Pokémon BW: whiteflareXblackbolt

9: The Weird Speech of Weird People

We arrived at Accumula Town, a small peaceful village slightly bigger than Nuvema. Musicians were playing on almost every corner of the street, their music mixing with harmony, thanks to the cool breeze. There was also a plaza where people and Pokémonhang out.

Professor Juniper was there to greet us and show us a couple of things about Pokémon Centers and Marts. The facility could heal your Pokémon and replenish their health for free. Thanks, technology. The Center also provided some common rooms where adventurers like us could rest. The Pokémon Mart sells a lot of useful stuff for battling and catching Pokémon. And then there's the Storage System that allows Pokémon in Poké Balls be stored and recorded as computer data, so you can access them anytime. It's pretty neat since the rules only limit us to six Pokémon in the party. With an excuse for another project, Professor Juniper left.

I was heading towards the plaza when Black blocked me. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" 

"Sure," I said, a bit suspicious. I hope this is not about the stalking thing again.

"Um... since... uh... you... uh... Since you're a girl... Um... What do girls normally like about boys?" Black turned as red as a Darmanitan.

Ha. PAYBACK TIME.

"So, why don't you ask Bianca?" I said, smugly. "You're a whole lot closer to her, aren't you?" Then I got it. "You have a crush on Bianca don't you?" I grinned.

Black looked like I had eaten a Trubbish. "NO! She's just too childish!" he blurted. "In a good way."

"Hmm..." I said. My brain's working on some evil plans. Hehehe...

"I do not have a crush on her! Anyway, just answer my question!"

"Well, just be who you are, I guess. You don't have to change yourself for girls to like you," I said. "Did that help?" I'm not good at this kind of things. I wonder why he asked a shut-in like me about relationships.

"Yeah," he said, still red. At least it's fading. Arceus, this is so awkward.

"Black! Gray! Check this out!" I heard Cheren call us. Thank you, Cheren, for saving me!

I turned around and saw him walking towards us with a rather weird look on his face.

"Come with me to the plaza. Weird people are there," he huffed.

We followed him to Accumula Plaza, where strange people with medieval suits are announcing something and holding a weird flag with a P on it. There's one man who's weirder than the rest of them. I recognized him at once.

"Hey, that's the weird guy on TV," I whispered to Black and Cheren.

"He looks weird enough," Cheren replied.

"Sssh! I'm trying to listen!" another person shushed us.

Well, I don't really understand what he said with the noisy crowd but I did hear him say 'liberation of Pokémon' and 'saving Pokémon' and 'setting them free'. Those words, particularly the last one, annoy me already. After the speech, the weird guys left in an orderly manner. People in the crowd were dispersing already but they were muttering the same words I heard.

"Wow. That was something else..." I commented.

"It is something else isn't it," another weird guy with long green hair said. "I agree with him."

"Agree? Setting Pokémon free? Are you out of your mind?" Cheren replied, bewildered.

"Yeah! Pokémon are our friends! We don't hurt them nor use them like objects!" Black added. "They are our partners and we'll never leave them behind!"

"I do not agree with you. I want to hear your Pokémon's voices!" to our shock, he sent out a Purrloin.

"What?! A Pokémon battle?! Fine then!" Black took out his Tepig.

Purrloin and Tepig exchanged series of attacks. I could see each one of them attack with determination; they definitely don't want to lose to the other. Weirdly though, the Purrloin was fighting by itself with no commands from its master while Black was shouting his with fervor.

"I want to hear more!" the weird guy said again as Purrloin's attacks heated up.

Finally, after a strong Ember from the exhausted Tepig, Purrloin fainted.

"Good job, Tep!" Black petted Tepig. Tep grunted in appreciation as he circled around his master for treats.

"Your Pokémon's voices..."

"What are you talking about?!" Cheren asked, clearly weirded out as me.

"Stop saying weird things!" I added. This guy is starting to creep me out.

The weird boy shook his head disappointingly. "Hmm. So you can't hear them too..." he started to walk away.

"Wait. Who are you?!" Cheren asked.

"My name is... N."

Wow. People in Unova really give WEIRD names. This guy's weirdness is so... extreme.

He turned his head as his cold, metal blue eyes gave us a blank look. "And I'm going to save my friends from people," he walked away until he blended in the Accumula crowd.

"What a weird guy," Cheren commented.

"Tell me about it!" I laughed. But suddenly, I felt a twinge of pity for the guy. "Hey Black, why are you so serious?"

"Oh," he snapped to attention and gave a big smile. "Nothing."

"Come on, let's head to Route 2!" suggested Cheren.

"Yeah!" I cheered. "First gym badge, here I come!"

(Edited: 4/5/16)