Mega Love

Chapter Seven

    Arriving in Aquacorde Town takes me a little longer than it did the first time due to my bag being so heavy, and me trying to not ruin all the food Mom made. I enter the brick floored town and look around. The town seems to be around the same size as Vaniville, but with more focus on a central plaza rather than just houses. Serena and Shauna don't seem to still be at either of seating areas, so I continue forward into town. A staircase leads down into the small plaza with a beautiful fountain at its center. There are a few shops on either side of the fountain, and I notice two familiar young ladies sitting on the edge of the fountain chatting.
    "Serena! Shauna!" I yell as I wave with my open hand. They turn in notice and return with smiles and waves. I rush down the stairs to meet up with them.
    "Take forever, C-Meister!" says Shauna, standing and putting her hands on her hips as I walk up.
    "What do you have there Calem?" asks Serena politely.
    "This is one of the reasons it took so long," I say, placing the basket down on the fountain edge. "Hope you guys are hungry, because my mom made us all some lunch!"
    "Really!?" replies Serena.
    "Yay!" exclaims Shauna as she jumps with joy.
    "I am definitely getting a little hungry, but we didn't want to eat without you," says Serena.
    "Sorry about that," I reply, rubbing the back of my head. "My mom also said that this is her way of thanking you guys."
    "We'll have to thank her the next time we see her," replies Serena.
    "You're mother is an angel! I can't wait!" says Shauna.
    "Well, since Mom went through such preparations, why don't we have a picnic on the next Route?" I ask.
    "That sounds great, and actually, Santalune Forest is just up ahead. It would be the perfect place for a picnic!" replies Serena.
    "I'm sure Tierno and Trevor are over there too!" adds Shauna.
    "Well there should be plenty of food if we manage to find them," I respond.
    "Oh and you're in luck Calem! Serena says she will teach us how to catch a wild Pokémon too!" says Shauna.
    "Oh really?" I say as I look towards Serena.
    "Not that she leaves me with any other choice, but I will gladly show you both how to catch a wild Pokémon as best I can. Not that you probably need any help with that Calem... " says Serena.
    "You can't exactly learn everything from a book. It would be nice to see a demonstration. I'm sure you're great at it," I reply. Serena blushes a little from my kind words.
    "She really is! She caught a Fletchling right in front of me to prove it! That's why I'm making her show us so that we can catch cute Pokémon too!" says Shauna.
    "Wow. Already?" I reply.
    "I plan on sending it to the Professor though, along with the Pokémon I catch as a demonstration later. I want my team to develop as I go and not stock up on a bunch of Pokémon at the very beginning," says Serena.
    "Makes sense to me. I feel the same way!" I reply.
    "Well then, let's get to it then," says Serena as she stands up and picks up her bag. I pick up the basket, and we start walking north towards Route 2 and Santalune Forest.
    "Is that basket heavy?" Serena asks.
    "It's not that bad," I reply with a smile. "I just didn't want to ruin the food by being careless."
    "Ah, I see." she replies.
    "Did everything go well with your mom?" asks Shauna.
    "Yup! She was actually pretty excited for me. How about you guys? What did you guys do while I was gone?," I ask.
    "We went shopping of course," replies Shauna with a laugh.
    "Girls will be girls I guess," I reply, and we all laugh.
    "Although there isn't a whole lot of variety in Aquacorde Town, we basically just got the essentials," adds Serena. We're currently walking on a bridge that goes over a river, separating the town and Route 2. At the end of the bridge, there is no more pavement or bricks, just a dirt path made by constant travelers. The Route is pretty open with trees and bushes here and there, but up ahead the tree line gets thicker, leading up to Santalune Forest.
    "This will be where I show you guys how to catch a Pokémon, but first we have to find one!" says Serena.
    "Looks like there are a few up ahead playing in the grass over there," I reply.
    "That little bunny right there looks the closest!" says Shauna.
    "Ok, now watch carefully, you two," says Serena.
    Serena walks up slowly to the bunny like Pokémon named Bunnelby ahead of us. She gets close enough for the Pokémon to notice her, but not too close as to scare it off. She then unclips one of her Pokéballs. The Bunnelby now stares intently as Serena releases her Pokémon in front of it, "Fletchling, come on out!" With a flash of light, Fletchling appears, and the Bunnelby takes a fighting stance. Serena wastes no time in telling her Fletchling to use Tackle. The Bunnelby is able to withstand the attack and is able to counter with its own Tackle, but is not able to withstand the Quick Attack that came afterwards. Serena then reaches into her bag and pulls out a new Pokéball. She throws it at Bunnelby, and a red beam sucks it inside. After wiggling around inside the Pokéball for a short time, the Bunnelby accepts the trainer's strength and is captured with a satisfying click.
    "Success!" I shout aloud.
    "Wow! The Pokémon went inside the Pokéball?!" says Shauna, waving her arms around.
    "Wait," I say looking at Shauna in disbelief.
She then turns to me and says, "Serena's mom and dad are amazing trainers! That's why she knows so much about catching Pokémon and battling!" She totally just changed the subject.
    Serena picks up her newly acquired Bunnelby's Pokéball before saying, "Well... Mom and Dad may be good, but that has nothing to do with me."
    "You aren't just born an amazing trainer. It takes a lot of hard work. Serena probably knows most of these things through studying and practice," I add.
    "Exactly," replies Serena with a smile.
    "Nice job!" I say, holding my hand up for a high five.
    "Thanks!" she says, clapping her hand against mine. "Remember, there are three important parts to catching a Pokémon: finding a Pokémon, battling the Pokémon, and catching the Pokémon. Finding the Pokémon not only entails locating it, but also making sure it isn't just going to run away. Then once battling the Pokémon, you have to not only weaken it, but prove to them that you are worthy of being its Trainer. Finally, you throw the Pokéball and wait to see if they stay captured or not. This step may take a few times. The Pokémon then stays inside the Pokéball. Shauna... What did you think your Chespin is in right now?"
    "So we need Pokéballs to catch Pokémon right?" asks Shauna, once again changing the subject.
    "Right. That's why I had you buy a few at the store while we were there," says Serena, shaking her head in disappointment.
    "Oh yeah!" replies Shauna, whom obviously totally forgot. She then sings "If I find a cute Pokémon, I'll throw lots of Pokéballs at it, and then we'll become friends!"
    "Here, I got some for you too while I was there C-Meister," says Serena as she reaches into her bag and hands me a handful of Pokéballs.
    "Wow...You didn't have to do that, but thanks! I really appreciate it!" I say, accepting the Pokéballs. I almost totally blanked on what to say to her. She's way too nice, and getting a gift from her almost made my heart stop.
    Shauna laughs behind us, but this time it was Serena who gave her the death glare. Turning back to me, she smiles and says, "No biggie."
    "Can we get going now? I'm super duper hungry!" says Shauna.
    "No need to be in such a rush, the forest is right," replies Serena, until her stomach disagrees and starts to rumble loud enough for Shauna and I to hear.
    Shauna and I burst into laughter as Serena grows red in the face from embarrassment.
    "Shut up! I can't control if I'm hungry too!" yells Serena as we continue to laugh. Serena then puffs out her cheeks in anger, which ends up looking like the cutest thing on the planet.
    Once I can control myself I say, "Alright. Let's get Serena some food before she goes Snorlax on us." Shauna's laughter continues.
    "Don't make me hurt you Calem!" exclaims Serena as I burst into laughter again. We finally continue onward and make our way into Santalune Forest.