First of all, I would like to apologize for the cruddy chapter last time. It was a school night and I wanted to get it done and... Yeah. And I gotta stop drawing scenes from this fic!
WARNING: Mild Language
X.X
Calem frustratingly kicked a pebble down the beat up path through the woods.
"Oh, Calem, calm down." Shauna, who was walking beside him, sighed.
The older teen said nothing. His shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets along with an expression on his face that clearly said anger. It had been almost a week since Natalie surrendered herself to Team Flare. They've literally searched every corner of the Kalos Region just find any sign of Team Flare or Natalie. But so far: nothing. They've eventually resorted to putting up Missing Person posters all over the place. Towns, cities, you name it.
"Cale..." Shauna grabbed his wrist gently, causing him to stop, "We'll find her. Don't worry."
"Humph. That's what they all say." he said before yanking his wrist out of her hold and continued walking.
Shauna stood where she was. Tears brimming her worried eyes as she watched Calem walk on without her. Since Natalie's capture, everyone hasn't been the same. Her Pokemon has become more isolated from people and other Pokemon. Tierno isn't as go happy as he use to be. Trevor seemed to have lost interest in completing his Pokedex and concentrated more in finding Natalie. And Calem... Calem was the one who changed the most. He became more desperate and frantic in trying to find their friend. But Shauna knew it was something more.
She knew how much Calem loved Natalie. How he had developed a crush towards her during each battle. Natalie wasn't just a friend to Calem and she knew it. It was obvious that the teen would literally search the ends of the Earth just to find her. Shauna hugged the stack of flyers in her arms closely and looked sadly up at the clear blue sky.
Oh, Natalie. Where can you be? I hope you're alright...
"Shauna?"
Shauna looked down and up at Calem. The boy rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted a few seconds ago. I know you were only trying to help."
The ten year old girl smiled at him before taking his hand gently. "I know how much Natalie means to you." Shauna said gently, "Which is why she would want us to stay strong and work together. We'll find her eventually. If the police can't find her, I know we will."
"You sure know how to make someone's day bright again, Shauna." Calem said.
Shauna giggled. "What can I say? It's my speciality. Now come on. Let's hand these flyers out in Southern Boulevard in Lumiose City."
"Right." The two resumed walking down the forest path. "Wha-?" Calem said, abruptly stopping in his tracks.
"What is it?" Shauna asked before looking in his direction.
Ahead of them was a rather tall man. And I mean TALL. His back was facing them but he appeared to have very long white hair with a faded red snow cap on his head. On his back was a rather large sack of sorts. They could see he was wearing large jeans for a man about his size with sock-like boots.
"The Pokemon... The flower Pokemon... The Pokemon that was given eternal life..." the large man muttered gruffly to himself before walking away. Calem and Shauna blinked before looking at one another.
"Who in the depths of the Distortion World was that?" Shauna asked.
"I have no idea." Calem replied.
"And what did he mean by, 'The Pokemon that was given eternal life'?"
Calem shrugged.
...
Calem and Shauna were at the southern part of Lumiose City. Taking a quick rest at a local cafe after handing out flyers to store and cafe owners of Natalie.
"Did you see how tall that guy was!?" Shauna said, "He must be over nine feet tall!"
"Shauna!" Calem hissed, "It's best that we don't talk about him here. Otherwise people will think we're crazy."
"Hmp!" Shauna pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Besides, what would a man like him be doing at Route 4 anyway?" Calem added before finishing his coffee.
"Excuse me?" a man holding a flyer in his hand asked, "I just happened to see this flyer in the Poke Mart and I believe I may be of some help."
Shauna and Calem exchanged hopeful glances before looking up at the man. "Please tell us, sir!" Calem said.
"I was walking home from work the other night and I just happened to catch sight of man holding a girl matching the description on the flyer."
"Did you get a good look of the man?" Shauna asked.
"Sadly no. And that's all I have." the man replied.
"It's good enough. Thank you for your time, sir." Calem said.
"Not a problem. Good luck finding your friend." the man replied before walking away.
"Alright! We got a clue!" Shauna said excitedly.
Calem rubbed his chin in thought. He wondered who this man could've been. Could Team Flare have? No. They wouldn't dare do that to her. Besides, that sort if thing rarely happens in Kalos. No. It must be something else. "We need to know who this man is." he said before standing up and leaving a tip for the waiter, "Let's go around and ask if anyone saw a man carrying Natalie the other night."
Shauna nodded before getting out of her seat and following her friend. Unknowingly to them, a particular woman with pink hair just happened to be recording their conversations on her Holo Caster and immediately clicked 'Send' as soon as they were gone.
...
"NO! DAMN IT! STOP THAT!" A Flare Grunt snapped at his Pokemon as they continued snarling at one another. "Aggron! Stop growling at Skarmory! Skarmory! Stop giving Aggron that glare! Both Pokemon ignored their Trainer and continued growling at one another. The Grunt finally gave up and sat on the floor with his head hung low in defeat.
"Is something wrong?" a friendly voice asked.
The Grunt looked up and narrowed his eyes behind his orange shades when he realized who it was. "Oh. It's you." he said bitterly.
Natalie's face seemed unfazed as she approached the Grunt and his Pokemon with a look of curiosity and her hands behind her back innocently. "What's wrong with your Pokemon?" she asked.
"They keep doing this to one another. And they don't listen to a damn thing I say!"
"Hm." Natalie stood in front of the two growling Pokemon and examined their facial expressions closely. "How long have they known eachaother?"
"15 years or so. Why?" the Grunt asked.
"They're probably fighting against because of you." Natalie replied.
"Come again?"
"Judging by how fit these guys are, I'd say you care for your Pokemon a lot. But you don't give them and equal amount of love and affection. They're fighting because they're competiting for who gets the most love from you."
The Grunt blinked behind his shades before looking over to his Pokemon. "What...should I do?"
Natalie smiled. "You need to show them that you love them both."
The Grunt looked back at his Pokemon before standing up and walking over to them. "Hey... Fellas..." he said softly. But they didn't stop. He looked up at Natalie for what to do next.
"You need to be firm with them." she said, "Not aggressive. You must show them that you need their attention."
The Grunt then nodded and looked back at his quarreling Pokemon. "Hey! Knock it off you two and look at me!" he barked sternly. His Pokemon stopped their quarrel and looked over to their Trainer with a rather surprised and confused expression on their faces. The Grunt placed his hands on their heads and smiled at them fondly. "There's no need to quarrel. I love you both the same way as the other. So there's no need for this." The Pokemon blinked before purring fondly into his hands. The Grunt smiled happily and looked over to Natalie, who gave him a thumbs up.
A few minutes later
"Sorry about how I spoke to you earlier. It's just that I heard a lot of things about you around base. Especially from the scientists." the Grunt said as he and Natalie walked down a corridor together.
"I bet." Natalie chuckled.
"I'm Venice, by the way." the Grunt said.
"I'm Na-" Natalie immediately paused before changing her answer, "Vesta."
"Vesta, huh? Well it's a pleasure to meet you then." Venice replied, "By the way, how did you know my Pokemon were quarreling for my love just by looking at them?"
"I've been around Pokemon all my life." Natalie said, "You can say I'm very good with them. They're just like people after all. By the way, why did you join Team Flare?"
"Well..." Venice rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously, "I didn't really 'join'. You see, I'm actually from the Hoenn region."
Flashback
Men and Women under umbrellas silently passed by one another as the heavy rain poured down on them. Standing by an alley way was a small red haired boy dressed in torn up clothing with a young Aron cradled in his arms. The small boy bawled, hoping someone would at least stop and help his Pokemon.
"W-what am I g-gonna d-do, A-Aron?!" the boy wailed to his sick Pokemon, "N-no one w-wants to h-help!" he held the tiny warm body closely to shield him from the rain. He suddenly heard footsteps hitting against the wet sidewalk suddenly come to a halt. The boy looked up and blinked at the man before him. He had never seen anyone like him before. His hair was a blazing orange color and pointed out like a mane. His eyes were a fiery blue color. The man knelt down on one knee so that he was eye-to-eye with him.
"What are you doing out here child?" the man asked kindly, "Where are your parents?"
The boy sniffed. "I-I don't have a mommy or daddy." he then showed the man his sick Pokemon, "Please! Can you help my Aron?! He's my only friend!"
The man took one good look at the wheezing Pokemon before holding his hand out for the boy to take. "Come with me." he said, "I know a place that can heal this Aron."
The boy's eyes glittered with hope and he took his hand without hesitation.
...
"What happened next?" Natalie asked.
"He practically took me to a Pokemon Center. That's where they healed Aron." Venice replied.
...
Nurse Joy stepped out of the room with a Chansey pushing a gerny with Aron standing on top of it following closely behind her. "Your Aron is now in good condition young man." she said happily.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" the child cheered happily, "ARON!"
The Aron cried happily before jumping into the boy's arms and nuzzling him. The boy laughed happily before turning to the man, who was still sitting. "Thank you so much, Mister!" he said happily.
"Please. It's Nurse Joy you should be thanking."
"Oh. Right. Thank you Nurse Joy!"
"Not a problem." Joy giggled before turning around to leave.
"Tell me, what were you doing out there in the rain?" the man asked.
"Aron and I live on the streets... Aron got sick and I wanted someone to come help us. But no one did!" the boy cried.
The man's eyes suddenly hardened fiercely before softening again. "Tell me, do you know about Team Flare?" he asked
The boy cocked his head, Aron mimicking his movement. "Team...Flare?" he asked.
"Yes. It's an organization I started. It's goal is to make a more perfect world for everyone."
The boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in awe. "Really?" he asked.
The man nodded and smiled. "It's little boys like you that make me want to accomplish that goal." he said as he playfully ruffled the boy's hair. Earning him happy giggles. "Tell me, would like to join our cause? You won't have to live on the streets again and you'll be a part of something grand."
The boy grinned. "Yes. Yes I will!"
Flashback ends
"I've practically been a part of Team Flare ever since." Venice finished, "I didn't even need to pay that 5,000,000 dollar fee!"
Natalie laughed. "I didn't even know you had to pay that much to begin with!"
The two stopped in front of Natalie's room and she smiled up at him. "It was great chatting with you. We should do this again when you're not busy." she said.
Venice smiled and nodded. "Sure. You're going to need someone to protect you. Believe me, some folks aren't too happy with you being here."
Natalie giggled. "See you around, Venice." she said before closing the door.
Venice exhaled once the door closed before he turned to leave. He had to admit, Vesta seemed like an enjoyable person to be around. She's certainly going to need someone like him to get around without getting jumped by the other Grunts.
"Venice."
Venice stopped to see Lysandre walking up to him. The Grunt immediately stood straight and held his head high. "Yes, sir?" he asked. The older man smiled and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"I saw you with my daughter." he said.
Venice looked a bit surprised. "I never even knew you had a daughter." he said.
"It's a long story. But I need you to do me a favor." Lysandre said in a serious tone, "I can understand some of the other Grunts want to rip her limb by limb. Which is why I'm hoping you can spend more time with her. Unfortunately I'm always in the office and her Pokemon are with Augustine. So it would be really nice if she made a friend like yourself. Will you do it?"
"Of course, sir." Venice replied with a smile, "She seems like a nice girl. I'm sure we can become good friends."
"Good." Lysandre said, "I except good things from you. Now if you excuse me, there is a meeting I must attend to regarding our target."
X.X
AZ is finally in the picture! And Natalie's made a new friend! Venice will won't have a big part in this fic. But in the sequel he'll have a bigger role. Yes! I'm making a sequel.
Btw, Venice was three when Lysandre found him. So he's eighteen now.