As Told BY Hikari, ch. 19

Hikari, Tatsuya and Cheren are traveling Route 4 on their way to Nimbasa City.  They've fought their way through the sandstorms and are almost at the gate, with only a Sandile blocking the way.

"Tranquill, Air Cutter!" I shouted.  The wild Sandile squeezed its eyes shut as the razor-like winds hit it.  I saw my chance and pulled a Poke Ball out of my bag.  "Poke Ball, go!"  The ball hit Sandile smack on the nose before opening up and capturing it.  It wiggled around a bit before settling on the sand.

Gotcha!  Sandile was caught!

"Nice catch!" Tatsuya called as he and Cheren walked over.  "The gate's just up ahead."

"Great!  So what are we waiting for?" I said before walking toward the gate that would lead us to Nimbasa City.

As soon as we got in, I saw Professor Juniper waiting for us.  "Hello, kids!" she greeted with her usual smile.  "My goodness, Tatsuya, you've grown up so much!"

"Thanks, Professor," the older Trainer replied.

"Elesa called and was asking me all about Electric-type Pokemon, and I thought about you guys," the professor explained.  "That's why I wanted to see you."  She then reached into the pockets of her lab coat and pulled out six balls, black on top with a yellow "U."  "Ta-da!  Freebies for you!" she said with a grin as she gave three balls to Cheren and three to me.

Hikari obtained Ultra Balls!

"Sweet!" I said as I held the Ultra Balls in my hand.  "Thanks a ton!"

"No problem!" Professor Juniper said.  "I know it might seem strange for me to say, since I'm the one who asked you to complete the Pokedex, but please, remember to enjoy your journey!"

"Oh don't worry about that, I've been enjoying myself so far!" I said with a grin.

"Good!  Of course, I'm not saying you can just neglect the Pokedex," she quickly added.  "But you know that!"

"Ha ha, of course!" I laughed.  Same ol' Professor Juniper!

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet Bianca," the professor said as she started walking away from the gate.  A few seconds later, she was gone.

Cheren took out his Pokedex and just looked at it for a minute.  "It seems the professor gave us the Pokedex as a reason to send us on a journey.  At least, that's what my mom told me."  Then he looked up and faced me.  "They wanted us to go out and see the world, so my mom, Bianca's mom, and your mom made a request to Professor Juniper."

I grinned.  "That makes sense.  But I had already made up my mind about going on a journey before they even made that request!"

"Heh, you would," Tatsuya said as he pulled down the brim of my cap.  I glared at him in response and swiped his cap right off his head.  

As Tatsuya chased me around trying to get his cap back, I saw Cheren crack a small smile.  "So Hikari, what should we do now?" he asked as if he was trying to get my attention.

I stopped right in front of him before answering.  "Well, the first thing I need to do is get to the Pokemon Center.  I'm carrying one Pokemon too many right now!"  As I was talking, Tatsuya grabbed his hat and set it firmly back on his head.

"Sounds like a plan," the bespectacled Trainer said.  "I think I'd like to show the professor my thanks by going back to Route 4 and catching some Pokemon I haven't caught yet." Then he turned around and without another word, he left.

"He's going back to Route 4?  What a nut," I muttered.  Then I turned back to Tatsuya.  "By the way, you look better without the cap."

Tatsuya blushed and looked away. "Y-You think so?"  I nodded.  He then took the cap back off and put it in his bag, at the same time letting Victini out of it.  He then shook his head to shake out the hat hair.  "Then just this once, I'll go the rest of the day without wearing my cap.  But only if you do the same!"

"Fair enough," I said as I removed my cap and stuffed it into my bag.  "C'mon, let's get going!"  And with that, the two of us dashed through the gate to the city.

"Nimbasa City
Lit by the Flash of Lightning!"

Unfortunately, the minute we came through the gate, we ran into trouble.  Two Team Plasma grunts seemed to be harassing an old man.  An old man who looked a little familiar…

"Gramps!  We know you run the Day Care!" one of the grunts shouted.  "How do we know? Because we're Team Plasma!"

"Oh, not these guys again!" I grumbled.

"We are taking Pokemon away from people," the second grunt said.  "Since you work at the Day Care, we figure you must have a lot of Pokemon!  Hand 'em over!"

"What kind of nonsense is this?!" the old man, who I now knew to be the Day Care Man, shouted.

"Gramps, over here!" I called, waving my hand to get his attention.

The old man looked over at me and Tatsuya.  "Oh!  Strong-looking Trainers!  Please help me!" he cried as he hurried behind us.

The first grunt growled in frustration.  "If you're gonna get in our way, we'll take your Pokemon, too!"

"Tatsuya, I got this one!" I said as I pulled a Poke Ball off my belt and prepared for battle.

Hikari is challenged by Team Plasma Grunt!

The grunt sent out a Watchog while I sent out Sawk-sensei.  "Crunch!" Watchog dashed forward and chomped down on sensei's arm.

"Sensei, Karate Chop!" One chop and Watchog was down for the count.

The foe's Watchog fainted!

The grunt then sent out what looked like a small trash bag.  It was actually a Trubbish.

"Trubbish, the Trash Bag Pokemon.  Inhaling the gas they belch will make you sleep for a week. They prefer unsanitary places."

"Sensei, return!  Go, Sandile!" My newest Pokemon took to the field.

"Use Sludge!" Trubbish shot a large sludge ball at Sandile.

"Sandile, use Dig!"  The Desert Croc Pokemon quickly dug into the ground in order to escape the sludge.  About ten seconds later, Trubbish was thrown into the air due to Sandile bursting out from underneath it.

The foe's Trubbish fainted!

Hikari defeated Team Plasma Grunt!

Both grunts were starting to panic.  "This went downhill fast!" the other grunt cried.  "So I think… We'd better… Ruuuun!"  And the two grunts took off.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" I yelled.

"Wanna go after them?" Tatsuya asked, his expression serious.

"Nah, let 'em squirm for a while," I said with a smug smile.

Tatsuya laughed.  "Good idea!"

"Thank you so much!" the old man said gratefully.  "Please take this as a token of my gratitude."  He then pulled out, much to my delight, a bicycle!  "It's a brand-new Bike.  I'd always planned on riding around Nimbasa City… but I never ended up riding it."

Hikari obtained the Bicycle!

"Wow! This is awesome! Thanks, gramps!" I said as I got on the bike, using one foot to balance myself.

"You're welcome, young lady!" the old man said with a smile.  "I wish I had something to give you, young man."

"Oh, don't worry about it.  I don't need a reward," Tatsuya said.

The old man then got a closer look at me.  "Say, didn't you come to my Day Care on Route 3?"

"Yes I did!" I answered with a nod.  "I left my Patrat there.  How's he doing?"

"Well, he's no longer a Patrat," he replied.  "He's evolved now, and taking good care of the other Pokemon and playing with the kids.  I'll tell him you said hi, OK?"

"Thanks again, gramps!" I smiled as the old man walked away.

I collapsed the bike and put it in my bag.  Now that the trouble was over for now, I finally got a good look at the city.  One thing was for sure:  this wasn't called the Entertainment City for nothing!

After going to the Pokemon Center and sending Sawk-sensei to the lab for a while, Tatsuya and I headed out to see the sights.  "Nimbasa City has lots of things to see and do," the older Trainer was explaining.  "There's the amusement park, Big Stadium, Small Court, and the Battle Subway."

As he was talking, we came up to a very colorful building.  The word "Musical" flashed from the roof in pink neon.  "Tatsuya, what's this?"

"That's the Pokemon Musical," he answered.  "I've participated in it several times.  It's pretty fun!"

"Cool, let's check it out!" As I walked toward the entrance, I noticed Bianca standing in front of it.  "Yo, Bianca!"

The blonde Trainer whirled around at the sound of her name.  "Ooh, Hikari!  Are you interested in musicals?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd take a look," I answered.

"Then let's go in together!" Before I could say another word, Bianca grabbed my hand and dragged me through the door with Tatsuya following us.

If the outside of the theater was flashy, then the inside was fancy.  I admit I felt just a little out of place.  "A.  Mazing.  Isn't it?" I heard Bianca say in awe.

Tatsuya looked around.  "Wow, it's been a while.  It's kinda nostalgic," he muttered.  Then he noticed a distinguished-looking gentleman and walked over.  "Excuse me sir, remember me?"

The gentleman turned around and gave a warm smile.  "Why, Tatsuya!  It has been a long time since you were last here!  How is Minnie doing?"

"She's quite well," Tatsuya answered as he pulled out a Poke Ball.  "Actually, I've got her right here.  Say hi, Minnie!"  He opened the ball and an adorable light gray Pokemon with large ears came out.

"Mincci! (Hello!)" she said with a curtsey.

"Minccino, the Chincilla Pokemon.  They greet one another by rubbing each other with their tails, which are always kept well groomed and clean."

"Aw, a Minccino!" Bianca cried as she crouched down to look at the Pokemon.

"She's so cute, Tatsuya!" I exclaimed.

"Girls, this is the manager of the theater.  Mr. Manager, this is Hikari and Bianca," Tatsuya introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you!" the manager said with a slight bow.  "I must say that you two seem like phenomenal Trainers!"

"Thank you, sir!" I said.  "So how exactly does the Musical work?"

"Well, first things first: We use Props to make your Pokemon fashionable and glamorous!  Do you want to join in and play Dress Up?"

"Yes!  I'll bet Dewott would like that!" I said as I let Dewott out of his ball.  I swear I saw hearts in Minccino's – I mean, Minnie's – eyes when he appeared.

"Pignite, why don't you try it too?" Bianca said as she let Pignite out of its ball.

"Excellent!" the manager said happily.  "To get you started, here's a Prop Case!" He then handed a pink case to me and one to Bianca.

Hikari obtained the Prop Case!

"This Prop Case lets you store Props for decorating your Pokemon!" the manager explained.  "Tatsuya, I'm sure you and Minnie wouldn't mind showing the ladies where to go?"

"Of course," the older Trainer said.  "Right this way, girls!"  And he led us to a small room with a few mirrors.

"So Minnie, huh?  Cute name!" I commented.

"It's her stage name," Tatsuya said as he got out his own Prop Case.  "Go ahead, open yours!"

Dewott and I went into one corner of the room and opened up the Prop Case.  There were several kinds of Props inside: barettes, a hula skirt, a tennis racket, even a toy microphone.  Dewott looked at everything and then pulled out a black top hat and placed it on his head.  He looked at himself in one of the mirrors and then asked me for the bow tie and cane that were also in the case.  I helped him put the black bow tie on and he took the cane in his hand.  Then he decided it still needed something, so I found a pair of square glasses to put on.  Dewott smiled, satisfied with the outfit, and started strutting around like a gentleman.

"You look very sophisticated, Dewott!" I complimented.

"Dewott, dew dewott (Thank you, Miss Hikari)," he replied, sounding just as elegant as he looked.  I smiled, impressed with the Water Pokemon.  Who'd have guessed I had an actor on my team?

"Wow, Dewott looks great!" Bianca said as she and Pignite walked over.  Pignite was wearing the hula skirt and a green flower-like barrette, and was holding a maraca in one hand and the toy microphone in the other.

"Thanks!  Pignite's looking pretty good, too!" I told her.

"Hey, not bad, girls!" Tatsuya commented.  Standing next to him was Minnie, wearing a red scarf with a matching red ribbon barrette in her ear.  In one hand she held a pink parasol and in the other she held a cute pink purse.

"Showoff!  I didn't even have a purse in my case!" I teased.  "Just kidding, she looks absolutely adorable!"

"Mincci! (Thank you!)" Minnie said happily.  Dewott saw her, walked over to her and greeted her before taking one of her hands and kissing it, resulting in one blushing Minccino.

"Ha ha, I think Dewott's gotten a little too into it," Tatsuya laughed.  "C'mon, let's show off to the manager."  And with that, we left the room to return to the lobby.

The manager turned when he heard us coming and smiled.  "Wow!  The two of you did a fantastic job coordinating everything!  Utterly charming!  And Tatsuya, it seems you haven't lost your touch!"

"Thanks!" Tatsuya and I said at the same time.  We looked at each other in surprise, our cheeked flushed.  This was the third time that happened.  Weird…

"If you have a Pokemon who can play Dress Up, you can participate in the Pokemon Musical!  Would you two please join us?" the manager inquired.  "The receptionist can explain everything."

"I'll definitely think about it!" I nodded.

"Then let us say a brief farewell!  I eagerly anticipate seeing you on stage!"  And the manager left.

As the Pokemon were removing their Props, Bianca was muttering to herself.  "Oh, I don't know what to do!  Doing the musical would be totally cool, but there's other stuff I wanna do."  What she said next made me jump for the sudden increase in volume.  "OK, that's it!  I made up my mind!  I'm going to see the sights in Nimbasa!"

"I'm with you!" I said as the two of us, along with Tatsuya, walked out of the theater.  "I wanna check out the Big Stadium.  We can catch a game or…" I trailed off when I saw someone standing in front of the theater.  Someone Bianca knew all too well.

"Daddy?!  What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"I've come to take you back home, of course!" he answered, his expression stern.  "Your mother told me that you'd made it all the way out here.  Haven't you gone far enough?"

"No way!" Bianca shouted, shaking her head.  "I'm going to keep traveling with Hikari and my Pokemon!"

I walked over to try to calm things down. "Please sir, it's been a while since we left, and – "

"Absolutely not!" Bianca's dad said, cutting me off.  "Others do things their way, and we do things ours!"  

That just ticked me off.  I should've known I couldn't convince him.  I tried to protest, but Tatsuya held me back.

"Is that so?  Then, how about you do things your way, and I'll do things mine!" Bianca shot back, her hands on her hips.

"Sweetie, you keep going on your travels," a sweet voice interjected.  We all turned and saw a young woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes walking up to us.  She was wearing a short, stylish yellow and black dress that showed off her midriff, dark purple tights and yellow high heels.  A black choker and a unique headset with a thick black cord hanging off of each end completed the ensemble.  I kept thinking I had seen her before…

Bianca's dad glared at the woman.  "Hey!  Who do you think you are?  This is a family matter!"

"My name is Elesa," the woman answered calmly.  "I'm this town's Gym Leader.  I also happen to be a model."

I knew it!  It really was Elesa!  I had a poster of her in my room back home, and I'd seen her on TV.  I was a big fan!  Unfortunately, this wasn't the best time to ask for an autograph, so I stayed quiet.

Elesa walked over to Bianca and her dad.  "You know, there are many people in this world.  There are people whose ways of thinking may be completely different from yours.  Sometimes, this means you may get hurt."

"Of course!  That's exactly right!" Bianca's dad said, his voice filled with concern.  "It's because I'm worried about that…"

"But it's important to keep trying, to learn about the differences between yourself and others… To learn that being different is OK," Elesa continued.  "And you shouldn't worry.  Trainers always have Pokemon at their side." She gestured to Pignite, who was still standing next to Bianca.  "Pokemon are wonderful.  It's not only how cute they can be, but also how much you can depend on them."

Bianca looked at her dad with pleading eyes.  "Please!  I know there's gonna be painful stuff like you're worrying about!  I know!  Really, I get it!  But, like, listen…  There'll be tons of nice people, too.  Know what else?  Since I've been traveling with Pokemon, I've already gotten tougher, I can totally tell.  So… please?" As she finished speaking, she bowed.  Tatsuya and I waited for her father's response.

"Hmm… I guess," he finally answered.  "If wanting to continue your journey is selfishness on your part, wanting to stop you is selfishness on mine." He chuckled to himself.  "I'm surprised to find I'm the one acting childish – at my age!"  He then stepped forward and placed his hands on Bianca's shoulders.  "This Gym Leader's comments helped me wake up.  Bianca, I'm sure it's better that you take the path you want to take now.  I hope that your journey will be fun.  Bon voyage!"  

Bianca gave the biggest smile I had seen in a long time.  She could now enjoy her journey to the fullest!  I was truly happy for my friend.  Pignite happily hugged Bianca's legs.

Her dad turned to leave, but then stopped and looked at me.  "Hikari, please… Take care of my little girl, OK?"

I was pleasantly surprised.  And I'd always assumed he didn't like me!  "I will!  I promise!"  He smiled, and started walking away.

Bianca watched as her dad left before calling out to him.  "Papa, I'll come home after I find out what I really want to do!"

Elesa smiled.  "I'm sure he traveled as a Trainer himself, in the past… Being a parent must be hard."  Then she turned to us.  "Did I meddle unnecessarily?  You looked troubled, so I decided to chime in."

"Actually, I think you were just what he needed," Tatsuya answered.  "Say, that's a new look for you, isn't it?"

Elesa giggled.  "And I see your look hasn't changed a bit, Tatsuya.  Cute girlfriend, by the way."

Tatsuya's face turned red.  "She's not… oh, never mind," he muttered while Victini was snickering at his predicament.

"Thanks for your help, Elesa!" I blurted out.

"No problem!" the lovely model said.  "By the way, if you're Trainers, please stop by the Pokemon Gym.  I'll teach you a little something about how tough a journey can get."  Then she turned around and walked back down the street from which she came.  I realized a little too late that I never asked for that autograph I wanted.  Oh well, I could do that after I beat her in battle.

Bianca stared after Elesa with starry eyes.  "She's so cool!" she exclaimed.  "Hah!  I want to be a totally cool woman like Elesa!  Mm.  I wonder how I'll get there.  Well, before that, I guess I need to discover what I really want to do!  See you later, Hikari, Tatsuya!"  And with that, Bianca and Pignite took off.

I looked at Tatsuya.  "Well, I glad that got straightened out!" I said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I had forgotten her dad was so over-protective," Tatsuya agreed.  Then suddenly, his expression changed.  I turned in the direction he was facing, and saw those two Team Plasma grunts from earlier.  They saw us, and immediately started running.  "Hold it right there!" Tatsuya shouted as he chased them.

"Freeze!" I yelled as I ran next to Tatsuya.  The two grunts made a beeline for the amusement park, but when we got there, they were nowhere in sight.

"Let's split up, we can cover more ground," Tatsuya said.  I nodded, and we took off in different directions.

As I was running, I didn't pay attention to where I was going and slammed into someone, causing me to land on my butt.  "Ow!  What the…"

"Sorry, are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.  I looked up and saw N holding out a hand to me.

Hikari once again runs into the mysterious Trainer N.  Who knows what will happen next?!  Stay tuned!