Finding You - Chapter 14

Finding You – A Pokemon Black and White Fanfiction – Chapter 14

Sunny Day

After recovering from the loss of Laddie, Luna made it to Castelia – but to her surprise, a Cottonee had slipped into her bag! As she chased after it, she ran into Gym Leader Burgh, who helped her think of a way to find the Cottonee. However, the puffy cotton Pokemon was nowhere to be found. Soon after, Luna decided to challenge Burgh – and after an exciting battle, she won the match! Now taking a break, who should she see but none other than Touya Black himself…

***

Journal of Dominic Mond, Thirteenth Entry

I asked the police what they knew about this Team Tenebris business. Very little is known about them, except that  they are terrorists that abuse Pokémon's abilities for destruction and violence. Other than Castelia, they were rumored to have entered Nimbasa. I've decided to make that my next point of destination, Luna. Wish your old dad luck.

***

"Heyyy, Luna!"

Touya waved enthusiastically as his Braviary made its majestic landing. Hopping off the gigantic Eagle Pokemon, Touya jogged over to where Luna was standing.

"Long time no see!" he exclaimed. "Wow, it's been awhile! Look at you, your hair's gotten longer!"

Self-consciously Luna hand felt her hair. He was right; it almost reached down to her shoulders now.

"I was just flying around, you know, and I was looking at Skyarrow Bridge – it's pretty amazing, huh?—and then I saw someone with white hair, and I thought, She looks familiar, so I decided to land and wouldn't you know it, it's you! How are you?"

"Good," Luna told him shyly. "I've got three Gym badges now…"

Touya whistled. "Really? Way to go! Just beat Burgh, huh?"

"Yeah! It was actually easier than I expected. It's a good thing that my Blitzle knows Flame Charge."

Touya nodded. "Definitely. I remember when I battled Burgh, it was super easy because I had not only my Pignite, but I had also just caught a Darumaka from Route 4. It's on the way to Nimbasa City…hey, I just had an idea!"

"What is it?"

"Would you…well, would you maybe want to go see Nimbasa with me?" Touya smiled. "It's just about the most fun place in the world. There's sports, and a theater, and even an amusement park! I mean, that is, if you don't have anything else planned…"

"I don't," Luna told him honestly. "I'd love to!"

Touya's small smile stretched into a toothy grin that was quickly becoming familiar. "Great! Well then, hop on. It's only a few minutes away when we're flying!"

Tentatively Luna stepped onto the Braviary's back, the warm feel of its feathers tickling her hands as she climbed. Touya sat in front of her and signaled for the bird to take off.

Luna nervously clutched his waist as they became airbone, watching the silvery city fly by as Braviary rose higher and higher. The urban scene quickly melted into a harsh desert route, but to Luna's surprise there didn't seem to be any sand flying around.

"There used to be a big sandstorm here," Touya shouted back to Luna, "but it finally cleared up awhile back."

As soon as the route ended, a completely new view took form. Luna inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of Nimbasa City – filled with flashing lights and colorful buildings, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

The two Trainers landed in front of the Pokemon Center, and as Touya returned his Braviary to the Pokeball he asked, "Soo…what should we do first?"

"I'm not sure," Luna admitted. "I mean…wow. This place is amazing!"

"It's even cooler at night," Touya informed her, "when the lights are really shining and everything…if we stay here that long, maybe we can see the Ferris Wheel at night, 'cause that's even better! There's also the Musicals and the sport events…do you care which one we go to first?"

"Not at all! But…oh no, I left my Pokemon at the Pokemon Center! Am I going to need them?"

"Nope! Today, you're not a Trainer, you're a spectator. I think maybe the sports stadium would be best to try first, because it has specific hours. Let's go!"

Touya happily led Luna through the streets, intent on the sports stadium. The atmosphere in Nimbasa was completely different than that of Castelia. It wasn't full of stiff businesspeople and crowded streets; the streets were still busy, but in a more relaxed way, and the people smiled as Luna and Touya passed.

I love this place already, Luna decided.

When they arrived at the Stadium, a football game was ready to begin. As they settled in their seats, Touya pointed out to her the players he knew.

"I used to come by here a lot when I was preparing to challenge Elesa," he explained, "and most of the players challenged me to battles sometimes! It was awesome."

"Wait, Elesa? So Nimbasa City has a Gym too?"

"Yep. She's a Gym Leader, but also a model. She uses Electric types and is pretty smart about her strategies. You'll need more than just brute strength to beat her; since she's so smart with her strategies, you'll need to be too."

Luna found that she was enjoying Touya's company more than she had remembered on the boat ride to Unova so many weeks ago. He liked to talk, and Luna liked to listen; combined, they were able to have pleasant conversations that didn't feel awkward or forced. It was a good feeling.

After the game, as they stepped outside, something in the air caught Luna's eye. Squinting to see what it was, it appeared to be a small, cloudlike shape…"Cottonee!"

Touya turned. "What?"

"There's a Cottonee!" Luna pointed into the sky. "I think it's the same one I met before. See, it snuck into my bag…"

She explained what had happened, and as she finished Touya didn't hesitate. "Well then, let's go see if we can chase it!"

"A-are you sure? I mean, isn't there more you want to do?"

"It's barely one o'clock in the afternoon," he assured her. "There'll be plenty of time! Let's go!" He took off, Luna close behind as they chased the Cottonee through the colorful streets of Nimbasa.

As they ran, Touya glanced back to make sure Luna was still following. "This reminds me of that one time on the ship!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

"Just like…old times," Luna quipped. Touya laughed.

The Cottonee bounced gently on the wind until it flew near the Musical Theater. As Luna and Touya rounded a corner, however, it seemed to disappear.

"Maybe…we should try…the Theater," Touya suggested, breathing heavily from running. "We could catch a Musical…while we're there…"

"I think…that's a great…idea!" Luna agreed. "Let's go!"

They purchased their tickets and entered the Theater, taking in the sight of all sorts of crazily dressed Pokemon and Theater enthusiasts. Luna did her best to keep an eye out for a stray Cottonee, but it was nearly impossible in the crowds.

"Maybe we can just forget about it for now," Touya suggested lightly. "If there's one thing I know about Pokemon, it's that they're resourceful. Even if we don't find the Cottonee, it'll probably find its way home on its own."

"I hope so," Luna said. "But you're right. I'd like to see the Musical; I've never seen one before!"

"They're pretty fun," Touya told her. "Today's Musical is actually going to be run by a special Theater troupe that does this professionally, so it should be really exciting. Most Musicals I've seen were the ones with Pokemon raised by Trainers."

As they were guided into the dark Theater, Luna collided with a tiny purple-and-black Pokemon bouncing out the doors.

"Get back here!" a man shouted angrily. As the Pokemon tried to run past, Luna scooped it up into her arms and recognized it as a Gothita.

"I'm so sorry," the man apologized, taking the Gothita back into his arms. "This one is always unruly. She never wants to go onstage." The Gothita gazed up at the man with sullen blue eyes.

"Are you one of the members of the theater troupe?" Luna asked curiously.

"Yes!" the man answered proudly. "We're The Midnight Visitors, a travelling Pokemon Musical group. Our opening performances usually occur at midnight, but this is our last performance in Nimbasa so that's why it's in the afternoon." He glanced down at the Gothita. "I don't know what I'm going to do about this one, though. She's always so difficult when it comes to going onstage…"

"Maybe she doesn't want to perform?" Luna suggested.

The man shrugged. "I don't think that's possible. Gothita here was hatched here in the troupe. She couldn't possibly want anything else." He smiled and gave a little wave. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go backstage. I hope you enjoy the performance!"

As the man hurried away, Touya shook his head and sighed. Luna glanced at him curiously.

"He seems like a nice guy," Touya explained, "but he has absolutely no connection with that Gothita at all. I'd bet anything that Gothita hates doing Musicals."

Luna gazed in the direction that the man and the Gothita had gone. "That's pretty sad…"

Touya shrugged. "Pokemon have been in worse situations. Like when Team Plasma started invading Unova a couple of years ago. Now that could've ended up badly…"

"I heard about them," Luna said. "They wanted to liberate Pokemon, right?"

"Right. It was pretty crazy. Their main leader, N, actually had good intentions, but his dad actually didn't care at all. It was pretty intense."

"And you took them down all by yourself?"

"Oh no," Touya said modestly, "I had plenty of people helping me. It was a group effort…but, well, I did end up defeating their leader on my own."He coughed. "Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud about that."

As the pair continued to talk and chat, the lights suddenly dimmed, and the theater grew quiet. Luna eagerly leaned forward in her seat as the Pokemon made their way onstage. After several minutes, Luna decided that the show was cute, but nothing out of the ordinary.

It was then that she noticed the Gothita from earlier now making its appearance onstage. She was going through the motions, but even Luna could tell that her heart wasn't really into it.

Just as the climax started, the Gothita suddenly stopped its dancing altogether and stood still on the stage, refusing to do any more. Luna and Touya glanced at each other and waited to see what would happen next. The stubborn Pokemon refused to cooperate even after prompting from the wings by the human cast members.

A few murmurs of concern resounded through the theater from the audience, wondering if this was part of the show or if something was wrong with the Gothita. As Luna looked around the audience nervously, a small object in the corner of the ceiling caught her eye.

The Cottonee! she thought in amazement. It really did get in here! The cotton Pokemon floated its way toward the front, passing unnoticeably over everyone's heads, before landing gently on the stage. The two Pokemon made their way toward each other and studied one another in curiosity.

The announcer for the show quickly called for an intermission and strode out onto the stage. "Whosever Cottonee this is, please return it to your Pokeball so that the show may continue."

For a few moments, silence. Then Luna hesitantly stood up.

Touya grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?"

"Getting the Cottonee. I'll be right back."

Without further explanation, she left her seat in the audience behind and stopped in front of the stage, her head level to the feet of those standing on top. Her face was burning with self-consciousness.

"Cottonee," she said loudly, "Return!" More quietly she added, "I'll release you later."

The Pokemon glanced between her and the Gothita uncertainly, but when she tossed the Pokeball, it didn't resist. Quickly Luna took the ball in her hand and hurried back to her seat.

Touya's eyebrows rose. "That was impressive," he said. "You mean it just let you catch it?"

"I promised that I'll release it later," Luna explained. "I think it likes that Gothita, though."

"Hmm."

A few minutes later, the stage crew managed to send out a different Pokemon to take the Gothita's place, and the musical continued. The whole time, however, Luna found her mind wandering back to the Gothita and the Cottonee, and she wondered what the Cottonee would do once it was released.

Will it just run off again? Or will it go back to the Gothita? They seemed to be pretty curious about each other. If I do release it, I had better do it back in Pinwheel Forest like originally planned. But what if it just goes back through the city? I guess I shouldn't worry about it, but…

Soon the lights turned on, and the audience rose in their seats. Luna turned to Touya.

"I…kind of want to apologize to the theater people," Luna told him. "I mean, what happened didn't even have anything to do with me, but since they think the Cottonee is my Pokemon, I think it would be best."

Touya shrugged. "Go ahead," he said. "Want me to come?"

"W-well, sure, but only if you want to."

Touya nodded and smiled. "Sure!"

None of the stage crew were in sight. Cautiously Luna climbed onto the stage and poked her head behind the curtain. "Hello?"

The crew was busy packing up. Luna approached the man who had been chasing the Gothita earlier, noting that he had Stage Manager written on his shirt. "E-excuse me…"

He looked up. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw who it was. "Hello…"

"I wanted to apologize for my Cottonee's behavior today," Luna said humbly. "I…hadn't been able to find him, so that's why he wasn't in the Pokeball. I'm sorry if he was the reason that Gothita was distracted."

The man shrugged, though Luna could tell he was trying to hide his surprise at her apology. "It's okay. Gothita has acted up like that for the past few shows anyhow. I don't know what we can do about her. I've been thinking about letting her go now for quite some time, but she's been tame all her life – even with natural instincts, I don't know if she'd be okay in the wild."

Touya had his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin. "Do you know of anyone who could take her?"

"No. We travel around so frequently that it would be hard to find a good Trainer who would be willing to take her."

"Well…" Touya turned to Luna. "Luna, why don't you take her?"

"Me?"

"Well, sure. I think Gothita would be a great addition to your team. Plus, she liked that Cottonee, right? I think they'll get along pretty well. What do you think, Luna?"

Luna had to think for a moment. This is kind of sudden…I wasn't planning on having any new team members for awhile. But Touya's right. Gothita would be a great new member for my team. But…what if I decide to release the Cottonee? He and Gothita were getting along. I guess we'll see, but…I really would like Gothita.

She looked up at the man and smiled. "I'd love to take her, if you'd let me."

The man only appeared to consider it for a moment before nodding decisively. "I guess it would be okay. You apologized for your Cottonee, which shows that you're pretty responsible, even if you are a bit inexperienced." He took Gothita's Pokeball from his belt and handed it to Luna.

"Please…take good care of her. She wasn't good onstage, but I think…I think she'll be better off traveling around with a Trainer."

Luna took the Pokeball in her hands. "I promise."

Touya glanced at his Xtransceiver. "We need to go, Luna. There's still a lot to do." He turned to the man. "Thank you so much for this."

The man shook his head. "No, thank you."

As Luna and Touya walked away from the backstage area, Luna couldn't help but glance behind her. The man stood alone among the props and costumes, seemingly lost in thought.

I hope this was the right thing to do. Gothita, I promise I'll do my best to take care of you.

***

Outside, Luna released her entire team, including Gothita and Cottonee. The two new Pokemon looked around confusedly.

"Hi, you guys," Luna said. "I'm Luna." She looked at Gothita. "I'm going to be your new Trainer, if that's okay. But I'd like to call you something other than Gothita. What do you think?"

The Gothita's deep blue eyes, formerly sullen with attitude, now seemed brighter as she looked up at her new Trainer.

"Gothitas get more elegant as they evolve," Touya commented. "Maybe you could give her something fancy?"

"Um…"

"Hey, how about Odile? I saw Swan Lake when I was really little with my mom, and the black swan was named Odile. And you know, Gothita's black."

"Isn't the black swan evil, though?" Luna asked. "What about the white swan, Odette?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright then." Luna smiled. "I'm going to call you Odette."

Odette blinked indifferently, but she didn't seem to dislike the name, so Luna decided it was okay.

"And Cottonee." Luna looked at him. She was half-surprised that he hadn't tried to run off already. "As promised, I'm going to release you; but if we do, it's going to be back in the forest where you belong. Do you want to go?"

Cottonee sidled closer to Odette, seeming reluctant.

"Maybe he wants to go with you," Touya said. "He really seems to like Odette."

"He does," Luna agreed. "But…I don't know if I can handle two more team members at once."

"Of course you can," Touya said encouragingly. "You've gotten so much better than when I met you on the boat. I think you can handle it."

Luna frowned. "If you say so..." Still, she looked at Cottonee. "Would you like to go with me?"

The Cottonee flew up and nestled himself on top of Luna's hair.

"I…guess that means yes!" Luna smiled. "Welcome to the team, you two!"

***

It was already dark as Touya and Luna made their way onto their last attraction for the day – the famous Nimbasa Ferris Wheel. The lights of the city glistened like millions of colorful stars behind the two as the ride began its slow turning.

Touya leaned back in his seat in satisfaction as Luna gaped at the brilliant city sights. "Incredible, isn't it?"

"Amazing," she agreed. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

"The city looks great at night," he mused. He stretched. "Have you decided on a name for the Cottonee yet?"

"Sort of," she said, still gazing at the bright attractions outside. "He seems kind of quirky. I'm thinking I'll name him Lamar. My dad used to have a Meowth named Lamar, and both of the Pokemon have similar personalities."

"I see."

There were a few moments of silence as the ride continued in its circle. Luna searched her mind desperately to think of something to say, hoping Touya wouldn't feel that the conversation was becoming boring or awkward.

She turned away from the window to sit forward and look at him. "Touya, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me."

Touya sat up straighter. "Like what?"

"Well, I-I mean, you've always just been so nice to me. On the boat, you taught me a lot about Pokemon and you helped me catch Chewy. And then, today, we had so much fun…it's a little overwhelming. I wish we could meet up more often."

"Why can't we?" Touya grinned. "Ditching Champion duties can become a regular thing. Here, I'll give you my Xtransceiver number…if you'll give me yours."

"O-of course!" The two swapped numbers, and the conversation took another temporary silence.

"It's really no problem," Touya said finally. "Being nice to you, I mean. I've always tried to be nice to people because it makes their day, and sometimes you can make new friends. Like us. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Definitely!" Luna agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

Touya really is a great person. And somehow, I feel really great when I'm around him. Sometimes I get a little nervous and flustered, but he never seems to care.

I wonder if…if maybe…I'm starting to like him…?

Touya opened his mouth as if he were about to say something when a violent shaking suddenly rocked the ferris wheel. Luna let out a shriek of surprise as the whole car swung dangerously around. Luna found herself falling over to Touya's side as another blast rocked the ferris wheel.

"What's happening?!" Luna gasped.

"I don't know," Touya said, "but we need to get out of here." He peered through the window. "I think someone set off a bomb. The ferris wheel's on fire."

Luna's heart pounded fearfully as she heard shrieks and screams outside. "Oh no, Touya, what should we…?"

"Hang on tight." Touya threw his shoulder at the window in an attempt to break the glass, but nothing happened. He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. "Reuniclus!"

A large Psychic Pokemon popped out of the ball, barely fitting in the car.

"Break the glass with your Psychic attack," Touya ordered. The Reuniclus's eyes glowed purple. Touya pushed Luna behind him as the glass suddenly shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"Good work," Touya told his Pokemon, returning it as he released a different one. "Braviary!" The giant Eagle Pokemon hovered just outside their car. "Fly us out of here!"

Touya and Luna hopped aboard the bird's back and soared away from the chaos. Luna looked down at the wreckage of the Ferris Wheel, suddenly seeing the problem. Large, jagged fissures were running right through the carnival grounds, tearing up earth and downing machines. The Ferris Wheel was right in the path of one of the biggest ones.

"It looks like there was some kind of horrible earthquake!" Luna exclaimed to Touya.

Touya didn't respond right away, and Luna wondered if he had heard her. That's when she realized that he was looking very intently at something down below. Braviary stopped and hovered catiously in the air, still close to the carnival but far enough away as to be safe from the chaos.

"That wasn't a natural earthquake," Touya murmured darkly. "That's the kind of moves I've seen Ground Pokemon use in battles. And there's the source right there." Luna followed his gaze to see a Tyranitar making earthquakes in the ground, seemingly ordered by men and women in dark uniforms.

"Is that…Team Tenebris?" Luna gasped.

Touya glanced at her. "You've heard of them?"

"Just in the papers. Why would they want to destroy the carnival?"

"I don't know," Touya said, "but I intend to find out. Hang on…I'm going in."

To be continued…