808What's this? White's not the one narrating this time? It's…N?Yeah, I figure I'll be doing some "side stories" along the way to Undella Bay (plus one involving the actual side story with Bianca and her father)—although don't ask me how I'm going to get used to writing for the three characters and the one I'm not going to reveal yet considering I've grown fond of giving Pokémon their own voice.
Like I said, this chapter is in N's point of view, and I'll be struggling to get this weirdo's train of thought as perfectly as I can.
Disclaimer: Blu Rose does not own the Pokémon series.
X-X-X
~Complex Equations: An N Story~
My name is Natural, but for the sake of safety, I am N—not that I mind, because it reminds me of how I am the missing number, the solution to the problems plaguing my Pokémon friends, the hero of my story—and for the sake of my goals, I must participate in the Pokémon League. I never wanted to, though—who would want to force Pokémon to battle to the point of fainting for the sake of a flimsy piece of metal? Only violence-hungering selfish humans—but Father said it would be a learning experience for me. Nonsense. I think I know all I truly need to know about the world and mankind from my books and tutors. The last thing I wanted was to see the things humans did to Pokémon with my own eyes.
But then I met Black and White, who, ironically, fall into a gray area different from other trainers. Their Pokémon were happy around them—loved them, even. Of course, they still did awful things like forcing them to battle, imprisoning them within Poké Balls, branding them with names like they were property. They practiced the same bad habits as any other trainer, and it would be a shame and a waste of their talents if they continued, and so, it is up to me to teach them right from wrong.
Of course, it won't be easy. The actions of a few extremists on Team Plasma made them—and several others—view them as villains instead of heroes of Pokémon liberation—heroes worthy of being represented by one of the heroes chosen by Zekrom or Reshiram, but that didn't matter. I would simply go about it the same way I would a Pokémon that's been abused by its trainer. They could hiss and bite, maybe even attack me for my attempts, but I won't dare stop until Black and White see things my way.
Not even if my father finds out I've deviated from my planned path…
"HEY!" Bianca shouted, glaring at me with a peeved expression. "I said hold this! My basket's already full."
I looked down and noticed that her basket was chock full of groceries, the contents close to spilling out if she kept the basket swinging on her forearm like that. She was holding out a bag of bread with her free hand and pointing down at the empty basket I held. Wordlessly, I took the grocery and put it inside of my basket.
"You're spacing out so much... You've been doing that ever since you came back last night with White." The blonde girl leaned forward, a bit too close for comfort. I felt a warm sensation run through my body and struggled to maintain my calm. "What'd you do last night? C'mon, you can tell me…" I remembered White's threat. I doubt she could do anything that would actually make me regret knowing her—she's already hit me so many times, and female humans are naturally weaker than males, so technically there's nothing she can do that will truly hurt me in the long run. "Pretty please? Hmmm? With sprinkles on top?"
"We kissed each other."
What followed next were some of the most bizarre things I had ever witnessed. First was Bianca's expression: her eyes became large and shimmered like the feathers of a Swanna. Then she made a squeaking noise not unlike a satisfied Minccino after it's finished cleaning something. And finally, she squealed like a Woobat in mating season:
"EEEEEEEE! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my GOSH! Seriously? What did you do? What was it like? How did she act? …It must not have been good considering she didn't seem all that happy." I looked around. The other few morning shoppers were staring at us. Bianca seemed oblivious to it all, though. "No wonder she didn't tell me, then! You must be an awful kisser..."
All of this overreaction confused me. White said that everyone kissed, so why did Bianca keep talking about it even after we left the store? I admit, the memory of it is…somewhat pleasing, but the thought that I'm most likely going become sick and no longer be the pure being worthy of becoming a chosen hero was frightening. It took all my patience to resist the urge to complain about it.
Perhaps it was wrong to speak of this with a girl I knew next to nothing about…
X-X-X
"We're baaaack~!" Bianca sang out cheerfully once we arrived back to Ms. Lotta's house, carrying bags of groceries for our trip to the next locale. Almost immediately, Bianca shoved the other bags into my arms and scampered into the living room, saying, "White! White! We need to talk! …Where is White?"
"She's upstairs with Black and her grandmother," I heard Cheren speak.
"Great! Thanks a lot!"
"Wait a second! Where are the groceries you were supposed to get?"
"N's got 'em~!" The blonde exclaimed as she ran out of the living room, nearly pushing me over in the process.
The moment I regained my balance, I noticed Cheren standing within my view, holding his bag with one hand. "Just bring those into the kitchen for Soul," he spoke, turning his back to me.
I walked into the kitchen, struggling a bit with the bags in my arms. As soon as I was close to it, I unceremoniously dropped the bags on the counter, and no sooner had I done that, they were pulled to the other side of the counter by Soul. Without even so much as a greeting, the dark-haired boy pulled out the contents in each bag and started preparing our lunch. How rude. He should've said 'thank you' at the very least. Why must White insist on making friends with rude boys like this? It's bad enough that someone like Soul who claims to love Pokémon raises them like they were crops for sale…
"Piiii~!"
"GET OFF OF ME!"
Soul stopped pouring rice into a bowl and glanced out at the garden where the noise was coming from. "Wonder what's goin' out there…?" He looked at me and nodded his head in the direction of the door. "Hey, go check it out, would you, N?" Without even giving me a choice in the matter, he went back to work.
"Piii~!"
"I SAID GET OFF!" It was Zorua who was shouting so loudly. I don't think I've ever heard his voice reach such volumes. I walked over to the doorway to see what the matter was. Togepi was happily sitting on top of Zorua, holding onto his ears as if he were a toy horse. "So help me, I will bite you…!"
"You'll do no such thing!" Said Panacea from beside them. "He's only a baby! All he wants to do is play with you!"
The Dark type bucked the baby Pokémon off of his back. All the other Pokémon stopped what they were doing to stare at the situation. Before hitting the ground, Togepi withdrew into his shell. A few seconds later, his head was poking back out once more, his eyes now watery and his mouth trembling. What came next was obvious:
"Pi…pi…PIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
I heard the clattering of objects and felt myself being pushed over before I could even register what was happening. From the floor, I saw Soul crouching next to the baby Pokémon, who was crying in pain.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" He lightly picked Togepi up and looked the eggshell-clad Pokémon over until he found what he was looking for: a little scratch on the back of Togepi's head. "Don't worry. I'll take care of this…" He gave a short whistle. "Yo, Ditto! I need some help here!" He called Ditto forward, adding, "Transform into Blissey and use Heal Pulse."
"Ditto." In a flash of light, Ditto changed his shape from an amorphous blob to an egg-shaped pink and white Pokémon with curly hair, feathery frills decorating its body like clothing and an egg nestled safely inside a pouch on its stomach. "Di-toooo~!" It sang as it spread its arms out, unleashing wave of pink and orange energy that gave off a soothing feeling. When the wave faded away, Togepi had stopped crying and was chirping happily once again.
"There! That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Soul asked as he cradled the baby Pokémon in his arms. "Why don't you come with me, hm? You'll feel better after you get a taste of what I'm making," The dark-haired boy said before he walked back into the kitchen, stepping over me on the way in. I remained on the floor, thinking to myself. In a way, Soul treated Togepi as White had treated Tiny back when he was a Pichu. Perhaps he's capable of changing his ways as well…
"How could you do that? You just threw him off without even considering that he would be hurt!" Panacea snapped. My attention immediately turned back to the Pokémon.
"Well, that'll teach him a lesson, won't it?" Zorua asked. In the blink of an eye, he was suddenly being slapped repeatedly by Panacea and Ditto, who was still transformed—what was it called, a Blissey? Both pink Pokémon took turns slapping my childhood friend repeatedly Ditto took it too far and body slammed the smaller Pokémon into the ground.
"It's not nice to hurt others," the Audino stated with a sharp look and a frown, although her tone was still calm.
"Then why did you hurt me, you hypocrite?" Zorua cried from underneath Ditto.
"Maybe because you deserved it?" Bianca's Leafeon commented. "You wouldn't hurt N if he wanted to play with you, would you?"
"That's different!"
"No, it isn't, my dear Renard," said Roserade as he approached the group. "The only difference is that young Togepi is still so young! He doesn't understand that when someone says 'no', they mean 'no'. Of course, that doesn't make it right to just throw him around like a Machop with a Geodude."
"Don't call me that! I'm not gonna go by the nickname that old hag gave me!" Zorua snapped.
Roserade frowned and pointed its bouquet hand at my childhood friend. "Hmph! Very well. A name like that is far too classy for an aggressive one like you. Are all members of your species so antisocial or is it simply you who has a bad attitude?"
"Watch it, you…!"
"I for one love the name that Lady White gave to me. Paris is a place of class and charm, after all!" Roserade gushed.
"Er… Didn't she say she named you for a prince, not a place…?" Leafeon asked.
He seemed to ignore the question and looked at a tree. "And Kain loves his new name, too, don't you?" Cubone poked his head out from behind the tree, head bowed and looking at the ground. "Don't you?" Cubone nodded curtly before Herdier snuck up from behind, bit down on his skull helmet, and dragged him off behind the tree. "See that?"
"All I saw was abuse in the process," said Panacea as she approached the tree. "I'll need a hand convincing Herdier that Kain isn't a chew toy." Wordlessly, Leafeon followed behind her.
"Uhhh… What're you doing?" I rolled onto my side and looked up. Soul was standing before me, eyebrow raised and hat off. Once more showing off his rude side by not allowing me to answer, he continued, "Well, since I doubt you're doing anything productive, how about helping me out? Two pairs of hands make the work go faster."
"...Okay."
From the moment I was born, I was taken care of. Every human need I desired was given to me by servants and my father: food, clothing, shelter, and education… Which is why, unlike my traveling companions, I didn't have the luxury of knowing such a thing as cooking for myself. So I took this opportunity as a learning experience. It was the least Soul could do after the things he had done. But he easily caught on to my being a novice after cutting my fingers several times and failing to cut eggs properly.
"Uh… Not kitchen-wise, are you? No problem. Just… Why don't you place the fruits and the vegetables?" Soul pointed at an open box of sorts with two compartments. "Put the fruits on one side and the vegetables on the other. And when you're done with that, put the cookies and crackers in different compartments in this one. Oh, but remember to wash your hands first! But, uh…bandage those cuts first. No one wants blood with their meal, I'm sure…" I glanced at the cuts on my fingers. They weren't all that deep, but the blood still flowed from them. "Go ask Mrs. Gray where the bandages are. She's somewhere upstairs."
I left the kitchen and began to walk upstairs, but was stopped midway at the sight of White, standing at the top of the stairs. It was the first time I had seen her today, and for some reason, I stopped dead in my tracks and felt an odd, warm sensation growing inside of me. "Huh? Oh, it's you. Let me guess: you've come to chew me out about giving names to your Pokémon and how that sort of thing is like labeling them as property, blah-blah-blah. I've already heard it once from Ren—I mean, Zorua, so I don't need to hear it from you. Sorry for naming your Pokémon—just leave it at that."
"Um… Actually, Soul sent me up because he won't let me help him without having bandages, because I cut myself and he doesn't want me to get blood on the food and—"
"Slow down! Geez…!" White blinked. "Did you say you cut yourself?" I gave a nod and she suddenly grabbed hold of my injured hand—either by accident or on purpose. I resisted the urge to cry out in pain as she led me into the bathroom and forced me to sit on the lid of the toilet. "Huh?" She inspected her hand and flinched, then started to glare at me. "…You could have told me that I was holding the hand you had cut, y'know…" White abruptly turned around and began to look behind the mirror over the sink. I found interest in the white and blue tiles along the wall until I felt White grab my arm. I stood up and she pulled me over to the sink where a bottle sat on the edge. "First we have to disinfect the wound."
I stared down at the bottle warily. The last time I had to do something like this, I was injured by a frightened Pokémon and slashed down the arm. One of my caretakers, Anthea, used something on the injury to help it heal, but all it did was burn. I recognized the brand on the bottle and the memory of that pain came back. "…I'm fine." White looked at me in confusion and I gave a smile to further support my statement. Father always said that if you smile when you speak, people will trust what you say. "I'm fine, really. These scratches are minor and they don't really hurt that much."
Unfortunately, White doesn't appear to be amongst those people, because she frowned and grabbed my injured hand. "Stop being a baby! If you're too chicken to do it yourself, I'll do it for you!"
"N-no! Don't! I don't want to do it!" She gave me another confused look. "It…it hurts."
"Would you prefer it if your fingers fell off from being infected?" I gulped and felt my blood run cold. Once more, she gave me a look. "Seriously? Do you believe that…? I swear you're worse than a little kid…! If it hurts, just think about something you like, like Pokémon or…formulas…or whatever floats your boat…"
After what felt like an eternity of pain, I was led back into the kitchen by White, bandaged fingers itching and the warm sensation in my chest moving down to my stomach. Was I sick? Did I catch something from someone at the fair yesterday? Or maybe that kiss White gave me last night is the cause of it. But then why is she still fine?
"Er, why don't you go and spend time with the Pokémon, N? I mean, it doesn't look like you've got kitchen experience," said White.
"No. I want to help," I spoke sternly.
"You screwed up cutting apples, for crying out loud!"
"I-it's alright, White," said Soul. "I was just gonna ask him to put some things aside in the compartments. It's no biggie."
The brunette girl sighed, then shrugged. "Alright. If you say so. Just…try not to hurt yourself. I don't wanna have to mend you again…"
X-X-X
Roughly after 10, we left Miss Lotta's house after goodbyes exchanged between her and her grandchildren as well as her Druddigon, Fafnir—who didn't take it well when I asked him about life with his trainer—and soon left White Forest en route to Black City. Or so it was supposed to go. As soon as we set foot on Route 14, we were stopped by a man dressed in an orange and black suit and a fancy hat with a rope tied around his waist. A Pokémon Ranger, I think is what they were called. The only time I saw one was on television whenever I dared to watch every couple of seconds, but from what little I saw, they were the sort of people that Team Plasma needed: dedicated to helping Pokémon without resorting to extreme measures. I wonder how they feel about Team Plasma in general…?
"Hold it! Sorry to say this, but Route 14 is currently off-limits to travelers," he said while a Panpour, a Pansear and a Pansage stood next to him, imitating his posture.
"Huh? What do you mean it's off-limits?" Cheren asked.
"I'm not sure you know this or not, but as of late, Pokémon from foreign regions have been appearing in the eastern half of Unova. And amongst them was a Snorlax…or two…or five…" The Pokémon Ranger sighed and shook his head.
"Snor-lax…?" Bianca pronounced.
"Wow! Wild Snorlax! We can go and see, can't we?" Black exclaimed enthusiastically.
"But what is a Snorlax?"
"Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. Normal type. According to the Pokédex, all they do is eat anything they can and sleep. They eat almost 900 pounds of a day…" Cheren read off of his Pokédex. "Doesn't sound like anything interesting to me."
"Snorlax are relatively docile unless they're hungry or have been disturbed from their sleep. But once they fall asleep, there's no moving them," the ranger stated.
"But we need to get to Black City. How long is it going to take for those Snorlax to wake up?"
"Who can say? I was told that it would take a while before we would be capable of moving them. But if you're heading to Black City, you can always take the shortcut around Gray Mountain." The ranger pointed over to a tall mountain in the distance, the elemental monkeys pointing in the same direction. It's a little off the beaten path…but it should get you to Black City in, oh…about a day and a half, more or less."
"Gray Mountain…" Black immediately pulled out a guidebook and began to leaf through its pages quickly. "Gray Mountain, Gray Mountain… Aha! Here it is! According to this, Gray Mountain is located nearby some castle ruins that were excavated long ago. There's also a little town situated at its base. But the road's not on the map…"
"You can still get to Black City from Gray Mountain, but because of the wild terrain and being home to multiple Pokémon nests, it isn't considered 'safe' for people who don't have Pokémon," said the Pokémon Ranger. "You can get there through a little road in a forest connected to White Forest called the Abundant Shrine. If that's all, have a nice day." He tipped his hat and left with his Pokémon trailing behind him.
"It'd be a worthwhile detour. The ruins apparently have connections to the Black and White Heroes like the one in Desert Resort."
Immediately, my interest was piqued. Long have I desired to be like the legendary heroes chosen by Reshiram and Zekrom and a ruin that has connections with them could possibly have clues on how I can achieve the same honor. "It certainly sounds interesting."
"Yeah… Professor Juniper was at one of those a while ago, right?" Cheren asked Black.
"Yeah, and we were with her, right, White?"
White paled at the question and shuddered. "Don't remind me… I'll go to Gray Mountain, but there's no way in hell I'm going to another one of those ruins!"
"But…but… The Black and White Heroes! Think of what we could learn!" I implored. And by 'we', I meant 'I', since they only equated such figures with myths and ancient history.
"Have you ever seen a horror movie, N?" I blinked, then shook my head. "Well, the last time we went into one of those ruins, we got a little taste of our own personal horror movie—and I for one am not gonna risk being cursed again because of idiots like you and Black!"
Black frowned. "You're such a killjoy sometimes… Show of hands: who wants to see the ruins?" Almost immediately, my hand went up. Black, Bianca and Soul's went up soon after. "All opposed?" White and Cheren raised their hands. "Four to two! The house wins! We're goin' to see some ruins!"
"Ugh…! It's just a waste of time!" Cheren complained.
"It's the summer, Cheren! We've got plenty of time to waste!"
"All I want to do is get to Undella Bay. Is that so wrong…?" The dark-haired boy muttered.
I tuned Cheren's nonsense out and turned to White. "Isn't this exciting? We're going to see a place once inhabited by the legendary heroes!" She made a noise and directed her attention to stroking Tiny's fur, getting a squeal of happiness in exchange. I frowned, but persisted. "I wasn't able to visit the Desert Resort, so I'm really looking forward to this. And I'm glad I can share in this experience with my friends."
"I'm not your friend. Especially not after what you said last night." Why does she have to be so difficult? I've befriended a Deino who was more forgiving than her. Besides, she seems too smart to share company with a crude boy that forced his lips on her not once, but twice, who couldn't even protect her when she depended on him. It isn't wrong to speak the truth.
"Oh! That reminds me, White…" Bianca began. "I forgot to ask you… Did you really kiss N last night or is he lying out of jealousy?"
As soon as the blonde girl spoke, something struck me in the face and I fell to the ground. Zorua began to bark and I suddenly felt a weight on my chest. White was sitting on top of me with her face red and eyes narrowed as she raised a fist. "You…CREEP!"
X-X-X
Two hours later, en route to Gray Mountain, I sat by a small pond where Ducklett swam freely. I stared at the purple bruise around my eye with some worry. I'd been bitten and scratched, but I had never been punched before. If my father contacted me before it healed, I would have to explain how I got it and why I've gone off the path planned for me…
"Are you going to finish that?" I looked down at Zorua, who was eying the ball of rice in my hands. I placed it down in front of him and resumed staring at my reflection in the mirror. "She really is an animal, that girl. I don't see why you're concerned with making friends with her. Wild Pokémon have more manners than her…"
"On the contrary," began Paris—who wouldn't let me call him anything but that name—as he sat next to Cubone, "I believe you came off well, amateur, considering that there are women who do far worse for far less problems. And she did make you promise not to speak—and you broke it. Be grateful you still possess the ability to reproduce."
"Are you honestly telling me that she was right for hurting him again?"
"If you wish to gain the love and respect of a woman, not taking her words seriously is a sign of a doomed relationship, you amateur!"
Zorua stopped chewing on the ball of rice and gave Paris a glare. "Relationship? There is no relationship—unless you call him being foolishly nice and her reacting with violence a relationship!"
"Relationship is a bad choice of words for this situation. It's more like a…crush."
"What is a…crush?" I asked, still staring at my reflection.
"You know: puppy love. …Do not tell me you don't know what a crush is. Lady White was right about you being 'socially retarded'... I will try to explain, so pay attention." A felt a light prick in my side and looked at the Roserade, who was giving me a stern look. "Pay attention! Look over there." I glanced over my shoulder where the others were eating the lunch Soul had made. My eyes fell on White in particular, who was trying to stop Shion and Clematis from fighting. I felt a tightening feeling in my chest and looked back down at my reflection. "Look at Lady White. Do you feel something stirring within your chest at the sight of her?"
"Yes. It's only because I'm sick, I think. I may have caught something from her last night. Actually, I'm sure that's why—" I was hit in the head by the Grass type's bouquet hand.
"Of course you are sick! You have become infected with love sickness, you fool! From the moment you kissed, you became filled with the longing desire to make Lady White yours, and you're going to forever pine for her until you do!"
I gulped and held a hand to my chest. "An illness…that makes you sick with love? There's no such thing."
Paris gave me a look that reminded me of White. "…It's a figure of speech."
"No, it's stupid!" Snapped Zorua.
Love. I know next to nothing about love, outside of what I had seen in storybooks I had read as a child. In them, the heroic prince rescues the damsel in distress, they marry, and they live happily ever after as king and queen. But White hardly acted like a proper damsel, often attacking me both verbally and physically. She was the exact opposite of my caretakers, Anthea and Concordia, who were calm demure ladies, but at the same time, White was warm and kind towards her Pokémon, protective of them like a mother Mandibuzz was of her chicks, and they felt just as strongly about her.
"Love is the same thing as friendship, correct?" I asked the Roserade.
"Lovers are far closer than mere friends," he answered.
"Closer…?" I closed my eyes in thought and gave a nod. "Very well. Then I will gain White's friendship by getting her to love me as well."
Zorua's eyes widened and he suddenly started to scream, "ARE YOU INSANE?"
X-X-X
Paris seems to understand love and human females far more than me. I was never instructed about women and love, and when I asked my father if being a hero meant I'd have to have a princess, he only said he would arrange for a 'suitable spouse' to continue our bloodline. I still wonder what he meant by that, though.
"Alright, the first step in this ridiculous plan is to gain Lady White's forgiveness. Flowers always make women happy. The more vibrant in color, the better!" is what Paris told me before sending me off to gather some flowers in apology to White. By the time I got back, White and Bianca were in the middle of a battle.
"Swablu, use Sing!" Swablu made a melodic whistle that caused Salamander to fall asleep on his feet. "Now use Fury Attack!" The cotton-winged bird gave a battle cry as it swooped down from the air and began to peck away at him. The final peck had enough force to wake the Fire type up from his slumber.
"Dragon Rage!" Salamander took a deep breath and spewed out bright blue flames in Swablu's direction.
The bird Pokémon tried to dodge, but its efforts were in vain as the swirling flames caught up and engulfed it. Swablu fell to the ground, semi-conscious and twitching. It was sad watching Bianca rush up to it and spray its wounds with a super potion while Salamander gave a silent roar and pure light began to swirl around him. His body began to take on a new form, and in a flash of light, the transformation had become complete. His scales were now red orange, his eyes were sharper and more predator-like, and his claws were longer and more visible. Once again, he gave a silent roar and started to spit bursts of fire into the air.
"Ah! Congratulations, Salamander!" White exclaimed as she ran up to the newly evolved Pokémon and began to pet and kiss it. He returned the favor by licking her while she scanned him with her Pokédex. "Let's see… Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon. Evolved form of Charmander. Tough fights excite it, causing it to breathe blue-white flames."
"Congratulations! Wanna have another round?" Bianca asked, holding up another Poké Ball.
"Sure." Before they could begin another battle, I approached cautiously, not really sure how to go about this. White turned her head and frowned at the sight of me, but that warm feeling in my chest still persisted. "What? If you're gonna go off on a lecture of the horrors of battling Pokémon…"
"Um…" I held the flowers out to her and gave a friendly smile. "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Please accept my apology." My smile broadened when she took them from me and Bianca squealed.
"…Honeysuckles means bonds of love. Red carnations mean pure love. Forget-Me-Not means true Love. Yellow tulips mean hopeless love," White stated as she stared at the flowers blankly. She then looked at me and narrowed her eyes. "What the heck are you trying to pull? If you think that after one kiss it's alright to start courting me, it was out of pity. Pi-ty!"
"Now, White, you're just picking at reasons to not forgive him," said Bianca. "How many people know what flowers mean, anyway?"
"Whatever. Just don't get any ideas… I'm not in the market for a boyfriend, but I wouldn't date you if my life depended on it." She then turned to Bianca and pulled out another Poké Ball. "We doing round 2 or what?"
"O-of course!"
"In that case, let's get it started!" White glared at me. "Do you mind?"
"Sorry," I muttered quickly before retreating back to the pond where Zorua and Paris sat. Cubone had run off to go play with Tiny and Mars nearby. "I think that went well for a first attempt."
"Are you being serious?" Zorua asked in a flat tone.
"Only an amateur at love would believe that that went well. It is obvious that Lady White wants nothing to do with you romantically. She can barely tolerate you on a friendly basis…" Muttered Paris. "As your advisor in this situation, I believe it would be your best interest if you gave up."
"N-no! I want White to like me as much as I like her! I really do!" I insisted.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why is it so important for her to feel the same way about you? Do you sincerely love her and can't imagine living without her? Or do you want…to dominate her?"
"I—" The ringing noise from my X-transceiver interrupted me. "Pardon me. I have to take this call," I mumbled quickly as I ran off into the forest, dreading the call from my father. When I felt I was far enough, I looked around to make sure no one was listening and picked up the call. "Good morning, Father."
"Where are you? You're supposed to be halfway to Icirrus City by now and there are reports that you've been spotted to the east of Nimbasa City. You had best have a good explanation for going off schedule."
"The leader of the Nimbasa Gym left on a…summer vacation before I could claim her badge. And since it would be a hassle to have to continue on to the other gyms only to return to Nimbasa, I will simply travel the eastern half of Unova until her estimated return and...observe trainers and their treatment of Pokémon."
"…And why are you traveling with trainers?"
"They are the ones I am observing. Plus, there are a few interesting prospects. Two could be of use to our goals. And while we are asking questions, why was it that one of our members was using that awful device? Its creation is banned along with its usage."
"Just another zealous fool with the wrong idea of what our goals are. Rest assured that her punishment shall be most severe."
"And while we are at it, please inform all members that none shall harm the trainers I am observing—most especially Black and White Ketchum." I heard Father make a noise akin to a groan. "Make it so, Ghetsis."
Father frowned for a moment before bowing his head. "Very well. None will come to harm your little pet…projects."
"They're my friends."
"…Your friends, then. We will keep watch of Nimbasa and inform you of the Gym Leader's return. In the meantime, don't speak a word to them of our goals."
I frowned. "I know that. I'm no fool. Now, if you will excuse me, I am on my way to some ruins in the mountains. Make sure to give the subordinates my orders."
"As you wish, my lord…" The transmission cut off and I was left staring at a blank screen. If I didn't know better, I would say that my father didn't like my choice of friends, but I know best. A person of my position has to be a good judge of character, after all.
"N! Where are you, man? We're moving on!" I heard Black call out. I began to walk towards the others' location, wondering if I could win White's affection with the type of berries Zorua liked.
X-X-X
Notes!
Kain is the name of a dragoon from the game Final Fantasy IV and means several things in different countries, including "spear", "battlefield", and "beautiful". Paris is the name of a handsome Greek prince that was in an affair with Helen of Troy. Fafnir is the name of a dragon in Norse mythology. Renard means "fox" and originated from a trickster fox of allegorical fable named Reynard. Fafnir is the name of a dragon in Norse mythology.
Gray Mountain is an original place made for the sake of this story.
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So, I've seen the art for the new player characters, the rival, and the professor and one of the new Gym Leaders. The boy looks…that hair… The girl looks cute—at first, someone said she had hair like Sailor Moon and I shuddered at the thought but her hairstyle's growing on me! (Her clothes, on the other hand…) Rival boy looks like typical rival douche. The professor…is several colors short of being able to pass as a main character for Yu-Gi-Oh. I think what I saw was the Poison type Gym Leader—the chick with the guitar—and she looked cool… Still, if all we're getting are some new locations and the addition of Pokémon from other regions, it still feels more like a revamp than an actual sequel.
And before anyone asks, I'm not sure if there's gonna be a "Pokémon Gray 2" in the future. It depends on whether or not I actually buy the game and if I can make the storyline work with the ending I have in mind for this story. And even then, it's still a big "IF" about whether or not I actually wanna write about it. But that's in the far, far future. For now, remember…
Review for the sake of Blu and Pikachu!