A ring sounded through Flareon Light's room. His blue and white eyes shot open. He looked up and down at the white pillow he hugged between his legs and pulled away from it.
Light threw off the white covers from over his body and stretched out his back. He unfurled himself from around the pillow and ran his paw down its surface , taking a deep breath of the cool morning sea air coming in through his open window.
He scrambled on his feet towards his phone. It was under his pillow, pushed up at the top of his bed frame. There weren't any notifications, but Light wanted to see Ariel. He started to think of excuses and started off simple. The phone screen felt harsh on his eyes at first, but he squinted until they adjusted typed on it.
"Good morning."- Light
After a few seconds, Light double checked that he sent it to the right person. He waited for a minute while staring out the window, glancing back to his screen every few seconds. He stretched his back, held it, and released with a sigh.
Right after he finished, there was a solid knock on his door. He hopped down from his bed and trudged over. He nearly pushed it open by accident, but woke up enough to remember to politely pull the door in to avoid hitting whoever stood there.
It was Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel on the other side of the door. She already had her pure white cape over her back.
"Good morning," Ariel said, smiling. "Got your text."
"Oh, uhm, good morning. Y-yah."
"You wanted to see me?" her voice lowered. "Couldn't stay away, right?"
Light didn't respond. He backed up while Ariel strut forward, eventually stopping and trying to stand his ground. Ariel wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
"Hey."
Ariel lifted Light up to her face.
Flareon Light and Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel were on the same chair just a bit above the floor and table. Other pokemon were still gathering under the chandelier for a morning meeting to organize the rest of the day.
Light had melted apart. His whole body trembled like air in a heat wave. Ariel held him leaning back against the wood, rubbing down his arms with firm pressure and kissing his cheek. A surge of energy vibrated in his chest every time. He kept calm enough to avoid heating up, but his whole face tingled. He was limp while she rubbed down his back and along his neck, occasionally getting a crack that made him melt even more.
Light didn't notice everyone was ready until Slowking Chad cleared his throat. Light and Ariel's heads shot up. Pokemon surrounded the table with passive looks on their faces, but the tension made Light's heart jump.
"S-so," Light squeaked, "we're organizing who goes on missions, right?"
"Right," Chad said. "I sorted through all of it and took the serious ones."
"Okay... Are there any bounty hunts?"
"No. This area is quieter. It admittedly doesn't seem to need much, but there are still some battle offers."
Chad stepped forward to the table and set down papers side by side in front of them. Light scanned over their titles.
There were three battle challenges with rewards for winning, and a mission for finding a few teens that meandered out and might've gotten lost. The last one was written with more annoyance than anxiety, so he guessed it probably happened often for whoever it was.
"These requests are from arena fighters," Light said. "And these guys are lost in a pretty safe area."
"Me and Zhen are training with you today," Ariel said. "But everyone else is free."
Ariel continued to rub Light's paw and hug him while he continued to think under her chin. He wasn't too familiar with everyone personally, but he at least researched where they all came from.
"How much money do we have?" Light asked.
"A lot," Chad answered. "We haven't spent any money, but we need to be prepared for Glass Reshiram. That means buying weapons with strategies in mind."
"Well… Then let's try to win. Lao Shen arena fighters tend to specialize in items. Is anyone familiar?"
Only Emolga Alisha, Mienfoo Robin, and Chad raised their limbs. Everyone else gave unsure shakes of their heads. Light checked the names of the challengers.
"Two of them are around average," Light said. He pointed towards one of the papers. "This one's bad. It takes knowledge on everything to beat him."
"Just to be clear, what kind of knowledge are we talking about?" Alisha asked.
"Wands, orbs, seeds. Apples injected with steroids or something. I dunno. Just kind of everything..."
"My knowledge to that degree would be too rusty," Chad said. "I doubt I could handle that as I am right now."
"How much do you know about items, Light?" Robin asked.
"I, uhm, just know what they do. I'm not good at fighting."
"So why don't you go for him? Or, if you want, you could teach Ariel during your training about items. You seem to keep up with sports a lot... To recognize them by name and stuff."
"I can't teach her anything."
Light added a bit of venom to his voice by accident. He flinched at himself, paused, then shook his head.
"Uhm, sorry. But it won't work..." Light said.
"Teaching is not about being better than the student."
The whole table turned to the Arcanine Zhen. His voice managed to boom without him having to raise it.
"Teaching is about sharing," Zhen said. "The teacher and the student are equals. Not only for you and Ariel, but between us as well. Being good at teaching others what you know is being good at sharing."
"But I don't know enough about items to teach."
"You're not so unsure of yourself when you're making out with her. Why is this any different?"
Ariel jumped off Light. His fur started to give off steam, and his mouth twitched while he tried to talk back.
The Manaphy Jewel hopped on the table in front of them and bowed in Light's direction. "May you roast in peace," she said.
Light didn't have a response. He just stared at Zhen again, trying to come up to any answer that'd make himself look just a bit better.
"Combat is all about honing your instincts and letting them work for you. You're not under or overconfident because you're not thinking about those things. Eventually, what's really important will take the center."
"O-okay," Light mumbled. "But how am I supposed to teach her anything about fighting?"
"It doesn't look like she's complaining about spending time with you. You're the only one against this idea."
Light glanced down at the chair. His eyes drifted away when Ariel smiled and put her arm around his back.
"Yeah, Light," Ariel said. "You kiss me for once."
Ariel bent her head down near Light's face. He stared at her cheek retreating his face back.
"Uh, l-let's focus for now..." Light suggested. "I'll let you guys choose which ones to fight. I'll order them in how skilled they are."
"Right," Chad nodded. "And for the others?"
"Just training and getting things to help us plan. That should do for now."
A couple minutes later, Light waddled into the training area on board with Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel and Arcanine Zhen behind him. The windows high in the dome let in plenty of light. Looking down at his feet to avoid Ariel's face, he noticed the metal had a familiar sheen.
"Chad's sword yesterday looked like this," Light said.
"Probably because it was," Zhen said. "This is a special type of metal that resists a pokemon's chi. It makes for effective weapons."
"Uh,-uhm, chi?"
"Energy," Ariel said. "They call it chi here."
"Oh, uh… Right."
"In any case, today I want to understand your abilities and where you are. If you and Ariel could spar for a little bit. Not a full on battle. Only spar, and show me what you know."
"Okay," Light said.
Zhen walked and stood off to the side. Light and Ariel both moved away from each other for a few paces and then turned around.
"Better not let me Sweet Kiss you," Ariel said. "I won't hold back. You won't be able to tell which way is up when I'm done with those cute wittle marshmallow cheeks..."
Light's fur glowed a little brighter. He tried to keep heat off of his face, but couldn't.
"For the love of- focus for two minutes," Zhen huffed.
Flareon Light started off with Shadow Ball. It was a little slow to charge up, but he fired it despite knowing it would probably miss.
Ariel leaned to the side to avoid it without taking a single step. She flashed a cocky grin that made Light's chest burn a little. Given that she didn't charge yet, she was probably waiting for him to show more.
Light's tail glowed and sent out yellow stars using Swift. Ariel batted them all away with her forelimbs and shrugged after, flexing her muscles in the leftover glitters.
"C'mon," Ariel said, "try a little harder."
A fire started in Light's chest. He spat out a hot ember made out of his anger and ran forward. Ariel sidestepped the Ember and raised her fists defensively.
"Oh," Zhen said, "there you are."
Light jabbed two times with his left. Ariel stepped back, but Light kept moving forward.
"Combine those two things you just did."
Light went down close to the ground and kicked straight upwards. Loose embers and strings of fire went off of his leg, but he wasn't left in a good position to move. Ariel sidestepped and grabbed his leg.
Ariel's grip was strong, but it didn't hurt. She reached and grabbed his other leg, then flipped his body and caught him under his shoulders.
"Hey."
Light didn't want to lose, but he couldn't summon up enough strength to get out of her grip or enough energy to use a move in time. When Ariel kissed his cheek, he gave up and clung to her instead while he got dizzy.
"Alright, alright. Enough already..." Zhen groaned. "Ariel, talk about what you think."
"He knows a ton. If I hadn't seen him do full splits a while back, I never would've expected that kick."
"Based on what you've seen and know, what combat style do you think best suits him?"
"I don't know."
"Me neither," Zhen said. "But, I realize that you are currently stronger and more informed than I am, especially on fighting in more modern times."
"I need more information."
"Recount what you experienced. What does he need more than anything else?"
"Power."
"And what does he have?"
"Strategy. It feels like he knows all the basic stuff already."
"But just doesn't have the practice," Zhen said. "And as you said, requires training and teaching in power. So what's the next sensible step?"
Ariel set Light back down on his feet. He curled his tail around his body to try and deflect her stare, but it didn't work.
"The only thing he lacks is what you specialize in," Zhen said. "Pure offensive power. It makes sense for both of you to train often together."
"I've never been flexible," Ariel said.
"It's not as if you can't be."
"For me... That's debatable."
Arcanine Zhen gazed off in the distance at the wall. He scratched his neck during the silence and sighed to himself.
"Well, I'll leave you both to dealing with those item scientists."
"What about the, uhm, Wilderbeast thing?" Light asked.
"You have enough control of your chi, you just need a little bit more. Train with Ariel for some time, then I'll show you exercises to begin your journey."
"Uhm... Okay..." Light mumbled.
"We'll start with having you not be swarmed by seagulls, so look forward to it."
"Uh, right..."
Zhen gave a last nod, still facing the wall before turning back to leave. Light watched him as he played around with his own thoughts. He was flexible, but never considered it really an advantage. He just like to stretch a lot.
Ariel turned to him as Zhen left their line of sight. He felt something looking into her eyes. A jolt moved his paw, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"Seagulls?" Ariel questioned.
"N-nothing... What do you want to do?"
"Well, you could teach me about items now, and then we'll go do that battle. But tonight, let's go to Valentine street for another date. We'll eat a lot and find foods for you that you might like."
"Uhm, shouldn't I train now, though?"
"It's good to eat plenty for the stuff we'll do. Muscle is made out of food."
Ariel took a glance around them. When she brought her eyes back to him, her head cast a shadow over his eyes.
"This place isn't too comfy. Let's go to my room, I got snacks."
"U-uh, yah. Sure."
Flareon Light followed Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel back to her room. Somehow, they managed to not pass by any other pokemon, although most of them probably left out for the day.
Once they were in her room, Ariel led him to the couch after closing the door behind them. She floated up to the TV and pushed the button to turn it on and changed the channel.
A Bellossom and Roserade appeared on the screen, talking quietly on a cliff side overlooking the ocean. As Light lied down on the couch, Ariel floated back over and landed. She wrapped her arm around his back. One of her ears bumped a guitar high over the heads and made a small note of music.
"Okay, so tell me all about, uhm... Orbs first," Ariel said.
"Right. So most Orbs aren't really weapons, sort of. It's a lot of effects on the body. They're... Mmm..."
Light stopped as Ariel kissed his cheek. Her ears came around his head.
"Uhm, are you... listening?" Light asked.
Ariel kissed his cheek again, wrapping around his front with her other arm.
"Airy?"
"Yeah?" Ariel asked quietly.
"Are you listening?"
"Yeah, keep talking."
Ariel kissed his cheek and left her lips there. Tension took over Light's jaw as he pushed his teeth together.
"I mean, uhm, listening and remembering my tips about Orbs."
"I am, I am."
"So, what did I just say?" Light asked.
"Most Orbs do... stuff..."
Light gently pushed her lips away by her chest and turned to face her.
"I don't want you to lose," Light said. "And he's tricky. I hate watching cheap shots."
"He?"
"That Medicham. Shu."
"Oh, right. But what do you mean cheap shots?"
"Immobilizing strategies. For literal cheap shots."
"He's not going to use something like Attract on me, is he?"
"Ugh, no."
Ariel blinked, then grinned. Light broke eye contact and moved his tail a little around him.
"What I mean is he's never stoopedthat low."
"But what if he does?" Ariel asked.
Light choked on a small fire in his chest. He swallowed and coughed up a small puff of smoke.
"Guess you better make sure you teach me everything."
"Are you going to listen?"
"Yeah."
Ariel leaned in again.
"I'm not sure how much you can listen while, uhm..."
"Yeah, I can," Ariel argued. "Watch."
"Well, Orbs need three minutes between each use, so..."
Light stopped talking when Ariel kissed his cheek again.
"Okay..." Light mumbled. "So Orbs are generally weak to being defended against if you keep your eyes on them... "
Light sighed to himself.
"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Tomatoes are fruits that have been blessed into vegetables. Rainbow flying kickapow. Skadoosh. According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too... small..."
Ariel didn't react at all.
"Airy."
Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel hummed a bit into his face, but didn't react.
"Airyyyyyyyy."
"Hm, what?" Ariel mumbled.
"Why aren't you listening?" Light asked.
"I am. Why do you think I'm not listening?"
"Because I'm reciting a bad movie script instead of talking about items and you didn't notice."
"...Oh."
Light pulled away with a tiny scowl on his face. Ariel blinked and stared back.
"I'm sorry," Ariel said. "You're just, beautiful."
"Like a steak?"
"Sorry, sorry... Okay, go on."
"Wands use projectiles, and rely on a pokemon's own energy for their use. Usually, they just have one on them, so I'm not too worried about that."
"Right, I'm familiar," Ariel said. "So, you said something earlier about apples injected with steroids?"
"Well, seeds... They're the, uh, problem. Or, well, Shu's specialty. He'll throw them, and they break apart into dust that causes... stuff."
Light paused again. Ariel looked up at him with guilty eyes after kissing the top of his paw.
"I heard you," she blurted. "He throws them, and they break apart into dust and cause stuff."
"Yah," Light sighed.
Ariel lifted her head and removed her paw from under his.
"So, does this guy have, like, a giant bag with him in battles?" Ariel asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes he does."
"That's so tacky," she giggled. "Aw man."
"I still have to go into all the different kinds of things. So, what can help you pay attention?"
Ariel gave Light a bit of a pleading look. "Lemme just get it out of my systeeeem."
"Uhm... Okay..."
Ariel snagged his arm again and brought her lips to his cheek. She held it there for a few seconds before releasing him, but not entirely. She wrapped her arms around Light's shoulders as her ears curved all the way around his head.
"Alright, I'm all ears."
Light smirked and shook his head.
"Well, generally you just want to avoid everything. I mean, that's always the best plan. You can blow away the seeds and dusts since they're both light, and the rest is basic. If you do get trapped from different things, the best bet is patience and..."
Ariel buried her face in Light's gray mane. His voice was silenced by tremors shaking and heating up his whole body. A small purr escaped his mouth while he tried to talk.
Ariel lifted her head. "I'm still listening."
Light felt like he could barely breathe. His breathe was shallow and felt like his lungs were burning every time he inhaled.
"Are you okay?" Ariel asked.
"Yah... So-sor..."
Ariel nuzzled her face against Light's neck again. His body took faster breathes out of his control, and his voice was silenced. Ariel moved in closer, pushing him against the back of the couch.
"Light? You remember what you were talking about?"
Light just groaned trying to get air. His body felt like it was running a marathon, getting weaker by the second. Ariel lifted his arm and brought it around her back. His mind stuck stuck on a loop of trying to remember what he was just saying and getting distracted from the glint of light going across her eyes and prideful smile.
"Cool," she whispered.
The battle was going to happen at the same place as yesterday. Light told Ariel about Shu's strategies he had seen him do on television and the internet, but he couldn't focus for very long. It felt weird Ariel wasn't worried about losing, given what happened yesterday, but Light wasn't too worried about it either. She was still confident, so Light was, too.
The breeze from the ocean walked up the dirt hill with them. Even though it was gentle, the wind was able to push Light's long fur and white silk coat back and forth. The sun rose in the east behind them over the ocean, turning the sky a few shades lighter every few minutes.
When they came up the side of the hill, there were a lot more pokemon than yesterday. They were armed with cameras and cellphones that were already swinging in their direction. Medicham Shu was already on the stone platform, ripping through his bag and mumbling to himself while he was being stared at by the army of mechanical eyes.
Flareon Light and Sky-Forme Shaymin Ariel shared a nervous glance when the cameras pointed at them.
"They might like you watching with them," Ariel said.
"Uhm, maybe..." Light winced.
"It'll be fine. I'm here if you need me."
"Well, okay."
"Well, uhm, see you in , uhm, a sec. Y'know?"
Light pushed against her side. Ariel giggled and hopped away from him as he just barely stifled smiling in front of all the cameras. Light went around on the dirt and edge of the stone while Ariel headed to the center of the attention.
Light's steps got closer and closer together as he went on the side with the wall of cameras. Most of them were sitting on posts, but there were pokemon in between them holding phones. An Ekans used a phone that was strapped around his lower body with the tip of his tail to start recording. A Gothorita next to him stared.
Light stared back and glanced from side to side. Gothorita turned her head and said something, then picked up one of the cameras and started to rush at him. His instincts made him want to run, but he took a deep breath instead. A Wigglytuff followed her carrying a microphone attached to a long pole. He tripped and fell flat on his face on the dirt and grass in the middle of running over.
"A moment of your time!?" Gothorita called.
Light nodded while she jogged up to him. She bent over and rested the arm that wasn't carrying the box camera on her knee and caught her breath for a short moment. While she did, Wigglytuff came up to her side with dirt on his face and hoisted the black microphone over their heads.
"So..." Gothorita huffed, standing up. "White Star. First, thank you for your service on Kaigan."
"Oh, uh, yah."
"Would you mind if we asked you some questions?"
"Yah, sure."
Gothorita pointed the camera at him and pushed in a button on its side. Light shifted his shoulders and put gentle smile on.
"So, White Star, that Shaymin fighting there is the one who saved your life, right?"
"Yah," Light said.
"She's pretty incredible."
Light glanced back to the battlefield. Ariel stalked forward against on onslaught of seeds being thrown, and even blue shining orbs, which he had to assume was by accident. Medicham pulled and throwing from his burlap sack at random with increasing panic, but Ariel just side stepped and caught every single thing he threw at her. It looked like Shu fell apart.
"Oh," Gothorita said, "that's an awful lot of admiration you're using there."
Light swiveled his head back to them. "Oh, well... Y-yah. I'm grateful."
"We noticed her blog mentioned that you two were dating now?"
Light froze. "H-her blog...?"
"It's the same kind of one you have. Where you happened to post a gorgeous picture where you said you had your first kiss?"
"Oh, that, was just... an accident.
"Yeah, he accidentally downloaded a blogging app instead of a diary app."
Light jumped at the voice, but then released the breath he took in. Ariel stood behind him, smiling with the downed Medicham behind her. Light peeked past her and saw Medicham's burlap bag blowing a bit in the wind. Ariel's white cape flourished in front of Light's vision of it.
"I hit him in the head with it," Ariel said. "And, uh, yeah. We are. Check this out."
Ariel leaned down and nipped at the very edge of his gray mane. Flareon Light yelped with a small flame coming out of his mouth. Gothorita laughed with her eyes lifted.
"I still need to thank her for that..." Ariel murmured.
"Oh, right. You evolved just recently, didn't you?" she asked. "How is that going?"
"F-fine," Light squeaked. He cleared his throat. "Just fine."
"That's good to hear. It can be a stressful time for a lot of pokemon, and you have enough to worry about. So, how are you two doing? It's a pretty extreme way to meet. I'm surprised you both seem so calm. You must trust each other a great deal."
"Well, he risked his life for my country, and that includes my life too," Ariel smiled. "So, yeah."
It didn't feel real again. It didn't really register that it was the reason he did it, but he gazed up at her eyes.
"It's a wonderful thing to be able to trust someone so quickly, and with suck intensity. We look forward to keeping up with your blog posts." Gothorita lowered the camera and flashed a satisfied smile. "Thank you for your time. We won't hog any more of it."
Light just smiled back with his lips pushed together and nodded.
"Alright," Ariel said, "just one more battle left."
"What?" Light asked. "I didn't see another request."
"I requested it."
Sky-Forme Shaymin Airel turned her gaze away. Light followed it to the side of the hill.
It was Slowking Chad again. He was already close to the stone that marked the small battlefield with a passive smile on his face watching them. His right arm held the metal handle of his blunt sword on his back while his left on was dangling at his side.
Light glanced up at Ariel's face as she walked back towards the stone platform. As Light stared, the Gothorita lifted her camera again along with the other watching pokemon. Chad took his place facing Ariel straight on.
"Are you ready?" Chad called.
"Yeah," Ariel called back.
"Alright. You first."
Ariel led off with Energy Ball again. Just like before, Chad swung his sword and the green light vanished into smoke. Light blinked and look at him a little harder. He moved faster than he did before. Once he saw him deflect another, he realized just how much faster he was.
Ariel continued a huge ranged assault of Energy Ball and Air Slash. Chad had to move his feet yesterday, but he only swung his arms this time. He held up the metal against every move, shutting it down while staying rooted in place.
Ariel eventually stopped, breathing just a touch heavier. Light could see gears turning in her head through her eyes.
"As expected from him. It's just so hard."
Light glanced to the Gothorita. She seemed to notice from her peripheral vision, but kept the camera and her face forward.
"Chad Longfellow," she continued. "One of the world's scariest bounty hunters. Even if a pro arena fighter or Olympian turned crook, he'd hunt them. There are some opponents in life that will never be easy to beat. And this is what he looks like when he's rusty."
Light blinked once and Ariel was already close to Chad. She stopped just in front and took a swing with her right arm. Chad's body seemed to wave left and right on the ground like a mirage, until he finally dodged to his right. He lifted his foot as Ariel soared past and kicked her straight from behind.
"Airy!" Light yelped.
Combined with Ariel's own speed, the kick made her fly far past Chad's body. She tumbled on the ground and out of sight, rolling down the hill with a path of small dust clouds settling behind her fall. Light's initial tiny walk forward became a jog, breaking into a sprint in seconds to follow her. When he got to the side of the hill, he scanned the ground looking for white, getting distracted by a few white daisies growing off to the side surrounded by weeds.
Ariel stood, making her body stand out from the grass and flowers. She had dirt streaks going across her body, and her face was already wet with tears as she coughed.
Light ran down to her, fading into a jog and slow, nervous walk forward as he got closer to her. His head got lower to the ground as he tried to get a better look at Ariel's face. Her eyes were just barely lower on her face, and her ears dragged on the dirt as she took a step forward out of the weeds. When she saw him, her eyes went past his.
"He literally kicked my butt," Ariel whimpered. "Shit. Shit!"
Ariel ripped up grass and dark soil as she brought her arm up and slammed it back on the ground. Torn petals from white daisies floated down around her.
"Sorry," Ariel mumbled.
"It doesn't matter," Light said. "You're more than your battles."
"What's that even supposed to mean...?"
"It means that your accomplishments aren't what make you a good person, even if it does make you famous. I mean, you're helpful, and nice, and strong in a way that most people aren't. So everything else is just… Secondary. Isn't it?"
Ariel's face didn't change very much. Logic wasn't any sort of solution to making her feel better like this, and what he did last time was just going to bite back.
Light noticed a white daisy fall to the ground. He mindlessly picked up and look at Ariel's face. She sobbed, taking sudden deep breaths trying to get herself to stop crying. Looking at her face trying to straighten out, Light spun the flower so its stem pointed out and poked it into the long, green fur on her head. The white petals poked out above her eyes.
Light's gray tail wafted through the air and brushed off dirt from her side in one swing. There were still small streaks, but he got rid of the largest and most noticeable one.
Ariel sniffed and lifted her head. "Wow, Light."
"W-what?"
"That was pretty cute."
Light pulled his tail back around himself and shrunk into himself a little. Ariel giggled and wiped her eyes with her clean forearm.
"Are you okay?" Light asked.
"Yeah."
Light turned his head back up towards the top of the hill. Chad looked back down at him, but turned his back to him and walked back out of sight.
"Let's go get freshened up for tonight," Light suggested.
"Yeah," Ariel said. "Sure."
Ariel shook and dusted the rest of herself off. She traced her paws over the rim of her cape and untangled it from the weeds snagging it on the ground. She looked back at him with a renewed passive smile, but glanced back up the hill. Her smile was still there, but her eyes were see-through until she turned away a second later.
Light gave the patch of ripped up soil a last glance. All of the flowers were unrecognizable splotches of color, but he noticed a few long green wires on the ground. He took a closer look and noticed the spikes of thorns, tinged with a gentle, whispering red on just a few points. He turned back to Ariel as she kept marching forward towards the blue sky.
