Amour in Kalos
Chapter 1: Two Beginnings, One Region
In a small house located in Vaniville Town, a small bird-like Pokemon with a light grey coloured body, white feathers on the top part of its wings, a bright red coloured head with small black eyes and a matching beak, small black clawed feet and a long black feather shaped tail with a white stripe across the centre landed on the windowsill and let out a chirp as it watched a woman who was busy in the kitchen cutting up cabbage on a cutting board while humming to herself. Once she was certain all of the cabbage had been cut up, she lifted up the cutting board and turned to walk over to the sink to run water through it before placing the cabbage in a drainer, while the small Pokemon watched on in silence. As she seemed to take notice of the small Pokemon watching her, the woman turned her head to it. The woman had bright blue eyes and she was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, light green tracksuit pants that were tied up in a knot at the top and bright red slippers and she had a yellow hairpin in her hair which was dark brown: her name was Grace Yvonne.
"Fletchling, could you go wake up Serena for me? I've already tried once before, but as it always seems to be with that girl, once never seems to be enough." Grace asked. Fletchling nodded in understanding, so with this, it jumped up into the air and started rapidly flapping its wings to keep itself aloft before making its way over towards the staircase, while Grace watched with a grateful smile. Fletchling flew up the staircase before coming to a room where the door was slightly ajar. Noticing the small opening in the doorway, the bird Pokemon squirmed through the opening before finding itself in the bedroom it needed to look for. Taking up to the air again, Fletchling flew over to a bed located at the far left side of the room and looked down to notice someone still sound asleep. The person in question was a sixteen-year-old girl with long honey blonde coloured hair and she was wearing a dark pink bow in her hair along a long light pink pyjama top with white ribbons symbols all around it along with dark pink pyjama pants: it was Serena. As she was sleeping peacefully under the doona, Fletching watched her for a few seconds… before whooshing forward and dive-bombing into her, causing her to let out a scream that was so loud that the Rhyhorn who was sleeping outside the house could hear her, and it could only stare in surprise as it was wondering what was happening inside the house.
Back downstairs in the kitchen, Grace could hear Serena's yell from where she was and she simply showed a satisfied smile, as she was glad to hear that her daughter was finally awake. "I knew Fletchling would be able to get the job done." Grace commented.
Back up in Serena's room, she had tumbled out of the bed and had taken the blanket down with her. As Fletchling slowly drifted down and landed on the Pokeball-shaped table in the centre of the room, Serena raised her legs into the air before sitting up and shaking her head a bit to get her bearings. Once that was done, she opened her eyes to reveal a lovely shade of sapphire blue, much like her mother's, and she turned her glance to Fletchling as it was watching her, sending a glare in its direction. "Fletchling! How many times have I told you not to wake me up like that?"
Fletchling simply tilted its head in surprise, as it seemed to be wondering what the problem was, before jumping up into the air and flapping its wings rapidly to head back downstairs. As she watched Fletchling fly out of her room, Serena let out a sigh of dismay before she stood up, carrying the blanket in her hands to place it back on the bed the way it always was. "Why does it always do that?" she muttered to herself. Once she was certain that her bed was made properly, Serena turned her head to notice the window, before walking over to it, pulling the curtain back to allow the sunlight to light up her room and opening it so she could have a look outside.
"Wow… it looks like it's going to be a wonderful day today." Serena commented to herself, showing a smile of amazement as she turned her glance up to look at the morning sky; she could see the sun shining brightly and there didn't seem to be many clouds in sight. She then looked down to spot Rhyhorn in the front yard and gave a wave down. "Good morning, Rhyhorn!" she called, to which Rhyhorn gave a roar in response. Serena let out a content sigh as she stretched her arms into the air before turning her attention back to the view outside her window and she could feel the wind blowing into her room and allowing her hair to flow freely behind her head. "I don't believe it… It's finally here. Today's the day that I can get my first Pokemon and start my first journey here in Kalos!" Serena happily said to herself; this was a day she had been looking forward to for quite some time, much like a lot of beginning Trainers that were in her position would. She could only imagine the kind of places she would see, what kind of wonders she would discover; it was truly something that was making her excitement shoot sky high. However, she was soon broken out of her thoughts when she heard Grace calling her from downstairs.
"Serena! Your breakfast is almost ready!" Serena turned around in surprise upon hearing this before she showed a bright smile and walked over to the door before leaning her head out into the hallway so she could give her reply.
"I'm coming! I just need to get ready first!" As she stepped back inside her room, she turned her head over to the wardrobe just nearby and made her way over to it, before opening it up to reveal the clothes that she had chosen to wear, as she had taken the premeasure of getting that ready beforehand: her clothing of choice consisted of a sleeveless black t-shirt with a white collar, a long scarlet red skirt with a button on the side, a bright pink hat with a black bow and headband around it, long black leggings and matching black laced runners. Seeing that she had everything she was going to wear ready, Serena let out a small sigh with a smile. "Well… I guess I better start getting ready. After all, I've got a big day ahead of me!" With this, she removed the pink bow from her hair, allowing it to flow freely behind her head, before grabbing the t-shirt and skirt out of the wardrobe to start getting herself dressed.
Meanwhile, a fair distance away from Kalos, an airplane was soaring through the skies and it was heading towards the region in question. Inside the plane, three Coordinators were in their seats as they were preparing to get off once the plane landed. One of the Coordinators in question was a sixteen year old boy with short bright green hair and matching green eyes, and he was wearing a long sleeved black top with a short sleeved dark purple vest on top, pale green pants and dark green shoes: his name was Drew Hayden. He was looking out through the window his seat was next to and he could see Kalos coming closer into view. "Look at that, guys. We're nearly there." Drew said, turning his head to his two partners sitting next to him.
The two in question that Drew was talking to were Soledad and Harley, and they had a look out the window to see that he was right; they were nearing arrival into Kalos. The both of them were twenty years old, which meant that they were four years Drew's senior. Soledad had long bright pink hair and grey coloured eyes, and she was wearing an orange dress-like top with a red belt around the waist and a crimson red skirt underneath, dark red fingerless gloves, long black socks and long dark red boots, while Harley had long dark purple hair and dark blue eyes, and he was wearing a pale green jacket with dark green patches visible on the sides, a deep blue t-shirt underneath, matching pale green pants, white boots and he also had a large triangle shaped green hat on his head, leaving his appearance resembling very much like that of a Cacturne. Soledad showed a bright smile as she was looking out the window before she nodded in agreement.
"I know; it really looks amazing. It's a shame May couldn't join us. I'm sure she would have loved getting to come here." Soledad agreed. As it turned out, one member of their group wasn't joining them. And that person turned out to be none other than May Maple as she had her own plans arranged; she had decided to journey to Sinnoh on her own to compete in the Contests there. As Harley was listening to them, he crossed his arms with an expression of annoyance.
"Well, all I can say is she's missing out big time! She'll have a lot to answer for when we catch back up with her." Harley retorted. Drew and Soledad both turned their heads to him, with Soledad showing a smile of amusement at Harley's outburst.
"Relax, Harley. I think it's a good thing that May's deciding to travel on her own for a while. It'll give her the chance to stand on her own two feet without anyone accompanying her. If I'm being honest, I'm surprised she hasn't done that sooner; it would have really done her wonders." Soledad replied. Harley fell silent upon hearing this, and he simply turned his attention back to the view outside his window. Upon seeing that he was keeping himself busy, Soledad turned her glance down to look at the guidebook she had been reading during the flight, and she stopped when she found the pages that were describing Lumiose City before looking over at her partners.
"Look at this, you two. It says here that Lumiose City is known to be the largest city in the Kalos Region. I can tell that it's not too hard to see why. Look at all the places they have in that city." Soledad explained, as Drew and Harley leaned over from their seats to have a look at the map of the city; they could see various different places, including the Prism Tower which was located in the heart of the city and various different shops and departments on each Boulevard.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that we'll be in for an exciting time in this new region. And when you're done with the guidebook, may I have a look at it so I can see where the Contest halls are located?" Drew asked. Soledad nodded in agreement before handing the guidebook to Drew so he could have a look. Once he had the guidebook in his hands, Drew started to flip through the pages to find the cities that were holding Contests; the Kalos region was holding its first Contest season this year, and Drew, Soledad and Harley were going to take part in it. After a few moments passed, Drew stopped when he found the right page and showed it to Harley and Soledad. "Look at this. The first Contest is being held in Santalune City. And it's not too far from where Lumiose City is." Drew explained, as he pointed down to where they had to go to get to Santalune City; once they touched down in Lumiose City, they had to find the right route gate and then they would be on their way. As Harley and Soledad looked down at the map, it didn't take long for them to show matching smiles of excitement.
"That means we'll have our first chance to make a good impression. Since this is the first year that Kalos is holding Contests, we'll have to do everything we can to show how amazing they are." Soledad replied. As Drew and Harley turned their glances towards her, Drew nodded in agreement with this sentiment while Harley stood up from his seat and walked over to stand in the centre of the various rows as Drew and Soledad watched in surprise.
"You don't need to say anymore, Soledad. I'll do whatever I can to make sure that the people of Kalos witness the best that Pokemon Contests have to offer. It'll be something they'll never forget!" Harley stated, with a confident smile on his face and he raised one arm into the air during his last statement. As a few seconds of silence, the other people in the plane all had their heads turned to him in resounding bewilderment as they were wondering what he was going on about, while Drew and Soledad simply stared in silence.
"Uh…" Drew was silent as he was trying to find the right words to describe what was happening, while Soledad turned her glance to him before he spoke up. "Let's not ask for miracles from you just yet, Harley." At the same time, Soledad showed a smile of amusement and quickly covered her mouth with one hand as she was attempting to stifle her giggling at Drew's blunt statement. Harley turned his head to the two in alarm at this teasing, but before he could have a chance to give his rebuttal, one of the flight attendants walked over to the row the three were seated in.
"Uh, sir? I do appreciate the enthusiasm, but… not so loudly, please. You're making everyone stare at you. And please stay in your seat until we've landed; we wouldn't want to have a casualty on an otherwise pleasant flight." The attendant suggested, showing a nervous smile all the while. Harley simply stared at her in shock as she started to walk away, before he showed an expression of irritation and started to flail his arms rapidly.
"What are you talking about?! You come back here this instant, ma'am! I'll show you who'll be getting the casualty on this flight! And what's so wrong about me showing my enthusiasm? It's not like any one else is doing the same thing!" Harley snapped. From their seats, Drew and Soledad could only stare in silence before they let out resounding sighs of dismay at the sight of what was happening in front of them.
"Harley… please stop and just come back to your seat…" Soledad sighed, showing an expression of concern watching this outburst. Drew could only let out a groan of dismay before he lowered his head and buried it into his arms.
"And to think we haven't even touched down yet…" Drew groaned, his voice muffled under his arms while Soledad turned her glance to him in surprise noticing this. To think he had thought they would be able to get through this flight without having to deal with one of Harley's temper tantrums, but it seemed that he was horribly mistaken. Now he couldn't wait to get off the plane if it meant that this nonsense would be over and done with.
Back in Vaniville Town, Serena had finished getting dressed, and she was looking at her reflection in the mirror to make sure that she was ready to go. Once she knew that everything was in place, she nodded in affirmation and made her way over to the staircase so she could head downstairs, where she was certain her mum was waiting for her. "Good morning, Mum!" Serena called, waving to Grace as she was making her way down the staircase. Grace turned her head to spot Serena, and she showed a bright smile as she walked over just as Serena arrived at the bottom of the staircase.
"Morning, Serena. Did you sleep well last night?" Grace asked. Serena showed a big smile and nodded in agreement.
"I sure did. And I would have been able to get a longer sleep in if someone hadn't given me a wake-up call that I clearly remember telling them not to do!" she replied, before turning her glance to Fletchling with an expression of annoyance and she placed her hands against her hips as she was still sore about Fletchling attacking her out of nowhere like that. Fletchling turned its head to Serena hearing her say that and then tilted its head sideways slightly, like it seemed to be unaware of what the issue was. Serena and Grace both looked down at the little bird Pokemon with Grace showing a nervous smile before the two looked back at each other.
"Sorry about that, honey. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't be late to get your first Pokemon." Grace explained. Serena's glare, which she was showing at Fletchling, was quickly replaced with a big smile of excitement once she heard this. Trainers beginning their journey in Kalos would have the chance to choose between three Pokemon from Professor Sycamore; those Pokemon consisted of Chespin, the grass-type, Fennekin, the fire-type, and Froakie, the water-type. Serena hadn't decided which Pokemon she was going to choose yet, but she was certain that whoever she got, they would get along really well together. "And by the way, your breakfast is on the table waiting for you." Grace added, as she turned and pointed to Serena's seat at the table. Serena turned her glance to notice that there was a plate sitting on her place at the table, and there was a stack of waffles on her plate.
"Oh, that's right. Thanks, Mum." Serena replied. With this, she turned to make her way over to the table to have her breakfast before she left. As Serena made herself comfortable in her seat, Grace watched her with a smile; it was hard for her to believe that Serena was going to be starting her Pokemon journey very soon. After a few moments, Grace walked over while Serena was eating.
"So, Serena, do you remember where you need to go?" Grace asked. Serena turned her head up to her mother, with her mouth full of waffle pieces, before she swallowed them down and nodded in response, holding up a small light blue and yellow laptop which, when she opened it up, displayed a map of the Kalos region; it happened to be the Town Map she planned on taking with her.
"Yeah, I do. I'll need to get to Lumiose City; it definitely seems like a bit of a long trek, though." Serena replied, placing the laptop in her bag, which was dark pink and seemed to look like a purse, with a nervous smile showing on her face as she was thinking about how far she would have to go to arrive at her destination. To get to Lumiose City alone, she would have to go through Santalune Forest and make her way through Santalune City before she could even get on the right track. Sufficed to say, it seemed like a tall order for her this early on. Fortunately, it seemed that Grace took notice of that as well as she turned her glance upwards to think, before she seemed to have an idea and turned her glance back down to Serena.
"It sounds like you might need a Pokemon to have with you while you go to Lumiose City." Grace commented. She turned her glance up to think about how to handle this, before she looked down to spot Fletchling standing on the floor beside the table, before flapping his wings and hovering up to stand on top of the table. "How about you bring Fletchling with you?" Grace suggested, pointing over to the small bird Pokemon while Serena turned her head to see Fletchling. Serena turned her glance down in uncertainty as she was starting to wonder if Grace was really okay with letting her bring Fletchling along. Grace seemed to make notice of this as she showed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Serena. I don't think it's a big issue. I'm sure Fletchling would love to go with you." she stated.
Once she heard this, Serena turned her glance down to Fletchling to hear what he had to say. "What do you think, Fletchling? Would you like to come along with me?" Serena asked; while Fletchling did provide some annoyance with waking her up when she had asked him not to, she couldn't find anything wrong with letting him come with her. Fletchling turned his head up to Serena and stared at her for a few moments before a bright smile crossed his beak and nodded, before he flew up on top of Serena's shoulder and started to nuzzle against her, while she showed a smile of amusement. "I'm going to guess that's a yes." Serena commented. By this point, she had just finished her breakfast, so she stood up from her seat and reached over to grab her bag from the table and placed the straps around her shoulders. "Well, I guess I better get going. I don't want to keep Professor Sycamore waiting for me." Serena stated. So with this, she started to make her way over to the front door and opened it to see the rest of Vaniville Town just out in front of her, and she let out a sigh as she knew exactly what this meant: this was going to be the start of her new journey. As she was looking out at the small town around her, Grace watched her with a proud smile before she spoke, prompting Serena to turn around to face her.
"It's hard for me to believe it, Serena. Today's the day you're starting your journey. I'm sure it'll be really exciting for you!" Grace commented, her smile growing in excitement for her daughter. Serena couldn't help but nod in agreement with her, though she had to admit that it was something that she didn't expect would come so quickly for her. But now it was here, she was feeling a bit nervous yet excited at the same time. While this was happening, the two could suddenly hear the sound of footsteps stomping from behind them, and they both showed matching expressions of surprise while Serena turned around to notice that it was Rhyhorn coming over to them. "Well, look at that! It looks like Rhyhorn wanted to see you off before you left." Grace commented, placing her hands on her hips with a smile. Serena slowly showed a bright smile when she heard this before she bent down to Rhyhorn and placed one hand underneath his chin.
"Hey, Rhyhorn. I've got something exciting to share with you: today's the day I start my Pokemon journey and I'm going to give it everything I've got! I know Mum's rooting for me and I'm sure you are too." Serena explained. Rhyhorn showed a smile of excitement as he was listening to this before he nodded in agreement and started to nuzzle up against Serena to show his support for her as well. "I know; you're going to miss me too. But don't worry. I'll make sure to stop by for a visit. Does that sound good?" Serena asked. Rhyhorn promptly nodded in agreement with this idea; that sounded good to him. Serena let out a giggle at this reply before she stood up. "I had a feeling you'd like that." she commented. Once all that was taken care of, Grace started to speak up again, which prompted Serena to turn around to hear what else her mum had to say.
"Well, Serena, it looks like it's time for you to get moving. I'm sure this journey's going to be really exciting for you, getting to see all of Kalos and experiencing all the excitement and wonder it has to offer. I bet you'll have a great time! But make sure to be careful, and you can always call me if you need anything." Grace explained. Serena showed a bright smile and nodded in understanding, while Fletching hovered up to her and landed on her shoulder.
"I will, Mum. Thanks. I'm not sure how my journey's going to go, but I know for certain that it's going to be great. I'll make sure I make the most of every moment of it!" Serena stated, a confident smile crossing her face as she made this last statement, because that was something she was going to make sure was true. She had no idea what would await her on her first adventure, but if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that she would never know until she found out for herself, and that was just what she was going to do. Grace showed a proud smile at this statement.
"That's wonderful to hear! Now get out there and show them what you're made of, Serena!"
Serena happily nodded in agreement, the confident smile on her face seemingly not fading from her mother's encouragement. "I will! I'll do my best, Mum! See you soon!" So without any hesitance, Serena started to make her way off the front porch of her house towards the gate in the centre of the town, looking back to Grace and giving a cheerful wave to her while Grace happily waved back. Once she saw Serena turn the corner from the house, Grace lowered her arm.
"Look at her, well on her way and ready to begin her first adventure as a Pokemon Trainer. She's going to have an amazing time…" Grace commented to herself, a bright smile on her face as she was starting to think about how much Serena would enjoy herself. She then turned to enter back into the house and closed the door behind her to resume the cooking preparations she had been busy with.
With Serena, she was approaching the large gate in the centre of the town and as the large dark blue doors slowly swung open, she turned her head to Fletchling as the small bird Pokemon sat on her shoulder. "There it is, Fletchling. Once we pass through this gate, we'll be making the first step of the beginning of our first journey. You ready for it?" Turning his head to Serena at this question, Fletchling gave a nod before flapping his wings rapidly and leapt off Serena's shoulder to fly right beside her, letting out a chirp in agreement while she watched with a bright smile. "I had a feeling you'd say that. Let's go, then!" Serena happily stated.
As Fletchling nodded in agreement at this statement, without a moment to spare, Serena started to rush down the straight paved pathway with the little Robin Pokemon soaring alongside her, passing the various trees and shrubbery lined across her way. This was going to be the start of her first adventure, and she could only imagine what kinds of wonders and excitement were awaiting her.
Back with Drew, Harley and Soledad, the three were still waiting for the plane to arrive at the Lumiose Airport. Harley had dozed off for a nap, having advised his two Coordinator partners not to wake him up until they landed beforehand, while Soledad was keeping herself occupied with reading one of the magazines that was being kept in the small pocket at the bottom of the seat in front of her. As she looked over at Harley, who was still sound asleep, her eyes turned over to look at Drew and she could see him staring out at the view from behind his window in silence, with his gaze turned down and a solemn expression visible on his face. Once Soledad caught note of this, she couldn't help herself showing an expression of concern and placed the magazine down on her lap so she could focus her attention on her green-haired companion. "Drew? What's wrong?"
As he kept his glance on the view of the clear blue sky outside, Drew didn't seem to pay any attention to Soledad as he let out a quiet sigh to himself; there had been something on his mind and it wouldn't seem to stop bothering him. It had been quite some time since his talk with May after she returned to Johto from competing in the Wallace Cup, and she had told him and the others not only about how everything turned out for her and the other competitors, but also about how she and Ash got together during her time here. He could still remember how he felt when she shared that news, like the chance he had been waiting for to tell May the truth about his feelings was snatched away from him without him realising it. He could also remember how she came out to the dock to see him, having figured out that he wanted to tell her something, and that was when he confessed everything to her: how he wanted to wait for the right time to tell her about his feelings for her, how he tried to hide it by acting like a jerk towards her, and how he promised May that he wouldn't bother her anymore now that she and Ash were a couple. After all, if she was happy with the one she chose, then since when was it in his place to get in the way of that?
He knew the answer to that question immediately: never.
Then again, he had seen the signs since day one. He had figured that there was something going on between Ash and May, and the way he saw things, their time together at the Wallace Cup was all they needed to finally get things going. He had seen the way Ash would support May and help her out with training wherever possible, how he would always cheer for her during her Contests and how it didn't matter to him whether she won or not. Not only that, but Ash had been by her side from the very beginning, while Drew himself only met her intermittently, at their Contests more often than not. Ash had had plenty of time to get to know May and see her for who she was, while Drew only saw her how he chose to see her: an inexperienced Coordinator with little idea of what she was doing, when that was anything but the case.
If anything, that only proved to show Drew just how narrow-minded and shallow he was back then, only seeing someone the way he saw fit without getting to see them for who they truly were, especially when it was towards someone he really liked. Thinking about the way he behaved towards May made him feel ashamed of himself for acting in that matter, especially towards her in particular. He said it best himself when he told May the whole truth: he wasn't the best when it came to being honest about his feelings. His honesty to May and not keeping anything from her was a good start, but as far as he was concerned, he still had a long way to go in that department.
"Drew?" At the sound of that voice from behind him, Drew blinked rapidly in surprise before turning his head to see Soledad looking at him in concern; it seemed that she had been asking for his attention for a bit now, but he hadn't even noticed. "Are you okay?"
Drew was silent for a few moments before he slowly nodded in reply. "Yeah… I'm alright, Soledad. I guess I've just been thinking about something." As he turned his gaze downwards, Soledad could only watch him in concern as she had a feeling what it could be.
"Thinking about the talk you and May had, right?" she asked. Drew looked back up at her in surprise at this question and he was about to ask her how she knew about that before he stopped himself. This was Soledad he was talking about; she knew and understood him better than he often realised, and there was no way he could keep anything a secret from her. Letting out a soft sigh, Drew looked back at Soledad before nodding in confirmation, to which Soledad showed a gentle smile and reached over to place a hand on his arm. "Drew, I know the news May told us about her and Ash was something you weren't expecting. If I'm being honest, I was just as surprised as you were. But you were able to talk things out with her, right?"
As Drew kept silent for a few moments, he turned to look at Soledad. "Yeah, but… I'm still wondering if she was telling me the truth about what she said after I was honest with her." Drew replied. He then turned his glance down as he could remember what May said to him after he expressed his uncertainty over being able to meet a girl who caught his eye the way she did…
'I'll bet that somewhere out in the world, even if it's in a completely different region, there's someone out there waiting for you. And when you meet them, you'll just know they're the one.'
As these words echoed in his mind, Drew turned his glance back up to Soledad in uncertainty. "I guess I just wonder… if May was telling the truth when she said that, if I'll really be able to meet someone who caught my eye the way she did and just know they're the one. Do you think that could really happen?" As he turned his attention back to the view outside his window, Soledad turned her glance down to think over what she was hearing; it was clear to tell that Drew wasn't feeling very confident about what May said to him, and it was something that really seemed to have his mind running. There was silence for a few moments as Soledad was trying to think over what she could say to help Drew with his doubts before she looked back at him with a reassuring smile showing.
"I doubt May would say something like that if she didn't mean it." Drew looked over at Soledad in surprise to notice the reassuring smile she was giving him before she continued. "The way I see things, I think it's best not to worry about it too much and just be patient. I'm not sure when it'll be, but I'm sure there will be someone you meet on our journey who will catch your eye. In fact, I think you might even catch their eye without you even realising it." She then let out a quiet giggle to herself after this statement, as if that was something she was looking forward to seeing. After a few moments, she stopped before turning her attention back to Drew. "I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Keeping the reassuring smile on her face, Soledad placed a hand on Drew's shoulder while he was listening to everything she was saying in silence before she continued. "Just stay patient, Drew. I think you just might be able to find that one without you knowing it, and I think they'll feel the same way at first. But as long as you're yourself, I think everything will turn out well for you."
Drew could only stare in silence after hearing everything Soledad was telling him before he turned his glance down to think it over; he still had to work on being honest with his feelings, since that was something he considered himself not the best with. But as long as he kept Soledad's advice in mind, maybe things could turn out well for him. So with this, he looked back up at her with a small smile. "Thanks, Soledad. I'm glad I can always turn to you for help."
Soledad felt her smile grow in size at this comment and she let out a giggle to herself before looking back at Drew. "You're welcome. I'm just happy that I can always be there for help when you need me." As the two brightly smiled at each other, they were met with a surprise as the sound of an intercom going off reached their ears followed up by an announcement over the speakers.
"Attention, all passengers. This is your pilot speaking. We are currently preparing to descend into Lumiose City. Please ensure that you are in your seats and that all seat-belts have been fastened as we prepare to land. Thank you for your attention and we hope that you have had a pleasant flight." Judging from the sound of the voice, Drew and Soledad could tell right away that was the pilot. As the announcement ended, Drew showed a smile of amusement.
"Well, we don't have anything to worry about. We're already in our seats." Drew commented, to which Soledad nodded in agreement. The two then turned their gazes over to Harley sitting at the end of their row, still sound asleep. As they watched him, Drew darted his glance over to Soledad. "Do you think we should let him know?"
"I think we'd better wait until we land." Soledad replied. Drew could only stare in puzzlement for a few moments before nodding in understanding. As the two turned their attention back to the seats in front of them, the plane slowly descended towards the airport before the wheels were brought out from the bottom of the plane and made its way down towards the runway before the wheels touched down on the concrete, causing some vibration from inside the plane. While Drew and Soledad were holding on tight to the bars on the side of their seats, Harley nearly jumped out of his seat from alarm as his eyes shot open and he darted his head back and forth in panic.
"Wah! W-what's going on? Are we having turbulence?! We're gonna crash!" Harley cried, clasping both hands against his face with an expression of worry on his face. Just then, that panic faded as he was met the sound of someone laughing beside him and he turned his glance in surprise to see that it was coming from Soledad, with her and Drew watching in equal amusement at his outburst.
"It's all right, Harley. We've just landed." Soledad gently stated, while Drew had placed a hand over his mouth to try and stifle his laughing over the stunt he and Soledad had just pulled. Harley blinked a few times upon hearing this before he let out a sigh of relief with a smile to match at the fact that everything was okay, but that relief quickly gave way to realisation at what his partners just did and he showed a glare in their direction.
"Wait! Why didn't either of you wake me up to tell me that? I thought I was going to have a panic attack!" Harley snapped. Soledad nearly jumped from surprise at his outburst, but as she was about to explain, Drew spoke up with his arms crossed and smiling amusedly.
"Sorry, Harley. But you were the one who said not to wake you up until we landed. Isn't that right?" As Drew let out a chuckle after he said this, Harley let out a groan of annoyance before crossing his arms and turning his head away from the two. Drew then leaned over to Soledad while she watched Harley in concern. "Soledad, I can't believe how devious of a move that was." he whispered.
Soledad looked over at Drew in surprise for a few moments before she showed a small smile of amusement. "Well, I guess I can have my moments sometimes, can't I? Sometimes even I don't notice it." She then turned her attention back to Harley while he was still scowling. "Sorry we didn't wake you up, Harley. But now we're here. We just need to wait for the plane to stop at the airport and then we'll have officially arrived in Kalos." This seemed to perk Harley up quite a bit as he turned his glance to her with a growing smile on his face.
"Really?" he asked. Soledad gave a nod in confirmation, to which Harley's smile grew in excitement and he quickly stood up from his seat and threw his arms up in the air while she and Drew stared in alarm. "That's great! Here we are, Kalos! Get ready to see something you've never seen before!" From their seats, Drew and Soledad could see that everyone else on the plane was turning their heads to stare at them in confusion. After a few seconds of silence passed, Soledad started to show a nervous smile while Drew lowered his head to bury it in his hands.
"Harley… I think you should sit back down now…" Soledad could only say while Drew let out a groan of dismay, hiding his face in his hands.
"Now I really can't wait for the plane to get to the airport if it means Harley won't do this again…" Drew sighed. He was hoping that their arrival into Kalos would go better than this, but it seemed that he was being proven wrong for the second time in a row. So much for making a good first impression.
Sometime later, the plane had arrived at the airport and as all the passengers were departing, Drew, Harley and Soledad were among the last to do so. As the three were arriving at the bottom of the metal staircase that had been provided for passengers sitting at the back rows, they were left in awe at the sight of the city around them. "Wow… this city is just as big as the guidebook made it out to be." Drew commented, a smile of awe slowly crossing his face while Harley and Soledad were both left at a loss of words.
Sure enough, the view of Lumiose City surrounding them was truly a sight to behold: there were various kinds of buildings as far as the eye could see, including restaurants, small cafes for tourists to gather and shopping districts. As the three stepped out onto the streets, Drew and Harley turned their heads over to Soledad as she was looking at the guidebook and checking the map of the city. "So where do we need to go from here?" Drew asked.
After a few seconds of looking over the map to make sure that she would lead her friends in the right direction, Soledad lifted her head up to turn her attention to the two. "All right, let's see. It says that Lumiose City has various route gates on each corner of the city, and we need to look for the one that will take us to Route 4." The three then turned their heads up to notice that from where they were standing, their destination was going to be a fair distance away since they were now standing on the far south side of the city. Soledad was the first to speak up as a nervous smile crossed her face. "Of course, that means it will take us a fair bit of walking…"
While Drew could only stare in silence at this realisation, Harley let out a groan of dismay and lowered his head, to which Drew and Soledad turned their glances to him in surprise. "Ohh… and here I was hoping we would be able to get there as soon as possible…"
Soledad then showed a smile of amusement at his overreaction before she gave her response. "Oh, don't worry, Harley. If we start walking now, it shouldn't take us too long to get to Santalune City." she stated, to which Drew nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, so what are you getting upset about? Let's get a move on." So with this, Drew and Soledad started to walk off ahead. After a few seconds, Harley lifted his head up and nearly jumped in alarm upon realising that his partners were leaving him behind and he began to run quickly to try and catch up with them.
"Hey, you two! Wait for me!" Harley blurted in panic. He did not want to be left behind and end up lost in a city as immense as this.
Back with Serena, she was reaching the end of the path leading into Aquacorde Town and she stopped in her tracks as she arrived on the outskirts of the small town, with Fletchling flying right beside her. "Wow… look at this, Fletchling!" Serena happily commented, a smile of excitement crossing her face at the fact that she had arrived at her first destination after leaving her small home.
The town in front of her didn't seem to be too big in size; there were a few small buildings lined along the further area with a small fountain in the centre and the bridge leading outside the town had been built over a small river flowing alongside the town, as well as various chairs and tables located near where Serena was standing. However, the small size of the town didn't seem to matter too much to the honey blonde girl as she turned her head to Fletchling. "Come on, Fletchling. What do you say we have a look around?"
Fletchling showed a bright smile at this idea and let out a chirp of agreement, to which Serena couldn't help herself giggling. "I'll take that as a yes. All right then, let's see where there is around here." So with this, she started to make her way over to the staircase leading down into the heart of the town. As she made her way over to the stairs, she happened to walk by a table that had six chairs where three people who were the same age as her were sitting together.
The trio in question consisted of a young light-brown skinned girl with brown hair tied in ponytails and dark green eyes, with her wearing a dark pink t-shirt decorated with three large black bows on the front and a pair of denim shorts, a matching dark pink wristband on her wrist along with a black frilly bobble and dark pink ballet type shoes with short heels, along with a white messenger bag with a matching design from her shirt with a white strap around her shoulder, while sitting alongside her were a tall, heavy-set boy with black hair in a short back and sides that also resembled the leaves on a Pokemon's head with him wearing a large black T-shirt that has a Vanillite design on it, orange cargo shorts, a yellow backpack, and matching black and yellow sneakers, along with a yellow watch with a black wristband, and a small and thin boy with orange rounded hair and grey eyes wearing a white collared shirt under a blue one, with a Poké Ball logo on his left side of the chest and grey pants with green shoes, along with a small electronic device around his neck and a green backpack shaped like a smiley face: their names were Shauna, Tierno and Trevor respectively. As the three were sitting together, Tierno showed an expression of annoyance as he was looking around where he and his friends sat. "Man, where could she be? You'd think she would have showed up by now." he sighed. He and the others were out here because they were waiting for the person that Professor Sycamore told them about to get here, but so far none of them had seen any sign of them anywhere.
Shauna simply showed a bright smile as she wasn't feeling as worried about the matter as Tierno was. "It's alright, Tierno. I'm sure she'll get here soon enough. After all, Professor Sycamore said that we'd be able to recognise her as soon as we spotted her." She then gave a wink to show how confident she was in what she was saying. As this was happening, Trevor turned his head to spot something, to which Shauna and Tierno turned their attention to notice. "Huh? Trevor, what's up?" Shauna asked, showing an expression of surprise.
"Yeah, Trevs, what's got your eye?" Tierno wondered, feeling just as puzzled about where he had spotted as Shauna was. After a few seconds, Trevor gave his answer as he pointed out into the town.
"Is that her right over there?" Tierno and Shauna both turned their heads in the direction Trevor was pointing to figure out what he was talking about, and it didn't take long for them to notice Serena by herself, looking around the town to see what she could find. Once they spotted her, the pair showed matching smiles of excitement.
"Hey, yeah! There she is!" Tierno happily commented. Showing no hesitance on her end, Shauna leapt up from her seat and started to make her way over to the staircase, stopping just at the stairs before looking back at Tierno and Trevor as they were watching her.
"Wait right there, guys. I'm going to go get her!" Without a moment to spare, Shauna rushed down the stairs in excitement to catch up with Serena, so looking forward to getting to meet her and share the exciting news that Professor Sycamore had told her and her friends.
Meanwhile, Serena was looking around the small town and she sat down on the edge of the small fountain in the centre, with Fletchling slowly flapping his wings before landing just beside her. "Isn't this exciting, Fletchling? And to think we've only just left Vaniville Town. I can't wait for us to get to Lumiose City and meet Professor Sycamore so I can get my first Pokemon!" Serena commented, a bright smile on her face as she was looking forward to arriving at Lumiose City, to which Fletchling nodded in agreement with her. Placing her bag down beside her, Serena opened it up to grab her Town Map out and lifted the lid up on the small device for the screen to turn on and show her a bird's eye view of the Kalos region. "All right, let's see… it looks like we'll have to get through Santalune City first. And to do that, we need to make it through Santalune Forest which is just outside this town." After making sure she had her destination set, Serena closed the Town Map and placed it back in her bag before standing up and looking over at Fletchling with a confident smile. "Well, we have a bit of a long trek ahead of us, Fletchling. But let's start by heading towards Santalune City!" Fletchling happily nodded in agreement with this idea, but as Serena was about to resume walking, she was stopped by a voice calling from behind her.
"Hello! Hey, wait up!" Serena turned around in surprise to find out who was calling her, and was met with the sight of Shauna running over to where she was with a smile of excitement on her face before she stopped just in front of her. "Hey there! Is your name Serena, by any chance?" Shauna asked.
Serena nearly jumped in surprise at this question, as she was wondering who this girl was and how she seemed to know who she was. But she figured that maybe she should ask this girl's question first before getting too ahead of herself, so she slowly nodded in confirmation. "Uh… yes, it is. Can I help you?" she asked.
Shauna quickly felt her smile grow in excitement that she had the right face and she jumped up into the air while Serena took a step back in alarm, wondering just what was going on with her. "Yes! It's you! Professor Sycamore's description perfectly matches you." After a few seconds, Shauna managed to calm down before turning her attention back to Serena, while the latter was simply staring in silence. "Me and my friends have been waiting for you to get here. My name's Shauna, by the way. Sorry about my excitement there, but it's really nice to meet you!" Shauna happily explained.
Serena was silent for a few moments before she showed a bright smile and shook her head in understanding. "No, that's okay. It's nice to meet you too, Shauna. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."
Shauna let out a cheerful giggle before shaking her head in response. "No, not at all! We're all sitting right up there." Shauna pointed up to one of the tables where Tierno and Trevor were sitting together, while Serena turned her head up to spot the table in question, while Shauna turned her head back to her. "Come on, follow me!" With this, Shauna started to make her way back towards the staircase while Serena followed not too far behind her.
At the table, Tierno and Trevor were waiting for Shauna to arrive back with the girl that Professor Sycamore told them about, and they turned their heads to see Shauna happily running over to them with Serena following just behind her. "Hey, Shaunee! Were you able to catch up with her and find out if it was her?" Tierno asked. Judging from the smile of excitement Shauna was showing it, it seemed that was a yes as she rapidly nodded in confirmation.
"Yep, I sure did! See for yourself." Shauna replied. She then turned her head to Serena as she walked over to the table where the three were sitting and started to pull out a chair for herself before sitting down and waving to the group with a bright smile.
"Hi there, everyone. I heard Shauna say that you were waiting for me, so I'm guessing it had to be important." Serena explained, while Fletchling flew over and landed on the table in front of her. Tierno and Trevor were both staring in silence for a few moments upon seeing her before Trevor was the one to speak with a bright smile crossing his face.
"No way… You look exactly like how Professor Sycamore described you! My name's Tierno. It's great to meet you!" Tierno stated. He then looked over at Trevor, who was sitting there in silence, which was something that Serena turned her head to notice as well. "Hey, Trevs? Aren't you going to introduce yourself too?" he asked. Trevor nearly jumped in surprise at this question before turning his attention over to Serena, noticing that she was patiently waiting.
"Oh! Uh… sorry about that. I'm Trevor." Trevor replied. Serena showed a bright smile before giving a wave to the small group, while Fletchling let out a chirp in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you all. I'm sure Shauna already knows, but my name's Serena. I was told that you guys were all waiting for me, so what brought you out here in the first place?" Serena asked, as she was still wondering why these three had been waiting for her to arrive. Shauna was the first to speak up, as she was feeling excited to tell Serena about this.
"Professor Sycamore said that he has a request for the four of us, and that we should come out here to bring you the three Pokemon for you to choose from. Though, to be honest, I'm surprised he knows who you are. But from the way he described you, there was no way we'd be able to not recognise you!" Shauna explained. Serena quickly showed an expression of surprise at this explanation.
"Wait… you guys have the Pokemon with you? As in, the three starter Pokemon?" she asked; she was figuring that she would have to make her way towards Lumiose City first, so it was quite a surprise for her that these three were saving her the trouble of doing that. Tierno quickly nodded in confirmation upon seeing her surprise.
"That's right! He probably figured that it would save you the trip to Lumiose City. Plus, he even gave us a Pokemon of our own since we're starting our journeys too. Here, we'll show you." Tierno then reached over to open his bag up and grab a Pokeball from inside it, while Shauna and Trevor proceeded to do the same thing. "All right, Squirtle! Come on out!" Tierno stated, throwing his Pokeball, causing it to open up and release a small light blue turtle-like Pokemon.
"Bulbasaur, we've got a new friend to meet!" Shauna cheered, throwing her Pokeball up into the air, allowing it to open and release a small, quadruped Pokémon that had blue-green skin with darker green patches, red eyes with white pupils and scleras, pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head and a green plant bulb on its back.
"Charmander, come on out!" Trevor said, throwing his Pokeball, which opened and released a bipedal, reptilian Pokémon with a primarily orange body with its underside from the chest down and soles being cream-colored, blue eyes and a fire burning at the tip of its tail. The three Pokemon all landed on the ground just beside the table before turning their attention to their respective Trainers.
"Everyone, this is our new friend, Serena. Let's all say hello to her!" Shauna explained, turning her gaze over to Serena while the latter was looking at the three Pokemon in awe before giving a wave to them. Squirtle quickly showed a cheerful smile and started happily waving to her while Charmander proceeded to do the same thing. As for Bulbasaur, she kept a silent gaze on Serena for a few moments before turning her head away, much to Serena's confusion.
"What's up with your Bulbasaur, Shauna?" Serena asked, wondering what had gotten into the small bulb Pokemon. Shauna was watching in surprise before she turned to Serena with a nervous smile.
"Sorry about that, Serena. Bulbasaur's a little shy around strangers, but I'm sure you'll get to be good friends in no time." Shauna explained. Serena showed a bright smile and nodding in understanding, figuring that seemed to make sense. With all that said, Shauna turned her head over to Tierno since he was the one who decided to carry the starter Pokemon as the three came over here. "So, can we see the Pokemon now, Tierno? I'd really like to meet my new partner soon!"
"Oh yeah, that's right! It was a cool feeling for us when we met our Pokemon for the first time, so I hope you'll feel the same way too, Serena." Tierno explained. He then opened his bag up and grabbed out a small capsule and placed it on the table before lifting the lid up to show three Pokeballs sitting inside it. "Inside these Pokeballs are Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie." Tierno explained, pointing at each Pokeball so Serena knew which Pokemon was inside which Pokeball; it seemed that Chespin was on the left, Fennekin was in the centre and Froakie was on the right, after which he looked up at Serena with a big smile. "Feel free to choose whichever one you like!"
"Hmmm…" Serena had a look over the Pokeballs for a few moments, placing a hand under her chin and an expression on her face that really seemed to say that she was thinking it over; she had seen what the starter Pokemon looked like thanks to watching the lessons hosted by Professor Sycamore on her TV, but now that she was having to choose which one to go with, it was proving to be much harder than she was expecting. However, after a few seconds of silence passed, she seemed to come to her decision. "I'll pick this one!" She then grabbed the Pokeball in the centre and threw it up in the air, causing it to open and release a small quadruped fox-like Pokémon with pale yellow fur, tufts of dark orange fur covering the insides of its large ears, a white muzzle with longer fur on its cheeks, a fluffy tail with a dark orange tip and dark orange eyes, which sat down on the table in front of Serena with a small smile on its lips: it was none other than Fennekin. Serena stared at the small Pokemon in surprise for a few moments before she showed a bright smile. "Hey there, Fennekin! I'm Serena. It's really nice to meet you. I think we're going to make a great team!"
Fennekin turned her head back and forth in surprise for a few moments before she turned around to notice Serena smiling at her and she blinked in surprise before she showed a bright smile and raised a paw in greeting to her. As Fletchling stared at her in silence, he then hopped over to her with a smile on his beak. "(Hello there! I'm Fletchling.)" Fletchling chirped.
Fennekin looked at him in surprise before the smile returned to her face. "(Pleasure to meet you, Fletchling. My name's Fennekin.)" she replied. As the two made their way over to the edge of the table and hopped off, Serena watched the two with a smile of excitement that they were getting along already and it didn't take long for the others to notice this as well.
"Looks like Fennekin and Fletchling are getting along already." Trevor commented. Serena happily nodded in agreement, since she was feeling glad to see that the new two members of her team were becoming fast friends. As this was happening, the group turned their attention back to each other so they could figure out who among them would get the other two Pokemon.
"All right then, I'll pick this one!" Shauna stated, reaching over to grab the Pokeball on the left. She then threw it up into the air, allowing it to open and release a bipedal, mammalian Pokémon with a light-brown front with dark brown arms and three triangular-shaped markings on its face, a tough, green shell covering its back that extended from its head to halfway down its tail, a small, off-center hole in the shell on the back of its head, brown oval eyes and a tapered orange tail: it seemed that Shauna was choosing Chespin. Shauna quickly showed a smile of excitement as Chespin stood on the table, shaking his head rapidly as he was feeling glad to be out of his Pokeball for a while, before turning around to be met with Shauna happily smiling at him. "Hey there, Chespin! I'm Shauna. I'm so happy to have you as my new Pokemon!"
Chespin seemed to feel the same way, as he quickly showed a big smile and rushed over to Shauna before leaping onto her lap. Taking notice, Shauna couldn't help herself laughing before wrapping her arms around Chespin tightly. "Aww, the both of us go great together! We are just way-ay-ay too cute!" Shauna exclaimed happily before giving Chespin a big hug, seemingly unaware of just how hard she was squeezing Chespin. Luckily, the others took notice as they saw that Chespin's face was starting to turn blue.
"Uh, Shauna? I think Chespin's having a bit of trouble breathing with you hugging it so tight." Trevor said. Shauna opened her eyes in surprise before she looked down to find that he was right, so she loosened her grip on Chespin while the little Pokemon's face started to return to its natural colour and Chespin placed a paw over his chest as he was struggling to catch his breath from that tight hug.
"Sorry about that, Chespin. I'm just really excited to meet you." Shauna explained, showing an expression of worry as she wanted to make sure that Chespin was okay. Luckily, after taking a few deep breaths, Chespin turned around to her with a bright smile, to which Shauna showed a smile of relief. "Oh, that's good to see. And you have a partner with you too! Meet Bulbasaur." Shauna added, turning her gaze down to Bulbasaur sitting on the floor by herself.
Once Chespin caught notice of her, he jumped out of Shauna's arms and made his way over to her, while she turned her head to him to notice the big smile he was showing her. "(Hey there! The name's Chespin. Great to meet you!)" Chespin happily greeted, holding a paw out to her. Bulbasaur stared at him for a few moments before turning her head away, to which Chespin could only stare in alarm for a few moments before a glare crossed his face. "(Hey! What's wrong with you? I'm trying to be friendly over here and you're just giving me the cold shoulder? What kind of Pokemon are you?!)" Chespin snapped, flailing his arms frantically in annoyance. Shauna took notice of this, so she stood up from her chair and walked over.
"Hey, Bulbasaur?" she asked. Bulbasaur turned her head up to her Trainer, wondering what the problem was. "Chespin here is trying to be friendly, so don't you think you could do the same thing? I know you're not very comfortable with strangers, but Chespin's our new partner. Do you think you could try to get along?" Shauna asked, showing a small smile as she was hoping that Bulbasaur could try to be friendly towards Chespin. After hearing what her Trainer was saying, Bulbasaur turned her head back to Chespin to see him staring at her in annoyance with his arms crossed, apparently upset by her cold reception. After a few seconds, Bulbasaur let out a quiet sigh; she knew that Shauna was right. Chespin gave her such a friendly greeting and she simply brushed it aside. As Chespin continued to glare at her, he was met with a surprise as Bulbasaur extended a vine out to him and she had her glance directed back at him.
"(She is right. I was a little too harsh towards you. I'm Bulbasaur.)" Bulbasaur simply stated; even though she wasn't too fond of this arrangement, she knew that she did have to make an effort on her end. Chespin stared in silence for a few moments before the grin quickly returned to his face and he showed no hesitance in shaking her vine.
"(Now that's more like it! Was that so hard to do?)" he asked. He was then met with a shock as Bulbasaur quickly retracted her vine and he showed an expression of annoyance before crossing his arms. "(For a Grass Pokemon, you're not much of a friendly one, are you?)"
Bulbasaur quickly showed a glare which was enough to leave Chespin dead silent. "(I'd be careful if I was you. Keep in mind that I'm also part Poison type, so you'll be in trouble if you don't watch what you say. Understand that?)" she sharply asked. Chespin simply gave a curt nod in understanding; it was clear for him to tell that he didn't want to get his new partner's bad side. As she was watching the display, Shauna could let out a sigh of dismay.
"Oh, boy… I'll be in for a tough time with those two…" She then started to make her way back over to her seat and turned her attention to the group as there was something she was wondering about. "That reminds me! Who's going to get the last Pokemon?"
This seemed to register in the others' minds as well: there were four of them, but there were only three Pokemon. Since Serena and Shauna had already chosen their Pokemon, that left just Tierno and Trevor to decide who the last one should go to. Trevor then turned his head to Tierno with an expression of concern on his face. "Uh… Tierno? I don't think we thought about who would be able to get the starter Pokemon when we came out here. So now it's just the two of us and we only have one Pokemon…" Trevor quietly said, turning his glance down in worry as he was starting to wonder what to do. However, Tierno was quick to come up with an answer.
"I think you should get the last Pokemon, Trevs." Tierno stated. Trevor quickly turned his head up to his friend in surprise, while Shauna and Serena were both wondering what he was saying.
"Wait, really? Are you sure about that?" Trevor asked, staring in amazement as he was wondering if Tierno really meant this. That seemed to be the case if the smile Tierno had on his face was any indication, and he was quick to nod in confirmation.
"Of course! Besides, I've already got a Water Pokemon partner of my own. Right, Squirtle?" Tierno asked, turning his head over to the little turtle Pokemon, who showed a big smile and nodded in confirmation before leaping over and landing on the table just in front of Tierno. With that set, Tierno turned his attention back to Trevor. "Go right ahead and meet your new partner."
Trevor slowly turned his glance down to the one remaining Pokeball sitting in the capsule before reaching over and grabbing it, causing it to open in front of him and release a quadruped, frog-like Pokémon with light blue skin, white hands, and a dark blue stripe from the center of its oval head to its nose, eyes that had yellow sclera, black irises, and white pupils and were protruding vertically from its head due to their size and a large mane of bubbles from its chest and back and has two small bubbles on its nose: it was none other than Froakie. After taking a few seconds to look around at his surroundings, Froakie turned his head to Trevor, to which Trevor remained silent for a few moments before showing a small smile. "Hello, Froakie. I'm Trevor. It's great to have you as my new Pokemon." Trevor quietly said. Froakie nodded in agreement before turning his attention to spot Charmander watching the others, as Fennekin and Fletchling were happily running side by side while Chespin was simply staring in worry at Bulbasaur. After a few seconds, Froakie leapt off the table and landed behind Charmander, to which the reptilian Pokemon slowly turned around to see him.
"(Oh! Uh…)" Charmander fell silent for a few moments as he was trying to figure out what to say to Froakie before he showed a modest smile and raised a paw to wave in greeting. "(Hello. You must be my new partner. I'm Charmander. You are?)"
Froakie simply stared at Charmander in silence for a few moments before he gave his reply. "(I am Froakie. And it's an honour to battle alongside you, Charmander.)" Froakie replied, before bowing his head in respect. Charmander could only stare in alarm at this display before he started to scratch the back of his head.
"(Uh… thanks.)" Charmander was only able to say, feeling uncertain on how to deal with Froakie taking this matter as seriously as he was. The group of four seemed to take notice as well, as they all turned their attention to the two Pokemon in question.
"Wow, Trevor, it looks like Froakie is very serious." Serena said. Trevor could only nod in agreement as he was starting to wonder how well things were going to work out for his team. He then turned his head to Serena as there was something he had nearly forgotten about.
"Serena, I have something for you from the Professor as well." As Serena showed an expression of surprise as she was wondering what it could be, Trevor opened his bag up and searched through it for a few moments before grabbing out a small device that was in the shape of a small square, and it was dark red on the top and bottom with black circle lines along the side of the edge, a large black circle shape around the centre and a light blue screen in the middle. He then handed the device to Serena, while she looked at it in surprise.
"What's this?" she asked. Trevor showed a bright smile as he was more than happy to fill her in what exactly he gave her.
"It's a Pokedex, and you can use it to automatically record information about the Pokemon you encounter. We all get one because Professor Sycamore wants us to go on a journey with our Pokemon and complete the Pokedex. So it has to be an important mission the Professor gave us." Trevor explained. Serena was listening in silence at this explanation, and then she looked down at the Pokedex before pressing one finger against the centre, allowing the screen to open up while she showed a smile of awe.
"Wow… it looks great! I think I'll try it right now." As Fennekin and Fletchling hopped back up onto the table, Serena turned her head to spot them before holding her new Pokedex up in front of Fennekin.
"Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon. Fennekin expels hot air that can reach nearly 400 degrees. It likes to snack on twigs." The Pokedex explained, with a picture of Fennekin appearing on the screen. Serena could only stare in amazement at what she was hearing; this was information she didn't even know about Fennekin until now. She then shifted her focus over to Fletchling, with a picture of the robin Pokemon suddenly appearing on the screen in place of Fennekin's. "Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. Although Fletchling's chirp is quite beautiful to hear, it is relentlessly tough with those who enter its territory."
Serena showed a smile of excitement before turning her head to Trevor, who had been watching to see how she was liking her new Pokedex. "This Pokedex is amazing, Trevor! It gives you all the information you'd want to know about a Pokemon, including their moves and where you'd be able to find them. Thank you!"
Trevor showed a bright smile, thrilled to hear that Serena was enjoying using her new Pokedex already. "You're welcome. Make sure to use that Pokedex when you find as many Pokemon as you can, because then you'll be able to fill it up in no time. This is an important mission Professor Sycamore gave us, I'm sure of it!"
Serena could only stare in surprise at how serious Trevor was about this, while Tierno and Shauna showed matching smiles of amusement. "Oh, lighten up, Trevs! You're way too serious sometimes." Tierno commented, while Shauna nodded in agreement with him.
"Yeah! You do remember that we're supposed to have fun on our journey, right? That's why we're doing it in the first place." Shauna agreed. Trevor simply showed a nervous smile and started to rub the back of his head as he knew that his friends were right. It was just that he tended to take things like this a bit too seriously at times. Once that was settled, Tierno turned his head back to Serena.
"Oh, Serena?" Serena turned her attention to Tierno to find out what was up, and she was met with her answer as Tierno showed a small brown envelope to her. "Here's a letter from the Professor. He said that you should give it to your mum." Tierno explained. Serena took the small envelope to have a look at it and a bright smile came to her face as she was coming up with an idea already.
"I can take of that right away." She then turned her head to Fletchling. "Fletchling?" Fletchling turned around and hopped over to her to hear what was up, to which she showed him the envelope. "Would you mind delivering this letter to Mum for me?" Fletchling promptly gave a nod in understanding and grabbed the envelope in his beak before flapping his wings rapidly to take to the air and set towards Vaniville Town while the small group watched in surprise. "Thanks, Fletchling!" Serena called, giving a wave with a smile of gratitude.
The others stared in silence for a few moments before Shauna was the first to speak. "I'll bet that would make things a lot easier for you and your mum." Serena nodded in agreement with this statement, since she was aware of how right Shauna was. Just then, Tierno clicked his fingers as he seemed to suddenly have an idea.
"Hey, you guys want to know something?" he asked. The others turned their attention to Tierno to hear what he had to say. "I was thinking that we'd be a closer crew if we had nicknames for each other."
Silence filled the air for a few moments before Trevor spoke up. "Uh… Tierno? We already have nicknames, remember? I'm Trevs, and you call Shauna Shaunee." Trevor explained, to which Shauna nodded in agreement with him. However, it seemed that that wasn't what Tierno had in mind with this idea.
"That's true. But Serena doesn't have a nickname yet. If she's going to be part of our crew, she needs to have a cool nickname to go with her." Tierno explained. Serena simply raised an eyebrow in puzzlement as she was wondering what the three were talking about, before Tierno turned his head to her. "Hey, Serena? Could we call you Lady S?" he asked. Serena nearly jumped in surprise at this sudden nicknames business, but before she could have a chance to give an answer, Shauna was quick to interrupt her.
"No way! I think she's a Li'l S for sure!" Shauna retorted, showing an glare of annoyance to reflect how much she disagreed with Tierno's choice of names. Serena could only stare in silence at what she was hearing: why wasn't she being allowed to have a say in this matter?
"Um, guys…?" Before she could continue, however, Shauna and Tierno turned their heads to Trevor to ask him for his opinion.
"What about you, Trevor? What do you think would be a good nickname for Serena?" Shauna asked. Trevor nearly jumped out of his seat, apparently feeling as shock about this as Serena was.
"What?! You want me to nickname someone we've only just met. Shauna, you really shouldn't put people on the spot like this." Trevor sighed, crossing his arms in dismay while he and the others seemed to be completely unaware of Serena's attempts to speak up.
"Guys…"
"How about something simple, like… S-kins?" Trevor suggested. This didn't seem to sit well with the others since they shook their heads in response.
"I don't think that sounds right with her. I think Lady S is the best pick for her nickname." Tierno commented. As this was happening, Serena started to show an expression of annoyance that she was being completely ignored by the others.
"Guys…!"
"No way! Li'l S sounds perfect for her!" Shauna retorted. Unfortunately, Serena began to let out a growl of irritation at the fact that the others weren't listening to her in the slightest, and it was starting to wear her patience out very quickly. With no hesitance, she stood up from her seat and slammed her hands against the table to get the others' attention, and it seemed to work as the three stared in shock before turning their heads to her.
"Will you guys please let me have a chance to say something!?" Serena snapped, a glare now visible on her face. The others simply fell into silence as they hadn't realised that they had been ignoring Serena when she had something she wanted to say. After a few seconds passed, the glare on Serena's face faded and she let out a sigh before sitting back down in her seat and she looked up at the others with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry for snapping like that. It's just that… I wanted to be able to have a say in this. I don't really like when other people won't let me have a say in a matter, but it wasn't an excuse for me to yell like that. I'm sorry, guys."
The others were silent as they were listening to what Serena had to say, before they showed reassuring smiles. "No, it's okay, Serena. If anything, we shouldn't have started coming up with names for you on the spot without letting you have a say about it." Tierno softly explained. Serena felt a smile of relief cross her face as she knew that the others weren't upset with her for her outburst, and then Shauna spoke up as she seemed to have an idea.
"I think maybe we should let you choose which nickname we can call you." Shauna suggested. Serena showed a bright smile at this idea and she immediately nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that sounds great to me!" With this, Serena turned her glance up to think over the nicknames: she had Lady S, Li'l S and S-kins. 'Lady S sounds too formal, but Li'l S makes me sounds like a child. And I don't want to think about being called S-kins. I mean, what kind of nickname is that for any person? But I guess I should be asking… which nickname sounds the best to say? That leaves a toss up between Lady S and Li'l S…' There were thoughts like this running through Serena's head as she was trying to think it over, but luckily, it didn't take long for her to come to her decision, and she turned to the others to let them know of it. "I think I like Lady S the most."
The others were silent for a few moments before they showed matching bright smiles in agreement. "All right! Lady S suits you perfectly!" Shauna happily commented.
"Yeah! I think we're going to be great friends, so we'll make sure to call you that from now on." Tierno agreed. So with this, he stood up from his seat while the others watched in surprise. "All right then! Since we're done with our errand from Professor Sycamore, I think it's time we start looking for Pokemon. You ready, Squirtle?" Tierno asked, looking down at his little partner Pokemon. Squirtle turned around to Tierno and nodded in agreement before retreating into his shell and begun to spin rapidly before leaping up into the air and popped his arms, legs and head out, and landed on the back of his shell before spinning like he was some kind of breakdancer. As Serena watched, she got up from her seat and walked over to them.
"Wow, Tierno… I didn't know that your Squirtle knows how to dance." Serena commented, an expression of awe on her face at the sight. Tierno showed a bright smile and turned his glance over to her before nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, Squirtle really knows how to move, especially in battles. I'm a big fan of dancing and things like that, so I plan on making the best Pokemon dancing team on my journey!" Tierno explained. He then started tapping his feet rapidly to show Serena what he meant, while she watched with a smile of amazement showing. After a few seconds, he stopped and turned his attention to Squirtle. "Come on, Squirtle! It's time for us to get going!" Squirtle nodded in agreement, so he hopped over to Tierno and leapt up onto his shoulder as the two started to set off. As the others watched him leave, Trevor was next to speak up.
"Well, I think it's time we started moving as well. Charmander, Froakie, you coming?" Trevor asked, looking down at his two Pokemon. The two in question turned their heads up to him and nodded in agreement before Trevor returned them into their Pokeballs and placed them into his bag so he could get going too. "Hey, Tierno! Wait up!" Trevor called, before running towards the staircase so he could catch up with his friend before he went too far off ahead. While Shauna was busy doing the same thing and returning her two Pokemon into their Pokeballs, Serena turned her attention to Fennekin as she was still sitting beside the table.
"Okay, Fennekin. I think we should start getting ready to go too. We'll have a long trek ahead of us, and our first stop will be Santalune City! Are you looking forward to it?" Serena asked. Fennekin showed a bright smile and nodded in agreement before running over to Serena and leaping up towards her, to which Serena couldn't help herself laughing at Fennekin's excitement. "I had a feeling you'd be excited for it. Well then, let's get started!" Serena happily stated. As Fennekin barked in agreement, Serena grabbed out her Pokeball to return Fennekin inside it before placing it in her bag. She then turned her attention to the bridge on the far side of the town that was leading towards the next route and she let out a sigh as she was thinking about where that led; once she got through that route, she'd be at Santalune Forest and then after she cleared through there, she would be at Santalune City, her first stop.
However, as she was about to start walking to begin her route, she was stopped when she heard Shauna calling from behind her. "Hey, Lady S! Wait up!" Serena showed an expression of surprise and she turned around to find Shauna showing a smile of excitement. "Since we both have our starter Pokemon on hand, how about we have our first battle with them? I reckon this would be a great way to make our Pokemon-battling debut!" Shauna suggested.
Serena could only stare in silence at this suggestion; she wasn't expecting this to happen, and it seemed to be really on the spot. But since she could tell how excited Shauna was for this, there was no way she could turn down the challenge. With this in mind, she showed a confident smile and nodded in agreement. "All right, Shauna. I accept your challenge! Let's go!"
Back at Vaniville Town, Grace was in the kitchen still busy with her cooking preparations. As she was standing in front of the sink, she turned her head up to see Fletchling fly in through the open window with the envelope Serena gave him in his beak. "What do you have there, Fletchling? Is this letter for me?" she asked. Fletchling nodded and placed the envelope down on the sink in front of Grace before taking back into the air and flying out the window to meet back up with Serena. Once Fletchling had left, Grace looked down at the envelope in fascination. "Hmm… I wonder what this could be." She then picked up the envelope and opened it up to grab the letter and read it to herself to find out what it was about.
Back with Serena and Shauna, the two were staring at each other with matching expressions of determination, ready for their first Pokemon battle. Shauna was the first to make her move, grabbing out her Pokeball and throwing it in front of her. "Okay, Li'l Chespin, this will be our first battle! Let's do our best!" The Pokeball then opened and released Chespin, who landed on the ground in front of Shauna, with a confident smile as he was ready for battle.
"Come on out, Fennekin!" Serena stated, grabbing out her Pokeball and throwing it, releasing Fennekin who landed on the ground in front of her. As the two Pokemon stared at each other, Serena grabbed her Pokedex out so she could see what Fennekin's moves were. After the screen opened up, she was able to find Fennekin's entry. "All right, let's see. Fennekin knows Scratch and Ember… Got it!" Giving a nod in affirmation, Serena placed the Pokedex back in her bag as she was now ready to start the battle.
Surprisingly, Shauna was the one to make the first move. "Chespin, use Tackle!" she called. Chespin then lowered his head and began to charge towards Fennekin, but Serena now had her focus set.
"Fennekin, dodge and use Scratch!" With this, Fennekin jumped out of the way of Chespin's attack and then her claws started to glow white and she lunged forward, striking Chespin directly and sending him flying backwards. However, Chespin quickly jumped back up on his feet.
Shauna was watching this display and she quickly showed a smile of excitement. "I've got to say, Serena, we're both doing great for our first battle. But we're just getting started! Chespin, use Vine Whip!" With this, Chespin extended two large dark green vines that shot forward and wrapped themselves around Fennekin's body, keeping a tight grip around her and lifting her up into the air.
Serena stared in alarm for a few moments before she showed a confident smile; she wasn't going to let Shauna win this battle easily. "We'll see about that. Go, Fennekin! Use Scratch and then Ember!" After a few seconds, Fennekin's claws started to glow white and she struck Chespin's vines rapidly, causing him to retract them in pain, before quickly following it up by shooting small blasts of fire from her mouth, aiming directly at Chespin and hitting him before he could have a chance to react, while Fennekin landed safely on the ground on her four small feet. As the smoke from Fennekin's blast of fire slowly cleared, they could see Chespin still standing there, visibly exhausted, but not planning on giving up anytime soon.
"All right, Fennekin, let's finish this battle off! Use Ember!" Serena called. With this, Fennekin shot out small blasts of fire from her mouth, and before Chespin could have a chance to get out of the way, the fire blasts hit him, leaving him lying on the ground knocked out with swirls in place of his eyes. Once Serena caught notice of this, she showed a smile of excitement and jumped in the air in victory. "Yes! We did it! We won our first battle!" she cheered. Fennekin turned to her with a big smile and run over to her before jumping into her arms. "Great job, Fennekin!" Fennekin turned her head up to Serena and let out a happy yelp, feeling just as thrilled about this victory as Serena was.
Shauna could only stare in disbelief for a few moments before she showed a bright smile, feeling happy for Serena having gained her first victory, and then she bent down to pick up Chespin who was still lying on the ground. "Are you okay, Chespin?" she asked. After a few seconds, Chespin shook his head rapidly as he had recovered and turned his glance up to Shauna with a big smile. "We both had a great battle. Thanks!" Shauna said, showing a smile of relief that Chespin was alright after that battle. She then stood upright and made her way over to Serena, while the latter turned her glance to her. "That was amazing, Serena! I had a hard time keeping up with you. You're really strong!"
Serena showed a bright smile at this compliment and nodded. "Thanks, Shauna. I have to be honest, I didn't think I'd do that well on my first battle." Just then, the two heard a chirp from above them and turned their heads up to notice Fletchling making their way over to them, having just arrived back from delivering the letter to Grace. "There you are, Fletchling! Did you get the letter to Mum?" Serena asked. Fletchling nodded in confirmation before soaring down to Serena and landing on her shoulder while she gave him a grateful smile. "That's great to hear. Thanks, Fletchling!"
Shauna had her glance on the small robin Pokemon before she looked back at Serena. "Come on, Serena. I think we should go catch up with Tierno and Trevor. They're probably on their way to Santalune Forest right now." she suggested.
Serena turned her glance to Shauna in surprise at this suggestion before she nodded in agreement. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going then, shall we?"
So without a moment to spare, the two girls started to make their way towards Route 2 so they could catch up with Tierno and Trevor and begin their trek towards Santalune City together.
Meanwhile, in Lumiose City, Drew, Harley and Soledad were continuing their walk to find the right route gate to go through so they could be on their way towards Santalune City. As she was busy keeping a lookout at where they were, Soledad showed a bright smile as she spotted something before turning her head to her partners. "Here we are. There's the entrance towards Route 4." She then pointed towards where the route gate could be seen, while Drew and Harley turned their glances to spot it before showing matching eager smiles.
"Hey, that's great! And once we get through there, we'll be at Santalune City." Drew commented. Harley's excitement seemed to shoot skywards upon hearing that they had arrived at their destination, so he started to rush forward while Drew and Soledad could only watch in alarm.
"Well then, what are we waiting for, everyone? Let's get moving! Santalune City isn't going to come to us, after all." Harley stated, before he began to walk off ahead leaving his two partners standing in silence. After a few moments passed, Drew let out a sigh and crossed his arms before turning his head to Soledad.
"This is certainly going to be a fun journey…" Drew sighed, even though he wasn't feeling certain that 'fun' would be the most accurate word to describe it. Soledad simply showed a smile of understanding before she gave her reply.
"Oh, I'm sure things will be fine. We'll have a lot to look forward to in this new region, after all." Drew felt a small smile cross his face before he nodded in understanding, so the two started to make their way towards the route gate to begin catching up with Harley.
This was the start of a new adventure for the two groups: Serena and her friends were beginning their first journey together, while Drew and the others were eager to begin a new contest season in a new region. Little did either of them realise just how much this journey would affect them in more ways than one.