A.N. Hello, friends! Let's not waste any time!
Disclaimer: L, did you know Gods of Death like apples?
When most people think of the Unova region, the first thing that pops into their mind is ice. And, of course, this is thought with very good reason, thanks to the Neo-Team Plasma incident from last year. But, Unova was rebuilding, though they were still trying to thaw out Opelucid City.
And with Neo-Team Plasma vanquished, a new Champion crowned, his sister's Purrloin, (well, Liepard), and life slowly going back to normal, for fourteen-year-old Hugh, and his friends, Nate, the new champion, and Nikki, a young trainer he had met on his travels, things were going very well.
According to Nate, there was going to be a new mega-battle facility built very soon, on an island not too far from Unova.
"It's gonna be huge!" Nate told his friends excitedly. "And they're looking for people to help run it!"
The three were gathered in the Cinnamon House, a bakery run by Nikki's mother, and Nikki. The bakery was fairly large, with a few white tables and chairs for patrons to sit in, placed around the bakery. The walls were a calming blue, and the floors were tiled black-and-white. There were three large sweet-cases, which held cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, and, the bakery's specialty, cinnamon rolls.
As of current, the three trainers were sitting at a table, eating sweets and discussing the latest news Nate had brought to Aspertia City.
"So they're looking for Frontier Brains, then." Hugh, who was sitting in a chair next to the store window, idly said. He took a bite of the brownie that he had bought a few minutes ago, and let the chocolate flavors slowly flood over his tongue.
"Not just Frontier Brains!" the visor-sporting Champion responded. "They need Gym Leaders, Contest Stars, AND Frontier Brains!"
"How big is this island, anyway?" Nikki asked, chewing on a cinnamon roll. "From the way you're talking about it, you're making it sound huge."
"Oh, it's probably about half the size of Unova!" Nate replied gleefully. His red velvet cupcake was sitting on the table, untouched by the excited Champion.
"Doesn't sound like an island to me." Hugh shrugged. "Maybe just a really small region. Like Kalos or something."
"Kalos isn't small!" the brunette argued. "Have you ever seen a map of that place? I'd say it's even bigger than Unova!"
"Well, regardless…" Hugh said, looking over at his friend. "What will they do with the island, anyway?"
"Here's the thing!" Nate laughed. "There are going to be 18 Gyms, one for eat type. There's also going to be a ginormous Contest Hall, and a Battle Frontier! The four Frontier Brains have already been chosen, but there are tryouts for Gym Leaders and Contest Stars happening right here, in Unova, in about two months!"
"Who're the Battle Frontiers?" Nikki asked, eating the rest of her cinnamon roll. "And why only three?"
"Well, the people who're constructing the island figured since there are 18 Gym Leaders, it would be wise to only have four Frontier Brains, but they'd have to be really challenging." Nate replied, taking a bite of his cupcake for the first time, smearing cream cheese frosting all over his mouth. Some red crumbs fell onto his blue jacket, and he nonchalantly brushed them off onto the ground, earning a reproachful glare from Nikki.
"That does make sense." Hugh said, finishing off his brownie. "Who are they?"
"Hmmmmm…." Nate muttered, resting an elbow on the crumb-laden table. "Let's see. There was a meeting a few weeks ago, and there's gonna be a Battle Tower, classic, of course. After that, there's a Police Base, so I'm assuming that Interpol officers might be the Frontier Brains there…"
"Wouldn't the Interpol officers be busy?" Nikki asked, tugging on her knee-length brown braid, tied at the end with a pink bow. "It doesn't make much sense to have them working as Frontier Brains to me."
"Actually, it makes a lot of sense." Hugh interjected as the younger trainers looked over at him. "They could watch over the island, and if there was a problem, then the people wouldn't have to wait to call over some agents – they'd already be there!"
Nate and Nikki both nodded. The former took another bite of his cupcake, spilling more crumbs on the white table. "Oh!" he said excitedly with a mouth full of cupcake, red bits coming out of his mouth in a velvet-smelling spray.
The blunet and brunette recoiled as their friend spat crumbs at them – purely accidental, of course.
"Don't talk while you're eating, Nate." Hugh cajoled, brushing some red crumbs from his red jacket. Of course, you couldn't really see the crumbs anyway, but Hugh felt better knowing that there was no Nate spit on his clothes.
"Yeah, you're getting crumbs everywhere!" Nikki cried, swatting at her baby blue and white striped shirt. She flicked some red off of one of the elbow-length sleeves and sighed. "Anyway, continue."
Nate swallowed and resumed his exciting story. "Like I was saying, there was a Battle Tower, and Police Base, and- get this! An Exploration Cave!"
"Exploration Cave?" Both Trainers said simultaneously.
"It's super wicked!" Nate laughed, gesturing wildly. "You go down there, but you're not…you! You're a Pokémon! Isn't that just the strangest?!"
"How do they do that?!" Nikki blanched. "How do they know it's not permanent?!"
"Oh, they've done tests." Nate replied, nonchalantly waving a hand, and as a result, knocking the remainder of his cupcake down to the ground. "Aw, dammit. I wasn't done with it." He shrugged and picked it up off of the ground. "Eh, five second rule."
Hugh shook his head and sighed. "Nate, that's not very sanitary."
"Well, five second rule!" Nate argued, dropping the rest of the treat into his mouth and swallowing it with an audible "gulp."
"Oi, hold on a sec." Nikki frowned, putting her blue high-tops on the edge of the table. "Why're you telling us about this anyway?"
"'Cause I thought it might interest you." Nate shrugged. "Why else?" An alarm began to beep, the sound emitting from Nate's Xtransiver. "AH!" he yelled, jumping up and nearly upsetting the table. "No good! I'm gonna be late!"
"Late for what?" Hugh asked.
"Meeting!" Nate said, dashing out the door and nearly slamming it behind him, leaving the silver bell tied to the doorframe ringing.
Hugh shrugged and looked over at Nikki, who was sitting with her blue high-tops resting against the table- a position that she usually took up when she was thinking about something.
"What's wrong?" Hugh asked the younger trainer.
"Hmn? Oh, I was just thinking about what Nate told us." Nikki replied. "And…it's got me interested, actually." She smiled and looked over at the teenager. "I kinda want to try out for a spot!"
"For Gym Leader?" Hugh said, resting his arms against the table. "Sounds interesting, but what type would you try out for?"
"That's the thing!" Nikki grumbled. "I don't know, and the tryouts are in two months." With a sigh, the baker crumpled up her napkin and chucked it towards a trashcan, missing by a few feet. "I've got Samurott, Ampharos, Lopunny, Gothitelle, Chandelure, and Mienshao, but none of those types really…oh, what's the phrase?"
"Speak to you?" Hugh finished.
Nikki snapped her fingers. "Yeah, exactly! I want to go with a different type, one that I've never used before!" She paused. "Hugh, are you going to try out as well?"
Hugh shrugged and rested his hands on his navy pants. "No idea, Nick. Maybe I will. But if I did, I'd have the same problem that you have right now. I've got a Serperior, Simisear, Bouffalant, Flygon, Unfezant, and Elektross, but none of those Pokémon have a type that I want to specialize in."
The two Trainers were silent for a while, still trying to figure out what type of Pokémon would be ideal for them to specialize in. Of course, if they did figure it out, they'd have about two months to build a team and train their team, which wasn't a lot of time. It did make sense to go with a common type, maybe like Fire, or even Water or Grass, but the aforementioned types just didn't appeal to the two teens.
Hugh's thoughts drifted towards his little sister, Hana, and her Liepard.
Liepard, a Dark type.
Huh…
"What about Dark types?" Hugh voiced eventually, breaking the pensive silence that had befallen. "Yeah…Dark types." He closed his ruby-red eyes and nodded. "That's what I'll do!"
Nikki nodded. "I could totally see you as a Dark-type Trainer! It totally works!"
She looked around the bakery, until her eyes eventually fell on the sweet cases.
Sweets. Sugary sweets that she held such a penchant for. Sweet, sugary treats that were almost like…magic, once the flavors exploded in her mouth.
Wait…
Magic?
"Of course!"
"What's 'of course?'"
"I'll specialize in FAIRY types!" Nikki cried. "Why didn't I think of that before?"
Hugh frowned. "So, you're going to travel all the way to Kalos, then?"
Nikki shook her head. "Nope! There are plenty Fairy-types to be found in Unova!"
The blunet nodded, stood up, and pushed his chair in. "Okay, then. Dark types for me, and Fairy types for you. Sounds like a plan!"
"Yeah!" Nikki cheered, standing up as well. "Won't Nate be surprised when he finds out that we're gonna be at the tryouts!"
And with their noble goal in mind, the two Trainers left the bakery, laughing and chattering, their napkins forgotten on the bakery table.
A.N. Two in one day! Hopefully that makes up for not updating in a while (sorry). Bai for now!