Hello, everyone, and welcome to How to Conquer Kalos. This one has been lingering on for quite some time and I thought that I'd rather put it here. It basically is an OT fic, but the MC does not get a generic starter pokemon; rather, she starts off with a Zigzagoon, which isn't that great of a pokemon and one of the lesser used mons.
I'm sorry if that offends you, but I'm just upset that out of the 700+ mons, only a handful of them get used often, like those generic Riolu and all that, but that's just me ranting about a lack of diversity.
ANYWAY, this one is going to be set in the Kalos region, so hoorah! The MC will catch a mythical pokemon, but I won't tell which one it is so you'll jsut have to guess.
That being said, let's get started! Let me know what you guys think about the first chapter - the good, the bad and the ugly. If you think that the firs chapter was good enough, fav and follow! Cheers!
"Arooo!"
"I'm nearly done, Damien! Stop annoying me!"
Gwen Stacy was tapping the keyboard furiously, a Zigzagoon circling her feet whilst she rushed to finish the last input box of the form.
"…And I'm done!" Gwen announced, clicking the mouse as the arrow hovered about the 'Submit' button. She did a quick laugh before clapping her hands repeatedly and picking up the Zigzagoon on the floor. Finally, after fifteen years of waiting, she was going on her own journey. Alone. By herself. Without her mom pestering her.
But the best part was that she wasn't starting her journey with the regular starter kit from Professor Augustine Sycamore…except for the pokedex, which was hardly given out to starting trainers. It was a good thing that her mother and the professor were…colleagues in their time. No, she wasn't going to get a Starter Pokémon, which everyone thought that made a newbie trainer successful. But Gwen was going to prove them all wrong. She sighed and then smiled as the Zigzagoon nuzzled against her.
"Better put this on Facebook…Hey, Mom?!" Gwen yelled, her words echoing upstairs. "I finally registered! I'm going on my very own POKÉMON JOURNEY!"
"Yes, Honey," an exasperated voice replied as footfalls began to be heard. "And this is the tenth time you've told me that."
"Geez Louise, Mom. You don't have to be annoyed and all," Gwen uttered as she rolled her eyes. She turned back to the laptop and shut it down, Damien circling her feet as she got up. Gwen walked to the fridge and fished out a carton of juice which she chugged gulped down.
"When are you leaving?"
Gwen tore the carton away from her mouth, relishing the cold and fruity taste before turning towards her mother. An awkward pause took a few moments of their time before Gwen finally decided to speak up.
"Uh, I guess tomorrow," she replied, earning a nod from the elder lady. "I anyway have to go and get my official trainer license, which I'll get today itself, and then my journey starts tomorrow! Cool, right?"
Her mother had a gloomy look on her face as she walked to the kitchen. "Yes, it's 'cool'."
"Aw." Gwen smirked as she walked to her mother, who was frying some eggs, and hugged her from behind. "Mummy's going to be alone without itty-bitty Gwen?" she said in her most innocent voice.
Gwen instantly heard a chortle. "Are you kidding? I've got your father to—"
"Stepfather," Gwen corrected in a stern tone.
Her mother ignored her. "—entertain me and your brother's taking leave for two weeks on Saturday. You'll be on your journey, making new friends and capturing new pokémon…"
Gwen's parents were divorced…or that's what she assumed them to be. Right after they left from Johto, her parents had a really long argument and didn't talk to each other for weeks. After a long time of frustration, her father packed his bags and left in the middle of the night without saying anything at all. But Gwen longed to meet him, talk to him. She absolutely despised her stepfather.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Gwen hurried away and reappeared after a few minutes, wallet in her hand. "I need some money for buying supplies for my journey."
Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll give you 3,000 pokédollars, nothing more. You'll be earning money on your journey after each win, won't you?"
Gwen nodded. It had been a fairly new rule that had been imposed by the Pokémon Association a couple of years ago. Trainer's now had to give 1/4th of their earnings to their winning opponents if they had more than 500 pokédollars, which meant promoting more trainers out in the wild with their pokémon.
"Yes, Mom," Gwen replied before heaving a sigh. She hugged her mother once again before going upstairs and changing into her casual clothes.
"Zigzagoon!" Damien cooed as he ran up the stairs, following his trainer. He put his tongue out and panted quickly while he walked up the stairs.
Around fifteen minutes passed before Gwen walked down the stairs and into the living room, wearing denim shorts and a white hoodie. She left her chestnut hair open rather than tying it up in a ponytail, and a blue hat was placed on her head. Damien was standing right beside her as she checked herself in the mirror before heading out.
"Damien, let's go!" The Zigzagoon barked before circling his trainer once again.
Taking one step out the door, Gwen's eyes widened and her deadpan look broke out into a grin. Standing in the walkway to her home was a girl who looked a year younger to her. She had large brown hair and dark-green eyes and wore a pink-and-black shirt with matching sneakers, blue denim shorts and knee-length socks. She eyed Gwen with a grin on her face and hopped in the air.
"Hey, Shauna! What a surprise!" Gwen exclaimed, giving the girl a hug. "How did you get here?"
Shauna giggled. "Well, you practically told the whole world that you're finally getting a Trainer's License, so I decided to come here and share your joy!"
When Gwen had moved into Aquacorde Town from way back in Johto, Shauna was the first one to greet the newcomer, and the two had hit it off and become best friends. They would spend hours talking about nonsense, and if one of their moods was sour they would spend even more time bitching about someone.
"So…" Shauna pursed her lips. "…So when're you leaving home?"
"Oh, you're so forgetful, Shauna!" Gwen narrowed her eyes as she playfully tapped the other girl's forehead, Damien forgotten in the background. "I told you! I'm leaving tomorrow. The same day as you are leaving!"
"Oh, yeah. But that's awesome! Imagine you and me taking over gyms and winning the Pokémon League!" Shauna dramatically gazed off in the distance as Gwen simply laughed.
"Yeah, that's something to look forward to," Gwen softly replied.
The rest of their walk was filled up with noisy chatter from the two and growls from Damien. It took half an hour for them to finally reach the Pokémon League branch in their town.
Gwen walked in the Centre, taking in the cold air for the first time. She gave a cheerful smile as she walked over the counter and held out her wallet.
"Hello," Gwen said in a well-mannered tone. "I'd like to retrieve my Trainer's License, please."
"Certainly." The attendant was probably in his early twenties and had shoulder-length black hair. He pushed his hair behind his ear as he stared at the computer screen. "And may I have your name, ma'am?"
"Gwen Stacy."
"And your activation code is…?"
Gwen fished out her phone and tapped a few times before speaking up. "It's, uh…5129-2621-7656*!"
"Okay." The attendant jabbed his fingers at the keyboard a couple of times before a whizzing sound exuded. A few seconds passed while the sounds of gears whirling played in the background before a green card finally popped out and the man handed it to Gwen. She grinned as she happily took it and thanked the man before heading out.
"Omigosh, I'm so excited!" Gwen squealed in delight. Shauna replied back with a similar squeal and the two looked at each other intently while doing so. Gwen looked at the Trainer Card with gleaming eyes and a wide smile. "I can't believe I'm a trainer now!"
A feeling of euphoria washed over her as she breathed in the warm air around her. It was like all the worries in the world had gone away. Nothing could change this feeling, and it felt like it was going to be stored for a long time.
Gwen turned to her phone and checked the time. 15:57. I guess I can spend some more time with Shauna before I head home. "Wanna hang out? Considering that you don't have to go to Trevor's house and complete that stupid project of yours."
Shauna snorted. "Are you even living in this world? I finished that project a long time ago. I won't be seeing Mr. Shorty for a LONG time now…Except for tomorrow, when I'm getting my first pokémon ever!" Shauna hopped in the air one again. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you come with us tomorrow?"
Gwen suddenly felt awkward. She shifted around her spot nervously as she looked at the ground. "Uh, I really don't think I should spoil your party tomorrow…Considering she's going to be there."
"Oh, come on. I swear she won't do anything." Shauna walked closer. "Look. If you don't show up tomorrow, consider your pokéballs stolen and your life ended." Gwen laughed as Shauna playfully slid a finger across her throat and gave a humorous expression.
"Okay, I'll be there," Gwen said between laughs.
"Zigzag…goooon! Zigzag, zigzag!" Gwen turned and finally noticed Damien, who was glaring at his trainer with complete anger. He growled once again, but this time louder, to make his presence more prominent. Gwen bent and picked him up, petting his fur as she continued to talk to Shauna.
"Damien, let's go!"
"Zigzagoon, zigzag-zigzag!"
"Gwen, please tell Damien NOT to jump on the table during breakfast!"
Gwen nodded instinctively and slung on her backpack. Without a moment to lose, she looked in the mirror for the last time and set downstairs and out of her house.
"Gwen, wait!" Gwen stopped in her tracks and turned around to see her mother walking towards her. She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming.
"Yes, Mom, I've taken everything," she said in an exasperated voice. "A change of clothes, an inflatable tent, Pepper Spray, Bug Spray, Holo Caster and I don't know what else."
Her mother simply put her hands on her shoulder. "Alright, Gwen, I won't bother you with anything more. Have you taken those ready-to-eat food packets?" She nodded. "Have you taken your rubber gloves and a water keg to do your laundry and dishes?" Another nod was fired at her. Gwen's mother sighed and then smiled at her daughter, finally planting a kiss on her forehead after a few moments. "Stay safe, Honey," she said.
"I will, Mom." Gwen eyed her mother for the last time and stepped out of the house.
"Shauna, I'm here!"
A brown haired girl instantly turned her head towards the source of the sound, then grinning as hopped in the air.
"Gwen! You're right on time! Trevor and Tierno will be—there they are," Shauna added once she saw a large boy walking alongside another who was shorter than all of them.
Trevor was short for his age. Even though he was a year younger to Gwen he only reached up to her shoulder, even with his large bush of ginger hair. Gwen suddenly realized that she had never seen him smile – he always had a deadpan look on his face that went well with his grey eyes.
Tierno, however, was taller than all of them and looked much like an Azumarill. His spikey black hair and brown eyes perfectly matched, and he would seem as a bully first towards strangers. However, he was a nice person and was on par with Shauna in terms of friendship with Gwen.
"Hiya, Shauna! Wassup!" Tierno exclaimed, swirling in his spot while the other boy simply face-palmed himself.
"Hello Tierno, Trevor," Gwen greeted back.
Trevor simply waved his hand back at her and continued to walk forward with a grumpy expression. Looks like someone's morning didn't go well, Gwen thought, rolling her eyes.
The four took their seats at a fairly large table at their usual place, Café Lune. Tierno ordered a blueberry pie, defending his actions by saying that he was hungry, while Trevor simply shook his head and continued to stare at the table.
A couple of minutes passed by with Tierno munching on his pie and Gwen fidgeting with her phone, occasionally switching from 'Temple Run' and 'Candy Crush'. Best way to pass the time, I guess…
"There they are," Trevor said in an annoyed voice, bringing back Gwen to the real world. Trevor groaned, getting up as he threw his arms in the air. "Where have you guys been?"
Gwen turned her head to see a honey-haired girl walking alongside a black-haired boy, and she instantly grimaced. Oh no, not again…
"Hey, everyone!" the girl said in a sugared voice. She clapped her hands together before she went on to hug Shauna, who gave a sour look at the gesture. She shook hands with everyone around, and once she laid her eyes on Gwen she winced. "What is she doing here?"
Gwen felt her blood boiling. She was about to explode, but Shauna beat her to it. "I called her, Serena! I thought the entire Kalos gang could hang out before heading out in the open!"
"Sounds good to me," the boy, Calem, said as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Serena raised an eyebrow and after a few minutes reluctantly pulled out a chair herself and joined the table.
"Omigosh, I'm so excited!" Shauna squealed.
"So now that everyone's here, let's get it started." Trevor unzipped his bag and pulled out three card-like devices, each in a different color – one red, another blue and the third was pink. "First, the devices the professor has given us. Tierno and I have already gotten our own pokedexes. Now, the pokedex will grant and record information on any pokémon you have seen."
Serena, Calem and Shauna nodded, and they then went on to take their own pokedexes. Shauna took the pink one while Calem took the blue pokedex, leaving the red pokedex for Serena.
"…And now for the BIG gift!" Shauna cheered impatiently, pumping a fist in the air. "Come on, I wanna meet my partner soon!"
Trevor rolled his eyes and then turned to Tierno, who pulled out a brown briefcase that contained three red-and-white pokéballs inside it. He opened it, flaunting the pokéballs to everyone, and Gwen couldn't admit to herself that she was feeling a tad bit jealous.
"Come on, take your pick!" Tierno exclaimed excitedly.
Gwen bent forward and took a closer look, noticing an emblem of sorts on each pokeball – a flame, a leaf and a raindrop. Gwen could only assume that they stood for the type of the pokémon the pokéballs contained.
"I'm choosing this one! Hahaha!" Serena casually snatched a pokeball from the briefcase, staring at it with gleaming eyes while Calem and Shauna took their own pokéballs. Gwen sighed internally and winced at the fact that Serena was now going to mock Gwen and her Zigzagoon.
"Go, pokémon!" Serena called out and tossed the pokeball in the air, which opened up and released a flash of light that materialized on the floor. The light formed a quadruped foxlike pokémon with red tufts sprouting from its ears, and the pokémon scratched the back of its ears before staring at Serena with curious eyes.
Calem's pokémon, however, was blue, froglike and had a large mane of bubble around its neck. It squatted on the floor and scratched its head, taking in its surrounding.
Shauna's pokémon was a green-and-brown hedgehog-like pokémon. It shook its head hard before smiling at Shauna as their eyes met.
"Yay, I got a Chespin!" Shauna cried out, bending low and cuddling along her pokémon. Gwen snorted. So Shauna got a Chespin, Bitch got a Fennekin and Calem got a Froakie.
Trevor cleared his throat. "The professor said that these are specially bred pokémon, so they all have like egg moves and all that'll help you achieve your goals even easier."
"That's so cool. I'm really looking forward to taking over gyms with Froakie here," Calem said, smirking as the Froakie leaped up and landed on his shoulder.
"Oooh, oooh!" Shauna exclaimed as she started jumping up and down excitedly. "Guys, we should have a battle!"
Calem blinked in surprise, as did Gwen and everyone else. "A-A battle…?"
"Yeah!" Serena said, jumping into the action. "We all are starting out, and we could test our skills, you know?"
Calem rubbed the back of his neck. "I suppose…"
"So who wants to battle?" Shauna asked, turning towards the group. Calem raised his hand, as did Serena, but Trevor and Tierno didn't seem too interested.
"I think we guys will pass," Tierno said, representing himself and Trevor. Shauna then turned towards Gwen, who tilted her head and shrugged.
"I guess I could…"
"So it's decided!" Shauna punched a fist in the air, and her Chespin followed her. "Gwen and I will have our battle, while Calem and Serena will battle each other! Cool, eh?"
"Actually, I was thinking of battling you, Shauna, since you have a type advantage over me," Calem interrupted. "I think it'll help me overcome problems during battles."
"Okie-dokie!" Shauna remarked; she then grabbed Calem by the hand, dragged him away from the café and took him towards the Vaniville Path.
"So, Gwen," Serena said, gaining Gwen's utmost attention, "are you ready to lose?"
Gwen simply ignored her and walked alongside Serena, who headed towards Calem's and Shauna's battle spot. The two had already started off, and it looked like Calem's Froakie was already in a winning position since Shauna was simply commanding her Chespin to leer at his opponent.
"Trevor, will you be our judge?" Serena asked, to which the shorter kid nodded. He walked a few feet away from them and called out:
"This will be a one on one pokémon battle!" Trevor announced the obvious, and Gwen rolled her eyes. "Trainers, send forth your pokémon!"
"Fennekin, let's burn this girl!" Serena yelled. The fire type burst out of her pokeball and landed skillfully on the ground, pawing at it as she looked at Gwen with narrowed eyes.
"Damien, are you ready?" Gwen asked.
"Zigzag Zigzagoon!" Damien cried out as he ran ahead of her, circling the ground as if trying to intimidate the Fennekin. Gwen smiled as she looked determinedly at her opponent – she was finally having her first battle, and what made it better was the fact that she was having it with a certain someone!
"Begin!" Trevor declared.
"Fennekin, use Heat Wave!" Serena yelled, pointing overdramatically at Damien.
"Damien, get in close and use Sand Attack," Gwen countered coolly, focusing on the ongoing battle. She ignored the fact that Calem had just won against Shauna, who was crying Feraligatr tears, and narrowed her eyes as she saw Damien running towards Fennekin.
Fennekin opened her mouth, forming a miniature sun in front of her mouth. She then breathed a wind of flames that travelled towards Damien; the Zigzagoon, however swiftly swerved to his right to avoid the flames and then flicked his paw on the ground and hurled sand towards his opponent.
"Kin!" Fennekin cried out as dust and dirt got in her eyes, instantly blinding her. She shook her head furiously, attempting to get the dust out of her eyes but to no avail.
"Goddammit, Fennekin!" Serena wailed, stomping the ground in frustration. "Fennekin, he isn't that hard to spot – use Scratch and then Heat Wave!"
"Damien, Tackle it quickly and then use Mud Slap," Gwen refuted, her lips curling into a smile.
Serena groaned as her Fennekin was stopped midway in her attack by the Zigzagoon crashing into her. Damien then went on to swiping his thick, brushy tail at the ground which hurled a handful of sand that soon became infused with water, forming mud that obscured Fennekin's vision even further.
"Keep scratching him!" Serena cried out, clearly frustrated. Gwen smirked – Serena should've known better than using a pokémon she knew for a minute against a pokémon who knew his trainer for three years.
"Damien, keep dodging them," Gwen ordered. Damien smirked as he made zigzag movements to avoid the lashes from Fennekin, who had no idea what she was doing. Serena was balling her fists, grumbling, and probably cursing Gwen as the one-sided battle continued.
"Damien, let's end this – Rock Climb and Headbutt combo!" Damien stopped smirking and his claws glowed white, then grew longer as he ran towards Fennekin, his glowing scalp facing the fire type pokémon as he rammed into her underbelly. Serena shrieked as her Fennekin was hurled towards her, and she frantically threw her arms in the air as Fennekin crashed into her torso and made her fall on her behind. Gwen snorted and so did everyone else (save for Serena) at the sight. Fennekin was unmoving, and Gwen smirked at the victory.
"Fennekin – is – unable to – battle, hahaha!" Trevor declared between laughs. "This means Gwen's Zigzagoon wins and Gwen is the winner!"
"We did it, Damien!" she shouted, pulling the tiny raccoon pokémon in a tight hug. Her body was trembling with excitement; she had just won her first battle, and that happiness couldn't be taken away from her.
"Fennekin, return!" Gwen looked up to see Serena struggling to contain all the anger inside her. She was just humiliated by a stupid girl and a common pokémon! She cursed Gwen in her mind and vowed to take revenge.
Tierno wasn't helping at all. He was still chucking from seeing Serena land on her perfectly crafted bottom. Shauna ran up to Gwen and shook her hand furiously.
"Gwen, you won!" Shauna said. "This was your first victory everrr!"
"Everyone," Calem said as he began to clear his throat, capturing everyone's attention. "Should we head out to Santalune Forest? We've spent quite some time, and seeing that it's around ten o'clock now we could make it to Santalune City in a day."
Everybody seemed okay with it. Gwen was still filled with excitement, wondering which pokémon she would encounter and whatnot.
About ten minutes later they were ready to set off. Gwen decided to keep Damien in his pokeball after she realized that he was tired after the pokémon battle.
Route 2 of Kalos was relatively small, with it being only half a kilometer of length that connected Aquacorde Town and Santalune Forest. Gwen finally felt good about being able to go to Santalune Forest on her own, since she had only been able to go as far as the outskirts of Aquacorde Town.
Maybe I'll catch a really rare pokémon there, Gwen wondered to herself as she occasionally kicked pebbles fallen on the ground. She smirked as she saw a rock soaring past a Bunnelby, missing him by just an inch. She knew the fury of enraged wild pokémon and stopped her act almost immediately.
"Gwen. Gwen!" She blinked and widened her eyes as she heard Shauna's voice piercing through her daydreams. Gwen immediately turned to her right, raising an eyebrow and questioning her friend on her interruption.
"Gwen, Serena's catching a pokémon!" Shauna exclaimed, as if it was exciting news.
Gwen simply snorted. "Who cares? And what's so special about catching a pokémon anyway? …Unless it's Arceus or something like that."
"Haha, very funny," Shauna replied, sticking her tongue out at Gwen. "But why don't you just see? It's a common pokémon, no doubt, but you could get some tips anyway."
Gwen rolled her eyes but nevertheless turned to see Serena hurling a pokeball in the air. The red-and-white sphere hit a plummeting Fletching, sucking her in the pokeball. The pokeball fell to the ground, shook for a few minutes until it finally stopped and made a ding sound.
Forty minutes later they were right outside Santalune forest, and Gwen took in the vast amount of trees that connected Route 2 to Route 3, which led them to Santalune City. That was going to be her first official step in conquering Kalos. Oh, how she dreamed of being the champion of the region! But that brought about another mystery – the Kalos league champion was unknown. Gwen got a determined on her face as she took her a long step, entering the forest and she was soon shadowed by enormous trees.
Bug Spray.
Those were the first words that entered her mind once a couple of minutes passed after entering the giant forest.
The first few seconds went well, with the cool air breezing with the wind and beams of light piercing through the wide treetops. A couple of Vivillon were fluttering their wings as they flew, and Gwen once went too close to one and gave her a scare.
But then, as they crawled deeper inside the forest, the humid atmosphere started to get to them – everyone started to sweat rapidly, Trevor almost fainted and Tierno stopped dancing.
Then there were the bugs. At first Gwen was okay, trying to keep her calm, but hundreds of Scatterbug started to touch them and make them feel uncomfortable with their antennae.
"Eww!" Serena exclaimed, brushing off a sticky substance off her elbow. "Bug drool!"
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Come on, Serena. Don't be so hoity."
"Shut up, Princess," Serena replied, snarling.
Gwen rolled her eyes once again. Why the heck am I travelling with this bitch?
"Guys…?" All eyes turned to Shauna. She shifted nervously in her spot for a moment and then looked up with a nervous smile. "Why don't we have a competition? Each of us has to try to catch at least one pokémon in this forest, and the one that gets the most on their team wins!"
Serena grinned. "Cool. But what does the winner get?"
Shauna looked up in the sky, furrowing her brow, before snapping her fingers. "I got it! The winner gets free dinner by the person who comes last!"
Gwen snorted. "Sounds good to me." She then turned to Serena and smirked devilishly. "Serena, remember to pay me for dinner today, please."
"What the—?" Serena blinked and then got a determined look on her face. "You're on."
Tierno punched a fist in the air. "Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Let's head on in and find new pokémon!" Calem cheered.
Another fine hour had passed in the forest, but none of them had caught any pokémon yet. They did get to battle a few trainers, mostly the notorious Bug Catchers that were spread across the forest. Gwen smiled at the forest spread out before them.
"Would it be a good idea if we split up?" Trevor suggested, earning a confused look from Tierno and Shauna. "You know, cover more ground and find more pokémon…"
"Sounds fine by me." Gwen rolled her tongue and then poked it at either side of her mouth. "Shauna and Calem – why don't you guys come with me?"
Trevor shrugged. "Fine; the rest of us will meet you three at the far edge of the forest."
Calem nodded, the six going about their separate ways. Once the others began to fade away from sight, Shauna smirked and wrapped her hands around Calem's arm, catching him slightly off-guard; he widened his eyes and blinked at the gesture, very confused.
"Sorry, just didn't realize how dark and spooky it is in here, heheheh," Shauna very obviously pretended, earning a glare from Gwen.
"Uh huh," Calem replied, raising an eyebrow and slightly blushing.
Gwen eyed Shauna, trying to gain her attention. Once it was clear that Shauna was ignoring her she pulled the girl closer and glared at her.
"He's mine," Gwen whispered in a dangerously soft voice.
"I was just joking," Shauna replied after nervously laughing.
"Wait…" Gwen stopped walking and extended both her arms to prevent Calem and Shauna from walking as well.
"What happened?" Calem asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"I…I heard something." Gwen turned and pointed towards a rather short tree less than six feet away. A moment passed. "Something's in there." Gwen slowly brought her hand closer to Damien's pokeball, threatening to toss it in the air.
Shauna whimpered. "L-Like…what…?"
"Seeeaaaar!"
With movement as fast as lightning, a red blur dashed out of the tree and Gwen ducked as the blur flew past her head and landed on the ground.
"AAAAAH!" Shauna's scream made Gwen flinch, and she dropped her pokeball on the ground.
"What the hell is that?" Calem yelled.
Gwen fished out her pokedex and examined the red monkeylike creature that was snarling at her, ready to attack.
"Pansear, the high temp pokémon, is a fire type pokémon," the pokedex described. "Very intelligent, this pokémon roasts berries before eating them. The fire within the tuft on its head can reach 600 degrees Fahrenheit. This Pansear is a male."
"A fire type, huh," Gwen dreamily murmured. "It'll be helpful against Viola's gym." She smirked. "Alright Damien, go!"
"Arooo!" Damien growled as he jumped on the grassy ground, lifting his head up high before looking at his opponent.
"Pan…Sear!" The elemental monkey's body glowed white, tuft on his hear growing to a slightly larger size, before breathing a stream of hot flames that caught Damien off-guard and struck him on his face. The Zigzagoon shook his head for a moment, dazed after being struck by the flames.
"Go, go, Damien!" Shauna cheered, jumping excitedly.
Gwen scowled. "Damien, use Headbutt!"
"Zigzag!" Damien growled as he jumped an inch off the ground, soaring towards the Pansear and he rammed into his torso with his head with all his force.
Despite doing a great deal of damage, the Pansear focused himself and struck Damien by lashing him with his claws.
"Damien!" Gwen pursed her lips, anticipating Pansear's next movement and her own. "Damien, strike him with Sand Attack!"
Damien pushed his hind legs back and then finally swiped his tail on the ground, hurling particles of sand in his opponent's eyes. "Paaaan!" the Pansear cried out, scrubbing his eyes with his palms as he tried to get his vision back.
"Now's the time, Damien – use Rock Climb!" Gwen called out. Damien pawed at the ground, feet growing longer as he ran towards the Pansear and rammed into his body – the Pansear felt the wind knocked out of him, and he fell on the ground before he struggled to move.
It was then that Gwen pulled out a pokeball. "Here goes…!" The sphere soared in the air, finally plummeting down and sucking in the Pansear in a flash of red light. It shook once…twice…thrice…Yes! I caught my first pokémon!
"Yay, Gwen! You caught your first pokémon!" Shauna squealed, jumping even higher than before. She ran towards Gwen, pulling her into a tight hug as she shook to her left and right.
"Shauna, Shauna, you're disorienting me," Gwen said, begging to be released from her clutches. "Yes. Thank you, Shauna," Gwen curtly said once Shauna freed her.
"Not bad, Gwen," Calem said, shaking her hand. Gwen instantly blushed and hid her face, making Calem raise an eyebrow and snort. "But anyway, let's get moving. I certainly don't want to be left behind."
As soon as Calem was out of earshot, Gwen walked closer to Shauna and whispered, "He obviously likes me."
Shauna rolled her eyes. "Good lord, not again…"
"Guys, catch up!" Tierno called out.
"Ugh." Serena groaned as she gave a look of disgust. "This is by far my worst day ever."
"Count me in," Trevor said, scowling. "First, we get attacked by a swarm of Scatterbug. Then we get mud slapped in the face, and then I accidently catch a Caterpie! What could get worse?"
Serena stopped in her tracks and glared at Trevor.
"What?" Trevor asked, throwing his arms in the air.
"You really shouldn't say that, you know. Something bad might happen!" Serena replied.
"That's just old superstition," Trevor dismissed as he waved his hand. "Come on, let's go—WHOA!"
Trevor instantly jumped back as the ground below him burst open, arm-like ears escaping out of the ground. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at the Bunnelby in shock, ears twitching and a mischievous smile on his face.
"S-Shit!" Trevor exclaimed, staggering back. "It's that same Bunnelby!"
"What?!" Serena shrieked, annoyance and shock in her tone. "I really don't want to get mud slapped again, Trevor!"
"Pikachu, use Thundershock!"
The tossed pokeball burst open and a yellow rodent was released, sending a short burst jolt of electricity that struck the Bunnelby on his ears and sent him staggering back. The Bunnelby instantly growled and slapped Pikachu with his ears, sending his opponent in a daze.
"Pikachu, use another Thundershock!" Trevor ordered.
The Bunnelby, however, was faster this time and slapped Pikachu across his cheek, sending him flying and he crashed into the tree; Trevor's Pikachu slumped down to the ground and lay there, unmoving.
The Bunnelby got a devilish grin on his face as he scraped the earth from the ground with his ears. He took a step forward, snorting as he saw Serena twitch.
"N-No, don't do it!" Serena pleaded. She flinched and added in a far more commanding tone, "Don't you dare!"
The Bunnelby smirked and readied his throw, and Serena closed her eyes-
"Buuuun!"
-only to open them again as she saw the Bunnelby disappeared and a pokeball lying in his place.
"Heh," Tierno chuckled. "That was an easy catch."
"Chester, use Vine Whip!"
"Chespin!" the spiny nut pokémon cried out as long vines burst out of either side of his head and lashed the opposing Shinx, knocking her out.
"Chester, we won!" Shauna cried out, hugging her Chespin as a young boy came forward and held out a wad of cash.
"Here's your money, Miss," the boy said, handing it over to Shauna and then walking away from the trio.
"Hey, Shauna, I think we should get a move instead of wasting our time jumping a celebrating," Calem suggested in a bored voice. "It's almost dusk and we have to get out soon, or else say hello to spending a night in Santalune Forest!"
Shauna immediately stopped jumping. "R-Right."
Gwen sighed. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and then gulped water from her metal bottle, relishing the sweet taste that flowed down her throat. She heaved a sigh, took another step and sighed again. How could a journey through a forest be this tiring?
"C-Calem, how far is it to Santalune City?" Gwen asked.
Calem instantly opened his backpack, pulled out a cylindrical structure and opened it up by pulling one end to either side; a holograph formed between it, projecting a map of the Kalos region. He paused for a few minutes before saying, "I guess we would take another hour. It's seven in the evening right now, and we could make it by eight."
Gwen nodded. It won't be much of a problem; I could book a room at the Pokémon Centre or even at one of the inns, doesn't matter. Then I should train Damien and Pansear for the Gym battle, and oh! I also have to give Pansear a nickname. Gwen frowned and looked down. I should probably write this down in my memo…
"G-Guys…?"
Gwen looked up as Shauna's frightened voice pierced through her thoughts. Shauna was still, unmoving, and a frown was placed on her face as she looked into the distance.
"Shauna, what is it?" Gwen asked softly.
Calem, who was right behind Gwen, stopped and tilted his head in confusion. "What's happened?"
Shauna simply pointed in front of her. "Look."
Gwen and Calem looked past her to see the sight. They held their breaths, wondering if there was a horde of Scatterbug or something.
The clearing was full of flowers. Above them, a swarm of Beautifly was flying from one to another, stabbing their proboscises at what seemed to be like a…Oh, fuck.
It was a body.
Uh, I guess a lot of stuff happened in the first chapter itself. Anyway, I hope you all liked it. I'll see you in the next chapter, which hopefully won't be that far away.
*Oh, her activation code was my Pokemon Y FC.
