The sprites in the X and Y games are very chibi and out-of-proportion, so it wasn't until the Pokémon Masters game came out that I realized that Grant is really cute XD. That's given me a good excuse to bring him back.
Polaris-Ponyta, Shanjin- Greninja, Yarak-Talonflame, Nelly–Auroros, Anakri-Dragelge, Charren-Charizard
Ulysses-Braviary, Mia-Cubone
Chapter 13: Messages from the SkyDejected, I pulled out my phone. There were three missed calls, all from Ben. I must have not heard the ring while we were flying. Feeling guilty, I rang him back.
"Cara! What the heck!"
"Sorry," I said. "Anakri passed on my message, didn't she?"
"Yes, but why the heck would you go flying off alone when you'd been passed out for most of a day?"
"Charren always takes care of me."
"Do you really not realize how worried this would make us?"
"Yes, which is why I left Anakri to tell you where I was."
"And then you didn't answer your phone."
Now I was starting to get irritated too. "I can't hear a phone when I'm flying, okay? I'll be back soon." I hung up on him. I knew he'd be concerned. But sheesh, I can take care of myself too. I had to find the Braviary. Ulysses. What if those people tried to find him again? I couldn't let that happen. They'd done too much damage already.
My stomach gave a loud gurgling. I hadn't eaten in almost a whole day. I was in no hurry to get chewed out by Ben, so I walked to Ambrette Town. Charren and Yarak followed. They were nice enough to sweep the area for signs of Ulysses and the Cubone, but there was nothing.
When I stepped into town, I realized that I didn't have my wallet. I'd thought ahead enough to bring my phone, but that was it. So I stopped in the street, staring through the window of a café and trying not to drool. I could smell eggs and ham. Too bad drinking in a smell doesn't fill your belly. Well, I'd have to hold my hunger back until I got back to Lumiose, my wallet, and an angry Ben. Stalling might make him more mad, not less. And the lure of breakfast was strong.
With a sigh, I turned back toward Charren, and nearly crashed into the person behind me.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry," the other person said, at the same time.
I blinked in surprise. "Grant!" I exclaimed. The rock gym leader of Cyllage City. I almost asked him what he was doing here, but that was a stupid question. Just because he was a gym leader doesn't mean he's glued to the city where his gym is.
He blinked back at me, then after a couple seconds I saw that he recognized me too. "Oh, the trainer from Kanto!"
I laughed. "That's right. Cara."
"Are you visiting the aquarium?" He asked.
"Oh, uh, no. We actually went to it already. I had to come back to look for a Pokémon that… might be trouble." I meant to say 'might be IN trouble' but it didn't come out right.
"A bird Pokémon?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"That's part of why I'm here. I was traveling between my gym and the Battle Chateau when I heard that a girl had been attacked by a Braviary."
I bit my lip and nodded. "That's what I'm looking for. He, uh, he's been badly used by some people. They were trying to make him steal Pokémon. I'm trying to find him before they do."
"You are?" He sounded like he wanted to ask why I'd bother doing that. But instead he asked, "is it Team Flare?"
I sighed. "I guess everyone's starting to hear about them, huh? No, it's not them. I've had some problems with Team Flare, but this is something else."
"Are you the one that battled Team Flare at the energy plant? I heard about it on the news. They didn't say any names, just mentioned that it was a foreign trainer doing the gym challenge."
"Yeah, that was me. Eh, that battle didn't end very well. We got ambushed." It still hurt to think about Fleur.
"It sounds like you were the only people able to fight back. Hey, listen. You're traveling all over Kalos and you've run in with Team Flare a few times. Will you give me a call if you find anything? I don't like what's going on. As a gym leader I need to protect Kalos."
"Oh, sure. And if you hear anything else about this bird Pokémon, could you tell me? We've searched everywhere, but he's already gone."
"It's a deal."
I pulled out my phone to add Grant. As I did so, my stomach gave another loud grumble. It was loud enough for Grant to hear, because he laughed.
I laughed too. "I guess that's my signal to go back and get breakfast."
"Are you staying nearby?"
"Well, we're staying in Lumiose right now."
He glanced over to where Charren and Yarak were waiting for me. "That's quite a flight."
"It doesn't take long with Charren."
"Well, why don't we get breakfast here?" He gestured to the café I'd been drooling at.
"Ah, I'd love to, but I was kind of in a rush to get over here and I forgot my wallet."
"That's no problem. I can get you breakfast. Someone should thank you for fighting Team Flare."
"You don't have to do that!" I always felt guilty if someone helped me pay. It made me feel like a leech.
"I want to. Come on." He herded me inside. Once we were within sight of the food, my reluctance vanished. How could I resist?
We took a seat and ordered. I wasn't sure what to say. Since Grant was a rock type trainer, I started telling him about a few of the rock Pokémon I'd raised over the years. Nelly the Auroros, who had battled him back when she was an Amaura. Coal, the Aggron and a number of others that lived at Avalon. I even told him about my special Tyranitar, who wasn't a rock type at all, but a fire type.
Grant gaped at me. "Where does a fire type Tyarnitar come from? Is it a regional variant?"
"No. There are a handful of Ex Delta Pokémon. It was actually an experiment that got out and changed the types of several Pokémon. My Tyranitar is just one of many. I'll have her Pokéball transferred over next time we meet, so you can see her for yourself."
"That would be great!"
The waiter came with our food. It tasted amazing. But to be fair, when you're hungry almost any food tastes divine.
As we ate, Grant asked me what I liked to do besides working with Pokémon.
"I have a few hobbies. I like to sing. I've taken a few voice lessons. And I always have a sketchbook in my backpack. But I haven't really ever taken drawing classes. I just draw for fun, and try to learn by looking at stuff on the internet. I have a camera, but same thing. No lessons, I just like taking photos of Pokémon and scenery. I also do Aikido. If there's a dojo anywhere we travel past, I stop by for some training."
"Aikido. I've never tried that. Isn't it like redirecting your opponent's energy?"
"Yeah, that's it exactly. It's great because it doesn't matter how big you are. You can be tiny and take down someone much bigger than you because you're using their own strength against them. If someone attacks you and they won't let go, that's when you use aikido, to push them off balance and pin them so they can't hurt you. Same thing if someone's coming at you to hit you, or to use a knife or sword. But if the opponent lets go of you, that leaves you an opening to attack back. Or run. It's all about non-violence. Not that you shouldn't be careful. Some of those moves can do a lot of damage." I stopped myself before I blabbed on even more.
"Are you a black belt? You sound like you know a lot about it." I think he was teasing a little about me being a black belt.
"Oh, no. I can't get to dojos very often. I'm a couple levels away from the black belt. My next belt is brown. And after that is black. It's hard to keep track though, since I'm always bouncing around to different places. The one I go to most often is all the way back in Kanto, near my parents' house."
"Yeah, I guess it's not like rock climbing. You can climb anywhere you want. You don't need a group to practice with, unless you want one."
I nodded. "I do love climbing though. I'll climb trees or rocks. But Hari will climb anything in a second. He loved the rock climbing walls you had in your gym. I did too."
"Good to hear! Come back whenever you want. And let me know if you run into any good climbing areas around Kalos. Climbing in nature is always better. I've found some great cliffs, but I'm always happy to learn about new ones."
"I've never used a rope outside of a climbing gym. But if you don't mind doing that part, that would be great! Although, wouldn't that be a long trip for you? I'm guessing you don't have any flying Pokémon."
"Oh, it's not too bad by train. But I guess it would end up as a two-day round trip."
I thanked Grant again and flew back to Lumiose to meet a disgruntled Ben. He didn't blow up at me, but was sulky for most of the afternoon. I was in no mood to put up with that. So I said I was going to train some more for the Lumiose gym. I made sure I had my wallet with me this time. I was theoretically looking for someone to battle, but mostly I just ended up wandering the streets of Lumiose, admiring the beautiful city while Polaris, Shanjin, and Yarak accompanied me. Charren stayed at the lab with Hari, resting from her flight. As much as I loved wandering and watching, I couldn't stop thinking. How could I find Ulysses? Maybe I could have Mewtwo link our dreams again. But that had been so unpleasant that I'd probably save it as a last resort. And being in Lumiose made me think about Fleur again, so I had to try not to let myself get depressed and angry.
As I passed a side street, I heard music. Before I realized what I was doing, my feet turned toward the sound. We found a little caravan set up in a courtyard, doing a performance. As I got closer, I found that I recognized the dance. It was the Tympole Troupe! I joined the audience, and at the end Melody the Meloetta came out for the finale performance. Her song floated through the air, and was followed by a standing ovation. After the applause faded away, Melody spotted me. Giving a happy cry she hopped down from the stage and trotted over.
The performers saw Melody leave the stage, and the excited crowd started to gather around her. A couple of the staff came to Melody and me, ushering us to the back, to a more quiet space. They recognized me and welcomed me. Someone handed me a cup of tea, which I drank as I sat on a crate. I told them about my upcoming gym challenge, and they promised to come and watch. As we chatted, a shadow passed over the sky. A little flying Pokémon had just gone overhead. I didn't think anything of it, figuring it was a Pidove, or maybe one of the troupe Pokémon. But then a piece of paper fluttered down and landed on my shoulder. I plucked it off, ready to toss it away. But there was writing on it.
"Team Flare will hit the Pokéball Factory tomorrow evening."
I shot to my feet, making Melody jump. I scanned the sky, but there was no sign of the flying Pokémon. Yarak shot into the air and circled around, but he didn't find anything either.
I excused myself and bid the troupe farewell, making straight for the police station.
