Louis and the rest of the Pokémon stared at Froakie, shocked at the revelation.
"W-...what was that?" stammered Louis.
The sullen Pokémon stirred on the spot, before speaking.
"What that kid said was basically what happened to a trainer I had some time ago," said Froakie.
Louis' eyes widened.
"What did it say?" questioned Suzuki.
"Um...Froakie said that...something similar happened to its old trainer," Louis translated.
"What? You mean here at the academy?" added Violet.
Froakie shook its head.
"Froa-kie," it spoke.
"Back in Kalos? Geez," replied Louis.
The quartet of humans looked at each other, compassionate of the frog Pokémon's situation.
"How?" said Roy. "How did it happen?"
Froakie looked at Roy, before shifting its gaze to Louis. The boy gave Froakie a reassuring expression.
"I can translate it for them," he said. "It's ok."
Froakie took a deep breath before speaking again, calming its nerves.
"Well..." it began. "Before I came to the academy, my sister and I were travelling with another back in Kalos."
"Wait, you have a sister?" interrupted Riolu.
Froakie nodded.
"We had been together for quite some time," it continued. "It was even his dream to become an expert in Pokémon battles. But then...it happened."
Louis relayed the information to the trio.
"You mean...something bad happened to your previous trainer?" asked Violet.
Froakie nodded in response.
"We were battling another trainer who...I think had...a Tyranitar, or something," it paused.
"It was a tough battle, but our trainer was very quick and precise in what he wanted to be done. But then..."
Froakie paused. Riolu sensed its aura beginning to darken.
"The other trainer commanded its Pokémon to attack my trainer," continued Froakie. "It used Earthquake, Rock Throw, and...Hyper Beam."
After Louis translated, the group looked on in a silent sadness at the little creature. Cubone looked like it was about to cry. Fennekin, Staravia, and Riolu were shocked, while Torracat shifted, uncomfortably, on the spot.
"Geez...I-I'm sorry," said Torracat.
"Was...was he ok?" asked Staravia.
The blue frog Pokémon hesitated to answer.
"I don't know how to say this..." it stopped, briefly.
"I mean, the other trainer was arrested and banned, but the damage had already been done," Froakie continued.
"My old trainer was taken to a hospital, and...his injuries were so bad that...that he..."
Froakie tried fighting back tears.
"...he was forced to retire," it finished.
Louis relayed the last bit of details to Suzuki, Roy and Violet, who were shocked by the turn of events.
"That's horrible!" exclaimed Violet.
The boy from Johto was heartbroken by his Pokémon's backstory. It somehow reminded him of the Pichu that he, Taki, and Crocanaw encountered.
Louis reached over to Froakie and brought it in for a comforting hug.
"I won't let that happen again," he said.
Soon after, the bell rang. Lunchtime was over. A line of students exited the cafeteria and proceeded to their next classes. Louis returned his Pokémon to their respective Pokéballs and followed Suzuki, Violet and Roy to their next classes. Along the way, Roy caught something out the corner of his eye.
"Hey look, what's that?" he said.
"Where?" questioned Suzuki, looking from side to side.
"On the bulletin board," replied Roy.
The rest of the party turned their attention to the nearby bulletin board. Pinned up to it was a flyer with the image of a Blastoise and Infernape facing off with each other. Above was text that read;
'Will YOU be the next National Pokémon Academy champion?
You'll need your wit, guile courage and kinship!
Sign up at the Training Facility.
Entries close in two weeks!'
The quartet carefully read the text on the poster.
"Two weeks?" said Louis. "How long ago was this put up?"
"It's recent," said Violet. "This flyer wasn't pinned up yesterday."
"Might be a waste of time..." said Roy.
"Why?" Louis responded.
"Because lately Suzuki and Simon have won the championships," clarified Roy.
Suzuki felt his heart sink a little. Roy was his friend, and if his constant winning was preventing his friends from entering, a thought crossed him.
"Hey man, that doesn't mean you shouldn't enter..." offered Suzuki.
"I'm not sure if I'd enter," added Louis.
Suzuki spun around to the boy.
"Why not?"
"Well, I only arrived at the academy just yesterday. It'd be a miracle if I won," Louis explained.
"Oh come on, anything can happen in a tournament," reassured Suzuki.
"Just last year, I watched a Pokémon League tournament over in Kanto. There was one trainer who managed to win each round using only one Pokémon. But when she made it to the semi-finals, she lost."
Louis' eyes widened.
"...seriously?" he gasped.
The boy pondered for a moment. If he were to consider signing up for this tournament, what would his Pokémon think? The thoughts crossed his mind repeatedly.
However, he had to keep these thoughts aside as he needed to get to his next class. The boy bid farewell to the trio and went on his way. Just like before, Louis wrote down a lot of information during the lesson. So much so, that he didn't realise how much of the day had gone by.
Later that evening, Louis entered his dorm room. The boy collapsed on his bed in thought.
"Poor Froakie," he said to himself.
"I can't believe he had to see his old trainer retire. Not just him but his..."
Louis sat up from his bed.
"His sister..." he blurted.
An idea formed.
The boy reached into his pocket and drew out Froakie's Pokéball. He threw it into the air and a burst of energy lit up from the object, where Froakie emerged and landed on the bed. The little Pokémon looked at the boy, questioningly.
Louis spoke.
"We need to talk."
Poor Froakie indeed. I wonder what Louis has in mind for the little frog Pokémon?
Anyway, thanks for reading. Is there something you enjoyed? Can you guess what happens next? Or...what do you hope to see in future chapters? If so, go ahead and leave a review explaining any of these reasons. (Please don't leave hurtful reviews)
If you enjoy this story and don't want to miss out on future chapters, go ahead and follow/favourite this story so you will be notified when a new chapter is released. Heck, feel free to share this story with your friends.
Thanks again. See you next time