[Contest] Shipping Debates Fine Arts Easter Contest

"Mt Silver, a treacherous area where few trainers ever go. Pokemon run completely rampant and no one ever makes it out alive…well perhaps that's over exaggerating a bit to much.

Regardless, we join our hero Ash Ketchum in this very mountain, after competing and winning all region leagues he realized that the notoriety that comes with being champion was too much for our simple hero who just wants to be the best there is. So after saying good bye to all his family and friends he took to Mt. Silver to try and slow the battles, unfortunately it isn't going to well. What new adventures will our hero face."

"-sigh- That was the fifth battle today." An exasperated Ash said aloud before checking his watch. "And its only 11 in the morning. I thought there weren't many people that came up here, and what the heck does being an Ace Trainer entail now a days? There have been way to many coming here."
After calming down he walked through the foliage surrounding the mountain and made his way towards the base of it. "There better not be another request for a battle when I get back."

After a few minutes of walking we find our hero in front of a cottage in a the middle of a clearing, a small lake with a waterfall to the side. "I'm back," he yelled out. There was silence at first then came the rustling of bushes heavy stomps and splashing.

Moments later all pokemon Ash had caught over his travels through the various regions appeared in the clearing. "So how's everyone been since I left?" He asked none of them in particular.

"Pika pi pikachu." Responded something from in between the parade of pokemon. From in between his Sceptile and Garchomp, the latter of which was fighting the urge to bite on his head, came a small yellow striped mouse like pokemon.

"I know it's only been a few hours but you can never tell what will happen in that small amount of time Pikachu." He told his oldest companion, it ran up to him and took its usual place on his shoulder.

Over time he had come to fully understand what his Pikachu was trying to say to him, and to some extent the same could be said for his other pokemon, the close bond they all shared made it so he could at the very least understand the basics of what they wanted to say.

When he discovered he could use the power of aura and finally came around to training with it, thanks to a man by the name of Riely, the connection with them came to a point that it was like they were actually speaking to him in human language when he extended a link with them.

"I mean the last time I left for this long half the house was burned down and a lot of the trees where cut to shreds." He said aloud, his Charizard that just landed and his Sceptile looked away sheepishly. "Yeah yeah I know you didn't mean it but still."

"Gar garchomp." The Psedo-Legendary pokemon was failing to hide its smirk at its two senior pokemon's misfortune.

"Let's not forget the time when Garchomp here practically destroyed the training field practicing earthquake." Ash pointed out, Garchomp immediately dropped its smirk at being singled out, which was picked up by Charizard Sceptile and Ash. "Anyway, Pikachu where there any calls while I was away?"

At that moment a white board appeared out of nowhere and Pikachu, with a random twig, began pointing at the various scribbles it had written on it.

"Pika-Pika pi pi chu pika paikachu." Every word was emphasized with a tap on the board, and for the next five minutes everyone in the clearing was sitting in front of the board listening intently. "Pi pi pikachu." It finished off.
The entire clearing was silent and for a while all that could be heard was the sound of the wind blowing through. "So…only Professor Oak called?"

"Pi." The electric mouse responded positively. Ash and the rest of the pokemon that where sitting down sweat dropped in tandem.

"Well couldn't you have just said that from the beginning instead of explaining what you did all day?" Our hero asked gaining a bigger sweat drop when the mouse pokemon responded positively again. "Anyway…you're all free for the rest of the day, and before I forget. Torterra Infernape come out." He yelled out as he threw said pokemon's pokeballs in the air.

In a bright white light the two pokemon came out and took in their surroundings stopping to greet their fellow pokemon before turning to their trainer. "Alright you two great battling rest up and have some fun for the rest of today." The two final evolutions nodded and began to mingle with the now dispersing group of pokemon. "Alright Pikachu, let's go see what the old man wants."

He walked to the cottage and stepped inside…wait. "Ok who knocked the door in again?" He turned in time to see his Snorlax stop before turning around with its hand behind its head. "-sigh- Snorlax if you wanted food I left a bunch of berries for you in the bag over there." He pointed at the bag nearly half his height by the bench in the clearing. "That should have been enough to hold you over till lunch."

"Lax-snorlax." The big pokemon responded scratching its cheek, looking at the bag like it was the first it heard of it…with drool coming out the side of its mouth.

"Wadda ya mean you forgot? I specifically told you before I left today that it was there." The champion scolded. Then he remembered another of the heavy set pokemon's habits. "You where asleep weren't you?" He watched his Snorlax look to the food and back to him with a pleading look. "-sigh- Go ahead." The big pokemon never moved faster…when it didn't come to food. "Should have never had him learn sleep talk."

"Pi pika pika chu." The mouse on his shoulder added.

"Yeah whatever, I've only used it in a couple of battles since." He heard the phone in the cottage ring and walked faster to try and reach it in time. As he went in through door way, sans the door, he noticed the refrigerator flat of the floor. "Glad I remembered to put the fridge by the door, otherwise I would have had to replace the entire front of the house." Earning a positive response from his mouse companion he went made his way to the video phone.

On the screen in bold lettering was an incoming call alert with Professor Oak as the sender. "Alright what is it you need old man, it better not be about another battle. We agreed that there would be two in the morning and two in the afternoon." He said as he turned on the machine.

The screen came on and showed said man in his trademark lab coat and grey colored hair. In the background you could see Tracy putting up decorations along with some of his pokemon. "Will you stop calling me an old man, I know I'm old I don't need people reminding me of it all the time." Oak responded, he glanced back and began giving orders to the young man with the decorations. "No don't put that there, put it over there. Where are you going with those eggs the incubation area is the other way. Ohh."

Ash was watching this all unfold with a small smile. "If you want you could call me back, I'm planning on resting the rest of the day anyway." A crashing sound was heard from the phone behind the Professor.

"Ah, now look what happened. –sigh- No Ash I may as well speak to you now, I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day cleaning." The pokedex inventor sat down and looked directly at the screen. "I see you finally got the video phone that I sent you." He took a good look at the trainer's appearance. "Well it looks like you've grown a bit taller since the last time I saw you. You have some more muscle on you now too. New clothing as well, reminiscent of a certain blonde haired champion if I'm not mistaken." He smiled at the blush that appeared on the young champion's face.

Our changed hero was wearing an almost what he wore in his Unova region adventure with slight modifications, he had decided to forego the hat this time and let his hair grow out slightly which was at the moment spiked in every direction possible, the only other addition and subtraction was the jacket that he wore. Instead of the blue and yellow coat that he wore before he decided to go with a jacket that nearly reached his ankles in length, which now standing at 5' 11" was pretty long. When asked about this, by the various news crews he was interviewed by, he would respond that it reminded him of someone he admired.

His lithe muscle structure was caused by the near constant training he was doing with his pokemon on an everyday basis. That along with the balanced meals that he made for himself, courtesy of his mother and Brock's teachings, he had a perfectly healthy body of a fifteen year old.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" The master trainer responded, a glazed look on his face as he reminisced about the two years he spent alone with his Pokémon…well nearly alone. His far off look was replaced with a scowl. "What's with all these trainers coming to battle me. They all can't be here for a title match, there's no way so may beat the elite four of any of the regions."

In the last week Ash has been challenged constantly by trainers while wandering the areas around Mount Silver. The amount of trainers was slowly going down but it was annoying to be challenged constantly like he was.

"Well, it seems that someone let slip where it is you are staying while speaking with a pretty young lady." The aged professor let out "discretely".

"Brock." Ash let out venomously. "When I see him I'll…I'll let Max Misty and Croagunk beat him to a pulp." A dark aura was surrounding him as he said this.

"Pika." The little mouse on the side of the desk responded in agreement. As the official spoke-poké for Ash's pokemon he had to agree that there where to many battles. The unionized pokemon where going to petition Ash to slow the amount of battles, all but Charizard Septile Garchomp and Feraligart, but now they had a new target.

"N-now settle down Ash, you know how Brock is." The aura around Ash died down as he remembered the adventures he had with the Pokémon breeder. "-phew- Anyway about what I was calling you for." This got Ash's attention. "A new ruin has been discovered in the Sinnoh region." Ash's eyebrow shot up, since his adventures usually contained some kind of ruins temples or ancient prophesies, he was sure he knew what was coming next.

"The entrance to the temple was fairly easy to make it through, the writings and pictures on the walls point that this temple is dedicated to Dialga Palkia Giratina and Arceus."

As he said the names of the Pokémon he brought up the pictures taken in the temple. "From what the other Professors and I have translated from the texts on the walls." He showed pictures of the writing. "It is a temple of rebirth. When the Pokémon of Space Time and the Reverse dimension reach the end of their time, they come here and together with the power of Arceus they are reborn and take the place of their predecessor."

Ash was watching and listening with slight interest, who wouldn't be interested in some of the rarest Pokémon in the world, but he couldn't help but wonder. "What does this have to do with me?" He half asked.

Professor Oak, hearing the underlining tone in the boy's voice nervously replied. "Um, well you see. –cough- the legend states that when the time comes for the rebirth to begin all four of the pokemon mentioned would be at their weakest there for easiest to capture, and as you may know the world needs them in order to well exist." Ash nodded knowing full well what would happen if one or another fell into the wrong hands. "Yes well, the legend also states that there would be a champion to defend the pokémon while the process goes on and while the eggs are in the incubation period."

Another nod from Ash let the professor know to continue. "Well it appears that you where the one chosen in the ancient prophesy to defend and care for the eggs." Seeing Ash about to protest the professor quickly added. "The text on the wall clearly ask for the one who tamed Beast of the Sea."
The champion remembered his travels and different pokemon that he had saved or helped. Pikachu choose that moment to smack him on the head with his tail. Ash turned to the pokemon. "Pika chu pika pika chu."

The said chosen one now had his head down in defeat. "-sigh- Fine, at least I get to meet Dialga Palkia and Giratina again before they're reborn." It wasn't like there was anything that he could do, it was just like the time in the Orange Islands. If he didn't do it then something would go wrong and disaster would follow. "When do I have to be there?"

The professor was both happy and sad at this statement. "For what it's worth I am sorry that I have to put something like this on your shoulders again." Seeing the champion class trainer wave him off he continued. "The prophesy states that when the tamer of the Beast of the Sea is found it wouldn't be long till the time arrived for the next rebirth. That was roughly five years ago, and the inside of the temple has been shifting since it was first discovered."
The professor showed pictures of the temple at different times, it looked like they were getting deeper into it every time, then it came to an abrupt stop, a stone slab with writing on it barred any further entrance.

"On this wall is the writing that states that your involvement is needed." He amplified the image and on it showed a map, supposedly of the temple, it showed two dots, one white and one black, seemingly walking through what would be a dead end. "It states that not only would the chosen one have to go through but a partner of some sorts would also have to join. Who this is was not told on the writing but it did state that it would be a friend of the chosen."

Ash raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So I don't have to do this alone?" Professor Oak shook his head. "Well that's a first, I mean the time with Lugia it was pretty much all on me." He thought about the treasures and the fact that he had to collect them himself, but then remembered the help he got from Misty Tracy and even Team Rocket. "Any idea who my supposed partner is going to be?" He asked.

"No clue." The professor responded deadpanned, which received a sweat drop from the champ and his companion. "I did take the liberty of calling all of your friends and rivals though, they should be there when you reach the temple." He added then noticed his mistake.

Ash regained the dark aura from before. "So you knew I was going to accept did you? What if I didn't decide to go through with th…"

"Well look at the time I have to get going see you in Sinnoh Ash." "Hey wait don't you d…" –beeeeeep- The professor cut him off before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "H-he hung up on me…th-that stupid old man. Pikachu when we see him you give him a thunder bolt that will leave him at death's door." His aura that dissipated during his dumbfounded moment returned. "Then hit him with it again."

"Pika chu." The said mouse responded with his cheeks sparking in agreement. He and the rest of the pokemon where looking forward to some down time…sans Feraligart, Charizard Septile and Garchomp of course, those battle hungry fools. The next union meeting was going to involve plans to make the pokemon professor suffer as much as possible.

He got up from the phone and went outside where he called his pokemon together. Once everyone was gathered he broke the news. "Well everyone –sigh- it seems that we have to save the world again." The responses were varied most, including Pikachu, let out a sigh as well, some were indifferent about it and the four always battle ready titans where grinning ear to ear.

"Yeah yeah I knew you four would be happy about this." He went back inside and began to pack. There wasn't much he had to take a couple sets of clothes, some potions and food of course. He decided to leave everything else and ask the nurse Joy from the nearby pokemon center to check in on it every once in a while. He took a tote bag of full of his pokemon's pokeballs and took them outside where his pokemon where waiting. "Alright everyone return, I'll decide who I will with me later for now rest up." He then recalled all the Pokémon.

"-sigh- Well Pikachu we better get going." He turned and looked at his two year home. "We'll be back." "Pika." He turned and began walking away. "Let's go Pikachu." The mouse pokemon took a few steps towards the edge of the clearing before it stopped and jumped on its trainers shoulder.

Ash looked at said pokemon. "Lazy little mouse." "Pi-ka-chu." "Who would be jealous of you, you're going to get fat you know." He then felt a small shock go through him. "H-hey its true." Another jolt. "Stop that you fat lazy mouse." A torrent of electricity was seen from miles away coming from one spot. "…-cough- I'll be quiet now." "Chu."

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.


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.



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.