*IMPORTANT* Read the author's note today. As always please read and enjoy.~ Scriffignano
Chapter 36: Friends and Foes Alike
It was early evening by the time all of the battles were finished for the day. Exhausted by the action and thrill of the first day of the tournament, they decided to spend the rest of the evening at the Pokémon Center to avoid the huge crowds of people that populated the many city streets. Even though Arc was tired, he knew his Pokémon needed to be cared for first, so he went out into the back courtyard while Lily and Thorn took the liberty of renting the last of the rooms that were available after telling Nurse Joy who they were and mentioning Arc's name. It wasn't any five star service, but they were still surprised that Arc's name carried so much weight in the law enforcement community that they were able to reserve rooms that were set aside for the security of the event.
After getting the room all squared away, Lily and Thorn found a relatively quiet spot in the corner of the center to relax along with their Pokémon. They both sent out their entire teams and started doing their nightly routine of making sure everyone was fed and well looked after.
"Arc did really well today winning both of his battles." Thorn was busy with his Tyrunt, King.
"It's a work in progress still Thorn… Being without your starter for a whole month and unsure if it would recover from a traumatizing wound would really shake a person up." Lily sighed as she ran a thick brush through her Mightyena's mane. "Could you imagine almost losing your starter like that?"
Thorn frowned and looked over at Sparky, his Pikachu who was busy chewing on a piece of Pokémon food. "No. I think I would have quit as a Pokémon trainer if that ever happened."
"Arc almost did quit. The only thing reason he didn't was-" She stopped mid-sentence as the door chime ringed.
The Pokémon center doors soon opened and a familiar raven-haired trainer walked in with a pink bunny-like Pokémon on his right, a masked grass-type with blue and black roses on his left and a blue flamed chandelier-like Pokémon just over his right shoulder.
Lily immediately smiled and waved at the raven haired trainer. "Hi Neo. Long time no see."
Thorn looked over as well, curious to meet the trainer that both Arc and Lily have told him so much about. At first glance he didn't look too much older than him. He wore a white cuffed long sleeve button down shirt with a blue vest over it that had gold trim. He also wore white pants as well which looked crisper than fresh fallen snow. It was different from his attire at the tournament but the trainer was still recognizable.
Neo walked over to them with Arana taking lead and flying around Lily in circles. "Hello to you too, Lily."
"Friend…" A soft airy voice resonated in their minds, sending chills to Lily and Thorn.
"The heck was that?" Thorn looked around the room wildly while Lily just froze in place, staring at the Chandelure that was floating back to Neo.
"She can talk now? I don't remember her doing that the last time we saw you Neo." She looked at Arana wide eyed.
Neo smiled and was about answer when the grass-type that was with him stepped up and flashed a proud grin. "That only goes to show that Arana is a fast learner." A different voice echoed in the minds of the two. It was more spunky and clear.
"Oh great… and now the walking bouquet is talking." Thorn put a hand on his forehead and leaned against his Tyrunt for balance.
The masked Pokémon frowned at Thorn and pointed one of her rose arms at him. "If you're going to start calling me names too, I won't hesitate to throw a macaron at your face like we did the last guy."
Arana nodded in agreement, curling her arms like balled fists to emphasize the threat. "Splat."
Lily immediately grabbed Thorn by his hair and slammed him on the ground and put a foot on his side to hold him there much to his Pokémon's amusement as well as Neo and his company's. "Don't mind him. He's got a mouth that we can't seem to keep shut."
Neo chuckled it off and placed a hand on either of the two telepaths. "It's fine. These two are hard to quiet down, too."
She then looked around and raised her eyebrow at Neo. "Where are your other two companions?" Thorn was still stuck under her foot.
"Chase is back at the hotel," Neo answered and took a moment to recall the other person Lily meant. "And Naomi went back to Cinnabar Island, the day after we arrived in Fuchsia City… Speaking of companions, who's your friend?" He motioned to the trainer who was still pinned under the girl's foot.
Lily finally let him up so he could introduce himself properly. "The name is Thorn… You must be Neo. Arc and Lily have told me a lot about you."
"Pleasure to meet you, Thorn." The raven-haired teen gave a curt nod. "Like Arc and Lily said, my name is Neo and this is..." The grass-type beside him huffed before Neo motioned to her and the rest of his Pokémon in turn. "This is Gertrud. She's a gifted telepath who's staying with me for the time being... Arana, my Chandelure… and Kashu, my Wigglytuff who acts like my nurse." The latter two let out short cries of acknowledgement.
"Well nice to meet you all and sorry about that Gertrud… I was just surprised by Arana's and your abilities." Thorn nodded back at the group before facing Neo again. "I have to say… I've never seen anyone get Arc riled up like you did today. That was an excellent battle you two had."
"Thank you very much." Neo smiled in his direction before casting a searching glance at their surroundings. "Hmmm… where is Arc?"
No sooner did Neo ask his question, there was a series of squeals and braying coming from the back courtyard followed by a resounding thud. A voice could be heard swearing after the commotion. "Dammit Mimzy, if you would just hold still and not fuss, this would be a lot easier and faster for the both of us!"
Lily sighed and pointed towards the back door. "He's out there caring for Mimzy, Earthshaker, and Neeko along with the rest of his Pokémon."
"I might as well meet up with him. My battling team needs a health check after their battles," Neo informed. Lily and Thorn agreed to go with him as well as the rest of their Pokémon.
The group stepped outside into the wide open well-lit backyard only to find Arc trying to give Mimzy a bath. She was tied to a hitching post and Arc was attempting to run water up the side of her legs. There were two identical hoof prints in his coat where Mimzy had apparently kicked him.
"Arc… why do you insist on doing this?" Lily put her hands on her hips. "She is a Fire type… you know she doesn't like water."
"Look babe. As much as I would love to debate this with you, I'm a little tied up at the moment." Arc tried to touch her with the water again. "You know I like to keep her looking clean." He smiled at her, failing to notice Neo and his Pokémon.
"Friend." Arana zoomed overhead of the group and floated in front of Arc, her flames flickering with glee.
"Oh hey, Arana. How are… you can talk?" Arc immediately dropped the hose and stared at the levitating chandelier. "When did she learn to do that?"
Arana wailed happily at the teen's reaction before floating towards Neo who was already walking towards him with a grass-type and Wigglytuff on either side. "Around today. She's just getting the hang of telepathy." He waved a hand and greeted his friend.
"Interesting." Arc picked the hose back up and managed to get the water on Mimzy, creating a massive wall of steam. "So what's new buddy? We haven't spoken since our match."
"Well, other the fact that he just came here to have Genbu, Scourge and Novus checked, we met your friend, Thorn who nearly found a macaron to the face," another telepathic voice answered in Neo's steed.
Arc looked down at the little Grass type. "And now the rose bush is talking… Mimzy must've hit me a lot harder than I thought." Mimzy put her head down and sniffed the Grass type, wondering what to make of it.
"Okay. That's it!" The rose-themed grass type stepped back and fumed, her eyes glowing gold as the hose that Arc was holding glowed in a similar fashion. The water suddenly stopped running. And as soon as pressure built up at its peak, the water burst out, drenching the holder of it and his fiery horse. Lily and Thorn doubled over with laughter as Arc was soaked by the flailing hose.
"Gertrud!" Neo scolded as Arana floated down, facing her with a sad wail.
"They started it!" Gertrud pointed at Thorn and Arc in turn before she crossed her rose arms in defiance.
Neo sighed and turned to his Wigglytuff, handing her his three Pokeballs. "Kashu, would you mind handing them to Nurse Joy? I believe this'll take a while to clear out." The Wigglytuff nodded and bounded away, leaving the rest to deal with the heated atmosphere.
Mimzy as well as Arc's Amaura and Butterfree who had been watching from a distance glowered at the small Grass Type Pokémon, and started making an intimidating advance on it.
"Mimzy… you're already wet so you have no reason to get mad. And you two… back off." He put an arm out to stop them from coming any closer. "Gertrud was only defending herself."
"I already had enough of trainers making fun of me. One was bad enough." Gertrud shook her head and lowered her arms to her sides. "But I guess I should still apologize…" She added, glancing at Neo and Arana who both gave nods of encouragement. Glancing at Arc and the rest of his Pokémon, Gertrud bowed her head slightly. "I'm sorry."
"No harm done, Gertrud." Arc smiled and wringed out his lab coat. "You actually helped me finish off what I needed to do for the evening." He untied Mimzy from the post and put the hose away.
Neo gave a half smile at that and took a gander at Arc's Pokémon, his eyes focused on the ice-blue dinosaur with colorful wing-like fins above her round blue eyes. "Is this the Pokémon you were referring to before?"
"Yes, she is." Arc put a hand on his Amaura's head just as Neo took out his Pokedex and looked up the Pokémon. "I bet even you haven't laid eyes on a Pokémon like her before."
"I've been to a museum in Kalos before and saw photos and displays of fossils. But you're right. I've never personally met a living Amaura before," Neo informed and closed his Pokédex before slowly extending a hand to greet the ancient Pokémon.
Amarga didn't even bother sniffing Neo and bounded over to meet the new trainer, rubbing her cold body against him. "Amarga loves people since she was raised in the Pewter City Museum and spent most of her life with people."
Neo smiled warmly at the friendly Pokémon as he ran a hand along her long cold neck. The cool sensation started to seep through his skin and regretfully, he retracted his hand. "She's quite the ice type. When Genbu gets back from Nurse Joy, I'm sure he'd like to meet her."
And as if on cue, Neo's trio along with Kashu made their way to the gathered group. Genbu ran up front, Kashu bounding over beside him and the two giants, Novus and Scourge lagged behind.
"Warr!" Genbu let out an enthusiastic cry as he came up to Neo and stood beside him, eyes glancing at the Amaura. "Wartortle?"
"Genbu, this is Amarga, Arc's Pokémon." Neo introduced the ice blue dinosaur before he did the same to the Amaura. "Amarga, this Genbu…"
"Warr," Genbu gave an uncharacteristically shy cry as he continued to look at the other Pokémon. The Amaura looked at him back and immediately the Wartortle shrank behind Neo's leg, much to Neo's surprise.
"Well… might as well give our teams full introductions." Arc whistled loudly calling the rest of his Pokémon over.
One by one, all of Arc's Pokémon lined up behind him in a single file so he could introduce them easily. It was a tactic that he came up with after having to introduce his Pokémon to so many people over the course of his travels.
"I know you already know more than half of my team, but since your Pokémon don't, I am going to give each of them a proper introduction." Arc smiled before standing next to Neeko. "First I want to introduce Neeko, my Charizard. He's been my partner since the very beginning." He placed a hand on Neeko's shoulder.
"Next we have Snow Storm. I caught her within the hour of starting my journey. Believe it or not, Even though Neeko was my first Pokémon, I've known Snow Storm longer." The Orange island Butterfree took off from his shoulder and landed on Neeko's head while Arc moved on to the next Pokémon.
"Next, I would like to introduce Mimzy. I found her as a Ponyta, abandoned on a cruise liner headed for Fuchsia City." He scratched her muzzle of his Rapidash before moving on to the giant blue mudfish Pokémon. "While Lily and I were at the Safari Zone I encountered Earthshaker here and caught him after he tried to kidnap Lily." He winked at her causing Lily to blush.
"Next, I want to introduce the newest member of my team… Amarga, my Amaura. She was a gift from my mother who so happens to work at the Pewter City Fossil Labs." Arc pat her chilled body.
"And finally we have Dino… Dino?" Arc looked around for his Salamence. "Where did he go?"
"Um… Arc. He's over there." Thorn pointed towards the trees that lined the fence of the courtyard.
Arc turned and saw Dino pestering a group of wild Aipom that were up a tree that he was busy chewing on the trunk of. Every time he would put his weight on the tree it would sway back and forth, threatening to break. Arc put his hand on his face and sighed as he marched over there.
"Well… as much fun as this has been, I'm exhausted." Thorn stretched his arms out. "Good night." He left without a backwards glance.
"It was nice meeting you," Neo said up as the younger trainer passed him, Arana and Gertrud wordlessly watching him leave while the others continued to focus on Arc's team.
Lily waved him off and refocused on Arc who was dragging Dino over to the rest of his Pokémon by one of his head spikes. "Honestly… Do we have to do this every time Dino?" He sighed.
Neo smiled at the sight and recalled the playful dragon Pokémon. "He's quite the handful."
"You have no idea." Arc huffed after putting Dino back in line. "But… I wouldn't trade him for the world." He smiled and scratched his Salamence's head. "So finally we have Dino, my Salamence. I captured him while training up in the mountains in preparation for my third badge. He was terrorizing an old veteran who resided in a mountainside cabin."
Neo took a moment to gander at Arc's team. He had a good variety and other than Snow Storm, the rest were titans especially Neeko, Earthshaker and Dino. Glancing at his own team, the six nodded and arranged themselves to face Arc's Pokémon more properly. The two ghost-types were the first to find their respective spots. The grass type just stood below the Chandelure. Scourge was the last one to find a place, having little experience in such social activities. Fortunately, Neo saw through that and led him to the place beside the bulky ghost cyclops.
With each of them settled, he began to introduce his Pokémon with a slight gesture of his hand. Neo started off with his Wartortle. "This is Genbu. He's the first Pokémon I've caught when I started my journey. He's from the Icefall Cave in Floe Island in the Sevii Archipelago." Genbu flashed his white snowflake printed shell with pride. "Hence, the birthmark."
Neo took a step and motioned to the pink bunny-like Pokémon. "This is Kashu. She was given to me to act as my personal nurse and she does a wonderful job at it." The Wigglytuff beamed at the praise and flicked her ears.
"Then, we have Arana…" Neo motioned to the Chandelure who flickered her blue flames and then to his Dusknoir. "And Novus. They've been with me ever since I was a child... Actually, Novus has been around even before I born. He was my father's Pokémon before…" He trailed off suddenly.
"If it's tough to talk about, don't bring it up." Lily spoke up for the both of them.
Neo smiled at that and put up a strong front. "It's fine. I've gotten used to the fact. Novus was my father's Pokémon before he died when I was six. He acts as my guardian, other than Gremio, my family's long time butler." He didn't wait for a reaction and moved on to the grass type. "This is…"
"I'm Gertrud," The masked grass type cut in. "And for your information, I'm a Roserade. I'm not a talking bouquet or a telepathic rose bush. Also, I'm not Neo's Pokémon. I'm temporarily in his care to help teach Arana telepathy while filling in for his Gengar, Nero who is currently in my trainer's care."
"Teacher," Arana confirmed with gleeful wail.
Neo patted their heads and moved on to the final member of the team. "And this is Scourge. He joined my team not too long ago after I had a confrontation with his previous trainer." The shiny Drapionscreeched lowly in acknowledgement.
"You never did tell me who his previous trainer was. You even said I knew who it was." Arc remembered their conversation earlier that day.
Neo exchanged looks with the crimson Drapion before he looked at Arc. "This might not be a good time. I don't want to ruin the whole evening."
"Wiggly?" Kashu suddenly spoke up and Gertrud translated for her.
"She's asking about Emperor."
Neo nodded and faced Arc once more. "There's also another Pokémon with me but he's not mine nor Chase's…" He considered it for a moment and decided to go and get him. "I'll be right back." With that, Neo left his team to get acquainted with Arc and his Pokémon.
While the rest of the Pokémon either wandered off to a secluded place, or started getting acquainted amongst themselves, Arc and Lily waited for a few minutes as Neo went to get this other Pokémon that was under his care. While he waited, his feet started to hurt after standing all day and took a seat on Dino's back, swinging his legs carelessly. Another few more minutes passed before Neo came back with a very familiar Electric type Pokémon. A Manectric to be exact.
Neo led the Pokémon over to Arc and Lily and patted him on the side. "This is Emperor." A monotone bark answered in acknowledgement. "He functions as my mount so I won't overexert myself while travelling."
"He's magnificent looking." Lily put out a hand for him to sniff but the electric-type barely gave a notice. "Hey… is that a Mega Stone?" She saw a rather fancy looking collar around his neck with a stone set in it.
Arc's attention was immediately drawn to the Manectric after Lily's question, curious to see if there was indeed a Mega Stone on Neo's Pokémon mount. The red and blue symbol in the yellow sphere flickered in the lighting, much like the Mega Stone on Neeko's collar.
"That's right," Neo confirmed. "It's a Manectite." He then pulled out a an amulet hidden behind his vest and showed it to Arc and Lily. "I also have a Key Stone but I don't have the ability to make him mega evolve. He's not my Pokémon and he doesn't see me as his trainer." The Manectric barked solemnly.
"It's still interesting nonetheless. We always get excited when we see new Pokémon with the ability to Mega Evolve." Arc elbowed Lily softly. " What have we seen Mega Evolve so far?"
"We've seen Steelix, Gyarados, Altaria, Aerodactyl, Absol, and Charizard if I am not mistaken." She smiled back at him.
"I've seen a Mawile and of course, a Charizard and Manectric." Neo looked back at Emperor before he continued, "Chase can mega evolve his Gardevoir and Gallade, but has yet to try it. We hear that they can go berserk at times."
"That is true… Lily's Altaria has lost control before after Mega Evolution. It's like the raw power takes over their minds and they go into a more primal state."
Just then, during their mid-conversation, a familiar looking trainer clad in blue entered the wide grassy yard. Her coffee brown eyes and stray blonde locks shone under the dim light of the surrounding posts as well as that of the luminescent moonlight. Ariann looked at the group with a confused face, seemingly recognizing some of the trainers from the event.
Arc turned and saw the familiar trainer from his second round today. Wanting to get to know the trainer a little more, he waved her down. "Hi there! Want to join us?"
The blonde girl gave him a hesitant look, her gaze switching from the group of trainers to the door, as if she was waiting for someone. She frowned, visibly disappointed over something and gave a long and quiet sigh.
"Come on… I'm not going to bite you or anything," Arc teased, earning a sharp glare from the blonde trainer who assessed them for a few seconds before heading their way.
"I'm not afraid of you." She huffed, though she kept her distance.
"Arc, be nice," Neo chastised his friend before turning towards the girl. "We mean you no harm. We just wish to be acquainted."
"I was being nice… You should see me when I am mean." Arc joked as he shrugged, Lily gave him a nasty glare.
Ariann just stared at Neo, knowing what his presence implied in this place. She looked around until her gaze landed on the trainer's Chandelure who was floating around a glowing lamppost. But what drew her gaze more was the large bulky cyclops with a menacing red eye that hovered nearby.
"W-Why...Why do you even have two ghost-type Pokémon?!" She squeaked, taking a couple of steps back for safety measures. Her hand flew to her hoodie's pockets, taking out a Pokeball in case any of the ghosts decided to gang up on her.
Arc jolted at her act. "Take it easy… They're not going to hurt you."
Thinking quickly, Neo stepped in Ariann's line of sight, raising his arms and calmly attempting to block her view of his two ghost Pokémon who didn't seem to take notice of the situation. "Let's not start a fight here. This a Pokémon center."
Ariann stared at Neo warily, before pocketing her Pokeball tentatively. Groaning, she ran a hand across her face tiredly. "You're right... I'm sorry, you just keep scary-I mean, startling me! B-Because I'm not scared..." She grumbled under her breath, a blush slowly rising to her cheeks at the small slip.
"It's perfectly fine. Many people aren't very fond of ghost Pokémon." Neo smiled in relief before seizing the chance to strike up the conversation. "May I ask where are you from, miss Roman?"
She looked at him weirdly at the honorific. "You can call me Ari, you know. Anyways, I'm from the Sinnoh Region. Sandgem Town, to be exact."
"Sinnoh. I have a few friends from there as well," Neo commented with a friendly smile.
"It seems a lot of the trainers in this competition are from Sinnoh." Lily added before bringing up the subject of the tournament. "Hey… You did well against Arc, Ari." She winked at her.
Ariann smiled slightly. "Thanks, Arc is an awesome trainer."
Arc bowed slightly out of respect. "Your Gyarados was quite the formidable challenge."
Ariann smirked at him slightly. "As was your Charizard. I've never battled one, so that was one hell of a first time." She chuckled before stopping, realizing that she was getting too friendly with the trainers.
"I'm looking forward to facing you tomorrow," Neo followed up, feeling a tinge of anticipation.
Ariann stared at him and bluntly replied, "I'm not."
Lily was dumbfounded by what she was hearing. Here was a trainer that almost seemed afraid of both Arc and Neo, not even having the courtesy or gumption to come close and talk. "Something is off here…"
"If it's any help, I'm only using one ghost-type," Neo informed, sensing the growing wariness of the young blonde.
"I'll be facing one nevertheless. I was actually hoping you wouldn't use either, but it seems my luck is as crappy as ever." She groaned once again.
Lily covered her face, having a hard time hearing what this trainer was saying.
Neo thought for a moment before suggesting, "Why not meet him? It'll help you get used to the idea of facing-"
Before Neo even finished his sentence, Ariann shook her head wildly. "No, thanks. I'll cross that bridge when I get there." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Besides, I don't plan on getting cursed early in this tournament."
Arc and Lily looked at each other confused. "Cursed?" They said unanimously and looked back at Ari.
"Look Ari… I refuse to ever step foot back in Lavender Town because of something that happened to me a long time ago, but curses…? You've gotta be kidding me." Arc tried to reason with her.
"It happens! I've seen it before!" She growled at the split-toned hair boy dressed in a long white coat.
Neo stared at Ari and Arc with a surprised look, trying to figure out what to say without scaring either one of them. "I… uhm…"
"Neo… What is it?" Lily put a hand on his shoulder.
"Well." He hesitated as he glanced at his two Pokémon behind him. "I've lived in Lavender Town most of my life. It's a tad gloomy at times but it's not all bad." He began. "I know a lot about ghosts and curses… but Pokémon don't cause them without reason," he added the last part quickly.
"The curses still happen... Some ghosts are mischievous in that aspect..." Ariann muttered, apparently not bothered that Neo came from Lavender Town.
Just then, a blue glow approached from behind Neo and a bluish flamed chandelier with eerie yellow button eyes hovered above his shoulder.
"Play?" A soft and airy voice echoed in the minds of each trainer.
Ari shook her head quickly, trying to avert the ghost's attention to someone else. "N-N-No t-t-thanks... W-Why don't y-you p-play with the other p-Pokémon?" She took a couple of cautious steps back from Neo and Arana, gaining what she considered a safe distance between them.
The Chandelure gave a disappointed wail and glanced at the rest. Neo gently patted her on the side and motioned her to the others who were still wandering about in the yard. "Why don't you go ask the other Pokémon, Arana? Or you can introduce the others to Emperor."
"Okay." Arana nodded sadly before floating away with the Manectric following behind her. But just before she left, he turned and waved a curled arm at Ari. "Bye."
"By-bye..." The blonde answered weakly, not daring to move in case the ghost-type Pokémon decided to change her mind.
As the Chandelure left, Arc was struck by an idea and he started grinning devilishly. "Ari…"
The blonde jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around, glaring at him. "What?!" She spat.
"Look behind you." He pointed at her left shoulder.
A hot breath brushed against her neck, causing her to freeze. Gulping, Slowly, she turned, meeting the rows of sharp looking teeth that lined Dino's mouth right in front of her face. Yelping, she scrambled backwards, stumbling against Neo
Neo nearly faltered at the abrupt collision but fortunately, he fell against his bulky ghost-type's front as two large arms supported both his shoulders. Looking up, he met the sole eye of his Dusknoir staring back at him. "Thank you, Novus."
Ari jolted at the realization and sudden notice of the cold air. Looking upwards, gazing at the sight of the huge ghost-type with the single crimson eye, her own eyes widened as blood drained for her face. In an instant, she frantically scrambled away from them, trembling like a leaf.
At this point, Arc was doubling over with mirth. While he planned on playing a small joke at Ari's expense he didn't expect the domino effect that would follow it. Lily, however, glared at him for being so cold before doing the most unlady like thing ever. Seething with anger, she grabbed Arc by the prong of his hair and threw him over her shoulder into Neeko who was standing behind them.
Neo flinched at the feat, half-amazed by Lily's strength, half-thankful he wasn't in Arc's shoes.
"That was a real jackass move, Arc!" She roared at him as he gasped for air. "I outta kick your ass for pulling a stunt like that, especially on a young lady who is obviously intimidated by men!" She kicked him in the side before walking over to Ari. "I apologize for my boyfriend's rude behavior. Dino is too kind to hurt anyone… not even a Yanma."
Ariann's body was shaking noticeably as she curled into a small ball, burying her face in her arms. Her breathing was harsh and labored as she tried to regain control of her body. Lily sat down next to the petrified girl and wrapped her arms around her. Ari's small frame continued to tremble but the gesture was gradually calming her down.
By that point, Arc's Salamence came over. Dino felt bad about what happened and wanted to show his apology. He slowly laid down next to the two of them, nuzzling his head against Lily's side in a small act of docility.
"See…? He won't hurt you." Lily rubbed the spikes on the dragon's head.
When Ari managed to control her breathing and calm down a little, she peeked at the dragon curiously but cautiously. She took a deep breath before slowly reaching a shaky hand towards him. Lily then took the initiative and grabbed Ari's hand, placing it on Dino's smooth head.
"Totally harmless." She smiled.
At this point, Arc managed to get back up on his feet, breathing heavily. "Guess I deserved that…" He smiled weakly, holding his gut.
Neo motioned his Dusknoir to stay back and stepped towards Arc, lightly placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You alright?"
He coughed as air returned to his abused lungs. "Never better." He smiled and straightened up. "It's not a regular day for me unless something knocks me to the ground. Usually its Dino or Neeko who does it and not her though."
Suddenly out of nowhere, a white two-legged Pokémon almost-silently descended unto the grassy field, drawing everyone's gazes. It landed on a half-knee crouch, its split ivory cape with sky blue interior billowing behind it.
A stunned yet calm quietness flooded the yard as it stood to its full height and surveyed the area. By the looks of it, it was a Gallade but with a full white body, broader and more pronounced arm blades with new red plating and lastly a more accented teal crest on its head.
All of Neo, Arc and Lily's Pokémon looked at the newcomer with an edge of caution. They were not afraid of the Pokémon, but just wary of its approach. Neeko let out a low growl, but it was obviously not hindered by his warning. The others stood by their teammates, ready to assist each other if a battle were to ensue.
"Hey… That looks like a Gallade, but there is something different about it." Lily eyed up the strange-looking blade Pokémon with fascination.
"It couldn't be a Mega Gallade, could it?" Neo theorized, seeing as there wasn't another possible explanation for it.
"Well that certainly isn't normal looking, so… it must be a Mega Gallade." Arc scanned it with his Pokedex, comparing the Pokémon in front of them and a normal Gallade.
"It looks so awesome..." Ariann whispered, awed at the Mega Evolved Pokémon before her.
The Mega Gallade calmly lowered his arms, ignoring the attracted attention as he proceeded to accomplish his intentions. Looking over each trainer in turn, his eyes stopped on one and wordlessly began to make his way over.
The mega evolved Pokémon stood in front of Neo and lightly bowed his head. "Young master, you are highly required to return to the hotel."
Neo flinched slightly upon recognition of the honorific. "Caesar?"
The Mega Gallade bobbed his head slightly as confirmation. "The night runs late. I am tasked to be your escort."
By that time, Neo's Pokémon had gathered around him, along with the Manectric who exchanged silent looks with the mega evolved blade Pokémon. The two seemed to know each other but shared only brief moments of acknowledgement.
"I'm sorry. Looks like I have to leave now." Neo turned to Arc and the others and bowed lightly.
The rest of his Pokémon followed suit by bidding their farewells and good nights to the three trainers as well as Arc and Lily's Pokémon. Neo recalled Scourge first, followed by Kashu, then Genbu after he waved at Amarga with a shy grin. Gertrud mentally said her pleasantries and returned promptly. Neo's two ghost-types lingered a while to say their apologies to Ari.
Novus and Arana kept a bit of distance as they bobbed their heads in her direction. The Dusknoir let out a low groan while the Chandelure wailed and told her in telepathy, "Sorry..."
The scared female replied by nodding their way wordlessly, focusing once again on Lily.
"I'll see you all tomorrow." Neo recalled his last two Pokémon and waved at the three trainers. He then mounted on his Manectric and left as Caesar leaped on top of the Pokémon center roof and soon disappeared in the darkness of the night.
"He never ceases to amaze me." Arc sighed and looked to where Neo left. "While I know it's a force of habit for him, I still can't figure out why he always holds that courteous noble air about him, even amongst friends."
"You could try following his example from time to time, Arc. Scaring people is so unbecoming of you," Lily stated with a sarcastic tone.
Arc glanced at her before returning his Pokémon aside from Neeko and Snow Storm. "Well… I'm going to bed before you get the chance to gang up on me again." He smiled sarcastically. "Good night." He waved before leaving with Neeko and Snow Storm following him.
Lily continued to sit with Ari for a while longer staring in the general direction that Arc went before looking back at Ari. She cocked a small smile before getting up and offering a hand to help Ari to her feet as well.
"He sure is a royal pain isn't he?" she extended her hand out.
Ariann grabbed it, getting up with Lily's help. "I guess..." She muttered, looking away from Lily in sudden embarrassment.
"But I wouldn't have it any other way. After all he has saved me on so many occasions… I can hardly count them all." She giggled, picking her Totodile, Kappa up and holding him close.
The smaller female smiled at the two. "I know what you mean. My friend is also kind of a pain, though not for the same reason as Arc." She glanced at the door once again, frowning. "And he's late."
"Clobber him then… he'll never be late afterwards." She balled her fists.
The rest of Lily's Pokémon soon joined her and started nudging her towards the Pokémon Center doors, showing that they were tired and ready to turn in for the evening.
"Well… I guess I need to call it a night. They're getting tired." She rubbed her Dewgong's head softly and returned her to her Pokeball. "Good night Ariann."
Ariann smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Lily. Good Night."
"Same to you." She waved before entering the Pokémon Center and leaving Ariann outside to meet up with her friend that was very late.
Once She was inside, she sighed and went to the room they rented to find Arc sleeping. He was huddled close to Neeko, while Snow Storm was sleeping on his nightstand. She walked up to him quietly and kissed him on the forehead before crawling in her own bed that was situated across the room. As she laid there with Kappa she reflected on the day. It was a big success for Arc and she finally saw the fighting spirit in him that she fell in love with when they first met.
"Good Night Arc..." She drifted off into her slumber.
~Hello my readers. I will be doing a series of one shots on events that are hidden by characters in the story after I finish this story line. If there is an event you want to become a one shot, let me know in the reviews. My first one will be called "An Eye for an Eye" and its on Hiker Clif.~
This project is brought to you by Scriffignano, Airenee, Ramaxy18-chan, DeadBonesSam, and WrittenWhim.
***As always, Please read and REVIEW. Any feedback is very helpful, appreciated, and valuable.
***Seriously! The only way that I can improve or hear your thoughts on my story is if you tell me as a community. LET ME KNOW!
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Arc
(Neeko) Charizard: Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Dragon Rage, Thunder Punch
(Snow Storm) Butterfree: Psybeam, Bug Buzz, Sleep Powder, Double Team
(Dino) Salamence: Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw
(Mimzy) Rapidash: Bounce, Flame Charge, Agility, Horn Drill
(Earthshaker) Swampert: Whirlpool, Ice Punch, Earthquake, Water Pledge
(Amarga) Amaura: Powdered Snow, Charge Beam, Ancient Power, Flash Cannon
Lily
(Kappa) Totodile: Aqua Tail, Water Gun, Superpower, Bite
(Smoke) Quilava: Flame Wheel, Swift, Rollout, Eruption
(Iceberg) Dewgong: Icy Wind, Headbutt, Brine, Swagger
(Waru) Krookodile: Crunch, Stone Edge, Dig, Dragon Claw
(Dusky) Mightyena: Dark Pulse, Crunch, Shadow Ball, Howl
(Stratus) Altaria: Cotton Guard, Ice Beam, Aerial Ace, Dragon Pulse
Thorn
(Sparky) Pikachu: Thunderbolt, Electroball
(Roxanne) Ninetales: Flamethrower, Energy Ball
(Savage)Rhydon: Power-up Punch, Horn Drill, Surf, Take Down
(Sammy) Quagsire: Haze, Icy Wind
(Foreshadow) Absol: Stone Edge
(King) Tyrunt: none know