POKÉMON: INFINITE LEGACIES
THE CIPRYS REGION
CHAPTER 9
YOUR JOURNEY STARTS NOW! HOW NOT TO CATCH POKÉMON!

A girl with long dark brown hair—tied back into three side-by-side ponytails that, for now, were dyed green, blue, and red—stopped pedalling outside a large building. She rested a foot on the ground to balance her rental bike and took out her phone from her pocket. She unlocked, then checked her location. This must be it, she thought. She returned her phone to her pocket, rested her bike beside the doorway, and buzzed the intercom.

"Hi, it's Selina. Here to see the Professor." I hope I'm not too early . . . she considered. She'd reached Festivalight earlier than expected and hadn't seen the point in hanging about.

"Selina! Welcome, and come in! I'm in the lab now. Straight down the corridor," directed Professor Julietta Aconite's voice.

"Cool! Thanks, Professor!"

The door clicked open. Selina pushed and stepped inside. The building had seemed old and rundown on the outside, but the inside was much different: freshly-painted white walls and polished marble tiles. Portraits of famous Pokémon adorned the walls; her favourite featured Giratina floating through his distorted world. Selina walked on, per her instructions, until she met a large metallic door. There was another intercom here and a retinal scanner. She buzzed.

This time, the door clicked open immediately and swished sideways into a slot beside the doorframe. Selina entered—a state-of-the-art laboratory greeted her: the tabletops were mostly littered with papers and notes and books and potted plants rested beside the open windows. A sunflower-faced Pokémon sitting among them caught her eye, as did a cylindrical machine at the opposite side of the room.

Selina smiled. "Home's a lot more old-fashioned than this."

Professor Aconite approached, smiling too. "I can imagine. All recently refurbished, though. If you'd come several months ago, your reaction might have been very different. Anyway, it's great to see you again, Selina. How's Declan and the gym?"

"Oh, he's fine, as he always is really. Like you, I guess, his work keeps him busy."

The Professor chuckled a little. "Of course—it goes with the profession! Now, I presume he explained the situation to you?"

Selina nodded. "You have a few Pokémon spare and you need trainers to take them off your hands."

"Correct. I could have waited until next year's batch of students graduate, but that's a year away and it'd be unfair to the ones who've remained when all their friends have started their journeys without them. That, and if they gain too much experience here and accidentally evolve. Now, because of you and your father's speciality with these kinds of Pokémon, I think this one is a perfect match for you."

Selina smiled. Excitement sparkled in her purple-pink eyes. She stepped towards the machine. The Professor pressed a button and the machine clanged and whined, soon producing a standard red-and-white with black trim Poké Ball. Selina's smile widened even further as she took the Poké Ball and held it in her palm. She peered beyond the external casing and pictured the Pokémon inside, looking forward to wherever the future would take them.

Flame was delighted that Festivalight was finally behind them. He and Litten had just left the outskirts and were making their way through Route 1. The sun was high in the clear sky and a flock of Flying-types were chirping away up in the trees. Flame's eyes were set on his first gym challenge in Whistltree Town. However, it would take some time to get there. So, in the meantime, Flame was giving Litten a long overdue lesson.

"So, Litten, you are a Fire-type."

Litten mrrowed as if it was obvious.

"And that means you're weak against Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type Pokémon," Flame explained, counting a finger as he went.

Litten growled as if to say, Hah! We'll see about that!

"But you're strong against Bug-, Grass-, Ice-, and Steel-types."

Litten purred as if to say, That's more like it, human!

"And Dragon- and Fairy-types are a little complicated, so we'll leave that for a future lesson."

Flame considered their recent battles. "For example, we were at a type disadvantage against Frost and Mudkip, but we had the type advantage against Alyssa and Tropius. However, because Alyssa's a gym leader and has much more experience than us, just like her Pokémon, she could draw on more moves than us and Tropius was just generally stronger because of that experience."

That was a reminder they hadn't yet won a battle. Soon, Flame thought with a glance at Litten padding along beside him. Soon.

Grass rustled ahead. Suddenly, a small Pokémon with a fluffy cream face and big brown ears scampered out of the undergrowth. The Pokémon gave no sign he'd noticed them, for he stopped and turned to lick his tail.

Flame's eyes met Litten's eyes, and the headband-wearing trainer saw the same excitement there. I don't have time to get my Dex out. That Lillipup's wild—it might get away any moment!

"Litten! Use Ember!"

Lillipup whipped around. Faced with a snarling Litten, surprise turned to fear as the puppy Pokémon watched fiery energy form inside and around Litten's mouth.

Litten's forehead glowed red and then dimmed as the fiery energy was released. Ember shot towards Lillipup. Lillipup watched with widened eyes, as if in disbelief, and Flame felt a little bad as the wild Pokemon was struck directly and collapsed to the ground, legs buckling from pain.

"Lillipup!" Lillipup cried tearfully.

Flame punched the air, about to catch his first wild Pokémon (or so he thought). "Yeah! Way to go, Litten! That was easy!"

Litten raised his head and mrrowed, loud and joyous.

Flame turned his shoulder and delved into his backpack. "Alright. Here goes!" He found what he was looking for and tossed it at the wild Lillipup. "Go, Poké Ball!"

Anticipation became surprise. The Poké Ball spun through the air. When it reached its target, the unexpected happen: It bounced off Lillipup. As the Poké Ball rolled back to him, Flame scratched his head. Was Lillipup not close to fainting? Had he done something wrong?

Litten mrrowed, finding his trainer's puzzlement amusing, while Flame considered what had just happened. He took a closer look at Lillipup. Dirt and other bits of earth now marked his light brown fur, but other than that, for a wild Pokémon, he seemed well-groomed. A little too well-groomed, Flame realised as someone came hurtling toward them through the undergrowth.

"Lillipup! Lillipup! Where have you wandered off to?" The newcomer saw Lillipup before Flame and Litten. "Oh, Lillipup, what happened to you?" They dashed to Lillipup's side and fell to their knees. "Who would do such a thing?"

Flame waited nervously for the oncoming storm to hit.

"Oh," the newcomer noticed them. "It's you. What did you do to my beautiful Lillipup?!"

"Um, well . . ." Flame tried to explain. "You see, he came out of the grass. I thought he was wild."

Litten mrrowed, enjoying the entertainment.

"Excuse me . . . ? Wild! A capable trainer would have recognised that my beautiful Lillipup is certainly not a wild Pokémon. Then again, Flame, you always were one of the low achievers in our class."

Indignation got the better of Flame. "Pfft, Ella! You can hardly talk! You were never that far ahead of me, you know!"

Ella returned Lillipup to his Poké Ball. She then glared at Flame. "You offend me. So does that mangy alleycat of yours."

Litten stopped his amused mrrowing and hissed at Ella.

"We'll put you both in your place," Ella sneered. "Battle?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Flame grinned. He nodded to Litten; the fire cat Pokémon bounded forward. He stood in front of his trainer and scowled at their opponent.

Ella kissed her chosen Poké Ball, which, Flame noticed, was covered in bright pink love hearts and other such stickers.

That's a bit much, isn't it? he thought.

Litten caught his eye. The fire cat Pokémon was looking up at him. He hissed. Flame guessed this one was a don't-you-ever-dare-do-that-with-my-Poké-Ball hiss.

Flame laughed. "Don't worry, Litten. You're safe."

"Lillipup, this is for you! Fennekin, I need your help!"

Fennekin appeared from her Poké Ball, sat on her haunches and chin raised, a tiny pink flower knotted into the fur on her head. The small yellow-furred Pokémon seemed a lot calmer than her trainer. "Fennekin," she yawned.

Litten watched his Kalos counterpart, his black tail swinging sideways, and his yellow, red eyes glaring a hot path. He growled his name.

"Fennekin, Ember!"

"Litten, Ember!"

The two Fire-types generated fiery energy inside their mouths and then spat out. The two fireballs met in the middle. There was a small bang and a mini explosion that caused a small group of Starly to stop their chirping and fly away. A larger Staravia squawked her displeasure at Fennekin and Litten and their trainers, but nonetheless followed the Starly into the sky.

"Fennekin, Ember! Again—let's go!"

"Dodge and get closer to Fennekin!"

As Fennekin breathed out another Ember, Litten raced straight ahead. As Fennekin's Ember neared Litten, the fire cat Pokémon unsheathed his claws. He came to a stop suddenly. He sheathed his claws, then rolled sideways. Ember missed Litten, but Flame had to dodge to avoid it. Phew, thought Flame, whipping his forehead with a backhand. That was close.

Litten was back on his paws and was closing in on Fennekin again, bounding forward.

"Litten!" Flame called. "Use Ember!"

Now, it was Litten's turn to fire red-hot energy at his opponent.

"Quick! Ember!"

Litten's movement had lessened the gap between the two Fire-types, and on the defensive, Fennekin had less time to counter with Ember. Litten's Ember left his mouth first and Fennekin's not long after, but it was enough. The fireballs collided, closer to Fennekin this time. The resulting impact knocked the fox Pokémon back.

"Kin," Fennekin moaned, rolling backwards. "Fennekin."

The tiny pink flower had been squashed to Ella's absolute horror (and to Flame's amusement, even if he held it in).

"You pests!" Ella muttered, although Fennekin didn't seem to mind in the slightest, too focused on the battle.

Flame grinned. "And now, Litten, finish with Scratch!"

Litten sprang forward and jumped into the air, claws unsheathed and glowing white. Fennekin struggled back to her paws, and Litten's long white claws whizzed closer. Fennekin tried to summon the energy to counter or dodge, about to be hit directly.

"Fennekin, return!"

"Eh, what?!"

Fennekin disappeared under a red stream of energy. Litten mrrowed in surprise. Instead of the triumphant moment he and Flame had been waiting for, Scratch struck thin air, only the trailing energy of Fennekin. Litten crashed against the ground in a clumsy tangle of limbs.

"Why'd you do that?!" Flame yelled across. "The battle wasn't over!"

Ella glared at him. "After what you did to my darling Lillipup, humph, I had no choice! I didn't want Fennekin to become another one of your victims. It wouldn't have surprised me if you'd tried to throw another Poké Ball."

Flame rolled his eyes. "You have to be kidding me?! I told you, I THOUGHT HE WAS WILD!"

Ella just cradled Fennekin's Poké Ball against her chest before placing it back carefully inside her backpack.

"Well then," Flame argued, "that means you forfeited. We win!"

Litten mrrowed in agreement.

"Whatever," Ella said casually, walking away. "I was never that bothered about battling in the first place."

"You were the one to challenge me!"

"And you were the one who brutalised Lillipup."

"Argh!" Flame exclaimed to no one in particular. "That girl's impossible!"

Ella's silhouette disappeared amongst the distant undergrowth and trees. She was heading up the rest of Route 1—the direction Flame would be going in and toward the next town where there would be a Pokémon Centre to heal her Fennekin and Lillipup.

Flame sighed. "I can't be asked to be anywhere near her. We might as well stick around here for now and do some training."

"Litten," Litten reminded him.

A grin spread across Flame's face. "You're right—we did just win our first battle, didn't we!"

Litten purred happily.

Outside the Pokémon Centre Ella was heading to, and later Flame, there was a battle taking place. A modest crowd of trainers were gathered around the battlefield, watching eagerly.

"Oh no!" a teenage boy howled. "Cyndaquil!"

"Rowlet!" called a girl with three ponytails, now all dyed green. "End this with Leafage!"

Bright green energy encircled Rowlet. The energy spiralled around his small rounded body before spinning towards Cyndaquil, who was barely still on her paws. The energy had taken the form of leaves, sharp at the touch, after whistling through the air. The energy now surrounded Cyndaquil.

"Cyndaquil! Get outta there!"

Leafage swept inward and cut Cyndaquil to bits. Once the attack had subsided and the leaves had fallen, Cyndaquil was visible—crumpled on the sand, unmoving with eyes shut.

"That's it!" the referee, some trainer, declared. "Cyndaquil is unable to battle! The winner of this battle is Selina and Rowlet!"

Rowlet glided through the air, graceful and silent, back toward his trainer. He perched onto her outstretched forearm. He twisted his head and stared challengingly into the crowd of trainers.

Selina smiled. "Who's next?"

A trainer with platinum-white hair stepped forward. "I am."

Author's Notes:
Flame attempted to steal another trainer's Pokémon, but ended up winning his first battle, and a new character, Selina, was introduced. What role will she play in the future? And how will Frost fare against her? Find out in the next chapter.