Pokémon BW2 - Saving Unova, Again? ✔

Ch.19 | Iron Will

Image by - Anime

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Rosa sighed in content at her full belly. By the time she and her pokémon were done eating, the sun had fully risen and the morning was lighter. Her nightmare was mildly forgotten by now as she thought of her journey instead.

She stretched her arms over her head while looking around the town. She could go through the terminal near the Pokémon Center, but the beach, according to the map, led to a different route. Then there was the aquarium. 'The beach makes for a romantic date spot...' She blushed at the thought. 'I suppose the aquarium does, too.' She slapped her hands over her face to hide a goofy smile, face growing even warmer. People passing by cast glances toward the odd, giggling trainer. "Rosa??" Said girl screamed and spun around to find Hugh standing there, brow raised. "I called you, like, three times..."

"Oh... I was just..." She glanced behind her before giving a defeated sigh. "I don't know what I was doing..." He was staring at her, she could feel it. This wasn't helping her blush situation. "What?"

Hugh cleared his throat, suddenly awkward. "It's been a while since I last saw you with your hair down." His smile then became radiant. "You're as pretty as ever."

Rosa crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "Just pretty?"

This surprised the boy. What did she want? He usually had trouble knowing. Rosa had been his only girl friend while he had plenty of guy friends, and they had told him that girls loved compliments about their looks. He realized that she must still be upset about what happened back at the tournament. Inwardly cursing, he inhaled the cold morning air. "B- Beautiful, actually, and brilliant! An- Anyway, uh, I wanted to apologize for upsetting you before. Although I don't understand why you were upset..."

Rosa silently cheered and partied, which to her friend, appeared as if she was randomly jumping up and down in place. She calmed herself upon hearing the last bit. "Because you complimented me, I'll tell you why!" She huffed, directing her eyes elsewhere. She could see him perk up from her peripheral vision. "I just feel like..." The brunette paused, then she sighed. "Like you only have those pricks on your mind – Team Plasma. If something were to happen to me, you wouldn't care... I'm only your partner in all of this..." Rosa couldn't spare a glance to see his expression, but his silence was unnerving.

She did catch him raising his arm, and she flinched when he dropped his hand atop her head. "Idiot." He mumbled, ruffling her hair in a rough manner, earning a hiss of protest. "If I searched a dictionary for the word 'idiot' your face would pop up!"

"Stop messing up my hair!!" Rosa whined, managing to pry his hand away. She proceeded to meet his eyes with a glare. He could at least be more gentle about this. "Answer me, you giant, walking, durin berry!"

Hugh scrunched up his nose at the insult. In truth, he was only stalling time so he could figure out how to respond to her. "Rosa." He opened his mouth before sighing when he had trouble speaking for a second or two. "Yes, I have those bastards on my mind, but you have no idea how much space you take up in here." He tapped a finger to his head.

She blinked. "How much...?"

"About 65%."

"Only?" Her friend laughed at her reply.

"Gotta make room for my family, you selfish twit." Oh, how Rosa missed the name-calling thing they used to do at age 10. "You really do mean the world to me." This caused her to blush.