Love
Nimbasa City was like a giant playground. With its battle subway and amusement park and Pokémon Musicals, it was the first and last word in entertainment. It was seen as the perfect city to have fun and forget about your troubles. I was also a very popular spot for couples both young and old to enjoy themselves and show their love for each other. The Ferris wheel in particular was seen as the place to go for young couples to be alone. All the couples who entered the Ferris wheel left with a smile on their faces. Well apart from today.
White and N exited the Ferris wheel in an awkward silence. White because she had just found out the N was the leader of Team Plasma, the group she had been fighting all this time. And N because he was unsure of what to say to White, he wasn’t used to human interaction and the emotions on White’s face confused him. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or sad.
“Listen White,” N said, breaking the silence, “I only wish for pokémon to be happy, and they will never be happy unless they are free. I have seen the things people have done to pokémon, and I want it to stop. Pokémon must be freed from the tyranny of humanity, surely you understand that?”
“No,” White said sourly, “I don’t understand! Are you saying that I’m abusing my pokémon? Are you calling me a horrible person?”
“N-no White, I-I just want to...help pokémon,” N said, “Every day I hear of people doing horrible things to my friends. And I will put a stop to this! I will stop them!”
Yes N, there are pokémon being abused,” White rebuked, “But there are people out there who love their pokémon. And there are pokémon who love them back.”
N sighed, “But those pokémon have been enslaved, they don’t know any better. What you call “love” is simply brainwashing. They don’t know any better, they must be given their freedom in order to be truly happy.”
“Sweet Arceus you are impossible to...” White stopped halfway through her sentence and the expression on her face changed from anger so shock. N wondered what had brought upon the sudden change in personality. She appeared to be looking at something over his shoulder. He turned around and saw something that sent a chill down her spine.
It was two Team Plasma members, one male and one female, both in full uniform and with their arm linked. The woman was carrying a stuffed Choroneko under one arm and a bag in her hand with “Pokémon Musical” written on it. The man had a Yuniran balloon and a Pikachu hat. They both looked white as sheets and their mouths hung open is a mixture of fright and shock.
“L-L-L-Lord N!” The woman stammered, “W-we were just...j-just...uh...um...”
“...scouting the surrounding area!” The man said, “Yes we were just seeing if there were...strategic points to...survey....survey...”
“Survey the area to see if there were any trainers abusing their pokémon! Those musicals are full of people who dress their pokémon up and make them dance...which...might be abuse?” The female Grunt said. “And the reason we have all this stuff is...research!”
“Yes research to see if...any of these things are made from pokémon!” The male Grunt said, “And we definitely weren’t on a date, we were working. Not dating, working!”
“Shut up Arthur,” The female grunt said through clenched teeth, “You’ll ruin everything” she turned to N and smiled (a little too widely for her to be convincing White thought), “Well we can see that you are busy my liege so we will just be going.” She turned around and dragged her companion away with her.
“Wait!” N said, both of the Grunts stopped in place. They turned around very reluctantly and faced N. N could see the sweat pouring down their faces and their fixed grins as they tried to mask their terror. “I wish to speak with both of you in private, NOW!” He turned to White and bowed, “I hope we can speak again soon.
And with that he walked away from her, with the two Grunts following slowly behind him. White was left alone outside the Ferris wheel. She wondered why she was so excited when N asked her to go on the Ferris wheel, and why she had felt so betrayed when he had told her he was the leader of Team Plasma, and why she couldn’t seem to get him out of her head, and most of all, why she had felt so sad to see him go.
N led the Grunts into an alleyway just beyond the fair. Having checked to see if there was anyone listening in on this conversation, he turned to face the Grunts. But he couldn’t see them; he then looked down and saw that the two Grunts were on their knees grovelling.
“Please forgive us Lord N” Arthur said, “We didn’t mean to shirk our duties!”
“We only planed to see a musical,” The female Grunt said, “But then we saw there was a stall selling souvenirs and we won free tickets to see a show at the carnival and then the stalls were all so interesting and the rides looked so cool and we were having such a nice time and...”
“Stop,” N said, “Please stand up, you don’t need to apologise for anything.” Both the Grunts stood up very slowly, but they did not look N in the eye. “What are your names?” N asked.
“Gwen, my Lord” The female Grunt said.
“Arthur, my Lord.” The male Grunt said.
“And are you two in love” N asked. Both Grunts suddenly looked very distressed.
“T-that...um...well you see” Gwen said.
“I-I can’t...my Lord...” Arthur said.
“Answer the question,” N said calmly, “please”
Both Gwen and Arthur looked at each other and then looked at N. “Yes” They both said at the same time.
“Good, good” N said, he thought for a few seconds and then said. “How did you two realise that you were in love?”
“Well that’s kind of a long story.” Gwen said.
“I would like to hear it.” N said.
Gwen and Arthur looked at each other again, and nodded to each other. “Well it all started like this...” Arthur began.
It was an important day for Team Plasma. This was the day when they would finally find the location of the fabled stones that would unleash the fabled Dragons of Unova. Hundreds of Grunts had gathered at the location where the scrolls telling of the stones were supposed to reside, which turned out to be a huge ruined castle on the very boarder of Unova. The castle was in the middle of a large rocky canyon, which had long since been forgotten by civilisation.
The Grunts had all gathered outside the castle. They were grouped in regiments of about twenty five Grunts to a regiment. They waited with bated breath to be addressed by their superiors, the Sages and Geechisu. Slowly, the Sages and Geechisu walked onto a raised platform that had been erected by some Grunts beforehand. The Sages then stepped back and let Geechisu take centre stage. For a long time he just stood there with his head bowed, then he began to speak.
“My friends, today is a great day,” He said. “And I hope you all will recognise your part in the great plan to free the poor pokémon from their evil masters...”
In the crowd Arthur was only half listening. He had heard this stuff a thousand times before at meetings and rallies. He wondered why N never addressed them; he had seen the child before but had never spoken to him. He had great respect for this young boy that had founded such a great organization. His mind then turned to the castle. It was huge, even bigger than N’s one. There was no way they would be able to find those scrolls.
“And with that I leave you to look for the fabled scrolls of the Ancients,” Geechisu said. “Do not fail Lord N.” And with that he turned away and walked down from the stage. The Sages followed after him. Then the Sergeants turned to face the Grunts.
Arthur’s Sergeant was a very large muscular man who seemed to be able to loom over everyone, even when they were bigger than him. Arthur had never liked him, he was a weedy and pasty faced nerd so he just automatically hated anyone who he thought would shove him in the locker if he was back in high school.
“Alright you idiots,” The Sergeant shouted. “We are going to do this efficiently and thoroughly! You will all take the lower floors and search them until EVERY nook and cranny has been looked over! AND THEN YOU WILL SEARCH IT AGAIN! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
“Sir, yes sir!” All the Grunts yelled back.
“Good!” The Sergeant said with a small smirk forming on his face, “Now you will all go in groups of two and search the places you are given! Remember only use your pokémon IN AN EMERGENCY! Anyone caught using their pokémon frivolously WILL BE PUNISHED SEVERLY! Now, who wants to volunteer to go first?”
You could have cut the silence with a knife.
“Alright, I’ll have to do it myself!” The Sergeant said, “ARTHUR, YOU’RE WITH...uh...let’s see...GRUNT GWEN!”
The Sergeant pointed over to a female grunt. Arthur took a good long look at her; she had short red hair and blue eyes. Her face was smooth and very pretty Arthur though; unfortunately her expression was fixed in a very unattractive scowl. She was one of those women who were very cute but took great lengths to hide this fact. She straightened up and saluted the Sergeant, her expression was one of absolute loyalty.
“Sir yes sir!” She barked, “I will assist in finding the scrolls to the best of my ability sir. I will now take the location of which we are supposed to search!”
Arthur sighed, it looked like that this Gwen was going to be a handful. And he was more right than he could ever have imagined.
It turned out that they were assigned to the lowest, grimmest and darkest part of the castle. Even the pokémon of the castle seemed to be afraid to come down here. There was absolutely nothing down here. Arthur was convinced that the Sergeant had sent them down here deliberately in order to get him out of the way, and the only reason Gwen was here was to make sure he didn’t sneak away.
He wouldn’t have minded so much had Gwen not been so Arceus dammed anal about everything. Apparently the scrolls could have been hidden in the corner of a room, or on top of a ledge, or in a blocked up fireplace. All Gwen ever did was bark orders at him and search for the scrolls in the weirdest places, he even caught her looking in a crack in the wall. But Arthur was willing to give her a chance. After an hour he decided that he should try and strike up a conversation with her.
“So what made you want to get into Team Plasma Gwen?” Arthur asked in the most cheerful voice he could muster.
“That isn’t relevant to our mission.” Gwen said sharply.
“Jeez, I was only trying to be friendly” Arthur muttered.
“Our mission is our top priority.” Gwen said, “Talking will only distract us.”
“Well I think you just like ordering me around.” Arthur said. He stood up and faced Gwen, who’s expression remained the same.
“Continue helping me search,” Gwen said calmly. “Or I will hurt you”
“Oh yeah?” Arthur said. “Try me!”
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, the ground heaved and the walls shook. Before either of them could say anything the cealing began to fall on them. Thinking quickly Arthur grabbed Gwen and pulled her away from the falling rocks. He looked around for a safe place to hide from the falling debris. He saw that there was a room just a few meters away from them. He ran as fast as he could to the room, dodging the falling rocks and dragging Gwen all the way.
He and Gwen somehow managed to reach their destination without getting crushed. They both dived inside and fell to the floor. Arthur looked back and saw through the doorway that the passage was now filled with rubble. There was no way out, they were trapped. Arthur looked down at Gwen to see if she was okay. She looked a little shaken, but otherwise fine. He took out a small lamp that had been assigned to each of them. He light it and the room was bathed in a dim light.
“What the hell was that?” He shouted hoarsely.
“T-they’re using dynamite to f-find and secret passageways in t-the castle” Gwen said shaking off the shock. “I think they must have...gone a little overboard.”
“A little?!” Arthur shouted. He held his head in his hands; he was now stuck in a very small room with a woman he most certainly DIDN’T get along with and there was no chance of escape. It was just his luck that he would die this way.
“I suggest that we find a way out of here,” Gwen said. “It’s unlikely that we will be rescued. The other members are under orders not to look for stragglers.”
“And what would you suggest?” Arthur said through clenched teeth. “In case you haven’t noticed there is NO WAY OUT OF HERE! This room is only just bigger than a freaking box! How are we supposed to get out?”
Gwen did not even flinch at his outburst. “Did you remember your pokémon?” She asked calmly. Arthur’s jaw dropped. How could he have been so stupid? And he had the perfect pokémon for this situation.
“Er...heh...sorry about that.” He said sheepishly, he took out a pokéball and shouted “Come on out Krokorok!” There was a flash of light and a large bipedal crocodilian pokémon appeared in front of him. It hissed and picked its teeth. “Uh Krokorok...could you please dig out of this rubble and get help...please?”
The Krokorok nodded and walked over casually to the pile of rubble. It took one good long look at it and then dove headfirst into the pile. It ploughed its way through the rock and disappeared out of sight. Arthur felt bad for ordering his pokémon like that, but sometimes such things were essential.
He looked over to Gwen, who was now sitting down in a corner of the room. Arthur got down and sat beside her. For a long time neither of them said nothing, they just sat there in silence. Once Arthur tried to put his hand on Gwen’s shoulder, but she just edged away. After what felt like at least an hour of silence Gwen spoke.
“Thank you.” Gwen said quietly.
“For what?” Arthur asked.
“For saving my life you idiot” She said, she looked up at Arthur. He actually wasn’t that bad looking. A bit greasy, but that was nothing that a good shower wouldn’t solve. She smiled at him. “I mean, you saved me even though you were angry at me. Thank you.”
“W-well it was nothing.” Arthur said, his face slowly turning red. She looked very cute when she smiled, and Arthur wondered why she didn’t smile more often.
“Do you want to hear it?” Gwen asked, “The reason I joined Team Plasma I mean.”
“Uh...yeah...” Arthur wondered what was it that made her open up now. Maybe being almost crushed made you a bit friendlier.
Gwen took a deep breath; her cheery mood had disappeared and was now replaced by one of reluctant remembrance.
“When I was a little girl I never knew what my father did,” She began, “He just went out the door at seven and came back at five. Every time I asked him what he worked as he just changed the subject. My mother wouldn’t tell me either. They also wouldn’t let me have any pokémon, so I wasn’t able to play with any of the other kids. There was this kid on my street named Alex and he had this cute little Sandlie. I wanted to play with it but he wouldn’t let me. I wanted a pokémon so much, but I could never get one.”
She paused, because the difficult part of her story was coming up and she had to prepare herself. She took a deep breath and continued.
“One day I somehow managed to sneak into my father’s car and hide where he couldn’t see me. He drove to work like normal and I knew he wouldn’t notice me if I kept quiet. When we arrived he got out and I was able to peep out of the window. We were in this large warehouse with meat hooks and other instruments. I got out of the car and looked around, and there were these people in white coats handling pokémon. They were...cutting them up and...injecting them with... chemicals..”
Her voice began to falter, she hated remembering this but she had to. If she forgot she would lose her reason to be in Team Plasma. Arthur could see she was quite distressed and he didn’t know what to do. All he could think of was putting his hand on her shoulder again, and this time Gwen did not back away.
“My father,” She said through clenched teeth, “Was part of a pokémon vivisectionist operation. They were performing experiments on pokémon and killing them in the process.” Arthur could almost feel the intense hatred coming from her. “And worst of all, Alex was there! Giving his Sandile to one of the scientists! He had a pokémon that loved him and he was giving it up to these...MONSTERES! And there were other trainers there too. My father eventually saw me and yelled at me. And I yelled back, and then the police came. My father was arrested and the other trainers were rounded up. It was that day when I decided that trainers didn’t deserve to have pokémon and pokémon should be free. A few years later, I heard of Team Plasma and I joined up...and that’s it.”
When she had finished her story Arthur just stared at her. He realised that he had been wrong about her. She wasn’t bossing him around and constantly looking for the scrolls because she really believed in the cause. She wanted all pokémon to be free as soon as possible. Arthur wondered what seeing something like that as such a young age would do to a person. She must be pretty messed up in the head. Arthur’s pervious dislike of her began to melt away and was replaced by sympathy.
“So why did you join?” Gwen asked. Arthur snapped out of his pensive mood and began to fumble and fidget awkwardly.
“W-well...it’s kind of petty,” He said, “Compared to your one I mean...”
“I want to hear it.” Gwen said. Arthur blushed; there was that damn smile again. Why in Arceus’ name did she look so cute when she smiled?
“Well o-okay,” He thought for a moment as he tried to remember all the details, and then began.
“I grew up in a small town in east Unova,” He said, “It was just me, my mom and my dad and a few other people. In the town there was this gang of boys who abused pokémon. They’d gang up on trainers and beat up them and their pokémon. One day I was walking with my Minccino and then these guys came out of nowhere and challenged me to a battle. I thought I was going to lose, but ma and my pokémon were somehow able to defeat their leader. The leader then began to shout at his pokémon and hit them, and they just stood there and took it. They didn’t even try to plead with him or fight back. I realised that they had no free will, they were just slaves to their master’s desire.”
Arthur paused to catch his breath and then continued. “I then looked at Minccino and realised that I had been doing the same thing to her. I was taking away her freedom. I ran home as fast as I could before the other gang members turned their attention to me. The next day I released my pokémon, all of them. It was hard but I knew it was for the best. A few years later I found myself at a Team Plasma rally. I then decided to join them and free pokémon from scum like that gang leader.”
He looked over at Gwen, who was listening very closely to his story. Arthur shrugged his shoulder. “I know it seems very petty and stupid compared to your story” He said, “But I...” He stopped when he felt Gwen hold his hand.
“It’s not stupid,” Gwen said kindly, “You believe in the freedom of pokémon. You experienced how cruel people can be. It doesn’t matter how you came to decide to join Team Plasma, all that matters is that you believe in the cause.”
Arthur blushed and cleared his throat. Gwen was doing that cute smile thing again, and he needed to change the subject quickly before his body betrayed him.
“Um so...it looks like we’ll be here for a while until help arrives,” He stammered. “So do you want to talk about something else?” Gwen let go of his hand and thought for a moment.
“How about we find out a bit more about each other,” She suggested. “What’s your favourite book?”
“Uh...well,” Arthur didn’t expect a question like this to come up. “Well... Lullaby for Trains I guess...” Gwen gasped and clapped her hands in delight.
“Oh my...that’s my favourite too!” Gwen said. “I think it’s one of the best books ever written. What’s your favourite part?”
“When Tom and Mary dance on the train in the moonlight” Arthur said instantly. He hadn’t met anyone else who he could talk with about that book. Even though he loved it many male Grunts thought it was a girly book and he was afraid to discuss it with him.
“That’s my favourite part too!” Gwen squealed. “Okay your turn. Ask me a question.”
“Well...uh....” Arthur thought for a moment, “What’s your favourite...movie...?”
“Oh that’s easy,” Gwen said, “It’s...”
And it went on like this for hours, with Arthur asking Gwen questions and Gwen asking Arthur questions. The more they asked, the more they found that they had a lot in common. They had the same taste in music and food. They both liked the same kinds of movies, and Gwen had seen some that Arthur hadn’t seen before. When she talked about them, Arthur could see her face light up and her eyes shine. She looked...beautiful.
It was hours later when he decided to tell her how he was feeling now. It didn’t look like they were going to be rescued any time soon so it was now or never. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He gathered up all of the courage he had and shouted...
“GwenIthinkIsortalikeyouandyoulookreallycutewhenyousmileandIhopeyoulikemeback!” He said in one breath. Gwen stared at him with her mouth open and Arthur felt like an idiot. How could a girl like her fall for a guy like him.
“Y-you think I’m cute?” Gwen said, blushing madly.
“Well...yeah,” Arthur said, “You’re very cute Gwen, especially when you smile. And I like your hair...and stuff...”
“Well...I think you’re nice looking too,” Gwen said, “You have nice eyes, they’re a lovely colour.”
I was now Arthurs turn to blush. He couldn’t believe that he was now being complimented by the woman who just a few hours ago was barking orders at him. And now he felt...happy, he was happy to be here with her here. He wanted to see more of her, to be near her and to have fun with her. He wanted her to be his....girlfriend.
“Hey Gwen...” He said, “If we get out of this....would you like to...go somewhere. When we get some R and R I mean.”
Gwen smiled. “I’d really like that Arthur.” She leaned into him and closed her eyes. It took Arthur a few seconds to realise what she was doing. He leaned in close to her and closed his eyes. Their lips were just about to touch when the wall of rubble in front of them collapsed. They both stood up in shock and looked at the newly formed hole.
A troop of Plasma grunts walked in, followed by Arthur’s Krokorok. “Grunt Arthur and Gwen,” One Grunt said, “We are here to rescue you. You will be happy to know that the scrolls have been located. Follow us and we will escort you out of the castle.”
Arthur recalled his pokémon and the Grunts did an about face turn. They then began to march out of the room. Arthur and Gwen followed them, and neither said a word. They were quiet for the whole journey to the surface. And they didn’t say anything during Geechisu’s speech or the Sages chanting. But through all that they held hands and didn’t let go, neither of them loosening their grip once. They were both happy just being close to each other. Later they would talk for hours and decide where to go on their date, and even kiss. They had finally found someone to talk to, someone to love, and they were happy.
“And that’s it” Arthur said. N stared at him for a few moments, and then began to think. Gwen and Arthur were feeling rather uncomfortable, here was their Leader asking for advice on love. Needless to say it was a very uncomfortable experience.
“When did you know you were in love?” N asked. “When was the precise moment?”
“I-I guess it was when he saved me...” Gwen said, “That was when it started, but I guess as I got to know him it grew over time.”
“It was pretty much the same for me” Arthur said, “When I started talking to her I sort of...started to fall in love with her.”
“And what did it feel like?” N asked eagerly. Gwen and Arthur were rather taken aback by his rather psychotic expression.
“W-well...it feels...you feel happy around them” Gwen said, “You want to be close to them and make them happy.”
“Yeah and making them smile becomes the most important thing in the world.” Arthur said. “You feel like your life is complete with them.”
N closed his eyes and thought hard. What they were describing was exactly like how he felt about White. Could it be that he had feelings for White? Ever since he had first met her he couldn’t seem to get her out of his head. She was just so beautiful, so intelligent and loved her pokémon unconditionally. N just had to see her again, and perhaps convince her he was right. Then he and she would live in a new peaceful world as husband and wife. Yes, he loved White! It was all so logical, so perfectly logical. He now had a goal, to free pokémon and to get White to love him.
“I thank you both!” N said happily, he bowed to both of them. “I will take what you said to heart! I hope you both are happy.” He then ran off without another word, leaving Gwen and Arthur staring opened mouths at their leader acting like a lovesick idiot.
“Well that was weird.” Arthur said after a long silence.
“Indeed it was,” Gwen said, “Come on! We have a lot to get done and we are way behind schedule. If we hurry we can make the Ferris Wheel, and then by about a quarter past two we can kiss just as out car reaches the top of the wheel. And then we’ll be right back on schedule if we skip the second stall exploration we planned.”
“Yes dear.” Arthur said. His girlfriend constant organizing was actually rather fun, if a bit annoying at times. But she always managed to find them something fun to do. They both made their way to the Ferris wheel, neither of them knowing that they may have changed the fate of the world forever. For the power of love is far more powerful than any person or pokémon can comprehend, and it can change everything with the simplest nudge.
White and N exited the Ferris wheel in an awkward silence. White because she had just found out the N was the leader of Team Plasma, the group she had been fighting all this time. And N because he was unsure of what to say to White, he wasn’t used to human interaction and the emotions on White’s face confused him. He couldn’t tell if she was angry or sad.
“Listen White,” N said, breaking the silence, “I only wish for pokémon to be happy, and they will never be happy unless they are free. I have seen the things people have done to pokémon, and I want it to stop. Pokémon must be freed from the tyranny of humanity, surely you understand that?”
“No,” White said sourly, “I don’t understand! Are you saying that I’m abusing my pokémon? Are you calling me a horrible person?”
“N-no White, I-I just want to...help pokémon,” N said, “Every day I hear of people doing horrible things to my friends. And I will put a stop to this! I will stop them!”
Yes N, there are pokémon being abused,” White rebuked, “But there are people out there who love their pokémon. And there are pokémon who love them back.”
N sighed, “But those pokémon have been enslaved, they don’t know any better. What you call “love” is simply brainwashing. They don’t know any better, they must be given their freedom in order to be truly happy.”
“Sweet Arceus you are impossible to...” White stopped halfway through her sentence and the expression on her face changed from anger so shock. N wondered what had brought upon the sudden change in personality. She appeared to be looking at something over his shoulder. He turned around and saw something that sent a chill down her spine.
It was two Team Plasma members, one male and one female, both in full uniform and with their arm linked. The woman was carrying a stuffed Choroneko under one arm and a bag in her hand with “Pokémon Musical” written on it. The man had a Yuniran balloon and a Pikachu hat. They both looked white as sheets and their mouths hung open is a mixture of fright and shock.
“L-L-L-Lord N!” The woman stammered, “W-we were just...j-just...uh...um...”
“...scouting the surrounding area!” The man said, “Yes we were just seeing if there were...strategic points to...survey....survey...”
“Survey the area to see if there were any trainers abusing their pokémon! Those musicals are full of people who dress their pokémon up and make them dance...which...might be abuse?” The female Grunt said. “And the reason we have all this stuff is...research!”
“Yes research to see if...any of these things are made from pokémon!” The male Grunt said, “And we definitely weren’t on a date, we were working. Not dating, working!”
“Shut up Arthur,” The female grunt said through clenched teeth, “You’ll ruin everything” she turned to N and smiled (a little too widely for her to be convincing White thought), “Well we can see that you are busy my liege so we will just be going.” She turned around and dragged her companion away with her.
“Wait!” N said, both of the Grunts stopped in place. They turned around very reluctantly and faced N. N could see the sweat pouring down their faces and their fixed grins as they tried to mask their terror. “I wish to speak with both of you in private, NOW!” He turned to White and bowed, “I hope we can speak again soon.
And with that he walked away from her, with the two Grunts following slowly behind him. White was left alone outside the Ferris wheel. She wondered why she was so excited when N asked her to go on the Ferris wheel, and why she had felt so betrayed when he had told her he was the leader of Team Plasma, and why she couldn’t seem to get him out of her head, and most of all, why she had felt so sad to see him go.
N led the Grunts into an alleyway just beyond the fair. Having checked to see if there was anyone listening in on this conversation, he turned to face the Grunts. But he couldn’t see them; he then looked down and saw that the two Grunts were on their knees grovelling.
“Please forgive us Lord N” Arthur said, “We didn’t mean to shirk our duties!”
“We only planed to see a musical,” The female Grunt said, “But then we saw there was a stall selling souvenirs and we won free tickets to see a show at the carnival and then the stalls were all so interesting and the rides looked so cool and we were having such a nice time and...”
“Stop,” N said, “Please stand up, you don’t need to apologise for anything.” Both the Grunts stood up very slowly, but they did not look N in the eye. “What are your names?” N asked.
“Gwen, my Lord” The female Grunt said.
“Arthur, my Lord.” The male Grunt said.
“And are you two in love” N asked. Both Grunts suddenly looked very distressed.
“T-that...um...well you see” Gwen said.
“I-I can’t...my Lord...” Arthur said.
“Answer the question,” N said calmly, “please”
Both Gwen and Arthur looked at each other and then looked at N. “Yes” They both said at the same time.
“Good, good” N said, he thought for a few seconds and then said. “How did you two realise that you were in love?”
“Well that’s kind of a long story.” Gwen said.
“I would like to hear it.” N said.
Gwen and Arthur looked at each other again, and nodded to each other. “Well it all started like this...” Arthur began.
It was an important day for Team Plasma. This was the day when they would finally find the location of the fabled stones that would unleash the fabled Dragons of Unova. Hundreds of Grunts had gathered at the location where the scrolls telling of the stones were supposed to reside, which turned out to be a huge ruined castle on the very boarder of Unova. The castle was in the middle of a large rocky canyon, which had long since been forgotten by civilisation.
The Grunts had all gathered outside the castle. They were grouped in regiments of about twenty five Grunts to a regiment. They waited with bated breath to be addressed by their superiors, the Sages and Geechisu. Slowly, the Sages and Geechisu walked onto a raised platform that had been erected by some Grunts beforehand. The Sages then stepped back and let Geechisu take centre stage. For a long time he just stood there with his head bowed, then he began to speak.
“My friends, today is a great day,” He said. “And I hope you all will recognise your part in the great plan to free the poor pokémon from their evil masters...”
In the crowd Arthur was only half listening. He had heard this stuff a thousand times before at meetings and rallies. He wondered why N never addressed them; he had seen the child before but had never spoken to him. He had great respect for this young boy that had founded such a great organization. His mind then turned to the castle. It was huge, even bigger than N’s one. There was no way they would be able to find those scrolls.
“And with that I leave you to look for the fabled scrolls of the Ancients,” Geechisu said. “Do not fail Lord N.” And with that he turned away and walked down from the stage. The Sages followed after him. Then the Sergeants turned to face the Grunts.
Arthur’s Sergeant was a very large muscular man who seemed to be able to loom over everyone, even when they were bigger than him. Arthur had never liked him, he was a weedy and pasty faced nerd so he just automatically hated anyone who he thought would shove him in the locker if he was back in high school.
“Alright you idiots,” The Sergeant shouted. “We are going to do this efficiently and thoroughly! You will all take the lower floors and search them until EVERY nook and cranny has been looked over! AND THEN YOU WILL SEARCH IT AGAIN! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”
“Sir, yes sir!” All the Grunts yelled back.
“Good!” The Sergeant said with a small smirk forming on his face, “Now you will all go in groups of two and search the places you are given! Remember only use your pokémon IN AN EMERGENCY! Anyone caught using their pokémon frivolously WILL BE PUNISHED SEVERLY! Now, who wants to volunteer to go first?”
You could have cut the silence with a knife.
“Alright, I’ll have to do it myself!” The Sergeant said, “ARTHUR, YOU’RE WITH...uh...let’s see...GRUNT GWEN!”
The Sergeant pointed over to a female grunt. Arthur took a good long look at her; she had short red hair and blue eyes. Her face was smooth and very pretty Arthur though; unfortunately her expression was fixed in a very unattractive scowl. She was one of those women who were very cute but took great lengths to hide this fact. She straightened up and saluted the Sergeant, her expression was one of absolute loyalty.
“Sir yes sir!” She barked, “I will assist in finding the scrolls to the best of my ability sir. I will now take the location of which we are supposed to search!”
Arthur sighed, it looked like that this Gwen was going to be a handful. And he was more right than he could ever have imagined.
It turned out that they were assigned to the lowest, grimmest and darkest part of the castle. Even the pokémon of the castle seemed to be afraid to come down here. There was absolutely nothing down here. Arthur was convinced that the Sergeant had sent them down here deliberately in order to get him out of the way, and the only reason Gwen was here was to make sure he didn’t sneak away.
He wouldn’t have minded so much had Gwen not been so Arceus dammed anal about everything. Apparently the scrolls could have been hidden in the corner of a room, or on top of a ledge, or in a blocked up fireplace. All Gwen ever did was bark orders at him and search for the scrolls in the weirdest places, he even caught her looking in a crack in the wall. But Arthur was willing to give her a chance. After an hour he decided that he should try and strike up a conversation with her.
“So what made you want to get into Team Plasma Gwen?” Arthur asked in the most cheerful voice he could muster.
“That isn’t relevant to our mission.” Gwen said sharply.
“Jeez, I was only trying to be friendly” Arthur muttered.
“Our mission is our top priority.” Gwen said, “Talking will only distract us.”
“Well I think you just like ordering me around.” Arthur said. He stood up and faced Gwen, who’s expression remained the same.
“Continue helping me search,” Gwen said calmly. “Or I will hurt you”
“Oh yeah?” Arthur said. “Try me!”
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, the ground heaved and the walls shook. Before either of them could say anything the cealing began to fall on them. Thinking quickly Arthur grabbed Gwen and pulled her away from the falling rocks. He looked around for a safe place to hide from the falling debris. He saw that there was a room just a few meters away from them. He ran as fast as he could to the room, dodging the falling rocks and dragging Gwen all the way.
He and Gwen somehow managed to reach their destination without getting crushed. They both dived inside and fell to the floor. Arthur looked back and saw through the doorway that the passage was now filled with rubble. There was no way out, they were trapped. Arthur looked down at Gwen to see if she was okay. She looked a little shaken, but otherwise fine. He took out a small lamp that had been assigned to each of them. He light it and the room was bathed in a dim light.
“What the hell was that?” He shouted hoarsely.
“T-they’re using dynamite to f-find and secret passageways in t-the castle” Gwen said shaking off the shock. “I think they must have...gone a little overboard.”
“A little?!” Arthur shouted. He held his head in his hands; he was now stuck in a very small room with a woman he most certainly DIDN’T get along with and there was no chance of escape. It was just his luck that he would die this way.
“I suggest that we find a way out of here,” Gwen said. “It’s unlikely that we will be rescued. The other members are under orders not to look for stragglers.”
“And what would you suggest?” Arthur said through clenched teeth. “In case you haven’t noticed there is NO WAY OUT OF HERE! This room is only just bigger than a freaking box! How are we supposed to get out?”
Gwen did not even flinch at his outburst. “Did you remember your pokémon?” She asked calmly. Arthur’s jaw dropped. How could he have been so stupid? And he had the perfect pokémon for this situation.
“Er...heh...sorry about that.” He said sheepishly, he took out a pokéball and shouted “Come on out Krokorok!” There was a flash of light and a large bipedal crocodilian pokémon appeared in front of him. It hissed and picked its teeth. “Uh Krokorok...could you please dig out of this rubble and get help...please?”
The Krokorok nodded and walked over casually to the pile of rubble. It took one good long look at it and then dove headfirst into the pile. It ploughed its way through the rock and disappeared out of sight. Arthur felt bad for ordering his pokémon like that, but sometimes such things were essential.
He looked over to Gwen, who was now sitting down in a corner of the room. Arthur got down and sat beside her. For a long time neither of them said nothing, they just sat there in silence. Once Arthur tried to put his hand on Gwen’s shoulder, but she just edged away. After what felt like at least an hour of silence Gwen spoke.
“Thank you.” Gwen said quietly.
“For what?” Arthur asked.
“For saving my life you idiot” She said, she looked up at Arthur. He actually wasn’t that bad looking. A bit greasy, but that was nothing that a good shower wouldn’t solve. She smiled at him. “I mean, you saved me even though you were angry at me. Thank you.”
“W-well it was nothing.” Arthur said, his face slowly turning red. She looked very cute when she smiled, and Arthur wondered why she didn’t smile more often.
“Do you want to hear it?” Gwen asked, “The reason I joined Team Plasma I mean.”
“Uh...yeah...” Arthur wondered what was it that made her open up now. Maybe being almost crushed made you a bit friendlier.
Gwen took a deep breath; her cheery mood had disappeared and was now replaced by one of reluctant remembrance.
“When I was a little girl I never knew what my father did,” She began, “He just went out the door at seven and came back at five. Every time I asked him what he worked as he just changed the subject. My mother wouldn’t tell me either. They also wouldn’t let me have any pokémon, so I wasn’t able to play with any of the other kids. There was this kid on my street named Alex and he had this cute little Sandlie. I wanted to play with it but he wouldn’t let me. I wanted a pokémon so much, but I could never get one.”
She paused, because the difficult part of her story was coming up and she had to prepare herself. She took a deep breath and continued.
“One day I somehow managed to sneak into my father’s car and hide where he couldn’t see me. He drove to work like normal and I knew he wouldn’t notice me if I kept quiet. When we arrived he got out and I was able to peep out of the window. We were in this large warehouse with meat hooks and other instruments. I got out of the car and looked around, and there were these people in white coats handling pokémon. They were...cutting them up and...injecting them with... chemicals..”
Her voice began to falter, she hated remembering this but she had to. If she forgot she would lose her reason to be in Team Plasma. Arthur could see she was quite distressed and he didn’t know what to do. All he could think of was putting his hand on her shoulder again, and this time Gwen did not back away.
“My father,” She said through clenched teeth, “Was part of a pokémon vivisectionist operation. They were performing experiments on pokémon and killing them in the process.” Arthur could almost feel the intense hatred coming from her. “And worst of all, Alex was there! Giving his Sandile to one of the scientists! He had a pokémon that loved him and he was giving it up to these...MONSTERES! And there were other trainers there too. My father eventually saw me and yelled at me. And I yelled back, and then the police came. My father was arrested and the other trainers were rounded up. It was that day when I decided that trainers didn’t deserve to have pokémon and pokémon should be free. A few years later, I heard of Team Plasma and I joined up...and that’s it.”
When she had finished her story Arthur just stared at her. He realised that he had been wrong about her. She wasn’t bossing him around and constantly looking for the scrolls because she really believed in the cause. She wanted all pokémon to be free as soon as possible. Arthur wondered what seeing something like that as such a young age would do to a person. She must be pretty messed up in the head. Arthur’s pervious dislike of her began to melt away and was replaced by sympathy.
“So why did you join?” Gwen asked. Arthur snapped out of his pensive mood and began to fumble and fidget awkwardly.
“W-well...it’s kind of petty,” He said, “Compared to your one I mean...”
“I want to hear it.” Gwen said. Arthur blushed; there was that damn smile again. Why in Arceus’ name did she look so cute when she smiled?
“Well o-okay,” He thought for a moment as he tried to remember all the details, and then began.
“I grew up in a small town in east Unova,” He said, “It was just me, my mom and my dad and a few other people. In the town there was this gang of boys who abused pokémon. They’d gang up on trainers and beat up them and their pokémon. One day I was walking with my Minccino and then these guys came out of nowhere and challenged me to a battle. I thought I was going to lose, but ma and my pokémon were somehow able to defeat their leader. The leader then began to shout at his pokémon and hit them, and they just stood there and took it. They didn’t even try to plead with him or fight back. I realised that they had no free will, they were just slaves to their master’s desire.”
Arthur paused to catch his breath and then continued. “I then looked at Minccino and realised that I had been doing the same thing to her. I was taking away her freedom. I ran home as fast as I could before the other gang members turned their attention to me. The next day I released my pokémon, all of them. It was hard but I knew it was for the best. A few years later I found myself at a Team Plasma rally. I then decided to join them and free pokémon from scum like that gang leader.”
He looked over at Gwen, who was listening very closely to his story. Arthur shrugged his shoulder. “I know it seems very petty and stupid compared to your story” He said, “But I...” He stopped when he felt Gwen hold his hand.
“It’s not stupid,” Gwen said kindly, “You believe in the freedom of pokémon. You experienced how cruel people can be. It doesn’t matter how you came to decide to join Team Plasma, all that matters is that you believe in the cause.”
Arthur blushed and cleared his throat. Gwen was doing that cute smile thing again, and he needed to change the subject quickly before his body betrayed him.
“Um so...it looks like we’ll be here for a while until help arrives,” He stammered. “So do you want to talk about something else?” Gwen let go of his hand and thought for a moment.
“How about we find out a bit more about each other,” She suggested. “What’s your favourite book?”
“Uh...well,” Arthur didn’t expect a question like this to come up. “Well... Lullaby for Trains I guess...” Gwen gasped and clapped her hands in delight.
“Oh my...that’s my favourite too!” Gwen said. “I think it’s one of the best books ever written. What’s your favourite part?”
“When Tom and Mary dance on the train in the moonlight” Arthur said instantly. He hadn’t met anyone else who he could talk with about that book. Even though he loved it many male Grunts thought it was a girly book and he was afraid to discuss it with him.
“That’s my favourite part too!” Gwen squealed. “Okay your turn. Ask me a question.”
“Well...uh....” Arthur thought for a moment, “What’s your favourite...movie...?”
“Oh that’s easy,” Gwen said, “It’s...”
And it went on like this for hours, with Arthur asking Gwen questions and Gwen asking Arthur questions. The more they asked, the more they found that they had a lot in common. They had the same taste in music and food. They both liked the same kinds of movies, and Gwen had seen some that Arthur hadn’t seen before. When she talked about them, Arthur could see her face light up and her eyes shine. She looked...beautiful.
It was hours later when he decided to tell her how he was feeling now. It didn’t look like they were going to be rescued any time soon so it was now or never. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. He gathered up all of the courage he had and shouted...
“GwenIthinkIsortalikeyouandyoulookreallycutewhenyousmileandIhopeyoulikemeback!” He said in one breath. Gwen stared at him with her mouth open and Arthur felt like an idiot. How could a girl like her fall for a guy like him.
“Y-you think I’m cute?” Gwen said, blushing madly.
“Well...yeah,” Arthur said, “You’re very cute Gwen, especially when you smile. And I like your hair...and stuff...”
“Well...I think you’re nice looking too,” Gwen said, “You have nice eyes, they’re a lovely colour.”
I was now Arthurs turn to blush. He couldn’t believe that he was now being complimented by the woman who just a few hours ago was barking orders at him. And now he felt...happy, he was happy to be here with her here. He wanted to see more of her, to be near her and to have fun with her. He wanted her to be his....girlfriend.
“Hey Gwen...” He said, “If we get out of this....would you like to...go somewhere. When we get some R and R I mean.”
Gwen smiled. “I’d really like that Arthur.” She leaned into him and closed her eyes. It took Arthur a few seconds to realise what she was doing. He leaned in close to her and closed his eyes. Their lips were just about to touch when the wall of rubble in front of them collapsed. They both stood up in shock and looked at the newly formed hole.
A troop of Plasma grunts walked in, followed by Arthur’s Krokorok. “Grunt Arthur and Gwen,” One Grunt said, “We are here to rescue you. You will be happy to know that the scrolls have been located. Follow us and we will escort you out of the castle.”
Arthur recalled his pokémon and the Grunts did an about face turn. They then began to march out of the room. Arthur and Gwen followed them, and neither said a word. They were quiet for the whole journey to the surface. And they didn’t say anything during Geechisu’s speech or the Sages chanting. But through all that they held hands and didn’t let go, neither of them loosening their grip once. They were both happy just being close to each other. Later they would talk for hours and decide where to go on their date, and even kiss. They had finally found someone to talk to, someone to love, and they were happy.
“And that’s it” Arthur said. N stared at him for a few moments, and then began to think. Gwen and Arthur were feeling rather uncomfortable, here was their Leader asking for advice on love. Needless to say it was a very uncomfortable experience.
“When did you know you were in love?” N asked. “When was the precise moment?”
“I-I guess it was when he saved me...” Gwen said, “That was when it started, but I guess as I got to know him it grew over time.”
“It was pretty much the same for me” Arthur said, “When I started talking to her I sort of...started to fall in love with her.”
“And what did it feel like?” N asked eagerly. Gwen and Arthur were rather taken aback by his rather psychotic expression.
“W-well...it feels...you feel happy around them” Gwen said, “You want to be close to them and make them happy.”
“Yeah and making them smile becomes the most important thing in the world.” Arthur said. “You feel like your life is complete with them.”
N closed his eyes and thought hard. What they were describing was exactly like how he felt about White. Could it be that he had feelings for White? Ever since he had first met her he couldn’t seem to get her out of his head. She was just so beautiful, so intelligent and loved her pokémon unconditionally. N just had to see her again, and perhaps convince her he was right. Then he and she would live in a new peaceful world as husband and wife. Yes, he loved White! It was all so logical, so perfectly logical. He now had a goal, to free pokémon and to get White to love him.
“I thank you both!” N said happily, he bowed to both of them. “I will take what you said to heart! I hope you both are happy.” He then ran off without another word, leaving Gwen and Arthur staring opened mouths at their leader acting like a lovesick idiot.
“Well that was weird.” Arthur said after a long silence.
“Indeed it was,” Gwen said, “Come on! We have a lot to get done and we are way behind schedule. If we hurry we can make the Ferris Wheel, and then by about a quarter past two we can kiss just as out car reaches the top of the wheel. And then we’ll be right back on schedule if we skip the second stall exploration we planned.”
“Yes dear.” Arthur said. His girlfriend constant organizing was actually rather fun, if a bit annoying at times. But she always managed to find them something fun to do. They both made their way to the Ferris wheel, neither of them knowing that they may have changed the fate of the world forever. For the power of love is far more powerful than any person or pokémon can comprehend, and it can change everything with the simplest nudge.