The trees were so thick that the sunlight blinded Ash and his friends when the forest finally broke. Bonnie smiled and ran ahead of them through a meadow full of flowers that looked almost exotic to Ash. In Kanto the flowers didn't hold the vibrancy as the ones in Kalos. "Look at all these flowers," she exclaimed happily as they followed her. There was a river that ran through the meadow. The sun bounced off the blue and played with the waves that liked to splash the wild grass. It looked so inviting.
"Let's stop here for lunch!" Ash exclaimed. Everyone agreed and let all of their pokemon out to play.
Serena made lunch while Bonnie and Ash jumped in the river with the other pokemon. Greninja appeared to enjoy the water, Hawlucha stayed on the riverbank with Noivern, who nibbled at some pink and yellow fruit he found nearby. He offered some to Hawlucha, who smiled and took the berry but never ate it. Still, Noivern didn't appear to notice. Pikachu relaxed with Dedenne in the grass and Bunnleby helped Clemont with some invention that would probably fail again. Braixen and Eevee stayed near Serena, helping her with cooking lunch. Pancham lounged in a tree. Squishy was sunbathing again, its little red spot glowing in the sunlight. Chespin hopped into the river and onto Greninja's head by mistake.
Bonnie laughed and took Chespin from Greninja's head and put him on her floating ring. Greninja looked like he didn't even notice Chespin. He was staring into the dense forest intensely like he expected something to happen. Hawlucha did too, which was probably why he never ate the berry.
Ash stared at the direction of the forest that Greninja stared at but didn't see anything.
Greninja and Hawlucha, much to everyone's surprise, jumped into action. Then he saw what they were staring at. A girl fell from the top of a tree, her arms crossed defensively. Her clothes were strange and only covered some of the most sensitive parts but this left a lot of her skin at the mercy of the weather. Strapped to her back was a huge bone, possibly from some huge pokemon.
Greninja caught her but the impact sent him skidding into Hawlucha. The impact only made Hawlucha stagger backward but it didn't look like any damage had been done.
Ash jumped out of the water and ran toward the girl and his pokemon. "Hey, are you alright?" Ash asked but she didn't answer. By now everyone stopped to stare but the only ones who had the sense to jump into action was Greninja, Hawlucha, and Ash. He'd never seen everyone so dumbstruck at the same time. Finally, Pikachu ran toward them and hopped on Ash's shoulder, ready for a command.
A Hydreigon flew straight at them from the forest with a murderous look in its eyes. Scratches littered its body, as if it had been fighting for some time now. "Hawlucha, quick-"
The girl jumped from Greninja's arms and flung her bone at the pokemon, hitting it directly in the head and, oddly enough, growled at the pokemon. The bone came right back and she caught it confidently. Hydreigon growled back. The girl then looked directly at Noivern, who must've flown over along with him without him noticing. She didn't say anything but Noivern somehow understood. He used razor wind without being told.
At the last minute the girl jumped away and the Hydreigon took the hit and was knocked out. Ash started to relax but the girl didn't, she was still poised for battle. He was about to try and calm her down but blue eyes glowed in the darkness of the forest. After staring for some time he could make out the silhouette of an Alakazam!
The girl was picked up off her feet. It must've been using Psychic. She looked pleadingly at Ash.
"Greninja, quick, use smokescreen!" Ash commanded.
Greninja used smokescreen and covered the whole field in a shroud. "Now, Pikachu, follow up with Thunderbolt but be careful of who you hit."
Pikachu nodded and the lightening resonated from its cheeks and soon, its entire body glowed with the brilliant light. Alakazam let go of the girl to protect itself. "Great, now electroball!" Pikachu jumped in the air and flung the ball of lightening from its tail. Dust flew into the air and into Ash's eyes. He rubbed his eyes vigorously before he could finally see.
Hawlucha grabbed the girl's hand and led her away from the possible oncoming fight but nothing came after that. The dust cleared and Alakazam and Hydreigon were gone! "Greninja, do you sense anything?" Greninja shook its head in response. Now, who was the girl?
"Ash!" Serena and Clemont and Bonnie rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" They asked half in unison.
"Yeah, we're fine." Ash looked past them at Hawlucha and the girl. She looked like she was thanking it but only in the pokemon's language and speech patterns. Hawlucha was smiling and nodding its head as if to say 'you're welcome.'
"Who is she?" Bonnie asked next. "And why is she acting so weird?" Before Clemont could do anything Bonnie skipped out of reach and to the girl. "Hello! I'm Bonnie and this is Dedenne and Squishy." By now Dedenne rested on the young girl's head and chatted happily. She held Squishy in her hands and held it out. The unknown pokemon looked less than pleased. "What's your name?"
The girl looked uncomfortable. She fiddled with the edge of the skirt that looked like it was made from a Silcoon's thread and dyed blue with black stripes at the edges. The top looked to be the same way. Finally, Noivern broke her shyness by gliding over to her and playfully taking the bone off her back and keeping it away from her.
The girl growled, a look of playful annoyance on her face, and tried to get it back. Noivern wouldn't let her have it back, however. After a few minutes Hawlucha intervened and took back the bone, presenting it to her. Noivern complained.
They spent hours trying to get her to speak their language-human language-but she continued to talk to the pokemon in whatever language they spoke and whatever it was she said they seemed to understand, even Pikachu. She sat close to Noivern when everyone sat down to eat lunch. She sat so close that her shoulder brushed up against its wing. When Noivern tried to move she'd move too so everyone assumed she must've been doing it on purpose.
At seeing she wasn't eating the sandwich they prepared for her, Noivern took one piece of the sandwich from her hand and ate it. "No, Noivern!" Bonnie tried to stop him but he'd already eating the piece and even smiled at her, as if to reassure her of something.
Hawlucha started to scold him for taking the girl's sandwich but Noivern didn't seem to pay any mind. She smiled and her shoulders relaxed and ate it happily.
Noivern ate his pokemon food and the two continued to talk. "I wonder what they're saying," Ash said as he watched the two with as much fascination as Clemont. The girl took the pokemon food that Noivern presented to her and she ate it. By the look on her face she thought it tasted good. "They seemed to have gotten really attached really quickly."
Clemont nodded in agreement. "I wonder why she attached to Noivern."
To Ash it seemed like Noivern had always been able to create strong bonds with anyone it came across. Not making friends so quickly would be way out of character for it.
"Is it because he saved her?" Serena reasoned.
Clemont shook his head. "If that were the case she'd be more attached to Greninja instead. Noivern did help but Greninja did a lot of the work. And I wonder why she won't speak. There are so many questions."
Behind Clemont, the girl appeared with her hands folded in front of her and Noivern watching her from where the others ate. Pikachu sat on her shoulder, comforting her in her ear softly. She looked nervous.
This close, Ash could better see the pitch hair that reflected brightly against the sun and her eyes had bright green spots among the calming blue background. Her hair didn't look like it had been brushed and naturally separated into four thick dreads. Her skin was tanned only a shade darker than what Ash suspected her normal skin color would be, which would be an olive kind of color. Her tan skin made the shine from the silcoon made silk stand out against her skin.
The girl bowed at the waist, her hands still folded at the knees. "Th-thank you all for helping me." She looked like she was forcing out the words.
Everyone's eyes widened, and Ash stared with a gaped mouth. "So you can talk!" Clemont adjusted his glasses. "I guess then we should all introduce ourselves."
She smiled warmly. "I already know who you all are." At seeing Clemont's reaction she giggled and continued, "The pokemon told me all about you, Ash, Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena."
"Then what's your name?" Ash asked but was only met with a blank stare. "What do we call you?"
The girl blinked again. "I…I don't know how it would translate to your language. I haven't taken the time to think about it but I can try. My name…" Her eyebrows scrunched together and her whole face contorted as she tried to find the best word. Her eyes searched the grass as if it would give her the answer.
"Do you know if your name has any meaning?" Clemont asked.
She nodded. "Yes. It refers to the moon."
Clemont nodded. "Then, we'll call you Luna, is that okay?"
The girl brightened and nodded. "Yes, Luna. I think that will fit. Then, my name is Luna, it is very nice to meet you all."
Luna. The name had a beautiful tone that she couldn't help but daydream about but daydreaming would have to wait. Now, Luna stood in front of humans, and she had no idea where she was or where home was.
"Why was that Hydriegon and Alakazam chasing after you?" Ash asked first.
Luna shrugged. "I…I don't know, honestly."
"Well then, do you know who or what is after you?"
Luna shook her head. "No, but I don't think they're after me. Whoever it was they attacked my entire pack, so I think they were after the Lucario and Riolu under the Alpha's care."
"The Alpha?" Bonnie looked at her brother.
Clemont explained, "Well, you see some pokemon travel in packs. Mostly the dog-like pokemon do, such as Lucario. Each pack has a hierarchy of some form with the leader, which is known as the alpha, at the top and it goes down from there."
Luna nodded, as if to confirm something he knew. "That's correct. The Alpha is my brother. I was supposed to protect him. We separated from the pack but when they came after us I suggested that we separate from each other so that he could go back and lead the others to safety. It must've worked since I drew the pokemon away but…I'm afraid I don't know where my pack has gone."
Bonnie and Serena had downcast eyes. Ash and Clemont pitied her. "Can't you just find a new pack?" Bonnie asked innocently.
Luna shook her head. "It isn't that easy. No pack will just accept me because they don't know me. There may be one or two but they would be hard to find. I would have to prove it with fighting the strongest in the pack but I haven't yet discovered how to use my aura like Alpha can so a battle would be nearly useless."
"I'm sorry," Clemont sighed.
"I'll find out something about my pack so do not feel sad. And thank you again." Luna bowed again and set Pikachu down on the ground. Without warning she turned and started to walk away with the plan to leave. Noivern stood and caught her shoulder. He chatted to her. His words made her both smile and feel unsure.
"What is he saying?" Serena asked.
Luna turned to Noivern as if Serena hadn't just asked her anything. "Do you really think you can find them?"
Noivern nodded and turned his head to Ash. "I think he wants to help her find her pack," Ash translated. Noivern nodded. "Alright, I think that's a great idea! We'll all help you find them first thing in the morning, Luna!"
Luna smiled. "Do you truly mean it?" Her heart swelled with emotion and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around Noivern's neck, jumping up and down as she did, unable to contain her energy. She made growling-like pokemon sounds at the Noivern in a loving way and Noivern growled in the same way back at her. It was more like a purring that came from the heart, not the lungs.
"For today, let's camp out. It's a nice enough evening." Clemont suggested.
"Yeah alright." Ash took out strange balls and asked for everyone to return. Everyone, even the Noivern that she held, started to glow a bright red and disappeared from her arms. "Noivern?" She looked at her hands, her heart pounding in her ears. Where did Noivern go?
Ash must've seen the panic look on her face because he quickly came over and said, "Hey, don't worry. Noivern just went into its pokeball." Ash handed her the strange ball. It fit into her palm almost perfectly. Luna bit at the ball and then crouched and hit it against a rock. "No, stop!" Ash snatched the ball away and pressed a button to open it up. Noivern unwrapped his wings and proudly announced himself.
Luna's heart began to calm and she wrapped her arms around the bat pokemon, growling affectionately. "That is a marvelous trick! Can you do the same?" She asked Ash curiously but before he could answer she snatched the ball from his hand and bumped the button against his head a few times. The ball opened but it was empty and showed a metal skeleton inside.
Ash laughed. "No, this pokeball is only meant for pokemon. Noivern lives in it."
"How? It's so small and Noivern need a lot of space to fly!" Luna spread out her arms and ran around Ash, imitating a flying pokemon.
The boy laughed again. Why were her questions funny? "I don't know, honestly. I never thought to ask."
"Then, why does Pikachu not live in one?"
Pikachu's cheeks flared with electricity until Ash rubbed his chin. "Pikachu doesn't like it very much."
"Ash, maybe you should keep Noivern out of its pokeball until we return her." Clemont suggested.
Noivern was growing tired, which was strange for a nocturnal pokemon. He flew to a tree and hung up side down with his wings folded around himself. Fascinated at the way this pokemon slept, Luna climbed the tree and sat on the branch next to Noivern. How did such a huge pokemon sleep like this?
Luna hung upside down, using her knees to keep her up on the branch. After inspecting Noivern she then wrapped her arms around her chest. Soon, her legs relaxed too much and she dropped. However, she never connected with the ground. She hung suspended with the blades of grass tickling her nose. She looked up and saw Noivern had caught her ankle before her head could hit the ground. He didn't let go until her hands were on the ground and he gently lowered her foot as close to the ground as he could get it so that the ground connecting with her body at least felt somewhat soft. Then, he detached himself from the tree and he lay on the ground.
Luna tucked herself underneath the safety of his wing, her head under his, and it felt warm and safe. She missed her brother. He was warm too and so were the Riolu.
Noivern's chest rumbled when he growled, asking her about her home. She told him all about it, in the language only pokemon knew. They had just gotten to settle into their knew home. Lucario aren't usually nomadic but sometimes, when they broke away from a previous pack, they'll become nomadic until they claim a territory that hasn't been claimed. Alpha thought he found a place and they had just started to settle. She didn't remember the place very well, only that there was a waterfall and it smelled like the spicy tomato berries that grew nearby mixed with the sweet flowers that would soon become oren berries.
The wind blew, blowing in the sweet scent of the flowers, but they weren't the exact same. There was a very slight difference because the berries around that area were sweet too, and not spicy like the tomato berries.
"Noivern, what about your home?" Luna asked softly.
Noivern's voice was quiet, like a whisper, as he told her he'd only ever known Ash. His pokeball was his home.
Luna yawned and soon fell asleep. Tonight had been the first night of a relaxing nights sleep that she's gotten since Alpha became a lucario, because after that the two had been watching over the pack and not once did they ever have a restful nights sleep after that.