Chapter 2

Sparks

She felt around with her hand, feeling the velvety smooth fabric under each of her fingers. The warm smells of toast and fresh muffins filled her nostrils, and her eyes could only see a hazy black. She tossed and turned in her bed, wanting to fight of the urge to eat and sleep longer. Though, the Electric gym leader was forced to wake up when she felt a small jolt run down her body.

"Emol, Emooolga!" Her Emolga signified her that her breakfast was about to get cold, before flying off her delicate hair.

Elesa looked around her room, and grabbed a piece of toast drowsily. She started to eat the piece of toast, feeling the freshly melted Moo Moo butter trickle down her tongue. It was infused with many different herbs, like thyme and rosemary, and was toasted to perfection

She flung off her bedsheets after savoring her light breakfast, heading towards the bathroom. Her hair was a frizzy, wavy mess, not like the perfect bun it was last week. Elesa reached for her hairbrush, and started to get to work on her hair.

She first of all brushed out all of the knots that were formed from sleeping (Since she thrashes around in her sleep, it's not really a surprise). Elesa then made her way towards the shower and turned on the handle. She quickly took off her black pajamas with lightning bolts and tossed them aside, and jumped into the cold shower. Grabbing her shampoo, Elesa started to wash out all the gunk in her hair, and also the frizz that her Emolga made earlier. The gym leader washed out all of the bubbles that were enveloped by her shampoo, and then applied her conditioner to her hair to keep it the same glossy sheen it always been.

After her hair was completely washed and not soapy, Elesa turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing the freshly prepared towel made from mareep wool. It was soft against her skin, and also absorbed the water quite nicely, but it also stunk if too much water was absorbed, so Elesa gently patted the towel over her skin and hair in order to not cause damage to either her hair or skin. When Elesa finished drying herself off, she started to blow dry her hair gently.

It was a very holy and sacred ritual for the model; every morning, everything had to be perfect. Elesa, however, would not get this sanctuary this morning as she soon heard a voice in the room, and squeaked; quickly covering up her sacred gardens.

"Miss Elesa, we have a guest at the door. She goes by the name of Miss Maribelle, and has luggage with her. Is she a guest that is staying for a while, Miss Elesa?" An old man, roughly in his late fifties announced in his usually formal, but stuffy tone. The man was dressed in a simple, yet formal black suit, and alabaster gloves just close to suffocating his hands on.

"J-Jarvis! I told you to knock before entering my bathroom! I squealed louder than a Tepig! I'm going to Raichu a nice little GET OUT note," Elesa screamed in anger, but her face was flaring from embarrassment instead of anger.

"I'm sorry my lady, you know how things escape me at times. I had the same problem with your mother. Why are the women in this family always in the bathroom when something important is happening?" Jarvis rhetorically asked before carrying off, allowing Elesa to carry on her own business.

Elesa sighed as she put on her outfit: a nice lavender jacket that had the sleeves extend past her hands. Complementing her jacket were ebony tights, and it made her feel fashionable, playful, and comfortable. She happily bounced down the stairs, her Emolga begrudgingly sitting on her head through the trip. She soon arrived to the front door, a majestic piece carved from maple trees.

"Yes Boss, I understand. I'll make sure it's qui-" Elesa opened the door to see Maribelle talking on the phone. Her voice was different, a little deeper and more... familiar to Elesa. Maribelle shifted her eyes to Elesa, and had a look that seemed almost shocked, but hard to read.

"Alright Pa, thank you for your wishes! Good luck on the farm. Bye!" Maribelle quickly shifted into her actual voice and quickly hung up the phone. The girl then looked up at Elesa.

"Hey Miss Elesa! Sorry, my father asked me to do some quick farm business. It shouldn't take quick at all. Just need to use a dang-nab computer and check marketing sales, whatever those are. Anyways isn't today your date with Mr. Volkner? " Maribelle asked as she dragged in her luggage and handed it to Jarvis. The girl seemed to take in the mansion, and Elesa chuckled at her childish look, before giving a small gasp at remembering

"That's fine, I have a modem next to the fire place. I'm going to call Volkner, alright?" Elesa waved towards Maribelle as she headed upstairs

"WAIT! Miss Elesa, what's a modem!?" Maribelle yelled towards Elesa, confused.

"Just ask Jarvis. He'll explain!" Elesa shouted back, running up the stairs with her Emolga trailing after her. Elesa had to tiptoe around the staff as they were going up and down the stairs, trying to make sure she didn't cause any accidents. That wouldn't of been bright at all. She looked up to see her Emolga panting and whining, so she gave it a nice pat to reassure it.

Elesa reached her cross transceiver and attached it to her arm. She looked through the number address and pressed the call button next to Volkner's name. She waited for the connection to get through, considering Volkner was never a morning person, she was prepared for any grouchiness. She quickly glanced at the screen, and saw the connection go through

"Good morning, Volkner!" Elesa exclaimed cheerfully, looking at the ticked off gym leader.

"Elesa... What do you want? It's three in the morning..." Volkner yawned drowsily, obviously cross at Elesa ruining his sleep.

"It's nine in the morning Volkner, not three. I still think you're used to Sinnoh standard time," she giggled slightly at the thought, but knew time zone changes were always rough, considering all the times she had to go to Kalos for fashion reasons.

Volkner rubbed his eyes and the shifted to a more comfortable position, making it so that more light was coming into his face. He looked groggy and sort of hung over as well, and his face wasn't being kept up well. Elesa saw specks of grime and food stains, another sign Volkner wasn't keeping himself up. Though by the glimpses of the apartment she could get, Elesa deducted that they probably had a party, a wild one at that, the night before.

"You're serious, right? Look Elesa, we had a wild party last night and most of us had gotten drunk. Just give me a few minutes to wake up, alright?" Volkner asked as politely as he could, before leaving the screen for a while. Elesa surveyed the room, seeing broken plates and bottles of wine cluttering the table. She thought she saw Flint sleeping on the couch she could catch sight of, which was riddled with stains. After she was done expecting the small area, she saw Volkner returning to the call, looking a bit fresher with coffee in hand.

"So anyways, Les, why'd you call anyways? Don't you have some fashion thing going on?" Volkner questioned her, using a tone she was used to; when they were rivals.

"Not today, I already have plans today. More specifically, we have plans today. Remember last Friday at Burgh's party, Volk?" Elesa reminded him, and she saw the realization slap him right across the face

"Damn it, Elesa... I guess I forgot about it. I don't find it surprising though. I've been forgetful as of late," Volkner scratched the back of his head embarrassed, erupting a small laugh. Elesa was shocked at the gesture, as Volkner barely showed any emotion, much less happiness.

"New Meds? Anyways how about we meet up at the Nimbasa Park? We could have a nice picnic there, even if there is supposed to be snowfall today. Maybe we could have some soup? That would be nice on such a cold day..." She started to murmur to herself, trying to get ideas finalized.

"Les? Anyways, yea, the doctor gave me a new prescription. It seems to be helping a bit, and that's fine. I'll meet you over there, Elesa. You can bring the food if you want," Volkner quickly responded before hanging up.

The fashion model looked up to see her Emolga spacing out, and giggled a bit at her Emolga's reaction when she got up. The squirrel started to yell at Elesa in a sort of ticked tone, but couldn't keep the yelling long before busting out into laughter. The two of them laughed for a while before heading downstairs into the kitchen.

"Alright listen up, I'm going to be cooking," Elesa announced to the chefs, which all instantly tried to stop her from cooking

"Elesa remember what happened last time!"

"You don't want to poison someone else, do you?"

"We lost all of our silverware in that fire."

"I still want to cook, guys. It's for someone special. I want everything today to shine!" Elesa exclaimed, causing her chefs to groan in despair. "I'll have you guys help me though," she quickly added in to avoid any chaos she may cause.

"Fine, let's get started with this nightmare," the head chef groaned as he went towards the oven, starting the intricate mechanisms of cooking to be put in motion.

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Two lone figures walked through the silvery stardust known as snow, the powder flying around in graceful pirouettes, lightly dusting the two figures in it's beauty. They looked over the landscape, seeing everything in the park in crystallized beauty. Looking for a place of refuge, the two figures found a tree that offered some protection from the snow.

"'Cuse me Miss Elesa, why did you have me come along? If you and Mister Volkner are havin' a date, shouldn't I stay at your house?" Maribelle questioned, a hint of confusion in her sweet tone.

"I wanted to have you more acquainted with the city dear. A model must always know their home turf. Besides sweetie, the chefs made too much food, and it's not going to be romantic or anything," Elesa responded with her usual cheery tone. While she was known for her stoicism, those close to her knew her as the electrifying beauty she claimed to be.

"Aren't dates supposed to be romantic though, Miss Elesa?" The former ice cream clerk asked, a little confused at the model's reasoning.

"It's just a get together between two people; it's not always romantic you know," the model laughed before starting to set up the picnic.

The two woman first of all laid out a snow proof tablecloth, and then gently set out the warm delicacies Elesa's chefs assisted her in making. From homemade tomato soup with Gogoat cheese and basil, to fresh lavender and pecha berry pound cake with a sugar glaze. The smells wafted through the air, letting the snow become it's messenger.

The two models started to chat about various things, from what Maribelle was getting herself into, their pasts, recent events and much more. Though Elesa noticed that around certain subjects Maribelle was asking suspicious, or her voice would change into one that was familiar, but she couldn't exactly pin it one one person. A nagging feel of she knew Maribelle from somewhere before ate away at Elesa, but she knew she shouldn't worry about it too much. After roughly ten minutes she saw a lone figure walking towards them.

"Hey, there you guys are," Volkner called out in an annoyed tone.

"I guess I should've warned you about how big the park was," Elesa giggled embarrassedly.

"You should've, I'm covered in snow," he bitterly remarked. "Though I was able to find you guys by the scent of fresh food. Les, you didn't have do that much food," Volkner sighed.

"It's not my fault my chefs are worried about me cooking, I swear! At least all of the food is Butterfree," Elesa playfully retorted before getting up to hug Volkner.

"Anyways, Mirabelle was it?"He asked the girl. "Nice to have you here, we do need a ref," Volkner said before vaguely trailing off about something. Elesa gave Volkner the same look of confusion her apprentice was.

"Wait, ref? I thought we'd have a nice, relaxing evening," the model sighed before taking a sip of her soup.

"I guess it has been that long. Whenever we use to set up these 'dates', they were more of set dates to battle each other, don't you remember Elesa?" Volkner questioned her worryingly, nostalgia cluttering his gaze.

"You thought it was that, Volk? I guess my head's been stuck in the Castform for so long I forgot about most of our rival day," Elesa responded to Volkner. "If we're going to battle, we should eat first."

"The food's starting to get cold Miss Elesa!" Maribelle added in.

"I guess we shouldn't let this food to waste. Let's see if your cooking will shock me as much as your skills at battling," Volkner replied in almost a challenging tone before sitting down next to Elesa.

The three friends started to engage in dinner, talking about many myriad topics, such as the winter season and there travels. Many emotions were exchanged throughout the meal, such as sadness and melancholy, to happiness and laughter. Though Elesa noticed the snow drowned out all the sounds around them, giver her a sense of security from the falling flakes. She giggled at Maribelle constantly trying to eat the food properly, but in the end broke down to scarfing it down. She took a more refined taste and took small bits, in order to get full faster and keep her figure in check. Volkner, she noticed, took small bites at the food questionly before giving a good grunt of approval and continued to eat the food normally. After the dinner was done, Maribelle stretched out like a Purrloin and started to fall asleep. Elesa couldn't help take a picture of the cute moment. She saw Volkner take his pills, and then get up.

"Hey, Les, ready for the battle?" Volkner asked, waking up Maribelle.

"Does this mean... I have to ref now..?" Maribelle replied drowsily, almost reluctant to get up from her cat nap.

"You can always sleep when we get back to my mansion," the fashion model stepped in and reminded her apprentice.

"Well then, let's start the match!" Elesa announced as the three walked into an empty part of the park.

"Alright then, this is going to a one on one match between the Sunyshore City Gym Leader Volkner versus the Nimbasa City Gym Leader Volkner!" Maribelle announced in a higher tone in normal, in the same voice that struck a chord of memory in Elesa's mind. She then caught a glimpse of Maribelle covering her mouth.

"Hey Elesa," Volkner's voice got her attention, making her swing around to face him. "Will you bring back my spark to battle?" He asked cockily.

"Well then Volkner, I certainly hope so. Now, Let's see... who shines the BRIGHTEST!" she yelled, tossing out her Emolga's pokeball.

The Emolga flew out happily, before feeling a cold flurry wind hit her. The Emolga silently landed before cursing at her trainer, having Elesa giggle slightly at her Emolga's whining. The Emolga soon saw Volkner, and gave him a questioning look. She then stuck her tongue out at him, almost taunting him.

Volkner gave a short shrug before sending out his Pokemon; Luxray. The Luxray let out a powerful roar that disrupted the snowfall. Emolga flew behind Elesa, cowering at her knee. Nudging her Emolga to get back the the battlefield, the model noticed her Emolga was slightly intimidated by the Luxray. It looked at them with looming, powerful eyes, almost intent on winning the match. Elesa could tell by the stance of the Luxray, Volkner hadn't battled in a while.

"Emolga, start off with Charm!" Elesa started off the match with the first order.

"Luxray, Ice Fang," Volkner calmly commanded his pokemon.

The two pokemon stared at each other intently, sparks starting to zip through the air. Snow was starting to cling to their furs, their legs were twitching. Due to Emolga's much higher speed, she was able to quickly get a charming look on her face, the cute facade creating hearts out of the snow. Luxray, who was starting to rush towards the flying squirrel, started to skid to a halt noticing the cuteness of the creature. Though, the lion wasn't detrimental by the charming look, and encased his fangs in the snow. Emolga tried to move but found her body immobilized by fear, making Elesa start to bite her lip. The lion bit down on one of the squirrel's "wings", and tossed her up into the air, freezing that part of the skin.

"This doesn't look good... Emolga, Acrobatics!" Elesa desperately ordered her Emolga.

"Discharge," Volkner just muttered.

The squirrel was starting to spiral down towards the earth, desperately trying to regain her balance. The lion sent out a series of sparks that were starting to home in onto the Emolga, the squirrel doing everything she can to avoid them. However, due to her iced over state she wasn't agile enough and had several of the sparks hit her, causing moderate pain and freeing her from the icy prison. The squirrel charged at the Luxray, swiftly flying through the air like a blur. It was hard for Elesa to see the Emolga, though she could see it ram into the lion. However the lion wasn't deterred.

"Hmm, get away with Volt Switch..." Elesa worryingly ordered, not having a serious battle like this in a long time.

"Finish it with Thunder," Volkner commanded, clearly unimpressed

The squirrel created an orb of electricity from her cheeks and fired the orb, launching herself back. She smirked, thinking she had the upper hand, though fate would not be kind to her. The Luxray summoned a gigantic bolt of lighting that ripped through the small squirrel, scoring a critical hit. The Emolga stuttered for a second before falling to the ground

"Emolga is unable to battle. Volkner is the Winner!" Maribelle announced.

"Even you aren't worth the battle Elesa," Volkner playfully taunted. "Will anyone give me that spark back?" Volkner then rhetorically asked before returning his Luxray

"You just got a critical hit Volkner. Besides I haven't used my old team in so long, I miss them," Elesa responded to Volkner, her voice clouded by Melancholy.

"Being a leader is hard, as you don't get to see all of your friends," Volkner agreed, and the two of them looked into the distance.

"Hey you two, lighten up!" Maribelle enthusiastically exclaimed, catching the two's attention. Elesa looked at Maribelle in unison with Volkner, and felt her face being hit square on with a snow ball.

"If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Elesa playfully replied before starting to run off and get snowballs.

"Hmm, this'll be fun. Come on then, let's do this!" Volkner roared, heading off in a direction opposite of Elesa.

The three friends started their snowball war, the frosty orbs of snow singing through the air. The silvery stardust started to thin, showing the crescent moon having over them. Elesa didn't remember the last time she had this much fun, and she could tell the other two had the same wave length. Laughter and Giggles faded into the night air, creating a joyous symphony in the falling snow. For once, Elesa could just forget about the worries of life and just have fun, but she felt something in her heart. Even in the depths of winter, a seed was planted there, being watered by the gloomy power of love. Volkner was different to her. He felt different to her. Though, she shrugged it off and let herself be enveloped in the heat of the moment, enjoying the snowball fight.