Tales from Lumiose City
It was a brand new day in Lumiose City, Fletchling were perched outside of the windows and chirping their morning greetings. Soon enough one of the windows to the Lumiose hotel opened up and a very eager eyed Damien lunged out and tried to grab one with his hands.
"Gotcha-aaah!" Unfortunately for him his grip slipped and he started sliding out the window and towards the street below, or rather he would have had Flash not been there. Seeing the act in motion, he threw himself forward and grabbed hold of Damien's feet while his Electabuzz grabbed hold of Flash's body to keep him supported as they dragged Damien back into the room. Damien soon landed on the floor of the hotel room while an annoyed Electabuzz and Flash stood over him.
"What were you thinking, you idiot? You're almost as dumb as Goh!"
"Trying to get a replacement for Charmander, what does it look like? I need a stronger Fire type as I sure won't be winning any prizes with that sniveling mess!" Damien pointed towards Charmander who was currently cowering behind his bed, his body looking rather bruised. Flash narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, knowing Damien was still abusing the poor Fire type. He honestly wish he'd just release it so a better trainer could take care of it. The blonde soon started making his way towards the door before Damien let out an annoyed sounding cry.
"Oi! And just where is it you're going?!"
"Out, I can't stand being around you any longer than I have to. We're only roommates as I didn't have a choice!"
"And do what? Ya could help me find a suitable replacement for my Charmander, what's better than that?"
"Literally anything else?" Flash soon slammed the door shut as he left, leaving a rather ticked off Damien behind as he glared after him.
"Yeah? Well you're just a nobody! I made you somebody! Without me, you got no friends!" Damien shouted out but Flash just ignored him as he walked away.
Ash awoke to an empty room as the bed across from him was completely deserted, proving that Zach was rather serious when he spoke the night prior about waking up early to venture out to the swamplands to find himself a fourth member for his team. Ash was rather jealous of the opportunity that he had but he didn't have it in him to wake up before the crack of dawn, he'd definitely been gone for at least a few hours as the bed appeared as if it hadn't been used for awhile. Ash soon stretched out before looking at Espeon who slept at the foot of his bed much like she had done as an Eevee before speaking up. "Come on, let's get some food!"
"Espe!" Espeon cried out as she woke up, a bright and eager smile across her face at the mention of food!
Misty had already left Lumiose City as she'd gotten word on a Milotic sighting at a nearby lake, quickly hurrying along as she aimed to try and capture the majestic Water type Pokemon. Having left a note behind to inform her roommate, Leaf that she might be a bit late getting back tonight and not to worry. When she'd got there she couldn't help but pause and admire the lovely sight as a wild Milotic was indeed there and swimming across the lake, crying out beautiful and melodic tunes while several other Water types swam with her, letting out joyful cries and letting off a series of Water and Ice attacks into the air, resorting in a rainbow of light hovering over the lake.
"Wow..." Misty stared at the sight with stars in her eyes. "That Milotic will be mine!" She grabbed a hold of a Pokeball and prepared to throw it before a blue mouse Pokemon leaped up and slapped the ball from her hand!
"Hey-!" She cried out in annoyance before letting out a gasp. "A blue Pikachu!"
"Marill?!" The 'Blue Pikachu' tilted its head in confusion at that.
"You must be a Kalosian Pikachu, I've got to catch you-"
"Whoa whoa whoa!" A boy her age quickly jumped in between her and Marill, waving his hands. "She's just trying to stop you from ruining the moment! I'm a Pokemon watcher, you see." He definitely didn't look like he was from Kalos or even Kanto for that matter, his attire was quite strange and rather tropical looking. Wearing a teal green t-shirt along with what appeared to be red beach shorts, while a red headband draped across his forehead.
"A Pokemon watcher?"
"Here, I'll show you." Tracey reached into his bag and withdrew one of many artbooks, handing it to Misty who opened it on up and was immediately greeted with quite the detailed looking sketches of Pokemon from all over the world!
"T-These are incredible!"
"Thanks," Tracey nervously blushed before taking it away, his eyes glancing back at the scene taking place. "If I may ask, can you please wait until I finish my sketching? It should only take a few hours tops, promise!"
"Sure but only if I can watch," Misty requested.
"I'd be honored," Tracey lightly bowed, resulting in Misty letting out a light giggle.
Ash meanwhile had just finished up eating breakfast at a restaurant.
"I wonder what exactly there is to do around here... maybe one of the others would know." Ash would honestly like to leave the city and go out to try and find a Pokemon without one of the others around but he was worried that he'd just get lost trying to find his way back afterwards due to the sheer scale of the city along with his awful sense of direction. All of his male friends were busy as Brock was spending the day with Alexa while Zach was off looking for a Pokemon, he wasn't close enough to Flash to ask him and he just assumed that the girls all had plans of their own.
Just then he appeared to get his answer as the restaurant's television coincidentally played an advertisement that captured his interest.
"That's right, folks. Today Diantha, the Diantha, the Kalos League champion, will be performing one on one battles against any who are foolish enough or would dare to face her! Come and enjoy the lovely fairground, maybe enjoy a few rides and buy some concessions, and see the mighty Diantha in person!"
"That's it!" Ash jumped up from his seat, his fists clenched and shaking with excitement as he gazed determinedly at the television. "We're in no way shape or form ready to beat her but that doesn't mean we can't challenge her and have a bit of fun, right buddy?"
"Espe!" Espeon had a shared look of excitement across her face as she twitched her tails.
Leaf had seen Ash leaving and not wanting to be left alone at the hotel, had decided to follow on after him. The brunette haired girl started falling a bit behind at one point due to the vast crowds and only managed to regain position on later on as she caught sight of him and Espeon leaving a local restaurant in a hurry, she couldn't help but wonder where he was going and she'd soon have her answer as he got to a fairground. Leaf paused for a brief moment as she wondered what he was doing there for, he didn't seem the type to seek out stuff like this unless it was for a good reason and soon enough she got her answer as the loudspeaker spoke up.
"Alright folks, a bit of an odd one but we've got not one but two challengers wanting to face Diantha. Jameson and Jessibelle, please release your Pokemon of choice and we can begin!"
"Alright Pumpkaboo, let's go!" A much older woman with maroon hair threw forward a ball, releasing a strange levitating Pumpkin shaped Pokemon that Leaf had never seen before.
"You go get 'em too, Meowth!" A violet haired man the same age spoke up as a Meowth leaped off his shoulder and landed on the field, standing on his hindlegs and giving the Kalos champion a cocky smirk as he let out a cry of "Meowth!"
A woman appearing to be in her mid-20's stood across the field, dressed up in quite the fancy clothing that was quite unlike anything Leaf had ever seen back home, she guessed that it must be a Kalos brand of some kind. Her partner Pokemon, Gardevoir stood before her, a powerful aura radiating off of the Psychic/Fairy type Pokemon.
"Trainers, you may make the first move!"
"Bullet Seed!" Jessibelle shouted out.
"Shadow Claw!" Jameson cried out.
Pumpkaboo began firing out seeds from her mouth like a machine gun fired bullets while Meowth's claws glowed quite the ghastly looking shade of purple as he took off running across the field. "Meowth!"
Gardevoir appeared to take little to no damage however as after the attacks ceased, she stood standing without a scratch!
"Psychic."
It was a simple but powerful order as Gardevoir's eyes glowed bright blue, causing a blue hue to surround Meowth and Pumpkaboo, the former freaking out and letting off a terrified sounding cry as they were lifted into the air before being flung backwards, landing right into their trainers before sending all four of them blasting off into the air!
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
"And Diantha easily takes care of it again, folks. Anyone else want to give it a shot?"
"I do!" Leaf let out a gasp as Ash stepped forward, a smirk across his face while he pulled back his cap. "Espeon and I would love to battle you!"
Diantha looked the pair over, a light smile crossing her face as she nodded her head. "Very well, take your place on the battlefield and we can begin."
Ash excitedly stood where Jessie and James had stood moments before, Espeon standing by his side while her eyes lit a bright blue coloring.
"Alright buddy, let's start off with the move we've been practicing! Use Return!"
Diantha raised her eyebrow with a curious expression as Espeon let out a loud shout before taking off, a dust cloud forming behind her as she sped like a rocket before slamming her body against Gardevoir with such an immense amount of force that the Psychic/Fairy type almost toppled over! "I must say, that's quite the move you've got there, very admirable... it's almost as if you and her have known each other for your entire lives! Of course you're gonna need a lot more than that to beat the two of us!" She smirked.
Ash smirked in response. "Oh I know, we merely want to give you a fair warning for later! We aim to be the world champion you see."
"Oh? Well good luck with that," Diantha smiled, though her eyes widened with a bit of surprise when she noticed a dark bruise across the front of Gardevoir's leg. Evidentially that Eeveelution was stronger than she gave credit for.
"Let's wrap this up with Moonblast!" Gardevoir clasped her hands together as a bright ball of pink-purple light appeared between her hands, the Psychic/Fairy type soon sending it flying in Espeon's direction and eliminating the Psychic type with ease as she collapsed to her side.
"That was a great battle," Diantha spoke with a smile across her face. "Keep on doing whatever it is that you're doing and I have no doubt that the two of us will battle for real someday!"
A man in a suit soon came rushing over, saying something into Diantha's ear which resulted in the conversation getting cut short.
"Now if you excuse me, I've got to get back to my filming. I'll see you around, kid." Diantha gave him a wave before heading on off with her Gardevoir, though she shot a brief glance back as she walked off. "Something about him feels familiar, he'll definitely be worth keeping an eye out for."
Brock and Alexa were currently at a more regular dining establishment, sitting across from each other as they ate their meals.
"So Brock, what is it exactly that you want to do in life?" Alexa stated, tilting her head curiously. He stated that he was going to become the Pewter Gym leader while on their way over here earlier yet he didn't sound quite so thrilled about it.
"Well I... I'd like to learn all I can about Rock types so I can be the best gym leader my father could ask for in his replacement!"
Alexa merely laughed as Brock stuttered, shaking her head. "Please, you're a terrible liar!" She held up her hand before Brock could get offended. "I don't mean that offensively of course but I was the same way once, you see... I was the future Santalune gym leader for a brief time but I never wanted that, Pokemon battling just wasn't my thing and I couldn't get into Bug Pokemon as well as my sister did so... I eventually told our mother that I was going to become a reporter instead, strictly freelance so I could go wherever I want whenever I want! Though I am helping Sycamore with something right now but now that I have an excuse for it... perhaps I'll visit Kanto sometime soon." Alexa smirked, blushing lightly as she reached out to hold Brock's hand atop the table.
Brock blushed while thinking the situation over, becoming the gym leader never really interested him either. He did love Onix and Geodude but he never found specializing in a single type interesting, especially when so many Pokemon were out there and ones that could help people too! Brock clenched his fists as he came to a decision. He wouldn't go through with it without visiting his father in person, only a coward would reveal a major decision over a phone!
"I'd love that..." Brock smiled.
Damian was already quite a distance out of town, muttering out how he couldn't believe Flash chose to ditch him for that 'slut' Giselle. His Fearow flew above his head, keeping an eye out before letting out a cry as something eventually caught his eye.
"Fearow!" The bird flew down and landed on his master's shoulder before pointing with his wing as in the distance a small brown lion cub could be seen curled up. Damian quickly fished in his pocket for his Rotom Phone which had the screen cracked due to him falling on it after getting thrown from the plane earlier in the day. The boy grunting out in annoyance as he had quite the difficult time getting the Pokedex app up.
"Litleo... Fire type... stronger... power..." The Pokedex hardly got out a word before quickly croaking. Damian let out a sigh of annoyance before putting it away.
"Well it's a Fire type, that'll have to do!" He noticed it was sleeping upon getting closer, making it quite an easy catch! He enlarged a ball before throwing it at Litleo, the lion cub disappearing in a beam of red light before the ball hit the ground and began shaking. Damian pumped his fist as the ball chimed.
"Alright! I've got a better Fire type!" He practically screamed out, quickly regretting it as several pair of yellow angry eyes followed by fierce feral growls sounded from some nearby shrubbery.
"...Mommy!" Damian picked up the ball and began bolting for it as a herd of angry female Pyroar chased after him! Fearow flew off, saving itself as Damian let out a growl of frustration.
"Man, what a letdown. I haven't seen a single Pokemon so far to catch," Gary muttered, walking through the streets with his hands in his pockets before hearing a shout from a nearby restaurant.
"Get out of here ya pest!"
"Evoi!" An Eevee soon came rushing on out, his fur covered with dirt as a sausage string could be seen within his mouth. Gary grinned at the sight, enlarging a ball before giving chase. He pursued Eevee through the city before eventually losing sight of them. He frowned before hearing racket coming from a nearby cafe as Eevee burst out again with a different food item present in it's mouth. Gary narrowed his eyes and released his Growlithe, the Fire type puppy stampeding after Eevee as he intended on catching it though he soon ran right into somebody else, resulting in both trainer's falling with him landing on top before blushing quite heavily as he was looking down at Chloe!
"Chloe?"
"G-Gary?"
They both seemed quite shocked to see each other before quickly shouting out.
"What are you doing here?!"
"Wait-" Gary held up his hand as they shouted simultaneously, narrowing his eyes lightly. "I was chasing after a wild Eevee, he had a sausage string in his mouth and now he had a croissant!"
"I was just chasing that same Eevee!" Chloe shouted, both glaring at one another for a brief moment as it looked like a battle was about to heat up only for them to both notice the two Eevee at the end of the nearby alley, looking quite sad as they appeared to be looking at a dirt mound. They did look rather young now that Gary got a closer look at them which was when it hit.
"They've lost..."
"Their mom." Chloe nearly teared up as the Eevee looked rather sad, no wonder they were stealing food!
Gary let out a sigh. "Normally I'd be against catching Pokemon this young but we can't just leave them out here, they're forced to steal to survive and clearly they'll just come back if we try to take them somewhere else as they weren't taught how to scavenge food."
He approached before getting down on one knee, the Eevee looked cautiously at him as he held out his hand. "Hey there, how would you feel about joining us?" He pointed at himself and Chloe. "I'm sorry about your loss... but it won't do either of you any good living like this, it's sad but... you have to move on." Gary clenched his fists, remembering how he dealt with loss of his own. He didn't think he'd ever truly get over it, when he was barely five years old his parents took a drive off for Saffron to celebrate their five year anniversary... only they never came back. They ended up colliding with another car and didn't survive, leaking Oak to raise him. Though Oak was a great father figure and he couldn't ask for a better grandfather... he still missed his real father and his mother.
Chloe noticed Gary's look, placing an hand on his shoulder in understanding before looking towards Eevee. "We've both dealt with loss so we understand where you're coming from, you don't have to be alone. Come with us and we'll help you, your mother wouldn't want to to live upset and hurt... and you'd still get to see each other daily, we're friends!"
The two Eevee looked towards one another, looking like they were going to refuse for a moment before the male Eevee slowly approached Gary while the female approached Chloe seconds afterwards, the two Eevee tapped the pokeballs the trainers held out before disappearing in a beam of red light as two chimes echoed out from the alley, signaling the captures!
"Froakie!"
Ash was currently on his way to a nearby Battle Cafe, hoping to score some delicious food along with taking part in some battles when a blue frog Pokemon suddenly appeared in his path, the frog Pokemon gazing up at him with a longing and eager expression.
"W-Who are you...?"
"Froakie!" The frog cried in response, making it rather obvious.
"Espeon!" Espeon cried out, wondering if this was the same Froakie that Calem had complained about earlier. But what was it doing here...?
"Froakie!" Froakie hopped up onto Ash's shoulder seeming to act at if he belonged there which didn't bode well with Espeon.
"Espe, Espeon!" She barked up angrily at Froakie as she stated that though she wasn't able to sit up there anymore, Ash's shoulders belonged to her! Froakie responded by sticking out his tongue.
"Espeo?!" Espeon growled out, her eyes lit up bright blue while a similar glow surrounded Froakie's body, the Eeveelution pinned him down against the ground and growled out while angrily shouting that being there was her place and not Froakie's. The Water type stuck out his tongue at Espeon in response causing Espeon to let out a deeper growl while Ash wondered what exactly was going on here?
"Espeon..? Froakie?"
"They appear to be fighting over you," Leaf laughed lightly as she revealed her presence.
"Froa!"
"Espe!"
Froakie soon broke apart and stood in a combat stance, glaring at Espeon as he awaited Ash to command his opponent. Espeon flattened her ears and growled at Froakie.
"Espeon, let's start off with a Quick Attack!" Ash quickly commanded.
"Espe!" Espeon quickly zigzagged across the field before slamming against Froakie who stood there, looking as if he was almost testing Espeon's power. Froakie than grinned before reaching out and pounded Espeon into the dirt before the Eeveelution could retreat to Ash! "Espeon!"
Ash grit his teeth as he noticed Espeon looked bruised up from the impact, quickly throwing out his arm as he ordered another command.
"Let's not drag this out, use Retur-!" Ash was interrupted as two robotic arms shot out and grabbed hold of both Espeon and Froakie as a familiar laughter was heard.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Prepare for trouble, we're back!"
"And make it double cause it won't go like last time!" James smirked.
"To protect the world from-Hey, what are you doing?!" Jessie shouted out as she noticed Leaf releasing Bulbasaur and ordering him to use Razor Leaf on their balloon!
"We've heard this before, can you cut it short?"
Jessie, James, and Meowth all shot up, waving their fists angrily at the disrespectful twerpette.
"Hey we worked really hard on this motto!"
"Yeah, show some respect!"
"Meowth, we should teach them some!"
"He's right, we were going to just fly off after singing but I guess if you want a fight then we'll give you one! Pumpkaboo!" Jessie hurled her ball forward with James quickly following.
"Growlithe!" The canine Pokemon formed on the ground, growling at Bulbasaur while Pumpkaboo floated next to him and looked quite angry at Ash for upsetting her mistress!
"Pump!"
"Grow!"
"Confuse Ray!" The holes on Pumpkaboo's chest glowed brightly as the Grass type cast out a bright light, leaving Bulbasaur looking quite dazed looking as he stumbled about.
"Bulbasaur..."
Leaf gritted her teeth, shouting out for Bulbasaur to dodge as Growlithe fired off a Ember and blasted right at him! However Bulbasaur didn't appear to hear her and ended up taking the blast full on, getting sent flying with Leaf forced to leap up and catch the Grass type! She let out an annoyed grunt as she glared at Team Rocket before returning him.
"Well I'm out, Nidoran ate some bad berries and isn't feeling up for it." Leaf frowned.
"I know, I was there..." Ash let out a sigh as both Nidoran had decided to just charge at a random bush the night prior and eat some strange berries, getting sick to their stomachs and unable to move much. The nurse said that they'd be fine though, just need rest! "I only have one left... Metapod, go!"
"Tackle!" Ash quickly ordered while the Team Rocket trio just laughed, recalling Growlithe and Pumpkaboo as they figured the match won. With Metapod's only attack being Tackle, there was nothing the twerps could do to stop them!
Metapod began shaking though as he knew his friend was in trouble, the cocoon began to crack as a bright light surrounded Metapod.
"M-Metapod...?"
"FREE!" A purple butterfly Pokemon flew up, her eyes shining bright blue before forcing the balloon's robotic arms to release Espeon and Froakie, Froakie fell to the ground but fired off a water gun to slow itself down while Espeon surrounded herself in a blue glow to slow her descent. Butterfree then flew on up before firing off an electrically charged web directly into the balloon basket, giving the Trio a painful shock before the balloon's engine exploded and sent them flying sky high!
"No fair, we would have won if he didn't get that evolution!" James cried out.
"Hmp, feels like a plot device." Meowth muttered, crossing his arms.
"We'll get him next time though!" Jessie smirked, pumping her fist.
"But until then, Team Rocket's blasting off again!" A light sparked in the distance, implying they flew quite far. Espeon looked after them and based on the direction? She wouldn't be surprised if Butterfree had just sent them on a first class trip back to Kanto!
Froakie stared at Ash shortly upon landing, the frog gazing at him quietly as Ash looked back at him.
"Froakie!"
"What's up...?" Ash asked, tilting his head before quickly coming to the realization himself. "Y-You want to come with me?!" An excited look came across his face as Froakie nodded, the boy held out an empty ball which Froakie leaped towards before tapping the button and disappearing in a beam of red light, the ball chiming almost instantly to announce the capture!
"Espeon!" Espeon snapped her paws with a cross look, hoping the frog would have changed his mind and run off to bother somebody else.
A day later Zach was walking through the swampland north of Lumiose completely covered in mud and yucky swamp water. He gazed back down at his Rotom Phone as he scanned the swamp water before noticing a purple blob, indicating his target. He grinned as he enlarged a ball and was about to throw a ball before a net suddenly shot forward and grabbed the Goomy, scooping it right up! Zach cursed beneath his breath as he looked up, hoping that Goh hadn't struck again. Thankfully it wasn't but the sight was just as bad as a red truck was parked along the road with a bright red insignia printed along the side of it. Zach narrowed his eyes as he was sure that the truck must belong to a gang of some kind and he was right as a rather fashionable looking man and women dressed in red suits with hair in similar fashion to each other were dragging large nets full of Goomy along the trail. The Goomy all letting out cries of protest and some sounded frightened as they were torn away from their beloved swamp!
"Scor!" Zach jumped up as he saw what appeared to be his Scorbunny inside one of the nets, she must have wandered off when they weren't looking and got herself mistaken for a Goomy due to her mud covered coat.
"Scorbunny! Come on Lucario, let's go-" Zach and Lucario shot up and attempted to rush out of the swamp water only to faceplant and land face first into the water, disappearing as a large splash was heard causing the two figures to look over before shrugging at one another as they tossed the nets into the truck and began starting it up.
"Not so fast, Noibat use Supersonic!" Zach managed to reach out for a ball as he released a Noibat, a Pokemon that he'd caught in a cave within the badlands during his trip to reach the swamplands. Noibat fired off a powerful wave of sound from his ears causing the truck to immediately swerve before crashing directly into a tree, totaling the engine as the two figures emerged from the cab with an annoyed look.
"What the hell just happened?! Did you sneak a drink from the local pub again?!" The woman shouted at the man.
"Of course not, I told you I'm done with that. I don't want to mess with my fabulous physique!" The man smirked while the woman rolled her eyes with an annoyed growl before her eyes focused upon the Noibat.
"Oi, what's that?!"
"A Noibat! But what's it doing out here in broad daylight like this?" The man asked, taking a quick look around before Rockruff appeared in front of the two, a deep growl emitting from her throat as she glared up at them.
"Aw, a puppy!" The woman gushed. "Can we keep it, Blaze?!"
"It obviously belongs to somebody, Amber. That creature sure as heck isn't from around these parts! Golbat use Poison Fang!" Blaze shouted out.
"Bad mistake, Thunder Fang!"
"Huh?!" Due to Zach and Lucario being completely coated in swamp water and mud the two didn't even see them in the water nearby! Rockruff let out a growl as her teeth sparked with electricity while she leaped forward and met Golbat in the air, sinking her teeth into the Poison type's wing and causing it to let out a cry of pain before coming to a sudden collapse in front of the two criminals.
"Golbat!" Blaze cried out.
Amber rolled her eyes. "Way to let me down, bro."
"Shut up, sis!" Blaze growled back angrily.
"Says the loser, leave it to your younger sibling to do the job for you!" Amber smirked at her brother as she grabbed a Pokeball of her own. "We'll teach you to mess with Team Flare, kid!"
"Team Flare?! I knew you were a gang!" Zach growled out.
"Hey!" The two looked deeply insulted by that remark.
"We're not a gang! Unlike those ruffians in Team Rocket we're the most fabulous and fashionable organization out there, only the best of the best and the elite of the elite get in to our club!" Blaze boasted.
"Yeah besides we don't botch operations!" Amber smirked as she released a Pawniard.
"..." Zach and Lucario looked at one another before nodding, Lucario clamped his paws together and charged up a blast of aura that flew towards Pawniard before knocking out the Dark/Steel type!
"No way, I was sure that thing next to you was a Water/Ground type!" Amber gasped out before Blaze grabbed at her arm.
"I suggest we make a hasty retreat sis, we're out!" He hissed. Amber let out a frustrated growl as she returned Pawniard. "Consider this a warning punk, you don't want to mess with us!" The two Team Flare members went rushing off as Zach stared after them.
"For people who act all superior they seem more inept than the average Team Rocket member." Zach commented before being quick to order Rockruff and Noibat to cut the Goomy and Scorbunny free of the netting! The Goomy all began slithering out the back of the truck and back into the swamp with relieved cries of appreciation! Scorbunny raced towards her trainer and began crying as she hugged him, crying out about how she was worried she'd never see him again! Zach held Scorbunny tightly within his arms as he stroked her fur. "I'd never let anything happen to you Scorbunny, you're a member of my team and a best friend! The three of us will always be together no matter what!" Zach grinned as Lucario nodded before stepping forward to join the hug. The hug lasted for a few minutes and only came to a stop as Zach sensed the presence of another nearby. He turned around and didn't see anything but Lucario let out a shout and pointed at his back as a Goomy was there!
"Goomy!" The slime cried out while Zach glanced back before reaching out behind him to get a hold of the Goomy.
"Why aren't you going back to your friends? I freed you, isn't that what you want?" Zach questioned, placing Goomy on the ground next to the swamp water only for Goomy to quickly crawl back up his leg before looking up at him from his chest.
"Goomy!"
"Carrr!"
"Yeah, I think that's what it wants too. Let's ask, Goomy do you want to join us? There's no swamp where we're going but you'll be amongst friends!"
"Ruff!" Rockruff panted out as she barked in agreement.
"Carrr!"
"Scor!" Noibat just fluttered about in the air as he was too new to have a say in this.
"Gooo!"
"Alright then, welcome to the team!" Zach grinned as he held out a ball to the Dragon type. Goomy nudged it before disappearing in a beam of red light as the ball began to shake before chiming to announce the capture!
"Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokemon, and the weakest of all Dragon types! In order to keep its body moist, Goomy lives in places where it's dark and damp." The Pokedex showed Goomy registered as owned right next to Noibat.
"Finally we've got some Dragons, if we keep this up we'll be as good as Lance and Cynthia in no time!" He turned around after returning Rockruff and Noibat, starting to head back to Lumiose before pausing as he sensed something.
"Hold up Lucario," Zach noticed somebody crawling awfully fast towards them, their clothes heavily torn up and having quite the scratched up face.
"P-Please... help me!" Damian begged. Scorbunny quickly turned pale, shrieking as she noticed the herd of Pyroar who'd been chasing Damian for days.
Zach didn't bother waiting a single second to act, quickly calling out. "Bone Rush the male, it'd be the alpha!" Lucario quickly raced by the females, looking for the male before striking him quite hard on his lower half! Pyroar let out a roar before collapsing, causing the females to stop right as they were about to pounce on the group. The male Pyroar nodded his head before the herd turned around and quickly left.
Lucario let out a threatening growl as he watched them pass while Zach glared at Damian.
"I don't even want to know what you did to upset them all like that," He continued on his way back while Damien let out a shout.
"C-Can you help-?"
"Find your own way back!"
"Fascinating, he's definitely one of the good ones!" Korrina had secretly tailed Zach the entire time, watching everything he had done out of curiosity of her old friend. "I've got to tell grandpa about him!"
Ash gazed down at the city as the plane took off, he couldn't help but give let off a light wave as the plane began flying away and leaving Lumiose City behind them. "Goodbye Kalos, I'll be back someday!" He smiled before taking a quick look to make sure all of his friends were accounted for. Misty was by his side his time, she strangely gave up the window seat for some reason. He noticed Damian in the back all alone and looking quite excitedly as he gazed at a pokeball, though that soon turned to annoyance as it turned out the same kid from before was sitting behind him and kicking the back of his seat!
He then noticed that Zach had already fallen asleep, it appeared that plane rides must make him drowsy. Brock was staring at his phone with quite an excited expression, possibly texting Alexa? Chloe and Gary had an Eevee sitting in each of their laps while Flash and Giselle were making out in their seats at the front of the plane, and Misty, Janine and Sabrina were doing the same thing as the previous plane ride. Everyone appeared to be accounted for but Ash still felt like he was leaving somebody behind...
School was back in session on Monday yet Serena couldn't seem to focus at all, constantly gazing out the window while her friends Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor all gazed at her with a worried expression. She hadn't said a word all day nor had she done any work. During lunch the three decided to ambush her, sitting down at the table she'd choose while Shauna held her arm to prevent her escape.
"Serena, we're quite worried for you. Ever since you met that Ash kid you've acted different and now you're depressed... he didn't... try anything did he?" Shauna asked with a raised eyebrow. Serena quickly waved her eyes.
"Nononono!" She defended Ash, shaking her head. "I-I just... I miss him. You remember that kid I always talk about from Oak's Summer Camp? Well..."
"That was the guy?!" Tierno had a jealous expression, crossing his arms before huffing. "He didn't look so special-" Trevor and Shauna quickly slapped the back of his head before turning their focus back to Serena.
"Well if you truly spent all this time missing him... why don't you see about getting a transfer? Not like we can't talk anymore, we have Rotom Phones!" Shauna suggested, grinning as she held out her phone. "Besides he's totally hot, I'd do it if you weren't around."
"Yeah, you never did decide on your goal. Showcases are quite bland if you ask me, Contests seem like they'd be more your thing and they have those in Kanto!" Trevor added.
Tierno still looked jealous yet supported his friend with a nod. "Y-Yeah, and I'm sure there are plenty of cool Pokemon there that you can't find here."
Trevor couldn't help but snicker at that remark before Tierno looked at him. "What?"
"Oh, nothing!"
Serena took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she spent the next hour thinking it over. She'd have to get the okay from her folks but perhaps studying abroad could do her some good, Calem sure wouldn't like it when he found out but he had to learn to let her go eventually. He was her brother, not her boyfriend after all!
"I'll do it... I'll apply for a transfer!"
Yeah, I decided to make Froakie and Espeon rivals. It makes the group dynamic more interesting
Brock has a girlfriend now, I love the gag but I didn't want to drag it on. And he was inspired to talk things out with his dad by somebody who was in a similar position to him. Charmander's arc is almost over now
Team Rocket got some stuff too and Team Flare made their debut via brother sister duo Blaze and Amber!
I hope you're all enjoying this so far, feel free to let me know whose your favorite character or Pokemon so far. And what Pokemon that you hope Ash(or others) will receive and what ships you'd potentially like to see.