What's So Great About Second Love Anyways? {Pokemon Romance}

Chapter 11 White - Do I Have The Best Timing Or The Worst Timing?

"Well, this is it! The first gym!"

Lyne pulled down on the straps on his backpack. His eyes gleamed with energy as he looked at the obstacle before him. The fancy, restaurant looking building was the first gym on his journey: Striaton City.

He smiled. "I'll catch up in no time, Ira!"

With a face full of determination, he pushed forward and opened the doors.

Three trainers wearing butler uniforms stopped what they were doing and looked at him. The green haired one, packing cloth in a box, looked to the one with blue hair. "Cress, did we remember to put the sign up?"

"No, I think we forgot."

All three sighed in unison.

"I'm sorry, but this gym is closed," said Chili. "We've decided to stop being gym leaders."

A shock shot through Lyne's body. What awful timing! "I understand... Well, where should I go then?"

"You could always try the would-be second gym in Nacrene City," suggested Cilan. "However, it might be a little hard for you there."

That didn't sound like an optimal solution. "What other options do I have?"

"There's a starting gym in Aspertia. Apparently it's pretty new."

"Aspertia?!" panicked Lyne. "That's all the way across the region!"

Cress shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you, man."

"Can't you just give me one last battle of yours? Please?"

That seemed to annoy the gym leaders a little bit.

"Listen," said Chili. "If we let you battle, that means that we have to let all the others battle too, and there's a lot of newcomers itching for a battle, just like you."

Lyne frowned. "I can't exactly argue with that logic."

He felt his backpack shake. Curious, he put the bag down on the ground and opened it. Rotom in his special pokedex popped out on his own.

"When did you get out?"

"Don't sweat the details! Relax, buddy," said Rotom. "The gym in Nacrene is a normal gym, remember? They don't stand a chance against, me, Rotom!"

"What the heck is that?!" said Chili. "A Rotom?! Where does a newbie like you get one of those?!"

"Research partner."

"You must have a nice research partner."

"No, I mean Rotom is my research partner."

"Eh?"

Rotom waved its electronic appendages around. "That's right! I'm the genius, the little ball of power that packs a punch, and simply the best: Rotom!"

Lyne flicked the device above where Rotom's face appeared and sent it into a backwards spin. "Oh? I didn't realize you were powerful."

The floating pokedex came to a stop, the pokemon's eyes spinning around in a spiral. "I think I'm going to get sick."

"You can't get sick."

"Oh yeah! Anyhow, let's go, Lyne!"

"Fine," said Lyne, grabbing the pokedex and walking out of the gym without another word.

The three ex-gym leaders looked at each other with worried looks, then started throwing things into boxes.

"Pack faster! Faster! Before more weird people come!"

-----

Granny wheeled her wheelchair down the dirt road, panting in the heat. Meowstic sat on her lap, also growing tired under the ever relentless sun. Granny wheeled slower and slower, but didn't want to give up.

A brown haired man with glasses walked down the road in her opposite direction. He noticed the old woman struggling in the road. He rushed over to her side. "Are you okay?! What are you doing all the way out here alone?!"

"I'm not alone!" said Granny, trying to shoo him away with her hand. "I've got Meowstic!"

Her cat gave an unenthusiastic and tired cheer.

He shook his head. "That won't do. Come on, tell me where you're going."

"No! It's none of your business, little boy!" She tried pushing him out of the way, but only ended up pushing herself backwards since she was on wheels.

He didn't budge. "If you keep going like this, then you're going to pass out and shrivel up in the ditch."

"Don't underestimate me! Not even death can stop me!" She tried spinning the chair's wheels back quickly, throwing her weight backwards in the process, but this only made her fall over. She laid on her back, the sun glaring annoyingly in her eyes.

The man sighed. "I guess it can't be helped." He bent down and grabbed the handles, then pulled up the chair.

"Thanks, I guess, but I must go." Acting as if nothing happened, she tried going forwards, but was unable.

He held the chair's handles in place. "Where are you going?"

"Let go of me! Meowstic!" She waved her hands around in the air, only to find Meowstic passed out on the ground next to where the chair had tipped over. "Oh."

"Where?"

"...Striaton City."

"Alright. See, wasn't that easy?"

He picked the cat off the ground and put it in the old lady's lap. He then started pushing her back in the direction that he had came.

After several minutes of silence, Granny asked, "what's your name, boy?"

"Lyne," he replied.

"Lyne? That sounds vaguely familiar."

"Doubt it. You're probably just remembering wrong. So why are you so set on getting to Straiton alone, and so quickly?"

"I don't have to tell you."

He turned the chair around and started pushing it the other way.

"Fine, fine! I'm going there to get away from my granddaughter for a little bit! Ira's already been to Striaton, so I figured that it would be a safe place to hide."

Lyne stopped pushing the chair.

"Did you just say Ira?"

***

A/N: Just fyi, now that I've split these up into Black and White chapters, and because I'm behind schedule, these half-chapters will kind of come at your randomly for a while, sometimes accompanied with the respective half, sometimes not. I don't have the Black chapter ready yet, but it should be ready soon, so keep an eye out for it :)