Pokémon BW2 - Saving Unova, Again? ✔

Ch.20 | Village Bridge

Image by - Anime

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Looking out from the highest part of the town, Rosa could make out the giant chasm in the northeast. Staring at it gave her shivers - not from the cold air. Inside that cave lies a huge, frightening creature, and she sure as hell wouldn't want to meet it. "Hey, Rosa!" Humming in question, the girl glanced around before her eyes landed on Hugh. He was waving for her attention under the bridge in the very center of the town.

"Coming!" With one last look at the chasm, Rosa ran down the stairs and over to her friend. Manami bounced after her trainer with a carefree smile. She loved being outside her poké ball.

"Say, have you seen any Plasma dudes around?" Hugh narrowed his eyes as he scanned the area. "I heard a rumor to that effect..."

"Nope. Everything seems peaceful." She followed his line of sight, then raised her head to observe the sky for a moment. "I met up with Professor Juniper and Bianca not long ago and this old lady told us a tale of a monster living in the giant chasm near this town."

"Monster?" A spark of interest flashed in the boy's eyes. He wasn't too familiar with Lacunosa Town's stories, having never been here until now. Rosa led the way through the small town. Route 12 was her destination, and likely his, too. She proceeded to recount what the elderly woman from before had said. Hugh noticeably shivered after she mentioned the monster craving people and pokémon, to which his friend smirked.

"I didn't know the mighty warrior Hugh could get so scared~!" Her tone shaped into a song-like one while she cast him a mischievous look.

He only glared in response, failing to restrain a blush. What a tease, he internally remarked. "Even the strongest of people have fears." The blunet eventually replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Rosa's smirk faded into a warm smile and she patted his arm. "Aside from the monster, what else are you afraid of?"

He stared at the ground in thought. "Obviously losing a loved one, and... yeah, I can't think of anything else right off the bat."

"That's something everyone is afraid of." Rosa gave a nod, understanding that fear. "Hm... mine's burning alive. Just thinking about it makes me want to curl up into a ball!" This was a fear she shared with Hilda. Although she didn't like bug pokémon, she wouldn't say she feared them. "And there's something frightening about seeing someone frozen. Like, really frozen." She bit the inside of her cheeks. This one slowly stemmed from the dreams involving her cousin and friends turning to ice.

Hugh was worried by the expression Rosa wore for a split second. Before he could respond, Manami started to growl at something ahead of them. A familiar, and unwanted, voice spoke up. "Oh, for crying out loud!" The duo looked toward the owner of the voice with wide eyes, before glaring upon finding it to be Zinzolin – the bastard from the Plasma ship. "This is troublesome, my curious trainers..." He sighed, exchanging a look with the single grunt beside him. "Perhaps I should satiate your curiosity somehow, involving me still being apart of Team Plasma."

"Yeah..." Rosa reached for a ball from her belt. "I did wonder about that."

"The reason is this – I want to know how the world will change." He continued, taking note of their confusion. "Listen. Pokémon are nature. Poké balls are civilization. Humans who are used to civilization don't relinquish it easily. Of course, both nature and civilization are important, but what will happen to a world taken over by Team Plasma?" Zinzolin's eyes darted toward the poké balls around Rosa's waist. "People will be forced to throw out poké balls, a product of civilization. I want to know what that looks like, and I want to enjoy it!"