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Lumiose City - Cafe Soleil

Helena sat with hands on her stomach, curling around the bulge from her large breakfast. She felt a few pounds heavier and let out a breath of satisfaction. "Painful," she said.

Her legs, from toe to thigh, ached from standing around. Mostly around her shins and ankles, and she wasn't sure she'd even be able to walk when she fell asleep the night before. Somehow she had, and now there was only a dull pain where the muscle had been tested from the standing.

"But so worth it. The whole thing was so cool." She threw on a small little smile combined with a look in eye that said she was more excited than she was let on.

"How was not standing around in a crowd for hours?"

"Death doesn't happen often, does it?" Helena asked. Partly because it worried her that Zack could be so outwardly clam about it - was he used to it or was he just stoic - and partly because death wasn't very appealing.

He had mentioned it before and Helena had been more worried about him than anything. Enough time had past that she thought herself able to be stoic as well - but that melted away when Zack brought it up again. It was all she could do to not look or sound freaked out.

"If I die in a stupid way, lie about it, okay?" Helena said. It was her own way of coping out of the topic. Not because it hadn't changed already, but because she needed to slide out of that mindset.

She got up and tightened her lips as she considered the offer. "I can do that, yeah." She called over a waitress and paid the bill as she mentally went over her Pokemon.

Loki hadn't learned anything, Lilt had learned Peck, Feather the Flabebe had learned Lucky Chant, Caboose the Pikachu had learned Thunder Wave and Snaps the Corphish had learned Harden.

"I'm ready whenever you are," she said once she'd paid the bill and given the proper tip - suddenly aware that she wasn't made of money and that she'd run out at this rate.

Lumiose City- Gotengo

The party in Gotengo had indeed gone on all night. A lot of kids left to sleep at home. The others crashed wherever there was place to sleep, and the lucky ones got someplace like a beanbag chair or a couch. Most of them simply lay on the floor, too tired to care that it was uncomfortable.

High up in the tree was a small shack dedicated as the library, where an eclectic and large set of books were stacked along bookshelves and in milk crates. Salieri had a hammock there for reading and sleeping purposes, and this is where she spent the night.

Her pokegear buzzed to life at eight in the morning, sounding the alarm. “WAKE UP! GRAB A BRUSH AND PUT A LITTLE MAKEUP! HIDE THE SCARS TO FADE AWAY THE SHAKEUP-”

Salieri twitched awake and threw her pokegear across the room, wondering why she ever thought it’d be a good idea to make that song into her alarm. One Snorlax-esque yawn later and she was up, shuffling over slumbering bodies to the bathroom shack. All the solid memories she had from the previous day came from before the parade. The drinking came after, and that was just a blur of dancing and laughter now. Not a bad way to spend her last night as a kid.

Beautification wasn’t something Salieri lost sleep over. She preferred the effortless, all natural approach to looking good rather than spending an hour checking out her hair in the mirror. After a quick wake up shower and a teeth brushing, she went downstairs, still only wearing a t-shirt and her underwear.

A few other kids were awake and searching for the belongings they misplaced the night before. Some of the older guys gave a passing glance of approval to Sal’s lower half, but she didn’t mind. Truth be told, despite acing like she didn’t care, sometimes she liked the attention.

Mia was at the kitchen counter, leaning over an empty plate and listening to Lauryn Hill. In one of her hands was a rolled up joint. Sal grabbed a plate from a cabinet and dumped breakfast food from a frying pan onto it. “It’s not even noon,” Sal yawned with disapproval, eyeing the J in Mia’s hand.

“It’s noon somewhere else,” Mia replied flatly, taking another hit. Sal hid a tiny frown. Mia was brilliant, but her family’s low economic status made taking advantage of that brilliance hard. It seemed like all that brainpower was wasted on somebody so apathetic, but Mia was only apathetic because she had little to care about. Watching her best friend laze around without aspiration wasn’t easy, but she knew that Mia didn’t want to hear her preach. “Wanna hear something cool?”

Sal shrugged and stood on the opposite side of the counter. As she ate, Mia pulled out a tiny radio attached to a microphone. She fiddled with the knobs, and spoke into the microphone. “Boo.”

The voice came from behind her. Salieri spun around and was greeted by Mia’s Noibat, Bass, flying behind her. “Cool, right?” came Mia’s voice from the Noibat’s speaker-like ears. “I finally figured out his frequency.”

Salieri rose her eyebrows. Once again, Mia could be brilliant when she wanted to be. I’m not even gonna ask how. “Yeah? When did you figure that out?”

Mia put down the microphone and held out the J to Salieri, who declined. “Last night sometime after I took over DJ duty. It gave me an idea about your pokedex, though.”
The bandanna girl perked up. “You think you know what’s wrong with Ivan?” she asked with a mouthful of food. Mia shrugged.
“Maybe. You gotta let me tinker with it for a bit.”
“After I battle Viola. I want Ivan around for some training first.”
“You’re gonna trust that piece of junk?”
“It’s better than nothing. And it’s your piece of junk.”

Mia couldn’t argue with that. Sal scarfed up the rest of her food, feeling slightly renewed, and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes after going back upstairs she came down again, now wearing a full outfit (identical to the one from the day before, because that's how cartoons work) and equipped with all her necessary belongings. Mia had finished her J and had switched to sitting on the porch with Bass, fiddling with her microphone box. “You’re outta here?”

“Yeah. I’ll stop by after I beat Viola.”
“Is that Taka kid still here?”
“It’s TK,” Sal corrected. The bandanna girl scratched her head, racking her brain for TK’s whereabouts. Did he even sleep at Gotengo? “I don’t know. Hey, if you see him can you pass on a message for me?”

Mia stopped fiddling with the microphone box and looked up at Sal coyly. “Tell him –don’t give me that look- tell him he’s welcome back whenever. And if he’s serious about the league then I’ll see him around.”

“Hmph. That’s so basic.” Mia sighed. “Fine, I’ll pass it on…how are you feeling?”

Salieri cracked her neck and stretched her legs in preparation to parkour out of the city. “Like the future champion.”
“Okay. Would you like some fries with that god complex?”

Mia snickered at her joke. Sal just flipped her off and started to leave. “Seriously though. Good luck, Sal.”
“Thanks Mia.”

Without looking back, Salieri skated away.

Two teleporters going at it was a recipe for tedium. Still, Serene was the more effective porter. As Loki reappeared, she disappeared, vanishing from sight. Then, as her body rematerialised, it was preceded by a tell-tale flash of light. Only instead of one flash, it was a dozen. The arena lit up blue as Double Team copies of Serene appeared, surrounding Loki all at once. After a couple of seconds, once the cooldown phase for Teleport was over and just to show off, they Teleported again, switching up their positions.

"So I'm basically untouchable," Zack said. Even if Loki were somehow able to determine which Serene was the real one, she'd be able to reset her guard at a moment's notice and it'd start all over again. "How do you respond?"

Lumiose City - Gotengo

TK ended up staying at the Gotengo after Sal offered. His ultimate sleeping arrangements ended up being a surprisingly comfortable branch formation pretty high up in the Gotengos tree. From the branch he found, The silver haired youth had a comfortable few of the city scape around him, the prism tower still glowing strong as he sat with a small hand sized notebook and pen in front of his face.

Growing up with out parents and having two younger siblings to take care of, as it turns out, makes one pretty good at managing finances. Growing up, TK and his elder sister split up the responsibilities between the two of them, managing the finances was one that fell on TK's shoulders. So even now, some thousand of miles away TK, still makes sure his three siblings cash intake and outtake was balanced based off the income Adrianna was bringing in, along side the money TK had sent back so far from his trainer winnings, and corresponding that with the bills that needed paid and various other expenses his siblings would be using the money to finance.

But now, TK had to keep a ledger of his own finances as a trainer. After totaling everything up and deducting the items he's purchased so far, mainly his skate shoes, sling pack, Holo-caster, camping equipment and healing supplies. He was broke. The Cash he's won so far, plus the money he brought with him, and after subtracting his expenses and p10,000 he sent back home. He was Broke, only about p500 left.

Sighing, he leaned back, letting his head rest against his sling pack he put behind his head. TK's lasts thoughts before he fell into a comfortable sleep was of winning the league and having enough money to pay for his youngest sisters operation.

_________________

The Next Day

Right after Sal left, TK slowly walked into the kitchen-esque area of the Gotengo. fully dressed in similar clothing that he was wearing yesterday. Plain black cargo shorts, a dark blue T-s**t with a thick black vertical line going down from the left shoulder to the hemming of the shirt, wearing his skate shoes and his sling pack strapped across his chest. Honestly, he'd look pretty boring if it wasnt for his unkept long silver hair, stopping just before the bottom of his ears.

"M-m~oooooorning," TK yawned at Mia, his eyes still basically closed from sleep in a slit like fashion that would make Brock of pewter city proud. Grabbing a bottle of water he'd lean against the makeshift counter. Still no where near awake enough to formulate an actual plan for the day ahead. but he knew if he let himself sleep in he'd feel like crap the rest of the day.

"What time did everything start dying down last night?" TK asked Mia, tearing open the wrapping on a breakfast bar he had from his own supply of food. He remembered falling asleep listening to a low tempo-ed dance song, that was still stuck in his head, sometime around 4am last night.

The breakfast bar was stale tasting and crumbly. Not at all satisfying.

Lumiose City - Gotengo

Mia, now back inside and flipping through a box of vinyl records next to the turntables, shrugged at TK's question. "I put a playlist on at three AM and passed out," she explained. It was dawning on her that it was very possible she and Takamaru had spoken the night before, but she couldn't recall it.

Just in case they didn't, she said, "I'm Mia, by the way...oh, Salieri wanted me to pass on a message for you."

****

Route 4 - Parterre Way

Roller Skater Roland dropped to his knees as his Pidgey fell to the ground, freshly knocked out. "How could this beeeeee?!" he cawed. "I had a type advantage!"

Only a second later, Biz Marquis proudly planted a foot on the downed Pidgey and started flexing his muscles in victory, causing Roland to moan in anguish. [Suck it, bird!]

Opposite Roland stood Salieri, holding a cup of coffee. Even half asleep, these pre-Viola warm up battles with the trainers on Parterre Way were still not a problem for her. The bandanna girl shrugged and recalled her Chespin with a sip of coffee. She hated bitter stuff, but it gave her the extra push to fully recharge her batteries. "I had an advantage too."

The far more energetic Roland was beside himself as he handed her cash prize over. "What? What was it?"
"I'm a boss." She stretched her arms above her head and started walking away. "Thanks for the battle, I guess."
"Wait! How did you learn to battle like that?"

Salieri stopped walking and looked back to Roland. The Roller Skater must have been a beginner, just like nearly every other trainer on Parterre Way. It was only natural that he assumed she was one as well. "I had a mentor in Orre for three years."

Three years in Orre? Roland had never been there, but everyone knew Orre was a wasteland continent filled with seedy folk and criminals. He didn't have the guts to go there to train. "That's intense...So, uh, who was your mentor? I mean, I could use one myself, so-"

That comment brought forth genuine and slightly callous laughter from Salieri. Roland's face turned red. She began to walk away. "The most important thing I learned from him is that I shouldn't have learned from him. Go read a book or something."

Roland continued to ask for her help, but she simply waved over her shoulder and continued down Parterre Way.

****

Sal stopped south of the fountain, sitting on a bench with Durendal, Veillantif and Biz Marquis positioned in front of her. Banksy was in her pokeball, and apparently it was impossible to get her out of it when she wanted to stay in. Salieri didn't feel like fighting the Torkoal on that now.

"I think we're in good shape to challenge Viola, but I want to do one more thing. Biz, I want to teach you Bulk Up. You know how you do that, uh, weird flexing thing whenever you win?"

Biz nodded, made a bicep, and kissed it. He picked up the pose from a bodybuilder magazine he saw once, cause he thought it was badass. It was nice for Salieri to acknowledge it, but he wished she didn't call it weird. [You think it's weird? I thought it was cool!]

Veil giggled at the comment, which was lost on their trainer. "Bulk Up makes your muscles denser. So just go over there and work on that pose again, except try putting some power into it. Like you're attacking without attacking."

The Chespin scratched his head in confusion, but gave a thumbs up to Sal. [You got it! I'll have the most badass Bulk Up there can be!] With determination, he went over to the fountain and worked really hard on his Bulk Up pose. A family of passing Pokefans thought this was too adorable to bear, and snapped up plenty of pictures. Needless to say, Biz was loving it.

"Right. So, Veil, I'm gonna use you in this battle too." The Horsea hopped up and down excitedly, and Durendal frowned a little. "Sorry Dune. It's not like I don't think you can handle it, but Biz needs the battle experience and I want to test Veillantif's moves."

Durendal nodded and looked at the ground. He couldn't help but feel like he was getting put on the backburner. "Hey man, pick your head up. I have a special move I'm gonna teach you later."

That was enough to perk up the sullen Pawniard. Sal smirked. No one passed up the opportunity to learn special moves. It was an instant pick-me-up for any ambitious pokemon. "I knew you'd like that. Let's let Biz have his moment until he actually learns Bulk Up and then we can get a move on."

Route 4

Cool? I look cool? Oh my god that'sallthatIwantinlifefuuuuUUUUCK YEAH BOY! Biz Marquis was practically glowing from the compliment. Not letting up on his flexing, he told the Pidgey [Nah, your wings are great! It's all about the lifting, bro. Lifting, posing, being rude and being regal. That's what badass is all about.]

Meanwhile, Salieri rose an eyebrow at Benedict and sat back with a coy smile and her arms draped across the bench. "Maybe I am."

He was a fine specimen of a guy. Damn fine. It had been a while (in teenager time) since she had hooked up with somebody, a fact that Mia was giving her grief for the night before. And this guy had it going on, in a manscaped, front cover of a teenbeat magazine, pick up artist kind of way.

Unfortunately for him, the reason Salieri hadn't hooked up with anyone in a while was because promiscuity was getting old for her. Ever since her first kiss, an incredible memory that got hazier with each passing year, she had grown tired of the games boys liked to play and simply got with them for the thrill of it.

But the novelty of those experiences was wearing off, the bandanna girl had become picky, and his line was a red flag for no. Unless he proved otherwise in the next few moments, it'd be a swift rejection.

"Are you a Darumaka? Cause you seem like a Hustler."