Fidelity
Chapter 3: First Gym Leader
AN: First off, I hope you all had a nice and cozy Thanksgiving, and I hope you had as much as you can eat! Hopefully you know what to do with all those extra calories.
Well better late than never, I suppose. Sorry this took longer than expected; have to cover for a colleague at work now, who had to leave for...unfortunate reasons, so even less time for me.
And might as well respond to a few reviews while I'm at it:
Tony Anderson: Thanks! I aim to please, and unlike a lot of things, I have some confidence in my skills to write up good battles.
flashyhero: Oh my god that is hilarious! I need to do that now; in fact to those of you who got up here, whenever you get the chance, go back to chapter 2 and go read the last scene with Sycamore while playing his theme in the background. That is hilarious just imagining such a calm theme playing while poor hydreigon gets to regret his life decisions xD.
Guest: Thanks! Sorry for the delay, but hey at least I updated it ^^'
AcerVentus672: Yeah that's still a work in progress, but don't worry, Serena will grow out of her meek shell. It's not gonna be easy though, and I am a bit of a sadist, but definitely. And yeah, Calem is pretty OP in this phase ^^' There's a reason to it though, and don't worry, he's not perfect: he has his flaws, which I'll get to as the story progresses, as will he eventually break out of his loner status.
After the good night sleep, Serena woke up rather soundly fairly early in the morning, before eating a quick breakfast and venturing out into Route 3 in hopes of catching a new member for her team.
"Alright," Serena said, giving her supplies a quick check. "Plenty of pokéballs...potions and status healing times in case Marisso gets hurt too much...yep! All set!"
Serena released Marisso into the open, letting the Grass-type stretch out his limbs.
"Are you ready Marisso?" Serena asked her partner.
"-I'm ready!-" Marisso replied eagerly, giving her a determined expression.
"Alright! Let's do our best!" Serena declared encouragingly.
"So, what do you plan to catch, Seré?" Shauna asked from behind.
"Hmm...I'm not exactly sure," Serena mumbled. "Trevor, do you know what's in this Route?"
"Route 3, right...?" Trevor asked, taking out his pokédex and looking through the route. "...Let's see here...there're common Pokémon like pidgies, fletchlings and bidoofs..."
"There're also some rare ones like pikachus and dunsparces," Trevor informed her.
"A pikachu?" Shauna asked. "Oh my gosh Seré! You HAVE to catch one! They're just SOO CUTE!"
"Hm...Maybe..." Serena contemplated.
"Hm...Maybe I should catch one myself," Trevor mumbled under his breath.
"Well, just go explore," Tierno suggested. "There's bound to be something that'll catch your eye, Seré."
"Right," Serena said. "Let's see..."
Serena and Marisso ventured into the grass, the Grass-type always on guard in case something suddenly jumped out to assault Serena.
"Let's see..." Serena looked around the tall grass. "What's here to get...?"
As soon as she said that, the grass began to shake near her, alerting Marisso to get in front of her.
"Oh! What is it?" Serena asked excitedly.
As if to answer her question yet again, something shot out of the grass and landed in front of the pair. The assailant was revealed to be a pidgey, raring for a challenge.
"A pidgey...!" Serena said. "A Flying-type will be really helpful against bugs! Marisso, Vine Whip!"
Marisso, looking determined, lunged forward at the pidgey, extending two vines from its collar and smacking Pidgey with them. The pidgey shrugged the attack off, and whipped up a gust of wind with its wings to attack Marisso. The attack blasted Marisso, pushing him back.
"-Agh!-" Marisso grunted in pain.
"Marisso!" Serena cried in concern.
"Serena, Flying-types are super effective to Grass-types!" Trevor warned her. "And Grass-type attacks don't do much to Flying-types!"
"Really?" Serena asked, facing the boy
"Look out!" Shauna cried.
Serena whipped her attention back to the battle, where Pidgey charged at Marisso.
"Marisso look out!" Serena cried.
The hedgehog got back up, only to get tackled by Pidgey, sending him back further.
"Serena, use Rollout!" Trevor yelled. "It's super effective against Pidgey!"
"R-Right!" Serena stuttered. "Marisso, Rollout!"
Marisso managed to get back on his feet, curled up into a ball, before proceeding to roll into Pidgey, smashing into the bird. The pidgey flew into the air, before releasing another gust of wind at Marisso, managing to blow Marisso off of the course. Marisso landed back in front of Serena.
"Are you alright, Marisso?" Serena asked in concern.
Marisso got back up, nodding while glaring at the pidgey.
"Try shooting him down with Pin Missile!" Serena commanded.
Marisso fired several needles at Pidgey, shooting the bid with the projectiles, and successfully bringing it down.
"Alright, it's weakened," Serena said, before taking out a pokéball. "Go!"
Serena threw a pokéball at Pidgey, hitting the bird with the ball. The bird was sucked into it via a red laser, and the ball landed on the ground, but it quickly burst open, releasing Pidgey back into the open.
"Wha–huh?" Serena asked.
"It's not weakened enough!" Shauna yelled. "You gotta hit it more!"
"R-Right!" Serena replied.
But before she could act, the pidgey decided to run, flying away from them.
"Wha–No, wait!" Serena cried, but the pidgey had long escaped.
The blonde slumped down, sad that her target had escaped. Marisso sighed in defeat as well.
"Darn it..." Serena mumbled. "Are you alright, Marisso?"
Marisso looked back up and tried to nod in response, but winced a little. It would seem that the gust attack did much more than anticipated. Serena saw this too, and quickly got out a potion and sprayed it on his wound.
"I'm sorry, Marisso," Serena mumbled.
Marisso shook his head, trying to relieve Serena of any guilt of the situation at all.
"Now, now," Shauna said in an attempt to cheer her up. "It's just one pidgey. There's bound to be more to catch. Don't give up just yet!"
"R-Right..." Serena said, regaining her confidence. "Yeah! This is only the beginning! Right, Marisso?"
Having his wound healed, Marisso looked up to his trainer sporting a newly confident expression.
"That's the spirit, Seré!" Shauna cheered.
With newfound vigor, Serena and Marisso began to search around some more, searching for new prey to battle and hopefully catch. After several minutes of searching, some more tall grass began to rustle.
"Yes!" Serena cheered quietly as she eagerly waited to see what kind of Pokémon was in it.
The rustling grew more restless, and the Pokémon shot out from it. Serena's enthusiastic expression soon descended into one of fear, as a small larval Pokémon covered in leaves jumped out, hanging itself onto a nearby branch.
"B-bb-Bu-Bu-b-bb-Bu-BUG!" Serena shrieked in fear.
"A burmy!" Tierno exclaimed.
Upset that the bug scared his trainer, Marisso glared at the burmy and shot Pin Missiles at it. The burmy sneered as it projected a green barrier, shielding itself from the attack.
"Burmies do have a tendency to use Protect a lot," Trevor pointed out. "Considering that Protect is one of the few moves it actually gets, and it only has Protect and Tackle in these areas, this is to be expected."
"That's pretty annoying..." Shauna commented.
"C-Can we just go then...?" Serena practically begged.
"I guess that's alright," Tierno said. "I highly doubt catching a burmy will help you anyways."
The burmy seemed to take offense to that, and jumped off the branch and landed elsewhere.
"Well that solves itself," Shauna shrugged.
"Oh...I kinda feel bad now..." Serena mumbled. "I think we hurt its feelings."
"C'mon let's go," Shauna said, urging Serena to move on.
"Well...alright," Serena said. "...Hey, have any of you seen Calem?"
"Calem?" Tierno asked. "I haven't seen him this morning."
"Did he even stay the night at the center?" Shauna asked.
"I saw him at the center last night," Trevor said. "So at the least he was at the center this morning."
"I see..." Serena said.
Speaking of said boy, Calem happened to be in Route 3 as well, near a pond along with Froakie and Scyther. Froakie glanced at Scyther, who was, to the frog's surprise, patiently waiting for Calem's next order. Perhaps the brutal beat down Blaziken inflicted upon him yesterday taught him to not go against Calem.
"-So...What're we doing?-" Scyther asked.
"-No idea,-" Froakie responded.
"-Weren't you with him longer than me? Shouldn't you understand what he's doing better than me?-"
"-Guy, I joined his team on the same day you got caught.-"
As Froakie and Scyther began to converse with one another while waiting for Calem, the boy was currently looking through the area, surveying the potential wildlife in the area.
"...Hm...No gyarados..." Calem muttered. "A shame...those would've made for great practice against power. Oh well...I guess we'll just stick to the main objective."
"-I guess he's trying to find an opponent for us to fight,-" Froakie said, hearing Calem's low grumbles.
"-Is that so...-" Scyther said as he glanced back to his new trainer.
"You two are fast offensive Pokémon after all," Calem said getting their attention. "I'd like you to have some experience dealing with faster opponents, especially those with priority. The Azumarill line, while only obtainable through breeding, are famous for utilizing 'Aqua Jet' thanks to obtaining STAB on it, in conjunction to their ability 'Huge Power'."
"-Not bad,-" Froakie whistled.
"Experienced trainers tend to search out these marills hoping to obtain this powerful combination," Calem went on. "If they're lucky, they could even get one with more options, such as Superpower, or even Belly Drum."
Calem looked on towards the pond.
"This Route 3 is one of the few available locations to find marills," Calem said. "While the baby azurills live in the grass, marills and azumarills tend to live around this pond."
"-So he wants us to practice against them...is that it?-" Froakie asked.
"-It would seem,-" Scyther said. "-But...if I recall, marills tend to be pretty passive in nature.-"
As if to answer his suspicions, something began to surface from the pond, which turned out to be a group of marills. They all looked at the group with smiling faces.
"-See?-" Scyther said. "-They're harmless. How do we get them to fight us?-"
"Froakie, Water Pulse. Scyther, Aerial Ace," Calem simply ordered.
"-I guess like that,-" Froakie shrugged as he charged an orb of water in his palms and launched it at the group of marills.
The marills frantically scattered, avoiding the Water Pulse, before all the water mice glared at them dangerously. Scyther simply shook his head, before brandishing his blades and disappearing. All the marills began to surround themselves in a torrent of water and bullet towards Froakie. Scyther then reappeared in front of Froakie, swiping his blade and swatting the marills away. The marills landed everywhere, with one sole marill sent flying further from the group than usual.
"-Yo, what do we do about that one?-" Froakie asked, pointing to the one that flew away.
"Ignore it," Calem ordered. "Focus on the rest."
Froakie nodded, as the rest of the marills prepared for another raid of Aqua Jets.
"Dodge them."
Froakie began to jump, avoiding as many marills as he could. Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid them all, as he avoided another marill, only to get attacked from behind by another Aqua Jet marill. As Froakie landed on the ground, he rolled out of the way to avoid another Aqua Jet. Meanwhile Scyther brandished his blades and kept swatting as many marills that kept charging at him. As the marills fell down like flies, Scyther looked around, seeing if anymore were raring to attack him.
Froakie managed to get back up, grunting in mild frustration. The marills got into a group and proceeded to shoot torrents of water at them. Froakie and Scyther easily avoided the attacks and lunged at the marills. As the duo attacked the marills, the group escaped via Aqua Jet, before bombarding them with said attack once more.
"-Goddamn! What is this, some kind of bullet hell?!-" Scyther growled as he defended himself.
"-How the hell should I know?!-" Froakie yelled back as he stopped a marill with Pound.
As the two fended off the horde of bullet marills, Calem simply observed them from his side. It wasn't as if he was truly worried; no, he was hoping for some improvement by subjecting them to the marill horde. If things go south, he could simply have Blaziken clean up.
"Their reaction time is good," Calem commented. "Hopefully this will improve it further...although..."
Calem glanced onto the direction where that one marill flew away to. Marills are rare to find in the grass, so assuming that marill landed there, it would be a rare find on land, and free game to anyone who finds it. But then again, marill is quite strong in comparison to the normal finds in the grass. He had doubts on any starting trainer could be able to catch a marill; especially one with Aqua Jet. If that one marill ended up having Belly Drum, then it could completely decimate any starting trainer that came across it.
...A bulky Grass-type, perhaps, could save them from total decimation.
...Catching Pokémon was harder than Serena had expected it to be.
It was already noon, and she caught nothing. Everything ended up either breaking out of the pokéball in the middle of capture and escape, or just outright run away from her in general. Trevor even managed to catch a pikachu during her many fails.
"Why the hell did you catch it?!" Shauna reprimanded Trevor. "Seré's supposed to be the one catching things!"
"W-Well...I mean it wanted to fight me..." Trevor mumbled, his flabébé looking somewhat apologetic.
"It's alright, Shauna," Serena said. "At least Trevor caught something."
"C'mon, Shauna," Tierno said, trying to calm the girl down. "No one said that he wasn't allowed to catch anything. And at least Marisso got a lot stronger because of all the battling."
Serena glanced down to Marisso, who, despite being tired, did in fact become much stronger. He also learned a new move...'Leech Seed' was it? That would prove to be quite helpful, doing passive damage to Marisso's opponents and heal him at the same time. At least something good came out of all those failures.
But that still doesn't change the fact that Serena failed to capture a new member. And considering the gym she was going to challenge specialized in...Bug-types...she couldn't have Marisso face them all by himself, considering he was weak to the type. Sure he had Rollout to make up for it and hit those scary bugs with a super effective move, but that alone could only carry her so far.
She needed to catch something else to help support Marisso.
"But I've seen everything..." Serena mumbled. "Even a dunsparce...and I couldn't even catch that...what else is there?"
As Serena and Marisso looked around, they heard the grass rustle once more.
"Ah! Another Pokémon!" Serena quietly alerted Marisso.
The hedgehog got into a defensive position as they observed the grass. From out of it, a round, blue mouse-like Pokémon tumbled out, before falling flat on its face.
"Huh...?" Serena asked, eyeing the mouse. "Wait, it's injured!"
Serena hastily rushed over to the mouse, before taking out a potion to heal it.
"A marill...?" Trevor asked. "What's it doing out here? Normally they would be found in the pond area..."
"More importantly, why is it injured?" Tierno asked.
Serena sprayed the potion on its wounds, healing them.
"A-Are you alright?" Serena asked the marill.
Marill slowly opened her eyes, before noticing Serena and Marisso. The marill jumped up and backed away, before noticing that her wounds have been healed.
"-Did...did you heal me?-" Marill asked Serena.
"-Yeah, she did,-" Marisso informed Marill.
"-Huh...thank you...-" Marill said to Serena.
"Well, I'm glad you're alright," Serena smiled, seeing that Marill was all better. "But why were you hurt like that?"
"-This guy with a froakie and a scyther showed up, and had them attack us,-" Marill explained. "-And I was blown away from my friends afterwards...-"
"-A froakie and a scyther...?-" Marisso asked, before realizing who the culprit was. "-Did he have short brown hair and a really dark expression?-"
"-Yeah! He did!-" Marill responded.
"What're they talking about...?" Serena asked as she watched the two small Pokémon converse.
"Beats me..." Tierno shrugged. "It's not like we can understand them."
"Maybe if we were Unovans, then we could understand them," Trevor joked.
"Yeah," Shauna laughed, before remembering something. "Wait Seré! Now's your chance!"
"Huh?" Serena asked, while Marisso and Marill looked up.
"There's a Pokémon right in front of you! And it's a Water-type!" Shauna yelled. "If anything, THIS is the perfect opponent to try and catch!"
"Not to mention Marill's also a Fairy-type," Trevor explained. "Fairy-types resist Bug-type attacks."
"Really?" Serena perked up.
"-Uh...it looks like she wants to catch you now...-" Marisso said.
"-Really?-" Marill asked. "-But...-"
Marill glanced back to the direction of the pond, worried about the rest of her friends who were probably fighting off against the trainer with the froakie and scyther.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Serena asked.
Marill looked back up to the girl. Perhaps she can help. Seeking an opportunity, Marill jumped up and down, pointing to the direction of the pond before racing towards it.
"Huh?! Wait!" Serena yelped, chasing after the marill with Marisso.
"What the...? Seré, wait!" Shauna yelled, chasing after her friend.
"You think that marill wants us to chase after it?" Trevor asked.
"Well it did try to get our attention..." Tierno said. "Regardless, we can't let just those two to go off to who knows where."
"Right," Trevor said, before giving chase to them.
Marill finally reached the pond that she got blown away from, only to see one last marill fall to Scyther. Looking up, it saw that all of her marill comrades have been defeated by Scyther and Froakie, with their trainer looking indifferent at the carnage.
"-Finally we're done...-" Scyther muttered.
"-Well...at least we can react faster...I think...?-" Froakie replied, although it sounded more like a question rather than a response.
Calem studied their tired expressions, before noticing that there was someone else watching them. He turned to see a lone marill, glaring menacingly at him.
"You...you're that one marill that got blown away earlier," Calem commented.
"Marill, wait up!"
Everyone looked to see Serena and Marisso, chasing after Marill.
"Huh, Calem?" Serena asked, stopping and noticing the boy.
"Serena..." Calem muttered.
Everyone else caught up to them, witnessing the scenario at hand.
"What the...all of these marills..." Tierno said in shock.
"Hey! Did you do this?!" Shauna yelled angrily at Calem.
"And what if I was?" Calem asked.
"Why...?" Serena asked. "Why did you fight all these marills?"
"This horde is rather famous for commonly knowing Aqua Jet, and having overall high potential," Calem explained. "It made for handy training to improve Froakie's and Scyther's matchup against priority."
"So you just go and terrorize random wild Pokémon just to make yourself stronger?!" Shauna growled.
"A rhetorical question," Calem scoffed. "Isn't this what all trainers do? Fight against Pokémon; wild or owned; to improve themselves?"
Shauna didn't expect that, and tried to make a response, but couldn't. He had a point; in order to become stronger, all trainers fight opposing Pokémon, whether they be wild or owned by another trainer. It was the basic principle for all Pokémon trainers. Serena certainly couldn't say anything, since she had been battling countless wild Pokémon for the past few hours in an attempt to catch one for herself.
"-You just attacked us without any warning!-" Marill yelled accusingly.
Froakie simply shrugged while Scyther didn't seem to care at all. Enraged at their nonchalance, Marill growled, before lunging at them in an Aqua Jet. Having dealt with several of these for the past hour or so, Scyther simply parried the attack and swatted the mouse, making it fall.
"Marill!" Serena cried.
"Did you have to do that?" Calem reprimanded Scyther, who simply shrugged, much to the boy's chagrin.
The blonde ran and caught the mouse before she hit the ground. Calem said nothing, before recalling Froakie and Scyther and making his leave.
"Sorry about that," Calem muttered to Serena as he past her, placing a berry next to her as he did so.
Serena looked up from Marill and at Calem as the boy left; the boy not even looking back once as he exited the scene.
"What's the matter with him?!" Shauna fumed. "He can't just go around and beat up a bunch of marills like that!"
"Well technically, yes he can," Trevor said somewhat nervously. "...I mean...any fighting that occurs in the wild is classified as a 'wild encounter', and as long as he didn't do anything illegal or goes against the regulations and restrictions the Pokémon league established, such as poaching, then him instigating a fight with the horde is perfectly legal."
"Well that's not fair at all!" Shauna lashed out at the small boy.
"Even if you say that, it's not like we can do anything about it," Trevor interjected, trying to calm Shauna down. "Let's just put it in the past. He seemed to have a legitimate reasoning for doing what he did, and he didn't do anything illegal per say...moral ethics aside."
While Shauna was still fuming, Serena glanced back down to Marill, and picked up the berry Calem had placed.
"This was an oran berry, right...?" Serena mumbled, before feeding it to Marill.
The water mouse ate the berry, allowing it to rejuvenate the mouse. Feeling better, Marill got back up, but looked somewhat bummed out.
"Are you alright?" Serena asked Marill.
Marill nodded rather glumly, before glancing at all her friends.
"I'm sorry that we didn't make it in time..." Serena said, trying to comfort the mouse.
"-It's not your fault...-" Marill said back. "-It's all that guy's fault...-"
Marill was still pretty bitter about Calem; Serena could tell just by looking at the frustrated look on Marill's face. The mouse certainly didn't seem to like him.
She still needed to catch something...
"...Well...There's a good chance we'll see him again, if you stick with me..." Serena said, getting the mouse's attention. "I mean...that's if you want to come with me..."
Marill looked up to Serena. She did have a point: if she stuck with her, then she would be able to face that boy again. But she didn't want to leave her friends...
Marill glanced to the other marills as they slowly began to get back up. They all shared a look with her; a similar contempt, scornful look. They all wanted to get back at the boy for suddenly attacking them like that. They all nodded to Marill, seemingly understanding that she wanted to go with Serena, and were silently encouraging her to do so.
Acknowledging that, Marill faced Serena with a determined look on her face.
"-So...is that a yes?-" Marisso asked.
Marill nodded in response. Marisso nodded to Serena in response.
"So she wants to come with us?" Serena asked, earning an enthusiastic nod from the hedgehog. "Alright!"
Serena took out a pokéball and tossed it to Marill. The ball hit Marill, sucking the mouse into it in a red light. The ball landed, shook three times, before flashing briefly and stopped any motion whatsoever.
"Yes!" Serena cheered as she went over and picked up the ball. "I caught a marill!"
"Alright!" Shauna cheered along with her best friend.
"Marill should definitely help you against Viola," Trevor said. "A Fairy-type resists Bug. And if what Calem said is true, then this marill out to be quite formidable."
"Why don't you check its stats with your pokédex, Serena?" Tierno suggested.
Serena looked somewhat surprised that she could do that, but remembered Calem doing something like that with Scyther when he caught it yesterday.
"Right," Serena said, taking out her pokédex.
She lifted the device and placed it over Marill's pokéball, scanning the mouse.
"Marill, the aqua mouse Pokémon," it read. "The fur on its body naturally repels water. It can stay dry, even when it plays in the water."
"Uh let's see..." Serena mumbled as she scrolled down the data.
"Female. Adamant nature. Takes plenty of siestas. Ability: Huge Power. Knows the moves Water Gun, Tail Whip, Aqua Jet, and Belly Drum."
"What's Belly Drum?" Serena asked.
"That's a really good move," Trevor explained. "The user cuts its health in half, however in return, its attack power is maxed out."
"Wow..." Serena was impressed by that. "Speaking of which..."
Serena decided to scan Marisso too.
"Chespin, the spiky nut Pokémon," it read. "The quills on its head are usually soft. When it flexes them, the points become so hard and sharp that they can pierce rock."
"Nickname: 'Marisso'. Male. Relaxed Nature. Capable of taking hits. Ability: Overgrow. Knows the moves Vine Whip, Pin Missile, Rollout, and Leech Seed."
"Wow...he's pretty strong, considering we just met yesterday..." Serena said, making the Grass-type blush in embarrassment. "Oh that's right! I should give Marill a nickname!"
Serena turned to the blue mouse and kneeled down to her.
"Is that okay with you?" Serena asked nicely.
"-Uh...ok,-" Marill nodded.
"Hm...You're a girl...marill..." Serena mumbled. "...hmm...Mari? No...that sounds too similar to Marisso...how about 'Rill'?"
Marill tilted to the side, but nodded in response. It was cute.
From now on, she would be known simply as 'Rill'.
"Well then, let's work together from now on, Rill," Serena smiled.
"-Okay!-" Rill squealed.
"So what now?" Shauna asked. "You plan on going to the gym now?"
"Huh?" Serena asked.
"I mean, it took all afternoon just to get Rill," Tierno explained. "Do you plan to just go with your newly caught marill and Marisso to the gym?"
Serena glanced at her current team. It only consisted of her chespin, who was the only one to receive any training up to this point, and her marill, which was just freshly caught. Rill being a Fairy-type would help against the Bug-type gym, but then again she just caught her. No doubt the gym leader would not be a push-over to fall easily to a newly caught Pokémon, even if said Pokémon was hinted to be quite strong. And her Pokémon that was actually trained is weak to Bug-types. And considering a good portion of bug Pokémon were known to have flight capabilities, like Calem's Scyther, then she was sure to face one with not just Bug-type attacks, but also Flying-type attacks; both which would do major damage to Marisso.
"Uh...do you all mind if I train up for the rest of the day?" Serena asked rather shyly.
"Of course not!" Shauna said encouragingly. "In fact, I'll help you!"
"Better to be safe than sorry after all," Trevor agreed.
"Alright then," Tierno said, releasing Corphish and Fletchling. "Fletchling would be a good opponent to practice against flying opponents."
"Right," Serena smiled. "Thanks everyone."
With that, Marisso and Rill got ready as Fletchling took to the skies and Corphish clamped his pincers aggressively. Serena took a deep breath, before ordering Rill to propel at Fletchling with Aqua Jet.
After hours of training, the group finally decided to head back to Santalune City and rest up at the pokécenter, before heading to the Santalune City Gym.
"So Seré, you ready for this?" Shauna asked.
"I hope so," Serena said.
"I'm sure you'll be fine," Tierno said to reassure her. "You trained your best, and I'm sure Marisso and Rill will be able to power through."
Serena glanced down to her two pokéballs. Marisso and Rill were trained as much as she could against Tierno's Corphish and Fletchling.
"Right," Serena said. "We better get going though. It's almost twilight."
Indeed, the sky was already a brilliant orange, signaling the approaching end of the day. If they kept stalling for longer, then dusk would come. Deciding not to waste any more time, the group entered the gym, where they were greeted by a rather impressive gallery of portraits. A long sliding pole leading to another lower level was in the middle of the gallery, with a portly man waiting near it.
"What's the hustle, little Crustle?" the guide said jovially. "Welcome to Santalune City Gym! So, future Champ, this'll be your first time challenging a Gym, huh? Are you thrilled? Are you pumped?"
"I-I guess..." Serena mumbled.
"You should be!" the guide laughed, giving Serena a hearty pat on the back. "No worries here! You've got Pokémon on your side! And really, they're the ones who are gonna be doing all the battling. Am I right or am I right? Right?"
"I don't like this guy..." Shauna whispered. "He gives off a bad and irritating vibe."
"Jump on that pole there, and you'll be on your way to where the Gym Leader's a-waitin' for you!" the guide said. "Whoops! But wait! Before you go, I'm supposed to tell you something! Everybody in this Pokémon Gym uses Bug-type Pokémon. Got it?"
"G-Got it..." Serena stuttered, being reminded that she would have to face Bug types.
"Oh, and I think I outta inform you," the guide added. "Another trainer came by earlier. I think he's still in the middle of his challenge."
"Another trainer...?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, he looked pretty serious," the guide said. "I told him that he needed to lighten up a little, but all I got was the cold shoulder. Meh, cold guys like him won't get the ladies. Even if he was admittedly a pretty boy."
"Cold...pretty boy...?" Serena asked. 'Could it be...?'
"Oh, are you all here for the challenge by the way?" the guide asked.
"No, only our friend here is," Tierno said. "We're just her friends, here to support her."
"Alrighty then," the guide said. "Only the lady here has to go down the pole, you three can go through the stairs over there."
The guide pushed a switch on the podium, where a staircase appeared at the back. The guide led Shauna, Tierno and Trevor to the staircase, leaving Serena all alone, with the pole beckoning her to slide down.
"A cold, serious, pretty boy, huh..." Serena muttered. "Could that be...Calem...I mean, he is pretty cold and serious...and admittedly c-cute..."
Her cheeks began to heat up slightly when calling the boy 'cute', prompting her to shake off the thoughts.
"No! I need to focus now..." Serena said. "Let's just start..."
Serena grabbed the pole and made her descent down. But soon enough she ran out of pole to hang onto, leaving her to free fall down screaming onto a giant spider web.
"W–what...?" Serena mumbled as she got back up.
She looked around. She was on quite possibly the largest spider web she has ever seen in her entire life; and quite possibly the entire world. Her face paled slightly. While she was vehemently afraid of Bug-types, she wasn't exactly too afraid of the webs they make. They always end up being fascinating and rather beautiful in terms of design. Begs the question however; what exactly made such a large web?
That was something she didn't want to think about. She couldn't imagine how many spider Pokémon like ariados or galvantula it took to make it, or how large of a spider Pokémon it was to make such a large web.
Surprisingly, the web wasn't too sticky; sure it was sticky, but she could easily pry her feet off of the web, and it was still firm and strong enough to not break from her weight and keep her from falling down into what appeared to be a bottomless abyss.
Not that she was fat or anything, but she was amazed that the web was very strong.
The web was designed like a maze; she had to find the right path, while the wrong path led her to a dead end that she had to backtrack to do so. The only sounds that filled the maze were the droplets of water, and the squirming and scattering of bugs, which unnerved her as she tried out figure out the maze.
Eventually she made it out of the maze that was the giant web and reached a large arena, where she found her friends on a mini bleacher.
"Seré!" Shauna called out.
"You guys!" Serena exclaimed, happy to see them after going through a dark maze in solitude, as she approached them, until she spotted another familiar person sitting away from them. "C-Calem?!"
The boy in question gave her a nod of acknowledgement.
"W–what're you doing here...?" Serena asked. "N–not that I don't mind or anything."
"I challenged the gym since Froakie wanted to fight Viola," Calem said, gesturing to the frog in question next to him. "I was about to leave until I ran into your friends on the way out, where they told me that you would be challenging Viola. So I decided to stay and see how you would fare against a gym leader."
"I–I see..." Serena mumbled.
This worked out two ways for the girl. She was ecstatic that Calem decided to stay and watch her, where she could prove to him that she has indeed improved. But at the same time, she was afraid and nervous of screwing up and losing to Viola in front of Calem, and making a bad impression to him.
She needed to win no matter what.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Everyone turned to the tent, where Viola emerged from it.
"I needed to go heal up my team," Viola said apologetically. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."
"No, I just got here," Serena admitted.
"Alright then, a two vs two match outta be good," Viola asked, gesturing Serena to the other side of the arena. "Shall we begin?"
The honey blonde obliged and went to her side of the field, taking a deep breath. This was her first gym battle. She needed to stay calm.
"Let's," Serena said with as much determination in her eyes as she could muster.
"That's the spirit Seré!" Shauna cheered.
That determined expression...That glint in your eye that says you're up to the challenge..." Viola commented, gripping her camera fiercely. "It's fantastic! Just fantastic! Is this your first time challenging a Gym? Fantastic! Whether it's the tears of frustration that follow a loss or the blossoming of joy that comes with victory... They're both great subjects for my camera! Fantastic! This'll be just fantastic!"
Without warning, Viola took out a pokéball and released a small blue insectoid Pokémon; possessing a round body with four long skinny legs, making Serena's expression falter slightly.
"Now come at me! My lens is always focused on victory—I won't let anything ruin this shot!"
Right, this was a Bug-type gym. At least this one looked slightly cute? It didn't keep her from shuddering though.
"You can do this Seré!" Shauna called out, getting the blonde back in high spirits.
"R-Right!" Serena said, snapping out of her initial stun and decided to scan the Pokémon.
"Surskit, the pond skater Pokémon," it read. "They usually live on ponds, but after an evening shower, they may appear on puddles in towns."
"A Bug/Water type..." Serena mumbled. "So Rill won't be a good choice...alright then, Marisso!"
Serena released Marisso, who landed on the ground and glared at his opponent, pounding his small paws in aggression.
"Alright then, start it off with Bubble Beam!" Viola commanded.
"Dodge it!" Serena hastily yelled.
Surskit proceeded to shoot a spray of bubbles at Marisso, who avoided them as the bug shot more of them.
"Cancel them out with Pin Missile! Then approach with Vine Whip!" Serena commanded.
Marisso avoided another spray as he shot several pins like missiles at Surskit, which the bug managed to intercept with Bubble Beam. As the projectiles collided, Marisso ran up to Surskit with vines extended out from his collar and smacked Surskit in the face with them. Surskit recoiled, before backing off in a smooth motion, as if it was skating on the field.
"Signal Beam!"
"Avoid it with Rollout!"
Surskit aimed at Marisso and shot a sinister beam of light at the Grass-type, who avoided it for dear life as a rolling ball. Marisso proceeded to accelerate across the field, before turning around and roll towards Surskit.
"Get away, Surskit!" Viola yelled.
Surskit skated away from Marisso across the field, as Marisso relentlessly pursued the spider-like skater with increasing speed. Soon enough, Marisso caught up with Surskit and smashed into it, sending Surskit flying.
"Go Marisso!" Shauna cheered.
"This is looking pretty good," Tierno nodded happily. "Marisso managed to catch up to Surskit and land a Rollout."
"Well, Rollout does increase in power and speed over time, so it was only a matter of time that Marisso would catch up to Surskit," Trevor commented. "In fact, Marisso taking much longer to catch up to Surskit allowed him to increase the power of Rollout and deal much more damage to Surskit."
"-Not bad,-" Froakie commented. "-I had to force the bugger to slip up before catching it.-"
Calem said nothing as he watched Serena's battle with seemingly cold eyes.
Surskit groggily got back up, not looking too good to continue for much longer.
"Finish it off with Vine Whip!" Serena yelled.
"Sticky Web!"
Marisso lunged at Surskit with one last Vine Whip, where Surskit spewed a sticky net that covered Serena's side of the field, right before Marisso landed the finishing hit on it and defeating it.
"Yeah, go Seré!" Shauna cheered.
Serena did a fist pump as Marisso grinned. She managed to get herself in the lead! Serena looked up to where Calem was sitting, seeing if he witnessed that. Where she was hoping for some visible sign of praise was only met with a neutral expression from the boy. While she was slightly saddened, it was to be expected. Viola still had one more Pokémon to go, and gym leaders tend to save their strongest Pokémon for last. The challenger still needed to stay focused. Just because she won against one of the gym leader's members doesn't mean she could celebrate just yet, after all.
"It's not over yet," Tierno said, noting the Sticky Web.
"What is this...?" Serena mumbled to herself as she eyed the webs that littered her side of the field.
"That was an impressive performance, Serena," Viola said. "But let's see how you do against this baby!"
Viola recalled Surskit and replaced it with a butterfly-like Pokémon with large wings with a majorly pink design on them. Serena scanned the butterfly in question.
"Vivillon, the scale Pokémon," the pokédex read. "Vivillon with many different patterns are found all over the world. These patterns are affected by the climate of their habitat."
Serena trembled in fear at the sight of the butterfly. The surskit looked slightly cute, so she could bear with it. This, on the other hand, was a different story, and it took all of Serena's determination to not scream in fear. Either way, she knew that Marisso couldn't take this on, and recalled him into his pokéball.
"Go, Rill!" Serena yelled as she called upon her marill.
Rill landed onto the webs, where they quickly ensnared her in them.
"-What the–?! Gross!-" Rill yelped as she tried to free herself of the webs.
"What's going on?" Serena asked.
"Sticky Web," Viola decided to explain. "They're an entry hazard that ensnares any grounded Pokémon in the webs, lowering their speed as well."
Serena looked shocked, before looking at Rill in worry as she tried to get out of the webs.
"Rill, Water Gun!" Serena yelled, deciding that getting out of the webs wasn't an option.
Rill obeyed Serena and shot a stream of water at Vivillon, who easily fluttered away from it.
"Bug Buzz!"
Vivillon unleashed an ear-piercing noise that invaded Rill's ears, along with everyone else's ears, causing everyone who listened to the noise pain.
"-Agh!-" Rill screamed in pain as she covered her ears.
"Hang in there, Rill!" Serena pleaded. "Stop it with Water Gun!
Rill did her best to withstand the noise that VIvillon was creating, while trying to free herself from the Sticky Web as she shot a Water Gun at Vivillon. Since the butterfly was in the middle of an attack, it couldn't dodge the Water Gun. Fortunately, it had enough force to stop Vivillon and the Bug Buzz.
"Thank goodness..." Shauna sighed in relief, having the noise stopped.
"But now what...?" Tierno asked. "Rill is Serena's only defense against Bug-types, and she's not doing very well. She's still stuck in the Sticky Web and took a decent amount of damage from that Bug Buzz."
'I need to take it out in one fell swoop,' Serena thought. She had to put in all on this gamble. "Rill, Belly Drum!"
Rill obliged and repeatedly smacked her belly with her limbs, hurting herself in exchange for maximizing her strength.
"Now, Aqua Jet!" Serena commanded.
With her newfound strength, Rill formed a torrent of water around her and lunged at Vivillon as a bullet of water, able to rip out of the Sticky Web.
"Counter it with Sleep Powder!" Viola simply yelled.
Vivillon managed to avoid Rill's Aqua Jet, surprising both Serena and Rill. Rill turned around and lunged at Vivillon once more, but Vivillon released a powder around itself as it dodged Rill once more, causing Rill to crash back into the webs.
"Rill!" Serena yelled out in worry.
Serena glanced to Rill in worry, before being shocked that Rill was asleep.
"Oh no, Rill's been put to sleep from that Sleep Powder!" Trevor warned Serena.
"No, please wake up, Rill!" Serena cried desperately, to no avail.
"Now, Hurricane!" Viola yelled.
Vivillon's wings glowed blue, before it flapped them furiously, creating a violent storm of winds, ripping Rill apart along with the webs.
"RILL!" Serena cried.
Once the storm ended, Rill was lying on her face, unconscious and unable to battle.
"No, Rill...!" Serena gasped.
"This is bad..." Tierno muttered as Serena sadly recalled Rill. "To think Vivillon had Sleep Powder and Hurricane as well..."
"While Marisso isn't effected by Sleep Powder by virtue of him being a Grass-type," Trevor added. "He still has to worry about Bug Buzz and Hurricane, two of the strongest moves in their respective type category."
"Well, can't Marisso just dodge them with Rollout like he did against Surskit?" Shauna asked, trying to find a gleam of hope.
"Maybe with Hurricane," Trevor replied grimly. "But Bug Buzz is a different story, since it's a sound-based move."
"And we still don't know what's Vivillon's last move is," Tierno muttered. "Either way, Serena is going to have a bad time."
Calem still kept silent as he observed Serena. The girl was panicking as she released her chespin back onto the field. Her expression said it all. She was hoping that the marill could take out the vivillon with a Belly Drum boosted Aqua Jet. A smart move, considering that Aqua Jet had priority over all other moves, and that Belly Drum would give Marill enough power to deal tremendous amounts of damage to Vivillon or outright knock it out due to how frail it is on the physical defense.
But Viola was a gym leader. Someone of her caliber wouldn't fall for such a simple tactic so easily. While Aqua Jet had priority over most moves, it was still in the end, just an attack, and still perfectly avoidable. Vivillon had enough skill to do so, and even pull the marill into a trap by laying out Sleep Powder around it, and catching her with it as she tried to hit Vivillon again. Coupled by the fact that Belly Drum sacrifices half of the user's health in exchange for the sharp increase in power, Rill was simply easy to take out once Vivillon managed to set it up right. Calem glanced back to Froakie, who was glaring bitterly at Vivillon. The Sleep Powder trap was the same tactic that led to Froakie losing to Vivillon after all; of course he wouldn't have fond memories of it.
Her situation looked grim. Her chespin, despite not being too exhausted since his fight was relatively easy, was in a rather dire position. Against an opponent with a dual type advantage, carrying STAB moves that could easily rip the Grass-type apart, and carrying the advantage in aerial combat and distance, the chespin stood little chance. However...
"She still has a chance," Calem muttered. Should she have the right moves on her chespin, then she can still win.
Serena was sweating bullets. She was down to Marisso, who was at a huge disadvantage against Vivillon, who tore apart her only defense against Bug-types in Rill. Serena began to hyperventilate, worrying Marisso.
"C'mon Seré!" Shauna yelled. "You can still do this! You need to calm down!"
Fortunately Shauna's words of encouragement registered to Serena. Of course, she needed to calm down. Panicking now would only ensure her loss. She still had Marisso. They could still win.
"Right..." Serena exhaled, managing to calm down.
Serena knew she had to take down Vivillon in one strike. But seeing the airborne adversary, that task would be tricky. Not to mention Vivillon didn't suffer too much from fighting Rill. She needed to wear Vivillon down somewhat.
"Marisso, try to hit Vivillon with Leech Seed!" Serena yelled.
Marisso nodded as he shot a seed at Vivillon. The butterfly avoided the seed, but Marisso kept trying to snipe Vivillon with the Leech Seed.
"No good...it's too fast..." Serena mumbled. "I need it to stay still if I want to hit it...Marisso, keep a close eye on Vivillon!"
Marisso nodded as he watched the butterfly soar through the field.
"That won't do you any good," Viola commented. "Bug Buzz!"
Vivillon released yet another ear-piercing noise, blasting Marisso with the noise. Marisso saw it as an opportunity and shot a Leech Seed at it while it was in the middle of its attack, successfully landing it.
"Hang in there, Marisso!" Serena yelled. "Pin Missile!"
Marisso managed to withstand the pain and shoot several Pin Missiles at Vivillon, blasting it with them and managing to stop the attack.
"Vivillon, Infestation!"
From the smoke caused from the impact of Pin Missile, Vivillon glowed a red aura as it spread out its wings.
"What's it doing...?" Serena asked, confused at the butterfly.
"-What the–?!-" Marisso yelped, getting Serena's attention.
The girl looked down to see Marisso slowly being covered by miniscule, black maggots.
"What the–!?" Serena shrieked.
"What the heck is that?!" Shauna yelled.
"Infestation..." Trevor explained. "The user calls upon an infestation to trap their opponent. It lasts from four to five minutes, and it prevents switching, escape, and overall movement, while the maggots chip away at the target's health."
"Could this be it...?" Tierno asked, worried.
Marisso tried to get the maggots off of him, but to no avail. There were just too many of them. Vivillon simply floated above Marisso, who struggled to break free in vain, and decided to watch the struggle with a hint of sadistic glee.
"Well Serena, you did well," Viola complimented, deciding that enough is enough. "But it looks like the battle's over."
"C'mon, Marisso, you have to get out of there!" Serena pleaded.
"-I'm trying!-" Marisso yelled, as he struggled against the infestation.
"Don't worry. I'll help you break free from it now," Viola smirked. "Vivillon! End this with Hurricane!"
"NO!" Serena cried in desperation.
Vivillon unleashed another furious hurricane upon Marisso, ripping up the field he was standing on.
Serena fell to her knees. There was no way Marisso could have survived such an attack. She had lost.
"I–I lost..." Serena mumbled in despair.
"Well, that's that, I guess," Viola said, clapping her hands. "You did great though, Serena. Terrific job in spite of your disadvantage with your chespin. Well, if you want a rematch later, I'll be happy to accept it whenever you're–."
"No."
Everyone turned to Calem, who had been relatively silent for the whole match, caught by surprise at his sudden intrusion.
"It's not over yet," Calem said firmly.
"Huh? What do you...?" Viola asked, before hearing a firm footstep from the field.
Everyone turned their attention back to it, where from the smoke and dust, Marisso was still standing, albeit extremely exhausted and tired, panting with all his might.
"Marisso...!" Serena gasped.
"But how?!" Viola gasped, shocked that Marisso was still standing. "It shouldn't have been able to withstand Bug Buzz, Infestation, and Hurricane!"
"Don't count your torchics before they hatch, gym leader," Calem said, pointing to Vivillon.
The butterfly suddenly fell, struggling to stay in the air.
"Huh?! Vivillon?!" Viola gasped, before noticing a small seed on it, having sprouted thin roots that ensnared the butterfly. "Leech Seed?! When did that get on Vivillon?!"
"From when Vivillon used Bug Buzz," Serena remembered witnessing Marisso land it on VIvillon during its first attack.
"Because you felt an overwhelming superiority throughout the match, you failed to notice the Leech Seed," Calem continued. "As you watched Marisso struggle against you, you allowed the Leech Seed to drain Vivillon of its health, providing Marisso with constant healing while whittling you down at the same time. It was thanks to that Marisso was able to gather enough health to withstand the Hurricane."
"Th–that can't be...!" Viola muttered.
"And you," Calem said firmly, facing Serena. "...Don't give up so easily until you're truly down for the count."
"Calem..." Serena said, touched by the subtle encouragement. It was enough to give her newfound determination. "Right! We can still do this, Marisso!"
"-Right!-" Marisso declared as he stood firmly.
"We need to finish this NOW!" Serena yelled. "Rollout!"
Marisso ran for the now weakened Vivillon, before charging forward in a rolling ball. Vivillon tried to get back into the air, but the Leech Seed had weakened so much, that the Bug-type struggled to even flap its wings. Vivillon was helpless as Marisso crashed into it, blasting it into the tent behind Viola.
"Vivillon!" Viola cried.
The gym leader rushed over to check up on Vivillon, who was found unconscious, unable to fight any further.
"W–We won...?" Serena asked, slightly unsure of it all.
"Yep..." Viola sighed, before smiling. "You win, Serena."
"Y–Yes!" Serena cheered, even jumping up a little.
"-Phew...Marisso sighed, before falling onto his rump.
"You did it Seré!" Shauna squealed as she raced down the bleachers to envelop her friend into a hug. "That was AWESOME!"
"We were pretty worried about what would happen for a second," Tierno said. "Congratulations on your first win, Serena."
"Thanks you guys," Serena said, before getting out of Shauna's hug and walking over to Marisso. "We did it. I couldn't have done it without you and Rill."
Marisso smiled, scratching the back of his head.
"That was fantastic, Serena," Viola said, walking up to them. "You...no, you and your chespin have shown me a whole new depth of field. Truly fantastic! I have to apologize for my arrogance during the battle. It was wrong of me to torture your chespin like that and assume that I won, simply based on a type advantage. That's a rookie mistake on my part."
"No, it's alright," Serena assured her. "I thought we lost at that last Hurricane too. But we managed to pull it off."
"Verily," Viola nodded, taking out a badge and a disc. "With this victory, I present you with the very first Kalos League Badge; the Bug Badge!"
Serena accepted the badge. It was a shaped like a beetle with a round attachment on the top. Her very first badge. Serena couldn't help but feel giddy over it.
"And here, a TM for you," Viola continued, handing her the disc. "It contains the move Infestation. Hopefully it'll help you on your journey."
"Thank you, Viola," Serena said, accepting the disc.
"Way to go, Seré!" Shauna cheered.
"Indeed, congratulations," Trevor nodded.
"Now then, you all can go up through the stairs in the tent over there," Viola said. "You all must be tired.
"Yeah," Serena said, looking at Marisso. He was exhausted, to say the least. "Alright, have a good night, Viola."
As the group headed out, Serena stopped by Calem, who had recalled Froakie to his pokéball.
"Um...Calem..." Serena mumbled.
"Hm? What is it?" Calem asked.
"Uh...th–thank you, for encouraging me back there..." Serena mumbled, her cheeks slightly red.
Calem raised an eyebrow at the girl, before patting her on the shoulder.
"You did well, Serena," Calem said in a neutral tone. "Frankly I was impressed by how well your chespin managed, despite having to face two Bug-types; one with a dual type advantage like Vivillon."
Serena glanced up to Calem, her expression lightening up, before sporting a smile.
"Thank you!" Serena exclaimed cheerfully.
"C'mon, Seré!" Shauna called out. "Let's head back to the pokécenter!"
Serena looked past Calem to realize that her friends were already at the stairs.
"Ah, wait for me!" Serena yelled, but not before turning to Calem. "Well, I see you later Calem. Have a good night"
"Yeah, you too," Calem waved, dismissing the girl.
Serena nodded, before chasing after her friends up the stairs, leaving Calem to glance back at Viola.
"Frankly I'm disappointed," Calem said bluntly. "I would've figured a gym leader like you wouldn't underestimate their foe, no matter how much of an advantage you might have had."
"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to remind me," Viola grumbled. This boy seemed to be nice to only Serena, from what the professional photographer could note through her limited encounters with him and her at the same time. "I won't make the same mistake twice."
"For both of our sakes, I hope so as well," Calem simply said, before heading up the stairs. "I entrusted you with the Pinsirite after all. I do hope you don't make me regret my decision."
As Calem left, leaving Viola to herself, the woman took out said stone from her purse and examined it. Viola had heard of these before; the 'Mega Stones', linked to 'Mega Evolution'. Only powerful trainers with a strong bond with their Pokémon could achieve such a feat, and even then they need the right Mega Stone and a Key Stone to perform it. So why give the Pinsirite to her? Is it just because she has a pinsir? Or does he see potential in her as a wielder of Mega Evolution?
Come to think about it, the boy was nothing but mysteries. He was obviously a strong trainer, almost to the feats of a veteran class if he only had more than three Pokémon, and gave her a Mega Stone. During their battle, Calem performed much better than Serena. It was obvious enough, with the boy possessing a much better team and having more experience; even taking on Challenge Mode and winning. His Froakie managed to win against Masquerain, before falling to Vivillon, and even then it managed to put up a decent fight.
But what caught the photographer's eye was Calem's own eyes. They were a sharp, gray color; somewhat uncommon and distinct. During the battle, they gave off a cool, confident, and calm aura as he fought against her.
And yet, they felt empty.
They felt devoid of any emotions outside of the adrenaline of battling. As if he didn't enjoy the battle; he just treated it like a profession. A job. A mission of sorts.
They lacked passion.
And yet, when Calem was speaking to Serena during the battle, and right afterwards, just for a glimpse of a moment, they didn't look empty. There was a glimmer of luster in them. It was as if Calem was honestly trying to encourage Serena to not give up, and was genuinely complimenting her.
Could Calem perhaps...?
"Nah," Viola shook her head. "Either way, I'm sure he wouldn't admit it. He looks like the prideful type anyways."
"Achoo!"
Calem sneezed, covering his nose, before taking out a handkerchief and wiping it. Calem grumbled something under his breath, before continuing to traverse the cold night of Route 4.
"Hm...Serena won...and with her chespin against both Surskit and Vivillon," Calem muttered. "...Maye she does have potential to...hm...Well, we'll find out tomorrow, assuming she does pick the right Pokémon."
As Calem walked alone in solitude, he couldn't help but reflect to the battle he had spectated, and to the girl who tried her hardest and prevailed. Such honest emotions presented in the battle. Frankly it was somewhat refreshing to him.
"...'Don't give up so easily until you're truly down for the count', huh..." Calem muttered, quoting what he said to Serena to encourage her.
He recalled the person who told him that, back when Calem was a simple boy, when his mighty blaziken was a small torchic, and when the two were trying their damnedest to be the best they could be, and to hopefully one day surpass that person.
...Calem couldn't help but punch a nearby fence, snarling in anger at the memory.
That person was no longer someone he respected. He lost all respect for that person long ago.
Having brought himself back into a foul mood, Calem muttered under his breath as he made the path to Lumiose City in an angry solitude.
To be continued
AN: Fun fact rill is defined as a small river or brook. Since Marill doesn't have a different name in French for me to use for a nickname (like Marisso, because Chespin in French is 'Marisson'), might as well just use that. Rill seems meaningful since Marill's a water-type, and the fact that Rill is in Marill's name must mean that the word rill has been used in consideration regarding Marill's naming. It was either Rill or Mari, and Mari seemed too similar to Marisso. I know I kinda cheated with Marill by giving it Aqua Jet and Belly Drum, but hey, I did worse things back in my previous stories. Besides it wasn't like it gave Serena an edge over Viola. In fact, Rill didn't get to do much at all in the battle.
To be honest, I could've gone even worse with Vivillon's moveset by adding Quiver Dance in place of either Sleep Powder or Bug Buzz. Or even Struggle Bug, but then again, what's a gym leader without the move they give you as a TM? Pretty that happened before, but besides the point. Besides, I'm pretty sure Sticky Web on Surskit, plus Bug Buzz and Hurricane on Vivillon was enough. Hopefully it was still enjoyable.
And to update:
Serena: Marisso (Chespin) / Rill (Marill)
Calem: Blaziken / Froakie / Scyther
Shauna: Kinniekins (Fennekin)
Tierno: Corphish / Fletchling
Trevor: Flabébé / Pikachu
...I know I'm gonna regret doing this, but to those of you who care: my Platinum story will publish on December 24.
Hopefully. Yeah if that doesn't happen by then, then assume it being delayed by at least two weeks. Given my track record, I dunno whether giving an actual release date is a good idea or not, but hey, I'll try to keep to my promises.
Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time and take care.