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SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME WITH TEAM FLARE!
For the second time, Team Flare is inviting YOU to embark on a grand adventure around the beautiful Kalos region! The Young Blogger Program, immensely successful in its first run two years ago, is back again, offering anyone between the ages of 18 and 22 the chance to work for Team Flare. Follow in the footsteps of our previous winners, the now internationally renowned Alexa Bernard and Valerie Zhang! You will gain valuable experience in many fields and potentially earn express entry into a strong career in one of the company’s many branches. The opportunity to help create a better tomorrow is within your grasp! As before, entrants will be chosen by an essay competition. The theme is A Beautiful World. We at Team Flare eagerly await your entry!
A Beautiful World, by Luka Martin
My name is Luka Martin. I grew up in Orre, and for the first twelve years of my life, I only knew a region ravaged by war and ruled by a malevolent dictator. You couldn’t blame me for finding it hard to see anything beautiful, but for those twelve years, I clung to shards of beauty in my dirty, messy, ugly home.
I first saw Agate Village when I was six years old, and it was the first time I had ever seen a place that was truly beautiful. My father had scrounged up enough money from battles at the Pyrite Colosseum to take my mother and I on a little vacation. As we pounded out the miles in Dad’s car, I watched the vast, unforgiving desert slowly give way to green grass and rolling hills. I was stunned. I had known that it had all existed, but seeing it for myself was life-affirming. My mother heard me giggling to myself in the back seat and turned to face me. I’d never seen her smile wider.
The air was different in Agate. Pyrite choked you. The power stations - that never seemed to supply very much electricity - churned out black smoke regardless, and ragged old cars rumbled through the streets, their exhaust fumes suffocating unfortunate pedestrians. In Agate, I felt like I could really breathe.
Everything about the town seemed friendlier. It had somehow escaped the ravages of war that blighted the rest of the region. Old people walked with their Pokemon, which was strange to me. I flinched when I saw a Mightyena, my mind conjuring images of the brutal police dogs that patrolled Pyrite before I saw the kindly old woman standing behind it. We paid a visit to the shrine to Celebi, a mythical Pokemon that many believed to be the guardian of the town. All of this was novel to six-year-old me. I trusted certain Pokemon - mostly my father’s battling partners - but the ideas of living together with and even worshipping Pokemon made me a bit giddy. It felt like a better way to live. I begged my parents to let me stay in Agate.
I didn’t see it again for six years.
When I was twelve, a Pokemon Trainer named Wes Colton unearthed the secrets behind the terrorist organisation known as Cipher, and their links to Emmanuel Es Cade. The dictator was toppled within weeks, but his downfall left Orre in disarray. He might not have been a very good leader, but at least he had been someone at the reins. The governments of the world seemed reluctant to come to Orre’s aid - we were still a bit of a laughing stock on the world stage - but non-governmental figures had no such qualms. Donations poured in from companies like Silph Co, the Devon Corporation, and Team Flare - companies I’d never heard of because my family could never afford their products.
I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t remember the effect Team Flare had on my life. A memory that’s burned into my mind is watching Lysandra Brodeur on TV, pledging a vast sum of money to the people of Orre. I’d never trusted people on TV before. They never seemed to say anything nice. Lysandra wasn’t like that. She was kind and bright and promised us a better future. Anyone over the age of eighteen could apply for their Phoenix Bond, a then-princely sum of eight hundred dollars. My parents got theirs, and they used the money to take me to Agate again.
If Agate Village had been beautiful when I was six, it was radiant when I was twelve. Wes Colton had used the Celebi shrine to purify Shadow Pokemon for his crusade against Cipher, bringing fame and fortune to the town. New businesses had cropped up everywhere and more people were moving in, making the town pulse with vibrant energy. The waterfalls shimmered under the summer sun, and flowers bloomed between the rustic houses. My mother handed me fifty dollars and told me to buy myself something nice. I’d never felt so alive. I found myself in a small dress shop, run by an old woman with braided hair. Her dress was the simplest of any in the shop, and her face was wrinkled by time, but there was something beautiful about her. Later, after what happened, I decided that it was her soul.
She gave me a little chuckle - I was certainly an amusing sight, a tiny girl dressed in cheap clothes, gazing in awe at dresses for people far bigger than me. The woman led me past racks of dresses that burst with colour, into a corner where she kept the ones for children. I thought they all looked incredible, but I was in a green mood from all the grass outside, so I picked a soft green one with white accents. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever owned. I would have worn that dress everywhere, but I was so afraid of messing it up. It usually hung in my closet, waiting for a particularly special occasion. I outgrew it before long, but I could never bring myself to throw it away.
In the six years since I bought that dress, I’ve watched Orre rebuild. Pyrite, my hometown, became a nice place to live. The old power stations got shut down, their choking fumes replaced with the gentle hum of wind turbines. The cars left the streets - the city became largely pedestrianised as Pokemon became more popular. I got to visit more parts of the region as my father earned more money; Gateon Port became another favourite of mine. Wherever I went, I always got the sense of a place that was trying to be the best it could be, to change the way the world thought of it, to transform itself.
That, I think, is truly beautiful.
Phone Conversation: Luka and Alexa
L: Hello? Who’s this?
A: Hi, Luka. My name’s Alexa Bernard. You might have heard of me.
L: Alexa Bernard the… investigative journalist, the former Flare - no way. No friggin’ way! Does this mean -
A: Congratulations, Luka. Welcome to Team Flare.
L: Oh my… oh my god. This is just… thank you! Thank you so much! This is… no way. This is insane. I never in a million years thought I’d get in. Kinda… freaking out right now, like… damn.
A: Oh, I feel you. Believe me, I was just as excited when I won my Flare job. I suppose I should fill you in, shouldn’t I?
L: Yeah…
A: Well, you fly out to Lumiose City in two weeks -
L: I’ve never been on an airplane before! Never even freakin’ - left Orre!
A: Believe me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Free drinks are a boon, but they only make an eleven-hour flight slightly less unbearable. You’ll get there, meet a Flare employee, and get driven to Santalune City - that’s where your adventure starts. You’ll meet the other winner there - she’s a Kalos native, no need for a flight for her. Valerie’s probably handling her right now.
L: Valerie… Zhang? The fashion designer?
A: Most people think of her as a gym leader these days; funny that you’d go for fashion designer first.
L: I’m… kind of a fashion nerd.
A: You’ll love Kalos then, girl! We’ve got the best clothes in the world! I have to admit, I’m not a hyper-fashionista like Valerie is, but a journalist does have to keep her eye on the latest trends. I’ll be overseeing your Flare-mandated wardrobe upgrade at some point, so be ready for that.
L: Whoa. I get one of those?
A: A young blogger like you has to be on top of fashion, of course. God, I was a disaster before Flare got ahold of me.
L: Well, I… um, I read a lot of fashion magazines and stuff, don’t actually have a lot of clothes, heh. Still kinda… shocked. This is all happening, you know? Like… I’m going to Kalos. To work for Team Flare. This is nuts! I can’t believe it!
A: You’ll do great, don’t worry. You’ve definitely got the enthusiasm you need!
L: ...Thanks. I… appreciate it.
A: You sound like you’re gonna be great at this, Luka. I think I’ll be very happy as your mentor.
L: Mentor? What?
A: Of course! Wouldn’t want you being chucked in at the deep end without any sort of help - Valerie and I pulled a few strings to make sure that wouldn’t happen. If there’s anything you need, just call me. I like to think I know my stuff when it comes to Flare. I’m very excited to be helping you out.
L: That’s - that’s awesome, thank you so much!
A: Oh, it’s no problem! See you in Kalos!
L: See you!
Two Weeks Later
Ignition
Hello, everyone! My name is Luka Martin, and I am now running an official Team Flare blog! It’s kind of wild, but here we are anyway. Welcome to Firelight! I should probably introduce myself.
[A photo of a girl, taken from the chest up. She has dark skin and large brown eyes. Her face is round and youthful, framed by very thick, very curly black hair.]
First off, that’s me! I hail from Pyrite Town, Orre. Needless to say, Kalos has been a big change for me - I'm incredibly excited to be here. I’m eighteen years old, fresh out of high school and eager to see what I can do here. I’m still in mild disbelief that I’m actually doing this, but life’s like that sometimes! I am honoured that Team Flare chose me to receive this incredible opportunity.
[A photo of a towering section of wall. Restored turrets and ramparts adorn the top of the wall, and it casts an imposing shadow.]
I’ve only been in Kalos for a couple of days,, but I’m already blown away by this stunning region. As soon as I arrived, it started taking my breath away. Things aren’t necessarily bigger in Kalos than they are in Orre, but they’re grander. Back home, you’d never have a city with beautifully preserved medieval walls, so the fortifications around Lumiose City were amazing to see. I didn’t get to stay in Lumiose for long, although I’ll hopefully be back there soon! I’m now in Santalune City to start my adventure! When I arrived here, I had the pleasure of meeting my fellow blogger, Serena Beaumont.
[A photo of a sharp-faced, fair-skinned girl. She has green eyes and neat, straight honey-blonde hair. Her lips form a wry smile.]
Serena will be travelling alongside me on my journey through Kalos, and running Flrelight’s sister blog, Le Nouveau Rouge! She’s a local, so she’s a lot more experienced with Kalos than I am. She’s going to have a very different outlook on the things we both see, so I encourage you to go and check her stuff out!
[A photo of a massive fountain, surrounded by tourists. Stone Milotic heads tower over the crowds, spouting water into the shimmering pool below.]
[A photo of a tall, gnarled tree in the middle of a park. Pidgey and Fletchling roost in its branches, and Burmy dangle from it. Many other Pokemon surround its base, along with their trainers.]
[A photo of a medieval stone bridge spanning a sparkling river. Several small boats, canoes and kayaks navigate the river, dodging Water-type Pokemon.]
Everything in Kalos is so beautiful that I think it’ll stick in my memory forever, but I feel compelled to take a million pictures nonetheless. These are just a few of the incredible places I saw on my first day in Santalune. My first day! There’s still so much more in and around the city that I need to see and do!
[A photo of a Fennekin. He is curled up on top of a table, sound asleep.]
Speaking of Pokemon, here’s mine! Team Flare helped me through the paperwork for my trainer’s licence before I arrived in Kalos, so I could jump right in and pick a starter once I got here. His name is Ruby, and he is the cutest little thing! Serena was worried he’d set everything on fire - she picked Froakie for a reason. Fortunately, my dad raised me around his battling Pokemon, so I know my way around a Fire-type.
A Fennekin will eat store-bought Pokemon food, but it doesn’t yet have the psychic powers it needs to keep its internal flame burning without fuel, so it also needs small twigs and sticks in its diet. I’m planning on heading out to Santalune Forest to get some authentic stuff for Ruby. I’d also like to catch some more Pokemon - the Gym here in town might be Bug-type, but dual-types exist, and I’m not hedging my bets on beating my first Gym Leader with only my starter.
I really can’t express my gratitude towards Team Flare enough. They chose me to run this blog, and they’re sponsoring my journey around the region. In all my eighteen years, I’ve never had an opportunity like this. I feel like I’m on top of the world. I am so excited to be bringing you guys content on this blog over the course of the summer. See you!
- Luka <3
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: First post
Miss Martin,
I’m sure you’ve been welcomed enough to Team Flare, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Marie. I will be supervising the editing and moderation of your blog during your time with the company. Please be aware that my supervisors and I have high expectations of you, and that repeated mistakes will not be tolerated. I trust that your work for the company will be of good quality.
I have reviewed this first post and deemed it suitable for uploading. However, in the future, longer content updates would be preferable, especially considering the quantity of activities planned for your itinerary.
This post presented an air of humility and wonder, traits that are sure to endear readers to you. If you continue to provide this perspective on Kalos, then I believe you may find success.
Sincerely,
Marie
Luka’s Diary - Entry 1
I didn’t have any friends in Kalos when I got here, and I still don’t. Thanks for nothing, Serena Beaumont.
I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I’ll try and shake her for a bit tomorrow so I can explore on my own and take in some more of Kalos, but the fact that I’ll have to travel with her most of the time - I’m complaining again, but it might get a bit tiring unless she figures out how to be nice to me.
I was so incredibly excited to come here. Flare gave me two weeks’ notice, so I had time to prepare myself, physically and emotionally. In between picking out outfits - what kind of Flare employee would I be if I didn’t look amazing all the time? - I exercised a lot. I’m not unfit by any means, but I figured adventuring around Kalos was going to be physically demanding.
I arrived in Kalos early in the morning after an eleven-hour flight from Orre. Flare, because they are gods on Earth, put me up in business class, which was certainly an unfair place to be for my first-ever plane flight. The ginger ale flowed freely, though, and I got to watch four movies I’d never seen before, so I wasn’t complaining. I wore a nice dress and heels, because by God, I was gonna look good arriving in Lumiose City.
The journey was pretty fun, but it was long, and by the time my Flare handler dropped me at a hotel in Santalune City - temporary accommodation, I’m at the Pokemon Centre now that I have my trainer licence - I was more than ready to kick my shoes off and get some rest.
This, of course, is when I met Serena.
My first impression of her was that she was utterly gorgeous. Perfect, flowing honey blonde hair, piercing green eyes, a fantastic outfit. I thought that hanging out with this girl for a summer was going to be life-changing.
Then she spoke.
“So, you’re supposed to be my colleague?”
And she just… said it in the snarkiest, most passive-aggressive tone you can possibly imagine. It hurt my soul! I wanted to like her. It’s going to be a pain not liking her if I have to hang out with her all the time. I even have to pretend to like her for my blog!
And you know what? She KEPT GOING! After our handlers had left, she practically interrogated me, interested in finding out who I was and what the hell I was doing in her presence. I tried my hardest to be nice, which only seemed to tame her a little. It was a bit depressing to come all the way to Kalos for the job of a lifetime, only to be told immediately that I didn’t deserve it.
Ah, well. I’m heading into Santalune Forest to catch some Pokemon tomorrow. I don’t think she’s really the forest-y type.
I’m sure she has other strengths.