Pokemon Adventures: Soul Ch23 Around the Table!

Chapter 23: Around the Table!

Sunyshore City…

Emperor, Spirit and I wandered the streets of Sunyshore for quite some time. My battle with Volkner was scheduled for later in the evening, so Spirit figured it be best to get some dinner before then. Spirit took the time to drag us into various clothing stores to do some clothes shopping, spending an absurd amount of money on many different things for her and myself in the process. She then dragged us back to the PokeCenter, just to have me change into a Black suit, with a dark-blue collared shirt and a long black tie. The collar of the sports jacket was nicely lined in gold. After Spirit changed into a black, glittering, dress, she dragged us back outside once more. She marched confidently before Emperor and myself, leading us on as she followed some directions on a map.

"Woman, where the hell are you taking us, and why am I dressed like this?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

I was starting to get pretty irritated because of all the running around and random changing.

"You'll see~! We're almost there anyways." She responded in a cheerful voice.

I rolled my eyes, and looked over to Emperor.

Emperor shrugged his shoulders, "Must be some kinda party," he said calmly. He and I shook our heads in contempt, but we walked on silently. I sighed, and glanced down at the fresh, black suit I was wearing. I never purchased a suit before, but I thought it looked pretty cool. What made the suit even cooler was that I had a tie pin that was the shape of an Empoleon's head, outlined in a nice gold plating, to match my Empoleon cuff-links.

Spirit wore a nice, knee-long black dress that exposed her back, along with a white, feathery scarf. And she wore these black and gold heels, gold earrings and a black and gold purse on her shoulder, just to match my black and gold look. She looked beautiful in the dress, almost to the point that every guy we passed by broke their necks just to look at her. I paid no attention to them, but I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at all of the glances. In my daydreaming, I walked right into Emperor's back.

"Oof!" I sputtered, as I took a step back. "What the hell? Who put on the breaks?" I growled angrily.

Emperor ignored me, as he was glancing up in complete astonishment. Spirit was also looking up as well. Her face brightened up and her eyes sparkled.

I blinked, and just stared at them, "What the hell are you both looking at?" I asked.

I turned to look up, and my eyes were widened by the magnificent view. We stared at what seemed to be a palace: a magnificent structure made of crystals. The front entrance had a doorman, and many people, whom all were fantastically dressed and wealthy looking walked in. The sign above the door looked to have been made from ivory, and on it was written "Le Wow!".

"Wow…" I gasped, "What is this place?"

"It's Le Wow! This restaurant has a sister branch from Lumiose City, all the way in Kalos! It just opened up here recently!" Spirit said in an awe inspired voice.

Spirit walked over to me and grabbed my arm, "Come on! Let's have ourselves a ball, with a fine cuisine to boot!" she said in a sweet voice, clutching my arm and pulling me.

We walked up to the front door, and the doorman greeted us.

"Hello," he started, "I sincerely apologize, but pokemon are not allowed to roam the upper levels where people eat as our battle field is not completely ready yet. However, if you'd be so kind to retreat it to its ball, we have a wonderful cuisine for pokemon on the lower levels! Don't worry, the food there is just as good as the food on the upper levels, just better suited for the health and care of your pokemon!"

I grimaced, "Emperor? In a ball?" I said in a dark tone, "He's my partner, he always stands by me!" I said angrily.

Spirit nudged me, "C'mon, Soul! It's just for a little while! He'll be fine, I promise!" She protested in a soft voice.

I hesitated, but I grabbed Emperor's ball from my waist. I turned to Emperor, and looked at him.

Emperor placed his wing on my shoulder, "Hey it's cool! I don't mind! Besides, I get a meal out of it to, right? And I can keep an eye on the others, although Hellfire's a loose cannon, Huntress is a ditz, Nightwing's a complete idiot, and Titan thinks he's a shogun from the 1800's. Even still, I can handle it, have yourselves a good time!" Emperor said with a grin.

I nodded in compliance, "You are the captain, after all" I said with a smile. I retreated Emperor into his ball, and handed my pokemon over to the waiter. Spirit did the same, handing Flora over to the man as well.

The waiter nodded, "Perfect! Now the check will be given at the end. Also, there may be leftover's taken home, if you haven't finished all of your meals. You will experience a 7 course meal, complete with dessert and hors d'oeuvres. May I have your names please?" he asked in a pleasant tone.

"The name's Soul, and this is Spirit…" I said coolly.

"Hello!" chirped Spirit happily.

"Soul? Hmm, hold on. I believe there is something special for a man by that name…" muttered the waiter, as he pulled out a notebook and read some notes.

"Aha! There is something very special laid out for you both here today! Please, follow me to the VIP rooms." He asked, as he led the way into the restaurant.

We followed him up a flight of spiral staircases, and walked down a long, beautiful hallway. The inside of the palace was furnished with wood, and the carpet on the ground was red and gold. There were many elegant paintings on the walls as well, along with white statues of mythical pokemon, like Arceus and Groudon.

The waiter led us to a room that had giant double doors.

"Here we are," the waiter stated, as he pushed the doors open. The inside of the room was amazing, it literally looked like a ball room. There was an open space in the middle of the room, with a wooden platform for dancing. Around this platform, were many, occupied, glass tables. There was a large amount of people, and as Spirit and I walked in, there came a thunder of applause and whistles. As I looked around, I began to get irritated.

Right before I could say anything, Gabby, and her trusty camera man Ty, approached us and grabbed our hands (leading us to our tables). The applause ended shortly, and the people returned to chatting amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company.

"Wow Spirit! You actually got him to come! That's my devious girl!" Gabby said with a sly smirk, giving Spirit a high five.

Spirit giggled, as she rubbed her nose, "It was nothing! I just had to treat him like a little kid, that's all!"

The two woman laughed at me, and I became even more annoyed. I turned around to leave, when both Gabby and Spirit grabbed my arms.

"Let me go…" I said calmly.

Gabby shook her head, "I'm sorry, but this event took too much time and money to set up, just so people can finally get an exclusive sit down with one of the top five trainers of the Sinnoh League right now!" she said.

I turned to look at her, "What are you talking about?" I asked, my interest completely peaked. I knew it was bait to get me to stay, but I wanted to know more about this apparent "top 5" she was talking about.

"Yes, alongside you, there are 3 other really good up and coming pokemon trainers, who just recently registered for this year's Sinnoh League. Unlike you, these other trainers are very well seasoned and have veteran like experience. Well other than Heart, anyway," she began, "The top 5 trainers from bottom to top are Heart, yourself, Kewaun, Henry, and Psyche." She finished.

I grimaced in frustration. "Are you saying that Psyche is stronger than I am? Heh, don't make me laugh." I said in a mocking tone.

Gabby had a serious look on her face, "As far as points and ranking goes, yes…he is."

There was a brief silence.

Gabby sighed, "Listen, I personally watched all of Psyche's gym battles. His efficiency at taking down gym leaders is literally uncanny. It was frightening to watch him take down a leader's pokemon as easily as he does. He's like an assassin…He took down 5 gyms in literally ten days!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This basically means, that if Psyche never joined that PEACE Corp., he would have most likely cleared the 8 gym leaders in a faster record of time than me and Platinum! It hasn't even been one month since I started this journey...Although i haven't beaten Platinum's record of collecting 6 badges in 25 days, I was able to collect 6 in 28 days, which is still a feat within itself! What does that mean about Psyche's strength…?

"When did Psyche start his journey?" I asked Gabby sternly.

Gabby put a finger on her chin in thought, "Hmm about a year or so ago. He suddenly stopped taking on gym leaders for a few months, and it seemed to everyone that he vanished. It wasn't until recently that people have been seeing him more in the circuit, accompanied with his student, Heart. Honestly, you and Heart are neck and neck for that last spot, since neither of you have completed the 8th gym challenge yet."

"Hmph…whatever. Now then, what's this event about?" I asked. Since she gave me some great information, I decided that I can at least humor her efforts, as a form of thanks.

"Oh, this? It's just a reporter's gathering! We will all eat some amazing food," she began, drooling a bit, "then afterwards, we will interview you. So be prepared to answer many questions! Remember, you don't have to answer any questions right away, or at all! This meeting is mostly to allow the people at home, and your diehard fans, to get to know just who Soul is!" Gabby grabbed Spirit's hand, as well as mine, and she led us to our table in the front of the room.

…

It hasn't been too long since we left Soul that we were seated in a luxurious room for pokemon dining. We sat around a circular table, surrounded by many pokemon at other tables. It was buzzing with life and laughs all around us, as pokemon ate and talked together. We had just received the orders for our food, sent down to us by Soul, and we were waiting for it to come. Huntress sat directly across from me, right next to Hellfire. She was clinging to Hellfire's neck like a kid, but Hellfire didn't seem to mind all that much. On our sides, Nightwing and Titan sat across from each other as well. The atmosphere around us seemed really dark, and I could tell a shit storm was brewing. I wanted to break the silence with some friendly banter, just to remove the negative atmosphere.

"Well then!" I began, "This is the first official time we have ever met as a group, without Soul's company!" I stated in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"That is "master" Soul to you, peon!" growled Nightwing.

Huntress giggled, and Hellfire chuckled a bit, too.

"Master? Soul doesn't think of us as slaves…we are his friends, as we all should-" I began, but Titan cut me off.

"Friends? I am only here to acquire power. All I seek is strength: to conquer my enemies as I see fit. Soul isn't a friend; I am merely using him to get what I want. You lot aren't my friends either" Titan growled.

"Hmph, I don't think I like that attitude very much, young one. You sound like a typical male. That's why I left my partner, along with my child; to get away from such arrogance…" Hellfire growled directly afterward.

I was losing control of them and fast. I tried to interject, but Nightwing grabbed the first word.

"Fool! The things our master has done for you, for us, and this is how you act! We must be more respectful to our leader; he gave us a second chance to better ourselves!"

"Shut up, the only fool here is you! How you blindly sub serve yourself to humans is absurd! They cause nothing but pain! And as for you," Titan retorted, as he glared over at Hellfire, "You left your man and took your child? Well from what I have heard, all I can say is: look what deciding to do that brought you!"

Hellfire's face flared up in absolute anger, "WHAT DID YOU-" she began to bark.

"ENOUGH!" I called out loud. The entire room grew silent, and all of the pokemon turned their heads to our table. I cleared my throat.

"Obviously, we have our own opinions, but that does not mean we need to ostracize or fight amongst each other!" I declared boldly.

"Emp's right!" Huntress chimed in, "We all need to work together, as a team. That's when we will be at our strongest. Even Soul knows this! Emperor and I have been with him for a very long time, since before any of you. We have seen the darkness that lurks in his heart…"

Huntress paused, trying to fight back tears, "But look at him now. He has friends, rivals, Spirit, and more importantly, us! He may not have had the closest of relationships with people, but amongst us, we have truly become a team, a family! That is all I want!"

This escalated pretty fast, I thought to myself, but thanks to Huntress, I may be able to regain control. I looked over to Huntress, and nodded. She looked at me, whipping tears from her eyes, and nodded back.

I looked around at the quiet room, and I began to become impatient with the other pokemon's staring and silence.

"This is a personal issue! all of you need to mind your own business, and return to what you were doing!" I yelled at them all.

The other pokemon were startled by my sudden outburst, but slowly the murmurs and chatting began to resume.

"Now then," I resumed, "We should all strive to acknowledge each other's differences with respect. However, I will not tolerate any bad mouthing among us, especially in Hellfire's direction. She is clearly older than us, and much more knowledgeable than we are, as with age comes wisdom. As this team's leader I-" I tried to finish, but Titan cut me off once again.

"That's another problem. Who told you that you were the boss of us?"

I turned to face him, "The moment Soul and I came together from the start," I boldly declared.

"Yea well, I don't buy that at all. In fact, I don't believe that you should be leading any of us, you can't just place yourself as team leader regardless of what "Master" Soul says. Furthermore, I should be the leader if there needs to be one, as I am clearly the strongest of us all!"

He is challenging my role as captain on this team, I thought. This is completely unacceptable.

"Watch your tone," I growled angrily.

"Unfortunately, I agree with him" said Nightwing in a somber tone, "Master Soul may have selected you, but we did not do so as a team. And I, as well, believe myself to be stronger than both of you."

I shook my head, "It is Soul's will that I command his team when he is away, is that not enough for you, Nightwing?" I said to him.

"Tch…" groaned Nightwing, "I have fought alongside you in battle, I have seen firsthand what you can do. But still, I do not completely believe in you."

"Hmph, I agree with these two…" began Hellfire, "I have no interest in taking a pissing contest, but I am not quite sure of your ability to lead. However," Hellfire turned to Titan and snarled angrily, "I suggest you learn your place fast, bug, or I will roast you where you stand!"

Hellfire was bearing her teeth, as she grilled Titan.

"Hmph, try me, woman…" Titan sneered.

How can I gain their trust? I thought to myself, What do I have that they can relate to?

"Fine, I understand you all feel that I am inadequate to lead. But let me tell you. I too, have befallen a terrible fate of my own. I know what it feels like to truly lose; what war truly looks like."

Huntress nodded, and I continued, taking in a deep breath.

"I came from a very far off island; further up north from Snowpoint city. This land was entirely made up of ice, hidden in the midst of many giant icebergs. At the time, my grandfather was the overseer of our ice-land, and all the pokemon that lived there; including the seel, dewgong, delibirds, and any other ice based creatures that lived among us."

"Like an Emperor…" murmured Huntress.

I nodded in agreement, "Our leader, Kozack, was a proud Empoleon. Strong, courageous…powerful. But he had fallen very ill, and could not defend our waddle from our natural enemy, the Beartic. I was young at the time, but my grandfather, Kozack, would often lecture me and train me on how to use my strength. However, my brother, Seidon, had always surpassed me in terms of strength and strategy.

He, too, is a genius when it comes to battle. Every time we fought in training, he defeated me. He was easily the second strongest in our waddle. He even accelerated in evolution, eventually becoming an Empoleon at the youngest age in our history. However, he was ambitious, and naïve. He quenched for more and more power, and eventually the mere thought of my grandfather enraged him. While my father was sick and vulnerable, he arranged an attack on our home…"

I grimaced, as I thought about the horrors that I endured.

"Seidon led them into our home via an unprotected passageway beneath the ice; completely submerged by water. We were completely surprised to see him leading the Beartic army, and we fought back as hard as we could. However, my waddle and the other pokemon were inferior to the fully evolved, and much stronger Beartic. We were unable to fend them off. In the midst of the battle, I became severely injured from one of an enemy Beartic's attacks, which rendered me unconscious. As I faded out of consciousness, the last thing I remember seeing was my homeland in shambles, and my family…lying beside me"

I paused, and looked at my teammates from across the table.

"When I came too, I was drifting away from my homeland on a chunk of ice. I watched from a distance as my homeland broke apart, and faded from my existence. Since then, I wandered the sinnoh region, aimlessy picking battle whenever I could, in an effort to become stronger. So I could face my brother once more."

The table grew quiet. Huntress drifted over to me to console me, but I held up my wing and stopped her.

"The purpose of me telling you this was not to gain sympathy, but to illustrate that at one point, we have all been ripped from the safety and comfort of our loved ones. We have been isolated; on our own either by our own volition or by unfortunate circumstances. However, this trait of loneliness is what inevitably brought us together. And albeit we are not blood, we are family through bond. Soul has saved us the pain of having to live on our own, and brought us together as a team; so we no longer feel that pain of loneliness. He challenges us to become strong, and through us he learns how to become strong himself. Because at the end of the day, although sometimes poorly demonstrated, he loves us."

Titan grunted, "As true as this all may be, and as heartfelt as that is, I still don't believe that your trauma warrants you being our captain."

I turned to him in annoyance.

"That is fine Titan. But I will say this a bluntly as possible to all of you. I truthfully abhor senseless violence…however,"

My voice darkened, and I could feel my aura rising, emitting from me as strength surged through my veins. I knew I could back up my claims; Soul and I worked too hard together for me to be "weaker" than any of the others.

"I pray that we never get placed into a situation where I am forced to destroy you," I said with a scowl, looking down on them.

Just as I said that, the waiters finally came down with our food, and they began serving us our food. I continued to stare down Titan, and to no surprise, he stared right back at me.

Once the waiters were finished, they slightly bowed, and walked off.

"Let's enjoy our meal, then" I said boldly, and we all ate in silence.

…

We finally got through dessert, and it seemed the room was buzzing with life. Spirit bumped my shoulder, "Hey, you're not mad at me, are you?" she said with a worried tone.

I looked her in the eyes, and shook my head. "Not completely at least. But I will say this: I would have never of come here if you did tell me what this is." I said coolly.

Spirit giggled. "I know, Soul. I know," she said confidently.

Suddenly, Gabby stood up, and started clanging a fork upon a glass, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Now that we have all had our fill, let us all take our seats in the center of the room, so we may start this press conference!" she declared, as everyone began making a way to the center of the room.

"Ready?" Spirit asked, as she held on to my arm.

I nodded somberly, awaiting my first questions.

"Okay Soul," said Gabby, who was quickly approaching me, "Your starting us off with this event. Give us your name, where you are from, what your goals are, what your hobbies are, likes dislikes, whatever you wanna say, then they will give you some questions to answer. After that, we all go home happy. Sounds good?" she said in a very rushed tone.

"Yea, yea" I grunted, standing up.

Gabby rushed back to her seat, and gave me a thumbs up to start.

I nodded, "My name is Soul, I'm 18 years old, and I am from Sandgem Town. I studied for a few years under both my father and Prof. Rowan's tutelage. My goal is simply to defeat any opponent who has the courage to step before me. Simple as that."

I took in a deep breath, and sighed.

"First and foremost, I will admit, on record, that I hate these kinds of things and events. It makes my skin itch. I am not looking for publicity, and quite frankly, I don't care about "the fame". I train everyday so I can be the best at battling. I want to prove to myself, and my teammates, that I am strong. Strong enough to stare death in its grill. My hobby, I suppose, is researching pokemon. Their ablilities, their types, their habitats. I have been doing pokemon research since I was a boy, and it stuck with me ever since. And to help me with that on my journey, I use this," I pulled out the pokedex, that Rowan gave to me, from my pocket.

"This, as some of you may know, is a Pokedex. Not just any trainer is allowed to weild one of these, and rightfully so. The power that this device caries is unfathomable. You may be asking yourself "what power?" But that power is clear as day: information. You see, as the saying goes, luck favors those who are most prepared…Are there any questions?"

Almost instantaneously, hands flew up into the air. I circled my gaze around the room, and pointed at a young woman with pink hair.

She stood up, and gave her name: "Hi there, Manuela Everly with Girl's POP magazine," she stated.

"My question is: Is there a lucky lady in your life? Specifically, that woman there who follows you around? The girls all over are begging to know the answer to that question!"

I could feel my face blushing madly, "To be honest, I wish you hadn't asked me such a tasteless question…Who cares if I have a woman in my life? What does that have to do with me being a powerful-" I began in a very flustered tone. I paused, and turned to face Spirit. She was looking down at her plate, and didn't look back up at me. I could tell that she was feeling anxious.

I turned back to face Manuela.

"It may be nonsense…but know I have no interest in other woman. As for Spirit. She is…someone very special to me. I wouldn't be here without her" I said coolly.

Spirit looked up at me, with soft tears in her eyes and a smile. She held out her hand underneath the table, and I reached my hand over, gently holding hers.

"Next question…and please make it a bit more serious," I said coldly.

Manuela became flustered with a fit of anger and sat down, as more hands flew up.

I looked around once more, and pointed at Gabby. I had to give her a chance to shine, she's the one who originally wanted to scout me, afterall.

Gabby stood up briskly, grabbing a pen and pad out of her bag.

"Gabby Baker, with Trainer Watch T.V. Soul, I wanted to ask you: What is your obsession with being the best? What makes you want to climb on top?"

Hmph…a personal question, I thought to myself. I quickly pondered about how to handle this question. Do I tell them everything? Do I tell them nothing? Should I refuse the question?

"Well…" I started.

Spirit squeezed my hand gently, giving me a feeling that I wasn't to familiar with in my chest. I could feel her warmth, and her encouragement.

"I fight so that way no one will feel the loneliness that I have felt my whole life. I Want to be an example of unrelenting strength, someone people can look up to when they are feeling low, like I have when I was younger. Sometimes, you just have to grit and bear the pain, so that way you can turn that pain into something constructive, and move on ahead with life."

Gabby looked pleased with my answer, scribbling some notes onto her pad as she sat down.

"More questions?" I asked.

After the hands were raised, I looked to the back of the audience. I saw a thin, cowardly, looking man, wearing a black coat raising his hands. He wore thick framed glasses, and looked very nerdy.

"You…over there" I said, choosing him.

"Oh-uh! Y-yes!" he said in a flustered tone, hastily standing up.

He began to buckle, and I chuckled at his struggle.

"Y-yes, my name is Rel Weis, from Cindy Enterprises and I have a b-b-bit of a c-comment!" he began, "Word on the net is that you've gone soft: you lack the motivation to fight as you did before. What changed you? Also, are there any words that you would like to leave for Volkner, and your fight tonight?" he stammered uncontrollably.

Anger rose inside of me, and I let go of Spirit's hand. SOFT!? I thought, I've gone soft!?

I was filled with puzzlement, as I flashed back to all the events that have occurred in the last few weeks. The bonding I've done with my pokemon, the challenges we've faced…has that softened my edge on the battle field? Am I a dull sword?

I quickly regained some composure, and cleared my throat.

"That's funny," I said in a raspy voice and a maniacal, "For those who may take my current face as a sign of weakness, don't be fooled…"

My face darkened, as the grin swiftly disappeared. I looked up straight into the cameras of the crew taking pictures.

"My bark still very much backs my bite! I will decimate anyone who steps before me! As for Volkner? I will use him as my catalyst to ensure that everyone understands that I am the BEST! Sorry, Volkner, but an example will be made out of you!"