Happy new year!
Take care of yourselves. I want you to know that you are all awesome, incredibly so.
Truth be told, I'm a little worried about the length of this chapter. Please let me know if it's too long! I figured it would be okay since I'm updating this story weekly.
Anyway, Enjoy!
Chapter 4: She Who Strives
"Remember what mom said earlier?" Lucia spoke with her arms crossed while walking across Route 115 beside Shelgon. They were close to the entrance of Rustboro City. "She said I should have evolved you into Salamance," Shelgon murmured his own name as though he sighed. "I mean, I could, but.. Wouldn't that take like, forever? Dragon-types take a long time to evolve."
"Shelgon," Shelgon said in a tone of agreement.
"We'd have to train super hard for you to evolve…Speaking of training, I wonder how Machoke's doing.." Lucia shrugged. "We hope we can see him again." Shelgon said his own name again in agreement.
"Oh right- Shelgon!" Lucia scurried ahead and stood in front of Shelgon with her hands behind her back and a wide grin. "There's something I always wanted to do when you evolved into this form,"
Shelgon stopped and looked up at his trainer.
"I've always wanted you to hop on my shoulder in that form!" Lucia said.
Shelgon shook its body to indicate it saying 'no'.
"Why not?!" Lucia cried. "When you evolve, you're gonna be huge! Like, this big!" Lucia raised her hands above her head. "Except a LOT bigger! You won't be that small again!"
Shelgon shook its body again.
"Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?" Lucia clasped her hands together. "Pretty please?"
Shelgon started walking ahead, and Lucia pouted.
"All right, fine!" Lucia roared. She ran over to Shelgon and picked him up. Shelgon's feet shuffled about in surprise as Lucia placed the Pokémon on her shoulder. Shelgon immediately leapt off and kept walking.
"Awwww…" Lucia said. "C'mon! I know you don't like riding on someone, but can't you make an exception?! Just this once for me? You're at your cutest in this form!" Shelgon just kept walking."Fine! Be that way! But I won't give up!" Lucia cried, running to join her Pokémon's side.
It wasn't long until the two of them reached Rustboro City. The city was the most suburban place Lucia had ever seen. There were lamposts all around and buildings in every corner. In front of the duo was a road that lead to a poke market, and right behind it was the PokéCenter.
"This place looks nice," Lucia said, stretching her arms about. "Though I'm wondering where the gym leader is..." Lucia looked down at Shelgon, who still had a visible bruise on his back.
"Oh boy, Shelgon, you're a bit hurt." A sly smile grew on the trainer's lips as she ran in front of her Pokémon again. "You must be tired from all that walking, huh? Luckily for you, I know a nice place for you to rest on while we go to the Pokécenter!" Lucia patted her own shoulder. "My shou-"
Shelgon just kept walking.
"Agh, you're so mean!" Lucia cried, hurriedly trailing behind her Pokemon. The moment the two walked into the Pokecenter, Lucia expected to see the warm, welcoming smile of Nurse Joy. Instead, what she saw was a small crowd of people surrounding something. Immediately, the purple haired girl furrowed her brow.
"Is that a Mew!?" Someone cried. Lucia's eyes widened.
"Yeah, it's a Mew! It's definitely a Mew!" Another person cried.
"Out of the way! Lemme see!" Another person cried.
Lucia and Shelgon exchanged glances and nodded before walking to join the crowd. It was hard to see what was at the center of attention because of the amount of people that were in her way, so Lucia started pushing and shoving people away to see.
"Ugh- excuse me- move, please!" Lucia grumbled as she plowed through the crowd. Eventually, she pushed through and saw who was in the center of attention. It was a white-haired girl wearing a white blouse, a blue skirt and a white balmoral cap. She appeared to have short hair. The girl had a bright smile on her face as though she were enjoying the attention. On her shoulder was- to Lucia's surprise, was Mew.
"Wait.." Lucia said, squinting her eyes. Something about Mew looked off. Lucia could have sworn that Mew didn't have two beads for eyes and a long, long smile on its face.
It kind of reminded Lucia of a ditto.
"That's it!" Lucia cried in realization. "That's not Mew! That's a Ditto!"
"Waiiiit… She's right!" Another voice cried.
"Hey! I'm perfectly legit! This is absolutely Mew!" The girl said.
"Ditto!" The Mew said.
Everyone stared at the girl who immediately facepalmed.
"I'm outa here.." A voice said. Soon, the entire crowd except Lucia dispersed. Immediately, Ditto returned to his original purple and short pudgy form.
"Darn it, Ditto!" The girl said. "We need to practice more in front of crowds! I know you like the attention like me, but you can't talk while in other forms, okay?"
"Ditto..." Ditto frowned as its body sank.
"Aww, it's okay, Ditto. Don't be sad. This is all just practice, remember?"
"You know," Lucia and Shelgon approached the white-haired girl. "It's bad to try to trick people like that." The girl turned to Lucia. Then, she widened her eyes. Her jaw slowly dropped. "If people catch you in a lie, you'll look like an idiot," Lucia continued. "So don't do that, okay?"
The Ditto's trainer just wordlessly stared at Lucia. After a long while, Lucia tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
"Uh- hello?" Lucia waved her hand over the girl's awestruck face. "Um.. Are you there? Hello?" Lucia turned around to see if something shocking was happening behind her. The only thing she saw were people leaving the center. Nothing of great interest. She turned back to the girl who looked lost for words.
"Are you staring at something?" Lucia asked. "What's going on?"
"Y-You're…" The girl finally spoke. "C-Can..."
"Is.. something wrong?" Lucia asked.
"Can I please go on a date with you!?" The girl beamed at Lucia as though she were watching shooting stars for the first time. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen! I'd be so honored to go out with you!"
Lucia nearly gasped. Her face flushed red as her heart began to race.
"Wh-Wha-.." Lucia's hands began trembling in nervousness. "What!? D-Date?!"
The girl lunged and grabbed both of Lucia's hands. "You have to forgive me for just staring! I was completely lost in your gorgeous yellow eyes the moment I saw you!"
"G-Gor-Gorgeou-..!" Lucia was at a loss for words. Her face grew redder.
"Can I please go on a date with you?! Please?!" The girl rored.
"I- We- We just met!" Lucia pulled her hand away from the girl then shook her hands in a surrender motion. "I can't go on a date with you!"
"Can you not see our future together as well as I do!?" The girl roared. "Just imagine it, the two of us, eating at the finest restaurant! Then, while the moon's pale light shines upon us, we move close to each other for the kiss!" The girl giggled to herself as she leapt in glee. "Bwehehehehe!~ You understand, don't you!?" The girl then wrapped her arms around herself in an embrace and started making kissy faces. "We'd be like, Mwaah, Mwaah Mmmmwaaaah Mmwa-" Lucia gasped.
"Wha-!"
"Mmwah! Mmah!-"
"Stop it!" Lucia cried. "Stop doing that!"
"MMwah-"
Out of instinct, Lucia's fist slammed into the girl's cheek, and sent her spiraling into the ground. Ditto plopped on top of the girl's stomach and bounced like gelatin.
"I-I-..I'm not going to kiss someone I just met!" Lucia roared at the top of her lungs. "Jeez! Stupid-butthead-jerk!"
"Insulting someone and punching them when you're flustered, huh?" Lucia's eyes widened once she heard someone's voice from behind her. "Both of your parents rubbed off on you at once, didn't they?"
"Marie!?" Lucia spun around to see a familiar woman with long blonde hair and a wide grin. She had black sunglasses on her forehead and a red long dress, along with red lipstick. She looked like she was ready to go to a ball. She winked playfully at Lucia as she came closer. "What're you doing here?" Lucia asked.
"I was actually looking for that girl you punched." Marie pointed at the girl lying on the ground. Her hat was on the floor, and it revealed the length of her hair. It was actually pretty long. The girl's Ditto had already slithered off of her stomach. Lucia turned to her and nearly gasped.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Lucia cried. "I'm sorry! Whenever I get flustered I just hit anything in front of me, I'm so sorry!" Lucia offered a helping hand.
"Be careful when you flirt with this one, Ana," Marie said. "She takes after her mother and father. Mostly her father, since y'know, you got punched in the face." The girl named Ann took Lucia's hand and stood up with her help but didn't let go of her hand. Lucia stared with open eyes. The girl named Ana looked gorgeous with her hair let out. Ana put back on her cap and smiled gently.
"Your hand's so soft..." Ana said, caressing the back of Lucia's hand with her fingers. Lucia looked absolutely stunned. "It's like a delicate flower, a rose that's bloomed to perfection. I've got goosebumps." Lucia's heart skipped a beat. "Also, that punch earlier really hurt," Ana continued. A kiss would definitely make me feel better, though!" Ana puckered her lips and leaned closer.
"Eh!?" Lucia's face became bright red, and out of instinct she swiped her hand away and punched Ana hard enough for her to fall to the ground again. "Arrrrgh!" I told you, I'm not going to kiss someone I just met!" Lucia cried. "Idiot! Stupid dummy!"
"Totally… worth… the try..." Ana groaned. Ditto just stared at and sighed. "I almost forgot... Okay, Ditto...Back into the ball you go...!" Ana pulled a Pokeball from her pocket and returned Ditto to his ball.
"Oh, Ana.." Marie grumbled, shaking her head. "Please excuse her, she does that to every pretty lady we come across."
"Oh?" For a half a second, Lucia looked slightly disappointed, before blinking and shaking her head as though to snap herself out of it.
"Don't take it the wrong way!" Ana cried, still lying on the ground. "You're definitely the one for me!"
"You say that to every girl," Marie said.
"But I mean it this time!" Ana cried.
"That, too." Marie said.
"A-Anyway.. Marie?" Lucia turned to the blonde woman. "Why are you dressed all fancily? Are you going to a party?"
"Actually, Ana and I are practicing together for contests. We're trying to enter contests."
"Contests?" Lucia asked. "Really?"
"Yeeep!" The girl named Ana sprang to her feet. "Marie got bored of fighting all the time," Ana continued, "so she decided to enter contests for the fun of it! We're both novices! Oh! Did you know that Marie used to be the champion of Houen?!"
"Uh, yeah," Lucia adjusted her glasses. "Marie's a family friend of mine.. She helped my Mom and Dad fight against some bad guys in the past."
"Aww… I wanted to see the surprised look on your face." Ana said, pouting.
"Um, well, sorry to disappoint you," Lucia said.
"Oh, don't worry," Ana said., grabbing Lucia's hand once again and raising it to her face. "The moment you walked into my life you've done nothing but amaze me," The girl kissed the back of Lucia's hand. The moment she did that, Lucia's entire face became red once again. Her heart nearly leapt from her chest.
"H-Hey..!" Lucia said, shooting a glare. "'ll- I'll hit you, you know…! You- You stupid J-Jerk…"
"Bwehehehehe~" Ana had a wide silly grin that nearly brought a smile to Lucia's face. Instead of smiling, Lucia grumbled and forced herself to frown.
"Sorry to cut your flirting short," Marie said while pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "But we've gotta go."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ana said. "Before I go! Let me introduce myself properly! My name's Anastasia! Ana for short. I'm a trainer aiming to become the best contest trainer in Houen!"
"Oh, uh," Lucia looked away shyly. "That's nice, I like your name." She said with a nervous chuckle.
"What's your name?" Ana asked.
"It's..um…L-Lucia."
"Lucia's such a gorgeous name! Almost as gorgeous as you."
"O-Oh.." Lucia giggled nervously.
"Anyway, Lucia!" The girl named Anastasia spun and ran to the Pokécenter's front door. "I'll be off! I promise, one day, I'll make you fall in love with me!" Ana waved goodbye with both of her arms and blew a kiss before finally leaving.
Lucia looked like she was in a trance as she watched Anastasia walk out. A hand landed on the young trainer's shoulder, and she nearly jumped.
"You looked like you swooned for her," Marie teased, patting Lucia's shoulder. Lucia spun and lightly shoved the giggling blonde.
"What do you mean!? I'm not-" Lucia cried.
"I've seen all sorts of reactions from ladies when Ana does her thing, but yours is different from the rest. I say you're definitely swooning."
"I said I'm not swooning!" Lucia's entire face was bright red.
"Your mother and father said the same thing about each other when they first met y'know."
"Don't you have a contest to be at!?"
"You're right, you're right," Marie said after a chuckle. "Take care, kid. Tell your folks I said hi." The blonde smiled one last time before leaving the Pokecenter.
"Ugh- Hey, Shelgon!" Lucia looked down at Shelgon, who looked up at her. "Shelgon, you don't think I'm swooning for that girl do you!?"
Shelgon stared at Lucia. He then then smiled slyly.
"You- Shelgon- stop smiling at me like that! I'm serious!"
Shelgon's grin grew wider. Lucia groaned as she picked the Dragon-type up and ran to the front desk of the Pokecenter. "I'd like to heal my Pokemon!" She cried grumpily. Nurse joy wordlessly nodded.
Lucia walked out of the Pokecenter walking beside a fully healed Shelgon, and noticed a small crowd in front of her.
"What's going on this time?" Lucia asked.
"SHE'S SO COOOOL!" One girl said.
"Will you marry me!?" Another guy cried. Lucia furrowed her brow in slight annoyance the moment she heard the word 'marry'. Was it Anastasia gathering attention again?
"You're so awesome!" Anastasia cried. Lucia nearly gasped upon hearing Anastasia's voice, then quickly joined the small crowd. She saw the girl who was in the center of this crowd. A wealthy looking girl standing beside a man who appeared to be her butler. The rich girl had long crimson red hair that looked combed to perfection and wore a tiara made with what looked like real sapphire jewels. She had a long blue dress laced with fabrics and blue jewels Lucia had never seen before and long white gloves.
Needless to say, this girl looked like a princess.
"You're so awesome!" Anastasia cried at the top of her lungs. "You look like a superstar!"
The girl who looked like royalty just sighed. Suddenly, the butler, who was wearing a tuxedo and holding a briefcase stepped to Anastasia
"Please," The man said quickly. "Stand aside, all of you. Do not crowd Lady Beatrice."
"Beatrice..?" Lucia said.
"It's fine, the commoners aren't who we're here for," Said Beatrice, who closed her eyes in slight annoyance. Don't mind them."
"Hiii!" Anastasia cried, pushing through the crowd and going face to face with Beatrice. "You look absolutely breathtaking!" She cried.
"And you are?" She asked.
"I'm Anastasia! But you can just call me Ana!"
"Please, Ma'am," The man who appeared to be her butler stepped in. "we must-"
"No, I allow it." Beatrice said. "Continue."
"Oh-.." Anastasia blinked. "Uh- I was wondering if, y'know, if you and I could go on a date."
"WHAT!?" Lucia cried.
"That was fast," Lucia spun to see Marie walking up to the purple haired trainer.
"She's just going to ask her out!? Just like that?!" Lucia cried.
"Yeah," Marie said. "Like I said, she does this with every gir-"
"Grrr…!" Lucia stormed her way over to the crowd of people. Shelgon watched her storm ahead and exchanged a glance with Marie.
"Yeah, that just confirms it,," Marie said. Shelgon nodded in agreement.
"Is that all?" The girl named Beatrice sighed a long sigh. "Waste of time."
"Pardon me, madam," The butler bowed gently to Beatrice. "Must I remove this girl from our path?"
"Why fret with every fly we come across?" Beatrice said. She crossed her arms as Anastasia's jaw dropped.
"Fly!?" Anastasia cried. "You're so mean!"
"We're here for one person. Not to humor the masses. It was my mistake even choosing to respond."
"Nooo! Rejected agaaaain!" Anastasia cried. She spun around and fell to the ground.
"Hey!" Lucia cried, pushing and shoving people out of the way to come face to face with the three at the center. "You don't have to be that mean!"
Beatrice didn't respond.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! You jerk!"
"Harold," Beatrice turned to her butler. "Let's be on our way. We have a person to find." The butler named Harold nodded, and the two began walking away.
"I'm talking to you! Can you not hear me!?" Lucia stormed over to Beatrice and grabbed her shoulder.
The princess-like girl stopped in her tracks. She turned around and had the angriest scowl that Lucia had ever seen in her life. She noticed in that moment that Beatrice was also taller than her- so she looked even scarier. With a swift hand Beatrice knocked away Lucia's hand.
"Don't touch me," She said. Intimidated, Lucia took a step back. "Do you know who I am?" Beatrice continued. "I could fine you for all you're worth, filth."
"What?!" Lucia's face flared with rage. "Filth!? Say that again, I dare you!" Rage over took her as she stepped closer to the conceited princess. "You think just because you're rich or something that you can look down on me?!"
"My wealth has nothing to do with it. I'm better than you because I know I am." Beatrice said.
"What did you just say!?"
"I didn't stutter."
Lucia clenched her fists. Her blood started to boil. Just as Lucia raised her arm ready to strike-
"Ladies, Ladies!" Marie walked in just in time to grab everyone's attention. "Let's calm down, all right?"
Suddenly, Beatrice's eyes lit up with interest. She walked away from Lucia and toward Marie. "There you are..." Beatrice said. "You're the one I was looking for."
"What?" Lucia said.
"You mean me, right!?" Anastasia cried happily, bouncing with joy with her hands together.
"Ana, she's not even looking your way," Marie said.
"I can DREAM, Marie!" Anastasia lowered her head.
"Don't dream about her!" Lucia shouted.
"Quiet, both of you," Beatrice said, turning her head slightly.
"Don't tell me to be quiet!" Lucia roared.
"Lucia," Marie said quickly. "I wanna hear what she has to say. What's up?"
Beatrice pointed a finger at the blonde. "Former Champion Marie. I challenge you to a duel. If I beat you, surely it would mean that I am worthy to fight in the Pokémon League. I wouldn't need a single badge."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," Marie said. "What do you mean?"
"I tried challenging the Pokémon League as soon as I decided I would become a trainer." Beatrice said, lowering her arm. "But I was told I had to gain 8 gym badges before gaining the right to challenge. I figured it would be easier to fight someone who already held the title to prove my worthiness." Marie sighed deeply.
"Kid? Uh.." Marie scratched the top of her head. "Not gonna lie, You're reminding me of a person I used to know.. And not in a good way."
"And who might that be?"
"A guy named Quinton. He used to be champion."
The girl smiled brightly.
"Good, I'm glad to hear that I remind you of him," She said. "That's perfect."
"Perfect?" Marie raised her eyebrows.
"Quinton is someone I admire," She said, placing her hand on her heart. "Ever since I was young, I saw my hero television, Quinton. I was awestruck at the way he defeated his opponents and spoke down to them like the trash they were. It got my heart racing. Quinton, the legend. The greatest. I suppose the reason why he stopped being champion was because he was simply bored. I wish to be just like him. I aspire to be like him- to never lose a single battle. To be perfect."
"Here's the thing, that arrogance you're harboring there is going to absolutely crush you." Marie said with a stern face. "There will always be someone better than you. And when you realize it, your world will come crashing down."
"I didn't come to you for a lecture. I came for a fight. Harold!" Beatrice snapped her fingers, and Harold hurriedly opened the briefcase he held. Inside of it was an Invoker shaped like a necklace. Beatrice took the invoker and put it on. She activated it, and in a flash of light, the wealthy girl's invoker armor appeared. No traces of her dress and tiara were in sight.
"You will fight me." Beatrice said. "And I will not take no for an answer."
"Hey!" Lucia ran to stand in front of Beatrice. "Take on someone your own size!"
"Out of my way, filth,," Beatrice said. "This doesn't concer-"
"No, she's right," Marie said. "You should take on someone your own size. I'd feel bad about fighting someone who only just began their Pokémon Journey. Right now, you're only a rookie."
"Excuse me..!?" Beatrice's eyes flared in rage. "Rookie!?"
"Though I think Lucia here can humble you." Marie said.
"Her?" Beatrice looked at Lucia and scoffed. "What's she going to do? She looks like she wouldn't last five minutes against me!"
"Shut up, jerk!" Lucia cried. "I can take you down anytime!"
Shelgon hurriedly ran to Lucia's side and glared furiously at Beatrice.
"...Fine." Beatrice said, smiling and looking down at Lucia. "If I utterly crush this girl, then it should show that I'm clearly not a rookie. Then, that means I would be worthy to face you, correct?"
"I'm not promising anything," Marie said with a shrug.
"You're going to be the one who gets crushed..!" Lucia cried. Lucia glared furiously at Beatrice who smiled arrogantly.
"Ladies, ladies!" Anastasia popped up between the two girls like a whack-a-mole target. The two rivals stood back. "Why crush each other…" Anastasia grinned widely as she looked at the both of them with a wide smile. "When you both can crush me instead?"
"NO!" They both cried.
"Aww.." Anastasia lowered her head. She took several steps back. "Well, if you need me, I'm going to watch this fight and pretend you're both fighting over me!"
"What do you like about this girl, anyway!?" Lucia roared. "She's such a jerk! She literally insulted you!"
"I've been called worse, to be honest!" Anastasia cried.
"Why do you care about who Ana likes, Lucia?" Marie asked with a sly smile. Lucia swung her head around to the blonde.
"No! I- I don't care! I'm- I'm just frustrated because this Beatrice girl's a jerk, and Ana shouldn't be even liking a girl like that!"
"Right, right. She should be just liking you,"Marie said.
"NO!" Lucia roared. "IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANA!"
"Riiiight-" Marie whispered.
"I'M SERIOUS!"
"Enough games," Beatrice's voice made Lucia turn and glare at her. "It's time for me to take out the trash," Beatrice said.
Author's note:
Anastasia used First Impression!
It's super effective! Lucia fainted!
Hope you guys have an awesome day! :)