The Only Sane Dex Holder

Riiiiing, riiiiing, riiiiing, riiiiing,

“ugh…” A boy groaned.

Riiiiing, riiiiing, riii-

Klink. The boy turned off his alarm shaped like the gear Pokémon.

“What time is it?” He asked himself. He opened one eye to see the eyes of the Pokémon clock. The green light shone bright enough in order to make the boy open both eyes.

“…3-3:35p.m.? Oh no, I overslept!” The boy quickly jumped out of the bed. He dug through the drawers under his clock and quickly pulled out some clothes. He threw them on and looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a plain brown tee shirt and blue jeans. He nodded into himself and hopped into a pair of gray sport shoes. He rushed out the door, grabbing a card key on the way. He shut the door and headed down the stairs. However, he ended up stepping over a step, causing him to trip and fall face first.

“Morning, sleepy Snorlax.” A woman’s voice said.

The boy sat up to see a woman in a purple shirt and pink leggings. Around her waist was a brown ribbon that was tied. She had blonde hair that was in a ponytail, and she stared at the boy with a smile.

“S-sorry Yellow; I guess I overslept and set my alarm to a different time.” The boy groaned as he stood up.

“Oh, it’s no big deal.” She shrugged it off. “We still have the whole day to explore Lumiose City.”

“Weren’t we supposed to do it with everyone else?” He asked as they headed out the doors of the hotel. The two walked along the sidewalk and headed into one of the avenues.

“Everyone else got tired of waiting, so they left to go shop.” Yellow told him. “Green even said “Let Red keep Slaking off like a Slowpoke, he deserves it.”.”

“Sounds like something she’d say.” Red smiled for a moment, but it disappeared. “So why did you stay Yellow?” He asked.

This caused a faint blush to come from the girl. “Oh! W-well, um…you promised me you’d help me shop!” She said quickly.

“I did?”

“Yes! O-on the plane ride to Kalos…before you fell asleep.” She tried to avoid eye contact with him.

“Well I did go to sleep. It’s most likely true.” Red crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He then took Yellow’s hand into his. “Okay then, let’s shop until the sun sets!” He gave her a sincere smile, and her blush deepened.

“Man, I wish I was wearing my hat…” She muttered under her breath. She looked around for something to take them off the current conversation (or rather, his eyes off of her), and noticed a store with a brightly colored banner. On it were two faintly drawn Pikachus holding something she assumed was a candy. The rest of the sign was titled “Slurpuff’s Sweets”. The store had faint drawings of other Pokémon as well, like Gallade and Gardevoir. “Red, can we go in there?” Yellow pointed to the store and the two walked over, hand-in-hand. There was a man with blue spiky hair leaning just outside the store. He wore a leather jacket that was zipped up about halfway. He wore a dark blue shirt under it and red pants. He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking among the street.

“Wonder what kind of sweets they have in there…” Red asked to no particular person.

“Edible ones.” Said the person leaning on the wall.

“You went in here Hugh?” Yellow asked the man.

“For a brief moment.” Hugh shrugged off the thought. “An aquaintence asked me to go in and but some sweets for him. In the process I brought one for myself.” He shivered a bit at the memory. “It was too sweet for me, and the aroma of the whole store is overwhelming..”

Red looked at Yellow. “Still want to get something out of here?”

“Of course, we could share them!” She smiled. As the two walked in, she started blushing again.

Hugh shook his head. “Clueless and obvious go well together.” He muttered to himself. He then felt something brush up against his leg. He looked down to see a Pokémon wearing a Santa hat. The Pokémon had gray fur and big, purple eyes. It stared at Hugh, who stared back at it.

“Pur, Es-purr…” The Pokémon said.

“Tell me about it.” Hugh nodded. He and the Pokémon leaned against the wall, and watched the people go by.

“HUUUUUGH!” Yelled a voice.

Hugh sighed and looked up at a boy running to him. He wore a red headband around a white hat. He also wore a red sweater along with a black scarf and light blue jeans. He rushed up to Hugh.

“How did it backfire?” He asked the boy.

“W-well I gave Sapphire the box of sweets that you brought for me and she loved them!” He looked around frantically.

“So what’s the backfire?”

“She pulled out her gift for me-”

“Ruby!” A voice called. “You can run, but you can’t hide~”

The boy panicked. “Forget that, I’m hiding!” He ran across the street and hid behind the trash can. Hugh stared with a bewildered look, unable to understand the situation.

At that moment a girl came running up the street. She had brown hair and wore a blue hoodie. She sported blue tennis shoes and dark blue jeans. On one of her hands, she wore a golden bracelet. In the other, she held a mistletoe. Hugh couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Ruby, come back here and take your present already!” Sapphire yelled. She looked around for any signs of the boy. “It’s not that bad of a gift, I swear!”

“Espurr.” The Pokémon mumbled. Hugh chuckled again.

As Sapphire looked around for Ruby, who was still hiding behind the trash can, Hugh looked down the street. He saw two girls skipping down towards him. One had dark blue hair and wore a red short-sleeved sweater with a black shirt underneath. She also wore blue denim shorts – shorts Hugh weren’t very fond of seeing – and blue shoes with red leggings to match. The other girl had light brown hair and a blue long sleeve sweater that was unbuttoned, and below it wore a light blue V shirt. She also wore a silver bracelet on her wrist. She sported a red mini skirt and pink leggings, along with high heels – another trait Hugh didn’t like.

Behind them were three boys, each holding presents. One had light brown hair, but not as bright as the girls. He wore a green jacket and a white shirt underneath. He sported blue jeans along with black shoes. He held a shopping bag with a heart on both sides in one hand, and a small blue box in the other. The boy next to him had shiny red hair and wore a green long sleeved shirt that was open. Below it was a pink shirt. He wore black jeans and red shoes. He carried four gift boxes.

However between the two boys was the third, who was struggling to carry a lot of bags. He had black hair and wore a red hoodie. He wore beige shorts and red shoes. He was practically waddling along the ground.

“Hugh! Hi!” The girl with blue hair exclaimed as they approached him.

“Hello Crystal,” He nodded to both of them. “Blue. Out shopping?”

“You bet; almost every store is having a last-minute sale!” Crystal exclaimed.

“We’ve gotten extra gifts for everyone!” Blue shrieked in joy.

“Is that why these boys are following you?” Hugh pointed to the three behind them. The one in the red hoodie collapsed onto the sidewalk, causing the other two to stop.

“We told you not to carry too much.” The red haired on sighed.

“Not…helping, Silver…” The one in red was out of breath.

“I could’ve helped you know…” The brown haired one shrugged.

“Green…I’ve got th-this…” the boy struggled to get up.

“Don’t mind Gold…” Crystal said. “He does something like this every year.”

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” Hugh muttered.

“Exactly!” Gold muttered. He managed to get up, but ended up waddling again.

“All right, this is embarrassing.” Green sighed. “Give me some bags.” He reached for some on Gold’s arm, but he suddenly Gold stood up and ran ahead.

“I give him two minutes before he collapses again.” Silver said as he and green went after him.

“…He knows that the hotel is the other way, right?” Hugh asked.

“We better go get him.” Blue sighed. “I swear, he’s a hardheaded kid.” Blue chuckled.

“Be glad he doesn’t visit you every day to “help out” when you don’t need it.” Crystal sighed.

As the two girls walked off, Hugh looked down. The Pokémon was still there, staring at him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate-coated sweet he brought, and gave it to the Pokémon. The Pokémon took it and sat next to him, digging into the food. Hugh smiled a bit.

“Aww, Hugh’s having a moment again.” Chuckled a voice. Hugh suddenly hid his smile and looked at another girl looking at him. She had long, black hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore a pink scarf and a gray jacket with no sleeves. Under it she had a black shirt and wore blue jeans. Next to her was a boy wearing a red and green cap. He had black hair and wore a light blue sweater. He also wore blue jeans and red shoes.

“Don’t you have to be spies somewhere else?” He huffed.

“White’s just joking, Hugh.” The boy laughed nervously. “We weren’t spying, we just happened to be walking by, that’s all.”

“We wanted to see if you wanted to join us for a little movie making.” White beamed. “Black and I are heading back to Hotel Richissime and get my equipment. Then we’re gonna make a home movie!”

“Of course, it just has to have Pokémon in it…” Black muttered. “Can’t be just about us can it.”

“Hey Black, your shoe is untied.” White pointed down. Black looked down and White smacked him in the back of the head. He muttered an “ow” as he bend down to tie it. Hugh chuckled.

“I’ll pass. I’m enjoying my time right here.” Hugh shook them off. “But have a pleasant time.” The two smiled at him and walked off, with White arguing about weather Pokémon should be the stars or the Pokédex holders, like Black suggested. As they walked off Hugh noticed two people he actually enjoyed talking to on rare occasions; Mei and Kyohei. Mei was wearing a brightly designed shirt. Under her shirt was a long sleeved shirt with a different patter than the first. She wore green leggings along with black boots. Around her waist was a blue belt with a heart-shaped buckle. Kyohei wore a light blue formal shirt and blue jeans. He also had on brown shoes and a pink bracelet. He sat there watching Mei as she looked at her phone. There was an empty space on the bench and Hugh even thought of going over to sit on it. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, another girl came by looking tired and sat down. She had long, blonde hair and a red hat with a black stripe. She wore a green sweater and a red skirt, along with white leggings and light brown shoes. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead and pulled out a bar of candy from her pocket. As soon as she opened it, Hugh saw Kyohei look at her with a look of hunger. He decided that now wasn’t the best time to start a chat. After all, he saw Kyohei already talking to the girl, while his eyes stayed on her candy bar. Mei seemed to not notice.

Hugh then glanced over to the store next to Slurpuff’s Sweets. It was a clothing store called “La Pokémode”, which Hugh wasn’t very fond of. All he could see were women’s clothing when he walked past. For some reason, it gave him a bad feeling.

He then saw two boys walk out of it. One had blonde hair that was shaped like a crescent moon. He wore a long green shirt that was unbuttoned a bit. He wore a lighter green colored shirt under it and a necklace. He wore matching mittens and shoes, along with dark blue jeans. Next to him was a boy with green hair, with matching shirt and pants. His shoes had a green stripe down the center. Both boys were looking at a single 3Ds. Behind them came a girl with short, brown hair. She wore a white hat with a pink flower button. She wore a pink dress with a white shirt underneath.  She wore purple leggings and black Mary Janes. Hugh didn’t like the name of those shoes. She was holding four shopping bags and smiled at the boys.

“Wally, Emerald, come on.” She laughed. “You guys can play Pokémon back in the hotel room.”

“But Emerald’s helping me fight Darkrai!” The boy in green pouted.

“It’s a bit hard with the dark void / nightmare/ bad dreams combo. That’s why it’s best to have a Pokémon with synchronize, magic bounce, or even insomnia.” Emerald explained.

“You sure do know about abilities Emerald.” The boy was impressed.

“Elementary, my dear Wally.” Emerald smirked. “Abilities can determine a battle just as fast as type matchups.”

“All right boys, time to get up off the ground.” The girl said.

“But Lyra…” They both pouted.

“No buts, you promised to help me wrap gifts.” Lrya argued. Reluctantly, the two boys got up and followed her, although the two kept their eyes on the 3Ds screen. Hugh smiled at the knowledge Emerald had.  The two bumped into a person passing by while staring at the screen. The person was a young boy who had black hair and wore a red hat. He wore a blue hoodie and matching jeans, along with black shoes. The boy stumbled a bit and fell after stepping on his own feet.  As soon as he hit the ground, six Pokéballs rolled out of his pockets. The boy jumped up and frantically started picking them up.

“No, no, no, no…” Hugh could hear the boy whine. He shook his head.

“Espurr.” The Espurr was looking up at him.

“New trainer.” Hugh replied. He looked in the other direction. “How embarrassing…” Hugh thought. He then saw three more trainers coming down the street; two boys and a girl walking in between them. One boy had dark blue hair and wore a red hat. He also had a light blue scarf and wore a black, sleeveless shirt with a red, long sleeve shirt underneath with white stripes. He sported light blue jeans and black shoes. The other boy had blonde hair and wore an orange hat. He had a green sweater around his neck and a dark orange, half long sleeve shirt, wearing beige one underneath that was longer than the other. He also wore brown jeans and matching shoes. The girl had long, blue hair and wore a purple scarf. She donned a pink long sleeve shirt and a black skirt. She also had gray leggings and brown boots. The three of them were talking to each other when they stopped only a few feet away from Hugh.

“…and that Trixs cereal commercial was the best.” The one in red gushed.

“Dia, for once can’t you think about something other than food?” The one in orange groaned.

“But Pearl, this is for our Christmas Comedy Routine.” Dia argued. “That commercial hit me with a good idea. When they said “Silly Bunnelby; trixs are for kids!” I thought we should do a comedy routine based on the Pokémon ads we see on T.V. during the holidays!”

“It sounds like a great idea Pearl.” The girl smiled.

“I don’t know Platinum…” Pearl scratched the back of his head.

“If Lady likes it, it’s a good chance others will too!” Dia pulled out a cookie from his pocket and took a bite. He then looked across the street. Hugh looked in his direction to see a Green-haired man playing with a Zoura and a Piplup.  The man wore a white sleeveless shirt with a black tee shirt underneath. He wore light blue jeans and crimson-red shoes. He also wore a red and white cap and a black bracelet. He leaned against the trash can, while Ruby was still hiding behind it. “Hey, N!” Dia called out to the man.

The man called N looked across the street at the three. As he did, the Pokémon also looked as well. “Yes?”

“What do you think about a comedy skit about Pokémon in commercials?” Dia yelled across the street. Pearl slapped his forehead while Platinum giggled.

“It sounds interesting.” N called back. N was a fan of their comedy skits.

“See? Even N likes it!” Dia smiled.

“Diamond, Diamond, Diamond…” Pearl shook his head.

“Just give it a try Pearl.” Platinum looked him straight in the eye. “Even if you don’t like it, then it might allow you to come up with even greater material.”

Pearl closed his eyes for a moment. “Okay, I’ll do it; but on one condition.” Dia was searching through his pockets while Platinum tilted her head to the side. “Just close your eyes.” Pearl than began searching through his pockets, and pulled out a mistletoe from his pocket as soon as he did. He held it up high, but as soon as he did, he saw Diamond with HIS eyes closed, doing the exact same thing. Platinum had crouched down and was petting the Piplup, who had come across the street. Hugh snickered in the background at the sight as Pearl put away his mistletoe. As he did, Platinum looked up and turned to him. “Sorry, what was that Pearl?” Hugh thought he saw a snicker across her face.

Pearl became flustered as Dia started spitting up hair that was caught in his mouth. “Erm…uh…” He looked around and then looked back at the trash can. “HEY RUBY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING BEHIND THAT TRASH CAN, BUDDY?” He suddenly yelled.

“Ruby!?!” Sapphire came running out of the store entrance next to Hugh. Upon hearing his name, Ruby jumped up and bolted down the street, with Sapphire following in pursuit. The four stared at the two, then at Pearl.

“Wonder what that was about…” Pearl scratched his head again.

Hugh let out another chuckle and started to walk off. “These are my friends…sometimes I wonder if this is all they do.” He sighed and felt a tug on his pants leg. He looked down to see the Espurr, looking back at him with those eyes. The two stared at each other for a long while.

“Come with me.” Hugh flashed a smile. “I have a spare Pokéball back at my hotel room.” Then he turned around, with the Espurr in tow.