
"It'll be fine… probably. Anyway, I should get my team healed up and head back to the room. Are you going to be waiting for Echo?" Hibiki responded.
"No actually, I have some research I need to do. I think I have an idea as to where Neo Cypher might be based in Alaria, but I need to look into some things to see if I can eliminate other options." Cherry told Hibiki.
"If anyone can find that out, I think it would be you." Hibiki said. Cherry blushed at that before waving goodbye as she left the Pokemon Center, leaving Hibiki to heal her team and head back to the hotel.