A/N~ Finally! This story was long overdue! To be honest, I had some trouble writing this chapter over the lack of how it could make a good or decent filler chapter.
But after some more writing and planning, all is good! Hope everyone's been patient, but I will always make sure to update as much as I can!
Thanks to Dodger el perro for the new favourite!
Update (3/6/2018): Due to the initially short amount of words in this chapter, I decided to try and edit it, so that some parts of the last chapter would be in here, instead.
Chapter 7: A Daughter's Sanctuary
Santalune City,
Kalos,
3 AFC,
Finally, after what appeared to be a few minutes of chase, Bonnie and Dedenne were already reaching the outer parts of the city. They hoped to find Pidgey and finally have contact with the skater to make her answer for her unpleasant attitude. She made to an alleyway where Pidgey was already flying low into. She saw the bird Pokemon fluttering down in between two buildings, anticipating Bonnie's arrival. The Trainer was reunited with her Pokemon to hear the status of its search and follow.
"Is she here, Pidgey?" asked Bonnie.
"Krow!" confirmed Pidgey, facing the direction to where the skater was. Bonnie peeked over the wall to find the skater girl standing still. She didn't look like she knew she was being chased, which was good news for Bonnie to stop her in her tracks. She stood looking at a wide-open area surrounded by chain-link fences. When Bonnie took a closer look, she saw that the area had some ramps and strange-shaped holes which had curved walls leading up to the surface. It was easy to see that the skater had reached her home turf; the skating park where Bonnie assumed was where she could have the most fun in. Not today.
"Good job, Pidgey." Bonnie thankfully petted her flying Pokemon, who cooed in her brushing on the head. She then withdrew Pidgey back into its Pokeball before keeping it back into her pocket. With her target found and right in her sights, time to get to work. She pushed her fedora up before marching forward to face the skater girl head on. Dedenne sparked up intending to shock the skater in case she tried to make the run for it. He was sure Bonnie wouldn't mind that he would take action against the punk before she'd make another getaway.
"Huh?" However, just as she was about to cross the road to get to her, Bonnie saw something very odd about the skater. She was just standing there, staring into the skating park. Surely she would have had just got into the park and ride around to her heart's content. Alas, she was just staying still, as if something was preventing her from going in. She then laid her eyes on the park gate itself. Apparently, it was closed shut, doors locked and blocking all access to the park. It would had been a good idea to have it open since it was so bright out.
Then, that was where Bonnie saw it. At the doors, she could see a sign stuck onto the door. The skater seemed to be locked towards that sign like a priest going to a prayer. Motionless and focused on that sign. Bonnie got a little closer as to not startle the skater before finding out the answer to herself. After reading the sign, everything began to change…
"Closed for Renovation?" Now, it was all beginning to make sense. Just by looking at the skater staring at that sign was all she needed to know what was going on. The park was being closed for good and the skater girl was probably heavily affected by the closedown. She could imagine the girl going through a mood swing of emotions running wild in her body. The flush of anger and sadness from the closing was most probably the reason why she was going on such a rampage, bumping into people and vandalizing the council building. The skater wasn't being mischievous just to have fun. Her fun was being taken away…
"Oh no… She was actually upset about her skating park being closed down." Bonnie was now taken aback. All this time, she had been chasing who she thought was a delinquent running mad thrashing into people for no good reason. And now, here, she could see everything coming to the light. There was nothing more she could feel other than guilt and failure due to not understanding what this girl had been through.
She begun to have some ideas on what else was going on about the skate park being closed down. But when she looked at the skater girl now completely in sorrow, she had no time to speculate. She had to make things right and open up to this girl, no matter what she did to her.
"Dedenne." The mouse Pokemon on top of her also felt sorry for the girl and tapped Bonnie's forehead to let Bonnie know she had to do something. Bonnie nodded, now finally agreeing to help the girl out. Whatever her problem was, she had to do something about it.
"Come on, pal." She walked on over with Dedenne above her head and went to settle her differences with the girl and give her the help she might need to finally stop messing around with the town.
"Hey!" She tried to sound very happy to meet her again, but when the skater turned her head, she didn't look any bit pleased to see her.
"Ugh, not you again." she grunted. "What do you want?" She crossed her arms together and shifted her head away from Bonnie. The girl still remained stubborn as before, but now that Bonnie had understood what might be going on, she wasn't going to let this chance slide.
"Is this why you're going around racing throughout the city spraying stuff onto the council building?" she then asked the skater. "Because this place is closing down?"
"What do you want to know?" The skater huffed, still refusing to speak. The reluctance to speak made Bonnie very cross, making her even more serious to start a conversation with this little brat. She wasn't sure if it was going to do her any good, but if things had to be done, she was going to give it her best shot.
"Hey! I've nearly been run over by your skates and had to chase after you to get a better answer as to why. The least you can do is let me understand your problems!" Her sudden rant had left the skater taken aback by what she said to her, but she didn't want her to meddle in her affairs. She continued to argue back, now really wishing Bonnie would just go away.
"You… really want to know?!" she yelled back. "This is ridiculous!"
"Just let me help you!" Suddenly, Bonnie went straightforward and shut her up with the top of her voice. The sheer power of her voice had put the skater in her place. She was speechless when Bonnie yelled at her, still eager to help her. She couldn't understand. Why could this stranger who had annoyed her at one point would even want to help her through this? What kind of power did she have that could turn everything around and make things better?
"What?" she uttered, still in disbelief. Bonnie was now ready to ask with passion.
"I know you're angry about what's going on here, but going around smashing into people isn't going to solve it. So, please, just tell me what I can do to help you." The skater was now even more puzzled. Bonnie seemed to be very advocate on helping others and the way she went through felt all too real, as if she had seen such hardships before.
"You wanna help?" But the anger inside her began to envelop again. "Fine! Go to my dad right now and beg for him to let the place be open again. Maybe that will help me out!" Bonnie was astonished by what the girl yelled to her about. Her dad? What did this have to do with her father, whoever he was?
"Your dad?" she asked again.
"Yeah! The mayor of the city's my dad!" Bonnie's eyes widened. At last, the answers keep on coming. Something must had ticked inside of her because of her father, the mayor's inability to help her with the skating park. If he was in charge and was the father of her, then why in the world would he let something precious to her be taken away just like that?!
The skater was beyond angry now, refusing to talk about her father. Bonnie saw the tears coming down her eyes but the skater shifted her head away, ashamed that she was crying in front of her.
"Humph! Some dad he is!" Her temper was already making Bonnie even more sorry for her, feeling the pain of losing something or someplace valuable to her and the ones you love aren't there to do anything about it, let alone being the mayor of the town and all.
"Why won't your dad listen to you, then?" Bonnie continued to question her, very confused about the lack of care he was putting in her. "You're his daughter, right?"
"All he cares about is his money. He's always more focused on his work than me. I never get to play with him anymore." Now, the skater seemed to be overcome with utter sadness. Tears were now rolling down her face as the fondest memories spent with her father came to mind. "I used to love playing with him. How he would always spend time with me and have fun. How he would come with me to get some ice-cream. And most of all…" She sniffed her nose before continuing with what she wanted to say; what she thought was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Her father's best gift to her.
"This." Her hand raised and directed at that very gift. Bonnie felt a pang of disbelief when she found out that her father had given her the very skating park he was about to close down. It all made sense now. The one man who actually gave her the place of her dreams, was the same man who was approving of its destruction. Her own father.
"I get it now…" she sighed to herself. She could not believe how selfish the skater's father must had been. To give up his daughter's favourite place over something else, it was beyond despicable. She even wondered if her father had any care at all to do such a thing, like, if it was for the greater good? Would it serve a positive outcome to the citizens? If anything, he could have even tried to give her a new park to at least give her fun back while the old one was being removed. Alas, with what she was seeing with the skater, there was no word to describe how she felt for her. She and Dedenne looked at each other, sharing mutual sadness. She then looked at the girl and put her hand on her shoulder as she cried on.
"Look, I'm sorry I've been so rude to you." apologized Bonnie. "I didn't know you were going through all of this."
"What does it matter now?" The girl sniffed again. She was still facing doubt over the fate of her beloved zone of fun. "He'll just get rid of the park anyway." Bonnie didn't sit still for this. She should know what being a loving daughter should be, and she was going to teach her a thing or two about daddy issues. She certainly had the experience dealing with her dad by the time she grew since her adventures with her brother.
"Why not talk to him? You'll never know unless you actually get in there and convince him to stop the construction." suggested Bonnie.
"Are you crazy?!" Exasperated, the skater opposed Bonnie's request for her to speak to her dad. "He's the mayor of the town! He gets to do everything he wants and he'll make sure he gets it!"
"But you're his daughter." argued Bonnie, trying to find the love for the father within that skater girl's rock-hard heart. No way even the busiest or the most powerful people in the world could ever forget their own children. They must love them enough to listen and give them the care and devotion to fulfil their needs and wants. "If you take the time to talk to him, maybe he'll finally understand. I'm sure deep down inside, underneath all of that responsibility and wealth, he still loves you."
Now, the skater stopped to think about what Bonnie was telling her. There was truth in her words; Bonnie was right about her dad being the caring father she always loved. Perhaps the pressures of running a city like this must had done something to him that forced him to become more focused on city affairs than her. If that was the case, why even bother?
"But… what if he doesn't want to listen to me?" she voiced out her concerns, though almost soft enough for Bonnie to give her one more chance to convince her.
"Then, we'll have to make him!" She slammed her fist onto her other hand, determined to make things right between the two. "Come on. Let's try it out. Give it a shot." At that point, she began to see the devotion in Bonnie's voice that made her feel a little changed. It was almost as if she felt Bonnie's urge to help her solve her problems. Maybe she's right. She still loved her father, even if he became the busy mayor who seemed to care more of his city than her.
There had to be hope. She needed to believe in Bonnie if she wanted to save her one and only place that mattered to her other than her home. Her dad had to listen in some way, because if not, then what were all those memories even worth? There had got to be a spark inside that could help bring that fun back and perhaps, make him see reason to keep the park intact.
With that in mind, the skater had finally decided to give it a shot. If her father couldn't help her, then she wouldn't know who would. She left all to hope that she'll be able to convince her father to save her park.
"Alright." She nodded silently, allowing Bonnie the opportunity to help her find closure with the seemingly ignorant mayor. The skater's openness had finally put that cheery smile on Bonnie's face. Her past grudge with the girl was completely gone, now showing eagerness to assist the needy and make things better for everyone.
"What's your name?" She began by getting to know the girl, feeling that a bit of introduction could help go a long way. The skater still felt a tad bit uneasy with Bonnie after their less-than-stellar first meeting. She still felt the urge to open up to Bonnie after hearing her trying to reach out to her for so long.
"Corey." At last, the skater spoke with courtesy, or what was left of it. Nevertheless, Bonnie still showed her trademark kindness in a greeting.
"I'm Bonnie. Here's Dedenne." she introduced herself and her Pokemon, with the little mouse joining in with the greeting.
"Dene!"
"Now, come on." Bonnie gestured for Corey to follow her so that they could bring back the park for her and get her happiness back. "We got some ne… Negotri… Negotatatons…?" No matter how strong was her power to help the needy, her lack of better words hadn't matured just as much.
"Negotiations." Corey had to finish the sentence for her.
"Right! What you said!" The Trainer didn't want to continue feeling ridiculous about herself and decided to lead everyone to business with the Mayor. But as they left, Bonnie looked behind her to see Corey, standing still; her head turned to that skating park that was on the verge of being taken away for good. She wasn't sure how Bonnie would do it, but there was nothing more she could than hope for the best that, somehow, a miracle would emerge…
The trio headed their way to the council building where Corey could finally settle things with her father about the park he had once given her. The front door was just in front of them; one step closer to getting her delight back.
The test of a daughter's love for her father was about to be put to the test. Once she entered her father's office, she was going to let him know that what he was doing to hurting her so much. That all the stunts she did to the city and its people was all out of depression and betrayal. With a few words, she hoped that Bonnie was right about convincing her father about the removal of her pride and joy was not what she wanted.
Bonnie was also holding onto hope that things were going to be alright again. The mayor had to listen to Corey. A father who valued money over his daughter's love was beyond anything she could ever loathe from a person. If things didn't go the way she planned, she would be there to help Corey out. For now, the girls were already well close to touching the door knob to open up and get right in, with all hopes on winning the fight to save Corey's skating park. The daughter held in her breath, wishing that she would be able to say what she had to her father and getting her park back.
"Bonnie!" Suddenly, there was a loud call from behind them. The two turned around to find the businessman who was Mr. Lambert calling Bonnie in a joyful mood.
"Mr. Lambert?" she mused, a little startled by the sudden bright appearance of the building manager right behind them. If she turned to her new friend, however, she would notice that things weren't as good as she would have thought.
"You found that rat! Well done!" cheered Mr. Lambert. Bonnie could not believe her ears when she heard it, but even as she knew she was initially in for the job, she was quite astonished to hear the man's completely less-than-stellar attitude towards the young daughter of the mayor. After all she heard from Corey, though, she knew she was going to be in for a bit of trouble. She felt that the man had every right to be mad at Corey for what she did to his little project. The one thing that did swim in her mind, however, was why was Mr. Lambert making such a big fuss about it. Corey was going to solve things with her father and everyone could live in peace. And another thing was why was Corey doing the stuff she did to him?
Surely, if Mr. Lambert was being such a temperamental man because of her, then it might stand to reason that Corey might have some motivation in targeting him. Could it be…?
"Now hand her over to the cops! I'm done dealing with this punk!" Mr. Lambert's somewhat rude remarks towards Corey aggravated the skater girl, making her boil inside and willing to lash out her anger at him.
"You stupid old man!" Bonnie wasn't entirely sure, but somewhere inside of her, she suspected the whole connection between Corey and Mr. Lambert that made the former so angered by his presence. And all of that was going to be true to her once Corey spat out once more. "It's because of you my dad's getting rid of my skating park! Take your stupid project somewhere else and get lost!"
Once again, it all came to Bonnie as swift as lightning. She had some worry that Mr. Lambert was indeed responsible or at least part of the plan to remove Corey's skating park, considering his own plans to set up his own building of all sorts of Trainer goods and accessories. Even if his attentions seemed noble, the fact that he was ruining the joy of a little girl was still unbearable.
"Is this true, sir?" she asked in disbelief, looking at the manager with distaste. The man just scoffed, sounding like his actions were just and fair.
"That old place?" he pointed his thumb to the direction of the park's location, setting his hopes of replacing it with his snazzy new shop for more to enjoy. "Of course, I want to get rid of it. No one ever uses that place anymore."
"But I do!" Corey fired back, defending the need for the park to exist, tears now running down and her face boiling red from anger. All of the fun she had whenever she went to that park kept her running wild for a good long time. Now that the park was going to go, it was all enough to make her even madder than she was to her father, to let a snob like Lambert to build his stupid building over the one place she wouldn't get rid of for the world.
"I'm sorry, Corey, but rules are rules." the manager still let Corey knew that the situation was hopeless, that it was his time to shine. "Your dad has approved of the construction of my building to replace that old waste of space, and I'm going to make sure my project's gonna bring a lot of people and get actual money. More than that old place ever did…"
Corey was already on the verge of breaking down, weeping out the hopelessness of the inevitable loss of her treasured park; the one place she could expressed all her fun and freedom without a care in the world. Her inability to faze the man who would do it all made her even more desperate to cry out her frustrations. Alas, the man didn't really bother, turning around to answer a call from one of his workers before finishing it off, probably to give the demolition a go to remove the park, once and for all.
"That's not fair!" Bonnie couldn't stand the narcissism Mr. Lambert was showing throughout their interaction with him. The first time she met him, the man seemed like a modest opportunist, willing to offer Trainers a better chance in the world of Pokemon. Now, however, she was seeing the true colours of yet another greedy man who claimed to be wanting to help others. Deep down inside, she easily guessed as much that the deceivingly helpful man was nothing more than a jerk who wanted nothing more than the riches he would get, all at the cost of someone's happiness.
"Bonnie. Please be reasonable." Lambert continued to stand by his case while also seeing that Bonnie had suddenly turned sides and decided to argue against him. "What I'm doing is to give Trainers like you a greater chance of starting out your journeys with a bang! Don't you want the perfect way to become the best there ever was?"
"No! Not when it takes away the joy of someone else!" Bonnie kept the fire going, determined to make the man see reason of his errors. "How dare you try and take away the one place Corey loved?!" She then stomped her foot on the ground with her fists thrust downwards at the same time. "I swear, you're such a big meanie!"
"Dene!" Dedenne crossed his arms together while also squeaking angrily at the greedy businessman. Despite her compassion, Bonnie didn't really find her insult as strong as it used to be, clearly a symptom of growing up.
I've got to come up with better insults than this…
Still, rant or no rant, Lambert ignored the devotion roared upon him. He simply shrugged his shoulders while he smirked with an arrogant grin.
"Sorry, girls." He gave a mock apology, almost taunting the girls for their useless efforts to preserve Corey's park. "But what can I do? I've got the paperwork to back me up." He took out the forms that he needed to affirm his authority over the matter, thudding the stack with his fingers. While he took the moment to relish in his jurisdiction over the construction of his building, Bonnie was not about to give up just yet. When things would fail to reach a turning point, there was only one way to solve her problems.
"Alright, then!" she shouted back. "If you won't approve, then…" Bonnie had to think of a way to get that man's attention before he could walk away with his prize. If there was one thing that could be the solution to everyone's problems, it had to be… "I challenge you to a Battle!"
"What?" Even Corey couldn't believe what she just heard. All of a sudden, of all the things Bonnie could have come up with to settle a man's greedy ambitions, it had to be a Pokemon battle. She was flabbergasted by such a request; she would have fainted from bewilderment. Dedenne, too, was just as dumbfounded, though he did faint and fell on the top of Bonnie's hat.
To be fair, Mr. Lambert was stupefied by a childish demand. He didn't have time to deal with some children's games when he had other plans that required his attention. Scoffing at the pointless threats, he was going to turn around and proceed to work when Bonnie spoke up again. Her voice was now giving all a vibe that Bonnie thought was sassy. At least, she tried to be…
"Surely, you must have some Pokemon in your pocket, right? Then face me in battle! Prove you've got the authority over us!" challenged Bonnie.
"Hmph! This is pointless!" groaned Mr. Lambert. "I've got no time for child's play." Bonnie crossed her arms, now playing the sly girl she rarely did before with her brother when it came to silly bets.
"What's wrong?" sighed the Trainer. "Not game enough to even try?"
"Uh, Bonnie…?" Corey still couldn't believe how could the Trainer ever think of such an idea to straight up challenge a full-grown adult to a Pokemon battle, when nothing really connected. It just came out as purely unnecessary when a more mature approach could have been achieved. Well, at least Bonnie was having fun. Eventually, she soon decided to shrug her shoulders and shake her head, still playing with the man's absurd response towards her challenge.
"Hmmm. I guess you're really no fun after all. I thought you had big ambitions to help Trainers fulfil their needs? Some architect you are." It seemed to have ticked him off, judging by the stern look on Mr. Lambert's face. His furrowed brows and toothy frown did give off a definite sign that he was offended by the girl. Still, Corey didn't really think he would ever concede to Bonnie's shenanigan.
"Stop your nonsense." Mr. Lambert still refused. Bonnie just continued to play along and finally, she just went ahead and did the sensible thing after all. Though slightly disappointed with his rejection, she was still willing to settle the more important thing in the situation, and that was to help Corey bring back her park.
"Well, perhaps we could just try and talk to the Mayor anyway." Bonnie resumed her teasing streak as she walked past him and towards the council building where she reluctantly had to result to the direct approach and speak to the Mayor. However, she was still going to make a bit of a last ditch effort to really tick the manager off. "Oh, and if we don't get the park saved, we can always tell your customers on what a no-show you are. I mean, building something for Trainers when you couldn't even accept one battle? Ooh, that's not going to look good on you." With the twiddling of her finger, she finally turned around and walked with Corey into the building to get things done with her and her father.
Corey grinned slightly, glad that Bonnie was having her back. However, she just couldn't believe the immaturity of Bonnie's attempt at toying with Mr. Lambert's mind. Surely, he wasn't going to fall for it. He was so much more of a grown-up than the two girls combined, so why should he ever be so gullible enough to fall for such a childish threat?
"Come on, Corey." Bonnie swiped her hand gently to the front, motioning for the skater girl to follow her in while still playing it coy with her tone. "I'm sure someone's going to live with the humiliation of dissing out on a battle, win or lose. So much for promising Trainers greatness."
It wasn't going to work. There was no way he would ever fall for…
"Fine then!" It worked?
"I'll battle you!" It freaking worked…
Bonnie finally smiled with passion, knowing her trick had worked. He was the type of guy to fall for any attempt on gaining glory for his endeavours. She might have met a few people like him back during her previous travels before, and all of them had fallen victim to none other than the Trainer-Performer duo who inspired her. It was her turn to drive a greedy man down the drain.
"I knew you had the guts." she taunted, turning around to have the challenge ready. Corey felt like slapping her own forehead from the ridiculousness of it all. And everyone thought she was the immature one…
"I'm just going to show you how right my vision is." declared Lambert, proving further of his unexpected demand for a proper reputation. "If I lose, I'll have my word with the mayor and… see if I can cancel my project."
"And if we lose?" Bonnie crossed her arms, now getting serious with the battle at hand. Corey didn't understand why she was going along with this. If it was so easy to go in the mayor's office and talk to him without doing any damage to the property around them, why stop now?
"What do I have to take from you? I'll just prove the fact that you'll need my store anyway."
"Fair enough." From a loser like him, having to even be near his new store would be humiliating enough. Shaking her head from thinking about losing to this vile human being, at least vile in Bonnie's terms, she stayed her focus on going into the battle at hand.
"Hold on!" However, Corey had other plans. Stopping the battle for a while, she stood forward, facing Lambert with a face of determined strength while making her own fists raised up and giving one good word to the manager. She stomped her foot down with bold confidence firing up inside, pointing straight at the manager to deliver her terms. It was a fight she had to win.
"I'll fight you!"
"What?" Bonnie stuttered at the sudden challenge posed by the skater. "Corey?"
"It's my park, so I'll fight for it!" announced Corey with pure fire, burning greatly in her heart to finally push herself into saving her beloved park. After all, it was Corey who had all the more to lose. Her own place of privacy and joy was at stake in this affair and she was going to make sure she'll win this battle for herself.
Bonnie wanted to insist, that she would fight in her stead, but Corey would have none of it. The blonde-haired Trainer saw the look of devotion and passion in her face, reminding herself of her own path to fight her way to victory. Her goals were her to win for, and so it was Corey's own fight to make sure her park was saved.
"Alright then." Mr. Lambert couldn't care less; he knew Corey was just a little child and was no match for his own experience in battle. "You girls really want to embarrass yourselves? It's fine with me."
The cockiness in his voice was infuriating, adding more fire to the pit. Corey moved to her position, leaving Bonnie and Dedenne to watch and hope that she would make it. Even if Mr. Lambert was a grown-up, he still wasn't perfect. Ash, Serena and Clemont all bested adults before; Gym Leaders, ordinary Trainers, Team Rocket…Team Flare… Not every adult in the world could be better at Pokemon battles than kids, if they put their soul to it.
So, she held onto faith that Corey had some Pokemon who she bonded well with. Mr. Lambert went to the other side of the makeshift arena, taking out a Poke Ball for his challenge. The girl dusted her pants down, getting down to business to deal with this killjoy of a businessman. Lambert couldn't care any less; he just wanted to get it over and done with, so he could get going with the project.
Bonnie stood behind Corey, eager to lend her full support for her friend, both moral support and advice. She held her hopes that Corey would win, but she didn't know how the fight was going to be. She sighed, resisting her desire to battle in Corey's stead and accepting her role as the referee.
One Pokemon each. That was the only rule of the match she felt she needed to emphasize; no need to say anymore but let the cards play out their outcome. Corey did feel a little pressured by the rule, but she supposed it was for the best. After all, she did have only one Pokemon in her pocket, and it was going to be her only chance at beating Mr. Lambert.
"Go! Zigzagoon!" Corey threw her capsule to the front, summoning her Pokemon. The Zigzagoon popped out, with its spiky brown and beige fur poking right out like the quills of a Sandslash, and its thick tail standing up to a threatening stance as it growled at its opponent.
"Zarr!" Bonnie could squeal at how cute the Pokemon was, but right now, the thrill of battle kept her at bay, though the concern now was on Mr. Lambert. She did take out her PokeDex to get to know this fuzzball a little more, watching the screen play out the details.
"Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. It walks in a zigzag fashion and it has abundant curiosity. It is good at finding items in the grass and even in the ground. Zigzagoons are known to be very curious, interested in almost anything."
Bonnie then noticed the arrogant smirk on the manager's face, giving some worry to her.
"You'll be lucky to even survive this!" Mr. Lambert threw out his own Poke Ball and sent his Pokemon to battle. "Gurdurr! Go!" The Pokemon that emerged was a humanoid-like creature, abnormal in body shape with every part of its body that, added with pink vein-like muscles, was bulgy and fluid-shaped with only its stomach and feet being the only smaller features. It had a big red nose with a head of bumps all over. However, this was no clown, for what stood out the most was that it carried a big red metal girder with its two hands, almost like a dumbbell. It twirled the girder around like a staff before slamming the tip of it to the ground, triumphantly grunting at its opponent.
"Gurr!" The loud roar, along with its sheer size, did intimidate the smaller challenger and her Pokemon. Bonnie was amazed by the look of this tough Pokemon she had only seen once or twice before during her previous adventures. She took out her PokeDex to study more about the Pokemon Corey's Zigzagoon will be fighting against.
"Gurdurr, the Muscular Pokemon, and the evolved form of Timburr. Gurdurr trains its muscles by carrying a steel beam. With its amazing strength, even professional wrestlers can't move it."
She figured just as much. Judging by the Pokemon's body shape, pumping attitude and massive weapon, it should be no surprise that it was a Fighting-type. Needless to say, Gurdurr was a deadly force against a Normal-type like Zigzagoon. She hoped that Corey wouldn't be put down by the type disadvantage and relied on other smarter techniques to fight it.
"Alright, Zigzagoon." Corey encouraged. "Even if that Gurdurr is almost five times your size, we won't let that stop us."
"Raww!" The Zigzagoon barked determinedly. Bonnie snuck a small grin, happy to see that Corey and Zigzagoon were not going to let the Gurdurr push them down.
"Your Zigzagoon's got spunk, Corey. But what chance would it possibly have against my Gurdurr?" Mr. Lambert practically snorted, not bothered to show any respect towards the Pokemon he was about to fight.
"Durr!" Gurdurr seemed to follow his sentiment for the seemingly weak. Corey just smiled, confident that Zigzagoon could still pull off what most wouldn't think it would. She had her full faith that her Pokemon would do its best to help its Trainer fight for her skate park. In fact, when she wasn't having any of these stressful troubles, Zigzagoon would share the fun with Corey in the park and ride along with her to their hearts' content. With the park now under fire from being demolished, the Pokemon would do whatever it took to save it for Corey.
"Zigzagoon's one tough Pokemon, Mr. Lambert. And we'll prove it!" Corey began the battle, ordering Zigzagoon to make the first move. "Use Quick Attack!" At her command, the Raccoon Pokemon raced for the Fighting-type with the greatest of speeds, building up tremendous force into its body to deliver the big blow once it jumped towards Gundurr.
"Hammer that thing with a Hammer Arm!" Mr. Lambert graciously told Gurdurr to ram its bar onto the incoming Pokemon. It swung its arm back with all of its strength and ran it to the ground. Zigzagoon saw the attack coming and jumped right over the Pokemon, forced to shut off its attack and evade the strike. The steel bar crashed right into the asphalt on the road, digging in deep. Afterwards, Zigzagoon then hopped onto Gurdurr's head and leapt off behind it.
Zigzagoon turned around to face Gurdurr again, just as the muscular Pokemon pulled his heavy weapon off the ground. The two combatants stared each other down, ready to continue going at each other to satisfy their Trainers' victories.
"GURR!" The fighting Pokemon punched his chest with bravado to show off its intention on bringing the pain, grinning menacingly at Zigzagoon. The smaller Pokemon growled back, unafraid to deal another blow.
"Bulk it Up, Gurdurr!" The Muscular Pokemon puffed up his chest and sucking in energy from a red flashing aura around its body, bringing in enough power to its strength and attack power. In a huff of breath, he released his tension and felt the new burst of fuel burning in its body.
"Zigzagoon! Get close and give him a Bite!" Corey attempted to make another move before Gurdurr had the chance to use its increased power. Zigzagoon ran forward and opened up its jaws to bite down on Gurdurr.
Gurdurr blocked the attack with its bloated arm, allowing the Zigzagoon to sink its teeth onto the limb. The pain seemed to be slight, but from what Bonnie and Corey could see, Gurdurr gritted its teeth, grinding them together as it writhed in pain. Bonnie knew it was a good move, considering that Bite was a Dark-Type move, and Dark-Type moves were a really good dose of power against a Fighting-Type Pokemon like Gurdurr. However, with Bulk Up used, she also understood that the pain wasn't as great as they hoped.
"Nice move, kid. But not good enough." taunted Mr. Lambert. "Gurdurr, shake it off!" Gurdurr complied, rocking its arm up and down with great strength. The rapid force of being swung up and down in such a violent matter nauseated Zigzagoon enough for it to let go and was thrown off back to Corey's side. "It's time to take that weasel down! Use Brick Break!"
The bar was raised up again; this time glowing brightly, and slammed down to hit the furry Pokemon. Zigzagoon again leapt away from the blow, causing a deep crater on the road from the Brick Break.
Bonnie cringed from witnessing the force of the attack on the road. She wondered how could a construction enthusiast like Mr. Lambert would do that much damage to satisfy his ego. If that was the case, then she really hoped that Corey would win. If such a man had that bad of a desire for glory, then she really didn't want anything from him and his shop.
"Zigzagoon! Hang in there!" Just as Zigzagoon landed, Corey yelled out to give her Pokemon confidence. Her voice burning with compassion to defend what she loved.
"Rarf!" Zigzagoon barked with the same spirit.
"Give Gurdurr another Quick Attack!" Zigzagoon sprinted forward with another speeding charge to head-butt Gurdurr with all its might.
"I'm not playing around, kid!" shouted Mr. Lambert. "Gurdurr, dodge the attack and give Zigzagoon a Brick Break!" The muscle Pokemon charged up its metal bar again for another massive slam to the ground. Unfortunately, as Zigzagoon came forward, the force of the attack, while it didn't hit it, caused the road around it to rupture underneath it, throwing Zigzagoon off the ground.
"Oh no!" Corey watched helplessly as Zigzagoon spun into the air from the shockwave. Bonnie gasped as well, Dedenne hiding his face into the top part of her hat.
"Now give it a Hammer Arm!" With its bar stuck on the ground, Gurdurr then gave one powerful swing of its arm and delivered a bone-crushing punch at Zigzagoon while it was still in the air. The Pokemon's small size and, thus, light weight made the pain even more unbearable, sending it hurling towards Corey with intense aching in its body. The Pokemon crashed into the dirt, making its Trainer very agitated.
"Zigzagoon!" Corey yelled, just as her Pokemon was writhing in pain from the heavy blow to its body. Still, with much determination left, Zigzagoon slowly got itself back up. Despite its agony, it was willing to go at it again. Watching the Gurdurr beat its chest after its successful blow, it growled with provoked anger, ready to teach its opponent a lesson.
Corey didn't want to back down, either. She looked at her Zigzagoon to see how much it wanted to make its Trainer happy and proud, feeling the strength grow from within her heart. From this point on, she felt like this was about to be more than just a fight for her park. It was also a fight to show what her Pokemon could do against a tougher opponent, against the wildest of foes.
"No giving up now, Zigzagoon!" encouraged Corey, receiving a firm bark from the Pokemon.
"RAWR!"
"Let's go for another Bite attack!" Corey pointed straight at Gurdurr, ordering her Pokemon to launch itself for another run. The little rodent skipped towards the Fighting-type with all its speed. When it leapt to take out its target, Zigzagoon opened its jaws, prepared to bite Gurdurr's body again.
"Gurdurr! Dodge!" Lambert ordered with smug satisfaction. The muscular Pokemon shifted to the side, letting Zigzagoon miss its mark. The small Pokemon exclaimed its shock when Gurdurr dodged the attack, now left with no options. "Hammer Arm, again!" The cold order was given and Gurdurr followed up with an equally merciless strike to Zigzagoon again, whacking it off and sending it flying and crashing onto the ground again.
"Zigzagoon!" Corey yelled. She watched as Zigzagoon was bashed aside and completely wrecked by the attack. The sight of seeing her Pokemon was beyond excruciating, especially after being hit the second time by a very powerful move. She knew, hesitantly, that it was almost out of energy and strength to fight against a Pokemon which was already too powerful and ready for more.
Corey fell into this state of utter desperation and hopelessness, just as Mr. Lambert smirked at her failure to apprehend the situation. She grabbed the pigtails behind her head and pulled them from frustration and dread, losing hope by the seams. "Oh no. He's getting pummelled out there. What do I do?!" She yelled out her exasperation while kneeling down in agony over losing her beloved skating park to a greedy loser. What was she to do now?!
"Corey!" Just then, she heard the clear-cut call of Bonnie, shouting to her with a hint of confidence and seriousness. When Corey looked at her, she knew just as much that she was calling out to her.
For Bonnie, she could not bear to see a young girl lose the things she loved to a man who wanted nothing more than glory and gold. She could not stand still and let her friend feel devastated over the battle when it was not even over. A battle is only over when the outcome was definite; either side must have a fainted Pokemon. And if Zigzagoon was still going to fight for his Trainer, then he was not going down until the very end.
As long as Zigzagoon stood, Corey's fight was far from over. She had so much to prove to her father over how disappointed she was over the loss of the greatest gift she could ever give to her, other than his own love. Bonnie had to remind Corey that had a great asset by her side, and she had been using it, to the blonde Trainer's dismay, against her the whole time.
"Use your street smarts! You've been busting me around for so long in the streets, skating around and constantly annoying me for these past hours! You should know what to do to get past those who frustrate you! Use your head!" She really hated thinking about those irritating memories of Corey's antics upon her, but at this moment, Corey had to be at her best. The best way to do it was to be an annoying little punk.
"Think 'you'!" Bonnie finally stopped, ending with one simple advice. Corey nodded understanding that she could use her own tricks to her advantage and apply it to Zigzagoon. If normal battle tactics were not going to work, then she would play ither way. She had to be very careful with her new tricks. Like a real skating joyride, any mistake or fall she would make would be her last, or in this case, Zigzagoon's as well. With Bonnie's encouragement, though, her spirits were bolstered to get Zigzagoon back into the action.
"Zigzagoon! Are you okay?!" called Corey. The rodent Pokemon struggled with double the pain, shaking badly from its clobbering from two Hammer Arms. Nevertheless, it stood back up, nodding to confirm its stance to fight again, no matter how hurt it was. "I know you're in pain, but if you're still in it for the fight, then I've got an idea!"
Zigzagoon paid attention to its Trainer closely, hearing out what Corey would have it do to even up this almost impossible fight. It put all its faith on its Trainer, knowing that she was far smarter and brave enough to keep up the fight. It bent its body down to prepare for the attack, despite its shaking body. Mr. Lambert and Gurdurr, as always, didn't really mind if Zigzagoon was going to continue or not; it was going down all the same.
The battle resumed, beginning with Corey's start at initiating her new tactics. It was time to go full throttle and be like a daredevil on the road!
"Zigzagoon!" shouted Corey. "Run around Gurdurr as fast as you can! Just go mad!" Zigzagoon complied, dashing towards the Fighting-type with great speed. Even its pain couldn't stop it from running at such rapid pace. Though slower from the hurt it took, it was still a quick little critter, running powerfully towards its target.
Then, when in range, it began to follow along with Corey's plan and run around the larger Pokemon. It hopped here and there, doing its best to keep Gurdurr guessing. The muscle Pokemon turned its head around wildly to try and watch out for its opponent. The raccoon Pokemon was so swift, so evasive that it could not keep up to where it would end up next.
"Gurdurr! Brick Break!" At the haste of its Trainer, Gurdurr proceeded to launch another powerful slam of its metal bar, seemingly unhindered by the Zigzagoon's rapid speed.
"Jump at that bench and hop on its head!" Corey quickly called ahead, directing her Pokemon to jump at the very bench at the side of the field. Zigzagoon immediately went for the bench and hopped onto it, just before Gurdurr slammed its weapon onto the road, barely missing it. When the rodent jumped on the bench, it then launched itself from the backrest, kicking its legs and sent itself catapulting to Gurdurr's head. Thanks to the weapon being stuck on the road, it didn't take Zigzagoon long to land its feet on the bulging head of the Muscle Pokemon and then giving it a nice little kick before it hopped away.
The little trick seemed to have done its job; Corey could see steam coming out of Gurdurr's nostrils. The fighting Pokemon became agitated by the sneaky little trick Zigzagoon pulled off, now more bent on hurting it, constantly honing its eyes all over for the scurrying little Pokemon. All part of the plan…
"That's it! Keep it up!" cheered Corey. Every time Gurdurr tried to attack, Zigzagoon was already jumping around, tricking and dodging its attacks before landing its furry paws on its body and leaping out of the way. Each of these little manoeuvres done only seemed to provoke Gurdurr into attacking aimlessly even more. If done properly, then maybe it would run out of energy, good enough for a proper attack.
"What the-?!" Mr. Lambert seemed to have gotten the picture, but was still pressed to let Gurdurr keep up the pressure while cursing at the little rodent to cease its tactics. "Stay still, you rodent!"
"Not a chance!" yelled Corey. "Just a little more!" Then, Zigzagoon was about to make another run over Gurdurr again. As it looked up while it was running towards it, it saw the metal girder about to ram it down again, with an angry look on Gurdurr's face.
"Slide!" At Corey's command, the Pokemon then jumped forward and slid down on the pavement, pulling off something like the cool stunts its Trainer did when ducking underneath overhead obstacles. On its belly, it slid right over the smooth pavement, dragging much faster right before the metal bar rammed into the floor, again missing its mark.
Once Zigzagoon was well out of the way, it then proceeded to scurry off for another run. This time, however, as it turned its direction around, Gurdurr was prepared to go full throttle and jumped in the air, going for another massive shake of the earth.
"Jump!" To avoid another catastrophe, Zigzagoon jumped up so high in the air, almost completely above Gurdurr while the road shook with violent magnitude. The raccoon Pokemon was high up in the air, safely preventing another blowout from the force of the Brick Break onto the ground.
After landing again, Zigzagoon went for another run, bent on keeping it up until Corey gave the word while ignoring the pain it sustained as best it could. After a few more runs around Gurdurr, the dodging made Gurduur even more enraged, bashing here and there, hoping to eliminate that annoying pest. The anger built up made him even more dangerous, despite the loss of focus. Doing its best to not get hit by any of its attack, Zigzaggon kept up the pressure, waiting for Corey's call.
Gurdurr then struck again, meeting no success in its hit. All it could see next was Zigzagoon, jumping towards it after its attack.
"Use Tail Whip with a hundred-eighty-degree spin!" At Corey's call, the Pokemon spun its body around like a top in the air, sticking its tail out to deliver slapping force. Its bushy tail relentlessly slapped Gurdurr in the face on and on, brushing it with its spiky fur and lightening its guard. With its Defence lowered, Corey knew it was time to score the hit of the century.
"Gurdurr! Take one Hammer Arm to the air!" In a desperate attempt to break off the attack, Mr. Lambert called upon one haphazard Hammer Arm from Gurdurr. It all laid on hope and dumb luck to turn the tables back into his favour. The power built into its Gurdurr's arm strengthened his force again before unleashing it upwards to try and hit Zigzagoon just before it could let go.
Once again, Zigzagoon dropped down onto the ground just before it could be hit by the attack, causing yet another missed opportunity to slip past and leaving Gurdurr vulnerable to any attack.
"And now…!" Corey quickly caught on with the miss and proceeded to move forward and call in another proper attack. "Bite on his head!" Zigzagoon immediately listened and turned around, jumping towards Gurdurr's head and gave it one nasty Bite attack, clamping its jaws onto him. The Fighting Pokemon roared in pain from the great amount of power delivered from the bite.
"Gurdurr!" Lambert was losing his patience with the sudden turning of the tides, watching his Gurdurr being thrown into a disadvantageous position, as Zigzagoon toyed around, using its speed and mischief.
Bonnie could honestly jump for joy at seeing Corey use her own tactics and apply them to Zigzagoon's battle style. Now, the ball was in their court and hope was starting to come back to the girls in the fight to save Corey's skating park.
Corey could feel it; with Zigzaggon delivering a super effective blow to an otherwise weakened Gurdurr, she could finally call in a strike that shall finish the battle with one more move. Her fight to save the one place she loved was about to end in her victory.
"Zigzagoon!" she called for the final blow. "Let's end it with a Quick Attack!" With all of her heart, she gave the last order to launch a Quick Attack and Zigzagoon backed up all the way to give itself the momentum. A quick charge up and the Pokemon was running towards its weakened opponent. After a jump, it then delivered the full head-butt to Gurdurr's stomach, sending the Pokemon flying back towards the other end of the arena. The brute crashed onto the ground, bouncing up once before finally landing on its back. In an instant, the Pokemon's eyes showed the fate of the battle.
"What?! No!" Lambert almost shrieked at seeing his Pokemon being bashed by a small attack. Everyone soon looked towards the Gurdurr and saw that the combatant was down for the count, looking for a sign that it was either good or out. The definite sign was the pair of swirly eyes and the mouth left agape, letting out one more groan before it was out for the count and showing that Gurdurr was officially defeated.
Bonnie jumped up from her seat to see what had happened, running towards Corey with joy and celebrated with a shout-out.
"And Gurdurr is unable to battle!" she yelled happily. "The winner is Corey and Zigzagoon!"
Corey could not believe it; she actually defeated Gurdurr and Mr. Lambert. She let it all seep in before she could finally express how she felt about the victory. The park was going to be saved!
"We did it!" she squealed with the best of feelings she hadn't felt in a while. Zigzagoon came running towards her, jumping up in her arms as Corey then spun around while hugging Zigzagoon tightly. At last, hope and joy was saved, so too was their source of enjoyment. She could have never guessed that she and Zigzagoon would ever pull off such a win and for something they always treasured.
Bonnie, too, shared their excitement, going in to join her in the celebrations. She may have not gotten to battle against Mr. Lambert, but after giving that much needed advice to Corey, she could have not been any happier than to help out a friend.
"You were amazing, Corey!" congratulated Bonnie.
"Dene!" added Dedenne, just as jubilant as his Trainer.
"It was all thanks to you, Bonnie!" cheered Corey. "Without your support, I didn't think I would go that far."
"All in a day's work for a friend!" Bonnie gloated, pointing at herself with her thumb. Then, as the two girls stopped celebrating, they soon looked towards the defeated opponent. Lambert withdrew his Gurdurr back into its Poke Ball, putting on a sour face after that humiliating defeat.
He felt the shame of losing to a little girl and her equally petty Pokemon, even with the type advantage against them. It didn't make sense as to how a puny Zigzagoon could ever match up against a Gurdurr. It was cheap and sneaky tactics that eventually proved to be his downfall, now forcing the man to suck up the loss and leave with a scar to his reputation. Good thing none of his workers were there to see their boss lose so badly to that punk.
After returning Gurdurr, he looked at the victorious girl, hiding the shame from his face.
"You fought well for a little punk, eh?" A smile was forced onto his face, but the girls knew he was not taking the loss too well. None of that mattered; all Corey wanted was for him to accept the terms of their battle's end and allow the skating park to remain, and he could go building some other stuff elsewhere.
Suddenly, from the face of upset loss, Bonnie and Corey spotted a small little grin on his face, showing that there was something very wrong with what he had in mind.
"Well, too bad it ain't going to do you any good." They were shocked. Even after a fair fight, the greedy manager refused to give in. This time, however, he had something that instantly destroyed all hopes for the girls. "Seriously? Did you really think I would just battle and accept the terms, when I have the paperwork to show my approval anyway?"
Bonnie snapped inside. Drats! She should have seen this coming. Why would Lambert even agree to fighting Corey if he was going to just get some papers signed and done to approve the demolition anyway? Typical stupid grown-ups.
Corey's feelings of joy were quickly dashed, like her whole world came tumbling down. She felt the betrayal strike her in the heart, throwing her back into the state of hopelessness. Just when she thought she would win a fair battle and be rewarded for her fight, it all didn't matter in the end. She was almost on the verge of shedding tears again, devastated that things had been unfair.
"You little…!" Bonnie, on the other hand, was just plain fed up of the immaturity of this supposedly well-intentioned man. He had the nerves to deny Corey the park, but the low level of wasteful fighting was going too far. She wanted to have Dedenne deliver a much-deserved Nuzzle onto the man, a feeling which was shared by the electrified rodent as he sparked his cheeks in anger.
"Face it, you two have no chance to save that waste of space." Lambert shrugged, showing more of how much of a jerk he was to the girls, they thought. Corey was starting to lose her patience with this man, but papers were papers. All her father had to do was sign them and they were done.
Soon, it would be all over for the park and Corey's fun…
"What is going on here?!" Just then, a loud grunting voice was shouted out in the area. Everyone soon looked to the Council Building to find that a man, almost taller than Mr. Lambert but slightly stronger-looking, dressed in a dark blue tuxedo and with a bald head, came out to keep everyone silent to listen to him.
He then laid his cross eyes on one of the girls in front of him. Shaking his head in disappointment, he walked over to meet Corey, not looking very pleased with her, specifically. Bonnie noticed the gaze he fixed on her friend, making her assume why. She knew what he was to Corey, but not bothering to speak up one bit.
"Corey…" sighed the man.
"Dad." responded Corey, lowering her head and talking with a sad tone to the man she confirmed was her father; the Mayor of Santalune City."
"Mr. Mayor, sir!" Mr. Lambert came running towards the Mayor, only to be stopped by the raising of his palm.
"Enough, Mr. Lambert." silenced the Mayor. "Shouldn't you be working on that project of yours?"
"Yes, sir." Lambert bowed humbly to the Mayor, hurriedly apologetic. Soon after, he was quick to let his client know of the culprit behind his lack of progress. "But… your daughter is kind of in the way." The Mayor turned towards his daughter again, looking more cross than he was before.
"I should have known." Corey only bent her head down lower, unable to face her dad after all the stuff he's allowed Lambert to do. Deep down inside, there was a sense of anger that forced her to grow distant from her father. She had been this way for over two weeks now, disappointed over his inability to understand her and her needs. Now, this time, she has had enough. No more hiding her concerns. She was going to tell him why she was being the disobedient girl she was.
"Dad." she uttered. "Why did you let Mr. Lambert take away the park?" The Mayor sighed again, guessing correctly over why Corey was becoming such a mess of trouble.
"Corey. We've been through this." he groaned, though with a softer tone, hoping to help Corey understand his thoughts. "Mr. Lambert's new building is going to help a lot of people. Pokemon Trainers who could finally get a good start on their way to the League."
"But that park was the gift I always loved. Why are you taking it away from me?" Corey argued back. This time, with full force of her passion, she continued to let her father know that she was getting hurt because of the loss of the park, the one gift he couldn't possibly replace for another. Unfortunately, nothing was getting through with his thick head.
"I'm sorry, Corey." he said, understandingly. "It's just that Daddy cares about the people, and I need to make sure their wishes are fulfilled." Again, Corey relented, shifting her head away from him, now stricken with betrayal over how stubborn he was towards her. Finally, tears were finally coming out and her voice became muffled with her slight sobbing.
"You never understand." she cried out, unable to fathom why her father would never listen. It also seemed that the Mayor was struck by the comment she made on him, further saddened that his daughter could not see reason to his plans.
At this point, Bonnie was growing very tired over the grown-ups for being so single-minded, all for something that could achieve many things, but would ultimately cause the ire of a daughter. No one should hate their own family members, nor should they refuse to understand how much hurt they had caused. She felt she needed to help the Mayor see the truth of Corey's feelings for that park.
So, with determination, she had much more spirit to help Corey, speaking with the Mayor himself if she must.
"Sir." she called to the Mayor. "Hi, I'm Bonnie. I would like to say something. You know, as one of those Trainers starting up, as you said."
"Speak your mind, young lady." The Mayor gave Bonnie his attention. Bonnie tried to sound as understanding as she could, suppressing her own anger of seeing a man not caring enough for his own daughter.
"I know you're trying to help us Trainers out, but…" She silenced herself before laying her eyes on Corey, as if emphasizing her point towards her. "Look at Corey." The Mayor turned to face her daughter, who was now looking up at him, still having tears. "She's clearly upset about losing the one thing she really loves." When she turned to look at the Mayor, she put in more power into her voice. "As her father, isn't it terrible to give away something that precious, especially when you, yourself, gave it to her in the first place?"
"I know Corey's a little loose on the strings. But isn't her love more important than all of this?" Bonnie then went over to pat Corey in the back, comforting her as best she could. "I just wanna watch out for her, and maybe you should too."
Finally, Bonnie noticed the quiet look on the Mayor's face. Had she broken through? He was silently looking down on the ground, as if wondering about what she said. She hoped that he was thinking about Corey, and how much that place meant to her. Then, as he looked back up, he saw Corey coming over to him, tears still there, but her face was now showing her at her most honest. She wept enough; wiping away her tears and finally opening up to her father.
"Dad. I really, really love that park. It's one of the many things I can always remember you by." She then held out her hands and clasp them with his own, pouring out her emotions to the fullest. "Please don't take away that place. It's the best gift you're ever given me."
Then, Bonnie saw the change of expression on the Mayor's face. For the first time, she saw a broken sense of sadness coming from him. His brows were tipping the other way, his eyes now looking regretful and touched, and his body tightened. If this was a sign, then it must had been a good one.
Finally, after a moment of opening up, the Mayor soon started to speak again. Corey held onto the last bit of hope in her heart that he had come through, but did not hold on too hardly on her wishes. She had to withstand the bad news and take it strongly, should she ever get it. She was not going to hate her father, doing her best to be understandable and love him, regardless over what may happen next.
"To tell you kids the truth…" He finally spoke, with Corey and Bonnie practically crossing their fingers.
"I really liked that place, too."
A light of hope shined. Corey and Bonnie didn't hear it right, but it sounded like, somehow, the Mayor had finally changed his mind!
To see whether he was saying exactly so, Corey walked a little closer to her father. The man then bent down to match her height, holding on to her shoulders with an apologetic look.
"Corey. I always wanted to make people happy. That was why I had Mr. Lambert go ahead and demolish the park and make room for a new place to help others."
"But, now I realize…" He bent his head down, now taking the shame over what he had planned. "That I built that place, for the one person I cared for the most. To make her the happiest person in the city." Afterwards, he faced his little girl again, the person he referred to as that happiest person. "For you."
Corey's frown soon dramatically curved to a smile. She was finally listening to her dad remembering what was dear to him, that he could not always satisfy everyone. There could be loads of places for Trainers, including Bonnie, to begin their journeys from. However, if he wanted to show how much he cared for his family, there had to be one place where he could show that much love for his daughter.
Finally, coming to his senses, the Mayor shook his head frantically.
"Gosh, what have I been doing? I've been so busy managing this town, I forgot what was the most important thing in my life." He then brought his daughter in a tight hug, ruffling with her hair as he did so. Corey giggled sweetly at her father's embrace, fully satisfied over his change of heart.
"So, does that mean…?" asked Corey. The Mayor simply nodded with a smile. Letting go of his daughter, he turned around to meet Mr. Lambert. Bonnie wasn't sure if Mr. Lambert was paying attention, noticing that he had been checking his paperwork during the whole drama. Seriously? How could he be so ignorant of everything that was going on?
"Mr. Lambert." Finally, the Mayor snapped him out, causing him to stand at attention, looking like he still won. Wait 'till he heard what the Mayor had to say, thought Bonnie. "I've changed my mind. The park stays where it is."
"What?!" Mr. Lambert almost tripped when he heard the sudden plan to cancel his building project. "But, sir…!"
"No buts, Mr. Lambert. I've already made my decision." "My girl deserves much more than what I've given her so far, but that park is the one place where she can feel at her most awesome." Corey couldn't help but snicker at her dad. It was not every day she'd hear her dad saying such a youthful word to describe something. "So, I'm sorry. But I cannot move forward with the demolition. The park stays where it is."
"But… where will I build my new shop?!" exclaimed an exasperated Mr. Lambert, swinging his arms high in the air.
"I don't know." The Mayor shrugged. "Find somewhere else, maybe? I hope you understand."
"But… but… Santalune is the perfect spot for my target market!" Mr. Lambert was breaking down in disbelief.
"Sorry, Mr. Lambert, but no can do." The word was final, no more plans for a shop. Mr. Lambert had gotten the message, at last, with failure and rejection slapped into his body. With nothing more to gain, he was forced to give up on his plans for his building, further upset that he lost his chances, doubled by his defeat at the hands of the Mayor's own daughter. He gave out a huff before stomping away in shame, passing the now grinning Corey.
"Hmph!" As he passed by, he soon glared at Bonnie, who he also didn't seem to be fond of. "I hope you both are happy." And then, he just simply walked off, taking with him his losses. Bonnie couldn't resist; her inner child prompted her to stick her tongue out with mischief. Seeing the last of him, hopefully, she then turned back to the loving scene of father and daughter reconcile with each other.
"I'm so sorry, my dear." the Mayor apologized. "I was just too focused on the needs of the people, when I should be respecting the needs of my family too." The two then hugged again, this time, being more loving and warmer than the last.
"It's okay, daddy." said Corey, before admitting her own missteps. "Sorry about the mess." Yeah. When she thought about it, she did leave quite a literal pile of trouble across the building's walls. The Mayor soon picked up on this and decided to do something about it.
"And you're going to clean it up, young lady." he said, putting his hands on his hips as he told Corey of what she had to do. The girl was about to shamelessly accept her responsibility, but then, her dad interrupted her with a cheerful smile. "With me!" Happy to hear her father wanting to do more with her, she gave him another hug to show her appreciation.
"I love you, dad." she dearly wished him.
"I love you, too, Corey." As the two separated, business was about to go as usual. Before she could move on, Corey returned to Bonnie. As soon as she got to her, she gave the blonde Trainer a tight bear-hug, squeezing Bonnie in like the deathly grip of an Ursaring.
"Thanks so much, Bonnie!" cheered Corey, unaware that Bonnie was slowly suffocating.
"Eck! Choking… not breathing…" After a few agonizing seconds, Bonnie was freed from the hug, breathing heavily. Corey didn't seem to bother about the hurt she did; she was just happy that she was given back her park, thanks to Bonnie's help. Regardless of her pain and Dedenne's mock laughter, Bonnie managed to muster up a smile like her usual cheery self.
After giving her thanks to Bonnie, Corey was about ready to part ways with her and be on her merry way, wherever the road may take her.
"Well, I gotta get ready. Dad and I will be doing a lot of cleaning up." Corey whirled around, putting on her skates from her bag before wheeling away from Bonnie. She couldn't turn around to face Bonnie, but she did give one final wave to wish her goodbye. "See ya' around!"
"Stay cool!" Bonnie waved back, shouting at Corey with all her heart.
"Dene Dene!" Dedenne waved his tiny little paw, too. Watching Corey skate away, Bonnie was finally free from yet another problem. She was supposed to have spent the day to relax and enjoy her time in the city, but she wouldn't pass the chance to help a friend in trouble. Satisfied that she helped someone with her troubles, she could head on back to the Pokemon Centre and get a much-deserved rest.
"Young lady." Suddenly, Bonnie was stopped by the Mayor, who called her over to meet him. She turned around to face the old man, tying her hands behind her at attention. She wondered what he could be calling her for, possibly a little 'thank you' from himself, maybe? After all, she did inspire Corey to push forward by giving her own opinion to the Mayor. "Bonnie, is it?" the man asked, getting a nod from Bonnie with her mouth forming a very tiny 'O' shape. "Thank you very much for making me see what truly matters."
"It was nothing, sir." Bonnie smiled, tilting her head in her usual jolly mood. Just then, the Mayor held his chin with a thought in mind.
"Say, you said so yourself, that you were a beginning Trainer?" asked the Mayor.
"Yes, sir?" answered Bonnie, curious as to why the Mayor would inquire with interest.
"Then I might recommend something just for you." Bonnie perked her hearing up to listen in to what he was about to suggest for her. "There is a Pokemon School that is about to begin its new semester tomorrow. So, if you wish to catch up on your Pokemon training, then might I suggest spending a day there?" Already, Bonnie had hit a stump in the idea. Tomorrow was her first ever Gym Battle with Viola, as she promised her an early battle, first thing in the morning. She hated to refuse such a generous offer from the Mayor, but she had her priorities in check on her course to the Pokemon League.
"I'd like to, but I promised Viola that I'd battle her for my Bug Badge tomorrow." sighed Bonnie. The Mayor gave her an understanding smile, nodding at her.
"The choice is yours, young lady. You can choose to attend the next day if you'd like." Given the go to book for another day, Bonnie turned around to think about the chance to spend a day at this Pokemon School. She had already gained quite a lot of knowledge from her time with her brother and their friends during their previous journey years ago. She had paid very close attention to the three older Trainers, taking note of how battles and even performances are fought, how Pokemon can be caught, and what rules Trainers had to follow in the course of their own journeys. Plus, she was already learning beforehand, taking early steps into training herself to become an adaptive Trainer.
Though, despite being confident that she had the prerequisite tips to getting started with Pokemon Training, she still knew that there may be a bit more space for education to pick her right up. Remembering how Ash lost to Viola on his first try, it would be best to at least absorb more knowledge to help in her own battle.
Maybe she could use the trip to the school. If she ever fought against Viola's team before taking part in the classes, she felt that her odds may not go so well. Should she lose, she'd take the offer and join the school for a day, and then battle Viola again on the next day. So, if she joined the school first and studied a little more, then she would take on Viola with a better chance against her.
Taking that into account, she began to change plans inside her head, considering to postpone her match to get more acquainted with Pokemon Training before her eventual battle.
"Come to think of it, Dedenne." she told her Pokemon. "I think some crash course learning is exactly what we need."
"Dede?" Dedenne squeaked, asking if Bonnie was sure with her choice. Then, a bigger smile was formed on the Trainer's face, sure of her decision.
"Yeah! I think I'd like that." she jubilantly locked in her answer. "I'd have to tell Viola about postponing the battle, but we've still got tons of time before the League, right?"
"Dene!" her Pokemon supported her decision. Bonnie had to find time to inform Viola as soon as she could. In the meantime, she was ready to take on the offer to be a student for a day. Turning back to face t Mayor, she happily told him of her decision to go to school.
"I'll be more than happy to attend for a day, sir!" She gave him a playful salute and a wink to show her enthusiasm. The Mayor was certainly glad to hear that Bonnie was going to try out a few classes to improve her chances of winning against Viola.
"Then do send my regards to the headmistress of the school. She's an old friend of mine, so she should allow you to visit her classes for the day." informed the Mayor.
"Will do!" Bonnie obliged with her trademark grin of sunshine. Soon, it was time to say farewell, going back to enjoying the serenity of Santalune and do whatever she would like.
"I wish you all the best in your path to becoming a great Trainer, young lady." The Mayor held out his hand, letting Bonnie shake it with her own to see herself off.
"See you next time, Mr. Mayor!" After waving off to the Mayor, she began to jog back to the Centre to refresh herself, with the man doing the same back to her.
"Dene!" Dedenne squeaked back, hanging on to Bonnie's fedora as she ran off. The Mayor just watched her go on and on, certainly impressed of what one lone stranger he had just met do so much for his life in one day.
"Good kid." He told himself, turning back to tend to business before he could join Corey in cleaning up the messes she made throughout the building. Of all the days of his time as Mayor, this was definitely one of the wildest. He hoped Bonnie would make it all the way; a girl with her passion to help others and be the best she could be always deserved to go very far into success.
An hour later
After taking a rest at the Centre, Bonnie was feeling all juiced up and ready for more walking around the city. As soon as she exited the doors, she stretched her arms out to relieve the stress from sleep on her muscles.
"Well… Time to head out and explore again." she declared, turning her eyes towards the little bundle of joy on top of her hat. Dedenne was still feeling as drowsy as a… well, Drowzee. He did start to wake up, yawning with his mouth wide open before smacking his lips, with a pair of droopy eyes.
Bonnie was about to embark on her delayed trip across Santalune, when she was suddenly interrupted by a loud, rumbling noise coming from her belly. A strained feeling in her stomach all but told her that she had missed something from her time helping Corey earlier.
"Shucks… I'm still hungry…" moaned Bonnie, realizing that she hadn't found anything to eat since her little incident with the skater. And judging by how uncomfortable the rumbling in her stomach was, it felt like she needed to consume a lot. "Please don't tell me I'd be eating like Ash at this rate."
"Dene…" sighed Dedenne, waking up a little more while it rubbed its sleepy eyes.
"The day's still young, so let's go grab something small." assured Bonnie, walking along the pavement to begin her tour of the city for that proper meal. "And no one is going to interrupt us this time!"
KKRRRKKK!
"Huh?" Just then, the sounds of horrific scratching against the pavement haunted her again. For a moment, she thought she had heard the last of that dreaded noise of roller skates coming in hot and at rapid speed. Turning around quickly, she was too late to react to the sudden arrival of the person she didn't really expect to find again.
"EEKK!" She quickly fell down on the ground, trying to duck for cover while Dedenne fell off her fedora and dropped just in front of her. The two crashed onto the hard floor, feeling the pain surge through them, just as a lone figure leapt over them and landed down right in front. As Bonnie struggled to look up, she began to groan frustratingly over the repeat of a terrible incident.
"Sorry, Bonnie!" This time, however, it was all an accident, not a deliberate act to derail Bonnie of her day. Corey just sped on, waving her hand and shouting out an apology instantly after landing. Just like that, she rode off, with a metal pail hanging from her hand.
Bonnie's fingers began to tremble after the hard fall, raising her head to reveal a very red layer of skin from falling flat on her face. Her teeth gritted as she withstood the pain, while cursing at herself for the self-jinx.
"It's cool, Corey…" she mumbled. "It's cool…" After trying to regain her strength, she slumped her head back down, failing to recover before giving out one final moan. "Why me…?"
Elsewhere
Near Santalune, all was calm again for the countryside girl living in the forest, accompanied by her Espeon. She stood by, looking at the clear blue sky while taking in a breath of fresh air to soothe her mind.
After a peaceful day of helping her aunt with the garden at the front yard, she was finally content with watching the white clouds drift ever so slowly in the sky, followed by the occasional small flocks of flying Pokemon cruise right over them.
This was all she needed; a nice day to relax and take in the bright summer day, stroking her Espeon on the head as it laid comfortably on her lap. Sarah was sat down on the fresh, green grass, having nothing but the thought of relishing in the serene environment around her. Honestly, nothing could ever hope to ruin this time of gentle breeze.
Suddenly, there was a slight change in the wind. Sarah felt the breeze growing a little stronger, blowing her hair and the grass below her. Catching the swaying strands of her brown locks, she felt the energy from the wind course through her body with an ominous feeling in her head. It was a feeling not common, but certainly not forgotten either.
"The wind's changing again, Espeon." Sarah told her Pokemon, who also felt the change of power in the wind through its Psychic energy.
"Sarah!" Then, the girl's Aunt Penny called out to her, requesting her aid once more. Come on in, honey!" Sarah rose from her peaceful spot, sighing at the fact that she was to resume another hard day of work.
"Coming, Auntie!" Gently placing Espeon down on the ground, she walked back towards the house to further help her aunt. The velvety-furred Pokemon pranced along with its Trainer as they both got back into the house and back into the usual business of household chores.
However, with the wind they felt earlier, something told them that there was an event that was about to unfold sooner or later. What was untold, however, was whether or not, it would be an event for them…
TO BE CONTINUED…