Pokémon: Out of the Woods | A Galar, Unova & Sinnoh Fanfiction

Chapter 11: The Break-Up

As Heather approached the vast walls of Motostoke, she could already hear rumbling wheels, honking horns and ringing bells. The rusty gate was tall enough to fit two Wailord. Inside, a concrete maze of red bricks, topped with cranes and smoking chimneys, stretched to the walls separating the city's lower and upper levels. Above, it continued as far as the eye could see. Heather glanced at the welcome sign.

'An industrial city studded with steam-powered marvels of modern engineering!'

That was certainly true. The only place Heather knew to be so red, especially when tinted by the setting sun, was Quartz Town in Orre; but that sleepy, sprawling town was nothing like cramped and bustling Motostoke.

Khalid said that boy ran off to Motostoke after they met in the Wild Area, didn't he? But it looked like he flew over, towards...

Heather glanced at the Town Map on her phone.

Turffield.

There was no signal in the Wild Area. Heather's text from Reira, asking her to meet Triton at the Budew Drop Inn if she made it to Motostoke that night, was sent over two hours ago; but it only just arrived.

She headed for the Pokémon Center first. Its glowing pink frontage was impossible to miss. While the nurse healed her Pokémon, her phone automatically connected to the wi-fi. It buzzed in her pocket. She glanced at it to see a series of messages from Perry, relaying everything he learned from Helene and most recently remembering to mention her 'weird brother and son called Carrot (Karot).' He asked Heather to let him know if she saw either of them.

Laverne Lucine was at the Gym Challenge opening ceremony. Hessie said he was a famous Trainer. As Heather looked up, she saw two battling enthusiasts – one wearing Khalid's shirt and the other in a Motostoke Gym uniform – pointing at the screen showing sports news. She recognised Laverne's purple hair right away. He already challenged Vega at Turffield Stadium. Since he had collections of eight Badges from four other regions, Vega used her strongest team instead of the one trained to battle rookies... and she won. His loss was sensational, but more people talked about his 'weird' Lilligant, which Vega's Charizard knocked out in one hit.

Whoa, wait, what? He used a weird Lilligant? On a field in front of thousands of people? On live TV?

It was indeed unlike any Lilligant that Heather had seen before. The flower on its head was pink instead of red and, instead of appearing as if it wore a leafy dress, its long, pink legs were exposed.

The obvious assumption was that Laverne was somehow associated with Pluto or Team Plasma. Watching him laugh awkwardly as he left the stadium, his slightly pink cheeks illuminated by flashing cameras, Heather thought he was an idiot. Her gut said he had no idea why that Lilligant was suspicious. He was like that Unovan Gym Leader who grew up in the end, but was still bragging about his team of purchased shiny Pokémon at 30. Heather took her phone back out to text Perry.

Found the weird brother.

Helene already knew. It was international news. She felt the same way as Heather, automatically assuming that her brother was clueless, but she couldn't reach him to ask. His phone was dead, as usual.

On the way to the Budew Drop Inn, one of the two buildings visible from everywhere in Motostoke and the northern Wild Area – the other being the stadium's clock tower – Heather passed a long and agitated queue outside a nightclub. Club Embargo itself looked unassuming. A letter was missing from its neon sign and the only entrance was behind a graffitied shutter.

'What the fuck?'

Heather recognised that voice. She turned to see Tahirah and Prita. They had season tickets. Club Embargo was recommended to them by Sonia and Abbey, since it was as safe as a nightclub could be, but not so popular it was uncomfortable... or at least it wasn't usually. That night, the security guard's Pokémon frantically held the queue of hopeful clubbers back as he nudged the barrier aside to let Tahirah and Prita in.