A/N:
Reviews first!
Mayziken: Yeah, I know how slow the advanceshipping has been. I'm just waiting for the opportunity to present itself.
Shadow-saur: Oww *is flushed*. Like I said, sorry about the slow shippyness. I want to make it as realistic as possible...considering how dense Ash is and all. It is an adventure story, but the shipping is a primary elements, as Meir explained.
lunarshadow: Thanks. The reason why you got to see Meir battling so late was that I wanted to make him different. Not just different, but akin to an unconventional genius. I had to think of a right circumstance for that, and I finally got an idea.
What happened to Ash’s Lucario?
Here’s your answer.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Chapter Eight: Setting Off
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
The room was rather well lit, but contained an air of uncertain malice. Ornate designs hung behind the sole desk present there, giving a distinct hypnotic effect to those who saw them: the clients, not the employer. On the desk, there was a sleek laptop, piles of paper and a few paperweights to go along with them. This was the desk of the infamous Giovanni, former leader of the Viridian City Gym and the current head of the Team Rocket crime syndicate.
The aforementioned “boss”, a man in his late forties with an intimidating glare and finely combed hair sat on his cosy chair, sighing briefly with exasperation. He usually never showed any outward emotions (except anger), but the case here was rather different. He was going to meet that team in a few minutes, and they were always rather annoying to deal with. The odd trio failed at nearly everything they tried, the only problem was he couldn’t remove them from his organisation. The reason for that was a secret he had worked hard to keep: not even the said team knew anything about it.
Then again, they were never really the thoughtful type either.
Mentally sighing, he turned to his large feline Pokémon. His Persian had helped him relieve the rather large amount of stress he accumulated because of his volatile position. He was thankful for that brief moment of relaxation while he stroked the cat-like Pokémon, but gave a silent groan as he heard three knocks on the door.
‘Come in.’ He said firmly. The door opened silently, as two guards along with the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth walked into the room. The two Rocket grunts wore expressionless faces, while those of the trio were quite lively with nervousness and agitation etched into their features.
Giovanni nodded to the two guards who promptly vacated the office without another word. Hearing the door lock behind them, the Rocket boss narrowed his eyes focusing on the trio, causing them to give away an audible gulp.
‘I’m well aware,’ he said, stroking his Persian, ‘of your reported spying on other Team Rocket members.’ He paused, the silence emphasizing his words. ‘Don’t let me catch you at it again.’
Frozen in fear, the trio merely gave a small nod, unable to respond verbally.
Their boss smirked. ‘I have an important assignment for you.’ He said, pulling several printed papers out of his desk. ‘You are our only members who have an extensive...ah, experience in the Sinnoh region.’ He looked up, anticipating the eager expression which this particular team used to wear whenever they were entrusted with something. To his surprise, he found out that he was simply returning a respectful glance from the members of the team, nothing more.
‘I warn you, should you fail, you will be kicked out of Team Rocket for good.’ Giovanni added sternly. ‘Is that understood?’
‘Yes sir!’
‘Good. Here’s what I need you to do...’
/\/\/\/\/\/\
The gentle rush in and around the harbour announced the arrival of Cherrygrove City. Although this settlement didn’t even register to the size of the thriving metropolis they had left earlier, Cherrygrove was still a great starting point for many prospective young trainers who were taking their first steps on their Pokémon journey. Of course, with the news about the three-month break, there were hardly any of them around right now.
The official-looking Pokémon League ferry was a small, but well equipped boat. It had brought the group here from across the continent, clinging to the shallow waters near the shore. Despite its rather impressive speed, the ferry took a good six hours to transverse the southern Johto waters. The Seagallop ferries were considerably faster, but even they took two hours to reach the Sevii islands south of the main continent.
All that time had passed pretty quickly for our group, as they were engaged in continuous conversation throughout the journey. Ash, Dawn and Brock recounted their Sinnoh adventures, including everything from the mysterious events at the Space-Time tower, being transported to Giratina’s dimension, and some of the depressing parts of their foray too, such as Dawn’s tough time in the contest circle during the beginning of their journey. May told them a little bit about her time in Johto as well.
/\/\
’After my first win in Floroma town,’ Dawn recounted, frowning slightly, ‘I lost all the contests I entered. If it wasn’t for these guys here,’ she nodded to Brock and Ash, ‘and May giving advice over the phone, I would never have made it to the Grand Festival.’
‘Aww...really Dee-dee!’ Drew said mockingly, getting a rather harsh glare in return. She knew it was just some harmless fun, but if Ash ever found out what that meant...she’d have to endure endless teasing. That wasn’t good for her health.
‘Well, you’re lucky Dawn.’ Bliss said, smiling at the two coordinator’s antics. ‘A lot of people never make it to their first Grand Festival.’ She paused, half-closing her eyes. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Wha – Really?’ May exclaimed and the others gasped. This was surprise indeed – the world’s best coordinator had failed to make it to her first festival?
Bliss laughed softly. ‘A lot of people assume that you’ve always been the best at what you do if you’re on the top, but it isn’t true, at least with me. The truth is, I didn’t want to become a Coordinator – I wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder.’ She nodded to Brock, who was listening with interest.
‘So what made you change your mind then?’ He asked, intrigued. He was a Trainer once too, although he had always aimed to become a Breeder since his childhood, an after-effect of dealing with the rather large family he had to look after. That’s probably why he was so attached to his home: he hadn’t really travelled the world before he joined Ash.
‘I participated in a few contests back then, but it wasn’t for the ribbons.’ Bliss replied, closing her eyes in recollection. ‘I did it to examine the way different coordinators raised their Pokémon; to improve my skills as a Breeder. That is, of course, until a very persistent young man forced me into the contest circuit, and I haven’t looked back since.’
‘That wasn’t me, by the way.’ Meir said, grinning. ‘It was her best friend, Lance, who was also her first travelling companion.’
‘So I couldn’t enter the Johto Festival on my first try, although I had never really taken coordinating seriously before Lance joined me, so I didn’t get much time to fulfil my ribbon requirements. At that time, you needed four ribbons to enter the festival, although the number of contests being held was also lower.’ Bliss sighed, as if recalling something. ‘I went so Sinnoh while Lance went to Hoenn, and met these two, forming an ultimate team of sorts.’ She grinned as Meir and Cynthia flinched as they mentally recalled the memory of their first meeting.
‘Travelling with two hyperactive, overly enthusiastic adolescent girls, hell-bent on conquering Sinnoh was...really troublesome.’ Meir muttered sarcastically, before he bit his tongue. He certainly didn’t want the two women to hear that and fortunately, they didn’t.
‘We’ll tell you all about that later, Bliss.’ Cynthia said, nodding. Her soft grey eyes met May’s who looked back at the Sinnoh Champion in a mildly cute way. ‘What I’d like to know now is how your journey through Johto went May. It must have been hard travelling by yourself after all those adventures you had together as a team.’
May pouted her lips in a frown. ‘It was a little hard at first,’ she said, before breaking into a smile, ‘but I managed to go about fine later on. I lost my first contest here, but managed to win the other five I took without much of a problem, even though the last one was kinda tough.’ She paused and pondered a bit more before continuing. ‘I’d always have a chat with Ash, Brock and Dawn once a week though, as well as Mom and Dad.’ She turned to Ash and gave him a warm smile. He returned it. May had to ignore the sudden imbalance se sensed in her stomach. ‘Ash really helped me out of some tight spots back there. Dawn and I used to discuss contests and well –‘ she turned a little red, ‘- girl stuff. Brock gave me a lot of advice on cooking too. I guess I got on okay after that, and finished my contests here pretty quickly.’ May stopped again, thinking. She had become a little more reflective after her little stint in Johto, but she still had pretty much the same personality. That was something that wouldn’t change so easily either. ‘You know the rest.’ She finished, deciding that there was nothing much to tell them.
‘Hey what about me?’ Drew said looking hurt.
‘Come on, we weren’t going to leave you out now, were we?’ Meir smirked.
It was then that their ferry sounded a horn, announcing their arrival in a harbour. The group got up and looked out of their small windows as the sight of the Cherrygrove harbour met their eyes.
‘You knew we’d arrived, didn’t you?’ Drew accused Meir, although he was rather amused. The latter just laughed.
‘You’ll get your chance. Besides we haven’t told you our stories yet, so you could tell us later. I’m sure Cynthia, Dawn and Brock would like to hear it when you’re together in Coronet.’
Drew sighed but nodded, slowly getting up. His emerald green hair looked rather gloomy in the dark, and silently walked out onto the deck where the other teens followed him. The adults, however lingered back for a while, watching them go.
‘Cynth, be sure to transmit in case of anomalous behaviour from any one of your team. I trust you know the frequency?’ asked Meir. The blond trainer nodded.
‘Nine-eight-eight megahertz. That’s your direct Rangernet link isn’t it?’
‘Reception in Rainbow Valley might be a problem though.’ Bliss countered. ‘We’ll try out best to break through the perception filter.’ The three slowly began walking towards the teens.
‘You’ve got a point Bee, but remember: we’re the ones in uncharted territory, not her.’
Cynthia only smiled. ‘You’ve got each other - I don’t think you need to worry.’
‘I’m not worried about us.’ Meir said, stepping out into the sunshine. He motioned to where Ash and May were standing, leaning idly again the railings of the ferry. ‘I’m worried about them.’
Bliss smiled, gently taking Meir’s hand into her own. She leaned over into his ear.
‘Believe in them.’ She whispered, before guiding him to the rest of the group.
/\/\
The small docking station couldn’t boast of being crowded with passengers waiting for their cruise, or cargo standing by to be loaded into a massive container vessel. However, it did betray the feel of a harbour. The Wingull swayed with the ocean breezes as the silent thunder of the sea crashed down upon the harbour wall. The air was inexcusably saline as well as rich in moisture.
There was one more thing the small port could boast of. This was the spot where different people had parted their ways or reunited. This was the place where the dreams of a few were realised, or where some came back defeated.
At this moment, a farewell was being exchanged by two different groups, each made up of four different people. One contained a Pikachu, but the other boasted of a Piplup.
‘Well, I guess this is goodbye; at least for now.’ Meir said. ‘You’ll be heading north while we’re going south.’
‘Are you going to Hoenn?’ Brock asked, rather bluntly.
Meir chuckled. ‘Not that far south. It’s been nice meeting you guys though, we’ll see each other again pretty soon. Take care.’
Cynthia proceeded to give Bliss a hug, who asked her to look after herself and the others. She went on to do the same with Meir, who merely exchanged an understanding glance.
‘Bye Brock, I’ll be seeing you soon.’ Ash said, as his long-time friend gave him a onetime hug. Dawn proceeded to give him a high-five.
‘Finally, I get to be at peace after a whole year of watching your Gym battles.’ Dawn said sarcastically in her usual bubbly tone. She grinned and quickly gave Ash a hug, and followed with another one for May. ‘See you!’ She said, not trying to restrain any emotion from getting into her voice.
‘How are we getting to Sinnoh anyway?’ asked Brock, as he turned to Cynthia.
‘We take to train to Pewter first, which will take nine hours to get there, and we board a ship from Kanto.’ Cynthia replied automatically. Her expression quickly changed into a horrified one.
‘The train!’ She said, panicking. ‘Come on we have to get moving!’ The Sinnoh champion proceeded to drag her small sortie team with her, and the four trainers disappeared from sight within a minute.
Meir and Bliss sighed simultaneously, as if they were expecting this to happen. Ash and May looked at each other, confused at Cynthia’s rather reckless behaviour. Of course, this just went to show their lack of knowledge about the blonde trainer’s near-fanaticism about punctuality. The other odd thing was, their eye contact didn’t give a repulsive aural spark like before. It did, however made them fix their gaze at each other, and for some obscure reason, they couldn’t look away. An unspoken staring contest ensured.
‘Well, come on.’ Bliss said, as she gently nudged the two young trainers’ head, bringing them back to reality. She started walking, carrying herself a little differently now; her sapphire gaze had become slightly more intense in the process. The other three could sense the little spike in her Aural signature, one that immediately told them she was serious. ‘We need to find the Pokémon centre.’ Her gaze met Meir’s who nodded silently. ‘And after that, we need to start your Aura training.’
/\/\/\/\/\/\
‘Well, it looks like we made it on time.’ Brock said, collapsing into his seat. He peered into the window beside him, watching the surroundings gradually change as their train accelerated, gradually leaving Cherrygrove behind. He smiled internally, knowing that he’d be home in a few hours and after that, he’d be off on another adventure. The Breeder’s thoughts drifted towards Ash and May, and he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of challenge they would face. The revelations they were given a few days ago certainly explained a lot, but they also confused him. A small tinge of melancholy had taken up a small part of his thoughts...he knew that they could take care of themselves and also knew that two of the world’s most powerful trainers were trugging along, but it was that same thought that stood like a forbidding warning at the back of his head.
What could possibly be so important as to warrant their personal intervention?
Furrowing his eyebrows, the tanned breeder was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Cynthia watching him intently – as if she was trying to read them. Only the background chatter of Dawn and Drew chatting amicably registered in his subconscious.
‘Don’t worry about them.’ Cynthia told him quietly. Brock snapped back to reality as he looked up, identifying the source of the voice.
‘I know what you’re thinking. I won’t lie to you and say that they’re not in any danger, but they’ll be fine.’
‘Well, they certainly seem to be getting closer...’ Brock said, trailing off. He smiled and nodded.
‘They’ll take care of each other.’ Cynthia completed. By this point, the two younger coordinators had stopped chatting and were listening to the conversation.
‘I know that they will be fine – no need to worry about them, but what about us?’ Dawn asked, her voice betraying a tone of innocent inquisitiveness. She closed her electric blue eyes for a moment, hoping that her friends would be fine. However, unlike Brock, she took to the viewpoint that if they were going with Meir and Bliss, they would be alright. At the same time, Dawn realised that getting the Platinum Orb from Mount Coronet would hardly be a small job either. Unknown to her, Drew was thinking along the same lines while absently gazing out of the window as the fields rushed pass then.
‘I have a plan of course...but all that in due time.’ Cynthia replied. The train thundered on, leaving behind the glare of the setting sun.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Afterthought:
Okay, Lucario couldn’t make it. He will in the next chapter though, and I’m going into serious Advanceshippy mode as well.
The “real” story begins now.
Also, “Bee” is Bliss’s nickname, one that Meir and Lance both call her by. It’s akin to Dawn’s “Dee-dee”.
Reviews first!
Mayziken: Yeah, I know how slow the advanceshipping has been. I'm just waiting for the opportunity to present itself.
Shadow-saur: Oww *is flushed*. Like I said, sorry about the slow shippyness. I want to make it as realistic as possible...considering how dense Ash is and all. It is an adventure story, but the shipping is a primary elements, as Meir explained.
lunarshadow: Thanks. The reason why you got to see Meir battling so late was that I wanted to make him different. Not just different, but akin to an unconventional genius. I had to think of a right circumstance for that, and I finally got an idea.
What happened to Ash’s Lucario?
Here’s your answer.
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Chapter Eight: Setting Off
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
The room was rather well lit, but contained an air of uncertain malice. Ornate designs hung behind the sole desk present there, giving a distinct hypnotic effect to those who saw them: the clients, not the employer. On the desk, there was a sleek laptop, piles of paper and a few paperweights to go along with them. This was the desk of the infamous Giovanni, former leader of the Viridian City Gym and the current head of the Team Rocket crime syndicate.
The aforementioned “boss”, a man in his late forties with an intimidating glare and finely combed hair sat on his cosy chair, sighing briefly with exasperation. He usually never showed any outward emotions (except anger), but the case here was rather different. He was going to meet that team in a few minutes, and they were always rather annoying to deal with. The odd trio failed at nearly everything they tried, the only problem was he couldn’t remove them from his organisation. The reason for that was a secret he had worked hard to keep: not even the said team knew anything about it.
Then again, they were never really the thoughtful type either.
Mentally sighing, he turned to his large feline Pokémon. His Persian had helped him relieve the rather large amount of stress he accumulated because of his volatile position. He was thankful for that brief moment of relaxation while he stroked the cat-like Pokémon, but gave a silent groan as he heard three knocks on the door.
‘Come in.’ He said firmly. The door opened silently, as two guards along with the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth walked into the room. The two Rocket grunts wore expressionless faces, while those of the trio were quite lively with nervousness and agitation etched into their features.
Giovanni nodded to the two guards who promptly vacated the office without another word. Hearing the door lock behind them, the Rocket boss narrowed his eyes focusing on the trio, causing them to give away an audible gulp.
‘I’m well aware,’ he said, stroking his Persian, ‘of your reported spying on other Team Rocket members.’ He paused, the silence emphasizing his words. ‘Don’t let me catch you at it again.’
Frozen in fear, the trio merely gave a small nod, unable to respond verbally.
Their boss smirked. ‘I have an important assignment for you.’ He said, pulling several printed papers out of his desk. ‘You are our only members who have an extensive...ah, experience in the Sinnoh region.’ He looked up, anticipating the eager expression which this particular team used to wear whenever they were entrusted with something. To his surprise, he found out that he was simply returning a respectful glance from the members of the team, nothing more.
‘I warn you, should you fail, you will be kicked out of Team Rocket for good.’ Giovanni added sternly. ‘Is that understood?’
‘Yes sir!’
‘Good. Here’s what I need you to do...’
/\/\/\/\/\/\
The gentle rush in and around the harbour announced the arrival of Cherrygrove City. Although this settlement didn’t even register to the size of the thriving metropolis they had left earlier, Cherrygrove was still a great starting point for many prospective young trainers who were taking their first steps on their Pokémon journey. Of course, with the news about the three-month break, there were hardly any of them around right now.
The official-looking Pokémon League ferry was a small, but well equipped boat. It had brought the group here from across the continent, clinging to the shallow waters near the shore. Despite its rather impressive speed, the ferry took a good six hours to transverse the southern Johto waters. The Seagallop ferries were considerably faster, but even they took two hours to reach the Sevii islands south of the main continent.
All that time had passed pretty quickly for our group, as they were engaged in continuous conversation throughout the journey. Ash, Dawn and Brock recounted their Sinnoh adventures, including everything from the mysterious events at the Space-Time tower, being transported to Giratina’s dimension, and some of the depressing parts of their foray too, such as Dawn’s tough time in the contest circle during the beginning of their journey. May told them a little bit about her time in Johto as well.
/\/\
’After my first win in Floroma town,’ Dawn recounted, frowning slightly, ‘I lost all the contests I entered. If it wasn’t for these guys here,’ she nodded to Brock and Ash, ‘and May giving advice over the phone, I would never have made it to the Grand Festival.’
‘Aww...really Dee-dee!’ Drew said mockingly, getting a rather harsh glare in return. She knew it was just some harmless fun, but if Ash ever found out what that meant...she’d have to endure endless teasing. That wasn’t good for her health.
‘Well, you’re lucky Dawn.’ Bliss said, smiling at the two coordinator’s antics. ‘A lot of people never make it to their first Grand Festival.’ She paused, half-closing her eyes. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Wha – Really?’ May exclaimed and the others gasped. This was surprise indeed – the world’s best coordinator had failed to make it to her first festival?
Bliss laughed softly. ‘A lot of people assume that you’ve always been the best at what you do if you’re on the top, but it isn’t true, at least with me. The truth is, I didn’t want to become a Coordinator – I wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder.’ She nodded to Brock, who was listening with interest.
‘So what made you change your mind then?’ He asked, intrigued. He was a Trainer once too, although he had always aimed to become a Breeder since his childhood, an after-effect of dealing with the rather large family he had to look after. That’s probably why he was so attached to his home: he hadn’t really travelled the world before he joined Ash.
‘I participated in a few contests back then, but it wasn’t for the ribbons.’ Bliss replied, closing her eyes in recollection. ‘I did it to examine the way different coordinators raised their Pokémon; to improve my skills as a Breeder. That is, of course, until a very persistent young man forced me into the contest circuit, and I haven’t looked back since.’
‘That wasn’t me, by the way.’ Meir said, grinning. ‘It was her best friend, Lance, who was also her first travelling companion.’
‘So I couldn’t enter the Johto Festival on my first try, although I had never really taken coordinating seriously before Lance joined me, so I didn’t get much time to fulfil my ribbon requirements. At that time, you needed four ribbons to enter the festival, although the number of contests being held was also lower.’ Bliss sighed, as if recalling something. ‘I went so Sinnoh while Lance went to Hoenn, and met these two, forming an ultimate team of sorts.’ She grinned as Meir and Cynthia flinched as they mentally recalled the memory of their first meeting.
‘Travelling with two hyperactive, overly enthusiastic adolescent girls, hell-bent on conquering Sinnoh was...really troublesome.’ Meir muttered sarcastically, before he bit his tongue. He certainly didn’t want the two women to hear that and fortunately, they didn’t.
‘We’ll tell you all about that later, Bliss.’ Cynthia said, nodding. Her soft grey eyes met May’s who looked back at the Sinnoh Champion in a mildly cute way. ‘What I’d like to know now is how your journey through Johto went May. It must have been hard travelling by yourself after all those adventures you had together as a team.’
May pouted her lips in a frown. ‘It was a little hard at first,’ she said, before breaking into a smile, ‘but I managed to go about fine later on. I lost my first contest here, but managed to win the other five I took without much of a problem, even though the last one was kinda tough.’ She paused and pondered a bit more before continuing. ‘I’d always have a chat with Ash, Brock and Dawn once a week though, as well as Mom and Dad.’ She turned to Ash and gave him a warm smile. He returned it. May had to ignore the sudden imbalance se sensed in her stomach. ‘Ash really helped me out of some tight spots back there. Dawn and I used to discuss contests and well –‘ she turned a little red, ‘- girl stuff. Brock gave me a lot of advice on cooking too. I guess I got on okay after that, and finished my contests here pretty quickly.’ May stopped again, thinking. She had become a little more reflective after her little stint in Johto, but she still had pretty much the same personality. That was something that wouldn’t change so easily either. ‘You know the rest.’ She finished, deciding that there was nothing much to tell them.
‘Hey what about me?’ Drew said looking hurt.
‘Come on, we weren’t going to leave you out now, were we?’ Meir smirked.
It was then that their ferry sounded a horn, announcing their arrival in a harbour. The group got up and looked out of their small windows as the sight of the Cherrygrove harbour met their eyes.
‘You knew we’d arrived, didn’t you?’ Drew accused Meir, although he was rather amused. The latter just laughed.
‘You’ll get your chance. Besides we haven’t told you our stories yet, so you could tell us later. I’m sure Cynthia, Dawn and Brock would like to hear it when you’re together in Coronet.’
Drew sighed but nodded, slowly getting up. His emerald green hair looked rather gloomy in the dark, and silently walked out onto the deck where the other teens followed him. The adults, however lingered back for a while, watching them go.
‘Cynth, be sure to transmit in case of anomalous behaviour from any one of your team. I trust you know the frequency?’ asked Meir. The blond trainer nodded.
‘Nine-eight-eight megahertz. That’s your direct Rangernet link isn’t it?’
‘Reception in Rainbow Valley might be a problem though.’ Bliss countered. ‘We’ll try out best to break through the perception filter.’ The three slowly began walking towards the teens.
‘You’ve got a point Bee, but remember: we’re the ones in uncharted territory, not her.’
Cynthia only smiled. ‘You’ve got each other - I don’t think you need to worry.’
‘I’m not worried about us.’ Meir said, stepping out into the sunshine. He motioned to where Ash and May were standing, leaning idly again the railings of the ferry. ‘I’m worried about them.’
Bliss smiled, gently taking Meir’s hand into her own. She leaned over into his ear.
‘Believe in them.’ She whispered, before guiding him to the rest of the group.
/\/\
The small docking station couldn’t boast of being crowded with passengers waiting for their cruise, or cargo standing by to be loaded into a massive container vessel. However, it did betray the feel of a harbour. The Wingull swayed with the ocean breezes as the silent thunder of the sea crashed down upon the harbour wall. The air was inexcusably saline as well as rich in moisture.
There was one more thing the small port could boast of. This was the spot where different people had parted their ways or reunited. This was the place where the dreams of a few were realised, or where some came back defeated.
At this moment, a farewell was being exchanged by two different groups, each made up of four different people. One contained a Pikachu, but the other boasted of a Piplup.
‘Well, I guess this is goodbye; at least for now.’ Meir said. ‘You’ll be heading north while we’re going south.’
‘Are you going to Hoenn?’ Brock asked, rather bluntly.
Meir chuckled. ‘Not that far south. It’s been nice meeting you guys though, we’ll see each other again pretty soon. Take care.’
Cynthia proceeded to give Bliss a hug, who asked her to look after herself and the others. She went on to do the same with Meir, who merely exchanged an understanding glance.
‘Bye Brock, I’ll be seeing you soon.’ Ash said, as his long-time friend gave him a onetime hug. Dawn proceeded to give him a high-five.
‘Finally, I get to be at peace after a whole year of watching your Gym battles.’ Dawn said sarcastically in her usual bubbly tone. She grinned and quickly gave Ash a hug, and followed with another one for May. ‘See you!’ She said, not trying to restrain any emotion from getting into her voice.
‘How are we getting to Sinnoh anyway?’ asked Brock, as he turned to Cynthia.
‘We take to train to Pewter first, which will take nine hours to get there, and we board a ship from Kanto.’ Cynthia replied automatically. Her expression quickly changed into a horrified one.
‘The train!’ She said, panicking. ‘Come on we have to get moving!’ The Sinnoh champion proceeded to drag her small sortie team with her, and the four trainers disappeared from sight within a minute.
Meir and Bliss sighed simultaneously, as if they were expecting this to happen. Ash and May looked at each other, confused at Cynthia’s rather reckless behaviour. Of course, this just went to show their lack of knowledge about the blonde trainer’s near-fanaticism about punctuality. The other odd thing was, their eye contact didn’t give a repulsive aural spark like before. It did, however made them fix their gaze at each other, and for some obscure reason, they couldn’t look away. An unspoken staring contest ensured.
‘Well, come on.’ Bliss said, as she gently nudged the two young trainers’ head, bringing them back to reality. She started walking, carrying herself a little differently now; her sapphire gaze had become slightly more intense in the process. The other three could sense the little spike in her Aural signature, one that immediately told them she was serious. ‘We need to find the Pokémon centre.’ Her gaze met Meir’s who nodded silently. ‘And after that, we need to start your Aura training.’
/\/\/\/\/\/\
‘Well, it looks like we made it on time.’ Brock said, collapsing into his seat. He peered into the window beside him, watching the surroundings gradually change as their train accelerated, gradually leaving Cherrygrove behind. He smiled internally, knowing that he’d be home in a few hours and after that, he’d be off on another adventure. The Breeder’s thoughts drifted towards Ash and May, and he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of challenge they would face. The revelations they were given a few days ago certainly explained a lot, but they also confused him. A small tinge of melancholy had taken up a small part of his thoughts...he knew that they could take care of themselves and also knew that two of the world’s most powerful trainers were trugging along, but it was that same thought that stood like a forbidding warning at the back of his head.
What could possibly be so important as to warrant their personal intervention?
Furrowing his eyebrows, the tanned breeder was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Cynthia watching him intently – as if she was trying to read them. Only the background chatter of Dawn and Drew chatting amicably registered in his subconscious.
‘Don’t worry about them.’ Cynthia told him quietly. Brock snapped back to reality as he looked up, identifying the source of the voice.
‘I know what you’re thinking. I won’t lie to you and say that they’re not in any danger, but they’ll be fine.’
‘Well, they certainly seem to be getting closer...’ Brock said, trailing off. He smiled and nodded.
‘They’ll take care of each other.’ Cynthia completed. By this point, the two younger coordinators had stopped chatting and were listening to the conversation.
‘I know that they will be fine – no need to worry about them, but what about us?’ Dawn asked, her voice betraying a tone of innocent inquisitiveness. She closed her electric blue eyes for a moment, hoping that her friends would be fine. However, unlike Brock, she took to the viewpoint that if they were going with Meir and Bliss, they would be alright. At the same time, Dawn realised that getting the Platinum Orb from Mount Coronet would hardly be a small job either. Unknown to her, Drew was thinking along the same lines while absently gazing out of the window as the fields rushed pass then.
‘I have a plan of course...but all that in due time.’ Cynthia replied. The train thundered on, leaving behind the glare of the setting sun.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Afterthought:
Okay, Lucario couldn’t make it. He will in the next chapter though, and I’m going into serious Advanceshippy mode as well.
The “real” story begins now.
Also, “Bee” is Bliss’s nickname, one that Meir and Lance both call her by. It’s akin to Dawn’s “Dee-dee”.
Well, if you must, I have no objection. Final Challenge was great regardless of the ending in my opinion.