Disclaimer: This story, the OC -main, secondary or otherwise- don't belong to be but to a dear friend of mine who decided not to share it here. So I took it upon myself to do it for her.
However as to not be accused of plagiarism, I still made a few changes so it was more in my style than in hers (but that's about all that'll be changed). If anything, think of it as a remake.
Regarding the main cast from Pokemon, they belong to Game Freak or whoever own them.
Picnic Break
"Good!" I congratulated my Rufflet who replied with a delighted trilling sound. For the past few hours, we have been training his Rock Tomb move, Gladion's Lycanroc showing Justice how to get it done correctly. At first, the hard as stone feathers landed about anywhere but his opponent. I was pleased to see that he now had left trouble sending them in one direction. "It's still not perfect, but we are getting there." I added with a giggle, petting my bird Pokemon's feather.
The top of the hill looked like a mess with rocks all around. Some had scratches when Sabretooth had decided to use them as scratching post (or training material for his Scratch move) and several had been toppled over and reduced to crumble when Marie had relentlessly attacked them with her tail, as she was imitating Gaïa and Umbreon.
"What do you say we have a break?" I announced, loud enough for everyone to hear me, especially my training companion. Gladion had been closely watching Gaïa and his Pokemon. He had claimed it was 'to make sure [my] Servine doesn't prank [his] Umbreon'. I had felt a bit upset at that. I had raised Gaïa perfectly and sure, she liked to have her fun, but she also knew when it was important to get serious.
And both our Pokemon were still getting at once another, competing about their move. I was pleased to see that Umbreon had almost completely mastered his Iron Tail move. His black and yellow tail glowed in a silvery manner as the Pokemon gathered momentum right before he jumped and turned on himself, his tail landing on one of the rocks Lycanroc had threw there. The stone got another gash.
And three new ones when Gaïa, who didn't want to get outdone, retorted with her Leaf Blade right over the mark Umbreon had made.
"You go girl!" I squealed, giving Gladion a start. I had come next to him and he had been so focused on the battle that he hadn't heard me. "See, I was right. Umbreon learnt Iron Tail alright with Gaïa showing him her Aqua tail." I said proudly.
"None like 'I told you so' people." he replied in a growl. He then shrugged. "Though I guess I have to thank you. I suppose it'd have taken longer if he hadn't had your Servine as example."
"Am I hearing correctly?" I giggled. "You're thanking me? How unexpected."
"You're right. I shouldn't be thanking you." he corrected himself. "Lycanroc helped your Rufflet with his Rock Tomb. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement."
"You don't have to be such a killjoy." I grumped. "It was just joke." I sighed and tried to not let it get to me. After all, even though Gladion wasn't as grateful as I'd have expected him to be, today was still a good day. "But perhaps you'll be thanking me if I were to invite you to have lunch!" I offered.
"What?" he exclaimed, surprised.
"Yeah! We've been training for a long time. It's only fair we take a break. Plus, I am sure your Pokemon are tired too!" To support my point, I pointed at Umbreon and Lycanroc who were panting. Umbreon also seemed to be about to collapse from tiredness. "They need to rest."
As I wasn't getting any answer from Gladion, I decided that I deserved a break. And so did my Pokemon.
"Come on guy, let's eat something!" I called them. "You're more than welcome if you want to join us." I said without looking back as Gaïa emitted a joyful noise as she followed me.
Finding a suitable place was a bit complicated as the training had completely changed the way the top of the hill looked like. Hopefully, none would really mind, I thought as I sat down under the shade of a big tree, my Pokemon all around me and looking at me eagerly.
"I know what you're waiting for." I said, opening my bag. Inside were several small paper bags with different sort of Pokemon food, each properly labelled with the Pokemon they were for. "And don't eat too fast. The Pokemon Center is a good way away!" I reminded them, especially Gaïa who I knew didn't take her time to eat.
"Vine." she replied as if I had upset her.
"So be more like a lady when you eat." I retorted, taking my own food out. Ham sandwiches, my favourites, with mustard and ketchup. I also had brought bottles of water for my Pokemon and one with fresh fruit punch for me.
"I really wonder where you put all that food." A deep voice startled me. Right in front of me, a bit in the dark as he was blocking the sun, stood Gladion.
"As it happens, I store it in my stomach." I answered with a smile. I didn't expect him to answer to my invitation and actually come. "I have a pretty high metabolism." I explained as he sat down not too far away from me. "Do you want some?" I asked, opening my bag again. "I took enough for an army."
"No, thank you." he retorted, showing me that he had his own food. Veggies sandwiches if I wasn't mistaken. I didn't picture Gladion to be a vegetarian, or to have any specific diet for that matter.
"Well, guys, watch your manners!" I said to my Pokemon. "We've guests!" I announced, even though they already knew it for Lycanroc had carelessly sat next to Sabretooth and Umbreon was eyeing at Gaïa's bowl. She hissed when the dark furred Pokemon tried to take some of her food.
"Umbreon. Catch!" Gladion told his Pokemon, sending it a berry that Umbreon swiftly caught and elegantly landed next to Gaïa who pouted when she saw it.
"My… I didn't know your Pokemon knew some tricks." I exclaimed. "What else can they do?"
"Hmph…" Gladion only answered and threw another berry to his Lycanroc. However this time, his Mahogany Pokemon didn't catch it. Instead, he made a quick gesture with his right forepaws and the berry landed on the grass, cut into small pieces.
"Impressive!" I said in awe. "You should learn to do that Gaïa!" I told her. The idea didn't seem appealing to her as she pouted some more and looked away. "Don't be jealous." I added with a laugh.
"Don't count on me to teach her that." Gladion notified me.
"I wasn't! I don't want my Pokemon to participate in contest. I want them to be fighters!" I assured him with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I thought you weren't the kind to take part in beauty pageant."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're much to energetic for these… Jeeze, not everything I say is an insult." he growled.
"Fine… Fair enough." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I am just tired of people calling me 'not feminine'." I explained.
"Should those people really be to blame though?" He answered, pointing at me. "You don't exactly wear the sort of clothes a 'feminine' girl would. And trust me, I know quite a deal about that."
"I guess…" After all, it was hard to get a girl who would be more feminine than Lillie with her dresses of little miss perfect, her perfect attitude and demeanor. "It's just how I have been raised. And I hate wearing dresses!"
"Hm… I hope your mother wasn't too disappointed." he commented, to my surprise.
"No… Why would she have been? She understood I didn't like them and never forced me to wear any." I answered. "Don't tell me your mother forced you to wear dresses," I said with a laugh as the disturbing image of Gladion in one of his sister's dress came to my mind. My laugh soon died when I saw the glare Gladion was casting me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. Was Lillie forced to wear dresses?"
"When she was little… Mom never wanted her to wear pants or shorts… And she had to make sure her outfit remained clean…" he answered at last.
"Oh… It's sad… how could she have fun if she couldn't run around or play in the dirt?"
"We found other way. In the end, she grew up to be a shy and cautious girl."
"Where does her fear for Pokemon come from?" I suddenly asked. He had said she used to go with him to watch him play with his Eevee and his Rockruff, she certainly couldn't be afraid of Pokemon at that time.
"If she hadn't told you, why would I tell you?"
"Alright, good point." I said with a nod. "But is it why you dress in black when she is all in white? To make the difference with what your parents wanted?"
He stared at me long to the point I was feeling uncomfortable.
"I mean, at first I didn't believe you were siblings." I explained.
"I suppose it may be a reason why…" he finally decided to speak. "Though once I had… gone on my journey, I didn't think I needed to go by my mother's idea of how I should dress."
"Parents shouldn't decide what their children wear. Not once they're old enough to decide for themselves." I stated. "I was lucky enough to have parents who let me make my own decision."
"And that brought you to wear a spiked dog collar…" he commented, earning a glare from me. Though, contrary to what I felt when he had done it to me, Gladion didn't seem fazed at all by it. "I actually am surprised you and Lillie are friends. Regardless of how you dress, even personality wise, you don't seem the kind to get along."
I had a smile at this statement.
"That's where you are wrong. First, I strongly believe Lillie could befriend even the worst individual there is!" I asserted, raising my forefinger. "Second, we're more alike than you thing, we just don't show it the same way."
"Is that so?" he asked, raising a brow, clearly sceptical.
"That is so!" I assured him. "We love Pokemon – she does, otherwise she'd not be in a Pokemon school trying to learn all she can about them. And she tries really hard to solve her issue with touching them." I said before Gladion could comment. "Once we make friends, we're completely supportive of them. We love meeting new people. We also like to learn new things…"
"Alright, I get the point." He interrupted me.
"No need to be mean. I also wanted to add that I admire your sister. She has a very big heart."
"That's true…" Gladion softly said, and this brought a smile to my lips. Under his rough exterior was a big brother who cared about his little sister.
"I am also amazed that, in spite of that mansion she lives in, Lillie is still so modest and gentle." I added. I had never been there, but I had seen the building, all white in the middle of a huge garden. Contrary to what I thought though, my mentioning their mansion didn't seem to please him. I'd have expected him to have good memories there, with his sister and parents. Even though I was starting to believe his and Lillie's mother was much more controlling that was healthy for her children.
"Yeah, whatever." he merely answered. "Is that all?"
"Hm…" I hummed. "No, I also wanted to know… How did you get your Z-Ring?" I asked. That had been on my mind for a while during our training. "You know how I got mine, so it's only fair I know how you got yours."
"It doesn't mean I am going to tell you." he snapped, closing up like a Shellder.
"Alright… I didn't know …" I murmured, surprised at his reaction to an innocent question. "Does Lillie…"
"Don't ask her!" he commanded me, making me jump a bit at the sudden boom.
"Fine… I was just curious…" What could be so private about getting a Z-Ring that made Gladion not want to share the information… "What do you say we go back to training?"
Gladion didn't answer but just got up.
"You sure are a man of many words, aren't you?" I said with a laugh, getting up in turn. "You remind me of Drayden." I added with a heavy sigh. "It's the Dragon Type Gym leader in Opelucid City." I went on explaining when I caught his look of incomprehension.
"Do you know him?"
"No, not personally. I just heard about him being the quiet type from one of the teachers at his academy. I wanted to go these so badly… But it never happened…" I said with a sad smile. "But in the end, it's not too bad. Had I gone there, I'd not be able to be here today."
"I don't understand why going to that academy would have prevented you to come here." he shrugged.
"It's different there… Classes are much harder and students aren't free to go as they please." I explained. "Plus, in the end, we're sorta forced to get a job related to Dragon Pokemon. I don't mind dragon, but they're quite …" I stopped mid-sentence as my phone began to buzz. Ash.
"Hello?" My greeting was drowned by Ash's flow of words. He spoke of coloured shards and many fossils and I didn't understand much of it except that, apparently, their treasure hunt was over.
"Alright. I'll see you all at the harbour." I finally said once Ash let me speak. I then hung up on him. "I need to head out." The group is going back to the Pokemon Center."
"Sure."
"And don't worry, I won't tell Lillie, or anyone, that I met you." I promised him as I swung my backpack into place, adjusting it to a comfortable position. "And let me tell you that I had a good time. Hopefully we can do that again in the future!" I told him with a little wink that, to my surprise and delight, brought a red shade to his cheeks. He wasn't half that bad when you got to know him, I thought. And he had a lot more in common with Lillie than what his rough exterior let on. Now, what else could these siblings be hiding?
