Scene 41: A Peace Offering

Shelly Arc

Shelly steps off the Feebas Ferry onto the port. Some of the others call to her and wave as they turn their attention towards their next destination. She unhooks the Pokégear from her pack. She flips it open and starts pushing the buttons.

Her father was always into the latest and greatest technological crazes, so when he was tasked with grabbing Shelly's last minute supplies he couldn't help himself from buying her the latest upgrade of the Pokégear from Devon Corp. Shelly was proud of her father for even going so far as to pick out the one with the cute design: white with pink accents. Perfect for his little princess, he had said.

After fiddling with the Pokégear the first day on the ferry, Shelly had a basic understanding on how it worked. She found her way to the map. She watched as a little dot blinked on the screen showing her where to go. She nods, "Yup! That's the one!"

"Commerce City, here I come!" Shelly turned around at the familiar voice. Payne was there. He had his very own Pokégear out, one that was blue with white accents. He caught her eye, "What are you looking at?" Shelly jumped. She tried for a smile, "Don't tell me that you're also…" Payne gave her a smug look, "Participating in the Commerce City Contest? You bet." He closed his Pokégear and walked off.

Shelly's shoulders slumped, "As if I wasn't nervous enough about the contest." She gives a sigh then straightens up. She grips the straps of her pack, "Whatever! I don't care who's competing! I'm going to win it just like I did the last one! Yeah!"

Shelly's impressed with the wide variety of stores in this port city, "And all the tall buildings! You don't really see that on the island!" As an easily distracted girl, Shelly makes several stops on her way out of the city. She looks in on a jewelry shop, a bag store, and even a costume supply for Pokémon.

"Oh, wow! How cute are these!?" She holds up a pack of Seals, though she doesn't know what they're for. She looks at the packaging, "Maybe they're stickers for Pokéballs?" There's laughter from behind her. She turns and sees Payne at the register. She jumps at the sight of him. The cashier hands him his bag of goods. He walks right up to her, "You don't know anything, do you?" Shelly blushes.

Payne grabs the pack and explains, "These are Pokéball Seals from the Sinnoh Region. If you have a Ball Capsule like this," He pulls something out. It looks like a clear & empty kind of Pokéball to Shelly. Payne opens the bag of Seals and pulls one off, sticking it on. Shelly watches in silence as he pulls out a Pokéball, closing it within the capsule. He turns to her, "Now watch and learn."

Payne throws the ball and out comes his trusty Squirtle along with a spray of bubbles! The other customers watch in awe, giving an applause as Squirtle spins and lands beautifully. Shelly, though annoyed, can't help but admire Payne's confidence. She knows that he must be a veteran Contest Coordinator to be as good as he is.

Shelly doesn't notice him approach her. When he shoves the bag in her face she jumps. He drops it in her hands, "Coordinators can use different Seals to amp up their performances in Contests. Although, they're not very popular here in the Kanto Region as they are other places. But it takes a lot of practice for a Pokémon to get it just right." He turns and walks out the door. After a moment she follows after him.

Down the street Shelly catches up with Payne, "Why are you giving me these Seals? Why are you helping me?" He chuckles, raising an eyebrow, "I just figured you could as much help as you can; after all, I've seen your performances." Shelly blushes. She shoves the bag back into his arms, "Well, I don't need your 'help'! You may think I'm a hopeless beginner, but I'll show you!" And with a great harumph! Shelly turned her back on him.

20minutes later, Shelly is still fuming. She stomps out of the port town headed into a forested area, "The nerve of that guy! Thinking he's so cool just because he's more experienced!" She thinks back to Payne and Squirtle's performance back on the boat. She stops, her head down, "But… they really are good… I guess…"

"Glad that you're not braindead, at least." Shelly jumps. Payne's standing just behind her. She's red in the face- did he just hear what she said? He tosses a bag at her. Without even opening it Shelly can smell the fresh scent of fries and burgers in there. She gives him a look, "What's this?" Payne walks past without even looking at her.

"A peace offering. I figured since we'll be traveling the same way for awhile we could at least be cordial." Shelly is giving him the eye. She doesn't want to accept the gift, but-

"Fine. I'll accept it, but only because I haven't eaten since this morning." She walks a few steps behind him. Shelly unwraps one of the burgers and starts eating as Payne reaches in for one of his own. They're quiet for a good while before Shelly gets an idea. She stops and pulls out her two Pokéballs, the burger hanging from her mouth. She's about ready to hand one off to Munchlax and Corsola each when Payne stops her.

"What are you thinking?" He pulls her wrists away, "Don't you know anything? Each Pokémon Type has a specific dietary need, especially for those like Corsola that are of two opposing Types." Shelly yanks her wrist away, "Y-yeah, of course I knew that! But-"

" 'But!' nothing! I can't believe you're a Trainer and you don't even know the simplest of things about raising Pokémon." The sound of rustling catches their attention. They both look down and see that Munchlax has stolen the bag of burgers from Shelly's hands. Payne is shocked to see that he's managed to eat every last one. Shelly chuckles, "I guess Munchlax doesn't care much about 'dietary needs,' huh..?"

Shelly is watching carefully as Payne stirs in a wide assortment of berries and spices into his concoction. It might not look like much, but it smells amazing. They're found themselves a nice riverbank where their Pokémon are running around playing. She looks over Payne's collection of Pokémon. Until now she's only ever seen him use his Squirtle, but he had a wide variety himself: a Bayleef, Pikachu, and Eevee, and even a couple she'd never seen before.

"The goofy little blue and white Water-Type is called Oshawatt and the pretty yellow and red Fire-Type one is a Braixen. They're from other regions that I've traveled to." Shelly catches his eye, "So you've been to a bunch of places, huh?" Payne stares off into the distance, thinking back. He smiles, "Well, yeah… You see, there was someone I lost to once and… I swore I'd become stronger than her someday…" Shelly's surprised at his words.

Payne stands and calls to the Pokémon for lunch. Shelly watches quietly- how strange to see a gentler side to this boy. He was older than her barely by a couple years, but he seemed well experienced and wise. He was a Coordinator that had competed and traveled… He was great! But, still… he'd felt the sting of defeat and that was what pushed him to become stronger. She grips the edge of her skirt, "Me too..!"

Shelly thinks back to all the Training she did with Nick these past few years- to that day she shared the stage with Fantina and the day she won at the Chrysanthemum Contest..! Munchlax and Corsola seem to be enjoying Payne's Pokémon food.

"For my Pokémon's sake… and for my dream..!" Shelly had lost to Payne and it hurt, but… that was only the first time. She suddenly smiles. [ "Yeah… Knowing me, I'll lose a whole lot, especially in the beginning… but…" ] Shelly giggles, "If I let something so silly upset me, then I'll never get anywhere!" She runs forward, surprising Payne and the Pokémon.

Shelly grabs Munchlax and Corsola, spinning them around. There's stars in her eyes, "We're going to keep failing, but no matter what! We'll keep moving forward! Right?" The two Pokémon have no idea what she's talking about, but her excitement is contagious. They're all smiles and laughter now.

Payne watches on in confusion, "What's got into her..?" As he looks at Shelly's bright smile an image of another young girl he knew passes through his mind's eye. Small and inexperienced, yet so powerful, he long green hair catching in the wind. He blinks it away. He shakes his head, "Nah, no way… She's nothing like her, that's for sure."

There's a sudden scream followed by a splash. Shelly had been spinning and spinning in circles with her Pokémon and, without realizing, had gotten too close to the water. The three of them crash into the shallows. Payne sighs, going to check on them. He cocks an eyebrow, "You really are hopeless, you know that?" Suddenly, Shelly and the others are thrown out of the water! A Wild Staryu jumps onto a rock. It seems angry..!

Shelly, Munchlax, and Corsola had accidentally fallen on top of the sleeping Pokémon and it wasn't too happy about it..! The Staryu shot a powerful Water Gun, scattering the group. They all ran for cover as the Wild Pokémon went crazy. Payne called to Shelly from behind a large rock, "Well, aren't you going to do something?" She poked her head from behind a tree, "What do you expect me to do?" He rolled his eyes, "Oh, I don't know..! I guess you could always catch it, or something!?" Payne's sarcasm didn't pass over Shelly. But before she could respond Staryu slammed into the tree with its Rapid Spin, slicing it in half and sending Shelly running along with her Pokémon. She had nowhere to run now…

She stood shakily, "Guess I have no choice." She gulped. Munchlax and Corsola stood at her side, ready for battle. She called out move after move, barely managing to keep up with the crazed Pokémon. Payne watched as Shelly slowly, but surely, navigated her way through what was clearly her first battle with a real Wild Pokémon.

Munchlax grabs hold of Corsola, spinning her around at Shelly's command, "Now let her go!" Spinning midair, Corsola unleashed her attack, "Spike Cannon!" It hit the mark. Staryu, stunned, came falling out of its rampant rapid spin. The gem at its center began flashing. Payne quickly stepped out into the open, "Now's your chance! Hurry up!" Shelly is digging in her pack for a spare Pokéball, "Alright! Alright! Don't rush me!"

"Go, Pokéball!" The Wild Staryu is taken in by a flash of light. They all stand around watching the ball twitch once, then twice, then-

Shelly smiles widely as she scoops the ball in her hand. She spins around to the other Pokémon, "We did it! We caught Staryu!" They all cheer for her. Well, except for Payne. He gives a sigh, "That was the worst battle I've ever seen." Shelly pouts, "Hey! I caught it, didn't I?" Payne turns to her with his hands on his hips, "Barely. And honestly, by the way you worked with your Pokémon, I don't know how you even won that Chrysanthemum Island Ribbon." Shelly looks defeated for a moment, but…

"Wait… How did you know I'd won that Contest?" Payne is the one blushing now. He turns away and starts cleaning up. Shelly slides on over, "OOoooohhhh~! I see now! That's how you wound up on the Feebas Ferry, huh?" She gasps, "You saw my performance on the island, didn't you!? Didn't you?" Payne continues to toss his supplies back in his backpack. Shelly is laughing now, "I bet you saw my win and realized how much potential a newb like me has! And that's why you keep bullying me! That's it, isn't it!?"

He stands up tall, "As a matter of fact, I did see you that day." He has a momentary flashback to seeing Shelly onstage with her Munchlax… Payne faces Shelly, "And that's why I know how helpless you are." He turns away with a smug look, "You haven't got a chance in this Contest Circuit, not with your lack of skills." He looks over his shoulder at her, "Let's just say… I'm not in the least worried." Payne stalks off leaving Shelly and the Pokémon. Shelly puffs out her cheeks and stomps her foot, "UGH! That guy! I hate him!"

It's nightfall by the time they've reached Commerce Town. Shelly is in awe with all the skyscrapers and shining lights.

"Guess this is it." She turns to look at Payne. He suddenly looks so serious. He turns to her, one hand on his hip, "Tomorrow we'll face off in the Contest." He chuckles, "Though you're no threat, I guess you're still technically one of my rivals?" Shelly can't help but smile at his words. She turns to face him straight on. She nods, "I'll show you who's not a threat..!"

She hasn't exactly figured him out quite yet, but whether he's a friend or not, from this point on, Payne is her number one Contest Rival..!