Half of a strawberry shortcake was placed in the middle of the small picnic table. Covered in smooth white frosting with strawberries circling around interior revealed it to be vanilla flavored with strawberries on the inside as well. The Pokemon had separate cake of their own made especially for them. The weather was nice and everyone was having a rather pleasant time.
"I can't thank all of you enough for taking the time to throw this party for me." Diantha said as joyful tears brimmed her eyes.
"Sorry you didn't get any presents, though." Korrina said before taking a piece out of her slice of cake with her fork.
"Don't't worry. The fact that you threw me a party is a well enough present for me." Diantha assured her.
"Had I known it was your birthday I would've bought you a present." Vivienne said thoughtfully as she picked at the strawberry on her cake slice with her fork.
"I wasn't planning on having guests over. But when I realized I was having you kids over on the day of her birthday, I might as well have you three stay around a little longer." Gurkinn said.
"This is really nice. Thank you." Aiden said.
"Diantha," Vivienne spoke up, "How long have you known Gurkinn and Korrina?"
Diantha swallowed her cake piece for replying. "I've known ever since I was in my mid-to-late-twenties. Just starting out my acting career."
"Diantha is actually a long time friend of Professor Sycamore and Lysandre." Gurkinn chimed.
Aiden and Vivienne looked a bit surprised. Eli, however, only ignored it and ate his cake slice like nothing. "Pardon, but who's Lysandre?" Vivienne asked.
"Lysandre is the inventor of the Holo-Caster." Korrina replied.
"Was the inventor of the Holo-Caster." Gurkinn corrected. "He was also the leader of Team Flare. You three have heard of Team Flare, yes?" The trio silently nodded in unison. "He was blinded by madness and a vision of making the world a beautiful place by re-awakening the ultimate weapon that had been buried underneath Geosenge Town many years ago. If it hadn't been for Calem, we all wouldn't be here."
Aiden shuddered slightly. To think that he had been alseep during the entire thing. If Team Flare had succeeded, he wouldn't have woken up to hear about it. Everything would've happened so fast. It would've been a quick, peaceful death. Sleeping silently under the covers and oblivious to the event that had occurred.
"But he was a good man." Diantha added softly as she stared at her cake slice. A faraway look in her lovely eyes. "All he ever wanted was to make the world a better place. The world's problems isn't the only reason why he wanted to wipe out everyone."
"What was that, Diantha?" Korrina asked.
Diantha seemed to have snapped out of it and looked over to Korrina. "What? Oh. It's nothing. I'm just...mumbling nonsense to myself." she laughed softly.
Aiden gave her a slight look of suspicion before shrugging it off. "How long have you known both men?" he asked.
"I've known Augustine through his little sister, Florence. All of us have been friends since College. I met Lysandre a few years after Augustine became a full-fledged Pokemon Professor. Lysandre is actually one of his first students. Florence was away in Sinnoh at the time, though. It was Lysandre who introduced me to his cousin Malva."
"Malva?" Aiden dropped his fork in surprise, "As in, Malva of the Kalos Elite Four?"
Diantha smiled and nodded. "Though she wasn't part of the Elite Four at the time, she was still a tough Trainer. I wouldn't say we were close, but we got along. The four of us, you could say, were like family. Always getting into different kind of mischief and trouble." she chuckled fondly.
"What kind? Can you tell us?" Vivienne asked.
"Yeah!" Korrina agreed, "You've never told us about one of your adventures."
Diantha laughed. "Alright, alright, settle down. Here's one that I can remember as clear as day." Diantha opened her mouth to begin, but then closed it when she noticed a red speck in the sky. "What's that?" she asked. Everyone looked over in the direction she was looking at and spotted the speck as well. The speck soon grew, revealing it to be both red and white. It was then that Vivienne let out a small gasp.
"That's a Delibird." she said.
The Delivery Pokemon let out a cheerful chirp as soon as he landed on the table and in front of Diantha. Everyone watched as it reached into his sack-like tail, rummaging through it, and pulled out an envelope.
"It this for me?" Diantha asked.
"Del! Del!" the Delibird chirped happily.
"Thank you." Diantha smiled as she took the envelope from his wings. The Pokemon left as everyone turned their attention over to Diantha as she opened the envelope. She pulled out a rather delicate looking card that was snow white with ribbon patterns on the side. On the front was a Raltz and Kirlia dancing happily in the snow.
"Who is it from?" Aiden asked.
"I don't know yet." Diantha replied before opening the car. A red rose suddenly slipped out and landed on her lap. A slight blush appeared on her face as she picked it up.
"A rose?" Korrina asked. Diantha turned her attention back to the card and silently read what it said inside.
Dear Diantha,
It has been two years since we've last spoken to one another. Let alone seen one another. I'm sorry I haven't been replying to your calls. I've been very busy as of late. But know that I haven't forgotten about you. It's your birthday, yes? Please accept that lovely rose as a token of my apology. Happy Birthday, dearest.
P.S. She's doing just fine. You know who I'm talking about.
Youre Friend, Augustine.
A tear ran down Diantha's cheek as a small smile appeared on her lips. She closed the card and held both it and the rose against her chest.
"Diantha? Is everything alright?" Korrina asked.
"Mm? Oh, it's fine. Just a letter from an old friend of mine." she replied.
Eli suddenly placed his fork down and turned to Aiden. A fierce look present in his eyes. "Don't think I've forgotten about our battle back in the Palace. I want a rematch." he demanded.
Aiden frowned. "Can't we do it some other time? It's Diantha's birthday for Arceus's sake! Show some respect."
"It's fine, Aiden." Diantha assured him, "It would be a great time to practice for your next Gym battle anyway. Plus I'm quite curious to see how this battle will turn out."
Aiden sighed. "Alright. But only four Pokemon. Lucario still needs to rest after out battle with Korrina earlier."
"Fine." Eli replied.
...
Diantha, Korrina, Gurkinn, Vivienne and Mica all watched from the picnic table as both boys stood off against one another. Both with determined expressions. Eli threw out his first Pokemon. "Sharpedo, I choose you!" he roared.
Sharpedo, huh? I remember seeing a lot of those back home, Aiden thought fondly before tossing out his Pokemon. "Helioptile, let's go!" he yelled.
"This match should end rather quickly." Vivienne said as she watched.
"Vee!" Mica cried in agreement.
"I wouldn't say that." Diantha said, surprising both Korrina and Vivienne a bit.
"What makes you say that?" Korrina asked.
"Sharpedo is also part Dark type." Gurkinn answered instead, "Helioptile is part Normal. So whatever other move Sharpedo might throw at him, it'll possibly do a bit more damage then normal."
"Sharpedo, use Assurance!" Eli yelled. The dark fish suddenly jumped out of the water by surprise and struck Helioptile. Helioptile skidded across the sand before jumping back up and standing on two legs.
"Helioptile, use Thunder Shock!" Aiden yelled. Helioptile's frills rose up and a blast of electricity left him. But what happened next surprised everyone.
"Dodge and attack him with Ice Fang!" Eli countered.
The shark jumped out of the water once more, dodged the ribbons of electricity fired directly at him, and clamped down in the smaller Pokemon with icy fangs. Helioptile screeched in shock and pain before being lunged out to sea.
Vivienne shot up from her seat sharply. "Hey! He can't do that!" she snapped.
"Vee! Eevee!" Mica barked in agreement.
"Wait." Diantha said, "Watch."
Helioptile's head suddenly broke the water's surface and actually appeared to be in perfect health. He casually shook his head a bit before swimming back to shore. Aiden, Vivienne, and Eli were all flabbergasted.
"How?" Vivienne whispered.
"Helioptile is full of surprises." Korrina answered, "It has an ability called Dry Skin. Depending on the climate around them, the Pokemon will either lose or gain health."
"And since Helioptile is in the water, he managed to gain much of his health back." Gurkinn chimed in.
"That's amazing." Vivienne remarked.
Eli growled in frustration. "Sharpedo, use Crunch!" he roared.
"Dodge and use Thunder Wave!" Aiden countered.
Helioptile rose his frills up and unleashed a wave of electricity upon the water. Causing it to light up in a brief yellow flash before disappearing. Sharpedo suddenly found himself paralyzed in mid-charge and was beginning to look alarmed. If he doesn't swim he'll drown. Luckily, Aiden knew this.
"Finish him with Parabolic Charge!"
Helioptile unleashed another blast of electricity, defeating Sharpedo. Eli cursed as he returned his Pokemon. "Gligar, come out!" he roared. Aiden returned Helioptile and threw out Zorua next.
"Use Feint Attack!" Aiden yelled. Zorua let out a yip before charging Gligar.
"Attack him with Fly!" Eli roared. Gligar looked over his shoulder and gave his Trainer a confused expression. Eli looked at him in dismay. "Well? Aren't you going to use Fly?" he asked.
Aiden had to bit his tongue to resist the urge to laugh. Gligar couldn't learn Fly. Gligar's don't necessarily fly. The closest thing they do to flying is gliding. Hence the name Gligar. "Zorua, use Foul Play!" he roared, taking advantage of the situation. The attack landed a critical hit to the distracted Gligar and weakened him.
"Use U-turn!" Eli snapped frustratingly. Zorua swiftly dodged the attack and caused Gligar to crash into a nearby rock. Defeating the Pokemon surprisingly. "Damn it!" Eli cursed as he returned his Pokemon to his Pokeball and threw out Phantump next. Aiden returned Zorua and replaced him with Combusken.
"This battle is certainly getting heated." Korrina said before taking a bite out of her slice of cake.
"Aiden reminds me of Calem in a way." Diantha added, "He certainly knows how to handle and command his Pokemon well."
"Gurkinn?" Vivienne asked, "Do you think it was wise to give Eli a Mega Ring? Look at the way he's treating his Pokemon in battle."
"She's got a point, Grandpa." Korrina agreed, "Is it really a good idea to give a Mega Ring to someone like Eli? I mean you barely even know the kid."
Gurkinn smiled. "You're right with that, granddaughter. But I trust my decision. I can see something in Eli that's managed to convince me to give him a Mega Ring as well. Like how I felt with Vivienne and Aiden."
Vivienne blinked and looked down at her Mega Ring.
Phantump fell on the sand in defeat. Eli returned her to her Pokeball before throwing out his last Pokemon, Pupitar. Aiden had only two Pokemon left: Frogadier and Lucario. He said he wouldn't bring out Lucario, so he threw out Frogadier instead.
"Pupitar, use Thrash!" Eli snapped, sounding a bit desperate.
"Dodge and use Surf!" Aiden yelled. Frogadier leaped out of the way and landed in the water. In a matter of seconds, a large wave aappeared and smashed into Pupitar. It immediately defeated him.
Eli cursed loudly, stomping his foot angrily on the ground like a angry child who didn't get his favorite toy for Christmas.
"Calm down, Eli." Aiden said after returning his Frogadier into his Pokeball.
Eli glared at Aiden before returning his partner to his Pokeball. "I'm done." he hissed, turning to leave.
"Are you having any second thoughts yet, Grandpa?" Korrina asked as they watched him.
...
"I can't thank all of you again for throwing me a party. It's truly something I'll always treasure in my heart." Diantha said as she stood by the entrance of Shalour City.
"I can't thank you enough for taking the time to come over." Gurkinn replied.
"It was truly an honor to meet you." Aiden gave Diantha a respectful bow, "I wish you luck on your future."
Diantha gave Aiden a warm smile. "Same to you, Aiden. And you, too, Vivienne. Along with little Mica as well." she chuckled as she playfully tapped Mica's nose with a finger.
"So what are you going to do now?" Vivienne asked.
Diantha turned her head silently to gaze over at the sunset in the horizon. A faraway look present in her eyes as they glittered like the sea water. "I've been given some time off from my acting career. So I'll be taking the time to just visit some old places and such. Maybe see a few old friends if I'm lucky. Any way, I must be off."
"Feel free to come back anytime." Korrina said.
Diantha nodded. After a final farewell, she left.
"Looks like I'll be staying around a bit longer." Vivienne chuckled, "I still need that third badge."
"That's right." Aiden chuckled, "Good luck."
Vivienne smiled a shy smile at Aiden. "Thank you. I wish you luck on your fourth badge."
"Hey, Aiden?" Korrina walked up to him with a surprisingly shy look on her face. Her right hand was on her left arm as she shuffled her feet slightly.
"Yeah Korrina?" Aiden replied.
"That was a pretty good battle we had up in the tower." she said, "I can see why Lucario likes you. He felt the same way towards Natalie, but the bond wasn't strong enough. It didn't have time to develop. But you came along. Even though he doesn't have Natalie, he has you. So please take care of him for me."
Aiden placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her an assuring nod. "Don't worry. I will." he said. Korrina smiled. What happened next took everyone by surprise that Vivienne nearly dropped Mica. Aiden froze when he felt a light peck on his cheek. His mother had always kissed him on the cheek, but he's never gotten anything like this. There was a light blush on Korrina's face after she pulled away.
"Yeah...well..." she cleared her throat, "See ya..."
Everyone else watched the young Gym Leader quickly skate away. Back to her Gym. Aiden stood where he was with a dumbfounded look on his face before he turned to Vivienne and Gurkinn.
"Did that really just happen?" he asked in a somewhat blank tone.
X.X
:D
They're might be a little competition between Korrina and Vivienne.