Pinwheel Forest's Rumination Field in any season was beautiful, but for this particular Sunday, Cilan, his Pansage and Lillipup were basking in the natural delights of its autumn. In summer, everything was a refreshing green, which made a calming contrast to the hot days. In spring, the grassy field was adorned with patches of flowerbeds that varied in colours, shapes and sizes- there was always a lovely floral scent that changed depending on which bed of flowers one was the closest to. Winter seemed gloomy, but it possessed a serene beauty- everything was capped in a stunning blanket of snow.
Every season had its own unique appeal, and made the Rumination Field seem like a different place every three months. The one thing that remained constant was its grass that remained mysteriously healthy all year around. Not many people visit the field, as it deviated from the standard path within the Pinwheel Forest, and of course, the tall grass full of territorial wild Pokémon. Sometimes Rumination Field felt like Cilan and his brothers' secret place. For today though, the green-haired waiter and his two trusted companions were currently the only ones on the grassy plains; with a picnic for two prepared.
The trees surrounding the field were so plentiful of colour co-ordinated foliage that it was almost as though it were selected by an artist. The trademark falling leaves of autumn danced in the air as they made their journey towards the ground. Lillipup and Pansage were enjoying chasing the dancing leaves and catching them before they rested atop the plush grass. The puppy occasionally rolled atop piles of fallen brown leaves to make them rustle and fly about. Despite the serenity around him, Cilan was the only one that was not calm; anxiously staring back and forth at his watch as though the ten minutes was about to do something wrong and he had to stop it.
Cilan was always ten minutes early for everything, but for the first time ever, he had doubts about doing so. He was already timid and slightly weary; he didn't need the passage of time to instil potentially crippling anxiety and venomous negativities. This was a date- no way around it, but what if she didn't think so? How was he going to know if it goes well? While she's not a cold person, she is quite stoic. She doesn't show anger, but at the same time, she doesn't show joy. With another five minutes to 2pm, it was tempting to go home…
Just when the anxiety was about to eat him whole, he heard a thunderous galloping coming from the entrance of Rumination Field. Lillipup and Pansage jumped to Cilan's side cautiously, as they observed the source of the threat. It was a lovely Zebstrika stallion, appearing to be pleased with the natural surroundings and running space. It jumped straight for a pile of leaves and enjoyed the rustling. Cilan couldn't help but smile at the fact that such a tough-looking Pokémon was so… playful. A short while later, an Emolga entered the field from above; expertly grinding to a halt the moment its feet could safely touch the ground.
Finally, a figure emerged from the shadow of the trees at the entrance. Gym Leader Elesa gracefully walked towards the picnic, took her yellow heels off and slowly sat down opposite Cilan. Her hollow, sky blue eyes showed no expression nor any judgement when she scanned what was being prepared for her. She looked to the Striaton Gym Leader that struggled to even glance at her. "Hello, Cilan. This is a wonderful idea," despite the admiration behind what she was saying the striking blonde had only a small hint of warmness in her voice.
Yes, she was obviously, very beautiful. Cilan was starting to think that was her only real merit when it came to what was agreeable to him. She was confident, which Cilan always admired in other people, but in his excitement, he didn't really think about what it means to be constantly intimidated by her. Then there was her placidity. On one hand, her lack of reaction makes a lot of things less awkward, but on another, he could never tell what she was thinking or feeling, and certainly lacked to gumption to ask. What exactly did they have in common outside of being Gym Leaders?
"Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry?" Cilan snapped out of his pessimistic gaze and tried his best to look at Elesa.
"You seemed to be… off. Is something wrong?"
"Just nervous like hell, that's all," Cilan thought to himself. "Sometimes I, um, you know… daydream."
"Oh. Okay," Elesa didn't sound dismissive, which was comforting.
"This is going nowhere really fast," Cilan sighed in his mind, and opened a box of food he had prepared earlier at home. He placed the large open box in the middle, and gave Elesa a small plate and chopsticks. "Um, Elesa… you can start without me."
"Okay…"
Whilst Elesa drifted her chopsticks over the tempura, schnitzel and pickled vegetables, Cilan served the Pokémon some Pokémon food in individual bowls. They happily rushed away from the leaves to the bowls of delicious lunch that awaited them.
"Oh, thank you," Elesa said gratefully, after she finished eating a slice of pickled radish. "I didn't think of feeding my Pokém-"
Elesa stopped talking when she noticed that Lillipup's mood instantly changed; he raised his fur as an indication of aggression, and barked quite ferociously for a small, seemingly ingressive puppy. Pansage abandoned his favourite lunch and dashed to Lillipup's side. The leaf-topped monkey also averted his attention to the exact same thing as Lillipup. Elesa's Emolga and Zebstrika soon followed Cilan's companions, and quickly noticed what was going on. Cilan and Elesa both got up to join their Pokémon. Lillipup was still barking, and was jumping from side-to-side. He was ready to fight.
"Um… what's wrong, guys?" the Striaton Gym Leader's reserved tone was also mixed with a hint of caution. Definitely not expecting a verbal reply, Cilan tried to look in the same direction as they were. His vibrant green eyes met with the black, rotund ones of an angry wild Emolga. The wild Emolga had its arms outstretched; exposing its brightly yellow underside of its wings. Underneath its tiny black feet were crudely intertwined twigs that formed an oval-shaped nest. The Emolga wasn't exactly brimming with confidence against six "enemies"- however, it was clear that it was trying to defend its homely nest. "An Emolga's nest um, Emolga, sorry, I-we don't want to hurt you. It's okay. We jus-"
Cilan certainly didn't sound belligerent, but the maternally ornery Emolga only acted on instinct. The speedy flying squirrel launched itself off of its treetop nest and rapidly dove down towards Elesa in preparation of a fierce tackle. Cilan pushed Elesa to the ground and stood over her. Elesa watched in shock as she grasped what Cilan was attempting to do, and felt powerless to stop it.
Watching her master in trouble, the fast Zebstrika's fight response was in full swing- he ferociously kicked the oncoming Emolga backwards with his muscular back legs. The Emolga let out a disturbing yelp that could only be described as a combination between being pained, taken aback, and being afraid. The impact of the kick had made the flying squirrel crash into the very nest it sought to defend so vigorously. Its nest was very high up in the trees, and as a result, the nest was precariously balanced. The twiggy home, along with its eggs, had toppled downwards towards the tough soil.
One egg had smashed on a thick trunk on the way down. The other two, along with the barely-conscious wild Emolga, were still making their ill-fated descent. Elesa's Emolga darted to catch the wild Emolga as fast as possible, but was slightly too late- the wild Emolga has already banged against a thick tree trunk by the time Elesa's companion had caught it. Pansage had caught the last falling egg with his vines, and rushed over to his master. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," Elesa let out a pant and stood up. Even the calm and collected Elesa was shaken by the events; by what she saw and heard. Her Emolga landed beside her, and gently placed the wild mother by Elesa's side. "Oh, my…" the blonde gasped when she saw the extent of the Emolga mother's injuries. Its round black eyes were forever frozen in fear, and reflected a pain that nobody should experience. She had lost her home, her children and her own life in its cruellest last moments.
"Elesa is it..."
"Yes, Cilan… it is," Elesa tried her best to maintain her composure and hide her fears. It was clear that Cilan was afraid, and she wanted to be the calm one. Not knowing what to do, the two Gym Leaders stared at the lifeless body of the mother Emolga. Zebstrika rushed to the Emolga it had kicked and nuzzled it with its nose, but had quickly realised that she had passed on. Guilty, it sat down by Elesa's side, and sought comforting arms. "Of course I'm not angry with you. You only did what was right," Elesa spoke so gently, and stroked her stallion's nose.
"Pan-Pansage!" the green monkey offered the surviving egg to Cilan.
"Good job, Pansage…" Cilan pat his friend approvingly atop its head and inspected the egg closely for damage. He almost dropped it in shock when he felt it wriggle in his hands. "E-Elesa! The um, egg! It m-moved!"
"It did?" Elesa's voice was quiet, but was filled with joy. Cilan felt something tug at his heart strings when he saw her smile; it was the first time in the few months he had known her that she ever smiled so expressively. "It's safe, Zebstrika…" she held her electric horse's chin and smiled. Zebstrika whinnied in approval and rushed over to Cilan.
"Does that mean it's um, going to hatch today… or something?" Cilan asked Elesa, hoping that she was more of an expert than he was.
"Yes, it does," Elesa smiled softly, and looked at the egg in excitement. She jerked in surprised when the egg wriggled in Cilan's hands again- this time for longer and more vigorously.
Cilan wanted to see his date smile, but despite the joyful news of one of that poor Emolga's eggs surviving, he didn't want to leave the battered mother in the field. "Elesa…"
She immediately picked up on what Cilan was saying just by his tone. "Yes… the mother… it definitely was not my intention to leave it here."
"The um, Pokémon Centre."
"Yes… that's not a bad idea. There's not much we can achieve by going to the Celestial Tower ourselves."
"They can look after her until we get to the Celestial Tower."
Elesa opened her messenger bag and put on a pair of sunglasses and a black cardigan.
"Um, Elesa?" Cilan tried not to chuckle too obviously.
"We don't have the time to deal with stubborn photographers and such," Elesa reasoned succinctly as she helped Cilan pack up the picnic. "The last thing I want to do is compromise your privacy. It's a shame about your food, though. It was lovely."
"Really?" Cilan smiled; pleased that she enjoyed what little of his food she had.
"Of course."
Cilan placed the wild Emolga in the centre of the picnic rug and wrapped it up carefully, as though the Emolga would crumble like a clump of dry earth. With everything packed and ready, the two made their trek towards Nacrene City.
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With their date interrupted in the most unexpected way imaginable, the two made their arrival in Nacrene City. By the time they had reached Elesa's hotel room, the sky was glowing orange from the sun setting. Despite being intimidated by Elesa a lot of the time, Cilan sometimes loses his grasp on how famous Elesa really is- just by her having a job in Nacrene City, she can get the best room in the best hotel. She was only able to see Cilan because of the job she had in Nacrene, and a couple of days off she had before she wanted to return to Nimbasa. Elesa suggested that they finish off their date on the balcony of her suite, overlooking the sunset scenery.
She also wanted to eat what Cilan had prepared for the picnic they supposed to have had by now. They made use of the outdoor furniture for two- there was a tasteful wooden table with a white tablecloth, with two matching chairs. A clean, unused ashtray lay in the middle, adjacent to the candle holder which was also unused. Despite the romantic air that surrounded them; very little conversation was had as they still had heavy hearts about saying goodbye to the wild Emolga at the Pokémon Centre. "Cilan…"
Cilan jumped upon hearing her say his name. "Yes?"
"I never got to properly thank you about defending me before."
Cilan rummaged through the files of his mind and found what she must have meant- Elesa must have been referring to the time when the Emolga was lunging towards her and he stood in its way and prepared to take the hit. "Zebstrika… saved us."
"She did- but what you did was still brave. Thank you, Cilan."
"Um, it's fine, really," Cilan felt his cheeks tint pink a little, and coyly accepted thanks. He was grateful for the darkening sky, as she would have noticed his embarrassment more than necessary.
The egg was resting on a pillow on top of Elesa's lap, and began to wriggle on the spot. The wriggling became so aggressive that Elesa had to grab a hold of it. There was a tiny, barely detectable sound as a crack emerged towards the tip of the Emolga egg. "Cilan… it's…"
Without thinking, Cilan brought his chair right next to Elesa's to witness the birth of the Emolga. He held his breath and watched the baby struggling to become free as it wriggled like a Pokémon struggling in a Pokéball. Then, it suddenly stopped. Elesa was almost as bewildered as Cilan was, but did not say a word. "Oh…"
"Mmm," Elesa agreed with the sentiment. She stared intently at the egg as though it would try to hatch when she wasn't looking. She took a long sip of her cup of tea and placed it carefully back on its glass coaster. "I really thought it would hatch this time, too."
"Yeah," Cilan watched Elesa tried her best to mask her yawn. The day's events had made her very tired. Seeing this, Cilan recognised it was his cue to go home. Though truthfully, he didn't want to leave the egg behind. "I should um, go home. You look tired."
"Oh…" Elesa sounded a little disappointed. "Don't you want to see the egg hatch?"
"I-um, yes, I do. I just thought you were tired and needed sleep."
"I don't think I can sleep given that it is so close to hatching," Elesa stroked the egg, and then she shivered. "It's getting cold. We should go inside."
The only thing that illuminated the balcony was the lone fixed light from inside the hotel room. In what seemed like behind their backs, the sun had completely disappeared from the sky, and now the sky was pitch black save for some stars. They both retired back inside the main room, and Cilan closed the sliding glass door behind him.
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The two both shared a three-seater sofa, but sat opposite each other. Cilan in particular was nervous of their proximity, but Elesa didn't seem to care or notice. She still held the egg and its accompanying cushion; looking at Cilan. Cilan didn't want to seem opportunistic by turning this into a romantic affair, even though it was Elesa's idea to 'continue the date.' He decided it was best to keep conversation around the egg. "What should we… do with the baby Emolga when it hatches?"
"I've been thinking about that myself," Elesa looked up to the ceiling pensively, then back at Cilan. "What do you think?"
Cilan felt like he was thrown right under the spotlight- where he was most uncomfortable. He didn't want to sound heartless, but he had next to no idea what to do with an Emolga. He could keep it, but not use it at his gym… "I don't know," Cilan half-lied- not wanting to communicate his thoughts when he was unsure.
"I would like to keep it very much, if I may be direct," Elesa said with a zest he hadn't heard from her often.
"That um, would be a great idea- you could er, devise some kind of double Emolga strategy," Cilan suggested nervously.
Elesa chuckled quietly, but quickly saw the merit behind the statement. "I could."
Cilan and Elesa were interrupted when the egg began to writhe about on the spot again. Deciding that the sofa was a safe place, Elesa gently put the egg on the gap between her and Cilan. It rolled from side to side like a ball rolling down a hill. The cracks became louder and bigger, and some even had small holes- though the Emolga could not be seen inside. The two's Pokémon came out from their Pokéballs to witness the event. Lillipup jumped on Cilan's lap, as he was too short to see what was going on from the floor. The top of the egg was dangerously close to coming off.
Finally, it rolled itself against the backrest, and the tip of the egg came off. Two black ears protruded from the top, followed by the newborn Emolga's face; a face showing the utmost determination to free itself from a home it no longer needs. Its body then burst out of the egg- the Emolga spreading its wing-like arms energetically. Elesa's Emolga jumped to its side, and nuzzled against it in a friendly manner. Zebstrika licked the baby Emolga clean, lovingly like it was its own son. Lillipup sniffed it curiously, and Pansage happily observed the newborn taking in its new surroundings with its rotund eyes.
It's not to say the events leading up to this moment was forgotten- someday, when the newborn Emolga was ready, Elesa wanted to explain what had happened. Not many could boast a date like Cilan and Elesa's- they witnessed death, they witnessed life. They struggled together and looked after a child like parents. They felt joy, relief, sadness, anger, futility and love… all in the space of one day. Rather than the baby Emolga being a reminder of tragedy, he was going to be loved for the miracle and bringer of harmony that he is.
"I have to go back to Nimbasa tomorrow."
"I guess I can come and visit."
"Really?" Elesa sounded surprised.
"Well…" Cilan mistook Elesa's happy surprise for an incredulous one. "Well, maybe the next time we'll see each other is at the err, Celestial Tower…"
"I feel guilty for looking forward to it," Elesa held Cilan's hand. She didn't know whether to smile or not.
"I'm sure you meant um, meeting me. Not the burial."
"No, the burial as well. There will be a lot of finality in the burial. In a sense, it will end the chapter of this tragedy. Then we can refocus on us. Without feeling selfish or guilty."
Cilan then asked himself again: what did they have in common outside of being Gym Leaders? Instead of doubt, a smile swept across the younger man's face. They both had their emotional quirks- he was bumbling, and she was intimidating in the fact that she was hard to read- but underneath it all, their love of Pokémon brought out how caring and compassionate they really were. Before, he felt like she was from another planet- now, he felt as close as her sitting next to him.
Pokémon always had a mysterious way of bringing people together.
The End
Easter is just around the corner. And because Shipping Debates loves to do creative contests, a good early start is necessary so you guys can whip up the good stuff! I originally intended to make a simple art contest, but I figured that throwing in a Fan-Fiction division would add some more interest.