Chapter 4: Team 8
As planned, Calem and Serena arrived in their designated spot around midmorning the following day. Since they were no longer under house arrest, as far as the two were concerned, they decided to wander around the nearby forest. Looking around the village, Serena took an interest in the carved faces.
"How about we head up there," she suggested, pointing toward the cliff.
Shrugging, he simply replied, "sure."
Rolling her eyes, Serena dragged him through the village and up the pathway that led behind the mountain.
Little did they know, they were being followed.
Calem and Serena gazed out across the village. Serena allowed a small smile to show as she sat down on the edge of the cliff. Calem, equally as impressed, looked down at his friend. "It really is a beautiful village."
Serena nodded with a sigh, "too bad it's filled with such ugly people."
"Yeah," he said, moving to sit next to her, "but I guess that could be said about any of the regions back home."
Serena sighed in defeat and rested her head on Calem's shoulder. "I just hope that no one finds Xerneas or Yveltal before we do."
She felt Calem's arm wrap around her shoulder, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "Everything will be alright in the end."
An uneasy feeling overcame Serena. "Do you get the feeling that we're-"
"Being watched," Calem finished. "Yeah, I do."
Serena slowly stood up, reaching into her bag for one of her Pokéballs. Throwing one of them into the air, a red light shooting from the opening to reveal a red, yellow, and white bipedal fox that stood only a few inches shorter than Serena herself.
"So these are the guys that were found outside the village," a boy drawled, walking out of the bushes. Serena gave the boy a once over, noticing red triangles on his cheeks and a large, white dog by his side. After him, Shino and a girl stepped out from behind the bushes. The girl seemed to be embarrassed that the three of them had been caught.
"What do you want," Serena snapped at the new boy.
"Just came to see what all the fuss is about," he said, walking over to the fox Pokémon. "He doesn't seem as menacing as everyone's making them out to be."
"She has a name," Serena said, crossing her arms over her chest, "and Kitsune here's a lot more menacing than you think."
"W-what exactly is she," the girl stuttered.
"Kitsune's a Delphox, one of the first Pokémon I ever got."
Shino looked over to find that Kitsune had the same look on her face that Serena did. Turning to the female trainer, he nodded toward her, "she seems strong, much like you."
Serena shrugged, "we just work as hard as we can."
"Yeah, but that hard work paid off," Calem laughed.
Kitsune glanced over at the dog that was by the other boy, before turning to stand beside her trainer.
"That's Akamaru," I other boy said, motioning to the dog, "and I'm Kiba Inuzuka."
"My name's Hinata Hyūga. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," Calem said with a smile while Serena nodded, a small smile gracing her features.
"But seriously," Kiba said, glancing at the Delphox, "what is a Poké-whatever?"
"Pokémon are creatures from our world," Serena said, placing a hand on Kistune's head.
"You expect us to believe that you're both from a different world," Kiba scoffed.
"Is there really any other way to describe it," Calem questioned.
"He does have a point," Shino said, moving to stand beside Kiba.
Kiba rolled his eyes before looking back at Kitsune, "so what can they do?"
"A lot of things," Serena said. "Different people use them for different purposes back home."
"Like what?"
"Battles, contests, pets, stuff like that."
"What about you," Shino asked.
"I battle," Serena said, scratching behind Kitsune's ears.
"Elite Four Champ," Calem coughed in an attempt to discreetly tell the three other teens Serena's status.
"You're not very sneaky, ya know," Serena said, rolling her eyes as a small smile crossed her face.
"What does he mean by Elite Four Champion," Shino asked.
"Most people that battle with Pokémon aim to be the Elite Four Champion," Serena replied, smiling at Kitsune.
"Basically, they're the best trainers," Calem finished.
"They are not," Serena argued, "it's not a big deal, honestly."
"I-it seems like a great honor," Hinata stuttered.
Serena smiled at the girl, "oh it is, believe me. But I try not to forget who helped me get there."
Their conversation continued, the three shinobi asking the trainers various questions concerning Pokémon. At the same time, the trainers questioned the shinobi about their world in an attempt to figure out how they could best find the missing legends.
Eventually, however, the group had to go their separate ways. Once Kitsune was returned to her Pokéball, Serena hugged Calem goodbye and walked with Shino back to the Aburame compound. The walk back was filled with silence, the pair occasionally making comments or asking questions. All in all, Serena discovered that the day had been surprisingly productive.
I'm really sorry for the delay! This semester has been hectic for me, but I managed to work this chapter in. I hope you all like it and I'll try to post another chapter soon! Thanks to all of my reviewers, followers, and favorite-ers :D you don't know how much it means to me right now! :)