Vera sat quietly on the bench, anxiously fingering the locket she wore around her neck with a pained expression on her face. After several minutes of passing the cool metal oval from hand to hand, she sighed deeply and opened it, staring at the picture inside. There she was, sitting near the cliff of Lavaridge Town, her home town with the Hoenn landscape stretching out in the background. Next to her sat her dear partner and first Pokémon, a Charmander with very discreet reddish stripes of color dispersed over its body. The two were both smiling happily; the Charmander snuggling cutely against his partner's side. Vera felt her grip on the locket tighten as she struggled to fight back tears. The one who had taken the picture, the one who had unraveled her life, the one she thought was a friend…was the one who had killed her partner. She still remembered the day as clearly as if she had just lived the moment again.
Vera ran through the forest, her eyes searching vainly for any sign of her partner. Her mind was racing. Her thoughts were all jumbled into one looming pile of disarray. Clutched in her hand was a note that read 'I've taken from you the thing you love the most. Don't try following me; you've got no chance of saving him.' She had recognized the handwriting instantly. No matter how much she didn't want to believe it, the fact that her Charmander was missing was proof enough; her friend had stabbed her in the back. As the rain began to fall through the think canopy above, Vera's arms worked furiously to keep her eyes free of tears. That Charmander was the most important thing in her life. Ever since they had first met, the two had an uncanny bond and were inseperable.
A root hidden by the dark blanket of the forest suddenly caught Vera's foot and she fell into the mud, sobbing softly to herself.
"I thought I made it clear not to follow me."
The voice from the forest caused her cries to stifle. A figure walked out from the darkness wearing a long cape. Vera looked up and locked eyes with her so-called 'friend.' Her heart was aching to see her partner again and she was filled with such a vast mix of emotions that her head could no longer make sense of it.
"Give him back," she growled at the boy, "give him back, NOW!"
"Tsk," the boy scoffed and moved a hand from under his cloak, "fine. If you want to see your little Charmander so badly, so be it."
From under his cloak, the boy threw the small lizard to the ground in front of him. Vera's heart jumped at the sight of him…but something about her Charmander didn't seem right. Then, as if someone had thrust a sword straight through her heart, she knew. The flame that burned on Charmander's tail, the flame that signified the creature's life…was gone. The next few minutes seemed to pass by so slowly that every passing second felt like an eternity to Vera. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Vera screamed out the Pokémon's name and scrambled across the ground. She cradled Charmander in her arms as her tears began to well up.
"Charmander," she said desperately as she gently shook the creature, "Charmander! Please say something; anything! Come on Charmander, please…" After a few moments, the boy turned and walked off into the forest with a bemused smirk on his face as Vera held her partner's body close and her tears mingled with the falling rain.
That very same night, she had carried Charmander's body to a secret grove only the two of them knew about and buried him there, erecting a simple headstone to mark his resting place. She hadn't gone home for three days after that, spending every moment sitting next to the grave, mourning the loss of her friend. When she finally did go home, she spent many sleepless nights just staring out of her window, sorrow tearing at her heart.
That had been several years ago. Since then, she had traveled the world collecting more Pokémon and meeting several new friends, Ash and co. included. She had been traveling with Ash and his friends for a while now, but had decided to take a break to go out and get some new additions to her team. Now she sat on a bench near the beach in Sunnyshore City getting teary-eyed over the picture in her locket. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the telepathic voice in her head.
Vera, the voice said, are you just about ready? She turned to face the speaker, her own Lucario.
"Yeah," she answered while closing the locket and letting it hang loosely around her neck, "I'm ready to go. Where's Espeon?"
As if it had heard her question, Espeon came walking up from the other side of the bench, taking a moment to leap onto the bench and then onto Vera's shoulder. It nestled itself inside the hood of Vera's shirt and nuzzled its master. Now that her companions were gathered, Vera set off down the road, Lucario shadowing her footsteps.
Where is our next destination?
"I don't know," Vera replied, "I'm kinda just going wherever fate brings me right now."
Very well then, Lucario said, I will follow you wherever you end up going.
"I know."
Vera smiled; Lucario could be like an older brother to her sometimes. He always knew when she needed support, in part due to his ability to read her aura.
The two continued to walk through the streets, heading towards Route 222 on their way out of town. As they neared the roadway, Vera was nearly knocked over as two excited kids ran in front of her and joined a small crowd of people excitedly pointing at a flyer on the wall. Vera allowed her curiosity to get the best of her and wandered over, pushing her way through the crowd.
What does it say? Lucario followed his master, gently shoving the crowd out of his path. Anything important?
"Well," Vera said as she examined the flyer, "there's a martial arts competition coming to Hearthome City in a few days, but it's not a normal competition. It's called PokéDueling and apparently teams of trainers and their Pokémon fight to see who wins."
Interesting.
"Yeah," she replied as she turned to face him, "and we're gonna enter. What do you think of that, Lucario?"
If that is what you want, he said, I shall compete with you. Besides, I am always ready to fight.
Vera gave him a thumbs up and led him out of the city and down Route 222, headed towards Hearthome City.
….
After a day-and-a-half of traveling, Vera arrived in Hearthome City. The usually bustling city was even more crowded now that word had gotten around about the PokéDueling competition. Several flyers set up around the city stated that all the Contests were being put off until after the PokéDueling was finished, as the event was being held in the Contest Hall.
Vera made her way to the Contest Hall and stepped inside. A long line extended from the main counter and wound back and forth across the lobby. Vera stepped up to the end of the line and listened to the excited chatter of the others waiting in line. After about ten minutes, Vera finally reached the counter, where she was greeted by the attendant.
"Hello ma'am," she said as she bowed, "would you like to enter the PokéDuels?"
"I would," Vera told her, "that's why I'm here."
"Very well then," the attendant smiled as she passed an application sheet and pen across the counter, "please fill out this form."
Vera took the pen and wrote her name on the first line. The next few lines presented the real challenge. Above the six lines, the words 'Pokémon Competing' stood out in bold print. Vera paused as she took a minute to think over her choices.
Let's see, she thought, Lucario's definitely going in with me, but now I've got to figure out the rest of my choices. Gallade is really fast, but he doesn't hit as hard as Aggron. Those two should be able to balance each other out. Next I'll put in Garchomp. He's pretty well-balanced in terms of speed and power. I'll also throw in Beedrill because he can fly and attack from above. And for my last choice…
"Alright," she said as she handed the form back to the attendant, "I'm finished."
"Very good," the attendant answered, "if you go into the main stadium, you'll find the changing rooms used for the Pokémon Contests. You can use them to change if you need to. If you'll kindly take a seat in the bleachers when you're finished, the applicants will be sorted into a tournament bracket."
Vera nodded and proceeded into the back, making her way to the changing rooms. She entered one and began to change from her normal long-sleeved, fire-themed shirt (AN: Vera had this shirt custom made off of a design she drew in memory of her Charmander) and jeans into more loose fitting white yoga pants and a black tank-top that left her stomach exposed. After removing her shoes and socks and putting wraps around her feet, Vera left the room and took a seat on the first row of bleachers, anxiously waiting for the competition to start. She wasn't worried about the contest itself, but rather who might show up. She could still remember the days when she and her then-friend sparred with each other, her Charmander watching excitedly from the sidelines. Vera hoped he would be here; she had waited all this time to confront him…
She was snapped out of her thoughts by someone calling her name. She just couldn't shake the fact that the voice was so familiar, so she glanced around to see if she could find its owner. Vera turned to her left and was surprised to see that it was none other than Ash that had called her name.
"Ash," she said as he approached, "and Dawn and Brock…and Pikachu and Piplup, too. I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I know," Ash replied, "it's been too long. How are you doing?"
"Well enough, I guess. You?"
"I've won two more gym badges and Dawn's got another contest ribbon. We've also got a bunch of new Pokémon on our team, too."
"That's great," Vera smiled, "but what are you doing here? I thought you beat Fantina a while ago."
"He did," Brock chimed in, "in fact, I believe that was when you were still traveling with us. Anyway, we just saw the flyers for this PokéDueling thing and figured we'd stop by and check it out. By the way you're dressed, I'd have to guess you're gonna compete."
"Yeah," she replied, "I am. Lucario's going in too, as well as a few of my other Pokémon. The duels are due to start in a few minutes, I think."
"Wow," Dawn said, "that's so cool. I hope you'll do oka-"
Dawn was interrupted by a sudden, rather loud chime as the stadium's intercom system activated.
"Attention all PokéDueling competitors and spectators, all of the applicants have been processed and are being sorted into the tournament bracket. The final bracket should appear on the stadium's viewing screen shortly. The first matches will begin right away. Thank you for your patience."
Only a few moments after the announcement had finished, a large tournament bracket appeared on the stadium's large, overhead viewing screen, with pictures of the competitors lining the top and bottom. Vera quickly scanned over all the photos displayed on the screen and nearly jumped out of her seat.
He's here! He's actually here!
Her gaze rested on the photo of a raven-haired boy with a crooked smile on his face. Sure, he was older, but she would never forget his face.
"Hey," Dawn asked her, "are you okay? Are you nervous that you're up first?"
Her gaze had been so focused on her old 'friend' that she had failed to notice that she was one of the first to compete.
"Huh," Vera shook her head, "oh…yeah, I'm just nervous about going first. That's all."
"Don't worry," Brock reassured, "I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Yeah," Ash agreed, "now you go show 'em what you've got!"
Vera nodded and leapt over the front of the bleachers, landing on the contest floor below.
"Our first match," the MC announced to the crowd, "is Vera Araceli from Lavaridge Town versus Mac O'Donnell from Snowpoint City!"
From the other side of the arena, a large, muscular man entered the ring opposite her as the MC continued.
"A coin toss will now determine who chooses their partner first."
As the MC finished, a coin with Vera's face on one side and her opponent, Mac's, on the other appeared on the viewscreen. The virtual coin flipped end over end a few times and landed, Mac's face up. Without delay, Mac released his partner.
"Come on out, Machamp!"
The Pokéball hit the ground and a flash of white light exploded out of it. The Machamp appeared at its master's side and flexed its four muscular arms.
Alright then, Vera thought quickly, I've got to focus. His Machamp is strong, but I doubt it can move very fast; at least not as fast as some of my Pokémon. I'll need a little strength to counter it, but speed is what's really going to matter. Vera grabbed a Pokéball from her waist and tossed it in the air.
"Garchomp, I need you help."
After another flash of white light, her own Garchomp was standing next to her.
"Listen up," she told him, "you go after that Machamp and I'll handle the trainer. Focus on your speed and dodge his attacks. Use whatever moves you think you need unless I say otherwise, alright?"
The dragon-like Pokémon nodded, clearly understanding his master's instructions.
"Alright, then," she said as she began to rush her opponent, "let's go!"