Chapter 1: Fairy and Steel Clash. A Fated Encounter!
Airion was tired and hungry, but he wasn't about to give up. He had just returned from a massive training session in Mountain Kalos, and after his Honedge, Zelda, had evolved into a Doublade, he had gone to search for more Steel-types. He had sworn he wouldn't go to a town until he found another Pokémon, and he planned to abide by that promise.
A slight jangling noise interrupted Airion's thoughts. He looked up and spotted a Klefki floating above a patch of tall grass. He smiled. This would be a perfect addition to his team. He pulled an empty pokeball from his bag and expanded it. If he missed, this pokeball would be wasted, and he only had six. He couldn't afford to miss. After carefully aiming, he threw the ball forward. It was a perfect shot, but midway through, another pokeball intercepted it and they both clattered to the ground.
"Hey!" A girl popped out of a bush and stalked up to Airion. "That's my Klefki!"
Airion found it hard to take the girl seriously, as her hair was filled with twigs and her furisode was covered with dirt, but he gauged that now wouldn't be the time to laugh at her. "It's not yours yet. It hasn't been caught, so it belongs to no one," Airion stated.
"It's a Fairy-type. It would make a perfect addition to my team!" The girl gazed at the Klefki adoringly. "I propose we settle this like real trainers," Airion suggested.
"You mean…" The girl smiled.
"A BATTLE!" They both said in unison. Grinning, they stood 12 feet apart, the customary distance for a Pokémon battle. Then, they prepared to send out their Pokémon.
"Zelda, go!" Airion shouted, sending out his Doublade.
"Joy, destroy him!" The girl threw out her pokeball, which released a Sylveon. It cried its battle cry, and to Airion's surprise, the girl perfectly imitated it. Airion frowned. Odd behavior, sure, but either way, he intended to win.
Airion was ready. It was time to defeat this girl. A win should be easy for a Steel-type fighting a Fairy-type. "Iron Head!" He commanded. Joy tried to dodged, but was grazed on the shoulder. She snarled.
"Shadow Ball!" The girl shouted. Joy waved her ribbons, and shadowy wisps of smoke began floating around her. Too fast for Airion to follow, the smoke formed a large ball, which shot towards Zelda. Airion frowned. It had obviously done quite a lot of damage. He looked at Joy. The cut on her shoulder didn't look good either. Another hit could would probably finish her.
"One more Iron Head!" Airion shouted. Zelda rushed for the kill, but Joy was suddenly gone. All that remained was a small hole in the ground.
"Now, Joy, use Dig!" The girl yelled. Joy shot up from the ground, blasting Aegislash with small rocks and tackling him to the ground. Airion winced as his partner fainted.
"Zelda, return."
The boy was hard not to laugh at. He had brown hair and eyes. He wore blue jeans and red sneakers, but then you saw his torso up. He had odd armor with a heart engraved in the center, and to his side was an empty sheath that had a pokeball shaped indent where he had pulled his Doublade from. He had one pokeball, that was it. No other Pokémon as far as Aurore could see. But that didn't matter any more, she got the Klefki and didn't have to see him anymore. She approached Klefki slowly and reached out with her pokeball, but Klefki darted quickly around her. It was rolling the pokeball that the boy had thrown earlier at him. He picked it up and Klefki practically jumped for the button.
"I guess it just sensed that I was the better trainer," the boy said, spinning the pokeball on his finger.
"Remember our battle? You had the type advantage, but I still managed to beat you," Aurore pointed out. Maybe the boy was as stupid as he looked.
"Only because your Sylveon is secretly a Ground-type," The boy smiled. Aurore couldn't help it, she laughed.
"My name's Aurore. Nice to meet you. Oh before I forget, here's your prize money," Aurore handed over a stack of pokedollars.
The boy flipped through the stack, counting silently. "Wow, $8000? That's a lot of money for a little girl to be carrying around," He raised his eyebrows.
"I'm 14!" Aurore shouted.
"Really? You look 10. Oh, I'm Airion, by the way," Airion said. Aurore shook his outstretched hand, trying not to crush it. She absolutely hated it when people said she looked 10. Sure, with her pink furisode and oversized hair bow, she looked like a little girl, but she liked her style, and besides, it wasn't her fault she was smaller than average, was it?
Airion shook Aurore's hand, trying to guess why she seemed angry. Had he done something wrong? Maybe she was just sensitive. Either way, he didn't have to worry about it anymore. "See you later," He told her, not really meaning it. Clipping his new Klefki's pokeball to his belt, he realized he was free to go to a town now. He smiled and headed along the route, ready for a hearty meal.
"Going to Laverre?" Aurore asked, keeping pace with Airion.
"Yes, I am," Airion replied. He tried not to show it, but this girl was getting on his nerves. He preferred to travel alone, please and thank you.
"Mind if I walk with you for a bit?" Aurore asked, fulfilling all of Airion's worst fears.
"You going there too?" He asked casually.
"I live there," she replied.
As they walked, Aurore noticed something odd. On Airion's back there was a weird round clip that was empty. She was about to ask, but decided that he probably just wanted silence. So they walked in silence until they got to the terminal that led to Laverre City. Aurore led the way through, waving to the lady who stood in the middle of the terminal. They emerged into a swampy town that gave off a vibe of mystery and magic.
"What's...with this place…?" Airion asked.
"It's the abundance of Fairy Pokémon. You get used to it," Aurore said. Inwardly, she laughed. It was always funny to see newcomers bogged down by the Fairy Aura. But for some reason, she was feeling unsettled. Impossible. The Aura hadn't bothered her since eight years ago when she arrived in this town. She was determined not to show it, however.
"It was nice travelling with you, but now I must continue on my way," Airion said in a too-formal voice. Why did he try to hide his dislike for her? Aurore read him as easily as she read her Fairy Pokémon.
"Where are you going?" Aurore asked, mainly to annoy him.
"Just travelling," Airion replied.
"Can I come?" Aurore had asked the question before she even had time to realize what she was doing. This boy obviously preferred to travel alone, so why even bother to ask? More importantly, why did she feel that this absolute stranger was someone she knew, someone she had met before, someone who was her very good friend…
Airion was feeling conflicted. He had been travelling by himself for years, and he didn't intend to change his ways now. But this girl, she felt like someone he knew. "Sure," He replied, then frowned. He didn't want a companion, but it felt necessary to be with her…
"Alright, I've gotta go tell Valerie I'm leaving," Aurore said, snapping Airion out of his thoughts.
"I'm going to stock up on pokeballs and potions. I'll meet you outside the Pokemart?" Airion asked, almost wishing Aurore would change her mind.
"Sure," Aurore seemed perfectly unwilling to change her mind. Instead, she handed him a stack of pokedollars. "I've got enough potions, but could use more pokeballs. 15 great, please?"
"Of course," Airion replied. All the way to the Pokemart he questioned his relation to this mysterious girl. He didn't feel romantically attracted to her, that was for sure. But there was a connection, and if they were travelling together, he intended to find out what it was.
Aurore gave one last hug goodbye to Valerie. She knew that she was going to miss her so much.
"I don't know how I'm going to run this gym without you., Valerie said. She reached for the dresser, and said, "here, I made you a new dress." Aurore smiled.
"Thank you, take care," said Aurore as she stepped on the warp pad out. She waved goodbye to the creepy guy who seemed to be inside every gym at the same time
Airion was waiting outside tapping his foot and checking his wrist "What did you do, challenge the gym ten times over?" He said with an irritated tone in his voice.
"I had to say goodbye to Aunt Valerie," Aurore replied.
"Valerie's your aunt?" Airion sked.
"Not biologically," Aurore said. "I wish she was," she added in her head.
"So, you're adopted?" Airion asked. Aurore glared at him. Did he not know when to shut up? At least he seemed sorry, judging by the guilt on his face.
"Where do you plan to go next?" Aurore asked, somewhat angrily.
"Lumiose. I think we'll go to Camphrier from there," Airion replied.
"Alright," Aurore said. She had already forgiven Airion. It was hard for her to hold grudges.
Airion was a bit confused. Why was Aurore mad a few moments ago? It was a simple question, and she seemed to be fine now. He looked over at her walking with Joy. The Sylveon's ribbons were wrapped around Aurore's arm, and they were both laughing as if sharing some inside joke. For a moment Airion was jealous. He could never share that kind of closeness with Zelda, not unless he wanted his soul sucked out of his body. He shrugged the feeling off. He loved Zelda, and he didn't need to feel jealous of others.
"Race ya!" Aurore shouted as soon as they got to Route 14. She took off in a sprint through the muddy swamp water, with Joy right besides her. Airion grimaced. He wasn't about to be beaten in a race by this girl.
"Unfair advantage!" He yelled as he ran after her.
"What? Your 50 pound suit of armor?" Aurore shouted, her words almost lost to the wind.
"Shut... up...I like...my armor..." Airion huffed. Sprinting at this pace was hard, especially in the swampy terrain. To his surprise, Aurore only ran faster. He could hear her laughter as she dashed away from him.
After a mile of running, Airion was exhausted. He stopped at a smallish tree, which Aurore was at the top of.
"How...do you...do it…?" Airion panted, kneeling over to catch his breath.
"I've been running this swamp all my life," Aurore responded, jumping out of the tree. She walked up to Airion and grabbed him by the arms, pulled him upright, then put his hands on top of his head.
"Um…" Airion stammered. But, he realized that he could suddenly breathe better and deeper.
"Open your lungs, don't close 'em, idiot," Aurore said.
"Dang it, you're fast," was the only thing Airion could think of to say.
"Well, you'd be fast too, training here," Aurore waved her hand, motioning to out the swamps. "Now, do you want to get to Lumiose or not?"
"Alright, but, no more running," Airion said. His legs were tired enough.
"Sure," Aurore shrugged. Then holding out her arm for Joy to grab with her ribbons, she began walking. Airion followed. Beaten by a girl. Every ounce of his honor was hurt. But clearly this was no ordinary girl, he consolidated himself. Maybe Aurore could sense his inner conflict, because she looked at him and smiled smugly. He groaned. It would be an interesting trip, that was for sure.