A Campus Reunion
Alec's POV
The group had entered a small city on their way to Coumarine and Bonnie rushed up to two large cylinders. "There they are Clemont! There they are! I see them! Right, Clemont?" Bonnie asked.
"Absolutely. Go right ahead Dedenne, you too Pikachu," Clemont told them before turning to Alec. "Leo would also enjoy them," he said. Alec didn't know what those machines were, but he trusted Clemont.
"Leo, come on out!" Alec shouted as he released the shiny Luxray.
[What's going on?] Leo asked.
[Follow us big guy. We'll show you,] Dedenne said as he and Pikachu ran up to one of the machines with Leo right behind them. Pikachu and Dedenne stepped into one and Leo into the other because of his size. Electricity flooded from the device and the electric types enjoyed it.
"Wow! It's like an electric shower," Serena realized.
"Awesome, and Pikachu, Dedenne and Leo are loving it," Ash added.
"How's it feel, Leo?" Alec asked him.
[It feels great! Though I think Stingy should get any of this,] Leo said. Alec chuckled as he thought of his constantly overcharged Vikavolt, like he needed more electricity.
"It's great, isn't it? My big brother invented these all by himself," Bonnie boasted.
"You made something that doesn't explode?" Alec asked.
"Yeah, I call them Clemontic Showers," Clemont said. He then looked around the city. "This place hasn't changed a bit, it takes me back," Clemont said.
"Clemont?" someone said. The group looked and saw a woman in a lab coat looking at them. "It's really you Clemont!" she said excitedly.
"Ms. Éclairisse! It's been so long," Clemont said excitedly as well.
[Who's the lady?] Leo asked as he stepped out of the shower.
"I don't know," Alec answered.
The group headed over to Clemont as Éclairisse asked, "What are you doing here?" to Clemont.
"You see, right now I'm on a journey with my little sister and my friends," Clemont explained. The group introduced themselves and Éclairisse started talking to Bonnie.
"Bonnie, Clemont has told me how cute and sweet you are. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you," she said.
"And Clemont's told me a lot about you. Always how pretty and how nice Ms. Éclairisse is. I think he really really likes you. You're a keeper, so please take care of my brother," Bonnie said, getting into a kneeling position. Clemont looked embarrassed as Alec, Ethan and Leo looked at each other, wondering what's going on.
"I'm a keeper?" Éclairisse asked, looking as confused as Alec and his Pokémon.
"You'd be perfect for him because you're so smart," Bonnie answered.
"Uh… what?" Éclairisse asked, as she blushed in embarrassment and Alec realized what Bonnie was trying to do.
"I've told you to stop this a million times!" Clemont shouted at his sister as he picked her up with his Aipom arm.
"I was just trying to help you, come on!" Bonnie protested.
"But I don't need that kind of help," Clemont told her.
Alec then looked at Ash and Serena. "So, how often does that happen?" Alec asked.
"More often than you think," Serena answered.
"Okay, so both siblings have their weird thing," Alec commented.
[Can I go back in the ball? I need to clear my head after seeing that,] Leo asked. Alec obliged and returned Leo.
Once the drama was over, Éclairisse asked everyone to follow her to an electric type school. "A school for studying electric type Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, it's in the middle of town. It's in the middle of town. You see, Clemont was a student there," Bonnie explained.
"Wow, no joke?" Ash asked.
"Nope. Look there it is," Clemont said as he pointed toward the buildings.
"Would you all like to come in and have a look?" Éclairisse asked them.
"Is that okay?" Ash asked.
"Of course it is," Éclairisse answered.
They entered the school and she took them on a tour. "Here at our school, trainers travel from all over to learn everything they can about electric type Pokémon," she started. "Our students specialize in researching the biology and behaviors of electric-type Pokémon. Their studies extend to other types as well. As a part of this research, they learn all about how people and Pokémon can, and should, coexist in harmony. Many great trainers have become very successful after leaving this school, but Clemont is one of the most notable graduates of all," Éclairisse stated after the tour.
"Come on. I think you're exaggerating a bit," Clemont said embarrassed.
"No way. You're amazing!" Bonnie told him. "Yeah, you always make these really cool inventions that explode in the end," she then added.
"They call you The Electric Type Wizz Kid all around Lumiose City, don't they? I know your father calls you that too," Éclairisse said.
"You see, it's my father who told me to go to this school," Clemont said before doing an imitation. "Meet lots of Pokémon trainers and make lots of friends. Study hard and broaden your horizons. He told me to do that and off I went," Clemont explained.
"So how did it work out? Did you make lots of friends?" Ash asked.
Clemont nodded and said, "I made friends with all kinds of great students and Pokémon too. But all that studying and research was tough, to say the least."
"The curriculum here is quite rigorous. It's a challenge to do the work and get all the way to graduation," Éclairisse added.
"Yes, and my graduation research was particularly tough," Clemont stated.
"Graduation research?" Serena asked.
"I studied the power of electric-type Pokémon and how the power of science can build the future. That was my major focus," Clemont explained.
"I recall you struggled with that. You said you couldn't come up with any good topics," Éclairisse said.
"Right, so I used to go for walks to try to clear my mind. That's when I met you-know-who," Clemont said.
"Umm… we don't know who 'you-know-who' is Clemont so…" Alec started.
"Oh, right, you see, I was taking one of my walks when I found an exhausted Shinx. I took him to the Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy said that something in the environment here made it hard for electric types so they needed a place to recharge. That's when I came up with my idea for the Clemontic Showers. Shinx came back multiple times and helped me out and that's how I completed my graduation project," Clemont told them.
"The Electrical Transmission System that Clemont invented was well received not only by the school, but by the town's entire population as well," Éclairisse added.
"That's the very first time I heard Clemont talk about Shinx," Bonnie said.
"So, what happened to Shinx?" Alec asked.
"I wish I knew. I never caught Shinx so after I left for Lumiose City, I never saw Shinx again," Clemont explained.
Clemont then showed them around the system he had designed. "And this is the control room I designed," Clemont said as they stepped inside.
"Clemont! What a nice surprise," one of the workers said.
"I'm sorry to barge in, but I was wondering; May I show all my friends around?" Clemont asked.
"Of course. It's no problem at all," he answered when the lights turned red and alarms blared. "Status report!" he demanded.
"There is a problem with the transmission cables near the transformer," another worker reported.
"Transformer, wonder if it's him?" the first one asked himself.
"Just what are you referring to?" Clemont asked.
"Well, uh, the thing is, a wild Pokémon has been making it's home there. And whenever we approach, it attacks," he explained.
"It's okay, I'll go and have a look," the worker who made the report said as he came up.
"Please, let us come with you," Clemont requested.
"Sure, since you're the designer, your opinion is valuable," the first worker said.
"Alright, me, Ash and Serena will keep the wild Pokémon busy while you two fix whatever is broken," Alec said to Clemont and the worker going with them.
"I want you to wait here Bonnie," Clemont told her before turning to Éclairisse. "Can you keep an eye on her please?" he asked her.
"Count on me," she answered. The group headed down and Alec looked around for the Pokémon.
"It's at the end of this passageway," the worker said, pointing down one of the paths. They got over and he shined a flashlight down the hall and they saw three familiar figures.
"Team Rocket! What are you doing here?" Ash demanded.
"I think we'd better make like a tree and leave!" Meowth shouted and they started running.
"Stop!" Serena shouted at them.
[Hey! What are you doing here?] a voice asked. Alec turned and saw that it came from a Luxio.
"I think we just found the wild Pokémon. Leo, come on out!" Alec said as he threw the Poké Ball. Luxio used Swift and stars started flying at them. "Discharge as a shield!" Alec commanded. Leo focused his electricity and formed a barrier that destroyed the Swift.
[Get out!] Luxio demanded.
"Hey! We aren't your enemies! The bad guys went that way," The worker told Luxio.
Hearing that, Luxio ran past the group when Clemont suddenly said, "It's you!" Luxio turned and seemed to recognize Clemont before sprinting after Team Rocket. "Luxio!" Clemont shouted after him, but he didn't respond.
The group headed back up to the control room after fixing whatever Team Rocket was trying to do and told the others what happened. "So they want to take the town's electricity and we're going to have to stop them," the worker in charge said when they finished.
"Team Rocket's stubborn, they'll be back," Serena stated.
"They will. The problem is, from what I can tell, there are a lot of places where they can do it from. And we can't guard them all," Alec pointed out.
"Your right, any ideas Clemont?" Bonnie asked. Clemont looked lost in thought so Bonnie shouted, "Clemont, wake up!"
"Huh. No, I don't have any ideas," Clemont said.
"Well, we'll have to be on full alert. I'll let Officer Jenny know what's going on," the worker said.
The five headed to their room and Alec laid on his bed as Serena groomed Pancham and Fennekin and Clemont stared out the window. "Clemont, what's bothering you?" Bonnie asked.
"Well, I was just thinking about Shinx," Clemont answered.
"You think he's still here?" Alec asked.
"I'm sure of it. Although, I didn't finish my story. It was the day of my graduation, something bad happened. Shinx and I had a regular meeting place and I was heading there to thank Shinx for giving me the idea for my graduation research. I was then going to ask Shinx to come with me back to Lumiose City and be my partner, however, the mayor came up to me and before I knew it, I was in a car heading toward a restaurant to celebrate. As soon as I could I ran back there after dinner, but Shinx was gone by that point. I never saw him again," Clemont said.
"And you think that the Luxio we found near the transformer is the same Pokémon?" Alec asked.
"It's a big possibility. Looking into Luxio's eyes, no doubt it's the same Pokémon," Clemont said.
"And he likely feels betrayed and abandoned by you, but is still loyal enough to protect your work," Alec added.
The lights suddenly switched off. "It's a blackout!" Bonnie shouted.
"Ethan, light," Alec said. A light blue glow filled the room as Ethan lit up his rings. Éclairisse then ran into the room.
"Clemont, a huge amount of electricity has been drained from the system," she told them.
"I bet it's Team Rocket again," Ash guessed.
The group ran outside and one of the workers holo-called them using Éclairisse's Holo-transceiver. "Clemont, we've found the problem coming from the central tower. Team Rocket's probably taking the energy there," he said. Looking over at the tower, anyone could tell it was the problem with electricity flying out of the top.
The group nodded and headed off and found Team Rocket battling Luxio, and the spark Pokémon was down. "Luxio!" Clemont shouted as he ran up to him.
"We won't allow you to steal any more electricity," Éclairisse told them.
Luxio stood back up and charged at Team Rocket with Thunder Fang. "No way Inkay. I call Foul Play!" James shouted. Inkay flew past Luxio's Thunder Fang and threw Luxio.
"Pumpkaboo, Shadow Ball!" Jessie shouted. Pumpkaboo fired at Luxio, who was still down.
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" Ash commanded. The two balls collide and destroy each other.
"Leo, come on out!" Alec shouted as the gleam eyes Pokémon appeared.
"Luxio, just rest while we handle it," Clemont told his friend.
[No way!] Luxio said as he stood up.
"Leo, charge up Luxio with Discharge!" Alec commanded. Multiple electric bolts flew toward Luxio and he absorbed their energy.
[You ready?] Leo asked him.
[Yeah, I'm good. Besides, what I'm fighting for is too important,] Luxio answered.
[What do you mean?] Leo asked.
[I'm fighting for a town where people and Pokémon can live together. That's the dream Clemont gave this place, so I will protect it at all cost!] Luxio said and Alec translated it for everyone else.
"Where all Pokémon can live happily," Clemont said.
"Pumpkaboo, Shadow Ball!" Jessie commanded.
"No!" Clemont shouted as he stood in front of Luxio, taking the hit.
"Clemont!" Alec shouted.
Clemont and Luxio got back up and Luxio licked Clemont on his face. "We got the juice so it's time to cut loose," Meowth said as he removed a device from the tower.
"You won't get away with that. Leo, Wild Charge!" Alec shouted. Electricity enveloped Leo as he began to charge at Team Rocket.
"Inkay, Psybeam!" James ordered.
"Pumpkaboo, Shadow Ball!" Jessie commanded.
The two Pokémon fired their attacks at Leo as Ash shouted, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
The three moves hit causing an explosion that Leo ran through and hit Team Rocket, but it didn't send them into a blastoff. "Luxio, Discharge!" Clemont shouted and Luxio obeyed. The electricity managed to spark Meowth's device causing it to explode and send them into a blastoff.
"We did it! We did it, yea! Bonnie cheered.
Luxio then turned to leave. "Luxio, wait!" Clemont called out. Luxio stopped and turned to look at him. "Luxio, I would really like you to come with me. I remember, I gave you my word, and I let you down. But now, I'll be waiting for you. At the exact same place and the exact same time. So, if you decide to come with me, I'll see you there," Clemont told him. Luxio didn't say anything as he then left and the electricity came back on.
The group came back to the tower the next day and waited for Luxio, but he still wasn't there. "I don't see Luxio anywhere," Serena pointed out.
"I guess that means Luxio is still mad," Bonnie said.
"Luxio will show up. We just have to give him a little more time," Ash said confidently.
"I don't know. It could go either way," Alec stated.
"No. I guess Luxio still hasn't forgiven me, which is all that I deserve. It's time to go. If I stay here any longer it won't be fair to the rest of you. Let's get back on the road," Clemont said. As he started to leave, a bush rustled and Luxio stepped into the open. "You came back after all," Clemont said as he started to tear up.
[Yeah, I'm coming with you,] Luxio said.
"Go Poké Ball!" Clemont shouted as he threw the device. Luxio went inside and the Poké Ball captured Luxio.
The group ran up to Clemont and celebrated with him. "Seems Luxio decided to give you a second chance," Alec commented.
"And I don't plan to waste it," Clemont told him.