A/N: So, here we are with Chapter 10. We've reached the big double digits, and I'm looking forward to future chapters. And without further ado, we begin.
Disclaimer: Oh yeah, I've been forgetting about these. I don't own Pokemon, so please don't sue me, Nintendo.
...
Skylar was content. One gym badge was down, and it had certainly been a fight to remember. He'd never been involved in such an intense battle, and the conclusion had been thrilling and come down to the power of abilities. He still felt somewhat jittery from it, and the battle had been yesterday. Since then, the trio had been relaxing and conducting some light training. Although Kalosian technology now allowed for Pokemon to be healed instantly, pushing one's Pokemon endlessly was never good, and a break certainly aided in the mental recovery.
Their training in the forest had mainly been against one another, in preparation for the upcoming Tag Team Tournament, and in the spirit of taking it easy, they'd decided to take a break and grab a coffee.
The day was cold and all three were rugged up suitably. Except Tyler, who was rugged up far too much in a thick, black parka, massive gloves and several pairs of pants. He'd even managed to fit a second pair of boots over the first, which were themselves fattened by five thick socks.
"Aren't you hot, Tyler?" Kaila asked in an uninterested tone, Pikachu mimicking her expression. At this point, the older trainer's antics were the norm, something to be dealt with and accommodated.
"Only as hot as this fashion makes me!" The heavily clad trainer replied, his characteristic wit shining through.
"You never cease to amaze me, Tyler." Skylar sighed, tossing a poke ball in his hand to pass the time.
It wasn't yet snowing, but the sky was a saddening grey and rain had fallen but an hour ago, leaving the streets damp. The trio had definitely progressed since training had begun Skylar's timing and connection with his pokemon was far greater than before, with Braixen just getting its new power under control, Kaila was starting to learn how to compensate for her team's natural weaknesses, ground types and a lack of defensive power and Tyler was...still Tyler.
"So, where will we train next?" Kaila asked enthusiastically,
"We've spent the past few days training, don't you ever rest?" Tyler asked as he waddled along.
"But Pikachu and I are just starting to make progress!" Kaila retorted indignantly.
"Well if we are gonna train we should find somewhere new, Santalune Forest is getting stale." Skylar offered, attempting to mediate the situation.
"I'm pretty sure we've knocked out every pokemon in that entire forest." Tyler added.
"I guess." Kaila replied.
"At any rate, we should get a coffee first, I'm freezing." The younger male trainer offered.
Soon the trio had made a stop at their traditional spot, the local Staryubucks and were inside enjoying the warmth. Except Tyler, who looked as if he were about to expire. Soon they had their beverages and were on their way.
To Skylar it seemed as if he were the only normal member of the trio. He'd ordered a tea while Kaila obsessively sipped on one of her two caramel hot chocolates. She'd moved away from iced coffee and become obsessed with the hot drink. Meanwhile, Tyler was sipping on some abomination that was roughy three quarters cream and about the size of Skylar's forearm.
He'd thought you were supposed to go on a journey with normal, wise and moral people instead of eccentric weirdos with strange senses of humor...yet here he was.
"Hey, look over there." Tyler pointed out.
A figure, seemingly female and clad in a long trench coat was a shifting hanging around one of the nearby shops. A briefcase was in her hand while her face was covered by a bowl hat. Yet it was obvious she was moving her gaze often, as if she were looking for those who would watch her.
"Suspicious, hey?" Tyler asked.
"She probably just wants some coffee or something, it's cold." The female trainer replied.
"But-"
"We've got training to do."
Skylar found it strange, but decided there was little he could do and the trio continued on.
...
"So, where's this new training spot?" Skylar asked as they reached the outskirts of Santalune.
"You're looking at it, my friend." Tyler replied, hands on his hips and a radiant grin on his face.
"A road?"
"Hey, routes are an excellent place to encounter wild pokemon. Plus, trainers tend to spend time on them, looking for battles." Tyler explained.
"Well, let's go have some fun." Kaila added before she began walking.
Skylar just shrugged and joined the girl, Tyler merely waddled along.
Route 4 soon proved to be everything the eldest trainer had promised. Several wild pokemon were battled and a few weak trainers. Things were fairly uneventful, until they came across what seemed to be a young girl energetically leaping around with a small pokemon that seemed to be clad in a martial artist's gi.
"Who's that pokemon?" Kaila asked.
"That's a Mienfoo, a fighting type." Tyler replied, his awkward movements contrasting with the girl's quick and precise ones.
"Um excuse me, are you a trainer?" Skylar asked politely.
The girl looked back suddenly, a wild glint in her mismatched eyes, one blue and one gold, her body not ceasing its movement as she bobbed along excitedly.
"Of course I am, why else would I have a pokemon?"
"Well, aren't you a bit young to be on a journey?"
"I'm thirteen, thank you very much!"
Skylar was flabbergasted. The entire world was populated with weirdos!
"Well, want to have a battle, trainer?" Skylar asked, adding the title uncertainly.
"Oh yeah!" She replied, kicking the air in excitement.
"Let's go, Mienfoo!"
"Roselia, I choose you!"
The two Pokemon stared one another down, neither one ready to make the first move. Mienfoo's trainer, on the other hand, had no such reservations.
"Double Slap!" She commanded, and the Pokemon responded.
Showcasing great agility, it leap forward, arm held backwards in order to deliver a powerful blow. However, Roselia was not so easily defeated.
"Poison Sting." Skylar replied, calmer than the impetuous young girl.
Purple pins of energy were launched from Roselia's red petal, and struck the fighting type head on. However, with a pained expression it was able to continue forward, before delivering a strong slap across the rose Pokemon's face, followed by a devastating backhand.
"Ha! What an attack!" The girl cried, delivering a powerful kick into the air, appearing little more then an overly excitable child.
Tyler was mystified.
"How does she kick so high in such tight jeans?" He mused.
"How do you move in so many layers?" Kaila retorted, much more focused on the battle.
"Roselia, Mega Drain!" Skylar commanded, a beam of green energy soaring from its blue petal and striking Mienfoo head on, causing it to seemingly wilt, while Roselia stood stronger than before.
"Mienfoo, put some space between you and Roselia!" The girl cried, the fighting type executing a range of elegant backflips to escape the immediate range of the rose pokemon.
"Poison Sting."
"Detect!"
Mienfoo's eyes began to glow, before the purple pins bounced off its body, a mystic force guarding it from harm.
"Now, Fake Out!"
Mienfoo charged towards Roselia, with every intention of delivering the attack.
"Magical Leaf." Skylar commanded.
Glowing leaves emerged from Roselia's petals and began to surround it before, with a gesture, they soared towards the fighting type.
"Dodge those leaves and continue the attack!" The girl commanded.
However, even when it leapt away, the leaves changed their trajectory, moving towards the fighting type once again.
"Keep dodging those leaves!" The girl commanded.
Mienfoo displayed impressive physical prowess, leaping around the battlefield in a series of elegant flips and other such movements. Yet, the leaves were relentless, and never made a mistake. Eventually, Mienfoo began to tire, slowing ever so slightly, coming ever closer to the eaves until, eventually, it was slightly too slow in moving to the side and was clipped by one of the leaves. Stumbling, it was met by the full force of the attack, which knocked it backwards.
A useful move, Skylar and Roselia had been perfecting it all morning, and this was its first test in battle, which had proven to be a stellar success.
Struggling to get to its feet, Skylar saw the opportunity.
"Mega Drain!"
The green beam struck the fighting type and it was down; the match was over.
"Return, Mienfoo."
"Good match." Skylar commented, walking over to shake the girl's hand.
However, she seemed far more interested in a high five, awkwardly slapping his outstretched appendage.
"I'm Momou." She introduced herself, excitedly bobbing along.
"Uh...I'm Skylar." He replied, still uncertain as to whether introducing oneself was customary amongst trainers.
"You're really good at battling, but I know that my dad is better; he's got all Eight gym badges!" She explained excitedly, extending her arms for emphasis.
"Well, I'll have to come back and fight him; won't I?" Skylar asked, rubbing the back of his head, causing the girl to nod excitedly.
"And when you come back, I'll have trained a lot. So don't expect an easy fight!" She exclaimed, before sprinting off, causing the older trainer to blink.
"Jeez, she's like a Purugly on the top of Mount Chimney." Tyler remarked, somehow turning himself around to face the rapidly moving trainer.
"Well, at least we know there's some trainers on this route."
The three continued to make their way down the road, Skylar slowly sipping his tea. It had lost valuable warmth during the battle, and he was determined to make up time. They were enjoying the peace and quiet, bar occasional obnoxious slurps from Tyler, until Skylar heard a sound that terrified him to his very core.
"You should really consider shorts. They're really comfortable."
The voice was somewhere in the distance, but he didn't need to know where.
"Sweet Arceus." He mumbled, confusing his companions.
"Run. For the love of Arceus, run!" He cried, as he broke into a sprint. Although confused, his two companions followed, although Tyler was unable to keep pace, and fell behind.
At this point, Skylar no longer cared. All he knew was that were he to endure another few hours of nonsense about the benefits of shorts, he would likely throw himself into a lake.
Eventually, the male and female trainer had made it a fair way down the route and had stopped for breath.
"What was that about?" Kaila demanded, her Pikachu clinging to her shoulder for dear life.
"Believe me, you don't want to know." Skylar reassured her, as the two looked around.
"Well, whatever it was, you just got us lost on the route, without our guide."
"We'll be fine. I've got an inbuilt sense of direction.
...
Several Hours Later
"You know how I said I had an inbuilt sense of direction?"
"Yeah?" A disgruntled Kaila asked.
"I lied."
The two had been wandering for hours during this miserable day. It was cold and wet with it having rained several times, both trainers being truly soaked, the comforts of Santalune City now truly forgotten. They'd both had a few battles, with trainers and wild Pokemon alike, but it was starting to feel somewhat pointless. Their legs were sore, and they hadn't rested for hours. It was starting to seem as if the two of them weren't as prepared as they'd thought.
"Let's rest, since you clearly have no idea what you're doing." Kaila commanded.
Skylar wasn't in a mood to object, and the two immediately sat down, Pikachu looking rather unimpressed with the male trainer's efforts.
"Hey, Kaila."
"Yeah?"
"Never listen to anything I say again."
"Naturally."
It was at this moment that a hulking figure lumbered up to them, slow footsteps dragging across the ground. Both trainers immediately recognized it as Tyler, and noticed that, despite his numerous layers, he was pale white, a look of horror adjourning his face.
"S-shorts..." He murmured.
No quip, no witticisms on offer. The shorts boy had truly broken him.
"I know your pain..." Skylar sympathized, while Kaila questioned the sanity of her traveling companions.
Soon the two younger trainers were rejuvenated, and after a fair amount of coaxing, Tyler was standing again, although clearly shaken. Moving along, they noticed that something was somewhat amiss.
The woman from before, wearing the trench coat, was sprinting down the path, a furious looking trainer on his tail. His own fedora was precariously balancing on his head, and a mysterious necklace bounced with each successive step.
"She's a criminal, stop her!" He cried, not pausing to inform the trio of the woman's intentions.
Skylar weighed up his options; it was possible that the boy was lying, and the woman was totally innocent, but she had been standing around looking somewhat suspicious, and although that wouldn't exactly stand up in a court of law were he to wrongly assault her, she'd given him a bad feeling.
Kaila, however, had no such reservations.
Sprinting forward, she tackled the woman to the ground in a surprising feat of agility, leaping through the air and knocking her over, the briefcase she'd been holding going flying. The two began to wrestle on the ground as the three male trainers ran, or waddled, up to them. Although the woman's superior strength allowed her to knock Kaila off her, by the time she was able to stand up she was surrounded.
"Give back the Pokemon you stole." The fedora wearing boy demanded.
"Uh...yeah!" Skylar cried, doing his best to fit the mood.
Tyler just seemed on a different plane, the terrors of shorts plaguing his mind.
"You leave me no choice." The woman warned as Kaila scrambled to her feet.
As the teen stood up, the woman reached for three Pokeballs on her belt, Skylar and the mysterious trainer doing the same.
"Deal with them, Pigdeotto, Beedril, and Scraggy." The three Pokemon burst forth from their balls and leered at the opposition.
"Braixen!" Skylar cried, his own fire type joining the fray.
"Let's do this, Frogadier!" The other male trainer called, the water type appearing on the field.
"Elekid, take 'em down!" Kaila yelled, the electric type taking the field whilst Pikachu scrambled back to avoid distracting its trainer.
Tyler was too distant to even contribute to the battle.
"Pidgeotto, Gust, Beedril, Poison Sting!" The woman yelled.
The bird type began to flap its wings, preparing to loose a massive attack that would, quite literally, blow away the three opposing Pokemon.
"Elekid, use Shockwave on Pidgeotto!" Kaila cried, blue electricity soaring from Elekid's horns to the bird.
This interrupted the flying type's attack, and causing it to fall slightly before regaining its balance.
Thinking fast, Skylar had Braixen use an Ember on Beedrill's attack, incinerating it and consuming the shocked bug type.
"Frogadier, Water Pulse on Pidgeotto." The unknown trainer ordered.
The shocked bird type was knocked from the air, now soaked by the attack of the water type.
"Scraggy, use Headbutt! Beedrill, Fury Attack!" The woman ordered upon seeing her bug type had recovered.
"Elekid, Quick Attack!"
"Braixen, Psybeam!"
Elekid leapt forward at a phenomenal rate, almost vanishing, and upon collision with the fighting type sent it flying backwards with the utmost of ease.
Meanwhile, Fennekin's eyes began to glow with an unnatural purple light before raising its wand and loosing a blast of purple energy at the rapidly approaching bug type.
"Frogadier, Quick Attack on Scraggy."
The water type nodded, and used its own Quick Attack to send Scraggy flying further backwards.
With two of her Pokemon taken out, all that remained was the greatly weakened flying type.
"Braixen, Ember!" Skylar ordered.
Catching on, the other two trainers joined.
"Frogadier, Water Pulse!"
"Elekid, Shockwave!"
The three special attacks soared through the air, all colliding on the paling flying type, which was sent flying backward from the explosion that ensued upon contact. All three of her Pokemon were now knocked out, and had proved exceptionally weak. Panicked, the woman turned around to try an escape, only to run directly into Tyler.
While normally this would have knocked him over, his excessive clothing absorbed and returned the impact, causing the woman to fall backwards, giving the three others time to surround her, with very threatening looking Pokemon glaring down at her.
"Return. Those. Pokemon." The fedora wearing teen demanded, a ferocious look in his eyes.
"Fine, they're in the briefcase."
Walking over, he opened up the item in question and found several pokeballs. Sifting through them, he nodded contentedly to himself.
"So, why exactly did we fight her?" Skylar asked, wanting some final clarification that he wouldn't get to know the woman very well in court.
"I saw her knocking out some trainers's weak Pokemon, and then threatening to have her Pokemon attack the humans unless they handed all of them over." He explained, closing the briefcase and picking it up.
Skylar nodded grimly, she was most certainly in the wrong. Stealing people's Pokemon was highly illegal, but attacking, or threatening to, people with a Pokemon was even more so. Only the truly immoral engaged in such morally bankrupt behavior. Attacks belonged on the field, not on humans, who were easily susceptible to death were they to get hit by the power wielded by Pokemon.
"Well. I should probably thank you, since you were the one that stopped her." The mysterious trainer explained, walking up to Tyler.
In an instant, the eldest trainer had returned to his buoyant self, color returning to his cheeks and a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes.
"But of course my brilliant, talented and all around fantastic form was able to stop her. Of course, it was but an obligation for a trainer such as I. Ah, the difficulties of being a saint."
"And he's back." Kaila groaned.
Meanwhile, the formerly congratulatory trainer looked taken aback.
"Um...great?" He asked.
"He's always like this." Skylar informed the other trainer.
"But he seemed so quiet..."
"As if I would ever allow myself to fall into silence. Me, the greatest trainer to have ever set foot in the Kalos region!" The elder boy roared, throwing his fists into the air.
"Never give Tyler a compliment again." Kaila begged the fedora wearing boy.
"I won't. And that reminds me, I'm Josh, but you can call me Masta J, m'lady." He explained, tipping his fedora to Kaila.
"I'm Kaila."
"And I'm Skylar."
Meanwhile, the woman on the ground evaluated her options. Three of her capturers were busily engaged in conversation, while the fourth was rambling on about his greatness. Seeing her chance, she leapt to her feet and bounded past a distracted Tyler.
"Wait!" Josh yelled, pivoting around.
However, the woman was already pulling away from them, and they would have to give chase.
"We have to go after her." Josh insisted.
Skylar and Kaila both nodded, while Tyler looked most sheepish. Stripping down slightly, he shed several jackets before the four set off, sprinting after the woman. However, she was rapidly disappearing from view. The four tried to keep pace, but they most certainly weren't athletes, and two of them had already spent several hours wandering the route, with Josh also having run from Santalune City. As such, they quickly had to stop for a rest.
"Damnit, she's gotten away." Skylar lamented as he fell to the ground.
"Don't get too down, there's only one way she can go, and that's towards Lumiose City." Josh reassured him.
"And?" Tyler asked expectantly.
"We can chase her?" Josh offered.
"Through the largest city in Kalos?"
"We're doomed."
"Well, we've got to try, at least." Skylar mediated.
"Lumiose is a few days away at the least." Kaila explained.
"And we've got no supplies." Skylar concluded.
"Bah, where's your sense of adventure? We can camp out under the stars, foraging for our food while hunting down a wanted criminal!" Tyler roared, his previous cynicism evaporated in a romanticized miasma.
"That's idiotic." Josh explained irritably.
"But, we might be able to catch up, if nothing else." Skylar rationalized.
It seemed as if nobody was capable of sticking to a single side at this point, and with each moment the woman, and the chance of apprehending her, grew further away.
"Look, we have to go after her, so she can face justice." The youngest trainer rationalized.
Loathe as he was to admit it, Skylar certainly did feel somewhat like the runt of the litter. Although taller than Kaila and Josh, he was certainly dwarfed by Tyler, and Josh and Kaila seemed much more rational at that point.
"Come Skylar, let us leave these weakling behind and go live as men!" The eldest trainer cried, wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulder.
"Don't leave me with him..." Skylar pleaded.
"Fine, somebody's got to look after you lot." Kaila bemoaned exasperatedly, throwing her arms up in the air.
This left nobody but Josh, who wasn't even a part of the group. He was just a stranger who'd happened to come across them. And although Tyler's antics were grating on his nerves rapidly, there was something genuine about this group, and he wanted to stick around and see what happened. Besides, it was an opportunity to meet new people.
"Eh, life wasn't meant to be lived."
"Alright! We can do this as men!" Tyler cried, crushing the other three in a bear hug.
Upon catching a glare from Kaila, he changed his tune.
"And women!"
Their journey from then was somewhat uneventful. The four continued down the route, making occasional small talk, an obligatory quip from Tyler interrupting them every so often. However, this was interrupted by an excitable looking trainer who burst onto the route in front of them.
"Haha, we have locked eyes! Now, we must battle!" She yelled, bobbing with anticipation.
"Look, we're kind of in a rush..." Skylar began.
"Pokemon League rules say you have to battle me." The girl insisted.
Tyler reached for a pokeball, but Josh held out his hand.
"I'll make it quick." He warned, a deadly serious expression on his face.
Tyler whistled, impressed.
"Alright, let's go Magby!" The trainer cried, the baby fire type taking the stage.
"Dewott, let's go!" Josh yelled, his own water type joining the field.
"Wait, what's that?" Kaila asked, genuine confusion in her voice.
"Dewott, one of the starter Pokemon from Unova. The region's pretty isolated, so there's several species of Pokemon that are only found there." Tyler explained calmly.
"So you're from Unova, huh?" Skylar asked.
"Yeah, my family moved here a few months ago." Josh explained in response.
"Okay Magby, Smog!" The excited young trainer yelled.
"Water Gun!"
A burst of water erupted from Dewott's mouth, blowing through the cloud effortlessly, dissipating it, and knocking the helpless fire type backwards. Landing at its trainer's feet, the young girl looked shocked. She wasn't used to her attacks being brushed aside like that.
"Magby, Ember!" She yelled.
In response, the Pokemon leapt to its feet, reared back, and launched a thin jet of flame towards the Unova starter. Yet, Josh was one step ahead of the rookie trainer.
"Dewott, dodge it and use Razor Shell."
Jumping into the air, the water type brandished the dual shells at its hips, somersaulted, and bought them down on the hapless fire type, glowing with an ethereal blue light. A devastating attack, Magby was knocked out cold, and its trainer left similarly stunned.
"Good match, but we're in a bit of a hurry." Josh insisted, as the four quickly ran away.
This was somewhat morally questionable, the boy may have had his confidence as a trainer shattered, but it was likely for the higher good, and they had little choice. Every moment was precious as a Master Ball, and they couldn't afford to lose any more time. Quickening their pace as a result, the four walked briskly, attempting to make up their lost ground.
Annoyingly, multiple wild Pokemon got in their way, but they were mostly cannon fodder for their Pokemon, and Tyler's high leveled team made mincemeat of the weak, wild Pokemon. However, for the most part, it was fairly peaceful, and they didn't run into any other trainers. All in all the day had been quiet, and exhausting. By the time the sun was setting, the four of them all looked ragged, were slouched over and trudging.
"Maybe we should stop." Skylar suggested.
"Bah, you're...weak." Tyler taunted, although it was rather half hearted.
"I'm with Tyler." Kaila added.
"Haha, I knew you two would become an item." Tyler jested halfheartedly.
Even the 'Shut up, Tyler' sounded hollow and empty.
"Well, I'm still pretty new, so I probably shouldn't get a vote. Which means you're in the minority, Tyler." Josh explained, relieved that the two of them wanted to stop.
"Ah, bugger the lot of you."
Tyler then proceeded to fall flat on his back, totally immobile and eveidently glad for his traveling partner's votes.
"Damnit, Tyler." The other three murmured before all taking a seat themselves.
The four remained there for roughly five minutes, enjoying their well deserved rest, until Skylar's stomach began to growl.
"Well, nice as this is, we're going to need to eat." The youngest trainer rationalized.
A groan from Tyler's general direction indicated that he was perfectly content to remain lethargic, however the other two were more forthcoming.
"We should also get a fire; it can get freezing overnight." Kaila added.
The two then proceeded to grab Pokeballs.
"Dewott!"
"Braixen!"
Soon, the two starters stood before their far more disheveled trainers, awaiting their inevitable command. There didn't seem to be any Pokemon about, so was it some kind of training exercise?
"Dewott, use Razor Shell on that tree and get us some firewood."
The water type merely looked unimpressed.
"It's either that or we all freeze to death." The trainer snapped.
However, the water type didn't look at all happy. Such tasks were beneath it! It was a Pokemon line-bred to be amongst the greatest fighters in Unova, its talents should've been reserved for the greatest of opponents. Instead, here it was engaging in mundane work. Nevertheless, it elegantly wielded its two shells, making rather quick work of the unsuspecting tree. With an elegant movement it was down, and a few others resulted in it being split into multiple parts.
However, it refused to take any further action and walked away to begin brooding.
This left Braixen, Pikachu and the three trainers willing to move to move the firewood, and they managed to do a pretty good job of it.
"Okay, Braixen. Remember what we've been practicing. Now, use your weakest Ember." Skylar explained meticulously.
Nodding, the fire type carefully wielded its wand, and with its hand shaking somewhat, loosed a minute stream of flames onto the wood, which promptly ignited it. Excited by its achievement, Braixen lost control of the flames, and a massive blaze immediately began, incinerating the wood instantly. Looking a little sheepish, its second attempt was much more successful, and the group soon had a warm fire to sit around. Tyler, lazy as he was, had Aura drag him over to the fire.
"Now, onto dinner." Skylar explained.
"Well, I've got some Pokeblock on me."
"I once ate it. I also once ended up projectile vomiting." Tyler offered.
"Well, let's see what human food we have on us." Josh suggested.
After a fair amount of scrounging, they managed to produce a small packet of Tyrunt shaped lollies, a packet of Dodrito chips, part of a brownie from Staryubucks, and a chocolate bar pried from Tyler's heavily gloved hands.
Far from the heartiest meal, the four nonetheless dug in, ravenous and ready to eat just about anything. Although the food did little to quell their appetites, it was better than nothing, and they all sat around the fire somewhat contentedly.
Despite his previously selfish behavior, Tyler actually offered around some of his surplus jackets to help everyone last the night, and the other three all certainly appreciated this gesture. Josh was slowly sipping from his bottle of Mountain Dewgong, whilst fishing around for the last of the Dodritos in the packet, Tyler was entertaining himself by trying to spin a Pokeball on his finger for future tournaments, so he could 'Out-badass' the opposition, Kaila poked at the fire with a stick, endlessly mystifying her Pikachu who watched the flames with the morbid fascination of a pyromaniac, while Skylar gazed into the stars.
Although the night was getting chilly, he didn't have enough on, he'd walked all day and hadn't had enough to eat, he felt content. Under normal circumstances he would've been miserable, yet he was having the time of his life. Perhaps this was what it was to be a trainer? Getting by on not quite enough, with friends and Pokemon by your side? Regardless, Skylar was certainly glad they'd elected to not return to Santalune City.
"Well, we can't just all fall asleep out here in the open, someone's got to keep watch." Josh explained calmly.
"Can't our Pokemon do it?" The female trainer asked.
"Kaila! Pokemon are our companions, not our slaves." Tyler scolded, undermined somewhat by the fact he'd made Lucario carry him around but an hour before.
"Right...sorry. I'll take first watch then." She offered sheepishly.
"I'll go second." Skylar offered, sitting up from his stargazing.
"Screw you guys, you're not disturbing my sleeping patterns, I'll take last." Tyler explained, undermining his previously sagely demeanor.
"Guess that leaves me with third." Josh muttered.
It was soon negotiated that each individual would take a three hour shift, since it was nine o'clock, which meant they'd resume their chase at nine. Although it meant that the woman would potentially get a head start on them, they rationalized that they could make up the time since they'd be well rested. With all in agreement, the three boys all moved to begin sleeping while Kaila stayed awake.
Josh placed his fedora over his eyes, and used the suitcase as a makeshift pillow, whilst Tyler had so many layers on that he was essentially a human sleeping bag. Skylar, however was not so comfortable.
Laying on the cold hard ground, he found his mind wandering as he lay there, random, meaningless thoughts dancing through his head, offering him no peace from an unrelenting barrage of meaninglessness. He attempted everything, counting Mareep, trying to totally clear his mind, thinking purely of sleep. None of it worked.
Not even the slightest bit groggy, Skylar rationalized there was little point trying to sleep any longer and sat up, somewhat abruptly. Kaila looked over immediately, and Skylar shot her a reassuring grin.
"Your watch doesn't start for another two and a half hours." She informed him, checking her watch.
"I'm not all that tired." He explained, rubbing the back of his head as he moved closer towards the fire, joining Kaila around the source of warmth.
"You sure that's all?" Kaila asked.
"Yeah, I just can't stop my mind wandering."
The two sat in silence for a short period of time, Kaila looking over at her sleeping Pikachu. The male, meanwhile, found his eyes wandering over to Tyler. Sleeping, he didn't seem to be the boisterous, witty, often downright ridiculous trainer he knew. He looked peaceful, unremarkable. There was no exceptionally bizarre manner to his sleep.
"Tyler looks...normal when he sleeps..." Skylar remarked.
Kaila turned her head and couldn't help but laugh. With all of the elder trainer's antics, she'd expected obnoxious snoring, or erratic movements or...something!
"So he does have a weakness!" Kaila exclaimed.
"We'll have to bring it up." Skylar explained nodding.
The two grinned at each other, and the male found himself happy he hadn't remained in his state of limbo.
"He can be so annoying sometimes." Kaila lamented.
"Don't get me started."
"His one liners!"
"Have you heard his pick up lines?"
"But his puns are the worst!"
Soon the two were stifling gales of laughter, trying to remain quite while reminding themselves of the idiotic antics of their elder friend.
"But I wouldn't want to go on a journey without him." Skylar explained out of the blue, uncertain exactly where that had come from.
"You know...you're right." Kaila replied. "And..." She paused. "I wouldn't want to go on a journey without you..."
That had been unexpected. Skylar was at a loss for words, and felt a mysterious feeling rising within him. What it was remained unclear to the trainer, but he knew he had to say something.
"And I wouldn't want to go on one without you." Skylar replied.
From then on the two sat in silence, unsure of what to say, but enjoying each other's company nonetheless. Skylar reflected on what he was feeling. Was it some extension of his happiness at having gone on a journey? It must've been connected somehow. Regardless, the two continued to sit there. However, as the night continued, the teen found himself shivering. The temperature was dropping rapidly, and it was growing unpleasant. Moving ever closer towards the fire, he couldn't help but envy his Pokemon, tucked away inside their Pokeballs. Despite being somewhat lonely, or at least he imagined they were, anything inside remained impervious to the elements outside.
"It's d-damn freezing." Skylar observed, upon seeing Kaila also shivering.
"Y-yeah." Kaila agreed.
The two sat there again, yet the temperature dropped without relenting, and soon Skylar's teeth were chattering. He was considering releasing Braixen, and having it warm them up with some flames, but Kaila had her own suggestion.
"Maybe we should...um...huddle for body warmth?" She asked nervously.
Skylar was somewhat taken aback by this suggestion, but he could see no reason to object.
"Uh, sure." He replied, before awkwardly lumbering over to Kaila and sitting right next to her.
For the first few minutes it was awkward, and Kaila cursed herself for suggesting it. However, as the temperature dropped, the two grew increasingly closer, and eventually Skylar found himself doing something involuntarily. He placed his arm around Kaila. Pulling her in close, the girl found herself relaxing, and her head began to rest on Skylar's shoulder.
And so they sat in comfort, their previously cold forms warming with the contact. They remained in blissful silence, merely enjoying the moment, until Kaila remembered something.
"We're going to miss the tag team tournament." She announced, suddenly.
Skylar couldn't help but laugh. They'd spent so long preparing for it, with many long hours in the forest spent perfecting moves and working on strategy, only for them to forget it in an instant, acting rashly and chasing after a woman who they didn't even know.
"Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter." Skylar replied, finally. "But it's just our luck to train so hard and then have something else come up."
"Yeah." Kaila replied, a grin emerging on her face.
And so the two sat there, enjoying one another's company for the night, the six hours going past in a haze of conversation and comfort. Eventually, Skylar checked his watch and noticed that it was slightly past the end of his shift.
"Well, we'd better get some sleep." He explained, reluctantly removing his arm from around Kaila's shoulders.
"Well, that was...nice." She replied, choosing her words carefully.
"Yeah." The male agreed.
"Well, goodnight." Kaila eventually offered.
"Goodnight."
"Maybe we shouldn't mention this to the others..."
Skylar was puzzled.
"Any reason?"
"Tyler'll never shut up about it."
Skylar envisioned all the taunting that could ensue, with them at the mercy of Tyler's Honedge sharp wit.
"Point taken."
With this, the two moved away from one another, and Skylar shook Josh awake. Looking disgruntled, the fedora wearing teen sat up, unused to interruptions in his sleeping schedule.
"Morning, sunshine." Skylar jested.
"Ugh, this was a terrible idea..." The teen replied, adjusting his hat to sit properly on his head.
"It's not that bad." The other teen comforted.
"Well, goodnight." Josh finished, moving towards the fire.
"Night."
Skylar proceeded to resume his sleeping spot, but found himself unable to sleep. His mind was still wandering, despite the late hour, the general feeling of pleasantness not fading from the teen. A sort of buzzing filled him, keeping him awake as his mind raced. What had that meant? Anything? Nothing? It was unclear to the boy, who would lay awake for an indefinite amount of time, his perception warped by his inaction and the time of night, before he finally settled into a fitful sleep.
...
Skyar awoke to a slight rustling, somewhat disgruntled by his lack of sleep. Bleary eyed, and with hair rustled under his hood, he was certain he looked as terribly as he felt. Only having had a few hours sleep, and it being quite early in the morning, Skylar was shocked to see a small green and white Pokemon digging through the Dodritos bag, the fire now but cinders and ash.
"Hey!" Skylar cried, startling the Pokemon, which began to shuffle away. "Oh no you don't. Braixen, go!"
The fire type emerged from its Pokeball looking a little sleepy. Despite having slept the entire night, it was quite early, and it was unaccustomed to early rises, considering its trainer's tendency to wake up late.
"Ralts!" The smaller Pokemon cried in shock.
"Braixen, Ember." Skylar commanded through a yawn.
Sluggishly, the fire type brandished its wand before launching a jet of flame at the psychic type. It raised its arms and took the attack, being launched backwards. Already, it was struggling to get back up, clearly unaccustomed to the fire of battle.
"R-ralts.." It cried weakly, glowing with a purple light.
The Confusion hit the fire type, which didn't even flinch. This broke the Ralts's morale, causing it to walk backwards slowly.
"Psybeam." Skylar commanded, still struggling to focus on the battle.
The purple beam struck the small psychic type, knocking it backwards and leaving it unable to get up. With Josh and Kaila stirring at this point, Skylar decided there could be no harm in catching this unfamiliar Pokemon. With the Pokeball expanding in his palm, Skylar hurled the ball, which expanded and absorbed the Pokemon. Shaking a few times, it eventually stopped, signaling that the Pokemon had been caught.
By this point, Kaila and Josh were both awake, and Skylar realized something.
"Where in Arceus's name is Tyler?" He asked, holding his new Pokeball.
"Right here!" The buoyant trainer cried, awkwardly leaping towards the path from a nearby collection of hedges, his heavy layers weighing him down.
"Weren't you on guard duty?" Kaila asked expectantly.
"Well I was, but then I needed to use the little boy's room, and well, it can be difficult to take off multiple layers of pants-"
"We get the picture." Josh murmured, agitated by the antics of Tyler.
"Well, what time is it?" Kaila asked, eager to change the topic.
"5:30." Skylar replied, checking his watch.
"Well, since we're up, we might as well get started." Kaila rationalized.
"Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we get to Lumiose." Josh added.
"Bah, you're all too eager to return to civilization! Warm showers, clean clothes, actual food, and toilets! Who needs them?" Tyler demanded.
"Didn't you just piss in a bush?"
...
Meanwhile, a woman in a trench coat dug herself from the trench she'd slept in. Shivering and pale, her clothes were covered in dirt, and her teeth chattered as she resumed her journey. Clumps of brown hair had come loose under her hat, and she looked terrible. Cursing her decision to get involved in this entire criminal thing, she resolved that the first thing she'd do was start over in Lumiose. Well, maybe having a shower would come first, but that was a close second.
...
As the four walked, it became apparent that all were rather stiff from their bedding arrangements, and none of they were all walking rather slowly. Having gone without breakfast due to them lacking any food, they trudged along, trying to muster the enthusiasm to continue on.
Tyler tried to convince them all to eat some berries that Josh was fairly certain were poisonous. And although the eldest trainer resolved to eat them all, he stopped after beginning to look rather ill.
They continued along their journey, Skylar beginning to regain some degree of energy as he went, although his lack of sleep or food was hindering his ability to do so. A few trainers approached them, but were all dispatched rather quickly. Skylar abstained from battles, not confident in his ability to focus properly on the battle, with nobody demanding anything else, since he looked absolutely terrible. Incredibly pale and with bloodshot eyes, they didn't expect too much from the teen.
Kaila was concerned for him, was it her fault that he'd stayed awake? But she'd had the same amount of sleep, and she was fine. Tyler, meanwhile, was worried, but not willing to say anything, not wanting to make his friend feel any worse. Josh just presumed he was sick or something of that nature.
They walked all through the day, gradually making their way along the seemingly endless route, stopping for occasional short breaks, but never ceasing too long. Skylar's friends were worried that he wouldn't actually survive another night, while the teen himself just wanted a bed to sleep in.
Which is why it concerned everyone when the sun started setting.
"We should probably keep going, it can't be far now." Josh rationalized.
The others nodded in agreement, and picked up their pace, Skylar lagging behind slightly.
Gradually, the sun dropped lower and lower, and they were contemplating risking another night when, suddenly, a glittering became apparent in the distance. Squinting, and approaching it, they realized where they were. Lumiose's lights glowed in the night, the heart of Kalos and largest city in the region stood out, a bastion against the night and a promise of warmth and sleep.
The four all grinned, and began to drag their sorry forms towards the city as fast as possible, their harsh trek finally, mercifully, over. And so they ran, reaching towards the lights and the next stage of their journey.
A/N: So, not exactly happy with how the writing turned out in this chapter, but I felt like it got a little better towards the end. Speaking of writing, this is now my longest chapter, 7000 words...of everyone walking down a route...well, even though it's not the most exciting chapter, I wanted to get all the travelling done in one chapter so I can move onto Lumiose, and it stretched out quite a lot.
Anyway, there's a new member of the group! Skylar has caught a Ralts! There's something between Kaila and Skylar?! Why am I recounting the chapter you just read?
Credit to Misioriri for Momou, and apologies to Sithlorde1988 for Josh, I just couldn't resist inserting at least a little dankness befitting a fedora wearing gent such as he. Anyway, I'm off to my strange corners of the Internet to work on the next chapter, so until then, toodles.