A faint memory slowly shines in the inner dark memories of the young Katsuragi. He couldn't tell what it was but the words of his father's warnings many years ago were intact in a distinct memory.
"Don't go to my office, this is your last warning Yoake!" His father's angered voice shouted to the innocent boy. He was furious to say the least, he doesn't want any of his kids to enter his office yet this boy, Yoake, annoyingly tries to.
"But papa-! Owww!" The boy cried as his father dragged him off to his room while pinching him. His nails slowly dig deeper into the boy's skin and he was crying and pleading to his father for forgiveness but it was no avail.
He threw him to the floor and gave an angered look to the boy.
"Try to enter my office again and I'll cut both your arms and legs off." He said as he closed the door and locked it on the outside, leaving the pained, tearing and whimpering kid in his room alone in the darkness.
He may have parents to provide food and shelter for him but the essence of family was absent. He may have a father but not a dad, He may have a mother but not a mom, the only person he considered family is his sister, who was also trying to survive this household but even then, they sometimes fought each other. There was no family in the Katsuragi, just a group of people sharing the same blood and roof.
Back in the present time, Yoake began to remember his dark life that he tried to shun, from the abuses of his mother and father, to the fear of outsiders. There was only one true family that Yoake knew, and that was Leaf, she nurtured and rehabilitated the kid to become a functioning member of society but it was torn to shreds after the betrayal. He accepted the loneliness that he has to pursue in his two years of hermit life, he may leave the house every now and then but he has to wear a mask, to cover the pain and sadness in this kid's eyes but that mask was slowly being lifted after Claudine entered his life.
"Yoake, are you alright?" Claudine worriedly asked the trainer as he was spacing out in the bus ride. She can sense the facade in the trainer's head, loomy memories that opened as soon as their battle earlier ended.
"Is there something wrong?" Ren asked her rival. The two were worried about him throughout the entire bus ride.
"Oh? I'm fine, don't worry." He assured the two. as he continues to look out in the window.
"You sure? You've been quiet throughout the ride plus, Claudine can read your thoughts." Ren doubts that her rival is fine as she can sense the depressing aura radiating through the scene.
"Ohhhh, right. Forgot about that." Yoake scratched his head after realizing that his inner thoughts can be sensed and read by Claudine. Even though she rarely looks at his thoughts, this was very worrying.
"Yoake, is there something bothering you?" Claudine asked him.
"I'll just tell you about it later." Yoake sighed as he continued to look at the window out sighed as he felt the warmness of his scarf try to comfort him from his dark thoughts.
'It'll be alright.' a feminine voice echoed through his head as he was being assured that everything will be alright.
After the bus ride, they went to the condo and were greeted by their guard.
"Oh, Long time no see Mister Katsuragi. How was your adventure? Are you now the champion? Is that your friend? Girlfriend perhaps? And I might say that little Ralts grow to become a fine Gardevoir." His guard greeted him. He was agitated and his words were flying through the air as he missed the trainer.
Ren and Yoake giggled after hearing the words from the guard.
"We're just friends. Besides, we're too young." Ren said as she assures the guard that she has no intention of being more than friends to the young Katsuragi as she knows that he has a significant other that he has promised to, a long time ago.
"Okay then. Oh by the way, Mister and Miss Katsuragi left earlier and they said that Yugure is in the studio practicing for her upcoming performance next week." He said.
"Alright then." Yoake said as he led the two to the elevator and headed to their penthouse.
"So, this is where you live, damn." Ren was surprised as she looked around with awe. She was surprised at how lavenous the Katsuragi estate is.
"Yeah." Yoake sighed as he placed the keys on top of a drawer.
"Imma just call Leaf." He said as he grabbed his phone and dialed Leaf's phone number. While calling for his former babysitter, the two, Ren and Claudine decided to sit on the sofas as Ren continued to look around with awe.
"I've never realized how beautiful this place is." Claudine uttered as she glanced at the beauty of the living room. It was heavenly as the atmosphere of the place is warm, soothing and relaxing as the pure whiteness of the walls and blackness of many furniture cultivated the place into a realm with colors of only Black and White.
"Hey, what's up?" Leaf asks the trainer after picking up the phone.
"So, my parents aren't here right now, and I don't think I can access my dad's office, since you know…." Yoake told Leaf as he wasn't sure if he would dare to lay a finger on his father's office after the amount of warnings he got from his father.
"I see, well, have you tried contacting your grandfather?" Leaf suggested to the trainer.
"Grandfather? I Have a Grandpa?" Yoake repeated as he was shocked that he has a grandfather.
"You don't know you have a grandpa?" Leaf asked the trainer as she was surprised after hearing this news.
"No, My parents didn't mention any of my grandparents. Well, where is he right now?"
"He's in Unova right now, well, he has a Unovan Citizenship and you are technically one-fourth Unovan. Plus, he's the CEO of Emerald City in Unova."
"Emerald city? Isn't that the most famous hotel in Unova? Grand and Luxurious."
"Yup. He might pass it to you if you're at the right age…. so, you might have a good future in the coming years." Leaf joked to the trainer.
"I see. Well, do you know his contact number?" He asked Leaf.
"Sadly, no. But I think there might be a contact number."
"Alright, Thanks Leaf." He said as he ended the call as he sighs with relief knowing that he has a grandfather that might explain everything about battle bond.
"Okay then. Time for the apple to return to the tree." He said as he returned his phone on top of a desk and began finding the number on where he could call his grandfather.
'Why didn't mom and dad talk about my grandparents?' Yoake thought.
He sighed as he realized that his parents might have a darker history than he thought. He only knows their occupation but never realizes why they are busy 24/7 in the first place.
He thinks for a moment, trying to understand the bits of pieces he's receiving. He decided to walk to his father's office door as he tries to master up the courage to open it and to know the secrets that his father has been hiding for so long. His hand grabbed the knob of the door and slowly turned it to open the door.
'Try to enter my office again and you're dead to me!' the voice of his frustrated father that is tormenting him in his head.
All of his courage disappears as he releases his hand from the knob with utter disappointment to himself. Fear got the better of him.
"Ren, let's go to Saffron city." He told his rival as he walked back to the living room. He saw the two, Ren and Claudine having a nice conversation on the table but he decided to interrupt them as he gained the urge to take his sixth badge.
"What? Why? Don't you think we should learn about Battle Bond first before competing so you can unlock its full potential?" Ren argued.
"I'll understand it along the way. I must be strong first before knowing the truth." He stated.
"Come on. Sabrina is waiting for us." He continued as Ren and Cladine stood up and left the penthouse, leaving Yoake on its entrance.
Looking around as he sees a colorless house where the Truth and Idealism slowly reveals itself to the young trainer. He was living in a world of Black and White but as he continued his adventure, his world changed for the better, colors of happiness, friendship and courage but all were sucked by the tormenting color of his house.
He locked the door and didn't look back.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
"Any tips on defeating Sabrina?"
Yoake asked Ren for advice as they waited throughout the ride. They were on a train, from Viridian City to Saffron city. They didn't tell Professor Oakido and Leaf that they were going to the gym, and instead of actually trying to find answers to Battle Bond, they went to the specialist's layer.
"Well, you can just use Claudine and activate Battle Bond, that'll work out." Ren sarcastically suggested to her rival.
"Ha ha Ha, as if Battle bond is that easy to activate. Besides, I don't even know how to properly control it, there are times when Claudine is the one that's doing it." Yoake explained. Ren looked at Claudine with utter suspicion.
Claudine quickly noticed the trainer's skeptical look and quickly rebutted her assurance.
"Don't look at me. There are times when I don't even know what is going on." Claudine stated.
"Okay then." Ren rolled her eyes as she was doubtful of Claudine's claim. She can tell that there was anger brewing inside of Claudine, an anger that she released upon her Gengar but she doesn't know why and what was that spice of anger coming from.
Was it from Claudine herself? from Yoake? From whom? There's no proper explanation on what just happened earlier other than Battle Bond activated and there was chaos in the battle.
'Battle Bond, Blood type K? My parents barely mention my grandparents. Is this some sort of rabbithole that is deeper than the trenches of the Ocean? My father did not let me know or enter his office, there must be something about this family that I must know. Yoake discussed his thoughts. The boy was curious about the evidence about his skepticism of his family name, and he is willing to do everything he can to know the truth about Battle Bond and the Katsuragis.
Later on, the train finally arrived at the Saffron City Grand terminal. A terminal that is considered as the Iron Heart of the Kanto beast. Veins of railways, roads and traffic are present in the terminal, from buses to trains to cabs to cars, there's always a vehicle in the terminal, and all of them travel and circulate throughout the grand nation of Kanto.
There were vendors, food stalls, restaurants, and street performers scattered across the grand terminal. The place was crowded, from businessmen going to work to families going for a vacation or a visit to the provinces, this is Kanto's and possibly, the mainland's busiest Terminal.
As soon as three steps out of the train, Claudine was awed about the place. There's a lot of people and Pokemon scattered across the terminal. Everything is a sight to be seen. They were frozen in place as they were overwhelmed with this many people in one area.
"Alright. Is this your first time entering the biggest city in Kanto?" Ren asked the two as she suspected that they had never visited Saffron city before.
"Yeah…" Yoake scratched his head.
"Damn, you're a city boy from the Pallet city. Welp, how about we get some lunch first?" Ren suggested the two.
"Yeah, we should get lunch first." Yoake agreed to his rival's suggestion.
"Good, I know a place. Follow me." Ren stated.
She led the two out of the overcrowded terminal and headed to a steakhouse near the core of the Grand City, The Outback Steakhouse. It's labeled as "Saffron's little Anglo steakhouse" because all of the food they cook is mostly based on the Anglo-sphere, mainly from Galar. From Ribs to Beans to Mutton to Berry delights, every Saffron citizen can taste the fine dinery of Galarian food all in their metropolis city.
It's the middle of the day, which means lines are shorter than what many think. Due to how busy the city is, most of the people eat their lunch either in small canteens or in their offices, and it's often that tourists are the only ones who eat at fine dinery at this hour of the day.
"One table for Four please." Ren told the Restaurant Receptionist.
"Okay, Please wait for a minute so we can give you a table. May I ask for whom?" The Receptionist asked the trainer.
"For Ren Mirai." She stated her name. The receptionist registered her name and quickly took Four Menus from their counter.
"Follow me." They told the three to follow her and they did. They escorted them to a table near the open glass, where they could see passersby and the busy streets of Saffron's core district. The four sat on the chairs with Claudine sitting near the glass as she continued to glance around while Yoake and Ren sat on the chairs that are closer to the interior.
"I'll give you a minute to decide, please call out our waiters when you want to take your order." They said as they left the group and went to their desk to continue their job.
"So, what do you guys want?" Ren asked the two as she opened the menu and began finding their best seller. Yoake and Claudine looked at their menu as well and looked for meals that might cross their eyes.
"Wanna try their best seller?" She suggested the two. Since they know nothing about this steakhouse, they agreed.
"Sure, what is it?"
"It's the Straya Uluru Steak. The best steak imported from Straya that looks like their famous monolith in the outback. A thick, red and juicy meat that can break someone's mouth." Ren described the steak.
"Okay then, how about some dessert?" She asked the two.
"Sure, I'll try the White Cliff cake." He said as he looked at the dessert section of the menu.
"Okay then. let me just call the waiter." Ren said as she looked around, finding a nearby waiter that could write their order. It didn't take long for one of the waiters to walk to their table and ask for their order.
"Hello, have you finally decided what you guys want for lunch?" The waiter politely asked the three.
"Yup. We'll take three Straya Uluru Streak, one Four Cheese Pizza, Four Bottomless Ice Tea and One White Cliff Cake." Ren stated their order. Yoake was confused on who's the four pizzas so he decided to ask Ren.
"Who's pizza for?" Yoake curiously asked.
"For a friend of mine?" Ren stated.
"Friend?"
"Gengar!" A Pokemon suddenly appeared in the empty chair. This spooked Yoake and Claudine after Gengar quickly showed itself to the two.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack." Claudine panted. Gengar laughed as he was poking fun at Claudine after seeing her shocked.
Claudine rolled her eyes as she tapped Yoake's shoulder signaling him that she wants to continue reading her book. Yoake sighed as he opened the zipper of his bag, took the book and handed it over to Claudine. She opened the book and continued reading .
"Is that all?" The waiter asked Ren.
"Yup." Ren nodded.
"Okay then, please wait for 15 minutes or so." The waiter assured the group as they left and headed to the kitchen.
"Alright. Since you actually defeated Sabrina, any good tips?" Yoake asked Ren once more as he wants to be fully prepared for their battle later.
"Well, if you want a recommendation, you should prepare since Sabrina's Ace is Alakazam, and with your current predicament, she'll be using Mega Alakazam so be prepared."
"Fast, hard-hitting but frail. How did you defeat her?" Yoake asked.
"Well, Scizor and Gengar made me win. Bullet Punch is just way too godly." Ren answered her rival's question as she remembers the time when she fought Sabrina.
"I see. Do you think my team can handle it?" He asked as he gave his pokedex to Ren and showed his team to his rival.
"Damn, well, that's a team built for disaster. Let's just hope Battle Bond will carry you." Ren sarcastically suggested.
"Tsk." Yoake giggled as he realized his vital mistake.
While the two were having their conversation, Claudine on the other hand felt something was watching her. She raised her head and saw Gengar was busy looking at the streets.
'What was that? That familiar feeling, when I was looking at a-' Claudine looked above her and saw the Greninja, standing on one of the buildings above and was observing them.
She felt a connection to the Greninja, she couldn't tell what it was. Genga also notices him but he decides to ignore it and continue on.
She blinked for a quick moment and the mysterious Greninja left with no trace. She rubs her eyes and decides to continue her reading.
Later on, they finished their lunch and headed to the Saffron city gym.
Yoake looked at the gym with utter doubt on himself, he wasn't sure if he's ready as he tried to master up the courage to battle Sabrina but all of it was destroyed, flamed and 'sliced into pieces' after his battle against Ren earlier that day.
He clenched his fist and opened the door of the gym, looked behind him and saw Ren and Gengar giving him a thumbs up, supporting him with the best of wishes. Yoake smiled and slowly walked into the gym with Claudine behind him.
The door slam shut, as soon as they enter, there's no other way of getting out besides battling Sabrina.
The two slowly walked into the empty hallways of the gym. Its hallway was designed with futurism, from purple wallpaper to neon lights scattered throughout the floor. At the end of the hallway, there was a steel door, waiting for them to enter and to see the other side.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Claudine asked her trainer.
"I don't know, but we can try to." Yoake coldly answered his Pokemon's question.
They continued to walk along the hallway until they finally reached the steel door. The two were nervous to say the least, the pressure, stress and anxiety about the battle slowly crawling through their legs even though the battle was too far from their reach.
"Let's go." Yoake said as the steel door opened. It slowly splits itself and allows the two to enter the other side. As they walked into the door a bone-chilling voice greeted them.
"Welcome. Mister Katsuragi, I've been waiting for you to enter my domain." A feminine voice greeted them. They entered the gym and there's no turning back from here.
The room, like the hallway, is futuristic. Gray floor, Purple Walls and Neon lights. The battlefield is lit with Green neon with the traces of a traditional Pokemon battlefield. In the center of it all is Sabrina, standing there with a menacing look.
"Sabrina... " Yoake coldly uttered the specialist's name.
"Yoake Katsuragi. Son of Trevor Katsuragi, I might say, the son always has his father's looks." Sabrina said.
"How do you know my father?" He curiously asked.
"You see boy, I know everything." Sabrina stated with pure pride and grin on her mouth.
"Oh really? Well then, what's the meaning of life? Why are we here?" Yoake mockingly asked the specialist.
"grrr, you're an annoying shit just like your father." Sabrina growled after hearing those stupid questions from the trainer.
"So you know my father then, you must be close to my family huh?" Yoake asked the specialist as he prepared for the upcoming battle.
"You want answers? Come and get it!" Sabrina teleported to her place in the battlefield and the hype of the battle slowly rushed to their veins.
Let the Battle of Wits Begin!
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