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EPISODE THREE: SANTALUNE CITY/NIGHT - "The Monoke"
"Emma Kuzunoha," Emma introduced carefully. She ceased her struggling. "I'm a detective."
"A detective?" The mysterious woman repeated. Apparently she was surprised that someone of her age could become a detective, and that she was gutsy enough to venture upon this neck of the city alone at night. Perhaps she was the real deal. She then nodded, apparently to her cohort. He suddenly released his hold upon Emma, setting her free. "Fine. And what brings a detective like yourself to these parts? Were you looking for us?"
"You're the Monoke, the gang who has been around, messing with the local workers here, yes?" asked Emma. The members all glanced towards each other, whispering with one another. The woman stayed silent, giving Emma a more hateful glare. "I'll take that as a yes. Mr. Houto told me all about you. Hey, you know that the victory road is a symbol of the hardships pokemon trainer and their partners experienced throughout their journey, right? Why do you want to disrupt this?"
"Another one of Houto's lapdogs, huh..." the woman declared. "That bastard will never quit, will he..."
"Bastard...?" Emma repeated. "I know he's a bit flighty from first hand-experience, but why call him such names? Isn't that a little extreme?"
"Shut it," the woman warned. She then got out a pokeball that hanged from her belt. "I'll make you a deal. If you can beat me, we will leave. But if I win, run back to Houto, and never come back. Understand?"
Emma was surprised. This was a surprisingly... subtle way to go about this. Never the less, she nodded in agreement. The woman, who nodded in turn, turned away to the path way she came from. "Follow me."
EPISODE FOUR: SANTALUNE CITY/NIGHT - "Happy"
The place that Emma was led to, seemed to be an abandoned baseball square. The area was surrounded by a sturdy metal fence, with lights that shined throughout the pitch-black night, to the arena. Emma stood on the opposite end of the stadium of the female member of the Monoke. She never thought of it until now, but could this woman be the leader of the gang? Her formality seems to say so. The other members all watched the upcoming battle from all around the field.
"We'll both use only one pokemon," the woman started to explain. "The pokemon that gets KO'd first, loses. And by the way, my name is Kikyo, leader and big sister of the Monoke. Remember the name of the one who will beat you!"
"I don't think I'll be able to forget regardless," Emma pointed out. "But very well,
Ms. Kikyo. It's your move."
The leader known as Kikyo once again brought out her pokeball from before. "Behold my partner... Raichu!" she through her pokeball, releasing her prized Raichu from it. From what Emma remembered from her pokemon studies, Raichu is an electric-type pokemon that evolved from Pikachu using a Thunderstone. Having battled an evolved pokemon before, Emma knew she was in for a tough match, since she had no evolved pokemon of her own just yet. Even so, she must fight.
She brought out her own pokeball. "This is my partner pokemon, and friend... Vida, the Monet of Forest!" she threw her pokeball, releasing her proud Budew. Vida was as cheerful as ever.
"Heh heh, I pity the dame who will battle big sis and Raichu once they're in sync," one of the gang members commented. "They're undefeated, after all!"
"You get the first move," Kikyo explained to Emma. "Now go!"
"Vida, use your Leaf Storm attack!" Emma ordered. Vida jumped up, and spun around as it glowed, releasing a barrage of leaves, straight towards the cocky electric mouse.
"Raichu! Counter with your Thunderbolt!" followed up the confident Kikyo. Her Raichu obeyed, storing electrical energy from the pouches of its yellow cheeks, then releasing it all at once towards the Leaf storm. The blast collided with the barrage of leaves, eventually pushing them back, hurling right back towards Vida, who then took the blast of electrical power. "Not a very wild Leaf Storm..." Kikyo commented, followed up with pitiable laughter from the crowd.
"Then we'll regain health using an absorb attack!" shouted the eager Emma, with Vida glowing once, releasing green waves of energy toward her electric-type foe.
"Now, Quick Attack!" commanded Kikyo to her Raichu. Raichu, as instructed, ran like lightning. With the speed, it dodged the waves of energy with ease, countering with a head-on blow right towards Vida, before it could react. It knocked Vida away, making it crash nearby Emma.
"Vida!" Emma called out to her hurt pokemon. She was left dumbfounded. Damn it, it's no good! She's strong... So much stronger than me...!
Kikyo's Raichu then performed another Thunderbolt, striking the Budew once more. Vida was left on the ground, struggling to get backup. It seemed to be fully paralyzed from that last blast. Raichu then raced back to its master's side. Kikyo looked on to her helpless opponent. "Just give up already," she advised. "I'm disappointed. Here I thought you'd be stronger but you're just a rookie, aren't you? Get out of here before you and your pokemon get hurt. Tell that scumbag Houto to bring a better challenge."
"First bastard, now scumbag...?" Emma asked in remembrance of Kikyo's insults. "What has that man ever done to you to make you so... hateful?"
Kikyo looked upon Emma in an awkward way. "You're not just playing dumb, aren't you...?" she asked in realization. "You REALLY don't know anything about that... man?"
"What do you mean?" Emma asked in response. "He's just the man who helped fund the construction of the peaceful Victory Road... right?"
Kikyo crossed her arms in disgust, as the other gang members looked upon one another. "You have no idea what that victory road really means, do you..." she started to say. "Yes. The victory road is the sign of the hardships that trainer and pokemon go through together. Once upon a time, I thought this world was supposed to be just that: overcoming obstacles, in order to chase your dreams..."
Emma looked on in confusion, as Kikyo uncrossed her arms. "...Long ago, I was a pokemon trainer like yourself," Kikyo began. "I had dreams, goals and ambitions. It was all... for my little brother. Our family was poor, but we were happy because we had each other. My little brother had a weak constitution, so he couldn't do much outside rest in bed. But I told my brother that one day, I was going to become a champion pokemon master, in his stead. You couldn't believe his excitement! He always cheered me on, allowing me to get through the difficult times. He always thought of me rather than himself... he was very kind. So in return,
I vowed to become the pokemon champion he always wanted to be."
"Ms Kikyo..." Emma could only gesture. Kikyo only continued.
"Months before today, we even found a pokemon egg. It was strange, but, looking upon that egg? It sparked something within us. It was a tough time in our lives, but... it gave us hope. That's why when it was ready to hatch, we were going to call the egg 'Happy', a symbol of hope. With that hope, everything seemed to be looking up for us. But then... Houto took everything away from me...! "
"He took everything away?" Emma repeated. "In what way?"
"As I said before, we were very poor," Kikyo responded. "And the high society people in this region always look down on the poverty. We were nothing more than human garbage. At least, that confirmed to be the case when Houto got involved. He used his so-called power to leave us virtually homeless, so he could build more cafes and hotels in this damned city - as if we didn't matter at all! In fact, he left dozens upon hundreds of people and pokemon alike without homes, food or water. And without shelter and proper nourishment, my brother... couldn't survive."
"That's terrible!" Emma commented. "But, why didn't you contact anyone about this...? Surely it couldn't be legal--"
"Hah! Do you think anyone in this region gives a damn about us?" Kikyo asked in snide. "Kalos has no room for the poor, like myself and the rest of the Monoke. Don't believe me? Take this victory road. Continued construction means bye-bye to the rest of the unfortunate who made their homes around there. That's why we will stop them, and when I get strong enough to become a champion, I will become it by challenging the pokemon league! Once I've become the champion, I'll make sure that rotten bastard and all the rich demons in this region receive divine punishment for all the evil they did Let's see how it feels once I've taken away everything from them!!"
"But wait!" Emma pleaded. "What about the innocent...? You can't do this to them! What you're doing is no better than those rotten people!"
"There ARE no 'innocent' in this world!" shouted a more enraged Kikyo. "Means and methods are nothing in the eyes of justice!"
"You're wrong!" rebutted Emma. "The end is only justified through fair and honest means! Your very idea 'justice' is wrong! "
"A fool who blindly follows the very same evil she's trying to prevent has no right to preach to me about justice!" Kikyo roared. "Tell then, what is justice? How do you work towards a peace with an endless cycle of hatred?"
"Peace..." Emma mumbled to herself. She recalled her late father's words. Indeed, as long as humans remain in this world, this world will be trapped upon hate. Her father was always trying to find out an answer to get rid of this hatred, but to no avail. Emma stood silently. Her strength of will... slowly faded away as she gave her answer. "I... I don't know."
Kikyo scoffed. "I thought as much," she said in a softer tone. She then turned to command her Raichu once more. "Raichu, finish the opponent off with Hyper Beam." Raichu started to build up energy from it's mouth. Vida, still struggling to recover, was stunned by paralysis. Emma could do nothing more, but close her eyes awaiting the inevitable.
That was until, sirens were heard.
EPISODE FIVE: SANTALUNE CITY/NIGHT - "What is true justice?"
"FREEZE!" came a shout. It sounded like it was coming from a megaphone. "We have you all surrounded!"
"B-Big sister!" a gang member of the Monoke blurted out, sprinting towards his leader. It appeared that he was on lookout. "I-Its the cops! There are so many of em'...!"
Kikyo's Raichu halted its attack. "Run! All of you! NOW!" Kikyo shouted. The members of the gang all scattered, but it was too late. The police came rushing in, seizing them one at a time. Kikyo and Emma could do nothing much watch the chaos. But soon, among that chaos, a familiar man appeared.
"Ah, Detective Kuzunoha!" it was Mr. Houto, in a much better mood than before, it seemed. "Sorry it took so long, m'dear. Just leave this all to us, mmkay?"
"Houto... You BASTARD!" enraged Kikyo, about to strike her rich adversary. Her Raichu was about to follow suit, until it was jumped by several Growlithe, stopping it in is tracks as the pack held it to the ground. Kikyo became surrounded and overpowered by several police guards too, as they all restrained her to the ground as well.
"M-Mr. Houto?" Emma stuttered meanwhile. "What's the meaning of this? An arrest warrent of this group wouldn't of been necessary--"
"Aw, but you see..." Houto began with a huff. "This group has been trouble for the longest time, you know? So I told the local police, with some... encouragement, to take care of this problem."
"You... coward...!" Kikyo mustered up to shout. "My home... my friends... My brother! You're going to PAY for taking them away from me--"
"Shut up!" ordered a police member, using his foot to stomp once on the base of Kikyo's head.
"What do you think you're doing?!" demanded Emma. "Mr. Houto, this is no better than torture!"
"Bah, she's tough. She'll live," Houto snorted. He gently placed his hand on Emma's shoulder. "Come now, forget the riff-raff. I have to thank you, y'know. If you hadn't found their hideout, this hadn't been all possible!"
"Wh-What...?" Emma said in silent shock. "This was... because of me...?"
"I KNEW I couldn't trust you... you insufferable *****," Kikyo could only blurt. "See where your so called 'justice' led to? You're just like... those criminals..." Kikyo was stuck by another blow to the head, this time knocking her out, making it easy for the policemen to drag her away. Emma reached down to pick up her Budew. It was left, covered in bruises.
No... she thought, disheartened. This was all... my fault...?
"Sir!" suddenly shouted another policeman. He was holding what it seemed like a purplish egg. "We found this in one of their lairs. They'll have no need for it where they're going. For life."
"Haha, indeed!" Houto said in glee. He turned to Emma. "Why don't you hang on to it dear. Consider it an award! Now the victory road's construction will be complete, and no more riff-raff will be around. A joyous night! Oh and don't worry about your grass friend there. I'll make sure the pokemon center patches her right up!"
The policeman slowly awarded Emma was the egg, as Emma held on to it with her free arm, with her injured Budew on another. Mr. Houto chuckled as he hobbled away. The police with their captured prey followed suit, stuffing them in various cars. Emma was soon left alone. Emma could tell right away what this pokemon egg was. "This is... Happy..." she said to herself. "The pokemon egg that represented hope for the people who lived in unfortunate circumstances..."
She clenched on the egg, and on to Vida tightly. To protect the world from the injustice that inhabit it. What more can a detective do...? That's right... I helped lock away bad people. Protected the order of this region. Yes... justice has prevailed ...
"...And it's all. My. Fault...!"
Case 3 - End
Obtained:
Pokemon Egg! A pokemon egg with a deep purple shine. What will hatch from this? Only time will tell.
Newt cackled to himself as Odette left the Pokemon Center after their little transaction. "Rich people." He muttered, putting the money in his wallet. "I would have sold it for 500! I should consider actually going into business, if it's this easy! But first..."
Newt threw open the door to the Gym. "...I've got a Badge to win!" The foyer was empty, meaning that once again Newt's dramatic entry was foiled. "Aww, c'mon! And I waited that whole time for that one, too..." He poked around the foyer for a bit, looking at the pictures on the wall. Apparently, they were all taken by Viola herself.
Newt shrugged, making his way down the hall toward the main chamber. He didn't like that it was getting darker, but just when he was considering using his Pokedex as a flashlight, he came to a door. Seeing an opportunity, Newt tried for theatrics again, gripping the door handle. "I'll have to talk with this 'Viola' about the lighting in here. But first..."
He threw open the door, stepping into the next room. "I've got aaaAAAGH!" Floodlights blared to life, blinding him and interrupting him. Blinking away the spots, he looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was a large pit, full of webs, with platforms suspended above it. The second thing he noticed was the smell of smoke. Third, he noticed a woman across the pit.
"Hey, you okay, kid?" Viola asked, showing concern for the screaming boy who had just stumbled into her Gym.
"Don't you 'kid' me, lady!" Newt shouted, pointing at her accusationally. "You have something that belongs to me, and I won't rest until I get it back!"
Viola looked puzzled, looking at Newt through the zoom lens to see if she recognized him. "I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I don't think I've ever seen you before in my life. What exactly are you looking for?"
Newt grinned, stepping up to the first platform. "My Badge." Viola looked at him in surprise and disbelief, then started laughing. "Oh, that's a good one! I don't get a lot of jokers in my Gym, but you are just a treat!" She stifled her laughter long enough to snap a picture of Newt, but was still smiling.
Newt, seeing his attempt at intimidation backfire, decided to roll with it. "Yeah, well, that's me! A real... funny guy! You know, I'm pretty interested in photography myself. You know Todd Snap?"
"The famed photographer from Kanto? I know of him, but I've never actually met him. Are you telling me you have?" Viola was intrigued, forgetting about the battle for a moment.
Newt shook his head. "No, but I've played his video game dozens of times. Photos are kind of a big thing in Alola." Viola started laughing again, which was as much of an advantage as Newt thought he would get. "So, you wanna do this thing? Have our esteemed Battle for the Badge?"
"Sure!" Viola replied happily. "Whenever you're ready, send out your first Pokemon onto the suspended platform. Our fight will primarily take place on those platforms, unless your Pokemon fall off."
Newt didn't waste any more time. "Let's start this off right! I choose my Nidoran, Rey!" He sent Rey out onto the stone platform, which seemed to confuse her a little. Viola smiled, sending out her first Pokemon. "And I choose Ninjask!" The swift Bug Pokemon darted around in midair, chittering as it focused on Rey.
"Alright, Ninjask, start with Swords Dance!" The flying insect's claws started glowing, but Newt wasn't going to start off that softly. "Rey, use Poison Sting!" Rey jumped to the next platform, then the next, and the next, the leapt at Ninjask, curling into a ball and striking with her venomous quills. Ninjask took the hit, batting Rey toward the webs with its front claws. She uncurled in midair, catching herself on the edge of a platform and scrabbling for purchase.
"Hey!" Newt yelled, getting angry now. "What was that?!" Viola shrugged, grinning slightly. "It's called a gimmick, sweetie. If you can't handle the spider, stay out of the web. Ninjask, use Double Team!" Ninjask seemed to vibrate in place, then flew to another part of the arena, leaving an afterimage wherever it stopped.
"That is not an expression anyone has ever used before..." Newt muttered. "Rey, use Tail Whip!" Rey (despite not having a tail) turned and wiggled her rump at Ninjask, who seemed a little perplexed at the gesture. Viola seemed to share the sentiment. "She's so cute! It'll be so sad when we destroy her. Use Fury Cutter!" Ninjask darted in, slicing across Rey's backside with its claws. She jumped in surprise, but didn't seem that injured.
"Ha! What a weak attack! Rey, use Poison Sting!" Ninjask hovered near Rey, unmoving, so she leapt forward to Sting it, but passed through the illusion without harming it. Viola laughed, signalling the real Ninjask. "We'll show you weak! Another Fury Cutter!" Ninjask zipped in, striking Rey with its claws and knocking her to the ground. Instinctively, she extended her quills, accidentally jabbing Ninjask in the thorax. It shrieked in pain, wings faltering slightly as poison entered its system. Newt saw his opening, pointing at Ninjask dramatically.
"Use your Scratch attack! Hit him while he's hurt!" Rey leapt toward Ninjask, but it darted away before she could strike, sending her off the platform and into the webs below. Ninjask dropped as its wings spasmed from the poison, landing on the platform. Newt growled in frustration, knowing Rey would have trouble getting back up. "Rey, get back here! We'll let Deadwood handle this!" He returned Rey to her ball, sending out his Phantump in her place. Deadwood floated above the platform, negating one of the main disadvantages the Gym conferred.
Apparently, Viola had the same idea. "Ninjask, Baton Pass!" Ninjask vibrated as a pale white aura surrounded it. The aura condensed into a sphere, which floated off Ninjask as Viola returned it to its Pokeball. She sent out her Surskit, and the sphere floated down and was absorbed by the water bug. The first thing it did was zip around the platform on its spindly legs, leaving behind afterimages. Newt consulted his Pokedex in confusion. "Wait, how's that work?"
Viola chimed in with a grin. "Baton Pass transfers all those lovely stat changes from Ninjask to whoever takes his place. So the Speed Boosts, the Swords Dance attack increase, even the increased evasion from Double Team, all power up Surskit!" Newt grit his teeth in frustration, until a thought hit him. "All the stat changes? Even the Tail Whip?" "Yeah, even that." Viola shrugged, not too concerned about it.
"Perfect..." Newt grinned, rubbing his hands together in sadistic glee. "Deadwood, use your Confuse Ray!" "Surskit, intercept with Bug Bite!" Viola countered. Surskit moved incredibly quickly, chomping into Deadwood with its tiny mandibles. It scurried away as Deadwood's eyes shifted from red to purple, unleashing an ethereal light that made Surskit stumble as the light washed over it.
"Surskit, use Aqua Jet!" There was a splashing sound as the bug sheathed itself in water, charging in faster than Newt could see. Surskit was starting to bug him. "Time to field test this technique! Use Energy Ball!" A mote of green energy formed in Deadwood's tiny mouth hole, which he then spat at Surskit. The mote quickly expanded into a sphere the size of Deadwood's head, but it merely passed through an illusory copy. "Oh, come on!"
Viola laughed again, this time at how red Newt was turning. "Unfortunately, the odds are not in your favor here. Bug Bite!" Surskit skittered forward, again biting Deadwood. "Deadwood, use Energy..." Newt's command died in his throat as he saw the lights fade from his Phantump's eyes. The ectoplasmic form receded into the stump, which fell to the ground with a clatter. Newt's teeth were grinding together in his anger, a strangled growl the only sound he could convey. He felt his face heating up, but he forced himself to calm down, returning Deadwood to his ball and sending Rey back out.
"D'aww, the cute little Nidoran is back! Hi baby!" Viola seemed happy to see Rey, though she still issued commands. "Aqua Jet!" Surskit blitzed in, splashing against Rey and making Newt wonder why he wasted time with that Confuse Ray. "Double Kick! Show that bug who's boss!" Rey rushed in and jumped into the air, landing on Surskit with both back feet. "Ooh, nice one! I wish I'd taken a picture of that, she has good form! Aqua Jet!" That hit hurt, but Surskit was still going, again washing over Rey. "Counter with Scratch!"
Rey chased after Surskit, who skittered around the arena, whooping like an insectoid Curly Howard. Her claws only found another afterimage, not the real Surskit. "You know what's next. Say it with me: Aqua Jet!" Newt didn't say it with her. Surskit rushed in, but accidentally stepped in a scratch mark on the floor, stumbling and trying to catch itself. It tripped over its own legs in the confusion, landing in a heap near Rey. "Double Kick! Now! Now! Kick it over the side!" Newt was stomping and shouting again, but Rey didn't need to be told twice. She kicked Surskit toward the edge of the platform, charging in and sliding into it to knock it out and over.
"Okay, good one." Viola conceded, returning Surskit. "We're one for one, now. So say hello to an old friend! Come on back, Ninjask!" Ninjask chittered in annoyance at seeing Rey, who responded with a growl of her own. Newt didn't seem too thrilled, either. "I refuse to say hello, and you can't make me."
"Then prepare for Fury Cutter!" Ninjask blurred, striking and returning too fast for Newt to follow. "Rey, you okay?" Rey didn't answer, she just fell over, too tired to keep going. Viola shook her head, but was smiling gently. "You did your best, and I can tell you really prepared for this, but today just wasn't your-"
"I'm not done yet!" Newt yelled angrily. He returned Rey, and in her place sent out his starter, Agro. Viola actually stepped back in surprise, while Ninjask twitched from the poison still coursing through it. "You have an Aron? Well... this should be fun! I've never had Fury Cutter reach its full power before!" Newt tilted his head in confusion. "Say what now?"
Viola directed Ninjask forward. "Fury Cutter gets stronger after each consecutive use. Since he just finished off Nidoran with it, it'll hit harder when he hits Aron!" Ninjask slashed at Agro, the claws tinking off his Steel armor. "Yeah, I don't think so. Agro, use Curse!" Agro focused inward, his dark power sacrificing his speed for more armor. Ninjask shuddered.
"I see where you're going with this..." Viola muttered. She wasn't too worried, though. Fury Cutter would double in power, but Curse would only offer a 50% increase in defense. "Fury Cutter!" Again, Ninjask sliced. Again, Agro's armor held. "Curse!" Again, Agro grew stronger, humming to himself. Again, the poison ravaged Ninjask.
Viola rubbed her chin in thought. The poison had steadily worn Ninjask down, but his Fury Cutter was hitting hard enough to hurt even an Aron. This fight would be over soon, one way or another. Luckily, she had a secret weapon. "Ninjask, to me!" Ninjask buzzed over to her, letting her pull a spray bottle from her bag and empty its contents onto it. "Super Potion! You're back to full strength now!"
Something finally snapped in Newt. "WHAT?! A Super Potion?! After all that?! You... you... you shrill harpy! You foul witch! You smug ****! You hide behind your Double Team, and you lull me into a battle of attrition, only to break the cycle at the last minute?! How dare you!"
Viola was taken aback by his outburst. "But... Baton Pass transferred the effects of Double Team to Surskit. I'm not hiding behind anything!"
"Seriously?" Newt asked, his metaphorical legs cut out from under him. "Oh. Well, in that case... Agro, use Rock Tomb." Agro stomped on the ground, causing a half dozen boulders to materialize and swirl around him. He pointed his about toward Ninjask, and the boulders flew forward, orbiting the flying insect. Agro stomped again, and the boulders came together, crushing Ninjask in the middle with a sickening crunch. Viola gasped, concerned for her Pokemon. She returned it to its ball, letting out a small sigh.
"Well, that's two knock outs for each of us. But you still have a Pokemon standing, so you're the winner. Congratulations are in order!" She snapped a picture of Newt and Agro, smiling widely. "Through superior numbers and overwhelming use of stat increases, you've bested me. Take this Badge as a symbol of your victory!"
Newt snatched the Badge from her hand, grinning like a fool. "Ha! Told you I'd get this from you! Who's a failure now, Mother?" His gloating was cut off by Viola's sharp "Ahem!" and her disapproving glare. He calmed down, mumbling a half-hearted apology. "Although you show skill in combat, and a burgeoning relationship with your Pokemon, you are severely lacking in sportsmanship. And control of your temper, and manners in general. You cone across less like a Pokemon Trainer and more like an angry child. You're a kid, I get that, but this is your one warning: learn to grow up, maybe take some anger management classes, or you won't get very far in the League. Or in life. So celebrate your victory, and enjoy your badge. I hope you find yourself worthy of more."
Newt nodded, not really paying attention. "Of course, of course. I'll be sure to remember that. And good luck to you. I hope you get that smoke smell out of your Gym." With that, he left for the Pokemon Center, to heal his team and get some snacks.
On a certain day at Ten in the morning an interesting sight graced Parterre Way: A young man in dress clothing just a jacket and tie short of a full suit, the picture of formality, aside from what appeared to be a pink and blue flower bulb backpack with green straps. Beside him was a Growlithe, matching his pace perfectly with head held high and tail puffed up. The Growlithe stumbled every once in awhile thanks to his concentrated attempts to look prim and proper making his steps stiff, he was even concentrating so hard on his walking that he kept stumbling forward a few more feet when his trainer stopped so abruptly. The young man was stock still, staring in awe at the hedges alongside the path, there was a gap where all the bushes took on the shape of a Blastoise! "Goodness, how absolutely exquisite! Oh, and there's a Pikachu!" There were more, even: a Meowth with a torn ear, a Hitmonchan missing one of its hands, and a Donphan with two broken tusks and a nubby trunk? Hold on a second...
"What is going on here? The Blastoise and the Pikachu were perfect but... everything further on is progressively more and more damaged."
Meanwhile, Avril was casually strolling across Parterre Way at that exact same moment. A broad smile stretched across the blonde's lips as she walked, her attention completely focused not so much on the road, but rather on the small trinket she carried in her hand. The small trinket, which just happened to be the Bug Badge she won from Viola the day prior, was shining in the morning sunlight, reflecting some of that radiance off of its smooth and pristine surface. Perched comfortably on her shoulder, Anise the Hoothoot, was doing what she did best. It sounded like quite the happy little song that she was serenading those who traveled the route with.
"Man, I know I probably should put this thing away and get a move on... but it still seems like a dream, Anise," Avril mused, holding up the badge for the Hoothoot to see for what must have been the tenth time since they left confines of Santalune City. "I kinda wish I could just wear it and show it off. But... I guess that might just be seen as bragging a bit too much, huh?"
The Hoothoot gave a small nod in response, causing Avril to giggle at the Owl Pokémon. If there was one thing the blonde had to respect about Anise, it was her honesty. Reaching into her bag as she walked, the trainer pulled out her badge case and tucked the Bug Badge away safely inside. Unfortunately during this small distraction, Avril once again stopped paying attention to where she was going. Anise's eyes widened as she noticed this quickly and did her best to try and alert the trainer to pay attention, but by the time Avril snapped back to reality it was far too late. The teenager managed somehow plow directly into someone, causing her to quickly lose her balance and fall flat on her backside. Anise managed to luckily take to the air at the last minute, managing to avoid falling to the ground with her trainer. A small groan escaped the girl's lips as she slowly rubbed her head, trying her best to fight down the blush that potentially was rushing to her cheeks at that exact moment.
"Oww... What in the world...?" the trainer began to ask. Her eyes glanced up, widening as she realized that she had somehow managed run right into another person. He seemed to be rather well dressed, more like he belonged on some sort of stage than he did wandering around on a route between cities. "Oh... Oh geeze, I'm so sorry!"
The young man lurched forward when he was slammed into, hopping precariously on one foot for a short distance before barely managing to regain his balance. As soon as he turned around he gasped and dashed back to his assailant, wasting no time in kneeling down and offering her his hand. "My goodness, I'm so sorry! The fault is all mine, surely if I hadn't been lost in examining these hedges I wouldn't have been in your way. You must be in a hurry, my deepest apologies, miss."
Avril shook her head, accepting the man's hand as he pulled her up to her feet. She quickly dusted her clothes off, making sure that she wouldn't have any dirt or dust spots clinging to her outfit. "N-No, it was mine. I guess I was so busy looking at my Bug Badge I just... forgot what I was doing... while I was doing it." The blonde girl laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as a faint blush graced her cheeks. "Um... You weren't hurt or anything, right?"
"No, no, I'm absolutely fine! I barely felt anyt-" The boy's reply was cut off by a perturbed "Iiiii-vy" before the 'straps' of his 'backpack' seemingly undid themselves and the pack dropped to the floor to reveal an Ivysaur. "Oh no, Bernard! I forgot you were napping back there! That explains why I barely felt the impact..." The Ivysaur squinted at his trainer a moment, then smiled reassuringly at the girl in an attempt to make clear that he was alright. "Saur!"
The Growlithe, meanwhile, had been watching the goings-on curiously. Now that the situation seemed more or less resolved he ran straight to the girl, sniffing her shoes and legs, before looking up at her face and barking happily. After announcing his presence he stood up straight with his chest puffed out. "Already such a ladies man, this one." The boy said, scratching between the Growlithe's ears for a few seconds, then standing up straight and refocusing his attention on the girl. "Oh, where are my manners? I am Laurent, Laurent Hessel. At your service~ Don't worry in the slightest about the bump, I was quite lost in staring at my ribbon after the Santalune Contest was over myself." He said, bowing low with one arm crossed over his chest. "If I remember right I believe you're...Avril, yes?"
"Oh! Yeah, that's right!" Avril exclaimed, a sudden realization that she had in fact seen the young man before. In fact, he had set off from Aquacorde the same day she had. A small tinge of embarrassment bubbled inside, especially since at first she was possibly suspecting him to be some sort of butler with the way he was carrying himself. At the very least, the female trainer could take a bit of solace in the fact that Laurent was not aware of that possible confusion. She smiled, attempting to play down the embarrassment while she knelt down and began to gently scratch the Growlithe behind his right ear. "I remember, you were the one who graduated with the Bulbasaur."
Apollo rumbled a happy growl deep in his throat at Avril's attention.
As the two introduced each other, Anise continually flew small circles around the scene. Her eyes were peeled, making sure that the boy and his Pokémon weren't a potential threat to her trainer or the rest of the team. Once enough time had passed, Laurent and his Pokémon seemed to have passed Anise's inspection. The Hoothoot gave a small nod, before coming to rest on Avril's right shoulder once more. A boisterous hoot of greeting escaped the owl Pokémon's beak, combined with the quick flaps of her tiny wings.
"I know, I know you're there, too..." Avril replied, patting the Hoothoot on the top of her head. "This is Anise. I guess she decided to make sure you guys were up to snuff before letting her guard down."
Laurent offered Anise a half-lidded smile and chuckled. "She's almost as lovely as her trainer. I'm afraid it takes more than that to pick apart the workings of my mind...but I'm glad Anise can tell a gentleman when she sees one. You're a lucky girl to have such a vigilant guardian. That would-be casanova making your acquaintance is Apollo," he continued, gesturing to the Growlithe. "And this is Bernard, the very same Bulbasaur you mentioned earlier, now grown into a fine young Ivysaur." Bernard waved at Avril and Anise with a vine by way of greeting before letting out a big yawn.
"Well, it's nice to meet you both," Avril replied with a smile to both Pokémon, somehow completely missing the point that her looks had been complimented on. She glanced up taking a look for the first time at the hedges that Laurent was talking about. She blinked slowly, tilting her head in confusion at the strange appearance they seemed to take as time went on. "Um... Those hedges were the ones you were looking at? I mean, I could stare at the Pikachu and Blastoise ones for a while... But those other ones are kinda ugly, yeah...?"
"I wouldn't quite go so far as 'ugly'." Laurent replied, cradling his chin on the curve between his thumb and index finger. "More like mangled. I can't imagine someone who could recreate a Blastoise and Pikachu so perfectly out of shrubbery would make such obvious and numerous mistakes on everything else. I can't help wondering if..."
"Hey, you there, young folks!" A rather gruff voice called out to the teenagers. The voice belonged to an old man. He was short, overly-tanned from working in the sun a lot, and wore a green apron like one might see on some pokémon breeders. "You kids aren't from that Ranger Academy, are you?" The man asked before grumbling under his breath about something-or-other.
Avril shook her head. "No, we're from the regular ol' Trainer's Academy back in Aquacorde Town." Avril watched as the man grumbled and shuffled around, walking past both her and Laurent to examine the mangled hedges. "Um... Is there something wrong, sir? Did the Ranger Academy students do something to upset you?"
"This." The man said exasperatedly, sweeping a hand over all the damaged facsimiles of pokémon. "This is what they did. So many young people these days are so concerned with charging ahead at everything they can find, battling, fighting, playing with their techno-toys. I respect what the Rangers do, they're a wonderful organization but the trainees from that darn academy nearby like to do a lot of their practicing and battling around here. They keep getting too close to my house and destroying my poor topiaries! Now I'm not gonna go picking a fight with folks who just wanna help other folks, but this has got to stop."
"What will you do, then?" Laurent questioned. "How would you go about convincing the ranger hopefuls to be more considerate of your plants without stern words or force? I can't imagine they have the time or the patience to sit and listen to a civilian give a lecture."
The old man smirked and got a glimmer in his eye at Laurent's words. "With positive reinforcement, of course! All you kids seem to think about - especially rangers - is pokémon, so I'm gonna show those kids one that will really teach them how important it is to be considerate of all plants. Part of a ranger's duty is to protect the environment, after all! I need a Flabébé!" Laurent wasn't quite sure protecting ecosystems meant preserving hobbyist hedges, but before he could question further the man hunched over and groaned. "But I'm afraid my catchin' days are far past me. What I really need is a couple of healthy, generous trainers to nab me a Flabébé."
"Um... Not that I mind lending you a hand, but how exactly would a Flabébé help?" Avril questioned. "I mean, couldn't catching any kind of plant Pokémon help? I mean, they are pretty much a sure way to show how important plants are, right?" As she questioned the old gardener, she turned and glanced at Laurent, seeing if the boy maybe knew something that she didn't about the Pokémon in question.
"Ah yes, of course!" Laurent exclaimed. "Flabébé are like a nature spirit. It's often debated whether they live inside flowers or just around them, but they're famous for being able to bring out a flower's or in some cases other plants' true 'hidden power'. I imagine they can make known a plant's true potential."
The old man was nodding vigorously at Laurent's explanation. "That's right exactly! A Flabébé could help me fix these hedges lickity-split, and watch over them for me! And if I made a demonstration out of it, I'm sure it would get some sense into those ranger kids' heads about the value of taking the path of life a bit slower sometimes, appreciating the little things, like topiaries."
Laurent felt a slight twinge of melodrama, but it seemed like a noble enough cause. "My heart goes out to you, sir. Whatever else, topiaries as beautiful as that Blastoise and Pikachu deserve to be preserved and teaching others is always worthwhile. I'll gladly assist you!"
Looking at how eager Laurent seemed to be to help the old gardener, Avril couldn't help but smile. In a way, she figured that it was for a good cause. The old man's intentions seemed to be on the up and up, though the female trainer herself honestly wasn't too sure just how much the sight of one Pokémon was going to convince the would-be Rangers to calm down and appreciate things more. She was fairly certain that if they were as eager to battle and rowdy as the old man described, that the students had more than likely fainted their fair share of Flabébé over time.
"I guess at the very least it'll make for an interesting chapter... or at the very least, a bit of downtime before the next major conflict," Avril thought. Turning to the gardner, she offered the man a bright smile and a nod. "Sure, I'll help out too. You just need one, right? Or would one from both of us be better?"
"One should do." The gardener replied. "But I won't say no if you manage a double deal! The more the merrier and all that."
Laurent was all smiles. "I'm certain the two of us can manage. After all, both of us already have the Bug Badge~ And catching an adorable little flower spirit doesn't compare to facing down a psychotic murderer with a firearm and a Houndoom." With a goal finally decided on, Laurent returned both Bernard and Apollo to their pokéballs, which now had a stickers of a golden rose and a campfire respectively just above their buttons.
"What... murderer with a... what are you talking about?" Avril questioned in thought, giving Laurent a strange look. In the end, the girl decided not to press him on it, at least not for the time being. She figured it was something she could inquire about later, after managing to catch the Flabébé for the old gardener. Returning Anise to her Pokéball as well, Avril turned to the old man and nodded. "Just leave it to us, we'll have it caught in no time."
The sun shone brightly onto the garden of florescent flowers ahead. Dylan's pokemon happily trailed behind him as he strolled down the path, lost in thought. How could he achieve the same level of performance he had done in this contest, but with less pokemon? Sure the types of moves would be more limited, but getting everyone to work together perfectly was no longer a concern with only one pokemon performing. Perhaps he could-
"PIK! PEK! PIK!" a chorus of angry bird sounds interrupted him, five pikipek wrestling and fighting over something.
"What are you little guys fighting over?" Dylan asked, edging closer.
"PEK!" one of them cried, pulling an injured comfey free from the other birds and flying off with it, the other four in pursuit.
"STOP!" Dylan yelled, a couple bystanders looking at him curiously. He sprinted, watching the birds to make sure he didn't lose them. Unfortunately, this meant he wasn't watching where he was going, suddenly colliding with something and collapsing to the ground.
"PIK! PEK! PIK!"
"STOP!"
What was all the commotion about? Sounds like some hungry Pikipek were trying to steal the lunch of those picnickers he saw before. Maybe he should go make sure nothing was terribly wro-
Oomf.
A sharp weight crashes into his side, and suddenly Sebastian is on the ground.
"Mien!" Hakkai the Mienfoo scolds as he tugs on Sebastian's shirt collar, hoisting him into the sitting position.
"Are you alright?" Sebastian asks the collapsed form beside him, his eyes widening in realization as he sees the face of his tackler. The Phantom from the contest.
"Mhm…" Dylan trailed off, tearing open his backpack to make sure his egg was okay. He padded his bag with extra clothes and blankets after the last time he fell, which had cracked the egg slightly, so this time it was unhurt. "Oh, good, it's okay." He turned back around to look at the boy he crashed into. "Sorry for running into you. Maybe try standing at the side of the road instead of the middle so you don't get run into." Dylan suggested. "N-not that it was your fault I crashed into you!" he quickly added.
"Foo!" Hakkai scolds, pointing an accusing paw at the new human. "Mien-Foo! Foo-Mien!" He gestures towards their surroundings, attempting to point out that there isn't much of a road down this wooded path.
"Excuse you, little one." Sebastian tugs the defensive creature into his lap. "We'll...get out of your way."
"Fen?" Selkie, who had been napping under a tree beside Svana, stands and trots towards the new person. "Fen!" Her eyes brighten in remembrance. "Fennekin!" She extends a paw towards Dylan and sits down, her chest puffing out as if she's receiving a medal.
Puan gazed curiously at the fennekin before suddenly being hoisted up by Dylan. "The birds are getting away! Come on Puan!" Dylan began to sprint away, Puan looking back over his shoulder sadly while Bec carried Joy in his talons and Reine floated lazily about in the flowers. "We can't let that comfey get hurt!"
"Fen?" The little fox's head tilts curiously at the new person's words. Crazy birds? Someone getting hurt? She turns her attention to her trainer and leaps upward eagerly. "Nekin!"
"Right. Let's go." A flock of crazy birds? Their new friend might need some help getting a hold of all of them. Sebastian stands and begins to chase after his fellow trainer, his Pokemon in hot pursuit.
The group arrived in a dirt clearing where the birds had resumed their fight on the ground, squabbling over the top of the comfey. The poor thing was shaking with fright as the birds fought savagely for the creature they mistook for a pretty addition to their nest. "STOP!" Dylan yelled, getting the attention of one of the pikipek, which cocked its head in confusion before returning to the fight.
That's why he was shouting at those Pikipek; they have a hostage. Sebastian's stomach tenses as he sees the pained, fearful look on the bundle of flowers that the birds are mercilessly going after. They need to get the Pikipek away from the from their prey without hurting it any more. Maybe a harmless attack…
"Svana, Water Sport!"
The Ducklett flies above its fellow birds, dousing the area around them all with delicate rain drops, which causes the Pikipek to stop their assault, if only for a few seconds.
"Fen! Fen Fen!" Fennekin barks at the Comfey, telling it to escape while there's a chance.
The comfey tried to float away, but the motion seemed to get the birds more excited, pinning it back down under their feet as they argued and snapped at each other. "Bec, quick attack!" Dylan ordered. The fletchling set Joy down on the ground and quickly sprang at one of the birds, the rest too busy arguing to care. It flailed about and then flipped back onto its feet and charged, flapping its wings. "Reine, gust!" The combee sent a strong wind at the lone pikipek, and it squawked and was blown into the air. Joy sent out a few weak blasts of her frosty hidden power, missing the bird but getting close enough to make it shiver. It flew off angrily.
One down. The shudder from the fleeing Pikipek means that Hidden Power must have been ice, and two can play at that game. Sebastian smiles just slightly at his fellow trainer as he takes out Burmy's Pokeball. "Koroku, use Hidden Power!" He calls as light splashes out of the Pokeball, giving shape to the small bug.
"Burmyyyy!" The creature cries as the light blue blast erupts from its little body, striking another of the excited Pikipeks.
"There's an opening. Selkie, go!"
Selkie darts towards the Comfey, her body becoming surrounded in flames as she runs, and slams her body into the Pikipek that stands between her and the Comfey. It's not a powerful blow, since the Water Sport is still in effect, but it's enough to shove the bird away from the flowery Pokemon. "Ne-Kin!" She barks, standing between the remaining Pikipeks and the injured Comfey.
"Bec! Quick attack! Right in the middle!" Dylan shouted excitedly, seeing the opening the other trainer had made. Bec quickly jabbed his way into the center of the fight and was pecking and slashing at the other birds who backed slowly away from the comfey. Then, suddenly, Bec began to change, wings elongating, body growing, as its feathers changed color. "Wha…" Dylan muttered as he watched his fletchling evolve.
"Help them out, Svana, aerial ace!"
Following its fellow flying type's lead, the Ducklett dove towards the Pikipeks, striking one with its wing as they backed away, causing them to fly higher to avoid the onslaught.
Not wanting to be left out, Hakkai lunges into the fray. It swiftly leaps beside Selkie and picks up the wounded Comfey. It prepares to run back to Sebastian as the vibrant glow causes both Sebastian and his team to stop and stare.
"Fenfen!" Selkie cheers on the little Fletchling as its body glows and morphs.
"That was magnificent!" Dylan cheered, running over to scoop up Bec. The comfey fluttered up into the air and let out a concerning wheezing sound. Dylan looked at it nervously. "I forgot to pick up potions before we left. I'm all out!"
"Perhaps these will help." Sebastian slides his bag off his shoulder and opens one of the smaller pouches, from which he removes his berry case. He takes two Oran berries from the base and holds them out to the poor wheezing flower. "Here now...don't be frightened."
It ate both berries quickly, its tiny body growing plump from the amount of food. After a short while it appeared to get its strength back, twirling its ring of flowers as it spun around. "Fey! Fey!" it chirped, as two reddish flowers fell softly off its ring. It nudged the flowers forward, smiling cheerfully.
"For us?" Sebastian asks. He smiles affectionately as he kneels down to pick up one of the two flowers. "They're beautiful. Thank you."
"Fen!" Selkie cheers as she rushes back to her trainer, leaping onto his shoulder to get a better look at the flower he holds, and to get a better look at their new flowery friend.
"Oh! I don't think I introduced myself! I'm Dylan." he held out his hand for a handshake. Meanwhile, Puan walked up to the fennekin and shyly looked at her, swishing his tail happily.
"I'm Sebastian. Congratulations on your Fletchinder." He takes the other's hand, offering a very delicate handshake. Part of him wants to congratulate him for his contest debut as well, although it sounds a bit...stalker-ish to just come out and say I watched you on TV yesterday.
Selkie's tail wriggles curiously as she slides down Sebastian's back to greet Puan, offering a friendly "Ne-ne~" in greeting.
"Cute fennekin!" Dylan said, bending down to observe the two pokemon interacting. "You know, stunky and fennekin are compatible for breeding. Once I get my place up and running you're welcome to stop by. Although it's proving more difficult than I thought to earn money. Although I'm sure it'll get easier if we continue to beat the league. Oh, and the contests too. They seem to have quite a following, although I've never heard of them until recently." Dylan rambled, talking more to himself than Sebastian.
"They are? I didn't know." Sebastian smiles. Breeding was never a subject he took a great deal of interest in; he knew what he needed to get through the class back at the academy, but he had little desire to memorize which Pokemon were capable of breeding with one another.
"Fen~" Selkie taps her nose against Puan's as her tail swishes excitedly. She then turns to brush her fuzzy body against Dylan's leg in a friendly greeting.
"She says thank you for calling her cute." Sebastian explains happily.
It's then that Svana swoops down between the two humans, facing Dylan and spreading her wings, giving him the most graceful bow she can muster, which causes Sebastian to chuckle.
"This is Svana. She recognizes you from your contest debut...and she's a bit of a show off herself." He explains fondly. "You all were...truly magnificent." Magnificent...that might be too strong a word...
"Oh, thank you." Dylan fidgeted with his fingers nervously. "I was afraid my face might…" he brushed his face with his hand self-consciously. "Well, I guess some people might have thought it was part of the act." He gave a half-hearted smile and stood up again.
"It fit your theme well." Given, Sebastian thought it was part of the act until he, quite literally, ran into Dylan...he didn't want to admit it. "But...personally, I think..." He pauses, adjusting his ponytail (and fumbling over his words) "That it adds to the mystery of your stage persona."
"Yeah, I, guess so." Dylan replied. He wasn't sure exactly how he felt, but, he could tell that Sebastian had good intentions so he took it as a compliment. "Those flowers sure are pretty."
Well...at least Dylan didn't seem too offended. Sebastian couldn't imagine saying anything about that scar could be considered polite, but he didn't want to brush it off once Dylan brought it up...that would just be rude. "Agreed." Only now did he realize he was still holding the flowers. "I believe this one was meant for you." He holds out one of the two flowers.
"Thanks." Dylan said, taking the flower and sniffing it. "I know this kind of flower is supposed to be fragrant, a favorite of the pokemon shaymin, but I think being on that little guy's vine must have enhanced the smell in some way." Dylan smiled. "I hope we meet again! Are you challenging the league?"
"We are. One badge down." Sebastian smiles. This man is a wealth on information, and he has to admit...he would like to talk to him again.
"Fen..." Aw, they're leaving? Selkie's ears lower in disappointment; she would love to stay and play with their new friends a little longer, but this sounds like goodbye. After watching Sebastian hand over the flower, she decided to give a parting gift as well. "Kin!" She looks to the Stunky and rushes towards a bundle of twigs that had fallen from a nearyby tree. She studies the bundle for a moment before picking one up, and bringing it to Puan.
Puan took the stick carefully in his mouth and touched his nose to Selkie's. "Stunky-ky!" he called, as he trotted over to Dylan's side reluctantly. "Uh, well, see you, I guess." Dylan smiled. "Good luck on your next gym battle!"
"You too, and good luck in your next contest." Sebastian smiles and offers a light wave. Likewise, Svana raises a wing
"Fen-feeen!" Selkie sits on Sebastian's foot and waves to Puan with her paw. They're all going to the same place, right…? She'll get to see them again...Hopefully sooner, rather than later.
End collaboration
"You were all great out there." Sebastian smiles at his Pokemon as they make their way down the path. "I hope our little friend stays safe."
"Feeey!" A quiet sound calls, as if responding to Sebastian's words.
"Hm?" The teen pauses and turns towards the cry, watching as a little yellow ball zooms towards him.
"Comfey!" It squeaks in delight as it lays itself around his neck.
"There you are. Did you come to say goodbye?"
"Com?" The little flower questions, then shakes its head (or...its whole body). Its tiny hands reach out as far as they can as it attempts to hug Sebastian's neck.
"You're making quite the argument for yourself." Who is he kidding? He can't say no to this adorable little creature. Sebastian reaches into his bag and retrieves a Pokeball, which he delicately taps against Comfey's cheek.
"Over there!" Dylan whispered, pointing to a rustling bush. A few seconds later a deerling peeked out from behind it. He watched as it slowly walked closer, wary of the stranger but curious enough to warrant a closer look. Dylan absentmindedly fidgeted with the gracidea flower he had placed in his hair. It was staying surprisingly strong, rather than wilt in the sun like most flowers would have done. It was probably caused by the comfey's revitalizing vine.
"Deerling?" the curious pokemon questioned as she drew close to Dylan. "Hey there little girl, what do you think of being my contest partner?" Dylan calmly asked, holding out a hand with his heal ball in it. All she had to do was poke her nose into the button to agree. Dylan smiled as she looked him over. Suddenly there was a loud bang, and the deerling bolted away so fast that Dylan would have doubted it ever stood in front of him if not for the hoofprints in the dirt. Dylan turned, spotting two stantler banding their horns together in battle.
"Hap? Hap, happiny!" Joy bounced up and down, miming chasing after the deerling and pointing in the direction it left.
"Nah, she'll just run away again. We'd have better luck finding another deerling." Dylan sighed. He was really looking forward to having a deerling partner. They were such graceful pokemon he was sure that he could win a contest with one by his side. "Well, I guess we could train some new moves?" Dylan asked, but all of his pokemon looked exhausted from trekking through the route in search of a deerling, fighting off any aggressive wild pokemon.
"Bee! Bee!" Reine alerted Dylan, and he looked up just in time to see a tiny pokemon floating by in the breeze. It didn't look like any pokemon he had ever seen before, and that was a true accomplishment considering how much information about pokemon he had memorized.
"What kind of pokemon are you?" he asked, scooping it out of the air gently and cradling it in his hands. It was about the size of a small flower bud, its head the size of a marble. It was white with two floppy ears which floated in the air, and a golden crown of what appeared to be some sort of condensed pollen around its head. It blushed and blinked its eyes. "Bébé!" it cried, rolling around and giggling.
"Ohhhh! You're a flabébé!" Dylan realized suddenly, "I've never seen one without a flower before! What a lucky day!" He tickled the small pokemon with the tip of his pinky finger. It giggled happily and floated up and flew around his head. Dylan was laughing, when suddenly he felt the flower in his hair flying away. He turned to grab it before it was blown too far away, when he spotted the flabébé grasped onto its pistil. "Oh how cute! I guess you can have my flower…" Dylan trailed off as he suddenly got an idea. "As long as you agree to be my new contest partner!" he added.
"Bébé?" the pokemon questioned, cocking its head.
"Oh, well, contests are like these competitions where you show off how talented your partner pokemon are by having them display their skills and talents along with your own." The flabébé smiled and nodded. "Great!" Dylan said, holding out his heal ball. The flabébé tapped the button and was sucked inside, the signature click sounding before Dylan let the pokemon back out. "I think we should call you… Grace?" he asked, and the flabébé nodded vigorously. "Grace it is!"
Grace flew loops around Dylan's head and he grinned wide. "Let's go on towards Lumiose City!"
They did it. Well, one of them tried, but one of them did it. One of them has a chance to be a part of the Grand Festival. Both got some money and a Heal Ball. One got a ribbon and a Poffin cooking kit, which made her way too happy, while the other just hugged and cried his eyes out when he saw that she was in second place.
So...Why, right after the awards ceremony, aren't they happy now?! Well…
"...You want us to give you around 900 Poké?!" "Unless, ya know...You beat the gym! Then I'll let you go."
~How to Photo-bomb a Chatot and Minccino~ _______________________________ In the Santalune Pokémon Center... _______________________________
"You cannot be serious….right?! You did see who won, right?!" Fondue just sighed. "Look...I know you hate and envy that dude with a burning passion...But come on! I told you those roses costed a fortune on the note! You should be thankful I'm not telling you to pay me the exact price of the roses." His eye twitched a little. "Hate…? Envy…? Those are very strong words, you know. Why would I ever hate someone like him…?!"
Let's get straight to the point, here: Dahlia hates Laurent Hessal. Well, he never shows how much he despises him in front of the man himself nor to anyone else right next to him and always seems to keep his composure and a fake smile whenever he was talking to him. But when he isn't looking, or when he isn't ever there, he always seems to have that dark aura around him, while thinking of many...not so pleasant thoughts about him.
Both of them are good at sewing. Both of them are quite beautiful and handsome. Both of them seem to have a thing for roses. Both always seems to be able to catch the eyes of girls (And in Dahlia's case, boys). They have a lot of things in common, and trying to list them all would make this just as long as the contest post. The only real difference between them? Laurent seems to do all of these things, but better…Oh, he would love to make sure he wiped that damn smile on his face. That would mean that he has at least surpassed him at doing something they both did. Oh, he would love to possibly just grab a big scythe and...No. Just no. <Bad Dahlia. Yes, you may hate him as much as you want, but you cannot just kill someone you don't like. That would be wrong...unless you didn't had a heart or something, which you most certainly do right now.>
After they all left on a journey, he decided to make sure he was a bit late by changing Caroline's hair-style (It needed a change, anyway) so he could forget about him and his existence. So, when he found out that he was participating in the contest, not only did he intentionally delay his arrival a bit so he couldn't dare to see him or his performance, he was actually hoping he, his sister or even Jackson was placed higher than him. But no...He got 4th, and Caroline got 2nd. Oh, he was still proud of her in the end and hey, at least he actually beaten Jackson in the contest (But that was on a technicality)...and yet, he still wanted to flip a table. But he had to keep his composure...he had to. Maybe that's why he felt envy after both of their performances...He wasn't jealous of Jackson, he was just sensing Laurent's presence.
And that's why he usually tells Fondre about his hidden hatred for the man when both of them are alone. In fact, Caroline was sleeping after the big day, so he could vent to his heart's content. The only reason why they're still here the day after was because of the gym. He just sighed, and looked at Dolores, who had an annoyed look on her face. It seems she now hates Laurent just as much as he did...or at the very least, his Bulbasaur. He looked just as annoyed as Dolores now, and Fondue knew that she's gonna have to make sure he doesn't get more irritated. "Let's change the subject matter before you suddenly hurt or kill something or someone, shall we?" "Please." His aura of malicious intent seems to be gone now.
"So, since you basically have no choice, what's your master plan against Viola?" He sighed with sorrow. "...I still don't think I stand even a chance against Viola, even with my Chatot. My sister might...but her Litwick is quite slow, and even Minccino can never surpass the speed of Ninjask." "Didn't you told me before that trying again after a loss is the best way to learn?...Or something like that?"
He shook his head. "Yes, something along the lines of that…." He then goes to repeat what he said the day before the contest. " 'If you think you can't do something after just one try, just go and try again. Prove yourself wrong. Show that you can actually do what you think you cannot do.' That's what I said before." "Yeah...Look, don't get intimidated by her Pokémon. You know I did before, but thanks to you, I was able to find a way to beat her down." "Can you at least give me a hint or any information that will help me out?" Fondre annoyingly sighed.
"You're not going to be on a solid ground, it's all rocks that are suspended by many webs. Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I was so annoyed in my first try: Damn Ninjask can fly over it all! You gotta be fast on your feet, or you're not getting a badge….Ugh, that's all I can think of. I already told you a majority of the important stuff before, so I don't really have anything truly new aside from that. Are you fine with that or what?" "...Hmm, I guess that will work." As soon as he said that, Fondue immediately got up from her chair and was at the Center's doors. "Oh yeah...And thanks for beating Jackson in the contest for me, I guess. Remember! Show me that one of you won the dang badge in Lumiose, or both of you are paying me 900 Poké!" And with that, she left. Dolores just huffed. "Scat!" "...What am I even going to say to Caroline about this?"
"About what...?" Dahlia flinched and turned around to see Caroline, sorta half awake. She was only able to put back on her normal clothes and was able to take off the beads that tied her hair for the contest, before sleeping on the Center's couch. Her hair was now messed up, and was in it's non ponytailed state. It was very long, and reached up to the end of her sweater. "...Caroline. I know you don't like battling, but you might have to at least beat the Gym...Unless you're fine with combining our money and giving Fondue 900 Poké…" She decided to try and calculate the combined amount of money they had, and then minus that by the amount Fondue would get. Then she realized that if they payed her, she would not have any money left at all. And after remembering the reasons why she hated her, she was suddenly as awake as she could ever be.
"FONDUE!!!" _______________________________ In the Santalune City Gym... _______________________________
"Are you ready? Remember, I can't help you out during your fight." She was eying her newly obtained ribbon the entire time they were walking towards the gym. It was quite clear to Dahlia that she was quite scared. "...You'll battle first, right?" She started to hold the ribbon in her hand tightly. He just nodded and both entered the gym together. He saw exactly what Fondue described to him, and Caroline was a bit scared by the possibility that she might fall down the pit below and die. "Don't be scared, now! There's a big cushion down below so you won't get hurt!" They looked at the source of the voice at the other side of the arena and saw someone. It was a cute girl with blond hair, who worn a white tank top and green pants. Around her neck was a camera, that she was holding up with passion.
"Oh...I knew that!" Dahlia sighed, and Caroline smiled embarrassingly. "...Oh! It's you two! You were in the contest, right?" "Indeed we were. My name is Dahlia D. Adoración and this is my lovely sister, Caroline C. Adoración. We are here to obtain a badge." "Wow! So many challengers in such a small amount of time...People just seem to love what I do, huh? Or maybe they just hate me a lot…"
<Many challengers, huh? Should have guessed…> "Well, I guess it doesn't matter in the long run. Anyways, who's going first out of you two? Don't worry, I have some Max Revives to make it so I'll battle the second challenger immediately." Both of them look at each other and nodded. "I'll go first. My sister's not really the battling type a majority of the time, so she'll go second." "Alright then! Let's begin, shall we?" Caroline looked at her brother with confidence. "Good luck, Dahlia! I know you can win!" He looked back at her and smiled. "Oh! And after this, can Viola take some cute pictures of us?" Both Dahlia and Viola lost their serious faces and just giggled. "Sure, why not? Of course, that's only after you and your big bro wins the badge!" "Well, I'll make sure that dream comes true. Let's begin, shall we?"
"Ninjask, I choose you!" "Unico, battle with grace~!"
Both of them thrown out their balls, and out came their Pokémon. Caroline looked at the odd flying bug with curiosity. "So that's a Ninjask? I wonder what the Pokédex say about it." She took her Pokédex out and pointed it at Ninjask. "Ninjask, the Ninja Pokémon, and the evolved form of Nincada. Because of its swift flying velocity, it can become impossible to see. For that reason, this Pokémon was long believed to be invisible." "Squawk! Ninjask, a swift Pokémon!" Dahlia remembered the things Fondue said about this Ninjask <Double Team, Swords Dance and Agility….Evasion, Attack, and Speed up...It has Speed Boost and can Baton Pass the boosts into Surskit if it starts having a problem or she knows that she can have an easy win…> "Oh, would you look at that? Of all the challengers I have faced off against today, yesterday and the day before, you're the second person to use a Flying type! Well, this person had more than one of them, actually." He winced a little at this. <Shit. She's gonna predict certain maneuvers I might do with Unico now….And if there's one thing I don't want to be, it's predictable.> "A majority of the challengers all had at least one Fire type, and there was this one girl who had mostly Electric...But I guess this isn't the right time to ramble on, now is it? For now, let's just see how this battle's going to unfold!" Of course, Dahlia knew exactly who the girl with mostly Electric type Pokémon was, but that really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. For now, he needs to focus on the fact that Viola's giving him the first strike. <Hmph. Giving me the first move, it seems. A way to see how I usually handle a fight? Or just a way to predict what I might do next…?>
"Unico, let's begin by using Steel Wing!" Without no hesitation, Unico's wings turn a metallic gray and begins to fly towards the opponent. "Dodge it and use Agility!" As soon as Unico got close to Ninjask, he was able to dodge it with ease and started to move faster than usual. "Ah yes, right into my trap...Unico, use Mirror Move!" "Squawk! Yes, yes!" Unico started flapping it's wings in a much more faster speed. "Well now...I was actually not expecting this! This is something I would take a picture to!" Immediately after that sentence, she took a picture. "Of course, it seems I'm in a little bit of a situation here…"
"Yes, you are, aren't you?" Dahlia slyly smiled at this. "You know that Mirror Move can copy a move the opponent used before, yes? What this means is that unless you dare to attack or switch without Baton Passing, you just going to power up Unico more and more~" Viola flinched, while Caroline just jumped up and down happily. "Wow, it only took you a few minutes in the match, and Viola's already in a sticky situation! You always seems to be good at this stuff, Dahlia!" "Yup, he sure did put in a tight spot here...but don't get cocky! If you really think you can just win by copying my moves every single time, you're sorely mistaken!" <...Exactly what I wanted to hear.> "...Alright, Ninjask! Use Double Team!" As commanded, Ninjask's body started to move rapidly, creating illusory copies of itself. "Unico, Mirror Move, now." Unico noticed that Dahlia had a different tone when he said the command. It's possible that he has a plan, so he goes with it. "Squawk! Okay!" His body also started to vibrate, but it seems Viola had a trick up her non-existent sleeves.
"Ninjask, use Fury Cutter while Chatot's copying your move!" Ninjask's forearms started glowing a bright crimson red, and it rushed towards Unico. "...Hyper Voice, now!" "Squawk, squawk!" Unico immediately stopped copying the move and yelled very loudly, emitting damaging energy waves directed towards Ninjask. Ninjask was blown away from the power of the attack, but it turns out that it was the fakes it created. "I'm not the one who just uses a move willy-nilly. Even if it seems to guaranteed an easy win, I have to also consider how my opponent may use the information to their advantage." "So you knew that I would attack as soon as you used Mirror Move on Ninjask again, eh? Guess you really got me tangled up in your little plan of yours. But I'm not giving up yet!" Dahlia just smiled sinisterly at this. "I'm just getting started." Caroline was just quietly looking at the battle with enjoyment in her eyes. She didn't really wanted to say anything that might lead to Dahlia losing his focus on the battle.
"Okay, Ninjask. Let's see if Chatot likes a good chase!" Ninjask and it's after-images suddenly started to fly around the arena. "Squawk?! Which one, which one?" The Ninjasks were circling around Unico now, making him a bit dizzy. "Don't blink, or even think for too long, cause I might just sneak up on you with an attack!" Thankfully, he already had an idea. "Unico, I want you to use Steel Wing, and spin around while doing so." "Squawk?! Steel Wing Spin? No, no, no!" "Just trust me on this. Sorry if you get a little...dizzy." Unico's wings turned a metallic gray and started to spin his body around at an alarming speed, destroying the copies of Ninjasks around him, but missing the real one. He stopped spinning after that, and looked quite dizzy. "Squawk…" "Looks like that little move made your Chatot a bit confused! Ninjask, try to get a hit on him with Fury Cutter while you have the chance!"
"Unico, try to dodge it!" Unico tried to dodge the attack while partially confused...and somehow succeeded. "Tangled Feet. When confused, moves have a harder chance to hit the Pokémon with said ability." Unico shook his head many times, probably to get his head straight. "Squawk! Very cool ability to have!" "Now then, I believe we have wasted enough time on this battle. Unico, confuse Ninjask with Chatter!" "Squawk! Yes, yes!" Unico started to randomly babble out many words that it has learned, which were emitted into many damaging sound waves. Due to being quite close to Unico after it's attempted attack, Ninjask took the attack at full force. While Ninjask was able to recover from the attack, it was obviously quite confused.
"Uh oh! I guess I really have no choice here...Ninjask, use Baton Pass!" Viola immediately took out Ninjask's Net Ball and withdrawed it. The beam of light was white instead of red, however. She was also holding another ball while withdrawing. The white light was suddenly shining around the other ball she was holding. "Let's go, Surskit!" She thrown the ball, and a small, blue bug with four legs came out on the field. However…
Caroline was looking at the Surskit with a very happy face...And then she was a bit curious. "Oh, that's a really cute Pokémon, Viola!...But why is it confused?" Both were a bit shocked when they hear this and looked at Surskit. Yes, the Pokémon had eyes that looked like swirls. It's quite clear that it's eyes aren't supposed to look like that. "Hmm, it seems Baton Pass also passes on certain status conditions as well. Interesting." Viola growled at this new information. "No matter! It seems I have already won, so I'll just end this quick. Unico, use Chatter!" "Squawk! Got it!" "Surskit, dodge! Quickly!" Unico randomly babbled many words that emitted damaging sound waves at the Surskit, which tried to dodged. The Surskit was confused as to where it needed to dodge it, which led to it being hit by the attack. It slammed down upon one of the rocks suspended by the webbing. It's quite clear that it's not getting up from that one. "Surskit's already down for the count!" "But Viola still has one more Pokémon left...And I believed that she just got caught in her own web of a strategy."
Viola immediately withdrew Surskit back into its ball, and switched out to Ninjask. "I'm still not giving up here. Ninjask, use Fury Cutter!" Ninjask dashed forward, with crimson arms ready to slice. <Getting desperate here, aren't you…? Guess you must have ran out of ideas by this point.> He sighed. "Unico, use Mirror Move on one wing, and then Steel Wing on the other!" Unico didn't hesitate and just flied towards Ninjask, reflecting both its arms with the wing copying its Fury Cutter, and attacking its side with his Steel Wing. Ninjask was launched towards another one of the rocks, with its wings not moving after that. Viola sadly sighed and just recalled Ninjask back into its ball. "...And that's that, I suppose. Quite disappointed by the fact that the biggest threat in the battle had one of the most predictable strategies I have ever seen."
"Hey! You shouldn't be that mean to Viola, Dahlia! She at least tried her best, and that's all that matters!" Viola suddenly got her Pokémon out of their balls and immediately fed them a small little star-like crystal that looked like candy. "But you have to at least give credit to your brother, cause he's not wrong. If I tried to boost Ninjask up, he would use Mirror Move to boost his Chatot up. If I tried to attack while he was copying the move, he would attack right back. If I tried to Baton Pass, Surskit wouldn't even be able to touch his Chatot, due to it being able to fly. Sure, I can trap him with Sticky Web, but you can probably guess what he would do if I tried." Unico just perched upon Dahlia's shoulder and smiled with pride. "In other words, as soon as I used Mirror Move on her Ninjask, Viola's entire strategy started to gradually fall apart like a stack of dominos. Even if she tried to switch things up, or try to get me into a tight spot, I would have still found a way to destroy whatever plan she had in her little head." After returning her Pokémon back into their balls, Viola just glared at Dahlia with a sly smirk. "...My head isn't that small, ya know." Dahlia giggled at her response. "Yes, yes, I can see that."
"Well, anyways...you're up next, Caroline!" "Oh!...Really?" She was still holding her ribbon after all this time. <Oh dear...I think she's still a bit afraid to fight.> "...Oh, right. Your brother told me that you're not really a fighter. How about this? I'll start off with Surskit so you can have one easy--" "No! I'm fine with you starting with Ninjask first. I...I can fight! I'm just as strong as my brother, and I don't need you to give me an easier time just because my brother said so!" Viola flinched at this, but she recovered in seconds, and smiled. "Well, look who seems to have a battling spirit now! Fine, I won't give you any special benefits or anything, and treat you like any challenger I face off against. But don't cry to me when you suddenly lose or say it's hard!"
Caroline growled at this comment, and stepped up towards the edge of the arena, with Dahlia just slowly backing away. <You probably shouldn't have said that, Viola…> "Hey! I'm not a kid, you know! I can be just as cool as my brother and anyone who's older than me. And my ribbon is literal proof of that!" "Well, let's just see if that's not just a complete lie!"
"Ninjask, I choose you!" "Okay, Candle! Let's--" Suddenly, one of her Pokéballs inside opened up without her permission. "Minccino!!"
Dahlia and Viola just blinked at the sudden appearance of Shiny, who jumped on one of the rocks suspended by the web, arms crossed while having her signature frown upon her face. Dahlia sighed. "...Even after you'd seemingly grown a conscious during the contest, you still act like a spoiled brat." Shiny just looked Dahlia and growled. "I'm just surprised that its eyes look a lot more different than a normal Minccino! That's definitely a fact that deserves a snap!" Of course, she snapped a picture of Shiny as soon as she said that. Shiny seemed fine with that, having a mischievous smirk around her face during the little photo shoot. "...I guess you can fight Ninjask first, Shiny…" She put Candle's ball back inside her bag. "Okay, Ninjask! Let's start off with Swords Dance!" "Min…?" Before it can even do what it was told and before Caroline can even give a command, Shiny stared at Ninjask with innocent eyes. Her eyes looked exactly like how a usual Minccino's eyes would look like. "Aww...so adorable!" Viola couldn't help but gush at the cuteness as well. "Aww...That's so cute…" Even Ninjask stopped what it was doing, and was blushing a bit.
Dahlia, however, was not the one to be tricked so easily. He sighed at the sight of it all. "Yes, how adorable that the rodent is able to get a few free hits upon your Ninjask right about now." Suddenly, Shiny had a devilish grin on her face. Her eyes reverted to their usual agitated state, with her tail becoming a metallic gray. She immediately jumped and slammed Ninjask down the exact same rock she was standing upon. She landed on the poor bug's body after that, which immediately snapped Caroline & Viola out of the cuteness trance. "Huh?" "What?!"
"...Should have expected nothing less from a little brat like you." "Min, min…!" Her grin became even more bigger as one of her hands glowed a radiant white and started slapping the Ninjask multiple times before it can even have a chance to react to it all. After that, she immediately turned her tail metallic gray again, kicked the Ninjask up with her feet, and used her tail to launch the Ninjask into another rock. Both Caroline and Viola were just watching it all, flabbergasted at the entire scene. All of this was enough to make Ninjask unable to battle. "...Eh?! How did you even do that, Shiny?!" "...Man, that's one nasty little Minccino." She was still surprised at how quick Ninjask was beaten. She recalled Ninjask back into its ball and thrown out her other ball as soon as possible, with Surskit coming out of it and landing on the web.
"Surskit, use Sticky Web right now! Don't let it get even a single hit on you!" Surskit wasted no time and shot a web at Shiny, who dodged the web immediately and quickly jumped to the next rock. Dahlia looked at it all with curiosity. <I see...Viola now knows that Shiny's aggressive fighting style and amazing speed to keep up with her Pokémon means that she has to change into a different strategy similar to how Shiny is handling the fight right now. In order to even land a hit on the rodent now is to slow it down...But I don't think she's going to be able to land one single web on Shiny.>
Shiny kept dodging the shots and jumping to one rock after another, until she jumped up from another rock and with an even more evil grin upon her face, and falling towards her opponent with one of her hands glowing white again. "This is your chance! Sticky Web!" Surskit shot a web at Shiny, which should have been a direct hit...But Shiny actually had her Iron Tail up, and just slashed the web away with ease. She smashed Surskit with her still-glowing hand and slammed it to the rock she was on with her tail.
And thus, the battle was over. And with the exception of Dahlia, everyone in the entire room couldn't even believe what they just saw. "...I...I…How did this happen?! I can't believe I've won…" "...Me neither." "Technician. It powers up certain moves that are usually quite weak. Pound and Double Slap are moves that are affected by Technician. As for how you lost...It's probably because you weren't even expecting a Minccino who was much more aggressive than a normal one." "...Min!" After Viola recalled Surskit back into its ball, Shiny jumped back to the duo's side and cleaned herself up. Viola sighed, but had a little smile on her face. "...Well, at least both of you gave me some interesting fights! I think it's high time I gave you two what you deserved. Just try and walk around the web towards here! Don't worry, there's a few Ariados who'll help you stay up." Caroline and Shiny looked at the web, and Caroline just gulped. Even Shiny, who always seems to be afraid of nothing, didn't really liked the idea of walking on the web…
...So she jumped around the rocks and landed towards Viola's side of the arena. They weren't really surprised at this. "Can you carry me, Dahlia?" "...Can't you just take a picture right over here, Viola?" "Nope! Around here leads to my personal little photo-shooting tent. Since I'm taking a picture of you both, I need a little more light than what's provided here…" He sighed and just picked up Caroline. He looked at the web...He actually has to walk through this like a freaking tight-rope. "Balance, don't fail me now…"
_______________________________ Wow, I can't believe those two are still in Santalune... _______________________________
The photo was quite easy to take. It had the duo smiling happily together, holding their new badges up with pride. After that, they were outside the Gym, with Viola giving Dahlia a copy of the photo while giving both of them a TM. "This contains the move Bug Bite. I know it's quite possible that you might not have a need for them...but hey, at least you might get some money out of it if you sell it!" "Thank you, Viola! And thanks for the picture!" "Yes indeed. Thank you very much." Viola blushed at both of their nice comments about her. "Aw...No problem! If you ever want another match, or want to do a little photo-shoot, you always know where to find me." And with that, she went back into her gym, probably waiting for yet another challenger.
"Yay! We got a badge, and now I don't have to give a single penny to Fondue!" She just jumped and down due to that and started hopping towards the Pokémon Center. "...Caroline." "Yes~?" Ugh...just thinking of saying this question or even his name disgusts him. But he at least wants to know, even if it seems a bit out of topic right now…
"What do you think of Laurent Hessal? Or at the very least, his performance in the contest?" "Oh, his performance was pretty good! Although, I still think Jackson's performance was cooler than his." His eye twitched at the sound of that. "...Is there something wrong with that?" "What?! No, no no...I think you're right. Yes, indeed. It was quite amazing, I have to say. He really did deserve that ribbon." His sentence was just seeping of sarcasm, to the point where it would have may as well have been venom. Thankfully, Caroline never seems to know what's sarcasm and what's not. "Aw, you're always so nice to our opponents, Dahlia! Even if you're kicking their butt or losing to them!" He did a fake chuckle after that line. <Yes...I'm very nice to everyone I meet...Very, very nice…> He started thinking about this a bit...Until the nasty thoughts started roll in.
<Damn bastard, how dare he take the first place spot from my sister! How dare he placed higher than me! I'm going to make him pay in the next contest...I'm sure of it.>
Dahlia was still thinking of malicious things about Laurent after that. Thankfully, he was able to calm down from it after a while...For now.
A silent, and rather pensive Drew trudged through Santalune and toward route 4. To say his visit to Santalune city was an eventful one would be an understatement. He felt like he'd went through hell and back, and that wasn't vindicative of the fact he'd just carried a baby through a burning forest. Dealing with motherly figures seemed to be his main problem. Whether it be his own, his pseudo mother or worse yet a wild pokemon that was the mother of the pokemon he wanted to join his team. Nothing was going his way. His mind wandered back to his meeting with Felicity before he'd left the hotel.
***
"Ohhhhh, I'm gonna miss you kid." Felicity cooed, squeezing Drew's head in her arms. If Drew didn't know any better he'd have guessed she was trying to pop it there and then. He wriggled his way out of her clutches, but she didn't seem the least bit phased by his eagerness to escape. In fact, the spark of enthusiasm for something made her gush even more. "I know, I know, you wanna get going. Seeing you come even this far on your own…" She sighed proudly, much to the young trainer's dismay.
"Let's be honest, it never felt real until you scolded me for doing something wrong anyway." He smiled as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door. "I forgot to thank you for that much. I almost screwed up big time." He tapped the door frame one last time, and stepped out.
"Drew…" Felicity interrupted, causing the boy to halt his stride. "I'm sorry your parents didn't get to watch the contest. Not that you competed anyway, but-"
"Felicity." Drew interrupted, tightening his grip on his backpack strap. "Thank you." Without another word, he stepped out the door.
***
Dwelling on those matters wasn't going to help him progress. One thing he did take from Viola's lecture was that he needed to add to his team. Brycen proved just how tough he was in that battle, but had he went into that battle with the Chespin alone, he wouldn't have even gotten past the Ninjask. It was a situation he couldn't afford to let himself get into again. He looked in front of him at his starter, who was marching determinedly as fast as his little legs could take him. He'd seen a few trainers walking around with their pokemon. The concept was crazy to him, but he did remember Viola saying something about getting to know Brycen better. That'd be a task. Brycen wasn't the most sociable. Drew seemed to have a knack for aligning himself with unsociable pokemon. Floatzel was a perfect example of that.
***
"Nurse says he's not supposed to leave for another couple days at least. You sure you're gonna take 'em back?" Drew asked, with his tone drenched in concern. "Maybe I should help you guys at least get back to Aquacorde."
"You've got a journey to go on. With all the police running around, I'm sure we'll be safe enough on our way back." Felicity scoffed, waving off Drew's patronising offer.
At her feet, Floatzel was eagerly cleaning the disgusting stench of human that her child had picked up. She practically had to drag her baby away from nuzzling at the feet of the trainer. She wouldn't let him go with him. As far as humans went, these two weren't so bad, but her opinion hadn't changed. She had no interest in their trivial issues.
"The police are there for a reason." Drew retorted, seeing that Felicity's flippancy could've been dangerous. With a sigh, he lowered himself to meet Floatzel at eye level. "I don't suppose I could convince you to join my team. Gotta be better than foraging around in the mud for berries, right?" He grinned. That was about as convincing as he was gonna get.
The mother pokemon turned her head away. She smirked as she heard the resulting sigh. She turned to Drew, before rummaging in her pouch and pulling out three berries. At the trainer's refusal, she pushed them closer, and stepped aside, gesturing for Felicity to follow her. After one last embrace of her human comrade, the human woman followed behind Floatzel, and the two began toward Ouvert Way.
***
Drew grunted at that memory. How had he failed to catch both Buizel and Floatzel. He was sure that after all he did, at least one of them would be joining his team. Instead, he ended up getting the short end of the stick again. Parttere Way awaited though, and he was certain he had more misfortune due for him there aswell. On that thought, he noticed a familiar figure waiting at the routes entrance. To make things worse, he remembered that he hadn't followed through on a bet he'd made with that person. That was going to be costly. Drew had no choice but to approach her. "Now before you say anything, I have a perfectly good reason for bailing on our deal." He began expecting her to be angry. Much to his confusion, the girl simply grinned. "Am I missing something?" Drew grunted, his brows furrowed.
"I suppose I do owe you an explanation, huh, Mr Tucker?" Her grin grew into a smile.
Drew paused for a moment. "You really need to stop calling me that."
Ice cream in hand, the two strolled down the deceivingly peaceful Parterre Way. Drew's cone was mostly untouched, as he mused over what he'd just been told. He didn't want to care about the matter, but something made him care. "So my parents are in Kalos? That's what you're telling me?" He pressed again, still in complete disbelief. "And they didn't even tell me? Bastards. That means they could've even been there for my graduation." He grunted, clearing a lump from his throat.
"Sorry, I assumed you knew…" Paige furrowed her brows. The situation was peculiar to her. Having lived with her father her entire life, she couldn't understand Drew's affliction at the freedom of not having his parents coming to 'check in on him'.
"It's not your fault. The least they could've done is call. They seem to care enough to go telling you every detail about me, yet they can't even let me know they're in the region. Felicity told them about the contest as well, they didn't even make the time to watch that." He ranted.
"You really don't seem to like your parents, do you?" Paige sighed, accepting that her usual teasing probably wouldn't be appropriate right now.
"Can you blame me?" Drew spat back. He glanced at the girl. She was understandably perturbed by his constant attacks. Whatever kind of relationship she'd built with his parents, it obviously wasn't a bad one. "Do you at least know why they were here?" He sighed, pushing the issue aside.
"Yeah right, like Pa would tell me that." She scoffed, a little bit of spark returning to her eyes. "I do know that Silph Co. are trying to buy my father's company, and I guess your parents were sent to seal the deal. I hardly know the ins and outs though."
Drew's eyes widened in realisation. "Wait…your dad owns that fossil company?"
Paige stopped, staring blankly at Drew for a moment. "There's only one fossil company in Kalos Drew. They're not exactly in super high demand right now. Hence the selling of the company."
"You think you could put me in a good word?" He smiled, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. He noticed the confused expression on her face, and his face turned red as he knew he'd have to explain more. "I've kinda been having trouble catching a pokemon. I figured if your dad would be willing to save me a pokemon that'd be awesome. Plus Tyrunt is actually really cool." He gushed, trying his best to hide his excitement.
"I suppose I could try, but I need you to do something for me first." Her tone changed, taking on a much more focused determination than she had shown before. "My father's situation isn't the best right now, but selling the company isn't what he wants. He says he was on the verge of discovering the true form of some legendary pokemon before he went bust. That kind of breakthrough wouldve put him right back on the map. I don't really condone the amount of time he spends on it but, his research is the only thing that keeps him going since mum…" She paused.
She didn't need to say anymore. Drew got the picture. "So I need to convince them to suggest that Silph Co. fund that research, huh? I can try at least." He grumbled. He had no business getting involved in something like that; but if it meant getting a Tyrunt, and to some extent helping Paige out, he was willing to give it a go.
"You should probably eat your ice cream by the way." Paige giggled, noticing the strawberry flavoured dessert dripping down the boy's arm.
"Dammit, why can't I get any luck today?" Drew groaned, rummaging through his bag to find something to wipe it with.
Coul spent the night in the Pokemon Center again. After the rigorous battling Sandy did the previous day, he thought his Pokemon deserved the night off. He didn't want to spend the night too in the fields. As he sat in his bed, he checked his Pokedex and his notes on his travels. So far, nothing interesting has happened yet but Coul expected that. With the one-dimensional geography Southern Kalos offers, he knew he isn't going to be seeing a revolutionary study-material. His Bidoof-Dunsparce relationship theory has a good hold, but it isn't going anywhere yet. Coul packed his things in his pack again and lay down, dreaming of the day he get to see Western or Northern Kalos where the geography is far more interesting.
The day arrived much quicker than Coul expected. The sun was shining through the blinds which Coul apparently forget to draw together before sleeping. The brightness shone on his face, waking the trainer up. Coul groaned and checked his watch. It was already half an hour past six in the morning. Coul decided that he had enough sleep and started preparing for his travel. He thought of doubling back to Ouvert Way to check the pond but the thought of arriving at the famed city of Lumiose spurred him forward. Not that he had not yet ever been there. Another trip to the huge city can do well.
He thanked Nurse Joy for letting him spend the past night in the city again. Nurse Joy smiled at him and told Coul that he was always welcome in the city. Outside, the sun was already beginning its climb in the sky and Coul knew that it would start to hurt his skin so he decided to just go for it and try to reach Lumiose City before midday. It was a short walk, as far as Coul remembered.
It was not different, Coul remarked in his head. There were the Kalos-famous hedges and gardens which added credence to Kalos' regional beauty in general. There were already a bunch of trainers scrambling around the area, probably looking at the beauty or trying to check whether there were notable Pokemon around. There was a new building somewhere in the distance which Coul could not remember. He made a mental note to visit it later in the day.
Coul took out his Pokedex and his notebook and sat down on a bench near the border. He scrolled towards the entry for Parterre Way and started noting the Pokemon that could be found. The area has a more varied wildlife compared to Overt Way, with the possibility of various Fairy-types appearing, like Flabebe and Snubbull. In fact, just by visual inspection from Coul's seat, he saw a Cutiefly lazily fluttering around the different-colored Flabebe that is scattered throughout the garden. He also saw the tell-tale signs of a Morelull sleeping during the day, their neon-colored mushrooms blending in well with the brightness of the flowers of the garden. The list also mentioned a Comfey, a weird Fairy-type with a good ability, to be found here. Coul thought that it also is hiding among the flowers. He took up his pen and notebook and started writing.
Parterre Way is one of the most scenic routes in the region, with various mazes out of grass hedges cut. The route is filled with a more colorful set of Pokemon, with various Fairy-types appearing very frequently, alongside the standard Normal-, Bug-, and Flying- types. It is worthy to note that the Pokemon that could possibly be found in the route is what one could consider as beautiful or elegant. Colorful, even. I am very much surprised that Ralts could not be found here as it is a perfect Pokemon and an expected one. In any way, a question rise: are the Pokemon attracted here because of the Route's beauty or is the Route beautiful because it grew to accommodate the Pokemon that found their home here? Coul closed his notebook and called out Houndour. He thought that sending out the Fire- and Dark-type Pokemon could be a jarring difference in the surrounding and he could check whether his Pokemon or the local wildlife could give some useful reaction.
Snoop came out of his Pokeball in a flash of light. It looked around the flowery path then looked at Coul questioningly. Coul waited for what his Pokemon will do and was surprised to see the Houndour bounding away into the flowers, scaring Cutieflies and Flabebes away. For a Dark-type, it seemed fairly comfortable around the flowers and the Fairy-types. Maybe it's the Fire-typing?
"Snoop, come here!" Coul shouted towards the Houndour. Snoop stopped scrambling among the flowers and looked at Coul. It then bounded towards its trainer and slammed into his chest and started licking his face. "Snoop, stop that!" Coul laughed.
Something emerged from the fountain near them and casted a watchful eye on the pair.
Inventory
1x Pokedex
4x Pokeballs
2x Potions
440 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
1x Eviolite
The bug was way too quick though. In what seemed like less than a second, it had darted forward along the web, propelled by a jet of water, and tackled the Elekid before it had even finished charging itself up. Echo tumbled backwards, over the edge...
"ECHO!" Rai screamed as her pokémon fell down into the abyss.
She sank down to peer below, and let out a huge breath of relief seeing that Echo had landed relatively safely on some form of cushioned floor below.
"I don't let my defeated opponents die," Viola commented.
"Defeated?"
"It fell. If you can't stay on the battlefield, it's like walking away."
"But he fell!"
"That's how this gym works. The battlefield is up here. You better stay on the web and platforms!"
Grumbling, Rai accepted that she had to pick a new pokémon to use against Surskit, as Echo started his climb back up. Would she use Garda? Her Growlithe could burn parts of the web away, making it hard for Surskit to get near his platform, despite its speed and strength from the Baton Pass. Although... Maybe the Aqua Jet could make it skip from platform to platform through the air. And water attacks like that would certainly not be easy to withstand for the fire type.
But the Psyduck? She had named her Pagan. She still didn't quite seem to enjoy being on the team, and she only just caught her today after all, so... Using her in a gym battle would be a bit of a wild card. But she didn't have much choice, did she? Pagan would withstand the water attacks better, and she had a few tricks up her sleeve that Rai had to test out at some point. Why not now.
"Pagan, in!"
The duck landed on a new stone platform, rather close to Rai.
"Interesting choice," Viola said, and Rai wondered what that could mean. "Let's see what you can do with it. Use Aquajet!"
"Pagan, Confusion!" Rai called as soon as she noticed that Viola was issuing an order to Surskit.
The bug shot away in its jetspray tackle again, starting from its position close to Viola. But Pagan's eyes narrowed grimly and started glowing as she followed her trainer's order. Liking her teammates or not, she was not keen on being seen as a stubborn bitch.
The jetray wobbled and hit the stone platform the Psyduck was standing on instead. Surskit tumbled out of the splash.
"Pagan, Fury Swipes!" Rai called out quickly.
"Bug Bite now!" Viola countered.
Pagan started swiping its claws and managed to get a few hits in, but she was a bit too clumsy, and Surskit was too agile. Soon, it managed to bite hard into her shoulder. She quacked and started spinning to get rid of the bug. Surskit was sent flying over the battlefield, and Viola didn't waste the opportunity to counter-move again.
"Use Aqua Jet!"
Rai's thoughts didn't gather fast enough for her to utter another command; the attack struck Pagan who, stumbled over the edge of the platform.
"Noo!" Rai called out as the Surskit landed on the platform with a triumphant grin on its small face.
But the Psyduck seemed to stay frozen and not fall down... Rai looked more closely and noticed her eyes were glowing again.
"She used... Confusion on herself?"
"Oh... That's clever," Viola gasped. "No, not on herself... But on the platform!"
Rai felt confused for a moment, before she noticed Surskit starting to slide towards the other edge. Pagan had tipped the platform with Confusion, to stop herself from falling, and to make Surskit fall instead!
"It won't be that easy though," Viola huffed. "Use Aqua Jet to get out of there!"
"Shoot it down with Water Gun!" Rai called out.
Pagan steadied herself, holding onto the edge of the rock with one paw as she took aim at the rising jetray and fired her Water Gun. It knocked it out of trajectory. When the water dissipated, the Surskit didn't find itself landing on a web as intended, but instead in freefall down towards the soft ground far below.
As the rock platform shifted back to hang straight into the web, so that Pagan could stand up again, Viola shook her head but clapped her hands with a smile.
"Although that was technically your pokémon saving the day and not your own ingenuity, that'll have to count as a win. Your pokémon trusts you. I hope you will trust it as much one day!"
Rai's heart was still beating quickly after the dramatic ending. She could hardly process that she had won. Not even when Viola walked over to her along the wall and handed her the badge, was she completely clear on what she had just achieved. Not until Echo finally stood beside her again, having finally reached the battlefield again, and reached out his tongue to tease the Surskit below, did Rai fully realize that she had just won her first gym badge.
Chris had barely stepped onto Parterre Way before he was knocked into by a boy in rollerskates and obnoxiously blue shorts causing them both to spill to the ground.
"Hey watch out!" A girl in yellow said from down the path. "My brother is a bit of an idiot sometimes." She apologized as she offered Chris a hand. "I'm Kate."
"I'm Chris…" He responded as he dusted off the yellow petals that he had fallen into.
"Hey, you saw him run into ME right sis!" The other boy grumbled as he rose to his feet with an annoyed expression on his face.
"Oh, shut up Nate, we both know you couldn't skate straight if you tried." Kate sighed with a frown. "Or anything else for that matter." She mumbled under her breath.
"Ugh! Fine! Just stay out of my way alright chump? The skate race victory is mine y'know!" Nate shouted as he began to skate down the path towards a small clustering of people not too far off.
"I'm so sorry about him. My brother is a bit special, but hey you should come join the Skate Race with us!" Kate said with a smile.
"I don't know how to skate though." Chris responded as he shook his head.
"DID SOMEBODY SAY THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SKATE?" Another female voice called out from seemingly nowhere. "Hi there, I'm Rinka!" A girl with long blonde hair cheered as she skated forward, skidding to a stop mere inches from Chris' face.
"Uh… hola?" Chris stammered as she grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards the crowd of people.
"See, hold on here!" The girl shouted as she began rummaging through her bag and pulled out a pair of rollerskates. "These were meant to go to whoever could beat my Zigzagoon… but y'know I'm like totally powerful and kicked all their butts so hard! Anyway, you can use them for this race!" Rinka rambled as she forced them into Chris' hands.
Feeling confused, Chris slipped them on as Rinka continued to ramble and he saw Kate staring at him sympathetically, as if she knew the torment that he was going through firsthand. Almost as if Rinka had done this before.
"Okay! So, basic skating techniques! Assume the right posture. Place your feet shoulder width apart, bend your knees, and squat. Lower your backside toward the ground and lean slightly forward in a comfortable squatting position. When you're roller skating, balance is key, and this stance will prevent you from toppling over." Rinka continued to ramble.
"Like… this?" Chris mumbled as he wobbily moved around on the skates.
"You're doing great!" Rinka said with a smile.
Several grueling lessons later
"Welcome one, Welcome all! To the Parterre Way skate race! Our contestants today have all come to win the fabulous prize we have in stock today, one of the many rare stones that dot the region, a Scizorite!" The announcer called from the impromptu starting line.
"So without further ado lets introduce our racers!" He called as he walked forward and held his mic up to the excitable skate trainer.
"Our first racer hails from Santalune city. Aid to the gym leader Viola and a roller skating fan all around: You all know her as Rinka!" He called out.
"Hi mom!" Rinka cheered, waving frantically at the camera.
"Next up, We've got the twin rollerskaters, Kate and Nate!" He continued as he walked up to the twins.
"Hi guys!" Kate said with a smile.
"Humph." Nate pouted as he turned away from the camera.
"Er… Okay! And finally we have a newcomer to these parts! Christopher Rodriguez, recently moved to the Kalos region all the way from far off Lentimas town in the Unova Region! Chris, any words for the people at home?" The reporter asked with a smile as he stared at Chris expectantly.
"Uh…" Chris stammered as he stared back at the camera like a deerling caught in the headlights of a moving truck.
"Rivoting! Well the show here is just about to begin folks, so I'm going to step away from the race track and let these lovely people get to it!"
As the man turned away Chris let out a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and could feel the blood begin to pound in his head.
"Three!" The crowd began to cheer.
"Get into rhythm. Don't look back." He muttered to himself.
"Two!" The crowd continued.
"Force yourself forward. Make the world move for you.
"One!" The crowd began to tingle with excitement.
"Win!" Chris finally mumbled, his eyes flashing open as he dug his feet into the ground.
Beneath the SurfaceCurrent Location : Route 4 - Parterre Way
Jackson had a chip on his shoulder and a curl on his lip after being disqualified from that shitty contest. Nobody expected fuck all from him and yet he had damn near stole the show. It's no wonder they had to disqualify him on a technicality... assholes. He kicked a pebble down the dirt path to take out a modicum of frustration. Teddy and Fang were stored safely in their pokéballs after receiving a thorough scolding from Jackson considering that they had caused his disqualification. Still, given the apparent circumstances and the nature of his other rewards... he couldn't complain, so they had gotten off faily easy all things considered.
As he passed onto the soft and loamy grass of the open garden of Parterre way, the perfect example of those rewards eagerly began to juggle two small stone he had picked up off the floor. Laughing like a lunatic, Gaspar the now Haunter was enjoying the benefits of having hands. Jackson had to admit he had been pretty chuffed to have one of his pokémon evolve. First in the damn class even, how's that for the supposed delinquent of Aquacorde? Gaspar had already demonstrated his new prowess to Jackson, Malorie and the Professor when the three went for breakfast that morning. He had hands to fire punch with more effectively now... but what intrigued Jackson more was his new power, "Shadow Punch", the professor described it as one of the staples of the Gastly family and the reason that he had paired Gaspar and Jackson in the first place.
He grinned and rubbed the ghost type on the... head... body... floating lump that wasn't hands part. It was still mostly gas, but it felt just a little bit more solid now. Pokémon were weird, damn. Gaspar sneered and started making punching motions as Jackson put up his hands, taking the light jabs as if it were sparring pratice, before flicking the haunter between the eyes and laughing as he flinched backwards. "Ha! Still needs some getting used to, huh gas ball?" Gaspar just sneered and cackled in response before sinking into Jackson's shadow. Ever since he had evolved, Gaspar made even more of a change to Jackson's shadow than before, rather than just a pair of eyes, the shadow held a haunting, glowing, gaping maw that twisted and contorted into all manner of sadistic grins.
Jackson thought back to the night of the contest. He had gone back to the pokémon center with Malorie and the Professor. Tch, dahell was that guy thinking bringing a little girl with a bedridden illness a town over? Regardless of circumstance, some responsible adult he was supposed to be. Still it was nice to see her again. It had only been a few days, but Jackson had expected to not see Mal for quite some time after leaving, getting one more breakfast along with the opportunity to show her all of his pokémon thus far had put a smile on his face. Gaspar had impressed her with the show... but he and Fang weren't exactly the apple of her eye. She had almost squeezed the life out of Ted with all the squishing and hugging. Guess his cute nature had won her over. Either way, she had seemed a little healthier than when he had left a few days prior, so he wasn't going to complain too much all things considered.
A lot had happened in two days... and now he was walking through a garden covered road towards a school where they trained upholders of the law. His teenage self would've never believed any of this.
Elsewhere, Odette Radiuju had just departed the gates of Santalune City. Walking over the dirt path leading towards the fountain at the center, she glanced over the smaller hedge mazes that lined the center road. Compared to the trouble she went through in the forest labyrinth the days before, these sure looked a lot less threatening. Part of her was still proud she managed that challenge all by herself... but the weight of the Heavy Ball in her bag - and on her mind - seemed to have increased significantly since the Santalune Gym Battle.
She decided not to let it bother her, however. Even if it wasn't actually under her control so much, the Rhyhorn's power was undeniable; defeating a Gym Leader's Pokémon against which it had a severe weakness, it would surely be a great asset to her team... at least, once she got it to listen. For now, her plan was to become stronger with Grace, and try to dominate the Rhyhorn with her power later. Her dear Ralts' Pokéball sat safely in her pocket, as Odette liked to keep her close in case of emergency.
''Hey! Miss!''
And that came sooner than expected. Odette jumped and gripped Grace's ball in her pocket on instinct when a voice rang out to her. Being lost in thought it caught her off guard, but her panic dropped when she saw who it belonged to. A young man in a white and blue uniform with black trousers and matching cap came running up to her. His face and arms were covered in scrapes however, and the knees of his pants seemed chafed as well. Odette stopped walking and turned to him curiously.
''Miss! Hello! I'm so glad I caught you!'' he spoke quickly, and even made a sort of salute when he stood in front of her. ''Lumiose Courier Service: Faster than the City Lights! Err, right, I was wondering if you could help me, miss!''
Odette could barely keep up with his excitement. ''E-Er, yes? What... happened?''
''You see I crashed with my bicycle miss! Completely unintentionally! But now you see, some of my cargo has been lost!''
He walked her back to the scene of the crash to explain: the man had hit a bench on the side of the road squarely on the side with his bike tire, causing him to fall over and the contents of his basket to spread out on the ground. When he thought he completed cleaning up and gathered all of his packages back up, it seemed a few were missing.
''... And I think they fell right into this hole here, see?!'' The courier hastily pulled a patch of shrubbery upwards to reveal a cavernous opening into the ground. Odette stood over it to see, but it looked like a rather dark and humid hole... Certainly not something she looked forward to going into.
But considering the nature of his request, there could very well be a hefty reward waiting if the task would be completed. After all, what precious cargo would be sent to Lumiose City? And if there wasn't, perhaps she would have to see if these packages were worth anything themselves. Odette wasn't scraping for cash in any sense of the phrase, but that unfavorable exchange with the kid the day before still bothered her a little. Being wealthy meant it was all the more important to manage funds adequately, in her opinion.
"Ah-hah... I see your problem. I'm sure I can get your precious packages out of there. Until then, why don't you take a rest at the fountain nearby? You seem like you could use a rest, and maybe you should check if your bicycle is okay... Leave this to us!'' Odette smiled reassuringly, showing him her Pokéball to signify she was a capable trainer. Thankfully, he agreed, taking his bike along to sit by the edge of the fountain. Now all Odette had to do... was find someone who could do this job for her.
Sure enough, after spying around on Route 4 for a minute or two, she found someone that would more than fit the bill. He was practically dressed to serve; a tall man in a smart outfit, but with messy blonde hair and dark sunglasses, was walking across the grass. Odette grinned to herself slyly, before running up to him.
''Oh, sir! I'm sorry to bother you, are you in a hurry? I really need some help...'' She looked worried and again put on a sweet voice, even panting a little as if she'd been running around for a while already.
Jacksone reeled a bit as suddenly this young woman approached him. She had ebony hair, with skin white as snow, dahell... hadn't he heard this fairy tale as a kid? She seemed, tired, had she been running around out in the open? She didn't seem dressed for jogging. "Whoa there lady, take a step back and collect yourself." There was something weird about her, he couldn't tell if it was the tone of her voice or her striking appearance but Jackson found himself at a confliction of instinct, parts of him wanted to respond with a friendly can do attitude, while the rest of him wanted to lock up with caution and trepedition. In the end he just stood with a confused look and a raised eyebrow.
"If I had a poké for every time over the last few days somebody came hurtlin' outta nowhere askin' me for a hand..." He sighed and shook his head. "A'ight miss, whatcha want?"
Odette resisted the pleased grin that was about to crawl onto her face, but instead managed a relieved smile while she pretended to catch her breath. She continued hurriedly, and stepped back urging him to follow her. ''Thank you so much! I happened to be attacked by a wild Pokémon out in the grass earlier you see, and in my haste to run, I seem to have lost some of my belongings, and they fell... out of my grasp, basically...''
"W-wait I haven't agreed to..." He sighed, there really was never any avoiding this sort of thing for him. "Fell out o' your grasp? Assumin' it wasn' just on the ground or you wouldn' be needin' any help." He stepped after her, the morning light dancing over the dewdrops scattered across the plants of Parterre way. His eyebrow rose as they approached a patch of shrubbery, shuffled to one side to reveal... a hole? "Dahell...." Jackson said as he peered over the girls shoulder.
''They must've fallen in here, you see... I don't know what to do, it seems dangerous! Please, could you help me?''
"Dangerous...?" Jackson replied with an eyebrow raised. He would admit, it seemed to be quite the drop, he could barely see the bottom of the cave from where he was standing, as for the circumference and area of the cavern? He had no idea. Perhaps if he just got a closer look? He stepped slowly closer to the hole with a careful stride until he was edging the entrance to the chasm below. He frowned and squinted as he tried to make out more details, when a sickly blue blur dashed passed the opening with a sudden screech. "W-wha?!" Jackson quickly stepped backwards, almost falling onto the girl whom had beseeched him for aid. "O-oh ehm... I'm s-"
CRACK
Jackson looked down at his feet with a sinking feeling in his gut, just in time to notice the dirt beneath them both begin to crumble away. "I just gotta say fucking no next time."
...and just like that the two were gone, Gaspar rushed desperately after Jackson as he and Odette fell swiftly into the darkness below.
---
With a thud, Jackson landed on his back, he groaned in pain only to suddenly cry out and gasp, winded immediately as the girl he was supposed to be helping broke her fall by landing across his stomach. Well and dandy for her, but how was he still kicking? A fall like that should have at least broken something. It was then he noticed the pressure on his arm, for a brief moment Jackson saw ghostly purple hands gripping, but then swiftly releasing the arms of both Jackson and Odette. Gaspar was nowhere near strong enough to lift them up, but it looks like he had managed to at least slow their descent. Jackson let out a small sigh of relief, as his head fell into the only shaft of light illuminating the darkness. "Thanks buddy..."
''Ow... Arceus, that hurt...'' Odette dared to open her eyes when she realised she'd fallen right on top of the man. ''Ah, sorry!'' She hurriedly got off and stood up, before standing eye to eye with a floating pair of glowing eyes. She let out a scream as the Haunter caught her off guard, and she stumbled back, nearly tripping over Jackson all over again, but managing to keep her balance and stepping over him instead. ''W-What... That belongs to you?!''
Gaspar cackled excitedly as he was noticed and swirled around the pair with a leering gaze at Odette, before rushing into the barely visible shadow of Jackson and proceeding to dart around the caves overwhelming darkness beyond. "Hmm? Ugh..." Jackson queried as he picked himself up and started to glance around his surroundings. "Good, you're alive... clear conscience then... and yeah, Gaspar is my bud, he just saved our asses."
Odette felt a shiver go down her spine as she watched the shadowy form of Gaspar crawl about the shadows in the dark. ''Clear conscience?!'' she nearly shouted, the adrenaline completely doing away with the previously mild tone of her voice. She looked up toward the ceiling: they fell quite a ways from the gap above. ''You still got us into this mess! How are we going to get out of here?! Ugh, this is why you can never depend on anyone...''
Jackson furrowed his brow at this girl's sudden change in tone. "I got us into this? No no no, you got me into this!" He growled. "I was havin' a perfectly fine day until you came along with your crappy little story about failin' hard against a wild mon and droppin' your crap down here." He looked up towards the opening and squinted. "Yeah great, no way in hell I can get us up there. I can't fly lady. So unless we get to explorin' then we're waitin' until we get found."
"Hmph!" Odette turned her back to him dismissively. In the end he wasn't wrong that the request was hers, but it was still his fault that the ground gave out! Still, there was no sense in waiting around, she agreed. It was possible that their voices wouldn't even carry out properly after all... and she wasn't about to embarrass herself in front of the courier guy either.
The girl opened her bag trying to look for anything that could give off light, but all she had was her Holo Caster's faint light function. She shone it around a bit, looking for the items she was supposed to find, but no such luck. They must have been taken further inside.
She sighed audibly. "Okay, look. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We're in here now, and we'll have to find a way out. Do you have any bright ideas? Or lights, for that matter?"
"Hmph... did you just hmph me? Dahell that's not even an answer!" Jackson felt his gaze narrow further as he stared daggers at this girl in front of him. He growled as she continued to speak and quickly shuffled around in his bag while continuing to huff. "Oh yeah..." He muttered. "See that you're wrong and suddenly fault don't matter." After a moment of rummaging an idea sparked as he spotted something across the clearing, at the edge of the light. A long tree branch fallen from above. "Perfect!" He said with confidence as he approched it and picked it up in his right hand, before continuing to rummage with his left as he walked back towards the girl.
"I ain't got anything with a reliable light but with a bit of, as I have recently been told, outta the box thinkin'..." He pulled out his burned and ruined shirt, wrapping it around the end of the branch, and with a bit more scrounging pulled out the lighter he had originally packed for the trip. It had never ended up being necessary since his pokémon could just light his smokes for him. With a grin he opened it up and dumped the lighters fluid all over the tightly bound fabric, getting a nice bit soaked in. "Alright, Gaspar... do you thing." Rising back from the shadows momentarily, Gaspar activated Fire Punch, shrouding his hand in shadowy flames he gripped the end of the torch for a moment and it instantly lit, creating a solid light source before he drifted back into the shadows.
"See? Bright ideas and lights both." He sneered and rolled the makeshift torch in his hand triumphantly. "Time to get lookin' then MIss... Miss..." He trailed off and sighed with resignation. "I don't even know this one's name, Arceus damn me and all..." He sighed, before walking off a little into the shadows, expecting her to follow him this time. "Miss... what then? You got a name?"
The girl watched with a mixture of surprise and disdain as the other trainer so easily produced an actual makeshift torch. ''How... primitive.'' she spoke, having regained her cool now that the cave was better lit. She followed a little ways behind Jackson, continually checking the floor for the packages as they walked. She hesitated a moment, considering how to introduce herself. ''... It's Odette. Yourself?''
"If primitive works then what does it matter?... not sure if you've noticed but we're trapped in a cave, Princess." He growled as he walked, illuminating the walls as he did so, making sure no threats presented themselves. "Odette...? Huh." Her name wasn't like any he had heard before. "...Jackson Crane, pleasure."
Droplets of water clung to hanging rocks before dripping down and splashing gently on the cold cave floor, he felt as if they were being watched, but the only eyes that peered out at him through the darkness were those of Gaspar, whom, he might add, seemed more than comfortable in the dark and dank caverns that surrounded them. Jackson supposed he was right in his element. "So... obviously an exit is more important, but what crap did you drop down here in the first place?"
"Just... packages. What's in them is none of your business." She mumbled, having caught up to Jackson by now as he grunted in response, "Great, a vague response... well don't expect me t'go out of my way for them then.". The cave seemed to narrow, causing Odette to have to stick closer to him to stay in the area lit by his torch, and making her increasingly claustrophobic. If the opening was getting smaller, weren't they going to hit a dead end soon?
Not necessarily, it seemed. The cave made a sharp turn, and it felt like there was an air current in this part of the structure. As reassuring as that was, Odette also got the sense there was something amiss, however. Perhaps it was her imagination, or the Haunter playing tricks on her... but a faint scratching sound seemed to echo from deeper in the cave.
"Do you... hear something?" she nearly whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking, and listen carefully. He proceeded to stop in response, raising an eyebrow and taking a brief moment to listen around as she requested. The air was eerily quiet, as the flickering flame of the torch began to flare in the dark tunnels that surrounded them both. Jackson gulped before furrowing his brow and shaking his head. "Look if you're tryin' t'freak me out now then..."
Odette let out a scream when they suddenly dropped from the stalactites above, swarming as a fanger frenzy before the two. A pletora of small blue, leathery winged creatures with no eyes at all, their screeches resounded and echoed loudly along the caves interior walls, their senses disturbed by the tiniest of sounds thanks to their powerful echolocation.
As they coalesced into a single swarming mass, Jackson rapidly pulled the pokédex from his pocket and opened it up for intel.
Pokédex said:
ZUBAT - THE BAT POKÉMON
Zubat remains quietly unmoving in a dark spot during the bright daylight hours. It does so because prolonged exposure to the sun causes its body to become slightly burned. During the daytime, it stays in caves or under the eaves of old houses, sleeping while hanging upside down.
"Shit..." Jackson cursed. "I think we woke them up..."
With another aggressive cry the swarm of bats began to form into a collective mass before dashing towards the trainers with fangs poised to bite. Without thinking Jackson shoved the pokédex in his pocket and grabbed Odette roughly by the arm, before turning to sprint further down the narrow passageway and towards the light breeze indicating a connection to the outside world. "G-Gaspaaar!" He shouted into the darkness as he went... and with an oddly re-assuring cackle Jackson noticed the glowing eyes falling in beside him. "Night Shade!" He cried while pointing backwards towards the swarm of Zubat. Without delay Gaspar complied, simply oozing with anticipation and an eagerness to express every ounce of his new power. His features grew in the darkness and his hands tugged violently at the shadows as he let out an oproarous dark laughter. The very darkness that the Zubats called home took on a ghostly visage, tearing and clawing at the flapping creatures with every dramatic motion of Gaspar's shadowy hands. It didn't take long for a portion of the swarm to be reduced to unconscious forms on the floor.
Odette ran after Jackson as fast as she could as he pulled her along, but managed to look over her shoulder when the Haunter countered the swarm. As terrifying as the Night Shade was, its shadowy power eliminating a large share instantly impressed her... but there was no time for that now. Odette suddenly stopped running, but used the grip Jackson still had on her to make him do the same, causing him to abruptly come to a stop. "What are you doi-" He began, but she quickly interrupted with a yell. "Duck!" she cried as she knelt down onto the floor, dragging Jackson with her. She then threw the Pokéball out of her pocket and in a bright light, Grace's form was revealed, her trainer wasting no time with her command: "Confusion!"
The little Ralts turned towards the swarm of Zubat, spreading her arms in a protective motion as her eyes glowed the characteristic blue. Concentrating clearly, the Pokémon suspended any and all Zubat flying their way in mid-air. Thankfully the wild bats were especially susceptible because of their Poison-typing, but Grace managed to twirl around and slam a large number into the ceiling, after which they either dropped or flew overhead in a daze, possibly affected by the actual confusion aspect of the move.
Jackson rose an eyebrow, clearly impressed by the amount of power concealed in such a little pokémon shocked him as the Zubat swarm collided with the walls and roof. Above them all a large stalactite began to shudder and crack as their swarming forms smashing into the cavern created more than a little instability, Jackson watched cautiously with Gaspar at the ready as the pokémon began to coalesce and form into small groups, flitting back from wence they came. He, however, noticed something off with one of them. One Zubat was unlike the others, its wing was crooked and as the rest of its gathering quickly linked up to escape... it fluttered desperately in a blind confusion, unable to gain the safety in numbers it desired.
It was going to be crushed.
Shaking Odette off Jackson rushed forward, leaving her in the dust. She yelled after him,"Wait!", but he quickly reached out and gripped the injured Zubat by its tiny legs. In a panic it twisted to bite into his hand and he let out a cry of pain, but he didn't let go as he leaped backwards, rolling back towards his unfortunate companion just before a cascade of rock and rubble fell down behind him, blocking off the route they had just travelled. Odette hastily grabbed Grace's hand and pulled her back from the falling debris, making her land against the wall with the Ralts in her lap.
As the smoke and the dust cleared, Jackson checked his hand, two small puncture marks oozed blood just below his thumb, but it wasn't anything serious. Wiping his eyes to clear the grit from his vision, he saw the same Zubat whom he had just saved, its head pointed in his general direction. He could barely hear the high pitched frequencies it echoed towards him, viewing him with its echolocation, examining his features.
Yet the moment it realized he was watching, it let out a screech and fluttered into the darkness with a great deal of panic. Jackson made no effort to pursue. Instead, wincing as he curled and opened his hand tenderly, he stood up and brushed himself down with his uninjured palm, before stepping back over to Odette. "That was... too fuckin' close, damn." He sighed. "You alright?"
The girl was panting as she sat against the wall and checked if Grace was okay. When Jackson stepped over she returned her to her Pokéball and stood up in front of him.
"Are you stupid?! Why did you jump back into the fray all of a sudden?! You could've been crushed and then what would I have done?!"
Jackson glared at Odette for a moment in response to her comment, but wasted no time in picking up the torch, which thankfully had managed to stay lit despite the dangerous encounter. "Stupid? Maybe... but I wasn't about to let some little guy get crushed because we stumbled into its home." He looked around the part of the cave they had managed to reach, another side passage to the right seemed to be the source of the breeze. Odette wasn't about to let that slide however.
"So you risk your life for the one bat you didn't knock out? Did you even see the state it was in? With a wing like that it would've been better off. Let natural selection take its course."
"Incapaciatin' them in a safe and open space ain't gonna kill them! That's just-" He froze for a moment at her comment about natural selection. His eyes cut into her like daggers, as a dark expression overcame his features. Multiple times over the course of his adventure, Jackson had been frustrated, he had been irritated, he had been upset. It had only been a few days. The cold hatred in Jackson's expression now left him looking almost serene, for just a brief moment he looked totally calm.
That was what happened when Jackson was absolutely furious.
"Everything... EVERYTHING, has the right to live!" He bellowed, his voice echoing around the cave, luckily the sudden outburst was enough to temper his rage ever so slightly... and he felt himself regaining control. "If you're askin' me what you'd have done if I was flattened? Judgin' by your attitude I'm gonna say you'd have left and forgot you ever met me, but hey that's just my guess."
Odette fell silent for a moment, biting her lip in frustration. "Well, you almost didn't leave me a choice." She spoke quietly, before turning away and walking down the corridor. Jackson proceeded to follow her, quietly now, he needed a few moments to simmer down.
---
As the duo proceeded through the darkness of the cavern a little further, Gaspar melded back into his trainers shadow, reflected against the stone by the light of the now flickering torch. It wouldn't be too long now until their light source was depleted... worry began to settle into Jackson's features. What could they do then? He tried to stay positive as he stepped ahead of Odette to shine his torch around a bit more, attempting to locate some sort of exit.
It was then that he noticed something odd, a small glint in the darkness, a reflection of light. As he stepped forward a bit towards it he saw what looked to be a torn parcel, placed upon what almost seemed to be a raised pedestal formed naturally from the rock. The tear on the outer layer revealed some sort of metallic object, that reflected back the gentle fiery light of Jackson's torch. "What...?" He mumbled as he took another few steps. "Hey Princess... this what you were lookin' for? How dahell did it get here?..."
''Stop calling me that,'' she said with mild annoyance, and stepped beside him to peer into the darkness. The wrapping was torn, but at least it seemed like a package, so it was probably what she was looking for. She sighed in relief. ''Looks like it, though.''
She tried to look around into the surroundings of the cave; were there more Zubat around here? If not, what could have carried the packages inside, and was it still here? She stretched out her arm to sign to Jackson to be quiet as she listened for any more scratching, or breathing sounds. When several seconds passed without anything but the faint drips of water and the crackling of the torch however, Odette carefully walked forward and tucked the package safely into her bag.
"Good, you got your stuff, we can focus on getting out of here without any more distractions." He grumbled, and turned away from the raised rock to look around the unnerving hollow that surrounded them both. The torch was flickering on the verge of going out completely and Jackson was more than a little worried for their chances after it was gone.
Still... This girl was rude, misguided and she pissed Jackson off beyond compare. Still, Mal had always told him to have respect for women, he wouldn't say or do anything to worry her even more.
No, it would seem fate would take care of that for him.
From an unseen corner of the room a sudden wind began to blow and the sound of flapping echoed in Jackson's ears. In an instant, the torches light was snuffed out out and the cave was plunged into shadow. Through the pitch darkness, he felt a faze unlike the girl whom accompanied him nor the ghost wom fought by his side.
They weren't alone.
"Sh-shit..." Was all he could muster as things took an immediate bleak turn. A large, winged shadow swept down from the tall ceiling, straight towards the girl standing in the center of the room. Odette instinctively raised her arms and bowed down to guard herself, but the shadow flew overhead with a loud screech and its claws bared. The girl groaned as a sharp pain coursed through her arm, and she let herself drop to her knees to try and lower herself away from her attacker. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled for Grace's Pokéball and released her, desperately shouting a Confusion command... but the creature was too fast for the little Ralts to keep up with, let alone focus her psychic attack.
Jackson was immediately caught off guard as he heard Odette and turned to barely make out the shape of her on her knees and gripping her arm, the flash of light from an opening pokéball briefly illuminating her as Grace, her ralts, appeared. "Gaspar, use Fire Punch to light things up!" He cried as he ran over to stand beside Odette, his fists curled and raised instinctively. Gaspar rushed out of Jackson's shadiw, igniting his be hands on command and creating a dim light, less effective than the torch due to the flames shadow infused nature, but it provided a small radius of vision nonetheless.
Still seated on the floor, Odette was busily rustling through her bag to grab her Pokédex. The light provided by the Haunter's flames was a blessing, but she needed to know what exacly they were dealing with, and fast. Pointing it up toward the ceiling as soon as she found its hard surface between her fingers, the device thankfully responded:
Pokédex said:
NOIVERN - THE SOUND WAVE POKÉMON
They fly around on moonless nights and attack careless prey. Nothing can beat them in a battle in the dark.
''Well, that's good to know...'' she grumbled, lowering the device to prevent its bright display from ruining her eyes' acclimation to the dark. ''Try a Disarming Voice!''
Grace perked up and stood in front of her Trainer, and let out a loud, pleading cry. The Fairy-type infused move echoed through the cavern, surely reaching the highly sensitive ears of the Noivern in the shadows... and strongly affecting it for that and its Dragon-typing both. Another deafening shriek resounded in response, and the Noivern retaliated with an Air Cutter aimed towards the group of intruders.
Jackson quickly tossed himself to one side, sidestepping quickly while poised as if he was dodging a slug to the jaw, the concentrated blade of air ripped through the space between them before rushing past Jackson, missing by a hair as he dodged. Gaspar was using his hands to light up the area around the group, but made an effort to crash a fist into the attacking foe when possible. However, with the incredible speed Noivern possessed, as well as Gaspar's lacking experience with his new body... It was almost impossible to get a hit in as the dragon dashed swiftly around the caverns with predatory grace.
"Damn..." Jackson muttered. "It's so quick... Dahell kind of power does thing have?"
Odette crawled back against the stalagmite pedestal a little and followed the Noiverns flight with her eyes. She tried her best to discern a pattern, but the movements were so quick they seemed erratic. She had to buy time, or at least distract the Noivern's attention from their group. ''Grace, use Double Team!''
Grace began rubbing her hands together and ran, creating a large number of illusionary copies of herself throughout the room. The ground nearly filled with waggling Ralts, hopefully disorienting the wild Pokémon as to Grace's actual whereabouts... when Odette shouted another command. ''Again, Disarming Voice!''
All of the Ralts in the room simultaneously moved their hands to their mouths, and released a resounding call throughout the cave. Reverberation on all sides made it impossible to trace the source, and the Noivern visibly wavered and slowed as it was struck with another super-effective move. It thrashed its head around the cave as it grounded itself, looking at its enemies seemingly duplicate and swiftly outnumber it. Like an animal trapped in a corner it responded thusly and began to lash out. In a last ditch effort it lashed out wildly, draconic energy surrounding its body as a fearsome aura as it thrashed and pounced, rushing through clones in all directions, smashing rocks that stood in its way.
Jackson winced as he knew, intentional or not at this point, that the Noivern could hit Grace or Gaspar at any moment with enough force to send them sprawling. He had to make sure Gaspar was out of the line of fire, this sort of attack was above even his pay grade. Gripping Gaspar's pokéball in hand, ready to return him if necessary. Jackson called out to the ghost type, telling him to retreat.
This was a mistake.
As he bellowed, the sound attracted the Noivern's rage fueled attention, without warning it hurtled towards Jackson quickly, charging straight through anything else in its path. Jackson dashed trying to dodge but it followed his movements with an unnatural swiftness that he just couldn't match. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment as Jackson stared into the face of his untimely end... when at the last second something else caught his eye, a crooked and rushed flight darted down from the roof above, the tiny blue form of a zubat with a crooked wing dashed into view and it brutally dug it's fangs into the Noivern's ears and let out a supersonic cry that Jackson could only describe as deafening.
The Noivern was far more powerful, but still affected due to its sensitive hearing. As the Zubat remained latched on, the Noivern reached for it and swerved off course, Jackson feeling the wind ripple, almost spinning him to turn fully on the spot as he watched the pair of pokémon dash by him, missing him by mere inches. The Noivern in a continued rage raised it's talons upwards and gripped into the Zubat, which screeched out in pain as it was hurtled with a painful crunch straight down into the stone floor, where it remained limp. Noivern was screeched out with pain and anger as it turned back towards the group... the dragon type energy swirling around its form was dwindling but still painfully present, the shades of blue mingling with the crimson red hue of the blood dripping from the open wound on its ear.
Jackson cursed under his breath for his failure to save his own skin, that Zubat had sacrificed itself for a few more seconds but this thing was still coming. How were they supposed to beat an opponent that moved faster than they could track and never even seemed to tire?!
Odette watched in surprise as the tiny Zubat she condemned before swept in and attacked the Noivern like that. This was the chance they needed. Just as the Dragon-type shrugged off its attacker, Odette quietly issued a command to the genuine copy of her Ralts. The latter nodded, and whipped up a barrage of leaves glowing with psychic energy that swirled around, straight for the Noivern - but catching itself at the last second, it handily dodged.
Or so it thought.
The full blast of Magical Leaves struck into the brittle rock above the Noivern, immediately causing a thunderous rumble to shake the cavern. Each of them struck true, and once enough did, a large crack began to expand through the ceiling... until it started raining down. ''Out of the way!'' Odette yelled for the extent of the damage was larger than she anticipated. She scrambled to her feet as the stalactites and ceiling rock rained down, smacking down the Noivern and burying it underneath.
Jackson panicked momentarily as the rocks began to fall, looking for the Zubat in a panic, he couldn't see it amidst the falling rocks... but he had to focus on himself and his own. Spotting a shocked Gaspar illuminated by the light, Jackson quickly recalled him to his pokéball and dashed backwards as the roof began to collapse around him. He quickly slid along the floor and crouched behind the rock pedestal, swiftly gesturing for Odette to follow him as he did so, dust began to quickly fog the area as the rocks began to pile up... and thus he found himself helplessly gritting his teeth and hoping for the best.
---
Once the avalanche of rocks came to a close, and the dust settled, Jackson and Odette finally got up from their hiding place. The large open cavern they had been in before had mostly collapsed, and they were faced with a mountain of rubble before them... but at the top, Grace's Magical Leaf had left a hole in the ceiling, through which bright daylight shone inside. The dark cave finally illuminated, their threat dealt with, and now a way out was presented before them.
Odette relievedly hugged Grace in her arms - until promptly being reminded of the wound on her arm. She reassured her with a pained grin, before returning Ralts to her Pokéball once more as Jackson approached from behind her. "Are you alright?" He asked, begrudingly, the whole experience leaving him troubled and with few words more to share. Sensing the insincerity in his voice, she responded curtly, without turning to face him. ''I'm fine. Let's just get out.'' She slowly started to climb up, taking care to put as little pressure on her injury as possible.
Jackson frowned as Odette proceeded to walk up the pile of rubble away from him... but he still followed her without hesitation. He had had more than enough of that dark and foreboding place, one way or another and exit was an exit and he wasn't much in the mood for complaining. Still, something stopped him... as he moved to follow Odette he heard a low and muffled noise out of the corner of his ear, a pained and squeaking cry coming from a corner where the rubble hadn't reached in full. It couldn't have been, surely not. He dashed back down the makeshift path leading up and outwards, back into the darkness of the cavern and he followed the noise. Tracing back to the source, climbing over fallen rocks as he went.
He found the Zubat squealing weakly in pain, its body limp and barely conscious, but it had been spared the falling rocks.
Jackson knelt down beside it, he sprayed the last potion in his bag out upon it quickly and watched it regain some of its strength, but still it lay there weakly. Pulling out his pokédex he did a closer examination, he saw its moves, its ability, the fact that it was female... but the pokédex didn't tell him much else, let alone anything about any injuries it may have had. He thought long and hard for a moment about what to do, he had to take it somewhere to get healed, but at the same time the risk of moving it was too high if it had bones that were broken. He could just end up making it worse.
Then... he had one option. Taking a pokéball out of his bag he pressed it lightly to the Zubat and watched as it was pulled inside. The ball vibrated thrice in his hands, before finally going still.
Jackson clutched the pokéball in his hands and looked at it for a moment. He felt awful honestly, invading this pokémons home and leading to it getting so badly hurt. Still, she had saved him as he had saved her, it was kind of fitting in a way that he and this pokémon, named for a sound wave, would leave there together. With a heavy sigh Jackson stepped slowly up and out of the vrevace to where Odette was standing in the mid-day sun. They were in the middle of a grassy grove a small ways off Route 4, the roof of the Ranger Academy was still visible above the trees.
"Well..." He began with a tired bitterness hanging on his words. "Hope this was worth it Princess, is all of your stuff there?"
''Seems like it.'' Odette bit her lip before facing him, hesitating for a moment before continuing, struggling to even get out a formal expression of gratitude. ''Thank you for your help.'' She opened a scathed package and threw its contents to Jackson.
He caught it gingerly with one hand, before opening it and peeking inside. What he saw was curious enough, a nice stack of poké for one, but more importantly there was what seemed to be a shining metallic alloy, liquified and sealed inside of a rather intricate looking container. What the hell was it? Was it worth a lot? Why was this girl carrying it around... just who the hell was she? He sighed, at this point he wondered if it really mattered. After all they had just been through perhaps it was better that he just received a reward at all. "You're welcome..." He muttered.
He turned towards Route 4 again, he didn't particularly have much desire to spend a lot more time with this girl... but he was curious about something else. "...Odette, right? You've got a pokémon and you're clamborin' into caves for some crazy ass shit." He began. "Are you going to challenge the gyms and take the league challenge?"
Odette rummaged through her bag a little, expecting the other trainer to leave first, but she looked up in confusion at his question. ''What's it to you?''
He tutted and looked up at the sky for a moment, before subtly releasing Gaspar back into his shadow and pulling out a cigarette. With a nod in the direction of the ghost type pokémon, fire punch was activated and the cigarette in his hand ignited. "So much hostility... I helped you out right? Sure I got a reward but you'd think an innocent question'd be fine..." He turned to glare at her again, his gaze had softened since the comment she had made earlier, but there was still a cold determination in his stare.
"Truth is... that's my plan, I'm going to go to every last corner of this fancy ass country, beat every singly gym in my way... win the league and take the title of champion for myself." He blew a stream of air upwards with a sigh. "I like to know who's going to get in the way of that. I like to know who I'm going to have to beat."
The girl's eyes narrowed. ''Is that a threat? For your information, yes, I am going to take the league challenge and become the Champion... and if your choice of Pokémon is any indication, it doesn't seem like I'll have much trouble taking you down.'' She closed her bag a little too swiftly, causing a pained grimace to spread across her face, but she recovered quickly and started walking off toward the Lumiose City gate. ''Good luck, mister Crane.''
Gaspar cackled and glared darkly from Jackson's shadow at Odette's comment about his choice of pokémon, but the trainer looked down at the pokéball in his hand, fully aware of what she was implying. He grit his teeth, but didn't let the anger drip into his voice, he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "Maybe for some people it's okay to throw away those who aren't as lucky with their lot in life... but not me. I'll prove to you, Princess, next time we meet I'll show you that ny choice is just fine." He turned and headed back towards the route, avoiding her path and staying hiw own... in more ways than one.
Before he was out of earshot however, he made sure to make one last comment. "You'd best get that arm looked at... ain't no point in beating you if you're not on top of your game."
Spoiler:
BADGE CASE:
Spoiler:
INVENTORY:
1 x Pokédex
3 x Poké Ball
1 x Old Rod
1 x Metal Coat
"I don't get it," Avril said as she and Laurent began to make their way across the route. Both trainers were now well on their way in search of Flabébé to catch and deliver to the old gardener. Laurent was leading the way, as he seemed to have a better grasp of knowledge of the Pokémon in general. "Aren't the Rangers supposed to be all about protecting the environment and stuff too? You know, not just helping people and Pokémon in need? Seems like something they would teach on the first day almost, doesn't it?"
Scanning for thick patches of vibrant flowers had never before seemed like the type of thing that one would take very seriously, yet here Laurent was, looking for areas of especially notable floral beauty on the route. "Yes, and elite general schools exist to cultivate the most promising youth of society into the most productive adults of society. That doesn't stop them from being filled with classless lowlives who only even bother showing up to continue being spoiled by their parents and treated as if every superficial little accomplishment they made was world-changingly momentous." Laurent replied, sounding uncharacteristically grumbly near the end.
"Keep an eye out for the most lively flowers in the area, Avril, especially any that seem much larger than you'd expect. Flabébé's entire lives revolve around flowers no matter which of the theories about their actual relations to the plants you believe in. Once we find one you can rest assured it will be by flowers, likely those it is taking care of itself."
Avril gave Laurent a curious look as he was distracted by his explanation on how to locate the wild Flabébé. She wasn't exactly sure what she had said that caused her current traveling companion to go off on that small tirade. Part of her wanted to ask exactly what he meant by that, but in the end, Avril decided against digging too deep into Laurent's personal thoughts... at least, for the time being. After all, the duo had really just properly acquainted themselves with each other. She didn't want to come off as rude or too nosey.
Pushing any lingering thoughts on the subject into the back of her mind, Avril knelt down and began to examine all the flowers closely. She began to feel like she was finally getting what that metaphor meant, where someone would be looking for a needle in a haystack. The flowers all looked so similar, at least to her, that she really wasn't sure just how she was going to be able to successfully tell the difference between one and another. Granted, the girl had never really had that much of an interest in botany or even just plain old gardening in general. In fact, she had only been actually given flowers one time in her life, and that was from her father on Valentine's Day back when she was just a little kid.
Glancing away from the flowers for a moment, Avril turned her attention back towards Laurent for a moment. "So... Um... You seemed to know a lot about flowers and Flabébé and stuff. At least, more than I did... Did someone you know run a Flower Shop or have a hobby of gardening themselves?"
"Nothing quite so interesting, I'm afraid," Laurent answered combing his hands through a flower bed, feeling for any moving flowers, or anything else out of the ordinary. "I've merely spent a lot of time reading books, studying, especially pokémon. Pokémon have always been my favorite subject of all. "Though I must admit to always having a fondness for flowers." His eyelids sank halfway down as he took in a deep breath of the aroma provided to them by the plants. "I do my best to admire beauty in all its forms, and I so love things that tend to smell pleasant. Food, flowers and...Oh!" Laurent interrupted the third item of his own list as he lifted up into the air a bright pink camellia in full bloom.
"Absolutely exquisite!" He exclaimed, then wiggled the flower around a bit, then looked directly into the center of the bloom. "Mmm, a fantastic specimen, but an otherwise mundane one. Now that I've picked it I can't bear to let it go to waste." Laurent turned towards Avril and extended his arm towards her with the bloom of the camellia pointed at her. "Would you care for a souvenir?" Normally he'd have liked to make a show of his discovery and offering it as a gift but he didn't want to distract too much from their goal, and Avril didn't seem the type to really care for such gestures.
"Hmm...?" Avril questioned glancing down to the flower in Laurent's hand. If only for a moment, a very faint blush graced the blonde's cheeks at being offered the flower. Quickly, Avril nodded and accepted the small gift from the male trainer. "Oh, sure. It is very pretty after all." Taking the flower from Laurent, Avril carefully looked for somewhere on her person to place it. In the end, she decided to place it in one of the pockets of her trainer's bag. She carefully placed the flower inside, making sure that the stem was the only part actually inside the bag, while the bloom of the camellia was left out in the open for decoration. "There, that should do for now."
Laurent smiled at the sight. "Lovely~ That's a camellia, you can use its leaves for tea, though that particular species is usually kept for decoration, I assume because of its bright beauty. "It's a shame it doesn't help us find a Flavébé, perhaps something with a sweeter bouquet?" He put his chin on the curve between his index finger and thumb. "Hmmm...I'm sure a bird's eye view could help. Do you think Anise would offer her assistance? She seems quite apt at watching out for anything suspicious."
"I think she wouldn't mind lending a wing," Avril replied with a small smile. Taking one of the Pokéballs off of her left wrist, the blonde trainer expanded it to full size and tossed it into the air. The ball quickly snapped open, unleashing the familiar sight of her Hoothoot. The owl Pokémon stretched her little wings out as she emerged, turning to look at both of the trainers with a delighted hoot. "Hey, Anise. We need your help with something. We need you to help us look at the flowers... I mean, well... we need you to help us find something... in them...?" she questioned, glancing over towards Laurent to make sure she had it right.
"Anise my dear, we're trying to find a Flabébé." Laurent elaborated, holding up his pokédex with the pokémon's page zoomed in on a picture of one. "You aren't likely to see one just flitting about, but they hide amongst flowers like these. So we would appreciate it if you would look out for anything strange amongst the flowerbeds, especially any flowers moving unnaturally or seemingly of their own accord."
Anise hopped up with a quick hoot, the Hoothoot fluttering her way towards the flowers in question. Her large, round, red eyes narrowed as she began to scan the flowerbed for something that looked out of place. All the while she flew back and forth above the flowers slowly, as if trying her absolute best to make sure that she didn't miss a single detail.
"Hmm... I'm not sure if she's having much luck," Avril replied. "Either Flabébé isn't here or it's super good at hiding." The girl frowned as she watched her Hoothoot make several more passes above the flowerbed."Hey, do you think maybe there's a way we could lure it out...?"
Laurent's brow furrowed ever so slightly, but he didn't allow his smile to falter. "Mmmm, I'm not sure Flabébé care about much of anything besides plants. Flowers are definitely their favorite, but one that lives around here would be familiar with all the plants in the area already, wouldn't it?...." After a few more seconds of deliberation, he looked at Avril to see if she had any further suggestions but when his eyes settled on the camellia bloom sticking out of her backpack he snapped his fingers and smiled wider. "A flower it wouldn't be familiar with, of course!" He pulled the pokéball with a golden rose sticker off of his belt, enlarged it, then tapped the button and released Bernard next to him.
The Ivyasaur yawned deeply as if he'd been attempting to go back to sleep in the ball, shaking his body back and forth enough as he did so for the palm frond-like leaves jutting out from his back to shake and rustle like they were in a heady breeze. Suspiciously in-time with the action, both trainers smelled something so relaxing and sweet that they almost immediately felt their muscles relax and their olfactory sensors kick into overdrive. Laurent's nostrils flared when he took a deep breath of the aroma and when he opened his eyes back up, his gaze had sharpened. "That's even better, Bernard! Could you perhaps try to let out even more of that irresistible bouquet? Perhaps spread it around?"
Bernard paused to look at Laurent, blissfully unaware of how any of this would help thanks to only having just become aware of the world once again but he still did as his trainer asked. The Ivysaur started to shake left and right even more, making the rustling of his leaves louder, and when the two trainers looked at him they saw a barely visible pink mist - or powder, it was too thin to tell - begin spreading from his body. The enticing smell grew even stronger, to the point where it was all they could smell. "Oh my..." Laurent muttered, eyes fluttering a bit as he tried to keep focused. "This is more than just whatever perfume brews in his bulb, he must have learned Sweet Scent after our victory against Viola."
"It sure does smell pretty, that much is for sure," Avril mused. She turned her attention back towards the flowers, her eyes narrowing for something, anything that looked out of the ordinary. The blonde still wasn't having much luck though. That's when she thought of an idea herself to maybe help out with the search for the Fairy-type Pokémon. She glanced back up at her Hoothoot quickly. "Anise, try looking through the flowers again. You might have better luck this time. Try searching with Foresight this time!"
Anise hooted in response and began to search the flowers again. Unlike before, her eyes opened quite wide as if she was studying every single detail of the flowers below. The Hoothoot studiously circled the flowers, her little wings carrying her back and forth. Suddenly, the owl Pokémon let out a small hoot of surprise. She began to circle one flower, in particular, a yellow tulip that had grown towards the middle of the flowerbed. The talons on her feet clenched, save for one which she used to point with to show the trainers what flower she had picked out over all the others.
"I think she found something," Avril stated to Laurent with a grin.
The other trainer smiled back at her and approached the flower for a closer look, once he drew near it, he noticed the flower swaying - no, wiggling back and forth in the pink breeze, it almost looked like it was dancing happily. "Amazing experience after amazing experience on this journey." He muttered in awe, reaching for the flower. Just before Laurent's fingertips grazed the yellow petals of the tulip, a tiny green vine of all things extended from the flower's stem and smacked his hand away. "Yes, I would very much say she did find something and it doesn't seem to want to move, or at least not to be moved by a human. Show yourself, sweet little floral guardian, all we wish for is your assistance~" He extended his hand once again, this time he was interrupted by a loud thud, jolting upright and spinning on his heel to see Bernard tipped over. The pink breeze caused by his sweet scent almost seemed as if it had turned against him, then Laurent saw the culprit, a Flabébé!
"Aha! Finally sho - hm?" The Flabébé floating in his sight, glaring and bristling at Bernard had a blue flower, not a yellow one. "Looks like a friend who's much less passive than our dear tulip." He said to Avril. Before she could reply, the blue Flabébé began to spin and let out some sort of distressed noise. The tulip shook much more fiercely then shot out of the ground and grew larger until they could see what seemed to be a small fae creature clutching to the tulip's stem, the passive fairy pokémon had been roused, two Flabébé faced the trainers! Laurent reached for his belt but hesitated halfway. This was a great opportunity to give Apollo some much-needed practice after his defeat at the gym...but attacking a flower pokémon with a fire-type in a field of flowers while on a mission to help preserve the foliage of Parterre Way didn't strike him as a good idea. "Back on your feet, Bernard!" The Ivysaur righted himself with a vine and a bounce and growled at the fairy-types! "Saur!"
Laurent grinned at Avril. "Ladies first, which color do you like better, blue, or yellow?"
"Well... the blue one does match my eyes better," Avril joked, suddenly feeling a bit excited that this little task was turning into something a bit more exciting than it had started out being. She turned to face the Flabébé in question, debating herself which Pokémon she should use to battle against the creature. She obviously had her doubts about sending out her Mudbray... and at the same time, she worried that Shino might be overkill. In the end, she decided to follow Laurent's lead and use the Pokémon she had already called out onto the field. "Alright, Anise! Are you ready?"
The Hoothoot was quick to respond to her trainer with an excited series of hoots. Without delay, Anise made her way towards the duo of trainers and took her place beside Bernard. She gave the Ivysaur a confident look, her excitement at the approaching battle quite evident with how quickly she began to switch which foot she was standing on over and over again.
Bernard matched Anise's look, then stepped forward in sync with Laurent's flourished pointing at the tulip fairy. "Bernard, Vine Whip!" Bernard nodded and sent two vines out towards his opponent, only for it to extend two smaller vines of its own to parry! The Flabébé's vines were too small to properly block Bernard, but once that became clear, the other Flabébé joined in and the tag teamed to keep Bernard at bay. "Alright then," Laurent said, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, apparently unperturbed. "Razor Leaf!" Bernard growled, then whipped his body from side to side, flinging a flurry of large, whirling leaves from his body. Once again, both Flabébé matched Bernard's attack, locking his barrage of Razor Leaves in place with a weaker, but doubly-numerous assault of their own Razor Leaves. Laurent paused, then smirked at the realization that his attacks could keep both of their opponents busy at once. "Keep it up!" He called out, lightly placing a hand on Avril's shoulder when Bernard followed his command.
"Anise, give the Flabébé a Tackle attack!" Avril ordered.
The Hoothoot quickly dove down towards the blue, Fairy-type Pokémon. She nimbly managed to dive between the flurry of Razor Leaves blowing across the flowerbed-turned-battlefield, surprising the blue Flabébé as she slammed her body quite roughly into it. The Flabébé tightened its grip on the flower it was holding onto, desperately trying not to let go as the force of Anise's blow almost knocked the wild Pokémon flat on its backside. At the very least, the attack from Anise managed to reduce the number of leaves cutting across the air. The wild Flabébé glared at Anise as the owl Pokémon began to rise back up into the air. It clearly was not happy that the Hoothoot joined in the battle along side of Bernard, and was not about to let her just fly away like that. The blue Flabébé quickly attacked Anise with a Vine Whip in response, the vine wrapping around Anise's leg in an attempt to hold the owl Pokémon down.
Bernard's flurry of leaves began to rapidly push back the other attack once only one opponent was contributing. In no time at all the yellow Flabébé was pushed back and flailed helplessly under the assault of sharpened leaves. As soon as his main target was struck, Bernard began to spread out his attack further, until the second Flabébé was struck as well, specifically on its vines, forcing it to let Anise go. Once both pokémon were staggered, Laurent called out, "Tackle, then Vine Whip!" and Bernard charged at the yellow Flabébé while simultaneously beginning to let out his vines. The yellow Flabébé recovered just in the nick of time to barely hover out of the way, but as Bernard swept past it, a vine hooked onto the stem of its flower, then slammed it into the ground and held it in place. "Not much longer now!" he told Avril. "We shouldn't completely beat them, just disable them so we can bring them back to the gardener."
Anise glared at the blue Flabébé as it tried to pull her down. Avril smirked as she had a feeling the Fairy-type Pokémon was biting off more than it could chew. Without warning, the Hoothoot quickly dropped down and drilled her beak right into the forehead of the Flabébé. The wild Pokémon winced in response, quickly letting go of the hold it had on Anise's leg. Still, Avril wasn't going to give the blue-flower holding Pokémon the chance to recover. "Anise, use Hypnosis now!"
Anise's glare intensified on the wild Flabébé. The Fairy-type stared in awe of its opponent as the black pupils of her eyes began to slowly spin around, creating a swirl-like design against her red irises. The Hoothoot began to let out series of quiet, rhythmic hoots as her head began to slowly move from one side to the other. It was almost as if she had turned herself into a living metronome. The Flabébé felt its eyelids getting heavy and its tiny ears began to slowly droop as it slouched forward. Only a few more seconds passed before the wild Pokémon was suddenly fast asleep.
"Okay Bernard! Good ferocity, but any vrai danseur knows how to match their partner's flow, finish it with Grass Whistle!" While Bernard's vines pinned the yellow Flabébé to the ground, a tall stalk of grass pulled itself out of the ground and floated towards the Ivysaur. Once the stalk reached Bernard's face it glowed and changed shape, smooth contours and complex grooves tracing themselves throughout and across its length. He caught the leaf in his mouth and began to blow. The leaf vibrated smoothly and produced an entrancing melody, relaxing all who heard it, but invisibly narrowing its area of effect. The Flabébé trapped beneath Bernard's vines only continued to struggle a few more seconds before its eyes fluttered, then slid shut. "Magnifique!" Laurent exclaimed at the sight of the pair of sleeping pokémon. He ran straight to the yellow Flabébé, knelt down, then gently lifted it into his arms and scooped it up. "Come, let's make haste back to the gardener before they have a chance to wake up if we fully capture them there won't be much point in giving them to him."
Avril nodded, making her way towards the blue Flabébé and taking it carefully into her hands. She smiled down at her Hoothoot, thanking Anise for a battle well fought, before motioning for the owl Pokémon to follow her and Laurent back towards the old gardener. The blonde girl was quite curious to see just what kind of reward would be waiting for the duo when they returned with the pair of Flabébé. With any luck, it would be something at the very least to make up for what a pain it had been to locate the Fairy-type Pokémon.
The trip back was much shorter without stopping to look at every patch of flowers, and in minutes the duo was back at the series of topiaries where they'd run into each other earlier. The old gardener was watering some plants on the other side of the hedges, apparently in his backyard. He heard the trainers' footsteps crunching on the grass and as soon as he locked eyes with them, his own widened and he straightened up fully. "You really got two of them?! They aren't even that beat up, this is wonderful!" With a new energy to his gait, the man jogged over to a gap neither trainer had noticed before in the part of the hedge connected to his yard and opened a small metal gate. "Come in! Come in! I have to get something for these poor things and I'll be right back!"
Laurent swiveled his head to smile at Avril, proud of both of them for their accomplishment and stepped through the gate, pushing it open a bit wider in the process before propping it in place with his leg. "I can only assume he's fetching medicine for these poor things. Even if they attacked us first, it would be quite awful of us to just leave them as they are and dare to ask them for their help." Once the gate closed behind Avril, Laurent adjusted his arms to keep the sleeping Flabébé as comfortable as possible and admired the old man's quaint, but charming house.
"We didn't actually... catch them, you know? Do you think he's going to catch them instead? I mean, no matter how they're transferred over to him, they'll probably still be mad after how they were treated, yeah? Battled, put to sleep and then just given to some random old guy?" Avril wondered, glancing over at Laurent in the process. "I mean, don't get me wrong... I'm happy we helped him, but... I'm kinda curious now."
"I can't hazard a guess," Laurent replied. "But it's a good thing we didn't properly catch them, if we had we wouldn't be able to give truly offer them to the old man. However, he doesn't strike me as a trainer, and if he isn't one officially he can't truly catch them. But if he doesn't, how would he keep them here? It's not as if he could lock them in a cage without defeating the entire purpose of all this."
After a short wait, the back door of the house opened and the gardener came rushing out with a pair of spray bottles in his arms and returned to Laurent and Avril. He sprayed each Flabébé in turn with a Super Potion, muttering soothingly to their sleeping forms, then stepped away and knelt down by one of his flower beds. Before either of the trainers could ask what the old man was up to, they felt the pokémon in their arms stirring. After a few moments both Flabébé opened their eyes, then shot a few feet away from the trainers when they remembered how they'd fallen asleep in the first place. Both pokémon floated in place and bristled at the trainers, then suddenly froze when the gardener passed by him with a flower in each hand. Laurent and Avril found themselves watching as curiously as the pokémon while the old gardener strolled lazily over to the hedge, whistling a happy tune and began fiddling with the topiaries from behind them.
When the man stepped away, they were able to see he'd gently weaved the flowers - roots and all - into two of the topiaries: a dainty tulip in the torn ear of the Meowth, and a gentle blue bell around the handless arm of the Hitmonchan like a bracelet. The pair of Flabébé appeared to almost instantly forget completely about the trainers' presence and floated to the hedges. Each Flabébé circled excitedly around the flower that matched its color, then began to dance happily around a large length of the hedges, including all the damaged topiaries. "See, you two can appreciate what a testament to nature's beauty these topiaries are, right? An' now you've got homes with 'em, too. Would you mind helping me preserve these beauties and show those young folks the real value of takin' things at a more relaxed pace the next time they come out here?" At his words, the Flabébé ceased admiring the hedges and flew over to the gardener. They stared at him for a stint, then began to bounce in the air, letting out happy little noises and rocketed back to the hedges. This time the Flabébé actually landed on the hedges one by one. Avril and Laurent could only stare in awe as some of the topiaries began to glow momentarily, then the missing parts grew back as if the Flabébé instinctively knew what they should be!
"A-a-amazing!" Laurent stammered at the sight. "They really are like guardians of nature...the more minuscule parts of it, at least."
Avril too had a hard time believing what she just saw. Her eyes were wide and she suddenly felt the need to be pinched just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Anise seemed to be sharing the same thought, as the Hoothoot remained completely silent. Her head tilted from one side to another, as if trying to analyze just how in the world the two Flabébé were capable of this. "I almost wish I had a camera to record this... No spin I put on this in my notebook is gonna make what we just witnessed here believable!"
Once all of the topiaries had been restored, the little flower sprites flew back to their new homes and with a glimmer, disappeared on contact with the tulip and the blue bell.
Laurent was so filled with amazement and glee that he'd be surprised to find his eyes weren't sparkling. "It was all worth it just to witness something so grand and fantastical."
"Oh, then I suppose you don't need any reward, right?" The gardener questioned, smiling cheekily at the pair. As soon as he had their attention he waved off any concerns they may have. "Only kidding, just a joke. Wait here just another second, youngsters, I think I know just what you need." Without waiting for a response the old man ran back into his house. Laurent looked at Avril curiously, then shrugged and smiled.
"I thought he was actually gonna trade off the sight of that in place of a reward," Avril said, sighing in relief. She shot Laurent a quick, annoyed glance. "Be more careful next time, geeze..."
After one final delay, the gardener came out of his house once again, this time carrying two...bundles of yellow fluff? One puffball sat in the crook of each elbow, bouncing lightly against each hip. He set one bundle of floof in front of each trainer, where they began to wiggle before a head and tail popped out of both of them. The heads looked up and blinked sleepily at each trainer, then legs popped out of the bottom of the poofs and they took a step closer, staring curiously at Avril and Laurent.
"Mareep!" Laurent shouted excitedly.
Avril stood quietly, her eyes entirely fixated on the bundle of fluffy wool in front of her.. There was no way the girl could hide the deep, crimson blush that rushed to her cheeks as she stared at the baby Mareep, who in turn stared right back at her. The blonde trainer had to fight every single urge she had to reach out and grab the adorable, fluffy ball of wool and smother it in endless snuggles.
"They're twins." The gardener explained. "They come from good stock, I'll tell you that right now. Me an' my Ampharos made it all the way to the pokémon league back in our day! We may not have won, but it was a journey, and an ending I can be proud of! I'd like you to take these cuties on the same sort of adventure, give'em the same thrills and strength their pappy got. Seems a fitting reward, yeah? You bring me two pokémon, I give you two pokémon."
As soon as the old man finished, Laurent has already picked up the Mareep in front of him and began hugging it to his chest. "It's absolutely adorable! Irresistible! Never has such a humble undertaking granted such a wonderful boon for me!"
Avril smiled at Laurent's eagerness at being rewarded with the baby Mareep. She was partially grateful for the boy's reaction to being gifted with one. For starters, it made it easier for one to overlook how smitten she was with the development herself. Avril was about to open her mouth to tell Laurent to lighten up in his grip if only to keep from suffocating the poor electric sheep, when she suddenly felt a small tug on her leggings. Glancing back down towards the ground, the blonde girl's eyes widened as she spotted the baby Mareep in front of her pawing gently on her leg with a tiny smile on its face. Slowly, she knelt down to the sheep Pokémon's level and scooped it up in her arms, being promptly rewarded with a tiny lick on the cheek before the sheep suddenly nuzzled up against her.
Smiling gently, Avril hugged the baby Mareep closer to her chest before turning to face the gardener once more. "T-Thank you, v-very much," she managed to squeak out, her voice trembling as she tried to maintain her composure in front of the old man.
Laurent continued to huggle his own Mareep for a few more second then lifted it up to his face. It let out a little mewl and wiggled in his grip before he knew it he was rubbing noses with the baby pokémon. He didn't stop the rather silly display until his nose sparked a static shock strong enough to make half of his hair splay out wildly. Laurent stared at the Mareep in surprise for a moment, then patted his own head and broke out laughing when he felt his hair. "Ahahaha! Now I know for certain we'll get along wonderfully, and you're a girl, aren't you?"
"They both are." The gardener answered.
It was only just then that Laurent once again became aware of the world outside of his new pokémon. The sight of Avril and her own Mareep widened his smile even further. "Thank you so very much, sir, it's a very fitting reward indeed! I'm afraid I've tarried too long, however, I'm in the middle of a pursuit and I must recommence it now that this is done."
Avril herself seemed to snap out of her own daze as well. "Y-Yeah... I better get going if I wanna make it to Lumiose by nightfall." She paused, another rush of blush to her cheeks and adoration of floof as the baby Mareep in her arms managed to wiggle out of her grasp and somehow scale up to the top of her head. It let out a peaceful sounding mewl and nestled against her hat, clearly comfortable with its new seat. 'T-Thank you again, s-sir."
"Think nothing of it, I can't think of a better life for my little baby girls than adventurin' with a fine upstanding pair of trainers like yourself." The gardener reassured his saviors.
Laurent found himself turning back towards the main bulk of the route until his Mareep nestled into his arm and he realized he'd forgotten something important. "Ah, of course." He pulled an empty pokéball off of his belt. "Rest, for now, Maria, your part of this journey will start soon enough." and ever-so-gently tapped his new friend with the button, then stowed the ball back on his belt and paused to listen until he heard a beep from his pokédex. As soon as he heard that magical sound he made his way to the yard's humble gate and opened it. "Farewell, sir. I'll be back one day to see just how expansive and beautiful your topiary wall has become!"
Avril waved happily at the old man as she began to follow behind Laurent. Taking one of the spare balls from her makeshift bracelet, the girl reached up and tapped the Mareep currently resting on her head on the nose much like the male trainer did. She smiled as she heard the similar beep coming from her own Pokédex, mixing in with the upbeat hooting of Anise as the owl Pokémon flew along side her trainer.
"Looks like our little family is getting even bigger, Anise," Avril said, reaching up to gently pat the Mareep resting on her head. It let out another happy mewl, causing Avril's heart to absolutely flutter. "Heh... Welcome to the group, Marble."
Once he felt like they were out of earshot of the old man Laurent started talking, though he kept his eyes on the road ahead. "I always look forward to meeting new people, especially lovely ladies but...I have to say, Avril. It truly was a pleasure meeting you."
Avril turned to glance in Laurent's direction. "Well, of course, it's nice to meet new people! You were fun to hang out with too!"
"Of course~" Laurent replied. "I'd better hurry off, I'm looking for someone as it stands, and this has been quite the detour." He explained. "But I'll never forget what we witnessed today. I'd almost say it was romantic if I didn't know better. Take good care of that Camellia." He finished, turning around to offer Avril one last view of his signature half-lidded smile before he began to walk faster and divert from the path.
Avril watched curiously as Laurent hurried off. "Romantic...? I mean, it was interesting, but..." She paused, tilting her head ever so slightly for a moment before reaching into her bag and pulling the flower in question from her bag. "I... hope I can see him again soon... That whole battle and everything was a lot more... interesting with him."
Capture Complete...ish!
Marble the Mareep
Female/Bold/Likes To Relax
Tackle, Growl, Iron Tail, Signal Beam
Maria the Mareep
Female/Quiet/Likes To Relax
Tackle, Growl, Iron Tail, Shockwave
Sorry wasn't a word that could even begin to convey the apology that needed to be said. A somber look covered Sam's face where his enthusiasm was held back by a mix of feelings that he didn't want to acknowledge. That was so immature too. Because, he was twenty one but damn was he bad at anything but being a happy go lucky person. He wanted to get this situation over with but didn't have the slightest idea why he couldn't begin the conversation.
Sam hesitated to even look down at the Poliwag walking right next to him.
"Poli..." The little blue pokemon began but stopped. It looked up at Sam who appeared so different than normal. The joy, the sheer enthusiasm that had motivated the whole team... it was gone from him. Rainer caught his trainer's eyes. They knew exactly what the other wanted to say.
"Let's just forget about it."
"I can't forget. I was really looking forward to it."
"I know... I was looking forward to it too but... it was... it was a distraction for me."
"A distraction... was it really?"
"We were obliterated by the gym leader because I wasn't focused on the battle."
"Really, that bad then?"
"Yes. But I don't want to be like that. And I don't want you to be like this. So... serious. It's not like you at all. Being happy all the time is... just how you should be."
"But I need to take it seriously. Happy go lucky... is just being naive. I should be responsible for winning just as much if not more than you."
"It's good to hear that. I mean I just... it's hard to being the only one taking battles seriously. River... Ronin.. they're just here for the ride but I want to go all the way and if I'm the only one pushing us then it's not going to work out. One grass type can wipe the floors with us all in one go.. and.. Sam?"
"I promise. I'll take this seriously from now on. Training, battling, gyms... you're not the only one who cares anymore. Rainer, we're going to beat the league! No more distracts from that either ok!"
"That's.... that's what I've been waiting to hear for so long. I'm so sorry for making us late to the contest. I should have taken the loss like a champ but I just ran. Can you forgive me?"
Sam picked up the poliwag with both arms.
"I forgive you if you forgive me." Sam said.
"Done!" Rainer said, welcoming the embrace for once instead of resisting.
Sam put the small blue pokemon back on the ground, then pulled out the two pokeballs for Ronin and River. They were finally rested after facing the annihilating tactics of the gym.
"The fight's over. Are you guys feeling better?" Sam asked, seeing the azurill and wooper stretching. River of course was happy but ronin was trying to be edgy still. What a stinker.
"From now on we're going to focus on getting stronger as a team. That means we're going to skip the contests and focus on battling and gyms. Alright?" Sam said.
"Woop!"
"Azuuu."
"Poli!"
"Great. Now let's get started with an easy job then we're going to work our way up to a sprint. By the time we reach the city again we're going to be the fastest team there is!"
Jackson finished a small sandwich that Malorie had prepared for him before he had set out from Santalune, while watching his three pokémon eat their food, as the professor had recommended the best brands for their performance. Well, for all but Gaspar, apparently eating was not only completely unnecessary but could end up slowing him down. Still, for the ghost types own happiness Jackson has given him a small bowl.
Once that business was settled he had returned them all to their respective pokéballs, even he needed some alone time every once and a while, and proceeded to waltz down the more pleasant side of Route 4 towards the impressive sight of Lumiose City on the skyline. Jackson had been maybe one? Twice? It was a pain to get there without proper transportation by a rental pokémon, but those cost more money than the trip was worth.
It was bigger than Veilstone anyway, hell it was bigger than Jubilife! Though ironically Jackson had only been to his regions capital once... and that was to get on a plane and fly into 'The City of Light' in question. The impressively large, arched gate stood open just a little bit further down the path from where he was standing. The architecture was admittedly amazing, but he could smell the upper class off of the city from here. Santalune just had to connect to the rich district of the city, such was his luck.
However, the knowledge of such a class divide so near where he was going to enter did make something in particular catch his attention.
Three men seemed to be hiding something covered by a light tarp, they looked more than a little bit suspicious... yet much unlike the Team Cinder goons he had caught sight of in the forest these guys had a whole different kind of stink. One of them wore a thick jacket, the kind you could stuff things in and that no sane person would wear in the Summer time. Another had his pants just a little too far down for Jackson's liking, as well as a baggy shirt that made him look like he'd borrowed it from a Hariyama. Finally, the third guy, a little bit older, had a farmer's cap stuck on his head, hiding his eyes from sight as he gripped the groups cargo.
They were certainly not any upper class citizens. Hell, Jackson was a slums kid in Veilstone and he took better care of himself than that lot. This whole situation stunk up a storm that made the hairs stand on end in Jackson's sensitive nose for trouble. He turned slightly towards the three but stopped himself.
This wasn't his damn business. He had places to be... he had to stop turning off course for every little injustice in Kalos for Arceus' sake.
---
"So boss... ya said they'd pay how much?" The baggy shirt fellow said with glee and excitement, only for the old hat guy to respond. "50k mate, t'think someone'd giv'us that much money... t'steal an egg from a hag who's busy with tourism spots..." With his words he removed the tarp from their cargo, an incubator with a single pokémon egg inside. The coarse texture was visible as the light bounced off of the eggs surface. It was a dull shade of grey-blue... yet along the front there was a single blazing red strike, fading into the surface like a gradient.
"S-so, this guy boss... Gabe..." The shifty man in the jacket spoke up. "Y'sayin'... 'e's gonna pay us the big bucks for the 'mon in this here shell? Whasso special 'bout it?" The boss sneered and poked the incubators glass, before setting it down on a nearby stump. "Apparently it's the kid of a damn scary poké... that lady is a real big deal off shore, plus they say this 'mon's egg is unbreakable, completely indestructable like... so y'can 'spect it t'be a monster..." Jacket laughed and snorted a little as he did so.
"Damn... you'd think she'd'a payed a 'lil more 'ttention to it then! Were as easy as snatchin' it from backstage!" They all snickered and laughed... but it was short lived. With a crack of a branch behind them, they quickly turned to see the shrubbery parting, and someone else walking into the clearing.
"Hey fellas..." The stranger said with a passive aggressive lilt in his tone, it barely being able to conceal a clearly burning anger, as evident by the bulging vein on this young mans forehead.
The three men took a step back from Jackson, their expressions painted with worry as they saw the look on his face and the pokéballs attached to his belt. The boss spoke up, pointing accusingly at Jackson. "Y-y'can't use 'mon against us! We ain't got any! T-that's one o' the worst crimes out there!"
Jackson's eyes widened and he stared piercing holes through the speaker's forehead. "My pokémon? I don't think you shits understand..."
"I ain't the kinda trainer who believes in his Pokémon wastin' their energy." With that Jackson sprinted forward and drove his foot hard into the leader's crotch, causing a howl of winded pain as he dropped to the floor holding his injured manhood. The other two looked shocked but quickly moved in to defend their leader. The guy with the baggy shirt swung for Jackson but he easily leaned back and grabbed that same attacker by the curly hair, dragging his head forward so that it collided with the others swing, the satisfying sound of a jaw cracking against a fist rang in Jackson's ears.
"Oh shi- Mike! I-I'm sorry- GACK!" Jackson quickly sucker punched the man as he spoke, hitting hard enough to shatter a rib he'd warrant. The guy coughed harshly, a small dribble of blood leaking down his lip... and as he lurched Jackson met his lowered form with a rage induced uppercut, launching the aggressor into the air and sending him crashing onto his back... he didn't get back up.
"Ahh... one down, been a while, I think I'm rusty." Jackson mused, only to feel a rock belt into his back. "Gah- who the fuck?..." As he turned, he saw a rather unnerved leader of the criminals, grasping a stone tightly in his hand. "N-now look mate... t-tell you what... have the egg! We'll get outta here, you can take it with ya... we never met and everything is good yeah?"
Jackson sneered and cracked his knuckled before starting to step forward. "Sorry lard-ass, I don't consort with kidnappers."
In a panic the man chucked the stone at Jackson who easily caught it in his hand, he swung with the throws momentum, doing a full 360 before facing the man again and lobbing the rock hard back in his direction. It smashed into his kneecap with a satisfying crack and Jackson grinned before charging forward. "Now let's see how badly you assholes splinter!!" With a full on clothes line he smashed the leaders nose into his face, causing a splurt of blood as he broke it in several locations, he too careened backwards, spinning once before flopping onto the ground in an unconscious, defeated heap.
Jackson turned towards the last man, fellow with the baggy shirt, as he pulled himself to his feet and looked at Jackson with terror. Jackson didn't say another word, he just reached down and slowly picked up the rock he had thrown earlier, as he did so a cold sweat dripped down the last criminals forehead and he looked at Jackson with pale fear spreading over his face.
"Run."
The man bolted, sprinting into the treeline to escape... Jackson very calmly pulled back his arm, measuring the distance by eye. Then, with a sudden grunt, he lobbed the stone forward. It whistled gently through the air and Jackson squinted until he could see and hear a rather satisfying THUNK.
"Three out of three..." He mumbled, before sighing in dejection. "Almost a perfect victory too, damn shame..." He spat with repulsion upon the back of the criminals leader.
"Assholes."
---
Jackson searched the thugs unconscious bodies for any sort of clue as to who they were working for. Jacket man had a large supply of white powder stored away... baggy shirt had nothing of any value whatsoever. The leader however had something interesting. A lone and crumpled piece of paper in his shirt pocket... Jackson took it out with curiosity and read the short contents.
Note said:
"Drop off.
Tonight.
Bring the egg and we'll tell you where to take it.
Meet in the back alley off of third. Be certain you aren't followed or the circumstances will be dire for you."
This egg has a dull blue-grey sheen with a single, red streak flowing down the center of the egg on one side in a gradient. It is somewhat cold and doesn't seem to move apart from an occasional beating from within. It will take quite some time to hatch.
Jackson frowned. This was starting to develop a pretty familiar stench. After all, whom was it that note mentioned? 'Gabe'? Jackson gritted his teeth with the realization that came next. "Artece." He spat as he crumpled the letter into his pocket, this had just gotten personal. He was suddenly relieved that he hadn't called the Rangers yet.
There was however, someone he felt like he could contact.
Jackson remembered what the Professor had mentioned... about the pokédex having built in e-mail functionality with those whom had been registered. He searched through the complicated devices functions until he stumbled upon something that looked like it might fit the bill of what he was looking for. The e-mail server was private to the Professor and his network, but he couldn't risk something going wrong and someone else getting involved. Cops would be too obvious, they'd ruin a chance to find out more about Team Cinder and their operations.
He looked in his contact list, empty... but then in desperation searched around until he found a function titles "Recently Met". It displayed a list of people with pokédexes that he had battled against or with in the previous few days. Drew was there... as was Odette... Laurent too... but the one he was looking for wasn't any of them.
"Aha, there it is." He tapped the name 'Emma Kuzunoha' and let out a sigh of relief as he saw the option to send an e-mail.
He'd have to be subtle... as he had established previously, he didn't want the e-mail getting out in the case that it could.
He stopped.
Shit, he couldn't read. He'd have to make this as simple as possible, use the words he knew.
Shoving the pokédex into his pocket, Jackson proceeded to pick up the large glass encased egg. It was heavy, but not uncomfortable to hold. This was going to be a very important piece of the puzzle in the days to come. So unfortunately he'd have to hold onto it for just a little bit longer.
As Jackson left the three men unconscious in the clearing, he made a quick call on his holo-caster to the local rangers. Nothing fancy, a swift complaint about some unnerving noises in the forest and a mention that he had heard screaming. That would be enough to warrant investigation on any patrol tonight. However, the note and the egg were still safe in his possession.
And with those in tow, Jackson stepped through the gates to Lumiose City, The City of Light.
Spoiler:
BADGE CASE:
Spoiler:
INVENTORY:
1 x Pokédex
3 x Poké Ball
1 x Old Rod
1 x Metal Coat
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Paige smiled as she stared blissfully back at the Parterre water fountain. Her smile turned to a frown as she noticed Drew hadn't even taken notice of her comment, let alone stopped walking to see what she was talking about. "Hey, Drew!" She barked, finally catching his attention. The two had been walking for a while now, and despite her efforts it had been a boring experience. Drew had been completely lifeless since they'd made their deal. Paige though, she wasn't ready to go home yet. No doubt, once she got to Lumiose, her father would have someone ready to pick her up. She wanted to have some fun while she still could. Drew jolted out of his trance as he heard Paige bawl his name. He glanced back at her, with a blank expression on his face. "Forget it. I was just commenting on the fountain." She sighed.
"Yeah, I guess it's alright." Drew answered flatly.
Dissatisfied with the boy's response, Paige scooped up her Mimikyu, who was lagging behind, and caught up with the trainer. "So, one thing every trainer has to have is a dream team. How about you tell me yours?"
Drew responded with a puzzled look, but after a moment of hesitation decided to humour the conversation. Things had been awkward enough, and something as uncanny as this was sure to ease the tension. "I guess if I got to choose a starter it would be Charmander. So Charizard would be my first." He began, prompting a glare from Brycen who was standing only a few feet away. "From there it get a little trickier, but Raichu and whatever Tyrunt evolves into would be must haves." He continued. He was completely oblivious to Paige's smile as she noticed him relaxing again. "From there…Scizor, Gyarydos and of course my very own Chespin, haha." He chuckled awkwardly, remembering that he had left his partner out up until that point. "How's that for a team?" He grinned.
Brycen rolled his eyes at the remark, but Paige seemed a little more amused. "Hey now, I'm not a trainer, so you can't pull that on me?" She laughed.
"Stop right there!" A voice demanded from behind Drew. Coupled with the equally startling scream from Paige, the command was enough to jolt the young trainer into facing the source of the voice. Upon turning around, Drew was found himself eying down the barrel of a gun. "Don't try anything funny." The uniformed man said sternly.
Drew felt like he'd swallowed his heart. Why the hell was a pokemon ranger pulling a gun out on him? He raised his hands, glancing back at Paige for some reassurance. His female companion however, seemed far less frightened than she initially was.
"You're pulling your gun out on a kid?" Paige shrieked, a mortified shroud of expression claimed her face. It was that outburst that turned the heads of a few passers-by, who took heed and came to evaluate the scene.
Paige's rallying cry seemed to unsettle the ranger, but he stood firm, digging his gun into Drew's forehead. "Child or not, this kid's under arrest for crimes against the-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Drew was freed by the intervention of Brycen's vines. The Chespin slapping the gun out of the ranger's hand. The trainer and pokemon embraced each other with a side fist bump, before taking stance against the ranger.
Frustrated, annoyed, and very angry; the ranger wasted no time in reaching for his pokeball and tossing out a Pyroar. "Pyroar, Echoed Voice!" With the command, the ranger's pokemon let out a loud and fearsome roar, even scaring off a few of the bystanders.
Brycen however, braved the attack. He was barely standing, but the Chespin did in fact manage to survive the fearsome lion pokemons attack.
Drew looked on helplessly. Brycen wasn't going to take another attack, he knew that. He reached for his pokeball, and attempted to recall his starter. Brycen refused. Instead, the small spiny nut pokemon stood, arms spread in front of his trainer. Drew couldn't help but chuckle. "Guess we're fighting till we're out, huh? Alright, use your vines to muzzle him!"
Despite the courageous attempt to fight on, Brycen was effortlessly wiped out by the respondent flamethrower attack. The ranger instinctively grabbed his gun and once again approached the young trainer. "Anything you do or say from here on out can and will be held against you in a court of law. I'll let police give you the rest of the spiel." He cuffed the teenager's hands, who along with Paige was completely paralyzed in shock. The latter quickly chased behind, as the former was taken up the stairs and toward the ranger training camp.
***
"A public arrest Carson? Really? Our PR is bad enough without you arresting kids in front of civilians with no explanation." An athletically built, balding man in a ranger's uniform paced up and down the hallway, lecturing the man that had arrested Drew. The teenager watched through the window. The room he himself was in, was small dark and dainty, with a straining bulb barely lighting the hovel. All this, yet he still hadn't been told anything. Of course he was scared. What the hell had he done to deserve this? Idiot rangers thinking because they wear a badge or two they can push people around. Drew rolled his eyes as the new man walked in the door.
"We sent your little friend home. She doesn't seem to know anything, so she's off the hook. You on the other hand, we have proof of your involvement, so you aint goin nowhere." He dragged the chair beneath him, and slammed his but onto the hard, but frail wooden structure. Drew could've sworn he heard it crack a little under the pressure. "So, tell me about your affiliation with Team Cinder."
"With who?" Drew asked, contorting his face involuntarily into a befuddled expression.
"We're actually gonna do this?" The interrogator sighed. "Carson, bring in the tape!" The man ordered. Shortly after, the ranger from Parterre way came in, with a laptop and a disc. He placed the disc in the tray, and booted it up. The clip played. It showed images of the Santalune forest fire. Drew squinted, still unsure of exactly what was going on here. As the video continued, and image appeared of Drew's battle with Newt. What he seemed to get hung up on though, was the third party. The suited man that he'd saved in the forest. The man paused the video at that moment and pointed to the screen. "You and your bastard friends started that forest fire. We're going to get to the bottom of this 'Team Cinder' game of yours. So tell me again, that you don't know who Team Cinder are. I dare you."
...If you're in need of some brighter news, a place crime has seemed to drop is in Santalune city. Boy has that place been eventful lately. It seems with the help of Aquacorde detective Miss Kuzunoha, police have managed to detain a group of gang members that were stalling progress on victory road. This is great news for Mr.Houto, who says his men can now continue with the construction of the gate in peace.
That was the news that appeared the following morning. While the crowd was in awe of Emma's performance, she herself wasn't too thrilled. Last night questioned everything she believed in, and whether or not she did the right thing. Trying to take solitude from the supporters that were in awe of the hero detective, she decided to take a break in Route 22. She sat against a tree trunk, hugging her legs, basking in the warm sun. She sat quietly, listening to the small cries of pokemon passing to and from each bush and tall grass. The purple egg she received last night sat comfortably inside her handbag.
This reminded her of the good old days. She and Sayo used to sat like this, looking at the different species of pokemon who made their habitat around the area. But speaking of Sayo, Emma could only wonder how she was, and what she was doing now. More importantly... was she watching the news? What would she have done if she was in Emma's position? So many questions, little time to ponder. Emma lowered her head, tucking it inside her arms.
Soon following of rustling of grass, a small blue puppy-like pokemon appeared, wondering about. Perhaps it was searching for food, or a new home for itself? Either way, it soon saw Emma, head down, seemingly depressed. Perhaps wondering if Emma was some sort of new species of pokemon, it waddled its way over to her, taking a closer inspection. It looked at her sideways, upside down... she was nothing the puppy pokemon had ever seen before. Even more curious, it briefly pressed its paw on Emma's leg, letting out a small cry.
"Huh...?" Emma quietly wondered as she was alerted. She looked down towards the small puppy pokemon, as it greeted her with a friendly bark. Emma looked upon it, with a curious look. "Wait. As memory serves... you're a Riolu, right? A pokemon that has the power to shape and intensify auras..."
The puppy-pokemon, Riolu, barked. It appears Emma was right! But still. She then looked uninterested. "Well? What do you want?" she asked it. "I don't have any extra food for you right now, so you'll have to look elsewhere."
The Riolu barked once more. Perhaps food wasn't what it was looking for after all. "Curious little girl, aren't you..." Emma pondered. "I thought Riolu was supposed to be cautious around humans. Why are you clinging to me?"
The Riolu barked one more time. Before Emma could think about it more, she was surprised and briefly stunned by a sudden flash. The flash caused her to rub her eyes a bit, until they both got focused enough to view the culprit. "Ohoho! Now THIS is a good one!" it seemed the flash came from a camera, belong to a young woman, who almost seemed to be Emma's age. Emma could quite put her finger on it, but... she looked familiar.
"Ah, and sorry about that!" the woman apologized, lowering the lens of her camera. "You two together looked so precious together and... baw, I couldn't resist a shot! The best shots are the ones that people don't expect, you know!"
Emma looked at her disapprovingly, but didn't utter a word. Instead, she returned to her moody current self. The young woman squatted down near her. "Oh! On closer inspection... aren't you that young detective the news talked about this morning? Yeah! Detective Emma Kuzunoha! I'm very glad I took a picture now! But weren't you scared? Taking on that gang alone?"
"I... rather not talk about it now," stated Emma. "What's done is already done."
"I see," replied the young woman, turning her attention to Riolu. "Is this Riolu yours? I can tell, it's rather fond of you! Feel the pulse of her aura? I think it's pretty happy to made a new friend!"
"It's not even mine," Emma explained with a monotone voice. "It just crept up on me, that's all." Riolu barked followed up with a small chuckle from the woman. The chemistry those two had was something else, for sure.
The the woman looked upon Emma was a concerned look. "You seem quite down," she noticed. "It's going to be tough to take the perfect picture of the two of you now..." Unfortunately, Emma couldn't of cared less, letting out a brief sigh. Then the woman had an idea.
"You know what? Seeing you on T.V, I'd really like to battle you!" she explained with passion. "Not only this will carry me on the hunt for the perfect shot, I think it will help you out too."
"...How?" Emma could only ask. "And why? I'm not exactly that interesting to battle against. Nor am I that strong - in fact, I'm just a beginner."
"Then this will help make you stronger!" the woman insisted. "And I'll tell you what. If you win, I'll give you something nice! Come on, I promise, we'll both enjoy it!"
"Alright, alright..." Emma finally reluctantly agreed. She stood up from her sitting place. "Even though I still don't see the point."
"One more thing," the woman added, glancing upon the wild Riolu. "Can you battle with that Riolu too?"
"But I told you, it's not mine! It's a wild pokemon!" Emma reassured, looking upon the wild puppy pokemon. "Unless... do you want to...?" The blue puppy barked, seemingly in a determined agreement. Emma turned back to the woman, and nodded. The woman smiled.
"Oh, awesome!" she cheered. "Heal up your pokemon, and we'll meet in the gym, okay? See you!" she then jogged off, leaving Emma and the Riolu behind. Emma crossed her arms.
Inside the Gym? But that could only mean that she is...!
EPISODE ONE: ROUTE 22/DAY - "Emotions"
This was the first time Emma had set foot inside a Gym. She could remember it all from books: there are eight gyms throughout each region, and each gym holds a gym leader. Trainers from all over the land try to defeat the gym leaders, in order to gain a gym badge. But why would that woman tell Emma to have the battle inside here? There could only be one conclusion...
Emma stepped inside, with the wild Riolu following after. She viewed upon the battle arena. It consisted of multiple large flat rocks suspended over a pit by web. So it seemed like if a pokemon were to accidentally tumble off the surface, they would land in the soft web pit below. As soon as Emma viewed the entire arena, she looked up. Indeed, the woman was there, waiting for her.
"Glad you made it!" she said in delight. "Shall we get started?"
"First, tell me who you are. No, actually... I think I can guess," said Emma. "You're the gym leader of this city, are you not?"
"Oh, whoops! I thought you knew already!" replied the woman. "But yes, that's right. I am Viola, gym leader of this city. My cherished bug pokemon are always up for a fight!"
"Bug type pokemon..." Emma repeated, feeling a sudden chill up her spine. She couldn't describe it, but, Viola had an aura. She seemed eccentric, but was top notch when it came to her pokemon. Not to mention, Emma didn't like bugs very much. Viola held out a pokeball.
"This will be a knockout battle to the end, each of us using two pokemon, okay?" Viola explained, with a nod in agreement from Emma. She then threw her pokeball in the air, releasing her first pokemon for battle. It seemed to be Ninjask, who had the ability to fly at super sonic speeds in the air. "It moves so quickly that it is almost invisible! Can you handle our speed?"
It'll be tough, but we must prevail...! Emma resolved, reaching for her first pokeball, throwing it to the air. Out came Kaen, her recently obtained Growlithe. It did a battle howl, as Riolu looked on. "Just stay and watch for now," Emma told the eager blue puppy pokemon. "Bug type pokemon are weak against fire, so we should have the advantage!"
"Well then, why don't you have the first move?" Viola invited. "Show me what you're made of!"
"Then watch Kaen, the Bolero of Fire's strength!" Emma boasted. "Use your Ember attack!" The Growlithe obeyed, spraying wild packets off flame right towards the enemy bug and flying type pokemon.
"We'll dodge it with Double Team!" Viola ordered her Ninjask. Her Ninjask displayed impressive amounts of speed and vigor, quickly vanishing for a split second, then seemingly having various amounts of after images of itself, scattered throughout the stadium. The bursts of flame managed to hit one after image, but obviously, it was not the real pokemon."Now we'll follow it up, with Agility!" announced Viola after ward, as her Ninjask then performed fast and swift movements through the air, to the point where it almost seem invisible for split seconds at a time, leaving Kaen lost to where he should strike next.
That Pokemon is too fast... thought Emma, as she tried to obverse its movements. I see... it doesn't matter if we have the type advantage or not; not as long as we can't even hit it...
"Swords Dance, then False Swipe!" Viola quickly commanded. The Ninjask's gray insectoid arms started to glow a vibrant blue. The Ninjask's many after images stopped their quick erratic movement to charge right into Kaen the Growlithe. Growlithe, not knowing where the actual attack will come from, finds itself vulnerable. The Ninjask doubles came one after another, faking out Kaen, until the real one swiped its insectoid arm, on direct contact with Growlithe. Kaen was knocked back.
"We'll have to try a new plan of attack... Emma pondered, as her Growlithe slowly rose back on its feet. "If we can't just blast one, we'll just have to blast them all!" Kaen did as instructed, releasing barrages of ember swarms towards the pack of Ninjask after images. One by one they started to dissipate, but it was soon apparent that the Ninjask could just simply create more doubles, and the original was too fast to allow itself to be hit directly regardless.
"You won't beat us just by brute force!" Viola warned. "We've trained too hard for that! Now Ninjask, prepare for another combo of Swords Dance, and False Swipe!" The Ninjask prepared itself once again, with its insectoid arms glowing that familiar blue. It set itself for another attack.
There has to be a way to find and attack the real one...! Emma then thought to herself. Hm, what if, being the only figure that's tangible, is its weakness? Come to think of it, Ninjask often feed on tree sap, which no doubt Viola must of known. So, what if she lets her Ninjask feed upon the sap often? That would mean...!
Emma turned to her Growlithe, which Kaen barked, ready for her command. "Okay, this time, use your nose. Then when you lock in, Bite on hard!" Her Growlithe barked in agreement. It then closed its eyes, as the after images of Ninjask started to charge in. One after image buzz through, right after another, flying through the Growlithe. Soon, Kaen's nose started to twitch, as one more Ninjask came charging in. It quickly charged in. Kaen then all of a sudden, flew open its eyes, and managed to bit down on the Ninjask's arm with good timing. It caught the real one at last, as the other copies started to disappear.
"No way...!" Viola gasped in awe. She then turned to Emma. "That was quite impressive indeed, but how--"
"Its Ninjask's eating habits!" Emma confidently explained, crossing her arms. "You let your Ninjask feed on various amounts of tree sap during its free time, correct? If Growlithe can't use its eyes to track it, it can simply use its nose! All it had to do is hone in to a sickly sweet yet oddly sour smell that got stuck to it, and the rest came naturally!"
"...I expected no less from an ace detective!" Viola applauded. "Nicely done."
"Now Kaen, throw it,and quickly switch to an Ember swarm attack!" Emma quickly ordered. Her Growlithe spun the enemy Ninjask while holding on to its arm with its jaws again and again, until the power of the spin was great enough to send Ninjask flying out of control, once Kaen released it from his grip. With Ninjask staggered in the air for a moment, Kaen quickly released its Ember attack, easily coming in contact with the Ninjask, for super-effective damage. Ninjask crashed to the ground.
"Good job!" Emma complemented her Growlithe. "It may be tough, but Fire Pokemon still have an advantage!"
"We'll see about that!" Viola, with a sudden burst of confidence announced. "Ninjask,
take a rest! Use your Baton Pass!" Her Ninjask was suddenly recalled back into its pokeball. Kaen and Emma were both left with a sense of... underwhelment. And... danger.
"When Baton Pass is used, I can automatically switch to my next pokemon!" Viola explained, as she swapped the pokeball her Ninjask was in, to another one. "That's not all!
It also gains the boosts that the previous pokemon has made!"
"W-Wait a second!" Emma nervously started to realize. The Riolu started to wince. "Then all this time, when that Ninjask...!"
"That's right," Viola sternly responded. "The envasion boosts from Double Team... The speed boosts from Agility... and the attack boosts from Swords Dance... all are going to be inherited by this pokemon!" She threw her pokeball. Released, came a small, aquatic-looking spider like pokemon,raring to battle. "This, is my Surskit!"
"A Surskit..." Emma said, watching it with cautious eyes. "That's a water and bug type pokemon! Then this must be your strategy with dealing against Fire-type pokemon all along..."
"It's for those who think they could get an easy win at this Bug gym, using a Fire type pokemon, of course!" Viola added. "With help from Ninjask, it becomes the ultimate pokemon to bet on!"
"...You would risk it all on a sole pokemon?" Emma asked. "But what if it gets defeated?"
"Surskit be defeated? It won't," Viola replied with confidence. "Because I.... believe in Surskit!"
Believing in it... Emma recalled. She then turned to her Growlithe. Do I... hold that same belief towards my pokemon? She then returned her focus upon the battle. "Use your Ember!" Kaen obeyed, spraying that familiar sparks of flame, this time towards the aquatic spider. However, the Surskit manages to avoid the move easily, by quickly moving out of the way, in the blink of an eye.
It really did gain all those speed and evasion boosts from Ninjask... Emma could only think, starting to develop a cold sweat. But she then had an idea. "Alright, use Ember to surround it!" Kaen then performed another Ember move, this time in a greater number of barrage of flames. The sparks of fire started to surround the Surskit. "You're in trouble now!"
"It won't work!" Viola shouted, ready to counter. "Use your Rain Dance!" she commended. Her Surskit then shot a blast of what it seemed like water in the air, as it then formulated black thunder clouds. The clouds then started a downpour, engulfing the stadium with a light rain. The rain made the ember attack seem futile.
"Rain Dance...?" Emma said, observing the rain. Not good... While it's raining, it cuts the power of fire moves, and increases the power of water-type moves! If that Surskit has any water-type moves, then...
"Aqua Jet!" Viola followed up in commandment. Her Surskit jumped, summoning a tube of water that surrounded the Surskit's body. Using the power of the raging water, and the boost gained from the Rain Dance, it quickly charged towards Kaen. The move came in direct contact, causing Kaen to slam towards the ground, nearby Emma. It fainted, rendering it unable to battle. "That's one down, one to go!"
Emma returned her Growlithe back into his pokeball for a good rest. She then glanced at it, then back towards Riolu, who was beside her this entire time. "To be honest, I'm still not sure about you," Emma started to say to it. "I only learned what moves you have a while back, but I still don't know anything about you... I don't understand what makes me so attached for you? Ugh, look at me. If I can't understand one little pokemon, how can I start to help people and pokemon to understand me? Maybe Kikyo was right..."
"Say, Emma?" Viola started. "Just tell me one thing. Do you really need to understand someone to trust them?"
Emma gave Viola a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, followed up with a cry from Riolu. Looks like she wanted to know as well.
"Everyone has their own little world they dive into," Viola responded. "Its highly unlikely one would explore that world in a lifetime. In short, understanding people, or pokemon isn't hard. It's impossible. But still, we share they same world. And we live together in it regardless."
"But there are still people who don't recognize that peace, and reject everything that doesn't suit their ideals..." Emma could only conclude. "How can someone trust me... if they don't believe in trust? How can I help people... who doesn't want to be helped? How can I convey my feelings... "
"Then do it in the battlefield, I'd say," Viola suggested. "Never underestimate the power of emotions. The emotions you bring to the battlefield can turn into power. It can be brought to the opponent, and serve as power to your pokemon!"
Share my emotions... with my pokemon? In battle? Emma repeated in thought. But come to think of it, it led her to various instances. Was that why I couldn't reach out to Kikyo? By not using my emotions properly... she was able to overpower me so easily? Her Riolu gave her a cry, then a thumbs up. Emma could now tell what it was thinking.
"Don't falter, huh?" Emma realized from Riolu's expression. She knew, it was right. "Yes, that's right.... I can't falter! I will not falter again! It is true that peace ishard to acquire in this world... but I will never stop looking! And I'll never stop fighting for it. And that's why... myself and my pokemon will become stronger!"
The Riolu gave Emma a reassurance, by pumping its fist upon the air. Viola looked on, with a straight forward smile. Emma, with renewed confidence, stood at ready. "Are you ready, Riolu?" she asked it. Riolu answered with a gleeful cry, with a quick jump towards the battle field. It stood face to face against the enemy Surskit. "Now, quick attack!" Emma commanded. Riolu charged right towards the Surskit, with blinding speed.
"Counter with Aqua Jet!" Viola responded. It was still raining, so the power of Aqua Jet increased as the Surskit charged towards the charging opposing Riolu, with its casket of water. The two attacks collided, leaving a big spray of water upon collision. Surskit was knocked back a few feet, still standing. However, Riolu gotten the worse of the attack, falling backwards towards the ground.
"Riolu, are you hurt...?" Emma asked it. Riolu nodded in assurance, as it quickly hopped on back to its feet.
"While the rain is still active, we'll use another Aqua Jet!" Viola shouted. Her Surskit performed another Aqua Jet again, with increased power. With not enough time to dodge, Emma was left with no choice.
"Block it, Riolu!" Emma ordered it. Riolu did as instructed, using both of its paws to block the raging physical water attack. The blast was powerful, with Riolu struggling to prevent itself on succumbing, but it was slowly being pushed back.
"Think you could win on a contest of strength?" Viola said in observance. "I'd find this to be an odd strategy for you, detective."
"Just as you believe in your Surskit..." Emma began. "I believe in Riolu... my Riolu! You can do it, Riolu!!" Her Riolu widened its eyes. Its paws soon started to glow. Emma couldn't imagine what was happening, as Riolu's glowing paws pressed against the powerful Aqua Jet, setting off an odd spark. Then all of a sudden, the Aqua Jet was ceased by a powerful blast of force, causing the Surskit to be knocked back. Something was off about it - it seemed to be in pain, as it could then barely move at all. Was this... paralysis? Riolu managed to hold it off, panting for breath when it was over.
"That move it did..." Viola could only say in shock. "That was Riolu's force palm!"
"Force Palm...?" Emma repeated, glancing towards Riolu. "But that wasn't part of its moves before...
"You know what I think?" Viola said, announcing her thoughts. "I think Riolu responded to your heart - to your emotions. That's how it can become strong for you."
So this is the power of emotions... Emma thought in observance. Soon, the rain started to clear up. It became clear again, and thus, more of a fair fight.
"Use your Stick Web!" Viola announced. Her Surskit mustered the strength it had to release a flurry of webs, which covered the arena, and covered Riolu. Riolu was left entangled by the web. "Now, Aqua Jet!" The Surskit did as instructed, wrapping itself in strong water currents, charging right towards the entangled Riolu. The move came in contact, focing Riolu to fall backwards out of its entanglement - right out of the arena.
"R-Riolu!" Emma called after it. She became revealed to find that Riolu landed safely upon a sort of net that hung below the stage. It wasn't knocked out, but it was stuck there. Damn... now what?
"Let's finish this up!" Viola declared. "Hone in for bug Bite attack!" Her Surskit crawled through the stage, looking down upon the helpless Riolu stuck upon the sticky web. It prepared itself to jump down, delivering the finishing blow.
Since force palm is a move that uses kinetic force to drive the opponent back... Emma started to figure out. Then, her plan was set in notion. "Riolu! Use force palm, and aim it behind you!" she commanded. Her Riolu quickly done as asked, managing to turn her paws behind herself, releasing the new blast of energy from her paw. The blast actually managed to throw Riolu up to the air, until it managed to get a few feet above the arena, and above surskit. It then used its tail to wack Surskit back upon landing, causing the Surskit to crash a few feet on the opposite direction as Riolu regained ground.
"Another impressive strategy..." Viola commented. "You used the third law of physics, correct?"
Emma nodded. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I knew the blast of the Force Palm drives the opponent backwards with every blast, which means that Riolu could also lift itself up if it fires it backwards towards itself, thus freeing it from its confinements."
"Ah, I see!" Viola grasped. "Well done! You and Riolu are starting to come in sync! But know this, we're still not going to lose!" She then turned to her Surskit. "Now, use your Aqua Jet with all your remaining might!" Her Surskit stood ready, wrapping itself in water.
"Use one last Force Palm, Riolu!" Emma ordered. "And back it up with Quick Attack!" Riolu took one of its feet, in a stance that it was ready to run. It then took out its left hand, reading another Force Palm attack.
The two pokemon, and the two trainers stared off in a showdown. After a moment of silence, the Surskit and Riolu raced towards each other, eventually colliding both of their attacks. The Aqua Jet from Surskit was against Riolu's Force palm, with a speed and power increase from Quick Attack. The moves resulted in water gushing out, causing it to sprinkle vigorously all over the stadium. Emma and Viola both looked on. Viola herself, observed the two attacks going up against each other... until she saw it.
It was strange, but she saw a sort of image, that was right behind Riolu. It seemed like a taller pokemon, with dreadlocks and various patterns all over its body. It seemed as though... it was performing the move right along with Riolu. There was only one word to describe it.
"Beautiful..." she quickly got her camera out to get a shot, but it was too late.
Soon, the collision caused a big explosion, causing the water to gush all out towards the battlefield, creating a white smoke. The smoke soon cleared, leaving the two pokemon to stand off in a stare down once more. Eventually, Riolu keeled down. It looked like Surskit was victorious, but... Surskit quickly collapsed. The battle was over.
"Surskit lost...?" Viola said under her breath in shock. "I see." Viola looked on as Riolu cried in victory, rushing back towards Emma. Emma picked her up and the two shared a gentle hug.
"I was right to believe in you!" Emma could proudly say. "You were amazing!" Riolu barked, nuzzling itself happily against Emma's cheek. Viola returned Surskit to its pokeball, as Viola thanked it for its hard work.
"Well done!" Viola congratulated, as she approached Emma while clapping her hands. "You've won this battle. Sure I still have Ninjask, but it's in no shape to continue as well -
I don't think it could stand up to both of your powers! You should be very proud!"
"I... I couldn't of done it without you, Ms. Viola," Emma thanked, giving a bow. "Thank you for your advice!" Viola nodded.
"You know,during the last attack against Surskit and Riolu, I saw something in Riolu... she started to say. "It was amazing. I really wished I could of grabbed a shot of it, but... I suppose that's how things are. For giving me such a great battle, you deserve this!"
She then got out something from her pocket. It was a small trinket of sorts, that looked like a ladybug. "This is the Bug Badge," she explained while holding it. "The thing I promised you if you won, remember? By beating me,you've earned it!" She then gave the badge to Emma, as Emma looked upon it with great interest.
"The Bug Badge..." Emma said in awe. "I will treasure it, thank you very much!"
"You can have this as well!" she then got out what it seemed like a CD inside a case. "This is a Technical Machine, or TM in short. With this,you can teach one of your pokemon to use the move Bug Bite!" Emma nodded as she received the TM as well. This will be a very powerful weapon indeed. "By the way, what are you going to do with Riolu now?"
Emma, while holding Riolu, turned to face it. "What do you want to do?" Emma asked it, as Riolu replied with a cheerful bark. "Do you... want to come with me?" It replied with another cry, as a sign she was smitten with the idea. Emma nodded, as she got out an empty pokeball. She gently tapped it on Riolu's forehead, as Riolu got sucked inside of it. She could feel the pokeball rocking back and forth, until it stopped, followed up with a 'ding!' sound of success.
"I'll call you... Kagura. The Requiem of Spirit."
Having said their goodbyes, Emma parted ways with Viola. Viola was left with a few thoughts of her own. I wonder what was that I saw anyway... Is that the power Riolu holds within? Or is this the power it gains with Emma?
Hm... I wonder how strong those two will be...
END
Obtained:
The Bug badge!
TM Bug Bite!
A new ally!
Foresight | Feint | Quick Attack | Force Palm It uses the shape of auras, which change according to emotion, to communicate with others.
Route 4. Or as the locals called it, "Parterre Way". Newt chewed over that for a moment. "Par-tare? Par-terry? Par-tare-ruh? Screw it, I'm just calling it Route 4." Continuing his refusal to pick up on any local habits, he moved on down the road. Ahead of him loomed the prestigious Kalos Ranger Academy, where young trainers and environmentalists could study and train to one day become full fledged Pokemon Rangers. Newt kept walking.
Further down the trail, he noticed more and more people with binoculars, lawn chairs, and various other paraphernalia. "Oh, great... it's a voyeur convention." He muttered, stopping short as a couple almost ran him over, too distracted looking through their binoculars to see him. "What are they all looking at?" He looked around in confusion, but didn't see anything. All these people were scaring off the wild Pokemon, endangering pedestrians, and putting a serious damper on Pokemon journeys.
"Oh, look honey! It's a Tailow! Look at its red breast!" "I see it. Did you see that Spearow over there? It was hunting for Wurmple!" The couple from before came back, chattering about the birds they had seen. Newt was dumbfounded. "Bird watching?! That's what everyone's here for? It can't possibly be this popular!"
A large group of voyeurs stood in the road, oohing and ahing over something. Newt, starting to get angry, tried to push past, but his small size worked against him, and he refused to walk through the tall grass. "Hey! Bird watchers!" He shouted, putting as much insult into the term as he could. "Move the flock out of my way!" Before he could get much further with his angry shouting, the crowd started parting as a much calmer voice rang out.
"Whoa, whoa, everybody just relax, man! What seems to be the problem back here?" An old man, with dark skin, long white hair and a longer white beard, stepped out from the crowd to look at Newt. He was wearing a tie dye t-shirt, tattered blue jeans, and green crocs. His large glasses magnified the size of his eyes, causing him to resemble the Hoothoot on his shoulder. "Whoa... Did all that anger and volume come from you, little man?"
Newt bristled at being called "little". "Yes, it did, 'man'. You and your fellow featherheads are blocking this road. Do you have any idea how inconveniencing that is?" The old man looked at the gathered crowd in surprise, then laughed.
"Haha! Oh, sorry about that, little dude! Guess we didn't realize how many of us there was! My name's Zephyr, but all my friends call me Zed. Y'see, we all came here because of our mutual love of bird Pokemon, man! Legend has it that the legendary-"
"Yeah, I don't care why you're here." Newt interrupted. "I just want to get past you freaks."
Zed blinked, then continued talking. "The legendary Flying Pokemon Yveltal is said to pass over Lumiose City the day before a lunar eclipse, and wouldn't you know it? There's one tomorrow, man! ("So when I said 'I don't care', what did you hear?" Newt asked.) So we're waiting to see if the legends are true, and in the meantime, we've been checking out all the local fauna. I've been showing off this sick move my Pokemon know, man, and I've been passing around the TM." He pulled out the TM to show Newt, putting it back in his pocket.
Newt sighed, grabbing Rey's Pokeball. "Okay. I see what's happening here. I'll battle you, and if I win, you'll let me pass, right?" Zed just smiled, nodding enthusiastically. "Oh, sure, man! You wanna see the cool move too?" The crowd surrounded the pair, leaving plenty of space for their fight, murmuring with excitement. "Hey, they're gonna fight!" "Alright, this should be good!" "Let me see! Let me see!"
"Let's just get this over with!" Newt complained, sending Rey out. Zed actually seemed upset by this. "Aw, man, I can't show off the cool move against that, man! She's got, like... quills and stuff, man, she'll totally rumple my feathers." He frowned in thought, then snapped his fingers, grinning as he got an idea. "Hey, Hoothoot, go show him that trick you do!"
His Hoothoot flew off his shoulder, fluttering its little wings as it hovered in front of Rey. It started rolling its eyes, until they looked like two swirling pools. Rey stared at Hoothoot, enraptured, until her own eyes started swirling, and she promptly fell asleep. "Oh, cheap trick!" Newt yelled. Zed laughed again, but he didn't seem to be bragging, just genuinely having fun. "Haha! Now do the other trick! Watch this, little man, you gotta see this one, watch!"
Hoothoot's eyes started to glow blue, and an invisible wave seemed to catch Rey and toss her into the air, landing in a heap at Newt's feet. Zed laughed, mimicking the move with his hands. "See, I told you! Wham! Pretty cool, huh?"
Newt angrily returned Rey to her ball, not wanting to subject her to more humiliation. The crowd clapped respectfully, but all Newt could hear was Zed's laughter echoing from every onlooker. "You think that's cool?! Wait til you see this!" He sent out Agro, who sniffed the air and smiled at the cool breeze. Newt grinned fiercely, and Zed seemed genuinely impressed. "Whoa! That is cool, man! He's got like, armor and stuff! But..." He shook his head sadly. "I can't show off my move against him either. He's way too tough, man! I don't think Hoothoot stands a chance against him."
His expression brightened as he got another idea. "I know! Check out what Wingull can do!" Hoothoot fluttered back to Zed's side, and he sent out Wingull instead. "Wingull, show him that thing with the water, man!" Wingull opened its mouth, making a gargling sound as water formed into a ball in its beak. It spat the orb of water at Agro, striking him square in the face. Agro shook his head in obvious displeasure, but stayed standing. "Okay, gross." Newt commented. "Use Rock Tomb! Throw lots of rocks at him!" Stones floated up around Agro, then were flung at Wingull. The little bird took the beating, knocking it silly.
"Ooh, cool move, little metal man! Wingull, you okay?" Wingull let out a drunken caw, not looking very good. "Yeah, you're good. You're my little guy! But we should stop him from doing that again, y'know? Hey, do the thing! The really annoying one!" Wingull started cawing, loudly and repeatedly, trying to confuse Agro with the sound waves. "Agro, go hit the mute button!" Newt ordered, holding his ears in discomfort.
Agro didn't even seem to notice the sound, and calmly walked over to Wingull, reared up on his hind legs, and bashed his head against Wingull's, knocking the little bird out cold. Zed winced, calling Wingull back. "Harsh, man. But effective, I'll give you that. I got one more Pokemon, if you still wanna see that cool move. You wanna send out another one of yours?"
Newt shook his head, grinning confidently. "Nope. I got this in the bag. I know your number now." Zed shrugged. "Okay. I didn't want to send my last guy out against your little metal man, but I guess I have no choice." He tossed out another Pokeball, sending out his last Pokemon. It was another bird, but this one wasn't flying. Instead, it knelt on the ground, then dramatically stood up, posing with its arms outstretched, revealing the green feathers that resembled a cape. It glared, the feathers on its head looking like a fierce mask.
Newt didn't know what it was, but he wasn't impressed. "Whatever. I'm sure rocks will hurt it." Zed gave his Pokemon a little pep talk. "Okay Hawlucha, it's made of metal, so you'll have to hit it really hard to get anywhere, alright? Go do your thing!" Hawlucha leapt into the air, letting out a loud screech at the apex of its jump, and landed in front of Agro, smashing an open hand against Agro's head. Agro reeled from the hit, his rocks going wide and making the crowd duck for cover.
"Wait, that thing knows Fighting moves?!" Newt panicked a little. He pulled out his Pokedex, checking on Agro's health. As he feared, Agro was starting to tire. This old man somehow knew all his weaknesses. "I'm done! Agro, out!" He pulled Agro back to his ball, and Hawlucha hopped back toward Zed. The crowd again applauded politely, angering Newt. "I got one more! Let's see your Fighting moves hurt a Ghost, you old bastard!"
He sent out Deadwood, who first appeared as just a floating log before dramatically revealing his ethereal body. Zed looked unsure, leaning in to talk to Hawlucha. "He's got a point, man. You think you can take him?" Hawlucha tapped his chin in thought, then nodded. Zed grinned, happy the game was back on. "Okay, show him the sick move we talked about! We've been waiting for our chance, man!" Hawlucha stopped to strike a pose before jumping into the air, diving downward with its arms forward like Superman. It slashed across Deadwood's body before swiftly turning up and flying back toward Zed, landing with its back to Deadwood and its arms in the air.
"Yeah! That was the move! Aerial Ace! Totally worth the wait, am I right?" Zed was happy, but Newt was having none of it. He recalled Deadwood to his ball, crossing his arms and fuming. "Fine! You win! I'm not going through with this anymore!" Zed looked confused and concerned, coming over to Newt. "Hey, what's wrong, little dude? I thought we were having fun!"
Newt scowled at him, fighting to keep from crying. "Don't call me little! I've been on a roll here, doing incredibly well on my journey! I beat everyone else I fought, but then you came along-" His rant was interrupted when Zed knelt down to give him a hug. He growled in anger, baring his teeth, but Zed didn't let go.
"Everyone else? Man, don't worry about what the others are doing. You must embrace what is special about you, man. Leave everyone else to everyone else. You're gonna go far, kid."
Newt squirmed out of the hug, pushing Zed away. "Were you even listening?! What was that hippy dippy nonsense? You know what? I'm leaving! I'm going back to town, checking my team into the Pokemon Center, and then I'll go the long way around, just to avoid you! Enjoy your bird watching!" He turned around and ran back toward town, the crowd parting to let him pass. They stood around in awkward silence, not sure what to say.
Zed rose to his feet, recalling Hawlucha to his ball. "Man, I remember when I was young and emotional like that. Kinda. Really harshes the mood, y'know?" There was murmured assent to what he said. "Hey, did anyone bring any snacks? Showing off all those cool moves has kinda given me the munchies."
Newt grinned maliciously as he strolled into town, clutching the Aerial Ace TM. "You shouldn't have laughed at me, old man. That hug was the perfect opportunity to pick your pocket. Looks like I'm the one laughing now! Mwahaha!"
Coul called Houndour and they started to traverse the short Parterre Way. He had his notebook out, taking notes of everything notable that could be seen. Houndour was bounding all around, seemingly ecstatic about all the flowers in the area. There were other people there too, probably battling or catching some Pokemon. Coul doesn't have his eyes on a Pokemon in particular. All he wanted in this route was to catch a glimpse of Fairy-types, to find some connection. He noted to himself to check Laverre Town more since a Fairy-type Gym Leader lives there.
It was Snoop's yelp that brought Coul back to his senses. The Pokemon was sent rolling away, with drops of water spraying out everywhere. Coul rushed to his Pokemon's aid and knew immediately that it was uncomfortable. Water is naturally the primary enemy of a Fire-type. He took out a towel and started rubbing his Pokemon.
"Tad.." a small squeaky voice said, behind them. Coul looked and saw a Lotad, looking curiously at the two of them. Snoop growled and stood up, sending Coul tumbling away. The tail of his Houndour is standing, signaling that it suddenly became alert. The Lotad meanwhile just looked at the opposing Pokemon dumbly. Coul took out his Pokedex again and checked whether Lotad was a local and it was confirmed. He had some thoughts regarding the new Pokemon already. But he need to calm Snoop first.
"Snoop, calm down. Stay," Coul murmured. Snoop was growling at the Lotad. "Stay, Snoop." BAM! The Lotad sent another Bubble Attack towards the Fire-type. Houndour barked and lightning emitted from his fangs. It bounded towards the Lotad, who just stood there. "Snoop!" Snoop snapped into the Lotad but the latter scuttled a little bit sideward evading the attack. It then spit out a seed which clung into Snoop. Vines started growing from the seed and covering the whole of Snoop itself. The Lotad looked at its handiwork once and disappeared back into the grass and flowers. Snoop was flailing, trying to get the Leech Seed away from his body but as he squirmed the vines only tightened more. Coul knelt down beside his Pokemon and assisted him by cutting out the vines. Snoop was silent throughout the ordeal but Coul could see that his Pokemon felt useless as he didn't even manage to land a single attack on the Lotad.
"Is your Pokemon feeling fine?" Coul looked up and saw a kindly old man with a sunhat smiling down on him. "I saw the… encounter. Your Houndour needed more training, I guess." The old man laughed. Coul finished removing the last of the vines from his Pokemon. "I have the perfect training for you. I'm a proud owner of one of the mazes here in the route. It's known as the water maze. Deep inside, there's a Water Stone. I know it's not useful for your Houndour, but it may be down the road." The man smiled and held his hand. "Try it out, it'll only cost you 50 Pokedollars. Plus a Water-type in your party."
"I think I'll pass, Sir," Coul said, standing up. "None of my current Pokemon are in need of a Water Stone, right now. And none is a Water-type."
"Is that the case then? That's too bad. Your Houndour could use some more training."
"Tad…?" The Lotad appeared and looked at the man and Coul. Snoop bounded up again and started barking towards the Lotad. Lotad threw another bubble towards the Pokemon and scuttled inside the maze. Houndour barked towards it and ran after the Lotad.
"Snoop, no! We can't go there! Dang!" Coul looked at the man who simply shook his hand and waved him inside. Coul mouthed a sorry and ran after his Pokemon. He heard the man shouted "Don't burn the hedges down!" Coul was jogging, trying to keep up with his Houndour. He seemed activated again, as it was sniffing the air every time there was a turn in the road. Coul didn't seem to need to order Houndour where to go, as it turns and turns and turns, seemingly knowing where to go. He couldn't see the Lotad anymore and Houndour was moving faster for him. He is just relying on the barks that he could hear. There were also some singe marks so that helps.
Finally, they arrived in a clearing where the Lotad was standing on a pedestal and Snoop barking towards it. Flames and electricity was alternating from Snoop's mouth as it decided what attack to use against the one who attacked it. It decided for a Thunder Fang as it leapt towards the Lotad with electricity crackling from its fangs.
However, an orange tentacle slammed towards Snoop, sending him flying. "Snoop!" The Lotad was also slammed by the tentacle. An Octillery, a huge one, emerged from under the pedestal and sent a blast of ink towards the two Pokemon. Houndour managed to roll away from it and it missed the Lotad totally. It triggered Houndour so it howled, signaling that it was ready to attack. Electricity leapt from its fangs. Coul saw the opportunity. "Snoop! Thunder Fang!" Snoop ran towards the Octillery but he was just slammed away again by another tentacle. Snoop shook his head, clearly dazed by the attack. The Octillery sent a jet of water towards it and it slammed into the Houndour with such ferocity that the Fire-type was sent rolling.
Lotad, surprisingly, sent a Leech Seed towards the Octillery. Like before, it clung to the Water-type. The vines grew and the tentacles were immobile. Snoop saw the opening and bit onto the Octillery and sent a shockwave of electricity towards the Pokemon. The Octillery sent another blast of ink but it completely missed both Lotad and Snoop. Lotad scuttled near the Octillery and sent out another Leech Seed, this time immobilizing the snout to prevent either ink or water coming from it. Snoop was relentless on his biting down. Octillery managed to swing another of his tentacles which hit the Lotad squarely on the face. It was sent flying and it crumpled in a heap.
Coul jogged towards the wild Pokemon. It sustained some injuries but it is treatable as long as he arrives on the next city quickly. "Snoop! Finish this up!" Houndour released his bite and howled again and headbutted the Octillery. The combination of two Leech Seeds and several Thunder Fangs brought down the Octillery.
"Snoop, we need to get out now." Houndour stepped into the pedestal and grabbed the Water Stone sitting on top of it. He ran towards Coul and handed the stone into his trainer's hands and went back to the maze. Coul carried the unconscious Lotad in his arms as he followed Snoop outside. The trip seemed much shorter than when they went in. The old man was still outside the maze, sitting on his bench. Coul offered a weak smile to him as both Pokemon and trainer rushed towards Lumiose City.
Inventory
1x Pokedex
4x Pokeballs
2x Potions
440 Pokedollars
2x Old Rod
1x Bug Net
1x Eviolite
EPISODE ONE: ROUTE 4 - PATTERE WAY/DAY - "The Maze of Fire"
"...The maze of fire?" Emma came to grasp.
After the battle against Viola, she along with her new pokemon and badge, made her way towards Route 4. The route was decorated with patches of different-colored flowers, hedge mazes, and a fountain. Emma arrived at a certain part of the route, where there was a sort of gatekeeper who was taking care of what it looked like a fairly small maze. Her Growlithe, Kaen, strolled right beside her, since Emma figured that Growlithe might want some extra exercise. It sat quietly, listening to Emma's conversation with one of the four gatekeepers who was guarding a section called, 'The Maze of Fire'.
"Ohoho, but of course!" the gatekeeper chuckled. "This maze is especially for those who want to hone in on their Fire pokemon's skills. For you see, once you travel through this maze, you'll get to meet up with the maze golem! And let me tell you, he is tough!"
"Sounds like an interesting challenge..." Emma pondered. She then turned to Kaen. "Well? Up for it?" she then asked, with her Growlithe standing back on all fours once again, barking in agreement. Emma then turned to the gatekeeper, giving him a nod that she and Kaen was ready to begin. The gatekeeper stepped aside from the entrance, inviting the both of them in. Emma and Kaen both went inside the structure together, preparing for the unknown.
Hmm.... should I have mentioned that the golem in the fire maze is the strongest and proudest of all? the gatekeeper then thought to himself. There hasn't been a soul who was able to defeat that monster. Good luck, missy...
EPISODE TWO: ROUTE 4 - PATTERE WAY/DAY - "The Flames of Pride"
It was several minutes ever since Kaen and Emma both went inside the maze together. Like all mazes, it was difficult to navigate, but for Emma, became easy to route once she got rid of all of the incorrect, dead end paths. Sure that they both were on track, Emma and Kaen both decided to take a break as they both sat down against the maze's hedges.
"Say Kaen..." Emma then started to say to her Growlithe. Her Growlithe, continuing to pant, turned to meet Emma's gaze. "To be honest, I never would of thought I would end up catching a Fire-type pokemon. As a kid, I always... resented fire. They were destructive, and burned everything relentlessly, causing a multitude of tragedy. Even recently, a madman used the destructive power of fire to try and hurt and kill others..."
Kaen whimpered as it lowered his head in acute sadness. Emma looked on. "But then, I remembered something. My mother always told me that a force called the flames of passion burns within all of us... but I never understood what that meant." Emma stated, giving her Growlithe a smile, and a pat on the head. Her Growlithe, surprised, gave Emma a confused look. "Until recently, that is. I knew I had to become strong to fight evil doers, and when I saw you, I figured you were perfect for igniting the fire in my heart. You know I'm right, because you're strong. You fought hard against Viola, and I can't wait to see how you get even stronger." Her Growlithe barked, as a sign that he was sure not to disappoint her.
The two rose back on their feet, deciding to continue on their adventure through the maze of fire. As they continued on, they soon ventured on to a sort of circular clearing. They looked around, but nothing was on sight. That was until, they heard a distinct roar. They both looked upwards, as they saw quite a sight. There was a sort of lion pokemon, standing right on top of one of the maze's hedges. It jumped right down, facing Emma and Kaen with battle-ready eyes.
"T-This pokemon..." Emma observed in awe. She can recognize the pokemon right away, from its distinctive mane. "It's a Pyroar! A Normal and Fire type pokemon... you can tell this one is Male because of the large mane it has. That being said, their fire-type moves are very powerful. If this is the golem that man was talking about, this won't be an easy fight..." Emma and Kaen both exchanged looks towards each other, then gave a nod. No matter how strong an opponent is, they needed the determination to persevere. Kaen hopped forward, ready to battle.
"Let's start with an Ember attack!" Emma ordered. Kaen then released sprays of Ember swarms, straight toward the Pyroar. Pyroar stood it's ground however, retaliating with a powerful stream of flames from it's mouth - a powerful Flamethrower attack. The two attacks collided, but the Flamethrower manages easily surpass the Ember attack, as it pushed on directly to Kaen, causing it to drag backwards a few feet. The result even made Growlithe be covered in ash and soot.
"Are you hurt?" Emma could only ask. Kaen too a moment to shake off the ash it took, until it recovered for another skirmish. "Right then, use your Bite attack!" Emma then commanded, with her Growlithe started to run up towards the enemy Pyroar, preparing its fangs for its bite.
The Pyroar in return, charged towards Kaen head-on while rearing its head. It once again got the better of Kaen, delivering a powerful force from its head - a strong Headbutt attack. Kaen was knocked away, as it then crashed to the ground.
Urgh, it's really strong... Emma observed. And what's weird is that from its speed, it should have no problem dodging our attacks; its instead countering our attacks blow by blow...
Kaen struggled to get back up. He growled towards the calm Pyroar, who seemingly was starting to look down on it. "We'll show him who's boss!" Emma declared. "Show him your courage with a Leer, then a Bite!" Her Growlithe slowly made his way right in front of Pyroar. He glared daggers towards it, as Pyroar still stood its ground. It seemed unaffected by it. Even so, Kaen then leaped forward, attempting another Bite attack. Pyroar once again retaliated, by delivering a Headbutt, knocking his foe, the Growlithe, away.
Emma could only look on in bewilderment; Kaen was severally outsized, and outmatched. Perhaps it was time to throw in the towel. "...It's no good, Kaen, he's too strong..." Emma cautioned her Kaen. She then brought out her pokeball. "Return for now and rest--"
Her Growlithe then barked at her in an aggressive manner, as it slowly rose back to its four feet, even injured. It then shook its head. For some reason... it refused to follow Emma's wishes to give in. It wanted to continue to battle.
"But Kaen... why?" Emma asked. But then, she knew the answer all along, only with a sudden realization now. Wait, that's right... this must be the flames of passion mother was talking about! Kaen doesn't want to lose to a fire-type pokemon, and Pyroar wants to go against all of Kaen's moves head-on. Maybe that's... their pride as fire-type pokemon! And If that's what Kaen wants, who am I to get in the way?
Emma then gave Kaen a more serious, determined look. "I won't give up if you won't, Kaen!" she stated to her fire-type pokemon. Her Growlithe replied with an equally determined bark, turning back its attention to Pyroar. It then growled, as it then charged as fast it could, and with all the strength it can muster right towards his opponent.
Then all of a sudden... it started to be enveloped in flames. Emma was surprised what was going on - was this Kaen's Bite attack? That soon was clear not to be the case as the flames started to form a spiral, encasing Kaen in a fire sphere form. Kaen, cloaked by these flames, charged right towards Pyroar, as Pyroar retaliated with another Headbutt. This time, the two blows seemed to be more even, as the two pokemon were both knocked away a few feet from the collision.
"That move just now..." Emma observed from the sudden burst of power from her Growlithe. It wasn't a move Kaen had before until now, but as a fire move, it seemed physically more powerful than Ember. "Wait, I know! That was Flame Wheel! You must of just learned it! That's really great!" Her Growlithe barked in triumph. It was a sign that it was getting stronger, and getting stronger seemed to be a strong goal for him.
The Pyroar quickly then used it's powerful Flamethrower, not giving his opponent a break to rest. Emma was about ready to order her Growlithe to dodge, but she knew, Kaen wanted to go against this attack head on. Instead, she pushed on for another attack. "This time, use Ember and surround yourself with it! Then, charge in with Flame Wheel!" Emma quickly shouted. Her Growlithe released flames from its mouth to the air, controlling the sparks of each spit fire and wrapping itself around it, creating a sort of barrier with then. Then, it cloaked itself with even more flames, preparing itself with another Flame Wheel attack while it was still surrounded by the sparks of its Ember swarms. It started rolling, charging right towards the Flamethrower.
The attacks collided, creating heatwaves from within the fire. Emma could even feel the pressure of the heat, as a signal of how fierce the attacks were. Eventually, Kaen managed to push itself inch, by inch, as Pyroar continued its Flamethrower attack. "You can do it, Kaen...!" Emma cheered on. Kaen still continued to push on, until it finally manages to muster enough strength to counter the Flamethrower, pushing back the attack. It then found its way to Pyroar directly, hitting square on Pyroar with a strong Flame Wheel wrapped Ember attack, creating a collision which spawned a black smoke.
Emma covered her nose, shielding herself from the smoke. She looked around to see if Kaen was okay, until the smoke started to clear. She soon saw Kaen, standing nearby, looking directly to the other side of the field. On the other side of the field, the smoke started to clear as well, showing the enemy Pyroar, still standing on its feet. Kaen and the Pyroar soon found themselves in a stare down. Kaen was still ready to dish out, and take. However, eventually, Pyroar closed its eyes briefly. It then turned, and jumped away from the small battle field, out of sight.
"...Huh?" Emma wondered, seeing the retreating Pyroar. "It's... walking away? Why?"
"Because it has no more reason to fight. You've now earned its respect," explained a familiar voice. It was the gatekeeper; it seemed like he was watching the battle from afar. He approached Emma and Kaen. "You see, long ago, I used to be an upstart pokemon trainer with Pyroar by my side. We both gotten old, but Pyroar was still spy enough to battle. Upon weak challenges however, it grew board, with its spirit diminishing. Deep down, all it wanted to battle a pokemon with a strong heart, like your Growlithe. Now that you've fulfilled his wish, I think its spirit will return."
Kaen sat down, turning to Emma. Emma looked back to it, but then gave it a smile, then a nod. Her Growlithe started wagging his tail, panting in excitement. The gatekeeper gave the two a chuckle. He then started to get out a small item from his apron pocket. "You deserve this!" He got out what it seemed like a small stone, that had a pattern of a flame on it. "This, is a Fire stone. It can evolve many types of pokemon with it, including your Growlithe. You can use it, when you feel the time is right."
"I will. Thank you!" Emma thanked, accepting the stone from the gatekeeper, then putting it in her handbag. But from her hang bag, she then noticed, something was vibrating, and ringing. Emma could only wonder what it could possibly be, until she could feel it coming from her pokedex. She never did use her pokedex much, as all the information about pokemon she had learned already, but then she remembered: the pokedex had multi-uses.
She brought out her pokedex, and opened it, turning it on. It seemed as though, she got a new e-mail. From who...? She soon saw the message.. and the sender. She then gave a more serious look, as she closed the pokedex after viewing the message. "We'll be going now," Emma said to the gatekeeper, bidding him a farewell. She then started to jog away, finding her way out of the maze, with Kaen following behind.
The gatekeeper watched the two venture out of the maze, as the Pyroar came back, sitting right beside his old friend. The gatekeeper looked on to his partner, giving him a friendly pat on the head. "They say that the best blaze burns brightest when circumstances are at its worst... I'm sure those two will find a flame far more brighter than ours." Pyroar roared in agreement.
As soon as Emma and Kaen were out of the maze, they both quickly dashed to the direction towards of the town that was soon to come: Lumiose. That, with only one thought in her mind.
...Jackson Crane. What is it you want with me...?
END
Obtained:
A Fire Stone!
New Moves!
Kaen learned Flame Wheel! The user cloaks itself in fire and charges at the target. It may also leave the target with a burn.
~Metamorphosis~ ~A noticeable change in character, appearance, function or condition.~ _______________________________ In the Santalune Pokémon Center... _______________________________
"I'm so tired after that battle…" "It was just some practice, Caroline...It must have been the gym battle…" Dahlia yawned a bit after that sentence. He looked at all their Pokémon, who were out of their balls right now. They were all looking at Dolores, who evolved at some point during a little practice fight between him and Caroline (He'd won, by the way). He then looked back at his Holo Caster, which was showing the news right now. He just sighed at the news, even when a certain someone was mentioned. Caroline was just sleeping next to him now. He's feeling a lot more drowsy now…
<Maybe I should take a nap as well...What's the worst that could happen? Dolores will take care of the others, anyway…> He turned off the device and went to sleep.
"Squawk! Dolores is so cute!" "Litwick!" Candle and Unico were quite amazed at Dolores' amazing new 'coat', which she kept moving around with grace. It was quite clear that Dolores really loved her amazing new fur. It made her look like royalty. At the very least, she looked much more better than that purple ghost who only grew arms when he evolved and she was obviously much more beautiful than that forsaken green mammal that she will not dare speak the name of.
"Min…" Shiny just looked at Dolores with disgust. That damn bug who thought she was so much better than everyone else, to the point where she was fine with messing her tree up without permission, is now even worst. In everyone else's eyes, she has evolved into a more powerful and beautiful form. In Shiny's eyes, her ego was the only thing that has evolved. She evolved during their little practice and she was immediately pissed off. She tried attacking, but it turns out that she also learned a new move as well, which basically made some impenetrable shield that blocks any attack directed towards her. Oh, does she really wanted to punch that dumb fur coat of hers with all her might...But she knew that if she did, that dumb forcefield of hers will activate and she'll just bounce off of it. All she could do was just angrily stare and growl at the egotistical bug.
Shiny sighed and just left the center. She really needed some fresh air. "Squawk! Shiny?" "Litwick? Lit!" Candle decided to follow Shiny, in the hopes that she didn't go too far. As it turns out, she was just sitting in one of those cool benches next to the Trainer School. He bounced up to Shiny, who just scowled at his arrival and turned her back on him. "Litwick…" "Minccino…" It was quite clear to Candle that Shiny didn't seemed to really like Dolores. Not only did she messed up her tree, she also defeated her in battle. He was honestly surprised to hear from his trainer that Shiny was able to defeat those bugs from the gym with ease. When he first saw how she acted, it seemed as though she only likes things being clean, including her. A neat freak wouldn't go and fight, right? That would just make them dirty...But it seems she was fine with battling in the gym and was eager to fight Dolores in their practice match. Did she wanted to try and be better than Dolores? Was this a sign of things to come? He really didn't know...Candle doesn't like thinking too deep into this stuff. It makes his head hurt sometimes.
Suddenly, a sweet aroma started to fill his nonexistent nostrils. He suddenly felt relaxed and started going towards the area where the scent was coming from. "Litwick…" "Min?" Shiny heard Candle's voice and decided to turn around, only to see that he was gone. Crap, where did the kid go? She started to smell something sweet...It's coming from Route 4. Well, time to go and find him.
_______________________________
"Squawk! Candle and Shiny are gone! Squawk!" Unico kept trying to wake up Dolores and the duo, but to no avail. It's been awhile since Candle and Shiny left the center. "Squawk...I'll go look for them myself..." And so, he flied off the center and go towards Route 4, since it made way too much sense for them to be there.
"...Spew." Thank goodness Unico didn't realized that she was just faking her beauty sleep. She didn't want to bother with Candle nor Shiny right now. Shiny especially, since it seems she was quite jealous of her new amazing form. Whatever, she was more nicer than Shiny, anyway.
_______________________________ In Route 4... _______________________________
"Cherubi! Cherubi!" Cherubi kept trying to wake up the little mushroom on the ground. It shouldn't be sleeping in the daytime, it should be dancing and having fun! That's what mushrooms do, right? She thought using her amazing scent would attract some friends, or at the very least, someone who can wake the little mushroom up. The only real cool thing the little mushroom did was light up while sleeping in the night. That's cool and all, but can it try and dance in the sun, too? "Litwick…" Cherubi suddenly turned around to the new voice and saw a moving candle that was as small and cute as her. Cherubi should be running from the obvious Fire-type right now, but she actually really likes lights...When they're not hurting her, of course. She bounced up to the new friend with a smile.
"Cherubi~!" "...Litwick?!" Suddenly, Candle came to his senses and was now facing a big cherry with a smiley face...Wait, no. It was just a cherry that was about the same size as him, with a big smile on it's face. It had two big leaves and another small cherry growing from its short stem. "Cherubi!" It bounced up and down and Candle couldn't help but smile. "Litwick!" They both bounced up and down together, marking the birth of a new friendship. "...Min!" Candle freezed and turned to see a very angry Shiny. Probably a bit more angry than usual. It was quite clear that Minccino was waiting for some explanation.
Cherubi started walking towards the little mushroom and pointed her little feet at it. Both of them looked at the little mushroom with curiosity. "Minccino?" "Cherubi, Cherubi!" She was trying to wake up the little mushroom and wanted to see it dance. She thought that making her scent even sweeter would make some new friends arrive, so they could help her wake the little mushroom up. Of course, it seems to have worked. "Litwick! Lit!" The candle seemed to be fine with trying to wake it up. Besides, it might dance! The frowning big ear bunny wasn't too interested in the idea, however. "Squawk! There you are!" All of a sudden, a colorful bird came down from the skies, looking at the two new friends she made. "Cherubi~! Cherubi!" "Squawk?" She yet again pointed at the little mushroom sleeping on the ground. "Squawk? Want me to help?" She nodded furiously. "No battling?" She nodded yet again. "Squawk, I'll try…"
Unico looked at the mushroom curiously. It's quite clear that it was in a deep slumber. He poked the mushroom with his beak. No response. So he screamed at him very loudly. Still no response. He was wondering if it was even possible for the mushroom to wake up. Unico turned around and shrugged, which lead to both Candle and Cherubi sighing with a sad look on their faces. "Squawk?! No, no, no! Don't get sad! I'll try again! Squawk!" "Min…" Shiny sighed and looked at the mushroom...her eye twitched.
"Minccino?!"
That mushroom cannot sleep in a dirty place like that. In fact, why is it sleeping inside dirt?!...Oh, right. It's a mushroom. But still, it cannot sleep in this condition. She immediately went up to the mushroom's general area and got to work with her tail. She sweeped and sweeped until there was nothing left. "...Lull…" All of them suddenly looked at the mushroom and saw that it was opening its eyes after all their attempts to wake it up.
Morelull looked at the many people around his general area… "Cherubi! Cherubi~!" ...Oh, of course. That Cherubi led them here, didn't she? "...Morelull…?" "Cherubi!" Ugh, for the nth time, it was the exact same request...to dance. "Morelull...Morelull…" "Litwick?!" And it seems the candle was also expecting a dance as well...Great, more people who want to interrupt his beauty sleep. "Minccino! Min!" The bunny scold him about not being in a very tidy area, and he should clean after himself. "...Morelull." He got up from his rooted resting place to show that he really couldn't do that, since he doesn't have any arms. "Squawk? Why did you not wake up, then?" He looked at the fruit bird with confusion. Maybe he doesn't know the daily life of a Morelull...or at the very least, the daily life of him.
"Morelull, the Illuminating Pokémon. As it drowses the day away, it nourishes itself by sucking from tree roots. It wakens at the fall of night, wandering off in search of a new tree." "And that is why it was sleeping in the daytime...It's a nocturnal Pokémon. I may not be able to understand the Pokémon language, but it looks like this Morelull has been here for a while." Unico, Candle and Shiny gulped at the voice and turned around to see Dahlia and Caroline, with Dolores right on top of Caroline's head. "Squawk!! Dahlia's here! Caroline's here!"
Caroline pointed her Pokédex at the Morelull with a bit of an angry look on her face. "Morelull, the Illuminating Pokémon. It scatters spores that flicker and glow. Anyone seeing these lights falls into a deep slumber." Caroline put it back and just pointed at the Morelull with the same angry look. "I knew it! That Morelull may be cute, but it's the only reason why we felt so tired!" Dahlia nodded. "Indeed. I don't think a battle would tired me out so much...But there is another reason why we came here." He glared at Dolores. "Dolores, it became a bit clear to me that you'd must have made Shiny a little bit upset after that battle. I know that you've evolved and I understand that you feel quite happy about that. But boasting about that fact may make people a bit jealous, to the point where they might envy you. Apologize to Shiny. Right now. Don't try to fake it." "...Spew." "Dolores. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and apologize!" She turned her head away from Dahlia.
"...Do not test my damn patience here, Dolores. You may be my starter, but that doesn't mean that you can just act like a little ***** and think that I will say that this is okay." Dolores' eyes widened at his sentence. She turned around and glared at him. "Spew!" Dahlia just sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. I know you try your very best to impress me, I really do. But please, at the very least, don't treat all of your teammates nor the Pokémon you meet like disposable garbage. You can't just believe that you're better than everyone else. You have to prove that you're better at what you do."
"Cherubi…" Dahlia looked at the source of the voice and saw a sad little cherry that was starting to tear up a bit. <Oh, dear...I think all this commotion has made it a bit sad…> Morelull came over to Cherubi's side and tried to comfort her. "Morelull...Morelull…" Dolores looked at the sad cherry. Her glare softened a bit. Caroline looked at the cherry and frowned. "Look at what you did, Dahlia! You made the little cherry sad!" "Litwick…" Shiny looked at Cherubi and saw some tears falling out. She sighed, and came to Cherubi's side. She wiped the tears away with her tail, and patted Cherubi. "Min, Min..." Unico just looked at Dolores and shook his head. "Squawk. Dolores should stop being mean, squawk." Shiny looked at Dolores with a sad look on her face.
After seeing this entire scene unfold right in front of her and even her superior calling her out, Dolores looked up at the sky and started to...just stare. Caroline looked up at Dolores, who was still on her head. "...Dolores? Is something wrong up there?"
She didn't wanted to admit it, but they're right...She really has been a jerk to everyone with the exception of her superior, lately. She still remembered what her life was before she ever met her superior. She was just a part of a group of Scatterbug. At some point, they all evolved into Spewpa...except for her. Then they evolved into Vivillon...except for her. Then, they just...left her. She didn't understand why she couldn't evolved into a Spewpa, or even a Vivillon. What was wrong? Was she afraid? Or was she fine with who she was? She kept seeing many Vivillon fly in the sky and started to gain this...complex of sorts. She hated anyone who thought that she wasn't beautiful than the rest, or that she wasn't stronger than they were. She believed that she was better than any other Pokémon and anyone who thought otherwise was an idiot.
And then she got captured, and met the likes of Dahlia. He gave her all she ever wanted in her life, being treated like a queen of sorts and always making sure she always looked her very best. Of course, it was quite clear that throughout it all, she was being spoiled by him to the point where she treated everyone else like mere time-wasters...or more accurately, mere peasants. She then remembered how she even got her name.
"Your name shall be Dolores...It means sorrows in Spanish...It is what happens when you feel unhappiness, or when you feel or express grief. I can see it in your eyes...You obviously have felt something like that before, yes? Don't worry, I'll make sure you never feel sorrow in your life ever again…" She kept looking at the sky, and teared up a bit. "...Please don't cry, Dolores." He picked her up and looked at her. "I honestly believe that this is also my fault as well. I...may have spoiled you a bit too much. I just wanted you to feel a bit more comfortable around people like me. Instead, what I did was just fuel your ever-growing ego and made you believe that you were more better than any other Pokémon in existence."
"Squawk! It's okay, it's okay! Squawk!" "...Am I crying right now, Unico? I haven't even noticed by now…" "Minccino…" Dahlia looked at Shiny with his tear-soaked eyes. She was holding one of her hands up...like she wanted a handshake. "Hmm…? Are you actually fine with apologizing to Dolores, Shiny? This behavior doesn't seem to be like you, to be honest…" Shiny growled at the response, of course. Dolores got out of Dahlia's grasp and went towards Shiny. Considering that she didn't had any hands, she had to outright apologize.
"Spewpa, Spewpa…" After apologizing, the white coated bug started telling her story to the bunny, the candle, the colorful bird, the little mushroom and Cherubi. The duo of pink could only look and watch. Her story was so sad...It involved being abandoned by her own kind and made her think ill of everyone she met, until she became friends with the big pink. The way she talked about big pink made him sound so dreamy...To the point where she wanted to be friends with him!
Morelull wanted to drown out this long story. The story was making him feel way too sleepy...At the very least, it was sorta interesting.
Suddenly, Shiny hugged Dolores, which basically made her stop talking. For some reason, she could sorta relate to her little story. "Min, Min…" "...I'm not sure what you've told them all, Dolores...But I believe that this is enough for me to know that both of you have accepted the apology." "Cherubi!" "Litwick!" Candle and the cherry bounced up and down together, while Morelull just looked even more tired. "Squawk! Everyone is happy now! Squawk!" Caroline and Dahlia just giggled at them. As the hug kept going for a lot more longer than usual, Dolores started glowing a bright white. Shiny is startled by it and tumbled down to the ground. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the orb of light that started to fly in the air. It suddenly spinned around in place until the orb broken apart, revealing a beautiful butterfly who had a wing pattern colored mostly a light brown, with green, beige and red highlights.
Caroline looked at her in awe. "Wow...Dolores evolved again! And she looks so pretty~!" Dolores landed on top of Dahlia's head, with a very happy look on her face. He looked up and smiled. "I see...no wonder you haven't evolved until now. Evolution is not only a sign of change in appearance, you know. It is also a sign of change within your own personality. You haven't really evolved until now because your personality hasn't really changed. You evolved into Spewpa during the fight due to believing that you couldn't really protect me in your current state. And now, after realizing that you have been starting to not care for others' wellbeing except for yours at this point in time, you decided that aspect of yourself needed to change...and that is why you've evolved into a beautiful flower."
"Vivillon~!" He pointed his Pokédex at Dolores. "Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. The patterns on this Pokémon's wings depend on the climate and topography of its habitat. It scatters colorful scales." "...Min!" Shiny just growled at Dolores. "...Viv!" Dolores huffed and turned her head away at Shiny. Dahlia just sighed. "...And yet, I now feel that nothing has changed and my little rant has been heard by only deaf ears." "At least I heard your speech, Dahlia! Although I don't think I really understand it too well…"
Dahlia just face-palmed, and withdrew his Pokémon back into their balls. "...We're going back to the Pokémon Center, Caroline. I need to wash my face with water now."
_______________________________ Outside the Santalune Pokémon Center... _______________________________
Dahlia turned his back on the doors and saw two familiar faces. "...You two are still following us, after all this time?" "Cherubi~!" Morelull just attempted to yawn. After all that commotion, Cherubi followed the two back to the Pokémon Center, with Morelull on top of her head. "I think they want us to capture them, Dahlia!" "Correction: Cherubi wants to be captured. Morelull? Not so much, it seems." Unico tried his best to explain what was going on between Cherubi and Morelull. As it turns out, Cherubi just wanted to wake Morelull up so she can see him dance...even though he really couldn't. In fact, it seems all Morelull wanted to do was sleep all day and night.
Cherubi waddled up to Dahlia with sparkling eyes. "Oh...do you want me to capture you?" "Cherubi~!" Dahlia just sighed and started to think of a name for Cherubi. "Hmm...usually, people refer to the cherry blossoms that bloom in Spring as 'Sakura'...yes, I guess Sakura may work as a name for you." Sakura jumped up and down happily at the name. Morelull got off the Cherubi before he could get sick from all the bouncing. Dahlia got an empty Poké Ball from his bag and thrown it at the Cherubi. One shake...two shakes...three. Ding.
"Morelull…" Morelull just kept staring at Caroline with a drowsy look on his face. That ball actually looks comfy inside...Comfy enough to sleep in. "See! I told you it wants us to capture it!" "Well, okay then...What kind of name are you going to--" "Nathan!" "...Nathan? It looks more like a Merak to me…" Caroline shook her head and grabbed an empty Poké Ball from her bag. "Nope! Nathan!" She immediately throws the ball at the Morelull who shall now be proudly known as Nathan. One shake...two shakes...three. Ding.
Dahlia's bag started to vibrate. "What the…" "Who even wants to call you right now, Dahlia?" "I think you know who as well as I do, Caroline." He immediately got it out of his bag and answers the call. It's Fondre. "I thought we were going to seal the deal in Lumiose, Fondue." "Look dude, it doesn't matter right now! Forget about the bet. I think you two need to come right now." Dahlia realized that Fondue's tone was a bit different than usual. "...Fondre? Is something the matter?" She bit her lip, and sighed annoyingly.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but there's apparently something...awful happening around Lumiose. And even I don't think it sounds pretty…"
