Beware: Very long chapter ahead.
…
I felt some sort of weight on top of me.
"Wake up!"
I jerked awake, and looked around for a few moments, clearly dazed by the suddenness. I then saw Elena kneeling on top of my legs. I tilted my head back and sighed.
"Good morning to you too." I let my head sink back into the pillow and closed my eyes. Her weight shifted up my body and I felt a light slap on my cheeks. "Don't go back to sleep. If I don't get any, you shouldn't have any either. Plus, we need to be leaving soon."
"Nngh," I didn't feel like getting up. "Five more minutes…"
Elena didn't say anything else, but instead I heard the popping sound of a Pokéball. Suddenly, I was being pulled out of bed by two stubby, blue hands. "Wha- Oh come on, you're gonna get Torrent out on me?"
"Azu!" I was being held over the blue Pokémon's body. "Really?" I asked, and Elena just giggled.
I saw Torrent become engulfed in a red light, and I soon hit the ground hard after he was fully returned. Elena giggled again, and I groaned in pain. "Alright, alright, I'm up! Jeez…"
Elena at least had the decency to help me up. "Come downstairs and eat breakfast. We need to get ready soon and leave to the convention!"
That's when it clicked in my mind. "Oh you're right! I almost forgot!" I smacked my forehead.
I put on some clothes, and headed downstairs. Jay was already at the dinner table, only he was asleep with half a piece of toast in his hand. He was also snoring very loudly.
"What time did you guys get back?" I questioned as I snagged a piece of toast from the giant platter.
"2 AM. The trainer we were helping was being a stubborn little shit." She was pouring some coffee as she said that.
"Why were you even there to begin with?"
"Some trainer Jay sold a Pokémon to about a month ago needed help with it. It was a Heracross, and it was feeling sick because it was too reliant on Jay's care," She took a sip of her coffee. "Anyway, it all ended with Jay having to take the Heracross back, because the trainer clearly didn't know how to raise one."
"Oh. Well, that's definitely a tale I guess," I bit into some more toast, and picked up a hard boiled egg as well. "You excited for your tournament?" I asked, changing the subject. Elena sat down next to me.
"Yes!" She exclaimed. "I've been preparing a whole bunch of strategies with all my Pokémon! I signed up for this tournament immediately after I got my sixth gym badge, and I've basically memorized which battlefield I need to go to, what time it takes place, and the name of the person I'm versing!" She was throwing her hands all over the place as she told me this. I couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was. I looked over at Jay who was still passed out across the table. I ripped off a small piece of my toast and threw it in his direction. It hit him right on the cheek, and he quickly shot up with a snort.
"Nnghuh?" He looked straight at me, glared, and threw the entire toast he had in his hand at me. It hit me right in the face, and I could feel some jelly on my cheek. Elena laughed before taking the liberty of wiping the jelly off my face with a napkin.
"Thanks," I said, before hearing a thud. I looked back at Jay, who slammed his head back into the table.
"Ma puce, you're not very fond of me as it is. I guarantee if you wake me up once more, you will see a whole new side of me you wish you never disturbed." Jay scowled at me, and it was almost enough for me to take that threat seriously. Jay wrapped his arms around his head, and I heard a faint snore.
"Let him sleep for now. He got the least sleep as he had to tend to the Heracross until about four." Elena stated, giving me a look that told me to put the piece of toast I was about to throw down.
"Alright, then." I complied, and finished off my toast and hard boiled egg. We left Jay to sleep on the table, and retreated back to our rooms. We both freshened ourselves up, preparing for the long day ahead of us.
"How big is the place?" I asked from the other side of Elena's closed door.
"It's probably the size of a really big stadium," she called back. "There are multiple small battlefields on the outer perimeter of the building, and three larger, center of attention battlefields near the center. That's where my tournament is being held."
"Good luck on that by the way. I'm sure you'll do great!" I assured, trying to be motivational. A small giggle came from the other side. "Thanks Marcel."
…
Jay's grandma had taken pictures of Elena and her Pokémon before we were allowed to leave. Diego was driving us to the convention, Elena sat in the front, meanwhile a very sleepy Jay sat next to me. Slept next to me. Slept on me.
I saw Elena grin at me as we both looked into the front mirror. She could easily spot my uncomfortableness as Jay was nestled on my shoulder, sleeping soundly. Trying to shake him off was also useless, as doing so only seemed to make him nestle closer.
"How much longer until we get there?" I asked, wanting this car ride to end as soon as possible.
"Only another ten minutes," Diego replied, focusing on the road. "Which lot do I need to drop you off at Elena?"
"Lot C. My preparation room is near that entrance."
The car fell silent after that. The only thing that could be heard was Jay's faint snoring. I awkwardly pulled out my phone, just so that I had something to do for the remainder of the car ride. The next time I looked up, we were in a parking lot next to a huge stadium looking building.z
"We've arrived," Diego said in a calm tone. "Wake up Master Jay, will you?"
I shook Jay a few times, but he showed no signs of waking up. "Excuse me your royal highness, but your beauty sleep will have to wait." I sarcastically said as I continued to shake him.
"Nnghshutthefuckuphhh…" He groggily groaned, and slowly got up. He glared at me with the face of 'I hate everything and you especially.' I just gave him the brightest smile I could. He looked around as he stepped out of the car. "Oh… We're here…" He sounded very dull.
"At least pretend you're excited," Elena placed her hands on her hips.
"I am, I am... It's just…" He didn't finish that statement as he cut himself off with a yawn. "I'm fine, trust me…"
"Will you be leaving now?" Diego asked. Elena nodded. "You can go if you want to. Why not stay around for the convention though?" She asked, and Diego chuckled. "I wish I had time for such activities today, but I am far too busy. Perhaps tomorrow." Elena seemed to frown, feeling bad for Diego. "Aw… Well, alright then. The convention starts to close at eight, so start driving back at around that time." Diego nodded. "Very well. And, I wish you the best of luck in the tournament Elena." Elena smiled. "Thank you Diego," she turned to Jay and I. "Let's head inside then, shall we?"
The inside of that stadium was huge. It seemed to be an ever expanding building, littered with hundreds- probably thousands of people. There were multiple small battlefields in certain sections of the building, and trainers battling in them. Almost every single Pokémon I saw was one I hadn't seen before. A wizard fox, a Pokémon with fire shooting out of its back, some sort of blue snake, a purple blob dragon, and a tiny beige and green owl with a bow tie. Jay watched me examine all the Pokémon, and laughed.
"I've raised these Pokémon before you know. I could get you one if you really wanted, and with my skill set, they're bound to become only the best." Jay stated, and I rolled me eyes.
"I don't want your help when it comes to my team. My team is going to be something I choose throughout my journey, got it?" I shot back. It sounded a little more rude than I had intended. Jay simply shrugged. "Whatever you say. You trainers have a weird mind set."
"If you two are done, the preparation room is this way!" Elena called. She was slightly ahead of us, and we both ran to follow her. She stopped when she reached a doorway, and above it read 'Preparation Room C'. Just past it seemed to be a large looking room. "Come on! Let's head inside!" She ran into the room, while Jay and I just walked. The room was strangely empty. I started to hear a loud noise as we got further into the room.
"What's that noise?" I asked, trying to listen. "That's the audience cheering. We're right next to one of the center battlefields, and a match is going on right now." Jay said helpfully.
"Oh, okay," I turned to Elena. "So what are the rules of this tournament?"
Elena seemed glad I asked the question. "It starts off as one versus one Pokémon battle. As the tournament progresses, another Pokémon is added, until it is a six on six battle."
I stood there, puzzled for a moment. "Don't you only have four Pokémon?"
"Well, I don't necessarily have to use six Pokémon. My four just have to outlast the six opponents." She filled in. I think that made sense. She looked up at a clock on the wall. "My first battle is in ten minutes." She pointed two fingers at both Jay and I. "You two are gonna be my cheerleaders!"
We both blinked. In unison, we both remarked, "Cheerleaders?"
She laughed. "You don't literally have to be cheerleaders with pompoms and everything, just come with me when the battle starts so that you two can provide moral support!" Her arms were practically flying all over the room as she spoke. She turned on her heel to face away from us, and pulled out all four of her Pokéballs. After throwing them on the ground one at a time, all four of her Pokémon were lined up. Surprisingly, Audrey the Snorlax managed to fit inside the room.
"Listen up team!" Elena shouted, and placed her hands behind her back, beginning to walk back and forth, similar to a drill sergeant. "You four are going to have to hold your own against some of the toughest trainers in Sinnoh!"
The Rhydon and Azumarill looked at each other with determination in their eyes, Audrey yawned, and the Yanma's expression didn't change."
"Over the past month, we've been working on strategies to overcome all obstacles in our way! Now that the day of the big tournament is here, you need to put all that training to good use so that we can win!" She shook her fist in the air, and some of the Pokémon cheered.
"Rhyyahhhhh!"
"Rill!"
"Lahx…"
"Mortar! Are you gonna let some type advantage water or grass type get the better of you?"
"Drahn!" It cried, and furiously shook it's head.
"Torrent! If you're met with a giant foe like a Steelix, you don't let it intimidate you! You use your Huge Power to take it down!"
"Azuuum!" It raised its stubby arms in the air.
"Audrey! Be the quite literal wall you are!"
"Laaax!" It seemed to have more energy, and it hit its belly with one paw.
"And Yanma! Use your speed to your advantage! Tire out the opponents, and attack as much as possible!"
"Yaan-ma-a-a!"
Elena crossed her arms, and a grin appeared on her face. She seemed pleased with her little pep talk. "Now let's win this tournament!" She shouted, jumping up in the air.
"LAAAAAX!"
"RHYDRAAH!"
"Yanmaaaaa-aaaa!"
"Azumar-azu!"
…
"Starshine, use Aerial Ace!"
The trainer with long blonde bangs got the first move after a coin toss. His Staraptor charged with lightning fast speed towards Torrent.
"Brace yourself and use Aqua Tail!" Elena shouted.
"Raapt!"
"Zumar!"
The Staraptor collided with Torrent, but Torrent managed to hit it in the wing with Aqua Tail. The giant bird crashed into the ground, but quickly got up, trying to brush off the hit.
"Use Rollout!"
Torrent started to roll slowly, but almost instantaneously picked up speed, and was rolling straight for the Staraptor.
"Quickly, fly out of the way Starshine!"
The Staraptor flapped a few times, but quickly fell to the ground after its left wing gave out. Torrent rammed right into Starshine, sending it back a few feet. He continued to roll all around the battlefield, almost uncontrollably. The audience burst into cheers at the big hit, and Jay stood up next to me.
"Go Elena! You have this battle in the bag!" I could barely hear him because the arena was so loud, but I joined in on the cheering as well.
The Staraptor slowly got up, and hopped on one claw as it got up, then readjusted itself and let out a fierce screech. "Staaaaaaaar!"
The opposing trainer smiled. "Starshine, use Roost!"
The Staraptor closed its eyes and seemed to start glowing. It's twitching wing returned to normal, and any cuts it had on its body were healed almost instantly. It opened its eyes, now looking more energized.
Torrent continued rolling around the battlefield at great speed, and headed in the direction of Starshine once more.
"Stop the Rollout attack with Air Cutter!"
The Staraptor quickly flew into the air, dodging the speeding Azumarill, and flapped its wings, causing slashes of wind to emerge. With a dozen or so crashes, the Air Cutter hit the ground around torrent. The final three hit the blue blur directly, causing Torrent to roll out of control, and into a wall very close to us.
CRASH!
I jumped from my seat, startled at how close the impact was. I could see Elena grit her teeth when Torrent didn't get up.
"Come on Torrent! Don't let me down on the first round! Get up!" She pumped a fist in the air trying to motivate the unmoving Pokémon. The referee with a red afro took a moment to examine Azumarill, before making his decision. Both Jay and I sighed simultaneously.
"Azumarill is unable to battle! Staraptor- huh?" A look of confusion came over him, and he scratched the back of his neck. Torrent shakily pushed itself up off the ground, and firmly stomped both feet on the ground. Elena grinned and laughed almost manically. "Hahaha! Yes Torrent!" She jumped up and down.
"MARIIILLL!" A fierce shrill came out of the water type, and a wide smile formed on the referee's face. "Yowza! Miraculously, Azumarill is still able to fight! The battle continues!" He yelled into the microphone, and the audience went absolutely wild. The opposing trainer looked pissed, and he stomped his foot.
"Dammit! Starshine, wrap this battle up with Brave Bird!" He punched the air, to add emphasis to his order. The giant bird did a loop-de-loop in the air, emitting blue fire from its body.
"RAPTOR!" It shrieked, and the blue fire surrounding its body turned orange as it picked up a huge burst of speed into the direction of Torrent.
A panicked look came over Elena. "Quickly, Torrent-"
"Azuum-marill-zuuuuuuu!" The Azumarill started running, also getting a huge burst of speed in the process. A bright white streak followed Torrent as it ran faster and faster, until it was in the path of the Staraptor. The orange flaming Staraptor charged head first towards Torrent, and the white streaked speeding Azumarill dashed into Starshine.
BOOOOM!
They both collided with such impact, dust and the debris of the battlefield was sent all over the arena, and the attack could be felt by the spectators, as if they were hit. The entire arena erupted into more cheers.
"It seems Staraptor's Brave Bird collided with Azumarill's Double Edge! Both very powerful attacks, both of which also damage the user!" The referee was practically standing on his chair. "But which one of the two took the most damage?"
The dust around the battlefield settled, and the figure of both Torrent and Starshine appeared. They were both covered in cuts and bruises, and were both panting heavily. It looked like they would give out at any second, it was just a matter of who gives out first. The tension in the arena was high, and most of the crowd fell silent, awaiting to see what happened.
Finally, the Staraptor fell.
…
Munch, munch, munch.
We were chowing down on a Johtoan meal a some trainer bought us.
"Mmm- this is really good!" I exclaimed, swallowing some dumplings. I stabbed at another dumping with my fork, meanwhile Jay and Elena used the more graceful chopsticks. Being raised in Unova, chopsticks were always confusing to me.
"I- I hope you like it!" The brown haired trainer who bought us the meal stammered. He was a little on the young side, but a Magmortar stood by his side. Impressive.
"It's great, thank you!" Elena flashed him a smile, and he laughed nervously, pushing his glasses up back on the bride of his nose. He gave off a little bow, and quickly walked a few feet away, but I still noticed him observing us.
"You've been getting a lot of attention after your battle with the Staraptor. I think Torrent is famous in this stadium now!" Jay joked, picking up a piece of spicy sushi. He wasn't exactly wrong though. The kid who bought us lunch is the seventeenth person who greeted Elena, complimented her on the battle, and tried to strike up a conversation. Elena certainly didn't mind the attention, but Jay tried to warn them off with his egotistical personality by randomly butting into the conversations.
"I guess a lot of people just liked the battle. It was probably fun to watch. I mean, Torrent learned Double Edge which was great! It won me the fight!" She said excitedly. She still seemed to be hyper after her victory.
"Given the fact everyone who approached you is a guy, maybe they just think you're hot?" Jay said, grinning. Elena flung some lo-main at his face, which he didn't appreciate.
Suddenly, something jumped onto the table. I turned to face it, and saw a two-tailed purple feline. An Espeon. I quickly scrambled back in my seat, and the Espeon stared at me.
"M-Moonshine!?" I barely choked out. It cocked it's head, and stared at me with a confused look.
"Mrrp?" It purred. It then snatched up all of Jay's sushi, and skittered off the table, running away fast.
"H-hey! Come back here with my food you dirty little-"
"I'm so sorry!" A female voice cried. Jay quickly swiveled around, examining the short girl that now stood in front of him. Her long hair draped down to her waist, and it was a fading red color.
"I'm really s-sorry about Katie! She got out of her Pokéball, and she's been run-running away, and been stealing people's food, and she stole your food and you probably h-ha-hate me, and, and…" She was very clearly flustered, and looked like she was going to burst into tears.
"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Elena placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "It's okay! We can get more food!" She laughed, trying to make her feel better. She let out a sniffle. "I'm sorry, she's been very dis-disobedient lately and…" She trailed off.
"Why don't you just return it then?" Elena questioned, placing a finger on her chin.
"I can't g-get close enough to it a-and, and now I think she hates me be-because I-I yelled at her!" She practically wailed. Elena sighed, and Jay started rubbing his temples. Now he knew how it felt.
"Okay, listen," Jay spoke up. "If you just calm down and stop speaking so loudly, I'll help you find your damn Espeon, and even teach you how to make it listen to you, got it?" Jay said, clearly annoyed with this girl. Elena hit him on the arm, but he didn't seem to notice. The girl sniffled a few times before softly speaking. "You- you will?"
"Yes. I will. Now, come with me, and I'll help you, okay?" He sounded a little more sincere this time.
"Th-thank you!" She was practically praising Jay. "M-my names Ni-Nikki by the way!"
Jay outstretched his hand. "Jay Maçon. Come on, let's go." He walked off with Nikki. Elena and I were just sitting there, just processing what happened.
"… So Moonshine?" She raised an eyebrow as she asked this. I looked at myself and realized I was still a few feet away from the table. I quickly scooted closer and readjusted myself. She still awaited my answer.
"Oh, um… I met an Espeon back in Jubilife named Moonshine. They just looked similar I guess…"
Elena continued to examine me, before deeming my answer worthy. "Hm. Okay then. But I swear if I find illegal alcohol in your bag-"
"No illegal alcohol I assure you."
"Boo. That's disappointing."
"You drink?"
"Only with family at parties. Or if nobody can find out." She let out a small giggle. I was a little confused.
"How… How old are you?" I realized I never asked, despite traveling with her for four days. Is it rude to ask a girl her age?
"I'm fifteen. Sixteen next month."
I was surprised to say the least. "I thought you were, like fourteen or something…"
"No idea wether I should take that as an insult or a compliment, so I'll count it as both, and they cancel each other out."
We finished up the rest of our food, and walked around the convention some more, exploring the various tents set up.
…
"Katie! Katie! P-please come back!" Nikki was basically shouting at the top of her lungs. She began to wonder if she would ever see her Pokémon again. Suddenly, as if all her prayers were answered by whatever being is up there, she spotted the rather handsome Kalosian in the crowd of people, stroking an Espeon in his arms. She ran up to the both of them, trapping them in a hug trap.
"Oh Katie! Please don't run off like that again! You're sister was so worried!"
"Esprrrr!" It flailed and struggled to get out of the tight grip of its trainer. Jay was also trapped in this hug.
"Get… Off of me!" He basically had to push her off of him, an annoyed look forming over his face. "I-I'm sorry! I'm just really gl-glad she's back, reunited with her sister!" She profusely apologized.
"Your Espeon has a sister?" Jay blinked. Still hugging the Espeon close, she nodded. "Y-yeah! Here, look!" She dug through her pocket, and fished out a Pokéball. She pressed the button, and out popped a Flareon.
"Flaaar!" The Flareon looked up and spotted the Espeon in her trainers hands. "Fla-ree! Eon!" The Espeon's ears dropped down, and a guilty look overcame it. "Mrrrrrr…"
"This is S-Sadie! She's Katie's o-older sister! She's like the res-responsible older sister, and Katie is the rebellious y-younger si-sister!"
Jay's annoyed face was washed away, and he looked up at Nikki, examining her closer. She piqued his interest. Her fading red hair was tangled and messy, and she looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep as evident by her eye bags. Her clothes consisted of ripped, dirt stained light blue jeans, a dark gray, shoulder-less, knit sweater, and one of her bra straps were visible. She returned both of her Pokémon with a very flustered look on her face, nearly dropping Sadie's. Jay placed an arm over Nikki, and he turned her to an open area in the giant stadium.
"Come with me this way. I'll teach you how to train your Espeon to be more obedient, okay?" He flashed her a smile, and she couldn't hide her blush.
"How… How do y-you know it will work?" She asked, her face now flushed red. Jay took her hand, bringing it close to his lips. "I'm sorry for my rude behavior earlier. Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Jay Maçon of the Kalos region, and am a very successful Pokémon breeder. Now to answer your question: I've raised many Espeon in the past, and I'm an expert when it comes to Pokémon obedience." He kissed the back of her hand, and stared at her with his deep amber eyes. Nikki looked like she was going to burst into fireworks, and let out a nervous laugh. "Now… Shall we go train?"
…
The rest of that day was spent with Elena. We visited a multitude of tents where they hosted games, including a game where we threw baseballs at targets which popped in and out at random. The both of us made a team effort to hit at least fifty targets in one minute, in order to win a life sized stuffed Lapras, which we could both lay on if we wanted to. It took nineteen tries, and fifty-seven dollars down the drain, but we finally managed to win it. The only problem was trying to carry it around.
"Just push it from the tail!"
"Pull the front fins!"
We eventually gave up, and just set it up in a corner where we both laid on it. It was very soft, and I felt myself sinking into the shell.
"This thing is like quicksand. I'm almost half buried in it!" I said, quite literally half buried in it. Elena laughed, before pretending to hold something in her hands.
"Quickly! Grab it! It's an Ekans!"
"An Ekans? Ekans aren't that big!"
"Well this one is, now grab on!"
"Get something else!"
"Like what?"
"A rope!"
"I'm not gonna find a rope here! Just grab the Ekans!"
"Maybe I can touch the bottom!"
"There is no bottom, now grab onto the Ekans!"
"Stop calling it that!"
"It's an Ekans! What do you want me to call it?"
"Say 'grab the rope!'"
"Grab the rope!"
We both burst out laughing, having completed our reenactment.
"I'm so- haha, glad to have a friend who actually gets my references!" Elena laughed, pretending to wipe away a tear. I wouldn't be surprised if it were actually real. We both high fived, both of us still giggling, and I sat up, trying to contain myself.
"Hahaha, what- heh, what time is it?" I asked in between laughs. She pulled out her phone and examined it. "Seven-forty. Diego should be arriving pretty soon."
"Aw man," I whined. "I was having a lot of fun!" I forcefully laid back down onto the giant Lapras. Elena's already apparent giggling grew louder.
"I'm having fun with you too! Unfortunately, everything closes at one point, but luckily this convention lasts a whole week!" She threw her arms up, and also threw herself back and laid down on the Lapras next to me. We both stared up at the ceiling.
"Should we go find Jay?" I turned my head to the right to face her, and she turned hers to the left to face me. "Hm… Maybe in a minute. Let's just lay here for a bit more. I'm comfortable..." She responded staring at me. I grinned and chuckled. "Alright then. I'm sure Jay is doing fine anyways, right?"
…
Jay had originally only helped Nikki because she was being loud and annoying, and wanted her to stop. Now, it was because he found himself taking a great liking to her.
"K-Katie! Come back here!" Nikki ordered. The Espeon who was standing twenty feet away obediently prodded over to where Nikki was standing, and affectionately rubbed against her leg. She placed her hands on her cheeks and squealed. "Aaahhh! It actually worked!" She turned to Jay. "She li-listened to me!" Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, but this time Jay didn't pull away.
"Of course it worked! I just seem to have a natural talent with Pokémon." He said cockily. Nikki was still hugging him, and was buried in his chest. "Thank you! Th-thank you!" She finally let go, and sighed. "You don't know how long I've been tr-trying to get Katie to listen to me! Ever since she evolved into an Espeon, she's a-always been r-rebellious!"
Jay cocked his head. "Was there a reason why? A reason why she started rebelling?"
Nikki looked down at her feet. Katie was still rubbing at them. "When… W-when she was an Eevee, she wanted to evolve into a beautiful Vaporeon… I found the Fire Stone about two months into my j-journey, and evolved Sadie into Flareon. Bu-but, before I could find a Water Stone… I was j-just doing some training and I didn't k-know…" She looked like she was going to cry again. Before she could however, Jay placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Hey, hey!" Nikki looked up at him when he said that. "It's not your fault your Eevee didn't evolve into what it wanted to be. It's not like you knew, or did it on purpose. You can't hold yourself responsible for things like these!" He stared into her eyes, which were a light brown color. Jay smiled, and she blushed once more. "O-ok-okay…" Nikki stammered. She quickly looked down at the ground before she exploded from Jay's seductive stare. He chuckled and brought her head back up using his index finger.
"There's no need to be shy, I don't bite." He placed his right arm on her back, and brought her closer. Nikki gasped, but not in a negative way. At this point, she couldn't control herself anymore and quickly pulled in Jay for a kiss. It only lasted a second as she quickly pulled away.
"I'm s-so sor-sorry! I d-didn't know w-what came o-over me! I probably ju-just made you h-hate-" She was quickly silenced by Jay going in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer. When they finally parted, you could almost see literal stars in Nikki's eyes.
"You wanna go somewhere a little more private? Preferably not in the middle of the stadium?" Jay asked. All Nikki could do was nod.
…
Elena and I, using the help of Mortar and Dirt Wing, managed to easily carry the giant Lapras plush on top of the car, and strap it down using some rope.
"I do hope that it won't fall off on the drive back," Diego said while examining our handiwork. "Where's Master Jay? He's usually the first one to leave such events, as he tires easily…" I smacked my forehead when Diego said that.
"Crap! We forgot about him!" I turned to Elena. "Wanna come with me?" She simply nodded. "Let's go then! Mortar, return!" She pulled out the Pokéball, and the Rhydon went in after the obligatory flash of red. I turned my head up to the Lapras head where Dirt Wing was sitting.
"Come help me look for Jay, okay?"
"Gli-glah!" The three of us ran back inside, trying to find Jay.
"I'll check by the food court," Elena stated. "You go check near the battlefield." I nodded, and ran off. "Dirt, you'll be my eyes in the sky, right?" I asked it as he flew next to me. "Gliga?"
"Figure of speech. There are no literal eyes in the sky." I suddenly got an idea. "Hey! Also be on the look out for a girl with long, kind of red hair!"
"Gliha!" Dirt flew higher and scouted around. I was left to search on my own. The stadium wasn't as jam packed as it was earlier in the day, as most people left after the first round of the tournament concluded. There was still enough people to make the task of searching for Jay difficult however. That's when the two-tailed purple feline dashed in front of me.
"Espeerrr!" It purred. I jumped back, still startled at the fact it might be Moonshine. "Mrrow!"
I sighed. "What are you doing here?" I asked it. It stared at me, and started running away. I blinked. "Hey! Come back here!" I started running after it. It ran past people, turned corners, and led me through doorways, until I was led into a seemingly empty corridor near the end of the stadium. The Espeon stared up at me.
"Why did you take me here?" I questioned it.
"Esperrr! Eon!"
I sighed. "I can't understand you. Why can't you just talk to me using your psychic powers? I know for a fact you're powerful enough to do so!"
The Espeon just purred, and walked over to a door. On the door there was a label which read: 'Storage Room H'.
"You want me to go in here?"
"Peon!"
I shook my head, probably knowing it was a bad idea, but I opened the door anyway. As soon as I turned the knob and pushed the door slightly open, I heard a yelp, and the sound of panicking. When I peered into the room, I saw the sight of Nikki, face flushed red, and Jay looking startled, and wiping his lips. His well groomed hair was also slightly messy.
"Marcel!" Jay shouted. "What… What are you doing here?"
I stared at him for a few seconds, before grinning to myself. I looked at Nikki. "I followed your Espeon who led me here."
Nikki shot a worried look at her Espeon. "Katie! W-why did you lea-lead him here!?"
"Mrreon!"
"I didn't mean to barge in on your little make out session here, but it's almost time to leave, and I came for Jay." I said, slight teasing in my voice. He groaned loudly. "Just… Just gimme a minute alright?" He quickly pushed me out of the room, and I heard the door slam behind me, as well as the ker-chunk of the lock. I laughed to myself while trying to eavesdrop on the conversation they were having. The only thing that cold be heard was the slight giggles of Nikki. I leaned my back on the wall next to the door, and awaited Jay to come out. Soon, I heard the door unlock and open, and as Nikki walked out, Jay glared at me. I gave him a quick smile.
"You always make out with girls you just meet?" I playfully shoved him.
"Shut up…" He sounded annoyed, and we didn't speak another word to each other on the way back to the exit.
"What took you so long?" Elena asked when we arrived at the car.
I was about pipe up and explain what happened. "Jay was-"
"I was busy helping Nikki train her Espeon to be more obedient to her." Jay quickly interrupted, and he looked at me like he was trying to rip out my soul using only his eyes.
"Oh, that's nice! Where's Nikki now?" Elena was oblivious to the situation, but I was probably gonna tell her later anyway.
"She left and went back to the Center which is where she's staying. She also said we would meet again tomorrow before your next battle Elena."
"So you two are friends now?" She questioned.
"I think they're a little more than friend- Ow!" Jay swiftly kicked me in the shin. When I looked at him, I could basically see the fiery background that appeared when he shot me a nasty look.
"I'm very confused…" Elena scratched her head.
"Don't worry about it," Jay said. "Let's just go- what the hell is that thing?" He pointed to the Lapras roped onto the roof of the car.
"Life sized Lapras plush Marcel and I won. We hope it survives the journey back home."
"Gar! Gligah!" I quickly looked up, only to see a very irate looking Gligar. He landed in front of me. "Gli! Gar-gli gli!"
"Heh…" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry, I was chasing an Espeon through the stadium. I was gonna come back for you, I swear!" Dirt Wing looked at me, flatly, before letting out a sigh. At least, that's what it resembled. I pulled out his Pokéball, and he receded back into the ball with a dyoo sound.
"Let's head back now Diego. I'm very tired after today…" Jay stretched out his arms and yawned.
"As you wish." Diego said in his calm voice. We all stepped into the car, and drove back to the mansion.
…
Surprisingly, the Lapras survived the trip with no damage whatsoever. Lance easily teleported it inside the house, and Elena ran in to be the first to claim an upstairs shower. I walked next to Jay on the pathway, and he hadn't said anything to me since I walked in on him. It was weird, not hearing him bragging every thirty seconds. I felt like I needed to say something to try and break the tension.
"To be honest, before you told me about Elena, I was convinced you were gay." It probably wasn't the best way to break tension, but I was successful nonetheless, and I heard a slight laugh come out of him.
"Don't worry ma puce, you still have a shot with me. I've probably seen as many males as I have females," He winked at me. Now having this information in my head made me slightly uncomfortable being so close to him, and I scooted away a few steps. He seemed to notice and chuckled. I quickly changed the subject from me to Nikki. "Why the sudden face smooching though? You literally met her a few hours ago, and you seemed annoyed at her presence!"
Jay seemed to think for a moment, as if he were also trying to find out that answer. "Something about her… It just caught my attention…" He looked like he contemplated something, but then quickly shrugged. "Although it's probably nothing that'll last. I have many quick relationships, and I know for a fact this will be one of them."
I didn't really know what to say afterwards, and we had reached the door before I could think of anything. Jay held the door open for me, and put more emphasis on his Kalosian accent. "Ma puce." His voice was suddenly calm and elegant.
"Why do you keep calling me that? What does it mean?" I've had someone give me a nickname in another language before, then later found out it meant garbage. A small laugh came before he spoke. "Kalosian for the word flea." I stared at him flatly. "It also means something along the lines of honey, or sweetie." Whatever I was about to say got garbled and turned into gibberish, as I suddenly got flustered at that comment. Jay laughed some more, and walked upstairs to claim the other shower. I sat down on the couch, and simply stared at a wall to pass the time. I was bored out of my mind, and was very tired. Then The sound of light footsteps reached my ears, and I turned around to see who it was.
"Trainer." The deep echoey voice filled my mind. I looked up at the Gallade who addressed me. "Oh, hi Lance…" He seemed to stare at me for a few moments before turning to walk off. That's when I started to remember Moonshine, and the Espeon Nikki owned. Why was Moonshine able to talk to me using psychic ability, but Katie couldn't? It bothered me and I had to know why. Who better to ask than an actual psychic?
"Hey, Lance," I called. He half-turned his head so I only saw one of his deep red eyes. "What's a psychic lock?"
…