Chapter Text
PART 1: THE TOURIST
For the first time in two-and-a-half months, Harmony did not think about how it felt as if her chest were splitting apart, or how negative thoughts seemed to pile up until they unleashed a Garboder of self hate upon her mind. No, her mind and body were consumed by an emotion more primal than heartache: fear.
“Attention all passengers. Due to the storm, the train’s main power system has temporarily gone down. Our journey to Lumiose will be put on hold while we fix this issue. For your safety, please remain within your cabins. Trained fire-type Pokémon will be coming around shortly to distribute candles and blankets. We apologize for the delay. Thank you for your cooperation!”
In her shock at the power outage and the force felt from the train’s sudden deceleration, she had dropped her phone off the edge of the bunk bed. She had yet to realize this however, because currently she was shaking quite badly.
“You alright up there, Harmony? You dropped your phone… lemme get that for you. Here you go!”
By the light of the lightning flashes outside, she could make out the corner of her phone held aloft. Slightly comforted by her bunkmate Serena’s concern, she gently accepted the phone.
“Thank you. It’s a little childish, but I have a bit of a fear of the dark. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize! My friend Calem’s the same! Here, I’ll call Delphox out so we can have some light.” There was a small pop and a whirr of light and noise as Delphox popped out of the small ball. She groomed herself for a second before turning to Serena, a slight growl of displeasure emanating from her throat.
“Did I wake you from your nap? Oh, I’m sorry. I can help brush you a bit.” The girl summoned a hair brush from the massive bag she always carried around. “C’mere!” Delphox sat down on the floor beside her, a grumpy expression still on her face. The expression didn’t last long; as Serena smoothly glided the brush across the yellow fur like a natural, her face morphed into one of contentment and pleasure.
“Do you mind giving us some light?” Delphox nodded and summoned the stick from her tail, lighting it as she did. A warm glow filled the cabin, further soothing Harmony. Serena returned to brushing Delphox, who chirped with happiness. Watching the happy pair, an innocent memory bubbled to the top of Harmony’s mind.
“Wow Luke, you are bad at this. My hair’s a mess!” Lucas laughed and kissed her cheek.
“”Well I think I did a good job for my first time.” He smiled and looked at her through the mirror. “Now who is that pretty girl I see in there?”
“Do you SEE? MY HAIR. I’ll have to redo these.” She swatted his shoulder playfully. Despite his disastrous attempt at putting her hair into its signature style, she was laughing… that was just two months before-
“I just don’t love you, Harmony. I’m sorry.”
His face is sad yet his voice is steady and determined the air is cold and wet what is going on this can’t be happening he just said yesterday that he just said-
“Harmony? Are you alright? You went quiet.” Harmony didn’t answer. “Are you thinking about him again? Would you like me to leave for a bit, or would you like someone to talk to?” There were tears at the corners of her eyes. She could feel them.
“I… don’t know.” She sniffed quietly.
“If you’d like, you can come down here too. I can brush your hair too! Delphox won’t mind, won’t you?” The only response was a grunt of slight displeasure.
“You’d do a better job than him, that’s for sure.” She climbed down from her bunk slowly. When she reached the bottom step, she pulled down the blanket she brought from home, wrapping it tightly around her as she settled down next to Serena. The two sat in silence for a bit as the comb gently glided through soft brown hair. As it did so, Harmony could feel the act she always had on nowadays begin to slip. Serena is a safe person. I can tell her things.
“I don’t want to hurt anymore.”
The words came out with an odd easiness. As if they were being sPokén by another person.
“I know what you mean. It feels horrible.” She paused. “All I can tell you right now is that it’ll get better. Especially now that you’re moving away from him! How long are you staying in Lumiose again?”
“I don’t know. As long as I need to, I think. My family said some time in the city would do me some good. The countryside is boring.”
“You have him blocked, correct?”
“Well, kinda. He blocked me.”
“Ok, that’s good! Some no-contact I think will help. You’re a strong person, Harmony. It took me about a year to get over my last breakup, and I was in a much worse state at this time compared to you!” She pulled her arms around Harmony’s waist and clutched her tightly. “I know it hurts like hell right now, but I promise you, you will get better.” She picked up Harmony’s limp hand and wrapped their pinkies around each other. “And I never break my promises.”
“He broke a lot of promises.” Her voice was beginning to crack.
“He kinda sounds like an asshole.”
“Maybe.” She sighed. “It’s kinda hard to believe I’ve only known you for 3 days. You’re so… good to me.”
“I’ve… been in your situation before. So trust me. The bad stuff only feels so bad because your world is so small right now without him. But your world will get bigger. Perhaps exponentially so, considering you’re literally going to the greatest city in the world right now!” Harmony heard her sigh, and felt her squeeze her hand. “I know that’s probably not the answer you want right now. You just want to stop hurting right here and now. All I can tell you for sure right now is that I’m here for you, your friends and family are likely here for you, and with time and space, you will get over him and become happy and free.”
“Maybe I should just go catch Palkia and Dialga then.” A light smirk flitted across her face, an echo of her usual playfulness.
“You’re making jokes now! That’s a sign of improvement. You’ll be over that bum in no time!” A knock is heard from the door. “Ooh, looks like it's the staff! I’ll go get it.” Serena pulled open the door, revealing… nobody? “Hello?”
“Litwick! Serena, look down.” Indeed, four tiny Litwick were sitting on the floor in front of the door. In the middle of them was a box on wheels that they seem to have been pushing around.
“So this is why it took so long! Well, it was completely worth it. Good job little guys!” All four Litwicks’ flames flared just a little higher at the praise. Harmony got off the bed and opened the box.
“Blankets… two wrapped dinners… here’s the candles.” She held out a candle to the Litwicks who seemed to be fighting with one another over who would get to light it. In response, she pulled out three more. The little squad stopped fighting with one another and eagerly used Ember on the candles. They burst to life with ghostly flames. She smiled a little. They were adorable.
“Thank you guys! Have a good day!” They chorused squeaks and pops back at her as they left the room, smiles on their little faces.
“Well, shall we have a dinner picnic on the floor?”
“Good idea.”
Serena, Harmony, and Delphox all gathered up blankets and pillows and arranged them on the floor. Serena brought out the rest of her Pokémon, filling up the small room quite quickly. She and Harmony then began handing out packets of Pokémon food that also came in the box. Once everyone had food before them, they ate.
“A little bland, but doesn’t taste bad!” Serena took another big bite.
“You’re quite the optimist.”
“To be fair, I’m not the one going through a breakup right now. Oh yeah, I was wondering. Why don’t you have Pokémon?”
“Pokémon training was always Luke’s kind of thing, ever since we were kids. His family owns a rescue. I had some household Pokémon of course, but I never really got into it.”
“You’ve never had a partner?”
“No, not really. I’ve always really liked battling and studying the theory, but I don’t think I’d be able to handle it. I’ve never tried it.”
“Harmony.”
“Yeah?” Serena’s face was dead serious.
“Do you want a Pokémon?”
“What?”
“Like, do you want a partner Pokémon?”
“I mean, I just told you that I don’t think-”
“I’m not asking if you think you’d be a good partner! I’m just asking if you want one!”
“Um… I guess I do.”
“Hold on, lemme make a call… Hey there, AZ! So I’m on my way back to my hometown right now and I’m currently with this girl who’s going to Lumiose. Her name’s Harmony and she’s super nice BUT she’s never had a partner Pokémon! Would it be possible to get her one… mhm… oh yes! That’ll work! Thanks!” She looked at Harmony. “My friend is going to send someone to greet you once you get to Lumiose, and they’ll give you a starter Pokémon!”
“Wow… that’s… incredible. Thank you. So much. Uh, I didn’t mention this earlier, but usually when I caught Pokémon I passed them off to Lucas to take care of. I… didn’t think I’d be a good partner to them.”
“What are you talking about?? You’d be an amazing partner! Did he never tell you otherwise?”
“Hmm… I’m pretty sure he just said ‘you can think whatever you want.’”
“Wow. That sucks. You’d be an AMAZING partner Harmony. I notice how you treat my Pokémon and the staff Pokémon and it’s obvious that you like them a lot.” Harmony once again had to blink back tears, but these were instead tears of gratitude.
“Thank you so much, Serena. For everything.” She reached across the little picnic hugged her.
“Of course. Call me anytime you need help, girl. I got you.” The lights suddenly flickered on, and the train lurched forward, surprising the girls as they quickly broke apart to steady themselves.
“Attention all passengers. We’ve restored power to the train, and are on track to arrive at Gare de Lumiose at 2:23 PM tomorrow.”
“Thank goodness!” Harmony breathed. “I feared we’d get stuck here longer.”
“Finally!”
Tired, the two remade their beds and prepared themselves for sleep. Serena returned her Pokémon to their Poké Balls as Harmony began putting things away into her trunk. At last, she clambered into bed, clutching a Clodsire plushie that she’d gotten from her mother. The hole in her heart was still present, but now full of food and near a good friend, it seemed to have closed a bit.
“Good night, Serena.”
“Good night, Harmony. Sleep well.”
“You too.”
Having been a little distracted the night before, Harmony began repacking her things the next morning.
“It is shocking how spread out all your stuff gets despite only being here for a few days…”
“Sorry! I’ve been a little bit of a slob…”
“You deserve to be a bit of a slob. Besides, this isn’t even that bad.”
“I’m missing a sock… do you see one like this anywhere?” Harmony held up a balled-up black sock with floral decals.
“No… have you checked behind the bed?”
“Could’ve sworn I did. I’ll look again- oh! It was inside the other sock!”
When the last of Harmony’s rather scattered belongings had been stuffed into a large, overstuffed brown bag that seemed to be on its last legs, she finally relaxed beside the large window, watching the landscape fly by. From the looks of it, you would never be able to guess that they were rapidly approaching a massive city. The lush countryside yielded brilliantly green foliage and peeks at the local Pokémon enjoying the spring’s bounty. Serena was content to sit on her lower bunk and flip through her phone.
“Say… Serena… you wouldn’t happen to be the Serena? As in the champion of Kalos?” She only glanced up, smiled, and adjusted her long blond ponytail.
Harmony returned to gazing blankly at the outside world. Luke liked nature. He would like to be here. It would be nice- no. Absolutely not. Ouch. Should not be thinking about that. She turned quickly away from the window, climbed the ladder, and lay down in her bunk bed. After Serena’s pep talk last night, she had been in a better mood, good enough to sleep decently. But now the constant pain in her chest had returned. I was hoping I could be OK going into Lumiose… I suppose not. Disappointment, her most familiar emotion at the moment, settled around her heart like a ring. Her mind began to sink deeper into the sadness. In a way, there was comfort to be found in the familiarity of pain.
“I just don’t love you, Harmony.”
We never even went on a proper date. We were going to get married in the future, I think. He promised me that. His parents love me. My parents love him. Everything was perfect. We were healthy and we loved each other. What happened? What could possibly happen to him?
“I’ve changed.”
What does that mean? I wish you wouldn’t hide behind such vague, overarching terms. Just tell me how you feel. I wish you didn’t lie about how you felt.
“You deserve someone who loves you. I want you to be happy.”
Liar. Liar liar liar. You lied about loving me for so long I can’t trust any good thing you say. You’ve broken every promise you’ve ever made. I hate you. How could you do this to me? And yet I love you. Please take me back. I can’t live without-
“Harmony? You have to go soon.”
“Oh! Right. Sorry, I’m coming down now.” She left her horrible thoughts alone for a second to focus on the task at hand. Lumiose city. I’m nearly there. An excitement began to bubble up in her stomach accompanied by a nervousness that made her hands shake. What’s the city going to be like? I have enough money for a month of rent, but I’ll need to find some way to cover everything after that. And there’s the whole deal with the partner Pokémon Serena promised me… what am I going to do about that? She adjusted her belt, grabbed her bag, and turned to Serena a final time.
“Thank you, Serena. I’ve only really known you these few days, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. Can we keep in touch?”
“Of course, Harmony. It’s been a pleasure! I’ve had a lot of fun talking with you! You’ll get past your heartbreak. I have no doubt about it. When you do, call me up! I’ll take you out to dinner."
“Thank you so much. Goodbye, and good luck with whatever’s next for you!”
“You too! Bye bye!”
And with that, Harmony left the room.
She made her way down the train, settling down in a seat and placing her bag beside her. She pulled open her phone and began mindlessly scrolling to pass the time. Soon, the PA system told everyone that they would arrive at Gare de Lumiose briefly. The train came to a halt, and as the doors opened and the PA system reminded everyone to mind the gap, she took a deep breath, gripped her bag, and stepped onward.
The stone station was clean and well ornamented, with large plotted plants and beautifully designed pillars standing guard besides the turnstiles. It smelled faintly of cigarettes and open air. Dozens of commuters were rushing about, complaining about late trains and hurrying to their next destination. Slightly disoriented, Harmony took a moment to ground herself before walking forward and to the right, pausing before the turnstiles. From here, she could see the city beyond. She was nearly there. One hand on the turnstile, she pushed onward and away from all that came behind her.
The city was just as the brochures and websites said. It was beautiful. Below her feet was intricately placed cobblestone in a waving pattern that beckoned her feet to move further into the city’s embrace. Tastefully placed trees and shrubbery brought greenness to the long, wide streets. All around were people bustling about or standing still, rushing to their next destination or leisurely discussing the weather. And then there was the Pokémon. They were all over. Fletchling flocked the cafes and streetlamps, and flew away if you came too close. Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear played in the shade of the trees, while Flabebe sought refuge in small flower gardens. They were with people too: watching young children for their parents, running alongside athletes, napping in the sun as their elderly owners rested. And of course, there was the shining gemstone of Lumiose: Prism Tower. Harmony could see it right down Vernal Avenue. Even from so far away, it seemed massive. Its white body and clear windows reflected the sun’s rays, making it seem like it was glowing. It almost seemed as if it were as much a part of the world as the mountains or the moon. As she gawked at her surroundings, only slightly aware that she was absolutely emanating“I’m a tourist” energy, she noticed a guy running up to her.
He was a bit taller than her, with royally blue eyes, strawberry-blond hair, and a friendly, aloof demeanor that exuded kindness. He wore worn gray sweatpants with the strings untied, an oversized dark blue shirt, shockingly ugly pink shoes, and a well-loved brown leather jacket. When he came to a stop, he gave her a big, goofy smile.
“You just arrived at Gare de Lumiose, right?” She nodded slightly. “And judging by that giant bag you’ve got there and your general expression of awe, I’m gonna venture a guess and say that you travelled far and wide to see the sights of Lumiose!” He threw his hands outwards, gesturing grandly towards the city behind them. His voice had a touch of a Galarian accent.
“That would be correct.” He began looking her over. Harmony felt vaguely embarrassed.
“You’re just the type I’m looking for! We’ll look natural together!” Is he hitting on me? What’s going on?
“Type? Huh?? Together for what?”
“Oh! Sorry, getting a little carried away! Listen, before you get touristing, would you do me a teensy little favor? It’ll for real be so small.” He pulled out his Rotom phone. “I just need to film you saying ‘Hotel Z’s the best stay in Lumiose!’” on camera for me.”
“Uhh…. ok?” She had no clue where this was going. Well, it can’t hurt.
“Perfect!” He pulled out his phone. “Lights, camera… oh drats. We can’t film with that ad drowning everything out!” An ad flashed across the giant billboard, though Harmony was not paying a lot of attention to it. She was still processing this encounter with this strange, extremely energetic boy. Does he work for a hotel? Maybe he can get me a free room? Perhaps I should continue to work with him.
“I like how that CEO thinks, even if her ad did interrupt us.” His expression became warm as he turned back to her. “This city and its Pokémon are a wonder. To know ‘em is to love ‘em! Anyone who visits here knows that! And speaking of visiting, let’s get filming!” He backed up, pulled out his phone a second time, and began to adjust the camera. Then he frowned.
“Wait… Ms. Tourist… where did your giant bag go? You’ve lost your whole touristy energy without it.” Harmony looked down.
“WHAT?!”
“Is that Pancham part of a courier service you’ve purchased?”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT. GET BACK HERE YOU TINY BASTARD!”