Aubrey was sick of her science class already. She was just waiting for it to end as Mr. Jacq kept going on about the biology of Poison Type Pokémon, still managing to keep a level of enthusiasm. Sitting next to Aubrey was a girl. She had glasses, short blue hair with red up front, and an Eevee styled backpack. Like Aubrey, she looked hopelessly bored, so she began looking around the classroom to try and stimulate her mind. Aubrey caught her attention with her bright, noticeable pink hair. She wanted to talk to her, but she could not find the words. Aubrey turned to see the girl looking at her. She recognized the look in her eyes as that of a shy introvert, like those of another old friend. Despite her tough exterior, she could tell this girl needed a friend.
"Um… hey there." Aubrey tried greeting the girl, while not drumming up enough noise for Mr. Jacq to notice. The girl shyly looked away for a moment before returning her gaze to Aubrey.
"H-Hi… why are you talking to me…?" The girl asked with a super soft voice.
"I don't know… you look like you've been through a lot. D-Do you need a friend or would you rather I left you alone?" Aubrey replied, trying to be as gentle as possible. The girl looked her in the eye.
"A-A friend…? R-Really…?" The girl asked as her eyes lit up. Aubrey smiled, remembering how good it felt when she made a friend.
"Yeah. Ummm… my name is Aubrey. What about you?" Aubrey introduced herself. The girl cutely blushed before looking back into Aubrey's eyes.
"M-My name… is Penny." Penny replied. "I-I'm not at school very often…" Penny added an interesting detail.
"I hate school sometimes… no, all the time. The only part I actually enjoy is the battling." Aubrey admitted her distaste as Mr. Jacq finally finished up his lesson. The lunch bell was set to ring in a few minutes.
"I… wanna g-get to know you a bit more… w-would you like to have lunch w-with me…?" Penny asked, still with a degree of nervousness in her voice. Aubrey shrugged her shoulders.
"Sure, why not. I mean… I wanna learn more about you too." Aubrey accepted Penny's request as the bell rang and students filed towards the cafeteria. Penny and Aubrey went a different way, electing to eat their lunches outside. Penny pulled out a self-made sandwich. Aubrey simply pulled out a slice of well-cut ham and bit down into it. She watched Penny carefully nibble her sandwich, making quite sure to eat as little of the crush as possible. This prompted a question from Aubrey.
"So… does the crust of bread bother you?" Aubrey asked. Penny shook her head as she swallowed.
"I… guess…? I've never liked it." Penny responded, still speaking quietly as if she were in class. Aubrey took out her Rotom Phone and showed a picture of Arven's favourite sandwich, made with sub-style bread, lots of vegetables, and even a hint of black pepper.
"I feel like you'd probably enjoy one of these, then. No crust to speak of." Aubrey smiled as she watched Penny's eyes glimmer at the sight.
"W-Wow… it looks so… professional." Penny commented. Aubrey shrugged her shoulders.
"I could probably hook you up with my friend Arven. He makes a hell of a sandwich." Aubrey made a quick offer. Penny cutely smiled up at Aubrey.
"Please do! I have to know about this… dream sandwich!" Penny spoke quicker than usual. But just then, shadows were cast over the two girls.
"Well, well, well. Looks like we have some easy pickings!" A voice suddenly boomed. Penny and Aubrey turned around to see two boys with dark hair jutting out from the sides of their heads, which were covered by hats and star-shaped goggles. They wore matching white shirts and pants. Penny backed away as Aubrey glared right at them.
"Of course you're still around, Team Star. Can you fuck off already?!" Aubrey growled. The Team Star members smirked at her.
"Oh, of course not! Team Star is forever!" The guy on the right proclaimed.
"And we'll turn you into a shooting star! Along with your little friend!" The guy on the left made a threat to Penny, which Aubrey didn't take lightly.
"Leave Penny out of this, assholes. Lay a finger on her and I'll crush both of you! Actually, no. I'll wipe you out anyway!" Aubrey held out her Poké Ball and glared into the eyes of the Team Star members in front of her.
"Oh, really now? Which one of us would you like to lose to first?" The guy on the left asked, mockingly.
"Both of you. I'll demolish both of you at once!" Aubrey angrily shouted back as she sent her Klawf and Fuecoco to battle. The boys both smiled deviously.
"Alright then! Prepare to get shot into the sky like a star!" The boys replied as they sent out their Pokémon, a pair of Tarountulas.
"Alright! Tarountula, web 'em up with String Shot!" The boys both shouted simultaneously. Both Tarountula shot out a web string from their mouths, which wrapped around Aubrey's Pokémon, lowering their speed. Aubrey clenched her fists, glaring directly at the Team Star members and gritting her teeth.
"So that's how you actually battle, is it?" Aubrey growled, beginning to raise her voice. Penny watched the battle from a position further back, observing Aubrey's battle style. Now she would get her first taste of Aubrey's skills.
"In that case, get ready for a beatdown! Klawf, crush Tarountula with Rock Throw!" Aubrey loudly shouted. Klawf picked up a rock the size of the Tarountula, then threw it at the one on the left, squashing it instantly.
"Fuecoco! Burn that other one to ashes with Ember!" Aubrey thrusted her hand forward while still glaring at the Team Star members. Fuecoco took a breath before spewing out sizzling embers from its mouth, which instantly singed the other Tarountula. The Team Star members stood there, dumbfounded at how they lost so quickly. Though they were more concerned about the very angry Aubrey in front of them.
"O-Oh no…" The boy on the left mumbled.
"W-We lost?! T-To that?!" The boy on the right stuttered. Both of them looked into Aubrey's eyes as she kept glaring at them.
"Here's some free advice, jackasses. FUCK OFF OR I'LL CRUSH YOU AGAIN!" Aubrey screamed. The boys wisely took off with their tails between their legs. Aubrey then took deep breaths to cool herself off. Penny stood back, amazed at Aubrey's extreme power. Just then, Aubrey's Klawf walked towards her and looked up at her. It appeared to be very happy with its victory. Aubrey looked down at her ace Pokémon and smiled. She knelt down to pet her Klawf as Penny approached.
"Y-Your Klawf… it likes you a lot!" Penny made an observation. Aubrey turned to look at Penny. She smiled softly.
"Yeah… we've been through a lot together, me and my partner. She's seen everything." Aubrey responded, continuing to pet her Klawf. The Ambush Pokémon gently rested her claw on Aubrey's leg, drawing Penny's attention towards a series of bandages on Aubrey's lower legs.
"W-What happened to you? H-How did you get those bandages…?" Penny quietly asked. Aubrey sighed.
"You know how I saved you from Team Star just now?" Aubrey asked. "It's because I don't want you to go through the same shit I did when I first came here." Aubrey looked Penny in the eye. When she looked at Penny, she saw a reflection of her past self, walking into Uva Academy for the first time. She still had black hair, a cute pink bow, and brown contact lesses at the time. Aubrey looked so innocent and happy back then, skipping down the halls day in and day out. Then one day, around halfway through her first year, she met a pair of Team Star Grunts. The grunts would trip, shove, and mock Aubrey every day. Because she was so afraid of them, she never bothered to fight back. During the off-season, after the school year had ended, Aubrey sat alone in her dorm. She thought of ways to avoid Team Star. She didn't want to be around them at all. She hated everything about them. Then, she came to a realization.
"If I don't wanna be bullied… then it's time I fought back!" A younger Aubrey vowed to herself as she walked into the bathroom of her dorm, staring at herself in the mirror.
"If I wanna battle back, I need a new look. Something tougher than this." Aubrey glared at herself in the mirror. She felt she didn't look tough or intimidating. So she pulled out a sharper looking teal bow. She started by attaching that bow to her hair, replacing the innocent pink bow. The next day, she found her way over to a hair salon and picked up some pink hair dye. She always wanted to dye her hair pink, and if she wanted a new look, that would be the best place to go. So she added all the pink dye to her hair, and within hours, it was a bright, gaudy pink. She looked in the mirror, but something still didn't feel right. Her eyes lacked the sharpness she was looking for.
"I need new contact lenses… something that makes my eyes looks sharper and more scary." Aubrey muttered to herself as she made an appointment with the school's eye doctor. That day, he blessed her with sharp-looking cyan contact lenses. After they were successfully applied, Aubrey looked herself in the mirror. She gave off a chilling, yet confident smirk.
"There we go. That looks great! From here on, Team Star will never bother me again!" Aubrey made a strong vow as she left the doctor's office, catching sight of a small kid, which brought her back to reality with Penny.
"So… you changed your appearance to fight back against Team Star… they've hurt you that badly…?" Penny asked, seriously worried for her new friend.
"Yep. They haven't hurt me again since then. Every time they tried, I told them to fuck off. They all got scared of me and ran away," Aubrey replied, trying to soothe Penny's worries. "If I see them bother you, or any of my friends again, I'll kick their asses so hard they'll be red for a week." Aubrey promised to protect her new friend. She looked into Penny's eyes with a small smile. Penny looked up at her like a sweet little sister. It was becoming clear that she saw Aubrey as a safe friend.
"T-Thank you for y-your protection… Aubrey…" Penny shyly responded, smiling slightly as she blushed. Aubrey then helped her stand up before the bell rang.
"Right… I forgot I was supposed to care about my classes." Aubrey sighed.
"I'll see if we can meet up after school. Until then… I'll see you later." Aubrey turned to leave, but not before looking back at Penny and smiling. Penny smiled back as she walked the other way. She pulled out her Rotom Phone and looked up Aubrey's student information, then listed her phone number.
"Finally… someone to help me… Operation Starfall is finally ready to set up…" Penny whispered to herself. Aubrey was to be part of her big, important plan to take out Team Star for good. Now all she needed to do was wait for the right time to set the plan in motion.