"Aaaand, I think that should do it." Serena pushed her bangs out of her face as she packed the town map - courtesy of her mother - into her overly-filled bag. "I guess we're ready to go, Chase."
'I can't wait! We're going to be such a kick-ass team, Serena!' Chase had enough confidence for the both of them, which Serena wished she could have for herself.
"Honey," Grace watched as her beautiful daughter slung her bag across her body and straightened her pleated skirt, "I'm so excited for you. You're going to have so much fun!"
"Mom, are you sure you're okay with this?" She eyed her mother with utmost concern.
"Yes, Serena! Goodness, you talk to me as if I'm your child." She huffed out an ironic chuckle. "I know you're ready for this. You deserve this opportunity."
"Mama…" Before Grace had a chance to see the tears threatening to fall from Serena's eyes, the young woman ran to hug her mother, successfully hiding her face. "I love you.."
"I love you too, baby." Grace gently caressed her daughter's back. "Now you should be on your way, shouldn't you?"
With a sniffle and a deep breath, Serena pulled away from her mother.
"I guess so."
And with that, their journey would be underway.
"So, this is Santalune Forest, hm?" Serena eyed the daunting trees standing proudly in front of her. If their goal was to intimidate, then mission accomplished. "It's the only way to get to Santalune City from here. Er... we could just turn back now."
'No way! We're in this together!' Chase protested. 'I'll be by your side, so you can count on me to keep you safe!'
It didn't take an interpreter to detect the Chespin's utmost confidence.
"Okay, well, I guess here we go …"
Step by step, Serena could tell immediately where the forest began as the myriad of enormous trees blocked most natural light from reaching the ground. She walked carefully, eyes shifting nearly erratically from the ground to her surroundings, recoiling every time a twig snapped underneath her feet.
While perhaps unsettling, she certainly couldn't deny the intriguing beauty of the place - the rustling of bushes, the whistling of blades of grass, the pretty young girl in pink. Wait.
"Shauna?" Serena called out, successfully making the pigtailed girl slightly flinch in surprise, but proceed to smile upon seeing her friend.
"Serena!" She ran over to greet the honey blonde woman. "What are you doing here?"
"Long story short - it looks like I'm going on a journey with you guys after all." As emotional as her departure from home felt, Serena couldn't help the corners of her mouth from being pulled upwards as she said these words aloud.
"You WHAT?!" Shauna screeched in complete elation - causing a small flock of Pidgey to simultaneously flee from a nearby tree. "Don't play with me, Serena. You're really joining me and the boys?"
"Yes, I really am, right Chase?" The proud young Chespin gave its best thumbs up.
"This is so exciting!" Shauna jumped up and down before tightly wrapping her arms around Serena. "Do you wanna go through this forest with Peanut and me?"
"Honestly, I am so relieved you asked." She answered with a smile as the shorter girl broke the hug. "I am still.. kinda in disbelief that I'm doing this."
"I bet! But this is all new for me, too. We can learn the ropes together." Shauna grinned. "So, let's do this!"
"All right..!" Serena marched further into the darkness of the forest with the shorter girl by her side. She had to admit - having Shauna there did ease some of her worries, for whatever reason, as did having a self-assured Pokémon on her side.
"Wait…" Serena stopped walking, extending her arm in front of Shauna to stop her as well. Chase tilted his head, waiting for an explanation.
"What is it?" Shauna whispered.
"I hear something." Serena pointed to the tall grass less than four feet away.
"Something's in there."
"L-like what?" Green eyes fluttered rapidly in sudden fear.
"Sccccaaaa!"
With legs like lighting and teeth like razors - a wild Scatterbug - ferocious and angered as can be lunged from the depths of the grass.
Shauna's scream frightened Serena just as much as the angry predator that leaped out in front of them, ready to attack.
"Qu-quoi- what is that?!" Shauna clutched Serena's shirt, hiding behind her taller friend.
"Uh… I don't know, but it looks mad.. What do we do?!"
"I think… we're supposed to battle it, right? That's why we have Pokémon!"
"B-battle?" Serena stuttered. Sure, she had her first battle with Shauna earlier, but this was a wild battle. Who knows how strong wild Pokémon are?
'Don't worry! I can take care of this scrub.' Chase slid between the two ladies and the growling Scatterbug, positioned to attack. 'Just tell me what to do, Serena!'
"O-oh. Chase wants to battle. Okay.. um.. u-use tackle!" Serena and Shauna backed away from the battle site as Serena tried to give her battle orders with confidence.
'You got it!' Chase snarled at its wild foe before ramming into it full force.
"Wow..!" Shauna gaped at the impact that came from such a small Pokémon.
Despite doing a great deal of damage, the Scatterbug threw itself toward Chase and landed a bug bite.
"Chase, no! Return!" Serena cried, heart now pounding wildly as her hand fumbled through her bag to get his Pokéball.
"Wait, Serena! Let's see if he can do this." Shauna grabbed her arm.
"Mm.." Serena whimpered. Apprehension and doubt swirled throughout her body, but she had to carry on. "Use vine whip!"
Chase winced from the super-effective attack, but successfully managed to whip its weakened foe, successfully throwing it a few feet away. Only this time, the Scatterbug did not get back up.
'Hmph.' Chase gloated over the fainted Scatterbug. 'That'll show you to mess with my Serena.'
"Y-you.. Chase! That was incredible!" Serena scooped up the Chespin in her arms, nuzzling him tightly. "You made that look so easy!"
'Well he was weak, so it was easy.' Chase huffed, enjoying his trainer's affection.
"Maybe.. Maybe I can do this, after all." Serena said quietly, mostly to herself.
"That was great, Serena! But let me fight the next one! Peanut and I need some battling experience, too." Shauna said.
As expected, that was merely one of many wild encounters within Santalune Forest. Both girls and their Pokémon partners had many chances to practice battling, alas giving them both a newfound assurance in their battling abilities. This was especially true for Serena, who was still amazed she had even made it this far.
"Serena, you're a very good trainer." Shauna said as the two continued walking.
"You think so?"
"Yeah! I mean, Peanut and I are fantastic too," she giggled, "but I think you have a good shot at challenging the gyms. Maybe you could even challenge the Elite Four!"
"Haha, Shauna! That's a bit of a long shot, don't you think?" Serena fiddled with the ends of her hair.
"Maybe. But hey, you never know unless you try, right?" Shauna smiled confidently at the taller girl. "Whatever it takes to get the most out of your journey."
"Perhaps." Serena flipped her long hair behind her shoulder, deeply pondering Shauna's words. Maybe it would make her journey more worthwhile if she had something - a goal - to achieve.
"Oh look!" Shauna squeaked, breaking Serena's train of thought. "It's the boys! And I see light; looks like we're almost out of the forest. Come on!" She beckoned excitedly as she ran ahead.
All three heads turned to see the two young ladies approaching them from the depths of Santalune Forest.
"Serena?" Calem's eyes slightly widened. "You're here..?"
"Yeah, hi Calem," Shauna sarcastically noted. "I'm here too. Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long."
"No, we just arrived actually." Trevor said. "But Serena, what are you doing here?"
"Well," she looked at the three boys in front of her, eyeing her expectantly. "I'm coming with you after all. We'll all be travel buddies, like the professor wanted."
"Isn't that great?" Shauna echoed. "Now I don't have to deal with so many boys by myself."
"Haha, that is great! Welcome aboard Serena!" Tierno smiled.
"Yeah. It's nice to have you join us." Calem gave a polite half-smile before continuing. "So now we're at the end of Santalune Forest, and just in time. The sun will be setting soon, so what is everyone's plan from here?"
"I'm going to look for wild Pokémon outside of the Forest." Trevor began. "I'll do my best to fill up the Pokédex for the professor."
"I'll probably look for the Pokémon Center and call it a day." Tierno replied.
"Aw, you're no fun. I wanna explore Santalune! There must be dozens of shops and places to see!" Shauna interjected.
"I think I'm going to call my mom and see how she's doing." Serena said.
"Well it looks like we'll be splitting up here. I'm going to train on the upcoming route for a while." Calem said.
"Didn't you already get a lot of training in throughout the forest?" Serena raised an eyebrow. Why in the world is he so desperate to train all the time?
"It can't hurt to squeeze a little more in." Calem replied after thinking for a moment. "So until next time," he waved as he turned to enter Route 6. "See you all soon."
"Be safe Calem! Don't be too hard on cute little Maddy." Shauna shouted out after him. Redirecting her attention to her remaining three friends, she began again. "Okay guys, á plus tard!"
"Salut." Tierno and Trevor said in near unison before taking their respective leaves.
"Mom? Can you hear me?" Serena brought the phone close to her lips.
"Hi sweetie! You miss me already? It's only been a few hours." Grace twirled the phone cord in her index finger.
"Of course I miss you!" Serena raised her voice slightly, giggling in the process. "I made it to Santalune city with my neighbors. I'm calling from the Pokémon Center right now."
"That's great honey! I'm so glad you're safe. But you don't need to document every moment of your life to me. This is your adventure. You don't have any parents breathing down your neck for the first time in your life, so have some fun!"
"I just.. I wanted to make sure you were feeling okay."
"Ugh." Serena heard her mother groan. "I'm going to stop taking your calls."
"Mom!" Serena laughed. She was all too familiar with her mother's harsh sense of humor. "I'm serious! Is everything fine at the house?"
"Yep. As fine as it was just three hours ago."
"Okay, I get it. I won't check up on you so much."
"Honey? A-e y-u t-re?" Static began to overpower her mother's voice.
"Huh-Mom? You're cutting out.. Can you hear me?"
"S-ren-?" And with that, a clamorous dial tone rang loudly in Serena's ear. A sad grumble escaped her throat as her hung up the Pokémon Center's phone.
"I love you, Mom." She said even though she was no longer connected. She took a deep breath and shook off the sudden feeling of sadness that threatened to take over. "So, Chase, what do you say we grab a room here for the night?"
'Fine with me!' Chase nodded, thoroughly worn out from his earlier battles in the forest.
"I'm terribly sorry Madam, but we're completely booked up as it is." Nurse Joy frowned
"Oh no... Is there anywhere else in town I can stay tonight?" Serena grew uneasy.
"Many travelers tend to camp outside. That's probably your best bet around this time of year."
"Haha it's just - I'm really not the outdoorsy type. Camping isn't really my thing."
"I'm afraid I can't help you, Madam." The nurse gave her a final apology before redirecting her attention to another client. With a staggered sigh, Serena turned away and walked out of the Pokémon center doors, back into the cool outside wind.
"I guess people are traveling from all over now that it's near the holiday season." She bit her inner lip as she grumbled to herself. "Great. Now what am I supposed to do?"
'We could just spend the night outside. I think you know by now that I can keep you safe.'
"Hm? What is it Chase?" She looked down at the Chespin at her feet who was tugging her leg and pointing towards some trees that were on the upcoming route. "You think… You want to actually want to camp out?!"
'Do you see any other options?' Chase nodded begrudgingly.
The girl sighed disgruntled. Please, Arceus, help me through this night.
"Well this isn't so bad, right?" Serena said with a twisted face and apprehensive voice, palpably trying to convince herself more than Chase. She rolled out some blankets onto the thick grass which immediately absorbed some of the grass' moisture. She noticed the corners of her favorite Victini blanket had already soaked up some mud. "Ugh, why does outside have to be so dirty?"
'Well we're literally lying on dirt, so…' Chase chuckled at his trainer. Her dear Pokémon's laughter caught her attention, and made her want to laugh as well.
"I guess I kinda sound like a prissy princess right now, huh?" Serena nervously chuckled as she continued to straighten her blankets, wiping the traces of mud off her hands.
'Only a little,' the Chespin moved toward her to help her set up her homemade bed. 'But there's nothing wrong with that.'
"Heh.." Serena giggled as she watched Chase help her unload. "You're really a special Pokémon, aren't you? I think I made the right choice in going on this journey." Her thoughts wandered off about this journey - about her new friends - about everything as she tucked herself in. Chase didn't need an invitation to crawl under the blankets with Serena and nuzzle into her.
"I'm guessing you won't be in your Pokéball much?" She smiled at her friend who seemed to feel right at home with her - even though they had literally met only hours ago. Chase answered her question with a single huff. "I'll take that as a no." She petted the grass type's head before looking up into the sky. "Hey, Chase? What do you think about challenging the gyms like Shauna said? I mean, we do seem pretty strong as a team. Would that be something you'd want to do?"
'Are you kidding?' Chase's eyes lit up like a firework, 'that'd be a blast!' The small Chespin quickly grew excited at Serena's proposal. 'I've wanted to battle gym leaders since I was born - this is awesome!'
"Looks like you're on board." Serena giggled happily. "Then it's official - we'll
challenge Santalune gym tomorrow." Despite the fact that she was lying on dirt and wet grass, no one could deny the absolute beauty of the purple and blue hues painted throughout the sky, as well as the twinkling stars that shined ever so gracefully above.
But she certainly could have gone without the rustling in the bush by her head.
Blue eyes shot open as wide as possible as her body sprung up once again, looking around frantically.
"Wh-who's there?!"
'All right, who else needs a beating?' Chase growled as menacingly as possible.
"I'm warning you! Y-you better leave .. now!" That didn't sound intimidating at all, Serena, she scolded herself.
The rustling persisted, growing louder each second. Serena subconsciously brought her blanket to her chest, but mentally prepared herself to run.
But her heart dropped when the culprit revealed itself.
"..veee.." A weak cry came from the bush, along with a limping tiny Eevee.
"Oh no.." Her eyes trailed to the Eevee's foot, which looked unhealthily twisted and the fur around it was caked with drying blood. "Poor thing.. what happened to you?" All fear she felt for herself just seconds before turned into fear for the injured Pokémon in front of her.
"Eevvv…" It weakly moaned once again. However, this time fatigue overcame its small body as it collapsed to the earthy ground beneath its trembling feet.
"No!" She gasped as she ran towards the unconscious Eevee. "Come on, wake up," she carefully scooped him up, handling him as fragilely as humanly possible. "Chase, we need to get him to the Pokémon center, now!" Chase nodded seriously in agreement, too worked up himself to have anything to say.
Serena didn't stop to think about the campsite she abandoned. All that mattered was getting the Eevee help as soon as possible.
"Nurse Joy!" She quickly lost her breath while running.
"I'm sorry, we have reached capacity in our rooms for the ni-"
"I don't need a room, just please help this Pokémon!" She felt her heart's pounding throughout her entire body.
"Oh dear. Yes, Madam, right away." The sweet young nurse promptly took Eevee from Serena, notified her coworkers, and had the new patient rushed into care. Not even for a moment did the woman at the desk lose a possible second in seeing Eevee was placed in good hands.
"Will he be all right?" Serena asked once the nurse returned to the desk.
"Unfortunately, this is a normal part of battling. We see Pokémon worse than this one every day who make full recoveries. I wouldn't worry if I were you. He most likely just needs to have that paw bandaged and rest for a while." Her voice was pleasant, but Serena noticed how detached the nurse was. Emotional distance was most likely necessary for such a job.
"Well that's good to hear." Serena sighed through her words. Nurse Joy checked a small pager attached to her belt.
"Our team says Eevee can probably go home with you in the morning, so if you come back then, you'll both be good to go."
"Eevee? Is that its breed? Well, Eevee isn't mine. I just found the poor thing like that."
"Why don't you come back for him anyway, if you're around. He could probably use a friend."
"Right," Serena pondered for a few moments, "I guess that would be good for him. Then we can see he is safely returned to the wild when he's ready."
"Sure. We'll see you in the morning." Nurse Joy smiled sweetly, politely bidding adieu.
"Thank you so much. Have a great night." Serena gave a tired smile, picked up Chase, and exited the center.
'That was intense. I'm glad my trainer has such natural reflexes.' Chespin cooed in Serena's arms.
"I still can't help but worry about the little guy." Serena said aloud, holding Chase close to her for warmth. "But I guess all we can do is sleep and go back for him in the morning."
Sleep. That word used to sound appealing to Serena, until she arrived back at her campsite and remembered just where she'd be sleeping. She whined a bit, but by now she was thoroughly exhausted enough to lie down without much protest. Tucking Chase in along with herself, she pet her grass Pokémon's head before closing her eyes.
"Good night, Chase. We have a big day tomorrow"
'I know! I'm so excited for our first gym battle … I don't even.. know.. if I can.. sleep.'' Chase said through a huge smile as he quickly drifted to sleep.
Wind blew gently through Serena's hair, giving her a slight chill. However, that may have been from her nerves as she looked up at the enormous building in front of her.
'What are you waiting for, let's go in!' Chespin tugged Serena's legs. She seemed to be in a complete trance.
"Hm?" She slightly shook her head, then glanced down at her excited Chespin. "Oh, right, sorry. It's just kind of intimidating, huh? Santalune gym.."
"Veee," the small fluffy Pokémon cooed in her arms.
"Eevee, are you sure you want to come watch my gym battle?" The Eevee chirped delightedly and nodded zealously. "Heh, well all right. I'm happy to have a support team." She brought the Eevee closer to her in attempt to hug its fragile body, being careful to avoid its bandaged leg. While working up the courage to step inside the gym, she didn't even noticed a figure coming out of the gym.
"Serena?" A voice slightly startled her.
"Huh- oh! Hi Calem! Wait, did you just challenge the gym?"
"Yeah. Man, that Viola is pretty tough, but I got my badge." He smiled as he held out the shiny, new bug-shaped badge in the palm of his hand.
"Wow, congratulations! It's so pretty.."
"Thanks!" He said gratefully as he put the badge inside his wallet. "If you're going to challenge her, just be prepared for some pretty strong bug-types. I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thank you!" Serena smiled as she turned to the gym entrance. "I'll catch up with you later, Calem!"
"Absolutely. Good luck, neighbor!"
Chase helped her through Santalune forest, taking on all the wild encounters and trainer battles effortlessly. Serena had worked up enough confidence to feel assurance in Chase's ability to battle, but also her ability as a trainer. However, this battle raged on longer than she expected. Calem was right. Viola was tough. This is it. Come on, I can do this.
"Chase! Get up and counter with razor leaf!"
Chase panted and weezed, but worked up the energy to use one more razor leaf attack.
"You know what to do!" Viola called. Even without a clear order, her Vivillon seemed to know what she meant as it managed to dodge every single leaf blade thrown its way. "Excellent, now our big photo finish! Use bug buzz!"
"Chase!"
And in what seemed like a single flash, Chase fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Chespin is unable to battle. The challenger is out of usable Pokémon, so Leader Viola is the winner!"
Author's Note: My intention was to skim through this beginning boring stuff because I didn't wanna bore you guys with multiple chapters before the first gym but.. I'm not too happy with how this one came out. So I may go for shorter chapters, or at least less condensed chapters. That way I can make each individual scene with more quality. Bear with me please; this is my first multi-chapter fic! I hope you like it, and if not, be nice anyway! Best wishes and see you at the next update!