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The Chronicles of Giselle Valentine
- Thread starter Carmen Lopez
- Start date
I really like the story. The charactors are really well done.
OOC: 
The girls decided to take the elevator back down. Giselle was excited about the nightlife of Veilstone. This would be her first night on the town in a big city, but she was most thrilled about the idea of watching Reina and Meilene battle. The egg moved again but harder than before and Giselle couldn’t wait until it hatched. Reina was telling Giselle about some of the other sites around Veilstone.
“For someone who wanted to go to Jubilife, you sure seem excited about Veilstone,” Giselle said to Reina.
“I adore Veilstone too, but I just wanted to be on TV.”
When they reached the ground floor and exited the store, they saw that the scenery and the kind of people roaming the streets had changed. Music could be heard in the distance. There were more gamers and college age students out now. Trainers all around were boasting about the strength of their Pokémon and challenging each other to battles. Though the temperature had dropped significantly, many weren’t wearing coats and some were even wearing shorts or shorts sleeves—these people were either unusually tough or just used to it. Everyone was fashionably dressed so Reina led Carmen and Giselle into a nearby clothing shop.
“Ok, Giselle, you change into the outfit that Charmander fixed and I’ll get Carmen an outfit,” Reina said over Carmen’s protests.
“Gotcha,” Giselle replied.
It didn’t take Giselle long to find the dressing room. Her experience with clothes this time around was much better. Giselle pulled the outfit—the funky blue long sleeved shirt with the cut-outs, pink undershirt, and skinny jeans—out of her bag once more. She put her backpack down along with the egg which shuddered again. The fabric of the clothing was as soft as ever as she changed into it. She slipped into her new blue wedge heels and felt glamorous. It was amazing to think that two days ago she would have thought the outfit was ugly on her. As she admired herself in the mirror, she heard thumps and scrapes as Reina dragged Carmen into the dressing room area—an exceptional feat as Carmen was bigger than Reina.
“All right!” Carmen said in exasperation. “Let go of me! I can walk myself.” Then stomps followed and there was the slamming of the door across from Giselle.
Giselle opened her door just in time to see Reina throw a box over Carmen’s door saying as she did so “Hey you forgot the shoes!”
Thump! “OW!” Carmen shrieked. “That hit me on the head!”
“Oops,” said Reina insincerely. “Honestly, she can be so stubborn with these kinds of things. You’d at least think a person as collected and together as her would at least handle this with more composure. Giselle, you look great by the way.”
Giselle was trying hard not to laugh. “Thanks,” she said. She could already tell this would be an interesting night. While Carmen was still getting dressed, Giselle went back to retrieve her egg and backpack.
About five minutes later, Carmen exited the dressing room. She was wearing a silver tunic top, black skinny jeans, and silver stilettos with the highest heel Giselle had ever seen. The whole look was accessorized by chunky silver earrings. It was obvious that Reina picked the outfit as Carmen looked thoroughly annoyed. Giselle thought that Carmen looked beautiful. The silver in the outfit really brought out her eyes which looked cold at the moment.
“I can’t believe you,” Carmen said to Reina in a low voice. “Look how high these heels are!”
“It’s not like you can’t walk in them,” said Reina dispassionately. “Besides you look like a model.”
Carmen made a noise in her throat. “I think I’ll leave the modeling up to Isabel. Ah, Isabel is our older sister, Ramón’s twin.” Carmen added at the confused expression on Giselle’s face.
“Oh,” Giselle said. She hoped Isabel was nothing like Monique.
“I’m going change now. And don’t run off without me!” Reina said as she headed into a dressing room.
“Don’t worry,” said Carmen. “We’re not you.”
“So your sister is a model?” Giselle asked to pass the time.
“Yeah, but that’s just something she does as a hobby. Her real passion is being a coordinator. She even won the in Grand Festival a couple of years ago. She may be focusing more on her modeling now. I really need to call her later,” Carmen added as an afterthought.
To Giselle, it seemed that the Lopez family was very talented. “Are the twins anything alike?”
“They get along really well but they’re total opposites. She’s into the glitz and glamour and he’s, well, not. Like I said before he believes in strange things but he’s very intelligent. Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child,” said Giselle. She was glad about it not having brothers and sisters. Being compared to them, as she would have inevitably been by her parents, would have been unbearable. Just then Reina exited the dressing room. She was wearing long sleeved red minidress with black leggings and red heels. She was wearing what looked like necklace made of red gems and heavy black eye make-up. She walked over to Carmen.
“Well let’s go now,” said Reina as she tugged at Carmen’s arm. “Let’s show Giselle the gaming district.”
“Let go of me,” said Carmen again, pulling her arm out of Reina’s grip.
Before they could get out of the store, Giselle spotted a dark purple waist bag that she had to have. Giselle scooped up the bag which cost $30 and promptly went to buy it. Now that she had the card, Giselle had no worries about the nasty looks from cashiers. As she walked to the counter, the cashier, a young man, narrowed his eyes mysteriously. Giselle put the bag on the counter and the cashier rung it up.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” he said in a soft would-be seductive voice. “It looks like your bag is on sale.” He pressed a few more buttons on the register and the amount came up as $10.50.
Giselle never saw anything about a sale. She handed over her card uncertainly. The cashier swiped it, not taking his eyes off Giselle. He handed her card back along with the bag. Giselle felt her face grow hot as she took them back. As she turned to walk back, she almost ran into Reina who was grinning mischievously. Reina linked arms with Giselle and led her back over to Carmen who looked annoyed once more.
“Guess what, Carmen,” Reina said eagerly like a kid showing off something cool. “Giselle’s got an admirer! He couldn’t keep his eyes off Giselle.”
As Giselle’s face grew hotter still, Carmen threw up her hands and walked out of the store.
“Hey! Wait for us, Carmen!” Reina called out.
It turned out that Carmen really was adept at walking in those heels. She walked fast and was far ahead of Giselle and Reina, who had to run to catch up to her. Panting, they finally caught up but Carmen still didn’t slow down. As the walked, they passed by more stores and there were mouth-watering smells wafting from the restaurants. Either because of the running or the fabric of her clothes, Giselle wasn’t cold. The music was growing louder.
“Are we headed to the gaming district now?” Giselle ask gasping.
“Sí,” said Carmen. We don’t have much farther to go.”
Giselle noticed that Reina was awfully quiet now and glanced over at her. She looked as though she were formulating some idea in her head. Giselle didn’t know what she was planning. The number of people in the streets began to increase as it grew darker. For the first time, Giselle saw nightclubs, arcades and game corners and she knew they had reached their destination.
“Well,” said Reina. “What do you think, Giselle?”
If she had sensory overload in Canalave, it was nothing compared it this. The place was an explosion of color, smells, and festive sounds. The streets were filled with people carrying shopping bags. Most of the Pokémon Giselle saw were fighting types—some she knew, some she didn’t. Carmen stopped them in front of a building. The entire front of it was covered in sleek, black glass and the entrance was lined with lights that flashed different colors. The sign out front said “Veilstone Game Corner.” Giselle couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Reina accusing Carmen of being a compulsive gambler and the fact that she felt her egg move again.
“So this is your first stop on your gambling spree?” Reina asked Carmen.
“I am not going on a spree. I just want to try my luck here,” Carmen replied as she walked through the doors of the game corner.
The interior was dark because of the fact that the overhead lights were dimmed. The machines provided all the light. The Clefairy and Pokéball pattern on the carpet also glowed in the dark. While Giselle admired the scenery, Carmen slipped off unnoticed by neither Giselle nor Reina who was adjusting her dress.
“Where did Carmen go?” Giselle asked.
“Huh? Oh, she must have gone to find a machine already,” said Reina. “Let’s find her.”
For someone wearing very high heels, Carmen moved fast because she was no where in sight. Giselle was fascinated to see this different side to Carmen. Reina and Giselle passed old fashioned arcade games, racing games and roulettes, but it was at the slots that they found Carmen. As they approached, Carmen was swiping her Pokédex—coins or any other hard money wasn’t even used to play games here. Carmen was in a daze; she didn’t even react when Reina waved her hand in front of her face rapidly.
“Is she all right?” Giselle asked, concerned.
“She’s fine,” Reina said highly amused, “but when she’s at the slots she doesn’t notice anything around her. There was this one time when she was at another game corner when this armed robber being chased by the police came running through the place. It was total drama and pandemonium, but Carmen never realized what was going on. She just played away on the slots—didn’t run away or react at all. She only knew about the whole event when she heard about it on the news the next day.”
“Wow,” said Giselle. She never would have expected it from calm, rational, collected Carmen. Somehow it made her seem more human to Giselle and she liked Carmen for it.
“This could take a while,” said Reina. “And I have no interest in anything here. I really feel like battling now. Would you like to come with me?”
“Sure! But are you sure Carmen will be all right?”
“Of course,” said Reina. “Now let’s go.” She grabbed Giselle’s arm and led her out of the game corner and into the festive sounds of the night.
“We’re going to the Battle Area of Veilstone.” Reina explained. “There are all kinds of places to battle there, including the Veilstone Gym. It’s a really fun place and it’s pretty active at this time.”
“Is it far from here?” Giselle asked, her breath rising in the cold air.
“Well, we could walk, but the trolley might be faster. I hope we can hop on one that isn’t too crowded. Look, there’s a trolley stop on that corner,” Reina added, pointing at the intersection ahead.
The stop was denoted by a sign that simply said “Trolley Stop” with a Pokémon Reina said was called an Infernape, a dual Fighting and Fire type. About five minutes later, the trolley appeared. Giselle was very surprised; she was expecting a sleek, modern vehicle, but instead it was a replica of the old fashioned trolleys.
“You’ll need to use your card to pay for the fare,” Reina informed Giselle.
The both climbed aboard the warm trolley and paid their fare. A little over half of the seats were filled—mostly with teenagers and young adults. Giselle and Reina found two seats near the back. Giselle didn’t realize how long she had been standing until she sat down in the very comfortable seats. The stares Giselle received still didn’t bother her as they weren’t done out of scorn; it was only because her hair wasn’t a common site—just as Carmen had said. Giselle’s egg gave another shudder as the trolley took off.
The trolley passed more game corners, restaurants, theaters, and night clubs. After a little while, Giselle began seeing more and more trainers and Pokémon. They were now obviously in the battle district. The trainers were itching for a battle. Giselle was a terrible gauge of skill level in trainers so she had no idea if they were strong or not. Reina cast glances out of the window at the trainers with a smirk on her face and a spark in her eyes, clearly eager as they were.
Finally, the trolley stopped in front of building that greatly resembled an immense coliseum many other smaller buildings surrounded it. Giselle’s eyes couldn’t take in the largeness of the place.
“What is that place?” Giselle asked in awe.
“That is a place where trainers can find each other to ask for information or for a battle,” Reina explained. “It’s called a Trainer Pike. The larger cities in Sinnoh have places like this but they just look different. For example, the one in Jubilife is a modern high-tech futuristic building. It’s one of the first places I went when I got to a new big city.”
“This is really cool,” said Giselle. She wasn’t sure if Kanto had anything like this.
“Are you going to battle or will you just watch?” Reina asked.
“I think I’ll just watch,” said Giselle. “I have a lot to learn.”
“Suit yourself then,” said Reina. “This will be fun.”
Before they went anywhere, Giselle heard a teenaged girl talking loudly, as though she wanted her voice to carry. Giselle turned, as did a lot of other people, to see exactly who was making the commotion. The girl was very beautiful and very snobbish looking. She had long straw colored silky hair and was wearing a silk green evening gown that seemed to shine. Her friends were trying to quiet her down.
“Geez, I’m tired of all these amateurs! I want a real battle. Isn’t there anyone here who can offer a real challenge?” the girl called out putting great flourishing emphasis on her words.
“Shush, Carla,” her female friend hissed. The friend had short black hair in a pixie cut and was deeply tanned. She was bundled up in a black pea coat and jeans tucked into black boots and shivering slightly.
“Yeah, you’re embarrassing us,” said her other friend, an auburn haired boy wearing black framed glasses, harshly. He wore a red thermal shirt, orange vest, and khaki cargos.
“Whatever,” Carla said loudly, and then she turned to the small crowd. “Is there anyone out there worthy to battle me?” she said pompously.
Reina was already walking forward, Pokéball out before Giselle could stop her. “The name’s Reina Lopez and I’ll battle you; just name the place.” Reina said as the crowd egged her on.
“It’ll be in the coliseum. I’ve already reserved a battle room,” said Carla while her friends groaned and put their faces in their hands. “Follow me.”
Giselle could not believe this girl’s arrogance and gaudiness. She despised attitudes like the one Carla had. Reina however had a devious look on her face and followed Carla and her two friends with Giselle and a small crowd not far behind. They headed through the automatic double doors of the coliseum and into a large circular room with a control center in the middle. It also had seven doors along the opposite wall. Carla headed straight to the door in the middle and pushed it open. Giselle’s jaw dropped.
It was a huge Pokémon arena with spotlights on the middle. It was as much as coliseum inside as it was out. There was stadium seating all around the arena and to Giselle’s surprise, there was already a large crowd of people sitting in the stands. Giselle saw the crowd behind her go up some stairs that led to the seats. Casting one look back at Reina and Carla, Giselle followed the group up the stairs along with Carla’s two friends. Giselle picked a seat right in the front row. To Giselle’s amazement, Carla’s two friends sat down beside her to her left. The female friend who was sitting next to Giselle spoke to her.
“Are you friends with the girl Carla challenged?” she asked.
“Oh, yes,” said Giselle. She looked back down to the field and saw Reina, Carla, and the referee discussing something, most likely the rules of the match.
“Well, is she any good?” the male friend inquired.
“Actually, I’ve never seen her battle. But I do know she did make it to the Elite Four and lost to Lucian.” Giselle said matter-of-factly, recalling everything from memory. “She also wants to be the greatest steel type trainer in the world.”
“Wow,” breathe the girl, clearly impressed.
The male friend gave a slight laugh. “Carla has no idea what she just got herself into. By the way, my name’s Antonio Reyes, but can call me Tony. I hail from Pastoria City. What’s your name?”
“I’m Giselle Valentine from Pallet Town. That’s in Kanto,” she added looking at their confused expressions.
“Heh, and I’m Luz del Sol,” said the black haired girl said. “I was born in Sunyshore City, but I spent a good part of my life in Hoenn. I am so not used to this cold,” she added with a shiver.
They all looked down on the arena again.
“Well, at least this’ll be an interesting battle,” Tony said. “Maybe Reina can knock some sense into her.”
“You see we’ve been friends for years, even when we were far apart,” Luz explained to Giselle. “But this arrogant pompous attitude is a very recent development and we have no idea where it came from.”
“She’s starting,” said Tony, half amused, half annoyed.
“Welcome, everyone, welcome! My name is Carla Ramirez and this is my opponent, Reina Lopez.”
Even sitting in the stands, Giselle could see both Reina and the referee rolling their eyes. Tony and Luz groaned again. “Is she serious,” they both said simultaneously, incensed. But Carla wasn’t done yet.
“We’ll be putting on a show that none of you will ever forget,” but Carla was drowned out by boos from the crowd.
“Get started already!”
“Yeah, quit putting us to sleep!”
The referee raised her hand to quiet the crowd. “This will be a one on one match with no time limit. The battle will begin now!”
Reina held out her Pokéball first. “Hey! I call the shots here!” Carla said indignantly. “Who said you could go first?”
“I did,” said Reina in a menacing voice. “Let’s play Meilene!” The Lucario came out of her Pokéball crouching. She stood up an assumed a taunting, battle pose. The crowd went wild over Meilene.
“Oh, wow, a Lucario?” said Luz. “This’ll be really interesting.
Carla wasn’t too pleased over the attention being paid to Lucario and Reina.
“Now it’s my turn,” she said, trying to get attention focused back on her.
“I hope this is over fast,” said Tony. “Before she blows a gasket.”
Carla pulled out a Pokéball covered in what looked like capsule of some kind. “Come on out, Ambipom!” she called out.
In an explosion of stars, confetti, and white smoke, Ambipom somersaulted out. It looked like a purple primate with two tails ending in hand shaped appendages.
“She chose Ambipom?” said Luz incredulously. “That’s interesting.”
Giselle hesitated before asking, wondering if Luz and Tony would think less of her. “Um, guys I’m still kinda new to this. What type is Ambipom? I’m not familiar with it.”
Both friends turned to her in surprise, and then Luz spoke. “Wow, you’re really not from here. Most Sinnoh trainers would love to look like they know it all and not ask questions.”
“Hey, now. No stereotypes,” said Tony warningly.
“Anyway,” Luz continued as if Tony hadn’t said anything. “Ambipom is a Normal type while Lucario is a Fighting and Steel type. Carla’s Ambipom knows a couple of Fighting moves but if that Lucario lands an Aura Sphere on it, it may not survive the hit.”
“Aura Sphere?”
“Yeah, only a few Pokémon can use it and it’s powerful.”
Finally the battle was starting.
“Ambipom, use a dazzling Swift attack!”
Ambipom flipped in midair as shimmering gold stars emanated from its body toward Meilene. Reina smirked.
“Meilene, block that attack with your psychic powers!”
Meilene began to glow blue and the stars begin to lose speed as they moved toward her before stopping completely. She focused her powers and shattered the stars filling the arena with shimmering sparkles.
“How beautiful,” breathed Luz.
“Good grief, Carla’s over her head,” Tony said. “It takes a lot of power to do that to a Swift attack.”
“You got that right,” Luz agreed.
With friends like these, who needs enemies, thought Giselle. She couldn’t help but notice how different Reina was in battle. She had a cool calculated exterior and she kept that smirk on her face. It was slightly intimidating.
Carla was astounded, but she tried to regain her poise. “All right Ambipom use Agility and then Double Hit!”
Ambipom rushed forward at blinding speed. Reina did nothing except to keep smirking. Ambipom smacked Meilene twice, once with each of its tails, but the attack didn’t so much as leave a scratch on Meilene.
“Please tell me she didn’t forget that Lucario was part steel,” Tony said.
“Hey, why didn’t that attack do anything?” Carla said pouting. Apparently she had forgotten.
Reina looked in disbelief. “What did you expect a Normal attack to do against Meilene’s steel body?”
“Ok, now it’s time for me to get serious,” Carla said. “Ambipom use Agility then Focus Punch. Try avoiding that!”
Both of Ambipom’s tail hands began to glow as charged at Meilene with the same unbelievable speed. Once Ambipom was close enough to Meilene, it began throwing punches in rapid succession. Amazingly, Meilene was able to dodge all of the high speed attacks as the crowd oohed and ahhed.
“Look at her move,” Giselle said. She was watching the battle carefully trying to pick up any pointers. She wondered if she would be able battle like that someday—calm and together the way Reina was. Giselle would have been panicked out of her mind.
After attack for a while, Ambipom’s attack began to slow down—it was getting tired.
“Now let’s make our move, Meilene,” Reina said. “Use Force Palm straight to Ambipom’s chest!” Carla gasped in horror.
The palm of Meilene’s right paw began to glow. At the blink of an eye, Meilene slashed Ambipom across the chest. The attack did major damage but Ambipom was still standing, however Giselle could tell something was wrong. Ambipom winced in pain as it tried to move and at times it stopped moving completely. Giselle knew immediately that it had been paralyzed.
“Time for the final move, Meilene. Use Aura Sphere!”
Meilene drew up a sphere of blue aura on her right paw and launched it at Ambipom at point blank range. Ambipom temporarily glowed with the same blue as the aura as it was lifted off the ground. It was thrown backward a few yards before it hit the ground hard, clearly knocked out. The referee announced Reina and Meilene the winner.
The crowd cheered; all of the people enjoyed seeing Lucario. Carla rushed to Ambipom with what looked like Revive in her hand. Giselle felt like she’d learned a lot from the match. Using attacks wasn’t everything in a battle. Meilene dodging those high speed attacks was one of the most impressive things about the whole match. It was also about using a Pokémon’s natural abilities, like when Meilene stopped an attack using her psychic powers. Giselle wondered if she would be able to do that. Now she wanted practice battling herself.
After a while, the audience began to talk among themselves again, waiting for the next battle to commence. Giselle, Luz, and Tony looked down to see Reina recalling Meilene motioning Giselle to come with her as she herself turned to walk out of the arena. Carla was still tending to Ambipom who was now conscious once more.
“Well, it was very nice meeting you,” Luz said. “We should see if Carla’s all right.”
“Yeah, maybe we’ll meet again,” Tony mused. “And tell your friend her Lucario is the hotness.”
They all laughed and walked exited the stands together. They said their goodbyes and Giselle went out of the same door that Reina had. Giselle found her right outside the door.
“Reina, you and Meilene were awesome!” said Giselle.
“Thanks, glad you liked it.”
“I liked it and I learned a lot.”
Giselle and Reina left out of the coliseum and into the vibrant scenery of the night. They needed to walk a short distance to find another trolley stop. Giselle had one burning question to ask Reina.
“How did Meilene dodge those high speed attacks, Reina?”
“A lot of Pokémon can do it with practice, but Lucario have an added advantage,” Reina explained. “They can sense aura and use it to try to predict their opponent’s next move.”
“How can you beat something that can predict your next moves?” Giselle said.
“The aura reading makes Lucario a formidable opponent but it doesn’t make it unbeatable. In rare cases Meilene’s, and any other Lucario’s, aura reading fails it, and most of the time it comes down to hitting Meilene with something she can’t evade. Lucian did it and so did my sister. She practiced beating my Lucario for her battle with Cynthia who also has one.”
“Oh,” Giselle said simply and they didn’t speak for the rest of the way.
Giselle could now hear a band playing in the distance. She was thinking about what her next trainer battle would be like and how well she would fare in it. She still had a lot of training ahead of her, but she didn’t mind. For now she was content and relaxed. She enjoyed the sounds of the city as the egg moved again.
OOC:...I meant to have Giselle battle in this chapter. But this chapter was already long enough as it was. So that'll be next chapter^^
Anyway, I hope you like it. Grin
The girls decided to take the elevator back down. Giselle was excited about the nightlife of Veilstone. This would be her first night on the town in a big city, but she was most thrilled about the idea of watching Reina and Meilene battle. The egg moved again but harder than before and Giselle couldn’t wait until it hatched. Reina was telling Giselle about some of the other sites around Veilstone.
“For someone who wanted to go to Jubilife, you sure seem excited about Veilstone,” Giselle said to Reina.
“I adore Veilstone too, but I just wanted to be on TV.”
When they reached the ground floor and exited the store, they saw that the scenery and the kind of people roaming the streets had changed. Music could be heard in the distance. There were more gamers and college age students out now. Trainers all around were boasting about the strength of their Pokémon and challenging each other to battles. Though the temperature had dropped significantly, many weren’t wearing coats and some were even wearing shorts or shorts sleeves—these people were either unusually tough or just used to it. Everyone was fashionably dressed so Reina led Carmen and Giselle into a nearby clothing shop.
“Ok, Giselle, you change into the outfit that Charmander fixed and I’ll get Carmen an outfit,” Reina said over Carmen’s protests.
“Gotcha,” Giselle replied.
It didn’t take Giselle long to find the dressing room. Her experience with clothes this time around was much better. Giselle pulled the outfit—the funky blue long sleeved shirt with the cut-outs, pink undershirt, and skinny jeans—out of her bag once more. She put her backpack down along with the egg which shuddered again. The fabric of the clothing was as soft as ever as she changed into it. She slipped into her new blue wedge heels and felt glamorous. It was amazing to think that two days ago she would have thought the outfit was ugly on her. As she admired herself in the mirror, she heard thumps and scrapes as Reina dragged Carmen into the dressing room area—an exceptional feat as Carmen was bigger than Reina.
“All right!” Carmen said in exasperation. “Let go of me! I can walk myself.” Then stomps followed and there was the slamming of the door across from Giselle.
Giselle opened her door just in time to see Reina throw a box over Carmen’s door saying as she did so “Hey you forgot the shoes!”
Thump! “OW!” Carmen shrieked. “That hit me on the head!”
“Oops,” said Reina insincerely. “Honestly, she can be so stubborn with these kinds of things. You’d at least think a person as collected and together as her would at least handle this with more composure. Giselle, you look great by the way.”
Giselle was trying hard not to laugh. “Thanks,” she said. She could already tell this would be an interesting night. While Carmen was still getting dressed, Giselle went back to retrieve her egg and backpack.
About five minutes later, Carmen exited the dressing room. She was wearing a silver tunic top, black skinny jeans, and silver stilettos with the highest heel Giselle had ever seen. The whole look was accessorized by chunky silver earrings. It was obvious that Reina picked the outfit as Carmen looked thoroughly annoyed. Giselle thought that Carmen looked beautiful. The silver in the outfit really brought out her eyes which looked cold at the moment.
“I can’t believe you,” Carmen said to Reina in a low voice. “Look how high these heels are!”
“It’s not like you can’t walk in them,” said Reina dispassionately. “Besides you look like a model.”
Carmen made a noise in her throat. “I think I’ll leave the modeling up to Isabel. Ah, Isabel is our older sister, Ramón’s twin.” Carmen added at the confused expression on Giselle’s face.
“Oh,” Giselle said. She hoped Isabel was nothing like Monique.
“I’m going change now. And don’t run off without me!” Reina said as she headed into a dressing room.
“Don’t worry,” said Carmen. “We’re not you.”
“So your sister is a model?” Giselle asked to pass the time.
“Yeah, but that’s just something she does as a hobby. Her real passion is being a coordinator. She even won the in Grand Festival a couple of years ago. She may be focusing more on her modeling now. I really need to call her later,” Carmen added as an afterthought.
To Giselle, it seemed that the Lopez family was very talented. “Are the twins anything alike?”
“They get along really well but they’re total opposites. She’s into the glitz and glamour and he’s, well, not. Like I said before he believes in strange things but he’s very intelligent. Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child,” said Giselle. She was glad about it not having brothers and sisters. Being compared to them, as she would have inevitably been by her parents, would have been unbearable. Just then Reina exited the dressing room. She was wearing long sleeved red minidress with black leggings and red heels. She was wearing what looked like necklace made of red gems and heavy black eye make-up. She walked over to Carmen.
“Well let’s go now,” said Reina as she tugged at Carmen’s arm. “Let’s show Giselle the gaming district.”
“Let go of me,” said Carmen again, pulling her arm out of Reina’s grip.
Before they could get out of the store, Giselle spotted a dark purple waist bag that she had to have. Giselle scooped up the bag which cost $30 and promptly went to buy it. Now that she had the card, Giselle had no worries about the nasty looks from cashiers. As she walked to the counter, the cashier, a young man, narrowed his eyes mysteriously. Giselle put the bag on the counter and the cashier rung it up.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” he said in a soft would-be seductive voice. “It looks like your bag is on sale.” He pressed a few more buttons on the register and the amount came up as $10.50.
Giselle never saw anything about a sale. She handed over her card uncertainly. The cashier swiped it, not taking his eyes off Giselle. He handed her card back along with the bag. Giselle felt her face grow hot as she took them back. As she turned to walk back, she almost ran into Reina who was grinning mischievously. Reina linked arms with Giselle and led her back over to Carmen who looked annoyed once more.
“Guess what, Carmen,” Reina said eagerly like a kid showing off something cool. “Giselle’s got an admirer! He couldn’t keep his eyes off Giselle.”
As Giselle’s face grew hotter still, Carmen threw up her hands and walked out of the store.
“Hey! Wait for us, Carmen!” Reina called out.
It turned out that Carmen really was adept at walking in those heels. She walked fast and was far ahead of Giselle and Reina, who had to run to catch up to her. Panting, they finally caught up but Carmen still didn’t slow down. As the walked, they passed by more stores and there were mouth-watering smells wafting from the restaurants. Either because of the running or the fabric of her clothes, Giselle wasn’t cold. The music was growing louder.
“Are we headed to the gaming district now?” Giselle ask gasping.
“Sí,” said Carmen. We don’t have much farther to go.”
Giselle noticed that Reina was awfully quiet now and glanced over at her. She looked as though she were formulating some idea in her head. Giselle didn’t know what she was planning. The number of people in the streets began to increase as it grew darker. For the first time, Giselle saw nightclubs, arcades and game corners and she knew they had reached their destination.
“Well,” said Reina. “What do you think, Giselle?”
If she had sensory overload in Canalave, it was nothing compared it this. The place was an explosion of color, smells, and festive sounds. The streets were filled with people carrying shopping bags. Most of the Pokémon Giselle saw were fighting types—some she knew, some she didn’t. Carmen stopped them in front of a building. The entire front of it was covered in sleek, black glass and the entrance was lined with lights that flashed different colors. The sign out front said “Veilstone Game Corner.” Giselle couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Reina accusing Carmen of being a compulsive gambler and the fact that she felt her egg move again.
“So this is your first stop on your gambling spree?” Reina asked Carmen.
“I am not going on a spree. I just want to try my luck here,” Carmen replied as she walked through the doors of the game corner.
The interior was dark because of the fact that the overhead lights were dimmed. The machines provided all the light. The Clefairy and Pokéball pattern on the carpet also glowed in the dark. While Giselle admired the scenery, Carmen slipped off unnoticed by neither Giselle nor Reina who was adjusting her dress.
“Where did Carmen go?” Giselle asked.
“Huh? Oh, she must have gone to find a machine already,” said Reina. “Let’s find her.”
For someone wearing very high heels, Carmen moved fast because she was no where in sight. Giselle was fascinated to see this different side to Carmen. Reina and Giselle passed old fashioned arcade games, racing games and roulettes, but it was at the slots that they found Carmen. As they approached, Carmen was swiping her Pokédex—coins or any other hard money wasn’t even used to play games here. Carmen was in a daze; she didn’t even react when Reina waved her hand in front of her face rapidly.
“Is she all right?” Giselle asked, concerned.
“She’s fine,” Reina said highly amused, “but when she’s at the slots she doesn’t notice anything around her. There was this one time when she was at another game corner when this armed robber being chased by the police came running through the place. It was total drama and pandemonium, but Carmen never realized what was going on. She just played away on the slots—didn’t run away or react at all. She only knew about the whole event when she heard about it on the news the next day.”
“Wow,” said Giselle. She never would have expected it from calm, rational, collected Carmen. Somehow it made her seem more human to Giselle and she liked Carmen for it.
“This could take a while,” said Reina. “And I have no interest in anything here. I really feel like battling now. Would you like to come with me?”
“Sure! But are you sure Carmen will be all right?”
“Of course,” said Reina. “Now let’s go.” She grabbed Giselle’s arm and led her out of the game corner and into the festive sounds of the night.
“We’re going to the Battle Area of Veilstone.” Reina explained. “There are all kinds of places to battle there, including the Veilstone Gym. It’s a really fun place and it’s pretty active at this time.”
“Is it far from here?” Giselle asked, her breath rising in the cold air.
“Well, we could walk, but the trolley might be faster. I hope we can hop on one that isn’t too crowded. Look, there’s a trolley stop on that corner,” Reina added, pointing at the intersection ahead.
The stop was denoted by a sign that simply said “Trolley Stop” with a Pokémon Reina said was called an Infernape, a dual Fighting and Fire type. About five minutes later, the trolley appeared. Giselle was very surprised; she was expecting a sleek, modern vehicle, but instead it was a replica of the old fashioned trolleys.
“You’ll need to use your card to pay for the fare,” Reina informed Giselle.
The both climbed aboard the warm trolley and paid their fare. A little over half of the seats were filled—mostly with teenagers and young adults. Giselle and Reina found two seats near the back. Giselle didn’t realize how long she had been standing until she sat down in the very comfortable seats. The stares Giselle received still didn’t bother her as they weren’t done out of scorn; it was only because her hair wasn’t a common site—just as Carmen had said. Giselle’s egg gave another shudder as the trolley took off.
The trolley passed more game corners, restaurants, theaters, and night clubs. After a little while, Giselle began seeing more and more trainers and Pokémon. They were now obviously in the battle district. The trainers were itching for a battle. Giselle was a terrible gauge of skill level in trainers so she had no idea if they were strong or not. Reina cast glances out of the window at the trainers with a smirk on her face and a spark in her eyes, clearly eager as they were.
Finally, the trolley stopped in front of building that greatly resembled an immense coliseum many other smaller buildings surrounded it. Giselle’s eyes couldn’t take in the largeness of the place.
“What is that place?” Giselle asked in awe.
“That is a place where trainers can find each other to ask for information or for a battle,” Reina explained. “It’s called a Trainer Pike. The larger cities in Sinnoh have places like this but they just look different. For example, the one in Jubilife is a modern high-tech futuristic building. It’s one of the first places I went when I got to a new big city.”
“This is really cool,” said Giselle. She wasn’t sure if Kanto had anything like this.
“Are you going to battle or will you just watch?” Reina asked.
“I think I’ll just watch,” said Giselle. “I have a lot to learn.”
“Suit yourself then,” said Reina. “This will be fun.”
Before they went anywhere, Giselle heard a teenaged girl talking loudly, as though she wanted her voice to carry. Giselle turned, as did a lot of other people, to see exactly who was making the commotion. The girl was very beautiful and very snobbish looking. She had long straw colored silky hair and was wearing a silk green evening gown that seemed to shine. Her friends were trying to quiet her down.
“Geez, I’m tired of all these amateurs! I want a real battle. Isn’t there anyone here who can offer a real challenge?” the girl called out putting great flourishing emphasis on her words.
“Shush, Carla,” her female friend hissed. The friend had short black hair in a pixie cut and was deeply tanned. She was bundled up in a black pea coat and jeans tucked into black boots and shivering slightly.
“Yeah, you’re embarrassing us,” said her other friend, an auburn haired boy wearing black framed glasses, harshly. He wore a red thermal shirt, orange vest, and khaki cargos.
“Whatever,” Carla said loudly, and then she turned to the small crowd. “Is there anyone out there worthy to battle me?” she said pompously.
Reina was already walking forward, Pokéball out before Giselle could stop her. “The name’s Reina Lopez and I’ll battle you; just name the place.” Reina said as the crowd egged her on.
“It’ll be in the coliseum. I’ve already reserved a battle room,” said Carla while her friends groaned and put their faces in their hands. “Follow me.”
Giselle could not believe this girl’s arrogance and gaudiness. She despised attitudes like the one Carla had. Reina however had a devious look on her face and followed Carla and her two friends with Giselle and a small crowd not far behind. They headed through the automatic double doors of the coliseum and into a large circular room with a control center in the middle. It also had seven doors along the opposite wall. Carla headed straight to the door in the middle and pushed it open. Giselle’s jaw dropped.
It was a huge Pokémon arena with spotlights on the middle. It was as much as coliseum inside as it was out. There was stadium seating all around the arena and to Giselle’s surprise, there was already a large crowd of people sitting in the stands. Giselle saw the crowd behind her go up some stairs that led to the seats. Casting one look back at Reina and Carla, Giselle followed the group up the stairs along with Carla’s two friends. Giselle picked a seat right in the front row. To Giselle’s amazement, Carla’s two friends sat down beside her to her left. The female friend who was sitting next to Giselle spoke to her.
“Are you friends with the girl Carla challenged?” she asked.
“Oh, yes,” said Giselle. She looked back down to the field and saw Reina, Carla, and the referee discussing something, most likely the rules of the match.
“Well, is she any good?” the male friend inquired.
“Actually, I’ve never seen her battle. But I do know she did make it to the Elite Four and lost to Lucian.” Giselle said matter-of-factly, recalling everything from memory. “She also wants to be the greatest steel type trainer in the world.”
“Wow,” breathe the girl, clearly impressed.
The male friend gave a slight laugh. “Carla has no idea what she just got herself into. By the way, my name’s Antonio Reyes, but can call me Tony. I hail from Pastoria City. What’s your name?”
“I’m Giselle Valentine from Pallet Town. That’s in Kanto,” she added looking at their confused expressions.
“Heh, and I’m Luz del Sol,” said the black haired girl said. “I was born in Sunyshore City, but I spent a good part of my life in Hoenn. I am so not used to this cold,” she added with a shiver.
They all looked down on the arena again.
“Well, at least this’ll be an interesting battle,” Tony said. “Maybe Reina can knock some sense into her.”
“You see we’ve been friends for years, even when we were far apart,” Luz explained to Giselle. “But this arrogant pompous attitude is a very recent development and we have no idea where it came from.”
“She’s starting,” said Tony, half amused, half annoyed.
“Welcome, everyone, welcome! My name is Carla Ramirez and this is my opponent, Reina Lopez.”
Even sitting in the stands, Giselle could see both Reina and the referee rolling their eyes. Tony and Luz groaned again. “Is she serious,” they both said simultaneously, incensed. But Carla wasn’t done yet.
“We’ll be putting on a show that none of you will ever forget,” but Carla was drowned out by boos from the crowd.
“Get started already!”
“Yeah, quit putting us to sleep!”
The referee raised her hand to quiet the crowd. “This will be a one on one match with no time limit. The battle will begin now!”
Reina held out her Pokéball first. “Hey! I call the shots here!” Carla said indignantly. “Who said you could go first?”
“I did,” said Reina in a menacing voice. “Let’s play Meilene!” The Lucario came out of her Pokéball crouching. She stood up an assumed a taunting, battle pose. The crowd went wild over Meilene.
“Oh, wow, a Lucario?” said Luz. “This’ll be really interesting.
Carla wasn’t too pleased over the attention being paid to Lucario and Reina.
“Now it’s my turn,” she said, trying to get attention focused back on her.
“I hope this is over fast,” said Tony. “Before she blows a gasket.”
Carla pulled out a Pokéball covered in what looked like capsule of some kind. “Come on out, Ambipom!” she called out.
In an explosion of stars, confetti, and white smoke, Ambipom somersaulted out. It looked like a purple primate with two tails ending in hand shaped appendages.
“She chose Ambipom?” said Luz incredulously. “That’s interesting.”
Giselle hesitated before asking, wondering if Luz and Tony would think less of her. “Um, guys I’m still kinda new to this. What type is Ambipom? I’m not familiar with it.”
Both friends turned to her in surprise, and then Luz spoke. “Wow, you’re really not from here. Most Sinnoh trainers would love to look like they know it all and not ask questions.”
“Hey, now. No stereotypes,” said Tony warningly.
“Anyway,” Luz continued as if Tony hadn’t said anything. “Ambipom is a Normal type while Lucario is a Fighting and Steel type. Carla’s Ambipom knows a couple of Fighting moves but if that Lucario lands an Aura Sphere on it, it may not survive the hit.”
“Aura Sphere?”
“Yeah, only a few Pokémon can use it and it’s powerful.”
Finally the battle was starting.
“Ambipom, use a dazzling Swift attack!”
Ambipom flipped in midair as shimmering gold stars emanated from its body toward Meilene. Reina smirked.
“Meilene, block that attack with your psychic powers!”
Meilene began to glow blue and the stars begin to lose speed as they moved toward her before stopping completely. She focused her powers and shattered the stars filling the arena with shimmering sparkles.
“How beautiful,” breathed Luz.
“Good grief, Carla’s over her head,” Tony said. “It takes a lot of power to do that to a Swift attack.”
“You got that right,” Luz agreed.
With friends like these, who needs enemies, thought Giselle. She couldn’t help but notice how different Reina was in battle. She had a cool calculated exterior and she kept that smirk on her face. It was slightly intimidating.
Carla was astounded, but she tried to regain her poise. “All right Ambipom use Agility and then Double Hit!”
Ambipom rushed forward at blinding speed. Reina did nothing except to keep smirking. Ambipom smacked Meilene twice, once with each of its tails, but the attack didn’t so much as leave a scratch on Meilene.
“Please tell me she didn’t forget that Lucario was part steel,” Tony said.
“Hey, why didn’t that attack do anything?” Carla said pouting. Apparently she had forgotten.
Reina looked in disbelief. “What did you expect a Normal attack to do against Meilene’s steel body?”
“Ok, now it’s time for me to get serious,” Carla said. “Ambipom use Agility then Focus Punch. Try avoiding that!”
Both of Ambipom’s tail hands began to glow as charged at Meilene with the same unbelievable speed. Once Ambipom was close enough to Meilene, it began throwing punches in rapid succession. Amazingly, Meilene was able to dodge all of the high speed attacks as the crowd oohed and ahhed.
“Look at her move,” Giselle said. She was watching the battle carefully trying to pick up any pointers. She wondered if she would be able battle like that someday—calm and together the way Reina was. Giselle would have been panicked out of her mind.
After attack for a while, Ambipom’s attack began to slow down—it was getting tired.
“Now let’s make our move, Meilene,” Reina said. “Use Force Palm straight to Ambipom’s chest!” Carla gasped in horror.
The palm of Meilene’s right paw began to glow. At the blink of an eye, Meilene slashed Ambipom across the chest. The attack did major damage but Ambipom was still standing, however Giselle could tell something was wrong. Ambipom winced in pain as it tried to move and at times it stopped moving completely. Giselle knew immediately that it had been paralyzed.
“Time for the final move, Meilene. Use Aura Sphere!”
Meilene drew up a sphere of blue aura on her right paw and launched it at Ambipom at point blank range. Ambipom temporarily glowed with the same blue as the aura as it was lifted off the ground. It was thrown backward a few yards before it hit the ground hard, clearly knocked out. The referee announced Reina and Meilene the winner.
The crowd cheered; all of the people enjoyed seeing Lucario. Carla rushed to Ambipom with what looked like Revive in her hand. Giselle felt like she’d learned a lot from the match. Using attacks wasn’t everything in a battle. Meilene dodging those high speed attacks was one of the most impressive things about the whole match. It was also about using a Pokémon’s natural abilities, like when Meilene stopped an attack using her psychic powers. Giselle wondered if she would be able to do that. Now she wanted practice battling herself.
After a while, the audience began to talk among themselves again, waiting for the next battle to commence. Giselle, Luz, and Tony looked down to see Reina recalling Meilene motioning Giselle to come with her as she herself turned to walk out of the arena. Carla was still tending to Ambipom who was now conscious once more.
“Well, it was very nice meeting you,” Luz said. “We should see if Carla’s all right.”
“Yeah, maybe we’ll meet again,” Tony mused. “And tell your friend her Lucario is the hotness.”
They all laughed and walked exited the stands together. They said their goodbyes and Giselle went out of the same door that Reina had. Giselle found her right outside the door.
“Reina, you and Meilene were awesome!” said Giselle.
“Thanks, glad you liked it.”
“I liked it and I learned a lot.”
Giselle and Reina left out of the coliseum and into the vibrant scenery of the night. They needed to walk a short distance to find another trolley stop. Giselle had one burning question to ask Reina.
“How did Meilene dodge those high speed attacks, Reina?”
“A lot of Pokémon can do it with practice, but Lucario have an added advantage,” Reina explained. “They can sense aura and use it to try to predict their opponent’s next move.”
“How can you beat something that can predict your next moves?” Giselle said.
“The aura reading makes Lucario a formidable opponent but it doesn’t make it unbeatable. In rare cases Meilene’s, and any other Lucario’s, aura reading fails it, and most of the time it comes down to hitting Meilene with something she can’t evade. Lucian did it and so did my sister. She practiced beating my Lucario for her battle with Cynthia who also has one.”
“Oh,” Giselle said simply and they didn’t speak for the rest of the way.
Giselle could now hear a band playing in the distance. She was thinking about what her next trainer battle would be like and how well she would fare in it. She still had a lot of training ahead of her, but she didn’t mind. For now she was content and relaxed. She enjoyed the sounds of the city as the egg moved again.
OOC:...I meant to have Giselle battle in this chapter. But this chapter was already long enough as it was. So that'll be next chapter^^
Anyway, I hope you like it. Grin
I like how you described Veilstone, like with all the lights and night clubs and stuff. I think I know what's in the egg but I won't say 'cause I don't wanna give it away to anyone. I'm looking forward to the next chapter and to Giselle's battle.
OOC: Yeah, I was so gonna do two at once but that didn't happen.... 
The trolley arrived a few seconds after Giselle and Reina arrived at the stop. This time the trolley was very crowded and there were only two seats left at the very back. After Giselle and Reina paid and boarded, the trolley was officially full and didn’t accept any more passengers.
“Would you like to get some dinner after we get Carmen?” Reina asked.
“Sure,” replied Giselle. She had just realized how hungry she was and wondered how Sinnoh food differed from the food in Kanto.
“But first we need to visit the Pokémon Center. I know Meilene wasn’t hurt or anything but I still want to check her and the rest of my Pokémon.”
“Yeah I do too,” said Giselle.
The trolley wound its way through the streets of Veilstone, letting off passengers and picking up new ones. Reina and Giselle got off at a stop across the street from their first one. They both had to cross the street to get back to the game corner where they left Carmen. Giselle recognized the game corner from a short distance away. As they walked up to it, Carmen was coming out of it looking her usual calm self.
“Well,” said Reina. “How did you do?”
“Eh, it was a bit of a slow start,” said Carmen. “I lost almost all of my money. Don’t worry, I got it all back and then some,” she added when Giselle gasped. “I also won three free breakfasts at The Moonstone Café.”
“Nice. It has some of the best food ever,” Reina informed Giselle.
“Where to next?” asked Carmen.
“I need to go to the Pokémon Center. Meilene totally owned an Ambipom earlier,” Reina said.
“Hmm. That’s not too far from here. We can walk.”
Along the way, Reina gave Carmen a blow by blow commentary of her match. Once again, Giselle was amazed at the change in Reina’s personality as she battled. Now she could’ve been an excited teenager.
Carmen was mildly amused. “I would’ve just ignored her. You must have been really eager for a battle.”
“As a matter of fact I was. But she was asking for it. I mean really asking for it.”
“I was sitting beside her two friends and they were cool.” Giselle said. “They said the arrogance was a recent development. Maybe your battle brought her down a few notches.”
“Maybe,” said Reina, stopping. They were already in front of the Pokémon Center and it was unbelievable.
The whole thing looked like a theatrical production. The Pokémon Center sign was done completely in neon and lights like one that would indicate a Broadway production. The Center itself looked like a theater. However as they went inside, it looked like a normal Pokémon Center. Giselle noticed it was much larger than usual, probably due to the fact that the city was known for its many, many battles.
Reina took her Pokémon to a nurse while Carmen released Gardevoir and Giselle, all of her Pokémon.
Charmander, Caterpie, Shinx, Budew, and Duskull appeared, happy to see Giselle. They rushed to her.
“Hey guys,” Giselle said warmly. She pulled out some food out of her bag and gave it to her Pokémon. But suddenly she was hit with another question. “Hey, Carmen, I really don’t know a lot about Pokémon dietary habits. What else can they eat?”
“Well, it depends on their natural habitats. For example, Shinx would eat mostly meat so it’s safe to feed it meat. But the vast majority of Pokémon will eat berries. What flavor berries they like depends on the individual Pokémon.”
“Now I wish I had berries to see,” said Giselle.
“You’re in luck,” said Carmen as she pulled handfuls of berries of all shapes and sizes out of her bag. “Now I’m arranging them by flavor: spicy, dry, sweet, bitter, and sour. These berries are safe for humans to eat too—but many won’t taste so great raw and some are so spicy, your throat will burn.”
“All right guys pick some berries,” Giselle said.
Giselle’s Pokémon sniffed around the berries. Shinx and Duskull dived for the spicy flavored ones, Budew and Caterpie preferred bitter berries, and Charmander liked sweet berries. All of her Pokémon ate a second flavor from their favorite, and they all had a flavor they hated. For Shinx, it was dry; Duskull, bitter; Budew, sweet; Caterpie, sour; Charmander, spicy. Giselle made mental notes at what Pokémon liked what.
After having her fill of berries, Budew happily played with her pink scarf, but Duskull had other ideas. He snuck up on Budew and used Astonish, causing her to jump out of fear. Duskull grabbed on the Budew scarf and glided away. Tears of anger welled up in Budew’s eyes. Giselle was about to break the fight up when Budew began to glow. What happened next was hard for Giselle to explain. Budew let out a shout and Duskull was stopped in his tracks. She calmly waked over to Duskull and took her scarf back. As Giselle ran over to him, she saw in amazement that Duskull had been knocked out.
“That was an Extrasensory attack, and a pretty good one.” Giselle didn’t notice Carmen had walked up behind her.
“But the Pokédex didn’t say anything about that attack,” said Giselle.
“Yeah, sometimes that happens,” said Carmen nonchalantly.
“And now it’s my turn to get a Pokémon checked out,” sighed Giselle, picking up Duskull. Surprisingly few people noticed the spat between Budew and Duskull.
As she walked over to the counter, Reina was coming back.
“What happened?’
“Let Carmen explain,” Giselle answered.
There was no one in line when Giselle placed the fainted Pokémon on the counter.
“Can you tell me what happened,” the black haired nurse said politely.
“Well you see, Duskull was picking on Budew, and Budew struck back. Shows what happens when you pick on a girl,” Giselle said in amusement.
“Ah,” said the nurse with a slight smile. She didn’t asked any more questions as she picked up Duskull and carried it over to a machine. It only took a few moments for Duskull to be revived and back to itself.
“Thank you, nurse,” said Giselle brightly as Duskull glided it back to her.
“You’re very welcome,” the nurse smiled back.
As she walked back with Duskull beside her, Giselle reflected back to her first Sinnoh Pokémon Center visit a couple of days ago. It seemed so much longer than that. She was so close to giving up then. She felt a rush of gratitude toward Carmen and Reina, who were having fun making Shinx jump in the air for berries.
“Great, you’re back!” said Reina. “Now let’s get some dinner.”
Giselle recalled her Pokémon. “Where’s our restaurant?”
“One block away,” Carmen replied. “Let’s head out.”
Giselle pushed her hair back as she, Reina, and Carmen left the center and walked down the street. For a moment, Giselle wondered what she would be doing if she had remained at home. She would’ve come undone under her parent’s shame and the people’s gossip. As she looked up at the beautiful city lights, she felt that sense of heaviness leave her. Her rash decision had paid off.
“Here it is Giselle,” Reina’s voice sounded far off for a moment. Giselle jerked herself back to the present.
The restaurant was called VeilStar Grove and it looked it was carved into the rock wall rather like a cave. Giselle marveled at how it was built and she wanted to see what it looked like on the inside but she thought it would be rather small. She could smell something delicious wafting from inside. Her mouth watered.
They went inside and Giselle saw it was slightly bigger than she thought. It was still cozy however, but very nice. The bricks of the wall hid the earthiness of the rock wall behind it. A small fireplace in the corner with protective glass in front of it held a blazing fire. There were wooden tables all over the restaurant that seated four with some people pushing tables together to accommodate a larger group.
“We’re a party of three,” she heard Carmen saying.
“Right, this way,” the host said.
The host led them to table in the middle of the restaurant where they sat down. Carmen and Giselle sat beside each other while Reina sat across form Giselle. The menus were already on the table along with the silverware. Giselle picked up one of the menus and let out an audible gasp. The prices were outrageous; she might have been back in that Canalave clothing store.
“What is it, Giselle?” Reina asked.
“If it’s about the prices, don’t worry. We have it covered,” said Carmen calmly.
“Oh yeah, we do,” said Reina. “Remember when Carmen said that some places in Veilstone will offer a discount to anyone with a Lucario? Well, this restaurant is one of them. Any person with a Lucario will only pay a third of the prices along with everyone else in the party.”
“Awesome,” said Giselle with a sense of relief.
“And besides, it’s rare that anyone here pays full price for anything,” Carmen explained. “There are all kinds of discounts floating around the internet and the restaurant offers all kinds of specials that certain people know how to find.”
“Wow,” said Giselle and she turned back to the menu once more as waitress wearing black came over to their table.
“May I take your order?” asked the waitress.
“I’d like a bowl of broccoli and cheddar soup and water,” said Carmen.
“Um, I want deli sandwich and a soda,” said Reina.
Giselle looked at the menu again. She still didn’t want to pick the most expensive thing on it. “I’ll take the pasta salad and lemonade.”
“Oh, and waitress a steak for my friend, Meilene,” Reina said quickly.
“Who’s Meilene?” she asked bewildered.
Reina pulled out a Pokéball and released her Lucario. Understanding dawned across the waitress’s face. Half the restaurant looked around in delight. Lucario really was revered in this town.
“I’ll be right back with your order,” the waitress said cheerfully.
“Have a seat Meilene,” said Reina, pulling out the chair beside her. Giselle had never seen a Pokémon eat at a table with humans before so it came as a bit of a surprise. It looked as though Meilene was used to it though. She sat down without comment. After glancing at Meilene, Giselle remembered something.
“Hey, Reina. You never collected you prize money from Carla after your battle.”
“Oops. Ah, well. It didn’t matter much anyway,” said Reina. “I didn’t exactly need it, and she was already humiliated as it was.”
“Oh,” said Giselle.
Their food arrived about 20 minutes later. The waitress placed their food in front of the four of them just as Giselle’s stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. They all laughed.
“Guess you really are hungry, Giselle,” Reina giggled. “Let’s dig in, shall we?”
Giselle ate a forkful of her pasta salad which was the best she had ever tasted. She knew at once why the place was expensive. The food had a sharper taste than was she expected; it was somewhat different than milder Kanto food, but this was only one restaurant. She was about to ask how Meilene was going to eat her steak as she didn’t have hands to manage silverware—until she saw the Lucario use her psychic powers to lift her knife and fork. Giselle was amazed.
“How exactly do Meilene’s psychic powers work? I mean it’s not a psychic type. ” Giselle said.
“Lot’s of non-Psychic Pokémon are capable of using Psychic power.” It was Carmen that answered, as Reina was stuffing her face. “If you recall, your Budew use an Extrasensory attack and that’s psychic.”
Giselle had forgotten about that. So her Budew could use Psychic power. For some reason that made Giselle feel proud.
“Anyway, while non-Psychic Pokémon can use Psychic moves, they won’t be as powerful as they would be if they were Psychic themselves,” Carmen continued. “And while a non-Psychic type may be capable of using Psychic power, not all of them will be able to.
“Yeah,” said Reina. “I have a friend who’s still trying to get her Electabuzz to use Psychic. She keeps saying that she knows it has inner power. I keep telling her that it’s just not going to happen, but she keeps trying, the poor Electabuzz.”
“With a lot of training, Meilene became really good at using her power,” Carmen continued, “but she’ll never be as good as, say, Gardevoir with Psychic attacks. But that goes with anything. My Blaziken can use Flying type moves but not to an extent as an actual Flying type.”
“That’s really interesting,” said Giselle. “I want to teach my Pokémon all different kinds of attacks”
“It’s a really good strategy,” Carmen said. “Just make sure you play to your Pokémon’s strength. Different Pokémon will have an affinity for certain kinds of attacks. You’ll just have to watch your Pokémon to see what kinds of moves it likes or is capable of using. It’s a lot more complicated than that though and a lot deeper. You’ll learn a lot more through trial and error because every Pokémon is different. ”
“Thanks for the advice, Carmen,” Giselle said cheerfully. She took a drink of her lemonade, which was just as good as the pasta salad.
They spent the rest of dinner just talking. Giselle asked more about teaching attacks to Pokémon. Carmen also told her about Technical Machines and how a person could buy them at different places. Giselle also had fun watching Meilene manage her knife and fork. She had better table manners than her trainer. Then, the conversation turned to what they wanted to do next in their Pokémon journeys.
“I realized that I had been getting complacent lately,” Carmen said. “But hearing about your mother, Giselle, made me realize that that wasn’t what I needed to be doing.”
Giselle remembered that look of epiphany that Carmen had on her face when she was ranting about her mother.
“I really like battling and I need to look for stronger trainers to battle so I don’t get complacent. Our brother Ramón is traveling through Johto right now and I was thinking of finding him and traveling with him for a while.”
“Didn’t you say he believed in odd stuff?” Giselle asked.
“Yeah, but I need a change of pace. As weird as the things in which he gets involved are, I always learn a lot with him and I also see many new things when I’m with him. There was this one time that he showed me a hidden shrine inside Mt. Coronet that many people just don’t get to see. It was very beautiful.”
“He’s more intuitive than Carmen is. They’re more alike than they say they are, only he doesn’t have a gambling problem,” Reina mused while Carmen shot her a look. “But do you want to challenge the Johto League, Carmen?”
“No, I think I’m done with leagues. I may just become a wandering trainer always on the lookout for stronger trainers,” Carmen said thoughtfully.
“Well, I’m going off to Hoenn,” said Reina eagerly. “It’s really an outdoorsy region, and the ocean is never far away. The famous Pokémon trainer Steven also lives there. He’s a powerful Pokémon trainer and he has a Metagross, which is Beldum’s final evolution. I would really love to battle him.”
“Wait, you’re going to Hoenn just to find one trainer?” ask Giselle incredulously.
“Of course not,” said Reina seriously. “I also going to catch some more Steel types and maybe even learn how to surf and wakeboard while I’m there. Hoenn also has some awesome undersea caverns that are just asking to be explored. And,” Reina leaned in closer to Giselle. “Carmen said she didn’t like it because she thinks the game corners there are a joke.”
“I said nothing of the sort,” said Carmen irritated, but Reina just laughed. “What are you doing next,” Giselle?” she asked, ignoring Reina. “Are you going back home?”
Somehow, Giselle never thought about it. What on earth would she do next? She had certainly learned a lot the past few days. She absentmindedly touched her egg which was making slight movements near constantly now.
“You don’t to answer now, Giselle. Just give some thought to it,” Carmen said. She then stopped the passing waitress. “Could we get the check now?” All four of them had finished their meal.
“Sure,” said the waitress and she walked away.
“Now when we leave here, we’ll go to a Trainer’s House to turn in for the night,” said Carmen.
“What’s a Trainer’s House,” asked Giselle.
“It’s a place where trainers can go to spend the night,” Reina explained. “The larger cities in Sinnoh will have them all over the place.”
The waitress came back with the check and Reina, Carmen, and Giselle paid. Giselle was relieved that Meilene had indeed gotten them a discount. The Pokémon had even gotten to eat for free.
“Thanks buddy,” Reina said to Meilene.
“Lucar,” Meilene said in appreciation.
Reina recalled Meilene and they all left the warm, cozy restaurant into the cold air of the outdoors. The streets were much more crowded than before. People almost had to swim to get from one area to another.
“Good grief! Where did all these people come from?” Reina asked.
“I guess more people than usual are out tonight,” Carmen said loudly over the noise. “Let’s try to stick close to each other. We don’t want to get separated in this.”
Giselle made sure to keep her eyes fixed on Reina’s back, but that was easier said than done. The number of people was unbelievable. Suddenly, Giselle heard a shout followed by a loud noise in the distance. Almost immediately after, the crowd surged in the opposite direction that the girls where traveling toward the noise. Reina, Carmen, and Giselle were separated instantly in the chaos, with Giselle being carried in a different direction than Reina and Carmen.
Even though she could barely tell which way was up, Giselle tried to fight against the crowd but to no avail. She had no choice but to go with the crowd and she had no idea where they were going. After what seemed like an eternity of pandemonium, the crowd stopped surging, but there were still a lot of people and Giselle didn’t know where she was. She wandered through the crowd disoriented for about a half an hour becoming more and more panicked.
After a while, crowd began to thin, but she also noticed her surroundings becoming seedier and seedier. There were no skyscrapers here and everything was dingier and darker. Giselle had the ominous feeling she was being watched and every little noise was making her jumpy. She tried not to let her fear show but that was hard to do.
Giselle hadn’t realized were she was walking and found herself facing a brick wall. She had no idea what to do now except try to retrace her steps, but the she heard a woman’s voice behind her.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
Giselle whipped around and saw two people. The woman who had spoken was tall and with had long red hair and wearing a black dress. Her companion, a man, was also tall. He had shoulder length brown hair and a long black trench coat. Both however had a necklace with golden broken Pokéball charm on it.
“Oh look, Talia,” said the man in a low voice. “It has an egg…”
“I see, Alejandro, I see.”
Giselle had no idea how to get herself out of this situation.
“Don’t even think about screaming, no one’ll hear you,” Talia said in a menacing voice, as if reading Giselle’s mind.
“Just let us take the egg and we might let you go,” said Alejandro as he walked toward Giselle. “Now, be a good girl.”
Giselle instinctively shielded her egg with her arms. Talia cackled.
“Fine, be that way. It looks like we’ll have to take it by force!” She pulled out a Pokéball.
Giselle was scared out of her wits. This time her Pokémon were in danger. Who was to say that they would stop with the egg? She was much more afraid now than she ever had been in Sinnoh thus far. But she knew one thing: she wasn’t going down like some damsel in distress; she was going down fighting. She pulled out Charmander’s Pokéball.
“Oh!” said Alejandro in disgusting delight. “She wants to play!”
“Come on out Machamp,” said the Talia, her beautiful, yet frightning face flushing. “Time to kill a noob!”
“Let’s go Charmander!” Giselle tried to inject confidence into her voice. She didn’t know how she could win, but she had to try—for the sake of her Pokémon.
Both the Talia’s and Alejandro’s laugher filled the small area.
“Oh my goodness,” Talia emphasized every word. “You really are an idiot aren’t you? Machamp use Cross Chop!”
The Machamp crossed its arms and smashed them against Charmander who was instantly knocked out. Giselle thought fast. She quickly recalled Charmander to keep it from further injury. Giselle had two options: Duskull and Budew. She knew that Duskull would have an immunity to Machamp’s Fighting moves, but she didn’t know what else that Machamp had up its sleeve, or even if Duskull would behave. And Budew had a Psychic move of her own. But would it be enough?
“Come on sweetie, we don’t have all day,” Alejandro crowed. It was now or never.
“Duskull, come on out!” The gray blob of a Pokémon came out of his Pokéball. Giselle could tell he was thrilled with his dismal surroundings, but now was not the time.
“Duskull use Night Shade!” Giselle shouted.
The entire area was silent. Duskull merely turned to face Giselle to look at her as if she’d just morphed into a Diglett. Giselle clenched her teeth. There was no way Duskull was doing this to her now. Alejandro and Talia continued laughing. At the sound of their laugher, Duskull turned back to face them. Strange ghostly blue balls of fire began to surround Duskull and the same moment they surrounded Machamp. There was no one laughing now.
“What do you think you’re doing?” screeched Talia.
On Duskull’s command, the balls of fire converged on the four armed Pokémon and it screamed in agony. Giselle saw an angry red burn on the Machamp’s abdomen. It was a Will-o-Wisp attack. Giselle didn’t know or care where the attack came from, but she was happy it came.
“Attack it now Machamp! You can work through the burn!” Talia yelled.
But the Pokémon was in too much pain. It tried to attack Duskull, but he merely phased through the Machamp. Duskull looked like it was having a lot of fun watching the Machamp in pain.
“Nice going, Duskull,” said Giselle excitedly. Duskull looked back at his trainer, loving the compliment.
Then, Duskull turned back to the battle. He taunted the Machamp, enraging both the Pokémon and its trainer. Duskull merely dodged all of Machamp’s futile attacks.
“Duskull, use Night Shade!” Giselle attempted to use a direct attack again, but once again Duskull refused to do it. He just kept messing with the Machamp.
And then it hit Giselle. She heard Carmen’s voice in her head: Different Pokémon will have an affinity for certain kinds of attacks. Duskull hated using direct attacks because he liked to screw with his opponents by using status moves and other annoying attacks. Giselle’s mind went into overdrive yet again. Before Duskull, Giselle was only familiar with three other Ghost types: Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. She knew that those three were famous for the Confuse Ray move. Perhaps Duskull would know the attack as well.
“Duskull use Confuse Ray!” Giselle called out.
For a second there was nothing, and then a bizarre ball of red light appeared at the top of Duskull’s head. He sent the ball of light at the Machamp whose eyes became immediately unfocused. Then it tried to launch another Cross Chop.
“No, STOP!” Talia yelled, but to no avail.
At the point where Machamp would release its arms on its opponent, it hit itself instead in its disorientation.
“Enough of this nonsense!” Alejandro shouted. He too pulled out a Pokéball and released a Pokémon that Giselle didn’t know. It was blue with a large red bulge on its throat. Machamp stumbled to its feet. It had knocked itself out of its confusion and did it’s best to work through the burn that was sapping its power.
“Toxicroak, Faint Attack that thing,” he said furiously.
The Toxicroak’s whole right arm glowed black. With awesome speed it drew up close to Duskull, and smacked him on the head before Duskull could react, knocking him out.
“Duskull, are you all right?” Giselle asked frantically. She ran over to Duskull and picked him up. He stirred feebly but didn’t seem seriously hurt.
“And now, the egg,” the woman said in a quiet yet threatening voice.
Giselle had no idea how she would battle two on one. Machamp, even with its burn, was a lot to handle.
“Ready for a double attack, Talia?” asked Alejandro coolly. They didn’t wait for Giselle to call out another Pokemon.
“Let’s do it, Alejandro,” Talia replied.
Both the Machamp and the Toxicroak raised their fists to attack. Giselle closed her eyes anticipating the attack and the pain that would follow. One moment followed, and then another, and then another, but the attack never came. She opened her eyes to see that the two Pokémon were frozen, still in the same attacking position. They both had a blue outline of psychic energy around them and both wore a bewildered expression.
“Now since when was two people with Pokémon on one person without Pokémon fair?”
Giselle looked around the frozen Pokémon and saw Reina, Carmen, and Carmen’s Gardevoir standing behind the duo. Reina was the one who spoke. The duo whipped around to face the sisters.
“It looks like we just ran into a part of the moron brigade,” Carmen said. Her face showed no sign of anger but her silver eyes were so cold they seemed to burn.
“And who are you?” Talia spat.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Carmen said callously. “You can release them now Gardevoir. I think we got their attention.”
“You little wretch,” Alejandro said in anger. “Toxicroak, attack!”
“You too, Machamp!” Talia screeched.
“You’re even more ignorant than you look,” Carmen said with a voice dripping with ice. “Gardevoir use Psychic!”
The two of them realized their mistake far too late. Gardevoir glowed blue as did the two Fighting types. The Psychic type raised her delicate arms. She focused her power and lifted Machamp and Toxicroak into the air. They were both clearly in pain and taking a lot of damage as the writhed and twisted in midair. Giselle could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the power of the attack. The change in Carmen when she battled was as spectacular as Reina’s. She was as cold as ice. Somehow, Giselle had never really appreciated Gardevoir’s beauty before. She was as cool and imposing as her trainer. Or maybe they were like this only because they were facing down two thugs.
“Time to deliver the final blow, Gardevoir.”
Gardevoir lower her arms and Machamp and Toxicroak slammed onto the hard ground moved no more. No one spoke for a moment. Then Talia let out and ear splitting roar as she launched herself at Carmen, preparing to punch her. Carmen didn’t so much as flinch as she caught Talia’s fist in her right hand. Giselle heard Talia’s knuckles crack. Carmen had much more muscle than Talia. Giselle say Alejandro’s eyes fall on the ring on Carmen’s middle finger.
“Talia, let’s go,” he said urgently.
“And why in the world should we?” Talia said, turning to glare at him. She turned back to Carmen, but suddenly she noticed the ring on one of the fingers crushing her fist. She snatched away from Carmen.
With one last malevolent look at Carmen, Reina, and Giselle, the duo walked away without a word. Giselle only just realized how fast her heart was pumping or how hard she was breathing. Both sisters ran over to Giselle.
“Are you all right,” Carmen asked. Her eyes were no longer cold; they were full of concern now.
Giselle put her hand on her forehead. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to get Duskull and Charmander to the Pokémon Center,” she said quickly. “I want to get out of here.”
“All right, let’s go now,” Reina said gently.
Giselle’s mind was still buzzing about her ordeal. She felt a new surge of gratefulness at the two sisters.
“Thank you so much guys,” Giselle said.
“You’re very welcome,” Carmen said kindly.
“You were really amazing back there Carmen. You handled that situation awesomely,” Giselle said in admiration.
“Those two idiots are a part of a Sinnoh-wide gang that calls themselves the Takers,” Carmen said in a low voice. “Did you notice the broken Pokéball symbol on their necklaces?”
“Yes, I did as a matter of fact,” said Giselle.
“The gang members make it their mission to steal Pokémon from beginning trainers,” Carmen continued. “And I’m sorry to say they’ve succeeded in some cases.” There was a short pause. “I encountered two other members of the gang. They stole my Gardevoir a while back. I almost never saw it again.”
“No way!” said Giselle in shock.
“It hurt me to my core. I went after the ones that did it.” Carmen suddenly cast her eyes down. “When I found them, let’s just say I didn’t handle as well as I did here. I lost control. I’m not too proud of it but I did learn a lesson.”
Reina remembered that day well. She hoped she would never have to see her sister like that again. It was lucky that their brother showed up: for both Carmen and the gang members.
Giselle was stunned. From hearing her story and witnessing her earlier, she never wanted to be on the wrong side of Carmen. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to have a Pokémon stolen from her or how she would react to it.
“All I can say is to be on the lookout for them,” Carmen advised. “Increased police presence has kept them at bay, but, as you saw tonight, they’re still a threat.”
They were back in the bright lights and noise of the city and this, more than anything else soothed Giselle.
“I have just one question, guys,” Giselle said. “How did you find me?”
“Eh, it was a combination of Meilene’s aura and Gardevoir’s psychic power,” Reina said. “You hadn’t gone too far so that was good.”
“I wonder what caused the crowd to surge like that,” Giselle thought aloud.
Carmen glared at Reina. “There was some noob that screamed and then had his Pokémon use Explosion to get everyone’s attention. Then he yelled into the crowd that he saw Deoxys transforming at the meteor rocks. Word traveled fast and then people from miles around just had to see something that doesn’t even exist!”
“Deoxys does to exist,” Reina shot back hotly. “And that very well could’ve been a genuine sighting!”
“No, it doesn’t,” Carmen said. “I can’t believe people would be so gullible. And this one here,” Carmen shot a nasty look at Reina, “wanted to go with them!”
“They were so not gullible, Carmen! What if it was a sighting?” Reina said indignantly.
“But it wasn’t and we got separated from Giselle!”
The sisters bickered all the way back to the Pokémon Center, but Giselle didn’t mind. She found the whole thing funny. The nurse at the center took only a few minutes to heal Charmander and Duskull. After the shock had worn off, Giselle realized two things: that she had battled for the first time without totally losing her head and discovered Duskull’s battling style.
“Hey, Carmen,” Giselle said as they left the center. “Is there anywhere around here where I can buy at Toxic TM? I kind of discovered that that Duskull likes to inflict status conditions on his opponents.”
“Wait, you discovered that in your battle with those two goons?” Carmen said in pleasant surprise.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you how that battle went, did I?”
Giselle gave them all the details of the battle. She described every thought that went through her head before and during the battle, everything up to the sisters’ arrival.
“Wow,” said Reina, impressed. “Looks like Giselle is a critical thinker in battle. You’re doing a lot better under the pressure of battle.”
“Yeah, but you and Carmen do a 180 during battle. You two completely change your demeanor,” said Giselle, who was panting because they were going uphill. “I don’t feel that change yet.”
“The more you battle, the more your battling style will emerge,” Carmen said.
“And by the way,” said Reina. “Carmen isn’t always that cold when she battles. It was just because of who she was facing.”
“I thought as much,” said Giselle.
“I was just trying not to let anger cloud my judgment like it did last time,” Carmen said simply. “We can get that TM tomorrow; we’re at the Trainer’s House.”
I really should ask more questions about where we’re going, thought Giselle. Once again, she didn’t realize they were headed toward a specific destination. The trainer’s house resembled a large mansion with many rooms and as such it looked out of place in the middle of the city. Giselle guessed it was something like a bed and breakfast. The house was on a small hill and had a great view of the city that surrounded it. They entered into the house and a woman with short gray hair and glasses greeted them.
“Do you have any vacancies?” Carmen asked the woman.
“We sure do. In fact, this house is almost empty tonight,” the woman said kindly. “I’ll lead you upstairs.”
The house looked very comfortable with its fireplace and cozy chairs. It almost reminded Giselle of her own house, only without the coldness. The woman led them down a hall and into a large room with one door on each of its four walls. The woman led them through the door on the right. The room had hardwood floors, a large picture window with dark curtains, and a closet and two bunk beds. The dresser and night stand matched the beds.
“I hope you enjoy your stay tonight,” said the woman, leaving out of the room.
“I’ll be right back guys. I'll go pay for the room now,” Carmen said, following the woman out of the room.
Giselle walked to the nearest bottom bunk and collapsed on it.
“What a day this has been,” Giselle sighed. She realized how exhausted she was from the night’s events and just from all the walking she did. She took off her shoes and her bag and placed them beside her bed. She took off the egg which was still moving continuously and placed it beside her on her pillow.
“Long day, huh,” said Reina sitting on the other bottom bunk.
“Tell me about it,” said Giselle as she stared up at the bed above her. She was so tired she could barely think. Within about two minutes she was asleep.
OOC: Once again this chapter was longer than I thought. Ah well. Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner. It seems like I've forgotten something in this chapter for some reason. Eh, I'll probably think of it later. Anyway, I hope you like it Wink
Edit: I remembered what it was. It was minor: I had forgotten to mention the broken Pokéball charm at the beginning of
Giselle's encounter with Talia and Alejandro.
Edit 2: Stupid typos...and I don't think I got them all either.
Edit 3: Fixed a minor plot hole. I'm not even sure if anyone caught it.
The trolley arrived a few seconds after Giselle and Reina arrived at the stop. This time the trolley was very crowded and there were only two seats left at the very back. After Giselle and Reina paid and boarded, the trolley was officially full and didn’t accept any more passengers.
“Would you like to get some dinner after we get Carmen?” Reina asked.
“Sure,” replied Giselle. She had just realized how hungry she was and wondered how Sinnoh food differed from the food in Kanto.
“But first we need to visit the Pokémon Center. I know Meilene wasn’t hurt or anything but I still want to check her and the rest of my Pokémon.”
“Yeah I do too,” said Giselle.
The trolley wound its way through the streets of Veilstone, letting off passengers and picking up new ones. Reina and Giselle got off at a stop across the street from their first one. They both had to cross the street to get back to the game corner where they left Carmen. Giselle recognized the game corner from a short distance away. As they walked up to it, Carmen was coming out of it looking her usual calm self.
“Well,” said Reina. “How did you do?”
“Eh, it was a bit of a slow start,” said Carmen. “I lost almost all of my money. Don’t worry, I got it all back and then some,” she added when Giselle gasped. “I also won three free breakfasts at The Moonstone Café.”
“Nice. It has some of the best food ever,” Reina informed Giselle.
“Where to next?” asked Carmen.
“I need to go to the Pokémon Center. Meilene totally owned an Ambipom earlier,” Reina said.
“Hmm. That’s not too far from here. We can walk.”
Along the way, Reina gave Carmen a blow by blow commentary of her match. Once again, Giselle was amazed at the change in Reina’s personality as she battled. Now she could’ve been an excited teenager.
Carmen was mildly amused. “I would’ve just ignored her. You must have been really eager for a battle.”
“As a matter of fact I was. But she was asking for it. I mean really asking for it.”
“I was sitting beside her two friends and they were cool.” Giselle said. “They said the arrogance was a recent development. Maybe your battle brought her down a few notches.”
“Maybe,” said Reina, stopping. They were already in front of the Pokémon Center and it was unbelievable.
The whole thing looked like a theatrical production. The Pokémon Center sign was done completely in neon and lights like one that would indicate a Broadway production. The Center itself looked like a theater. However as they went inside, it looked like a normal Pokémon Center. Giselle noticed it was much larger than usual, probably due to the fact that the city was known for its many, many battles.
Reina took her Pokémon to a nurse while Carmen released Gardevoir and Giselle, all of her Pokémon.
Charmander, Caterpie, Shinx, Budew, and Duskull appeared, happy to see Giselle. They rushed to her.
“Hey guys,” Giselle said warmly. She pulled out some food out of her bag and gave it to her Pokémon. But suddenly she was hit with another question. “Hey, Carmen, I really don’t know a lot about Pokémon dietary habits. What else can they eat?”
“Well, it depends on their natural habitats. For example, Shinx would eat mostly meat so it’s safe to feed it meat. But the vast majority of Pokémon will eat berries. What flavor berries they like depends on the individual Pokémon.”
“Now I wish I had berries to see,” said Giselle.
“You’re in luck,” said Carmen as she pulled handfuls of berries of all shapes and sizes out of her bag. “Now I’m arranging them by flavor: spicy, dry, sweet, bitter, and sour. These berries are safe for humans to eat too—but many won’t taste so great raw and some are so spicy, your throat will burn.”
“All right guys pick some berries,” Giselle said.
Giselle’s Pokémon sniffed around the berries. Shinx and Duskull dived for the spicy flavored ones, Budew and Caterpie preferred bitter berries, and Charmander liked sweet berries. All of her Pokémon ate a second flavor from their favorite, and they all had a flavor they hated. For Shinx, it was dry; Duskull, bitter; Budew, sweet; Caterpie, sour; Charmander, spicy. Giselle made mental notes at what Pokémon liked what.
After having her fill of berries, Budew happily played with her pink scarf, but Duskull had other ideas. He snuck up on Budew and used Astonish, causing her to jump out of fear. Duskull grabbed on the Budew scarf and glided away. Tears of anger welled up in Budew’s eyes. Giselle was about to break the fight up when Budew began to glow. What happened next was hard for Giselle to explain. Budew let out a shout and Duskull was stopped in his tracks. She calmly waked over to Duskull and took her scarf back. As Giselle ran over to him, she saw in amazement that Duskull had been knocked out.
“That was an Extrasensory attack, and a pretty good one.” Giselle didn’t notice Carmen had walked up behind her.
“But the Pokédex didn’t say anything about that attack,” said Giselle.
“Yeah, sometimes that happens,” said Carmen nonchalantly.
“And now it’s my turn to get a Pokémon checked out,” sighed Giselle, picking up Duskull. Surprisingly few people noticed the spat between Budew and Duskull.
As she walked over to the counter, Reina was coming back.
“What happened?’
“Let Carmen explain,” Giselle answered.
There was no one in line when Giselle placed the fainted Pokémon on the counter.
“Can you tell me what happened,” the black haired nurse said politely.
“Well you see, Duskull was picking on Budew, and Budew struck back. Shows what happens when you pick on a girl,” Giselle said in amusement.
“Ah,” said the nurse with a slight smile. She didn’t asked any more questions as she picked up Duskull and carried it over to a machine. It only took a few moments for Duskull to be revived and back to itself.
“Thank you, nurse,” said Giselle brightly as Duskull glided it back to her.
“You’re very welcome,” the nurse smiled back.
As she walked back with Duskull beside her, Giselle reflected back to her first Sinnoh Pokémon Center visit a couple of days ago. It seemed so much longer than that. She was so close to giving up then. She felt a rush of gratitude toward Carmen and Reina, who were having fun making Shinx jump in the air for berries.
“Great, you’re back!” said Reina. “Now let’s get some dinner.”
Giselle recalled her Pokémon. “Where’s our restaurant?”
“One block away,” Carmen replied. “Let’s head out.”
Giselle pushed her hair back as she, Reina, and Carmen left the center and walked down the street. For a moment, Giselle wondered what she would be doing if she had remained at home. She would’ve come undone under her parent’s shame and the people’s gossip. As she looked up at the beautiful city lights, she felt that sense of heaviness leave her. Her rash decision had paid off.
“Here it is Giselle,” Reina’s voice sounded far off for a moment. Giselle jerked herself back to the present.
The restaurant was called VeilStar Grove and it looked it was carved into the rock wall rather like a cave. Giselle marveled at how it was built and she wanted to see what it looked like on the inside but she thought it would be rather small. She could smell something delicious wafting from inside. Her mouth watered.
They went inside and Giselle saw it was slightly bigger than she thought. It was still cozy however, but very nice. The bricks of the wall hid the earthiness of the rock wall behind it. A small fireplace in the corner with protective glass in front of it held a blazing fire. There were wooden tables all over the restaurant that seated four with some people pushing tables together to accommodate a larger group.
“We’re a party of three,” she heard Carmen saying.
“Right, this way,” the host said.
The host led them to table in the middle of the restaurant where they sat down. Carmen and Giselle sat beside each other while Reina sat across form Giselle. The menus were already on the table along with the silverware. Giselle picked up one of the menus and let out an audible gasp. The prices were outrageous; she might have been back in that Canalave clothing store.
“What is it, Giselle?” Reina asked.
“If it’s about the prices, don’t worry. We have it covered,” said Carmen calmly.
“Oh yeah, we do,” said Reina. “Remember when Carmen said that some places in Veilstone will offer a discount to anyone with a Lucario? Well, this restaurant is one of them. Any person with a Lucario will only pay a third of the prices along with everyone else in the party.”
“Awesome,” said Giselle with a sense of relief.
“And besides, it’s rare that anyone here pays full price for anything,” Carmen explained. “There are all kinds of discounts floating around the internet and the restaurant offers all kinds of specials that certain people know how to find.”
“Wow,” said Giselle and she turned back to the menu once more as waitress wearing black came over to their table.
“May I take your order?” asked the waitress.
“I’d like a bowl of broccoli and cheddar soup and water,” said Carmen.
“Um, I want deli sandwich and a soda,” said Reina.
Giselle looked at the menu again. She still didn’t want to pick the most expensive thing on it. “I’ll take the pasta salad and lemonade.”
“Oh, and waitress a steak for my friend, Meilene,” Reina said quickly.
“Who’s Meilene?” she asked bewildered.
Reina pulled out a Pokéball and released her Lucario. Understanding dawned across the waitress’s face. Half the restaurant looked around in delight. Lucario really was revered in this town.
“I’ll be right back with your order,” the waitress said cheerfully.
“Have a seat Meilene,” said Reina, pulling out the chair beside her. Giselle had never seen a Pokémon eat at a table with humans before so it came as a bit of a surprise. It looked as though Meilene was used to it though. She sat down without comment. After glancing at Meilene, Giselle remembered something.
“Hey, Reina. You never collected you prize money from Carla after your battle.”
“Oops. Ah, well. It didn’t matter much anyway,” said Reina. “I didn’t exactly need it, and she was already humiliated as it was.”
“Oh,” said Giselle.
Their food arrived about 20 minutes later. The waitress placed their food in front of the four of them just as Giselle’s stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. They all laughed.
“Guess you really are hungry, Giselle,” Reina giggled. “Let’s dig in, shall we?”
Giselle ate a forkful of her pasta salad which was the best she had ever tasted. She knew at once why the place was expensive. The food had a sharper taste than was she expected; it was somewhat different than milder Kanto food, but this was only one restaurant. She was about to ask how Meilene was going to eat her steak as she didn’t have hands to manage silverware—until she saw the Lucario use her psychic powers to lift her knife and fork. Giselle was amazed.
“How exactly do Meilene’s psychic powers work? I mean it’s not a psychic type. ” Giselle said.
“Lot’s of non-Psychic Pokémon are capable of using Psychic power.” It was Carmen that answered, as Reina was stuffing her face. “If you recall, your Budew use an Extrasensory attack and that’s psychic.”
Giselle had forgotten about that. So her Budew could use Psychic power. For some reason that made Giselle feel proud.
“Anyway, while non-Psychic Pokémon can use Psychic moves, they won’t be as powerful as they would be if they were Psychic themselves,” Carmen continued. “And while a non-Psychic type may be capable of using Psychic power, not all of them will be able to.
“Yeah,” said Reina. “I have a friend who’s still trying to get her Electabuzz to use Psychic. She keeps saying that she knows it has inner power. I keep telling her that it’s just not going to happen, but she keeps trying, the poor Electabuzz.”
“With a lot of training, Meilene became really good at using her power,” Carmen continued, “but she’ll never be as good as, say, Gardevoir with Psychic attacks. But that goes with anything. My Blaziken can use Flying type moves but not to an extent as an actual Flying type.”
“That’s really interesting,” said Giselle. “I want to teach my Pokémon all different kinds of attacks”
“It’s a really good strategy,” Carmen said. “Just make sure you play to your Pokémon’s strength. Different Pokémon will have an affinity for certain kinds of attacks. You’ll just have to watch your Pokémon to see what kinds of moves it likes or is capable of using. It’s a lot more complicated than that though and a lot deeper. You’ll learn a lot more through trial and error because every Pokémon is different. ”
“Thanks for the advice, Carmen,” Giselle said cheerfully. She took a drink of her lemonade, which was just as good as the pasta salad.
They spent the rest of dinner just talking. Giselle asked more about teaching attacks to Pokémon. Carmen also told her about Technical Machines and how a person could buy them at different places. Giselle also had fun watching Meilene manage her knife and fork. She had better table manners than her trainer. Then, the conversation turned to what they wanted to do next in their Pokémon journeys.
“I realized that I had been getting complacent lately,” Carmen said. “But hearing about your mother, Giselle, made me realize that that wasn’t what I needed to be doing.”
Giselle remembered that look of epiphany that Carmen had on her face when she was ranting about her mother.
“I really like battling and I need to look for stronger trainers to battle so I don’t get complacent. Our brother Ramón is traveling through Johto right now and I was thinking of finding him and traveling with him for a while.”
“Didn’t you say he believed in odd stuff?” Giselle asked.
“Yeah, but I need a change of pace. As weird as the things in which he gets involved are, I always learn a lot with him and I also see many new things when I’m with him. There was this one time that he showed me a hidden shrine inside Mt. Coronet that many people just don’t get to see. It was very beautiful.”
“He’s more intuitive than Carmen is. They’re more alike than they say they are, only he doesn’t have a gambling problem,” Reina mused while Carmen shot her a look. “But do you want to challenge the Johto League, Carmen?”
“No, I think I’m done with leagues. I may just become a wandering trainer always on the lookout for stronger trainers,” Carmen said thoughtfully.
“Well, I’m going off to Hoenn,” said Reina eagerly. “It’s really an outdoorsy region, and the ocean is never far away. The famous Pokémon trainer Steven also lives there. He’s a powerful Pokémon trainer and he has a Metagross, which is Beldum’s final evolution. I would really love to battle him.”
“Wait, you’re going to Hoenn just to find one trainer?” ask Giselle incredulously.
“Of course not,” said Reina seriously. “I also going to catch some more Steel types and maybe even learn how to surf and wakeboard while I’m there. Hoenn also has some awesome undersea caverns that are just asking to be explored. And,” Reina leaned in closer to Giselle. “Carmen said she didn’t like it because she thinks the game corners there are a joke.”
“I said nothing of the sort,” said Carmen irritated, but Reina just laughed. “What are you doing next,” Giselle?” she asked, ignoring Reina. “Are you going back home?”
Somehow, Giselle never thought about it. What on earth would she do next? She had certainly learned a lot the past few days. She absentmindedly touched her egg which was making slight movements near constantly now.
“You don’t to answer now, Giselle. Just give some thought to it,” Carmen said. She then stopped the passing waitress. “Could we get the check now?” All four of them had finished their meal.
“Sure,” said the waitress and she walked away.
“Now when we leave here, we’ll go to a Trainer’s House to turn in for the night,” said Carmen.
“What’s a Trainer’s House,” asked Giselle.
“It’s a place where trainers can go to spend the night,” Reina explained. “The larger cities in Sinnoh will have them all over the place.”
The waitress came back with the check and Reina, Carmen, and Giselle paid. Giselle was relieved that Meilene had indeed gotten them a discount. The Pokémon had even gotten to eat for free.
“Thanks buddy,” Reina said to Meilene.
“Lucar,” Meilene said in appreciation.
Reina recalled Meilene and they all left the warm, cozy restaurant into the cold air of the outdoors. The streets were much more crowded than before. People almost had to swim to get from one area to another.
“Good grief! Where did all these people come from?” Reina asked.
“I guess more people than usual are out tonight,” Carmen said loudly over the noise. “Let’s try to stick close to each other. We don’t want to get separated in this.”
Giselle made sure to keep her eyes fixed on Reina’s back, but that was easier said than done. The number of people was unbelievable. Suddenly, Giselle heard a shout followed by a loud noise in the distance. Almost immediately after, the crowd surged in the opposite direction that the girls where traveling toward the noise. Reina, Carmen, and Giselle were separated instantly in the chaos, with Giselle being carried in a different direction than Reina and Carmen.
Even though she could barely tell which way was up, Giselle tried to fight against the crowd but to no avail. She had no choice but to go with the crowd and she had no idea where they were going. After what seemed like an eternity of pandemonium, the crowd stopped surging, but there were still a lot of people and Giselle didn’t know where she was. She wandered through the crowd disoriented for about a half an hour becoming more and more panicked.
After a while, crowd began to thin, but she also noticed her surroundings becoming seedier and seedier. There were no skyscrapers here and everything was dingier and darker. Giselle had the ominous feeling she was being watched and every little noise was making her jumpy. She tried not to let her fear show but that was hard to do.
Giselle hadn’t realized were she was walking and found herself facing a brick wall. She had no idea what to do now except try to retrace her steps, but the she heard a woman’s voice behind her.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
Giselle whipped around and saw two people. The woman who had spoken was tall and with had long red hair and wearing a black dress. Her companion, a man, was also tall. He had shoulder length brown hair and a long black trench coat. Both however had a necklace with golden broken Pokéball charm on it.
“Oh look, Talia,” said the man in a low voice. “It has an egg…”
“I see, Alejandro, I see.”
Giselle had no idea how to get herself out of this situation.
“Don’t even think about screaming, no one’ll hear you,” Talia said in a menacing voice, as if reading Giselle’s mind.
“Just let us take the egg and we might let you go,” said Alejandro as he walked toward Giselle. “Now, be a good girl.”
Giselle instinctively shielded her egg with her arms. Talia cackled.
“Fine, be that way. It looks like we’ll have to take it by force!” She pulled out a Pokéball.
Giselle was scared out of her wits. This time her Pokémon were in danger. Who was to say that they would stop with the egg? She was much more afraid now than she ever had been in Sinnoh thus far. But she knew one thing: she wasn’t going down like some damsel in distress; she was going down fighting. She pulled out Charmander’s Pokéball.
“Oh!” said Alejandro in disgusting delight. “She wants to play!”
“Come on out Machamp,” said the Talia, her beautiful, yet frightning face flushing. “Time to kill a noob!”
“Let’s go Charmander!” Giselle tried to inject confidence into her voice. She didn’t know how she could win, but she had to try—for the sake of her Pokémon.
Both the Talia’s and Alejandro’s laugher filled the small area.
“Oh my goodness,” Talia emphasized every word. “You really are an idiot aren’t you? Machamp use Cross Chop!”
The Machamp crossed its arms and smashed them against Charmander who was instantly knocked out. Giselle thought fast. She quickly recalled Charmander to keep it from further injury. Giselle had two options: Duskull and Budew. She knew that Duskull would have an immunity to Machamp’s Fighting moves, but she didn’t know what else that Machamp had up its sleeve, or even if Duskull would behave. And Budew had a Psychic move of her own. But would it be enough?
“Come on sweetie, we don’t have all day,” Alejandro crowed. It was now or never.
“Duskull, come on out!” The gray blob of a Pokémon came out of his Pokéball. Giselle could tell he was thrilled with his dismal surroundings, but now was not the time.
“Duskull use Night Shade!” Giselle shouted.
The entire area was silent. Duskull merely turned to face Giselle to look at her as if she’d just morphed into a Diglett. Giselle clenched her teeth. There was no way Duskull was doing this to her now. Alejandro and Talia continued laughing. At the sound of their laugher, Duskull turned back to face them. Strange ghostly blue balls of fire began to surround Duskull and the same moment they surrounded Machamp. There was no one laughing now.
“What do you think you’re doing?” screeched Talia.
On Duskull’s command, the balls of fire converged on the four armed Pokémon and it screamed in agony. Giselle saw an angry red burn on the Machamp’s abdomen. It was a Will-o-Wisp attack. Giselle didn’t know or care where the attack came from, but she was happy it came.
“Attack it now Machamp! You can work through the burn!” Talia yelled.
But the Pokémon was in too much pain. It tried to attack Duskull, but he merely phased through the Machamp. Duskull looked like it was having a lot of fun watching the Machamp in pain.
“Nice going, Duskull,” said Giselle excitedly. Duskull looked back at his trainer, loving the compliment.
Then, Duskull turned back to the battle. He taunted the Machamp, enraging both the Pokémon and its trainer. Duskull merely dodged all of Machamp’s futile attacks.
“Duskull, use Night Shade!” Giselle attempted to use a direct attack again, but once again Duskull refused to do it. He just kept messing with the Machamp.
And then it hit Giselle. She heard Carmen’s voice in her head: Different Pokémon will have an affinity for certain kinds of attacks. Duskull hated using direct attacks because he liked to screw with his opponents by using status moves and other annoying attacks. Giselle’s mind went into overdrive yet again. Before Duskull, Giselle was only familiar with three other Ghost types: Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar. She knew that those three were famous for the Confuse Ray move. Perhaps Duskull would know the attack as well.
“Duskull use Confuse Ray!” Giselle called out.
For a second there was nothing, and then a bizarre ball of red light appeared at the top of Duskull’s head. He sent the ball of light at the Machamp whose eyes became immediately unfocused. Then it tried to launch another Cross Chop.
“No, STOP!” Talia yelled, but to no avail.
At the point where Machamp would release its arms on its opponent, it hit itself instead in its disorientation.
“Enough of this nonsense!” Alejandro shouted. He too pulled out a Pokéball and released a Pokémon that Giselle didn’t know. It was blue with a large red bulge on its throat. Machamp stumbled to its feet. It had knocked itself out of its confusion and did it’s best to work through the burn that was sapping its power.
“Toxicroak, Faint Attack that thing,” he said furiously.
The Toxicroak’s whole right arm glowed black. With awesome speed it drew up close to Duskull, and smacked him on the head before Duskull could react, knocking him out.
“Duskull, are you all right?” Giselle asked frantically. She ran over to Duskull and picked him up. He stirred feebly but didn’t seem seriously hurt.
“And now, the egg,” the woman said in a quiet yet threatening voice.
Giselle had no idea how she would battle two on one. Machamp, even with its burn, was a lot to handle.
“Ready for a double attack, Talia?” asked Alejandro coolly. They didn’t wait for Giselle to call out another Pokemon.
“Let’s do it, Alejandro,” Talia replied.
Both the Machamp and the Toxicroak raised their fists to attack. Giselle closed her eyes anticipating the attack and the pain that would follow. One moment followed, and then another, and then another, but the attack never came. She opened her eyes to see that the two Pokémon were frozen, still in the same attacking position. They both had a blue outline of psychic energy around them and both wore a bewildered expression.
“Now since when was two people with Pokémon on one person without Pokémon fair?”
Giselle looked around the frozen Pokémon and saw Reina, Carmen, and Carmen’s Gardevoir standing behind the duo. Reina was the one who spoke. The duo whipped around to face the sisters.
“It looks like we just ran into a part of the moron brigade,” Carmen said. Her face showed no sign of anger but her silver eyes were so cold they seemed to burn.
“And who are you?” Talia spat.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Carmen said callously. “You can release them now Gardevoir. I think we got their attention.”
“You little wretch,” Alejandro said in anger. “Toxicroak, attack!”
“You too, Machamp!” Talia screeched.
“You’re even more ignorant than you look,” Carmen said with a voice dripping with ice. “Gardevoir use Psychic!”
The two of them realized their mistake far too late. Gardevoir glowed blue as did the two Fighting types. The Psychic type raised her delicate arms. She focused her power and lifted Machamp and Toxicroak into the air. They were both clearly in pain and taking a lot of damage as the writhed and twisted in midair. Giselle could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the power of the attack. The change in Carmen when she battled was as spectacular as Reina’s. She was as cold as ice. Somehow, Giselle had never really appreciated Gardevoir’s beauty before. She was as cool and imposing as her trainer. Or maybe they were like this only because they were facing down two thugs.
“Time to deliver the final blow, Gardevoir.”
Gardevoir lower her arms and Machamp and Toxicroak slammed onto the hard ground moved no more. No one spoke for a moment. Then Talia let out and ear splitting roar as she launched herself at Carmen, preparing to punch her. Carmen didn’t so much as flinch as she caught Talia’s fist in her right hand. Giselle heard Talia’s knuckles crack. Carmen had much more muscle than Talia. Giselle say Alejandro’s eyes fall on the ring on Carmen’s middle finger.
“Talia, let’s go,” he said urgently.
“And why in the world should we?” Talia said, turning to glare at him. She turned back to Carmen, but suddenly she noticed the ring on one of the fingers crushing her fist. She snatched away from Carmen.
With one last malevolent look at Carmen, Reina, and Giselle, the duo walked away without a word. Giselle only just realized how fast her heart was pumping or how hard she was breathing. Both sisters ran over to Giselle.
“Are you all right,” Carmen asked. Her eyes were no longer cold; they were full of concern now.
Giselle put her hand on her forehead. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to get Duskull and Charmander to the Pokémon Center,” she said quickly. “I want to get out of here.”
“All right, let’s go now,” Reina said gently.
Giselle’s mind was still buzzing about her ordeal. She felt a new surge of gratefulness at the two sisters.
“Thank you so much guys,” Giselle said.
“You’re very welcome,” Carmen said kindly.
“You were really amazing back there Carmen. You handled that situation awesomely,” Giselle said in admiration.
“Those two idiots are a part of a Sinnoh-wide gang that calls themselves the Takers,” Carmen said in a low voice. “Did you notice the broken Pokéball symbol on their necklaces?”
“Yes, I did as a matter of fact,” said Giselle.
“The gang members make it their mission to steal Pokémon from beginning trainers,” Carmen continued. “And I’m sorry to say they’ve succeeded in some cases.” There was a short pause. “I encountered two other members of the gang. They stole my Gardevoir a while back. I almost never saw it again.”
“No way!” said Giselle in shock.
“It hurt me to my core. I went after the ones that did it.” Carmen suddenly cast her eyes down. “When I found them, let’s just say I didn’t handle as well as I did here. I lost control. I’m not too proud of it but I did learn a lesson.”
Reina remembered that day well. She hoped she would never have to see her sister like that again. It was lucky that their brother showed up: for both Carmen and the gang members.
Giselle was stunned. From hearing her story and witnessing her earlier, she never wanted to be on the wrong side of Carmen. She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to have a Pokémon stolen from her or how she would react to it.
“All I can say is to be on the lookout for them,” Carmen advised. “Increased police presence has kept them at bay, but, as you saw tonight, they’re still a threat.”
They were back in the bright lights and noise of the city and this, more than anything else soothed Giselle.
“I have just one question, guys,” Giselle said. “How did you find me?”
“Eh, it was a combination of Meilene’s aura and Gardevoir’s psychic power,” Reina said. “You hadn’t gone too far so that was good.”
“I wonder what caused the crowd to surge like that,” Giselle thought aloud.
Carmen glared at Reina. “There was some noob that screamed and then had his Pokémon use Explosion to get everyone’s attention. Then he yelled into the crowd that he saw Deoxys transforming at the meteor rocks. Word traveled fast and then people from miles around just had to see something that doesn’t even exist!”
“Deoxys does to exist,” Reina shot back hotly. “And that very well could’ve been a genuine sighting!”
“No, it doesn’t,” Carmen said. “I can’t believe people would be so gullible. And this one here,” Carmen shot a nasty look at Reina, “wanted to go with them!”
“They were so not gullible, Carmen! What if it was a sighting?” Reina said indignantly.
“But it wasn’t and we got separated from Giselle!”
The sisters bickered all the way back to the Pokémon Center, but Giselle didn’t mind. She found the whole thing funny. The nurse at the center took only a few minutes to heal Charmander and Duskull. After the shock had worn off, Giselle realized two things: that she had battled for the first time without totally losing her head and discovered Duskull’s battling style.
“Hey, Carmen,” Giselle said as they left the center. “Is there anywhere around here where I can buy at Toxic TM? I kind of discovered that that Duskull likes to inflict status conditions on his opponents.”
“Wait, you discovered that in your battle with those two goons?” Carmen said in pleasant surprise.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you how that battle went, did I?”
Giselle gave them all the details of the battle. She described every thought that went through her head before and during the battle, everything up to the sisters’ arrival.
“Wow,” said Reina, impressed. “Looks like Giselle is a critical thinker in battle. You’re doing a lot better under the pressure of battle.”
“Yeah, but you and Carmen do a 180 during battle. You two completely change your demeanor,” said Giselle, who was panting because they were going uphill. “I don’t feel that change yet.”
“The more you battle, the more your battling style will emerge,” Carmen said.
“And by the way,” said Reina. “Carmen isn’t always that cold when she battles. It was just because of who she was facing.”
“I thought as much,” said Giselle.
“I was just trying not to let anger cloud my judgment like it did last time,” Carmen said simply. “We can get that TM tomorrow; we’re at the Trainer’s House.”
I really should ask more questions about where we’re going, thought Giselle. Once again, she didn’t realize they were headed toward a specific destination. The trainer’s house resembled a large mansion with many rooms and as such it looked out of place in the middle of the city. Giselle guessed it was something like a bed and breakfast. The house was on a small hill and had a great view of the city that surrounded it. They entered into the house and a woman with short gray hair and glasses greeted them.
“Do you have any vacancies?” Carmen asked the woman.
“We sure do. In fact, this house is almost empty tonight,” the woman said kindly. “I’ll lead you upstairs.”
The house looked very comfortable with its fireplace and cozy chairs. It almost reminded Giselle of her own house, only without the coldness. The woman led them down a hall and into a large room with one door on each of its four walls. The woman led them through the door on the right. The room had hardwood floors, a large picture window with dark curtains, and a closet and two bunk beds. The dresser and night stand matched the beds.
“I hope you enjoy your stay tonight,” said the woman, leaving out of the room.
“I’ll be right back guys. I'll go pay for the room now,” Carmen said, following the woman out of the room.
Giselle walked to the nearest bottom bunk and collapsed on it.
“What a day this has been,” Giselle sighed. She realized how exhausted she was from the night’s events and just from all the walking she did. She took off her shoes and her bag and placed them beside her bed. She took off the egg which was still moving continuously and placed it beside her on her pillow.
“Long day, huh,” said Reina sitting on the other bottom bunk.
“Tell me about it,” said Giselle as she stared up at the bed above her. She was so tired she could barely think. Within about two minutes she was asleep.
OOC: Once again this chapter was longer than I thought. Ah well. Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner. It seems like I've forgotten something in this chapter for some reason. Eh, I'll probably think of it later. Anyway, I hope you like it Wink
Edit: I remembered what it was. It was minor: I had forgotten to mention the broken Pokéball charm at the beginning of
Giselle's encounter with Talia and Alejandro.
Edit 2: Stupid typos...and I don't think I got them all either.
Edit 3: Fixed a minor plot hole. I'm not even sure if anyone caught it.
OOC: Here it goes!
The next morning Giselle found sunlight streaming into the room forming little squares on the floor. Giselle was asleep when Carmen came back to the room, but once again both she and Reina had already gotten up. For some reason Carmen’s question from last night weighed on her mind: What are you doing next, Giselle? Are you going back home?
As she fully awaken, she realized she still had on her clothes from last night. Giselle got up and pulled a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a light green long sweater (that Charmander had “fixed”) out of her bag and went to take a shower. Before she could go out of the room, Reina followed by her Magneton and Beldum entered the room.
“Oh, you’re awake. Man you fall asleep fast. Anyway hurry up and shower so we can go for breakfast,” she said very quickly. She was wearing jeans, a blue shirt, and a brown jacket.
“That’s what I’m about to do.”
“When you’re done, come down to the basement and get us.”
“All right.”
Reina turned and left with her two Pokémon. Giselle went down the hall to the bathroom to shower. It was soothing to her entire body. She wanted to stay there a lot longer, but she couldn’t; she quickly got dressed and went to finish packing her things. Her anticipation continued to rise about her egg, which moved more and more with each passing hour. She put it on and her bag on and left the room.
When she went downstairs, the woman from the night before pointed her in the direction of the basement and Giselle dashed down there. Giselle’s jaw dropped when she finally got there. It was huge underground Pokémon arena upon which Carmen and Reina were having a practice battle.
It was Reina and Meilene versus Carmen and Blaziken and the battle was very fast paced. Giselle could see immediately that she was watching two powerful trainers. Meilene and Blaziken were using what Giselle thought were capoeira like moves on each other. Blaziken was very graceful as he ducked and dodged Meilene’s moves and he had spectacular jumping power with his long legs; it almost seemed as though it could fly. Blaziken lunged at Meilene, but she dodged and took to the sky using her psychic power.
“Meilene, use Psychic from above,” Reina said, her voice full of excitement.
Blaziken was instantly surrounded by a blue glow. He struggled as he tried to keep from being overcome by the attack. Giselle wondered how Carmen was figure a way out of that bind, but Carmen had a slight smile on her face. She was not cold merely focused.
“Blaziken, use Flamethrower on Meilene!”
A renewed determination flashed across Blaziken’s face. He stood up straight and opened his mouth wide. The Flamethrower had amazing range. Reina’s jaw dropped; apparently she didn’t think Blaziken would be able to launch an attack while struggling against Meilene’s Psychic attack.
“Meilene use your powers to block that Flamethrower!”
“Blaziken use Sky Uppercut!” Carmen counted back. Reina gasped
The Lucario stopped the Flamethrower with her powers, but in the process she released Blaziken from the Psychic attack. She was now wide open for an attack. Blaziken did his highest jump yet and hit Meilene with a brutal uppercut. Meilene fell from the sky and hit the ground with a thud.
“Well, Reina, you still haven’t learned how to use Psychic to attack and defend,” Carmen said wisely.
“You’re telling me,” Reina said. “I really need to practice that.”
She pulled out a Pokéball and recalled Meilene. “You did great, chica, take a good rest.” She pulled another Pokéball from her waist. “Shall we have one more round, Carmen?”
“Why not?”
The next battle ended even quicker than the last one—and again in Carmen’s favor. Reina sent out Paris and Carmen sent out Drapion. Reina was caught off guard when Drapion used Thunder Fang, Brick Break, and Earthquake; apparently these attacks were recent acquisitions.
“When did Drapion learn those moves?” Reina said aghast as she recalled Paris.
“It’s a secret,” Carmen said slyly, recalling Drapion. She had on jeans and a black sweater.
“Ah well, thanks for the matches, Carmen. Now let’s get some breakfast,” said Reina eagerly.
“We’re eating at that café, right?” Giselle asked.
“Correct. It’s on Valor Lakefront which is a few miles south of the city,” Carmen said. There’s a ritzy village there with a luxury resort and some of the most beautiful houses in Sinnoh. It’s really nice.”
“Oh,” said Giselle. It sounded like Resort Gorgeous in the Sevii Islands.
“We’ll have to fly there to reach it quickly because the terrain is so rough,” said Reina.
“You won’t be racing this time, will you?” Giselle said anxiously. “Because if you are, I think I’ll walk.”
Carmen and Reina both laughed.
“Not this time,” said Carmen.
“But only because you asked so nicely,” added Reina, winking.
They climbed out of the basement and thanked the woman for their stay before leaving the house. The morning was chilly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The gamers, partygoers, and trainers from the night had largely disappeared now. Once again, businessmen and women, along with other professionals roamed the streets and the children were probably in school now.
“Wait a second, guys. Can we buy that Toxic TM?”
“I actually think I have one,” Reina said, she opened up her waist bag. “Let me check.”
“Why didn’t you say that last night?” asked Giselle.
“I just wasn’t thinking about it,” said Reina. “Oh, look! Here it is.” She pulled out a purple disc from her bag. “Here,” she said, handing it to Giselle.
“Thanks,” said Giselle. She put the disk in her bag and hoped it wouldn’t be damaged. She had never actually used a TM before but she was excited to use one.
“And now we can go,” said Reina.
Carmen and Reina released their dragons for yet another flight. Giselle hopped aboard Clair once again and they and Carmen took to the sky. Giselle reflected on her time in Veilstone. And what a time it was. It was almost a dream or rather a scene from someone else’s life. Last night was certainly a night to remember. Giselle looked down at the city as it passed beneath them. She definitely wanted to return. But now the city was disappearing and being replaced by rugged mountains and trees. Even from their height, Giselle could see that it would rough to travel the area by foot.
“This is an excellent place to go hiking,” Reina said. “It’s also actually one of my favorite areas to train. There are all kinds of caves around here, too. However, there is a road not far from here that most people take, but where’s the fun in that?”
Where indeed, thought Giselle. She’d never had much luck with the outdoors, but maybe that would change too. For some reason, she was now itching to train her Pokémon and even more eager for her egg to hatch.
Giselle began to see building now: they were obviously nearing the village. It really was swanky, just as Carmen said. The houses were huge and the trees and harsh terrain around them had been tamed and they all had beautiful manicured yards and landscaping. Now the rough hills merely looked stepped. As they continued on, Giselle now saw white cobblestone walkways and tall buildings. They began to descend into what looked like the village square.
“Well, this is it,” said Reina. She and Giselle got off of Clair’s back as Carmen landed a short distance away.
At the center of the square was an enormous elaborate fountain. Stores and restaurants surrounded them as people in their expensive casual wear moved about. Little pathways led to other areas of the village.
“The ocean isn’t far from here either,” Carmen said. “We can go to the beach after breakfast.”
“Too bad it’s too cold to swim in it,” Reina sighed. “That’s another good thing about Hoenn—the ocean’s is always warm.”
“The café is that way,” Carmen said, pointing to the pathway nearest them.
They walked along winding pathway which contained stairs in places to accommodate the terrace like landscape. Giselle was hungry by this point and had to resist the urge to ask whether they were there yet in spite of the beautiful scenery. Maybe the pathway seemed so long because she was so hungry.
“If you climb up high enough, you’ll be able to see the ocean,” Reina said. “You can almost smell it!”
Giselle could actually, but it only made her hungrier for some reason. The smell of salt air never made her hungry back home.
“Here we are!” said Carmen. “The Moonstone Café!”
It was a neat little restaurant that overlooked the surrounding area. The café resembled a white washed beach house. It was on stilts to help it cope with the uneven land.
“Great, I’m starving,” Giselle said.
They all went inside. It was an airy place that smelled of fresh food. The furniture was all wooden and something that would be found on the patio of a person’s home. There was an enormous window on the opposite wall that gave an awesome view. The whole place had a beach vibe that Giselle loved. There were only a few other people in the restaurant.
Giselle plunked into the nearest chair, and Carmen and Reina joined her. They all ordered the same thing: a fruit and berry dish. They all had different berries so they sampled each other’s dishes. Giselle’s favorite was the Hondew Berry. Carmen informed her that those berries made good gift items because they were uncommon.
“Ah,” sighed Reina, leaning back in her chair after she was done eating. “I am totally full. You know we could also visit Lake Valor.”
“Lake Valor?” said Giselle.
“Yes,” said Carmen. “We’re on Valor Lakefront. The lake isn’t that far away. In fact, it’s closer than the ocean.”
“There are three big lakes around Sinnoh: Verity, where Carmen and I are from, Valor, and Acuity,” it was Reina’s turn to explain. “And just like Verity, Acuity and Valor both had legendary Pokémon that live in caves in the middle of them.”
“I should’ve seen this coming,” Carmen said. “I’m not even going to argue with you this morning.”
“Good. You’re taking the path of least resistance,” said Reina with relish. “Would you like to see the cave in the lake, Giselle?”
“Sure,” said Giselle.
They all were about to get up from the table, when Giselle suddenly stopped.
“What is it?”
“What’s the matter?”
“The egg,” Giselle said in wonder. Excitement was building inside of her. The egg was vibrating ceaselessly and she took it out of the carrier and placed it on the floor where she sat down beside it. Cracks were beginning to appear. “It’s hatching!” Carmen and Reina quickly sat down beside her. The egg continued to vibrate and in a few moments it turned black with pink at its two tips. Then, it began to glow and morph into a Pokémon. Giselle could not believe her eyes.
The Pokémon was black and about two feet tall. While it still had its eyes closed, Giselle saw what looked like gorgeous eyelashes. Its left ear resembled the fuchsia feathers that it had as a tail. However, it’s most striking feature were its impressive claws. The Pokémon finally opened its eyes and the first thing it saw was Giselle.
“Sneasel?” said the Pokémon inquisitively. It was sensing things for the first time.
Giselle put her hands to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. What on earth do you say to your newly hatched Pokémon? Giselle thought. “Hello, new friend,” was the first thing that came to mind.
Sneasel understood the gesture though. It acknowledged and respected Giselle and showed it by smiling. Even through its wide eyed innocence, Giselle could sense the slyness and was sure it would be no Pokémon to cross. She surprised herself at being able to sense that.
“Meet the result of the unholy union of my Weavile and Carmen’s Lopunny,” Reina said. “This one’s a male by the way. You can tell because the ear feathers are much longer on the males.”
“I told you the parents weren’t necessarily in our party,” said Carmen.
“Yes, you did,” said Giselle smiling.
The owners, delighted that an egg hatching had happened in their restaurant, let Sneasel pick from the berries that they had. He used his claws to eat with to stab each berry. Giselle was pleased to see that he liked the Hondew berries as much as she did. Giselle wanted to pick up the Sneasel, but she was slightly afraid of his claws.
“Those claws look really sharp,” said Giselle.
“They’re sharp but right now they're actually soft,” said Carmen. “A Sneasel’s claws don’t start to harden until about a week after it hatches. In the meantime, they like to sharpen their claws on rocks and trees and other objects.”
“You have to watch them carefully, too,” warned Reina. “You wouldn’t believe what newly hatched Pokémon can get into.”
“Right,” said Giselle. “Come on, Sneasel. You have to meet the rest of your friends,” she added in excitement.
“Sneasel…” he agreed.
The Pokemon followed Giselle, Carmen, and Reina out of the restaurant. Sneasel’s eyes widened as he tried to take in the scenery for the first time. Carmen was taking them to a wide open field not far from their current location.
“What are Sneasel’s parents like?” Giselle asked.
“Lopunny is really sweet,” Carmen told her. She took out her Pokédex and showed her Lopunny’s entry. “He’s very mild mannered.”
“Which I why I’m so surprised he made an egg with my Weavile, Dulce,” Reina interjected. “She’s a piece of work, she is. But then again most Weavile are.”
“Wait, what?” asked Giselle, suddenly alarmed.
“Sneasel and Weavile have a reputation for being vicious but once you gain their trust, they’re fiercely loyal,” Reina said. “Since you hatched Sneasel from an egg, it’ll be a lot easier than if you’d caught it in the wild. Don’t worry, Giselle. You and Sneasel will be fine.”
Giselle looked at the Sneasel who was now shredding a flower with his claws. She couldn’t imagine it being vicious.
“Sneasel just hatched so he’s still exploring the world,” Carmen said as though she had read Giselle’s mind. “Once he starts interacting with other Pokémon, his personality will start to emerge.”
“Oh.”
They had arrived in the large open field surrounded by trees. It was filled with grass and flowers that were used to the cooler temperatures of Sinnoh. They were now overlooking the sandy beach and the cold steel blue ocean. All three girls released their Pokemon into the field. Sneasel looked amazed at all of the Pokémon. Giselle’s Pokémon came over to her; they were obviously curious about Sneasel.
“Well Sneasel, these are the rest of your friends: Charmander, Budew, Caterpie, Shinx, and Duskull,” Giselle said to Sneasel. “Guys, Sneasel hatched from the egg I was carrying.”
They all made sounds of understanding. Giselle could see that Budew was also leery of Sneasel’s claws and Duskull was trying to find a way to scare him.
“Do Sneasel get along with other Pokémon?” Giselle asked.
“It’s complicated,” said Reina. “They’re good with their teammates, but wary of outsiders. It’s kind of like it would be with their pack in the wild. Just like with all Pokémon, some Sneasel are better at teamwork than others.”
Giselle felt slightly better. So Sneasel weren’t necessarily cold toward their teammates. Then another thought occurred to Giselle.
“What type is Sneasel?”
“Oh yeah,” said Reina as she slapped her hand to her forehead. “It’s a dual Dark and Ice type, meaning you should avoid being hit with Fighting moves.”
Now Giselle’s other Pokémon were inviting Sneasel to hang out with them. Giselle thought that Sneasel would be reluctant to leave her side, but she was wrong: Sneasel was eager to be with everyone else.
Carmen saw the look on Giselle’s face. “He just wants to get to know his pack more. It’s a defense mechanism for the wild. They need to know exactly who is in their While they’re still young, it’s important that they stay within their group until they get more experience.”
“That makes sense,” said Giselle. She looked at the Sneasel who was socializing with Shinx and Charmander a short distance away.
“So,” Reina began. “What are you going to name him?”
“Not everyone names their Pokémon, Reina.” Carmen told her sister.
“I know, but it makes it’s more fun that way.”
“I wouldn’t know what to name them,” Giselle replied.
“Names just come to you out of no where,” Reina said. “And you’ll just have to let them come to you.”
Salamence flew over to join her trainer. Giselle thought it must be cool to own a dragon, and then she remembered with a shock that Charmander would evolve into a dragon. She had a hard time seeing her Charmander as a Charizard or any of her Pokémon evolved. She turned her eyes back to Sneasel and her bottom jaw nearly hit the ground. Sneasel had managed to climb up a very tall tree and looked like he was having the time of his life. Giselle on the other hand was horrified.
“Oh, no! Sneasel, you have to get down from there! You might hurt yourself!” Giselle gasped.
“Sneasel?” He looked as though he didn’t understand what Giselle was so scared about. Sneasel was thoroughly unconcerned.
Giselle turned to Carmen and Reina. “We have to get him down there!” she cried. “Can you use psychic power to get him down?”
“That’s a no go,” said Carmen. “Sneasel is a dark type, remember? He won’t be affected by psychic power.”
“Besides Giselle, if he got himself up there, he’ll get himself down,” Reina said wisely.
Why are they so calm? Giselle thought.
“I didn’t think his claws would be sharp enough to help him climb trees!” Giselle was panicking. “I can’t believe this!” She closed her eyes in shame.
“Calm down, Giselle,” Carmen said serenely. “Look, he’s climbing down now.”
And sure enough, Sneasel was using his claws to climb down from the tree. Giselle breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to Sneasel.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Giselle said.
Sneasel gave her a look that plainly said “what are you so worried about? I can climb trees just fine.” Giselle couldn’t stay upset. She left Sneasel to the other Pokémon and went back to Carmen and Reina.
“They’re a bit more independent than most species are when they first hatch,” Carmen said.
“I can see that,” said Giselle sighing.
They spend the rest of the morning doing things with their Pokémon. Giselle used the Toxic TM on Duskull who was excited to have one more weapon in his arsenal. She marveled at the way Carmen and Reina talked to their Pokémon as though they were human. After spending time with Reina and Carmen, she was sure she would be able to do that someday. Being the trainer of Sneasel’s mother, Reina taught Giselle more about the species. Giselle remembered the Pokémon that Monique had said were out of Giselle’s league, and Sneasel and Weavile were squarely in that category.
“Weavile are pretty tough Pokémon. Their claws are even more brutal that Sneasel’s,” Reina told Giselle. “Once I saw Weavile completely slice a thick metal pole in half.”
“Wow,” breathed Giselle. Sneasel was already pretty strong if he could climb a tree all by himself. Toughness was in his blood.
“I had to teach it Metal Claw simply because all of my non-steel types know at least one Steel move,” Reina continued. “For example, Salamence knows Steel Wing.”
“What is it like training only one type of Pokémon?” Giselle asked. “I mean, how did that happen?”
Reina thought about it for a second. “Steel types have always been my passion, ever since I learned what Steel types were. I always viewed them as strong and majestic. And it was something girls didn’t do. Sure there was the Jasmine the Johto Gym leader but after all, she was in Jo Everyone used to tell me that girls weren’t steel type—at least until I made it all the way to Lucian with three Steel types, Salamence, Onix, and Weavile. I got my just due after that.” Reina finished with a wicked smile. “Losing to Lucian was cruel irony though. Steel types are resistant to Psychic moves…”
“That was a really cool story,” said Giselle, impressed. Just then Sneasel had come back to Giselle. He had speared a rather large green berry with his claws and presented it to his trainer, clearly looking for her approval. Giselle took the berries off Sneasel’s claws and raised it to her mouth.
“Giselle, I wouldn't-,” but Reina didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Giselle had already taken a bite of one of the berries. Bitterness filled Giselle’s mouth and she was temporarily speechless. Reina put a hand to her mouth. “That was a Durin Berry and it’s so bitter it can’t be eaten raw.”
“But it’s really good!” said Giselle as she took another bite. Reina’s looked astounded. Sneasel looked really pleased with himself.
“You’re probably the first person to ever eat those raw. I can’t believe it,” Reina said, impressed. “But then again, Isabel could eat Tomato Berries raw so there you go.”
After that, Carmen taught Giselle how to practice attacks with her Pokémon. The problems that Shinx was having with his Spark attack were even more prominent and Giselle could see he was getting frustrated. Carmen guessed that he was wasting too much of his electricity and that was causing some of his attacks to be underpowered.
“Shinx just needs to focus on not releasing the excess electricity after every Spark attack,” Carmen explained.
Giselle listened to every word and mulled it over. Thinking back to her school days, she remembered a move called Charge which would store electricity to use for the next electric attack.
“Carmen, can Shinx learn a move called Charge?” she asked.
“He sure can,” Carmen said, pleased that Giselle had figured it out on her own. “Now, it’s mostly takes concentration to pull it off….”
With a bit of practice, Shinx was able to store up electricity and use it to power his Spark attack. The attacks improved dramatically and were much more powerful than before. Shinx was certainly more satisfied to say the least.
“Thanks, Carmen!” Giselle said. “You say thanks too, Shinx.”
“Shinx!” said the grateful Pokémon.
Giselle spent time with all of her Pokémon. She could tell that Sneasel was becoming close to all of Giselle’s Pokémon. Since he was newly hatched, he did fall for Duskull’s Astonish a few times. The last time Duskull did so, Budew used her new found confidence attacked him again with Extrasensory. Duskull never Astonished Sneasel again after that.
They all decided to head down to beach so that Nerissa and Paris could take a dip in the ocean. Carmen, Reina, Giselle, and most of their Pokémon slid down the sandy hill onto the beach. Clair and Dragonite flew down while Meilene and Gardevoir levitated themselves down. Other trainers and Pokémon lined the white sand beach and some people were braving the cold water to swim in the ocean close to the shore. Giselle could see boats as well as a city in the distance.
“Look Sneasel! It’s the ocean!” said Giselle.
Sneasel took a deep breath and inhaled the salty air. Nerissa and Paris happily dived into the ocean. Charmander kept his distance from the water and stayed with Giselle and Sneasel. The rest of Giselle’s Pokémon played close to the water.
By mid-afternoon, it became clear just how attached Sneasel was to his new family. A Pokémon wearing a small blue top hat that looked like a smaller version of Ambipom began to harass Budew. Shinx, Caterpie, and even Duskull came to her rescue, but before Giselle could stop him, Sneasel jumped in with surprising speed. He attempted to slash the Pokémon who ducked in the nick of time so that only the hat took the attack. It fell to the ground in pieces.
For a moment, no one did anything. The Pokémon, seeing that it was outnumbered and overpowered, ran its trainer, a young boy in shorts. He turned to face Giselle, angry.
“What did you do to my Pokémon, you stupid foreigner!” he yelled.
“Excuse me!” said Giselle. She tried to keep her cool but she was outraged: the word “foreigner” had once again riled her. “I believe your Pokémon was the one that started this!”
But the boy would have none of this.
“Let me show you how we do it in Sinnoh. Then you can go back to whatever crap region you came from. Let’s go Aipom! You! Get your Sneasel and let’s battle.”
“WHAT? No Way! Sneasel’s too young to battle!” Giselle shouted. Out of the corner of her eye, Giselle saw Reina make a movement as though she wanted to jump in. Carmen held out her hand to stop her sister. Sneasel walked over to stand behind Giselle. “You’ll have to battle one of my other Pokémon. Are you up for a battle Charmander?”
Charmander agreed. He was eager to help Giselle in anyway he could. The boy rolled his eyes.
“Why of course. You’re Kanto trash.”
Giselle was having a hard time not letting her anger show. “Make your move.”
“Ah, letting me make the first move, are we?” the boy taunted Giselle. “That’s a big mistake. Aipom use Swift!”
Giselle knew from experience that there was no avoiding the attack. “Charmander, use Ember to block the attack.” Using one offensive attack to block another was something Giselle saw Reina do in her battle against Carla. Whenever the flames hit the stars, there were miniature explosions. Charmander managed to stop the worst of the attack and was relatively unharmed when the weakened stars hit him.
Evidently the boy expected Giselle to be a total noob and wasn’t happy when his attack didn’t work. A crowd had gathered around them and he didn’t want to lose. “Aipom use Shadow Claw!”
Aipom’s tail hand was surrounded by a purple ghostly glow. It drew up close to Charmander and began attacking. Charmander dodged all of its attacks but one was bound to hit at one point. Since it was so close to Charmander….
“Charmander use Smokescreen!’
Aipom was right in Charmander’s face and was overcome by the thick black smoke. It coughed and sputtered and was unable to move. Giselle was pleased at how well that worked. Charmander moved in and began to scratch Aipom only it didn’t look like a normal Scratch attack. Charmander’s claws looked oddly metallic…
“Giselle, that’s Metal Claw!” Reina called out.
“Really now?” Giselle was impressed. “Keep at it, Charmander!”
Charmander kept clawing the Aipom who was still struggling with the smoke.
“Aipom, you have to attack,” yelled the boy, desperation was starting to creep into his voice.
But it was no use. Aipom was still unable to breathe normally.
“Charmander finish this with Ember!” Giselle said, attempting to keep her cool. Excitement was coursing through her once more. Was it really about to happen?
Charmander let out the stronger Ember attack he ever had and Aipom took a direct hit. When the smoke finally cleared, Giselle, the boy, and everyone in the crowed saw that Aipom had been knocked out.
“You did wonderful, Charmander!” Giselle shrieked. Charmander smiled. He was proud of himself and Giselle.
The crowd cheered and shouted things like “that Charmander was so cute” and “not so tough are you kid” before dispersing. The boy grudgingly pulled out his red Pokédex and walked over to Giselle. She instinctively pulled out her card. He swiped the infrared port across Giselle’s card with a little more force than was called for. A loud beep told Giselle that the money had transferred. The boy recalled his Aipom as walked away without a word. With an added bounce to her step, Giselle walked over to Carmen and Reina.
“I cannot believe this! I won my first battle!” Giselle said. She was almost glowing with happiness.
“Congratulations!” Carmen said. Giselle could see the happiness in her silver eyes.
“That was great, Giselle!” Reina yelled, ruffling Giselle’s hair. “You have really come a long way!”
“Thanks guys,” said Giselle as she fixed her hair back. Sneasel, who was still beside her, was impressed by Charmander’s Metal Claw and was attempting to make his claws metallic as well.
“Sneasel,” Giselle knelt down. “You’re can’t just jump into something without thinking. You could’ve been hurt.”
“Sneasel,” he said looking down.
“It’s okay,” said Giselle. “We’ll practice battling a little later. Does that sound good?”
Sneasel looked happy about the prospect of training. Giselle sighed.
“Is there anyway for me to get a victory meal? I am starving.”
Carmen and Reina laughed.
“I guess winning battles make you hungry,” said Carmen. “But we haven’t eaten since breakfast so we should eat something.
The girls recalled their Pokémon. Giselle decided to leave Sneasel out of his Pokéball so he could see the world some more. The sun seemed to shine more brightly than usual as they all walked along. Giselle realized that she still had a decision to make, but she was as unsure now as she was when Carmen asked her the night before. But she didn’t let it bother her. For now she just enjoyed the sunshine and her friends as they laughed and talked.
OOC: I finally hatched the egg guys. Grin I thought he would be a cool addition to the team ^^ Anyway, I hope you liked it.Smiley
The next morning Giselle found sunlight streaming into the room forming little squares on the floor. Giselle was asleep when Carmen came back to the room, but once again both she and Reina had already gotten up. For some reason Carmen’s question from last night weighed on her mind: What are you doing next, Giselle? Are you going back home?
As she fully awaken, she realized she still had on her clothes from last night. Giselle got up and pulled a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a light green long sweater (that Charmander had “fixed”) out of her bag and went to take a shower. Before she could go out of the room, Reina followed by her Magneton and Beldum entered the room.
“Oh, you’re awake. Man you fall asleep fast. Anyway hurry up and shower so we can go for breakfast,” she said very quickly. She was wearing jeans, a blue shirt, and a brown jacket.
“That’s what I’m about to do.”
“When you’re done, come down to the basement and get us.”
“All right.”
Reina turned and left with her two Pokémon. Giselle went down the hall to the bathroom to shower. It was soothing to her entire body. She wanted to stay there a lot longer, but she couldn’t; she quickly got dressed and went to finish packing her things. Her anticipation continued to rise about her egg, which moved more and more with each passing hour. She put it on and her bag on and left the room.
When she went downstairs, the woman from the night before pointed her in the direction of the basement and Giselle dashed down there. Giselle’s jaw dropped when she finally got there. It was huge underground Pokémon arena upon which Carmen and Reina were having a practice battle.
It was Reina and Meilene versus Carmen and Blaziken and the battle was very fast paced. Giselle could see immediately that she was watching two powerful trainers. Meilene and Blaziken were using what Giselle thought were capoeira like moves on each other. Blaziken was very graceful as he ducked and dodged Meilene’s moves and he had spectacular jumping power with his long legs; it almost seemed as though it could fly. Blaziken lunged at Meilene, but she dodged and took to the sky using her psychic power.
“Meilene, use Psychic from above,” Reina said, her voice full of excitement.
Blaziken was instantly surrounded by a blue glow. He struggled as he tried to keep from being overcome by the attack. Giselle wondered how Carmen was figure a way out of that bind, but Carmen had a slight smile on her face. She was not cold merely focused.
“Blaziken, use Flamethrower on Meilene!”
A renewed determination flashed across Blaziken’s face. He stood up straight and opened his mouth wide. The Flamethrower had amazing range. Reina’s jaw dropped; apparently she didn’t think Blaziken would be able to launch an attack while struggling against Meilene’s Psychic attack.
“Meilene use your powers to block that Flamethrower!”
“Blaziken use Sky Uppercut!” Carmen counted back. Reina gasped
The Lucario stopped the Flamethrower with her powers, but in the process she released Blaziken from the Psychic attack. She was now wide open for an attack. Blaziken did his highest jump yet and hit Meilene with a brutal uppercut. Meilene fell from the sky and hit the ground with a thud.
“Well, Reina, you still haven’t learned how to use Psychic to attack and defend,” Carmen said wisely.
“You’re telling me,” Reina said. “I really need to practice that.”
She pulled out a Pokéball and recalled Meilene. “You did great, chica, take a good rest.” She pulled another Pokéball from her waist. “Shall we have one more round, Carmen?”
“Why not?”
The next battle ended even quicker than the last one—and again in Carmen’s favor. Reina sent out Paris and Carmen sent out Drapion. Reina was caught off guard when Drapion used Thunder Fang, Brick Break, and Earthquake; apparently these attacks were recent acquisitions.
“When did Drapion learn those moves?” Reina said aghast as she recalled Paris.
“It’s a secret,” Carmen said slyly, recalling Drapion. She had on jeans and a black sweater.
“Ah well, thanks for the matches, Carmen. Now let’s get some breakfast,” said Reina eagerly.
“We’re eating at that café, right?” Giselle asked.
“Correct. It’s on Valor Lakefront which is a few miles south of the city,” Carmen said. There’s a ritzy village there with a luxury resort and some of the most beautiful houses in Sinnoh. It’s really nice.”
“Oh,” said Giselle. It sounded like Resort Gorgeous in the Sevii Islands.
“We’ll have to fly there to reach it quickly because the terrain is so rough,” said Reina.
“You won’t be racing this time, will you?” Giselle said anxiously. “Because if you are, I think I’ll walk.”
Carmen and Reina both laughed.
“Not this time,” said Carmen.
“But only because you asked so nicely,” added Reina, winking.
They climbed out of the basement and thanked the woman for their stay before leaving the house. The morning was chilly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The gamers, partygoers, and trainers from the night had largely disappeared now. Once again, businessmen and women, along with other professionals roamed the streets and the children were probably in school now.
“Wait a second, guys. Can we buy that Toxic TM?”
“I actually think I have one,” Reina said, she opened up her waist bag. “Let me check.”
“Why didn’t you say that last night?” asked Giselle.
“I just wasn’t thinking about it,” said Reina. “Oh, look! Here it is.” She pulled out a purple disc from her bag. “Here,” she said, handing it to Giselle.
“Thanks,” said Giselle. She put the disk in her bag and hoped it wouldn’t be damaged. She had never actually used a TM before but she was excited to use one.
“And now we can go,” said Reina.
Carmen and Reina released their dragons for yet another flight. Giselle hopped aboard Clair once again and they and Carmen took to the sky. Giselle reflected on her time in Veilstone. And what a time it was. It was almost a dream or rather a scene from someone else’s life. Last night was certainly a night to remember. Giselle looked down at the city as it passed beneath them. She definitely wanted to return. But now the city was disappearing and being replaced by rugged mountains and trees. Even from their height, Giselle could see that it would rough to travel the area by foot.
“This is an excellent place to go hiking,” Reina said. “It’s also actually one of my favorite areas to train. There are all kinds of caves around here, too. However, there is a road not far from here that most people take, but where’s the fun in that?”
Where indeed, thought Giselle. She’d never had much luck with the outdoors, but maybe that would change too. For some reason, she was now itching to train her Pokémon and even more eager for her egg to hatch.
Giselle began to see building now: they were obviously nearing the village. It really was swanky, just as Carmen said. The houses were huge and the trees and harsh terrain around them had been tamed and they all had beautiful manicured yards and landscaping. Now the rough hills merely looked stepped. As they continued on, Giselle now saw white cobblestone walkways and tall buildings. They began to descend into what looked like the village square.
“Well, this is it,” said Reina. She and Giselle got off of Clair’s back as Carmen landed a short distance away.
At the center of the square was an enormous elaborate fountain. Stores and restaurants surrounded them as people in their expensive casual wear moved about. Little pathways led to other areas of the village.
“The ocean isn’t far from here either,” Carmen said. “We can go to the beach after breakfast.”
“Too bad it’s too cold to swim in it,” Reina sighed. “That’s another good thing about Hoenn—the ocean’s is always warm.”
“The café is that way,” Carmen said, pointing to the pathway nearest them.
They walked along winding pathway which contained stairs in places to accommodate the terrace like landscape. Giselle was hungry by this point and had to resist the urge to ask whether they were there yet in spite of the beautiful scenery. Maybe the pathway seemed so long because she was so hungry.
“If you climb up high enough, you’ll be able to see the ocean,” Reina said. “You can almost smell it!”
Giselle could actually, but it only made her hungrier for some reason. The smell of salt air never made her hungry back home.
“Here we are!” said Carmen. “The Moonstone Café!”
It was a neat little restaurant that overlooked the surrounding area. The café resembled a white washed beach house. It was on stilts to help it cope with the uneven land.
“Great, I’m starving,” Giselle said.
They all went inside. It was an airy place that smelled of fresh food. The furniture was all wooden and something that would be found on the patio of a person’s home. There was an enormous window on the opposite wall that gave an awesome view. The whole place had a beach vibe that Giselle loved. There were only a few other people in the restaurant.
Giselle plunked into the nearest chair, and Carmen and Reina joined her. They all ordered the same thing: a fruit and berry dish. They all had different berries so they sampled each other’s dishes. Giselle’s favorite was the Hondew Berry. Carmen informed her that those berries made good gift items because they were uncommon.
“Ah,” sighed Reina, leaning back in her chair after she was done eating. “I am totally full. You know we could also visit Lake Valor.”
“Lake Valor?” said Giselle.
“Yes,” said Carmen. “We’re on Valor Lakefront. The lake isn’t that far away. In fact, it’s closer than the ocean.”
“There are three big lakes around Sinnoh: Verity, where Carmen and I are from, Valor, and Acuity,” it was Reina’s turn to explain. “And just like Verity, Acuity and Valor both had legendary Pokémon that live in caves in the middle of them.”
“I should’ve seen this coming,” Carmen said. “I’m not even going to argue with you this morning.”
“Good. You’re taking the path of least resistance,” said Reina with relish. “Would you like to see the cave in the lake, Giselle?”
“Sure,” said Giselle.
They all were about to get up from the table, when Giselle suddenly stopped.
“What is it?”
“What’s the matter?”
“The egg,” Giselle said in wonder. Excitement was building inside of her. The egg was vibrating ceaselessly and she took it out of the carrier and placed it on the floor where she sat down beside it. Cracks were beginning to appear. “It’s hatching!” Carmen and Reina quickly sat down beside her. The egg continued to vibrate and in a few moments it turned black with pink at its two tips. Then, it began to glow and morph into a Pokémon. Giselle could not believe her eyes.
The Pokémon was black and about two feet tall. While it still had its eyes closed, Giselle saw what looked like gorgeous eyelashes. Its left ear resembled the fuchsia feathers that it had as a tail. However, it’s most striking feature were its impressive claws. The Pokémon finally opened its eyes and the first thing it saw was Giselle.
“Sneasel?” said the Pokémon inquisitively. It was sensing things for the first time.
Giselle put her hands to her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. What on earth do you say to your newly hatched Pokémon? Giselle thought. “Hello, new friend,” was the first thing that came to mind.
Sneasel understood the gesture though. It acknowledged and respected Giselle and showed it by smiling. Even through its wide eyed innocence, Giselle could sense the slyness and was sure it would be no Pokémon to cross. She surprised herself at being able to sense that.
“Meet the result of the unholy union of my Weavile and Carmen’s Lopunny,” Reina said. “This one’s a male by the way. You can tell because the ear feathers are much longer on the males.”
“I told you the parents weren’t necessarily in our party,” said Carmen.
“Yes, you did,” said Giselle smiling.
The owners, delighted that an egg hatching had happened in their restaurant, let Sneasel pick from the berries that they had. He used his claws to eat with to stab each berry. Giselle was pleased to see that he liked the Hondew berries as much as she did. Giselle wanted to pick up the Sneasel, but she was slightly afraid of his claws.
“Those claws look really sharp,” said Giselle.
“They’re sharp but right now they're actually soft,” said Carmen. “A Sneasel’s claws don’t start to harden until about a week after it hatches. In the meantime, they like to sharpen their claws on rocks and trees and other objects.”
“You have to watch them carefully, too,” warned Reina. “You wouldn’t believe what newly hatched Pokémon can get into.”
“Right,” said Giselle. “Come on, Sneasel. You have to meet the rest of your friends,” she added in excitement.
“Sneasel…” he agreed.
The Pokemon followed Giselle, Carmen, and Reina out of the restaurant. Sneasel’s eyes widened as he tried to take in the scenery for the first time. Carmen was taking them to a wide open field not far from their current location.
“What are Sneasel’s parents like?” Giselle asked.
“Lopunny is really sweet,” Carmen told her. She took out her Pokédex and showed her Lopunny’s entry. “He’s very mild mannered.”
“Which I why I’m so surprised he made an egg with my Weavile, Dulce,” Reina interjected. “She’s a piece of work, she is. But then again most Weavile are.”
“Wait, what?” asked Giselle, suddenly alarmed.
“Sneasel and Weavile have a reputation for being vicious but once you gain their trust, they’re fiercely loyal,” Reina said. “Since you hatched Sneasel from an egg, it’ll be a lot easier than if you’d caught it in the wild. Don’t worry, Giselle. You and Sneasel will be fine.”
Giselle looked at the Sneasel who was now shredding a flower with his claws. She couldn’t imagine it being vicious.
“Sneasel just hatched so he’s still exploring the world,” Carmen said as though she had read Giselle’s mind. “Once he starts interacting with other Pokémon, his personality will start to emerge.”
“Oh.”
They had arrived in the large open field surrounded by trees. It was filled with grass and flowers that were used to the cooler temperatures of Sinnoh. They were now overlooking the sandy beach and the cold steel blue ocean. All three girls released their Pokemon into the field. Sneasel looked amazed at all of the Pokémon. Giselle’s Pokémon came over to her; they were obviously curious about Sneasel.
“Well Sneasel, these are the rest of your friends: Charmander, Budew, Caterpie, Shinx, and Duskull,” Giselle said to Sneasel. “Guys, Sneasel hatched from the egg I was carrying.”
They all made sounds of understanding. Giselle could see that Budew was also leery of Sneasel’s claws and Duskull was trying to find a way to scare him.
“Do Sneasel get along with other Pokémon?” Giselle asked.
“It’s complicated,” said Reina. “They’re good with their teammates, but wary of outsiders. It’s kind of like it would be with their pack in the wild. Just like with all Pokémon, some Sneasel are better at teamwork than others.”
Giselle felt slightly better. So Sneasel weren’t necessarily cold toward their teammates. Then another thought occurred to Giselle.
“What type is Sneasel?”
“Oh yeah,” said Reina as she slapped her hand to her forehead. “It’s a dual Dark and Ice type, meaning you should avoid being hit with Fighting moves.”
Now Giselle’s other Pokémon were inviting Sneasel to hang out with them. Giselle thought that Sneasel would be reluctant to leave her side, but she was wrong: Sneasel was eager to be with everyone else.
Carmen saw the look on Giselle’s face. “He just wants to get to know his pack more. It’s a defense mechanism for the wild. They need to know exactly who is in their While they’re still young, it’s important that they stay within their group until they get more experience.”
“That makes sense,” said Giselle. She looked at the Sneasel who was socializing with Shinx and Charmander a short distance away.
“So,” Reina began. “What are you going to name him?”
“Not everyone names their Pokémon, Reina.” Carmen told her sister.
“I know, but it makes it’s more fun that way.”
“I wouldn’t know what to name them,” Giselle replied.
“Names just come to you out of no where,” Reina said. “And you’ll just have to let them come to you.”
Salamence flew over to join her trainer. Giselle thought it must be cool to own a dragon, and then she remembered with a shock that Charmander would evolve into a dragon. She had a hard time seeing her Charmander as a Charizard or any of her Pokémon evolved. She turned her eyes back to Sneasel and her bottom jaw nearly hit the ground. Sneasel had managed to climb up a very tall tree and looked like he was having the time of his life. Giselle on the other hand was horrified.
“Oh, no! Sneasel, you have to get down from there! You might hurt yourself!” Giselle gasped.
“Sneasel?” He looked as though he didn’t understand what Giselle was so scared about. Sneasel was thoroughly unconcerned.
Giselle turned to Carmen and Reina. “We have to get him down there!” she cried. “Can you use psychic power to get him down?”
“That’s a no go,” said Carmen. “Sneasel is a dark type, remember? He won’t be affected by psychic power.”
“Besides Giselle, if he got himself up there, he’ll get himself down,” Reina said wisely.
Why are they so calm? Giselle thought.
“I didn’t think his claws would be sharp enough to help him climb trees!” Giselle was panicking. “I can’t believe this!” She closed her eyes in shame.
“Calm down, Giselle,” Carmen said serenely. “Look, he’s climbing down now.”
And sure enough, Sneasel was using his claws to climb down from the tree. Giselle breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to Sneasel.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” Giselle said.
Sneasel gave her a look that plainly said “what are you so worried about? I can climb trees just fine.” Giselle couldn’t stay upset. She left Sneasel to the other Pokémon and went back to Carmen and Reina.
“They’re a bit more independent than most species are when they first hatch,” Carmen said.
“I can see that,” said Giselle sighing.
They spend the rest of the morning doing things with their Pokémon. Giselle used the Toxic TM on Duskull who was excited to have one more weapon in his arsenal. She marveled at the way Carmen and Reina talked to their Pokémon as though they were human. After spending time with Reina and Carmen, she was sure she would be able to do that someday. Being the trainer of Sneasel’s mother, Reina taught Giselle more about the species. Giselle remembered the Pokémon that Monique had said were out of Giselle’s league, and Sneasel and Weavile were squarely in that category.
“Weavile are pretty tough Pokémon. Their claws are even more brutal that Sneasel’s,” Reina told Giselle. “Once I saw Weavile completely slice a thick metal pole in half.”
“Wow,” breathed Giselle. Sneasel was already pretty strong if he could climb a tree all by himself. Toughness was in his blood.
“I had to teach it Metal Claw simply because all of my non-steel types know at least one Steel move,” Reina continued. “For example, Salamence knows Steel Wing.”
“What is it like training only one type of Pokémon?” Giselle asked. “I mean, how did that happen?”
Reina thought about it for a second. “Steel types have always been my passion, ever since I learned what Steel types were. I always viewed them as strong and majestic. And it was something girls didn’t do. Sure there was the Jasmine the Johto Gym leader but after all, she was in Jo Everyone used to tell me that girls weren’t steel type—at least until I made it all the way to Lucian with three Steel types, Salamence, Onix, and Weavile. I got my just due after that.” Reina finished with a wicked smile. “Losing to Lucian was cruel irony though. Steel types are resistant to Psychic moves…”
“That was a really cool story,” said Giselle, impressed. Just then Sneasel had come back to Giselle. He had speared a rather large green berry with his claws and presented it to his trainer, clearly looking for her approval. Giselle took the berries off Sneasel’s claws and raised it to her mouth.
“Giselle, I wouldn't-,” but Reina didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Giselle had already taken a bite of one of the berries. Bitterness filled Giselle’s mouth and she was temporarily speechless. Reina put a hand to her mouth. “That was a Durin Berry and it’s so bitter it can’t be eaten raw.”
“But it’s really good!” said Giselle as she took another bite. Reina’s looked astounded. Sneasel looked really pleased with himself.
“You’re probably the first person to ever eat those raw. I can’t believe it,” Reina said, impressed. “But then again, Isabel could eat Tomato Berries raw so there you go.”
After that, Carmen taught Giselle how to practice attacks with her Pokémon. The problems that Shinx was having with his Spark attack were even more prominent and Giselle could see he was getting frustrated. Carmen guessed that he was wasting too much of his electricity and that was causing some of his attacks to be underpowered.
“Shinx just needs to focus on not releasing the excess electricity after every Spark attack,” Carmen explained.
Giselle listened to every word and mulled it over. Thinking back to her school days, she remembered a move called Charge which would store electricity to use for the next electric attack.
“Carmen, can Shinx learn a move called Charge?” she asked.
“He sure can,” Carmen said, pleased that Giselle had figured it out on her own. “Now, it’s mostly takes concentration to pull it off….”
With a bit of practice, Shinx was able to store up electricity and use it to power his Spark attack. The attacks improved dramatically and were much more powerful than before. Shinx was certainly more satisfied to say the least.
“Thanks, Carmen!” Giselle said. “You say thanks too, Shinx.”
“Shinx!” said the grateful Pokémon.
Giselle spent time with all of her Pokémon. She could tell that Sneasel was becoming close to all of Giselle’s Pokémon. Since he was newly hatched, he did fall for Duskull’s Astonish a few times. The last time Duskull did so, Budew used her new found confidence attacked him again with Extrasensory. Duskull never Astonished Sneasel again after that.
They all decided to head down to beach so that Nerissa and Paris could take a dip in the ocean. Carmen, Reina, Giselle, and most of their Pokémon slid down the sandy hill onto the beach. Clair and Dragonite flew down while Meilene and Gardevoir levitated themselves down. Other trainers and Pokémon lined the white sand beach and some people were braving the cold water to swim in the ocean close to the shore. Giselle could see boats as well as a city in the distance.
“Look Sneasel! It’s the ocean!” said Giselle.
Sneasel took a deep breath and inhaled the salty air. Nerissa and Paris happily dived into the ocean. Charmander kept his distance from the water and stayed with Giselle and Sneasel. The rest of Giselle’s Pokémon played close to the water.
By mid-afternoon, it became clear just how attached Sneasel was to his new family. A Pokémon wearing a small blue top hat that looked like a smaller version of Ambipom began to harass Budew. Shinx, Caterpie, and even Duskull came to her rescue, but before Giselle could stop him, Sneasel jumped in with surprising speed. He attempted to slash the Pokémon who ducked in the nick of time so that only the hat took the attack. It fell to the ground in pieces.
For a moment, no one did anything. The Pokémon, seeing that it was outnumbered and overpowered, ran its trainer, a young boy in shorts. He turned to face Giselle, angry.
“What did you do to my Pokémon, you stupid foreigner!” he yelled.
“Excuse me!” said Giselle. She tried to keep her cool but she was outraged: the word “foreigner” had once again riled her. “I believe your Pokémon was the one that started this!”
But the boy would have none of this.
“Let me show you how we do it in Sinnoh. Then you can go back to whatever crap region you came from. Let’s go Aipom! You! Get your Sneasel and let’s battle.”
“WHAT? No Way! Sneasel’s too young to battle!” Giselle shouted. Out of the corner of her eye, Giselle saw Reina make a movement as though she wanted to jump in. Carmen held out her hand to stop her sister. Sneasel walked over to stand behind Giselle. “You’ll have to battle one of my other Pokémon. Are you up for a battle Charmander?”
Charmander agreed. He was eager to help Giselle in anyway he could. The boy rolled his eyes.
“Why of course. You’re Kanto trash.”
Giselle was having a hard time not letting her anger show. “Make your move.”
“Ah, letting me make the first move, are we?” the boy taunted Giselle. “That’s a big mistake. Aipom use Swift!”
Giselle knew from experience that there was no avoiding the attack. “Charmander, use Ember to block the attack.” Using one offensive attack to block another was something Giselle saw Reina do in her battle against Carla. Whenever the flames hit the stars, there were miniature explosions. Charmander managed to stop the worst of the attack and was relatively unharmed when the weakened stars hit him.
Evidently the boy expected Giselle to be a total noob and wasn’t happy when his attack didn’t work. A crowd had gathered around them and he didn’t want to lose. “Aipom use Shadow Claw!”
Aipom’s tail hand was surrounded by a purple ghostly glow. It drew up close to Charmander and began attacking. Charmander dodged all of its attacks but one was bound to hit at one point. Since it was so close to Charmander….
“Charmander use Smokescreen!’
Aipom was right in Charmander’s face and was overcome by the thick black smoke. It coughed and sputtered and was unable to move. Giselle was pleased at how well that worked. Charmander moved in and began to scratch Aipom only it didn’t look like a normal Scratch attack. Charmander’s claws looked oddly metallic…
“Giselle, that’s Metal Claw!” Reina called out.
“Really now?” Giselle was impressed. “Keep at it, Charmander!”
Charmander kept clawing the Aipom who was still struggling with the smoke.
“Aipom, you have to attack,” yelled the boy, desperation was starting to creep into his voice.
But it was no use. Aipom was still unable to breathe normally.
“Charmander finish this with Ember!” Giselle said, attempting to keep her cool. Excitement was coursing through her once more. Was it really about to happen?
Charmander let out the stronger Ember attack he ever had and Aipom took a direct hit. When the smoke finally cleared, Giselle, the boy, and everyone in the crowed saw that Aipom had been knocked out.
“You did wonderful, Charmander!” Giselle shrieked. Charmander smiled. He was proud of himself and Giselle.
The crowd cheered and shouted things like “that Charmander was so cute” and “not so tough are you kid” before dispersing. The boy grudgingly pulled out his red Pokédex and walked over to Giselle. She instinctively pulled out her card. He swiped the infrared port across Giselle’s card with a little more force than was called for. A loud beep told Giselle that the money had transferred. The boy recalled his Aipom as walked away without a word. With an added bounce to her step, Giselle walked over to Carmen and Reina.
“I cannot believe this! I won my first battle!” Giselle said. She was almost glowing with happiness.
“Congratulations!” Carmen said. Giselle could see the happiness in her silver eyes.
“That was great, Giselle!” Reina yelled, ruffling Giselle’s hair. “You have really come a long way!”
“Thanks guys,” said Giselle as she fixed her hair back. Sneasel, who was still beside her, was impressed by Charmander’s Metal Claw and was attempting to make his claws metallic as well.
“Sneasel,” Giselle knelt down. “You’re can’t just jump into something without thinking. You could’ve been hurt.”
“Sneasel,” he said looking down.
“It’s okay,” said Giselle. “We’ll practice battling a little later. Does that sound good?”
Sneasel looked happy about the prospect of training. Giselle sighed.
“Is there anyway for me to get a victory meal? I am starving.”
Carmen and Reina laughed.
“I guess winning battles make you hungry,” said Carmen. “But we haven’t eaten since breakfast so we should eat something.
The girls recalled their Pokémon. Giselle decided to leave Sneasel out of his Pokéball so he could see the world some more. The sun seemed to shine more brightly than usual as they all walked along. Giselle realized that she still had a decision to make, but she was as unsure now as she was when Carmen asked her the night before. But she didn’t let it bother her. For now she just enjoyed the sunshine and her friends as they laughed and talked.
OOC: I finally hatched the egg guys. Grin I thought he would be a cool addition to the team ^^ Anyway, I hope you liked it.Smiley
RAWRYOUSPOILEDITFORMEIHATEYOUD: Thank you for enhancing my life with tough cuteness.
Kudos to Giselle! She won a battle. I hope more victories are in her future.
Edit made on 6/24/08: Dude, who messed with my post? 'RAWRYOUSPOILEDITFORMEIHATEYOUD:' wasn't here before.
Sem edit!: Says at the bottom of your post when you or someone edits it
It was me and I editted it because it was mean and awful of you to spoil what hatched when I had yet to actually read the chapter >> Bloody link.
Secad Edit!: Sorry Sem, I didn't mean to ruin it for you! *sniff* I'm sorry. Next time I compliment, I'll keep it more vague, okay? Please don't shove me in the n00b-cannon! (lol)
Kudos to Giselle! She won a battle. I hope more victories are in her future.
Edit made on 6/24/08: Dude, who messed with my post? 'RAWRYOUSPOILEDITFORMEIHATEYOUD:' wasn't here before.
Sem edit!: Says at the bottom of your post when you or someone edits it
It was me and I editted it because it was mean and awful of you to spoil what hatched when I had yet to actually read the chapter >> Bloody link.Secad Edit!: Sorry Sem, I didn't mean to ruin it for you! *sniff* I'm sorry. Next time I compliment, I'll keep it more vague, okay? Please don't shove me in the n00b-cannon! (lol)
I never liked Sneasels before I read this, but somehow you actually managed to describe it in a way that made me kind of want one. I thought it was going to be a Riolu, though.
OOC: Heh, this one's kinda short, but I hope it's sweet 
Anyway, the pulse quickens!
Giselle was paddling a canoe on Lake Valor. The water was so clear Giselle could see the bottom of the lake which reflected the clear blue sky above. Reina had shown her the cave in the middle of the lake, but Azelf wasn’t around. She claimed that it was likely wandering Sinnoh now. The forest and hills surrounding the lake was abuzz with the sounds of Pokémon. The land around the lake was left largely untouched so that people could enjoy the natural scenery. At that moment the lake was largely devoid of people and Giselle enjoyed the peace and quiet.
It was now a month after Sneasel had hatched and Giselle still hadn’t made her decision though she thought about it a lot. As Carmen said, most trainers start in their own regions first then move on to a new region. And Giselle would prove everyone wrong back in Pallet Town if she returned and she hated not having anything to tell Carmen and Reina about Kanto. But Giselle was getting used to Sinnoh and all of its quirks. She was just as confused now as she had been a month ago.
Giselle had had a conversation with Carmen two days before about her confusion.
“It just feels like I left a lot of loose ends when I ran away like that. I wonder if anyone even cares what’s happening to me right now.”
Giselle had not had contact with her family or anyone else in Pallet Town since she’d gotten to Sinnoh.
“You didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms, did you?” Carmen had said. “I just can’t imagine what it must feel like to leave home like that. But what do you mean by loose ends?”
“I don’t know,” Giselle shrugged. “It’s like I left a lasting memory in everyone’s mind: one of the failure Giselle, the butt of every joke Giselle. In spite of the fact that I hate Pallet Town, that’s not how I imagined leaving.”
Carmen had been straightforward. “Do you want to go back and prove them wrong?”
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure if I would be able to face them again. I don’t know if I should go back or stay here.”
“Only you will be able to decide that,” Carmen had replied. “But I think you’ll find your answer soon enough. I can feel it.” Giselle wondered how soon it would be. And so, Carmen’s words filled her thoughts.
“Charmander!” He was sitting in front of Giselle in the front of the boat. It brought her back to the present.
Giselle sighed. “Charmander, I’m in a catch twenty-two. I’m not sure if I want to go home or not. I’d like change everyone’s opinion of me, but I’m not sure if that would be the best thing.” When she asked Carmen and Reina how to go about talking to your Pokémon, they just said to talk to them as you would a person. They would understand what the intent behind what she was saying.
Giselle looked thoughtful for a while, and Charmander mimicked his trainer. For the past month she had practiced training and spending time with her Pokémon. True to Carmen’s word, Sneasel’s personality had emerged. Clever and sly, he could figure a way into or out of anything and he was fiercely loyal to Giselle and the rest of her Pokémon. Giselle still hadn’t had a real battle with him yet, but she did train with him and he learned some new attacks. Shinx’s competitive side began to become even more prominent than before and he loved to battle. Budew was not as much of a crybaby as she was, but she would still attack anyone who messed with her scarf.
Just as Giselle was about to paddle one more time around the lake, she heard a yell.
“GISELLE! IT’S TIME FOR US TO GET STARTED ALREADY!”
Reina was the one yelling and she was waving her arms while standing on the shore. The day before, Reina had asked Giselle if she would like to go hiking the next day. Giselle agreed immediately but started to get misgivings. Carmen had asked Reina to bring Giselle back in one piece, she kept referring to that “Geodude incident” that she never properly explained and she dropped a few other ominous comments. Reina merely laughed off Carmen’s remarks and she deviously said “you’re going to have the time of your life, Giselle.” It didn’t take much for Giselle to remember falling off a flying Salamence to realize that Reina was probably serious. However, she didn’t back out. Reina would probably scare her out of her mind, but she trusted her.
Giselle was already wearing her hiking gear and her waist bag was in the boat with her. Reina had said it wouldn’t be too difficult so she wore jeans, hiking boots, and a brown jacket. Likewise, Reina wore almost the same thing except, her jacket was green. Giselle paddled her canoe over to where Reina was, both she and Charmander got out, and she tied up the canoe for the next person.
“All set?” Reina asked Giselle. “Good! Now I also brought Sneasel’s mother with us. The species are actually pretty good at rock climbing—
“Rock climbing?” said Giselle incredulously. “You never said anything about rock climbing. You just said it would be a hike.”
“Yeah, well I might’ve forgotten to mention it but that’s beside the point here,” Reina said dismissively. “Anyway, Weavile can also show Sneasel even more of what being a Sneasel is. Let’s go, shall we?”
Giselle was wondering if she would indeed come back in one piece as she and Reina began to walk together. Charmander caught onto Giselle’s apprehension, and was looking unsure now. Reina looked positively thrilled. She hummed a tune that Giselle didn’t recognize as they walked. She had chosen Meilene along with Weavile to be her hiking partners, but she didn’t release them right then. For a while they walked along a safe path before Reina stopped.
“Let’s take a less traveled path to get there,” Reina said eagerly. Giselle’s ominous feelings only increased.
Reina led them into the woods surrounding the path. The area was as serene as Lake Valor had been. The sunlight above couldn't fully penetrate to the ground because of the tree leaves so the area seem to have a greenish glow.Walking in the woods wasn’t too difficult but Giselle still had to be careful. The leaves on the ground were very slippery and Giselle nearly fell quite a few times. At one point she and Charmander were miles behind Reina. Giselle had no idea how Reina managed to move so quickly. She was also annoyed by the fact that she had forgotten to bring a hair tie; her hair was constantly getting tangled with bits of everything. Reina didn’t have to worry too much about it as her hair was cut short.
For the umpteenth time, Giselle slipped and fell on fallen leaves and she ended up with a cobweb in her face. As she tried to get the web off her face, she heard laugher echoing up ahead. Giselle looked up to see Reina was nearly out of sight. Charmander sighed.
“Come on Giselle! You have to keep up!” she called out cheerfully. “You’re too slow!”
By now, Giselle was starting to seriously consider turning back. She pulled herself to her feet once more and marched toward Reina who stopped to let Giselle and Charmander catch up. When the finally did, Giselle was looking mutinous.
“All right, I’ll give you some advice,” Reina said hastily, spotting the look on Giselle's face. (About time, thought Giselle). “You’ll just have to get use to it. The more you do it, the more you start learning how to keep your balance.”
Some advice, thought Giselle as she pulled another leaf out of her hair.
“I’ll never understand how you and Carmen can stand having hair that long,” Reina said.
Giselle sighed and they kept walking. She noticed that the terrain was starting to slope upward and was starting to get rougher. The trees could not conceal the rocks that were becoming more numerous. Now she had to worry about tripping over said rocks along with slipping on leaves and pine straw. Charmander was much better at keep his balance than Giselle was. However, this time Reina stopped to help Giselle whenever she fell. They didn’t talk much as Giselle was trying to concentrate on keeping her balance. There still wasn’t a cloud in the sky as they hiked along. For the most part, the hike was peaceful—at least until Giselle caused a disturbance.
She tripped on what she though was a rock. Grumbling, Giselle got back to her feet with Reina’s help. When they looked down, they saw that it was in fact a Geodude Giselle had tripped over. And it was not happy about being tripped over.
“Uh oh,” said Giselle. The Geodude launched rocks at Charmander which he dodged. Giselle gasped. She knew fire attacks wouldn’t do much. “Charmander use Metal Claw!”
The attack worked pretty well. The Geodude had deep claw marks in its rock body. Metal Claw did things to Rock types that a Normal Scratch attack didn’t do. The Geodude relented after that and ran away from them. Giselle was relieved that it didn’t Self-Destruct.
“You handled that well enough,” said Reina. “I remembered when you would’ve fell to pieces over something like that.”
“Yeah well, it’s amazing how much a person can grow in a month,” Giselle said sagely.
Reina laughed and they continued on. They had entered an area that wasn’t totally full of tripping hazards, so they could talk more. Giselle enjoyed listening to Reina talking about her favorite training areas of Sinnoh, including the area under Sinnoh’s Cycling Road.
“At first I didn’t want that road built as I was sure it would disturb the Pokémon and ruin the area,” Reina said. “And while they were building it, the Pokémon were disturbed and didn’t appear as often. You can imagine how upset I was.” Reina and Giselle paused for a moment to get their footing again. Then, Reina continued. “However after the road was finished and people started to use it, the Pokémon started to reappear again. And because more people use the road above, few people even think about the area under the road anymore. It’s even better than before!”
“Wow,” said Giselle. She wondered if she would have a favorite place to train. Now the terrain was starting to turn rough again—it’s roughest yet. Giselle had heard that the Charmander line was native to mountain regions. Maybe that was the reason he was so good at keeping his balance here: it was in his blood. Reina released Meilene to walk with her. All four of them had to walk along a precarious ledge that dropped off onto the ground some twenty feet below. Giselle could see rocks every so often on the ground below them.
“Don’t look down, Giselle.” Reina’s warning had, of course, come too late. Giselle was being extra careful now, as she feared the rocks. “Up ahead it a good spot where we can rest and release Sneasel and Weavile. Your Sneasel can practice climbing with the help of his mother.”
“Got it,” said Giselle shakily. Her breathing was heavier now that their path had become more dangerous. Reina had said it wouldn’t be difficult, but that was exactly the way she found this hike—difficult. At one point she had to grab a tree root to keep from falling.
“It’s not much farther now!” said Reina. “Just a little more.”
The silence of the area was broken by a strange noise; it sounded as though something was rolling down a hill. Instinct told Giselle where to look to see it: a Graveler was rolling down the hill towards them. And it was moving fast. Giselle attempted to move aside to let it roll by. In just one heart stopping second, Giselle lost her footing and she was falling. Falling. She couldn’t even scream. Was this really happening? Or was it really just a dream? No, this had to be real because she could feel. She could feel her body hit the ground, yet she could feel no pain. Why was that? Giselle was having trouble contemplating that as darkness overtook her. And then there was nothing.
“GISELLE!”
Anyway, the pulse quickens!Giselle was paddling a canoe on Lake Valor. The water was so clear Giselle could see the bottom of the lake which reflected the clear blue sky above. Reina had shown her the cave in the middle of the lake, but Azelf wasn’t around. She claimed that it was likely wandering Sinnoh now. The forest and hills surrounding the lake was abuzz with the sounds of Pokémon. The land around the lake was left largely untouched so that people could enjoy the natural scenery. At that moment the lake was largely devoid of people and Giselle enjoyed the peace and quiet.
It was now a month after Sneasel had hatched and Giselle still hadn’t made her decision though she thought about it a lot. As Carmen said, most trainers start in their own regions first then move on to a new region. And Giselle would prove everyone wrong back in Pallet Town if she returned and she hated not having anything to tell Carmen and Reina about Kanto. But Giselle was getting used to Sinnoh and all of its quirks. She was just as confused now as she had been a month ago.
Giselle had had a conversation with Carmen two days before about her confusion.
“It just feels like I left a lot of loose ends when I ran away like that. I wonder if anyone even cares what’s happening to me right now.”
Giselle had not had contact with her family or anyone else in Pallet Town since she’d gotten to Sinnoh.
“You didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms, did you?” Carmen had said. “I just can’t imagine what it must feel like to leave home like that. But what do you mean by loose ends?”
“I don’t know,” Giselle shrugged. “It’s like I left a lasting memory in everyone’s mind: one of the failure Giselle, the butt of every joke Giselle. In spite of the fact that I hate Pallet Town, that’s not how I imagined leaving.”
Carmen had been straightforward. “Do you want to go back and prove them wrong?”
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure if I would be able to face them again. I don’t know if I should go back or stay here.”
“Only you will be able to decide that,” Carmen had replied. “But I think you’ll find your answer soon enough. I can feel it.” Giselle wondered how soon it would be. And so, Carmen’s words filled her thoughts.
“Charmander!” He was sitting in front of Giselle in the front of the boat. It brought her back to the present.
Giselle sighed. “Charmander, I’m in a catch twenty-two. I’m not sure if I want to go home or not. I’d like change everyone’s opinion of me, but I’m not sure if that would be the best thing.” When she asked Carmen and Reina how to go about talking to your Pokémon, they just said to talk to them as you would a person. They would understand what the intent behind what she was saying.
Giselle looked thoughtful for a while, and Charmander mimicked his trainer. For the past month she had practiced training and spending time with her Pokémon. True to Carmen’s word, Sneasel’s personality had emerged. Clever and sly, he could figure a way into or out of anything and he was fiercely loyal to Giselle and the rest of her Pokémon. Giselle still hadn’t had a real battle with him yet, but she did train with him and he learned some new attacks. Shinx’s competitive side began to become even more prominent than before and he loved to battle. Budew was not as much of a crybaby as she was, but she would still attack anyone who messed with her scarf.
Just as Giselle was about to paddle one more time around the lake, she heard a yell.
“GISELLE! IT’S TIME FOR US TO GET STARTED ALREADY!”
Reina was the one yelling and she was waving her arms while standing on the shore. The day before, Reina had asked Giselle if she would like to go hiking the next day. Giselle agreed immediately but started to get misgivings. Carmen had asked Reina to bring Giselle back in one piece, she kept referring to that “Geodude incident” that she never properly explained and she dropped a few other ominous comments. Reina merely laughed off Carmen’s remarks and she deviously said “you’re going to have the time of your life, Giselle.” It didn’t take much for Giselle to remember falling off a flying Salamence to realize that Reina was probably serious. However, she didn’t back out. Reina would probably scare her out of her mind, but she trusted her.
Giselle was already wearing her hiking gear and her waist bag was in the boat with her. Reina had said it wouldn’t be too difficult so she wore jeans, hiking boots, and a brown jacket. Likewise, Reina wore almost the same thing except, her jacket was green. Giselle paddled her canoe over to where Reina was, both she and Charmander got out, and she tied up the canoe for the next person.
“All set?” Reina asked Giselle. “Good! Now I also brought Sneasel’s mother with us. The species are actually pretty good at rock climbing—
“Rock climbing?” said Giselle incredulously. “You never said anything about rock climbing. You just said it would be a hike.”
“Yeah, well I might’ve forgotten to mention it but that’s beside the point here,” Reina said dismissively. “Anyway, Weavile can also show Sneasel even more of what being a Sneasel is. Let’s go, shall we?”
Giselle was wondering if she would indeed come back in one piece as she and Reina began to walk together. Charmander caught onto Giselle’s apprehension, and was looking unsure now. Reina looked positively thrilled. She hummed a tune that Giselle didn’t recognize as they walked. She had chosen Meilene along with Weavile to be her hiking partners, but she didn’t release them right then. For a while they walked along a safe path before Reina stopped.
“Let’s take a less traveled path to get there,” Reina said eagerly. Giselle’s ominous feelings only increased.
Reina led them into the woods surrounding the path. The area was as serene as Lake Valor had been. The sunlight above couldn't fully penetrate to the ground because of the tree leaves so the area seem to have a greenish glow.Walking in the woods wasn’t too difficult but Giselle still had to be careful. The leaves on the ground were very slippery and Giselle nearly fell quite a few times. At one point she and Charmander were miles behind Reina. Giselle had no idea how Reina managed to move so quickly. She was also annoyed by the fact that she had forgotten to bring a hair tie; her hair was constantly getting tangled with bits of everything. Reina didn’t have to worry too much about it as her hair was cut short.
For the umpteenth time, Giselle slipped and fell on fallen leaves and she ended up with a cobweb in her face. As she tried to get the web off her face, she heard laugher echoing up ahead. Giselle looked up to see Reina was nearly out of sight. Charmander sighed.
“Come on Giselle! You have to keep up!” she called out cheerfully. “You’re too slow!”
By now, Giselle was starting to seriously consider turning back. She pulled herself to her feet once more and marched toward Reina who stopped to let Giselle and Charmander catch up. When the finally did, Giselle was looking mutinous.
“All right, I’ll give you some advice,” Reina said hastily, spotting the look on Giselle's face. (About time, thought Giselle). “You’ll just have to get use to it. The more you do it, the more you start learning how to keep your balance.”
Some advice, thought Giselle as she pulled another leaf out of her hair.
“I’ll never understand how you and Carmen can stand having hair that long,” Reina said.
Giselle sighed and they kept walking. She noticed that the terrain was starting to slope upward and was starting to get rougher. The trees could not conceal the rocks that were becoming more numerous. Now she had to worry about tripping over said rocks along with slipping on leaves and pine straw. Charmander was much better at keep his balance than Giselle was. However, this time Reina stopped to help Giselle whenever she fell. They didn’t talk much as Giselle was trying to concentrate on keeping her balance. There still wasn’t a cloud in the sky as they hiked along. For the most part, the hike was peaceful—at least until Giselle caused a disturbance.
She tripped on what she though was a rock. Grumbling, Giselle got back to her feet with Reina’s help. When they looked down, they saw that it was in fact a Geodude Giselle had tripped over. And it was not happy about being tripped over.
“Uh oh,” said Giselle. The Geodude launched rocks at Charmander which he dodged. Giselle gasped. She knew fire attacks wouldn’t do much. “Charmander use Metal Claw!”
The attack worked pretty well. The Geodude had deep claw marks in its rock body. Metal Claw did things to Rock types that a Normal Scratch attack didn’t do. The Geodude relented after that and ran away from them. Giselle was relieved that it didn’t Self-Destruct.
“You handled that well enough,” said Reina. “I remembered when you would’ve fell to pieces over something like that.”
“Yeah well, it’s amazing how much a person can grow in a month,” Giselle said sagely.
Reina laughed and they continued on. They had entered an area that wasn’t totally full of tripping hazards, so they could talk more. Giselle enjoyed listening to Reina talking about her favorite training areas of Sinnoh, including the area under Sinnoh’s Cycling Road.
“At first I didn’t want that road built as I was sure it would disturb the Pokémon and ruin the area,” Reina said. “And while they were building it, the Pokémon were disturbed and didn’t appear as often. You can imagine how upset I was.” Reina and Giselle paused for a moment to get their footing again. Then, Reina continued. “However after the road was finished and people started to use it, the Pokémon started to reappear again. And because more people use the road above, few people even think about the area under the road anymore. It’s even better than before!”
“Wow,” said Giselle. She wondered if she would have a favorite place to train. Now the terrain was starting to turn rough again—it’s roughest yet. Giselle had heard that the Charmander line was native to mountain regions. Maybe that was the reason he was so good at keeping his balance here: it was in his blood. Reina released Meilene to walk with her. All four of them had to walk along a precarious ledge that dropped off onto the ground some twenty feet below. Giselle could see rocks every so often on the ground below them.
“Don’t look down, Giselle.” Reina’s warning had, of course, come too late. Giselle was being extra careful now, as she feared the rocks. “Up ahead it a good spot where we can rest and release Sneasel and Weavile. Your Sneasel can practice climbing with the help of his mother.”
“Got it,” said Giselle shakily. Her breathing was heavier now that their path had become more dangerous. Reina had said it wouldn’t be difficult, but that was exactly the way she found this hike—difficult. At one point she had to grab a tree root to keep from falling.
“It’s not much farther now!” said Reina. “Just a little more.”
The silence of the area was broken by a strange noise; it sounded as though something was rolling down a hill. Instinct told Giselle where to look to see it: a Graveler was rolling down the hill towards them. And it was moving fast. Giselle attempted to move aside to let it roll by. In just one heart stopping second, Giselle lost her footing and she was falling. Falling. She couldn’t even scream. Was this really happening? Or was it really just a dream? No, this had to be real because she could feel. She could feel her body hit the ground, yet she could feel no pain. Why was that? Giselle was having trouble contemplating that as darkness overtook her. And then there was nothing.
“GISELLE!”
OOC: The two for one!
Where am I? For whatever reason, Giselle wasn’t hurt so she surveyed her surroundings. This spacious bedroom looked familiar. The hardwood floors were very clean without a foot print in sight. A handsome wood framed mirror hung on the door reflecting the rest of the room. All of the mahogany furniture in this room was sturdy and well built and the bed’s coverings were luxurious and comfortable. An LCD TV was on the wall opposite the bed currently showing a commercial. The beautiful trinkets around the room gave and air of elegance and wealth. The room was neat and put together and obviously very nice, but it had a cold feeling that even the serene green walls could not mask.
Why did it take me so long to recognize this place? This is my bedroom back in Pallet Town. Giselle knew there was no way this could be real. But she couldn’t wake up and yet she knew she wasn’t dead either. She had no idea what was going on. Her confusion would only deepen when she saw who entered the room next. Giselle looked up to see herself enter the room. But when did I look so depressed? The Giselle that entered the room looked dejected and defeated, her two Pokéballs on her waist. Giselle just watched herself, barely able to breathe, disbelieving. She knew that she was invisible to her other self, a past self. The other Giselle closed the door and collapsed on the floor. She clutched her chest with her eyes closed. Giselle just unwillingly watched the whole scene. She wished she could turn away, but she couldn’t. This must have been what Reina felt when she had to watch Giselle fall apart in the forest over a month earlier.
After a while, the other Giselle got to her feet again, but her eyes were very red. She held her head up and faced her reflection on the mirror on the door. Without warning, the other Giselle picked up one of her heavier trinkets and hurled it at her mirror where it smashed. The mirror cracked and large shards of it fell to the floor. Both Giselles heard a snide voice from the floor below. Her mother must have heard the noise.
“I hope you know that breaking your stuff won’t do you any good,” said Monique scathingly. “So clean up the mess and do something useful with yourself.”
Giselle didn’t remember any of this happening, so it couldn’t be a memory. Suddenly, the other Giselle strode across the room and flung the door open once more and flew out off, leaving the mess behind. Giselle took once glance at the TV and her jaw dropped. It was the commercial for the trip to Sinnoh but “she” had already left the room and didn’t see it. What was going on? Giselle took one last look at her room before taking off after herself.
The other Giselle was stopped halfway down the stairs when Giselle caught up. Monique was already at the bottom—no doubt to dispense more of her motherly advice.
“Once again, you failed again to win a gym badge,” Monique sneered at the other Giselle. “I expect Brock has tired of looking at you.”
The other Giselle pushed passed her on her way to the door as Monique muttered about someone named Genevieve like she often did. Giselle was left behind to ogle at her mother. How could a mother say something like that to her own child? Is that the way Monique got her kicks? Maybe Monique felt bad about how her own Pokémon training days had ended. It wasn’t anger that filled Giselle as it usually did. She was actually feeling sorry for her mother. Giselle looked up to see her other self pass by her father who was coming in the door as she was going out of it. He said nothing as she passed, nothing at all. Giselle head was starting to hurt from the bizarreness of this whole scene and longed to wake up. The part of her brain that was still working tried to analyze the scene.
She realized her house was expensive and filled with luxury items but it never had the love or the lived in feeling that a house was suppose to have. After all, it was the people who set the mood of a house and this one had three unhappy occupants. Now that Giselle thought about it, she really didn’t remember much about the details of her house while she was in Sinnoh and she knew why. Looking at herself, depressed like that, she saw just how much her home had been an unhappy place for her. She had subconsciously tried to push it out of her mind and had pretty much succeeded.
Giselle exited her house and onto her large front yard. She couldn’t see her other self but she had a feeling where she was. Whenever Giselle would storm out of the house, she would try to clear her head a bit, and then do something she felt like a trainer should do. Giselle was astounded at how little she knew about Pokémon training and how much she merely guessed at it. It didn’t take her long to find her other self. It was on the usual road that led out of Pallet Town. She remembered spending a lot of time walking that road. Giselle ran to catch up to herself. It was so odd being able to see herself like this. Maybe this was an out of body experience.
The other Giselle had that lost look on her face. For some odd reason, Giselle's heart was starting to pound. Something was about to happen but she didn’t know what… Both Giselles entered a wooded area off the road. Giselle knew that her other self was not going anywhere in particular and was just wandering around looking for something unknown. Most of the time, nothing would happen, but this time was different. The other Giselle had spotted someone up ahead. Giselle looked at the someone and immediately knew why she had caught the other Giselle’s attention.
She looked very young and looked completely out of place in the woods as she held her Clefairy. She had beautiful dark curly hair, blue eyes, a heart shaped face, and pale skin. She decorated her hair with a pink bow and she was wearing a lacy white dress with a bow around the waist to match the one in her hair. The girl was obviously a noble lady—one from Kanto’s elite. Giselle remembered that she used to desperately scope out what she thought were weak trainers. That’s how badly she wanted to win a battle. And this girl looked like a weak enough trainer, and being from Kanto’s elite, she would give a lot of money if she was defeated. The other Giselle walked quickly to catch up to her, with Giselle not far behind.
“Excuse me,” the other Giselle said. “But are you a trainer?”
“Yes, I am,” said the girl in a sweet voice. “I take it you want a battle. My name is Vivienne, by the way.”
“My name is Giselle. We’ll have a two on two battle,” the other self said. Giselle cringed at the way “she” was trying to make herself sound tougher than she was. Was that really the way she was? Somehow, she had never noticed it before. And those rules? Her other self was obviously hoping that Charmander would take out the Clefairy in her arms, because before she gained Caterpie’s respect, it wouldn’t battle traffic for Giselle.
“Why don’t we start?” said the other Giselle with her falsely confidence voice. “Go Charmander!”
And Charmander appeared out of the Pokéball and Giselle was shocked. Her first night in Sinnoh, the nurse at the center had told Giselle that Charmander hadn’t been getting enough time out of his Pokéball, and for the first time, Giselle could see it. Charmander looked pale and his tale flame didn’t burn with the vigor that it did now. Charmander had become a lot healthier in the time Giselle was in Sinnoh and she just had never noticed it before.
Both Giselles had expected Vivienne to send out Clefairy, but instead she pulled out a Pokéball. What came out of it shocked them both. Giselle even let out an loud gasp unheard by Vivienne or the other Giselle. It was a Tyrannitar and everything about it was brutal—its teeth, its claws, its everything. And it was out for blood. Giselle thought her other self was a fool if she continued this battle. The other Giselle had an empty look on her face as all the fight drained out of her. She could tell she had made a horrible mistake in her judgment.
The Tyrannitar let out an earth rumbling roar and Charmander lost it. He began to run around in circles, crying so loudly that he could no longer even hear the other Giselle’s voice. Giselle could see the embarrassment on her other self’s face. She quickly recalled Charmander. Giselle hoped “she” would forfeit this match, but to her horror, she didn’t.
“Go Caterpie!”
Giselle could forget what her house looked like but she would never forget how cold Caterpie was. It bristled at the very sound of Giselle’s voice.
“Use String Shot!” the other Giselle said. Caterpie merely brushed her off and refused to perform the attack.
Vivienne raised one of her dainty eyebrows. “Tyrannitar use Giga Impact!”
Giselle closed her eyes to avoid seeing what happened next. She heard loud stomps as Tyrannitar charged and then she heard Caterpie scream as the Tyrannitar slammed into her. Giselle was afraid to look and she was horrified when she finally did so. Caterpie had been burnt to a crisp. The other Giselle just stood there for a minute, before recalling Caterpie. Vivienne didn’t say a word. She just had a look of sheer disdain on her lovely face. She recalled Tyrannitar, and without even collecting her prize money, or even taking a backward glance at the other Giselle, she walked away. As she left, both Giselles clearly heard her say “how pathetic.”
When Vivienne was out of sight, the other Giselle fell to her knees with her face in her hands, crying as Giselle watched. Giselle knew this person was her but she felt oddly detached. But then again, this was an out of body experience, so maybe the detachment was called for. Giselle knew that her other self had a million thoughts running through her mind and was feeling even lower than ever. But even she didn’t see what was coming next.
The other Giselle stood up looking slightly deranged, her eyes very red. She pulled out Caterpie’s Pokéball and released her—but instead of the usual bright white light that accompanied the Pokémon, the light was blue. Caterpie was still burnt and crispy and clearly in pain. Giselle knew what was coming before it even happened.
“NO!” Giselle shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. But no one could hear her.
“You know what, Caterpie,” the other Giselle spit every word at her injured Pokémon. “You don’t like me, and now the feeling is mutual. You’re a lost cause.” She then did the unthinkable. She turned her back on her injured Pokémon and walked away.
“Wait! Come back here!” Giselle shouted at herself, but it was useless. She rushed over to Caterpie, who was in more pain, and crying louder than ever. Giselle wanted to pick her up, but she found she couldn’t touch the Pokémon. “No, no, no,” Giselle moaned and closed her eyes as the tears ran down her face. Was she really capable of such a monstrous thing? Behind her closed eyes, Giselle could see brightness. Her eyes flew open and she saw that Caterpie was glowing. The light was becoming brighter and brighter until it overtook her. Blinded, she closed her eyes once more.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in the canyon where she had fallen, flat on her back with Charmander standing over her. She was strangely lightheaded and her back ached slightly but otherwise was physically fine. She could hear voices coming from a short distance away, but couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying. Giselle realized that the voices were those of Carmen and Reina and it sounded at though Carmen was scolding her sister. She didn’t know how Carmen got there, but that didn’t matter.
Charmander was happy to that Giselle was conscious and he alerted Reina and Carmen, who were accompanied by Meilene and Gardevoir. They quickly stopped talking and rushed over to Giselle.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said Carmen in relief. “No, don’t try to get up on your own,” Carmen added as Giselle tried to sit up.
“Oh, Giselle, I’m so sorry!” sobbed Reina. Her eyes were really red, as though she had been crying a while. “I didn’t think it would be THIS dangerous! I was glad Meilene was able to lessen the impact of the fall!”
“That’s all right…” Giselle struggled to say. She wasn’t feeling well at all; she could barely understand what Reina had said.
Carmen closed her eyes for a few seconds and sighed. “Look Giselle, we need to get you back to the campsite. Gardevoir will teleport us back. Here, let me help you.” She leaned down and Giselle grabbed onto her arm to stand up.
“How will Reina get back?” Giselle asked quietly.
“I’ll be flying back,” choked Reina.
Giselle didn’t know if Reina was in any shape to fly but she didn’t say anything. Gardevoir had come to stand beside her trainer.
“This may be a strange sensation, teleporting that is.” Carmen warned. “Go ahead and recall Charmander.” After Giselle did so, they were ready to teleport. And Carmen was right. It was the oddest sensation Giselle had ever experienced. She felt her body was flying though a world that was made of nothing but aura and psychic energy. Giselle, Carmen, and Gardevoir were only in this world for a few seconds before emerging. They were back on the campsite where they had spent the past couple of nights.
“Just lie down in the tent for awhile and rest, all right?” Carmen said warmly.
“All right,” Giselle whispered.
Carmen helped her inside the tent where Giselle laid on top of her sleeping bag. For a while, she just stared up at the ceiling, her mind still full of what she had seen when she was unconscious. Was that where she was headed if she’d continued in Kanto? The look on her face as “she” abandoned Caterpie still haunted her. Though none of that actually happened, Giselle still felt guilty, as if she had done it. The way her parents reacted was not out of the ordinary and Giselle hadn’t felt this badly since that day she had met Carmen and Reina. She just felt sick.
Giselle guessed she had fallen asleep at some point because Carmen had to gently shake her awake to check on her.
“Are you feeling any better?” Carmen asked.
Giselle head was feeling much better and her back wasn’t aching, but she was still obsessing about what she had seen and her heart was heavy.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said hurriedly. “How’s Reina?”
“Still sulking outside,” said Carmen as she rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you’re doing better?”
“Yeah,” said Giselle. “I need some air, too.” Carefully, Giselle and Carmen crawled out of the tent into the bright sunshine. Giselle was starting enjoy wooded areas after spending so much time in them. They found Reina and Meilene sitting on a fallen tree not far away. She was staring at the ground while Meilene was trying to comfort her. Even now, Giselle admired the relationship those two shared. When she looked up and saw Giselle, she jumped from the tree and walked over.
“Giselle, so you forgive me for this whole ordeal?” Reina cut directly to the chase. Her eyes were swollen now.
“You know I do,” said Giselle, smiling. Reina returned the smile and high fived her.
“I told you sulking and crying wouldn’t do anyone any good,” said Carmen.
“Now,” started Giselle. She was making a huge effort not to show how much what she saw bothered her. “I have questions, and you have the answers to them. First off, why am I not dead?”
“Well, it happened so fast, Meilene and I barely had time to react,” Reina explained. “But it was Meilene that slowed your fall at the last, like, nanosecond. Even so, your head snapped back and hit the ground and you fell unconscious. Satisfactory answer?”
“Succinct, yet very satisfactory,” Giselle agreed. “Next question: how did Carmen find us?”
“Meilene was able to form a telepathic link with Gardevoir. She was then able to teleport us right to your location,” Carmen answered.
Giselle sighed. She focused mindlessly on her white hair, which needed a trim. For a while they said nothing and then Carmen spoke.
“What’s wrong, Giselle? You only go silent like that when you have something on your mind. I noticed that about you.”
“It’s nothing,” said Giselle. How did she do that? Sometimes she seriously thought that Carmen had psychic abilities. It was almost scary
“It’s something,” Carmen retorted. “The sooner you can get it off your chest the better you’ll feel.”
Giselle sighed. Why was it so hard for her to speak her mind? “Okay, okay, I’ll talk.” She told them everything in detail about she’d seen while she was unconscious: Giselle seeing herself, her parents, her terrible memories, her battle, her breakdown, her abandonment of an injured Pokémon….”Am I really capable of something that horrible?” Giselle asked when she was finished with her story. It was the thing that kept eating at her.
Reina merely looked shocked with amazement at the story, so it was Carmen who answered Giselle’s question.
“I don’t know. You tell us. Are you capable of something like that horrible?”
That question made Giselle think. She thought back to the day she had decided to leave Kanto for Sinnoh. Giselle knew that she was close to her breaking point after that last Pewter City gym fiasco. The rash decision to leave her region and travel thousands of miles to an unknown one was made out of sheer desperation. But the other Giselle hadn’t seen that commercial and then endured her parents’ coldness and another disastrous battle. It was more than her fragile self could stand and she snapped. She realized two things and then she spoke to Carmen and Reina.
“I am capable of something like that. I was at the brink when I left Kanto,” Giselle said frankly. “If just one more bad thing had would’ve happened to me, I would have lost it.”
“Wow,” said Reina.
“And that’s not all,” Giselle continued. “I realized that coming to Sinnoh was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I mean sure the first day sucked, but then I met the two of you. It was a very good thing I changed my environment.” It was true. She needed to be somewhere that was free from everyone’s expectations, and in her case, Sinnoh was the first opportunity for an escape.
“And with that, I think you’ve made your decision,” said Carmen.
“Hey, you’re right!” said Giselle brightly.
Reina gave her a round of applause. “And so, Giselle remains in Sinnoh! Sweet! Are you taking the league challenge too?”
“I guess I should,” said Giselle. “How do you register for the Sinnoh league anyway?"
“There’s a place to register in every major city in Sinnoh. They can even update Pokédexes now. We can go anytime you get ready,” answered Carmen.
“How does tomorrow sound?” asked Giselle.
“Sounds awesome,” said Reina. She then took out a Pokéball and released her Weavile, Dulce. “Why don’t we train with Sneasel for awhile since we didn’t do it earlier?”
Giselle thought Weavile was a magnificent Pokémon. If Sneasel’s claws were brutal, they were nothing compared to Weavile’s. Dulce in particular had especially beautiful eyelashes.
“All right,” Giselle responded as she released Sneasel. Giselle was relieved to have her decision out of the way. Carmen had been right when she said she’d find her answer soon. She just never thought it would involve a near fatal fall off a ledge.
EDIT: Yeah, the typos were really bad this time around, so I'm fixing those. Thanks again Pheonix^^.
Where am I? For whatever reason, Giselle wasn’t hurt so she surveyed her surroundings. This spacious bedroom looked familiar. The hardwood floors were very clean without a foot print in sight. A handsome wood framed mirror hung on the door reflecting the rest of the room. All of the mahogany furniture in this room was sturdy and well built and the bed’s coverings were luxurious and comfortable. An LCD TV was on the wall opposite the bed currently showing a commercial. The beautiful trinkets around the room gave and air of elegance and wealth. The room was neat and put together and obviously very nice, but it had a cold feeling that even the serene green walls could not mask.
Why did it take me so long to recognize this place? This is my bedroom back in Pallet Town. Giselle knew there was no way this could be real. But she couldn’t wake up and yet she knew she wasn’t dead either. She had no idea what was going on. Her confusion would only deepen when she saw who entered the room next. Giselle looked up to see herself enter the room. But when did I look so depressed? The Giselle that entered the room looked dejected and defeated, her two Pokéballs on her waist. Giselle just watched herself, barely able to breathe, disbelieving. She knew that she was invisible to her other self, a past self. The other Giselle closed the door and collapsed on the floor. She clutched her chest with her eyes closed. Giselle just unwillingly watched the whole scene. She wished she could turn away, but she couldn’t. This must have been what Reina felt when she had to watch Giselle fall apart in the forest over a month earlier.
After a while, the other Giselle got to her feet again, but her eyes were very red. She held her head up and faced her reflection on the mirror on the door. Without warning, the other Giselle picked up one of her heavier trinkets and hurled it at her mirror where it smashed. The mirror cracked and large shards of it fell to the floor. Both Giselles heard a snide voice from the floor below. Her mother must have heard the noise.
“I hope you know that breaking your stuff won’t do you any good,” said Monique scathingly. “So clean up the mess and do something useful with yourself.”
Giselle didn’t remember any of this happening, so it couldn’t be a memory. Suddenly, the other Giselle strode across the room and flung the door open once more and flew out off, leaving the mess behind. Giselle took once glance at the TV and her jaw dropped. It was the commercial for the trip to Sinnoh but “she” had already left the room and didn’t see it. What was going on? Giselle took one last look at her room before taking off after herself.
The other Giselle was stopped halfway down the stairs when Giselle caught up. Monique was already at the bottom—no doubt to dispense more of her motherly advice.
“Once again, you failed again to win a gym badge,” Monique sneered at the other Giselle. “I expect Brock has tired of looking at you.”
The other Giselle pushed passed her on her way to the door as Monique muttered about someone named Genevieve like she often did. Giselle was left behind to ogle at her mother. How could a mother say something like that to her own child? Is that the way Monique got her kicks? Maybe Monique felt bad about how her own Pokémon training days had ended. It wasn’t anger that filled Giselle as it usually did. She was actually feeling sorry for her mother. Giselle looked up to see her other self pass by her father who was coming in the door as she was going out of it. He said nothing as she passed, nothing at all. Giselle head was starting to hurt from the bizarreness of this whole scene and longed to wake up. The part of her brain that was still working tried to analyze the scene.
She realized her house was expensive and filled with luxury items but it never had the love or the lived in feeling that a house was suppose to have. After all, it was the people who set the mood of a house and this one had three unhappy occupants. Now that Giselle thought about it, she really didn’t remember much about the details of her house while she was in Sinnoh and she knew why. Looking at herself, depressed like that, she saw just how much her home had been an unhappy place for her. She had subconsciously tried to push it out of her mind and had pretty much succeeded.
Giselle exited her house and onto her large front yard. She couldn’t see her other self but she had a feeling where she was. Whenever Giselle would storm out of the house, she would try to clear her head a bit, and then do something she felt like a trainer should do. Giselle was astounded at how little she knew about Pokémon training and how much she merely guessed at it. It didn’t take her long to find her other self. It was on the usual road that led out of Pallet Town. She remembered spending a lot of time walking that road. Giselle ran to catch up to herself. It was so odd being able to see herself like this. Maybe this was an out of body experience.
The other Giselle had that lost look on her face. For some odd reason, Giselle's heart was starting to pound. Something was about to happen but she didn’t know what… Both Giselles entered a wooded area off the road. Giselle knew that her other self was not going anywhere in particular and was just wandering around looking for something unknown. Most of the time, nothing would happen, but this time was different. The other Giselle had spotted someone up ahead. Giselle looked at the someone and immediately knew why she had caught the other Giselle’s attention.
She looked very young and looked completely out of place in the woods as she held her Clefairy. She had beautiful dark curly hair, blue eyes, a heart shaped face, and pale skin. She decorated her hair with a pink bow and she was wearing a lacy white dress with a bow around the waist to match the one in her hair. The girl was obviously a noble lady—one from Kanto’s elite. Giselle remembered that she used to desperately scope out what she thought were weak trainers. That’s how badly she wanted to win a battle. And this girl looked like a weak enough trainer, and being from Kanto’s elite, she would give a lot of money if she was defeated. The other Giselle walked quickly to catch up to her, with Giselle not far behind.
“Excuse me,” the other Giselle said. “But are you a trainer?”
“Yes, I am,” said the girl in a sweet voice. “I take it you want a battle. My name is Vivienne, by the way.”
“My name is Giselle. We’ll have a two on two battle,” the other self said. Giselle cringed at the way “she” was trying to make herself sound tougher than she was. Was that really the way she was? Somehow, she had never noticed it before. And those rules? Her other self was obviously hoping that Charmander would take out the Clefairy in her arms, because before she gained Caterpie’s respect, it wouldn’t battle traffic for Giselle.
“Why don’t we start?” said the other Giselle with her falsely confidence voice. “Go Charmander!”
And Charmander appeared out of the Pokéball and Giselle was shocked. Her first night in Sinnoh, the nurse at the center had told Giselle that Charmander hadn’t been getting enough time out of his Pokéball, and for the first time, Giselle could see it. Charmander looked pale and his tale flame didn’t burn with the vigor that it did now. Charmander had become a lot healthier in the time Giselle was in Sinnoh and she just had never noticed it before.
Both Giselles had expected Vivienne to send out Clefairy, but instead she pulled out a Pokéball. What came out of it shocked them both. Giselle even let out an loud gasp unheard by Vivienne or the other Giselle. It was a Tyrannitar and everything about it was brutal—its teeth, its claws, its everything. And it was out for blood. Giselle thought her other self was a fool if she continued this battle. The other Giselle had an empty look on her face as all the fight drained out of her. She could tell she had made a horrible mistake in her judgment.
The Tyrannitar let out an earth rumbling roar and Charmander lost it. He began to run around in circles, crying so loudly that he could no longer even hear the other Giselle’s voice. Giselle could see the embarrassment on her other self’s face. She quickly recalled Charmander. Giselle hoped “she” would forfeit this match, but to her horror, she didn’t.
“Go Caterpie!”
Giselle could forget what her house looked like but she would never forget how cold Caterpie was. It bristled at the very sound of Giselle’s voice.
“Use String Shot!” the other Giselle said. Caterpie merely brushed her off and refused to perform the attack.
Vivienne raised one of her dainty eyebrows. “Tyrannitar use Giga Impact!”
Giselle closed her eyes to avoid seeing what happened next. She heard loud stomps as Tyrannitar charged and then she heard Caterpie scream as the Tyrannitar slammed into her. Giselle was afraid to look and she was horrified when she finally did so. Caterpie had been burnt to a crisp. The other Giselle just stood there for a minute, before recalling Caterpie. Vivienne didn’t say a word. She just had a look of sheer disdain on her lovely face. She recalled Tyrannitar, and without even collecting her prize money, or even taking a backward glance at the other Giselle, she walked away. As she left, both Giselles clearly heard her say “how pathetic.”
When Vivienne was out of sight, the other Giselle fell to her knees with her face in her hands, crying as Giselle watched. Giselle knew this person was her but she felt oddly detached. But then again, this was an out of body experience, so maybe the detachment was called for. Giselle knew that her other self had a million thoughts running through her mind and was feeling even lower than ever. But even she didn’t see what was coming next.
The other Giselle stood up looking slightly deranged, her eyes very red. She pulled out Caterpie’s Pokéball and released her—but instead of the usual bright white light that accompanied the Pokémon, the light was blue. Caterpie was still burnt and crispy and clearly in pain. Giselle knew what was coming before it even happened.
“NO!” Giselle shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. But no one could hear her.
“You know what, Caterpie,” the other Giselle spit every word at her injured Pokémon. “You don’t like me, and now the feeling is mutual. You’re a lost cause.” She then did the unthinkable. She turned her back on her injured Pokémon and walked away.
“Wait! Come back here!” Giselle shouted at herself, but it was useless. She rushed over to Caterpie, who was in more pain, and crying louder than ever. Giselle wanted to pick her up, but she found she couldn’t touch the Pokémon. “No, no, no,” Giselle moaned and closed her eyes as the tears ran down her face. Was she really capable of such a monstrous thing? Behind her closed eyes, Giselle could see brightness. Her eyes flew open and she saw that Caterpie was glowing. The light was becoming brighter and brighter until it overtook her. Blinded, she closed her eyes once more.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in the canyon where she had fallen, flat on her back with Charmander standing over her. She was strangely lightheaded and her back ached slightly but otherwise was physically fine. She could hear voices coming from a short distance away, but couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying. Giselle realized that the voices were those of Carmen and Reina and it sounded at though Carmen was scolding her sister. She didn’t know how Carmen got there, but that didn’t matter.
Charmander was happy to that Giselle was conscious and he alerted Reina and Carmen, who were accompanied by Meilene and Gardevoir. They quickly stopped talking and rushed over to Giselle.
“Oh, you’re awake,” said Carmen in relief. “No, don’t try to get up on your own,” Carmen added as Giselle tried to sit up.
“Oh, Giselle, I’m so sorry!” sobbed Reina. Her eyes were really red, as though she had been crying a while. “I didn’t think it would be THIS dangerous! I was glad Meilene was able to lessen the impact of the fall!”
“That’s all right…” Giselle struggled to say. She wasn’t feeling well at all; she could barely understand what Reina had said.
Carmen closed her eyes for a few seconds and sighed. “Look Giselle, we need to get you back to the campsite. Gardevoir will teleport us back. Here, let me help you.” She leaned down and Giselle grabbed onto her arm to stand up.
“How will Reina get back?” Giselle asked quietly.
“I’ll be flying back,” choked Reina.
Giselle didn’t know if Reina was in any shape to fly but she didn’t say anything. Gardevoir had come to stand beside her trainer.
“This may be a strange sensation, teleporting that is.” Carmen warned. “Go ahead and recall Charmander.” After Giselle did so, they were ready to teleport. And Carmen was right. It was the oddest sensation Giselle had ever experienced. She felt her body was flying though a world that was made of nothing but aura and psychic energy. Giselle, Carmen, and Gardevoir were only in this world for a few seconds before emerging. They were back on the campsite where they had spent the past couple of nights.
“Just lie down in the tent for awhile and rest, all right?” Carmen said warmly.
“All right,” Giselle whispered.
Carmen helped her inside the tent where Giselle laid on top of her sleeping bag. For a while, she just stared up at the ceiling, her mind still full of what she had seen when she was unconscious. Was that where she was headed if she’d continued in Kanto? The look on her face as “she” abandoned Caterpie still haunted her. Though none of that actually happened, Giselle still felt guilty, as if she had done it. The way her parents reacted was not out of the ordinary and Giselle hadn’t felt this badly since that day she had met Carmen and Reina. She just felt sick.
Giselle guessed she had fallen asleep at some point because Carmen had to gently shake her awake to check on her.
“Are you feeling any better?” Carmen asked.
Giselle head was feeling much better and her back wasn’t aching, but she was still obsessing about what she had seen and her heart was heavy.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said hurriedly. “How’s Reina?”
“Still sulking outside,” said Carmen as she rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you’re doing better?”
“Yeah,” said Giselle. “I need some air, too.” Carefully, Giselle and Carmen crawled out of the tent into the bright sunshine. Giselle was starting enjoy wooded areas after spending so much time in them. They found Reina and Meilene sitting on a fallen tree not far away. She was staring at the ground while Meilene was trying to comfort her. Even now, Giselle admired the relationship those two shared. When she looked up and saw Giselle, she jumped from the tree and walked over.
“Giselle, so you forgive me for this whole ordeal?” Reina cut directly to the chase. Her eyes were swollen now.
“You know I do,” said Giselle, smiling. Reina returned the smile and high fived her.
“I told you sulking and crying wouldn’t do anyone any good,” said Carmen.
“Now,” started Giselle. She was making a huge effort not to show how much what she saw bothered her. “I have questions, and you have the answers to them. First off, why am I not dead?”
“Well, it happened so fast, Meilene and I barely had time to react,” Reina explained. “But it was Meilene that slowed your fall at the last, like, nanosecond. Even so, your head snapped back and hit the ground and you fell unconscious. Satisfactory answer?”
“Succinct, yet very satisfactory,” Giselle agreed. “Next question: how did Carmen find us?”
“Meilene was able to form a telepathic link with Gardevoir. She was then able to teleport us right to your location,” Carmen answered.
Giselle sighed. She focused mindlessly on her white hair, which needed a trim. For a while they said nothing and then Carmen spoke.
“What’s wrong, Giselle? You only go silent like that when you have something on your mind. I noticed that about you.”
“It’s nothing,” said Giselle. How did she do that? Sometimes she seriously thought that Carmen had psychic abilities. It was almost scary
“It’s something,” Carmen retorted. “The sooner you can get it off your chest the better you’ll feel.”
Giselle sighed. Why was it so hard for her to speak her mind? “Okay, okay, I’ll talk.” She told them everything in detail about she’d seen while she was unconscious: Giselle seeing herself, her parents, her terrible memories, her battle, her breakdown, her abandonment of an injured Pokémon….”Am I really capable of something that horrible?” Giselle asked when she was finished with her story. It was the thing that kept eating at her.
Reina merely looked shocked with amazement at the story, so it was Carmen who answered Giselle’s question.
“I don’t know. You tell us. Are you capable of something like that horrible?”
That question made Giselle think. She thought back to the day she had decided to leave Kanto for Sinnoh. Giselle knew that she was close to her breaking point after that last Pewter City gym fiasco. The rash decision to leave her region and travel thousands of miles to an unknown one was made out of sheer desperation. But the other Giselle hadn’t seen that commercial and then endured her parents’ coldness and another disastrous battle. It was more than her fragile self could stand and she snapped. She realized two things and then she spoke to Carmen and Reina.
“I am capable of something like that. I was at the brink when I left Kanto,” Giselle said frankly. “If just one more bad thing had would’ve happened to me, I would have lost it.”
“Wow,” said Reina.
“And that’s not all,” Giselle continued. “I realized that coming to Sinnoh was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I mean sure the first day sucked, but then I met the two of you. It was a very good thing I changed my environment.” It was true. She needed to be somewhere that was free from everyone’s expectations, and in her case, Sinnoh was the first opportunity for an escape.
“And with that, I think you’ve made your decision,” said Carmen.
“Hey, you’re right!” said Giselle brightly.
Reina gave her a round of applause. “And so, Giselle remains in Sinnoh! Sweet! Are you taking the league challenge too?”
“I guess I should,” said Giselle. “How do you register for the Sinnoh league anyway?"
“There’s a place to register in every major city in Sinnoh. They can even update Pokédexes now. We can go anytime you get ready,” answered Carmen.
“How does tomorrow sound?” asked Giselle.
“Sounds awesome,” said Reina. She then took out a Pokéball and released her Weavile, Dulce. “Why don’t we train with Sneasel for awhile since we didn’t do it earlier?”
Giselle thought Weavile was a magnificent Pokémon. If Sneasel’s claws were brutal, they were nothing compared to Weavile’s. Dulce in particular had especially beautiful eyelashes.
“All right,” Giselle responded as she released Sneasel. Giselle was relieved to have her decision out of the way. Carmen had been right when she said she’d find her answer soon. She just never thought it would involve a near fatal fall off a ledge.
EDIT: Yeah, the typos were really bad this time around, so I'm fixing those. Thanks again Pheonix^^.
OOC: I hope you like them. And once again let me know if I made a mistake
The next day the trio found themselves at the registration center in Veilstone City. The center was located on the edge of the Battle District. The area looked very different in the daytime without the bright lights and flamboyantly dressed people. The center itself was very high tech and modern. Giselle saw newly registered trainers excitedly exited the building ready to start their own journeys. A group of young students and their teacher on a field trip passed them. Giselle wondered if any of those students had the same big dreams that she had when she was their age. She just hoped that they would get the opportunity to fulfill them someday.
"Man, being in this area makes me itch for a battle," said Reina. "I'm headed to an arena when we get done here."
"And they say I'm battle hungry," muttered Carmen.
"Shall we go in already?" asked Reina impatiently.
"Of course," said Giselle.
The inside was just as modern as the outside. It was full of computers and other machines Giselle had never seen before. Receptionists stood behind counters along the far wall.
"This is one of the larger registration centers," Carmen explained. "Reina and I registered in Professor Rowen's lab when we received our starters in Sandgem Town. You can use any one of these computers by the way."
They went to the nearest one. Like everything else in Sinnoh, it was touch screen. The screen displayed, among other things, options for new trainers and one for trainers that have registered in other regions. Giselle clicked on the latter and followed the instructions and answered the questions that appeared one by one on the screen as Carmen and Reina looked on.
"Do you have a Pokédex?" was the first question that appeared.
"Yes," Giselle selected.
"Please insert it into the slot."
A slot popped out at the bottom of the computer. Giselle pulled out her red Pokédex and put it in just like it said. She heard a few mechanical sounds and then all of her information was displayed on the screen: her name and hometown, her picture and finger print, how many badges she'd won (zero), how many Pokémon captured (two native, four non-native), and of course, the region she had been registered in. She used the fingerprint device to positively identify herself.
"Are you sure you want to register for the Sinnoh League?"
"Yes."
"You will not be able to participate in a previously registered league. Is that okay?"
"Yes." (Definitely)
"Congratulations! You are now registered for the Sinnoh League. Please take this voucher to a receptionist to receive your new Pokédex. All of your information has been transferred into the new Pokédex." The voucher popped out of the side of the computer and Giselle took it. She assumed the voucher had a computer chip in it.
"Would you like to keep your old Pokédex?"
"Yes." (Why not?) The Pokédex came out of the same slot it went in.
"Thank you for registering!" And with that the screen went back to its welcome screen.
"Wow," said Giselle. "That didn't take long at all!" She held the voucher up to her eyes, looking at it as though it was the golden ticket.
"I'm glad it didn't," said Reina. "I still want that battle."
"Wait, does everyone that registers get a Pokédex?" asked Giselle."
"No," answered Carmen. "Only if you had one to begin with. But you'll have to contact Professor Rowen to get it upgraded. I'm pretty sure this Pokédex will be programmed for Sinnoh native Pokémon so you'll no longer be able to identify Charmander and Caterpie."
"Oh," said Giselle.
They walked over to reception counter that was full of newbie trainers, a few as young as ten. Giselle was mystified at seeing trainers this young. She knew that Kanto trainers had to be at least thirteen to register for the league and wondered what the minimum age for other regions were. Giselle looked for the receptionist with the fewest people in line and found her. She was just finishing up with her one person and Giselle, Reina, and Carmen took the chance. Giselle handed her voucher to the receptionist, almost shaking with anticipation. When the lady handed Giselle her new pink Pokédex she nearly died of happiness.
"Look at it guys," Giselle said once they were out of the center. She kept toggling through all of the features of her new Pokédex. She made sure to have her money transferred to the Pokédex and the proceeded to check to make sure every dime was there.
"We see it, Giselle," said Reina, slightly amused. "We have one. And now I'm going for a battle. Coming, Giselle?"
"Sure," said Giselle. She wanted to test out her Pokédex too.
"You do that," said Carmen. "I'm going for coffee. Meet me at that coffee shop down the street when you're done." Giselle noticed that all of Sinnoh seemed to be coffee obsessed, but she still hadn't tried the stuff yet.
"We'll see you soon then," said Reina, brightly. The both watched Carmen as she walked away from them before turning back to the task at hand.
It didn't take Reina long to find an opponent as the first person she asked said yes.
"Awesome," the boy said. "I hope you're a worthy opponent. My name is Carlos by the way." He had long shiny black hair that reached to about the middle of his back and concealed one of his eyes, which were also black.
"My name is Reina and let me tell you. You have no idea. My friend here will just watch."
"Fine by me," he replied. "Why don't we hit the open air arena?"
"Great," said Reina, a battle-hungry look in her eyes.
They walked about five minutes to a circular, but otherwise unremarkable building—at least until they entered. Then, Giselle's jaw dropped. There was no ceiling; the building just opened up into the sky.
"This is one of my favorite arenas," Reina explained to Giselle. "Not only do you have to deal with what your opponent is throwing at you, you have to deal with what nature throws at you. You could be hit with rain, snow, burning sun, anything. It keeps things interesting."
"It won't be interesting today," said Carlos, brushing his hair from his face. "The weather's perfect."
"And now let's get this battle started already," said Reina.
"Ooh, a feisty one!" said Carlos. "You'll be fun to battle."
"Just make sure you have that attitude after this battle," said Reina as they walked to their respective ends of the battle field. Giselle sat on a bench that was far off to the side of the middle of the arena.
"Here we go!" said Reina. "Go, Acero!" Giselle was suddenly reminded of her fiascos at the Pewter City gym against Brock's Onix.
"Come on out, Medicham!" Carlos called out.
Giselle was eager to use her new Pokédex. She pointed it at Medicham. "Medicham," her Pokédex said in a feminine voice. "the meditate Pokémon. Through yoga training, it has honed its sixth sense. Its movements are elegant. It is the evolved form of Meditite." Giselle squeed in her head.
"All right, Medicham. Let's start this off with a Force Palm!" It lunged at Onix with its right hand glowing.
But Reina had the "I've got something up my sleeve look."
"Acero, block that with Sandstorm!" The Onix's midsection began to churn and sand was expelled from between the spinning segments. Medicham had no time to stop and hurled itself into the storm, taking damage.
"Nice one!" said Carlos, impressed. "But watch this! Medicham use Rain Dance!"
Medicham really was as elegant as the Pokédex said. It used psychic power to lift itself in the air where it did a graceful dance full of flips and kicks. Rain was summoned out of no where and it promptly stopped the sandstorm. Reina was bewildered in interested way.
"What are you planning, Carlos?" Reina called out.
"Only this," he said. "Medicham use Hidden Power." Luminescent aquamarine orbs encircled Medicham. Reina's jaw dropped; she immediately knew what was happening. When the blue orbs made contact with Acero, they burst spilling water all over him. Acero roared in anguish at both the rain and the Water-type Hidden Power.
Carlos laughed. "I bet you didn't see that coming did you?"
"I admit that was good," said Reina. "But don't count us out yet. Acero use Dig!"
The great rock snake burrowed deep under the arena. After a while, it was so quiet, Giselle could hear a pin drop.
"Oh, and while you're down there, use Rock Polish and then Harden!" Reina added easily. Giselle couldn't tell if Acero could even hear her; there were no sounds emanating from underground.
"Ok, Medicham, time to put your psychic power to work," said Carlos, enjoying the thrill of battle.
Medicham closed its eyes sat on the ground cross-legged before levitating. For a while there was nothing as the moments ticked by and the rain eventually stopped. Then suddenly Medicham's eyes flew open—it could sense Acero, but before it could react, the Onix exploded out of the ground in a shower of mud and rocks with amazing speed for something so large. He slammed into Medicham who
went sailing across the room before hitting the ground hard.
"Hurry, Acero, before it can get up, use Earthquake!" Reina yelled.
The Onix slammed his tail onto the ground, creating earth shaking shock waves. Giselle could almost see the ripples as they slammed one by one into Medicham. But neither Carlos nor Medicham nor were done.
"Heh, it'll take more than that to beat Medicham! Use Hi Jump Kick!"
Giselle was surprised it could get up again, apparently Reina was too because her jaw dropped. Medicham leapt high into the air and aimed a kick right at Onix's head.
"Acero use Sandstorm once more!"
Once again, the Onix's midsection began to spin and expel grainy sand. Medicham flew through the grating sand but this time it wouldn't be stopped. Though the sand absorbed some of the impact, Acero still took a hard hit. Medicham landed gracefully on its feet a few yards in front of its trainer.
"Wow," said Reina. "It‘s a good thing I did use Harden, huh. Now, to make sure that doesn't happen again, Acero use Sand Tomb!"
The very ground under Medicham began to turn to quicksand, and it sunk into a ground a few inches, immobilized. No matter how much Medicham struggled, it was completely trapped.
"Oh, dear," said Carlos.
"Now it's time to end this," said Reina. "Acero, pick Medicham up!"
The Onix crawled over to Medicham, wrapped his tail around it, and snatched it out of the sand trap. Acero lifted Medicham up to his eyes,
Reina smiled. "Use Dragonbreath!"
Giselle cringed. Acero exhaled a sick sort of green stinky air directly into Medicham's face and it promptly fainted.
Carlos looked a little shocked. He recalled Medicham from Acero's grip. "Good job. We'll have to train a little more later." He then turned to Reina. "Good battle! As you can see, Medicham needs a little work"
"Yeah, I noticed it was a little on the slow side and its psychic abilities were off," Reina noted.
"Medicham's been having problems ever since she evolved," Carlos explained. "We're going to train a little bit north of the city for a while. Thanks again for the battle."
"You're very welcome," said Reina as she recalled Acero.
Like a true gentlemen, Carlos held the door open to the arena for both Reina and Giselle. They bid farewell to each other before going their separate ways. And after a quick trip to the Pokémon Center, Giselle and Reina headed to the coffee shop. It didn't take them long to find Carmen's table, but she wasn't alone. Giselle recognized Luz del Sol from Reina's battle with her friend Carla on Carmen's left.
When Giselle set eyes on the person on Carmen's right, she nearly died. Luckily no one at the table, including Carmen who was distracted by something on the table, spotted them. Giselle snatched Reina back out of the coffee shop.
"Ow! What was that for?" said Reina indignantly.
"The girl on Carmen's right!" Giselle said frantically.
"Yeah, what about her?"
"It's Vivienne!"
Reina gasped, but Giselle knew what she saw. She had the same dark curly hair and nearly the same outfit that she had in Giselle's vision--the pink bow and the lacy white dress.
"We can't go in there," whispered Giselle.
"Oh, come on Giselle!" said Reina. "That's vision didn't happen, remember? And how on earth could that girl be Vivienne?"
"I know it didn't happen, but it's her," said Giselle, anxiously biting her lip. "And I still don't want to face her."
Reina promptly put her hands on Giselle's shoulders and marched her back into the coffee shop. Giselle gulped. But Reina wasn't done messing with Giselle.
"Hey, guys!" she called out. All three girls looked up. Indeed, Carmen looked slightly annoyed that Reina had shouted across a room.
"Hello," said Vivienne and Luz at the same time. Giselle and Reina walked up to the table to see that Carmen was on her phone.
"Oh," said Luz, smiling, "I remember you now, Giselle. We were watching the battle that Reina was having with Carla." She looked almost the same as she did when Giselle last saw her, except now her short black hair had a single lavender streak.
"I remember," said Giselle. She was determined not to let the sight of Vivienne unnerve her.
"By the way," said Carmen. "This is Vivienne Devereaux. She's from the Sevii Islands of the Kanto region. I told her you were also from Kanto, Giselle."
"Yeah," said Giselle, who was uncomfortable aware that Vivienne was looking her with curiosity in her blue eyes. A look of shock crossed Reina's face but it was gone in an instant.
"Did I just hear the sound of Reina yelling across a room?" said an unknown male voice. "I haven't heard that in a while."
"Ramón?" said Reina smiling. She walked over behind Carmen and looked over her shoulder and motioned Giselle to come too.
Giselle thought Carmen just had her phone on speaker mode, but it was actually on video mode. Ramón had black wavy hair, Reina's brown eyes, and long gorgeous eyelashes. She couldn't help but notice that he was very handsome and was trying not to blush. He was in an organized office area and holding a cup of coffee.
"Long time no see. How are you?" asked Reina.
"I'm in Ecruteak City doing some research on the two towers and the two legendary birds that are supposed to roost on them," he explained. "Scoff all you want, Carmen, but they're real, and if you come with me I'll show you."
"Whatever," said Carmen indifferently.
"Err, Ramón?" said Reina. "Is that your office?" He nodded. "It's a little too neat for you, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it is," admitted Ramón. "But I'll have to wait a little while to break it in. I have to leave right now, so I'll talk to you later. Bye!"
"Bye," both sisters said, and the screen of the phone went black.
"They say people known for their intelligence are supposed to be really organized," chortled Reina. "But Ramón says he can't concentrate if his workspace is organized. You should see him ‘break in' in a work space."
"It makes me cringe," said Carmen. "He literally grabs stuff like pencils, paper, books, and whatever else he can get his hands on, and starts throwing it around. The room is effectively demolished in about five minutes. When he lived at home, he used to drive mom crazy because he would never let her organize anything in his room."
"Yeah, but none of that matters," Luz interjected, "because he is a totally hottie."
They all laughed. Though Giselle didn't know how she saw Vivienne in a vision, she decided to act like she'd never seen her before. Vivienne didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. And that look she gave Giselle was probably for her white hair or something like that.
"In the time it took you two get back, I could've had three cups of coffee," said Carmen. "At least I had Luz and Vivienne to keep me company."
"You said you were from the Sevii Islands, right?" Reina asked Vivienne. "Giselle never told us about them."
"That's correct," said Vivienne. "It's an island chain south of the Kanto mainland. To be exact, I'm from Resort Gorgeous on Five Island."
"It's kind of like Valor Lakefront," Giselle explained. "It's just as swanky and probably just as awesome, even though I've never been there."
"It was a nice place to grow up," said Vivienne. "But I also had a lot of fun on my Pokémon journey in Kanto."
"Did you take the Pokémon league challenge?" asked Luz.
"Yes," answered Vivienne. "I finished in the top four. You can't imagine how happy I was, even if I didn't win," Vivienne finished with a nod to Carmen.
"Wait," Reina interrupted. "How old are you?"
"How old do I look?" asked Vivienne mischievously.
"To be honest, I think you're twelve," Reina said bluntly.
Vivienne smiled broadly. "I'm actually nineteen." Luz had to stifle a laugh.
"All righty then," said Reina trying to change the subject. "Now what are you doing in Sinnoh?"
"After I'd competed in the league, it was time for a change of scenery, and so, here I am," Vivienne answered.
Giselle wondered if she would let Reina live that little slip up down. Finishing top four in the league was very impressive. Then she suddenly remembered the Luz said she'd spent most of her time in Hoenn. "Luz, did you challenge the Hoenn League?"
"Not yet," she said. "I have all eight of my badges so I'm qualified, but I had to take a short break and come back home. I'll be going back to Hoenn soon to take the challenge."
"I want to go to Hoenn soon, too," said Reina. "I want to find Steven and capture more Steel type Pokémon."
"You're on the search for Steven?" asked Luz, impressed. "I wish you the best of luck then."
"Well, since you know Hoenn well…" and so began the Hoenn questions Reina had for Luz. For a while they just had conversations ranging from every subject imaginable. Hearing these conversations made Giselle want to start her journey—particularly her gym battles. The girls gave her plenty of helpful advice and told their own stories of gym battle fiascos and triumphs. After a while, the conversation turned back to what they wanted to do next in their Pokémon journeys.
"Hey, Carmen was Ramón serious about wanting you to come with him on his research mission?" asked Giselle almost casually.
"Yeah, he was," said Carmen.
"Are you seriously considering going?" asked Reina.
"Actually, I am," replied Carmen, but then she hesitated.
Giselle guessed that Carmen was starting to rub off on her because she picked up Carmen's uneasy pause.
"What was that pause for?" Giselle asked tentatively.
Carmen sighed. "Well you see. If I do go with him, I'll have to leave in two days."
EDIT: I'll be fixing the typos as I see (or someone else sees). Dear goodness they were bad this time around. Maybe I should've waited till I was calm to post them.
The next day the trio found themselves at the registration center in Veilstone City. The center was located on the edge of the Battle District. The area looked very different in the daytime without the bright lights and flamboyantly dressed people. The center itself was very high tech and modern. Giselle saw newly registered trainers excitedly exited the building ready to start their own journeys. A group of young students and their teacher on a field trip passed them. Giselle wondered if any of those students had the same big dreams that she had when she was their age. She just hoped that they would get the opportunity to fulfill them someday.
"Man, being in this area makes me itch for a battle," said Reina. "I'm headed to an arena when we get done here."
"And they say I'm battle hungry," muttered Carmen.
"Shall we go in already?" asked Reina impatiently.
"Of course," said Giselle.
The inside was just as modern as the outside. It was full of computers and other machines Giselle had never seen before. Receptionists stood behind counters along the far wall.
"This is one of the larger registration centers," Carmen explained. "Reina and I registered in Professor Rowen's lab when we received our starters in Sandgem Town. You can use any one of these computers by the way."
They went to the nearest one. Like everything else in Sinnoh, it was touch screen. The screen displayed, among other things, options for new trainers and one for trainers that have registered in other regions. Giselle clicked on the latter and followed the instructions and answered the questions that appeared one by one on the screen as Carmen and Reina looked on.
"Do you have a Pokédex?" was the first question that appeared.
"Yes," Giselle selected.
"Please insert it into the slot."
A slot popped out at the bottom of the computer. Giselle pulled out her red Pokédex and put it in just like it said. She heard a few mechanical sounds and then all of her information was displayed on the screen: her name and hometown, her picture and finger print, how many badges she'd won (zero), how many Pokémon captured (two native, four non-native), and of course, the region she had been registered in. She used the fingerprint device to positively identify herself.
"Are you sure you want to register for the Sinnoh League?"
"Yes."
"You will not be able to participate in a previously registered league. Is that okay?"
"Yes." (Definitely)
"Congratulations! You are now registered for the Sinnoh League. Please take this voucher to a receptionist to receive your new Pokédex. All of your information has been transferred into the new Pokédex." The voucher popped out of the side of the computer and Giselle took it. She assumed the voucher had a computer chip in it.
"Would you like to keep your old Pokédex?"
"Yes." (Why not?) The Pokédex came out of the same slot it went in.
"Thank you for registering!" And with that the screen went back to its welcome screen.
"Wow," said Giselle. "That didn't take long at all!" She held the voucher up to her eyes, looking at it as though it was the golden ticket.
"I'm glad it didn't," said Reina. "I still want that battle."
"Wait, does everyone that registers get a Pokédex?" asked Giselle."
"No," answered Carmen. "Only if you had one to begin with. But you'll have to contact Professor Rowen to get it upgraded. I'm pretty sure this Pokédex will be programmed for Sinnoh native Pokémon so you'll no longer be able to identify Charmander and Caterpie."
"Oh," said Giselle.
They walked over to reception counter that was full of newbie trainers, a few as young as ten. Giselle was mystified at seeing trainers this young. She knew that Kanto trainers had to be at least thirteen to register for the league and wondered what the minimum age for other regions were. Giselle looked for the receptionist with the fewest people in line and found her. She was just finishing up with her one person and Giselle, Reina, and Carmen took the chance. Giselle handed her voucher to the receptionist, almost shaking with anticipation. When the lady handed Giselle her new pink Pokédex she nearly died of happiness.
"Look at it guys," Giselle said once they were out of the center. She kept toggling through all of the features of her new Pokédex. She made sure to have her money transferred to the Pokédex and the proceeded to check to make sure every dime was there.
"We see it, Giselle," said Reina, slightly amused. "We have one. And now I'm going for a battle. Coming, Giselle?"
"Sure," said Giselle. She wanted to test out her Pokédex too.
"You do that," said Carmen. "I'm going for coffee. Meet me at that coffee shop down the street when you're done." Giselle noticed that all of Sinnoh seemed to be coffee obsessed, but she still hadn't tried the stuff yet.
"We'll see you soon then," said Reina, brightly. The both watched Carmen as she walked away from them before turning back to the task at hand.
It didn't take Reina long to find an opponent as the first person she asked said yes.
"Awesome," the boy said. "I hope you're a worthy opponent. My name is Carlos by the way." He had long shiny black hair that reached to about the middle of his back and concealed one of his eyes, which were also black.
"My name is Reina and let me tell you. You have no idea. My friend here will just watch."
"Fine by me," he replied. "Why don't we hit the open air arena?"
"Great," said Reina, a battle-hungry look in her eyes.
They walked about five minutes to a circular, but otherwise unremarkable building—at least until they entered. Then, Giselle's jaw dropped. There was no ceiling; the building just opened up into the sky.
"This is one of my favorite arenas," Reina explained to Giselle. "Not only do you have to deal with what your opponent is throwing at you, you have to deal with what nature throws at you. You could be hit with rain, snow, burning sun, anything. It keeps things interesting."
"It won't be interesting today," said Carlos, brushing his hair from his face. "The weather's perfect."
"And now let's get this battle started already," said Reina.
"Ooh, a feisty one!" said Carlos. "You'll be fun to battle."
"Just make sure you have that attitude after this battle," said Reina as they walked to their respective ends of the battle field. Giselle sat on a bench that was far off to the side of the middle of the arena.
"Here we go!" said Reina. "Go, Acero!" Giselle was suddenly reminded of her fiascos at the Pewter City gym against Brock's Onix.
"Come on out, Medicham!" Carlos called out.
Giselle was eager to use her new Pokédex. She pointed it at Medicham. "Medicham," her Pokédex said in a feminine voice. "the meditate Pokémon. Through yoga training, it has honed its sixth sense. Its movements are elegant. It is the evolved form of Meditite." Giselle squeed in her head.
"All right, Medicham. Let's start this off with a Force Palm!" It lunged at Onix with its right hand glowing.
But Reina had the "I've got something up my sleeve look."
"Acero, block that with Sandstorm!" The Onix's midsection began to churn and sand was expelled from between the spinning segments. Medicham had no time to stop and hurled itself into the storm, taking damage.
"Nice one!" said Carlos, impressed. "But watch this! Medicham use Rain Dance!"
Medicham really was as elegant as the Pokédex said. It used psychic power to lift itself in the air where it did a graceful dance full of flips and kicks. Rain was summoned out of no where and it promptly stopped the sandstorm. Reina was bewildered in interested way.
"What are you planning, Carlos?" Reina called out.
"Only this," he said. "Medicham use Hidden Power." Luminescent aquamarine orbs encircled Medicham. Reina's jaw dropped; she immediately knew what was happening. When the blue orbs made contact with Acero, they burst spilling water all over him. Acero roared in anguish at both the rain and the Water-type Hidden Power.
Carlos laughed. "I bet you didn't see that coming did you?"
"I admit that was good," said Reina. "But don't count us out yet. Acero use Dig!"
The great rock snake burrowed deep under the arena. After a while, it was so quiet, Giselle could hear a pin drop.
"Oh, and while you're down there, use Rock Polish and then Harden!" Reina added easily. Giselle couldn't tell if Acero could even hear her; there were no sounds emanating from underground.
"Ok, Medicham, time to put your psychic power to work," said Carlos, enjoying the thrill of battle.
Medicham closed its eyes sat on the ground cross-legged before levitating. For a while there was nothing as the moments ticked by and the rain eventually stopped. Then suddenly Medicham's eyes flew open—it could sense Acero, but before it could react, the Onix exploded out of the ground in a shower of mud and rocks with amazing speed for something so large. He slammed into Medicham who
went sailing across the room before hitting the ground hard.
"Hurry, Acero, before it can get up, use Earthquake!" Reina yelled.
The Onix slammed his tail onto the ground, creating earth shaking shock waves. Giselle could almost see the ripples as they slammed one by one into Medicham. But neither Carlos nor Medicham nor were done.
"Heh, it'll take more than that to beat Medicham! Use Hi Jump Kick!"
Giselle was surprised it could get up again, apparently Reina was too because her jaw dropped. Medicham leapt high into the air and aimed a kick right at Onix's head.
"Acero use Sandstorm once more!"
Once again, the Onix's midsection began to spin and expel grainy sand. Medicham flew through the grating sand but this time it wouldn't be stopped. Though the sand absorbed some of the impact, Acero still took a hard hit. Medicham landed gracefully on its feet a few yards in front of its trainer.
"Wow," said Reina. "It‘s a good thing I did use Harden, huh. Now, to make sure that doesn't happen again, Acero use Sand Tomb!"
The very ground under Medicham began to turn to quicksand, and it sunk into a ground a few inches, immobilized. No matter how much Medicham struggled, it was completely trapped.
"Oh, dear," said Carlos.
"Now it's time to end this," said Reina. "Acero, pick Medicham up!"
The Onix crawled over to Medicham, wrapped his tail around it, and snatched it out of the sand trap. Acero lifted Medicham up to his eyes,
Reina smiled. "Use Dragonbreath!"
Giselle cringed. Acero exhaled a sick sort of green stinky air directly into Medicham's face and it promptly fainted.
Carlos looked a little shocked. He recalled Medicham from Acero's grip. "Good job. We'll have to train a little more later." He then turned to Reina. "Good battle! As you can see, Medicham needs a little work"
"Yeah, I noticed it was a little on the slow side and its psychic abilities were off," Reina noted.
"Medicham's been having problems ever since she evolved," Carlos explained. "We're going to train a little bit north of the city for a while. Thanks again for the battle."
"You're very welcome," said Reina as she recalled Acero.
Like a true gentlemen, Carlos held the door open to the arena for both Reina and Giselle. They bid farewell to each other before going their separate ways. And after a quick trip to the Pokémon Center, Giselle and Reina headed to the coffee shop. It didn't take them long to find Carmen's table, but she wasn't alone. Giselle recognized Luz del Sol from Reina's battle with her friend Carla on Carmen's left.
When Giselle set eyes on the person on Carmen's right, she nearly died. Luckily no one at the table, including Carmen who was distracted by something on the table, spotted them. Giselle snatched Reina back out of the coffee shop.
"Ow! What was that for?" said Reina indignantly.
"The girl on Carmen's right!" Giselle said frantically.
"Yeah, what about her?"
"It's Vivienne!"
Reina gasped, but Giselle knew what she saw. She had the same dark curly hair and nearly the same outfit that she had in Giselle's vision--the pink bow and the lacy white dress.
"We can't go in there," whispered Giselle.
"Oh, come on Giselle!" said Reina. "That's vision didn't happen, remember? And how on earth could that girl be Vivienne?"
"I know it didn't happen, but it's her," said Giselle, anxiously biting her lip. "And I still don't want to face her."
Reina promptly put her hands on Giselle's shoulders and marched her back into the coffee shop. Giselle gulped. But Reina wasn't done messing with Giselle.
"Hey, guys!" she called out. All three girls looked up. Indeed, Carmen looked slightly annoyed that Reina had shouted across a room.
"Hello," said Vivienne and Luz at the same time. Giselle and Reina walked up to the table to see that Carmen was on her phone.
"Oh," said Luz, smiling, "I remember you now, Giselle. We were watching the battle that Reina was having with Carla." She looked almost the same as she did when Giselle last saw her, except now her short black hair had a single lavender streak.
"I remember," said Giselle. She was determined not to let the sight of Vivienne unnerve her.
"By the way," said Carmen. "This is Vivienne Devereaux. She's from the Sevii Islands of the Kanto region. I told her you were also from Kanto, Giselle."
"Yeah," said Giselle, who was uncomfortable aware that Vivienne was looking her with curiosity in her blue eyes. A look of shock crossed Reina's face but it was gone in an instant.
"Did I just hear the sound of Reina yelling across a room?" said an unknown male voice. "I haven't heard that in a while."
"Ramón?" said Reina smiling. She walked over behind Carmen and looked over her shoulder and motioned Giselle to come too.
Giselle thought Carmen just had her phone on speaker mode, but it was actually on video mode. Ramón had black wavy hair, Reina's brown eyes, and long gorgeous eyelashes. She couldn't help but notice that he was very handsome and was trying not to blush. He was in an organized office area and holding a cup of coffee.
"Long time no see. How are you?" asked Reina.
"I'm in Ecruteak City doing some research on the two towers and the two legendary birds that are supposed to roost on them," he explained. "Scoff all you want, Carmen, but they're real, and if you come with me I'll show you."
"Whatever," said Carmen indifferently.
"Err, Ramón?" said Reina. "Is that your office?" He nodded. "It's a little too neat for you, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it is," admitted Ramón. "But I'll have to wait a little while to break it in. I have to leave right now, so I'll talk to you later. Bye!"
"Bye," both sisters said, and the screen of the phone went black.
"They say people known for their intelligence are supposed to be really organized," chortled Reina. "But Ramón says he can't concentrate if his workspace is organized. You should see him ‘break in' in a work space."
"It makes me cringe," said Carmen. "He literally grabs stuff like pencils, paper, books, and whatever else he can get his hands on, and starts throwing it around. The room is effectively demolished in about five minutes. When he lived at home, he used to drive mom crazy because he would never let her organize anything in his room."
"Yeah, but none of that matters," Luz interjected, "because he is a totally hottie."
They all laughed. Though Giselle didn't know how she saw Vivienne in a vision, she decided to act like she'd never seen her before. Vivienne didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. And that look she gave Giselle was probably for her white hair or something like that.
"In the time it took you two get back, I could've had three cups of coffee," said Carmen. "At least I had Luz and Vivienne to keep me company."
"You said you were from the Sevii Islands, right?" Reina asked Vivienne. "Giselle never told us about them."
"That's correct," said Vivienne. "It's an island chain south of the Kanto mainland. To be exact, I'm from Resort Gorgeous on Five Island."
"It's kind of like Valor Lakefront," Giselle explained. "It's just as swanky and probably just as awesome, even though I've never been there."
"It was a nice place to grow up," said Vivienne. "But I also had a lot of fun on my Pokémon journey in Kanto."
"Did you take the Pokémon league challenge?" asked Luz.
"Yes," answered Vivienne. "I finished in the top four. You can't imagine how happy I was, even if I didn't win," Vivienne finished with a nod to Carmen.
"Wait," Reina interrupted. "How old are you?"
"How old do I look?" asked Vivienne mischievously.
"To be honest, I think you're twelve," Reina said bluntly.
Vivienne smiled broadly. "I'm actually nineteen." Luz had to stifle a laugh.
"All righty then," said Reina trying to change the subject. "Now what are you doing in Sinnoh?"
"After I'd competed in the league, it was time for a change of scenery, and so, here I am," Vivienne answered.
Giselle wondered if she would let Reina live that little slip up down. Finishing top four in the league was very impressive. Then she suddenly remembered the Luz said she'd spent most of her time in Hoenn. "Luz, did you challenge the Hoenn League?"
"Not yet," she said. "I have all eight of my badges so I'm qualified, but I had to take a short break and come back home. I'll be going back to Hoenn soon to take the challenge."
"I want to go to Hoenn soon, too," said Reina. "I want to find Steven and capture more Steel type Pokémon."
"You're on the search for Steven?" asked Luz, impressed. "I wish you the best of luck then."
"Well, since you know Hoenn well…" and so began the Hoenn questions Reina had for Luz. For a while they just had conversations ranging from every subject imaginable. Hearing these conversations made Giselle want to start her journey—particularly her gym battles. The girls gave her plenty of helpful advice and told their own stories of gym battle fiascos and triumphs. After a while, the conversation turned back to what they wanted to do next in their Pokémon journeys.
"Hey, Carmen was Ramón serious about wanting you to come with him on his research mission?" asked Giselle almost casually.
"Yeah, he was," said Carmen.
"Are you seriously considering going?" asked Reina.
"Actually, I am," replied Carmen, but then she hesitated.
Giselle guessed that Carmen was starting to rub off on her because she picked up Carmen's uneasy pause.
"What was that pause for?" Giselle asked tentatively.
Carmen sighed. "Well you see. If I do go with him, I'll have to leave in two days."
EDIT: I'll be fixing the typos as I see (or someone else sees). Dear goodness they were bad this time around. Maybe I should've waited till I was calm to post them.
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Nice chapters . I always look forward to this story so it was nice to have two posts to read. As far as mistakes go, there were a few minor ones but nothing that would be hard to understand. Keep up the good work! (Also, these parts made me anxious to see Giselle's next battle. I don't know why.)
. I always look forward to this story so it was nice to have two posts to read. As far as mistakes go, there were a few minor ones but nothing that would be hard to understand. Keep up the good work! (Also, these parts made me anxious to see Giselle's next battle. I don't know why.)once again anouther great two chapters Carmen , we got two after that super cliff hanger, an then u trow another one at us. i love the dream Giselle had then meeting the girl. that was some good writing. i cant wait to see what happens.
, we got two after that super cliff hanger, an then u trow another one at us. i love the dream Giselle had then meeting the girl. that was some good writing. i cant wait to see what happens.OOC: Hope it's good
Giselle and Reina both gasped.
"H-how long have you been thinking about this?" asked Giselle dumbfounded.
I've been talking with Ramón for the past month," Carmen answered. "But I kept changing my mind as to whether I wanted to go or not. Now I have merely hours to make my decision."
Giselle was amazed. She didn't think Carmen was the one to put off important decisions like that. It must've been a hard choice for her to make. Giselle could see nothing but contemplation in her silver eyes as she sat with her hand under her chin.
Finally, Reina spoke. "Just make a decision, already, yes or no. You've been thinking about this for much longer than a month. Well?"
Carmen turned to her sister in surprise. "You know for once in your life, you're making sense. I'm going to go with my first instinct. My decision is yes—yes, I will go. I can download an electronic ticket from my phone now. I'm glad you can get those last minute."
"Wow, Reina," said Luz. "You reminded me of Tony just then. He always urges me to make decisions on my first instincts. You can say he's a carpe diem person."
"Sounds like Tony and I would get along," Reina said. "But we start for Canalave now, don't we?"
"Yeah, I want to get there by six," said Carmen looking up from her phone. "The reason that I need to leave in two days is because that's when the ship leaves. It'll take me about eight hours to get there, and Ramón said he wanted to start his mission as soon as possible. Plus, this is the time of year when ship rides are starting to get expensive."
"But, how will you get to Canalave?" asked Vivienne. "It took me ages to get here from there."
"We're taking the Underground Train," said Luz. "OMG, did I just invite myself?"
Reina laughed. "It's fine. We can all go together. Are you all right with that, Vivienne?"
"Sure, but what is the Underground Train?" Vivienne asked.
"Sinnoh has an extensive system of underground tunnels, so a few were used for a high speed underground train," Carmen explained. "We'll be in Canalave in a few hours."
Vivienne's jaw dropped. "And why didn't anyone I asked tell me about this train?"
"That's Sinnoh for you," said Luz. "The people here can spot non-natives from a mile away. You see, some people here like to screw with foreigners. Most likely whoever you asked spotted you as a foreigner and didn't tell you about the train. It was expensive getting here too, wasn't it Vivienne?"
"It was. It cost a fortune," she said.
"And Canalave is the worst about that," Luz finished. "Personally I think the people in Hoenn are nicer. Don't get me wrong, Sinnoh is awesome. Every region has its faults."
"Yes, you're right," said Vivienne. "Goodness knows Kanto has them."
"Shall we leave now?" asked Reina. "We can reach the train station fastest by a trolley. There's one that goes directly to the train station with no stops."
They all agreed and got up from the table after collecting their bags. Giselle remembered that Luz said she wasn't very tolerant of cold weather. She grabbed her woolen black coat that she had when Giselle first met her and put it on over her thick sweater. Vivienne wasn't much more tolerant of the cold as she put on a thick pink coat. After spending a month in Sinnoh, Giselle was as used to the chill as Carmen and Reina; their sweaters were enough to keep them warm. They only had to walk a short distance to the trolley stop, and they had to wait only five minutes for it to come.
As they boarded the trolley, Giselle was thrilled to use her new Pokédex to pay her fare. Reina, Carmen, and Luz also used their Pokédexes to pay, while Vivienne used a card.
"Hey, Vivienne," said Giselle as they sat down in the mostly empty trolley. "Did you find out before you came here that hard money is rarely used?"
"No, I didn't," she answered. "It's amazing how much they don't tell you about Sinnoh. But anyway, I was buying some items in Canalave and when I paid with money, the cashiers looked at me like I was some kind of alien. And when I asked why they were looking at me like that, they didn't give me an answer. So basically I threatened to send out my Tyrannitar if someone didn't give me an answer. They talked then."
So this Vivienne had a Tyrannitar too. Giselle didn't let the shock show on her face. "I wish I had been that assertive then…" and Giselle once again told the story of her fiascos from her first day in Sinnoh. It provided good entertainment for the trolley ride. Carmen was silent as she watched the scenery go by and even Reina wasn't as active as she usually was. Giselle noticed it but didn't say anything.
If the trolley hadn't stopped there or if she hadn't seen the large amount of people entering and exiting it, Giselle would have never have noticed the train station entrance. She had expected a huge building but it was merely a couple of escalators. The quintet exited the trolley and stepped onto the down escalator. Giselle wasn't sure what she expected as she descended into the underground, but it wasn't that. It was as though they had entered a giant mall full of bright lights, stores, and people in true Veilstone style. A giant sign carved out of stone welcomed them to Veilstone Station.
"I can't believe I forgot to tell you about this place, Giselle," said Reina. "It's a train station, but it's also one of the best malls in Sinnoh. There are four more entrances to the station besides this one if you want to bypass the mall to get to the train. But this is one of the hang out spots of Veilstone."
Giselle could see that. There were plenty of teenaged students still in their uniforms either out for lunch or cutting class. Signs pointed out the south, east, and westbound trains. They almost had to drag Vivienne away from the stores, which Giselle had to admit were awesome.
They swiped their Pokédexes (or in Vivienne's case, her card) to get through a gate that led to the westbound train. Many people were milling around the platform, some looking down the tunnel, waiting for it to come. Giselle saw men and women in business and office attire who had presumably came through one of the other entrances. On the opposite rock wall—once again in true Veilstone fashion—was a giant bas-relief of a Lucario using Aura Sphere. Signs overhead flashed that the train would arrive in five minutes.
"They actually just built this train not too long ago," Reina explained. "At first I didn't want it built—"
"You mean like Cycling Road?" asked Giselle, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah," said Reina mockingly brushing Giselle off. "Anyway, there's a lot of treasure underground and you can go into the caverns if you have permission to dig around. I thought the train would mess all that up. Apparently the underground is even more extensive than I thought because nothing was interrupted. You can still go down there as normal. You won't even be able to hear the train when you're down there."
"The Underground is one of my favorite places in Sinnoh," said Luz. "The treasure is so, like, awesome. Once I dug up a nice Dome Fossil and got it turned into a Kabuto in Oreburgh City. Eventually it evolved into the amazing Kabutops I have on my team now.
"Nice," said Giselle. "How do you get permission to go into the Underground though?"
"You have to get it in Eterna City," Luz answered.
Three minutes later, a light appeared down the tunnel; it grew larger and larger until the train came into full view. Giselle was amazed. The train, bearing the legend "Sinnoh Transit," was lustrous and virtually silent. It was painted glossy black with a light blue stripe than ran the length of the train. As soon as the doors of the train open, there was chaos as people both boarded the train and exited it at the same time. Giselle was surprised there was no pile up. To make sure she wasn't separated this time, she grabbed onto Carmen's backpack strap to keep up with her. They headed to the nearest door and entered onto the train, moving quickly to get seats together.
"Whew," said Vivienne as she straightened her coat and dress. "That was worse than the Saffron Station. At least the trains here are nicer though."
Giselle had never ridden a train before so she had nothing to compare it to, but she had to agree that they were nice. The blue reclining seats were nice and comfortable and there were plenty of cup holders. The group was fortunate enough to get seats facing each other so they didn't have to yell across the aisle or turn around to talk to each other. Though, she could barely feel the train moving, Giselle could tell they were going fast. They settled down for what would be a calm ride despite the many people around them. Right when Luz was about to say something her phone rang.
"Excuse me," she said before she pulled her phone, which resembled Carmen's, out her bag and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey Tony!" Luz's face fell. "You're kidding right? All right, I'm on the train now so I'll be there soon. Bye."
She put her phone back in her bag. "Bad news guys. Apparently Carla had some kind of freak out in the Hearthome City contest hall so I'll be getting off at the station there."
"I'm really sorry," said Reina. "I was looking forward to hearing more about Hoenn."
"Oh, don't worry," Luz said. "I'm still coming to Canalave, but I probably won't be there until after your sister leaves. Will you still be around then?"
"Most likely," Reina answered. "I need to erase Giselle's bad memories of the place."
"It was very nice to meet you though," Luz said to Carmen.
"You too," said Carmen. "And I might tell Ramón that you said he was hot just to see how he takes it."
"Go right ahead. I meant what I said. I may come to Johto just to see him sometime. But don't worry; I'm not a stalker." Luz's eyes shifted in mock suspiciousness.
They all laughed. To pass time, Vivienne told the story of the story of her adventures in Canalave. She ran into a lot of the same stuff Giselle did, including the stares. The difference was that Vivienne stood up for herself despite looking like a twelve year old and probably wearing something pink and frilly. Giselle had to admire her for that and resolved to stand up for herself more. Including a brief stop in at the small Solaceon Station, it took about an hour to reach Hearthome City.
"Bye everyone!" Luz said. "I'll see you later!" And with that, Luz got off the train.
Reina sighed. "It'll be another two hours or so before we reach Canalave. By the way, Giselle, you'll enjoy Hearthome City. Stop and watch a contest in the Contest Hall while you're there."
"Ok," said Giselle. She began to imagine what it would be like to finally start her journey properly. What kind of things would she see and experience? And what kind of stories would she tell? Giselle thought of all her Pokémon and smiled to herself. She ended up spending the next two hours daydreaming. Carmen told her more about Jubilife when the train stopped there, fueling her dreams as she thought of the technology wonderland. She prayed with all of her being that her hopes would not be dashed this time. It had taken a long time for her to even dare to hope in this manner again.
Finally, they arrived in Canalave, back where Giselle's Sinnoh adventures had begun. Since this was the terminus, everyone had to depart the train. Instead of Veilstone's rock walls, the walls here were beautifully tiled. Giselle could see the multiple exits that led to different areas of the city. The girls followed the stream of people up the main escalator, however. This Canlave Station entrance was above ground rather than entirely underground like Veilstone Station. There were restaurants and stores here too but nothing like Veilstone. However, the things here looked more expensive and it was even harder to drag Vivienne away.
They had arrived at twilight. Giselle was once again exposed to the canals, the sites, smells, and the people of Canalave. But this time it was different. Giselle had a more hopeful outlook on life so that the city seemed nicer than it was than when she'd first arrived in Sinnoh. She had never appreciated how beautiful the sunset over the ocean was. All of the water was dyed with the reds, oranges, and yellows from the setting sun. Ships docked in the harbor off cargo and passengers. The well dressed people signified that the nightlife had already begun. Giselle was attracting stares once more for her white hair, but they were looks of curiosity and admiration rather than looks of scorn.
"Ah," Carmen breathed. "I love being back here. I had forgotten how good it smelled."
"Speaking of," said Vivienne. "Can we get something to eat? I've heard that the food was world class here."
"Sure," said Reina. "But not around here, the prices are sky high. By the way, since we're going out—"
"No," said Carmen flatly. "There will be no dressing up tonight. I don't feel like it."
Reina muttered something that sounded like "killjoy" under her breath as they walked along. They passed by more clothing boutiques, and even passed the one Giselle had bought her clothes in her first night in Sinnoh. Finally, Vivienne couldn't resist any longer and she had to stop at one of the stores.
"Well since we're stopping anyway," said Reina happily.
Carmen rolled her eyes.
"Vivienne, is what you're wearing considered, um, normal in Kanto?" Reina asked delicately.
"No," she answered as she shifted through the clothes rack. "It's mostly a Resort Gorgeous thing. And even then, not everyone there dresses like this. Oh, this is nice," she added as she picked up a nice gold top.
In the end they all ended up buying something and wearing it out of the store to Carmen's dismay. Giselle found an (inexpensive) short black dress and blue leggings. Reina bought herself a pink dress that matched her boyish figure. Vivienne got a pair of black pants to match her top. After Reina started whining, Carmen bought an emerald green shirt, jeans, and a black suit jacket.
"Oh, come on Carmen," said Reina. "If you didn't really want to buy it you didn't have to. No one made you."
"YOU forced me," Carmen retorted. "And if I didn't, I would have just listened to you whine the rest of the night."
"Well you have point there," agreed Reina. "And Vivienne you look so different without the dress. That's a good thing by the way."
"Thanks," she said. She had also removed the ribbon from her hair, but she still looked about twelve. "Now, time to get something to eat."
The restaurant they picked served the best tasting pasta Giselle had ever put into her mouth. It was either that or she was extremely hungry because she ate more than she'd ever eaten. Vivienne, Reina, and Carmen were amazed.
"I didn't know you could put away that much Giselle," said Reina in wonder.
"Yeah, well," Giselle said after she swallowed a forkful of pasta. "This is good and I'm hungry."
Vivienne took small lady like bites as she ate her food. "This is amazing," she appraised.
"You know," said Carmen. She looked really thoughtful. "I can't believe I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I've never left Sinnoh before."
"You're not having second thoughts are you?" asked Reina.
"No," said Carmen. "But I am getting a little excited. I wonder what Johto is like."
"I've heard stuff about it," Vivienne said. "The people of Johto are supposed to more laidback. And Goldenrod City is supposed to be spectacular. It's the largest city in the world, so it should be."
"That's where my ship will arrive," said Carmen. "Ramón said it was cool. He hates cities so if he says it's cool, it must be."
"I can't wait to visit Jubilife personally," said Giselle. "It sounds like a lot of fun. Besides I want to get a phone like yours, Carmen."
"I love this phone." Carmen whipped it out again. "But my brother said that the ones in Johto are supposed to be even more advanced than here. Those kinds of phones are called Pokégear."
"It always depressed me that Kanto was so technologically behind everyone else," Vivienne said. "But as a trade off, we do have the culture."
"You know, Giselle," Carmen began. "You should go back home some day and explore your native region."
"Maybe," said Giselle skeptically. She wondered if she would ever return to Kanto at all.
When their checks arrived, Giselle was very much surprised to see that the prices weren't through the roof. It was by no means cheap, but not impossible either. Carmen said that in Canalave that was a steal.
"We can stay at the Pokémon Center tonight," said Carmen. "Let's reserve a room before they fill up."
Giselle was having major flashbacks now. She remembered how bad she felt back then. They had arrived in the same Pokémon Center as Giselle did nearly a month before. Everything was the same as before. The lounge was filled with trainers and still no smell of coffee. With what happened to Vivienne, she was slightly surprised that she didn't see the boy with the Lucario. They crossed the lounge and went into the center itself. There was no one in line to see the receptionist (the same one that Giselle had snapped at the first night), so Carmen went straight to her.
"Excuse me, but are there anymore rooms left?"
The receptionist smiled. "You got the last one!" she handed over a key to Carmen and throwing a curious glance at Giselle. "It is room number twenty." Giselle tried to arrange her face to look like there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Thank you," said Carmen. And fortunately for Giselle, the receptionist didn't say anything else.
They milled around the Pokémon Center for a while and let their Pokémon out for some air. It turned out that while Vivienne had a Tyrannitar, she didn't have a Clefairy. In fact, it seemed like Vivienne had a thing for fierce looking Pokémon. She had a Nidoking, Gyarados, Persian, and a Pinsir.
"You just keep shattering those stereotypes don't you, Vivienne?" Reina said.
"Well yes," said Vivienne smiling. "Cutesy Pokémon aren't my thing."
Reina high fived her. "That is awesome! I can totally see we're going to get along."
"Thanks!" said Vivienne.
They decided to call it a night to avoid getting thrown out after Meilene and Paris got into another fight that nearly resulted in Meilene using Focus Blast on Empoleon. The room was just as nice as their bedroom had been in the trainer's house. This time, they had a view of Canalave City from their second story room. The full moon had risen and was casting moonlight in through the skylight and onto the wood floors. There were comfortable bunk beds on either side of the room and a small dresser.
"Hey Reina," said Giselle. "How many nights can we stay here?"
"Two night limit for obvious reasons," she answered back.
Vivienne and Giselle took the top bunks while Carmen took the bunk under Giselle, leaving the last one to Reina. It took Giselle a while to fall asleep, so she just stared at the ceiling in the meantime. She could feel something inside her, could feel that something was about to move. Her journey in Sinnoh had come in a full circle of sorts. Though she couldn't explain it, it felt significant. It did give her time to reflect on what the past month meant to her. She'd gained four Pokémon that she loved to pieces and had a wonderful relationship with Charmander and Caterpie. It made her happy just thinking about it. Slowly her eyelids grew heavy and she finally fell into a deep sleep full of sweet dreams.
Gray clouds rolled in the next day making it dreary and oppressive. Carmen was very pensive for most of the day, and Giselle and Vivienne had to admit that the clouds were getting to them as well. But Reina was so uncharacteristically quiet that it was almost scary. All of them were worried about her, but she would talk to no one until about midday, when Carmen finally managed to get her to talk.
"I don't know why I feel like this," she confessed. "It's not like we haven't been apart before…" she trailed off.
"So that's what this is about?" said Carmen in mild surprise. "For some reason I didn't expect that of you."
"I didn't expect it either," Reina admitted. "I mean, I was fine yesterday."
Giselle had a sudden inspiration. "I know! Why don't you two spend the rest of Carmen's last day together? You can get some sisterly bonding time."
Reina seem to brighten at once. "If that's okay with you and Vivienne…"
"It's perfectly fine with me," Vivienne said at once.
"And it's good for me, too," said Carmen.
Reina had that mischievous glint in her eye. She smiled at Carmen in a way that slightly worried her sister. "Well let's get going," she said as she pulled on Carmen's arm "After all we have stuff to do."
"Hey wait! What are you doing?!" They heard Carmen protesting as Reina dragged her off.
Giselle and Vivienne laughed. "Have a good time!" Giselle called after them.
But the day wouldn't just be fruitful for Reina. By talking to Vivienne back in their room in the Pokémon center, Giselle figured out a major mystery about her mother's past.
"Wait, your mom is Monique Valentine? I knew your name sounded familiar." Vivienne said incredulously when Giselle was telling her the story of her family.
"Yeah?" said Giselle curiously.
"My mom is Genevieve Devereaux! She's a former model too. She used to tell me all about the catfights she go into with your mother."
"No way," said Giselle in realization. "So that must be the Genevieve my mom is always muttering under her breath about! My mother never went into detail about any of that stuff."
"Then I have a story for you," said Vivienne. And so began the scandalous story of the two former models and bitter rivals. Vivienne told her everything from the catfights, the man stealing, the backstabbing, and the legendary Pokémon battles between the two. She also went into detail about what happened to her mother once the younger models appeared on the scene. "After a bad period, Mother reinvented herself as a coordinator and even won the Ribbon Cup. She's retired now, but she still offers advice to anyone who asks. What about Monique?"
"Let's just say it wasn't so pleasant," said Giselle lightly.
"Ouch," said Vivienne.
Giselle and Vivienne had so much to talk about they didn't notice the hours pass by or when it began to darken, so it was a surprise when Reina and Carmen walked into the room. Both sisters looked much more cheerful than before.
"I take it you're feeling better Reina?" Giselle said.
"I am," she replied. "And I promise there won't be anymore emo moments."
"Um, what's an emo moment," asked Giselle and Vivienne at the same time.
Reina and Carmen laughed. The girls' day ended on a happy note, but Giselle found she couldn't sleep when she got in bed nor apparently could Carmen. Giselle could hear her digging through her bag for something in the bunk under her but because the room was dark, she couldn't see what she was doing. A cold heavy rain was falling outside Vivienne and Reina were fast asleep and their light snores fill the room.
"Carmen?" Giselle said quietly.
"Oh, Giselle," she said. "I didn't know you were still awake. Are you feeling all right?"
"Well, it's just taking me a while to fall asleep. Are you feeling excited?"
Carmen sighed. "I am actually. And I was thinking about you and how much you've changed."
"I was thinking about that too, and it still feels like some sort of dream," said Giselle.
"Just a month before, you ran up to Reina and me carrying a poisoned Charmander and had a breakdown shortly afterward."
Giselle grinned in the darkness. "It's all thanks to you and Reina that I changed."
"We won't take all the credit. It was in you all along," Carmen said. "We just helped bring it out."
"I just want to say thanks for all your help and for being a good friend." Giselle meant all of it from the bottom of her heart.
"You're very welcome," Carmen replied back.
"By the way, what are you doing?" Giselle asked. Carmen was still digging around in her bag.
"Just getting a little something ready for tomorrow."
"Oh," sighed Giselle. Afterward, she just left Carmen in silence. She regarded both Carmen and Reina as something like mentors and would greatly miss Carmen. Feeling a bit more drowsy than before, Giselle waited for sleep to come as she stared at the ceiling once more.
Giselle was relieved to see that the clouds had rolled out by the next morning. The weak sunlight bathed the whole room in soft yellow light. The rain had made everything much chiller than before, so that everyone needed a coat today when they went out. They could see their breath as they walked to the harbor to see Carmen off. Even though everything was wet and soggy, the air was clean and refreshing, rejuvenating everyone. They followed the signs to the right ship which was the total opposite of the ship Giselle took the Sinnoh. It was sleek and clean with no rust in sight.
"Well, this is it," said Carmen. "The decision I made to go with my brother on a research mission has finally hit home. But I can't wait to see what my mom's native region is really like."
"That'll be some adventure," Reina said. "Make sure to call me whenever something interesting happens, all right?"
"All right," Carmen agreed. "And Vivienne it was very nice to meet you."
"It was a pleasure," said Vivienne, bowing slightly. "I hope we'll see each other again."
"I'm sure we will if you stay in contact with these two," said Carmen. She then turned to Giselle. "Giselle, Giselle," she shook her head. "I can't say anything that hasn't been said or thought about. I have something for you though." She pulled out a black draw string pouch from her bag and gave it to Giselle. "Just consider a gift. Wait till later to open it."
Giselle wanted dearly to open it right then, but she resisted. "Thanks so much." Giselle was sure whatever it was, it would make her happy.
Suddenly, a horn on the ship blasted and a warning alarm sounded to alert everyone to get off the drawbridge up ahead. They saw the bridge slowly open up across its middle to get ready for the ship that would pass through.
"That's my cue to hurry," said Carmen in a very non-rushed way. "Bye guys." She gave Giselle and Vivienne a hug. When she got to Reina, they just stared at each other for a moment, exchanged unsaid things between them, before hugging each other. They saw Carmen mysteriously whisper something in her sister's ear before turning and giving one last wave to them all before running on the ship.
Giselle didn't know what that feeling was in her chest. Simultaneously, it was sadness and happiness. Sadness because she was saying good bye to a friend, and happiness because she knew then that she had made a friend for life and knew they would see each other again. Soon the ship began to lurch into motion. Slowly, it moved forward out of the harbor and into the canal where it picked up a bit of speed. Some people had stopped to look at the ship make its journey up the canal. Reina, Giselle, and Vivienne watched the ship until it was out of sight.
OOC: I formally apologize for the numerous typos the last time around. Hopefully it's a little better this time.
Giselle and Reina both gasped.
"H-how long have you been thinking about this?" asked Giselle dumbfounded.
I've been talking with Ramón for the past month," Carmen answered. "But I kept changing my mind as to whether I wanted to go or not. Now I have merely hours to make my decision."
Giselle was amazed. She didn't think Carmen was the one to put off important decisions like that. It must've been a hard choice for her to make. Giselle could see nothing but contemplation in her silver eyes as she sat with her hand under her chin.
Finally, Reina spoke. "Just make a decision, already, yes or no. You've been thinking about this for much longer than a month. Well?"
Carmen turned to her sister in surprise. "You know for once in your life, you're making sense. I'm going to go with my first instinct. My decision is yes—yes, I will go. I can download an electronic ticket from my phone now. I'm glad you can get those last minute."
"Wow, Reina," said Luz. "You reminded me of Tony just then. He always urges me to make decisions on my first instincts. You can say he's a carpe diem person."
"Sounds like Tony and I would get along," Reina said. "But we start for Canalave now, don't we?"
"Yeah, I want to get there by six," said Carmen looking up from her phone. "The reason that I need to leave in two days is because that's when the ship leaves. It'll take me about eight hours to get there, and Ramón said he wanted to start his mission as soon as possible. Plus, this is the time of year when ship rides are starting to get expensive."
"But, how will you get to Canalave?" asked Vivienne. "It took me ages to get here from there."
"We're taking the Underground Train," said Luz. "OMG, did I just invite myself?"
Reina laughed. "It's fine. We can all go together. Are you all right with that, Vivienne?"
"Sure, but what is the Underground Train?" Vivienne asked.
"Sinnoh has an extensive system of underground tunnels, so a few were used for a high speed underground train," Carmen explained. "We'll be in Canalave in a few hours."
Vivienne's jaw dropped. "And why didn't anyone I asked tell me about this train?"
"That's Sinnoh for you," said Luz. "The people here can spot non-natives from a mile away. You see, some people here like to screw with foreigners. Most likely whoever you asked spotted you as a foreigner and didn't tell you about the train. It was expensive getting here too, wasn't it Vivienne?"
"It was. It cost a fortune," she said.
"And Canalave is the worst about that," Luz finished. "Personally I think the people in Hoenn are nicer. Don't get me wrong, Sinnoh is awesome. Every region has its faults."
"Yes, you're right," said Vivienne. "Goodness knows Kanto has them."
"Shall we leave now?" asked Reina. "We can reach the train station fastest by a trolley. There's one that goes directly to the train station with no stops."
They all agreed and got up from the table after collecting their bags. Giselle remembered that Luz said she wasn't very tolerant of cold weather. She grabbed her woolen black coat that she had when Giselle first met her and put it on over her thick sweater. Vivienne wasn't much more tolerant of the cold as she put on a thick pink coat. After spending a month in Sinnoh, Giselle was as used to the chill as Carmen and Reina; their sweaters were enough to keep them warm. They only had to walk a short distance to the trolley stop, and they had to wait only five minutes for it to come.
As they boarded the trolley, Giselle was thrilled to use her new Pokédex to pay her fare. Reina, Carmen, and Luz also used their Pokédexes to pay, while Vivienne used a card.
"Hey, Vivienne," said Giselle as they sat down in the mostly empty trolley. "Did you find out before you came here that hard money is rarely used?"
"No, I didn't," she answered. "It's amazing how much they don't tell you about Sinnoh. But anyway, I was buying some items in Canalave and when I paid with money, the cashiers looked at me like I was some kind of alien. And when I asked why they were looking at me like that, they didn't give me an answer. So basically I threatened to send out my Tyrannitar if someone didn't give me an answer. They talked then."
So this Vivienne had a Tyrannitar too. Giselle didn't let the shock show on her face. "I wish I had been that assertive then…" and Giselle once again told the story of her fiascos from her first day in Sinnoh. It provided good entertainment for the trolley ride. Carmen was silent as she watched the scenery go by and even Reina wasn't as active as she usually was. Giselle noticed it but didn't say anything.
If the trolley hadn't stopped there or if she hadn't seen the large amount of people entering and exiting it, Giselle would have never have noticed the train station entrance. She had expected a huge building but it was merely a couple of escalators. The quintet exited the trolley and stepped onto the down escalator. Giselle wasn't sure what she expected as she descended into the underground, but it wasn't that. It was as though they had entered a giant mall full of bright lights, stores, and people in true Veilstone style. A giant sign carved out of stone welcomed them to Veilstone Station.
"I can't believe I forgot to tell you about this place, Giselle," said Reina. "It's a train station, but it's also one of the best malls in Sinnoh. There are four more entrances to the station besides this one if you want to bypass the mall to get to the train. But this is one of the hang out spots of Veilstone."
Giselle could see that. There were plenty of teenaged students still in their uniforms either out for lunch or cutting class. Signs pointed out the south, east, and westbound trains. They almost had to drag Vivienne away from the stores, which Giselle had to admit were awesome.
They swiped their Pokédexes (or in Vivienne's case, her card) to get through a gate that led to the westbound train. Many people were milling around the platform, some looking down the tunnel, waiting for it to come. Giselle saw men and women in business and office attire who had presumably came through one of the other entrances. On the opposite rock wall—once again in true Veilstone fashion—was a giant bas-relief of a Lucario using Aura Sphere. Signs overhead flashed that the train would arrive in five minutes.
"They actually just built this train not too long ago," Reina explained. "At first I didn't want it built—"
"You mean like Cycling Road?" asked Giselle, smiling.
"Yeah, yeah," said Reina mockingly brushing Giselle off. "Anyway, there's a lot of treasure underground and you can go into the caverns if you have permission to dig around. I thought the train would mess all that up. Apparently the underground is even more extensive than I thought because nothing was interrupted. You can still go down there as normal. You won't even be able to hear the train when you're down there."
"The Underground is one of my favorite places in Sinnoh," said Luz. "The treasure is so, like, awesome. Once I dug up a nice Dome Fossil and got it turned into a Kabuto in Oreburgh City. Eventually it evolved into the amazing Kabutops I have on my team now.
"Nice," said Giselle. "How do you get permission to go into the Underground though?"
"You have to get it in Eterna City," Luz answered.
Three minutes later, a light appeared down the tunnel; it grew larger and larger until the train came into full view. Giselle was amazed. The train, bearing the legend "Sinnoh Transit," was lustrous and virtually silent. It was painted glossy black with a light blue stripe than ran the length of the train. As soon as the doors of the train open, there was chaos as people both boarded the train and exited it at the same time. Giselle was surprised there was no pile up. To make sure she wasn't separated this time, she grabbed onto Carmen's backpack strap to keep up with her. They headed to the nearest door and entered onto the train, moving quickly to get seats together.
"Whew," said Vivienne as she straightened her coat and dress. "That was worse than the Saffron Station. At least the trains here are nicer though."
Giselle had never ridden a train before so she had nothing to compare it to, but she had to agree that they were nice. The blue reclining seats were nice and comfortable and there were plenty of cup holders. The group was fortunate enough to get seats facing each other so they didn't have to yell across the aisle or turn around to talk to each other. Though, she could barely feel the train moving, Giselle could tell they were going fast. They settled down for what would be a calm ride despite the many people around them. Right when Luz was about to say something her phone rang.
"Excuse me," she said before she pulled her phone, which resembled Carmen's, out her bag and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey Tony!" Luz's face fell. "You're kidding right? All right, I'm on the train now so I'll be there soon. Bye."
She put her phone back in her bag. "Bad news guys. Apparently Carla had some kind of freak out in the Hearthome City contest hall so I'll be getting off at the station there."
"I'm really sorry," said Reina. "I was looking forward to hearing more about Hoenn."
"Oh, don't worry," Luz said. "I'm still coming to Canalave, but I probably won't be there until after your sister leaves. Will you still be around then?"
"Most likely," Reina answered. "I need to erase Giselle's bad memories of the place."
"It was very nice to meet you though," Luz said to Carmen.
"You too," said Carmen. "And I might tell Ramón that you said he was hot just to see how he takes it."
"Go right ahead. I meant what I said. I may come to Johto just to see him sometime. But don't worry; I'm not a stalker." Luz's eyes shifted in mock suspiciousness.
They all laughed. To pass time, Vivienne told the story of the story of her adventures in Canalave. She ran into a lot of the same stuff Giselle did, including the stares. The difference was that Vivienne stood up for herself despite looking like a twelve year old and probably wearing something pink and frilly. Giselle had to admire her for that and resolved to stand up for herself more. Including a brief stop in at the small Solaceon Station, it took about an hour to reach Hearthome City.
"Bye everyone!" Luz said. "I'll see you later!" And with that, Luz got off the train.
Reina sighed. "It'll be another two hours or so before we reach Canalave. By the way, Giselle, you'll enjoy Hearthome City. Stop and watch a contest in the Contest Hall while you're there."
"Ok," said Giselle. She began to imagine what it would be like to finally start her journey properly. What kind of things would she see and experience? And what kind of stories would she tell? Giselle thought of all her Pokémon and smiled to herself. She ended up spending the next two hours daydreaming. Carmen told her more about Jubilife when the train stopped there, fueling her dreams as she thought of the technology wonderland. She prayed with all of her being that her hopes would not be dashed this time. It had taken a long time for her to even dare to hope in this manner again.
Finally, they arrived in Canalave, back where Giselle's Sinnoh adventures had begun. Since this was the terminus, everyone had to depart the train. Instead of Veilstone's rock walls, the walls here were beautifully tiled. Giselle could see the multiple exits that led to different areas of the city. The girls followed the stream of people up the main escalator, however. This Canlave Station entrance was above ground rather than entirely underground like Veilstone Station. There were restaurants and stores here too but nothing like Veilstone. However, the things here looked more expensive and it was even harder to drag Vivienne away.
They had arrived at twilight. Giselle was once again exposed to the canals, the sites, smells, and the people of Canalave. But this time it was different. Giselle had a more hopeful outlook on life so that the city seemed nicer than it was than when she'd first arrived in Sinnoh. She had never appreciated how beautiful the sunset over the ocean was. All of the water was dyed with the reds, oranges, and yellows from the setting sun. Ships docked in the harbor off cargo and passengers. The well dressed people signified that the nightlife had already begun. Giselle was attracting stares once more for her white hair, but they were looks of curiosity and admiration rather than looks of scorn.
"Ah," Carmen breathed. "I love being back here. I had forgotten how good it smelled."
"Speaking of," said Vivienne. "Can we get something to eat? I've heard that the food was world class here."
"Sure," said Reina. "But not around here, the prices are sky high. By the way, since we're going out—"
"No," said Carmen flatly. "There will be no dressing up tonight. I don't feel like it."
Reina muttered something that sounded like "killjoy" under her breath as they walked along. They passed by more clothing boutiques, and even passed the one Giselle had bought her clothes in her first night in Sinnoh. Finally, Vivienne couldn't resist any longer and she had to stop at one of the stores.
"Well since we're stopping anyway," said Reina happily.
Carmen rolled her eyes.
"Vivienne, is what you're wearing considered, um, normal in Kanto?" Reina asked delicately.
"No," she answered as she shifted through the clothes rack. "It's mostly a Resort Gorgeous thing. And even then, not everyone there dresses like this. Oh, this is nice," she added as she picked up a nice gold top.
In the end they all ended up buying something and wearing it out of the store to Carmen's dismay. Giselle found an (inexpensive) short black dress and blue leggings. Reina bought herself a pink dress that matched her boyish figure. Vivienne got a pair of black pants to match her top. After Reina started whining, Carmen bought an emerald green shirt, jeans, and a black suit jacket.
"Oh, come on Carmen," said Reina. "If you didn't really want to buy it you didn't have to. No one made you."
"YOU forced me," Carmen retorted. "And if I didn't, I would have just listened to you whine the rest of the night."
"Well you have point there," agreed Reina. "And Vivienne you look so different without the dress. That's a good thing by the way."
"Thanks," she said. She had also removed the ribbon from her hair, but she still looked about twelve. "Now, time to get something to eat."
The restaurant they picked served the best tasting pasta Giselle had ever put into her mouth. It was either that or she was extremely hungry because she ate more than she'd ever eaten. Vivienne, Reina, and Carmen were amazed.
"I didn't know you could put away that much Giselle," said Reina in wonder.
"Yeah, well," Giselle said after she swallowed a forkful of pasta. "This is good and I'm hungry."
Vivienne took small lady like bites as she ate her food. "This is amazing," she appraised.
"You know," said Carmen. She looked really thoughtful. "I can't believe I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. I've never left Sinnoh before."
"You're not having second thoughts are you?" asked Reina.
"No," said Carmen. "But I am getting a little excited. I wonder what Johto is like."
"I've heard stuff about it," Vivienne said. "The people of Johto are supposed to more laidback. And Goldenrod City is supposed to be spectacular. It's the largest city in the world, so it should be."
"That's where my ship will arrive," said Carmen. "Ramón said it was cool. He hates cities so if he says it's cool, it must be."
"I can't wait to visit Jubilife personally," said Giselle. "It sounds like a lot of fun. Besides I want to get a phone like yours, Carmen."
"I love this phone." Carmen whipped it out again. "But my brother said that the ones in Johto are supposed to be even more advanced than here. Those kinds of phones are called Pokégear."
"It always depressed me that Kanto was so technologically behind everyone else," Vivienne said. "But as a trade off, we do have the culture."
"You know, Giselle," Carmen began. "You should go back home some day and explore your native region."
"Maybe," said Giselle skeptically. She wondered if she would ever return to Kanto at all.
When their checks arrived, Giselle was very much surprised to see that the prices weren't through the roof. It was by no means cheap, but not impossible either. Carmen said that in Canalave that was a steal.
"We can stay at the Pokémon Center tonight," said Carmen. "Let's reserve a room before they fill up."
Giselle was having major flashbacks now. She remembered how bad she felt back then. They had arrived in the same Pokémon Center as Giselle did nearly a month before. Everything was the same as before. The lounge was filled with trainers and still no smell of coffee. With what happened to Vivienne, she was slightly surprised that she didn't see the boy with the Lucario. They crossed the lounge and went into the center itself. There was no one in line to see the receptionist (the same one that Giselle had snapped at the first night), so Carmen went straight to her.
"Excuse me, but are there anymore rooms left?"
The receptionist smiled. "You got the last one!" she handed over a key to Carmen and throwing a curious glance at Giselle. "It is room number twenty." Giselle tried to arrange her face to look like there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Thank you," said Carmen. And fortunately for Giselle, the receptionist didn't say anything else.
They milled around the Pokémon Center for a while and let their Pokémon out for some air. It turned out that while Vivienne had a Tyrannitar, she didn't have a Clefairy. In fact, it seemed like Vivienne had a thing for fierce looking Pokémon. She had a Nidoking, Gyarados, Persian, and a Pinsir.
"You just keep shattering those stereotypes don't you, Vivienne?" Reina said.
"Well yes," said Vivienne smiling. "Cutesy Pokémon aren't my thing."
Reina high fived her. "That is awesome! I can totally see we're going to get along."
"Thanks!" said Vivienne.
They decided to call it a night to avoid getting thrown out after Meilene and Paris got into another fight that nearly resulted in Meilene using Focus Blast on Empoleon. The room was just as nice as their bedroom had been in the trainer's house. This time, they had a view of Canalave City from their second story room. The full moon had risen and was casting moonlight in through the skylight and onto the wood floors. There were comfortable bunk beds on either side of the room and a small dresser.
"Hey Reina," said Giselle. "How many nights can we stay here?"
"Two night limit for obvious reasons," she answered back.
Vivienne and Giselle took the top bunks while Carmen took the bunk under Giselle, leaving the last one to Reina. It took Giselle a while to fall asleep, so she just stared at the ceiling in the meantime. She could feel something inside her, could feel that something was about to move. Her journey in Sinnoh had come in a full circle of sorts. Though she couldn't explain it, it felt significant. It did give her time to reflect on what the past month meant to her. She'd gained four Pokémon that she loved to pieces and had a wonderful relationship with Charmander and Caterpie. It made her happy just thinking about it. Slowly her eyelids grew heavy and she finally fell into a deep sleep full of sweet dreams.
~ ~ ~
Gray clouds rolled in the next day making it dreary and oppressive. Carmen was very pensive for most of the day, and Giselle and Vivienne had to admit that the clouds were getting to them as well. But Reina was so uncharacteristically quiet that it was almost scary. All of them were worried about her, but she would talk to no one until about midday, when Carmen finally managed to get her to talk.
"I don't know why I feel like this," she confessed. "It's not like we haven't been apart before…" she trailed off.
"So that's what this is about?" said Carmen in mild surprise. "For some reason I didn't expect that of you."
"I didn't expect it either," Reina admitted. "I mean, I was fine yesterday."
Giselle had a sudden inspiration. "I know! Why don't you two spend the rest of Carmen's last day together? You can get some sisterly bonding time."
Reina seem to brighten at once. "If that's okay with you and Vivienne…"
"It's perfectly fine with me," Vivienne said at once.
"And it's good for me, too," said Carmen.
Reina had that mischievous glint in her eye. She smiled at Carmen in a way that slightly worried her sister. "Well let's get going," she said as she pulled on Carmen's arm "After all we have stuff to do."
"Hey wait! What are you doing?!" They heard Carmen protesting as Reina dragged her off.
Giselle and Vivienne laughed. "Have a good time!" Giselle called after them.
But the day wouldn't just be fruitful for Reina. By talking to Vivienne back in their room in the Pokémon center, Giselle figured out a major mystery about her mother's past.
"Wait, your mom is Monique Valentine? I knew your name sounded familiar." Vivienne said incredulously when Giselle was telling her the story of her family.
"Yeah?" said Giselle curiously.
"My mom is Genevieve Devereaux! She's a former model too. She used to tell me all about the catfights she go into with your mother."
"No way," said Giselle in realization. "So that must be the Genevieve my mom is always muttering under her breath about! My mother never went into detail about any of that stuff."
"Then I have a story for you," said Vivienne. And so began the scandalous story of the two former models and bitter rivals. Vivienne told her everything from the catfights, the man stealing, the backstabbing, and the legendary Pokémon battles between the two. She also went into detail about what happened to her mother once the younger models appeared on the scene. "After a bad period, Mother reinvented herself as a coordinator and even won the Ribbon Cup. She's retired now, but she still offers advice to anyone who asks. What about Monique?"
"Let's just say it wasn't so pleasant," said Giselle lightly.
"Ouch," said Vivienne.
Giselle and Vivienne had so much to talk about they didn't notice the hours pass by or when it began to darken, so it was a surprise when Reina and Carmen walked into the room. Both sisters looked much more cheerful than before.
"I take it you're feeling better Reina?" Giselle said.
"I am," she replied. "And I promise there won't be anymore emo moments."
"Um, what's an emo moment," asked Giselle and Vivienne at the same time.
Reina and Carmen laughed. The girls' day ended on a happy note, but Giselle found she couldn't sleep when she got in bed nor apparently could Carmen. Giselle could hear her digging through her bag for something in the bunk under her but because the room was dark, she couldn't see what she was doing. A cold heavy rain was falling outside Vivienne and Reina were fast asleep and their light snores fill the room.
"Carmen?" Giselle said quietly.
"Oh, Giselle," she said. "I didn't know you were still awake. Are you feeling all right?"
"Well, it's just taking me a while to fall asleep. Are you feeling excited?"
Carmen sighed. "I am actually. And I was thinking about you and how much you've changed."
"I was thinking about that too, and it still feels like some sort of dream," said Giselle.
"Just a month before, you ran up to Reina and me carrying a poisoned Charmander and had a breakdown shortly afterward."
Giselle grinned in the darkness. "It's all thanks to you and Reina that I changed."
"We won't take all the credit. It was in you all along," Carmen said. "We just helped bring it out."
"I just want to say thanks for all your help and for being a good friend." Giselle meant all of it from the bottom of her heart.
"You're very welcome," Carmen replied back.
"By the way, what are you doing?" Giselle asked. Carmen was still digging around in her bag.
"Just getting a little something ready for tomorrow."
"Oh," sighed Giselle. Afterward, she just left Carmen in silence. She regarded both Carmen and Reina as something like mentors and would greatly miss Carmen. Feeling a bit more drowsy than before, Giselle waited for sleep to come as she stared at the ceiling once more.
~ ~ ~
Giselle was relieved to see that the clouds had rolled out by the next morning. The weak sunlight bathed the whole room in soft yellow light. The rain had made everything much chiller than before, so that everyone needed a coat today when they went out. They could see their breath as they walked to the harbor to see Carmen off. Even though everything was wet and soggy, the air was clean and refreshing, rejuvenating everyone. They followed the signs to the right ship which was the total opposite of the ship Giselle took the Sinnoh. It was sleek and clean with no rust in sight.
"Well, this is it," said Carmen. "The decision I made to go with my brother on a research mission has finally hit home. But I can't wait to see what my mom's native region is really like."
"That'll be some adventure," Reina said. "Make sure to call me whenever something interesting happens, all right?"
"All right," Carmen agreed. "And Vivienne it was very nice to meet you."
"It was a pleasure," said Vivienne, bowing slightly. "I hope we'll see each other again."
"I'm sure we will if you stay in contact with these two," said Carmen. She then turned to Giselle. "Giselle, Giselle," she shook her head. "I can't say anything that hasn't been said or thought about. I have something for you though." She pulled out a black draw string pouch from her bag and gave it to Giselle. "Just consider a gift. Wait till later to open it."
Giselle wanted dearly to open it right then, but she resisted. "Thanks so much." Giselle was sure whatever it was, it would make her happy.
Suddenly, a horn on the ship blasted and a warning alarm sounded to alert everyone to get off the drawbridge up ahead. They saw the bridge slowly open up across its middle to get ready for the ship that would pass through.
"That's my cue to hurry," said Carmen in a very non-rushed way. "Bye guys." She gave Giselle and Vivienne a hug. When she got to Reina, they just stared at each other for a moment, exchanged unsaid things between them, before hugging each other. They saw Carmen mysteriously whisper something in her sister's ear before turning and giving one last wave to them all before running on the ship.
Giselle didn't know what that feeling was in her chest. Simultaneously, it was sadness and happiness. Sadness because she was saying good bye to a friend, and happiness because she knew then that she had made a friend for life and knew they would see each other again. Soon the ship began to lurch into motion. Slowly, it moved forward out of the harbor and into the canal where it picked up a bit of speed. Some people had stopped to look at the ship make its journey up the canal. Reina, Giselle, and Vivienne watched the ship until it was out of sight.
OOC: I formally apologize for the numerous typos the last time around. Hopefully it's a little better this time.
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Another great chapter! And quit worrying about typos and mistakes, even the greatest writers in the world have type editors and people who proofread for them. No one is perfect. Just keep up with the wonderful story and let people like me find all the mistakes for you. Wow, that sounded a bit anal retentive... oh well.
yet again you have given us a great chapter, cant wait to see whats in the present.
Funny you say that, 'cause it did the exact same thing to me. The latest chapter if this fic inspired me to finally get down and write my ficYou've given me a strong will to write my own works with this great story. Kept me up a bit last night from reading too, had trouble closing the window. Can't wait for the last 2 chapters
OOC: Sorry it took so long and it's this long....I hope I didn't disappoint ^^
The girls continued to stare out over the deep blue ocean for a while after that. To Giselle, it felt so strange not to have Carmen with them, but it was something she would have to get used to. She knew it was going to happen someday, but that knowledge in no way lessened the impact of Carmen's leaving.
"I noticed something," Reina said suddenly. "Carmen seemed like she was missing something but I can't figure out what it was."
Vivienne frowned slightly. "You're right but what was it?"
Giselle was silent because she hadn't noticed a thing and for some reason, she felt embarrassed for it. They were all quiet for a while and therefore jumped at the sound of a shout right behind them.
"HI GUYS!"
Vivienne, Reina, and Giselle whipped around and found themselves facing Luz. In her absence she had added a thick burnt orange scarf and matching hat and gloves to her familiar black wool pea coat. "I didn't expect to find you this soon!" she exclaimed.
"I was wondering how we were going to get in contact with you," said Reina. "We forgot to ask for your number."
Luz looked toward the ocean. "It looks like I didn't get here fast enough," Luz observed. "Carmen is already gone."
"You just missed her," said Giselle.
"Ah well," she said. "That was my bad luck. And right now, what I require is coffee or hot chocolate to warm me up."
"Sounds good," said Reina.
"Is all of Sinnoh really obsessed with coffee?" Giselle asked as they began to walk.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say ‘obsessed,'" said Reina. "But it is very popular here. You've never had it before, have you Giselle?"
"No, but I'd love to try some today," Giselle said.
"Have you Vivienne?" asked Luz.
"Actually I haven't," said Vivienne. "Tea was always the thing in Kanto."
"Which is really ironic because I really hate tea," Giselle responded.
"Well coffee is popular in Hoenn too and is actually where most of the world's coffee is imported from," said Luz. "Well, here's a coffee shop!"
Giselle shouldn't have been surprised that they had come upon one so quickly. This coffee shop in particular looked as though it was made of the same wood that made up a rowboat. On the inside, however, it looked and smelled like a regular coffee shop (even though Giselle had only seen one other). People sat at the tables chatting with friends or working on laptops over a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry. Soft acoustic music played in the background to create a serene atmosphere. Luz led the way up the counter to order her coffee.
"Hihowareyoutoday!MayItakeyourorder?" the cashier said very quickly and crisply. Giselle raised an eyebrow. It was apparent that the cashier had had way too much caffeine.
Luz took a deep breath and delivered her order. "Iwouldliketohaveasmallhalfcafdecafmochafrappachinowithashotofcherryflavoringandashotofsoymilk."
At this, Giselle's bottom jaw hit the floor. Reina delivered her order for a smalldoubleshotexpressocappuccinolattewithtwoshotsofvanillaflavoringandwhipcreamontop just as quickly as Luz did. Vivienne tried valiantly to order in the same rapid fire pace, but she kept it simple with her smalllattewithwhipcream. When it was Giselle's turn, she felt as though she had been asked to give a public speech. She knew that she should keep it simple with something she'd never had before, but she still felt like a Stantler in the headlights.
"Um, I think I, um, just want a….plain coffee," Giselle said shakily. She heard Luz and Reina gasp behind her.
Now it was the cashier's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Areyousureyoudon'twantanythingelsewiththat?"
"Nope, that's it!" said Giselle with a bit more confidence.
The waitress shot her a dirty look before handing her a bright blue cube to put on their table. Luz picked a table in the corner and they all sat down. Reina sighed.
"Giselle, I hate to say it, but your coffee is going to be pretty bad," she said gravely.
"Why?" Giselle asked. "Did I totally mess that up?"
"Well," began Luz. "You ordered black coffee with nothing in it. It's not going to taste very good."
"Oh," said Giselle. No wonder the cashier had looked at her strangely. She was a little disappointed that her first coffee drinking experience would be bad, but there was nothing to be done now.
A little while later, a waitress brought them their coffee in black cups. Luz's, Vivienne's, and Reina's coffee were various shades of brown, whereas Giselle's was solid black, as black as the cup it was in. As Giselle lifted her cup of coffee to her lips, Reina and Luz both held their breath. Giselle cooled it for a few seconds before taking a sip. She instantly flashed back to the Durin Berry Sneasel had given her. The hot bitterness spread throughout her mouth, perking her taste buds.
"This is quite good," Giselle said.
"Are you serious?" asked Luz incredulously.
"I sure am," said Giselle earnestly. "The bitterness reminds me of a Durin Berry!" Luz cringed at the mere mention of the berry. Giselle knew all about the berries of Sinnoh now because her Pokédex had a berry identifier as well.
Reina laughed. "I shouldn't be surprised that you like the stuff."
"Mine is pretty good too," appraised Vivienne. "It's sweet!"
"Yeah, but now I wish I had gotten the shot of vanilla like Reina did," Luz said. "The cherry's okay, but I think Vanilla would've been better."
"Mine is just perfect," said Reina as she enjoyed every sip.
"Oh, by the way, Reina," Luz said suddenly. "I have a business proposition for you.
"Oh?" said Reina intrigued.
"You see, I managed to get two plane tickets to Lilycove Airport in Hoenn for $150."
"What? It costs like $300 per ticket this time of the year! How did you manage that?" Reina asked, amazed.
"It was a discount," said Luz brightly. "But the only thing is, two people have to be present the day of the plane's departure or I'll have to pay full price for a ticket. So….I wonder if you would like to come with me?" she added quickly.
It didn't take Reina long to make her decision. "There's no way I can pass up a deal like that. When does the plane leave?"
"One week from today!" Luz said excitedly, thrilled that Reina had said yes.
Giselle was shocked and a little sad that Reina was also leaving, but was relieved that she had a week to say goodbye this time.
"You know what that means, right Giselle?" Reina asked with deviousness in her eyes.
"Um, no?" said Giselle uncertainly.
"We have one week to erase all of your bad memories of this place!" Reina said boldly.
"Considering I spent less than twenty-four hours here last time, don't you think that's a bit much?" asked Giselle.
Reina was looking as though Giselle had a point. "Well, anyway, we should still plan to do something everyday for the rest of this week!"
"I like that idea," said Luz. "I just wish it wasn't so cold outside."
"By the way, Giselle," Reina interjected. "Wait to open Carmen's gift until our very last night here. It'll be the climax of the week. Don't you agree?"
Giselle was eager to see her gift that very night, but she agreed to it anyway. Besides it sounded as though Reina would have them very busy; she wouldn't be able dwell on the gift anyway.
Vivienne drained the last bit of her coffee and put her cup down on the table. "So what are we doing today?"
"I was thinking we could go down to the docks. I'm sure Paris would like to be in the ocean again," said Reina brightly. "He loves cold water."
"Nice," said Luz. "I'm a water type trainer, so I try to get to the ocean as much as possible. That's not a problem in Hoenn."
"You never said you were a water Pokémon trainer," said Vivienne. "What Pokémon do you have with you?"
"I guess I forgot to mention it," said Luz shrugging. "But I have my starter Swampert, Mantine, Lanturn, Walrein, Ludicolo, and Sharpedo and a few others in storage. I keep saying I'm going to nickname them some day, but I haven't gotten around to it."
"Wow," said Reina. "I've never seen some of those before. Let's get to the docks!"
"But wait," said Vivienne frowning. "What about Kabutops?"
"I had to switch him out for Ludicolo," Luz explained. "I forgot you had a liking for fierce looking Pokémon." And Vivienne indeed looked disappointed at not being able to see a Pokémon with scythes for forearms.
They paid for their coffees and headed out. Along the way, Reina explained her steel trainer aspirations to Luz and Vivienne as Giselle just listened. Giselle had no idea what it would be like to train a single Pokémon type. She didn't feel she had an affinity toward any type like Luz and Reina had. Giselle looked up to see a small empty beach and an extensive system of docks that led to a small island a short distance away. Luz ran out onto the beach as the other followed.
"You have no idea how weird it feels to be on the beach with winter clothes on," she called out to them.
As far as the weirdness went, Giselle was neutral on that matter. But as Luz was used to region with a much warmer climate, it was understandable. The girls released their Pokémon onto the beach. Paris, Vivienne's Gyarados, and most of Luz's team headed to the ocean. Only Ludicolo stayed with Luz and it was one of the strangest Pokémon Giselle has ever seen. It greatly resembled a walking Pinap Berry with a duck bill with a cheerful expression to boot. Onix, Persian, Nidoking and Charmander stayed as far away from the water as possible. Magneton and Beldum drifted along aimlessly, while everyone else played at the water's edge.
Luz's Pokémon were very fascinating to Giselle. Swampert was the joker of group and got along well with Paris. Walrein looked very king-like and very content in the freezing water. Lanturn was a very good natured Pokémon who played with Giselle's Pokémon close to the shore. Sharpedo looked nothing short of vicious, but Luz said he was sweet with her Pokémon. He only went berserk when he saw someone harming Luz or one of his teammates--rather like Sneasel was becoming. Mantine was a huge--much bigger than a normal Mantine and was very fast. He practically flew underwater and did high, graceful jumps out of the water. Luz said she often rode on his back in Hoenn's warm water.
But Ludicolo took the cake. He was perpetually happy and enjoyed entertaining the girls. Giselle thought she'd seen it all until Luz took a small radio out of her bag. When the music started so did Ludicolo. It pop locked, wind milled, and did all kinds of dance moves Giselle never thought possible of something shaped like a pineapple. Reina, Giselle, and Vivienne laughed their heads off when Luz and Giselle's Duskull joined in—even though Duskull only spun in circles.
"So he's always like this?" Giselle choked through the laugher.
"Basically," said Luz, breathless from the dancing. "He always puts a smile on my face whenever I'm feeling down."
Luz hit the off button on the radio and Ludicolo's dancing stopped, but he was still as happy as ever. Duskull was too dizzy to levitate and promptly fell on the ground. Giselle picked him up and held him until he regained his sense of balance.
"Hey, Giselle," said Reina out of the blue. "Can I see your Pokédex for a second? I want to show you something."
"Sure," said Giselle, still cheerful over Ludicolo's and Duskull's (would be) dancing. She handed it to Reina who immediately began pressing buttons on the touch screen. Giselle was determined to spend this last week with Reina being positive. She would greatly miss her but she knew she would be all right.
"Look up, Giselle!" Reina said suddenly.
Giselle barely had time to look up when a bright light blinded her. She grimaced and lights now danced in front of her eyes. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Oops, I forgot to turn off the flash," said Reina guiltily. "I didn't think it would be that bad in the day time. Anyway, the Pokédex also has a trainer card option. It's sort of like a trainer ID. I took your picture for it." Reina looked down at the picture she took and cringed slightly—something Giselle didn't miss.
"What's wrong with the picture?" said Giselle.
"Oh, nothing," said Reina as she pressed more buttons.
"Let me see," said Giselle in a low voice.
Unwillingly, Reina handed over the Pokédex and Giselle nearly died when she saw the picture. She had one eye closed and the rest of her face was in a scowl. It was the ugliest picture she'd ever taken, and that included that disastrous school picture in the third grade. She looked at Reina in horror.
"How do I delete this?" she asked urgently.
"Well you see," said Reina as she slowly backed away. "I tried and I don't know how. Apparently the Pokédex has locked in the picture." And with that Reina promptly took off running, laughing along the way.
"REINA!" yelled Giselle and she chased after her. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"
Vivienne and Luz laughed as Giselle ran after Reina along the beach. Sneasel, however, thought Giselle really needed help and ran in front of Reina who didn't see him. She tripped over him and fell face first into the sand. Sneasel then jumped on her back in a self-satisfied way, apparently proud of himself for bringing down a supposed enemy. He looked at Giselle for her approval. She had managed to stop short of the pile up and began to laugh at Reina and Sneasel.
"Oh, Sneasel, I didn't really need help! We were just playing around!" she said giggling.
"Sneasel," he looked disappointed in himself for not being able to see that Giselle wasn't in danger.
"Don't look so down," said Giselle warmly. "It's good to know that you'll come to my rescue when I'm in trouble."
Sneasel looked slightly happier as he jumped down from Reina's back.
"Ugh," came Reina's muffled voice from the sand. "Why does this keep happening to me?" She raised her face from the ground and everyone saw that sand was clinging to her eyebrows and laughed.
"That reminds me of something Sharpedo did," said Luz as Reina brushed the sand from her face. "A boy was trying to ask me out, but Sharpedo was a wee bit over protective, thought I was in danger, and nearly Skull Bashed him. Poor boy, he nearly wet himself in fear."
"Your Pokémon really are something," said Vivienne as everyone laughed.
"Tell me about it," Luz said happily. "We've had some fun times…"
They spent the rest of that day on the docks as they began to fill of with people. All four of the girls had a battle, and all of them except Giselle won their battles. But Giselle wasn't upset—after all, the battle was good and she did her best.
"What's this?" asked Reina mockingly. "Did Giselle lose a battle and yet didn't fall to pieces?"
"Nope," said Giselle happily.
"Our little Giselle really is growing up," said Reina.
True to Reina's word, they had an activity for every day of the next week. The day after the docks, they visited the Canalave Gym leader and were permitted to watch a battle between Byron, the gym leader, and a challenger, a girl from Hearthome City. Reina swooned over every move Byron's steel types made. He was a very formidable trainer and had some of the most powerful Pokémon Giselle had ever seen. He defeated the challenger with relative ease and she had to run to the Pokémon Center after her Staravia was slammed with a Gyro Ball from Byron's Bronzong. Afterward, he greeted Reina and gave her a Metal Coat as a gift.
"Was that not the coolest thing you've ever seen?" said Reina as they left the Gym.
"To tell the truth, I'm a little afraid of what it'll be like when I battle him," said Giselle nervously.
"He's powerful," Reina agreed. "And you'll have to be clever to find a way around his Pokémon's defenses."
"Yeah," said Giselle distantly.
On day two, they decided to take it easy and do a little shopping. Luz found out that she could buy Net Balls and Dive Balls in Canalave, so she loaded up on them. As she only captured water types, it was really all she needed. Giselle bought a few more Pokéballs and more supplies. After they went shopping, they went on a restaurant tour of the city and ate so much good food, they nearly burst. Vivienne used a video phone to call home to her mother. Genevieve Devereaux still had her model looks with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was happy to see her daughter.
"I'm glad to see you're safe," she said. "How is Canalave? Do you like it?"
"It's great, Mother," said Vivienne. "I tried coffee for the first time a couple of days ago. And by the way, I'm with Monique Valentine's daughter now."
At the mention of the name, Genevieve narrowed her eyes slightly, but she recovered almost immediately. "Really?" she asked curiously.
Vivienne pulled Giselle beside her. "This is her!"
Giselle was a little awkward as she said hi. "I'd also like to say that I'm nothing like my mother," she added just in case the thought had crossed Genevieve's mind.
Genevieve laughed. "So she hasn't changed at all, has she? I'll have to talk to you later," she said to Vivienne. "I have a young model and coordinator that I'm meeting with tomorrow on the other line named Isabel Lopez and--"
"You mean, my sister Isabel?" Reina interrupted.
"Oh, is she your sister?" asked Genevive. "Let me put her on then. Immediately the screen split and on the left appeared a young woman of such striking beauty, it was haunting. She had long straight black hair, Carmen's piercing silver eyes, and a commanding expression that could alternatively drive people away from her or draw them to her.
"Hey Isabel," Reina said.
"Oh, hi," said Isabel. "I was wondering why I got put on. But where's Carmen? Don't tell me she actually went with Ramón on his research mission."
"She sure did," said Reina and Isabel sighed.
"I didn't think she'd actually go considering how weird she thinks his missions are," Isabel said shaking her head. "But then again, they are a lot alike so maybe she'll be all right. Well, it was good seeing you, little sister, but I have to go. Hugs and kisses!" Isabel did a virtual kiss on each of Reina's cheeks. Vivienne said good bye to her mother and the phone went black.
"You know, it's horrible when she does that in person," said Reina. "The sophisticated kiss. I dodge it whenever she does that. It's cool that she's in Kanto now."
"Just how weird are Ramón's missions?" asked Luz blushing slightly.
"I don't think they're weird at all," said Reina. "Most of his missions involve proving the existence of legendary Pokémon, which of course, Carmen doesn't believe in." Reina shook her head, disparaging over her sister's disbelief. "They are real and Ramón and I both know it."
"They really are real," said Luz. Reina's ears perked. "I saw a legendary dragon Pokémon in Hoenn called Rayquaza."
Reina inhaled sharply. "Do tell!" she said eagerly.
"Well, I was surfing on a route outside of Pacifidlog Town, and there was a pop up thunderstorm with some awful lightning. And while I'm praying I don't get struck, I see a shadow ripple across the water when lightning flashed across the sky. As suddenly as that storm appeared, it was gone. I looked up to the sky and I see something retreating high in the sky…"
"That was definitely Rayquaza," Reina agreed. "And that was near the Sky Pillar which is Rayquaza's roost."
"I'm really missing Hoenn right now," said Luz longingly.
"Well, we'll be here this time next week," said Reina. "I wonder if I'll get to see Rayquaza. By the way, do you believe in legendary Pokémon, Vivienne?"
She looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure. At times I thought I've seen things, but when I investigate it turns out to be nothing. So honestly, I'm open to the whole idea, but I'm not totally convinced."
"One day you will be," said Reina satisfactorily.
"I really want to see one now," said Giselle eagerly.
Reina smiled "If you stick around long enough you will. Sinnoh has more stories about legendary Pokémon that any other region."
Giselle smiled to herself at the thought of seeing a legendary Pokémon. She was looking forward to the next day for whatever Reina had planned. And she didn't disappoint. They headed back to the docks to go Pokémon fishing. Giselle had never been before and was therefore very excited. Giselle was able to rent one while Reina, Vivienne, and Luz had their own rods. Everyone had a different lure. Reina had one shaped like a smiley face; Giselle had a Yanma lure; Vivienne sported a Goldeen shaped one, while Luz had one in the shape of a human index finger, which freaked everyone out.
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it," said Luz, waving the finger lure at them. "You wouldn't believe how well it works. I've even caught a Gyarados with it once."
The lure turned out to work extraordinarily well. She kept catching Pokémon after Pokémon, mostly Finneon and their evolution Lumineon. After a while though, something gave a huge jerk on Luz's line, nearly pulling her into the freezing water. Her Sharpedo, who was swimming nearby, immediately went on high alert to be ready to help his trainer. Luz had to stand up to put more muscle into pulling the line, but what ever it was had a lot of fight left in it. She insisted on doing it on her own, however, and turned down the others' attempts to help her.
"Wow, this is a big one," grunted Luz. "Is it another Gyarados!"
Without warning, the Pokémon on the end of the line jumped out of the water an attempted to attack Luz. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Octillery and she immediately pulled out a Net Ball from her waist and enlarged it. Giselle immediately took out her Pokédex and identified it, but there was something different about the Octillery on her Pokédex screen and the one that was struggling with Luz. When he saw Octillery, Sharpedo lunged with his teeth bared. Octillery realized it had bit off more than it could chew when it caught sight of Sharpedo's brutal fangs. It practically jumped in Luz's Net Ball when she threw the ball at it. It twitched three times before becoming still. Within a few seconds, the ball and the Octillery disappeared to the Pokémon storage system.
Everyone was stunned. "Luz," breathed Reina. "That was a shiny Octillery!"
"Oh, so that's what a shiny Pokémon is," said Giselle excitedly. She had heard of them but had never seen one because they were supposed to be very rare. The Octillery in her Pokédex was red while Luz's was a brownish color.
"I wasn't going to let him get away, but I didn't think it would be that easy. Sharpedo basically scared him into the Pokéball," said Luz grinning. "I've always wanted an Octillery and now I have a shiny one. So lucky!"
Iron Island was next on Reina's list for the week. According to Reina, Iron Island is an abandoned mine that was full of wild Pokémon and was an excellent place to train. It was very cave like but Giselle could see the last vestiges of the mining that once went on there. Abandoned mine carts littered the landscape every now and then and Giselle could see metal drums all over the place. The silence in the old mine was periodically punctured by the sounds of wild Pokémon.
Vivienne's Nidoking impressed them all with his immense strength. He smashed apart any boulders and any other obstacles that were in their way. Luz decided to do some training with her Octillery. His attacks were powerful, but he was a bit of coward. He completely freaked out when a Golbat flew by. However when Luz encouraged him, he gained a bit of courage; enough of it to use an Ice Beam attack on the Golbat and knock it out. Out of Giselle's Pokémom, Duskull enjoyed being in the cave most—just as Giselle thought. She also made a mental note to come back whenever she challenged Byron to a gym battle.
Reina's next adventure was a little odd to Giselle.
"Erm, a library?" said Giselle uncertainly. "You want to visit a library?"
"Not just a library. The Canalave Library," Reina corrected her. "You can learn all about the legendary Pokémon around Sinnoh, and other fascinating stories. Ramón used to take me there all the time when he was here. It'll be an interesting experience."
Giselle still wasn't convinced. When they first entered the library, it didn't look remarkable at all—at least until they got to the top floor. The very atmosphere was different from the rest of the library. It felt very mysterious there, almost as if time itself had stopped. Some of the books there were very old and were almost too faded to read. Reina, however, made a beeline straight for a certain book as if she'd done it a million times. She pulled it off the shelf and set it on a nearby table as everyone gathered around.
"These are a collection of all of my favorite stories of the Sinnoh region," said Reina. "This only gives a shortened version of them, but it's still really good."
"So it's a book of myths," said Vivienne, interested.
"No, not myths," Reina corrected again. "Myths aren't real. These stories are."
Vivienne looked as though she wanted to dispute that, but she decided against it. Giselle found all of the "stories" in the book very interesting. The one that stuck out to her most was a Sinnoh Folk Story. It said that at one time there was no distinction between human and Pokémon and that they even ate at the same table. She had a flashback of the restaurant in Veilstone where Meilene ate at the same table with them. Giselle wondered how many other aspects of these stories were in Sinnoh daily life. By the time they left the library they knew all of the supposed legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh from Uxie to Arceus.
The next and final adventure was one of the creepiest experiences that Giselle had ever had. Reina had said that she was going to prove the existence of the legendary Pokémon Darkrai. By this time Giselle knew that Reina was a little too obsessed with legendaries for her own good, but even she wanted to know if Reina could actually do it. She waited until it was dark to tell them the story.
"Okay, there have been all kinds of stories of people in Canalave who have fallen asleep only be plagued by nightmares they couldn't wake up from," Reina explained in a mysterious tone. "The only thing these people had in common was that they were all near the Harbor Inn at some point before they fell asleep that night. It just has to be the work of Darkrai, but everyone seems skeptical. So we're going to walk by that old inn and then when we go to sleep we'll see Darkrai torment. Now, let's head to the Harbor Inn now!"
By then both Giselle and Vivienne were starting to feel uneasy despite Reina's and Luz's cheerful conversations. Why on earth would someone be excited about possibility of being tormented with nightmares? Giselle had a shrewd suspicion that Vivienne was hiding the fact that she shared Carmen's beliefs about legendary Pokémon. But both Giselle and Vivienne went along with the plan. As they neared closer and closer to the inn, Giselle began to believe her imagination was playing tricks with her. It sincerely felt as though an ominous feeling was growing more intense by the second. The number of people began to dwindle as they got closer and closer…
Soon they found themselves in front of the inn. The sign out front was faded and the words "The Harbor Inn" were barely legible. It looked like an old run down wooden building. There was no sign that told people to stay out, but it was locked up tight—Reina couldn't even turn the doorknob. Giselle felt the menacing presence, but no one else seemed to. Vivienne now looked skeptical instead of uneasy, and none of the girls besides Giselle were remotely afraid. If she didn't get away from that place she was likely to lose it.
"I think we should go now," said Giselle hurriedly.
Reina didn't seem to notice anything. "I think you're right. We've spent enough time here. Why don't we camp out since we're not so far from the city's boundaries?"
Giselle didn't like the idea of spending the night outdoors after that creepy experience, but she didn't say anything. She feigned calm as she said, "I can open the bag Carmen gave me too."
"Goody," said Luz brightly. "Off to the woods!"
Glad to leave the presence of the Harbor Inn, Giselle followed right behind Reina who was leading. The further they got from that place the better Giselle felt. The moon was in that not quite full phase where it was still just as beautiful and gave off plenty of light. They decided to set up camp in a clearing in the peaceful woods. Reina was so eager to get to sleep she convinced them all to set up there tents. Reina and Luz eagerly ducked into their own tents eager to see if Darkrai would haunt them as they slept. Vivienne sighed and bid Giselle goodnight as she climbed into her own pale pink tent. Just that quickly, they all had forgotten about the gifts.
Giselle didn't want them to disturb them even though she knew it was too soon for them to fall asleep. There was also a part of Giselle that wanted to be alone to see what Carmen had left her. She quickly entered into her tent, but it was too dark to see of course. Giselle released Charmander to use his tail flame for light and he was happy to be of use to Giselle as he always was. She dug around her waist bag until her hands found the soft felt bag. Giselle opened it and poured the contents, which included a beautiful shining stone, a gray hooked claw, a piece of gray cloth, a pink Pokétch, and a note, onto the floor of tent.
The note was the first thing that Giselle went for. She seemed to hear Carmen's voice in her head as she read her neat handwriting.
Dear Giselle,
I thought I would leave you with some useful items for your Pokémon journey. Three of these items, the Shiny Stone, Reaper Cloth, and Razor Claw, help with evolution. I'll let you figure out when to use these items and on which Pokémon. I'm also giving you my Pokétch because you can now make better use of it than I can. It already has a lot of applications on it and you can always add more when they are released. However I want you to remember that "belonging" in Sinnoh is more than just the clothes we wear or the stuff we have. I wrote my number on the back of the note so you can call me whenever something major happens.
Love, Carmen
Giselle smiled to herself. The letter was as to the point as Carmen was in person. She had finally discovered what it was that Carmen was missing when she left. She had taken her own Pokétch off her wrist and gave it to Giselle who put it on right then. Carmen was right about the belonging though. She belonged in Sinnoh because it was her escape from a horrible situation that could have crushed her. It wasn't all about her clothes, her things, or the slang she used. It was with a shock that she realized that Reina and Luz would be leaving tomorrow…
"Thanks for your help, Charmander," said Giselle as she recalled him. Starting when Reina left, her own journey would officially begin. It gave her a heady feeling, but this time she felt she was ready. When morning returned, she would as Vivienne if she would like to accompany her. Giselle had already learned that she was not to be trusted to be alone for long periods of time. With a positive outlook on the next day, she fell asleep.
Giselle was walking in a beautiful, serene forest. Though it was dark, Giselle had no trouble seeing things. How strange… There were no Pokémon in this forest, only the soft breeze playing with the trees. Giselle's feet followed a well-worn, winding path without having to think about it. Pretty flowers grew along the path and on the some of the trees adding color among all the green. It had just rained recently because the smell was still on the air. Up ahead, Giselle could see what looked like earthbound moonlight. Instinct told her it was nothing bad, so she followed the light. She came upon a small pond that appeared to be reflecting the light that was being given off by a beautiful creature. Could it be? Giselle walked closer but the light grew larger and larger, overcoming her…
Giselle could tell that morning had arrived when before she had even opened her eyes. She was, once again, the last one up as she could hear voices outside. Giselle emerged from her tent to repack it.
"Good morning, Giselle!" Reina and Luz greeted. Reina took one look at the Pokétch on Giselle's wrist and squealed.
"So that's what Carmen was missing when she left! She gave her Pokétch to you!" Reina gasped again. "Oh no! We were supposed to open your gifts last night and we forgot!"
"Don't worry. I opened them before I went to sleep last night. Carmen also gave me a Reaper Cloth, Shiny Stone, and a Razor Claw, but she wanted me to figure out what works on which Pokémon," recounted Giselle.
"Yeah, it's more fun that way," said Reina. She looked up to the sky. "In two hours I'll be on at the airport waiting on a plane to take me to Hoenn."
"Later today we'll be in the sun kissed region of Hoenn," said Luz, glowing. "I can't wait to hit the ocean!"
"Oh, Giselle," said Vivienne suddenly. "I meant to ask you something. Since I want to see Sinnoh, and you're going to be traveling around Sinnoh collecting your gym battles, may I accompany you?"
"Sure," said Giselle at once. "I was just going to ask you the same thing!"
"Nice," replied Vivienne.
"By the way, Giselle," said Luz. "I assume you didn't have nightmares from Darkrai."
Giselle thought back to the beautiful creature in her dreams and decide to keep it to herself. "Nope. Not at all."
"Ah, well," said Reina looking disappointed. "None of us did then."
"My dream did have darkness though," said Luz. "Only I was in the Dewford Gym battling Brawley…" Luz trailed off with a dreamy, faraway expression.
"You really are boy crazy," said Vivienne shaking her head.
"And I don't deny it," said Luz winking.
"Why don't we have one last cup of coffee before we leave?" asked Reina smiling.
It didn't take them long to get back to Canalave. Fortunately for Giselle, their chosen path didn't take them anywhere near the Harbor Inn. They went to a different coffee shop than from a week ago. However the cashier was still just as put off when Giselle ordered only plain black coffee.
"That will never stop being funny, Giselle," said Reina laughing. "You never cease to amaze me."
Too soon it was time for Reina and Luz to be off to the airport. According to Luz, the airport was built away from the city and on a manmade island to avoid noise pollution. Because of that, they had to take a covered foot bridge to reach it. Like Veilstone Station, Canalave airport was rather like a mall on the inside. Huge plasma screens displayed the departure and arrival times for planes that came from all over the world. The airport itself was huge and they had to do a lot of walking. They also had to watch out for people pulling rolling suitcases or small children to avoid causing pile ups. Giselle saw people who had had long flights sleeping on the benches that line the walls.
"We'd better say good bye here," said Reina. "It gets kinda crazy beyond this point."
For the first time, Giselle throat begin to close and tears formed at the corner of her eyes. Reina looked in disbelief.
"Giselle, are you serious? You're going to start getting all emotional on me now?"
"I'm sorry," said Giselle as she tried to keep her voice steady. "It didn't hit me until now."
"Well, now is not the time to fall to pieces," said Reina. "I know I'm a difficult person to get over, but you'll be all right."
"Yeah, Giselle," agreed Luz. "I felt the same when I had to leave Carla and Tony behind. But technology is a wondrous thing," she added holding up her phone.
"Oh, yeah," Reina said as she pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag. "Besides, you'll have Vivienne with you. As you travel through Sinnoh, she can tell you all the good things about Kanto for when you return."
"As if," said Giselle smiling slightly.
"Way if," said Reina. "Now here's my email address. Whenever I stop a Pokémon Center or any place with a computer, I'll remember to check my email."
Luz looked at one of the screens. "Our flight will be leaving in about an hour. Good thing the line isn't long. It won't take much time to get all checked in."
"Now it really is good bye," said Reina as she hugged Giselle. "Vivienne make sure you take good care of Giselle!"
"Will do," said Vivienne with a slight bow.
Giselle and Vivienne watched as Reina and Luz gave one last wave before turning and walking away. A crowd of people blocked their line of sight, and by the time the crowd dispersed, they could no longer see Reina or Luz. Giselle sighed.
"Where to now?" she asked Vivienne.
"What do you mean?" Vivienne inquired, her blue eyes widening. "We need to prepare for your first Sinnoh gym battle!"
"Oh, yeah!" said Giselle, she took out her Pokédex to see if it had any information. "According to this, the first gym is in Oreburgh City! We should start heading there now." Slow but surely, Giselle could feel the excitement rising.
"But first let's get out of this airport," said Vivienne.
As they tried to find there way back out, Giselle began to think of the future for the first time. She pictured herself standing in a stadium with powerful trainers as she was getting ready to compete in the Sinnoh League. But she would have to take it one day at a time. They had arrived back at the bridge once more and they began to cross it.
"Vivienne?" said Giselle.
"Yes?"
"How did you feel when you were standing in Indigo Plateau, getting ready to compete?"
"Like I was on top of the world," she replied smiling. "All of my struggles had led to that point and it was so worth it."
They had reached the end of the bridge. Giselle suddenly remembered that she had a map of Sinnoh that she'd long forgotten after meeting Reina and Carmen. She wanted to go through Jubilife City on their way to Oreburgh City. Giselle took a deep breath.
"Are you ready to hit the road, Giselle?" asked Vivienne.
"You bet."
The sun was high in the cloudless sky as they struck out on their journey. Giselle already knew she would most definitely miss Carmen and Reina but she had learned a lot from them. She was going to have an adventure of a lifetime. Maybe one day she would help a trainer just like how Carmen and Reina helped her, but for now she was focused on her next gym battle. Giselle stopped and took one last look back at Canalave where it all began and where she would return again. Giselle turned and ran after Vivienne with the cold ocean breeze blowing through her white hair.
The girls continued to stare out over the deep blue ocean for a while after that. To Giselle, it felt so strange not to have Carmen with them, but it was something she would have to get used to. She knew it was going to happen someday, but that knowledge in no way lessened the impact of Carmen's leaving.
"I noticed something," Reina said suddenly. "Carmen seemed like she was missing something but I can't figure out what it was."
Vivienne frowned slightly. "You're right but what was it?"
Giselle was silent because she hadn't noticed a thing and for some reason, she felt embarrassed for it. They were all quiet for a while and therefore jumped at the sound of a shout right behind them.
"HI GUYS!"
Vivienne, Reina, and Giselle whipped around and found themselves facing Luz. In her absence she had added a thick burnt orange scarf and matching hat and gloves to her familiar black wool pea coat. "I didn't expect to find you this soon!" she exclaimed.
"I was wondering how we were going to get in contact with you," said Reina. "We forgot to ask for your number."
Luz looked toward the ocean. "It looks like I didn't get here fast enough," Luz observed. "Carmen is already gone."
"You just missed her," said Giselle.
"Ah well," she said. "That was my bad luck. And right now, what I require is coffee or hot chocolate to warm me up."
"Sounds good," said Reina.
"Is all of Sinnoh really obsessed with coffee?" Giselle asked as they began to walk.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say ‘obsessed,'" said Reina. "But it is very popular here. You've never had it before, have you Giselle?"
"No, but I'd love to try some today," Giselle said.
"Have you Vivienne?" asked Luz.
"Actually I haven't," said Vivienne. "Tea was always the thing in Kanto."
"Which is really ironic because I really hate tea," Giselle responded.
"Well coffee is popular in Hoenn too and is actually where most of the world's coffee is imported from," said Luz. "Well, here's a coffee shop!"
Giselle shouldn't have been surprised that they had come upon one so quickly. This coffee shop in particular looked as though it was made of the same wood that made up a rowboat. On the inside, however, it looked and smelled like a regular coffee shop (even though Giselle had only seen one other). People sat at the tables chatting with friends or working on laptops over a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry. Soft acoustic music played in the background to create a serene atmosphere. Luz led the way up the counter to order her coffee.
"Hihowareyoutoday!MayItakeyourorder?" the cashier said very quickly and crisply. Giselle raised an eyebrow. It was apparent that the cashier had had way too much caffeine.
Luz took a deep breath and delivered her order. "Iwouldliketohaveasmallhalfcafdecafmochafrappachinowithashotofcherryflavoringandashotofsoymilk."
At this, Giselle's bottom jaw hit the floor. Reina delivered her order for a smalldoubleshotexpressocappuccinolattewithtwoshotsofvanillaflavoringandwhipcreamontop just as quickly as Luz did. Vivienne tried valiantly to order in the same rapid fire pace, but she kept it simple with her smalllattewithwhipcream. When it was Giselle's turn, she felt as though she had been asked to give a public speech. She knew that she should keep it simple with something she'd never had before, but she still felt like a Stantler in the headlights.
"Um, I think I, um, just want a….plain coffee," Giselle said shakily. She heard Luz and Reina gasp behind her.
Now it was the cashier's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Areyousureyoudon'twantanythingelsewiththat?"
"Nope, that's it!" said Giselle with a bit more confidence.
The waitress shot her a dirty look before handing her a bright blue cube to put on their table. Luz picked a table in the corner and they all sat down. Reina sighed.
"Giselle, I hate to say it, but your coffee is going to be pretty bad," she said gravely.
"Why?" Giselle asked. "Did I totally mess that up?"
"Well," began Luz. "You ordered black coffee with nothing in it. It's not going to taste very good."
"Oh," said Giselle. No wonder the cashier had looked at her strangely. She was a little disappointed that her first coffee drinking experience would be bad, but there was nothing to be done now.
A little while later, a waitress brought them their coffee in black cups. Luz's, Vivienne's, and Reina's coffee were various shades of brown, whereas Giselle's was solid black, as black as the cup it was in. As Giselle lifted her cup of coffee to her lips, Reina and Luz both held their breath. Giselle cooled it for a few seconds before taking a sip. She instantly flashed back to the Durin Berry Sneasel had given her. The hot bitterness spread throughout her mouth, perking her taste buds.
"This is quite good," Giselle said.
"Are you serious?" asked Luz incredulously.
"I sure am," said Giselle earnestly. "The bitterness reminds me of a Durin Berry!" Luz cringed at the mere mention of the berry. Giselle knew all about the berries of Sinnoh now because her Pokédex had a berry identifier as well.
Reina laughed. "I shouldn't be surprised that you like the stuff."
"Mine is pretty good too," appraised Vivienne. "It's sweet!"
"Yeah, but now I wish I had gotten the shot of vanilla like Reina did," Luz said. "The cherry's okay, but I think Vanilla would've been better."
"Mine is just perfect," said Reina as she enjoyed every sip.
"Oh, by the way, Reina," Luz said suddenly. "I have a business proposition for you.
"Oh?" said Reina intrigued.
"You see, I managed to get two plane tickets to Lilycove Airport in Hoenn for $150."
"What? It costs like $300 per ticket this time of the year! How did you manage that?" Reina asked, amazed.
"It was a discount," said Luz brightly. "But the only thing is, two people have to be present the day of the plane's departure or I'll have to pay full price for a ticket. So….I wonder if you would like to come with me?" she added quickly.
It didn't take Reina long to make her decision. "There's no way I can pass up a deal like that. When does the plane leave?"
"One week from today!" Luz said excitedly, thrilled that Reina had said yes.
Giselle was shocked and a little sad that Reina was also leaving, but was relieved that she had a week to say goodbye this time.
"You know what that means, right Giselle?" Reina asked with deviousness in her eyes.
"Um, no?" said Giselle uncertainly.
"We have one week to erase all of your bad memories of this place!" Reina said boldly.
"Considering I spent less than twenty-four hours here last time, don't you think that's a bit much?" asked Giselle.
Reina was looking as though Giselle had a point. "Well, anyway, we should still plan to do something everyday for the rest of this week!"
"I like that idea," said Luz. "I just wish it wasn't so cold outside."
"By the way, Giselle," Reina interjected. "Wait to open Carmen's gift until our very last night here. It'll be the climax of the week. Don't you agree?"
Giselle was eager to see her gift that very night, but she agreed to it anyway. Besides it sounded as though Reina would have them very busy; she wouldn't be able dwell on the gift anyway.
Vivienne drained the last bit of her coffee and put her cup down on the table. "So what are we doing today?"
"I was thinking we could go down to the docks. I'm sure Paris would like to be in the ocean again," said Reina brightly. "He loves cold water."
"Nice," said Luz. "I'm a water type trainer, so I try to get to the ocean as much as possible. That's not a problem in Hoenn."
"You never said you were a water Pokémon trainer," said Vivienne. "What Pokémon do you have with you?"
"I guess I forgot to mention it," said Luz shrugging. "But I have my starter Swampert, Mantine, Lanturn, Walrein, Ludicolo, and Sharpedo and a few others in storage. I keep saying I'm going to nickname them some day, but I haven't gotten around to it."
"Wow," said Reina. "I've never seen some of those before. Let's get to the docks!"
"But wait," said Vivienne frowning. "What about Kabutops?"
"I had to switch him out for Ludicolo," Luz explained. "I forgot you had a liking for fierce looking Pokémon." And Vivienne indeed looked disappointed at not being able to see a Pokémon with scythes for forearms.
They paid for their coffees and headed out. Along the way, Reina explained her steel trainer aspirations to Luz and Vivienne as Giselle just listened. Giselle had no idea what it would be like to train a single Pokémon type. She didn't feel she had an affinity toward any type like Luz and Reina had. Giselle looked up to see a small empty beach and an extensive system of docks that led to a small island a short distance away. Luz ran out onto the beach as the other followed.
"You have no idea how weird it feels to be on the beach with winter clothes on," she called out to them.
As far as the weirdness went, Giselle was neutral on that matter. But as Luz was used to region with a much warmer climate, it was understandable. The girls released their Pokémon onto the beach. Paris, Vivienne's Gyarados, and most of Luz's team headed to the ocean. Only Ludicolo stayed with Luz and it was one of the strangest Pokémon Giselle has ever seen. It greatly resembled a walking Pinap Berry with a duck bill with a cheerful expression to boot. Onix, Persian, Nidoking and Charmander stayed as far away from the water as possible. Magneton and Beldum drifted along aimlessly, while everyone else played at the water's edge.
Luz's Pokémon were very fascinating to Giselle. Swampert was the joker of group and got along well with Paris. Walrein looked very king-like and very content in the freezing water. Lanturn was a very good natured Pokémon who played with Giselle's Pokémon close to the shore. Sharpedo looked nothing short of vicious, but Luz said he was sweet with her Pokémon. He only went berserk when he saw someone harming Luz or one of his teammates--rather like Sneasel was becoming. Mantine was a huge--much bigger than a normal Mantine and was very fast. He practically flew underwater and did high, graceful jumps out of the water. Luz said she often rode on his back in Hoenn's warm water.
But Ludicolo took the cake. He was perpetually happy and enjoyed entertaining the girls. Giselle thought she'd seen it all until Luz took a small radio out of her bag. When the music started so did Ludicolo. It pop locked, wind milled, and did all kinds of dance moves Giselle never thought possible of something shaped like a pineapple. Reina, Giselle, and Vivienne laughed their heads off when Luz and Giselle's Duskull joined in—even though Duskull only spun in circles.
"So he's always like this?" Giselle choked through the laugher.
"Basically," said Luz, breathless from the dancing. "He always puts a smile on my face whenever I'm feeling down."
Luz hit the off button on the radio and Ludicolo's dancing stopped, but he was still as happy as ever. Duskull was too dizzy to levitate and promptly fell on the ground. Giselle picked him up and held him until he regained his sense of balance.
"Hey, Giselle," said Reina out of the blue. "Can I see your Pokédex for a second? I want to show you something."
"Sure," said Giselle, still cheerful over Ludicolo's and Duskull's (would be) dancing. She handed it to Reina who immediately began pressing buttons on the touch screen. Giselle was determined to spend this last week with Reina being positive. She would greatly miss her but she knew she would be all right.
"Look up, Giselle!" Reina said suddenly.
Giselle barely had time to look up when a bright light blinded her. She grimaced and lights now danced in front of her eyes. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Oops, I forgot to turn off the flash," said Reina guiltily. "I didn't think it would be that bad in the day time. Anyway, the Pokédex also has a trainer card option. It's sort of like a trainer ID. I took your picture for it." Reina looked down at the picture she took and cringed slightly—something Giselle didn't miss.
"What's wrong with the picture?" said Giselle.
"Oh, nothing," said Reina as she pressed more buttons.
"Let me see," said Giselle in a low voice.
Unwillingly, Reina handed over the Pokédex and Giselle nearly died when she saw the picture. She had one eye closed and the rest of her face was in a scowl. It was the ugliest picture she'd ever taken, and that included that disastrous school picture in the third grade. She looked at Reina in horror.
"How do I delete this?" she asked urgently.
"Well you see," said Reina as she slowly backed away. "I tried and I don't know how. Apparently the Pokédex has locked in the picture." And with that Reina promptly took off running, laughing along the way.
"REINA!" yelled Giselle and she chased after her. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"
Vivienne and Luz laughed as Giselle ran after Reina along the beach. Sneasel, however, thought Giselle really needed help and ran in front of Reina who didn't see him. She tripped over him and fell face first into the sand. Sneasel then jumped on her back in a self-satisfied way, apparently proud of himself for bringing down a supposed enemy. He looked at Giselle for her approval. She had managed to stop short of the pile up and began to laugh at Reina and Sneasel.
"Oh, Sneasel, I didn't really need help! We were just playing around!" she said giggling.
"Sneasel," he looked disappointed in himself for not being able to see that Giselle wasn't in danger.
"Don't look so down," said Giselle warmly. "It's good to know that you'll come to my rescue when I'm in trouble."
Sneasel looked slightly happier as he jumped down from Reina's back.
"Ugh," came Reina's muffled voice from the sand. "Why does this keep happening to me?" She raised her face from the ground and everyone saw that sand was clinging to her eyebrows and laughed.
"That reminds me of something Sharpedo did," said Luz as Reina brushed the sand from her face. "A boy was trying to ask me out, but Sharpedo was a wee bit over protective, thought I was in danger, and nearly Skull Bashed him. Poor boy, he nearly wet himself in fear."
"Your Pokémon really are something," said Vivienne as everyone laughed.
"Tell me about it," Luz said happily. "We've had some fun times…"
They spent the rest of that day on the docks as they began to fill of with people. All four of the girls had a battle, and all of them except Giselle won their battles. But Giselle wasn't upset—after all, the battle was good and she did her best.
"What's this?" asked Reina mockingly. "Did Giselle lose a battle and yet didn't fall to pieces?"
"Nope," said Giselle happily.
"Our little Giselle really is growing up," said Reina.
~ ~ ~
True to Reina's word, they had an activity for every day of the next week. The day after the docks, they visited the Canalave Gym leader and were permitted to watch a battle between Byron, the gym leader, and a challenger, a girl from Hearthome City. Reina swooned over every move Byron's steel types made. He was a very formidable trainer and had some of the most powerful Pokémon Giselle had ever seen. He defeated the challenger with relative ease and she had to run to the Pokémon Center after her Staravia was slammed with a Gyro Ball from Byron's Bronzong. Afterward, he greeted Reina and gave her a Metal Coat as a gift.
"Was that not the coolest thing you've ever seen?" said Reina as they left the Gym.
"To tell the truth, I'm a little afraid of what it'll be like when I battle him," said Giselle nervously.
"He's powerful," Reina agreed. "And you'll have to be clever to find a way around his Pokémon's defenses."
"Yeah," said Giselle distantly.
On day two, they decided to take it easy and do a little shopping. Luz found out that she could buy Net Balls and Dive Balls in Canalave, so she loaded up on them. As she only captured water types, it was really all she needed. Giselle bought a few more Pokéballs and more supplies. After they went shopping, they went on a restaurant tour of the city and ate so much good food, they nearly burst. Vivienne used a video phone to call home to her mother. Genevieve Devereaux still had her model looks with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was happy to see her daughter.
"I'm glad to see you're safe," she said. "How is Canalave? Do you like it?"
"It's great, Mother," said Vivienne. "I tried coffee for the first time a couple of days ago. And by the way, I'm with Monique Valentine's daughter now."
At the mention of the name, Genevieve narrowed her eyes slightly, but she recovered almost immediately. "Really?" she asked curiously.
Vivienne pulled Giselle beside her. "This is her!"
Giselle was a little awkward as she said hi. "I'd also like to say that I'm nothing like my mother," she added just in case the thought had crossed Genevieve's mind.
Genevieve laughed. "So she hasn't changed at all, has she? I'll have to talk to you later," she said to Vivienne. "I have a young model and coordinator that I'm meeting with tomorrow on the other line named Isabel Lopez and--"
"You mean, my sister Isabel?" Reina interrupted.
"Oh, is she your sister?" asked Genevive. "Let me put her on then. Immediately the screen split and on the left appeared a young woman of such striking beauty, it was haunting. She had long straight black hair, Carmen's piercing silver eyes, and a commanding expression that could alternatively drive people away from her or draw them to her.
"Hey Isabel," Reina said.
"Oh, hi," said Isabel. "I was wondering why I got put on. But where's Carmen? Don't tell me she actually went with Ramón on his research mission."
"She sure did," said Reina and Isabel sighed.
"I didn't think she'd actually go considering how weird she thinks his missions are," Isabel said shaking her head. "But then again, they are a lot alike so maybe she'll be all right. Well, it was good seeing you, little sister, but I have to go. Hugs and kisses!" Isabel did a virtual kiss on each of Reina's cheeks. Vivienne said good bye to her mother and the phone went black.
"You know, it's horrible when she does that in person," said Reina. "The sophisticated kiss. I dodge it whenever she does that. It's cool that she's in Kanto now."
"Just how weird are Ramón's missions?" asked Luz blushing slightly.
"I don't think they're weird at all," said Reina. "Most of his missions involve proving the existence of legendary Pokémon, which of course, Carmen doesn't believe in." Reina shook her head, disparaging over her sister's disbelief. "They are real and Ramón and I both know it."
"They really are real," said Luz. Reina's ears perked. "I saw a legendary dragon Pokémon in Hoenn called Rayquaza."
Reina inhaled sharply. "Do tell!" she said eagerly.
"Well, I was surfing on a route outside of Pacifidlog Town, and there was a pop up thunderstorm with some awful lightning. And while I'm praying I don't get struck, I see a shadow ripple across the water when lightning flashed across the sky. As suddenly as that storm appeared, it was gone. I looked up to the sky and I see something retreating high in the sky…"
"That was definitely Rayquaza," Reina agreed. "And that was near the Sky Pillar which is Rayquaza's roost."
"I'm really missing Hoenn right now," said Luz longingly.
"Well, we'll be here this time next week," said Reina. "I wonder if I'll get to see Rayquaza. By the way, do you believe in legendary Pokémon, Vivienne?"
She looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure. At times I thought I've seen things, but when I investigate it turns out to be nothing. So honestly, I'm open to the whole idea, but I'm not totally convinced."
"One day you will be," said Reina satisfactorily.
"I really want to see one now," said Giselle eagerly.
Reina smiled "If you stick around long enough you will. Sinnoh has more stories about legendary Pokémon that any other region."
Giselle smiled to herself at the thought of seeing a legendary Pokémon. She was looking forward to the next day for whatever Reina had planned. And she didn't disappoint. They headed back to the docks to go Pokémon fishing. Giselle had never been before and was therefore very excited. Giselle was able to rent one while Reina, Vivienne, and Luz had their own rods. Everyone had a different lure. Reina had one shaped like a smiley face; Giselle had a Yanma lure; Vivienne sported a Goldeen shaped one, while Luz had one in the shape of a human index finger, which freaked everyone out.
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it," said Luz, waving the finger lure at them. "You wouldn't believe how well it works. I've even caught a Gyarados with it once."
The lure turned out to work extraordinarily well. She kept catching Pokémon after Pokémon, mostly Finneon and their evolution Lumineon. After a while though, something gave a huge jerk on Luz's line, nearly pulling her into the freezing water. Her Sharpedo, who was swimming nearby, immediately went on high alert to be ready to help his trainer. Luz had to stand up to put more muscle into pulling the line, but what ever it was had a lot of fight left in it. She insisted on doing it on her own, however, and turned down the others' attempts to help her.
"Wow, this is a big one," grunted Luz. "Is it another Gyarados!"
Without warning, the Pokémon on the end of the line jumped out of the water an attempted to attack Luz. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Octillery and she immediately pulled out a Net Ball from her waist and enlarged it. Giselle immediately took out her Pokédex and identified it, but there was something different about the Octillery on her Pokédex screen and the one that was struggling with Luz. When he saw Octillery, Sharpedo lunged with his teeth bared. Octillery realized it had bit off more than it could chew when it caught sight of Sharpedo's brutal fangs. It practically jumped in Luz's Net Ball when she threw the ball at it. It twitched three times before becoming still. Within a few seconds, the ball and the Octillery disappeared to the Pokémon storage system.
Everyone was stunned. "Luz," breathed Reina. "That was a shiny Octillery!"
"Oh, so that's what a shiny Pokémon is," said Giselle excitedly. She had heard of them but had never seen one because they were supposed to be very rare. The Octillery in her Pokédex was red while Luz's was a brownish color.
"I wasn't going to let him get away, but I didn't think it would be that easy. Sharpedo basically scared him into the Pokéball," said Luz grinning. "I've always wanted an Octillery and now I have a shiny one. So lucky!"
Iron Island was next on Reina's list for the week. According to Reina, Iron Island is an abandoned mine that was full of wild Pokémon and was an excellent place to train. It was very cave like but Giselle could see the last vestiges of the mining that once went on there. Abandoned mine carts littered the landscape every now and then and Giselle could see metal drums all over the place. The silence in the old mine was periodically punctured by the sounds of wild Pokémon.
Vivienne's Nidoking impressed them all with his immense strength. He smashed apart any boulders and any other obstacles that were in their way. Luz decided to do some training with her Octillery. His attacks were powerful, but he was a bit of coward. He completely freaked out when a Golbat flew by. However when Luz encouraged him, he gained a bit of courage; enough of it to use an Ice Beam attack on the Golbat and knock it out. Out of Giselle's Pokémom, Duskull enjoyed being in the cave most—just as Giselle thought. She also made a mental note to come back whenever she challenged Byron to a gym battle.
Reina's next adventure was a little odd to Giselle.
"Erm, a library?" said Giselle uncertainly. "You want to visit a library?"
"Not just a library. The Canalave Library," Reina corrected her. "You can learn all about the legendary Pokémon around Sinnoh, and other fascinating stories. Ramón used to take me there all the time when he was here. It'll be an interesting experience."
Giselle still wasn't convinced. When they first entered the library, it didn't look remarkable at all—at least until they got to the top floor. The very atmosphere was different from the rest of the library. It felt very mysterious there, almost as if time itself had stopped. Some of the books there were very old and were almost too faded to read. Reina, however, made a beeline straight for a certain book as if she'd done it a million times. She pulled it off the shelf and set it on a nearby table as everyone gathered around.
"These are a collection of all of my favorite stories of the Sinnoh region," said Reina. "This only gives a shortened version of them, but it's still really good."
"So it's a book of myths," said Vivienne, interested.
"No, not myths," Reina corrected again. "Myths aren't real. These stories are."
Vivienne looked as though she wanted to dispute that, but she decided against it. Giselle found all of the "stories" in the book very interesting. The one that stuck out to her most was a Sinnoh Folk Story. It said that at one time there was no distinction between human and Pokémon and that they even ate at the same table. She had a flashback of the restaurant in Veilstone where Meilene ate at the same table with them. Giselle wondered how many other aspects of these stories were in Sinnoh daily life. By the time they left the library they knew all of the supposed legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh from Uxie to Arceus.
The next and final adventure was one of the creepiest experiences that Giselle had ever had. Reina had said that she was going to prove the existence of the legendary Pokémon Darkrai. By this time Giselle knew that Reina was a little too obsessed with legendaries for her own good, but even she wanted to know if Reina could actually do it. She waited until it was dark to tell them the story.
"Okay, there have been all kinds of stories of people in Canalave who have fallen asleep only be plagued by nightmares they couldn't wake up from," Reina explained in a mysterious tone. "The only thing these people had in common was that they were all near the Harbor Inn at some point before they fell asleep that night. It just has to be the work of Darkrai, but everyone seems skeptical. So we're going to walk by that old inn and then when we go to sleep we'll see Darkrai torment. Now, let's head to the Harbor Inn now!"
By then both Giselle and Vivienne were starting to feel uneasy despite Reina's and Luz's cheerful conversations. Why on earth would someone be excited about possibility of being tormented with nightmares? Giselle had a shrewd suspicion that Vivienne was hiding the fact that she shared Carmen's beliefs about legendary Pokémon. But both Giselle and Vivienne went along with the plan. As they neared closer and closer to the inn, Giselle began to believe her imagination was playing tricks with her. It sincerely felt as though an ominous feeling was growing more intense by the second. The number of people began to dwindle as they got closer and closer…
Soon they found themselves in front of the inn. The sign out front was faded and the words "The Harbor Inn" were barely legible. It looked like an old run down wooden building. There was no sign that told people to stay out, but it was locked up tight—Reina couldn't even turn the doorknob. Giselle felt the menacing presence, but no one else seemed to. Vivienne now looked skeptical instead of uneasy, and none of the girls besides Giselle were remotely afraid. If she didn't get away from that place she was likely to lose it.
"I think we should go now," said Giselle hurriedly.
Reina didn't seem to notice anything. "I think you're right. We've spent enough time here. Why don't we camp out since we're not so far from the city's boundaries?"
Giselle didn't like the idea of spending the night outdoors after that creepy experience, but she didn't say anything. She feigned calm as she said, "I can open the bag Carmen gave me too."
"Goody," said Luz brightly. "Off to the woods!"
Glad to leave the presence of the Harbor Inn, Giselle followed right behind Reina who was leading. The further they got from that place the better Giselle felt. The moon was in that not quite full phase where it was still just as beautiful and gave off plenty of light. They decided to set up camp in a clearing in the peaceful woods. Reina was so eager to get to sleep she convinced them all to set up there tents. Reina and Luz eagerly ducked into their own tents eager to see if Darkrai would haunt them as they slept. Vivienne sighed and bid Giselle goodnight as she climbed into her own pale pink tent. Just that quickly, they all had forgotten about the gifts.
Giselle didn't want them to disturb them even though she knew it was too soon for them to fall asleep. There was also a part of Giselle that wanted to be alone to see what Carmen had left her. She quickly entered into her tent, but it was too dark to see of course. Giselle released Charmander to use his tail flame for light and he was happy to be of use to Giselle as he always was. She dug around her waist bag until her hands found the soft felt bag. Giselle opened it and poured the contents, which included a beautiful shining stone, a gray hooked claw, a piece of gray cloth, a pink Pokétch, and a note, onto the floor of tent.
The note was the first thing that Giselle went for. She seemed to hear Carmen's voice in her head as she read her neat handwriting.
Dear Giselle,
I thought I would leave you with some useful items for your Pokémon journey. Three of these items, the Shiny Stone, Reaper Cloth, and Razor Claw, help with evolution. I'll let you figure out when to use these items and on which Pokémon. I'm also giving you my Pokétch because you can now make better use of it than I can. It already has a lot of applications on it and you can always add more when they are released. However I want you to remember that "belonging" in Sinnoh is more than just the clothes we wear or the stuff we have. I wrote my number on the back of the note so you can call me whenever something major happens.
Love, Carmen
Giselle smiled to herself. The letter was as to the point as Carmen was in person. She had finally discovered what it was that Carmen was missing when she left. She had taken her own Pokétch off her wrist and gave it to Giselle who put it on right then. Carmen was right about the belonging though. She belonged in Sinnoh because it was her escape from a horrible situation that could have crushed her. It wasn't all about her clothes, her things, or the slang she used. It was with a shock that she realized that Reina and Luz would be leaving tomorrow…
"Thanks for your help, Charmander," said Giselle as she recalled him. Starting when Reina left, her own journey would officially begin. It gave her a heady feeling, but this time she felt she was ready. When morning returned, she would as Vivienne if she would like to accompany her. Giselle had already learned that she was not to be trusted to be alone for long periods of time. With a positive outlook on the next day, she fell asleep.
~ ~ ~
Giselle was walking in a beautiful, serene forest. Though it was dark, Giselle had no trouble seeing things. How strange… There were no Pokémon in this forest, only the soft breeze playing with the trees. Giselle's feet followed a well-worn, winding path without having to think about it. Pretty flowers grew along the path and on the some of the trees adding color among all the green. It had just rained recently because the smell was still on the air. Up ahead, Giselle could see what looked like earthbound moonlight. Instinct told her it was nothing bad, so she followed the light. She came upon a small pond that appeared to be reflecting the light that was being given off by a beautiful creature. Could it be? Giselle walked closer but the light grew larger and larger, overcoming her…
Giselle could tell that morning had arrived when before she had even opened her eyes. She was, once again, the last one up as she could hear voices outside. Giselle emerged from her tent to repack it.
"Good morning, Giselle!" Reina and Luz greeted. Reina took one look at the Pokétch on Giselle's wrist and squealed.
"So that's what Carmen was missing when she left! She gave her Pokétch to you!" Reina gasped again. "Oh no! We were supposed to open your gifts last night and we forgot!"
"Don't worry. I opened them before I went to sleep last night. Carmen also gave me a Reaper Cloth, Shiny Stone, and a Razor Claw, but she wanted me to figure out what works on which Pokémon," recounted Giselle.
"Yeah, it's more fun that way," said Reina. She looked up to the sky. "In two hours I'll be on at the airport waiting on a plane to take me to Hoenn."
"Later today we'll be in the sun kissed region of Hoenn," said Luz, glowing. "I can't wait to hit the ocean!"
"Oh, Giselle," said Vivienne suddenly. "I meant to ask you something. Since I want to see Sinnoh, and you're going to be traveling around Sinnoh collecting your gym battles, may I accompany you?"
"Sure," said Giselle at once. "I was just going to ask you the same thing!"
"Nice," replied Vivienne.
"By the way, Giselle," said Luz. "I assume you didn't have nightmares from Darkrai."
Giselle thought back to the beautiful creature in her dreams and decide to keep it to herself. "Nope. Not at all."
"Ah, well," said Reina looking disappointed. "None of us did then."
"My dream did have darkness though," said Luz. "Only I was in the Dewford Gym battling Brawley…" Luz trailed off with a dreamy, faraway expression.
"You really are boy crazy," said Vivienne shaking her head.
"And I don't deny it," said Luz winking.
"Why don't we have one last cup of coffee before we leave?" asked Reina smiling.
It didn't take them long to get back to Canalave. Fortunately for Giselle, their chosen path didn't take them anywhere near the Harbor Inn. They went to a different coffee shop than from a week ago. However the cashier was still just as put off when Giselle ordered only plain black coffee.
"That will never stop being funny, Giselle," said Reina laughing. "You never cease to amaze me."
Too soon it was time for Reina and Luz to be off to the airport. According to Luz, the airport was built away from the city and on a manmade island to avoid noise pollution. Because of that, they had to take a covered foot bridge to reach it. Like Veilstone Station, Canalave airport was rather like a mall on the inside. Huge plasma screens displayed the departure and arrival times for planes that came from all over the world. The airport itself was huge and they had to do a lot of walking. They also had to watch out for people pulling rolling suitcases or small children to avoid causing pile ups. Giselle saw people who had had long flights sleeping on the benches that line the walls.
"We'd better say good bye here," said Reina. "It gets kinda crazy beyond this point."
For the first time, Giselle throat begin to close and tears formed at the corner of her eyes. Reina looked in disbelief.
"Giselle, are you serious? You're going to start getting all emotional on me now?"
"I'm sorry," said Giselle as she tried to keep her voice steady. "It didn't hit me until now."
"Well, now is not the time to fall to pieces," said Reina. "I know I'm a difficult person to get over, but you'll be all right."
"Yeah, Giselle," agreed Luz. "I felt the same when I had to leave Carla and Tony behind. But technology is a wondrous thing," she added holding up her phone.
"Oh, yeah," Reina said as she pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of her bag. "Besides, you'll have Vivienne with you. As you travel through Sinnoh, she can tell you all the good things about Kanto for when you return."
"As if," said Giselle smiling slightly.
"Way if," said Reina. "Now here's my email address. Whenever I stop a Pokémon Center or any place with a computer, I'll remember to check my email."
Luz looked at one of the screens. "Our flight will be leaving in about an hour. Good thing the line isn't long. It won't take much time to get all checked in."
"Now it really is good bye," said Reina as she hugged Giselle. "Vivienne make sure you take good care of Giselle!"
"Will do," said Vivienne with a slight bow.
Giselle and Vivienne watched as Reina and Luz gave one last wave before turning and walking away. A crowd of people blocked their line of sight, and by the time the crowd dispersed, they could no longer see Reina or Luz. Giselle sighed.
"Where to now?" she asked Vivienne.
"What do you mean?" Vivienne inquired, her blue eyes widening. "We need to prepare for your first Sinnoh gym battle!"
"Oh, yeah!" said Giselle, she took out her Pokédex to see if it had any information. "According to this, the first gym is in Oreburgh City! We should start heading there now." Slow but surely, Giselle could feel the excitement rising.
"But first let's get out of this airport," said Vivienne.
As they tried to find there way back out, Giselle began to think of the future for the first time. She pictured herself standing in a stadium with powerful trainers as she was getting ready to compete in the Sinnoh League. But she would have to take it one day at a time. They had arrived back at the bridge once more and they began to cross it.
"Vivienne?" said Giselle.
"Yes?"
"How did you feel when you were standing in Indigo Plateau, getting ready to compete?"
"Like I was on top of the world," she replied smiling. "All of my struggles had led to that point and it was so worth it."
They had reached the end of the bridge. Giselle suddenly remembered that she had a map of Sinnoh that she'd long forgotten after meeting Reina and Carmen. She wanted to go through Jubilife City on their way to Oreburgh City. Giselle took a deep breath.
"Are you ready to hit the road, Giselle?" asked Vivienne.
"You bet."
The sun was high in the cloudless sky as they struck out on their journey. Giselle already knew she would most definitely miss Carmen and Reina but she had learned a lot from them. She was going to have an adventure of a lifetime. Maybe one day she would help a trainer just like how Carmen and Reina helped her, but for now she was focused on her next gym battle. Giselle stopped and took one last look back at Canalave where it all began and where she would return again. Giselle turned and ran after Vivienne with the cold ocean breeze blowing through her white hair.
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well it looks like Giselle now will have to go about on her own knowledge, cant wait to see how her first gym battle will go. so as a i always say you have written a spectacular chapter again. keep it up you have me hooked.