Fleurs de coucou for the new coordinator
Serena walked through the streets of Slateport. She marveled at this large city, and especially at the market filled with all kinds of items for pokemons. She smelled the scent of incense and herb, which were the main business of the traders here. The trainer quickly noticed that many other trainers were visiting the place, carefully choosing the items they wanted. Serena looked at the various herbs without really having any idea of their usefulness; Clemont had always been in charge of healing her pokemons, so she had little knowledge of the subject. Eventually, she mimicked another trainer and used her pokédex. She was pleased to find that it gave her a detailed description of each item. A memory herb, that might come in handy, she thought.
"Do you take it, Miss?" the shopkeeper asked, a bit annoyed that someone would stand in front of his stall without moving.
The girl blushed with embarrassment and quickly apologized.
"Charmander, we... Charmander!?"
Serena looked around, but there was no sign of the orange salamander. She hurriedly called her pokemons and asked them to split up to find him quickly.
Ash, on the other hand, was trying to find his way around the market. He had only moved a little, and then the legs of the passersby had pushed him until he was completely lost.
"Be careful!" he shouted to a man who had stepped on his tail.
The stranger didn't even look down and continued on his way without worrying about the monster. Ash tried to orient himself, he had already passed this booth... or maybe this one. He grunted in frustration, it was impossible to find his way. The salamander walked around the market, hoping to find the girl sooner or later, but finally he found himself in the city, in an alley full of garbage. He covered his nose with his short legs, the smell was unbearable, he had tears in his eyes. He didn't remember the garbage of Hoenn stinking so much...
"Meow!"
The shapeshifter was startled, and at first thought it was Team Rocket's Meowth, but he quickly changed his mind. This one was moving on all fours, not talking, and most importantly, he was accompanied by a whole pack of his fellow creatures. They stared at him with narrowed pupils, claws out and fur bristling.
"I'm lost, can you help me?" Ash tried.
He hoped his recent ability to understand pokemon language would help, but the sewer cat pokemon were not very talkative. They pounced on the poor fire pokemon, who had to run away at full speed to avoid claws and bites. Once out of the pack's territory, Ash could finally breathe. The road was not kind to pokemon without power. The salamander realized that the sky wasn't going to be kind to him, either, when he noticed the large black clouds gathering in the sky. Soon, rain began to fall, soaking his scales. He suddenly felt very weak, drained of his strength, as if he had not eaten for days. Ash panicked when he saw the tip of his tail, the size of his flame shrinking dangerously.
"Let me rest for a minute!"
He took refuge under the stairs of a fire escape adjacent to a building. The former human was cold, and his meager flame was of little help…
"Oh, a Charmander!" he heard.
Ash didn't like the cheerful tone of a young boy watching him from under his umbrella. He wasted no time in pulling out a pokéball, and said with great satisfaction:
"You are already weakened, it should not be difficult to capture you!"
And my opinion in all of this! the former human lamented.
The trainer knew how to aim, and the capsule landed right between the pokemon's eyes. Ash massaged his aching forehead, if he wasn't so weak, he would have doused the boy with his flames.
"You already belong to someone," the trainer realized when his pokéball failed.
"Charman," Ash agreed.
"Or this pokéball does not work! It doesn't cost anything to try again!"
"Der?"
After the third attempt, the trainer walked away, leaving the monster with its makeshift shelter. The rain wouldn't stop. What if Serena couldn't find him and decided to leave without him? The thought made his stomach turn, and he began to think that maybe he should brave the rain and find the pokemon Center if he wanted to have a chance to see her again.
Ash's hope was rekindled when he saw a panda pokemon with sunglasses arrive. The pokemon let out a cry, and a young girl with blue eyes quickly followed. Concerned about the salamander's condition, she hurriedly wrapped it in her cloak to protect it from the rain.
"You give me nothing but worries," she muttered, not hesitating to walk through the rain to the center.
Nurse Joy was reassuring. The pokemon had not been out in the rain long enough for its health to be in danger. He would just feel a little weak tonight. Serena led him back to his room, and Ash couldn't help but swallow when he saw the reproachful look on her face. The trainer took a towel from the bathroom and wiped his wet hair as she said:
"You must not leave without saying something! Imagine if you had been attacked!"
The salamander thought about the meowths. It was better to keep this little incident a secret. Ash felt like a little child when she scolded him. It wasn't his fault that he got lost! Besides, he was a trainer who had traveled to many regions, so he wouldn't let himself be intimidated!
"Are you listening to me?"
The towel fell to the floor and Ash stood at attention. His usually calm friend was showing a different side. He had never seen her so angry with him. And he had to admit, even as a human he would not have retaliated. He lowered his head, it was true that Serena had to worry about him, so it was understandable that she was angry...
"From now on, you will stay in your pokéball."
Ash gave her a desperate look, and the girl felt her heart melt to the point where she regretted her words.
"Maybe not all the time..."
Braixen watched her mistress as her anger gave way to the reptile's chocolate eyes. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, Serena just couldn't resist the disarming look of the boy she loved.
"Well, the next time you disappear without warning... Stop giving me that look!"
"Charman?"
"Promise me you'll never scare me like that again," Serena ordered.
Braixen sighed, finally the punishment had disappeared quickly.
This morning, Ash had an important mission. The girl had given him a cloth to clean himself with. The fake pokemon rubbed his scales, he felt them tremble in contact with the wet cloth, his body did not appreciate the sensation and let him know. Ash looked at the towel in his hand, its pristine whiteness marred by dirt. The shifter didn't think he was that dirty and at the same time, considering how often he had bitten the dust, it was quite understandable.
"Are you sure you can do this alone?" asked Serena for the umpteenth time as she brushed Sylveon.
Ash shook his head vigorously. Serena had been far too tactile lately and he didn't want to give her another opportunity to manipulate him in any way. The trainer focused on her task again, but the false pokemon could tell that something was wrong. The girl looked nervously at the two glass doors leading to the terrace, and her movements were uncertain. The fairy pokemon didn't seem very comfortable either, its long, colorful ribbons wrapped around its trainer's arms, unable to hide the trembling that ran through them.
"Pan..."
The former human turned to Pancham, who was chewing desperately on his leaf, his hands resting on the cold tile to watch the outside. Him too? said Ash. He went to Braixen, who was sitting on the bed next to his trainer, hoping that she could explain the reason for this atmosphere. But the vixen's eyes alternated between her knees and the windows, paying no attention to the little monster gesticulating at her feet.
Ash sighed and decided to find out why everyone was so nervous by looking through the damn picture window. He approached Pancham and carefully inspected the outside. Below: trainers, pokemons, trainers training with their pokemons, and more trainers... in short, nothing out of the ordinary.
"What's going to happen to all of you?" the reptile shouted.
Pancham stared at the former human for a long minute, finally lowering his head. Ash wanted to repeat his question, but Braixen didn't give him the time.
"All those humans and pokemons outside. They also participate in the competition," she said with a subdued voice.
At these words, Pancham crunched his leaf harder, and Sylveon's ribbons tightened around her trainer's arm.
"Is that what you're worried about?" Ash asked. "Don't worry about it, just do your best and everything will be fine!"
"That's easy for you to say..."
All the pokemons had turned back to the fairy pokemon who had just spoken. Sylveon had let go of her trainer's arms and jumped to the ground.
"Sylveon?" Serena worried.
The pokemon's slender body moved slowly, its thin, pink-tipped paws barely touching the floor. Ash swallowed, his back pressed against the cold door. He couldn't take his eyes off the white fur glistening in the sunlight.
"So you don't want to stay with us... win or lose, you don't care!" the pokemon exclaimed. "I want to help Serena. But she's scared and... I can't help her while she's... with me... she's always watching over me..." the pokemon murmured, its voice shaking.
Braixen and Pancham had quickly joined their friend to comfort her. The vixen rubbed her back while the fighter let out a few cries of encouragement. Serena soon joined them, stroking the long pink ears of the unfortunate pokemon.
"It's going to be okay," the young girl repeated, hoping to calm her friend.
Ash watched the scene without daring to join them. Sylveon was right, he was not a real pokemon and therefore would never be a true member of their team. I should let Serena take care of this, he convinced himself. But Ash wasn't reassured by the girl's trembling voice and uncontrolled shaking of her hands.
"I said I was coming to get Serena's trust back," the fake pokemon muttered, clenching his fist.
The former human let out a few screams to get the girl's attention and explained his idea with his pantomime. He had to repeat himself several times for Serena to understand what he wanted. The trainer and her pokemons now stared at the reptile as if he had just said the strangest idea in the world.
"You want to fight first?" said Serena to make sure she understood.
"Charman!"
"No, I don't."
The girl's answer was so emphatic that the fire pokemon froze.
"Der?" he finally managed to articulate.
"Even though you've defeated Treecko, the pokemons that will participate will be of a different level. For now, you'll have to watch us and then, when you've gained a little more experience, you can..."
"Cha!" the monster refused.
"You don't stand a chance!" the trainer was carried away by the salamander's behavior.
"Then why did you bring me along?" Ash scolded.
Serena did not answer. The monster's suddenly serious eyes had made her forget that she was talking to a young pokemon, it was as if this capricious child had aged several years.
"Try to understand... it's hard enough for us to compete with other trainers when you..."
She stopped. She realized what she was about to say. The reptile had lowered his head to keep her from seeing his face, but his flame, now a compact mass of red, gave him away easily.
"Charmander, I didn't mean to... well..."
The young girl became entangled in nonsensical explanations. Soulless, choppy, useless words.
"Can we trust you?" Braixen asked suddenly.
Ash turned to the fox. Without realizing it, he followed the long, wavy tufts of orange fur that left the pokemon's ears before focusing on the serious face it showed.
"I want to help Serena," Ash whispered.
The Kalos pokemon scanned the reptile's face for any sign of deception. Finally, she closed her eyes, her clawed paws gripping the yellow fur that bounced around her hips.
"Braix," she commanded in front of her trainer.
Serena didn't understand right away, until her old friend nodded to the little orange monster.
"Don't encourage him!" the girl complained.
"Braixen, Braix!" the pokemon did not give up.
Sylveon and Pancham were also surprised by their friend's decision. They looked at each other, not knowing whether to encourage the pokemon or the human.
"I'm not going to change my mind," Serena decided.
"Charman!" shouted the fire reptile.
That fiery look in his eyes, that determination in his every move. The girl felt her heart and mind giving way to him.
"No."
But the fire pokemon had come closer and put his paws on the girl's thighs, his neck stretched out so he could look into her eyes.
"Charman," he said slowly.
"Enough!" cried Serena, standing up with a bang and knocking the fake pokemon backwards. "One fight. You'll just do the first fight and that's it," she ordered, convinced that she still had some authority.
Ash's lips curved into a broad, victorious smile as the vixen sighed. She was sure of it now, her trainer was far too easy to manipulate, especially when she had to face the two big brown eyes of the impostor.
While Ash looked forward to the fight, Sylveon sensed that something had changed in her trainer, and just to be sure, the fairy pokemon wrapped one of her ribbons around the human's arm to probe her feelings, and she was surprised to find that Serena had calmed down.
"Sylv?" the pokemon asked, looking at the shapeshifter.
"Well, let's eat our breakfast and then go to the conpetition room!"
The small group hurried down to the center hall. But their plan was interrupted by Joy. She made them wait a few moments to retrieve a package that had slipped under her desk, which she handed to the young girl.
"It arrived this morning," the nurse said.
Serena ran her hand over the gold wrapping paper with the star pattern. She carefully peeled back the edges, as if tearing the paper would damage the precious treasure inside. Serena couldn't contain her excitement when she discovered the contents: a new red stage dress with gold embroidery. It didn't take long for the trainer to figure out who had sent the package. She quickly called the center's videophone, and the screen lit up to reveal a middle-aged woman with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Mom!" Serena exclaimed happily.
"Did you get my present?" her mother asked with a mischievous smile.
"Yes, it's beautiful."
"The opposite of the opposite," the woman said with a mischievous smile. "And if not, how is your journey going? I was a little worried about you being alone in a new area."
"I'm not alone, my pokemons are watching over me," Serena said as she took Ash in her arms. "This is Charmander, I captured him when I came to Hoenn."
"Nice to meet you," Serena's mother smiled, "I'm counting on you to take care of my daughter.
"You can count on me!" Ash wanted to say, and strangely enough, she seemed to understand him as she thanked him.
When Serena arrived at the competition venue, she was surprised to see a crowd of journalists. She approached a young man and asked him what was going on:
"I wonder where you come from not to know Lisia, the Top Coordinator! The one whose beauty, grace, intelligence and coolness are unparalleled. Well, except for me, Chaz, the only rival worthy of her!"
The young man left immediately for the competition room without giving her more time.
"He's a little weird..." Serena muttered, quickly agreed by Ash.
The girl couldn't even see this Lisia's face because of the crowd. She shrugged, it wasn't that important. She entered the competition room, where she registered and learned something interesting: After the rapprochement between Kalos and Hoenn, it had been decided that the first part of the competitions would be held in the same way as the freestyle performances. This meant that up to six pokemons could be used at the same time. However, the rules for the second part did not change.
The competition was about to begin, and Serena found herself in a waiting room barely thirty square meters in size, with no windows, and a bunch of trainers and pokemons in such a frenzy that the organizers had given up on the idea of paying extra to heat the room. In short, a box that was far too small for the number of people it was supposed to hold.
The stifling heat, the screams of the monsters, the chatter. Despite this, Serena kept her attention glued to the screens in the center of the room, she must have been the only one. The other trainers were more interested in the details: one last pokéblock, one last brush stroke, that was more important than watching a presenter shout with overenthusiasm about rules they already knew.
The little speech ended, the smell of sweat hung in the air, and the useless chatter increased. In the midst of all this chaos, a screen that had been black lit up. It was like a signal for all the people present to stop whatever they were doing and raise their heads to the flat screen. The synchronization was so perfect that you would have thought it had been rehearsed beforehand. Well... it would have been perfect if a certain person had followed the movement. But Serena looked around, not understanding the sudden silence. Finally, she followed her colleagues and stared at the device embedded in the wall. The mixture of noble gases trapped behind the glass plate was being stimulated to become a plasma capable of producing energy that could be converted into luminous information visible to all. A very complicated process, which ultimately only served to show the face of the first person to be called.
Serena did not think that the announcement of the order of passage would be done this way. A cold screen, a monotonous voice announcing the first names of the participants. Where were the staff members who came to meet her and didn't hesitate to give her a word of encouragement? The people who had not hesitated to ask their superiors to change the running order when Eevee had disappeared, or when her dress had torn. The people who had not hidden their joy when everything had worked out.
It was cold. The plain white walls, the worn wooden benches, the people talking to each other without caring about this young girl isolated in her corner who had once been a finalist in the pokemon showcases. Serena sighed, wishing Flora was there. Sure, it would have decreased her chances of winning even more... but at least she would have had someone to talk to instead of glaring at the trainers. The girl hoped that one of them would take pity on her and come to pull her out of her loneliness, or at least make her forget for a few seconds that she had left all her friends and the lounges for this unwelcoming world. It was a waste of time, she was just another competitor and the other trainers made that clear by ignoring her royally.
The synthetic voice continued to call out to the various participants. It was almost impossible to interpret this collection of vowels and consonants. That's why the trainers just watched the picture and used the sound cues only to know when to look up. The performances went on and on, and Serena watched the broadcast on the CRTs with attention.
A new name, a new silence until everyone could see the head of the next contestant, then the hubbub again. This little cycle, trapped in its monotony, had the gift of annoying Serena. But at least this time it wasn't a complete stranger who was called.
Blonde hair, a very chic blue suit, and a haughty air that even an inanimate picture could convey. Serena immediately recognized the young man she had spoken to earlier. Karl... Charles... the girl tried to remember, especially since she couldn't count on the help of that damn machine to pronounce the coordinator's name clearly. It was the commentator who finally brought the answer, a chance that the discussions had quieted down a bit so that Serena could hear properly. Besides, it was not quite luck, the people had really become quieter to admire the performance of the blond accompanied by his machoke. Serena could not believe it, it was not just a show. This Chaz's performance, even with only one pokemon, was magnificent.
Serena gulped, would she be up to it? Ash noticed his friend's shaking hand. He put a paw on it, surprising his trainer.
"Charmander!" he tried to explain, pointing to Serena's other pokemons.
"As long as you are by my side, I have no reason to doubt, this is what you are trying to tell me?"
Serena took deep breaths, trying to calm her shaking heart and legs. She had to pull herself together, or it would affect her pokemons as well. But that was easier said than done.
"Der!" her friend called again.
She looked down at the salamander, who had clenched both fists. "I'm here to encourage you," the girl understood instinctively. Serena felt strange, as if this little creature had the strange power to give her courage. The girl stroked his head before standing up and explaining to all her friends:
"If I want to give courage to others, I have to stop being afraid."
A new unintelligible name was spoken by the machine. Serena looked up to see her face on the screen. The people resumed their cackling without worrying, while Serena felt like her heart was jumping in a bag that was too tight. She closed her eyes and exhaled once and for all the stale air that had accumulated in her lungs. The girl was ready to leave this cramped room for the open air of the stage... until she remembered something about her orange friend. She stared at him, and the salamander tilted his head to the side, not understanding why his trainer was hanging around so much.
"I can't leave you alone!"
Ash tried to convince her that he was fine and that she should hurry if she didn't want to be disqualified. The young girl disagreed, and was already asking some of her fellow coordinators if they could look after her pokemon. Ash watched her, despairing that she no longer trusted him. But the unmotivated answers from the trainers, and the fact that they seemed more concerned with talking to each other than helping a stranger, made Serena give up on the idea. She took the reptile in her arms and began to search the various rooms for an organizer to keep the young pokemon.
Most of the doors she opened only led to storage rooms or were simply locked. The girl started to panic, her face wouldn't stay on the screen much longer if she didn't face the jury.
"Please!" she cried as she opened another door.
This time Serena saw someone, a young girl with green hair and a blue sparkly outfit. She couldn't help but look at the dressing room with its dimmed lights, red satin chairs, and tables covered with colorful bouquets. The stranger placed her brush on the precious wooden dressing table, bringing Serena to her senses.
"Excuse me," the trainer stammered.
"Are you the late coordinator?" the girl remarked, getting up from her seat.
"Charman!" the pokemon growled as he tried to pull himself out of Serena's arms.
"Please stay calm," the trainer pleaded. "Just give me time to find someone to take care of you."
The girl in the blue outfit smiled a little before starting to giggle. Serena stared at her, not understanding what was so funny.
"Really? You'd be willing to fail the contest to make sure Charmander stays safe," the girl analyzed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
"He's still young, and he's already lost, so..." Serena tried to explain.
"You're really going to be eliminated if you keep this up. I'll keep Charmander if you want, at least if you trust a stranger," the trainer scoffed.
She had moved closer so that Serena could see the stranger's blue earrings glistening in the artificial light. The coach looked at her pokemon, not really reassured by the suggestion.
"Der!" Ash encouraged, who was really afraid that she would be eliminated.
"Braix," the vixen reminded her, pulling on her friend's dress.
"I won't entrust him to you without knowing your name," Serena decreed.
"That's logical," the girl smiled while closing her eyes. "Lutia. My name is Lutia and I am a coordinator just like you."
"Can I really trust you?"
The girl placed one hand in the center of her chest and held the other out in the direction of Charmander's trainer. Serena stared at the hand, which emerged from a thick cotton sleeve that covered her forearm.
"You don't have many other options," the trainer said with a wink.
Serena let her eyes wander between this Lutia and her young pokemon, and finally she put her friend down and said:
"I'll be back soon. Be good while you wait."
Charmander's trainer gave the coordinator a last look, telling her that if anything happened to the young monster, she would make him regret it.
The latecomer had run toward the stage. Ash breathed a sigh of relief as Lutia lowered herself to his level to caress him. He pulled away sharply, his scales vibrating and his flame crackling.
"I didn't mean to scare you," the young girl apologized.
Ash wasted no time and hurried to find the remote to turn on the television in the dressing room. His friend had arrived just in time to start her performance. He immediately recognized the dance she had done in the master class. He smiled, he enjoyed watching her compete and he also had to admit that he liked the new outfit she was wearing.
"Is your trainer from Kalos?" the impromptu babysitter asked.
"Cha," Ash agreed, surprised that she had guessed so well.
"I knew it. She's the pokemon showcase finalist who was beaten by Aria. I didn't think she'd come to the competitions after her failure. I can't wait to see what she's worth."
The small smile on the trainer's face made the fire monster cringe. This coordinator could be a serious competitor for Serena.
"Charman," the reptile growled, trying to make himself bigger than he was.
"Tell me, Charmander," Lutia began, lowering herself to the level of the pokemon, "I have the impression that it's more you who's watching over Serena than the other way around."
Ash swallowed, watching over her might have been a bit much. Serena knew how to get along without him... with a few mistakes from time to time.
When her performance was over, Serena returned to the dressing room. The salamander came running up to congratulate her. She gave him a grateful smile before turning to whoever had been looking after her friend.
"Thank you for your help," she said as she bowed.
"Your performance was not up to par," Lutia said with satisfaction, "but I expect much better from you."
Without further explanation, the trainer left her dressing room and headed for the stage. Serena returned to the waiting room where the screens showed all the performances.
"There's no denying it, Lisia is amazing," marveled one of the trainers.
Serena was then surprised to see her rescuer performing with an altaria.
"Lisia?" stammered Serena. "Isn't her name Lutia?"
"You really are an uneducated person," Chaz grumbled as he approached her.
Serena turned her attention back to the Top Coordinator's dance. The shouts of the crowd, the applause that made the floor vibrate, all of this was in no way disproportionate to the incredible show that Lisia was putting on. She perfectly combined the qualities of her pokemon to make it shine: strength, grace, beauty, and intelligence combined with a flawless poise. The Top Coordinator definitely outshone the Kalos Queen.
"I'm nowhere near her," Serena muttered in amazement.
Even Ash realized how extraordinary this performance was, so he didn't know how to comfort his friend. Lisia ended her performance with a bow. The crowd in the stands rose to its feet. Even though the second round hadn't started yet, everyone already agreed on who would be the winner of this contest.
The mood in the locker room had become more somber. The morale of the coordinators had collapsed, and despair could be seen on the faces of those who knew that the competition was already over. Ash grumbled. He wanted to stay with Serena just long enough for her to regain her confidence, but if this kind of obstacle was put in his way right from the start, he wouldn't make it.
Lisia may not be good at fighting, Ash tried to joke. He glanced at his trainer, whose expression was no different from that of the other coordinators. He felt his scales tremble, but he recovered quickly. First I have to win my fight, maybe that will be enough to get her confidence back. After that, I can join Pikachu.