Chapter 7:
Road to Lumiose
Location: Santalune City
After three action packed days, it was time to say goodbye to Santalune City. I had enjoyed myself. After all, I won my first Badge there!
"Thanks again for a brilliant battle!" Viola told me.
"I'll be with you every so often to chronicle your journey," Alexa said. "I should say though. The Gym Leaders of Kalos like a good challenge to, and there will be many challenges round the corner."
"And that's one of the reasons why I'm on this journey!" I said. "Okay! Next stop, Lumiose City!"
Location: Route 4
Route 4, otherwise known as the Parterre Way, was a long route with a giant fountain in the middle. Even at the start of the route, I could see the gates to Lumiose City beyond the giant fountain. Flowers of varying colours lined the route.
"Hey! Big C!" Shauna was in the flowers, presumably looking for a Pokémon.
"Found anything?" I asked.
"I'm about to!" she replied. She ran about in the yellow flowers. Sure enough, something jumped out. It was small and pink with a tail.
Skitty (Same as English name)
#078 (Central)
Normal Type
Kitten Pokémon
0.6 m (2'00")
11 kg (24.3 lbs)
It can't stop itself from chasing moving things, and it runs in a circle, chasing its own tail.
"Froabble, go!" Shauna shouted, sending out her Froakie. "Use Bubble!" Froakie shot bubbles at Skitty. Then, Skitty came back with a Tackle. "Now use Quick Attack!" Froakie dashed into Skitty quickly, and Skitty came back with another Tackle. "That should be good enough! Pokéball, go!" Shauna threw a Ball at Skitty, and it went inside. We saw it shake.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
*Click*
"I caught a Skitty!" Shauna shouted.
I clapped. "Nice one!"
Shauna made her way out of the flowers. "Isn't Skitty just the cutest thing ever?" Froakie gave Shauna a look. "Whoops! Don't worry Froabble, you're equally as adorable!"
The two of us sat by the fountain. It was beautiful. It had two Horsea spitting water into a giant golden Clamperl at the top. Around us, the Skaters trained.
"How are things then?" I asked.
Shauna got out her Badge Case. It had the Bug Badge inside. "I'm telling you. Viola's tough. Sadly, I didn't make it up on her wall. But I saw you did! Congrats!"
Just then, we saw the two Skaters skid in front of us. The dust they created almost covered us.
"So," the male one said. "I heard you got on Viola's wall?"
I pointed to myself. "Erm, yeah?"
"I didn't!" the female one said. "And neither did he! Let's have a battle to see if your worthy of being on there!"
"Done deal!" I said. "We'll make it a Tag Battle. You alright with that Shauna?"
Shauna got up. "Yeah! I'll use my newest Pokémon!"
Calem and Shauna Vs. Roller Skaters Calida and Roland
"Okay Fletchling, go!" shouted Calida.
"And I choose Pidgey!" Roland yelled. Both sent out Flying Types Types.
"Skitty, come out!" Shauna shouted.
"And I choose Chespin!" I replied. This would be difficult; Chespin was weak to Flying Type moves.
"Fletchling, Peck!" Fletchling flew down to Chespin and pecked it.
"Pidgey, Gust!" PIdgey then started blowing wind at Chespin. Chespin was hanging by a thread.
"Skitty, Attract!" Skitty fired hearts at Pidgey. Being a male against a female Skitty, Pidgey was infatuated. "That's reduced the risk Big C!"
"Got it!" I shouted, just as Chespin lunged forward. It bit down on Pidgey. "Woah! Bite attack! Chespin, you learned Bite!"
"Fletchling, Peck again!" Fletchling darted towards Chespin once again, but Chespin dodged. With Pidgey out of commission for that turn, we used the time to strike.
"Skitty, Tackle!" Skitty charged into Fletchling.
"And Chespin, Rollout!" Chespin curled itself up into a ball and rolled into Fletchling. It was down.
"Pidgey, snap out of it!" Pidgey still couldn't move.
"Use Tackle!"
"Rollout go!"
A barrage of those moves knocked out Pidgey.
"Well, I can see why you made it up on the wall."
"Seems like we need more training."
"Wooh, that was exhausting," Shauna said. "But my Skitty is so strong!"
"Lil C!" Trevor arrived. "Wandering along here to?"
"Yep," I said. "Lumiose City is waiting for us."
"Well, it might have to wait a bit longer for me," he said. "I've been filling up my Pokédex! And, I can confirm. I've finally found my partner! Go, Flabébé!" Trevor sent out a small-white Pokémon that was hanging onto a red flower that was at least twice the size of itself. That wasn't much though.
Flabébé (Same as English)
#068 (Central)
Fairy Type
Single Bloom Pokémon
0.1 m (0'04")
0.1 kg (0.2 lbs)
When it finds a flower it likes, it dwells on that flower its whole life long. It floats in the wind's embrace with an untroubled heart.
"It's a Fairy Type!" I said. "A tiny one at that."
"That's not all," Trevor said, pointing up at the sky. We saw many Flabébé on different coloured flowers. As well as red, there were flowers that were orange, blue, white and yellow.
"Are you going to catch anymore?" I asked.
Trevor looked at his own Flabébé. "Hmm, nah. I think I'm good with just the one. It's not like a female Burmy where it greatly affects what Pokémon it evolves into."
"Where's Serena and Tierno anyway?" I asked.
"Tierno is busy catching a Pokémon and Serena is taking on Viola. She would have finished by now. So why don't we head on to Lumiose City now?"
That sounded like a good idea.
As we approached the Lumiose City gates, Tierno and Serena caught up to us.
"C-Meister!" Tierno shouted. In his arms, he held a small-green Pokémon with stubby yellow legs.
Budew (Rozbouton)
#071 (Central)
Grass/Poison Type
Bud Pokémon
0.2 m (0'08")
1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)
When it feels the sun's warm touch, it opens its bud to release pollen. It lives alongside clear pools.
Baby Pokémon
"I hope it doesn't," Shauna said in response to the description. "I suffer from pretty rough hay fever."
"Which is why I'm standing in the shade," Tierno pointed out, as the large wall of Lumiose City towered over us.
"Sooo…" At the gates were two people. There was a tan woman with black hair in a white dress. There was also a man with short-blond hair wearing a white uniform.
"Sina! Dexio! Nice to see you!" said Trevor.
"You know these people?" Serena asked.
"Yes," Sina said. "We are the assistants of Professor Augustine Sycamore."
"He told us to meet you all at the Lumiose City gate," Dexio chimed in. "I hear you all have been doing well."
I nodded. "Yeah. I haven't been in Kalos long, but I've been making so many friends."
"Yeah. They could come and watch your Rhyhorn Rac-"
"NO NO NO!" All my friends shouted, right in my ear to. I appreciate what they were doing, but I didn't need to go deaf in the process.
"Sorry," Serena said. "Calem doesn't like the mention of that particular sport. But he will talk about training and battling any day!"
Dexio smiled. "Hey, Trevor. May I see your newest Pokémon?"
Trevor nodded. "Come on Flabébé!" Out it came.
"Fascinating," Sina said. "Yes, the Fairy Type has been making the rounds as of recent. Three years ago, a Trainer from the Kalos region used a Fairy Type at the Pokémon World Tournament in Unova, leading to an increased interest in this new Type Pokémon have been turning into through this Type metamorphosis. Some Pokémon such as Jigglypuff, Azumarill and Ralts have been acquiring the Fairy Type. Additionally, Normal Types such as Snubbull have been changing their Type to Fairy. It's quite odd, but we are looking into it. Don't think of it as a bad thing at all."
"It's interesting!" Serena said. "I'd love to see Professor Sycamore to learn more!"
"I'm afraid he's a bit busy today, but we'll see if he's free tomorrow! He probably will be, you did promise him to give your thanks for the Pokémon and Pokédex."
"If that's the case, we'll see him after I've beaten the Lumiose Gym!" I said.
Both Sina and Dexio looked at each other with worry.
"Okay what is wrong with me taking on the Gym?!" I asked. "First Alexa, now you two?"
Sina tried to change the subject. "You'll… find out in your own time."
"What are we waiting for?" Serena said. "Let's go to Lumiose City!"
Location: Lumiose City
All around us, the fancy buildings of Lumiose City stood tall. Taxies drove about, dropping people off at their destinations as designer shops lined the streets and billboards. And in the middle, stood Prism Tower. Tall, grand and beautiful.
"That's the Gym," Trevor told me.
"Really?" I asked. I saw the evidence; the Gym logo was plastered on a few places of the tower.
"We will escort you to the Pokémon Center," Sina said.
We walked through the bustling streets. Trees stood either side of us, adding a bit of nature into the metropolis. There was an electronic billboard advertising the Holo Caster, as well as PR Videos.
"It's beautiful," I said, as I slowly brought my hand over to Serena's.
"We're here!" Sina said, as I quickly pulled my hand away. She showed us the Pokémon Center.
"We'll ask Professor Sycamore is he's free for tomorrow," Dexio said. "Until then, we suggest you enjoy yourselves!"
Location: South Boulevard Pokémon Center
After we healed our Pokémon, we decided what we were going to do.
"I'm going to check out the clothes!" Serena said.
"I'll come to!" Shauna replied.
"I want to check out the Museum!" said Tierno.
"And I'm going to look for any city dwelling Pokémon," Trevor said.
"What about you Calem?" Serena asked me.
"I know what," I said. "Why is everything being so unsure about the Gym? I'm going to find out what's going on."
Location: Lumiose City
I started making my way towards Prism Tower. But a man stopped me.
"Sorry," he said. "But there is a power cut. Only Southern Boulevard has power, and Prism Tower is currently out of action."
"Huh?" I asked. "But why?"
"We don't know," he replied. "The Kalos Power Plant is located on Route 11, otherwise known as the Lumiose Badlands. We've asked what's going on, but we've had no answer. I suggest you let the authorities deal with it, not the son of a sports star."
I decided not to get angry. Power cuts are not fun to deal with, and I admired the work the electricians were putting in. I decided to cut my losses and go back to the Center.
I headed back towards the Pokémon Center where I bumped into the girls.
"I thought you were having a girl's day out at the boutique," I said.
"There go those plans," Shauna said. "Apparently, we're not fashionable enough to go in."
"And I learned why everyone is so pessimistic about the Gym. More than half the city has no power."
"What a bummer," Serena said. "What's the plan now?"
"Try asking us," Tierno said, startling us. He was with Trevor. "There are no Pokémon in the canal, and I've explored all that I can."
"And the Museum is closed due to the outage. What else is there to do?"
I looked around. "PR Videos?"
"Yeah, sure thing," they all said.
And we spent the rest of the day making funny videos.