Azalea Town
Having left Cherrygrove right away, Kotone managed to reach Violet City only an hour or two after nightfall. But, all that traveling in such a short time, not to mention the countless of both wild and trainer battles, exhausted her, and she was practically tumbling into the city. Luckily, the Pokémon Center was near the entrance to the city, similar to Cherrygrove. Before walking in, Kotone only had time to notice the unique scent of the town, then she was presented with the exact same sight she had seen before.
The same shade of yellow and red, and the exact same nurse at the counter. Kotone wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion getting to her, or if the Pokémon Center had a secret cloning chamber somewhere within its corridors. Shaking it off, she approached the counter, asking for a room and for her Chikorita to be healed. The nurse's bubble gum pink hair bounced as she drew her head back in surprise, then gave Kotone an apprehensive look. After a moment she gave Kotone the same bright smile the other nurses did, then told her that her Pokémon would be ready shortly.
Almost immediately after she walked away, another nurse showed up to lead Kotone to her room. Kotone barely paid any mind to the stark golden yellow and white hallways that lead her to her room. There were only a few rooms, and from one of them, she could hear a trainer talking to their Pokémon. She could feel her face contort as she thought, "Really? He's talking to the thing like… It was a friend or something…" She just shook her head at the naivety of people.
When they arrived her room, Kotone promptly gave the nurse the fee for the room, and the nurse explained the same concept that the nurse back in Cherrygrove had. Kotone had a day in the room, and since she showed up at night this time, she would have to leave by nightfall the next day. Upon entering the room, it was exactly the same as the previous one, right down to the stationary on the desk. But Kotone could really care less how the room looked at this point. All she wanted to do was go to bed. But, she wasn't going to repeat the same mistake as last time. Throwing both that day's and yesterday's clothes in a hamper, she changed into the bed clothes she brought, which consisted of a cotton tank top and short set.
Throwing herself against the mound of pillows on the bed, Kotone pulled out her Pokegear, she was exhausted, but there was one thing she had to do. Opening up the map feature, Kotone planned out the next two days. She figured she could rest a bit in Violet City for a few hours, make a trip to the Pokemark, and she'd have to call Hibiki to let him know she was almost there.
With one hand on her Pokegear, and the other twirling the fabric on her white and red flowered pajamas, she figured the trip to Azalea Town would take a little under a day and a half, so she'd have to leave Violet city before noon. With a yawn, she figured that that much was all she really needed to know, and went to bed.
…
When Kotone awoke in the morning, first, she acknowledged it was about 6am, next, she was shocked to find a Bayleef in her room. She panicked for a moment in her newly awakened state, then she slowly realized, that it was her Chikorita… Well, it was evolved. Kotone had recalled her Pokémon so quickly, it must have started evolving inside it's ball instead of outside of it, as most Pokémon did. That fact wasn't going to change, either. Kotone picked up the ball that was left on her nightstand and called out, "Ch—Bayleef, return." Before setting the ball in her bag with a sigh. No wonder the nurse was giving her strange looks about her 'Chikorita' the previous night.
Kotone sat up in her bed for a moment, thinking about what to do. In the end she figured that ignoring the evolution would be best for now, after all, it was just the same Pokémon; it wasn't really a big deal. It just looked slightly less stupid.
…
Looking up at the clock in the Pokemart, Kotone saw it was about time she continued on the road. She jogged up to the counter, buying some snacks for the road, a few Pokeballs, and potions. After quickly organizing them in her bag, she was walking the road out of the town. A few people were giving her strange looks, after all, they assumed that since she stayed the night at the Pokémon Center, she would be challenging the gym leader before she left. After all, the town had its good share of trainers in it, all looking to fight him.
As if by cue, a little boy ran up to Kotone, "I need to practice before I go up against Falkner!" He said excitedly, almost a scream. Flashing him a 'great for you' look, Kotone kept walking toward the town's southern exit. "Hey! Hey lady! My Rattata is going to beat up Falkner's Pokémon! He's in the TOP percent of Rattata, I'm sure of it! To prove it to 'ya, I'm gonna battle 'ya!"
"Look kid…" Kotone sighed, not sure how to put the kid down lightly, "I'm not looking for a battle—"
"But aren't you a trainer!? We've gotsta battle!" He, rudely, interrupted her. He looked confused and in disbelief, that someone he didn't even know didn't want to battle him in the middle of a city. "Kid! Look around you, I don't think anyone will appreciate a battle right here!" She snapped at him, and then she recoiled, afraid she was too harsh. "What I mean is… If you ever see me out of town, I'll… Battle you then?" She said, not too sure of what she was saying. But the kid seemed pleased, he jumped around, chanting something about battling a 'real trainer', before running off, Kotone assumed to his mother.
…
Finally, after the past day, the Pokegear was indicating Kotone was only an hour from Azalea Town. She avoided most of the trainer battles, and managed to swiftly take down the wild Pokémon in her path. She was a bit disappointed, though, that there was none that she wanted to catch so far. But she figured that's just how it would be. At least it meant she would have plenty of Pokeballs.
As she walked the grassy path, she saw something move that wasn't supposed to move. Was it the grass? When she heard a voice floating over, she quickly ducked behind a tree. "God damnit, Lambda! Really, these clothes? I look like some sort of commoner…" The voice sounded disgruntled and distant, like he really didn't want to be where he was. Peaking from behind her tree, Kotone saw that what she saw was not grass, but rather a trainer, or at least he looked like one. He was shoving a brown hat hastily over his green hair, grumbling profanities under his breath. She heard him snap his Pokegear shut, "It could've have been black… But no, ugh, it's the colour of Pokémon sh—" He cut off, hearing a rustle, assuming it was god-knows-what, he continued on the path, glancing back every few paces, and Kotone stayed behind her tree, having now tucked her head back into hiding.
When she was sure he was far enough ahead, Kotone thought it would be interesting to follow him. Yet, it wasn't even a few steps forward when she heard a Pokémon call out from behind her. Turning around, Kotone laid eyes on a Mareep. Kotone automatically could tell it was an electric type, and had a moderately high level of cuteness. With a smirk, she decided the grumpy man could wait, and that she was going to catch a Pokémon.
After a half hour of trying to hit gently enough so that she didn't kill it, with a combination of trying to land enough damage that it could be easily caught, Kotone had gotten herself a Mareep. She pondered nicknaming it, but decided it would make the human Pokémon relationship too familiar, and she didn't like that thought at all. "Now," she began, "All that's left is reaching Azalea Town."
…
Hibiki was waiting anxiously at the Slowpoke well, he knew from Kotone's call earlier that she should've been there 45 minutes ago. Up until a few minutes ago, he was content just talking with his Marill until Kotone made her way to them. But now, he was kicking the ground nervously, "Maybe we should go in, Marill… She could've gotten hurt! After all, she is a girl, I need to go rescue her!" He cried out eventually, clenching his fist dramatically while raising it. The Marill joined in with his melodramatic behavior with a call and a spin.
Seeing another trainer walk by, Hibiki couldn't help himself, "Hey! You, with the hat!" He called out, and as the hat-guy turned around, Hibiki became nervous. Hat-guy seemed royally pissed off, but Hibiki just swallowed and approached him, "Have you seen a girl, just about thiiiis tall," He brought his hand up to a few inches lower than the top of his head, "She was probably wearing a fluffy white hat? Red bow?"
The guy was about to ignore Hibiki, but then paused, seemingly lost in thought. He thought it might've just been a Pokémon, or part of the tree, but was that white thing he saw sticking out behind the tree… He threw his hands up, even if it was, he wasn't going to be helping a complete stranger. "Dunno, you're on your own." He said, the arrogance dripping from his tone, leaving Hibiki in shock. Never had Hibiki experienced a person like this, sure, he had seen arrogance, but this guy was a whole new level. "W-well, thanks for nothing!" He tried to retaliate, but the hat-guy just raised his hand, Hibiki half-expected him to wave, but hat-guy just returned the hand to his belt. "Psshh… I could've taken him…" Was all Hibiki mumbled, before turning around to make his way into the tall grass, his Marill right behind him.
He didn't have to walk far, for soon he saw a familiar face walking towards him, and he beamed, "Kotone! Hey! Over here, me and Marill have been waiting for you!" He called out, running towards her. "Heya." Was all she said in response, a smile playing on her lips. "Come on, the Pokémon center is right ahead, I made sure they saved you a room next to mine, oh! And the festival is tomorrow! You made good time!" he said, relaying the game plan for the next day, and what Kotone could do until then. He suggested a lot of options that involved the two of them hanging out. Putting a twist on his almost-catch-phrase she brought a hand to her face, "Well, after all, I am a girl… I'm going to need a lot of time to get ready…!" She joked with him, bringing her hand down to give him a small punch on the arm, not that she could do much damage anyways.
As the two walked into town, they began catching each other up on the past year. Kotone forgot how non-irritating she found Hibiki in person, she boiled it down to how his voice sounded over Pokegear: Whiney and childish. But seeing him in person, Kotone could tell he was well on his way towards being an adult, granted he would be a childish adult, but an adult none-the-less.
"This, Kotone, is the grand Pokémon center of Azalea Town!" He cooed, shuffling her inside the building. Kotone was expecting something different from the past two she was in, but it was exactly the same. The nurses again, too. "Hey, Hibiki, I've been meaning to ask. What's up with the nurses? Are they robots or something?" She whispered to him, afraid they might hear her and apprehend her for voicing their secret, or something. Instead of a shocked gasp, she got a chuckle out of Hibiki, "Of course not! They're cousins! The hair, face, body, and… Well, everything runs in the family, along with naming the daughters 'Joy'. I guess it's just their thing."
Shaking her head lightly, Kotone just shrugged, letting out an exhausted, "Oh." Just as she said it, one of the nurse Joys came up to her, "You must be Kotone! We have your room all ready, we'll take care of your Pokémon for you." She said, and Kotone passed the two Pokeballs onto the woman before she led her to her room, Hibiki following right behind them. When they arrived at the designated door, Kotone reached into her bag to pull out of the money for the room before she was interrupted by Hibiki, "Hey hey! I told you I'd make up to you for earlier, I paid already." Kotone's jaw dropped a little. She had agreed to allow Hibiki to buy her a yukata, but the room too? She felt a little guilty, after all, how much could someone make off of beating up other's Pokémon? As if he read her thoughts Hibiki patted her on the shoulder before saying, "You know, being a trainer pays better than you think." He then winked at her and went into his own room, his Marill marching behind him like a little soldier.
With a sigh, Kotone entered her room, "He's really such a child…" She muttered, throwing her bag on the floor and walking over to the bed. It was later in the afternoon, so Kotone figured she could take a nap before dinner. All this walking and traveling was really getting to her, her legs were sore and her eyes felt heavy.
Woooo, long chapter! But finally! Some character interaction! What do you all think is going to happen ;D ? Don't forget to review!
