Preparing For Laverre
Story by UmiTheUmbreon on SoFurry
#18 of Cassidy's Journey
Cassidy paced in her room in apparent thought while Fenny sat on the edge of her bed, watching.
"Añu!" Cassidy called, making Fenny flinch. The riolu appeared at the doorway moments later. "Añu… bullet punch?"
"Lu." Añu raised his arms, his fists starting to glow with energy.
"N-No, don't do the attack. I'm asking if you know it."
He lowered them and nodded, mareepishly looking away. "Lu."
"My fault. That will help. You can go," Cassidy dismissed with a quiet hum. Her mind was everywhere. She'd forgotten a simple attack, and her Pokétch was off and charging.
'Is it the gym?' Fenny asked.
"This one uses fairy types, so steel-type attacks would be a great counter." Cassidy sat by him and rested on her back.
'Are you sure we should go today?'
"I do not want to put it off any longer. I've had my break and still have to get to the League." Cassidy put on her Pokétch and stood, going to her closet to find an outfit to wear. "Laverre is four cities away, so it will be a ride." She pulled out boots and a jacket, then chose a short, pleated black skirt. "Do you want to ride with me or stay in your ball?"
'I wanna go with you.'
After feeding and storing her pokémon, Cassidy was ready to go. Her fanny pack was in hand, and Fenny was next to her. She held the power button on the side of her Pokétch for several seconds, which was longer than usual.
The screen stayed black. She took her finger off and held it again. Cassidy shook her arm and smacked it twice with her palm, then rolled her wrist to look over the device with her eyes.
'It won't come on?'
"I charged it all night..." Cassidy whispered. She kept her wrist up and stared at it for over a minute as if that would make it turn on, a dull, silent stare while Fenny stared at her.
Eventually, she took it off. She walked and set it on her dresser, along with its charger that she unplugged from beside her bed.
They were riding west through Santalune City after passing Victory Road. Cassidy eyed the gym while passing it, then glanced back at Fenny. "That was my very first gym battle." She spoke over her engine.
He gazed at his surroundings, shooting from the city's large central water fountain he'd sat at with her on that day to flower bushes and dull-colored buildings and shops that looked as if they had been built a decade ago.
A group of workers built one in an open spot beside a market. Diggersby used their fisted ears to dig large holes, people built and welded steel frames, and a couple of pangoro carried piles of material to the lot on their shoulders.
'I remember. I didn't battle.'
"And we lost. I made sure that did not happen again. I also lost my first attempt at gym two." Now through the populated section of the city, she pulled the throttle and sped up toward the exit leading to Route 4.
'I wonder how strong I'd be if I let you train me from day one.'
"Don't speculate. It will hurt most of the time. Take the present for what it is instead, and it is you improving."
They shortly exited Santalune and entered the route, riding its dirt trails with small flower gardens littering the outskirts. It had a fountain a mile ahead Cassidy would have to maneuver around.
He looked down with a sigh. 'Are we almost there?'
"Nearly. Lumiose, then Laverre next." Cassidy glanced at her fuel gauge, which was less than half full. "We'll stop for gas in Lumiose and grab a bite."
In the meantime, he gazed at more flower beds, shrubs, and the fountain as they passed it.
Cassidy glanced back. "Do you remember Laverre much?"
'It's been a while...'
Fortunately, they were minutes from the route's exit and entered Lumiose shortly, now among bustling city life and true civilization.
Cassidy pulled over at the first gas station she came across housing two more mopeds that people were filling up. She leaned on her foot to let Fenny off first, then unmounted.
Gas stations generally weren't abundant, but a few resided in major cities. "Why don't you look for a restaurant while I get gas?"
'I won't go far.'
He strayed off and walked the roads, being wary of bikes, gogoat, and people while scanning lines of restaurant signs. 'I don't really have a favorite... Don't ever come here.'
He double-glanced at a blonde girl in her late teens with fake lashes, who held her braixen's paw while walking by. One of the braixen's forepaws was a paw resembling a lucario's.
He then looked at another relatively older woman in a slim dress sitting at an outdoor restaurant with her zangoose, whose claws were seemingly painted white. It had a small hoodie on as well. She leaned over the table and kissed it on the head before leaving a tip for their waiter under a glass cup and getting up to exit.
There was also a young man walking while holding his vaporeon and a girl walking with her absol, who wore a half-tee. It was more difficult to tell when someone was romantically involved with their quadruped.
He even spotted a billboard advertising an upcoming movie called 'Pharos' Dream' that displayed a suited young adult male standing with an ampharos. She looked up at him in a wedding dress while he embraced her.
Anyway, back on track, he came across a bakery that caught his nose a few blocks down, a small, shabby sushi shop that didn't seem to get much business, and eventually one that snatched his attention more than the others.
It was a tall black building, and its sign read: 'Le Possible.' It seemed upscale. He grinned up at it.
Cassidy had finished gassing her bike after paying inside, meanwhile, wiggling the nozzle to shake any remaining drops.
She brought up her bare wrist but stopped short, swallowing. Cassidy couldn't afford to break down today, but what was coming on top of her Pokétch dying earlier shattered her heart. It kept shattering it. If there was a day that hurt the most, it would be this one.
She'd used gyms to escape; they'd finally met, intertwining so intimately that it forced her fate.
Cassidy looked up and saw Fenny approach from the road "Already?"
He nodded.
And so she walked her bike with him, parking it in a small lot nearby with hitched mounts and a few other bikes, stopping at the doors. "Hm."
'What do you think?'
"Let's find out."
The host escorted and seated them on the fifth floor— Fenny's idea, at a table overlooking the city by a large window surrounded by twenty other tables, many of which were occupied.
Cassidy sat back and looked over the menu with her hand holding up her cheek, scanning a list of pricey items, from various beverages to breakfast and lunch platters. "Why do people eat dratini?" she mumbled after glazing over it.
It likely tasted rich and delicate, but they were majestic creatures. Killing and eating them in Kanto was considered taboo, where dratini had originated. It was customary in Kalos.
One of her favorite native dishes called 'chiq au vin' caught her eye, which was prepared with imported torchic braised in red wine, spoink, and various berries. Cassidy lowered her menu. "Find anything yet?"
'Well, um...' Fenny set his down and pointed at a fancy latte.
"Sure."
They were back on the road after dining for an hour and neared Laverre from Route 14, heading north.
"Ahead..." She saw the entrance in the distance and sped up, ignoring the somber cold perpetuating her body.
Fenny couldn't see as well as her, but he peeked from beside her with his cheek resting against the back of her shoulder at a few distant buildings.
Upon entering, his eyes lit up.
Laverre's east side held civilization, but vibrant, scarlet-colored trees and bushes littered many steep grassy hills to the west. Beds of vivid flowers sat before cozy one-story homes scattered about and were sprinkled across the fields. A river encompassed the city; bridges were built over it to grant access.
They slowed and unmounted, standing at the city's entrance.
"I knew I would have to return..."
'What do you mean?'
She could clutch her chest. "I still can't do it." She gripped her handlebars.
Fenny stared ahead. 'Before your parents...'
She walked ahead with her bike. "You will have to stay in your ball while I'm inside."
'I know. Good luck, but you won't need it.' Fenny grinned.
Cassidy returned it joylessly and pulled his ball from her pouch. She raised her arm and returned him for now, then let her arm fall, a silent moment passing before she put it into her bag.
She pulled the case holding her badges out of her bag and opened it while walking across the bridge, gazing at her progress.
Laverre was where she would be if her parents still existed. She hadn't been there during the hiking accident at Pomace Mountain, but Cassidy wouldn't forget the night the news was broken to her— when two rangers knocked on her front door and when she opened it to their sympathetic faces. Their expressions were almost distraught upon seeing a pre-teen standing clueless in the doorway.
She would never see Laverre the same. Everything about it appeared and felt dreary. She could only hope she'd see life as vividly as she once did.
Cassidy stopped by a pond and two homes, where she closed and slipped her case into her bag. She didn't have it in her to cry. She couldn't. Cassidy had a gym to fight. She wasn't here to mourn and reflect on an event she couldn't have prevented.
Using Añu, Violet, and Garna, Cassidy strategically fought through her sixth gym in over an hour and was now working to finish off gym leader Valerie's final pokémon on a tranquil battlefield.
It was made of stone, with lanterns above lighting it and greenery surrounding the ends.
Cassidy had stocked up on plenty of potions before going up against this gym, so Añu was energized and more than capable of battling.
"One more bullet punch should do it, Añu!" she exclaimed after he dodged a swift from Valerie's sylveon. His reaction time and evasive maneuvers improved with each battle, along with overall accuracy when it came to attacking. It impressed her every time.
Almost instantly, Añu darted at Valerie's sylveon while it recovered from its previous attack and threw rapid punches to the side of its body and face. The injured eeveelution yelped while taking multiple blows, collapsing onto its side afterward, fainted as it could take no more.
Añu took several steps back and let his arms fall while catching his breath. He shook his paw while eyeing his blacked-out opponent.
"Good work, Añu!" Cassidy returned him to his pokéball, taking a breath and approaching Valerie.
"Yes... that was a fine battle. I shall reward you for this great victory. This is the Fairy Badge. It is yours now. Its beauty is captivating, is it not?... ... ... ... ... ..."
It seemed Valerie was busy staring at the badge in her hand. "Euh—"
"Ah... Do forgive me. I was so captivated, I forgot for a moment that it is yours." Valerie handed her the fairy badge.
It was pink, shaped like a half-circle, and shiny enough for Cassidy to see her reflection.
"Thank you," Cassidy said. Good battle." She took it and set it beside her fifth before closing her case and walking to the exit. "Yes..." she whispered with a full grin.
Before leaving Laverre, Cassidy let Añu, Violet, and Garna out by the Pokémon Center while people walked by. "You three did great. Impec (Perfect). We didn't even have to use many heals."
"Phr," Violet said while wearing a smug grin, outstretching her sore hind leg from a hit she'd taken.
"Wear your pride, Violet. You deserve it." Cassidy reached and scratched under her chin, then turned to Añu, cupping his cheek and looking at his tired eyes. "That bullet punch was inspiring. Brutal too. You three make me wonder what level we have to reach to truly struggle."
Añu nudged her palm and formed a grin.
Cassidy turned to Garna, where her smile and demeanor faltered slightly. She reached her hand, which Garna took, and Cassidy placed her other on top of it. "Thank you, Garna. I know I can always count on you to succeed for us."
"Voir." She nodded with a slight bow, grinning.
Cassidy's mood diminished more after hearing that, but she didn't show it. "I will see you three at home. Let's get you all healed."
So, she returned and got them healed inside the Center, then let Fenny out outside afterward.
'Was it easy?'
"Non, I would never call it easy. I'm just glad I have trained you all so well."
Riding back to Couriway had tired her and Fenny out. It wasn't boring, however, as they had each other for company.
Cassidy let all of her pokémon out once home, took her boots off, closed her curtains, then lay on her bed after cooking a small meal for everyone— including Garna. She saw Fenny lie on the other end, knowing he was just as beat, and turned on the TV that currently played a rerun of official League battles while snacking on a pack of wafers.
It showed a young male teen in a dark blue and green outfit commanding a seadra against Elite Four Drasna and her noivern. That kid had talent because Drasna was number four. She was his final challenge before he would have to face Diantha herself. The mere thought of Cassidy imagining herself in that scenario brought her an anxiety-ridden shiver.
She studied Drasna while the camera focused on her shouting at her noivern to use boomburst. Drasna wore a smile— a cold, intimidating one with a competitive edge that would strike unease into anyone.
Añu had been drained, so Garna had let him sleep on the couch next to her, which Violet saw as a perfect opportunity to catnap in Añu's pokébed.
Cassidy and Fenny had also fallen asleep; she woke up first this time, turning off the TV since some old sitcom was on. She sat up and yawned. Fenny was on the other end of the bed, fast asleep.
Cassidy was practically his parent. It made her contemplate whether the amount of recent intimacy they'd shared was okay. He wouldn't solely love her as a motherly figure or general caretaker, especially at this point.
Fortunately, Fenny woke up minutes later, so she wasn't left speculating. He'd likely felt Cassidy's eyes on him.
He rubbed his eyes. 'Cass?'
"I was thinking." She shifted her eyes away.
'Are you okay?'
"I… Do you remember what you told me after Lumiose? When you let me know how much you missed my touch... In what way?"
'I just… missed you holding me.' Fenny sat up halfway and leaned his upper back against the headboard.
"Then be honest... Did I do too much that night?"
'Uh, well, I wasn't expecting it, b-but I loved every second.'
"True? So… how do you view me, mh?"
'Well, as… my trainer, a-and…' his voice trailed, leaving Cassidy awaiting a response. He swallowed. '...I love you in a lot of ways…'
She crawled over and got in his lap, gazing into his eyes with soft blinks and Fenny up into hers. She brought her hand and lifted a part of her skirt, revealing her bare upper thigh. Cassidy afterward reached and took his forepaw, placing it on top. "I love you too."