"Ah, what a lovely specimen you have there."
The Ambrette Fossil Lab head scientist took the fossil from Alya's hands, examining the impression with a gloved finger. Alya watched on in anticipation as she had looked forward to this since she and her friends had safely returned from Glittering Cave last night. It would be quite the pick-me-up after losing Ivan to those Venomoth-masked agents of the mysterious Team Akuma.
The rest of her friends waited behind her, observing what the Ambrette head scientist was going to do next with Alya's fossil. In spite of her grieving over Ivan, Mylène kept her composure the best she could while leaning on Marinette for additional emotional support. Adrien and Nino kept quiet in the background, superficially watching the interaction between Alya and the head scientist while mentally trying to figure out how to get Ivan back from Team Akuma. Even with seeing the fossil restoration machine in action, all five of them were uneasy over the idea that as time went on, the probability of rescuing Ivan successfully decreased. It was bad enough that they didn't get as much sleep last night because of this fiasco, but they were not going to be deterred from saving him.
"Do you know what kind of Pokémon will be given new life from that fossil?" Alya asked with added enthusiasm to lift the mood of her friends.
"I actually do, Ms. Césaire," the head scientist replied. "The fossil you brought back from Glittering Cave is called the Sail Fossil, aptly named so as you could see." He traced his finger of the sail impression once again to make his point. "My colleagues and I excavated a couple of those, along with some Jaw Fossils, months ago. I could tell you what Pokémon will be resurrected from the Sail Fossil, but seeing as you and your friends have recently learned about fossil Pokémon, it'd be best to keep it a surprise until the restoration is complete."
"Is there any way for us to watch the restoration process?" Alya inquired.
"We have monitors that allow us to oversee both the statistical and recreation processes, but I'm afraid that it might be rather tedious for you to watch," the head scientist explained. "Depending on the size of the fossil Pokémon, the overall process might take from half an hour to a whole day."
"A whole day?!" Alya repeated incredulously.
"Our systems used to take up three to five days in restoring a fossil Pokémon, but with recent developments and technological advances, we were able to speed up the process in which a large Pokémon like Aerodactyl can be restored within a day," the head scientist continued. Alya and her friends nodded in understanding. "But you and your friends are in luck, Ms. Césaire. Since we've restored a Pokémon from a Sail Fossil in the past, we already have the biological schematics saved in our database. So restoring this particular Pokémon should not take more than thirty minutes."
"Wow, I really have no reason to doubt you guys," Alya grinned. "Thanks so much for doing this."
"It is our pleasure and for the sake of science, after all," the head scientist responded.
"Uh, dude, I mean sir," Nino raised his hand. "What happens to the Pokémon after it's brought back to life and stuff?"
"The Pokémon we restore from the fossils we've collected are kept safe and preserved in our facilities specialized to match their ideal natural habitats," the head scientist answered. "But in the case of Pokémon Trainers such as yourselves, well, it's only fair that the Trainer who found the fossil gets to keep and raise the Pokémon themselves."
"Sweet! For real?!" Alya exclaimed.
"Yo, Alya, I hate to burst your bubble, but didn't you and Adrien find that fossil together?" Nino reminded, causing the scarlet-brunette journalist to backpedal and glance at her momentary fossil-finding partner.
"Oh, right, sorry about that," Alya laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Guess I just got caught up in the moment. I should've been more considerate about it."
"Don't worry about it, Alya," Adrien smiled. "I caught a new Pokémon back at Glittering Cave, so I think it's fair that you get whatever's coming back to life from the fossil."
"Aww, that's so thoughtful of you, Adrien," Mylène praised. "Isn't that right, Marinette?"
"… So… perfect," Marinette mumbled with adoring bluebell eyes, her whole being lighting up from witnessing Adrien's selfless act.
"What's up, Marinette?" Adrien questioned.
"H-Huh?!" Marinette coughed, snapping out of her love-induced reverie. "I mean, yeah! Th-That's awesome! You're awesome… I mean, i-it's awesome that you're awesome! No, I mean…!"
"She also thinks it's awesome that you're being super awesome about it," Alya intervened while her bestie sent her a shaky yet very grateful smile. "Did that make sense?"
"Oh, well it's awesome that you approve," Adrien smiled back, turning away and not even noticing that Marinette was still giving him her awkwardly goofy smile.
The dark-bluenette designer felt her phone vibrate, breaking her out of her love stupor. A subtle text message from Alya advising her to marry the blond boy on the spot made her respond with a not so subtle facial expression directed right at her friend. Alya struggled not to break out in laughter at her BFF's comically affronted face. Fortunately for Marinette, neither of the boys bothered to notice and Mylène was already sympathetic to her crush on Adrien and thus didn't demean her for it.
"Hey, Adrien, you never did show us what kind of Pokémon you were able to catch back at Glittering Cave," Nino said, throwing a mock punch at his friend's arm. "How did you manage to catch it with all that trouble we went through yesterday?"
"It was right after Alya and I left with the fossil in tow," Adrien replied, taking out a Poké Ball and holding it up. "To be fair, this little one was the real hero in both finding the fossil and dealing with those guys with the strange masks. Come out, Cubone!"
The Poké Ball snapped open and Adrien's newly caught Cubone materialized before everyone. Cubone took several glances around her new environment, finding familiar humans in white coats going about on their business in this cold mechanical location. She also caught sight of the girl named Alya waving at her; Cubone meekly waved back. Cubone soon found herself being picked up into the arms of her new Trainer.
"Whoa, so you caught a Cubone," Nino remarked, examining the Lonely Pokémon at various angles, much to Cubone's discomfort as she attempted to ward him away with her club.
"Easy there, Nino," Adrien advised, using a free arm to keep his friend at a distance. "Cubone is still not used to being around people."
"Cubone looks really cute," Mylène commented, admiring the Lonely Pokémon at the presumed safe distance.
"Y-Yeah, uh, awesome catch," Marinette added with a big smile, getting as close as she could behind Mylène.
"Thanks, Marinette, Mylène," Adrien nodded to each girl.
At the mention of Marinette's name and association of the name as dictated by Adrien, Cubone casted a wary glance at the somewhat shaky dark-bluenette girl standing behind the other female human with the multicolored dreadlocks. It was true on what the human named Alya selectively mentioned out of her Trainer's earshot on what this Marinette felt for Adrien based off of external signs alone. They were further reinforced by this affection her bluebell eyes held for him.
Of course, Marinette straightened out and discovered the look Cubone was giving her. Suddenly, she was no longer nervous around Adrien as she was now concerned about the rather pointed gaze she was receiving from Cubone.
"Um, Cubone, something wrong?" Marinette questioned while Cubone refused to respond.
"Oh, sorry about that, Marinette, but Cubone is still getting used to others," Adrien explained. Cubone then turned away from the dark-bluenette designer and clung onto Adrien's shirt. "Don't worry, Cubone. They're all my friends. You can trust them."
"Wow, your Pokémon has just as much social grace as you did when you first started Lumiose Academy," Nino jested.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Adrien laughed back, sending back a mock punch of his own. "Don't insult us."
While the boys continued to playfully bicker, Alya kept her observations to the side, masking her findings behind her ever sly smirk. She easily recognized the look Cubone gave Marinette. After all, Marinette gave that same look time to time whenever Chloé or certain female acquaintances from the Agreste line of modeling work approached Adrien with certain promiscuous intentions on hand.
This really ought to be interesting, Alya thought.
Before she could entertain herself with possible scenarios with this recent development, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her attention went back to the Ambrette head scientist.
"Ms. Césaire, the Sail Fossil has been placed in the chamber and the restoration process has just begun," he announced. "As anticipated, the fossil Pokémon should be restored within half an hour. You and your friends are free to hang around and observe the processes or leave and come back in thirty minutes."
"I'm staying here, regardless of how tedious you say the processes sound," Alya affirmed, turning to the others while the head scientist went to tend to other matters. "I'm not going to force my friends to stay though."
"Actually, Alya, I'm planning to leave soon anyway," Mylène spoke up docilely, much to everyone's surprise.
"I thought you wanted to see what kind of Pokémon comes out from Alya's fossil," Nino said, folding his arms.
"… I did, but I had wanted to share the experience with Ivan, before he… well, you know," Mylène mumbled, looking away momentarily. The others fell into respectful silence, understanding why she felt the way she did. "Anyway, I know it sounds stupid, but I'm going to look for Ivan."
"Are you sure?" Adrien asked. "We don't even have a clue to where he is now."
"It's better than just sitting around here and waiting for something to pop up," Mylène argued. "Who knows what Team Akuma is doing to him right now?! I've got to save Ivan!"
"But Mylène−!" Nino was cut off by Marinette's arm unexpectedly.
"We understand, Mylène," Marinette answered, much to the boys' protests. She sympathized with her the most as she had imagined herself what it would've been like in her shoes and if Adrien was the one captured and held hostage instead. She inwardly applauded Mylène for having such fortitude up to this point as Marinette didn't think she could do the same. "Just promise us to stay safe and avoid trouble."
"Thank you, Marinette," Mylène sniffled before taking her leave out of the main lab.
"Wait, so we're just gonna let her go off like that?" Nino scolded once Mylène was gone. "I don't want to say it, but is Mylène even strong enough to fight on her own like that?"
"No, and even Mylène knows it, but she also knows that this is something she feels she has to do," Marinette replied coolly. "I won't be the one to deprive her of that right. And I won't let anyone else deprive her of that right either."
"But the girl gets scared too easily," Nino retorted. "And she's relied on Ivan to bail her out most of the time."
"Think about it, Nino," Marinette resumed. "Mylène won't grow as a person and as a Trainer if she doesn't face her fears. And I honestly think she is strong. She and her Pokémon are just as strong as the rest of us. I believe in her, and as her friends, you all should believe in her too."
"I agree with Marinette," Adrien said after a few passing seconds of agonizing silence. All eyes were on him now, particularly Marinette's wondrous look from hearing that he agreed with her. "Mylène has her own Pokémon path she must walk, even if it means getting tangled up with those guys from Team Akuma to rescue Ivan."
"I guess you have a point," Nino muttered, scratching his head under his cap. "It also gives us more of a reason to look out for her. Fine."
"I hate seeing her go so soon, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Alya shrugged. "I wonder if we should let the others know about what happened to Ivan."
"Won't it start a panic if we tell our other friends about a secret organization abducting Ivan for who-knows-what?" Adrien pondered.
"It's a risk, but the more eyes and ears we have available, the better," Marinette concluded. "I think they can keep this Akuma business a secret… Except for Sabrina and Chloé."
"Agreed," Alya concurred wryly, preparing a mass group message for everyone sans the aforementioned two. "Plus, even if Chloé did care, she'd cause an uproar about it in front of her daddy, the Pokémon League President, and we'd probably be playing into Team Akuma's hands by sending the whole Kalos region into mass hysteria. Trust me, I've read this sort of thing before. I'm 'hero-savvy.' The less we can limit this information to people we trust, the better."
"You'd think we'd be vigilantes for what we're attempting to do," Nino remarked. "At least we're not going around wearing masks and wearing weird costumes and skin-tight spandex to fight against evil."
Peculiarly enough, his light sarcastic statements wound up planting ideas in the heads of his friends, particularly for Marinette and Adrien. Marinette entertained herself with the idea of making her own mask and costume from her own designer expertise as to protect her identity and those close to her from Team Akuma. As for Adrien, he had plenty of resources to work with courtesy of his father and knew people who could help him out while keeping his secret to their graves.
Before anyone knew it, Adrien took out his phone and started to write up a message.
It was really a wonder they have finally reached this point. It wouldn't be a miraculous story without such features.
"Hey, a superhero's costume shouldn't be mocked, Nino," Alya rebutted defensively. "I have yet to find a superhero costume design I'd disagree with and that's if the superhero's powers and battle style don't match with it."
"You're missing the point here," Nino sighed. "The point is that we're pretty much playing with fire here. Those Akuma goons warned us about getting in their way. The more people we get involved, the greater the danger's in store for us."
"Nino's right, but seriously, I don't like staying in the sidelines and feeling helpless like this," Adrien grumbled. "Maybe it is time to take action."
"Whoa, that's kinda surprising hearing that from you," Alya smirked before sobering up. "But you do know that we won't let you run off, Poké Balls ablazing and all."
"It's not like my father or Nathalie are watching my every move as they used to now," Adrien reasoned. "So I have nothing to lose at this rate."
Marinette didn't say anything this time despite the jarring sting she felt in her heart from her beloved's proclamation even though she was just as surprised as Alya for his sudden display of recklessness. Was he really going to risk his life for the sake of saving Ivan and taking down Team Akuma? Did he not realize that there were other people that deeply cared for him even if his father didn't seem to care about him? There was no way she was going to let Adrien sacrifice himself for the sake of justice.
She knew she wouldn't be able to dissuade him, much less hold a long-standing debate against him if she couldn't get over her tongue-tied condition over him. It was time that she pushed herself to protect him.
Before she could get her thoughts on protecting Adrien together, Marinette felt something shake in her arms.
"Huh?" Marinette grunted, remembering that she still held her Egg incubator in her arms. She looked through the transparent case that the white Pokémon Egg was glowing at a steady rate. "Uh, g-g-guys?!"
Her cry and glowing Egg spoke for themselves as Alya, Adrien, and Nino quickly gathered around to help. Even Cubone couldn't help but wonder what was about to happen. Marinette had the Egg for a few weeks now since winning it from the informal Parfum Palace tag battle tournament. Talk about insane timing.
"Marinette, quickly!" Alya ordered. "Put the incubator down and take the case off. Then let nature take its course."
The dark-bluenette designer stopped shuffling on her feet and calmed down as much as she could, kneeling to the floor and removing the case from incubator base. The Egg was serenely glowing from its cushioned pedestal. The others also knelt down to witness the arrival of new life.
"Man, it's about time that Egg of yours hatched!" Nino exclaimed.
"The mystery behind the Pokémon Egg will soon come to a close," Alya commented.
"I'm glad to be around to see this," Adrien added warmly, exchanging a smile with a nervous Marinette.
"Y-Yeah," Marinette agreed, extremely happy that he was around as well for multiple reasons; it was only fair that he, as the other winner from the tournament, got to witness the hatching.
"Marinette, look down," Alya advised.
At her best friend's immediate direction, Marinette glanced down and saw that her Egg maintained its brilliant glow as cracks started to crawl around the top. Within less than heartbeat, the light completely engulfed the Egg and it had looked like it had shattered completely. Interestingly enough, it did not look like the Egg had fully hatched as only the head, arms, and feet of the baby Pokémon had formed as the shell still covered most of the body.
The little one opened its eyes for the first time, its first sight being a dark-haired, blue-eyed young girl with an innocent and sweet complexion. But even as an Egg, the Pokémon was able to sense traces of bravery and determination from her as she carried its Egg. In any case, the baby Pokémon expressed a sense of delight to finally see the world.
"Prii! Prii!" it squeaked.
Momentarily puzzled by this new rare Pokémon, Marinette took out her Pokédex and found the entry of this mystery. She couldn't believe her eyes as a wide smile overtook most of her face.
"No way… It really is a Togepi!" Marinette squealed.
Her friends admired the curious Togepi while she looked up additional information on the Spike Ball Pokémon on the Pokédex. The basic entry mentioned that Togepi's shell is filled with joy and that it shares good luck with those who treat it kindly, something Marinette felt she desperately needed. As if her lucky streak was blazing through, her Togepi held the Ability, Serene Grace, which she knew doubled the probabilities of secondary effects of certain moves to take place in battle. She was so glad she was awake for that particular lecture. Additional information identified Togepi as a female.
"Togepi are very rare and bless those who treat them with kindness," Adrien surmised. "This is definitely your type of Pokémon, Marinette."
"Th-Thanks, A-Adrien," Marinette grinned, tallying up another over-the-top reason to protect him from Team Akuma in her head.
"Can't wait to see what comes out from raising Togepi," Nino chuckled.
"Do I need to remind you for everything?" Alya questioned dryly.
"… Probably," Marinette answered sheepishly.
"Togepi still isn't yours until you actually catch her," Alya reminded. "There's a spare Poké Ball on top of the incubator case, saving you the trouble of finding one of your own."
"Oh, right," Marinette nodded, internally thankful for her best friend's observations.
The dark-bluenette designer found the spare Poké Ball clipped to the top of the incubator case, taking it off and enlarging it upon the press of the central button. Togepi sat obediently, watching the girl she imprinted as her new mother held the Poké Ball before her. With a gentle tap on the head, the Spike Ball Pokémon soon disappeared into the containment device unit, allowing herself to be captured without resistance.
Marinette soon reopened the Poké Ball, freeing Togepi to her arms so that they could get to know each other better. Togepi simply chirped in amusement from going back and forth.
"Well, that was quite the experience," Nino concluded, standing back up. "I didn't think I'd get to see an Egg hatch this early in my journey."
"Same," Adrien echoed, following suit. "It kinda gets you to think more about the wonders of Pokémon we've yet to discover."
"Speaking of wonders, I wonder how my fossil is doing," Alya mentioned, getting to her feet alongside Marinette.
"Oh, your fossil Pokémon was restored about a minute ago," the head scientist announced as he passed by their small group. "I was actually going to come and get you."
"What?! I missed the creation process?" Alya gasped in disbelief.
"Ohh, I'm so sorry, Alya," Marinette bowed contritely, but was gently pulled back up and greeted with a soft smile.
"Don't worry your beautiful head off, Marinette," Alya replied compassionately. "Honestly, witnessing the birth of a new Pokémon from an Egg more than makes up for the fossil restoration process. And before you say anything, yes, I mean it."
"… Alya," Marinette replied with watery eyes and a penitent smile as Alya placed her arms around her, being mindful as to avoid giving Togepi discomfort.
"There, there, girl," Alya murmured tenderly, patting and rubbing her bestie's back. "You know it's not your fault."
"She's right," Adrien added helpfully.
"You can't control when a Pokémon decides to hatch," Nino pointed out.
"I believe I have a solution to this," the head scientist interrupted, clearing his throat. "Our lab does keep records of all attempted fossil revitalizations. Ms. Césaire, if you're still interested, we are permitted to show you our recording of the Pokémon being restored to life. Our only condition is that all outside camera and recording equipment are strictly prohibited."
"See, Marinette?" Alya grinned. "It all works out somehow in the end. Now let's go meet my new fossil Pokémon."
"Yeah," Marinette beamed.
"If you all would please follow me to the restoration chamber," the head scientist gestured, leading the four young Trainers into the next room.
This next room was filled to the brim with various complex machinery and devices that were actively performing unseen programming as signified by the various nodes and diodes that lit up under certain patterns. Amidst the larger machines that covered every wall area and corner of the room stood an equally large capsule-shaped chamber. The initial wonder brought about by the scientific environment came to a halt once all eyes fell upon this particular feature.
One of the other scientists had pressed a button on the chamber upon seeing the head return with the group of Trainers. The chamber was prepped to open up. Those familiar with this technological setting anticipated a release of steam as science's latest innovation was to be revealed to the rest of the world. Alya and the others made out a silhouette within the thick steam. This figure was close to their height because it appeared to have a long neck. The rest of its body was defined to be big and a quadruped.
"… Mau-ra," it softly crooned.
The steam dissipated and revealed this revitalized fossil Pokémon it all its icy blue glory.
"Wow… This Pokémon looks so gorgeous," Alya remarked breathlessly, instantly whipping out her Pokédex to identify it.
The Pokémon of the Sail Fossil was called Amaura, a dual Rock and Ice-type. Its default entry defined it as a calm Pokémon that lived in a cold land devoid of predators over one hundred million years ago. External traits that were identifiable at this point were that this Amaura was female and had the Ability known as Refrigerate.
"Welcome to the modern age, Amaura," Alya grinned.
The Amaura tilted her head to the side, obviously puzzled by this new turn of events. This entire environment did not feel like this was her home. She had no memories of the past except for the past few minutes as she woke up in some sort of strange enclosed metallic space and soon greeted by this dark-skinned bespectacled girl and other humans that appeared to be related to her somehow, possibly friends or some sort of family.
But her natural levelheadedness allowed her to see that these humans held no ill intent against her and were in fact excited to meet her. As such, the Amaura carefully stepped out of the chamber and pressed the side of her head against the scarlet-brunette girl.
"Yikes, that's cold!" Alya yelped from the touch before dissolving into laughter, affectionately placing her hands around Amaura's head as the Tundra Pokémon continued to nuzzle against her.
"Amaura keep their body temperature low, as you just experienced for yourself," the head scientist explained. "Amaura are capable of preserving this temperature for long periods of time outside of their natural environment, but if you do plan on raising one, I would suggest periodic temperature regulation. Let Amaura submerge in ice at least once per week to ensure healthy growth. Of course, a Pokémon Center would suffice as it's always equipped to treat Pokémon of all types and backgrounds, but the aforementioned is if you're nowhere near a Pokémon Center during your travels."
"You can count on me," Alya gave a mock salute before turning her attention back to Amaura. "This is probably something you're not used to, but it'd be awesome if you'd travel with me around Kalos. I promise to take really good care of you. I have experience tending to troublesome younger sisters, so I can proudly say I can handle taking care of a wonderful Pokémon like you, Amaura."
Amaura slowly pulled her head away to nod at the given terms and conditions. This human girl was certainly straight to the point as she then took out a Poké Ball from her waist and playfully tapping it on her head. The sail-like appendages on her head momentarily lit up green before Amaura went into the Poké Ball. The device shook about five times, concluding its official capture with a bright shower of stars.
"News flash, my peeps! I just caught an Amaura!" Alya exclaimed, proudly holding up the Poké Ball with her latest addition to her team.
"Man, look at you guys catching Pokémon so easily like that," Nino chuckled. "Back in my day, we battled wild Pokémon until they were weak enough to resist capture."
"This isn't a game, bro," Adrien laughed alongside him. "Here, there's more to it than battle then capture. We have the opportunity to learn that Pokémon have thoughts and wants too."
"Easy for you to say, Mr. Heir to the Kalos Champion Throne," Nino responded lightly. "Cubone is the only legit wild Pokémon out of these recent captures. I mean, Marinette's Togepi just hatched and Alya's Amaura was resurrected with no idea what to do but to follow her. You must've used your natural charms to sway Cubone to your side without battling."
Even though she was still in Adrien's arms, Cubone attempted to innocently look away and pretend that his human friend was simply blowing things out of proportion.
"I told you we faced a common enemy and Cubone chose to help me and Alya out," Adrien reminded. "I just took the chance to give her the offer and she accepted."
"Hmm, I know there's more to it than that, but I'm not going to let that get me down," Nino declared good-naturedly. "Nuh-uh. I'm gonna work on catching more Pokémon my way and then we'll see who's the better Trainer. You better not hold back on me next time, ya hear?"
"Loud and clear," Adrien replied, sharing their last fist bump for now as Nino began to bolt for the exit.
"Alya, Marinette, catch you ladies later!" Nino called back with a quick wave, receiving departing waves from the two girls before he turned and left.
"I really wonder how your rivalry will turn out once you both reach the Kalos League," Alya mused.
"It's going to be spectacular," Adrien affirmed. "I know Nino is going to train and head to Santalune City next. It's time I got going before I actually fall behind."
"A-Adrien, wait!" Marinette yelled out hurriedly. "Um… Where… you going next?"
"Oh, I'm thinking Shalour City," Adrien suggested. "Supposedly, the Gym Leader's ancestors were the first known users of Mega Evolution in Kalos and that their Pokémon was a Lucario."
"Wannagotogether?" Marinette blathered out instantly.
She really did not to let Adrien go just yet since they had just reunited since the Parfum Palace tag battle tournament and that he was in danger due to Team Akuma lurking about. Despite her nervous tongue mixing her proposal in such an atrocious mess, it seemed that Adrien managed to understand her as he looked as though he was in thought. Unfortunately for her, Adrien soon turned hesitant over the question.
"I actually have to head over there now as I'm expecting a package from my father there," Adrien reasoned, sliding a hand over the back of his head. "And it looks like you and Alya are going to be busy around here a little longer."
"What do you mean?" Marinette pressed.
"Didn't Alya say she wanted to watch the whole fossil Pokémon resurrection process from the lab's archives?" Adrien mentioned.
"I did, but Marinette doesn't have to stay with me," Alya intervened. "This is just something I'm into because I like learning interesting things. As a matter of fact, Marinette can even join you until I catch up."
"But I don't want to leave you behind, Alya," Marinette mumbled.
She knew that her best friend was practically giving her permission to be with the boy she adored, but she felt bad for having to give up traveling with Alya as they promised to be together the whole way. Despite being a newborn, Togepi could sense distress in her new Trainer and surrogate mother. She attempted to cheer her up with tender pats on her arm. Marinette pulled her arms tighter around the Spike Ball Pokémon as to show her appreciation for the gesture.
"Hey, we'll meet up again, so no need to worry about it," Adrien offered. "Besides, we're still rivals, aren't we?" Marinette slowly nodded to his question. "Then as rivals, we have our own paths to take to become stronger so that the next time we meet, we'll have a battle and find out how we've been doing. It's what Nino and I have been doing so far and every encounter we've had have been some of the most meaningful moments in my journey so far, more so than if we had decided to travel together. Nino really surprised me on how strong he's gotten since the Parfum tag battle. That said, I really look forward battling you next time, Marinette."
"Y-Yeah, tee moo… I mean, me too!" Marinette corrected.
"Alright, I'll catch you both later," Adrien gave a wave as he now decided to recall Cubone back into her Poké Ball.
"Bye, Adrien!" Marinette and Alya cried back, Marinette's voice being the louder of the two.
As she watched Adrien take his leave out of the Ambrette fossil lab, Marinette couldn't help but wonder how much stronger he could get and what kinds of Pokémon he would have on his team the next time she saw him. While Alya was about to leave with the fossil scientist to learn and see how a fossil Pokémon was resurrected through their technology, Marinette made a personal vow to get even stronger. This vow was to fulfill two main goals. The first goal was to ensure that she was strong enough for Adrien the next time they would have a battle. The second was to protect Adrien and her friends from Team Akuma. At least if she was strong enough to contend with Team Akuma on her own, she might even rescue Ivan and prove how amazing she really is to everyone, especially to Adrien.
It was upon realizing that she was temporarily free from Alya that Marinette decided to make her move.
"By the way, you forgot to ask Adrien for his phone number again, didn't you?" Alya voiced teasingly as she passed behind Marinette.
The dark-bluenette designer unconsciously felt her head slump forward in shame.
"… I knew I forgot something important," Marinette sighed.
"Toge Toge!" Togepi giggled.
Three days later…
"It's just about done," Marinette muttered to herself.
Tikki, Kirlia, Sewaddle, and Togepi were seated around her and watched her designer skills put to work once more. With major help from Sewaddle and Kirlia for providing silk material and additional hands respectively, Marinette believed that this latest personal creation of hers was truly a masterpiece. She had started the initial design drawing during her time at the Ambrette fossil lab while Alya was still learning more about the process of fossil Pokémon resurrection.
She came up with the final draft the following day since leaving Ambrette Town and had started the actual creation of her design during their journey. Now, she and Alya were currently staying in the Pokémon Center in Geosenge Town. Alya was out introducing her Amaura to modern concepts such as the Internet and the television. Marinette, on the other hand, was close to finishing up the means to fight back against Team Akuma without compromising her identity. Sitting by herself in the main lobby with only her Pokémon to keep her company, the dark-bluenette designer pressed on to finish her project today.
Marinette admitted to herself that this was cowardly at retrospect. She knew she could easily fight back as herself and that the threats Team Akuma had sent to her and friends back at Glittering Cave were merely words. But the fact remained that they managed to abduct Ivan had proven they had many resources to work with and that they were not above kidnapping and assault.
Marinette felt that this was the best she could do at short notice. Maybe she was blowing this out of proportion, but the threat of Team Akuma was indeed real. The Grunts have already seen her and her friends' faces and that there was a chance they had managed to find other people connected to them. Friends and family were in potential danger. And whatever this insidious organization was looking for did not spell out any sort of good news.
In any case, she needed to be prepared just in case she ran into them again.
"Marinette, Nurse Joy says there's a package for you at her desk," Alya alerted from behind, predictably startling the girl lost in her thoughts.
"O-Oh, okay thanks," Marinette gasped, standing from her seat while putting away her project into her bag.
Alya never pried deeply into her business as to respect her privacy. She usually messed with her when it came to Adrien. Nonetheless, Marinette needed to keep her project a secret from everyone, including her own best friend. Alya stayed behind to watch her Pokémon as she made her way to the front desk.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I have this package for you," Nurse Joy greeted, holding out a strange and small octagonal box. "There's no known sender, but just to ensure there is nothing of threatening nature within it, I have to request watching you opening it."
"Um, that's fine, Nurse Joy," Marinette accepted. "Thanks."
Elsewhere…
"Nathalie, I got the stuff you sent to the Shalour City Pokémon Center," Adrien replied in his video call.
"If I may ask, Adrien, what would you need those accessories for?" Nathalie inquired objectively.
"It's, uh, for a costume party," Adrien answered; it wasn't a total lie as he believed they could be used for such an occasion one day.
"Very well," Nathalie nodded. "Just so you are aware that these costs will be listed as standard supplies so that your father won't have to question you."
"Thank you so much, Nathalie," Adrien praised.
"Take care, Adrien," Nathalie said before hanging up.
The blond model could have sworn he could've seen the faintest of smiles on the normally straight-faced woman before ending their video call. Adrien held deep appreciation for Nathalie for covering for him whenever he went against his father's wishes. He never did anything extreme, but he just wanted to live and have fun like his friends. He was glad that Nathalie didn't heavily question him on the things he had requested through the message he sent three days ago. He was also fortunate that Nathalie understood him growing up since his mother disappeared, even though she served as a full-time Kalos Elite Four member now that he was out on his own.
Nathalie Sancoeur was still Gabriel's assistant, and it was through both this connection and her own high-level battling style as a Fire-type specialist that she had the right to be called one of the Kalos region's strongest Trainers. Adrien only saw her battle once and her persona in the battlefield was a complete contrast to how she normally acted in public.
In any case, he held onto the large package she delivered to him at the Shalour Pokémon Center. It was time for him to challenge the Gym Leader of the Shalour Gym. The rumor of facing a Mega Evolved Pokémon was very exciting.
"Excuse me, Adrien Agreste," Nurse Joy hailed him. "I actually found another package addressed to you."
"Oh, I didn't know Nathalie sent me something else," Adrien commented.
"There's no sender on it," Nurse Joy clarified, holding up a strange octagonal box. "To ensure that the contents aren't a hazard to other people and Pokémon, I need to ask you to open it in front of me."
"That's not a problem," Adrien waved off, placing his other package on the floor.
At the same time…
Marinette and Adrien gingerly removed the top covers of their strange packages. There were small objects sealed inside those boxes, perfectly embedded into protective cushions. They wondered who would send these accessories and why.
For a closer analysis, Marinette picked up the pair of earrings from out of the box and Adrien examined the silver ring. They both recognized the defining feature of these accessories under the light.
"A Key Stone?"
And I'll just end on this cliffhanger. I actually started this chapter during my Thanksgiving break and had enough time to work on it before school pulled me back in. Hopefully this turned out fine. What do you think?
I actually debated for the longest time whether or not to actually do this, to physically bring in the superhero personas instead of simply alluding to the personality changes during battle. But this does make good story telling and upholds the infamous love square that frustrates and delights everyone at the same time. And as for introducing the Miraculous Key Stones this early, well, you'll see for yourselves soon enough.
And so Marinette's Egg finally hatches into a Togepi, which many of you guessed right, and Alya gets an Amaura. We're getting close to getting full teams for all the characters. Just check my profile page whenever I post a chapter.
See you again once Christmas break comes around. I'll be sure to update some more then.
Please review!