1x1 Pokemon: Jewels of the Aether - On the Run (Tala x 1:22)

Michelle's clothes were certainly not the kind people would call ordinary as the locals glimpsed at the markings all over her fire mage clothes. Was she from some kind of legion or army, perhaps? Not wanting to get in her way, everyone minded their own business. However, even as Michelle left the clothing stalls and went for lunch, one orange-cloaked merchant kept an eye on her and watched her enter a dark corner from the distance.

No sooner was Leon at the ranger division which wasn't really much more than a cave with a lot of decorations inside. He removed his hat to greet the head ranger, who granted an audience to Leon.

"Leon Pinetree," Leon introduced himself, as he bowed his head briefly. "Sapphire Bay Company ranger. Oh, and this is Belle."
Belle was following Leon's footsteps and saw the head ranger smiling at Leon and then her. Belle smiled back.

"Grant," the head ranger replied. "Head ranger of this division of Relievera. So, be at ease, Sir Leon. What brings you all the way out here?"

"Oh, you could call it an accident," Leon sheepishly replied. "I was captured by an invading army at Lalusi but managed to break out of prison. We escaped aboard a Kalski trading ship and they chased us all the way here. Now, all I need to do is find a way home, but that's difficult when a stockade is set up around the port city."

"'Us'? Who's 'us'?" Grant asked, interested.

Leon's first thoughts went to Michelle, but he did remember the others who escaped with him. "The other prisoners, of course," he replied. "I was wondering... would you know of any information that might have a possible link to the stockade? I know that a certain 'Flare Guild' might be responsible, but I can't be too sure."

"It is true that the Flare Guild have been aggressive around here, but we haven't heard of any of their operations abroad," Grant replied. "If anything, your best bet would be to talk to Prince Clemont and Princess Bonnie in Illumis. Maybe they may have the leads you're looking for."

All the more reason to go there, eh?
"Thank you, Sir Grant," Leon bowed again and left the ranger division with Belle.

 

However, the orange-cloaked merchant had followed Michelle to the outside of the city, well away from the community, and dragged her aside by force. "Funny how you ended up here, huh?" he growled at her. "People like you from that Magma Order really had the guts to take the fight to us at Lalusi, huh? And now you and your Aqua Order friends forced us out of Lalusi?! I'll leave you with a warning: if you think you and your fire mage friends could be so wise to take the fight to Kalski, we will be ready for you. Leave Kalski, or we will hunt you down."

Meanwhile, Leon and Belle were on their way to the outskirts of Relievera to meet Michelle, but on the way, they stopped by to grab a pie and share it. Afterwards, they were on their way to meet Michelle.

 

Michelle's smirk only seemed to anger the merchant even more, and it wasn't before long that a second orange-cloaked merchant showed up beside the first one. The first merchant said, "You think you're so smart that you can take on us, the Flare Guild?! Don't make me laugh. We don't even need to fight, because there are more ways we can get rid of you. We could put a ban on all of Kalski to supply you with whatever you need, or we can isolate you from civilisation. No one would want to listen to you. But if you're so keen, let's see how good of a fighter you are. I bet you can't even wield that knife."

As it happened, a flurry of leaves flew past Michelle and blasted the merchants a short distance away from her. "She's not worth your trouble," Leon's calm voice cut through the air. "Just leave her alone. She hasn't done anything to harm you, eh?"
"And who might you be? Identify yourself to the guild, if you will," the merchant said.
"A ranger from the Sapphire Bay Company," Leon replied. "Look. Let's be reasonable here."

"We don't need to," the merchant replied, "but we'll be generous and tell you to leave Kalski at once. If you don't, the consequences will be dire for you." At that, the merchants disappeared into the streets of Relievera once more.

Leon was kind of glad he didn't need to take out his bow, and he looked at Michelle closely. "You alright? What was that about?"

 

"You sure?" Leon said. But he took Michelle's word for it. "Alright, then let's get a move on, but you don't suppose those people are from the Flare Guild, eh? Never mind. Let's go."

Belle took the lead as Leon and Michelle walked to the south of Relievera. According to the locals, there existed a mountain path that connected the seaside to the city of Illumis. While Leon and Michelle were walking, they could see the rocky cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other.

 

[Agh!] Belle panicked. Seeing the fire-type Pokémon suddenly frightened her and she hid behind Leon's foot.

"Huh? What is it, Belle?" Leon asked. But noticing Ian, he grinned. "Relax, it's just Ian. He did help us out back on the ship, you know. You'll get used to it." He continued walking beside Michelle but Belle kept her eyes away from Ian. For her, fire was very intimidating.

Belle was not convinced. [That's easy for you to say, since you don't fear fire like I do...] she muttered to her shaky self.

 

"Oh, come on, Belle," Leon chuckled. "Let's enjoy the journey while we're still here." He knelt down to pick up Belle and carry her in his arms and continued walking.

On the way there, the sea breeze gently blew across the whole route. There were cliffs towering over the area where rocks and sand met the ocean water. It was truly beautiful, wasn't it? It didn't take long before Belle had gotten used to the view and was enjoying it with Leon. Near the end of the route, there was a cave at the base of the cliff which would lead to a junction where it would connect to different parts of Kalski.

 

Leon agreed with Michelle. "That's a good thing, for sure. Plus, at least Ian will keep us warm - Oh, Belle."

Belle became even more frightened of Ian's roaring flames and curled herself in Leon's arms and away from the blast of heat. "Don't worry, Belle. We'll be out of this cave in no time," Leon said. The cave route eventually split into two directions, with a turn on one side and a straight on the other. According to the instructions Leon was given, Illumis was on the other side of the cave, so he went and took the straight path. Not to mention there was a light at the end of the road, so that must be the way.

 

"We could," Leon replied, "but they said it would just lead to a different town or city. If you like, we can go there. Otherwise, we can keep going straight. I'll leave it to you."

[Leon...] Belle mumbled. [How can you be so sidetracked already? Don't tell me it's because you want to do this girl a favour. You have to focus!]

"Well," Leon said. "You never know."

 

CRASH!

From the way Michelle had slipped and ran into him and knocked him over along with his hat, Leon instantly fell on his back with Michelle on top of him. "Ow..." he muttered, as he lay on the ground in shock from the fall.

But after he had a short moment to recover from the shock, he then realised that Michelle's hands were still clutched to his cloak and she was on top of him. Moreover, Leon only realised that she was on top and his eyes widened that he was looking right at her eyes. Her nose was close to touching his and her red hair was brushing against his face too.
"I..." Leon didn't know what to say. He was speechless. Did she always look this attractive up close? Slowly, his coolness started to fade, and it was hard to keep it like that. "Are you alright?"

Belle was in utter shock too, but her recovery was faster. [You didn't think you'd be comfortable around girls.... right, Leon? You never were.] She had to give herself a facepalm.

 

(For the record, because Michelle knocked him over, I think she's the one on top. So she couldn't have pushed him away, because he's on the ground! XD)

Leon simply remained on the ground, stunned. "Pervert...?" he whispered to himself. "Who are you calling pervert? You pushed me to the ground!"

Belle sighed and picked up Leon's hat to put it on her own head. [Come on, now...] she grumbled. [You have to get up.] Even though Belle tried to haul Leon around, he was too big for her. She would have asked Ian to help, but the thought of getting to close to fire frightened her, so she tried to do the work herself.

Meanwhile, Michelle eventually made it to the outside of the cave where she was greeted by a majestic sight of a single straight path with trees on one side and a great river on the other side. A castle stood positioned on top of the river as if the river were a natural moat.

(@[member="WavePearl"] Does the Battle Chateau have a counterpart too?)