"Hey! All of you! Move! Get away from her before she freezes your asses to the floor!" Riven demanded with a furious shaking of the arms as he rushed over to the other side of the deck. When the crowds dispersed(more or less melted, really), he saw a very annoyed and visibly hostile White Queen. The metal below her was already frosted over and he could tell she was spitting out multitudes of curses in pokemon, most likely numerous and foul enough to warrant a vicious tongue scrubbing from Nurse Joy. And yes, she did do that to young trainers whose mouths rivaled a sailor's. He heard the howls from his room once.
He put a hand on Haona's head and she growled at him, fangs bared.
"Soooooool…" She warned, forming a ball of ice in her mouth. More frost seemed to collect below her, until she was standing on an icy sheet of metal.
"Calm down, Haona. It's just me." Riven held his hands out, signaling her he meant no harm or more unnecessary petting. Red eyes calmed, and he sighed, kneeling next to her and planting his feet firmly on the ground. A slip would be embarrassing. And slipping on frosty metal? Not. Fun. "Are you trying to be like Quil and go on a destruction rampage? If you froze the deck, they'd kick us off the ship, you ever think about that? Or is it because you like seeing me suffer?"
She gave him an indignant snort at being compared with that annoying firebreather. She glanced away. "Sol. Absol, ab."
Riven stared blankly at her for a few seconds. "Right… I left the translator in the cabin..." She rolled her eyes and began trotting away, like an annoyed teenager. Riven held her back, and she nearly kicked him. "Whoa, claws. No- stop moving! Look at yourself, you're a mess!" Her fur was ruffled in every which way, looking like she had just been pulled out of a maelstrom.
"AB!" She snarled, shooting daggers at him with a glare. She was not a mess, she made it very clear last time he said that. Stupid human was pushing it.
"At the moment," he clarified quickly. "Ice beam, let it go. Just breathe, get it out of your system. Dammit Haona, you can't just-"
She was glaring, again.
"-You can't try to ice beam everything in existence!" He continued. "Me being the primary recipient of that. I'm your trainer, you know, the one that keeps you alive?"
"Sooool," she whined, forming an ice beam again.
"No."
"Solllll." She just wanted to hit him with it, just a little, to see how it felt.
"No, bad pokemon."
Haona tried to pout, but Riven was resolute. He held out a finger. "No, no, and no. Not falling for it. Seren does it much better, and so did Aine, when she was still a Torchic. No pouting, it doesn't work- no, stop that. As fun as it is to encase things in ice because they look at you funny, it gets me into trouble. And when I get into trouble, disaster follows. Spectacularly. You know this."
Yes, she did. She knew it, and so did the rest of his pokemon. He attracted life threatening situations like an Electrike did lightning.
Continuing to stare at him, Haona was still deciding whether to go full brat or not, but caught Riven's arched brow and relented. "Absol…" she grumbled, and sat down beside him on the not so frosted part of the deck. Red eyes narrowed at him, then gestured to herself with her horn. "Sol."
"You want me to fix your fur?" That arched brow climbed even higher. You could practically vault over it.
Her eyes shifted nervously, which reminded him of Gale when she was uncomfortable. It made him chuckle. Perhaps it was a girl thing, which was maybe a slight bit cute, but more often than not, it was more comical than endearing. "Fine. But I don't have a brush or anything that categorizes itself as a grooming tool. And don't criticize me if I don't do a fantastic and exemplary job, alright? Because I probably, most likely, certainly, definitely, positively won't."
She nodded reluctantly. But you better not leave me looking ridiculous or I'll murder you, stupid human.
"Good. Now sit still. And no sass- shit you not, I will leave you like this." She grudgingly nodded again and he began to press down her tousled fur with his hands, mostly the stubborn top of her head, which seemed intent on defying gravity and utterly refusing to stay nice and flat. How can she do this every day? He wondered, still fighting the head fur. He leaned over to pat it down again and a black stone emerged from under his collar and hit Haona in the nose. She sneezed.
"Sooooool…." She growled afterwards, and nudged him with her head, careful not to use her horn.
Riven peered down at her, confused. "What are you- oh." She was looking at the small black stone dangling from his neck with uncharacteristic curiosity. And pawed at it. Riven gave a small snort, she looked like a Skitty mesmerized by a ball of yarn. He'd seen it too, in Petalburg during his homeless stint on the bench. Quality entertainment- that.
"Absol. Sol," she said, still staring at the stone intently. She smacked it again.
He held it up before she tore it away from his neck and flung it unintentionally into the sea. He'd already lost his bow and his blades because of a happy mishap aboard another ferry.
"Wondering about this? My mother gave that to me. Surprised you didn't see it before." He looked down at it and bounced it in his hand. "Steven told me it was useless but… it's the only thing I have left from them." He took it off his neck and held it in the palm of his hands. An idea formed in his head. Haona sniffed it and looked up at her smirking trainer, before backing up. He chuckled."You want it?"
His absol's eyes widened and she pointed to herself with a paw. Me?
"Yeah. You. You didn't really think I'd trust someone else with this, did you? Go on, take it, it's yours."
She shook her head furiously, but Riven put it around her neck anyway. He knew she'd be too stubborn to accept it the normal way, even if she really wanted it. The dark type froze in place and felt the little black stone secured firmly below her neck fur. She loved it, and when Riven put it on her, she felt… fuzzy inside. She tried expressing her gratitude, but found it difficult, muttering a bunch of things incoherently. Thanking him was weird.
Riven snorted and put another hand on her head, finally managing to get that blasted fur to stay down. "Stop babbling- I knew you'd like it. Now stand up," he ordered. She shot to her feet, striking a pose. He shook his head, laughing a little. "A fitting trinket for a White Queen, is it not?" Made a pretend bow, as if addressing royalty.
Haona eyed her trainer for a second, bewildered, then thrust her head up high, puffed out her chest, and regally trotted off.
Riven grinned and leaned back on a rail, before shouting cautioned warnings at her. "Oh, and stop getting into trouble! Don't make me regret giving you that!"
"Sol!" She replied, happily prancing to where the others were, eager to show them her new piece of jewelry.
He ran a hand through his hair. I might have boosted her ego a bit too much, I think. Ah well, at least she isn't giving people frostbite. Or about to anyway.
"That was nice of you."
Lucia came over, joining him near the rails. She tip-toed around the frosted patch of the deck, careful not to slip. Riven had noticed her observing them from some distance away, but said nothing. She watched the content Absol show off to Aine, as well as Quil, who looked… embarrassed? Something wasn't right there.
"Looks better on her than it does on me. Not really a jewelry person," Riven said evenly. "And it matches her personality quite a bit."
Lucia chuckled. "I'll say." She was fixated on the floating gray cloud on the other side of the ship's deck. "Speaking of eccentricities… I didn't know your Castform knew hyper voice. That's kind of strange- and scary, actually. But it could come in handy, if your ears survive that is." She let out a small chuckle.
Riven appeared to be relatively unfazed, looking up towards the sky, which was littered with white clouds, just like the last time he was at sea. "I kind of expected it really. With a booming voice like his, I was wondering when he'd weaponize it," he joked.
"A Castform. With hyper voice," she repeated. "They can't even learn that. That's an oddity in and of itself."
"So it is. But there seems to be a lot of unexplainable things going on lately. Strange, strange world isn't it?" He mentioned, and looked at her somewhat cryptically, as if there was another meaning to his words. Opened a fist, seemingly imitating Will dancing fire through his hands, and gave her a tiny knowing smile.
The older woman narrowed her eyes at him, getting more than a little frustrated at his increasingly cryptic behavior as of late. Gale isn't the only one watching you, what in god's name are you hiding? "You're right." She pushed herself off the rail and began walking back down below deck. "Regardless, you should get some rest. I know you didn't sleep last night, or the other two nights before that. We're only a couple hours away from docking, so go recharge, those black bags under your eyes can't be good for you. Insomnia sucks. Take some pills if you have to, I have some in my bag, they'll help you sleep."
He eyed her dully and shrugged, wondering just how effective these sleeping pills really were. Turns out they were a miracle from god. "Holy…"
"…Shit."
The ferry had stopped at a small port in front of one of the enormous white towers that were spaced out both in the water and on the land, connected by monorails that spanned for miles, connecting three large pieces of land. Riven had never seen anything like it, his mouth hung open and refused to shut. Each tower was almost as tall as the Devon building in Rustboro, which was an impressive feat in itself. "We're going to ride in one of those?"The awe-stricken boy asked, glancing at a train car that was making its way across the rails.
"Yup!" Lucia chirped. "Come on, it'll be fun! They go fast, I hear!" She pushed him forward with both hands, then walked over to the ticketing machine and gave it her ticket.
Riven gulped. "Is that safe?" The older boy seemed very unsure of himself now, and very disinclined to ride in something such as that. Those trains were attached to the metal railing only through the roof and nothing else. And it's a long way down. Riven tried to gauge the distance between the rails and the ocean floor. From that height, it'd be like hitting stone. And long falls plus anything alive usually resulted in messy red splatters, which didn't usually end well for the thing that was alive.
"You think flying on a pokemon is safer?" Will remarked, hands full of Eevee. If he did, then Riven seriously needed to get his priorities straight.
"Uh, no. Definitely no."
"Then what are you worrying about? They're completely safe. You know, they wouldn't be using them if they weren't. No one's ever died before, if that's what you're wondering about."
Defeated, Riven turned to Gale for her opinion. All she did was shrug and hand in her ticket after Lucia, motioning for him to follow. So much for support.
He was only slightly panicked as they rode an elevator all the way to the top of the tower. Once they got onto the platform, Riven looked down and couldn't help but gasp like an idiot. They were hundreds of feet high, with a fierce wind that disheveled the hair and clothes of everyone on the platform. Will had to hold onto his hat to prevent it from flying off.
When their train came, Riven nervously stepped inside, fearing the worst while gripping a metal bar with an iron vice-grip, just for extra security; it wouldn't really help but he got a point for trying. Although, it really wasn't all that bad, apart from the swaying the wind was causing. He fully expected the top to detach and the train car to plummet to a watery grave, but it did no such thing.
Maybe I need to stop thinking so morbidly. He breathed and calmed himself, taking a window seat near the left side of the train. Will sat next to him, setting Seren down on the seat adjacent to him to sleep.
The train ride proved to be extremely pleasant, swaying aside, much to Riven's surprise. The view of the ocean was fantastic, and he could see their destination in the distance, as well as an enormous white bridge connecting two gigantic expanses of land. Lucia informed both Riven and Will that in the direction they were looking in was Lilycove City, and to the east was Mossdeep, where the seventh gym was located. LaRousse was right in the middle, but that much was obvious.
Riven was left nearly speechless, mouth agape."This is just…"
"This is what?" Gale asked, enjoying the view as well. "Awesome?"
"Astounding," he stated in disbelief. "All of this." He gestured around him, as well as out the window. "People built this?" Connecting continents, building towers in the sea, and constructing rails to transport man and pokemon to and fro in a matter of hours? And all through machinery? It was unbelievable. And amazing, to think just how far these people had come. Holy shit indeed.
"Well, yeah. Who else? It's pure human ingenuity! With some help from pokemon of course," Gale mused happily, and scratched Seren's ears. The furry pokemon nuzzled into her hand.
"That… might have been a rhetorical question."
"Oh, sorry."
Riven continued staring out of the window, amazement filling his eyes, instead of the usual cold, bitterness they normally held.
That's different, Gale noted. Good though. Maybe then he can open up more and stop putting up walls! But she really doubted it. Some people were tough nuts to crack, and some of those happened to be steel coated ones. You could bludgeon them with a hammer and they wouldn't budge, which was annoying. Riven being a case in point.
Their train arrived in the station in under two hours, letting them off in the south-eastern edge of LaRousse, near the water. The four stretched and looked around, going over to a wall to peer at a map of their sector of the city. As they were leaning over a post with a holographic map, a small blocky robot greeted them.
Riven recoiled, and almost reacted. "What the hell is that?" He was in a ready stance, hands digging into his pockets, fingers wrapped around his two knives like his life depended on it. However, he had the sense not to draw them, which would have surely alerted the police, which would then land them into trouble and bring about long, colorful uses of the word fuck. And possibly dead people.
Will gave him a look and shook his head, hands pointing downwards, telling him to relax. "It's a robot. It's programmed to do stuff, kind of like Charles. He's not going to kill you, I think. Maybe it'll prove me wrong with your luck."
"So it's like a person too?"
"Not really. I mean… Charles is erm… a little more special, I guess," Will tried to explain. Riven was an idiot with technology, he probably didn't even understand the difference between A.I. and regular robots, so he had to put it into baby terms. "Say, how did they do that?" He asked Lucia.
"A pokedex with an A.I.?" She put a finger on her chin, and looked down at her brother. ""I really don't know. Why don't you ask Birch when you get there, Will? He gives out pokedexes so he should know something about that, right? You should ask him too, Riven."
"I was going actually planning to do that anyway." That happy bearded bastard should have told me I was being used.
The robot finished taking pictures of them, and handed them their LaRousse passports before wishing them a good day and floating away.
Oh man, I do look pissed off, Riven grimaced, holding his LaRousse ID. He tried smiling, which to him felt like the biggest fucking grin he'd ever given, but in actuality, his lips moved about one millimeter. Sighing, he pocketed the ID and stopped in front of a section of sliding sidewalks. People and pokemon sped past them, some to the battle tower and others to… some place. Somewhere. He didn't really know to be sure.
Following several falls and going in circles over and over, they stopped at a park, where many trainers were resting. It looked like the one in Petalburg, with nicely maintained grass, water fountains for the Wingull to rest on, and playgrounds for the smaller devils- err, children. Very lively place- it contrasted with the highly technological landscape around it. Will had the idea to ask the trainers for directions, they looked like they knew their way around. The maps were useful, but they only showed the local area, where the Lund laboratories weren't. They came up to a group of trainers huddled around a bench, playing some sort of handheld game.
Apparently, to get to where they needed to go, they had to take a rather confusing set of sidewalks, then walk around a convention center to get to another set of sidewalks, then take another set of the damn things, make their way through a market center, then finally look for a greenhouse a few streets away. Their destination was right beside it.
It appeared at first glance that the finding of these laboratories would prove to be tedious and time consuming. It also appeared that Riven's initial assumption was wrong. Which, again, was surprising. He believed LaRousse was going to be impressive, he didn't think it would continue slapping him in the face with how much better it was than any other city he'd been in so far. There were even food dispensers scattered around town, full of burgers and other delicious things. Now that… was amazing.
"Those sidewalks are terrifically useful," Riven randomly blurted out. "Why don't they have those in other places? Would save a lot more time and my feet wouldn't be begging for me to chop them off."
"Someone's getting lazy aren't they?" Lucia chided, opening a can of soda with a crackled hiss.
"Hey, I've walked everywhere up until I met her." He pointed an accusing finger at Gale, who put a hand on her chest and gasped as if being accused.
"You're saying it like flying is terrible." Will pumped a fist in the air, looking ridiculous with a semi eaten burrito in the other hand. "Flying is awesome! The wind against your face, the feeling of freedom, the open sky and the sun shining across the clouds! You're just a grumpy old man that's getting white hair. And you're allergic to fun."
"He gets it," Gale quipped, feeling unappreciated. She hmphed at Riven. "Ass."
Riven ignored their little comments and continued. "Oh, I'm the ass now? You're so sweet, Gale. I'm sure anyone would love to be dropped at high speed on their first flight as well. Two thousand feet. Straight. Down," he hissed back at the brunette, who coughed into a fist. "You can imagine why I don't agree with that flying-is-awesome sentiment too much."
Lucia blinked. And seconds later forcefully spat out her drink, coughing vehemently. She tried to apologize, but was too busy laughing to contain herself. "Oh- man, that's- hahahahaha!" She pointed at Gale, teary-eyed. "You're evil. So evil. Oh… wow." Let out a few more muffled chuckles, and wiped her mouth with a sleeve. "I really needed that. Why would you ever do something like that to someone on their first time in the sky?"
"My father said if someone was uneasy about flying, then you should take them high up and drop them as hard and fast as you can. The adrenaline rush will get it right out of their system." Gale noticed the horrified expressions of both Lucia and Will, and meekly looked down. "I kind of found out how wrong he was after I did it. Honest mistake?"
"Poor boy's traumatized enough," Lucia said, half teasing, "don't make it worse by rendering him a neurotic mess. Even more than normal… that is."Riven gave her a dirty look. "Anyway! I think that's the greenhouse. The labs should be right next to it." Indeed, a decently sized steel and glass building was located adjacent to it, prominently displaying: Lund Laboratories. Fairly unassuming, and equally unimpressive.
Heading inside, they stopped in the main lobby, near the reception. The entire floor smelled of far too many cups of coffee and the people with white lab coats inside shuffled around, dragging their feet as if they were ready to collapse at any given second. "Just like in Devon," Riven whispered to himself , watching a man- with bigger bags under his eyes than him- walk past him. "Poor bastards."
Will walked up to the desk, where a man swiveled his chair around to look at him. A kid? The man analyzed the lot of them, instantly recognizing them as trainers. "I'm sorry, but the battle tower is near central LaRousse, that way."
"We're not here for the battle tower though," Will pointed out.
"Oh, sorry. What business do you have here? We don't get much trainers here, you know. Looking for something? Or are you just curious?" Trainers interested in science? Now that- was a sheer impossibility.
"Someone," Lucia added.
"Ah, professor Lund-"
"Steven Stone," Riven cut in quickly. "He is here- is he not?" Don't lie to me asshole.
The man blinked. "Uh, I'll check?" Picking up the phone, the receptionist quickly dialed a number. "Sir, someone is asking for Steven Stone- no… trainers, I think… But what do I- Okay, okay… Understood." He hung up, and sighed. Put on the fakest smile Riven had the displeasure of witnessing, and said, "I'm sincerely sorry, but you cannot see Mr. Stone. Precautions, just in case. We can't be too careful, not since Sinnoh, I hope you understand." There was a hint of disdain in his eyes as he focused his attention on Riven.
The young man continued staring down the receptionist. "Call him again. Tell him a friend named Riven is asking for him," he said, tone low and sharp.
The receptionist, now in a cold sweat, dialed again.
Will tapped Riven on the shoulder. "What makes you think they'll change their minds just because you said it was from you?"
Riven broke into a wry grin. "You'll see."
Just as he expected, the receptionist nodded, and a very astonished and impeccably dressed Steven Stone emerged from within the lab, adjusting the red tie on his neck. Gale and Lucia stared at the former champion in slack-jawed awe, it was one thing to see him on tv, it was another to meet the guy. Will took it in stride, having already seen the man. And not at his finest moment either.
"Riven? What in the- what are you doing here?" Steven asked in disbelief, looking at the young man he'd last seen more than half a year ago. His hair had grown out considerably and he apparently had gotten a change of attire. He almost didn't recognize him- but that half scowl that seemed to be permanently etched onto his face was unmistakable. As well as the general unfriendliness.
"We came looking for you."
"Me? Why?"
"Can't say it here. Wanted to keep it secret," Riven whispered, trying his best so others wouldn't overhear. "Still do. No one can know about this."
"Would a phone call not have achieved the same purpose?"
"No. This had to be in person. Never know who's listening. Someone told me phone calls can be listened in on."
"Maybe in Unova and Sinnoh, where everyone is paranoid about security. I don't think the league does that here, last time I checked. And we haven't had a very good history of personal encounters, Riven," Steven said, recalling the rather nasty head smash he'd been dealt. Then that business in Lavaridge… Yes, most certainly not good.
"Perhaps, but the point still stands."
Steven nodded and gathered his thoughts, not entirely prepared for the impromptu visit. He eyed Riven unsure if Riven was still angry from Lavaridge or if that was just his regular appearance. Still, it was best to try and mend relations, to prevent another such event. He didn't want every encounter they had to end like they had previously. "I'm sorry about how I reacted last time, it was out of line-"
Riven shook his head. "It's fine. That's done with now. Don't dwell on it too much, Steven. This is far more important than you letting your pent up anger out."
"But, I thought you were…"
"Angry? For a few days. But I'm over it now. I'm not a child, and neither are you."
Steven looked at him dubiously. "You didn't answer any of the calls I gave you."
Riven fished in his bag for his holo caster, taking a minute to find the call registry. Fifteen missed calls, five voice messages. Most of them from Steven. A few from Ben. Damn."I was in Forina for five months." It was on silent too. Oops.
"Ah, you did mention you were going to do that."
Lucia and Gale watched the two talk and were left even more confused. The two spoke to each other less like friends and more like unwilling business partners, you could almost feel the tension.
The former champion was about to speak again, when another silver-haired man came out from the lab, spotting him. "Steven, we need you to be present for the tune-ups, if that isn't too much trouble." He nodded and turned to face Riven, as well as sparing a quick glance at the others. "Sorry for the interruption." Looked back at Steven. "We'll be waiting downstairs."
Steven nodded and apologized. "I need to attend to some things first. It should take a few hours, I'll meet you back here when I'm done. We're fine tuning a recent invention we've been working on for quite some time, so I'm quite busy at the moment. I'll give you a call when I'm ready. Is that fine with you?"
Riven glanced at the others, who seemed unsure of what to say as well. Reluctantly, he gestured his approval as well.
"Good." Steven gave the group a polite but charming smile. The same smile that made many a fangirl swoon. "You should go to the battle tower and have some fun in the meantime, this could take upwards of four hours. This place doesn't really have much in the ways of entertainment, so you should go do something enjoyable. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. I'll see you in a few hours." Politely excusing himself, he headed back further into the labs, disappearing from sight.
"Battle tower," Riven echoed as they left the lab, weighing pros and cons with both hands. "I suppose a battle could help us unwind a slight bit. Speaking of which, Lucia, Baron can face Roland- if you'd like, of course." Might as well, now that we have nothing better to do. Now which way is it to the battle tower again?
She smiled, red eyes dancing. "That would be excellent! Roland's going to be excited, he hasn't had a blade battle in a very long time. He just gets so happy thinking about it- enjoys it a little too much if you ask me."
"Blade battle? Does it have special rules?" Will asked, more than a little intrigued. He remembered her talking about it in Petalburg but he didn't press the matter at the time.
"Unofficial ones. It's- well, unorthodox." She raised a finger, as if teaching a class. It reminded Riven of Roxanne. "The two combatants face off one versus one, only blade and physical attacks. Not even trainers are allowed to interfere or give orders, it's only up to the pokemon." She mimicked the swishing of a blade with her hands. It was painful to witness. Both Riven and Will had to wince.
"What?" Gale got out. "That doesn't make any sense."
Riven agreed, staring at her like her brain had gone to scrambled egg.
"I know, I know. It runs contrary to anything trainer related, but it's a very honorable practice among blade pokemon. These battles are very popular in the Kanto and Johto regions, and have picked up popularity in the past few years. Even the Unovan trainers have started doing it. It's fun, honestly!"
"So it's a test of a pokemon's individual skill and technique, without a trainer's help?" Riven summarized.
"Essentially."
"Hmmm... Any other rules?"
"No special moves, which includes any psychic abilities that hit from a distance. Or beams, you get the idea." Lucia beamed, excited. "Now let's go! Come on!"
"Hold your Rapidashes, woman! We'll get there!" Will complained, being pulled along.
The battle tower was packed to the brim with trainers, making it hard to go through the doors without getting smothered. Riven and Lucia pushed past, finally reaching the inside, only to be welcomed with a long line of trainers waiting to register as well. They both groaned and settled in line. It took a good two hours before they were able to sign up for a match because some idiots before them forgot their IDs and had to be escorted out. Made a big fuss too, saying they were rich and had all this influence or something.
"Prissy rich kids, they all think they own the place and can go wherever they please," Lucia snorted, typing her information into the screen. Finished, she stepped aside for Riven to do the same. "Your turn," she said.
He nodded and entered his information, albeit reluctantly, when it came to the hometown section. Setting Littleroot as his hometown, they broke away from the line and rejoined Will and Gale to go watch the other battles while they waited for theirs. Stepping inside of an elevator, they rode up to the very top of the tower. The doors opened to the seating area, which surrounded the arena in the center. The seats appeared to be packed with people, Riven had only seen this many people in one place back in the contest, and even then he wasn't in the middle of them all.
The arena was obnoxiously loud, with trainer chatter, pokemon squeals and cries, loud music, and two announcers blaring out their observations of the match. Spotlights illuminated the arena, where an ashy haired boy with a Scizor was battling a brunette with a Heracross. The two pokemon were locked in place, trying to overpower with each other.
"So this is a pokemon arena?" Riven asked Lucia. "It's way too noisy."
"What?" Lucia responded, holding an open hand next to her ear for him to speak up again.
"It's so noisy!" He repeated, nearly shouting.
"Oh, yeah!" She smiled. "The noise is to hype up the crowd, it pumps the trainers and their pokemon, motivating them to win!" She cheered as the Scizor let loose a blinding flash cannon, blasting the Heracross across the arena and onto the floor, kicking up a cloud of smoke. Then the smoke cleared as a purple beam shot across the battle area, right into the Scizor's torso.
Riven took her words into consideration and crossed his arms, looking around curiously. He could feel the excitement in the air, not just from the other people's crazed cheers, but from the announcers gradually getting more and more excited as the match went on. Soon after, he found himself cheering- granted, much more quietly, but cheering nonetheless. It was invigorating, to be sure. It was akin to that of a battle speech, but less… serious. No one was going to die this time.
Will shoved him and Riven turned to see both him and Gale raising their fists as the battle came to a close. The crowd erupted as if they themselves had won when the winner was announced, then reverted back to loud chatter before the next contestants were announced.
"Awesome, right?" Will mentioned, feeling like he could take on the world. Seren climbed into the older boy's lap and poked him with his paws.
Riven scratched behind the foxes ears, picked him up, and set him in Will's lap again. "It's much more lively than a gym battle, that's for sure," he said, scanning the area around them. "Is the league like this too? I mean- does it get this crazy and loud?"
"Even worse," Will said, bemused. "Everyone tunes in to watch it, the challenger versus the elite four and if possible, the champion. Every single pokemon center, every shopping mall, and the entire city of Ever Grande- is watching you." He grinned widely, red eyes burning like fire.
"So many eyes… that's a lot of pressure," Riven acknowledged, thinking about how he'd fare if he had that many people watching him. He briefly, momentarily, imagined himself facing against the league, and then reality slapped him. Grimaced, shook his head fiercely, and adjusted himself. Not a good idea, not a good idea at all. Oh hey, here's a wanted trainer, come and get him! And by the strongest in the region to boot. Yeah, no.
"The trainer's rush," Gale chimed in, "that's what I've heard they call it. It's not so much as becoming the champion that's the best part, it's the feeling that you've just won in front of thousands of people. And also that you just wiped the floor with the strongest trainer in the region!"
"She gets it," Will snorted, " It's all about kicking ass and taking names!"
Gale smiled, giving Riven a look that said, take that. He returned it with a fake smile, followed by a disdainful scowl.
The next match was announced, a boy from Mossdeep versus a boy from Fortree. The battle began and the crowds kicked up the noise once more. A few minutes into the fight later, Gale covered her ears and shouted at Riven.
He heard someone yelling, turning his attention to her after Will tapped his knee and pointed to his right. "Yeah?" Difficult to hear, with all this damn noise.
Gale peered up at the score board, seeing Lucia and Riven's match next. "Your match is next! You ready?"
"If by ready, you mean about to get demolished by Lucia? Then yes, absolutely," he said dryly. "This isn't even fair you know."
Lucia cackled villainously, and stood up.
The crowd went quiet as the Mossdeep boy's Medicham connected a three punch elemental combo with the other kid's Dusclops' face.
"Where are you going?" Will asked. "The match isn't over yet!"
"To get ready for our match, of course," she responded calmly. "The match is about to end anyway."
"Really? Then who's gonna win?"
"The Dusclops."
"Liar."
"Just wait."
Will whipped his head back towards the match and saw the Medicham shoot a shadow ball into the ground from above. The arena went dark for a second as the attack made contact with the ground, sending out a wave of ghostly energy with the impact. The dual type pokemon landed on its toes, searching for its opponent.
"Checkmate," Lucia murmured, and smirked. That Medicham is on the ground. Fatal mistake.
The ghost emerged from under the Medicham's shadow, grabbing it by the legs and slamming it into the floor. Standing over it, the Duclops' eye glowed a deep red, then swirled its hands.
"It's using hypnosis!" Gale gasped.
The Medicham fell into a deep sleep, was assaulted seconds later by a dream eater, and then flung into the air. The ghost charged a shadow ball and waited until the precise moment in the unconscious pokemon's descent before releasing and ending the match in an impressive reversal.
Will gawked and snapped his head back to Lucia. She flicked him in the nose. "Told you. Never lose sight of a ghost. If you do, look at your shadow. If it moves, you better run. Keep that in mind, okay little brother?"
He nodded, consuming the knowledge like one would a chocolate cake.
Lucia tapped Riven on the shoulder to head down to the arena floor, who was just as stunned as Will was. She laughed at him, partly because his face said that his brain was still trying to process what had just happened. Leading the stunned trainer to the elevator, she shoved him inside and pushed the button to descend.
"So, who're you rooting for, huh Gale?" Will asked mischievously. "My sister, or Riven?" Seren yipped in question, imitating what his trainer was doing, but much more cutely and less devious.
Gale eyed him suspiciously. "Why did you say his name like that?"
"No reason," he grinned wryly.
She didn't believe that for a second.
"Well, that's who you're rooting for, isn't it?" He chided again. "Right?" The brown fox nodded at the same time as its trainer, a partner in crime.
Gale shook her head and chuckled. "I- I'm rooting for both of them. Not playing favorites here if that's what you mean. I wish them both luck, and may the best trainer win."
"That is such a cop-out," Will frowned, disappointed. "Honestly, who're you rooting for?"
Gale stuck her tongue out at him, and pointed to the arena. "I'm not answering that, especially now that they're going to go on to their match- look!"
Riven stood in front of two large white doors, waiting for his name to be called out. He felt a little nervous, being in front of so many people. Nothing to it, just imagine they aren't there...
The two doors opened, and a blinding torrent of spotlights shown on him. He squinted into the light, shading his poor eyes. The floor moved him slowly into the arena, like the sidewalks outside, but smaller. Stepping off the platform, Riven walked towards the arena.
"This is singles round seven ladies and gentlemen! This time we have a trainer from the peaceful, breezy town of Littleroot, Riven Cerul!" One of the announcers blared over the microphone, "with a badge count of five!" Clapping and cheering ensued.
"And on the opposite side, we have a beautiful young woman from the bustling coastal city of Slateport! Givvvveeee it up for, Lucia Ethne!" The announcer paused. "Oh, and look at this folks, she has a badge count of fourteen! All eight from Hoenn and six from Unova, what an accomplished trainer!" The boys went nuts, singing praise as she walked in. She waved briefly to the crowd, before fixing Riven with a determined look. He calmly stared back at her, focused.
"Looks like both trainers are ready, Henry. What do you think?"
"I think it's going to be an uphill battle for the young man from Littleroot, George. His opponent has fourteen badges under her belt; he's going up against experience- and that, folks, is tough to beat. Will he be an underdog? I guess we'll find out in just a moment!"
"You're absolutely right, but enough talk! Let's get this show on the road! You know the rules- one pokemon, one round, one victory! Trainers, choose your pokemon!"
Riven and Lucia threw out their respective pokeballs. Two flashes of light shot forth onto the field, materializing into a confidently relaxed Sceptile, and an equally calm Gallade.
"Ah, so it's a Gallade versus Sceptile. No super effective moves here folks, unless that Gallade has an ice punch under his belt- and boy did that surprise us before."
Lucia and Riven moved to the sidelines, standing beside one another. The crowd's noise died down, replaced by sheer confusion. Then murmuring began and a wave of questions arose.
Overhead, the commentator box was trying to understand the situation."What's this? Why are the two trainers moving next to each other? Are they giving up? Hold on people, we're going to try to sort this out!" The announcers were about to disqualify both Lucia and Riven when Roland and Baron walked up to each other and crossed blades, as well as fierce gazes. "Look there, at the pokemon! They're crossing blades! Is this- is this a duel?"
Both the Gallade and the Sceptile positioned themselves an equal distance away from the center, shifting into a battle stance.
"It's seems that way, Henry!"
"Like the fencers of old! This is something new, my friends! It appears that they won't be receiving orders from their trainers this time, just pokemon to pokemon!" A camera focused on Riven and Lucia, who nodded."Yes, it is! The trainers have confirmed it, there will be a fight. This show is back on the road, so let's get it going!"
Baron flexed his blades, waiting for the referee to signal the match to begin. This was his first blade battle, without instructions, all him. To say he was excited was an understatement- he felt tingly all over, and couldn't wait to get started. His opponent, Roland, twitched in excitement as well. Baron could feel it all the way from where he was standing.
"You ready, kid?" Roland asked, still limbering up.
"As I'll ever be," Baron shot back. "I'm not going to be an easy win, no way in hell."
"Good," the Sceptile laughed, "give me a good battle. I haven't had one in a long time!" The leaves on his arms began to glow a bright green, and Baron responded by channeling psychic energy through his own.
The flags came down and both pokemon shot forward, pink and green clashing in the center, blade on blade, just like two soldiers in a battle. Psycho cuts and leaf blades bounced off of each other, showering sparks of pink and green energy every time blade struck blade, resounding across the arena with metallic clangs.
The announcers, as well as the crowd, roared as the pokemon went at it, witnessing less of a pokemon battle, and more of a sword fight better seen in a movie.
Baron blocked one of Roland's leaf blades, launching off the ground and twirling in the air to bring down a massive, charged psycho cut where the Sceptile stood. Roland grinned and swung his blades in a cross shape. A large green x collided with the psychic slash, breaking it apart and slicing the floor behind the grass type, cleaving a large, crescent-like scar into the ground.
Roland jumped into the air, met Baron with a right, and with a powerful slash from his left, sent him flying to the outer edge of the arena. Baron had just enough time to recover when Roland was already upon him- the leaves on his arms coming down like deadly ribbons of green, arcing and slashing from multiple directions.
He's so fast! Baron observed, barely blocking attack after attack, with no opening to counter. He was being driven to the edge, which would mean disqualification should he step outside. The Sceptile used a feint- spun, jumping upwards to rake one of his leaves across Baron's face.
The crowd winced as Baron recoiled in pain. Driven to his knees, the psychic blocked a double-handed leaf blade and opened his eyes, briefly glowing a bright blue.
Time to counter.
Tapping into his psychic abilities, he read the Sceptile's thoughts, blocking a two rights and a left, dropping low to the ground to send a powerful kick into Roland's chest, stunning him just enough for a counter attack.
If I can read his moves, I can beat him, Baron reminded himself, this time driving the Sceptile back with a flurry of pink slices.
Right, left, uppercut, side slash, downward chop, low sweep, spinning leap- and… got you!
Baron struck again, with more force than normal- managing to break through Roland's guard, and slashed upwards with his right, landing a clean cut from the sternum to the shoulder. Blood seeped out of the wound, and the Sceptile jumped back a couple steps, smiling.
"Good good! You're pretty skilled! Not bad at all. Looks like this will be a worthwhile battle after all," Roland exclaimed, even more excited than he was before; the pokemon lived for this. He settled into his stance again and cut the ground in front of him. Show me, Gallade.
The announcers were stunned at Roland's provocation."George, look at that Sceptile! Despite taking such nasty hit, it's taunting the Littleroot trainer's Gallade!"
"Damn right, Henry! He's basically telling him, 'come at me, is that all you got?' And it's definitely telling me that this match is about to get even more exciting! Even with the trainers not even uttering so much as a single word, the cheering of the crowd speaks volumes- they're loving this! Oh, man, just look at this! They both fell into a swords dance to boost their attack power! The stakes. Just. Got. Higher!"
Finishing both of their dances, Baron focused his mind. Roland was much faster, but his physical attacks weren't as strong as his own. Yes, the swords dance was definitely going to change that, but the point still stood. To win, he needed to predict the Sceptile's moves first, or that speed was going to be his demise- power counted for absolutely nothing if he couldn't touch his opponent.
And to prevent that, I can't let him breathe. Step it up.
Roland dashed forward, looking to end this, but as soon as his leaf was going to make contact with the Gallade, he was gone. He found out where he went when the psychic appeared below him in a pink flash. Teleport! Clever little sneak.
Baron reached out, grabbing the Sceptile by the arm and planted a foot against its chest. He then shot him into the air with an upwards throw. And waited. Steady your mind, get this right, get this right, he eyes turned blue, and Baron was gone.
The next five seconds were a blur.
Baron teleported from all directions around Roland, slashing over and over, juggling the Sceptile effortlessly in the air. The psychic's onslaught was like a blink, almost too fast for the human eye to see. Just before using his last teleport, he slammed Roland back down to the floor with a spinning kick.
Teleported for the ending slash, raising his blade, ready to finish the fight- slash, but not too deep, almost there…
Something stopped his blade in its tracks.
What?
Roland stood in place, bleeding and cut from many different places, no longer appearing like a green pokemon with all the blood on his body. In his hand, he was clutching Baron's blade, blood dripping from the Sceptile's fingers.
The crowd, as well as the commentators, went dead quiet.
A blood covered arm moved, and Baron attempted to read his opponent's thoughts to intercept. But just before their blades met, Roland's mind went blank.
The Gallade's eyes widened in panic, unable to read anything from the grass type. Within a moment, two leaves came down, leaving a large x shaped wound in Baron's chest, lengths identical to the cut he had inflicted on the Sceptile prior. An expertly executed attack. The next few moments Baron uselessly tried to fight back against Roland's speed, but accomplished nothing, receiving even more injuries along his body. He couldn't read his mind, and he couldn't outspeed him.
The Sceptile channeled powerful green energy through one of his leaves. Baron fought through the pain and did the same, pink light flowing throughout his own blades, power enveloping his entire body.
The two attacks crashed together and the arena exploded in a burst of greens and pinks, a burst of colorful light.
Baron picked himself up, on his last legs, panting and cut up. He could barely stand, arms weak and legs trembling from fatigue.
The commentators waited for a few moments, making out a figure in the smoke. "The Gallade is still standing! But where is his opponent?"
A wind sharp enough to cut through steel parted the clouds of smoke, missing Baron and crashing into the wall behind. Smoke gone, Baron saw Roland. The Sceptile was firmly balanced on the wall, face determined and ready to end this.
Lucia closed her eyes, knowing what was going to happen. Spiral cross during overgrow? Rather serious today, aren't you, Roland?
Then he was gone.
Baron couldn't even raise a hand before the Sceptile appeared before him, glowing green with power, leaving behind after images of itself with a quick attack. He whispered quietly in Baron's ear, face serene and gentle, "you did well."
Green flashed.
The Gallade had lost, falling to the floor behind the victorious Sceptile.
The ref raised a flag near the fallen psychic, sending the crowd into a sort of volcanic eruption of roaring and cries.
"Oh my god! Did you see that? DID YOU SEE THAT? I didn't! It was way too fast for me to process! Let's play that back… in slow-mo!" One of the commentators exclaimed, rubbing his face.
A screen showed up and replayed how Roland used quick attack to propel himself forward at an impossibly fast speed, spinning in a spiral and culminating in a dazzling green cross slash. Beautiful, but deadly. The crowd remained mesmerized, before once again erupting in cheer.
"And there you have it, folks! The winner of this incredible match-up is Lucia, the trainer from Slateport, and her Sceptile! Kudos also goes to Riven and his Gallade, who despite being less experienced, put up one heck of a fight today! Give them a big round of applause, people!"
Being congratulated, Riven and Lucia waved, before shaking hands and returning their pokemon. Heading back to the stands to go fetch the other two, Riven stood in place, holding Baron's pokeball.
Lucia noticed it and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He did really well, you know. I haven't seen Roland get that serious in a long time. To get him to that level in such a short amount of time, I have to say that you trained him well. Don't beat yourself up over it."
He looked at her, and shrugged. "I'm not angry, Lucia. Or disappointed. You and your pokemon are a lot more experienced than mine are. Honestly… I've just been a trainer for a little over a year. Baron hasn't been a Gallade that long. There was a very slim chance he was going to beat Roland," he stated logically, still looking at the pokeball.
"It's not good to think like that. That's a defeatist mindset," she scolded gently.
"Just being realistic- it would have been highly unlikely he was going to win Roland, and you know that. But nonetheless he almost kicked Roland's ass-" He paused, trying to put his thoughts into words, finding it difficult. "-I'm proud of him. Of all of them."
The doors opened, and Lucia looked back at him, nodding, trainer to trainer. "You should be." Then met Will with a high five, and received quite a few looks from some new admirers.
Gale walked up to Riven, who finished clipping Baron's pokeball back on his belt.
"Amazing battle! Baron tried his best," she congratulated, gray eyes full of energy. "It really got the blood pumping, and I'm not even a trainer! Well, I guess you don't need to be a trainer to enjoy battles... but that teleport rush- and that move at the end by Roland- so cool!" She was gushing again, just like when she saw the Flygon dragon racer at the festival. "It's awesome you taught your pokemon something like that!"
He raised a black brow. "I don't deserve any praise for that, Gale. That one was all Baron. Shit- I didn't even know he could do that, truth be told. He always was fond of teleporting to get close enough to attack. Wait… they didn't show my face when he did it right?"
She giggled, remembering both Lucia and Riven's priceless expressions when it happened. Neither of them must have expected it then. "Oh yeah. You should have used some duct tape on your mouth. You would have looked less ridiculous." Let out another infuriating giggle. "I'm fairly sure someone took a picture of that, and is making a gif of your face at this very moment."
"Gif?"
"A short animated erm…. picture. Of some sort. Do you really want me to explain it to you?"
"On second thought… no. I don't want a migraine, thanks." If it was anything like when Will tried to explain what video games were, he'd really rather not.
Gale clapped her hands together."Well! You and Lucia should go get your pokemon healed, they were pretty beat up from that battle," she suggested, and peered down at her phone. "It's already been a couple of hours too. Steven should be calling soon, I think?"
Riven agreed, leaving the battle tower with the others to get their pokemon healed before the rock maniac decided to call, whenever that was going to happen.
Standing from the sidelines, a woman with hair like fire watched them go.
Back in the pokemon center, Steven called while Roland and Baron were getting healed, telling them to come back to the lab. They rushed back, and were invited inside; which, to the scientists, was apparently some kind of privilege since they were about to witness new technology that hadn't even been made public yet.
Making their way through the corridors of the lab to the main chamber, Gale nudged Riven in the side. "Psst, Rivy." Since his momentary exchange with Steven, something had been bothering her. It was trivial, really, but it was just one of those things that pricked at you. Like an annoying splinter.
Blue glanced down at her. "Gale... I told you not to call me that. What is it you want?"
"This isn't really important but… How come you were able to call me in Forina but not Steven?" She asked, perplexed. Maybe he used that as an excuse to cover up the real reason he didn't call Steven, which could have ranged from laziness, to downright hatred. Possibly both, knowing him.
Riven stared at the ceiling."Well, you see… I kind of had to go really high up to do that." And by high up, he meant really high up. Spire high. Nearly dropped his holo caster up there too.
It took a few seconds for her to get what he was trying to say. She then wished there was a desk nearby she could use to slam her head into."Did you really climb all the way back up there? WHY? Are you crazy? How did you even- No. No. I can't even- argh! I don't understand you!"
Riven started to really laugh. Calming himself, but still releasing a few giggles, he began to explain. Gale's face made it even harder not to laugh. "One, it was training; two, I needed to get my rope back; and three, it was the only way I could get a signal without heading to the outer edge of the Forinan forest. And trust me, those Shiftry really don't like people." One razor wind nearly went off with his head- basically saying get the hell out, or die. That message had been received very clearly.
Gale threw her hands up, then crossed them. "Why did I even bother to let you borrow Emile when you were going to climb the stupid spire anyway? You're so freaking stubborn!"
"If it makes you feel better, the view was fantastic."
"You're insane," she added sourly.
"Oh look, we have something in common," Riven deadpanned, moving Will between him and Gale so she wouldn't jab him again. She exhaled in deep frustration.
Coming to the end of the hall, they entered an extremely wide chamber with various technological contraptions and scientists huddled around them. Most of them were leaving already. Steven stood in the far right corner of the chamber, exchanging friendly banter with a familiar bearded man with sandals and an infectious laugh, just like Wattson.
Birch turned around, feeling someone glaring knives into his head. Getting the goosebumps, he spotted the culprit, and hoped the boy wasn't too much in a bad mood. Broke out into a grin from ear to ear, and made his way over to the approaching group of youngsters.
"Riven! Wow, you certainly look different from when I first saw you. You don't look as dangerous in casual trainer clothes! That hair also makes you look more approachable, bravo! And your swords are gone!"
Swords? What? Gale and Lucia both repeated mentally, dumbstruck.
"Right. And apparently, I'm being used as a test subject for the new pokedex models," Riven replied dryly. "How nice of you to have filled me in beforehand."
"I see your charming demeanor hasn't changed! Haha!" Birch joked, laughing louder than he should have. He noticed Riven's glare intensified. He went over and clapped him on the back, bringing him to where Steven was.
"You see, my boy, if I told you you were going to be used as a test subject, would you have done it? Because when most people think of test subjects, they think of the most macabre movie they've ever seen, and that's no good! Some trainers thought they were going to get turned into some kind of Frankenstein!" Birch laughed again, his jolly voice echoing across the walls of the underground lab chamber. "I figured trainers would be able to collect valuable data anyway, even if they weren't told about it. Which reminds me, how's C.H.A.R.L.E.S working out for you?"
Riven pried Birch's arm off of his shoulders, more than a little irritated. "He's a snippy bastard is what he is. He was polite at first. Kind of miss that, actually."
"Well…the A.I. adapts its feelings and thoughts according to external stimulus. Said stimulus mainly being the trainer it's assigned to so…" Birch shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "But- he's still supposed to be one of the more polite models." He stopped there, letting the boy figure it out for himself. He wasn't a fool after all. And it seemed he did understand, judging from the enormous groan that followed.
"So basically, I'm the reason he turned into a snarky mess? Is that what you're saying?" Riven concluded. The professor nodded. Riven banged his forehead on a nearby machine."Can I get a replacement?"
"Sorry, but no," Birch denied, still smiling widely. It was then the professor finally noticed the other three with Riven and apologized, "oh, I'm so sorry! I haven't introduced myself! I'm professor Birch, and you three are?"
"Will."
"I'm his sister, Lucia."
"Gale."
"Riven's friends?" He asked curiously. Two attractive young ladies too...
The three exchanged looks. "Uh… kind of? Maybe? I don't know?"
"Ah, well- I suppose it doesn't matter. Come, come! Let me show you something amazing!" Birch exclaimed, leading them to a machine with two seats for what looked like people."It's such a beauty, after all these years, she's finally done!"
"What the hell is it?" Will asked, tilting his head. "Looks like a torture device."
"Kind of looks like a dentist's chair," Gale put in.
"Maybe it's both?" Lucia suggested. Sometimes, scientists were scary. It could possibly be both, or worse. What could be worse than a dentist's chair turned torture chair, she couldn't really imagine. Nor wanted to.
"This-" Steven answered, brushing a hand on the seat, "-was a dream visualizer. But it's been modified for a special purpose, one that works much better, and would help researchers understand pokemon even further, as well as having other practical uses too."
"So what's it now?" Gale wondered.
"Now it's a memory visualizer."
For those of you that are wondering or have no idea what it is, LaRousse city is a technologically advanced city that appears in the Destiny Deoxys movie. And thus, canon. It's located near Lilycove.
By the way, artificial intelligence is canon as well. The porygon line and its pokedex entries clearly state it's a manmade sentient intelligence, Porygon2 mainly being the ideal notion of an A.I. that adapts and forms new feelings and thoughts. Check it out, bulbapedia that thing.
Also, the dream visualizer is a machine that a Devon corp scientist in the R/S/E games is trying to develop, but says it isn't ready yet. I wouldn't be surprised if someone took the idea and… ran with it. To the next logical step, of course.