Another night in another unfamiliar place left Owen restless, he hardly ever traveled abroad, and when he did, it was something he’d been looking forward to. Even then, it was still hard to get sleep in a hotel with kids overhead or trains passing through the night, the loud rumble on the tracks enough to wake most people up.
The room in the castle had been better than all of that, its surprisingly modern accommodations betrayed the historic-looking front. After getting ready for the day, the trio had walked down the hall to an open kitchen to meet a disheveled Korrina sitting half-awake in front of a mess of finished plates with her Pokémon.
She motioned for them to have whatever they wanted, as Owen realized they were going to have to make it. Korrina left while he was in the middle of preparing, and the trio had stuffed their faces full of content.
She would return after they had finished, looking more like the person they had met yesterday, and not the zombified mess from moments prior. After putting everything away, they all set out towards Lumiose City.
“It’d be nice not to have to go through the desert, so we’re going to go south of it along the river.” Korrina proclaimed their travel plans to Owen.
“Alright, and you’re sure this isn’t a bother?” He asked her, still unsure about receiving such generous treatment from someone viewed as a local official.
“In a way, it’s part of my job, I told you that. Besides, Gramps is always happy to man the gym for a while when I go out, and I wanted to see the gym leader in Lumiose City anyway!” She gave a confident smile back, if she was put out, she sure was good at hiding it. Lucario mimicked her bravado to Fennekin, who was more amused by the fact that her scarf had been wiping away her own footprints behind her.
Umbreon ran in front of them, looking back every few seconds to keep in line. He didn’t know where they were going, he just seemed like he wanted to be upfront. After a few minutes, the happy moonlight Pokémon ended up kicking sand up all over the place, before finally stopping to take care of business, causing everyone to wait for him.
The stone walls of the gatehouse that kept the city divided from the surrounding forest were considerably more imposing than Owen thought they were in the games. What was even more shocking to him was the fact that there were multiple people staffing it, one of the rangers from the previous day was standing alongside a uniformed officer with a Furfrou by her side. They greeted the leader, and Owen in turn before Korrina handed something off to the officer.
The Furfrou came over towards Umbreon, sniffing the air along the way, before it finally reached his face. Upon further inspection, it snubbed its nose up in the air and walked away as if it had been insulted. Fennekin simply looked at Lucario as they shared an exasperated sigh.
Not long after making it through the checkpoint, they arrived at the river’s edge on the far end of a beach that must have led out to the ocean. It led into a small grassy coastline, which was all that kept the river from being sandwiched between a dense forest to the north and the imposing mountains to the south. A dirt path had been worn down the center of the coast, barely a person’s width across.
“We’re going through there?” Owen asked. He still wasn’t sure why almost no one used any vehicles here, yet. Yet another thing he missed from home, but at least it was an excuse to stay in shape.
“Well, yeah, how else are we going to get to Lumiose City in a few days?” Korrina responded as if she had done this a hundred times before. “Lucario will keep us safe, he even knows what’s around us if he concentrates. I won’t let you get hurt again, okay?” The aura Pokémon nodded as Owen turned his way, before closing his eyes. The black bits below his ears started hovering for a moment, before returning to their resting state.
“See? Nothing will catch us by surprise!” She said with a confident laugh. The blue jackal waited until both of them had turned around to give a small sigh of relief. Something had been bothering him, and only Fennekin noticed his small gesture as she had been watching from behind.
“Alright, yeah let’s do this.” He responded, feeling more confident in reminder that he wasn’t just traveling with anyone, but someone who was trusted even more so than a mayor from where he was from.
While they were talking, Umbreon decided to fall over onto Owen’s feet. With a sigh, Owen bent over to pick his companion up, like the previous day.
“I swear you’re getting heavier.” He blurted out loud, as they resumed their trek.
“You could just return him if he’s tired, you know,” Korrina stated bluntly.
Owen hadn’t thought of that since the nurse suggested it the other day. He reached for the pocket on the side of the new bag he’d been given and met one of the only two balls stowed away. He thought it oddly convenient that it had been an ultra-ball, sharing the color scheme of the Pokémon it was supposed to be home to.
“Alright, buddy, why don’t you try to rest in here, then?” He said as the ball grew in his hand. The feeling should have been alien to him, yet it had somehow felt reflexive. A red light enveloped the lazy creature in his arms, as its weight simply disappeared from Owen’s arms. He held onto the ball and stared at it for a few moments. He didn’t know why, but it gave him a dreadful sense of unease seeing the Pokémon disappear like that.
At the same moment, Lucario felt as if a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. Suddenly the world was less fuzzy to him.
The winding path took them upstream, treating them to a colorful array of lilies and multicolored grass sprouting up from the bottom of the river. A small party of blue frogs were throwing little bubbles at each other, and seemingly laughing. Fennekin eyed them with hesitation, preferring to look elsewhere while they played their game. Owen’s spirits however were lifted, seeing yet another Pokémon brought to life before his eyes for the first time.
The sun was now high in the center of the sky above, and Owen found his new clothes starting to stick in the heat.
Maybe long sleeves weren’t the best idea.
He looked over to see his escort not in the least bit phased, she seemed to be enjoying what to her must be a leisurely stroll. And her Pokémon showed no signs of slowing down, either.
Fennekin on the other hand, was not nearly so used to a marathon, as much as she was a sprinter. Owen felt a bump into the back of his leg, and as he turned around, she put both of her little front paws on his pants legs, a sign that he was able to interpret well enough that the fox was ready for a break. He almost immediately regretted his decision to hold her when he started to feel even warmer with the fire type in his hands but decided to shrug it off. She wasn’t nearly as heavy as Umbreon, and for that he was thankful.
The river curved out from the base of the mountains, finally making way for an expanding field of waving tall grass. The wind coming from the break in the mountains to the south was a much welcome break from the sun reflecting off of the bright brown mountainside.
“Why don’t we stop here? It’s a pretty nice place for lunch!” Korrina proposed, before taking off her own pack. She let out another Pokémon of her own, a purple-looking weasel. That must be Mienshao, he thought.
Owen sighed in relief but was promptly interrupted by an explosion of blue light from his side. Umbreon had let itself out somehow and jumped to tackle him down to the ground where it brushed its head against his own.
“Well, looks like somebody’s all better now.” The gym leader chuckled at the sight of the two of them. Fennekin was less amused, having fallen upside down onto the grass, before biting into Owen’s sleeve. He barely noticed it, if it weren’t for his arm being slightly heavier to raise. He gave her a reassuring pat before they all set up ready for some lunch.
Owen laid out the familiar blue blanket, one of the few keepsakes he had from home, much to Umbreon’s delight. The black cat Pokémon immediately started kneading into the blanket, purring all the while. Owen smiled as he began to space out looking at the wholesome sight.
What if… no, he was at home? Just strange, the little guy acts all the same.
“Hey, Earth to Owen, you gonna eat or what?” Korrina drove him out of his funk before passing a sandwich in front of his face.
“You’ve done that before, Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked, with a mouth full.
“Do what?” He asked, unwrapping his own lunch.
“Alright, you know what? After lunch, we should have a practice battle. You get to have some one-on-one coaching from a gym leader!” She spouted, confidently after almost choking down her food.
“And, no matter what happens, you’ll have to sign my book, too.” Korrina added.
“Your book?” he asked, wondering what he was getting into this time.
“Right here, I have everyone I battle leave their mark somehow. This is the second one, though. The first one is at home since it’s all filled up.” She pulled a rather large and messy book from her backpack. Owen squinted a little bit when he saw what looked like crumbs falling out of it as she pulled it over.
Fennekin and Umbreon devoured what food had been handed their way, a stark contrast to Lucario and Mienshao who ate dignified with their legs crossed, seemingly to appreciate every chew mindfully.
Shortly after, Lucario sprang up to attention, his gaze fixated on the sky to the south, which caught the attention of everyone present, save for Umbreon. A blue and red blur raced across the sky, and was gone before they could blink.
“Wow, I think that was Salamence!” Korrina proclaimed to Owen’s surprise.
“You could make that out while it was going that fast?” He asked in awe.
“Well, not really, but there’s one that likes to hang around the center near here. So that must be it.”
So there are more things here…just like this route, too. It’s small, but it definitely wasn’t there in those old games. Hang on a second, why does everyone here speak English? Shouldn’t it be French?” With that, he’d had enough wondering about the world again. It already didn’t make sense, and Owen didn’t need it to make less sense.
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“Well, enough about that, I think you’re ready to work off a little bit of lunch, aren’t you?” She posited about man and Pokémon. Owen got to his feet, and Umbreon walked alongside him.
“I’ll pick Mienshao here, and we’ll give you the first move! Lucario, how about you ref for us, just in case?” The purple weasel fluttered its long arm-like things out before assuming its stance.
Owen’s anxiety rose as he stared the gym leader down. He was unsure what to tell Umbreon, not knowing any of its moves. He hadn’t known if they were supposed to take turns or if it would be more like the anime, and kind of hoped it would be the latter.
“You ready for a bit of practice, bud?” He asked as he looked down to have 2 red eyes greet him curiously. Fennekin began to fidget behind the pair, eyeing Umbreon intently.
Lucario took his place off to the side and held his arms up in the air. He looked toward both sides, before shouting as he brought them down.
What do I do? Dark moves aren’t going to work very well, oh what else would an Umbreon have? Right, that’s it!
“Use confuse ray!” He ordered his Pokémon, who started to walk forward.
“Don’t look at it, Mienshao!” The purple Pokémon put its arms in front of its eyes, as it waited for the eventual flash, only for none to come. Umbreon darted over to Mienshao at a brisk pace.
“Mienshao, use detect” She ordered, but again, Mienshao found no such strike coming its way. Umbreon had stopped short and was now sniffing its opponent. Mienshao yipped at it, only to receive a playful nuzzle.
“Huh, it looks like he really doesn’t want to battle right now.” Korrina stated with a bit of confusion. Fennekin had enough of watching this and ran up to his side.
“Fennekin, kin! Ki nenefe.” She spouted at the black cat before pushing her head into his side, guiding him away from their sparring opponent. Fennekin yapped at Umbreon once more, and he eventually lost interest and began grooming himself on the blanket once more.
“Fennek nik!” She had jumped in front of Owen, eyes glinting with passion. The little fox was ready to go in Umbreon’s stead. That much was easy for him to decipher.
“I guess not. It alright with you if Fennekin fights instead?” Owen asked Korrina.
“Fine by us, but I’m really surprised, you know? You haven’t even captured her, but she’s willing to fight for you. That’s pretty rare. I knew you were someone trustworthy.” She said with a giggle.
“Alright, let’s reset the battle, then!” She shouted. A mere moment later, Lucario repeated the same gestures, and they were ready to go.
“Let’s get started with Flame Charge!” He commanded.
The yellow fox lept into action, coated in a red and orange glow. She took off like a rocket, aimed right for their opponent, who stood still as a statue. It was going to be a direct hit! Yet the moment it looked like Fennekin would connect, Mienshao had disappeared. It reappeared in another blink of an eye, exactly where it had been standing.
The purple Pokémon turned to face Fennekin, and waved its arms at her, in taunt.
Damn, okay I wonder if she knows anything else yet.
“How about, ember this time!” He proposed. Their opponent still hadn’t readied an attack, but it was most definitely studying the fox’s every move.
Fennekin’s ears lit up bright, causing even the air to shimmer as she charged two twin fireballs.
“Alright, use detect again, Mienshao!” Korrina ordered.
The twin orbs set off one after another, making contact with Mienshao, or so it seemed. A cloud of smoke petered out from where they impacted, revealing their intended target standing exactly the same as it had been.
“We’re returning fire now, Owen, so get ready!”
“Use swift!”
Shoot, if that works like I think it does, we…wait that could work!
“Put up a light screen!” He asked of Fennekin, who apparently knew what that was, as she stood her ground, growling in concentration. A large mirrored surface started to materialize out of nothing in front of the fox Pokémon, blocking most of the flying yellow stars, but shattering almost as quickly as it came. A solitary projectile sent Fennekin tumbling backwards, before she got back up, ready for more.
“Not bad! But are you sure you’re ready to use that move?”
I thought it was supposed to last longer, but I guess Fennekin really doesn’t start using psychic powers until they evolve.
Fennekin proudly slapped one of her little yellow nubs against her chest, happy with how much she had done so far.
“Alright, well, then you’re ready for more!” Korrina exclaimed as Mienshao resumed its calm stance.
“Force Palm!”
Their opponent started to run forward, as Fennekin hunkered down, ready to react.
“Jump up, and use Fire Spin!” Owen commanded. The little fox tried to deliver on the request, flames starting to materialize on her sides. Her lofty jump nearly cleared the incoming attack, before a sharp pain hit her hind leg, sending her spiraling backward towards Owen. The little embers dissipated in the wind as Owen caught the little fox, as he too got sent flat on his ass. The little yellow Pokémon looked up at him and sighed before pressing its head into his chest.
Lucario looked over to Korrina and nodded in her direction.
“Alright, that’s probably good enough for now.” She admitted, on her way over to the two of them.
“Here, why don’t you have this?” She offered up a little purple spray bottle to the tiny fox, spritzing a little in the air above its leg. Fennekin winced, before melting into Owen’s arms for a moment. She turned around and gave her signature pose of confidence once again to the gym leader, presumably this time as thanks.
“Really makes you wonder though. She didn’t hesitate at all to follow your orders. She almost dodged our serious attack too!” Korrina smiled as she looked down at Fennekin, only for them to be interrupted by Lucario. He pointed in the direction of where Umbreon had been, frantically.
The black and gold Pokémon was nowhere to be found. Fennekin was the first to jump away from the group, darting off in a straight line.
She must have got his scent. I guess? No time to think about that, just move! Owen thought. He hadn’t known it long, but the idea of losing this Pokémon made him unreasonably upset. He kept up with Fennekin as best he could, but the little fox was considerably faster than him, zooming farther out of sight toward the trees. Korrina caught up to him, as Lucario passed them both to join Fennekin’s pursuit.
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“Help me!!!!!!” A stranger’s voice screamed out in terror in the distance. Fennekin forced her little nubs to carry her faster towards the source of the sound, while she heard another grunting noise come up from behind.
“I can see them over there!” Lucario proclaimed to the little fox.
“Just please take it easy on him, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, I swear.” Fennekin pleaded with the larger Pokémon, who grunted in return.
The two came across the sight of a small bird pinned to the ground, as the familiar black Pokémon adorned with golden rings had been playfully batting at it, all the while spouting words like utter nonsense.
“Bad, bad!” Umbreon repeated cheerfully before the rustling caught its attention.
“Yes that is very bad, now STOP IT RIGHT NOW!” Fennekin shouted as she darted the rest of the way over. The orange and grey bird had already broken free during the lapse in their companion’s concentration, to which Lucario made his way over.
“When I say bad that means DON’T DO IT!” Fennekin shouted at Umbreon, who was shuffling backward, visibly upset by the verbal lashing he was receiving.
“You…you know that thing?” The bird asked the jackal Pokémon, who hesitantly nodded.
“He tried to eat me!”
“Clearly he was unsuccessful.” Lucario shrugged, as he looked the little bird over.
“You appear unharmed, however stressed you may be.” He stated matter of fact.
“Well, I never!” The fletchling flapped off in a huff, looking back multiple times as he disappeared into the trees.
“How was it?” Fennekin looked over to Lucario, fearing what might have happened.
“He was fine. Knowing what this one’s capable of, there's no way that guy would have been able to fly away if your friend had used any moves on it.” Lucario looked over at the dejected black cat.
Lucario felt a light sting in the back of his neck, not from any attack, but a strong intent coming from the top of the mountains, which prompted him to turn his gaze upwards immediately.
The humans arrived at this time, to notice the Pokémon were all staring up at something white on the ridge above. Lucario and the white Pokémon stared each other down for a moment before it plodded forward. Two blue lights materialized on either side of Lucario, forming bone shapes in either of his hands.
The white Pokémon halted its advance momentarily, before jumping down to a lower rock. Again, and again, until it was meeting them eye to eye.
The Pokémon had a dark grey face, with a solitary horn protruding from one side. Fennekin had never seen this Pokémon before, and it sure looked scary to her. Umbreon had shaken off its earlier hesitance, to stare down the newcomer, their red eyes locking each other in an intense showdown.
Oh, I hope this isn’t going to be another fight, this guy looks like bad news. The fox thought to herself.
The newcomer had approached Umbreon, face to face now until Umbreon broke their staring contest to sniff the white Pokémon’s backside. Fennekin’s head sunk abruptly as she wondered when this bad habit was going to end, only to return her gaze to find the white Pokémon repeating the gesture to Umbreon!
“Great, now we have two freaks.” She blurted out loud, to the first laugh she’d heard from Lucario so far. He was apparently amused by the fact that this intruder, whom he’d pegged as hostile was acting like nothing more than a curious child as well.
She looked over to see the humans cautiously watching the whole situation. The longer she watched, the more their expressions seemed to change to amusement, as they approached. Apparently, this white Pokémon was called Absol, they said. This Absol had even started grooming Umbreon now, who was happy to receive the attention.
“Hey, aren’t you going to say hello, or are you just as dense as he is?” Fennekin asked, almost immediately regretting her decision as the Pokémon came over to her, staring straight down. She was beginning to reconsider if this Pokémon was actually friendly.
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to provoke it. That was a really menacing stare. She thought.
After a few more intense seconds, the large white Pokémon pressed its head against hers as well. This was the second time this week an unwanted tongue had met her head, and she’d have protested if it weren’t for the lingering fear of the Pokémon in front of her. Umbreon had at least come from a pokéball, so at the time she assumed he was better behaved, but this thing? She had no idea what it was going to do.
Resigned to her fate, she let the grooming continue as the humans spouted nonsense about how cute it was, or how strange this Pokémon was being so friendly. That’s when she felt a light tug.
Her scarf was coming undone! With that, the white Pokémon had darted off, leaving them all dumbfounded momentarily.
Lucario was the first to shake off his surprise, followed by Umbreon. They both took off towards the fleeing Absol, all the while Umbreon spouted his favorite word at the thief. Their short chase led them to the edge of the river, which Absol had cleanly jumped in one singular motion.
Lucario thought about it but was unsure of even his own ability to make such a jump, as Fennekin arrived behind them, humans in tow.
She watched as Umbreon began to glow, wiggle its raised rear end, and jump high up into the air! She had forgotten that above anything else, he was still a great battler.
Yet, for all its height, the jump lacked in distance and as a splash was heard, the black mass of fur sank under the water.
“Oh no, I don’t think he can swim!” She shouted at Lucario, who gasped before deciding to jump in after it.
Fennekin looked up at the humans who seemed like they wanted to go in after it but hesitated.
Could they not swim either? She pondered. Must be all that fake fur they put on.
The surface of the water shook, erupting a shape much larger than she had been expecting! Two long necks started poking their way out, belonging to some kind of blue Pokémon. As it continued to surface, she could see a grey shell on its back. Lucario had been the one she’d been staring at, and Umbreon was on the other.
Both of them had been panting for air on top of the grey shells, but they looked okay.
The two surprisingly large Pokémon came over to the water’s edge, looking over at the humans.
“Hello, little ones, are you lost?” The larger of the two asked in a most soothing voice, one that felt as if it were singing a gentle lullaby.
“Not really, but we’ve been walking for a long time!” Fennekin blurted out.
“Then, why don’t you come on all the same, if you’re heading inland.” The other spoke in a deeper voice, one that still made her feel comfortable before the thought hit her. Her scarf! It was gone! It was really gone! Her favorite gift that she had treasured for years, was now lost to a silent, unassuming thief.
Fennekin marched on up towards the grey shell, before slumping down to close her eyes. She heard the humans say some things she didn’t really care to listen to right now. She felt movement behind her, along with a now familiar scent, that did little to comfort her. A hand reached out to pat her side, as the little fox tried to hold in a small gasp.
“Bruuhh” Verbal nonsense came from the other side in the form of a grunt, followed by the rhythmic purring of the fuzzy body that rested against her own.
Fennekin tried to hold back her tears, to no avail as they drifted down the gentle stream on the backs of watery giants.