Beginning Arc: No Friends Without Teasing
"Did we make it?" Jacky was speechless the first few moments. Only when Cheren nodded with a smile, she jumped up with a leap. "We did it Absol!",
"I'm impressed. You two are a whole new caliber, you and your friend." Cheren withdrew Watchog. Jacky ran to Absol and hugged it tightly. "You did great! I'm so proud of you!" She snuggled into its white fur. Absol rubbed its head against her shoulder. Then, Jacky straightened up and turned to Mari. "Mari, Absol was great, wasn't it?",
"You did well." Mari closed up on her and shook her hand. "It was fun watching you guys." Jacky smiled and then turned to the gym leader. "The battle was great, thanks, Cheren.",
"No problem." He gave her a raised thumb and then walked toward her. "Congratulations on your first badge." He pulled out a red cloth and unwrapped it. He handed her the Basic Badge that was inside. Jacky took it excitedly and carefully put it away. "If only I had something to keep my badges safe in...",
"You can buy a badge box in Virbank City." Cheren advised them. "In it, the badges can't be damaged.",
"Then we'll be on our way after my recovered." Jacky opined.
"I'm with you." Mari nodded.
"Thanks again for everything Cheren, you helped us a lot." Jacky and Cheren shook hands. Cheren smiled. "No problem." Mari waved at the teacher. "Come on, Jacky!",
"Already on it! Come back, Absol!" Jacky held out the Poké Ball and withdrew Absol, then ran quickly to her impatient friend. The two of them left the trainer school and entered Aspertia's Pokémon Center, where Jacky dropped off Absol and Shinx. "How are you feeling?" Mari asked with a smile. "Happier than I've felt in a long time," Jacky replied with a grin. "We've cleared the first obstacle on the way to the Unova League, that's insane!",
"And you've managed to gain Absol's complete trust. Isn't that the most important thing?" Mari tossed her hair back. A slight shadow settled over Jacky's eyes and she rubbed her wrist. "Of course...",
"Gaining the trust of your Pokémon is very important, don't you think?",
"It's more important, even more important than the badge, but..." Jacky took out Absol's Poké Ball and stroked it with her thumb. "...I'm still unsure, though. Absol trusts me sometimes, but sometimes it doesn't.",
"But you've only known each other for maybe a few days," Mari said. "It doesn't happen overnight, but you guys are making great progress.",
"It's not the same as with you, that's for sure. Kirlia and you, you get along without words." Jacky looked directly at Mari. "That's my perception. Kirlia and you are friends for life. Remember that assault by the maniac yesterday? You could tell right away that Kirlia wanted to protect you with its life."
Mari blushed slightly. "Yeah..."
The two sat down at a table. Jacky tried to reach for a magazine, but her fingers fumbled into nothing. Jacky blinked. "Oh, none left?",
"You brought one, remember? The magazine I gave you this morning.",
"Oh, right, silly me..." Jacky rummaged around in her bag. "There it is!" She pulled it out with satisfaction and flipped through it. "Blue and Lorelei from Kanto are currently traveling around in other regions. They're making showcase battles in famous places." Jacky showed Mari the picture. "Right now, they are in Kalos at the Battle Maison in Kiloude City.",
"Yeah, and what about Lance?" Mari asked.
"Lance is training near Dragon Spiral Tower in Icirrus City." Jacky turned the page and showed her the corresponding picture. "The elite four of Kanto is off duty, so to speak.", "That will be a relief to them. Maybe we'll meet a trainer or two from the elite four of another region sometime. If we're lucky enough...",
"That would be really cool." Jacky grinned and propped her head on her hand. "Maybe someday, we'll meet Blue! Then I'd challenge him right away and he'd fight me and I'd see him and..." Jacky lost herself in daydreaming.
"You want to battle a champion? Dream on!" Mari snorted softly.
"Huuuh..." Jacky didn't seem to have heard her. "We have almost the same hair color...", "Helloooo!" Mari patted her on the shoulder. "Don't dream! I'm talking to you!" Jacky startled and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, but I totally like Blue."
Mari averted her gaze and rolled her eyes. "Oh jeez.",
"Did I say something wrong?" Jacky looked to her, puzzled.
"No, but your constant rhapsodizing about him is slowly becoming annoying. No offense.",
"I'll hold off next time, I promise." Jacky smiled embarrassed. Mari glanced over at the counter. "Hey, Absol and Shinx are coming back from treatment,"
"Finally!" Jacky stood up and took their Poké Balls. "Thank you, Nurse Joy." The nurse smiled and bowed briefly, then hurried off again. Jacky looked outside. "It's darkening outside... Looks like rain. I think we won't be able to reach Virbank today. Do you want to go home or stay here?",
"You want me to be honest? I don't really feel like going out again right now.",
"You're boring, Mari", Jacky said playfully reproachful. "But you're right.",
"That's enough for me." Mari grinned and got up.
The girls went to the counter and asked the nurse for a room key. The Pokémon Center usually rented out rooms for trainers to stay- for free. Then, they went up the stairs and Jacky unlocked the room to which the key belonged. "A lot has happened today, I'm sure we can get a good night's sleep", she commented.
"I didn't really do anything today..." Mari put her bag on the table in the room.
"I could fall asleep right now." Jacky flopped down on one of the beds. She let out Absol and carefully brushed its fur. She also polished its claws and blade with a cloth. "Be careful with the blade, you'll cut yourself otherwise," Mari commented. Jacky carefully put a hand on Absol's horn. "Alright, alright." She continued brushing Absol. Mari sent out her Kirlia and it sat down on Mari's lap. "Fancy some sweets, Kirlia?" Mari asked. Kirlia nodded vigorously. Mari giggled and pulled a box of Lumiouse Gallettes. She handed Kirlia one of the cookies. Kirlia accepted it with its hands and nibbled on it. "Say, Kirlia is still able to evolve one more time, depending on how you trigger it." Jacky put the brush aside. "But what about Absol?", "Mhm... I don't know. There's no evolution recorded in the Pokédex. But I once heard that, in Kalos, it should be possible for an Absol to evolve, anyway." Mari put her arms around Kirlia's waist.
"Evolve..." Jacky stroked Absol's soft fur. "You will evolve someday, I'm sure of it." Then, she looked out the window. "Look, there! There are Pidove and Tranquill!" Jacky pointed to the roof of a surrounding building, where a flock of bird Pokémon had taken some time to rest. "Oh..." Mari smiled.
"Someday, I want to soar through the air to the Unova League with a flying-type Pokémon and knock all my opponents off their boots!",
"You've got quite a lot on your list of things you want to do someday," Mari noted with a grin. "You just got your first badge and you're already worrying about the league?"
Jacky nodded. "Yes. Exactly...",
"Huh... Dreams are an important thing in life to hold on to. In which you can find comfort and hope, and the strength to never give up. But don't tell people your dreams... show them." Kirlia finished eating the cookie and Mari put it down next to her so she could stretch out on the bed to read a book. Kirlia looked at her in interest and then tried to do the same, even though it wasn't able to read whatever was written on the pages. Jacky stroked Absol and it jumped to her on the bed. They cuddled together and sank into sleep, even though it wasn't even close to evening yet. Mari only fell asleep once it was close to midnight, taking Kirlia into her arms.
The next morning, Mari woke up first. "Hey, sleepyhead, are you awake yet?" she asked. There came no answer. Kirlia in her bed stirred and looked up at Mari. "Hey, Kirlia. Are you okay?" It sat up smiling and nodded. Mari giggled. "Excuse me for a second..." She grabbed her pillow. Then, she went over to Jacky's bed and slammed the pillow on her head. "Yo, lazy Snorlax! We have somewhere to go today and we can't waste any time!" Jacky was instantly upright and Absol startled. "Good heavens, Mari!" she exclaimed, putting a hand to her head. "Did you have to do that?!",
"Yep." Mari threw the pillow back on her bed and braced her arms into her sides. "I definitely had to do that, because you, late riser, could have slept on for hours, but we can't afford that, get it?"
Jacky muttered a quiet imprecation, then got up and stretched. "Yeah, I get it.",
"Good, I'll get breakfast ready and you get to go to the bathroom first.",
"Thanks for your generosity," Jacky grumbled and staggered into the bathroom.
"Dreams are an important thing in life to hold on to. In which you can find comfort and hope, and the strength to never give up. But don't tell people your dreams... show them." -Mari Sentaku