- Vagabond - Male Reader x Pokémon

Chapter 24: We'll Meet Again

"It'll be our real first fight as rivals, so you better train fast, or else you'll get beaten like last time." Cynthia smiled back at him. He shook his head. "No clue what you're talkin' about, you must be misremembering things." And the two started bickering back and forth about the issue once more. Lucian laughed to himself, watching the pair, but Flint was quickly losing patience. "Are we leavin' or not! Come on, Blondie! We're burnin' daylight!" He shouted at them, clearly agitated.

"I'd better get going, don't forget the promise!" Cynthia pulled away, turning towards her two travelling companions. [Y/N] shook his head. "We'll meet again, you better go before he blows a blood vessel." Suddenly, she stepped back towards him and embraced him once more, but only for a quick second before racing away, making sure to conceal her expression, eager to get on the road.

"See ya' later, dude!" Flint waved. "Farewell, [Y/N]." Lucian joined in too, but [Y/N] didn't pay him much attention, still not all that comfortable with the suave blue-haired trainer...

[Y/N] nodded. "Make sure you keep an eye on her, she'll get lost if you leave her for even a second!" He shouted, and with a wave, he watched the three disappear from view, leaving eastwards. It was a melancholic feeling. Cynthia was already moving on past him, but that had already been the case considering the skill level between them.

They both had two separate journeys to take and there was no changing that.

"Well..." Sycamore mumbled, walking up behind [Y/N], stealing his attention. The wind swept past them, blowing a cold breeze across their skin, the morning giving its greetings. "What now?" There was a moment of silence between the two...

"Now?" [Y/N] asked. He turned and held his chin. "I guess this is where we part ways, right? We got to the bottom of the Pokétch problem, saved as many as we could. There isn't anything else I'm forgetting, right?" Sycamore held his look. "You want to get rid of me so easily? You hurt me, [Y/N]!" He said, smiling down at his trainer friend. "W-What? What d'you mean?"

Sycamore looked away, basking within the sun's mighty rays. "I'm in Sinnoh to do research, which means that I must travel far and wide, meet with a great amount of people, and investigate a great many places. It seems like our journeys might just coincide, do you not think so?"

[Y/N] threw him a suspicious glance. "You want to come along with me, but why?" He asked, not entirely sure what the researcher was up to. Sure, they worked together to free the Pokémon, but that was it, right? "[Y/N], you interest me. Not only the bond you hold with your team, but your attitude towards life itself. At first, well, I believed that you were just stupid, brave surely, but stupid nonetheless..." It certainly wasn't what he had expected to hear and he threw a scowl back at Sycamore, mumbling some rude curse under his breath...

"However, after watching you sacrifice yourself like you did last night, running into the line of fire with no regard for your own safety, putting the lives of the kidnapped Pokémon before yourselves..." Sycamore threw him a side-glance, turning to face him. "It was truly magnifique! I've never seen something like it! HOWEVER! I know that if you were to be left to your own devices then you would surely end up dead, beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"If I don't follow you then I would knowingly be letting you free into the world. I would give you about a week at most..." [Y/N] shook his head, letting out an irritated groan. "This is the worst attempt at persuasion I've ever heard, you're actively harming your chances--" Sycamore grabbed his shoulder, stopping him mid sentence. "You've inspired me, and I wish to share with you all the wisdom I have gathered from my studies, especially when it comes to training your Pokémon. I see great potential in you, [Y/N], in fact, eventually, I believe that you could rise to the very top of the Pokémon trainer echelon!"