The disclaimer can be found on the first chapter.
A/N:
In recent news, I have:
Received my exam results (which are okay);
Broken two pairs of my glasses (in the span of 48 hours, no less);
Lost my keys;
And finished Pokémon X. Yay.
Yeesh. I am so sorry this chapter took so long to come back. I've had to juggle between script-checking, another school-based old folks' carnival, Super Training, Pokémon-Amie and my insatiable desire to catch (well, trade) them all. Also, since I hadn't encountered Viola or Alexa for Arceus-knows-how-long, I decided to wait for the latest XY anime episode for a refresher.
Enough about me, let's continue the story!
Margie grabbed hold of her twintails and pulled. Try as she could, she couldn't force her hair any longer than it already was.
How in the world do they curl it up in the first place, let alone maintain it all day long?!
Margie had just started working the family business a while ago. One of their requirements, at least in Kalos, was to wear their hair in a certain style, to make them recognizable to all of the public. While other members, such as her three sisters, could manage the look with ease and finesse, her, not so much.
Gah! Why is this so hard?
It did have another particular quirk other than appearance, though. Instead of an ordinary title, her job title had her great-great-great-grandmother's name attached to it, and the public referred to her as such, disregarding her actual name. Outside of work, she was Margie Brooks. When she was working, she was-
"Bonjour, Nurse Joy!"
Ah, screw it, she thought, I'll just curl it later.
She turned around and faced the people who had approached the counter.
"Bonjour! How may I help you?"
The lone member of the group with a Y chromosome, a young man with sunglasses propped on the top of his outdoors cap, replied, "We'd like to register ourselves for the Kalos League."
"Certainly! Please put your Pokédexes on the scanner right in front of you while I set up the registration process."
As the three complied, she accessed League Registration and keyed in her ID, before turning on the scanner.
A mechanical voice sounded from the system.
"Calem Lambert, Vaniville Town. Shauna Bonnet, Vaniville Town. Serena Rousseau, Vaniville Town."
She tapped the 'Enter' button.
"Registration for the Kalos League has been completed. Current badge number: zero. The Fabulous League Association of Kalos wishes you good luck in your endeavours."
As the program self-terminated, Margie turned around and called into the staff room, "Aideen! Will you please take three badge cases from the yellow box?"
Moments later, a Wigglytuff, Aideen, probably, walked out with three small black boxes. She placed them on the counter, did a little bow, before moving off.
"You have your standard badge case, in black and grey; they have exactly eight compartments, one for each gym badge you will need to earn. Since you're already here, I'm assuming you will be challenging the Santalune Gym later on. In which case, I bid you bonne chance!"
The three took the boxes, before thanking her.
"Adieu, Nurse Joy!" they said in unison, before walking out the main door.
She smiled. It was nice kids with hopes and dreams like them that made her job all the more enjoyable.
Guess I better get back to recurling my-
"Nurse Joy! Nurse Joy!"
A Youngster ran up to the desk frantically. "Nurse Joy, my friend needs help!"
Margie turned to face the young boy who was waving his arms around. "Okay, calm down, and tell me what happened."
He continued to flap his hands. "We were playing by the lake south of the city, when-"
She stopped him with a hand, and groaned. "Let me guess; he jumped into it, and got himself impaled on a Goldeen, didn't he?"
By the time Calem, Serena and Shauna had finished eating brunch at the local café, the sun had risen quite high into the sky.
At least, it had. Its current position was blocked out by a sea of ominous-looking storm clouds.
Serena gulped down the rest of her limonade, before turning to the other two. "We probably should get going, or the rain's going to drench us before we even reach the first gym and challenge the gym leader."
"Speaking of which, what type Pokémon does the leader use?" Shauna said, before taking and wolfing down the last remaining pain au chocolat.
Calem, who had been reaching for the exact same croissant, sighed and withdrew his hand. "If I'm not mistaken, she uses-"
"Bug Pokémon."
The three paused, before turning to their solitary neighbour, a woman in a red-and-black top. She sipped something from her cup, before continuing, "Oh, sorry. I apologize if I was interrupting your conversation. But, I couldn't help but overhear that the three of you were going to challenge the Santalune Gym, is that fair to say?"
Still a bit bewildered, they nodded.
She dug around in her trouser pocket before coming up with a few 50P coins, which she placed on the table.
"Ah. I forgot to introduce myself." She held out a hand, "Alexa Mercier. Journalist for the Lumiose City Press up north. I was going to do an interview with Viola, but since you'll be challenging her first, I guess I'll wait until then."
Calem shook her hand uncertainly. "I see. I suppose Viola would be the gym leader, then?"
She nodded. "Don't take her lightly. Even for badgeless trainers like you three, she's still a force to be reckoned with."
She finished off her cup, before looking up. "You all should probably start moving. The rain looks like it's going to fall anytime soon."
True enough, as soon as she finished her sentence, small droplets began to, well, drop from the skies.
With one hand, Calem shielded his hat from the rain. With the other, he took out the pocket umbrella from his bag he had put to one side, before saying, "Thanks a lot for the advice, Miss Mercier!"
As the three dashed for the gym, she raised her hand for the waiter, who came over with an umbrella.
"Merci, monsieur. Here's a tip."
"What's the hustle, little Crustles?"
The slightly pudgy man spread his hands. "Welcome to the Santalune City Gym, promising future Champs! You can take a plastic bag for your umbrellas from over there, if you want to."
As the three repacked their slightly wet umbrellas, Shauna took a moment to look around. What she saw amazed her.
Lifelike pictures of different Bug Pokémon lined the three walls. There, a Combee (male, since it lacked a red dot on his forehead) hovered over a field of flowers. Over there, a Caterpie and Weedle played in foliage. Over there, a Butterfree was sniffing a sunflower.
"Like the pictures? These were all lovingly taken by our very own Gym Leader, Viola!"
"They're great photos! She really puts a lot of love into them, huh?"
The man clapped his hands together. "Indeed! If you are going to challenge her, I suggest you," he pointed at the white pole-like structure that went down a hole in the middle of the floor, "climb down that silk rope."
Serena tapped her chin in puzzlement. "Can anyone climb back up here from down there using that rope?"
"No one has ever succeeded. Yet."
"Aha. That means that there's another way up – and down." She turned to face the guide. "Where is the alternate passage?"
The gym guide sweatdropped. "You figured it out, huh?"
To that response, Serena simply walked over to the back, where the large Butterfree picture was hanged. She tapped it once, upon which, it slid open, and a staircase leading down appeared.
"There. This should lead straight to the Gym Leader's chamber. See you guys later, then." she said, as she walked down. Seconds later, the panel slid back behind her.
Calem turned to the gym guide. "I'll take the rope."
The portly man beamed, before gesturing to it. "By all means, be my guest."
Calem gripped the smooth rope with both hands, before putting one foot on the tangible cloth. He was about to remove his other foot from the landing, when a hand gripped his shoulder. "C-Sharp, I'll go where you go, so catch me when I go down, alright?"
"Naturally." He replied, before he slid down.
Serena reached the end of the landing, where a large curtain separated the stairs and whatever lay beyond. She took a deep breath, before pushing aside the curtain.
"Gym Leader Viola?"
What she saw stunned her.
In front of her was a giant spiderweb. Large dewdrops lined the walkways, which were wide enough for both her feet. Up ahead, over the large expanse of webbing, a blonde woman lounged on a chair, a camera on the table next to her.
As she watched, Calem slid down the same rope she had seen before taking the stairs, coming to a graceful halt on the plank floor, feet first. Shauna followed quickly behind, oming to a not-so-graceful halt, butt-first.
The blonde, who she assumed was Viola, walked over to them and helped her up, before turning to face Serena. "Welcome to the Santalune Website! Normally, most challengers will face me in battle first, before finding their way back to ground level, but I see you've decided to do it in reverse! In that case, please find your way over here, while I take on these two first!"
To say Serena was shocked would be an understatement. Perhaps the more accurate term would be 'stupefied'.
Regardless, she resigned herself to her fate, and started to cross.
As she reached the first fork, she looked up to see Fontaine pelting a Surskit with his foam, before using his tongue for a Lick. Deciding that she would get to hear everything from Shauna later, she went on and took a right.
Both Vivillions fluttered to the ground, power spent. While one had spirals in her eyes, the other's small, beady eyes blinked once, before it shapeshifted back into a Ditto.
"Vivillion is unable to battle! The challenger, Shauna, wins the match!"
Viola returned the butterfly to its ball, before shrugging her arms in defeat. "Alright. You win. Allow me a moment to recover my Pokémon, before I start the next match."
As she moved off to apply medicine, Shauna jumped and cheered. "Yay! I won my very first gym battle!"
Calem applauded. "Not a bad showing, Nana."
"Thanks, C-Sharp!"
She then turned to the web and called out, "Siri! How are you doing so far?"
Serena, who was dangling from one of the pathways, yelled back, "How do you think I'm doing?!"
"…She's doing great!"
By this time, Viola had walked back. "Now, Calem, was it? Are you ready to battle?"
Calem turned around. "Yes, and I don't plan on holding back."
She snapped a quick picture, before proclaiming, "Then I'm not going to go easy on you!"
In the confines of the Great Ball's gothic-themed bedroom, Blair shuddered. "That just can't mean well for any of us."
Almond turned the volume on the television up a few bars. "Which one of us is going out first?"
Their trainer took out a Premier Ball.
"Guess it's me." Oberon said, as he put the bowl of Gummis down. "Save me a few of those Gold ones, please?"
Blair nodded, and cheered, "Good luck, Berry-niichan! We'll be rooting for you!"
The ethereal cable shot down, latching onto Oberon's waiting hands.
"Geronimo!"
The Camera Girl Who Never Misses A Smile! Viola!
VS
The New Boy Taking On The League! Calem!
BATTLE, BEGIN!
Novice Calem is challenged by Leader Viola!
Leader Viola sent out Surskit!
Novice Calem sent out Ralts!
"I take it you know that rapscallion who calls himself Fontaine?"
"I do, and I sincerely apologize on his behalf for all the disgusting attacks he may have performed on you, miss…"
"Ashley. And apology accepted. *sigh* Now you're going to make me feel bad for taking you down."
"While I do believe one of us is going down, I also believe it won't be me."
"Ashley, Bubble!"
"Dodge and use Confusion!"
They both dashed to their left, their projectiles impacting harmlessly on the wood floor.
As Oberon sized up their strengths, Ashley raised her two front legs. A ball of water formed between them, before it flew up high and exploded.
The Water Sport drenched the surrounding field, forming a small thin film of water.
"Do you think you can keep up with me on my terrain?" Ashley taunted, before speeding off at a breakneck speed towards Oberon.
He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding one of her legs, before reciting.
"Twin goddesses, each born with a single wing… in imperfection lies everchanging hearts… Lucky Chant: Gemini!"
A blue aura surrounded Oberon's 'legs'. As Ashley came back with a second blow, Oberon sped away, just as fast as her.
"Nice trick, but you're not getting anywhere! Pound!"
She leapt through the air, and managed to strike one of his psychosensors with the attack. Shaken, but not completely stunned, Oberon sent a Confusion flying back, which impacted Ashley's underside, and sent her flying.
Landing on her feet, she once again drew water from the ground, before launching them all in a wide arc.
"Bubble!"
Weaving and ducking, Oberon managed to evade most of the orbs, until a lucky (or should that be unlucky?) shot caught him square in the face.
It was then that Oberon dissolved into mist.
Puzzled, Ashley only realized the ploy as the blue bolt of Confusion impacted the back of her head.
"Gah! When did you pull off that Double Team?!"
The real Oberon, who had all along been behind her, replied, "Gemini allows me to replicate myself should I perform it, at the cost of not being able to form more than one. Turns out, I only needed one."
"Hmph… You win, then…"
Ashley collapsed, spirals in her eyes.
"Surskit is unable to battle! Ralts is the winner!"
"Return!" Viola called, before pocketing Ashley's Pokéball, and taking out a different one.
"Go, Evie!"
Leader Viola sent out Vivillon!
"You're pretty strong to have taken Ashley out. Too bad I'm your next opponent, and I'm stronger than her!"
"Let's see who's stronger between the two of us!"
With a flap of her wings, Evie was off, flying around the room.
Round and round she flew, with no sign that she was going to do anything different. At that range, Confusion was bound to miss, so Oberon decided to try and anticipate her next move.
What he hadn't known, was that her next move was already in play.
Ow! Oberon looked down to see an ant on the end of his fur. He quickly brushed it off, before turning back to looking up.
Ow! Oberon looked back down to see two ants nibbling away at him. He just as quickly brushed them off, upon which, ten more appeared from the water he was standing in.
Panicked, he swept them off, only to have more crawl up his front. An overwhelming amount found their way up Oberon's tiny physique, gnawing and biting away at every exposed surface.
"How's the Infestation treating you, huh?"
The bugs were now crawling over Oberon's head. He would have screamed, but he was just as afraid of them getting in his mouth.
"I'll put you out of your misery, then. Tackle!"
Evie's seventeen-kilogram body slammed into Oberon with the force of, well, a seventeen-kilogram butterfly, sending him crashing to the wall.
He slid down, spirals in his eyes.
"Well… This is going to leave a mark…"
"Ralts is unable to battle! Vivillon is the winner! Challenger Calem, you have one Pokémon left!"
"Let me at her! I'll make her pay for what she did to Berry-niichan!" Blair screamed, eyes glowing red with fury.
Almond readjusted his grip on her ruffled dress. "While I would be happy to see you wreak havoc, it's up to Calem as to who will get to go out next."
As if on cue, Oberon returned to the bedroom, battered and unconscious, as the Calem onscreen took out a regular Pokéball.
"Take care of Oberon, and I'll deal with her in your place, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, the glowing rope wrapped around Almond and jerked up.
Blair hovered over to the prone Oberon, who was breathing unsteadily. When she nudged against him, his body was cold.
"Please be okay…"
Novice Calem sent out Chespin!
"Don't think you're going to get away with what you did to Berry."
"Can you back up your words, or are you going to fall short?"
Almond immediately grabbed two of his quills, stiffening them up, before throwing them like darts at Evie. While one harmlessly whizzed past her, the other struck her in the thorax, causing her to veer off course, into the water.
And as everyone knows, wet wings can't fly.
"Nom d'un Furfrou! My wings are too heavy!"
If she had teeth, she would be gritting them by now. "No matter. Ants, charge forward!"
The same ants that had swarmed Oberon were now starting to crawl over Almond. The menacing bugs did a lot more damage to Almond, a denizen of the forest, than Oberon, and soon, he was encompassed by the black mass of bodies.
"I have a few other tricks up my sle- pftooh! Yuck!"
He jumped in the air, before curling into a ball. As soon as he landed in the water, he began to spin with an incredible speed, causing the ants on his body to fly off in many different directions, negating the effect Infestation would have had otherwise.
A side effect of the rapid spinning was that water from the floor was launched up in the air like a waterwheel, further drenching Evie in the water and effectively immobilizing her.
"Here I go!"
He stopped spinning in place, and sped towards Evie at a breakneck pace. She tried to call up her defense mechanism, but it was too late.
"Har-""Too slow! Rollout!"
The impact shot Evie towards the back wall, where she stuck too rather peculiarly, like one of those framed Beautifly specimens.
"Sorry to rain on your parade!"
"That pun… was so bad…"
Novice Calem defeated Leader Viola!
Viola recalled her fallen Vivillon. "You and your Pokémon have shown me a new depth of field! Fantastic, just fantastic!"
She rubbed the back of her head. "Well, in honour of your victories, may I present to you the Bug-"
"Hold it right there!"
A tired, sweaty Serena dragged herself over the last of the webbing's walkways, before looking at Viola with determined eyes. "I've finally conquered your web! Now, I challenge you to a battle, and just like them two, I'm going to wi-"
Now it was her turn to get interrupted. "Not so fast!"
The woman from earlier, Alexa, deftly slid down the rope, before coming to a nice stop. "I'm leaving for Lumiose City in twenty minutes, so I have to do the interview with my sis first. Could you wait until just a while more before you fight her?"
"Sis?!" echoed the three teenagers in the room.
"Well, I guess I can see the family resemblance." said Calem.
"You must be quite a bit younger than her to look like that!" Shauna exclaimed.
Alexa laughed. "She's actually my younger sister, you know?"
"By only one-and-a-half years." Viola concluded.
Shauna looked at Alexa, before turning to Viola. "But you look so much older than-"
A vein popped on her forehead.
"Tierno, wait up!"
Tierno, who had been merrily strolling through the puddles of water, a closed umbrella propped over his right shoulder, jumped onto one of the lampposts, before continuing to sing.
"I'm laughing at clouds,
So dark up above,
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for-"
With a loud bang, the double doors to the Santalune Gym in front of him burst open.
In short order, Serena, Calem and Shauna were unceremoniously thrown out into the freezing rain.
A small blue ball of energy followed them.
"TAKE YOUR BADGES, AND DON'T COME BACK!"
The ball of energy dissipated, for lack of a better word, and something, or somethings, clattered to the ground.
Calem propped himself up. "That could have gone better."
"Well, at least we managed to-AAH!" "What do you mean, we?!"
Serena had grabbed Shauna by both shoulders, and was now shaking her relentlessly. "You got all of us thrown out before I had my gym battle, and even after I had to go through that maze of a web, and now I don't, and never will have, a badge to speak of! What the absolute hell am I supposed to do now?!"
Trevor, who had walked over to the small objects that were dropped, piped up, "Well, you've got three badges here. You might as well take one of those."
It was only now did the three realize the presence of their other friends, one of whom had progressed to tap dancing, all the while still singing.
"Trevs! How did your afternoon go?"
A/N:
Bonjour – Good day
Bonne chance – good luck
Adieu – Farewell
Limonade - lemonade
Pain au chocolat – A French chocolate croissant
Nom d'un Furfrou! – Literally 'last name of a Furfrou', in reference to 'last name of a dog' (Nom d'un chien!). A French swear that means 'Damn!'.
Pokédex count:
Central Kalos – 28/150 seen.
(Coastal Kalos – 1/153 seen. – Rhyhorn – Unregistered)
(Mountain Kalos – 1/151 seen. – Ditto – Unregistered)
(National – Koffing, Misdreavus – Unregistered)
Pokémon stats:
Calem's Team
Name: Oberon
Species: Ralts
Approximate level: 18
Moves learnt: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, Lucky Chant
Name: Almond
Species: Chespin
Approximate level: 14
Moves learnt: Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Rollout, Bite
Name: Blair
Species: Misdreavus
Approximate level: 12
Moves learnt: Growl, Psywave, Spite, Astonish
Serena's Team
Name: Fiametta 'Fia'
Species: Fennekin
Approximate level: 14
Moves learnt: Scratch, Tail Whip, Ember, Howl, Flame Charge
Name: Skye
Species: Fletchling
Approximate level: 12
Moves learnt: Tackle, Growl, Quick Attack, Peck
Shauna's Team
Name: Fontaine
Species: Froakie
Approximate level: 12
Moves learnt: Pound, Growl, Bubble, Quick Attack, Lick
Name: Meta
Species: Ditto
Approximate level: 11
Moves learnt: Transform (that's the only thing a Ditto can learn, anyways)
Viola's team all have their game stats.
