THAT SYLVEON
To ItWasGlace, Luan gives you a 10,537,885,932 claps for your dedication to your story. Awesome job.
Speaking of which, thanks to Luan for helping out to finish the seventh chapter all by herself. I knew that I could not have done it on my own. Moreover, thanks to all that reviewed. We accept every piece of criticism, because it boosts us to keep doing better. Well, at least we feel that we're doing better. XP
Awesome Sawss/Luanastar do not own Pokemon.
"So, what's your opinion on purple eyes?"
Once Barry had departed the Breon-Solian residence with his mother, Anais had another surprise from her celestial friend and all-around douchebag, Giratina. It then occurred to the teenage Sylveon that she hadn't much a wide variety of friends. Excluding family, she had only Lola, Nester, and Bella as friends. Even then, Nester was a bit more than just a friend, but she did have Raidon. He was a good friend, despite the fact that he didn't quite have the chemistry that she shared with close colleagues Bella and Lola.
"Dude, if I had a girlfriend - Uh, boyfriend, or something, with purple eyes, I totes be all over them like a pack of Mightyenas around a discarded hamburger." Anais grinned. If the context didn't provide connotations easier to follow, Anais was referring to her Blaziken relative, Barry. The thought to ask that came from her friends' most recent text, saying: 'ANAIS! I was looking at Barry today, and he acc looked back! OMAAA!1! His purple eyes make him look soooo HAWT!'.
Anais wasn't jealous of Lola or anything. It was just the fact that she was the leader of her little entourage. Surely that meant that she was guaranteed a boyfriend?
"Well, you know my cousin Barry, right?" asked Anais, rolling onto her bed, tapping violently on her phone.
"Of course! By the way, he's really hot. Like, I'd have my way with him if only I knew what gender I was."
Anais furrowed her eyebrows. That wasn't what she was expecting, but sure, it could work. "RIght… As I was saying, my P.I.C. really likes him. She has a giga-crush on Bear-Bear over there. She wants his abs covered with whipped cream with a cherry on top. Only problem is, she doesn't know how to break it to him, and she wants to grab 'em before the ops do."
Now it was Giratina's turn to furrow their brows. "Okay, I get the gist of what's going on here, but I've got a few questions." Anaid turned away from her phone and gestured for the legendary to carry on. "So firstly, can you tell me what the following words mean: P.I.C., Bear-Bear and ops."
Anais scoffed and rolled her eyes. Talk about common knowledge of slang being prehistoric.
"Well, P.I.C. stands for partners in crime. It's what you give to your best friend. Bear-Bear is what my lil' bro Julius called Barry, and ops are equivalent to opponents or opposition. In this sense, it's competition."
The words were explained exceptionally well. Giratina couldn't say that they didn't understand what they meant. "Alright. Secondly, what does any of this have to do with your love life?"
Oh? So Giratina cared about the Sylveon's progress with boys? Nah, don't look to deep into that.
"Pfft, if I'm gonna know anything about anyone, I gotta keep in the loop somehow. Lola is my number one banister to lean on when I'm down. I have to help her so she can help me, no? Plus, If Barry remains single for any longer, I'm gonna have to pull an aunt Lyora." said Anais, looking back at her phone as if replies like that were common.
Giratina chortled and stood next to their newfound friend as she laid on her bed. "Nice joke there, and I'm surprised that my memory goes back that far." Giratina crouched down, so they were level with the Sylveon. "But I know that I can remember your fling with Nester. I don't see you gawking over him like you used to anymore."
Anais pouted. His words filled with cotton candy didn't fall too well on her tastebuds - In fact, she hadn't barely a single thought about the Ninetales for the entirety of this whole day.
"Uh. I-I don't really know. I shouldn't take him for granted, since he's definitely the hottest in the whole school… But… I just beginning to have some doubts about him."
Giratina beckoned towards Anais with open wings, as they squatted down onto the floor. "Come 'ere, girl. Bean-bag Giratina's gonna help you out."
The slightly sullen Sylveon got off her bed and leaned on the comically squishy ghost dragon.
"Thanks. I just feel like he hasn't given me a lot of attention recently. I actually didn't see him today at all." said Anais, exhaling in distress.
Giratina used a wing to scratch their chin, before providing their two cents. "To be completely fair, this was only one day. Maybe he hadn't much time to talk to you, or maybe he was busy."
Anais sighed and pushed up against Giratina. She looked to her plainly white ceiling for any glisten of hope with a relationship with Nester. Aside from the light bulb, of course. However, maybe the Ninetales just wasn't her type. As cliche as this sounded, she would have to gather more evidence from Nester just in case she was too hasty.
"You know what, Giratina? You aren't as bad as Arceus makes you out to be. I don't get what he or she sees in you, but I think that you're awesome." admitted Anais, inducing Giratina to smile pleasantly.
"Thanks, but neither do I understand Arceus. To be honest, the guy seems to have a bone to pick with everyone." replied Giratina, pulling out a cup with an unknown substance in it and taking a sip. "But hey, tomorrow, I think that you're gonna have a better day. As for me, I'm off to mess around with more of Mewtwo's junk."
The ghostly dragon poofed out of thin air before Anais could tell him how gross that sounded, leaving behind smoky remains, wafting in the room's living space. Waving the smoke away, Anais jumped back onto her bed, hoping to start the new day with something of interest for once. She could do with a long break from all this. She would ask her friends to visit the mall together, but apparently, the recordings of the wine glass tower incident got out quickly. She didn't want to raise any suspicion in that area, so it would be a smart idea to keep a low profile and wait for the local commotion to peter out. How exactly? Going to bed and waiting for the next day to roll by! Duh!
"Principal Xerneas!"
"Yes, Mrs. Easel?"
The Xerneas was confined to a dark room that they referred to as the principal's office. The Weavile opened the door and adjusted to the drastic drop in lighting. The only source of light was the slickly shut window that was mostly covered by blinds, and the green lamp on the Xerneas' desk that cowered in fear under the principal's presence.
"W-We've found excess money from the battling tournaments that we've won, as well as the hoodies that we've sold - Approximately 78,000 Poke dollars. What do you propose that we do with this money?" told Mrs. Easel, taking a seat from the other side of the dented wooden desk.
The Xerneas's eyes arose from the paper they glared at, and the pen from his hooves was placed gently next to it.
"Was it not our battling team that raised this money in the first place?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Then perhaps, it could be a democratic vote between themselves, whether it be to refurbish the school, or even organize a school trip."
Mrs. Easel nodded, and got out of her chair, as the Xerneas concluded the conversation by picking up their pen.
"Thank you, sir." muttered the Weavlie, promptly stepping out of the room and leaving the principal alone.
An eight hour sleep went by too quickly as Anais found herself walking to school: This time, without Barry along. She had done all of her thinking at home. Now, it was time to face reality, as well as all of the tribulations or achievements that it may come with.
Making a left turn through the school gates, Anais entered the ornate-looking school, soon entering her registration class as she would. To her left were friends Bella and Lola, talking like there was no tomorrow. However, to her right, was Barry. Woah, but that wasn't the objective here. The real deal came from the person he was talking to. Nester Queueneufs sat in the chair beside the Blaziken, sharing an equally interesting conversation with him. Anais couldn't see much that they had in common aside from the fact that they were both fire types.
Anais could say confidently that they were now an item, therefore she felt compelled to go up to the Ninetales and spark up a small talk with him while she still had the chance. Plus, if things got too rough, Barry sat next to him to help break a bit of ice for her. You know, 'coz he's a fire type? Alright, too soon. Anyway, it was like the perfect scenario for her. All she needed to do now was to just not screw anything up.
Leg by leg, she hauled herself over to the rambling Ninetales. Her pink cheeks were soon painted a thick red as Anais got closer to Nester. Soon, she found herself right in front of his desk, just as she had hoped for. Now here came the tricky part…
"... Some weird building we call the 'Citadel'- Oh, hey there, babe." greeted Nester, stopping in the middle of him and Barry's talk to speak with his loved one. What a jerk. And it was getting to the good part, too.
*This squeal was too loud to write, so here you go.* No way! He called me babe, in front of someone else!
Really? I call Arceus 'Divine Llama' but all he seems to do is just yell at me for it.
"O-Oh, h-hi Nester. Was just wondering how you were doing." sputtered Anais, wiping her paws across the ground sheepishly.
"I'm great, thanks." replied Nester, flicking his drooped over hair to one side with the strength within his neck muscles.
"..."
Damn, it got awkward now! Barry! Do something!
Barry sat there, reading a book that he must have found from the library. On the front cover, Anais could see that it had the image of a Glaceon and a Jolteon, one holding a lacrosse stick in their maw and the other with a remote control under their paw. Well actually, Anais could see distinctly their different names from the blurb, too. The Glaceon was 'Plait' and the other Jolteon was 'Brian'. She could tell that Barry was gonna have a great time reading that book. Only problem was it wasn't exactly helping her, so that option was crushed under a steamroller.
Giratina! Do something!
I can't now, I'm taking a shower! Also, you left the faucet on when you were having your breakfast. Be advised, Your mom's gonna chew you out when you come back.
… Anais! Do something!
"Uh… So… Do you wanna do something after school, or..?"
Dangit Anais! You… Hey, that actually wasn't so bad an idea.
Nester's smile disappeared. Instead, a frown came onto his face, letting Anais know of the answer before it could even come out of his mouth.
"Uh, I don't know, Babe." said Nester, sternly staring into the Sylveon's eyes. "I'm gonna be really occupied as there's someone coming over to my house, and I need to… to occupy them."
Anais looked down at the ground. It had happened again, but Anais didn't feel as bad as she did the time before. "That's okay, I guess. We can arrange for another time."
Nester shut his eyes and exhaled. "If you want, I could give you my number." he compromised, writing his number down on a sheet of paper he tore out of his mathematics book. Anais smiled and took the small slip of paper. Beggars couldn't be choosers, and it certainly was a step in their relationship.
"Thanks. I'll call you later today." Nester nodded as Anais left, leaving the Ninetales to then turn to Barry to talk with him.
The Sylveon went over to Lola and Bella, sitting in her usual seat with an unsettled huff. Lola took notice finally of her existence, and put a paw on top of her shoulders.
"Heya, gal! Saw you talking with Nester. How you two doing?" asked the happy-go-lucky Lopunny. She bared her teeth in some sort of smile, but her cotton candy words didn't fall too well on the Sylveon's tastebuds.
"Uh, not as well as I thought it would." admitted Anais, wiping her head with her ribbon-feelers. "He's always so busy, and never talks to me."
Bella smiled empathetically, and rubbed Anais on her back. "Don't worry about it, Anais. Everyone knows that you're totally smokin' hot anyway! You don't need him if he's barely talking to you."
Out of all of the advice given to her, that has to be the best. Most were about how she hadn't given the Ninetales enough time. However, none was as unique as to tell her how she was just too good for Nester. As much as it probably wasn't true, Anais couldn't deny her beauty.
"Thanks, Bella. You're probably right on that one." told Anais, choosing to brandish a smile. The bell rang, and gymnasium was now their portion in the land of lessons.
Mrs. Easel stood there expectantly, holding a notepad and pen in her claws. It had taken her a lot more effort than expected just to not accidentally rip the papers in half thanks to her serrated blades. Everyone had taken a seat at the bleachers, as the Weavile opened her mouth to speak.
"Settle down, everyone. We've a lot to get through today, so I need you all to be attentive." Every student seemed to shut up then, as Mrs. Easel cleared her throat again. "Thank you. First of all, the tryouts are called off, as I realized that I have your levels recorded, so I picked those who I thought would do well on the mat. The following are on the battling team:"
Barry B. Bursyamo - 15 years old - Level 78 approx:
Anais Breon-Solian - 16 years old - level 52 approx:
Raidon Atos - 16 years old - level 58 approx:
Alexander Evergreen - 16 years old - level 76 approx:
Itwa S. Glaysse - 16 years old - level 55 approx:
Jooril E. Uss - 15 years old - level 60 approx:
Those who were called out wooted in happiness. The case was certainly for Anais, as she wasn't expecting to actually win at any try-outs.
Not with that attitude.
"Now, the following will be on the reserves team."
Lola Punnichi - 16 years old - level 40 approx:
Nester D. Queueneufs - 16 years old - level 45 approx:
Lewan A. Star - 15 years old - level 51 approx:
Iyan-Der A. Conite - 16 years old - level 46 approx:
Calle M. Arin - 16 years old - level 55 approx:
Kit N. Ofyorr - 15 years old - level 47 approx:
More shouts and cheers filled the gym, shaking the building with excitement. Mrs. Easel waited for them to quieten down, although she never really knew why there was so much hype on being on the battling team. When she was a younger lass, she remembered being on the battling team just 'cause. She hadn't taken it very seriously, mostly because she took it for granted. You can't blame her, though. She and Brendan ruled the battling scene both in high school, and professionally. Speaking of which, Sally was expecting the Blaziken to be retiring soon, just like she did three years ago. Her legacy wasn't as long or as powerful as Brendan's, but it was worth the fame, money and power that she racked up during her glory days. Maybe one day, she could meet up with the Blaziken and talk over their memories together. 18 years, they've spent battling on the same team. He wasn't married to Jasmine, was he? They could have talked over dinner? Wait- So who's child was Barry? Damnit.
"Next, the school has raised a lot of money over the past tournaments that we've won. We give many thanks to the battling team of last year, as a result. However, what we do with the money it up to you." told the Weavile. Students shrieked with joy, as everyone was thinking the exact same thing: Beach-house resort.
Finally! A dang school trip! We haven't gone on one for years!
You're telling me. I haven't been outside my room for at least two minutes in mortal time.
"Now, you have the options of a beach house res-" The Weavile was interrupted as the pupils on the bleachers went crazy with elation. Any more of this, and soon the other teachers would have to be wearing ear plugs. Something told Mrs. Easel that the students didn't want to hear the other choices. "Alright then. I'll give the results to the principal. Now, get into groups, and practice controlled battles with one another while I upload stuff onto the system. The trip should happen sometime in the next two weeks."
Anais, sparked with joy, grabbed her cousin, a valiant opponent and dragged him over to a mat on the other side of the room. Mostly because Barry was a better listener than her actual friends, but whatever.
"Hey Barry! Aren't you excited to go on a school trip to a huge, spankin' beach house?" asked Anais, as Barry smiled giddily and nodded.
"Of course! I think it's gonna be lots of fun. Also, would be a great time to take a break off school for a while." answered Barry, stretching while on the mat, getting some knots out of his muscles.
To their left, came a blur of black through their peripheral vision. A toned Luxray stood before them, but donning a large smile contrary to the pressuring stance that he took. Anais gazed properly at the electric type, and felt a number of mixed emotions as she looked.
For starters, Raidon looked incredibly adorable when he smiled like that. For a Luxray at least. Furthermore, it gave himself the emphasis on his carefree and nonchalant attitude. Overall, he just looked like a very happy Pokemon with that contagious grin of his.
"Hey, you two! Are you stoked about the trip, too?" asked the Luxray, cautiously aware that he was trying very hard to make conversation with the duo.
"Yeah, I want a long break away from school." uttered Anais, sitting on the bench next to the mat.
They all went silent as Barry stepped onto the mat, since it was up to Raidon to make a move, whether on the mat, or on the bench. His honour sat at the rubbery surface of the mat aside his tough, fire type opponent. However, his better judgement beckoned him over to the bench, next to Anais. There, he could sit out the mass beating, and possibly make some progress with their relationship.
Raidon made a movement, looking in the direction of the bench. However, he found himself closing distances between himself and the mat.
Damnit Raidon! Don't go onto the mat!
Yeah, but you know that it'll be too awkward just to sit next to Anais and talk to her. Plus, you've already made eye contact with Barry.
Raidon's paw set foot on the mat while his mind was indeed correct. Barry's soothing purple eyes moved over to his own. It was ever so hard to be intimidated by the Blaziken. Inspecting him closely, Raidon realized that Barry was only around 1 foot taller than him. Blaziken's are usually tall, so all the more reason not to be so shaken by his presence.
"Hey Raidon." called out Barry. "Do you want to have a battle?" he politely asked, dusting off his bronze hoodie. As his father always told him, no means no, and never force anyone into doing something that they don't want to do, otherwise - Face the wrath or Jasmine Bursyamo.
Say no, say no, SAY NO!
"Sure."
Damnit, Raidon!
Raidon forced himself into a stance, as Barry did the same. He glared at all bodyparts of the Blaziken to detect movement. The battle had commenced without a need to say, and Raidon knew that he had to do something at the least spectacular to impress the Sylveon watching over them. Although, against Barry, that was a feat nearly impossible to perform at his current level. He may as well just call off the battle now, if he had any sense at all.
However, before Raidon could make a move, a small speck of red and beige entered the gymnasium through the main door, and seemed to put their red irises in their direction. Then, they began moving towards the duo rapidly.
"Hey Barry!" They called out, turning out to be a Flareon in the eyes of Raidon.
Barry turned around and broadly smiled, watching the older Flareon hop over to him. The Flareon then looked at Raidon, deducing that they were about to engage in a battle.
"Oh, were you guys about to battle?" asked the Flareon. Their tone seemed to be that of a male. "Because, I just thought I could have a quick one with Barry."
Oh my, they haven't even gone out for dinner yet.
"D-Don't worry, it's fine." stuttered Raidon, stepping off the mat. It was if he was paying homage to a certain Umbreon before him. Conveniently, this meant that he was able to sit next to Anais, as well as have a topic to talk about.
"Thanks." said the Flareon. "By the way, the name is Alexander Evergreen. Nice to meet you." Alex held out a paw for the Luxray to shake, to which he did - albeit flushing a bit in hit cheeks.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Raidon." Raidon felt comforted by the calm and confident smile of the Flareon. It certainly lifted the awkwardness of the situation.
Raidon then let go of Alex's paw, and sat back onto the bench, feeling the warmth from Anais. He felt her turn over to him and stare for a while. Hopefully, he hadn't anything on his face or anything.
"Hey Raidon." came from his left. "Who do you think is gonna win this battle?"
Raidon looked at the Sylveon with eyes that looked like they could light up the whole room. "Barry, of course!"
Anais cocked her head in confusion, but then exhaled as an answer popped up in her head once again. "Oh, that's right. You're still sort of new here. Essentially, Alex Evergreen is one of the strongest battlers around for his age. He excels in battling across the board, and is the reason why this school has so many trophies. He's like the Brendan Bursyamo of Everlast High."
Back in my days, Brendan was actually a fiery tyrant jock who punched his way through high school. Times change, don't they?
An 'O' was formed out of Raidon's mouth, as he then noticed why Alex wanted to battle Barry so eagerly. He was pretty much the only competition he was going to get for a while.
Alex redirected his vision back to the Blaziken, and smiled proudly. "So Barry, you ready to battle, or what?"
Barry nodded and put on his serious game face, which was simply his neutral expression, complete with a miniature smile, to complete his polite face.
The air grew tense and heavy for not only the competitors, but also the spectators. Barry focused right into the Flareon's glowing crimson orbs, not taking his eyes off them as he crouched down into a defensive stance.
Alex was the first to act, as he darted towards the Blaziken's abdomen to give him a starter swipe with a claw. However, he confided with himself to discreetly charge up a fireblast in his mouth.
Barry flipped and twisted over the Flareon to evade him, since he hadn't an idea of what Alex was planning yet, and didn't want to take any chances. He knew he had to hit the Flareon hard with physical attacks, as it was what Blazikens did best. Although his father had taught him to defend well against both physical and special attacks, it wouldn't help much as everyone knew that Alex had beefy strength.
Once Barry had landed, he noticed small volumes of smoke pour out from the mouth of the Flareon, meaning that Alex had doused out a fiery attack he had been charging between his chops. This gave Barry some time to strike. As he would, Barry lunged forward, feigning a kick before delivering a punch to Alex's jaw. This stunned him, so Barry could follow up with an uppercut-jab combo, as seen on TV.
Alex flew back, rubbing his sore cheeks as he tried to recompose his stature. He sent out a weak ball of fire out towards Barry to give him some time to heal. As it was aimed at his head, the Blaziken slickly slid under the blast, and right when he was was directly under the Flareon's chin, he clenched his talons into a fist and pointed it towards the ceiling. In the matter of barely a second, Barry sent the fist flying skywards, slamming the Flareon in the form of an uppercut. A certain Blaziken 16 years ago would have tipped his hat to the acclamation.
Alex was sent out of the mat, flying off in a daze, and while he wasn't hurt in the slightest, standard battling rules stated that Barry was indeed, the winner.
Anais and Raidon gasped from the sidelines, as their high school hero was knocked off the mat. They couldn't be so surprised, though. Barry was a Bursyamo, and while they weren't renowned for their strategies in usage of potential, they did deliver some nasty uppercuts.
Alex sat straight upwards, bewildered at the fact that he had been bested once out of the many times he and Barry had clashed. However, he couldn't be mad. The young Blaziken must have worked his heart out just to bump up a few levels.
"Wow, Barry. You've definitely grown stronger since the last time we fought! Great hit, by the way!" called Alex, getting up and shaking any specks of dust off his back. "That's an easy level 80 if you ask me."
Barry blushed and smiled, applying a talon to the back of his neck. "Uh, thanks. I guess I've been training really hard lately."
Alex stretched his neck, hearing a few pops thanks to the bubbles built up in his synovial fluid. "Keep that up, since we've got loads of tournaments coming soon, and from what I've heard, loads of scouts too." Barry beamed boisterously. Bear in mind, that this was his best opportunity of getting a career for himself. How proud his father would be. What a sight. "Oh, and by the way, that Lopunny over there keeps staring at you."
Barry turned over to the bleachers on the other side of the gym, and found that Lola Punnichi the Lopunny was indeed glaring at his every feature. Immediately, she looked away, leading for both Alex and Anais to burst out laughing as the latter made his way out of the gymnasium. Lola had talked to Anais about this, and was aware that her feelings for the Blaziken weren't platonic.
Barry blushed heavily, and noticed that Lola was quite a nice person. Many people considered him to a nice person too. It's only natural that they would work, right?
Well. Here's where he would make his move.
I'm late. I'm so late XD I'm so sorry for being late!
A little of Blaziken love sprinkled here and there across the chapter. Just wanted to include a bit of variety in terms of how a devote expanding on relationships between characters.
So, before you guys grill me, just know that I was working hard to juggle typing and baby-sitting at the same time. I can't respond to your reviews just yet due to the demand to upload… now XD Thanks a billion for beta reading, Jirulius, and I'll strive to ensure that I'm not late next week.
-Awesome Sawss/ Lady Luan - She really likes that name XD