We had crossed the ocean with the hand of a trainer who says they would give us a lift on his Laprus if one of us manage to beat him in battle. I wanted to give a chance to have Yvonne take the lead in battle more often to maybe help her figure out what she wants to do and maybe feel like she can thrive to become the best trainer like she previously wanted, but that didn't work out.
"I'm going to be the best trainer in the world!" The memory of Serena yelling at me came through my mind "I'll beat you someday, and when I do, I'll rub it in your face!" She laughed with her hands on her hips and chin up "But good battle either way! I'll get better someday!" She smiled big and stuck her tongue out "I'm hungry! Let's go buy food!"
I chuckled at the memories I haven't thought of in a long time and looked at Yvonne taking a nap on my shoulder while on a bench. The road to Coumarine City took almost the whole day, and Yvonne fell asleep in the middle of it in my arms. The road was smooth and relaxing, so of course even I wanted to sleep, but Yvonne slept the whole way and I decided to keep letting her sleep for a little while longer on a bench I brought her to when we arrived.
"Hm... hm..." Yvonne hummed in her sleep "hmm..." I frowned and reached to catch the single tear falling from her face before she woke up on her own and sat up to stretched. I quickly hid my hand and looked at her wiping her eyes and looked at me with sleepy eyes.
"Hey there, sleepy head" I smiled. She smiled back and looked around.
"That was a nice nap" she yawned "So we arrived... What can we do in this city?"
"I heard there's a Pokémon gym here. I sort of want to go and challenge him, but no rush. I'm sure we can find something we can do" She tilted her head confused.
"Like what?" That's a good question... I never really tried taking her out anywhere as much. I'm usually the one following her if she wants to go somewhere, but I studied what kind of things girls like to do to make them feel special since she's been feeling down.
"Well" I stood up to offer my hand, which she took and stood up "How about some breakfast?" She blushed.
"Oh?" She smiled "Like a date?" She joked.
"Yeah" she flinched, not expecting to hear that "Let's have a good time" her eyes sparkled before quickly nodding.
"Okay!" We went off to have breakfast together at a nearby café with a view of the ocean. Yvonne set her hat on the table as we were ordering our food. The wind blew some of her hair, covering parts of her face and she tried her best to move it out the way.
"Short hair is pretty hard to keep out your face" I laughed "No, it's easier than having long hair in the way"
"Oh yeah! You had really long hair when I met you"
"I almost forgot about that. Your hair is getting longer, I see" she played with the ends "It's a really bright color, yet it looks so healthy"
"This is my natural hair color" she blushed "I use to have long hair, but it was getting in the way a lot"
"I would like to see that" She smiled happily. We started talking about random things, like what I do in school, memories I had with my friends and Serena, and my goals. Yvonne was a really good listener, but she didn't bother talking much about herself.
"What about you, Yvonne?" I asked as we walked to the Monorail in the city to head to a different part of it "You haven't said much about your life. What did you use to do before your services?" She held her chin to think.
"Well, I grew up pretty normal, if you can say that. I grew up watching my parents fighting all the time and take things too far. I was so little and I was terrified. They never mean to hurt me. Instead of working things out or go to therapy, they started working overtime just so they don't have to see each other all the time. Divorce is one thing, but they were afraid of how I'll end up" I frowned, looking down. So her parents had problems like mine "So they never divorced"
"That sounds tough" she nodded.
"My dad use to gamble and drink all the time at bars and have affairs. It's mainly why my parents fought a lot. He spent so much money on other people and hardly on his family, but I still grew up okay without complications. It was mostly my mom who took care of me, and because they never divorced, the debt was building up on both of them until my dad got alcohol poisoning. My mom had to pay it off, and I had to help her by working with her until I got old enough to get a job of my own" she looked down, walking slowly "I always try to keep a smile on my face, but the things you see at such a young age, it's hard... Faking it was all I did" we made it to the monorail building.
"Hearing you out just makes me feel like I was stupid to think my life was bad" She looked confused "My dad left the region to make his own family. I wanted to prove that I was now the man of the house and wanted to work hard for my mom, but she never wanted me to worry about her. She was fine, sure, but I just pushed myself to the extreme when I didn't have to. Hearing you out, I'm glad your mom managed to get everything settled" she smiled.
"Hard work is one thing, but we should also think of ourselves" she took my hand "I may not know what I truly want to do, but I'll become strong... I'll catch some more Pokémon and figure it out"
"Do you like the new Pokémon I got you?" I helped her catch a Pokémon we found in Skitto ranch outside of Coumarine City.
"Yes" she smiled big, rushing into the building "I love it! Even if I already have a Electric type Pokémon, Mareep is so cute!" She turned around and screamed out of nowhere before hurrying to hide behind me.
"What?! What is it?" I panicked and looked up to see Professor Sycamore and the famous celebrity Diantha looking at us before coming over. Why did Yvonne freak out like that?
"Calem" Diantha came up to me "It's been a long time since we've last seen each other! Did something happen with your friend?" I peaked at Yvonne hiding her face on my back.
"I... don't know" I said honestly. Professor Sycamore walked up to me.
"Calem. You're looking well and healthy. It's good to see the color return to your face!" I sighed and smiled, knowing I look completely different than how I use to look.
"Thanks. I owe it a lot to my friend hiding behind me" I looked at Yvonne still hiding "Yvonne? This is Professor Sycamore" Yvonne nervously peaked over to look at him. He widened his eyes before smiling.
"Hello, Yvonne. It's nice to see you again" huh? "It's been a long time since I've seen you. I haven't seen you with your hair like that since you were little" Yvonne ran off pass him and entered the Monorail on her own. Jaw
"Y-Yvonne! Wait for me!" I looked at the professor and Diantha "Sorry... I don't know what happened. She's really shy" he held his chin and looked at where Yvonne ran off to "How do you know Yvonne?"
"Hm? Well, I guess it's not really obvious" what's that suppose to mean? "I knew her parents, you can say"
"Oh... Okay?" That's it? "I met Yvonne before my journey started. She's been traveling with me since. I was meaning to tell you, but we've been busy"
"Your journey is based on credit and grades. It's not against the rules to have someone that's not part of our school go with you" I sighed in relief "I've known her parents before she was born" Diantha nodded.
"Remember that little cafe we first met? You two were together. I met her other times during her journey as well... She's an amazing singer, but doesn't take interest in the music business when I tried helping her" I don't think Yvonne would ever be caught doing something like that. She doesn't even know I've heard her sing before "It's nice to have a companion to travel with" She's confusing her with Serena. Sycamore looked at bracelet on my wrist.
"I see you finally obtained everything you need for mega evolution!" He opened his arms, explaining what he knew about the bonds connected to it. Diantha had questions of her own, but kept them at a minimum and looked back at me while the Professor was on his way.
"Calem, tell me" Diantha called "I noticed that Yvonne had her own key stone on her earring" I explained that it was a gift to her "I see..." she held her chin "She seems very different now, though it's been so long since I had saw her. It's been what? Like 5 years?" she thought harder "I thought she went by a different name too"
"You're actually mistaking her for my friend, Serena" she snapped her finger.
"That's it! That's her name" she held her chin again "I'm pretty sure they're the same person, but she's so different now" I sweat dropped, knowing it was confusing "Well, who am I really to say if they're the same person or not? Serena sure did have a nice voice. I wanted to hear it after so long" she closed her eyes "So, what happened to Serena?" I explained as much as I could "I see... You three have a unique sort of bond" she looked at the exit "Bonds... They really are important to us all, aren't they?" She smiled at me "It's a shame that she left so suddenly. Did she ever confess to you?" I flinched and went red. She giggled and waved "Forgive me, that's too forward. I must be on my way. I hope to see you soon, dear" she waved and left the building. I sighed and ran towards the Monorail to see Yvonne sitting beside her Mareep on the chair.
"Why did you leave like that?" I sat beside her "You screamed out of nowhere when you saw Sycamore. I didn't know you knew him" she sweat dropped.
"Well, he was friends with my parents, so that's all I can really say... He was better friends with my dad, so it was sort of weird seeing him. I didn't want him mentioning his funeral or anything since my mom and I didn't it" I blinked confused "I tried avoiding him because of it"
"Why..?" She looked down.
"My father wasn't a good one. My mom and I had other things to worry about. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have to live that life before my mom won the lottery" that's news to me, but that doesn't really matter.
"I can understand that part" she nodded "Diantha had mistook you for Serena like Korrina did" She nervously laughed "She also mentioned that Serena had a really nice voice she wanted to hear again, but I never heard Serena sing" She arched her brow at me, not getting why I mentioned that "I heard you sing" her face immediately flushed.
"Y-You did!?" She cupped her mouth "So embarrassing..."
"I don't really get how they're mixing you two up. Serena never sang, but Diantha said it was Serena that sang, not you" she sweat dropped.
"Everyone sings, Calem..." I facepalmed and rested on my knees, getting too worked up over this "Why are you so confused for? My name is not Serena. It never has been" she huffed "What are you assuming? Are you really trying to compare us that much?"
"I'm trying not too, but I'm almost convince you are her" she looked away "Sorry... I'm just mind fucked"
"Well, when you run into her one day, maybe you can get your answers" I sighed.
"If she even bothers coming back" She held my knee and smiled.
"One day, I'm sure. You will go back to her and most likely forget about me" I looked at her confused.
"What?" She laid her head on my shoulder "Yvonne..."
"Just a bit longer..." instead of continuing to pile my questions onto her, she ended up passing out again before I could ask. I sighed, wondering what was going on... They're not the same person, but clues are too similar that it gives me a headache. This is so frustrating...
"Meep!" Yvonne's Mareep yawned and looked at me. I chuckled and shook my head.
"Just a bit longer... I won't question it until I see the answers in front of me. I clearly can't get a clue, but it's there... Do you think they're the same person?" Mareep tilted it's head to the side. I chuckled "This is too much to comprehend. For a smart guy like myself, I'm pretty stupid, aren't I?" the Monorail was ready to leave and took us to a different part of the city.
Yvonne was still asleep, so I carried her on my back so I wouldn't have to wake her up "Why does she sleep so much..?" I searched for a near by hotel and placed her on her own bed.
"I'll let her sleep here" I shook her shoulder a bit "Yvonne?"
"Mm... Yes?" she responded.
"I'm going to look for the Pokémon gym. I'll be back" she nodded and went back to sleep. I sighed and dug in her bag to take out her Delphox "I'll be back. She's asleep right now. I should be coming back when I win the gym battle"
"You sure are confident, aren't you?" Yvonne smiled at me. I sat beside her and hovered over her a bit.
"You alright?" Her cheeks were a bit rosy. I checked her head and felt so hot "Do you have a fever?" I searched her bag for the thermometer and was quickly stopped.
"Don't worry about me. I'll look for it on my own. You just get the gym badge and come back. Okay?" She smiled. I sighed and nodded.
"If you insist. I'll be back as soon as I can" I held her hand and kissed her knuckle, making her go red again "Take care" she nodded and went back to sleep. I headed back to the city to find the gym leader and won my battle, getting a new gym badge.
"This is starting to get harder" I told my Lucario beside me "Mega evolution was incredible, but it looks like I need to keep training"
"Loaw" It cried out and paused, looking at the direction of the hotel and ran towards it.
"Shit!" I ran after it. With the little time I've had Lucario with me, I found out from my Pokédex that it was able to sense things that normal people can't feel. It can sense danger and auras, so if it was going towards our hotel, it can't be good.