Whispers in the Dark「Pokemon Fanfiction」

Tᴡᴇɴᴛʏ﹣Fɪᴠᴇ • Tʜᴇ Fᴀᴄᴇ Wᴇ Nᴇᴠᴇʀ Sʜᴏᴡ

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Face We Never Show

The girl pushed a stray lock of her blue tresses out of her face, being careful to tuck it into the black material of her headband and being satisfied with the result.

Her hair had been pulled into a rather uncomfortable bun—she wasn't used to having her hair up—but it seemed to be the only way to combat the heat. She was sensitive to these temperatures, having been exposed to air-conditioned rooms for most of her life—and she had to admit that it would have been worse had she kept her hair down.

A sigh left her lips as she stared out at the endless path that stretched out in front of her—she had remembered the journey to Lilycove, and that in itself had already been tiring—but now, the distance she had to travel was twice as long, and it had been a comfortable temperature in the evening when she'd decided to make her way there.

"It's scorching..." She frowned, reaching for her canteen for what seemed like the millionth time—and disappointment flooded her at the notion that even her spare bottle had been drained empty.

For a moment, she considered letting Frogadier out to refill the canteen, but that wouldn't be sensible in any way—the stubborn creature would return himself in an instant due to the summer heat, and the force of a Water Pulse would do nothing but explode her plastic container.

Shaking her head in disappointment, Celeana trudged onwards, perking up as a sign fled to the corner of her vision. Three more kilometres to Fortree, it read, and a sense of relief bubbled inside her. If she quickened her pace, reaching in thirty minutes would be a possibility.

I could go to the Pokemon Center for a bit, she planned out. I do have to cool down. Then, I'll go meet Ryou and Quinn—I wonder if he's done with his battle already. I did spend another day sightseeing in Lilycove—I'll have to apologise to him for missing his match again, then—

The teenager halted her mental ramble—and right as she did, her foot caused on a stray piece of rock, pulling her forward against her will and sending her crumbling to the ground.

Footsteps approached her, and she blinked in surprise—she hadn't seen anyone there the last time she'd checked.. Still, she had been exhausted by the heat a few moments ago, so hallucinations wasn't much of a far-fetched thought at all.

"Hey, are you OK?" The voice trailed off, as if it wanted to say more, and she glanced up, looking at the scowling expression that belied his words—she noticed his gaze drifting to the tiny silver object that she'd dropped in the midst of her clumsiness.

Gasping, she stumbled, lunging for the badge—Ryou had asked for her to keep it safe, after all—but the man in front of her was faster, picking the item up and inspecting it with a wide-eyed gaze.

"Hey, isn't this Devon Corporation's symbol?" A laugh rumbled deep in his throat as he beckoned, leading three other cronies out of seemingly nowhere. "Who are you, girl? That badge can't be obtained by normal means—are you some princess of this company or what?"

She blinked, perplexed by the name, but she managed to pull herself up, tiptoeing to try and reach the human's height. "Devon Corporation?" Even the name itself sounded alien, but she was sure she'd heard of it somewhere. "Is that...that company that sold those machines? I remember reading about it somewhere..."

Another of the man's comrades sneered, almost causing her to falter. "No need to pretend that you don't know what you're talking about, girl. Who can you be? I've heard something of an up-and-rising star in Devon Corporation that went missing—didn't read the details, but it sure as hell might be you."