Heart of Steel [Pokémon Fanfiction]

34| Forget Me Not

The next few hours were an absolute nightmare to get through. Reporters from across the region flooded the Pokémon League, each literally shoving each other aside to get a word from me. It was a tidal wave of microphones, recording devices, and cameras, so many cameras.

Countless questions were thrown at me like Bullet Seeds. What was my name? Where was I from? How long had I been a Trainer? These were but of a fraction of the questions I was asked. I now scolded myself for saying that I liked the attention I was being given, this was far too much!

Faye could tell that I didn't want to answer any of these questions and that I was feeling overwhelmed, and thanks to her encounter with the Insurgents, she knew the reason why. She nearly came to blows with some of the reporters that carried the cameras, trying to shoo them away.

Some scuffling and bargaining later, and I was spared the crushing wrath of the reporters. They made off with my full name and my basic Trainer information but no photos, which I highly doubted. There were too many photographers there for no one to have gotten one or two pictures of me.

I asked the others when was it possible for me to go home, and they all insisted that I spend a couple of days at the League until the news died down and I could take a step outdoors without being flattened by a mass of reporters or paparazzi that were definitely going to start congregating.

   Everyone thought my wariness was nerves or me being not used to so much attention, but that was only part of the truth. With my name and surely my face being broadcasted all over Hoenn, it would be impossible for the Insurgents to not take notice.

The day of my departure, Faye approached me. "Do you want me to accompany you back?" she asked.

"No, it's okay. I think you need to keep the media at bay," I joked uneasily before trying to reassure her. "I don't plan on staying for very long. I'm coming back in a day or two. But thank you for offering."

"Are you sure? If those people show up again..." she trailed off. I shrugged, my gaze going off to some other point than Faye's face. "Can I at least come with you halfway? Once we get to the mainland, we can split up."

   "Okay, fine. We can do that," I sighed. If it made her feel better, then that was what we'd do. Besides, we'd be flying, and the only Insurgent I'd seen up until then with any bird or Flying-type was Andrew. And if we left at the right time, that would further decrease our chances of encountering them.

We snuck to a secret courtyard behind the Pokémon League that I was told earlier by Brynne where the Elite Four trained. It was unknown to the public eye, so it was the perfect place to take off from undetected. Faye and I sent out our fliers, each having them use Agility and Dragon Dance until they would move fast but not out-speed the other so we wouldn't get separated easily.