Putting the Pieces Together

9: Anticipation

The journey to Lumiose would have been quite fun if Rose could think about something other then their mission. There were many trainers around, but the gang jumped into a bush or something else every time one came. It made no sense to Rose and her arm was hurting from how much it was being grabbed.
"Ow... Why do you keep on doing that?" Rose rubbed her arm as her and everyone else sat behind a hedge.
"We don't want to battle anyone," Shauna whispered. Apparently you couldn't be heard or seen. Wasn't the rule everytime a trainer sees you, you battle?
"Why? Besides I can't battle them since I don't have a pokemon," Rose whispered back.
"It's too much of a hassle, and some of them cry when they lose," Serena joined in. That sounded a bit harsh. Rose looked at the boys and they shrugged.
"What about me then?" She demanded. Calem put his hand over Rose's mouth. She glared at it.
"There are a couple reasons why you shouldn't; some trainers talk a lot, and we wouldn't be able to keep up with you," Calem explained as he took his hand slowly off Rose's mouth. She opened her mouth to argue, but hand went back on. She pouted and crossed her arms. Guess there was no point in arguing then.
They all stood up after checking if anyone was around, and weaved their way through the hedges towards Lumiose City. It felt like quite a long journey when you couldn't see above your head. It was quite a shame that Rose was missing the scenery in her opinion.
At a small break in the bushes, everyone was out in the open. And a man was looking right at them. Rose stretched out and brushed all the leaves off her. This would be fun. The others glared at her as they reluctantly stood up.
"Come on guys! I haven't ever seen a real battle up close," she tried to persuade them. The gang hung their shoulders in defeat knowing they would have to battle the man. Trevor stayed looking at Rose though with a curious expression. He murmured something and snapped his attention back to the situation. The man smiled at them.
"So who wants to battle me?" He asked. The gang looked at each other. They discussed something quickly and Serena stood up front.
"It depends on how strong you are. We go from left to right, weakest to strongest," She explained. Rose looked at the line. From left to right, the line went: Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, Serena, and Calem. Interesting to know.
"I guess I'll start off easiest then!" The man shouted. He threw his first pokeball of three into the air. A ralts came out of the pokeball ready to battle. Rose clapped giddy with excitement. The others sat on the ground bored. She guessed they were used to this after being on a journey and battling so much.
There was a little bit of struggle for Shauna's pokemon, but she won in the end. She stood on the route with her second pokemon, quiladin jumping up and down. The others were cheering along with her. The thrill of battling never left someone after all.
The man handed over his prize money and walked off to Santalune City to heal his pokemon. The gang turned the corner and stopped. The gate to Lumiose was rift in front of them. Shauna grabbed Trevor and Serena's hand while Tierno grabbed Rose and Calem's. They ran through the gate.
Rose shielded her eyes from all the light being reflected off the buildings. This was crazy. She watched all the people walking around and looked at all the tiny shops. One of her friends grabbed her hand and dragged her somewhere inside.
Rose blinked her eyes at the change in lighting. She looked at the hand she was holding, and traced it to it's owner. Calem dropped her hand immediately as he saw her looking. A slight tint of pink was left on his cheeks. Rose giggled at him and looked at her surroundings. They were all in a cafe.
"We wanted to get something to eat before we went to the Sycamore Pokemon Lab," Shauna told her. Rose stiffly nodded and sat down at a table with Serena and Trevor. Shauna ordered a bunch of small sandwiches and sat at the table with everyone else. She smiled brightly.
"So which pokemon are you gonna choose?" Shauna asked Rose. Hmm. What was she going to choose?
"I don't really know..." She trailed off. Shauna gasped.
"Well the. You have to choose Chespin, the grass starter!" She cheered. Serena and Calem looked extremely offended at this comment.
"No way! Who wouldn't pick Fennekin? It's even a fire type!" Serena argued. Calem laughed at her ignorance.
"Froakie is obviously the best. You guys would have picked him if I didn't get first choice when we got our starters," he said. Shauna and Serena didn't look happy at that.
"As if!" They countered. Both if them frowned and looked at the floor. Rose looked at the employees and other customers glaring at them, and she busted out laughing. Tierno and Trevor joined in right along with her. The annoyed three looked miffed at their reaction.
"I'm going to choose which one I get along with guys," she choked out through her laughter. She looked at the three and they nodded more than a bit embarrassed. The sandwiches were delivered to their table, and everyone dug in. Not before a murmur about their starter being the best of course.
Everyone ran out of the cafe after finishing lunch. They payed first though. All of their skates were snapped on and they headed east. Everyone tried to do fancy tricks and go the fastest as they rolled down the street. Rose grinned as she felt the wind through her hair. She never felt more free than in the moments like this.
Serena grabbed Rose's hand and lifted them up. Trevor ducked and went under their outstretched arms. Shauna and Calem followed suit and Tierno circled around them all. Rose let go of Serena's hand and turned to weave through the trees. Little squeaking noises were heard from behind her and Rose turned around. Calem was swerving slowly back in forth. His whole body was moving in time. It actually looked kinda funny.
Rose fell behind the others and copied the move Calem was doing.
"This is so great!" She shouted over the wind. He smiled at her enthusiasm.
"I know right?! It's always like this when your with these guys! You never stop moving!" Calem yelled back. He broke from his little swivel move and sped ahead.
Rose did the same and ended up crashing into him. She sat on the ground and rubbed her head. What was that for? She looked at the gang with wide grins on their face looking at something. Rose followed the gazes and saw the Sycamore Pokemon Lab.