Chapter 3- 'Puffed with Pride

"So… what do you want to do?" Fern asked. We walked- well, she slithered, along Route One together, sunlight streaming through the trees to brighten the dirt road before us. "I've read that Lillipups, Patrats, and Jigglypuffs are common here; do you want to catch one?"

"No, I don't," I replied. "I'm uncomfortable enough owning you; why would I want to catch another Pokémon?"

Fern stopped, raising her head to look at me straight in the eye. "Hold on; you left on your Journey to advocate the belief that humans and Pokémon can and should get along, yet you're opposed to catching any Pokémon? Either get over it or go back home; if we turn around now, we should get back before nightfall."

"No, it's different. I'm part Pokémon already; me owning Pokémon is like you owning Pokémon: it's practically slavery!"

"It's not and you know it! Pokémon consider being raised by a trainer, even a half-human trainer, an enormous gift. Think about it; no more scavenging or hunting and no more rainy nights under a tree or in a hole. Instead, you live a life of luxury getting stronger with a kind master.

"Besides, fighting isn't cruel, it's fun! You get to test the limits of your power against formidable opponents. Your heart gets racing, adrenaline fills your body…it's quite the experience! Afterwards, one quick trip to the Pokémon Center and there you go! Full recovery to fight another day!" Her body quivered with excitement.

"You make a compelling argument," I admitted. "But why, then, do wild Pokémon resist so fiercely?"

"Simple. Only the trainers who really want to own you would continue. Trainers just passing by would give up after a couple balls."

"That makes sense." I sighed. "Well, I don't really want a Jigglypuff or a Lillipup or a Patrat. I'd rather find other Pokémon."

Fern returned to the ground, slithering ahead. "Suit yourself."

I picked up on a periodic rustling noise nearby. Startled, I instinctively turned invisible as I looked to the sound- a Jigglypuff was literally bouncing through the fallen leaves, oblivious to our presence. I relaxed my scales. The Balloon Pokémon glanced in our direction before coming to a halt, its wide, blue eyes growing impossibly wider. "Wow… a Latios?!" a hushed, female voice exclaimed. She inched her way towards us with arms raised in a kind of calming gesture. "Hey, there, buddy," she said to me, "Mind if we talk for a bit? I've never met a Latios before." Her soft, smooth voice couldn't hide her anticipation. We didn't move.

She made her way up to me, looking up with round, excited eyes. She jumped before me, doing a flip before gently floating back down. "You didn't run away! Great!"

"…Run away? Why would I?"

"Legendaries are so snobbish. I remember this one time a Suicune came by here, but she ran away the moment I said 'Hello!' You guys seem to think that everything else in the world is beneath you." She managed to roll her gigantic eyes.

"Hey! I don't think I'm above you! …Well, technically I am, but that's just because I'm taller."

"Oh, really? Good to hear! Humility is a virtue: one that I'm proud to have." She placed an arm on her round chest, smiling.

Fern spoke up, pointing her tail at the Jigglypuff. "Wait a moment, isn't humility the absence of pride?"

The round Pokémon giggled. "That's the joke!"

Fern retracted her tail, head lowered in thought. "Oh. I get it now!" She smiled.

The Jigglypuff blinked. After a moment of awkward silence, she looked back to me, asking, "I always thought Latios float rather than walk. What gives?"

"Oh. That. You see, I'm only half Latios."

"Huh? So… you mean…"

"Yeah. My mother was a Latias. My dad was human."

"So they… oh, Arceus, I'm not going there! Um… change subject quickly… what are you doing?"

"See, there was this guy in Accumula Town…"

"Who was ranting about how Pokémon should be free? I remember him. I would have slapped him if I could get up to him, but alas." She lowered her head or body or something somberly.

"Aren't you already 'free'?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm just waiting for a decent trainer to come along! I'm tired of living alone in the woods. I want excitement!" She winked at me.

"I see. Anyway, I'm on a mission to stop him. I mean, look at me!" I gestured to myself. "I'm living proof that humans and Pokémon can get along and then some."

"Ugh, I told you I don't want to think about that!" She clutched her pointed ears, trying to forget. She stopped and looked up to me. "Obviously, you haven't gotten the hint: can I tag along? I mean, what else would I be doing?! Waiting for some ten-year-old to come along and catch me for his mediocre team? No way! I want to say I traveled with a Latios!"

"Latios-human hybrid," I corrected.

"Right, right, whatever. Close enough!"

I looked at Fern. She smiled, adopting a battle stance, her whip-like tail raised threateningly. I know I said I didn't want a Jigglypuff, but meeting this one changed my mind. I unzipped a pocket on my backpack and pulled out a red and white Pokéball. "So you want to join my team, um…"

"My name's Haley. And that's what I just said; weren't you listening?" She bounced into the Pokéball, turning into energy as she was pulled inside. There was no struggle- just a click signifying she was mine.

"…Wow. That was easy," I commented. I slipped the ball beside Fern's into a belt Professor Juniper gave me. "I thought you said Pokémon resist to weed out the worse trainers."

Fern was just as surprised. "Apparently you make quite an impression." I clicked the button on Haley's Pokéball, releasing the Jigglypuff back into the world.

"Huh. Never knew a little ball could be so cozy," she commented.

"Is it?" I turned to Fern.

"Once again, yes, it's quite pleasant."

"What's it like in there?" I asked Haley.

"It's like a little personal island; there's an area I can sit and watch the waves, a little forest to bounce through… everything I need to keep me occupied as I wait for you. Oh, yeah, there's also this huge mountain I can try to scale; it helps to be all floaty."

"Mine is a little different," Fern added. "To me, it's an endless forest with tall trees to climb and occasional clearings to sun in- Everything a Serperior like me needs to stay occupied before Alto calls me out.

"Oh, Haley, I never got to battle you. You just… caught yourself, I guess." Fern returned to her battle pose. "Can we fight?"

"Do you mind?" I asked the Jigglypuff.

"You're the boss, now; how could I refuse?" She jumped high into the air, landing nimbly a good distance away. "You won't know what hit ya!"

I took position behind my Serperior. "We'll see about that! Fern, begin with Leech Seed!" The Serperior swept her tail around, scattering the life-draining seeds towards Haley. With effortless grace, Haley leaped into the air to dodge them, falling towards Fern with glowing arms. "Leaf Blade!" I called, but the Jigglypuff had already begun to slap her back and forth repeatedly. Fern finally whipped around, slicing the Balloon Pokémon with the leaves on her tail. Haley didn't seem too fazed. "Coil… Now Leaf Blade again- this time from above!" With the added power from Coil, Fern shot forward, leaves on her tail glowing with power as they collided with her opponent, crushing Haley against the ground as the sharpened leaves dug into her.

Quickly recovering, the Jigglypuff bounced up, puffing herself up to twice her size to augment the power of her next attack: Body Slam. "Dodge her!" I commanded. Despite her increased girth, the Balloon Pokémon easily stayed above my Serperior with deft acrobatics, managing to land solidly on Fern's head with a thud. Fern managed to pull herself out quickly. She appeared dazed, but not paralyzed, thank Arceus. "Giga Drain!" I instructed. Darting towards Haley, Fern wrapped herself around the enlarged Jigglypuff, leaves glowing as they drained Haley's energy out to replace her own. Haley squirmed under the serpentine Grass-type in vain.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth, quickly deflating to her normal size to escape her coiling foe. Fern dropped to the ground rather unceremoniously. Nevertheless, my plan worked; she had recovered somewhat. Haley looked a little tired as she bounced away to keep her distance.

She spontaneously broke into wordless song, which concerned me. "Use Leech Seed immediately!" I cried. Fern, though drowsy, scattered seeds once more onto the Jigglypuff. Distracted by her own hypnotic song, Haley was soon wrapped in life-stealing vines. Fern dropped dead asleep, but not before the damage was done. Haley struggled, trying to brush off the attack- literally. Unable to remove the vines, Haley gave up and leaped towards the sleeping Serperior, inflating in mid-air to land a powerful Body Slam on her foe. Fern's body twitched. Good. She understood at least that much about battle mechanics: even if one ended up fainting, as long as one bested one's opponent first, he or she would still win.

The vines readjusted themselves to sap energy from the inflated Jigglypuff, delivering power to Fern while she slept. Haley attempted to deflate to escape the plants' deadly embrace as she did with Fern, but the vines were too tenacious. Desperate, she used Double Slap to try to knock out Fern before she herself fell unconscious. Nevertheless, Haley's attacks slowed as the constricting vines drew out the last of her strength. As a last-ditch effort, she shut her eyes and focused. She began to glow. Releasing the power, she fired a beam of blindingly bright light that enveloped my Serperior- Dazzling Gleam. She finally fell unconscious even as Fern awoke.

Fern blinked several times before eyeing the limp body. She dismissed the plants. They shriveled up, returning to simple seeds that quickly turned to dust. Fern turned to face me, an amused grin stretched across her face. "Did I seriously just beat her in my sleep?" She asked, laughing.

"I… I guess you did!" I concurred, laughing as well. "Well done, Fern!"

Haley stirred and looked to me, still somewhat dazed. "That… was either the most embarrassing… or the most amazing thing I've ever done! I know we're going to get along great together!" She jumped up to my large backpack. Luckily for me, she weighed very little.

Unluckily for me, she began playing with my sensitive, tufted ears. "Hey! Stop that!" I exclaimed, knocking her off. She bounced harmlessly onto the dead leaves.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, righting herself, "I always like getting an ear rub. I thought you'd feel the same."

I leaned down to scratch her pointed ears. She smiled with pleasure, leaning into my claws. "It's all right," I replied. "My ears are just kind of sensitive." Looking ahead, I could see the tips of tall buildings. We had almost reached Accumula. "Hey, guys," I said, "want to race there?" Running was as close as I got to flying.

"You're weighed down; there's no way you can win!" Fern commented.

"Do you think I care?"

"All right…"

"Bring it, dragon boy!" Haley challenged, already leaping from trunk to trunk ahead of us. I did my best to focus my power into flying as I always did… and I felt just a little lighter, offsetting the weight of my backpack. Grinning, I shot ahead of my very surprised Serperior and continued on my way. Looking back, I saw Fern dart through the undergrowth, nimbly slithering around any obstacle. She was gaining on me.

That wouldn't do. Turning back around, I sprinted with everything I had, doing my best to keep my lead despite my handicap. Fern and I soon surpassed Haley as we bolted for the city. Despite how nimble the Balloon Pokémon was in the air, she still came up short when it came to raw speed.

We ran for at least a few miles. Soon after, Fern passed me for the final time; I was far too exhausted to continue sprinting. Stupid human genes. I stopped, panting. "Okay, Fern… you win! Let's slow down for Haley." The Regal Pokémon raised her head… well, regally as she smiled in victory. "But once… I get the hang of flying… you'd better watch out!" We adopted a light walk, or slither in Fern's case, as we waited for our new friend to catch up.

My tufted ears perked as I caught the sounds of heavy breathing behind us. I stopped and turned to see Haley looking partly annoyed and partly impressed. "Arceus, you guys are fast! Next time you race… just put me in my Pokéball. There's no way I'll catch up to you two." She swelled and deflated with each exhausted breath. "Screw it; just put me in there now. Take me out when we reach Accumula, okay?"

"Got it," I agreed, reaching for her Pokéball. I clicked the button, converting Haley to energy and returning her inside. Fern watched with interest. "Would you like to return as well?" I offered.

"No, I'd stay out to keep you safe. Who knows what horrors might lurk behind that bush?!" she joked, pointing with her tail to a wild hedge growing a little off the path. She slithered around it, rising from the other side to face me. "Never mind, we're good."

I laughed. "You know, for a Regal Pokémon, you don't act very regal."

"And you'd rather me be a stuck-up, imperial jerk who always demands her way? I'd much prefer just being a friend."

"Me, too."

I continued on, Fern following beside me as the sun completed its descent. Ahead of us we could see lights blinking on in buildings and streets as the town prepared for night. I released Haley as I promised.

I thought the town only looked small because it was far away… but it was just small. The highest buildings rose only four or five feet in the air, and much of the land was vacant. Nevertheless, construction noises were ubiquitous, evidence that this little town was still growing. The Pokémon Center was placed near the exit to Route One, which was convenient. People began to stare at me and gossip in harsh whispers; I started to wonder whether a lone Serperior and Jigglypuff would be less suspicious. Well, too late now.

I crumbled under their stares. I hated being the center of attention- whether it was Latios instinct or having lived a quiet life, it didn't matter. All I knew was that there were too many people and too much noise. I pulled my tufted ears back, ducking my head. Eventually I gave up and simply turned invisible. That only excited the onlookers; they began looking to see where I'd gone, voicing their surprise with exclamations of varying politeness. I placed a hand on Fern's neck to guide her to the Center beside me. I turned visible once more as I entered the Pokémon Center.

…Crap, I thought. It was crowded in here! Everywhere I looked there were trainers relaxing, eating, or taking care of their Pokémon. As soon as one noticed me, he would nudge his buddies, who would then nudge their buddies. This led to a painful chain reaction that resulted in me being stared at by thirty or forty people, not counting their Pokémon.

"Is that a Latios?"

"No, he has legs."

"Then what is he?"

"That's quite the costume!"

"It's too real to be a costume!"

"Nice thighs!" I sincerely hoped he was referring to the fan-like spikes covering my legs.

Such words floated by as I made my seemingly endless trek up to Nurse Joy. "I'll be fine, Fern. You should rest." She looked at me with concern as I returned her and Haley to their Pokéballs. "Can you heal my Pokémon?" I asked quietly, offering her the balls. I wouldn't raise my voice. There were just too many people around and it freaked me out. It took all my courage not to turn invisible there. Nurse Joy stared at me, mouth slightly open. "…Nurse Joy? Nurse Joy?"

"Don't mind her. She'll come to." A voice spoke to my side. An Audino in a nurse's outfit smiled brightly. She held out a tray with six round divots. "I can heal your Pokémon," she offered. I smiled at the first person to be even remotely hospitable to me in this town as I placed my Pokéballs in two of the divots. "I'll be with you shortly," she spoke cheerfully as she walked through a door behind the counter.

Nurse Joy shook her head, composing herself. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center! Would you like to rest your Pokémon?"

I smiled softly. "Your Audino already took care of that."

"Oh, did she? I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have gawked at you like that. But… if you don't mind me asking, why do you look like that?"

"My mother is a Latias," I stated simply.

She thought on this for a moment. "…Oh. Okay. Anyway, how else may I help you this evening?"

"I need a room; one bed will suffice."

"Certainly! May I see your Trainer Card?" I reached into my wallet, removing my ID. Professor Juniper had insisted I renew it every year since she gave me Fern when I was ten, much to my irritation, but now I was glad to have an up-to-date Trainer Card. I silently thanked her as Nurse Joy reviewed the card. "Everything seems to be in order. Here's your room key." She gave me a plastic card with a black stripe along one side in addition to my Trainer Card.

"Thank you."

The Audino opened the door, carrying the tray with my Pokéballs on it. "Thank you for your patience. Your Pokémon have made a full recovery!"

"Thanks, ma'am."

The Audino giggled. "Just call me Petra."

"Okay. Thanks, Petra." I took back the Pokéballs, slipping them into the slots on my belt. I turned invisible to make my way past the gossiping congregation in relative peace despite the gasps that the act elicited. I inserted the room key into a slot. A mechanism beeped as the door audibly unlocked to allow me entry.

The room was well maintained for a public facility. There was a small tiled kitchen to my side furnished with a sink, stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Simple wooden cabinets lined the walls. I walked over to the simple blue bed and dropped my pack to the floor, stretching my cramped wings for the first time all day. Arceus, it felt good! I released Haley and Fern from their balls.

"Where are we?" Haley asked.

"This'll be our room for tonight," I explained. "We'll continue on to Route Two tomorrow."

"We're sleeping in here?! This is the greatest day of my life!" She exclaimed, twirling in the air.

"Shall we see what's on the news?" Fern suggested, already switching on the television with her tail. Haley watched in awe. I suppose she had never seen a TV before.

A female news anchor reported, "…green-haired youth infiltrated a research lab near Castelia City. Although security cameras were unable to capture an identifying shot of the person in question, he managed to break into the facility and free all the Pokémon inside. He then alerted the authorities to inhumane practices that had occurred in the lab."

The screen cut to a transcript of the call as a recording played. "Castelia City Police Station; what is your emergency?"

"The lab off Sky Arrow Bridge has been abusing Pokémon in its research for months now. I managed to free the trapped Pokémon, and now it is your turn to apprehend the abusive scientists."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Pokémon must be set free." The call ended there.

The news anchor continued. "When officials conducted a search of the lab, they found incriminating evidence of the reported abuse. Several scientists were arrested on charges of Pokémon cruelty. When approached, Castelia City's Officer Jenny had this to comment.

The screen faded to a live-action shot of Officer Jenny in front of the research lab. "While we appreciate assistance in apprehending criminals," she spoke authoritatively, "this is not the way to go about it. Vigilantes like this one often end up being a hindrance rather than a benefit to our work. Sir, if you're watching this, and you know who you are, please come to the Castelia City Police Station so we can sort this out."

The screen cut back to the news anchor. "In other news…" I turned the TV down.

"What do you think of this guy?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"Well, on one hand, he just freed a bunch of abused Pokémon, but on the other hand…"

"You think he might be connected to that robed man?" Fern finished.

"Exactly!"

Haley thought to herself, one arm below her mouth. "Well, they do have the same color of hair…"

"That's a good point," I commented. "How many people have that shade of green hair?"

"Maybe they just both really like Serperiors," Fern commented, looking at her own similarly colored scales.

"No, their goals are too similar. Maybe they're father and son, working together."

"We should try to track him down and figure out his motives," Fern suggested.

Haley yawned. "Well, whatever we do, we should do it tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

I suddenly realized how fatigued I was. "Yeah, you're right. Good night, you two."

"Night, Alto."

"Good night, Alto." Fern coiled herself, resting her head back on her slender body. Haley bounced into the center of the coil and closed her eyes. Fern raised her head in annoyance… but decided to let her sleep there, curling tighter around the round, pink Pokémon. I climbed into my own bed, doing my best not to cut the fabric with my spiked wings.

Thinking back over the day, I realized how much had happened. I woke up in my bed in Professor Juniper's house, helped her with a Cinccino, and then boom! I was off on my Journey!

Even though I didn't want to catch any Pokémon, we came across Haley, the little pink ball of energy. She had proven herself to be a decent fighter with a solid moveset. I was excited to use her in the first gym in Striaton City.

I felt a growing sense of worry as I realized I would have to come into contact with even more people there, but remembering my purpose to keep humans and Pokémon together calmed the storm inside me.

I closed my eyes and dreamed of flying…

Author's Note: Well, nobody suggested anything, but that's good; I soon after came up with a full team and a hybrid to join Alto. Although… I had no intention of adding Haley. She just kind of… insisted on joining as I wrote. Maybe others will surprise me as well.

For reference, this story will be more lighthearted and funny than Ignem Progressionis Infinitum, so read this one if you're feeling down. :3

By the way, if you can figure out how Haley's name is significant (like how Fern is named for the plant group or Alto is short for Alto Mare), you're a genius.