Chapter Ten: Greener Grass On Down The Road

Carla dangled her feet over the ledge and surveyed the scene before her. She could taste ash every time she breathed in.

That trainer had been a tough one. His Hariyama was very well trained; Nixie had barely managed to take it down, and that was only because it was slower than her.

They couldn't go any further up the Jagged Pass, so Carla had decided to rest by herself for a while before venturing downwards. She had thought briefly about letting her team out to join her, but it wasn't a good idea for an Ice-type to be so close to a volcano.

Nixie had recently mastered Electro Ball and her accuracy was improving, along with Zoe's. Tess' endurance when it came to Electric attacks was growing, as was Rakel's. Tally's preserver and medicine bottle had come in handy more times than Carla could count, but now they were in trouble. They needed to get to a Centre soon.

Someone was walking past on the ground. He paused, glanced upwards at Carla and began to retrace his steps. Carla stifled a groan and prepared herself for another battle. She'd amassed quite a bit of money from challenging trainers, but she'd been practicing with her team all day and everyone was exhausted.

Before long, he was standing on the ledge beside her. He clutched the straps of his black rucksack awkwardly.

"Hey. Um, this is really awkward, but I think I'm kind of lost. Do you have any idea where we are?"

Carla shook her head. "I think I might be lost as well."

"Oh." He scratched his head, making his light brown hair stick up a little. "I'm Dave. Dave Ronan."

"Carla Saverre." She shuffled backwards and twisted around, placing one foot on the rim of the ledge.

"Here." Dave reached down with one hand; Carla grasped it and allowed him to help her up.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome. Hey, look, I'm going to get a lift to Verdanturf. Do you want to come too?"

Carla frowned. "A lift?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna call a teleporter."

Carla thought for a moment. Verdanturf wasn't where she'd originally planned on going, but it was rumoured to be quiet and peaceful, and her team could do with a rest after all the training they'd done.

Besides, Verdanturf had a Centre and Carla couldn't afford to be choosy.

"I'd love to. Thank you."

Dave took a phone from the pocket of his blue jacket, pressed a few buttons and held it to his ear. He waited a few seconds before saying: "Hey, Luka, it's Dave. Could you do me a favour? We're up on the Jagged Pass; could you and Greenlea give us a lift to Verdanturf? ...No, we're not that far up... Yeah, there's someone else with me... We'll meet you there... Come on, when have I ever said that?" He laughed. "See you in a moment."

He hung up and turned to Carla. "He'll meet us down there," he said, pointing at the ground below.

"Shouldn't we wait up here anyway, in case they teleport on top of us?" Carla asked.

"Oh. I didn't think of that."

Seconds later, a figure in black appeared in the middle of the path, a Gardevoir at his side. Carla followed Dave down the Pass and went to meet him.

"Hey," Dave said. "Thanks so much for doing this."

"It's not a problem, Dave. Don't get used to it, though," Luka said warningly, but Carla thought she saw a twinkle in his eye. "The whole point of a journey is that you actually do the travelling yourself."

"Yeah, I know. I just...went down the wrong route."

"All right," Luka said, "if you both come over here, we'll get this done quickly." When Carla and Dave went to stand on either side of him, he put a hand on Dave's left shoulder and Carla's right and said: "Verdanturf Centre, Greenlea."

Remembering Bobby's advice from the last time, Carla closed her eyes and mouth. The invisible fist punched her in the ribs; she gasped and opened her eyes to see a picture brought to life.

Verdanturf Town was almost completely surrounded by trees. The breeze was light, with a sweet, clean scent. All around them were thatched cottages, each one with a brightly-coloured door. The only modern buildings Carla could see were the Centre and the Contest Hall.

It was beautiful.

"That route there," Luka said, pointing at a long, well-worn grassy path that led out of town, "will get you to Mauville. If you want to go back to Rustboro, you can take a short cut through Rusturf Tunnel."

"Thanks, Luka," Dave repeated. "I appreciate it."

"See you around, Dave." With a single nod to Carla, Luke turned to his Gardevoir and said: "Greenlea, let's go."

Greenlea blinked, and they were gone.

It was so good to wear clean clothes again.

Carla flopped back onto her bed and stared at the pale pink ceiling above her. One of the upsides of travelling alone was that she and her team had a room all to themselves. It was nice travelling with Bruno and Tally, but at the moment Zoe, Tess, Rakel and Nixie were all the company Carla needed.

While her team was engrossed in a cartoon, Carla carefully counted out the money she'd won since leaving Mauville. She was pleased to see she'd amassed more than she thought she had. There were two piles on the bed: one for herself and her team, the other for Glennis.

Once the money was shared out, Carla picked up her notebook and pen to write down the amount she was sending to her sister. But before she could write anything, she hesitated. Her eyes flickered towards the four small creatures in front of the TV, then back towards the 'keep' pile.

It wouldn't be enough - not now that she had four to look after.

Sighing, Carla took some notes from the top of Glennis' pile and put them in the 'keep' one.

After the cartoon was finished, Carla returned her team and put her fleece and trainers on. A place like Verdanturf must have at least one berry tree nearby. There weren't any in the town itself. Carla had wandered around the place in search of one while waiting for her laundry to dry.

Verdanturf was a quiet town - not sleepy like Oldale, but calm and peaceful. Just being there made her feel lighter somehow.

She wished she could stay longer.

The nurse at the main desk smiled when she saw Carla approaching. "Good afternoon! How can I help you?"

"Do you know if there are any berry trees around?"

"There are. Just follow the road out of Verdantuf and eventually you'll find some. But if it's the Contests you're here for, I'm afraid you've missed them by a few days."

"Oh, I'm not here for Contests," Carla said, pushing away a twinge of wistfulness. "Thank you." She was about to turn away when a thought struck here. "How often do you hold Contests here?"

"About once a month. Sometimes we hold them twice a month, but that doesn't happen often. Most coordinators go to Slateport and Lilycove to compete; when there are Contests here and Fallarbor, we send out information in advance and book them on a 'first come, first served' basis." The nurse smiled. "I love to go and watch them. Have you ever seen a Contest live?"

"No. Never. But if I do, I'll try here first."

With one last smile, Carla turned and walked out of the Centre. She looked around for the route to Mauville and headed in that direction. As she walked, the breeze playfully blew her hair back. Her gaze kept wandering to the trees on either side of the path, and at the windflowers growing around their roots.

She had the strangest feeling that she'd forgotten something, but that wasn't possible. She'd made sure she had everything she needed before leaving the Centre, and she was going back there as soon as she'd collected the berries.

Someone was walking ahead of her. The figure turned his head and saw her, then stopped and waited. It was Dave.

She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen him.

"Hi!" he said when she caught up with him.

"Hi," she replied with a polite smile.

"Are you from Kalos, by any chance? Sorry, it's just that your surname..." He trailed off awkwardly.

"My grandfather was from Lumiose." She was surprised he'd even remembered what her last name was.

"Is that the one that's twinned with Mauville? Wow, that's awesome! Are you going to Mauville now?"

Carla shook her head. "I just came out here to get some berries. You?"

"I want to catch a Volbeat. I've wanted one for ages, and I know they're in the area. What have you got on your team?"

She took a deep breath. "Snorunt, Vullaby, Misdreavus, Pachirisu. What do you have?"

"Wow, that's a pretty unique team! I've only got Marshtomp, Swellow, Nuzleaf and Loudred on my team at the moment. I do have others, but I'm trying to think of the best combination to challenge Norman."

"How many badges do you have?" Carla asked, curious.

"Four. I really want to get this one, because if we win, that'll get us up to the next level." When he saw Carla's confused frown, he said: "Getting five badges means they start taking you seriously. It means you might actually have potential to become Champion."

Carla hadn't known that.

"Do you have any badges?" asked Dave.

"Just two." Carla was torn between giving Dave advice about battling Norman and allowing him to figure it out for himself. If he was serious about becoming Champion, he couldn't rely on other people all the time.

After a brief struggle, the nicer part of her won.

"You know how a Gym is designed to fit the type the Leader uses?"

"Yeah."

"Norman's Gym doesn't have any special furnishings. It's just him and you." A thought hit her. "You said you had a Marshtomp."

Dave nodded.

"The Gym floor is slippery when wet."

"What do you...oh. Oh." Dave's eyes widened and he grinned. "That is a great idea. Thanks, Carla."

"You're welcome." Carla spotted a clump of trees to her right. All of them had coloured fruit hanging from their branches. "Do you want any berries?" she asked.

"That'd be great. I'll meet you back here."

Carla veered off towards the trees. She took out the small bag she used to hold berries and walked to the foot of the nearest one, which happened to be a sitrus. She made a mental note to come back after making some medicine, as some of the other berries here were very nutritious and could sustain both trainer and pokémon when food was scarce.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Smiling to herself, she pulled out Nixie's pokéball and released her.

"Want to have some fun, Nixie?"

The Pachirisu nodded, cheeks sparking.

"Could you climb up this tree and bite off some berries for me?"

Nixie darted up the trunk and along the bottom of a thick branch, gripping it with her tiny claws. She nibbled at the stem of a berry until it came loose and dropped into Carla's waiting hands. When Carla had three, she said: "That's great! Can you do some from the figy next to it?"

With a running jump, Nixie leapt from one canopy of leaves to the next. Carla hurried to stand under the tree, keeping an eye on the Pachirisu as she chewed a berry free and allowed it to fall. It landed in the grass to Carla's left; she knelt to pick it up.

The next one hit her squarely on the head.

"Ow!"

Above her, Nixie chittered sharply.

"I'm OK." Carla rubbed the top of her head before picking up the offending fruit and putting it in her bag.

It was only after Nixie had harvested three berries from the next tree that Carla realised the bag was very nearly full. "Thanks, Nixie! That's enough for now. Come back down, please."

The Pachirisu ran down the trunk - and froze halfway down. She was staring at something behind Carla's left shoulder. Her tail twitched.

"Hey there."

Carla turned around. A man in a dark green jacket stood a little way behind her. He was startlingly handsome, with short brown hair and a powerful build. As he came closer, Carla saw his eyes were a light shade of green.

"Sorry to disturb you," he said, "but perhaps you could help me out here." He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a photograph. "I'm looking for this trainer. His name's Randall Shaw; do you know him at all?"

Carla took the photo - and felt a jolt go through her. It was of the redhaired boy from Mauville, the one who had battled Tally for a table at the Food Court. She was about to open her mouth and say yes, she had seen him, but something in the stranger's eyes made her hesitate.

They were slightly narrowed. Watchful. Calculating.

She shook her head and handed the photo back. "Sorry. I don't know him."

"You sure? Maybe you battled him or something."

"I've battled a lot of trainers. I don't even remember half of them."

"All right, if you're sure." He smiled, but the look in his eyes didn't change. "Look after yourself."

Carla watched as he walked away, unable to shake a twinge of unease. When he was out of sight, she looked back at Nixie and saw the Pachirisu hadn't moved an inch.

"Come on," she said, reaching out and picking her up. Nixie wriggled free and ran onto her shoulder.

That man had known she was lying.

"Hi!" Dave came jogging up to them, holding a pokéball in one hand. "I got one. He did not want to go down easily, but he was no match for...oh, hey there, little guy!" His face brightened as he saw Nixie.

"She's a girl," Carla told him. "Her name's Nixie."

"Can I meet the rest of your team?"

"Sure, if you want." Carla released the rest of her team. "This is Zoe, Tess and Rakel. Girls, this is Dave."

"Great to meet you guys! Sorry - girls." In turn, Dave took out four other pokéballs and threw them into the air along with the one containing the Volbeat. They appeared just in front of him. "Shiran's the Marshtomp, Marta's the Nuzleaf, Polly's the Swellow, Erasmus is the Loudred and Drummer is the Volbeat."

Dave turned to his team. "Polly, Erasmus, Marta, meet Drummer. He's the new guy."

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the canteen is?"

The nurse nodded. "It's just down there. Since it's so quiet this evening, you can have your pokémon out if they're not too large and if they behave themselves."

There were very few people seated in the canteen. Carla helped herself to some pasta and tamato sauce, put some pokémon pellets into four bowls and balanced them carefully on a single tray.

"Hey, Carla! Over here!"

Dave was waving from a nearby table. He had all of his team out; they were eating from bowls the same size as the ones Carla held. Sitting opposite him was a tall blonde with purple streaks in her hair. Like Dave, she had chosen to release her team: a Sableye, an Umbreon, an Absol, a Liepard and a small blue bird with a yellow chest.

Once Carla's team was out, that made fourteen pokémon around the table. Luckily, they didn't take up much space.

"This is Ronnie," Dave said, gesturing to the blonde. "She's a Dark-type specialist."

"Like it wasn't obvious?" Ronnie nodded towards Tess. "That's a cute Vullaby."

"Thanks."

"I'd ask if you wanted to trade, but I've already got Blu and I don't really have a pokémon to trade with, so..." Ronnie shrugged and stabbed at her pasta. Her fingernails were painted a deep purple.

"Even if you did ask, I'd still say no," Carla told her matter-of-factly. She thought she saw a tiny smile on the older girl's face.

"Where'd you find Blu?" Dave asked. "I don't think I know the species."

"She's a Rookidee; they're from Galar. My uncle thought the line's final form was part-Dark instead of Steel." Ronnie grinned and mouthed Oops. "But I don't mind. In fact, I really like her. Her final form is going to be awesome." She raised her eyebrows at Carla. "You are not going to have it easy when it comes to evolution, are you?"

The words weren't said in a mocking tone, but they still stung a little. A trainer would normally have at least two evolutions at this stage in their journey.

Carla shrugged. "That's not a problem. It just means they'll be stronger when they do evolve. And even if they don't evolve, it won't make a difference."

"Well, you're confident, aren't you?" Ronnie smiled slowly. "I like that."

"So where are you from?" Carla asked, spearing a twirl of pasta.

"Here. I went on a journey but I had to quit a year ago, so we're back with my parents."

"It must be a pretty full house," Dave commented with a glance at Ronnie's pokémon.

"Yeah, you're not kidding. I'm seriously thinking about going to a Dark-type Gym and applying for membership. We sometimes eat here in the Centre just so my team can get out of the house."

"Is there a Dark-type Gym?" Carla wondered aloud. She wasn't sure she'd ever heard of one.

"There has to be one somewhere."

Carla looked at her own team, just to make sure they weren't getting into trouble. Fortunately, they seemed too engrossed in their dinner to consider misbehaving.

Just then, her phone chimed. She took it out and looked at the screen; it was a text from Tally.

Mum and Dad gave me a Trapinch! Her name's Flutter. Tx

Carla grinned.

"What's up?" Dave asked.

"A friend of mine has a Trapinch." Carla was glad Tally was receiving areward for her work. Then again, maybe her parents had given Flutter to her just because they could.

"That's awesome!"

Then realisation clicked into place. "Oh."

"Carla, what's wrong?" Dave's voice was tense and alarmed.

"Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing's wrong!"

"It's fine, it's just...Today's my birthday." And she'd completely forgotten it.

"Really? That's fantastic! How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You forgot your own birthday?" Ronnie said incredulously. "You haven't called your family, have you?"

"Not yet."

"Carla!" Theo looked delighted to see her on the screen. "How are you? Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Dad. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier."

"But you were able to call now, and that's what matters." Theo looked over his shoulder and yelled: "Glennis! It's Carla!" He turned back to the screen and said: "It's good to see you. Have you caught anything else?"

"A Pachirisu; she's called Nixie and she's really sweet. How are you, Dad? How's Glennis?" Carla shifted closer to the screen in anticipation.

Theo's pause told her all she needed to know.

"Do you remember the night before you left?"

"Yes." How could she not?

"Remember me saying that Glennis seemed upset about something?"

Carla nodded, clutching the edge of her chair so tightly that the plastic ridges dug into her fingers.

Whatever Theo was about to tell her was interrupted by the sound of running feet. Smiling, he moved aside and was replaced by Glennis, her hair tumbling about her face.

"Carly! How are you? How's your journey going?"

"I'm all right, and so is my team. We're in Verdanturf Town for the night."

"Aren't you going to wish your sister a 'happy birthday'?" said Theo's voice from the background.

"Sorry, Carly! Happy birthday." Glennis' eyes widened as she looked closer at the screen. "Wow. You look like you've lost weight. Sorry, I meant that in a good way. It's not that I thought you needed to lose it."

"It's OK," Carla said, smiling. "I know what you meant."

She probably had lost some weight without noticing. All that walking around would have done her a lot of good, and physical fitness was part of being a trainer.

Glennis looked at their father. "Hey, Dad, can I talk to Carla privately for a moment?"

"Of course; I need to let Kelvin have a quick swim this evening." Theo gave Carla a warm smile, his eyes crinkling with affection. "Try not to leave it so long next time, OK?"

"I can't promise that, Dad. But I will call again."

"So how many pokémon have you caught now?" Glennis asked when Theo had disappeared.

"Three. Well, two. I got my second from somebody else. They're all girls, and they all get on pretty well with each other."

"What are their names?"

"Zoe's the Snorunt; she's my starter. Tess is a Vullaby - she's energetic and very fluffy. Then there's Rakel, the Misdreavus."

"What's she like?" Glennis asked, her eyes sending Carla a clear, frantic message. Play along.

"She's...a character." That seemed like the best way to describe her. "Nixie's a Pachirisu, and she's my latest capture; we're still getting to know her."

Glennis smiled wistfully. "They sound lovely. I can't wait to meet them."

"What about you? Anyone in your class giving you trouble?"

"No." Glennis shook her head rapidly, her hair dancing from shoulder to shoulder. "If there was, I'd tell you."

"Good, because if there are, they'll have to answer to me."

Glennis' eyes flickered. She knew Carla meant every word of what she had just said.

The older girl cleared her throat. "I light candles for us in the chapel."

"You didn't use to do that."

"I know, but...it helps. It really does. And...I know she's a Kantonese legend, but I'm going to start lighting candles to the Snow Queen. For you."

Carla frowned. "Why?"

"I heard someone say Articuno favours trainers who start with Ice-types - especially if the trainer's a girl."

"Thank you." Carla wasn't sure if Articuno would listen to the prayers of someone from Hoenn, but she wouldn't let Glennis know that.

Glennis swallowed; her eyes were welling up, and she blinked hard several times. Carla reached out and touched the screen with her fingertips, imagining she could reach across the distance between them and wipe away her sister's tears.

"Look after yourself, Carly. I love you. Buy yourself something nice from me, OK?"

"You know I can't do that."

"Please. It would mean a lot if you did."

"All right. I will," Carla lied. "I love you too. Give Dad a hug from me - and tell his team I said hi."

Glennis nodded twice. There was a click, and the screen went black.

Slowly, Carla hung up the phone and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

She hadn't asked if her sister had received the packages. Then she shook herself and got off the stool. No matter. She could call another time.

Just as she turned away from the phone, she happened to glance at the window. At first, she didn't notice anything unusual - just the dying remnants of a sunset. Then she saw tiny golden specks floating around in the sky. They couldn't be stars; there were too many of them, and they were moving.

She hurried towards the Centre doors and out into the evening. The specks were flying around in patterns now, some taking the shape of comets, others of stars or complex swirls.

It had to be Volbeat or Illumise. Carla had heard of this: how Illumise would use their scent to draw in Volbeat and then use them to create patterns in the sky.

As she stared, one Illumise gathered a large crowd of Volbeat towards her and formed a wheel with eight spokes, spinning them around her like a firework.

Someone scoffed loudly. "Now that's just showing off."

It's still beautiful.

While the lights unfurled and danced, Carla felt a strange sense of peace settle inside her. It was similar to the feeling she'd had while sitting with Bruno and Tally the evening before they parted ways.

"Come out, girls!"

Tess, Nixie and Zoe landed beside their trainer, with Rakel floating a little above them. It was hard to see them in the twilight, but Carla knew they were there.

"I thought you might like to see this too," Carla said, gesturing towards the lights. Nixie scrambled onto her shoulder, hoping for a better view, and squeaked when Carla knelt down on the grass. Together, they watched the intricate dance.

They would be on the road again soon. There would be other places to see and more trainers to battle, but tonight they were happy to be here.

Carla probably wasn't expecting company so soon, but things don't always go the way we plan.

This chapter's title comes from 'Here Tonight' by Tim and Gracie McGraw.