Ash had never seen a person look so depressed before. Luna wasn't eating when they stopped to eat breakfast and she didn't eat lunch either. Noivern was looking distressed as he tried to help her eat by offering her some of its food but she turned it down every time. Finally Hawlucha tried but she hid under Noivern's wing as best as she could and wouldn't come from hiding.
"How about a battle, Clemont?" Ash suddenly remembered the city they had to be headed to next was Snowbell City!
Luna poked her head out curiously from her hiding place. "A…battle?" It was as if the word was foreign to her.
Ash nodded and then suddenly felt very silly, "Oh well I guess you don't know living with wild pokemon and all. You see, I'm known as a trainer. I catch pokemon and then we battle together with other trainers and their pokemon."
"What for? Is it for dominance or is it for territory?"
Clemont shook his head. "Not at all. We grow a stronger bond with our pokemon and we can get to know them better. Most of the time trainers even form a type of bond in the form of a rivalry or friendship. I suppose at one point there may have been a need for battling but now it's more of a social habit, almost like introductions."
Luna still had the look of confusion but she asked, "But the pokemon like it?" She looked to Noivern who nodded with a huge smile.
"Not all of us battle, though," Serena spoke up. "Like me, I'm a trainer but me and Pancham and Braixen, all of us are in competitions. We do things like dancing and in this way we earn keys," she brought out her key ring of two Princess Keys.
Luna turned to Bonnie, "Then what are you?"
Bonnie pouted, "I'm too young to be a trainer. So, Dedenne is my brother's and I'm taking care of it. And Squishy is a pokemon I saved. We're protecting it."
The girl took a closer look at Squishy for the first time since she found them and squishy stared back. After a while she sat back and looked up at Serena when she jumped to her feet. "Ash, Clemont, before you two start battling I'd like to get to the next town to buy Luna some new clothes. If she's gonna be traveling around with us she can't be going around looking like a wild pokemon."
Clemont looked nervous, "I don't know about that…"
Ash agreed. "Professor Sycamore said her living in a city may be too much of a shock to her.
"It'll be fine!" Serena insisted.
Somehow Luna was convinced by Serena to go to a town she'd never heard of before, to buy something to cover herself up with, and then they'd be on their way to Snowbell City. By the way they spoke it sounded like they'd been here once or twice before. Wherever it was…
"What's going on," Ash wondered aloud. Luna didn't take the time to notice the humans building something like a stage and setting up pillars and things she'd never seen! She stopped to take in the sight of it all but people stared back at her as well and it made her uncomfortable.
"Valerie, is that you?" Ash's voice drew her away and she ran to catch up. He was talking to a girl with huge eyes. She reminded Luna of a Xatu if Xatu were a fairy type. "Valerie, this is Luna. She's traveling around with us for a while."
Luna didn't know what to do. So, she did what she normally did in these situations and hid behind Noivern. Ash laughed and started to explain, "She's never really been around other people before. She was raised by pokemon."
He didn't need to say any more, the girl stepped closer and, in the soft voice of a Sylveon, started to speak. Luna's eyes widened because this girl could speak like a pokemon nearly perfectly. She was introducing herself to Luna.
Overjoyed, Luna leapt forward and excitedly chatted very quickly about how happy she was, but the girl quickly became lost. "S-sorry, you are not…um…"
"I understood most of what you said, I think." Valerie smiled. "But I can better talk to my pokemon than wild ones."
Luna nodded sheepishly. "I should have spoken slower."
Valerie shook her head in amusement. "No, the way you spoke was lovely. The clothes you are wearing are made of a peculiar thread type. Is it…from a Silcoon?"
Luna nodded. "Yes, it's very comfortable."
Serena started to explain that they were here to buy some clothes. Clemont still didn't think it was a good idea. "I may have something she'll like," Valerie quickly interrupted Clemont as he started to speak. "Come with me." She took Luna's hand and led her slowly, like leading a Deerling, until they came to a tent behind the stage. It was filled with clothes that were dyed in brilliant colors!
"Here," Valerie plucked the set and held it out. It was a bright blue kimono with a bright yellow and black sash. She was even kind enough to help her get it on. The bow in the back was relatively small and the kimono came down to her knees but it was so free flowing that she felt comfortable. Luna moved around in it and found that battling other pokemon would be very easy. "Do you like it?"
Luna nodded and admired the sleeves, which were short compared to the others. Even strapping the bone to her back felt comfortable. "Thank you." Everyone complimented her on the outfit but it made her uncomfortable and she hid behind Noivern again.
Valerie laughed, "I created this with the idea of a lucario. A woman who is always fighting and moving, this was the type of person I wanted wearing it. The thread should hold up even in battle. It shouldn't be easily damaged or stained."
Luna nodded and thanked her like a Lucario would. Valerie nodded and chatted back like a Sylveon. Thankfully they were able to leave the town quickly and to Luna's relief.
They didn't stop walking until they found a pokemon center. By this time the sun was going down and Luna figured they must've walked a very long way. She sat on a couch and took out the egg from Ash's backpack. Something within it pulsed, like a heartbeat. Luna smiled, "You're okay," she whispered, "You're okay with me." She put the egg back in Ash's backpack and set it on the ground. Bonnie and Squishy and Dedenne sat next to her. Ash slumped in one of the chairs, complaining that it was too dark to practice now. Clemont tried to comfort him in vain and Serene chided both of them.
Luna stared at Squishy for a long while. It felt like Squishy didn't like her or maybe it was simply unsure of her. "Luna, do you know everything about pokemon since you lived with them?"
She shrugged and turned her attention to the girl, "I don't think so, Bonnie. We have different names for different phenomenon than you humans do. But if you have questions I can do my best to answer."
Bonnie nodded, "Do you know what kind of pokemon Squishy is?"
This turned her attention back to the green slime ball in front of her. It did look familiar, like a fairy tale her father used to tell her. "Squishy looks like a plant that melted," Luna joked. For now she would keep the fairy tale to herself until she was certain.
Outside there were clouds that were rolling in quickly. Within hours it was raining. Anyone left outside sought out the pokemon center for shelter including a boy with grassy green hair and his Sceptile.
"Look, it's Sawyer," Serena waved him over.
Luna looked at Noivern with a puzzled look and soon stood and ran outside. Noivern followed. It didn't take much energy to climb the top. This storm came from nowhere. Something was wrong, she knew. Or maybe she was running again, away from new humans, like her father taught her to.
She looked down. Noivern questioned her. "I'm just…confused, Noivern, and torn. I was raised like a pokemon but I'm…I'm treated like a human here. I don't know how to act or what to do. Wherever I go…" Her hair was being soaked and it would start to smell if she allowed it to soak. "Noivern, do you think Ash would keep me when he leaves? Do you think he'd still let me travel with him?"
Noivern smiled and told her she was silly to think he'd abandon her. He reassured her, chatting that he would until she felt like it was time to part and if that time ever came Ash would always remember her. He remembered everyone.
This made Luna smile even though she still didn't feel totally reassured. She still felt lost.
