Chapter 799: Chance Encounter
After three days of flying, the aircraft from the Aroma Day Care finally entered the range of Lumiose City on the fourth day in the early morning.
Lumiose City had a designated aircraft docking area, so as soon as the Aroma Day Care's aircraft arrived in Lumiose City, it landed in the outskirts of the city.
The aircraft docking area was located in the outskirts of Lumiose City.
The early morning outskirts of Lumiose City were exceptionally quiet, and as soon as Yuga stepped out of the aircraft, he could smell the fresh air.
Compared to the relatively warm climate of the Hoenn Region, the climate in the Kalos region was more distinct, and the scent of spring was even stronger. Fletchlings were seen flying in the sky everywhere.
Because Yuga had been in the aircraft for three days, he immediately stepped out after it landed. Despite the Aroma Day Care's aircraft being quite spacious, Yuga still felt a bit stifled.
However, as soon as Yuga stepped out of the aircraft and took a few steps onto the nearby grass, he saw a model airplane plummeting rapidly, emitting thick smoke, heading straight towards him.
At the same time, he heard cries of frustration and panic.
In the nick of time, Yuga released his Vivillon. Under Vivillon's control, a transparent Razor Wind sliced the model airplane in half.
"Ah... Ah... my airplane..."
Yuga turned his head and saw a boy running towards him, panting heavily. From his backpack, a mechanical arm extended, dragging a girl who appeared to be around four or five years old.
"Ah... how could this happen..."
The boy ran to the wreckage of the model airplane, circled around it, muttering continuously.
"Is this yours?"
Yuga pointed somewhat embarrassedly at the pile of model airplane wreckage. In fact, he could have easily dodged it, but he instinctively took out a Poké Ball, so now he felt a bit sorry for the boy.
Only now did the boy remember that his model airplane had nearly hit someone.
"Ah, big brother, are you okay? I'm so sorry, it almost hit you."
The boy had golden hair and wore oversized glasses. He looked at Yuga with a face full of apology, and behind him, the little girl he was dragging still seemed half-asleep.
Yuga looked at the apologizing boy and the drowsy girl and suddenly felt that they looked somewhat familiar.
...Aren't these the siblings, Clemont and Bonnie? Yuga hadn't expected to encounter them just after arriving in the Kalos region.
"I'm fine; you don't need to apologize. I should have avoided it," Yuga said with a shake of his head.
Hearing Yuga's words, Clemont became dejected. He kept muttering to himself:
"It's okay, it's okay. Even if you hadn't damaged it, it was already broken."
Just then, Bonnie, who had been dozing off, rubbed her eyes, opened them, and asked Clemont:
"Big brother, how did it go? Did your Soaring Wind Lord succeed?"
...
"Soaring Wind Lord... Is that referring to that pile of wreckage?"
Yuga looked at the wreckage and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Before Clemont could respond, Bonnie chimed in, "It probably failed again."
"Uh... Bonnie..."
Clemont felt like he had been shot in the knee.
"Did you two come out to play so early?" Yuga couldn't help but ask.
The drowsy Bonnie finally noticed Yuga and the Vivillon perched on Yuga's shoulder.
"Wow! Big brother, it's Vivillon! It's so pretty!"
Bonnie grabbed Clemont's arm, instantly awake, and looked at Yuga's Vivillon with sparkling eyes.
Under the influence of its Scale Powder, even though Vivillon's patterns were only in black and white, Yuga's Vivillon was undeniably beautiful.
Of course, Clemont also noticed Yuga's unique Vivillon, and while he was quite surprised, his calm demeanor kept him from saying too much.
"Big brother, are you a Pokémon Trainer? Can I touch your Vivillon?"
Bonnie's eyes rolled around, and she looked at Yuga with eager anticipation.
"Bonnie!"
Clemont called out to Bonnie, finding his sister's behavior impolite.
"What? It's just a little touch."
Bonnie pouted, feeling offended by her brother's disapproval.
"It's okay; you're Bonnie, right? Come say hello to Vivillon."
Yuga could tell that Bonnie really liked Pokémon, and he didn't see anything impolite about her behavior—kids will be kids.
"Vivillon..."
Hearing Yuga's words, Vivillon fluttered its wings and landed on top of Bonnie's head. Bonnie reached out and touched Vivillon's lowered wing, giggling with a clear, joyful laughter.
"Thank you."
Seeing Bonnie's happy expression, Clemont smiled and then thanked Yuga.
"Don't mention it; it's no big deal. Vivillon seems to like Bonnie," Yuga said with a smile to Clemont.
"Oh, by the way, I'm Clemont. You're not from around here, are you? I haven't seen you before," Clemont introduced himself, although Yuga already knew his name.
"I'm Shimizu Yuga, and I came from the Hoenn Region. But are you and Bonnie from around here?"
"I see. We do live nearby."
Clemont gestured to a small residential area not far from the aircraft docking site, which Yuga had just noticed. Clemont's home was there.
Clemont's dad had gone to the city center of Lumiose City to visit an electronics store, leaving only him and his little sister, Bonnie, at home.
Clemont had a strong passion for invention and often conducted experiments with his creations in the vicinity.
Watching the delighted Bonnie playing with the peculiar Vivillon, Clemont asked, "Are you a Pokémon Trainer, big brother?"
Yuga smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"You seem really skilled," Clemont replied in a hushed tone.
In non-battle situations, Pokémon didn't reveal their levels, and most people couldn't discern a Pokémon's strength. However, those with a keen eye could still get a sense of it.
Though Clemont was young, he was quite knowledgeable. He was a well-known child prodigy inventor in Lumiose City and had already been designated as the Gym Leader for the upcoming Lumiose City Gym.
Despite his talent, Clemont was still quite young, and being assigned such an important Gym Leader role in Lumiose City made him nervous. He worried about whether he could handle the responsibility.
"Are you a Trainer too, Clemont?" Yuga asked casually.
"Well... sort of," Clemont answered hesitantly. He had only recently become a Gym Leader and wasn't exceptionally strong.
"Sort of?" What an unusual response.
¤
Just to clarify the timeline, this story takes place two years before Ash's journey, so by default, May and Ash are the same age. Clemont, being older than Ash, has become a Gym Leader at a young age, which is a personal interpretation and not canonical. The characters in this story are Bonnie and Clemont.