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Description
Counterbalanced - Chapter 23

Yena felt like her head was spinning.
From passing through countless streets and alleys, that all looked the same to her.
From the numerous people rushing by, some of them accompanied by Pokémon she'd never seen before.
From the incredible amount of strange scents and sounds, some fleeting, some strong.

Yena also felt increasingly amazed as she observed her three companions, finding their way through the concrete maze without even hesitating once. More and more convinced that, if they left her here, she'd never find her way out of Castelia City again, she clinged to Scout's hand like a lifeline.

Suddenly, Chase turned around, coming to a complete halt at once.
He looked at Yena as he announced:

"We're getting close."

Chase went through his pockets, soon pulling out two gray pieces of cloth.
He threw one of them at Yena. As she caught it, she discovered it to be a long, rough ribbon.

"Let Scout tie it around your upper arm."

He pointed up.

"It's for the sentries."

Yena looked up immediately, but saw nothing unusual.

Scout giggled, and pulled the blond girl's arm, in preperation of tying the ribbon around it.

"You can only see them if you know where to look, silly!"

Yena was feeling puzzled, and slightly overwhelmed by the thought of being watched.

"Why do I have to wear this, exactly…?"

The answer to her question came from Chase, who was in the process of knotting together the ends of the other ribbon around Alex' upper arm.

"Because they'll know that you're with us. Anyone coming this close to the heart of the Gray Guardians, without any recognisable gray fabrics, will be closely monitored, and distracted if necessary. A ribbon like this around the upper arm means you're a guest. We don't get a lot of those, but every sentry up there knows it."

He redirected his attention at Alex, who had angrily opened his mouth to give a sharp comment.

"Get that look off your face. I know you're not a guest."

He waited a moment, and after Alex managed a more neutral expression, he explained:

"You're not wearing gray, so the ribbon's necessary. Two new kids arrived in the time you were away, so they don't know you yet. Maybe they don't have sentry duty today, but I don't want any misunderstandings."

---

The deeper they went into Castelia City's maze of alleys, the more glimpses Yena caught of children wearing at least one piece of gray clothing. Most of them happily greeted the group, curiously studying Yena as she passed by.

Wanting to know more about the Gray Guardians, Yena observed them right back.
The children's ages varied greatly - from roughly four to an estimated sixteen years old.
She sometimes spotted older kids with one or two toddlers by the hand, cheerfully talking to them as they walked. If Yena had expected to find neglected or unruly children, she didn't see any of them. They looked cheerful enough, and weren't just hanging around – most of the kids they met were passing by, carrying light bags or letters.

With the tall buildings towering over them, the sun had little chance of actually reaching the pavement. Chills ran down Yena's spine as the autumn wind forcefully blew right through her light jacket. She wasn't feeling very comfortable anymore, and part of her wished she could just go back, and get warm in a Pokécenter, where everything was safe and familiar.

But one look at Alex, who was walking in front of her, convinced her to carry on.
She was determined to help him in some way or another, and finding out more about this mysterious organisation seemed like a good point to start at. As she looked at Alex' back, she noticed how his shoulders were pulled up, and how he was clenching his fists, then relaxing them again, in an attempt to stay calm. She was just considering speeding up her pace to walk alongside of him when Chase gestured at a nearby door.

"Through here."

---

Yena couldn't contain a silent sigh of relief.

So this was Ada.

In the middle of a spacious room, there was an old lady, gracefully sitting on a couple of pillows.

Made of soft fabrics, the kimono she was wearing gradually went from the lightest of yellow at the top, to either a darker shade of green at the end of its sleeves, or white around the legs. The obi around her waist was bright red. Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, leaving only a few strands of hair to fall down at the sides of her face. Alert, green eyes and a warm smile greeted Yena as the blond girl stepped into the room.

Yena wasn't sure how to properly greet the older lady, but her awkwardness dissolved as Scout rushed by and fell into her grandmother's arms, hugging her tightly. Ada's expression was so loving as she held her granddaughter, that Yena instinctively stepped closer to the woman.

Ada looked up at her, smiled, and gestured at a pile of cushions on her left.
Her voice was very clear as she spoke:

"Please, make yourself comfortable. You're cold and tired."

Her slightly wrinkled hands went through Scout's hair, and she kissed the girl's forehead.

"I'll see you again soon, dear. For now, go with Chase.
He'll make you some hot chocolate, if you ask nicely."

She winked at the red-haired man, who nodded at both Yena and Alex to say goodbye, and left the building with Scout at his side. Silence returned to the room, as Yena pulled a couple of pillows from the pile, and spread them across the floor, for her and Alex to sit on.

Finally, Yena took her place at a respectful distance from the elderly woman.

But Ada was no longer watching her.
The gray-haired lady stretched out her arms, beckoning Alex to come closer.
After a moment, he stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against, taking Ada's hands.
She pulled him down, onto some pillows on her right.
Then she proceeded to go through his hair with her fingers, as she had done with Scout.

"Chase scared you with my message."

One of her hands went to his shoulder.

"You can relax now."

Yena was amazed as Ada's words had an immediate effect on Alex.
His shoulders went down, and he sighed, as if the warmth of the room had only just reached him.
As he shifted among the pillows, to find a more comfortable sitting position, Ada's gaze went back at Yena. The girl suddenly remembered her manners. Just to be on the safe side, she made a small bow.

"My name is Yena Zenouveau. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A smile was her reward.

"You're a polite and pleasant girl. As you know, my name is Ada. I welcome you.
You may stay for as long as you like."

Next to Ada, Alex was looking at and listening to their words intently. His hands had found a cushion with decorative beads stitched on it, and were currently plucking at them without giving it much thought.

"Thank you, that's very nice of you."

Green eyes studied her.

"You have a lot of questions."

Yena hesitated, and Ada continued:

"You will find answers during your stay here."

Her attention went back to Alex.

Ada put one of her hands on the side of his face before talking to him.

"You will not like hearing this."

Alex immediately tensed up again, his hands now clenching the cushion.
Yena almost forgot to breathe as Ada concentrated for a moment, then spoke.

"These are the things that I've been told…

You will be meeting him.

You will embrace or push away.

You will face truth and lies.

And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust."

A moment of silence.

Alex got to his feet, and backed away, his eyes wide.

"You're right…" His voice was strained. "…I don't like what you're saying."
He clenched his fists, and Yena saw something in his eyes that came close to despair.

Ada was watching him sympathetically.

"When you first arrived here, you insisted on hearing everything that was told about you.
You were old enough to understand that this includes unhappy times."

Frustrated, Alex rushed at the door, but turned around at the last moment.
He bowed stiffly as he asked:

"Permission to leave?"

Yena hadn't moved from her place on the soft pillows as she watched the conversation in front of her unfold, but yelped in shock as something, in the corner of the room, that she had presumed to be a colorful statue, suddenly started moving.

All eyes went directly at the strange-looking creature, as it was was moving its wings up and down.
It took Yena a couple of seconds to realise that this was actually a Pokémon, and that there were three more of them, each one in a different corner of the room.

They were four green birds, with long, white wings.
The patterns on his body were black, red and yellow.
As Yena studied them, she noticed that one of them had three yellow stripes to decorate its body, instead of two. But for now, only one was moving. The others remained motionless, simply staring at the center of the room, where Ada was sitting.

As the bird stopped moving, Ada turned back to Alex.

"I see. You may leave. Lily is waiting outside. Please send her in, on your way out."

Unnerved, Alex stared at the mysterious Pokémon for another couple of seconds, then slowly nodded, and left the room.

---

Yena got up from her little nest of cushions. Not sure whether she was supposed to go after Alex, or stay in this room with Ada, she just stood around, looking back and forth between the four Pokémon and their presumed owner.

Ada smiled.

"You're confused. And you're wondering what kind of Pokémon they are.
…But that is a problem you can solve by yourself."

Encouraged by Ada's words, Yena nodded, and got out her Pokédex, pointing it at the bird-Pokémon that had moved. The metallic voice that came from the machine seemed out of place in the room's almost magical ambiance.

'Xatu, the Mystic Pokémon. Xatu is said to be able to foretell the future with a high degree of accuracy. It is said that its right eye sees the future, and its left eye views the past.'

"Foretelling the future…"

Yena felt chills running down her spine. The idea of knowing what was coming was overwhelming.

"From time to time, these four will let me know what the future holds.
This includes small foretellings, like tomorrow's weather, and life-changing events…"

Ada's green eyes looked up at Yena.

"…such as the one you just heard."

Yena felt like she could understand Alex' nerves about going back to Castelia City a bit better.

"It sounded… bad. Can Alex change anything about what's coming, now that he heard your words?"

Ada looked tired.

"Alex will make a serious attempt to do just that, but it will do more damage than good."

"How about me…? Can I do anything to make it better…?"

Her wrinkled hand stretched out at Yena.
As she held it, Ada told her:

"Follow your instincts, dear."

Then, on a more practical tone, she said:

"My Xatu over there signalled that Alex will be feeling unwell for five days, starting tomorrow.
Why don't you explore Castelia City with Lily in that timeframe?"

Ada's other hand gestured at the door opening, and Yena discovered a girl had come in.
She had been pacing back and forth in the back of the room, waiting impatiently, until her she heard her name.

Lily seemed to be only one or two years younger than Yena. She was dressed in all shades of gray, ranging from white to pitchblack. The color of her hair was exceptionally light, and contrasted greatly with the black rose hairpin that was decorating the side of her head.

The girl grinned, and Yena could tell that her pacing had not been a lack of manners, but a matter of abundant energy.

Lily came forward to shake Yena's hand.

"Hello! It's nice to see a new face! I'm looking forward to giving you the grand tour of our lovely city.
But for now, I'll just show you where our unit resides."

Lily made a graceful bow to Ada.

"I left Tommy and Cassandra with just Morgan to supervise them, and Alex didn't look like he was going straight home when he passed me by, so… I should go back. Permission to leave?"

Ada nodded, and Lily hooked her arm into Yena's, as they faced the windy alleys of Castelia City again.

"It's only a five-minute walk, but newcomers always get lost around here.
The Gray Guardians are split up into units of four or five people, who then share an appartment.
But the appartments are scattered across this neighbourhood, so it makes sense that it takes everyone forever to find their way around here."

Her lively chattering reminded Yena of Scout, and felt refreshing to her after a day of stress.

She smiled back at the girl, as Lily grinned proudly.

"In Alex' absence, I did a pretty good job leading our unit.
Maybe Chase will consider training me to be an official leader!"

"…Is Alex the leader of your unit?"

"That's right. And Chase is the supervisor of all unit leaders.
I heard you arrived here with Chase, so you know him.
There's more of a system behind the Gray Guardians than you might think."

Description
Counterbalanced - Chapter 23

Yena felt like her head was spinning.
From passing through countless streets and alleys, that all looked the same to her.
From the numerous people rushing by, some of them accompanied by Pokémon she'd never seen before.
From the incredible amount of strange scents and sounds, some fleeting, some strong.

Yena also felt increasingly amazed as she observed her three companions, finding their way through the concrete maze without even hesitating once. More and more convinced that, if they left her here, she'd never find her way out of Castelia City again, she clinged to Scout's hand like a lifeline.

Suddenly, Chase turned around, coming to a complete halt at once.
He looked at Yena as he announced:

"We're getting close."

Chase went through his pockets, soon pulling out two gray pieces of cloth.
He threw one of them at Yena. As she caught it, she discovered it to be a long, rough ribbon.

"Let Scout tie it around your upper arm."

He pointed up.

"It's for the sentries."

Yena looked up immediately, but saw nothing unusual.

Scout giggled, and pulled the blond girl's arm, in preperation of tying the ribbon around it.

"You can only see them if you know where to look, silly!"

Yena was feeling puzzled, and slightly overwhelmed by the thought of being watched.

"Why do I have to wear this, exactly…?"

The answer to her question came from Chase, who was in the process of knotting together the ends of the other ribbon around Alex' upper arm.

"Because they'll know that you're with us. Anyone coming this close to the heart of the Gray Guardians, without any recognisable gray fabrics, will be closely monitored, and distracted if necessary. A ribbon like this around the upper arm means you're a guest. We don't get a lot of those, but every sentry up there knows it."

He redirected his attention at Alex, who had angrily opened his mouth to give a sharp comment.

"Get that look off your face. I know you're not a guest."

He waited a moment, and after Alex managed a more neutral expression, he explained:

"You're not wearing gray, so the ribbon's necessary. Two new kids arrived in the time you were away, so they don't know you yet. Maybe they don't have sentry duty today, but I don't want any misunderstandings."

---

The deeper they went into Castelia City's maze of alleys, the more glimpses Yena caught of children wearing at least one piece of gray clothing. Most of them happily greeted the group, curiously studying Yena as she passed by.

Wanting to know more about the Gray Guardians, Yena observed them right back.
The children's ages varied greatly - from roughly four to an estimated sixteen years old.
She sometimes spotted older kids with one or two toddlers by the hand, cheerfully talking to them as they walked. If Yena had expected to find neglected or unruly children, she didn't see any of them. They looked cheerful enough, and weren't just hanging around – most of the kids they met were passing by, carrying light bags or letters.

With the tall buildings towering over them, the sun had little chance of actually reaching the pavement. Chills ran down Yena's spine as the autumn wind forcefully blew right through her light jacket. She wasn't feeling very comfortable anymore, and part of her wished she could just go back, and get warm in a Pokécenter, where everything was safe and familiar.

But one look at Alex, who was walking in front of her, convinced her to carry on.
She was determined to help him in some way or another, and finding out more about this mysterious organisation seemed like a good point to start at. As she looked at Alex' back, she noticed how his shoulders were pulled up, and how he was clenching his fists, then relaxing them again, in an attempt to stay calm. She was just considering speeding up her pace to walk alongside of him when Chase gestured at a nearby door.

"Through here."

---

Yena couldn't contain a silent sigh of relief.

So this was Ada.

In the middle of a spacious room, there was an old lady, gracefully sitting on a couple of pillows.

Made of soft fabrics, the kimono she was wearing gradually went from the lightest of yellow at the top, to either a darker shade of green at the end of its sleeves, or white around the legs. The obi around her waist was bright red. Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, leaving only a few strands of hair to fall down at the sides of her face. Alert, green eyes and a warm smile greeted Yena as the blond girl stepped into the room.

Yena wasn't sure how to properly greet the older lady, but her awkwardness dissolved as Scout rushed by and fell into her grandmother's arms, hugging her tightly. Ada's expression was so loving as she held her granddaughter, that Yena instinctively stepped closer to the woman.

Ada looked up at her, smiled, and gestured at a pile of cushions on her left.
Her voice was very clear as she spoke:

"Please, make yourself comfortable. You're cold and tired."

Her slightly wrinkled hands went through Scout's hair, and she kissed the girl's forehead.

"I'll see you again soon, dear. For now, go with Chase.
He'll make you some hot chocolate, if you ask nicely."

She winked at the red-haired man, who nodded at both Yena and Alex to say goodbye, and left the building with Scout at his side. Silence returned to the room, as Yena pulled a couple of pillows from the pile, and spread them across the floor, for her and Alex to sit on.

Finally, Yena took her place at a respectful distance from the elderly woman.

But Ada was no longer watching her.
The gray-haired lady stretched out her arms, beckoning Alex to come closer.
After a moment, he stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against, taking Ada's hands.
She pulled him down, onto some pillows on her right.
Then she proceeded to go through his hair with her fingers, as she had done with Scout.

"Chase scared you with my message."

One of her hands went to his shoulder.

"You can relax now."

Yena was amazed as Ada's words had an immediate effect on Alex.
His shoulders went down, and he sighed, as if the warmth of the room had only just reached him.
As he shifted among the pillows, to find a more comfortable sitting position, Ada's gaze went back at Yena. The girl suddenly remembered her manners. Just to be on the safe side, she made a small bow.

"My name is Yena Zenouveau. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A smile was her reward.

"You're a polite and pleasant girl. As you know, my name is Ada. I welcome you.
You may stay for as long as you like."

Next to Ada, Alex was looking at and listening to their words intently. His hands had found a cushion with decorative beads stitched on it, and were currently plucking at them without giving it much thought.

"Thank you, that's very nice of you."

Green eyes studied her.

"You have a lot of questions."

Yena hesitated, and Ada continued:

"You will find answers during your stay here."

Her attention went back to Alex.

Ada put one of her hands on the side of his face before talking to him.

"You will not like hearing this."

Alex immediately tensed up again, his hands now clenching the cushion.
Yena almost forgot to breathe as Ada concentrated for a moment, then spoke.

"These are the things that I've been told…

You will be meeting him.

You will embrace or push away.

You will face truth and lies.

And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust."

A moment of silence.

Alex got to his feet, and backed away, his eyes wide.

"You're right…" His voice was strained. "…I don't like what you're saying."
He clenched his fists, and Yena saw something in his eyes that came close to despair.

Ada was watching him sympathetically.

"When you first arrived here, you insisted on hearing everything that was told about you.
You were old enough to understand that this includes unhappy times."

Frustrated, Alex rushed at the door, but turned around at the last moment.
He bowed stiffly as he asked:

"Permission to leave?"

Yena hadn't moved from her place on the soft pillows as she watched the conversation in front of her unfold, but yelped in shock as something, in the corner of the room, that she had presumed to be a colorful statue, suddenly started moving.

All eyes went directly at the strange-looking creature, as it was was moving its wings up and down.
It took Yena a couple of seconds to realise that this was actually a Pokémon, and that there were three more of them, each one in a different corner of the room.

They were four green birds, with long, white wings.
The patterns on his body were black, red and yellow.
As Yena studied them, she noticed that one of them had three yellow stripes to decorate its body, instead of two. But for now, only one was moving. The others remained motionless, simply staring at the center of the room, where Ada was sitting.

As the bird stopped moving, Ada turned back to Alex.

"I see. You may leave. Lily is waiting outside. Please send her in, on your way out."

Unnerved, Alex stared at the mysterious Pokémon for another couple of seconds, then slowly nodded, and left the room.

---

Yena got up from her little nest of cushions. Not sure whether she was supposed to go after Alex, or stay in this room with Ada, she just stood around, looking back and forth between the four Pokémon and their presumed owner.

Ada smiled.

"You're confused. And you're wondering what kind of Pokémon they are.
…But that is a problem you can solve by yourself."

Encouraged by Ada's words, Yena nodded, and got out her Pokédex, pointing it at the bird-Pokémon that had moved. The metallic voice that came from the machine seemed out of place in the room's almost magical ambiance.

'Xatu, the Mystic Pokémon. Xatu is said to be able to foretell the future with a high degree of accuracy. It is said that its right eye sees the future, and its left eye views the past.'

"Foretelling the future…"

Yena felt chills running down her spine. The idea of knowing what was coming was overwhelming.

"From time to time, these four will let me know what the future holds.
This includes small foretellings, like tomorrow's weather, and life-changing events…"

Ada's green eyes looked up at Yena.

"…such as the one you just heard."

Yena felt like she could understand Alex' nerves about going back to Castelia City a bit better.

"It sounded… bad. Can Alex change anything about what's coming, now that he heard your words?"

Ada looked tired.

"Alex will make a serious attempt to do just that, but it will do more damage than good."

"How about me…? Can I do anything to make it better…?"

Her wrinkled hand stretched out at Yena.
As she held it, Ada told her:

"Follow your instincts, dear."

Then, on a more practical tone, she said:

"My Xatu over there signalled that Alex will be feeling unwell for five days, starting tomorrow.
Why don't you explore Castelia City with Lily in that timeframe?"

Ada's other hand gestured at the door opening, and Yena discovered a girl had come in.
She had been pacing back and forth in the back of the room, waiting impatiently, until her she heard her name.

Lily seemed to be only one or two years younger than Yena. She was dressed in all shades of gray, ranging from white to pitchblack. The color of her hair was exceptionally light, and contrasted greatly with the black rose hairpin that was decorating the side of her head.

The girl grinned, and Yena could tell that her pacing had not been a lack of manners, but a matter of abundant energy.

Lily came forward to shake Yena's hand.

"Hello! It's nice to see a new face! I'm looking forward to giving you the grand tour of our lovely city.
But for now, I'll just show you where our unit resides."

Lily made a graceful bow to Ada.

"I left Tommy and Cassandra with just Morgan to supervise them, and Alex didn't look like he was going straight home when he passed me by, so… I should go back. Permission to leave?"

Ada nodded, and Lily hooked her arm into Yena's, as they faced the windy alleys of Castelia City again.

"It's only a five-minute walk, but newcomers always get lost around here.
The Gray Guardians are split up into units of four or five people, who then share an appartment.
But the appartments are scattered across this neighbourhood, so it makes sense that it takes everyone forever to find their way around here."

Her lively chattering reminded Yena of Scout, and felt refreshing to her after a day of stress.

She smiled back at the girl, as Lily grinned proudly.

"In Alex' absence, I did a pretty good job leading our unit.
Maybe Chase will consider training me to be an official leader!"

"…Is Alex the leader of your unit?"

"That's right. And Chase is the supervisor of all unit leaders.
I heard you arrived here with Chase, so you know him.
There's more of a system behind the Gray Guardians than you might think."