Herbizarre
Lvl 16. Beat that, #635 ! (Avatar made by Okido)
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 2,454
- Reaction score
- 808
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- MATURE Themes
- No MATURE Themes Apply
- TEEN Themes
- No TEEN Themes Apply
- EVERYONE Themes
- Mild Mature Themes
- Other Content Warnings
- Mentions of regrets about past acts. Not sure if that falls under the "Mild Mature Themes" content warning, but doing it anyway just in case.
Good afternoon everyone ! Here is my entry for the "Delving for Dreams's One-Shot Competition" contest. I had many versions of this story brainstormed, before settling on a rewrite thanks to a movie I got to rewatch recently. Credits to LunaTyger for the proofreading. Enjoy !
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A few weeks have passed since AZ's funeral. Life has gotten back to normal on Lumiose City, and the Ange incident became more of a memory among the citizens. On the rooftop of Hotel Z, Urbain and Floette admire the scenic view of Lumiose City as nightfall is about to begin. He looks down on his Rotom Phone, on which he got a message from Harmony a few hours ago that reads : 'Got the movie', and attached to it is a photo of her holding a VHS tape of the movie she picked. Urbain looks at the Single Bloom Pokémon and smiles. "She actually found it", he mutters to himself. He reminisces about his match against Harmony in the Infinite Z-A Royale earlier this morning. Before their duel began, she wanted the victory reward to be interesting, and the two agreed on a bet : whoever wins the match gets the loser to do something for them. He had narrowly won the battle.
Floette twirls happily. "I know, right ? I better make the preparations now. What brand of tea should I prepare...", he ponders as he takes the elevator to the first floor. Accompanied by the Single Bloom Pokémon, Urbain is making tea and getting the T.V and video recorder to work by using a tape of a movie called 'Un Souvenir Inoubliable, Partie 1'. His Rotom Phone rings once more, notifying him that Harmony is at the door. Urbain comes down, opens the door and greets her. "Good evening Urbain. Sorry I took so long, I got sidetracked after I got the movie tape", Harmony tells him apologetically. "Checking if a shiny Aron came up in Wild Zone 14 again ?", Urbain asks with a smile. She nods slowly. "Yeah, still no luck on that front", she replies, a bit embarrassed. "That's alright. That gave me time to properly set up the video recorder for this movie evening. Let's go", he continues, leading the girl to the elevator. Floette chooses to stay on the first floor, waving at the two humans before the elevator door closes.
They get to the first floor and enters the guest room. A faint aroma of Rawst Berry tea fills the place, soothing them both. Harmony hangs her hat and Team MZ jacket and looks around ; the couch has a green plaid featuring diverse Vivillon patterns is laid, various old paintings are hung on the walls, and the T.V is showing a part of the movie Urbain was viewing as a test, showing two scientists talking to a robot. "So, you got the movie ?", he asks while closing the door. "Oh, right", Harmony replies, searching through her bag for about ten seconds, before dumping its contents on the floor and picking the movie tape amongst the massive piles of Fossils she was carrying. Urbain looks on, scratching his head with bewilderment as she puts everything back in the bag as quickly as she can. She turns back to him, with the movie in hand.
"Here it is", Harmony says, handing over the film to him. Urbain looks at the cover, titled 'La Grande Errance', which shows the two lead actors : the former carrying heavy equipments in one hand, and trying to reign in two Herdiers with the other hand, while the latter is balancing himself on the other actor's shoulder. He smiles. "That's the one. It must have been hard to find it, Harmony", he tells her gently. She crosses her arms. "Well, I thought there would be a rental store for video tapes in Lumiose somewhere, but I couldn't find one... So, I went to see Corbeau and he let me borrow this movie for tonight", she replies. Urbain listens on, and his eyes widen at hearing the Rust Syndicate boss's name. The room falls silent for a brief time. "At least he's got good taste in movies", he remarks with slight worry. She pats him on the shoulder.
"Relax. I told him that I'll help out one of his subordinates in exchange for borrowing it. We're long past the crippling debt era, Urbain", Harmony replies with reassurance. He rolls his eyes at this statement. "Whatever", he briefly says. He takes the other movie tape out of the recorder, places it back on a nearby shelf, then puts in the borrowed film in its place. The pair sit on the couch, and Urbain serves the tea. "Say... Is there a reason you wanted to see this movie specifically ?", Harmony asks him. He gives the first cup of tea to her. "It is one of the most famous Kalosian movies of all time. It is a tradition to watch this film at least once a year", he explains as he serves his cup of tea. She picks up her cup and smells the beverage. Her eyes relax for a bit and turns back to him.
"I see. I never knew of this movie's existence actually", Harmony tells him. Urbain looks at her with a surprised expression. "Really ? Well... Better late than never. Let's get started, then", he replies after turning off the lights, sits down on the sofa and presses the 'Play' button on the remote. As the movie plays the cinema logos, Harmony sees the Battle Zone barriers lighting up through a nearby window. It is then that she spots a vase with a few roses in it on a table. From what she discerns, they look brand new. "I like these flowers", she tells Urbain, pointing to the flowers. He freezes briefly. "Oh, that... I... I just thought they'd look neat with the paintings around", he says hesitantly. Harmony raises an eyebrow at his response, but she decides to not comment on it.
The movie starts off with a group of three Galarian trainers flying over Lumiose City on Corviknights after crossing over the sea, when suddenly, their flock gets smacked down by a few Tinkatons. The trio manages to escape their assailants : the first trainer lands in a pond south-east of Lumiose City just outside the walls. The second touches down on a scaffolding where one of the lead actors is painting the building. The third one perches on an opera's rooftops and manages to hide first. The second man apologizes to the painter and, upon seeing the Hammer Pokémons closing in down below, they climb up the building to avoid being seen. As the two men run on the rooftops towards safety, Urbain speaks up.
"That scene reminds me... Do you remember when we first got to the Lumiose rooftops ?", he whispers as to not distract Harmony too much. She glances at him. "Yes. You showed me a closer view of the Prism Tower... And then... You decided to challenge my fear of heights", she replies, remembering her hesitation at jumping down the building to where Urbain had gotten. She had gathered her courage and leapt down, with her Rotom Phone activating its safe landing mode. Seeing Harmony's worried expression after mentioning her acrophobia embarrasses Urbain slightly ; he thought she would have gotten used to it by now.
The movie proceeds to a conductor rehearsing an orchestra piece with his musicians. The pair snicker throughout the entire scene, where the conductor comically overreacts to being interrupted ; first by some of his musicians whispering instead of playing their instruments, and then by workers who are putting up decorations on an elevated place. It culminates with Kalosian officers stopping the rehearsal to look for the Galarian trainers who, in their words, are fugitives that need to be brought to justice. This angers the conductor to the point where he snaps his baton multiple times in frustration and throws the broken pieces away in a fury. The bewildered look on the chief afterwards makes Harmony stifle her laughter.
The very next scene, the conductor storms into his dressing room, ruminating about the rehearsal being interrupted. He takes off his wig, places it on a stand, and pins it. Doing so makes him flinch as though he got stung on the head. Confused, he tries again and mimics being stung once more. Finally, he clobbers the stand with a paddle brush and make it look like he got smacked on the head. This causes Harmony to laugh out loud, followed by Urbain chuckling next. The pair watches on a later scene where the conductor and the painter meet up and go on to find the third Galarian, who had been in hiding until he could reunite with his mates. However, on his way back, the conductor gets taken by the Kalosian police chief after his men had searched the musician's dressing room for one of the missing trainers, who had narrowly escaped them. The painter and his fugitive then regroups with the third trainer at an entertainer's place, where a puppetry spectacle is held.
Harmony remarks how this area looks similar to the place where the Looker Bureau is located, to which Urbain agrees. Seeing her teacup empty, he turns to her to ask if she wants more of the beverage, but he sees her looking down with conflicted eyes. "Is... Is something wrong, Harmony ?", he asks with concern. A second passes before she turns to him. "I... I was reminded of when we first got there and... How I made myself look bad on that day... Not just to Emma, but to you as well...", she starts explaining in a shameful tone. Urbain sees regret in her gaze, but fails to figure out what she means. Seeing his interrogative gaze, she elaborates.
"Do you recall the time where we set out to meet up with Emma at Looker Bureau after getting down from the rooftops ? We had some time on our hands, so I was thinking I could visit the places around Wild Zone 2... But everytime I tried going somewhere, you kept calling me, as if you didn't want me to get lost. On the fifth call, I got really annoyed by these calls and... And I made that stupid selfie I sent you", Harmony explains, sounding angry at herself at the end. Urbain's eyebrows move up a bit, remembering what she is talking about ; after said call, he got a message a few minutes later with only one image attached : Harmony, sitting at a café near Hotel Z with her Tepig, both staring at the camera with an angry look on their faces.
"Yes, I do remember. When we joined up again near Prism Tower, I wasn't sure if the time was right to talk about it... I felt very awkward", he replies. She nods. "Yeah... That was the moment I started to feel bad. The battle I had with that Fists of Justice girl later on did lift my spirits a bit, but... I was still feeling conflicted about the selfie and I just wanted to avoid the subject", Harmony continues with a negative expression. Urbain puts his hand on her forearm gently. "Look, I was the one being pushy, Harmony. If I had the foresight to let you take your time looking around Lumiose instead of insisting-", Urbain says to reassure her. But when he sees her shaking her head and her hands tensing up on her knees, he stops himself.
"That's not the point, Urbain. It's everything else I did after that selfie that I'm regretful about. Instead of talking things out, I bottled up my worries. It got to the point where I wasn't thinking straight when we met up with Emma and... Well... You saw how that turned out when I battled her Ampharos", she tells him with regret. Urbain then recalls the battle she had with Emma ; the former's newly-evolved Pignite made short work of the latter's Mareep and, after the detective showed off Mega Evolution with her Ampharos, the younger trainer wrongly assumed their battle was continuing, and she sent the Fire Pig Pokémon to attack the Mega Evolved Pokémon, failing to do much damage before getting KO'd. Harmony then sent out the strongest Pokémon she caught at the time : an Alpha Gyarados, and despite its powerful Hydro Pump, Ampharos felt almost nothing and ended the battle with a Thunder attack. That snapped the younger trainer back to reality and, after a brief moment, wanted to be left alone for a while.
The pair sits silently, with the T.V running in the background. Harmony takes a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood", she apologizes. "Don't worry about it, Harmony. I'm just surprised you didn't tell me, or anybody about this earlier", Urbain retorts. She remains silent for a few seconds, before picking up the remote and pausing the movie. "We got caught up with so many Rogue Mega missions, the Z-A Royale rank ups, and everything else in-between. Until that movie scene earlier with the Bulbasaur and Squirtle puppets, I had forgotten I even did that stupid selfie... I'm just relieved I can properly apologize about that now", Harmony explains further.
Urbain listens to her words and gives her a reassuring look. "I should be the one apologizing for even causing this to happen. I discussed the matter with Emma after your battle with her, and she scolded me a little bit for having been so clingy. I vowed to myself that I would avoid pestering you, or anyone in that manner from that point on", he replies while scratching his head in slight embarrassment. Harmony looks at him, listening carefully. On a whim, she extends her hand to him. "Let's apologize to each other", she tells him. Taken aback slightly by that statement, he shakes her hand, and both of them say to one another the phrase : 'I'm sorry'. They look at each other's eyes for a bit before they resume playing the movie.
"Wait", Urbain says. "Your teacup is empty. Do you want me to fill it up again ?", he asks. She accepts and thanks him after he serves the tea. Half a hour later, they witness one of the signature scenes where the painter, the conductor and the three Galarian trainers are getting chased by the officers on the countryside : the formers are driving a farm truck, accompanied by a countrywoman who got caught up in the chase, while the Kalosian officers are riding Cyclizars and Gogoats they got from Paldean travelers. Sensing a tense scene coming, the pair lean back into the couch slowly. The protagonists take turns throwing pumpkins at their pursuers, but the lady realizes two of the vegetables are actually Pumpkaboos, who were taking a nap in the back of the truck. The woman convinces the Pumpkin Pokémons to help them out in exchange for letting them be a part of her farm.
They do so by using a combination of Trick-or-Treat and Shadow Ball on the Gogoats, while the humans concentrate on pelting the Cyclizar riders with vegetables. At one point, the painter tries to pick up a pumpkin, but grabs the conductor's head by mistake, prompting the latter to berate the former in an exaggerated manner. One of the Galarians manages to hit a Cyclizar with a pumpkin, blinding it in the process. It then jumps off the road into a nearby pond, causing its rider to fall in the water. Eventually, the countrywoman commands the two Pumpkaboos to fire a Bullet Seed and a Confuse Ray attack respectively at the remaining pursuers, and they succeed in sending the Mount Pokémons and their cavaliers packing. Harmony breathes upwards, hyped by how the scene turned out.
"They were very creative with scenes like this", she comments. Urbain turns to her, seeing her excitement. "With modern technology, you can realize a lot of things that were not possible back then. From what I've heard, that chase scene had to be done with as few takes as they could due to the limited resources, and everyone, including the Pokémon actors, gave their all to make it look as good as it is", Urbain replies. She listens to the anecdote with interest, nodding along. She ponders whether the Pokéstar Studios in Unova could have pulled off a movie of the same caliber back then. After a while, the pair realizes there are flashes of light going off outside the hotel. Urbain gets up to pull the curtains on the windows, then sits back on the couch. A moment later, he turns to her with an astonished expression.
"It just dawned on me that we're not hearing sounds from the Battle Zones. The folks at Quasartico's did think that one through", he says with realization. Harmony raises an eyebrow at his comment. "Only now are you realizing ? That's the first thing I noticed after sleeping here for the first time. I dislike heavy noises, so it felt nice to doze off without worrying about waking up because somebody caused a ruckus", she replies, perplexed by her peer's lack of awareness. Urbain looks back at the T.V, but doesn't take his gaze off her. "Come to think of it, you do have the sleeping schedule of an Abra whenever you rest here", he jokingly tells her. His rival answers by pushing him away gently. "You know it's not like that", Harmony remarks with her arms crossed. She then looks away from him and scoffs. "I just sleep as much as I need to, that's all", she mutters under her breath. He finds her annoyed reaction funnier than he thought, and holds back a chuckle.
The pair watches the final movie scene where the group of fugitives finally escape the Kalosian officers for good after getting into a train for Kiloude City. With no Pokémons fast enough to catch up to the train, the Kalosian chief throws his kepi on the ground and angrily stomps on it multiple times, while the protagonists cheer on their liberty together. The final shot of the train leaving in the mountains closes out the movie. Urbain and Harmony look at each other. "That was a great movie indeed. I see why the people of Kalos love it", she says with a happy tone. "Indeed. I'm glad you liked this cult classic. I'll go cook dinner", he replies, smiling in return. He turns the lights back on and shuts down the T.V.
The pair exits the guest room and takes the elevator back on the first floor. Harmony sees Urbain stopping short of the kitchen door. "I have a question, Harmony... Regarding the bet match", he says. "What about it ?", she asks, tilting her head. He turns towards her with focus. "I'm curious : if you had won our match this morning... What would you have asked me to do for you ?", he asks. She blinks at the question. She scratches her head slowly, then crosses her arms. "Good question. I usually think of something in the moment, not in advance. But if I had to choose...", she begins, staring in Urbain's blue eyes. She shifts her gaze to the side briefly, now feeling a bit flustered. "I... I would have asked you to take me to a café. Like, just the two of us", she finally answers, blushing slightly. Urbain looks on, a bit perplexed by the surprisingly simple response.
"I mean... We can do that whenever we want", he tells her, still confused. Harmony shakes her head while frowning. "Please don't be daft, this is serious. Look... After Zygarde nullified Ange's final attack, I had an alarming thought in my mind... I thought you had been badly hurt when it struck the Prism Tower since you were still trapped within. But when I rushed to the base of the structure, I saw you descending slowly with Floette in your arms... I almost got overwhelmed by my emotions. All I wanted to do that moment... Was to hug you tightly and cry on your shoulder... But I did my best to contain myself and gave you a fist bump instead. It was then that I realized... That... I wanted to spend time with you, however I can. To know you better, to... To possibly... Be more than just friends", Harmony explains in length.
She approaches him as she talks, until they are at arm's length. Urbain listens on, blushing a bit when she mentions wanting to hug him, but shudders when he recalls how he and Floette ended up trapped when Ange went Hyperrogue and took control of the Single Bloom Pokémon. To keep himself the Pokémon and his friends from panicking, he told everyone positive things about how the view looks from the top of the Prism Tower. Urbain did his best to remain composed when Zygarde attacked the tower with its Core Enforcer attack, and after the battle, Urbain descended from the debris with Floette in his arms, seeing Harmony running up to him from afar. Both of them watched the Single Bloom Pokémon wake up. When he looked back at her, for a brief moment he saw her brown eyes shine slightly under the light show above them. His heart had skipped a beat. Just like it did when he first met Harmony at the Lumiose Station. And just like it does tonight when he gazes at her eyes again. Their interactions while watching the movie had confirmed one thing in his mind : he wants to be at her side, but they will have to know each other better. Staring into her eyes, Urbain takes a silent breath and speaks up.
"In that case, let's... Go do that. You choose which café we're gonna be at", he tells her with a smile. Her eyes widen, not having expected this answer. "You would ?", she asks for certainty. "Y-Yes. Of course, I didn't forget about you giving back the video tape to Corbeau, so-", he replies, but he gets interrupted when he sees Harmony taking a short step forward, smiling at him. "I'll just have to give it back before our date, no big deal", she says with a sly tone. The sudden shift between her shy demeanor a few minutes ago and her spunky attitude now surprises Urbain slightly, but makes him feel warm inside. They gaze into each other's eyes for a short period, when a gurgle sound interrupts their moment. "R-Right, I should get dinner prepared. The usual, right ?", Urbain asks. "Yep ! I'll prepare the table in the meantime", she tells him. The pair gets back down on the first floor and prepares everything as Floette watches on, discreetly smiling at the good mood displayed by the young trainers.
A little while after dinner, they go to their respective bedrooms, but not before Harmony gives Urbain a lengthy hug, which he returns almost immediately. They look at each other again. "I'll set up a clock for tommorrow. I'll be the one waking you up", she tells him jokingly. He reacts with a light scoff. "I'd like to see that. Good night, Harmony", he teases playfully. On the next morning, the Rust Syndicate duo greets Harmony, seeing her looking very tired. She gives the video tape to Corbeau and, after inspecting it, he sees everything is in order. "This will be adequate. We'll notify you when your volunteer work begins, Harmony", Philippe tells her sternly. She nods slowly and waves goodbye to both of them. After she leaves, the young leader notes how unusually early she had come to the building.
Harmony meets back with Urbain, who was waiting near Wild Zone 16. He walks up to her, but sees her holding back a yawn. "You know, when you said you were going to wake me up, I didn't think you'd actually try", he comments. "Yeah... It came at the cost of a good rest, though... Oh well, let us go, Urbain", she replies with sleepy eyes. Harmony takes Urbain to the second Nouveau Café spot, near Wild Zone 12. They sit down at a table, and while waiting for their coffee, Harmony slowly leans her head on Urbain's shoulder. He blushes slightly and puts his arm around her shoulders while gently laying his head on hers in return, and both watch the sun rise up afterwards. When their beverages arrive a few minutes later, he tries to hand one of the cups to her, but, hearing her quiet snoring, he decides against it and lets her sleep for now. "Rest well, Mony", Urbain whispers softly.
Back at the Rust Syndicate, Corbeau enters a viewing room with shelves full of tapes of varying types and origins, having pondered about why Harmony had given back the cassette, despite not having set up a time frame to bring it back. He puts the borrowed movie back where it was, but he stares at the label on the box's side for a bit. "It's been a while since I watched this film, actually", he thinks to himself. He takes the tape back out, puts the film inside the video recorder, sits down on the sofa and presses play on the remote. His face goes from contentment to irritation in seconds when he sees the ending credits playing on the T.V screen. He sighs as he presses the rewind button. "Now to wait for five minutes while doing absolutely nothing. Merci beaucoup, vous deux", he seethes.
Pairing : Urbain & Harmony
Timeframe : Happen after Pokémon Legends Z-A's main plot. While it follows the canon, a few liberties were taken.
Word count : 4232
Theme : Reminiscing with you
Timeframe : Happen after Pokémon Legends Z-A's main plot. While it follows the canon, a few liberties were taken.
Word count : 4232
Theme : Reminiscing with you
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A few weeks have passed since AZ's funeral. Life has gotten back to normal on Lumiose City, and the Ange incident became more of a memory among the citizens. On the rooftop of Hotel Z, Urbain and Floette admire the scenic view of Lumiose City as nightfall is about to begin. He looks down on his Rotom Phone, on which he got a message from Harmony a few hours ago that reads : 'Got the movie', and attached to it is a photo of her holding a VHS tape of the movie she picked. Urbain looks at the Single Bloom Pokémon and smiles. "She actually found it", he mutters to himself. He reminisces about his match against Harmony in the Infinite Z-A Royale earlier this morning. Before their duel began, she wanted the victory reward to be interesting, and the two agreed on a bet : whoever wins the match gets the loser to do something for them. He had narrowly won the battle.
Floette twirls happily. "I know, right ? I better make the preparations now. What brand of tea should I prepare...", he ponders as he takes the elevator to the first floor. Accompanied by the Single Bloom Pokémon, Urbain is making tea and getting the T.V and video recorder to work by using a tape of a movie called 'Un Souvenir Inoubliable, Partie 1'. His Rotom Phone rings once more, notifying him that Harmony is at the door. Urbain comes down, opens the door and greets her. "Good evening Urbain. Sorry I took so long, I got sidetracked after I got the movie tape", Harmony tells him apologetically. "Checking if a shiny Aron came up in Wild Zone 14 again ?", Urbain asks with a smile. She nods slowly. "Yeah, still no luck on that front", she replies, a bit embarrassed. "That's alright. That gave me time to properly set up the video recorder for this movie evening. Let's go", he continues, leading the girl to the elevator. Floette chooses to stay on the first floor, waving at the two humans before the elevator door closes.
They get to the first floor and enters the guest room. A faint aroma of Rawst Berry tea fills the place, soothing them both. Harmony hangs her hat and Team MZ jacket and looks around ; the couch has a green plaid featuring diverse Vivillon patterns is laid, various old paintings are hung on the walls, and the T.V is showing a part of the movie Urbain was viewing as a test, showing two scientists talking to a robot. "So, you got the movie ?", he asks while closing the door. "Oh, right", Harmony replies, searching through her bag for about ten seconds, before dumping its contents on the floor and picking the movie tape amongst the massive piles of Fossils she was carrying. Urbain looks on, scratching his head with bewilderment as she puts everything back in the bag as quickly as she can. She turns back to him, with the movie in hand.
"Here it is", Harmony says, handing over the film to him. Urbain looks at the cover, titled 'La Grande Errance', which shows the two lead actors : the former carrying heavy equipments in one hand, and trying to reign in two Herdiers with the other hand, while the latter is balancing himself on the other actor's shoulder. He smiles. "That's the one. It must have been hard to find it, Harmony", he tells her gently. She crosses her arms. "Well, I thought there would be a rental store for video tapes in Lumiose somewhere, but I couldn't find one... So, I went to see Corbeau and he let me borrow this movie for tonight", she replies. Urbain listens on, and his eyes widen at hearing the Rust Syndicate boss's name. The room falls silent for a brief time. "At least he's got good taste in movies", he remarks with slight worry. She pats him on the shoulder.
"Relax. I told him that I'll help out one of his subordinates in exchange for borrowing it. We're long past the crippling debt era, Urbain", Harmony replies with reassurance. He rolls his eyes at this statement. "Whatever", he briefly says. He takes the other movie tape out of the recorder, places it back on a nearby shelf, then puts in the borrowed film in its place. The pair sit on the couch, and Urbain serves the tea. "Say... Is there a reason you wanted to see this movie specifically ?", Harmony asks him. He gives the first cup of tea to her. "It is one of the most famous Kalosian movies of all time. It is a tradition to watch this film at least once a year", he explains as he serves his cup of tea. She picks up her cup and smells the beverage. Her eyes relax for a bit and turns back to him.
"I see. I never knew of this movie's existence actually", Harmony tells him. Urbain looks at her with a surprised expression. "Really ? Well... Better late than never. Let's get started, then", he replies after turning off the lights, sits down on the sofa and presses the 'Play' button on the remote. As the movie plays the cinema logos, Harmony sees the Battle Zone barriers lighting up through a nearby window. It is then that she spots a vase with a few roses in it on a table. From what she discerns, they look brand new. "I like these flowers", she tells Urbain, pointing to the flowers. He freezes briefly. "Oh, that... I... I just thought they'd look neat with the paintings around", he says hesitantly. Harmony raises an eyebrow at his response, but she decides to not comment on it.
The movie starts off with a group of three Galarian trainers flying over Lumiose City on Corviknights after crossing over the sea, when suddenly, their flock gets smacked down by a few Tinkatons. The trio manages to escape their assailants : the first trainer lands in a pond south-east of Lumiose City just outside the walls. The second touches down on a scaffolding where one of the lead actors is painting the building. The third one perches on an opera's rooftops and manages to hide first. The second man apologizes to the painter and, upon seeing the Hammer Pokémons closing in down below, they climb up the building to avoid being seen. As the two men run on the rooftops towards safety, Urbain speaks up.
"That scene reminds me... Do you remember when we first got to the Lumiose rooftops ?", he whispers as to not distract Harmony too much. She glances at him. "Yes. You showed me a closer view of the Prism Tower... And then... You decided to challenge my fear of heights", she replies, remembering her hesitation at jumping down the building to where Urbain had gotten. She had gathered her courage and leapt down, with her Rotom Phone activating its safe landing mode. Seeing Harmony's worried expression after mentioning her acrophobia embarrasses Urbain slightly ; he thought she would have gotten used to it by now.
The movie proceeds to a conductor rehearsing an orchestra piece with his musicians. The pair snicker throughout the entire scene, where the conductor comically overreacts to being interrupted ; first by some of his musicians whispering instead of playing their instruments, and then by workers who are putting up decorations on an elevated place. It culminates with Kalosian officers stopping the rehearsal to look for the Galarian trainers who, in their words, are fugitives that need to be brought to justice. This angers the conductor to the point where he snaps his baton multiple times in frustration and throws the broken pieces away in a fury. The bewildered look on the chief afterwards makes Harmony stifle her laughter.
The very next scene, the conductor storms into his dressing room, ruminating about the rehearsal being interrupted. He takes off his wig, places it on a stand, and pins it. Doing so makes him flinch as though he got stung on the head. Confused, he tries again and mimics being stung once more. Finally, he clobbers the stand with a paddle brush and make it look like he got smacked on the head. This causes Harmony to laugh out loud, followed by Urbain chuckling next. The pair watches on a later scene where the conductor and the painter meet up and go on to find the third Galarian, who had been in hiding until he could reunite with his mates. However, on his way back, the conductor gets taken by the Kalosian police chief after his men had searched the musician's dressing room for one of the missing trainers, who had narrowly escaped them. The painter and his fugitive then regroups with the third trainer at an entertainer's place, where a puppetry spectacle is held.
Harmony remarks how this area looks similar to the place where the Looker Bureau is located, to which Urbain agrees. Seeing her teacup empty, he turns to her to ask if she wants more of the beverage, but he sees her looking down with conflicted eyes. "Is... Is something wrong, Harmony ?", he asks with concern. A second passes before she turns to him. "I... I was reminded of when we first got there and... How I made myself look bad on that day... Not just to Emma, but to you as well...", she starts explaining in a shameful tone. Urbain sees regret in her gaze, but fails to figure out what she means. Seeing his interrogative gaze, she elaborates.
"Do you recall the time where we set out to meet up with Emma at Looker Bureau after getting down from the rooftops ? We had some time on our hands, so I was thinking I could visit the places around Wild Zone 2... But everytime I tried going somewhere, you kept calling me, as if you didn't want me to get lost. On the fifth call, I got really annoyed by these calls and... And I made that stupid selfie I sent you", Harmony explains, sounding angry at herself at the end. Urbain's eyebrows move up a bit, remembering what she is talking about ; after said call, he got a message a few minutes later with only one image attached : Harmony, sitting at a café near Hotel Z with her Tepig, both staring at the camera with an angry look on their faces.
"Yes, I do remember. When we joined up again near Prism Tower, I wasn't sure if the time was right to talk about it... I felt very awkward", he replies. She nods. "Yeah... That was the moment I started to feel bad. The battle I had with that Fists of Justice girl later on did lift my spirits a bit, but... I was still feeling conflicted about the selfie and I just wanted to avoid the subject", Harmony continues with a negative expression. Urbain puts his hand on her forearm gently. "Look, I was the one being pushy, Harmony. If I had the foresight to let you take your time looking around Lumiose instead of insisting-", Urbain says to reassure her. But when he sees her shaking her head and her hands tensing up on her knees, he stops himself.
"That's not the point, Urbain. It's everything else I did after that selfie that I'm regretful about. Instead of talking things out, I bottled up my worries. It got to the point where I wasn't thinking straight when we met up with Emma and... Well... You saw how that turned out when I battled her Ampharos", she tells him with regret. Urbain then recalls the battle she had with Emma ; the former's newly-evolved Pignite made short work of the latter's Mareep and, after the detective showed off Mega Evolution with her Ampharos, the younger trainer wrongly assumed their battle was continuing, and she sent the Fire Pig Pokémon to attack the Mega Evolved Pokémon, failing to do much damage before getting KO'd. Harmony then sent out the strongest Pokémon she caught at the time : an Alpha Gyarados, and despite its powerful Hydro Pump, Ampharos felt almost nothing and ended the battle with a Thunder attack. That snapped the younger trainer back to reality and, after a brief moment, wanted to be left alone for a while.
The pair sits silently, with the T.V running in the background. Harmony takes a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood", she apologizes. "Don't worry about it, Harmony. I'm just surprised you didn't tell me, or anybody about this earlier", Urbain retorts. She remains silent for a few seconds, before picking up the remote and pausing the movie. "We got caught up with so many Rogue Mega missions, the Z-A Royale rank ups, and everything else in-between. Until that movie scene earlier with the Bulbasaur and Squirtle puppets, I had forgotten I even did that stupid selfie... I'm just relieved I can properly apologize about that now", Harmony explains further.
Urbain listens to her words and gives her a reassuring look. "I should be the one apologizing for even causing this to happen. I discussed the matter with Emma after your battle with her, and she scolded me a little bit for having been so clingy. I vowed to myself that I would avoid pestering you, or anyone in that manner from that point on", he replies while scratching his head in slight embarrassment. Harmony looks at him, listening carefully. On a whim, she extends her hand to him. "Let's apologize to each other", she tells him. Taken aback slightly by that statement, he shakes her hand, and both of them say to one another the phrase : 'I'm sorry'. They look at each other's eyes for a bit before they resume playing the movie.
"Wait", Urbain says. "Your teacup is empty. Do you want me to fill it up again ?", he asks. She accepts and thanks him after he serves the tea. Half a hour later, they witness one of the signature scenes where the painter, the conductor and the three Galarian trainers are getting chased by the officers on the countryside : the formers are driving a farm truck, accompanied by a countrywoman who got caught up in the chase, while the Kalosian officers are riding Cyclizars and Gogoats they got from Paldean travelers. Sensing a tense scene coming, the pair lean back into the couch slowly. The protagonists take turns throwing pumpkins at their pursuers, but the lady realizes two of the vegetables are actually Pumpkaboos, who were taking a nap in the back of the truck. The woman convinces the Pumpkin Pokémons to help them out in exchange for letting them be a part of her farm.
They do so by using a combination of Trick-or-Treat and Shadow Ball on the Gogoats, while the humans concentrate on pelting the Cyclizar riders with vegetables. At one point, the painter tries to pick up a pumpkin, but grabs the conductor's head by mistake, prompting the latter to berate the former in an exaggerated manner. One of the Galarians manages to hit a Cyclizar with a pumpkin, blinding it in the process. It then jumps off the road into a nearby pond, causing its rider to fall in the water. Eventually, the countrywoman commands the two Pumpkaboos to fire a Bullet Seed and a Confuse Ray attack respectively at the remaining pursuers, and they succeed in sending the Mount Pokémons and their cavaliers packing. Harmony breathes upwards, hyped by how the scene turned out.
"They were very creative with scenes like this", she comments. Urbain turns to her, seeing her excitement. "With modern technology, you can realize a lot of things that were not possible back then. From what I've heard, that chase scene had to be done with as few takes as they could due to the limited resources, and everyone, including the Pokémon actors, gave their all to make it look as good as it is", Urbain replies. She listens to the anecdote with interest, nodding along. She ponders whether the Pokéstar Studios in Unova could have pulled off a movie of the same caliber back then. After a while, the pair realizes there are flashes of light going off outside the hotel. Urbain gets up to pull the curtains on the windows, then sits back on the couch. A moment later, he turns to her with an astonished expression.
"It just dawned on me that we're not hearing sounds from the Battle Zones. The folks at Quasartico's did think that one through", he says with realization. Harmony raises an eyebrow at his comment. "Only now are you realizing ? That's the first thing I noticed after sleeping here for the first time. I dislike heavy noises, so it felt nice to doze off without worrying about waking up because somebody caused a ruckus", she replies, perplexed by her peer's lack of awareness. Urbain looks back at the T.V, but doesn't take his gaze off her. "Come to think of it, you do have the sleeping schedule of an Abra whenever you rest here", he jokingly tells her. His rival answers by pushing him away gently. "You know it's not like that", Harmony remarks with her arms crossed. She then looks away from him and scoffs. "I just sleep as much as I need to, that's all", she mutters under her breath. He finds her annoyed reaction funnier than he thought, and holds back a chuckle.
The pair watches the final movie scene where the group of fugitives finally escape the Kalosian officers for good after getting into a train for Kiloude City. With no Pokémons fast enough to catch up to the train, the Kalosian chief throws his kepi on the ground and angrily stomps on it multiple times, while the protagonists cheer on their liberty together. The final shot of the train leaving in the mountains closes out the movie. Urbain and Harmony look at each other. "That was a great movie indeed. I see why the people of Kalos love it", she says with a happy tone. "Indeed. I'm glad you liked this cult classic. I'll go cook dinner", he replies, smiling in return. He turns the lights back on and shuts down the T.V.
The pair exits the guest room and takes the elevator back on the first floor. Harmony sees Urbain stopping short of the kitchen door. "I have a question, Harmony... Regarding the bet match", he says. "What about it ?", she asks, tilting her head. He turns towards her with focus. "I'm curious : if you had won our match this morning... What would you have asked me to do for you ?", he asks. She blinks at the question. She scratches her head slowly, then crosses her arms. "Good question. I usually think of something in the moment, not in advance. But if I had to choose...", she begins, staring in Urbain's blue eyes. She shifts her gaze to the side briefly, now feeling a bit flustered. "I... I would have asked you to take me to a café. Like, just the two of us", she finally answers, blushing slightly. Urbain looks on, a bit perplexed by the surprisingly simple response.
"I mean... We can do that whenever we want", he tells her, still confused. Harmony shakes her head while frowning. "Please don't be daft, this is serious. Look... After Zygarde nullified Ange's final attack, I had an alarming thought in my mind... I thought you had been badly hurt when it struck the Prism Tower since you were still trapped within. But when I rushed to the base of the structure, I saw you descending slowly with Floette in your arms... I almost got overwhelmed by my emotions. All I wanted to do that moment... Was to hug you tightly and cry on your shoulder... But I did my best to contain myself and gave you a fist bump instead. It was then that I realized... That... I wanted to spend time with you, however I can. To know you better, to... To possibly... Be more than just friends", Harmony explains in length.
She approaches him as she talks, until they are at arm's length. Urbain listens on, blushing a bit when she mentions wanting to hug him, but shudders when he recalls how he and Floette ended up trapped when Ange went Hyperrogue and took control of the Single Bloom Pokémon. To keep himself the Pokémon and his friends from panicking, he told everyone positive things about how the view looks from the top of the Prism Tower. Urbain did his best to remain composed when Zygarde attacked the tower with its Core Enforcer attack, and after the battle, Urbain descended from the debris with Floette in his arms, seeing Harmony running up to him from afar. Both of them watched the Single Bloom Pokémon wake up. When he looked back at her, for a brief moment he saw her brown eyes shine slightly under the light show above them. His heart had skipped a beat. Just like it did when he first met Harmony at the Lumiose Station. And just like it does tonight when he gazes at her eyes again. Their interactions while watching the movie had confirmed one thing in his mind : he wants to be at her side, but they will have to know each other better. Staring into her eyes, Urbain takes a silent breath and speaks up.
"In that case, let's... Go do that. You choose which café we're gonna be at", he tells her with a smile. Her eyes widen, not having expected this answer. "You would ?", she asks for certainty. "Y-Yes. Of course, I didn't forget about you giving back the video tape to Corbeau, so-", he replies, but he gets interrupted when he sees Harmony taking a short step forward, smiling at him. "I'll just have to give it back before our date, no big deal", she says with a sly tone. The sudden shift between her shy demeanor a few minutes ago and her spunky attitude now surprises Urbain slightly, but makes him feel warm inside. They gaze into each other's eyes for a short period, when a gurgle sound interrupts their moment. "R-Right, I should get dinner prepared. The usual, right ?", Urbain asks. "Yep ! I'll prepare the table in the meantime", she tells him. The pair gets back down on the first floor and prepares everything as Floette watches on, discreetly smiling at the good mood displayed by the young trainers.
A little while after dinner, they go to their respective bedrooms, but not before Harmony gives Urbain a lengthy hug, which he returns almost immediately. They look at each other again. "I'll set up a clock for tommorrow. I'll be the one waking you up", she tells him jokingly. He reacts with a light scoff. "I'd like to see that. Good night, Harmony", he teases playfully. On the next morning, the Rust Syndicate duo greets Harmony, seeing her looking very tired. She gives the video tape to Corbeau and, after inspecting it, he sees everything is in order. "This will be adequate. We'll notify you when your volunteer work begins, Harmony", Philippe tells her sternly. She nods slowly and waves goodbye to both of them. After she leaves, the young leader notes how unusually early she had come to the building.
Harmony meets back with Urbain, who was waiting near Wild Zone 16. He walks up to her, but sees her holding back a yawn. "You know, when you said you were going to wake me up, I didn't think you'd actually try", he comments. "Yeah... It came at the cost of a good rest, though... Oh well, let us go, Urbain", she replies with sleepy eyes. Harmony takes Urbain to the second Nouveau Café spot, near Wild Zone 12. They sit down at a table, and while waiting for their coffee, Harmony slowly leans her head on Urbain's shoulder. He blushes slightly and puts his arm around her shoulders while gently laying his head on hers in return, and both watch the sun rise up afterwards. When their beverages arrive a few minutes later, he tries to hand one of the cups to her, but, hearing her quiet snoring, he decides against it and lets her sleep for now. "Rest well, Mony", Urbain whispers softly.
Back at the Rust Syndicate, Corbeau enters a viewing room with shelves full of tapes of varying types and origins, having pondered about why Harmony had given back the cassette, despite not having set up a time frame to bring it back. He puts the borrowed movie back where it was, but he stares at the label on the box's side for a bit. "It's been a while since I watched this film, actually", he thinks to himself. He takes the tape back out, puts the film inside the video recorder, sits down on the sofa and presses play on the remote. His face goes from contentment to irritation in seconds when he sees the ending credits playing on the T.V screen. He sighs as he presses the rewind button. "Now to wait for five minutes while doing absolutely nothing. Merci beaucoup, vous deux", he seethes.
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