Chapter 3: Clowning Around
Whoops! Got stuck on this chapter for a bit, sorry it's a day late!
Seems like these Burning Bright chapters are gonna be shorter than the usual Rabbits and Dragons chapters, hope that's not too big a disappointment.
Enjoy!
(Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me! I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.)
The sun had long since set beneath the horizon, and Blair still had about half the journey to go before she could make it to Jubilife, so she settled for setting up camp for the night.
"Come… on…" Blair struggled with the tent, as Sol ran about gathering sticks for the fire, "Finally!" She got the tent set up, zipping it open and sitting down in the entrance with a sigh.
"Chim!"
The fire roared to life with a breath from Sol, giving them both some warmth.
"Thanks, Sol." Blair smiled, taking out her Pokedex and turning it over. She took out a few stickers and put them on the back. First a painting palette, then a Chimchar and finally a sticker of Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion.
"Chim?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm just putting a few stickers on it."
"Char." Sol ran into the tent and curled up in a blanket, bored.
"I guess we should get to bed, huh?" Blair giggled to herself, "Alright, it's pretty late anyways, I'll just enjoy the fire a bit more."
The Next Morning
After a quick, and only slightly burned, breakfast, Blair and Sol set out again. After a few hours, they arrived in Jubilife. It was a somewhat small city, but much larger than anything Blair was used to.
"We should check into the Pokémon Center…" Blair mumbled to herself, starting towards the red-roofed building when she bumped into a blue-haired woman.
"Hey, watch where you're going, runt!"
"S-Sorry!" Blair apologized quickly, but Sol leapt in front of her, growling at the woman.
"You need a lesson! Zubat, teach it to them!" Without warning, the man sent out his Pokémon, challenging Blair. The crowd around them came to a halt, confused.
"A battle- here?!"
"What's going on?"
Blair choked, unable to call out an attack.
"Leech Life!"
"Betsy, Tackle!"
A Tyrunt leapt in, knocking the Zubat out of the air and skidding to a halt next to Sol.
"Mind if we make this a double battle?" Bo asked, sliding to a stop next to Blair, "Ignore the crowd and keep your eyes on the prize, Blair!"
"R-Right…" Blair nodded, as the woman sent out a Glameow as well, "S-Sol… use Scratch, all right?"
"Back her up with another Tackle!"
Sol nodded and leapt into action, followed closely by Betsy. Sol swung low, aiming for the Glameow's feet, while Betsy dove towards Zubat.
Glameow jumped clean over Sol, bouncing off her back and bounding towards Tyrunt, knocking it off course with a Scratch. Betsy barely caught her footing as it hit the ground, facing down Glameow.
Zubat connected against Sol with a Leech Life, knocking her back. Sol regained her footing with a nasty glare.
"S-Sol, use Ember!"
"Betsy, look out!"
Sol's Ember knocked the Zubat out of the air, and before it could get up it collided with Betsy, who had been sent flying by an attack from Glameow.
"Alright, Betsy, return!" Bo withdrew his Tyrunt, grabbing a second Pokeball from his belt, "You're up, K.O.!"
A Corphish burst forth from the Pokeball, facing off with Glameow.
"…K.O.?"
"So I'm not too great with names, whatever! Use Water Gun!"
Corphish let loose a blast of water from its mouth, but Glameow leapt out of the way.
"Sol, use-"
Before Blair could give an order, Sol leapt in with a Scratch, knocking Glameow aside and charging towards Zubat.
Zubat took to the sky and hit Sol with Supersonic, knocking her off balance and causing her to trip, slamming into the ground painfully.
"K.O., go for broke! Water Gun!"
Zubat was knocked out of the air by K.O.'s Water Gun, slamming into a streetlamp and collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
"Come on… push through it, Sol…" Blair grit her teeth, "Use Ember!"
Sol managed to clear her head for long enough to fire off a wave of fiery sparks, knocking Glameow to the ground. After a minute of struggling, it finally collapsed, unconscious.
"Dang it… embarrassed by a couple of brats!" The woman complained, withdrawing her Pokémon, "Team Galactic will not be silenced so easily next time, you hear me?" She yelled, running off.
"Team Galactic? Sounds like a bunch of wackos." Bo laughed, withdrawing K.O., as Blair scooped up Sol.
"L-Let's get to the Pokémon Center." Blair insisted, hurrying towards the red-roofed building in the distance.
"Right!"
Inside
"Chimchar and Tyrunt will be just fine." Nurse Joy assured the two, delivering Bo his Pokeball and Sol to Blair, "And I've checked your egg, all happy and healthy!"
"Th-Thank you!"
"Yeah, thanks!"
Blair and Bo made their way out of the Pokémon Center with their newly healed partners, looking about at the bustling city.
"Got any plans?" Bo asked.
"N-Not really…"
"Then you should participate in the Pokétch competition! I hear, if you find all three clowns hidden around town, you get a free Pokétch!"
"Well… alright. I-It would be nice to have a Pokétch."
"Yep! And together, we can't lose, so let's go!" Bo took off, with Blair in hot pursuit, "Between the two of us, we can find those clowns in not time!"
"A-Alright!"
That Night
"Come on… that last clown has got to be here somewhere!" Bo groaned, watching the setting sun.
"W-We can always find them tomorrow…" Blair suggested tentatively.
"No way! I can't just leave it unfinished; I won't be able to sleep! Besides, we need to register tomorrow!"
"A-Alright, how about… over there?" Blair pointed towards the Global Trading Station, a towering blue skyscraper that stood out amongst the other buildings.
"We already checked there!"
"And we've checked everywhere else…"
"I guess you're right… alright, to the GTS!" Bo set off once more, with Blair in tow, pausing only briefly to let a Macro Cosmos van continue down the street.
And there it is! What did you think?
Had a run in with Team Plasma, set these two out looking for a Pokétch, and... was that Chairman Rose's Macro Cosmos at the end? What's going on with that?
Enigma, signing off.