Imperceivable Beauty

Chapter 9

Moi-Moi: I'm SO HAPPY. Why? No reason. I SHOULD feel terrible. I've got homework due in a few hours, a paper, and two presentations to do. ;)

And now for the answer to the last Pokémon trivia. I count three completed cons! James nearly fell for it two more times, but he caught on in time. Seriously, what kind of a crook gets robbed blind? For your next question,

Which Pokémon has the most alternate forms?

Good luck. ;)

~:~

It's a beautiful day for our heroes on the S. S. Tidal as they speedily make their way towards Petalburg City. Alena is doing her best to enjoy the pleasant view from the bow, but Anya has other plans...

"In two weeks and six days, you're going to be performing with your Pokémon at the Petalburg Contest. So, to make sure that to win this time, I've come up with a whole new training schedule," Anya announced and displayed said schedule to her sister. Alena raised a brow at the bright pink schedule before smiling. "We'll wake up before sunrise to go for a jog with all your Pokémon and then we'll have a quick breakfast. Then, we'll train until lunch. We've got to work on making all your Pokémon stronger. And then after lunch we should-"

"Anya, relax. I appreciate that you're trying to help, but it's alright. There is such a thing as overtraining. You know?" Alena teased with a smile.

Anya pouted a bit before looking down at her schedule. She'd worked so hard on it and Alena wasn't even bothering to pay attention! "I'm just trying to-" Anya started, but stopped when Alena placed both hands on her shoulders.

"I know and thank you. I want you to help me. I always will, but this is a bit much. Don't you think?" Alena said and gestured to the piece of paper.

"Maybe... Oh, alright. I'll get rid of the schedule. I didn't want to wake up every day at sunrise anyways," Anya said and crushed up her work.

Alena pat Anya's head before looking out towards the sea again. "Look, Anya!" Alena smiled. "I can see the port."

With excited eyes, Anya climbed up the railing (with Alena keeping a close watch) until she was slightly leaning over the top and could see the Petalburg sea port in the distance. "I see it! It's big! I can't wait to see what kind of clothes they sell in the shops there," Anya giggled.

Alena smiled at Anya's distraction from her training. It wasn't like she was planning to shirk off her training. Quite the opposite. She was going to work harder than ever to be fully prepared for the Petalburg Contest. Her Pokémon had worked so hard and she'd failed them. They were counting on her. Plus, there were so many people rooting for her. She couldn't let them down again.

Like other cities in Hoenn, Petalburg City had copious amounts of foliage sprouting amongst its buildings. Several parks were scattered about the city as well. Despite being located on the sea side, there was a distinct lack of seawater smells in the air. Upon closer inspection, Petalburg City appeared even larger than they'd first thought. There was even a smaller, sister city located just north of Petalburg!

Stepping into the cool Pokémon Center, the girls were greeted by the Petalburg Nurse Joy. Spotting the telephones along the wall, Alena said, "I'm going to make some calls, Anya."

Anya raised a brow with a knowing look. "Alright. Tell Alex that I said hi," Anya said before moving over to lounge on a couch. Alena shot Anya a surprised look, but Anya wasn't looking. As her little sister perused through one of her fashion magazines, Alena went to a vacant telephone. Sitting before the screen, Alena rubbed her arm self-consciously. How had Anya known that she had wanted to call-