Santalune City

Zinnia's Pov:

As Alain and I walked through the exit of Santalune Forest and onto Route 3, I started to get lost in my thoughts.

The weight of the world was on my shoulders, and I didn't know how to feel. It all depended on whether or not I could find Mega Stones. Alain was another sort of mystery.

If he had a Key Stone, then he must be knowledgeable about Mega Evolution. Maybe he could lead me to Mega Stones? It all felt so confusing to me.

I had to complete this if I even wanted a chance of being a Lorekeeper.

It was my duty to my people, and I'd do anything to complete it.

_______________

Alain's Pov:

The walk through Route 3 was kind of peaceful. I guess no Pokémon wanted to mess with us two, as our combined forces were Charmander, Bagon, Gible, Aron, Feebas, and Magikarp. We were kind of a super team.

We made it to Santalune City with no noticeable problems. Zinnia marveled at the city she had never seen before, while I adopted a happy mood, being that this was the first city I traveled to by foot.

I already knew where I was going. I began my walk to the Poké Center, with Zinnia following closely behind. She couldn't sign into a room like me, though, as she had no Trainer ID to my knowledge.

It surprised me, though, when we made it to the massive Poké Center building, she walked in with no fear in the world.

We walked over to the front desk. "Ma'am, can I please rent a room?" I said, showing her my Trainer ID.

"Me, too, please," Zinnia said, showing her own Trainer ID.

I was bewildered. How did she have a Trainer ID? To my knowledge of the games and the overall media, she lived in an isolated society in Meteor Falls.

The nurse assigned us rooms that were right next to each other, and we went up the floors to our rooms.

"I noticed you had an ID from Hoenn. What reason to come so far to the region of Kalos?" I said, trying to break the ice. I was still confused about how she had a Trainer ID.

"Oh, I just loved the region ever since I was a kid, and now that I'm an adult, I can travel the world freely," Zinnia responded, rather quietly.

I knew she was lying to me, and I wasn't really mad about it. It's not like we were friends; more like people whose lives were currently aligned. If I remember correctly, she was trying to stop a meteorite from hitting Earth, which would wipe out all life. It was a pretty serious task that obviously she wouldn't be telling everyone, especially not a person she had met moments ago.

That's when my Holo Caster, the futuristic communication device, started buzzing. I checked who was calling me. It was Professor Sycamore.

"Excuse me, Zinnia. I need to take a call for a moment," I said to her before going into my private room.

I sat on the bed before answering the call. A holographic projection of Professor Sycamore appeared right before me.

"Alain, any word on the Research Task?" Professor Sycamore said to me as a hologram projection.

"No, not anything so far. You got any leads?" I asked the professor.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Down at Route 22, there's an ancient ruin called 'The Chamber Of Emptiness.' Alain, piece of advice, usually these Mega Stones should be found in Ancient Ruins or Temples," Professor Sycamore informed me.

"I'll get to it, Professor," I told him.

I hung up the Holo Caster before making my way outside my room. Zinnia's room was right next to mine, so I wanted to talk to her.

Her door was open a little bit, and through the crack of the door, blue light was emanating from it. What was Zinnia doing now?

After psyching myself up for a moment, I decided to look through. I opened the door, and it was pretty bizarre.

Zinnia was meditating on the floor, sitting cross-legged, and blue light was leaking from all across her body. Once she heard the door creak, her meditation faltered, and all she could do was look at me.

"Forget what you saw, Alain," Zinnia said to me, embarrassed, getting up from the floor. "I'm going to eat at the cafeteria."

I obviously knew what it was. It was the living essence of all beings, Aura. Damn, Zinnia kept on becoming more mysterious by the moment.

I followed her downstairs, but not to the cafeteria, but to the backyard. Usually, the backyard of these enormous Pokémon Centers had only two things: a clearing for training and the battlegrounds, where trainers could battle other trainers.

I came to the backyard for the latter. Making my way to the multiple battlefields, I saw a familiar face. Walking over to the girl, I decided to talk.

"Astrid, is that you?" I said to the girl from my hometown. She turned around, saw who it was, and began to talk to me.

"Oh Alain, it's you. How was Lumiose City?" Astrid asked me.

I guess Trainer School did something for her socialness. "Everything you'd expect. It was amazing, Astrid."

"That's nice to hear. I was thinking, I came down here for a battle, would you mind battling me?" She

said to me. I didn't even have to think about it. That's why I came down here too.

I accepted, and we went to one of the battlefields, with a Poké Ball etched in the center. We got a random person to referee the match. We decided on no wager since I had no money, and Astrid was stingy with hers.

It was a 1v1 battle. It was a good thing for my Pokémon to gain some organized battling experience. We let both of our Pokémon out at the same time.

On Astrid's side was a Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon. The primary purple dragon would have a pretty even match up against what I released.

On my side was my second Pokémon ever, Gible. It was a Dragon V Dragon, and some people around peeped it and began to watch it.

"Battle starts... now!"

"Gible, use Dragon Breath," I commanded my Gible.

Gible let out the purple Dragon blast towards the bat. Noibat dodged by a shred of its hair, so I decided to tell my Gible to use more Dragon Breath.

For the next minute, I pushed Noibat and Astrid completely on the defensive. Astrid finally decided to call a move of her own.

"Noibat, get close and use Supersonic," Astrid told her bat-dragon.

Noibat then swooped down towards Gible, and from its ear came out sound waves that enveloped Gible. After the move was finished, Gible was now confused.

Her eyes were red, and now, she was unlikely to follow commands from me. I couldn't even switch out because our rules prohibited it.

"Gible, use Dragon Breath," I shouted out to my Dragon.

Gible used Dragon Breath, but not at Noibat, but the ground in front of her. She was sent flying by the consequent explosion. The Confusion status is the worst.

My Gible got up, though, and now she was feeling normal. I guess a good hit was all she needed to wake up.

"Noibat, Dragon Rush," Astrid commanded her Pokémon.

Noibat swooped down yet again, this time, shrouded with a blue aura.

"Gible, use Bite," I commanded the Land Shark Pokémon.

As soon as Noibat collided with Gible, a small explosion occurred. Once it all dissipated, everyone saw the scene.

Gible was holding Noibat by her teeth, after she was able to endure the super effective move. Noibat was squirming in Gible's grasp, trying to get out.

"Gible, Dragon Breath, point-blank," I said to Gible. Even with its mouth occupied, I swear I saw a wicked smile.

With Noibat still in her mouth, Gible charged up a Dragon Breath, much to Astrid and Noibat's horror. She fired it off at Noibat, shooting the bat out at high speeds.

Noibat was blasted into the ground in front of Astrid. When the dust dissipated, all that was there was the knocked-out Sound Wave Pokémon.

The spectators were talking among themselves about how it was a great battle. I walked up to Astrid.

"That was a great battle. I guess you're still the Alain I remember, the prodigy," Astrid said, kind of sad. She returned Noibat and walked inside the Poké Center to treat the bat.

I returned Gible to its ball before going inside. Before that, though, I saw Zinnia walk up to me and begin to talk.

"That was a nice battle. You have some skills, really," Zinnia said to me. It was the first compliment I had heard from her.

"I had to have some skills if I saved you, remember," I reminded her about what happened just today.

She pouted when she heard that. "Do you also remember the other dozen knocked-out Pinsirs I dealt with?"

I chuckled when I heard that. Speaking about Pinsir, I needed to get the dude out of the ball soon and finally befriend it.

"Zinnia, remember when you said you owe me a favor for giving you some healing items?" I said to the girl walking next to me.

She nodded, quite fond of the fact that I healed her Pokémon. "Yeah, I do. Thanks again. Do you need something?"

"Zinnia, I need you to help me train my Pokémon."