40Yo! Almost forgot to upload this today. Uh... whoops?
Start Chapter 25
"The winner is Bianca!"
Bianca herself let out a sigh of relief as Shellgon turned back towards her, and gave a contented growl. She shot a thumbs-up to her Pokémon, even as her opponent, Viridian's gym leader, chuckled.
"Y'know, I probably should've assumed you'd be good, given the company you keep," Blue smiled over at her. "But you're quite the trainer, Bianca."
"Ah, thank you." She bowed her head slightly. "That means a lot to hear from you, sir."
"Sir, she calls me." Blue sighed. "As if I don't feel old enough already. Y'know, I was once one of the world's youngest champions! Can you believe that?"
"Sure, grandpa." Cynthia joked, patting the man on the back. "Let's get you to bed."
Blue mimed sobbing into his hands, which had both Bianca and Cynthia laughing.
"Alright, alright, I concede defeat." He muttered, even as he shook his head. "Good luck on Seafoam, Cynthia. Bianca, I hear you're planning on challenging the Fuchsia City Gym while you're in the area?"
Bianca nodded her head, sort of uncertain as to where this was going.
"Well, Good luck to you. If you don't mind me asking a small favor, my friend, Janine, the Gym Leader there… she's been having a rough go of things recently."
"Oh. Why's that?"
"I'd heard that Koga was rather sick." Cynthia said, seeming somewhat glum about the topic. "Oh, but Bianca probably has no idea what we're talking about. Koga is her father, the previous gym leader of Fuchsia City, and a current member of Johto's elite four. A few months ago, he came down with a seemingly benign illness that has since… well, he's been in bed since, trying to fight it off. There have been calls asking for her to take Koga's spot in Johto's elite four. She's shown reluctance to do as such for now."
"Oh. Okay." Bianca nodded her head. "Uhm, I'm not sure how much help I'll be able to be, but I'll try."
Blue smiled. "That's all I ask. Now, here," He held his hand out, and Bianca matched the motion, letting the Earth Badge fall into her palm. "Take that with you. You've certainly earned it."
Bianca's cheeks went a bit red at the compliment, and she felt her heart doing a fluttery little happy dance. It was just… to be recognized by such elite trainers, to genuinely compete, and win, in a way that rivaled her best attempts when she'd been fourteen…
It meant so much to her.
"But don't get too cocky, y'here?" Blue suddenly spoke, placing his hands on his hips and taking a much cockier pose. "You may've bested me today, but you're aiming for the World Championships, right?"
Bianca nodded. "I am."
"Then perhaps we'll get to face one another again on that stage, and without the limitations that being a Gym Leader puts on me. I can struggle against you with my real team."
Bianca felt a chill run down her spine, and it felt…
Strangely, it felt good.
"I'll look forward to it." She nodded her head, the thought of someone as legendary as Blue Oak wanting to battle her…
"Alright, we've got a flight to catch," Cynthia cut in, smiling over at the two of them. "Blue, it's been nice seeing you again,"
"Likewise."
"Bianca, shall we?"
"Don't we technically decide when the plane takes off? Like, it's not going to leave without us."
Cynthia glared at her, and Bianca really couldn't do much more than shrug.
It wasn't like she was wrong.
/
Fuchsia City was a rather intriguing place. Bianca didn't think she'd ever been anywhere quite like it.
It was urban, while still feeling somewhat rural. Uncrowded, but still feeling homely. Large, but far smaller than most places that Bianca had visited on her trip thus far.
She didn't think she'd ever been in a more average city in all her life, and she didn't mean that as an insult. It had just about everything going for it, without any real big standout positives or negatives.
Except, of course, for the Safari Zone, which was a popular attraction for trainers all over the world. Bianca herself might visit at some point within the next little while, given that Cynthia was planning on leaving Bianca within the city on her own for upwards of two weeks. She'd certainly have the time.
But that was a thought for later Bianca. Present Bianca wanted to get herself situated, help Cynthia get everything figured out regarding traveling and whatnot, and figure out what she wanted to do in regards to the Fuchsia City Gym.
Blue had, after all, asked her directly to help his friend Janine, apparently the Gym Leader of the city. She didn't know much about her, but then…
Well, Bianca was beginning to grow somewhat more confident in herself. She was to be without Cynthia for some time, and…
She felt that she could manage on her own for a little while.
Whether or not that was going to turn out to be true was anyone's guess.
They got set up in a hotel, ate dinner that evening, and then settled down for the night. The next day, Cynthia was already beginning to plan for the journey to Seafoam.
Bianca hadn't ever seen the woman so focused before.
"I'll be going with a group of researchers, all of them trainers, so you don't need to worry about me," Cynthia reassured her, and Bianca appreciated it. "The journey shouldn't take more than a day to get there, a day or two being there, and then a day to get back. Of course, that's in an optimal scenario, and I'm sure you understand how the world works by now."
Yes, Bianca very much did.
"So, it could be much longer. I don't want you to worry if that happens."
"I make no promises, but I'll try."
Cynthia chuckled. "Alright, I suppose that's as good as I'm going to get. The boat leaves at one today, so we have a few hours to just enjoy the city, if you'd like?"
"That sounds grand!"
They didn't get up to anything of import in that time, but then, that was fast becoming the normal state of affairs for the two of them. As they ate breakfast, however, Cynthia's eyes suddenly widened, and she gestured towards someone who'd just entered into the café.
That person turned towards them, seemed to briefly struggle with recognizing Cynthai through her disguise, and then succeeded in such.
She made her way over, sat down beside Cynthia, and smiled over at her.
"It's been quite a while." The new woman spoke. "How have you been, Cynthia?"
"Ah, you know me. Busy."
"Mm." The woman turned towards her. "And who is this?"
"Ah, right. Janine, this is Bianca. Bianca, this is Janine."
Bianca was somewhat surprised to find the object of Blue's request just… sitting down in front of her. But then, she supposed life had been like that for her lately.
"It's nice to meet you." Bianca offered out her hand, which Janine shook.
"And you as well." Janine smiled. "So, what are the two of you doing here?"
"Travelling, mainly, but if you mean specifically here, in Fuchsia, we're here on business." Cynthia leaned in, whispering something into Janine's ear that she didn't want Bianca hearing. Bianca, used to this sort of thing, just sighed. It made her feel like a child, but Cynthia was Cynthia.
"Ah, I see." Janine rolled her eyes, but there was a glint there that betrayed her fondness for Cynthia, regardless. "Well, that's just like you, but alright. But still, you didn't tell me why you're here."
"You've heard about the recent incidents regarding Legendary Pokémon around the world, correct?"
"Of course." Janine nodded. "How could I not? As Gym Leader, I'm a quasi-authority on this city's wellbeing, and we happen to live not far from one of the prime habitats of Articuno."
"Yes, well, that's why we're here. A few friends of mine have expressed interest in studying the habitats of the Legendary Birds here in Kanto, to see if there's a reason behind their sudden shift in behavior."
"And you chose to come here first?"
"No." Cynthia sighed, and again, that same weight that had been present in her tone for days reared its head. "We visited Mt. Silver first. We found something… odd there. Honestly, I wish now that I'd cut off more than one piece of the mineral so I had something to show you. We sent it to the Museum of Science up in Pewter City."
Janine nodded her head. "So… there was some odd mineral growing within Mt. Silver?"
"Specifically, within Moltres' nest."
Janine frowned. "Troubling. Very much so. Have you any idea what could be causing it?"
"Nothing but crack theories at the moment, without any real evidence to back them up." Cynthia admitted, running a hand down her face, showing some of the emotion that had been weighing on her since their 'discovery'. "For all we know, it could be nothing, but I just…"
"You don't think it is?"
"No. I don't."
Janine frowned. Bianca herself mimicked the expression.
"Well, if you need assistance–"
"No, Janine, I'm fine." Cynthia cut her off. "Actually, I have another job for you."
"And that is?"
"Accept Bianca's gym challenge."
Bianca felt her face heat up, and nearly spat out the coffee she'd been drinking as Janine turned towards her.
"Oh?"
"Yep." Cynthia smirked, despite Bianca's pain. "She's currently got six gym badges, and she's aiming for a seventh here in Fuchsia. While I'm going off to see Articuno's nest, I'd appreciate it if you'd give Bianca here a fair shake."
Janine nodded her head, but it was slow, calculated. She looked at Bianca like she was studying her. Ultimately, she looked away, and sighed.
"Well… I'm afraid I'm not taking challengers at the moment. With the Johto League hounding me, the events surrounding Articuno, and everything going on involving my father…"
That did sound like quite a lot to deal with, at least to Bianca.
"Ah. I understand."
"Thank you. I'm sorry to disappoint, it's just–"
"You have nothing to apologize for." Bianca said, shaking her head. "I've been in a situation like that. It was hard enough just getting out of bed in the morning. Don't stress yourself more than you have to."
Janine seemed to appreciate Bianca's words, if the small nod she gave was anything to go by. A few minutes later, they collectively decided to call breakfast there, and she and Cynthia went one way, and Janine the other.
"It's been nice meeting you, Bianca."
"Likewise."
/
Seeing Cynthia off as they approached Fuchsia Coast was… hard.
It was difficult to truly quantify what exactly it was that bothered Bianca so much about it. Perhaps it was simply that she'd grown so used to the woman's constant presence, that suddenly, she was unprepared to be without her. Perhaps she was simply worried. The trip to the Seafoam islands wasn't exactly dangerous, or particularly harrowing, but even still, entering the den of a Legendary Pokémon always carried with it a certain level of risk.
Or perhaps Bianca just wasn't entirely sure how she'd get on by herself. With no one to guide her, or support her.
"You okay?"
She looked up at Cynthia and offered as strong a smile as she could in response. It must not have been very convincing, however, for Cynthia sighed, reached over, and hugged Bianca against her once more.
"I'm not going to be gone long, I promise." Cynthia stated, her tone almost teasing as she pulled away again. "Seriously, Bianca. You're giving me the kicked puppy expression."
"I am not!"
"Yes, because you'd know." Cynthia rolled her eyes. "But really, I'll be fine. And just like Janine, I'm giving you a job as well."
"Is it to try and cheer Janine up?"
"Gasp," Cynthia actually said the word 'gasp'. "Somehow, you've found out my master plan!"
Bianca just groaned. "I know. I was planning on doing that with or without you telling me to."
"Oo, really? I'm surprised, I thought you'd be more against interacting with someone you've only met the once."
"It's not…" Bianca hesitated. "Her situation is just…"
"Similar to one you've experienced yourself?"
"Yeah." Bianca admitted, scratching at the back of her neck. "I think we can probably find common ground, and I can maybe… I don't really know. Help her? It feels silly for me to say that, I'm not sure what help I of all people could offer."
"And why do you think that, exactly?"
"Well, when I was in the scenario, I crumbled, and spent the next ten-odd years doing nothing."
Cynthia frowned. "And you think that precludes you from providing advice?"
"Shouldn't it?"
"I don't think so at all." Cynthia said, shaking her head. "I think if there's anyone out there who understands the pain Janine's in, who might be able to offer her genuine assistance, then it's you."
That… meant quite a bit, coming from Cynthia.
"I…" She swallowed. "Okay. I'll try."
Cynthia's smile was radiant. "That's what I like to hear."
Just then, the boats horn rang out, and Cynthia looked back at the vessel with a slightly exasperated expression.
"Alright, I really do have to go, I've been holding things up enough as is."
"Take care of yourself; seriously!"
"I told you, I am!" Cynthia laughed again. "Honestly, you're such a worrywart!"
"Can you really blame me, knowing how you are?"
Cynthia thought for a moment.
"Alright, admittedly, that's fair."
/
Bianca had a mission; she just wasn't really sure how she was supposed to go about executing that mission.
She understood the basic concept, of course. Find Janine, help her to process the things she was going through, and hopefully, in the end, give her some sense of peace.
It was a good plan in theory. Theory, however, had oft betrayed Bianca.
She wasn't going to be relying on it now.
For starters, she had to actually figure out where it was Janine currently resided. On a normal day, in normal circumstances, she was fairly certain that the Fuchsia City Gym would be a safe bet. Yet she'd as much as said the gym was currently closed, despite what Bianca had heard from Blue about her wishing to stay there.
Perhaps, then, it was less about the gym, and more about staying in proximity to her father?
Bianca didn't really know how to approach that topic without gathering more information, however, which meant that for now, she needed to find some.
She went to the gym, first, because really, it was as good of a lead as she was going to get. She wished now that she'd gotten Blue's phone number; she could've called the man and asked if he knew where Janine lived within Fuchsia.
That was off the table, however, so the gym would have to do.
The man running the gym – and it was truly just one man, a skeleton crew if ever there was one – greeted her, and began to inform her that the gym leader wasn't in…
"Ah, I know." Bianca cut him off. "I actually came to ask if you knew where one might go to meet with her?"
The man's face scrunched up somewhat, as if he was loathe to hand out such information.
"I'm a friend. Or, well, Janine's friend, Blue, asked me to check in on her?"
It seemed he did, at least, know Blue – but then, in Kanto, that wasn't really saying all that much – for his expression softened somewhat.
"I would be remiss to simply give out her location to the first person to claim they knew her…" The man sighed. "But at the same time, the young miss has not been herself these days. Master Koga's illness might as well have befallen the entire clan, with how downtrodden we all collectively seem."
…Clan?
Bianca hadn't heard anything about a clan. But then, she supposed it might not have been too terribly important, if neither Blue nor Cynthia had brought up such.
The man ran a hand down the back of his neck, groaned, and then looked Bianca in the eye.
"Do you swear that you mean the young miss no harm?"
"Oh, uhm… yes, I swear." It was an honest thing, even if she was somewhat caught off guard.
"Good." He straightened up somewhat. "If you go against your word in this matter, the two of us will share words on the topic. Here," He produced a rather advanced-looking Rotom phone, certainly a few generations ahead of Bianca's own. "This is the location."
He added it to Bianca's phone with a single tap of his against hers. Bianca was momentarily stunned by the technology behind such, before shaking off said impression, and bowing to the man.
"Thank you."
"It is no trouble, providing you mean what you say."
She departed after that, following the directions on her phone that led her deep into the city, past the more modern sections, and into some of the older, more traditional ones. She was surprised at the kinds of buildings she saw there. Old, certainly, but far from dilapidated. If anything, they looked to be extraordinarily well cared for and kept, as if even the outsides were regularly cleaned.
The construction style alone reminded Bianca of some of the traditional Kanto-esque flairs she'd seen in more modern revisionist movements, ones that tried to emulate older techniques and tricks. Obviously, however, these were no recreations, but the genuine articles.
The place that Bianca eventually ended up at, however, was a massive building, with slanted, overhanging rooftops, and elegant tiles lining them. The columns that held up each layer were intricately carved into the shapes of Arboks, and Sevipers. The yard was immaculately kept, with great bushes and cherry trees that had bloomed at the height of spring.
It was gorgeous, among the most beautiful buildings – and overall locations – that Bianca had ever heralded in all her life.
And directly in front of her, as if to remind her that she was not at all the type of person who would be allowed to step foot in such an enclosure under normal circumstances, was both a towering gate, and two almost identical looking guards.
They wore black suits, and black glasses, which meshed pretty well with their black hair. Honestly, Bianca thought they looked kind of ridiculous with just how serious they were, but she was also definitely not going to say that aloud.
"State your name and business." One of the guards said, and Bianca just about jumped out of her skin.
"U-Uhm, my name is Bianca! And I'm h-here to see Ms. Janine?"
The man did not look impressed. "Yes, well, quite a lot of people wish to see Ms. Janine. Do you have any reason for us to actually go along with such a request."
Honestly, no, Bianca did not. She had come here expecting a door that she could knock on, attached to a house that she could walk up to, perhaps within a neighborhood that had been built within the last century.
None of those things had happened, however, and so she'd not been remotely prepared for this.
"Uhm… no?"
The other guard snorted, and Bianca was at least glad that he was having a good time.
"Well, if that's the case, ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The first guard spoke, even as he took a step forward, very clearly unafraid to make her do so.
To say Bianca was cowed implied that she'd ever had any will to stand up to this man in the first place. She was more than cowed, she was Miltanked!
…That didn't really sound as good as she thought it might.
"I-I… I was, uhm…"
And then, suddenly, a feminine voice cut into their conversation.
"Both of you, stand down!"
Bianca's head snapped towards the sound, and who did she see but Janine herself, standing atop the very gate that the two guards were guarding.
…Bianca thought about trying to mentally question how she'd gotten up there in the first place, but ultimately, she decided that such was not worth it for the damage it would inevitably cause her mental health.
So, she just sort of accepted the fact that Janine could easily scale giant gates.
"As you say, Madame." The first guard knelt in place, showing deference to Janine, and though she sighed in response, it was clear such had been expected.
"Open the gate. Ms. Bianca, even if I was not entirely expecting her," Bianca winced. "Will be treated as a guest while she is here."
The guards nodded in unison, before the first reached into his pocket, pulled out some sort of device with a bunch of buttons on it, and pressed down on one of them.
The gate began to part, although luckily, the top part that Janine was standing upon stayed in place, sort of like the doorframe of a door.
…Bianca realized then that a gate really was just a door, and that the gate frame, was, then, basically just a doorframe.
A hand on her shoulder had her pulled from out of her own mind, and she looked up to see Janine staring right at her.
"Come on." She spoke. "We'll talk inside."
And with that, Bianca did as she was asked, and followed Janine into the most imposing building she'd ever seen.
…How had Blue and Cynthia talked her into this, again?
End Chapter 25
Alright, start of Fuchsia, and things continue to be rather serious in terms of tone. Cynthia's off doing her own thing, and Bianca is alone! How will she fare? Probably wait til next time to find out!
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