second battle

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[You find yourself in a new dream. Unlike the last dream conjured by this particular mind, however, this dream is not set in a route from Nuvema to Accumula. Indeed, this dream is set somewhere else entirely from those three places.

Instead of a road paved with tall grass, there is a large arena in front of you. It seems empty today, seeing as it's one of the few slow days that Unova experiences.

Enter, however, and find not only Whitlea on the battlefield, but a green-haired young man facing off against her, while another young man with glasses and a young woman with a funny hat watch from the sidelines. All four of them seem to be good friends with each other, from the way they interact.

Whitlea smiles at the young man in front of her, a Pokeball in her hand.]

All right, N, I've been training for this day. Are you ready?

[The man nods, a smile on his face.]

Samurott, let's go!

((OOC: Whitlea's greatest desire, as you can see, is to be able to count N as a friend along with Cheren and Bianca. It's not deadly or anything, but she will focus on the battle and nothing else, which is why all replies will be post-battle.))

Comments

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[There's someone watching. In fact, she's watching Whitlea very intently, as though studying her moves. Ami is an observant type, and by the end of all of this, she'll have a decent sense of Whitlea's tactical thinking.]

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[It's only after the battle, after she's fought N to a draw and waved goodbye to him, Cheren and Bianca that she notices Ami.]

...Hey, Ami.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

I watched your match.

[This is obvious, of course. What she means is 'I've got my eye on you'. They have decided to battle some day, after all. And there is nothing in the world Ami will back down from, or give less than her best.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

So what did you think?

[Neither will Whitlea. She smiles, basking in the moment of victory and the thrill of battle.]

lj is still messy, so the usual recent disclaimers apply /sigh

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

I was here to observe you. That's all.

Mine too.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

Still, I have to know. I can't get rusty, after all.

:comfs:

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Oh, you aren't rusty. Would I be interested if you were?

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

True. So, how's your Pokemon?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Doing well. [That's... true, isn't it? For a second she falters, because outside the dream, she has no pokemon and therefore no real memories of what's happened with hers since she got it. But the moment passes, fading into acceptance with nothing worse than a slight discomfort.]

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

That's great!

[A confident grin.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Her smile stretches thinly; that tiny chink of uncertainty makes her unsettled.]

Right.

More importantly, should I congratulate you?

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

Well, N's one of the toughest Trainers I've ever battled, actually.

[Not just in terms of battle, though. When they encountered each other over the course of her journey, their dreams clashed--he with the misguided, impossible dream of separating Pokemon from humans and she with the old-fashioned yet steadfast dream of humans living in harmony with Pokemon. You could say it was that very conflict that brought them closer to each other, though.

Anyway, she ultimately shrugs.]

Depends on what you think.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

You won. Is that enough?

[It's for Whitlea to answer that; it has been from the start.]

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

For me? Yeah.

[Being recognized is a bonus, but it's one she can do without.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Then I congratulate you. [She'd have been more impressed with wanting to go even further, wanting the next step, the next tournament, the next challenge.]

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[In the Pokemon world, there isn't anything higher than becoming a Champion and a hero. Essentially, this means Whitlea has achieved the highest she can go in her world, but she can't afford to slack off.]

Thanks!

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

You're at the top now. But you won't stay there if you let your guard down.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

Trust me, letting my guard down is something I'll never let myself do.

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

We seem to be compatible in that.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[She smiles in reply. Good, she likes a challenge.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

You haven't decided when it should be yet, our match.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

Yeah. How about after the Elite Four?

[Then again, Trainers who get past the Elite Four have to defeat the Champion, which is obviously her in this case.]

[1/2]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Have a brief ripple of surprise.]

The shitennou?

[2/2]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She smirks a second later.]

So you want to see me defeat them?

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

...What shitennou? I'm talking about the Elite Four. You know, the top four Trainers in the region besides the Champion.

[This is...rather confusing for her. She's never heard a name like that for the E4.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

The four heavenly kings...

No, it's different after all.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[...Okay, you're confusing her.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

No; it's nothing. [She can't really explain without making it obvious just how different their worlds are.]

They're my next target, no matter what.

[dormition]

[Minato waits until everything has settled before talking to her. He's nothing if not patient, after all.

He smiles as he says,] You were good. You must be close with your Pokemon. [As a Japanese teenager, of course he recognizes what's going on, but he doesn't have any interest in bringing that up with her. For all he knows, she isn't a trainer when she's awake, besides. It's more that the relationship between trainer and Pokemon has always vaguely reminded him of him and his Persona.]

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks. [She smiles at Minato, before waving N off.] So what brings you here?

[dormition]

Watching. It's nicer to see friends fight than enemies.

[whitleas.livejournal.com]

[Strange, really: She and N used to be enemies, if you could call their relationship to each other that. It's complicated, really, and still is.]

It always is. There's a feeling you get when you fight your friend that you don't get fighting an enemy.

[dormition]

That you want them to see you at your best? [he guesses.]

1/2

[auncyenhalig.livejournal.com]

[ Aerith watches with at first with an uncertain expression -- she's learned to fight, but she doesn't fight for the thrill of battling, and she doesn't know what to make of using other creatures to fight.

But in their own way, they seem to ... enjoy it? ]

[auncyenhalig.livejournal.com]

[ And they fight well and it's easy to see that they have trained long and hard for this, so at the end of the match Aerith applauds both trainers and their Pokemon from the nearby stands. ]