Pokemon in party: Fennekin
A dark haired girl pinwheeled her arms wildly as she careened around a turn, desperate to both maintain her balance and avoid crashing into people, objects, or the obnoxious hedges around her.
Her attempt was in vain, however, as the wheels fitted over her high-topped sneakers skidded over uneven dirt paths into the shins of another person.
Mary’s hat fell over her eyes, the sunglasses that had been perched fashionably over the brim clattered to the ground, her hand met sharp pebbles as it attempted to cushion her impact, and worst of all, her thigh-highs met the sharp edge of a twig and tore.
"I’m so sorry," she blurted, shoving her hat back into place and shifting so that her weight was no longer on her injured hand. "These roller skates-I just got them from somebody in Santalune and I haven’t quite figured out how-"
"Then perhaps," one of the people she crashed into-and she was more than surprised to find that she had crashed into more than one person-hissed at her, "you should consider not wearing them."
Mary wasn’t sure what to say. An embarrassed flush crept up her cheeks. “S-sorry, I-“
"Don’t apologize to him," the second person said, brushing off his clothing as he righted himself. "He’ll just get used to it and expect it all the time." The second boy seemed much nicer, much more approachable. His mouth curved into an understanding smile and his ginger hair seemed windswept, even underneath the cap emblazoned with the pokeball symbol he wore.
The second boy stood, a glare on his face as he straightened his black and yellow jacket. He made the rare decision to forego a hat. It suited him. Mary couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a scowly person wearing a hat.
The first boy extended his hand, and Mary realized she had been staring at them while sprawled out on the ground. She shoved her thick, dark hair into place, checking to make sure it was still held together at the bottom with her hair elastic, and took the offered hand. “Thanks,” she mumbled, leaning on him as she had to put her weight on the roller skates again, “My name’s Mary.”
"I’m Colin," the ginger boy said, letting her hand go when he was sure she was properly balanced. "And that’s Damian."
Mary bent to pick up her bag, the meager contents of which (a few potions, some pokeballs, a berry she’d found on the ground, a TM given to her by the gym leader she’d just beaten) had spilled onto the ground at her feet. One pokeball rocked on its own, then in a burst of red light split open.
"Oh, Ruby," she murmured, feeling slightly embarrassed. The two boys seemed like they knew more about pokemon than she did, and her Fennekin bursting out of its ball unsummoned must be a sign of a weak trainer. She pet the fox pokemon on the head anyway, earning a happy yip. Shoving the contents of her bag back inside, Mary swung it over her shoulder and stood, wobbling a little on her skates. "This is my Fennekin, Ruby. I got her from the pokemon professor, Professor Sycamore," she explained.
Colin’s mouth quirked up on one side and Damian sighed and rolled his eyes. “We know what the pokemon is, where you got it, and from whom you got it.” Damian snatched a pokeball off his belt and released the pokemon inside. “My Froakie,” he told her, gesturing to the blue frog pokemon.
"I’ve got one, too," Colin offered, an apologetic smile on his face. He took a pokeball off his own belt, clicked the middle button, and threw it to the ground. "Meet my Chespin."
"Oh." Mary couldn’t help but feel a little deflated. She thought she was given a rare opportunity. Professor Sycamore handing her a pokemon of her own along with a pokedex seemed like a special task. She wasn’t expecting it to be utterly common. "Then I guess you both have-" She finished her sentence by reaching into her bag for her pokedex.
Mercilessly, Damian and Colin reached into their bags and brandished identical devices.
"Great," Mary sighed. When Damian raised an eyebrow at her, she forced optimism into her tone. "The more the merrier."
"I don’t know what you mean by that," Damian snapped. "We aren’t looking to add a clumsy, incompetent fool such as yourself to our-"
"Damian," Colin interrupted patiently. "Hey, Mary, are you in good shape for a pokemon battle?"
"A pokemon battle?" She echoed, a smile creeping onto her face even after Damian’s harsh words. "Are you sure? Your Chespin’s weak to my Ruby."
"My Chespin’s called Chester," he explained, and he reached down to his belt, which Mary noticed had another pokeball on it. "And, if you don’t mind, I think I’d like to use my Litleo." The pokeball cracked like an egg and from it emerged a Litleo, which shook its head and sniffed at Ruby curiously.
"Oh, it’s so cute!" Mary gasped, and she stooped to pet it.
"He’s called Simba," Colin told her proudly.
"Are you going to battle or what?" Damian demanded impatiently. "I don’t have time to stand here all day and listen to the two of you babble about your ridiculous nicknames for your pokemon."
"You didn’t nickname your Froakie?" Mary asked, giving Simba a last pat on the head before standing fully.
"What about your other pokemon?"
Damian pulled down his black and yellow jacket so that it covered his pokeball belt. “That’s none of your business.”
"Okay," she relented. She was about to apologize but remembered what Colin had said, so instead she opted for a simple, "Whatever. Anyway, Colin, I’d love to battle you! Just to warn you, though, I’ve only just started to learn about pokemon, so I might not be much of a challenge."
"Nonsense. I’m no expert, either."
"For the love of-" Damian muttered, and then he mumbled something in a strange language Mary didn’t recognize. "That’s quite enough flirting, Wilkes."
"I am not flirting," Colin said, frowning. "I’m making a friend. Something I understand you have absolutely no experience with."
"Just make it quick," Damian commanded, crossing his arms.
It was quick. Ruby fainted after four turns, although she did put up a good fight. Colin, to Damian’s annoyance, offered to escort her to the Poke Center so that she didn’t run into any trouble from wild pokemon or trainers.
"Thanks," she said, slightly embarrassed. Between Colin being so nice and Damian watching with a sort of cruel satisfaction, she wasn’t sure how she should react to them both. "What’s closer? Lumiose or Santalune?"
Colin shrugged. “They’re both about the same distance away from here.”
"Just drop her off at Santalune," Damian, who Mary had begun to ignore, groaned.
"Well…" Nervously, she dropped her hands to play with the hem of her skirt. "Look, I don’t want to bother you, but I kind of ripped my socks when I fell and the store in Santalune only sells hats."
Damian laughed. Mary glanced at Colin for help, but he only shrugged in response.
"You wouldn’t be able to get in the shop at Lumiose," he explained, grinning in a malicious way. "That shop’s so pretentious it only lets in people they deem fashionable enough."
"Why wouldn’t I be able to get in? I look fine in this," she said, her voice rising defensively.
"Sure," Damian answered, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I think there’s a small specialty shop in Aquacorde you can go to get a fresh pair of socks. Try that."
"But if I go all the way back to Aquacorde, I might as well go home."
"Don’t tell me you live in Vaniville. No wonder you’re horrible at battling."
"Maybe you’re better fit for becoming a Nurse Joy. Maybe wait a few years and become a Ranger," he suggested, his eyes half lidded as though she were boring him with her very presence. "The two of us are going to go up against the Elite Four. We’ll be answering your fan mail in a couple of months."
"I do not write- You’re just-" Any printable insult had vacated her mind, so instead of completing her sentence, she made an annoyed growling sound and whirled away from him so quickly that her sunglasses almost flew off her hat again.
"It was nice meeting you, Colin," she said in the sweetest voice she could muster. "Thanks for offering to take me back to Santalune, but I think I’ll be okay from here."
"I’m sorry about him," he apologized sheepishly. "It’s not the best first impression, I know, but maybe I could get your Holo-Caster ID?"
She’d been warned by her father about talking to strangers, especially boys, but Colin seemed so nice. Biting her lip as she deliberated, she glanced down at her pokeball. She shouldn’t let people antagonize her, but Damian’s words affected her more deeply than she would admit. A strong desire to prove him wrong burned in her chest, and maybe by keeping in touch with Colin she’d be able to rub her soon-to-be success in his face.
"Okay," she agreed breathlessly. "Fine. I’m going to head back to Santalune to fix my socks, but maybe I’ll see you around sometime?"
Damian made an unattractive sound in the back of his throat.
"Of course," Colin said. "We’ll be in Lumiose until about tomorrow, I think, but then we’re heading off. Catch up to us. I’m sure you’ll find that Damian isn’t very hard to find in the city."
"He’s not?" Mary glanced from Colin to Damian, sure she was missing something. "Why?"
Damian grabbed Colin’s arm and pulled him toward the gate to Lumiose. “Move it, Wilkes,” he growled to his friend.
Mary couldn’t decide whether or not she was hoping that would be the last time she met them. Making sure that her skates were secure around her shoes, she gripped Ruby’s pokeball in a comforting gesture and she took off for Santalune’s Poke Center.
I don’t know what I’m doing. At all. This is just for fun. And actually it’s too much fun, even though this was a super shitty chapter/drabble thing.
I think I’ll do more! I’ll only post here, because like I said, this isn’t very good writing, haha. And I’m mostly posting because I know it’ll amuse Bubblez.
Any suggestions for teams for the three of them? I know I want to give Damian a Honedge and Colin a Sylveon, and I sort of wanna give Dami an Umbreon and Mar’i an Espeon, but other than that I have no idea. Maybe Damian should have a Fletchling? It’s hard to decide!
(Until I get real internet and can organize these on my Drabbles page, I’ll tag these “pokebat”, okay? Along with my usual “kev writes fanfiction” tag. I so don’t want this in the Mar’i or Dami or Colin tags so I’m not tagging very thoroughly here.)
