Arashi and Elesa sat in the Pokémon Center in one of the booths. Elesa had her headphones in and was listening to a few tracks she'd received from Arashi. It had been a rather strange day. He couldn't complain though, considering Elesa was a celebrity and all it took for her to notice he existed was his headphones. It was an odd conversation starter but it did the trick. She sat there, bobbing her head lightly to the current track while her eyes were closed, a pleasant smile fixed on her features. 

"This is wicked good!" She finally said after a few minutes.

"Uh...thanks. Wait, what track are you on?"

"The cover you did of See You Again. I assume that was for fun?"

Arashi smiled faintly.

"Yeah...a friend wanted me to do it so I added it in. The rest is all original stuff."

"Well, I gotta say, this sounds really good. If producers heard this, you'd be going places."

"Thanks." Arashi smiled. "I hope it happens at some point."

"Oh I bet it will," Elesa said with a soft chuckle, switching to the next track.

The atmosphere seemed rather tense for some odd reason. He was getting odd looks from some of the other trainers. He raised a brow at their stares. As he was about to address the issue, something quickly materialized in front of him, startling him into falling backwards in the booth. Elesa looked over to see if he was okay before laughing. 

"You okay Arashi?" Elesa chuckled, watching as he sat back up.

Arashi nodded as he rubbed the back of his head. He muttered something unintelligible before looking ahead of him, only to come face to face with a pair of red rimmed glasses and green eyes like his own. 

"Um...may I help you?" Arashi inquired with a raises brow.

"Oh, sorry!" The girl said as she backed up a bit.

"My name's Bianca, I was sent here to meet Arashi. I guess I was lucky to have found you so quickly. Sorry to have startled you," she bowed apologetically.

"It's fine...no worries," Arashi said with a faint smile. 

He stood up and looked down at Bianca and then over at the Gardevoir. He knew what those were at least. He glanced back at Bianca and then to her bag.

"So, you...have something for me?" Arashi queried.

"Oh! Yes, one moment. The Professor wanted me to give you something to go with it. Here!" She beamed, taking out what appeared to be a more advanced version of the Pokédex. 

Arashi took it in his hand and examined it. 

"That is the latest model we recently received. Quite an improvement from the model from a few years ago. Upgrades are always necessary. Anyway, here is the other more important thing I came to give you. Juniper and I almost forgot about this little one. She's not your standard starter buuuuuut, she'll be just fine. Here you go!" Bianca smiled broadly, handing him the ball.

Arashi smiled faintly and took it with gratitude. Elesa was now standing beside him and observing.

"Well? Are you gonna see what it is?" Elesa inquired.

Arashi looked down at the ball nervously. He'd never owned his own Pokémon before. He was slightly nervous about what would happen. Taking a deep breath, he gave the ball a toss. The ball hit the ground and a flash of white light erupted from the ball, forming the shape of his new friend. The Pokémon was in the shape of a plant bulb that resembled an onion head. Three green leaves sprouted from the top of its head. The body of the little one was dominantly light green with a patch of dark green around the neck. Two oval-like brown eyes looked up at Arashi with curiosity. It also had a crescent shaped white face.

"She's so cute!" Bianca squealed. 

"What is she?" Arashi inquired, taking out the Pokédex and pointing it at the creature.

Petilil, the Bulb Pokémon. The leaves on its head are very bitter. Eating one of these leaves is known to refresh a tired body, the Pokédex explained.

"So she's called Petilil huh? Cool...she seems really nice," Arashi smiled as he knelt down to look at Petilil. 

She glanced up at him without much of a word. She was analyzing him. He seemed friendly enough. His smile was warm and pleasant. She liked friendly people. 

"Looks like you and I are partners. Though I do think that getting to know you first would be a good start. You are new to me, so I have no clue what to expect."

Petilil seemed to consider this before looking back at him.

"Pet. Petilil!" She chirped, leaping onto his shoulder somehow before nuzzling his face lightly.

"Looks like she likes you! So cute!" Bianca practically sang.

"Seems to be that way," Arashi smiled.

"Oh! A tip for you, since you don't know much about her. They take a Sun Stone to evolve. I've seen their evolution and it's gorgeous!" Bianca chimed.

"Indeed. When she evolves, she looks quite spectacular. Though I'll not spoil anything for you Arashi. You'll have to find out what she looks like later on," Elesa smirked.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Arashi smiled.

He looked over at Petilil who seemed to be enjoying herself. So this was his new companion. A Grass-type he'd never heard of, to accompany him on a journey to places he's never been to. He wasn't quite sure how to take all of this. 

"Oh, one more thing! I can't believe I nearly forgot. Juniper wanted me to bring you to meet her. She wanted to talk to you a bit more in detail about what she would like you to do. When you're ready, I'll teleport you there!" Bianca stated in a bubbly manner. 

"Sure, just...let me go pack a few things first. I have an apartment up the street and I sorta wanna be prepared. I also want to get some sleep..."

"I see. Well, I will call Juniper and let her know and then I'll stay here a night and you can meet me in the morning, say...eight?"

Arashi nodded in approval. Just then, the sound of a bell went off, signalling that someone's Pokémon were healed.

"Elesa, your Pokémon are ready," the nurse behind the counter said sweetly.

"Well, that would be my queue. I need to get back to the Gym. But before I do...Arashi? Mind if I see your X-Transceiver?" Elesa inquired.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Arashi replied, handing her the device. She quickly entered her contact information and then handed it back to him. He raised a brow at this notion.

"Just call it a thank you for good company and for letting me listen to your music. I hope to see you sometime soon. After all...you will have to face me at some point," Elesa grinned.

"Yeah...I haven't forgotten that,"Arashi chuckled.

"Well, see ya. Keep in touch Arashi-kun" Elesa smiled as she left. 

Arashi nodded and waved to here as she left. 

"I think it's time I got a room here. Remember, meet me in the morning so we can go to Asperita. Juniper is excited to meet you."

"I'll remember. Thanks for giving me Petilil, I know we're going to be good friends."

Bianca gave a cute smile before turning and heading towards the desk, waving as she did. Arashi waved back before exiting the Pokémon Center. Arashi trekked back to his apartment and entered, closing and locking the door behind him. A soft smile broke out over his face as he looked down at his X-Transceiver, seeing Elesa's contact information. It didn't take him too long to make a friend. He was happy about that. 

"Well Petilil, this is my place. However, since I will be on a journey, I won't be using it much. Not that it matters. Anyway, hop around and make yourself at home. I'm gonna call my sister. Unless you wanna meet her too?" 

Petilil gave an approving nod before hopping onto the couch, Arashi plopping down beside her. He dialed his sister's number and after a few rings, she picked up and her face appeared. 

"Hey there little bro!" His sister greeted happily.

"Hey Anna, how are you?" Arashi asked with a smile.

"Doing well. Nothing too new, just getting ready to go on my journey here in Johto. What about you?"

"Same. I just got my Pokémon and I am going to some place called Asperita tomorrow to see the Professor."

"Oh! Can I see your Pokémon? I'll show you mine!" She pleaded.

"Okay, here, take a look," Arashi laughed, beckoning Petilil to him.

Anna, Arashi's look-a-like, looked at Petilil with wide eyes. He knew his sister's habit whenever she saw something cute. Arashi simply counted down in his head until...

"It's so cute!" She exclaimed.

"I know. She's called Petilil. Just got her about fifteen minutes ago. I wanted to see how you were doing and to show you before I hit the sack."

"Is it really that late over there?" She asked curiously.

"We are eleven hours ahead of you sis. It gets pretty late."

"Wow. Well, we will have to make our calls at earlier times then huh?"

"Yep. So, who did you get?" Arashi inquired.

"I got a Totodile! He's the most adorable thing ever! Though I am still very jelly bro," she grumbled cutely. 

"I bet you are. Oh, get this. I made a new friend here. Turns out, she's a Gym Leader in this region. She goes by Elesa," Arashi stated, raising a brow at his sister's widened eyes.

"You okay sis?"

"Bro. You do realize that you made friends with the single most famous MODEL and fashion designer right?" Anna replied with wide eyes.

"I what now?" 

"Elesa!" Anna exclaimed, grabbing a magazine and showing a cover that had Elesa's picture on it. 

"Well crap...I didn't know she was that famous. I knew she was a model...but really? She's that well known?" Arashi blinked.

"DUH!" Anna exclaimed. "I swear bro, sometimes you are so oblivious," she laughed.

No wonder people were looking at me funny... Arashi thought as he looked back at his sister.

"Not that it matters how famous she is, she's a cool person and likes my music. She even listened to a few tracks while we sat at the Pokémon center," Arashi chuckled.

"Are you sure that's all you did bro bro?" Anna teased.

"Sis...don't start. I mean, she's pretty and all, but I'm not about to make advances on a model," Arashi muttered.

"Uh huh. Sure. Are you sure you don't have her number already?" Anna sniggered.

"Only because she asked for my X-Transceiver first!" Arashi protested.

"Ha! I'm right!" 

"Shut up!" Arashi laughed.

"Never!" Anna chortled. 

Arashi rolled his eyes and shook his head, yawning in the process.

"Anyway sis...I gotta get going. I am tired as all get out and I need my sleep."

"Okay little bro. Be safe, and keep your tent unpitched," Anna grinned evily.

"When is it ever pitched?" Arashi said with a raised brow.

"I'm only teasing bro. Have a good night okay? Call me soon," Anna smiled.

"I will sis. Sleep well," Arashi replied, ending the call.

Arashi stood up and stretched, turning to Petilil as he did this.

"Shall we get some rest? Tomorrow's the start of our journey. We need to be rested up and ready to go," Arashi smiled gently.

"Lil! Petilil!" She chirped, leaping to his side as he walked into his bedroom. He nxeeded the rest. Today had been more eventful than he'd anticipated. After brushing his teeth he began to pre-pack so he could wake up early and finish. Once that was done, he changed into his pajamas and slid into bed, Petilil taking a spot on the pillow beside him. With a contented sigh, they fell asleep.