Chapter 1-New friends
Lumiose City, Café Soleil
Lumiose City, the grand center of Kalos; known for its stunning marvels and welcoming locale. Spring makes quite an entrance in the city, affecting people and Pokémon alike. The trees are alight with cherry blossoms and the laughing of children's games can be heard through the many avenues. One such avenue, South Boulevard, houses the ever-popular Soleil Café. It is a popular destination for the Champion Diantha, and therefore is always crowded with tourists and locals who want to see the fantastic woman in person. As if it didn't have enough trouble, the café was also very lax about Pokémon, which lead to even more popularity. Today, the café is crowded as usual, no celebrities in sight. Another patron joins the hustle and bustle, taking a seat at the counter. She is a young woman, who looks to be only in her late teens. She dons a light brown cardigan and light pink turtleneck with white shorts and pink knee-socks. She sneaks a menu from behind the service counter and begins to browse. Soon after her entrance, another customer walked in, noticeably younger than the young woman. He pushed lightly through the crowd and took a seat next to her, then patiently waited for a menu from the server. He was clearly prepared for warmer weather, dressed in a plain orange t-shirt and beige shorts. Noticing him, the woman shrugged and let out her Meganium once there was suitable room. The boy glanced at the Meganium, turned back to the menu he'd been given just a second ago, and then performed a light-speed double-take.
"Is that yours?" he asked, motioning to the large grass-type that was currently taking in the environment after being released from the dull space of its poke ball.
"She. And yeah, what about her?" the woman replied, a little miffed at the boy's reference to her partner as "that."
"Sorry, she. How long have you had her?"
"I've had Musetta here for about 7 and a half years, got her back in Johto from some guy who didn't really need her anymore." The Meganium in question looked up from its snack at the mention of her name, but decided to return to its food.
The boy watched it eat for a moment, apparently thinking about something.
"Want to battle? After we eat, of course," he said, revealing four Pokéballs at his waist. A Trainer. The woman's eyes lit up at the prospect of a Pokémon battle.
"Sure, but I'm not losing to you, half-pint." She grinned and extended a hand. "I'm Rebecca, but just call me Becca."
The boy was red in the face after the half-pint comment, but he calmed down and shook her outstretched hand. "Charles, nice to meet you."
"Likewise." She flagged down a passing server, another girl almost her age with brown hair, blue eyes, and a uniform that looked suspiciously like it came from Starbucks. She walked over to the counter and asked for their orders.
"I'll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream," the boy decided after short deliberation.
"And I'll have a coffee with cream and sugar, please. Could you make the orders fast? I just got challenged by this dork." She motioned to said dork, who stuck his tongue out in reply.
"Oh, a battle?" the server questioned. "I know a great battleground near here if you're interested. I could take you if you want." Becca replied with a "Hell yeah!" while Charles replied with a "Oh, you don't have to." They looked at each other and burst out laughing. The server chuckled to herself a little too, and then replied,
"It's no trouble. I'll let you guys on a little secret; you're actually my last customers. I'm quitting today."
The two of them stared at her, a little flabbergasted at their timing. The server smiled warmly.
"You see, I've been meaning to quit once my last paycheck went through, so I can afford to go travel with some friends. It's been a bit of a dream of mine to see the world past Kalos and Hoenn." Becca raised her eyebrows at this.
"Hoenn? Down south? Isn't that kind of far?" The server was about to reply, when a yell for someone named Julia echoed over the din of the restaurant.
"Oh shoot. Be right back, forgot I was still working. Be back with your orders in five, you two." With that, she scurried past some people and behind the counter.
"Hoenn, huh? That's pretty far south to be in Kalos if you ask me," Becca wondered out loud. She turned to Charles.
"Say, where are you from?" It was an honest question, but the boy tensed up as if he was about to be interrogated. She raised her eyebrows again.
"Err… Not from around here. I live very far away."
"O-kay then."
A very awkward silence passed, and Becca recalled Musetta, since she'd long since finished her meal and gotten bored. Charles pulled out a phone of some sort and started reading something. Eventually, their drinks arrived with the key to unlocking their conversation again.
"Hey guys, here's your drinks. I'll be with you in a minute, gotta tell the boss I'm clocking out for good," Julia said, placing the mugs on the counter in front of the two. They mumbled their thanks, and Julia ran off into a back room of some sort.
"So," Becca began. Charles looked up from his drink. "What brings you to Kalos?"
Charles brightened up considerably.
"I just love Pokémon! I'm going to try to travel all over and meet all kinds of Pokémon when I get strong enough to move on from Kalos."
"Got any ideas as to where?"
"Nope!" Becca mentally face palmed. This kid was something alright.
"What about you?" he asked.
"Same as you, pretty much. I'm a traveling trainer. Sinnoh, Johto, Unova, even Almia. You name it, I've been there." She frowned and then spoke again. "Although, I lost my traveling partner a few months back when we had a bad run-in with some crooks. He hasn't been the same since. It's been tough traveling alone, especially with all the crime syndicates popping up lately. It seems like everyone wants to rule the world by abusing Pokémon, which is, as both of us know, horrible. So, I've hung out in Kalos for a few months now, looking for someone to wreak my own havoc upon the world with."
Charles laughed, and Julia showed up out of nowhere. Instead of the green uniform, she now wore a navy blue shirt, orange skirt, and a generic red belt with a Pokéball for a belt buckle. Her shoes made a flip-flop sound as she approached.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yeah!" they both replied. Before Charles could move, Becca yelled "Jynx! You owe me a drink!" and bolted out of the restaurant, leaving Charles to pick up the tab. Rolling his eyes, he pulled some Poké out of his pocket and left it on the table for the busboy. He and Julia made their way outside onto the pavement where Becca was waiting. Once in the bright sun, Julia pulled out a Pokéball and released a large dog-like pokémon.
Becca spoke up before Charles could pull his jaw from the sidewalk.
"What's with the Arcanine?"
In reply, Julia turned around and started scratching the bright orange pooch in a very particular spot, causing it began to wag its tail and pant happily. Julia turned to the two humans, continuing to scratch the Pokémon.
"This here's Baka, the world's biggest marshmallow. We've known each other since we were kids, and since he was still a Growlithe. He likes the city, so I usually keep him outside of his Pokéball during the day. At night he's kind of a handful."
Becca nodded and Charles pulled himself together after shouting about how cool that was with a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Now, let's get to the battleground."
With that, Julia turned and started walking down South Boulevard, Charles and Becca in tow. While Julia navigated and Becca fiddled with some electronic device that one could assume was a Pokégear, Charles took in some of the sights of Lumiose. People walked all about with their Pokémon, lively chatting with each other like birds of a feather. Once, a ball rolled in front of him and he kicked it back to where it'd came from: a group of kids playing kickball under the eyes of a watchful Delphox. He looked to the sky to see clouds scattered across the blue backdrop. He'd seen the weather on his phone earlier, and it was supposed to storm soon. With any luck, that would be after they'd battled.
His attention snapped back to his new friends when Julia cried out, "We're here!"
It was a pretty generic battlefield made of packed dirt, and marked with the white field lines standard to the Pokémon league. It was mostly empty save for a Fletchling hopping around. Charles grinned and ran over to the other side of the field, scaring away the Fletchling as his feet hit the ground. Becca took the closer side of the battleground while Julia walked over to the middle as the designated referee, which was always important for the safety of the Pokémon.
"Alright, this will be a six-on-six full battle! Any objections?"
"I kind of only have four Pokémon…" Charles said sheepishly.
"It's okay, I don't have my full team either. Lilac, my Lilligant, is at the groomer's still," Becca replied. "Julia, we're going five versus four."
"Okay," Julia nodded, then swung her hand down and said," Battle…begin!"
Becca started off by sending out a very pink quadruped Pokémon with multiple ribbon-like appendages and sky blue eyes. Becca identified her as Tink the Sylveon. Not wanting to be out-gunned by a fairy, Charles sent out a second pink Pokémon, a Rock-Water type with spikes made of coral: a Corsola!
"Let's show her what we're made of, Rocky! Kick it off with Ancientpower!"
Multiple white spheres formed around Rocky, turning dark brown and gaining a purple hue. She unleashed the attack and sent the now developed stones towards Tink. Becca tensed up, now battle ready.
"Dodge those rocks then use Psyshock!"
Sylveon obeyed, dancing around the rocks gracefully, almost mockingly. After the last rock fell she gathered psychic energy around herself, turning a light purple color, and sent it flying at Rocky with a loud cry. Charles smirked.
"Mirror Coat, chain with Recover!"
Becca paled a little bit as the purple energy striking Corsola was absorbed, and then shortly returned to sender in a blinding flash of purple light. When the light faded, Tink was flat against the side of the tree, dazed and injured. However, Rocky was also worse for wear. She was bruised and tired from the strain of the Mirror Coat. The bruises began to fade, however, as Rocky Recovered.
"Tink, can you go on?" Becca asked her Pokémon. She nodded in affirmation, and with a second nod from Julia, she stepped back into the battlefield with a fierce glow in her eyes. Becca thought to herself, 'Crud, all of Tink's attacks are special-based. We're not going to get anything through that Mirror Coat without a knockout. Unless…'
"Tink, I have an idea! Use Dazzling Gleam!"
"Sylv!"
The Fairy Pokémon began glowing white in preparation for the powerful flash variant while Charles thought of a course of action.
'Not bad, an area attack. Rocky can't block that entire thing by itself.' He thought for a moment longer, then gave the order.
"Rocky, close your eyes and use Bubblebeam when I give you the cue!" The Pokémon nodded in affirmation, then closed its small eyes tightly. The brilliantly shining attack hit home and Rocky yelled out in pain, causing both Charles and Becca to shield their eyes from the attack.
Immediately as it died down, Charles yelled, "Rocky! Now!"
A stream of bubbles burst forth heading for Tink. She had the good sense to get out of the way, but Rocky landed multiple direct hits once she'd altered her aim. Tink slumped down, defeated.
"Tink is unable to battle!" Julia proclaimed.
"That was some fancy footwork. You and your Pokémon go well together," Becca commented. Charles thanked her sheepishly. Becca sent out her Meganium next.
"Petal Blizzard!"
Now it was Charles' turn for his face to go white. Musetta whipped up a cloud of flower petals with a swing of its head, and shot them towards Rocky. She never had a chance. Rocky flew backwards and would have crashed into the stone wall surrounding the place if not for Charles' quick return.
"I'm just gonna concede that one to you," he said, as he turned back to the battle.
"Works for me," she grinned. Charles groaned and sent out his next Pokémon, a Flying type, wielding small blue wings and a bright red feather adorning his face like a headdress. "Rufflet!" it screeched.
Quick as a flash, Charles ordered, "Feathers, use Aerial Ace!"
Even quicker than Charles' thinking, Feathers pulled into a loop and crashed down onto Musetta, dealing a fair amount of damage with the super-effective hit. Becca gave a startled cry, then quickly composed herself and ordered a Magical Leaf attack. Sharpened leaves appeared from under Musetta's petals and turned a vast array of hues, then went straight for Feathers. Thinking quickly, Charles ordered a Tailwind. A strong breeze sprung up behind Feathers and slowed the velocity of the approaching leaves slightly. However, Feathers took multiple grazing hits from the enchanted shrubbery.
"Feathers, move with the Tailwind! Rain down blows with Aerial Ace and Slash!"
Feathers squawked loudly and complied with its trainer. True to the nature of Arial Ace, Feathers moved about like lightning, pummeling Musetta into submission while Becca could only watch. Musetta's other moves, Leech Seed and Poison Powder, would never hit with the active gale. Eventually, Musetta fell just before the tailwind petered out. Rufflet screeched its victory over the fully evolved grass type while Charles pleaded with the Pokémon to not get carried away.
Becca laughed out loud at his comment, saying, "Guess you and your Pokémon have some kinks to work out!"
Charles laughed with her, and replied, "I suppose we all do." Rufflet, on the other hand, was getting irate at the lack of opponent. He cawed at Becca until she sent out her third Pokémon, a Wigglytuff.
"Meet Headmaster! Say hello, Hyper Voice style!" She called out, and then immediately covered her ears. A split second passed before Charles and Julia did the same, but sadly, Feathers didn't catch on. He was blown back fifty feet by an extremely loud "WIGGLY-TUFF!" and then righted himself. Charles, fighting temporary deafness, yelled out for a Hone Claws. Feathers either didn't hear him or didn't care, because he went straight for the pink puffball. Becca ordered a Doubleslap on the bird and that was it. Julia made the call and Feathers was returned, bruised and ashamed that he got taken out by a Wigglytuff. Although, Feathers' attacks didn't go to waste; Charles' next team member, Magma the Quilava, one-hit KO'd the puffball using a Flame Wheel attack.
"And now for my next trick, come out, Morticia!" cried Becca, flamboyantly tossing a Pokéball into the air. The Pokéball opened to reveal… nothing.
"Err…" Charles wondered, "where's the Pokémon?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Becca devilishly replied. She seemed to barely be able to hold her laughter. Magma was freaking out too, and Charles caught onto it.
"Magma, chill! It's only a battle, stay with me here!" Charles practically yelled at the frantic Quilava. He calmed down considerably at its trainer's words, but it still shifted its eyes around, until it looked behind it, at Charles.
"Qui-Quilava!" Magma practically yelled, and pointed behind its trainer with a forepaw.
Charles whirled around to find himself face-to-face with a large purple ghost wearing a jagged smile.
"Magius," it said simply.
"F-Found it," said Charles, currently rooted to the spot by the Dark Magician Pokémon. It giggled and disappeared again, but alas, the spooky aura it left behind was interrupted by the loud laughter coming from the other side of the stadium. Becca managed to choke out a Phantom Force attack before continuing to rant about the look on Charles' face.
Charles ordered to Magma, "Keep an eye out for her, buddy. She'll probably reappear soon- SHUT UP OVER THERE-so get a Flamethrower ready." He shot a glare at Becca as he ended his command. Magma nodded to her trainer despite the fragmented order, and began to build up the energy required to launch a Flamethrower. Suddenly, a purple haze appeared directly above Magma in the shape of Morticia.
Charles noticed this too, and yelled, "Magma, look out! Up there!"
Reacting quickly, Magma stood up on its hind paws and fired the charged flamethrower towards the sky. Morticia skillfully twirled around the stream of flame and slugged Magma with a shadow-filled tackle that sent him reeling. They broke apart, and Charles called for a Flame Wheel attack. Magma began to roll towards the Ghost-type, coated in flames from its back. Becca countered with Power Gem, which slammed into Magma and stopped almost all of his momentum. He did land the hit on the ghost, dealing moderate damage. They broke apart once again. Magma then fell over, defeated from the energy required to overcome the super-effective attack. Charles returned the fallen Pokémon, whispering words of encouragement as he was returned. Charles unclipped the fourth and final ball from his belt.
"I didn't expect to get this far, to be honest. Usually I get curb stomped by someone with a Golem or something. But now, here's Jolt!" he said, throwing the Pokéball. A four-footed Pokémon appeared, covered almost completely in black fur. It had a black tail that ended in a yellow star and piercing red and yellow eyes.
"Luxray!" Jolt announced.
Charles issued a Shock Wave, to which Jolt gladly complied. The unavoidable electricity arced towards Morticia, who took it head-on. The power was just enough to make her faint, luckily for Charles.
"Nice attack, Jolt!" Charles said. Jolt stood taller at the praise while Becca rolled her eyes. She spoke up next,
"You want to quit now? The sky's getting pretty dark," she observed almost nonchalantly. True to her word, many clouds had gathered in the time that they had been outside.
Charles replied fiercely, "No way, we're on fire! Jolt, you want to keep going, right?"
"Ray!"
Becca stared him down. "Are you really, reeeeeally sure?"
Charles gave her a weird look. "I just said that I wanted to keep going, and so does Jolt. Come on."
Becca shrugged and pulled out her fifth Pokéball.
"Hey, it's your funeral," she said. "Let's show him how it's done, Aryll!"
She threw the ball out onto the field to reveal a seven foot tall behemoth of rock and steel. Charles and Julia's eyes widened as the Aggron slammed its feet into the ground.
Becca gave him a sly wink and said, "I tried to warn you, kid! Now, here comes Iron Tail!" As if on cue, Aryll roared and began to charge towards Jolt with her glowing white tail of death. Charles thought quickly, which is not an easy feat when half a ton of Aggron is charging your Pokémon, mind you. He yelled for Jolt to execute a Thunder Fang after getting behind Aryll. Charles' plan was perfect except for one hitch: he didn't expect for the monster of a Pokémon to be able to turn around on a dime. Aryll's tail slammed into Jolt mid-jump and flattened him against the outer wall of the battlefield. Even with the ineffective type of attack, not many Pokémon can stand up after hitting a solid wall at over twenty miles an hour.
Julia exclaimed, "Jolt is unable to battle, which means Becca is the winner!" As she said this, a lightning bolt crackled overhead. The three trainers looked up to see that the overcast sky was now almost black, and water began to fall. All three of them made a mad dash for the tree placed conveniently near the battlefield after returning their Pokémon. First, however, Charles dashed over to the side of the field to make sure his Luxray was alright. After sorting out that it had a broken left shoulder, Charles returned his dismayed starter and ran over to the girls, now soaked through his orange shirt.
"Well," he said, "that could have gone better."
"Nobody expects the AGGRON!" Becca proclaimed, striking a Sailor Moon-esque pose. Charles and Julia shared a look and then, after a moment of silence burst out laughing. After a minute Becca joined in once she realized how stupid she looked. Eventually the laughter died down, and Julia had a brilliant idea.
"Hey guys, we should exchange numbers!" she offered, pulling out her Pokégear. Becca agreed while Charles nodded, and they both pulled out their respective devices. Becca's was like Julia's, although lavender in color instead of Julia's teal. Charles' was much different than the Pokégear; his was flat and rectangular. They registered each other's numbers then sat down onto the wet mulch surrounding the tree. Becca was the first to speak up.
"Well, this sucks."
"Yep," replied Charles.
"No kidding," Julia stated.
Becca tilted her head upwards, thinking about a question that had pestered her since she's left the café. After a short deliberation, mostly involving her conscience telling her that she was dumb and her stubborn will refusing to listen, she decided to make it known to the world. She cleared her throat, and the others looked at her.
"Charles, do you remember when I told you why I was in Kalos?" she questioned.
He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, your traveling companion bailed on you. Why?"
"Uh… I was kind of thinking that you two could… come with me?"
Charles blinked. That was an offer for sure. One to be carefully thou-
"YES!" Julia exclaimed. Okay, maybe not as carefully thought about as he originally planned. "I've always wanted to travel. Let's do it, Becca!"
Becca smiled hugely at the thought of no longer being alone on her excursions, and Julia filled with thoughts of how much fun it'd be. They both turned to Charles expectantly. He shrugged.
"I suppose there has to be one male to round out the party," he sympathized. "I'm in."
Julia was practically bouncing at this point. She stood up and motioned for her newfound friends to do the same. She stuck her hand out as they stood up.
"Put your hands on top of mine," she said simply. They did so, and she exclaimed," Now we're going to be forever known as the Triple Threat! Yeah!" She then shot her hand up into the air where Charles' and Becca's clasped around it. They all looked at one another and burst into laughter once again under the solid oak tree in the storm. Thus, a beautiful friendship was born; one with many trials and tribulations, no doubt, but one that will stand forever.