Arisen Anew- a Pokémon Fanfiction

Chapter Eight- First Strike

"You're still so weak!"

I sit on the edge of my seat, nervously awaiting the conflict, twiddling my shiny new Gym badge. Across from me, on the battlefield, Lynn kneels next to her fainted Flygon. Anne stands above her, triumphant.

"Your battle skills are just so...lackluster. No wonder I'm the one who became the gym leader, Lynn!" Anne smiles. I can tell it's genuine- I don't think Anne even realizes how rude she's being to her little sister.

Lynn's head snaps upwards. "It's not over, Anne. I'll be back." She stands and recalls Flygon.

Anne chuckles. "Aren't you on a tight schedule?" She asks. "Maybe you could've won if you had more Pokémon, like all your friends. Instead you just have that Flygon."

Without another word, Lynn sweeps out the door. We all follow her anxiously, awaiting the verdict, and she walks straight into the Pokémon Center. Green heads in after her while the rest of us wait outside.

"Yikes...I'm glad I'm an only child," I shudder.

"Siblings aren't all bad," Garnet says. "My brother Cit is okay. He did shave my head in my sleep when I was twelve, though."

We all laugh, Cobalt the hardest. "Man, Cit is hilarious. But that Anne...she's oblivious! No wonder Lynn was acting weird. She feels like she's in her older sister's shadow."

Suddenly, Diamond gasps. She is looking at something behind me.

"What?" Garnet, Cobalt and I say at once.

"Look!" Diamond hisses. I spin around. Outside of a cafe, three familiar looking girls sit with boys who look like their dates. With a twinge, I see Azura holding onto a boy's arm and giggling. They're out of Cere Uniform- she wears a low necked navy t-shirt and rolled up mom jeans with heavy black boots. Tied around her head is a white bandana.

Before I can take in anything else about her appearance, Green opens the door behind us. "We're going back to Anne's for Lynn's rematch. Don't get into any trouble- on second thought, wait for us here!" Lynn emerges from behind him, her eyes red and puffy. But she has wiped the tears from her cheeks, and she is determined.

"Good luck!" I smack her arm in a friendly gesture. She gives me a weak smile, and then they are gone.

"That's the guy whose suit I stole, look at his twig arms," Garnet hisses, pointing to the boy who Azura clutches as she giggles.

"And there's mine," Cobalt grins, pointing to an uncomfortable looking boy on the right of a black haired girl.

Diamond smiles maliciously. "Want to go have a chat?"

I look at her, wide eyed. "A chat? What if she thinks we're trying to fight her?"

"Then we'll battle our way out!" She answers.

After a long while of my friends goading me on, I finally agree on the pretense that Arcanine is to sit with me, outside of his Pokéball, for the entire time. Usually this wouldn't be a big deal, but Arcanine has horrible table manners.

We walk across the street to the cafe, my big orange dog Pokémon attracting a lot of looks. I glance in Azura's direction to see her engaged in rapt conversation with her friends, so we sit down at the table right next to hers and order a couple of drinks. Arcanine makes an effort to brush up against Azura's back as he squeezes between chairs, but she doesn't turn around.

"We have to be subtle!" I hiss.

"Hey, Team Cere!" Shouts Cobalt, waving his arms like an overgrown Fearow.