"No!" Shauna ran away from a grunt chasing her. I sweat dropped when this happened "leave me alone!"
"Shauna!" Trevor and Tierno ran after them
"I wonder what happened..." I looked up at the Pokéball factory we were in front of and where they came from "they came from that factory. Want to check it out?" Calem asked
"Yes"
"You... decided you wanted to put your mind on them, huh?" I nodded
"Yeah, because I know Serena is fine"
"How do you know that for sure? What do you know that I don't?" I walked up to the building, feeling my sister's aura in here. We walked in to see a female grunt standing guard before noticing us
"Seriously..? He can't even do guard duty?" She muttered to herself and faced us "so sorry, but we're not offering tours right now-"
"What? You were going to give us a tour?" Calem said "with a job like this... was it going to pay for your ugly Team Flare suit?" I choked when he said that and covered my mouth
"what!? How dare you mock Team Flare!" He looked at me
"I'll take care of this one, you go and try to handle the rest. I'll be helping out" I nodded and looked down at Eevee on my feet and Pichu sleeping in my bag and ran off to battle a few grunts trying to steal some Pokéballs. Thanks to Eevee, many of them were forced to leave
"At least they're using Pokéballs instead of taking them" referencing to what Ciro did. I shook it off, trying not to think too much about the memories of my dream I had to see "let's hurry up and get this over with. I haven't seen my sister in a long while" Eevee nodded and followed me to the other side of the building where all the offices were and walking into the one that was wide open: note that the side sign said President
"Come now. Work for Team Flare! If you would just help out, we wouldn't have to carry all these Pokéballs by ourselves" three female grunts in red dresses, may be scientists, and Serena sitting on a counter with a lollipop in her mouth, were in the office, trying to talk some sense to the old guy. When I walked in, Serena was first to noticed and smiled happily
"Or, with a contrition just 5 million Pokédollars you could become a member of team Flare!" A scientist told the old man. I looked at Serena for the stupid thing I just heard. She removed her glasses and rolled her eyes, agreeing with me
"What in the world are you Team Flare fools thinking!?" The man glared "I'll never forgive any group that tries to take all the Pokéballs to itself" Serena put her glasses back on and crossed her legs, nodding at me. I nodded to her and lifted Pichu in the air. It instantly woke up and jumped on the floor, letting out a battle cry
"Spark!" I yelled. Pichu cheered and shocked the scientist and even the old man. I sweat dropped, knowing it used a thunderbolt and hurt itself "uh..." Eevee went to pick it up and bring it to my feet, taking its place
"What the hell!?" The scientist with the orange hair yelled. Serena giggled and jumped to the old man to talk to him as the grunts are distracted "a intruder?"
"You're one to talk!" The old man glared "young lady! Help me!" I nodded
"Huh... even after she shocked you too? You're going to pay for this, kid" the three women threw out their own Pokémon
"Three against one!? That's cheating!" The old guy yelled out. I smirked, taking this as a opportunity
"It's okay... Z! I choose you!" I threw out its Pokéball and float next to Eevee looking up at it "this is perfect! You two can work together!" They nodded "Z use Tri-attack! Eve use Shadow ball!" My Pokémon threw out their attacks and directly hit them, though wasn't enough to completely faint them
"S-she's strong.." the green haired scientist gasped. Pichu shook off its shock and ran back to the battle area. Looks like it's confident on battling, but I can't guarantee that it'll land correctly
"Pika!" I covered my ears "use Disarming voice!" Pichu shouted loudly, releasing energy and attack from all directions. To prevent the attack from going wrongly, Z levitated Pichu to hit the opponents and knock out their Pokémon
"That's one way to do it" I chuckled "now that you are without your Pokémon, might want to leave"
"You can't tell us what to do!" The red head glared, taking out another Pokéball
"Enough, you pathetic excuse for trainers!" Serena spoke. I raised my brow at her bad acting "we have enough, so stop wasting time and go. I'll take care of her"
"You sure?" The purple haired woman asked. Serena nodded, watching them return their Pokémon and make their way out, glaring at me as they left. I stared ahead, not bothering to put my attention to the low. As soon as we were alone, Serena send out a Delcatty
"Kitty! Guard the door!" It nodded and ran out... when did she get that Pokémon? The president came over to shake my hand
"You saved us! Thank you so much!" Serena jumped over
"Isn't she so cool!? That's my big sister!" She cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. She bowed to the president "I'm sorry for what the gang had put your building too. I promise I'm going to make it up to you" she looked at me "my big sister is going to help me put a stop to these idiots! She's so cool!" I blushed, forgetting how hyped she gets when I'm in the room
"Awe, Serena..." the old man chuckled "I always heard how wonderful your sister is, but I didn't think she was this talented"
"Let me guess... you know each other" I sweat dropped
"This is my manager's dad! So I know him that much!" She faced him "please... don't tell Philip about this. The sake of Kalos is more important to me than my work! I want you to promise me to keep this a secret" she looked down "I made sure those grunts didn't hurt anyone. I will pay you back for letting them do this, I swear. And I know I'm worrying the rest of the region, but this disguise is more important right now" I frowned. He nodded and held her shoulder
"I understand. You don't have to explain yourself to me" she smiled and came over to give me a big hug. I chuckled and pet her head "Kalos is really lucky to have such wonderful twins" I blinked confused
"Is it that obvious?" Serena rubbed the back of her head
"When you're as old as me, you see things more clearly" Serena smiled brightly at me. I pushed a big smile for her "but Philip... he's been so worried about you, and there's a event coming very soon. Your crown will be removed" She looked down
"I'm aware... I've done the ultimate sacrifice. I worked really hard for that crown... for it to be taken away so easily"
"They held it off for you, or so I've heard" I said "I'm sure everyone is starting to think you're not coming back" she nodded
"Believe me... if I wasn't so busy with trying to figure out what Team Flare was doing, I would be practicing my next performance" she sobbed in under a second. It amazes me how fast she can cry "those idiots! You know! It's really hard trying to act hard like you?"
"Like me?" She giggled
"You leave your camera on sometimes, even if you close your laptop, I can hear the crazy stuff you talk about" she laughed out loud "you're quite the girl!" She winked. I blinked a few times, trying to figure out what she mean. I... leave the camera on? "Like you don't know! I always hear that Romeo guy flirt with you!" My face went hot immediately
"Uh..." she hid her hands behind her
"Anyways... I still have work to do, and I'm sorry I can't be around. I'm depending on you furthermore" I nodded "actually... there's something else I think I want to depend on you on" she whispered in my ear for a long while before waving "I'll be depending on you!" She bowed to the man "see you soon! I don't know when but soon!" He smiled and waved "I'll be careful! Bye bye!" I glanced at her leaving
"She is one amazing girl, isn't she?" I lifted B up to my face "what was she depending on you on?"
"None of your business" he chuckled
"Yes yes... Serena always said you were outspoken and hardcore" I looked away "again, I would like to thank you for saving me. In exchange, please take this as a gift" he handed me what look like...
"A master ball?" I took it from his hands. I haven't seen one since walking the black market with Romeo for the first time "you're giving me this?"
"You saved me after all"
"Serena could have done that"
"Take it" I sighed and stored it in B "I wonder what they plan on doing with those Pokéballs they stole..." I bowed and walked out, seeing Calem and the rest down below looking around
"The last grunt just left... but look" Shauna looked around "the Pokéballs are all gone"
"The news lady said this shouldn't effect the sales but still..." Trevor said "at least everything is fine here. What could they possibly want?" I leaned on the edge, thinking hard at what Serena asked me to do. Eevee and Pichu looked at me, wondering what was in my mind
I later decided to finally come back down and walk pass my friends "Sophia? What's wrong?" Shauna asked
"Nothing... I just have to do some things" it became night time already "is there a specific place you're going to stay at?"
"We were thinking to stay at Valerie's place" Tierno said
"Hey, did you know? She's also a fashion designer!" Trevor said. Huh... "she... also has a high chance in winning the next showcase, since she always comes second next to Serena"
"She's a lovely woman and is friends with Serena, and she's letting us stay at her place the whole time we were here and looking for you" Tierno explained. I looked at B again, trying to hide my shaking
"That's sweet. I'll find this place then..." Shauna was going to say something "I will be fine, really. Trust me this time" I walked away "perhaps I'll see you tomorrow, if I feel like it"
"Where are you going?" Calem asked. I bend down to pick up Pichu
"I'm going to train a bit... Pichu helped me a lot with the battle with the scientist of Team Flare, but there's just some things I have to take care of" Pichu looked confused. I nodded to my friends and walked away to explore the city and the market before finding a spot to practice
There were many colorful booths with different things being sold. Such as jewelry, kimonos, shoes, and foods. Eevee and Pichu looked all around in awe, even craving the foods that could be smelled a few booths away. They stayed put, knowing I didn't have time to bring them back or call out to them. They've gotten use to how I am already
I tried passing by when I saw a booth with many different kimonos and colorful capes even. My fingers brushed on the silk, looking at all the many colorful flowers around it. Looking at the beauty of the clothing and knew this was something Serena would wear, I developed a new design in my head
"Well I got that part out the way... I should be able to finish it by next week" I kept looking down at B, knowing it had all the supplies I need "let's get out of here-" my stomach started growling "I'm hungry... agh" I groaned, knowing I just ate. My life energy was being taken from me, so it explains why I've gained a appetite
I decided to grab a few snacks for me and my Pokémon before heading to a wide park where people were clearing out due to the time. I send everyone out and started feeding them. Absol and Lucario were still pretty weak due to the search of when I disappeared. I made sure to take care of them as I sit down and eat quickly after everyone, but my tired children, already ate. I sat on the floor with them and pointed to the middle of the park for my Pokémon to have them go over
"We have to do this for Serena" I said "I hate parties, but what can I do now?"
Serena told me that she wanted me to attend a party that invited many different performers and important people. It's a fundraiser to find her and create more support. They're even going to decide in this one party who is going to be the next queen by having a small showcase for master performers, such as Valerie from what I know
Because I've seen many of Serena's showcases, I was able to get a idea of what I planned for this soon to be show. This is what she requested me to do... she didn't specifically say she wanted me to save her crown, but going to this party will at least save her title for now and put some ease in people's minds. I would do anything for my sister, so doing something like this was something I couldn't brush away. Not only did she say she wanted me to go, but wanted me to dress like her, as in... be her
"Oh Serena" I sighed "you always come up with the most weirdest things" I looked back at my Pokémon ready for my order "Eve! Shadow ball! Fennie! Flamethrower! Both in the air!" They obeyed and threw their attacks in the air, combining it together and created a wide shadowed ball of fire swirls and exploded, expanding sparkles everywhere "huh... that went successfully" I said while staring. Today was only practice to see how things go, and everything went better than expected
I got everything together before getting up to look for a place to sleep. I returned everyone and picked up Pichu to leave "we'll see how things turn out... Today went pretty well, and it won't take long to make the outfit"
Absol chose to stay by my side, since it's late at night and don't want anyone getting near. When walking around a neighborhood full of houses, I spotted Calem staring up at a particular house and standing on the first step.
His Haunter was behind him, floating around and later noticed me, laughing out loud out of nowhere. Calem jumped and nearly falling off the stairs, seeing me approaching them
"S-Sophie!" He gasped
"That's my name, don't ware it out" I looked at the house in front of us "what are you doing here?" He hurried to take my arm "what?"
"Let's get out of here, fast!" The front door of the house opened, letting out a middle aged woman wearing a pants suit. She looked down at us, not saying a thing. Calem took a step back, squeezing my arm and pull me "follow me-!" a stomping came from the house. Out came a Gabite "shit..."
"Gabite, use Dragon Rage!" The Gabite came closer as it build up energy to attack directly at Calem. I lifted my arm calmly as Calem held me close
"Z!" Z floated in front of us and used protect until the Dragon Rage wore off. Calem glared at the woman crossing her arms
"Dammit woman! What's the big idea!? I didn't do anything!"
"How do I know that?! Is that any way to talk to your own mother?!" I blinked confused. Now that I look at her, she seemed like the female version of him. He looks so much like his parents
"I have no mother!" I slowly started remembering what Sycamore told me about Calem and his mom, that he let her disown him for her own protection... "let's get out of here!" He tried pulling on me, but I snapped my arm away "what are you-?"
"First of all, you're making yourself look suspicious here" he looked confused "I was just casually walking by when I saw you staring at this house like a idiot"
"W-well..." I pushed on the back of his knee with my foot and pushed him on the ground "ow!"
"You can't tell me what to do, got it?"
"R-right..." he looked down. I looked up at his mom staring at us wide eyed
"I'm sorry for waking you up" I looked back at Calem "bursting out and saying that was unnecessary. Don't you think you were harsh to your own mother?" I shrugged "I'm asking, I don't really know" I sighed "I get what happened between you two, and it's none of my business, but it's your mom that helped you leave Sinnoh" I pushed his head to the floor with my foot "be more respectful next time, will yah?" I walked away, leaving him there
"I'm sorry..." I heard him say. I ignored him and kept walking. His mom ran down the stairs
"Excuse me!" I looked back at her looking at me "it's really dark out, and two children as young as yourselves shouldn't be out this late" Pichu smiled up at me, thinking that entering her home was a nice idea. I looked at Calem sitting up, looking away "I have room for the both of you! I promise I'm just a simple woman"
"That was random... you're probably just as creepy as Calem" I smiled a little "sure, why not"
"W-what!?" He gasped
"Shut up" I walked to him to offer my hand "I'm with you" he frowned and took my hand, following the woman into the house. He looked behind him, like he wanted to find a way to escape. I squeezed his hand, promising him it was okay. He almost looked nervous to go inside...