-Prologue-
I woke up in my sleeping bag under the sunlight speckled tree. I looked around and took in the fresh morning breeze. It felt soothingly brisk against my cheek. The air had a faint smell of Oran berries on it. I slowly crawled out of my sleeping bag and began to pack my backpack. I looked over at the girl who was sleeping just mere feet away from where I was.
"Good morning Emi," I said, gently tapping her in the middle of her forehead, "Come on, let's get going." She made a wakening moan then sat up. She yawned and looked at me with her light-blue eyes. She brushed her pinkish-purple hair out of face, rubbed her eye, and stretched.
"Morning. Where are we going again, Axom?" Emi asked while getting out of her sleeping bag. Her real name is Emily, but it seems right to just call her Emi for short.
"We're going to Lilycove City, remember? You're the one who wanted to go there to see the sea. Did you forget?" I smiled and began walking towards tree. "Umbreon, let's go!" I yelled towards the top. From out of a few branches in the tree, my Umbreon jumped onto my shoulder and licked my cheek. Umbreon has been my partner since I first started my journey. Not only is he my first Pokémon, he is my best friend.
"Um! Umbreon!" he spoke with a content look on his face.
Emi finished packing her backpack and slung it on her shoulder. She flashed me a simple smile to let me know she was ready to go. Umbreon made himself comfortable around my shoulders like he always does. Umbreon, like some other Pokémon, doesn't really enjoy being in his pokéball. I gave up on returning him to his ball ages ago.
As we walked down Route 121, I noticed Emi was staring at the sky. "Something interesting in the sky?" I asked her.
She nodded and looked back at me. "Yea, it normally rains on Route 121, doesn't it? I was just kinda surprised that it's so sunny out."
"It's the summer Emi, so it's not that surprising." I said trying to take her mind off of it. But now that she mentioned it, it was kind of odd that it's not raining. I wonder if Groudon has anything to do with it. I looked back at the sun and shook off my thoughts and continued to walk down the path.
After another half hour of walking, we finally made it into Lilycove City. The refreshing smell of the sea was the first thing that caught our attention. Emi began to run towards the beach and I quickly ran after her. "E-Emi! Wait up! Don't run off so fast!" I yelled while chasing her. She laughed at me as she raced through the city to the beach. It was kind of embarrassing running through the city like little kids, seeing as though we're teenagers. Everybody was turning their heads at us and watched us run by. But the embarrassment made me run even faster to get out of their sights.
"Axom, hurry!" She yelled back at me. Emi has as more stamina than anybody I know. She would run for a straight mile then jog another two. I'm happy that I rarely make her mad, because if I did, I doubt that I'd be able to get away. I caught up to her, trying to catch my breath. Umbreon hopped of my shoulder and began to walk across the sand.
"Hey Axom, lets have a battle!" she said with a determined look on her face. I sighed and smiled.
"Okay, a one-on-one battle until either one of our Pokémon is unable to battle." I looked down at Umbreon and gave him a nod. "I'm going with Umbreon of course, what about you?" I watched her as she pulled a pokéball out of her bag.
"Mightyena, it's time to battle!" She yelled throwing her pokéball. Her Mightyena formed from a red light in front of us and gave a ferocious roar. Umbreon looked scared as Mightyena stared him down. It was Mightyena's special effect, Intimidate. It cuts the opponent's attack in half with a frightening look.
"I'll make the first move! Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!" Umbreon opened his mouth and a black ball began to form in front of him.
"Mightyena, use Leer!" Emi yelled as Mightyena showed its teeth and growled at Umbreon. Mightyena stared daggers at Umbreon and slowly walked towards him. Umbreon lost his focus and the Shadow Ball began to disappear. "Now use Takedown!" Mightyena charged at Umbreon and hit him, knocking him back a couple of feet.
"Umbreon, are you okay?" Umbreon looked back at me, nodded and looked back at Mightyena and gritted his teeth. "Okay, use Shadow Ball once again!" The ball formed in front of him again and Umbreon shot it at Mightyena.
"Mightyena, dodge it! Hurry!" Emi yelled, obviously concerned. Mightyena jumped up and tried to move, but the Shadow Ball clipped its hind leg. Yes, it hit! Mightyena yelped as it landed, showing the pain its feeling.
"Use Night Shade!" Umbreon stared at Mightyena as a shadowy wave flew towards Mightyena.
"Dodge again!" She yelled as the wave drew closer to Mightyena. Mightyena tried to dodge but the injury prevented it from doing so. Mightyena took the full impact of the Night Shade and fell to the ground and limped back up.
"Okay Umbreon, lets finish this with another Shadow Ball!" Umbreon quickly shot another Shadow Ball at Mightyena and the ball exploded on impact. That had to do it. Mightyena lied on the ground, knocked out. "That's it Emi," I said as Umbreon ran back towards me and hoping onto my head, "This battle is over. Let's get these two to the Pokémon Center." She pointed Mightyena's ball back at it and a red light engulfed Mightyena, pulling it back into its pokéball.
"Thanks Mightyena. You put up a great fight, girl." She kissed Mightyena's pokéball and walked towards me. "As for your reward," she kissed my cheek, "a kiss." I turned red as I stared at her.
"I…uh…I…" I stuttered. She kissed me before, but each time it catches me off guard. She does it out of the wildest moments. Either when she feels like it, trying to change a subject, or just wants to see me get flustered. But either way, I can never prepare for it.
"Come on and let's go." She said walking towards the Pokémon Center.
"Welcome to the Lilycove Pokémon Center. How can I help you today?" Nurse Joy asked as Emi and I walked towards the desk.
"Hello Nurse Joy. We just had a battle and would like to have our Pokémon healed, if that's okay." I asked as I petted Umbreon on his head.
"Sure, if I may have your Pokémon please." Umbreon hopped off of my head and sat on the counter. Emi handed her Mightyena's pokéball and smiled. "Okay, it'll be a few minutes. I'll notify you once your Pokémon are ready."
"Thank you very much." Emi and I said simultaneously. We walked over to a few seats by the window near the front of the Center. Emi looked out the window. I could see that she was staring at the reflection of the sun over the water.
"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" I asked her, watching as well.
"Yea," she answered, "That's the whole reason I wanted to come here as opposed to Slateport City. Lilycove as a fresher environment than they do. The market there seems to take away from the beauty."
I watched her as she smiled. She seemed happy to be here. It's moments like this that I'm happy that I get the privilege to travel with her. Just to see her smile. We haven't had a set destination since I won the Hoenn Pokémon League about two weeks ago. So we have been all over Hoenn seeing everything we could.
"Hey Emi…I—" I began. But Nurse Joy interrupted me.
"Here's your Umbreon and Mightyena. They are perfectly healthy now." Umbreon hopped down onto my lap and looked at Nurse Joy as she gave Emi back her pokéball.
"Umbre!" he spoke, thanking her for healing him. Nurse Joy smiled, bowed slightly, and walked back to the counter.
"Hey Axom, let's go for a walk." Emi said, getting up from her seat.
"Yea, sure." I answered picking Umbreon up. We walked around Lilycove for a few minutes without saying a word to each other. She pointed to a lone tree on the top of a small hill overlooking the water. I followed her and sat under it. Umbreon slept on my lap and I petted him gently on his back.
"Axom?" she said, looking towards the water again.
"Hm?"
"I can't remember. What was your dream again?" She asked me, lying down on the grass.
"What with this question all of a sudden?" I asked her.
"Just tell me. I want to hear it again." She persisted.
"Well…I want to go see the world. There are a lot of places and Pokémon I've yet to see. I know it will be a long journey, but I know it'll be worth it. There is a whole world out there, just waiting to be discovered…and I want to be the one to discover it. What of you?"
"I want to help new trainers on their journeys. Inform them of all the possibilities and wonders of being a trainer. Axom, if you want to see the world, you should go to another region. Take on more gyms and take on the other Pokémon Leagues. But above that, see everything you can. Life is too short to wait. You should go and take action." She said looking at me with a bright smile.
"Will you come with me?" I asked her, grabbing her hand and holding it within mine. She gently pulled away.
We stood up and looked at me. "I have to do more studying about the Pokémon here in the Hoenn region. So no, I won't be able to. But I know that one day, you'll be a great trainer and you'll meet new friends along the way."
"Is…this where we go our separate ways…?" I asked her, growing kind of sad.
"Only for the time being. I know that we'll meet again one day. But until then, Umbreon, take care of Axom and make sure he stays safe."
Umbreon hopped onto Emi's shoulder and rubbed against her cheek then hopped onto the ground. I stuck my hand out and waited for a hand shake.
"The best of luck Emi. I know you will accomplish your goal one day." I waited for to grab my hand, but instead she hugged onto my chest.
"Axom…please be safe." She looked me in my eyes and slowly moved herself close to my lips. She kissed me gently on my lips for the first time ever. She stayed there for a while and then moved away. "Make sure you come back to see me, Axom. I love you."
"Emi…I love you too." I said, kissing her again.
This is the last thing I remember of Emi; feeling her lips on mine. It's been three years since I been back to the Hoenn region and seen her. I know she's doing well. But I have a feeling that I will be seeing her again real soon. But for now, I'm on a journey with Ash Ketchum, a boy with a great heart and courage to match. His mother asked me to watch over him while he is on his journey. I've been acting as his coach for the Pokémon Leagues he entered. With him, we both accomplish our goals. He wants to become a Pokémon master and I want to see the world. There are so many Pokémon I've seen, yet so many more I haven't been able to.
-End of Prologue-
