A Champion's Tale || Pokémon XY and Z [BOOK ONE]

4 || Zelenia's Pokémon and a Battle

Zelenia's blue eyes stared straight into Ash brown orbs. She could see the determination swirling in his eyes. She knew that determination because she felt similar determination to get stronger when she lost her first Grand Trial. A smile graced her face and she said, "I'd be happy to help you train, Ash."

Her smile grew when Ash pumped his fist with joy, "Alright! Let's head to the Pokemon Center. There's a battle field there we can use and you can heal your Pokemon up."

The noirette nodded in response and returned Decidueye to his Pokè Ball as the two trainer's partners hopped up onto their shoulders as they ran up the stairway, laughing as they raced to the Pokemon Center. 

Left behind was the blonde who felt ignored by the boy she came all this way to meet, "H-hey, wait for me!" she shyly cried, rushing after the two.

☾☼☽

          Back in the Pokémon Center, the group were seated at a table as they waited for Decidueye's check up to be done. The eldest blonde sibling took this time to speak up, "I guess we should introduce ourselves now. My name is Clemont!"

          "And my name's Bonnie. And this is Dedenne!" the younger blonde sibling piped up a second as her Pokemon appeared cheerily on her head.

          "Denne, dedenne!"

          "I'm Serena," the honey haired girl said softly, a small smile on her face.

          "It's a pleasure to meet all of you!" Zelenia smiled, eyes sparkling as she crossed her legs and tugged on her letterman jacket.

          "Your performance on the battlefield was truly amazing. I've never seen someone take down a Gym Leader so swiftly before," Clemont continued the conversation further. Zelenia's cheeks reddened again, tapping her fingers along the wooden table as Darwin rubbed his tail against her cheek as she pet Talus's head.

          "W-well, thank you for the compliment. I'm still trying to adjust to the whole Gym Battling idea. . ." she chuckled softly which gained collective confused looks from the table.

          "What do you mean. Aren't there gyms back were you live?" Bonnie asked, tilting her head to the side curiously while Dedenne gripped on for dear life as Zelenia elaborated.

          "Well, you see, I'm grew up in the Alola Region, and in Alola, we don't have gyms. Instead, we have what is called the Island Challenge. Basically, it is a rite of passage for burgeoning Pokémon Trainers in the Alola Region. It's said to have been created in order to raise Trainers to love and protect the islands of Alola as well as the people and Pokémon who inhabit them. Trainers can partake in these rites when they turn 11. This involves traveling to each of the four major islands of Alola. The Alola Region consists of four main islands, Melemele Island, Akala Island, Ula'ula Island, Poni Island, and there's even an artificial island called Aether Paradise," she said, with an almost faraway look as she seemed to recall something.

"But back to the Island Challenge. The island challenge consists of a number of trials on each of the Alola Region's islands. The challenges are made up of lesser trials, which more often than not, include battling a Totem Pokémon. They must be passed before challenging what we call the Island Kahuna in what is known as a Grand Trial. Trialgoers are able to freely challenge a Totem Pokémon without having someone providing guidance or supervising them. Most Totem Pokémon are said to follow the lead of the Island Guardian."