"Hey? You okay?"
"He's out here!"
"Come on, seriously?"
I open my eyes, and get instantly blinded by the morning sun.
I throw my hands up to block it, but a shadow covers it.
"We were supposed to leave like twenty minutes ago!" Rayna laughs, playfully smacking my arm.
"What? Huh?" I stand up, still groggy, and start to fall, but a pair of strong hands catches me.
"Whoa there bud! You been drinking?" Matt laughs, and everyone joins in.
"He must have gotten entranced by the Sing last night." Nareen points out, and they all nod.
"Sing? Huh?" I mumble, as we shuffle inside.
"All those Volbeat and Illumise. It's mating season, so they join in huge groups and perform their sing attack, trying to woo one of the other species." Nareen explains, and I nod.
"I watched them! Then a pair flew over me, and I passed out not long after." They all nod, laughing.
"Go get changed! It's time to go!" Rayna laughs, leading me to the closet.
"Where is Kai?" I ask, finally starting to wake up a bit.
"Jessie and James came and grabbed him. Wonder what for?" Matt thinks aloud from my bed, where he is petting a still sleeping Cleo. She purrs, leaning into him.
"They offered him a position in Team Rocket! A Dex-er!" I call out as I change, and I hear them all whoop.
I head back out, stringing my belt on and triple-checking that I have all of my pokeballs.
"Thats so exciting for him! He's going to love it!" Rayna's smile is beaming.
I stop in the middle of the room, turning to survey everyone, and I feel my heart warm.
Matt is now play-wrestling with Cleo, who is purring happily as she tries to get the upper hand.
Rayna is sitting with Belle, helping her curl the wool around her head by twisting it and holding it.
Nareen is talking with Effie, petting her and laughing away, and Effie is smiling like she won the lottery.
"You okay?" Rayna asks, standing up, and I smile.
"Never been better. Lets get going!"
"Welcome to Victory Road!" N laughs as he gestures to the mountain ahead of us, and the old, cracked foot path in front of us.
A tumble weed floats by.
"It looks... well used?" Nareen says, but its more of a question than a statement.
"Thats because it is! Almost eight hundred trainers make their way through here a year, maybe more!"
"Well, no sense in wasting time. Lets go!" Rayna ties her hair back, puts a bandanna on, and leads us into the first cave, but N darts ahead and blocks the entrance.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Not so fast! You really thing I was going to let you go through here by yourself? Everyone, pick a partner. And, why not make this training day a little more... interesting, shall we?" His eyes have a dangerous glint, and he waits for us all to pick partners.
Prim grabs my arm before anyone else can, Nareen and Matthew team up, and Rayna goes with her other Skull teammate.
"Okay. So, we are going to have ourselves a little challenge!" N starts, and everyone goes silent.
"First group to the top of the mountain, gets to use my private jet for an entire day, and are allowed to take it anywhere within the region for twenty-four hours." I look at Prim, eyes wide.
"We could train by Nimbasa again!" Prim gasps, and I nod.
"Or Striaton!" Rayna says behind me, and we nod again.
Me, Nareen, Matt, and Rayna all lock eyes, nodding in unison.
No matter who wins, we all get to use the jet.
"Alright, get ready guys!" We line up in the cave entrance.
"On your marks..."
"Get set..."
"GO!"
And just like that, 14 teenagers dart into a mysterious cave, no questions asked.
"Thank god we have Belle!" Prim says, sighing in relief.
Belle used Flash right away, making the entire cave visible for us.
"Right? Now, lets find our way out, but we can't forget to train." She nods, and we set off again.
It's been a few hours, and we've already made it through to cave number three, the first cave with absolutely NO lighting, but we have yet to see any wild pokemon...
Cleo and Effie stay by my sides, listening for any oncoming attacks.
"Say, you think we should catch anything around here?" Prim asks, kicking Princess's ball again, letting her run after it, yapping.
She runs out of Belle's flash range, around an upcoming corner, and dissappears.
"I mean, it's definitely something to consider, but-" I stop abruptly, and Princess goes silent ahead.
Prim notices it to, rushing ahead to the corner.
She turns it...
And screams.
"EFFIE!" I point, grabbing Prim and throwing her behind me as I whip around the corner.
Belle sticks her tail around, illuminating the scene ahead.
First thing I see is Princess, her ball in her mouth, trembling before the massive figure in front of her.
I look up, and see...
A Bibarel?
"Bib!" It giggles, falling from its hind legs to a sitting position, and clapping its hands at the new arrivals.
Effie stops mid-attack, heading back to Prim.
"Wha-What is it?" She whispers from around the corner, and I laugh.
"Come see! I'll warn you, it's pretty terrifying!" She pokes her head out, gasps, then smacks my arm.
"You ass! I thought it was a wild pokemon come to attack us!" She whines, and I laugh again.
The only reason I know that it's a Bibarel is because Mom's friend Talia has one, so I recognized it instantly.
"Hey... buddy?" I ask hesitantly, not wanting to offend the beaver pokemon, and it nods.
A him! It's a boy!
"Bib! Bibib!" He giggles, pulling me into a hug, and I hug him back, laughing.
"Hes adorable!" Prim laughs, jumping in after me for a hug as well.
"What are you doing here, buddy?" I ask, and his eyes go down, his smile turning into a forwn.
"Bibarel. Bib." He says sadly, pointing to my belt.
"A pokeball? Wait, are you a trainers pokemon?" I ask, and he nods, then shakes his head.
"Were you... released?" I ask, and I watch as tears well up in his eyes, as he nods.
"Oh, sweetheart!" Prim wipes his tears, kissing his cheek, and he sniffles, hugging her again.
He is almost a good head taller than her when he sits, and is quite big around, as most Bibarel pack a lot of extra weight.
"Why? Why would someone do that?" I ask, more to myself than anyone.
He points to his arms, pretending to flex, then shakes his head.
"Because you weren't..." I dont finish, but he nods again.
"Strong enough." Prim finishes, sobbing quietly and hugging him tight.
Princess licks his feet, making him laugh, as he gently dries Prim's tears like she did for him.
"Well, if you were MY pokemon, you would be appreciated and loved, no matter how strong, weak, big, or small you were!" Prim sighs, wiping her last tears, and Bibarel perks up.
"What? Whats up?" She asks, and he points to her belt, then to him excitedly.
"Wait... I think he wants you to catch him!" I put in, and he claps, bouncing on his butt as he nods and giggles.
"What? Are you sure?" She asks, and he kisses her forehead, carefully making sure his teeth dont hit her, and he nods again, smiling.
Her face lights up, as she reaches for an empty pokeball, before her face goes from happy to upset.
I hand her an empty pokeball, and she quietly thanks me.
"Here we go!" She whispers to herself, and gently taps the empty pokeball to Bibarel's head, enveloping him in a beam of red energy as he dissappears inside.
The ball shakes once, twice, then three times in her hand with a click.
She releases him instantly, and he hugs her.
"Do you have a nickname?" She asks, but he shakes his head.
"We'll have to fix that then!" She smiles, and he giggles.
We dont end up coming in first, but Matthew and Nareen do, so its not a huge loss.
Rayna caught a Mienfoo, a girl named Macy.
Matthew and Nareen both caught Woobat's, both boys named Yemming (Nareen) and Floe (Matthew).
Bibarel is now called Francis.
And, to top it all off, Martin evolved into a Machoke, and Berri evolved into a Steenee.
"Great work guys! That didn't take half as long as I thought it would!" We all laugh tiredly, watching as the sun finally sets over the mountains in the background.
"I promise, the way down is a lot more fun!" N finishes in a shout, jumping down a dirt-slide beside him.
Francis laughs, grabbing Prim and Princess, and jumping down next.
"Francis, WAIT! WAAAaaaaiii..."
One by one, everyone hops down, until its just me, Rayna, and Nareen left.
"Ladies first!" I bow dramatically, and Nareen laughs, jumping first.
"Where in the world did Prim find a Bibarel?" Rayna asks the moment we're alone.
"His trainer released him because he wasnt tough enough." I explain, and she shakes her head.
"How could someone do that? Raise a pokemon, then decide it isn't good enough. Those kinds of people make me sick." She spits on the ground, fuming mad.
"Me too. Now, we better go." She nods, hopping down.
I sit on the edge, making sure she's all the way down, when something lightly tugs on my shirt.
I returned all of my pokemon due to them being tired, so I know it wasn't them...
I turn slowly, and see... a little green pokemon, with large tusks coming out the side of its mouth.
"Hey buddy!" I turn, so I'm facing him.
"Ax! Ew!" The pokemon giggles, and I pick him up.
"Whats up?" I ask, and he smiles, picking up a pokeball from my belt.
"Wait..." Before I can say or do anything, he bops it onto his head, dissappearing inside.
"Wha..." I stare, confused as it shakes three times and beeps, confirming the capture.
"Um..."
"HURRY UP!" I hear a voice call from far below.
Shrugging, I put the ball back on my belt, and slide off the edge.
"Thats an Axew." N explains, and I nod.
We are on the jet, which is a little crowded but it's not horrible.
Axew, the little green pokemon from before, is sleeping soundly on my lap, as I absentmindedly stroke his head.
"And from the looks of it's tusks, it's newly born." N finishes.
"Newly born? Where is its mother?" I ask, more to myself than anyone.
"Haxorus, that was its mother. Dragon type pokemon are the only type's that have a habit of leaving their eggs as soon as they are born, letting the offspring fend for themselves. Its... natural selection, survival of the fittest, if you will." He explains, and I shake my head.
"Thats stupid. Look at this little guy! Hes a sweetheart!"
"Well, now he's YOUR sweetheart. You going to name him?" N asks, and I nod.
"I think I'll name him..."
NOTE:
Hey everyone;
Sorry about the lack of posting lately, I've been so caught up with work I haven't had time to write! Also, I've been working on a companion series to Serena's adventure, so be sure to keep an eye out for that one! I'll give you one hint... it's called 'Christina'. Do what you will with that information 8D
Thank you guys for sticking around and bearing with me, I will try my hardest to keep the posting as regular as possible!
Until next time;
~Austin 3