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Touko smiled as the exciting city approached. No matter how many times she visited it, Nimbasa's bright colours always managed to make her light up like a child in... well, in an amusement park.
As if the rides and games weren't exciting enough, she also had a guaranteed Pokemon battle with her favourite acrophobic Ace Trainer to look forward to.
She ran towards the towering ferris wheel.
"Hey, Austin! Ready to get owned again by my--" Touko stopped abruptly. The person standing in hers and Austin's meeting spot was most certainly not her blue haired friend. Instead it was a girl, a brunette in a golden yellow dress with an apron.
"Are you looking for someone?" she asked, watching Touko in confusion.
"Yeah, sorry about all the shouting," Touko smiled. "He usually meets me here..." She sighed. "Guess he's late."
"Well if you have some time, why not ride the roller coaster with me quickly?" the girl offered. "We could have a Pokemon battle and then have a nice chat while we ride."
"Sure, why not?" Touko grinned, always up for a battle. She got into battle stance a short distance away from... "What's your name, by the way?"
"Aurora," the waitress smiled and pulled out a single Pokeball out of... her dress? Seriously, where had she been keeping that?
"Go, Swadloon!" she called, sending the Pokemon out with a smile.
"Go, Liepard!" Touko chose, deciding to go somewhat easy on the stranger. Destroying the grass type Swadloon with her fire type Volcarona was probably not the best way to make friends.
"Swadloon, use Razor Leaf!"
"Liepard, dodge and counter with Night Slash," Touko retaliated.
The purple cat like Pokemon jumped gracefully out of the way. In one smooth motion she was behind Swadloon, raking her claws across its back.
"Swadloon?" Aurora called out in concern. The little caterpillar made a defeated noise and dropped to the ground. "Good try, sweetie. Return!"
Touko sighed and called back Liepard, after congratulating her of course. This waitress was nowhere near as tough as Austin.
"Wow, you've really got a knack for handling Pokemon! I guess I'm just not in your league," she smiled. "And you're smart and pretty and nice... I gotta say, I'm totally jealous of you!" she admitted cheerfully.
Touko blushed at the praise.
"Come on, at least we can ride the ferris wheel together." Aurora grabbed Touko's hand and pulled her onto the ride.
Touko sat across from the young waitress, keeping an eye on the window for any signs of Austin's blue hair and orange outfit.
"Since we have this time, shall we talk?" Aurora ofered eagerly.
"Uh, sure!" Touko nodded, eyes still searching the park for her friend. Aurora didn't seem to notice her distracted look, instead launching into her story about... a guy? Or maybe it was her job? Distracted as she was, she couldn't seem to figure out her new friend's story. She tried to tune in, but the brunette was talking so fast.
"... Said... like you... such a lie... turns out there was--"
Touko made sure to respond at the appropriate times, giving a hum or a laugh when she caught something. She was a bit overwhelmed both looking for Austin and trying to follow along with Aurora's complex story, though.
At last the rotation came to a stop.
"Aww... it's over already!" Aurora said with a slight pout. Her smile wasn't gone for long. "When I hang out with you, time seems to zip by!"
Her smile brightened before fading again. "I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't have a lot of friends... so finding someone to do stuff with and, you know, just talk and stuff..." She trailed off, but quickly snapped back with a smile. "Well, it's really important to me! Um," she started flushing. "Thanks for being someone I can talk to," she said, smiling shyly at Touko.
"No problem," Touko smiled back. She'd had a lot of practice at 'girl talk' with Bianca, and even though it certainly wasn't her forte she was definitely used to it.
"Anytime you want to hang out, let me know," Aurora offered, still smiling brightly.
"Yeah, will do!" Touko replied, making a silent promise to herself that she would come back and talk to the sunny waitress. Aurora was sweet and she could already tell she'd be a great friend.
With one last goodbye to her new friend, Touko headed off. She still had the rest of the amusement park to search for Austin. Maybe he had come while she was on the ferris wheel and then left without her noticing? It was a long shot, but it was the only idea she had. She set off to wander around in search of her blue haired friend.
Somehow her wandering had landed her in a seat on the roller coaster in Elesa's Gym. She just couldn't help it, it had called out to her. She had to ride it.
Even though she was screaming and laughing from being thrown around at what felt like the speed of light, Austin was still at the front of her mind. She kept an eye on the people blurring past her for any orange and blue blurs, but she saw none.
Finally, the roller coaster deposited her before Elesa. The blonde hand on her hip in that infamous "model pose" she was always doing.
"Again, Touko?" Elesa rolled her eyes and laughed at the young girl's grin.
"I can't help it. Your Gym is awesome," Touko pointed out.
"It is dazzling, isn't it?" Elesa agreed, admiring her Gym's bright lights.
"By the way, have you seen Austin? He's usually around here by now, but I haven't seen him anywhere," Touko explained.
A strange look came over the young model's face.
"Touko, it's autumn," she said, as if that should mean something to her.
It didn't.
"So?" the young trainer asked.
"So... summer's over now," the blonde said again in that meaningful tone. When she saw that Touko's expression hadn't cleared, her eyes gained a hint of sympathy. "Austin's only in Unova during the summer. Every year when autumn starts, he leaves until summer returns."
"Wait, so that means..." Touko frowned as the realization hit her.
"He's gone," Elesa finished for her. "And he won't be back for another nine months."
"But... why? He never said anything about this. I just saw him yesterday!" Touko exclaimed, trying to make sense of it.
"It's hard saying goodbye," Elesa answered with a soft smile. "Austin always had enough trouble saying goodbye to this beautiful city. I'm sure he just couldn't bear the thought of having to say goodbye to you as well."
"As for why, I don't remember exactly. Family issues from back in Sinnoh, I think. He doesn't talk about it much." Elesa shrugged, somehow managing to make the simple movement look elegant. "You can ask him when he gets back."
Touko didn't say anything for a while, just sat and stared at the floor.
"He always comes back in the summer?" she asked at last.
"Yes. It's an annual tradition. A vacation of sorts," Elesa replied.
"Great!" Touko exclaimed, looking up to reveal sparkling eyes. "Then I'll come back here next summer. And the summer after that, and the one after that... It can be my annual tradition too!" she exclaimed eagerly.
"That's what I like to see." Elesa beamed. "Dazzle the world with your excitement and hope."
"Alright," Touko agreed with a nod. "See you next summer then, Elesa!" she added as she ran past the Gym leader to the exit roller coaster, waving goodbye as it shot her to the door.
She gave the ferris wheel one last look before calling out Volcarona to fly her away. She would come back, and she would see Austin again. She just had to wait until summer.