Yo.

Nothing to say. Shall we?

Chapter 34

There were no direct flights into Aspertia City.

It was a rather small place, after all, only housing a good few thousand people. It wasn't at all big enough to afford, or warrant, its own airport, and so they instead flew into Virbank, where they would stay for the evening before departing on what would likely be a few days' journey to Aspertia itself.

And Bianca was…

Nervous felt like she was underselling it a tad.

For the night, they weren't going anywhere, and so Cynthia and Bianca got themselves a hotel room. Bianca had gotten quite used to rooming with Cynthia at that point, and so the two of them didn't conflict with one another as they set about engaging in their nightly routines.

The following morning, they made tracks towards Aspertia City via route 20. It was a rather scenic route, stretching through dense forests and hilly landscapes. There were also a few different streams that snaked throughout the area, and Bianca saw more than a few local children playing about in the water.

The two of them made good time, arriving in Floccesy Town that evening. They had dinner and then rented out another hotel room. Bianca spent the next morning training with her Pokémon, guiding everyone through a fairly standard training routine. It wasn't anything much, but Bianca didn't want to risk any of them getting injured or otherwise harmed before what would be arguably the greatest test that they'd faced thus far on their journey.

Standing in front of them was a battle with Cheren.

Bianca did her best not to think about it for the time being. In all fairness, she wasn't actually feeling panicky or otherwise nervous, more apprehensive. There was a part of her that couldn't shake the feeling that her entire life had built to this moment. That from the very moment Cheren had made that idle comment 14 years ago, the two of them had been destined for this.

She didn't speak about such dramatic things with Cynthia, not wanting to bother her mentor with what were admittedly conspiratorial feelings, but she couldn't quite manage to shake them, either.

They left Floccesy the next day, and set out along route 19, which was a bit more lackadaisical than route then route 20 had been. There were an awful lot less rambunctious children, and an awful lot more old folk fishing in the various small ponds along the way.

It seemed that was a fairly Common pastime among the people of both Floccesy and Aspertia. Admittedly, it did look quite refreshing, and on a different day, Bianca might have even wanted to join them.

They had more important things to do, however.

Finally, after two days of near straight travel, they arrived in Aspertia City. Bianca could feel the adrenaline flowing through her already, the way that her heart beat just a little bit faster inside her chest. That emotion was shared amongst her Pokémon, who each seemed to feel the palpable excitement in the air.

Cynthia, too, seem to have cottoned on.

"Nervous?" She asked Bianca as the two of them rented a room at a local bed and breakfast for the next few days.

"It's kind of hard for me to describe. It's nervousness, sure, but there's something else there too."

"Anticipation?"

"Yeah, I think so." She said as she took bites out of her waffles, which were admittedly quite delicious. "It's just that I haven't really spoken with Cheren in going on a decade now. Ever since I gave him my Pokémon, I haven't wanted to see him. I suppose… I suppose I was afraid that if I saw them again, I wouldn't be able to let them go. And before I started on this adventure, that was the thing I was most afraid of."

"Of what, exactly? Regressing?"

"Something like that, anyways."

The two of them ate dinner, and then retired to their room for the evening. Bianca wasn't sure if it was just the fact that they'd been separated for quite a long time, or that they'd been growing far more familiar with each other, but this marked the third hotel in a row in which they'd chosen to share a room, instead of getting separate ones.

Bianca was doing her best not to read into that, but it was beginning to grow quite difficult for her brain to ignore.

Still, those were thoughts for later. Once she had defeated Cheren, she could spend some time figuring out just what it was that she felt for the woman who'd helped her to get this in the first place.

She woke up the next morning bright and early, determined to get in some more training before heading down towards the Aspertia Gym later that day.

Most of her Pokémon were nearly as strong as they could be, fully evolved and outfitted with powerful moves that would allow them to react to a variety of situations. They covered their weaknesses, and the weaknesses of their fellow Pokémon.

But there was one notable exception.

And that was Shellgon.

Whereas Leavanny, Gallade, and Milotic were all final stage evolutions, it was obvious that Shellgon still had quite a way to go. She knew, of course, that Shellgon often took quite a long time to evolve. Dragon type Pokémon in general were known for taking an immense amount of patience, trust, and willpower to truly get the most out of, and Shellgon was no different.

Which was why she was determined to help Shellgon evolve before she faced off against Cheren.

With a Salamence on her team, Bianca's already strong team would grow even more powerful. She would be able to count on it to deal with Pokémon that might otherwise threaten her team, like flying types, grass types, fighting types, all while still holding the edge over other dragons.

If she could have a Salamence at her disposal, she'd be going into such an encounter at an advantage.

She and Shellgon both trained well into the afternoon, long after Bianca had thought they would be finished. In the end, Cynthia had to come and retrieve the both of them when it was well past lunchtime so that they could refill and recharge for more training that evening.

That training ended up seeming, at least on the surface, largely pointless. Bianca didn't think that they'd learned anything especially grand, and she couldn't tell if Shellgon had made any real progress towards its evolution.

Such was minorly frustrating, but in all honesty, a quiet confidence had begun to build within Bianca's chest of late. Her doubts were becoming softer. Her fears seemed more and more unfounded.

She had faith that the two of them would figure this out. That when she needed him, Shellgon would not let her down.

That was probably at least partially to do with the fact that she had saved the world somewhere around two weeks ago.

Such actions tended to make one a bit more confident in themselves.

Cynthia had certainly noticed.

"I have to say, it's good to see you looking so… assured. There's no doubt in your expression, and I don't feel like you're faking it either." Cynthia rested her head on her elbow, smiling over at her across the table they were sat at for lunch. "I'm proud of you."

Bianca couldn't help blushing just a little bit, even as she fought valiantly to avoid showing Cynthia just how flustered such compliments made her feel.

She had a feeling it didn't work so well, judging by the mirthful expression on Cynthia's lips.

"I guess… yeah; I am feeling more confident in general. Not to mention that my heart feels a lot steadier these days. I guess finally resolving everything that happened, seeing Hilda, and learn what happened to her, alongside finally getting to say goodbye to Emboar, it just… I feel invigorated, almost liberated."

"I can imagine you do." Cynthia said with a wide smile. "That's an awful lot to be carrying on your shoulders, and you'd been carrying some parts of that for over a decade. Even if the closure you gained likely wasn't what you were hoping to learn in Hilda's case, at the very least, you can finally accept what happened."

Bianca nodded. It was, after all, the truth. She'd accepted somewhere down the line that Hilda was never going to be coming back. But there had always been a tiny piece of her that had held out hope that she was alive somewhere.

In a way, figuring out that she'd been removed from time itself, ostensibly deleted from existence, both wounded and healed her simultaneously.

Now, at least, she could grieve. She could grieve, without any questions holding her back. In fact, once this journey was over, she decided then and there that she would go back and tell Hilda's mother the truth.

She would tell her that her daughter had sacrificed her very life to save the world from being erased and rewritten.

It was not a conversation she was looking forward to having, but at the same time, she felt it was a necessary one.

She owed that much to her best friend.

She owed Hilda so very much more, but perhaps most of all, she owed it to her to become the best version of herself that she could possibly be.

That meant collecting eight gym badges, going to the Pokémon World Championships, and putting in every ounce of her effort to make sure that she held no regrets at the end of it.

But the first stage of that plan required her to have 8 gym badges, and right now she had just seven.

Her final opponent awaited her.

She knew she was ready. She didn't think she could possibly be more ready, aside from perhaps having a sixth Pokémon to fill out her lineup, but she yet to find or interact with a Pokémon that she felt truly meshed with her and her team.

She wasn't going to force it. She would give it time. She had faith that she would find a perfect the perfect finalizing Pokémon to fill out her team.

Although technically, right now, she had just four Pokémon.

That was a problem that was going to resolve itself within the next 24 hours, and so Bianca gave it little thought.

After all, she already knew who her fifth team member was going to be.

Now, it was time to go get them.

/

The Aspertia City Gym was a fairly standard building. Bianca would have said that it resembled most closely the gym that Blue had run in Viridian City. Even Norman, with whose gym Aspertia's shared a typing, possessed a bit more character.

Still, that was mostly because its gym leader had never once cared for outward appearances, far more concerned with something's function than its form.

It also likely lent somewhat on the gym being an outdoor establishment. All battling was done in the courtyard outside, and Bianca could already see multiple people engaged in battle there.

She walked into the building alongside Cynthia, and spoke with the person at the front desk.

"Hello there," the woman at the reception desk spoke. "Are you here to participate in a lecture here at the Trainers' School?"

"Not today. I'm actually here to speak with the gym leader."

It was clear that wasn't the response the woman had been expecting. She seemed to be debating how best to let Bianca down easy, but before she could get too concerned about such, Bianca cut in.

"I don't have an appointment or anything, but if you would do me a favor and tell Cheren that Bianca is here to see him, I have a feeling he'll let me in."

It was clear the woman didn't entirely agree, but she also wasn't going to pass up an easy opportunity to be blameless in having to turn Bianca away.

So, she reached down to the phone on the desk in front of her, typed in a few numbers and then waited for the receiver on the other end to pick up.

"Hello? Mr. Cheren? I've got someone here who would like to speak with you. She says her name is Bianca, and that you would–" The woman's eyes widen. "Er, yes, I'll send her in right away."

The receptionist hung up, and motioned for Bianca to head on through to what she assumed was Cheren's office.

It ended up being a bit more casual than that, less of an office space, and more of a Teachers Lounge. Bianca supposed that made sense, given that Cheren doubled these days as both gym leader and teacher.

His gym was, after all, built into the back of Aspertia City's Trainer school.

That might have made Cheren effectively the principal.

He certainly dressed like it, with a nice dress shirt and tie, alongside charcoal-colored long pants. In a purely objective way, Bianca thought he looked pretty good.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to see you here today."

Bianca looked up, and met Cheren's gaze from across the room.

He had grown older, which felt like an obvious thing given that eight or so years had passed since she'd last seen him, but Cheren had represented something more than just himself within Bianca's head.

He had represented all of her insecurities, those things she would whisper to herself to prevent herself from doing 'something stupid'.

Something stupid in this case being 'having dreams' or 'wanting better for herself'.

She had, in a way, demonized Cheren, and all for a single comment the boy had made when he'd been just 14 or 15 years old.

And that wasn't really fair, at least not in Bianca's eyes.

Certainly, that comment had hurt her, such was undeniable. Cynthia had pointed that out to her, and ever since, Bianca had been able to think more clearly about the effect such a thing had had on her when she'd been at her most vulnerable; at her least confident.

But now… things had changed. She wasn't that girl anymore. She was a woman, twenty-eight years old, the same age as the man across from her, who she'd once thought of as one of her best friends.

And it was funny how, in that moment, all of that demonization faded away as her lips stretched into a smile.

The two close the distance and met for a brief hug in the center of the room.

"It's good to see you, Bianca." Cheren said to her.

"It's good to see you too." She said, and it pleased her to know that she meant it. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know much of it, I'm sure." Cheren chuckled beneath his breath. "Busy, above all else. But a good sort of busy. I don't know if you'd heard that we'd been remodeling the trainer school as of late, but that's been keeping me tied up here for the last few months."

"No, I hadn't heard."

"Ah, well," Cheren cleared his throat. "We wanted to open up classes for different age groups, not just the standard classes for young children. It was our hope to be able to host classes for people of all ages. We ran into some budgetary issues, and the renovations ended up taking nearly three months longer than they were supposed to, and cost about double what we thought they would, but in the end, we accomplished our goal."

"I'm happy to hear it." Bianca realized that sounded somewhat crass. "Or, what I mean to say is that I'm happy that it worked out in the end, not that it ended up dragging out so long."

Cheren was smiling. "I knew what you meant. And thank you for the sentiment. Actually getting to host said classes has been a problem in and of itself, but I'm not going to bore you with the intricacies of running a place like this. Instead, how about the two of us discuss why you're here?"

Bianca supposed that was more than fair, and she'd been putting this off long enough.

"I don't know if you had heard from any of the people back in Nuvema town, but…"

"You left on another Pokémon journey?"

She looked up to see Cheren shooting her an easy smile. "Yes, I heard. Professor Juniper was ecstatic. I also heard that you'd picked up quite the… interesting mentor in that time."

Bianca's cheeks heated up somewhat thinking of the Professor being so happy for her sake. She looked back at Cynthia, who was grinning rather smugly.

"Why, Cheren, I'm certain I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right," Cheren just rolled his eyes. "I'll pretend like I don't think there's anything odd about this for the time being. Still, to have Cynthia of all people mentoring you…"

He shook his head, seemingly deciding to cease that line of thought.

Then they both turned to her expectantly.

And Bianca realized it was time for her to speak.

"So…" Bianca swallowed, and found her throat almost impossibly dry. "I'm here… I'm here to finally right the wrong I made a decade ago. I'm here to get back what I once gave you when I was overwhelmed with grief, and unable to think straight."

Bianca wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not, but she thought she could see the faintest of smiles upon Cheren's lips.

"And just what might that be?"

Bianca took a breath, then, and it carried the strength that had been building within Bianca for half a year now. That which she had learned, and would continue to learn, on her grand journey through the world of Pokémon.

"I've come to get them back." Bianca spoke, and this time her voice was firm. "I've come to take back my Pokémon… and I've come to challenge you, to defeat you as the final step on my journey. To finally defeat the one person that I could never manage to best."

Cheren nodded then, even as he stepped back towards his desk, reached down towards one of the shelves near the bottom, unlocked it and pulled from out of it a bag containing five Pokéballs.

He looked up at her with a glint in his eyes.

"I'm glad to hear it. After all…"

"They've been waiting an awfully long time."

End Chapter 34

Alright, that's that! The beginning of Cheren's arc, and the last stop (well, if you don't count the World Championships) on Bianca's journey!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all next week for more!