Crystal spent most of the next day recovering from what had happened; she felt hungover and like a pile of dirty laundry, but she managed to get through it. She kept in touch with her agent, who was getting on her case about her lack of updates on her socials. Crystal replied that she wasn’t looking to broadcast this next journey, but her agent badgered her to post something.
“You don’t want to squander your fanbase, Crystal. I know some of them can be a little intense, but you’re a big girl; you can handle yourself out there, I’m sure. If you want to keep up your profile and you don’t want there to be a mass unfollowing, then I’d suggest getting back into the habit of posting two or three times a week. I’m not asking for much here; just a couple selfies in a cute outfit, maybe something at a pool or a beach.”
“Yeeeah, not sure that last one’s happening for a while. I got mauled by an Excadrill, remember?”
“Oh damn, you’re right. Well, regardless, you need to post again.”
“Fine.” Crystal relented with a sigh, “I’ll post something this week and find something inspirational to put as a quote.”
“That’s all I ask.” her agent replied.
Finally, after a full day of mostly resting, Crystal readied herself for her battle against Beckett.
When the day came, Crystal was in a rush; she was running late and the idea of missing a second appointment with the gym leader was horrifying to her. She threw on an outfit, pulled her hair back into an untidy ponytail, and then rushed out the door and down to the lobby of the Pokemon Center. She greeted Kai and Mige as she passed through, before hurrying outside to find a coach, with her friends in tow.
They managed to hail one and Crystal bribed the driver to just leave for the gym.
“Look, I wouldn’t normally do this but I’ve had the weirdest week, man; I got possessed by a demon or something the other day, it was a whole thing, but I can’t miss this gym match today so please if you wouldn’t mind just leaving right now, I’d really appreciate it!”
The driver accepted the bribe and brought them to the gym. Crystal sprinted inside, taking the stairs leading to the gym two at a time; Mige and Kai would catch up. She made it to the front desk to check in with a whole six minutes to spare. With that, she made her way to the waiting room.
There was one other trainer in there; her time slot made her match the second of the day, so she wasn’t surprised the place wasn’t packed. She grabbed a bottle of water and kept to herself; she and the younger boy were both pretty deep in thought about planning their strategies. When the other trainer—Calem Xander—was called by the gym staff, Crystal wished him luck.
Crystal sat on the couch in the back of the room, finally deciding on how to approach the fight. She wasn’t sure about using Litleo; Beckett would be prepared for a fire-type. Litleo was also her Pokemon with the least experience. However, such a “soft opening” might be useful to soften up one of Beckett’s Pokemon and leave Froakie and Heracross room to clean up a little. Instead, she would open with Froakie and then move on to Heracross.
It would be an unusual move, to be sure, and his newly-learned Aerial Ace move would give Heracross a hell of an advantage. Litleo would be her last ditch hope, in the event that Beckett managed to take out two of her Pokemon. But she was confident that Froakie and Heracross would pull through for her.
A few more trainers trickled in, and after twenty minutes or so, Crystal was finally called out. She was led to the back terrace of the gym, where Beckett greeted her himself. They shook hands and Crystal was given the rundown: the Proving would require her to navigate a hedgemaze, where she would be forced to overcome obstacles, even wild Pokemon or trainers. She had fifteen minutes to get through the maze and find the door leading to the center courtyard, where she would face him.
When the buzzer started, Crystal sprinted into the maze. She had a good sense of direction and had always been pretty good with mazed. She the basic tenant of sticking to the left wall and she stuck to that. Along the way, she cleared a stream with a single large jump, and was confronted by two Yanma—but avoided them by sliding across the dirt and then continuing to sprint. The Yanma seemed kind of surprised and unsure of how to respond to her, and so she managed to evade them.
Crystal only spent a total of seven minutes and ten seconds navigating the maze, nearly setting a record apparently. Beckett congratulated her on her tenacity before readying for the battle. Three on three, no items or substitutions.
She opened with Froakie and Beckett opened with Venonat. The Venonat tried to hit Froakie with Sleep Powder at first, and then Stun Spore. Froakie managed to evade and resist both attacks, landing powerful blasts of bubbles and leaping high and coming down with strong pounds. Froakie did take a Confusion from the Venonat, but Froakie came out the winner.
Beckett’s second Pokemon was Joltik. Crystal knew that could be trouble—and was proven right when Joltik launched an Electro Web. It was a critical hit that significantly slowed Froakie down. Froakie still managed to land a hit with Pound, but Joltik responded with a surprise Absorb, which knocked Froakie out and provided Joltik with a little healing.
Crystal debated whether to go with Heracross or Litleo next. On the one hand, she had her plan but at the last second was second-guessing herself. No time for that, she thought, and threw Heracross next. Beckett seemed both surprised and impressed at her choice. Joltik attacked with another Electro Web, which hurt and slowed Heracross down a little. She decided not to use the Aerial Card card just yet—she wanted to save that reveal for when Beckett’s third Pokemon was out. Instead, she called for a Horn Attack. Heracross charged forward, swinging its horn at the tiny electric spider and flinging it across the battlefield. Joltik managed to use String Shot to make a little makeshift parachute, landing safely on the battle field. Another Electro Web, with this attack missing. Crystal called for one more Horn Attack, and this one knocked Joltik out.
Beckett was now down to his final Pokemon. Crytsal predicted either Pinsir or Yanma—out of the three bouts with Beckett she’d witnessed by now, he’d used one of them as his third every time. To her surprise, his third wasn’t either of those, but instead a Scyther. Crystal was visibly surprised, but it made sense; he knew she’d seen him battle before and wasn’t going to make it easy on her.
Crystal had Heracross move in for a Horn Attack, which the much faster Scyther easily evaded. Scyther moved in with a Cut attack and, due to its great speed, followed up with an immediate Quick Attack. Heracross was getting knocked around, and he didn’t seem fast enough to keep up with Beckett’s Mantis Pokemon. Scyther came in for a Wing Attack, which hurt, but Crystal had Heracross use Counter—which dealt a good chunk of damage to Scyther in return. Scyther’s follow-up Cut missed, and while the next Quick Attack hit, Heracorss again Countered. Crystal then called for an Aerial Ace while Beckett called for Wing Attack. Scyther’s attack hit, but Heracross’ did too—-with a critical hit!
Both Heracorss and Scyther would faint. However, Crystal still had one Pokemon remaining—Litleo—meaning that she won the battle! She didn’t like how close it had come, but the end result was the same: she’d won her Bug Badge. She and Beckett shook hands as he gave her the badge and the accompanying TM.
Once meeting back up with Mige and Kai, the three of them left the gym to celebrate. They grabbed some lunch and some drinks, relaxing for the remainder of the day while they waited for their train to depart—which, according to Mige, was going to depart at 4am.
Crystal was neither bright-eyed nor bushy-tailed the next morning on the way to the train station, and she was extremely grateful to be able to take a cab to the train station. The place seemed pretty dead when they arrived, which wasn’t a huge surprise given the time. Alexa was waiting for them outside and led them inside; down an escalator to the platforms. It was bit livlier down here.
Once they found their platform, and Viola who was waiting with her and Alexa’s bags, Crystal went off to buy some coffee while Mige ran off to a duty-free store. Crystal ended up buying coffee for all five of them, though when she got back Mige still wasn’t back; Kai informed her that Mige HAD been back for a few minutes but went off to help some guy find his Shuckle. Alexa worried a bit that Mige would miss their train, but Crystal wasn’t worried; Mige would be around exactly when he needed to be.
She was right, with Mige showing up a couple minutes before the train started boarding. Crystal asked if Mige had found the Shuckle, which he had. Apparently, the Shuckle just really liked Ska. Before she boarded, Crystal snapped a few selfies of herself at the train station.
The train was comfortable. It was similar to the trains in Kanto, but seemed at once a little more comfortable and a little older. Seating were blocks of a bench on either side of a table by a window. Crystal grabbed a window seat, Mige sitting next to her, and Kai sitting across from them. Alexa and Viola sat at the table across the aisle from their own.
Kai took out his laptop, intent on working on something or other, but fell asleep almost as soon as the train started moving. Crystal tried to do the same at first, using her sweater as a pillow, but was a bit too caffeinated for that for the time being. So, she just watched the landscape roll by.
The fourteen hour train ride didn’t exactly go by quickly. When the lighting was better, Crystal took a few selfies of herself on the train. She didn’t set up a scene, instead going for an “honest, real” approach. Which really just meant she didn’t want to bother setting anything up right then.
She and Mige and Kai (when Kai was awake) chatted a bit about their homes, their families. Crystal fondly spoke of her family back in Fuchsia City and felt a pang of homesickness. She wondered what her mom and Big Greg were doing right then. She should call them soon, she thought to herslef; she realized she hadn’t called them since getting out of the forest. The thought of her parents finding out what happened with the Excadrill worried her. She knew her mom would flip.
Eventually, Mige and Alexa left to get some snacks while Crystal went about posting her selfies and then having a long conversation on the phone with her agent. Well, less a conversation and almost an argument.
“Crystal, you’re headed to Lumiose City right now, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m on the train right now; we should get there this evening. Why?”
“I just got off the phone with Felix Alain—he’s a photographer out there in Kalos—”
“I know who he is; I’ve worked with him on a couple of ad campaigns before.”
“Right, of course; fabulous. Well, he’s currently doing a series of promotions for PR Studio out there and he’s in need of a few extra bodies! I know it’s last minute, but—”
“Wait, you want me to go to a shoot? I’m in the middle of training right now.”
“Sure, but this is an opportunity! We’re talking about you making some connections out there. And the pay’s damn good, too; PR Studios isn’t skimping out, I can tell you that.”
“I know it’s a good opportunity, but—”
“If you know, then you know you can’t just say no to this, Crystal. You’re an actual trainer and Mr. Alain is very impressed with your work, sweetheart. Maybe it’s a pain in the tuchus but it’ll be worth it to have your face seen by everybody in Kalos. It’s one week. C’mon.”
Crystal groaned and rubbed her eyes, and once more reluctantly agreed to take the gig. She got the details down, and then called the PR Studio just to confirm that she’d be coming by the next morning. She was set up with a room at a night local hotel—standard practice for these sorts of shoots—and given a bunch of other details for the shoot. Crystal did inform them about her encounter in the Santalune Forest and while it was noted, she was assured it wouldn’t be a problem.
The remainder of the train ride was more or less uneventful.
Once back in the city, the five of them went their separate ways; Alexa and Viola left to their own apartment, while Mige & Kai made their way to Professor Sycamore’s lab. Crystal had to go to the hotel, but promised she’d see them the next day and that she’d be there for dinner tomorrow!
Crystal took a cab to the hotel and checked in, before heading down to the bar for a drink. It had been a long train ride, and while she had initially wanted to walk around a little bit, now that she was here all she wanted to do was lie down and watch TV for a while. But not before she got something to drink.
In the bar, she was pleasantly surprised to run into Estella, a model she’d known since she first started out! She was there with Stefano, a handsome male model and Kalos native, who she’d also worked with before. The three of them had a happy reunion, and Stefano insisted on paying for everyone’s drinks. They caught up a bit, and Estella was surpsied that Crystal was doing another trainer’s journey.
“But I thought you already did that?” Estella said, “Didn’t you even make it to the Pokemon League?”
“Yeah, I did, but I only made Top 8.”
“Top 8 is nothing to scoff at, darling.” Stefano said with a smile. Crystal shrugged.
“I don’t think it is. But I want to do better, so I decided to travel in Kalos this time.” Crystal explained, “Plus, you know, I have some work lined up here for later in the year. I guess I figured if I was gonna be here for awhile anyway, I may as well make the most of it.”
“Wait, so—sorry, but you’re choosing to do this?” Estella asked, eyes wide, “Oh Maker, I thought—everybody thought the agency was making you do it, as a publicity stunt!”
Crystal laughed, “No! It’s all my idea. If anything, Felicity’s been on my ass to stop and focus on modeling.”
“Well it’d be a lot safer.” Estella said. Stefano chuckled.
“I for one think it’s admirable. You know what you are wanting, and you are going for it.” he said and raised his drink to her. Crystal smiled and clinked her glass with his.
The three of them talked for a bit before Crystal decided to turn in. Stefano casually suggested that Crystal was welcome to hang out with them a little longer, maybe take the party somewhere more private, but Crystal declined. She definitely wasn’t feeling the best at the moment. But she’d take a rain check.
Back in her room, the drinks hadn’t made Crystal feel any better. She thought about the conversation as she showered and readied for bed. People thought her agency was making her train? That was frustrating her, for some reason. And Stefano…he was handsome and charming, and he’d always been flirty with her. They’d never hooked up before, though, and eying the scars across her midsection, Crystal was pretty sure he wouldn’t want try again if he’d seen them. She frowned; that damn Excadrill. She knew this didn’t change who she was, and it didn’t exactly spell the end of her modeling career, but…it didn’t keep it from stinging any less. When did she care so much about her appearance? She hated how vain she felt, but she couldn’t help it.
She turned in and slept hard—it wasn’t a refreshing sleep, however, and she woke up with a slight headache and stiffness in most of her limbs. Why did she feel so bad? Regardless, the job waited for nobody.
First Day Back on the Job
After she showered and got ready, Crystal made her way down to the lobby where she saw the other models waiting. Most of them were younger than she was, and most of them she didn’t recognize. Probably locals.
They were picked up by a series of cars and brought to the PR Studio. Trainers in Kalos used this service to make “PR Videos”, to…advertise themselves? Apparently all trainers competing in the Kalos League needed one. Looking at the high-end video equipment, the costumes, the pagantry of it all, she couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Mige having to make a video. Then she imagined Kai as a sort of artsy film director, and it was all she could do to not burst out laughing.
They all met with Felix Alain, and then went off to get ready for their test shots. This was another standard part of the process; they all got their makeup done, got their hair done, and then one by one they would be brought to the shooting space where the photographer would take a bunch of different images with different lighting setups. The models didn’t need to strike a pose or anything; the hard part was being patient and sitting still long enough for the photographer to get what he needed.
So, after a brief orientation on the service they would be selling and the general “feel” of the shoot that they were going for, Crystal made her way to hair and makeup with the other women. She mostly stuck with Estella, given that she was someone Crystal actually knew, but Crystal was never a shy girl and was more than happy to talk or joke around with anyone.
Crystal didn’t have to change into anything elaborate; her clothes were apparently fine as-is, which was always nice. The stylists were incredible, as always, and when they were finished she made her way to the green room with everyone else. After about an hour, whenever everyone was finished (there were about sixteen models present; ten women and six men) Felix Alain came out to speak with everyone personally. He was charming and affable, a bit aloof and artistic. He was intense, but that intensity bore extremely good work. Crystal wondered why he was working with the PR Studio; it kind of felt like slumming it to her. Oh well; not her business.
Alain seemed especially interested in Crystal, given she seemed to be the only one there who was an actual Pokemon Trainer. Not someone who owned a Pokemon or two—an actual trainer, someone who traveled and battled and earned badges, and even competed in the Pokemon League twice. Alain told Crystal she understood the life of the trainer, and he wanted her to bring the determination and vulnerability of that to the shoot.
By lunch, introductions were over; four hours in and they hadn’t even started shooting. Not to mention Alain wanted to do a few extra test shots with Crystal and “pick her brain” about the trainer’s life. Of course she agreed, but that meant she’d be late to dinner at Professor Sycamore’s. The professor was making a big dinner for everyone himself, and she was invited. But it started at 5 and apparently, that would be the earliest she’d be able to leave.
So she texted Mige: Hey, bad news. I’m stuck here until at least 5 or so. I still really want to come to dinner, though, but I won’t be there until around 6, maybe? Would you mind letting Sycamore know and if he would be willing to maybe save me something? Thanks a million!
“Who’s Mige?” Estella asked with a sort of amused expression.
“A friend I’m traveling with.” Crystal replied.
“Sounds romantic.” Estella said but Crystal rolled her eyes.
“It’s not like that. We both competed in the League and we happened to run into each other a while back. We figured it was better to travel with someone you know, so we’ve been traveling together.”
“Is he cute?” Estella asked, wagging her eyebrows. Crystal shrugged.
“I mean, yeah, he’s pretty attractive.” she said, “But again—we’re just really good friends. So we can put the kibosh on that.”
Estella just giggled. “Of course. No more out of me.”
The rest of the day went by pretty quick. She mostly just lounged around the green room, talking to people and watching TV. Not much in the way of craft services or drinks; just water. That was one of her least favorite parts of being a model; she was always really hungry on set.
Given his desire to talk to her, Crystal was the very last one to be photographed. The test shots went well and then Alain took her to a nearby cafe across the street to talk to her about her experiences. He was curious and sharp, listening and taking notes intently about her first and second journey, as well as what she had been up to since coming to Kalos. As always, he was pretty intense, even in such a casual atmosphere, but he never made her feel uncomfortable—and he never came on to her, which she appreciated.
It was about a quarter-past 5 when she and Alain parted ways and she quickly hailed a Gogoat Shuttle back to her hotel. She hurried to her room, turning down drinks with some of the girls, and quickly showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes for dinner—her other outfit was fine, but she’d been under hot lights and running, you know?
Crystal got a Dryvr out to Scyamore’s Lab and hurried inside. She was greeted by Cosette, who led her into the dining room to the rather crowded table; Mige and Kai were there, of course, as were Sycamore’s assistants, Cosette and Sophie. Also present were Lysandre, and his four apprentices: Mabel, Aliana, Bryony, and Celosia. The table was a bit crowded, but they’d saved her a space (which she appreciated). She ended up seated between Cosette and Kai(Celosia was already sitting on Mige’s other side). Sycamore welcomed her and, with her arrival, dinner started!
It was a wonderful meal, apparently cooked almost entirely by Scyamore himself! The food was traditional Kalosian fare, and it tasted amazing to Crystal. Likewise, Kai seemed intently fascinated by the food, remarking on the palette and methods used in its preparation. Somewhat amusignly, Mige seemed to know an awful lot about how the food was likely prepared. She knew he was a pretty good cook—she’d eaten his food before after all—but she didn’t realize he actually, like, understood it. She made a mental to note to talk to him about that sometime; she literally grew up in a restaurant and was pretty familiar with Alolan and Paldean cuisine, at least.
Crystal engaged in chitchat with the Professor and Sophie, mostly, and Mable seemed to have a lot of questions about being a model, and how that might hinder her training career. It was a nice and lively conversation, and she found Mabel to be really sweet—a bit strange and overly formal, maybe, but sweet.
Wine was served throughout the dinner, as was customary across Kalos, but Kai had…maybe a little bit too much. He was heady pretty fast, then he got tipsy, and by the last course he was definitely drunk. Crystal was a bit worried that he’d offended Sycamore, but of course the professor seemed pretty laid back about it.
Mige volunteered to get Kai to his room and Celosia quickly volunteered to help. By the time they came back, both she and Lysandre’s apprentices had to get ready to leave. Crystal didn’t want to leave, per se, but she knew she had an early morning tomorrow.
She waited for Mige and Celosia to come back before she left. The Apprentices all bid Mige a fond farewell before they left and then Crystal said her goodnights to Mige. She told him the shoot would take about a week, but after that she’d be ready to go whenever. Mige told her about an upcoming trip Sycamore was going to send him on by the end of the week; a trip to Kiloude City to investigate a mineral sample. He told Crystal she could come and she agreed.
“I’m not sure how long we’ll be out there, though. I don’t wanna keep you from anything, like your job or something.” he told her.
“No, don’t worry. If you’re going to Kiloude City, then I’m going, too. We’ll stay there however long, and if we end up being there long enough that my shoot in Cyllage is coming up, I’ll take the train. Don’t worry about it.” she told him. Mige seemed satisfied with that, and they bid each other goodnights.
On the Dryvr ride back to the hotel, Crystal felt bummed she had to work that week, instead of hanging out with her friends. It felt weird, being without them back in her old life for a week. But it was only a week; they’d be out adventuring in Kiloude City before they knew it.
Workin’ 9 to 5
Crystal was up early and went for a brief walk around the street where her hotel was located before making her way back to the lobby in time to catch the cars to the PR Studio. They were really going to start the work today.
Hair and makeup were first, as usual. The girls all shared a communal space to change and keep their stuff (which was normal) and as Crystal was changing into her first outfit of the day she heard a gasp. She turned to Estella, who was just staring with wide eyes, covering her mouth with her hands.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Crystal asked. Estella nodded and suddenly seemed flustered, and it occurred to Crystal what Estella had gasped about. Crystal shifted her weight suddenly feeling self-conscious and exposed. She quickly put on her new top and quickly left to get the accessories. She felt irritated at Estella and embarrassed. She knew the scars were pretty bad, but…they weren’t that bad, were they? That uncomfortable feeling lingered through the morning on her first day of the shoot. Estella seemed to avoid her a little, and that just made Crystal more irritated. For the rest of the day, Crystal changed in the bathroom.
At lunch, Crystal decided not to join the others in going out to eat. Instead, she just ordered something in from FoodMood. She ate with her Pokemon, sharing her meal with them; she’d gotten more than she had thought, at any rate, and they seemed to enjoy it. The first day went pretty well; the first few days were just standard promo and ad shots; all pretty simple. The more complicated shots would come around day three.
That night, back at the hotel, Crystal was hailed by Estella on her way back to her room. She asked if she could buy her a drink to apologize for that morning. Crystal was reluctant, but agreed. They talked about what Estella had done and Crystal told her about the Excadrill.
“Oh, Crystal, I’m so, so sorry that happened to you. That’s so awful…” Estella said, and she seemed sincere, “I’m sorry for how I reacted, I just—I didn’t expect it, you know?”
“I don’t blame you. I know what they look like.” Crystal shrugged. Estella took her hand.
“I’m sorry.” she said again, “But…you’re okay? No internal damage, or…?”
“Nothing like that. Don’t worry; I got checked out when we got back to the city. It would have been a lot worse if Mige and that ranger hadn’t been there.”
“Well, thank the Maker for that, then.” Estella said. The two talked a bit more and by the end of it, Crystal felt a lot better than she had. It wasn’t as if she felt better about the situation, or about the scars or anything else, but she didn’t feel quite so self-conscious. She figured that was a win.
The next day went a bit better than the first. Crystal did her best to ignore the looks she got whenever any of the other girls caught sight of her scars and focused on her job. For her part, Crystal was a professional and she performed very well. Alain seemed to be basing many of the compsitions on Crystal, and Crystal got more than few solo shots with a variety of props and costumes and sets.
She also got to know some of the other models a bit better; Ava and Gia were aloof Kalosian girls, but they were nice underneath their seemingly-apathetic exteriors. Stefano was a constant presence and was often paired with her—Alain liked how they looked together, apparently. She also got to meet Stefano’s friend Alberto—very handsome, very well-built, very nice, and very not-fluent-in-Galish. But he was sweet.
On the third day, they started doing the more complex shots. Some of it was video—like a commerical or ad to play on TV or on YouTube or something—and some of it was still shots utilizing the same costumes and props.
By lunch, the others invited her out but she politely declined. Before the others left, Stefano gave Crystal the address of Cafe Kizuna—an Alolan-themed place on Hibernal Avenue. If she hurried, she could get there and back with time to spare. Crystal smiled and thanked him, but Stefano insisted she didn’t have to thank him.
“I know that your father’s side are Alolan. Lumiose is a big city and you have…well, you have a hard time of things, it seems to me. Maybe a little bit of home is what you are needing.” he said. Crystal thanked him anyway. Stefano also invited Crystal out to the club that night; he and Alberto and some of the others were going to the club to dance and get some drinks after work and they’d love it if Crystal could join them. Crystal smiled and said she’d think about it.
Given she was still made up for the shoot and wearing her current shoot outfit—a low-cut party dress that probably cost more than her parent’s restaurant makes in a year—she decided to play it safe and wore a long coat over it. The last thing she wanted was the dress to get ruined by a puddle or powdered sugar.
She walked to the cafe with Litleo trotting along beside her. It was a beautiful sunny day out, and she appreciated being able to stretch her legs a little. She made it to Cafe Kizuna after a twenty minute walk and stepping inside, she was immediately hit with the smell of fresh-baked Malasada. It smelled like home. She fought agains the sudden well of nostalgia building in her chest and started to make her way to the counter when she noticed a familiar face—Mige?!? He was seated at a nearby table with an Espurr. So he caught a new Pokemon!
Crystal excitedly hurried over to his table, beaming at the sight of her fried. She found that she had been missing Mige and Kai more than she had thought she would. Mige introduced her to Espurr, who Mige seemed certain liked her. Mige seemed a bit surprised to see her so gussied up, and commented that she looked pretty. The comment flustered her a little and she thanked him, before asking what kind of malasada he’d ordered.
Crystal ordered two Bitter Malasada for her lunch and the two chatted briefly about her parent’s restaurant. She was a little surprised that he hadn’t heard of it while he was there, but then again he wasn’t there that long, not to mention that it was more of a “locals” sort of place. She told Mige that if they were ever in Fuchsia at the same time, she’d bring him by the restaurant and she’d treat him to some real Alolan cooking. And he could meet Big Greg! Big Greg would like Mige, she remarked; Mige was a really nice guy, and she knew Big Greg appreciated how often Mige was there for her since they had started traveling together.
With some reluctantance, Crystal told Mige that she’d need to get back to the shoot soon. Before she left, Mige told her that the trip to Kiloude City had been pushed up—they were leaving the next day, as opposed to the end of the week. Crystal’s heart sank. Great. That was…just…great. She hid her disappointment well (she hoped) and told Mige that she hoped he had a lot of fun and stayed safe. She’d be around when he got back. Mige seemed surprised to hear that; he figured she’d just leave when her shoot was done. Crystal laughed.
“Why would I leave without you? We’re friends and traveling companions; I have to stay here and do my job, you go and do your job, and I’ll be waiting here when you get back. Then we can get back to normal.” she said with a warm smile. Mige seemed to appreciate that. Before they parted ways altogether, Crystal asked Mige if he was busy that night.
“I know that you said you had to catch a train early tomorrow, but I was wondering if you were free tonight? Some of the others from the shoot are going to the club tonight. I’d love if you and Kai could come and hang out?”
“Well, I can come, but Kai was a kid now,” Mige said, and when he saw Crystal’s shocked expression he added, “The egg hatched into a Dedenne.”
“Oh! The egg! That’s right! Heh, that makes more sense.” Crystal said with a laugh, “Man, Heracross will be happy to meet them!”
“Heracross? Oh, yeah, I totally forgot about that.” Mige said and Crystal giggled. After confirming that Mige was, in fact, interested in going out, Crystal told him that she’d text him the details later. Feeling a bit more cheerful than she had in a few days, Crystal hurried back to the studio.
When she had a free minute, she found Stefano and said that she’d go out with them all, but only if her friend Mige could come, too. Stefano seemed chill with it; “the more the merrier”. Estella seemed amused that Mige was coming.
“You gonna make a move on him?” she teased. Crystal just rolled her eyes.
“Can we focus on the job, please?”
“They’re setting up the lights.” Estella said with a huge grin. Crystal hoped that she wouldn’t say anything like that in front of Mige.
The rest of the shoot seemed to go by slowly—it always did when you had plans for later. But the end of the shoot day came, and everyone headed back to the hotel. Crystal showered and then spent a painstaking amount of time getting ready. Her hair and makeup were on point, but she spent what felt like a thousand years picking out her outfit. Finally deciding on something simple but stylish, Crystal met the others who were going in the lobby; it would be her, Stefano, Estella, Alberto, Ava, Gia, and one of Estella’s friends named Natasha, who was from Sinnoh.
They made their way to the club, which seemed pretty popular. They took their place in line and just small talked and chatted away until they got to the bouncer with his Machoke. They all paid a $20 cover charge before being allowed in. Crystal hesitated and asked the bouncer if she stayed out and waited, could she bring a friend in without waiting in line? She batted her eyelashes and the bouncer agreed. She told the others to head inside without her; she’d be in when Mige got there.
She only waited a few minutes; Mige was prompt and arrived at 10:00 exactly. He cleaned up pretty well, she thought to herself as she greeted him. On the way inside, the bouncer told Mige the cover charge was $40. Crystal frowned; she and her friends only paid $20. Mige just paid the forty before Crystal could get too pissed off, and the two made their way inside.
The club was stylish and modern; extremely dark and lit mostly with blue, teal, pink, and purple neon, though the colors often shifted slowly from one to the next throughout the night. Mige asked where the coat room was; Crystal pointed it out and told him to meet her in the main room and she’d find the others. They weren’t hard to find—especially with Stefano and Alberto with them—and she told them all to be cool because she didn’t want to scare off her friend.
“Aww, that’s cute.” Estella giggled and Crystal frowned at her.
“He’s just a little…I don’t know, he’s kind shy and a little…you know…just be cool, okay?” she pleaded.
“Of course, dear; we will be ‘cool’ for your friend. A friend of yours is a friend of ours, right everyone?” Stefano asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and Crystal let out a small sigh of releif. It wasn’t long before Mige found them—and his Espurr was wearing a pair of sunglasses, just bobbing his head on Mige’s shoulder and Crystal just found that adorable.
Crystal introduced Mige to everyone—-“This is my good friend, Mige”—and then everyone to Mige. Alberto just laughed his booming laugh and exclaimed “Marvelous!”
It didn’t take long before Estella grabbed Mige’s arm and exclaimed she wanted a drink. Before Mige or Crystal could say a thing, they were gone. That was annoying, Crystal thought; she was wanting to hang out with her friend tonight. Natasha seemed to notice.
“Jealous?” she asked. Crystal dismissed her with a wave of her hand.
“Come on, let’s get some drinks!” Crystal said, and the table whole-heartedly agreed. They made their way down from the balcony, and skirted through the crowd on the edge of the dance floor until they got to the bar. Mige and Estella were talking, and Crystal stepped up to the counter on the other side of Mige.
“Sorry we took so long to catch up!” Crystal said, “It’s a big crowd tonight!”
“Oh, it’s no problem. Mige and I were just chatting. He seems like a well-behaved lad.” she said with a sort of mischievous grin. Crystal grabbed Mige by the wrist.
“Come on, let’s go dance!” she said, pulling Mige along behind her. When they were far enough way she apologized for Estella coming on so strong.
“She’s really nice, you know, but she can be…a little protective, I guess.” she said, though really Crystal didn’t think that was actually true. Mige asked how Crystal knew Estella. Crystal explained that Estella and her started at the same agency around the same time. They worked together a lot over the years.
“Why? She didn’t say anything rude to you, did she?” Crystal chuckled. Mige shook his head.
They made it out to the dance floor and Crystal danced with her friend. Mige was…a surprisingly good dancer. Like, he was really good.
The others eventually found them and they all danced together. People exchanged partners a few times, though Crystal turned down Alberto’s offer to dance in favor of sticking with Mige. After a while—Crystal wasn’t sure how long, with how club music tended to be—Crystal asked if Mige wanted to grab another drink. He accepted and the two made their way back to the bar. Crystal looped arms with Mige, just to ensure they weren’t separated by the crowd.
They ordered their drinks and started to talk when Crystal heard a voice that made her skin crawl.
“Crystal? Is that—by the Maker, it is! Crystal Lear! It’s been awhile.” said Riley Svensson. He had that smile that made her want to kick his teeth in. Her body went a bit rigid.
“Riley.” she said through grit teeth.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I was having a good night out.” Crystal replied. Riley perked an eyebrow, as if he didn’t understand why she was being hostile. It was then that Riley took note of Mige.
“Who’s this?” Riley asked, “The new boyfriend, I take it?”
“He’s a friend.” Crystal said and Riley nodded.
“Ah, got it. Given your revolving door of suitors over the years, I wasn’t sure.” Riley said. For a second he seemed to wait for Crystal to introduce him to Mige, or vice versa, but when she didn’t he turned to Mige and waved.
“Hi there. I’m Riley; an old friend of Crystal’s. We go way back.” he said and Crystal scoffed.
“Yeah, that’s not how I would describe it.” she said. Riley chuckled.
“Nice to see you still know how to hold a grudge.” he said. Mige cleared his throat.
“You know, we were, uh, we were just headed over there—” he started to say, but Riley ignored him and looked back to Crystal.
“So you look nice.” Riley said. Crystal shrugged. Riley sipped his drink and continued, “I’m glad you followed my advice. You seem to be making a good living for yourself.”
“Your advice?” Crystal scoffed, “Okay, let me make something clear: what I’m doing now has only ever been my choice, okay? You had nothing to do with it, Riley.”
“Okay, whatever you say,” Riley said with a condescending smile, “So I take it your modeling is what brought you to Kalos?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I’m here to compete in the Lumuiose Conference.” Crystal said. Riley seemed a little taken aback.
“Wait, really? I thought you got all of that out of your system last year?” Riley said and it was everything Crystal could do not to smack him.
“No, Riley, I didn’t get my dream out of my system.” she said and Riley sighed.
“I see. I’m not sure if…look, I’m only saying this as your friend: I’m not sure this whole thing is…really your ‘thing’, you know? I mean, you know, you competed twice and you made it to the Top 8. That’s not…it isn’t bad. You did the best you could. But I don’t think competing for badges or traditional battles are where your strengths are. But you know what, Crystal, you are a very beautiful woman and I think you could really do something with Coordinating.”
Crystal grew angrier and angrier as Riley spoke; by the end she was so mad that she was sure her hands were shaking. But something in his words ate away at her confidence. She hated that he still had that effect on her.
“Fuck off, Riley.” she said. Riley chuckled.
“Geez, sorry for trying to help.” Riley said with a light frown, “I guess if you insist on that we might face each other at the League.”
“At the—you’re competing in the Kalos League, too?” Crystal asked and Riley casually nodded.
“Well, I figured since I finally won my first Champion title in Unova, I might as well keep it going. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the first trainer to get three consecutive Champion titles in a row. After Kalos, I was thinking of Sinnoh, maybe. I’ll figure it out later.”
Crystal felt a little numb. Riley would be at the Lumiose Conference…she had a momentary flashback to the battle when she was 15, when Riley beat her at the Indigo Conference. She hadn’t made the Top 32.
“Hey, I think I see the others.” Mige said, and his voice brought her back to the present. Crystal nodded and stepped into the crowd. Mige followed suit and Riley’s eyes sort of followed them until they were out of sight and he went to refill his drink.
Crystal was fuming, just repeating that Riley sucked over and over. Mige tried his best to be helpful, but she was really fucking angry. She was mad that Riley was here—both in Kalos in general and at the club specifically—she was angry he won a Champion title, she was angry that he was ruining her good night, she was angry about…well, about a lof things. She took a breath. No, she wasn’t going to let him ruin her night. She was hanging out with Mige, who was going to be gone for awhile, and she was determined to enjoy her night.
They returned to the dance floor and Crystal basically just power-danced, letting off steam through just moving and forgetting everything else. She lost herself in the music, if just for a little bit, and before long she had largely forgotten about the encounter with Riley.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. By around 2:45 am, Stefano announced that he was probably going to head back to the hotel. He invited both Crystal and Mige back to keep the party going. Crystal was actually enthused about that idea for a moment, though she noticed how Estella was looking at Mige and she didn’t really like it. She reminded Mige that he had an early train to catch and Mige relented that Crystal was probably right.
Crystal walked Mige back outside and thanked him for coming. She also thanked him for being there when Riley showed up. Mige admitted he didn’t really do anything? That didn’t matter; Mige was there and he was on her side, and most important he didn’t indulge Riley’s ego. It meant a lot to her.
She wished Mige luck one more time before he left with Pidgeot; she made him promise to take care of himself and not take any dumb risks. At least, not if she wasn’t there. Mige chuckled and promisd. Abruptly, Crystal hugged him—probably from the alcohol—and told him to come back soon. Mige stated that he’d try, before wishing her luck with the shoot. He climbed atop Pidgeot and the two vanished into the night sky.
Crystal watched them go and then spent a few minutes looking up at the sky. She wished she could be up there, too.
“Ah, Crystal. Funny running into you again.” Riley said. Crystal groaned.
“Please, I’m not in the mood.” she said.
“I was just headed back to my townhouse.” he assured her, “I know that you hate me, for some reason, but it really was nice to see you again, Crystal. I remember when you were just a tomboy who was afraid to embrace her femininity. Now that you decided to finally embrace who you are, look at how far you’ve come. I know you think you want to compete in the League, but think about this: the old you wanted this and look where it got you. The new you—the beautiful person you’ve become—has found success. I was right once. Maybe I’m right this time, too.”
Crystal just glared at him a moment.
“You can go fuck yourself, Riley.” she said, doing her best to keep her slurred voice from quivering, “I’ll see you at the League and when I do, I’m gonna kick your ass. Got it? So fuck off with your stupid bullshit.”
RIley frowned and sighed. Like he was disappointed in her. What an asshole.
“Do you need a ride? I can call you a cab.” he offered.
“I’m fine.” Crystal snapped.
“Okay. Well…good luck out there. I’ll see you around.”
“I hope not.”
With a last sigh, Riley made his way down the street, presumably to his car. Or maybe a hotel that was nearby. God, she hoped they weren’t staying in the same hotel.
She didn’t have to sit with it too long, thankfully, since the others came out shortly after. Estella asked if Crystal was alright and she lied, telling her that she was fine. She just needed the air. The group went back to the hotel. Stefano invited Crystal to his suite; he had some ‘goods’ that would keep the party going. Crystal was hesitant. They had an early call time…
“It’s like you’ve never been to a shoot before.” Ava giggled. With some more convincing, Crystal agreed to join them, but just for an hour or so. In Stefano’s suite, she drank some more, danced some more. She opted out of anything illicit for the time being—maybe next time, she replied—but she had fun burning off the frustratio she felt. Not just toward Riley, but toward her whole situation—she had to stay behind while Mige and Kai went off on some adventure.
She got pretty drunk. At some point—she’s not sure when—she and Stefano started kissing. They were both drunk, but kissing was nice. At one point, she felt Stefano’s hand on her stomach and she was suddenly torn from the moment. Her scars. Abruptly, she excused herslef and went to the bathroom. She locked the door and splashed water on her face. She took a few deep breaths and rubbed her eyes and sighed.
Riley’s voice echoed in her head. His shit-eating smile. Her loss to him at the League. Kissing Stefano, how into it she was. His hands on her side, her stomach. Her scars, Estella’s reaction to them and the presumed response from Stefano. She thought back to her first kiss, with Riley in Lavender Town. He’d been so sweet then. What happened? She thought of what he’d probably say about her scars; he’d gloat that being a trainer wasn’t really for her. That she was damaged goods.
It was at that pont that she saw a text from Mige: Hey. Just wanted to say it feels weird without you here. We miss you. Thanks for inviting me out tonight. I’ll see you when I get back.
Her expression softened and she read and re-read the text several times. They missed her? That was…it made her eyes well up, really. Mige, Kai; they were her friends. They didn’t care she’d been damaged. They didn’t see her differently or treat her different because she was a model, and they supported her. And they missed her. They cared about her no matter what.
She replied: Awww, that’s so sweet! I miss you guys a ton. I’ll be waiting when you get back. Don’t be gone too long (heart emoji)
Crystal stepped out of the bathroom. She was going to apologize to Stefano and head back to her room, but found him already making out with Estella. She chuckled to herself. Well, that was simple. Grabbing her shoes, Crystal left Stefano’s suite and would have honestly been very surprised if anybody noticed.
She made her way back to her room and took a shower, feeling much better than she had been. When she laid down, she looked at the text Mige had sent her again. She smiled ear to ear and fell asleep soon after.
That night, Crystal slept really, really well.
