Chapter 5

Respite

Alex wandered aimlessly, letting the twisted gauntlet of seaward Coumarine's streets take him where they willed, Pokémon at his side. Plusle and Minun skipped happily in circles around him as he walked, stumbling on the unfamiliar cobblestones and shrieking happily as they tumbled and frolicked. Azumarill maintained a more sedate pace at his side while his final Pokémon, Swablu, perched on his head like a fluffy white hat.

Alex had half expected to be lost in thought as he walked, but the colour and charm of Kalos distracted him too easily. Coumarine had a strangely organic feeling to it that few places in Hoenn could match. It was at the same time rustic and modern, blending cobbled streets and lush greenery with ritzy fashion boutiques and posh cafes. Thanks to the early hour the streets were quiet, but as the clock struck eight the city lazily began to stir itself awake. Grilles on shopfronts rattled upwards, signs were carried out and scribbled on with chalk. An occasional pair of shutters banged open, letting the morning sun filter through into second-floor apartments.

Despite these first stirrings of activity, the streets that Alex and his Pokémon walked remained quiet by and large, disturbed only by the restless murmuring of a half-awake city. Pausing under one of the many trees lining the road, Alex watched a family of red-breasted bird Pokémon fluttering about in its branches. Truly, no matter what corner of the world, Pokémon could be counted on to be noisy.

Letting them be, Alex moved on with his own little gaggle of Pokémon. They had managed to explore these streets together in the evenings this past week, but most everything had already been closed. Picking a direction mostly at random, Alex ducked down a side street, almost forced to break into a jog as it dipped steeply downhill. Breaking out of the shadow between two tall, leaning rows of buildings, he found himself arrested by a salty breeze that seized and toyed with his loose ponytail. He crossed the oceanfront street quickly then paused on the boardwalk that snaked along the narrow beach.

The sea was flinty this morning, its deep blue tempered by a bleak, iron-grey undertone. The sun was steadily climbing over the hills on the eastern side of the bay, but the waves were far from hospitable yet. The beaches were nicer in the southern region of Kalos, he'd heard. The wind continued to nip at him as he turned to follow the winding path towards the city centre, though it lacked real teeth. It was perhaps a little cooler here on the northern coast, but overall Kalos had a fairly comparable climate to his native Hoenn, so Alex hadn't found it particularly difficult to adjust. Still he continued to wander, letting the sun warm his back as he meandered along the beachfront.

Occasionally he passed other walkers, early birds on their way to work or getting in some morning exercise. It had taken Alex some time to adjust to the relaxed pace of life here, and he suspected he would never truly come to terms with it. A lot of shops opened late, closed for long lunch breaks and closed for the day as early as four. Of course, the amount of work and preparation involved in running a bakery like Le Pâtisserie Vincent meant that Renée had had him and Veronique out of bed and working by seven every day the past week, but he'd had time to glimpse the Kalosian way of life while on his breaks or running deliveries to nearby cafes.

Some thirty minutes at a relaxed stroll brought Alex to the edge of the business district, that nest of twisting, elegant spires that rolled up from the seafront, climbing to a modest height that didn't quite manage to tower over the rest of the city. The carpet of glimmering glass and steel spread to the bottom of the foothills that surrounded Coumarine Bay, paring down to a single, mercurial thread that wended its convoluted way over to the hillcrest district: the monorail he had glimpsed on their way in.

"Hey! Hey, mister!"

Alex blinked at the sudden shout, jolting out of his mildly soporific reverie. Turning to face the speaker, he saw that it was a small boy of about eight. Dark-haired and blue-eyed, he seemed to be the leader of a group - about five or six others hung back behind him, all watching Alex curiously. "Yes?" Alex said politely, trying not to look too exasperated.

"Mister, are you a girl?" the kid asked, causing the small group of hangers-on to explode into poorly-hushed titters and giggles.

Though it galled him slightly, Alex smiled blithely, deciding not to attribute to spite what could easily be caused by honest confusion. "Not at all, my friend," he said.

"Oh." The kid looked as if he'd had the wind taken out of his sails. "How come you got long hair then?"

"Good question," Alex said wryly. It wasn't as if he hadn't considered cutting it, especially when puberty came and went, leaving him with no new tools to assert his manhood. For a while he had lamented the fact that his voice remained soft, wished for hair to sprout on his face and done everything he could to grow past five foot four. At some point, though, he'd just come to terms with it without realising it. Am I really that androgynous? he wondered from time to time. Looking in the mirror, he only ever saw Alex the boy, now halfway to Alex the man, but he had to wonder if that was just born from familiarity. "Let's just say it's my trademark."

"What, you famous or something then, mister?" a girl from the group piped up. A blonde, she looked to be a little older than the boy who had called out to him.

"Uh, I wouldn't say that," Alex said innocently, mentally kicking himself. Azumarill seemed to be hiding a smirk, but he shot it a look. Plusle and Minun took the opportunity to bound over to the group of kids, dancing in circles around them in evident delight. The youngsters seemed to respond in kind, eagerly watching and clapping as Alex's Pokémon put on an impromptu tumbling routine.

"So . . ." Apparently trying very hard not to be distracted, the boy who had spoken first came forward a little further, squinting at Alex. "You're a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Something like that, yes. We're performers, kind of."

"Performers can only be girls, though! You said you weren't a girl!"

Alex winced. "Okay, fair enough. That's how it is here, I suppose. But where I come from, boys are allowed to perform too."

"Do you come from far away?" The girl had stepped forward as well, leaving the other four or five enthralled by Plusle and Minun's routine. "Is that why you have such weird Pokémon?"

"They're not weird! I just don't know if you can find Pokémon like this in Kalos," Alex said. "This here is my partner Azumarill; the one on my head is a Swablu; and those two are Plusle and Minun, my troublemakers. My name's Alex, by the way."

"I'm Aidan, and that's Mimi." The boy pointed at the girl next to him. "Hey, you should battle her! She's strong!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Mimi, you're a Pokémon Trainer?"

Mimi looked bashful, but she nodded, reaching into her pocket to reveal two Poké Balls. "I'll . . . I'll battle you!" she said, though her voice wobbled a little.

"Hey, if you don't want to, it's okay," Alex said, crouching down a little and putting on a soothing voice. Even though he wasn't particularly sure of his battling skills, he could still see the outcome a mile away. Sensing the girl's concern, Swablu fluttered anxiously on his head. "You don't have to battle everyone just because you're a Trainer, right? It's your choice, you know."

Shaking her head, Mimi drew herself up to her full height and set her jaw, though Alex could see she was still trembling slightly. "It's fine. I have to practice Pokémon battling anyway, if I want to beat Ramos one day."

"Ramos . . . that's the Gym Leader here in Coumarine, right?" Alex frowned for a moment, then smiled as he stood back up, clapping his hands. "All right! If you want to challenge him one day, then I'll be happy to help you practice. That's a great goal to have."

The other children crowded around at Alex's announcement, Plusle and Minun bouncing cheerfully upon their shoulders. "There's a park round the corner," Aidan suggested, grabbing Alex's sleeve and tugging him along. "You can battle there!"

Alex allowed himself to be pulled, laughing as the children's contagious excitement rubbed off on him. Kids in Kalos sure are comfortable with strangers, he thought idly.

The park was little more than a small stand of trees, as it turned out. A roughly oblong area of grass in the middle had been left bare, though, to serve as a makeshift battlefield. Surrounded by leafy trees on all sides, it let the morning sun filter through, shifting its mottled pattern as the sea breeze played through the boughs. As it turned out, however, Alex's new friends were not the first to suggest a battle this morning.

A young man of about Alex's age stood at the near end of the field, his dark, handsome face set as he concentrated on the scene in front of him. Two Pokémon circled cautiously, poised as if to strike at any moment. One Alex recognised as an Arcanine, a massive, leonine Pokémon with a strong, proud bearing and cream-coloured tufts of fur that contrasted with its orange-and-black striped coat. Its muscles rippled powerfully as it tensed, then sprang with a howl, jaws stretched wide as it pounced upon its opponent -

Alex had to squint to see the other Pokémon. Not even a foot tall, it zipped nimbly around Arcanine's head, leaving a spray of sparkling pink dust behind as it did so. Arcanine stopped in its tracks, huffing and sneezing irritably as it shook the dust out of its eyes. The tiny Pokémon paused, floating in midair as it giggled at its opponent's predicament. Appearing to be nothing less than a tiny sprite hanging onto a large flower, it bobbed around just out of reach as Arcanine swiped and snarled at it.

"Focus, Floette!" the young man said, his voice strong and level. "You're never going to win just by being annoying."

Alex watched curiously as the dance continued, both Pokémon circling and ducking in perfect rhythm. Neither Floette's Trainer nor Arcanine's - a redheaded girl at the other end of the field - gave any commands, seeming quite content just to let their Pokémon duke it out. Alex noted that Aidan, Mimi and the others had taken a seat on a nearby bench to watch quietly. Although he couldn't help but feel he was intruding, he did the same.

Arcanine made another swipe at Floette, coming dangerously close to connecting with its murderous-looking claws, but the Fairy-type swooped away, hurling a stinging barrage of razor-sharp leaves as it did. They battered Arcanine around the head, causing it to snarl and whip its head back and forth as if trying to dislodge a fly. The attack didn't appear to do much damage, though, and within a moment Arcanine was back on the offense, leaping high above its opponent before diving on it. This time it connected with one outstretched paw, driving Floette to the ground with a thud and pinning it there, one massive claw on each side of the little Pokémon's body. Drawing its snout close, it snorted triumphantly, crimson flames flickering at the corners of its mouth.

The young man sighed, raising a hand to concede defeat. At a whistle from Arcanine's Trainer, the bigger Pokémon sat back on its haunches, allowing Floette to float shakily back to its owner. "What did I tell you about getting cocky?" he said, poking it gently in the torso. "I can't let you battle properly until you get over that." Looking appropriately chastised, the little Pokémon allowed itself to be sucked back into its Poké Ball.

The Trainer looked up as if noticing his audience for the first time. "Aidan! What are you guys up to? Who's your new friend?"

"This is Alex!" Aidan said, grinning widely. "He's a really strong Trainer and we think he might be a girl."

Alex raised an eyebrow in slight exasperation, but raised a hand in greeting. "Heya. Sorry for barging in on you guys like that."

"No big." The Arcanine's Trainer stepped forward, one hand scratching her enormous Pokémon behind the ears. "These kids are like family. Hope they didn't bother you."

"Not at all," Alex said. "They challenged me to a battle, though, which is why we came here in the first place."

"Good timing, then," said Floette's Trainer, stepping across to give Arcanine an appreciative pat as well. "I'm Xavier, by the way. Aidan's actually my little brother, but like Yvette said, all of these ones are like family. They talked you into battling Mimi, then?"

"Yes," Alex said, glancing hesitantly at the small blonde girl. "Uh, is this okay?" he added quietly. "I mean, she's just a kid and all…"

Xavier rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You've got a point. You been training Pokémon for long?"

"Uh, about eight years," Alex said half-apologetically.

"Hmm." Xavier frowned, then a grin sprang onto his face and he clapped his hands. "Got it! I'll battle you instead!"

"Perfect!" Yvette chipped in, lifting Mimi up and putting her on Arcanine's back. "We'll watch from over here with the others, okay?"

"But-" Mimi started to complain, but Xavier reached up to ruffle her hair affectionately.

"Practice is good, Mims, but in this case I think you'll learn more by watching. Alright?"

Mimi nodded quietly and let Arcanine carry her back over to the spectators. Alex wondered if it was just his imagination that she looked faintly relieved.

"Xavier," Alex said quickly. "Do you think we could make this a double battle?"

Xavier regarded him curiously. "A specialist, eh? I reckon I could live with that. Two versus two sound alright with you?"

"Sure. Plusle, Minun!" Alex called, beckoning his Pokémon over from where they were still playing with the children. "You two are up. Azu, Swablu, I want you two to watch this." Before he realised it, his heart was thumping in his chest. A strange thrill started to creep up on him as Xavier took up a ready stance at the opposite end of the field. How long has it been since I had a real battle? Plusle and Minun bounced and squeaked, evidently raring to go. They evidently felt none of his jittery nerves, natural performers that they were. Alex envied them. Even after six years on the Contest circuit, he still wasn't completely comfortable with Pokémon battles.

"Guess it's time that changed," he muttered, not loud enough for anybody but his Pokémon to hear. As Plusle and Minun took up their practiced battle positions - six feet in front of Alex, six feet apart in a perfect triangle - he raised a hand to signal his readiness.

Xavier nodded coolly and returned the gesture as he tossed forward two Poké Balls. "Pangoro and Doublade, let's go!" he called.

Alex blinked as two totally unfamiliar Pokémon burst onto the battlefield. One was a massive, angry-looking, black and white bear that roared a defiant challenge as it stepped forth. Chewing on a twig, it regarded him with a rough sort of intelligence in its gleaming black eyes. The second Pokémon was smaller, but struck Alex as no less dangerous. Floating in midair, it seemed to be a pair of ornate swords in their scabbards, crossed in an X formation. Pink and gold banners hung from the hilts, fluttering in the morning breeze, and as Alex watched, a pair of eyes on each hilt flickered open, scanning the battlefield quietly.

"Hey, Alex," Xavier called. "You're not from around here, huh?"

"That's right," Alex admitted. "I'm just here on holiday from the Hoenn region."

"Then you haven't seen these Pokémon before either, right?" When Alex shook his head, Xavier continued: "Well, in the spirit of a fair battle, I'll introduce you. The big guy over here is Pangoro, and he's a Fighting and Dark type. Honedge is Ghost and Steel."

"I see," Alex said. "And you have Plusle and Minun here, right? I've seen some in the city already."

"Yeah, I'm familiar with yours," Xavier said. "But tell me, Alex... Do you think you can win with Pokémon like that?" There was a slight teasing tone in his voice that suggested he wasn't entirely serious, but Alex still frowned.

"We'll just have to find out, won't we," he said. "You can take the first move, Xavier!"

"I'll take you up on that, then!" Xavier punched the air and roared, "Pangoro, use Hammer Arm on Plusle! Doublade, Swords Dance!"

Alex read the combination instantly. One of his opponents at the previous year's Grand Festival had used an almost identical strategy. It was sound in concept, but it was easy to work around. "Over the top!"

Pangoro was big, but as he'd suspected, it wasn't fast. Charging toward Plusle, it had barely raised its arm to attack when Alex's Pokémon leapt, both Plusle and Minun responding to his call. Agile and tiny, barely a foot high, they were dwarfed by the rampaging Pangoro. Still, they gamely tumbled through the air, used their opponent's face as a springboard, then dived forward again, both aiming straight for Honedge, which was busy preparing itself to attack.

Honedge unsheathed its naked blades and tried to carry out Xavier's order, but Alex was having none of it. "Plusle, Nuzzle! Minun, Helping Hand!" Working in tandem, Plusle and Minun rubbed the electric sacs on their cheeks together, building up a sizzling aura of static electricity. Slingshotting Plusle forward like a trapeze artist, Minun let itself fall to the ground as Plusle carried on, ramming full-force into the disoriented Honedge in a burst of static.

"Guess we underestimated you," Xavier growled as Honedge spun out of control, almost collapsing to the ground as it fought the paralysing effect of the Electric attack. "Come on, Fury Cutter!"

Honedge yanked itself upwards, blades flashing in a deadly arc as it dived towards Plusle. "Minun, use Light Screen to help out!" Alex ordered, keeping a close eye on the disoriented Pangoro as it closed back in on the fight. Diving towards its partner, Minun conjured a shimmering blue barrier between itself and Honedge, blunting the blow but not quite managing to stop it. Plusle took a sword strike to the midriff and went flying, landing awkwardly on the grass near Pangoro.

Xavier saw this at the exact time Alex did. "Pangoro, Slash!" Unclenching its mallet-like fist, Pangoro struck out with its wicked claws. In his mind's eye, Alex saw his Contest battle score trickling away. He had to do something quickly; Honedge had been effectively neutered, but Pangoro was more than capable of turning both his Pokémon into pancakes by itself.

Flicking his wrist, Alex directed Plusle to evade. Pushing itself off the ground with one stubby arm, it danced out of Pangoro's reach with milliseconds to spare, leaving the behemoth to howl in frustration as another of its attacks failed to connect. Across the battlefield, Minun still ran interference, taunting the crippled Honedge with weak jolts of electricity.

"Okay," Alex breathed. "Time to bring out the big guns. Minun, get Rain Dance up!"

Still running rings around its opponent, Minun squeaked assent. Leaping to a branch on one of the surrounding trees, it raised its little arms to the sky and sang out, a single, piercing note that echoed through the trees and was swallowed up by the sky. A booming crash of artificial thunder could be heard as the sky darkened. The park was shaded from the morning sun, but its foliage offered little protection from the deluge that was immediately unloaded onto the battlefield. Spectators shrieked and ran for cover as the heavens opened up, drenching the park in torrential rain. Within seconds, the arena was plunged into darkness.

"Pangoro, grab that Plusle!" Xavier bellowed, clearly sensing something was afoot. Roaring wildly, Pangoro charged for a third time, arms outstretched and paws thudding on the freshly-soaked grass. It was far too slow and lumbering, though, and Alex and Plusle both knew it.

Alex swept his hand upwards, a habitual flourish from years of Contest showboating. "Thunder!"

Ignoring, or even embracing, the pelting rain, Plusle stood its ground as Pangoro bore down on it, electricity flaring at its cheeks. Time seemed to slow down; drops of rain fizzled and spat as the electric current sparked them off, an aura of power roiling and growing as the Electric-type sucked in the power of the storm. Threads of barely-visible lightning sprang between Plusle and the conjured stormclouds above, hissing and roaring as the storm built to a fever pitch.

Abruptly, time snapped back to its normal speed. Pangoro dived forward, but it was too late. Plusle screeched as it loosed a cannon blast of electricity that leapt across the gap between the two Pokémon, arresting the behemoth in its tracks with a bone-rattling burst. Staccato flashes of lightning crashed through the arena, painting the rain-battered trees in a painfully beautiful chiaroscuro.

Convulsing and jerking, Xavier's Pangoro crashed to the ground with a thud that could be heard even over the thunderstorm. Turning his attention to the distracted Honedge, Alex began to direct his Pokémon back into battle. Minun had read the situation well, continuing to run interference and keeping Honedge separated from its partner. Before he could say a word, however, he saw Xavier, curly dark hair drenched by the rain, raising his arm to concede. "It's your win!" he called, raising his voice to be heard over the howling storm.

All tension in the arena evaporated instantly, shortly followed by the rain. The stormy clouds parted, dissipating as swiftly as they had appeared. The downpour that had lashed the trees and soaked the grass dried up, leaving behind only a faint slick of precipitation clinging to the ground like a morning dew.

As blue skies and morning sun returned to prominence once more, Xavier stepped forward, his face set in a curious expression as he returned his Pokémon to their capsules. "You battle well," he said, his tone carefully neutral.

Alex nodded in acknowledgement as his own Pokémon practically bounded back over to him, climbing to sit on his shoulders and squeak ecstatically as he scratched their heads in congratulations. "You're not bad yourself," he said. "That was a solid doubles strategy, but like you figured, I'm a specialist, so… seen it before. Sorry."

Grinning, Xavier extended his right hand in a friendly gesture. "Don't be sorry, man! I underestimated you and even talked trash about your Pokémon. My bad."

Alex took Xavier's hand gladly, letting the taller boy shake it enthusiastically. "Hey, it's cool. If I had Pokémon as big and tough as yours, I'd be confident too."

"Whole lot of good it did me, huh," Xavier said drily, turning to rejoin Yvette and the kids. "Sorry you guys had to see me being so uncool!"

Yvette looked mildly amused by the situation, but she kept her mouth shut, mischief dancing in her eyes. The younger spectators, however, were not so tactful.

"How did you lose, bro?" Aidan asked bluntly. "I thought you said you couldn't lose to anybody in a proper battle!"

Wincing slightly, Xavier raised his hands in supplication. "I, uh, don't think I said-"

"You did!" Mimi piped up. "Last week when you beat Yvette! You said that if, uh, if she couldn't beat you, then nobody else stood a chance!"

Alex watched with some amusement as Xavier continued making excuses, laughing along with the kids as they continued to lambast him for letting down their expectations.

"Nice job." A voice at his side caused Alex to jump. He hadn't seen Yvette get up, but now she stood casually beside him, watching Xavier and the children with that same half-smile on her face. She was a good couple of inches taller than Alex, and the volume of her curly red hair somehow made her seem much larger and more imposing. "Xavier talks a big game, but he really is that good. Other than me and Ramos up at the Gym, I don't think I've ever seen him lose to anyone before."

Alex nodded slowly. "I can see that. His Pokémon are really strong. I'd go so far as to say I only won because it was a double battle. I doubt I could take him in a one-on-one format."

Yvette glanced at him sideways, her sharp blue eyes scanning him thoughtfully. "Interesting," she said. "Most Trainers wouldn't be so quick to admit that."

"I'm not most Trainers," Alex said, rolling his eyes slightly even as he said it. What a line. "I'm not even a Trainer at all, really. My specialty is Contest battles, so I'm used to 2v2s."

"Makes sense," Yvette said. "I must pick your brain regarding nonverbal commands sometime."

A flash of realisation. "That's what you two were practicing before, with Arcanine and… Floette, was it?"

Nodding, the redhead continued to scrutinise him with visible curiosity. "That's right. Your Pokémon responded to spoken and silent commands equally well. I'd like to hear more about how you do that."

"Sure," Alex said easily. "Your Arcanine looked like it was really well trained, as well. I'd love to swap notes."

A silent understanding passed between the two as they lapsed into silence again, watching Xavier and his gaggle of disappointed fans with some amusement.