#We’ll Look for Various Questions that are Interesting to You ♦ Marcel IC

[creativexjourney]

Reinvention Pt.1

Wyatt needed some space. What started out as a normal quiet breakfast, quickly devolved into his parents bickering over what was a better University for him to go to. Again. He knew his opinion would get shut down the moment he opened his mouth, so he just waited for a good time to sneak off. He grabbed his phone and wallet and headed out. Just a short walk, he told himself.

Two hours later, he was sitting on a bench drinking boba. He had taken a rather angry call from his mom a few minutes earlier. It was his future they were discussing. He should be there. He promised he would and ended the call. He sighed. It was his future. Why couldn’t he be the one deciding it?

“Wow, that was dramatic!” A stranger exclaimed, plopping on the bench next to him. No…Not a stranger…Where had he seen him before. Wyatt squinted, trying to remember. Surely someone with shocking purple and blue hair, and the loudest blue and yellow outfit imaginable would be hard to forget.

“Do I…know you?” Wyatt asked. He would take any excuse not to get a lecture about his future right now.

The not stranger laughed, ”I mean. We never really talked, but we did have a couple classes together in school. We even did a project together in English!” At Wyatt’s continued confusion, he added, ”Hmmm…I guess I have changed a bit, huh? I’m Marcel. Ring a bell?”

“What?! No way!” Wyatt exclaimed. He definitely remembered him. A lot of people avoided that guy for some reason. Probably because he wasn’t exactly cool. “You were so…so gloomy! What happened?”

“Gloomy?” Marcel echoed, putting his hand to his chin,”I guess you could say that. I suppose…I just got tired of being gloomy. I wanted to try being something else. Reinvent myself, if you will.”

“It seems to be working for you,”Wyatt said with a nod. He looked down at his half finished bubble tea,”I wish I could do something like that.”

“Oh~? Why can’t you?”

“My parents won’t even let me pick my own University, or even let me voice an opinion on it. I apparently don’t take things seriously enough as it is,”Wyatt complained,” There’s no way they’ll let me “reinvent” myself, unless that meant becoming a boring and serious business person.”

“Wow, that sucks,” Marcel said, ”What does, uhm…Willow? think about all this? Have you talked to her?”

“Will doesn’t get it. It all comes so easy to her. I just-” Wyatt paused, ”I just need to keep pushing forward.”

They were both silent for a bit, watching people passing by. Wyatt really should be thinking of getting home soon. Just as he was about to get up Marcel spoke again.

“I mean…You could do that…”He started. He hesitated after every few words, as if weighing what he was going to say next, ”Or…You could go a different direction altogether. How about left?”

Wyatt squinted at Marcel, and then sighed, ”Alright, I’ll bite. What’s left?”

Marcel shrugged, ”I don’t know. Maybe we can find out together?”

“Yeah, okay, let’s do that,” Wyatt huffed sarcastically. This purple haired guy was just messing with him now. He stood up, and headed towards the nearest trash can to dump his empty cup into.

Marcel shot up and was by his side in a second, ”Hey, hey, hey, C’mon.” He started walking alongside Wyatt, as he continued to try and storm off. “I’m being serious, I swear! Hear me out! The whole thing about reinventing yourself is that you’re changing directions. If you aren’t happy with the way things are going, then go somewhere else. That’s all I’m saying.”

“And I already told you, I’m not in a place where I can reinvent myself, ”Wyatt responded.

“But you want to, right?” At Wyatt’s silence, Marcel continued, ”Then let’s work out a way to get you to where you can reinvent yourself! Give me your phone number, we can talk later.” Marcel pulled out a purple smartphone.

Wyatt sighed and gave him his number, ”I’m not promising anything, you know. I just don’t need you following me all the way back home.”

“Of course,” Marcel replied, slowing down, ”I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, talk later.”

[creativexjourney]

The Favor Pt 3

The pair decided to stop by Cafe Soleil on their way to their apartment. It was nearby and they were hungry. They both froze when they saw who was in the cafe as well. Marcel froze because he ran into Lysandre again, and Wyatt froze because of the lady Lysandre was talking to, Diantha. Lysandre paused in his conversation when he noticed the two star struck boys.

“What a coincidence running into you two so soon. Marcel was it? And-”

“S-W-Wyatt. Wyatt.” He almost messed up big time, but if either of the big shots in the cafe noticed, they didn’t say anything.

“Who are your friends, Lysandre?” Diantha asked, she seemed almost grateful for a change in topic.

“Oh, this is Marcel and Wyatt. We’ve just met at Professor Sycamore’s lab,”Lysandre explained.

“I see. It’s nice to meet you both,”

“I-It’s nice to meet you too! I’m a big fan! I’ve seen like all your movies. I especially loved you in ‘My Sweet, Sweet Lady’,”Wyatt cut himself off before he could ramble like Marcel did earlier.

Diantha giggled behind her hand,”That’s so sweet, thank you. Are you two trainers?”

“No-I-I mean yes!” Wyatt stammered out.

“He is, I’m not,”Marcel corrected,”But he is new at this.”

“I see. Well, I hope to get to see what heights you and your pokemon reach, Wyatt.”

“T-thank you!”

“Goodbye, you too. Talk to you soon, Lysandre,” With that Diantha leaves. Lysandre says his goodbyes before heading out as well.

“‘I’ve seen like all your movies’”Marcel mocked back, getting his revenge from earlier, and getting satisfaction from seeing his friend blush.

“Ugh. Let’s just eat so I have the energy to dig myself a hole,”Wyatt groaned.

“I think you already did, actually,”Marcel chuckled,”Who was she anyway? An actress?”

“An actress, a Grand Duchess, and the Kalos Region Champion. She really can do it all.” Wyatt said,”She actually was a child star, did you know? And-”

“I didn’t know actually. But that’s interesting. You can tell me more after we order.”

“Oh, right.” 

[creativexjourney]

The Favor Pt 2

It wasn’t long before they reached the Professor’s Lab. It wasn’t the grandest building in Lumiose City, but it stood out with its detailed architecture, and large pastures out back. Neither Wyatt nor Marcel could really take it in before they were ushered inside. They were brought up to the top floor and told to wait while Sina and Dexio went to talk to the Professor.

Wyatt looked at Marcel through the corner of his eye. “Are you…doing okay? I’m sorry, if I had known-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marcel cut him off. He then seemed to realize that he was being harsh to his friend, and gave Wyatt a weak smile. “I’m used to this kind of thing. They’ll move on soon enough, and then we can too. Ok?”

“...Okay.”

Around that time the pair of assistants came back over to them.

“The Professor wants to thank you himself!” Sina exclaimed,”Isn’t that exciting?”

“He says he has something to give you,”Dexio added. 

They gestured for Wyatt and Marcel to follow them, and headed around the corner to the Professor’s office. It was warmly decorated with all sorts of wooden furniture and books, and a large rug in the middle.

“Welcome, my young friends. My name is Professor Sycamore, though, perhaps my assistants introduced me ahead of time. I am grateful for your assistance in helping research the Pokemon Flabebe. I’m not one to let such a thing go unrewarded. So I will be giving you each a Pokedex and a Pokemon, if you’d like.”

Wyatt was sold! Marcel put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from accepting right away.

“That’s a pretty big reward for helping out just a little,” Marcel pointed out. 

“True, however, I was also hoping that you would be willing to help out once again. I am looking for capable trainers to take care of these three Pokemon, in hopes that one day they will achieve Mega Evolution. Now you see, Mega Evolution is a temporary evolution that only lasts for the duration of a battle. Only certain pokemon can achieve it, they must have a strong bond with their trainer, and two stones are necessary for it: A Keystone, and that Pokemon’s Mega Stone. Now I have the Mega Stones for Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard, I simply need someone to raise these pokemon up, and to obtain a Keystone,” The Professor explained.

Both Wyatt and Marcel were clearly curious about Mega Evolution, but Marcel reluctantly shook his head,”I’m sorry, we’ll have to turn you down. I’m not a trainer, and Wyatt only trains on the weekends. We wouldn’t be good candidates for your task, even if we could get our hands on Keystones.”

The Professor thought for a moment, not quite ready to give up, but eventually sighed, “Is that your final decision? Both of you?” He was looking at Wyatt there, because he had remained silent this whole time.

“Yes, unfortunately, Marcel is right. We’re full time students, we can’t dedicate the time needed for this,”Wyatt said.

“Well, I still insist you take the Pokedexes with you as a reward for helping with my research. My assistants are all tasked to fill them, however, they may still come in handy for the two of you. And I will give you my HoloCaster number in case either of you change your mind.” 

He hands the pair each a pokedex and a business card, before letting them on their way. As they got into the elevator they could hear the muffled voices of the Professor and his assistants talking.

On the first floor they past a tall man with red hair, dressed in all black, talking to the secretary at the front desk. Marcel recognized him instantly.

“What’s going on? Who is that?” Wyatt whispered.

“That’s Lysandre,”Marcel whispered back,”He’s a visionary. He’s the one who created the HoloCasters we use. Not to mention he backs several charities towards conservation.”

“You seem to know quite a bit about me,”the man said, walking over to the pair,” I’m flattered.”

Marcel turned beet red at being caught talking about someone he looked up to by that person. He was actually speechless, until Wyatt elbowed him in the side. “Y-yes! I’ve read up about. I especially like your interview in PokeTrainer’s Monthly. Where you said that you want to use technology to make the world a more beautiful place? That really resonated with me. I-I like to work with machinery too, and would really like to help people a-and pokemon with my creations too.”

Lysandre smiled, and put a hand on Marcel’s shoulder, “And that, young man, is the first step towards making a change. I’m sure you can achieve your dream one day…A more beautiful world. It won’t be easy, but perhaps with both of us working on such a thing, it can come true.” Lysandre’s HoloCaster beeped,”However, As much as I’ve enjoyed talking with you-”

“Marcel.” “Marcel. I’m running late for a meeting with an old friend. Perhaps, we will meet again.” With that Lysandre leaves. 

As soon as the front door closes, Wyatt breaks out into a grin,”I’ve never seen you so shaken. ‘Oh, Lysandre, I’ve read all about you!’”

“Oh, shut up. Let’s just go,” Marcel shoved Wyatt playfully, and the pair left as well.

[creativexjourney]

The Favor Pt 1

The next day finds Wyatt and Marcel heading to Lumiose City with Dexio and Sina. Marcel’s mood from the night before hangs in the air, although, from everyone’s smiles, maybe only Wyatt still feels awkward about it. There isn’t really any way to check on his friend without making things worse, because it would mean interrupting Sina’s excited rambles about fairy types. It was probably interesting, but Wyatt couldn’t bring himself to focus on that. 

Marcel was also unusually quiet, only speaking up to prompt Sina to continue on, but he was smiling and acting attentively, so maybe he was feeling better? While it felt like forever, it was probably only about an hour before they arrived at Lumiose City’s gate. They crossed through into the city.

“Well, thanks for everything, but we should probably get moving! I still have some homework to do, and I’m sure Marcel does too,”Wyatt said. Marcel nodded along, but the pair only got a couple of steps before Sina went running ahead of them to stop them.

“Wait!” She said, holding her hands out in front of her,”You need to come with us!”

“Why?” Marcel asked.

“Because you helped us help the professor,” Dexio chimed in from behind,” Its only right that we find some way to thank you. Come to the lab with us.”

“It’ll be real quick, promise,” Sina said.

Wyatt and Marcel gave each other matching defeated looks. Going along with them was probably going to be the fastest way to part ways, wasn’t it?

“Alright, lead the way,” Wyatt sighed.

“Yes!”Sina cheered,”Let’s go, you gloomy guses! We’ll get you all cheered up in no time!”

That just brought the mood down even more, and Dexio noticed.

“Sina, how about we take it down a notch. I’m sure our friends are just a little tired,”Dexio said, “Not everyone is as used to field work as we are, and I’m sure after some rest, they’ll be just as happy as ever.”

Wyatt squinted, but didn’t say anything. Wasn’t this their first solo assignment in the field? Sina seemed to buy the excuse at least, and laid off of them.

[creativexjourney]

Finding Flabebe Pt 3

The group ended up having to camp out the night before heading to Lumiose. As they sat around the fire, they exchanged stories. Dexio and Sina talked at length about being Professor Sycamore’s assistants. Wyatt talked about what he’s learned as a Pokemon Trainer so far, leaving out any mention of his adventures as Sawyer. The only one who didn’t contribute much was Marcel. Wyatt noticed, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to make the atmosphere awkward.

Wyatt found his chance to ask sooner rather than later. Sina and Dexio fell asleep first. Wyatt was about to as well, when he saw that Marcel was still wide awake, poking the remains of the fire.

“You seemed down today,”Wyatt pointed out, coming to sit next to him.

“You think so?” Marcel questioned.

“Is it about Sina’s comments earlier? She was a bit rude,” Wyatt asked.

Marcel was quiet for awhile, before responding,”Yeah…That’s probably it.”

“Don’t let her bother you that much,”Wyatt advised,”You know the kind of person you are. Someone who hasn’t seen you in over a year doesn’t have a clue, right?”

“Yeah…right…”Marcel agreed. When Wyatt opened his mouth to say something else, Marcel quickly said,”Well, I’m getting tired. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Feel better.”

[creativexjourney]

Finding Flabebe Pt 2

It was starting to get late in the day, and there were still no signs of Flabebe. Wyatt was starting to think Marcel may be right, and it was still too early in the year for them to be here. Especially considering that there weren’t any flowers blooming yet. There were a couple starting to sprout up, but the gardens this route was known for were still pretty bare. Except-

“Look over there!” Wyatt said pointing to a patch of color a ways away.

“It’s probably our best bet,”Dexio agreed,” The Professor said to stay low and quiet when approaching wild pokemon, so we should be careful to do so when we get closer.”

“Alright,” Wyatt and Sina both said. Marcel just gave a short nod.

The group approached just like Dexio suggested. It was a small patch of yellow flowers that bloomed early. The yellow made it easy to spot the one white flower moving throughout the rest. There was their Flabebe. Sino and Dexio got to work writing observations down. Wyatt was getting bored by the time they packed up their stuff and signaled to leave.

“That’s it?” Wyatt whispered,” You aren’t going to bring it back.”

“No, we just needed to observe it in the wild,”Dexio stated quietly,”Let’s go.”

“Soooo…I can catch it?”Wyatt asked.

“If you want to, then go for it,”Sina whispered. “It can learn grass type moves, so be careful about using your Popplio.”

“Got it,” He popped up out of the flowers, a yellow one managing to stick to his hair,” Kirari, Quick Attack!”

Kirari dashed at the Flabebe, leaving a white trail behind her. The Flabebe dodged, and noticed Wyatt, flying straight towards him.

“Pika?”

“Kirari,” It was risky to use an attack on the pokemon when it was this close to him. The attack could hit him instead. It was small, so he should be able to take a hit,”Stay put.”

Thankfully, the Flabebe wasn’t interested in attacking, just floating around the flower still stuck to his hair. “Uhm, hi there?”

“I think its just interested in the flowers,” Marcel pointed out. “You’re fine.”

“Although, if it was one of its evolutions, they tend to be more aggressive,” Dexio pointed out.

“Wyatt, catch her, she’s distracted!” Sina ordered.

“Oh, right,” Wyatt said. He reached for an empty pokeball, while trying not to move his head, a feat that was harder than he had expected. Then he tapped it to the small pokemon. It wiggled in his hand, before dinging to signal the successful capture.

“Yes! A new friend!” Wyatt announced. “Pika pi!” Pikachu cheered with him.

[creativexjourney]

Finding Flabebe Pt 1

The walk up Parterre Way wasn’t bad. Nothing like Santalune Forest at least. Since it was a short, clear path there should be no problem getting back to their apartment by nightfall. They were just taking a short lunch break, with food they bought from a shop in Santalune City before they left that morning. Allegra and Kirari were playing with each other nearby the bench Wyatt and Marcel were sitting at.

“Ah I can’t believe it!” Wyatt said,” I still can’t believe I did that! Can you believe it? I went up there and I even won! Wow!”

“I can’t believe this is the fifth time you said that to me today,” Marcel chuckled. He was more amused than upset by the repetition.

Wyatt pouted into his sandwich,”Come on, be nice. I just…never thought I could, you know?”

“I get it. But you did it,” Marcel paused,” Now that you’ve done it, are you satisfied?”

“What? No way!” Wyatt exclaimed,” I want to keep doing more! That feeling, it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced!”

“Good. Good,” Marcel sighed. That was a relief,” Then we’ll keep going.”

Just then two people came walking by, seeminging to be looking for something. One was a tall guy with pale skin, short bright blonde hair and almond shaped dark blue eyes. The other was a girl was just a little shorter with dark skin and even darker hair cut into a cute bob, she had round light blue eyes. Both of them were wearing matching white outfits, as if they were in uniform. Actually, they looked familiar to both Wyatt and Marcel.

“Hey, I know you two,” Wyatt said. He’s at least familiar enough to recognize them as former classmates, even if he didn’t know their names. Marcel frowned at his friend for calling the newcomers’ attention to them.

“Oh hey, it’s Wyatt, right?” The girl responded, walking over with her friend in tow. “It’s been awhile!” Turning to Marcel, she continued,” I’m Sina and this is my friend and coworker, Dexio.”

“It sure has,”Wyatt nodded, and laughed,”This is Marcel. He went to school with us too, remember?”

“Marcel? That creepy gloomy guy everyone was afraid of?” Sina exclaimed. Marcel just glared off in the distance,”Actually…I guess I can still see it. Man, it’s good to see you both!”

“Its such a small world,”Dexio spoke up,”But as much as we’d like to stay and chat, we need to keep looking. I’d rather not have to camp tonight.”

“What are you looking for?” Wyatt asked.

“We don’t want to get in their way, Wyatt,” Marcel said,” We’ve kept them long enough.”

“But maybe we can help!”

“Oh, you don’t need to trouble yourselves,”Dexio said, with a wave of his hand,” What we’re looking for is fairly common arou-”

“We’d love help, actually!” Sina said,” And it would be such a great chance to catch up! We’re looking for a fairy-type pokemon called Flabebe! They’re little gals that hang onto flowers, so the gardens here should be full of them now that its warming up! But…we haven’t found a single one…”

“Maybe its still too early? A lot of the flowers haven’t bloomed yet,” Marcel pointed out, having accepted his fate.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll still need to search and document that too,”Dexio said,”fairy types are still a relatively new discovery, so there’s still a lot of work to be done as far as figuring out behavioral patterns. That’s what Professor Sycamore says, anyway.”

“Professor Sycamore? Are you two fans of his?” Wyatt asked.

“Even better! We’re his new assistants!”Sina announced,”This is actually our first bit of solo field work, so we don’t want to mess it up!”

“That’s so cool!” Wyatt said,” We have to help then! Right, Marcel?

Marcel sighed, and packed his bag,” I guess.”

[creativexjourney]

Santalune Showcase: Intermission

Sawyer was too nervous to leave the waiting area during the intermission. Instead, she fidgeted with her outfit, a light blue dress with puffy white short sleeves and a layered scallop skirt. Allegra had a light blue bow on her head that matched her trainer. When she couldn’t find anything else to adjust on her outfit, she started texting Marcel, who should be in the audience. 

                                                      [txt] I made it past the themed round!! [txt]

[txt] i was watching lol good job [txt]

                                                  [txt] You're going to keep watching right?[txt]

[txt] actually i figured id buy a ticket just to watch the 1st round sorry :( [txt]

[txt] that was a joke btw[txt]

                                                                            [txt] It wasn’t funny >:( [txt]

[creativexjourney]

Skating Score

Marcel decided to explore the city while his friend practiced. As much as he was happy to have a friend on his own journey now, he was still stuck. He loved tinkering, and he loved his new look, but he had no goal to strive for himself, and that was beyond frustrating. Through his wandering he eventually found himself face to face with an overly happy promoter of some kind.

“Do you love to skate? Of course you do! Even if you haven’t tried it yet, roller skating is the hottest thing in Kalos since Pyroar’s Mane! Aaaaand if you join this contest, you can win yourself a brand new pair of top-of-the-line roller skates! No pokemon needed for entry! Only a limited number of slots are available, so sign up now!”

This was all said before he could get a sound out. When she finally paused for his reaction, he sighed, shrugged, and asked,”What kind of contest?”

“I’m so glad you asked! Its a contest of speed, skill, and determination! It’s a berry throwing contest!”

“A berry throwing contest?”

“That’s right! Each contestant will be partnered with one of our well trained Munchlax, and the goal is to feed it as many berries as you can from your side of the field! What do you say? Feed a hungry Munchlax and have a chance to get yourself a pair of the trendiest roller skates around!”

“Yeah, sure.” It wasn’t like Marcel had anything better to do. He let himself be led to the sign up station and then next to three other contestants. Limited was right. Though he supposed that since they were using live pokemon, that was to keep the number of pokemon they needed to have on hand down to a manageable number.

A few minutes of tossing later, and Marcel came out the winner! His borrowed Muchlax burped, probably full from the basket of berries he had just been fed. The skates were a sleek black design that clipped to his normal shoes. He smiled and barely paid attention to the spiel about how the skates were so amazing and could be used on short grass, and how everyone is scrambling for a pair and how lucky he was.

Eventually, he made it back. The prize wasn’t something he cared much about, but he felt a little lighter after doing something for himself. And winning at it even! Wyatt was drying his hair with a towel over by the bed he had claimed.

“Look at what I won~” He sang, waving the skates around.

“Cool! I didn’t know you skated,” Wyatt replied.

“I don’t. But I won them anyway.” They both shared a laugh and then Marcel continued,”If you got yourself a pair then we could learn together?”

Wyatt laughed, “Sounds fun! I’ll get them after my Showcase, then.” He didn’t want to risk hurting himself before hand, not this close to the day of.

[creativexjourney]

Time for Rest

Wyatt and Marcel were able to make it out of the forest with no more excitement, in part thanks to Marcel insisting on using repel the rest of the way. Pretty soon the pair were at a Pokemon Center, checking into one of the rooms and healing Wyatt’s team. Since the two pokemon weren’t very hurt, it only took about a half an hour for them to be returned to him. Or well, Marcel. Wyatt was in their shared room, getting cleaned up and ready to go out.

When Marcel came back Wyatt had finished getting dressed in Sawyer’s casual outfit, and had light, natural make up on. “How do I look?” He said, pitching his voice up the way he had been practicing for a while now.

“Very pretty,” Marcel said, “We have a few days before the Showcase though, aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

“Not at all!” Sawyer said, packing a small purse,” I need to practice, and the best way to do that is to go out and about. Do you have my pokemon?”

“Here,”Marcel handed the pokeballs to his friend, before flopping down on the bed. “That’s a good point. You do that. I’m going to rest. I still can’t believe you convinced me to travel through a forest with you.”

“And there’s more where that came from! The best way to have a pokemon journey is by foot! That’s what I got from searching the internet,” Sawyer said,”Anyway, have a good rest, see you later!”

[creativexjourney]

Catch Me if You Can

The pokemon did eventually wake up while they were packing up for the day. The first to notice was Allegra. The Popplio had been cheering her trainer on while he wrestled the supplies back into his bag, but as soon as the Pikachu stirred, she was bounding over to greet her.

“Pop popplio?”

“Chaaa….”The Pikachu yawned, and then, seeming to realize that there were others here, she jumped back, ”Pika!? Pi pikachu pika?”

“Pop pop pop.”

“Hey there,”Wyatt said softly, crouching down at a distance. Marcel was pretending not to watch from even further.“You’re okay, It’s okay. You seemed really hurt last night, and we wanted to help. How are you feeling?” He had no idea if pokemon could really understand human speech that much, but hopefully the soft way he was talking would at least have a soothing effect.

“Pika…”

“Pop lio li!” And Allegra didn’t seem to notice her trainer’s efforts, and excitedly waved her fins at the Pikachu, and then at the food bowl they had left out incase the she had woken up. The Pikachu gave a cautious sniff at it, before slowly trying it. It seemed to be good enough for her, because pretty soon the bowl was empty.

Wyatt and Marcel spent that time finishing their packing, and pretty soon it was time to say their goodbyes, except.

“What if I caught her?”Wyatt mused, pulling out a pokeball,”She should still be pretty weak from yesterday, right?”

Marcel just shrugged, “It’s up to you.”

Wyatt nodded and looked over to where Pikachu and Allegra were having an animated conversation, and hesitated. Would just tossing a ball be a bad way to start their relationship? He approached the two, and knelt down,”Hey, Pikachu? What if you came with us?” He ignored Marcel’s muffled “Oh my Arceus,” and continued. “We could keep you from getting hurt like that again? And you and Allegra could hang out all the time! What do you say?”

He placed the ball on the ground between them. And after a moment, Pikachu knocked it away with her tail.

“Pika! Pikachu!” Pikachu called out, lightning sparking from its cheeks. It didn’t seem angry, as far as Wyatt could tell, but then…Wyatt didn’t know what the problem was. He picked up the empty pokeball and stood up as Allegra got between them, calling back to Pikachu in a similar way.

“A battle?” Wyatt asked them, they both nodded.

“It is the usual way to catch a pokemon, you know,” Marcel pointed out.

“Alright then! Allegra, use Pound!” The Popplio bounced over to Pikachu to hit it with her fin, but Pikachu jumped out of the way, and Growled in response.

Wyatt realized Allegra would probably be a little too slow on land to keep up with the Pikachu, so he called out, “Try Water Gun now!” She shot a stream of water at the Pikachu, hitting her and knocking her back.

“Alright! Water Gun again!” Before the Water Gun could hit, Pikachu shot off a Thundershock, hitting the attack, and following it back to the water type. “Pop!” Allegra cried out as she was hit with the attack. The Pikachu ran at the Popplio with a Tackle.

“Wait for her to get close, then Pound!” Allegra, readied herself for her counter attack, and as soon as Pikachu got in range, she flung her fin out with as much power as she had. The Pikachu skidded back, and Wyatt threw the empty pokeball at her. After she went in, it shook once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Ding!

Wyatt had caught himself a Pikachu! He immediately called her out to welcome her to the team. As he was thinking of a name for her, Marcel spoke up.

“Please tell me you have more potions.”

“No, I used them all last night.”

“So, how are we going to get out of this forest with two exhausted pokemon?”

“Oh uhm…”Wyatt looked around, like the forest would give him an answer. It didn’t, and he ended up saying, “Well, two is better than one, right? Surely, we’ll be fine.”

“Isn’t that right, Allegra? And….Ah! Kirari?” Wyatt asked his two pokemon for their agreement, which they readily gave. 

Marcel just gave them an exasperated smile and shook his head, “Well then, let’s get going.”

[creativexjourney]

What’s the Buzz Pt. 2

They were getting tired, and the Beedrill weren’t done chasing them. Marcel was eventually able to get a can from his bag without stopping.

“What’s that?” Wyatt panted. He was really going to have to work on his stamina if he survived this.

Marcel didn’t answer right away. Instead, he checked the label, before turning around, and spraying it at the Beedrill. The swarm of bug pokemon recoiled at it, and flew away, presumably back to their nest or hive. Wherever they lived.

“What…what was that?” Wyatt tried again. Now doubled over and trying to catch his breath.

“Repel,”Marcel answered simply, tucking the now empty can in his bag,”If you spray it on yourself, pokemon will avoid you for a while. I was hoping if I sprayed it at them, they would leave.”

“That’s smart!” Wyatt praised,”Wait…Did you use that on yourself going into the forest? Is that why there was no pokemon showing up for awhile?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah,”Marcel responded,”I was concerned about what we might find, so I sprayed it at the start.”

“I wanted to find pokemon though!” Wyatt pointed out.

“Oops. Sorry,” Marcel didn’t sound particularly sorry, but he rarely sounds serious about anything.

Wyatt sighed and was about to say something when he heard a weak “Chaaaa….” coming from the bushes behind him. He moved the branches to try and get a look. There was an injured Pikachu laying in the bushes. Wyatt was able to pick it up pretty easily, it didn’t seem very aware of its surroundings. 

He showed it to Marcel,”Do you think this is what jumped on me earlier?” It was yellow and would make a chu sound. Marcel shrugged, and Wyatt laid it on the ground between them, before fishing out a potion. He sprayed some of it on the Pikachu’s injuries.

Nothing much seemed to be happening.

“Shouldn’t it make it heal up faster?” Wyatt asked. He was fishing out another potion to try again, when Marcel spoke up.

“Maybe it’s not just injured?” He suggested,”According to my HoloCaster, Beedrill are part poison-type?”

“So then, let me try an antidote too,” Wyatt suggested, getting out one of those, and using it on the pokemon. Sure enough, with the poison gone, the next potion used, was able to do its job.

“Do you think it’ll wake up soon?” Wyatt asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s getting late, we should probably get ready for the night. Maybe it’ll wake up in the morning? Do you want to make sure it's okay too?”

“Yes, I feel bad for it,” Wyatt pulled out the camping supplies he brought, and started setting up, Marcel did the same. Every once in a while, they would check on the Pikachu, who didn’t stir a bit.

After struggling to light a fire, the pair sat down and shared a meal of protein bars, and dry pokemon food for Allegra. It was a pathetic meal, but neither of them had figured out how to cook yet, much less over a campfire. Wyatt poured a little bit of pokemon food out for the pikachu in case she woke up in the middle of the night, before settling in to sleep next to her.

[creativexjourney]

What’s the Buzz Pt.1

Upon Wyatt’s insistence, they were traveling back to Santalune City on foot.

“Oh, look at that pokemon!” Wyatt said, scaring off the Fletchling he had noticed. The bird pokemon, flew away and Marcel started laughing.

“Hey! What’s so funny?” Wyatt asked indignantly. He knew, but he pouted anyway.

“Nothing, nothing. You were just so excited there. It was cute,” Marcel said between laughs. “Hopefully, you weren’t planning on catching that one?”

“No. Not really. It was just the first pokemon we saw in the forest,”Wyatt sighed,”I was expecting this place to be full of them…”

“It probably is. We just aren’t paying enough attention. It’s likely that they’re hiding or something? I hear some wild pokemon can be quite skittish around humans.”

“Oh, really?” Wyatt asked. It made sense. But then, how was he supposed to find a pokemon to catch? He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow as he thought on it.

“CHUUUU!”

That sudden loud cry was the only warning before a yellow blur landed on Wyatt’s head, and jumped off running along. Both teens looked after it in confusion.

“What the-”

A buzzing sound was growing progressively louder from the direction the yellow blur was running from. It wasn’t long before a swarm of Beedrill came into view, and started lunging at the pair.

“Run!” Both of them cried to each other, and followed the direction of the yellow blur from earlier.

[creativexjourney]

Festival Time

The festival was already in full swing by the time they reached Aquacorde. While they didn’t say it, they were both even more excited to see it in a few hours when the sun went down! After dropping their stuff off in their hotel room, they hurried down to the festival. Neither of them could say that they’ve been to one before, both of them having been from haughty old money families that saw such things as beneath them.

“Oh, how cute! That one has real Magikarp in it!” Wyatt pointed over to a booth that had set up a game with Magikarp as prizes.

“Yes, but do you really want to be stuck with a Magikarp if you win? Aren’t they generally considered useless?” Marcel said, looking at the game with his arms crossed.

“Are they?” Wyatt asked. For a trainer, he really didn’t do his research on basic pokemon facts. “Then I suppose not. Besides, I already have one water type, so doubling up right now, probably wouldn’t be a good idea anyway...”

They spent awhile trying out different games to varying success. Most of the prizes, they gave away to kids who had lost the same games. They were going to have to carry everything back, after all. Still, they both kept a couple small prizes for themselves. Wyatt had kept two plushies, an Azurill and a Dedenne. Marcel picked a toy robot that didn’t move on its own. 

Eventually, night fell, and the pair started getting hungry. They moved on to trying different festival foods. Marcel kept picking the weirdest foods he could find, both to eat, and to dare Wyatt into trying. Wyatt made a face every time, but didn’t back down. Meanwhile, Wyatt was taking pictures on his HoloCaster like there was no tomorrow.

Eventually, they had to go back to the hotel. Neither of them had much stamina, after all.

[creativexjourney]

Distractions

“Hey, Marcel! Look at this!” Wyatt shoved his HoloCaster at Marcel. Projected above the device is a holo poster of festival. “It’s just one town away, we should go!”

Marcel looked at the poster and shrugged, “Why not? It’s better than wasting away here while we wait for the Showcase.”

That caused Wyatt to look around frantically, trying to see if anyone was listening. They weren’t. No one would really care to pay attention to two teenagers sitting on a park bench in the middle of the day. Marcel snickered as Wyatt sighed, and slumped back onto the bench.

“Not so loud, dummy,” Wyatt huffed, “What if someone heard you?”

“Then they would think we were here to see a Showcase? Or more likely that its none of their business,” Marcel said simply, “You need to relax. People tend not to care about what’s around them. We’re all a bit self centered like that.”

“Still....” Wyatt pouted, but went back to the poster after not coming up with anything to say after that. “Should we try traveling through the forest? We’ll be cutting it kind of close if we do, but...Traveling is part of the trainer experience.”

“Not a part I’m that interested in though,” Marcel pointed out. After a moment he added, “If you’re really that interested in roughing it, then let’s take a taxi there, so we don’t miss it, and then just walk back this way. We should have plenty of time to have the full ‘trainer experience’ on the way back.”

“Yes, that probably is for the best. We would really have to rush and not get lost to get to the festival in time if we went by foot.”

“You make it sound like you want to get lost.”

“Of course not....But...That’s also part of the trainer experience too, isn’t it?”

“Let’s just stick to the beaten path this time.”

[creativexjourney]

First Steps

Honestly, it wasn’t hard to get to Santalune, the site of Wyatt-Sawyer’s first Showcase, and they had plenty of time. But Wyatt and Marcel were both excited to do something. So they left early. 

Paterre Way wasn’t hard to traverse, being mostly well trimmed hedges and gardens. About half way down they found a bunch of other people hanging out around the main fountain of the route. Some were bystanders, just eating lunch, or otherwise enjoying the warming weather. Most, however, were newer trainers. Apparently, this was a decent spot for battle practice when the weather was nice.

“Hey, you!” A kid a few years younger than Wyatt called out. Both Wyatt and Marcel stopped and looked over. “Yeah, you two! Are either of you trainers?”

“I am,” Wyatt said, ”Why?”

“’Cuz I’m looking to battle!” He announced, pulling out his pokeball.

Wyatt mirrored the action, “Alright then. Let’s battle.”

They separated enough for their pokemon to have room to move, and they called them both out. Allegra, the Popplio, posed when she came out of her ball, and the other pokemon, a Litleo, gave an unintimidating roar.

Marcel commented,”Litleo’s a fire-type. It looks like you have the advantage here~”

“Hey! No cheating!” The kid called out, “Mind your own business! Lit use Tackle!”

The fire-type dashed at its opponent, sending her tumbling back a few feet. Allegra got up and shook it off.

“Allegra, Watergun!” Wyatt called out.

“Dodge, Lit!”

Allegra shot out a stream of water, but the Litleo was too fast to get hit.

“Can he do that?” He asked Marcel, who shrugged. Then to the kid, he repeated, “Can you do that?”

“Well, I just did, didn’t I?” He shot back, “Lit, Tackle again!”

“Allegra, dodge!” Two could play at that game.

Except they couldn’t. Allegra was sent tumbling back before she could get out of the way. It took her a little longer to get up this time. 

Wyatt hesitated to call out his next attack, so the kid took advantage to call out another tackle.

“Oh! Watergun now!” Allegra shot another stream of water at the Litleo, who couldn’t change directions fast enough. The fire type skidded back to its trainer, the flames on its head fizzling out. When it didn’t get back up after a minute, it’s trainer called it back into its ball.

“Heheh, that was a good battle,” the kid said.

“Yes, it was fun!” Wyatt agreed, “Will Litleo be okay?”

“Of course! I’ll get Lit patched up in Lumiose, good as new!”

They parted ways after that. Marcel and Wyatt still needed to get to Santalune. Wyatt had a bounce in his step from his very first victory.

“You really enjoyed that battle, huh?” Marcel asked as they approached the city.

“Yeah! It was a lot more fun than I expected,” Wyatt nodded. “I thought I was gonna win, and then I thought I was going to lose with that whole dodge thing, and then I won! Can you believe it? Maybe I’m a natural?”

“Or maybe that was his first battle too?” Marcel suggested with a smirk.

“Still! I did pretty good, you have to admit!”

“You did~ You even made it look fun,” Marcel said.

“It was! You should try it sometime!” 

They chatted until they got to the PokeCenter, several hours later than they planned.