I felt strange.
Between the mysterious man who was oddly helpful and the interrogation by Korrina, I felt like we were right back at square one with needing to be overly cautious. I half expected the Reapers to show up again, despite the reassurances by my voice that they would not. Everything about our situation made little sense to me, and all the preparation I felt I had in Cyllage went out the window.
"So, he was telling you to find me?" Korrina asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I asked. Korrina giggled as we made our way across Route 11.
"You said that tall guy told you to find the apprentice of Guru Gurkinn. That's me." She said. I opened my mouth to say something when my Holo Caster rang, the sound different from when it normally broadcasts Malva's news updates. I pulled the device out of my purse, pressing a button on it that made a holographic image of Professor Sycamore appear.
"Bonjour, mon copines! I've been taking notes of your location with your pokedex entries, and noticed you are close to Shalour City! You may make a breakthrough in your quest to uncover the mysteries of Mega Evolution if you ask the gym leader to take you to the Tower of Mastery. The Guru of the tower may even have a way for Celeste to Mega Evolve her Ampharos! I wish you luck, ladies. Adieu." He said, the message ending abruptly. Korrina giggled as we came up to a cave, and she slid to a stop on her skates in front of it.
"So he's up to that again, eh? I don't know what he expects my gramps to say to you that he doesn't already know, but we'll gladly help you with your pokemon." She said, and Celeste and I looked at each other, chuckling sheepishly.
"Um, yeah but there's an issue. As you can see, my Charmeleon hasn't evolved yet, and neither has Celeste's Flaaffy." I said, looking at the ground and digging into it with my foot awkwardly. Korrina chuckled as she pulled out a pokeball. She tossed it up, and a very large Pidgeot emerged from the light as it opened. With a soft chirp, Pidgeot landed a short ways away from us, nodding at Korrina as it bowed.
"We'll worry about that when we get there. Hop on, I'll take you there myself." Korrina said as she pulled the wheels of her skates off, stuffing them in her bag before mounting the large bird. Celeste and I turned to each other again. We nodded and while Celeste mounted Pidgeot, I was abruptly kicked back. As I landed in the dirt, Celeste gasped as Korrina giggled again.
"Sorry, but this is lesson number one. You want a Mega Charizard? Get yourself a Charizard. Give me all of your pokeballs except for Charmeleon's, and you find a way to Shalour City by yourselves." She said, holding her hand out. I blinked at her as Lavier stamped up beside me, grabbing my arm and pulling to help me up.
"Are you out of your mind? I don't care about staying behind, but like Hell am I going to give up the rest of my pokemon. Why should I give you my pokemon when there are all kinds of nasty things lurking about?" I asked. Celeste shifted as she tried to slide off Pidgeot, and she yelped when the bird jerked forward, keeping her on while Korrina grabbed her.
"Nuh-uh, stay here. Look, Aldith, right? Mega Evolution is not just some fancy battle mechanic we use in Kalos. It's a display of the bond between trainer and pokemon. You and Charmeleon need to have that powerful bond before you can even attempt it." She said. Celeste whimpered as she moved to get off again, only to be pulled back on as Pidgeot jumped into the air, hovering carefully.
"But why does she need to do it alone? Can't I help her?" Celeste asked. Korrina shook her head.
"No ma'am. Mega Evolution is about the bond between a pokemon and their trainer alone. They have to do this themselves, and it starts with making that Charmeleon a Charizard. We'll work on you and Flaaffy afterwards, but for now, let's go." She said, leaning down with her hand outstretched. I stared hard at her, considering the challenge, and heard a small cough next to me. I looked down and saw Lavier looking sternly at me. He nodded and crossed his arms, his confidence radiating off of him. I smiled and figured that if he thought we could do it, then I'd at least try. I took off my belt with all of my pokeballs, walking past Korrina's hand and holding it out to Celeste.
"We'll be okay, Celeste. Between that cranky lizard and my skills, we'll hold our own. See you on the other side?" I asked. Celeste sighed and smiled at me, leaning down to grab my belt out of my hand.
"Okay, but be careful, okay? If something happens, message me on the Holo Caster and I'll be over in a jiffy. Even little miss "Trial-by-fire" here won't stop me, okay?" She said. I chuckled and stepped back as Korrina readjusted herself on Pidgeot.
"Alright, you've got until sundown tomorrow to make it over this mountain. And yes, you have to go OVER it. If you were a normal challenger I'd have no problem with you going through Reflection Cave, but you're not getting a Charizard that way. See you on the other side!" Korrina said, patting Pidgeot's neck. With a loud caw, Pidgeot took off, blowing dust everywhere as it flew over the mountain. I took a deep breath as I looked around, but there was no discernible way for us to get over without flying. Lavier would have to evolve and carry me over. I looked at him as he uncrossed his arms, waiting for me to do something.
"Well, I guess we better get started. Let's go." I said, making my way to some grass. Lavier yawned loudly, but followed behind anyway.
I couldn't tell you how long we were at it. All I knew is that it was already dark by the time I decided to call it good. I laid in the grass, my arms and legs throbbing from the workout that was training Lavier. Although I didn't want to hurt him, I had to push him to his limits, and unfortunately none of the pokemon on Route 11 could challenge him. The few brave enough to try barely lasted a few minutes with him, and served only to help him improve his Flame Burst. At least in that sense, we were accomplishing something, and it wouldn't be long before he achieved his goal of learning Flamethrower.
That said, Flamethrower alone would not make him evolve. As I rested, I realized how little I knew about evolution period, never mind Mega Evolution. I half wished I could call Colress and ask him, but I winced when I decided he would likely go into a long, nonsensical spiel about evolution without offering any concrete answers. With a deep breath I closed my eyes and listened to the ambient sounds around me. The way the wind blew through the trees, the soft cries of wild pokemon calling out to one another in the night, it was enough to make me want to sleep.
"Char." Lavier said quietly. I opened my eyes and turned my head, and Lavier was standing next to me with a bowl in his claws. I smiled as I sat up, hissing quietly as my body protested, and took the bowl gratefully. In the bowl was a beef stew, and it smelled heavenly. I looked over and saw that Lavier had gotten a small campfire going and managed to set up a pot over it. I smiled as I pulled a couple of spoons out of my bag, offering one to him as he walked over to me. He shook his head and sat down, waatching me expectantly. I nodded and dipped my spoon in, moaning as I took a bite.
"Once again, you did really well. I wish I could make stew like this. Mine is always either too watery or the meat is tough." I said. Lavier grinned as he stood up, bowing to me before going back to the pot. He hummed as he stirred the stew some more, and I tilted my head in fascination at him. He noticed my staring and turned his head, not stopping his stirring.
"Char?" He asked.
"I wish I could talk with you. I'd love to know how you got the idea of cooking. Did one of your previous trainers teach you?" I asked. Lavier shook his head, turning back and looking at a bush.
"CHARMELEON!" He called out. I was confused, until I heard the voices of various pokemon answer him. Small eyes peered out from the bush, and he grinned at them. A small, rodent-like pokemon appeared, sniffing the air cautiously as it slowly approached my Charmeleon. I set down my bowl in my lap and pulled out my pokedex, taking another bite as I scanned the pokemon.
"Dendenne, the Antenna Pokemon. Dendenne's whiskers are used for communicating across long distances, being able to pick up electrical waves from members of its group no matter where they are." It said as Lavier grabbed a bowl and ladled some of the stew into it. He set the bowl down in front of Dedenne and took a step back as the rodent sniffed at it. I watched it stick its head into the bowl, and it took a few seconds for it to come up. Its tail whipped around wildly as it stared at Lavier, sounding mystified. He smiled back and nodded, grabbing another bowl and ladling more stew into it as Dedenne continued to eat.
More pokemon appeared from the bush to investigate the scene. A pair of Nidoran, some Chingling, a Hariyama and Throh, even a Stunky all came out to see what was going on. Lavier just kept ladling stew into bowls and offering it to each pokemon as they approached, and soon I could hear the ladle clink against the pot. Satisfied with his service, Lavier carefully pulled the pot down and set it aside, collapsing his makeshift stand that he used to hold it over the flame and adding the sticks to the fire. I noticed that while everyone else was eating, Lavier himself did not bothering saving a bowl for his own dinner. I frowned as I sat back, watching him watch the pokemon that ate his hard work.
I breathed deeply as I grabbed my bowl, standing up and walking over to them. The pokemon were startled for a moment, but went back to not-caring as they continued their feast. Lavier looked up at me and tilted his head as I offered him my bowl, smiling warmly at him.
"You need to eat too, buddy. You worked hard today, and even went to all this trouble to make dinner for me and these pokemon." I told him. Lavier seemed shocked, and he shook his head and took a step back, but I took a step forward. I was serious, and he knew it. He took the bowl from me and shook his head in disbelief, grabbing the spoon and eating some of the stew.
"Char." He said quietly, thanking me. I smiled and sat down by the fire, staring into the flames while everyone ate around me. I think I got it now, why he liked cooking. He understood that food had power. Food had the power to bring people together, to forge friendships and strengthen bonds. I turned my head to watch as he sat down with the wild pokemon while they talked to one another, sharing stories I would never hear nor understand. Seeing him smile, a warm, genuine smile that lacked all of the arrogance he usually had, I knew now what Lavier wanted in life. He turned to me, his smile fading a bit but not completely, and I gestured for him to come to me. He excused himself from his new friends and walked over to me, sitting down as I stared into the fire.
"I understand, you don't just want to cook. You want to bring others together. You know you have a gift, and you want to share it with the world." I said, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.
"Char." He said with a nod. I smiled and turned to him, my cool, icy eyes staring into his deep, charcoal colored ones.
"I don't know how, but I want to help you. Someday, somehow, I'll get you a restaurant, Lavier. It'll be hard, even more since you are a pokemon, but I think you can do it. No matter what you have to work with, you can turn anything into a work of art." I told him. His eyes widened and he gasped, his body freezing at my words. I smiled and looked up at the sky, looking at the stars above us.
"Once people realize that, and have a taste of your food, they'll come from all over the world just to try it. I'll make it happen, Lavier. I promise." I said. I heard a small sniffing sound, and I turned to see Lavier staring at me, biting his lower lip as his eyes watered. I chuckled and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. Lavier wrapped his arms around me tightly as the flame on his tail grew, and I hummed as I closed my eyes. Through my eyelids I saw a bright light, and I had to squeeze them shut as Lavier shifted in my arms. I felt my arms being forced away from each other, and my body was lifted off of the ground.
When the light faded, and I felt it was safe to open my eyes again, I gasped as a pair of wings greeted me. I pulled away and almost fell backwards as I realized that my Charmeleon had evolved, and Lavier was now a proud Charizard. His collar fit him perfectly now, the Charizardite Y glimmering in the firelight. His eyes were now a brilliant green, and they shimmered with unshed tears as he looked at me, his face oozing gratitude. I smiled and ran up to him, jumping up and hugging him again.
"Thank you, Lavier."
TBC
First of all, oh my god Hana no XD. Afterglow doesn't last THAT long, and Vixen's too classy. Plus, given the direction we're headed with the story, she'd probably be too worried by the time she showed up again. And hmm, I was planning on another double battle with Korrina for plot reasons, but I suppose if I can make it make sense, it would be nice to do doubles for all of the gym battles. Mainly so I don't have to write the same battle twice. That chapter was a nightmare D|.
You know what? I forgot a lot of what made Lola special. I forgot that while it was an adventure that was mostly chaotic, it wasn't always chaos. Sometimes it was simple and wholesome. Not everything happened because of a crisis or an asshole. Sometimes, cool things happened just because they could. I felt Lavier's evolution could be an example of that. Like, his block was not a lack of strength, but a lack of confidence. Once Aldith really believed in him and gave him that confidence, nothing was stopping him from reaching his full potential, so he evolved.
I really liked writing this chapter. I really did. I wanna try something similar with Angora's evolution, but we'll see what happens.
Until then, see you in 43!
