Chapter Text
Sinnoh Region, Twinleaf Town
“Pokémon are by our side, always. I hope you understand the meaning of those words.”
“That was the comment left by Professor Rowan, who returned to Sinnoh from the Kanto region.” A voice said after the message from an old man.
“Tch!” A girl clicks her tongue, knowing that message is what grates her.
Before she changes the TV channel, the woman is surprised to see a familiar old man on TV.
“Oh? It looks like Professor Rowan's back.”
“Eh.” The girl doesn't care, until a Glameow walks by, causing the girl to growl as Glameow hisses.
“Hikari, Jun's coming over.” The woman said, much to Hikari’s displeasure.
Standing up, Hikari avoids Glameow as she heads upstairs to her bedroom while ignoring her mother's words.
“Listen. I know you don't like it. But I mean he's your friend, so I'm sure you two got along together.”
“Just tell him that I'm still in bed.” Hikari sighs while heading to her room, refusing to explain why she doesn't want anyone near her.
Closing the bedroom door, Hikari sighs as she looks at her alarm clock that says 07:56, giving her a chance to play a game console alone as she picks up a motion remote control that acts as a game controller.
BANG!
“Huh?” Hikari halts, witnessing someone enter through her bedroom window.
“Finally… Made it…” The blonde boy pants while picking himself up to his knees.
“Why?” Hikari realised that her free time was wasted by a certain boy who showed up out of the blue.
“Hikari! Hey, you gotta see this!” The blonde boy, Jun, snatches the TV remote from the table and turns on the channel about the case of the Red Gyarados.
“Despite the exploration team's best efforts, the rare sighted, oddly coloured Pokémon known as the rumoured red Gyarados is found recently at Lake Verity, but has failed to reveal itself and scattered.” The TV report says as it shows a group of people at the lake on TV.
“What?” Hikari is unsure what the TV report is talking about.
“I know, right!? Check this out!” Jun wraps his arm around Hikari and leans forward with her as they're too close to the TV.
“If anyone discovers the rumoured red Gyarados, many must bring photos as evidence. See you next time!” The TV reporter concludes as the news about the red Gyarados ends.
Jun is gleeful after seeing what he needed to see.
“Hikari! Now's our chance to-”
“Pass.” Hikari interrupts with an immediate decline.
“Eh?” Jun halts, witnessing Hikari tucking herself in bed. “But it's our only chance of seeing the rarest Pokémon! Come on! Please!”
Much to Hikari's annoyance, Jun is always that impatient when it comes to some fake discoveries, making her snuggle more.
“Come on! I promise we'll see it once and then go back! Besides, I have my daddy's camera ready!” Said Jun while holding a camera.
Finally, Hikari sits up, knowing there’s no other choice but to bend backwards for someone who’s there to annoy her for the rest of her day.
“Fine.” Hikari groans as she stands up from her bed.
“Sweet! Race you to Lake Verity! Oh, and you owe me 10 billion yen if I get there before you! See ya!” Jun zips away from the bedroom after giving her a fine as a race loss.
“Huh?” Hikari is unable to process why Jun is that desperate and is asking for something impossible.
Before Hikari goes back to sleep, a door clicks open, revealing a blue haired woman that is her mother.
“Hikari. Jun is out waiting for you.”
“Urgh!” Groaning, Hikari is now dealing with going outside in a world full of Pokémon.
And she never asked for that.
Route 201, Verity Lakefront
In a lush green wooded area full of trees, a few trainers are playing with their Pokémon, wild Bidoofs are gnawing on trees and berries as well as being fed by some humans, and a bunch of Starlys are flying to a different location and Kricketots are hiding in the trees as they hibernate.
Sliding through the dry mud path, Jun is panting while rushing towards west and turning right, leading him to the light through the forest.
Lake Verity
Slowing down, Jun is in awe as he sees a lake that is blue and beautiful, even the sun makes the lake sparkle.
“Woah…”
That is until he halted, exclaiming as he witnessed Hikari sitting while playing a handheld game device.
“Hikari!?”
“Oh. Took you long enough. Now pay up.” Hikari stands up and puts her device in her pink skirt pocket.
“Eh?”
“You know. 10 billion yen. You know the drill.” Hikari raises her hand in front of Jun.
This had Jun crying as he held out his wallet.
“Can’t we just call it a draw? I don't have that kind of money.”
How ironic, coming from someone who betted that much on her.
As the duo are about to move closer, they halt as they see a certain blue haired man talking to weird looking creatures with each red gem on their head.
As the creatures vanish, the blue haired man turns around and then stops in front of Hikari and Jun.
“Excuse me, children.” The man speaks, making Jun and Hikari move aside as he walks past them, much to their confusion.
“What was that?” Hikari asked.
“Probably be some delusional old man.” Jun had a feeling this guy must’very been talking to Pokémon.
“Also what are those things?” Hikari asks, seeing the lake itself after seeing what the man is talking to.
“I don't know. My guess is that they're strange Pokémon.” Jun assumed, only for him to gasp as he pointed.
What he's pointing at is an elderly man and a girl that looks exactly like Hikari, making the duo question what's going on.
“Hm… Looks like I was mistaken. I thought we saw some rare sightings.” The elderly man, Professor Rowan, sighs after seeing nothing in particular.
“Professor, if I may, I saw strange Pokémon that have vanished.” Salvia said.
“Hm… This lake does attract rare Pokémon. Salvia, we're leaving.”
“Sure.” Salvia nods and then follows the professor as they're exiting the lake.
Before Hikari and Jun say anything, Salvia halts after seeing Hikari, a lookalike, making her walk past her.
“Excuse me.”
With Professor Rowan and Salvia gone, Hikari is wondering what's going on as today has been mildly unusual.
“Oi! Hikari! Check this out!” Jun shouts, leading Hikari to look down as she gasps. “I know, right? The professor left his suitcase. I bet there's secrets behind it.”
“Don't. We should give it back.” Hikari suggested.
“Eh? And miss out on anything interesting? Nah. Let's see inside.”
Pressing the locks, the suitcase drops, revealing not just the papers, but 3 Poké balls, causing Hikari to take a few steps back with shock.
“Woah! Poké balls! Hey, Hikari, let's test them-”
“NO!” Hikari snaps, making the atmosphere quiet after interrupting Jun. “Just don't… Please. Let's take them back.”
“Hikari… Haah, fine.” Jun lets out a long sigh as he's about to close the suitcase. “Could you get us a drink? I’m thirsty.”
“Eh? Why now?” Hikari is suspicious about what Jun asked for.
“Come on! I burned all my energy just to visit the rarest Pokémon we could find. Also, you did say I owe you 10 billion yen.” Jun said his reasoning.
This had Hikari sigh and leave Lake Verity as she's about to get a couple of drinks.
That is until she hears popping sounds coming from behind.
“Jun!? Why did you…” Hikari exclaims after witnessing what's around Jun.
A green turtle, an orange chimp and a blue penguin, meaning Jun has opened their Poké balls without Professor Rowan's permission.
“Hikari! Check this out!”
“No, I'm not gonna check it! Why did you do this!?” Hikari is now witnessing a boy with something that doesn't even belong to him.
“I was curious. Also, these guys are cute!” Jun snuggles a turtle as he squeals.
Growling, Hikari has the urge to beat Jun up with her fists if this keeps on going, only for her to see a penguin Pokémon approaching her and look her in the eyes.
This led to Hikari leaping away from the penguin Pokémon, landing on all fours and growling as if she refuses to let any creature go near her.
This had a penguin responding as he growled at Hikari.
“Heh. Looks like this Piplup is made for you.” Jun laughs, causing Hikari to stand up and pull the ring end of Jun’s green scarf like a collar. “Woah take it easy! Let's not get violent! I was thinking if we could keep these guys. I mean Turtwig's huggable!”
Much to Hikari's disgust, she lets go of Jun and walks towards the exit of Lake Verity.
“Hikari? Are you sure you want to leave me with these guys?” Jun asks, worried that Hikari is ignoring the 3 Pokémon that are Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup.
“I don't care. You can keep the Pokémon. I'm not interested.” Hikari concludes.
This had 3 Pokémon looking worried as they looked at Jun, causing Jun to clench his teeth and approach Hikari but grabbing her wrist.
“Why? I thought you loved Pokémon! Didn't you say it yourself!?” Jun shouts as he clenches Hikari's wrist.
“The heck!? Where did you get that from!?” Hikari snaps, making Jun halt, only to realise that there's a girl that looks similar to Hikari since the encounter at the lake. “Like I said, I don't care about Pokémon and I want nothing to do with them…”
Hikari lowers her head and yanks her own wrist for Jun to let go and look away.
“So is being a Pokémon trainer a lie to you? Is being a Pokémon coordinator a lie as well?” Jun's question causes Hikari to immediately turn around and pull Jun's collar as she pierces a glare at him.
“Listen you!” Before she snaps at him, Hikari gasps as she sees both Chimchar and Turtwig hiding behind Piplup, causing her to let go and look down. “I don't want a Pokémon. I don't want to be a Pokémon trainer. End of discussion.”
As Hikari walks past Jun and looks at the lake while standing near it, Jun is now wondering what made Hikari that distant towards other Pokémon.
“I understand. If that's what you want…” Jun approaches Hikari and pat her shoulder with a beaming grin and pulls up his thumb. “Then wish me luck! I'm gonna become a Pokémon champion and face my daddy!”
“Jun…” Hikari is now feeling bad for shouting at Jun, knowing how passionate he is about all this.
Before they turn around, the duo and the Pokémon trio are staring up at the sky as they witness a bunch of starling Pokémon called Starly circling around them.
“Strange. What are Starlys doing here?” Jun asks, only for a Starly to dive, making the Pokémon panic, alerting Hikari as she sees a Starly charging towards Jun himself.
Immediately, Hikari dives onto Jun, successfully avoiding a Starly, causing Chimchar and Turtwig to hide behind the tree and Piplup to stand still.
As another one dives, only for it to be punched to the face by Hikari, a human being, making it crash into the lake.
“Oh God! Hikari, why did you do that!?” Jun exclaims after witnessing Hikari punching a wild Pokémon.
“I panicked!” Hikari immediately responds while panting.
This not only had Hikari targeted, but the other Starlys are now angry that a certain human had harmed one of their kin, making them dive with lightning fast speed.
Jun instantly wraps his arms and legs and rolls him and Hikari as a way to avoid the Starlys, even one of them scrapes its talons on the ground.
Afterwards, the duo are standing up and dodge the Starlys.
“R- Run!” Jun shrieks.
Finally, the duo are making a run for it as they exited the lake, leaving Piplup to raise its flippers and then pound one of them in the face and then the other and more, leading Jun and Hikari to witness a Piplup beating up more and more Starlys.
As many of them are down, the last Starly struggles to pick itself up, meaning Piplup has the upper hand on ending this battle.
SPLASH!
Or so it thought.
Rising from the waves is a large sea monster of a Pokémon, roaring as it causes a Starly to flee as well as its kin, leaving Piplup to face something large.
“It's a Gyarados!” Jun exclaims with excitement, only for him to realise what colour it is. “But it's not red.”
With Piplup ready to face Gyarados by itself, Hikari turns towards Chimchar and Turtwig, causing her to take a deep breath.
“Jun. Take the Pokémon and the suitcase.” Hikari said as she took off her white beanie, her red scarf and her pink boots, leaving her barefoot.
“Eh!? What about you!?” Jun is under the impression that Hikari is doing something suicidal.
“I'll distract that creature.”
Finally, Hikari is out of the forest, revealing herself as she stands next to Piplup.
Unfortunately, Hikari and Piplup looked away from each other, refusing to form a partnership.
Roaring again, Gyarados is charging its beam, making Hikari crouch down on all fours and Piplup puts its foot in front of the other as it readies itself.
A large red beam is released, meaning Hikari and Piplup split up as they run as fast as they could, causing said beam to explode which had Jun shriek and jump as well as Chimchar and Turtwig, only for the Starlys to fly away from the noise and a strong wind.
As Gyarados pants with exhaustion, this leads to Hikari leaping onto the lake and climbing onto Gyarados’ long body.
With Piplup stopping, watching Gyarados struggling to move as Hikari screams and bracing herself.
“Hikari! Ngh! Chimchar! Turtwig! Can you help my friend!?” Jun shouts with desperation.
“Char?” Chimchar is unsure if he could.
“Twig?” Turtwig feels the same, knowing it's bad enough that a human and Piplup risked their lives for them.
“Please! I don't want to lose her! I know she doesn't want you guys to help, but she needed one!” Jun begs, making Chimchar and Turtwig nod, knowing this boy is being genuine about it.
“Char! Chimchar!” Chimchar accepts as he and Turtwig nod.
“R- Really? You guys.” Jun wipes the tears and pumps his fists with excitement. “Okay! Turtwig, are you okay with Chimchar riding on your shell?”
“Twig!” Turtwig is delighted to let himself be ridden on.
Afterwards, Jun is holding Turtwig as Turtwig and Chimchar brace themselves.
“Alright! Turtwig, Withdraw and Tackle! Chimchar, use Scratch! Go!” Jun shouts as he chucks his Pokémon as hard as he could.
As Turtwig lowers himself into a shell and spins as he dives towards Gyarados.
Successfully, Turtwig crashes onto Gyarados’ head, only for Chimchar to show up and scratch Gyarados’ eyes, making Gyarados itself lose control as it roars and Hikari yelling while bracing herself.
Afterwards, Chimchar and Turtwig land on Gyarados’ back as they're closer to Hikari, causing her to yelp as she's confused about what’s going on.
“Hikari! Bring it over to Piplup!” Jun shouts, making Hikari turn towards Piplup.
What she sees is Piplup rubbing his flippers, giving Hikari the chance to lead Gyarados to Piplup.
Zooming, Gyarados is struggling to open its eyes after the claws and shell hits it.
Piplup used Pound.
A heavy smack to the head, make the waves splash as Piplup bashes the skull of a Gyarados with unusual strength, making Gyarados raise its lower body with its tail reaching the sky and throw Hikari, Chimchar and Turtwig off of its back.
In the end, Gyarados faints as it sinks back into the lake after its tail splashes back down.
Picking herself up, Hikari is seeing her white beanie, red scarf and pink boots being handed to her.
“Heh. What a wild ride, am I right?” Jun giggles while raising his hand towards Hikari.
“Stop.” Hikari blushes as she acquires her stuff back.
Approaching the duo, Turtwig, Chimchar and Piplup are glad that they had fun fighting against a Gyarados together.
“Hehe. Looks like we made an awesome team.” Jun pat Hikari’s shoulder with a wide grin.
Before Hikari says anything, the very same girl appears as she pants.
“There it is. Thank goodness.” Salvia is relieved that the suitcase is safe, only for her to witness 3 Pokémon out of their Poké balls.
“Listen! We didn't mean to cause a ruckus!” Jun exclaims, seeing as Salvia stares at the duo.
“Professor, I think we need to talk to these two.” Salvia called.
“What?” Arriving, Professor Rowan gasps, witnessing the mess that happened in Lake Verity, leading him to close his eyes and sigh. “You two. Come with me to my lab.”
Hikari and Jun are now in trouble, realising what they shouldn't have done.
How would their families feel if they're exposed?