The Nature of Growth

Seraphine looked at her phone, scrolling through her various feeds. Lots of comments popped off about how lucky Johto was to get a girl like her. She smiled. This stupid backwater had no idea who was about to land. And in her private jet, no less. Hundreds of adoring fans would meet her in the airport while the press came to meet her on the tarmac. The paparazzi would love her and eat up every bit she said. Her journey into Contests had been announced a week before so that way people could prepare. People would fling their doors open and welcome her with open arms. Valeon Inc was a leader in adaptive Pokeball AI that had been adapted by all the trainers in Unova over the past several years. Granted, she had grown up in the lap of luxury as her parents had pioneered the technology. They had worked hard and, now, she got whatever she wanted. And, right now, that was to go on a journey and conquer Johto! This stupid backwater had been a holdout on Valeon's technology. Why, she didn't understand. It made strategy so much easier! Everyone knew everything about their Pokemon down to their Nature and if they had a Hidden Ability or not. She didn't understand why they would refuse such amazing technology. It made everyone's lives better from Pokemon to humans. There were no downsides at all to the tech. They made strategy so much easier to handle and so much better. She had no idea why these stupid people wouldn't want something so superior to the traditional technology. That was exactly why she was going to Johto: to show the superior way Valeon handled technology and could improve their lives. She was the public face of the company with millions of follows across half a dozen accounts. Her parents had taken the time to help her set up her accounts and made her the public face. There wasn't a single thing the public didn't know about her. Everything was broadcasted, nothing kept private. It was a good life. Sylvie, her Vulpix, sat in the seat next to her with her chin rested on her paws. Her eyes were partially closed. "Oh, cheer up, Sylvie! You'll finally get to do something useful!" She smiled down at the Vulpix. She'd had Sylvie since she was a little girl to help bolster her public image. Everyone loved a cute Pokemon and Vulpix ranked up there! Some people thought she abused Sylvie, but nothing could be further from the truth. She lavished love on Sylvie and gave her anything her heart could ever want. No Pokemon had ever had such a great life. Sylvie's brown eyes shifted back to Seraphine, then back to the area in front of them. "Pix." Her tone was soft and monotone. Sylvie was never one to show much emotion. That wouldn't do for the cameras, no it wouldn't. "Do I need to tell you how important image is once we get off of the plane?" She looked at Sylvie seriously. Sylvie stood up and smiled. "Pix pix!" Her tails wagged. Seraphine smiled. "Good girl! That's what I'm looking for." Sylvie shouldn't have needed reminders at this point, but she did every so often. A gentle reminder like that was fine. Image was the most important thing in the world. She had spent so many years online that she knew that people looked first and didn't ask any other questions. As long as things were good on the outside, they were good on the inside too. That was what her parents said, anyway. As long as everything appeared fine, then they would be fine too. She still didn't understand why Sylvie wassucha drag when in private. She got everything her heart could ever want including gourmet Pokeblocks and Poffins on the daily. Why was she such a killjoy? The pilot announced they were landing and Seraphine returned Sylvie before buckling up. The plane landed and then she let Sylvie back out with a smile. "Tail check!" Sylvie remained smiling and raised her posture even more. Seraphine made sure not a tail nor head curl was out of place. She smoothed Sylvie's fur down and nodded in satisfaction. "That bath did you a world of good." Sylvie didn't take care of herself like she should have, so they had no choice but to bathe her frequently. And with Seraphine arriving in a new region, Sylviehadto look good. Especially when Contests were where appearance was everything. Seraphine walked toward the door with Sylvie in tow, the Vulpix's tails and head curls bouncing up and down in time with her stride. Far fewer photographers were there than she anticipated. She had expected a swath of reporters to be waiting for her but there were only a few. Wherewaseverybody? However, she didn't let her frustration show as she smiled, walking down the staircase with a wave. Sylvie jaunted next to her, prancing and showing off her beautiful, vibrant coat. Those Pokeblocks and Poffins did a world of good. She spent the next little while answering questions and getting pictures taking, some with Sylvie, some not. She held her Vulpix closely and they both smiled for the cameras. She knew that it wouldn't be long until she met her adoring fans inside the terminal. Sylvie was also pretty popular and she was glad for that. She would need to take some pictures and post them to Sylvie's accounts. Once inside the terminal, she found it far more deserted than she thought. She actually frowned.Frowned!Her! Where were all of her adoring fans? She always got a much bigger reception when returning to Unova from her excursions around the world. This...was basically nothing. It was the equivalent to a clown tying balloon animals for kids. It was beyond disappointing. She had a big speech prepared and everything.Maybea hundred people stood behind velvet ropes, watched by security. She made her walk down the terminal, waving while holding Sylvie. She needed to appear her best and so did Sylvie. Even if there weren't as many people as expected, she still had an image to maintain. So did Sylvie. Anything less than perfection was a slight against the family. Perfection and appearance were everything and nothing else mattered. She arrived outside of the airport and to the waiting car. However, something unexpected waited for her there. Or, rather, someone. She squinted. "Liora? Is that you?" She wore some sort of strange red and black uniform with a cap. Her expression was sethard,her lips a thin line. Seraphine smiled and laughed. "And here I thought we'd never see you again after you cut us all out so selfishly." Liora had disappeared into the night and they had never seen her again. Her parents had tried to track her down, but nothing they'd done had worked. It was as Liora had suddenly died and fallen off the face of the planet. "Are you here to adore me?" "No." Liora's tone was dead and hard. "My parents found me and asked if I could accompany you on your journey. It's that or youdieout there in the wilds." She sounded miserable and only grudging at absolute best. Seraphine raised an eyebrow. "Die? Isn't that a little...dramatic? Even foryou?"Liora had always been a little on the dramatic side, but this felt a bit much even for her. She had always been into acting. What in Reshiram's name was she eventalkingabout? Dying? Surely traveling couldn't bethatbad." She laughed again. "Plus, I don't plan on going by foot. That'd be uncouth. I'll take trains like any civilised person." "How do you plan on finding Pokemon then?" Liora gritted her teeth. "Or are you just going tobuythem like your parents did Sylvie?" "I don't see why not. Maybe some trainer will be willing to sell me their high-level Pokemon." She laughed again. Who wouldn't want a boatload of cash in exchange for a Pokemon? She'd seen her siblings do it. Why couldn't she do it here? Surely people would be more than willing to hand over their Pokemon to a Valeon for just a little bit of money! Everyone had a price for everything. "You're going to find it harder to function here in Johto than in Unova. While Johto has modernised, it's still very traditional in a lot of ways. People aren't just willing to hand over their Pokemon because you give them a price." Liora visibly trembled, her voice following suit. The other person in the uniform put a hand on Liora's arm, looking at her. Seraphine couldn't quite tell if they were male or female. "Well, surely traveling can't be that hard! I think you're just being dramatic as usual." Seraphine laughed yet again. "You always were the black sheep of the family." She smiled. "So what are you doing with these garish outfits on? Why do you look so similar?" She knew it was a uniform of some type; she wasn'tthatstupid. But she just wanted to make Liora squirm more. Seraphine was the hippest of the hip when it came to clothing. Every trend, every high-fashion piece... She owned it. She threw out so many clothes each year and was never sad to see them go. "They're uniforms and they mark us as Affiliated Rangers for that work with the Ranger Union in Almia." "Union? Almia? Never heard of it." She shrugged. What was a Ranger? She had no idea. Well, she had an idea of a man with a bow in the wilds, but that didn't seem to be the case here. That was her only conception of a ranger; what she read in fantasy books. Granted, her parents didn't like her reading those because they were too fanciful for their liking, but she snuck some here and there anyway. Liora continued to shake, the person holding her back. "You're a piece of shit, you know that, right?" she spat. "Nah. You're the piece of shit. You abandoned your family and everything that came with it for...whatever the hellthisis." Seraphine motioned to their uniforms. "We do important work! We help keep law in the wilder regions when—" Liora turned her fiery gaze on the other person."What?" "Maybe we should leave for right now," they suggested. Liora looked back at Seraphine, then the person. She stood up straight and adjusted her cap. "You're planning on starting to travel tomorrow, right? We'll have to stop by a shop and get you supplies as well as clothes." Seraphine opened her mouth to speak but Liora struck first.“Survivalclothes. The stuff you wear won't last half a day in the wilds. Or are you just going to catch random Pokemon you see on the street in the cities?" Seraphine frowned. No, that wouldn't do. Rattata wouldn't make for a good Contest Pokemon. She didn't want anything to do with those mangy Pokemon; she needed beautiful, graceful, elegant Pokemon to fill out her team to help her win Contests. "I'm going to my hotel. Feel free to go back to whatever hovel you live in." She flapped her hand at them, dismissing them. Liora's eyes flashed again and she stormed away. The other person hovered behind for a moment before hurrying after Liora. Seraphine shrugged and got in her car, letting Sylvie down on the seat. "Strike a pose!" The Vulpix did as she was instructed, each time getting another pose. Seraphine looked through the pictures and picked the best ones then posted a set to Sylvie's Picca account with a caption about arriving in Johto and being able to finally start having fun in battles and Contests. She knew Sylvie would struggle at first as the Vulpix had just been a companion Pokemon since she'd only had her first tail. But she was Seraphine's only Pokemon and she needed Sylvie to be able to help her capture wild Pokemon. After the impromptu shoot was done, Sylvie immediate dropped all pretenses and her body sagged. She closed her eyes, chin rested on top of her paws. "Pix." "You know I can't understand you." Seraphine shrugged and showed Sylvie Picca. "Look! You've already got five hundred likes and a thousand loves!" She smiled brightly at Sylvie who just closed her eyes. Seriously, why was she such a drag? Weren't Pokemon supposed to be full of energy and vigor? Sylvie was lazy and didn't want to do her job most of the time wich aggravated Seraphine. Seriouslywhatwas her problem? No matter. Sylvie snapped some shots of herself and posted to other accounts other than just Picca. The likes and loves came flooding in as well as the comments. She didn't mention the lack of turn out, though. That would show something was wrong and she couldn't have that, now could she? It would make her appear weaker and imperfect. She really didn't have any way to combat that. She just hoped that she could make this Contest thing work out and show Johto how well Valeon Pokeballs worked.

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Liora stormed away from Seraphine, Alina hot on her heels. It took quite a while for Liora to stop walking due to how much pent-up rage burned in her. There was areasonshe had left the family without any word. They were like this, all of them. Even her own parents. All they cared about was appearances and business and strategy. There was no room for emotions and love and care. They were all controlling assholes that only wanted to further themselves at any cost even if it came at the expense of others, human or Pokemon. Alina finally said something when Liora came to a stop. "So that was your cousin, huh?" they asked. Liora took her hat off and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, it is. Now you can see why I left for Venoa. They're like that... All of them. Seraphine is in for averyrude awakening when she gets out of Goldenrod tomorrow." That girl had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth and had been given literally everything she'd ever wanted. She was a spoiled brat of the highest caliber. Why her parents allowed her to come to Johto, she had no idea. Seraphine wasn't cut out for traveling by foot. Liora gave it two daystopsbefore Seraphine gave up and went back home. Her dreams of 'conquering' Johto would die before they even began. Alina nodded. "And I thought the Union could be bad... At least most Rangers are friendly. Save Ben, but he hasn't been a Ranger for decades now. He visited the Ranger Academy and treated everyone like they were below him and a nuisance. How he's best friends with Chairperson Summer is beyond me." They shook their head. "Oh, my family isfarworse than Ben. Far,farworse. And the worst part is we'restuckwith her until she turns tail to go back home. That probably won't be too terribly long, though." Liora shrugged. She really didn't give it more than two days. Seraphine loved shopping, but even that might be enough to make her turn tail and leave. She wanted to wear pretty clothes, not practical ones. The Contest season had just begun a week ago, so there was still time, but she didn't doubt that Seraphine wouldn't make it to her first Contest. Plus, with how she treated Sylvie...she doubted that Vulpix would be able to doanything. "How about we get back to the Center for the night?" Alina suggested gently. Liora nodded and sighed, shoulders sagging. "Yeah. Sounds good." With that done, the pair turned on their heels and headed to the Pokemon Center.