Pokemon Grand Tour, Noelle Arc (Parte 0)

    Chapitre 0: When You Look into the ****, the **** Looks into You

    "Welcome! Are you here to enter the Pokemon Grand Tour?" asked the female receptionist.

    "Yes, ma'am," a girl answered courteously. At first glance, anyone could guess that she was a Pokemon trainer. Her short, brown hair was unkempt, and her brown parka, hood, cargo pants, and boots were all worn by years of living in the outdoors, although judging by her young face, she couldn't have been a trainer for too long.

    "Great!" The receptionist took out three stapled sheets of paper and placed them in front of the girl. "Just fill out these forms, and you'll be ready to take the entrance test."

    The girl did as she said, first writing her name, "Noelle von Minccino". She entered a few pieces of information such as her birthdate and hometown, followed by a few signatures, and lastly showed the woman her trainer ID.

    "Thank you very much!" the receptionist spoke again. "Take this pass and go through the doors in the back, and you can start the entrance test immediately. If you need to use the Pokemon Center, just go next door."

    The whole process happened in less than two minutes. Noelle took the green ticket from the woman and frowned as she walked away from the reception counter. She expected more of a hurdle to get registered. Not once did Noelle have to mention how many badges she had earned. Carrying all forty-eight of hers, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Of course, she still had to take the entrance test. She would show off her abilities then.

    In the waiting room of a testing facility in Saffron City, there were a handful of people besides Noelle chatting on their X-Tranceivers or twiddling their thumbs anxiously. Most of them were probably friends and family of the trainers testing. One boy, however, was sitting on a couch and staring at a green ticket in his hand.

    Noelle walked over to him and knelt to look at him at eye level. "Are you planning to enter the Pokemon Grand Tour?"

    "Huh?" The boy was startled. He looked a few years older than Noelle, old enough to be in high school. "Oh, yeah. As soon as I heard about the Grand Tour, I rushed to this testing facility, but now that I'm actually here, I actually realize how huge this contest is. I mean, whoever wins becomes the Grand Champion! One of the most powerful trainers in the world!"

    "I know!" Noelle remarked like an excited child. "There are thousands of people from six regions auditioning for the Tour! And it's not like the Pokemon League, where we just have to fight in a series of Pokemon battles. We have to travel across the world and do a bunch of different challenges. I wonder what kind of stuff we'll do. Will we go camping in the Desert Resort? Scuba diving in Sootopolis City? Rock climbing in Mount Coronet?"

    As she kept rambling, Noelle became more and more lively while the boy's face turned paler and paler. He spoke, "O-on second thought, maybe I'm not cut out for this."

    "How can you say that!" Noelle suddenly snapped like a scolding mother. "This is your chance to prove yourself! You may never have an opportunity like this ever again!"

    "Well, that's true..."

    "Think of all the sweat and blood you poured! All the thunderstorms you hiked through, all the wild Beedrill and Ursaring you barely escaped, all the days you fasted, all the hot coals you walked on--"

    "Wait a minute!" the boy cut her off. "Thunderstorms? Wild Ursaring? Fasting? Hot coals? I never did any of that!"

    "You didn't?" Noelle looked at him, puzzled. "What about gym badges? You have at least sixteen badges from two or more regions, right?"

    "What are you talking about? I only have eight Kanto badges."

    Noelle said nothing for a moment as she processed what she heard. Then a shadow seemed to creep over her face, her eyes seemed to widen, and her right iris, the red one which she had been harassed for many years ago, seemed to twinkle. When she spoke, her voice had dropped an octave. "Get your butt out of here, sissy."

    The boy froze in horror as Noelle turned and left.

    #

    "The test will begin as soon as you take this elevator below. The test is divided into three parts, and you may use only one Pokemon in each part. At the end, there will be another elevator for you to return here. Do you have any questions?"

    "I'm just curious," Noelle said to the security guard. "Is the Grand Master here in this testing facility?"

    "Grand Master Grevalius is not in this facility. She is responsible for the tests in Kanto and Johto, and she has plenty of other jobs, of course."

    "I see." Noelle was disappointed, but is was obvious that the Grand Master was too important to worry about this one facility.

    The security guard led Noelle to the elevator and wished her luck. Then the doors closed, and she was shut inside a metal box slowly sinking into the earth. She stood patiently, smiling to herself. Eventually, the humming of the elevator ceased, and the metal doors slid open to reveal a cramped space barely bigger than the elevator car itself. There were no furnishings, only fluorescent lights, a surveillance camera hanging from the ceiling, and a plastic sign stuck to a door. Noelle stepped out the car and read the message.

    Part 1

    You have fifteen minutes to find the key and reach the other door.

    Remember: You may use only one Pokemon for each part.

    The directions were straightforward, but Noelle suspected there was more to it. She turned the doorknob and opened the door.

    Beyond it was a room the size of a soccer field. Fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, and Noelle could see a door on the far wall. The place was barren except for several wooden chests scattered throughout the space. Noelle checked her watch, taking note of her starting time. Then she strolled forward, half-expecting a Pokemon to pop out and attack, or some other twist that warranted fifteen whole minutes.

    She had taken only three steps when her boot bumped into an invisible wall. So that was the trick. It was the same as the Fuchsia City Gym.

    Noelle thought over which partner to use, then she walked with one hand against the wall until she found an opening. She took a condensed Pokeball from inside her coat. It grew to full size in her hand, and she tossed it into the invisible hallway. "Come out, Comet!"

    The ball split open and released a mass of white light that swelled into an amorphous shape. The light faded and solidified into a small, pixie-like creature with brown fur, two curly horns, and a large lump of cotton on its back. "Whim!" the Whimsicott chirped.

    Noelle pointed in front of her. "Comet, shed as much cotton as you can."

    "Whim-whim!" With a determined face, Comet began shaking her fleece. Specks of cotton drifted out and formed a pile. No matter how much she shook, the mass of cotton on her back didn't seem to shrink, while the pile soon grew taller than Noelle.

    When there was enough cotton to fill at least a dozen bathtubs, Noelle said, "That's good enough. Now blow it all with Hurricane."

    "Whim!" The Whimsicott hopped up and pushed her tiny arms forward, creating a blast of warm air that disintegrated the mound faster than a stick of dynamite demolishing a dollhouse. Instantly, a fluffy avalanche flooded the invisible corridors, swirling around corners, bouncing off dead ends, and littering white dots on the floor and walls.

    When the wind finally died down, the paths of the maze stuck out like a magical road from a fairy tale. "That turned out better than I thought," said Noelle. "Next, we have to find the key."

    Being able to see the paths made the maze incredibly easy to navigate, and Noelle hiked through it diligently, checking inside each wooden chest. The first three were empty. When she slid open the lid of the fourth chest, she found a slender, purple Pokemon staring at her with yellow eyes. Tied around its neck was a piece of string with a key dangling from it.

    "Hello, Ekans." Noelle smiled and took a small pastry out of her coat. "Would you like a Poffin?"

    Ekans answered by blowing fog in her face.

    Noelle coughed as she shut her eyes and raised the collar of her hood over her mouth. As soon as she could take a breath she spoke, "Comet, blow the Haze away!" The Whimsicott did as she ordered and created a small gust that pushed away the fog.

    When Noelle looked up, Ekans had escaped from the chest and was slithering away like a fugitive. "Catch it!"

    "Whim!" Immediately, Comet glided to the Ekans and clutched onto him. The snake Pokemon struggled to escape her grip, but didn't attack again. Noelle approached a second time and untied the knot. "The key is mine now, Ekans. Your job is done."

    The small serpent stopped wriggling, and Comet released him. "That's a good boy," Noelle soothed him as she held out a Poffin. Ekans swallowed the muffin whole and started slithering back to his box.

    "Now, we just have to reach the exit--" Noelle stood up and realized that Comet's last gust of wind had blown away a lot of the cotton on the ground along with the Haze. There was now a gaping hole in the magic cotton road. "Oh well, I memorized part of the maze. It won't take that long."

    Sure enough, the trainer and her Pokemon finished the maze in seven minutes flat. Noelle unlocked the door and walked into the next room.

    #

    "Donphaaan!" a Pokemon bellowed from the center of an arena. The floor here was dirt, and spotlights shone from above like a miniature baseball stadium.

    Noelle walked over to a white circle on the ground and read the sign standing next to it.

    Part 2

    This part is a test of strength. Hit the target with the Donphan. You have three tries.

    Noelle studied Donphan as he stamped his feet on top of a structure that resembled a tall playground slide that sloped upward near the bottom end. Then she saw a red and white circle stuck to the wall beyond the ramp, several dozen yards away. She looked down and saw a metal baseball bat.

    According to the Pokedex, a Tackle from a Donphan was strong enough to demolish a house. Given that, she wasn't sure a baseball bat would be very effective.

    "Heck, why not?" Noelle smiled as she called Comet back into her Pokeball and tossed another. "Come out, Tucker!"

    A beam of white light burst out and solidified into a pink, round Pokemon with a large belly and a small head. "Licky-lick!" he cried cheerfully.

    "Tucker, hit a home run!"

    For a confused moment, the Lickilicky looked up at Donphan and down at the bat, then shrugged. "Lickeee!" Tucker shot an absurdly long tongue from his mouth that wrapped itself around the bat's hilt. Tucker held the bat up with his tongue while he raised his hands in a boxer pose, his shoulders bobbing from side to side.

    "Donphaaan!" Donphan raised his trunk in one last roar before he curled into a ball and rolled in place, building up momentum. Then he rolled down the slide and flew off the ramp, hurtling toward the Lickilicky like a missile.

    Tucker stared down the oncoming creature with his beady eyes, his eyebrows furrowing into a gritty smirk as Donphan kept rolling in midair. Just as it seemed like the speeding Pokemon was about to collide with the chubby batter, the tongue twisted in the air the way a baseball player does in the batter's box.

    Tucker yanked both his head and tongue, and the bat collided with Donphan with a booming CRACK!

    Time slowed down. Donphan kept spinning against the bat, his armor-like hide creating smoke from the fiction, his tusks sending sparks into the air.

    Then time returned to normal, and Donphan flew backwards, catapulted into the air again on a trajectory straight to the target.

    Noelle watched as he rushed farther and farther away until he finally smashed the far wall. The Pokemon missed the target by a few inches, but he crashed with such force, the shockwave flung the disc off the wall and cracked it in half.

    "Great job, Tucker!" Noelle applauded.

    "Lickeee!" Tucker cheered as his moist, pink tongue shimmied in the air.

    The two of them trotted over to Donphan, who had unrolled and was shaking dust off his trunk. "Are you okay, Donphan?" Noelle asked.

    "Don!" The Pokemon seemed unfazed, despite the smoldering crater in the wall.

    "That's good." Noelle thought to herself, What the heck is that bat made of? She took out a Poffin again and handed it to Donphan, who picked it up with his trunk and plopped it in his mouth.

    With the second challenge done, Noelle and Tucker made their way to the next door.

    #

    Part 3

    The final part of the test is customized specifically for you, the trainer. Recall your Pokemon before you enter the room. Obtain the flag and enter the elevator to the left. If you wish to forfeit, you may enter the elevator without the flag.

    Noelle stood in a short hallway with only a door leading forward and an elevator leading up. "Customized for the trainer?" Noelle repeated curiously. "What kind of test could this be?" Tucker was zapped into his Pokeball in a stringy beam of red light, and Noelle opened the door to the next challenge.

    The final room consisted of a battlefield, the standard kind Noelle had seen thousands of times, with a rectangular perimeter, spotlights shining from above, and a Pokeball outline drawn with chalk in the epicenter. She stepped to the trainer box on one end of the field and waited for her opponent.

    Nothing happened for several seconds. Then she heard footsteps coming from the other side of the battlefield and saw a dark silhouette approaching. The shadow was tall and walked with a pompous gait, but what stood out the most was the huge shock of spiky hair. Even before the figure stepped into the light, Noelle knew who it was.

    Noelle stared at him calmly, her mouth a straight line and her irises as small as usual.

    Lysandre, the late leader of Team Flare, stood and spoke, "You do not belong here, Noelle. Go back to the streets. That's the only place for a failure like you."

    "I refuse," Noelle said calmly. "I think I belong here perfectly well."

    "Don't fool yourself. We both know that you are a failure. We witnessed proof of that five years ago."

    A silent moment passed. "That was one of the most devastating days of my life." Then Noelle cracked a grin."But because of that day, I'm a thousand times stronger now."

    Lysandre peered at her coldly. "You are merely deluding yourself. Look at these children." He waved his hand toward the dim sidelines, where a crowd of small children huddled on the ground. There were boys and girls, all of them no older than ten. Their bodies were covered in soil and clothed in rags, their faces dark with hunger and despair.

    "These are the leftovers of the Torchbearer Project. You are just one of them, condemned to a life of exile and destitution."

    "Ha..." Noelle resisted the urge to laugh and chuckled anyway. "Condemned, you say? You have no way of knowing that..." She purposely paused for dramatic effect. "... Because you're dead."

    Lysandre's gaze didn't waver. "I'm not really dead to you, am I?"

    "Oh, really?" Noelle said humorously.

    "I made you what you are with my own hands. You would be nothing without me. As long as you live, so do I, and if you seek the title of Grand Champion, that makes my legacy even stronger."

    "You're right. You're an irreplaceable part of my past, and I have to carry my memories of you wherever I go. But you wouldn't be satisfied with that, would you? What you really want is to realize your dream of a beautiful world." Noelle's grin widened, and she raised one hand to cover her mouth as if for the sake of etiquette. "Well, it's too late for you now, and I'm going to shine brighter than you ever did."

    The two of them stared each other down. Lysandre seemed emotionless, neither frowning nor smiling. Then he lowered his head as if bowing in respect. "So that is what you believe..."

    "Yes, it is." Noelle reached inside her coat. "I'll admit, that was a pretty convincing act, but it's about time we finish this test!" 

    As she spoke the last words, Noelle threw out a Pokeball that burst open and released a blue, lithe, humanoid creature somersaulting in the air.

    "Ribbit, use Water Shuriken!"

    "Grrrk." With a low croak, the Greninja sprouted a star-shaped projectile in each webbed hand and flung them at Lysandre.

    For the first time, the man smiled. "It's been a long time since I met such an interesting trainer."

    Just before the two shuriken flew into him, Lysandre jumped and did a somersault of his own. The children dissolved into mist, and when Lysandre landed on his feet, he had morphed into a bipedal, vulpine beast with black fur and a massive mane of crimson hair. He peered at Noelle and her Greninja with an amused smirk.

    "I knew you were a Zoroark, but I guess a Ditto might be possible, too," Noelle said casually. "Ribbit, fight with Power-Up Punch."

    "Grr." Ribbit croaked and dashed at Zoroark, his thin legs almost a blur. His clenched hands started glowing red, and they lunged at the black Pokemon.

    Zoroark's own claws emitted a black vapor, and he leaped forward, his Night Slash clashing head-on with the punch. Ribbit followed up with a punch from his other arm, only to be dodged as Zoroark sidestepped and swung again. Immediately, both creatures plunged into fisticuffs, repeatedly throwing blows, blocking, and dodging. The two fighters were evenly matched, Ribbit landing a punch for every slash Zoroark landed. Then Ribbit punched Zoroark in the face, sending him flying backwards and skidding across the ground. After multiple Power-Up Punches, Ribbit's amphibian fists were burning brightly now.

    "What now, Zoroark?" Noelle said. She wasn't the type of trainer who rushed.

    Zoroark stood and chuckled, apparently enjoying the fight. Then his blue eyes glowed, the air around him shimmered, and he released a burst of black energy at Ribbit.

    "Block it."

    A split second before the Night Daze rammed into him, Ribbit slapped his hand to the ground and pulled up a shimmering rectangle of solid water. The wave crashed into the barrier and spilled around the sides as Ribbit crouched behind.

    "Now use Water Shuriken."

    As soon as the dark energy passed, Ribbit folded his mat, molded it into a shuriken the size of a car tire, and launched it like a raging buzzsaw.

    Before Zoroark could even recover from his attack, the shuriken zoomed toward him and struck him diagonally across his torso. The Pokemon cried in pain as he was knocked onto his back, and the shuriken melted. Zoroark tried to stand up and winced from the cut.

    "Is that enough, Zoroark?" Noelle spoke.

    "Grr." The black Pokemon growled in acknowledgement.

    Ribbit strolled over to Zoroark, no longer on guard, and helped him up. Noelle followed behind him. "That was a good fight, Zoroark. Take a Poffin."

    The Pokemon looked at her curiously. "What's the matter?" she asked. She didn't bother thinking about the shift in her personality from when he was Lysandre. But Zoroark took the Poffin without a word, and Noelle giggled. "There's someone else here, isn't there? You don't have the power to discover my past by yourself."

    "Grr," Zoroark confirmed. The far wall disappeared, and beyond it stood a feminine figure holding a piece of cloth in its hands.

    "I've heard that a Ralts can read a person's emotions. So I guess it makes sense that a fully grown Gardevoir can dig up a person's scars." Noelle walked to figure casually, even though she knew this psychic Pokemon had uncovered her dark past.

    Gardevoir said nothing as Noelle took the flag from her hands. It was a crimson sheet with the Team Flare logo, a stylized F, crudely painted in the center. Slapped over it was a giant, black X. "Did you paint this yourself?"

    The psychic Pokemon nodded.

    "Thank you, it must have been hard to make this on short notice. Have a Poffin." Noelle offered yet another Poffin, which Gardevoir accepted. "This is it, Ribbit. We've finally passed the test, and now we're on the path to becoming the Grand Champion!"

    Her Greninja coolly croaked in approval.

    Noelle looked at Gardevoir one last time. Instead of eating the Poffin, she simply gazed at the young girl. Noelle was a few inches shorter, so she looked up at the Pokemon's wide, piercing eyes, trying to read her mind as Gardevoir had read hers.

    Noelle smiled warmly. "There's nothing to be sad about." Then she turned and left.