Yo!
Not a ton to say, honestly. I'm still recovering from being sick this week, and with classes starting up again on Monday, I'm a bit hesitant to say that a chapter of this will be coming out two weeks from now. For now, I'll keep to schedule, but if a chapter of this DOESN'T come out on the twentieth, then, well, I probably was just busy.
Chapter 10
Something was different when Bianca awoke that next morning.
She wasn't really sure how to quantify it, but it was an obvious thing to her as she made her way downstairs sometime in the afternoon – she'd been out with Barry for the majority of the night, and thusly had actually gotten back to sleep quite late. She felt… changed.
It was a good changed. She found it easier for her to make her way down, and pour herself a mug of coffee. She sipped at it as she enjoyed a bagel with cream cheese, and then made her way out into the forest beyond Burgh's cabin.
Immediately, she found herself quite surprised to see Burgh sitting in the same chair he'd been when Bianca, Barry, and Cynthia first arrived. But it was a different position she found him in now. Gone was the slack in his arms and legs, or the drunken stupor hanging off of him. No. There wasn't quite a fire in his eyes, but there was certainly a glint, one which Bianca found herself smiling at as she made her way over towards him.
"Ah, Bianca!" The man lifted his own cup of coffee towards her in a 'toast' motion. "Good to see you this morning."
"The same to you." She spoke, smiling. "You seem to be in a good mood."
"I am indeed. I suppose… I had somewhat of a breakthrough last night."
"I did as well." Bianca mirrored. "In what way, if you don't mind me asking."
Burgh hummed a moment, before saying, "I simply think I found a bit of what it was I'd been looking for."
Bianca was glad.
"Tell you what, Bianca. I have a proposition for you and Barry both." Burgh turned back towards her with a casual smile. "Not at this very moment, but later on in the day… I think I might allow the two of you to challenge me for my Gym Badge."
Bianca's face must've shown her surprise, for in the next moment, Burgh let loose a charming laugh.
"Why all of a sudden?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself. But I think… I think I'm ready." Burgh said, and his expression was a bit unsure; a bit sad. "Or as ready as I'm ever going to be. You three have been staying here for more than a week now. And in truth, I've been here going on a month and a half. It's time I moved forward, instead of idling in place."
Bianca frowned somewhat at the man's melancholic tone, but nodded her head.
"Uhm… okay. Oh, do you know where Cynthia went?"
"Ah, the magnificent missing mentor, hm?" The man chuckled. "I had heard she was going to spend the night back in Castelia, apparently to give you some space, but if you're wondering as to where she is right now…"
Burgh trailed off, and for a moment Bianca was confused as to why. That was, of course, until Bianca felt someone poke her shoulder, and she nearly jumped higher than a Spoink.
She turned around to see Cynthia standing there, looking quite amused with herself.
"Why hello there, Bianca." Her mentor/sponsor spoke. "I'm glad to see you seem to be feeling better."
Bianca's eyes widened a moment, before she gave a nod to the woman. "I am. It uhm… I had some things I was working through; and I was… I guess I was scared."
"You don't have to tell me everything, Bianca." Cynthia shook her head, but before she could continue, Bianca interrupted her.
"No! I think…" She took a breath, and then, "I think I'm almost ready to tell you. Burgh said that Barry and I could challenge him later. After that… after I… after I win, then I'll tell you everything."
Cynthia's seemed surprised to hear such confidence out of Bianca, but she showed it only in a broad smile that stretched the length of her face.
"Alright, Bianca." She said, before clearing her throat. "But given that Burgh seems like he's still quite busy, perhaps the two of us could get some training in before your match? I found a spot I think you might enjoy."
Bianca nodded her head, quite willing to try and get a better grasp on her Pokémon; or, well, on who her Pokémon were. She knew of their capabilities in battle, but their personalities, their natures, the way they behaved and handled situations… those things she would need to commit to memory.
They were her allies in this journey, after all, those who were travelling alongside her, and would both be at her side and have her back the whole way through.
She owed it to them.
/
Cynthia took her deeper into Pinwheel than the two of them had previously ventured. Not too terribly far, mind; it was only a twenty or so minute trip, but even so, by the time they pushed past a collection of trees, and made it to their destination, Bianca was officially beginning to think that Cynthia might've gotten lost.
That was until they popped out of the forest into a beautiful, rich landscape. In front of them was a lake a few hundred meters across, surrounded on all sides by flora and fauna. She saw a flock of Swanna dipping their heads in and out of the water, Tympole's and Palpitoad's ducking and diving, and even a family of Sawsbuck, with a few little Deerling's following eagerly behind.
Bianca couldn't help but let out an awed gasp, to which Cynthia smiled.
"I'm glad to see you're as impressed with it as I was. It's quite the scenic locale, isn't it?"
"Definitely!" Bianca spoke, being reminded quite a bit of the route west of Nuvema town. "It's gorgeous."
"That it is. I must say, I've never grown tired of views like this one, no matter how many times I see them."
Bianca shook her head. "Me neither."
"Well, how about you call your Pokémon out?"
"Oh, right!" Bianca reached down towards her belt, grabbed the three Pokéball's resting there, and chucked all three out. "Go!"
All three of her Pokémon emerged out into the forest with the same general enthusiasm hanging about them. Now, her Pokémon turned to her with excitement, and gave out individual calls towards her that she answered, despite the nervousness in her heart.
The next few hours passed by without Bianca doing much of anything. In fact, the most strenuous activity she ended up doing was playing hide and seek with Swadloon, who seemed to be under the impression that hiding beneath their cloak was the single greatest hiding spot in the world of Pokémon.
Bianca did her best to humor her Pokémon, even if such was made difficult with the way she kept chuckling under her breath.
Cynthia watched her through it all with a knowing smile, like this was what she'd been hoping for the entire time. Knowing her, it probably was what she'd been hoping for. She seemed to have a sixth sense about these sorts of things.
Eventually, however, the hours had ticked by, and it felt like it was probably time to head back to the cabin. Bianca laughed as Milotic put up a fight, and dodged the beam of her Pokéball a few times before finally relenting and getting out of the lake.
"We can come and visit later before we leave, how about that?"
Her Pokémon seemed to find that agreeable.
Bagon and Swadloon didn't put up nearly the same kind of fuss, and returned to her without delay. They made their way back towards the Cabin and arrived to find Burgh and Barry, waiting for them.
The former waved their way, ever-exuberant, but the latter…
He was smiling, but it was an odd smile. Filled with something that Bianca couldn't quite quantify.
She shook herself out of that brief haze, however, and made herself to focus on their upcoming battle. She was going up against one of her childhood heroes, but hero or not, she had to win if she wanted that Gym badge.
Technically, she'd earned it long ago, fourteen years ago now. It was probably still somewhere in her room, in a drawer gathering dust.
But Bianca wasn't the same person she'd been when she'd acquired that badge. She'd changed.
It was time to prove that such was not for the worse.
"I regret to inform the two of you that I didn't come out here expecting to have challengers coming to find me, so I don't have two gym badges for the two of you to battle me for." Burgh began as he tilted his neck to one side, then the other, getting a few satisfying cracks out. "I have but the one. I plan on allowing the both of you to challenge me regardless, of course, but one of you will have to wait to do so until we can travel back to Castelia. Do either of you have a preference?"
Bianca looked towards Barry, who smiled her way.
"I'm in no hurry," Barry claimed, placing his hands on his hips before shooting Bianca a thumbs-up. "So how about you go ahead, Bianca? I plan on staying in Castelia awhile anyways, and I think you guys are probably going to keep moving, aren't you?"
He wasn't wrong. In all honesty, even if it did make her feel a bit bad to be denying Barry a chance to challenge Burgh here and now, the sooner she managed to obtain another gym badge, the sooner she and Cynthia could get in the air, and move on towards their next destination.
So, Bianca nodded her head, turned towards Burgh, and said, "Then… I'll go first!"
Burgh's lips spread into a broad smile. "That's the spirit. Let's go, then."
The arena didn't take too long to set up. They decided to host the match in the same place that Bianca and Barry had been holding their spars for the last few days. It was spacious, and most importantly, it was relatively tree-free.
Bianca found herself fidgeting a tad bit nervously as Barry – bless his heart – prepared to officiate their match for them. She could do this; no, she would do this. She knew it. She just… needed to convince the rest of herself that was true.
"Are you alright?"
She turned to look up at Cynthia, who'd come to wish her well, it seemed. She smiled as best as she could and nodded her head.
"I'm okay. Just… nervous, I guess?"
"I understand. I'd be shocked if you weren't nervous. It seems a bit like your thing."
Bianca pouted, and Cynthia chuckled.
"In all seriousness, I have some advice, if you don't mind?"
"Oh! Uhm, yes, of course!"
"Burgh's team tends to change quite a bit depending on his mood. So, you can't particularly count on one Pokémon or another to appear here. The only constant he has is that of his ace; Leavanny. Other than that, expect the unexpected, and be prepared to shift on the fly."
Bianca nodded her head, taking mental notes as she stepped up towards the arena with a sort of blank air.
"Alright, I'm ready!" Barry called, snapping Bianca out of her own head and forcing her to look upwards, towards where her opponent stood opposite her, with three Pokéball's at his waist, the same as her.
"Are you two prepared?" Barry asked.
"I am." Burgh answered.
"I-I am as well." Bianca mirrored him.
"Then…" Barry held up a hand, waited for a second or two, and then threw that hand down. "Begin!"
Bianca reached towards her waist, and pulled Bagon's Pokéball up into her hand. With a flourish, she sent the Pokémon within out towards the center of the arena.
"Go, Bagon!"
"Go, Scolipede!"
The Pokémon that Bianca was facing off against first had quite a few advantages over her. For one, it was a fully evolved Pokémon, which meant that at an average, it was going to be hitting with a lot more oomph than Bianca's Bagon, a basic Pokémon. It was also much, much larger, which meant that while it would be easier to hit…
Well, her Bagon, if it got hit, would be in for a world of hurt.
And Burgh was wasting no time.
"Scopilede, use Steamroller!"
The Pokémon gave a cry of assent as it charged directly at Bagon, glowing with a sort of primordial energy that gave off an intimidating air.
"Dodge, Bagon!"
Her Pokémon did just that; avoiding Scolipede's first attack without much fuss. While Bagon was midair, however, Burgh capitalized.
"Scolipede, string shot!"
A film shot out from Scolipede's mouth and wrapped around Bagon's body. It didn't entirely stop Bagon where it stood, but immediately, Biaca could tell just what it was Burgh was angling at.
He wanted to stop Bagon from moving, and then take it out with one big attack.
She couldn't let that happen.
"Bagon, fire off Dragon Rage at the string!"
Her Pokémon's mouth glowed a purplish hue, and in the next moment, it set the strings coating it ablaze. Unfortunately, during that time, Burgh wasn't standing still. He commanded Scolipede to use another Steamroller.
Bianca knew Bagon wasn't going to be able to dodge that. The string hadn't fully burnt off yet, and the flaming filament was still coating Bagon's body, cloaking her Pokémon in a blazing webbing.
That, however, gave Bianca an idea.
"Bagon!" She cried out just as Scolipede closed the distance between them almost entirely. "Use Take Down!"
Her Pokémon didn't hesitate, which was good, given Scolipede's closeness. It simply shot itself up at Scolipede's head, apparently understanding just what it was that Bianca was getting at.
As it collided with Scolipede, some of the still-flaming string bounced off of its body, and onto the opposing Pokémon. Of course, during that initial collision, her Bagon still took far more damage. But even so…
That string clearly hurt Scolipede, as it shook to try and dislodge the burning filament.
Notably, it was quite distracted.
"Bagon, Dragon Rage!"
Her Pokémon shook its head, evidently quite injured by the initial impact of colliding with Scolipede, but even so, it fulfilled her order. It launched those same purple and yellow flames from its maw, which shot forth and flowed across Scolipede's body.
The Pokémon shook the flames off, but it was clear they had had quite the substantial effect. Scolipede and Bagon seemed to be hurt equally as badly, which meant that Bianca might be able to take the preliminary advantage in this contest.
"Bagon, let's try out one of our new moves! Dragon Breath!"
Her Pokémon visibly grinned, excited to show off its potential. Her Bagon was like that, she'd learned since she'd decided to actually give her Pokémon a chance. Headstrong and sure of itself, and yet never afraid to try again and again when it failed. It was in some ways the polar opposite of Bianca, and yet…
Perhaps in other ways it mirrored her.
Her Bagon spat the violet flames across the enclosure, and Burgh's Scolipede wasn't going to be able to dodge. Instead of trying, however, Burgh simply gritted his teeth, and shouted out, "Use Sludge Bomb, Scolipede."
Bianca realized what the man had planned a moment too late to try and stop it. For just before Bagon's dragon breath could cut across the distance between the two Pokémon and end this first section of the battle, Scolipede had launched the ball of toxic ooze into the air. It sailed above the dragon breath, and landed squarely atop Bagon's head just as Bagon's own attack struck true.
When the smoke cleared, the results of that first contest were made evident.
Both Pokémon had been downed simultaneously.
Bianca clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in disappointment; not disappointment in Bagon, but in herself for not seeing such a move coming. Still, she drew up Bagon's Pokéball, and recalled it back into it.
She reached for Swadloon next, and sent the Pokémon out.
It let out a cry as it appeared, briefly flexing its cloak out.
Burgh smiled upon seeing it; like he was a little bit lost, a little bit sad.
"Go, Crustle!" He himself said a moments later.
The bug with a section of the earth atop it appeared on the field, and Barry gave the confirmation for the two of them to continue their duel. Burgh ordered his Crustle to set up Stealth Rock, which it did, conjuring a collection of pointed stones in the air around Swadloon. It was a supportive move, generally used to chip away at the opponent's team of Pokémon over the course of a match.
It made sense for Burgh to use it with another Pokémon in his back pocket, but for some reason, he startled, as if he'd made some great mistake.
Bianca wasn't quite sure what that might be, but if he'd made a mistake, then she wasn't going to let it go unpunished.
"Swadloon, hit it with a Bullet Seed!"
Her Pokémon gave a cry of assent before firing off a barrage of seeds from its mouth. They impacted against Crustle's shell – if the giant chunk of earth that it wore upon its back could really be called a shell at all – without much effect, although the Pokémon did seem to stumble somewhat, clearly having taken some damage.
"Crustle, use Rock Tomb!"
Bianca knew Burgh's strategy; after all, she'd used it herself. With a slower and heavier-hitting Pokémon, a good strategy was to either speed it up, or slow its opponents down. She'd used it herself in order to take out Wallace's Luvdisc, and it seemed as if Burgh intended to do the same here.
If Swadloon were a faster Pokémon, she'd at least be able to order it to dodge, given that it wasn't currently caught doing anything else. Unfortunately, Swadloon didn't have the maneuverability necessary to truly allow it such a boon, and thusly, it would be tanking this hit.
Or it would've been.
"Swadloon, use Protect!"
Her Pokémon nodded its head, even as a blue forcefield surrounded its body. Crustle's Rock Tomb bounced harmlessly off of the barrier, and the rocks individually landed around her Pokémon, effectively trapping it in place.
Swadloon wasn't going to be moving unless it suddenly got a whole lot faster.
That was fine, however. It was still standing, and it could still fight. She'd take the victories she could at the moment.
"Swadloon, Grass Knot!"
Again, her Pokémon cried out in agreement. A knot of the grass beneath Crustle's legs wrapped around, and pulled out one of them. Crustle fell to one side, awkwardly attempting to balance itself despite its clear discomfort.
Burgh tightened his hand into a fist, before he held that same hand out and yelled, "Another Rock Tomb, Crustle! It can't move, take it out!"
Burgh's Pokémon cried out as it unleashed another set of rocks up into the air. They floated there for just a moment, poised to strike.
And then they fell.
Her Swadloon was struck by several. Each knocked her Swadloon backwards, and the final that hit her Swadloon even sent it careening backwards into one of the rocks from the previous usage of Rock Tomb. It slammed against it, and slid down the stone, looking to be in deep pain.
Bianca felt her heart lurch. She watched as Swadloon did its best to stand from its place on the earth, as it pushed itself up with its tiny arms, and tried to resume a fighting stance.
It was hurt, however. It was hurt, and it needed help.
In the middle of battle, Bianca couldn't offer help the way she might normally; with a hug, or with a potion. But… there was something she could do.
She took a breath, tightened her hands into fists, and shouted out.
"You can do it, Swadloon!"
Her Pokémon looked back over at her with wide eyes, full of life. It stared at her for a moment, as if asking her to confirm what she'd just said.
Bianca would do it as many times as it took.
"I believe in you!" She shouted. "We've got this! Together, we can't lose!"
Was she putting it on a bit for her Swadloon's sake? Yes, she certainly was. Was she also reflecting that which she felt within her heart, however; the feelings she'd had buried there ever since Emboar's death?
Yes. She certainly was.
She watched as Swadloon seemed to resonate with that. She watched as her Pokémon stood and turned towards Burgh's Crustle.
And then, she watched as, with a tiny grunt, it began to glow a brilliant white.
Bianca's eyes widened as her Swadloon's form began to grow and change. Suddenly, it wasn't a short and stout little creature, but a proud and tall one. It stood nearly as high as Bianca, and, as the white glow faded, and she got a look at the Pokémon within, Bianca found herself almost in disbelief, smiling all the while.
"Leavanny!" Her Pokémon cried out its name.
Her Pokémon had evolved. What was more, her Pokémon had gone through an evolution that was said to be dictated not by strength, or power, or even an item…
But by closeness. By friendship.
It… meant more than Bianca thought it would to see her Leavanny look back at her, and give a big, goofy smile her way.
And across the way, Burgh looked over at the two of them with an expression so complicated that Bianca couldn't have possibly tried to make sense of it. all she could gather was…
A strange pride in his gaze.
That and grief.
"Leavanny, let's defeat this Crustle!" She called out, and her Pokémon nodded its ascent. "Move in, hit it with a Bullet Seed!"
Her Pokémon did move in, but instead of utilizing Bullet Seed, it did something else entirely. Its arms glowed a pale green, and in the next moment, grassy blades extended from out of them.
Leaf Blade.
It was a powerful physical grass type move. It wasn't necessarily the best thing that Leavanny could learn, but even so, it was a far more potent attack than Bullet Seed.
And it just might end this particular stage of the battle outright.
"Go then, Leavanny, hit Crustle with Leaf Blade!"
"Crustle, stop its advance with Rock Tomb!" Burgh called out in response.
Both Pokémon obeyed their trainers' commands. Her Leavanny leapt forward, and began to close the distance between itself and Burgh's Crustle. That Pokémon, meanwhile, spewed those same rocks, trying to create a field of stones that would be impassable for Leavanny.
Unfortunately, her Pokémon had grown so much faster, so much stronger when it had evolved. It was too quick to be pinned down by Burgh's Crustle's attacks, and it was certain to be hitting quite a lot harder once it closed the distance, too.
And it was in that moment, looking out as her Leavanny hopped up in the air, and prepared to strike Crustle with its Leaf Blade, that she knew that no matter what Pokémon Burgh had in store for her last, whether it was his own Leavanny, or something else entirely, that she wasn't going to lose.
No…
No, she was going to win.
Leavanny struck true, raking its twin blades down Crustle's body, and causing the Pokémon to go sailing backwards. The force of the landing was enough to destabilize Crustle's earthen shell from its body, and the piece of dirt and rock fell off, breaking on the ground beside its form.
And that, it seemed, was that.
"Burgh's Crustle is unable to battle!" Barry called out, before, rather unprofessionally, turning towards Bianca, and shouting, "Nice work, guys, one more Pokémon to go!"
Bianca laughed, watching as her Leavanny ran right up to her and wrapped its arms around her in a hug. She felt her eyes watering, even as she reached across and put her own arms around the Pokémon as well.
"You did amazingly, Leavanny!" She stressed that point, because her Pokémon truly had. "No matter what Burgh has next, no matter what Pokémon we face, I know we're going to–"
"I concede."
Bianca was glad that she wasn't the only one totally flabbergasted by the words that poured out of Burgh, then. Her jaw fell open, as did Barry's, and while Cynthia had never shown her emotions clearly on her face, Bianca could still tell she was surprised as well.
"What? W-Why?" Bianca couldn't help asking.
Burgh rubbed at the back of his neck aimlessly, sort of struggling to articulate anything to say. Eventually, he seemed to settle on showing Bianca just what his reasons were. He drew out a Pokéball from his waist, and threw it.
It hit the ground some few meters away, and popped open.
What shocked Bianca, however, was that nothing came out.
The Pokéball had been empty.
"What?" She looked up at Burgh, confused. "You… so you only ever had two Pokémon on you?"
"That's correct."
"I thought… Cynthia said you had a Leavanny that you were incredibly close with. Your ace. Did you not–"
"My Leavanny passed away about a month ago."
The words struck Bianca hard enough that she physically recoiled, barely catching herself on her backfoot as she looked over at Burgh's melancholic expression.
"That… wha–"
"She got sick. A… some kind of cancer. She'd had it a while, but she had been doing so well in fighting it, we thought she'd be fine. But then… about six months ago things took a turn for the worse. Ever since she'd been… just not the same." Burgh's expression was empty; as if all possible joy had been taken from it. "And… well… a month ago she died. She fought as much as she could, but it…"
Burgh shook his head, looking up at the sky above him in an effort to keep the tears at bay.
"So, yeah. That's why I've been out here. That's why I've been isolating myself from society this past little while. I guess… I've sort of been struggling to see what the point of it all is. We'd been planning on joining the big tournament at the end of the year, y'know, just like you all. But now, I… I don't think I have it in me."
"That…"
"But you… Bianca…" Burgh looked up at her, and the smile on his face, laced with sadness as it was, seemed somehow genuine. "You gave me something that I thought I'd lost along the way; some sight of a light at the end of the tunnel. And yet… I'm not sure I'm strong enough to make it there right now. Or… no. It's better to say I'm sure I'm not quite strong enough. Not yet, anyways. So… I've made a decision."
Bianca hung on baited breath, Burgh's words affecting her more than she'd thought any could.
"First of all, though, here." Burgh stated as he reached into his pocket, and spun a shiny object about a coin's size towards her. She caught it in both her hands, and looked down to see Burgh's very own Gym Badge in her hands. "That's for beating me fair and square. You did good, Bianca."
"I… Thank you, Burgh, but–"
"As for you, Barry, I'll accept your challenge once we make it back to Castelia. After that…"
The man looked up at the sky once more, but this time not solely to hide his tears away. Perhaps there was some of that, but… no. It seemed the man simply wanted to look out at the horizon one last time. To dream, before…
"I think I'm going to retire from Pokémon Battling."
It was a blow the likes of which Bianca hadn't considered herself capable of receiving. Like someone had taken a dagger and stabbed Bianca through her ribs. She could barely think, let alone breathe, and it was only Cynthia catching her that kept her on her feet.
This couldn't… just when everything was looking up, it couldn't end like this, could it? Not for Burgh, not after everything he'd done for her…
His journey couldn't end like hers had, oh so long ago.
"B-Burgh, wait!" She tried to argue against the man as she pushed herself off of the ground. "That… there has to be something I can do to help you, you shouldn't just… don't retire just because of that, just–"
"Sure. I know what you could do." Burgh spoke, turning back towards her with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "How about you offer me your Leavanny?"
Bianca was rooted to the spot, struck by Burgh's words in an odd, primal way. It felt like someone had just told her to offer her something of hers, some piece of her soul.
Of course, she couldn't. Of course, she wouldn't.
But because of that feeling… she remembered what it was like to have lost one of those pieces of her soul. What she'd gone through so very long ago. Watching Emboar deteriorate, watching him die, and then…
It had her feeling far worse, even though it also had her understanding what Burgh was saying.
He would not be swayed. He'd made up his mind.
"And what will you do?" Cynthia asked.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps I'll take up painting as a profession, instead of simply as a hobby, only…" The man's expression looked so somber. "Leavanny always was my muse. We were inseparable, the two of us. So perhaps… perhaps I'll simply have to figure that out as I go. One step at a time."
And with that, Burgh turned away from them. He picked up his own Leavanny's Pokéball, and held it in his palm like it was a precious artifact. Eventually, however, he closed it, slotted it back onto his waist, and turned away from the cabin, looking off into Pinwheel Forest.
"Thank you, Bianca. And the two of you as well; Barry, Cynthia. I appreciate it all, and I am grateful, know that above all else. But… this is where we go our separate ways. Goodbye, everyone."
And then…
Bianca's vision flooded with tears that she would not shed. She shook her head, and wiped away at her eyes, and by the time she looked up again…
Burgh was gone.
Barry walked over towards them, and kneeled down in front of Bianca.
"I uh… probably need to head out, too. If I want to challenge Burgh and still have time for… well, you know how it is."
Bianca nodded her head; because she did know what the man was saying.
"It's been swell, Bianca." He said, and Bianca nodded her agreement. "I'll see you again at the end of the year, when we all square off at the tournament! Who knows, maybe we'll match up in the finals?"
Bianca couldn't help but laugh at how silly such a proclamation sounded. But even so…
"Yeah." She said, sniffling a bit as she got over her emotions as best as she could. "I'd like that."
"Alright. Well, see ya', Bianca. See ya', Ms. Cynthia!"
And Barry, too, faded into the background, skipping off after Burgh until he, too, faded into the distant underbrush, leaving Bianca and Cynthia alone.
"Are you alright, Bianca?"
"I…" She took stock of herself, and truly weighed that question within her mind. The answer… well…
"I don't know. Maybe I'm not."
"I know you don't like when I inquire about what happened, but I think that–"
"No, no…" Bianca took a breath, and then, for the first time in a long time, she felt she had the strength within her breast to speak. "It's… we're going to be walking back to Castelia for an hour or longer… it wouldn't make any sense for me to just… just stay quiet that whole time."
"Do you mean that…"
"Yeah…" Bianca nodded her head, standing on her own two feet as best she could and taking a deep, but faltering breath.
"I think I'm finally ready… To really tell you what happened to me. About how… the last time that I had a team of Pokémon, I…"
"About how I let them down."
End Chapter 10
Alright, that's chapter 10! Already in the double digits, feels like this story just started haha.
Next few chapters will be Bianca's backstory, or more specifically the tale of Emboar's death. After that, we'll be heading off after our third Gym Badge! Hope you guys are enjoying the story (my FF statistics are broken, so I have a hard time actually gauging how many people read this story without reviews, so if you wouldn't mind, consider leaving one?)
Anywho, thanks for reading, and see you all next time!
