Chapter 6: City Life Under Silver Moonlight - Part 2
The morning talk show's jingle plays followed by the sound of the audience clapping. The camera moves to the colorful show set consisting of two sofa chairs placed between a coffee table. A woman with brown, curly hair wearing a yellow dress steps into view with a huge grin on her face. She shouts, "It's time!" to a cheering audience and dances to her seat.
"Good morning, Sinnoh!" The camera zooms in on her face. "It's your girl, Penelope Novellapanini and you are watching Penelovision—live from Jubilife TV!"
The woman pauses, waiting for the applause to settle down, before speaking again.
"Thank you! Thank you. I have some exciting news. Today, we have a very special guest! You've seen him in magazines, television—the golf enthusiast, young entrepreneur, and CEO of Aidenland—please, give a warm welcome to Aiden Rowan!"
Aiden raises his arm up, waving at the camera facing him, while the audience is directed to roar in applause and cheers. He gives his winning smile, handing out a few thank yous, before finally sitting down on the chair opposite to Penelope.
"Mister Aiden Rowan," the show host calls him with glee, "when I heard you were back in town and interested in appearing on my little show, I dropped everything just to have you with us! It is so great to have you here again!"
"Thank you, Penelope. Penelovision is the most viewed morning show in all of Sinnoh these days. I would hardly call it a little show anymore. It is actually an honor to be a guest here again," Aiden replies.
"Aw stop it. We've really come a long way," Penelope replies. "I don't want to waste any time. Everyone is dying to hear you talk about your fabulous entrance. Is that fine with you?"
Aiden gestures to Penelope with his hand to "go for it". As such, the two look at the enormous screen behind them, mounted on the wall, and a clip of Aiden and his group are seen riding into the street, suddenly stopped, and running from reporters. The audience laughs at Penelope's exaggerated reactions to the clip that plays. She laughs with them and turns to Aiden, asking him to explain what "that was all about".
"What can I say," Aiden starts. "I love a good carriage ride. I get a lot of inspiration while riding in one, looking out the window and seeing peasa— people , hard at work outside. That night in the video, I was in a hurry. When the carriage broke down on the street, my associates helped lead me all the way here to set up a meeting with you as soon as I could. I just couldn't wait to be back on the show."
Penelope looks touched, placing a hand on her chest.
"For those still out of the loop, Aiden Rowan here is best known as the CEO of Aidenland, an amusement park wonderland in Twinleaf Town," Penelope explains. "I just visited last month with my daughter and had the most wonderful time of my life! If you could please tell us, Aiden, any future plans for Aidenland?"
"I have some exciting news to share, actually," Aiden adds, watching Penelope gasp in delight. "Aidenland will soon be opening its own concert hall. It will be the biggest in all of Sinnoh!"
"Oooh. A concert hall?"
"All of the biggest stars in the world will be coming to perform in Aidenland," Aiden explains with a hint of smugness. "Right now, we have plans to bring a certain famous idol to be the first to host a concert there."
"Oh–my–God. Shut up. Shut up!" Penelope screams. "You're not talking about who I think you're talking about are you?" She silently mouths Shaila's name to the camera.
Aiden smiles, neither confirming nor denying the question, listening to the audience erupt in applause. He waits for his moment to speak again before stating that he hopes everyone will look forward to the great surprise.
'Everyone, look under your seats. Surprise! You get an Aidenland ticket! You get an Aidenland ticket! You all get tickets! Take your friends, your mom, your kids… have a blast!'
On the first floor of the Global Terminal, Lucas and Jason are seated at a table, eating breakfast, in the building's Pokémon Center. It is now morning, and they are watching Aiden act like a friendly person on the television screen beside their table.
'I thought Aiden didn't like Shaila,' Jason thought, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs on his plate. 'I guess if you can't beat someone, you join them.'
"The Shaila concert this week? Hmm… I don't know about that." Jason turns to Lucas who is still on the phone with someone. Judging by his tone, he guesses it must be someone close to him. "Yes, I told you I'd be busy. I'm not exactly on vacation."
Jason observes Lucas lightly sigh, grinning ever so slightly. He feels a bit envious that the older boy had a cell phone, able to chat with anyone in the world at any moment if he wanted. Without anything else to do, he listens to Lucas speak over the noise of the television screen.
"Fine, I'll see what I can do but I've gotta go now. My breakfast is getting cold, and I think all this talking is making one of the kids uncomfortable." Jason snaps back to reality upon hearing Lucas admit that he's caught him staring. Noticing Jason's embarrassment, Lucas winks at him as if to let him know he doesn't mind. "Yeah, yeah. I gotta go. Bye."
"Sounds like someone you're close with," Jason utters, hoping to kill the awkwardness, after watching Lucas put his phone back into his pocket.
"Sorry about that. Personal call. Did that make you uncomfortable?" Lucas asks. "I'll step away next time. I didn't mean to disturb you."
"No, why would you?" Jason asks. He thinks for a minute and adds, "You know, we're going to be on this long journey together. It's okay for you to be more relaxed around us. Stop acting like our boss all the time. Aren't we kinda around the same age?"
"Oh… I'll keep that in mind." Lucas smiles, stroking his chin. "You're very kind, Jason. Never change."
Jason looks down at his tray on the table, embarrassed again by the compliment. 'I said something I shouldn't have again.'
"My friends call me Luke. Just saying," Lucas mentions, grinning more than before. "If you and Vanessa would like, you can… perhaps…?"
"Uhh, maybe…" Jason says hesitantly. "I'm already used to 'Lucas'."
"Aw… maybe if you gave it a shot?" Lucas says back.
"Is that Aiden?" Jason turns to his left in the direction of the voice, and looks up from his seat to see Vanessa standing with a tray of food, watching the screen.
"Yep," he replies. Vanessa sets her tray on the table and groans as she sits down. She lets out a big sigh and reaches for the bagel at the corner of her tray. Jason assumes whatever was obviously bothering his friend must have emerged from last night. When he woke up, the girl was unwilling to leave her room.
"What?" Vanessa asks. "You're staring."
"You've been grumpy since last night. What's wrong?" Jason waits for an answer but only gets another groan from her friend, biting into her cream cheese bagel.
Lucas's phone vibrates, causing him to check the screen. He takes a moment to say good morning to Vanessa, before picking up the call.
"Hey Marsha," they listen to Lucas speak. "Yeah, the plan is still a go. Mhm. I'll see you later. Bye!"
Jason could not help but take note of how short the call was. "What plan?" he asks Lucas, curious as ever.
"Marsha and I are going to look into getting you guys Pokétches. Well, try, anyway. They're quite pricey but they're the ultimate tool any trainer should have. I'd like for each of you to have one."
"Pokétches?" Vanessa questions. She wonders where she's heard the word before.
Lucas rolls up his sleeve and shows Jason and Vanessa an old model he's been using since his personal adventure days. It resembles a red, fancy watch but has certainly seen better days. It is worn out and the screen is cracked. All it has are a few apps showing the time, as any watch would, a calculator, a pedometer, among other basic features.
"New ones seem to be able to make calls and connect to the radio," Lucas continues explaining. "I wouldn't mind an upgrade myself."
"You could call Alisha whenever you wanted if you had one," Jason reminds Vanessa.
"Oh right, that weird girl we saved gave me her number…"
"Hey," Jason states with a disapproving tone.
"Did I say 'weird'? I meant 'nice'," Vanessa sighs, correcting herself. The two watch the girl push her tray aside and lay her head on the table.
"What's wrong, Vanessa?" Lucas asks. "You're not your usual self."
"I…" Vanessa starts, as if still trying to accept what happened, "I got my ass kicked last night by Nadia's brother."
"You mean a Pokémon battle?" Jason asks. "Are you okay?"
"Obviously, a Pokémon battle. It was my first uninterrupted battle and I lost," Vanessa replies. Although speaking about it seemingly made her more upset, Jason was relieved she was at least talking.
"Did you pay him?" Jason asks, reminding her of the victory spoils the loser has to pay.
"Is that really your first thought?" Vanessa snaps at him. "Things got heated in the moment and I forgot…"
"That aside, you win some, you lose some. It's how it goes," Lucas softly says. "Don't let it get to you, Vanessa. Your Pokémon will be stronger as you participate in more battles, and trust me, you'll have plenty of those."
"It's not enough!" Vanessa slams her fists on the table. "I know you mean well but… according to a Cynthia fansite I used to browse at home, I heard that Cynthia has never lost a battle since the day she became a trainer! I've already lost."
"There's no way that's true," Jason assures her. "That must be impossible."
"Maybe my Gible just isn't good," Vanessa says dejectedly.
"Aw c'mon, that's not the attitude you should have. Where'd that passionate girl I met go?" Lucas tells her. "You're not going to let one loss bring you down like this, will you? Let's be realistic. It seems like you're expecting Gible to be a Garchomp already without putting the work in."
"Garchomp?" Vanessa mumbles. Vanessa gets up from her seat abruptly, alarming the two. She shouts, "I have an idea!" and runs off before the two can even ask what it is.
"Huh. She must have gotten her spark back," Lucas tells Jason.
"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this," Jason replies. "I'm going to go make sure she isn't doing anything crazy."
"Oh, okay. If I'm not here, I'll be meeting Marsha at the Pokétch Company building a little north of town later. Don't get into any trouble, okay?"
"I don't think it's me you should be worried about," Jason jokes. Lucas laughs, agreeing, and watches Jason leave him to step outside. However, Jason hasn't a clue of where Vanessa might be.
Wandering the streets, he assumes Vanessa must be where trainers or Pokémon are, but that could be anywhere.
'I just have to hear loud screaming and she'll be there,' he thought.
Not knowing where to start, he walks by a boutique with clothes at the display window. The expensive-looking clothes catches his eye and begins to make him feel insecure about what he was wearing, looking down at his simple clothing. Looking around, he could see these city people were wearing much nicer clothes. In comparison, he felt like a country bumpkin.
'If only I had money,' Jason thinks to himself. 'Maybe there's a cheaper place somewhere that I can get a new shirt from.'
"Look at that boy over there." Jason hears distant snickering from across the street. He glances and sees a group of teenagers around his age. When he looks at them, they turn their faces away and continue laughing.
'Are they making fun of me?' Jason wonders.
"He's so ugly," he can hear them say among themselves. Jason decides to ignore them and begin walking again. He didn't have time to worry about things like this. Those weren't people he knew and they might not even be talking about him. He takes a deep breath and tells himself that everything is okay.
"Hey!" Jason hears a voice screaming from their direction. 'Please don't tell me they're trying to talk to me.' The last thing Jason wanted right now was trouble. Still, he turns around.
"What are you doing here, Nadia?"
Jason watches the group of teenagers facing not him but a familiar face.
"Stop that, Carla. I saw what you were doing!" the girl named Nadia shouts at them. "You guys are horrible! What are you doing mocking a stranger based on their appearance?"
Jason recognizes the girl finally as one of the teenagers he saw yesterday from the Jubilife group. He isn't completely sure why they are arguing with each other but it seems to him like she is teaching them a lesson.
'It couldn't be that she's defending me is she?' Jason thought, still unwilling to believe that it was him they were making fun of.
"Have you seen his clothes?" the girl named Carla laughs, pointing at Jason from across the street. "My grandpa dresses better than him. They literally look like rags."
'Oh God, they really are talking about me…'
"Do you guys not have anything better to do with your time? I suggest you broaden your horizons. It's a really big world and people dress differently. Maybe that's how people dress somewhere else. Maybe he thinks you look like a clown," Nadia asserts.
"You're the clown, Nadia Torres," Carla refutes. "Why don't you bother someone else?"
"Oh, you don't like being bothered?" Nadia answers. "Then that's exactly my point. Stop bothering people!"
Jason, unable to do anything but stare at the fiasco, watches a blond boy come from the opposite direction, coming between the two girls fighting. He recognizes him as Ray, the other boy Nadia was with the other day.
"Hey, hey! No more fighting," Ray pleads. Carla and her friends' demeanors change completely upon his arrival, infatuated by appearance. Nadia on the other hand only looks annoyed. Ray looks at Nadia and tells her, "I told you to just leave them be!"
"Ray," Nadia says firmly. "Don't act as if I'm the one in the wrong here."
"Hi Ray! What are you doing here?" Carla asks while fixing her hair. "Nadia and I aren't fighting. I promise. We were just having a friendly discussion."
Ray watches Carla step over to Nadia and affectionately hug her from the side. Carla turns her face to an upset Nadia and asks her, "Right, Nadia?"
"Don't play games with me, Carla," Nadia tells her, freeing herself from her grasp. Seeing as how the situation will be handled now that Ray is here, Nadia walks away to cross the street.
"Nadia!" Ray calls out.
"I leave them to you, Ray," Nadia calmly replies, looking only in Jason's direction.
Ray looks back at Carla and her girl friends who haven't taken their eyes off him. They speak his name, hoping he would flirt back, and in response, he smiles while scratching his head, but isn't able to get his mind off of the girl walking away from him.
Jason watches Nadia cross the street to him, unsure of what is about to happen.
"Hi!" Nadia calls out. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Jason replies. "I'm fine."
"Don't listen to them. They're just spoiled, rich girls that go to my school with nothing better to do than to gossip."
"Thank you," Jason says. "You're Nadia, right?"
"Yes!" Nadia looks pleased that she remembers him. "And you're… Jason, right? I thought it was you. What brings you to this part of the city?"
"Ah, I'm looking for my friend, Vanessa—the girl that was with us when we first met. The loud one."
Nadia chuckles at Jason's comment. "Is that what you call your friend? Would she be happy to hear you call her that?"
"Nope," Jason says bluntly, laughing after. "I just thought it was the easiest way to describe her. What about you?"
"What am I doing?" Nadia looks at the display window of the boutique Jason was looking at. "Hm, as a matter of fact, I'm looking for clothes. Would you like to tag along?"
"Clothes?" Jason states, uncomfortable with going anywhere with someone he barely knows. He has neither the money nor the confidence. "I'm not sure…"
"We can look for your friend Vanessa on the way. How does that sound?" Nadia suggests. "I promise I won't bite."
Jason does not reply immediately, weighing the options. The girl seemed nice enough considering she defended him, a stranger. Also, Lucas had intended for them to be acquaintances when they were introduced anyway. Although Jason is concerned for Vanessa, he thought maybe she could take care of herself.
"Sure, let's do it," Jason gives his answer. "Is your friend coming too?"
Nadia turns to look at Ray, still talking to Carla and the girls. He looked comfortable talking to them.
"No, just leave him…" Nadia mumbles. Turning to Jason, she grins and shouts, "Let's go! I know a place much better than this one!"
Nadia begins to walk swiftly, taking Jason arm-in-arm much to his surprise. The only thought in his head is "Woah", but realizes that he doesn't seem to mind in the end being dragged off to who knows where with a girl he doesn't know. To him, it was an adventure in itself.
"Hey!" Ray shouts, noticing Nadia leave with the boy unfamiliar to him. "Nadia, wait for me!"
"Ray, don't leave us," Carla begs. Looking back at her, Ray apologizes, telling them he needs to go, and runs to chase after Nadia and Jason.
"What's up with that?" one of the girls complains as they watch him leave.
"Why is Ray into a girl like Nadia? She's such a freak," Carla agrees.
In front of Nadia, Jason, and Ray, who has caught up to the pair, lies Booty Beauty Boutique , and much to Jason's increasing anxiety, the clothes he sees at the display window look significantly fancier and more expensive despite the store's eccentric name. They walk inside which only confirms Jason's worries.
'There's no way I could even afford to buy socks at a place like this,' he thought. Looking at Nadia's face, he could tell she felt right at home at this shop as if she's been here many times before.
"Why are you so mad?" Nadia asks Ray who is pouting, trailing the two from behind. "I never asked you to come along."
"That's exactly why. How could you come here with him ?" Ray points at Jason. "And you need to listen to me. What would you have done if I didn't step in to save you from Carla and her girls? What if you got hurt?"
"I never asked for your help and I would have been fine. Do you think you're my brother or something? Also, what's wrong with Jason? He's my new friend. Be nice to him!" Nadia demands as she browses through clothes on the rack beside her.
"Jason?" Ray glances at his face. "Do I know you?"
"Uhh, we met at the Global Terminal yesterday. I'm part of the Twinleaf group with Vanessa and Lucas," Jason clarifies. He felt awkward as if he was stuck in the middle of a lovers quarrel. "Are you actually Nadia's boyfriend?"
"He wishes," Nadia cuts in. "Jason, are you getting anything? The men's section is over there if you want to take a look."
As Jason hesitates to admit how poor he is, Ray puts his arm around Jason's shoulder unexpectedly and says, "Do what you gotta do, Nadie. I'll take care of our friend." Jason turns his face to Ray who grins, much to his discomfort, and the two begin making their way to the other side of the boutique.
"Hey, what are your intentions?" Ray asks with a serious look, now that the two of them are out of Nadia's sight. "Are you into Nadia? She's mine."
"What?" Jason could not be more perplexed. "Sorry, I'm not interested in Nadia. We really only just met. We're at most acquaintances—I swear!"
Ray says nothing for a few seconds, keeping the intimidating expression on his face, before suddenly brightening up and exclaiming, "Good!" He pats Jason on the back and adds, "Then we can be friends too! I've got my eye on you though. Remember, she's mine."
"Uh, yeah," Jason averts his gaze, unable to contain his discomfort.
"Sorry man, I didn't mean to scare you. Let's start over. Do you want something here? Let me get you a gift." Ray says.
"Huh? There's no need." Jason responds.
"What's going on here?" Nadia appears before the two with a couple of clothes laying on her arm. "You better not be doing anything weird, Ray."
"What? No!" Ray tells her. "Jason and I were just getting to know each other. Right Jason?" He lightly knocks Jason's shoulder with the back of his hand, as if asking Jason to be an accomplice in whatever it was he was scheming. Unwilling to answer that question, Jason instead chooses to awkwardly laugh and change the subject.
"Are you a big shopper, Nadia?" Jason asks, pointing to the clothes she is carrying.
"Oh, a little bit." Nadia giggles, looking at the clothes she has. "I'm just about to try these on. Hey, I know these clothes are expensive. I admit it, because I can tell what you're thinking. I'm a bit of a spoiled, rich girl myself, okay? But a girl's gotta look her best if she wants to stand in front of a crowd and be a Top Pokémon Coordinator."
'Again with those words,' Jason thinks to himself. Thinking now is as good at time as any, he asks the girl what a Pokémon Coordinator is.
"You don't know? Let me think about how to explain," Nadia responds. "We're basically 'Pokémon Trainers' who instead of competing in gym battles to become the 'Pokémon Champion', are instead Pokémon Coordinators who compete in 'Pokémon Contests' to become the 'Top Coordinator'."
"Contests are flashy shows with an audience and judges. You're supposed to make some creative performance utilizing a Pokémon of your choice to win the judges' favor. It honestly feels like a pageant if you ask me. Not my thing," Ray adds.
"It's not really a pageant," Nadia refutes. "It's just highlighting another aspect to Pokémon that people may not otherwise appreciate. These Pokémon performances can be something beautiful or amazing."
Ray chuckles. "Nadie has been dreaming about being a Coordinator since forever… She's okay."
"Shut up, Ray." Nadia says, glaring at the boy. "I'm not sure if I'll be good at it but just being a part of something like that has been a dream to me. I really can't wait."
Jason could not help but be reminded of Vanessa when he listens to Nadia talk about her dream. He has found another passionate person, but he couldn't help but feel a bit empty inside. 'What am I passionate about?' He thought once more. 'What is my dream?'
"Hey Jason," Nadia wakes him up from his darkening thoughts. "If you want, I can give you a taste of what a Pokémon Contest is like after we're done here."
"Really? Is that fine?" Jason asks, surprised. "I'd love that."
"Of course. You coming too, Ray?" Nadia asks halfheartedly. The boy, who was pouting at her, springs back to life upon hearing her invitation, happily agreeing.
Nadia sighs a little from his enthusiasm and says, "I should go try these clothes on. Are you getting anything Jason?"
Jason hesitates for a while, creating a brief awkward silence that felt like an eternity to the boy. With a pained expression, he dejectedly utters, "I'm not getting anything." Expecting Nadia to just nod and walk away, she instead replies with "Hm" as if trying to unbox the hidden meaning behind his words before smiling.
"If money is an issue, we can help."
Upon hearing Nadia's words, a shiver rolls down Jason's spine. There is no way he is going to let new friends help him with something like this. Quick to protest, Nadia is even quicker, cutting him off before he could get his first word out.
"Ray, could you help Jason pick something out?" Nadia asks.
"Wait, no! I really don't need anything," Jason finally lets out. "You don't have to do this."
"Hey, just accept the gift, man." Ray pats him on the back again. "We're just trying to be nice. Be our friend and let us be friendly ."
"I'd feel terrible…" Jason complains, hoping they would listen. He looks at Nadia who puts her hands together as if it would be helping them by letting them help him . She leaves them to head to the dressing room as if not letting Jason have another choice.
'Is this really okay?' The voice in Jason's head whined.
"How about just a hat then? It'll keep your head dry from the elements," Ray suggests, taking a hat from beside them and placing it on Jason's head. He turns Jason to face a mirror, indirectly asking how he likes it.
"Fine…" Jason relents. "But not this one."
Hearing Ray's unnecessary cheers from getting his way, Jason walks around at the hats section, looking for the cheapest looking one that he thought would also look good on him. Unable to immediately decide, Ray hands him another one.
"How about this one?" Ray asks. "Trust me, I have an eye for this kind of stuff. I love hats."
Jason walks over to the closest mirror to observe the hat on his head. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad-looking on him at all. He steals a glance at Ray who is waiting for him to give his opinion. The blond boy he is with is handsome and dresses well. Noting this, it did not seem surprising at all that he might have good taste. Jason only wished he wasn't a little bit scary. Maybe then, he wouldn't feel uncomfortable around him.
"Sorry, buddy," Ray casually says with a grin, "but I'm taken too. Nadia just doesn't know we're together yet."
"What?" Jason turns to him, bewildered by what he was suggesting.
"I saw you checking me out. Don't lie. I am good looking," the boy grins. "You're not the first guy to fall for me."
"You are completely misunderstanding me. That wasn't what I was doing!" Jason states.
"Yeah, sure," Ray teases, stretching each syllable.
"Whatever," Jason tells him, unwilling to play along any longer. "The hat looks good."
"Mhm, sure. The hat looks good." Ray tells the boy who is rolling his eyes. "That would cost about 100,000?"
"What?!" Jason exclaims. Ray takes the hat off his head, laughing, as Jason panics.
"Too late!" Ray playfully says, keeping the hat out of Jason's reach. "Accept your gift."
While Jason attempts to wrestle Ray for the hat, wanting to return it back, the quiet boutique they are in that only had just them and Nadia inside had become noisy outside. They curiously walk over to where they can see the front entrance and notice dozens of people standing outside. At the door, an employee locks the door, keeping them out.
"What's going on?" Jason questions.
"Hm, beats me. Maybe there's about to be a big sale," Ray replies. "Let's go find Nadia. I bet she'll want to see the hat we're getting you."
Ray smiles, as if amused by Jason's discontentment, noting that he isn't desperately trying to reject their gift but will still follow him.
Sitting on a seat outside the fitting room, Jason and Ray watch Nadia finally step out after waiting a while, coming out wearing the same clothes she was wearing before. In both hands are two dresses.
"Good choice, Jason," Nadia tells him, noticing the hat in Ray's hands.
"Thanks," Jason reluctantly responds. He looks at Ray and tells him, "I'll pay you back someday."
Ray sighs, and puts a hand on the other boy's shoulder. He says, "We're friends now, right? Think of it as a token of our friendship or something."
"Oh, good idea. Should I buy something for Jason too?" Nadia asks Ray. She watches Jason shake his face, however, causing her to chuckle. "No?"
"I'll treasure it," Jason responds, finally receiving the hat from Ray's hands.
"Because I bought it?" Ray says, teasing again. "You should have been there, Nadie. This guy here was checking me out."
"I wasn't—"
"If you're not careful, he might steal your boyfriend!" Ray exclaims to Nadia, cutting Jason off.
"And what boyfriend would that be?" Nadia asks, annoyed, watching Ray point at himself as a response. "He's all yours, Jason."
"I wasn't checking him out." Jason sighs, only wishing to check out of this conversation.
Nadia wasn't sure what to make of what was going on but she felt happy to see that the two were getting along.
"Anyway, I narrowed it down to two dresses. Could you two help me decide which looks better?" Nadia asks.
Holding each dress by the hanger, Nadia alternates between each one, putting the dress she wanted to show in front of her body. Jason looks at the girl with wavy, brown hair. Just like Ray, she seemed beautiful to him and well-dressed. He was starting to feel self-conscious of himself again, like a Ducklett among Swanna.
"That one," Ray says, pointing to the red dress on her right.
"This one? How come?" Nadia asks, placing the dress in front of her again. "I should just put these on and show you guys."
"It's sexier," Ray responds, licking his lips. "You could pull it off."
"Oh. I didn't think of the dress that way…" Nadia replies.
'She looks uncomfortable now,' Jason observes. 'Is this just how these two are around each other? I think the red dress looks good too but now I can't say anything.'
"The left dress, hun." The three of them look in the direction of the voice, unfamiliar to them, and there stands a woman more than half their age, wearing the most outlandish outfit they have ever seen with strikingly bold, loud colors and random frills, belts, and patterns. The tone of her voice is bright, cheerful, loud, and melodious. She speaks, "The green complements your beautiful, emerald eyes. I heard you're going to participate in the contests? Sorry, y'all were a teensy bit loud. The contest starting in Floaroma Town? It's perfect, trust me. It's the town of flowers after all. You'll look as fresh as a clover."
"Is a clover a flower?" Ray whispers to Jason's ear.
Nadia, staring at the strange woman and her bizarre attire, trying to process who this person could be, suddenly gasps. Her eyes open wide and she smiles, hopping in place from excitement.
"Oh my God," she squeals. "You're Jodie Jodelina! Oh my God! I can't believe the Jodie Jodelina is in front of me."
"In the flesh, darling," Jodie grins with a pose. "I wish you luck at the contest, honey boo."
Nadia thanks the older woman for her input and the three watch Jodie leave to the cashier.
"So, obviously, I'm picking the green dress!" Nadia tries to hold back her squeals. "Oh my God. I can't believe it. No matter why I heard so much noise coming from outside."
"Who was that?" Jason asks, smiling at her joy.
"That is Jodie Jodelina, the revolutionary fashionista from the Kalos region! She moved here last year to take over as Shaila's lead stylist. I can't believe she spoke to me— about my dress!" Nadia explains. "Hold on. I'm going to put this away and purchase this dress immediately. Then after, we could grab something to eat?"
Jason shrugs, indicating he didn't mind, although mentally noting that his search for Vanessa has long taken a detour. He could only hope that his childhood friend is okay doing whatever she is doing and feeling better now.
"Man, I liked that other dress better. You think so too, right?" Ray frowns.
"Yeah, actually." Jason replies. Expecting Ray to react positively to his agreement and take the chance to whine more, he finds Ray saying nothing. Instead, he only looks at Jason blankly as if he said something strange, before smiling.
"Because you wanted to wear it yourself, right?" Ray suggests.
"What? What are you talking about?" Jason squints at him. "You're really annoying."
"Hey, I was joking. Don't be mad," the other boy responds, looking at him as if he were the one who had said it.
"Get better jokes," Jason flatly tells him.
Nadia approaches the two from the cashier with a bag for her dress, indicating that she's all set. Oblivious to the mildly heated exchange, she suggests they should all get going, feeling happy as if her day had been made.
The front door however is still swarming with fans for whatever reason and the boutique's security guard standing there was not letting anyone through the doors.
"The cashier told me we could sneak out through the back like Jodie did," Nadia informs the boys. "I wouldn't want to go through that mess anyway."
The sounds of people talking could be indistinctly heard coming from outside as the three walked down the hallway to the building's "Employees Only" exit. The conversation they were hearing grew louder as they walked. After they walk out the door, they quickly notice two men speaking to a familiar face.
"Is that Jodie?" Jason asks. The outfit she is wearing is so eccentric however, it could not be anyone else but her. "I thought she left a while ago."
The woman turns her head upon hearing the door close and the sound of Jason's voice. The expression on her face looked stressed.
"Help me!" she screams at them.
"Shut up!" one of the two men shouts at her. "None of you move!"
Inspecting the scene, a Pokémon battle had started before they arrived between Jodie and the two men—one not following standard rules. The two men each had a Pokémon and Jodie's sole Furfrou is barely hanging on.
"What's going on?" Ray asks, unsure of what to do. "Who are those men?"
"She just screamed at us for help," Nadia utters.
As the three hesitate, they watch Furfrou collapse, causing Jodie to recall her only Pokémon. She steps back, frightened.
"Now that that's over with," the man says. "Tell us where Shaila is. We know you know where she is. You're her dresser, right?"
"I'm her stylist!" Jodie corrects the man. "And I shall do no such thing."
Jason looks at the two new friends he's made. They have been arguing among themselves, unable to take action.
"We have to do something," he hears Nadia tell Ray.
"No, we shouldn't," Ray responds. "It could be dangerous. They're not following any rules. What if they have a weapon? What if they hurt us?"
Nadia, speechless now, looks terrified at the thought, unsure of what to do. It was a new side to her that Jason was seeing. He thought the girl was fearless. Meanwhile, Ray attempts to open the door they had just come out of.
"The door is locked from the outside. We should escape over there," Ray suggests afterwards, pointing at the small alley that leads to the street.
"What? We're leaving her? We should take Jodie with us!" Jason asserts.
"What if they chase after us too?" Ray says. "I can't get Nadia in danger. We can call for help afterwards!"
"Then I should go first," Nadia proposes. Jason looks at the girl in bewilderment, trying to understand the meaning of her words. Ray agrees, telling her to run as fast as she can.
'Is this the same girl that rescued me this morning?' Jason's mind felt like it was going to explode, wanting to spring into action yet weighing other options in his mind. 'What is the right thing to do?!'
"Wait!" Jason calls out, stopping Nadia from bolting. "I—"
The sound of Jason's voice is cut off by Jodie's screaming. The three look back in her direction to find the men trying to grab her wrists, attempting to drag her away.
"No!" Jason screams. As if his legs were moving on their own, Jason runs with all his might in her direction, ignoring the shouts of the distressed Nadia and Ray behind him.
'Sorry, Lucas. Looks like I'm getting into trouble after all.'