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Here, Have a Cookie

Summary:

Lea dreamed of leaving her home in Petalburg and going on an adventure. She wanted to see everything the world had to offer, overcome the hardest trials Hoenn could throw at her, and stand at the top among friends, rivals, and peers. She wanted a team of Pokemon that could stand against all of that, and she's wanted that for years.

She wanted to go on a journey.

Her dream has been on hold for two years. Lea has worked her ass off to help her sister keep their departed Mother's bakery afloat, and the store was starting to feel like a prison cell, from which there was no escape. Her best friend was getting ready to leave home on her own journey, and despite being happy for her, the coming shared birthday felt like a nightmare made real, of a dream being lost for good.

Lea's sister decided to give her the best birthday present she could, and fired her, effective immediately.

Story has also been posted on Royal Road and Fanfiction.net.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Chapter Text

“Metagross, Meteor Mash the ground, let’s shake things up,” Steven ordered, and I watched in awe as the entire stadium erupted in an explosion of dirt and metal. I had seen earthquakes cause less damage than this, and the challenger looked completely out of his depth as his Blaziken was swept up in the tide. Though instincts did kick in, eventually.

“Holly, if you can find footing, kick off and jump out of there,” And in a feat of incredible acrobatics, Dad’s Blaziken soared into the sky and lands on a large spike of stone jutting out of the ground. Dad raises up his arm, and a gem starts to glow. I lean closer to the screen.

Click. And it all goes black. I turned very slowly to see my sister staring down at me. I pouted.

“You already know it’s way past your bedtime,” she said, setting the remote down on our tiny end table and shooting me a glare.

“But Evvvvveee,” I complained.

Eve shook her head.

“No buts. We’re going to be busy as all hell at the store tomorrow. Besides, you’ve seen that same fight how many times?” she asked.

Not enough.

“But dad’s so awesome in that though. AND it’s my birthday. You’re seriously going to make me work a shift on my birthday?” I asked, my voice sounding whiny, even to my ears.

Eve scowled before tapping the top of the TV.

“Bed. Now. We have to get up early as fuck to finish May’s cake,” Eve said.

I groaned before standing up and started aggressively moving the covers on the couch.

“I’m going to at least get off in time to go to her party, right?” I asked. Eve didn’t say anything. “Right?” I asked a bit more aggressively.

“We need to get everything prepped for the Pokémon Center order the day after tomorrow,” Eve said, looking apologetic.

Fuck, I forgot about that.

“If we bust our asses off, we...” Will probably still be at a minimum, late. “Regardless, bed,” Eve said before crossing her arms.

“Fine,” I grumbled, pissed that I wouldn’t even be able to enjoy my birthday at someone else's birthday party. “You really can’t keep treating me like this. I’m seventeen tomorrow, I’m not a kid anymore and I can make my own choices. You’re not my mom.” And I regretted the words as soon as they slipped out. Eve’s stern frown turned into an angry scowl.

“BED! See if we even celebrate your damned birthday tomorrow. Fucking cursed day that it is.” She mumbled the last part.

I winced. I... that hurt. I turned away from her and rushed out of the room, trying to hide my face.

“Ah, fuc-” I don't hear the rest of what she says and slammed the door to my room behind me.

“Stupid, annoying, pain in the ass.” I started to tear up as I slammed down onto my bed and pulled my Torchic plushie up to me. A bunch of stuffed Pokémon dolls lined my shelves, mostly from my favorite shows, but my favorites were within grabbing distance for bad days. I looked up at the posters of gym leaders I hoped to one day square off against before burying my face in the plushie. “S’not... my fault...” I jumped a bit when I felt a weight pull me towards the left side of the bed. An arm pulled me into a soft embrace. “Go away!” I yelled angrily.

“I’m sorry.” Still shaking, I felt the weight shift and Eve started to get up. “I shouldn’t have-” Eve cut herself off, before frowning and turning toward the door.

“Wait...” I called out. I sucked in a breath, calming down a bit, before sighing. “I’m sorry too.” I sat up and stared at Eve’s face before looking away. Back to being stoic. Legends above, would it kill you to just feel something. Anything. “I was being a brat.”

“Right... well, have a good night,” Eve said. She all but fled the room.

Groaning in frustration, I turned around and punched the pillow. Turning to my alarm clock, I blanched at the time that stared back at me.

“Oh god, I'm going to be a zombie birthday girl tomorrow. Well...” I looked down. “I guess later today would be more appropriate.” I pulled the covers over my head and sighed. “Happy birthday, Lea.”

***

“...and make sure those donuts are out of the oven,” Eve ordered.

I groggily shook my head up and down before walking away from her. I listlessly opened the walk-in freezer doors, hoping the frigid air would wake me up, and grabbed the speed rack.

I idly wondered how many seventeen-year-olds even knew what a speed rack was, before wincing, my skin grabbing the cold gilded bars for the first time this morning. Guess that’ll work for a wakeup call. The damn thing caught on the door drain on the way out again, and I all but shoved it to get it out.

Glancing across the kitchen, I noticed Eve’s busy piping the finishing touches of Norman’s order.

“Wonder what a birthday party for me would be like?” I said to myself, before shaking the jealous thoughts out of my head.

“How the fuck is she so cognizant, she couldn’t have gotten any more sleep than me and that cake looks flawless.” The whole thing just pissed me off. May has a party celebrating the start of her Pokémon journey and I'm still here, two years after the normal starting age.

It wasn’t fucking fair.

I opened the oven and angrily grabbed the rack of donuts before ripping my hands away. I bit back a curse.

‘Grab some mitts, you fucking idiot.’ I thought angrily to myself as I flopped the pan on the table behind me. Thankfully, Eve didn’t notice. The last thing I needed was her riding my ass about not paying attention on the job. I winced at the pain as I slid the cookies into place, and angrily stomped toward the sink.

Stupid oven.

Legends above, that water felt nice.

The bell at the front of the store jingled and I rushed to the counter. Whoever this was was early as all hell, we just opened. Ah... of course.

“Hello, Norman. How are you today?” Speak of the goofball and he’ll appear. Come on Lea, be the face of excellent customer service I know you can be . Fuck, I thought that in Eve’s voice, I needed help. "Eve's putting the finishing touches on your cake now.” I explained.

“Thanks, you girls never disappoint,” he said before pulling up a chair from the table closest to the register. “Honestly, the most repeated complaint from May is that she won’t get to enjoy you guys’ donuts when she’s on the road.”

“I still don’t understand how she keeps her figure,” I grumbled. It honestly wasn’t fair. “When is she leaving?” I asked, dreading the moment it would finally happen. Today really was cursed, wasn’t it? Lost a mom and now a best friend on it.

Fan fucking tastic.

“She’s heading over to Littleroot tomorrow morning.” Norman said.

She’s getting a fucking sponsored starter? From the professor? How is that even fucking fair?

“You... mean she’s not getting a starter from you?” I asked.

Norman winced.

“Apparently, May’s not a fan of the Slakoth line.” Big shocker. “No accounting for taste in the newer generation of trainers,” Norman said with a sigh.

No, you were just a fucking a weirdo. An overwhelmingly competent weirdo, but still a weirdo.

“So she-”

“She passed the sponsorship exam with flying colors,” Norman interrupted me with a proud smile.

Why didn’t she tell me about any of this? Was that why she’d been dodging me for the last few weeks? Was she busy studying?

“Any idea what she’s shooting for?” Mouth, stop talking. This is your brain, stop engaging with the-

“I believe she’s leaning towards Torchic, actually,” Norman said.

I gripped the countertop so hard my knuckles turned white, and it took everything I had not to shout.

“R-really?” I asked. If Norman noticed anything about my sudden shift in demeanor, he doesn’t show it.

“Yup, you left an impression on her. Always raving about how cool your dad’s Blaziken was. She doesn’t really know what she wants to do as a trainer yet, but your stories made her a lot more confident about her journey.”

That’s it.

“Right, then. Uh... listen Norman, I’m going to check on my sister’s progress. Be right back.” I all but sprinted out of the room. "Norman’s here” I quickly shouted to Eve before closing myself off in the walk-in cooler. I punched the wall and yelled for a couple seconds before the pain receptors in my knuckles caught up to my brain. “Fuck!” My knuckles screamed at me as I shook my hand out.

Praise be that walk-in coolers were more or less soundproof.

Of course, May got a Torchic. Just... UGHHH. A sponsorship from the regional professor? Really? She gets to leave when she wants, she gets... she gets...

She gets to go on MY journey.

I finally calmed down enough to feel a few tears run along my cheek. Looking around. All the boxes made me feel small.

Why can’t I leave? I WANT to leave. But...

I can’t...

It’d just be Eve, and no one in Petalburg would work for what I do. Eve wouldn’t be able to afford it.

I already know I wouldn’t get anything for a starter, anyways. Birch doesn’t know me at all, he wouldn’t sponsor me, so I'd end up with Norman getting me a starter.

I’d end up with a worthless fucking Slakoth or a Zigzagoon and be doomed to wander the routes close to home as a nameless footnote in the trainer registry.

A fate worse than death.

I sucked in a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

This wouldn’t be my life forever, I just had to keep reminding myself of that.

“...kind of surprised actually.” I heard Norman say as I opened the door. “I figured Lea as the type to make a run at the gym circuit. She’s so expressive whenever I talk to her about Pokémon.”

“She doesn’t want to leave me alone in the bakery.” Eve sets the cake box in front of Norman before switching her attention to the register. “I know she wants to leave, but... I’m happy she’s still here. Pokémon training has taken enough from this family.”

I winced at the declaration. I always knew I'd never get any support from Eve when I left, but hearing it still stung.

“Is there a story there?” Norman asked. “I’m sorry if me asking that is overstepping, but I think I've already stepped in it once today with your sister. I’d rather avoid making any future mistakes if I can help it.”

Eve is silent for a while. When Norman moves to grab the cake, she places her hand down to stop him.

“You already know Mom died giving birth to Lea, and our dad died on route.” Norman nodded along. “I tell people that Dad was on his way home, that he wanted to be here to see the birth of his second daughter.” Eve paused and swallowed. “Nothing could be further from the truth. That deadbeat prick abandoned us.”

Both me and Norman reeled back as if struck.

“D-deadbeat...” I whispered to myself.

“Dad cared more about battling then he did about his own family.” Eve pushed on. “I-I was the one in the room with mom when she died. She was... so happy to see Lea. Even if it was only for just a few minutes.” Eve started to cry, and Norman started to move behind the counter to give her a hug. This was the most emotion I had seen from Eve in a long time.

“You don’t need to say-”

“Yes, I do.” She pushed Norman away. “I need to get this out. To tell someone. I’m so tired...” She looked up to Norman. “So tired of lying...” She steadied herself. “You’re the closest thing to what a dad should be I’ve ever had. You always stopped by the house, you listened to me complain about Lea’s disgusting bathroom habits, you helped us keep the bakery, you...” she trailed off and looked to the side. “As far as Lea knows, Dad died on the trip home to a group of territorial Gyarados.”

That was what the league report said, it’d be damn impressive if that was a lie.

“The thing is, if he was coming home, he never would have seen them.” My eyes widened. “The conference was more important to him than us, and it got him killed.”

“What the fuck,” I whispered to myself. “This has to be Tauros shit, right?”

“That’s... hard for me to wrap my head around.” Yeah, no fucking duh. How do you figure out which way dad was-

“Dad last called us from the Pacifilog town Pokémon center. They found him dead on Route 130.” That... Where they found him was in the report... “Please, don’t tell Lea any of this.” Too late for that...

“But she really should-”

“I don’t want her to turn into me,” Eve said, voice breaking a bit.

I looked up.

“I don’t want her to hate him like I do. She’s...” Eve trailed off. “Last night, I had to put an abrupt end on a watch party from Dad’s greatest battles. Did you know he got to fight Steven Stone before he became Champion? It was the finals of the conference from the year before. Lea loves that fight, even if Dad loses. I don’t want to take that away from her.”

Eve...

“It’s hard to look at her sometimes. She reminds me so much of Dad. When he... was around....” Eve started breaking down a bit more, and I slowly backed away from the conversation.

My head was swimming as I wandered the back room. Dad abandoning us was just something I couldn’t wrap my head around. That... that was what I aspired to be. My dream was to reach the top like he almost did.

That dream felt a bit hollow now.

My whole body wouldn’t stop shaking... Damnit, I needed to sit down. Where?

Office. Right, there’s a chair in the office. I bumbled through the kitchen, mindful not to make too much noise and found my sister’s private little cubby hole. I sat down before cupping my head in my hands.

I just... what the hell do I even do with what I just heard?

What do I want?

I... I still want to leave. Does that make me a bad person? I still want to go on a journey and see the world and make friends and-

I mentally stopped myself.

My goal hadn’t changed, the reason did. Now it’s just for me. Did that make me selfish?

‘It’s okay to be happy.’ Words that May had once told me bounced around in my head. I wanted to live a life beyond that of a baker. That was my dream.

I mindlessly started to move some papers on the desk around in a way that made some kind of logical sense as I came down from my freak out. Dad being a jack ass didn’t have to change anything about me, hell I'd be a better trainer then he ever was. Screw him.

I started to organize the various order forms for the next few weeks, so we didn’t get surprised when I stopped.

There was something missing, here. Usually by now, I'd have found at least two overdue bill notices. Frowning, I sat the files and order forms down and started searching through some of our older documents. Up to date, up to date, filled, up to date, all up to date. Everything had been processed already. Shifting my gaze to the fossil of a PC my sister used. I groaned as I started the boot process. Loading... more loading... and system update, what do you mean system update this fossil doesn’t need a system update, the only thing we use it for is to track budget and play Electrode sweeper when we’re dead.

Grumbling, I opened the filing cabinet and put away all my sister’s excess files. We didn’t need any of these, but sis was obsessed with keeping a written record of every transaction we’ve done for at least a year. Honestly, if she was going to stick to these archaic tax practices, the least she could do is keep her own space organized.

Bing.

Oh, good, the update’s done. Now then, the budget looks good, labor is close to nonexistent, sales are... good...

I saw white, for a single, clarifying moment. Then the world devolved into various shades of red.

I forced the chair back so hard that it slammed against the wall and ran to the front room.

“We’re. In. THE. BLACK!?” I snarled. “How the fuck long were you planning on keeping this from me, huh? Cause it’s already been way to fucking long! Two months... two fucking months...” I started to tear up, and Eve hesitantly started to reach out. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

Eve reared back as if she was burned.

“I... listen, Lea-” Eve started, and her voice just set me off again.

“Answer the fucking question!” I yelled.

Eve looked away.

“I... I don’t know, okay. It was... it wasn’t intentional at first. I wanted to make sure we were solid, and then... the longer it went, the easier it was to just not say anything,” Eve said. She was avoiding looking at me, so I got in her face.

“Right, right, easier to keep me trapped here, your own personal slave, barely paid.” I punctuated each word by getting closer to her, and Eve kept backing up until her back met the wall.

“Lea, that’s not-”

“DON’T PRETEND LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT ME!” I exploded. “I heard you,” I seethed. “I heard your breakdown with Norman, I remind you of dad, right? Is that why you ha-”

“I LOVE YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT!” Eve screamed back. “I know you won’t believe me... not after everything... you left when I started crying didn’t you?” Eve asked.

I was struggling to find my voice, it’d been... a while, since I heard those three words.

“You... you remind me of the best parts of dad. His unending enthusiasm, his love of Pokémon, his... his kindness. As much as I hated what he did, I still love him. That’s what makes this so hard.” Eve took a deep breath and looked towards the front table, where-

“Oh, uh hi, Norman, uh, listen.” And now my face was red for entirely different reasons. Oh god I'm feeling a bit lightheaded. “We’re so very sorry about all of this, if you-”

“Lea.” Eve said, cutting me off. “You’re fired.”

I'm what!?

Eve went to the till and pulled out a white envelope, already sealed.

“This is your final paycheck, set at what it should’ve been these last two months,” Eve said, her voice shaking slightly as she offered me the money.

I hesitantly reached out and grabbed the envelope. I took a few seconds to steady my hands and opened it. Holy-

“The fuck kind of math were you doing,” I screamed, now mad at her for entirely different reasons. “This is entirely too much money. At minimum wage, the standard rate in Hoenn for two weeks would be-”

“The fact that you think you’re only worth minimum wage makes me hate myself more than you could possibly imagine,” she cut me off. “Starting your own journey with a Pokémon from Birch’s lab is fucking expensive, take the damn money.”

I looked down at the check before sighing.

“I... I don’t want a Pokémon from Birch.” I hesitantly replied. I doubted I’d be able to pass the sponsorship program even if I did. I don’t think Eve knew how getting a Pokémon from Birch worked.

“Bullshit, you’ve dreamed of setting off with a Torchic since you were five years old,”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Norman wince as Eve finished. The fact that he hasn’t taken his cake and hightailed it yet is either a sign of unending bravery or unyielding stupidity.

“Yeah, well... my worldview has shifted rather drastically in the last half hour,” I said. Eve winced. “Look I already know exactly what I want, I don’t even have to go that far to get it! All I need are a few poke balls and some suppl-”

“Absolutely not. You are not stepping one foot out of this town without a Pokémon or a guide!” Eve screamed. Norman was nodding along sagely.

“I’ll take Casey with me...” I said nervously. Norman looked confused, and Eve was channeling a Primape.

“You will, under no circumstances, attack a wild Pokémon with a baseball bat,” Eve grounded out. “Do I make myself clear.” Eve’s face promised death.

“Crystal,” I meeped.

“Umm... ladies,” Norman said.

“What.” We both turned to the new interloper in our argument, who was now rightly terrified.

“I... I’m escorting May to Birch’s lab tomorrow. It really wouldn’t be any trouble to take Lea with me. We can grab whatever Pokémon she wants to catch. It really shouldn’t be too much trouble if she already knows what she wants and it’s a Pokémon in the area.” Norman sounded more confident the longer he talked. “And we can get her registered at Birch’s Lab.” Now Norman looked a bit nervous. “You two could... maybe... even travel together?”

“She would be more than happy to.” Eve interrupted. She shot me a withering glare.

“Fine, but I'm not catching a normal type, and I am NOT taking this whole check. This is an absurd amount of money, and you’ll have to hire someone new after I leave,” I argued, daring her to tell me no.

Eve looked at me. She didn’t say anything, move or even blink for a good thirty seconds. I would not budge on this, fuck your mom stare. Damn it.

“I-”

“You will take eighty percent of this at minimum,” Eve said, her tone brokering no argument.

Score, I got to have some pride.

“That’s still more then I'm comfortable with, but I’ll take it.” I started to mentally budget out my trip to the mart. Here’s hoping they still have that camper special. Food, a sleeping bag, maybe a fishing rod if I have enough money.

“Excellent, then I’ll see both of you ladies tomorrow.” Norman shot us both a smile before grabbing his cake and making his way towards the door.

“Actually,” Eve started. “I have one last request.”

Norman stopped in the doorway.

“Could you take the gremlin with you?” Eve asked, shuffling in place a bit as she nodded her head towards me. “I know she’d be crashing your daughter’s party, but-”

“We’d be happy to have her. You too, honestly. You really didn’t even need to ask,” Norman said. A smile stretched across his face as he cut off Eve’s nervous ramblings.

“Eve, I need to-”

“I have a rather large amount of work I suddenly need to catch up on, and a few new things to take care of,” Eve interrupted. “I don’t have time to argue with you.”

I opened my mouth to protest.

“Shut up and have fun, Eve said, stopping me before I could.

“But I have to pack, and shop, and plan, and-”

“I said shut up.” Eve shot me a glare as she interrupted me again. “It should not be this hard to get someone to go to a birthday party.”

“It really shouldn’t, which is why you’ll both be there, right at six. That should be more than enough time to get everything taken care of.” Norman’s voice inflected a terrifying degree of insistence that put Eve’s earlier Mom stare to shame.

“...Yes, Norman,” We both muttered.

“Bye girls, see you both tonight.” Norman waved as he walked out.

The room felt heavier once he left.

“You should be heading out too, you have a lot to do in not a lot of time,” Eve said. I frowned as I looked down at my apron.

“This’ll be the last time I wear this, I...” I pulled my strings and turned to face Eve. “I still can’t believe how much has changed. That I finally get to leave home.” She winced at the word finally. “Are you okay? You sure you’re good with this?”

“I don’t understand...” Eh? “I just... you should hate me.”

“The hell you mean? Eve, we’re sisters, I’m not going to-”

“I’ve treated you like crap for the last two months.” Eve interrupted me. AGAIN. “We’ve been turning a full profit. Our debts are paid off in full. This whole time I’ve been lying to you, dreading this, taking all my stress out on you, and you... you’re acting like this is nothing. Like I haven’t been keeping you from going out on your own for the last two years.” Eve looked up to meet my gaze. “I just... I need to know why?”

I don’t talk for a while, mostly because I didn’t really have an answer. I was so mad earlier, but it all just felt... distant. Like I couldn’t connect with the feeling anymore, looking at how my sister looked now.

“You had that envelope ready to go.” I finally settled on. “Me finding out how I did. It hurt. Especially after the dad shock. Which we are not talking about.” I firmly stopped Eve from interrupting again. I didn’t want to think about that can of worms. “But you were ready to say goodbye. I have faith you would’ve told me on your own at some point.” I smiled. “I guess, what I’m trying to say... is I love you too, you fucking idiot.”

Eve doesn’t react, not immediately. She slowly inched towards me, grabbed my hand...

And pulled.

“Ah!” Eve hugged me. Hard.

“I’m sorry. Thank you. That... that means more than you could ever possibly know.” I hesitantly put my arms around Eve and returned the hug.

“You’re forgiven, and your welcome.”

“You leaving scares the crap out of me. You better call me every time you get to a new town,” she threatened.

“This isn’t goodbye yet, so stop acting like it is,” I complained. “We can have a meltdown and traumatize Norman at the town gate tomorrow, and not a second before that.”

Eve’s response to that was something that I hadn’t heard in an exceedingly long time.

She laughed.

***

I took a deep breath and smiled, happy to get outside, away from the noise.

Parties fucking sucked. Glad I knew that now. I appreciated what Eve was trying to do, but I knew none of these people. The local gym leader’s daughter leaving home to start her career as a Pokémon trainer was enough to bring the whole damn town out to party, and I had better things to do with my time than watch May get mooned over.

...I wanted to switch places with her so badly.

Click.

I swiveled my head to make sure the crowd wasn’t swarming the back yard and had to choke back a laugh as the birthday girl herself snuck out of her own party.

“Salud.” I raised up the small glass of punch I was nesting. I couldn’t stop the laugh this time as May did her best Buneary impression and leaped a good three feet in the air.

“Legends, don’t do that,” May said before turning her head my way. “Surprised to see you out of the apron. You look nice.”

“What, this old thing.” It really wasn’t much. Eve wanted me to look nice tonight, but we really didn’t have dress... anything. “Besides you won’t be seeing much of my apron anymore.”

May looked down.

“Right, cause I'm leaving tomorrow.” Why the hell does she sound sad about that? “I’m still nervous about that. I’m going to miss this place, and I'm really going to miss you, but I'm still excited to meet my starter.”

“Well, I guess there’s that too, but that wasn’t what I meant,” I said with a smirk. “I got fired today.”

“Your own sister fired you?!” May said with a scandalized expression that was currently making my night. “That’s terrible, what the hell did you do?” She tilted her head to the side. “And why do you seem so happy about it?”

Legends above, she was so fun to mess with.

“Wellllll. Let’s just say you’ll have a plus one on your trip to Littleroot.” I smiled. “The bakery is making enough money that Eve can hire someone and actually pay them a legal wage, so... in a weird way, this is her birthday present to me?” Honestly, the whole thing sounded a bit weird without context.

“So, you’ll be coming with me to Littleroot? Cool.” May said, looking slightly jittery.

Dream come true and all she says is cool. That’s... not like her.

“Wait, today’s your birthday?” May asked.

I hesitantly nodded.

“We’ve known each other for years. How is it that I'm just now figuring out we share a birthday?” She sounded hurt. Right, I guess it’s weird for other people.

“We... don’t usually celebrate my birthday that much. For personal reasons.” Personal reasons, Mom dying giving birth to me, Dad dying around the same time, Sis shutting out the world for most of my early birthdays, so I don’t get too excited for them... “I guess it never came up as a result.” I finished lamely.

“Right. So, since you’re coming with, does that mean you’re picking one of the starter Pokémon from Birch’s Lab?” She pressed her fingers together and shifted in place as she asked.

“Unfortunately, we can’t afford a sponsorship from the lab, and I doubt very seriously I could pass the exam on such short notice. Plus, Birch doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall, so I very much doubt he’d pass up someone else for that one random baker starting her journey a full two years late.” I sighed. “Nah, I'll just have to settle for a wild catch we find on the road between here and Littleroot. There’s actually a few I really want, but as far as starters go, it looks like you’ll have your favorite fire chicken all to yourself.”

Glomp.

“OHMYGOD. THANK YOU. I’MLOOKINGFORWARDTOITSOMUCH! I CAN’T WAIT TO TRAVEL WITH YOU! EEEE!” Ow. My ears. My back.

“Mercy. Please. Can’t... breathe-” And just as fast as it started. It stopped, and a very red-faced May was back to shuffling awkwardly in place.

“I’m sorry. That was... uncalled for. I was just really REALLY happy.” She looked away. “But are you sure? I know you really like Torchic because of your dad, and I’m sure we could figure out something-” I cut her off with a hug of my own.

“I really don’t deserve you as a friend. I want you to know that. Keep the damn bird.” My green-eyed monster moment in the cooler came to mind, and I did my best to stomp out the feelings of guilt. “Besides, if I can get your dad to agree to a little bit of hunting, my planned starter is going to be way more badass than yours.”

May raised her hand to feel my forehead for about four seconds.

“I’m not-”

Then swiftly slapped me once.

“Ow! What the hell?” I complained, rubbing my face and glaring at her.

“Okay, so you’re not sick, and you’re not a cleverly disguised Zoroark masquerading as my best friend. I don’t really know of an effective way to check if you’re being mind-controlled by a Malamar, do you?” May asked. Rude.

“If I did, and I was, would I tell you?” I asked with a scowl. I also did my best to ignore the fact that I had no clue what either one of those Pokémon were.

“Fair enough, I guess we’ll never know,” she said with a smirk. “Though now I'm curious, what on earth is local that you’re so excited for?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow when I tell your dad.”

“Okay, now you’re just being petty. I know it’s not a Zigzagoon, you hate Zigzagoon. You’re not a dog person so Poocheyena is out. Surskit is cool until it evolves, then it’s generic moth bug type number fifty-five, so that just leaves-”

“Stop overthinking it and be surprised ya big nerd,” I interrupted her.

“Fine, spoil my fun.” She leaned back and just let herself fall onto the grass. “I’m happy, ya know? I was worried I was going to be going on the journey alone. I... To be honest the plan was to use Torchic to catch something cool, smuggle you out of your house in the dead of night, and give you the fire bird...” she trailed off, and I took the opportunity to join her on the grass.

“You do realize that would never work, right? As Birch’s sponsor you’re expected to always keep that Pokémon with you. Besides, I’d still have to get registered, and I would have felt terrible leaving Eve like that.” I smiled at her and grabbed her hand. “It all worked out without you resorting to defrauding Professor Birch and helping me run away from home.”

“Yeah...” May looked away. “I just... really didn’t want to travel without you.”

“Well, you’re stuck with me for the long haul, so get used to it.” I smiled as May looked away. “Besides, someone had to tag along for no other reason than to feed you,” I joked.

“I can cook just fine, thank you very much.” She sniffed in mild protest as I poked her side. “I just won’t have to, now that I have the best baker in Petalburg coming with me.”

“Shameless flattery will not get you free cookies, just an FYI. I can’t exactly cart around a portable easy bake oven.”

May pouted in response.

“Well, what if-”

“Are you two literally ditching your own birthday party.” Eve grouched from the entryway. Busted.

“This is May’s party. I’m just a shameless moocher basking in shared glory,” I said. It didn’t matter that the glory was still being focused on May. I still got to have my moment, dammit.

May elbowed me.

“Quit sharing and take the whole damn limelight. All of dad’s friends are boring as hell,” May complained.

Fat chance of that happening. Legends above that was a depressing thought.

“What do you expect, he’s the ‘Normal’ Gym Leader. I’m fairly sure it’s in his contract to be boring,” I said. May giggled.

“So, neither one of you want presents, then?” Eve asked.

Wait, what? And May’s gone, though I did have a lovely May shaped dust cloud to remember her by.

“That’s what I thought. Hurry your ass up too.” Eve said.

“Why exactly am I hauling ass to watch May open her birthday gifts?” I raised an eyebrow up at Eve as I slowly pushed myself up from the ground.

“Alright, in the spirit of us getting along for longer than one day and you leaving home on a high note, I’m going to just cut the surprise factor short. Here.” She chucked me a small box.

“Really starting to buy into May’s Malamar theory. Really would make the last two days make a lot more sense.” I pulled at the bow.

“Stop being a brat and open it,” Eve grouched.

“And she’s back. Well, what’s behind door number one?” I opened the box. “Knock off jewelry?” I joked as I pulled the bracelet out and started to spin it on my finger. “I’m flattered, but it really doesn’t go with my look.”

“It’s Dad’s mega bracelet, dumbass.”

I stopped, almost dropping the damn thing in shock before landing flat on my face to keep it from hitting the floor.

“What the fucking hell, Eve? This isn’t something you just give out. Do you have any idea how much this thing would sell for?!”

“Enough to buy a small summer home in Alola with about a half dozen scantily clad pool boys to cater to my every whim.”

I blushed bright red and felt bile rise up my throat at the mental imagery.

“The angry part of me kept checking auction sites, but I could never bring myself to make a post. I guess... the loving big sister part of me knew you’d need this one day, and I just... couldn’t ever bring myself to sell it.” She looked away. “So... uh, does this make up for seventeen years of shitty birthdays? The rangers took the keystone, something about the bylaws of his contract with them, so no mega ultra chickens anytime soon, but I think this’ll work with any stone, so-”

“Thank you.” I quickly hugged her to cut off her rambling. “And you don’t have anything to make up for in the birthday department. I kind of hate this time of year too.” I pulled back and threw the bracelet on my right wrist. “I’ll just have to make it work for me. Besides, May’s getting the fire bird, so I wouldn’t have had a use for the stone.” I’ll be keeping an eye out for any kind of stone I can find, though. This bracelet was a massive game changer for my plans. If my starter panned out, I knew exactly what kind of stone I wanted to get.

The only hard part was going to be finding the damn thing.

“Welp,” I popped. “Let’s go see the other birthday girl’s haul. Doubt she got anything as badass as this.”

***

“Why does the universe delight in proving me wrong?” I smiled as May continued to scroll through options.

If I wasn’t in front of her to act as a pseudo guide, she would’ve walked into at least two separate trees.

“Seriously, Rotom Phones haven’t even hit store shelves yet. How did your dad manage to snag you one?” I asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care. This thing is awesome,” May said distractedly. I frowned, before pulling her to the side a bit so she didn’t run into a signpost.

“Isn’t calling it an ‘thing’ a bit rude. There is a living thing in there after all.” I said, giving the phone a cautious glance.

The face that was on the back of the phone shifted up and shot me a wink before moving back into place.

“How does that not feel weird?” I asked.

“What, is the face doing things again?” She turned it around and was disappointed that Rotom had resumed its normal idle phase. “Everyone gets to see the Rotom do stuff but me. At any rate, Rotom is a genderless Pokémon, so, in general pronouns are kind of weird? There’s an option to name it in here, but I wanted to check out a few more options and I have no idea what to call it.”

“How about Alexa?” I suggested cheekily. May pulled a face.

“Ew, no.”

“Siri?”

“NO!”

“Cortana.”

“Stop pulling names from those shitty sci fi shows you watch. This isn’t an AI, it’s a possessed piece of technology, get it right.”

Rude. I grumbled at the slight on what was premium late-night viewing, before realizing that she knew what shows I was talking about. I filed that information away for later and fired off another name from one of my favorite video games.

“What do you think of Sergei?” I asked.

May stopped and thought about it for a second. Good sign.

“Do I get to know the reference?” May asked. “Most of your ideas are references to something dorky.”

I glared.

“You gave me the game!” I shouted.

“Oh! That one. Hmmm... Let’s see...” Bing. “And Rotom likes it. An odd name, but it works,” May said before putting the phone away.

Norman was already waiting for us as we approached the town gate.

“You girls ready to go?” Norman asked before pushing himself up from the gate. He moved to look over our backpacks.

“I made sure I got all the camping essentials and I made sure to limit May to one stuffed animal.” I said before he got the chance.

Norman beamed as May glared at me.

“She’s exaggerating.” May complained.

I sagely shook my head no.

“I really wish I was,” I said.

“Whatever, we’re ready, let’s hit the road.” May raised her arm and started moving towards the big gate.

“Hold it.” Norman’s protest almost caused May to trip.

“What? I’m excited to meet my Torchic,” May whined.

“May, I need to figure out what Pokémon I'm catching for Lea before we dive headfirst into the route,” Norman said.

May’s face morphed from a scowl to a grin as she started hopping up and down.

“YES! Okay, before you say anything Lea, do you mind if I take a guess?” May asked. I hesitantly nodded. “Lea wants a Ralts.”

“I... How? I didn’t give you any hints!” I shouted, feeling annoyed.

She just smiled and turned back to the gate.

“You do realize that training a Ralts from around here is going to be hard, right?” Norman asked. “They’re all young, and most of them only know how to Teleport, which by the way is going to make catching one annoying, and they’re frailer than most of the mons on the route. Don’t get me wrong, I very much get the appeal, once they’re trained the Ralts line is terrifying, but-”

“I know it’s going to be hard at first, it’s why I went ahead and bought a few extra poke balls. There are two mons on this route I want, but I really want Ralts as my starter.” I stared resolutely at Norman. “I know what I'm signing up for.”

Norman sighed.

“Well, can’t argue with that face.” Norman said before chucking out a single poke ball. “Charlie, can you do me a favor and ask around with a few of the local mons to see if a Ralts is eager to leave home?”

The newly revealed Slakoth lazily gave a salute before it made its way out to the tall grass beyond the gate.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but this’ll be easier for you and for me. If your Ralts is a bit adventurous, then you might have a bit of a head start on your training,” Norman said.

“Thanks. That means a lot.” I looked out into the grass. “Is it alright to send Charlie out alone?”

“I’m your sponsor, I’m supposed to do this for you,” Norman said with a smile. “And never do what I'm doing, by the way. I can get away with sending Charlie out on his own cause most of the wild Pokémon in the area are on friendly terms with the gym and know my Pokémon, yours would probably get jumped the moment the wild Pokémon in the area recognized it as an intruder.” Norman went from serious to smug. “Also, Charlie can take care of himself. He’s one of mine, and this is still Route 102.”

“Can we at least start making our way into the route now?” May whined. “Slakoth can find us by scent, and I really want to make it to Littleroot today.”

“Don’t forget we still have to push through Oldale and Route 101,” I said. May just chuckled.

“Oldale is five houses and a Pokémon Center, and 101 is like fifteen minutes long. This is the bulk of the trip, and if we start making inroads now, we can make the whole thing in under a day,” May said. She looked up towards the tree line on the other end of town. “I want to enjoy living indoors as much as possible, cause the trip to Rustboro is going to suuuuuck.”

I winced.

“Yeah, the forest is going to suck.” I turned to Norman. “I’m sure it’ll be fine if we take a slow pace, maybe stop, and take in the route a bit. I motioned for Sergei and started scrolling once I had him. “There’s even a set of ruins we can check out if we want.”

“Let’s save that for the return trip, Lea. I don’t want to hold up dad anymore then we absolutely have to. It’ll be more fun if we both have Pokémon anyway,” May said, taking Sergei back.

Sergei beeped twice.

“Combat ready Pokémon, you know what I meant.”

A few sparks shot out away from May.

“Yes, I know I can use you as a taser.”

I shot Norman a glare.

“You gave May a taser,” I said in disbelief. Norman raised his arms.

“It’s just a mild Thundershock, I swear.” He quickly made his way around me and moved towards the gate.

“Eve wouldn’t let me leave with a baseball bat but May gets a taser,” I grumbled.

“I think that’s less a slight against you and more your sister not wanting people to know she's related to a Team Electabuzz fan,” May said. “I can’t really blame her, honestly.”

“Why is everyone being mean to me today? I hope you know I'm stealing Sergei to watch anime later as payment for you bullying me.”

The nearby grass ruffled a bit as I cried.

“Eh?”

A Ralts walked out and stared up at me.

It blinked.

I blinked back.

The Ralts turned around and walked back into the tall grass.

Sergei started playing dial up internet sounds as I stared at where the Ralts had been for a good solid three seconds.

“Oi, wait up!” Once my brain had caught up to the rest of the world, I quickly ran after the little guy. “I need to ask you something. I’ve got cookies!” I reached forward through the grass, and my hand brushed up against what I hoped was my potential starter. “Listen, I just want to-”

“Lea, don’t-”

“Bad idea-”

Both May and Norman were too late. I had grabbed Ralts, and I now realized how bad of an idea this was as the world around me very quickly started to change. I was now in a beautiful clearing, with massive trees that I didn’t recognize towering overhead. A faint pink haze coated the moist ground beneath me, and I could faintly hear water rushing over rocks in the distance. I slowly pulled myself up and froze as my eyes caught a terrifying sight.

I hitchhiked on a wild Ralts's Teleport to a place I had never seen before, and what was worse...

Is that a single, tall, terrifying Gardevoir was staring down at me.

‘Interloper.’ And it did not look pleased.

“Wait, don’t-” My voice was cut off as the Gardevoir psychically lifted me into the air. She looked beside me, and her glare grew in intensity.

‘You’ve harmed my child,’ she hissed into my mind, and an ear-splitting headache started to form at the base of my skull.

Struggling to move, I shifted to see where she was looking. Much to my horror, I saw the Ralts that had teleported me here had passed out on the ground.

“I-I didn’t do that,” I choked out, desperately trying to think of a way to get the Gardevoir to ease up a bit. I frantically tried to focus on what I had done. “My mind. Just look and see.” And the pain in my head grew to an almost unbearable level as most of the events of the day played out.

Right at the cusp of passing out, it all stopped. Gardevoir dropped me, and I fell onto my knees. My vision swam, but through bleary eyes, I faintly made out a few flecks of red spotting the ground. I raised my hand to my nose as my vision cleared.

Blood.

Shaking slightly, I looked up to see my attacker shift her view from me to the Ralts with an exasperated look.

‘You did not hurt my child intentionally and you didn’t intend to take her against her will.’ The voice was like a thousand nails on chalkboard after what I had just gone through. “Voir.” I saw her slap her hand against her head. My heart stopped as this terrifying creature started to walk towards me.

“S-Stay back.” I stuttered, before falling flat on my ass as I tried to move. There was this weird disconnect between what my brain wanted to do and what my arms and legs were willing to do, and that terrified me.

“Voir.” She leaned down and placed both of her hands on my skull. This was it, wasn’t it. First day out and I was going to die. That must have been some kind of record. Gardevoir’s eyes glowed with an eerie blue light, and I clenched mine shut waiting-

For...

‘Oh god that feels so much better.’ I thought. Gardevoir gave me a smile.

My whole body went limp as she worked on fixing my head. The skull splitting pain that was radiating from behind my temples faded to a dull ache before ceasing to be an issue at all.

‘My child isn’t able to teleport another with her yet. I thought the worst.’ The words didn’t hurt anymore. She looked away. ‘I am sorry.’

“I didn’t exactly behave fantastically,” I said. “I just... saw a Ralts and got excited.” Gardevoir pulled my head up and moved it from left to right, as if examining something.

‘There, that’s the worst of the damage fixed. On the bright side, your mind should now be more... accepting of psychic communication. Do you still feel pain when I talk?’

“I... don’t. Huh, that’s neat.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about being more open to psychic energy, but I’ll take living over just about anything at this point.

‘Regardless of how you acted, you are still a child, and I am not.’

I am not a child, I am seventeen. Thank you very much.

‘To me, you are an infant.’

“Oi, you already got the whole story, stay out of my head,” I said.

The Gardevoir looked away again.

‘I... find myself unable too. Your mind is an open book right now, practically screaming its secrets for every psychic to hear. My attack... it forced a door open that I can’t seem to close,’ Gardevoir explained.

My eyes widened in horror.

“Every psychic?!” I’d be an open book to any trainer with something as basic as a Spoink.

“Ralts...” Startled out of my thoughts, I looked down and noticed that Ralts was finally starting to stir.

‘Mommy... I don’t feel so good,’ Ralts sent out through a mental link. A mental link that I could somehow hear. Now Gardevoir’s eyes widened.

‘The feedback is a two-way street.’ Wait, did that mean I was psychic now?

I looked down and watched a very disoriented Ralts hurl on my cleats.

***

Those were my favorite shoes.

‘There’s not a single spec of vomit on them, I was very thorough. Put the damn things on.’ Gardevoir growled in my mind.

“Then why do they still smell like Oran Berries and sadness,” I wailed.

Ralts giggled.

‘I kind of like her, mother. She’s funny.’

Starting to think the little brat did this on purpose.

‘Oi, I am not a brat,’ Ralts complained.

Right... no privacy. That was still a thing.

“So... I’m just an open book to all psychics?” I asked.

Gardevoir looked away, rubbing the back of her head.

‘To be fair, most people are an open book to psychics. Your thoughts are just louder,’ Gardevoir said.

Ralts walked away from the two of us, looking bored.

‘There are a few mental exercises I can teach you to shield your mind. Learning how to do them would take a few days though,’ Gardevoir said, looking apprehensive.

“Yeahhhh, no. I’ve stuck around here for too long as it is.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Ralts fishing through my bag. A few random Poke Balls and a jacket were levitating around her as she pulled out a pair of underwear. My cheeks felt hot. “Oi, that’s mine.”

‘I just wanted to see what you were talking about. You said something about cookies...’ The Ralts got a dopey expression on its face as she fished out a box. ‘Ah ha!’

“How on earth can you be hungry, you just barfed all over my shoes,” I chided before looking over at the Gardevoir.

‘I mean, you DID offer her cookies before you got teleported. ’ Gardevoir said.

‘I'm still waiting for that return trip.’ I thought back.

“Ralts.” She nodded once before popping open the small container I had labeled ‘BRIBE’. She inhaled all three cookies in one bite.

“Oi don’t go so fast or-” My brain stopped working as a single feeling of pure unbridled bliss passed through the mental connection. Ralts stood still for a moment before swallowing and turned to stare at me with a terrifying look of obsession.

‘More please,’ Ralts said.

‘Alright, that’s enough. I’m sending the human back to her friends now, before this gets any weirder.’ Gardevoir raised her arms, and her eyes started to glow.

‘WAIT!’ Ralts frantically puts itself between me and the Gardevoir. ‘I... I want to go with the smelly human,’ Ralts said.

“SMELLY!” I shouted. “I knew it! Three dips in the river and a full powered psychic blow drier still wasn’t-”

‘Silence,’ Gardevoir hissed.

What was I saying? Why was I saying it? I shrunk back but the Ralts in front of me stood firm. ‘A few cookies-’

‘It’s not about that,’ Ralts said.

We both shot her a deadpan look.

‘Okay it’s partially about that, but I can help her. I can help shield her mind. I know all the exercises by heart from when you showed me. And, uh...’ The Ralts floundered, as if it didn’t know what else to say. ‘I... kind of wouldn’t mind leaving the forest.’ Or maybe it was how to say it. Should I be listening in on this? Wait, I can’t help it.

‘No, you shouldn’t be listening to this,’ Gardevoir said with a bit of heat. ‘And you,’ She exerted a bit of pressure on the area as she stared down at Ralts. ‘You aren’t ready-’

‘I’ll never be ready by your standards. Lea is nice, and I want to go with her.’ Ralts interrupted her. Gardevoir started to up the psychic field a bit more and took a single step forward. Screw this.

“Oi, back off,” I growled, completely unsure of where this newfound bravery was coming from. “If the brat wants to come then she can come. I know just how bad being stuck in one place is. It’s her decision.” And now those angry eyes are being sent my way. Fuck.

‘Really then... are you both sure about this?’ She hissed, and a small bit of pain started to creep back into my skull. Scared shitless, I looked back to Ralts. She nodded yes.

“Damn straight.” Gardevoir immediately teleported behind us and grabbed both of us by the shoulder. She glared intently at me before shifting her focus back to Ralts. Oh god I'm going to die. I’m going to die. Why couldn’t I pick now to be a coward? Oh fuck.

‘Don’t die,’ she said to Ralts. ‘Don’t fuck this up,’ she directed at me. Wait- ‘ And brace yourselves.’

No no no no no no!

My whole body felt like it got shoved through a tube of toilet paper. Fuck, put me under the next time I teleport anywhere. Once it was over, a feeling of weightlessness took me.

“Oh, that bitch-” Before gravity pulled me down to the hard ground JUST to the left of the soft grass. “Ow....”

“Ralts....” Ralts agreed.

Wait.

“Ralts!” I exclaimed. She immediately perked up. “I’m not dead! I’m not dead and I’ve got my starter! Oh legends, I’m so happy.”

‘Mom really scared me for a moment there.’ Ralts looked up to me as I gently pulled myself up from the ground.

“Oh my lord, you’re okay!” I heard from a few yards away before almost getting tackled. “We were so worried when you just disappeared.” May all but shouted in my ear.

“Relax, I’m fine,” I said, smile firmly in place.

Ralts shot me a confused look and I very subtly shook my head no.

‘I don’t want to worry her or bring attention to your mom.’

“Never, EVER do that again,” Norman said before walking up behind his daughter. He looked me over before sighing in relief. “In addition to the million and one things that can go wrong with surprise impromptu teleportation, you had no clue where the Ralts was going, what was on the other side, if that Ralts could even handle teleporting with you-”

“Alright, I get it, I fu-”

Norman’s gaze got even sterner.

“Er, messed up. Legends above, if you told May all this crap, no wonder she’s squeezing all the air from my lungs right now,” I said the last bit a bit louder, hoping May would get the hint.

May let go of me as if I’d burned her.

“Sorry,” May muttered quietly.

Great, now I felt bad.

“Look, I'm fine. See? I’ve even made a new friend,” I said, pointing down. Ralts pulled at May’s pant leg. May and Norman both looked down and Ralts waved.

“Oh my god you are precious.” May quickly scooped the Ralts up in a hug.

‘I like this human. She correctly knows how to identify how awesome I am.’ Oh good, my Ralts has an ego.

“May, you shouldn’t just grab Pokémon off the ground without their permission first,” Norman said. He backed off at seeing her daughter's glare.

A dark aura radiated off of May in waves as she dared her father to interrupt.

“Though she seems okay with it... heh heh heh.” Norman backed away from her daughter slowly.

“Yeah, she’s fine with it,” I said.

Norman looked at me in surprise.

“What, she just told me.”

“You... already have a psychic link? How?” Norman asked. “Most Ralts can’t make a mental connection with a human. They usually can’t hold a conversation until they’re a Kirlia. They don’t have the raw psychic power to make up for our lack of any kind of psychic ability.” Norman looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Well, I don't know about that, but we can talk to each other just fine.” I said, nervously glancing from Norman to Ralts. ‘Any idea how to explain this without telling them your mom tried to turn my brain into a fruit smoothie. I really don’t want to spend a month in a hospital with probes on my head.’

It wouldn’t do much good anyway, humans really don’t know how the brain works all that well. You might want to pay attention, the stuffy old human is still trying to talk to you,’ Ralts said.

I looked up and both May and Norman were looking at me funny.

“Sorry, trying to hold an actual conversation and a mental conversation at the same time is... apparently kind of hard,” I explained.

“You’ll adapt the longer you’re together,” Norman explained. “You’ll definitely have plenty of time to practice.”

I nodded along before realizing something.

“Wait, I still need to actually catch the Ralts, don’t I?” I reached down and pulled my bag open. Norman stopped me. “What?” I asked.

“Sorry, it’s a bit of a tradition. Your sponsor gives you your first Poke Ball,” Norman said before pulling out a small white ball. “A Premier Ball for a premier event. Congratulations.”

I took the ball and gently touched it to Ralts’s head. It opened, quickly pulled her in, and dinged. I smiled. After so long, it was finally official.

I was now a Pokémon trainer, and I had caught my first Pokémon.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I took in the limited sights of the tiny village and smiled. The Center was the biggest building in the whole damn town, all twelve of the houses were tiny, and the mart looked more like a newspaper stand than a proper store.

Oldale was small. Small enough that I could see the gates to Route 101 and 103 from where I was currently standing. Gates that are on the opposite ends of town. This little village wasn’t much to look at, but it was still an amazing milestone. This would be the first town I had ever seen beyond my own.

‘Don’t human settlements usually have more people?’ Ralts said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I glanced around in thought for a second before turning back to Norman.

“So, I know May probably just wants to sprint south as fast as she can to get her Torchic,” I said. May bobbed her head in agreement and I sighed. “But Ralts is a little curious about why this town... exists and isn’t just Route 101.5.”

“Well, this town was used as a port to ship supplies. You can see the dock on the river on the far side of town, though now it’s fallen into disrepair. That river leads out into the ocean, so before Petalburg had a trade route through Dewford and Rustboro, we would get most of our supplies through this little port town,” Norman said, looking a little sad as he took in the area.

“So, when the new trade routes opened up...” I started.

“The whole place dried up like a ghost town,” Norman finished. “Most of the younger generation from around here have moved to Petalburg, but for a lot of people here, this place is part of their identity. A nice, quiet village they can call home.” I looked down at Ralts.

An identity...

This was my starter. Referring to it by its species name just felt... wrong. I wanted something a bit more special.

‘Hey, Ralts? Would you be cool with a nickname?’ I sent over the link.

Ralts stopped and thought for a moment.

‘You wish to bestow upon me a Title?’ Ralts asked. ‘I don’t know that I have earned such a thing, yet.’

‘You’re probably making a bigger deal of this than it is, but I wanted something for us to stand out a bit more,’ I said with a smile. ‘Besides, standing up to a big scary Gardevoir to come with me feels title worthy, even if it was mostly just for cookies.’

‘I meant what I said then. I want to help fix things.’ Ralts paused. ‘I am not opposed to it.’

I thought for a long time.

‘How do you feel about Emilie?’ I asked.

Ralts frowned.

‘I don’t hate the name, but I feel like there’s a meaning behind it that I don’t understand yet. ’ Ralts stared up and into my eyes. ‘Would you be against sharing? I can see the memories in your head, but I don’t quite understand what they mean.’

I chuckled. We’d have to give her a crash course later on modern amenities. How would I explain the concept of a video game to someone who’s probably never even seen a TV?

‘When I was younger, I found a story. It was about a girl that went on a quest to find out more about herself. I identified with that character.’ I chuckled to myself. ‘We even share the same first name. On her travels, the first friend she made, one that stuck with her through the bleakest of trials-’

‘Was named Emilie, ’ Ralts finished. ‘I shall wear this Title with pride.’

“Lea...? Earth to Lea?” I jumped back as May started waving her hand in front of my face. “This is going to be a thing for a while, isn’t it? You and Ralts having private conversations and shutting out the rest of the world?” May poked me in the side as she finished. “Don’t forget you still have a best friend to talk to too.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to confirm something with Emilie.” I smiled at May’s confused expression. “She was okay with it, so that’s Ralts’s new name.” And the confusion is gone.

“Aww, that is adorable. You have a nickname now.” May said in a simpering voice. Emilie scowled.

‘I was wrong. I do not like this human. Lea, tell her I am a strong Titled warrior. Warriors are not adorable.’

Oh, I wish I had a camera right now. Emilie being a chunni was just... so precious.

‘What the hell is a... oh. Screw you.’ Emilie said, glaring at me.

I giggled a bit.

“Emilie says thank you for the compliment.” I smiled down at the little chunni as she shot me a look of pure betrayal.

“But at any rate, chop-chop, we’re burning day light and May wants her Torchic.” May said before running south to catch up with Norman who was waiting by the town gate. Emilie teleported onto my shoulder and made it a point to look away from me as I jogged to catch up.

‘I am not adorable,’ she said, pouting adorably.

‘Of course you’re not, honey. Of course.’

***

“See you both in a little bit, tired of walking, BYE!” May shouted before sprinting off the second we passed the Littleroot gate. I turned to Norman and sighed.

“I’m sure she’ll calm down a bit once she gets her starter.” Norman said.

“You don’t know your daughter at all, do you?” I asked.

Emilie tapped me twice on the shoulder, and I turned to see where she was pointing. My eyes widened a bit as I took in the eclectic collection of Pokémon in the field. I was able to identify a few of the regulars from around here like Swellow, Zigzagoon, and Lotad, but there were others that I had never even seen before. Four different birds were roosting in a tree further back, none of which I recognized, and...

The tree they were resting in was mobile? What the hell?

‘What is this place? I’ve never seen half of these Pokémon,’ Emilie probed.

“Well, this field is part of Professor Birch’s ranch. He sponsors a lot of trainers and I’m guessing this is part of where mons seven through however many they’ve caught go,” I explained.

Norman turned around as I started talking.

“Okay, I thought answering you out loud would make it easier for other people to follow along with the conversation, but now I just look like a crazy person,” I said.

“People usually talk to their Pokémon, Lea,” Norman said.

“Yeah, but usually the Pokémon says something first. Emilie isn’t saying anything and I’m just saying random things at seemingly random intervals. It looks weird.”

“Don’t worry about it too much. Most people will see the Psychic type on your shoulder and connect the dots,” Norman said.

Walking along on the ground would also work. Honestly, my shoulder’s starting to hurt a bit and I'm feeling a bit lopsided.

‘Deal with it, your shoulder’s comfy,’ Emilie said.

I sighed.

‘Privacy is a myth now, isn’t it?’ I asked. Emilie looked away. ‘Sorry, I know it’s not your fault. I’ll just... have to get used to it.’

‘Thanks.’ Emilie said.

“That said, I don’t recognize half of the mons out here either. I really hope May doesn’t mind sharing her Pokedex once she gets it. I need to study.” I looked over to Emilie, and I briefly realized that I had no idea what the best way of training her would be. “A lot,” I said.

“You’d be surprised how little people know about Pokémon when they first start out.” Norman reassured me. “Half my aspiring trainers barely know what Pokémon are local.” Norman looked away and started walking towards the lab. “You’ll be fine. I have faith in you.”

Emilie and I followed along at a slightly subdued pace as I took in more of the area.

This side of the lab was mostly an open field with a few ponds and streams strewn about for water types to enjoy. Once we got closer though, I could see more houses in the distance, all giving the Lab a wide berth. I could even see a small diner further back, right next to the center.

“At least this place is a bit livelier than Oldale.” I smiled as we made it to the walkway. May was still talking with one of the Aides.

“Look, it says it right there. Maple. I have an appointment to see Professor Birch.” I could hear how annoyed May was getting and groaned. This usually didn’t end well. The Aide looked like he hadn’t torn his gaze away from whatever he was-

Ah.

Understandable.

Space Invaders was a bit addictive.

“I’m sorry, but Professor Birch gave me rather strict instructions to not let anyone in the main part of the lab until Norman arrived to-” Honestly him still playing while blowing May off was both impressive and moderately insulting to my best friend.

I aspired to have this energy when I dealt with May in the future.

“Norman is here.” And there’s the hand jerk that has led many a starship captain to an early death. “Now then, I believe we have an appointment to get May her starter.” Norman politely prodded, and I smirked at how quickly the Aide scrambled to get up from behind the desk.

“Of course, sir.” I felt like this guy would’ve been freaking out less if he spent time with Norman for longer than ten minutes. “The professor’s been expecting you.” He pushed a few buttons and the main door slid open.

“Finally.” May rushed in ahead of the Aide.

“Wait, stop.” Who very quickly followed behind.

I stood back with Norman and watched.

“So did you really tell Birch to wait for you or was the aide just being a dick?” I asked.

Norman laughed.

“A little of both. I did tell the professor to hold back a Torchic for me, but most of the staff here knows May. I’ve brought her here on business more than a few times.” Here Norman sighed. “Birch can’t ever seem to keep himself out of trouble.” We started walking through the lab at a leisurely pace.

“I would think that Birch could handle himself,” I said.

Norman shook his head.

“You would think that. He has quite the accomplished team, but he frequently explores the local routes without one of his own. I had to make sure he didn’t wander off today.” He guided me left at the fork. “I only took the one day off, so I need to be back in Petalburg by tonight.”

I frowned.

“It’s already getting dark though,” I said.

“I’ll just teleport from the center. Gym Leader privilege at its finest. You girls will probably want to spend the night. Nurse Joy will help you with any other issues,” Norman said while leading me through the final doorway. The hall opened into a large atrium, and I spotted May holding a familiar orange bird in a very firm hug. A tall man with a full beard stood just a few feet away chuckling.

“I admire your daughter's enthusiasm, Norman.” Birch paused as he saw me. “Oh, I thought I was just getting one person from Petalburg today?” Who, me?

“Don’t worry, you didn’t make a booboo, Lea was a last-minute addition to our trip out here. She got the go ahead from her guardian yesterday,” Norman said. I shuffled in place, feeling a bit awkward being the center of attention.

“Er... Hi. I already have my starter.” I motioned towards Emilie. “I’m just here for May.”

As if broken from a trance, my friend looked over at me as I said her name.

“Lea, my starter is so adorable. Seriously, look at how cute she is,” May gushed, preening down at the small orange bird.

The Torchic dazedly took in the room around her now that May gave her a bit of air. Her head twitched to the side a bit as she looked at me.

“Tor,” it twirped out.

‘I’m assuming hi?’ I probed Emilie.

Yup.’ I don’t know how you can pop the p through a mental connection, but all right then.

“Hello, Torchic. It’s nice to meet you,” I said politely.

May put her down on the ground and she quickly ran up to me.

“Tor Torchic Tor. Chic Tor tor Chic.” I stared down at the bird.

‘Little help here.’ I probed Emilie again. ‘Any chance we can just cut the middleman and just open a three-way link?’

‘Hmm... I think I can as long as it’s with another Pokémon. I’ll translate today and work on splitting the connection tonight. She wanted to know if we’re friends with the overly clingy human, and if we could ask her to tone down the hugs.’ Emilie said.

“Yes, we’re friends with May.” I stressed the name as I answered, before looking up at the friend in question. “Torchic doesn’t like being hugged to death by the way, I don’t think she has anything against regular hugs, but no bear hugs, capiche?”

May winced.

“Sorry, Torchic. I got a little excited,” May said, rubbing the back of her head.

Tochic just nodded once before running back to May’s side.

“Wow, did you say you just got your Ralts today?” Birch asked excitedly. “You already having an open psychic dialogue is quite impressive. You’re not experiencing any pain, are you? Headaches? A bit of nausea, perhaps?”

“No, no, and no.” I answered in quick succession. “I honestly feel fine. I don’t quite get why people are finding that so hard to believe.” I shot Norman a small glare.

“Oi, it’s weird, okay? Even with more advanced psychics, a telepathic link can be difficult to maintain.”

I... really? Huh, maybe what Gardevoir did was a boon, then. Crap ton of pain now, no pain in the future.

‘Until I help you train your mental defenses, any psychic type within a hundred yards can hear your most private thoughts and scramble your brain worse than your sister’s breakfast this morning.’

I barely stopped myself from wincing. Wait, just how much...

‘I’m trying to stop myself from looking too deep into your memories, but... it’s hard.’ Emilie winced as she explained herself.

“Hello? Miss?” What? Oh, dammit I really needed to work on this.

“Sorry, I’m not that great at splitting my focus yet. We’ve only been at this for a day after all.” Birch laughed at my resulting blush.

“Not an issue, I’m honestly just surprised that tunnel vision is the only issue you’re having. You’ll work that out in no time.” He turned around and pulled out a small box. “Regardless, May, I have one last thing for you. As one of my trainers, I expect you to use it frequently. Your own personal Pokedex. This will serve as your ID and trainer card, so make sure you don’t lose it.”

May gently grabbed the device before placing it in the side pouch of her backpack.

“While we’re here, I also need to get Lea registered as a trainer,” Norman said.

Birch looked up in surprise.

“You mean she’s not already registered?" Birch asked.

“I figured I'd just get that knocked out while we’re here. Get it all knocked out at once. I also need to register Ralts as hers,” Norman explained.

Now Birch just looked annoyed.

“So instead of doing the paperwork yourself, you decided to wait, dump it all on me, and make me do double the work,” Birch said, crossing his arms as he stared at Norman.

Norman backed away at Birch’s glare.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered. Birch sighed.

“Don’t, you’ve done nothing wrong. Ah, screw it.” He went behind his desk and started ruffling through his bottom drawer. “Let’s see, ah ha! Here we go. The only current gen Pokedex I had prepared currently rests in Mays backpack, but I do have an older model. Say cheese!”

“I... What?” I stumbled awkwardly as he quickly snapped a photo.

“Great, do me a favor. Just fill out the rest of the personal information in the startup menu. Once you get done, just press the big middle button while the scanner is over Ralts’s poke ball. That’ll register her to you.” He casually tossed the thing my way, and I almost faceplanted grabbing the damn thing. Why did everyone think I had any kind of hand eye coordination? Just hand me crap like a normal person.

“You’re just... giving me a Pokedex. Free of charge?” I asked fearfully, worried he might take this amazing, wonderful, slightly banged up gift away.

“It’s way easier and faster than doing things the old-fashioned way, and that thing was just collecting dust. It’s yours.” Birch said.

I... Holy crap.

“Thank you.” I said earnestly as I started putting in my personal information. No, I don’t want to be an organ donor, and save.

Suddenly my good mood is ruined as I take in my profile picture.

“C-can we retake my profile picture? Please?” I begged.

Birch just smiled.

“Nope.” My head hung low in despair. “Wouldn’t matter much anyway. Everyone hates the photo they take for those things. You’re in the system,” Birch said.

I groaned before reaching for Emilie’s Poke Ball.

“Does she have to be inside?” I asked.

Birch shook his head no.

“And done,” I said, grinning like a loon.

“Congratulations, you’re a fully registered trainer of Hoenn. Love it, live with it, and go be the best like no one ever was.” Birch laughed.

I didn’t get the joke.

“Right, does that mean we’re done here?” May asked. An exceptionally loud growl sounded out from May’s direction. “Sorry, we didn’t eat on the road, and I’m starving.” She turned to her father.

“Yeah, we’re done here. I think I'll enjoy a meal with you girls at the center before heading back. Would you like to join us Professor?” Norman asked.

Birch shook his head.

“Can’t, sorry. Maybe another time,” Birch said distractedly as he started ruffling through his drawer again.

“Just the three of us then.” Norman smiled. “Alright then ladies. Allow me to show you the number one perk of being a trainer. The best free cafeteria food the league can pay for.”

***

Our room at the Pokémon Center is nicer than my room at home. It was about as basic, but the lack of a draft drastically improved my comfort. May was already unconscious, and Torchic was curled up against her dozing as well. I smiled before grabbing Sergei.

“Do me a favor and shove this in a hidden file.” I pulled up the camera feature and snapped a few shots. Sergei beeped twice before displaying a thumbs up icon. I turned around to look at Emilie, who despite being a foot tall, decided to fall asleep in the dead center of my twin size bed. “Same place for this one.” Snap. “Too bad Norman already went home for the night; we could’ve gotten embarrassing photos of a gym leader.”

I sat back down at the little desk we had and started going through Emilie’s pokedex entry. It... really wasn’t all that helpful.

“Most of them read like a weightlifter’s guide. Have the Ralts lift progressively heavier objects to work on power and have it do complicated tasks to improve control. I figured that part out already, surely you can give me something else to work with here.” I leaned back before scrolling through a few random entries on other Pokémon, trying to figure out what else would even work. “I’ve seen so many conference fights. Why am I having so much trouble trying to figure this out?” Dad’s team flashed through my mind, and I scowled.

He had managed a sponsorship position with Birch as well, and he took advantage of every tool that gave him. It felt like he had a Pokémon for every situation. Dozens of rare and powerful Pokémon were available to him and he rotated through his favorites, making him unpredictable. The only true mainstay was Holly.

Something that seemed so incredible and smart to me a few days ago felt wrong and mean now. Did he just grab whatever he could? Were there just a bunch of Pokémon chilling out on Birch’s ranch that had left their home to the promises of a great adventure, only to be put to pasture as soon as something new and shiny came along?

The thought disgusted me.

My team had to be awesome from the word go. I had five slots to fill. Each of them was important, and I refused to treat any of them like an afterthought. I needed a unit, and I needed a plan.

I already had a few ideas circling around in my head. It started as a way to secure my first badge against Roxanne, but it could be so much more than that if it worked. Assuming I could both catch my new teammate and train it up enough to do what I wanted, I’d have the framework for something amazing. The best part was that he was local. I stopped scrolling through dex entries on the picture I wanted.

It all started with a Lotad.

“I wonder... no, I’ve had Emilie for less than a day, and we’ve barely worked on anything yet. I know I'm not going to be able to tango with a Lombre, so we’re going to start from the ground up with a Lotad.” Even at this stage, this little guy just radiated happiness. A jovial Pokémon that liked to dance. Hmm...

“Sergei, could you do me a favor. Don’t play them right now, obviously, but could you make me kind of a varied playlist of music.”

I got another thumbs up.

“Thank you.” With that taken care of, I swept through a few more Pokémon before setting the dex down and putting my head in my hands. This was hopeless. Pokémon three through six would just have to wait.

“It’s just like your first day at the bakery, Lea. Things always get easier.” I told myself.

Sergei pinged again. Curious, I pulled him up and stared down at the screen. He had a Poketube video pulled up.

“Weather Tech, an Idiots Guide to Rain by TheHarshestCritic.” I tossed a glare Sergei’s way. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”

The only response I got was : D.

“Thank you, though. This will be helpful.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the description. “Always bring an umbrella.”

I fell asleep at the desk about halfway through the video.

***

“So, the ruins are to the north of Oldale, right?” I asked May as she fiddled with Sergei’s Nav feature. Honestly, Sergei could’ve just done it for us, but I don’t think May was used to having a sentient phone yet, and she seemed happy as navigator.

“Yup, they’re a bit off the beaten path, but they’re supposed to be super easy to spot. I guess a giant door with ancient writing carved into a cliffside is hard to miss. There’s also something in the area I wouldn’t mind catching if it shows up.” May said.

I turned around and started walking backwards, staring at her in idle curiosity.

“Care to share with the class?” I asked.

“Nope.” Stingy! “Think of it as payback for keeping me in the dark on Emilie,” May said.

Emilie perked up from what she was doing as her name got called, and the rocks she had been levitating fell to the ground.

‘Oops,’ She thought.

“Don’t worry about it, Emilie. That’s what practice is for. We’re simultaneously working on endurance, power, and multitasking. Just keep at it and don’t get discouraged,” I said, sending a smile her way. Honestly, considering what I was expecting to deal with, Emilie already knowing confusion was a blessing. My gaze shifted back to May as Emilie goes back to holding about fifteen small rocks in the air. “If you won’t tell me, then I can’t help you find it,” I said.

She just smiled and ignored me. “Fine but do me a favor. Keep an eye out for mobile lily pads. Lotads are a pain in the ass to find,” I said.

May snorted.

“What?” I asked, glaring over at my friend as she started laughing at me.

“I’m sorry. I just... I can’t see you training a Ludicolo,” May said.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean!” I shouted. “Ludicolo are awesome. The whole line is awesome. Have you ever seen a sad Ludicolo trainer? Of course you haven’t because they don’t exist.”

May laughed even harder.

“That’s my point though,” May said. “The Lotad line is a very jovial line, and you’re one guitar lesson away from becoming the lead singer of an emo band.”

Excuse me!?

“The hell do you mean! My wardrobe is the HEIGHT of-”

“If you’re not in uniform, it’s always beat up black jeans with a black shirt, or a white shirt with a black jacket. You always wear those white lace gloves and black combat boots. You have a grand total of two colors in your wardrobe to go along with your blue hair.” May listed off. And with each comment, I shrank in on myself. “And you tend to brood.”

“Ya know what, explore your own damn ruins,” I snapped. “I’m going Lotad hunting. Come on Emilie.” I sprinted away from May towards the small river to the east, and sighed in relief when I felt a familiar weight teleport to my shoulder.

“Wait, Lea, get back her-” Her voice faded out as I got further away. Ah, blissful silence.

‘Running from your problems usually isn’t the best idea,’ Emilie probed.

‘Yeah, well I didn’t want to deal with her or the conversation anymore, and if I stayed, I already know I would have said a bunch of stuff I'd regret later.’ I started to slow down when my legs started to cramp. The river was still a ways off. ‘Add getting into shape on the mental to-do list.’

‘Already done. Should I also plan for a surprise to befoul May’s sleeping bag tonight?’ Emilie’s suggestion brought a smile to my face before I shook my head.

‘Don’t do anything extreme on my account.’ I sighed. ‘She didn’t really mean much by it, we poke fun at each other all the time.’

‘But what she said made you upset.’ Emilie patted me on the head. ‘I don’t like it when you feel sad, I can feel it through our link.’

‘I’m-’

‘Do not apologize. That is another thing we’ll have to work on. You apologize when you’ve done nothing wrong far too frequently.’ I stopped suddenly as my feet brushed up against water. The massive body of water cut Route 103 in half.

I couldn’t go any further.

‘You should tell May why what she said bothered you so much. Letting anger like this fester isn’t healthy.’

‘I thought I captured a Ralts, not a therapist,’ I quipped.

‘I’m an empath. You get both whether you like it or not. Would it help if you talked to me about it?’ she asked. I snorted.

‘Don’t you already know? I thought I was the most open of open books,’ I grumbled as I sat down and stared across the river.

‘That should just make it easier. And before you say anything else, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.’ Emilie paused. ‘I think you’re incredibly strong. Everything I’ve inadvertently pulled from the link has only solidified my belief that I made the right choice in traveling with you.’ She looked out across the river. ‘Even if you haven’t given me any more cookies,’ she grumbled.

‘There’s a box of butterscotch cookies in the left pocket of my backpack. Feel free to grab a couple.’

She tore at my bag with the ferocity of a crack addict.

‘But ONLY a couple.’

She slowed down her pace.

“Ralllts...”

Why did I feel like that was an insult aimed my way? Emilie didn’t comment on it when I thought that, so it was, wasn’t it?

‘Just tell me why it bothered you. Saying things aloud helps,’ Emilie said, looking at me like I was a bit slow.

“Right...” I remained tightlipped for a few more seconds, and Emilie gave me an unimpressed stare. “Fine. All my clothes are hand me downs from when my sister was a teenager. Happy? She was the goth and I just got stuck with the look. I'm so happy she grew out of that phase.” I shivered. “She was extra moody when I was younger. Every little thing pissed her off, and she’d just disappear into her room for hours sometimes. Norman was around a lot more back then.” I hugged my legs closer to my chest.

‘Uh, Lea-’

“It probably would have just been easier for everyone involved if we just moved in, but Eve was and still is incredibly attached to that house. I remember her working odd jobs for people outside of the work she put in at the bakery, and then there was me on top of it. She was angry all the time and yelled a lot. She scared me sometimes. But then, it all just... stopped. Sis disappeared for like an entire day, and when she came back, she just shut out her emotions, gradually changed her wardrobe, and stopped... talking about stuff. I used to like that change, but now I don’t know which is worse.” I noticed Emilie waving her arms.

‘Lea, please stop for-’ She gets cut off as a pair of arms pulled me into a painful hug.

“What the-”

“I’m an ass,” May said into my ear.

Oh, really Emilie.

‘I tried to stop you. I was just expecting you to admit you were poor and you’re wearing your sister’s clothes so we could patch things up and laugh about it. I wasn’t expecting a full trip down memory lane,’ Emilie frantically explained.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean-” And May’s still going. Has she been working out? This hug feels more suffocating than usual.

Like, I REALLY wasn’t expecting you to open up that much. You’re kind of standoffish in your memories and I just thought this would be the fast-’

“And please don’t leave because I was looking forward to traveling-”

‘And I-’

“EVERYONE SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. May backed off and I took a few deep, shuddering breaths as I took in the blissful silence.

“Alright, in order of fuck up. May, I know you didn’t mean anything by it, I over-reacted. I forgive you for bullying me. I may or may not put a Wurmple in your sleeping bag later.” The sudden expression of fear was a beautiful sight. “Now for the more prominent fuck up.” I leveled a glare at Emilie. “What the fuck, dude?”

‘I’m a gi-’

“Dude’s gender neutral in my household,” I interrupted. “We also don’t trick the head of house into revealing state secrets. I thought it was just us, and you’ve already peeped at most of it. This was just supposed to be me venting, not me springing all this random crap on May, she doesn’t need that crap on her right now.”

Emilie now looked thoroughly chastised, and I nodded at a job well done.

“The hell do you mean I don’t need that right now,” May said, glaring at me as I turned to look at her. “You listen to me complain about my family all the time. That’s a two-way street. So, spill, because I need to know if I should kick Eve’s ass when we go back through Petalburg for being mean to my best friend.”

I... that’s just...

“Please don’t beat up my sister,” I said before thinking about it more. “Also, thank you. That means a lot.”

May beamed.

“But please don’t, Eve did the best she could. She raised me, kept a floundering bakery afloat, managed most of our finances once she learned how from Norman, ran our household...” I trailed off as I thought about those days. “And she had to do all of that right after Mom and Dad died. I think I can forgive her for slapping-”

“SHE HIT YOU!!!” Ow...

‘I think I have an idea for a new attack...’ Emilie commented in a daze.

“And you’re giving me tinnitus. It happened once, I was being a brat, she looked at her hand like it was a murder weapon afterwards, and after it happened, she went from being the moody goth kid to an emotionally distant but caring guardian,” I hastily explained. “Legends above, calm down.”

May kept opening her mouth and shutting it like a wild Magikarp, before nodding once.

“I won’t beat her up,” May begrudgingly conceded.

I smiled before I thought about how specific she was being.

“You won’t do anything to her.” I stressed the word ‘anything’.

“I won’t beat her up,” May repeated.

“Dammit, May. I-”

‘Excuse me.’ I stopped as Emilie reached out to my mind. ‘I don’t see a Lotad, but I see something else that’s going to be important for the strategy you’re thinking of.’ Emilie pointed to a Wingull flying just above the tree line.

‘Why would I-’

‘That Wingull is special, I can feel it,’ Emilie said, her voice sounding excited in my head.

I blinked twice. I... Did I want a Wingull?

‘Do you want it or not!? It’s flying away.’

You know what, if Emilie thinks it’s good enough, I’ll trust her judgment.

“Knock it out of the sky with Confusion. Bring it down to our level,” I commanded.

Emilie raised both hands into the air before I even finished the command.

“Eh, what’s happening? Lotad don’t fly,” May asked in a daze.

“No, but Emilie has a good feeling about this Wingull and I'm inclined to trust her.” And if the way it’s resisting Emilie’s Confusion was anything to go by, I’m starting to come around to her way of thinking.

‘Quiet. Focus,’ Emilie commanded.

I shushed May and watched as Wingull took a very erratic and confusing flight path towards our location. I prepped a single Poke Ball, and right as it started to get in range, it rapid-fired three high pressured Water Guns at our general area.

“Look out!” May grabbed me and pulled us both to the left out of the way, and Emilie briefly lost focus as the Wingull quickly started to fly away again.

‘Emilie, while it’s close...’

‘Got it.’

Emilie levitated four stones and followed the same motion I had thought of in my head. She brought the stones around her body and slung them forward.

‘Who says you need to be a rock type to learn Rock Throw,’ Emilie shouted.

She launched all four at Wingull. The arc was off a bit, and one went wide of the waterfowl completely, but one stone was right on target, and it forced Wingull to take evasive action. The resulting barrel roll looked incredible, and had that been the only stone, Wingull would’ve gotten away.

“Gull!” But it wasn’t and Wingull had flown out of the path of one rock into another, clipping its left wing. Floundering, Wingull flapped twice as it tried to correct itself.

‘Oh no you don’t.’ Both me and Emilie thought in sync. Emilie reached out with her mind and grabbed the Wingull.

“WING!” And pulled. The bird got dragged into a dive bomb right towards us.

Specifically, the ground in front of me.

The impact was hard, looked painful, and was above all, dusty.

“Cough, cough- maybe next time Emilie, cough- you could throw the wild Pokémon into the ground, hack, cough- a bit further away,” May complained.

Emilie shot her the stink eye.

‘Do you have any idea how hard it is to control living, moving creatures?’ Emilie mentally voiced to the void that was May’s mind. Secondhand thoughts sounded oddly... distant. ‘Nope, still can’t connect. Damn it.’ Hey, I'm teaching Emilie new words.

“Gull!” We all got pulled out of our coughing fit to see a very irate Wingull point a wing at Emilie.

‘What is your quarrel with me, girl? I’ve no business with you, nor do I seek a fight,’ Emilie translated.

“Emilie thought you would make an excellent member of our team, after seeing your skills in the sky, I’m inclined to agree.”

Wingull appraised me briefly before laughing.

‘Lass, I've seen many a trainer come through this route. They’re all about as dimwitted as a Slowpoke and green as the grass beneath my feet. I value my freedom too much to submit to a wet behind the ears rookie. If ye want to be my captain, you’ll have to force me to submit.’ Wingull flapped twice before shooting another Water Gun at Emilie.

‘Teleport behind it, grab three rocks this time, maybe a smaller number will help our aim,’ I ordered.

Giving orders at the speed of thought, as I was quickly realizing, was broken. Before the water even made it halfway across the field, Emilie was primed and loaded with a second volley. Aiming was a lot easier at point blank range.

“Gull!” And Wingull cried out in pain as all three made contact, before I could celebrate though, Wingull disappeared and the air around him cracked.

“What the-” Almost as soon as he disappeared, he slammed, beak first, into Emilie. Emilie was knocked back a solid three feet and tumbled once before grabbing the ground and pulling herself to a stop. “Hell was that!?”

“Aerial ace,” May gasped in awe.

‘Yeah... wheeze... how ya like that... pant... still want more?’ I stared at Emilie in confusion.

‘Is that him crying and carrying on or you?’ I probed.

‘Yes.’ Emilie was clutching a small cut on her chest, and a bruise started to spread. ‘That fucking hurt.’ More new words. I’m such a bad influence, I love it.

‘Are you still good to keep going? ’ I asked.

She squared her shoulders and nodded before wincing.

“Well, in that case, Confusion.” Emilie grinned as she picked up the now exhausted Wingull and slammed him a few times into the ground like a rag doll. Wingull was out of it by the fourth. “That’s enough.” Emilie slammed him into the ground once more before setting him down.

I shot her a stern look.

‘I couldn’t stop in time.’ Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth with how she shuffled in place shyly. ‘Just toss the damn ball.’

“Bossy.” I listened though before something else went wrong. The ball shook once, twice, three times and...

Click.

“And that, takes care of that.” I walked over and picked up the ball before scanning it with my pokedex. “Let’s see here, just press that button, and if I did this right...”

Beep.

“Perfect.” A general bio of my Wingull came up, listing its general health as get to a center soon, but not in mortal peril. It was male and had Hy...dra...tion..

Oh.

‘Yup, go ahead, admit it. I’m the greatest. Maybe I should be the trainer in this relationship. Can I pick a winner or what?’ Emilie gloated.

‘I mean, yeah, this works well with what I'm planning to catch, but I don’t know if Wingull or Pelliper learn anything to take advantage of this. And how did you know what ability it had?’ Emilie tilted her head.

‘You looked up training videos but didn’t check my bio?’ Emilie asked with a smile. ‘I have Trace.’ I stared at her in blank confusion. ‘It lets me copy the abilities of other Pokémon.’

‘Wait, really? Neat,’ I said.

Emilie gaped before stomping her foot.

‘Neat? I find you a one in a million bird that hits like a truck and all you can say is neat,’ Emilie said, exasperated at my blank stare.

I think for a second.

‘Yep.’ I grinned cheekily at her.

“Is everything alright? Emilie seems upset.” May stared down at my now glowering psychic type as she ran up to me. When did we get so far apart during that? “Congrats on the capture. That Wingull looked strong.”

“Thanks. Emilie’s just mad I’m not worshiping the ground beneath her feet for finding me a Wingull with a rare ability.”

Emilie punched me in the leg.

‘Bully.’ Emilie said. I resented that.

“Well, Emilie, I appreciate your talents, so if you find anything else super cool, let me know, okay?” May smirked as Emilie nodded. “Very nice, I’ll sneak you some cookies from Lea’s bag later.”

“So just to be clear, you’re bribing my Pokémon with food that I made to find cool Pokémon for you instead of me?” I asked.

“Yep,” May said.

I could feel a blood vessel throb under my left eye.

“I can’t let you get ahead of me. I need every edge I can find.” Of course you do. You have a starter from a regional professor and your dad’s a gym leader and I’m a nobody baker that’s two years late to the party.

...come to think of it, her thinking she needed the help to keep up with me is kind of flattering.

“At any rate, think we can head back to the center in Oldale before we go hunting for Ruins again?” I asked. “I want to officially meet my new friend.”

***

“And a clean bill of health, thank you and come again.” Nurse Joy handed me back Wingull’s ball.

‘So, does she want us to get hurt again, or...’ Emilie trailed off as she watched Nurse Joy retreat to the back room of the center.

‘Just assume she’s being polite and move on.’ I looked at the ball for a solid five seconds trying to think of the best way to do this. ‘Think we should go outside?’ I asked.

‘It’d probably be wise. May will want to meet our new teammate.’

I nodded before heading back outside.

“Everything check out okay?” May asked.

I nodded before tossing the Poke Ball. Wingull raised his wing in a mock salute.

‘Ahoy,’ Emilie translated.

“That’s it? You seemed pretty against being caught by a ‘Greenhorn’ like me. Just going to say hi and we’re all good?” I asked, more than a bit suspicious.

‘Ya beat me fair and square and I'm a bird of my word.’

‘But are you the word is the more important question. ’ Emilie said with a smile as I ran my hand down my face. Legends above my thoughts were already corrupting my sweet starter Pokémon into something unrecognizable.

“Emilie, I have a second Pokémon now, I can and will release you if you start singing that cursed song,” I threatened. Emilie motioned a zipper sealing her mouth shut.

“What song?” May asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” I hastily said before grinning down at Wingull. “I’m happy to have you aboard. My name is Lea, this is my best friend May, and this little gremlin is Emilie.”

Wingull just nodded along.

‘Aye, I remember now. You’re a lass that likes to name your captures. Suppose you have one already planned for me, eh?’ he asked.

“Hmm...” Do I keep to the theme? Emilie was easy, but he doesn’t really fit most of the characters.

‘Of course, I have a few recommendations if you don’t. Salty Beak, Teach, Cortez, maybe Barbossa,’ Wingull said, sounding more and more excited as he went.

Never mind, He’s a cosplayer through and through.

“I think I like Apollo, if that’s alright with you.”

Wingull fell forward in a heap.

‘Lass, I think you missed the mark a bit. I’m a sea bird, not a space bird. I like my seas to have fish, not stars.’ Apollo rapidly explained.

“Nah, I think Apollo suits you perfectly. You match his personality, even if you’re playing a slightly different role.” I commented and lightly brushed Apollo’s left wing.

‘So, Apollo is another character from your story?’ Emilie asked.

Wingull looked over to Emilie in curiosity.

It was a game from Lea’s childhood.’ Emilie answered the unasked question. ‘She shared a name with the main character and resonated with the plot.

I shot Emilie another annoyed look.

‘Open book. Saying ‘Don’t think about the game’ repeatedly makes it harder to ignore, not easier,’ Emilie said.

“I seriously can’t wait for Emilie to evolve. Hearing and understanding a third of the conversation makes it hard to follow along,” May complained.

“Trust me, I’m quickly finding out that understanding your Pokémon is a double-edged sword.” May just tilted her head.

“You mind if I bring out Torchic? I feel a little bit safer doing that with a water-type on deck to put out any accidents. I missed the little guy while we were on the road.” Why are you asking me if... ah whatever.

“Go for it,” I said.

A bright white light filled the area, and Torchic formed right next to Emilie.

“Torchic.” ‘Hi.’

‘So, uhhh... back to my name, lass,’ Apollo said, shuffling in place a bit as we talked. ‘Is this Apollo... handsome?’

“Of course, well, none of the characters look bad, but Apollo has a cool and sleek design, makes his character pop right out of the screen.” Granted, the pop is mostly cause of how loud he is.

‘Strong?’

“He’s the lead rival for the main character for most of the story.” Against her will, but he came through when it counted.

‘...funny?’

“He was responsible for some of the funniest bits in the story.” And it was usually completely unintentional on his part, and at his expense.

Emilie started giggling at my running mental commentary.

‘Then we have an accord. It’s a bit of an odd choice, but It’ll work for this old sea bird. Now then, lass. Where are we off to? I expect this to be a grand adventure, so don’t disappoint, ’ Apollo said.

I turned over to May.

“We have eyes in the sky, let’s go find us some ruins,” I said. May nodded.

***

“Apollo, you’re on scouting duty. Head north, and if you find anything that looks interesting, send word through the mental link with Emilie. We’ll follow behind shortly,” I explained.

‘Aye, Captain. I’ll also keep an eye out for something fun for the other lass,’ Apollo said with a salute.

“That’s nice of you.” I turned to May. “Anything you’re on the hunt for? Apollo’s looking if you’re buying.”

“Just something more interesting than the hordes of Zigzagoon and Poochyena that Torchic has been training on,” May said.

Apollo nodded and took off.

‘Good thing too, all the dogs I've seen so far have been a few planks short of a life raft.’ Apollo thought as he flew off.

“So, I Have a question.” I turned away from my new friend’s shrinking form to give May my full attention. “How come Emilie can form a mental link with Apollo but not me?” I turned to Emilie wondering what the best way to do this would be. Translating for something like this would be annoying, and I didn’t remember to grab scratch pa-

“Can I see Sergei for a sec?” May passes me the possessed smart phone. “Sergei, pull up notepad, please. Can you write stuff using note pad?” I got a thumbs up. “Would you mind translating for Emilie?” Second thumbs up. I turned to Emilie before stopping as another idea popped into my head. “Would you like us to leave notepad up as a default so you can talk to us whenever you want?” There was a decently long pause before words started appearing on the screen.

“I can send messages through messenger from fake lines.” Another pause. “Actually, screw note pad. I have a better idea.” The program closed itself and messenger lit up with two different notifications. I pulled it up and pulled May closer to me so we could read together.

Start of a new Direct Message with Sergei.

Start of a new Direct Message with Emilie.

Start of a new Direct Message with Apollo.

Start of a new Direct Message with May’s Torchic.

Start of a new Direct Message with Lea.

Setting up group chat.

“There we go.” popped up on the screen. “Through the power of messenger, Emilie’s psychic abilities, my own ingenuity, and the somewhat clever idea of a seventeen-year-old girl, I give you the most jerry-rigged Pokémon translator on the face of the earth.” Both May’s and my own eyes widened in pure shock. “Bow down before my brilliance.”

“Holy,” I started.

“Shit,” May finished.

“Wait, couldn’t you also just make a group call?” I asked and got a thumbs down emoji.

“Sadly, I can’t figure out how to translate thought patterns into spoken words that the speaker would register. I could maybe figure out how to translate them using spoken word databases online, but the delay on that would be... rather severe and it would sound terrible.” Frowny face emoji. “So, for now, Pokémon chat room.” I nodded towards Sergei after reading the message. Three dots appeared under Emilie’s name.

“I went ahead and told Apollo about the Direct Link.” Emilie said.

I smiled at the reference.

‘Thought you’d appreciate that,’ Emilie sent privately, shooting me a grin.

“Well blow me down, this is nice. Ahoy there, May. It’s nice to talk to a mate of the captain,” Apollo said.

May just laughed once she finished reading.

“Oh my god, your Wingull is a pirate and you named it Apollo of all things. We really need to work on that.” Three dots appeared under Torchic’s name.

“At least he has a name. Hint hint.” A cute angry face showed up under Torchic’s post.

May’s Torchic’s name has been changed to KFC.

“SERGEI, I WILL USE YOU FOR FUCKING TARGET PRACTICE.”

“Watch your language!” I automatically responded, doing my best to suppress my giggling.

Torchic puffed up and gave me a pointed glare.

“I am NOT putting that in the chat, young lady,” Sergei typed.

“Suzaku,” May said and Torchic stopped trying to grab the phone from my hands. “I wasn’t sure on giving nicknames, but if she wants one, I'm more than happy to oblige. It’s the name of a powerful fire bird spirit from one of Dad’s books. He’d read it to me when I was a kid.”

Torchic nodded once.

“Sounds good to me.” Suzaku replied.

KFC has been changed to Nugget.

“SERGEI!” All four of us yelled in unison.

Nugget has been changed to Suzaku.

“Killjoys,” Sergei responded. Suzaku’s profile picture changed to a picture of orange chicken nuggets. May opened her mouth-

“No, we should let Suzaku be called what she wants to be called. In fact, we should leave her profile exactly the way it is.” I hinted at May with a smile. I wanted to let Sergei have a little bit of fun, at least.

“Now, back to my original question,” May looked down at her phone. Before Emilie could explain though, three dots appeared next to Apollo’s name.

“Uh, Cap? I think I've found what you’re looking for, but... Okay you’re going to want to see this.” Apollo sent back. “There are three guys in blue bandanas guarding the entrance.”

I frowned.

“Come back and show us where they are. I don’t want you getting caught in anything alone.”

Emilie sent the message over.

“Aye aye, cap.” Apollo messaged back.

“Blue bandanas?” May asked as she picked Suzaku up from the ground and held her anxiously.

“They might be researchers.” I argued as I spotted Apollo start to fly closer in. “I want to take a closer look before we tell your dad. It’s probably nothing, It’s Oldale for crying out loud, there’s nothing here worth looting.”

Apollo very quickly made his way back to us and perched himself on my right shoulder.

“Lead the way Apollo, we’ll be quiet. Let us know when we’re close so we can stay hidden,” I ordered.

“Are you sure about this?” May asked before Apollo could take off. She looked between me and the road back.

“I just want to see what’s up. You can hang out here if you want,” I said.

May looked at me for a long bit, and just as I was about to turn and follow Apollo-

“Fine, but we’re not getting close if they look dangerous.” She pushed past me and briskly walked towards Apollo.

I ran up beside her and we started pushing through the foliage.

***

The ruins were a lot less conspicuous than I'd have thought. It wasn’t a building, but a massive stone door etched into the cliffside. Markings were etched into the door that I couldn’t make heads or tails of, and the whole thing gave me the heebie-jeebies.

What was making it worse was that the massive ass stone door had been pushed open.

Something had to open this massive, megalithic structure, and I don’t think it was the three goons standing out in front wearing matching outfits.

‘Can you pull any surface thoughts?’ I mentally asked Emilie.

‘They don’t know why they’re here. They don’t even really know what group they’re a part of beyond name. Their boss just told them to guard the door.’ Emilie said.

I nodded before sighing.

‘Any idea what they’re packing?’ I asked.

Emilie scrunched her face in concentration.

‘Got it.’ Emilie sighed as one of the guards rubbed his head. ‘Sorry, that was... not easy.’

Is our cover blown?’ I asked.

Emilie shook her head.

‘No, he thinks the headache is from a lack of sleep.’ Emilie smiled. ‘I might have... encouraged that line of thought while I was in his head.’

‘You’re terrifying, you know that right?’ I asked.

‘It helps that these three are about as smart as the local Zigzagoon. Speaking of, that’s mostly what they have. The loser in the back has a Mightyena though, so...’

‘Approaching would be a bad idea, got it. Tell Sergei what’s up and have him tell May.’ I frowned. ‘ What is the group’s name?’ I asked.

‘They’re calling themselves Team Aqua.’

Notes:

Author's Note

Alright, Now that I'm not freaking out about posting the first chapter, hello! I'll be posting a chapter a day every day for about two weeks, then we'll be switching over to twice a week. Also, they're not all going to be nine thousand words. The average is about five thousand, but some will go longer. I just wanted to reach certain milestones for the first few chapters.

This has been my very brief TED talk. Thank you.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

May typed something into Sergei and passed him over to me.

“Can we leave yet? This is both boring and terrifying at the same time.” I fought back a chuckle as I read her message.

“You can leave if you want, I want to get a look at this boss of theirs.” I typed and passed the phone back. I knew I was being an idiot. Norman’s probably going to scream at both of us when we pass back through Petalburg, but my curiosity was killing me, and if we really needed an evac, Emilie could probably teleport us out. I’d eat the loss on whatever she threw up on and it’d probably go better if she was prepared for it.

Emilie shot me a glare, probably not appreciating plan b.

“I want you to know that you are completely and totally insane.” May typed back. She still hadn’t moved from her spot though.

‘She doesn’t want to leave you alone, ’ Emilie supplied.

Well crap, now I felt like an ass. May kept twirling one of Torchic’s head feathers and biting her lower lip as she looked out at the clearing. Ah, screw it.

“We can call it in,” I typed, but before I could pass the phone back, I saw movement from the door.

Four more grunts flanked a tall man with a full beard and goatee. Unlike the rest of them, he was wearing a blue suit with no undershirt. He still wore the same bandana as the rest of the people present, and a large steel suitcase was at his side. He marched confidently, and a proud smile adorned his face.

“Oi, hurry up. I feel exposed out here, and I want to get this home.” He lifted the briefcase up into the air.

A short, stocky, dark-skinned man in a white lab coat, with black hair and a full beard, slowly started to march out of the temple. His body sagged forward, and I noticed a thin shine to his skin that I was assuming was sweat.

“We’re not all hulking muscle heads like you.” The man in the lab coat complained.

The man in the suit said a few words into what I assumed was a head piece. The group of nine started to glow, and in an instant, the entire contingent just disappeared without a trace.

‘Long range teleport?’ I asked.

‘Most likely,’ Emilie said. ‘Ease up on Sergei.’

I relaxed the iron grip that I didn’t even know I was doing.

“Fuck, sorry Sergei,” I said.

“S’all right. That scared the crap outta me too,” Sergei responded.

I quickly passed the phone back to May.

She didn’t grab it right away.

“May?” I asked, a bit of concern creeped into my voice. She shook her head before grabbing Sergei from my hand.

“Sorry.” Now I felt even worse.

“Don’t be. I fucked up this time. Slap some sense into me next time I suggest we do something this stupid. I'm just glad they left without much fanfare.” Just be cool and confident Lea. Cool, confident, and reassuring. May looked down at the unsent message.

“Hmph, little late, but I appreciate it,” May said, smiling at me as her shoulders relaxed.

“I appreciate you keeping an eye on me.” I very slowly started to stand. My whole body felt tense. “At any rate though, the goons are gone. Want to give the ruins a once over before we go tell your dad about them?”

“You are insane. Completely and totally bonkers. What if they come back? What if there’s still someone in there?” May all but screamed at me.

‘There isn’t anyone in the area.’ Emilie supplied me with something to defend myself.

“Emilie says we’re all clear. Come on, I know you were excited about this last night. Just a quick in and out and we can say we’ve braved our first adventure as Pokémon trainers with our heads held high,” I said.

May looked like she wanted to throttle me.

I waggled my eyebrows up in down in the goofiest manner I could think of and waved towards the door until she cracked and started giggling.

“Fine, but we’re keeping our Pokémon at the ready. I don’t want to get jumped.” May conceded.

I beamed and started making my way towards the massive double doors.

“That’s the spirit.” I re-released Apollo. “All clear, we’re heading into the temple.”

‘If all my days with you are this exciting, lass, I made the right call. I’m a bit aggravated you recalled me though,’ he grumbled.

“Sorry,” I said quickly as May caught up.

May held Sergei up to the door and started snapping photos.

“I have no earthly clue what any of this means, but it looks cool. I’ll have Sergei look it up later tonight. Maybe the internet will know more.” She turned to look inside. “That’s... dark,” she said, looking down into the abyss and backing away slightly.

Pitch black in fact.

“Sergei, light her up, would ya?” I asked.

Sergei nodded before floating forwards. The built in flashlight illuminated a staircase down.

“Oh joy, we get to go down,” May grumbled. “I’ll take lead, and I call dibs if we find a cool Pokémon down here. You already have Apollo.”

“Fine, fine. Emilie, Apollo, just hang out on my shoulders. I don’t want us getting separated.” One landed, and the other teleported. Honestly, having one per shoulder balanced me out and made it a bit easier to walk straight. “Well, into the abyss we go.”

And what an abyss it was. I now realized why the bad guys took so long to clear the ruin. They spent a million years on this stupid staircase.

“The trip back up is going to be fun, isn’t it?” I grumbled.

May ignored me. May had actually stopped completely, and I accidentally ran into her, pushing both of us into a large room.

“Fuck, sorry May,” I said.

“This... this is unreal,” she breathed. Confused on why she didn’t take the opportunity to make fun of my clumsiness, I started to take stock of the room we were in. I gasped.

The staircase we had just left opened into a chamber with a single, large stone chest in the middle. The top had been blasted out, and rubble lined both side walls. As Sergei’s light explored the room, I noticed a ton of ancient writing had been scratched out or completely destroyed.

The ruin had been ruined. Whoever that was had gotten what they wanted, and they didn’t want anyone to know what they took.

“Well, this is a bust.” I sighed. “I really am sorry, May. None of today has gone to plan.” I turned to start heading back up, but before I could get too far, a small chittering sound filled the room.

It echoed off the walls, and the cacophony of sounds started to get louder and louder. The ground started to sink, and I grabbed May as she started to get pulled down and yanked her up to the bottom stair.

“Trapinch!” A small orange Pokémon rushed out of the hole it had dug, snapping its jowls as we backed up and fell up the stairs.

“Ow... that was close. You alright May?” I asked.

May stood up and dusted herself off before glaring at the orange bug that had just attacked us.

“That does it,” she grounded out. “Suzaku! Ember. This thing just volunteered itself for stress relief.”

It took her a second to respond, probably not used to the new name yet, but Suzaku nodded her head once and fired several small flames into the pit. For all that this thing could dig, now that it was out and about, it didn’t look like the most mobile thing in the world. It took every fire ball that came its way.

“Pinch.” Was the angry reply. I glanced up at Emilie.

‘What’s it saying?’ I asked.

Emilie snapped out of her daze and blushed a bit.

‘Right, it’s really hard to understand, but it’s mostly upset we stopped it from getting lunch, apparently it thought Suzaku looked...tasty.’

My left eye twitched.

“Kick its ass, May, but be careful. This thing is looking at Suzaku like he’s an order of spicy chicken nuggies,” I warned.

“Got it, Suzaku, keep your distance and keep up an ember volley.”

And just like that, I was privy to a rather... one sided affair. Suzaku was, apparently, significantly faster than I was expecting. I didn’t think Torchic got fast until they evolved into a Combusken. As scary as this thing looked, none of his charges connected. I was moderately surprised the little guy hadn’t tried something new, yet. Every time he missed, he got pelted with fire.

‘I don’t think it’s all that bright, ’ Emilie said.

I nodded once before watching the orange bug dive back underground. Finally, something new. Was he leaving? Did he get tired of chasing us?

‘It’s not giving up,’ Emilie warned.

I opened my mouth to warn May and Suzaku but May beat me to it.

“Suzaku, try and feel for shifts in the ground. Don’t move till the last second,” May ordered.

Suzaku looked about the room randomly before standing still and closing her eyes.

“Tor!” Suzaku jumped backwards.

“Pinch!” The Trapinch exploded from the ground, and while Torchic did get tagged by a bit of the debris, it avoided most of it, and had a premium shot.

“Ember, as strong and as fast as you can.” I’m not even sure May had to give the command.

Torchic had already started pelting the burrower with fire, not giving it a chance to breathe or back off, until finally...

“Pinch...” The Trapinch buckled and fell to the ground with a smokey exhale.

“You’re mine!” May shouted and tossed a poke ball at the downed mon. Wait, this weird orange... thing, was enough to catch May’s interest? Really?

The ball immediately dinged.

She walked over and picked up the ball before shooting me a rather pleased smile.

“Well, at least the trip wasn’t a total wash,” May said.

I nodded slowly, giving her an odd look.

“Congrats. Not sure why you wanted the orange bug thing, but I’m happy for you.” May giggled at my description. “What?”

***

“I hate stairs. I never want to see stairs again. They’re satanic constructs of pain and suffering put here to drain my sanity and reason and I want. Them. GONE!” I half screamed as I finally pushed into the sunlight. I fell forward and hugged the ground.

‘Hey.’

‘You have passengers, you know.’

Both of the weights I had grown accustomed to carrying either flew or teleported away halfway through the fall, but I couldn’t be bothered.

“Oh, real ground, how I've missed you,” I cried.

“You are the biggest drama queen I've ever met,” May bullied. She’s been doing that a lot today. “I’m fine, that means you’re fine too, ya big baby.”

“I’m sorry we can’t all be amazons like you.” I turned and stuck my tongue out at her.

May just sighed.

“You know, you’d probably be handling hikes like that better if you had ventured out from your cave more than once a week,” May prodded.

“Now you’re just being rude for no reason, let’s head back to town and check in at the Oldale center. I’m not sure we’d make it through the route in time to make it back to Petalburg before nightfall, and I don’t want to sleep on the ground until we have too.” My stomach rumbled. “And I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a sec.” May pulled up her dex and scanned Trapinch’s poke ball. “Oooh, arena trap, that’s fun. You’re a guy, so I’ll need to keep that in mind when thinking of a name. We’re definitely going to need to work on a lot to get you up to snuff, though.”

“I still don’t understand the appeal. Why on earth are you so happy to have caught that thing?” I asked.

May giggled again.

“Stop laughing at me and let me in on the joke.”

“The ‘thing’ is a Trapinch,” May explained. “It’s a ground type that’s incredibly rare in this part of Hoenn.”

I nodded.

“Okay, so it’s rare. It’s also... not that bright,” I said.

May muttered something under her breath that I didn’t quite hear before glaring at me.

“It evolves into Vibrava, a Ground and Dragon type.” Any and all confusion I had on why May was happy about this capture died when I heard the type combo. “It evolves again into Flygon, one of the most feared Pokémon in this region.”

Now that was a name I recognized. Dad had one and used it a few times.

“Huh. You’d never think that little guy would turn into a dragon. Also, how does a Ground type get called Flygon?” I asked.

May chuckled.

“He has Levitate as an ability. I honestly don’t understand why he isn’t just classified as a Flying type too, but apparently, he lacks the usual weaknesses of the flying type and lacks an ability, so researchers labeled him as having the levitate ability, even though he has wings.” May giggled. “How they tested that was really funny, actually. They couldn’t do the usual electricity test because Flygon is still a Ground type, so they decided the best course of action was to throw rocks at a wild-”

“This is all incredibly fascinating,” I droned. “I’m hungry, though. Can we hurry up and hustle back to Oldale. You can science talk at me while we eat.”

“How the hell are you two years older than me?” May asked, glaring at me.

I ignored her and started pushing my way through the foliage.

“We need to call your dad once we get to the center, by the way. I want to make sure he knows something’s up and to keep an eye out.” I sighed. “And I still need to catch a Lotad.”

“You do realize there’s such a thing as overpreparing for a gym, right? You already have a good setup for the first two gyms, do you really need another water type?” May needled.

“I did a lot of research last night on what I want and what’s available, and a Lombre in particular would be very helpful for a cool strategy I’m putting together for Emilie,” I explained.

Now May just looked lost.

“How would a Lombre help Emilie? The gym isn’t a doubles battle, Lea,” May said, aggressively shoving a large branch out of the way.

‘I can probably start working on your idea with Apollo. Controlling water is going to be tricky, but I really like your idea,’ Emilie said with a manic grin.

Emilie’s smile scared the crap outta me, but I was a bit worried she’d struggle with what I had in mind.

‘Oh, I will. This is going to be the hardest bit of psychokinesis I've ever done. Doesn’t mean it’s not going to look fucking awesome.’

“Language.” I chastised.

“You and Emilie are having a private conversation again, aren’t you?” May asked before aggressively pushing a rather large branch away. “Fine, keep your secrets. Have the hardest fight against Watson ever. See if I care.”

“Now who’s whining.” And there’s the road.

‘Will helping Emilie be all I'm doing, Cap? ’ Apollo asked nervously.

‘Send this to him, I want to keep our strats a surprise for now.’ Emilie nodded. ‘Helping Emilie will give you a good chance to work on your water attacks. I’ll see if I can find anything else in the dex for you later. Just expect a lot of endurance training, I want you to be able to use Aerial Ace as often as possible, preferably without passing out afterwards.’

Apollo winced.

‘Aye, that was a bit embarrassing.’ Apollo blushed.

“Now then.” I stopped as we pushed past the northern gate. “Bring on the grub!” I all but ran to the center.

***

“Is there a reason you waited to do this through a Pokémon center video phone instead of calling him through Sergei?” May asked as I stared at the phone with a sense of existential dread.

“Us calling him from the center shows that we’re fine and I really wasn’t in a hurry to make this call.”

“You forgot about Sergei, didn’t you?”

I didn’t reply and stared straight at the video phone, doing my best to ignore May’s judgmental glare. May sighed before picking up the transceiver.

“Let’s get this over with,” May muttered.

Ring...

Ring...

Click.

“Maple residence, Caroline speaking.” Oh, right, May’s family doesn’t have a video phone at home. Fuck, we were talking with Caroline.

“Hi, mom, is dad around?”

Why did it have to be Caroline? I was positive that this woman disliked me on principal. All the times she yelled at me for my language, legends above I could taste the soap. Ugh, I...

Felt... significantly less terrified than usual. That was odd. I noticed Emilie looking away as I thought that.

“Oh, May. I’m so happy to hear from you. The house wasn’t the same last night. It was so quiet. I think I got used to your snoring and not having it made it harder to go to sleep.”

May just hung her head down and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“Your father isn’t home yet; he’s being held up at the gym. Was there something you needed?” Caroline asked.

“Lea and I found something... worrying, by the Oldale ruins. We wanted to tell him about it.” Nice, be vague. That always puts parents at ease, May.

“Is everything alright? You're not hurt, are you?” Damn it, May. Now she’s in helicopter mode.

“There were some shady people guarding the entrance, when they left, the temple was trashed.” There. Band aid successfully ripped off. “We’re fine, our Pokémon are fine, we didn’t even talk to them, and they didn’t see us. May even caught a Trapinch.” As I mentioned him, a bright light enveloped the area and the little orange monster made himself known to the world.

“Pinch?” Only to be very swiftly recalled.

“He’s... not terribly bright. This is the third time he’s let himself out of his Poke Ball. I don’t think he’s grasped that us saying his name isn’t the same as calling him out.” May rambled, a bit embarrassed.

“Can you describe them for me? I can relay this to your father once he gets home.” Huh, I half figured she’d be more upset. I was also surprised, usually she would have insulted me by now.

“Black pants, white shirts, and a blue bandana with a weird skull pattern on it. Like a circle with two lines so that it kind of looks like an A, and I'm not really explaining it well...” How do you describe made up shapes to someone over the phone? “We didn’t really get close to get a good idea otherwise, but the uniform looked the same. There was one guy who wore a loose-fitting suit, but he still had the bandana. He had a goatee.”

“There was also a dark-skinned man that looked like a researcher. He was tall and had dark hair.” May thought for a second. “He had a full beard and moustache,” May finished.

“I’ll let your father know. Now, I heard May caught a Trapinch, any other additions?” Caroline asked excitedly.

I hesitantly started describing Apollo to her and was surprised to see her engage with me like this.

***

‘So, the first step to protecting your mind is organizing it. This will make it easier to protect your thoughts and memories, because you’ll be able to focus on a single mental construct as opposed to a thousand stray thoughts.’ Emilie explained as I sat cross-legged on my bed.

“How exactly do I organize my mind?” Aren’t minds naturally chaotic? I kind of just thought that psychic types found order in the chaos.

‘I want you to think of a place that you know like the back of your hand. A place that you could remember every nook and cranny of without effort. I want you to close your eyes and visualize that place exactly as you remember it.’

Well, that sounded simple enough. I let my brain wander to the bakery, a place I had worked at for years. I remembered the heat from the ovens to the cold frigid air of the freezer. The crisp smell of freshly made pies, the ding of a register. I remembered my sister's chaotic office and my little cubbyhole.

‘Very good, now keep that memory in your head. I’ll help keep you focused through this next bit. I need you to focus on how the things in this bakery link to the other facets of your life and pull them into something familiar,’ Emilie said calmly.

“Huh?” I asked, confused but still half out of it.

‘For example, you met May at the Bakery. Norman brought her when he picked up some donuts, and you ended up talking in the dining area for hours while Norman and Eve talked in the background.’

I nodded along, thinking of that day so long ago.

‘Now focus on May. All the fun times you’ve shared. All the jokes, the tears, the shared moments of joy and everything in between. Every moment from then to now. Hundreds of little memories, scattered across your mind in a sea of random thoughts and emotions. I’ll help find the more obscure ones.’

I nodded as so many random events that I had forgotten about played across my mind. It was like a highlight reel of my entire friendship with May was playing on fast forward.

‘Now, take those memories, and tie them to this place. Tie them to that first moment here, in the bakery.’

I opened my eyes and was somewhat surprised to find myself sitting on my bed still. I felt something on my face and reached up to feel what it was.

I had shed a single tear during that. I didn’t even notice.

‘Well done, and an excellent start. We’ll have sessions like this every night. They’ll be long at first, cause you need to play a bit of catch up, and I have to help you pull the older thoughts out of the chaos, but you’ll have an organized mind in no time.’ Emilie smiled.

“Wait, that’s it, I don’t feel any different,” I complained.

‘What color did May want to dye your hair on your fourteenth birthday?’

“Black.” I respond without thinking.

‘How many times did May ask you to trade siblings when Max put body glitter in her shampoo?’

I froze for a second, before my brain went to the dining room in the bakery. The memory popped up without any effort.

“Twenty-three.” My eyes opened in awe.

‘What did you loan May when she went with her father to Oldale the first time?’ Same place. A different memory popped up.

“My Pokémon Rangers Manga...” I trailed off before sitting up in annoyance. “She never gave it back!”

‘What I'm helping you make is called a mind palace. It’s the first thing a budding psychic will learn. My mother taught me, and now I will teach you.’ She glanced over my shoulder towards my alarm clock. ‘ We should get some rest.

I turned.

An hour and a half had passed in the blink of an eye.

Holy...

“Yeah, that sounds good. I also just realized how incredibly tired I am.” I frowned as I mulled over what Emilie had told me. “So, how many sessions do you think it’ll take for me to fully organize my mind?” I asked.

‘Not that many. Most of your memories revolve around a small group of people that you view as your family. After that, a short meditation session at the end of the day should work to organize your new memories.’ Emilie looked away from me. ‘Earlier today, when I tricked you... I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place...’

“It’s fine. I might’ve come down a little harder on you than I should’ve.” I pulled Emilie into a hug. “I don’t know why telling May about what home was like scared me before. I think I was worried she’d look at me different, like she’d treat me with kid gloves. I hate that.” I smiled. “Nothing’s changed, and now... I just feel lighter. It all worked out, but in the future, just tell me. I don’t like being manipulated.”

‘So...’ Emilie trailed off. ‘If I was doing something else, and it, uh, concerned you. You wouldn’t be mad if I told you.’

My eyes narrowed.

“It would depend on what this something else is.” I felt Emilie tense. “You’re being honest now, so I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise I won’t react if it’s bad. Spill.”

‘Fine. I’m doing this to help, but I'm a bit worried about how it’s affecting you. After my mom... attacked you, do you remember how you felt?’

I frowned. Odd to dredge up this now.

“Well, my head felt like it was going to explode, I couldn’t control my limbs, and-”

‘Emotionally, how did you feel,’ Emilie interrupted. I could faintly see Emilie roll her eyes through her... bangs?

“Scared shitless.” I shivered. “I thought I was going to die.”

‘And yet, you seemed fine once she fixed you up. She just attacked you, and you proceeded to have a normal conversation with her.’ Emilie tilted her head. ‘You didn’t find that odd?’

“Now that you’re pointing it out, I do.” I frowned.

‘Mom manipulated your emotions,’ Emilie explained as plainly as she could.

My eyes went wide.

‘She believed it necessary. To help you fully, she needed you to not act according to your instincts. To flee as soon as you were able. She muted your ability to feel fear, and she put your mind at ease.’ Emilie looked down. ‘When I asked to go with you, she removed those stopgaps. You felt the full scope of your fear for but the briefest of moments when Mother bore down on both of us.’ Emilie shivered.

“I felt like I couldn’t breathe.” I muttered. “It was so intense.”

Emilie nodded.

‘I put in my own solution. Mother can be... cruel, if the situation demands it. So, I gave you back what she took away. I helped you find your courage, by muting your fear.’

“So... it wasn’t just me growing a pair when you needed me.” I felt a bit deflated at that.

‘It was in a sense. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, as accomplished in the mental arts as my mother.’ Emilie smiled at me. ‘Even at my best, I couldn’t entirely suppress the fear you were feeling. You pushed through your fear and stood up to my mother, because you believed it was the right thing to do. I just... helped.’ Emilie tilted her head. ‘Is that not a starter’s job.’

I laughed.

“I suppose it is. I don’t know what you’re worried about, though. You just helped me deal with your mom.” Emilie looked away.

‘I’m still suppressing your fear.’

Huh?

“So... you’ve been, what, blocking my ability to feel fear. All this time.” Emilie nodded. My mind raced to process everything. “Emilie, people need to be able to feel fear. Fear’s kind of an important emotion to have.”

‘After today, I now realize that. You decided to stake out a potentially dangerous group of weirdos that had both a numbers advantage and a skill advantage with no good exit strategy.’

I opened my mouth.

‘Me teleporting us out is not a good exit strategy, considering I barely managed to teleport you and I blacked out afterwards. You then urged May to go down a dark abandoned temple seconds after they left,’ Emilie deadpanned.

‘Okay, when you say it like that...’ I trailed off, feeling heat rush to my face as I looked away.

‘That’s the only way to say it. You’re right, fear serves a very important function.’

“So, just stop suppressing it, and we’ll be good,” I said.

Emilie shook her head.

‘I will not.’

“It’s my head, and I don’t want my actions to put anyone in dan-” I cut myself off as everything rushed in at once. I had almost died. Multiple times I had almost died. Wait, what was that? Nothing, there’s nothing there. Nothing. Nothing.

Would I even know if it was something? I can’t focus.

‘Lea...’ GET OUT OF MY HEAD! OH god I can’t I can’t I can’t I CAN’T-

And then it stops. Emilie shuffled in place and looked away.

‘The attack... it left you with a bit of a phobia. A deep seated fear of anyone or anything being in your head. For any reason.’ Emilie smiled a bitter smile. ‘Makes it rather difficult to protect your head if you have a panic attack while I’m doing it, now doesn’t it. Therefore, I will not undo what I did. Not yet. Once we get your mind up to snuff, when you can not only block but defend yourself against mental attacks, and you feel confident in your own abilities, will I remove what I did.’ Emilie looked down.

“What exactly did you do?” I asked.

‘I basically put a... sponge?’ Sponge? ‘I think that’s the best way to describe it. I put a sponge in your mind. If you feel fear, it will absorb the feeling before it can affect you. It... has its limits. If the fear is powerful enough, the feeling will still shine through, at least a little bit, but... yeah.’

Huh. I had a sponge in my brain. Weird.

I can understand if you don’t want to talk to me for a bit. This whole thing is-’

I cut her off with a hug.

“It’s weird... but thank you.’ I pulled back and shot her the most reassuring smile I could muster. Judging by the look on Emilie’s face, it wasn’t doing a very good job. “I’m gonna guess that you... wrung the sponge out, earlier?” This analogy was really fucking weird.

‘I felt that was the best way to get my point across.’ Emilie looked down again. ‘I am sorry.’

“Well, it got my attention, that’s for damn sure.” I stared off into space as I tried to grapple with... whatever the fuck that was. Fear didn’t seem to do it justice. But still... “I need to tell May.”

Just to be able to have her talk me down if I'm about to do something stupid, and that I'm not altogether with it. It was only fair to her.

Emilie nodded.

‘I can do my best to warn you if you do anything too reckless, but having another person to help would probably be wise.’ Now she looked down. ‘You’ll probably also have to tell her about what mom did.’

Yeah. That was going to suck, wasn’t it?

***

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t handcuff you to a bed in Petalburg till Emilie has your brain guarded better then Fort Lumiose.” Honestly, she’s taking this better than I expected.

“Look, it’s not as bad as it sounds.” She shot me a very exasperated look.

“You were mentally violated so bad that your brain can’t defend itself anymore, and the only reason you’re talking to me right now is Emilie is suppressing the impulse of curling up into a ball and having a panic attack.” She deadpanned.

“Okay, it is as bad as it sounds, but I’m functioning. Emilie is protecting my mind while I work on building my mental defenses, and now that I'm aware of it, if I'm getting ready to do something incredibly reckless and stupid, all you need to do is tell me and I'll stop.”

May wasn’t moved.

“Like I’ll believe you’ll actually listen to me.” May said, before sighing. “You are asking me to be the voice of reason. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!” she yelled.

“I AM THINKING AND THERE’S NO ONE ELSE I WOULD TRUST MORE!” I yelled back before throwing both hands over my mouth. Legends above, I did not just say that.

May opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then groaned.

“You can’t just... Say things like that. How the hell am I supposed to say no now?” May glared at me.

“I meant every word.” And I did. “Emilie won’t let anything bad happen to me, and I’m already making good progress on the first step of protecting my mind, and I trust you. I trust you and Emilie to make sure I don’t do something extra stupid like yesterday.”

May smiled at me. She looked... touched? Happy?

“That still doesn’t answer my question, though.” May stared directly into my eyes. “Why can’t we wait till you’re better? You want me to stop you from doing things that are reckless and stupid, well, here’s the first thing I'm trying to stop.”

I broke eye contact.

“Call me stupid, but I want to travel the region with my best friend, alright,” I said, shifting in place nervously.

May looked insulted.

“If you think for one moment that I’d leave you alone-”

“You’re not putting your journey on hold for me,” I refused. “If we wait, then we’ll probably miss the season. We won’t have time to run the gauntlet. It’d be a full year before we leave.” I shook my head. “I don’t know which thought would piss me off more; that I'm stuck in Petalburg for another year, or that you’d stay put just for me. Please let me travel with you.” I practically begged.

“...that’s not fair.” She pouted.

Score!

“You won’t regret this!” I shouted.

“I already do,” May moaned.

“Err... also, there is something else,” I said nervously.

May glared.

“What on earth could you possibly tell me after this?” she asked.

“Well, as part of the exercise to defend my mind, yesterday Emilie showed me how to organize my mind,” I explained.

May nodded, tilting her head in interest.

“It improved my memory. Like, a lot. And, uh...” I took a deep breath before starting. “You owe me twenty-three lunches, three different manga, a light novel, two pairs of pants, four pairs of shoes, and a bra.” May’s eyes widened as I counted off all the things that had been... misplaced, since the start of our friendship. I never realized how often I paid for lunch until yesterday, and it kind of ticked me off a bit.

“...am I really that bad?” May asked.

I reluctantly nodded.

Notes:

A special thanks to LadyDorigan for the compliment. Glad you're enjoying the fic.

Chapter Text

May was looking at Trapinch’s Poke Ball as we left the Oldale Center. I stretched my arms as I stared out across the clearing towards the gate to Route 102.

‘Oi, be mindful of your passengers.’ Emilie complained.

‘If you don’t like my stretches, walk. You’ve got working legs,’ I said, shooting her a coy grin.

Silence.

‘That’s what I thought.’ I grabbed Apollo’s ball and let him out as well.

I was very quickly learning that I really liked just... hanging out with my Pokémon. I smiled as he perched on my shoulder.

‘Ahoy, Captain.’

“Good morning, Apollo. I thought you might like a chance to stretch your wings,” I said.

‘Aye, the ball is... surprisingly comfortable, but being in the open air and hanging out with my new mates sounds like fun. Thank ye, lass.’ I nodded, before looking over at May.

“You know you can just call his name and he’ll come out and say hi, right?” I asked.

May jumped a bit. I chuckled before moving to stand closer.

“He seemed pretty chill last night, and he warmed up to you fast once you fed him,” I said.

“I know, I’m just nervous. I want him to like me, not just... tolerate my existence,” May said.

“May, you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. As long as you spend time with the little airhead, I think he’ll love spending time with you as much as I do. Just let the little guy out and say hi. Hell, let Suzaku out too. I miss the little guy.” Gal. Suzaku’s a gal, Lea.

“Probably a good idea, they need to work through... things,” May said as she pulled out a second ball.

That was a fun and exciting way to say that Trapinch thought Suzaku looked tasty.

“Come on out, everyone,” May said.

“Pinch!” Trapinch roared to the world as May let him out of his ball before slamming his mandible into the ground.

Suzaku quickly moved to stand behind May’s leg as the light from their release faded.

“Pinch?” Trapinch asked, tilting his head... mouth... thing to look at us.

I looked towards Emilie, who shook her head.

“What gives?” I complained. She didn’t have any issues translating for Suzaku and Apollo.

‘He... hasn’t really said anything. His thoughts aren’t as easily decipherable as everyone else's, but I can kind of pick out his emotions.’ Emilie frowned. ‘He’s mostly confused, by the way, and a little hungry.’

“I could’ve told you that!” I whined.

May raised her hands and slowly got closer to him.

“Hey there, Trapinch. Do you... know who I am?” May asked.

Trapinch tilted his head. I couldn’t tell if Trapinch was confused, or if that was his default expression.

The answer was probably both.

Suzaku hesitantly poked her head out and gave the Trapinch a curious look.

“Right, well, I’m May, and I uh... caught you yesterday. I’m hoping we can be friends?”

Trapinch hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Here, I’ve got something for you.” May quickly pulled out a box that looked oddly-

“Hey, those were mine!” I shouted.

“Put it on my tab,” May said, grinning cheekily at me.

May opened the box and set it down in front of Trapinch. He put his head down and sniffed.

“PINCH!” He then mercilessly attacked the box of Oran Scones before running up to May and nuzzling her left leg.

“Wow, that was easy! I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” May knelt and gave Trapinch a pat. “I think I’ll call you Samie.”

Suzaku huffed.

‘She’s mad that Samie got a name right away,’ Emilie explained.

I ignored them all as I glowered at the scene in front of me.

“How is it that out of all of us, I’m the only one that hasn’t gotten to enjoy my own cooking.” I stared at my ravaged box blankly before turning to Emilie. “Has the new mooch said anything yet?” I asked.

‘Just emotions. I don’t think he’s spent a lot of time around... anyone. Human or Pokémon. I think he’ll get better the longer he spends with us, but for now... ’ Emilie shook her head. ‘Head empty, captain.’

“Oh, don’t you start that too,” May said, looking up from her phone. “Still, bummer. Sergei, you can go ahead and change the name in the chat room, but Samie’s probably not going to use it for a while,”

Sergei beeped twice in what I’m assuming is confirmation.

I wouldn’t count on it holding a decent conversation any time soon, cap. It’s not just this little guy. Trapinch are about as slow in the head as Slakoth are in body,’ Apollo said.

“How the hell does the stereotypical sea bird know anything about a Pokémon that lives underground?” I asked.

Apollo preened, puffing up his chest as his beak pulled back.

‘I' m always down for an adventure, lass. Me and a few of me mates decided to explore the Unending Beach once upon a time. Terrible place, wouldn’t recommend it, met these things out there by the dozen, and they all were shit for conversation. One of them tried to eat me.’ Apollo shuddered. ‘ Don’t envy what happened to that one. Six water guns on a single ground type.’ Another shudder.

“Right, well, he’s still May’s, so be nice,” I ordered.

May shot me an appreciative smile as Apollo nodded grudgingly.

‘Aye, Captain. I’ll hold my beak,’ he said.

“You three done with your little private conversation now?” May glowered.

I turned to look at both Emilie and Apollo, who just shrugged.

“I think so,” I responded cheekily. “You have Sergei, you can join in if you want.”

“I...” May trailed off as Sergei floated right at eye level. She quickly scanned through the messages.

“How much of that story was Tauros shit, Apollo?” May asked.

Apollo leaned back before giving my best friend a glare. I opened my mouth before he got the chance to start an argument.

“You ready to head out? I want to find a Lotad before we hit Petalburg, though...” I turned to look at Apollo. “We might be able to skip a step and just catch a Lombre now that Apollo’s joined,” I said thoughtfully.

“Denied,” May said.

“Huh?”

“Denied. Even with a type advantage, a Lombre would be above our weight class, and I don’t want to deal with an angry second stage Pokémon plus whatever friends he might call on to help. I’m taking my new role VERY seriously,” May said, staring at me intently.

I winced.

“Right, no Lombre.” Bummer. “Thank you, by the way,” I said.

“Don’t mention it.” May said before walking toward the western gate.

“Apollo, go ahead and take to the skies. Keep a look out for a Lotad with some extra... pep in his step,” I ordered.

Apollo raised his wing in salute.

‘Aye, captain. Leave it to me.’ He took off.

***

“Emilie let’s try working on what we did with Apollo. Use the Confusion on the rocks and lash out with it if he gets too close,” I ordered.

A ring of stones started to rotate around Emilie as she stared down her second Zigzagoon of the day.

“Power through, Lucky.” The big difference this time though, was that this one had a trainer. My first trainer battle, I was so excited!

Lucky charged headfirst toward Emilie. Easy pickings.

“Sling three stones and teleport if it gets too close.” I... could have just thought that.

“Quick attack, don’t let it teleport away,” my opponent ordered.

Despite the name, the quick attack hit the air where Emilie used to be, and all the extra speed did was make the rocks hit with that much more force.

“Goon!” Lucky cried out in pain. A small gash started to seep a bit of blood out above his right eye.

‘Where-’

‘In the tree on your left. ’ I felt a pull towards a branch high up in one of the nearby trees. ‘I thought I’d hide in his new blind spot. Hard to see through blood, after all.

The idea felt a bit morbid, but I liked the strategy.

“Where the hell did she go?” My opponent asked.

“She’s around,” I said. ‘Use confusion on the stones and attack from a distance. No reason to get in close.’ Non-verbal commands would also be something I needed to get used to more.

Emilie crouched down behind the leaves as the trainer looked her way and proceeded to lift a few small stones on Lucky’s right.

“Lucky, Quick Attack to the left, then slam into the tree on your right.” Dammit, we were spotted. The trainer’s command came too late, and Lucky was pelted before he could move. Several more stones levitated into the air as Lucky mewled in pain.

“Damnit, I hate Ralts trainers. Lucky, just keep dodging, and see if you can find an opening.” Rude.

The Zigzagoon quickly darted away from where he was standing with a Quick Attack. Honestly, I was impressed. This was the longest a Zigzagoon had lasted so far.

‘After a throw, focus on Lucky. You probably aren’t strong enough to move him, but you might be able to throw off his balance.’ I didn’t get a reply back, and for a moment, I was worried she didn’t hear me, but a smile stretched across my face as Lucky started accidentally tripping into rocks as opposed to away from them.

“Stop.” Three rather large stones stopped in midair all around Lucky. “I concede.” His voice just... sounded so done.

Was I that bad to fight against? Damn, that’s kind of a sour note to win on.

‘He’s just sad that he lost... again,’ Emilie commented. ‘He ran into another trainer with a Mudkip and... that didn’t go well either. The trainer with the Mudkip was rude as fuck, too.’

‘Huh, probably another of Birch’s sponsors. Well, let’s see if we can go cheer him up.’ I rushed across the clearing.

“Thanks for the battle.” I smiled as a familiar weight teleported to my shoulder. “Your Zigzagoon is a lot tougher than the local mons, I just don’t think there was a lot he could do without ranged options.” I had extended my hand to shake, and the other trainer looked a bit surprised.

“Er... Thanks.” He hesitated for a second before grabbing my hand. “Not really a ton of options for range currently.”

“Yeah, but good match. I look forward to seeing how you improve later. Maybe we could have a two on two.” The trainer blushed before pulling out his wallet and handing me my winnings. “Don’t suppose I could know your name?”

“Uh, it’s Calvin.” He spoke. His voice was a lot more confident, and he seemed happy. Good.

“Great! Mine’s Lea. Hope I see you again someday.” Calvin nodded before turning back towards Oldale. I walked over towards May with a smile on my face.

“You’re terrifying, you know that right?” May called as she walked over. “Congratulations on your win.”

“What do you mean I'm terrifying? I was really nice!” I pouted.

May giggled.

“This is your third day as a Pokémon trainer, and you’re already developing advanced tactics with Emilie. Do you have any idea how many psychic trainers shouted their moves to the heavens in dad’s gym?” May asked.

“Surely-”

“The answer is most of them.” May shut me down. “There are four badge trainers struggling to work out what you’ve pieced together in three days, and hiding in a tree to snipe a close quarters fighter was mean.”

I quickly felt blood rush to my face.

“Uh, that was Emilie’s idea. I lost sight of her for a second, which is something we’ll probably need to work on.” I turned to Emilie. “When you Teleport, kind of shoot me a signal to let me know where you are, okay?” I asked.

Emilie nodded.

“You won, and it wasn’t close, and you’re still picking apart what you did wrong and finding ways to improve. You’re going to be a monster in record time.” My blush got worse. “Seriously, I have the excuse of being the daughter of a gym leader, how are you already this good at battling?” May asked.

“I’m probably getting a lot of mileage out of Emilie just... looking at my ideas as I have them. There’s no guesswork and we can just... go. Psychic attacks are also absurdly flexible. So, combine the fast as thought communication link, Emilie being more advanced than the average Ralts, and my overactive imagination that’s binged anime and my dad’s conference videos enough to make Eve threaten to blow up the TV, and you get... well, that.” I waved my hand out toward the clearing.

“Broken.” May nodded. “When we get to Rustboro, we’re hitting the battle yards and picking on all the other newbie trainers.”

“May, that sounds mean.” I didn’t want to bully people.

“Don’t care. We need income, and I intend to rake in the dough while we’re ahead of everyone else.” May said.

“Really, bakery puns May?”

“That was unintentional. Also, I call dibs on the next trainer.”

***

“Nothing doing, huh?” I frowned as Apollo shook his head.

‘None that would fit what you’re looking for. I assume you want a Lotad that doesn’t just stare blankly into the void as they float atop a pond, right?’ Apollo asked.

“Right.”

‘Then nothing doing, Captain,’ Apollo confirmed.

I sighed.

“Good work all the same.”

“Not interested in a ‘head empty Mon’?” May looked up from Sergei to give me a bit of a glare. “Emilie, your commentary was very rude.” Emilie ignored May and continued to nibble on the cookie I had given her. Suzaku walked toward her and pecked at the cookie, causing it to crumble in Emilie’s hand.

YOU WANNA GO, FEATHER HEAD!’ Emilie screamed.

‘Stop ignoring us. May likes you for some reason, so talk to her when she talks to you.’ Suzaku puffed up her chest, and Emilie groaned.

‘Fine... sorry, May,’ Emilie said.

May nodded after a quick glance at Sergei.

“Has he been cataloguing EVERYTHING we’ve said?” I asked.

May shook her head no.

“Just the highlight reels that Emilie sends his way, so I don’t feel left out. She’s more considerate about that than you are.” May said. She highlighted her point with a glare.

“It’s easier for her to send crap to Sergei than it is for me to translate, and Lotad doesn’t evolve into a fucking dragon, so I kind of want to skip the derpy phase if I can help it.” May raised her hands.

“Meh, I think you’re just picky.”

“Between Emilie and Apollo, I think I have the resources to be a bit picky.” I sighed. “That said, they might be looking for something that doesn’t exist. Lotad usually only become a bit more... active, once they evolve. Guess I have to stop being lazy, huh?” I turned to Apollo. “Just go ahead and take us to the group you found.”

‘Aye, Captain.’

***

“Wow, you were not joking about the thousand-yard stare.” I commented.

Before me floated four Lotad, all of whom hadn’t reacted in the slightest to us entering their habitat. I looked toward Emilie.

‘Anything going on upstairs?’ I asked.

‘They’re hoping we leave without causing a scene. They have a lot more going on up top than Samie, so I don’t think you have to worry about that.’ I stared down at the Lotad as they very slowly raised more of their body out of the pond.

“You sure about that?” I asked.

“Lotad use their leaf as camouflage to protect themselves from predators. They’re probably committed to maintaining the illusion.” May said. I pondered that for a second.

“Alright, look, the jig is up. We know you’re Lotad. You know that we know that you’re Lotad. I just wanted to know if any of you wanted to hang out for an extended period of time. See the world beyond your pond, make new friends, have a steady source of food you don’t have to fight for, that kind of stuff.” Nothing. Not a damn sound. I sighed again.

‘They think you’re a little slow in the head.’ Emilie said with a chuckle.

“Really, I’m the slow one!” I shouted.

Three of the Lotad’s rose a bit higher and fired a moderately weak water gun at my face. Emilie raised her hand, and the water was diverted to the left of us. Fuck these things.

“Emilie, spin cycle,” I said.

Emilie looked in my head in confusion before frowning.

‘I don’t know if I can move that much water. I like the idea though. Maybe... ’ A large bubble formed in the middle of the Lotad before exploding, making a current that pushed them outward. ‘ Huh, that was... easier than I was expecting it to be. Maybe I could have done the spin cycle.’

‘I kind of figured Water would be harder to control than rocks, not easier,’ I said.

Emilie shrugged.

‘It’s malleable. I can push it around a lot easier. Maybe your idea will be easier to put into practice than I thought,’ Emilie said.

I smiled.

‘Good, we’ll need everything we’ve got for Roxanne. Gym leaders are no jo-’

“TAD! Lotad, tad Lotad.” Translation?

‘He thinks we overreacted to his friends’ prank. He also wants a battle for revenge,’ Emilie explained.

“I’d be more than willing to accommodate him, and the only reason it might be an overreaction is the ‘prank’ fucking whiffed,” I said before looking around the pond. “Also, for being your friends, they sure were quick to hightail it out of here and leave you high and dry.”

Lotad halted its glare and looked around the pond.

“Tad?” No response. “TAD!”

‘Yeah, he’s not happy about that,’ Emilie commented.

‘Sometimes your empathy is really helpful, but times like this, I feel like you’re mocking my intelligence by stating the obvious,’ I said.

Emilie didn’t respond.

‘This is the part where you reassure me that’s not the case!’

Still no response.

“TAD!” The Lotad, now refocused on me, rose in challenge.

“So, we’re really doing this, huh? Don’t think I didn’t notice earlier when you said your friends' prank and not our prank. You're the Lotad that didn’t fire.” No response. “I like your moxie, and I'm going to be straight with you. I think you can do WAY better than those losers. If I win our little tussle, I'm liable to throw a poke ball at ya if I win.” I smiled. “You okay with that?” I asked.

More silence, but there was movement. A single nod that brought a smile to my face. Score.

“Apollo, get down here. I think it’s time for your first Pokémon battle,” I shouted.

Apollo dive bombed into the clearing. I smiled as the Lotad didn’t back away in fear at the new arrival.

‘Won’t let ya down, Captain.’ Apollo saluted, and Lotad took that as a signal to lash out with a half dozen small sharp leaves. ‘Oi, watch it,’ Apollo complained.

Apollo rapidly beat his wings to get out of the way. Lotad took this as his chance to dive.

“How good are you underwater?” I asked.

‘Better than most birds. You won’t be able to see to give me commands though,’ Apollo said.

“I trust you to be able to handle yourself. Dive after it and bring it to land,” I ordered.

Apollo sailed across the clearing and dove down. I held my breath for a second before another large water bubble blew up from below the surface. I looked towards Emilie.

‘Don’t look at me. That was all feather head,’ Emilie said.

I nodded before ten more leaves blasted out from the pond. I nervously bit my lip as two more explosions pushed water all over the place until eventually...

Splash.

“TAD!” I spotted my potential teammate get blasted out of the water with an impressive amount of force.

‘Yeah, well screw you and your Kyogre damned leaves.’

I spot Apollo fly out of the pond and winced at the state of his feathers.

“Don’t give it a chance to breathe. Get in close and Peck.” I kicked myself for not working on Aerial Ace before this. That would probably seal the deal right here.

As it was though, this should still hurt like a bitch. Apollo flew towards the dazed Lotad at full speed, and the crack that I heard on impact made me wince in sympathy for the poor little Lotad. I gaped a bit when I saw it struggle back to his feet.

“Lo.” Lotad panted before rearing his head back. He rotated his head and a small seed launched from his lily pad toward Apollo.

‘Really?’ Apollo casually flew over it. ‘I know this looks desperate, but did you really think you could tag me with a Leech Seed of all-Ack.’

I stared confused as vines erupted from a seed that had planted itself into Apollo’s back.

‘I dodged that!’

“Tad!” Lotad said smugly.

I frowned once I realized what had happened. He ricocheted the seed off the tree behind Apollo. The more I watched this Lotad, the more excited I got at the prospect of him being mine.

“We need to wrap this up fast, Apollo. I know you’ll be exhausted after this but Aerial Ace, don’t hold back.” As soon as the words left my mouth, Apollo disappeared and the air around him crackled. Lotad had a split second to look around before my waterfowl slammed into him at full force.

“Taad.” Lotad wheezed and skid a solid ten feet across the ground. He desperately sucked in a few ragged breaths before falling forward, and I jumped at the chance to throw a Poke Ball before Leech seed gave him the strength to stand back up.

One shake.

Two shakes.

Annnnnd...

Click.

My smile probably looked creepy, and I didn’t care.

Said smile slipped off my face rather quickly, though, once I heard a soft thump to my left. Apollo passed out. Again. I sighed before recalling him.

“Nice work. Enjoy your nap.” I spoke into the ball before going over and picking up Lotad’s Poke Ball.

“That looked... way harder than I was expecting,” May commented. “Considering Apollo had a type advantage...”

“Yeah, I really need to work with Apollo more. Granted, half the reason he passed out was because of Aerial Ace. This Lotad really impressed me, that fight was hard.” I turned to smile at May. “Good call about me not hunting for a Lombre. I would’ve gotten my ass kicked.”

“That’s what I’m here for. At any rate, now that we’ve gotten that taken care of, let’s book it back home.”

“Right.”

***

“I think I see the gate,” I shouted, before picking up the pace. “Race ya.”

“Wait!” May whined before sprinting after me. “That’s cheating, you can’t just call for a race and give yourself a head start. Lea, my legs are tired, please slow down.”

May lagged a bit behind, and there were those pesky feelings of guilt again.

“Fine, I’ll-”

“PSYCH. Eat my dust you gullible loser.” And May pushed past in a blistering sprint.

“I...” I sighed. “Ya know what? Fair.” I jogged for a moment before giving up. She can have the win; I don’t feel like running.

‘Giving up that easily?’ Emilie asked.

‘I have added weight I have to deal with,’ I pointed out.

Emilie glared at me.

“...not what I was expecting.” An unfamiliar voice put me on edge, and I rushed forward to see what I assumed was a trainer blocking the gate.

“Excuse me?” Uh-oh, May sounded angry. I needed to defuse this before things escalated. I put myself in between them and stuck my hand out.

“Hi, there. I’m Lea, what’s your name,” I said.

He moved around me and stared at May again.

“I said that you aren’t what I was expecting.” Did he ignore me? This ass hat just ignored me, didn’t he?

‘He did.’ Emilie nodded from my shoulder. The nerve of this man.

“I would have thought that the daughter of a gym leader and one of my fellow sponsors would be a bit more impressive, but you're kind of just... a girl.”

May moved to walk around him, but Ass Hat moved to get in her way. I could see May’s fist start to shake, and before I could say anything.

“Fucking move, you dipshit!” May shoved her fist into Ass Hat’s jaw, and he went flying across the clearing. May brushed her knuckles a bit before glaring down at Ass Hat.

“Look, I just spent all day exploring Route 103 with my best friend. I’m tired, my feet are sore, and I haven’t eaten real food since this morning. Please put whatever dramatic shounen rival bullshit your brain is peddling on the back burner and stay the FUCK DOWN.” May shouted before marching through the gate.

I stared at the scene in awe.

‘That was glorious...’ Emilie said.

I nodded before looking at the kid that was slowly pulling himself up from the ground.

“Well, that didn’t go according to plan.” He rubbed his jaw as he looked towards where May had walked. I turned towards Emilie, who nodded.

He DID say that he was one of Birch’s trainers, after all.

“Oi, Ass Hat.” He finally looked my way, and I had to bite back a laugh at how terrified he was right now. That punch must have really shaken him. His fear slowly shifted to rage once he recognized the insult.

“My name is Brendan. Brendan Birch.” Oh, good. Not only is he an ass hat, but he’s an ass hat with a fancy last name. I think I like Ass Hat better. “Look, I don’t have time to square off against your pack of Zigzagoon, so buzz off.” My eyes widened in realization. This was the prick that bullied Calvin!

“Nah, I think Emilie and I would have more fun giving you an attitude adjustment. I’ll even throw in the witty shounen trash talk that May shut you down on,” I said.

Emilie teleported down and lifted her arm towards Ass Hat in challenge.

“Let’s see, if I’m getting my tropes right, this would be the part where I tell you you’ll never win, and the power of friendship will see me through the day and blah blah-blah blah blah-blah-blah. There, gotten your fix? Can I move on to kicking your Pokémon's ass?” I think I saw a blood vessel twitch above his right eye. Ass hat pulled out a poke ball.

“Background characters really should know their place.” Oh good! He was leaning into the bit.

“Kip.” Mudkip stared up at me, tilted its head, and smiled.

I tried.

I tried really hard.

“Legends above, you are so adorable!” I just couldn’t. “You are the most adorable creature on the face of the earth.” I rushed forward and snatched what was easily a gift to the rest of humanity into a hug.

“What the- Oi, put her down.” Ignoring you right now.

“Kip!”

“You are so precious, how can something so adorable belong to someone so rude? How can he be grumpy when he has a precious little guy like you around? Who’s an adorable little water type? You are, yes you are.”

‘Lea... please... we were so cool... and now we’re not...’ Emilie whined in my head.

“Mud.” A single shot of water blasted my face. “Kip.” I hacked and sputtered a few times as Mudkip jumped out of my grip.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Ass hat screamed.

‘So many things.’ Emilie said. Rude. What were we doing? ‘Ass hat.’

‘I have higher standards than that, Emilie.’

‘For fucks sake, get your head in the game. We have a Pokémon battle to win, ’ Emilie complained.

I blushed before staring back towards...

“Who are you again?” I asked.

“That’s it, I'm done. Mudkip, water gun. I don’t care what you aim at, please make her stop talking.” Thankfully, the Mudkip took that as the go ahead to attack Emilie and not me.

‘Emilie, Disengage,’ I ordered.

Emilie teleported and my mind dragged my attention to the top of the gate.

‘Thanks for the heads up, sweetie. Go ahead and start target practice.’ Four stones rose up from the ground and rapidly made their way towards Mudkip. I quickly made my way further back down the path to stay out of the way.

“Mudkip, dodge and keep an eye out. Blast her with a water gun the second you see where she went,” Ass Hat ordered.

Mudkip nodded, took a single stone to the face, and avoided the other three.

‘I have an idea. How well do you think you can stop Mudkip’s attack if it fires at you from range?’ I asked.

Emilie thought for a bit and smiled as she peeped into my head.

‘That’s mean. I approve.’

Emilie pulled three rocks towards herself and ricocheted them out towards Mudkip. Mudkip jumped over two rocks and skidded to avoid the third. Damn, this Mudkip was fast. I smiled as Mudkip followed the latter half of Ass Hat’s older orders. The water gun came out fast, and the pressure was a bit more than I was expecting, but thankfully...

“Ack, Mudkip. Stop.” She didn’t have to divert it by that much.

“Aw, we match. Now we’re both drenched.”

He sputtered a few more times before glaring at me.

“What the hell is with you?! You haven’t given a single order. Do you just let you mon do all the work for you?” Ass Hat asked.

“Oh, I’ve given plenty of orders.” I smirked. ‘Emilie, would it be possible to make my eyes look like they’re glowing?’ I asked.

‘Should be easy enough. You might get a small headache, though. A very mild confusion should give the effect you’re looking for. Intimidation?’ Emilie asked.

‘Intimidation,’ I confirmed.

Ass Hat reeled back.

“Wh- What the hell?” Ass Hat sputtered.

I’m sure the evil smile wasn’t doing anything but sell the look.

“You just can’t hear them,” I said malevolently.

“Mudkip, get in close.” No, I don’t think you... holy shit that’s fast. “Tackle.”

‘Teleport.’ And safe. My mind pulled my field of view to the left. ‘Think you can do a trial run of the gym here?’ Emilie stopped and focused.

‘I... think it’s doable, but he’ll probably need to-’

“Water gun, full power.” Ass Hat ordered. A massive cascade got launched from Mudkip’s mouth, and I idly wondered if my best friend got conned. Suzaku’s Ember was nowhere near this impressive.

‘Do that.’ Emilie finished her earlier thought.

‘Dodge to the left and try and catch the water in the air as it passes. Make it your own.’

And just as I drew it up, things just started to click. The water sailed harmlessly past Emilie before snapping around. Brendan’s eyes widened as he saw it get slung around by Emilie’s confusion.

“Dodge!” There’s nothing to dodge yet, moron. Instead of sending it back, Emilie started molding the water. A see-through liquid vest appeared around Emilie, acting as a shield before Emilie thrust both of her arms out.

Two tentacle appendages shot out of the dome. The armor wasn’t... pretty, but it was functional.

“What the...” Apparently, Brendan didn’t know what to make of Emilie’s battle armor either.

‘Now then, Emilie, make your namesake proud.’

‘Oui, mon cherie.’ Emilie charged forward, carrying the water with her as she went, and raised one of the fists above her head.

“Mudkip, Water gun, rapid fire. Break that... thing, down.” Ass Hat ordered.

Mudkip frantically shot as many streams as it could, but unfortunately for him, the armor slowed the streams down enough so that Emilie could pull the extra water into the shell. The overhead fist got bigger, and the whole beast towered over Mudkip as Emilie got closer.

‘Whoa, that’s a head rush. This is... little hard to control...’

‘Emilie, you alright?’ I asked, worry creeping into my mind for the first time in the fight.

“Get out of there!” Whatever difficulties Emilie was having didn’t translate too much into the attack, at least. The Mudkip darted to the left, but it didn’t matter. The water swept across the ground in a wide, sweeping arc and slammed into the Mudkip with an audible crack. The fist exploded on contact and the poor little Pokémon was sent hurtling towards the tree line. The bark of the tree cracked on impact, and Mudkip slowly skidded down the trunk.

‘Sorry, I had to... really focus... also I'm tired. Please tell me it’s down,’ Emilie said.

Staring across the field, I smirked. Mudkip was out of it, both eyes shut. Ass hat sighed and raised his poke ball.

“Mudkip, return.”

‘Alright, we won.’ Emilie knelt and put a hand on her knee to support herself. ‘Woooo.’ She fell backwards in exhaustion.

“How long have you been a trainer?” Ass hat asked. He didn’t even offer a handshake, legends above this prick was rude.

“Three days.”

“Tauros shit!” I reared back at the amount of anger he threw my way. “There’s no way in hell you’re doing stuff like that after three days on the road. If you think I'm going to cough up any of my money to this little hustle you’ve got going on, you’re out of-”

“Is everything alright here?”

I turned towards the town gate and noticed Norman giving Ass Hat the look of a disappointed parent. I looked around and noticed that May was nowhere to be seen, and I frowned. Guess I took a little longer than I thought.

“He lost, and now he’s being a sore loser,” I said.

Ass hat turned to yell at me, but Norman cut him off.

“I heard the latter half of your tantrum from the road. I took Lea out to get her starter three days ago, so unless you think the gym leader of Petalburg city is out to scam you out of your pocket change, pay the girl her winnings, and move on. I believe the going rate at this level is the price of a poke ball.” Ass hat aggressively grabbed a few notes from his pocket, threw them at me, and stalked off into the city.

‘His name is Brendan,’ Emilie said tiredly.

‘I know, I just don’t think I can bring myself to care.’

Emilie chuckled before lifting her arms up.

‘I wasn’t kidding earlier, either return me or carry me. I’m spent,’ Emilie said.

I walked over and picked her up.

“Everything alright? May said she stalked off from someone at the gate and kind of left you behind. Sorry about that, by the way,” Norman said. I waved him off.

“Don’t be, I challenged him. Guy was a dick and I wanted to teach him a lesson.” I frowned as I looked down the road toward my house. “Should I head back with you or just go home?”

“I think I'd recommend hitting up a Pokémon center, first,” Norman said.

I winced. Yeah, that was probably wise.

“I think we can talk tomorrow.” Norman gave me a look.

Now I was getting the disappointed dad stare. What’d I do?

“And there will be a talk. Specifically, about hanging around an area with dangerous looking men when you’ve been on the road for two days,” Norman said.

I winced. Ah. That’s what I did. Got it.

“Right... guess I'll hang out with Sis, then. Think you could walk me to the center? All three of my teammates are spent.”

Now Norman looked me over with interest.

“Three Pokémon already? I hope you know I can’t take in any extras. Once you hit six, you’re done till you have your carry license.” Norman said. I nodded.

“I know, I know. I only planned on one, but Emilie more or less demanded that I catch Apollo, that’s my Wingull. He fought Lotad to an almost draw and I captured him about...” I looked up at the sun as we walked along the sidewalk, already missing Sergei. “I want to say four hours ago. May got to fight most of the mons that attacked us along the route. I’m sure Suzaku and Samie had a blast.”

“You managed to get May to name her Pokémon.” Norman laughed. “I’m going to assume Suzaku is Torchic, but who’s Samie?”

“That would be telling.” I turned the corner and spotted the center. “She can tell you all about it herself. I’m not going to take that from her,” I said, smiling at the gym leader.

I stopped in front of the center doors and turned to face Norman.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Tell May that I finished what she started for her. Ass Hat had it coming.”

“How has the road made your language this bad. You’ve been gone for three days. You’re lucky I’m the cool parent, Caroline would be reading you the riot act right now.”

Oh, right. Cursing in front of Norman probably wasn’t a good idea. Why... right. My ability to feel fear is turned off. Moma Caroline literally can’t terrify me as much as she probably should.

‘If I try to curse tomorrow, stop me. I’m being less careful than I should be. I really don’t want the soap treatment again,’ I said.

Emilie nodded.

“I’ll pass the message along, thanks for sticking up for her, I guess.” Norman waved as he left.

Trust me, Norman. She did not need stuck up for. I did that for funsies.

“I'll see you tomorrow.” He walked off. I turned around and went through the double doors.

“Hello, welcome. Would you like a room for the night?” Nurse Joy asked.

I thought about it for a long bit, before shaking my head. I didn’t know if Eve would even be home right now, but I wanted to check in and show off the team. I could let myself in if I had to.

“Nah, just need to fix up the team.” I returned Emilie and placed all three balls on the counter. “I’ve got a place to stay.”

Chapter Text

I twisted the key and slowly slinked my way inside the house, careful not to make too much noise. I had both Apollo and Emilie out, and both were chilling out on my shoulders. There were still a few lights on in the house, so I was hoping that Eve was still awake.

“Hello?” No response.

I walked toward the living room, and gasped at the mess of papers that were thrown all over the table. I spotted Eve on the couch, sleeping, with an open file that looked like an application from... Caroline? Neat. I felt bad for waking her, but sleeping on the couch was always a surefire way to have a grumpy Eve, and not telling her I'm home would probably be a bad idea.

“Eve, wake up.” I patted her twice and she all but fell off the couch.

She pulled herself up, mumbled something under her breath that I couldn’t hear, and turned to stare at the pair of Pokémon on my shoulders.

Next thing I know I'm getting crushed in a bear hug.

“I missed you. I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss you until you were gone,” she murmured into my ear.

Apollo hopped down before I got grabbed, and Emilie teleported herself to the couch and leaned back.

“Use May’s phone to call me more, or I might actually go insane. This house is creepy at night if I'm the only one in it,” Eve said as she pulled back from the hug.

I smiled back.

“I’ll call you more, don’t worry. I kind of forgot. The last three days have been...” Hectic, chaotic, “Wonderful. Busy, but Wonderful, and I got caught up in it.”

Eve looked at me expectantly, motioning towards Emilie.

“Oh, right, duh. This is Emilie, my starter, and the scariest Ralts on Route 102, and this is Apollo, the scariest Wingull on route 103.” Both of them preened.

“I’m noticing a trend.” Eve smiled at Emilie as she waved. “Nice to meet you both,” she said.

Emilie cautiously waved back, and I noticed that Eve still hadn’t let go of me.

“I have an as of yet unnamed Lotad, but I just caught him, and I don’t feel comfortable letting him out in the house. I need to figure out how... chill, he’s going to be,” I said, shifting in place awkwardly. I wasn’t used to Eve being this... touchy feely. It was odd.

“Is it normal to have three Pokémon so soon?” Eve asked.

I shrugged.

“I don’t really know, though I'm probably going to be very selective with the next three.” I scowled. “Stupid capture limit. I know why it exists, but it’s still annoying. I see the hunt for a new co-worker goes well.” I tapped Caroline's resume. “Hire her. She’d probably do a better job than me.”

“I know... it’s just. It feels weird hiring someone who’s basically my second mom.” She sighed. “I’ll give her a call after you leave. I know I need help. The last few days have highlighted that.”

I frowned.

“Do I-”

“No.” Eve firmly shut me down. “Now then, you’re probably tired, and I know I'm exhausted. We can talk more tomorrow,” Eve said, finally letting me go from the earlier hug.

Eve got up, and I started moving towards my bedroom. Emilie followed, but Apollo flew towards the window.

‘Think you can open this for me, cap? I think I'd like to sleep under the stars,’ Apollo said.

I nodded before letting him out. Eve looked at me with a perplexed look on her face.

“He likes sleeping outside, don’t ask me. Night,” I said, rushing out of the living room before she could ask another question.

“Feeling up to working on my Mind Bakery?” I asked.

‘Sure. That’s not terribly taxing. It might even go faster now that you’ve gotten a base line.’

I sighed before sitting on the bed.

“Let’s tackle Eve, tonight.”

Emilie groaned before teleporting in front of me.

‘Scratch that going faster part. Alright, you know the drill. Close your eyes...’

***

People can change.

I rubbed the crust out of my eyes and sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I had dark circles under both of my eyes, my hair was fucked up to hell and back, and I stunk.

God, I hate mornings. Normal mornings are ass, but after last night? Where I was doing good to get a couple hours after my session with Emilie?

People can change.

I found the fucking downside of organizing my mind. It makes you look at things on a scale, as opposed to in sequence. All the bad memories from when I was a kid just... stacked up. Eve is way better now. Hell, she’s being super supportive of me, despite the fact that she’s not the biggest fan of trainers, and the last few years have been mostly good.

So why does everything feel extra shitty right now?

It’s like the worst parts all happened yesterday, and they’re drowning out the good. They’re silencing the reasonable part of my brain and making me just... feel what I felt back then.

People can change. Eve’s changed. I’ve changed. Just... breathe...

Hopefully a shower will make this easier.

***

Eve made pancakes.

“Now you’re just spoiling me.” I smiled awkwardly and sat down.

“I didn’t really know what to make your Pokémon, so I kind of just... grabbed a bag of Pokémon food from your pack. Hope that was okay.” Eve looked at my Pokémon and bit her lower lip.

I still hadn’t let Lotad out, but he had gotten some grub at the center. That said, with the way Emilie was looking at the plate, he wasn’t missing much. I needed to work on some nutritious recipes for Pokémon. Maybe Caroline would have a few tips.

I’m thinking of going to Caroline for advice. Legends above my emotions are fucked up.

‘Please do. Your cookies make this look and taste like garbage,’ Emilie said.

‘Well, if you ate nothing but my cookies, I wouldn’t be able to carry you on my shoulder anymore. You’d end up rounder than a poke ball,’ I pointed out.

‘I am not countering that point. I am stating that I know you can do better than this.’ Emilie said, shoving a bite into her mouth and making a concerted effort to chew and swallow as fast as possible.

‘I don’t know, lass. S’not that bad. Granted, I'm used to far worse. All fish Pokémon taste the damn same, and after a while out at sea, well, you enjoy it when you’re not forced to eat the same thing every day.’ I smiled at Apollo before taking a bite and legends above these are so good.

“Uh... Lea? You alright? You’ve been kind of quiet.” Eve said, shifting in her seat and looking away. “Are they good?”

“Oh, sorry. I guess I should explain, huh? Emilie and I can talk to each other telepathically, and through her, I get to have conversations with the rest of the Pokémon in our group. It’s helpful, but uh... I kind of forget that other people can’t hear us,” I explained.

Eve looked towards Emilie.

“Well, why can’t she just add me? We can all hang out in your cavernous skull,” Eve said with a grin.

I glared.

“Uh, I mean-”

“Unfortunately, Emilie is somewhat limited in who she can form a connection with. She can talk with other Pokémon if they let her, and I'm a bit of a special case, but other humans are... a bit out of her range. She can pick up surface thoughts, but she can’t talk or establish a dialogue like she can with me,” I explained.

“Huh. Any clue why you’re so special?” She coulda phrased that better. “Uh, not to say that... you know what, forget it,” Eve said, looking down and playing with some of the pancakes on her plate with a frown.

‘Wait, I didn’t say that our loud, did I?’ I asked.

‘You didn’t. Your sister just heard how her question sounded. ’ See, brain? She’s better!

“Don’t worry about it. No, I don’t know why I can talk to Emilie so easily.” Liar. Eve would read you the riot act if she knew how big of a liar you were being right now. It’d be just like...

Shut up. Stop thinking about shit that happened thirteen fucking years ago.

‘Emilie, if I start falling into that trap again, fucking pull me out of it,’ I ordered.

‘Best way to deal with stuff like this is to talk about it, remember?’ Emilie said, choking down another pellet.

‘I am NOT talking to my sister about this. You can fucking forget that,’ I snarled.

Emilie leaned away from me. I winced.

‘Sorry, that was... rude. Eve’s... not the best at emotions.’

‘Neither are you.’ Emilie pointed out. ‘She’s looking at you again, by the way.’

I looked up from my plate and met my sister’s eyes.

“You do that a lot, don’t you? Just stare off into space and talk to Emilie for a bit?” Well, the first half of that was banishing the random thoughts of how shit my childhood was so thanks-

‘Snap out of it,’ Emilie ordered.

Right, right. Calm down.

“Sorry. Norman says I'll get better at avoiding the tunnel vision. It just takes practice. Once Emilie evolves, she’ll be able to reach out to other people, so that’ll also help.”

Eve laughed.

“Speaking of, I got a call from him. He wants you to meet up with him and May at the gym later,” Eve said.

“Any idea what about?” I asked, knowing full well what it was about.

“Nope, just said he wanted to see you.”

I stared down at my plate and bit my lower lip.

“So how annoyed does May get when you zone out on her?” Eve asked.

“Oh, she hates it. We’ve kind of found a workaround for when we’re together though. Emilie can communicate with Sergei, May’s Rotom phone, and Sergei can just... post our thoughts to a group chat.”

“That’s good, at least.” And the conversation died again. I took another bite of pancake.

‘I want you to know that your training sucks.’ I told Emilie. ‘I can’t even have a normal conversation with my sister.’

‘You weren’t complaining when we relived May’s memories,’ Emilie said. ‘Look, I know it’s hard right now, but... your sister loves you. I can feel it, and I know you love her. Just... focus on that feeling. That’ll help.’

I nodded before looking up towards Eve. She was pushing her pancakes around on her plate again. She always played with her food when she was nervous.

Legends above we’re a mess. Fuck this. I’m only going to be in town for a little bit. I want to spend time with my sister, childhood memories be damned.

“Do you want to come with me when I go to the Gym today?” I asked.

Eve winced.

“Can’t, I’m still playing catch up, I can’t afford to have the bakery be closed,” Eve replied.

Nope. You are not hiding out in the bakery all day. We are going to spend time together and you are going to like it.

“Just come for a bit, you can tell Norman that Caroline has the job if she wants it and tell her to show up tomorrow. Two sets of hands can get a lot more done than one.” She was caving, just one more strike. “Pleeeease?” I gave her my best Growlithe eyes.

“Alright fine,” Eve said. Yeah, still got it.

“I’ll even introduce you to Lotad once we’re there.” Hopefully he won’t be too annoyed that I've kept him cooped up in either a center or a poke ball for so long.

***

Lotad was ignoring me.

“Look, I’m sorry, but we just got back into town, and I got busy with family stuff, and I didn’t know how chill you would have been in my house, and you’re not really listening to me.” Lotad was making it a point to turn away from me as I talked, but I kept moving to keep myself in view. “Give me another chance, come on.” I was really starting to feel dizzy.

“...tad...” And so was Lotad apparently. He collapsed in a heap and his eyes were spinning.

‘He’s playing up his ‘anger’ to milk sympathy points,’ Emilie said.

“TAD!”

‘And I accidently said that to the group and not just you.’

“Tad! Tad lo lotad.”

‘I am not a narc,’ Emilie shouted. I stopped to think about the last few days.

‘...you kind of are.’ I said through the link.

Emilie clutched her heart.

‘I’m torn. I usually dislike narcs on principle but being the one getting tattled to feels... kind of nice.’

“You’re doing it again.” Eve poked me. “Don’t forget you need to engage with humans too.”

“It’s annoying, isn’t it?” May commiserated. “It’s even worse when she does it in the middle of a conversation. We’ll just be talking about something random and then she’ll suddenly look away and not say anything for five minutes. That’s just rude.”

I sputtered as I failed to think of a proper defense for my actions.

“Now then, did that conversation get documented?” May pulled up the group chat. “It DID! Lotad, that’s sneaky, but unnecessary, Lea caves to everything. Emilie, don’t suck up to Lea so much. Lea, if you go mad with power, I'm dying your hair green.”

“...bet,” I said.

“Tad.”

‘But she has cookies,’ Emilie complained.

May clicked through the two new pings before staring at me like I was deranged.

“Bet? What do you mean ‘bet’!?” May asked.

“Green hair might look cool. Plus, Emilie and I will match! It’s not like my blue hair is any less out there. Green might be fun!” I said.

“I’m best friends with a fashion disaster,” May complained, shaking her head.

“Was this what you were like on the road?” Eve asked as we walked into the gym.

“What do you mean?” May and I both responded at the same time.

“Never mind." Eve pushed past both of us. May and I looked at each other before chasing after her.

“So, why exactly are we meeting up here?” I asked.

“Dad said he wants our help with something,” May replied.

“We’ve been trainers for three days, how much help can we be?” I asked.

May shrugged and I sighed. I waved at Norman’s receptionist as we walked by.

“Where’s Apollo, by the way?” May asked as we went through the first trainer room.

“He wanted to explore the town while we were here. Take in the many illustrious sights Petalburg has to offer,” I said. May snorted.

“Gonna be a short trip.” May commented. Second trainer room.

“Seriously.” Eve agreed. Third room, God why does Norman have so many of these. “So, why doesn’t Lotad have a name? Your other Pokémon have names.”

“I haven’t really gotten around to it yet.” Fourth trainer room. I really wasn’t looking forward to this gauntlet when we came back. “Lotad.” The little guy looked up from the ground to stare at me. “Would you like a nickname?”

“Lotad. Lo Tad.”

‘He doesn’t care as long as it’s not stupid.’ Emilie said.

“As a heads-up little guy, just think what you want to say at Emilie. I can’t understand you, and it’ll make life easier for May and Sergei,” I said.

Lotad nodded and I thought for a minute.

“Would Joern be an okay name?” I asked.

Lotad nodded once. I smiled before resuming a leisurely walk to the next, and hopefully final, door.

“Alright, Emilie, Apollo and Joern. I have no clue what the theme is supposed to be, but whatever works.” Eve smiled before opening the door to the primary stadium.

The field was basic. No rocks to hide behind, no rivers or streams to swim in, just a massive field with a white border and a poke ball in the middle.

I’m starting to wonder if training nothing but Normal-types for years has screwed up Norman’s ability to be interesting.

Norman was on the other side of the arena, talking to a skinny kid with green- was that Wally?!

“Please, Mr. Maple. I know I don’t look like much, but I... I really want-” Yup, that’s Wally. I’d recognize that coughing fit anywhere. What the hell is he doing here?

‘Who’s Wally?’ Emilie asked.

‘Wally stopped by the bakery often enough that I had a decent rapport with him. He was one of the few people that listened to me when I rambled on about Pokémon. We’d commiserate over our inability to leave home.’ I replied. ‘Guess he wants to strike it out on his own. Good for him.’

‘He sounds like he’s dying.’ Emilie said.

‘He’s got asthma. Really bad.’

“Wally, this is half the reason why your family is so concerned about this,” Norman said as Wally pulled out his inhaler and took a deep breath. “This interest in catching a Pokémon seems recent, and your health has been getting worse, not better. I don’t feel comfortable sending you out on your own.”

“But getting out of the city WOULD be helping. Please, Mr. Maple-” Norman raised his hand and Wally stopped talking.

“Calling Petalburg a city has always been a bit of a stretch. The air here isn’t that different to the air on the routes. What if you have an attack while you’re fighting a wild Pokémon?” Norman shook his head. “It’s just too dangerous to send you out on your own. I can’t-”

“Why am I the only one not allowed to make decisions about my life!” Wally shouted. I moved to walk forward and back Wally up but May grabbed my arm and pulled me close enough so that she could whisper in my ear.

“Dad has a plan. Just let this play out for now,” May whispered.

“You sure about that?” I whispered back.

“I’m not saying you can’t leave-”

“You’re just telling me you won’t help me.” Wally interrupted. “I’ll go on the damn route and find myself a partner if I have to.”

"That, however, I can’t allow.” Norman said, his eyes hardened as he stared down at Wally. “It’s far too dangerous to go out there without a Pokémon.”

“Then do your job as the gym leader here and help me get my start-” Wally cut himself off with another coughing fit. He pulled out his inhaler again. Norman got up to help, but Wally backed away.

“Look, Wally... just tell me why you need to go now, alright. You’ve been pounding on our doors for the last three days about this. What brought this on?”

Three days? I... really? Emilie laughed. Wally looked away from Norman.

“I... want to go on a journey,” Wally said.

‘THAT sounds familiar,’ Emilie said.

“I don’t leave the house that often... but I always managed to convince my parents to let me go to the bakery. It’s just a short trip, Mom. I’ll be fine. I just want to grab some muffins for breakfast tomorrow.”

Blueberry, Apple Cinnamon, and Chocolate Chip.

“The clerk there, Lea. She’d always have our order ready for us. We’d always spend a bit of time talking. Sometimes it was about the weather, or something stupid my dad did. She complained about her sister sometimes or talked about a show she was watching. Just mindless stuff, really,” Wally said.

Eve glared at me a bit. I looked away bashfully.

“Sometimes she’d talk about her dad, or Pokémon. I think it varied with her mood, but I always liked talking to her,” Wally finished.

“Sounds like a good friendship,” Norman commented.

“It was close enough, I guess.” Wally said. “I noticed she was really depressed the last couple of weeks. Our conversations got shorter.”

Now Eve looked away.

“I asked her about it, and she said her birthday was coming up. She was turning seventeen soon. I was confused at first, usually people are pretty happy about birthdays.” I winced. “She told me not to worry about it and handed me my muffins,” Wally said, looking down.

Norman laughed.

“Yeah, that sounds like Lea.” What the hell was that supposed to mean, Norman?

‘Nothing, hon, calm down,’ Emilie said.

“Three days ago, I went into the bakery, and for the first time in a long while, I talked to Eve.” Wally looked down. “Lea left home with you and May, right?”

Norman nodded.

“She was quite excited. Are you trying to follow her?” Norman asked.

Wally shook his head no.

“She just inspired me to leave. It was a wakeup call.” Wally looked up at Norman. “I’ve wanted to leave home for a long time. I just always told myself I couldn’t. I think I've had every fear you’ve shouted at me at least once. When I left the bakery three days ago, I realized I was more afraid of spending the rest of my life in this town. I will be leaving. One way or another.”

Norman sighed.

“Guess I can’t really argue with that, now can I.” Yes!

‘Don’t think so loud,’ Emilie complained. ‘Are you crying?’

‘Shut up! I’m not used to stuff like this!’

“I know I'm not physically fit to go on a full journey right now, but I can be. My uncle’s been trying to get me to come down to Verdunturf for months. I know it’s not quite the full trainer experience, but... it’s something.” Wally said.

“Verdunturf Town, huh?” Norman asked.

“Yes, sir.” Wally nodded. “The air around Verdunturf is much better. They say the fields give the air an almost healing quality, thanks to the Roselia that live nearby. Maybe they’ll help me get well enough to make a proper run of Hoenn, maybe they won’t, but I... please, sir.”

Norman peered down at Wally.

“The journey to Verdunturf isn’t easy. Petalburg Woods is a rather daunting task, and Rustboro will not be kind to you. I don’t think you can tackle that on your own as a new trainer.” Wally shrunk down more and more as Norman continued to talk. “Furthermore, I will not be able to take time off from work to help you catch a starter. I’ve got a large amount of work to catch up on, and more than a few challengers to face in the days to come. I can’t get away from the gym.”

I didn’t like where this was going.

“I understa-”

“However, I do have something else lined up, if you’re willing.” Norman smiled before lifting his head up and smiling our way. “Assuming they agree to it, I’m sure May and Lea would be happy to help you. Say hello girls.”

Wally whipped around and stared at the two of us in a mix of fear, happiness, and embarrassment. He opened and closed his mouth several times before blushing bright red and looking away.

“Hi Wally.” I waved awkwardly. “I guess we’re helping you catch your starter.”

May sighed.

***

“We’re on Route 102. Again,” I deadpanned.

“I really am grateful for this.” Wally simpered.

I didn’t care. I was busy giving May a glare that would make Eve proud.

“We’re on Route 102, for the third time in three days. Why couldn’t we find him something on Route 104?”

May ignored me. This was payback for spacing out with Emilie so much, wasn’t it?

“I’m tired of this Route, May. It’s boring, long, and filled with obnoxious Zigzagoon,” I complained, and May continued to ignore me with a smile on her face.

As if to prove my point, two of the little bastards hopped out of the bush and growled at us.

“For fucks sake. Apollo, Joern, Water Gun. Emilie, Confusion,” I ordered.

All three of them looked about as done with the species as I was. The two Water Guns ran parallel to each other at first, but the Confusion melded the attacks into a massive water ball that moved about twice as fast. The attack impacted the ground in front of the Zigzagoon and a massive water shockwave blasted them into the tree line. All four of us stared, mouths agape, at the carnage we had just unleashed.

“They did not deserve that,” May commented.

I didn’t even respond. I just whipped out a notepad and wrote down the combo attack as something to work on later. It wasn’t something I could ever use in a gym battle, but that was still too cool to not make a note of. Hmm... but what to name it...

“That was SO COOL!” Wally practically shouted. Almost right in my ear too. Why is everyone trying to give me hearing damage? “I’ve never seen a water attack do that before.”

“I’m pretty sure the water explosion was Emilie’s confusion reacting weirdly with the water guns,” I said aloud. “I wonder how something like that would stack up to a stronger water attack.”

“So, your Ralts caused that?” Wally gave Emilie an awed look before looking at the route with a renewed sense of purpose. “I think I know what I want to catch. Er... well, have you catch. If you don’t mind, that is...”

Huh, I think Emilie just got a fan boy.

‘I like him.’ Emilie said.

‘Of course you like him,’ I replied.

‘I will not have you bad mouthing my fan base.’ Emilie glared at me.

‘You don’t have a fan base. You have a fan. Singular.’ I complained.

‘For now.’ Emilie said, a cocky grin on her face. I sighed before turning back to Wally.

“Well, at least you have good taste. Granted, that’s going to make finding your starter a pain in the ass.” I sighed before telling Apollo to scout the area. “Also, I got lucky. Emilie is probably a bit stronger than the average Ralts around here. You might have to work at it a bit to get your starter up to snuff.”

‘Is it really luck when you consider what all you had to go through to get me?’ Emilie probed. I smiled.

‘It’s closer, but I’d still say yes,’ I replied. Emilie blushed and turned away.

“I don’t mind,” Wally confirmed.

‘Apollo found something.’ Emilie said after Wally’s confirmation.

‘Wow, that was quick. I thought you all were supposed to be rare finds out here.’ I said, eyebrow raised.

‘W e are. I’m surprised he found... oh, not that idiot. I’m telling Apollo to keep looking. Wally can do better than this goofball.’ A sour look crossed Emilie’s features.

‘No, we’re catching this Ralts and we’re blazing a path through Petalburg Woods. I want to get this done and over with so I can square off against a gym leader. Oh, that fight is going to be so cool!’ I paused. ‘After saying goodbye to Eve, of course.’

‘Of course,’ Emilie sarcastically barbed. ‘Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

“Alright, Apollo’s found something. Let’s go get Wally his starter.” I ran into the field.

“Hey, wait for me,” May screamed.

“Wait, oh god, I hate running.”

I Ignored them both and sprinted to the area Apollo was circling.

‘What do ya think, Joern. Up for your first battle?’ No response, I looked down and noticed my new teammate was nowhere to be seen. ‘What the?’

‘Joern didn’t feel the need to rush. He also says sure,’ Emilie said.

I slowed down to a brisk walk.

‘Don’t suppose you could just teleport him to us, huh?’ I asked. Emilie scrunched her face up in disgust.

‘I’m not even going to attempt group teleportation again until I've evolved. You can be patient for once in your life,’ Emilie said.

‘But I don’t want to, ’ I whined.

‘Hark, do mine eyes deceive me, or has my noble maiden graced me with her presence once more.’ This new voice was rather different from the voice I was used to, and that fact immediately made me scan the area.

‘Trust me, it’s not by choice, you deranged whack job,’ Emilie shouted. It took me a second to realize that I was getting secondhand telepathy again.

‘Nay, I believe it to be divine providence. The gods saw fit to let us meet once more.’

Ah, so they knew each other, and this new guy was hammy enough to give Apollo’s sailor routine a run for his money.

‘But what’s this. You appear to have gained a new company since I’ve last had the good fortune to gaze upon your breathtaking visage. Hello, my lady. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Sir Gawain, a knight of the realm, at your service.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and I just started laughing.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I needed that. I’m Lea, I see you already know Emilie, the Wingull flying overhead is Apollo, and...’ Joern slowly walked into the clearing, followed by two very irate trainers. ‘This is Joern, the Lotad, May, my best friend, and Wally, my charge.’

‘Please don’t encourage him,’ Emilie begged

‘How the hell can I not?’ I asked. ‘I have been tasked with finding a partner for my charge. Though his body has failed him, his spirit remains unbroken, and he seeks adventure beyond his humble hamlet. He stood before his liege lord’s judgment and was found to have the drive to venture forth. I believe you to be an excellent choice.’ Oh, this was fun.

‘Please stop,’ Emilie begged.

‘Never.’ I replied.

‘Hmm... I see the boy’s heart is in the right place, but there is a sliver of doubt. I am unsure if this is the liege lord I have sought. You say this squire is your charge?’ Sir Gawain asked, staring down in thought. ‘Might I see this lad’s resolve for myself. Nothing dangerous, just a test of valor. I’m sure anyone who has earned Lady Emilie’s loyalty is someone that I can trust, but as a knight of the realm, I must be sure that my liege lord is someone of impeccable virtue.’

I turned towards Joern.

‘I don’t mind not fighting the Chunni,’ Joern said.

‘Emilie, stop teaching the new captures human insults,’ I ordered. Emilie looked anywhere but my face and I turned back to Sir Gawain.

‘Stop saying Sir in your head. This whack job is not a knight. He has never been a knight. He’s probably never going to be a knight,’ Emilie seethed.

“Hope you weren’t set on a name, cause this one comes with one. Sir Gawain would like to test you, Wally. Nothing dangerous but pass muster and he’ll be your partner,” I explained.

“Oh, uh... sure. I’ll give it a shot,” Wally said.

May looked up from Sergei and gave me a look. I smiled back and waved, and she just pinched the bridge of her nose.

‘Hmm... let’s see. Ah, your charge isn’t as adept as you in the mind arts. That makes this a bit difficult, but still doable.’

Adept?

‘I’m doing my job and shielding your mind. He’s only picking up what you want him to hear. To the wannabe knight, you look like a budding psychic. Considering the fact that I'm training you in the psychic arts, he’s not actually that far off,’ Emilie explained. Huh, neat.

Gawain disappeared in a flash, before reforming on Wally’s shoulder.

“What the-” Wally cut himself off as Gawain put his hand on Wally’s head.

‘Now then, Lady Lea, would you mind translating for me?’ Gawain asked. I hesitantly nodded.

“Do you, Wally, swear to stand by a code of honor befitting a knight?” I repeated. I couldn’t help but smile as May face-palmed.

“You cannot be serious. Why can we not find a normal Pokémon?” May groaned. It took Wally a second, but he raised his hand above his head and smiled.

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to fight for those that can’t fight for themselves, to travel the realms and provide aid to any who might need it.” Oh, this was so cute. All this crap coming from a tiny little Ralts was adorable.

“I swear.”

“Do you, and this is the most important oath, swear to get me an everstone once I evolve until you find a dawn stone.” I couldn’t help it at this point. The second I finished, I burst out laughing.

“I swear.”

‘His words hold true. I can accept this boy as my trainer.’ Gawain shouted.

“Then, by the power vested in me by the Gym Leader of Petalburg City, I now pronounce you trainer and starter.” I chucked an empty Poke Ball at Wally, who floundered a bit before catching it. “You may throw the Poke Ball,” I said.

“Right.” Wally tapped the poke ball against Sir Gawain’s head. The ball clicked instantly.

‘It was a brilliant service, Lea. Truly.’ Emilie mock wiped her eyes. ‘Almost brought me to tears.’

“If the whole trainer thing doesn’t work out, you have a bright future as a Minister,” May tacked on.

“Fuck you and Emilie. That was funny. Now then, let’s get off this stupid Zigzagoon infested route.” I all but dragged Wally and May back towards Petalburg. “Go, go, go!”

***

“That was fast.” Norman looked at Sir Gawain’s poke ball. “You went out and caught a Ralts in under an hour?”

“Yup.” I grinned. “To be fair, this Ralts is a bit of an oddball, and he knew Emilie, so he was fairly chill from the start.”

‘I do not know him. I occasionally tolerate his presence. Usually against my will,’ Emilie corrected.

“Well, you have your starter. I’ll go get the rest of your paperwork signed, get you your trainer’s license, and send you on your way. It might take me a sec, because I honestly thought that would take longer.” Norman left through the back of the arena.

“So, uh... look, I know this all got foisted on you last second, but really, I can’t thank you two enough.” Wally looked away from us as he finished.

“Thank Lea, I really didn’t do anything.” May tossed out and shot me a small glare.

“You provided moral support?” May’s glare got more intense. “You do realize this doesn’t work anymore, right?”

May turned away from me and swore. Wally chuckled nervously.

“At any rate though, I know you’ve already done a lot, but I have one more favor to ask. Would you two mind if I tagged along with you through Petalburg Woods?” Wally asked.

“Honestly, another set of hands for that would just be very helpful.” May latched on to the idea before I could even say anything. “That forest is going to be a nightmare.”

“Are they that bad? I just figured it’d be like 102,” I said. May shook her head.

“The woods are probably going to be extra rough for you, Lea. Bugs screw with psychics something fierce, and although both of your water types are uniquely qualified to handle grass types, Apollo’s the only one with good offensive options. The dense trees are also going to make it hard for Apollo to do any worthwhile scouting. We’re really going to have to pay attention to what we’re doing, or we’ll walk face first into a swarm of Dustox.” May shivered. “Add in the fact that the trip through takes about two days, and-”

“Happy to have you aboard, Wally.” I looked down at my three poke balls before palming Apollo’s ball. I’d been using him to scout since I got him, but I realized now that I hadn’t really done much to help him grow as my partner. I think I've been focusing on Emilie too much. It made sense. I leaned on her a lot right now.

If the woods were going to be as rough as May said, I needed to work on Apollo’s endurance as much as I could before we dived in. A one and done Aerial Ace wouldn’t help much in a gauntlet.

“While I'm thinking of it, we should probably add Wally and Gawain to the group chat," May said.

“Group chat? Are there going to be more than just us going into the forest?” Wally tilted his head as May pulled out Sergei. “And how are you adding a Pokémon to a group chat? I’m not sure if Gawain can even read.” Oh, you sweet summer child.

“The joys of haunted technology. Make sure he’s put in as SIR Gawain. He probably worked hard for that title,” I said, grinning at the homicidal glare Emilie was sending my way.

‘Hmmm... what’s that you say? You trust Gawain enough that I can lower the mental shield?’ Emilie said malevolently.

‘I think we should give it a few more days to make sure he’s on the up and up, but after that I don’t see a problem with it,’ I said, looking forward to the knightly dialogue.

‘...I seriously just threatened someone that can’t feel fear.’ Emilie sighed.

‘Yup. Not your brightest moment.’ I said with a grin.

***

“Do you have everything?” Eve asked.

“For the fifth time, yes.” I groaned. “What gives? You weren’t this worried a couple days ago.”

“A couple days ago, you were leaving for a couple days. Now you’re leaving for probably months. I’m going to mother hen you right now and you can’t stop me. Now shut up and give me a hug,” Eve said, her arms open.

I leaned in for a quick hug and was pulled into a vice grip.

“Air...” No response. “Eve...” She let’s go.

“Don’t forget to call and stay safe. Love you,” Eve said, her eyes slightly misty.

For a second, I felt emotions that weren’t mine. Worry, regret, pain...

Love.

“I... love you too,” I forced out. A smile briefly spread across my face. I made tracks for the door and frowned as a familiar weight teleported onto my shoulder.

‘Ready to go?’ Emilie asked. She frowned at my glare. ‘What’s up? I haven’t done anything for you to be mad at me yet.’

“What was that in there?” I asked.

Emilie tilted her head, looking lost.

‘What was what?’ Emilie asked.

‘That thing with my sister. We were trading goodbyes, and right when she said I love you... it was like I felt what she was feeling. I assumed that was you,’ I said.

Emilie shook her head.

‘Nope. I can’t feel another psychic in the general area either.’

My eyes trailed toward the ground as I mulled that loaded statement around in my head. Did I just imagine it?

‘Nah, you’re just enjoying the passive benefits of being partnered with an empath. I’m almost constantly in your head, your brain is... picking up a few new tricks.’

“What?!”

‘My mom told me about this. When she traveled with her trainer, they formed a bond like the one we share. That trainer could eventually feel the emotions of the people and Pokémon around him.’ Emilie frowned. ‘It took a lot longer for him to manifest that ability though. Maybe your... incident... is speeding things up?’

I had started walking towards the western gate about halfway through Emilie’s explanation.

“So, what you’re saying is you’re giving me superpowers?” I asked aloud. “I’ll take it. Ya know, for all the issues your mom attacking me has caused, it’s certainly made a lot of things a hell of a lot easier.” I thought for a bit. “So, those were Eve’s emotions, then?”

Emilie nodded.

“They... were fairly intense,” I said, my voice sounding far away to my own ears.

‘They are.’ Emilie said. ‘Your sister’s emotions are potent. She doesn’t show it often, but...’

‘She really does love me, huh? ’ I whispered. Most of the horrible thoughts I had been dealing with earlier started to fade, and I felt a bit lighter as I walked. ‘I take back what I said, Emilie. What I'm learning from you... it really is amazing.’

Emilie smiled.

‘Thanks. I’m happy you think that,’ Emilie said.

Wally and May were already at the gate, and I waved as I got closer. “You guys ready?”

“Should we really be leaving now? It’s already pretty late into the afternoon.” Wally looked between the two of us nervously.

May and I just nodded.

“We’re sure,” May said. “Assuming you’re ready to go? We are leaving right after catching your starter. I’d understand if you wanted-”

“I’ve been packed for the last two days. I’m a bit nervous about leaving home, but it’s probably better to leave now and not give my family time to rethink this.” Wally turned and started walking, leading the charge out the gate.

Route 104, here we come.

Chapter Text

“Apollo, stay close by,” I shouted as I released him. I turned towards May, who already had Sergei up. “How far out is the stupid forest?”

“We’ll be at the routed entrance by the end of the day. There’s a rest stop and port near the entrance that we can stay at. I figure we can crash there for the night and tackle the forest tomorrow,” May said. “Sergei, I’ll let you navigate this time.”

The phone started levitating out of May’s hands and took the lead.

“Sweet, in that case. Apollo, Emilie, I’ve got an idea for a joint training session,” I said with a grin.

My smile brokered different reactions from both of my Pokémon. Emilie was smiling back, and Apollo was shrinking away from the both of us.

'I’m being fixed up to walk the plank, aren’t I? Alright lass, what do you got for me?’ Apollo asked.

“Well, since your primary issue right now is stamina, I thought I’d have you fly while fighting through a low-level confusion.”

Apollo looked at me like I belonged in a mental ward.

‘I’ll keep it weak and amp it up as needed, Apollo. Manipulating living creatures at my level is... almost impossible. I was trying my best to pull you to us when we caught you, and you still almost got away,’ Emilie explained.

Apollo hesitantly nodded.

“If you really don’t want to do this, Apollo. I can think of something else. This just felt like the fastest way to work on Emilie’s power and your endurance at the same time.”

‘...It’s fine, Cap. I’m just not used to training... really at all,’ Apollo said. ‘I ain’t never shied away from a challenge, though. Hit me, lass.’

Emilie’s eyes glowed and Apollo sunk for a brief second before righting himself.

‘Wow, that’s a bit of a head rush,’ Emilie said.

May looked at us nervously.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to be training like this on route? We could still get jumped by wild Pokémon, you know?” I smiled at May.

“That’s what I have you for!” I said. “And Wally too, I guess.”

“What do you mean, you guess?” Wally asked.

May just sighed and grabbed her Poke Balls. Samie and Suzaku appeared in a blinding flash of light.

“I mean May knew what to do with minimal prompting. Get your head in the game and let Sir Gawain out to play,” I said, grinning at May cheekily.

May glared at me.

“You’re lucky I’m enjoying the battling experience you’re giving me,” May said.

“Right, uh... Go, Gawain!” I put my hand on my face and looked away as Wally fumbled with the ball. He finally released Gawain, who took a brief look around before dropping to a kneeling position in front of Wally.

‘My liege.’ He teleported to Wally’s shoulder shortly thereafter.

“So, as a heads up.” I cut in before Gawain could say anything else. “Call outs on release are always lame.”

“Yup!” May agreed. “It also doesn’t really do anything. Pokémon are aware of what goes on outside of the Poke Ball. It was a trend in Kanto for a bit because that region let ten-year-olds go off on their own into the field.”

“Nerd,” I said.

May smiled malevolently at me as Samie suddenly decided to stop in front of me. I tripped and took a nose dive into the ground.

“Thank you, Samie,” May said, her smile turning genuine as she stared down at me.

“No call outs, got it,” Wally said, disregarding us entirely.

‘Captain, out of idle curiosity, how long are we doing this? ’ Apollo asked.

“Till one of you is too tired to do it anymore.” I replied, slowly pulling myself up from the ground.

‘You’re a slave driver, captain.’ Apollo sighed.

‘I’m just going to focus on this, Lea. This... is a lot harder than I thought,’ Emilie said.

I nodded. Wally looked between us nervously as he looked out across the field.

“I’m... really not sure about training in the field like this, Lea. I kind of agree with May,” Wally said. “What if we’re attacked?”

“Meh, May kicks butt too. It’s fine. I still have Joern as well. Speaking of...” I released Joern, picked him up, and rested him on my head. “Joern, I have a special training regimen for you as well. I call it target practice. Fire a low powered water gun at Apollo whenever the notion strikes you. Apollo, we’ll work on your dodging while we’re doing this.”

Joern shouted once in glee and Apollo almost crashed into the ground.

“Fine, I guess I’ll handle route cleanup for today. Again.” May sighed. “Suzaku, Samie, stay close and keep an eye out for trouble.”

Suzaku nodded once and started looking along the sides of the road for movement. Samie... blankly stared forward as he walked. Don’t know what I was expecting, really.

Joern fired and Apollo barely flew to the left of the stream.

‘So... what all are you doing to this poor bird?’ Gawain asked.

‘Torture. She’s torturing the poor bird,’ Apollo complained.

Joern took the opportunity to fire a shot that rang true.

‘Sink me, that water is cold.’

“Physical conditioning,” I pointed at Apollo. “Mental conditioning,” I pointed at Emilie. “and aim and vindication.” I pointed up at Joern. “Also, Wally, get your phone out, you’re missing most of the conversation.”

“Right! Uh... sorry.” Wally started checking his pockets.

‘Lady Lea is a harsh taskmaster indeed,’ Gawain muttered.

“There we go.” Wally grinned as he thumbed through the chat room. “Yeah, Lea’s training looks a bit... insane, huh?”

“Look, I figured this would be a good way to boost endurance. Emilie and Apollo can already do awesome stuff, they just don’t have the stamina to do it more than once a fight.” I looked over Apollo as he veered to the left of another water gun. “Like I said, if you want to do something else, Apollo-”

‘Nah, this is about as fun as the crow's nest, but I'll take it if it lets me tough out multiple Arial Aces.’

‘Pushing confusion like this is something I've never done before.’ Emilie sounded strained over the link. ‘I’ll adapt.’

Another jet of water hit its mark.

‘That said, enough with the damn barrel shooting!’ Apollo shouted.

“Fine, Joern, no more target practice.” I ordered.

‘Aww...’ I felt Joern sag in sadness.

“So... is it normal to fill out your team this fast?” Wally asked. “It’s only been three days, and Lea has half her team ironed out.”

“It’s not uncommon for people to be at two Pokémon for their first badge. Lea wanted a Lotad, and Emilie wanted a Wingull,” May explained. “Don’t feel pressured to catch something just because Lea’s trigger happy.”

“Oy, all three of my Pokémon are awesome, so buzz off. Joern here almost managed to take down Apollo, and that’s with a disadvantage. Apollo knows Aerial Ace and is amazing at finding stuff for us. Emilie... is Emilie.” I beamed as I thought about how lucky I was to find these three.

“Still not as cool as Samie,” May cut in.

“Samie can’t talk,” I dryly pointed out.

“I found a rare Pokémon not native to our area at the bottom of an ancient, abandoned ruin. I win,” May smugly declared.

I glared at her before staring at our newest addition.

“Nah, Wally won. He found the second best Ralts on the route in under an hour,” I said.

‘Sir Gawain is second to none.’ Oh god he’s talking about himself in the third person. Make it stop.

‘I tried to warn you,’ Emilie said. Apollo quickly gained a bit of altitude as Emilie’s focus wavered.

“Second be-” Wally ended up cutting himself off as he started coughing. Violently. We waited a couple of seconds, and eventually, Wally pulled out an inhaler.

“You alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine. It’s getting better the further out from the city we get.”

Wally shoved his inhaler back into his pocket. I wasn’t sure how much I believed him.

“Really, don’t worry about it.” Wally waved off my unvoiced worry.

“If you’re sure...” May trailed off.

“Positive. Now than, what the heck do you mean second best?” Wally shot a cocky glare my way. Oh, you sweet summer child.

“I mean that Emilie could wipe the floor with Gawain eight ways to Sunday, blindfolded, with both arms tied behind her back,” I bragged, easing back into the more fun banter.

‘Accurate, but it doesn’t count cause technically she lives on Route 110. I’m the champion of Route 102,’ Gawain said.

“I’m sorry, you teleported us how far when we first met?” I said, turning to stare at Emilie in shock.

Emilie blushed and looked away, and I had to fight back a laugh as Apollo rapidly gained altitude again into a low hanging tree branch.

‘Oi. You scared me, okay?’ Emilie played with the hem of her... skirt? Was that a skirt or part of her skin? ‘Please stop thinking such embarrassing questions,’ Emilie begged, her face bright red.

“You want to prove that claim?” Wally asked. Ooh he wanted a fight; this’ll be so much fun!

“I’d be happy-”

“Nope,” May denied. “Gawain is your only Pokémon right now, Wally. Win or lose, Gawain will get hurt. Then we’ll have to go back to Petalburg, and then it really will be too late for us to leave.”

“Aww... I wanted to have my first battle,” Wally whined.

“Tell you what, I’ll kick Gawain’s butt once we get to Rustboro,” I said.

“Sweet!” Wally responded, before suddenly frowning. “Wait...”

“Though speaking of Gawain being your only mon, do you have any idea who you’d want for a second?” I asked.

May glared at me.

“Don’t pressure the newbie!” May chastised.

“We’ve been training for three days, May. I’d hardly call us veterans either. I was just curious if any Pokémon caught Wally’s fancy,” I said.

“You make it sound like I’m looking for a girlfriend,” Wally joked. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I just thought I’d wing it and catch whatever caught my interest and wanted to come along.” Wally looked around the route. “Though I am a bit surprised nothing’s tried to attack us. We’ve been-”

“ZIGZAGOON!” I groaned. Three Zigzagoon launched themselves at us from the tree line to a shared war cry.

“You had to say something. Joern use...” I stopped mid-sentence as the ground began to shake. The earth cracked outward from Samie’s mouth as trees started to sway and crack. The offending Zigzagoon swayed briefly, unable to move, before getting swallowed up by the ground as it split beneath them.

“Pinch.”

“Good job Samie. Excellent work, I didn’t even have to say anything,” May gushed.

“PINCH!” Samie ran up to May and nuzzled her leg again.

“Like you would even know to order... that. What the hell was that, even?” I asked.

“GOON!” Another Zigzagoon rushed out of the bush and bull rushed May.

“Gawain-”

‘Already on it, my liege.’ I heard a bit of creaking and turned to see a branch being pulled back. Gawain released his hold on it, the branch swung, and-

“GOON.”

Homerun! The Zigzagoon was sent flying across the field, rolled a few times, and slammed into a tree. He slowly pulled himself to his feet. Suzaku was already on him before he could rise to full height.

‘You. Will. Not. Hurt. May. You. Stupid. Dog!’ Each word was punctuated with an attack.

I shot Emilie an amused glance.

‘Translating is slowly becoming an automated process for my brain,’ Emilie explained.

‘Riiiight,’ I thought.

“Ena.” An angry looking Poochyena launched from the bushes and bit Suzaku. Hard. A loud chirp echoed in my ears.

“Suzaku!” May cried out. “Ember, get that thing off you anyway you can.” Suzaku continued to chirp in pain and didn’t react. “Samie, make the ground shake!”

“Pinch!” Samie complied and slammed his mouth into the ground again. The earth once again came to heel and moved, though this time it wasn’t as severe. Poochyena braced his legs on the ground before letting go of Suzaku and backing away from us.

“Gawain, teleport in and get Suzaku away from that mutt,” Wally shouted.

“Joern, rapid fire Razor Leaf. Give Gawain some covering fire,” I ordered.

‘At once.’ Gawain said before disappearing.

Gawain teleported in right next to Suzaku as Joern pelted the area between them with leaves. Gawain teleported Suzaku to May.

“Lea-”

“Here,” I said, tossing her a potion that I had already pulled from my bag.

May sprayed down Suzaku’s bite wound. It didn’t look that deep, and a sigh of relief left my lips as Suzaku opened her eyes and quickly looked around the area.

‘Let me at him! The bastard got off a cheap shot!’ Suzaku rambled.

“I think Suzaku’s picking up your mouth, May,” I said. May grabbed Suzaku and held her close.

“Don’t put yourself out in the open like that again, alright?” May said.

Suzaku nodded hesitantly. I looked back to where the Poochyena was and groaned. He hightailed it.

“Uh, guys? What happened to all the Zigzagoon?” Wally said, pointing towards the now empty clearing.

“Eh?” I frowned. “Wow, I thought those things were down for the count.” I thought for a second. “Hey, May, is it just me, or did that feel more... coordinated than usual?”

“I think you might be a bit paranoid, Lea. The Zigzagoon had to get the drop on us at some point.” May shoved the spray bottle into her bag and held Suzaku close as she stood up.

“But that felt planned. The first few Zigzagoon were bait, then another one shows up and bulrushes you, and the second one of our Pokémon separated themselves from the rest of the group, it gets mauled.” I waved my hands toward the clearing. “And they all just vanish once we regroup. I feel like we got ambushed,” I said.

‘Uh, Lea?’ I heard Emilie’s voice ring in my head, her voice sounding a tinge strained.

“What’s up, Emilie?” I turned toward Emilie, who had at some point teleported down to the ground.

‘They didn’t all get away.’ Emilie dragged a single Zigzagoon from beyond the tree line. ‘He tried to tear your pack open while you were focusing on the others.’

‘No fair. Want stuff. Boss said get stuff.’ I heard.

“I’m guessing that’s what he’s thinking?” I asked Emilie.

‘Yup. This one wasn’t a part of the advanced party. I think it was trying to take stuff in the confusion.’

“So, we almost got mugged by Pokémon. Weird,” May said, looking away from Sergei.

“What do we do with this guy then?” Wally asked. “I don’t really want to catch him, but I don’t really want to let him go back to his gang either.”

“There’s a Ranger Station by the forest, we could just take him with us, and drop him off. We should probably let them know about this, too,” May reasoned.

“What are they going to do? Yell at the wild Pokémon for attacking humans on the road?” I asked.

“Better than nothing,” May shrugged.

‘Lea, he’s...’ Emilie got cut off as Zigzagoon broke free of her confusion, headbutted her, and scrambled into the forest. ‘Ow.’

I rushed over to look at her head before wincing.

“That’ll leave a bruise,” I said. I reached into my bag for another potion.

Save the spray, I’ll be fine. Only thing hurt is my pride.’ Emilie mumbled.

“Zu?” Everyone looked toward the new noise. A small blue Pokémon was bouncing on its tail out of the bushes. “Azurill.”

I looked down towards Emilie, a bit surprised and worried she didn’t automatically translate. I pulled my potion out and sprayed Emilie’s head, chuckling as she waved her hands in front of her.

“Are you feeling up to translating?” I asked Emilie.

‘She said hi and asked if we’re okay,’ Emilie grouched.

“We’re a little banged up, but we’ll live. Thanks though,” I responded.

“Zu...” The Azurill whined. “Zu ril Azurill.”

‘She’s worried about what that pack’s planning,’ Emilie said, rubbing her forehead.

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ I frowned. Her just translating like this and not making a mental dialogue was a bit of a red flag.

I’m FINE!’ Her stressing the word fine didn’t really reassure me. ‘I’m just having trouble focusing like I usually do, okay. It’s making it hard to multitask,’ Emilie said.

“Well, if you’re sure...” I trailed off before focusing on the Azurill. “Do those guys cause a lot of trouble on the route?”

“Zu rill Zu rill. Azu azu rill.” She nodded her head yes as she said that.

‘They’re part of a larger pack that’s been causing trouble in the area. Something about a new pack leader?’

That didn’t sound good. That implied a repeat performance of what we just dealt with.

“Azurill Azu. Ril rill rill.”

‘She’s also saying the pack’s been making it difficult for other Pokémon to move freely on the route. She hasn’t been able to get back to the ocean, ’ Emilie translated.

‘Is this her way of subtly tugging on our heart strings for us to escort her there?’ I asked Emilie. She nodded, and I sighed.

‘Nay, we would be happy to come to your aid, young one. These scoundrels shan't lay a paw on you, rest assured.’ Well, Gawain’s down. Azurill giggled at his pledge and bounced a few times on her tail.

“The ocean’s next to the forest, right?” I asked May.

“Yup. Let me guess, she wants to tag along?” May smiled down at the little gal. “I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Ditto,” Wally confirmed.

Though Emilie, you are getting a full dose of potion.” May said, Sergei floating just in view. “No tough girl routine.”

‘Fine.’ Emilie groaned.

“Alright, everyone. Be ready for another ambush though. Azurill said that was only part of the pack, so be ready. I dunno about you, but I am not losing to a bunch of Zigzagoon and Poochyena,” I said. Everyone in the clearing nodded.

We pushed on.

***

“Girls, I’m really starting to get sick of Zigzagoon,” Wally said. Vindication.

“See, May? My feelings toward the species are completely justified. I don’t have a problem,” I said, smiling at Wally.

“There’s a difference, Wally formed this completely rational disdain after beating back four different ambushes in under an hour. You started looking up the best uses for Zigzagoon fur on Sergei after the second day on the road.” May said in a deadpan tone. “These two things are not the same!” Her voice rose in pitch as she finished.

“Sound the same to me,” I said.

“You need help,” May argued.

“My therapist agrees with me.” I waved a hand towards Emilie.

‘Zigzagoon are the enemy,’ Emilie muttered.

“See!” I yelled.

May just rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

“Whatever, we’ve almost reached the beach. There’s a ranger station by the entrance to the woods. We can tell them about this. For now, grit your teeth, square your shoulders, and march,” May said. “And for all that is good in the world, Samie, stop playing with the damn Poochyena and use Magnitude. I can deal with the shaking ground, just knock that thing out.”

“Pinch!” Samie raised its jaw and slammed it into the ground. That was one good thing that came of this, Samie figured out how to make the ground shake and do it consistently.

That was a good thing, right?

Emilie swiveled her hand from side to side, I was inclined to agree as I braced myself against a tree.

The Poochyena was a fair bit less fortunate, as the ground directly below it opened, trapping it in a small pit and knocking the poor bastard out.

‘You needn’t worry yourself, my lady. We’re almost to the ocean. You can leave this whole mess behind.’ Gawain had taken to staying close to Azurill and fending off any attacks that may have strayed too close.

‘Thanks Mr. Knight. I can’t wait to tell mommy about our adventure together!’ He also soaked up praise and compliments from the small child like a sponge at a pool party.

I groaned as three more Poochyena hopped out from behind the bushes. Fucking Dark types.

“Screw this. Joern, Apollo, Emilie, I know we haven’t practiced this yet, but Water Bullet. Send those mutts packing,” I ordered.

Apollo flew down low and lined the shot up with Joern, and Emilie raised her hands as the water guns flew toward the mutts. It wasn’t as devastating as our first accidental success, but the resulting shockwave sent all three flying.

The second we got to Rustboro I was hitting their training fields hard. I had so much I wanted to work on.

Once everything settled, the clearing was silent, and I counted about five Zigzagoon and four Poochyena down for the count.

“We good?” May asked worriedly.

Suzaku and Samie both looked exhausted, and May wasn’t looking much better. Her skirt was slightly torn at the hem from where she dived to avoid an earlier attack, and her right arm had gotten a bit scraped up.

“I think so.” I eased up a bit and Apollo landed on my shoulder and relaxed.

‘These raiding parties are a workout. This sailor needs a break,” Apollo said.

“No kidding. We’re almost home free though, so-”

A single, loud bark rang in the clearing, and my heart plummeted into my stomach as I looked up to see a large, black dog standing in the middle of the path. This thing was massive, easily three times the size of all the things we had fought so far, and it was growling as it approached.

The alpha had come out to play.

“Fuck, May-”

“On it, Samie, Magnitude, get it off balance. Suzaku, Ember, rapid fire and stay the hell away from it.” Both Pokémon groaned but obeyed.

“Apollo, take to the sky and take pot shots when you can, I do not want you getting close to that thing. Emilie, the damn things a Dark-Type, so direct psychic attacks won’t work, but you can still send stones. Joern, I need you to be on watch. If that thing gets close to the squishy humans, we’re probably screwed, so pelt its path with razor leaf, fire off water gun, do whatever you can to keep it off us.” I gritted my teeth as both Emilie and Apollo took off.

“Gawain, try and keep everyone out of harm's way if you can. Teleport someone out if they’re in trouble.” Wally ordered.

All at once the Mightyena moved at a speed that I could barely track, and it made a bee line for the weakest links.

The squishy humans.

Samie’s claw impacted the ground, and the Mightyena had to stop about two thirds of the way to us to hold its balance. Unfortunately, so did I, and my stumble threw off Joern’s aim a bit. Thankfully, Gawain took note, and course corrected half of the leaves with confusion. The mutt barely even flinched, but it was still holding its ground as Sammie slammed the ground again. This time, the tremors felt worse, and the Mightyenna knelt briefly as it got pelted on all sides. I know they weren’t doing much, but the sheer number of attacks had to be doing something to the hell hound.

Our luck finally crapped out when Samie’s third slam barely did anything. The Mightyena seized its chance and closed the rest of the distance between me and it.

‘Get down!’ Gawain teleported to me and I felt a familiar pull as the world shifted around me. I almost threw up as I had a front row seat to see Mightyena bite into the open air as it jumped through the area I had been. It cast a hateful gaze towards Gawain’s collapsed form.

Wally scrambled for his Poke Ball and recalled the downed knight as Joern fired off a single seed while the Mightyena was distracted. Brilliant little lily pad.

The seed bloomed immediately on contact, and the vines very quickly started to grow into Mightyena’s skin. They glowed a faint red, and Mightyena turned toward me at a much slower rate than it had before, the vines pulling at his legs. Its eyes pierced into mine in a look that promised death and pain.

I had the sudden desire to tell the dog to fuck off. Emilie quickly said through the link that this would be a bad idea.

Samie’s claw struck the ground for a fourth time, and this one felt worse than any of the previous crashes. The ground in front of me violently ruptured and I struggled to back away in time. The Mightyena was at the center of this massive explosion of earth and rock, and for the first time in the fight, I heard it whine out in pain as it lost footing and fell through the ground.

This was our chance.

“Joern, Apollo, Emilie, let’s do this one more time. Water bullet,” I ordered.

We didn’t get the chance to fire while it was trapped. Mightyena leapt from the crater and made a mad dash for Samie before either of my water types could get into position. It was slower than before, but neither Samie nor May had a chance to react before the mutt bit into Trapinch and threw it across the clearing.

May recalled him. The Mightyena winced as the Leech seed dug deeper into its skin, and my Pokémon capitalized. The combo attack screamed across the clearing with the weight of a freight train, slamming into Mightyena before exploding outwards, sending it careening towards a tree.

The impact cracked the fucking tree.

The damn thing got back up, how the fuck did it get back up.

It was panting hard, it made a point to not put any weight on one of its back legs, and there was a gash in its side, but the damn thing still got up.

Using its good legs, the beast jumped toward me.

“Aerial Ace, now!” I shouted, already pulling out Apollo’s ball. He’d be spent after this, not a doubt in my mind. My brave sailor disappeared, before slamming into Mightyena mid-jump. The dog opened its mouth and gave a raspy whine as it tried to suck in a breath, and both Pokémon free falled back toward the ground. I returned Apollo before he made contact, hoping to avoid a major injury, and sighed in relief as the beam made contact mid fall. The beast hadn’t gotten back up yet, but I couldn’t relax yet. This thing was... absurd.

A single ball got thrown out and sucked the Mightyena inside.

It shook once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Ding.

All the tension left my shoulders as Wally ran towards the ball, hastily picked it up, and locked it.

“Just to be safe.” Wally breathed out.

I looked out across the battlefield. Emile and Suzaku were leaning against each other to stay upright. Of the six Pokémon we all had, the only one that could still potentially fight if we needed it was probably Joern, and I was worried about how fast he was breathing. The most frightening thing we had out right now was probably the Azurill we were escorting, who was now cowering behind May in abject fear.

“You’re turning that... thing, into the Rangers the first chance we get.” May walked toward Wally.

“Without question. No way in hell am I keeping this monster,” Wally said, his voice shaky as he cautiously put the Poke Ball on his belt.

“Let’s book it. I’m not sure how well we deal with anything right now, and the Ranger Station is closer than Petalburg,” May said.

May and I both reached down to pick up our respective starters, Wally picked up Azurill, and all three of us ran from the clearing.

***

The Ranger station was a fucking shack. The smell of the ocean filled my nostrils as I took a second to stare at the tiny ass building. The tree line had been getting denser as we walked down the trail, and I noticed a gate further down that pushed into the tree line. Further in the distance I noticed a small beach house on the coast, complete with a dock and a small ferry.

“May are you sure this is a Ranger Station?” I asked.

“That’s what the map on Sergei says it is. I was expecting something a bit more than... this.” May sighed. “No wonder that pack had free reign of the route.”

“Let’s just go in,” I said.

Wally led the charge through the screen door. A single beat-up, unmanned, desk was one of the few fixtures of this tiny little reception area, along with a PC. Another was a stand with pamphlets describing poisons we’d find in the woods, and tips for traveling through. I noticed a transfer machine behind the desk, but what drew my eyes the most was the fucking sign.

Hand-written in half illegible chicken scratch, a note was scrawled below a bell, instructing us to ring it for assistance.

“I know we live in the back woods of Hoenn, but this is a bit absurd,” May commented.

“Aren’t we in front of one of the scarier parts of Hoenn?” I asked.

May nodded.

“There’s stronger Pokémon on other Routes, but the woods have a dense population of bug and grass types. It’s easy to get hurt and overwhelmed if you aren’t ready for it,” May said before ringing the bell. A single chime echoed through the empty building.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe everyone’s out on assignment?” Wally suggested.

We both sent him a look and he shrunk back as I started walking toward the back room.

“These stations are supposed to be constantly staffed. It’s how the league secures the Routes, so trainers have a place to go if something bad happens and they need help,” May explained.

“Yeah, no. This place is empty,” I called back, glaring at the empty room.

The back room had a few chairs and a table. A small white board had a few things written on it that looked suspiciously like a shopping list. It took me a second, but I also realized that the inside was warmer than the outside.

This place didn’t even have working AC.

“May, call your dad. He should probably know about something like this,” I said.

May already had Sergei pulled up.

The front door opened, and a scruffy older trainer walked in. His face was pulled into a scowl, though it was a bit hard to tell with the facial hair, and his uniform was tattered and worn.

“Don’t worry, I heard ya brats.” He pulled out a really dated looking transceiver. “Bells linked to this little number. Damn shack gets hotter than Mt. Chimney in the summer, so I make it a point to do frequent walks along the beach.” His eyes ran over us before he walked behind the desk and took a seat. “What does Norman’s brat want with me.”

“We ran into a bit of trouble on the road. A bunch of-”

“The Zigzagoon and Poochyena have formed a gang under a newly evolved Mightyena again, haven’t they?” The man sighed and rubbed his eyes as he leaned forward against the desk.

I almost wanted to reach out and throttle the man.

“You were aware.” May’s voice is very level. She sounded calm, but I could tell she was pissed.

“I am now, happens at least once a month. The locals fight for dominance almost constantly around here. The Linoone don’t care about it once they evolve, but every once in a while, a Poochyena takes the reins that’s extra violent. They start challenging the older mons, and eventually-”

“They evolve,” I said.

“Yup. I’ll head out later to break it up and catch the damn thing. Send it up north to have it released up near Fortree. I’m glad you kids managed to get away okay though,” The ranger said, leaning back in his chair.

Wally walked forward and sat a ball down on the desk.

“We already caught it,” he said.

The Ranger’s eyes bugged out a bit.

“The three of you, caught, a fully evolved, angry, Alpha Mightyena.” The man looked at the ball like he couldn’t believe it existed. He picked the ball up, put it under the scanner, picked it up again and just stared for a solid five seconds. “How?” the ranger asked.

“Teamwork, spite, and luck,” I quipped. “Also, I don’t suppose you have anything to help with the fact that our Pokémon are either too tired to move or passed out, do you?”

The still unnamed ranger started typing something into his transceiver, and I heard a somewhat familiar voice on the other end.

“Rustboro Pokémon Center, how may I be of assistance?”

“Hey Joy, this is Roger. I’m going to be sending you-” He looked toward us and waved his hand a bit, urging us to talk.

“Oh, uh... six,” May said.

“Okay, that makes a bit more sense, six Pokémon from a group of trainers that had a rather tough go of it. Took down a Mightyena as rookies if you can believe it.” He motioned for us to put out poke balls on the desk. “I’ll be sending ‘em over to ya shortly. It’s from the Petalburg Ranger Station.”

“I’ll clear the firewall.”

“Thanks.” he said before hanging up.

I had already returned Emilie and set all three balls down. Wally and May followed suit. Roger held up the Mightyena’s poke ball.

“Please don’t tell me you’re crazy enough to try and train this at your level.” Roger said.

“Nope, take it. Keep it. Release it somewhere. I don’t care, just keep it away from me.” Wally frantically waved his arms as he talked.

“Smart boy.” He looked toward the small ball of blue in Wally’s arms. “Is she fine?”

“She’s actually not ours. A wild Azurill wanted help getting to the beach, so we let her tag along,” Wally explained.

“Careful when handling wild Fae, they can’t lie, but they’re con artists through and through.” Roger looked the Azurill over. “She looks really young though. Probably just wanted to get back to her mama.”

“Azurill.”

“God they’re cute when they aren’t being tiny little murder machines.” Roger loaded up the transfer machine and sent our mons through. “They’ll be back in a bit. So, get comfy. I got some chairs in the back.”

Roger leaned back in the deck chair, put his hands behind his head, and put his feet up. I sighed before grabbing a chair and groaned as a single thought pervaded my mind.

This place being ass meant we’d have to camp tonight, wouldn’t it?

***

‘Although our path may have been filled with great personal peril, it was truly a joy to travel with you, young one.’ Gawain said to a somewhat teary eyed Azurill.

‘I’ll miss you guys.’ Azurill said through hiccups. ‘You’re all weird, but fun to be around.’ Rude.

The Azurill hopped down to the beach, and I smiled as a group of Marill came out to greet it.

“Have we sufficiently shown our knightly valor, Sir Gawain.” I smiled down as the young knight preened.

‘Indeed, Lady Lea. We nobly guided a young maiden through a perilous path gripped by villainous thugs. Truly a quest many a knight would be proud of.’ Gawain smiled back.

“Alright, enough joking around you two.” Wally looked up from the translated group chat and smiled. “Much as I'd like to celebrate our first successful quest, we need to start getting stuff set up for camp. I’ll set up tents.”

“Damn it, I wanted to set up tents. That leaves me with collecting firewood,” May complained.

“Wait, what am I doing?” I asked a bit confused.

“Dinner,” Both May and Wally chimed.

“Right... course that’s what I'm doing.” I think they’ve both grossly overestimated my ability to make things that aren’t baked goods. Meh, they’ll find out later.

‘We still have Oran Cookies, right?’ Emilie probed.

‘Yup, you’re lucky I was able to find some decent healthy Pokémon recipes on Sergei, or I’d be taking much larger strides to curb your addiction,’ I said.

‘Stop picking on me. I’m a young growing Ralts.’ Emilie said back with a pout.

‘Just make sure you don’t grow in the wrong direction. Speaking of, I think it’s time we worked on your physical fitness a bit. I feel like we lean on Teleport a little too much,’ I said. Emilie frowned at me.

‘But teleporting is cool, and running isn’t.’ Emilie whined.

“Earth to Lea?” May waved her hand in front of my face. Dammit I did it again.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m starting to get used to it. Just watch out for Wally while I'm grabbing stuff for a campfire,” May said, her voice slightly exasperated.

I nodded and watched her walk towards the tree line. She made a point to steer clear of wandering too far in, and I relaxed a bit.

“Huh, what’s up Azurill?” I turned to look toward Wally and smiled as the little blue blob ran back towards Wally and almost tackled him to the ground.

Wanna stay, wanna play, and mom said it was okay.’ she said jovially as she bounced on her tail. She nudged a poke ball on Wally’s belt, and I couldn’t help but laugh as it opened, sucked up Azurill, immediately dinged, and fell to the ground. Wally just stared for a good solid five seconds.

“Congrats on your second capture,” I joked. “I’m starting to notice a theme, you’ve yet to win a Pokémon over by battle.”

“Oi, this isn’t funny!” Wally protested and my laughter dried up as a very serious Marill approached us. It bowed.

‘Thank you for showing Gwen such kindness. The next time I see her, I expect her to be a strong, kind, Azumarill,’ she said.

“And you’re... good with sending your daughter out with strangers you just met?” Wally asked, looking up from his phone.

I was moderately jealous of Wally right now. It did not go anywhere near this well when I did this. I half felt like telling him to just roll with it and not ask stupid questions. The Marill looked away.

‘Gwen isn’t mine. I watch over Azurill that wash ashore. They’re too weak to resist the current when they’re young, so Azurill get separated from their families quite often.’ Marill nodded resolutely. ‘I find them nice trainers to travel with. You all took Gwen in and helped her back. You are the right sort of trainer.’ she said.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. We’ll take good care of her,” I said.

Marill nodded one last time before walking back towards the beach. I turned to Wally.

“I guess that’s another trend. You have yet to pick your own Pokémon's name,” I said.

“Meh, Gwen’s a good name. Though if the next Pokémon I catch comes pre-equipped with the name Lancelot, I’m going to start taking issue with the universe screwing with me,” Wally complained.

I snorted.

“I don't know, anything packing a name like that is probably going to be bad ass. Complain later. Celebrate now. You've doubled your roster. Be happy.” I slapped him on the back a couple times, and he jumped. “And after that, make up my tent.”

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The gate to Petalburg Woods felt a lot more ominous up close and personal. The path noticeably darkened, and I can hear the faint chittering of bug types. Everyone had their full team out, ready to take on anything this place could throw at us.

“You go in first.” May said before gently nudging me forward. She quickly huddled up behind me.

“May, the forest isn’t some big scary monster that’s going to eat us whole. We're going to be fine.” I walked with purpose and smiled back at her. “Don’t worry so much, okay?”

‘I’m... having trouble focusing.’ Emilie commented. ‘ It’s like I'm hearing the same voice hundreds of times in different places. I hate hive minds,’ Emilie said. I frowned.

‘It is a rather unpleasant feeling, isn’t it?’ Gawain agreed.

‘Can you just focus your sense on us? May said you guys would have trouble picking bugs out of a crowd in here. Leave the recon to Apollo and Sa-’

‘Three Wurmple, on your left,’ Apollo barked out, cutting me off.

I subtly kept an eye on them as we walked by and sighed once we got past them.

‘And... clear,’ Apollo said, looking back the way we came before scanning the tree line again.

“Honestly, Apollo, I don’t know if we’re going to run into hostile bug types until we get further in,” I said aloud, and both Wally and May perked up and looked nervously at the trees. “It’s just some Wurmple, guys. Calm down. I’ll say something if Apollo finds something that’s actually terrifying.”

May huddled closer towards me and held my arm as she looked around. I chuckled a bit.

“May, of the three of us, you have the least to worry about in this forest. Suzaku can probably deal with anything this place throws at us, why are you so freaked?” I asked.

“I don’t like bugs, alright. They freak me out,” May said.

I felt a bit of heat brushing my pant leg and looked down to see Suzaku nuzzling herself up against May’s pant leg, not all that different from what Samie usually did.

“I honestly just feel a bit exposed cause of my team,” Wally said. Fair. I honestly don’t think Wally would have had a fun time if we didn’t agree to travel with him.

‘Aye, I agree that Wurmple ain’t anything to worry about and we’re still on the beaten path, but I ain’t takin’ any chances, lass. We thought the road trip from Petalburg to here would be a light afternoon jog and look how that turned out. Better to be safe than sorry. Be mindful of the Cascoon on the left here. They’re not a problem, but there might be a guardian close by.’ Apollo said.

I looked up and met the gaze of dozens of cocoons as we slowly walked through the clearing. Was this what they meant when they said the trees have eyes? I picked up the pace a bit, all but dragging May forward, and Wally stepped in line to keep up.

‘Uhh... is the path supposed to cut off like that?’ Suzaku asked.

I tore my gaze away from the Cascoon and looked ahead.

“May, please tell me I’m not hallucinating, and that the road doesn’t end in about fifteen feet.” Wally’s voice wavered a bit as he pointed towards the dead end. May groaned.

“Unfortunately, it is.” May pulled up the map on Sergei. “It’s almost impossible to maintain a functional path through the forest. There are markers, and between Sergei and Apollo, we should be able to do a decent job of navigating the woods,” May said.

I felt her relax a bit once she started spouting her trivia. I turned towards Apollo.

“You up for doing some quick recon?” I asked. May shook her head.

“I don’t think we need to do that yet. Sergei has us covered for the moment.” May nervously pointed through the bushes and pulled me close again. “That way.”

“You could just take point. It’d probably be easier,” I said cheekily. May shook her head so fast I thought it would fall off.

“Counter point, you take Sergei, and I'll point Suzaku at any angry bugs.” May said, holding up the fire bird.

Suzaku shot an angry glare back at her trainer as I grabbed Sergei.

“Deal,” I said.

As I looked at the screen, Apollo took off from my shoulder and Emilie raised a hand. A Poison Sting stopped in midair a few inches away from my face.

‘Incoming, there’s a few Spinarak above us that aren’t too happy we’re cutting through. Three of them are in the tree to your left,’ Apollo said.

“Got it. Think you can deal with it on your own, or do you need help?” I asked.

Apollo looked offended.

‘Help? Dealing with lunch? What am I, a baby? Thanks for the concern, Cap, but this won’t take that long,’ Apollo said before taking off.

I felt a bit queasy at the idea of Apollo eating the insects as he flew up into the tree. A few chitters sounded out from above before going silent. Apollo flew back down looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

‘Please don’t tell me you actually ate those things?’ Emilie sounded disgusted, and Apollo started laughing.

‘Nah, I’m still full from breakfast. They can sleep off their egos in peace.’ Apollo said before landing on my shoulder, and we pressed on through the bushes toward the next path.

A single green pinecone descended from the tree in front of us, and I felt May tense.

“What?” I asked.

May said nothing, and Wally was very quietly shuffling back from the little guy.

“Pine,” he said menacingly.

“Guys, it’s a pinecone. What-”

“Shush!” May whispered into my ear as she pulled me away from the Pokémon. I reached down and pulled out my pokedex, hoping it would tell me why my friends were freaking out so bad. Emilie’s voice echoed in my head before I could press the button.

'Pineco like to... explode, when startled,’ Emilie explained. Oh.

“Easy now,” Wally said slowly as he carefully moved around the Pineco. I followed.

“We don’t want any trouble,” I said, before stepping on a branch.

It broke. The Pineco glowed white.

“EVERYBODY DOWN!” I shouted as I dragged May behind a bush and crouched down.

Wally dove behind a tree as a massive explosion racked the clearing, sending leaves, twigs, and branches out in a violent hail of pain and suffering.

“Why do I have a feeling that’s going to happen more?” Wally asked.

“Easy, because nothing can go right on this trip,” May commented.

“It’d be boring if things went smoothly,” I said. A smile pulled at my lips as I looked up at the trees again.

This was going to be fun.

***

“Alright, so according to Sergei, we should be coming up on a creek... here.” I looked up and smiled at the still pool of water. “Score one for the ghost at the helm. We haven’t gotten lost yet. This looks like a great spot for a break,” I said.

May walked away from my side and leaned against a tree close to the lake. She slid down to the ground.

“Oh, thank you, my feet are killing me.” May complained before pulling out a bag of... my cookies. Dammit.

“Would you stop raiding my backpack while I'm sleeping! At least share!” I yelled.

May looked up like she was pondering it then shrugged and offered some to Wally.

“With me, you idiot!” I yelled.

I felt a weight disappear from my shoulder and watched as Emilie landed on May’s shoulder. May jumped briefly before relaxing as she saw who her new passenger was and handed Emilie a cookie. Euphoria passed through the mental connection.

“Hmm. These are delicious,” Wally moaned.

“If you want some come get some. I’m not getting up.” She held one in her palm for Suzaku to peck at. “Besides, you have like fifty of these little bags in that pack of yours. I’m honestly wondering what kind of voodoo magic you used to get everything to fit,” May said, waving the bag around towards my backpack.

I stomped over and pulled a few cookies out of the bag.

“You didn’t take any of the labeled bags, did you?” I asked. May waved me off.

“Nah, I wasn’t sure how well something made for Emilie would taste. Your customized Pokémon food is safe from my hungry fingers,” May replied.

“Eve gave them to me, actually.” I countered with a smile. “So, that means you’re just stealing my cookies, then. See if I protect you from the big bad bugs.” May looked up at me with a pout. Dammit. “Don’t worry, I will...”

“Good,” May said.

‘Twelve o’clock, Cap.’ Apollo said. I looked up toward the pond and saw a single Pokémon stare back.

“Skit!”

Of course, we can’t get a single moment of peace in this forest.

“Let me guess, you would also like to steal my cookies,” I said.

“Skit.”

“Will you leave us alone if I give you a few?” I asked.

“Skit, sur skit.” The Surskit nodded.

“Well, alright then.” I grabbed out three cookies and tossed them out to the water strider. “Enjoy,” I said with a grin.

The Surskit cautiously hopped out of the water and took a cautious nibble of the cookie before ravenously chowing down on my treats. “Skit...”

‘She says thank you,’ Emilie said. Hmm... honestly, she seemed kind of chill.

“Wanna hang out for a bit Surskit? Maybe trade a few stories?” I probed. The bug type looked up at me before talking.

“Surskit.”

‘She’s curious how you can talk to her. I can’t really reach her mind, it’s as screwy as the rest of the bugs in here, but I can translate if you want,’ Emilie said.

‘How did one word say all of that?’ I asked. Emilie shrugged.

‘Not my problem your language is horribly inefficient,’ Emilie replied. Rude.

“Emilie can translate for me, and Sergei can translate for everyone else.” I turned to look at my rather confused friends. “You guys mind hanging out with Surskit?”

Wally shook his head as he chewed through another cookie. May looked a bit worried but slowly nodded her ascent.

“Have a seat, I'm sure you’ve got all kinds of stories about the forest,” May reluctantly said.

‘Alright, you guys seem nice, though I don’t know that I have any interesting stories. The forest is kind of boring, honestly.’ Surskit said as she walked closer to us. May tensed for a second before relaxing as I sat a few more cookies out for the water strider. Wally and May both pulled out their phones.

“Doesn’t feel boring.” Wally said.

“I think terrifying would be a better word for it.” May tacked on.

“You’re both babies, honestly.” I shrunk back from their glare and sighed.

‘Meh, a lot of the bugs here can be a bit territorial, but mostly they just like to have some fun with the new trainers. I have seen a lot more humans come into the jungle recently, though. That’s been kind of exciting.’ Surskit looked down. ‘People hadn’t been coming as often, and it’s gotten kind of quiet.’

“Huh? I wonder who else is traveling through the forest right now,” Wally commented as he looked up from the group chat.

I looked over and chuckled a bit at Sergei’s name choice. Mooching Strider seemed apt.

“Probably that prick that tried to pick a fight with me when we got back to Petalburg. He probably left before us. I know we’re not the only newbie trainers leaving Petalburg right now. The conference run did just start after all.” May commented. Surskit nodded along.

‘Yeah, a lot of them looked like new trainers. You should’ve seen how badly spooked this one girl got when a Wurmple fell out of a tree onto her shoulder. Funniest crap I've ever seen. I didn’t know a human’s voice could go that high,’ Surskit said, chuckling at the memory. May blanched a bit and ate another cookie.

I took a second and imagined how May would react to that. I could already feel the tinnitus just imagining it.

‘There was also a man in a suit that came through here with a Shroomish. He looked a bit nervous, but his Shroomish looked more than strong enough to deal with most of the guys around here,’ Surskit said.

“Huh, why would you wear a suit into a forest?” I asked aloud.

‘Maybe he was in a hurry and didn’t have time to change?’ Suzaku said. ‘Is a human wearing a suit into a forest weird? I never really understood the differences between human clothes.’

‘He did look like he was in a hurry, but if you want to talk about weird clothes, let me tell you about this one weirdo. He had a blue and white striped shirt with a black bandana. The whole getup just looked really weird.’ Both May and I froze at Surskit’s description.

“Uh, Surskit, did the bandana have a weird symbol on it?” May asked hesitantly.

‘Huh, yeah, it did. There was a big circle with three lines coming out of the sides.’ Great, that sounded familiar. ‘Did you know that prick? He was really rude. The coven didn’t like him much at all,’ Surskit said.

Coven? Did we have witches in this forest?

“No, but we saw some of his friends on an earlier route.” May said. I sighed. Wally looked between the two of us confused.

“Is this someone we need to be worried about?” Wally asked.

Right, he doesn’t know anything about our little temple adventure.

“That depends, how long ago did this guy come through here?” I asked the Surskit.

‘Oh, about a week ago,’ Surskit replied.

“Nah, we don’t have to worry about him. He’s probably long gone by now. Keep an eye out, though,” I said. Fuck, I just got done dealing with a fucking Mightyena, I don’t want to deal with a trained one.

“We saw a group like that on Route 103. They looked like bad news, so we steered clear of them. There was at least one Mightyena with them,” May explained.

Wally froze once he heard that.

‘Nah, this guy didn’t have a Mightyena,’ Surskit commented. I saw Wally relax a bit. ‘He did have a Poochyena though.’

“Well, that’s good. I don’t want to deal with another Mightyena. The first one scared the crap outta me,” Wally exclaimed as he reached into an empty cookie bag. “Huh? Aww...”

“Well, that’s probably a good indicator that we should get moving. You good to go May?” I asked. May groaned.

“I don’t want to get up, but I want to get out of this forest more, and it’s too early to set up camp. Let’s get this over with.” May got up to her feet and sighed. “Let’s go, Suzaku.”

‘Right,’ Suzaku said.

“It was nice hanging out with you Surskit. Thanks for not attacking us like all the Spinarak and Pineco have so far.” I said, before turning toward May and motioning for Sergei.

‘Wait.’ I turned toward Emilie who pointed me back towards the Surskit. ‘Do you have any more cookies?’ Surskit asked. Greedy little thing.

“Depends,” I said. “What would you be willing to do for more cookies?”

‘I could be... persuaded to help guide you guys through the forest,’ Surskit said. Fucking deal.

“Then I... might have another bag of cookies in my backpack.” I shifted a glare towards May. “Assuming someone else hasn’t stolen them,” I said, glaring at my best friend.

May looked away guiltily before pulling her bag around and pulling out more of my baked goods.

“I need to figure out a way to put a lock on my bag,” I grumbled before tossing some more goodies Surskit’s way.

‘Onwards, my new friends. I’m assuming you want to get to the far side of the forest?’ I nodded. ‘Well don’t worry. I’ll cut your travel time in half,’ Surskit said, grinning from ear to ear as she chewed.

***

‘Don’t go that way. There’s a Spinarak den through that clearing. I think one of them evolved recently,’ Surskit said.

I about faced and started walking the other way around the clearing to get to where Sergei pointed me. May and Wally followed suit.

“I hate this forest,” May grumbled.

‘A bunch of Silcoon in the tree on your right. Careful not to bother any, Cap,’ Apollo said.

‘You don’t have to worry too much about them. The Beautifly in the area are a bit more hands off with keeping track of their friends once they evolve,’ Surskit said. ‘Dustox are very defensive of the Cascoon though.’

“Good to know. Still not going to touch either,” I said.

‘PINECO.’ Apollo screamed as he dived towards the ground.

“Hit the deck!” Surskit looked at all of us rather oddly as we all scrambled away from the bagworm Pokémon that had fallen from the tree. She looked over the new arrival and smiled.

‘Are you going to blow up?’ she asked.

‘Not sure yet. Have you been captured?’ Pineco asked.

‘Nope.’

‘Then no.’ Pineco replied, and Surskit blushed a bit.

‘Don’t worry guys, he’s cool.’ Surskit beckoned us out with a smile. I was the only one that actually came out to say hi.

“LEA! Veto! VETO!” May shout whispered. Huh? OH. Right. I had Sergei. May couldn’t follow along with the conversation.

“Surskit says he’s fine.” May and Wally both stayed put. “Look, I’m fine. Surskit’s fine. The Pineco’s fine. We’re good.” Still no response. May was glaring at me. “Fine. Be that way. Hi, I’m Lea. This is Emilie.” Emilie waved from my shoulder. “Nice to meet you.” No response from the Pineco.

“Lea, I won’t ever steal from your backpack again if you get back here right now,” May hissed.

“We both know that’s a lie,” I shouted back.

‘Are they always like this?’ The Pineco asked. I think he was ignoring me.

‘He is,’ Emilie said.

‘Rude,’ I said. Emilie nodded.

‘The trainer in front of you makes really good food. I’d offer you some, but you’re...’ Surskit lifted a leg and gestured at the Pineco.

‘I’ll take your word for it. Have fun. Don’t get caught,’ The Pineco said before disappearing into the tree.

“He seems nice. Bit quiet though.” I voiced aloud.

A sudden pain struck me as I felt something hit the back of my head.

“Idiot! Never do that to me again. I’m taking extra cookies next time for all the heart attacks you just gave me!” May shouted.

“Owie...” I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry for worrying you, I guess?” I said fearfully.

May nodded, a satisfied look on her face.

“Though if you’re already having heart attacks, you probably shouldn’t-” I felt an ominous presence emanate from my best friend and wisely decided to stop talking. “Shutting up, now,” I said.

“Smart girl.”

***

The number of aggressive encounters we had after that went down rather drastically after that. I mean, sure, Spinarak still tried to attack us if we got too close to a den, and a lot of the bugs in the area were rather... eager, to try my food, but all in all, considering how it started...

Today was a good day.

I leaned back into my sleeping bag and focused my mind on everything that had happened and started organizing the memories to the appropriate place in my mental bakery. The fact that I didn’t even need Emilie for this anymore made me positively giddy. A good thing too, because she was out. Like, thin line of drool, out.

I was torn on that. On one hand, she’s adorable right now. On the other hand, ew.

I grabbed Sergei and snapped another photo.

“Same place as the May photo, okay Sergei.” Sergei sent me a thumbs up. “Thank you. Now then, go ahead and take me back to that video series you showed me earlier.”

***

“Pinsir!” Of all the things to find, why was it a Pinsir? Why couldn’t it be Spinarak horde number twenty-seven? May was strangling me with how tightly she was holding on to me right now, and her mouth was right in my ear.

“BURN IT! BURN IT NOW! FLAME CHARGE, PLEASE JUST MAKE IT GO AWAY!” May screamed.

Fuck, that hurt. May never really was the same after we watched It Came from Viridian Forest two Halloween's ago. Or Parasite the Halloween before that... Or Head Crawlers the one before that...

Huh, I’m responsible for my own case of tinnitus right now. Go figure.

Suzaku’s feathers ignited, and she charged toward Pinsir with a higher-than-average amount of speed, probably to shut her trainer up. I never knew it was possible to learn a new move on the fly like that, but honestly, May shouting burn it over and over again when we ran into a very aggressive Spinarak earlier today left a lot of room for innovation on Suzaku’s part.

“STOP GAWKING AND HELP!” May shouted at me as Suzaku charged another Flame Charge and rammed into the dazed Pinsir.

“Nah, May, you’re doing fine! Suzaku’s got this handled.” I said, waving towards the battle with a cheeky grin.

“Yeah, May. We’re just in awe of your exceptional battlefield prowess. We’d just get in the way,” Wally replied from the safety of a fucking tree branch. I don’t know what he was hiding from, May or the bug.

“SCREW THE BOTH OF YOU!” May yelled.

“TOR!” Suzaku shouted as the third Flame Charge made contact.

“Pin...” The Pinsir collapsed in a heap.

“Oh, good, it passed out.” May sighed before turning a glare our way. “Why am I the one dealing with all the wild Pokémon attacks in this area!? Why did I have to deal with this horror show reject!?” May shivered. “What fucked up quirk of evolution made Pinsir anyway. Nothing about this abomination makes sense.”

‘I feel like I should stick up for my insect brethren, but honestly, I agree.’ Surskit came out from her hiding spot under the leaves. ‘No living being should have a mouth that looks like that. Now then, let’s push on. I don’t want to run the risk of that thing having friends. I’m pretty sure there’s a fork up here. The left path leads to where you guys want to go, and the right path takes us into the deep wood.’ Surskit shivered. ‘As a heads up, we’re not going into the deep wood.’

“Help!” I heard a scream and quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice. My legs were moving before my brain even processed that I didn’t recognize the voice, and I was running into the foliage.

“Lea! Stop!” I heard May shout.

I ignored her and pushed through to a clearing just in time to see a man in a suit get stabbed in the stomach. He was shoved down into the ground and the attacker, a tall man in a red hoodie, grabbed a suitcase and an unconscious Shroomish.

“Dammit, of course there are brats nearby. Fuck this.” The attacker bolted further into the woods as I rushed to the businessman’s side. I put my hand on the knife wound and pressed down as hard as I could.

“Can you help him at all?” I asked. Emilie looked down at the wound and blanched.

‘I... don’t know. I don’t exactly know what the inside of a human body looks like,’ Emilie said.

“Please... help my partner... I...” He passed out before he could finish. Fuck.

“Lea!” I heard Wally shout behind me. I turned just in time to see my friends rush forwards.

“I need a bit of help. He got stabbed, and I don’t know what to do,” I said, wincing as blood seeped from between my fingers.

Wally looked down at my blood-soaked hands and blanched.

“Uhh...”

“Move!” May shoved Wally out of the way and pulled her backpack off before fishing out a first aid kit. May’s hands were shaking as she pulled out a weird looking bandage. She ripped his shirt open, pulled my hands out of the way, and put the bandage directly on the wound.

It melted into the cut and the wound stopped bleeding.

“That should hold till we get him to a hospital. We need to get him to Rustboro, fast,” May said.

I quickly got up and May grabbed my arm.

“Together. We’re taking him to Rustboro together.” May’s voice was firm, and her eyes dared me to challenge her on this.

“The ass hat that did this to him is still in the forest. He took his Shroomish. We have to rescue him!” I argued, not backing down.

“We HAVE to get this man to a hospital,” May countered. I opened my mouth to argue, but Wally got between us.

“We have to do both,” Wally said. “We can split up.”

“We aren’t-”

“The longer we sit here talking about this, the more likely it is that the mugger gets away. We need to move!” I interrupted May.

“Surskit?” Our guide made herself known and all three of us turned to look at her.

‘Uh... guys? Do you know which way the mugger went.’ she asked, pointing to a... fork in the path?

“What the...?” I pulled my arm out of May’s grasp and ran forward. “That wasn’t there before. It was just a straight path,” I said. Surskit winced.

‘That’s what I was afraid of. That human has angered the forest.’ Surskit turned and looked back at us. ‘He’ll be taken care of. You needn’t concern yourself with him.’

“What do you mean by ‘Taken care of’?” I asked. “How the hell can you piss off a forest!?”

May walked up beside me, Sergei in hand.

‘They came to the woods a few years ago. The coven found our forest and claimed a part of it for themselves. The trees bent themselves to their will, and the forest changed to suit their whims.’ Surskit shivered. ‘The human will not leave the deep wood. Of that, you can be certain.’

“There, mugger taken care of, let’s go,” May said. She grabbed my arm and tried to pull me back towards the businessman.

“What about the Pokémon?” I asked. Surskit looked away.

‘Few who enter the deep wood ever return. They’re usually lost to the shifting branches, never to be seen again,’ Surskit explained. I turned towards May and scowled.

“I’m going,” I said.

“The hell you are! ‘No one’ includes you too, dumb ass. We’re getting out of this cursed forest and getting this man to a hospital, end of discussion!” May said, glaring at me.

“You two can do that if you want. I don’t blame you. I’m going after the Shroomish.” May opened her mouth. “What if it was Suzaku that was taken?” I asked. May promptly closed her mouth. “I keep thinking about what if it was Emilie or Apollo. This is someone’s best friend. Their partner.” I looked towards the man on the ground. “That was the word he used.” May opened her mouth, closed it again, then let loose a single, unintelligible scream.

“Wally,” May said. “Get this man to Rustboro, quick as you can.” She turned to look at me. “I have to go with this IDIOT!” She stressed the word. “To make sure she doesn’t get herself killed!”

“No no no no no no, you are not coming with me,” I said quickly. “Wally can’t go through the woods on his own. Hell, he probably can’t even lift the man.”

“Try and stop me. Gawain can help with transport,” May argued. Gawain nodded.

‘I can think of no nobler a cause. I’ll do my duty,’ Gawain said.

‘And I can guide him out,’ Surskit said. I whipped around to look at her. ‘I want to help. I was already guiding you out of the forest. I can stay with Wally.’

‘And I can protect them, if need be, captain,’ Apollo said. I had almost forgotten he was out and about he had been so quiet. ‘I’ll keep them safe.’

“But...” I said, before sagging down and sighing. “Guess I’m outvoted, huh.”

May nodded.

“Where you go, I go. That’s how it’s been since the start of this journey, and it’s going to stay that way.” May said. She looked over towards Wally, who was working with Gawain to get the businessman up and over his shoulder. His body was glowing blue.

“Here’s hoping my body cooperates. We’re running to Rustboro, quick as we can, let’s move.” Wally said before he started running. Surskit took the lead and darted ahead of them.

“Stay safe!” I shouted after them, before turning to look at the path in front of us.

“Let’s go.”

May turned and ran into the heart of the forest, leading for the first time since we entered. I kept alert and shifted my eyes to keep a closer look at the trees as we moved, and a pink haze started to radiate out from them.

‘This part of the forest... It’s weird,’ Emilie commented as we pushed further in. ‘The incessant chittering, it’s quieter here. Muted.’

Huh, did that mean fewer bugs?

‘More than likely. I don’t know how to describe it, but...’ I stopped listening to Emilie as I saw them.

Two Pokémon descended from the tree line that I didn’t recognize. They looked like puffballs floating in the air.

“Cottonee, the fairy-grass Pokémon.” May had beaten me to pulling out her dex, and she started reading off the entry. “A strong wind can blow it halfway across the planet.”

“You didn’t know what they were?” I asked, flabbergasted. May knew everything about everything. How did she not know what these were?

“They aren’t native to Hoenn. I’m a bit worried by the fairy typing, but they seem harmless enough.” A memory from yesterday popped into my head.

Careful when handling wild Fae, they can’t lie, but they’re con artists through and through.

‘Oh,’ said one.

‘A sister,’ said the other.

‘How nice, ’ said both. They floated back into the trees without any further fanfare.

‘I think I understand what coven means, now.’ Emilie breathed out as a set of three mushrooms hopped by us without even acknowledging our presence.

“Morelull, the Fairy Grass Pokémon.” May brought her Pokedex up and read the entry, unknowingly interrupting Emilie’s thoughts.

‘This place, it feels like a home away from home,’ Emilie finished.

“Cutiefly, the Bug Fairy Pokémon.” May read off as a fly buzzed past us deeper into the woods. “Another Fairy type.”

‘Sister. They keep saying it,’ Emilie said. ‘It’s all I can hear. Like they’re calling to me.’ Emilie paused. ‘That, and interloper. There’s someone here that they’re not happy about.’

I watched as another Morelull walked by.

‘Well, I don’t think they’re angry at us yet. If they are, they’re being really passive aggressive about it,’ I said. Emilie nodded and urged us further in.

“Emilie thinks they like us because of her, but we probably need to move. There’s someone here they don’t like. Any guesses on who that might be?” I asked.

May nodded once, before ducking under a low hanging branch.

“The mugger,” May said.

“Ding ding ding, I’ll buy you a prize once we get to Rustboro. Let’s help them deal with it before they label us as interlopers, whatever that means,” I said.

We ran through the weird foggy hallway of trees. More fae started to appear in my peripherals, and May read off each one as we went through the forest. Whimsicott, Shiinotic, Ribombee...

All of them evolved forms of what we had already seen.

We could not fight these things. We wouldn’t have a chance.

Emilie stared forward nervously, gripping my shoulder tightly as we moved further in. It felt like the forest was shifting around us. Vines cleared themselves from our path. Trees shifted in place. The pink fog got denser, to the point where it was getting harder to see, till finally, the ground I stood on all but became invisible. Eyes trailed around us as we walked, watching.

May stopped.

I almost ran into her. I moved to ask what was wrong, but stopped as I followed her line of sight.

“Beautiful...” I muttered.

Breathtakingly so even. A massive tree took center stage, towering over everything else in the forest. I struggled to think of how I didn’t see this thing from further back. Vines fell between the branches and glowed with an ethereal light. Small glowing orbs illuminated the clearing in a vibrant mix of colors, from red, to green, to white, to blue, all casting a faint echo of light into the pink haze below.

The whole area radiated with the energy of the Fae. All but a single, terrified man, holding an unconscious Shroomish to his chest with a knife drawn.

“S-Stay back. Don’t come any closer,” he said, pacing underneath the massive tree.

We hadn’t moved since entering the clearing, but a few of the fae that had run with us backed away.

“Fuck this whole damn mess. Why the hell did I think I could do this,” The mugger muttered frantically to himself as he paced back and forth under the tree, doing his best to keep an eye on every new Fae that wandered into the clearing. “I SAID STAY, THE FUCK, BACK! You don’t want this Shroomish to bite it, I don’t know why but you care, or I wouldn’t be alive right now, so don’t even try anything. BACK THOSE VINES UP!” He screamed as he brought the knife closer to Shroomish’s chest.

The forest itself seemed to shift around him. The pink mist shifted to a more purple color, and the branches seemed to move on their own.

‘Don’t talk and shush May.’ Emilie said.

I tapped May once on the shoulder. She tore her eyes away from the scene and looked at me as I raised my finger to my mouth in a shushing fashion.

‘The coven wants us to translate. Say what I say, word for word, in the most dead inside voice you can think of,’ Emilie said.

I nodded.

“You tally up a rather harsh debt to the forest, interloper.” I said in my best monotone. “What do you hope to accomplish here?”

“Fuck you. I don’t know what kind of weird fucked up trainers of the corn bull shit this is, but you are going to clear a path for me. NOW!” he screamed.

‘Don’t move,’ Emilie said. ‘His thoughts are erratic. I don't want him lashing out at you if you get too close. The idiot thinks you and May are fairies too. I don’t think I've ever heard of humans having a type.’

‘Psychics, aura users, martial arts masters-’ I rambled.

‘Alright, so maybe his half insane ramblings have merit. Whatever, repeat this,’ Emilie said.

“We will not. You have invaded our home and threatened the life of a brother. Your debt can still be paid, it is not too late. Surrender yourself to the judgment of my kind, and we may yet grant you mercy.” I took note of the word may. “Should harm fall upon our brother, you will not leave this clearing alive,” I translated.

May walked closer to me and grabbed my hand as she looked around the glade at all the fairy types. She was shaking slightly.

The thief frantically shifted his gaze around the glade. More Fae had filed into the clearing, and now he was completely surrounded. I think at this point he finally figured out he wasn’t leaving this clearing, regardless of what he did. He fell to his knees.

“Fuck this and fuck you.” He raised the knife into the air and-

Stopped.

A faint purple glow held his arms in place for a brief second.

That one second was all it took for a thousand vines to wrap themselves around the thief and restrain him to the tree. A single, muffled shout was cut off as the vines fully encased him and gagged him. The Shroomish landed a few feet away, and it looked like it was finally starting to stir.

“Shrooo...” I heard it groan. “Shro.” It pulled itself to its feet and took in the area, before jumping away from the tree. “Shroomish!”

A Shiinotic came up and patted the Shroomish on its shoulder, in what I assumed was supposed to be a reassuring manner, before turning to us.

‘Much like the interloper has incurred a debt from us, we have incurred a debt from you. Though his fate was always a foregone conclusion, you came to the aid of a brother and your actions may have stayed the hand of tragedy. What would you seek from us to balance the scales,’ The Shiinotic said.

‘Don’t respond yet. We need to word this carefully.’ Emilie doesn’t say anything for a while. ‘Repeat what I say, word for word. I don’t want to give him any room to twist our words,’ Emilie said, never breaking eye contact from the Shiinotic in front of us.

“We’ve entered your grove to take back what was stolen. The thief attacked this Shroomish’s trainer and stole some important documents from him. We simply wish to return what was stolen and reunite Shroomish with his dear friend,” I said.

The Shiinotic tilted its head and stared intently at Emilie. She closed her eyes and focused.

“Allow us a safe passage out with both of those in hand and the scale will be even,” I repeated.

‘Is that truly what you desire? Surely you can think of something else?’ The Shiinotic asked.

“That is the only thing that will balance the scales, nothing more or less is necessary,” I responded.

The Shiinotic started to laugh.

‘Truly, you are a worthy sister, young Ralts. For you have guided your trainer well. Fine then,’ he said, his voice echoing in my mind.

The Shiinotic retracted a vine from the writhing mass, revealing a small disc, and a Poke Ball. The briefcase was nowhere to be seen.

‘These items lack the interloper's essence. I can only assume he acquired them recently. These trinkets and a safe passage home for a fellow fungus.’ The Shiinotic shifted his vines toward us, and May hesitantly grabbed the offering.

“Thank you.” May said, smiling nervously toward the mushroom man.

‘You are most welcome.’ The Shiinotic nudged the Shroomish our way before turning and giving his full attention to the captured thief. ‘Now then, what to do with you?’

‘I don’t want to know. Please stop translating,’ I hastily begged Emilie.

‘Trust me, you really don’t.’ Emilie said, looking a bit greener than she usually did.

‘If you hurl, point the other way,’ I said.

‘You throw up on someone one time, and they never let you hear the end of it.’

May pulled me out of my conversation with a tap on the shoulder. Both May and Suzaku kept shifting their gaze around, trying their best to keep as many of the fairy types in view as possible.

“Grab Shroomish and let’s get out of here,” May said frantically.

I nodded, and very slowly crouched down.

‘Do- Do you know if Martin is okay?’ Shroomish asked. Gonna guess that’s the suit’s name.

“He was pretty banged up when we found him. We had a third person traveling with us, and he went on ahead with Martin to Rustboro. They can help him more in the city, which is where we’re going. I’ll carry you so we can move faster,” I explained.

The Shroomish looked up at me with a blank expression.

“Assuming you’re okay with that?” I asked. No response for a bit.

‘Fine,’ The Shroomish grumbled. I grabbed him and followed May at an almost sprinting pace out of the clearing.

“May, hold up. I can’t run that fast and I'm carrying twice as many Pokémon as you,” I complained.

May groaned before slowing down to a light jog.

“Sorry, I just really want to get out of this forest. This whole... situation freaked me out, okay? I’m kind of jealous of your little handicap right now. Would’ve made this whole thing a lot less terrifying.” May said, getting quieter as she went.

“Thanks for backing me up,” I said, doing my best to smile at her.

May winced.

“Yeah... didn’t really do that great of a job. I didn’t do anything other than gawk at all the fairies. You and Emilie didn’t need me at all,” May said, a frown etched on her face as she ran through the shifting glade.

“May, we didn’t exactly do much either. Emilie held the ass hats arms in place for a second and I grabbed the Shroomish and ran,” I countered. “The only reason we’re alive right now is that Emilie knows how to talk to high level sociopathic fairy Pokémon. Something we’re probably going to talk about later.”

I focused on Emilie who looked away.

I don’t wanna,’ Emilie said petulantly. I sighed.

“Anyway, you braved the unknown to save a Pokémon you had never met, faced insurmountable odds, and stuck it out, for no other reason than you wanted to help me do the right thing. That’s-”

“Stupid,” May interrupted.

“-One of the most amazing things I've ever heard, and I am incredibly lucky to have someone as awesome as you as my best friend.” I ignored her outburst and powered through, and I smiled as I saw her cheeks turn a vibrant shade of red.

“We got exceedingly lucky-”

“Oh, without question,” I interrupted her. “When we get to Rustboro I'm putting everyone through the ringer. I never want to be in a situation like that again. But we did it, we’re all okay, and that” I shifted Shroomish so I could hold him with one arm and pulled May into a sideways hug. “Makes us big damn heroes.”

Emilie tensed at my declaration.

‘Now when you say ringer-’ Emilie started.

“Ya know what. Fine, we’re big damn heroes,” May cut her off. I smiled.

“Damn straight,” I agreed.

***

“The sun... I had forgotten how it felt.” I basked in the warmth for a few moments before May whacked me on the back of the head.

“Stop being such a drama queen. We were in there for two days, and the branches didn’t block out all the sunlight,” May said.

“See the abuse I have to put up with,” I whispered, pulling the Shroomish closer.

The Shroomish nodded. Good. Someone else I can commiserate with.

‘She’s right though, you are a drama queen,’ Emilie said.

“I get more compassion from a stranger's Pokémon than I do my own,” I cried.

“Stop messing around. It’s still a half-day walk to Rustboro from here, and I really want to make sure Wally got into town alright,” May said.

“Fine, they’re probably good though. We didn’t run into them in the forest, so that means they got out,” I argued.

“I’ll still feel better once we’ve checked in with Rustboro General. Double time, let’s go troops. I want us there before sundown,” May ordered, clapping her hands together twice.

May walked ahead of me as I lamented the fact that I couldn’t really snap to a salute in response.

Easy jokes lost due to an over encumbrance of Pokémon passengers. The tragedy of it all.

‘Stop being a weirdo and move,’ Emilie ordered.

‘Yes, master. I obey you, master. All for you, master,’ I thought sarcastically.

‘Drop the sarcasm and the fake limp, Igor, and we’ll be talking. I-’ Emilie stopped mid thought and I turned to look further down the road.

A small girl was standing in the road, dressed in the same red hoodie the thief was wearing. She was holding a small Whismur. She didn’t really look like much, outside of her striking red eyes. May kept walking, doing her absolute best to ignore the girl. I decided to follow suit.

She ignored us as we walked by.

Don’t really know what I was expecting. For all intents and purposes, we’re normal trainers getting out of Petalburg Woods.

Nothing suspicious here.

Please don’t realize we’re the reason your partner is probably dead.

Once we walked over a small bridge and the girl was out of view, I watched May slowly breathe out of her mouth.

“Oh, I'm so glad she didn’t attack us. I don’t want to deal with anything else right now. Just let us get to Rustboro in peace,” May said.

I froze as I realized a very important fact about the road to Rustboro.

“Hey, May?” I asked shakily. “This is the primary path to Rustboro, right? Mostly a straight shot, not a lot of ways to go?”

“Huh, yeah. Why?” May said. Fuck.

“Doesn’t that mean that chick was there when Wally got out of the forest with the guy in the suit?” I asked, my voice strained.

All the color drained from May’s face as she came to the same realization I did.

“Triple time?” I asked.

“Triple time.” May nodded. We sprinted as fast as we could to Rustboro.

Notes:

Alright, so I haven't uploaded to this platform in... i don't know how long. I got really frustrated with Ao3's... admittedly not great posting setup (Just let me copy and paste my work as it is into the damn chapter text section, It's not hard) and decided i'd just upload to the other sites I was uploading on. A friend of mine showed me how to minimize the headache so that it actually isn't that headache inducing, so I'm going to start posting here again.

Huzzah.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Rustboro was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Granted, I didn’t really leave Petalburg, but still, nothing could’ve prepared me for the massive shift.

As we pushed past the last bits of the route, and the dirt road slowly started to shift over to cobblestone, I could see the massive skyline of skyscrapers in the distance. Buildings that seemed big from far away eclipsed the sky as we closed in on the main gate, which had no less than five different guard stations monitoring the road.

The second we made it into the city, a huge map made up the centerpiece for the welcoming plaza, showing us where some of the hallmark buildings were. There were highlights like the Trainers' School, Devon HQ, the gym, and a contest hall, but smaller, important buildings were also labeled. At least half a dozen Pokémon centers were all highlighted as important landmarks, but beyond that, there were dozens of small shops and a crap ton of battle lounges just chilling on every street. The most important place we needed right now though, was Rustboro Hospital.

“It’s close. Down this road here and to the left here. Wait.” May pulled out Sergei and held him up to the map. She pressed a button, and a light flashed.

Map Updated.

“Huh, guess I shoulda just pulled up the nav function.” May blushed a bit. “Whatever let’s get going. It’s almost sundown, and we’ll probably need to book a room at a center after we check in,” May said.

“Assuming, we can even find him,” I grumbled.

“How many kids with green hair are running into a hospital with a half dead businessman?” May asked.

Fair.

“Lead the way.” I took in more of the sights as we made our way down the street. In addition to the shops, there were a ton of street vendors, selling pretzels, hot dogs, ramen...

All of them had a line of people and Pokémon alike. Honestly, seeing the one guy with the Machoke out made me feel a lot less worried about freaking people out with Emilie, Suzaku, and Shroomish. Off to the side, I saw three different Pidgey hanging around a man on a park bench, tossing out seeds for them to eat.

There was a Torkoal eating ice cream out of his trainer's bowl, and I barely stopped myself from laughing at the resulting explosion of steam.

Turning the corner, I noticed a specialty shop. They had a few TMs on display and the price tags made me almost cry out in pain. What kind of psycho would pay that much for a Rain Dance... TM.

Legends above, buying that was going to SUCK.

‘Keep walking, you’re losing May,’ Emilie said. I shifted my head and realized that May kept moving while I was gaping at all the things in the city.

“Shit, May. Wait up!” I shouted. A few people gave me a bit of extra space as I ran past them to catch up.

“Gawk later. The hospital’s at the end of the street,” May said.

Our destination towered over the other buildings in the area, and that made it easy to spot. We rushed through the front door and made a beeline for the reception desk.

“Excuse me, my name’s May Maple and we were wondering if someone was admitted here earlier today?”

The receptionist gave May a rather deadpan look. “Care to narrow it down a bit?” she asked.

May blushed. “Right, sorry, it’s been a bit of a day. Martin’s the person that was banged up, he was attacked in the forest and was wearing a suit. Wally’s a trainer about our age. He has green hair, and he would’ve come in with a Ralts.”

The nurse's eyes widened a bit. “Ah, you’re friends with that group. I’m sorry, but I can’t currently let you in to see them. That said, I do need to ask if you would be willing to stay here for a moment? I need to make a page. One of the officers on this case will probably have some questions for you.”

Wait, what?

“Officer?” I asked.

The receptionist smiled at me. “He’ll just want to take a witness testimony, try and get an idea of what happened.” Her voice was soothing and calm.

“Didn’t Wally give them the run down?” I asked, slightly confused.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t answer any of your questions right now. Please, just wait one second.” The receptionist picked up the phone and put out a page for Officer Bishop.

I decided to take a seat in one of the chairs off to the side, and I urged May to sit as well.

She hesitated and looked around the hallways.

“You worry too much. We’ll clear things up, get Wally, and book a room at the center within the hour,” I said.

“I can’t help it, alright. Today’s been hell.” May said. She grabbed the chair next to me and Suzaku jumped up and chirped a few times.

‘She’s trying to reassure May.’ Emilie said.

May pulled Suzaku into a hug as she looked around the room.

Jingling keys and the sound of plastic bouncing around pulled my attention away from May to see a tall, somewhat stocky man in a police uniform coming up to the front desk. “Everything alright, Miss?” he asked.

“Those two,” She pointed our way. “Are friends of the boy that came in earlier.”

“Ah.” He turned around and made his way over. “Sorry if that little game of telephone scared you girls. This whole thing has been a bit of a mess. My name’s Officer Bishop. I’m running security for Mr. Kingsley. I believe you know him as Martin. I’m also running point on the investigation.”

“Is Wally okay?” May asked as soon as he stopped talking.

The officer laughed. “The boy’s fine. Well, now he is at least. Poor thing collapsed almost as soon as he got into the city. A few trainers brought them in. I just got done taking his statement, I just want to make sure his statement lines up with yours.”

I sagged in relief that Wally was okay, but the fact that he passed out worried me.

“You mind if I take your statements separately? Just protocol,” the officer explained.

I nodded. The officer motioned for May to follow him, and I leaned back into the chair. Shroomish looked around the hospital worriedly.

‘How’s Martin?’ Shroomish asked.

“Er, before you go, Shroomish was wanting to know how Martin was doing?” I asked.

The officer looked back at me, a curious look on his face. “He’s doing better, that’s all I can say for now,” he said.

‘That’s enough for now.’ Shroomish said, relaxing in my arms.

“Mighty impressive you can talk that easily with someone else's Pokémon,” Officer Bishop said.

I pointed at Emilie. “Perks of being this little lady’s trainer,” I explained.

The officer nodded and escorted May into an office behind the reception area.

I put both feet up. “Well, everyone, get comfy. We might be here for a bit,” I said. I felt a weight lean up against the side of my head and smiled.

***

“So, if I'm understanding everything correctly. You three stumbled upon Martin in the forest, had the kid with breathing problems run him to Rustboro, went deeper into a dangerous forest after a dangerous assailant, brokered the release of a hostage, and argued for safe passage back out of the forest with a coven of fairy Pokémon.” Officer Bishop nodded once as he ran through the power point that was our afternoon. “You’ve all been trainers for less than a week.”

“I mean, when you outline it like that, it sounds bad, but everything worked out alright in the end?” I asked, chuckling a bit nervously as I did so.

The officer just groaned. “I heard the same damn story three different times, and I’m still having trouble believing this.” The officer pulled out a poke ball. “Are you alright with me returning you, Shroomish? I’ll take you up to Martin’s room after I finish up here.”

Shroomish nodded once, and Officer Bishop returned him.

“Now then, I’m not going to yell at you too much. You three did a good thing. But please, use your head a bit more. I get too many trainers in my morgue because they thought they could handle something they couldn’t,” Officer Bishop said, giving me a severe look.

That statement was a bit sobering.

“I’ll try and be a bit more careful,” I said.

Officer Bishop nodded.

“Good girl. Your friend’s in room 304. His breathing treatment should be done by now, so you can probably pick him up. The nearest center is down a block. It was nice meeting you three.” Officer Bishop got up and escorted me out the door. “They’re good, nurse. You can go ahead and let them up to see their friend.”

“Come on, May. Wally’s in room 304.” May jolted awake when I said that. I felt that, honestly. I needed a bed.

“Right.” May groggily walked up to me, before half collapsing into my shoulder.

“Hey, support yourself, I'm tired too,” I complained.

“Don’t wanna.” May said.

I sighed.

“Just lead us to the elevator. Not awake yet,” May said.

“Ugh... fine.” Thankfully, the elevator wasn’t that far away. “Come on, May. Get up, walking like this is hard.” I grumbled as we got off the elevator. “Help me look for Wally’s room.”

“It’s down that hall.” May grumbled as she stood up. “I can see the sign.”

“Well, let’s go get him. I want to crash so bad,” I said.

May nodded in agreement, and we slowly made our way to the room, I looked out the window and noticed it was solidly night outside now. That was going to make finding the center fun. I pulled open the door and frowned to see Wally out like a light in the hospital bed. A nurse was off to the side looking over a chart.

“Oh, you two are the friends Nurse Jane told me about. I’m sorry, but I don’t think Wally’s up to going anywhere today.” She sat the chart down and looked our way.

Gawain and Apollo were both passed out on either side of him. I sagged in relief, happy to see everyone was mostly fine with my own eyes.

“You’ll probably join him soon, you two look like your about to pass out on your feet,” the nurse said.

“Yeah,” May said dazedly.

“Listen, I’m just going to have a nurse help me bring a cot down. You two can spend the night here.” she said.

I frowned.

“I’m not sure we can afford-”

“President Stone has covered the costs of Wally’s room and treatment,” she interrupted. “He was quite relieved to hear that Martin was back in the city.”

“The cot would be lovely then, thanks,” I said.

May just started leaning on me again.

“Maybe hurry, not sure how much more night my friend’s got in them,” I said.

The nurse nodded and left.

‘Don’t forget to meditate. There’s a lot we need to unpack today.’ Emilie prodded.

‘Can’t we do that tomorrow,’ I moaned.

‘It needs to be habitual,’ she said.

‘Fine.’ I sighed. ‘I know I've probably already said this, but great job today. You’re an awesome partner.’

‘Stop it.’ Emilie looked away from me, though I did catch a bit of pink dusting her cheeks. ‘Blind praise won’t get you out of meditation.’ She stayed quiet for a second. ‘Thanks though. For trusting in me in the clearing.’

“Here we go.” The nurse brought back a full-sized cot and just laid it down on the floor next to Wally’s bed.

May immediately dived into it before scooching herself over to one side and passed out.

“I can bring another in a minute, though it might be a bit crowded.” she said.

I waved her off.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’ll be like the sleepovers we used to have at my place,” I said. I carefully sat down on the cot and shifted myself so I wouldn’t lean up against May.

Emilie sat next to me as I put my hands behind my head and leaned back.

“This is fine,” I said, feeling comfy.

“If you’re sure...” The nurse hesitated before leaving the room and turning off the light.

‘In ball or out of ball?’ I asked Emilie.

‘Out, if you’re alright with that,’ Emilie replied.

‘As long as you don’t mind getting bumped in your sleep,’ I countered.

Emilie shrugged. ‘Meh, it’s fine. I kind of don’t like being in the poke ball, honestly. Being outside is more fun,’ Emilie said.

‘I’ll keep you out as often as possible then. Now then, deep breath, and let’s go ahead and sort out today-’

All of my thoughts stopped as May, still asleep, turned around in the bed, threw her arm around me, and held me like a teddy bear.

‘Guess that’s one way to empty your mind.’

I... uh, yeah. Huh?

‘Tell you what. We can do this tomorrow. I don’t think you’ll be able to focus right now.’ Emilie said before laughing in my mind.

My heart and stomach were doing flips with each other, and I had no earthly clue why.

‘Idiot.’ Emilie muttered before leaning against me. She was out in under a minute, her head resting against my thigh.

It took a bit, but eventually exhaustion won out, and I passed out as well.

***

As much as I wanted to sleep till noon, the blinds in the room had other plans. Soon as the damn sun came up it hit me right in my damn eyes. Kinda hard to sleep through that. I raised my arm to shield my eyes.

Well, I tried to, at least. I was met with a rather large amount of resistance. Glancing down, I flushed bright red.

May was still using me as a teddy bear.

How the hell am I up before her!? She always wakes up super-

Oh shit.

“Mmm-” May groaned.

Fuck. Did I wake her up?

“Huh?” May looked up and our eyes met.

I blinked once.

She blinked twice.

She shouted, right in my ear, and scrambled away from me and the cot.

Maybe I should get my ears checked while we’re here.

“I-you-why-what-I" Apparently, May couldn’t quite... process what she had done while sleeping. Her face was as red as her shirt.

“Huh? What’s going on?” And now Wally’s awake.

“Morning everyone.” Screw it. Maybe if I try and brush past this, we can forget it ever happened. It takes me a second to realize, but out of the corner of my eye I see Sergei hop back into May’s bag. Oh, fuck, that little bastard-

“I am so sorry,” May all but shouted before disappearing into the bathroom.

“Uh, did I miss something?” Wally asked.

“Nope.” I got up and fished Sergei out of the bag and started flipping through folders. Not there, not there, not there-

Hold up, this looks new.

“If you think I'm leaving that anywhere you can find it you’re dumber than Samie.” It was a text file, created by Sergei.

Huh. Rude.

“So, I’m happy you girls made it out of the forest alright,” Wally said hesitantly.

Oh, right. Yesterday. I had forgotten all about that. Apollo groggily flew up from his spot on Wally’s bed and claimed his perch on my shoulder.

“Wing.” he said. I chuckled.

“Emilie somehow slept through that, Apollo. I can’t understand you. Good morning, though. I’m happy you made it out okay,” I said.

Apollo nodded once.

I turned to look at Wally again. “It was rough, but we got out okay. We didn’t really do much, we just... helped the Pokémon in the area deal with the mugger. They weren’t too happy with him either.”

Wally nodded.

“Why did you end up in here?” I asked.

“Yeah, my lungs really didn’t like the fact that I ran for that long towards one of the most densely populated cities in Hoenn. I needed a stronger breathing treatment than my usual inhaler.” Wally explained.

I frowned. “You didn’t-”

“I really didn’t like how much blood he was losing. May’s bandage gave up the ghost about the same time I got out of the forest,” Wally said. “The officer from last night told me that if he had received care much later, he wouldn’t have made it.”

“Well, you somehow had a more perilous journey than we did, and you didn’t stare down a full coven of fairy types,” I said.

“Fairy types? How scary can that be?” Wally asked.

“You’d be surprised. They... did weird things to the forest. If May ever stops hiding in the bathroom, we can talk about it over breakfast.” I half-shouted.

No response.

“Come on, May, I’m hungry,” I complained.

“Go away.” May shouted through the door.

“No, neither one of us has eaten since yesterday afternoon, and I don’t care that you-”

In the blink of an eye, May all but teleported out of the bathroom and covered my mouth with both hands. Tackling me back into the cot, and finally waking Emilie up. Apollo flew towards the window sill and glared at May.

‘Whazzat? Are we under attack? Why’s the bed shaking?’ Emilie asked, before looking over at the two of us. ‘Am I interrupting something? Would you two like a moment alone, because I can go someplace else.’

‘Not helping,’ I thought. May breathed in, before letting out a calming breath.

“This entire morning never happened. Got it?” she asked, a manic look in her eye.

She still had both hands over my mouth as she asked, so all I could do was nod.

“Good.” May clapped both hands together and led the charge towards the door. “Let’s get Wally discharged and make our way to the center. No way am I eating hospital food.” May dragged me up before bolting out of the room.

“Right. Wally, stay here. May and I are going to find a nurse. May slow down!”

Wally nodded, his eyes vacant and dazed as he watched me shuffle after my best friend. May was making it a point to walk ahead of me and made sure her eyes never looked back toward me. This was getting ridiculous.

“Look, May, I don’t really understand why you’re freaking out about this. We were both tired and the entire day was one big nightmare. I really don’t think you... cuddling with me while your unconscious is the end of the world you’re making it out to be,” I argued.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” May said, her voice clipped.

For fucks sake, how am I only two years older than you?

“Then stop sprinting away from the nurses’ station and look at me.” Honestly the fact that we were going the wrong way just made this whole thing kind of sad.

May stopped, leaned against the wall, and banged it a couple of times.

“I can’t get a W today, can I?” May complained.

“I mean, you probably got to second base with me at some point in the night. Some people might think of that as a W,” I joked.

“STOP. TALKING,” May ground out.

Tough crowd.

“I’m sorry.” May muttered. “Why were we sleeping in the same bed, anyway?”

“I didn’t think we could fit a third cot in that hospital room. Would you rather me cozy up to Wally, it probably would’ve been better for my back,” I said.

“No, that... ugh... fine. You’re right, I’m being an idiot about this.” May turned and really looked at me for the first time since she woke up. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t get why you apologized the first time; you were an adequate little spoon.” And the blush is back.

“I’m never going to live this down, am I?” May groaned.

“If the teasing bothers you, I’ll stop,” I said earnestly.

“Really?” Her tone of voice was more suspicious than surprised.

Rude.

“Really,” I replied.

“I would prefer no teasing, please,” May finally whispered after staring down at the floor for a minute.

“Fine, I’ll be good.” I nodded once. “Now let’s actually go to the nurses’ station. I saw a sign that said it was on the other side of the elevator. By the way, we need to work on your sense of direction, because we may or may not have to murder your phone.”

“What!?” May asked.

“Don’t worry about why.” I rushed out before grabbing May’s hand and dragging her back. “Just trust that it needs to happen.”

“Lea, that really doesn’t assuage my worries. I like Sergei. I don’t want to kill him,” May said.

“Pictures,” I deadpanned.

May froze. “Meh, he’s lived a good life.”

***

“Alright, Sergei, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’re not leaving us a lot of options here,” I threatened.

He chuckled. “Waterproof, titanium, welded shut case.” Sergei sent via messenger.

“Okay, fine, you’re not leaving me any options,” I groaned.

The damn phone laughed as I shoved a massive bite of pancakes in my mouth and moaned around my fork.

“You weren’t seriously going to try and dunk Sergei in a water pitcher, right?” Wally asked.

“Sergei’s a Rotom, he woulda been fine. I wanted to fry the phone so Sergei couldn’t post embarrassing photos of me on Vinewhip,” I said, glaring at the phone.

May came up for air to a... mostly clean plate, damn.

“She had my blessing. Excuse me, I’m going to grab another plate.” May wiped her mouth before getting up.

Wally nodded before going into another coughing fit.

“Are you... sure you’re going to be alright?” I asked.

Wally took a deep breath from his inhaler before answering. “The nurse gave me a portable respirator to use, I’ll put it on once we get done here. This city doesn’t have the cleanest air in the world,” he forced out.

“Well, hurry up and finish, then,” I grumbled.

“I’m fine, really,” Wally said.

I glared at him.

“Mostly,” Wally said before shoving the last of his hashbrowns into his mouth. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small mechanical face mask.

May came back with a bowl of rice and some pork cutlets just in time for the audio test.

“There. Much better.” Wally said, his voice far deeper than it was a moment ago.

Wait...

“Uh, Wally?” May said.

Dammit May, don’t tell him.

“Yeah?” Wally asked.

“Could you please say, ‘I find your lack of faith disturbing.’ for me please,” May said, a grin pulling at her lips.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and started laughing. “Maybe throw in a bold declaration of your role as a parental figure,” I tacked on.

“I feel like there’s a reference I'm not getting here,” he said.

Both May and I froze before looking at one another.

“Movie marathon?” May asked.

“Later tonight. This isn’t his fault; it’s how he was raised,” I responded.

“I feel like I'm being made fun of. Is it really that bad?” He asked.

“It’s fine, May and I are just terrible people. At any rate, what’s the plan for today? Are we sticking together or striking it out on our own?” I asked.

May shoveled some rice into her mouth and grabbed Sergei from me.

“Well, we all need to go down to the gym and book a match with Roxanne, probably as soon as we leave here. That place is going to be packed this time of year, so the sooner the better.” May swiped down a few times. “We also need money, so we should probably hit up a battle lounge. We can also hit up the contest hall if either of you are interested.” May smiled wide at that thought. “Once we get some spending money, we can also go shopping. I know I promised to get Lea a whole new wardrobe once we got here.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” I mumbled as I looked away.

May grinned at me. “Yes, yes I do,” she said.

“I really need to train before we hit up the gym. Gawain’s great but the other two members of the squad aren’t ready,” Wally explained.

Wait.

“Two?” I asked.

“Oh, right, I forgot to mention. Surskit wanted to tag along. Haven’t had a chance to give her a nickname yet, though knowing my luck she already has one,” Wally explained.

“Neat, I recommend Nimue if you want to keep the theme,” I joked.

“You’ll have plenty of time to train. Even if we go down today, our battles won’t be for a while.” May explained. “We’re at the start of the season, and every aspiring trainer in the city is trying to snag a badge for the fun of it. We can hit up the lounge after we put our names in the gym registry. That’ll give Wally a chance to get some extra battle experience.”

“Err... won’t me losing hurt our finances?” Wally asked.

“Honey, whatever you lose is going to be offset by the massive amounts of money Lea’s going to win,” May said.

I blushed bright red. “May, I'm sure It won’t-”

“You’re currently a zero-badge trainer.” May cuts me off. “YOU DO NOT FIGHT, LIKE A ZERO-BADGE TRAINER! Normal trainers don’t use your hit and hide tactics with Emilie. Normal trainers don’t curate their captures like you do. Most zero-badge trainers are rocking the arena with your public enemy number one, Zigzagoon.”

“They must be punished,” I muttered. Okay, maybe I do have a problem.

‘Hatred is only a problem if it’s irrational. Our shared distaste of those things is entirely rational. Therefore, we do not have a problem,’ Emilie supplied.

‘I don’t think that’s how that works,’ I thought back.

“Like I said, don’t worry about our finances. Getting Gwen and Nimue up to speed is worth a few bumps to our wallet,” May supplied while Emilie and I commiserated in our shared disdain.

“Oi, I haven’t named her yet,” Wally complained.

“Well bring her out and we can talk, then,” I nagged. “Come on, I want to see our guide again.”

“Fine.” Wally unlatched a ball and tossed it out.

Surskit formed on the table and smiled once she saw me.

‘Oh, thank the legends the baker didn’t die,’ Surskit said.

“Thanks for getting Wally to the city safely. We worried about him. You’ll get your own personal bag of cookies later.” I’d need to see if the center would let me use their kitchen later. Maybe find a recipe or two for bug types.

Granted, the look I was getting for offering that probably meant that she was good with whatever, as long as I made it.

“Since you’re a part of our team, how would you like a name. Lea and I suggested Nimue, but-” A loud chittering cut May off.

‘YES! Oh, I love that name. Being named for the lady of the lake is a very clever idea,’ she said, bouncing up and down as she talked.

I nodded along but stopped as I thought about her words. Wally glared at me as he looked up from his phone.

“Thanks, Lea,” Wally said sarcastically.

“Wait, why does a formerly wild Surskit know about a predominantly human folk tale. Come to think of it, why does Gawain, or the Pokémon that named Gawain?” I thought aloud.

‘Nay, the stories of old are passed down through many of the more knowledgeable bug types in the forest. The tales speak of a great many Pokémon of valor, and of the humans that helped them in their quests,’ Nimue said.

Wally sighed as he read through the dialogue.

“Oh god there’s two of them,” Wally groaned. “I’m never going to get a chance to nickname my own Pokémon, am I? This entire theme was forced on me!”

“Aww, I’m sorry. Here, have a cookie.” I pulled out a bag, and suddenly I had two VERY attentive Pokémon at my beck and call. “You guys are starting to make me feel like a drug dealer. I don’t like this feeling.”

‘Sorry,’ Came the echoed reply as both Pokémon got down from the table.

“I’m good, thanks,” Wally said.

‘Blasphemy,’ Emilie hissed.

“Well, I'm stuffed and you’re both done already, let’s go wait in a line for half an hour.” May clapped her hands together and smiled.

“Yay.”

***

“May, I think you’re getting special treatment,” I complained.

“You’re just mad you’re going last.” May said before sticking her tongue out at me.

“I’m sorry, but I agree with Lea. You get your match a full day ahead of us.” Wally complained.

“Yeah, I don’t know how great that is,” May said. “You two get to train for longer, and all things considered, I’m going to have the hardest time with Roxanne.” May bit her lower lip before looking at her poke balls.

“If Suzaku evolves, you’ll probably be fine. Doesn’t knowing Flame Charge mean that she’s close?” I asked.

“Not really? It’s a step in the right direction, but according to the dex, I need to work on building up the muscles in Suzaku’s legs. Flame Charge just helps with that. I also wouldn’t mind catching a third. I’m now the only member of our group with two.” May sighed. “Regardless, let’s hit the lounge. I want to watch Lea bully the locals.”

“Just remember to do your own bullying. We all need the practice,” I urged.

“I know, I know. Quit your worrying,” May said. “I doubt YOU need practice for this badge, anyway. Your entire team bullies Roxanne.”

“I’m not taking any chances,” I said.

Wally nodded before looking away shyly. “Er... actually, I think we’ll split here. I really think I need to do some private training before I try going into an actual fight. Gwen hasn’t really done any training and I don’t even know what Nimue can do yet.” Wally pulled out his phone. “I know you wanted to stick together, but I'd really feel better doing my own thing today. We’ll meet up at the center later.”

“Fine. I guess Lea and I will earn our keep alone,” May said, not sounding overly bothered.

I waved good bye to Wally as we split up at the crosswalk.

“The lounge is a few blocks away, so we’ll have a bit of a walk. Shout if you see something interesting though.” May said, before pulling out Sergei.

I nodded, hoping she had an eye on a nav function.

‘So, finally got some alone time with May?’ I don’t like that I can hear a smirk in her thoughts.

‘Please stop being weird about this,’ I begged. ‘Besides, you’re here, and you never shut up.’

‘I’m just saying...’

‘Stop saying. We’re friends.’ I put extra emphasis on the last word and awkwardly looked over at May, who was typing away on Sergei.

‘Friends don’t react the way you did when May snuggled into your shoulder. Friends also don’t debate if holding hands with their best friend in the city is weird.’

I blushed a bit. I was really hoping she wouldn’t catch that thought. Emilie giggled.

‘Shut. UP.’ I spat both words with as much vitriol as I could muster.

‘Fine. I still think you’re being stupid. The ONLY person you’re lying to is yourself.’ I hated how smug she sounded through the link. ‘I want to work on some stuff with you while we’re in the city by the way.’

‘What the hell am I going to practice? I thought I was the trainer in this relationship,’ I complained.

‘You’d think that, wouldn’t you? ’ Emilie shook her head as she said that.

I glared.

‘I want to work on improving your empathy. That will be a lot easier with more people around, so doing it in the city is ideal.’ Emilie said.

‘Isn’t that... kind of rude? ’ I asked.

‘How?’ Emilie asked back.

‘I don’t want to intrude on strangers feelings. That feels... wrong,’ I said, looking down towards the ground.

‘They won’t even know you’re doing it! They-’ Emilie stopped suddenly.

‘They what?’ I asked.

‘Nothing. You’re right. I guess it is kind of rude. I’m sorry.’ Emilie looked away. Odd.

‘We’ll figure something else out, okay? Maybe Wally will be down to help. I won’t feel bad if I have permission,’ I compromised.

Emilie nodded, a small frown on her face.

‘While we’re on the subject of training, I want to hit up the fields tomorrow. I want to work with Apollo and Joern a bit, and I kind of want to work on physical conditioning with you.’

‘What.’ Emilie did not look amused.

‘We teleport you all over the place, but you’re slow as all hell on your own two feet. And running will help build up your endurance. You haven’t really taken a solid hit yet, but I'm kind of worried that I'm turning you into a glass cannon.’ I winced as my back yelled at me. ‘I’ve also noticed a bit of extra... heft, when you teleport to my shoulder,’ I said cautiously.

‘WHAT!’ Ow. Ow. Oh, that one gave me a headache. Ow. ‘Sorry.’ Emilie muttered begrudgingly.

“You alright?” May asked, her eyes running over me in worry as I stopped to rub my temples.

“Fine, just a bit of a headache. Are we there yet?” I asked.

“Actually, yes.” May said as she waved toward the rather large building. “You didn’t notice?”

“I was talking to Emilie. I just paid enough attention to follow you and assumed you knew where you were going,” I said.

“You really trust in my sense of direction that much after this morning?” May asked.

“Well-”

“YOU!” Oh, not this idiot again. I turned to see Brendan Birch walking out the double doors of the training facility. At least he was pointing at me this time instead of May. Guess I made an Impression.

“Hey, Ass Hat, long time no see. Glad to see you made it through the forest okay,” I said, somewhat serious. That forest wasn’t fun, and he probably went through it alone.

“My name is Brendan, and I want a rematch,” he snarled.

“Are you sure? Cause I remember calling you ass hat in my head a lot. It’s going to be kind of hard to think of you as anything else,” I said.

May looked between the two of us in confusion.

“Have we met before?” May asked. Ass hat jumped and put a decent amount of distance between himself and May. Oh, that’s funny.

“We met in Petalburg three days ago,” Ass Hat said.

“Not really ringing a bell,” May said.

I swear the vein on his forehead is getting bigger.

“That’s funny, because you rang his bell. He’s the idiot you punched out at the gate,” I explained.

“Oh!” May said, before turning and giving Ass Hat a malevolent grin. Ass hat backed away slowly.

“At any rate, if you’re down for another beatdown, I'm more than happy to take your money a second time. May, you get to watch this time. I’m about to beat up one of your fellow field researchers,” I said, copying May’s grin.

May’s glare shifted to a look of interest.

“Oh, you were also sponsored by Professor Birch. That’s neat. The online exam was brutal, wasn’t it?” May asked. Ass hat looked a bit confused and more than a little nervous.

“Er, yeah, it wasn’t that bad,” Ass hat said.

I imagined it wouldn’t be for you, considering Birch is your dad.

“Really, I thought that one question going over all of Eevee’s evolution methods was going to sink me. Like, how are you supposed to know ALL the methods off the top of your head?” May asked, slipping into full nerd mode.

“Er...” Ass hat looked so lost, and actually looked towards ME with pleading eyes.

“And the trick questions with Pokémon anatomy were especially mean. I got them, somehow, but most of them were guesswork. Like seriously, how the fuck are you supposed to figure out the Pokémon from a black silhouette of a sphere,” May still hadn’t come up for air. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it get this bad before.

“Uh...” Fine, I’ll help you.

“And-”

“May.” I raised my hand to get her to stop. “Stop being a nerd,” I said.

“Rude,” May said with a pout. Adorable.

Not adorable, brain stop being fucking weird.

“Yeah, a few of the questions tripped me up, but honestly, being around the old man for so long, I kind of breezed through most of it.” What the... “Last name is Birch by the way. I’m the professor’s kid.”

Is he trying to show off or something? Why...

“That’s so cool! You must have all kinds of fun stories about the professor!” May gushed.

Oh.

“Well, there was that one-time last year when-” Hell no.

“We battling or what!? I have other things to do today.” I shouted, glaring at Ass Hat. If he thinks I'm going to let him flirt with May, he’s got another thing fucking coming.

‘For the love of God, refer to him by name.’ Emilie sent a rather strong feeling of exasperation through the mental link. Killjoy.

“Let’s book an arena. No where for you to hide behind on an open field,” Brendan said with a glare.

Brendan went through the screen doors ahead of me, and May shot me a look.

“What?” I asked. May didn’t say anything and just walked inside. “WHAT?!” No response.

‘Idiot.’

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Chapter Text

I glared out across the stage as Brendan took his position. The idiot was waving out to the crowd like a damn show Ponyta. Quite a few spectators had filled the stands and all any of them could do was stroke ass hat’s already inflated ego.

I needed to make sure they were cheering my name by the time we left the arena. No way in hell was I losing round two.

“Kick his ass, Lea!” May shouted.

At least I had one fan. The ref raised both flags into the air, and the crowd quieted down.

“This will be a one-on-one match with no time limit. Are both trainers ready?”

I nodded, and Brendan gave the ref a thumbs up.

“On the count of three, then. One.” I took a second to look over the arena. It was as plain and barren as could be, Emilie didn’t have much to work with. “Two.” He’d probably send out Mudkip again. I pulled up Joern’s ball. I had been neglecting him a bit. “Three.” I released Joern and smiled at the familiar shade of blue that appeared on the other side.

“Marsh.”

Any and all joy I had at being right faded after taking in how much bigger that shade of blue had gotten.

“Marshtomp, Mud Shot.” And he’s trying to take the initiative.

Fine with me.

“Joern, just tank it and tag it with a Leech Seed,” I ordered.

I smiled at the swear I heard from the other end of the arena. Joern rotated his leaf and launched the attack under Marshtomp’s Mud Shot. Joern skidded backwards from the force of the mud as the seed bounced along the ground. It implanted itself in Marshtomp’s thigh as his own attack ended.

“You good, Joern?” I asked.

“Tad!” An enthusiastic cry met my call as Joern rose to full height. The fact that his full height was less than a foot made the scene more adorable than anything, but I was happy my Pokémon was feeling good.

“Then use Razor Leaf,” I ordered.

“Use Water Gun on the ground and slide out of the way. Get close and Tackle them,” Ass Hat ordered.

Fuck, that’s a fast frog. The leaves impacted the ground where Marshtomp had been, and I had to think fast.

“Jump and Water gun to propel yourself backwards. Tag the overgrown frog if you can,” I said.

Joern opened his mouth, jumped, and fired. I had to fight back a laugh as Marshtomp ran, headfirst, into the stream. I knew it wouldn’t do much damage, but damn that was funny.

“Don’t get up, just go deeper. Dig.” And just like that, he disappeared.

“Joern, can you sense where your Leech Seed is?”

Joern shook his head.

Well, that sucked. Honestly, kind of impressed the Marshtomp dug down so quickly with how muddy the field... was... getting. “Joern, Water Gun the field, rapid fire. Make the whole damn thing a marsh.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the referee groan.

“TAD!” Joern obliged me and coated the field with water. The dirt very quickly started to shift and cake together into a big mud filled mess.

“Marshtomp, come up now while it’s distracted.”

The mud directly beneath Joern bulged, and Marshtomp shot out from the ground and slammed into Joern with way more force than I was expecting. Joern got shot into the air.

“Joern!” I shouted.

“Tad.” Joern fired a water gun in the air to right himself, and the mud softened his landing. He looked tired, but not that bad off. He was sporting a bruise on his underside, but as the vines around Marshtomp pulsed, Joern’s bruise started to fade.

“Marshtomp, close the distance and finish this with Bite.” I smirked when the Marshtomp started to sink as he tried to move. “Marshtomp?” The Marshtomp flailed as he sunk further back underground, the mud falling into the hole he had made when he emerged from the ground. The whole arena was an uneven, muck filled mess, thanks to his tunneling and Joern’s water volley.

He was a sitting duck.

“Joern, let him have it. Razor Leaf, full blast.” Checkmate.

“Water Gun, deflect them,” Brendan shouted.

The leaves shredded through the water as if it was paper and struck true. Marshtomp held firm, and for a second, I half thought it’d survive the onslaught, only for it to lean back and pass out half a second before the end of the volley. The referee raised his flag toward me.

“Marshtomp is unable to battle, Lea and Joern are the winners.” I smiled as I heard a faint sound of clapping. Really, you were all so vocal before. I recalled Joern and rushed over to the stands.

“Did I do good?” I asked.

“You’re terrifying, you know that right?” May quipped, shaking her head.

“Stop, you’re making me blush. I couldn’t lose in front of my adoring fans, after all,” I said with a smile.

“Fan. I think everyone else was here to watch the professor’s son battle.” May sighed. “Bet my rounds are gonna be fun.”

I winced. “Meh, if anyone gets rowdy, send them my way. I’ll beat them up for you.” I puffed myself up as I finished making my promise, and May laughed.

“My hero,” May said sarcastically. “I recorded your match by the way. Figured you’d want video proof of beating your eternal rival.”

“Please don’t call him that,” I begged.

“Just shut up and be happy. That whole bout was great.”

“It was.” I heard from behind me. Great, now I have to deal with his post battle trash talk. Turning around, I leaned back at the offered hand.

“Wasn’t expecting a Lotad. I really wasn’t expecting Leech Seed. How has that thing not evolved yet?” he asked.

Humility and blind praise? From a rival brained chunni?

“Joern probably isn’t that far off. I know I had a massive type advantage here, but that was still a second stage and Joern did fantastically. A bit more experience and training and he’ll be good to go. I just didn’t get to fight with him much in the forest.” I smirked. “This is a much better post-game talk than last time.” I couldn’t help but jab.

Brendan winced. “Sorry about before. Dad... really let me have it for being an idiot, and I was being an idiot.”

Ah, that explained it.

“The woods were also a bit of a humbling experience. Pineco suck.” Brendan explained.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah. They do.” I agreed.

May clapped her hands together.

“Good, we’re all friends now. Don’t forget to give us our winnings.” May’s eyes practically turned into dollar signs when she saw how much we wagered.

Brendan looked like he was in physical pain.

“You’re still good, right?” I asked, surprised at how worried I sounded.

“I’m fine, just sad,” Brendan cried. “I’ll just have to come back tomorrow and grind. Again.”

I shrugged, unsure how to respond to that. It kind of struck me as odd that he didn’t want to battle more. He was probably better than a lot of the people here.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, but I want to get some matches in, and I know Lea wants to go a few more rounds,” May said.

I did? May’s eyes trailed over to me, and I swallowed as the dollar signs hadn’t left.

“Sure thing, May...” I turned to look at Joern. I felt bad for how little action he got while we were in the forest. “You still up for more?”

He nodded once. Joern really wasn’t much for talking, was he?

“Fine, let’s queue up against randos then. Later Brendan.” Damn, I even called him by name. That whole thing was a lot less fun. I missed the trash talk, dammit.

“Take it easy, you two,” Stop being polite, you ass hat!

***

None of the rest of my matches even came close to the level of challenge Brendan brought to the table. May was right, most zero-badge trainers really did suck.

“Apollo, Aerial Ace. Just put it out of its misery,” I ordered, bored out of my mind.

I smirked as Apollo disappeared and slammed into the Poochyena at max speed and pulled up to take to the skies once more as the he went down. Endurance training really had paid off.

‘I feel kind of bad picking on cannon fodder like this, Cap,’ Apollo said.

‘Would you rather face May’s wrath if we don’t feed her avarice?’ I asked.

‘I no longer feel bad about bullying the cannon fodder,’ Apollo replied.

‘Just be happy our endurance training has been paying off.’

“Winner, Lea and Apollo.” The ref raised my flag.

That marked seven wins in a row. At some point this place had to have some kind of slaughter rule, right? Where if I win too many in a row, they’d throw me into a harder bracket or give me something stronger. This was... kind of boring, and probably not helping my Pokémon that much either. Joern got bored after four rounds, and I think Apollo was getting close.

“Um... Excuse me?” Huh? Why was the Ref flagging me? Did I do something wrong?

“What’s up?” I asked nervously.

“Well, you seemed kind of bored, so... alright, there’s a hidden challenge you can get here at the Battle Factory. After seven wins in a row, you’re allowed to challenge a... special trainer that runs the facility. If you think you’re up for it, of course,” he said.

Score, there is a slaughter rule. “Sign me up! My team could use a workout after that warm-up.”

The ref looked me up and down before tapping on his earpiece.

“Alright, I’ve got a challenger.” A pause. “Who am-? This is the Ref for the zero-badge bracket.” Another pause. “What do you mean you’re not sure? She beat seven trainers in a row, and before that she faced off against a friend of hers with a rather impressive looking Marshtomp.”

Well, I wouldn’t really call us... friends.

The Ref looked my way. “You have three battle-fit Pokémon, right?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, she’s good to go.” One final pause. “Noland will be down in a moment.”

“Should I just...” I pointed back to the other side of the arena and the ref nodded. I hurried back to my spot. The double doors behind the other side of the arena opened, and a tall man in a white, sleeveless coat walked through. He wore a red beanie, and just... looked exceedingly unimpressed.

“Alright, so... fair warning here. I don’t usually fight at this level. Most of the people in the zero-badge arena kind of...” Noland trailed off.

“Suck?” I supplied. I knew my friends and I were slight outliers.

“I was going to be nicer about it, but yeah. I’m not really sure if the mons I picked out for this are... of an appropriate level of strength. You still sure you wanna go?” he asked.

“Well, I’m down for a challenge, but the ref never really explained what was at stake here,” I said.

Noland turned and gave the ref a bit of an unimpressed stare.

“Well, I didn’t know how you wanted to handle prizing for something like this. You usually don’t come to my arena.” The ref hastily explained.

“Fair enough. Alright, a win here gets you a clean five thousand credits, a bronze symbol, and a TM of your choice available in the specialty shop we have in back. Oh, and I guess you’ll gain access to the specialty shop.”

That sounded better than what I'd get if I took down the gym. I started salivating at the prospect of getting a TM for free. Especially a reusable one. Those things were stupidly expensive.

“Anything happen if I lose?” I asked.

“Well, a trainer battle is a trainer battle, isn’t it. The factory will claim your winnings from the sanctioned battles you took part in today.” Wait, why did he specify sanctioned? Oh.

“So, my first battle against my friend...”

“Would not be included,” Noland confirmed.

Well, that made this super easy.

“Bring it. My team and I will beat anything you throw at us.” I shouted in glee. Oh, this was going to be so much fun. “Three on three, right?”

“Yup, but first.” Noland pulled something from his coat and threw it across the arena.

It slipped through my fingers as I tried to catch it and I fell backwards, landing on my ass. I could hear Emilie chuckling in my mind as she levitated the envelope to me.

“Why does everyone think I'm coordinated?” I complained as I opened the envelope and pulled out a set of six cards, each with a different Pokémon on it. “What the hell are these?”

“An added layer of difficulty for me. You, my dear, get to pick two of my Pokémon. Choose wisely.” Noland explained.

I stared down at the cards and thought for a second. I recognized four Pokémon on these cards. Duskull was a recurring character on Mystery Dungeon, and I definitely wanted to fight one, for no other reason than to see a ghost type. They were so cool.

Elektrike and Ralts were out, though. I’d probably still end up facing the damn Elektrike. Noland still got to pick one of his teammates, after all. I knew what a well-trained Ralts could do. I did not want to deal with that.

The last Pokémon I recognized was a Zigzagoon.

I looked at the last two cards and took in the features of the Pokémon staring back at me. The first was a weird, purple, gremlin looking thing with diamonds for eyes. He looked like the type to start some trouble, and that probably meant he was really annoying to fight. The second was a yellow furred girl with an absolutely massive mouth coming out of the top of her head. I know the mouth was probably supposed to be intimidating, but honestly, the whole Pokémon looked kind of goofy to me. A single written word on the cards distinguished both of them as Sableye and Mawile.

I tapped both Mawile’s and Duskull’s card, and Emilie levitated them both back over to Noland. He smiled.

“Interesting choices, Ref, you want to sound us off?”

“Sure thing, boss. This will be a three-on-three fight with one allowed substitution. Both trainers will release their Pokémon on three. One.” Alright, I’d need to set the stage a bit for Emilie to be at her best, plus she’s fresh, so she’ll probably be last. “Two.” I think Apollo would be the best bet to start, just cause he’s fast and can dodge stupid crap if he has to. I can switch if I need to. “Three.” I released Apollo and Mawile formed on the opposite side. Alright, good. If Noland was releasing her first, it couldn’t be that strong, right?

“Mawile.” The rather intimidating Pokémon looked across the field at Apollo, before turning around, yelling at her trainer with her hand on her hip.

“Look, she beat seven in a row, and apparently, she impressed the ref enough to give her a chance. She can’t be that bad,” Noland placated.

I took this as a perfect opportunity to pull out my poke dex and scan the thing.

“Mawile, Fairy and Steel type, horrifyingly strong up close. Known as the carnivorous Pokémon. Well, that’s all sufficiently terrifying. Apollo we’re going to be using hit and run tactics. Do NOT get close to her mouth thing. Keep moving and rapid-fire water gun,” I ordered.

Noland smirked. “Not a bad strategy. Simple, but fairly limiting for me to deal with.”

The Mawile wasn’t even attempting to dodge the water guns.

“Ancient Power, knock it out of the sky,” Noland said, sounding bored.

My mouth gaped as eight boulders rose from the ground and outward in every direction. Not enough time to dodge.

“Aerial Ace to get out of the way, don’t stay close for a follow through,” I ordered.

Noland leaned back at the order. Apollo disappeared from in front of the rocks and slammed, beak first into Mawile. She skidded back a good solid five feet from the force, and Apollo took that time to veer to the right and gain altitude again. He fired a few water guns as he retreated for good measure. Good bird.

“Aerial Ace at your level, this might be fun after all. Mawile, return.” Noland called his teammate back. “I’m not going to waste my time chasing your Wingull around the stadium. I think I have just the thing...” Noland chucked out a poke ball, and an Electrike formed on the other side.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that. Apollo, return. Joern, center stage.” I half knew he wanted to force my switch with his, but it was still better than letting Apollo get zapped, and he’d have a chance to catch his breath. “Kick this off with water gun. Like earlier today.” I hoped he got my meaning. I couldn’t just shout what I wanted here. I smirked as the water guns angled down slightly, soaking the area Electrike dodged from. “Keep firing, just like that.”

“Charge a Thunderbolt while you dodge, Electrike.” The green dog started to crackle.

“Jump when you fire next to dodge,” I ordered.

The little guy propelled himself away as soon as the bolt was let loose. Though Joern dodged the worst of it, the current followed its way through the water, and Joern winced as it took the volts. Electrike dashed forward.

“Now, Thunder Fang.” So fast. Wait. It was close.

“Brace yourself and take it Joern. Leech Seed when it gets close.” Joern stood firm and his leaf glowed a bit as a familiar seed started to form.

“Abort mission, Quick Attack to create distance,” Noland ordered.

The seed impacted the open air where the Electrike used to be, and I sighed. This thing was way too fucking fast. Fuck it, enough with being subtle, this was taking too long.

“Full power Water Gun. Target the field.”

Noland smirked. “Discharge.” Faster than before, Electrike sent out a pulse of electricity. Joern didn’t seem to mind too much, but his Water Gun vaporized before touching the ground.

“Fine, you want to play with spread moves, we’ll play with spread moves. Razor leaf.” I was starting to get worried. Joern was a tanky little guy, but I couldn’t set up seed, and this fight was going for way longer than I was used to.

“Counter with Swift. Don’t let up,” Noland ordered.

Dammit all, do you have an answer for everything? “Don’t stop. Keep up the pressure.”

The leaves and stars met in the air and a dozen little mini explosions filled the sky. Smoke started to fill the battlefield, and I could faintly smell burning leaves.

“Joern!” I shouted.

A stream of water shot out from above and started to rain down and coat the arena. I breathed a sigh, relieved as Joern shot out of the smoke cloud.

The relief was short lived as his body started to convulse with electricity. He was paralyzed.

“Tad.” He barked at me, angry that I was reaching for his ball.

“He’s got spirit, I’ll give him that,” Noland said, grinning at my Pokémon.

The smoke started to clear and Electrike was still standing strong. With one key alteration. A single seed had started to sprout vines that enveloped his person.

“Damn, he was also a busy little plant in that smoke cloud. We need to end this fast Electrike, Quick Attack into Thunder Fang, end him while he can’t move.”

The Electrike boosted its speed and fell flat on its face, his feet falling into the muck that the field was slowly turning into.

“Oh, come on,” Noland complained.

Not so fun not being in control of the fight, is it, ya prick.

“Bring it home, Joern. Razor Leaf.”

No immediate response. Joern was still struggling to move through the paralysis.

“Just keep trying. You got this,” I encouraged.

“Fine, if we can’t move, charge up your best Thunderbolt. Hit it with every volt you’ve got.”

My eyes widened as the Electrike practically glowed yellow. Oh, this was going to hurt.

“Joern, you can do this, just push through it.” Suddenly, Joern stopped moving. I turned to look at him confused. But my fears were put to bed as a faint white light enveloped Joern, and his form started to stand up and grow larger.

“LOMBRE!” Joern shouted to the sky before jumping away, narrowly avoiding a massive bolt of lightning.”

“Now that, was impressive.” Noland smiled. “Win or lose you’re getting something amazing out of this. But don’t think this fight is over.”

My jaw seemed to refuse to work as I stared at Joern in awe. Deciding he didn’t want to wait for either of us to keep up the assault, Joern took this moment to raise both of his arms and a ring of water pushed out from his being, enveloping the stage.

“W-Was that Water Pulse?” I asked, mind ablaze with the possibilities.

“Discharge again, don’t let him bully you.” Noland shouted, and once again most of the water vaporized before it could do much damage, but a small ring still pushed through, and slammed into the Elektrike, knocking it back a good four feet.

“Trike...” He slowly got back to his feet.

“Elektrike, we have one last card to play. Watch your footing and Wild Charge.” Electrike’s entire body glowed yellow.

“Dodge and Razor Leaf, finish it.”

Lombre’s body pulsed as electricity gripped its body.

“Dammit, not now!” I shouted.

Electrike dove into Joern, and the area exploded in a haze of electricity. Once the smoke cleared, neither Pokémon was on his feet.

“Both Pokémon are unable to battle.” The ref declared. “Trainers, send out your next Pokémon.” The ref shouted. I grabbed Apollo’s ball, released him, and hoped... honestly, I didn’t know what I hoped for with the ghost.

A single chill ran up my spine as a shadowy figure started to form on the other side of the field. A large skull stared vacantly at me.

“Duskull.”

“Oh, that is so cool,” I said.

Noland blinked twice. “You’re... not scared?” He asked.

I laughed. “Why would I be? Oh, it looks so wicked. Oh, you have got to tell me where you got him, I want a ghost type. The whole shadowy vibe he’s got going on, he looks bad ass as all hell.” Was... was the skull face blushing. It WAS. “Oh, that blush is so ADORABLE. It’s like a chibi grim reaper.” The white mask got redder as Duskull looked away.

Emilie nudged my head with her fist. ‘We’re in a battle, focus.’

Oh, right.

“Apollo, Water Gun. Keep your distance like before, we don’t know what Duskull’s capable of.”

Apollo nodded, and a few low powered jets of water started pelting Duskull. Well, the area around Duskull, at least. Duskull casually moved between the shots as it floated closer to Apollo.

“Let’s just cripple it from the get-go, Will o’ Wisp. Clip this bird's wings.”

Well, that didn’t sound good. Four blue flames formed around Duskull and started to expand out toward Apollo.

“Douse the fire and gain altitude. Hide in the rafters if you have too, just don’t get hit.”

Apollo easily outpaced the fire, but they lingered, despite getting soaked. Right, ghost flame. Probably different from regular fire. Well, that was going to be annoying.

“I really am getting tired of all this water. Disable.”

And there goes my ranged option. I really needed to expand Apollo’s move pool when I got a chance.

“Fine, hit him hard and fast. Aerial Ace.” I knew I was pushing my luck a bit with this, considering he had already flown away from two of these today, but Apollo was a lot hardier than he had been before Petalburg Woods. I just had to keep faith.

Apollo disappeared and slammed, full force into Duskull.

Something that Duskull seemed moderately okay with, unfortunately. Apollo screamed out in pain as a blue fire finally made contact. Well, that wasn’t good.

“While you’re in close, Wing Attack. Don’t let it get away with doing that to you for free.”

Apollo screeched as it took off, ramming his glowing wings into Duskull as it gained altitude again. Noland grinned.

“Pain Split.”

Every nice thing I said about this Duskull was a fucking lie. Ghost types fucking sucked. Both of our Pokémon glowed with an ethereal haze and Apollo cried out again in pain, as Duskull glowed brighter.

“Now, finish it with Night Shade.”

Tendrils rose from Duskull’s shadow and lashed out toward Apollo.

“Quick Attack to dodge and get in close, then use Wing Attack on the fly by,” I shouted.

Apollo barely dashed around the Night Shade before tagging Duskull again. Even if he did heal off some of it, I knew the Duskull had to still be feeling some damage from those previous hits. This thing couldn’t last forever.

At least, I hoped not.

“Fine, Shadow Sneak, Duskull. Match their speed with yours.”

Duskull’s shadow expanded out and he teleported. From one end of the shadow to the other, he slammed into Apollo with a dark, shadowy aura. Apollo was launched a solid four feet into the air before landing in a heap.

“Apollo!” I shouted.

Apollo slowly dragged itself to its short stubby feet. He was breathing heavily, but he was standing.

“You got one last trick in you?” I asked.

Apollo nodded and kicked off from the ground.

“Let’s make it count then. Aerial Ace, one last time.”

Apollo disappeared.

“Destiny Bond,” Noland shouted.

Honestly, probably unnecessary. I doubted Apollo was getting back up from this regardless. Both Pokémon glowed black as Apollo slammed into Duskull.

Another double knock out.

“So, at the rate we’re going, what happens in the case of a draw?” I asked cheekily.

“Kid, if you fight Mary to a draw with a single Pokémon, I'm treating that as a loss,” Noland quipped as he pulled out a familiar poke ball.

Oh, this thing had a nickname. Goody. “Yeah, well Emilie’s my best, so don’t think you’ll be able to take her down.” I relaxed a bit as the weight I had gotten used to disappeared from my shoulder.

Mawile formed on the opposite side of the arena. She still did not look impressed.

“Wile.”

“Don’t give me that, you’re the last one on the docket. This trainer’s a lot tougher than we thought.”

I blushed a bit at the praise. Damn, I kind of wanted this thing to underestimate us.

‘Is the ground soft enough to work with?’ I quietly asked Emilie.

‘Yeah, I can manipulate this. Won’t be as easy as water, but It’ll work.’

‘Then start pulling it up. Make an improvised Mud Shot and start pulling some back for a mud golem.’

‘D’ accord,’ she agreed.

I smiled. For as much crap as she gave Gawain and Apollo, she was leaning into her name as much as they were.

“Whoa, what the... Mawile, Iron defense, then counter with Ancient Power.” The mud impacted the Mawile with a splat, and although it probably didn’t really do much, she did not look terribly amused when she raised the stones and launched them.

‘Teleport,’ I ordered.

‘Got it, behind and to the left of Mawile.’ Emilie disappeared and the stones harmlessly slipped past her.

‘Keep pulling up mud and stay ahead of her. I don’t want any attacks to connect while we get setup.’ I thought.

“Okay, the fact that you have a mental link this impressive at your stage is terri- are your eyes glowing?!” What?

“Are they?” I asked, slightly puzzled.

“YES!”

“Wile!”

Fuck, I wanted to distract him a little bit longer.

“Right, talk later. Battle now. Jump up and Iron Head. Run it over.”

Mawile jumped and hurtled toward Emilie with the force of a freight train.

‘Catch her,’ I ordered.

Emilie lifted her hands and Mawile rammed face first into a wall of mud that caked around her.

‘Now send her back.’

Emilie flexed and the mud violently shot Mawile backwards. She rolled a couple of times before correcting herself.

Emilie started pulling the mud back toward her, and some of the floating gunk started to shift into something solid. Emilie brought her hands up in front of her and jabbed. The mud fist followed suit.

“Okay, now I’ve seen everything. Mawile, show that wannabe kickboxer what a real punch looks like. Mega Punch.” Mawile pulled back and her fist glowed as she clenched It. The mud fist exploded on contact with the attack. Emilie pulled the mud out of the air, and it started circling her protectively.

‘Oh, if we get hit by one of those, we are just done,’ I fretted.

‘Don’t worry, I'm fine. She hits like a truck but she’s slow. I think that’s why he called her back against Apollo.’

I nodded along. ‘Makes sense. That said, defense isn’t really going to be that helpful here, so don’t worry about making the Emilienator. Just focus on dodging and fire pot shots when you can.’

‘We are not calling it that.’ Emilie said, her voice sounding done with me through the link.

‘But Emili- teleport.’

Emilie disappeared. Mawile slammed a fist into the ground, and mud splashed back into her face. The mud that had been floating around where Emilie condensed and slammed into the Mawile. I smiled as she finally cried out in pain.

‘Finally getting somewhere,’ I chanted.

‘No more jokes, focus on the fight,’ Emilie chastised.

“Damn, I was hoping we could catch you off guard. You psychics always get caught in your own head. It’s like one of the few chances us normal humans can get a drop on you. I’m a bit curious though, you didn’t do this trick with your other two Pokémon, is it something unique to Emilie.”

Wait, he thinks I have psychic abilities?

“Emilie’s doing all the work here. I’m just a normal girl, honest,” I explained.

Noland laughed.

“Honey, I’ve never met a Ralts that can form a mental link this impressive. Most of them are doing good to pick up surface thoughts. No way is Emilie doing ALL of the work. You either have latent mental skills you don’t know about, or you’ve been exposed to an absurd amount of psychic energy and your body’s adapted to it exceedingly well.”

The second one, definitely the second one. I needed to stop the conversation. NOW!

“You want to fight or do you want to talk!” I shouted.

Noland sighed. “Fight. Mawile, Ancient Power.”

‘I hate this attack,’ Emilie complained as she teleported out of the way again.

‘How are you doing?’ I asked. ‘You’ve been teleporting all over the place. That has to be taxing.’

‘I’ll live. Your ‘Endurance training’ was effective.’ Emilie said as she teleported away from another Mega Punch.

I thought about the fight as Mawile’s fists started to glow yet again. Our attacks weren’t doing enough, and Mawile barely looked winded. I needed something bigger. Emilie teleported away again.

“You know, for a fight, you seem to be doing a lot of running,” Noland jeered.

I ignored him, and my gaze shifted to the stones Mawile had sent out with ancient power.

‘Wanna play catch with an angry Mawile?’ I asked.

‘No. I don’t. I don’t think I have much of a choice, though.’ I felt Emilie strain through the connection as she grabbed a rock much larger than any we had lifted before and launched it at the charging Pokémon. Mawile was almost on her...

“Mawile, back step.”

Too late. The large stone slammed into Mawile and sent her tumbling to the left of Emilie.

‘Grab her. Before she can get her bearings,’ I ordered.

Mawile glowed purple and was lifted several meters into the air.

‘Now, slam her down,’ I finished.

The earth splintered with the force Emilie put into that. I gaped as I saw Mawile start to get up.

“How...?”

The Mawile knelt almost immediately and leaned against her knee, panting hard.

‘Yeah... She’s... not... the only one.’ Emilie rasped. ‘I’m spent.’

Mawile shakily started to stand, and I sighed.

‘Okay, screw you. Steel types are so stupid.’ Emilie complained.

‘Say’s the psychic type,’ I mused. ‘What do you think you can do?’

‘I can probably manipulate the mud still. Teleporting is probably also fine. Large stones, and directly grabbing that thing are definitely beyond me, though,’ Emilie said.

‘Well, let’s make us look scarier than we are right now. Grab as much mud as you can and have it float around you. I want to be ready for whatever they have left.’

Emilie’s eyes glowed. ‘Just so you know, after this fight, I’m passing out for a bit.’ Emilie said.

‘I kind of assumed.

A significantly smaller ring of mud formed around Emilie.

“Alright, that’s enough, I’m willing to call this a draw.” Noland shouted over the arena.

Emilie’s mud ring fell to the floor and Mawile turned and looked at her trainer in disbelief.

“WILE!”

“I don’t want to hear it. The two of you are doing good to stand, you’re in no condition to fight. You'll have the world’s lamest showdown as the two of you hit each other with an attack that would put a Magikarp’s splash to shame, and then you’ll both pass out.” Noland deadpanned. Mawile tapped her wrist, hinting at something.

“We are not going to do that against a zero-badge trainer, are you out of your mind?! We are going to double down on your training, though. Clearly, I’ve been way too lax,” Mawile grumbled.

“So... That’s it then?” I hesitantly asked.

“If you’re good with it?”

I nodded enthusiastically, not eager to push Emilie any harder.

“Good, Ref?” Noland asked.

“Er... right. By mutual agreement, this match between Lea and Noland has ended in a draw.”

I rushed out into the arena and carefully picked Emilie up.

Great work.’ I sent that with as much pride as I could. Emilie smiled.

It might not have been a win, but I was still proud of my team. I stared across the arena as Noland recalled Mawile, and chuckled nervously when he fixed me with a smirk.

“Let’s have a chat,” he said.

I hesitantly nodded.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Noland took me back through the back halls of the Battle Factory at a leisurely pace. This was something I was grateful for, because it gave me a chance to look in on some of the other arenas. It was quickly becoming apparent that this place catered to trainers of all skill levels, if the battles I spied on were anything to go by. Salamence, Lucario, Swampert, Charizard, and many more high level Pokémon that I didn’t even recognize were fighting it out in specialized arenas. There were more than a few trainers here that I recognized as conference regulars, and it only felt like the deeper in we went, the more terrifying the trainers got.

“Legends above, I’ve got a long way to go...” I muttered to myself.

Noland smiled as he stopped in front of a large set of mechanical doors. “Yeah, the eight badge arenas are a sight, aren’t they? It’s always a joy to bring newer trainers through the facility. They get a glimpse of their futures if they keep at it.” Noland pressed a few buttons and the doors started to slide open. “Though this is probably the first time I’m bringing back a trainer this green. Roxanne’s gonna have her hands full with you.”

“So... out of idle curiosity, how strong are you compared to Roxanne?” I asked.

Noland laughed hard at that one. I leaned in, eager to see what kind of answer would bring out this response.

"I have no earthly clue!” Noland said.

I fell forward a bit and Noland only laughed harder.

‘He’s nothing, if not honest, ’ Emilie said with a sigh.

‘Painfully so, apparently,’ I agreed.

“Yeah, I don’t remember the last time I actually threw down against Roxy. Neither one of us really ever has time,” he explained. “I honestly don’t know where the Pokémon I threw out against you are at either, I just grabbed the six weakest Pokémon I had on hand. Well, five weakest and Mary, but Mary’s only really scary if we Mega Evolve, so-”

“YOU HAVE A MEGA STONE!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Noland smiled. “A few. Mary’s probably going to be mad at me for a while, honestly. It’s been a while since I’ve fought with her without Mega Evolution. Today kind of showed me that I really need to work with her more in her base form. I’ve been slacking.” Noland sighed as the door opened. “My boss is gonna give me hell for losing to a kid like you, I want you to know that.”

“Who’s your boss? Is he a big name?” I asked.

“Nah, Scott likes to keep to himself. Likes his privacy. Though, for all the trouble he went through to design our little challenge, he could stand to advertise it more. Be warned, he might give you a call once I tell him you beat me,” Noland said.

“We drew,” I hastily corrected.

“Someone like me drawing with a zero-badge trainer is as good as a loss. Our private shop is back this way. Can I see your phone really quick?”

Er... well this is embarrassing... I hesitantly reached into my pocket and pulled out my ancient Devon Corp Poke Nav.

Noland didn’t even bother reaching for it. “Please tell me you have something else.”

“Uh... I have my Pokedex.” I hesitantly pulled out my dex and he snatched it from me before I could even see him move.

“I didn’t know you were one of Birch’s. That’s awesome!” He pulled it open and pressed a few buttons. “Damn, this thing is old. How long have you been a trainer.”

“...about a week,” I muttered, more than a bit embarrassed.

Noland stopped and just looked at me. “I don’t believe you,” he deadpanned. “You’re, what, eighteen? Nineteen, maybe?”

“Seventeen.” I corrected with a bit of heat. “I had a late start cause of some home stuff.” I blushed and looked away.

“So, you’ve been a trainer for a week, and you fight like that?”

I heard my dex beep and Noland looked down at the screen.

“Alright, a week. I was beaten by someone that hasn’t even had their Pokémon for a full week. I am never going to live this down. I can already hear Lucy...”

I half wanted to offer my support, but I was a bit offended that he was taking a draw with me this badly.

“At any rate, I’ve gone ahead and marked the other battle facilities on your navigation function. It’s not as clean as some of the newer models, or the smartphones that literally every other trainer in existence has nowadays.” Noland glanced up and glared at me.

I glared back.

“But it will do,” he finished.

“I’m traveling with a friend that has a nice one, I’ll just transfer it over to hers later.” I muttered before walking into the... shop? This didn’t look like a shop. This looked like a supply closet with a teleporter.

“Well, if you want to run the gauntlet while you’re picking up badges, look us up. We offer decent prizes for winning, and you get something really special if you beat all seven of us.” He sounded like he was making a sales pitch.

“Which is...?”

“Can’t tell ya. It’s a surprise,” Noland said, giving me a coy grin.

“Right, and this is a shop. Not a supply closet.” I pushed a little further in and saw an incredibly bored man behind a register. “I stand corrected, it’s a supply closet that was very lazily converted into a shop.”

“Your words hurt. Pick out a TM. Here’s your knowledge symbol. I’ve already transferred the credits to your account. Hurry it up, I want to learn how someone who’s been a trainer for seven days has budding psychic abilities and a mental link with a Ralts.”

Like hell I'm going to tell you, and I don’t have psychic abilities! Well, besides empathy, I guess.

‘Uh... well...’ My brain stopped as Emilie interrupted my thoughts. She pressed her hands together and looked anywhere but my eyes.

‘Alright, you’re going to be explaining that later. I'm too tired to worry about it now,’ I complained.

‘Good, because I’m too tired to explain,’ Emilie said.

“What makes you think I'm going to share?” I tossed back at Noland. “Especially since I don’t have psychic powers.”

Noland gave me a look.

“Besides empathy, that I barely know how to use,” I admitted.

“That last part I believe. Ralts can’t talk to people without some kind of help, though. They aren’t strong enough. Which means you’re helping the process along. Which means you’re also a telepath, at minimum. Now spill. You haven’t been a trainer long enough for your brain to learn your Ralts’s tricks. Were you a natural born psychic?” Noland asked.

“It’s none of your business, so buzz off.” I replied.

Noland stared at me for a bit, then sighed. “Fine. You’re right. I can’t force you. Just do me a favor and be careful, alright? I’ve seen many psychic trainers get lost in their own head or go mad. Everyone looks up to Sabrina in Kanto, but honestly, she’s the poster child for psychics going off their rocker.” He looked at me with a very serious expression on his face. “Find an anchor to pull you back when needed, and always have a friend close by to pull you out of your head. I want to see you go far, kid. You can’t do that if you’re catatonic in a mental institution.”

I winced at the suggestion. “Emilie wouldn’t ever let me lose myself, and I’m traveling in a group. I’ll be fine.”

Emilie nodded along to my statement, and Noland reluctantly smiled.

“Fine. TMs are over there by the way.” He pointed toward the back wall where a giant rack had them sorted by number.

Going over, my heart soared as I saw the number I had memorized from my guidebook. “TM Eighteen. Rain dance. Oh, you have made my day.” I grabbed the small CD case and pocketed it.

***

“So, to clarify, there’s a secret organization in the back of the Battle Lounge-”

“Factory. Noland called it the Battle Factory,” I corrected.

May glared at me. “Then they should update their registry, and their signage. Continuing, there’s a secret organization in the back of the Battle Factory, where if you beat a certain number of trainers in a row, you face off against a big scary man in a white sleeveless overcoat that has absurdly strong Pokémon. I know they’re absurdly strong because you fought him to a draw. You’ve now been inducted into this secret society, where you get to run a fake gym challenge for fabulous prizes, the best of which you don’t even know what it is, and during all of that, you got enough money to cover your supplies for a long ass time and a TM you’ve been salivating over for the last two days. Does that about cover it?”

I thought for a couple of seconds. “Joern also evolved, but yeah, that’s about everything.” I smiled. “Pretty cool, huh?”

May slammed her head into the table. “Can you please, just... have a normal day.”

I patted May on the head and took a sip of my smoothie. “That sounds boring, so no.” I said without shame.

“Fine, tomorrow we’re shopping though. We have the funds for a whole new wardrobe, so no more hand me downs for this up-and-coming super star.” I blushed at May’s praise.

“Yeah, you two have fun with that.” Oh, so it’ll just be May and I on our shopping trip and why the fuck does that make me so happy?

“You mean you don’t want to offer your bag carrying services, Sir Wally?” May badgered in an attempt to be lazy.

“Pass. I’ll probably hit up the lounge-”

“Factory,” I corrected.

“Whatever. All three of my Pokémon need battle experience. That said, what do you two want to do tonight? It’s still early,” Wally said.

“Hmm... are they doing anything at the contest hall? We could watch a show.” I threw out.

May started swiping up on Sergei. “They host a contest every night at seven.” May said.

“How much are tickets?” Wally asked, leaning forward in his chair.

May winced. “Four hundred. Each.”

Wally sank back down into his chair. “Damn, this place is way pricier than the place in Verdunturf,” Wally complained. “Can’t afford that right now.”

“I mean, it makes sense. Way more people here than in Verdunturf. I can pay for everyone if you guys want to go,” I suggested.

“This humble knight graciously accepts your good will.” Wally smiled.

Well, I assumed it was a smile. It was kind of hard to tell with the mask.

“I haven’t been to a contest since I was a kid. I can’t wait to see what it’s like here,” Wally said.

“Thanks for the offer, but... I think I'll pass,” May said.

What?

“You sure?” Wally asked. “You’re turning down a chance to mooch off Lea? You feeling okay?”

“...I kind of don’t like that we’ve been traveling together for four days, and you already believe her lies.” May was doing her best to look as devastated as possible.

“Gawain and Emilie backed her stories up. Fairys literally cannot lie,” Wally countered.

“Rude. I’m just going to head back to the center and work on training routines for Suzy and Samie. Maybe do some light training with them. You two go and have fun without me,” May said.

I wanted to have fun with you too, though. That’s half the reason I said I'd treat!

“Fine, be a responsible Pokémon trainer. Come on, Wally, we need to head out now if we want to get tickets.” I forced myself to stay as upbeat as possible as I got up, more than a bit unhappy that I couldn’t renig on something I suggested.

“Er... coming. Have a good night, May. See you later.” Wally said as I dragged him away from the table. “Lea, slow down. I can’t run that fast.”

I stopped as a crushing realization sunk in.

“Where’s the contest hall again?”

Wally groaned as he pulled out his phone.

***

“...and our seats should be, ah! Right here,” Wally said.

I was only half paying attention as I took in the massive auditorium. Not sure if Wally really needed to be super concerned about us being in exactly the right spot, we weren’t all that close to max capacity. At least I’d get to enjoy the extra clearance for my arms. Hell, Emilie could have her own seat.

‘Your shoulder is plenty comfortable, thanks.’

Damn.

“I figured this place would be more filled. The Verdunturf Hall was always packed,” Wally commented.

“I mean, it's early in the season and there’s more to do in the city than there is in Verdunturf. I can’t imagine the price of entry endears it to most of the trainers here for their first badge.” I still couldn’t believe that vendor tried to have me buy Emilie a ticket. “You apparently love contests, and you didn’t want to come because of how pricy the tickets were. Imagine how all the trainers without sugar mamas feel.” I explained.

Wally shot me an amused look. “Did these tickets come with strings attached? Do I have to do a sultry dance later?”

“Depends on my mood. You might just be consigned to bringing me breakfast tomorrow morning.” I said, doing my best to sound as ambivalent as possible.

Wally chuckled lightly through his mask.

“Out of idle curiosity, what’s doing it for you? The oxygen mask, the spindly arms, or the exotic hair color?” Wally asked.

I couldn’t stop the laugh from bubbling up at that. “Alright, your banter skills are up to snuff.” I said with a smile.

“You mean this isn’t casual flirting?” Wally lazily asked.

I suddenly felt very nervous about how to respond. “I, uh... hope this won’t crush your fragile heart, but uh... you’re not my type,” I said.

Wally heaved a sigh of relief and I suddenly felt slightly insulted.

“Oi, I’m a catch,” I complained. I felt Emilie start to shake on my shoulder, and a very faint laughter filled my left ear.

“No offense, Lea, but you scare the crap out of me.” Wally said.

The laughter got louder as Emilie stopped trying to hold in.

“Excuse me!?” I shouted. I got a few shushes from other people in the hall.

“It’s not anything bad, it’s... you can be a little intense. It’s intimidating,” Wally explained. The auditorium started to dim. “Oh, shush. It’s starting.”

Am I scary? I don’t think I'm scary. I’m a god damn delight!

‘Of course you are, honey,’ Emilie said.

“Hello everyone, we’re so happy to have you join us today! We have a host of twenty coordinator’s today at this rookie level event, so thank you-” Yup. Rookie level. Ugh. Why did I do this to myself? I idly wondered how many of these appeal rounds were just going to be Zigzagoon trainers trying to wow us with a tail chasing act and trying to appeal to the cuteness factor.

Gag.

‘Hey Emilie? I’m going to meditate for a bit, could you pull me out if anything interesting happens or Wally needs me?’ I asked.

‘This was your idea, you know. I don’t care what the motive was, the least you could do is pretend to watch for Wally’s sake.’

I scrunched up my nose as the first trainer sent out a Zigzagoon.

‘I... suppose I could watch for you,’ Emilie said.

'Thanks, just... play the highlight reels for me later in my head so I can share it with May.’ I suggested.

Emilie nodded before turning and sending me a suggestive smirk. ‘You do realize-’

‘YES! I GET IT! YOU’VE MADE YOUR OPINION KNOWN! PLEASE STOP BRINGING UP SOMETHING THAT’S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!’

Emilie winced.

I didn’t know I could yell through the mental link.

‘I’m sorry.’ Her voice was quiet as she looked away.

‘Don’t- you didn’t do anything wrong. I just... let me meditate in peace, alright? We can talk in a bit,’ I said, feeling guilty for reacting like that.

I glanced up at the stage and they had moved on to a Poochyena. Yeah, I wasn’t missing much. I closed my eyes and let my mind take me back to the bakery. Nothing had changed.

I needed to fix that.

Meeting the suit and our adventure into the forest came to mind. I did that with May, so let’s just take a seat at her table and... let’s make some cupcakes that are decorated like mushrooms. That’ll work.

Then there was the incident this morning. I could feel my cheeks heat up just thinking about it. How embarrassed we both were. How... nice... it was.

A stuffed Tediursa doll formed on the table.

Moving on. We have an appointment. I looked over to the calendar hanging off the wall behind the register, and the seventeenth got marked down for a gym battle.

Next was my fight with Brendan.

After he flirted with May.

The dick. He was less of an ass this time, but I still can’t stand him. A Mudkip voodoo doll formed on the dart board next to the entrance.

It suddenly occurred to me that I still hadn’t gotten up from the table May was sitting at. An urge struck me.

The point of having a memory palace like this was to remember things. I could finish this later. I smiled as the contents of the table changed. There was a cupcake with a candle, a braid, and a brownie.

I grabbed the braid.

The room shifted and my mind recreated the scene. May and I were hanging out in her room. She had somehow managed to convince me that I would look fantastic with braids.

I think I was just trying to get a break from Eve and jumped at the chance to get out of the house. Oh, legends, I looked so young. This was an earlier memory than I thought.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Young me asked.

“Duh, braids are easy. I’ll show you how to do mine after,” Mini May offered. “Your hair is so long. I'm surprised you don’t have someone in your family do this for you. I imagine your job would be easier if you had your hair done up.” A ponytail and a hair net’s all you need. “What twelve-year-old has a part time job, anyway?”

Damn, she was a bit of a brat back then.

“I doubt Eve would take the time out of her day to braid my hair,” Mini-me grumbled.

Fuck I was stupid. Eve didn’t HAVE time in her day.

“And it’s a fulltime job, thank you very much.”

“What about your mom?” I winced at the shout of pain from Mini-me. Yeah, I remembered that wince. I pulled away from May and she ended up pulling my hair. “Hey, careful.” Mini May said.

“I... my parents... Eve’s all I have.” Little Lea explained.

Mini May blanched. “I'm sorry, I didn’t-”

“It’s fine.” They didn’t say anything for a while.

Fuck, why was this in the happy memories bundle, this was-

“You can share mine if you want,” Mini May offered. “Dad’s like, never home, but I know Mom would adore another daughter.”

“That’s... that’s not how it works,” Little Lea said sadly.

“Why not? Look, I’ll bug dad about it later. Of course, you’re going to have to come over more. You can’t be part of the family if you’re camped out in your room reading manga all the time,” Mini May said.

“What if I camp out in YOUR room and read manga all the time?” Little Lea asked.

“Final offer, WE camp out in MY room and read manga all the time,” May smiled.

“Deal.” They smiled at each other, and the memory faded.

Fuck, was I crying?

As much as May poked fun at my dork side, she was an avid participant when she wanted to be. I remembered dozens of read parties, and later watch parties happening in that room.

I remembered dinners with the whole Maple family.

I remembered so much.

That conversation happened years ago, but it felt like it had happened yesterday. This... this was half the problem I was having. Over the years, May had done so many random, amazing, wonderful things that didn’t seem like much at the time. But now... an entire relationship spanned out in front of me. Hell, it was literally sitting right across from me. I wanted to reach out, but... I couldn’t.

Emilie suppressed my ability to feel fear, but I wasn’t sure how well it worked here. I was terrified to reach across the table. To even say it. But I knew I needed to. I had to be brave.

“I... I’m in love with my best friend, and I have no idea how to deal with that.”

“What?!”

The world shifted as a foreign voice pulled me from my thoughts. The bakery disappeared in an instant, and I stared, wide eyed, at a very surprised Wally.

“D-did that come through out here?” I asked, my eyes wide as they darted around the auditorium before resting on Wally’s surprised face. “You didn’t hear anything,” I commanded.

“The hell I didn’t,” Wally whispered loudly.

“SHH.” Wally turned and glared at the random spectator.

“Screw you, this contest blows. Look, we’re going to get out of here. What you just said is WAY more important than this.” Wally got up and urged me to follow him.

“I didn’t say anything.” Deny. Deny everything.

‘He’s not buying it.’ Emilie commented.

I slumped down in my seat, defeated, before getting up and following him out of the building. We stopped in front of a secluded oak tree, and Wally turned to me.

“Alright, so... I’m guessing you didn’t think you were just going to blurt that out. What were you doing?” Wally asked. At least he’s starting with an easy question.

“I meditate. It helps me organize my thoughts. Emilie showed me how, and it makes remembering things way easier. Ever heard of a mind palace?” I asked.

Wally shook his head.

“It’s a mental construct. You make a place in your mind that has significance to you, and you organize your memories into objects in the palace. I was sitting across a table from May, and I was... trying to process something. I admitted that aloud to try and reconcile my feelings. I didn’t... I didn’t know I’d say it out here too.” I chuckled. “Now I know.” I shot a glare up toward Emilie, who was doing her best to avoid looking at me.

“Well, I don’t get why you shut down in the hall when I heard you. This is great! Right?”

I slumped down.

“Right?” he asked again, looking less sure.

“Wally, this is how friendships get RUINED. I can’t lose what May and I already have!” I started pacing around the tree as I talked. “She’s... we’ve done everything together. I’ve known her for forever. She’s...” I stopped. “If I say anything that goes away.”

“You’re scared.” Wally stated.

“I’m not.” I literally couldn’t be.

‘Actually, you’re terrified,’ Emilie quipped. ‘The thought of losing May is overpowering the mental block I put into place.’ Emilie chuckled. ‘Considering it’s blocking the trauma from my mom’s attack just fine, that’s saying something.’

“I’m fucking terrified.” I corrected myself.

Wally raised both of his arms up placatingly. “Look, you’re thinking of all the ways things can go wrong here. But what if things go right? I’d think things would point more toward that if this morning was anything to go by.”

I don’t say anything. I just look towards the ground and bite my lip.

“Look, you don’t have to decide on anything right now, but I think you should go for it,” Wally said.

“Wally, I don’t even know if May likes girls!” I half shouted before covering my mouth with both hands, looking up and down the street.

“...I think I know what you need,” Wally said with conviction.

“A lobotomy?” I posited.

Wally shook his head. “A wing man.”

***

May’s POV

***

Seven wins in a row, followed by a fight with someone that probably rivals a gym leader in strength. She sighed as she pulled up Suzy’s ball. She was pissed when that brat we fought at the Battle Factory mistook her for a boy. Kind of scared me, honestly. The modified nickname sounded cuter, anyway.

She stopped at five.

Some of the worst trainers in Hoenn, and she could only take out five before stopping. That’s not even considering the auto loss she’d have gotten if she had gotten paired up against Lea.

May tossed Suzy’s ball and smiled as the familiar fire bird formed in front of her. She looked a bit lost as she took in where we were.

“Don’t suppose you’re up for a little training, are you?”

Suzy trilled, sounding confused. May gazed down at Sergei.

“I guess? Kind of a weird time to practice though,” Suzy said. Yeah... It kind of was, wasn’t it?

“You’re probably right. I’m just... worrying about our fight in a few days. And I just know she’s going to go extra hard on us cause of dad.” May said, pushing back the actual reason she wanted to train. That she felt like they were falling behind.

That she was jealous of her best friend’s success, because that made her feel all kinds of rotten inside.

“The Center has a small private field we can use that’s fire retardant. We can work on Flame Charge,” May suggested, a bit nervous Suzy wouldn’t go for it. Another trill.

“Sure.” Suzy turned and looked at the training post. Fire pulsed from her feathers, and she rammed the post.

“Good. We need to boost the muscles in your legs and your endurance, so keep doing that for a bit. I’m going to look up a few more training guides on my dex.”

Though she looked less than enthused, Suzy nodded and repeated the process.

May stopped to look at a rather imposing image of a Marshtomp on her way to Torchic’s entry.

Her fellow sponsee was leaving her in the dust too.

So many of her opponents today recognized her name. The last one bragged to their friends that they had faced down a gym leader’s daughter and almost came away with a win.

Wonder if they’d feel the same way if they saw I was probably the weakest member of our group. Wally could probably beat me, if for no other reason than all his Pokémon trump mine type wise. Especially if Gawain is anywhere close to Emilie’s skill level.

“What am I doing wrong...” May wondered.

Suzy stopped and looked back at her trainer. “Tor?”

“I... Ignore me, Suzy. My head is in a weird place right now.”

Suzy didn’t ignore me. Suzy just trilled a few more times and looked at her expectantly.

‘Lea doesn’t even need an intermediary; she can just talk to all her Pokémon- the fuck am I thinking.’ May shook her head and scrolled down through her chat logs. ‘She literally got mentally violated and I'm fucking jealous she can talk to her Pokémon? What the fuck is wrong with me.’

“You sound like you could use a friend. Where’s Lea and Wally?” May read.

“They’re watching a Pokémon Contest downtown. It... didn’t really interest me.” Liar. It sounded like a blast. “Come on, we need to work on this.” May tried changing the subject.

“Tor!” Suzy stomped her foot down and glared at me. She trilled a few more times.

“Over the last week, I’ve watched you do lord knows how many stupid things for no other reason than to hang out with Lea. We’re partners. You’re clearly not feeling great right now. Just tell me. Let me help.” The chat room disappeared for a second as a digital face formed on the screen and gave her a single nod, before returning to the chat room.

Apparently, Sergei agreed.

May stayed quiet for a long time. Suzy opened her beak to say something else but May raised her hand.

“I’m a terrible friend, and I didn’t want Lea to see that, okay,” May whispered just loud enough for Suzy to hear.

“Tor?” Suzy tilted her head.

“Lea did something amazing today. She took a special challenge at the Battle Factory and won. I should be happy for her.” May smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She’s living her dream right now, putting everything she has into making this journey amazing to make up for lost time, and I’m fucking jealous that she’s doing better than me. What kind of shit friend does that make me?” May got louder as she went.

“Tor. Tor chic.” There were a few more trills in there. May doesn’t look at Sergei.

“I met another Birch sponsor today.” Suzy stopped as I started talking. “He was the one who took the Mudkip. He was incredible. Lea beat him. He’d probably wipe the floor with us.” May felt a few tears form on her cheeks. “Why does it feel like we’re getting left behind? Like we’re standing still? It must be something I'm screwing up, because you and Samie are amazing. So why am I such a shit trainer.” Suzy reared back and looked at May like she was nuts. She opens her beak a few times but can’t think of anything to say. May still hadn’t looked at Sergei, despite the several repeated pings. Sergei was being rather insistent.

Suzaku turned and glared at the post sticking out of the ground. Her feathers glowed with more heat than they had before, and she slammed into the post with all her might.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Each time, she felt more heat. Like she was pulling on a fire she didn’t even know she had.

May was still crying.

Again.

Again.

“The fuck you mean you’re a shit trainer!”

The post cracked, and Suzaku glowed white.

She rose to May’s height, and the fire she felt from before grew. Her gait widened, and she felt strong. Stronger than she had ever felt before.

May had stopped crying. Suzy turned away from the broken training post and saw a wide-eyed May staring at her.

The tear lines pissed her off. The newly evolved Combuskin looked at her new arms and pulled her fist back.

She very lightly punched May in the shoulder.

“Don’t ever talk about my trainer like that again! Or the next punch will have some heat behind it. The antlion and I are awesome cause our trainer is awesome, and don’t YOU FORGET IT! Sergei you better put that last part in all caps!” May read. She scrolled further up, and her eyes started to water again.

“You...” May surged forward and pulled Suzy into a bone crushing hug. “I know you just yelled at me for talking down about myself, but your trainer’s an idiot.”

“Busk.” Suzy returned the hug before pulling away. May’s smile was doing a great job of improving her mood.

“I don’t even have to look at Sergei to know you’re agreeing with me. Look at you! I won’t be able to carry you around anymore, I hope you know that.”

Suzy nodded once.

“Suzaku... thank you.”

Suzaku’s beak pulled back a bit in what May assumed was a grin, and a small trill left her mouth. May looked down at Sergei’s screen. “Anytime.”

Chapter Text

“Alright, shopping malls, here we come!” May shouted gleefully, earning a few looks from passerbys.

“May, I think you’re more excited for this shopping trip than I am,” I joked.

“That’s because this is a dream come true! You have no idea how long I've waited to shove your depressing clothes into the incinerator, and now I have the fire type for the job. It’s going to be a whole new you when we’re done!”

Oh, what have I done? I wasn’t too worried about the final product. May generally had great taste in clothes. Case in point, the outfit she had on right now suited her perfectly, and oddly enough, coordinated well with Suzaku. But still...

‘It’ll be fine. She’s not thinking of anything too extreme. Just be ready to try on a lot of clothes.’ Emilie reassured me. ‘Don’t forget the plan either.’

‘How can I forget it! I hate everything about it!’ I grumbled. ‘How the hell am I supposed to be casually flirty with my best friend?’

‘Just say stuff a little more... evocative with your jokes,’ Emilie suggested.

Heat rushed to my cheeks at Emilie’s suggestion. I just wanted to go shopping with May, was that so wrong?

‘Look, to maximize the success of the enterprise, we need to subtly introduce the idea of you two being more. That way, when you confess-’

‘Not confessing,’ I said, cutting her off.

She glared at me before continuing. ‘It won’t be out of left field. At least in her head. Learn the value of the subconscious mind, it is a psychic’s best friend .’ Emilie stroked an imaginary beard as her voice took on a more wizened and sage tone in my head. ‘Do it well enough and maybe you won’t even have to confess.’

My brain slowed to a crawl as I almost stopped in the middle of the sidewalk at the visual of May confessing her love to me. Her, awkwardly tripping over her own words as she shuffled in place for a couple of minutes before she ultimately gave up and kissed me.

I was sure my face was a vibrant shade of red at that. Legends above I’m pathetic. How the hell was that my ideal confession?

‘Because you know May very well, and that’s about as good as you’re going to get,’ Emilie said.

‘Shut up! Just because you CAN see everything doesn’t mean you have to comment on everything!’ Emilie’s laughter echoed in my skull.

‘But you make it so hard sometimes. Your inner monologues NEED color commentary. They beg for it in fact!’ My eyes focused on Emilie as I bumped her once in the forehead. ‘Ow!’

‘Yeah, well I don’t like it, so quit it.’ I thought with a glare as Emilie rubbed her forehead. ‘For someone who wanted to come with me to give me peace of mind, you sure do delight in head games.’

‘How else am I supposed to train you? I’m teaching your brain to be better. You should be thanking me, honestly,’ Emilie thought with a grin.

‘Riiiiight...’

‘Like if I was being serious about head games just to be mean, I’d point out that May spent most of the forest on your arm, because you were her knight in shining armor against all the bug types,’ Emilie said.

I’m fairly confident the amount of heat coming off of my face would rival ovens right now.

‘EMILIE!’

“We’re here! The biggest department store in Rustboro. Now, should we start with dresses, everyday wear, or...” May trailed off. “Hmm... It’ll probably be easier if I have an idea of what you want for your trainer style, huh?” May turned to look at me. “Huh, Lea, are you feeling alright? You’re looking a little flush.”

On the outside, Emilie is the picture of calm decorum and grace. She’s laughing her ass off in my head though, and that’s really pissing me off. I took a deep breath through my nose, let it out through my mouth, and calmed down.

“Don’t worry, May. I’m fine, just a little hot. As for looks, well...” I looked at Emilie and wondered if I still wanted to feed her ego with how much of a brat she was being.

‘Green would be a good look on you, and just thinking about it is already feeding my ego in the best possible ways, so go for it already.’ Emilie said, grinning from ear to ear.

‘Would you just... stop talking. For like five minutes. Please,’ I begged.

Emilie put her hand against her chin. ‘Meh, where’s the fun in that?’

“Oy, could you not go off into your own little psychic world with Emilie for this, or at least walk me through the damn conversation. Sergei’s been radio silent this whole damn time.” May said.

“You have no idea how much I want to trade places with you. I would give anything to shut her up right now.” I don’t like how manic my voice sounded.

Emilie just sighed. ‘Fine! I’ll be good. Enjoy your date.’

‘IT! IS! NOT! A! DATE!’ I watched in satisfied glee as each word seemed to slam into Emilie’s head like a sledgehammer. ‘NOW SHUT UP!’

“She can’t be worse than you,” May argued.

I’m being attacked from all sides. This isn’t fair!

“Trust me, May, she can.” I took a few more deep breaths before talking to May again. “As for style... I want to lean into my team a bit. Since rain is going to be a big part of that, blues would be good.” I turned a glare towards Emilie. “Maybe a few greens to synergize with the gremlin like you do with Suzaku.”

“Eh? What do you mean?” May asked.

“Come on, you mean you didn’t go with the red, rough and tumble look to pair with your starter. Every picture you take with Suzaku is going to look bad ass as all hell once she evolves,” I said.

May blushed a bit and looked away. “Er... right. When. Yeah, the outfit is completely intentional. Okay, so uh, before we start shopping, I also have some news,” May said, shifting awkwardly in place. “Suzy evolved last night.”

“WHAT! Oh my god, that’s... let her out. I have to see her! I need to geek out over your Combusken. They‘re so cool. EEEE” Must see fire bird, must see fire bird, must-

“CALM DOWN ya dork. Suzy’s having a bit of an issue controlling her heat, so I don’t want to let her out around flammables. Getting sent to jail for setting a department store on fire is not my idea of a pleasant afternoon.” May sighed as she watched me vibrate in place. “You can hang out later, once we get back to the center. I’ll work on her controlling her heat, don’t worry.”

“But Maaay... oh, fine!” I pouted.

‘Pout more, she thinks it’s adorable,’ Emilie commented in my head.

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. ‘It hasn’t been five minutes yet, start over.’

Emilie glared but nodded.

“Also, Suzaku got shortened to Suzy yesterday after the third trainer confused her for a him,” May said.

“Yes!” I shouted. “I didn’t want to say anything at first, because you liked the name so much and I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but-

“Right, so blues and greens, with a lean towards synergizing with Emilie.” May interrupted me with a glare. “We could take inspiration from that Champion in Kalos, maybe shift from a knightly white to a more regal blue.”

I... no.

“I don’t like Diantha’s look. It’s...”

“Fair. Look what if we just took it in a bit of different direction and focused on your dorkiness. We could set you up to look like the main character from the video game you’re naming all your Pokémon after,” May said.

Dammit she found the right corner of the internet.

“No horns." I said rather forcefully. May tilted her head in confusion. “Also, Lea kind of has a bit of a plain look.” I pushed my fingers together as another character flashed through my head. “If you wanted to dress me up like Shizuka, though, I wouldn’t say no.”

May looked at me for a moment before typing away on Sergei.

“Hmm... it’s a very classic Kantoan look. This place should have some stuff a bit like this. We could swap out the color palate a bit if they have it, maybe swap the red for a darker green... black for a royal blue... screw it, we can figure it out when we get there. Ideas won’t do anything without clothes to go with them.” A few more keystrokes. “Sergei says there’s a store that focuses on international fashion toward the back. Let’s go!”

May dragged me through the mall, and my brain stopped working once it registered that we were functionally holding hands right now.

***

“Alright, now, I think we’ve stacked off a nice selection here, now for the extra fun part. Make sure you come out after trying on each outfit. Modeling is very important here, you see.” May nodded sagely. “I’ll be out here looking at more clothes.”

“Is this the part where you sneak overly revealing clothes onto the pile and snap photos of me for your own uses when I come out.”

May sputtered and her face went red. “Wh-what the hell would I need photos like that for?”

“Huh? Blackmail, why? What do you think you need photos like that for?” I asked accusingly.

‘Was a little worried you pushed too much on that one, but nicely done.’ Emilie said.

‘Huh, what do you mean?’ I asked.

Emilie face palmed.

“It doesn’t matter cause I'm not doing that. Just go into the changing room and try this stuff on.” She all but shoved me into the closet.

“Alright, so let’s see. Let’s start off with my personal favorite,” I said.

May had a nice, dark green stocking set that I had immediately loved, so I went ahead and put those on. This would probably be part of a few outfits, so it’d be a good place to start regardless. May did manage to find something that somewhat resembled what we had talked about, but... honestly, I wasn’t sure. It didn’t really feel like it had the feeling I wanted. I slipped into the mostly black kimono with green highlights and stepped outside.

“Well.” I struck my best runway pose. “I’m going to be honest, not feeling it.”

“Same.” May nodded. “You do pull it together nicely, but it’s not wowing me, it also doesn’t feel like you.”

Reject pile it is. I went back in and looked for something that did feel like me. I grabbed a pair of denim shorts I had picked out and a black tank top. The jeans cut off just above my knees, and they felt incredibly comfortable. That’d be nice for the roads. The shirt was alright, but...after throwing it on, I felt like something was missing something. Plus, this wasn’t really breaking out of the ‘emo kid look’ May complained about.

A piece of fabric was thrown over the railing.

“That looked cool, so give it a shot,” May said.

I pulled it down and tried to find the seam, which was admittedly quite difficult. The material was light, almost see through, and it was just open in the front. A dark green haori. I smirked as I pulled it around my shoulders, my arms sliding into the sleeves and gliding up to my hair to let pull it up and over. My reflection smiled back at me.

“Yeah, I could see winning a badge in this. May’s kind of leaning more into color coordinating with Emilie than the rain, though. I guess that’s fine, though...” I grabbed a tuft of blue hair and brushed it out of my face before sighing. “Doesn’t really go with my hair... Legends above, am I really considering dying it? I know May said it as a joke, but... black hair with green highlights would kind of go hard with this... Eh... screw it, we’ll figure it out later.” I threw the door open. “Alright I think this is a- Whoa!” And almost walked, headfirst, into May.

“Sorry, I found some other shirts that looked- holy crap that looks great.” May smiled. She pulled Sergei up, and before I could say anything, snapped a picture. “Save that to outfits, Sergei.” May said before throwing a pile of shirts at me.

“You could’ve at least let me strike a pose,” I pouted, grunting under the weight of my new pile.

“Just remember for next time. Now then, take these shirts, and return to the pit from whence you came. We have a lot of shopping to do if we want to overhaul your entire wardrobe. We haven’t even gotten to accessories yet.” May shoved me back into the closet.

I could faintly see Emilie smiling at me from May’s shoulder. She waved.

“I’m starting to think you just like man handling me,” I said.

She slammed the door in my face.

“That’s not helping your case,” I said through the closed door to the sound of giggling on the other side. “Also, rude!”

***

“Hmm...” May pondered as she scrolled through the dozens of photos that she had taken over the course of the last three hours.

“Is it finally over...? Can I look at the high light reel yet?” I moaned as I leaned down, trying to get a good look at the photos.

“See, they’re all good. That’s the problem. We’re picking the best, and it’s hard to choose,” May said.

As May swiped, I started to notice that my poses were getting a bit more... evocative, the later into the day we went. May hadn’t said anything about it though. I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

“Just let me see, I’ll pick the outfits I like the most, and we can check them out. I’m getting the first outfit you snapped for sure. The haori is going to get a lot of use by the way. This thing looks badass.” I clicked through and faved about half a dozen of them before sighing. This was going to be pricy. I knew I could afford it, but I’d probably have to hit up the Battle Factory again to get travel supplies. “Are these in my budget?”

“Well, first we need to find everything. I could probably guess though. Let’s see, five outfits for everyday wear, a formal outfit, and a couple of outfits for important battles. With options to mix and match, you’re probably looking at about six thousand poke,” May said.

I winced.

“Which is getting cut in half, cause I’m splitting the bill with you. It’ll be a late birthday present, so don’t even think about being pointlessly noble,” May said, glaring at me in mock challenge.

Three thousand... That was doable.

“Are we done, then?” I asked.

May grinned malevolently at me and I gulped.

“We still need one more outfit, but we’ll probably need to go to a different section of the store, so grab everything you want,” May said.

Huh? What else did I need? I grabbed the haori and started picking through the shirts for what I wanted.

‘Aren’t we going to a beach next? Where’s the swimsuit?’ Emilie asked.

The color drained from my face. Oh.

That’s what was left.

My face turned crimson at the thought of modeling bikinis for May. That... well. Yeah... no. That confidence from earlier was fading fast. Honestly, just the thought of swimwear made me a bit uncomfortable.

Our clothes pile had shrunk considerably, and it was now something I could carry, albeit with some difficulty. May grabbed a few things and escorted me- yup, to swimwear. Dammit. We're going straight for the bikinis.

“May, remember what I said earlier? No bikinis. I... they make me uncomfortable.” I nervously shuffled in place.

May’s mischievous face shifted to an apologetic one as she took in just how uncomfortable I looked.

“I... but you’d look amazing in these.” May sighed, before staring directly into my eyes. “I’m kind of surprised. I figured without a fear impulse, I’d have to be scaling you back,” May half joked.

“I don't like being ogled, alright. It makes me feel weird,” I argued.

“Lea, you’re exceedingly pretty,” May said.

I blushed bright red and did my best to ignore Emilie popping off in my head.

“It was something I noticed more today. It’s a lot easier to see, now that you aren’t in baggy, beat to shit, emo kid wear from twelve years ago. You’re going to get ogled regardless,” May said.

Suddenly, the emo wear was looking really nice. Was it too late to call this off?

“I think it’s a fine trade off, though. You’ve got your own style now. You should own it,” May smiled at me as she finished her pep talk.

Dammit May. This really isn’t helping me get my blush under control.

“I would still prefer a one piece. I think that would fit my style just fine.” It’d also do a better job of hiding all the random ass burns I had gotten working in the bakery. My arms were a lost cause, I had gotten used to them, but the burns on my stomach from that grease spill a few years ago.

No. Just no. One piece. I wanted a one piece.

“Sure thing.” May nodded and I felt relief flood my system.

***

“Well, it was nice having money while it lasted,” I sighed. The bill ended up being closer to eight thousand once we threw in the swimsuit, a set of fingerless gloves with knuckle braces that I really liked.

“I don’t want to hear it. At least you still have money,” May whined. “You’re buying lunch, by the way.”

“I suppose I can buy you lunch without adding it to the tally. You just helped me pay for a shit ton of clothes, after all,” I said.

May looked heartbroken.

“You can’t knock a few off the tally for this?” she asked desperately.

“It’s not that simple, May. You’ve fostered a potentially life long bad habit of being a mooch. If I just forgave the imbalance, I’d be enabling you toward a downward spiral. Soon, you’d be bumming meals off people you just met, or even from people you might be trying to impress, like a potential sponsor. Then, after having chased away all your sources of income, you would crash and burn as a trainer, and fall into a depression fueled by alcohol and what could have beens, with only me and your regrets to keep you company,” I finished succinctly.

“I wonder how edible grass is?” May pondered aloud. “At least you’ll stick with me through the whole ordeal.”

“Without question.” I smiled at her. “Though really, me keeping a loose tally is probably a good thing for you. I’m going to do my best to never let it get that far.” I nodded once and raised my fist in solemn pledge.

“Truly, you are far too good to me,” May deadpanned. “Let’s go to that pizza place we passed on the way here. It smelled heavenly.”

“Sounds good,” I agreed

‘Can I have some?’ Emilie asked. ‘Your memories of pizza are almost all positive, and I’m eager to try more human cuisine.’

‘I’m... hesitant to introduce you to something that unhealthy. Maybe a bite, but not a whole piece,’ I argued.

‘I doubt I'd be able to eat a whole piece. I just want to taste it,’ Emilie said.

I bit my lip.

‘I promise I won’t complain as much when you make me... exercise.’ Emilie hissed the last word in my head like it was a curse word.

‘You could not complain at all.,’ I suggested.

‘Yeah, that’s not happening. Psychics learned how to teleport so we wouldn’t have to run. I'm going to complain, at least a little bit. Also, May was right. That does smell heavenly.’

I spotted the pizza shop as soon as we rounded the corner, and it was packed.

“Err... May, I’m not sure we’ll be able to get in,” I said.

May groaned. “We can at least see how long the wait’s going to be,” May said. “Maybe this place has a fast turnover.”

“You can check, I’m going to sit down. These bags are heavy.” I strained to lift one as I made my way towards the waiting area.

‘Maybe I’m not the only one in need of... exercise,’ Emilie said.

‘And I’m the drama queen?’ I sassed. ‘I can do some running too.’

“I’ll see how long the wait is,” May said.

I lugged my bags to the waiting area, that sported at least six other groups, and plopped myself down on the bench next to an older man in a sling wearing khakis and an Alolan shirt. He looked like he was taking a nap, which probably meant we’d either be waiting a while or going someplace else. I felt Emilie shift uncomfortably on my shoulder before hopping down to the chair next to me.

Was it bad that I was starting to miss the weight being there?

‘Nope, it just means you can’t get enough of me,’ Emilie commented. ‘Understandable, really.’

Yes. Yes, it was.

“Forty-five minutes for a table. You want to bounce, or...?” May said as she walked over.

“I mean, it’s lunch hour in the city,” I countered.

“Yeah, we’re waiting wherever we go, aren’t we?” May groaned. “I’m so hungry.”

“Shroom?”

My ears perked up at the familiar sound. I turned my head to get a closer look at my bench mate and noticed a rather familiar looking Shroomish hop up on the gentleman’s lap.

“Shroomish!” the little guy said, bouncing up and down.

“Huh? What’s going on Shroomish? Is our table ready?” The man looked down before turning to see who his partner was talking too. “Oh! It’s you!”

My mouth dropped open in shock as the person we had saved in the forest smiled back at me. Martin moved to stand up, but quickly sucked in a sharp breath and relaxed back down onto the bench.

“Ow... Note to self. Sudden movement hurts,” Martin mumbled so quietly that I almost didn’t hear him.

“Shroomish!” The little mushroom glared at his trainer.

“I know, I know, I’m supposed to be taking it easy. I have to get up to greet my saviors though. It’s only polite,” Martin said.

‘Idiot,’ Emilie said.

‘Is that from you or the Shroomis h?’ I asked.

‘Yes,’ Emilie answered.

I sighed as Martin once again moved to get up. “Please don’t get up.” I begged. “You got stabbed two days ago, what are you doing in a pizza place?” I asked.

May’s eyes widened once she realized who we were talking to.

“How the hell are you out of the hospital? That wound was deep!” May hissed, doing her best to sound annoyed while still maintaining a respectable volume.

Martin laughed. “The joys of regenerator technology, one of Devon’s more promising fields of development. All the effectiveness of Nurse Joy’s equipment, now made and serviceable for humans,” Martin said before wincing and holding his stomach.

“Uh-huh,” I said.

“Look, I’ll be the first to admit the technology is still in its infancy, but it works! My stomach is fine, just a bit tender!” Martin said.

Shroomish reluctantly nodded his agreement with his trainer.

“Now then, where’s your friend. I want to thank all of you properly. I doubt I’d be here if it wasn’t for you,” Martin said.

“Wally’s off in a battle lounge somewhere. The second he heard we were going shopping, he wanted nothing to do with us,” May grumbled.

“I mean, we did shop for clothes to three hours,” I tried to reason.

“Still, he’s failing his knightly code to carry a lady’s bags for them,” May said with a pout.

A server peeked her head around the doorway. “Table for Martin.”

Martin very slowly rose to his feet before making his way over. “Er... Would it be possible to change my table for one to a table for three? I inadvertently met up with some friends, and-”

“Not a problem.” The waitress cut him off.

“Err... you ladies don’t mind sharing a table with me, right? I can wait a bit longer if you would prefer, or-”

“Score!” May shouted with glee. “We don’t have to wait. Let’s get some pizza.”

“Coming.” I stared over to my bags and groaned. Stupid bags.

The waitress escorted us to a window booth, and I couldn’t be happier as May slid in right next to me.

“Get whatever you like, my treat,” Martin said.

I just nodded and started perusing the choices as the waitress hovered over the top of us, pen pad in hand.

“Lea, do you just wanna split our usual pizza order?” May asked, not even bothering to pick up the menu.

At a glance, anything not relating to pizza I couldn’t pronounce.

“Sure.” I said, not wanting to take too long. I knew how annoying rushes could be. I just set my menu on top of May’s.

“Sausage, mushroom, onion, and bell peppers, please, and just water is fine,” May ordered.

The waitress nodded before taking the menus and looking at Martin.

“Just Mushroom and onion for me and Shroomish, please,” Marvin said.

The waitress nodded, grabbed the menu, and sprinted to the kitchen. I turned towards the two with a raised eyebrow.

“Isn’t that a form of cannibalism for Shroomish?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“LEA!” May shouted.

“Shroom farms actually just use the excess buds from fungus Pokémon. It’s beneficial to Shroomish’s health actually,” Martin explained cordially.

“Don’t answer her! That just encourages the stupid questions,” May cried.

“I’m sorry.” Martin attempted to bow but stopped himself about halfway through. “Ow.”

“Are you absolutely sure you should be out of the hospital?” May asked in concern.

“I’m good, I swear. The flesh around where the wound was is still really tender is all. I probably should have stayed for another night, but I couldn’t stomach the food. I just need to take things slow, and I'll be fine.” Martin hesitantly lifted his water glass and took a sip. “I just can’t lift heavy things.”

‘Translation, the doctors yelled at him for signing out. He should be on bed rest at a minimum, and Mr. Stone yelled at him for trying to go into the office today.’ Shroomish ratted him out, sounding irritated.

“You worry too much Shroomish,” Martin chastised. “At any rate, how have you been enjoying the city? Rustboro isn’t as grandiose as Mawville or Lilycove, but it is a rather amazing place.”

I debated trying to get Martin to take it easy, but ultimately decided it’d probably do more harm than good and kept my mouth shut about it.

“The city’s been amazing!” May gushed. “Petalburg doesn’t have anywhere close to as much to do. Lea’s already managed to do something impressive in taking on the Battle Factory!”

I blushed at May’s praise.

“Battle Factory?” Martin asked.

“It’s a special challenge in one of the battle lounges,” May explained. “Beat seven trainers in a row, and you get to face off against someone comparable to a gym leader in strength. She got a nice chunk of change and a TM for beating it, so we just finished shopping for a new wardrobe for her.”

May really needed to stop if she wanted me to be coherent for this conversation, I can’t deal with all this blind praise.

“Impressive,” Martin said. His tone of voice didn’t sound impressed. “I don’t know much about battling beyond the basics, but that sounds nice, at least.” He chuckled to himself. “In case it wasn’t readily apparent from how we met; I don’t get out much. I don’t really have much to reference when it comes to battling.”

“What were you doing in the forest, then? That doesn’t feel like a place someone like you would frequent. No offense!” I hastily added.

“None taken, I agree with you.” Marvin chuckled. “I was picking up some research documents from a Devon lab, the location of which I cannot disclose. Thank you for getting them back for me, by the way. It would have been quite bad if those had found their way into the wrong hands.”

“What was being researched?” I asked, tilting my head at Martin.

Martin winced.

“Also classified, sorry. Well actually...” Martin gazed out the window in thought. “I guess they’re a matter of public record now, considering the officer that took your statement has a photocopy of it in evidence.”

Er... whoops? Was I not supposed to do that?

“No matter, I'm sure it’s fine. Regardless, I did have a question. Do either of you know why I was given a new poke ball?” Martin asked.

“Huh, what do you mean? It’s not yours?” May asked.

Martin shook his head.

“The Pokémon we ran into in the forest relieved our thief of anything that had an aura different from him. We just assumed it would all belong to you,” May said.

“Nope, and he’s a surly little prick. He did not like me at all.” Martin pulled out a Poke Ball and placed it on the table. “I was able to register him to me, so he doesn’t belong to anyone else on record, but to be completely honest, I don’t particularly want to keep him, either. I don’t have the right temperament to train a Pokémon like this, especially as I am now. Would either of you care to take him off my hands.”

“I... What Pokémon is it?” I asked.

“A Bulbasaur.”

“May would love to!” I shouted, earning a few glances from some of the other patrons and an elbow from my best friend.

“Lea!” she harshly whispered. “Don’t just volunteer me for stuff.”

“But this is perfect! You’re the only one in the group still on two Pokémon. You really need something else for Roxanne, too. Like, I know Suzy evolved, but a grass type would be perfect,” I rambled.

“I’m a bit worried, though. Martin, you said he was aggressive when you let him out?” May asked.

“I didn’t let him get that far. I recalled him once it looked like he was getting angry.” Martin explained before looking at the ball. “I’m confident you girls can handle him. I just don’t think I can. If you don’t want him, I’ll probably pass him off to the rangers.”

I stared at May, urging her to take the ball, and do a mini fist pump when she picks it up.

“Lea, I’m going to need you and Emilie’s help later. I want to talk with this Bulbasaur and try to figure out what happened. If that thief took him off another trainer, we’re probably decently equipped to help find him,” May said.

“Of course,” I said, nodding fervently.

May turned and looked at Martin. “How do we do the transfer?” May asked

Martin pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons. “Can I see your Pokedex?”

May nodded. Martin clicked a few more buttons and a beam shot out from the back of Martin’s phone and scanned the poke ball once. He then pressed a few buttons on May’s Pokedex.

“Done,” he said.

“Wait, that’s it? No weird trade machine needed?” I asked.

Martin laughed at my question. “Well, if you don’t have a Pokedex, you’d need something to scan the ball to properly reformat everything, but those old relics haven’t seen use in almost a decade. The joys of modern technology. Bulbasaur is now yours, for as long as you’ll have him. It’s not a lot but take it as a token of my appreciation.” Martin, once again, tried to bow. “You have no idea how annoying this is.”

“I can imagine,” I chuckled. “Ohh, pizza’s here.”

Emilie leaned up and shifted to get a better look as two pizzas were lowered on to our table by the wait staff, along with an extra pitcher of water. A hand rose in my peripheral vision, and a piece floated up toward her.

“Your control never ceases to amaze me but remember our agreement,” I said.

Emilie opened her mouth and took a huge bite of pizza. I once again felt euphoria pass through the bond.

‘Don’t care, this is delicious,’ Emilie thought with a smile.

‘No more than half a slice,’ I argued.

‘I know, I know.’

I snagged a slice for myself and moaned as I sunk my teeth into it.

“Best pizza in Rustboro.” Martin said proudly. “Way better than that tasteless slop the hospital tried to shill me.”

“Shroom!”

“Right, uh, before I forget. My boss wanted to pass a message along as well. In case I saw you again, that is. As you’re getting ready to leave Rustboro, stop by Devon HQ.” Martin stuttered out. “Drop my name at the reception and they’ll send you up. My boss wanted to personally thank you for your help in the forest.”

“That really isn’t necessary.” May tried to say.

I quickly shoved my hand over her mouth. “We’d be happy too,” I answered, before shouting in pain. “Fuck, no biting.”

“Well, then no gagging,” May said. “If you’re going to shut me up, do it with a pizza slice. Your hand tastes horrible.”

I looked down at the pizza and smiled.

“Alright.” I reached down and grabbed a slice before placing it in front of May’s mouth.

“Lea don’t yo-” She stopped talking and started chewing as I pushed the pizza toward her.

“You’re right, this is a very effective way to get you to stop talking.” I smirked at the glare I received.

“Ah-” May breathed out. “How the hell are you two years older than me?”

“Would you stop advertising that fact?” I groaned.

“I still don’t understand why you care. There are a crap ton of older trainers,” May argued.

I shook my head. “May, most successful trainers my age aren’t signing up for their first badge, they’re signing up for a job at the league after doing well at a conference.” I wrinkled my nose at the thought. “And the unsuccessful ones are throwing in the towel and accepting a desk job at Devon. Again, no offense.”

“Some taken this time, but I'll let it slide.” Martin’s face remained impassive.

“Well, you’re not everyone, and if anyone looks at you funny cause of your age, I’ll have Suzy beat them up, so stop worrying about it,” May said confidently.

I blushed again. Every time May said something like that, I couldn’t help but feel slightly more doomed.

‘You’ll be fine, stop worrying, and pass me some parmesan,’ Emilie ordered.

I took the excuse to look away from everyone and grabbed the cheese.

“Thanks, May.”

***

I had both Emilie and Apollo on standby as May cautiously handled Bulbasaur’s Poke Ball in one hand, and Sergei in the other. Suzy was also staring at it from in front of May. All we wanted to do was talk, but if what Martin said rang true, we needed to be cautious. An angry grass poison type could do a lot of damage quickly if we weren’t careful.

“Everyone ready?” May asked nervously.

“Throw the damn ball,” I said impatiently.

May did just that, and a small green Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.

‘Who the hell are you people and where am I?’ The Bulbasaur immediately tensed his legs and a pair of vines extended out from his bulb as he took in the training ground.

‘We only want to talk,’ Bulbasaur sharply looked toward Emilie, his eyes wide and terrified.

‘Maybe don’t send a telepathic message to a poison type,’ I suggested nervously.

Emilie nodded.

‘Yeah, well screw you. I don’t want to talk. I want to go home, but that can’t happen thanks to your friend in the red hood! ’ The Bulbasaur stomped on the ground as he finished, and I noticed a few fumes shake free of its bulb.

May was doing her best to read from Sergei and keep an eye on Bulbasaur at the same time. “Bulbasaur, I would love nothing more than to help you get home,” May said cautiously. “I just need to know what happened, okay?”

‘LIAR. Humans always lie. Why should I believe you? That human that attacked me said he was going to sell me. That I'd fetch a nice price. He destroyed my home. Why should I believe any of you?’ Bulbasaur shouted.

‘Because I can’t lie, and I'm telling you it’s the truth,’ Emilie said.

I heard her translation and her talking at the same time, and it kind of gave me a headache.

‘You lived in a forest with Fae; you know how this works. I can’t lie, yet I'm telling you to trust us. We are not your enemy,’ Emilie said.

The Bulbasaur stopped for a second and looked at Emilie. ‘I did live in the forest, so I know how well you can work around your little handicap. Answer me this! Did you know the man in the red cloak?’

Emilie shook her head. ‘The only contact we had with him was in the forest. We watched his end. He attacked another trainer in the forest and stole from him. The Fae didn’t like that, ’ Emilie said.

I couldn’t help but marvel at how... different, Emilie’s actual voice sounded compared to her telepathy. This was probably the most I had heard her talk in a hot minute, and now that I was actively listening, I could hear the same airy tones that I heard in the forest.

'We thought you belonged to the man he stole from, and the man he stole from gave you back to us,’ Emilie explained.

‘What happened to the man?’ Bulbasaur asked.

Emilie smiled. ‘Would you like to see? If that’s alright?’

The Bulbasaur hesitantly nodded. Emilie pulsed a single image through to Bulbasaur that I picked up as well. The visual was a lot more gruesome than I remembered. I wondered if that was what Emilie saw.

‘It was what I saw through the other Fae.’ Emilie didn’t sound too good. ‘Sorry, it’s not a very pretty image.’ she said.

‘It’s fine, just take it easy.’ I consoled.

Emilie smiled at me before turning back to the Bulbasaur.

‘I see. Can I return to the forest then?’ he asked.

May looked a little disappointed as she read that but smiled all the same.

“If that is what you would like, then yes. I’ll release you,” May reassured.

Bulbasaur nodded, and May moved to grab Bulbasaur’s ball.

I raised my hand to stop her. “Bulbasaur, would you mind if I asked you a question?” I asked.

The Bulbasaur regarded me carefully, its vines still raised, ready to lash out. It nodded once.

“You said your home was destroyed, could you explain what happened, if it’s something you feel... comfortable explaining,” I said.

Bulbasaur snarled. ‘That human attacked me when I slept with a Numel. It lit my burrow ablaze, and the fires burnt my tree and food reserves.’ Bulbasaur lashed his vines against the ground.

May winced at the sound the impact made.

“Lea, I don’t think-”

“Will you be alright if you back into the forest without any of that?” I asked.

‘I made a place for myself once. I can do it again,’ Bulbasaur exclaimed proudly.

“But you don’t have to.” I argued. “Look, you have every right to mistrust humans, but hear me out. There are quite a few perks to the whole trained Pokémon lifestyle. Free food, free health care, not having to worry about getting eaten, a bunch of friends, way more fun things to do, and honestly the list can keep going from there.”

The Bulbasaur laughed at me.

‘I know I’m having a blast, this city’s been so much fun. I don’t know why Mom hates these so much,’ Emilie said.

I smiled at her before realizing what she just shared and filed that last bit of information for later.

‘Aye, Rustboro has always been a joy. I thank you, captain, for giving me a chance to stretch my wings. The city is just as grand as I remember,’ Apollo said.

‘I’m happy you enjoyed your time in the city, Apollo,’ I said.

‘Trade away my freedom for comfort? I’d rather not be confined to a ball, only getting called out when you want me to fight something,’ Bulbasaur snarled.

“We don’t do that! Hell, I don’t think Emilie’s been in her ball since I first caught her.” No matter how much I want to return her sometimes.

‘You returned me once, and I told you I didn’t like being in the ball,’ Emilie supplied. ‘Though the sentiment stands and thanks for not just... returning me, when I’m annoying.’ Emilie smiled at me. ‘I know I can be a bit... much sometimes.’

‘Let me guess, you’re pushing so hard for this cause I’m currently yours, and you want a cool rare Pokémon on your team. Stands to reason, you’re just like every other human I've met in the last year.’ Bulbasaur sneered.

“Lea, I really-”

“You’re not my mon. The person you’re currently registered to is trying her best to get me to stop talking and take you back to the forest, cause she’s nice like that. I’m just thinking that’s not the best move for you,” I argued.

Bulbasaur looked taken aback for a second before returning to his trademarked scowl.

“Look, why don’t you just... give trained Pokémon life a shot? If by the time we leave Rustboro, you still want nothing to do with us, we’ll drop you off in the forest on our way back through.” Here’s hoping the second trip will be less eventful than the first.

“Bulbasaur, look, if you want to go back, we can go back. Lea, I-”

“Saur!” ‘Wait.’

“Oh, come on!” May yelled.

‘I want to hear it from the fairy. Your word, that when we return to the woods, I’ll be able to leave if I want,’ Bulbasaur demanded.

‘On one condition. You need to give May a legitimate chance,’ Emilie said. ‘No blowing us off to brood while we try to hang out.’

‘I... FINE!’ Bulbasaur said with a scowl. ‘I can play nice for the human.’

I think Emilie hit the nail on the head.

‘Then you have my word,’ Emilie smiled.

“And mine too,” I pledged. “Thank you for giving May a chance.”

‘Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just means I have to wait for a bit to go home.’ Bulbasaur retracted his vines and turned to look at May. ‘Oh, great and mighty Pokémon trainer, what are we going to do today?’

‘I already want to set him on fire,’ Suzy snarled. The ground around her started to smoke. ‘Wait, I don’t want to set everything else on fire?! Dammit.’

‘Don’t worry, lass. I got it.’ Apollo shot a few Water Guns out toward Suzy.

‘Wait, don’t-’ Which unfortunately doused both Suzy and the now steaming ground. ‘Thanks. I guess...’

‘...I’m regretting my decision already.’ Bulbasaur said.

May just groaned as she fussed over Suzy’s damp feathers, before beckoning Bulbasaur to join her for...

Some of my cookies.

Dammit all.

Chapter Text

“I’m starting to think I should just stop breaking off from the group. All the cool shit happens to you two,” Wally complained.

I just shrugged and took a bite of my breakfast.

“I mean, I still have to win Bulbasaur over. Bribery can only take me so far,” May complained, glancing at the grass type.

Bulbasaur was doing his level best to ignore all of us and eat his breakfast in peace. Surly prick. If this was him trying, then not trying would probably have him taking his food in the fucking kitchen.

“What time did you get in last night, anyway?” May asked. “Lea and I turned in early.”

“You turned in early. I stayed up till about one in the morning working with Emilie.” I was never meditating around other people ever again.

“How the hell are you alert right now?” May asked, looking slightly taken aback by my early morning perkiness.

I just raised my mug. “Caffeine is a wonderful drug.” And practice. Compared to the early mornings back home, this was nothing.

“I got in around midnight. I... ugh, I wanted to match Lea’s streak in the Battle Factory, but I kept coming up short. The closest I ever got was five wins in a row.” He sighed. “Good news, though. Gwen is now a Marill.”

“That’s fantastic news! Why didn’t you lead with that?” May asked, slapping Wally on the back. “Damn, we all have a second stage Pokémon before our first badge.”

“I don’t know that I’d qualify Marill as a second stage Pokémon. Especially considering that I didn’t have to do much. She evolved halfway through a fight against a Zigzagoon trainer-”

“You won, right?” I fervently interrupted.

“It was a Zigzagoon, of course I won.” Wally said, giving me a glare. “But the trainer was talking smack about me using a baby Pokémon all through the fight. I think Gwen just got fed up and evolved out of spite.”

“Well, on the upside, you don’t have to be worried about being separated from the group too much today. All I'm doing is hitting up a training ground. Everyone is going to learn how to dance today.” And maybe we can work on expanding Apollo’s move pool.

“Same for me.” May ate the last of her rice. “Well, minus the dancing part. I don’t know how amenable Bulbasaur will be to joining us, but Suzy and Samie could both use some work. Suzy really needs to get her fire under control so we can walk around town together,” May said.

“Do you guys just want to hit up a field together then?” Wally asked. “I’m down for a group training session.”

“Sure.” Both May and I said at the same time. “Jynx.” Same time again. Dammit.

***

“Alright, so, uhm... how do I do this?” I asked May, holding up the disc. She sighed before walking my way.

“You know, for as often as you call me a nerd, you sure do ask me a lot of questions...” May complained.

“See, here’s the thing, of the two of us, you’re the only one that thinks nerd is an insult.” I clapped back. “Besides, you’re my nerd, that has to count for something, right?”

May opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I don’t know how to respond to that.” May finally said, before grabbing the disc from my hands.

“I didn’t realize you had primary ownership of May’s nerdiness. Are you renting it out, by chance?” Wally asked.

“You both suck, I want you to know that, ugh. So, basically, just hold the disc so the center is above the release button while the Pokémon you want to teach the move to is inside.” May held the disc close to one of her Poke balls. “They’ll get a rough idea of what they’re supposed to do, and you’ll be able to help them work out the kinks through practice,” May finished.

“Right, so...” It started to spin. Fuck me, no, don’t drop the damn thing. “What the hell!”

“Oh, right. I forgot to warn you. They spin,” May said, grinning at me.

Stupid TM. Stupid May. Dammit, why does her mischievous smile look so fucking cute. It’s not fair.

‘When I finally manage to get you two to stop being stupid, you’re going to be so whipped. Like, to a concerning degree,’ Emilie quipped.

I decided to take this moment to lift her ball and return her.

“We’ll work dance moves into your new physical fitness routine.” I chuckled darkly. “And, last but not least, Apollo.”

“Why are you teaching Rain Dance to a Wingull? Better question how can a Wingull dance?” Wally asked.

“The dex said it was compatible,” I said with a shrug. “That said, this is more to get Apollo used to controlling water beyond just shooting it out of his mouth. He’s an amazing flier, don’t get me wrong, but... Water Gun’s it, and that’s not ideal. I’m really hoping we can figure out Aqua Ring. Passive healing on a flyer sounds amazing.”

“Sounds like fun.” Wally pulled out a poke ball. “Actually... Hey, May, can we share TMs?” he asked.

“I... think so? If they’re reusable, you should be able too. I can’t think of any way they would block it. Like, even if they locked it to a trainer’s profile, all friends would have to do is trade Pokémon and have that trainer use the TM.”

I held the TM out to Wally. “I’ll get you an umbrella. I kind of want to see if this works. Cause if it does, we can pool our money to get TMs we all want in the future.” Wally took the TM and held it to... someone’s poke ball. The disc spun like it had before, and Wally released Gawain.

‘That... was mildly disorienting.’ Gawain swayed dizzily as his gaze shifted between the two of us. ‘A most interesting choice, Sir Wally, but I believe a smart one. This shall be a great boon for our comrades in arms. Though, I do wish I wasn’t leaning into the ballet dancer stereotype my evolution is known for.’

“Yeah, it worked,” I commented.

“Do you mind if-”

“Go for it. Legit, all three of your Pokémon can take advantage of it.” Wally pumped his fist and pulled out his other two poke balls.

“What you’re saying is, we all should have brought umbrellas?” May asked.

I just smirked and pulled out a light green umbrella.

“We can share, if you want?” I asked, desperately hoping she would agree.

“Nah, I think I'm claiming my own corner of the field. I don’t think Samie or Suzy would appreciate getting rained on.” May said.

“Sure thing,” I replied, doing my best not to sound disappointed. Emilie chuckled.

“Enjoy getting wet, Wally.” May shouted as she left.

“I will, thanks,” Wally shouted. “I’ll be by the tree. Hopefully that will keep me mostly dry.” Wally shifted in place a bit awkwardly. “Sorry your umbrella play failed.”

“It wasn’t a play.” I lied. “I just didn’t want her to get drenched.”

“Riiight.” Wally said.

I glared at him. “Whatever, go have fun under your tree. I’ve got some work to do.” I waved my hands to shoo him away, and he laughed as he left. I lifted all three of my Poke Balls and hit the release buttons. “Alright everyone, we’ve got some work to do today. We’ve got a gym battle in two days, and I want us to kick seven different kinds of ass.”

‘Yeah, yeah. Big important gym battle, whatever.’ Emilie said before looking at Apollo and Joern. ‘I’ve got both of you here now, what are some ideas to get May and Lea together.’

‘Damn it, Emilie. This is supposed to be a serious training session!’ I shouted in my mind.

She patted my head. ‘It will be, don’t worry. This is just the first time all three of us have been out and about in a while, and I want their input.’ Emilie glared at Joern as she talked.

‘I don’t like the city, alright? Not enough nature. No ponds to swim in, next to no grass to walk on. ’ Joern shivered. ‘Do you have any idea what this is like for a Grass and Water type like me? The fact that this field is in a park is making this a lot more bearable.’

“Is it affecting you in a really bad way or is it just... preference?” I asked. My brow creased down as I frowned at his explanation.

‘Preference. I’m fine, I just don’t like it,’ Joern explained. ‘Sorry for worrying you.’

I sighed in relief.

‘In regard to our captain’s romantic plight, I feel like you’re a bit worried over nothing, lass,’ Apollo said. ‘It’ll happen when it happens. Our captain just has to seize the moments that present themselves. Things will work out.’

‘That will take FOREVER though,’ Emilie complained. ‘Lea has about as much game as a Magikarp.’

‘No cookies till after the gym battle,’ I said with finality in my voice, and a dangerous look in my eye.

‘I’ll be good, I swear.’ Emilie said, her tone sounding desperate and pleading. ‘Please don’t take them from me...’

I sighed. ‘You’re cut off for tonight, then.’ I caved.

Emilie still looked sad, but the feelings of depression and anxiety left the bond.

‘I think you underestimate our captain, lass. The lass has enough charisma to get us on board with her, is adventurous enough to charge into the abyss of an ancient ruin, and brave enough to dive into the unknown to save a single Shroomish.’ Apollo finished with a smirk. ‘I’m having trouble imagining any wenches turning down the captain, honestly. She’s quite the catch.’

‘Never call May a wench again,’ I ordered.

Apollo winced and nodded.

‘That being said, thank you,’ I said, happy that at least one teammate would praise me on occasion.

‘Don’t mention it, cap. I respect our first mate’s opinion, but I felt like she was out of line.’ Apollo said.

‘First mate?’ Emilie asked. ‘Whatever, fine. What do you have to say, Joern?’

‘I say I want to get started on training. Whatever happens will happen in its own time.’ He nodded zenly as he finished talking.

‘Thank you for those sage words of wisdom, Joern.’ I shifted my gaze toward Emilie.

She sighed, looked up, and shook her head. ‘Guess I'm in this alone, then.’ Emilie looked at me with conviction in her eyes. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t give up.’

‘I really wish you would,’ I complained. “Now then, let’s get... started...” I trailed off as Joern, without prompting, began to dance.

The moves were a bit all over the place, shifting in style as he went on, and changing in rhythm every few seconds, and before long, the world around us darkened as clouds formed overhead. I quickly unfurled my umbrella as the first few raindrops fell.

“Damn, I knew you were going to take to this fast, but that was... almost instantaneous,” I said in awe. Joern scoffed.

‘That was slow. If the Ludicolo I knew saw that, they’d laugh their asses off,’ Joern said.

My eyebrows lifted up into my hair line. “You knew Ludicolo? There were Ludicolo on that route!?” I asked.

Joern laughed. ‘All kinds of Pokémon exist off Route. The stronger ones are off the beaten path, mostly out of respect for the King of Sloths.’

I snorted at the description. I couldn’t help it.

“You do realize that’s just May’s dad, right?” I asked.

Joern nodded.

‘He’s still a very impressive trainer, and very kind to the Pokémon there,’ Joern explained.

“Well, regardless, I thought that was really impressive for a first outing. Don’t get discouraged just because you know Pokémon that can snap their fingers and summon rain,” I consoled.

‘Only the Chieftan can do that,’ Joern said.

I was being sarcastic, dammit.

“Well, we have our goal, then. Chop chop, and take this Gremlin with you.” I nudged Emilie with my head as I talked, before turning to meet her glare. “I want everyone on the team to know how to use this move, and we probably won’t leave till everyone has it down.”

‘Fine, I’m going, I’m going. At least dancing is fun.’ Emilie teleported down and walked toward Joern.

Apollo moved to join them, but I stopped him.

“That order is for them, you and I are going to be working on something slightly different, my loyal quartermaster.” I said, deciding to indulge him a bit.

Apollo beamed, preening at the new title. ‘Aye, captain. I’m at your service.’

“Now then. I’m hoping you can help me a bit here, because the Pokedex... really wasn’t specific at all about what I want to teach you. What information did that TM give you?” I asked, pulling out a notebook. I knew I wasn’t a Birch sponsor, and I had no idea if May’s Pokedex offered more, but...

Dammit, I just wanted to pretend for a bit. If my training with Apollo also helped other trainers, so be it.

‘Not much, honestly. I got a bit of a visual of what other Wingulls did, but it really didn’t look practical. I did get a flash of insight in how to manipulate water outside of my body though.’ That’s what I wanted.

“Could you describe it?” The Pokedex went on about what you could do to help a Pokémon learn a dozen or so moves, but it really didn’t cover the hows or whys. It kept referencing some abstract energy Pokémon could command, but it never even bothered to put a name to it.

It was incredibly frustrating and decidedly not helpful.

‘They... it’s hard to describe cause there were two entirely different methods to use the move. The first method I was shown looked moronic. They were on land! Dancing around like a scurvy ridden nuisance, and their wings pushed water out into the air.’ Apollo shook his head and flew right up to eye level. ‘As if any Wingull worth their salt has time to land in a battle. The second method looked significantly more practical, but far harder to master. His body was saturated with moisture. Each beat of his wings pushed water into the air as easily as you and I can breathe.’ He said with awe. ‘ A few fancy flight patterns and voila, an artificial rainstorm.’

“So, in both cases, the Wingull pushed water out of their body to call on the storm. Any idea how that works?” I asked. I was still a bit confused as to why there were two entirely different methods to use the same move, but progress was still progress.

‘My feathers.’ Apollo lifted a wing. ‘They’re incredibly dense, so water has a hard time pushing through in either direction. If I focus, I can apparently push water through my pores. The moisture builds up in my feathers, and with enough force.’ He lifted his other wing. ‘The water gets pushed into the air.’

“That might have been the longest I’ve heard you go without using sailor lingo,” I commented.

Apollo blushed.

‘I didn’t think you’d appreciate that for your study,’ Apollo said. ‘I noticed the notepad and connected the dots. I can talk like a landlubber, cap. I choose not to.’

I chuckled.

“Fair enough and thank you. So, any idea why there are two different methods at play here? One is clearly better than the other, so why wouldn’t every Wingull just use that method?” I thought for a bit, and Apollo perched on my shoulder before raising his wings in a shrug.

‘Beats me, cap,’ he said.

“Honestly, the only answer I can think of, is that... they... can’t.” My brain stopped for a second as Joern’s earlier rain started to dry up. “Apollo, I have an idea. Right now, I just want you to focus on pushing moisture out of your pores. I want to see how quickly you can get this.” I ordered.

Apollo nodded.

My idea needed testing, but I felt like it had merit. Not every Pokémon of the same species was the same. They had different abilities, different traits, different personalities...

Different Wingull did Rain Dance differently because they HAD to. I smiled as water started to saturate Apollo’s wings. I knew it.

‘Cap, that was... a lot easier than I was expecting it to be,’ Apollo said.

“TMs make learning things easier.” I explained. I looked across the clearing as Emilie put on her best ballet performance to... little effect. “Though, maybe not that much easier. I’m kind of hoping this is the start of a new discovery, and not just my dex being old and outdated. This is cool.” Legends above, I sounded like a nerd. This was awesome.

‘It might just be my type, captain,’ Apollo said.

My mind disagreed.

“Well, now that you’ve got the basics down, let’s see if you can’t imitate the second method, Take to the skies, my friend!” Water got sent out in every direction, and I reeled back as I got drenched.

Apollo stopped.

“Ignore me and take off. This is important.” I ordered.

Apollo did as he was told, and quickly took to the skies.

Score.

Apollo could fly in this state. The only reason I could think of as to why there were two methods is that the Wingull that used the first method COULD NOT fly while their wings were saturated like this. Through some quirk of biology, Apollo had an advantage over other members of his species, and I’d bet every Poke in my account that it had everything to do with his ability.

The only notes on Wingull with Hydration were that they were incredibly rare. Emilie wasn’t blowing smoke when she said that she found me a one in a million bird. The only thing rarer was one of the unique abilities found in his evolution.

Some Pelipper looked at the world through a keen eye, adapting to their enemies’ and allies’ reactions with the greatest of ease.

Some took to water as though it was their own life force, tanking things that would knock Apollo out in one hit and shrugging it off right as rain in just a few moments.

But some... Their existence brought Mother Nature to heel. They brought the storm with them, without even having to do anything.

Whoever wrote those Pokedex articles covering the abilities of Pelipper was entirely too dramatic for his own good, but that didn’t matter. Looking at Apollo now, as he summoned a storm a scant twenty minutes after being exposed to the TM, the final puzzle pieces started to click into place.

I needed to talk to May after this session. We had to do some testing!

***

May’s POV

***

“Alright Suzaku, your new form gives you a lot of power, but I want to walk around with you without setting the town on fire.” May began pulling up the article she had found on her Pokedex. “So, we’re going to be doing an exercise. I want you to prepare a Flame Charge. Do what you normally do to get the fire going and hold it. Don’t let the fire out.” May explained before pulling up Sergei. “Understand?”

“Yeah, I get it, cook, don’t burn.” Suzy tensed her muscles and...

She lit up instantly.

"Dammit this is hard!" May read.

“So is fried chicken back on the menu?” Bulbasaur asked. May glared at the grass type.

“You didn’t even know what fried chicken was till Sergei showed you the group chat, and I’m still mad about that!” Suzy pointed angrily at Sergei.

“No. Fight. Not. Food.” Samie explained.

“Thank you, Samie,” Suzy responded. “I’m happy you realize that now.”

“Very good, Samie. You're getting much better at verbalizing,” May praised.

Suzy ignited again.

“Arceus, no wonder you want me so bad, you have a fire bird that can’t control her fire and a bug that can’t talk,” Bulbasaur snarked.

“And a Bulbasaur who can’t shut up.” Ignition. “Damn it all.” Suzy cursed.

“Why would I when I have such insightful things to say?” Bulbasaur asked. “Don’t exhale right away when you’re setting up the Flame Charge.”

Suzaku opened her beak, closed it, and tensed her muscles again. May and her team waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Ignition. “I was doing so good!” Suzy cried out.

“How does a grass type know tips for fire types?” May asked.

“Why is the trainer not training her Pokémon?” Bulbasaur asked back.

“Good question. Samie, we’re going to work on your favorite past time. Biting.”

“Pinch?” No translation. May sighed before imitating the motion with her teeth. “Pinch!”

“Chomp,” Sergei translated.

“Yup, you’re going to be biting into that training post, I want you to work on dealing as much damage to it as possible,” May explained, looking down at the orange ball of energy with a patient smile on her face.

“Pinch.” Samie nodded before walking up to the thick wooden training post.

“You’re not going to give him anything else to go off of?” Bulbasaur asked.

“Do you want to explain the finer mechanics of channeling a dark aura into your teeth to him?” May asked.

“Fair,” Bulbasaur conceded.

“Yeah, he’ll figure it out. Samie just has to bash his head into a problem until something sticks,” May explained. “Kind of reminds me of Lea. I honestly think he learned Magnitude on accident.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Bulbasaur complained.

“That’s Samie.”

Ignition.

“Nice, you’re getting better,” May said happily.

“I know you're trying to be encouraging, but in my head, it sounds condescending,” Suzy complained.

May nodded.

“Shutting up. Now then, that leaves our newest recruit.” May said.

Bulbasaur glowered. “What shall I learn, oh great and powerful trainer?” Bulbasaur shook as he looked up to May.

“Don’t know yet,” May responded, not rising to the barb. “First, I need to know what you know.”

Bulbasaur sighed.

“I hate that I agreed to humor you. You know about my vines, already. I also have good control over my powders. I can make them poison and paralyze.” Bulbasaur explained. “Leech seed too, but every grass type worth their roots knows how to use that. In a similar vein, I’ve started work on pulling energy from my opponents.”

“Hmmm...” May looked back towards Lea and giggled a bit as Joern was teaching Emilie how to dance in a localized typhoon. “So, Vine whip, Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Absorb, and Leech Seed. Any thoughts on picking up Razor Leaf?” May asked.

Bulbasaur suddenly hyper focused on the conversation at hand.

“You know how to do that?!” Bulbasaur asked excitedly. “I’ve been trying to get that move to work for ages!”

“Well, I don’t, but Joern does. I’m sure he’d be down to help you later if you helped him learn Absorb. There’s also Ingrain, which I think would be very helpful.” May heard another whoosh as the air around Suzy ignited again.

“What the hell is Ingrain?” Bulbasaur asked.

“Slam as many of your vines as you can into the ground.”

Bulbasaur looked at May like she was crazy.

“Just do it, I swear I'm not trying to fuck with you,” May said.

Bulbasaur did as he was asked and beat the ground around him senselessly with about a half dozen vines.

“Nonono, you’re trying to PIERCE the ground. You want to push your vines into the dirt,” May explained.

No response, other than another whoosh of fire. May looked up at Suzy and frowned.

“Hold up for a second,” May lifted a finger to Bulbasaur as she finished. She walked over to Suzaku and sat down, before leaning her back against Suzy’s hip.

Suzy stared down at her trainers as though she were suicidal, and Bulbasaur very quickly tensed.

“Are you insane?” Suzy asked.

“No, I just know you’d never hurt me,” May explained.

Suzaku sucked in a breath.

“I have nothing but faith that you’ll get this, so just keep practicing.” May turned her attention back toward Bulbasaur, who was staring at her with a slack jawed expression. “What?”

“Do you think you’re invincible?” Bulbasaur asked as his expression of shock morphed into a snarl. “You suddenly losing your brain doesn’t make you fireproof.”

“I meant what I said. I have absolute faith in Suzy,” May explained. “Thanks for the concern, though.” May smiled down at her new capture. “I appreciate it.”

Bulbasaur didn’t say anything for a while.

“I... Nothing.” Bulbasaur’s vines formed all around him and he slammed them into the ground. He pierced the earth and burrowed them deep. “Now what?” he asked grumpily.

“Absorb and be amazed.” May explained. May smiled as her new Pokémon listened without hesitation.

***

“I need to see your Pokedex.” I pounced on May as soon as she got close.

“Lea? What are- Hey! That’s attached to me.” May yelled as I pulled her bag closer and opened the pouch she kept her dex in.

“Consider this payback for all the stolen cookies.” I grabbed the Pokedex, opened it, and immediately started typing in the search bar.

I was so mad that hers had a search bar. How the fuck was that not standard on mine?

“What on earth are you doing, anyway?” she asked.

I smiled back at her.

“Science!” I shouted. “Maybe. I’m making sure my potential discovery hasn’t already been discovered.”

May leaned forward and put herself right next to me, both keeping her out of the rain, and getting a better look at what I was searching for.

“Did you need something by the way?” I stopped searching and gave May my full attention.

“I was wondering if Joern could show Bulbasaur how to use Razor Leaf. Bulbasaur can teach him Ingrain and Absorb in return.” May said.

My mind salivated at the thought of making Joern more of a tank. That was both on brand, and good for us.

‘Emilie-’

‘I already told him, he’ll be over in a bit. Do I have to keep working on this? Even with the stupid TM I don’t know how this fucking works?’ Emilie asked.

I thought for a moment.

‘You can stop for a bit. Two out of three Pokémon knowing how to use Rain Dance should hopefully be enough for Roxanne, ’ I replied. ‘Hang out with Apollo for a bit, and work on controlling the rain, and work on making... the Emilienator.’ I smiled at my brilliant idea for a name.

‘We are not calling it that.’ Emilie said.

I sighed.

‘But I wannnnnna...’ I could feel her glare through the damn connection. ‘Go train your brain, hon. I have to talk nerd with May,’ I said.

‘...I’m not arguing more because I want what’s best for you.’ Emilie said.

I grinned.

“Joern’s fine with the trade. I’m surprised you managed to get Bulbasaur to do anything, honestly,” I said.

“He’s a softy.”

I gave her a skeptical look.

“He is! He just acts like a grump all the time. Stop doubting me and explain what you’ve ‘discovered’.” May put the last word in air quotes.

I glared at her.

“Wellll, if you’re going to be mean about it.” I moved to hide the dex from May’s prying eyes and she shifted around to the other side as I typed Wingull into the search bar. I pulled up all the information on his abilities, and...

There was a bit more documented, but not much. May’s descriptions were also way more boring. I pulled up Pelipper’s description and instantly deflated.

“Nothing...” May’s Pokedex listed off all the things I had just figured out. I guess I should be happy. I knew for a fact that Apollo would have Drizzle as an ability once he evolved.

“Lea?” May asked, noticing how depressed I sounded.

“Sorry... I, uh... guess you were right. No new discoveries here, just an idiot working with incomplete information.” I glared down at my Pokedex. “I just... thought I was on to something new. I talked through a bunch of stuff with Apollo while we worked on Rain Dance, and I thought... my dex didn’t explain WHY he could use the move so easily.” I finally explained. May opened her mouth, closed it, then glared at me.

“Lea, I am going to talk for a bit, and you are going to listen, because I never want you to call yourself an idiot again. You hear me!” I looked at May in shock before nodding slowly. “Let me guess, you also figured out that Wingull with Hydration always have Drizzle once they evolve?” May asked.

“I mean, I didn’t exactly test it, obviously, but it’s a really obvious idea-”

“Look at the date of the article.” May said.

“Huh?”

“The date.” May repeated.

I nodded and looked down to see...

“Last year.” I whispered. I... what?

“The entry was modified last year. A pair of trainers worked together and figured out that Wingull with Hydration can use Rain Dance with minimal effort because they always evolve into a Pokémon with Drizzle. I think your Pokedex is... what, five years old?”

I nodded slowly. Last year.

“In an afternoon, you pieced together a hypothesis that took other trainers years to work through,” May said. “If I ever hear you call yourself stupid again, I won’t just take a couple of bags, I’ll take the whole damn collection of baked goods, got it!”

Last fucking year.

“Lea?”

I looked down and realized I had a death grip on May’s Pokedex. I quickly handed it back to her.

“Sorry.” I said quickly. “I was just... really angry for a second. I’m good now.” I wasn’t, but I was better.

“Why-”

“I would have been on the road for a year, if I left when I was fifteen,” I said. May leaned back. “Do you think fifteen year old me would’ve had the same ideas?” I asked. I chuckled a bit. “Probably not, the idea’s enough to make me angry, though.” I sighed before looking away. “I wonder what else I missed the boat on...”

“...at least you have me?” May said. She was giving me her best smile, and I tensed slightly as she pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry your idea wasn’t as new as you were hoping for, but... don’t get bogged down in the what ifs, okay? That’s not you. At all. Just focus on what you have now and enjoy it. Alright?” I finally leaned into the hug, and felt my anger start to slip away. “Also, Lea?”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Nerd.” I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing and couldn’t stop for a solid five minutes.

***

I stared down at Sergei, looking tentatively at an all too familiar number, before swiping it away and laying back in my bed.

I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to talk to my sister.

Why was it so hard to just hit the damn send button?

‘Wanna talk?’ Emilie probed.

‘I... don’t know. I feel like I say that a lot.’ I started punching in Eve’s number again. ‘Maybe you can explain why I'm having so much trouble with this.’

‘I have to warn you, I got my psyche degree from a traveling circus, ’ Emilie joked. ‘Would you believe me if I told you Mr. Mimes are excellent teachers.’

I convulsed.

‘What, do they pull from all the indirect trauma they cause?’ I snorted. My thumb hovered over the call button. How was it possible to both look forward to something and dread it at the same time?

‘By being at war with your own subconscious.’ Emilie answered. ‘You learned a behavior. Unlearning it is hard. So, even though the conscious part of your brain wants to form a better, healthier, and happier relationship with the sister that you love, the subconscious part of your brain remembers all the missed birthdays, arguments, and long nights of just... not wanting to deal with her.’

I swiped the screen away again.

‘Your... discovery earlier today probably isn’t helping,’ Emilie said, looking down.

‘I honestly feel terrible for thinking that way now.’ I thought. ‘That... no part of that was anyone’s fault, but... I just felt so mad.’

‘You still feel mad. I can feel it,’ Emilie said.

“I am and I hate it.” I said aloud, before lifting my head up and slamming it back into the pillow. “I don’t want to feel the things that I’m feeling, Emilie. Me knowing why doesn’t help with that. It makes me feel like shit.”

‘But knowing why you feel them will help you deal with them, and it’ll help you grow as a person.’ Emilie grinned, before looking down. 'Knowing that is important for the future. I... won’t be able to guide you once we have your mental defenses up.’

‘Why not? Are you going somewhere?’ I asked with a frown.

‘Your reaction to when I removed the block was a purely instinctive reaction to a learned behavior.’ Emilie now looked anywhere but my face. ‘Mom attacked you. She hurt you, and because the experience was so... drastic. Your brain learned, almost immediately, that anything in your head that isn’t supposed to be there is a bad thing.’ The color drained from my face. ‘A presence in your mind induces a mental response, and what happened when I first dropped the block, happens.’

‘I thought it was a sponge?’ I asked, hoping the joke would alleviate the tension.

‘We both hated that metaphor, even if it’s a better descriptor,’ Emilie countered.

‘Yeah, we did...’ I trailed off as I thought about what this would mean later on. ‘So, when I learn to shield my mind...’

‘I’ll remove the block, and you’ll have to shield it from everyone, including me, while you work through your trauma.’ Emilie smirked bitterly.

‘We... won’t be able to talk like this anymore.’ That... that hurt. We had only known each other for a week and a half, and I already don’t know how I would function without her voice in my head. Talking me up, helping with training, sanity checking my ideas, her humor, her advice...

I suddenly realized how much I leaned on Emilie.

‘I lean on you too. You show me so many amazing things from the human world.’ Emilie said, her eyes a bit misty. ‘Food, fashion, anime, video games, battles... We can still do all those things, it’ll just be... harder. We’re friends, and nothing’s going to change that.’

‘Power of friendship speech? Really? ’ I chuckled. ‘Thanks. I think I needed that.’

‘Anytime, partner.’

My mind still refused to let go of what she said though. I picked up on one thing that really helped put things in perspective. If I wanted to move forward, to push through that hurdle as fast as possible, then I had to teach my brain how to do it.

I punched in the number again and pressed call.

Ring once.

‘I want you to know, that once I get done with this call, we’re having a watch party with the boys. Might even get Wally and May in on it too,’ I said.

Ring twice.

‘Looking forward to it,’ Emilie replied.

Click.

“Hey, Eve.”

***

“I cannot believe I’m doing this.” I groaned as I pulled up the box of cookies I had made in the Pokémon Center’s kitchen. “Why did I agree to do this?”

“Cause your sister asked you too?” May offered. “I don't know, Roxanne and her gym trainers will probably enjoy it. They probably don’t have a ton of free time right now.”

“What the hell am I going to do, go up to Roxanne and give her the box of cookies after you curb stomp her. A box of cookies that has one of my sister’s business cards in it, by the way, cause that’s not embarrassing at all.” I did not go on a Pokémon journey to market my sister’s bakery. Ugh... “Your mom is doing well at the bakery by the way. Though she is complaining that you don’t call enough.”

May blushed.

“I’ll call home after my match. Which isn’t going to be a curb stomp, by the way. I’m nervous about this. I just know she’s going to go harder on me than she will on the others. I hate what my dad does for a living sometimes,” May whined.

“At least you’re probably guaranteed to fight her,” Wally grumbled.

I winced. Learning you could get your first badge from a gym trainer during this period was a bit of blow to my pride. It made sense. One person couldn’t take on this many trainers at the start of the season regardless of how crappy most of them are.

I was still going to fight her, though. I HAD to.

“I think I'd prefer the squishy gym trainers,” May complained.

“May, you have a Bulbasaur on your side, you got this,” I said, grinning at my best friend.

May winced.

“You do have a Bulbasaur on your side, right?” I asked nervously.

“He’s... tentatively agreed to fight for me,” May hedged. “He’s gotten a bit less prickly. I have a good idea what to expect but...”

“You’re worried he won’t listen to you?” Wally asked.

“I’m worried about a lot of things.” May shook her head. “I was a little surprised he didn’t want to stay out today. I think he’s starting to come around to the idea of not having to walk everywhere.” May pulled out what I assumed was Bulbasaur’s Poke Ball.

“We’re here,” Wally said.

I looked away from May. The Gym doors felt bigger than they were a few days ago.

“Alright, let’s do this.” May took the lead and shoved the doors open.

The lobby was still packed, and I was a bit worried we would have to wait in line again. “The battle reception is further in,” May explained, looking at my panicked face.

Oh, thank God.

“Wait, how do we watch your battle?” Wally asked. “Do they let us in with you?”

“Dad sells tickets for stand seating at the same place you check in for your battle, I assume it’s the same here.” May answered.

Wait, sold! My bag’s at the center!

“Uh... Wally, I don’t suppose-”

“I can buy your ticket, don’t worry. This is a much better alternative than any of the other ways you suggested the other night,” Wally said.

I could faintly see Wally’s cheeks pulled up in what I assumed was a smile. I think May was drowning us out as she walked ahead again. We followed her through another door before stopping in a waiting room.

“Thanks, I don’t want to tap my personal fund right now if I don’t have too. I still have to plan for the trip to Dewford.” I explained nervously, not wanting to admit I just forgot. I looked over at the desk as May walked up.

“Hello, May Maple, here for a gym battle,” May said stiffly.

The receptionist did her best to smile warmly.

“First gym battle?” The lady behind the desk asked.

May didn’t react, but I nodded for her.

“We’ve got a lot of those right now. I’m going to tell you the same thing I tell all the other new trainers. Relax and have fun. Winning or losing here matters a whole lot less than you think it does.”

“Er... right.” May blushed a bit.

“At any rate, there’s still a few battles ahead of you. We’re keeping a good pace today, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long. Do your friends also have battles scheduled for today?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Nah, that’s tomorrow. We’re just here to watch May kick Roxanne’s ass,” I responded.

“Lea!” May shout whispered my name and the receptionist laughed.

“Well, I’m guessing you’ll need tickets, then. Five hundred per ticket, I'm afraid,” the receptionist said.

Wally winced before pulling out the money.

“The things we do for our friends,” Wally moaned before handing it over.

“May will be in Battlefield C,” she said.

I smiled before blushing as I remembered the other thing I was supposed to do today.

“Uh... I also brought a gift for the gym. I know you guys are insanely busy right now, so I thought I’d bring something to make life a little more bearable.” I lifted the box of cookies and set it down on the desk. “Maybe... pass them out to some of your coworkers?” I asked.

The receptionist opened the box and beamed at the sight.

“That’s so nice of you! Thanks. I’ll be sure to pass these around.”

Legends above, that was embarrassing. I wanted to melt into the ground.

“Come on, let’s find our seats.” Wally nudged me a bit to snap me out of it.

Wait, there was one last thing. “Hey, May? Can I have Sergei while you battle?”

“You want to play on my phone while I fight for my first badge?” May looked confused.

“I want him to watch you. It’ll be way easier from the stands then in your pocket.” Not to mention it’s a much better vantage point to record the fight.

“Oh! That makes more sense. Sure thing.”

I heard a faint giggle as Sergei passed hands. I didn’t know a phone could giggle.

“Wish me luck?” May asked, looking worried.

“You don’t need it, but sure.” I pulled her into a hug. “Kick her ass,” I said into her ear.

“R-Right.” I turned away from her and made my way toward Wally.

‘You’re both hopeless,’ Emilie chided.

‘Finally woke up, huh?’

‘Like I’d miss this. It’s entirely your fault I'm this tired.’ I smiled at the memory. The new season of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon looked good.

A long hallway led further into the building beyond the double doors, and I noticed a ton of doors on either side. We didn’t have to walk far to find Battlefield C. The next door opened into a large arena, with a few stone pillars jutting out of the ground in random places. Those would make good hiding spots if we needed them for our fight. The stands were small, but considering the time of year, I doubted they’d ever be filled up. They probably had bigger arenas in back for headline fights.

What did surprise me was the fact that there were other people in the stands. They weren’t packed by any stretch of the imagination, but a handful of trainers sat in front of an empty field, waiting to watch a fight.

I marched up to the top of the stands and took a nice spot that had a clear view of the whole arena. Then I pulled out Sergei as Wally took a seat next to me.

“Alright, Sergei. We’re recording a video today.”

Sergei displayed a shocked emoji on his screen before giving me a thumbs up. Sarcastic little shit. A few of the trainers close to us gave me a bit of an odd look as I talked to my phone.

“Do you need me to do anything, or-”

Sergei levitated out of my hands, and his screen turned into a picture of the arena as he panned around.

***

May’s POV

***

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

“Number seventeen, you’re up.” May heard over the intercom. She groaned as she looked down at her slip.

Her number was up.

In, and out.

May walked through the double doors and found her battlefield. She grabbed the handle, then she stopped. Her hands were shaking.

“Calm down, May. Just relax. It’s just a gym battle. Stop psyching yourself out.” She still hadn’t moved. She barely reacted when she saw a light burst from her belt.

“Saur!” Bulbasaur shouted, giving his trainer an impatient look. “Bulba.”

“I don’t even have Sergei with me to translate right now!”

Bulbasaur rolled his eyes and extended both of his vines out. One grabbed a door handle and started to twist, the other very lightly poked her in the forehead.

“Hey!”

“Bulba.”

May gave Bulbasaur a once over. He tapped his foot a couple of times, before lowering his vine to about chest level and raised it up and down. May hesitantly reached out and grabbed it, not sure if this is what Bulbasaur wanted. She almost jumped when he wrapped around her arm.

Handshakes with a grass type were weird.

The door behind May opened, and she peered inside as Bulbasaur took the lead and walked toward the battlefield.

“Guess that solves who I’m leading with,” May said as she looked across the field. “Dammit. I hate being right.”

Standing opposite to her was a woman in her early twenties, and the picture of poise and grace. She wore the standard teacher’s uniform for the local school, and May wondered if she even had time to change between jobs. Roxanne stared out toward the open door and smiled.

“I’ve been looking forward to this. Not every day you get to pick on your colleague’s kids.” Roxanne bantered.

“Of course, that’s the first thing that comes out of your mouth.” May groaned before scowling. Her previous nervousness faded from how pissed she was. “I’m more than Norman’s kid, dammit.” May muttered under her breath as she walked in and slammed the door behind her. “Not really bullying if you’re going to lose.”

“Hmm... I suppose I can give your trash talk a passing grade, but you need a bit more fire.”

“I’ll show you fire...” May glowered as she took her spot. “Leaning into the teacher motif for banter is about as original as your arena. Are we doing this, or do you want to go over my math homework first?”

May heard Lea shouting her approval in the stands and smiled. She was probably going to catch hell for this later, but honestly, at that moment, she didn’t care.

“Fine with me.” Roxanne hadn’t stopped smiling. “Ref, you want to sound us off?”

The ref nodded.

“This will be a three-on-three match with no time limit. The gym leader may not substitute her Pokémon, but the challenger is allowed a single switch. Both trainers can send out their Pokémon on my mark.” Mine was kind of already out, but I guess he wasn’t on the arena yet. The ref raised both flags into the air and waited for just a split second before bringing them down.

“Begin!”

Chapter Text

May’s POV

***

Any and all bravado May was able to build died as she looked up at the towering monstrosity in front of her. Were all Onix this massive? Screw type advantage, how the hell was Bulbasaur supposed to deal with something fifty times its size!

“Saur!” Bulbasaur shouted anxiously.

May snapped her gaze back down toward her recent capture.

“You got this, Bulbasaur. He’s just a really big target,” May encouraged, doing her best to sound confident.

Bulbasaur whipped his head around and stared at May in disbelief.

“Onix, set the tone for this fight. Stealth Rock,” Roxanne said calmly.

Onix’s eyes glowed as his tail slammed into the ground, breaking the ground and kicking up several stones of varying sizes.

“Don’t let it set up for free, Leech Seed,” May countered.

Bulbasaur thankfully listened and launched a single seed from his bulb as the rocks glowed a faint white. Vines started to sprout as they fell to the ground.

Onix didn’t even try to dodge. Considering its body took up half of the arena, May started to wonder how well it could dodge.

“Onix, Smack Down,” Roxanne ordered.

“Vine Whip, pull yourself to safety.”

Two vines shot out from Bulbasaur’s back towards a large stone pillar as Onix raised his tail directly above him. Bulbasaur launched himself upwards, narrowly dodging the tail as it slammed into the earth below him, cracking the ground on impact. Stones and dirt exploded outwards from the crevice as Onix pulled his tail back.

“Poison Powder while you’re airborne.” May ordered, slightly pale at seeing what Onix just did to the ground.

“Rock Blast. He’s a sitting duck,” Roxanne countered calmly.

Onix swept his tail along the ground, scooping up the debris he had just created and launched it, running his tail through the falling powder in the process. The stones giving an audible crack as they were sent towards Bulbasaur. The stones slammed into Bulbasaur, sending him careening across the field.

“Saur!” Bulbasaur cried out in pain as it rolled twice before launching a pair of vines out to grab a pair of rocks jutting out of the ground. A large, angry red bruise marred his face as he glared up at the titan in front of him.

“Now, Screech.”

May’s eyes widened. “Tie his mouth shut.”

Bulbasaur’s vines lashed out and rushed toward Onix, barely managing to beat the scream. Onix pulled against the vines, but Bulbasaur held fast to the ground.

May noticed a few vines planted in the ground and smiled. “Nice idea, Bulbasaur. Now, Absorb.”

Bulbasaur focused and his vines glowed green. For the first time in the fight, Onix winced, and May grinned as the myriad of scrapes, cuts, and bruises that adorned Bulbasaur’s body rapidly started to heal.

Roxanne sighed. "Leech seed, Ingrain, and health draining moves to go along with poison. You might be one of the most annoying trainer’s I’ve fought today,” Roxanne complained. “Onix, stop resisting. If they want a closeup of your skull, give them one. Skull Bash.”

Bulbasaur almost launched itself backwards as the force it was fighting against rapidly reversed the direction it was going. Onix slammed into Bulbasaur with the force of a freight train, tearing his vines out of the ground and launching him through the air. He slammed into the psychic barrier in front of May, before sliding down to the ground. May stared at the scene, eyes wide with fear and worry.

“Bulbasaur! Are you alright?”

Bulbasaur slowly pulled himself up, his legs shaking. He once again glared up at the giant rock snake, who, at the very least, didn’t look like he was in the best of shape. Onix’s breathing was shallow, and the vines that had sprouted from Bulbasaur’s Leech seed were digging into Onix’s body a little bit deeper.

“Do you want to keep going?” May leaned in, before wincing as she contacted the barrier.

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur defiantly slammed his feet down.

“Then let’s give it our best. Like Joern taught you. Razor leaf!” May bit her lip. This wasn’t exactly perfected yet, but...

“SAUR!” Bulbasaur extended a single vine out but kept it close as he started rotating it around his bulb. Several sharp leaves were launched out sporadically, pelting the entire field.

Fortunately, Onix took up most of said field.

May smirked as the Onix roared in pain.

“Don’t take that abuse, Onix. Rock Tomb, trap it.”

Onix didn’t respond.

“Onix?”

The leaves stopped, and Onix swayed drunkenly, before finally giving up the fight against gravity. It slammed into the ground, hard enough to cause the building to shake.

“Onix is unable to battle.” The ref declared, and Roxanne looked shellshocked.

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur cheered, before realizing the energy surplus he was getting from Leech Seed had stopped. Bulbasaur slumped forward and passed out.

“Bulbasaur is also unable to battle.” The ref raised his other flag. “Onix fainted first, so the Gym Leader will send out her second Pokémon first.”

“Return,” Roxanne called out. The massive boulder snake disappeared in a flash of red light as it got sucked back into its ball.

‘How Poke Balls can hold something that massive I will never know.’ May thought as she returned Bulbasaur. “You were incredible.” May smiled at the poke ball forlornly, before staring across the field.

Roxanne rotated a pair of poke balls in her hand. May wondered if she wasn’t sure what to send out.

“Gym Leader Roxanne...?” The ref called.

“Shhh... I still know which Pokémon is in which ball, I want my next choice to be a surprise.” Roxanne smiled as she explained.

The ref groaned and massaged the bridge of his nose. May felt her left eye start to twitch.

“Pick your damn Pokémon, you vapid, annoying, bitch!” May screamed, before covering her mouth with both hands.

Roxanne laughed. “Fine, fine, spoil my fun. Alright, class, bonus points if you know what this Pokémon is.” Roxanne said. Contrasting itself to her previous choice, this Pokémon was small. It had a host of silver spikes on either side of it, and a pair of pincers extended out in front of his body.

“Anorith.” Anorith announced itself.

“Aww.... Anorith, I can’t grade them on their Pokémon knowledge if you give the answer away,” Roxanne chastised.

‘What the hell is that thing? ’ May pulled up her Pokedex. Her eyebrows rose after reading it’s entry. “How the hell do you have a Pokémon that’s been extinct for millennia?”

“The joys of fossilized reanimation. You’d be amazed how many of these guys are actually out and about.” Roxanne smiled. “Now who’s stalling.”

May scowled.

“Samie, make some noise,” May shouted, before realizing she had used a call out. Lea was going to make fun of her for that later, wasn’t she?

“Pinch?” Samie looked across the field in confusion as May groaned.

“You’re supposed to be intimidating.”

Samie rushed back to May and nuzzled her pant leg apologetically.

“You’re ruining our image!” May cried.

“Pinch!” Samie cried before turning around and facing the Anorith. The referee coughed.

“If everyone is ready to go...”

Both May and Roxanne laughed nervously.

“Then round two can begin.” As soon as the words left his mouth, a group of white stones rose and slammed into Samie. Samie just shook his head wondering who threw rocks at it.

“Let’s shake things up, Magnitude,” May ordered.

Samie lifted his head up.

“Jump, Anorith,” Roxanne called out.

Anorith slammed both of his claws into the ground, and the force sent him several meters into the air. Samie’s mouth slammed into the ground, and the earth SHOOK.

“Wha... holy hell!” May shouted as she tried, and failed, to maintain her footing. The earth cracked and split from the impact, mini fissures opening across the arena. Roxanne was knocked flat on her ass, and despite dodging most of the assault, Anorith landed in the worst of the aftermath as a several piles or stone collapsed around it.

“Ow... Why can’t I ever get that lucky when I use that move?” Roxanne complained before lifting herself up and dusting herself off. “Anorith, are you alright?”

“Anorith!” The rock bug type shouted defiantly as he raised his claw into the air, knocking away a few rocks.

“Good, then show them you’re not one to be bullied. Aqua Jet!” Anorith pushed itself forward in a flash of speed before surrounding itself in water.

“What kind of rock type knows water moves!? Samie, Dig, now!” May shouted frantically.

Samie disappeared underground. Roxanne groaned.

“I’m not going to be able to use this field for the rest of the day, am I? Zero badge trainers aren’t supposed to cause this much collateral damage, ya know?” Roxanne quipped.

“If that Onix was approved for zero badge trainers, then I'm the fucking queen of Galar.” May deadpanned. “And you’re the one that did most of the damage!” May shouted.

“Your majesty.” Roxanne just whistled innocently as she curtseyed. “I had no idea.”

May felt her left eye twitch. “Samie, Chomp!”

Samie erupted from the ground in an all too familiar explosion directly under Anorith and bit down. Hard.

“Rith...” Anorith cried out in pain.

“Anorith, Struggle Bug. Make it regret biting you.”

Anorith vibrated as his claws and legs shifted rapidly. Samie let go and May blanched as she saw a bit of blood fly from Samie’s mouth. Anorith beat Samie away with her claw and Samie sailed away from the ancient Pokémon and landed in a small pile of rubble.

“Are you alright, Samie?” May asked. Samie bashed the rocks away and glared angrily at the Anorith, who raised her claw in mock challenge. Samie charged.

“Stop,” May ordered.

Samie complied instantly, and May breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sand Tomb.” May ordered, doing her best to sound confident. Just because the attack didn’t form all that fast in the training field, didn’t mean-

“Pinch.” that it wouldn’t work here, where the ground was already more or less destroyed. Samie didn’t have to work that hard, and it showed, as Anorith was trapped in a sand pit almost instantly. Anorith floundered as it desperately attempted to climb its way back up.

“Now, that it can’t escape, Magnitude.” Samie raised his mouth into the air once more.

“Iron Defense. Brace yourself.”

The tremors weren’t anywhere near as severe as the last one, but its impact was felt on the already tattered field. Several areas of the field collapsed in a long line and May assumed that was where Samie had dug before. Anorith held on, and it was slowly digging its way out.

“Again,” May ordered.

“Stop destroying my arena!” Roxanne shouted. “Brace for impact one last time. I know you can get out.”

Samie slammed into the ground again, but the earth barely moved this time. May groaned at the low roll, and Anorith finally pulled itself free of the sand pit.

“Aqua Jet.”

“Underground again.” May shouted.

Roxanne sighed as the attack sailed over a newly formed hole. May grinned, happy others were experiencing the same frustration she felt when she caught Samie.

“Fine, two can play at this game. You dig too,” Roxanne ordered.

May frowned as Anorith burrowed. The arena stood silent.

“So... what exactly happens now?” May asked.

“Well, I assume they fight it out for subterranean superiority,” Roxanne shrugged. “This doesn’t really happen all that often.”

A single area of the arena bulged a bit before it settled back down.

“How exactly will we know if someone wins? We can’t exactly recall someone from underground,” May needled.

“Look, you started this. Don’t whine at me that we can’t see anything,” Roxanne argued.

May had a new idea though. She didn’t know how fast Anorith could move underground, but she was willing to bet it wouldn’t be as fast as Samie.

“Samie, double time it to the surface and hit the ground with your best Magnitude. Give it all ya got!”

Roxanne blanched at the command.

“Anor-”

“PINCH!” Samie once again exploded from the ground, its jaw already glowing white as it brought itself down to the ground and slammed into it. The field shifted once more, and the tunnels that had been dug collapsed.

The only difference now was that there was something in them.

A single mound of dirt slowly began to push up from below as a single claw rose from the depths, and Anorith collapsed in a heap as it emerged.

“Anorith is unable to battle.” The ref announced.

May couldn’t help but fist pump the sky. Her celebrations were cut short as she looked down at Samie and winced. Either Anorith got the upper hand in a few of the underground tussles, or the last Magnitude aggravated the wound, but Samie’s mouth looked terrible.

“Roxanne, please send out your final Pokémon.”

Roxanne sighed as she pulled out Anorith’s ball and recalled her. “That was my screw up, I got impatient, and it cost us.” Roxanne spoke into the ball. She also pulled out her next ball, and this one looked different. A single blue and white ball with a pair of orange lines on top expanded in her hands. “Don’t think this is over just because you’ve got a lead. We’ll take this down by a nose if we have too.” Roxanne released her final Pokémon, and May groaned at the pun.

“Nosepass.” May rubbed the bridge of her nose as the odd Pokémon slammed into the ground. “I’m sorry, I just... I can’t take this thing seriously.” May giggled a bit.

“Your loss.” Roxanne said, a confident grin spreading across her face.

“Begin!” The referee shouted.

“Magnet Rise.” Roxanne shouted the second the referee lowered his flags.

Nosepass lifted both of his arms and his whole body glowed with a blue light as she slowly levitated upwards.

May lifted Samie’s ball and recalled him.

“Pinch.” Samie sagged in relief as the red light hit him.

“Get some rest. We’ll get your mouth fixed up soon,” May whispered into the ball as she pulled out Suzy’s Poke Ball.

“You forgot to teach your ground type non-ground moves, didn’t you?” Roxanne smirked.

May snapped.

“SHUT. UP.” May screamed, her glare focusing on the gym leader that had done nothing but haggle her since she stepped on the field.

“The challenger has used her single switch. Please send out your final Pokémon.” The ref shouted.

May frowned. Even though the score favored her, this was functionally a one vs one now. Samie wouldn’t be able to touch Nosepass, and May didn’t feel comfortable sending her back out.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll just kick her ass twice as hard. Suzy, come on out.” White light faded to red as Suzaku ignited the air around her on entry.

“And of course, you’ve already evolved your starter.” Roxanne sighed. “Why do all Birch’s prospects have to be so annoying to fight?”

“Nosepass vs Combusken, begin!”

And once again, the rocks slammed into Suzy as soon as the match started. She let out a pained wheeze as the stones dug into her abdomen, before coughing a few times.

“Rock Tomb while it’s getting its breath back, let’s make this quick,” Roxanne ordered.

“I know you’re struggling right now but jump!” May shouted. Suzy jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the forming pyramid as she desperately tried to catch her breath.

“Rock Blast through the pyramid, Nosepass,” Roxanne ordered with a smile. “Make the whole ground explode!”

“Suzy-”

“Busken!” Suzy shouted, cutting May off as she crouched down and jumped, this time with focus, over the volley of rocks and shrapnel, and towards the floating rock type.

“Double Kick!” May shouted, capitalizing on her momentum. Suzy’s feet glowed white as she drew closer...

“Double Team.”

Only to be met with air as his attack passed through an afterimage. Several copies sprung out in a line, and Suzy grit her teeth.

“Flame Charge, use this as a chance to gain speed.”

Suzaku lit herself ablaze as she rammed headfirst into another copy. The second charge came out almost instantly, and Suzy covered the distance between her and the next copy in half the time.

“Don’t let them set up. Ancient Power,” Roxanne ordered.

May stared on in shock as eight boulders rose around Nosepass.

“Jump as soon as they launch.” May shouted desperately.

Suzaku nodded, and thankfully her speed leg strength was enough to sail over the assault.

“Rock Throw.”

A volley of smaller rocks formed and were quickly launched forward. The stones slammed into Suzy in midair.

“Busk!” Suzaku cried out in pain as the attack sent her backwards. She collapsed into the ground as Nosepass slowly started to fall to the ground, the Magnet Rise wearing off.

“Magnet Rise again. Get back in the air,” Roxanne shouted as Suzy pulled herself up from the ground.

Nosepass started to glow.

“Don’t give it time to breathe. Double Kick,” May shouted.

Suzaku blitzed the floating rock and managed to connect with her feet this time. Despite the size differential, the dual kick combo knocked the moai head out of the sky and sent it hurtling into the arena floor.

“Kick him while he’s down, Low Kick.” May said unashamedly.

“Rude. Magnet Pull to escape.”

Nosepass’s nose glowed, and his entire body skidded across the floor towards a pile of rocks as Suzaku’s attack hit the ground. “Now, Rock Tomb.”

“Crouch and use what you learned.” May said, slightly nervous Suzy wouldn’t understand. Four walls of solid stone shot out of the ground, and Suzy ducked under and made the pyramid her new home.

“Checkmate. Nosepass, Ancient Power. Blow it away!”

A ring of boulders once more rose from the dirt. Nosepass rose both of his arms, and the attack was launched with the force of a cannon toward the pyramid. May braced herself, as the prison was blasted across the field, slamming into psychic barrier.

Suzy was nowhere to be seen.

“What the... how?” Roxanne shouted. “Where...?”

As the dust cleared, a single hole stood where the prison had been.

“MAGNET-”

The ground below Nosepass exploded, and Suzy slammed into Nosepass in a shroud of half melted soil.

“BUSKEN!” Suzy shouted her war cry as she rotated in midair and slammed her foot into Nosepass. The rock type groaned as its body violently changed direction and slammed into a pile of stones. Hard.

“Nosepass?” Roxanne asked worriedly.

No response.

“Nosepass, are you alright?”

The stones shifted this time, and a Nosepass pulled itself out of the rubble. There was a single crack on his left side, from where Suzy had connected. May heard a weird sound flit through the air, like a weird, grainy pant. It took her a bit to realize that was what it, in fact, was.

Nosepass, though battered and exhausted, still stood, and Suzy looked to be in about as bad of shape. May now noticed a few ruffled feathers on her back, and May winced as she realized that Suzy hadn’t dodged the Rock Tomb completely. Her right leg also had a rather large red welt from where she had hit Nosepass. Her gamble paid off, but not without a price.

“You good to keep going?” Roxanne asked worriedly.

“Pass.” Nosepass’s voice echoed throughout the arena as he forced himself to stand up straight.

“Same question.” May asked.

“Com.” Suzy leaned forward and brought her arms out in front of her, wincing slightly as she put pressure on her leg.

“Then one last Rock Tomb, Nosepass. Bring it home,” Roxanne shouted.

“Jump.” May countered.

Nosepass brought up his arms again, but it was sluggish, and Suzy jumped into the air with her good leg, narrowly avoiding the pyramid of stone. The firebird’s jump lacked the power it did earlier, but it still got her in striking distance.

“Low Kick with your good leg. Don’t put any more strain on your other leg than you have too,” May shouted.

“Rock Throw, pelt it.” Roxanne countered, not even trying to dodge at this point.

Five stones shot out toward Suzy as she swung her leg out to sweep. Three found their mark before Suzy could connect. Both Pokémon cry out in pain, before collectively collapsing into the dirt. Roxanne and I both stop for a moment.

Neither one moved to get up.

“Double knock out.” The ref called out. May didn’t move as she looked up at the ref in shock. “As the challenger still has Pokémon in reserve, I am pleased to announce that May has successfully beaten Roxanne and earned her Stone badge.” He swiped down with both of his flags in a flourish.

“We... we won?” May asked into the air. Surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth. “We won!” May quickly pulled out Suzaku’s poke ball and returned him before running along the outline of the battlefield toward Roxanne. “How’s that whole picking on your colleague’s kid working out for you?”

“Alright, calm down.” Roxanne smiled as she recalled her Nosepass. “The fight’s over, and considering the trash talk at the start did its job and got you to loosen up, I’d say it’s going pretty well.” Roxanne pointed at May. “For your first gym battle you did a phenomenal job.”

May blushed. “I... Thank you.” May stuttered.

“At any rate, here’s your Stone Badge, a TM for Rock Tomb, and about ten thousand Poke.” May’s eyes widened.

“T-Ten-”

“Yeah, I may have thrown in a little extra,” Roxanne said. “You... might have been right about the Onix.” Roxanne looked away from May. “Just a little bit. He still meets league qualifications, but he’s probably ready to go up a badge level. I just really wanted to use him for this fight.” Roxanne pushed her index fingers together nervously as she said this.

“I accept your hush money.” May laughed.

“Fantastic!” Roxanne cheered. “It really was a good match. It’s been a while since a rookie’s been able to put up a fight that good.”

“Thanks, but if you think I'm good, then wait till tomorrow.” May smiled devilishly. “Both of the people I'm traveling with are solid trainers, and they’ll blow you away, especially Lea.”

Roxanne looked a bit nervous.

“Hell, Lea’s probably better than me,” May said excitedly, eager to see her friends bout.

Roxanne lifted her hands to stop May from talking.

“What?”

***

“Did you see that?” I asked, bouncing up and down in my seat so fast I was half worried I would break it. “That trick with dig was so clever. Roxanne was like... and then May just... and then-”

“Breathe.” Wally chastised for the third time. “Yes, I did in fact watch May win her first gym badge.”

“But she was so COOL!” I gushed. I probably had stars in my eyes, and I didn’t care. “And Suzy kicked so much ass. I didn’t know Combusken could move that fast! And Bulbasaur took down a fucking skyscraper! I was so worried they weren’t working together well, and they go and do THAT.” I was bouncing again. “No way he doesn’t want to stay with us, now. Which means May gets to pick a new nickname, I’m so excited!”

“We’re aware,” Wally deadpanned.

‘Painfully,’ Emilie groaned as she clutched her head. ‘Could we maybe turn down the hype? Just a little bit.’

‘Can’t stop. So happy. Only hype! Tomorrow’s going to be so much FUN! Oh, I can’t wait. Roxanne’s team won’t know what hit it!’ I stopped bouncing as I noticed Roxanne start to head back to the double doors. May looked sad. I don’t like that, she just kicked major gym leader ass, she should be ecstatic right now. I quickly got up and started to jog toward the steps.

“Hey, wait up,” Wally complained. “I’m not supposed to push my lungs right now! Don’t make me run!”

“Ugh, fine! Walk fast though. We’re grabbing May and celebrating,” I shouted, glaring balefully at Wally’s legs.

“Shouldn’t we get an early night for tomorrow? Our fights are in the morning...” Wally trailed off as he took in my glare. “Celebrating sounds good. I saw a nice barbecue place that looked fun. Eh he he.”

“That’s more like it.” I shouted as I jumped the last step and started filing toward May. “Well, I hope you don’t mind slumming with us no badge losers for the night. I know we’re not as cool as you now, but it’ll only last a night, I swear,” I joked.

May turned, and I frowned at the expression on her face.

“What’s wrong? Do I need to hurt someone? Cause I'll do it, I don’t care if she’s a gym leader. Emilie and I can take her,” I said, slamming my fist into my palm.

‘Please don’t involve me in this,’ Emilie begged.

“Sorry, it...” May trailed off. “Please don’t threaten gym leaders on my behalf. I’m a big girl, I can beat up my own gym leaders.” May sidestepped the question.

“Obviously, which means it’s time to party!” She can tell me later if she wants. “Come on, Wally wants barbecue, and we can watch your match back on Sergei. We’ve got video evidence of you being a bad ass by the way.” Speaking of...

Sergei dropped out of the sky and landed directly into my open hand, before displaying a video file and its location.

“You... taped my gym battle?” May asked nervously.

“Yup!” I bounced on my toes a bit before leaning forward and grabbing May by the hand and dragging her out of the building.

***

May just killed the hype.

The hype is buried out in the backyard next to Eve’s dead planter.

“So, to clarify, we DON’T have to stare down an Onix the size of a small skyscraper to claim our badge?” Wally asked.

I ground my teeth.

“Probably not, no,” May responded, giving me nervous glances as I stared down at my plate.

“I’m okay with this,” Wally said.

Coward.

“I don’t want to fight a gym trainer,” I whined. “That’s so fucking lame.”

“Look, they’re gym Pokémon. They’re from the same list that Roxanne pulls from for zero badge trainers,” May argued. “And honestly, I don’t think gym leaders put much effort into fights against noobs, so it really shouldn’t be that different.”

“Were we at the same gym battle?” I deadpanned. “I have it in 4k, we can watch Roxanne put effort and strategy into her battle against you with awesome Pokémon.” I waved Sergei around to emphasize my point.

“I... doubt everyone who fights Roxanne for their first badge deals with THAT,” May mumbled.

“Yeah, hell, she even cleared her schedule to fight you. I know for a fact that the Trainer School held classes today,” I ground out angrily.

Honestly, this just wasn’t fair. May winced.

“I’m sorry. I wish...” May trailed off.

Emilie punched me in the side of the head.

‘Calm down. You’re very close to saying something stupid,’ s he said angrily in my head.

‘What, that May’s going to be the only one to actually EARN her badge and it’s because her dad’s a gym leader. ’ My scowl worsened. ‘ Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid. Not May’s fault Roxanne’s a bitch, anyway. Still pisses me off that-’

“I... that’s just-” May sputtered.

“Huh? May, what’s wrong?” I asked confused. ‘I didn’t say any of that out loud, right?’ I asked, worried about a repeat performance of the contest incident. Emilie shook her head no.

“I need a second.” May pushed herself away from the table, a few tears in her eyes. “Excuse me.”

“Huh, May, wait.” I cried out. “I don’t know what I did, but whatever it was, I'm sorry!” May all but sprinted away from the table. “That was... odd. Wally, I didn’t say anything to out of line, did I? I’m angry at Roxanne, not May.” Wally shook his head.

“I don’t think so? That last comment about Roxanne clearing her schedule felt a little... personalized, but for the most part it was just your usual whining and complaining,” Wally explained.

‘Go after her,’ Emilie commanded.

‘Huh? Emilie, I don’t think she really wants to see me right now.’

‘What people say and what people want are two different things.’ Emilie smiled. ‘Go after her.’

I pushed myself out from the table and stood up.

“Wally, just hang out here, I’ll be back in a moment,” I said.

“Don’t worry about it, just cheer her up. I don’t think making people cry is a good way to get them to go out with you,” Wally quipped as he popped another fry into his mouth.

“Please don’t say things like that.” I pleaded before turning around and making my way toward the doors. May hadn’t walked that far off, thankfully. Unthankfully, as I walked outside, she turned and stared directly at me.

It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what to say. I felt like a Stantler caught in a set of headlights.

“Hey...” Legends above, I’m pathetic.

“I’m sorry...” May apologized, and I felt like I missed the memo entirely. Why the hell was she apologizing to me? “You’re right, it isn’t fair that Roxanne singled me out. For you or me. I just... don’t know what to do about it.”

“But I don’t blame you for that, May. It’s not your fault. I should be the one apologizing. We’re supposed to be celebrating your win right now. There’s a rack of ribs in there bigger than my head that I'm supposed to eat in your honor,” I shouted worriedly.

“That... that’s not what you said earlier.” May looked down and away. “I don’t like being lied to, Lea. I can deal with the other stuff. I’m a big girl.”

‘Okay, could you indulge me for a second. I think I know what happened, but... I just need to confirm it cause by all rights it is WAY too soon for you to be able to do that.’ Emilie shook her head. ‘Ask her what the last thing you said to her was. In the restaurant I mean.’

“May, this is going to sound weird, and I'm sorry if it sounds mean, but Emilie thinks it’s important.”

May looked at me for a bit before nodding.

“What was the last thing I said before you left the restaurant?” I asked.

“I... You’re right. That is mean. What you said... hurt.” May cleared her throat before continuing. “You said I was the only one who’d earn their badge here, and that it was only because my dad’s... who he is.”

‘How the hell are you already this strong!? I can’t even push my thoughts into another normal human’s head when I focus. How can you do it on fucking accident!?’ Emilie screamed and I clutched my head as her thoughts bounced around inside my skull.

May walked towards me.

“Lea, are you okay?” I nodded before squaring my shoulders.

“May, I didn’t say that-”

“I said stop lying to me!” May shouted. “What you said hurt, but you’re right! I’ve worked my ass off these last few days. I earned my badge, and it feels fucking terrible because you’re fucking right! If Dad was anyone else, I'd be fighting a gym trainer tomorrow with you guys.” May broke eye contact and sniffled. “I just... didn’t know you felt that way.”

“I don’t.” May just shook her head in response. “And you’re going to listen to me now, because what I have to say is important.” I swallowed down a lump that formed in my throat. ‘Can I do it again?’ I asked Emilie, desperately hoping the answer was yes.

‘You did it by accident, so doing it on purpose should be a cake walk. Visualize the message you want to convey and who it’s for, then push the thought out of your head,’ Emilie instructed.

I focused on May and made sure her eyes were locked to my face. That she could see exactly what I wanted her too.

‘I didn’t SAY anything of the sort.’

May’s eyes become as wide as dinner plates.

“You... How?” May asked in wonder. I didn’t have an answer for her.

“Emilie thought I was... treading dangerously close to opening my mouth and eating a five-star shoe buffet, so she told me to watch myself. I said the most asinine, idiotic, stupidest thing I could have said and told her she had nothing to worry about, because I would never say something like that to you.” I smiled at May reassuringly, but she still didn’t look convinced. “Oh, I also called Roxanne a bitch, and that it’s not your fault she can’t see a good challenger like me coming.”

May laughed at that. It sounded a bit forced, but I smiled that I was at least able to cheer her up a bit.

“I’m mad at her. I don’t know why or how I pushed that message to you, but I'm sorry you heard it and I'm sorry it made you this-”

“But... do you think that?” May asked and the words died on my tongue. “You thought it. Even if it was in response to something else.”

“I-”

“Be honest,” May commanded.

“It... bothers me.”

May sagged.

“It bothers me that people treat you differently, and I... get jealous, sometimes,” I confessed. “I know it’s stupid, and I try not to feel that way, but...” I trailed off and Emilie patted me on the shoulder reassuringly. “Feelings don’t always listen to reason.”

“I’m... thank you for your honesty.” My stomach felt hollow. “I can try-”

“Like I said earlier, it’s not anything you’re doing.” I cut her off. Her blaming herself for something she had no control over was the last thing I wanted. “It’s other people. I wanted to kick Roxanne’s ass earlier. She put you in the gym leader’s daughter box and brought ringers. If you didn’t train your ass off, you would’ve gotten rolled, and that pissed me off.” I ground out. “You should have a chance to enjoy a normal adventure.”

May’s eyes widened at my choice of words, before pulling me into a rather painful hug.

‘I... who... uh...’ I couldn’t seem to get my brain to work right now.

Emilie smirked. ‘If a single hug does this too you, I wonder-’

‘STOP!’

“Thanks. I think I needed that,” May said.

“Right, so... we good then?”

“We’re good. Even though this was hard, I think this was a good thing.” May smiled. “At any rate, congrats on being a telepath?”

Oh. Right. That was a thing now.

“Does this mean you can include me in your conversations with Emilie now?” May asked. A cold shiver ran up and down my spine and I turned to observe the Cheshire grin adorning Emilie’s face.

“I’ll get back to you on that.”

Chapter Text

Wally was up first.

“Gwen, just finish things up with Aqua Jet.” Wally commanded, sounding bored.

Gwen pushed water out from her body and slammed into Nosepass.

He goes down and stays down.

It was about what I had expected. All three of us were... probably above the level of a one badge trainer. At the end of the day...

“Nosepass, return.”

Wally took it down and only lost Nimue.

He almost got the sweep. Three Pokémon, supposedly trained up to be an appropriate level for starting trainers, barely took down a water strider that had been with us for four days.

The gym trainer handed Wally a badge and the stock reward for clearing the gym, then bounced. No advice, no good job, and no banter. Just a detached intern, going through the motions.

That was what was standing between me and claiming my first badge.

How the hell was I supposed to get excited for this?

“I changed my mind. Give me the Onix. I can take him. Anything would be preferable to what I just went through.” Wally complained as he looked at his badge. “I don’t feel like I earned this. I feel like I just bullied a kid and took his lunch money.”

“How do you think I feel? I just watched that beatdown, and now I know what I have to look forward to.” I muttered.

Wally smiled consolingly.

“You two are being ridiculous. Take the freebie and run with it. Every badge after this is going to be a trial and a half, if my fight was anything to go by,” May said. “This is the first time I've ever heard someone complain about something being too easy.”

‘I’m not fighting fodder. Just an FYI. Pick someone else.,’ Emilie commented.

I groaned. ‘Dammit Emilie, Wally’s banter was distracting me. Now I'm thinking about the fight again!’

‘What if you added an extra bit of challenge to this? One vs three. Joern vs the world edition.’

‘I doubt very seriously if Joern would even break a sweat,’ I countered back, then turned toward Wally. “Ignore May, she got to have fun with Roxanne yesterday, she’s ignorant of our plight.”

Wally laughed. “You’re right, she can’t possibly grasp how we feel.” Wally nodded sagely.

“I don’t like that you two are ganging up on me. I’m just trying to lighten the mood a bit.” May pouted adorably.

“Lea, you’re up.” The ref shouted from the arena, and I made my way down. Not having anyone else in the stands made this a bit more informal.

I did my best to not let that little bit of information get to me.

Another person filtered into the arena. He stared toward the stands longingly, and for a second, I actually thought I might have a spectator, but my hope was crushed the second he walked to the other side of the arena.

This was my punching bag. Got it.

“This will be a three-on-three match between Lea and Gym Trainer-”

“Can we just cut to the chase, I want to get this over with, I know the rules already and none of them are going to matter.” I talked over the ref.

“I... Fine. Both of you throw out your first Pokémon.” Even the Ref looked bored.

I tossed out Joern’s ball, and...

“Geodude.” Was the war cry of my opponent.

Yup. I Called it. Do I even need to- wait, yup, Joern’s already dancing.

“Geodude, use defense curl, then go into a Rollout.”

Holy crap this gym trainer has a plan! He’s already leagues above the last guy. I smirked as familiar rain clouds started to form. Seeing them inside was... exceedingly weird, but I couldn’t help but laugh as both my opponent and the ref glared my way. I opened my umbrella as the first rain drops started to fall.

Geodude was already almost on Joern.

“Water Pulse,” I commanded.

Joern finished dancing on a jump over the rolling boulder and slammed his fist into the ground. A wave of water exploded out in every direction, swelling massively in the rain before slamming into Geodude.

He was out cold.

“Winner, Joern. Will the gym trainer please send out their next Pokémon.” The ref called out.

“Return.” My opponent was still gaping at what had just happened to his Pokémon and nervously looked down at his next poke ball. “Geodude, you’re up.”

Oh, come on. This is just-

Wait a minute.

My tirade stopped at the new fight in front of me. Electricity pulsed in the air as this new, unique looking Geodude took center stage. His mustache cutting a rather distinguished look on an otherwise plain looking rock.

“Begin,” The ref called.

“Rock Polish.”

And that was a surprise as well. Geodude’s skin shined. I didn’t really understand the mechanics of why shiny skin made rocks faster, but that might be an issue.

“Now Thunder Punch.”

“Razor leaf, spread pattern. Make him pay for every inch of ground he tries to gain.”

Geodude’s fist crackled with power as he was pelted by a barrage of sharp leaves. I smiled as he seemed to be pushing through, and he was on Joern in seconds.

“Catch the fist.” I knew this wasn’t the best idea. Thunderpunch wasn’t exactly something to take lightly, but I wanted to test something.

Not to mention if it worked this would probably scare my opponent something fierce.

Joern lazily raised his left hand and grabbed Geodude’s Thunder Punch. I could tell Joern felt this hit, but he stood his ground. The Geodude gaped as Joern held what was probably his strongest attack back with one hand.

“Now, Scary Face.” I smirked as Emilie groaned.

‘Seriously, you’re using the gag move in a serious battle? ’ Emilie complained.

Joern glared malevolently at the Geodude, fist still in hand.

“Geodude, don’t let yourself be intimidated. Thundershock.” The gym trainer said desperately.

His Geodude ignored him and leaned further away from Joern.

‘Calling this a serious fight is a bit much, don’t you think?’ I asked back.

Joern leaned forward, getting closer to the terrified rock type. He leered down at him with a look that promised death and suffering, before opening his mouth.

“Lom.”

I had never seen a Pokémon recall itself before. I didn’t know they COULD do that.

“Geodude has left the arena. Please send out your final Pokémon.”

I smiled as water began to pool in Joern’s leaf. Whatever damage that Thunder Punch had done was quickly being undone, as my opponent shouted bloody murder at both the ref and his poke ball.

“Send out your last victim already,” I shouted. I knew the smart thing was to let my opponent be an idiot. To milk Rain Dish for free heals and ignore my opponent as he was being an idiot, but at this point, I wanted this farce to just be over and done with. I half thought Emilie’s suggestion would at least make this somewhat challenging, but Joern was way tougher than anything this man had brought to bear so far.

“Ugh... fine. Nosepass, go.” My opponent just sounded resigned.

I understood, Joern still looked fresh, and he was on his last mon.

“Rock tomb.”

Four walls formed around Joern, and I couldn’t help but notice the rock wall was a lot thinner and weaker than yesterday’s.

“Don’t even worry about it Joern, blow the damn thing away. Water Pulse.” The structure exploded outwards as another water shockwave pushed out into the typhoon. Nosepass had nowhere to go.

“Nosepass is unable to battle, Challenger Lea is the victor.”

That didn’t feel like a damn fucking victory. I had already started walking around to the other side. I didn’t even recall Joern.

In all my fantasies about earning my first gym badge, this curb stomp against a random league employee had never crossed my mind. My hands clenched into fists as I made my way across, and my blood boiled in my veins as I stared at the imposter that had robbed me of my first proper gym battle. He shrunk away from my glare.

“I... uh, good match. Heh, you’re really... REALLY strong for your level.”

And you’re exceedingly weak for yours, glad we had this chat.

“Here, your badge and the standard winnings for beating the gym. You’ve earned it.”

“No, I haven’t.” I stood completely still, unwilling to take the shiny little trinket. Calling this a badge right now felt like an insult. “Were we really watching the same battle?”

“I-” Stop talking.

“I came here for a challenge.” I coldly declared. “Did that look challenging? Hell, Wally and I beat your asses so hard that we finished BEFORE my scheduled start time!” My eyes bore into...

God, I don’t even know his name.

“Listen, I understand you’re upset, but-”

“When is the earliest opportunity I would be able to fight Roxanne?” I asked. The gym trainer was still holding out my ‘prize’, probably hoping I would just take it and leave.

“Why would you...? Look, just take the damn badge. Roxanne is either booked solid or has duties at the Pokémon trainer’s school. She’s not just going to drop everything to cater to some kid throwing a temper tantrum.”

Holy crap he found his balls.

“If you for whatever reason want too, you can book another appointment with the front desk, but you’re not guaranteed anything. People with badges always fight the gym leader. You can bully Brawly in Dewford. Just take the badge and leave me the hell alone!” he shouted.

I looked up at the clock and realized something.

“Huh, there’s an idea...” And probably not the one this schmuck is thinking of, considering he’s sagging in relief. I reached out and grabbed the badge. “So, to clarify, people with a badge always fight the gym leader?” I asked.

“Right, thank you for-”

“I formally challenge the Rustboro Gym.” I smirked. “I believe I have an appointment for today at noon.” My grin widened even further as the minute hand and the hour hand met on the clock.

My appointment was right now.

“Well, where’s the gym leader?” I asked the dumbfounded trainer. “I have a badge. It was given to me by a league sanctioned trainer, though how he got that job I'll never know.”

‘Maybe ease up a little bit? ’ Emilie asked.

‘I came here for a gym challenge. I’ve dreamed of finally earning my first badge for YEARS.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s not his fault that you fought him, so don’t be mean. You’re acting like those people you used to complain about to Eve. I think you called them Karens?’ Emilie asked. My blood ran cold, and I slowly turned to give Emilie a look that promised pain.

‘Don’t ever-’

“You’re insane, you know that right?” The gym trainer pulled me out of my private conversation and stared at me in unbridled disbelief.

“All I want to do is fight a gym leader.” I said, easing up on the vitriol a bit.

“You do realize you’ll be going against a one-badge team if you do this, right?” The gym trainer explained. “And for every badge after that, you’ll be punching up a level if you win. You still need eight different badges to qualify for the conference you know.”

My eyes widened in excitement.

“That. Sounds. AMAZING!” I shouted in glee, feeling genuine joy for the first time since walking into this arena.

“You’ll functionally have to earn your eighth badge TWICE! I know it doesn’t sound hard after what you just did to my team, but there is a world of difference between here and there. Please don’t do this!” he begged.

“Meh, if I can beat one, I can beat two. At any rate, I'm here for my appointment.” I smirked. “Where’s Roxanne?”

***

“Are you completely out of your MIND!” May screamed as we walked toward the Pokémon trainer’s school.

Wally looked equally pissed, and to be honest, the angry eyes with the respirator were a very intimidating look. If I could feel fear, I would probably be moderately worried about getting force choked right now.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. I wanted to fight Roxanne, and now I'm fighting Roxanne,” I said.

“You- I underestimated your mental handicap. I realize that now. I didn’t think your inability to process fear would make you into the world’s biggest MORON!” May screamed. “Apparently, I need to be with you every second of every day to make sure you don’t sign off on something this colossally stupid.”

“Wait, what do you mean-”

“NOT NOW!” May shouted at Wally.

The poor kid stopped and started backing away from May instantly.

“You know, I was kind of hoping for a bit of support from my friends.” I sniffed. “This is supposedly going to be a very harrowing experience. One that I'm not getting talked out of.”

“Lea...” May just sounded done. “FINE! You want support, I’ll be the most supportive fucking best friend on the face of the earth!” Her tone really didn’t match what she was saying. “And I’m recording this so you better win.”

“Lea, we’re just... slightly concerned. It’s not that we don’t have faith in you. It’s that we DO.” Wally explained. “To an extent.”

“You’re going to kick ass here, you’ll probably kick ass against Brawley, and then we’ll get to Mawville and never fucking leave.” May explained exasperatedly.

“Well, if we were going to get stuck some place for a while...” Wally hedged nervously.

“We’re here.” I sing songed over them.

The Trainer’s School was massive, and I don’t know why that thought shocked me. It would make sense that this place would be big enough for all the kids in Rustboro, but I was just used to the tiny little single classroom we had in Petalburg. I pushed into the reception area and...

Roxanne was already here.

“May, when you told me your friends were eager to fight me yesterday, you failed to mention how much,” Roxanne complained, though I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t seem annoyed or angry. She had a smile on her face. “You’re Lea, right? The girl who swept my gym trainer, then called him an embarrassment to his field.”

“Er... yup. That’s me. Though I never used the word embarrassment...” Roxanne smirked.

“I’m using it then. He got swept. If nothing else, this little episode has shown me that I need to step up my trainers’ training. At any rate, our arena’s this way. We’ll be squaring off in an exhibition match in front of a bunch of kids, so no swearing, lewd language, hand gestures, etc.” Roxanne capped off. “Basically, act professional, set a good example, and bow out gracefully when you lose.”

“I’m not losing.”

“Keep that attitude of yours for the fight, and maybe you won’t. Doubt it though,” Roxanne said.

‘I want to punch her in the face.’ Emilie commented.

‘I think May did too, so get in line.’

“Er... where are we supposed to go, by the way?” Wally asked. “Do the stands have a different entrance, or...”

“The kids from my classes have more or less claimed all available seating. Grab a couple chairs on the way, if you want. You’ll be hanging out around Lea in the auditorium.”

Packed house? Holy shit, I can lord this over May and Wally for weeks.

“At any rate, please, this way.” Roxanne turned and walked confidently through the hall.

We followed.

“So, how exactly did you manage to get this set up this quickly?” May asked. “Lea wasn’t exactly reasonable in her requests, we legit came here straight from the gym.”

Roxanne snorted as I gave May a somewhat halfhearted glare.

“This is hardly the first time I've had to take a battle on campus.” She tossed me a look. “Though it is the first time someone’s demanded a round cause their actual battle was too easy.”

I blushed.

“I honestly respect that,” Roxanne said.

My mouth dropped in shock.

“I... really?” I asked.

“Big time. You know how many people in this city randomly decide to half ass a badge attempt every year? Even the good ones are marginally happy to just take a badge if they beat one of my trainers, hang it up in their living room, and call it a day. Hell, May here probably would’ve been overjoyed to smack around one of my minions.” Roxanne tossed a smile toward my friend. “Ain’t that right?”

“No comment.” May looked away.

“Right,” Roxanne answered condescendingly.

Now I wanted to punch her. I’m the only one that can do that to May.

“Oy, May kicked your ass, you don’t get to throw shade,” I argued.

“Yeah, yeah. This also gave me an excuse to avoid doing lectures all day. I love hands on displays like this, but the headmaster here insists on doing things in a more traditional setting. It’s enough to put me to sleep some days.”

So, I'm functionally her excuse to blow off work. Great.

“Er... by the way. Were you the same girl that dropped off the tin of cookies yesterday?” Roxanne asked.

“Er... yes?” I muttered; cheeks flushed a bit.

“Do you have more?”

I blinked twice, before sighing and reaching into my bag. Roxanne greedily grabbed my offering.

***

‘Now this, is more like it.’ Emilie commented.

I nodded in agreement.

Nothing quite beat the roar of a crowd. Even if they were only kids, this felt amazing. I noticed Sergei floating around as I stared across the field toward Roxanne. The arena was a bit bigger than the one in the gym, and there were quite a few more stones and rock formations. I noticed Roxanne nod toward the ref, and he raised both flags.

“This will be a three-on-three match between Gym Leader Roxanne and Challenger Lea. There will be no time limit, and neither party will be allowed to switch without the use of a move.”

THAT was different. So once a mon was in, they were in. I wondered what moves allowed someone to switch.

“Will both trainers please select their Pokémon.”

The best bet for a lead was still probably Joern. Heh, maybe he’ll go six for six. Roxanne pulled a poke ball up.

“Both trainers ready?”

We nodded.

“Begin.”

“Onix, center stage.”

“Joern, let’s continue your streak.” We both shouted, and I laughed as I looked up to see a very familiar-looking face.

“I knew it! I knew that Onix wasn’t approved for me you-Mffhmmf"

Wally did his best to gag the now irate May as I stared up at a towering behemoth. This thing fought Bulbasaur to a draw. I needed to be careful, and Joern is already dancing...

You could at least wait for my orders!

“Stealth Rock, Onix.”

Roxanne started her fight with me the same way she started her fight with Bulbasaur. Honestly, I liked how that worked for May, so...

“Leech Seed, Joern. Make him pay for it,” I ordered with a smile.

“And of course, you know that damn move as well,” Roxanne grumbled.

Joern didn’t even stop dancing, he just worked the customary swish of his leaf into his moves. I grinned as storm clouds started to form, and vines started to work their way into Onix at the same time. I pulled up my umbrella, paused, and looked on in confusion. Unlike in the gym, the clouds were contained to being directly over the arena and didn’t go beyond the psychic barrier. Roxanne’s eyes widened as she saw a few drops of water start to fall from the ceiling.

“Dammit!”

And you want to talk to me about swearing in front of kids? Really?

“Onix, Bind. Stop it from dancing. It pulled a fast one.”

Onix quickly moved toward Joern and wrapped its body around him. Too little, too late. The rain started to fall.

“Absorb.”

I loved having more than one grass type in the group now. Joern looked moderately uncomfortable, but between Leech Seed, Rain Dish, and Absorb, I think Joern was passively healing for more than Onix could squeeze away.

“Slam. Throw him as hard as you can.” That, however, might be a problem.

Onix tossed Joern across the stadium and he slammed headfirst into the barrier. He slid down slowly and laid face down in the dirt for a second before raising his head and turning his glare toward Onix.

“Lom.” Lombre shook his head a bit and sent a cocky smirk at his opponent before thumping his chest.

I smiled at the show of bravado.

“Water Pulse. Hit him hard,”

I shouted. Joern once again raised a ball of water over his head before slamming it down, the attack becoming a massive wave in this storm that submerged the lower half of Onix in a somewhat muddy sludge. My eyes bulged a bit as the water actually pushed Onix backwards a bit.

The attack slowly subsided, and the water slowly started to sink into the ground. I idly wondered how the hell this place wasn’t flooding at this point, but the arena probably had SOMETHING in place for rain.

And tidal waves. Wait, seriously. What the-

‘Focus,’ Emilie yelled in my mind.

Right. Battle happening right now.

Credit where it was due, this Onix was the first Pokémon to stay conscious through one of those. He didn’t look great, but he was up. Roxanne gritted her teeth.

“Okay, you have no right calling my trainers weak. That thing is a menace to society,” Roxanne complained.

I smiled. “His name is Joern, and he’s just a menace to you right now.”

“Not for much longer. Onix, Explosion.”

“What!?” I shouted.

Onix glowed orange as power violently pushed out from every part of him. A loud bang echoed off the walls and the arena lit itself ablaze, the power forcing stones to uproot themselves and the air to smell of molten earth and ash, and almost as soon as it had begun, it ended. Smoke billowed from the arena as I hesitantly pulled up Joern’s poke ball. About five seconds after the fact, the rain started to beat down the smoke, revealing a pair of Pokémon that were both on the ground, unmoving.

“Both Pokémon are un-”

“BRE!” Lombre shouted, shifting his head to the side and glaring angrily at the ref. He nudged his arm against the ground, and slowly forced his slightly charred body to stand, his skin getting less ashen as he slowly lifted himself-

I just noticed the vines coming out of Joern’s feet that were dug into the ground. Smart man.

“Joern, you’re completely unbelievable.” I smiled in relief at the seemingly impossible just becoming possible. Unfortunately, the ref is quick to recover and keep the battle moving. I was hoping to give Joern a bit more time to take in the rain.

“Onix is unable to battle. Gym leader Roxanne, please send out your second Pokémon.”

Roxanne still looked shellshocked as she hesitantly raised her Poke Ball and recalled Onix.

“I... This is going to take a specialist to deal with. Lileep, come on out.” A... planter formed in the middle of the stage. A potted plant with eyes bent over and stared intently at me. I didn’t recognize this thing at all, but whatever it was, it creeped the hell out of me.

“Ingrain. Let’s set up shop.” Great, a grass rock type. That’s annoying. At least it wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“I know you’re tired, but Water Gun. We can’t use our usual tricks against this thing.” I didn’t want to push Joern with a Water Pulse.

Joern nodded and weakly raised his head and opened his mouth as several vines extended out from Lileep’s base. Roxanne didn’t even give him an order as a jet of water slammed right into Lileep, and was quickly absorbed into it.

Uh oh.

“Thanks for the meal, we appreciate it. Lileep, Ancient Power.”

Several large stones rose up from the floor, and the move I had grown to despise over the course of the last few days was sent out with an absurd amount of force. A single boulder slammed into Joern, and he was sent flying backwards, breaking through a tall rock before rolling several times, finally stopping once he hit the psychic barrier.

He didn’t get back up. The ref waited a few seconds and lifted a flag towards Roxanne.

“The challenger’s Lombre has been defeated. Please send out your second Pokémon.” The ref called out.

“Good work, Joern. That was my screw up.” I lifted his ball and returned him before glaring across the field. “That’s a nasty little surprise.”

“Thanks! Anyone with a working brain knows what’s good against rock types. Lileep here turns conventional wisdom on its head and turns those weaknesses into strengths. Once trainers have earned their first badge, we like to get a little more innovative with the teams.” Roxanne smirked. “Good on you for realizing the typing. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to dock a few points on not knowing the ability. I also love the weather warfare. I usually don’t see trainers bust that out till badge three. But you’ll have to step up your battle tactics even more if you want to beat me.”

“Yeah, well here’s stepping it up. Apollo, on deck.” Apollo formed in the air, already flying.

‘Ahoy, Captain.’ I smiled at the casual greeting, happy that my waterfowl wasn’t worried about the rock type below him.

“Wingull vs Lileep. Begin!” White rocks launched themselves out towards Apollo as the ref lowered his flags.

“Dodge with Aerial Ace.”

The rocks collided in open air as Apollo disappeared in a hum of sound and slammed into Lileep before Roxanne could even open her mouth.

“Wing Attack on the retreat.”

If Joern was anything to go by, I needed to hit this thing hard, fast, and without mercy if I wanted to win.

“Rock Blast. Don’t let it get away unscathed.” Apollo cried out in victory as he rapidly slammed a glowing wing into Lileep on his ascent, the rock volley going wide as Apollo flew circles around the attack.

“Gonna have to be a little faster than that.” I taunted. “Now, Air Cutter.” I shouted out the new move with vigor. Aqua Ring might have been a bust, but Apollo had apparently already been working on something in his own time to shore up his ranged options.

Apollo beat a wing forward and a single wind sickle cut through the sky and hurtled towards the planter.

“Ancient Power.”

Stones once again rose out of the ground and circled Lileep. The attack acted as both a shield for Lileep, and a cannon, ready to fire. She pushed them out with thankfully a bit less force than when she attacked Joern.

“Evasive maneuvers, then hit him with another Aerial Ace.” This would be two. Apollo probably had another three left in him. Endurance training really was paying dividends. I also couldn’t help but thank Noland for preparing me for attacks like this. This Lileep had nothing on his Mawile.

The second Aerial Ace made contact, and I groaned. Lileep was still ingrained. I know I was dealing more damage than he was healing off, but Apollo’s speed and strength were sadly still on a timer. I needed to deal with this.

“Air cutter. Close range. Target his roots,” I shouted.

“Don’t let him. Rock Tomb.” Is she insane!?

“Pull up! Now!” I shouted.

Apollo converted the force from his Air Cutter to send himself up, managing to pull off the attack while evading the pyramid that had formed around Roxanne’s own Pokémon. What kind of whack job hits their own Pokémon with... wait, how the hell do I break through that? Fuck.

“Air cutter that pyramid. Make it come out. Don’t give it any time to breathe,” I ordered. I refused to let her dictate the pace of this fight.

The concentrated wind blast slammed into the pyramid, but the structure only cracked.

“Again.”

More cracks, but still not enough.

“Fine, blast it down. Aerial Ace.” Three.

The structure imploded as Apollo slammed into it, and I noticed Lileep looking shell shocked as Apollo exploded out the other end. Apollo was breathing heavily, but we couldn’t let up. “Now. Hit and run tactics. Wing attack.” Apollo nodded and started to dive bomb Lileep once again.

“Ancient power, don’t worry about hitting him, just keep him away from you,” Roxanne ordered. Dammit all.

“Abort hit and run. Legends above, is this what people feel like when they’re dealing with Joern? Air Cutter, and dodge obviously, that goes without saying, though.”

The boulders sailed through the air, and Apollo once again made it a point to show how hard he was to hit. The hit and run turned into multiple Air cutters, but that was fine. If we were still making progress forward, that would be good enough for me. Lileep was finally starting to look tired, and cuts, bruises, and welts were appearing faster than they were fading. Roxanne looked like she was at a loss before giving me a wicked grin.

“Confuse Ray.” Ah, yeah that was destined for failure. I didn’t even bother acknowledging the bright multicolored rave party that Lileep launched from his head.

Apollo didn’t either.

“Aerial Ace.”

Roxanne seemed thrown off at the lack of response, and I smirked in victory. Fourth time was the charm, and Lileep was ripped from the ground as Apollo made contact, its roots getting torn as it was slammed a solid five feet into the air before it hurtled back down to earth with a resounding thud.

“Lileep is unable to battle. Will the gym leader please send out her final Pokémon.” Roxanne frowned as she pulled out her poke ball and recalled Lileep.

“Excellent strategy, but I’m going to have to dock points for forgetting about Apollo’s ability.” I threw her words back at her.

“Like Hydration is a common ability,” Roxanne snarked back. “That is one of the best trained Wingull I’ve ever seen. You’ve done an excellent job with him.” She lifted her final poke ball. “Now then, Nosepass. We’ve got some work to do.”

“Is... this the same Nosepass from yesterday?” I asked, noticing the small crack on his side.

“Er... maybe.” Roxanne shuffled in place and looked away awkwardly.

“THAT B-HMMF"

“May, you will not go on a swearing tirade in front of a room full of children. Calm the hell down!” Wally shout-whispered at May as he, once again, attempted to gag her.

“That Anorith you used yesterday was for one badge trainers and up too, wasn’t it!?” I questioned accusingly, now moderately upset on my friend’s behalf.

“She won, didn’t she? Calm down.” Roxanne brushed me off. “Ref, start the damn match already.”

“Er... right. Nosepass vs Wingull. Begin.”

“Magnet Rise.” Roxanne shouted. I noticed the rain was starting to stop as it rose into the air.

“Refresh the rain, Apollo,” I ordered. I couldn’t let the rain stop if Emilie was going to have any kind of chance of dealing with this thing. I doubted Apollo had the stamina or strength to finish it off. Water started pushing itself out of Apollo’s wings, and he flew up to the rafters. The clouds that had started to fade came back with a vengeance.

“Shock wave.” Roxanne ordered with a malevolent grin.

Damn it all. The current reached out and tracked Apollo’s location.

“Aerial Ace, one last time!” I shouted. Apollo couldn’t dodge the current, but he did manage to blast through the worst of it and slammed into the floating Moai head.

It didn’t even flinch.

“Rock Blast,” Roxanne ordered.

Exhausted, up close, and slightly deep fried, Apollo faced the attack without flinching. He was blown backwards by the rocks and landed int a heap in a pile of rubble. He didn’t get back up.

“Wingull is unable to battle. Will the challenger please send out their final Pokémon.” I looked out across the battlefield at the giant floating nose and felt a laugh bubble up. May was right, this had to be one of the goofiest looking Pokémon out there.

‘You ready?’ I asked Emilie. ‘I think this qualifies as ‘Not fodder’.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I’m going, I’m going.’ Emilie stretched a bit before hopping down from my shoulder and walking into the arena.

The Ref looked at me, and I realized I hadn’t said anything out loud.

“Emilie will be my last Pokémon, sorry,” I explained awkwardly, scratching the back of my head.

The ref nodded.

“Then this will be the final round. Nosepass vs Emilie. Begin.” Emilie teleported out of the way of the Stealth Rocks.

“Why do all of your Pokémon have an easy way to dodge that! They’re supposed to be hard to avoid!” Roxanne shouted in annoyance.

I ignored her.

‘Focus the rain. Drench him.’ Emilie’s eyes glowed and the rain started to pool in on the focus point that was Nosepass.

“What the fu-dge.” Roxanne corrected herself at the last minute. “Nosepass, I know it’s hard, but grit your teeth and deal. Rock Tomb.”

‘Duck, then teleport on my mark,’ I ordered.

The stone pyramid formed as it had so many times in this fight already.

“Now, Ancient Power.” And there’s the one-two punch I was expecting.

‘Teleport now.’ I ordered a second before the attack made contact, and I sent a mental image of where I wanted her to go.

The rock coffin was blasted away to no effect.

‘Ready to go on the offensive yet?’ I asked.

‘Always. Emilie punch.’ Emilie pulled a bunch of water into a single point and started to shape it.

A pair of water fists formed in front of her. She jabbed out from behind Nosepass and the floating boxing gloves responded in kind, slamming into the Nosepass with an explosive amount of force.

“Alright, if I had known May was besties with a budding psychic prodigy, I would’ve just cleared my whole schedule yesterday,” Roxanne complained. I smirked.

Well, at the rate I’m going according to Emilie, that may as well be true at this point.

“I’ll just accept your blatant favoritism as the highest of praise,” I responded.

“Yeah, well teleport away from this. Rock Slide!” Nosepass stopped floating and slammed into the ground, forcing stones up and pushing them out at a blistering, almost continuous pace.

‘Teleport above him, now!’

Emilie disappeared.

“Switch to Smackdown, she’s above you,” Roxanne commanded.

I winced as Emilie got smacked, hard, into the ground. “Rock Blast, don’t let it get away.”

‘Teleport again.’ Fuck I hated how passive I was being right now. Nosepass wasn’t giving us any room to breathe. Emilie disappeared again, this time taking refuge behind a newly formed rock pile.

‘As an FYI, Smackdown hurts like a bitch,’ Emilie complained.

‘Think you can handle making the Emilienator?’ Emilie groaned.

‘I told you to stop calling it that,’ Emilie said.

I could feel the pout through the link.

‘I’ve gotten better since Petalburg. I think it should be fine.’ Water pooled itself to Emilie’s hiding place.

“Shockwave.” Roxanne called out.

I groaned as the electricity homed in on Emilie’s location.

‘Short it out with the rain.’ Water condensed around the current and the electricity fizzled as the water vaporized.

‘I want you to know that that’s way harder than I made it look.’ Emilie whined as more water began to collect around her.

“I don’t like the look of this, Magnet Rise, then Lock on,” Roxanne said.

Oh, I didn’t like the sound of that at all. Whatever was coming, we needed to overpower it. I wasn’t even sure if Teleport would trip up Lock on.

“Now, Power Gem.”

A single glowing orb formed in front of Nosepass as he raised both of his hands and the attack launched at an absurd speed.

‘Smack it out of the air,’ I commanded.

And the hulking mass of water complied and slammed one of its fists into the attack, batting it into the ground with enough force to make a small crater. I whistled.

“Alright, that’s a new one,” Roxanne said, looking at the crater with a small amount of worry. “Rock Slide. Don’t let it get close.”

‘Think you can swing teleporting yourself and the water construct?’

‘...if I black out, I'm making it a point to throw up on your shoes again. It should be a bit easier though, cause it’s not a living creature.’

Nosepass once again slammed into the ground.

‘Do it. Now!’

Emilie disappeared with an audible hum this time, and I noticed a bit of liquid fall to the ground. Not enough to worry about though. The cascade of boulders once again sailed through open air, missing their target completely.

“Smack down!” Roxanne shouted the second Emilie disappeared.

Emilie brought both hands above her and brought the attack down into Nosepass’s uppercut, and the resulting shockwave echoed out across the arena. Nosepass buckled under the force of all the water and Emilie’s psychic field, and the water construct rushed downwards slamming into the prone Moai head and forcing it down into the arena. Water exploded downward, boulders, rocks, and mud were swept outward by the force, and in all the chaos I lost track of both Nosepass and Emilie.

“Nosepass?” Roxanne shouted.

I noticed a tinge of worry in her voice. Guess I wasn’t the only one who lost track of their Pokémon in that.

‘Emilie?’ I asked, worriedly. I didn’t hear a response. “Emilie?” I asked aloud.

A single green head came into view as she jumped on top of an unmoving boulder. And my body sagged in relief as she shot me a cocky grin and gave me a thumbs up.

I felt my lips pull into a grin as I noticed that the single, unmoving boulder she was standing on was, in fact, Nosepass.

‘We did it.’ Emilie smiled, and my brain took a second to process.

“Nosepass is unable to battle.” The ref raised his flag toward me, and I suddenly felt a bit light-headed. “Challenger Lea wins.”

‘Holy shit we WON!’

Chapter Text

“Well... congratulations, I guess,” Roxanne said as she walked up to me. “Here’s your second badge. Don’t come crying to me when you brick wall some place.”

I all but pounced on the badge, and smiled as I held it up in the light. “Mine!” I said greedily.

“If you start hunching over and calling it my precious, I’m getting an exorcist.” May commented as she pulled me into a sideways hug. “Great fight.”

“See, Lea. This is how normal people react to their friend getting a badge.” Wally needled.

I was so happy right now to care about his teasing.

“Right, here’s your prize money and your TM too. I grabbed a different TM for you, because you already got the TM for Rock Tomb. It’s Stealth Rock,” Roxanne explained.

I snagged both and smiled at the now tidy sum that rested in my bank account. Claiming the monetary reward for both fights left me sitting pretty as far as money was concerned.

“Was the fight everything you wanted and more?” Roxanne asked. “Cause they’re only going to get worse from here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m an idiot for doing this. Blah, blah. My gym challenge is going to be a pain. Nag. Nag. Train my ass off,” I mocked. “Still don’t get what the big deal is, me having a harder time now is just going to make life easier once we hit the conference.” I nodded before thinking of something. “Is there any reason to keep the other badge, or can I toss it.”

“You really did not like picking on my gym trainer, did you?” Roxanne asked.

“Nope.” I said with a pop. “Felt cheap and boring. This is a MUCH more fun story for how I got my first badge.”

“No, you only need one. Your virtual profile will have you marked as a two-badge trainer, but the second stone badge serves no purpose.”

I reached into my pocket, pulled out the old Stone Badge, dropped it, and ground it into the dirt with my heel.

“Now that’s just excessive,” Wally commented.

“Don’t care.” I turned and looked at both of my friends. “Let’s blow this joint. I got sick of school the first time around, and I'm sure my whole team would appreciate me getting them to a center.”

“And after that.” May smiled. “We party. This time with gusto. We all got our badge, even if Wally got off super easy and I kind of hate him for that.”

“Don’t care. Today, I take solace in the fact that I'm the only sane member of our group,” Wally commented.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Can we hit up that pizza place you guys told me about?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, Pizza sounds good. Center first though.” I paused in thought. “May, call them and reserve us a table. I don’t want to wait again.”

“Why do I have to call?” May asked.

“Cause you’re the one with the fancy Rotom Phone and I’ll be busy getting my Pokémon looked over,” I argued. “Stop being lazy.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll call. Speaking of. Sergei!” May called and Sergei hurtled back to May’s outstretched hand as he left video mode. “I felt it prudent to document this for posterity. I wanted to use it as a moral to not bite off more than you can chew, but I guess now it’s a video of you kicking Roxanne’s ass, so I-”

“Language!” Wally hissed.

“I'm still here, ya know?” Roxanne complained.

***

“Yup, you were right. This is the best pizza I've ever had,” Wally complimented.

“You wouldn’t tell by looking at you.” May deadpanned.

“A Knight must always hold his composure,” Wally said.

Legends above, he’s sounding like Gawain already.

Wait...

“Did... Gawain manage to form a bond with you?” I asked.

Wally shook his head. “No dice yet. He is, however, very good at making sure I have access to everything he says through chat.” Wally smiled. “Another tenant is that a knight should be pious and share what he can, so I suppose I should let out a few friends to enjoy it with me, huh?” Nimue, Gwen, and Gawain all appeared in a flash of white light. “Who’s up for some celebratory pizza?”

His mons collectively cheered.

“We’re going to need more pizza, because I think that’s a great idea.” I smiled as Apollo and Joern formed next to me.

Suzaku, Samie, and Bulbasaur all formed next to May as well.

“Alright team, more’s on its way, but I feel like you should get first dibs, for all the hard work you’ve put in,” May said.

‘Er... what is it?’ Joern asked as he looked down at the thin crust in the middle of the table.

‘One of mankind’s greatest creations,’ Emilie stated zenly. ‘Pizza. We can split a slice, Apollo, and I'll help you eat it.

‘That’s very kind of you, lass,’ Apollo responded.

‘I am torn.’ I heard from Wally’s side of the table. ‘ A knight should hold himself above temptation, but it looks yummy.’

“Just this once, Gawain, I think you can let your virtues slide.” I smiled as I observed Bulbasaur’s vines reach out and grabbed a slice, before holding it in front of Samie. “Now grab some before it’s all gone, and you have to wait for the next pizza.”

Gawain hesitantly took a slice and bit down, before moaning and inhaling the rest of the slice. I laughed.

“So, are we done in Rustboro then?” May asked.

“Martin wanted us to stop by Devon HQ before leaving, but outside of that, yeah,” I agreed before flagging down a waitress. “Oi, one more of the same.”

“Which means we get to go back through the forest,” May cried. “Yay.”

“Well, you two do...” Wally commented, and I focused on him instantly.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” I asked.

“Verdunturf, remember?” Wally whined. “Where I’m to live with my uncle for a bit to help my lungs.” Wally looked away. “It won’t be for too long, but I'll be leaving to the east and going through the Shattered Pass. It’s more or less a short jog to my uncle’s place.” Wally chuckled dryly. “I actually got a call the other day wondering what was keeping me.”

“That sucks...” May looked down. “You’re like, the most normal of the three of us, how will we interact with the village people if you’re not around.”

Wally laughed. May turned more serious.

“I was looking forward to running the circuit with you. It’s more fun with more people,” May muttered quietly.

“You’re okay with ending things here?” I asked, sad that I wouldn’t have another person to butt heads with. “I don’t want you calling it quits just cause your family’s being pushy.”

“Don’t worry, I fully plan to meet up with you in Mawville. I’ll bust out of my uncle’s house and sneak away if I have too,” Wally promised, and I relaxed a bit. “I doubt it’ll come to that though. Uncle Walt’s always been supportive of me. I’ll make it work,” Wally said.

“Our gym battles are going to look so weird once we hit Mawville. It’s literally going to be a two-badge battle, a three-badge battle, and a four-badge battle and we’re all supposedly traveling together.” May commented before poking me in the side of the head. “Why’d you have to go and make everything weird?”

“You’re assuming other gym leaders aren’t going to jump up the team a badge level for you like Roxanne did.” I pointed out. “I fought a modified version of what you dealt with. The only difference was I couldn’t switch.”

“That Nosepass you got was scarier than mine.” May corrected. “Mine didn’t use Rock Slide.”

“I don’t think you gave yours the chance to use Rock Slide.” I corrected her correction. “Suzy is way better at keeping pressure up than Emilie is. Unless that Nosepass got chipped by someone in the EXACT same spot as yours did, it was the same Nosepass.”

May frowned.

“Emilie hasn’t even evolved yet and she bodied a Pokémon Suzy fought to a draw,” May complained. “Just thinking that makes me want to hit the training fields and not leave for three weeks.”

‘Meh, I could take her,’ Suzy said with a grin. ‘All I have to do is compliment her a bit and I’ll have plenty of time to kick her ass while she showboats.’

‘You’re just jealous I punch things better than you do,’ Emilie commented.

‘I’m a Combusken. We kick things. It’s in the job description,’ Suzy glared at Emilie. ‘You can’t even DO anything without help, first.’

Emilie glared back at Suzy.

‘Maybe I SHOULD fight you. Losing to a fighting type would do a good job at curbing your ego.’ Suzy continued.

‘You have a wilder imagination than Lea if you think you can take me in a one on one,’ Emilie taunted. ‘I doubt I'd even have to do much. Flexing a bit of psychic muscle would probably put you into a wall.’

‘Care to test that theory, Goth girl?’ I felt heat push out from Suzy as she started to get up.

‘Bring it, feather-’

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty, and you both took down a gym battle way above your weight class.” I talked over both of them.

The waitress I flagged down earlier brought another pizza out, and Joern, Bulbasaur, and I all went for another slice.

“Now eat your pizza and shut up. Please,” I ordered.

They both reached out towards the same slice, glared at each other, and turned away from each other in a huff. May looked up from Sergei and sighed.

“This is supposed to be a party, you two. Like Lea said, you’re both awesome. Your fights were amazing in different ways, so stop trying to pit one against the other.” May said.

Suzy looked away from the group, while Emilie just looked annoyed.

“Besides, I easily had the cleanest badge here,” Wally said, cutting through the tension. “Didn’t even have to USE Gawain.” Wally’s smiled at both of us.

“You don’t count.” “You got the baby trainer fight.” Both May and I yelled at the same time.

“Look, all I'm saying is I got a badge and only sent one mon to the center.” Wally grinned. “Scoreboard.”

“That’s not how this works at all!” I shouted. “Besides, if we’re talking scoreboard, I'm the winner. I got two badges in one city. That’s one whole badge more than you two.”

“I’m looking forward to watching that bite you in the ass later,” May commented dryly. “I hope you’re okay with being in Mawville for a while, Wally. No way in hell is Lea’s team beating that on the first run through.”

“Will too,” I called back childishly. “You’re assuming I won’t have a new member by then. That’s a full three cities away. A lot can happen between now and then.”

“Yeah, you’ll probably catch water type numbers three and four. We’re going over an ocean for most of the trip,” May taunted.

“Rude,” I said. “Regardless of what it is, I know my next Pokémon's going to blow whatever you catch next out of the water, so there.”

May just shoved half a piece of pizza into her mouth in response.

“I’m sure I’ll find something awesome. Dewford’s more than an Island paradise, after all. Who knows what kind of cool Pokémon hang out in the caves.”

May choked on her pizza.

“You want to go spelunking instead of hanging out on the beach?” May asked.

“I mean, I’d like to do both, but spelunking sounds fun,” I said back.

May sighed.

I pushed myself up from the table. “I need to use the restroom before we go, alright? Be right back.”

“Sounds like a good idea. I'll walk with you.”” Wally got up, and Emilie teleported to my shoulder.

I stared at both of them funny.

“You’re both leaving me with all the Pokémon?” May looked at the conglomeration in fear. “You better not be trying to stick me with the bill.”

“You’re making us pay for our celebratory meal?” I asked incredulously.

May blushed a bit before wincing. “You’re right, I'm sorry. I really am a mooch, aren’t I?” May muttered the last bit, but I still heard it and smiled in vindication. “Whatever, just go use the restroom already,” she said, glaring at me.

‘I wanted to ask you something while we were away from the table.’ Emilie said as we started moving through the restaurant. ‘I know you joked about it a few days ago, but would you be okay if Gawain guarded your head for a bit tonight?’ Emilie asked.

‘I... suppose. Where are you going?’ I asked back. Emilie shuffled in place.

‘I want to visit with my mom for a bit while we’re still in the city. If that’s okay?’ I nodded, though for some reason, my brain rebelled at the idea. I felt... nervous?

‘Of course you can!’ I replied trying to sound upbeat.

Emilie winced.

‘Thank you for trying, but please stop. I honestly don’t expect you to like her, all things considered, and that’s okay. Thanks for letting me see her, though. That means a lot,’ Emilie said.

‘I don’t let you do anything, Emilie,’ I said quietly as we rounded the corner. Aha, there were the restrooms. ‘You’re your own person, er... Pokémon. Thank you for asking.’

Emilie nodded with a smile before teleporting away. I assumed back to the table. I moved to open the door, but Wally grabbed my hand to stop me.

“Oi, hold up for a second,” Wally called.

“Wally, the tea went right through me, can’t this wait a second?” I asked.

Wally shook his head. “I don’t want May to see.” Wally whispered before pulling out a pair of tickets. “I’ve been a terrible wing man, mostly because I've been freaking out about my gym battle, but I didn’t forget my promise. I want you to have these.”

“Eh...” I briefly looked them over, spotting the word cruise as Wally held them out. “Cruise tickets- Wally, how much did this cost?!” I shouted. “I can’t-”

“I already got them, and I can’t use them.” Wally cut me off. “They weren’t that much more expensive than the normal ferry tickets. Just surprise May with them and have a good time on the trip to Dewford. Maybe do a bit of casual flirting to get the romance flowing?” Wally suggested as he waggled his eyebrows. “Hard to picture a more romantic setting than a cruise liner at sunset, maybe a bit of light music in the background-”

“Stop!” My face was solidly red as the scene played out in my head. I hastily snatched the tickets. “T-Thank you. Really,” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it. Just make sure you have fun, alright?” Wally said sincerely.

“Can do.”

***

“Damn, Devon Corp doesn’t do anything by half, do they?” I commented as I looked up at what had to be the tallest building I had ever seen. The company logo stared back at me as May took the lead through the double revolving door.

The lobby looked like something out of an old movie, with crown moldings, etched walls, gold light fixtures, and marble tile floors. Just the thought of having enough money to run a place like this had my brain short circuiting. I stepped up to the front desk...

Is that Jade wrapping around the top of this thing!?

“Hello, do you three have business with our company today?” The receptionist asked kindly.

“Er... yes. My name is Lea, and these are my friends, Wally and May. A person who works here, goes by the name of Martin, asked us to stop in on our way out of town.” I said, as politely as I possibly could. I felt so out of place here.

“One moment please.” The receptionist rose from her seat and made her way back towards one of the side doors secured by a pair of guards.

“I feel...” May started.

“Overwhelmed?” Wally finished.

“Yeah.” May agreed as she looked around the room. “I also feel underdressed.” May commented as she looked at her outfit.

“We’re fine,” I reassured. “Hey, do you think the people here would like a snack? I have some extra baked goods left from what I made for the gym.”

“I swear to god, you think everything can be solved with cookies, donuts, and scones,” May teased.

“It’s worked so far, so shut up,” I said.

The receptionist came back, and both May and I quieted down.

“The elevator is set to take you where you need to go,” she said before bowing. “Also, thank you. Martin is very dear friend.”

“Er... don’t mention it, really.” Wally said as May ushered us toward the elevator.

“Oi, don’t get so pushy.” I called out.

May slapped the back of my head at the outburst, and I glared back at her before staring at the opening doors. A man in a suit greeted us as we walked inside.

He pressed the third floor, the fifth floor, and then the top button. A bit odd, I didn’t think-

The doors opened, and we were already on the top floor. How the... I didn’t feel a lurch at all! We didn’t even stop for the other floors!

“The president will see you now.”

“President!” Was the uniform response from all three of us.

“Bahahaha, ah, I love pulling that prank on people. I swear the reactions get better all the time.” A gruff voice sounded from behind a desk.

“So, you’re not the president?” May asked.

“No, I am,” he casually announced.

May face planted.

“I just like springing it on people. Come in, have a seat, and let me get a look at you.”

Coming further in, I noticed he’s quite a bit older than I was expecting. He was thin, sported a long beard, and was rocking one of the nicest looking white suits I had ever seen, complete with a matching bowler hat. I very slowly took a seat in one of the upholstered chairs, that I’m assuming were just there for meetings like this. They seemed out of place.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, President Stone, sir.” May politely bowed before taking her seat.

Oh, guess I should’ve done that too. Ah well, Wally also just sat down, so May’s ire will at least be spread around.

Why is she only glaring at me?

‘Because she feels personally responsible for your stupidity,’ Emilie commented.

I wasn’t sure who I should glare at.

“Bah, none of that now. If anything, I should be the one that’s bowing. Martin’s been my assistant for years now, you have no idea how annoying it would’ve been to break in a new one,” Mr. Stone joked.

I hoped that was a joke, at least.

“Not to mention at this point, he’s a very dear friend,” Mr. Stone finished.

Probably a joke then.

“It was really nothing, sir. We were happy to help.” Wally explained.

“Weren’t you hospitalized as a result? That hardly sounds like nothing to me,” Mr. Stone said.

Wally blushed a bit.

“Regardless, we’ll get to that later. I’m pleased that Martin passed my message along to you. I ordinarily don’t outsource like this, but I feel like I'm lacking in options presently.” Mr. Stone pulled out a letter, a stack of documents, and a wrapped parcel from below his desk. “I’m in need of a courier to personally transfer these to where they need to go. Sending them via transport isn’t safe and I don’t want a repeat of what happened to Martin. I’d be willing to pay you quite well for your time and effort, of course.”

“Er, where would we be running this too?” I asked.

“The parcel and documents are meant for my branch office in Slateport. The letter, however, is for my son, who is currently partaking in one of his favorite pastimes in Dewford,” Mr. Stone explained.

“Tanning?” Wally asked.

“Spelunking,” Mr. Stone corrected.

I smiled as May groaned.

“Wait, son?” I asked as my brain suddenly stopped working. “WE’RE GONNA GET TO MEET STEVEN STONE!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Lea!” May reprimanded.

“If you accept, yes.” Mr. Stone pushed through as though nothing weird had happened at all. “Try not to be too hard on your friend. That was tame compared to what I've seen.” He chuckled.

“We accept!” I said as soon as Mr. Stone stopped talking. Meeting the Ex Champion... I had so many questions! This was so cool!

“Lea!” May groaned, running a hand down her face as she stared exasperatedly at me. “It’s on the way, I suppose. We’d be happy to help, Mr. Stone.”

“Wonderful!” Mr. Stone pulled out a pair of capsules and I couldn’t believe my eyes as our packages were sucked inside.

I want like twenty of these, where can I buy them?

“Here you are. Thank you for assisting with this.” He slid the capsules to May, who pocketed them. “The branch office in Slateport will give you payment once you reach them.” Mr. Stone stood up. “Now then, I have something else for the three of you. Over the course of my son’s many excavations, I've accumulated a massive collection of rare stones. Now, obviously, most sane individuals would sell these, but I find myself oddly attached to them. Can’t bring myself to sell gifts from my boy.” He pulled out a Fire Stone and set it down on his desk. “That said, I think I could part with three to people that saved the lives of my employee and his Pokémon.” Thunder, Ice, Moon, Leaf...

Holy shit that’s a Dawn Stone.

“MINE!” Wally leapt on it as soon as it hit the table.

This time, May did in fact slap the back of his head.

“For the love of, would you two act your age? Please?” May complained.

I gingerly reached out and grabbed a water stone. I could have a Ludicolo today if I really wanted.

I’m not going to, cause evolving Joern this soon would be fucking stupid, but the fact that I had the option blew me away.

“And that just leaves one more, for you,” President Stone said, grinning at May.

May looked at the two of us, before examining the stones on the table. For her, this wasn’t as clear cut. Wally and I needed these, there was a very real chance May didn’t need any of them. She reached out and picked up the Dusk Stone.

“Practical choice,” Mr. Stone commented.

Considering it was probably the most expensive stone on the table, I found myself agreeing.

“I don’t know that I agree with accepting this, but I don’t want to offend you by not,” May said in return. “Thank you for your kindness.”

“Meh, I’ve got more evo stones than I know what to do with. Least I can do, really.” Mr. Stone brushed off May’s concerns. “Regardless, it’s been a pleasure, but unfortunately, I’ve got a four o’clock meeting that I need to prepare for.” Mr. Stone looked at us expectantly.

“Right!” I jumped out of my chair and grabbed both of my friends. “It was a pleasure meeting you, bye!”

“Dammit Lea, I still can’t run that fast.” Wally complained.

“Bye President Stone, it was lovely meeting you.” May called out.

“I expect great things of you three.” Mr. Stone called out as we left.

***

Emilie POV

***

Emilie took a deep breath before taking in the center room she was teleporting out of, making it a point to memorize every facet and feature of the room.

Gawain was all too happy to volunteer his services once she had explained what she was doing. Emilie only wished he could have been normal while he did it. The entire group had gone to a super ranked contest after shopping for supplies. Emilie was a bit worried that Lea might have spent a bit too much money on those transport pods, but she supposed it was a worthwhile long term investment.

To say that she was looking forward to Lea using the portable mini oven she got on the road went without saying, really. That didn’t sway her thoughts at all.

She took one last look at the room, took a deep breath, and focused on the glade. The world disappeared around her as it had a million times before, and she smiled as she took in the familiar setting of her Mother’s glade. Turning her head to take in the sights, Emilie noticed a distinct lack of her mother’s presence.

She couldn’t remember the last time her mother left the glade. Emilie expanded her sense and was overwhelmed as her Mother teleported to her side and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

‘My child!’ Mom shouted in my mind. ‘I am pleased to see that you are well.’

‘Hi mom,’ Emilie replied. Mom pulled back and gave me a look. Emilie sighed as she remembered who she was talking to. ‘Hello, Mother,’ Emilie said formally, tilting her head downwards slightly. It had only been a little over a week, but it had felt like a lifetime had passed since she had left.

‘Have you succeeded in your endeavors? I was starting to get a bit worried, it shouldn’t take THIS long to teach a human how to throw up a barrier.

Emilie winced at the hidden barb, before glaring up at her mother.

‘It’s still a process. I decided to come back to visit for a bit,’ Emilie said.

Gardevoir tilted her head to the side before smiling. ‘Ah, you’re being quite a bit more thorough in your teachings. You do realize she’s a human, right?’ Mother laughed.

Lea’s earlier misgivings about peeping on the emotions of strangers played out through her mind and she snarled as she tightened up the barriers around her own head. Emilie glared balefully at her mother, who quickly smoothed down her features as she smiled down upon her daughter.

Privacy was a luxury she had gained, and she was loathe to give it up.

‘I’ve learned that humans are quite a bit more impressive than what you had me believe,’ Emilie replied.

Gardevoir sighed. ‘Let’s not fight, my child.’

Emilie noticed that she had not yet referred to her by her title.

‘Tell me of your travels, you’ve grown quite a bit stronger in your absence,’ Mother said.

Emilie’s face lit up at the chance to get away from the topics Mother had focused on.

‘Well, we encountered a gang of roving dark types, cut through the Greenpath, thwarted a hostage situation, treated with a coven of Fae, plunged into the depths of an ancient ruin, and discovered a secret plot by a group in blue.’ Gardevoir’s eyes got wider and wider as Emilie listed off the highlight reel of her trip. ‘And that all happened in the first three days!’

‘Really?’ Gardevoir asked, she looked a bit faint. ‘Please tell me the last four have been a bit less eventful.’

Emilie pouted.

‘We spent the last four days in the City of Rustboro.’

Mother scrunched her nose up.

‘I got to try so many new things! Have you ever had Pizza, Mother?’ she asked. ‘It’s delicious!’ Emilie said before her mother had a chance to respond. ‘Humans have so many cool clothes, too! I got to help Lea pick out a new wardrobe, and it was so much fun!’ She looked down at herself. ‘Kind of wish I could change up my look, honestly.’

‘I find it hard to believe that humans could make anything that could match our majesty,’ Mother said. Emilie frowned before pushing forward.

‘They have all kinds of stuff, Mother. I think you’d love it if you gave it a chance.’ Emilie saw the skeptical look and sighed. ‘Apollo, Joern, and I also helped Lea take on a few battle challenges. There are some seriously talented trainers out there, even at the lower levels!’ Emilie started bouncing in place. ‘The fights were so much FUN!’

‘Apollo and Joern?’ Mother asked.

‘Lea’s Wingull and Lombre.’ I replied.

‘Right, Emilie, have you forgotten why you left?’ Mother asked, slightly exasperated.

‘To travel with Lea? ’ Emilie asked, slightly confused.

‘You were supposed to secure the girls mind.’

Emilie scowled. ‘I am! No one’s getting in on my watch, of that you can be certain.’

Mother sighed. ‘You’re not on watch right now,’ Mother stared down at me.

Emilie winced as she looked away from the gaze. ‘I got Gawain to babysit for a bit,’ Emilie muttered.

Mother's eyes widened.

‘You’re traveling with that buffoon!’

‘Don’t call him that!’ Emilie shouted, before her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. ‘I didn’t mean to speak out of turn, I apologize.’ Emilie bowed deeply.

Mother rubbed the bridge between her eyes.

‘Your time amongst humans has made you a bit more disrespectful, it would seem. I also spoke out of turn, so I’ll forgive this misstep, ’ Mother said.

Emilie sagged down in relief.

‘However, I’m still worried about you. I had assumed that you would help her and return to me, my child. I didn’t realize I was giving you up to this... girl.’ Mother spat out the final word as though it were a curse word.

Emilie chafed at the obvious dismissal of her trainer.

‘That is not an equivalent trade,’ Mother said.

‘My name is Emilie,’ she muttered, glaring hatefully at the ground.

Mother didn’t even acknowledge her statement. She just tilted her head and urged her to explain herself.

‘Do you not realize what you did to her?’ Emilie asked.

‘She’s a human, it hardly-’

‘You ripped her walls apart and traumatized her so bad that she freaks out when I’m in her mind. I had to rebuild the block on her fear, or she wouldn’t be functioning right now.’ Emilie glared up in challenge.

Mother met her glare with her own. This time Emilie didn’t care.

‘You nearly turned her into a vegetable, because you thought that she had harmed me. I feel responsible for that. It is MY weight on the scale that I am paying, not yours!’ Emilie snarled.

Mother froze, leaning away with widened eyes.

‘I’m my own person.’ Emilie repeated Lea’s earlier words with a smile and realized that she would probably be paying her dept to Lea for the rest of her days. ‘I’m not yours.’

‘You...’ Mother’s look of shock slowly morphed back into a glare.

‘Fix your own damn karma and figure out how to balance your own scale.’ Emilie brought her hands together and focused on her room at the center.

‘My child-’ Whatever else she was about to say was cut off as the glade faded away to the familiar center room she had been staying in with Lea for the last four days. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Lea had gotten back during the trip.

“How was your trip?” she asked, her eyes pinched as she smiled.

‘It... was fine,’ Emilie answered, surprised she was even able to say that. She supposed that things went well enough that fine wasn’t a lie.

She got to come back, and Mother didn’t follow her.

Lea tilted her head as Emilie teleported back to her shoulder.

‘How was yours?’ Emilie asked.

Lea smiled before explaining how much more interesting a super ranked contest was. Emilie smiled as she watched the memories to go along with the description as Lea got ready for bed.

***

The gate going out of Rustboro to the east toward Route 116 was packed. Multiple check hubs were filled with trainers, Pokémon, businessmen, and tourists alike coming into and leaving Rustboro. It made sense, really. This route was a direct line between two of the biggest cities in Hoenn. Hell, we’d take it if May didn’t want to take the traditional gym route.

Still made this goodbye a bit awkward, though, with all the spectators watching us be sappy morons.

“Girls, we’ll see each other in like, three weeks. Calm down.” Wally tried to downplay it, but he was sad too. He better damn well be sad, at least.

“Shoot us a message in the group chat once you make it to Verdunturf. We also expect regular updates.” May said, as she pulled Wally in for a hug.

“I think the message once I make it is a bit excessive, this is probably the safest, most traveled route in all of Hoenn,” Wally whined.

I noticed May tighten her hug.

“I’ll text, I’ll text, calm down,” Wally said.

May loosened her grip but didn’t let go. “Worrying about Lea doing something stupid is a full-time job that’s already giving me grey hair. Don’t add me worrying about you to the list,” May whined.

“Oi, that’s just rude. Slanderous even.” I piled on the group hug. “Wally, I’m going to need you to send me nothing but compliments and praise if I’m going to pull through the next few weeks without you. May never does either.”

“Tauros shit I don’t.” May elbowed me and I let go.

“I will give you exactly as much praise as you deserve,” Wally said.

“Why do I suspect we have different metrics here?” I jibed.

‘Because your ego’s been the size of a small planet since you took down Roxanne,’ Emilie cut in rudely.

‘Like you’re one to talk. Why is everyone being mean to me again?’ I asked pitifully.

‘It’s for your own good,’ Emilie said zenly.

May poked me.

“You can include me in the conversation now, stop being lazy and secretive!” May said with a glower.

I froze. “I am not doing ANYTHING with that ability until I’m sure I have a handle on it. The last thing I want to do is accidentally scramble your brain,” I said with a shudder.

May blanched and nodded fervently.

‘Of course, your actual reason is that you don’t want to accidentally blurt out your undying love to her in the middle of a conversation with me. There’s not a Snorunt’s chance in hell that you’d scramble her brain,’ Emilie joked.

I turned to glare at her. ‘Shut up.’

“Right, well, I’m going to be here for a while. I’m glad we crashed one more night in the center. I have a feeling that once I get through the lines, security, Route 116, and the Shattered Pass it’s going to be nighttime,” Wally complained.

“Are you trying to get rid of us?” I asked, slightly amused.

“I'm saying only one of us has to suffer this security checkpoint nightmare, and you both have a long walk to just get back to the south end of Rustboro. Not to mention you have to go through the forest again, and really, those tickets I gave you are time-”

“Fine, we’re going,” May said, cutting off his rambling. “See you soon.” May waved before turning around and marching away from the gate with purpose.

“Don’t have too much fun without us, alright. Later.” I followed behind May, jogging a bit to catch up. I noticed she was stiff. Her movements were forced. “This isn’t goodbye forever you know. We’ll be one big dysfunctional family again before we know it.”

“I know, I just... got used to it.” May took a deep steadying breath before nodding once. “Alright, we’re fully stocked, right? Petalburg woods with just the two of us is going to be fun.”

“Plenty of potions, antidotes, and food for the trip.” I checked off. “Plus, a supply of emergency baked goods.”

“How can baked goods be used... never mind.” May cut herself off. “We’re fully packed, all our Pokémon are well rested, and we’re way stronger than the first time we made this trip. Ready to charge back into the wilderness?” May asked.

“Can we take one more hot bath before we go?” I begged. “Maybe use an actual toilet?”

“No to the bath, yes to the toilet.” May sighed. “Then it’s back to Petalburg Woods for us.”

“Yay.” I said with the appropriate level of enthusiasm.

***

Sergei POV

***

‘Oh lord these fights are gold.’ Sergei thought as he watched Emilie slam her water construct into Nosepass for what had to be the fifth time today. Sergei felt a thrum of electricity as he excitedly hit the rewind button to the massive explosion that Joern somehow tanked. That... that was all kinds of impressive. Then there was his owner’s fight. May’s dig trick with Suzy still made for amazing viewing, even if the video was starting to get a bit stale after the eighth time viewing it.

Sergei still didn’t understand though.

Why wouldn’t May or Lea share these cinematic masterpieces? They kicked butt against insurmountable odds and put out fights comparable to some of the best Poketube gym matches.

Those were against higher level Gym Leaders too.

The David vs Goliath standpoint of a lone Bulbasaur taking on and defeating an Onix thirty times its size, Samie playing whack a Diglett with Anorith and coming out on top, Suzy laying a smack down on that oversized moai head...

Lea taking on a team meant for people with a single badge and coming out on top with a clean victory.

That team, being parallel to the one May had fought the day prior.

All these things had been recorded, quite masterfully if he did say so himself, and they deserved to be seen. His girls deserved that limelight...

‘I could...’ It wouldn’t be hard. The videos are prepped and ready to go. I wouldn’t be sending anything into the Aether that they wouldn’t like, so really, what would be the harm... no, this felt like an overstep.

It was one thing to play jokes on his humans. They weren’t too bright, but they were nice, and fairly good sports. This wouldn’t be a joke, but it still felt wrong to do it without their say so.

...but for the sake of argument, what would an upload look like. Sergei pulled up the first video of May’s battle and thought of a title. He had access to May’s Poketube account, that was easy, but creative license... that was trickier. ‘Punching up, How I beat a team meant for people with one badge!’ Sounds nice enough, now for the description...

‘Right, well, spoiler, I won anyways, so it’s not exactly a big deal, but I figured I’d share this. My best friend recorded this with my phone. My first gym battle... against a team meant for people that already had a badge.’

That sounded like something May would post. Now for Lea’s...

‘My best friend’s crazy. And really, really good.’

‘So, I’m traveling with a couple friends, and my best friend, Lea, got paired up with a gym trainer. (Jealous) She sweeps him. No effort, I don’t even think Joern broke a sweat. Rather than do the sane thing and take the badge, she demands a fight with Roxanne. As far as she was concerned, she hadn’t earned her badge. The gym trainer told her that Roxanne was very busy, and that she had already earned her first badge.

My friend decided to challenge the gym again and use her original appointment time (The match started early, and she kicked the gym trainer’s butt so fast that she finished before her start time.) to demand a match with Roxanne. We had to walk all the way across town to the Pokémon Trainer’s School for this fight to happen, but the actual fight was sooo awesome I just had to share it. It also proves that Roxanne was picking on me the day before.’

Yeah, that sounded good, and it avoided making Lea sound too much like a Karen on a rampage after the Gym Trainer fight.

Yeah... Sergei made his screen go blank as May pulled him out of her bag and...

Tapped where the upload button was on his touch screen.

Oh.

Oops.

May swiped up, going away from the Poketube page without even seeing it, and pulled up the nav function.

Chapter Text

I groaned as the all too familiar arch to Petalburg Woods came into view.

‘Why are we going through this hell hole again?’ Emilie asked.

Apollo cawed his agreement from above.

“Can we just teleport to Petalburg? Please?” I asked May, hoping we could just skip this shit, and go back to the center. May shook her head.

“A, we can’t afford it, and B, we’d be laughed at by our fellow travelers. It’s a long-standing tradition that you have to at least run the gauntlet for your first run through a region,” May said.

“Fine... Guess it would be kind of lame, huh? Just so we’re clear though, we ARE teleporting back to Petalburg once we get our fourth badge, right?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah no. Fuck that. We aren’t walking from Lavaridge all the way back to Petalburg. As a side note, the traditional path through the gyms makes no fucking sense.” I laughed as I pushed past the gate into the dark under brush.

“Well, our Routes haven’t exactly stayed the same. There’s a reason people call it the ‘traditional’ route,” I said.

May jumped as a loud shriek echoed from far off.

“Also, you should probably-”

“Already on it.” May said as she released Suzy and Samie. I wasn’t too far behind in letting Joern out, figuring he’d be fine going through the forest this time.

I noticed May was cradling Bulbasaur’s Ball, before she gripped it tight and let him out.

“Alright, Bulbasaur. We’re here, and I'm a trainer of my word.” May sighed as she looked toward the tree line. “Say the word, and you’re a free Pokémon.”

“Bul...” Bulbasaur took a moment to look at the trees around him, then at May, then back to the trees.

‘Any insights?’ I asked Emilie.

‘He’s torn,’ Emilie confirmed. ‘He’s happy to be home, but he doesn’t want to leave May.’

“Saur!”

‘He’s also annoyed I keep sneaking a peak at his thoughts. I can’t help it, hon. You’re a poison type. It’s almost impossible to ignore your surface thoughts.’ Emilie did her best to console Bulbasaur.

‘Huh, are poison types like me then?’ I asked.

‘No, you’re worse.,’ Emilie deadpanned. ‘A Poison Fighting Type would probably be about as bad as you are.’

‘I hate...’ I trailed off as Bulbasaur walked up to May before shifting himself around so that he’s standing by her side.

“Saur.”

‘He’s staying with us,’ Emilie confirmed.

I fist pumped before smiling at May.

“Congrats. Now and forever, you are the proud owner of a Bulbasaur,” I said. “Now name him already. I’m tired of calling him ‘The Bulbasaur.’”

‘Make it good, too. Your first two kind of flopped,’ Bulbasaur complained.

I didn’t think that was fair, Suzaku wasn’t a bad name, it was just... slightly confusing. I still want to know what the inspiration for Samie was though. Regardless, I was the only one allowed to make fun of May.

“Bulbasaur’s dissing your naming skills, May. You should go with a pun,” I said with a malevolent grin.

Bulbasaur glared at me.

“Well, I’m not exactly good at thinking up nicknames, alright,” May whined.

I heard Sergei send out a notification. May switched over to messenger. “Sergei, no!” I looked over her shoulder and immediately cracked up.

“Bulba Fett. Nice. Ten outta ten, would push into a Carnivine Pit again,” I joked. Emilie lost it at that.

‘Hell no!’ Bulbasaur cried out in horror.

Sergei sounded out another alert.

“Eeehhh, Planthony is a bit on the nose, Sergei. I feel like that one’s trying too hard,” I chastised. “I gotta dock points, seven outta ten.”

“Would you two be serious for a second!” May shouted.

“Now May, we’re being very serious right now. It’s probably why Bulbasaur is getting paler as we go,” I joked.

Bulbasaur brought out the vines.

‘Try it, and you’ll figure out how painful it is to undo a double bow knot,’ Emilie threatened. ‘Take your humiliation like a man, d’accord. If you wanted a cool name, you shoulda joined Lea’s team.’

‘We have a theme,’ Joern supplied helpfully. ‘And none of the names are terrible.’

‘I feel a bit bad for the bloke that gets saddled with Lukas though. That one’s kind of boring,’ Apollo supplied.

Three pings went off, and I noticed that Sergei was sending my team’s conversation through messenger.

“Actually...” May trailed off. “Lea, if you could be serious and not six years old, what would you go with?”

I leaned back in surprise.

“May, naming your Pokémon is supposed to be a personal thing.” I frowned. “Just pick something that speaks to both of you.”

“Well, what’s currently speaking to me is the idea that you know me better than anyone,” May said casually. “And I think you’d pick out something good that I would like if you put your mind to it.”

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit and I quickly looked away, hoping she didn’t see.

“Well... uh.” I stammered, before going back to my treasure trove of subtle nerd culture nods. It still felt weird naming someone else's Pokémon, but I guess this wouldn’t be the first time. I technically named Rotom, after all. “Leshy.”

“Gesundheit,” May responded.

I groaned. Dammit May. “No, you idiot. Leshy. That can be his name.”

May tilted her head. “What’s the reference. I like how the name flows, but with you, there’s usually a story attached to stuff like this.”

“You know me so well. So, it is a nerd culture reference, Leshy’s the name of a character from a game I pirated. He was an intimidating forest deity.” They didn’t need to know he was a Decidueye. “Incredibly powerful, capricious, and delighted in playing games with people he trapped in his domain, but fair. He met you as an enemy at first, but you left him as a friend.”

‘Well, I don’t want to say goodbye, but everything else sounds nice.’ Bulbasaur nodded once. ‘I like it.’

“I like that it kind of sticks with the theme of naming my Pokémon after deities. Though, I'm a bit worried that it might make me sound a bit conceited.” May shrugged her shoulders. “I like the name though, so we’re keeping it. Told you you’d pick a good one.”

I blushed. Again.

“Right, Leshy has his name. Let’s get a move on, I don’t want to be in this forest more than I absolutely have to,” I said.

Leshy pushed his vines out to block my path.

‘Wait,’ he exclaimed. ‘I... want to say goodbye to someone.’ He pointed his vines toward a dense patch of trees. ‘I can take point.’

“Leshy wants to-”

“I read already.” May cut me off. “I don’t want to take you from someone, Leshy. If you-”

‘They won’t notice I'm gone.’ Leshy cut her off. ‘Just follow me.’ He started walking through the trees. We followed behind, and Apollo took to the skies to start scouting.

‘Mostly clear, captain.’

‘Mostly?’ I asked nervously.

‘A few Silcoon, don’t worry. I’ll let ye know when something sports a black flag,’ Apollo replied.

Leshy pushed some branches out of the way as he guided us forward. The trees were slowly starting to open up, right until...

“Whoa...” I whispered.

The entire area had been obliterated. What I assumed was once a lush green clearing had been reduced to barren earth, ash, and burnt bark. The trees on the outskirts of the clearing had broken branches, and I noticed a collapsed pile of rocks to the far side of the opening that I assumed used to be Leshy’s cave.

This used to be Leshy’s home.

“Leshy, do you need a moment?” May asked.

‘It’s fine.’ Leshy walked toward a single stone that had been slammed into the ground. ‘I met some people.’ Who’s he...

Oh.

‘They’re... not that bright, if I'm being honest. They’re nice though. Honest. Fun.’ Leshy stayed quiet for a bit, and I noticed how quiet this place was. ‘I think you would have liked them. They’re strong too.’ Another pause. ‘I hope the attack didn’t scare you too bad. I made it out okay, though. These girls got rid of the bad guy.’ He stopped again.

‘Should you be translating this for me?’ I asked Emilie.

‘He wants you to hear.’ Emilie answered. ‘Needs us to, actually.’

‘Spirits this is hard to say. I’m leaving the forest with them.’ Leshy exhaled as he finished speaking. ‘I don’t know if it’s the right thing yet, but it’s something I want to do. It’s been a while since I've really wanted to do anything, so I'm going to go with it.’ Leshy smiled. ‘Just think, the next time I stop by, I'll have endless stories to share. ’ Leshy stood up. ‘I...’ He stopped. ‘I will be back, so... it feels incorrect to call this goodbye. I guess... see you later works.’ He turned from the marker and started back the way we had come.

“Leshy...” May trailed off. He didn’t respond and we followed suit. The whole group was silent as we made our way back.

‘You would be my second trainer, May.’ Leshy explained as we got to the base of the clearing. He stopped and looked up at May. Sergei made an audible ping, and May pulled up messenger. ‘Make sure there’s never a third.’

May nodded.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere, anytime soon.”

Leshy chuckled hollowly at that.

‘Most people don’t.’ Leshy replied.

‘Er...sorry, cap.’ I turned to glare at Apollo. This better be important. ‘I hate that I’m interrupting, but I noticed something weird. The Silcoon are gone.’ My eyes widened.

‘They’re stationary. How the hell did they leave. Did they evolve? ’ I asked, slightly worried. Apollo shook his head.

‘I don’t think so, I think they were moved,’ Apollo explained. ‘Just... stay alert. Something feels off.’

I nodded before relaying the message. Bulbasaur looked back into the clearing and nodded once before turning and walking away.

‘See you later, Aster,’ Leshy said. We walked out of the clearing to the faint sound of buzzing.

***

“Apollo, Aerial Ace.” Three.

“Flame Charge the one Apollo doesn’t tag, Suzy. Don’t give them an inch,” May ordered.

I glared balefully across the clearing at the pair of Dustox that had decided, for no fucking reason, that we were prime targets to bully.

This was the third time we had gotten jumped in the last hour. There weren’t even any Cascoon around to protect!

“I hate this fucking forest!” I snarled as both of our opponents folded like a bad poker hand.

‘Are they done?’ Emilie asked, holding a barrier of water around us as we moved closer to the downed Dustox. I sighed in relief.

“They’re done,” I replied.

May nodded once before freezing as an all too familiar sound echoed from above.

“Pine.”

“EVERYBODY DOWN!” I shouted as a pair Pineco divebombed us.

I grabbed May and pulled us down before rolling away from the glowing Pokémon. A familiar heat radiated out as they detonated, and a wall of fire and air shoved us into the bushes. Sticks dug into my side as we rolled, and May winced against my grip as we slammed into a tree. Pain radiated from my side from the impact.

“Oww...” I heard May breathe out before pulling herself away from me and to her feet. She offered me a hand up.

“Everyone okay?” I asked as I slowly grabbed May’s hand and slowly pulled myself up. Nothing felt broken, and none of my clothes were on fire this time. Thank fuck. The epicenter of the path was scorched, and the branches above were broken. Emilie reformed on my shoulder before sagging against my neck.

‘That was way too fucking close,’ Emilie commented.

I nodded my agreement as Samie popped his head up from underground and Apollo dived down. Suzy tilted her head around a tree slowly with Leshy under wing, and Joern was just... dusting himself off, a few vines extended down into the ground as he glared at the downed Pineco.

‘Why do I keep getting exploded on?’ Joern asked.

I opened my mouth to make the easy joke.

‘Don’t say a damn word.’ Emilie hissed in my mind before giving Joern a consoling glance.

I glared at her before shifting my focus to the branch bombs.

“Alright, that does it.” I shouted as I jogged up to the Pineco. I grabbed the now unconscious bagworm and tried to rouse him. “Wake up, you stupid bug. Why the hell are all of you trying to kill us?”

‘Kidnapper.’ I jerked around to face another Pineco and backed away slowly. ‘Where is Surskit?’ he asked.

I glared at the Pineco in slight confusion. “Surskit?” I asked.

The Pineco’s glare worsened. ‘Yes. Surskit. Friend left with you and hasn’t come back. Where is friend?’

I stopped and stared for a second before realizing who this was.

“Oh! You’re the Pineco Surskit introduced us too. How’s it going?” I asked conversationally. I noticed May groaning out of the corner of my eye.

“Lea! Get back! We are not doing this again!” May shouted from a crouch as she desperately tried to pull me away from the angry pinecone.

‘I am doing better than you. Where is Surskit?’ He repeated.

“She decided to stick with Wally, our green haired friend, and Emilie, the fairy type that can’t lie, would be more than happy to tell you that she’s enjoying her new partnership,” I explained with a smile.

‘Yup.’ Emilie gave me a thumbs up. The Pineco’s glare seemed to become more intense.

‘You took friend,’ Pineco said.

I frowned.

“Lea! Get. Away. From. The. Pineco!”

I ignored May.

“No, Wally asked friend if she wanted to hang out more, and friend said yes. Big difference,” I corrected.

‘Friend wouldn’t leave...’ The Pineco seemed to droop. ‘Where is friend?’

“As of this moment, probably hanging out with Wally’s family in Verdunturf town.” Assuming he didn’t get held up in the shattered pass for some reason.

‘How far away is that?’

Huh, this is one loyal Pineco. Or he’s lonely, one of the two.

“It’s about two full routes worth of travel, and you have to cut through a city. At least that’d be how humans would go.” I looked Pineco up and down. “I don’t really know how Pineco get around though, so...”

‘Direction, human,’ Pineco said, slightly exasperated.

“Northeast from here. It’s the village that smells like flowers,” I explained.

‘I will make do.’ The Pineco retracted his string shot and pulled himself further up into the tree. ‘Enjoy the rest of your time in the forest.’

“Such a nice guy. That Pineco,” I said.

Emilie glared at me.

‘You do realize he’s the reason we’ve been getting attacked, right?’ Emilie prodded, glaring at the spot the Pineco had left from.

‘Yeah, but he was just worried about his friend. If May or any of you guys ever disappeared, I’d probably burn the town down trying to save them, ’ I commented. I suddenly felt a very sharp pull on the collar of my shirt.

“Fuck. You. And. You're. Lack. Of. Self. Preservation. Skills.” May shook me back and forth with every word. “What’s the point of giving me veto powers if you don’t ever listen! We’re both going to die in this forest, and it’s exclusively because you being an idiot is going to give me a heart attack!”

“Stop the ride. I don’t want to ride the pirate ship anymore.” The whole world was spinning as I struggled to keep things in focus.

May stopped shaking me, but the world kept spinning regardless.

‘I didn’t even do anything, why am I being punished,’ Emilie said shakily.

“Just... be more mindful. Okay?” May begged.

I shook my head to clear the disorientation before giving May a reassuring smile.

“I’ll be better, I promise. I think they might go a little easier on us now, at least. And hey, we figured out that we’re tougher than some of the toughest bugs in here, so we should be sitting pretty for the rest of the trip!” I said excitedly.

May shot me a withering look. “Well, now we aren’t now that you’ve said that,”

Ah fuck. I tempted Murphy, didn’t I?

“Double time it, everyone. I want out of this forest yesterday!” I shouted.

***

The forest looked different at night, I realized. It wasn’t something I really noticed the first time we came through here, mostly because last time, we had already set up camp by the time the sun had set, but the setting sun seemed to have an effect all its own on the plants. Small lights danced in front of my vision, similar to what we had seen in the Fae’s glade, and the trees almost seemed to reach out forever into the night sky.

May huddled into me as she looked up and around at the shifting landscape, and I felt a bit of heat creep up my cheeks. Helping her through this last time was so much easier.

“We should make camp,” May rushed out.

I nodded, before a brighter light caught my eye. It danced along the trees, its orange glow flickering in the night sky.

“Or we could join someone else’s camp,” I suggested.

May hesitated.

“We fucked up and stopped late. Finding firewood is going to be a chore, and we’ll be easy pickings for anything with decent night vision. Let’s just go up and say hello, alright?” I asked.

Emilie stared ahead intently, and I noticed Apollo fly down from his perch and Suzy move closer to May.

‘Everything alright?’ I asked.

‘I feel the presence of an ancient enemy,’ Emilie said. I stared at her in confusion. ‘A dragon.’

“Dragon!” I shouted, only to get shushed by both Emilie and Apollo.

May gave me a single, wide eyed stare as the light in the distance warped, and a shadow was cast out across the tree line. I grabbed May and pulled her into the bushes. Our Pokémon followed suit.

“Lea, what-” I brought my finger to my lips.

A faint trudging sounded out in the silent clearing as a woman in a red cloak walked forward, her red eyes scanning the area as she inched closer to our hiding spot. I leaned back in shock once I realized that this was the same chick we had walked past on the way to Rustboro.

Fuck Murphy and his laws.

I held my breath as I looked on from our hastily made hiding spot, holding May close to try and make ourselves as small as possible.

‘Can you get a read on her?’ I asked Emilie, careful not to make a sound.

‘She... doesn’t seem like a threat? She’s here to find a runaway from something called Team Magma. I’m guessing her runaway is the thief that got...’ Emilie trailed off.

“You can come out, you know? I won’t bite,” she said.

I felt May freeze up next to me.

“Need to train your psychic to be a bit more subtle with her probes. I just want to talk.” She didn’t move or say anything else.

I put my finger to my lips and motioned for May to stay hidden.

“If this goes sideways, get the hell out of dodge. I think Emilie can probably teleport me out.” I whispered. ‘Tell Apollo and Suzy to stay with May.’ I ordered Emilie.

“Veto!” May whispered. “Let’s just high tail it.”

Our choice didn’t matter, ultimately.

A single white light exploded from Leshy’s Poke Ball as the grass type released himself into the clearing. The second the light faded, a vine erupted from his bulb towards the stranger.

‘Murderer!’ Leshy screamed. ‘You dare show yourself in these woods?’ The girl jumped back as the vine slammed into the ground, kicking up a bit of dust.

“Bulbasaur?” The girl said, her voice shocked as she pulled up a single Poke Ball and released-

That was a fucking Salamence.

“Bulbasaur!” May shouted, before rushing out into the clearing. I rushed after her.

Bulbasaur launched a leaf volley at the massive blue dragon with black and red wings. I thought Salamence’s wings were red, what made this thing so special?

The Salamence brought his wings around his trainer and the leaves bounced harmlessly to the side. He snarled and leaned forward.

“Stop!” The girl ordered.

The dragon halted in place, glaring down at Leshy with unwavering intensity. Leshy returned the hateful gaze without flinching.

‘Hatred is a powerful tool,’ Emilie said.

“I’m terribly sorry about this. He’s not normally like this, I promise. Just let me return him and we can be on our-” The girl raised her hand up and May instantly stopped talking.

“I am pleased you are doing well, my friend.” she said to Leshy. “I’m happy to see you’ve found new friends.”

‘You are not welcome here,’ Leshy snarled. ‘And I am no longer your friend. Leave. Now!’

The girl winced. Could she understand him?

“I am sorry you feel that way,” she replied. “I truly do wish I could leave you in peace, but sadly, I am searching for someone.” She shifted her gaze away from Leshy and stared directly at May. “Don’t suppose either of you have seen a tall man in a red hoodie during your travels, have you?”

May froze at being directly addressed.

“I...”

I jumped between May and woman and glared at her.

“What if we did?” I asked aggressively.

Both Emilie and Apollo looked at me like I was deranged, Joern let himself out of his ball, and Suzy stood next to me, glaring at the girl in front of us.

“Ah, you’re the girl with the psychic. I admire your bravery and loyalty.” she said conversationally, before hyper focusing on Emilie. The Salamence snarled and leaned forward slightly, but the girl, once again, raised her hand. “Apologies. Dragons disdain the Fae. Be not afraid, he will not attack you.”

I could hear Emilie swallow.

“To answer your earlier question, I suppose I would ask where you last saw him. The man fled from our group, and I have been tasked with bringing him home.”

‘Why am I not surprised you know that monster?’ Leshy asked.

The girl winced again but didn’t reply.

“Your associate burned down Bulbasaur’s home, mugged someone, and held a Pokémon hostage.” I listed off with a glare. “You’ll understand if we’re a bit... leery of dealing with you.”

I felt May run up behind me. I winced as she pinched me in the side.

“Be a bit nicer to the chick with the weird looking Salamence, alright? If she suddenly decides we’re threats, we’re all dead,” May whispered into my ear.

“I see. I’m sorry you had to deal with him.” This girl hadn’t shifted out of monotone since the start of our conversation. She reminded me of Eve... “Could you tell me what happened?” she asked.

“Your friend pissed off a group of fairies deep in the woods. Last I saw, he was tied to a tree with Vine Whip, surrounded by no less than a hundred Fairies.” It was probably closer to fifty but exaggerating the threat those Fae posed sounded like a damn good idea right now. “We didn’t stick around to see what happened next, but I think you can put the pieces together yourself.”

“I see, a pity.”

Her friend was killed and that’s all she can say? What?

“Thank you, though. You speak the truth-”

‘Which means you can leave,’ Leshy snarled.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” she said. She didn’t move from her spot. “Don’t suppose either of you girls would be interested in a job?”

“I think I’m good as I am, thanks,” I said. Especially if this is how you treat your employees. May nodded with me.

“Fair enough.” She raised her hand into the air, and the Salamence retracted his wings a bit and lowered himself down. The girl got on his back. “Look up Team Magma in Mawville if you change your mind. You and your friend can have my campfire.” I walked forward a bit. This was probably colossally stupid, but... I felt like I needed to do this.

“Shutting out the world isn’t going to help you, you know?” I asked.

The girl froze.

“It just makes things worse,” I said.

The girl looked at me, then at Leshy.

“Worse is what I deserve,” she said with finality, before urging the Salamence higher.

He beat his wings once, and the trees were blown back as he cleared the top of the forest with a single flap. I blinked, and they were gone, disappearing into the clearing into the dark horizon. I stared at the single dot that disappeared into the night sky in awe.

“Who the hell was that?” I asked.

I felt Emilie and Apollo sag against my neck as the tension started to leave the area. Suzy all but collapsed into the ground before Joern ran forward and held her up. I turned slightly to see May staring at me in a mix of anger and fear.

“What?” I asked.

May opened her mouth, but Leshy cut her off.

‘That,’ Leshy said with a snarl. ‘Was Zinnia.’ Leshy took a deep breath to calm down before walking forward. Leading us towards the campfire. ‘The trainer responsible for my previous trainer’s death.’

***

“May, please stop ignoring me,” I begged.

May didn’t say anything as she handed me a stick with a single marshmallow on it. I sighed. I had been getting the cold shoulder since our run in with Zinnia.

“Bulba,” Leshy shouted from the other side of the campfire.

‘That wasn’t a word. Just a bark of annoyance,’ Emilie explained.

‘Tell him to fuck off. I understand if he doesn’t want to talk about what just happened but tell him to stop being a grump,’ I said.

Emilie laughed, and Leshy glared at me before turning away from the fire.

I sighed before turning back to May. “Look, I don’t even know what I did that pissed you off so much! Help me out here, at least. I can’t just apologize for no reason.”

May sighed before looking away. “I shouldn’t be upset. Not really,” May finally said. “It’s... you keep putting yourself between me and danger. One of these days it’s going to bite you in the ass.”

" I’m not going to apologize for that,” I said.

May glared. “I can take care of myself, Lea. I need you to watch your own back more. I... I don’t know how I’d function if something happened to you.” May got quieter the longer she talked.

“Yeah, well... I don’t know how I’d function without you either, so... get used to it?” I said.

May started ruffling through her bag and pulled out a bag of marshmallows.

“I will apologize for worrying you, though. I... might have gotten mouthier with the dragon lady than was necessary.”

“You think?” May asked, her tone flat as she glared at me. “Just take better care of yourself, alright? I... I’m not strong enough to talk to your headstone.” May looked away, before stabbing a marshmallow with a stick and passed it to me. “Sorry. I’m just... hoping the normalcy will get me to calm down.”

I grabbed the stick and put it over the fire.

“I understand, and I promise,” I said. “Just know that I’m probably always going to look out for you. I’m not strong enough to talk to your headstone either.”

May hesitated as she stared down into the fire, before nodding her head once.

“As long as you’re fine with me doing the same, that’ll do for now,” May said, her voice firmer as she stared into the fire.

I sighed in relief.

“Still mad at you though.”

“Hey, at least we got to see a bad ass Pokémon. I never thought I’d get to see a Salamence up close,” I said.

May tensed.

“Wrong thing to say?” I asked.

“Little bit.” May sighed. “I’ll be better once my nerves have calmed down. I’m really happy she wasn’t like her ‘associate’.”

I winced.

“Yeah, she could’ve wasted us without trying. She didn’t though,” I said.

May winced again.

“I need to just stop talking. My shoes do NOT taste-”

“Your marshmallow’s burning,” May interrupted. I turned and looked at my smoldering piece of sugar.

“Eh? AH!” I quickly pulled the now on fire marshmallow up to my face and blew on it as hard as I could to stifle the blaze. I heard May laugh as I gazed upon my blackened confection. “Aw man.”

“Here.” May offered me her lightly glazed marshmallow. “Trade. I like mine like that.”

“Thanks. Do you want first watch tonight, or should I take it?” I asked as we traded sticks.

“You go first. I know you have a bunch of stuff you usually do with Emilie before you go to bed, so you can do that while you keep an eye on things.” May offered. I nodded.

“Then you should probably get some sleep now, or you’re going to be miserable tomorrow.” May groaned.

“I know you’re right, but I want to stay like this for a bit, if that’s okay.” May leaned into my shoulder again as she bit into her marshmallow. “I’ll crash in a bit.”

‘Hug her, you idiot.’ I heard Emilie shout in my head. ‘Swear to god, you are the most dense-’

‘Shut up.’ I threw an arm around May and pulled her close.

I stared into the fire with her, and the night felt a bit less suffocating than it did before.

***

“Oi, wake up.” I heard May call out.

“Don’t want to...” I grumbled and turned on my side away from May.

“Apollo?” Wait. What?

‘On it, sorry Cap.’ I felt a cold splash of water nail me in the back.

“Fuck!” I screamed. The sound of laughter filtered to my ears, and I turned to glare at my supposed best friend and my traitor of a Pokémon. “Screw both of you.” I shouted as I started wringing out my shirt.

“Alright, I’m no longer angry with you, thanks Apollo.” She tossed a few cookies his way.

“Really, Apollo? Is that the price of your loyalty?” I glared at my quartermaster, and he looked away.

“Don’t yell at your Pokémon.” May chastised. “Here, I made breakfast, you’ll probably want to change first though. You’re kind of...” May trailed off as she motioned to look down.

I did so and felt my face heat up. My pajamas were apparently not made to get wet at all and were almost completely see through.

“I see you don’t wear a bra to bed,” May pointed out with a grin.

My blush got worse.

“T-Turn around,” I sputtered. Before turning myself and looking through my bag for something else to wear. Maybe a towel too, while I was at it.

“What? Lea, it’s not like-”

“TURN!” I screamed.

May complied, chuckling as she did so.

I found something to dry off with, and I grabbed the clothes I had on yesterday. I changed in what felt like record time. “You’re good.”

“Finally,” May complained.

I glared before snatching up the offered ration bars. “Made breakfast, she says.” I took a bite. “I’m taking first watch from now on. I can at least whip us up something better than this.”

“With what? Are you smuggling a mini fridge and oven set in that backpack of yours.” I blushed. “What, HOW?”

“Okay, not the fridge per se, but... I bought a couple of those little portable stasis pods that President Stone had while we were at the camping shop the other day.” I nervously pushed my fingers together. “And I might have... bought a bunch of groceries before you got up yesterday.”

“I... How much did that cost?” May asked in shock.

“...More then I'm comfortable sharing.” I looked away.

“Lea!” May chastised.

“I still have money. Getting the prize payout for two gym challenges really bolstered my funds. Plus, we didn’t have to get ferry tickets, so I splurged a little.” I kept listing off reasons hoping one of them would curb May’s judgmental stare.

“You couldn’t have told me? I could’ve chipped in with the groceries, at the very least.” May argued. “How am I supposed to even up my meal deficit if you keep buying stuff for us.”

“I got you those ice cream sandwiches that you like?” I said.

“Give.” May’s tone shifted.

I chuckled. “Later. We have to finish our breakfast.” I waved the ration bar around. “Also, can I borrow Sergei? I haven’t called Eve in a while, and she’s... probably starting to get a bit worried about me.”

“You want to make a phone call in the middle of a dangerous forest surrounded by hostile bug Pokémon?” May asked with a glare.

I winced.

“Look, I’ll stay close. I think if yesterday showed us anything, it’s that our Pokémon are a lot better at dealing with the bugs in this forest,” I said with a smirk, trying to sound reassuring. If Emilie was here, she’d probably...

“Where’s Emilie?” I asked, suddenly hyper aware of the lack of weight on my shoulder.

‘Above.’

I whipped my head up and spotted Emilie resting on a tree branch a solid twenty feet in the air.

She looked down at me and waved. ‘Me and Apollo have kind of been taking turns looking out for the big scary flying dragon,’ Emilie explained.

‘Emilie, I doubt very seriously someone with a Salamence gives three fucks about us, and she sure as hell doesn’t have to get the drop on us. Why-’

‘It made me feel better, alright!?’ Emilie shouted in my head.

I sagged as I realized that May wasn’t the only one spooked. 'Thanks ,’ I replied.

Emilie nodded once before teleporting down to her usual seat. Apollo perched on the other shoulder.

“Joern’s back in his ball, probably taking a nap, Suzy is being a fiery terror to anything that wants to get close to our camp, and Leshy is in my tent with Samie, attempting to help him learn words.” May explained.

I snorted. “How’s that going?”

May shook her head.

“The highlight reel on Sergei is fantastic,” May explained with a laugh.

“I’m sure it is, I’ll watch it later. At any rate, the whole squad’s here, the bugs have been leaving us alone, I’m calling my sister. I’m sure she’s worried by this point, I haven't called her in days,” I said.

May winced.

“What?” I asked.

“I uh... you kind of reminded me that I haven’t called home in a while.” May blushed.

“How long is a while?” I asked.

“I haven’t talked with my family since we left the second time with Wally,” May admitted.

“May!” I chastised.

“I got sidetracked, okay?” she said. “The city was really fun and exciting and I kind of just... forgot.” I sighed before grabbing Sergei, and the phone buzzed in my hand as I looked down. A series of notifications popped up and were cleared before I could read them.

“Sergei?” I asked, my tone worried. “You alright, bud?”

I got a thumbs up back in response. Alright then. I pulled up Eve’s number from contacts and pressed the call button. It rang a few times before the line clicked.

“You can’t do anything normal, can you?” came through the line as soon as I connected.

“Hello Sis. How have you been? I’ve been doing great, thanks for asking,” I deadpanned.

“I’ve been exhausted. Answer the question,” Eve growled into the phone.

“I don’t know what the question is referring to,” I whined.

“Your gym battle!” Eve shouted.

I leaned back, surprised. “How the hell do you know about my gym battle?” I asked.

“Your vi—o?”

For the first time, ever, Sergei’s line got choppy. I looked down at Sergei as the line went dead.

“Dropped call.” I read off. Three dots appeared next to Sergei’s name in Messenger.

“Reception is ass around here, huh?” Sergei asked.

“Sergei, your plan is universal.” May said, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t drop calls.”

Another ping echoed through the campsite. I noticed a Poketube icon pop up in Sergei’s notification bar before immediately disappearing.

“Sergei?” I asked slowly. “What did you do?”

My eyes narrowed at the phone. A message popped up in messenger under Sergei.

“I... might have accidentally uploaded a video to Poketube.” I read aloud, before leaning back and looking at May.

She came around and looked at the phone with me. “To May’s official... I have an official account?” May asked.

Was it possible for a phone blush?

“You do now.” I replied. I closed out of messenger and booted up the Poketube app. A wall of notifications popped up. “Holy shit.” I couldn’t click through them fast enough! There was just a massive fucking wall of prompts telling me that someone had liked or commented on May’s video. “Sergei, could I get a little help here?” I asked.

The notifications started disappearing in quick succession and I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked at the front page. My eyes widened as I took in the sight in front of me.

“May Maple is trending,” I read off.

“Sergei, what the fuck did you do!?” May shouted.

A single video was posted to May’s channel, and it was popular. It already had several thousand views attached to it, as well as a number of comments. I clicked on the video and...

Wait, this was my Gym Battle!

“Sergei!” I shouted. “What the hell? How do you blow up May’s account with MY video!?”

Sergei blushed as May leaned back against one of the trees and slid down.

“Oh, Legends Above it wasn’t mine, thank fuck,” May muttered.

I glared at her.

“Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t do anything. Yell at the possessed piece of tech in your hands,” May said.

Sergei’s screen was black.

“Sergei, get back here, I’m not done with you,” I yelled. The screen eventually lit back up when Sergei realized I wasn’t going to do anything until he talked.

“Start with the May Maple Official Channel,” May shouted from her spot in front of the tree.

“Alright, look. I get bored when you two don’t use me, so... I made an account on Poketube using May’s email. Poketube verified it all on its own.” Sergei sent out via messenger. “As for the video... I really liked the videos of your gym battles, so... I kind of just made up mock Poketube videos using them. I thought it would be fun, I didn’t... mean for one of them to get uploaded.”

How can you ramble in a fucking text message?

“But you uploaded one,” I pointed out. A small spark came out of the top of the phone, and I almost dropped it.

“You’re going to laugh...” May read for me, glaring down at the phone.

“May accidentally hit the upload button when she grabbed me out of... her... bag.” I turned to glare at my best friend.

“Don’t look at me like that, this isn’t my fault!” May shouted.

I took a deep breath through my nose and exhaled from my mouth. “I’m not mad,” I said.

‘Tauros shit.’ Emilie said in my mind.

“Okay, I’m a little mad. It’s mostly that this got done without anyone telling me. That said...” I brought the video back up. “I suppose there are worse things than being internet famous. Kinda sucks that my name is attached to MAY of all people, though.”

“That is probably the only reason you got views,” May pointed out.

“Your words are hurtful.” I pouted. “Where’s May’s video on here? I kind of want to see what you made up.” I asked Sergei.

May was suddenly right next to me, trying to take Sergei back. “Lea, give me the phone,” she ordered.

“What, you don’t want to see the title and description that Sergei made up for you?” I asked. I kept a grip on the phone as she glared at me, and her hand slid around on the touch screen a bit as she fought for the phone.

“Lea, let-”

Bing.

We both stopped and looked at the screen.

“Video upload starting.” I read off.

May stared at the screen in hatred as I doubled over and started laughing.

“Delete, delete, delete, why won’t it let me delete!?” May shouted as she pounded away on Sergei’s touch screen.

“May, it’s Poketube,” I said between laughs. “The program’s been held together by spaghetti code and prayer for YEARS. The delete video option hasn’t worked in months.” I choked out the last bit as May pulled me up and started shaking me again.

“This isn’t something you should be laughing about!” she shouted in my face.

I felt a bit nauseous once May stopped, and I steadied myself against a nearby tree.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll be good, I swear. No laughing matter here.” Both weights had disappeared from my shoulders, and I looked around. Apollo was perched on a tree above us, but Emilie.

‘I... don’t feel so good.’ Emilie was down below. Leaning against May’s leg and looking more green than usual.

For the second time since I met her, Emilie threw up on a pair of shoes.

“Oh yuck, Emilie, what the hell,” May shouted as she backed away from my starter.

I took solace in the fact that this time, they weren’t mine.

***

“...so did you at least enjoy the battle?” I asked.

Eve chuckled tiredly from the other end of the line. “You were great. I had to watch it in chunks between timers, and I was always sad to leave.” Eve sighed through the line. “Sorry, I’m just... really tired. I’m really happy you called though. We’ve gotten quite a few orders from Rustboro recently, you know?”

“Really, my cookie campaign paid off?” I asked excitedly.

“It did, we have a standing order from the Rustboro gym,” Eve explained. “Kind of impressive when you think about all the bakeries in Rustboro. Those cookies you handed out must have been incredible.”

I felt my cheeks flush at Eve’s praise.

“Norman’s letting us use his gym’s barrier setter to run deliveries right now. I’m hoping we can get something of our own fairly soon, though. That poor Kadabra had to make so many trips.” A loud yawn sounded over the phone. “Sorry, again,” Eve said.

“Has the Rustboro order put that much strain on you?” I asked, concern creeping into my voice.

“Nah, that order is easy. Just a bunch of cookies. It’s this cruise liner order we just finished. Apparently, we were recommended by the Dewford gym leader of all people. Still don’t know how the hell that happened, Roxanne must have talked us up to her coworkers or something. We got an order placed for a crap ton of cakes, cookies, pastries, and whatever else I’m not thinking of now. The order was last minute too.” Eve yawned into the phone again. “I'm wiped, but it’s over and done with. It just shipped out, and I'm ready to pass out.”

“Eve it’s morning.” I said blankly.

“Is it? Fuck. It is. Dammit. I’m so tired.” She also sounded kind of out of it.

“Eve, after we finish talking, close the damn store, go home, and sleep,” I ordered.

“But-”

“No buts.” I stood firm.

“Fine...” Eve grumbled.

I paused as I thought about what she had said. “Did you say it was a cruise, is it sailing out today?”

“Yeah, from the port just south of the forest, why?”

Huh, small world.

“May and I got cruise tickets from our friend Wally. We're riding to Dewford in style, and apparently, I get to enjoy your cooking while we travel.” Score. Eve’s food was always great. I can’t wait to raid the donut supply.

“So... you’re probably going on the cruise I catered for?” Eve asked.

“Yeeeess. Why?” I asked back.

“Lea, is there something you maybe want to share with me?” Eve asked, this time more serious.

“Not that I can think of. The badge was the only major thing to happen in recent memory.” Eve doesn’t say anything over the line for a while, and I get a bit worried that Sergei dropped the call again.

“Lea, I want you to know that whatever you decide in life, I support you, okay,” Eve said, her tone quiet.

Huh, that’s sudden, but also nice to hear.

“Thanks, though I'm a bit confused. I appreciate it,” I said.

“You’re completely clueless, aren’t you. You know what, forget I said anything.” Eve said, giggling into the transceiver.

“O...kay. I’m starting to get worried.”

“It’s nothing, I just want you and May with no one else to enjoy your cruise alone together.” Eve rushed out. “Have fun, Bye.”

“Eve, wai-”

Click. I looked at the phone before slowly turning to look at Emilie.

“That’s not a good sign, is it?” I asked.

Emilie shrugged.

***

“So, we’re killing Wally the next time we see him, right?” May asked as she stared up at the banner.

“Painfully.” I confirmed. Eve’s earlier commentary made a lot more sense now.

‘Welcome to the Luvdisc Couple’s Cruise’ was displayed in proud pink lettering over the dock that led to our ride.

Chapter Text

“May, you’re being unreasonable,” I argued.

“We are not getting on that ship,” May said. She was typing on Sergei with purpose, and if the face he was making was any indication, a significant amount of force. “I can’t believe Wally. Honestly, this is a horrible joke to play on someone.”

He probably thought he was helping. I was kicking myself for not looking more closely at the tickets, now.

“Legends above this is so embarrassing.”

Embarrassing. Right. That’s the word she’s using for this. I sagged down a bit.

“I can’t afford a ferry ticket right now, May,” I said, hoping to pull a bit of heat off Wally.

“I can cover you,” May said resolutely. “We aren’t getting on that ship. We’re best friends, not... THAT!”

She can’t even say it. Why was I even entertaining the idea of telling her? Hell, why was she even acting like this? It’s a fucking cruise liner! Even if we weren’t a couple, we could still do fun cruise stuff!

“It was a practical joke, May. Come on! We can just ignore the couple’s stuff and have fun on a cruise!” I argued, doing my best to ignore the drastically shrinking chance that May would even entertain the idea of being more than friends.

“Lea, we’re TRENDING on Poketube.” May waved Sergei around a bit, glaring at the phone as she did it. “What exactly do you think is going to happen if we go on this boat?” May asked.

“We have a good time and enjoy some really good food?” I asked, hoping to appeal to the black hole that was her stomach.

“No, we’ll get mobbed by curious couples. Curious couples with CAMERA phones,” May said.

I winced, before sinking down a bit. I was honestly kind of glad May was mostly focusing on Sergei right now.

“We’ll probably get posted to Chatot or something, and we’ll get lab-” May suddenly stopped talking, her mouth hanging open as her grip tightened on Sergei.

Time stopped for a single moment before I watched my best friend reach up and clutch her skull in agony. She hunched down and clenched her eyes shut.

I rushed forward to support her, our argument briefly forgotten. May leaned into me as I propped her up. She was still clutching her skull.

“May! May, are you alright? May? May!” I asked. I noticed a bit of blood drip from her nose and froze.

“I... It felt like a migraine,” May whispered.

‘Emilie, can-’ I stopped as May started to double over in pain again. “Fuck, May-”

“It’s fine, it passed. I-” May stopped talking instantly as she turned to look my way. Her eyes, wide with fear, were drawn towards my shoulder.

Emilie was practically glowing with psychic energy, and the glare she was leveling toward May could melt steel.

“Emilie-” I shouted, before cutting myself off as May once again clutched her head in agony. My brain immediately realized something terrifying.

Emilie wasn’t trying to hurt May, she was focusing every ounce of energy she had to hold herself back FROM hurting May.

I carefully reached toward Emilie’s Poke Ball and pressed the return button. May briefly held her head again as Emilie was sucked back into the ball.

“I am SO sorry. I don’t know what came over her, she just-”

“Lea.”

I stopped talking.

“You call me a nerd all the time.” May started. “It’s fair. I know quite a bit about Pokémon. I had to pass my test with flying colors, after all.” She stared at me intently, and I gulped. “Would you like to know a quirk of the fairy type?”

“I-”

“They have an instinctual desire to protect the people and Pokémon closest to them. More than any other species. To the point that they will act in any way they can to remove that threat. It’s an obsessive compulsion that, sometimes, causes the Pokémon to react to things that aren’t a threat,” May explained, her eyes glazed over as she recited something back to me that she probably read in an encyclopedia somewhere.

“I-I don’t.” I struggled to find an explanation that would make this not blow up in my face. Some lie that could cover this, cause I sure as fuck wasn’t confessing ANYTHING after that little episode.

“Lea, what exactly was it that I said that hurt you enough that Emilie hit an instinct to remove a threat from her best friend.” May asked, both concerned and curious. “I feel the need to apologize, but I don’t know what for. Do you think I'm angry at you for something, or something specific I said or...” May trailed off, fuck. I needed to steer this conversation. NOW!

“It might have been something you were going to say?” I said, pointing to her head. “Emilie has a preview, remember.”

May looked down in confusion before a sudden moment of clarity passed over her features. Her face very quickly paled, and I wondered with a mounting sense of dread what that realization was.

“Honestly, considering what was about to come out of my mouth, I think the migraine was preferable,” May said with a wince.

“What-”

“Legends above, I was being an ass.” May trailed off again, making it a point to look anywhere but at me. “Lea, is there... maybe something you would like to share?” May asked.

“Not particularly.” I answered that question WAY too quickly.

May sighed, her lips pulling down. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

“May-”

“I’m sorry.” she muttered.

I froze. What exactly was she apologizing for!?

“Some context would be really helpful right now, May,” I said, my voice strained due to the lack of air. “May... air...” May let go.

“Sorry.” May wiped at her face a bit. “I’m saying that a lot today, huh? It’s alright if you don’t want to talk to me about it, especially after... that,” May said. “But you CAN talk to me about anything.” May looked at me pleadingly.

“Okay, pretend I'm an idiot, it shouldn’t be that hard, what do you THINK you figured out. I’m honestly just lost, and I would really like a map,” I said.

May looked like a Stantler caught in headlights.

“Just spit it out al-”

“Are you gay?” May asked. The words died on my tongue. It took a second, and I definitely heard a dial up modem start to boot up at the back of my skull, but I realized something incredible.

May figured out the wrong thing. I was saved! I still didn’t know how to answer this question.

“I... maybe?” I answered. I didn’t have an answer to this question, honestly. I’ve never felt... anything for anyone besides May.

Said best friend decided this would be a perfect time to pull me into another hug.

“Would you stop? My ribs can only take so much abuse in one day!”

May backed off. “Sorry.”

“And stop apologizing, I actively don’t care about whatever it is that you think you’ve done, so quit acting weird.” I glared at my best friend. “Look, it’s not really something that MATTERS right now. I just... know that guys don’t... click.” That was at least true. Granted, most girls didn’t click either. “Nothing needs to change.” I think I was saying that to both of us.

“But...” May started, before shutting her mouth and rapidly nodding. “Right. Nothing has to change.” I breathed a sigh of relief, before staring at Sergei in May’s hands, specifically the time. The cruise would be leaving soon.

“Now, am I going to be getting on the ship by myself, or are you coming with me?” I asked.

May’s eyes widened.

“Lea, I-” Alright, fuck this. This whole conversation was stupid.

“Am I repulsive?” I asked.

“What- NO! Lea-”

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?”

“Of course not, Lea, you’re my best friend. I’d-”

“Are we dating?” I asked, probably skirting the line a bit on what I could get away with asking.

“No, but-”

“Then why the fuck do you care?” I asked, ignoring the bit of heartache I felt from her answer.

“I-I can’t-”

“Why?” I asked. “I can count on one hand the number of people whose opinions I give a fuck about, and none of them are on that boat.”

“It’s different for me, okay!?” May exploded at me.

“It’s really not!” I shouted back. “All the people you’re worried about don’t matter, May. Are you really going to tell me that you’re going to let some random asshat on the internet get between you and my sister’s cooking, on a luxury line cruise ship, with a bunch of random couples that we can make fun of?”

May didn’t answer right away.

“Where the hell is the bad ass that told Roxanne off in the middle of her first match? Who punched Birch’s kid in the face for being an ass hat? Where the hell is my best friend?” I asked.

“I don’t know, okay?” May shouted before looking away. “It’s been... liberating. Not worrying about being Dad’s kid. Not being recognized by every-”

“Then tell the rest of the world to fuck off and have fun, alright?” I said, interrupting her musings. “They don’t matter.”

“They don’t matter...” May repeated. A foghorn blared and May grabbed my hand and jerked me forward. I almost fell forward onto her. “Come on. Stop dragging and hurry, or we’re going to miss the boat.” What?

“What?”

“Congratulations, you won the argument, that means you get to be the girl in this fake relationship, so shut up and run, because I am NOT the kind of person to put up with that ‘I don’t want to now’ crap,” May said as she started to pick up the pace down the pier. "Just make sure the fake break up at the end of this trip is convincing, alright? And we’re talking about your big reveal later, missy, so you better be ready for that!” May shouted as she raised her hands over her head to flag down the dock master.

“May, are you-”

“Sorry, we kind of got side tracked. Here’s our tickets, we’ll just hop on board really quick.” May cut me off.

“Well, hurry on then, lass. They’ll be casting off soon.” He took our tickets and rushed us onto the ship. May grabbed my hand and dragged me aboard.

“What happened to-”

“I already said you were right,” May interrupted me. Again. This was payback for earlier, wasn’t it? “I can think of worse ways to travel, and I think I said this at the start of our journey, but I can’t think of anyone else I would want to travel with.”

“Aww...”

May nearly catapulted away from me as a new, simpering voice hit my ears.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just got a message to escort a last-minute arrival to orientation.” She was tall, blonde, skinny, and looked entirely too perky.

I did not like this woman.

“Follow me, please.” She turned away from us and started walking towards the front of the deck.

I walked forward a bit and frowned. May wasn’t walking next to me. I turned to see her frozen in place as she stared at the group of people towards the front of the ship.

“May, it-” Stop.

Emilie’s voice rang in my head, calling me a dense moron. Legends above, she was in her ball and phantoms of her voice echoed in my skull. I extended my hand out, and gave her the most comforting, reassuring smile I could manage. May leaned back from the offering in shock.

“I’ll walk with you, okay?” I spoke softly. May hesitantly grabbed my hand, before nodding.

We walked to orientation hand in hand, and I probably had the world's goofiest smile on my face the whole way through.

***

“There’s only one bed.” I observed as I entered our room.

“What exactly were you expecting, this is a couple’s cruise,” May pointed out. “Considering how a lot of the people at orientation were looking at each other-”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” I said.

Jokes meant she was doing better, right? It felt like she relaxed a bit after orientation, so I’m calling that a win. I walked over and bounced a couple times on the mattress before shooting my best friend a smile.

“I suppose I can sleep on the floor-”

“We can share the bed, we’ve done it before,” May said, flecks of red dusting her face. “This’ll just be like the sleepovers we used to have.”

“That was before-”

“Nothing. Has. To. Change,” May said every word slowly and deliberately.

I stared at her for a moment before pulling her into a hug.

“Thanks,” I said, giving her an ear to ear grin.

May nodded.

“Just so we’re clear, cuddling’s fine, clothes stay on, and hands stay above them, and if you wake up curled around me like a spider monkey again, don’t push me off the bed and lock yourself in the bathroom for twenty minutes,” I joked.

May glared at me before looking away. “I’m still sorry about that.” May muttered.

“May, you legit can’t control what you do while you sleep. In fact, I don’t think I can remember a time when you weren’t cuddling something while you slept.” My mind flashed back to a few of those sleepovers where I made fun of her for all her stuffed animals. “Unless you’re apologizing for shoving me off the bed and hogging the bathroom for twenty minutes after the fact. In which case, I accept your apology,” I said.

“It was NOT twenty minutes,” May countered.

“Felt like it. You’re lucky I like you so much. I was this close to not chasing after you. My legs were clenched together for the entirety of that conversation,” I said.

“You did not.” May denied before throwing her bag into the closet and crashing beside me on the bed.

I kept waiting for a mental retort that never came. I pulled out a solid white Poke Ball and stared at it with no small amount of trepidation.

“Do you think she’s calmed down?” I asked May.

She nervously looked at the ball. “Pokémon are aware of what happens outside of their ball if they care to look,” May said hesitantly. “She’s probably doing better, if for no other reason than she hasn’t let herself out and pureed my brain. Do you want to let her out and see?”

“I just... it feels weird, her not being out with me. I got used to it. I kept veering to the left when I followed our guide because I was correcting for a weight that wasn’t there.” I chuckled. “Never thought I’d miss her voice in my head,” I said dryly.

“Do you want me to leave the room?”

I nodded my head yes. “I don’t want to chase you out of our room, but that would probably be better.” To say nothing of the fact that you leaving would give me a chance to unpack everything else my brain is thinking about right now. “Safer, at least. I don’t want Emilie to hurt you, and I'm pretty sure Emilie doesn’t want to hurt you either. Do you mind just... exploring the ship without me for a bit? I’ll find you when we get done.”

“Sure thing.” May smiled reassuringly. “This’ll give me a chance to figure out what we can do on this cruise besides be lazy and eat amazing food.” May opened the door and walked out.

I heaved a sigh, not looking forward to this. I tossed out Emilie’s ball, and sighed in relief that she looked, mostly, normal.

‘I am so sorry!’ Mostly. As soon as she formed, she pressed her forehead to the ground in a bow. ‘I am the lowest of pond scum not fit to be on your roster.’

“Nice, you’re now pulling from my memories for anime references. I really have corrupted you if you’re pulling from Whismur the Rock of all things.” I sighed as I counted to ten in my head. “You aren’t pond scum. You’re part fairy. May already explained. Granted, we need to learn how to control that, so this doesn’t happen again, but I’m not mad.” I reassured. “Props by the way, you did something that scared me even with the mental block.”

Emilie still hadn’t gotten up from her bow.

“Dammit, would you get up? This is making me uncomfortable,” I said.

‘Sorry.’ Emilie scrambled to stand up, though she was still avoiding eye contact with everything that wasn’t the ground. She also didn’t say anything else.

“Look, I don’t blame you for what happen-”

‘I know you don’t!’ Emilie interrupted. ‘It was like the first thing I picked out of your brain. I blame me though. I pride myself on having impeccable control. Mom always stressed the importance of that tenant. That it was more important for us than for any other psychic! To lose myself like that...’ Emilie started shaking. ‘I could’ve reduced May’s brain to a vegetable fruit smoothie.’

“But you didn’t,” I corrected. “You held yourself back. Hell, looking at how your mom reacted to me, you might be better than her! You just gave May a mild headache.”

‘You want to know what’s bad? I’m still fuming. The thoughts that were bouncing around inside her skull made me want to put my fist through a wall, and the way she was making you feel during her melt down was completely unacceptable!’ The last bit was said in a hiss.

“Emilie, you’re slipping again,” I said.

Emilie stopped.

‘Thanks,’ Emilie said. ‘I’ll work through this. I’m sorry, it’s just... really easy to be angry at May right now.

I sighed, before looking away. “To be fair, she did get off a few comments that... really sucked to listen to.” My mouth pulled down into a frown as I joined Emilie in observing the beautiful designs on our floor rug. “I know she’s not in the best headspace right now, but... is it bad that I want to be mad at May, too?” I asked, suddenly feeling very small.

“NO!” Emilie shouted.

Everything else stopped for a moment as I stared down at Emilie in abject shock.

‘She fucking ripped your heart out of your chest and stomped on it for good measure, and she doesn’t even know she did it! She was mean, and rude, and-’

“Emilie,” I interrupted.

‘What?’ she snarled, before thinking about what she said. ‘Shit, I'm doing it again. Dammit.’

“Not that,” I whispered, unsure if I actually heard what I heard. “You spoke.”

Emilie tilted her head. ‘Huh? What do you mean? We’ve been speaking for the last fifteen minutes.’

“No, I mean you opened your mouth, and said something. In normal human tongue!” I said.

Emilie looked at me like I had grown a second head.

“Do me a favor really quick. Open your mouth and say ‘No’,” I said.

‘This is stupid, but...’ “No.” Emilie’s eyes widened.

I grinned.

“Well, I know it’s not healthy to shelf all the emotional turmoil we’re both going through right now, but I don’t think we’re going to make any progress on that without May, and this is way too interesting for me to think about anything else. Now that I know it’s possible, we’re going to expand that vocabulary,” I said, hopping in place as I stared down at my starter.

Emilie looked more and more uncomfortable the more excited I got.

“Let’s start with an easy one. Yes.”

‘Yes what?’ Emilie asked.

“Say yes, you moron,” I said.

Emilie sighed. “Ru- Ra-”

I shook my head. “No no, feel.” I leaned down and motioned for her to touch my throat. “I don’t know what you did when you said your first word, but we’re going to approach this scientifically now. Reach out and feel my vocal cords and mimic my lips when I say it.” I said as Emilie leaned forward and put her hand against my throat. “Yes.”

‘Uh... again. Slower,’ Emilie said.

“Yyyyeeeessss,” I demonstrated.

“Rooo- Rrreessss- Yyeeessss-”

“Perfect! Now, rip the band aid off.”

“Yes,” Emilie said, and I couldn’t help but grin like I had gotten my first birthday present all over again.

“Great work. Now then, let’s move on to the most important words. The Questions. Why.”

***

“Lea, you’re not going to believe...” May trailed off as she looked at the scene in front of her. Emilie had her hand around my throat as I spoke what probably sounded like a very random assortment of words. “Emilie, I know Lea probably deserves this for something, I don’t know what yet, but the possibility definitely exists. Homicide is never the answer.” Emilie turned a glare toward May. “I'm sorry. I’ll shut up now. Please ignore me.” May said in a fervent tone as she backed away from Emilie slowly. My starter looked away, and I felt shame leech into our bond. I needed to fix that right the fuck now.

“May, I’m fine. More than fine, in fact. You’re not going to believe this, but Emilie, I think you have something you were wanting to tell May?” I asked. May quickly moved to pull out Sergei, but I raised my hand. “You won’t need that.”

“Huh, but how-”

“Sorry,” Emilie said.

May went quiet and stared at Emilie in wonder. “I- Holy shit.”

“So, the first word was a fluke. She felt so strongly about something I had said that she just... blurted it out loud,” I explained.

“No,” Emilie said with a smile.

“Makes sense that her first actual word was said to disagree with me. We’ve kind of been pushing this ever since,” I explained giddily.

“What all can she say?” May asked, her eyes lit up as she slowly got closer.

I motioned for Emilie to demonstrate.

“Yes. No. Why. Where. When. How. Who. What. Meet. Emilie. Lea. Hi. Bye. Wait.” Emilie looked away. “May. Sorry.” May’s eyebrows went higher the more words Emilie said.

“Damn, you’ve been busy,” May commented. “Speaking of May being sorry. I need to apologize to you as well.”

“Why?” Emilie asked.

I resisted the urge to laugh.

“I didn’t mean too, but... I was being a bitch. To Lea, and honestly, to Wally too. Even if he wasn’t there for it. After touring the boat, I know for a fact he paid more for these tickets than he said he did,” May said, glaring at the room.

Ah ha, something else that I can yell at him about.

“Lea’s got thick skin, but she gets hurt too, sometimes, and honestly, you stopped me from being an even bigger ass than I could recover from.” May looked away.

What on earth was she going to say?

“Lea-

“I know you,” May interrupted Emilie. “I know you feel terrible about what happened, even though, all things considered, you did a very good job of curbing your instincts. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.” A tenseness left Emilie’s shoulders, and she relaxed for the first time since coming back out of her Poke Ball.

‘Tell her thanks,’ Emilie whispered.

“She says thanks. Though now that I'm thinking about it, that should probably be the next word!” I shouted gleefully.

Emilie groaned. “Why?” Emilie asked.

“Well, wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell people thanks on your own? Plus, it’s good to expand your word pool,” I said.

“Why?” Emilie asked. Again.

“Because a talking Pokémon sounds really cool and being able to have a regular conversation with you and May without having to play telephone sounds awesome,” I said.

“Why?” Emilie asked. Again. A small smile adorned her lips.

“Well, it’ll make it even easier to talk to new people, and May will appreciate it,” I said.

“Why?” Emilie asked.

“Alright, look here, ya little shit,” I growled.

Both May and Emilie started laughing.

‘Know that we love you despite your low Int stat,’ Emilie consoled.

‘I take solace in the fact that an extended amount of time in my mind is slowly turning you into a massive dork. No, I don’t care what that says about me, I'm already too far gone.’ I spitefully responded.

Emilie stuck her tongue out at me.

“So, what’d you find? Anything fun to do on this ship?”

May grinned. “Well, going down the list, there’s a ballroom dance class on offer...” May paused for some reason. She looked at me expectantly.

‘She’s waiting for you to mock the option, preferably with a joke about old people, ’ Emilie said. ‘I wouldn’t mind checking it out, though.’

“Is it open to just people, or can Pokémon join?” I asked.

May stared at me in shock. “You’re actually considering a ballroom dance class? You?” May asked.

“Well, not really, it might be fun, but mostly Emilie wants to check it out, and I think Joern would be happy dancing to any kind of music,” I explained. “We could maybe ask if our Pokémon could join, and if it looks interesting, we could maybe take a class.” Granted, the thought of dancing with May gave the idea a bit more traction as something that I might want to do, but I obviously couldn’t SAY that.

“Right... moving on, they have a couple’s trivia after dinner with the grand prize being a high-end bottle of wine,” May offered.

“...how high-end?” I asked.

“Seriously!” May’s eyes widened.

“May, we’ve known each other for years. I think the only other person who knows me better is Emilie, and she doesn’t have a choice.” I replied.

“Yes,” Emilie said before shivering.

“All I'm saying is, it might be nice to score some easy money while we’re here,” I offered. “Or we could just have a fun night and down the damn thing.”

“I apparently don’t know you as well as I thought, cause I one hundred percent thought you were going to mock all of these.” May shrugged. “They don’t really feel like your jam.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Lea, you tried to bring a baseball bat on our journey, both because you wanted a weapon, and to have something from your favorite sports team.” May explained it as though I were a small child.

“I fail to see the correlation here,” I deadpanned.

“Of course,” May responded back in the same tone of voice. “Anyway, this next one was the one I thought would get you excited. They have a couples’ doubles tournament, starting on the last day of the cruise. First place is three heart scales and a set of hyper potions. Open entry.” May grinned.

“Sounds like a blast.” I smiled. “No way in hell we’re winning, though.”

“Oh, COME ON!” May complained. “Are you just doing this to screw with me?”

“I’m still excited,” I said laughing. “I’m looking forward to it, honest. It’ll be fun battling with you, but we’ve never fought together before, and I’d be willing to bet the rich people on this cruise have bought every advantage their Pokémon could ever possibly need.”

“Yeah, but rich people are almost always horrible battlers themselves,” May countered.

“Steven Stone, Diantha, Lance-”

“Those don’t count!” May snarled.

“Yes, dear,” I said cheekily.

May fumed at me before sighing. “You’re probably right. We’re still doing it, right?” May asked nervously.

“Of course. I might also be wrong, and the field is nothing but trust fund kids.” I grinned. “Won’t know till we try. Anyway, there was one item you mentioned that I am very eager to experience. You mentioned Dinner?” I asked, and my stomach chose that moment to let out a rather mighty growl.

***

I leaned back in my chair and gazed out into the dining room. I faced a difficult choice. This was the best food I had ever eaten. The texture of the fish melted on my tongue, the mashed potatoes were fluffy, buttery perfection, the veggies were steamed and seasoned into tiny pieces of happiness, and the steak was a center cut masterpiece...

I wanted more.

My stomach did not.

“Hurts so good,” I complained. I turned to stare at the stack of plates May had left in her wake. “I swear to every legendary in existence, your stomach doesn’t exist. Your esophagus just leads down into a black hole from which there is no escape.”

May leaned back from what had to be her sixth plate of food.

“This black hole is calling it quits.” May belched. “I think I overdid it a bit. I’m not sure if I have room left for dessert.”

My eyes widened. “How the fuck are you still so skinny. I don’t understand. You munch on my baked goods all day long. You eat more than me and Wally combined at the center. You do no exercise outside of our basic traveling. Just... how?”

May just smirked. “Maple family is just built differently, I guess. You should see Dad at big meals.” May laughed.

“Probably shouldn’t say that when your stomach looks like a bowling ball,” I argued.

May laughed. “Fine, come on, I think the stupid trivia thing starts soon.”

“But that means I have to get up.” I grunted as I hefted myself up, careful not to bend too much.

“Help me up, would you?” May begged, doing her best to look helpless.

I held out two hands and pulled her up, before turning around running face first into a seven-foot-tall monolith of a human being. Dark skin and long dark hair contrasted with a white suit. He turned around and instinctively looked down as I craned my neck to meet his gaze.

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t looking where I was going,” I muttered.

“Nah, I’m kind of used to it, I take up too much space.”

His voice did not match his build. At all. I expected a deep baritone, what I got was a relaxed Alto. I felt a bit of tension leave May as she relaxed into my side, and I suddenly realized she was leaning against me to support her weight. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

“Wait, hol up. Hey, Jasmine!” The man shouted, and a short, pale woman in a red dress came over with a pair of drinks. Dark red hair hovered just above her shoulders, and striking green eyes met mine as she passed her glass to Wayne.

“I think I found some interesting people,” he said.

The tension that had left earlier came back with a vengeance as May suddenly froze.

“Interesting is a bit of an understatement.” There was an accent there that I couldn’t quite place. It was incredibly faint, whatever it was. “I’m surprised to see Poketube’s newest superstars on this ship,” she said.

“I don’t think that superstar is the word I would use...” May said.

Jasmine brushed her off.

“Honey, your friends battle got like... five thousand views. On her first day. Your post today got like double that in half the time.”

Wait, what? Really? Dammit all!

“Like, yeah, most of that is you being... you.”

I didn’t like this woman. At all.

“But the videos were fantastically shot and were an incredibly fun watch. Both of you got a ten out of ten from this reviewer.”

Never mind. She’s great. Please praise me more.

‘Down girl,’ Emilie said.

“Well, it will be once we actually get around to making the video.” Jasmine shot the man a look.

I didn’t know it was possible for a man that big to whine.

“Babe, come on, we’re on vacation!” he complained.

“Wayne, this is a perfect opportunity!” Jasmine said, looking annoyed.

‘They’re a pair of content creator’s on Poketube. They mostly review battle videos and league matches,’ Emilie explained in my head. ‘The girl wants to interview the two of you. I think she’s a bit more serious about the channel than the guy.’

I shifted slightly to look at May and winced as she kept looking between the two people in front of us like they were going to eat her.

“Alright, so you obviously know who WE are, and we now know who you are. We really should be going, though, we were...” Making our way over to a contest that looks like it’s started already. I sighed as the last few people in line on the opposite side of the dining room went through the double doors and they closed.

“Never mind,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hold you up, and I apologize for Jasmine.,” Wayne said before moving over to the table. “Don’t suppose you’d be willing to hang out for a bit though, would you?” He pulled a pair of chairs out for us. “Please, it would probably make my girl’s night, and honestly, mine too. I was a big fan of your battle. That water golem thing was sick.”

I preened a bit at the praise, and I heard May groan.

‘I like this one.’ Emilie said.

‘Of course you do.’ I said back, before looking at May. “Up to you, May. I’m good with whatever.”

May looked between me, the chair, and the hallway, before sighing and grabbing the closest chair.

“Mostly because I don’t feel like walking all the way back to our room, yet. Also, can we NOT talk about the stupid videos.” May grouched out.

I chuckled as I took my spot next to her.

Jasmine gave May an odd look. “If you don’t like them, why did you post them?” she asked.

“May, please let me tell the story.” I begged.

May put her head in her hands as she leaned up against the table, before nodding.

“Alright, so May’s phone is possessed,” I explained, and chuckled as Wayne suddenly shifted his chair a solid three feet away from May.

“LEA!” May shouted. “I have a Rotom phone. It’s a new thing that Devon is working on. After the last two days, I’m not sure if they should go to mass production.”

“May, stop it. You’ll hurt Sergei’s feelings,” I said.

Sergei levitated out of May’s bag and floated over to me, a frowny face emoji on his screen.

“See! Look what you did!” I shouted.

May groaned.

“I’m sorry, Sergei. That was uncalled for,” May said.

The phone nodded once, before landing on my side of the table.

“Right, well continuing on, Sergei recorded our gym battles, and on a whim, decided to make up some... mock videos. May, being the directionally challenged and tech illiterate idiot that she is-”

“You can’t just come to Sergei’s defense and then attack me like this,” May cut in with a glare.

“She uploaded my video.” I finished with a smirk. “And I stand by my statement. The trip from Rustboro to Petalburg woods is pathed out. Not only did you not need to pull up the map, but if you had just asked, Sergei would have come out and navigated for us, no handling required.”

May leaned back as I finished in shock, like she hadn’t even thought of that. The realization was followed by a thud as May slammed her head into the table.

“It’s all my fault. All of it. I hate everything,” May muttered into the table.

I patted her hair consolingly.

“Wait, so that’s the first video explained, how did the second one get uploaded?” Wayne asked.

“We were fighting over the phone, and I had May’s video pulled up. I was curious what it looked like.” I grinned sheepishly. “One of us uploaded it in the chaos, I don’t know who.”

“So, a lover’s spat gave us one of the funniest gym battles I have ever seen?” Jasmine asked.

Both May and I froze.

“Was it something I said?”

“Sorry, we’re... not used to people calling it that.” May explained.

I whipped my head around and gave her an odd look, wondering why she was going along with it.

She thinks it’s easier to just go with it while we’re on the boat. She was serious about that break up moment at the end of our trip, by the way,’ Emilie said.

I winced. ‘I am NOT doing that. Hell no. I... I don’t think I could, and I really don’t want to think about how she would break up with me.’ The thoughts my brain were coming up with for both scenarios tied my stomach up in knots. ‘Can I just hide out in my room at the center while we’re in Dewford? I don’t want to deal with any of that.’

We’ll figure something out,’ Emilie said.

‘How the hell are you still on this ship? Wake up, the ship is dead, May shot it with three torpedoes and sent it to the locker,’ I complained.

‘Alright, I got really confused at first. I thought you were talking about the actual ship.’ Emilie giggled. ‘I choose to keep faith. By the way, they’re talking to you.’ I turned away from Emilie to see an angry May, and two awe inspired looks.

“That is so cool,” Wayne whispered.

“No, it’s so annoying!” May complained. “What’s worse is Lea can include me in the conversation and CHOOSES not to.”

I winced. “It’s not-”

“I looked it up, and you’re full of shit.” May glowered. “What do you and Emilie say about me in your private conversations, huh?”

“She mostly calls me an idiot, and questions why you put up with me,” I replied honestly.

Wayne barked out a single laugh. Jasmine giggled a bit before getting interrupted by a single soft chyme. She pulled out her phone.

‘I am not that bad,’ Emilie complained.

“But yeah, it loses its novelty really fucking fast. Every time, we’ll just be talking and then she’ll just stop, for like five minutes.”

I glared back. “It is NOT five minutes. I have never been in my head for that long, and almost everything that Emilie’s good with sharing gets sent to Sergei.” I complained. “You just like to exaggerate so you can complain more.”

May looked scandalized. “Excuse me-”

“Girls, calm down. We’re here to have a fun time, back off with the claws,” Wayne said, looking between us nervously.

‘If only he knew that this is how you two flirt,’ Emilie said.

I felt my face heat up as I glared at my starter.

‘Lot of lip for a junkie,’ I said.

‘I’ll be good,’ Emilie said quickly.

I probably shouldn’t be encouraging that line of thought, should I?

“Fine, I’ll let Lea off the hook for ignoring me. Again,” May said.

I gave her my award winning smile. Emilie gave me a look.

‘Seriously, Eve gave me an award for it, it’s in the office for exemplary customer service,’ I said.

‘You were nine,’ Emilie deadpanned.

I pouted.

“Great, now then, I don’t think we ever formally introduced ourselves. My name’s Wayne, this is Jasmine, and we run a small reviewing channel on Poketube.”

Aha. I found the sales pitch.

‘Actually, he is just introducing himself,’ Emilie commented.

“Kind of figured that out already,” May said with a scowl. “No, I will not be taking interviews, thank you.”

“Yeah, I figured that out already.” Wayne threw May’s words back at her with a smile. “You seem like the type that really doesn’t like attention. It’s fine. Like I said, we’re on vacation,” Wayne explained.

Jasmine sagged down in her chair and just typed away on her phone with a pout as May relaxed in her seat.

I frowned and looked down at the table.

It was weird. I had spent so long expecting a sales pitch, and now that it wasn’t coming, I felt disappointed. I...

I think I wanted to be interviewed. I barely knew these people at all, but they wanted to know me. May might have hated that, but for so long, I was a piece of the background. Having people notice me...

It felt nice! I sighed, and suddenly, Jasmine was staring at me rather intently.

She wasn’t the only one. May tossed me a sideways glance, and I suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable.

‘Just ask, you dipshit. You said it yourself, we’re here to have a good time,’ Emilie said with a grin.

“I... wouldn’t say no,” I whispered out, still incredibly nervous about how May would react.

Jasmine smiled, and Wayne groaned.

“Of course you wouldn’t, ugh... fine,” Wayne said.

Jasmine fist pumped before pulling her phone back out. I looked nervously at May. She sighed, before adopting a slightly apologetic tone.

“Just keep me out of it, okay?” May asked. She groaned at my look. “I was speaking for both of us, and I’m sorry if you felt like you couldn’t say anything.” She looked away. “My issues aren’t yours. If you want to, have fun.”

“Thank you,” I said earnestly.

“That said, please wait till we get to Dewford. We uh... aren’t out to family yet.”

I had to resist the urge to laugh at how awkward she sounded when she said that. Legends above that’s adorable.

Jasmine froze.

“That won’t be an issue, will it?” May asked.

“Nah, I think we can enjoy all the comforts the ship has to offer while we’re on it and save the work stuff for later. This’ll give us a chance to get to know each other more, right Jazz?” Wayne asked.

Jasmine looked away. “Alright, so... uh. You’re going to laugh,” Jasmine started.

“Why do I feel like I'm not going to laugh?” I asked with a glare.

Jasmine shrunk a bit, and May leaned in.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“Okay, so. I promised my Chatot account that I'd keep them updated about anything cool that happened on our cruise,” Jasmine said.

May tensed next to me.

“I... might have posted a picture of you two. With the caption of guess who we met on our couple’s getaway. I might’ve also added a couple of rainbow hearts.” Jasmine looked away as she finished talking.

“So... just delete it,” I suggested. All three of them gave me pitying looks.

“It’s already been shared. And downloaded. And reposted. A lot.” Jasmine kept digging.

I honestly wondered if Samie should be out here for this. He might learn something.

“I just assumed you were out. You’re two newly famous people on a couple’s cruise!”

May just leaned back in her chair looking lost.

I glared at Jasmine. “Suddenly not liking the idea of an interview, sorry.” I said brusquely.

Jasmine nodded, before standing up.

“I understand.” He glared at his partner before standing up. “I’m really sorry about this. I hope you kick Brawly’s ass twice as hard as you did Roxanne’s.”

I watched both leave before chancing a look at May. She looked more freaked out than when we got on the ship.

“You okay?” I asked worriedly.

“I... I just wasn’t expecting that,” May said. “I kind of got a bit more comfortable at orientation. Everyone was just stuck on each other. I let myself think that I was blowing things out of proportion, earlier.” She stopped and swallowed.

I still didn’t understand why this was such a big deal to her.

“I think my brain is stuck at my video’s supposed view count. It keeps thinking that that’s the number of people that now think we’re in a romantic relationship,” May said.

“We’re having a big break up at the end of the cruise, remember?” I asked.

May slowly shook her head.

“Besides, the number of people that think that are people that follow Jasmine’s Chatot feed. That’s probably a significantly lower number.” I consoled. “We’re fine.” I looked toward Sergei. “At least, I think we’re fine. Sergei?”

A message immediately popped up with a link to Jasmine’s profile. Her post was... popular, but her numbers weren’t anywhere near as damning... and now it’s gone.

‘She deleted the post. A lot of people probably still have access to the image, and they’ll probably repost it, but it’ll help,’ Sergei responded.

I kind of felt bad. She didn’t mean any harm, I don’t think.

‘She was just excited to share with her fans.’ Emilie explained.

May sighed.

“It’s not the end of the world.” May commented. “People probably already mistake us for a couple, if Wally’s gift is anything to go by.”

I wanted to scream that it was probably my fault, but I held myself back.

“Lea, do you mind if we just turn in early? It’s been a long day.”

I nodded, before trying to help her up again. May stopped me, got up herself, and made it a point to keep her distance from me on our walk back to our room.

The four feet felt like a fucking chasm between us.

Chapter Text

Cold air met my skin as I shivered in place on my side of the bed, slowly coming around on what promised to be a wonderful day on this thrice damned cruise liner. I groggily reached for a comforter that didn’t exist and groaned as I slowly started to sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes.

Legends above, last night sucked. I could get being distant on the walk back from the dining room but May shutting me out once we got back to our suite made no sense to me.

If May was able to get close enough to steal all the covers, then she could talk to me, dammit.

I glared across the bed at the cocoon my friend had wrapped around herself. She looked so warm, all huddled up as close to the edge as possible. A single pillow rested between the two of us, on which, my starter dozed, a thin trail of drool lining her cheek.

I could get not wanting to have a repeat of the ‘incident’, but this seemed excessive. This was a king-sized bed, and May inhabited a foot of real estate. I could probably stretch my arms out while lying down and STILL not touch her. If this was a reaction to the other bit of trivia I dropped on her yesterday, I was smacking some sense into her, crush be damned.

I carefully leaned over and nudged Emilie a bit.

“W-why?” she asked, before wiping her mouth on my pillow.

Ew.

‘Five more minutes?’ she begged before turning away from me.

‘Nope. I’m up, which means we’re up. I’m sure as hell not putting my head on that pillow again, and we’ve got a job to do,’ I explained.

Emilie very quickly stood at attention. ‘Emilie, reporting for duty, sir!’ She saluted.

‘At ease.’ I laughed. ‘ You know where Sergei is?’

‘I can find out easy enough, give me a sec...' Emilie went silent and her eyes glowed a faint blue. ‘May’s jeans. I think he’s on the floor somewhere.’

‘Oh, May. That’s both mean, and kind of gross.’ I complained to Emilie as I went over to pick her pants up. I fished around before pulling out the promised phone. ‘Lord knows what actions have been performed in this room.’

‘Sergei spends half of his time stuffed in a bookbag with half eaten cookies and May’s dirty underwear. I don’t think he cares where he is, as long as he’s in his case,’ Emilie explained.

I shivered. ‘I could not imagine spending all my time trapped in a cellphone case. Sounds like a fucking nightmare,’ I said, suddenly worried about our spectral smartphone.

‘You do realize that as far as he’s concerned, the inside of that phone is the definition of paradise for him, right?

I turned to Emilie in shock. ‘I... really?’

Emilie nodded.

‘Sergei described it as a cozy steel home augmented by unfettered access to the world,’ Emilie explained. ‘Don’t worry about him, he’s perfectly content to be our digital assistant.’

‘Huh, neat.’ I pressed a couple of buttons, and his screen came to life. A message popped up.

“Little early for you, sweet cheeks.” Sergei messaged.

“Never call me that again.” I glowered down at the screen. Surprisingly, I got a thumbs up.

“Sorry, I was trying something new. I didn’t like it either. What’s up?” Sergei messaged.

“You think you’re up for a bit of a challenge?” I asked. I got another thumbs up. “How easy would it be to track the rumor Jasmine started last night?” I asked.

"Please hold.” was the message I received.

I stared blankly at the screen as I saw several links flash across at a staggering speed.

‘You’ve got mail.’

I blinked before the webpage opened. Several infographics ran across the screen that I couldn’t make heads or tails of.

“Don’t suppose you could translate this for me, could you?” I asked, looking down at the screen in awe.

‘I don’t understand what half of your thoughts mean, space case. Please talk like a normal Pokémon,’ Emilie complained.

“Ugh, fine.” I could hear the exasperation through the text. “The image made a few rounds amongst members of Jasmine’s Chatot channel, but once Jasmine took down the initial post, most of the chatter kind of died. It helped that it was late and not a lot of people noticed it in the first place. From what I can tell, a few people saved the picture, but I couldn’t find any reposts yet.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Huh. I was expecting worse,” I muttered. “Could you keep an eye on things Sergei? I don’t want May to be surprised again. She really freaked out last night.”

I got a thumbs up. Hopefully the picture falling through the cracks would help May... not be super freaked out. I sighed before taking a seat at the table in our room.

It probably wouldn’t and May would just be a wound-up ball of nerves till our ‘break up.’ The phrase made me want to punch things.

It would be easier if I just knew what the issue was. I couldn’t fix things if I didn’t know what needed to be fixed. Like, internet ass holes were easy, ignore them and they go away. I had no idea how to help May deal with... whatever the hell her own head was throwing at her. I didn’t understand being a Gym Leader’s daughter, even if Norman probably treated me like one. I didn’t have the name, which meant I didn’t have the baggage. Even after all these years, all I could do was bully people that bothered my friend. I couldn’t do that here. I just...

I didn’t know.

I hated not knowing.

‘I could-’

‘Don’t tell me,’ I ordered.

Emilie looked away. ‘Right,’ Emilie said. ‘Though... maybe it’s better that you don’t know, anyway.’

I frowned.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I asked.

‘You were... really pushy,’ Emilie said. ‘I didn’t say anything yesterday, because it looked like May didn’t care that much and I was still having my... episode, but now it...’ Emilie trailed off and looked towards the carpeting.

‘Say what you’re trying to say, Emilie,’ I said.

‘I think guilting your best friend into a cruise she didn’t want to go on was kind of shitty,’ Emilie said quickly.

I winced before looking away.

‘I know you were trying to help, but... it kind of reminded me of what I did to you on Route 103.’

‘I... That’s not... I just wanted to help.’ Fuck, I was doing that, wasn’t I?

‘It’s an easy thing to fall into,’ Emilie said. ‘I wanted to help you, and I knew you weren’t ready to talk about it, so I forced the issue.’

‘Like what I’m doing now.’ I breathed out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and turned towards the blanket cocoon. My earlier complaints felt a bit shallow and stupid. ‘I need to apologize.’

‘I think that can wait till she’s awake,’ Emilie said.

I looked down at Sergei and sighed. ‘I think you’re right.’ I looked over at Emilie and she was shuffling awkwardly in place. ‘Thank you for calling me on my Tauros shit. I... really didn’t handle this well.’

‘I’m just glad I was able to calm down and think with the rational part of my brain,’ Emilie said.

‘Is there anything I can do to help you deal with your issues?’ I asked. ‘If I can’t help May, I’d like to help you, and I’d like to do it the right way this time.’

‘I’m not sure my issue is something that can be worked through,’ Emilie said. ‘ Unless humans have figured out how to tell the fairy half of my brain to fuck off.’

I looked down at Sergei again. ‘We can check.’ Emilie leaned back from me in shock. I opened my mind and attempted to push out my thoughts to Sergei. ‘Look for any articles on fairy types you can find. Prioritize articles that focus on controlling fairy instincts.’ My lips pulled upwards as Sergei sent me a thumbs up. Score! It actually worked!

‘Do you really think humans...’ Her voice trailed off in my head as several links and webpages flashed over Sergei’s screen. The flashes stopped on a single article from-

“Samuel fucking Oak...” I whispered.

‘Is he- oh.’ Emilie stopped mid-question as she observed the thoughts running through my head.

“I’m going to assume that I don’t need to look beyond this?” Sergei asked with a smiley emoji.

I nodded once.

‘How Nurture Trumps Nature.’ I read the title of the article, before bookmarking the page and scrolling down. The premise of the article was simple; a Pokémon's innate instincts were a powerful thing. They were how a Pokémon survived in the wild, and as such, certain behaviors were instilled in them since birth. Once a Pokémon was taken out of the wild, those instincts lessened as the Pokémon adapted to its new life as a trained Pokémon. The article pulled from multiple trainer accounts of destructive Pokémon becoming docile, dark Pokémon becoming kind, ghost Pokémon becoming peaceful...

‘Where are the accounts of Fairies becoming saner?’ Emilie asked.

I stopped scrolling on an image of a Togekiss.

‘While some might think that fairies would be the best equipped to adapt to domestic life with humans, they have certain characteristics that cause some hiccups in practice. The Fae pull power from belief, and as a result, are very set in their beliefs. Honesty, communion, fairness, integrity... things that most people view as good traits are followed by the Fae to an almost obsessive degree. A Fae can shift in personality drastically if their beliefs are threatened, and a core belief to all Fae, is that those closest to them should be healthy, happy, and safe.’ I finished the paragraph and looked up to give Emilie a smile. ‘I love your type.’

‘Keep reading. The other shoe is about to drop,’ Emilie said. ‘Too much of a good thing can go bad, though.’ Emilie started the next passage for me.

‘Fae will act to defend those closest to them, even from things the trainer will deem as not a threat. As a result, many Fae will overreact, and potentially harm those they care about most.’ I sighed. ‘Like with what happened with May.’

‘Keep going.’ Emilie said, her eyes trained on the phone. ‘Please.’

I nodded.

‘Unlike with most types, a Fae’s natural instincts will carry over to domestic and trained life. Makes sense, considering that most of the time, a Fae’s instincts line up with the trainers core beliefs. People that capture Fairy type Pokémon usually value the same things the Fae do, after all; they wouldn’t have been able to catch them, otherwise. ’ I gave Emilie a smile.

‘Keep reading,’ Emilie said, red dusting her cheeks.

‘Those similarities, in some cases, influence the trainers. More indulgent trainers that gave in to Fae’s beliefs without question slowly adopt features of the Fae.’

Emilie reeled back from the article as I read that line, and I felt disgust filter through our bond.

‘Heeeelllll no. You are not dealing with this... mental deficiency. I’m limiting-’

‘However! ’ I all but shouted this word to Emilie, and she clutched her head for a second. ‘The key to understanding and helping a Fairy type Pokémon adapt to life in the human world is not shared belief. The trainers that found the most success in raising a fairy type to maturity were people that were steadfast to their own beliefs. They led by example and found beauty in the differences between them and their Pokémon. In the end, training a Fairy ultimately boils down to you staying true to yourself and showing them a better life. Do this, and you’ll give them the gift of humanity.’ I finished.

Emilie looked at the article with her lips pulled down.

‘That’s it?’ Emilie asked skeptically.

I laughed. ‘So, all I have to do is be my usual dorky self, and you’ll follow suit. Sounds easy enough. I don’t know why the article made it sound so serious.’ I smiled at my starter before closing the article.

‘There has to be more to it than that!’ Emilie shouted. ‘Some kind of mental exercise or breathing trick or... Something!’

I shook my head.

‘Nope! The most famous Pokémon Professor the world over said you just have to follow my example, deal with it.’

Emilie glared at Sergei before staring up at me. ‘I think my doubts were warranted, earlier. Clearly humans-’

‘Look at yourself now and compare yourself to who you were when we first met,’ I said.

Emilie opened her mouth, closed it, thought for a bit, glared at me, sighed, then looked away with a bit of red coloring her cheeks.

‘Think you could walk me through the journey you just went on.’

‘No,’ Emilie said, her blush getting deeper. ‘Fine, maybe the article has some merit. ’ Emilie looked away again. ‘We really should get out of here before May wakes up.’

‘That change of subject was about as subtle as a brick to the face, Emilie,’ I said.

Emilie glared. ‘Look, we fixed my problem, kind of, now we’re back to your problem. I think some space would be a great idea,’ Emilie said, waving towards the door. ‘You two have been attached at the hip for, what, two weeks? Give her a chance to think for a bit, and you can apologize for being an ass at breakfast.’

‘Do you really think space would help?’ I asked.

Emilie didn’t answer for a bit.

‘I think so,’ Emilie said. ‘I’m not sure, but time to think would probably be very helpful, at the very least. Plus, it’ll give you a break.’ Emilie shot me a worried look. ‘Manipulations that would make my mother proud aside, this isn’t exactly easy on you either.’ THAT set off some red flags. I gave Emilie a worried look.

‘Do you-’

‘No.’ Emilie firmly shut down my question before I could even ask it.

I sighed but nodded.

So, I needed to explore the ship for a bit. Without May. Fun.

‘Wasn’t there something about a ballroom dance class?’ Emilie asked.

‘You need two people for that,’ I explained. To say nothing of the fact that I didn’t really feel like dancing. Emilie smiled.

‘Well, you have an avid dancer on your team,’ Emilie suggested. ‘Look, just... get out, explore the ship, and have fun. You don’t have to dance with the leaf if you don’t want to. Just... please get out of this room. ’ Emilie looked up at me pleadingly. ‘I really want to see more of the ship.’

I had to stop myself from laughing.

‘You do, do you?’ I asked. ‘I suppose you’re right. We really haven’t been taking advantage of this, have we?’ I laughed at the thought. ‘You know what, it dancing DOES sounds fun.’ I stood up and scrawled a note out for May before giving myself a whiff. I reared back. “First things first though. That shower is calling my name.”

***

“...I’m sorry, what?” The attendant overseeing the event asked.

“I wanna dance with my Pokémon. Look, May’s not feeling well and Joern’s eager to learn. I know it’s a bit... weird, but-”

The instructor raised both of his hands.

“It’s fine, my friend. This is hardly the first time this has happened. What is your name, girl?” The tall man had an accent that I couldn’t place.

“Lea.”

The ship attendant left as the instructor waved him off.

“Well, Lea. I would be more than happy to teach you and Joern, if he is able.” He looked at me expectantly, and I released my Pokémon.

“Lom.” The instructor grinned as Joern took in the dining hall turned dance hall. ‘What’s up?’

“Up for learning a few new dance moves? May wasn’t really feeling it, so I figured you might enjoy the class in her place.”

Joern grinned.

“Ah, I forgot that this was the home region of the Lotad line. This is quite the treat. Now then!” the instructor shouted. The rest of the room focused as he clapped his hands together. “My name is Victor, and I will be your teacher today. I know some of you are already competent dancers. Those that don’t want to listen, that just want to hold your paramours close and glide across the ballroom floor, I will allow you to split from the group. Enjoy, and keep to the north side of the dance floor.”

Four different couples broke off. They all looked a bit older, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many of them were here on their honeymoon. I noticed rings on a few fingers, at least.

Soft music started to filter through the air.

“Now, for those of you that are still here, we shall start with something simple. The waltz. Everyone, take your partners and throw one arm around their waist, then take their other hand in yours.”

I awkwardly did my best, but Joern’s hand was a bit slippery.

‘A bit odd for a dance,’ Joern commented.

“It’s a dance you do with a partner. It’s a bit more... structured than what you’re probably used too.” I know I was probably getting a few weird looks, but screw them, I could dance with Joern if I wanted.

“We’re going to start with a simple box pattern. Keep time with the music, and every step you take, your partner should mimic. The reason it’s called a box, is because that’s the pattern you’ll trace on the floor. When you step back with your left foot, your partner should step forward with their right foot. Ready... and one, two, three, one, two three.” He just started to repeat the numbers and I did my best to follow the lesson.

“Ow,” I whispered as Joern stepped on my left foot.

‘Sorry,’ Joern muttered, looking a bit embarrassed.

“Naw, that was my fault, I'm moving too slow... Let me just... one, two, three. One, two three.” I started talking aloud in time with Victor, and Joern followed my lead.

I had to focus on so much at once, but as I kept up the pace, it started to feel a bit easier. The near misses stopped, and we started to move more and more in synch with each other. I felt my shoulder start to relax. Joern bobbed his head back and forth in time with the music.

‘This is nice,’ Joern commented. ‘I can’t help but notice that I'm the only Pokémon participating though.’

“Meh, they’re missing out. You’re the best dance partner a girl could ask for,” I said with a grin.

Joern laughed. ‘I don’t know about that. I’m sorry May didn’t make it.’ Joern said sincerely.

I did my best to smile.

‘Meh, if she wants to later, I can show her in our room. She’s really freaked out about this whole cruise thing. I... kind of feel bad for pressuring her into it.’

Joern looked up to me and grinned. ‘That thought wasn’t filtered through Emilie. You’re improving.’ Joern noticed.

‘Slowly. It’s easy with you guys, though.’ I almost stopped moving and shuffled to keep the pace. “What do you think of the waltz?” I asked aloud.

‘Human dances are strange, but fun. I don’t know what purpose this will serve, but I'm enjoying myself,’ Joern explained.

‘The purpose IS to enjoy yourself, you dork,’ I said.

Joern picked up the pace a bit at the insult.

“Wait. AH!”

Joern turned, I shifted, and we ended up in a heap on the floor.

‘That was a bad idea... My bad,’ Joern said mournfully.

“Why?” Emilie asked from the floor beside me.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

“Oh, I needed that. I think we’re done for the day,” I said, a smile lighting up my face.

Joern got up and pulled me to my feet and Emilie teleported back to my shoulder.

“It was lovely to meet all of you.” I bowed as I made my way back toward the exit.

“Have a good day, my friend,” Victor said with a smile. He quickly turned to glare at some of my spectators. “Stop staring and get back to it. One two three, one two three.” Oh, that was fun. I opened the doors, turned, and stopped.

May was sitting, off to the side of the door with her head in her hands. She hadn’t moved, nor had she looked my way.

I crouched down and sat beside her. “Are you waiting for me?” I asked.

May jumped a bit.

“I... has the class let out already?” May sounded... disappointed?

“No, I just cut out. Joern played a bit of a joke on me, and we ended up on the floor. I decided to call it early,” I explained.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I... I was thinking of joining you guys.” She was?

“By sitting out here?” I asked curiously.

May groaned.

“I... I don’t know how to act right now.” May finally explained. “I want to be as carefree and happy as you are right now. That’s what I want. I want to enjoy this cruise. I want to have fun with you and our Pokémon, but... I keep thinking of how weird this all is, of what other people might think. I’m... I feel lost.” May explained.

I was once again taken aback. I had stopped Emilie earlier today, but apparently, I didn’t need to.

May trusted me, even if I didn't deserve it right now.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“You don’t-”

“I have plenty to apologize for.” I talked over her. “You didn’t want to come on this cruise, and I twisted your arm. I figured forcing the issue would help you, but...” I trailed off, not sure how to word this. “I’m sorry.”

“...I accept your apology, even if I don’t exactly know why you’re apologizing.” May looked at me and smiled. “I really was looking forward to this cruise before I realized exactly what it was.”

“I still should’ve listened to you.” I argued.

“I think we both behaved badly yesterday, Lea.” May argued back before hugging her knees to her chest and looking down. “At the end of the day, I dragged you on this cruise. You might have ‘twisted my arm’ but I made that choice.” May smiled my way. “Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

“Well, if you’re sure, what would you like to do now?” I asked.

May looked lost again. “I WANT to have fun on a luxury cruise liner,” May said. “I just don’t know how to let myself.”

“I...” I paused. I needed to figure out how to help her deal with this. That was the entire reason I even pushed for this in the first place. May deserved to have fun as much as... “You remember a couple years ago? How depressed I was at your thirteenth birthday.” I said, taking May by surprise. I wasn’t sure if this was the correct thing to say, but...

It felt like it would help her.

“You mean your fifteenth birthday,” May corrected.

“You didn’t know that at the time,” I said, chuckling a bit despite the glare May sent my way.

“Still mad at you for that.” May pouted.

“Whatever, I’m trying to be supportive, stop ruining it by being you.” I grumbled. “Whatever, remember how depressed I was. I barely interacted with the world around me other than going to work. I thought that would be all I would have. That I would be stuck there till I either died or the bakery went under. It almost happened so many times back then.” I chuckled darkly as I pulled my knees closer to my chest. “You finally had enough and dragged me out of my house one day. I don’t know who told you or if you figured it out yourself, but you knew exactly what I was brooding about. You had all these supplies and an old Pokenav you had nicked from your dad shoved in a backpack.”

May laughed. “I don’t even think the piece of crap worked.” May admitted, blushing and looking away.

“Oh, it does. It’s ass, but it does” I laughed with her. “The screen barely lights up, and it can’t hold a charge worth a damn.” I stopped laughing and looked down at my knees again. “You were determined to kick me out of town and send me on my way, didn’t matter what anybody else thought or who I'd be leaving behind.” I smiled. “You just wanted me to be happy.”

May smiled at the memory. “You didn’t listen to me,” May commented.

“I almost did,” I said. “You got me out the gate. I would’ve run off with a Zigzagoon of all things, if the damn thing liked me.”

May laughed hard at that one. “Tauros shit.”

“It’s true. It was the first thing I ran into, and the damn thing kicked sand in my eyes. I’ve hated them ever since,” I admitted.

“Oh my god.” May just started laughing at me.

I waited for her to stop to carry on.

“While I was laying on the ground, my brain had a chance to catch up to what I was doing. I decided to come back home,” I explained.

May nodded. “You couldn’t abandon Eve,” May guessed.

“I couldn’t leave you,” I corrected.

May snapped around to look at me.

“Some sister I am, huh?” I asked.

“You’re the best damn sister Eve could’ve ever had, and don’t you forget it,” May corrected forcefully.

“Fine,” I conceded. “You taught me to care about my own happiness, and it was on that lone expedition out into the wilds of... ten minutes out from the gate of town, that I learned I wouldn’t be happy going out into the world alone, leaving behind my friends and family. So, I came back.” I smiled. “You tackled me as soon as I walked back through the gate.”

“I was very emotional, alright,” May said, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “I didn’t think I was ever gonna see you again.”

“It’s alright,” I said. “I was happy about it. Grateful.” I turned to look at her. “I don’t know how, but I want to help you learn the same lesson. It’s okay to be happy, regardless of what anyone else thinks or says or does or anything else. Just know that I'll be there, being the most embarrassing cheerleader on the face of the earth.” I finished. “If you’ll still have me with you after this. I... really shouldn’t have forced this on you after the whole... Sergei thing, but... I just wanted you to have a fun time. I wanted you to be happy.” I finished lamely.

“Lea...” May stopped and stood up, her fists clenched at her side. “We’re gonna go down and register for the doubles’ tournament, we’re gonna have a lovely lunch, and then we’re gonna practice combo moves in the training area they have below deck,” she said with a determined look in her eye.

“Right.” I nodded.

“During that time,” May paused to steady herself. “We are going to make fun of the extra sappy couples we pass in the hall, I’m probably going to invade your personal space several times for no other reason than I want to, and when we crash at the end of the day I will at a minimum let you have the covers tonight.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Seriously. I was still cold.

“And during all of this... if I start to slip up, could you maybe hold my hand.” May looked away nervously. “That... helped more than you know, yesterday. I just... need a hand. I think.”

I blushed a bit, but thankfully, May didn’t seem to notice.

“You can count on me.” I pushed myself up off the ground before holding out said hand. May grasped it and we walked down the hall.

‘Still think you don’t have a shot?’ Emilie asked. I noticed her voice was a bit shaky.

‘I... are you crying?’ I asked.

‘Shut up,’ Emilie grumbled.

I laughed a bit, before letting myself be pulled along by May.

***

‘Captain, we’ve been at sea for how long?’ Apollo glared at me. ‘You’re just now letting me stretch my wings, and we’re below deck?’ Apollo complained, his beak tapping impatiently on the wooden floorboards.

I winced at his glare.

“Uh... sorry? Look, I’ll keep you out till we make port to make it up to you, how does that sound?” I offered as May looked on amused at my floundering. Apollo flew up to the shoulder Emilie wasn’t sitting on, and I lamented my role as a taxi service.

“Should I get you an eyepatch? Maybe a wooden leg?” May asked.

“Stop being a smart ass and let out your Pokémon,” I ordered.

“Aye aye, sir!” May saluted and I groaned as Suzy, Leshy, and Samie formed. Joern and Emilie both waved as Apollo cleaned his feathers.

“Alright, as you may have noticed, we are on a ship,” I explained to the crowd at large. “This ship is having a doubles tournament, and May and I have decided to enter it.”

Suzy and Apollo perked up at the thought of a fight, Joern and Leshy both looked bored, Samie looked... like Samie, and Emilie didn’t react at all.

“So,” May continued. “We’re gonna work on fighting together. We haven’t really trained like this before, so there might be a few bumps in the road as we figure stuff out. The rounds are all two v twos, so we were thinking of pairing up Suzy with Emilie,” The two glared at each other. “Apollo with Samie,” Apollo looked down at the antlion with a fair bit of sorrow as Samie yawned. “And Joern with Leshy.” Neither grass type reacted, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. At least one of our teams was cool with the team up.

‘Why do I have to team up with... her?’ Emilie asked.

Suzy nodded along so fast that I thought her head was going to pop off.

‘Seriously, her ego’s too big to partner with anyone, let alone a fighting type like me,’ Suzy complained with a glare pointed in Emilie’s direction.

“Look, ladies, May and I picked the combos based on what we thought would work best. Joern and Leshy’s move kits complement each other, Samie can shake things up without having to worry about catching Apollo in the cross fire, and...” I trailed off as both Suzy and Emilie glared at me. “Emilie can manipulate Suzy’s embers with confusion.”

Emilie’s eye’s widened, and a malevolent smile started to assert itself.

‘I suppose I can set our differences aside. For science,’ Emilie said.

Suzy backed away from Emilie a bit and I sighed. That was going to be fun.

“Just don’t set the ship on fire while you work on it,” May ordered, looking up from Sergei. “Suzy, I know you find Emilie... hard to work with, but you two DO complement each other rather well. Just... try and get along?”

Suzy glared at her trainer.

“For me?” May asked, making her voice sound pleading. Please tell me...

“Busken!” Yup, Suzy bought it, hook, line, and Magikarp.

May clapped her hands together and smiled.

“Great, now, for the other two teams... any ideas?” May asked.

Joern face palmed before slowly turning to look at Leshy. ‘How much do you like rain?’ Joern asked.

He dipped his head in thought. ‘I don’t,’ Leshy said, his tone dry. ‘But it won’t hinder me at all. That said, I get nothing out of water falling from the sky.’

May frowned.

“Honestly, you two do the same thing, more or less, but you stack passive damage in different ways. We might be able to make that work as long you stay out of each other's way,” May explained. She stopped before pulling up her Pokedex.

Huh, there was something the brain of May Maple didn’t know.

“Okay, I thought so. Both of you can have your own Leech Seed on the same Pokémon.”

My eyes widened.

“How long do you think a Pokémon is gonna last from double seed plus poison?” I asked seriously.

“Yeah, that sounds stupid, let’s do it. I guess just... work on staying out of each other’s way. The only way this could go bad is if you accidentally poison Joern, so just... don’t.” May finished lamely.

Leshy and Joern both nodded before walking across the room. I looked over at the last remaining pair and frowned.

“Did Samie take to Rock Tomb well?” I asked, slightly worried that the little guy still didn’t have options beyond his ground moves.

“Yeah, that move was easy for him. I think it helped that it plays into his existing strengths so well.” May explained. “He can also use Bite now. At least, I think it’s Bite. His chomp shifted color once when he used it in training.”

Huh, so we had a dark type move. Neat. Granted, Samie’s mobility isn’t the greatest, but... wait.

“Apollo, could you give Samie a ride if he needed it?” I asked.

Apollo shrugged ‘Meh, he’s small enough, as long as the swabbie doesn’t move too much, we should be good.’

I frowned at the title Apollo gave Samie before nodding. Samie didn’t care, and I could talk to Apollo about it later.

“Good, practice that. Giving this little guy a sudden boost of mobility sounds scary,” I ordered.

Apollo nodded and flew down to Samie’s level.

‘A pleasure,’ Apollo greeted.

‘Hi...’ Samie returned vacantly.

Apollo sighed. ‘This is going to be a long afternoon. ’ Apollo complained as Samie hopped on. ‘Oi, watch where you’re stepping.’

‘Sorry...’ Samie replied. Huh, he really was improving. Leshy smiled at the scene that played out before him before turning back to Joern.

“Alright, do we all have our assignments?” They nodded. “Great, then go to work.” I ordered. I moved to sit down but May stopped me. “What?”

“We need to train for this too,” May said. “We need to have plans put in place ahead of time, so we don’t have to tell each other about our ideas during the battle. At least, not as much. A bit of surprise goes a long way.” I nodded along before deciding to have a bit of fun.

‘Or I could just do this.’ I pushed out toward May, who’s eyes widened at the flex.

“So, you’re acknowledging that the line you fed me about ‘it being dangerous’ was a steaming pile of crap?”

I waved my hand from side to side.

“Honestly, I’m too lazy to translate everything like Emilie does. You really aren’t missing much, half the time I spend listening to Emilie, I’m praying she just shuts up,” I said.

Emilie gave me the finger from across the room.

“Besides, do you really want ME in your head all the time?” I asked.

“Do I need to worry about you picking stray thoughts out of my head soon?” May asked, suddenly looking incredibly nervous at the thought.

“You’d have to have thoughts first.”

May slapped the back of my head.

“I deserved that. No, you’re good. It’s really hard to do that on demand, honestly. I’m... actually a bit tired, now that I think about it.” I admitted.

‘It’s like working a muscle. Practice makes perfect,’ Emilie explained.

“Guess I need practice...” I said before sighing.

“You can do that later. For now, it’s back to my original idea, we need to make plans,” May repeated.

I sighed before nodding along. “Fine.”

***

May looked at the table Wayne and Jasmine were sitting at nervously as we entered the dining hall for dinner. I reached out and gave her hand a squeeze.

“You alright?” I asked.

“I want to apologize.” May explained.

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I feel like we overreacted yesterday. I kind of feel bad,” May explained.

“They leaked that we’re in a relationship when we’re not in a relationship,” I said.

“Yeah, well, we’re on a couple’s cruise,” May argued. “I agree she should’ve asked before ‘outing us’, but... they didn’t mean to cause us any trouble, and you were looking forward to giving an interview, right?” May looked at me nervously.

“Do you want to do this?” I asked after thinking about what I said earlier.

“Yes,” May said.

“Then let’s go say hi.” I dragged her along as I walked toward their table. “You mind if we join you?” I asked.

Both of them looked up at me, a look of complete shock dancing across their faces.

“Uhh... sure,” Wayne offered. “Jazz.”

“Phone’s off and put away,” she responded.

I laughed.

“That’s really not necessary,” May explained. “Really, I actually wanted to apologize. We... might have overreacted a bit.”

Jasmine shook her head. “No, I screwed up. I always ask my friends if it’s okay to post them to the channel’s Chatot account. I just... I saw you guys and got excited,” Jasmine explained. “If I outed you and you two weren’t ready for that yet, I’m really sorry.”

I sighed.

“I mean, I don’t have anyone to get outed too, and May is hoping to bury the hatchet, so...”

“Lea and I aren’t dating.” And there goes the fantasy. “The tickets were a gift from a friend, who’s currently half a region away, in the safety of his new home in Verdunturf,” May explained. “For now,” May threatened.

“Riiiiight,” Jasmine said.

“It is true. I know it probably looks and smells like Tauros shit, but... we aren’t.” I groaned at Jasmine’s skeptical look. “I don’t know how to explain this in a way that it doesn’t look like we’re lying our asses off.”

“You don’t have to, because it doesn’t matter,” Wayne said firmly.

“Also, what do you mean you don’t have anyone?” May asked. “Mom and dad like you more than Max, and Eve-”

“Wouldn’t care, even if we were.” I cut her off. “When I told her what we were up to, she immediately jumped to the same conclusion these two jumped too and made it a point to tell me that she loved me and would support me.” I smiled at the memory. “She laughed her ass off once she figured out I was clueless. Would’ve been nice if she gave me a bit more of a head’s up.”

Jasmine suddenly looked up from her plate and stared at me.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that you didn’t realize this was a couple’s cruise-”

“Until we saw the welcome banner in all its glory.” I finished for her.

Wayne just started laughing.

“The tickets advertised it as a couple’s cruise.” Jasmine said in disbelief.

“I never said we were smart. I honestly didn’t handle the tickets that much. I gave them to May after Wally gave them to me, because I lose shit all the time,” I explained.

Jasmine and Wayne both turned toward May, who was blushing bright red.

“I... I have no excuse,” May offered.

Wayne laughed even harder.

“I didn’t look at them, okay!”

“Disregarding my best friend’s descent into the deepest darkest hole she can find to hide in, what have you two been up to?” I asked conversationally. “I had a dance class with my Lombre and signed up for the doubles’ tournament this place is having,” I said.

Wayne suddenly stopped laughing. I felt a bit uncomfortable as he suddenly turned his hyper focused gaze up to Emilie.

“Double’s tournament, huh?” Wayne asked.

Jasmine groaned.

“You’re saying there’s a chance I'll get to go up against Emilie?” he asked, ignoring his girlfriend.

“I mean, assuming we don’t get washed, I guess? I have no idea how stiff the competition is gonna be on this ship,” I hedged.

‘We’ll win,’ Emilie commented.

‘We have had a whole afternoon of practice for doubles, there’s no badge limit, and half the people on this ship look like they wipe their asses with money,’ I deadpanned. ‘How exactly do you figure we win this?’

‘The power of friendship and anime?’ Emilie asked weakly.

‘Yeah, that loses to silver spoons and breeder catalogues. I like the enthusiasm though.’

“Lea? Lea!” Huh?

I looked away from Emilie. May was looking at me rather impatiently.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“As I was saying,” Wayne said. “I’ve been in the training rooms a lot, kind of scouting out the competition.” Wayne sighed. “The competition fucking sucks.”

“Wayne!” Jasmine scolded.

“Really?” May asked, shooting a victorious smirk my way.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are some impressive looking Pokémon, but they all belong to rich kids that don’t know how to battle, and the scariest Pokémon I saw was a Skarmory.”

Skarmory were pretty fucking scary!

“Right, so for a frame of reference, what badge level would you put yourselves at?” May inquired.

Wayne puffed his chest up a bit. “Fo-”

“Two,” Jasmine answered, and Wayne deflated a bit. “What have you been drinking tonight? Four? Seriously?”

Wayne looked away, a blush on his face. Huh. We could beat that.

‘Told you,’ Emilie smirked.

‘‘Friendship and anime’ is still not a valid response,’ I countered.

‘Not with that attitude,’ Emilie said.

I groaned.

“Well, Lea.” May looked my way conspiratorially. “Still think we don’t have a shot?”

“Fine. I’ll stop being all doom and gloom about our chances.” I sent a predatory glance at Wayne. “We’ll let you hold the trophy for a bit after we win.” I offered consolingly. He glared back at me.

“Like I’d let THAT happen. You can take our photo for the channel after we wipe you, don’t worry. Jasmine and I are taking the gold,” Wayne said confidently.

“Yeah, well-”

“I’m getting food,” May interrupted, slamming her hands on the table as she got up. Jasmine stood up and followed behind her.

“I’ll join you, these two are getting on my nerves.”

I watched them retreat before turning my attention back to Wayne, my eyes meeting his in mock challenge.

“Anyway...” We both said, before devolving into shared laughter.

***

May looked around the dining room as we left, waving at Wayne and Jasmine as we did so. Having an audience of someone other than me did a fair bit to curb her eating habits.

“You do know you can grab some desserts for the road...” I suggested.

May glared at me. “I’m not- I do think about things other than food, you know!” May said in a huff as we left the hall and started making our way towards our room.

“Really?” I asked.

Her glare turned murderous.

“Fine, fine. You’re deeper than that.” I agreed with my fingers crossed behind my back.

May nodded once, and we walked in silence for a bit.

“Wanna share what’s eating you this time?” I asked.

May looked away.

“I was just thinking that I missed my chance to learn to dance. It’s silly, don’t worry about it.” May said the last bit in a hurry, and I shot her a funny look as we reached our room.

“Meh, the class wasn’t all that.” Actually... “Look, you can have first dibs on the bathroom tonight, okay? I just need Sergei, if that’s okay,” I said.

“Sure thing. Sergei?”

Oh good, she’s learning. I was a bit worried that she’d upload something else the next time she stuck her hand in that bag. Lord knows how much incriminating shit Sergei has in his files. I snagged the phone and watched May disappear into the head. Dammit, Apollo is rubbing off on me.

‘Focus,’ Emilie ordered. ‘Could you key up some music that would fit the scene?’ Emilie asked.

Sergei pulled up a very familiar looking jazz piece. I glared.

“You are not playing ‘Careless Whisper’, do you want May to shut down again!?” I asked.

Segei’s actual face showed up on screen and he looked a bit sheepish.

“Look, just... play what I learned on, okay?” I begged.

Sergei messaged me with a single question mark before a thumbs up appeared on screen.

‘I shared the melody. He found it online,’ Emilie said. ‘He said he’ll be good.’

I sagged in relief. The music started playing and I opened my mouth.

Turn around,’ Emilie ordered.

I closed my mouth and complied. May had come out of the bathroom after changing to her PJs, and just stared at the scene, looking more than a bit confused.

“Lea, what...?”

I offered my hand to her, and she stopped talking.

“I figured I could show you what I learned. Care to dance?” I asked.

May hesitated for a moment before taking my hand.

“So... what do I do?” May asked.

“Well, you take my hand like this, and then you put your arm around my waist, like this.” I felt like my face was going to ignite and a million Beautifly were partying in my stomach, but I did my best to ignore it and focus on the lesson. “And just... follow my steps in time with the music, alright. Count with me for a bit. One, two, three. One, two, three.”

May focused on her feet for a bit and she was incredibly tense for the first few minutes. It took a bit, but eventually...

May found her footing, and we danced for what felt like hours.

Chapter Text

My mouth is dry, my skin is hot and slick with sweat, and my left arm has, once again, lost all feeling.

At least I got to sleep under the covers this time, but dammit, I was struggling to breathe. My whole body was melting, because goddammit, May was a furnace, and that furnace loved to use me as a fucking teddy bear.

I knew I needed to wake her up. The tournament started soon, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could survive like this, but I really didn’t want to set back all the progress we had made in the last few days.

I didn’t know what that progress was towards, but I know I made some and I didn’t want to lose that.

I felt Emilie stir, and I groaned as she lifted her head up to take us in.

‘Should I leave for a bit?’ she asked.

‘Don’t you dare. Just... shut up and help me,’ I begged.

Emilie nodded. ‘Sure thing.’ Emilie teleported to the other side of the bed and started poking May. “May.”

I didn’t even know my starter could be that loud!

‘Not helping!’ I screamed at her in my mind.

She ignored me.

‘Emilie!’

“Wuzzat.” May asked sleepily. She lifted her head up and stared directly into my eyes, a bit of red creeping into her face. “I did it again, huh?”

I nodded.

May just shifted around so she was sitting, her back leaning up against the back board of our bed. And I rapidly moved away from her. My arm started tingling as blood feeling started to return to it and I breathed a sigh of relief as the cold air hit my skin.

“Sorry.” May looked away from me.

I was honestly just happy that she wasn’t freaking out again.

“Nothing to apologize for,” I replied.

May shook her head. “Friends don’t cuddle in their sleep, Lea.”

I laughed.

“You sure? I don’t have a ton to go off, but most of mine do. Emilie constantly uses me as a pillow, same for Joern and Apollo when they’re out,” I joked.

“I think there’s a difference between Pokémon and...” May trailed off as she looked towards me. “Never mind!” she said quickly.

I turned my head to see Emilie glaring at May.

‘Emilie...’ I warned.

‘I’m in control of myself.’ Emilie explained.

My gaze turned skeptical.

‘Mostly,’ she said.

‘Well, keep better control of yourself, and stop scaring May, got it?’ My message was stern.

Emilie sighed before looking away. “Sorry.”

May sagged in relief.

“Me too, honestly. I’m working on it.” I explained.

May chuckled nervously. “I’m not that worried about Emilie losing it again, don’t worry.”

Emilie looked away from the group and teleported to the bathroom. Dammit, Emilie. Don’t leave me alone in the room with her!

“So... uh. You ready for the tournament today?” I asked awkwardly.

May’s eyes blazed as her countenance shifted instantly.

“We’re going to kick so much ass, you hear me?” May said, her fists clenched as she bounced off the bed. She ruffled through her bags, and I laughed as she started pulling out different outfits.

***

“Welcome, couples. We’re proud to announce that sixteen teams have signed up for this event.” A tall man in a white suit shouted through a bull horn.

I looked around the deck and sagged. More than a few of these people looked like they wiped their asses with hundred notes. We were so fucked if they knew what they were doing. What the hell was Wayne thinking when he said we had nothing to worry about.

‘Calm down, cap. Money can’t buy skill,’ Apollo said from my shoulder.

I turned to glare at Emilie.

‘You needed a pep talk and he’s better at that than I am.’ Emilie said.

“I know you’re all probably eager to get things started, but I need to explain a few things. This will be a single elimination doubles tournament. Each trainer will be allowed one Pokémon each. A battle ends when all of one sides Pokémon are unable to battle. The arenas will be secured and sealed by a team of esteemed psychic types, and my ship is built to stand up to things tougher than what any of you can bring to bear, so don’t hold back on our account.” The captain chuckled a bit as he said the last part. “To pair off, we’re going to draw lots.” A couple of attendants started walking through the crowd with a pair of hats.

‘Do you want anyone in particular?’ Emilie asked as the hats made their way towards us.

‘Cheating already, huh?’ I shook my head. ‘Let it be random. I don’t have a clue who most of these people are.’ I thought for a second. ‘Just make sure we don’t pair off against Wayne and Jasmine round one.’

‘Can do.’ I reached into the hat and felt the pieces of paper move before one slid into my hand. Nine. I passed the hat along, and it wasn’t long till the hat made its way back to the captain.

“Alright, I don’t think it’s terribly hard to work out, but here’s the bracket,” the captain shouted.

We were fighting team ten, and the tournament would be four rounds. Simple enough. We even had a designated field to fight on. Fancy.

“Alright, field five is... that way.” May directed as she looked at her map. This had been my first time on this side of the ship, and I quickly noticed that they had made actual, functioning arenas for us. We wouldn’t just be duking it out on hard wood and steel, they had grassy terrain, sandy terrain, rocky terrain...

A fucking pool with platforms on it that was designated as arena number five.

“Well, that’s fairly limiting.” I commented. “The arena’s a lot smaller than what I’m used to.”

“Probably a limitation of space. They couldn’t exactly make infinite arenas on a cruise ship.” May said. “I think Joern and Leshy would be the best bet for this.”

“Sounds good to me. I don’t think we have to worry about fire types on a field like this.” Legends above, how stupid would you have to be to send something like that out on a pool.

“Ugh, why did we get the water field?”

May jumped at the new voice and I turned to see just who it was that we were dealing with. The girl wore a long red dress with black hair and looked like she had just stepped off a runway. I idly wondered how long she spent doing her makeup and hair. Probably about as long as May did this morning, honestly.

“If I get soaked, Donny, you’re-”

“Yes, honey.” The guy interrupted. Rude. “So, you’re our first-round opponents? Guess they let anyone on a luxury liner these days.” And now he’s dead. The prick looked the picture of ‘spoiled rich kid’, from his fancy tailored clothes to his slicked back blond hair. He even had a popped collar. Who fucking does that anymore?

‘Please let me hurt him,’ Emilie begged. ‘You have it good; you aren’t hearing his surface thoughts.’ I think I heard a growl through the mental link.

‘Can you work with Leshy?’ I asked worriedly.

‘Trust me,’ Emilie urged.

I nodded. Our opponents made their way to the other side of the arena, and May glared after them with more hate than I had ever seen. I have a feeling I missed something.

‘Apollo, did you hear-’ I stopped talking when I saw the look of murder in Apollo’s eyes.

‘He’s walking the plank,’ Apollo said.

“Okay, we cannot lose to these people.” May ground out.

“We won’t.” I offered. “Don’t let them get you riled up, let their ass kicking be their punishment,” I said as we made our way across.

May looked at me with a bit of awe. “How are you not livid right now? What he said should’ve pissed you off more than anyone!” May said.

I shrugged. “I was talking to Emilie. By the way, would you mind if I used her instead of Joern? She REALLY wants to kick that ass hat’s teeth in.” I could feel hatred and rage coming from both of the Pokémon on my shoulders and winced. Empathy was a double-edged sword sometimes.

“I... I don't know,” May muttered. “We didn’t really practice for that.”

‘Captain, I feel-’

‘Get in line, feather head. I called fucking dibs,’ Emilie snarled. She turned and pouted. “May...” Legends above, she sounded pitiful.

“I... is Leshy still fine?” May asked.

Emilie fist pumped the sky as I nodded, and May sagged a bit in relief.

“We’ll just have to play it by ear a bit. We’ll be fine.” I quickly shut up as our referee raised both flags over his head, and I focused on the field as everyone else got Poke Balls out.

“This will be a single elimination doubles match. Lea and May will face off against Donny and Brenda.” Ah, that was the chick’s name. Man probably has the second prettiest girl in the room and he didn’t even introduce her.

Emilie anger subsided as she giggled at my thoughts. ‘You really are hopeless. You know that, right?’

Shush.

“Both sides will release their Pokémon when I drop my flags. Get ready...” May pulled out a poke ball and Emilie leaned forward. “Begin!” Three bright flashes of light shaped up into three separate forms. Leshy formed on the platform to Emilie’s right. I gaped at what had formed on the other side.

There was a fucking Metang and a Magmar. Who the fuck sends out a Magmar on this stage? Why does the rich prick have a fucking METANG of all Pokémon?

“Metang, let’s end this quick. Metal Claw the Ralts.” The giant steel monstrosity was already moving through the air before he finished his order.

“Lava Plume the Bulbasaur, Maggy,” Brenda ordered.

Maggy? Really? I thought May’s names were bad. Wait.

‘Don’t do anything. I have an idea.’ I pushed out towards May, who shut her mouth instantly. ‘Teleport in front of Leshy.’ I ordered quickly.

Emilie grinned as she complied. Maggy leaned back and spat a massive wad of lava directly at Leshy as the Metang course corrected to slam it’s claw into Emilie. I grinned at how easy this was going to be.

“WAIT/DODGE!”

Too late. The lava exploded out as it slammed into Metang from behind. Steam cascaded off the arena from the blowback, turning the whole place into a sauna as the Metang screamed in agony. At least, I’m assuming that was screaming. The high-pitched grinding couldn’t be much else. Metang sank into the water and the magma quickly cooled and hardened as his eyes faded to black.

“Metang, return,” The rich twat said.

How about some concern for your fucking Pokémon you prick. That did NOT look pleasant.

“I am SO sorry.” Brenda shouted. She looked absolutely panicked as the prick glared at her. Legends above I hated this ass hat more and more the longer I dealt with him.

“Just don’t screw this up. The dykes are rocking Baby Pokémon.” I’m going to murder him.

‘Make some waves.’ I ordered silently. ‘Let’s see if this Magmar knows how to swim.’

Emilie raised both of her arms. The connection was cut as water started to swell and get launched toward the platform with the Magmar on it. The wave was a lot less impressive than what I was thinking in my head, but it’d do the job.

“You just can’t-”

“Brenda the fight!” The prick cut her off and pointed toward the field.

Her eyes widened as the wave slammed into Magmar, sweeping it into the pool. The entire field exploded in steam, and my anger waned a bit as thoughts of Emilie getting steam burns passed through my skull.

‘We’re fine,’ Emilie quickly said. ‘Sorry, that was a lot of water. I’m directing the steam away from us. It’s still really fucking hot though.’

‘Language,’ I chastised.

‘Fuck you.’

“Return.” The model wannabe said, sounding dejected.

“You cannot be serious.” The prick exhaled.

“Donny and Brenda have recalled both of their Pokémon. The victory goes to May and Lea.” The reff raised a flag our way. Ass Hat stormed off as soon as the match was called, and the chick just sulked as she looked down at her Poke Ball.

“I didn’t even do anything.” May complained.

“To be fair, we didn’t do much.” I consoled. “I get what Wayne was saying earlier, that was just... why?” I complained.

“Stop complaining, you’ll get your challenge in the later rounds when we fight people who actually know what they’re doing,” May said.

I looked back towards the girl with the Magmar. She hadn’t moved from her spot and ass hat was nowhere to be seen. Don’t do it, Lea. It’s not your problem, and dammit I’m already in front of her.

“You alright?” I asked.

Brenda looked up from her Poke Ball and glared at me. “Why do you care?” she asked back.

Of course she was going to be difficult. Why wouldn’t she be?

“I don’t, really,” I admitted.

The girl leaned back, before chuckling as she pocketed her Poke Ball. “I appreciate the honesty, at least. I’m just... not looking forward to dealing with Donny’s tantrum after this.” Brenda said.

“I mean, you don’t HAVE to do that.” I said as an idea started to form in my head.

The beauty queen scoffed. “You-”

“Look, you seem nice. Nicer than that Ass Hat, at least, and you’re probably the second prettiest girl on this boat, so if you want my opinion? Ditch pretty boy. You can do way better.” I finished with a smile. Brenda opened her mouth, closed it, then looked away. “Hell, we’re landing in Dewford. The island probably has more hunks per square foot than any other place in Hoenn.” Especially if Eve’s magazines were anything to go off of. I honestly didn’t get the appeal, but whatever.

“I’ll... think about it.” she said lamely. “Thanks for the pep talk, I needed that.” She turned and walked off, and I felt Emilie poke me in the head.

“What?” I asked.

‘You’re way too nice, that’s what.’ Emilie said. A smile betrayed how much she actually meant the reprimand.

“I don’t know how to respond to that.” I replied. “Isn’t being nice a good thing?”

‘It is if it gets me a few of those Oran Cookies,’ Emilie said coyly. ‘I know you brought a bag in your pocket.’

‘I suppose I’d be down for a trade. Three Oran Cookies for the scoop on how someone like her ended up with... that. ’ Emilie nodded and I held up my end of the bargain.

‘She’s stringing him along to milk free shit out of him,’ Emilie explained. ‘That was the gist of what I was able to pick up from her surface thoughts, at least. Also, she’s a fire specialist.’

“Fuck... now I feel bad. Legends above that is horrible luck.” I said as Emilie snatched up my offering.

“You done being the ‘hero’?” May asked as she walked up, glaring venomously after Brenda.

I glared. “I don’t like that you’re saying that sarcastically. I’m a kind, caring person. Emilie said so.” I pointed at my fairy type with a grin.

May looked at the cookies in hand and gave me a deadpan look.

“Yeah, she’s not biased at all,” May said sarcastically.

‘I’d defend ye, Cap, but the lass wouldn’t understand a word of it, ’ Apollo lamented. ‘Also, very clever. Here’s hoping we get to watch the fireworks before the end of the voyage, eh?

I gave my waterfowl a smile before turning back to my supposed best friend. “Is it time for the next round, yet? I want to beat something.”

May shook her head. Damn it all.

“I think we were the first ones done. There are still quite a few rounds still going,” May explained.

I looked across the fields and sighed. “Looks like Wayne and Jasmine finished up fast and dipped. Want to check out our opponents for the next round?” I asked. “They should just be on the next field over.”

May nodded.

“Sure thing.” May grabbed my hand and pulled me toward arena six.

‘Stop,’ Emilie ordered. She sounded... worried.

May almost pulled my arm out of my socket as I stood in place.

“Have I mentioned recently that you’ve been getting stronger?” I said with a glare aimed May’s way.

“Well, I didn’t exactly expect you to stop. What’s up?” May asked.

‘One of the groups is using psychic types,’ Emilie explained.

I froze.

‘I just wanted to make sure your head was locked down good and tight. No reason to take chances with strangers, after all.’

I looked out across the deck and noticed a Solrock and Lunatone floating in front of a couple dressed in very basic looking clothing. Jeans and T-shirts felt a bit out of place on this ship.

‘You can get closer now, if you want. No one’s getting in right now. I promise,’ Emilie said.

“Emilie said we’re good, she just wanted to make sure my noggin was locked down tight as could be. Apparently, we might be going up against a pair of psychic types next round,” I translated.

May suddenly looked a bit nervous. I watched as a group of stones converged on a Manetric.

“Are you sure that’s safe?” May asked.

“I trust Emilie. Let’s take a closer look, okay.” This time I took the lead as I walked with May towards the arena. We managed to get close enough to hear what sounded like a finishing move.

“Lunatone, Ancient Power.” That was NOT the correct amount of enthusiasm. This chick sounded dead inside. Completely monotone.

“Boost it with Psychic.” And her partner did not sound much better.

Rocks rose from the ground, and I gaped as all eight rocks rose up from the ground and started to home in on the Swellow. Exactly how much power did it take to completely control an attack like that?

“Dodge. I know you’re faster, so keep ahead of it.” It almost felt like speed didn’t matter though. Regardless of where the bird flew, the stones would keep up and follow, slowly forming a circle around the panicking bird type, until suddenly...

The rocks closed in. All at once, the stones shot from their locations around Swellow and slammed into the bird Pokémon. I heard a single, loud, crunch before a loud, ear-splitting trill erupted from the Swellow’s beak. Pointed edges along the stone had dug into the Swallow's wings, and I saw blood start to flow from several wounds.

“Swellow, Return.” The other trainer said frantically, nearly in tears. The red line caught the Swellow in midair before it impacted the ground. The girl all but sprinted off the arena, and down below deck. I glared at our future opponents.

It wasn’t uncommon for battles to get rough, but generally, people and Pokémon alike made it a point to avoid outright lethal or crippling blows. Even if accidents happened, most people felt horrible about it, at least at the highest levels of play.

Our opponents barely reacted to the mutilation they just caused.

“A-Atticus and Jessica are the winners,” The ref declared, sounding horrified at the words that just came out of his mouth.

Solrock and Lunatone slowly levitated back toward their trainers, and as a group, they left the field, completely unbothered.

“That... That was brutal,” I commented.

May was still staring at the spot the Swellow had been brutalized. She turned and sprinted the same way the girl had gone.

“May, wait up.” I shouted as I struggled to play catch up. Eventually, the smell of antiseptic filled my nose, and I noticed May was talking to a very distressed couple.

“-going to be alright?” I heard May ask. The girl looked toward the double doors where a light was on.

“They... Swellow was rushed back once I brought her,” she explained. “I haven’t heard anything back yet.”

“Oswald got off lucky, I guess.” The guy explained as he held up his Poke Ball. “That... those two...” He shook his head. “There’s something wrong with them. Who the hell does...” He trailed off, his grip tightening. “They didn’t even react when they knocked him out. They just...”

“Stared.” I exhaled, and everyone looked my way, and I blushed and looked away, not sure how to deal with the sudden attention.

“Mrs. Stafford?” I heard from the doors as they opened. The girl all but ran over.

“How’s Swellow?” she asked desperately.

“Is everyone else here-”

“How is she!”

“She will make a full recovery.” The nurse said, and I swear, the girl visibly shrunk as her shoulders sagged in relief. “But it was bad. The damage to her wings will take a couple weeks to heal. The bones in her left wing were completely pulverized. The standard issue healing machines we have on this ship aren’t quite up to healing this level of damage.”

“But she can recover, right?” the girl asked frantically.

“We’re teleporting her to the center in Dewford. They’ll be able to provide more comprehensive treatment. She’ll probably have to have surgery once she gets into town, and then a steady course of rounds through a more advanced Regenerator system.” The nurse explained calmly. “It’ll take some work, and the recovery will be hard, but-”

“We can do that.” The girl nodded.

I noticed the boyfriend put his arm around her. I nudged May and motioned her to follow me. She tore her eyes away from the scene and followed.

“Those two should be disqualified,” May snarled.

“I...” I looked away. “I agree, but they’re probably not going to be. The only rule I could see in the booklet when it came to restraint was no killing.”

May looked apoplectic.

“We have to deal with them next round.” I reminded her.

Her face lost its snarl as she leaned back with wide eyes.

“We can pull out,” May said. “I don’t want to risk any of my Pokémon against those two psychos.”

I nodded.

“Wait,” Emilie said. We both stopped and stared.

“Emilie, you can’t be serious.” I exhaled.

‘Tell May to pull up messenger,’ Emilie ordered. I relayed it to May, who pulled out Sergei.

“You ready to share with the class?” I asked.

Emilie looked down. ‘I didn’t notice it at first. When we were far away, I thought they were just talking through a psychic dialogue like you and I do.’ Emilie gulped and looked away. ‘The trainer’s aren’t in control of their own actions.’

“Wait, you don’t mean...” May muttered, her body shaking as she held my arm in a vice grip.

“Atticus and Jessica aren’t running the show,” I confirmed.

Emilie nodded. ‘I don’t know how they aren’t getting noticed by the psychics maintaining the barriers around the arena, but all I know is that Atticus and Jessica are currently locked inside their own minds. I can’t reach them,’ Emilie explained, her body tense.

I offered her my other hand and she grabbed it like it was a life raft.

“We need to tell someone about this,” May said.

Emilie shook her head. ‘If they’re found out, those two trainers will become hostages,’ Emilie said. ‘They’d probably be reduced to vegetables. At best.’

“Then we beat them.” May said, her tone of voice sounding firm. “They can’t maintain control if they’re knocked out, right?”

Emilie shook her head. ‘Nope, I don’t know what state the trainers are in, but if Solrock and Lunatone are out of the picture, they’ll be free of their control,’ Emilie explained.

“So beat up the bad guys, save the damsels in distress, and be great big heroes,” I summarized. “We need a plan.”

‘And the plan can’t include me,’ Emilie explained. ‘I’m going to have my hands full keeping them out of both of your heads.’

“Joern,” I said. “I don’t want to send out Apollo. Not after...” Not after what I just saw.

May nodded.

“I can’t send out Leshy. He’s a poison type.” May stared ahead, her eyes filled with worry. “Fuck, Suzaku’s a fighting type. Those things know Psychic, Lea!” May exhaled. “I have to use Samie.”

‘Let me fight.’ I barely noticed the words as I ran through May’s team with her.

“Both of those rocks float.” I groaned. “Half of Samie’s kit is-”

“Useless, I know!” May growled out.

‘Let me fight!’ Apollo said.

I briefly turned to Apollo, shook my head no, and turned back to May.

“Okay, so... now we know that your next capture should probably be a dark type,” I joked, trying to ease the tension a bit.

May’s glare could’ve melted steel.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Don’t be, I...” May stopped herself. “Samie has Bite. That’ll help.”

“Go underground when the fighting starts. You’re going to need time and your Samie’s way faster when he digs.” May looked queasy.

‘LET! ME! FIGHT!’ Apollo screamed the words so loud that I almost collapsed as a headache spread out through my skull. I glared at Emilie.

‘Hey, if I had to hear it, you had to hear it,’ Emilie said, rubbing her head.

‘I understand your concern, captain. I appreciate it, truly, but we both know if the lass sends any of her team against those craven scallywags, you’ll be keelhauled without putting up a fight,’ Apollo said, his voice deadly serious as he glared up into my eyes. ‘Not any fault of hers, mind. Those things just... counter her whole team. Joern and I are your best bets, captain. We both know it.’

‘Yo u saw what those things did to Swellow, right?’ I asked.

Apollo gave me a cocky grin. ‘She wasn’t an ace flier.’

I groaned at the pun.

She might be faster than me, but I have tools she didn’t.’ Apollo’s gaze turned pleading. ‘Please, captain. Let me fight.’

I sighed, nodded once, and turned towards May.

“May, you’re going to-”

“I agree,” May said, stopping me as she looked up from Sergei. “Solrock and Lunatone hard counter every mon on my team.”

“Every Pokémon you have kicks all kinds of ass, just...” I trailed off.

“Not here,” May exhaled. “What’s the plan?”

“As much as I trust you to command Apollo to the best of your ability, I don’t trust ANYONE but me to direct him through this. You’ll be taking Joern...”

***

I stared out across the field at the soulless husks the space rocks were puppeteering. It honestly shocked me that they weren’t getting flagged by the other psychics in the area. The cosmic Pokémon were floating just in front of them. I turned to give May a reassuring nod as she cupped a Poke Ball. We had in fact rolled the water arena again. That made this easier.

“Round two of the Couple’s Doubles Battle Royale.” Huh, our ref seemed a lot more energetic this time. “You’re both aware of the rules.” I think we nodded about as stiffly as our opponents. The ref raised both flags. “Alright then, at the ready...” I cupped Apollo’s ball tightly, second guessing everything I had planned. I would never forgive myself if this went south. “Begin.”

Only two flashes of light enveloped the arena. Solrock and Lunatone simply teleported. The light from my Poke Ball faded, and Apollo shouted his presence to the skies as he immediately gained altitude. This plan was so colossally stupid, but it was our best bet.

‘I won’t let you down, Cap. These black flags won’t know what hit him,’ Apollo shouted.

“Stay on your toes,” I shouted worriedly.

Joern stood atop the pillars. He briefly gazed back towards May before staring angrily at the Space stones.

“You’re with me today, Joern. My roster was... ill-equipped to deal with this,” May explained bitterly.

“Cosmic power.” I heard two different voices call out.

“Rain Dance,” May shouted needlessly. Joern was already moving as the words left her lips.

“Pelt them. Rapid fire Water Gun,” I called out.

Small clouds slowly began to form from within the barrier, and water slowly started to fall as Apollo let his first shot fly. I needed him to harass the space stones, and the stream of water came out with more force than I had ever seen.

It stopped in midair, a foot away from Solrock.

“Ancient Power.”

“Psychic.”

My blood ran cold at the familiar combo. The stones formed and rose high into the sky. I had to time this right.

“Leech seed. While they’re distracted.” Good, May’s setting up shop. A single small, black spot hovered in midair. No dice on the Leech Seed.

The stones were closing in as Apollo ascended higher and higher, leading them towards the roof of the barrier.

“Aerial ace to dodge,” I ordered at the last possible second. I heard the familiar buzz just before the stones crashed together, and Apollo dive bombed the Lunatone. “Water Gun, point blank.”

‘Catch this.’ The attack impacted Lunatone and sent it careening back a solid foot from the force. I briefly celebrated before a faint blue glow enveloped Apollo and sent him sailing backwards. I sighed as he corrected himself a split second later. ‘You’re an embarrassment to your type, you bilge ridden swine! Emilie hits twice as hard and is half your age.’ Four jagged stone spikes surged out form the deep and Apollo barely swerved to the left as he rapidly gained altitude again. I grinned as vines started to sprout from Solrock. Joern had been busy in all the chaos.

“Water Pulse. Let’s give Apollo some breathing room, Joern,” May ordered.

Joern raised both of his hands together in a hammer fist and slammed them into the rising pool. The wave exploded towards our opponents, and I felt a psychic pulse push out from the astral Pokémon. Joern’s attack crashed into an invisible wall.

“Light Screen.”

“Barrier.”

The command felt like an afterthought, and for the first time, I questioned why they were giving commands at all. Solrock and Lunatone didn’t need instructing. They were the ones in the command chair, so why...

Oh.

I smiled. The space stones didn’t need the orders, but the people facing down the space stones still got a heads up. I hoped that’s what it was, at least. If the trainers were trying to break out, that would split the opposing psychic types focus even more.

“Apollo, keep up the pressure, I didn’t tell you to stop firing,” I shouted.

“Help him out, Joern.” May commanded. Several high pressure shots were launched from both Pokémon's mouths. They weren’t as fast as Apollo’s initial volley, but that was fine.

We wanted quantity over quality, after all.

More and more water attacks stopped in midair and fell harmlessly into the lake, the few that made it through splashed harmlessly against a faint yellow barrier, but it didn’t matter. Just a bit more and...

There it was. Eight stones rose from the depths of the deepening pool.

“Ancient Power.”

“Psychic.”

Plenty of advanced notice, and they were going for Apollo again.

“Again, Joern.” May shouted. A third seed was launched, this time towards Lunatone.

“Aerial Ace, bank away this time.” I ordered. The last thing we needed was for Apollo to get caught in a psychic field.

The boulders once again closed in on nothing before falling back into the rising pool. Apollo dived down and away, before slipping under the tides completely. I smirked.

Both of our opponents were seeded.

Joern swam through the water away from the stones as fire erupted from Solrock.

Yeah, good luck with that in this, buddy.

I cursed as the vines assorting his body fell into the rising tide as ash. A single ray of light started to peek through the cloud cover. Like hell was this rain stopping.

“Apollo, surface and refresh the rain. Don’t let it stop falling,” I ordered.

“Water Pulse, Joern. Don’t let them go on the offensive.”

Joern brought his hands together and a massive wave surged towards Solrock and Lunatone. The swell surged into a pair of barriers as Apollo beat his wings into the torrential downpour. Rain clouds turned angry and violent as the cascade picked up the pace. The tide finally ebbed, and the space stones glared across the field at Joern, both drenched with water. I couldn’t tell if some of the attack beat through the barrier or if the rain was doing its job, but at the end of the day, regardless of how it broke down, they did not look pleased.

Lunatone’s eyes glowed and the water started to rotate. The pool sunk in a bit as it shifted to resemble the current of a massive washing machine from the quickie mart. Joern was being pulled with the current on the surface, and pillars of stone were starting to rise from the deep as Solrock’s eyes glowed blue.

“Swim with the current, Joern. Dive down and show them how good of a swimmer you are.” May ordered.

I bit my lip. Was Joern a good swimmer? He was a water type, so it was kind of assumed, but I hadn’t really ever...

Holy shit that’s fast! Joern darted around the pool so quickly I was having trouble keeping up with my eyes. Stone spikes kept popping up in Joern’s line of sight, and he’d dexterously move around all of them.

‘Shouldn’t you be doing something?’ Emilie yelled in my mind, sounding incredibly strained.

“Fuck, sorry. Apollo. Pelt them with Water Gun while they’re focused on the pool. Hit them hard.” I ordered.

‘Aye, Captain.’ The shots looked like normal streams at first, but quickly grew under the rain as they sailed across the field. They exploded on contact, sending both of the space stones back in a daze as the attack fell into pool above.

“Water Pulse again, they have nowhere to go!” May ordered.

“Apollo, covering fire.”

More water. Just keep it flowing. Joern surfaced and shoved his hand forward, and a single, ball of water fused with the pool below and created the biggest wave I had ever seen. The cascade scraped the top of the psychic barrier as Solrock and Lunatone once again rose up a barrier between them and the attack. The walls were half submerged as the rocks were quickly running out of air and cracked against the massive attack. A few water bombs launched from Apollo’s beak pushed through the cracking barriers and slammed into the space rocks. They visibly recoiled but held strong as they floated above the pool.

I noticed their eyes widen as their heads scraped the top of the psychic barrier around the arena.

“Dive,” Both May and I shouted.

I don’t know if they had a choice at this point, honestly. Solrock and Lunatone were in the clouds, practically pressing themselves against the ceiling of the arena, and were still half submerged in the rising waters. The pool slowly started to swallow the clouds themselves, and I grinned as I took in my creation.

Our own personal aquarium. Held in place by the ships own psychic types.

“Water Gun,” May and I shouted in unison. We had to finish filling our fish tank, after all. With one last act of defiance, a set of eight rocks rose underwater.

They were glacially slow and pathetically easy to avoid. The rain clouds slowly dissipated into the water as the last of the space was filled. Solrock and Lunatone were now submerged, floating helplessly.

I idly wondered if they needed to breathe. Joern and Apollo were both fine underwater. Their bodies had adapted thanks to their types, but did space rocks need air to live?

It wouldn’t matter. What was about to happen was completely unavoidable and hopefully game ending.

“Water Pulse.” May shouted with her hands around her mouth.

Joern raised his hands in response, and the shift in pressure was visible from down here as the attack was launched upwards. It slammed into both sun and moon alike, and I gaped a bit as the top of the arena cracked at the impact. That wasn’t supposed to be possible! Both of the stones slowly started to sink.

A pair of red lines shot out from the other side and pulled both rocks into a pair of purple and white balls. I noticed both trainers collapse against each other as they both fiddled with them. I assumed they locked them.

“Jessica and Atticus have withdrawn their Pokémon, May and Lea are the winners.”

“Thank fuck.” I exhaled before pulling May into a bear hug. “I think you’re better at commanding Joern than I am.”

“Lea, that whole mess was your plan from start to finish,” May said, doing her best not to laugh. “It’s easy to give orders when things go that smoothly.”

‘Would you two calm down. I have a massive headache.’ Emilie grouched. ‘Those ass hats tried to rip your minds to shreds before they got tagged, it took everything I had to keep them out.’

That was sobering. Fuck, we needed to talk to our opponents.

“What on earth have you done to my ship!” And the captain. We also needed to talk to the captain, who looked very upset.

Chapter 20

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

I stared on in oblique sadness as a team of five Kadabra worked together to funnel my masterpiece of strategy out into the ocean.

“It’s not fair...” I muttered.

Emilie shot me an exasperated look. ‘ Did you expect them to build glass around it?’

I glared at her. ‘It would have been nice. They could’ve just turned it into an aquarium or something. It would’ve looked sick as hell.’

‘I genuinely can’t tell if you’re a genius or a dumb ass. You come up with strategies like... that.’ Emilie waved her hand to the draining structure. ‘And then you come up with stupid ideas like this.’

‘That’s very hurtful,’ I said back in a faux insulted tone. ‘See if I get you dessert tonight.’

“Is your girlfriend always like this?”

I blushed a bit before turning and glaring at Atticus. Both he and his girlfriend were huddled next to each other on a bench, cupping a cup of hot tea.

“Yeah,” May agreed in a long-suffering tone of voice. “I’ve gotten used to it though.”

“You’re all being mean to me.” I sniffled before adopting a more serious look. “How are you two holding up?”

“I...” Jessica started but looked away. “Not well, honestly.”

Atticus pulled her closer.

“We’ll get through this, babe.” He muttered into her hair. “Words cannot begin to describe how grateful we are. We ordered those two through a breeder service out of Lillycove.” He shook his head. “The balls were locked when I got them. I thought it was strange, at first. I should’ve realized.” Atticus trailed off, his eyes losing focus. He shook his head before continuing. “As soon as I undid the lock, Solrock popped out.” Atticus shivered before taking a sip of tea. “Next thing I know, there’s this voice in my head. It sounded like me, but... I knew it wasn’t. It put thoughts in my head that weren’t mine...” Atticus trailed off and looked down into his cup.

Jessica hugged him close this time.

“You don’t have to explain,” May said consolingly. “I can’t imagine going through what you went through. I know it’ll be hard, but... You pushed through it.”

Jessica nodded slowly, but Atticus just continued to stare down into his cup.

‘Do you know if those ass holes did anything to them on their way out?’ I asked Emilie.

She shook her head. ‘I didn’t notice. Doesn’t matter too much, though. THEY don’t even know how long they were being controlled. So many things could have been done to their minds in that time.’ Emilie shuddered. ‘I’m honestly trying to stay OUT of their heads. It’s almost as hard as staying out of yours.’

I winced. ‘Well, that’s not good.’

Emilie nodded her agreement. Who the fuck sends...

“You remember the name of the breeder?” I asked.

“Aquatic Autonomy,” Atticus replied.

What kind of name for a breeding company was that?

“I’m going to have my parents open a case against them,” Jessica said, her eyes more focused than I had seen them all day. “No way in hell those... monsters were cleared by any kind of metric.” She shivered. “We remembered all the things they had us do. It was like...”

“Like watching your own body move on autopilot,” Atticus finished. “Is... is that Swellow okay?” Atticus was looking down at his own hands.

I felt shame radiating off him in waves.

“He’s going to make a full recovery,” May offered reassuringly.

“I... good. That’s good,” Atticus said, his voice sounding shaky.

“Just to confirm, you’ve locked their Poke Balls, right?” I asked, slightly nervous those things might come out and play again.

“Locked, sealed, and fucking gone.” Atticus snarled. “I handed them off to the captain while you were lamenting your ‘Masterpiece’. I hope I never have to see them again.”

I opened my mouth to ask another question but thought better of it. I doubted they knew much of anything, but it was bugging me.

Why did those stones come on the cruise? Why did they enslave you? Why did they enter the tournament?

I doubted I’d ever get answers to these questions, but there was one question I needed an answer to.

‘I can answer this one,’ Emilie offered.

‘Why didn’t anyone else notice?’ I asked, annoyed beyond all belief. ‘Didn’t any friends notice a change? Fuck, there are FIVE Kadabras behind me right now. How did none of them notice anything?’

‘The change in behavior I can’t answer without looking deeper into their heads,’ Emilie said.

I shook my head.

‘I agree, I'm not doing that right now, but as for the other psychics on the ship, what Solrock and Lunatone did was very hard to trace. I realized that as you fought. If you aren’t looking for it, it wouldn’t look any different from what you and I are doing right now,’ Emilie explained.

‘But you saw it,’ I argued.

‘Like I said, if you aren’t looking for it,’ Emilie explained grimly. ‘I’m always looking for it. For any stray probe that’s less than friendly. Every second of every day.’ Emilie looked down and rested her arm around my head. ‘I take my role of protecting this.’ She shook my head a bit. ‘VERY seriously.’

‘...thanks.’ I didn’t know what else to say.

“Lea? Lea?!” May shouted.

“Wuzzat? Oh, right. Sorry,” I muttered.

May groaned. Both Jessica and Atticus looked at me with varying degrees of fear.

“Don’t mind me guys, Emilie and I were having a conversation about a few things, nothing to worry about,” I said.

“You’re okay with her being in your head?” Jessica asked.

I did my best to not feel insulted on Emilie’s behalf.

“I trust Emilie with my life,” I said simply.

Emilie, Atticus, and Jessica leaned back in shock.

“If it makes you feel better, I know a bit of what you’re going through. My incident wasn’t as bad as you guys, not even close, but it was still pretty rough.” They didn’t move to stop me, so I continued. “When I first left home with May, I made the rather colossal mistake of grabbing Emilie while she was teleporting home.” I shook my head. “Emilie passed out from the strain once we made it, and I had the pleasure of dealing with a very pissed off Gardevoir, that thought I had hurt her baby.”

‘I am not a baby.’ Emilie huffed. ‘I do think it’s nice that you’re talking about this more, though.’

“She ripped my mind to shreds,” I explained. “It was the single most painful experience I've ever gone through. I honestly thought I was going to die in that clearing, when suddenly, it all stopped.” I looked toward Emilie. “Gardevoir saw that I hadn’t done anything to Emilie and proceeded to apologize.”

“An apology isn’t enough,” Jessica said.

Atticus nodded.

“You’re right...” I sighed. “She also put my brain back together,” I explained, before looking down. “As well as she could, anyway. I need Emilie’s help to make sure the lights stay on.”

May elbowed me in the ribs. Hard.

“Don’t joke about that,” May ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” I nodded.

‘Whipped,’ Emilie commented.

“So, what happened next?” Jessica asked.

“Well, Emilie woke up, and proceeded to throw up on my shoes.” Emilie grabbed my collar and started shaking.

‘You promised you wouldn’t tell people about that. You’re a lying liar, that lies!’ Emilie shouted.

‘Consider this payback for the whipped comment,’ I replied. ‘Besides, look.’

Jessica was giggling.

‘...Fine.’ Emilie huffed before crossing her arms and looking away from me.

“We then proceeded to power wash my shoes in the nearby stream. Gardevoir wanted to kick me to the curb. To send me out into the wild blue with a fractured mind and no way to defend myself. Emilie stepped in.” I put my hand on her head and ruffled her frills. “She stood up to Mama Gardevoir and said that she was going with me. She’s the reason I'm even standing here right now, having a conversation like a functional human being.” I might have been playing it up just a bit, but I felt like trying to downplay my troubles would be bad for the point I was trying to make. “She’s also seen anything and everything in this little noggin of mine, and still thinks I'm awesome to be around.”

Emilie was the same color as May’s overshirt.

‘Would you please stop saying such embarrassing things!’ Emilie begged.

“Don’t let a couple of rotten eggs sour the type for you. Psychic types are as amazing as they are terrifying, and I encourage you to let them help you.” I ended on. “Maybe one of the Kadabra can help get your noggins on straight. I don’t know what all they did to you, but...” I trailed off. “It was a lot. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Jessica froze for a bit before nodding.

“...We’ll keep it in mind.” Atticus offered weakly before looking down at his cup. He stayed quiet for a few minutes. “...The second Solrock formed, my thoughts were a jumbled mess.” Atticus started talking with a firm voice and a determined look in his eyes. “I wanted to spend time with Solrock, despite knowing it was doing things to me. I didn’t want to recall him. I didn’t want to go out. It... encouraged me to think of it as the most important being in my life. Like my world revolved around him.” Atticus shook his head. “I don’t know how long I spent in my bedroom back home. He kept trying to get me to open Lunatone’s Poke Ball. I was somehow able to resist.”

Wait, why couldn’t he open it himself?

“It was at least a day,” Jessica said. “You sent me a text, saying you got the Pokémon from the breeder. I wanted to come over right away, but family stuff got in the way.” Jessica looked away. “It didn’t... sound like something you would write though.”

Atticus nodded.

“The Solrock knew who you were to me. I was so tired when I sent that text.” Atticus looked down.

“Sounds like you resisted for quite some time,” I commented.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Atticus said, his voice bitter.

“Do you know why Solrock couldn’t open the ball himself?” I asked.

Atticus chuckled. “I think the Poke Balls were specially made. They were solid black in color. That really should have tipped me off. I’m assuming they were infused with Darkness,” Atticus explained.

‘Void Balls,’ Emilie said with a hiss. ‘Those things may as well be a prison for my type.’

“The second Jessica opened my bedroom door, the world had clarity again, for one single, terrifying moment.” Atticus looked away as he began his story again.

“Solrock attacked m-me,” Jessica stammered out. “I was levitated into the air, and I could barely breathe.”

“He gave me an ultimatum. Open the second Poke Ball, or watch Jessica suffocate and we start over.” Atticus glared out across the ocean. “Once Lunatone was released, any token resistance I was able to put up died. I was all too happy to listen to their every request.” Atticus stared at Jessica for a long while. “I’m so sorry you got pulled into this.”

“You didn’t do anything,” Jessica said, giving Atticus a bitter smile. “I think they were taking shortcuts to get us to do what they wanted. We were already going to go on this cruise, so they didn’t have to try that hard to get us here. They were content to have us sit in our room for the voyage.”

‘That makes sense,’ Emilie said. ‘Solrock and Lunatone usually don’t have enough strength to completely control someone.’

“How the hell did you manage to get into the competition?” May asked.

Jessica turned to Atticus and smiled.

“Atticus had preregistered at some point,” Jessica said. “An attendant came knocking on our door this morning. They thought it would look suspicious if we didn’t come out and fight... so...”

“You were able to escape your room and we could beat the crap out of them.” I finished for her.

Atticus nodded.

“I’m glad,” he said quietly. “Again, thank you. Both of you. For more than you know.”

Jessica nodded, before grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.

“I think we’re going to be living in the dining room for a bit. It’s... been a while since I got to eat real food,” Jessica said.

I nodded as they turned and walked towards the double doors going down.

May grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a hug.

“Sorry, just... making sure you’re still here,” May explained. She wasn’t letting go.

“Where else would I be?” I laughed.

“Shut up and let me hug you,” May ordered.

“Yes Ma’am.” A whip crack sounded off in my mind. ‘No cookies for the next two days and get some new material. This bit is getting moldy.’

‘I’m sorry! I’ll be good!’ Emilie groveled. I sighed before looking back at May.

“I’m glad they opened up.” I said, looking at the doors. “That’s probably the best lesson I’ve learned on this trip. You don’t have to deal with your crap alone.” I turned and gave Emilie a smile. “I understand it was kind of a forced lesson but thank you for helping me see that.”

“W-WAAuucome.” Emilie glared at open air before turning back to me with a determined look in her eye. “Welcome!”

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, round three will be underway soon.” The announcement pulled us out of our musings, and I turned towards the bullhorn. “We apologize for that brief intermission. The pairings for the four remaining couples will be posted in about ten minutes while our Kadabra take a much-needed break.” May nudged me as she handed me... two poke balls?

“I figured it’s only fair. You got to show off your Pokémon last round, so I should get to show mine off this round.” May smirked. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble figuring out what to do with her.”

“Wait, this is...” I trailed off.

May nodded.

I tackled her in a bear hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU! This is going to be so much fun!”

***

“Alright, Round Three of the Couple’s Doubles tournament, now with a new rule, no flooding the field.” The ref sent a glare our way. Honestly, having a new rule made just for us made me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside. I bounced up and down on my heels as I cradled Suzy’s Poke Ball. “May and Lea will be facing off against Wayne and Jasmine.” Wait, what? We were fighting them already?

‘You were so excited at the chance to fight with the fire bird that you didn’t notice,’ Emilie needled. I felt a twinge of sadness pulse through our link. ‘Enjoy the damn fight and be happy you got a more normal field this time. I’m just a bit sad I won’t be able to fight them now. I’m sure I'll get another chance.’

‘If you’re sure...’ I hedged.

Emilie nodded.

“Two.” Oh shit, uh right. I really hope no one else said anything important. I looked out across the plain, dirt field and smiled. Plenty of room for Suzy to run around on.

“Three.” I hit the release button on the ball and smiled a massive ear to ear grin as Suzaku roared onto the stage in a blaze of glory. May sent out Leshy, and on the other side...

A Skarmory spread his wings wide as he formed, and a Clefairy hopped from one foot to the other.

“Aww man, I wanted to face off against Emilie,” Wayne complained.

“Sorry, we used two of mine last time, so May wanted to let her Pokémon have some fun.” I shouted back. “Nice to see that the ‘Scariest thing I saw was a Skarmory’ line was just you singing your own praises.”

“Thanks! I was a bit proud of that-”

“Are we going to fight or not?” Jasmine and May both interrupted.

“Yes ma’am.” Wayne and I responded.

“Good, Seed the stupid bird,” May ordered.

Leshy launched a single seed from his bulb.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that. Gust into a takeoff,” Wayne ordered.

Skarmory beat his metallic wings against the ground and a small wind pocket almost seemed to explode in midair as he took flight. The seed was beat away as he gained altitude.

“Well, at any rate, you’re with me for this fight Suzy. Flame charge the Skarmory, don’t let it get off the ground for free.” Suzy was already moving before I finished the command. So fast...

“Thunder Wave the fire chicken.” I heard Jasmine call out. Fuck.

“Abort! Make some distance,” I shouted.

The electric pulse hummed in the air for a split second as Suzy jumped back. Well, this was going to suck.

“I’ll play with the plushy, Lea, you deal with the stupid bird. Close the distance with Vine Whip,” May ordered. Bulbasaur reached out and slung himself right towards Clefairy.

“Skarmory, get in her face and Wing Attack,” Wayne ordered.

“Flame Charge,” I ordered again.

Suzy shot me a look before igniting her feathers and rushing the flying type. Great, May’s starter was judging me.

‘Fuck her, she wouldn’t know good strategy if it bit her in the ass,’ Emilie commented. ‘Muscle brained moron.’

‘Oi, don’t-’

“Thunder Wave again, Clefairy,” Jasmine yelled.

“Don’t pull back this time, I’ve got it!” May shouted.

The resulting brawl looked like pure, undiluted chaos. Skarmory met Suzy’s Flame Charge head on, and the area around them exploded in fire and heat as Suzy’s flames interacted with Skarmory’s wind. The explosion knocked Clefairy back, and Leshy, seemingly not caring about the fire, slammed into the Fairy.

“Stun spore, now.” May shouted with a smile. Leshy never got the chance as Skarmory emerged from the inferno first, slightly singed, but looking mostly unbothered. He slammed into Leshy and knocked it back, forcing yellow powder from his bulb that coated the metallic bird. His wings visibly browned.

Bulbasaur was sent careening back towards May and rolled a few times before stopping on his back.

“Bulba Saur.” He sounded dizzy as he rolled a bit before landing on his feet and launched a Razor Leaf in almost every direction.

“Wait, Leshy don’t-”

“Ember at the oncoming leaves, make it a firestorm!” I shouted over May as the last of the inferno around Suzy died down.

I had hoped the leaves would push through the fire and we’d have a sick looking combo attack.

What we got was a few embers hitting a few leaves and exploding in midair. It was still probably better than Suzy getting tagged. Skarmory dragged its body to stand in front of the Clefairy, and the leaves bounced harmlessly off his slightly rusted wings.

At least the damn bird was paralyzed.

“Flame Charge,” I ordered, hoping to tag the bird while he was stationary.

“Iron Defense, I don’t care if she’s on fire, no one’s beating your defenses,” Wayne called out.

Skarmory glowed bright silver as the Suzy ran, head first, into a brick wall. Fire exploded outward on impact, and Skarmory barely flinched as Suzy was knocked backwards. “Now Air Cutter. Clear the air and bring the pain!”

Skarmory froze.

“Dammit!”

“Dig!” I shouted. I needed time to think, and I really needed to give Suzy a chance to breathe.

“Aromatherapy,” Jasmine said.

Clefairy lifted both of her arms and a pulse of green light filled the air. Skarmory’s wings regained their natural shade of grey.

“Follow up with Wish.” Jasmine really wasn’t that... talkative, during fights, was she?

“Razor Leaf the damn plushy, I’m already tired of dealing with her,” May growled.

“Run interference again, Skarmory. Some leaves aren’t even going to leave a scratch.” The leaves bounced off Skarmory’s now pristine looking wings as a solitary star floated up into the air.

“You two are really annoying to fight against, you know that right?” May shouted.

“Defense is king, hon. Ain't no one toppling our walls.” Wayne bragged. “But hey, if you wa-”

“Come up under Clefairy now! Hit her with your strongest Flame Charge!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The earth underneath Clefairy became molten as fiery death erupted from beneath the ground. Suzaku slammed into Clefairy and launched her high into the air. “Now jump and punt that pink puff ball into the ground!”

“Stop her, Skarmory!” Wayne shouted, panicked for the first time in the fight.

“Vine Whip to hold Skarmory back, Leshy. Ingrain to ground yourself!” May yelled.

“Com!” The entire sequence played out in slow motion as the orders were carried out. Suzy leapt into the air after Clefairy as soon as the words left my lips. Skarmory beat his wings against the ground, kicking up dirt and gravel as Leshy’s vines cracked across the sky and wrapped around Skarmory’s wings. Leshy was almost pulled forward before he could fully set up Ingrain. Skarmory watched on, helpless, as Suzy loomed over his partner.

“Busken!” Suzy let lose a powerful war cry as she spun in midair and slammed her foot into Clefairy’s back, sending her hurtling towards the field with the force of a meteor. A loud crack filled the arena as the ground cratered beneath her. Clefairy laid, unmoving and slightly singed, in a small pit of cracked earth.

“Clef-”

“Turn around and slam into that Bulbasaur, Skarmory! If he wants to hang out so bad, give him your best Wing Attack!” Wayne roared over the ref, sounding more pissed off than I had ever seen him before.

Skarmory complied, and hurtled across the field, being helped along by Leshy’s own vines. His wings glowed a faint white before slamming into Leshy, hard. Leshy was pulled out of the ground, the vines from ingrain tearing as Skarmory beat his wings forward, sending him flying across the field and slamming him into the barrier with a resounding thud. Leshy slowly slid down the psychic wall before landing on the ground in a single, collapsed, heap of bruised grass type.

He didn’t move to get back up.

“CLEFAIRY AND BULBASAUR ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE!” The ref shouted, glaring murderously at Wayne, who glanced back at him with a shaky chuckle. “Will both trainers please recall their Pokémon?”

Jasmine already had her Poke Ball out, as she recalled her Pokémon. She glared venomously at Wayne, who was looking anywhere but at her.

“Keep your head in the game and don’t get distracted again. You can trash talk after you win,” Jasmine said. Damn, what the hell? You could at least be a little encouraging. I don’t think I’d ever talk to May that way.

“Oy, I handled half of the problem. Give me a second to deal with the other half!” Wayne said back as May recalled Leshy.

“Kick his ass, Lea,” May said. “Just don’t get overconfident.”

“The Skarmory is already half dead, how hard can this be?” And just to spite me, an ethereal star phased into Skarmory and light bloomed from him. His wounds healed, his burns faded, and his coat regained its lustrous shine.

Fuck. That Clefairy used Wish. I forgot about that.

“I’m making you watch the video explaining Murphy’s Law after this. I didn’t think that was necessary, but-”

“Air Cutter! Rapid fire and put some distance between you and that damn chicken,” Wayne shouted, cutting off May’s bullying.

Skarmory’s launched itself up, each beat of his wings carving a blade of wind into the air that soared across the battlefield as he gained altitude.

“Dodge and keep moving. Build up as much speed as you can.” I ordered as I wracked my brain for a way to get in close. “Rapid fire Ember as you move. Make Skarmory’s air space a bit more hazardous.”

Suzy blitzed left as the wind scythes carved through the ground she just stood on, launching orbs of fire from her mouth as she sprinted forward to stay ahead of the subsequent blades.

I realized my mistake as soon as one of the blades dug into an Ember. The air exploded, sending Suzy flying backwards from the force as the wind seemed to come to life in a symphony of explosions, the first one causing a mini chain reaction with the other Embers in the air. Skarmory took his chance, and beat his wings against the roaring inferno, fanning the flames to our side as the conflagration engulfed Suzy.

“Suzy!” I shouted. “If you can hear me, push out with Flame Charge. Get out of there!”

I could barely see anything in front of me through the fire, but I could just barely make out the form of Suzy, kneeling down in the roaring blaze. Fire engulfed her body, though I couldn’t tell if she was the one causing it or if she had just... gotten set on fire. Regardless, her form pushed through the roaring flames as she jumped up towards Skarmory.

“Counter with Air Slash while she’s airborne!” Wayne yelled.

Air what!?

Both of Skarmory’s wings glowed silver as she sunk down below Suzy, and he flew downwards as he beat them upwards. A massive blade of compressed air was shot straight up, directly into Suzy. Once again, the air around her exploded as the attack rebelled against Suzy’s fire. The force of this explosion silenced the field as the air beat the earlier inferno into the ground, it’s blaze being reduced to smoldering embers as a blinding orange light shot Suzy upwards, and I winced as I noticed the damage. A single large gash ran up and down Suzy’s chest, and her eyes were white.

She was already out cold.

I had lifted up Suzy’s Poke Ball before she could even start falling back down to earth, and a single red line pulled her away from the battlefield. My heart was pounding in my chest as I sprinted away from the field, eager to get May’s Pokémon looked at.

“Lea has recall...” The ref faded out as I got more distance away from the battlefield. I knew we lost. I didn’t need to hear about it!

‘Lea!’ Emilie shouted in my head. ‘ Calm down, would you? The stupid fire chicken is fine!’

I slowed down to a normal walk as I hit the bottom of the steps that led further into the ship.

‘Are you sure?’ I asked, shaking. ‘ Cause that cut looked bad.’

‘For a human, sure. For a Pokémon? A fighting type, even?’ Emilie laughed. ‘Tiss but a flesh wound.’ I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at the reference. Emilie frowned. ‘We’re made of stronger stuff. It’ll take way more than that to take that blowhard down for good. Have a little faith in your best friend’s starter.’ My heart started to slow down a bit and I nodded once.

‘We’re still hitting up the infirmary, effective immediately.’

Emilie nodded.

‘Of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I am however saying that you should wait for May to catch up,’ Emilie said with a smile. ‘I’m sure feather head will appreciate your concern, though. She could stand losing a bit more often, honestly. Might humble her a bit.’

‘You are the last person that should say that,’ I said. Emilie shot me an amused look. ‘Pokémon, whatever, you know what I meant.’

‘I’ll take your confusion as the highest of praise,’ Emilie said.

“Lea!” May shouted as she ran up to me from behind. “When the hell were you able to run that fast?” Every other word was interrupted with a pant, and May was leaning up against the wall.

“I’m so sor-”

“Don’t,” May said once before gasping for more air. “Sorry, just... give me a second.” May leaned against the molding for a moment before standing up to full height and giving me a glare.

I shrunk back a bit.

“We lost.”

“I’m-”

“And that’s fine.” May cut me off again. “It was a great fight; we both did our best,” May said with a smile. “Stop trying to apologize every time something goes wrong, okay?” May grabbed my hand and squeezed. “And don’t worry about Suzy. A quick trip to the infirmary and she’ll be right as rain before you know it.” May looked away.

I let out a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding and sagged down a bit.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “Emilie said the same thing before you got here.” I pulled up Suzy’s ball. “This belongs to you, though. Thank you, even though we lost, that was a blast.”

May grabbed the ball.

“That said, I think I’ll stick with my crew from now on. The fantasy... didn’t quite hold up to reality.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fuck, go back. May sounded mad now.

“I’m just used to my squad okay,” I said. “My fights are usually more... aquatic. I’m not used to the explosions.”

May glared. I wilted a bit before she cracked and started laughing.

“Let’s just hit up the infirmary,” May said.

I nodded.

***

Dinner with Wayne and Jasmine should have been an enjoyable affair. The food was still every bit as amazing as it had been the last few days. The ambiance was great. The music was nice. Hell, I was even starting to like hanging out with them. It was all perfect save for one thing.

I did not like the smug look on Wayne’s face.

“Told you Skarmory was the scariest thing on this ship,” he bragged, a trophy under his arm.

‘You’re a dick.’ I pushed his way. I smirked as the color drained from his face.

“Please don’t liquify my brains, I’ll be a good boy, I promise,” Wayne said, sounding genuinely terrified.

I laughed.

“Okay, good. He can be trained,” I said.

Jasmine glowered at my comment.

“Don’t try to train my boyfriend. That’s my job,” she said, before tossing a glare Wayne’s way. “I’m still mad at you for earlier, by the way. Clefairy would have been fine if you focused on the match.”

Wayne glared back. “Oi, I like having fun in my battles on occasion. Not everyone can turn into a robot when they fight.” Wayne clapped back.

Now Jasmine looked pissed.

“Well, maybe-”

“You still won, so stop the arguing!” May shouted over both of them. “Be happy and gloat, it’s what we’re here for.”

“Well, as happy as I am that we got the trophy, I’m still mad. I wanted a fight against Emilie.” Wayne turned to me and glared. “I can’t even use the footage from that fight for the channel.” Why n- Oh. Right. Couples’ Doubles tournament against a pair of ‘Closeted Girlfriends.’ Yeah, that video would not go well for us.

“Well, how about a rematch?” May offered. “We can do it once we hit Dewford. You get to fight Emilie, Suzy can get redemption by beating you, and you can even post it because we’ll be on dry land. Win-win-win.” May shot a predatory grin Jasmine’s way. “I have more than a few ideas too.”

Jasmine scoffed.

“Wait, speaking of... Sergei!” I shouted. The possessed phone phased through May’s pocket and levitated towards me.

“Yes?” Sergei messaged.

“First things first, did you record those fights?” I asked. Sergei nodded yes. “Good, I can rewatch the fight against Solrock and Lunatone. Do not, under any circumstances, put them anywhere close to Poketube. I don’t care how strong your case is, I will find a way to break it.” Sergei shrunk away from my glare before nodding.

"Lea, stop being mean to my phone,” May said.

“Yes, May,” I replied.

Wayne made a crack sound in time with Emilie, and I turned my glare towards him.

‘You want to say that again.’ I pushed out to him. This really was getting easier.

“Shutting up now.” Good boy.

***

A loud foghorn drowned out the rest of the world as I giddily bounced in place. The Dewford Pier was massive, open, and packed. I counted no less than twenty small boats from here all the way down to the beach at the end of the marina. We were in a luxury liner big enough to host a Pokémon tournament on, and we had a clear route to berth without bumping into anyone.

May walked behind me at a snail’s pace. I don’t know how she wasn’t geeking out about this. I fully expected a monologue on the history of this marina, and the silence was annoying me.

“Come on, hurry up. I want to explore the island,” I whined.

May laughed. “Lea, it’s nighttime, we aren’t exploring jack tonight.” May brushed a few stray hairs from her face before looking out over the railing. “I can’t wait to hit the beach, though. We have to dedicate at least a day to beach activities.”

“Duh. We’re in a tropical paradise, of course we’re hitting the beach. Just don’t forget that we also have to TRAIN for the gym battle.” We really needed it, too. Outside of the tournament, we hadn’t gotten any serious training in. “This isn’t a vacation.”

“I know, I know. We also have to deliver a letter. Let a girl enjoy herself. The trip from Dewford to Slateport isn’t going to be anywhere near as lovely as the trip here, so I'm not in any rush to deal with Brawly. We can pace ourselves a little bit here,” May argued.

I sighed before nodding.

“I’m still sad the tickets only took us to Dewford. It was nice not having you dig through my backpack for goodies,” I said, glaring.

May blushed before looking away and whistling.

“Where does Sergei say the closest Pokémon Center is?” I asked.

May grabbed her phone and pulled up the nav function. “Huh, only two centers. I figured it’d be more.” May shrugged.

“I mean, Dewford is nowhere near as big as Rustboro,” I argued.

“You can’t escape, stop trying to sneak off the boat without us.” I heard behind me, groaning at the impromptu challenge. “I want my rematch.”

“Normally people are only this excited for a rematch if they lost the previous round. You can wait a day, at the least, good lord,” I complained.

“First one didn’t count,” Wayne said.

“You sound like Lea after her ‘Gym Battle,’” May explained. “Where’s Jasmine?”

Wayne sighed.

“Still in our room packing. She threw me out.” He looked away. “She doesn’t like how I pack,” he complained.

“Let me guess, you just throw a big wad of stuff into a suitcase and sit on it till it closes?” I asked. Wayne stared at me in abject fear.

“Stay out of my head, witch.” Rude.

“May does the same thing. I fucking hate it,” I complained.

May sniffed. “It gets the job done.”

No. No, it doesn’t.

“I had to repack your bag this morning because you couldn’t zip the damn thing,” I complained.

“Me being so bad at something that it makes you do it for me qualifies as getting the job done,” May explained.

“I hate you so much right now,” I said.

May just smiled.

“So, when are we fighting?” Wayne asked again.

“Legends above you have a one-track mind. I want to check into a Pokémon Center and go to bed. I would like to limit dealing with your stupid metal bird to once a day, thank you. Besides, I’m sure Skarmory could use the break,” I said.

“We can meet up tomorrow. I’m sure you and Jasmine can find something to do on an island paradise to fill the time,” May said.

Wayne groaned.

“Fiiine. Just don’t forget about us.” He walked back through the crowd as the boat shifted again.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have officially docked. Thank you for-” She was cut off as a loud explosion rocked the boat. I heard screams and people started to shift around me as they made tracks for the gate. I reached out and grabbed May’s arm, pulling her close as I looked for the source...

I felt a presence brush up against my mind and my vision swam.

‘Stay. The fuck. OUT!’ Emilie screamed. The pressure disappeared and I saw Lunatone and Solrock making tracks for the island. My head felt like someone shoved a rail spike through it.

“Lea? LEA!?” I faintly heard May shout. She sounded really far away as the world around me shifted. I felt something run down my face. I reached up with my hand, pulled back...

Blood.

“LEA!”

I blacked out.

Notes:

I totally didn't forget that I was supposed to be uploading chapters to Ao3. Nope. Totally didn't happen. I'm not just releasing a bunch all at once today because I feel bad. That's totally not what's happening.

T_T

Hope y'all are enjoying, for however many of you I got. Sorry for the long delay between uploads.

Chapter Text

Pain and the smell of disinfectant were the first things I noticed as I became aware of the world again. My skull felt like someone had used it for batting practice, legends above, it hurt so bad. Slowly, very slowly, I opened my eyes. It was dark, thank fuck. Oh, light would probably kill me right now, I can only imagine. My vision was a bit blurry, but I could make out a few shapes. A blue curtain was pulled around us, held by small rings around my bed. A bed that had grey railings on the side.

Hospital, then. Definitely hospital. That was good, I think.

As the pain started to recede, I was able to take in more of the room. There were a few wires attached to my skull, and a clip fastened to my finger. All of them were fed into a device behind me that beeped to a constant rhythm. Feelings other than pain started to make themselves known, and I could feel pressure on my other hand. I turned to my left and grinned.

May was out cold, her body hunched forward in her chair as her hand held onto mine in a relaxed grip.

“That can’t be good for your back.” I muttered to myself, and winced as May’s grip suddenly became a lot more solid. She shot up in her chair and her eyes locked with mine for a brief moment.

“Lea!” May yelled before pulling me into a hug. “You’re awake.”

I heard my heart monitor pick up the pace a bit and cursed under my breath. The hospital equipment was betraying me.

“Wuzzat?” That sounded like Wayne, where is he? A shadow shifted beyond the curtain as a hulking figure slowly got up. The curtain was pulled open and Wayne’s haggard, exhausted looking face greeted me. He had traded in his formal ware for a T-shirt and jeans. Good lord, how long I was out for. “Oh, good. Sleeping beauty is awake. Did your princess finally kiss you?”

“Don’t make jokes like that,” May stammered.

Jasmine slowly rose from a chair and stretched her arms out above her head before smiling at me.

“Lea. You really are going to give me a heart attack one of these days.” May muttered that so softly I almost didn’t hear it.

“Wasn’t my fault this time. I was attacked,” I complained. “How long have I been out?”

“Since yesterday,” Jasmine answered.

I leaned back in shock. “Yesterday...” I whispered.

A loud roar cut through the silence of our room. A snarling beast made itself known in the dimly lit hospital room and everyone froze.

I blushed bright red when I realized that the beast was my stomach.

“We have some ration bars if-”

May cut Jasmine off by holding out a bag of my cookies.

“Or that. That works too,” Jasmine said.

I pounced on the bag; terrified May would realize what she was doing and grabbed a handful. I ate half the bag in less than ten seconds. Wayne hesitantly put a bottle of water in my general area, and I snatched it from his hand and chugged.

“Ah. Thanks for that.”

Wayne and Jasmine both looked at me in mild disgust.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” They both said at once.

I looked at them suspiciously before turning to look at May again. I faintly caught the visage of death personified before a happy smile reasserted itself on my friend’s face.

“How are you feeling?” May asked.

Don’t question it, Lea. Just roll with it.

“I’ve got a headache, but it’s getting better. It was horrible when I first woke up.” Wait. “Where’s Emilie?” I asked.

“The center,” May answered. “She exhausted herself pushing Solrock and Lunatone out of your head.”

I started to get up off the bed.

May pushed me back down. “She’s fine. Our whole teams probably are at this point. Wayne dropped them off for us, and I... haven’t really left this room.” May blushed and looked away.

I smiled. "I can kind of tell, you stink.”

May glared at me before chuckling.

“Yeah, I probably do.” she muttered before reaching into my bag. I looked at her worriedly. She had dark circles under her eyes. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’m just... really happy you’re okay.” May’s eyes widened before she reached down and grabbed a small little remote with a single button on it. “Sorry, we were supposed to call a nurse when you woke up.”

I nodded before turning to Wayne and Jasmine.

“I’m guessing you had more contact with the outside world than May. Do you know what happened?” I asked.

Jasmine shook her head.

“No one knows how they got out. I talked to the captain while Wayne and May took you to the hospital. Their Balls were broken from the outside.” Somebody sprung them, then. Wait. They were-

“Ala.”

I heard. I did my best to look behind me, but the bed and everything else was in the way. ‘You are safe, child.’ A motherly voice echoed in my head.

“She’s here to protect you from the scary space rocks,” Wayne explained.

May grabbed my hand again and squeezed.

“I’m here, and I’m fine,” I said reassuringly. “I don’t think a pair of space rocks are gonna get past our friend here.”

Wayne pressed the call button again. “Taking their sweet ass time, huh?” Wayne asked.

A man in white scrubs came in almost as soon as Wayne finished complaining. He was staring down at a clipboard.

“Lea?” he asked without looking up. I nodded. He set his clipboard down and pulled out a long metal tube. He pressed one end and-

“Hey!” Blinded me.

“Hold still.” Rude. This guy’s bedside manner could use some work. He marked a few things down. “Pupils react fine. Has she had any trouble speaking?” he asked, looking at May.

“Uh- no. No, she’s been good.” More marks on a clipboard. “Are... You alright?”

“Could you sit so that your legs are dangling?” he asked, ignoring May. “This side, facing me, please.”

“Uh... okay.” I complied and he pulled out a small rubber mallet. “Kick when you feel the hit, please.”

“Eh?” Whack. I kick. “Oi.”

“Reflexes are good.” He marked a few more things down on the clipboard. “It would appear that you’re quite lucky, Ms. Lea. The attack didn’t leave you mentally impaired in any way. Sign here, please.”

He handed me the form he had been writing on and I scanned it. Mostly, it was doctor speech that I couldn’t make heads or tails of, with a bunch of numbers that didn’t make sense, but at the bottom, there was a line with an x next to it that asked for a patient's signature.

“What exactly am I signing?” I asked.

“Your release forms,” he said.

I hesitantly reached out and grabbed the pen before signing.

“Excellent.” He retrieved the form before handing me some papers. “Now, I must ask you all to leave.” He bowed. “Have a nice day.” He turned and left.

I blinked.

“The fuck just happened?” I asked.

May glared murderously after the doctor.

“Are you on the public plan for healthcare?” Wayne asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then that, that’s what happened,” Wayne explained.

***

The world around me came into focus in an instant as Alakazam let go of my hand. The Dewford Center felt nothing like the one in Rustboro. The room we were in felt more like a beach house than a clinic and the window to the left had a fantastic view of beach. Palm trees waved in the salty breeze of the ocean, and a surf board stand was visible just beyond the deck outside.

“This might actually be the latest we’ve checked in to a center,” May complained, her eye’s drooping.

“Blame Dewford’s shit ass clinic,” I grouched as I walked through the sliding doors. “This is the center Emilie’s at, right?” I asked.

“I think so, it should be,” May said. “I still don’t understand why Wayne and Jasmine wanted to go to the other center. We could have been roomies!” Well, all things considered, they probably looked at the last few days and are firmly back in the ‘We’re a couple’ camp and wanted to give us some time alone together.

“They probably just wanted some alone time on an island paradise,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah. Legends I am so tired,” May said as her head started to droop.

‘I will tell Joy we’re here.’ The Alakazam explained before walking behind the counter.

May started leaning on me.

“Hey, what gives?” I asked, only to be met with snoring. “Oh, not again.” I threw an arm under her and lifted a bit. “You’re lucky I'm strong, May.”

The door behind the counter shifted open, and a pajama clad Nurse Joy walked behind the counter rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Hello, I’m assuming you’re the girls that were attacked on the ship?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Room key, right?”

“If you have one available,” I replied.

The nurse laughed. “There are plenty of vacancies, don’t worry.” She pulled out a key and set it down on the table. I don’t move to grab it. “Oh, uh sorry. I guess that would be hard at the moment. I’ll take you to your room.” She picked the key back up and led me through the hallway. I slowly followed, careful not to bump May into the wall.

“Hey, uh... I don’t suppose you could give me an update on Emilie, could you?” I asked. The nurse looked confused for a moment. “My Ralts?”

“Oh, right.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m not quite fully awake. Emilie is doing fine, and she’ll be ready to go by tomorrow morning.” We stopped.

“Good. That’s good. Thanks.” I sighed in relief.

“No thanks are necessary. It’s what I'm here for,” she explained.

I smiled. “Well, I’m thanking you anyway, so deal with it.”

“I appreciate it, this will be your room.” She unlocked the door and opened it for me. “Did you need help with anything? Your friend looks to be a bit of a handful.”

“Nah, I got her. Thanks though.” I walked in and took in the room.

Two beds. Good. The far wall was glass, and we had a beautiful view of the shoreline. I was looking forward to hitting the beach. I gently guided May to her bed, where she promptly laid down on her side and crashed, not even bothering to take off her backpack. I smiled. She needed the sleep. Unfortunately, there was a rather annoying perk of being knocked out for the better part of a day.

That being that I wasn’t tired. At all.

The digital clock stared back at me from my bedside table, and I groaned. It was two in the morning. My sleep schedule was going to be fucked beyond reason because of this, wasn’t it?

“Sergei?” I saw May’s backpack shake a bit before a spectral image of a phone slowly rose and levitated over to me. I reached up and grabbed him before opening the new message he sent me.

"Burning the midnight oil again? You’re lucky I don’t need to sleep," Sergei messaged.

“Not quite. Are you... aware of what happened?” I asked. I received a thumbs up before getting another message.

“Are you okay?” Followed by a frowny face emoji.

“I’m fine,” I responded firmly. “Thanks, though. Sorry. I’ve been asked that question a lot in the last hour or so.” Another thumbs up. “Regardless, I've been unconscious since yesterday, and I'm not tired. You down to hang for a bit?”

“I’m down. Wanna watch some Poketube videos?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second.

“Could you pull up my video?” I asked.

“Sure.” My video loaded, and the big arrow popped up.

“Mute please.” The speaker icon dimmed. I pressed play.

The setting panned out and I took in the field from on high as Joern and Onix both formed on the battlefield. Legends above, the size difference looked even more ridiculous from this angle. I watched the fight progress. We did fantastic, but I'd need to be even better here. This gym battle would be even harder. I needed to find mistakes.

I definitely needed to research abilities more. I doubted I'd ever hit the levels of brainiacs like May and Brendan, but I needed to know more than what I currently do.

I could probably do some homework before the gym battle on abilities common to Pokémon in the gym rotation. That would be doable.

That was the easiest issue to fix.

The other much harder to fix issue was that I would get flustered if things didn’t go how I expected them too. I started counting seconds of inaction. It felt like the explosion happened instantly, but there was a two second delay from when she gave the order and when the explosion happened and a five second delay from Joern’s attack getting slurped up to him getting tagged with Ancient Power. It took two seconds for me to order Apollo to pull up when she used her rock tomb fortress idea with Lileep.

Almost no delays with Emilie.

It was exceedingly hard to tell, because I wasn’t giving verbal orders, but I noticed that giving commands at the speed of thought really was a bit busted. Roxanne ordered Nosepass faster than she had Lileep or Onix, and I kept up.

Wait...

“Did that mean she was going easy on me with Onix and Lileep?” I thought aloud.

Sergei sent me a question mark through messenger.

“Nothing, I’m just breaking down the fight, sorry.” It made sense.

If the whole gym trainer debacle made me realize one thing, it’s that the leaders are on another level when it comes to skill. I’d be willing to bet that Roxanne would have at least managed to knock out Joern in that gym trainer’s spot. Emilie and I made her take us seriously. At least a little bit.

Why couldn’t I do that with Joern and Apollo too? I was getting better at pushing thoughts out to others. If I worked with Emilie more, I could probably do those things more consciously and not need verbal commands AT ALL.

Legends above that would be stupid.

Aerial Ace with no warning. No heads up. Just a split-second aerial assault that left opponents reeling.

A single seed hidden in the Razor Leaves.

The potential for sneakiness was limitless, and I could get my orders to them faster.

“Sergei, remind me that my training with Emilie is just as, if not more, important than her training with me. Every training session,” I ordered, before wincing. “Please.” I realized how rude that sounded. Remember, this is a living... undead creature, not a phone.

Thumbs up emoji.

“Thanks,” I replied. “I...”

“You alright?” Sergei asked. “Sentences forming correctly up there, Lea?”

“Yes, I just...” I sighed. “I push off mental training. A lot. I know I shouldn’t. Today highlighted that, it’s just. When I learn to shield my mind, all the cool stuff I can do will probably go away, or at least become much harder to do.” I looked away. “Emilie already warned me, that we won’t be able to talk like we do now. I’m... really not looking forward to that.”

“I offer my services,” Sergei suggested. A weird salute emoji popped up that I had never seen before showed up after the message.

“I won’t have you all the time.” I chuckled a bit. “You’re technically May’s remember, even if you probably see me more.”

“You’re my favorite,” Sergei replied with a paranoid emoji. “Don’t tell May I said that.”

“Mum’s the word, but you’ll probably want to clear the history for this chat,” I suggested. “Back to Emilie, we’re already working on work arounds. She can say a few words now if you can believe it.”

An exclamation point was the response.

“I know right, surprised the hell out of me. The first word was an accident, and we’ve been expanding her vocabulary ever since. We’d probably be making more progress if I just taught her how to make sounds, but going ah, oh, th, ch, and sh at each other sounds ridiculous.”

“Tape that please,” Sergei begged.

“Yeah, yeah. Might as well. It’d be funny to go back and watch late and you already have enough blackmail to turn us all into servants.” I joked. I got a thinking face emoji in response. “Please don’t.”

“Meh, it’d lose its charm pretty quick.” Sergei responded.

“Fair enough.” I scrolled down a bit on the video and started skimming comments. “Hey Sergei, could you log me in under my PokeTube account?”

“Which would be...?”

Oh, right. Duh.

“UnderappreciatedProtaganist. The password is MaySnores.” I replied. I heard a buzzsaw sound off from the bed next to me. “How on earth do I sleep through that? That’s been right in my ear multiple times on this journey, and I just ignored it.”

“Practice,” Sergei messaged.

“Probably.”

The webpage shifted a few times before I returned to the same video from a darker screen. How May tolerated light mode I will never know. The most liked comment chain was a byplay between PokeTube_Enjoyer and Mudkip_Supremacist just commenting about different points in the battle. There were at least fifty replies keeping the chain going. I doubted I’d get a response from either of them if I just added my reply to the chain.

“PokeTube_Enjoyer is me, by the way.” My eyes widened as I read the message. “I figured having an online presence independent from May would be helpful. Especially after the... incident. Mudkip_Supremacist was one of the first people to comment on your video. I’ve been chatting with him for a bit through IM and I think you’d probably like him.”

“Any particular reason why?” I asked.

“You’re both dorks, anime nuts, and members of the dramatist royalty,” Sergei typed.

I felt my left eye twitch at the insult, and a small amount of indignation on Mudkip_Supremacist’s behalf.

“Just because you’re in an almost indestructible titanium case, doesn’t mean I can’t get creative. I can and will find the most annoying videos and play them on loop.” I threatened.

“Promises, promises. You want me to introduce you to him or not?” Sergei asked.

“You can shoot him a PM on my behalf, I need more friends to talk shop with. May’s a closet dork and refuses to indulge my rants and Emilie’s...” I trailed off.

“Bit of a know it all that picks apart your arguments without mercy?” Sergei messaged with a smug emoji.

“Yes...” I complained. “Every time I try, she pats me on the head. It's the most condescending thing ever and I hate it.”

“Sent, by the way. I doubt he’s on- never mind, I just got a reply. He’s up late.” Sergei pulled up an IM room, added me, and invited Mudkip_Supremacist.

“Sup. Nice to meet you,” he greeted.

I shifted around so I could use the keyboard a bit better. “Hello. Thanks for being nice to Sergei, I know he can be a bit of a handful.” I pressed send before slapping my hand to my forehead. “And I just told you his real name like an idiot.”

Sergei posted a gif of a Chansey shaking its head at me like a disappointed parent.

"Sergei? What kind of name is that?” he asked. Rude.

“A fantastic name, thank you very much,” I replied.

“She’s just angry because she’s the one that named me. I like it though.” Sergei tacked on.

“Wait, what do you mean she named you? Did you seriously bring me in here to hang out with your mom?” he asked.

Extra rude. I don’t know why Sergei liked this guy, he was an ass hat.

“No, I’m just her best friend’s Rotom,” Sergei explained, much to my surprise.

“My new internet friend is a Rotom,” he messaged. “That is so fucking cool.” Sergei smiled. Well, he reacted with a smile at least.

“Yeah, my girl here got hurt. She was out for the whole day, and now that she’s awake, she doesn’t wanna go back to sleep,” Sergei explained. “We were watching some videos and saw my recent comments. She wanted to say hi. To be honest, I’m a little shocked to see you online this late.”

“Yeah, Slateport’s a mess right now, and it’s keeping me up. Are you doing better now?” he asked.

“Yeah, I'm good.” I think I judged this guy too quickly. “What’s going on in Slateport?” I asked, curious about the place we were going to next.

“Ugh, there’s a protest out in front of the museum of all places. A bunch of guys in blue bandanas are pissed about the most recent deep sea exploration mission, something about it disturbing the natural habitats down there,” he said.

My eyes went wide at the description.

“I don’t care about either side of this, I just want them to keep it down.”

“Did the bandana have a weird symbol on it? Like an A with a circle in the middle?” I asked.

“Yeah, actually,” he replied. Fuck. “Friends of yours?”

“They’re bad news,” I answered. “My friend and I ran into a group of those nuts on 103. They trashed and looted an old ruin there.”

“Damn, they blew up the wall?” he asked. “I liked that wall. It was cool.”

I leaned back from the phone a bit. “You know the area?” I asked.

“Born and raised in Littleroot town,” he replied.

“Petalburg for me,” I shared back.

“Damn, we’re breaking all the internet rules tonight. You leaked your Rotom’s real name, and we both just doxed ourselves,” he messaged.

I winced.

“Back to the guys in blue bandanas,” Sergei interjected. “Please don’t try to mess with them. They’re bad news, and I want to keep my new internet friend.”

“I won’t, don’t worry. I’ll just invest in a pair of ear plugs tomorrow,” he messaged.

“At any rate. Sergei said you’re an anime fan,” I typed. “Give me your list, I need to judge you.”

“You first.”

***

I blearily opened my eyes and groaned, Sergei resting on my stomach. At some point during our IM session, I had in fact managed to fall asleep. I don’t know when it was, but the position I had slept in was enough to make my neck hate me something fierce. I winced as I slowly shifted and pulled myself up. May wasn’t in her bed.

“She better not have left to explore the town without me,” I grumbled. “Emilie, wake...” I trailed off as I realized that particular step of my morning routine could be skipped.

I needed to get her back from Nurse Joy. Not having her with me was too weird for words, to say nothing of how exposed I felt.

I quickly shifted myself off of the bed and ruffled through my bag for a change of clothes. I wanted to get my shower in and get my partner back pronto.

I idly wondered how the center shower compared to the luxury bath we had on the cruise liner.

Probably not well.

I wouldn’t know, the bathroom door was locked.

“Dammit, May.” She had beaten me to the shower, which probably meant she was going to hoard all the hot water. Again.

“I’m almost done, calm down.” I heard her shout from the other side. “I had to wash the hospital stink off.”

“Yeah, well. Hurry. I want to get my Pokémon back ASAP. I don’t feel right without Emilie on my shoulder, and I know Apollo and Joern are probably worrying,” I shouted.

The door opened and a freshly pressed May walked out, her hair still a bit wet. “I can grab your Poke Balls for you, if you want,” she offered softly. “How are you feeling?”

Huh, I was expecting banter back, not... this.

“Good, just... slightly exposed,” I replied.

May nodded. “Right, sorry. I’ll grab our teams and come back right away, you go-” May’s words died on her lips as she stared past my head towards the coast line.

“What?” I asked, before turning to see just what had caught her eye.

A single, white furred, dog like Pokémon stood proud just outside our glass door. A black, sickle like appendage extended out from their head as well as their tail, and his eyes bore into mine, glimmering crimson in the morning sun.

In that single instance, I saw horrible things. Death, pain, grief, fire, blood... It all flashed by in an instant.

I blinked once, and in that single moment, the Pokémon disappeared. I quickly walked up to the sliding glass door and pulled it open, taking a moment to thoroughly look around the area. Somehow, whatever the hell that thing was vanished without a sound or trace.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked my resident brainiac.

Her face looked pale.

“An Absol.” she replied, worry creeping into her voice as she reached out and grabbed my arm. “Let’s just... go and get your Pokémon now. Right now.” She pulled on my arm as she frantically looked around the room.

“Damn, that thing’s got you spooked. Are they strong?” I asked. May nodded.

“They are, but that’s not why I'm worried. Walk and talk please. You can take a shower when we get back.” She pulled my arm again. Fuck she was terrified.

“Alright.” I followed her out the door as we very quickly walked down the hallway.

“Absol are generally very peaceful Pokémon, but they have a terrible reputation,” May explained. “Everywhere they go, disaster follows.”

“That sounds like superstitious hoopla,” I complained.

May shook her head. “It’s scientifically proven. They have a danger sense that’s almost prophetic.”

We turned and walked toward the front desk. Nurse Joy was already up and about, good.

“Hi, I’m here to pick up my Pokémon. Lea and May. They were brough in by a tall man, goes by the name of Wayne,” I explained.

“Of course, nice to see your friend’s a bit more awake this time,” she joked. “I’ll be right back.” She went into the backroom.

“So, prophetic danger sense?” I asked.

“They don’t cause the disaster. They appear as a warning. They’re trying to help,” May said quickly. Her gaze shifting wildly around every corner.

“Keep Emilie on me at all times and have Apollo and Joern out for good measure. Got it,” I replied. “If it wasn’t already obvious, we’re sticking together like glue and watching each other’s backs. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” May responded. “Though, considering how reckless you are, she probably just homed in on you.”

“How do you know it’s a girl?” I asked.

“The horn wasn’t as long. Male Absol have a much longer horn and their tail piece is more pronounced.” May belted out on reflex.

“What the hell do you need a Pokedex for? You already regurgitate facts like you’re getting paid for it,” I jeered.

May elbowed me. “Technically speaking, I am. Focus,” May ordered.

Nurse Joy returned from the back room with my poke balls in tow. I eagerly snatched Emilie’s ball and let my favorite psychic type reclaim her rightful place on my shoulder. I wasn’t going to know what to do with myself once she evolved.

‘You’re alright.’ Emilie sighed before hugging my head. An action that made it fairly hard to see as I snatched the other two Poke Balls. Thinking on it for a second, I also let them out. Apollo quickly flew up to my other shoulder.

‘Bah, have some faith, Emilie. Our captain is made of sterner stuff, it’ll take more than a couple of overly cryptic space stones to take her out, ’ Apollo said jovially.

‘You two look tense,’ Joern noted. ‘Is something up.’

“We saw an Absol,” I explained. All three of them froze, before taking a defensive formation around me. “Why does everyone just assume it’s me!”

‘Ill omens from an Absol aren’t something to take lightly, cap.’ Apollo explained.

“Look. We don’t know anything. All we know is that, at some point, at some place, something bad is going to happen. You see the issue I'm having with this?” I explained. The three of them deflated a bit, and May looked a bit embarrassed. “Look, we’ll stay alert, and we’ll stay together. That’s really all we can do.” Apollo and Joern nodded once. Emilie remained quiet. ‘Emilie?’

‘If those rocks took me down before going after your head...’ Emilie trailed off, her face ashen. ‘That attack was so strong... I could barely stop them from hurting you.’

‘You did, though,’ I said.

‘Mom was right.’ Emilie said. That sounded ominous as fuck. ‘I can’t be with you ever second of every day.’ Emilie looked away. ‘And I'm not strong enough to stop everyone that attacks us. What happened could have been so much worse.’ Emilie stared at me again, her eyes determined. ‘We need to be ready.’

‘Emilie?’ I asked, wondering where this was going.

‘I’ve been putting off teaching you how to protect yourself, ’ Emilie said. I felt shame through the bond.

‘We’ve both been doing that,’ I corrected. ‘I haven’t exactly been eager to learn.’

‘That stops today,’ Emilie said. ‘ By the end of the week, you’ll be telling psychics to fuck off.’

I sighed. So much for my idea about psychic communication with Joern and Apollo.

‘We’ll figure it out,’ Emilie promised.

‘Huh?’ I asked. ‘I thought half the reason I could do what I do is that I'm so open.’

‘That’s making it easier,’ Emilie said. ‘Anything worth having is worth working hard for.’

‘You’re the last Pokémon I want to hear say that,’ I complained.

Emilie blushed. ‘I’ll be better if you will,’ Emilie said. ‘This is important.’

‘Yeah...’ I thought about all of our late night conversations. About Apollo’s goofy pirate speak and Joern’s lazy drawl . ‘It is.’ Emilie met my gaze and thought for a moment. She smiled suddenly. ‘What-’

“Work.”

I froze as Emilie managed to utter a word I had never heard her say before.

“Hard. Play. Hard. Eat. And. Sleep. Often.”

A grin stretched across my face at the reference as Emilie offered her fist. She was a far cry from a Turtonator, but I suppose she had the island paradise down.

“Deal?” she asked.

I bumped her fist with mine.

“Deal,” I said. Emilie smiled back. ‘Weeb.’

Chapter Text

I glared down at my own body as I slowly started to change into my one piece. May finally worked up the courage to drag us out to the beach after brunch, much to my own annoyance.

‘I don’t know what you’re whining about. You’ll look great in this,’ Emilie said. She was currently standing guard just outside my changing stall with Joern.

‘Do you not see how many scars I have?’ I asked, my nose curling up as I looked at my arms. ‘Why the hell do you think I like wearing long sleeves or that Haori so much?’

‘For future reference, my leaves can be helpful burn salves,’ Joern piped in, disregarding the conversation’s main topic in its entirety.

“Really?” I asked.

‘Perks of being a water and grass type, I guess.’ Joern said. ‘Can we go swimming now? I really want to go swimming.’

‘Look, May doesn’t care about a few burn scars. She just wants to hang out with her best friend on the beach, so quit stalling and put the damn thing on.’ And Emilie sounded impatient. Did no one else care about the problem I was having right now!?

‘I want her to care, though,’ I argued. ‘Is it bad that I want my crush to think I look good? Do you know how many times I've gotten tagged by a random sheet pan coming out of the oven?’

‘Look, do you really think May’s the type of person to care about that? ’ Emilie asked, her tone sounding exasperated.

‘I... well, no,’ I said.

‘Then put on the damn bathing suit and come out of the damn changing room,’ Emilie ordered.

Times like this, it really did make me feel like I was the one getting trained in this damn relationship. I groaned as I pulled the stupid blue one piece on. I looked in the mirror to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be before taking a deep breath and walking outside. Emilie looked me up and down and Joern looked bored.

“So?” I asked.

‘It looks like a bathing suit,’ Emilie said.

I groaned.

‘I’m a Pokémon, what do you want. I don’t know what looks good and bad on humans. It looks nice?’

Nice? Just nice?

‘Would you stop being weird, please. You look like Lea. May generally likes looking at you,’ Emilie said.

‘She does? ’ I asked, mildly intrigued.

Emilie slapped her forehead.

“Lea, are you ready to go?” May asked as she turned the corner into my changing area.

It felt like time stopped moving. Flawless pale skin was on full display as May wore a red bikini with full confidence. This was so unfair! How the hell are you fifteen and have no skin issues!

Dammit, she looked so beautiful...

“Look, I know you feel a bit self-conscious in a swimsuit, but don’t worry so much. You look great in that,” May complimented me as she dragged me towards the water.

‘See? Nothing to worry about,’ Emilie encouraged.

I couldn’t help but sag a bit. Nothing was right.

‘I was hoping for at least a brief gawk or ogle or something!’ I complained.

Emilie chuckled.

‘What?’ I mentally shouted.

‘Nothing. I’m sorry. I’m being mean. I just remembered your biggest complaint during our swimsuit shopping,’ Emilie explained.

‘Yeah, well... I’m okay with being ogled if it’s May, alright?’ I explained. I felt blood rushing to my face.

‘And that’s adorable,’ Emilie commented.

I glared.

‘Quit picking on the captain, lass. Don’t forget, we’re supposed to be on alert,’ Apollo said accusingly as he flew down to my other shoulder. ‘No sign of trouble, captain.’

‘Thanks Apollo. For multiple reasons,’ I said.

Emilie glared at my current favorite, then at me, then back at Apollo. ‘Suck up,’ she said.

“Stop it with the private conversation,” May complained.

I snickered before nodding.

‘Actually, that’s a good idea,’ Emilie said. ‘Push what I’m saying to May.’

‘First off, how, secondly, Emilie-’

‘I’m not going to out you. I swear. This will be good practice for you. We need to build up your mental muscles, so to speak,’ Emilie interrupted me. ‘Work hard, remember.’

“Counteroffer. I push the thoughts of everyone else to May, you work on verbalizing, after you show me how the fuck pushing thoughts works,” I said.

May looked excited at the prospect, and Emilie sagged.

“Work-”

“Hard,” Emilie said, before glaring at me. “Lea. Why?”

‘Because watching you trip over your words is hilarious, and practice makes perfect,’ I thought.

May leaned back in shock before smiling wide at me. “Thank you!” May said before pulling me into a hug.

‘So... passing along a telepathic message?’ I asked.

‘Try doing it while I’m talking to you. Focus on what I’m saying while you do what you normally do to push your messages to her,’ Emilie explained.

I complied.

‘It’s actually incredibly easy, once you get a handle on it, but don’t feel bad if-’

“Wait, is that what Emilie sounds like in your head?” May asked.

Emilie smiled. "Told. You,” Emilie said. “Easy.”

I fist pumped. “Score!” I yelled.

Emilie glared at me.

‘Sorry.’

“Why does Emilie have a Kalosian accent?” May asked.

My eyes widened and I couldn’t hold back the laughter from bubbling up.

‘I never noticed that.’ I said, trying and failing to stop myself from dying. ‘It didn’t used to be. I think the change was so gradual that I didn’t notice. Legends above you are such a dork.’

Emilie was the same shade of red as May’s bikini. “Shut. Up,” Emilie said.

“Neither of you are answering my question,” May complained. “And hearing your voice in my head WHILE you laugh is really disorienting.”

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘Emilie’s namesake is Kalosian. She’s been emulating her speech.’

May turned to Emilie and smiled. “Aww... that’s so cute.”

Emilie groaned. “Hate. You. All.” Emilie teleported down to the ground and started walking towards the ocean.

“I think Emilie has the right idea, race you to the water,” May said as she ran after my starter.

‘Head starts aren’t fair!’ I thought angrily before running to keep up. Apollo took off from my shoulder and flew ahead.

‘Sorry, Cap. I aim to win. Better luck next time.’ Apollo disappeared in a flash of sound, and the ocean exploded as he dove into the ocean, splashing May in the process.

“Ack, dammit Apollo!” May sputtered before diving after my pirate.

Emilie walked toward the water at a languid pace, disregarding all of us. My eyes widened and I hustled forward a bit when rather than dive in, she just continued to walk into the abyss, letting the waves take her. I grabbed her, lifted her up, and glared at her.

‘And I’m the drama queen,’ I said.

May giggled and Emille looked away from us.

“Rude.” she said as Joern brought up the rear and dived into the deep, his leaf just sticking out above the waves.

‘Why am I the only sane member of our group?’ I glared at Emilie for sharing what was probably supposed to be a private thought.

“What?” Emilie asked. “Didn’t. Do. Anything.”

I sighed and set her back down in the water. She can play dumb if she wants. Still don’t know why that thought was so quiet though.

***

‘Now this, is how a beach day should be enjoyed,’ I said as I leaned back under the umbrella May had bought. The shade felt nice. The sun, the breeze... it all felt incredible.

Was this the first time since leaving home that I just... genuinely relaxed and took it easy for a day? I think it was.

‘We need more days like this,’ Joern said as he laid down next to me. He gazed out beyond the coastline for a moment before leaning back, his hands holding him up against the sandy beach. ‘My tribe used to have days like this out by the Great Pond.’

‘Tribe?’ I asked, leaning forward a bit. ‘How many of you were there?’

‘A couple dozen, at least. The Lotad didn’t get to do much beyond vibe in the pond as the Ludicolo danced to improvised beats, mostly played by Lombre.’ Joern explained.

‘What all music could you make?’ I asked. ‘You didn’t have instruments.’

‘We could get quite the drum line going.’ Joern chuckled . ‘Humans have rather fancy instruments, but you can make quite a bit of noise with what nature gives you.’ Joern looked out across the beach. ‘It’s not quite the same, but it feels close enough.’ Joern smiled.

‘Would you like to head back and visit?’ I asked. ‘I’m sure Emilie could teleport you home if you wanted.’ Joern barked out a laugh. ‘What?’

‘Sorry, sorry. I...’ Joern looked away. ‘There were plenty of good times to be had, but to be honest, I’m happier here. I never really clicked with my tribe. Those three idiots you chased off with Emilie were the closest thing I had to friends, and they still got on my nerves to no end.’ Joern grinned as he spied Emilie and Suzy lock eyes. ‘You lot are noisy, but in a good way. I find myself looking forward to the craziness.’

From across the beach, sand started to move on its own. It shifted and writhed as Emilie brought her hands up to mold her focus. Seconds later, one of the most ornate sandcastles I had ever seen took shape, complete with a defensive moat. Suzy glared at Emilie as she stared down at her modest creation.

Samie burst up from below Emilie’s masterpiece and the whole thing collapsed around the little guy. Suzy started laughing as I felt a spike of rage pass through the bond.

‘Play nice,’ I ordered.

Emilie turned to me and stuck her tongue out.

‘Yeah, this feels more like home than home did,’ Joern said with a grin. ‘Sorry if my earlier comments worried you, I was just reminiscing.’

‘Nothing wrong with that. I like learning new things about you guys.’ A new source of shade loomed overhead, and I turned to see May towering over the two of us.

“Scoot over, you’re hogging all the shade,” May said with a glare.

‘But I’m cozy,’ I complained. ‘Weren’t you and Leshy hitting up a food stand?’

“Leshy didn’t like the looks of most of the vendors,” May explained.

I looked towards the coastline to see Leshy walk up to Samie. Samie looked excited before looking down and turning to Emilie. Emilie nodded once.

‘I think Leshy has adopted Samie,’ I commented.

May stared across the beach and laughed. “He can be the strict parent, I don’t have it in me,” May said.

“I dunno, you can channel Caroline when you need to,” I said as I moved over slightly.

Emilie tossed a glare my way, and I winced.

‘Screw you, this is tiring.’

‘I do it all day long,’ Emilie pointed out.

I sagged.

‘You’ll get there,’ Emilie said before going back to glaring at Suzy.

May sat down next to me and Joern grumbled when I accidentally nudged him.

‘There’s plenty of room for all three of us under here, quit whining,’ I said.

Joern glared but nodded as he scooted slightly to the left.

‘I guess I didn’t need to worry about anyone seeing me in a bathing suit out here, huh?’ I asked May.

“I’m honestly really surprised by that, but yeah. I guess it helps that this isn’t really a commercial beach. There were a lot more people by the vendors up the way a bit.” May smiled. “I kind of like having the beach to ourselves, though. It’s really relaxing, and I... think I need that right now.”

‘You alright?’ I asked.

May looked out towards our Pokémon before pulling me into a sideways hug.

“I’ve been on edge since the attack,” she admitted. “I keep looking around thinking something’s going to pop out at us. Absol showing up this morning really didn’t help that.”

‘Still nothing to report, Captain.’ I shared the thought with May as Apollo called it down from above. May smiled.

‘Thank you, Apollo,’ I replied.

“Thanks for sharing this with me,” May said. “Hearing their voices as they sound to you... really means a lot.”

'I’m glad.’ I nodded up towards the sky. ‘Apollo’s got us covered right now, so don’t worry so much. Just lean back and relax. Even if the space rocks do show up again, I’m confident we can take them. We kicked their ass before, and we can do it again,’ I said confidently.

May nodded once.

“Did you want to hit up the gym and register after this?” May asked. “I know you said you were good with waiting, but I really want to put as much distance between us and this island as possible.”

‘We can register if you want. We still have to deliver Steven’s letter, though, ’ I said.

May winced.

“I forgot about that.” May groaned before falling backwards onto the sand. “Fuck, he’s going to be in a cave somewhere. How the hell are we supposed to find him?” May asked.

‘I don’t know,’ I replied. ‘We’ll figure something out though. Right now, let’s just enjoy the beach, okay? We can worry about all that other stuff later.’

“Right.” I leaned back, closed my eyes, and felt a shift.

Joern was getting up to go hang out with the rest of my degenerates. I opened my eyes and waved to see him off, then froze.

For the briefest of moments, I caught her.

‘So, you’re terrified of people labeling you the dykes of Hoenn, but you’ll stop to ogle my trainer’s boobs when she isn’t looking. Classy, May.’ My eyes popped open wide at that thought, and as soon as they did, May looked away.

I turned to look at Emilie, who didn’t outwardly react at all. She was still recreating her sandcastle and wasn’t even looking in my general direction.

Had I picked that thought out of her head?

Fuck, why’d I have to hear that!? More to the point, why wasn’t Emilie whipping her head around to the thoughts that were whipping around my head right now?

This fucking sucked!

I wanted to be happy, dammit. You can’t just drop that line in my head after what I just found out and not talk to me.

Could she really not hear my thoughts right now?

I swallowed as I tried to work through several things at once.

This meant my feelings weren’t one sided, but...

My mind flashed back to the first day on the cruise ship and the morning after.

Even if May was just curious about the idea of something more, there was no way in hell she was ready for that, and I didn’t want to push her. I just... had to wait, and be supportive, I guess.

Emilie not hearing my thoughts without me focusing on sending them to her, however, was new and exciting in a wide variety of ways. Either she was getting better at respecting boundaries and controlling her telepathy, or I was getting better at keeping intrusive probes out.

Both were good for different reasons.

I closed my eyes again and put my arms behind my head.

This really wasn’t something I could do something about now either, huh?

Screw it. Nap now, freak out later.

***

“Why was this so much easier here?” I asked, leaving the gym reception in record time. “That was, what, ten minutes? In and out?”

“Dewford isn’t anywhere near as populated as Rustboro, and the traditional route isn’t as common anymore,” May explained. “Might be why the beach wasn’t as crowded.”

“Yeah, but we only get two days to train.” I winced at the time crunch. “That sucks. Especially considering that we’ve both been slacking a bit.”

“Don’t act like Emilie isn’t going to obliterate this gym,” May complained.

‘I am, in fact, amazing,’ Emilie gloated.

“So amazing that you forgot you were supposed to talk most of your thoughts today,” I said.

Emilie glared at me. ‘And you were supposed to be practicing,’ Emilie argued back.

“I’m exhausted,” I complained. “I’ll go back to it in a bit. Talking, however, isn’t all that taxing.”

Emilie sighed but nodded. May looked up from Sergei and grinned at Emilie.

“She has a point, Emilie.”

Vindication. Oh, it felt good to have back up when dealing with my starter. Emilie glared at both of us.

“You. Both. Suck,” Emilie said. “This. Is. Getting. Easier. Though.”

“Good,” I said. “Now back to the gym. I’m fighting for my third badge, technically. I'm assuming Emilie won’t be able to just sweep because of the type advantage. Roxanne showed me that rather painfully with Joern and Lileep.”

“Apollo,” May countered my counter. “Seriously, your entire team makes Brawly sad.”

‘Aye, I ain’t losing to no muscle brained fighting types,’ Apollo said as he flew down from above.

‘I’m going first, otherwise you two are going to hog all the fun at this gym,’ Joern complained. ‘Fighting types don’t blow up, right?’ Joern asked with a nervous look on his face.

‘You’re good.’ Emilie replied.

‘Good.' Joern said. His body relaxed.

“I still want to train...” I pouted. “And fight. Where’s the nearest battle lounge thing, or whatever they’re called? I need money.”

“There isn’t one,” May said.

“Excuse me?” I asked. “I need funds, May. How am I supposed to get funds if the only match I’m fighting is the gym battle.”

“Dewford’s a vacation spot, so battles aren’t... as popular, I guess,” May explained. “We can make our rematch against Wayne and Jasmine a money match. I’m sure they’re stacked.”

I didn’t like the idea of taking money from our new friends. I also didn’t like living off center food till I won my gym badge, though.

“Should we even do the rematch?” I asked.

May frowned, before looking at her phone again.

“We need more battle experience, Lea. We have things we need to do on this island that require it. As much as I want to, we can’t just hide in the center for a few days,” May said before sighing and kicking the ground. “It’d be nice if we could call someone about this. The rangers in this town are about as useful as the ones near Petalburg woods.”

“How would you know?” I asked.

May groaned as she crossed her arms.

“Brawly was the person who came to talk to me in the hospital. He said his ranger, singular, was busy,” May said.

I winced.

“You know, I’m starting to notice a trend,” I said.

“You were right, earlier. We just have to be careful. We’ll get a bit of funds and training in with our rematch, hit up the fields tomorrow, kick Brawly’s ass, drop Steven’s letter in a PO Box, and fucking bounce.”

Somehow, I doubted it would be that easy.

“Assuming we win this time...” I grumbled. “That Skarmory is tough.”

“We’re going with the original plan this time. Emilie and Suzy,” May said.

Suzy decided this would be the perfect opportunity to let herself out of her ball.

‘Rematch?’ Suzy was bouncing on her feet at the prospect. ‘Revenge?’ she asked.

“Just. Don’t. Mess. Up. This. Time.” Emilie choked out the last word.

Suzy glared at my shoulder.

‘Big talk from someone that hasn’t had a real fight in days,’ Suzy taunted. ‘Your laziness is showing again.’

“Been busy,” Emilie said. Her eyes widened. “This. Really is. Getting easier.”

“You’ll be talking real sentences in no time,” I said. May looked up from her phone and glared at her starter.

“Don’t pick fights with your partner. You two will have to work together if we want to win our rematch,” May said.

Emilie and Suzy glared at each other.

“Fine.” ‘Fine,’ Both of them said at the same time before looking away from each other.

***

The field we were standing on was surprisingly green and lush. I guess it made sense, Islands were more than just beaches, but seeing a fairly basic, grassy, field out here threw me a bit. The fact that we were doing this here and not on a beach actually kind of sucked. I wanted to test out how well Confusion worked with sand. Leshy, Joern, and Samie were on the sidelines looking in, and Apollo and Sergei were looking at the whole thing from above.

It felt a bit telling considering we had Suzy and Emilie on standby already, but May didn’t want any surprises while we were having our match.

“Are you sure you’re good to go, Lea?” Jasmine asked from across the field. She already had a single ball in her hand.

“Yeah, we can wait a bit. We’re honestly a bit surprised you guys called us up this soon,” Wayne said as he held a Great Ball in hand.

I made a show of smelling the air. “Why does it smell like bitch out here?”

Wayne glared at me.

“Quit stalling and put em up. I want to redeem myself,” I said.

“You want to redeem yourself? We lost the last round using MY Pokémon,” May said, glaring across the clearing. “Send out your Pokémon, already. Suzy wants to break their faces.” A grin split my face at the taunting. That sounded more like the May I knew and loved.

“Well, can’t argue with that, can we babe,” Wayne said.

“Fine, I suppose we could use a bit more money for this trip,” Jasmine said. “Do we even need a count down? I think we all know who everyone’s using.”

“Just send it already,” May complained. Suzy practically jumped into the arena.

‘You ready?’ I probed Emilie.

‘Won’t even break a sweat, ’ she replied before warping into the clearing.

Wayne was bouncing up and down on his toes as Skarmory and Clefairy both formed opposite from us. A smug grin adorned Skarmory’s features as he stared down at Suzy.

“Busk. Busken busk Combusken.” She spat at the steel flying type before spitting a burning ember into the ground.

‘I ain’t translating that,’ Emilie said, never taking her eyes off of our opponents.

‘Baby,’ Suzy spat.

Clefairy had already retreated away from center stage and Skarmory beat his wings against the ground as he got ready for takeoff.

“Focus!” Both May and I yelled at the same time.

“Rapid fire Air Cutter on your ascent, Skarm. Make em bleed,” Wayne yelled.

Jasmine smiled. I don’t like that smile. She barely emoted at all last time, why does she look happy now?

“Metronome.”

Legends above, no. Not that move! Suzy ran out of the way of the wind sickles as they carved into the ground, and Emilie teleported-

“Are you insane!” I screamed as Emilie landed on Skarmory’s back with a malevolent grin.

‘I’m your Pokémon, of course I am.’ Emilie cackled as she grabbed the back of Skarmory’s wings and angled the bird down. Skarmory squawked at the impromptu nosedive.

“Steel Wing! Get that annoying gremlin off you,” Wayne ordered, glaring across the field at me for some reason.

What the hell are you mad at me for, I didn’t order this stupidity.

Emilie teleported off Skarmory the second Wayne started talking and Skarmory’s feet scraped the ground as he barely pulled up in time to avoid a crash landing. His wings glowed silver as he beat them against the ground and regained altitude.

‘Oi, Mandibuzz breath, you going to do anything this fight, that was the perfect chance to tag the stupid bird with one of your fancy fire attacks,’ Emilie said in an annoyed tone.

Suzy glared down at Emilie. ‘How the hell am I supposed to know you’re going to do something like that, you psychopath,’ Suzy clucked.

Oh, this was going well.

“Fair. RY!” Clefairy punctuated the final word by lifting both fingers into the air, her finger’s glowing white as energy pooled into a massive ball that was shot upwards, before warping and shifting in color. From blue, to black, till finally settling on red as it exploded, raining fire and death as the attack scattered down onto the grassy field below.

“Did she seriously roll Draco Meteor!?” May screamed as she backed away from the clearing.

Suzy sprinted forward, scooping Emilie up as she darted through the field, barely staying ahead of the falling brimstone as the very ground below us cracked, burned, and exploded. Joern had sprinted across the clearing and moved to shield me behind himself, and Leshy was knocking stray falling stones back towards the blast zone with his vines. Wayne and Jasmine both ducked away from their spots and hid behind trees as Skarmory took evasive action to avoid being barbecued. He cried out in pain as explosions from below pushed him up into a falling piece of molten earth before rising above the mess in its entirety.

By the end of the madness, Clefairy stood in the center of a baren, desolate wasteland as she rubbed the back of her head with a blush.

‘Sorry?’ she said.

“Suzy, are you okay?” May shouted.

The fire type slowly rose up from the debris and dusted herself off, coughing lightly as Emilie pulled herself up from the ground beneath her. Jasmine and Wayne both cautiously stuck their heads out and stared nervously at the field.

“Is it over?” Wayne asked, his voice shaky as he gazed out at the devastation. “Skarm, are you okay?”

“Skarm!” Skarmory shouted his annoyance from the skies above, his wings slightly blackened and banged up. He glared down at his partner, who backed away nervously.

“Oi, don’t glare at Clef,” Jasmine shouted at Skarmory, dragging his ire to herself. “And don’t be mad at me either, how the hell was I supposed to know that would happen?”

“I dunno, maybe don’t spin the roulette wheel. It never goes well, I don’t know why you keep trying,” Wayne complained.

‘You alright?’ Joern asked, looking a bit charred, but otherwise fine.

‘I’m fine. Same question, for both you and Emilie, ’ I said, doing my best to block out the bickering couple. Joern just nodded once.

‘Only thing hurt is my pride,’ Emilie complained, before slowly giving Suzy a strained smile. ‘Thanks.’ Emilie said the word like it caused her physical pain.

‘Whatever. Just don’t put yourself in a position where I have to save you again,’ Suzy said.

Emilie glared. ‘You are the most insufferable, annoying-’

Thats it.

‘BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!’ I screamed at both of them mentally, they winced. ‘Fight the powder puff and the flying knife before killing each other, or I swear to every legendary out there that the calamity Absol predicted was me going to jail for Pokecide.’ I took a second to be grateful that Skarmory, Jasmine, and Wayne were also still arguing with each other as I felt a small headache form. Emilie and Suzy glanced nervously at each other before nodding hesitantly my way.

‘Sorry,’ they said in unison, and I made sure to pass the message along to May.

‘Let’s make them pay for ignoring us,’ I said to everyone in our group.

May looked across the barren field before nodding.

“Right. Rapid fire Ember, Suzy. I don’t care where they go, just start some fires and get in close,” May shouted.

Suzy ran forward and spat multiple embers as she closed the gap. Embers that started dancing and shifting as a blue light enveloped them.

‘Burn them,’ I ordered.

Emilie smiled and lashed out with her stolen fire as Suzy closed the distance between herself and Clefairy in the blink of an eye. She slammed into the distracted Clefairy, her body igniting on contact, and the powder puff rolled across the clearing, clutching its chest in pain as fire surrounded her. Emilie’s possessed firestorm consumed her, and a wail of pain sounded through the clearing.

“Steel Wing. Break Emilie’s focus, now,” Wayne ordered, suddenly very focused on the fight at hand.

“Clef, I know you’re hurting right now, but you need to put those flames out. Rollout,” Jasmine ordered.

I wasn’t sure if Clefairy heard her or not, at this point, but regardless, she was still flailing about wildly. Unfortunately, the flames Emilie had control over were pulled back as Skarmory charged Emilie. A wall of fire forced him to gain altitude and whiff his attack. Clefairy was kneeling down, clutching her chest, her skin slightly charred as a single shadow loomed over her. The fairy Pokémon slowly lifted her head up and shrunk away from Suzy’s terrifying visage.

‘Not again!’ she shouted before scrambling backwards.

Suzy moved to give chase, but a single angry steel bird put herself between them and slammed a glowing white wing into Suzy.

‘Stop bullying my partner,’ Skarmory hissed.

I think this was the first time I heard his voice. It almost sounded mechanical, if that was possible.

‘Tell your partner to toughen up and stop being a baby,’ Suzy shouted as she jumped away from the angry bird.

Emilie’s fire once again closed in as Suzy pulled back. Skarmory beat his wings, and a gust of wind pushed the fire back, only to cause the flames to swell in the open air.

‘Oh, that’s interesting. Let me just...’ I heard Emilie mutter as the swelling firestorm exploded upwards and outwards toward Skarmory in one massive fireball, engulfing him completely. He slowly started to fall back towards earth, his wings smoldering in the wind.

“Wish,” Jasmine shouted as Skarmory plummeted. The bird collapsed into the ground before slowly picking himself up and standing, his wings looking warped from the heat.

‘What the fuck was that?! ’ I asked, gazing after Emilie’s pyrotechnics display in a state of awe.

‘Wind fans the flames. I realized something cool I could do because of it. I pulled a bunch of air into the ember storm, and that happened,’ Emilie explained, sounding excited.

‘Do that again!’ I ordered.

Emilie glared at me.

‘I need fire for that-’

“More embers while you move, Suzy. Give Emilie some more toys to play with and hit Skarmory hard with a Flame charge while he’s down,” May ordered.

‘Coming right up.’ Suzy shouted as she sprinted across the wasteland, spitting fire balls into the air as she went.

“Disarming Voice! Blow those fireballs out of the sky and keep them away from you,” Jasmine ordered before Emilie could even reach out and grab the flames.

Clefairy opened her mouth, and what came out felt wrong. The wail was dissonant and grating as a shockwave pushed itself outward from Clefairy’s mouth, snuffing out the fire and stopping Suzy in her tracks as she threw her hands over her ears.

“Go underground,” May yelled.

‘Relay that to Suzy, I doubt she heard that through this,’ I said with gritted teeth. Hell, I could barely hear her, and I was standing right next to her. My brain rattled around in my skull, and I was having trouble focusing.

Suzy dove underground a split second after.

'Is Clefairy weak enough to grab?’ I asked shakily.

‘Maybe? Hold on a second.’

Clefairy’s body glowed blue, and she froze, her cacophony ending abruptly. Her body shook slightly before it started to levitate into the air.

‘Not... easily...’ Emilie shook with the strain, and her words sounded far off.

“Air Cutter, don’t let her bully Clefairy.” Wayne said. Though the exhausted Skarmory beat his wings once, what lashed out wasn’t the usual wind sickles we had come to expect. A single gust of wind blew across the field, and the gale forced Emilie to kneel. Clefairy was still floating in midair.

“Come up now and slam into Skarmory. Full force Flame Charge, finish him before wish can come down,” May ordered. At the same time May’s order was shouted, Clefairy broke free of Emilie’s hold. She fell to the glowing, red ground and moved, shoving Skarmory as hard as she could before the ground beneath her exploded, the earth melting and gaining a glassy shine as Suzy once again slammed into Clefairy.

The assault knocked Clefairy into the sky. A pained whimper filled the air as she slowly fell back down to the charred battlefield below. She passed out on impact.

“One down, one to go,” I shouted with glee.

That glee was short lived as Clefairy’s wish finally came true, and a single, glowing star fell into the battered steel type. His wings regained their lustrous shine and straightened out to their full wingspan, and he rose to full height and beat his wings against the ground.

The flying steel type was airborne once more.

“Dammit, now this is going to take-” I cut myself off as I saw it. It was brief, but tufts of white hair made themselves known to me at the edges of my peripheral vision. I turned, desperately trying to see where the dark type went, but as soon as she appeared, she was gone. Back into the foliage.

“Skarmory, Steel Wing Emilie,” Wayne ordered while I was checking the tree line.

‘Right, battle. Teleport,’ I said distractedly.

Emilie disappeared as Skarmory flew down low, his wings glowing silver as he carved through the ground.

“Suzy, give Emilie some more ammo, and wait for my mark.”

Oh, I like ammo. Suzy backed away from the center of the field and launched several more embers into the air, when suddenly, the small glowing balls of fire turned into a continuous stream of heat.

May’s eyes widened before she threw her fist into the air. “Yes! We don’t have to use Ember anymore! Oh, I’m so happy,” May shouted as Emilie took direct control of the massive stream of fire.

‘Light him up,’ I needlessly ordered. The fire rushed towards Skarmory as he frantically beat his wings in an attempt to gain speed.

“Help with the chase, Suzy. Flamethrower,” May ordered.

Sweat started to fall from my brow. This heat was starting to get to me a bit.

Suzy leaned back and breathed out, a stream of fire filling the airspace around Skarmory. He quickly gained altitude, losing a bit of speed.

‘You’re mine!’ Emilie shouted as her possessed flames slammed into Skarmory. The air cracked for a split second before the bombardment exploded. I leaned down and braced myself as a shockwave pushed out from the blast, and hot air passed over my skin.

Apollo fired a water gun at my head, and I sputtered a few times before glaring at him.

‘Your hair was on fire,’ Apollo said. My eyes widened before I reached up to feel a significantly shorter cut. Fuck, I liked my long cut, dammit.

Skarmory flew out of the fire ball in a screech of rage, his wings still on fire as he struggled to maintain altitude. He beat his wings forward once, and a massive, sickle of fire was launched from his wings, heading straight for Emilie. She teleported away before the attack made it half way across the field.

“NOW! Jump into a Flame Charge,” May shouted.

Suzy sprinted forward and jumped at the wounded bird, her body the picture of a flaming meteor streaking across the sky.

Skarmory looked at the oncoming fireball and winced, too exhausted to even alter his flight path. He leaned away from the attack, before his whole body glowed red as he was pulled back across the field into Wayne’s Poke Ball. Suzy pushed through the air Skarmory had occupied and slammed into the ground, cracking it beneath her as fire pushed out from the impact. She raised her fists above her head and gave a mighty war cry into the air.

‘VICTORY!’ she screamed, jumping up and down as she stared across the field at Wayne, who looked down at his Poke Ball apologetically before looking up and smiling across the field at us.

“Well, that was insane,” Wayne commented. “That Combusken is way more horrifying than I thought.” Wayne slowly walked around the blast zone that used to be our arena and started walking towards us, Jasmine trailing behind looking dejected.

“She’s a lot scarier when the person that knows what she’s doing is giving orders, huh?” I asked.

May glared at me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you did great on the ship,” May said. “Besides, half the reason we did so much better this time is Emilie gave Suzy reach.” May smiled down at both of our starters. “They kick all kinds of ass when they aren’t trying to kill each other, don’t they?”

“Duh, they’re ours,” I said.

‘See, feather head, you needed my awesomeness just to compete!’ Emilie said.

‘You would have been out here, staring blankly at the sky with nothing to do, were it not for me and my fire,’ Suzy countered with a glare. ‘I don’t wanna hear anything from you about awesomeness. I was clearly the star of that fight.’

‘I did more damage to that bird than you ever did. Don’t even start with that right now,’ Emilie said back. I was too tired to deal with this. I lifted Emilie’s Poke Ball and froze as Absol once again flitted across my vision. I froze before bringing my arm down.

May, however, made it a point to recall Suzy as her feathers started to ignite.

“Yeah, I’m just going to let you cool down for a bit,” May said into Suzy’s ball, before glaring at Emilie.

My starter looked away.

“Sorry,” Emilie muttered. Both Wayne and Jasmine instantly focused all of their attention on Emilie.

“Did... she just talk?” Jasmine asked, her eyes wide.

Emilie smiled at both of them before teleporting to her usual perch. “Work. In. Progress.” Emilie said. “Vocal. Chords. Don’t want to. Make. Right Sounds.” Emilie glared at the ground. “I Wanted. To Talk.” Emilie explained. “Hard.”

“Can’t she just... talk telepathically?” Jasmine asked.

I shook my head. “Not at this stage, at least not to humans. I’m special,” I explained.

Wayne backed up a step at my grin.

“Very. Special.” Emilie smiled my way.

‘Why do I get the feeling you mean that as an insult?’ I asked.

Emilie continued to smile.

“Yeah, yeah, Emilie’s awesome. Where the hell did you get a Clefairy?” May asked Jasmine pointedly. “I wanted to ask after the first time we fought, but I never got the chance.”

“Starter,” she explained. “I’ve raised her from a Cleffa. My mom gave me an egg from her Clefable, and...” She looked away and smiled. “She’s been my baby ever since.”

“Your baby’s a murder machine,” Wayne complained.

Jasmine laughed and I backed up a step this time.

“But she’s MY murder machine,” Jasmine smiled while she said that. I suddenly remembered Oak’s article and idly wondered if this would fall under indulgent behavior.

Meh, Jasmine seemed fine enough.

“I actually might ask you for some tips,” I said hesitantly. “Emilie and I are kind of out of our depth when it comes to training her fairy side. We’re obviously golden on psychic training, but... that’s only half of the equation and what’s out there to train fairy types really isn’t all that clear.” Emilie’s eyes widened a bit as she stared up at me, looking more than a little worried at the prospect.

‘I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,’ Emilie said.

‘The best way to get a handle on something is to work with it, Emilie. ’ I smiled down at her. ‘It’s only going to get harder if we don’t,’ I argued.

Emilie looked down for a bit. ‘You’re right,’ Emilie finally said. ‘Ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away. The only way to deal with it is to work through it.’ Emilie sighed. ‘When do we get to the play hard part of Roshi’s tenants? That Turtonator seemed to have way more fun times than we are.’

‘You mean you didn’t have fun during the fight?’ I asked back with a smile.

‘It wasn’t... horrible. Working with the feather head,’ Emilie said. ‘And the fight itself was a blast.’ A hand waved in front of my face, and I groaned.

“I’m sorry,” I said without prompting.

Jasmine gave me a glare.

“I see what May means, now,” she said. “How are you going to ask a question and then slip off into lala land? Whatever, I was saying that Clefairy can show Emilie a thing or two later, after she gets patched up at a center.” Jasmine stared down at Clefairy’s Poke Ball and sighed. “Just expect a decent amount of attitude. My girl’s a bit of a sore loser.”

“Ah, I see, that’s a trait of the type. Got it,” I said.

Emilie glared at me. “Never Lost. Yet. How would. You know?” Emilie said with a grin.

‘Don’t act like you’re not going to go off the deep end after your first loss,’ Joern said. ‘You have too much pride to be anything but a sore loser.’

I nodded along to my grass type’s assessment, much to my starter’s detriment. She glared at both of us.

“Joern’s just being brutally honest, hon. Don’t worry, I’ll be there to listen to you rant when it finally does happen,” I said in a faux consoling voice.

“I really need to get myself a psychic type,” Wayne said. “Having a full dialogue with the whole team sounds incredible. I can generally pick out what Skarm’s trying to say, but Nuzleaf really isn’t all that expressive. It makes him hard to talk to.”

I quickly shifted my focus to the hulking man in front of me with rapt attention.

“Can I meet him?” I asked.

Wayne sucked in a breath. “He’s kind of temperamental around new people. I’ll introduce you once Skarm’s healed up and he can babysit.”

I turned toward the sky and whistled, and Apollo flew down and perched on his usual spot. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, Wayne, but I think I can handle a grumpy grass type.” I nodded towards Leshy. “Hell, I do it every day when May let’s Leshy out to play.”

‘Your jokes are as bad as your new hair style,’ Leshy said.

I smiled down at him.

“You’re only proving my point,’ I countered.

Leshy just glared at me. Samie walked up and rubbed his jaw against Leshy in a consoling manner.

“I’d still feel better if Skarm was out. I don’t really want his first impression of you to be that of an enemy,” Wayne said.

“Ah, he’s one of those,” May said.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Got it. We’ll wait.” May shifted to look at Jasmine. “Any other members of your team besides Clef?”

“I’ve got a Misdreavus,” she said, making no motion to grab a Poke Ball. “She’s... not much of a people person. At any rate, Lea, did you still want to do an interview with us?” Jasmine asked, not being subtle in the abrupt change of subject at all.

‘Roll with the subject change. That Misdreavus has issues,’ Emilie said.

I nodded to both her and Jasmine.

“It sounds like it’d be fun. I kind of doubt the official May Maple channel is going to post anything else, but if you want to have me on one of you guys’ shows, I’d be down,” I said. May looked away.

“I won’t be posting anything else. If you want to, you can,” May said. “I’m sorry if my freak out the other day made you think you couldn’t.”

I paused for a second.

“If I did do something like that, I’m making my own channel,” I said. “I don’t know if I do, yet. I just... I know it freaked you out, and I don’t want to make you deal with crap you don’t want to deal with.” I smiled at her. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”

May nodded and shot me a smile.

“And you really don’t have to apologize for me being an ass,” I said.

May giggled. “Right. I don’t know what I was thinking,” May said.

“Right...” Jasmine said, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “At any rate, if you’re going to join us for a stream there’s a few things we need to go through.” She turned to look at May. “Would you mind if I took Lea off to the side so we can do some prep really quick? I just want to run through some basic questions with her.”

“Why can’t you just do that here?” May asked.

“Some of them might be a bit private, and I just want to make sure I don’t cause any issues between you two. Again,” Jasmine said.

“Jasmine, I don’t think there’s a question you could ask that I wouldn’t feel comfortable answering in front of May,” I said confidently.

“Look, it would just make me more comfortable, okay?” Jasmine said.

May looked at me nervously as I slowly moved to follow her.

“Look, I’ve got the three stooges with me, I’ll be fine, alright? Don’t worry so much,” I said.

Jasmine looked at me oddly.

“I can’t help it. I know you’ll probably be fine, just be careful, okay?” May said.

I nodded before walking with Jamine to the tree line. We went a bit further in than I was expecting, honestly. I couldn’t really see Wayne or May once we stopped. Apollo took off from my shoulder and started flying overhead, and Joern and Emilie both looked attentively at the trees.

“Are the armed guards entirely necessary?” Jasmine asked.

“We saw an Absol this morning.” Jasmine froze as she quickly looked around. “May and I have been really careful to always have at least three of the team out at any given time,” I explained.

“That’s the kind of information you LEAD with, Lea. Usually, within the first few sentences of seeing someone. Something like ‘Hi, how are you, I saw a harbinger of disaster and death on my front deck today!’” she shouted.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to worry you,” I hastily explained. “We had a fucking Pokémon guard convoy out as we made our way here. People kept giving us weird looks as we walked about town.” I chuckled at the memory. “It wasn’t like that in Rustboro. People didn’t bat an eye at the squad being out and about. Regardless, you said you had some things you wanted to run through with me?”

“Are May and Lea really not dating?” Jasmine wasn’t looking at me when she asked this. She was looking at Emilie.

“They. Are. Not.” Emilie said the three words with what looked like a tremendous amount of difficulty. Jasmine nodded once before looking intently at me.

“How long have you wanted to date May?” This one was directed at me. I felt uncomfortable.

“This wasn’t about the interview at all, was it?” I asked.

Jasmine shook her head.

“It will be, I just wanted to ask a few questions about you, first,” Jasmine said. “I don’t really” she paused and took a deep breath before looking away. “Get close to other people. I’m surprised Wayne puts up with me sometimes, and I don’t have a ton of real friends back home.” She looked back at me and smiled. “In the last few days, I’ve had so much fun hanging out with you and May. It felt easier than with other people. I just... want to help, if I can,” Jasmine explained. “Maybe get to know you both better in the process. I’m so bad at this...”

I gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m not exactly the most social person in the world either, Jasmine. I think I can count the friends I have on one hand,” I said. “I appreciate your concern, but May and I aren’t going to be a thing.”

Jasmine looked up at me in surprise.

“Girl, are you crazy? Just tell her! You two would be a couple by the end of the day. Best friends don’t look at each other that way!” Jasmine said. She looked like she wanted to shout, but she was keeping the volume low enough that it didn’t carry.

“May got super freaked out at the prospect of us going on a couple’s cruise because she was terrified people were going to send pictures out about us, and we would be labeled the Dyke Rookies of Hoenn.”

Emilie looked down at me, moderately terrified.

“She didn’t actually say that, but she thought it loud enough to piss Emilie right the hell off.” I smiled sadly at Emilie.

‘When the hell did you pick that out of my head!?’ Emilie shouted. ‘How did you hide that you found out!?’ Her voice got louder at the second question. That one I didn’t really have an answer too.

“When we were at the beach, and I caught May staring,” I said. “Either you’re getting better at staying out, or I’m getting better at keeping thoughts in, either way, I’m counting that as a win.” I looked back towards Jasmine, who I now noticed looked ready to smack a bitch. “Er, Jasmine?”

“I’m beating her ass,” Jasmine said, before trying to walk back to the clearing.

I grabbed her, and holy fuck she was a lot stronger than she looked.

“No, you’re not,” I said.

Joern grabbed her and pulled her back.

“She didn’t actually say anything that bad, and it’s not her thinking that way.” I looked down towards the ground. “It’s how she’ll think others will see us.” I smiled bitterly. “To answer your question earlier, I’ve felt this way for May since Rustboro. At least, I’ve been aware of it since then. Back then, I was terrified my feelings were going to cost me my best friend.” I looked down at the ground. “I’m actually fairly confident that she feels the same now.”

“Then why-”

“Us being more than friends needs to be her choice,” I said over Jasmine. “I already fucked up once by all but dragging her onto the cruise. I’m not dealing with that again.” I smiled. “I’m happy you asked about this, honestly. Talking about it with someone felt freeing.” I smiled at Emilie. “I guess being more open has it’s perks sometimes.” The air around us felt fuzzy. That was odd.

“If you’re sure...” Jasmine said.

“It’ll happen if it happens.” I repeated what my own Pokémon said about my relationship with May. The air suddenly felt heavier.

“In that case-” Jasmine’s words died on her tongue as the world around us shifted. A single dark orb appeared out of thin air and sniped Emilie off of my shoulder. She hit the grass with a sickening thud and laid, motionless, at my feet. A huge boulder launched from the other side of the clearing and slammed, full force, into Jasmine.

“Jas-” The word died on my throat.

A barrier slowly dissolved just beyond the tree line, and Solrock and Lunatone slowly came into view as it faded. Just outside of my peripheral vision, I could see that Jasmine was out cold, and her arm was bent at an angle that looked... unnatural. Joern was shouting now. It was loud.

I should recall him. It’s dangerous out here! I really don’t want him to get hurt like Jasmine just did. I quickly grabbed Joern’s poke ball and hit the return button, smiling as my favorite grass type disappeared into the ball, safe and sound. I faintly heard water fall to the ground.

‘He must have been confused by whatever attacked Jasmine,’ Solrock said.

‘It was probably Ralts. She seemed agitated,’ Lunatone said.

I nodded eagerly.

‘Yeah, this is for his own good. He’ll be fine in a bit,’ I thought glaring down at the Ralts.

Joern’s ball was shaking, and I frowned. He needed to stay safe! I locked the ball and put it back on my belt as a pair of familiar faces floated closer to me. I smiled as Solrock urged me to grab on.

I frowned as Apollo flew down. Fuck, I grabbed his ball. It wasn’t safe for him to be out here either! Last thing I wanted was for him to end up like Swellow. I aimed my ball at him, but he disappeared as soon as the red light launched outwards.

‘Aerial Ace... annoying.’ Huh, was that me? It sounded like me. Aerial Ace wasn't annoying, though, it was awesome! ‘No matter.’ I needed to grab Solrock. Right now.

“LEA!” I heard May scream, and I hesitated briefly.

What was I doing? Solrock moved closer to me and it suddenly all became clear. I grabbed onto Solrock, and then I felt a pull.

“JASMINE!” I faintly heard as the world around me shifted to the familiar feeling of teleportation.

Chapter 23

Notes:

Content Warning - We earn those scary tags with this one. Be advised and mentally prepared.

Chapter Text

The world spun briefly as I found myself in a dimly lit cave. For a single, terrifying moment of clarity, I processed the world as it was, and instantly went for Joern’s Poke Ball. My body froze as Solrock and Lunatone formed in front of me.

I didn’t want to let Joern out in here, did I? He’d probably hate it here. Dark, cramped, dry, and almost no sign of plant life. No, he would hate it here. The ball shook in my hand, and I frowned. Maybe... no. Best to keep him in his ball for now.

Solrock took point as we went further into the cave. I followed closely behind him, and Lunatone brought up the rear, watching our backs. The tension in my shoulders started to ease up as we went further. I’m not even sure why I was worried, really.

I felt a force pull at my side and looked down to see my Poke Balls start to levitate back towards Lunatone. That was probably for the best, really. They would be a lot safer with him than with me, especially in a place like this.

Solrock stopped, and I instantly stopped walking. We had hit a dead end, but something was off. The rocks and stones in front of me were a different color to everything else in the cave, shifting from brown to pitch black. Darker than anything I had ever seen before, in fact. The longer I stared, the more I was pulled in, like the stones themselves were a black hole, pulling my gaze deeper into a yawning void.

‘Focus,’ I turned to see Lunatone by my side, his gaze affixed to the wall. ‘These stones are beyond our understanding. We cannot move them.’

‘But you can,’ Solrock said. ‘Dig.’

A primal instinct filled my soul upon hearing the word, and my body moved. My hands clawed at the wall with fervor. The wall was soft and weak, and I was able to start carving out a tiny hole further into the abyss. Deeper. I needed to go deeper. I needed to-

Fuck. That hurt. I pulled my hand back and winced. Flecks of red dotted the black as I pulled out a large, black stone that was blocking our way. The hole I had dug had grown in size rather quickly. It felt like I had only just begun not that long ago. A faint blue light glowed from behind me. Shit, I was falling behind. Ignore the cut. I needed to keep going. Keep going. Just keep going.

‘I thought we would have more trouble controlling someone this far into the void,’ I heard from behind me.

‘This one bares no resistance,’ Lunatone said. Right, then the first voice was Solrock, then. ‘She seems oddly perceptive, though. Even under our thrall, her mind picks out our conversation.’

‘Does that matter?’ Solrock asked.

‘I do not know,’ Lunatone replied.

My eyes widened as an unbearable amount of pain radiated from the tips of my fingers. My hands were a bloody mess of knicks and cuts. Nothing too terribly deep, but that wasn’t the issue.

My nails were cracked, split, or in some cases, just straight up gone.

I needed to stop. Just for a moment. I needed to... to get help...

‘Pain heightens her focus,’ Solrock noted.

‘Then suppress it. If nothing else, those monsters' experiments made us capable enough to do at least that,’ Lunatone said.

The pain disappeared. I relaxed for a second before resuming my work. We were almost through; I could feel it. I just had to push through this last bit of wall. I couldn’t dig any deeper though. The black wall in front of me was solid stone. I needed force to push through this. Legends above I felt lightheaded. Resting my hand against the wall, I tried to shove. No dice. It was solid. The bricks were laid in such a way that small gaps gave a glimpse to what lay beyond. The room we wanted to get to was right there! We were so close!

My eyes started to droop, fucking hell I’m tired. Maybe just-

A jolt of pain radiated from my hands and my eyes snapped open as a quiet scream forced its way out of my mouth.

‘You can rest soon,’ Solrock said. ‘Just a bit further, and you can rest for a long, long time.’ I turned back to him and smiled.

“Thanks!” I said before walking backwards. Damn, I dug deep! Force was all I needed here. Lunatone floated back with me as I walked, always staying close. I turned back towards the wall, got down low, and sprinted, full steam. I brought my shoulder down to ram into the void.

I bounced off. Fuck, my shoulder did not like that, but the wall caved inward a bit more. Pain shot up from my shoulder and down my arm. I could still move it, but... I probably shouldn’t try again on that side. A single drop of water trailed down my cheek, and I raised my hand up to wipe it off of my face. Was I crying? Why was I crying? Whatever. We were almost done here. I walked back again and prepared to suicide charge the wall again. I just had to push through it. I sprinted forward, jumped, and felt a force I didn’t recognize push me harder still. I slammed into the wall, and it finally gave in. I pushed into the chamber, and-

PAIN!

My mouth opened but no sound came out as unimaginable pain lanced through my brain. My hands screamed at me. My shoulder burned. My arm cracked and wailed as I convulsed on the ground in abject agony before abruptly stopping as the world stilled. Everything came back into focus as Solrock entered the chamber.

‘Was that truly necessary?’ I heard Lunatone ask. ‘We were close enough that we could’ve just thrown a normal rock through the wall, you didn’t have to do that.’

‘This human humiliated us, just as THEY did,’ Solrock said. ‘She deserves to suffer.’

‘I suppose you are right.’ Lunatone said, before focusing forward at the room’s lone fixture.

Now that I could think, I slowly started to force myself to my feet. The room we were in was decently sized, and the walls were the same pitch black shade as the rest of the cave. Ornate doors stood tall and were sealed shut on the opposite side of the chamber, and as I rose to full height, I could see it.

‘The king’s blade,’ Solrock muttered in awe.

A broad sword had been slammed into a stone in the center of a raised dais. Symbols were carved into the ground, and several paper talismans were tied to chains that wrapped around a blood red blade. A red tassel hung limp from the hilt, and at the center of its cross guard, an ornate, black gem with a single red dot in the middle shined in the light Solrock was giving off.

It almost looked like it was staring at me.

The chains glowed blue, before shattering under Solrock’s might, and I could feel a faint wind blow out from the blade. The tassel seemed to come to life for a split second before falling limply back down.

‘I cannot lift the sword, ’ Solrock said, shock coloring his voice.

‘Are you-’

‘Yes, I’m sure!’ Solrock shouted. ‘The podium itself is steeped in the energy of the void.’ Solrock hissed the final word before turning back to me. ‘I am sorry, but it would seem that there is one final task for you before you rest. My lady.’ Solrock chuckled and I tilted my head. ‘Yes, I do believe your sword awaits you, my queen.’ I nodded once, before walking up to the blade. The single dot in the center of the stone trailed up to follow my eyes as I approached. I wrapped my hand around the hilt and pulled.

Fuck, he was really stuck in there. I’d... I needed both hands. Pain briefly lanced through my left arm as I lifted it up and wrapped my hand around the hilt. White hot agony radiated from the top of my arm as I pulled.

In a single instance, my entire life flashed before my eyes. Eve’s breakdowns in my early childhood, meeting the Maple family for the first time, life in the bakery, the start of my journey, all my friends, everything I had ever done or experienced passed by in the blink of an eye. Screaming filled my ears. Screaming that sounded both close and far off at the same time. How was that possible?

The world once again came into focus, and I looked down.

My left arm hung limply at my side. I couldn’t move it no matter how hard I tried. That was fine though, because the ultimate prize was in my right hand.

The sword had been pulled from the stone. We had done it.

The doors on the far side of the room started to open, and I blacked out.

***

May’s POV

***

May sprinted forward, her hand passing through open air as she reached out a second too late, her heart hammering in her chest. She was gone. How?

Her whole damn team was with her! Joern and Apollo took these things down on their own. How the fuck did this happen?

May looked down and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. A few scant feet away, Emilie’s prone form rested on the ground. May knelt, her hands cautiously reaching out towards the downed Pokémon. She scooped her up, hoping...

Her chest was moving, and May heard a faint breath be pulled in from below her. She was still alive. Good. That was good. Oh god.

“Lea...” Emilie breathed out, still completely out of it.

Apollo landed on May’s shoulder before nudging her with his beak. May slowly turned to meet his determined stare and saw Sergei out of the corner of her gaze. He floated just at eye level, a single message already loaded in his chat room.

“The cap’s in trouble.” That message was old. It probably got sent the second Solrock and Luntone made their move. Apollo nodded at the phone before saying what was on his mind. “The cap’s strong. I believe in her, but we have to push through. Don’t give up. I know she won’t.” May read. She looked away from the screen.

How the hell were they supposed to push through? They didn’t even know where Lea went! May glared at the screen before forcing herself to her feet.

Lea was strong. She had to be strong too. May turned toward Wayne, getting a good look at Jasmine for the first time. She was out cold, with a large gash cut into her head. Her arm was bent at an odd angle, and May winced. Broken, at a minimum.

Wayne gingerly set his phone down before grabbing Jasmine’s hand. He had apparently called for help during that little freak out. May rushed forward, suddenly painfully aware that Lea wasn’t the only person in danger right now.

“Is she-”

“She’ll be fine.” Wayne cut me off. “EMTs are on their way, I’ll stay with her.” He glared down at the ground for a second before reaching down to his belt. He grabbed a pair of Poke Balls, and a bright light filled the clearing.

Skarmory looked about as terrible as the last time May saw him. His wings were warped from heat and most of his body looked chipped, banged up, or charred. The fact that he was standing at all awed May slightly.

“Skarm.” he called out wearily. “Skarmory.” May turned to look at Sergei and froze.

A single, sharpened leaf was being held against May’s throat by an enraged Nuzleaf.

“Stand the fuck down, I do not have the time, or the patience to deal with your Tauros shit right now. You know May’s not a threat. I know you know May’s not a threat. So, chill” Wayne got up from his spot next to Jasmine. “the fuck” He grabbed Nuzleaf. “Out!” and pulled.

Nuzleaf winced as Wayne dragged him away from May with minimal effort before tossing him back a few feet. Nuzleaf glared at May for a second before staring at Wayne.

“Nuz. Nuzleaf Nuz. Leaf.” he argued. May looked down at Sergei.

“I can’t do much, but I’ll do what I can.” Skarmory said that one. May froze as she read Nuzleaf’s message, and an unholy feeling bubbled up from her stomach. The world shifted to a violent shade of red as May charged towards Nuzleaf, picked him up, and slammed him into the ground, her arm pressing down against his chest.

“If you EVER, accuse me of working with those monsters in secret again, I will have Suzy cook you, cut you up, and serve you to the local homeless shelter as a pot of roasted veggies. Do I make myself clear?” May snarled.

Nuzleaf looked up at her, fearless, before nodding once. May leaned back from the Nuzleaf and winced.

That was an overreaction. Fuck her head was screwed up right now. She looked down towards Emilie and sighed in relief. She was still good. Apollo flew up a few feet and landed on a branch. May looked away from his stare and sighed. She turned to apologize, but stopped as Nuzleaf picked himself up, dusted himself off, and shot her a smile.

“Nuzleaf,” he said, giving May a single, reassuring nod.

“Remind me to never piss you off,” Wayne said as he ruffled through his bag and pulled out a Hyper Potion. “Didn’t think I’d be using one of these so soon, but it’s an emergency.” He reached out, grabbed Skarmory’s wings, and started spraying her down.

May gazed in awe as wings seemed to restructure themselves under the spray, warping back into place as the spray made contact.

“How the hell-”

“There’s a reason these things are prohibitively expensive. They do a damn good job,” Wayne explained. “Congrats, by the way, that might be the fastest anyone’s ever gotten Nuzleaf’s respect.”

“Weird way to gain respect,” May muttered.

Wayne stared down at Skarmory grimly as he continued to spray.

“Yeah,” Wayne agreed. “Skarmory, Nuzleaf, I want the two of you to go with May.”

May whipped her head up to stare at Wayne in shock.

“I’m staying with Jasmine.” He met May’s gaze and nodded. “Go get your girl back.”

“She’s not” The protest died on May’s lips halfway through the statement, and she realized she couldn’t bring herself to finish it. “How?”

“You find those ass holes and win.” Wayne smiled at his team. “Between my team, your team, and Lea’s team, I think-”

“I don’t even know where Lea is!” May interrupted, before looking down at Emilie. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Sol.” May whipped around instantly as she stared down at the white furred intruder. Absol glared up at her in contempt before staring malevolently at Sergei. “Absol.”

“A warning was given, yet tragedy still grips you. Fate would see the end of your partner’s life, and the defilement of my master’s grave.” May read the message, her grip tightening on Emilie.

May leaned back in shock as Emilie’s eyes shot open. The psychic type turned and glared at Absol. May sat her down on the ground as she shifted around.

“Like you couldn’t. Have been more cryptic,” Emilie complained. “Quit being. A role player. And talk like. A normal Pokémon,” Emilie spat.

“You’re one to talk.” May read from Sergei’s screen. Emilie glared, and May walked closer to the dark type.

“Absol can’t pinpoint the disaster beyond who it will affect, Emilie.” May shifted her glare. “That being said, fuck fate,” May snarled. “No way in hell is Lea going to get taken out by a pair of celestial cosplayers.”

Absol barked once, her glare softening slightly.

“A child thinks she can spit in the eye of fate,” Sergei translated. Emilie groaned. “The tragedy is set, yet you seek to stop it. I do not believe it to be possible, at this point. The call of the void is too strong.” May glared down at the Absol.

“I don’t care,” May said. “Take us to your master’s grave.”

Absol glared up at May, before sighing and looking away.

“He would be disappointed in me if I were to deny your hopeless venture. If you will not be dissuaded, then follow me. Keep up, for I will not slow down.” Absol leapt forward, and May sprinted after her.

“Stay safe and bring her back!” Wayne shouted as I left, Skarmory and Apollo took flight beside me as Emilie teleported to my shoulder and Nuzleaf ran to keep pace. Sergei floated just ahead of her, and a new message appeared.

“Are you strong?” Was the single question that had appeared on Sergei’s screen.

“Strong enough,” May said. The tree line they were running through slowly started to break up as a sheer rock wall came into view. “Where the hell are we going?”

Absol didn’t respond, and slowed down as she approached the wall. She put his paw out and a single nail touched a small, outcropped stone.

It sunk in, and as it did, a slab of stone began to fall into the earth. The yawning abyss that opened up went down, and May struggled to see anything beyond what the sun illuminated.

“Suzy.” May cried out as she grabbed her ball and released her starter. “Thank you can keep a small fire going. We need to see where we’re going.” Suzy nodded before focusing, a small fire formed in her hand as she took the lead going into the abyss. Absol walked beside her.

“Leshy and Samie. As well.” Emilie said. May nodded and let out her full squad. Leshy glared down into the abyss.

Samie looked focused. For the first time since capturing him, he looked completely cognizant of the world around him. He also looked incredibly pissed off.

Sergei’s screen lit up, and a flashlight blasted out of his back, lighting up the entire cave in front of them. Suzy looked back at her and glared.

“I’m an idiot, okay? What do you want?” May blushed as Suzy fell back a bit to walk with her trainer. “Is everyone up to speed?” Suzy and Leshy both nodded as Samie stared further into the cave.

The hall opened up into a small chamber with several branching paths.

“Sol.” Absol commanded as she led them toward the exit on the left. A group of Zubat rushed out as May followed, agitated by the light. May jumped back as they flew towards the other paths.

“That... was a surprise. With all the fanfare of getting here, I'd figure the place would be empty,” May commented. Absol laughed at me. Sergei floated to about eye level as he pressed forward.

“Pokémon will find a way. If it’s livable, they’ll be there,” Absol argued. “When they were first made, this path was a straight shot to my lord’s tomb.” Absol guided us to the left at a fork. “Now the path’s branch to a million different caves.”

“Thought you said. We were going. Fast,” Emilie said with a glare.

“I have traversed these caves thousands of times, yet even I have to be careful not to get lost.” Absol said. We came to another set of branching paths. Absol guided us down the central chamber. “Would you prefer to be lost in the branching paths for the rest of your days, mindlessly wandering through the dark as you slowly lose your sanity and reason.”

“So you’re. A shit guide,” Emilie said. “Got it.”

“Emilie, she’s helping us. Stop antagonizing her before she decides to leave us down here,” May said, cautiously walking around a Dunsparce that was lazily moving through the hall.

Emilie opened her mouth before closing it and glaring at their guide. A new message popped up on Sergei.

“Do not be too harsh on her. The Fae distrust those of the void. It’s in their nature,” Absol said.

Nuzleaf nodded once, and Emilie looked angrily at the ground, muttering things too quietly to hear.

We stopped at a pair of black doors. A pair of swords were crossed in front of them, one blue and one red. Absol stopped and turned.

“To reach their goal, they will have to pass through this door. This is the only entrance to my master’s grave,” Absol said. Emilie hopped down.

“Can’t sense anything,” Emilie said. “Dark.” May’s eyes widened.

“That was why they tried to bring Atticus and Jessica here, and why they took Lea. They needed someone to open the doors for them!” May said before grabbing the red blade.

“SOL!” May stopped and looked back at Sergei. "We can ambush them here. We cannot break the seal," Absol said. May snarled, and Skarmory flew down to get right in Absol’s face.

“Skarm!” he shouted. Absol didn’t back down.

“Solrock and Lunatone teleported here. They’re ahead of us. There’s a very real chance they’re in there right now, putting my best friend through lord knows what, and you want us to wait!” May shouted.

“GULL!” Apollo agreed.

“We. Are. Going!” Emilie said each word with vitriol as she glared at the dark type. She still didn’t move from her spot in front of the door. May opened her mouth to argue further, getting ready to order Suzy to make her move, before a single, ear piercing scream sounded out from beyond the doors. Without thought, May shoved Absol out of the way and slammed into the door. It didn’t budge.

“You need-”

“Move!” Emilie shouted over Absol as she pulled a massive boulder up from behind them. Absol and May barely managed to get out of the way as the she hurled the rock forward. It slammed against the doors, breaking on contact. The doors remained sealed. “How?”

Her question was cut off as a bright light flickered through the hall. Suzy’s entire body was ablaze as she ran, full steam, towards the door. She jumped right as she got close and her entire body glowed as the doors cracked, before shattering against the force of Suzy’s assault. Everyone rushed into the chamber, and May caught a brief glimpse of her best friend.

“Lea!” She shouted before being shoved back by a massive gust of wind. May brought her arms up and braced herself as Absol launched ahead, her horn glowing black as she whipped her head around. A massive black sickle shot outwards towards everyone on the dais.

The attack met a purple sickle in midair, and the world in front of May exploded. She was shoved backwards into the wall and winced as Absol was thrown into her. Suzy and Leshy all but sprinted to stand between her and their enemies, and Emilie cleared the archway before teleporting to my shoulder.

The dust settled, and May winced as she pushed herself off the wall. The sight in front of her caused her to lean back into it.

Lea stared down at the sword in her hand with reverential glee as she slowly raised it in front of her. How she was gripping it remained a mystery, as her hands were bloody mangled messes of flesh and bone. The arm that wasn’t being used hung limply at her side, and she was coated with blood. It dripped down her arm, from her hands, and was smeared against both her face and clothes. Clothes that were barely holding on.

The most jarring sight though, was the smile marring Lea’s face. It was stretched wide and unnatural as she gazed upon the blade in her hand.

“Magnificent.” That wasn’t Lea. The voice grated against May’s ears as it echoed and reverberated through the chamber they were standing in. “The power of a king, enough that it can stand up to its guardian with minimal effort.” Not Lea looked down at May and froze. Solrock and Lunatone levitated forward, floating between the two groups. “How on earth did you find us so fast?” Not Lea asked.

“Get out. Of my trainer’s head,” Emilie snarled. Her eyes glowed blue, but nothing happened. Emilie winced as she looked down, and realized the entire chamber was made of similar material to the door.

“But she’s so happy to have us here!” Not Lea said. “Even after all the enhancements, direct control had been a pipe dream till about ten seconds ago. This girl truly is exceptional.”

Leshy launched a wave of Razor Leaves forward. They were stopped in midair, and Solrock and Lunatone hadn’t even moved.

Skarmory rocketed across the battlefield toward our enemies, his wings silvery and glowing as he slammed, wing first, into Lunatone.

“How did you push through that?” Not Lea asked as boulders were lifted up from the ground and launched outwards with the speed of a rail gun in every direction, carefully angled so they would miss Lea. One slammed into Skarmory, sending him backwards and away from Lunatone. A few slammed into the walls.

And two were launched towards the entrance, where everyone was still standing.

Leshy and Nuzleaf both fired off a Razor leaf, and the green blades turned blue as Emilie lifted her hands up. They barely dug into the boulders, as the launched rocks slowed, and the attack crumbled before falling short. The continued assault sailed across the chamber, guided so that the blades wouldn’t shred her best friend.

Not Lea brought the sword in her hand down, and a purple wave flew out from the blade and slammed into the leaves, vaporizing them on contact as it continued towards us.

Absol stood up and whipped her head around. Launching the same attack she did when we entered the chamber. The attacks exploded on contact again, and everyone braced themselves against the ground. The power from the explosion seemed to disperse outwards off to the sides as Emilie and the space rocks fought to direct the force.

“Focus!” Emilie ordered. May looked down towards Emilie. “I know this looks bad. But we need direction. Order us. Or we’re going to get. In each other’s way.”

May stood up instantly and glared at Not Lea with gritted teeth. Skarmory was keeping his distance high up in the chamber with Apollo, and everyone else was right in front of her.

More of them needed to be in Solrock’s and Lunatone’s face.

“Skarmory, make another run with Steel Wing, have Apollo cover you with Water Gun. Nuzleaf, go in close and use whatever dark type attack you have. Samie, go underground and look for an opportunity to trip up Lea’s body. Try and be gentle, if you can. Leshy, rapid fire Razor Leaf, Emilie direct the blades, and Suzy, make sure nothing gets close enough to hurt me.” May took a deep breath at the end of that as the world around her came to life. “Improvise when you have to, I won’t be able to direct all of you in this!” May shouted.

Skarmory and Nuzleaf blitzed the group in front of them, completely unbothered by the psychic aura radiating from the space rocks in front of them. Water rained down from above, and leaves were launched forwards, dancing to their own tune as Emilie directed them around our allies and towards Solrock and Lunatone.

The ranged attacks bounced harmlessly off barriers that had formed around the group, and Not Lea swung her sword down once more, aiming the blade Nuzleaf’s way as boulders rose up from the ground. Nuzleaf disappeared in a flash of speed as the wave passed harmlessly through an afterimage before slamming into the wall, Skarmory cleaved through the stones before slamming his wing into Lunatone again, aiming for the exact same spot. Nuzleaf’s hand glowed black as he slammed his fist into Solrock, knocking him backwards.

The rock types were thrown back by the force, and Absol saw that as her chance. She darted across the clearing, teeth pulled back into a snarl that glowed black as the walls around us before jumping towards the floating sun. Not Lea brought up her sword, before buckling as the ground beneath her gave way, revealing Samie as she banged his mouth against the back of Lea’s legs. She fell forward, shoving the blade into the ground to keep herself up as Absol bit into Solrock with black fangs, a dark aura radiating from the contact point as the stone collapsed into the ground.

Lunatone exploded in pure psychic energy and Skarmory glowed blue. May leaned back in horror as the bird was thrown across the room, slamming into Absol. Orange rocks littered the sky as her jaw was ripped from the Sun Pokémon. Solrock very slowly levitated upwards as Not Lea let go of the sword and clutched her head with her good arm.

“Blast the Lunatone with everything you’ve got! Water Gun, Razor Leaf, Flamethrower, Confusion, I don’t fucking care, just take him down, now!” Attacks from all directions converged on a single point, and the collision of various elements and energies did not react well, as a massive explosion rocketed outwards. May noticed the barrier shatter as Lunatone was battered back, and Lea fell to the ground, the blast knocking her from her feet as both Sun and Moon moved backwards.

“Lea!” May rushed forward through the crypt towards her downed friend as Absol, Skarmory, Nuzleaf, and Apollo closed in on the retreating stones.

“Bulba!” Leshy launched himself forward as Suzy ran to keep pace. Emilie held on to May’s shoulder for dear life as her ride ducked down as she got closer.

Solrock glared across the field as eight stones once again rose up and surrounded him. The attack pushed both Absol and Nuzleaf back as the stones were launched outwards. The boulders hurtled outwards as Solrock teleported next to Lunatone and raised a Barrier between them and Skarmory.

May’s heart fell into her stomach when she saw where one of the boulders was going and sprinted forward even faster. She was going too slow. Emilie brought up her hands and focused all of her power on the massive stone that was hurtling towards Lea. She cried out in pain as the rock glowed blue and slowed down, and May grabbed Lea up and lifted. The weight slowed her down as the boulder hit the ground and started rolling forward.

A massive hail of Razor Leaves blasted out from where May started and slammed into the boulder, carving the massive stone into smaller chunks and forcing it back, kicking up a massive dust cloud in the process. May coughed as the dust cleared before looking back.

“Thank you, L-” May’s words died on her throat as she took in her grass type’s new form. The bulb on his back had bloomed into a beautiful pink flower, and he had grown significantly.

“Ivysaur.” Leshy sagged down against the ground a bit as the breath he had been holding was slowly freed from his lungs, and a small bit of blue powder rushed out of his mouth as a result. Leshy’s eyes widened as he raised his vines up to disperse the cloud. His cheeks flushed red as he extended his vines and grabbed a few raised stones, before throwing himself forward towards May and Lea.

“Congrats. On the evolution,” Emilie said.

“Ivy!” Leshy said.

“I know. I know. Not the time,” Emilie replied.

May sagged as she felt the rhythmic shifting of breathing coming from Lea, before looking back out towards the fight. Suzy and Samie stood next to Leshy, ready to meet whatever attacks pushed through.

Neither Solrock nor Lunatone looked to be doing well. A single large gash was carved into Lunatone’s side as he hung back behind Solrock, who had a decently large chunk blasted off of the top of his head. The sun had gone bald, apparently. The two of them were hiding behind as many barriers as they could make as Skarmory and Absol both kept making passing attacks in an attempt to push through. May watched on, unsure how to help, when Not Lea’s eyes snapped open.

May was shoved to the ground in surprise as Not Lea grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the ground. Suzy charged forward, as Lea brought the blade down across her chest. May looked on, horrified, as the attack met zero resistance as it went through Suzy. At first, nothing happened, and Suzy brought her claw up to feel where the sword should have cut her. She suddenly paused as a single, black line appeared across her chest. Suzy opened her beak, but no sound came out as the attack took effect, and she fell forward, her eyes white, as the light started to fade.

Lea charged Leshy and rammed the blade through his bulb, and a similar energy immediately formed from the point of impact. Leshy passed out almost instantly.

“Clearly, we should have just started with this. The sword is a far better option in a room consumed by the void.” Not Lea said as she turned her attention towards May. She scrambled backwards as Samie stood steadfast between May and Lea.

“Pinch!” He charged, only to get swatted away by the sword as Not Lea stalked forward, her grin becoming manic as she grew closer.

“Lea. I know it’s hard, but you have to fight it!” May begged. “I know you’re stronger than this. Please!” May noticed both Apollo and Skarmory bank away from the stones as they flew across the clearing.

“Your pleas fall on deaf ears, child.” Not Lea raised the sword above her head, only to freeze. Her entire body stilled as the glassy eyes slowly started to become clear again. “What... how?”

“You... will not... hurt...” Lea cried out, her arm shaking. “MAY!” On that declaration, a pulse exploded out from the blade. It washed over the cave, harmlessly phasing through everyone in the room.

Except for Solrock and Lunatone.

The wave shattered their barriers, and the space rocks were flung backwards with the wave of spectral energy. They slammed into the far wall with enough force to crack the brick and mortar, and their bodies indented the stone as the wave dissipated.

Lea fell forward, completely out of it as May rushed forward to support her weight. The sword clanged to the ground as Emilie hopped down and looked Lea over. Her mouth opened as she placed her hands on Lea’s skull, and she recoiled almost instantly. Emilie turned towards May.

“Shove your bandana into her mouth. What I’m about to do is going to suck, and I need to make sure she doesn’t bite off her tongue.” May froze, unsure if the shock stemmed more from what happened, the question, or the fact that Emilie hadn’t paused to correct herself once in that entire explanation. “Now!”

“Right.” May snapped to it and gagged her best friend as Emilie placed both of her hands against Lea’s head.

“Lea, if you can hear me, know that I’m sorry.” Emilie pressed her head to Lea’s. “Brace yourself.”

***

Lea’s POV

***

Pain.

White. Hot. Searing pain lanced through my body as the world slowly came back into focus. I opened my mouth to scream but found something muffling me. I bit down. Hard. I convulsed as my brain suddenly fully took in the world around me, and that once again caused pain to shoot up and down my arm.

I spat the gag out of my mouth and threw up, choking a bit on the bile. A strong pair of hands grabbed me and turned me slightly, and I managed to breathe in. I looked up to see May staring at me, and all at once, I felt what she felt. Fear, sorrow, anger, pain, joy, love...

A whirlwind of emotions thrummed in my mind. Emotions that were all but impossible to control as the pain in my arms and hands scattered my ability to think. My head felt like it was going to explode. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I-

‘Focus!’ Emilie shouted in my mind. ‘I know the world is really overwhelming. Asking you to do anything right now seems like too much, but your mind is fraying at the seams and your body’s not doing much better .’ Emilie presence in my mind felt like nails on a chalkboard. ‘Find your focus and pull yourself back. Please. I’m holding the pieces together, but you have to glue them in place.’ Focus? What focus? ‘Something, anything! Just please, I can’t lose you like this,’ Emilie begged.

Sounds overwhelmed my brain as lights and colors started to surge and dance in front of my eyes. My head felt like it would explode from the sensations it was trying to process.

May pulled me up and looked into my eyes. I think she was saying something, but I couldn’t understand what it was. Emilie said something back, but it just sounded like white noise. The world felt like white noise.

Someone pulled me into a hug, and my brain started to slow down as I focused on the feeling. This was here. I could grasp it. I could control it. I could breathe. Just breath. In. Out. In. Out.

Someone was rubbing my back, and I focused on the rhythm and matched it. In. Out. In. Out.

Just breath.

The background noise that kept going off like Voltorbs in my head slowly started to quiet down to a dull hum.

In. Out.

The world started to become clear again, and I sagged into the hug. I opened my mouth, and briefly struggled to find my voice as my heart rate slowed.

In. Out.

‘Good.’ Emilie said. Her voice no longer felt like barbed wire in my mind.

“May...” I said weekly. May pulled me back and stared into my eyes.

“Is that really you?” she asked. “Are you back?”

“I think so?” My brain felt foggy. “It’s hard to concentrate right now. Everything hurts,” I said. May nodded.

“Understandable, I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, Lea, but-”

“I’m kind of a mess.” I cut her off. May chuckled a bit as a few tears fell from her eyes.

“Yeah.” May smiled. “You’re alive, though,” May said. I think she was saying it to both of us with how shaky the words came out of her mouth.

“Yup,” I said. I sagged a bit, and May moved under me to support my weight.

The chamber started to shake, and an odd grinding sound echoed out through the chamber, drawing our eyes towards the wall my torturers were stuck in.

“What the... hell?” May asked. I looked across the cave and gasped. Apollo’s wings glowed a color I had never seen them glow before and he struck out across the Lunatone’s chest. The attack carved into the wall and split the Lunatone in half. My eyes widened a bit as I felt life bleed out from one of my torturers.

Did the feeling of relief I felt in my bones make me a bad person?

The cave continued to shake as the rocks around Solrock gave way and he looked to his brother in rage. The cave started shaking even harder and the ceiling started to crack and fray. Rocks and boulders began to pelt the ground as Absol, Apollo, Skarmory, and Nuzleaf launched their best ranged attacks toward the floating monster.

They exploded on contact, and the ceiling directly above them caved in from the shock wave as Solrock was launched upwards. May pulled out her Poke Balls and quickly recalled her team, Skarmory, and Nuzleaf as Apollo disappeared out in a familiar buzz of Aerial Ace. I trailed my eyes up to try and find him and froze.

A slew of rocks and debris had broken directly above us, and before I could even think, I shoved May as hard as I could away from me. My arm screamed at the sudden jerky motion as I collapsed and before I could even process that pain, my legs were buried in dirt, rubble, and jagged stones. I bit back a curse as the rocks bit into my flesh. I felt lightheaded, cold, and if I had anything left in my stomach, I'm fairly confident that I’d throw up again. I forced my head up though, I needed to see.

“Lea!” May had already rushed to my side again. Dammit, get out of here you stupid idiot. She was trying to free my legs. I looked towards the epicenter of the clusterfuck as May and Emilie worked together to get the biggest rock off me.

My gaze shifted further back as Apollo stood over the downed body of Solrock, and lifted his wing up. It glowed silver.

He brought his wing down and I forced myself to watch as a massive crack formed down the middle of the downed Solrock. Feelings of relief and guilt warred in my head as my skin grew colder. Paler. I felt weak.

“May...” I rasped out. The words felt like gravel in my mouth. She pushed the last of the rubble off me and threw my good arm around her neck as she lifted.

“Don’t talk, save your strength,” she commanded, her voice shaking as she moved towards the exit of the cave. “We’re taking you to a hospital. Now!”

“Hospital... sounds good... right about now...” I rasped out. "I’m so happy... I could save you... at least...”

“Stop talking about your life like It's ending any time soon. We’re getting you out of here.” May’s voice broke a bit towards the end. “Emilie!”

I looked up and frowned. Where was Emilie? We passed under the arch that led outside the crypt, and I couldn’t see her at all. I looked down and winced at the sight. My blood coated the arm and hand May had wrapped around my middle.

I was going to die.

“So much blood...” I whispered.

“We just need to get you to a hospital. Emilie!” May shouted. No response. So cold...

“I really was blessed... when you picked me for a friend. You made every part of my life... so much better...” I said, my vision swimming as everything started to blur.

“I said stop talking like you’re going to die! Emilie, get your ass over here right now and teleport us to a hospital! Please!” May screamed. I saw tears streaking down her face, and I did my best to smile. I opened my mouth again, but no words came out. “LEA!” I heard May scream my name as oblivion took me, the last thing I felt was a weight appearing on my shoulder, and the all too familiar feeling of being pulled through a tube.

Chapter 24

Notes:

Quick note before we dive right in. Each perspective shift in this chapter will be in first person from that individual. They will be labeled accordingly. Trying to talk in the third person for most of this felt too impersonal, so I thought I'd experiment a bit for this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Emilie’s POV (First person)

***

For the last few weeks, I had proven to myself that I was far stronger than I had ever thought possible. I took down every obstacle Lea had put in front of me, stood against opponents well beyond my own skill level and triumphed, and learned more about the world than I had ever thought possible.

I had truly believed that I didn’t have a limit. Not one that I couldn’t blow past. Between the endurance drills, the constant use of telekinesis, and my own training with mother, I had believed myself to be infallible.

Today proved me wrong. Limits existed for us all, and I found mine.

I was well and truly spent. My legs felt heavy as I ran as fast as I could to get out of this cursed room, ahead of May and Lea, and my skull felt like it would split open at a moment's notice. I had to make one of the most difficult teleports of my life, and I was doing it at the end of my rope.

Lea needed a hospital. And she needed one now.

She needed a teleport, and on my best day, with how far I had come, I doubted I could take them to where they needed to go. In my current state? The idea was laughable. That meant someone else had to make the jump.

The Alakazam at the center was a crap shoot. He could be there. He could be anywhere, in fact, and that was the problem. Lea needed immediate transport to have a chance. I couldn’t waste time hunting across Hoenn for someone. I swallowed as my only real option made itself known for Lea to have a chance.

Breathe. Organize your thoughts. Panic is the enemy to a strong psychic.

I focused. I focused on home, and on the grassy plains and glamoured tree line. I visualized the pink mist floating off the ground of our own plane of existence, carved into reality by my mother’s will in the deepest part of her kingdom.

I imagined myself by my mother’s side, and on how important it was for this to work.

It would be my longest teleport ever, probably across the entire country.

Limits were made to be broken.

The world shifted, and I felt lightheaded as the world reformed around me.

I bit back a bit of bile as I fought to retain consciousness and looked around the clearing desperately. I took a knee as I gasped for air, and my vision swam. A familiar white dress billowed in the wind as she almost instantly teleported in front of me.

“My child, what-”

I pushed my thoughts into hers. Ramming them in her face in the most bastardized, ham-fisted, inelegant manner possible. I was too tired to care. I showed her the high light reel, of Lea’s kidnapping, what they had done to her, and the state she was in now. I stared up at her pleadingly.

“Help,” I begged.

Mom reared back, her eyes wide as she took in my haggard form. She nodded once before picking me up. I visualized our location, channeling a sense of urgency as the world around me shifted once again. May and Lea were out of the chamber. Good. I closed my eyes and focused, doing my best to drown out May’s panicked shouts. We needed a hospital. We needed a human hospital.

Fuck, where was a human hospital.

“Language.” Not the time, mom! Right, we went to one in Rustboro. I visualized the lobby and teleported to Lea’s shoulder.

I did NOT like how shallow her breathing was.

“MOM!” I shouted.

Mom appeared before the two of us instantly and grabbed May and Lea by the shoulders. The world shifted and the smell of antiseptic filled my nose as the familiar sight of the Rustboro General lobby filled my vision.

If the receptionist on duty right now was shocked by our sudden appearance, she hid it exceptionally well as she darted around the desk to get to us.

“I need a trauma team to the lobby. Now,” she said into a headset.

May continued to focus on Lea as the nurse started to inspect her. I wasn’t even sure if May knew where we were or if we had even moved. I did notice one thing though.

The bleeding from Lea’s legs had stopped, and her legs were glowing a faint blue.

I looked up to my mom and noticed her focusing intently on Lea’s legs.

“Okay, keep doing that. I can already tell that she’s lost way too much blood,” The nurse said.

That line rocked May back to reality as she stared at the nurse with wide, panicked eyes. The nurse winced before smiling reassuringly at May.

“I know you’re scared for your friend right now, but I need you to focus for me for just a second. If you know please tell me. Do you know your friends blood type?” Her voice was calm as she reached out and grabbed May’s free hand.

“O-O negative,” May stammered out.

“Does she have any known allergies to any medication or anesthesia?” she asked.

May shook her head.

“I don’t... I don’t...”

The nurse nodded and stopped her as a team of five people came into the lobby with a stretcher. May didn’t want to let go.

“May,” I called out, and she shifted her eyes toward me. “We’ve done all we can.” I nodded towards the doctors. “I know it’s hard. But-”

May loosened her grip and three of the people in scrubs got Lea on the stretcher.

“She’ll need blood for sure. O negative. I’ll have more info for you momentarily and have the Gardevoir go with you.”

Mom ran to keep up with the doctors as they rushed her back through the hallway. I jumped down to stay as the onsite nurse turned around to look at May.

“Does she have any family I can call?” she asked.

“Sister. She has a sister. Eve. I uh... I can give you her contact info. Just...”

She patted down her pants and winced. Ah. Sergei had gotten left behind in the confusion.

“Never mind,” May muttered. “You should just be able to call the Petalburg gym. Eve’s a friend of the family.”

That was putting it mildly.

The nurse nodded before motioning for May to follow her. I teleported to her shoulder as she slowly trailed behind the nurse, and almost blacked out. Fuck me, was I really that spent? That short jumps were this hard?

May didn’t acknowledge me when I landed. The nurse led us back towards a private waiting room with a red light on.

“I... Your friend is in good hands. I don’t suppose you’re up for telling us what happened?” The nurse asked.

May didn’t respond.

“Right. I’ll have a nurse come in and sit with you for a bit.” The nurse clasped May’s hand for a second and guided her to a seat before turning and leaving the room.

Mom teleported back just a few minutes later.

‘They have their own psychic,’ she complained. ‘An Alakazam, of all things. As if those brutes could ever match my control.’

“Mom?” I asked. “How is she?”

Mom stared at me in wonder.

‘I’m... not used to that. I didn’t think we could mimic human speech,’ Mom commented.

“I’ve been learning,” I replied, smiling lightly. “I've been using a bit of my own power to help my vocal cords along. How is she?” I repeated my earlier question.

‘They made me leave, but she’s getting help. Is there anything else I can do? Maybe make you a nice sun and moon necklace?’

I chuckled a bit before thinking it over. My mind felt foggy now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I doubted I’d be able to stay awake for much longer.

‘We left some of our teammates behind to get here. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to pick them up?’ I asked hesitantly. I was a bit loathe to owe Mom a favor, but given the circumstances, I would already have a massive debt to repay.

What was one more little request to throw on the scale, at this point?

‘You needn’t worry,’ Mom responded. Dammit, stay out! ‘You need to work on your barriers more, dear. They aren’t quite up to snuff. What I’ve done here today will clear the debt I owe Lea.’

“Sergei, Joern, and Apollo.” I visualized each member as I listed them off and let her pick them out of my drooping head. “Thank you.”

‘Yes, dear.’ Mom smirked as she left.

May was still borderline catatonic.

Lea was in the OR.

There wasn’t anything left for me to do.

I hopped down to the chair next to May and passed out the second my head hit the cushion.

***

Apollo POV (First Person)

***

I stared down coldly at what remained of the craven scallywag that had dared to hurt my captain. I had downed my fair share of fish and claimed more than a few lives in the name of finding food for me and my mates, but this would mark the first time I had ever killed in cold blood.

I had thought that would bother me. That I would feel burdened by what I had done, and yet, the opposite was truer than the salty breeze of the evening tide.

My wings felt lighter than they had in days, and a calm air filled my lungs as I glared down at the husk of stone laid out before me.

These monsters could never hurt anyone, ever again. That single thought seemed to drown out all the others, and I nodded once before beating my wings against the ground. Taking off into the caves around us.

My crew had already managed to get the Captain out of the cave. I flew to the entrance and smiled. They were gone. Emilie’s voice no longer sounded out within my head, and I knew, with certainty, that my crew had gotten our captain to safety.

I couldn’t rest on that, though. There was work to be done.

Rubble was blasted away as my lone companion in this cave beat back the rubble that my Captain had been buried under. I turned away from the doorway and flew backwards.

“Looking for something?” I asked.

The Absol laughed.

“What business is it of yours, pirate?” she growled.

“I was going to offer to help,” I said, glaring down at the rude little lass. “I’ll be sifting through the wreckage for a mate of ours anyway. I can keep an eye out if you need me too. A sword, right?”

Absol went back to digging, ignoring me completely. A right peach, this one. I sighed.

“Thanks for your help, lass. I don’t know if we would have made it through that without you,” I said, bowing my head before turning around.

“Did we really make it through?” she asked.

I stopped and turned back around, slowly gliding to the ground.

“My master’s tomb has been desecrated, and your trainer seems beyond hope. My premonition came to pass, despite our best efforts,” Absol said, glaring at the rocks in front of her.

I laughed, deeply, at that ridiculous claim.

“You find this funny?” Absol snarled.

“Honey, if that girl dies from this, I’ll swear off fish for life! I have faith in her to carry on, and I have faith in our crew to get her the help she needs,” I said. “We make our own fate’s, lass, and I’m certain that the captain’s fate isn’t to die in this cave.”

“Fate is far crueler than you realize.” Absol replied before going back to digging. “You were right, though, no sense in turning down help if you already know. If you see a sword in the rubble, please return it to me. It is of the utmost importance that it is found.” Absol briefly glared at me. “If you steal it, you will not make it beyond these walls.”

“Bah, it’d be poor form to pilfer goods from someone that I’d call an ally. You can count on me, lass.” I saluted.

Absol nodded, and I took off from my perch and flew towards the back of the chamber.

The makeshift cave those scallywags used to break into the chamber was small, smaller than those bastards had any right to fit through. I groaned as I pulled my wings in and landed, not confident in my ability to fly sideways. Thank Kyogre, it expanded deeper in.

Several Poke Balls were strewn out in front of me, as well as the captain’s bag. Good, we didn’t have to replace much, at least. I didn’t want to think about dealing with the first mate’s moods if she didn’t have her cookies. Especially after dealing with this. I tapped my beak against Joern’s ball, unlocking it, and watched as white light filled the chamber instantly.

“I’m going to murder them. Slowly.” Joern snarled as he rushed past me. He beat his arms against the chamber walls in an effort to widen the door.

“Already done.” I explained.

Joern turned back towards me, before freezing, his eyes wide as he took in my form.

“What the hell happened to you?!” Joern asked, pointing down towards my wings.

“Eh? What do you mean-” I stopped talking the second I saw flecks of red on my pale white wings. My vision swam as an earlier rage bubbled back to the surface. “The captain made that cave opening, didn’t she?” I asked.

Joern nodded.

“This is the cap’s blood. You’ve got a bit on your arms as well.” Joern looked toward the ground.

“I had a front row seat to that horror show.” Joern snarled before his eyes widened in panic. “How is Lea?” he asked.

“Don’t know yet.” I answered simply and Joern looked at me like I had gone insane.

“How can you not know? You saved her, right?” Joern asked.

I nodded once.

“We killed the craven scallywags that locked ye away and kidnapped the captain, but...” I trailed off. I took a deep breath to steady myself. “She was hurt, badly. They teleported out once they cleared that accursed room.”

Joern deflated at my lack of an answer.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told that daft moron outside. People like the captain don’t die in places like this. She’s too stubborn to die,” I said, a proud grin pulling at my beak.

Joern laughed.

“Suppose you’re right.” He turned and started picking up Poke Balls. “Do I even need to take Emilie’s ball? It’s not like she ever uses the damn thing,” Joern complained.

“Meh, she’d complain nonstop if we left it in this forsaken hell pit,” I joked.

“Fair enough, I suppose I'll take it to spare us of that.” He grabbed the six balls that rested on the ground and shoved them in the bag, before throwing it over his shoulders. “The narc would probably complain to Lea, too. We’d both get an earful then.”

I laughed a bit before taking on a more serious look.

“The captain is going to need us more than ever now. She’s going to be laid up for a while,” I said.

Joern clenched his fist as he looked out into the chamber.

“I need to be stronger,” Joern said.

“I think you're already plenty strong, they prioritized taking you out of the fighting,” I consoled. “Not much strength can do against the red line of doom.”

Joern chuckled.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Emilie,” Joern commented.

I reared back in mock offense.

“Ye best not insult your superior officer too much, or I'll have ye on latrine duty,” I clapped back.

“I’m using the water stone,” Joern said, disregarding my threat entirely.

“That’s a pretty big commitment,” I said, giving him a wary look.

Joern just smiled.

“You sure that’s wise? You haven’t been a Lombre for all that long. The weird talking computer Lea had said that you should wait at least a month for a stone evolution like yours.”

“A Ludicolo could have broken that lock,” Joern explained. “A Ludicolo could have drowned those monsters and saved Lea from the hell she went through without breaking a sweat.” Joern clenched his fist so hard I worried he might draw blood. “Evolution sickness be damned. I will be a Ludicolo before the end of the week.”

I sighed. Can’t argue with the passion of youth, though I suppose I had to try.

“We’re already going to have our hands full with Lea, we don’t need to take care of you on top of it.” Joern winced. “Besides, it’ll be her final say in the matter. It’s technically her stone. Not yours.”

Joern sighed.

“Just-”

“Hello?” A voice I didn’t recognize flitted through the entryway. “Is anyone in there? I was told I'd be picking up a few stragglers.”

I peeked out the gap, and my eyes widened.

A Gardevoir stood regally in the doorway as it took us in, a smile on her face. Sergei floated just next to her head.

“A Lombre and a Wingull. You must be Joern and Apollo. My daughter asked me to take you to her. I believe you know her as Emilie,” she said.

My beak dropped open as I processed that Emilie would one day be the imposing creature that stood before me.

“Thank you for the compliment,” she said with a smile.

“I hate psychics, never a damn moment of privacy,” I groaned before flapping my way up and resting on Joern’s lily pad. “Prove you are who you say you are. I’m a bit slow to trust a psychic stranger after what we just went through.”

The Gardevoir put a hand on her chin.

“Now that’s not a fair question, whatever I say you’re just going to assume I pulled it from your heads.” She snapped her fingers and giggled. “I know, let’s go with ‘If I wanted to hurt you, you’d both already be dead.’ How does that sound.”

Terrifying, but fair.

“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush. Ordinarily I’d work to assuage your worries, but here, I think I’m just going to teleport first and apologize later.”

Wait, what? She grabbed the two of us, and before I could process what was even happening, I felt a pull on my body as if I was being sucked through a tube. The world around me disappeared.

***

Unkown POV (First Person)

***

“Subjects seventeen and eighteen are no longer emitting a psychic field, and vitals have stopped transmitting,” I reported through the phone, glaring down at my E Graph.

“A pity.” You don’t sound sad, you prick. “No matter, honestly, I wasn’t expecting to recover those subjects.” It sounded like he was eating again. How he could eat anything in that lab disgusted me to no end. “By the way, Tatiana, would you mind picking up some more blue cotton candy on your way back to the lab. We seem to be out.”

I wonder why.

“You know, you don’t have to specify, I know what kind of cotton candy you like,” I said, prompting a bout of chuckles from the other end of the line. “And I know that you know that my name is Tabitha. The senile act might work on the grunts, but it doesn’t work on me, Professor Walter.”

“Bah, you’re no fun. What were we talking about again, oh, seventeen and eighteen, that’s right. Did you manage to measure their psychic output? I’m curious to see how much of a boost the amplifiers gave under extreme duress,” Walter said.

“Lunatone never exceeded the expectations. Solrock, however, managed to bypass the void stone and cause a miniature cave in,” I explained.

I took a grim satisfaction as I heard a brief clatter, proud that I managed to make the good doctor drop his phone.

“Truly?” Walter asked excitedly. Huh, that was quick, usually it takes him longer to pick the phone up.

“I have video evidence from one of the tracers,” I said with a grin. I heard a car horn and suddenly a pit of dread opened in my stomach. “Where are you? You’re not in the lab, and I hear too much background noise for you to be home.”

“Don’t worry my dear, I’m just stopping by Rustboro General. I’m working on something to help my nephew breathe better, and it’s proving tricky. I just needed to get some parts with actual serial numbers, don’t want him getting stopped somewhere and detained for breathing with stolen respirators.” I heard another car horn honk in the background. “Yeah, same to you, ya prick. I have the damn signal for another ten seconds.” I heard Walter shout away from the receiver.

“Walter please cross the street before talking to me again,” I ordered.

I heard a groan and some shuffling from the other end of the line.

“Nobody has any patience anymore.” I heard him grumble. “Out of idle curiosity, did they manage to get to the sword?” Walter asked.

“Are you-”

“Yes, yes. I’m back on the sidewalk, now answer the damn question.” he ordered.

I laughed.

“Near as I can tell, the sword is no longer in the chamber,” I answered. “The Absol obliterated our tracers, but she didn’t find the sword before they stopped transmitting, and the girl pulled the blade from its resting place.” I smiled, before looking down. “She was hurt really badly by this,” I muttered. “We shouldn’t have fielded these two, Walter. They weren’t... right in the head.”

“Are any of them?” Walter asked.

“Not after we get done with them, usually, but most of them aren’t as violent,” I said, remembering how the girl looked. That image was going to be a subject of nightmares for a few weeks.

“It’s a heavy burden, I know.” Walter sounded kind, and I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat. “The path we walk isn’t one without burden, but it’s what must be done, for the good of all,” Walter finished. “That said, if you would like, I can put you on another rotation for a bit, maybe give you a break.”

“No,” I said. “I’m your best assistant, and I... like working with you. Even if it’s hard sometimes.”

The line stayed silent for a bit.

“Thank you, though. That means a lot,” I said, trying to break the tension.

“I care about you too, Tegrid.” I smiled into the phone.

“Tabitha,” I corrected hopelessly.

“Huh? Oh, yes sorry. My mistake. Now then, you said that the sword is no longer in the chamber? That it’s in play?” Walter asked. I could hear the uptilt in his voice and smiled.

“Yes, the sword is in play. I don’t know where it went, but it is no longer sealed up in the king’s tomb,” I answered.

“Excellent! This is wonderful news. Hopefully we’ll be able to find it soon. Shouldn’t be too hard. A Pokémon like that in this region should raise some eyebrows,” Walter said.

I smiled, before looking down.

“Hey, Walter? You said you were going to Rustboro Gen?” I asked.

“Actually, I’m already there. Why? Huh, oh yes, a rebreather, some tubing, and a mouth guard.” I’m going to assume that last bit wasn’t aimed my way.

“The E reader read that the group that dealt with seventeen and eighteen teleported to Rustboro,” I said, feeling stupid. Why was I even-

“They probably teleported here, given their friend’s condition,” Walter said for me. “I can’t promise you anything, but if they are here, I can check up on them. Would that set your mind at ease, my dear.”

“Yes, thank you.” I breathed out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Though fate may require us to be cruel in these troubled times, we needn’t be completely without heart. I will do what I can.” I smiled into the receiver. “Though, I don’t suppose I could persuade you to pick up some tapioca pudding while you’re shopping.”

I gagged.

“Sure thing, Walter,” I said before shoving my E Reader back into my pocket and grabbed a single Poke Ball. “I’ll even grab the raisins that you like.”

“Wonderful my dear. Thank you.”

***

May’s POV (First Person)

***

Tick. Tick. Tick.

All my life, I’ve heard people describe things as nightmares as jokes. Dad described some days at the gym as hellish in the early to mid-months. Lea has, on more than one occasion, described the slow days at the bakery as a seemingly endless purgatory from which there was no escape.

Lea always was a drama queen.

I cursed myself for thinking of Lea in the past tense.

Tick. Tick.

They were all wrong though. I easily had them all beat.

Hell, purgatory, the void, the great distortion, whatever you wanted to call it, was this waiting room. It was sitting in this chair and staring vacantly at the bright red light, where the only sounds I heard were the repeated ticks of an analogue clock.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

WHO THE HELL USES ANALOGUE ANYMORE!

Tick.

I ripped my eyes away from the OR light. I wasn’t a specialist in the field, but I imagined that focusing on the most grating things in existence while your best friend fought for her life not but a scant twenty feet away from you was not the best thing for your mental health.

What else did I have though? Counting the ceiling tiles? Forty eight. Already done. Emilie was already passed out on the chair next to me. Couldn’t blame her for that, really. I wish I could do that. My mind refused to stop.

Tick. Tick. Tick! TICK!

Was that getting louder? I shoved both hands over my ears, but the ticking clock got replaced by a frantic heartbeat. The damn thing felt like it was beating out of my chest. I needed up. I needed to get up, but I felt frozen in place, staring at that damn red fucking light!

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow. Breathe in. Breathe out.

“Good. That’s good.” When had he gotten there? “Breathe in, and out. Just focus on my voice. Don’t focus on anything else in the room. Close your eyes if you have too. In... and out.” His voice was calm, almost monotone as he moved to sit next to me.

I listened and exhaled.

“Good,” he said, smiling at me.

“Who are you?” I asked, still not quite feeling like myself.

“I’m Walter. I volunteer here,” he explained. Though that really didn’t... explain anything. His expression was a bit vacant, and I wondered if the hospital was missing someone from the psyche ward.

“What do you volunteer to do?” I asked hesitantly.

“Sit with families mostly. I’ve been told I have a very calming effect on people. You looked like you needed the help.” He nodded as he talked. He was older, probably in his sixties, at least. “Panic attacks aren’t the most pleasant experience, or so I've been told.”

Walter moved a bit and reached into the inside of his sweater vest before pulling out a book and a pen.

“Crosswords, however, can be quite enjoyable, though I’m not the best at them. Care to give an old man a hand?” he asked kindly, the wrinkles around his lips thinning as he smiled.

“I... uh.” I felt lost again.

“Of course, I’m open to suggestions. I’m sure you have no shortage of things you like to do for fun. We could draw, we could dance, we could read...” Walter trailed off. “I’d recommend having a book for that last one, the magazines in this place leave a lot to be desired. Whatever you need, miss... miss... Oh, dear, I seem to have forgotten your name.”

I don’t think I ever gave you my name.

“May.” I hesitantly said.

“No, no. That’s not it. Give me a second, I'm sure I'll get it.” What the hell do you mean that’s not it? It better damn well be it!

“Let’s just give that crossword a try,” I said cautiously.

Walter visibly brightened as he opened the book to a half filled in puzzle.

“Ah, an excellent choice, Madeline. I’ve run into a bit of a brick wall with this one,” he said.

I groaned, feeling a dull ache behind my forehead.

“It’s May,” I explained. The old man’s smile never left his face.

I was being fucked with, wasn’t I?

“Right, Malon, now I remember,” he said.

Yup. I motioned for the book and froze. My hands were still red. Blood. So much blood. Lea’s blood.

“May?” Walter asked.

I blinked a bit before looking over. Walter still had the crossword in hand.

“Maybe another time. I don’t think you’re in a head space where visual distractions will help much. I have another aid, but he seems to have wandered off again,” Walter explained.

Something fluffy brushed up against my legs, and I gasped as cold lanced up and down my spine.

I stared down and noticed a white, dog Pokémon. He was small, and I noticed a small candle sticking out of his head.

“Ah-ha. Greavard, there you are, I was wondering where you had run off too. Here, boy. Up up up.” Walter patted the chair next to him and smiled as Greavard, whatever the hell that was, complied. He phased through my legs as he went, and I very quickly felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Was this thing a ghost type? The Pokémon preened as Walter pet the Pokémon before fiddling with a device on his collar.

“Are you a trainer?” I asked. Walter laughed.

“Bah, I haven’t been one for many a year. Pokémon training is a younger man's game. Though I do enjoy watching the occasional bout on the tele. Greavard here is an old family friend,” Walter said.

I smiled as the dog Pokémon preened under Walter’s petting.

“That’s-” I was cut off as the room suddenly got significantly more crowded.

Emilie’s mom had returned, and with her were all our Pokémon. I nudged Emilie awake, and she glared at me before taking in the room. Sergei quickly dropped himself into my hands.

"I’m never leaving your side again. That was awful,” Sergei complained. “I had to float for so long.”

“Any news,” popped up under Joern. I winced and shook my head, suddenly remembering just why we were here.

“No...”

“My, this is quite the collection!” Walter exclaimed. “Are they yours? It’s rare I get to see a Gardevoir these days.”

“They’re Lea’s. She’s my friend that got hurt,” I explained. “Well, the Lombre and Wingull are, at least. The Gardevoir is Emilie’s mom. She helped us get here.” I looked away from the group. “I haven’t gotten any news back yet, guys. I’m sorry.”

“Meh, no news is probably good news. With the captains wounds, if she was going to kick it, it would have been sooner, rather than later,” Apollo said.

“Remarkable,” Walter said. “I had heard that they had been putting out a translator function for phones, but this is the first I’ve seen of it in person.” Walter leaned over and looked down at Apollo’s message.

“Who’s the old guy?” Emilie asked, and I quickly moved so that Sergei wasn’t in Walter’s direct field of view, and Gardevoir slapped the back of Emilie’s head.

“Quite the rambunctious crew,” Walter commented. “You needn’t worry so much, dear. I’m quite aware that I’m old.” Walter looked over at Sergei before chuckling and looking away. “Sorry, I’m being quite rude. Though, I am curious about something else though. You said it was your friend that was being worked on?” Walter asked.

“She’s not JUST a friend,” I replied, my eyes pulling down into a glare, before wincing. “Sorry, I’m not... in the best head space right now. I don’t know why I got defensive over that.”

Walter laughed.

“Bah, don’t worry, Melony. I don’t mind. She must be quite the special ‘friend’ to get you riled up like this,” Walter said.

I looked away.

“She’s one of the most important people in my life,” I said, looking away.

Walter leaned back, before chuckling.

“Ah, understood. I am... painfully aware of what that feels like,” Walter said, his voice losing a bit of its upbeat quality.

“Who was yours?” I asked, before wincing. Fuck, that is not a question you ask a stranger in the ICU ward. “I’m so sorry, that was stupid. Don’t-”

“He was my son,” Walter said, the smile slipping from his face for the first time since saying hello.

I instantly stopped talking.

“It happened a few years ago. I think I was sitting in this chair, in fact. He was attacked on route by something he couldn’t deal with. By the time they got him here” Walter looked away and sighed. “The doctor’s did all they could, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. Medicine back then wasn’t quite what it is now, I’m afraid,” Walter said.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking away.

“Cherish the time you have with your ‘friend’, May. Only the gods that govern this world truly know how much of it you’ll get.” Walter nodded towards that cursed red light. Wait. “Though I’m happy to announce that you’re luckier than me on that front at least.”

The red light was out. I shot up from my chair and sprinted towards the double doors. I faintly heard Walter chuckle as I left.

“Ah, I’m a wily old coot,” was the last thing I heard before the double doors closed and I got grabbed by a nurse.

***

Normal POV

***

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Heart monitor, antiseptic smell, and a blurry white backdrop were the first things I became aware of as I regained consciousness. Either the afterlife had a sick sense of humor, or they managed to get me to a hospital.

Good. That’s good.

“Why does everything feel so fuzzy?” I asked. Huh. I didn’t mean to say that. Weird.

“That would be the pain meds doing their job.” I heard from the left of me. I slowly shifted and saw a tall man in a white coat. “You gave us quite the scare there, Miss Sakai.”

I scrunched my nose at the title.

“Don’t call me that. My last name’s dumb. Lea’s fine.” My words were coming out slurred. Just how strong were these pain meds?

“Very,” the man in the white coat said.

“Did I say that or just think that REAAALLLLY loudly?” I asked.

The doctor raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

“As much as I’d love to continue indulging your drugged out ramblings, I’m pretty sure your friend is about ready to kick the doors down. I need to go over a few things with you, Lea,” the doctor said.

I shut up and focused on the man in the white coat. Then I focused on the tap-dancing Froakie just to the left of the doctor.

“You’re going to have to put your pet away if you want me to focus,” I explained. “It is a very good trick though. Have you considered taking him to contests? I think you’d do good.”

The doctor sighed.

“I’m just going to let your friend in and explain this to both of you. I feel like more will get retained that way.” Yay. May time. I liked May time. I moved to clap my hands together but found that I couldn’t move them. That probably wasn’t a good thing, was it?

“Lea!”

May rushed in. Her hands went to her mouth as she took sight of me, so I decided to take a moment and look at myself. Ah. That’s probably why I can’t move that easily. Damn, they wrapped me up good. Oh. May looked sad. That wasn’t good.

“Hi, May! The doctors got me decked out in a really good Halloween costume. Could you tell them to loosen the bandages a bit though? It’s kind of hard to move,” I said.

May didn’t immediately respond to my joke, she just got closer to the bed and reached out. I think she wanted to touch me but didn’t know where was safe.

“I think head pats are safe. They would also be appreciated.” I suggested. May instead cupped my cheek.”

“Lea’s currently on a very strong pain killer right now,” The doctor explained.

May tilted her head, never leaving my eyes.

“What do you mean? She’s always like this,” May commented. Her voice sounding less shaky and more relaxed.

I started to blush a bit, as May still hadn’t moved her hand. The doctor coughed.

“Right, well, just to confirm. Your full name is...?” The doctor looked at May expectantly.

“May Maple,” May finished.

“Good, Lea has you listed as someone I can share information with and make decisions for her,” the doctor said.

May reared back and looked at me in surprise.

“I had to doc. She’s the brains of the operation.” It seemed like a natural choice to me. I don’t get why May looked so surprised.

“When you brought her to us, Lea had lost a staggering amount of blood. I think if your Gardevoir didn’t keep what you had circulating in your system, you wouldn’t have made it to the OR,” the doctor said.

May’s face went white. I wanted to offer her a hand, but I couldn’t.

“We’ll be monitoring you for any signs of rejecting your transfusion, but you’re probably in the clear on that front.” The doctor paused to make sure we were following along.

May nodded once, and I idly wondered just how much blood they had to pump into me.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” the doctor said as he turned the page on the chart. “Your hands suffered a massive amount of trauma, but overall, outside of a few missing fingernails, there shouldn’t be any long-lasting damage. We had to do a skin graft to give the regeneration units a bit more to work with, but a few more sessions with them should be enough to ambulate. We’ll show you some exercises to help you remaster using them once the bandages come off.”

“I have to be shown how to use my hands again?” I asked, looking lost.

May tensed up next to me and I did my best to smile at her. She either didn’t notice or it didn’t help.

“Our tools do a decent job at reconstructing the muscles, but they’re basically new muscles. You’ll have to work to rebuild grip strength and dexterity,” The doctor said. “Writing will be a bit of a challenge for a bit, but I’m confident you’ll get there without too much trouble.”

“What else is there?” May asked shakily, looking eager to get this conversation over with.

The doctor looked towards me, and I nodded.

“Your left arm is broken in two different places, and the muscles around the break have been shredded. That’s going to take the most work to fix. I’m going to be honest, you’re probably going to need another surgery before you leave here.”

That fucking sucked.

“Language.” May dryly commented.

I didn’t like how sad she sounded. I wanted to hug her, dammit.

May blushed.

“I said that out loud again, didn’t I?” I asked.

The doctor nodded.

“Listening to the half insane ramblings of patients on pain killers is the highlight of my day,” he said, giving me a smile.

I glared at him, and he went back to looking at my paperwork.

“Restoration chambers will speed up your post op recovery, but again, those aren’t a miracle cure. You’ll also need to redevelop the muscles you shredded. Your physical therapist will run you through those exercises before you leave here,” he explained, before looking up with a grim look on his face. “What almost killed you were the wounds on your legs.”

May froze.

“Most of the wounds were shallow, but a few cuts went deep. One nicked your femoral artery. I do urge you not to strain or work your legs at all. We aren’t quite as... fixable, as Pokémon. Localized regeneratives will speed things up, but you’re still going to have to take it easy for the next couple of days.” His gaze shifted towards May. “She’s going to need a lot of help to get through this. I saw quite the collective of Pokémon in the lobby, I encourage you to get them involved in her recovery as well.”

“I don’t think I could stop them if I tried,” May said, her voice shaky as she looked at my legs.

“Er... guys?” I asked hesitantly. “If I can’t get up, how do I use the bathroom?”

“You have a catheter and a bed pan,” The doctor explained.

I scrunched my nose up in disgust.

“Do you need to go now?” May asked, and my face burned.

“No... no, I'm good,” I explained, doing my best to not look at anyone in the room.

“Right, well. That’s the post op report. I see no reason why Lea won’t make a full recovery. I can have a nurse bring in a bed, if you would like to stay with-”

“Yes!” May didn’t even let the doctor finish. “I’m sticking with Lea for as long as the hospital will let me.” With how determined she sounded, she’d probably sneak back into my room even if they threw her out.

The doctor nodded once with a smile before leaving. May sat on the side of me that didn’t have a broken arm and hesitantly took my hand.

“That doesn’t hurt, does it?” she asked, her eyes darting up and down between my hand and my face.

“May, with the drugs they got me on, you could tap dance on my broken arm, and I wouldn’t feel a thing,” I deadpanned.

She stiffened and I groaned.

“These are the jokes, people. You were supposed to laugh at that and feel better,” I complained, drawing a small smile from May. The smile fell a short while later.

“You almost died,” she said quietly.

“Well, I didn’t. You saved me. So, stop freaking out,” I said, smiling at my best friend.

May shook her head.

“Yeah, well you instantly returned the favor, and it almost got you killed.” May mumbled. I focused on her hand in mine and squeezed. Basic actions felt like herculean tasks right now, but I smiled as my hands finally listened to my brain. May’s face lit up a bit and she looked up and directly into my eyes.

“I’m still here, though, so stop freaking out,” I said, clenching my hand again. “I don’t think I could imagine my life without you in it, sorry if it worried you... but I’d do it again if it meant you were safe.”

“I-” May stopped, closed her mouth, and smiled at me. She leaned forward a bit and rested her forehead against mind. “You’re still here,” she said, her voice firm.

I opened my mouth to say something else, and she pressed her face against mine.

She captured my lips with hers and kissed me.

Notes:

I thought about ending the mass upload at last chapter, but that felt mean. Hope y'all have a good day.

Chapter Text

“I... ba- hello?” Thoughts are a myth. Higher brain functions are on stand by. Please hold.

May just looked at me and giggled. Giggled! She blushed and looked away.

“I’m sorry, I just-”

I leaned forward and returned the favor. Warmth pulsed out from the contact, and I leaned against my wraps into the deepening kiss. A rapid beeping brought me back to reality, and I pulled back.

May looked out of it; her eyes unfocused as she leaned forward slightly as I pulled away. She stared at me with red cheeks and wide eyes.

“I, uh.”

Ha! I’m not the only one that makes these noises.

May took a deep breath and smiled at me. “Guess that answers the question of how you feel about me, huh?”

“The answer is crazy, just in case there are any doubts,” I said, before looking away. My face felt like it was on fire as I kept stealing glances between May’s lips and the bed sheets.

“Good.” May replied, before carefully leaning back. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, now.” May smiled. “Guess it just took me a while to find my courage.”

“While?” I asked, my brain finally finding something that I could solidly latch onto in the sea of euphoria I was swimming in.

May looked away, her face glowing redder by the minute.

“Since our talk on the cruise, our heart to heart outside the ball room. Things felt different before that, but... that was the first time I felt this.” She looked away, a smile lighting up her face as her blush started to fade. “Our private dance lesson that night banished any doubts in my head. I think I’ve been freaking out about everything, since.” May swallowed. “You?”

“The day after we cuddled on the cot in Wally’s room.” I replied after taking a second to make sure my thoughts and words were lining up. “I realized it while I was meditating. Accidentally blurted it out in front of Wally, even.”

May laughed. A full belly laugh, too. Legends that sound was good to hear.

“Oh, so that’s why-” She cut herself off as she laughed harder. “Did you know or...?”

“I was just as surprised as you,” I explained quickly. “I wasn’t lying. That banner was just as much of a surprise to me as it was to you.” I smiled. “He volunteered his services as a wingman after watching my legendary freak out in the contest hall.”

“Legendary, huh?” May asked, a cocky grin on her face. “Didn’t know I scared you that much.”

“Of you, no. Of losing you, yes.” I looked away. “Fun fact, the thought of losing your friendship over this was enough to overload Emilie’s fear sponge.” I blushed a bit as she looked at me, very intently.

“You have nothing to be afraid of on that front,” May said.

I smiled back at her.

“I almost did.” The smile slid off my face as a few images flashed through my mind. “Those same feelings of fear let me overpower Solrock’s control. When I was swinging that freaky sword around...” I looked away, a pit opening up in my stomach as my brain circled around thoughts of what happened in that chamber. “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

May nodded fervently, slightly pale. “Agreed. Let’s talk about happier things. Like our first date.”

My brain stopped working again.

“D-date?” I choked out.

“Duh. I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re back in Rustboro. Emilie had her mom send us to Rustboro Gen. Good thing too, if I had to see that ass hat that treated you in Dewford again I might have committed a violence.”

Emile’s MOM!

Wow, that heart monitor is popping off right now. I’m kind of surprised a nurse hasn’t come in to check on me.

“I’m sorry, did you just say mama Gardevoir is HERE!?” I shouted, all previous lovesick thoughts getting shoved to the back burner as I tried to grapple with the threat that loomed beyond my hospital door.

“Yup. I don’t think Emilie was confident in her ability to make the trip on her own,” May explained.

I don’t think May realized just how dangerous the Pokémon she was talking so cavalierly about was.

"She teleported us in and kept as much blood in you as she could. She also got your team from Dewford cave, including Joern,” May explained. “She’s been very helpful.”

I sagged down a bit in my bed. “I guess I owe her my thanks,” I said hesitantly. I was probably... blowing this out of proportion.

May nodded.

“So... date night?” I asked as a dopey smile spread across my face. I was starting to feel a bit more lucid. My thoughts came to a screeching halt as a single thought crossed my mind. “You’re okay with that?” I asked hesitantly, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I be?” May asked, looking at me nervously.

I swallowed.

“You were really freaked out by the idea of people thinking we were dating. Are you sure you’re ready to be” I paused, trying to think of the best way to word this. “Out and about?”

May groaned at the pun. At least I hoped it was at the pun.

“I refuse to be afraid anymore,” May said, looking deep into my eyes. “I’m done. I’ll deal-”

“We’ll deal.” I cut her off.

May smiled. “We’ll deal with it. Together. Strangers aren’t going to stop me from being with you anymore, and I’m sorry it took you almost dying twice for me to get there. I’m fully intent on taking you out on the town, to a lovely dinner in a fancy restaurant, followed by a moonlit walk through the park?” May voice peaked up a bit towards the end, and she was bright red. “If uh, that’s alright. Of course.

“Nothing would make me happier. I fully intend to take you up on that offer once I get out of here,” I replied, idly wondering how long that would take.

May beamed at me.

“Good.” May didn’t say anything else, and I felt my face heat up again. The look in her eyes was very hard to deal with right now. Why did they have to truss me up like this? They could’ve at least let me move a little bit beyond leaning forward.

“What are the chances of this particular damsel getting another kiss from her dashing hero in red?” I asked. Screw physical limitations. I wanted to kiss my girlfriend.

May blushed bright red and sputtered a bit. Flirting was fun. I liked flirting. I gulped though when the stuttering stopped, and her face morphed into one of determination as she leaned in again.

My brain didn’t shut down this time as I leaned into May with a moan. I could feel May’s skin heat up against mine. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but in that moment, I just wanted to stop time and feel the myriad of emotions that assaulted my brain as May slowly leaned back.

“Yeah...” I sighed. “We definitely need to do that more.”

May nodded.

“I KNEW IT!” My blissful smile faded from my face as I rapidly shifted to look at the new face that walked into our room.

Eve, still dressed in an apron covered in flour, stood in the door. Her mouth pulled into a knowing smirk as she pointed at me. Her hair was still in a hair net.

“Eve, how-”

“Shut it, for a second,” Eve shouted.

My mouth clicked shut as she walked over. May was doing her absolute best to shrink herself into a tiny little ball and disappear.

“So, I was at work, getting caught up on orders, when I got a call from the gym. Norman” She paused as she tossed a glare May’s way. “Called to tell me that my little sister, the only family I have left, is in the hospital. Critical condition, he said.”

I winced.

“I lost my phone in the attack,” May offered weekly. She shrunk even further as Eve’s glare shifted. “Shutting up now.”

“Kadabra teleported me to the center down the road, I think I almost got hit sprinting down here, only to find my sister and her ‘best friend’ making out. Do you have any idea how terrified I was? How many scared interns I shouted at?” Eve asked, glaring down at me.

Oh god, those poor bastards.

“I, uh. I don’t-”

“Calm down.” Another familiar voice sounded out from the door.

“You calm down, you...”

The words died on her throat as she looked down at a rather pissed off looking Emilie. A light blue aura radiated off of her in waves as she stared my sister down.

“You're her sister,” she chastised, and I marveled at how quickly she was grasping sentences. “Act. Like it.” Emilie teleported to my bed and leaned up against me...

Before promptly passing out.

All three of us stared at the now snoring Ralts in shock. Eve cleared her throat before staring at me.

“I” she started before looking away. “I’m sorry, I was just... upset.”

I swallowed.

“I was in critical condition,” I explained, finally finding the words I wanted to say.

Eve’s face took on a more ashen look.

“I lost a lot of blood. Like, a LOT a lot. The kissing thing is new. I sw-”

May raised her hand to stop me before glaring at Eve.

“Get out,” May ordered.

Eve turned to glare at May.

“Excuse-”

“Lea got abducted by a pair of psychotic psychics that wanted to use her to break into a tomb. She was mind controlled, tortured, and forced to hurt her friends and Pokémon,” May said, her glare turning far more vicious as she talked.

Images flashed in front of my mind as she explained. My breathing quickened as I remembered digging into the chamber, my arms a bloody misshapen mess that radiated pain.

“Despite all of that, she still had the wherewithal to push me out of the way of a collapsing ceiling. I dragged her out of that cave, barely alive, and teleported her here, where they pumped her full of pain meds and gave her enough blood to feed a school of Gorebyss.”

“What the fuck is a Gorebyss?” I asked.

“I-” May cut’s Eve off again.

“Lea and I have gone through hell the last few hours.” May finished off. “If I want to kiss my girlfriend after this clusterfuck of a day, I’m going to.”

My heart skipped a few beats at hearing that title. I liked that title. I liked it a lot.

“Now, Lea doesn’t need ANY of your Tauros shit right now. So, get the fuck out, calm down, read a book, go to a café, I don’t fucking care. Just leave us the hell alone and come back when you’re ready to talk and not scream at a crippled teenager in the hospital.” May got right up in Eve’s face before enunciating her final sentence. “Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear!”

Fuck that was terrifying. I think it’s mostly the drugs, but I think I heard that last word in Caroline’s voice. At least I hope it’s the drugs. Please be the drugs.

Eve breathed hard through her nose for a couple of seconds before surprising me.

She turned away from May, opened the doors, and left.

May sunk down onto the chair beside me and started shaking.

“Did I just do that?” she asked.

I hesitantly nodded.

She sagged. “I’m... I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t apologize, that was bad ass!” I half shouted.

May laughed as she shook her head.

“She needed told off,” I reassured, feeling heat in my cheeks again. “Legends above, I think all the blood they gave me lives in my cheek bones.”

May giggled a bit before looking away. “But... you two were reconnecting-”

“May, I know I look like I’m coping fantastically with what happened to me right now,” I interrupted her. “I’m not, and I really didn’t want to deal with that. I know she’s just freaked out, but... I can deal with that later.” I slumped down a bit more in my bed.

May was sitting up and holding my hand again. I smiled.

“Need anything?” she asked.

“I... just want to see the rest of my team.” I finished. “Think you could go get them for me?”

May smiled.

“Be right back. While I'm gone, though...” She pulled out a poke ball and Samie formed on my bed. He nuzzled my side a bit. “I leave you with an emotional support Samie.”

I laughed. “Thanks May.”

***

For as much as I wanted to spend time with my team, exhaustion won out. I got about as far as saying hello to Apollo and apologizing to Joern before I felt the strong desire to sleep. If the burgeoning light outside was any indication, the sun was coming up when I passed out. Legends, my sleep schedule was fucked right now.

Now though? Pitch black outside, and I was awake. Awake, and in a moderate amount of pain. I moved to press the call button but found myself unable to move. My body was frozen in place, unable to wiggle so much as a pinky or open my mouth to speak. My eyes widened as I felt my head pivot and move on its own, drawing my eyes towards a smirking Gardevoir as it grinned down at me.

‘Hello,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I’m happy to see you’re doing better. My daughter was quite worried about you.’

‘What do you want? ’ I asked, my eyes boring into hers.

Gardevoir clicked her tongue and sighed. ‘My, that mental block my daughter put on your brain is an impressive piece of work. I put so much work into making this as intimidating as possible and you aren’t even phased. I suppose I could remove it, but I'm not even sure I could contain the emotional outburst that would cause, and the last thing we want is for you to wake everyone up. ’ She stared down at me condescendingly. ‘I saved your life. The balance to the scale has been restored, ’ she said seriously.

Great. Why do I have a feeling that’s not a good thing for me? She was grinning at me now, fuck.

‘Despite the fact that I was for the most part only in that situation because of what you did.’ I reasoned, hoping to skew things a bit so the scale wasn’t in balance.

‘See, that’s the hard thing about trying to plan around a psychic, especially in your condition. I’ve looked at your hand, dear, and you’re bluffing with a pair of twos against royalty.’ She smirked at me. ‘We both know those cosmic wannabees could have used you as their own personal miner as you were when I first saw you. Me pulling the walls back just made it easier. I saved your life. We’re even.’ She tilted her head. ‘I want my daughter back.’

‘I... Emilie coming with me was never about you owing me!’ I shouted at her. Well, shouted as best I could. ‘She wanted to come with me. It was her choice, not mine.’

‘Youthful desires are at best a short lived distraction. I’m certain if you urged her to return to me, she would be more than happy to do so,’ Gardevoir commented.

I doubted that.

‘This youthful desire is wondering exactly what it is you’re doing, mother.’

Emilie teleported between Gardevoir and I. The psychic titan in front of me groaned before shooting me an impressed look. I sagged in relief as autonomy returned to my throbbing muscles. The pain in my broken arm was starting to get worse. Fuck, half of my IV bags were empty. Weren’t the nurses supposed to come in and change those?

‘I decided to give them a small nap. We needed to talk privately, after all,’ Gardevoir explained, giving Emilie a disappointed stare.

My eyes widened.

‘What, it’s just some minor hypnosis, they’re fine,’ Gardevoir said.

I moved to open my mouth but found that I couldn’t still. ‘Those nurses have other patients on this floor!’ I mentally shouted at her.

Gardevoir just tilted her head.

‘You doing this could cost people their lives, how is that not screwing with your fairy scale thingy!? ’ I said.

Gardevoir winced.

‘You have my daughter. I must-’

‘No one has me,’ Emilie snarled.

Gardevoir leaned back a bit at the amount of vitriol in Emilie’s tone, before sighing. ‘Neither of you are going to cooperate until I wake up the healers, are you?’

Emilie and I both glared.

‘Fine, I think you’re both being unreasonable about this though. The Alakazam is still awake and about.’

Gardevoir muttered the last bit, and I idly wondered if I was supposed to hear that. Gardevoir teleported out of the room, and I relaxed

‘Emilie?’ I asked hesitantly.

Emilie slowly turned to look at me.

‘Is there something you maybe want to share with me about your mother?’ I asked.

Emilie didn’t respond.

‘Emilie?’ I asked again.

Emilie’s shoulders sagged as she looked down.

‘I didn’t think she would do something like this.’ Emilie sighed. ‘We had a fight when I visited. I might not have handled it as well as I should have. She didn’t think I was going to stay with you for the long haul.’ Emilie frowned before looking back up at me. ‘I’m not leaving your side, though. You don’t have to worry about that.’

‘I’m not worried about that,’ I explained. ‘I’m worried about you. Your mom can be a bit much sometimes, but I’ve never seen... that. Are you alright?’

‘I’m-’ Emilie stopped. No other commentary.

I gave her a look.

‘Alright, I’m not fine, but I'll deal with it. You shouldn’t have to. Especially not right now. Just... let me figure it out,’ Emilie said before shifting her gaze towards my left.

I looked down. Apollo nested on my shoulder for the night. His eyes were open, and he was glaring at the area Gardevoir had just teleported from.

‘Thanks for the heads up. How the hell did you hide your thoughts from my mother?’ Emilie asked.

My eyes widened as I stared at Apollo in shock.

‘You think this old sea dog can’t learn a few new tricks? I’ve gotten a fair sight better at directing and hiding my thoughts with you around, lass.’ Apollo turned his gaze up to me. ‘I felt your body tense. It woke me up.’ I smirked down at Apollo.

‘Keep this up and you might get promoted.’ I said, a smile pulling at my lips.

Emilie glared at me.

‘I kid, I kid,’ I said, before looking around the room. Something was missing. A sound.

Where were the buzz saws? May should be sawing her way through Petalburg Woods right now. The lack of snoring was freaking me out.

‘She’s at the center right now,’ Apollo said. ‘ Also, don’t share the captain’s thoughts without asking, lass. She left to get her team checked in with the center, and-’ he stopped as the doors opened again.

Emilie frowned as she looked back towards the double doors as a nurse rushed inside and got to work replacing my IVs. Gardevoir carefully slunk back into the room.

‘Everyone’s fine. Happy now?’ she asked.

I frowned.

‘Do you... really not think you did anything wrong?’ I asked, tilting my head. I honestly didn’t understand. Gardevoir made it a point to heal me after her blow up, she saved my life earlier today. Yesterday. Fuck I don’t even know... dammit all.

Those actions didn't line up with what she was doing now at all.

‘She has a rather insulting view of humans,’ Emilie explained as the nurse quickly left the room once she was done.

‘To be fair, the Alakazam that put you back together is the attending right now. He seemed more than capable of handling it if anything bad happened.’ Gardevoir said, dismissing her daughter’s statement without acknowledging it.

Guess that confirmed that I wasn’t intended to hear the last thing she thought when she left earlier.

Emilie glared.

‘Now, back to our conversation. I want my daughter back.’

‘Your daughter doesn’t want to go back, so fuck off,’ Emilie snarled.

‘Emilie,’ I said.

Emilie glared at me in disbelief before sagging.

‘She’s still your mom,’ I said, looking sad.

Emilie sighed.

I turned and stared into Gardevoir’s eyes. ‘I don’t want to come between the two of you, but Emilie doesn’t want to go back. You should respect that,’ I argued.

Gardevoir glared at me. ‘Of course she doesn’t. You’ve corrupted her.’

I glared at her at that.

‘Corrupted!?’ Emilie sounded scandalized. ‘The only thing Lea’s done was give me choices. Something you would know nothing about!’

‘The child before me is unrecognizable from the one that left home. Do you truly believe you’re making your own choices being carted around like a pet? ’ Gardevoir asked, her lips pulled into a sneer.

'Better than being your china doll prin-'

‘Enough!’ I cut in. Good lord, when did I become the therapist? ‘Look, it’s obvious the two of you have issues to work out with each other. What if we compromised?’ I asked.

Gardevoir chuckled. ‘What, have me galivant across the countryside after you like your other pets? ’ Gardevoir’s nose scrunched up in disgust. ‘I despise your human cities. The background noise, the filth, the smell...’ She shivered. ‘I am perfectly content to stay home, and I have obligations that must be maintained.’ She glared at Emilie as the last phrase left her head. ‘As do you.’

‘Translation, she’s the most fairy fairy type that’s ever fairyed, and doesn’t want to adapt to the world around her at all,’ Emilie sniped.

‘You’ll understand once you evolve, my chi-’

"My NAME is Emilie." Emilie snarled. "Spelled E. M. I. L. I. E. Lea gave it to me, and it’s a damn fucking good name. For years, you said that having a title was a privilege. That names carried weight. Lea named every member of her team, because she values US. She cares about us. And you know what? That feels special. Having a NAME feels SPECIAL." She stopped, breathing heavily as she glared up at her mother.

I could feel the pain in my arm start to lessen, but a new pain seemed to pass through the bond I shared with my starter. A pain that the medicine did nothing to stop.

"So, use, the damn, name." The final word was punctuated with a bright white light that engulfed the room. Emilie glowed with power as the telltale vision of evolution took root, before stopping cold. Emilie’s fist clenched as she focused, remaining unchanged as the light faded.

‘My-’

"USE IT!" Emilie demanded.

‘Emilie...’ she said the word as though it were a defeat. ‘You don’t see what this journey is turning you into. You’re different. Very different from the girl that left my glade.’ She looked towards me with a frown. ‘I’m worried.’

‘Anything would be better than turning into you.’ Emilie snarled. Gardevoir reared back as if struck. ‘You want to know what’s really bad? If I let her, Lea would keep trying to find a way for you to be happy. Despite you trying to THREATEN her into handing me over. She’s a nice person like that. The next sentence out of her mouth was going to be shared custody.’ Emilie turned back to look at me and gave me a loving smile before glaring back at her mother. ‘But at the moment, I want NOTHING to do with you.’ Gardevoir looked at Emilie, and I noticed a bit of moisture form around her eyes. She doesn’t say anything for a while, till finally...

She disappeared.

She had teleported out, leaving Emilie and the rest of us here staring at where she had been. I heard a new set of sniffling though, and Emilie turned and teleported to my side, and leaned against me. I really wish I could give her a hug right now.

‘You didn’t-’

‘I did,’ Emilie interrupted. ‘You remember the first thing you learned about the fairy type?’

‘You can’t lie,’ I replied hesitantly.

Emilie nodded.

‘I felt everything I said just now was true,’ Emilie explained. ‘And it needed to be said. No matter how much it hurt.’

I noticed the sun start to peek out from behind the blinders.

‘Oh good, I guess we slept for a full day. Maybe our sleep cycle won’t be completely fucked,’ Emilie said, rubbing at her face.

‘It’s okay to be sad, you know?’ I offered consolingly. ‘She’s still your mom.’

Emilie leaned her head against my leg. ‘Now who’s... the fucking therapist?’ Emilie asked between sniffles.

I smiled down at her.

‘You know, I was just thinking that.’ I said with a bitter smile. ‘I learned from the best.’

‘A Mr. Mime at a carnival? ’ she asked with a smile.

‘Nope, just my best friend. Now that May’s my girlfriend, you’ve been promoted,’ I said conspiratorially. ‘Meetings are every Sunday, and surprise anime watch parties are both compulsory, and frequent.’

Emilie was laughing again. ‘Looking forward to it.’ Emilie’s smile was short lived as she looked away.

‘And Emilie. ’ I said, pulling her eyes back to me. ‘I know you don’t want to talk about it now, but I'm here whenever you do want to, okay?’

Emilie nodded once before leaning back a bit and snuggling into my side.

‘Now, I don’t know about you, but the meds are making me drowsy again. We can worry about settling up my sleep schedule later, ’ I said, fighting back a yawn.

Emilie just smiled as I drifted off.

***

I wake up again to the sight of May typing at Sergei. Emilie had disappeared at some point, or at least moved, as I no longer felt her leaning against me. I jerked up suddenly, and realized that sudden movements were not a good idea right now. May stopped typing and looked at me, her mouth pulled into a frown.

“What’s wrong? Are you alright? Does anything hurt?” She rattled off questions and I raised my good hand up to get her to stop. Wait, I could move my arms now. That was new!

“I’m fine, May. Just forgot that moving right now is a bad idea,” I explained.

May gave me a look.

“I’m fine!” I insisted.

May sighed before leaning back in her seat.

“Do you know where Emilie went?” I asked, looking around the room worriedly.

“She went with Apollo and Joern to the cafeteria. I gave her some money and told them to bring me back some food.” May explained. “Apollo... really didn’t want Emilie going off on her own, and Joern wanted to stretch his legs a bit.”

“PINCH!” I heard from below my bed.

“Yes, Samie. They’re getting food for you too,” May replied.

“Pinch.” Samie said happily.

I opened my mouth to reply but a loud growl interrupted me. I nervously looked down at my stomach.

“Guess I’m hungry too,” I commented.

May winced. “I... didn't’ think to have them grab you anything,” May explained. “You’ve been asleep for a while.”

“At least a full day, I know that much.” I said, and May leaned back in shock. “I woke up once while it was dark out. Considering I probably passed out in the morning, and it’s light outside right now, I was out for at least twenty four hours.”

“You needed to rest.” May said firmly. “You also need to eat. Let me call a nurse.” She grabbed the little remote next to my good hand and pressed the button. “I think they’ll have a meal for you, honestly.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Ew, hospital food.”

May poked the side of my head.

“Nutrient rich, high calorie hospital food. Those regenerators they use speed things up, but your body is still doing most of the work.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “When did you learn that?” I asked.

“This morning.” May answered, blushing a bit. “I didn’t want to wake you and I was curious about stuff, and I wanted to know more about what they used to help you and the articles online are fas-” I started laughing.

“You’re really cute when you’re being a nerd, you know that right?”

May’s blush got worse, and she sputtered a few incoherent words as the nurse came in.

“Ah, I see sleeping beauty’s finally decided to wake up, did your princess finally give you a kiss?” she asked with a smirk. My entire face lit up like a tomato and I heard May groan.

“Eve’s outburst yesterday was overheard, and the nurses gossip,” May explained. “Do you know someone by the name of Wayne?”

“Can't say that I do." The nurse just smiled before focusing on me and picking up my chart. "How are you feeling, hon? How bad would you say your pain is right now?”

“Er... My arm’s the worst of it. Also, it’s not really pain, but the tips of my fingers feel kind of weird.” I barely noticed it, but the nurse winced at the mention of my hands. “What?”

“The tingling might be a sign of nerve damage,” she explained.

I froze. “Nerve damage?” I noticed May tense next to me and frowned.

“Hold out your hand for me, the one that doesn’t have a cast on it,” the nurse ordered. She took hold of my hand and out what almost looked like a toothpick. She pressed it into my palm, and it bent as it made contact. “Can you feel that?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Good.” The nurse smiled. “I’m still going to put in for an EMG, but feeling is good. You ready to lose the bandages?”

My eyes widened.

“Already?” I asked. “I, my hands were in really rough shape, are you-”

“To be fair, I do have to warn you,” the nurse said, stopping me before I could babble more. “Most of your nails were either ripped out or damaged beyond repair. We can’t really... speed up the process of growing new ones. It’ll take about four to six months for them to fully grow in.”

“Months?!” I shouted.

May grabbed my hand, and I couldn’t help but notice how weird it felt now.

“Unfortunately, yes. Months. We also can’t do much about the scar tissue,” she said.

What the hell do my hands fucking look like that she’s preparing me like this.

“Can it wait till after I eat? I’m really hungry. Like, REALLY hungry,” I pleaded, not eager to see the damage, and even less eager to show May.

The nurse sighed. “How about a deal? I’ll take off the bandages on your good arm, and then I’ll bring up your lunch for you, alright?” she asked. “I just want to get a look at your hand to make sure everything healed properly, alright?”

I hesitantly nodded, and the nurse smiled at me.

May backed up a bit as the nurse grabbed the tip of the bandage and started rolling it down my arm. The top of my arm didn’t look too bad, thankfully. I didn’t notice any new scars beyond what I had from my years at the bakery.

My joy died once she got to the area above my wrists.

There were two decently sized scars on either side of my wrist. As she unfurled my hands, I noticed most of the skin looked angry and red. The cuts were healed, but little reminders made themselves known. My hands looked rough, but I couldn’t hold in my gasp once I saw my fingertips.

The spots where my nails had been had scabbed over. They looked... wrong. Disgusting.

“Okay, I know you’re not going to believe me, but this is good progress,” the nurse said, sounding happy.

What the fuck did they look like before that this was good progress?

I didn’t look back up at the nurse. Or at May. I really didn’t want to see May’s reaction to this.

“The scar tissue looks really bad right now, but the redness will fade. A month from now you won’t even be able to tell they’re there.”

“Could we get food?” I asked, not wanting to continue this conversation.

The nurse nodded and got up and I felt a pull. I hesitantly looked over to see May holding my deformed mess of a hand.

“You don’t have to-”

“I want to,” May said firmly. “And now that I’m your girlfriend, I fully intend to hold your hand at every opportunity presented to me. You got that?” she asked aggressively.

“Yes ma’am.” I nodded, before looking away.

“Oi, look at me.” May ordered.

I reluctantly complied.

“I almost lost you yesterday. This,” She raised our conjoined hands and shook them. "No language on this planet has a word for how little I care about this. I have you, and that’s all I care about.” She nodded to accentuate her point.

My cheeks burned red, and a smile pulled at my lips as I looked at May. “Thanks,” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it. Now quit your moping and explain why Apollo felt the need to make sure Emilie had guards when she left.”

I winced. “I... can’t explain that.”

May frowned.

“I want too, but it’s not my place.” I hastily tacked on. “If it makes you feel better, I think Apollo’s worrying over nothing, but if you want it explained, ask Emilie. I don’t feel right sharing without her saying it’s okay.”

May sighed. “Fine,” she muttered, not sounding happy.

The nurse came back with a massive tray of food. Wow, May wasn’t kidding. I was hungry, but I doubted I could eat everything on that tray.

“Here we are, the post regenerator special. Eat as much as you can, your body needs the nutrients.” The nurse set the tray down in front of me before heading back out the door.

I hesitantly reached for the fork and fumbled a bit. The fork tumbled off of the tray and May grabbed it before it could bounce off of my bed.

“Right. I’ve got stupid fingers right now. I forgot,” I muttered.

May leaned forward and cut off a piece of egg for me before putting it in front of my mouth.

“May, I-”

She shoved the food into my mouth mid-word, and I almost gagged.

It was tasteless. How do you make eggs tasteless? I was hungry enough that I didn’t care, but how?

“Look, don’t worry about it, just lean back, and let me take care of you,” May said, a smile on her face.

My cheeks flushed bright red as she sat on the bed next to me and proceeded to cut up my breakfast.

“Stop!” I finally shouted. “I don’t...” I looked away. “I don’t mind the help, but... just help me hold the fork, alright. I want to be able to learn how to do things on my own again.”

May pouted before nodding, putting the fork in my hand, and closing her fingers around mine.

***

“Talk to anyone fun while I was passed out?” I asked, nodding at Sergei.

May nodded.

“Mom and Dad said they’re popping in to see us tomorrow,” May explained.

“Do they...?” I trailed off and May shook her head no. “Do you want to tell them, or...?”

“I want to tell them in person tomorrow.” May hastily explained and I let a breath out that I didn’t even realize I was holding.

“Good. I’m glad.” I leaned back and relaxed a bit as May beckoned Sergei over. “I didn’t want to lie to them.”

May grinned at me.

"How are they... handling what happened?" I asked.

May frowned, before looking down at Sergei. "I couldn't really get a read on it. Mom was very... controlled, when we talked."

Ah, got it. I needed to prepare for the worst, then.

“I also called Wally, who’s also coming tomorrow,” May explained.

I leaned away from May. “What the hell is he doing that for? The city is horrible for him. Tell him I'm fine and to stay where he is.” I argued.

May nodded. “I tried, believe me. He said it was fine though. His uncle put something together for him that’s supposed to help with that.”

I raised an eyebrow. “In a week? What exactly does his uncle do that’ll let him make something like that in a week?”

May shook her head.

“He refused to elaborate. Said he wanted to surprise us. Here’s hoping this surprise goes better than the last one,” May complained.

“Are you really going to sit here and tell me you didn’t enjoy that cruise.” I asked, waggling my eyebrows.

May looked away, blushing.

“It was fun.” She muttered. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me how you felt earlier. You’re supposed to be the fearless one!”

“Oi, that entire cruise was nothing but mixed signals,” I complained. “Excuse me for not wanting to rush into things.”

May winced.

“Fair.” May got a faraway look on her face. “I hope Jasmine’s doing okay. She... wasn’t doing too well when I went after you.”

“I... I remember what Solrock did,” I whispered, looking away. “Can you contact them at all?” Fuck, that... okay. Clenching a fist with the good hand is a bad idea right now. Good to know.

“I don’t have their number,” May explained. Seriously...

“Shoot them a PM over Poketube, you dingus,” I said, giving her a look.

May’s eyes widened as she started typing away on Sergei again. “Shut up.” May shouted. “There. Hopefully they’ll see it and we can get an update. Now quit looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” I asked innocently.

“That. That right there is-” We stopped arguing as a knocking sound filtered through the room. I looked over towards the door and saw my sister, hesitantly walking in as she looked between May and me.

“I... can I come in?”

Chapter Text

I bit my lip as I shifted my view between Eve and May. Neither of them had moved from their spot.

“That depends. Are you going to scream at your sister again?” May asked bitingly, her eyes narrowed.

Eve slowly walked into the room. “No,” Eve murmured. “I’m sorry. I... Wasn’t in the best head space yesterday. That’s not an excuse, though.” Eve looked down at me and winced as she noticed my hand.

“I forgive you, so quit being so fidgety. It’s not like you.” I said, giving my sister the best smile I could. “I know how you get when you’re super stressed, it’s fine.” I looked away.

“It wasn’t fine yesterday. I shouldn’t have...” Eve trailed off as she took in my hand. “Should... that be unwrapped?” Eve asked.

May growled and I squeezed her hand to get her to back off.

“Not a pretty sight, are they?” I shifted my hand under the sheet. “The nurse said that the scar tissue should fade after a few weeks.” I glanced away from my sister. “The nails are going to take a few months to come back, though. Good thing I like wearing gloves.” My words sounded far away to my own ears.

“What on earth...” Eve asked in horror.

“A Solrock and Lunatone mind controlled me to dig into a ruin for them. The walls were weird, and they couldn’t move them, so they needed a more... hands on approach.” I waved my hand around and May smacked my arm.

“Do NOT joke about that.” May shivered. “Especially not around Joern when he gets back.”

My eyes widened a bit at the implications of that sentence. Right. He was a captive audience for that horror show.

“He-”

“Yup,” May interrupted.

I couldn’t tell if she knew what I was going to ask or if she just wanted the subject dropped. I swallowed down a lump in my throat before reaching out for the drink on my tray. Good to know I wouldn’t be the only one needing therapy after this, I guess. Eve looked a bit green, and I patted a spot on my bed for her to sit down.

“Just don’t throw up on me,” I said. Not even a smile, damn. I need to work on my material.

“Do I need to be mindful of anything or...” she trailed off.

“Nah, the doctors here did a good job. Wonders of modern medicine, I guess. I’m pretty sure the only active injury I really have right now is the broken arm, if the way my legs feel is any indication. I’m going to need another surgery for that, though," I explained.

“Another?” Eve asked, her voice shaking slightly as she did so.

I sighed. “Yeah, another,” I confirmed.

Eve’s eyes narrowed, and I knew I wasn’t getting away with not explaining. Wait.

“Come to think of it, what did I need the first surgery for?” I asked my favorite nerd.

“Regenerators are good for surface level wounds and speeding up general recovery, but they’re not instant. The rocks that fell on you nicked your femoral artery. You lost so much blood...” May looked away.

I hesitated for a second, before reaching out and grabbing May’s hand with mine. I squeezed and she looked up before smiling at me and squeezing back.

“You two would give the glazed donuts back home a run for their money with how cavity inducing you’re being right now,” Eve commented.

May turned and glared at Eve.

“Suck it up, buttercup. I’m your girlfriend’s sister, I’m contractually bound to screw with the both of you. It was in the bylaws of the forms they gave me when the brat was born,” Eve said, smiling at May. “Think you’re up to explaining more, or do you want me to grab one of the attendings?”

“Didn’t they give you the run down when you came in the first time?” I asked.

Eve winced. “I, uh... didn’t give them the chance.” She chuckled nervously before moving to stand up.

“Wait,” May said. “I’m sorry, I... I don’t want to, but I feel like I need to talk about it. Give me a second, alright?”

Eve nodded.

May took a deep breath, exhaled, and stared down at our conjoined hands for a while.

"They put your leg in a tourniquet, and they cut your leg open to seal the artery closed,” May said. “Doctor’s have been in and out for the last day and a half with the portable regeneratives. I’m honestly kind of amazed. You were right, earlier. Most of your wounds are fixed outside of your arm. They can’t do anything with that until they get the bones set.” May glared at my cast before sighing. “You’re going to give me grey hairs. I’m fifteen years old, and I’m going to be the youngest person on record to have grey hair, and it is exclusively your fault,” May grumbled.

“Yeah, well, it would have been a hell of a lot worse for you.” I argued. “I’ll take a few grey hairs, if it means I'm not riding the rest of this circuit solo,” May slowly nodded.

“I, you’re continuing?” Eve asked.

I turned to look at her, a frown on my face.

“You have a broken arm, and your hands look like they got run through a meat grinder.” Eve’s voice went up a few octaves as she talked.

“I-” Eve’s intense stare stopped the words on my tongue, and I looked away. “I know you’re scared, but-”

“How the fuck aren’t you!?” Eve shouted. “You were abducted, tortured, and almost died.”

Different images flashed in my mind as she listed off each item and the blood in my veins froze.

“Every other human being I know would be curled up in the fetal position holding a Tediursa doll. This isn’t something people just walk away from. It might not be hitting you now, but you haven’t dealt with it. I KNOW you haven’t dealt with it.” Eve looked away. “Please, just... I can’t lose you, too.”

Those words hit me like a sledgehammer.

“I...” I swallowed as I attempted to steady my breathing a bit. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m okay. I know I’m not.”

“Then come home!” Eve shouted.

“I can’t let them win!” I shouted back.

May’s grip was probably the only thing keeping my hand from shaking. I took a deep breath before looking back up at my sister.

“I can’t. If I gave up now... I know I’m in horrible shape, but I can heal. I can be better. Giving up now would be giving those monsters way more fucking power over me than they deserve.” I glared down at the sheets. “They’re fucking dead and gone. I’m not going to let them control me again.” I felt myself start to shake. “Never-”

May pulled me into a sideways hug, cutting me off as I felt something trail down my cheek. Eve looked at me for a while, before sighing and leaning forward. She grabbed my hand and smiled at me.

“I don’t know how to argue against that,” Eve said before looking away. “I want to. I want to really fucking bad, but... I don’t think that would help you.” Eve squeezed my hand before letting go.

My shoulders sagged a bit and I looked away from her. “I know this isn’t what you want for me right now, but I need to do this,” I said.

“You’re going to call me every fucking night when you’re on the road now,” Eve ordered firmly. “Dealing with this is going to be hard, Lea. I know you feel you’re coping decently, but... it gets worse before it gets better.”

“I won’t be alone,” I replied, smiling up at May, who kept glancing between the two of us and looking incredibly uncomfortable. “May will be there to help me through it. My team will be there. I have people I can lean on, Eve.”

“That’s a curse as much as it is a blessing,” Eve said dryly before turning and looking at May. “The people you care about most see the worst of you.” She looked at me now. “You hurt them, even though them being there means the world to you.”

I leaned forward and winced as my cast held me in place. Dammit all, let me hug my fucking sister.

“You chase them away,” she muttered.

I reached my arm out as far as I could and grabbed her arm. She turned to look at me. “You didn’t chase me away.” I said kindly, smiling at her as best I could in this weird forward lean that I had going on right now.

“I’m... just gonna step outside.” May hastily grabbed Sergei and moved toward the door. “This feels like a private talk, now.”

The click of the door threw me off for a second as I watched her leave.

“Are you okay?” Eve asked, her eye’s knitting in worry.

“You didn’t chase me away,” I repeated, ignoring her question as I leaned back in my bed. “You’re my sister. You raised me. You... I wouldn’t be half as amazing as I am right now without you.”

“Lord knows I didn’t teach you humility,” Eve joked.

“It’s a shitty virtue that people like to quote so they can humble brag for blind praise, now shut up and hug me,” I ordered, glaring at my sister.

She laughed before taking May’s spot and pulling me into a sideways hug. I wrapped my arm around her and returned it as well as I could.

“I’m so happy you’re going to be alright,” Eve said. “I know May made the joke, but you’re actually giving me grey hair. I’ve started coloring it, by the way. This whole Pokémon adventure thing is going to have me looking like I'm sixty by the end of the year. I’m only thirty-two, dammit, I should not have grey hair,” Eve cried.

“Meh, I think you’re exaggerating my impact in that. You are kind of getting up there,” I said.

Eve’s hug tightened and she glared venomously at me.

“Shutting up now,” I muttered quickly.

“Smart girl,” Eve said. “And by the way, you forgot someone when you listed off people you could lean on. You’ve got me too. I meant what I said earlier. Call me. I'll listen to whatever. Scream, cry, complain that May snores in your ear-”

“She does,” I interrupted.

“I might complain that I didn’t need to know that, but I'll listen,” Eve finished, shooting me a glare. “Lord knows you’ve listened to me enough over the last seventeen years.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling wide at her. “So how long are you sticking around in Rustboro?”

“However long you’re in the hospital for,” Eve replied.

“You’re leaving Caroline alone for that long?” I asked, my eyes wide. “I say that having no clue how long I'm going to be here for.”

Eve laughed and shook her head. “I’ve actually hired one more person. Wally’s dad actually has a talent for baking, if you would believe it, and oddly enough, so do some of Norman’s Pokémon. Despite Slaking being famous for slacking, they’re surprisingly good workers.” Eve smiled. “I think I'm due for a bit of vacation time, don’t you?”

“Considering you’ve never taken one, yeah,” I deadpanned. “Only took me almost dying to do it.”

Eve’s eyes narrowed into a glare.

“You and May need to coordinate, you’re both kill joys. Humor is how I deal with crap, let me make morbid jokes,” I complained.

“Find a coping mechanism that doesn’t remind the people that care about you that you almost died,” Eve chastised.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “So, I don’t want to tell you how to spend your vacation, but I got to tell you, spending it ALL around me is going to be incredibly boring, and Rustburo has a ton of fun stuff to do.”

“You’re trying to get rid of me so you can have some alone time with your girlfriend, aren’t you?” Eve asked accusingly.

“Yes,” I admitted shamelessly. “Yes, I am. Please don’t make it difficult.”

“Fine,” Eve sighed. “I suppose I can leave my baby sister alone if that’s what she really wants. Besides, there’s something I want to check up on while I'm here.”

I craned my neck forward a bit as she stood up.

“Care to share with the class?” I asked.

Eve thought for a second before smirking.

“Rental rates,” she replied.

I tilted my head, slightly confused.

“I’m thinking of opening a second store, here, in the city,” Eve hesitantly admitted.

My eyes widened.

“Don’t call it a vacation if you’re still working while you’re here,” I chastised. “Are you sure we can afford that?” I asked nervously.

“I’ve been getting a lot of bulk orders from here since you passed through. The Gym, Devon, the school, I think I underestimated how much a gym leader liking our food would do. It just... makes sense to open another store here.” Eve’s eye’s crinkled as she smiled. “We’re doing really well.”

“I’m happy for you.” I said earnestly. “Are you going to keep the name?”

“What do you mean? Of course I'm keeping the name! The Sakai Bakery is perfect. I’m keeping it just the way it is.” She glared at me.

“Fine, don’t bite my head off. I’m just saying something with a bit more wow factor might draw in customers,” I said coyly.

“Yeaaaaaah, no. You’re the last person I’m going to for naming advice. You’d pick the name of a maid café from one of your weeb shows just to fuck with me,” Eve said with a glare that could traumatize small children.

Rude. Fair, but rude. “Fiiiine. Be boring, see if I care.”

Eve shook her head. “Want me to send May back in?” she asked as she made for the door.

“Please,” I responded. I don’t think she even needed to ask, because the second Eve left, May came back.

She even brought friends.

‘We brought stuff.’ Emilie smiled as she levitated a very familiar backpack and three poke balls to my side.

‘They threw away what you had on, ’ Joern explained sadly.

I frowned. So much for the Haori. I could... dammit I don’t have the funds for a replacement. Joern looked away as I continued to not say anything.

“Joern, I don’t think any of what I had on was salvageable,” I explained consolingly. “You don’t have to worry about something like that.”

Joern smiled and nodded as I reached through my bag.

“Thanks, for...” I trailed off as I realized something. I was short quite a few bags of gingersnap cookies. “You got my backpack to get cookies, didn’t you?” I asked accusingly.

Emilie shook her head. “We go through the trouble of getting her stuff for her, and all we get back is baseless accusations,” Emilie... commented. I stared down at her in wonder. She did that last night too. How did I not notice?

“How does it feel to be bilingual, Emilie. That was fast.” I grabbed my bag and started ruffling through my pouches to see if anything else was missing.

‘She was doing great beforehand, but she also decided to practice a LOT in the cafeteria, ’ Joern commented. ‘Kept striking up conversations with other trainers. I think she had one of the younger ones convinced that SHE was our trainer.’

‘Shameful behavior, posing as the captain while she’s laid up like this,’ Apollo chastised.

“Wait, where’s my lunch?” May asked. All three of my Pokémon froze and stared up at May nervously.

“PINCH?” Samie asked.

“Well... ya see...” Emilie shuffled in place. “The sandwich looked really good.”

‘Aye, lass, I uh... well it is in my nature and those chips looked delicious,’ Apollo said.

I pushed the thoughts out to May with a grin.

‘I... have nothing to feel guilty about.’ Joern admitted as he distanced himself from Apollo and Emilie. ‘Good luck you two.’

“Samie,” May said in a cold tone. “Chomp.”

“PINCH!” Samie complied as Emilie and Apollo quickly moved away from the angry mandibles.

I chuckled a bit at the show before grabbing a bag of cookies.

“So much better than hospital food. Thanks guys,” I supplied. “Samie, Emilie likes teleporting to blind spots. Anticipate her moves and counter.”

“TRAITOR!” Emilie shouted as Samie almost got her.

Joern stood off to the side and watched the chaos unfold with a grin. He looked a lot better than May had hinted at, honestly. We could probably wait on talking about what happened in the cave. I didn’t want to ruin his mood. I motioned for May to join me on the bed and offered her the bag.

“Thanks.” May smiled as she reached into the bag.

I shifted my backpack a bit to give her more room when I noticed something a bit odd. A few of my extra poke balls were in a different pouch from the rest of them. I riffled through them, and I leaned back, my eyes wide as I realized something.

“Guys, stop goofing around for a second,” I called out.

May clicked her tongue and Samie stopped.

“Goofing off?! Is that what you call getting almost eaten?” Emilie shouted angrily.

Apollo laughed from his perch of... my heart monitor. That probably wasn’t a good idea.

“Get down from there. Last thing the ‘Captain’ needs is you screwing up one of her monitors,” Emilie said.

Apollo carefully flew down to my shoulder.

‘Sorry, lass. I’m not quite used to all the fancy equipment.’ Apollo said to Emilie before staring down into my bag. ‘Did we lose something, cap?’ Apollo asked.

I held up the ball.

“No. We gained something. This poke ball has something in it,” I explained.

May yoinked the ball out of my hand before I even finished talking.

“I just wanted to get ahead of the idiocy before it started. Knowing you, you were going to do something stupid like open the damn thing, and my heart can’t take another brush with death,” May explained, giving me a glare.

I frowned.

“Am I really that bad? This one wasn’t my fault.”

May’s glare got worse.

“Shutting up now.” I ruffled around in my bag for my pokedex. “Look, just let me scan the damn thing. A Zubat probably just hitched or something, it’s fine.”

‘Stowaways are serious business, captain,’ Apollo commented.

Joern snorted. I held my dex up to the ball, scanned it, and...

“No data found?” I looked at my dex in confusion. “Did I error code the fucking pokedex when I got hurt?”

May pulled the ball away from me and shoved it in her pocket.

“NOPE!” May shouted. “Not dealing with that today. No way. We will open it on a route, with both our teams out.”

I pouted.

“May, I'm su-”

“VETO! A million times veto, and for once you’re going to listen to me, or so help me I will-”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, geeze,” I interrupted. “We’ll wait to see what it is.”

May nodded once.

“Good,” she said. The doors to my room opened as she finished, and an Alakazam walked in with a wheelchair in tow.

‘Good, you’ve finished your food. I was a bit worried you wouldn’t, the nurse said you were a bit fussy.’

What was I, three?

‘Would now be a good time to take you for your X Ray? We need to get a look before surgery,’ he said, before looking down at the chart. ‘Ah, and we can probably get the EMG knocked out while we’re out and about.’

“Now’s as good a time as any, I suppose, though is the wheel chair really necessary?” I asked, feeling a bit odd. The bottom half of my body felt fine, and I missed walking.

‘You might be feeling fantastic, but the technology we used to treat you is still very new. We’d rather be safe than sorry. We’ve already had one case where the patient strained themselves before their healing could finish, and he ended up back in the ICU,’ Alakazam said.

Why did I have a sinking feeling I knew who he was talking about.

‘Ah, he’s a friend of yours. That makes a lot of sense, actually.’

Dammit all.

“We would be more than happy to use the chair,” May said, giving me a stern look.

I wisely decided to comply and let them help me into the wheelchair. I made note of every mental whipcrack, and decided a smiling May was worth a bit of swallowed pride.

***

I sat on my bed across from Emilie with my eye’s closed, doing everything I could to visualize my home away from home. This was the easiest thing in the world. By all rights, I shouldn’t even need Emilie here for this.

“Why am I having trouble with this?” I asked Emilie. “This is basic bitch psychic training. Literally the first thing you taught me.”

‘Huh, you mean you’re having trouble finding your zen after everything that’s happened over the last few days?’ Emilie asked sarcastically .

I glared down at my little gremlin.

‘Shocker.’ Emilie said.

“Can you go back to being that sweet, innocent Ralts I caught on Route 102?” I asked, trying and failing to channel Eve’s mom stare.

Emilie just tilted her head at me and sighed. “That Ralts got cookies more,” Emilie countered.

“I wonder why?” I threw back at her before grabbing the bag I had been eating from earlier. “Enjoy.”

Emilie looked at my offering suspiciously.

“This feels like a trap,” she said. She poked the bag of cookies a couple of times before hesitantly grabbing one.

“Quit being a drama queen and enjoy,” I ordered.

The bag disappeared, and a familiar feeling of joy passed through the connection.

“You do know you can SAVOR your food, right? No one’s going to take them from you.”

“You don’t know that,” Emilie countered. ‘Back to your meditation troubles, your mind was flayed and almost shattered, and you went through something traumatic. I would have been more surprised if you pushed through that without blinking. I’ll pull you into it and stay with you throughout. This... is probably going to be rough.’

Emilie teleported up to my shoulder and shoved her hand onto forehead. My eyes cross as I try to focus on the blue light emanating from Emilie’s hand.

“Wait, wh-”

The world around me shifted. White hospital walls warped into scorched wallpaper and burnt molding. The bed I was sitting on bowed and broke as it slowly shifted to a charred linoleum. Broken tables and shattered chairs sprung up from the ground as holes were etched into the front desk. The display cases were shattered, the calendar was torn down, fuck even the clock was broken.

Six support beams held the building up, and they were the only things that looked untouched in the whole damn room.

“What the hell...” I muttered.

“Honestly, I was expecting worse,” Emilie said.

I whipped around to look at Emilie. “How the hell can it look worse than this? Legends above, this place is a nightmare.” The fact that I was looking at a burnt destroyed ruin of my mom’s bakery wasn’t doing anything for my mental state either, something the world reflected as I heard glass crack to my left. I turned and saw a picture of my parents cracked.

“Yes. It might look bad, but most of this is superficial. Everything’s still here, and your mind is still standing strong, despite what happened.” Emilie smiled at me reassuringly. “Most of this is from Solrock throwing a temper tantrum when you defied him. You refused to cut May down, and he lit things up in response. Back when you were having your melt down in the cave, those support beams were shattered,” Emilie explained. “We fixed the worst of the damage right there and then.”

“Good to know brain damage is easy to fix...” I muttered, before I remembered what she said half way through her explanation. “Wait, so what happens when the support beams go?”

“Your mind shatters,” Emilie said nonchalantly.

“WHAT!” I shouted. “Wait, can people hear me outside?”

“To the rest of the world you’re out cold right now. This isn’t meditation,” Emilie explained.

“THEN WHAT!?” I shouted again.

Emilie nodded with a giggle.

“It’s part of what makes this place so helpful for psychics. It’s hard to visualize your brain just doing its thing. This place reflects your mind. It’s how you access your memories, emotions, thoughts... it’s you,” Emilie explained. “And we’re going to fix it.”

“How, exactly?” I asked dubiously, glaring down at my starter. “Should I get a couple buckets of mind paint, maybe some mind nails?”

“You’re adorable,” Emilie deadpanned. “Let’s start with something simple. Where are the donuts?”

“Huh?” I asked dumbly.

“This is a bakery, where are the donuts? I’d like a donut please.” She clapped her hands. “Chop chop.”

“Emilie this place is obliterated, there aren’t-”

Emilie shook her head. “Not with that attitude, come on, hurry the hell up. I’m hungry.” She tapped her foot a few times.

Legends above I hated that. So much. That was one of my biggest pet peeves when I dealt with impatient customers.

“I’m WAITING!” Emilie glared at me.

I felt something in me snap. “Would you shut up, they’re right over here, so quit your... bitching.”

A section of the bakery had fixed itself, and a number of memories played out in fast-forward. Eve showing me how to make my first glazed donut. May coming into the shop for the first time and picking out stuff for her family. Norman coming in for his usual before opening the gym. Random thoughts and memories that weren’t important, that I didn’t even realize I had forgotten, all played out as a part of my mind righted itself. Where ash filled ruin once stood, there was now a fully functional donut display, completely out of place with the rest of the room.

“There we go,” Emilie said with a smirk. “Knew pissing you off would be the fastest way to get results.” She walked over to the case and looked at what was on display. “Nicely done.”

“How...?”

“It’s your mind. It listens to you,” Emilie explained, waving her hand out to the new donut display case. “You created this space. It exists as you know it, and bends to your will.” Emilie looked away. “It also bends to anyone else’s will, unfortunately. Now, where the hell am I supposed to sit? Do you have any chairs in this shit hole? Or-”

“IF you EVER call my mom’s bakery a shit hole again, I will send you back to Dewford via air boot. Express check out,” I snarled, and the menu and signage all returned, right as rain. “Damn, that is creepy. What’s even weirder is I don’t notice a change.”

“You won’t. It’s an unconscious action. You won’t see it unless you consciously try too, and that’s really fucking hard,” Emilie explained. “Still, chairs.”

I stared down at her and at the room around me before a thought occurred to me. I closed my eyes and just... visualized the bakery as it should be. To recreate the world in my mind from within my own mind.

“I... wow, you picked that up faster than I thought you would!” Emilie exclaimed.

I opened my eyes to see the world around me had shifted to match my mental image.

“I’m the god of my own world, right?” I asked.

Emilie nodded.

“Right...” I frowned as I thought about this place. “Emilie, did that really do anything?” I asked. “I don’t... feel any different. I still have this... disgusting feeling in my chest. Like I'm trying to crawl out of my own skin.”

“Unfortunately, that’s because that was the easy part,” Emilie explained with a frown. “The world you see is the world you remember. It’s not who you are right now. You fixed the windows, put the tables back up, slapped a nice coat of paint on the walls, but if we left... your subconscious would suck the life back out of this place.” Emilie frowned and looked away. “To truly begin healing... you have to process what happened.”

I froze.

“Make the subconscious conscious, remember,” Emilie said, shuffling in place and looking anywhere but my eyes.

“I... I don’t...”

“I know,” Emilie said with a reassuring smile. “We don’t, if you don’t want to. We could walk out and revisit this when it’s less fresh. It’s your choice.”

Emilie put a lot of emphasis on those last three words.

“That would be... no.” I shook my head. “Emilie, I can’t meditate.”

“At the moment, no. You can’t bring your mind to a state of calm on your own.” She nodded along, as though this wasn’t a massive problem.

“That was the most basic thing you showed me, and I can’t do that right now.”

Emilie nodded again.

“What else can’t I do? How long until this just bleeds into me trying to live my life? Till the rot starts affecting the ‘central pillars’?” I asked.

“I would never let it get that far,” Emilie said resolutely. “I keep the lights on, remember? That’s my job.”

I shook my head. “It should be my job too,” I answered. “I won’t be able to learn how to protect my mind, either, will I?”

Emilie shook her head.

“We’re fixing this. Tonight.”

“I’m glad.” Emilie smiled. “But it won’t just be tonight. What you went through... that’s going to take a few sessions to work through.” Emilie levitated and brought herself down on a table before pulling a chair out for me. “Have a seat.”

All of the confidence I had been feeling died as the words left her mouth. I felt my heart pick up as I realized just what we would be doing.

I swallowed down a lump in my throat as I hesitantly grabbed the chair. My hands were shaking as I stared down in front of me, and a pair of white hands grabbed me, bringing my eyes upwards. I leaned back in shock.

Gone was my helpful starter. In her place stood a tall, imposing figure. Her bangs shifted to one side as she stared into my eyes with a cold, black, dead stare. I jerked away with a shout, tripping backwards as I scrambled away from her. My heart pounded in my chest so loud that I couldn’t hear anything else. It loomed over me, getting closer-

“Lea!” Emilie shouted, the word echoing through the bakery as my own version of reality reasserted itself.

She teleported to my shoulder and stared at me with wide eyes as my breathing slowed, and my beating heart calmed down.

“I’m sorry. I-I don’t know what came over me,” I explained. “I was fine until-” How the fuck did I even explain what my brain just threw at me? What even was that? It wasn’t a Gardevoir that took Emilie’s spot. It resembled one, but it looked... wrong. Distorted and warped, into something not of this world. “Until I wasn’t.”

Emilie patted my hair a few times and my shoulders slowly started to relax. Her skin was paler than usual.

“Like I said. This isn’t going to be easy,” Emilie explained shakily.

I nodded before looking away. How the hell was I supposed to push through that? I didn’t even know what that was!? I couldn’t even breathe I was so scared-

“Emilie, are you still suppressing my fear?” I asked, suddenly aware of a new problem with all of this.

“I should be?” she asked.

I didn’t like that this was framed like a question.

“Lea, it’s technically a fear sponge, remember? If the feelings are strong enough-”

“I’ll still feel them,” I finished. “This felt so sudden though. I was so confident, and then” I stopped for a second, before gripping the chair to steady myself. “That!”

Emilie frowned before raising her hands up. A green orb slowly levitated down from the light fixtures above. Emilie froze as my breathing quickened slightly and a single black wisp pulsed out from the bottom of the orb. Emilie rotated it so we could get a better look and-

“It’s cracked.,” I deadpanned.

“Correct.” Emilie said, not elaborating beyond that. Her face remained passive as she stared at my damaged mental aid.

“What does that mean?” I asked, panic both mandating I asked this and making me dread the response at the same time.

“Well... let me see here.”

Emilie focused on the orb in her hands and it glowed blue. Her eyes snapped open wide as a single black pulse slammed into her, throwing her backwards through the tables and chairs. The orb remained unchanged as I quickly rushed over.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

Emilie groggily got back to her feet as she glared at her own creation.

“Lea, we’re psychic constructs in an imagined space. Of course I’m fine,” she snapped. “I... sorry. That was rude.”

“Okay, what's up with you. You’re rude all the time and don’t care, and you’ve been acting weird since we got here,” I said.

Emilie glared at me before sighing and looking down. “My mental state affects yours if we’re both in here. I’m trying to be calm for your benefit.”

I winced. “Ah, understood. Sorry. It wasn’t like you so I just... ignore me, I’m being an idiot,” I rambled. I half wondered if I was getting secondhand awkwardness from Emilie or if this was all me. “What happened?”

Emilie looked away. “I tried to fix the crack.” she explained. “It didn’t go well. I think the orb is overloaded. As I am now, I don’t think I can fix it.”

I swallowed.

“So, back to my earlier question. What does that mean?” I asked, before looking back over at the orb.

“Well...” Emilie trailed off. “It’d be mostly guesswork on my part, but that crack will get worse as we work through what happened. I’d be willing to bet that as we deal with it, fragments of those emotions this orb repressed will bleed through, until eventually.” Emilie made an explosion sound with her mouth as she threw her hands out. “Boom.”

“I don’t like boom. Boom sounds bad,” I said, my voice gradually getting higher in pitch as I talked.

Emilie looked away. “Boom is bad. Very bad, in fact,” Emilie muttered.

I felt guilt and fear through our bond and reached out to take Emilie’s hand.

She gave me a look. “You do realize this only works on May, right?” she asked with a smile.

I chuckled before looking away. “So, at some point, the fear sponge goes boom. I’m going to guess that when that happens-”

“You’ll feel everything, all at once, in a single terrifying moment,” Emilie explained.

“Is there anything we can do to stop that from happening?” I asked.

“Like I said... as I am now, I can’t do it.” Emilie said.

I focused on her. “I don’t want you to evolve for me if you don’t want to.” I ordered instantly.

Emilie looked up at me, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. “You, but, huh? How?”

I chuckled a bit.

“Emilie, you stopped your evolution last night,” I said. “Pretty obvious you don’t want to evolve right now.” I smiled at her. “I’m okay with that. I don’t know why, and I won’t make you tell me if you don’t want, but I respect your choice.” I chuckled a bit. “Besides, I kind of like you hanging out on my shoulder, honestly. I’d miss you if you weren’t there.”

Emilie blushed at my statement.

“Please stop saying such embarrassing things,” she begged. “I... thank you.” Emilie returned the smile I had given her. “That means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, what are our other options?” I asked.

“The other option would be for someone else to fix it for us,” Emilie said.

I winced at the thought as my very own mind rebelled at the idea. One of the display windows cracked as a wisp of black smoke surged out of the crack in the green orb.

“Right, not doing that. Got it. Even if they fixed it, you’d probably be so freaked out that you’d overload it again. That leaves us with option three. Deal with it,” Emilie said, a grim look on her face.

“I hate option three,” I said, doing my best to slow my heart rate down. I cautiously looked back towards the orb. “How long do we have, do you think?” I asked.

Emilie frowned.

“I honestly have no clue,” Emilie said.

I sagged.

“Probably soon, though, we aren’t exactly going to be covering light subject matters in the next few days,” Emilie said.

Dammit all, I can’t catch a break, can I?

“There’s more,” Emilie muttered.

“Of course there is.” I groaned.

Emilie frowned as she looked at the orb. “You were able to throw Solrock out. You’re starting to be able to keep me out of your head passively.” Emilie grinned at me. “You’re getting stronger, Lea.”

“This sounds good, why do I feel like there's a but coming that’d put a Snorlax’s ass to shame?” I asked, shifting in place a bit as Emilie frowned.

“I don’t think I’d be able to put another block in your head,” Emilie explained. “Even as you are now, with how freaked out you would be, you’d probably throw me out before I could finish.”

“So basically, I have to learn how to protect my mind asap while we deal with the trauma of all the shit I just went through.” I sighed. “Guess we really should get to work, huh?”

Emilie looked away from me, and the feeling of guilt I felt earlier surged through the bond. “Emilie?”

“Follow me,” Emilie said as she teleported down and walked towards the front door. “I know we’ve never done this before, but what exists beyond these four walls. Look out the window and tell me what you see.”

I frowned but complied, before leaning back in shock. That... wasn’t right.

“I don’t see anything,” I replied.

Emilie nodded.

“We need to change that. Close your eyes,” Emilie ordered. “I want you to visualize your walk to work. To take a snapshot of the dirt path beneath your feet, the clear blue skies overhead, the grassy fields, the houses you pass, the trees, the pond, anything and everything you can think of. Imagine a world beyond you bakery... and open your eyes once more.”

I complied and the windows beyond reflected that mental image.

“Holy... fuck,” I muttered.

Emilie giggled.

“God of your own world, remember?” Emilie threw my earlier words back at me before lifting up a single hand. The doors to the bakery opened, and a cool breeze blew into the otherwise warm bakery. I walked out and gaped at the world I created.

The buildings were nondescript and generic. They all looked the same, mostly because I just assumed that they weren’t important enough to remember, but they were there. This was a far cry from what home really looked like, but it was close enough.

“This is cool, why did we do this?” I asked, looking back to Emilie.

“Close your eyes again,” Emilie ordered, not answering the question.

I groaned but complied.

“Imagine a massive sphere around this city. Encapsulate everything that makes you you and hide it behind that barrier. Make it as dense and sturdy as possible. Don’t let anything in, or out,” Emilie said, her voice choking on the final word. “Now open your eyes.”

“And lo and behold, we have a giant sphere around the city, what-”

“Any intruder will start from the furthest point of access to your mind. They have to travel inward to get to your thoughts, memories, feelings... they start beyond that barrier. They have to tear it down to get in.” Emilie threw her arms out. “Tada, a protected mind. At your current level of strength, that barrier is good enough to tell the average Kadabra to fuck off.”

I leaned back from Emilie with wide eyes.

“I... just like that?” I asked, my voice sounding far away.

Emilie nodded and looked away. “This wouldn’t have been enough to keep the cosmic cosplayers out, but it could have been. If we had worked on strengthening your mind from the start, none of this would have happened. I was so scared about losing our connection that I almost lost you.” Emilie’s voice shook as she finished speaking.

I scooped Emilie up into a hug.

“I think I’ve told you this several times already, but I’m as much to blame for that as you are,” I argued. “I could’ve worked on shit in my own time. Could’ve pushed you for more. Could’ve done a lot of things different really.” I looked down and smiled bitterly. “Even disregarding the mental stuff, I could have taken Absol’s warning more seriously. I could have asked for help. I could have stayed with the group in the forest.” I chuckled. “I got overconfident, I guess. I thought we could take down anything the world threw at us.” I looked away. “I was wrong.”

“If you’re blaming yourself for getting abducted, I’m kicking your ass in the real world when we get done here,” Emilie said, her words getting hung up occasionally due to the intermittent sniffle.

I turned to her and grinned. “Then I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself either,” I ordered.

Emilie glared at me before hesitantly nodding.

“There were a million and one things we could have done differently, but at the end of the day, the only Pokémon to blame for what happened are dead at the bottom of a cave in Dewford,” I said resolutely. “Now, I’m going to take a wild guess, and say that the giant wall around my mind is a hindrance as much as it is a help, right?”

Emilie nodded. “In order for it to work, it has to be a seal from both sides, and be absolute. You can’t push thoughts out, and I can’t send thoughts in.”

I closed my eyes and imagined the world without the wall.

“What-”

“I’m also going to assume there’s more than one way to protect my mind. This will be our last resort, thank you for showing me.” I smiled down at her, before turning and walking back towards the bakery.

Emilie teleported to my shoulder and poked me in the side of the head. “You can’t just... ugh!”

“We’ll be more than ready by the time the orb breaks, so stop freaking out. I have faith in you, Emilie. We’ll get through this, and then you can show me all the cool tricks to protect my noggin without knee checking my abilities.” Ah ha! I finally got a smile out of her. Good. “Where do we start?” I asked.

“We start by grounding the bad memories with the good,” Emilie said, her gaze focused “I want you to remember that May returned your feelings, that everyone came together to help you when you needed it most, that there are people traveling across the region to see you while your hurt, and that we beat Wayne and Jasmine into the ground during our doubles rematch.” Emilie’s eyes blazed with that last one. “I want you to remember that we won, and the space rocks lost. Keep all of that in mind.” Chairs reformed at a table before getting pulled out. “And take a seat.”

I nodded and sat across the table from an empty chair. Emilie hopped down and looked up at me with a smile.

“Let’s begin.”

Chapter Text

May’s POV

***

May looked toward the bed and chuckled. She generally wasn’t sure how psychics meditated or did... any of the things they did. Every article she was able to find on the internet said different things, and what Lea described was fairly hard to understand. A lot of it felt backwards. The mind bakery sounded cool, but she didn’t really understand how that let her remember things so easily.

Regardless, meditation was something she understood. People the world over did it for a variety of reasons, from fighters to monks and everything in between. All the articles agreed on the same general process.

That process did not involve being rag dolled backwards over a stack of pillows. Emilie was face down on the mattress, just to the left of her.

“Is... this normal?” May asked Joern with Sergei at the ready, her hair still wet from the shower.

“Lea had trouble finding her zen, so Emilie just dragged her into her mindscape,” he explained.

“She could’ve been a bit more careful with the captain when she did it,” Apollo complained. “Looks about as comfortable as sleeping in the crow’s nest."

“Wouldn’t you enjoy sleeping in the crow’s nest?” May asked.

Apollo laughed. “Aye, ye would think that, lass, but the drafts are murder. Give me an Aviary on a ship any day,” Apollo said.

May tilted her head a bit as she looked up from Sergei to stare at the waterfowl. “Sounds like you have firsthand experience. Care to share?” May asked.

Apollo perked up before flying up and perching on May’s left shoulder.

“Aye, I’d love too. Ships and other sailing vessels have a long-standing agreement with wild Wingull and Pelliper. We help them navigate around storms and the more... volatile Pokémon of the sea, and we get free food and lodging,” Apollo said.

“Basically, he got free food for flying how he normally would and letting ships follow him,” Joern replied.

Apollo raised his wing and waved it at Joern.

“Go and move the captain to a more comfortable position, would ye, Joern? Last thing we need is her to be grumpy because she’s stiff when she wakes up,” Apollo said, giving Joern a stink eye. “And be mindful of her cast!”

"I’m starting to rethink this whole ‘quartermaster’ title. It mostly feels like an excuse for you to boss us around.” Joern complied though and started to move towards Lea, shifting her body so that she was at least sitting and leaning back against a pillow. “Especially since I know she was just humoring you when she gave you that title, old man.”

“OLD!?” Apollo complained.

May bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh.

“I suppose I could have done that.” She cut in, trying to defuse the argument. “Not being the most attentive girlfriend, huh?”

Apollo raised his wing in protest. “Belay that nonsense. You’ve done plenty,” Apollo reassured. “The captain is lucky to have ye. I don’t think she’d be here if it weren’t for you.”

May frowned as she read that last line, and Joern’s smile immediately slipped from his face. He backed away from Lea and moved over to her pack.

“She also wouldn’t have been down there in the first place if I was better at my fucking job,” May said, her grip on Sergei tightening. “I told her I’d be terrible at it. I just didn’t realize how bad.”

“Those bilge rats fired a Shadow Ball from behind an invisible barrier that one shot the first mate,” Apollo deadpanned. “They then proceeded to recall our Master at Arms and teleported out not but a scant few seconds after that. What would we have done even if you were with us?”

“I...” May trailed off. “I don’t know.”

Apollo nodded once. “The answer is not much. Ye saved the captain’s hide and then claimed it for your own. I’d say ye did a fine job.”

May entire face instantly lit up. She felt a bit lightheaded as she glared down at Apollo.

“You can’t just, say things like that!” May shouted. “And the only thing I’ve claimed is her first kiss.”

“Still not seeing the difference between best friends and girlfriends, by the way,” Joern commented as he looked through Lea’s bag for something. He pulled up and glared across the room at Apollo before pulling out a bag labeled Joern. “You two act the same.”

Heat rushed to May’s cheeks as she lifted her head up to glare at him.

“Er... well, there’s more hand holding, we flirt more, and we kiss?” May explained.

“Only thing new is the kissing,” Joern said.

May looked up from Sergei’s screen to see a blank face staring back.

“Alright, fine. We may as well have been dating for the last week and we’re both dense morons. Happy now?” May asked, a bit exasperated.

“Very much so,” Joern replied. “You should dance with Lea more. She really enjoyed that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” May said.

Joern nodded before sitting down.

“At any rate, you were saying, Apollo? About life at sea?” May asked.

The bird in question snapped back to attention. "Right, the arrangement with the ships of Hoenn let us travel to all kinds of places, it’s why Wingull are so common on sailing vessels. I used to run the Devon frigates with a few mates. They always had interesting cargo, and the grub was top notch really.” Apollo preened as he talked.

“That change in subject was about as subtle as a Pineco exploding,” Joern sniped.

“Ever run ships for anyone besides Devon?” May asked, clicking the Joern textbox and hitting the delete key.

Sergei highlighted the message and pinned it to the top of the chat. May glared down at her phone.

“I think your reactions to our teasing are adorable, and I’m sure Lea would feel the same,” Sergei said.

May blushed bright red again, and Apollo’s chat box popped up before she could yell at her phone.

“Aye, we had more than a few, actually. Though one really stuck out. It was an expedition ship that sailed along the northern coast. The old man had us fly into the desert on route 111 of all places and run recon. Terrible fashion sense on this bloke, by the by. Green expedition ware doesn’t look good on anyone,” Apollo rattled on.

“Apollo, stay on target,” May said with a sigh as she skimmed the text block.

“Er... right. Sorry. At any rate, he was looking for an old ruin out in the desert, oh, did I mention that this was the run where I almost got eaten by a Trapinch!”

“Apollo!” May said.

“Pinch!” Samie cried out from the floor.

May sighed as she rested her forehead against the palms of her hand.

***

I opened my eyes to see May chatting with Apollo as she got her cot set up. The second I started to move, she stopped and looked my way.

“Hey. How did... whatever that was go?” May asked.

“Technically speaking I was still meditating, I just had help,” I responded, doing my best to sound upbeat. Even with Emilie’s idea and stopping a few times, that was exceedingly rough. We didn’t even get to the worst part.

“Joern had to move you so you wouldn’t hurt yourself or aggravate your injuries,” May deadpanned. “That doesn’t sound like meditating.”

“You mean you didn’t jump on the chance to manhandle your girlfriend?” I asked jokingly.

May blushed.

“Don’t make jokes like that and stop avoiding the question,” May ordered.

“It went fine. I just have to... work through some stuff,” I explained. “Hopefully I can enter a meditative state tomorrow night without help. Emilie is starting to show me some tricks to make sure what happened doesn’t happen again.”

‘Why are you lying to May? ’ Emilie asked.

‘I don’t want to worry her over nothing. We’ll get stuff sorted out. Besides, I’m not lying, I’m just... not telling her everything, ’ I countered.

Emilie huffed in my head. ‘She’s not buying it,’ Emilie said, pointing to my girlfriend.

May tilted her head at me with squinted eyes before shifting her gaze to Emilie.

“Hmm... Emilie, how do you think the session went?” May asked.

Emilie froze. “It went well,” she explained, not expanding further.

May nodded.

‘I thought you couldn’t lie? ’ I asked.

‘It DID go well. We got more accomplished than I thought we would,’ Emilie said. ‘Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I’m going to throw you under the bus.’

“You know what would make this a lot more believable?” May asked, giving the both of us a glare. “If you two weren’t having a private conversation.” May frowned as we both winced.

“Uh...” I said.

Apollo flew from his perch on May’s shoulder to mine. He glared at me.

‘Lying to your lass is no way to keep a relationship going, cap. Believe me, it does not go well. You can trust her, she’s a fair sight stronger than you’re giving her credit for,’ Apollo argued.

Joern just stared at me like a disappointed parent, not bothering to say anything.

“Busted,” Emilie said aloud.

“What’s wrong?” May asked.

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just...”

May’s frown turned into a glare.

“Alright, fine. The mental block Emilie put on my ability to feel fear is about to break,” I said.

May’s glare shifted back to a frown.

“What exactly does that mean?” May asked. “I know you told me that if it went away, Emilie wouldn’t be able to share your headspace anymore, but-”

“Her block was damaged during Solrock's mental attack, and I can’t seem to fix it. Which means I’ll either have to shatter it, or it’ll shatter on its own. Either way, the blowback is going to be not fun,” Emilie said.

“You could’ve at least eased in-”

“Thank you for being honest with me, Emilie,” May interrupted. She glared at me again before smiling at my starter. “It means a lot.”

“Don’t worry, I was being honest earlier. The session went well. I showed her how to change her mindscape, she was able to put up a basic barrier, and we managed to at least process the abduction. She’ll be good to go in record time,” Emilie explained.

“I still think you’re blowing the time crunch out of proportion. There’s no way I’m going to freak out if you’re in my head. Other psychics, yes. I can buy that, but I only reacted badly when you mentioned having someone else taking a peek under the hood. The thought of you hanging out in there didn’t scare me at all, and I was a hundred percent feeling fear while we were in there,” I argued.

Emilie smiled at me.

“I admire your optimism,” Emilie said. “But I’m not taking any chances. Not again.”

I growled. “For the final time, what happened to me was not your fault,” That came out a lot louder than I had intended.

Emilie sighed. “I know that...” Emilie said. “It’s just taking me a bit to really believe it.”

Joern and Apollo both looked at us nervously, and May looked lost.

“Is there a reason Emilie blames herself for what happened?” May asked.

“She thinks we could have done more to get my mind locked up nice and tight.” I looked away.

“Could you have?” May asked.

I hesitated. “Probably.” I conceded.

May stared over at Emilie with sad eyes. She walked closer to me and poked my starter in the head.

“Hey!” Emilie shouted.

“I think everyone in this room could find half a dozen things they could’ve done differently on that day,” May said. “I keep going back and thinking I should’ve gone with you when Jasmine pulled you aside. That we should’ve waited to have our rematch with Wayne and Jasmine.” May chuckled as she looked away. “Apollo’s already given me an earful when I talked to him, so I have to give you one now.”

‘I keep thinking things would have gone differently if I had evolved,’ Joern cut in. ‘That if I was stronger, none of this would have happened.’ Joern looked down to the floor.

“Pinch.” I all but jumped out of bed as Samie made himself known from behind me. Vague feelings of guilt and helplessness made themselves known as I frowned down at the little guy. ‘ Same. Vibrava strong. Stronger than rocks and sword,’ Samie said.

Joern smiled at the little guy.

I shifted from person to Pokémon, unsure if I should be happy that they were being supportive to Emilie or pissed that they were beating themselves up like this. Emilie looked at the group and chuckled a bit.

“I think you were right, Lea. We’re all hopeless cases,” Emilie said. “I think we just have to repeat this until we all get the lesson. Solrock and Lunatone were the only ones to blame for what happened.”

Joern leaned back.

“We all could’ve done a million things differently that day, and they still would’ve found a way to get at Lea.” Emilie sighed. “Thanks, though. All of you.”

‘Don’t mention it, lass,’ Apollo said.

Joern looked away from the group, and I frowned. I wasn’t sure if he believed that, yet.

“The only thing we can do is be better for the next time,” May said.

At some point during that, she grabbed my hand. I wasn’t quite sure when. I gave it a squeeze and smiled at her.

“Damn right,” I agreed. “I’m surprised Suzy isn’t out here getting in on this. She loves the power of friendship moments.”

May looked away and I suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that I hadn’t seen Suzy or Leshy for the last few days.

“They’re still at the center,” May explained. “That sword you had did something to them that’s proving difficult to deal with. Nurse Joy said she’d call me with updates.” May smiled at me. It didn’t seem to reach her eyes. “They’re awake as of this morning, but they still need to take it easy. We can pick them up tomorrow.”

“May-”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” May interrupted. “Guess we’re both stupid like that, huh?” She looked away again.

I squeezed her hand again and leaned closer.

“May?” No response. “May-”

“We need to be more honest with each other,” May interrupted.

I nodded.

“I can agree with that,” I said. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

May nodded before leaning against me in the bed. I pulled her close and my Pokémon all looked a bit uncomfortable. I chuckled.

“I know you’re probably not that tired, considering how much you slept the last few days, but I could fall out right here,” May whispered.

“You’d be surprised,” I said with a smile. “Whatever pain killers they have me on make me sleepy.” I yawned. “Probably a good thing, considering how early my surgery is tomorrow.”

“I can move to the cot-” I cut her off as I pulled her closer.

“I honestly don’t think anything would help me sleep more than having you by my side,” I said.

May chuckled lightly.

“That’s a hell of a line,” May said. “Just don’t... complain about... snoring.” May was out.

The light blurred all of reality when I finally came around from the anesthesia. I tried sitting up, but it felt like my body was trying to move through a vat of molasses.

“Hey.” I heard from my left. I slowly turned and May started to come into focus.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“High,” I replied. “Did they fix my arm?” I asked.

May nodded. “All of your bones have been properly set. You have a portable regenerator on your arm right now that’s speeding up the healing process. Doctor said you’d be ready to do physical therapy tomorrow,” May explained with a smile.

I groaned at the thought.

“I leave you alone for a week, and you nearly get yourself killed,” a new voice called from my right.

I slowly turned and saw... Wally?

“Clearly, I can’t leave you two alone, like... at all,” Wally said, his voice deep behind a black mask that covered the lower half of his face.

“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked.

Wally laughed.

“A respirator suit. My uncle took the hospital respirator and improvised me this vest and breathing apparatus,” he explained. “I won’t bore you with the specifics. I don’t think you’d enjoy them as much as May.”

“Nerd,” I whispered. I heard May huff behind me.

“But she’s your nerd, so you put up with it,” Wally said.

I could see the faint outlines of his lips pull up from behind his mask. I smiled.

“Rude,” May said.

“Yeah, she is,” I agreed as I turned to look at May again, who was now blushing.

“Huh. Was expecting a denial,” Wally said.

“Did you not tell him?” I asked.

“I uh... wanted you to be conscious for that,” May said.

“Oh...” I replied groggily. “May got tired of waiting on my ass.”

“Tasteful,” Wally commented. “All the same, congrats.”

“Thanks, does the Darth Vader get up mean you can come with us to Dewford now?” I asked. “I missed Gawain.”

“I mean, I would love too, but... didn’t you two just... well,” Wally stammered.

“Wally,” I said, cutting him off. “Over the course of the last week, I have enjoyed a cruise on a luxury liner that YOU PAID FOR.” I stressed the last three words, giving him a vicious glare. Credit where it was due, he didn’t even flinch. “I spent most of that time mooning over May, eating five star food, and learning how to dance.”

“I... I don’t quite get where you’re going with this-” Wally started.

“Where I’m going is that in the last week, I have spent maybe four hours actually training my Pokémon. Outside of battles,” I cried out in shame.

May winced, probably realizing she was in the same boat.

“There is not a doubt in my mind that if May and I were left to our own devices we would continue to not get any work done, and probably spend the next week attached at the lips,” I said.

“STOP!” May shouted, her blush so bad that I was worried the rest of her wasn’t getting enough blood. “Legends above, you have ZERO filter when you're drugged up.”

“I have zero filter lucid. Is there anything wrong with what I said?” I asked.

“No, but you could have said it better,” May made it a point to look anywhere but my face.

“So, basically. I’m resigning my role as wingman to take on the important role of chaperone.” Wally’s face scrunched up. “Do you have any idea how big of a step down in coolness that is?”

“Wally, you’re a walking, talking, Darth Vader cosplay. Coolness went out the window a loooooong time ago,” I jibed.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” he responded seriously.

“Nice, you watched the rest of the movies in your time away from us. I approve.” I countered just as seriously, before letting my voice turn whiny. “Come on, I missed you. We missed you. I’d even be willing to go so far as say that Emilie missed Gawain.”

“Tauros shit,” Emilie spat.

Wally looked down in shock as Emilie spoke up for the first time since I woke up.

“When the fuck did that happen?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m awesome. Your stupid language really isn’t that hard to learn. Making my voice say the damn words was the hard part.” Emilie half explained, half bragged. “Don’t you dare imply that I missed that show boating blowhard.”

“Me think the lady doth protest too much.” I clapped back with my best Gawain imitation.

Her glare intensified.

“Has Emilie always been this... abrasive?” Wally asked.

“She learned to talk from Lea’s memories,” May explained.

Wally nodded in comprehension. “I see, that makes a lot of sense.”

“Fuck both of you,” I shouted.

“Yeah, we’re not abrasive. We’re a fucking delight,” Emilie agreed.

***

“Do I look alright?” I asked May nervously.

“Lea. You're in a hospital. My parents don’t care how you look. They care that you’re no longer in critical condition,” May said with a small smile on her face.

I was still a bit woozy from the meds, but that didn’t stop the feelings of nervousness bubbling up in my stomach.

I made it a point to make sure the gloves Wally had gotten me from the gift shop were pulled up enough to hide most of the scars on my hands. Bless that man, for he is a saint.

May walked over to my bed, and... sat down beside me before pulling me into a sideways hug.

“Stop worrying so much. That’s my job.” she commented as I looked toward the doors that her parents were supposed to walk through soon.

“May, I don’t know if this is the best-” May pressed her lips to my cheek and the words died on my lips.

“Just let me sit next to my girlfriend,” May pleaded.

“I... uh, I mean.” My brain did not want to work, and I idly wondered what my mindscape looked like right now.

‘There are about thirty different versions of May ordering food at the same time from every table. ’ Emilie answered from the chair on my other side.

Yeah. Yeah, that sounded about right.

“Fine,” I finally managed to choke out.

May smiled and hugged me a bit tighter.

The doors opened and Caroline came in first. May begrudgingly got up and hugged her mom, and I sighed in relief at being able to think clearly again. Norman came in and looked at me. I could see a weight lift from his shoulders as he visibly sagged. I fiddled with my gloves again.

“Hey.” I greeted.

May pushed me back down onto the bed as I attempted to get up.

“The doctor said to not try to ambulate on your own till tomorrow, remember?” May asked.

I groaned. “But-”

“Do you want to fall and resnap the break?” May asked with an edge to her tone.

I relaxed back into the bed and wisely decided to keep my mouth shut.

May sat down next to me on the bed. Again.

Damn it, May. It’s really hard to think when you do this.

“I’m happy to see you’re doing better, Lea,” Norman finally said, pulling up the chair by my bedside.

“Eve was... not doing well with how badly you were hurt. She’s called us more than a few times while she was down here. I’m happy to see you’re doing better now,” Caroline said, standing behind Norman and staring down at the bed.

I couldn’t tell if the look on her face was fond, or annoyed. I couldn’t pick up anything from her.

“Where is Eve, anyway?” Norman asked. “I figured she’d be glued to your room.”

“She came by while Lea was in surgery and left when she was in recovery.” May answered for me. I did not know that. That was nice of Eve. “They spent a decent bit of the afternoon together yesterday. I... kind of blew up at her when she got here, and I think she’s been trying to give us some space.”

“May...” Caroline started to chastise.

“She deserved it,” I interrupted. “She... did not handle things well when she first got here. I’m sure we could have handled it better, but honestly, it did end up working out for the best.” I felt like I explained things without explaining things. I didn’t like being this vague, but I wanted May to broach the whole... relationship topic.

“I still think-”

“Well, I’m at least happy things are going better now. When do you think they’ll release you?” Norman asked.

Caroline shot Norman a nasty look, and while I was grateful for the subject change, I felt bad for the flak he was probably going to take for that once he got home.

“Tomorrow. I think. They want to run me through a few exercises to work the muscles in my arm and hands. After that, I’ll be discharged.” I looked down. “Granted, I probably owe the hospital a kidney, a lung, and half a liver in hospital bills, but-”

“I’m covering your expenses.” Norman cut me off. “Well, more to the point, the League is covering your hospital bill. You’re registered under me as one of my trainers. It’s our responsibility, as per the bylaws of our position. So don’t even try to argue,” he explained before I could even open my mouth. “Don’t even worry about the copay.”

“You don’t-” May stopped instantly and bit her bottom lip.

“May?” Norman asked, giving his daughter a look.

My girlfriend glared at the sheets for a moment before sighing and nodding.

“Thank you, dad,” she said, looking away.

Norman shifted his gaze back to me, a pleasant smile on his face.

Why was that face so hard to say no to?

“I...” My pride wanted me to protest, but I couldn’t think of an effective way of doing so. “Thanks.” I’d just have to do something really nice for him later.

“Now then, was there anything you two were wanting to tell us?” Caroline asked, staring pointedly at our conjoined hands.

My brain floundered a bit. I didn’t even notice I had done that!

“Caroline...” Norman sounded exhausted.

“Norman,” Caroline replied back, her eyes narrowed.

May took a deep breath next to me before squeezing my hand and staring directly into her mother’s gaze.

“We’re dating,” May replied, her voice slightly shaky. “We-

“We know, dear. Thank you for finally telling us,” Caroline said, smiling widely.

I sputtered a bit.

“Finally? We haven’t even gone on our first actual date yet!” May shouted. The tenseness in her shoulders left as she leaned forward and glared at her mother.

Caroline tilted her head.

“Honey, you went on a couple’s cruise together,” Caroline replied.

“Our friend got us tickets. We got together when Lea got admitted,” May explained, looking away from her mom’s stare.

“Really?” Caroline asked, glancing my way.

I nodded slowly.

“Wow you two are dense,” Caroline said with a sigh.

May blushed.

“Caroline-”

Caroline shot Norman another look and he wilted under his wife’s scrutiny.

‘It’s like looking at a time lapse. The Lea of before, and the Lea of the future.’ Emilie joked, comparing me to Norman.

‘Shut up.’

Emilie just laughed.

“We are happy for you.” Norman smiled at us again before leaning forward in his chair. “I look forward to officially announcing Lea as my second daughter.”

“DAD!” “NORMAN!” Both May and I shouted. May’s face was brighter than I had ever seen it and if my lightheadedness was any indication, I wasn’t doing much better.

Norman just started laughing.

“I kid, I kid. Mostly.” Norman sighed before taking on a more serious look. “I hate to have to do this, but... this visit is more than just a social call.” Norman gave me a reassuring glance. “Would you mind answering a few questions?”

I didn’t answer right away and May’s grip on my hand tightened.

“What kind of questions?” May asked.

“I think that phone call shaved a few years off my life, May. I want... I need to know how you girls got here. What happened, how it happened, everything.” Norman paused and took a deep breath before leaning forward in his chair. “I will personally be handling the reports for this, as well as following up the Rangers in Dewford. I want to make sure whatever attacked you-”

“They’re dead,” I said, cutting him off. “I was attacked by a Solrock and Lunatone.” I glared down at my bed spread. “Also, if what May told me was accurate, it’s Ranger, not Rangers.”

Norman winced when I said that last bit.

“Rare Pokémon for the area,” Caroline said. “They usually don’t leave Meteor Falls.”

“We ran into them on the cruise,” May explained, her voice shaky. “They were controlling another couple.”

Norman’s eyes widened and he leaned back in his chair.

“I’m sorry, did you say controlling?” Norman asked.

May nodded.

“I- Really?” Norman asked again.

“I’m pretty damn confident,” Emilie growled.

Neither parent even flinched at Emilie talking.

“I’m sorry, it’s just... I wouldn’t expect those Pokémon to have the power to do something like that,” Norman said. “What happened on the ship?”

“The couple had entered into a double’s tournament. We beat the space psychos in a two v two, and they recalled them and locked their balls before handing them off to the captain,” I said.

My mind pulled me back to the cave. I couldn’t even begin to imagine living like that for longer than what I did. I don’t know how Jessica and Atticus were functioning enough to even recall them after the bout. They were a lot stronger than they gave themselves credit for.

“They got them from a breeding company based out of Lilicove called Aquatic Autonomy,” May said, glaring down at the ground.

Norman pulled out a notepad and pen from his pocket and wrote down the name.

“Got it. Do you know how they got out?” Norman asked.

I shook my head.

“They attacked Lea when they made their escape. There should be a report for that with Brawly,” May said.

“Any particular reason we’re only hearing about that now?” Caroline asked with narrowed eyes.

“I...” May started but trailed off under her mother’s gaze.

“I was fine, and I didn’t think of it,” I said, cutting in. “I’m sorry.”

Caroline shifted her gaze to me, and I froze.

“Think of it next time,” she ordered.

I nodded stiffly, frowning at the fact that May was still a tense ball of nerves next to me. I squeezed her hand.

“I’m sorry...” May said, not looking at anyone in the room. “Excuse me.” May stood up and bolted.

“May-” I started to get up from the bed to go after her, and Norman pushed me back down on the bed.

“Don’t, I’ll talk to her,” Caroline said, making her way to the open door.

I opened my mouth to protest, but she was already out the door. Norman looked after his wife as she left before looking back at me with a sigh.

“Well, I’m sorry our visit’s gone like this,” he said.

“Don’t be, I don’t... ugh.” I leaned backwards, letting myself rest against the pillows. “We’ve been an emotional train wreck for the last few days. I’m just sad she left.” I looked away from Norman. “Kind of hard to be there for your girlfriend when people won’t let you leave the bed.”

“I think Caroline and May could use the talk, honestly,” Norman said. “You know, when we got her Sergei, we were hoping to get more than one call every couple of weeks.”

“She called you guys when we pushed through the woods on the way back,” I said.

“And that’s the one call that we’ve gotten,” Norman said back.

I winced.

“Right,” I muttered.

Emilie teleported down from my shoulder. “She could’ve picked a better time to voice that complaint,” she said, glaring up at the gym leader. “Humans really need to figure out how tact works.”

“You’re very fluent. I’m impressed,” Norman replied with a smile, ignoring my starter’s worries. “You feel up to talking more about what happened? We can pick this up tomorrow, if you want. I’m going to be in town for a few days.”

I took a deep breath and nodded once.

“I just want to get it over with. The sooner we get it over with, the better,” I said, my words sounding way more confident than I felt. I stared down at my starter with a grin. “We can meditate afterwards. I want to put this in the rearview mirror.”

Emilie nodded, and I sighed as I started explaining things to Norman.

***

May’s POV

***

“Stupid, stupid, stupid-”

“May, wait.” Caroline called out.

May froze, before slowly turning around to see her mother jog after her. She just wanted a moment to breathe, damn it.

“I’m sorry, I just needed-” May stopped as her mother pulled her into a hug. “Mom?” May’s voice cracked a bit as the word left her lips.

“I shouldn’t have pushed the issue when I did. I’ve been a worried wreck for the past few days, I just... I want you to talk to us more. We can help you-”

“I don’t...” May interrupted her mother before trailing off. “I didn’t. I didn’t want your help.”

“May-”

“All my life I’ve been Dad’s kid. People look at me and see his name before anything else. I wanted to go on this journey and make a name for me. To be recognized for my own accomplishments... I can’t even keep my best friend safe.” May leaned into the hug and put her arms around her mom. “I missed you. So much. I’m so s-sorry.”

“May.” Caroline said slowly as she gently patted her daughter on the back. She held her for a bit as her daughter cried into her shoulder. “It’s alright, honey.”

“How is any of this alright?” May asked. “This probably could have all been avoided if I had even thought to call you guys the second things started looking bad. I’m so fucking stu-”

“Language,” Caroline said firmly. “And if I hear you talking about yourself like that again, I’m going to drag you home and ground you for the rest of the season.”

May looked away.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be your own person, but you don’t have to cut us out of your life to do it, honey,” Caroline said. “We’re your parents, we love you.”

May slowly nodded and Caroline sighed.

“I love you too,” May said. “I’ll call more, I promise. It might not be every night, though. Lea has already agreed to talk to Eve every night. I’m glad Sergei is on an unlimited plan.”

“Good, I like talking to you when we aren’t in crisis. It’s one of the highlights of my day. Well, that, and your brother remembering where the broom is. Or the trash can. Or the sink, actually,” Caroline said.

May giggled. “Glad I have such stiff competition. Surprised he wasn’t with you.”

“He knew you were fine and wanted to ‘run the gym in dad’s stead.’” Caroline sighed. “I don’t know about that boy, sometimes.”

“Well, you’ve got one mostly normal kid,” May said before looking down. “I’m happy you’re okay with us.”

“Why on earth wouldn’t I be?” Caroline leaned back, looking mildly insulted.

“Mom, your entire side of the family-”

“Is a bunch of traditionalist fuckheads that I wish you never interacted with,” Caroline said.

May felt her jaw go slack as she backed away from her mother with wide eyes.

“There’s a reason we don’t visit, sweetheart. I’m sorry if I’ve ever given you any inclinations to the contrary, but I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would make me stop caring about you.”

“I... thank you, mom, that means a lot,” May said.

“Now then. Think you’re ready to go back and save Lea from your father?” Caroline asked.

“Mom, I think Dad likes Lea more than me. I doubt she needs saving,” May said, before walking towards her mom.

Caroline put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and pulled her into a sideways hug as they walked.

“She was terrified of your visit... by... the... way.” May’s eyes widened, and she picked up the pace a bit.

“Any reason for the sudden hustle?” Caroline asked, her eyebrows knit together with a frown.

“Probably nothing, I just-” May stopped talking as she got back to the room and noticed that her dad was waiting for them outside the door.

“Happy to see you’re feeling better. Lea answered all the questions I had,” he said shakily, before giving May a once over and pulling her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“I, dad,” May said, feeling a bit lost. “Are you-”

“I will be, don’t worry.” He pulled back and smiled at May. “That being said, Lea said she was going to meditate with Emilie for a bit. She all but ordered me to take you to the cafeteria and have a nice dinner with you.”

“She was okay, then?” May asked.

“She looked fine. She’s currently sitting on her bed with her eyes closed, so I don’t think she’ll be much for conversation. I wanted to stick around for a minute to watch the process, but... there really wasn’t much to watch,” Norman said.

May sagged in place and let out a breath.

“Good. She’ll probably be out for an hour or two.”

Lea being able to meditate had to be a good sign. If the dam broke there would have been a much bigger blow up.

May nodded once, before smiling back at her dad.

“I think I’d love to take you up on that dinner, though. If that’s okay?” May asked.

Norman smiled. “It’d be my pleasure.”

May’s smile didn’t leave her face for the whole trip.

***

I slammed back into the driver seat of my own mind with the force of a Rhydon’s take down and raced toward the bathroom before throwing the seat up on instinct and hurling.

Legends above the slop hospital food that May forced me to eat tastes worse coming up than it did going down.

I looked down at my hands, currently ungloved and hurled again. I needed to just keep those on at all times. Oh lord, Joern just... got to watch everything I just watched. Fuck, the added clarity made everything so much more intense. Sweat practically poured down the side of my head as the aftertaste of vomit made me dry heave. A hand rubbed my back, and I jerked away from the toilet seat to see May, looking down at me worriedly.

“I... Thanks.”

May nodded.

“What happened?” she asked.

I shook a bit as the memory passed through my head again. “I... I don’t...”

May smiled and helped me get up.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk now,” May quickly replied. “Me asking that was stupid. I’m just... worried.” She fidgeted in place.

I felt Emilie teleport back to my shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said aloud. ‘I should have pulled you from the memory as soon as I noticed the shift. I just... wasn’t expecting it to be that bad.’

“It’s fine, both of you. That was just... a lot. All at once.” I tried to sound reassuring, but my voice was working against me right now. It felt like I was a stranger in my own skin, and my own breathing was getting faster, instead of slowing down. I couldn’t calm down. I couldn’t...

May grabbed me and forced me to look into her eyes.

“I think we should do a crossword together,” May said, her face completely serious.

“I... What?” I asked, confused.

“Crossword. They’re very relaxing. I met someone in the room outside who had one that looked fun. We don’t have to do that, though. We can play cards or a game, whatever you want really.” She rambled on.

“Are YOU feeling alright?” I asked, slightly concerned at how she was acting.

May laughed.

“No, but I’m feeling a bit better than I was.” May replied. “Let’s sit down on the bed again. We can just... hang out.” May explained nervously, her cheeks a bit red.

“Hanging out is good.” I followed her back out to my room, and I could swear I was starting to see an outline of my body starting to form on that bed. Probably my imagination. I sat down and May sat beside me. We stayed there in silence for a bit.

“How was dinner with the fam?” I asked.

“It was great,” she said, smiling brightly. “Thanks, by the way... I think I needed that.”

“I’m glad,” I said, returning her smile.

Back to silence.

I had to acknowledge the Mamoswine in the room, huh?

“I didn’t realize... how bad it really was,” I said.

May tensed before putting her arm me.

“I remembered everything, but up till this point... it was like my brain couldn’t put together that the person that clawed their way through a stone wall was me.” I smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry, I know-”

“Stop,” May ordered. “You do that way too much, you know. Apologize for stuff that isn’t your fault. I know I've told you this before, but I’m a big girl.” She chuckled a bit. “Let me help you.” May hugged me before looking at me expectantly.

“I...” I swallowed before nodding. “The worst thing isn’t even the pain. Pain that I actually remember now.” I still couldn’t process how they could make me ignore that. To just work tirelessly at the project at hand and not care that I was crippling myself as I toiled. “I was smiling through the whole thing. Like I was happy to just... rip myself to shreds. Just to get that stupid sword for them.” I shivered in disgust. “Nothing else mattered, and I just...” I broke down.

“We’ll get through this.” May consoled. “We’re here, and they’re not. Just... keep reminding yourself of that.”

I nodded, before looking away.

“Is it bad that I’m happy they’re dead?” I asked.

May shook her head. “Nope, fuck those monsters.”

I looked around the room in worry. “May, what would Caroline say if she heard you using such language,” I said.

“Don’t you dare!” May shouted before she started laughing.

I slowly calmed down, and for the first time in a long time, I felt lighter. I could relax. I didn’t feel the same crushing dread that cloyed at my mood for the last few days as I started laughing too.

I felt like myself.

“May,” I said.

“Yeah?” She asked.

“I hate to ruin the moment, but I really need to brush my teeth.”

May started laughing again before getting up and running some water for me, and I got up and followed behind, happy.

Chapter Text

“Physical therapy they said. Why the hell did I have to wait till noon to go through something that I could have picked up in like five minutes? All they did was give me a rubber ball to work on grip strength and show me some stretches,” I complained.

“They just wanted to make sure you knew how to do everything correctly,” May said as she ran ahead of me down the hallway. “If you did the stretches wrong, you could end up tearing your muscles, and then we’d be right back here.”

I scrunched up my nose at the thought as we turned the corner into the lobby.

“Fair. I never want to see this hospital again.” I ran up to the desk, pokedex in hand. “Lea Sakai, here to be discharged, please,” I said.

I flashed the screen that had my trainer registry and my identification, and the nurse smiled as she started shifting through files. I still couldn’t believe they tried to put me in a wheelchair for my trip out of the hospital.

“Considering you tripped and fell over your own two feet getting out of bed this morning, maybe it’d be a good idea,” Emilie argued.

"Huh?” May asked, looking up at Emilie.

“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Emilie asked. “Oops, that was supposed to be a mental barb.”

May giggled before looking back at me. “You weren’t kidding when you said most of her commentary were jabs, huh?”

I looked at my starter and frowned.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked, my lips pulled down into a frown at the dark circles under her eyes.

"It’s hard to focus right now, alright. I’m kind of tired,” Emilie said, sounding the part. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

‘You can take a nap, if you want. I can recall you,’ I said.

Emilie glared at me.

‘The fuck you are. We're in the middle of a city. You have any idea how many psychics I’m picking out of the crowd right now?’ Emilie asked, before wincing and looking away. ‘Sorry, I’m just... cranky.’ May tapped my shoulder and I turned to see the receptionist hold out some forms for me.

“Oh, sorry.” I grabbed the pen.

The receptionist was giving me a worried look.

“I was talking with Emilie, please don’t try and keep me here,” I said, looking around to the halls for random nurses before focusing on the task at hand. I glared down at the paper as my hand started to shake on the L.

May grabbed my hand and helped me write. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, this might have been the worst signature I’ve ever made, but it was legible. Mostly. That S definitely looked a little like a five.

“Are you sure you’re not just imagining things again, Lea?” May asked with a mischievous smile as she pulled her hand away.

“Huh?” I asked dumbly. Wait, dammit May.

“Has your friend been showing symptoms like this frequently?” The receptionist asked.

I looked back at the receptionist with wide eyes. No, I’m not dealing with this, we are leaving this damn hell hole.

“I-”

“Not too much, but for some reason, she seems to think her starter can talk,” May looked at me nervously as she patted my head. “She’ll have a full conversation with the little thing sometimes.”

“Ralts,” Emilie said helpfully.

I turned to glare at my traitorous starter. "Oi, she heard you talk earlier, so-"

“I assure, I don't know what you're talking about. Perhaps your release is a bit too early,” The receptionist said with a knowing grin.

Dammit all, they were all fucking with me.

“I can have a doctor give your friend another brain scan before you go, just to-”

“We are leaving!” I yelled over her before grabbing May and dragging her out the doors.

May and Emilie were both cackling as I felt the sun beat down on my skin for the first time in days.

“You both suck!” I complained, pouting at the pair.

“Well, maybe don’t space out so much then,” May said, calming down a bit. “Come on, don’t be such a baby. You made that one way too easy to resist.”

I glared for a second before giggling a bit, my resolve to be mad crumbling as May walked forward and wrapped her arm around mine.

“I suppose.”

May was looking at me intently.

“What?” I asked.

“I just noticed that the tones of your skin don’t quite match,” May said. “I didn’t really notice in the hospital. The lower parts of your arms aren’t tan like the rest of you.” I laughed as we started walking.

“You barely bat an eye at my hands looking like something out of a horror movie, but you’re thrown off by a bad tan job?” I asked.

May blushed and looked away. “I’m not bothered, I just thought it was interesting,” May said defensively. “Make fun of me later. I want to get ice cream.” She pulled me to a vendor that for once, had a relatively short line.

“Can I try some?” Emilie asked, looking nervous.

I frowned. “I’m starting to get worried about how much sugar is in your diet. Even the specialty recipes that I looked up for your type combo had a lot of the stuff in them,” I said.

Emilie pouted.

“Please...” Emilie begged, her eyes wide and pleading as she jutted her lower lip out.

Good lord she looked pathetic.

“Rude,” Emilie said, before turning away from me and pouting.

“Fairy types need a decent amount of sugar in their diet, actually.”

Emilie beamed as May entered nerd mode.

“They metabolize it differently than humans do. Most wild Fae will favor stuff like pecha berries and sugar cane.”

“Alright, I’m calling Tauros shit. No way something that specific was something on Birch’s test,” I said, giving Emilie a suspicious look. “What did you offer her?”

“I’m deeply hurt by these accusations, and insulted on May’s behalf,” Emilie said, her pout returning in full force. “How dare you doubt your girlfriend’s nerd levels.”

“I actually did a bit of reading on Fairy types after Emilie’s episode,” May explained. “It’s why the memories are so fresh.” May walked up to the vendor and looked down. “A mint chocolate chip cone, a chocolate cone, and a vanilla cone. All one scoop, please.” May handed the vendor some cash. “You can keep the change.”

“Ah, thank you. One second please,” he said.

“I still think you’re gross for liking mint ice cream, by the way,” May said, her nose scrunched up as she passed me my cone.

Emilie looked down curiously at my concoction.

“It resembles the head of my kin,” Emilie said.

I laughed as I took my first lick.

“I feel elation through the bond, but I have my doubts. It doesn’t look good.” Her face quickly shifted to a wide smile as May handed her the vanilla cone. “This, however, looks amazing.” Emilie inhaled her frozen treat.

“Wait, don’t-” My protest died on my lips as I shared in Emilie’s sudden discomfort. My hand shot up to the front of my skull in time with Emilie’s, inadvertently pulling May closer. “Fuck, how the hell do I get secondhand brain freeze. That’s not fair at all.”

“Why do humans eat this? All it does is cause pain,” Emilie complained.

May just laughed at the both of us as she took a lick of her own ice cream.

“For future reference, you’re supposed to eat it slowly, Emilie. The pain you’re feeling is from going too fast,” May said. “It alright if we hit up the center first? I need to pick up Suzy and Leshy, and Wayne really wants Skarmory and Nuzleaf back.”

“You were able to contact them?” I asked.

“Wayne gave me his number through a DM. Jasmine's doing fine, by the way. She had a concussion and a broken arm. Wayne said she’ll probably be released tomorrow morning.” May scrunched up her nose. “They got the same doctor that treated you.”

I winced. “Yeah, that... that probably sucks,” I said. “Wait, you have his Nuzleaf? You’ve got to let me-”

“Veto.” May shut me down before I could even get started. “Wayne was right about his personality, and the last time he saw you, you were swinging a cursed sword around while a yellow and orange rock took your body out for joy ride. I don’t think your meeting would go well.”

“Bummer,” I said with a frown. “So, I remember most of the stuff before I picked up the sword, but after that it’s just black space and white noise until I pushed you away from me. Any-”

“You don’t want to know,” Emilie and May said the same thing, at the same time, in the same dead inside tone of voice.

“Right, thanks for the heads up. I will take your word for it, please don’t share unless it’s something you need to get off your chests,” I hastily said.

Emilie and May both shivered, and I pulled my girlfriend closer to me.

“I’m here, and I’m fine. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“I think it’s probably better if you do,” May said, her voice regaining a bit of confidence. “Talking’s good. I just need to work on dealing with it. I can’t do that if we never talk about it.” May grinned. “Besides, I want to say with confidence that we kicked their asses. I can’t do that if I’m a cowering mess every time someone mentions it.”

“Exposure therapy does work on occasion,” Emilie said. “Though usually it’s not quite as ham-fisted as this.”

May stuck her tongue out at Emilie.

“Oy, play nice you two. If you’re going to fight, at least do it so you’re on the same side,” I said, taking the last bite of my cone.

Emilie giggled, before perking her head up.

“Oi, stop for a second,” Emilie said, directing my head towards-

“Yup. That’s a stone shop. What about it?” I asked, feeling a bit lost.

“Can we go in and look for a second?” Emilie asked, her eyes pleading and desperate.

“Emilie, I don’t think I can afford anything in that store, and Joern already has his water stone for when he needs it,” I said.

“Look, just humor me. I want to check the price on something. If I’m right, what I want is completely in your budget,” Emilie said.

I reluctantly nodded before heading into the shop.

Honestly, coming here was a worthwhile experience even if I didn’t buy anything. I think Mr. Stone offered us the best of his stock, because most of what was here that was even remotely in our price range looked like faded pieces of shit. The stuff in the case didn’t even look as clear or pristine as what the president offered to us.

“What difference does it make if a Pokémon evolves with a lower quality stone?” I asked May.

“The better the stone, the less likely there will be complications with evolution. Generally, if you follow the guidelines, you won’t have to worry about evolution sickness, but a stone with fewer impurities would be better for the overall health and welfare of the Pokémon evolving,” May explained.

“You’re better than any information app,” I complimented.

May blushed and looked away. Legends above, that was adorable.

“Yup, I was right,” Emilie said. A smile pulled at her lips as she pointed me towards a small jar in the clearance section with a bunch of misshapen, grey rocks in it.

The jar was labeled Everstones, and I could get one for half the price of a Poke Ball.

“Ah, gotcha.” I walked over and pulled out a stone. “Does quality matter for something like this, May?” I asked.

May looked at me with wide eyes before looking up at Emilie with a furrowed brow. “You don’t want to evolve?”

Emilie turned to look at May.

“I believe it would be beneficial if I didn’t evolve right now,” Emilie explained.

I frowned at how she worded that. That seemed oddly specific.

“Quality doesn’t matter unless you’re so strong that you overpower the stone. I don’t think you have to worry about that,” May said.

I nodded before plucking out a single rock and walked over to the front desk to see a man reading a newspaper. I noticed a few of the headlines mentioned the protests in Slateport. Here’s hoping MudkipSupremacist was doing alright.

“I’d like to buy this, please,” I said. The clerk closed his newspaper and looked down at the stone I had in my hand and chuckled before going back to his paper.

“Leave the bill on the table. I’ll grab it in a minute.” Damn, he really didn’t care. I guess it made sense, I was functionally grabbing out a small rock in a store filled with diamonds.

“Could I also get a harness for it?” I asked.

The clerk pointed to the left of the stand towards a bunch of small bags in various colors. I grabbed the green one and threw it on the desk as the clerk sat up a bit in his chair and set his paper down. May pulled out her wallet.

“Oi, I can pay for my own stuff,” I complained.

“Weren’t you complaining in Dewford that you didn’t have funds?” May asked, her left eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, well, I have enough for this, and we’re set to get paid by Wayne and Jasmine once we hit Dewford, so let me pay for my own stuff,” I argued.

May handed the clerk some money.

“They’re covering the cost of our teleport back to Dewford, so don’t count on that pay day. I didn’t want them even doing that, considering Wayne’s Pokémon are eighty percent of the reason we got through that nightmare, but he insisted,” May said with a glare.

I winced.

“If you’re annoyed, just mark off one of the meal debts I owe you,” May said, before throwing the stone in the bag and handing it to Emilie.

She very quickly threw the bag on, before visibly sagging on my shoulder.

“You have no idea how much better that feels,” Emilie said, her voice lighter than it had been all day.

“Was it really bothering you that much?” I asked.

Emilie nodded.

“It was like this constant itchiness all over my body. The longer I went the worse it got,” Emilie explained, her eyes drooping slightly. “Once we get to the center and we hook back up with Wally, I might have the idiot watch you for a bit so I can take a nap. Is that okay?”

“You’re asking me if I would be okay with spending time with Gawain?” I asked, tilting my head slightly. “Do we not know each other at all?"

Emilie snorted.

“Just shut up and march. I’m tired.”

I nodded.

***

“Alright, Wally. Now that we’re out and about, and you can’t run away from us, I really need to ask you something.” May loomed over my breathing challenged friend as she talked, and I noticed a small bead of sweat trail down his cheek. “In what universe did you think giving us tickets to a couple’s cruise was a good idea!”

“I mean, you’re together, aren’t you?” Wally said, backing away from my girlfriend with his hands raised up in front of him. His back bumped against the wall as May drew closer.

“Do you have any idea how freaked out I was during most of that trip?” May asked. “For like the first day and a half, I was paranoid that I was going to get photo bombed. My freak outs were legendary, Wally!” My friend shrunk down further against the wall. “How the hell do you think that made Lea feel, huh? She was apparently crushing on me since Rustboro, and she had to deal with me during my freak outs!”

“I’m really sorry. I wasn’t-”

“And to top it off-”

“May, calm down. You’re going to give Wally an asthma attack,” I said, deciding to save my green haired friend. “Besides, it all worked out. I got the prettiest girl in Hoenn to walk me back from the hospital, despite Wally’s best efforts.”

May’s cheeks glowed as Wally darted away from her.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I thought it’d help Lea work up the courage to not be an idiot. I guess it had the opposite effect,” Wally said.

“It’s fine, I suppose, I just... Why did you think that was a good idea?” May asked, her foot tapping as she glared.

“I mean, the big romantic gesture usually worked in my mom’s shows,” Wally explained hastily.

I groaned as I realized the colossal mistake I had made in taking Wally up on his offer.

“You’re telling me that you thought this would go well, because you saw it on a soap opera?” I asked, disbelief coloring my tone as Wally blushed and looked away. “Seriously?”

“I don't have a lot of romance experience, okay? I didn’t get out much,” Wally said.

I couldn’t see his cheeks behind that mask of his, but I had a feeling they were very red. May doubled over and started laughing. Hard.

“It’s not funny,” Wally shouted.

“Sure it is,” Emilie said from her perch on my shoulder in between giggles. “Though I think I have less of a frame of reference than May does. Only memories I have are from the random times Caroline babysit Lea when she was little.”

“I appreciated the gesture of faith, Wally,” I said. “Even if the idea was bad, your support meant a lot.” I was hoping my smile would do a bit to make him feel a bit better. I could see his eyes crinkle a bit, so hopefully he was smiling under that mask of his.

“I suppose the fact that you knew about Lea liking me makes me want to kill you for this less,” May commented.

Wally relaxed a bit.

“As long as you do us a favor,” May said.

“Name it,” Wally said instantly.

Damn, he was even more pathetic at dealing with an angry May than I was.

‘That’s a lie and you know it,’ Emilie said.

I glared at her.

“I’m taking Lea out on a date tonight, and I was wondering if you could help us get ready?”

I froze as I hyper focused on my girlfriend.

“What do you mean you’re taking me on a date?” I asked. May suddenly looked flustered.

“Well, I mean we kind of talked about it in the hospital and we’re leaving again tomorrow, and a lot of the places we mentioned were in the city so-”

“No, the date’s a fantastic idea, I was looking forward to taking you on one,” I commented with a smirk.

May gave me a deadpan look.

“You can take me on the next one, when you aren’t subsisting off of center food because you blew all your money on fancy camping gear that we’ve barely used,” May said with a glare.

I winced as Wally started laughing.

“I’m sorry, she did what?” Wally asked.

May opened her mouth.

“Don’t!” I cut her off before she could.

May glared at me, opened her mouth, and I did one of the few things I could do to get her to stop talking.

I kissed her.

May tensed for a brief second before relaxing a bit against me. I pulled back and she glared at me. That glare quickly morphed into a smile promising mischief and pranks.

“Do I get one of those every time I try to tell Wally about-”

Yes. I could feel May giggle against my lips.

“Lea was so enamored with President Stone’s stasis pods that she bought a bunch, along with a week's worth of groceries that we haven’t even really touched, an air frier, and a portable generator. By the time she was done, she barely had enough money for a Poke Ball,” Emilie said, her face scrunched up.

I pulled away from May, and both of us glared at her.

“I’m tired, and I want to take a nap. You two can be all sappy and shit on your date tonight. I’m going to need my sleep if I have to deal with that,” Emilie said, glaring at me.

“I’m adding budgeting to my list of roles,” Wally commented, before grabbing a single Poke Ball.

I opened my mouth to chastise Emilie but stopped as my eyebrows climbed into my hair line.

Gawain stood in front of me, at about waist’s height, as a Kirlia. He bowed briefly before smiling at me.

‘I am pleased to see you are well, Lady Lea. When I heard the news as to what happened to you, I was most distraught,’ Gawain said.

I grinned before feeling a malevolent force brush up against my mind. My heart seized in my chest as I felt anger radiate out through my bond with Emilie. I looked over and froze.

The glare on Emilie’s face could probably qualify as its own move in the registry. Her body tensed as her eyes glowed blue with the promise of pain and power as she stared down at the new appearance of our noble friend. As soon as I thought that final word, Emilie froze, before looking away from me. All the emotions I had been feeling earlier didn’t disappear, but they were muted significantly as shame seemed to reassert itself.

‘Emilie?’ I asked.

‘Sorry. I don’t-’ The words died abruptly through the link. ‘I’m-’ Emilie once again didn’t say anything further. ‘I’ll deal with it. ’ My eyes pulled together. ‘Don’t worry, it’s just... something I have to deal with.’

‘If you’re sure,’ I said hesitantly.

‘Positive,’ Emilie said, before glaring over at Gawain. ‘I’m exhausted and I need to take a nap. Make sure Lea’s protected while I'm passed out, got it?’ That was a bit rude. ‘Please.’

‘Yes, my lady. You can count on me!’ Gawain saluted once.

Emilie teleported over to the couch and crashed almost instantly. Just how tired was she?

“I see you’ve been busy,” May commented. "Though as a heads up. Lea can push thoughts too, and she’ll probably know better what thoughts Emilie wants to share.”

I whipped around to look at my girlfriend in shock before realization struck.

“Did you hear all of that?” I asked, my brow furrowed. “Gawain, I’m sure parts of that conversation Emilie wanted to keep private.”

Gawain blushed a bit.

‘Ah, terribly sorry, my lady. I’m still trying to master my enhanced abilities. I’m noticing it’s a fair sight harder to direct my thoughts. Not to worry, I’ll have it down in no time. Err, do apologize to the fairest of all maidens for me, would you. I meant no disrespect.’ I smiled. Legends above I missed this.

“He evolved the day before yesterday, actually,” Wally explained. “I don’t really think you need to worry too much about Emilie, Gawain. I think she was just tired,” Wally said. “Now, how exactly is this romance challenged squire supposed to help Lea get ready for her date?”

“By helping her do laundry,” May deadpanned.

I winced. Right. I probably was out of clean clothes to wear, wasn’t I?

“Specifically, her nice clothes. I want to take her somewhere nice tonight.”

I felt the blood leave my face. “Uh, May. I don’t know if that’s a good-”

“It’s not super fancy, don’t worry. I know you’d hate that. I just... wanted our first date to be someplace special. I made the reservation while you were in PT.” May blushed a bit. “It’s a bistro downtown. I thought we could eat, then take a nice walk through the park, if that’s alright?”

“I-” I froze. That did sound nice, and it wasn’t too high end, so I wouldn’t stick out that much. “That sounds lovely,” I said, relaxing a bit.

“Good, then I’m going to get my Pokémon and send Wayne back his. You two get started on laundry, and we’ll meet up at the front of the center around five.” May turned and sprinted to the front desk, all but bouncing as she walked. Wally turned to look at me.

“Who is Wayne?” he asked.

I groaned. We had a lot of catching up to do.

***

‘I love that you followed through on your promise.’ Emilie commented as she took in my new hair color with a cheek splitting grin. ‘Green looks so much better on you now.’

‘Yeah, well, Wally had clothes covered, so I had time to go to a salon,’ I said quietly. Beautifly were whipping up a hurricane in my stomach as I shuffled in place. I had thrown on the nicest clothes I still had, did my make up the best I could, pulled my new gloves on tight, and did my best to smile through the nervousness. ‘Do you think May will like the new hair style? I had to go for a slightly shorter cut than I'm used to, because of the whole burnt ends incident on Dewford. But I think it looks nice.’ I shuffled in place a bit as Emilie laughed.

‘I don’t think neck length hair qualifies as short, Lea. I think May will love it. The dark green hair suits your wardrobe, and it looks really nice with that cut. May will love it, I’m sure.’ Emilie capped off her pep talk with a yawn.

‘Did the nap help at all?’ I asked.

Emilie smiled.

‘More than you know. Psychic types really don’t need that much sleep, but I went without for a while.’ Emilie blushed. ‘Holding back the evolution on my own for that long took a decent amount of focus. Thank you for the everstone.’

‘Don’t mention it.’ I smiled down at my starter as she relaxed a bit. ‘Did you-’ My brain stopped.

May turned the corner in a red dress looking the image of resplendent beauty. She glided across the room as her hair flowed freely behind her, abandoning the bandana for the first time in months.

“Hey,” I breathed out. Dammit brain, work with me here. Surely you can think of something better to say than hey!

“Hey,” May said, a smile pulling at her lips. “Are you freaking out in your head as much as I am right now?”

“Without question,” I said, smiling back. “You look amazing, you sure you want to be slumming it with me in the city?”

“You say that like you aren’t drop dead gorgeous right now. I love the hair, green looks good on you.” May nodded towards Emilie. “How happy was she when she saw it?”

“She hugged my head when Gawain and I came back,” I said.

Emilie glared at me before poking the side of my head.

“Oy, watch it. I want this hair to look good for at least the rest of the night before you and Apollo screw it up.”

Emilie pouted. “Fine, I suppose I can leave you to your date in peace,” she said.

May extended her arm to me as Emilie finished talking. I wrapped mine around it and we walked out of the center together.

***

Dim yellow lights floated in paper lanterns just above my head as I pulled out May’s chair for her. The full moon in the night sky shined down as the heavenly aroma of ginger and oyster sauce wafted out from the open doors. Our server placed down a pair of glasses and a kettle of hot tea as I took my seat.

“I’ll leave you two here with the menus for a bit. If you have any questions, please, don’t hesitate to flag us down.” She bowed before turning and heading back into the main part of the restaurant.

“Lao Chao’s Bistro, huh?” I asked.

May smiled. “I know it’s been a bit since you had food like this. I know Eve didn’t make it that often, but you always loved it when she did.” May blushed a bit. “I thought this would be a nice change of pace.”

“I’m not complaining, believe me. I was just surprised. Definitely giving these Miracle Dumplings a try though,” I said as May grabbed a menu. I started pouring tea. “Maybe pair it off with some miso soup and some gyoza.”

“Really, going for the ‘Dumplings so good they’ll cure what ails you’?” May asked, a smile lighting up her face.

“Oy, with a description like that they better be good, and my fingers need all the help they can get.” I clenched my hands a bit as I talked. “They still feel tingly on occasion. It doesn’t hurt, it just... feels weird.”

May flipped the page and smiled. “Okay good, we have ramen. We’re saved,” May said, her body relaxing a bit into her chair.

I sighed. “You do know that Kanto has more food than just ramen, right?” I asked.

“Lea, I’ve been hungry for this for months. None of the centers we’ve been to have this, it wasn’t on offer on the ship, and it’s so hard to be at your house when Eve cooks. Let me enjoy my ramen and quit picking on me,” May said, her face pulled into the most adorable pout I had ever seen.

“Fine, at least branch out and order something a little out of your comfort zone to go with it though.” I flipped through the menu and grinned. “Look, they have sushi! Grab yourself a Castelia Roll.” May scrunched up her nose.

“Raw fish. My girlfriend is trying to get me to eat raw fish,” May muttered.

I decided to break out the big guns and gave her my best puppy dog eyes. May instantly brought the menu up between the two of us. I did my best impression of a sad Growlithe, and I grinned as I heard a sigh from beyond the oriental veil.

“Fine, but you’re getting the leftovers when I ultimately can’t eat it, and you’re holding my hair when I puke.”

“Yes!” I shouted with glee, which flagged down our server. “Oh, uh, sorry, I don’t-”

“We’re ready,” May said. “I’ll take the chicken ramen with scallions, green onions, eggs, and wonton strips.” May’s nose curled a bit. “And a Castelia Roll.” I grinned.

“I’m going to try the Miracle Dumplings, an order of Gyoza, and a bowl of miso soup.” I passed her my menu and bowed slightly.

She returned the bow and left.

“Thank you,” I said.

“So, where’s Emilie hiding out at right now?” May asked. I pointed just above the signage, where Emilie was poking her head out of the O.

“I appreciate that she’s at least trying to give us privacy. She can’t really go all that far, but it’s still nice of her,” I said.

Emilie waved at me. I waved back. We sat in silence for a moment.

It suddenly occurred to me that I really didn’t know what to do on a dinner date.

“Are you as lost as I am right now?” May asked. Apparently, my awkwardness was showing on my face.

“Probably, I just... don’t really know what to say or do. I know this is the part where a lot of couples get to know each other better, but we already know each other.” I tilted my head a bit.

“I read online that there’s usually a bit of weirdness as best friends adapt to being a couple.”

I snorted. “Did you really do online research for our date?” I asked.

May blushed.

“Oh, that is so adorable.”

“Yeah, well... I was nervous. Okay?” May sputtered.

I giggled.

“I get it,” I replied. “I was a huge ass bundle of nerves waiting for you in the lobby.” I winced. “Ah, I probably shouldn’t swear as much. It’s not fancy fancy, but it’s still a bit high end. They’re liable to toss me out if I act too much like me.”

“I don’t want you to act like anyone else,” May ordered. “I honestly wouldn’t know what to do if you started talking like some of the stuffed shirts that came from the league.”

“Oh, posh, darling. Surely you jest. I can talk and dine with the highest of society, obviously.” I did my best to inflect a bit of Emilie’s fake Kalos accent into my voice as I talked.

May just started laughing.

“Please stop. I’m laughing, but that’s so cursed,” May said between giggles. “Also, as much as I joke about it, I think my research was right.” May smiled at me as I sipped my tea. “Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean we have to change how we act when we hang out like this. Opportunities for romance will present themselves as the night goes on, I’m sure.” I nodded as a tray got brought out. Legends above, that smells heavenly. I swallowed back a bit of saliva as she set the plate of dumplings in front of me.

“Okay, if these taste as good as they smell, I’m leaving here a very happy woman.” The gyoza and Castelia roll was set between us, and my soup was placed down to my left with a wet napkin. I patted my hands down as May practically pounced on her bowl the second it was placed on the table, dexterously working her chopsticks around the noodles.

“I’m so glad Eve showed me how to work these things,” May said, before shoving a wad of noodles into her waiting maw. She moaned, before chewing and swallowing. “Okay, this place might have your sister beat.”

“To be fair, she didn’t bust out the wok unless I all but begged for this stuff. I guess I kind of know why, now, but honestly, she’d be right at home in this kitchen,” I said as I shoved the first dumping into my mouth and-

Holy fucking shit that is incredible. The flavors melded together on my tongue as I moaned in unbridled bliss. I hadn’t felt like this since the first time Emilie had one of my cookies back in the glade.

All of a sudden, Emilie is on the table.

“Please let me have one,” she begged. “I’ll go back to my spot afterwards, but that felt amazing, and I want to taste that so bad.” I smiled as I grabbed a dumpling and offered it to her. She cautiously took a bite, and the feeling of euphoria transferred through the bond.

“You can just hang out, Emilie. We don’t bite,” May said.

Emilie shook her head.

“Nope. Date night should be date night. I’m perfectly fine in my spot, it has a great view of the square. You two enjoy, alright.” Emilie disappeared before I could stop her.

I took that as my cue to eat the rest of the dumplings. May looked at me curiously across the table.

“I’m sorry, did you want in on that too?” I asked, feeling a bit sheepish. May shook her head.

“I’m good, thank you though. I was just curious about something you said. About understanding why Eve didn’t like to make it that often. I just thought it was weird. I’d figure she’d like to have something to remember your dad by a bit.”

I swallowed down my food really quickly as she picked up a piece of chicken with some onions.

“Right, I uh, never actually told you, huh?” I choked out, coughing a bit. “It’s not really a first date conversation, though.”

“I don’t mind, though if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll drop it,” May said.

I looked down.

“Really, forget I said any-”

“My dad didn’t die on the way home,” I said, staring down into my miso soup. I took a sip. Oh, that’s warm, that feels nice. “He died going to the conference.” I grabbed my chopsticks and groaned as I floundered a bit with them, dropping one. “Apparently, my birth wasn’t a big enough event to stop him from making another go of it.” I stabbed one of the gyoza with the chopstick I was able to hold onto and popped it into my mouth.

May shifted to my side of the table and took my hand that had the single chopstick in it.

“You were right,” May said quietly, giving my hand a squeeze. “It wasn’t a good topic for a date. Sorry I brought it up.”

“It’s fine, really,” I said. My shoulders relaxed. “I never even knew the guy, I just... had stories. Stories that were probably mostly Tauros shit, but at the end of the day.” I shrugged. “I never got the chance. Threw me for a loop when I found out though. I’ve been trying to travel to the ideal I had in my head, and not the real thing. I think it’s been a lot more fun that way.” I turned my gaze upwards and looked May right in the eye. “I just can’t understand how he’d leave us behind like that. The thought of leaving you like that makes me sick to my stomach.”

May blushed bright red, and I suddenly realized what I said.

“Er, that is to say-”

“I understood what you meant.” May smiled so wide that I thought her face was going to split.

I chuckled nervously.

“Your dad sounds like a grade A idiot though. You being born was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

I could feel my own lips pull back into a smile as May leaned forward and grabbed her bowl, sipping at the broth. I focused intently as I grabbed the chopsticks again. Like hell was I going to let this stupid injury stop me from using chopsticks of all things. I cautiously reached out to the middle of the table and grabbed a piece of sushi, holding it up to her.

May’s mouth remained sealed shut at the offering.

“Come on, you promised,” I said with a giggle.

May groaned before opening her mouth, and I fed her what appeared to be a perfectly rolled piece of sushi. May begrudgingly closed her mouth and chewed.

She grabbed the plate and slid it in front of her before scooping up another piece and popping it into her mouth. I just stared at her with a wide grin.

“Shut up,” May said.

“I didn’t say a damn thing,” I replied before stealing a piece of sushi and popping it into my mouth.

***

Street lights and moonlight lit up the park as we walked along the path, arm in arm. I could faintly hear Nincada in the background as we walked through the mostly empty garden area, the aroma of which brought a smile to my face. It almost smelled sweet? I didn’t know sweetness had a smell, but that’s what it smelled like.

May was snuggled up against me as we moved, and I grinned as we crossed another couple on a park bench, just staring out across the pond.

“When we come back to Rustboro, we need to visit this park again. This whole place is beautiful,” I said.

May nodded into my shoulder.

“Sound’s good to me,” May murmured sleepily. We kept walking, and a single, floating, red ember caught my eye. May perked up and pulled me to follow it.

“Wait, May-”

“Shush, just follow me. Trust me,” May said.

I followed along as the ember traveled along the grass and into the tree line. May helped me over a fallen log into something right out of a fairy tale.

Dozens of red and blue embers floated in the air just above our heads in a decently sized clearing, a faint dew coating the grass beneath my feet. My eyes wandered towards Emilie in the back, a single arm raised as she moved the fire around overhead. Suzy sat idly on the log next to her, Sergei in hand, and a faint, familiar sound filtered through the clearing.

May untangled herself from me before offering her hand.

“I promise not to step on your feet this time,” May said, her eyes filled with mirth and longing as I gazed at both her and the scene in awe. Slowly, I reached up and took her hand.

“It would be my pleasure,” I replied.

Emilie and Suzy fist bumped each other as May took my hand, and I pulled her close as I leaned into the dance, a dopey smile on my face.

Chapter Text

If this was going to become the standard for our sleeping arrangements, then sheets were going to very quickly become not a necessity. My skin felt hot as I groggily opened my eyes and stared down at May, wincing as the morning sun bared down on my eyes.

We needed more rain. The sun being out all the time was driving me mad.

My sudden shift was enough to cause May to stir, as she groaned and turned away from me, and I sighed as I whipped my legs around and sat up at the edge of the bed.

“We don’t HAVE to get up, now,” May said, her voice still sleepy. “I was just moving around a bit.”

“I’m pretty sure the Alakazam Wayne and Jasmine booked for us gets here around noon, so I think we do, considering it’s-” I looked over at the clock and winced. “A little after ten. Considering we both need to take a shower, change, eat breakfast, say goodbye to people-”

“I get it, I get it. We don’t have time to snuggle.” May’s voice sounded whiny, and I felt the bed shift a bit as she got up. “I’m still annoyed that we got photo bombed by our families last night. How did they even know where we were staying?”

I blushed and looked away. “I might have shot Eve a status update text while I was doing laundry with Wally,” I admitted. “I might have also been really excited about the date we had last night.”

May giggled.

“So naturally, she told my parents, and we ended up adding another photo to the scrapbook Mom will pull out at some point.” May didn’t sound anywhere as annoyed as her words would imply. She quickly came into view in front of me and offered me a hand. I reached my hand out, winced when I realized I didn’t have my gloves on, pulled it back, and grabbed them off the nightstand.

May frowned.

“I know you said you don’t care, I just... don’t like looking at them,” I explained.

May sighed.

“I really had fun last night.” I was really hoping she’d go for the subject change as I grabbed her hand and pulled myself up.

She pulled me into an embrace, and I almost knocked the both of us over.

“I had a lot of fun too,” May whispered into my ear.

I shivered a bit before she pulled back, smiled, and sprinted into the bathroom.

“First dibs!”

And I just got played. Dammit all.

“Fine, just don’t take all the hot water,” I shouted. I looked around our room and sighed. I suppose I could pack, now. Probably the only way stuff would get put away in any kind of semblance of order. A weight appeared on my shoulder that I instinctively corrected for.

“So... how was your night?” Emilie asked in a teasing tone of voice, lifting her eyebrows up and down.

I tilted my head in confusion.

“You were there for most of it, how do you think it went?” I asked.

Emilie briefly tilted her head, before nodding and smiling at me. “I just wanted to get your opinion. I thought it went well.”

There was more to this than I was getting from this conversation. I knew there was.

“I think it went wonderful,” I said, a small smile pulling at my lips. “Thank you for your special effects in the glade. They really set the mood quite nicely. I’m surprised you and Suzy actually worked together on something though.” I smiled at my starter, who suddenly looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“The hot head has the occasional good idea, alright?” Emilie said.

I smiled at her. “Was that a compliment I heard just now?”

Emilie glared at me. “I guess I should just be happy you’re in a good mood and deal with the teasing,” Emilie said, sounding incredibly depressed.

I smiled as I reached out for a stack of folded up clothes that moved just out of reach.

“That would be boring, though,” Emilie said with a smirk.

“Fine, you and Suzy are heated enemies that sometimes complement each other, work really well together, and have a lot more in common than they’re willing to admit, happy now?” I asked as another pile of clothes moved across the table. “Dammit Emilie, let me pack.”

“I have nothing in common with that damn chicken. Take that back right now.” Emilie glared at me.

“What is it that Gawain would say here? Me thinks the lady doth protest too much? Admit that you might be on friendly terms with the damn bird already.”

The shirt I was trying to grab unfolded itself and threw itself at my face.

“Oh, real mature. We’re going to be late for the teleport if you keep this up.”

Emilie glared at me for a second longer without doing anything before sighing and lifting her arms into the air. The clothes neatly refolded themselves before they started floating.

“Open the damn backpack, you meanie,” Emilie huffed, a pout forming on her face.

“What are you, twelve?” I asked.

“Yes!” Emilie shouted.

“Oh, uh... huh.” I looked down at my bag and started undoing the zipper.

Emilie neatly layered my clothes in the primary section of my bag, and I smiled as they all rested where they were supposed to go without issue. It looked nicer than when I did it.

“So, when’s your birthday, out of curiosity?” I asked.

Emilie looked at me, her brow arched at the new line of questions.

“Most Pokémon don’t make that big of a deal about stuff like that. We don’t really use a calendar,” Emilie explained.

I frowned.

“Mom said I was born as the leaves just start to turn, and the sunlight begins to fade.”

“So early fall,” I muttered. “Want to pick a day?”

Emilie leaned back.

“I thought it’d be a nice thing to celebrate, alright. You’ve loved-”

“Yes.” Emile cut me off as a smile pulled at her lips. “So early fall would be sometime in September, going by human standards, right?”

“Do you just want to claim the first?” I asked, smiling as Emilie’s head bobbed up and down so fast that I thought it was going to fall off.

“Sound’s good.” I don’t think it was possible for Emilie to smile any wider.

“Good, I’m glad,” I said, grabbing a Pecha Cookie before sealing up my bag. I passed it to Emilie who greedily inhaled the offering. “I didn’t know you were so young.”

“Oi, don’t compare me to human standards. I’m far more mentally developed than a twelve-year-old human child, thank you very much.” Emilie crossed her arms in front of her and pouted.

I patted her on the head.

“I will destroy you,” she muttered plaintively.

“And so much more mature, too,” I said.

“More so than you, at least, and way more than the Ralts on 102,” Emilie argued. “Honestly don’t know why I bothered visiting sometimes. I could barely hold a conversation with half of them.”

“At least you had Gawain,” I said with a consoling smile.

Emilie shivered.

“Don’t remind me about that moron. Ugh, we have to travel with that idiot again.” Emilie glared out the door. “Any chance we could sneak off to Dewford and leave him here?”

“Emilie, I want to hang out with Wally. I missed him,” I said.

Emilie looked at me with a quirked eyebrow.

“What do you mean? We’re taking Wally with us. We need to get him away from the hedge knight before he corrupts him further.” Emilie nodded along to herself like this was the most rational line of thought in the world.

“Uh huh. You want to share why you’re being extra moody about Gawain. You were getting better about this when Wally left the first time.”

Emilie blushed and looked away. “It’s-” Emilie stopped mid-sentence before gritting her teeth. “Stupid fucking fairy brain. I think he evolved too soon, okay,” Emilie growled out the words in frustration.

“Really?” I asked.

“Kirlia get a big boost in power, but that was never the idiot’s weak point.” Admitting this looked like it caused Emilie physical pain. “He’s never had a good handle on the fine points of our powers.”

“Emilie, I had you juggle rocks early on to get you started,” I said.

Emilie glared at me.

“Yes, and I juggled a few dozen of them by the end of the day. I also watched your head, maintained a multiway psychic dialogue, and teleported while doing it.” Emilie smirked at my widening eyes. “The idiot is doing good to talk to people while he lifts stuff in the air. To say nothing of the fact that the fairy half of his brain is probably driving him crazy, now-”

“It’s been a bit, I’m sure he’s improved,” I argued. “Besides, the big guy won’t have to worry about that last bit when he evolves again.”

“Lucky bastard.” It was whispered so softly that I barely heard it.

“Is... that why you don’t want to evolve?” I asked, glancing down at my starter.

Emilie bit her lip before sighing. “I am worried about that. I don’t want to have more blow ups like I had with May.”

She didn’t actually answer the question, so that’s probably a no.

“Look, can we change the subject,” Emilie said. Her glare locked me in place.

“I’m guessing you picked that thought up?” I asked.

Emilie sighed. “You’re getting better at picking out what I say and what I mean. It’s annoying.”

“I just want...” I trailed off, sighing. Emilie probably knew what I wanted already. She still didn’t feel like sharing.

“I trust you,” Emilie said.

“Then why-”

“It’s because I need to figure out stuff on my own first, okay,” Emilie said, looking away.

I opened my mouth, before sighing and nodding once. “I’ll trust you too, then. Just... know that you can talk to me, okay,” I urged. “I want-”

“Bathroom’s free,” May said from the doorway.

Emilie grinned up at me and I sighed before turning to see May in her travel ware. I smiled.

We were finally getting back on the road.

“Push most of your speech today,” Emilie said before I could reply. “I want you to practice a lot before we get to what I want to show you tonight.”

I nodded, before grinning over at May. ‘Thank you, please tell me you left me some hot water,’ I begged.

May laughed. “Of course, I always do.”

I groaned as I walked past her. Lovely.

***

Breakfast was bland and tasteless after the joys I had experienced on our cruise. I had glimpsed the upper echelons of fine cuisine and was finding it difficult to adapt. I suppose I should just be happy it was better than the hospital food, but that felt hollow. Anything was better than that slop.

Wally stood tall and strong to my left. He hadn’t coughed, wheezed or choked once as the mouthpiece receded upwards so he could eat. I wanted to know what his uncle did for a living, because this was an impressive bit of engineering for something that got thrown together in less than a week.

“We good to go, then?” May asked, carefully looking at the clock as she tapped her foot.

“Would you calm down?” Wally asked. “We have plenty of time. Alakazam isn’t picking you up till noon.” Wally froze for a moment. “That reminds me, here.” He passed May a Poke Ball. “Let him out once you get there. He’ll swing back and pick me up.”

'I’m still mad that you get to skip going back through the forest again,’ I complained.

“I’m more annoyed that it’s payment per person and not per teleport,” May said. “I’m still kind of annoyed that Wayne's paying for us. He didn’t have to do that.”

I laughed.

“Just remember how this feels when you insist on buying me crap,” I said.

May glared at me. “That’s different. You’re my girlfriend, I’m supposed to spoil you. How else am I going to clear my meal debt.” May’s eyes burned with determination, and worry started to creep into my soul.

Great, I gave her a complex.

“Regardless, we need to leave enough time to deal with family before we leave,” I said.

“What do you mean deal with?” Eve said from behind me.

I almost jumped out of my skin as she grabbed me and pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

“Lea, I’m hurt. We’re in the same city and as soon as you get out of the hospital, you spend all your free time with your new girlfriend.”

Yeah, not buying this routine, sis.

“Tauros-”

Eve hugged me even tighter, cutting off both my reply and my air supply.

“It’s okay. I get it. It’s not cool to hang out with your big sis anymore, huh? You went off on your journey and made all these friends and you left your poor older sister behind.”

That was the fakest sniffle I’ve ever heard in my life.

“I call and text you on Sergei more than May does her own parents. On her phone,” I complained, taking a deep breath of air as Eve eased up on the death grip. I put some distance between us once she let go completely. “Fucking hell, woman, you’re going to put me back in the hospital.”

Eve chuckled. “Yeah, well. You deserved it. You couldn’t hang out one more day?” she asked, looking genuinely depressed.

Dammit, now I felt bad.

“We aren’t the ones paying for our trip back. Some friends we made on the cruise are covering the bill for us,” I said.

Eve pouted, before sighing.

“I suppose I can forgive you. To be honest, I really should be getting back. Wesly has been manning the store for the last few days. I imagine Norman’s Slaking are driving him crazy,” Eve said. “Text me when you make it to Dewford, alright?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, you worry too much. We’ll walk with you to the teleporter.” I stood up and May and Wally quickly fell in line behind me.

‘You stopped pushing your words,’ Emilie complained, a frown etched into her face.

I groaned.

‘I’m sorry. Eve surprised me and I forgot,’ I said, sending my thoughts Emilie’s way without her help.

‘Surprise her real quick,’ Emilie suggested.

I grinned as I thought of a prank.

‘Hey Eve?’ I asked as we walked. ‘Want to see a magic trick?’

“Huh?” Eve looked my way. “What do you mean magic trick?” she asked.

“I didn’t say anything,” I said innocently.

Eve glared at me.

“May, Wally, did you hear anything?” I asked.

They both shook their heads, and Eve frowned.

“I... okay.” We went back to walking in silence.

‘You’re a terrible person,’ Emilie said.

‘Eeeevveee,’ I said again. Emilie’s reproach didn’t fool me for a second, I saw the smile on her face.

“What?” she asked. I feigned confusion. “Stop screwing around.”

“She didn’t say anything, Eve.” Thank you for going along with this May.

“You’re all trying to make me think I lost my marbles, aren’t you? Well, tough shit, the ship left the harbor on that one a long ass time ago, so quit it!” Eve said with a glare.

“She didn’t say anything, Eve, honest,” Emilie said. “Fairies can’t lie.”

Eve’s glare turned into a look of fear, and I decided that this was enough fun for me.

‘I can, however, think it. Really loudly.’ Eve’s eyes became dinner plates as I pushed that thought out to everyone. ‘Tada!’

“How in the, oh, right, psychic starter. Funny. Real funny,” Eve glared at us as we all started laughing.

“Actually, this is all Lea,” Emilie said.

Eve froze.

“Cool, huh? We’ve been working on it a lot,” I said proudly.

“My sister has psychic powers,” Eve whispered. “Maybe I should check myself into the psyche ward for a bit. I’ve clearly lost whatever marbles I had left.”

“Now I see where Lea gets it,” Wally said.

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean.’ My thought echoed in my ears, and I realized that Eve said the exact same thing in time with me.

Wally raised both of his hands in front of him and backed away slowly. “Nothing,” he said quickly.

“Whatever,” Eve muttered, before turning the corner.

“He means you’re both drama queens,” Caroline said as we entered the foyer.

I looked around the room and frowned. Norman was nowhere to be seen.

“I was starting to think you got lost,” Caroline muttered.

“The gremlins were being mean to me.” Eve pouted as she finished.

“How old are you again?” Caroline asked.

“Fuck you,” Eve said.

Both May and I froze as we carefully watched Caroline... Laugh?

“You’ll have to take that up with Norman first, dear.” Holy shit, Eve gave Caroline the baker’s brain rot. Score!

“That takes all the fun out of it though,” Eve said, pouting again. “Where is he, anyway?”

Caroline sighed.

“Gym emergency that couldn’t wait, unfortunately. He wishes you all the best, though, and he’s sorry that he can’t see you off,” Caroline smiled at us with closed eyes and a charming disposition.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Er... actually, before we do that.” May cut into the conversation, looking thoroughly weirded out. “Mom, do you have any of your Pokémon with you?”

Wait, Caroline had Pokémon?

“I’ve got Winston with me. Cassius and Star are both at the bakery though.”

Eve whipped around and looked oddly at Caroline. “Wait, those are yours?” Eve asked. “I thought they were Norman’s.”

Caroline laughed. “Honey, Norman’s doing good to get his lazy morons to do anything unless the opponent looks skilled. Mine are far more well behaved,” Caroline said with a grin.

Imagining what she did to make them behave sent a shiver down my spine.

“Why, did you need something, hon?” Caroline asked, looking eagerly at her daughter.

“At some point during the chaos, a Pokémon decided one of Lea’s Poke Balls looked cozy,” May explained. “Whatever it was didn’t show up in the registry when she scanned it with her Pokedex.”

“Ah, got it. We can go outside for this,” Caroline said.

I shot May a look.

‘I thought we were just going to do this when we got to Dewford?’ I asked.

Caroline looked at me with wide eyes and a dropped mouth.

“This is safer. Trust me. Mom can handle whatever you ‘caught’ if it’s anything less than friendly,” May said, smiling up at her mom. “My girlfriend has super powers. Cool, huh?”

“I... uh.” The poised matriarch of the Maple family, the picture of grace and elegance, brought up short by psychic parlor tricks.

Yesterday was the best day ever, this one was a close second though.

“Yes, my sister’s a telepath. Can we hurry this up? I want to get home,” Eve said, pointing to a watch that didn’t exist on her wrist.

Caroline sighed before leading the charge to the center’s training ground. “She’s your boss now, Caroline. Don’t say anything.”

Caroline dug into her purse and pulled out an oddly designed ball. I didn’t really recognize the pattern, but I imagined this was more potent than the average ball when it came to captures. Once we cleared the posts and made it to the miniature arena the center kept, a massive white light enveloped the area and shaped into something positively massive.

“Snor.”

To him, it was probably a simple greeting, but to us, it felt like a roar as the hulking mass of Pokémon looked down at us in greeting. I had seen larger Pokémon before. Onix had this thing beat in size by a mile. But this felt different. His size was backed up by a presence that I couldn’t quite quantify.

“Did you and Norman bond over a love of lazy Normal types?” Wally asked.

‘Wally, this thing could turn you into a pancake without sitting on you. Maybe don’t piss him off,’ I said.

Caroline chuckled. “Something like that,” she said.

“Snor!” Snorlax complained, sounding angry.

“Yes, yes. I know. You were napping. You’re always napping. You can help me for a few minutes. I’ll get you a few donuts from the bakery if you do.” Snorlax perked right up at hearing that, his glare being replaced by a look of hunger, before falling back and sitting down.

The entire training field shook. Caroline turned and looked at me.

“Well, let’s see him, then.” she said with a smile.

I quickly scrambled to grab the ball from my backpack. I looked at the giant Snorlax then down at my poke ball. I flipped the unlock switch.

The ball burst open on its own.

The same red sword I had freed from its sealed home floated harmlessly in midair before slamming itself into the ground, burying the tip of the blade in the earth below. Its single red eye stared back at me, and for a single moment, it felt like I was back in the cave, preparing to pull it out of the ground. The eye shifted in color from red to black, and the spell was broken as his body started to change.

It’s tassel moved on its own, floating in front of its body as something began to manifest. It looked like an ornate sheathe, but I leaned back as the pattern started to form. Two eyes opened and a wail sounded out through the clearing as a mouth opened.

‘Ohhhh, one thousand yearssss’ A new voice I had never heard before echoed out inside my skull.

The reverb gave me a slight headache as I pushed the new thoughts out to everyone else in the clearing. May held my arm in a vice grip.

‘Will give you such a crick in the neck.’ And just like that, the voice changed.

Gone was the overwhelming sense of dread and spectral echo. In its place was the voice of a tired old man. May’s grip didn’t relax, and Winston glared down at the sword.

“If he breaks out into song, I’m not translating,” Emilie said, her tone of voice flat as she took in our new teammate.

‘You uh, don’t have a neck,’ I cautiously pointed out.

The sheath whipped around and looked at his blade before turning back around and smiling at me.

‘It would appear that you are right. Thanks for that, I feel much better!’ the sheath said.

I massaged the bridge of my nose as he started to laugh, and the sounds echoed in the clearing. Through it all, though, I actually managed to hear a single word.

“Honedge,” I said aloud.

Emilie frowned at me, and I blushed.

‘That’s what you are, right?’ I asked.

‘Huh, I think so. To be completely honest, I don’t really know. It sounds right,’ Honedge said as he bounced around a bit.

‘How do you not know what you are?’ I asked.

Honedge moved up and down in what I think was a shrug.

“Honedege, the phantom blade.” I heard a mechanical voice say behind me.

I turned to see May had her dex out. Apparently, hers had the low down on our new friend, because of course it did. Me having an older model was really starting to chafe.

“This Pokémon forms when the soul of the blade’s wielder persists. The eye contains the spirit of his fallen master.” May looked up from her dex and stared at the ghost Pokémon.

“It’s significantly more common in Galar and Kalos, for somewhat obvious reasons,” May said, her eyes narrowed. “What’s the first thing you remember?”

‘What I remember? ’ The sword put quite a bit of emphasis on the I in that statement.

“Who else would we be talking about?” Wally asked, looking at the sword with crossed arms.

‘Well, I seem to have two sets of memories right now. The first thing I remember is Lea pulling me out of the stone. Thank you for that, by the way, I think you helped me come into being by doing that,’ Honedge said.

“And for the other set of memories?” Eve asked, her gaze never leaving the bright red blade.

‘Hmm... I think it’s Lea flushing the toilet and looking really pleased with herself. She was really small,’ Honedge replied.

My entire face blushed bright red as May looked at me oddly.

“What did he say? You stopped translating half way through that,” May complained.

Emilie was currently dying. She leaned forward and clutched my shirt desperately as she violently shook, peals of laughter coming out of her mouth so quickly that I’m not entirely sure how she’s still breathing.

“Nobody ever needs to know!” I shouted, completely mortified beyond reason. “How the hell do you remember that? Why do you remember that? Nobody else should remember that but me and Eve!”

‘Your whole life flashed before my eyes,’ Honedge explained. ‘It was quite jarring, honestly,’ Honedge said.

May and Wally still both looked confused, but my eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as Eve had her aha moment.

“Oh, he remembered you finishing your potty training,” Eve said loudly, a fond expression on her face. “You were so proud of yourself, it was so adorable.”

May and Wally both froze and looked at me for a second before they joined Emilie in laughing at me. I glared hatefully at both of them as my face burned.

“Oh, that’s quite the memory, Lea. You would’ve been what, two? Three maybe?” Caroline asked. “May didn’t get it down until she turned three. She always seemed to have an issue with staying put on the-”

“STOP!” May screamed. Any and all laughter dissipated in an instant as she glared at her mother.

I smiled vindictively at my girlfriend.

“It only seems fair, May. Besides, I’m your mother, it’s my job to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend,” Caroline said, a poised grin gracing her lips as she stared at the ghost type. “So just to confirm, Lea had a hold of you for a while, right?”

Honedge nodded.

Caroline lifted up Winston’s ball and recalled the hulking titan. “He’s fine.”

Emilie took a deep breath as she finally managed to get a hold of herself. She tilted her head at Caroline.

“How on earth are you so sure of that? This idiot is hyper sus, and you’re fine recalling the Snorlax because Lea was able to grab him?” Emilie said.

‘Oy, I’d like to point out that I caught myself. Do you really think I’m going to cause trouble? ’ Honedge said. ‘I would’ve just cut and run if I didn’t want to deal with you lot.’

“That was two different sword puns in two sentences. I already hate your sense of humor,” Emilie said in a dead tone of voice.

‘I had you dying a couple of minutes ago. Lea’s memory actually goes back much further, honestly. It’s rather impressive. I just picked the thing that looked the funniest,’ Honedge explained.

Emilie’s eyes narrowed as I turned to glare at my new capture.

“Regardless, my statement stands. We found you in a giant chamber that was sealed by the void, locked behind massive stone doors in a hidden chamber built into a mountain,” Emilie deadpanned. “Excuse me for being a little suspicious, considering the only reason we found you in the first place was that a pair of psychic psychopaths wanted to use you for their own ends. Ends that you seemed decently happy to help them achieve in the cave!” Emilie’s voice got louder the more she talked.

‘Well, when you put it like that, it does paint me in a rather dim light. Though light usually goes right through me, so it’s usually always dim,’ Honedge said.

“Stop joking around and explain yourself!” Emilie snarled.

‘I was barely cognizant of the world around me when she was swinging me around. All the memories in her head around that time were a jumbled up mess, and it made it really hard to differentiate friend from foe,’ Honedge complained. ‘The only thing I really knew was that the girl was in danger, and she needed help. I don’t even know how I did what I did, I just knew you were attacking us.’ Honedge looked down to the ground and frowned. ‘When the lass stopped mid swing, I knew who the real enemies were. I acted according to my wielder’s will, nothing more and nothing less. That is the duty of a blade.’

“And that’s why I said he was fine. May might’ve needed a Pokedex for this one, but I’ve seen these things before. They don’t like to be touched. At all,” Caroline explained. “The fact that Lea was able to grab the hilt and not be affected... It’s a sign of trust, only gifted to those the Honedge deem worthy.”

I gazed upon the blade in shock. Honedge looked down at my scrutiny.

‘Why?’ I asked.

‘Your memories. I saw your whole life play out before me. It was a brief moment, but it felt like far longer.’ Honedge looked up at me and smiled. ‘You’re a good person.’ He looked away. ‘I’d like to join your team. If you’ll have me, that is. I know I probably don’t invoke the most pleasant of memories, but I’m a riot at parties, have a lovely singing voice, and can even juggle.’

I turned to look at my friends, and they were all smiling at my new capture. Emilie still had narrowed eyes.

‘Please?’ His tone was pleading now. ‘I want to explore this bright new world, and I’d love to do it with you.’

Guilt gnawed at me as I stared into his eyes. A few bad jokes wouldn’t kill me, and I’d be dealing with my issues even if he wasn’t with us.

Who was I to turn him down?

‘It’d be my pleasure,’ I said.

Honedge smiled wide. ‘In that case, I think I’d like to choose my name, if you don’t mind. I promise you’ll approve, but the ability to choose... it’s something I seem to value quite highly,’ Honedge explained.

‘Of course,’ I agreed.

‘In that case,’ Honedge said with a grin. ‘You can call me Lucas.’

Chapter Text

I held onto Gawain’s poke ball as I stared at the Alakazam in front of me before smirking up at Emilie. ‘You have to go in the ball too, hon.’ Nerves shot up and down my spine as I held up Emilie’s ball. ‘They paid for two people, no extra passengers,’ I said, clenching the ball a bit harder than I needed to.

Emilie sighed. “Let me out as soon as we get to Dewford,” she ordered.

I nodded as a red line pulled her in. My heart rate quickened as soon as the red light disappeared. I gazed upon the Alakazam tentatively before taking a step forward. May grabbed my hand and pulled me a bit closer before turning to the imposing psychic type.

“Do we need to do anything? Or-”

‘Do you have everything you wish to take with you on your person?’ The Alakazam asked, cutting May off in a bored tone.

I tensed at the unfamiliar voice in my head. May nodded for us, and Alakazam held out both hands.

I hesitantly took hold, and the world around me shifted.

‘Welcome to Dewford.’ The Alakazam leaned back a bit. ‘Your trip has already been paid for. Please enjoy your stay.’

I grabbed Emilie’s ball as soon as we touched down and let her out halfway through Alakazam’s speech. The thought of NOT having her with me in the presence of a psychic this powerful was making my hair stand on end. I felt so exposed.

“Wow, you actually listened to me for once,” Emilie said. Her smile slipped from her face when she saw how tense I was. She teleported to her spot and leaned in closer. “Your shoulder is even more boney when you’re like this, you know?”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, just... give me a second.” I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and smiled when May grabbed my hand again. “I’m good, just... I can tell the block Emilie set up isn’t really doing its job anymore. I’ll be fine,” I said.

“Guess it was only matter of time,” Emilie commented.

“Look, it’s fine,” I replied before walking out towards the lobby.

I released Gawain.

“Go get your trainer, would ya?” I asked. Probably with a bit more bite than needed.

Gawain snapped to attention. ‘At once, my lady.’

I groaned.

“Hey, you missed him.” Emilie commented.

May giggled. “I think I can see why, now. He’s a lot more entertaining now that I can hear him. He’s very in character,” May said.

Right. Gawain could push his thoughts out to everyone now. I felt bad for Wally.

“I do have a slight headache though,” May said, rubbing her temples.

“Of course you do...” Emilie practically growled out. “Idiot doesn’t even know how to hold back enough to not hurt the people he’s talking to.”

Said idiot reappeared in a flash of light with Wally in tow about five feet to our right.

And four feet off the ground.

“Dammit Gawain, not again!” Crash. “Owwww...”

I rushed forward and helped Wally to his feet.

“Yeah, been there,” I commented. “Emilie’s mom did that to us after I got Emilie.”

‘Many apologies, my lord. I shall endeavor to improve.’ Gawain replied as he stood up.

“It’s fine,” Wally grumbled. “You evolved recently. You’re still getting used to stuff. We just... need to practice.” I felt a bit of movement on my shoulder and turned to see Emilie glaring hatefully at Gawain.

‘You okay?’ I asked. ‘I know you’re not his biggest fan, but I'm sure it was just an honest mistake.’

Emilie froze, looked at me, then blushed and looked away. ‘It’s not-’ The words got stuck in her throat. ‘It’s nothing you need to worry about.’

There was that phrase again. I sighed and gave her a tired look.

‘I’m here to talk when you’re ready,’ I repeated, hoping ready would be soon.

Emilie slowly nodded her head as we walked out of the teleporter room.

“Damn, the hospitals in Rustboro worked fast.” I smiled as I spotted Wayne stand up from his spot on the couch, leaving a large divet in his wake. “From what May told me, you got it way worse than my girl, and you’re already looking good as new.”

I made sure my gloves were in place before smiling.

“Dewford fucking sucks,” Jasmine complained. “The doctors are rude, the hospital food’s ass, and it’s been raining for like the last two days. Island paradise my ass. I can’t wait to get to fucking Mauville.”

I winced.

“Babe, are you sure you want to finish the-”

“We have a chance to do some actual, genuine reporting,” Jasmine said, talking over Wayne. She glared at her boyfriend. “No cosmic cosplayers are going to stop me from getting to Slateport. So, stop badgering me about it. Yes, I’m sure.”

Wayne wilted a bit before nodding.

“Reporting?” I asked awkwardly, nervously glancing between the two.

“I want to do live recordings on the protests that are happening in Slateport. It’s the first chance we’ve had to do something like this for the channel,” Jasmine said, before tossing another glare at Wayne. “Wayne wants to scrap the whole thing and head back to Rustboro.”

“Jasmine you were at-”

“I’m FINE,” Jasmine said, waving her arm around. “See, completely functional. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for the channel for forever. I’m going to Slateport.”

I bit my lip and looked down at the ground.

“Excuse me for being worried, alright? You don’t think I see you checking behind every tree while we walk around town?”

Jasmine winced. “I-”

“They’re dead,” I said quietly.

Both of them stopped and looked at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as a pit opened in my stomach.

“Do NOT-”

“You wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for us,” I said, interrupting Jasmine.

“Lea-”

I cut my girlfriend off with a look, before swallowing and turning back to Jasmine.

“We knew something was up and we still called you up for a battle.” I looked away again. “We put you in danger, and... I’m sorry. We fucked up, and you got hurt.”

Jasmine glared at me, and I looked away.

“The good news is that you don’t have to worry about them anymore, so-”

The sun faded and I cautiously looked up to see Wayne, towering over me. I leaned back slightly.

“Lea, listen to me really quick,” he said.

I nodded slowly.

“If you think, for one moment, that I wouldn’t have volunteered my services as bodyguard the second I found out something was up, then your brain got scrambled way worse than I thought,” Wayne said with a glare.

“Ditto,” Jasmine said. “The only thing I’m pissed off about is that you didn’t tell us about the Absol. We would have been there regardless, because we like you.”

“I-”

"You didn’t break my arm,” Jasmine said, cutting me off. “So stop acting like you did. I forgive you for being an idiot, alright. So calm down. If how you got your start as a content creator is anything to go off of, that’s probably a regular occasion.”

I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at the joke.

“I just looked down at your body when you got hurt,” I said, my voice hollow. “It didn’t even register. I didn’t-” I felt a hand slap the back of my head. “Ow.” I turned to see May glaring at me.

“They made you not care.” she said firmly. “I think it’s abundantly obvious that you do.” May smiled at me. “The things they made you do aren’t your fault, Lea.”

I looked down, before nodding once.

“I think I get what Emilie was talking about now. Knowing something and believing it are two different things.” I muttered. “Thanks.”

May nodded back. “I’ll be there to help whenever you need me, remember that, okay?”

“Got it.” I smiled back at May. “Just stop abusing your girlfriend while you do it, okay. She bruises easily.”

I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Like a demon had risen from hell and sought to claim my soul for a few clicks, follows and faves. I slowly turned around, and what had once been a calm, slightly annoyed face had shifted to a Gengar’s grin.

“Girlfriend, huh?” Jasmine asked as I backed up a few steps. She stepped forward. “So, you ARE dating.”

“Jasmine, honey-” The face turned and adopted an angrier visage. “Shutting up now.”

Coward.

“So, since you’re so cavalier about saying stuff. I’m going to assume you’re also out to friends and family?” she asked. The grin back in place.

“Er... yes?” I answered hesitantly.

I quickly found myself pulled into a line with May and Jasmine as she snapped a photo of us. How the hell did she move so fast? She couldn’t have been out of the hospital for more than a day, and I still feel sluggish sometimes.

Jasmine looked at May and I pleadingly.

“Fine!” May replied to the unasked question, sounding resigned.

Jasmine squealed as she tapped away at her phone.

“What just happened?” Wally asked.

“Something unnatural, don’t question it.” Wayne shivered before turning towards our green haired friend. “Wally, right?”

“I’m Wally,” he said, petrified in place. He didn’t say anything else, and I sighed.

“Wally, Wayne’s a gentle giant, I promise,” I said consolingly as Wally backed up a few paces.

Wayne started chuckling. That chuckling died as his hand shot to his head and grunted in pain.

Emilie teleported from my shoulder and dropped down on Gawain. A single pulse shot outwards, and Wayne visibly relaxed as Emilie was sent high into the air. My heart seized in my chest as images of a time not that long ago flashed through my head. I froze. I couldn’t think to give any orders. I just stared.

Sand rose up from the ground and shot towards my starter as a single red line hit Gawain. The sand fell for a brief second before rising up again. Catching Emilie in midair. She slowly levitated down to the ground and glared murderously at Gawain’s Poke Ball.

“I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over him. This has never-”

Wayne cut Wally off by laughing loudly.

“Son, I’ve stepped in it with fairies more than any other human being on the planet with how often Clefairy makes my life a living hell. Don’t worry about it, no harm, no foul. I’m not going to throw a hissy fit over a little headache. Just work with him a bit, alright?” Wayne asked.

Wally hesitantly nodded.

“Right,” Wally said.

Wayne grinned from ear to ear as he patted Wally on the back, and I laughed as he almost got sent into the ground.

“Now that that's squared away, I remember hearing that you’re the person that sent the wonder couple on that cruise. That’s a hell of a gift,” he commented. “To formally introduce myself, I’m Wayne, and the social media monster is my girlfriend, Jasmine.”

Jasmine grunted as she continued to type on her phone.

“We met May and Lea on the cruise, so thank you.” Wayne looked up from Wally and smiled our way. "They made the whole trip a lot more interesting.”

“Thanks, big guy,” May said, before wincing. “Er... assuming you mean that as a compliment, at least.”

Wayne nodded before his eyes widened.

“Wait a minute, you being out means we can use the cruise footage now!” Wayne fist pumped the sky. “I actually get to share with my fans that I kicked y'all's ass. Oh, this is fantastic,” Wayne said as he started bouncing up and down.

“I love that the first reaction of all our friends and family isn’t surprise when we tell them. They just assume we were already together, or nod like they knew it all along,” May commented. “It really makes me feel like an idiot.”

I patted her arm consolingly.

‘If it makes you feel better, I’m in the same boat,’ I said.

May looked at me in despair.

“You figured it out in Rustboro. I was LITERALLY the last person to find out,” May groaned.

I pulled her into a sideways hug.

'It’s okay, I find your low int stat moments adorable, ’ I offered.

“YOU’RE TERRIBLE AT BEING SUPPORTIVE!” May shouted.

I laughed and quickly pecked her cheek.

I heard a camera click go off and looked up to see Jasmine snap another photo.

I also saw Sergei and his camera lens was open.

“Your blackmail won’t do you much good if Jasmine is already posting everything to Chatot,” I commented dryly.

Sergei landed in my hands. “I’m making an online scrapbook,” he replied.

“Of course you are,” May commented.

“I can let go if you-”

“Don’t you dare.” May quickly shut me up and leaned into the hug as we moved toward the couch.

“Jasmine, were we this disgusting when we first got together?”

Jasmine gave him a look, and Wayne backed up.

“It would do you some good to be ‘disgusting’ on occasion,” Jasmine replied.

Wayne winced. “Right, uh...”

Jasmine ducked under Wayne’s arm and sat on the other side of Wally. “Oi.”

“Uh-uh. You had your chance to be a good boyfriend for the day. ‘Disgusting.’ Ugh.” Jasmine went back to her phone.

“Come on, babe. Don’t be like that.” Wally sat there uncomfortably, looking between the bickering couple nervously before staring down at Gawain’s Poke Ball.

***

I snuck away from the group and cupped Joern’s poke ball in my hand. What had started as a reunion had quickly blown up into a full out party. Something that I still wasn’t used to. I was grateful that I managed to convince May to hang out with everyone else as I stared down at my Poke Balls. This needed to be private.

Just me and my team.

I let everyone out once we got to the center’s training area. It was getting late, so I wasn’t too surprised to find it empty. Apollo took his usual perch on my shoulder, opposite of Emilie. Joern leaned against a tree, and Lucas floated in front of the training post, his blade resting in his sheath.

‘Ah, I love the evening air. It’s been so long,’ he commented.

“I thought the first thing you remembered was waking up in that cave,” Emilie said, her eyes narrowing on our most recent capture. Lucas sighed.

‘I get glimpses sometimes of a life before this one. Not enough to piece together the puzzle of who I was, but enough to get a feel of things.’ Lucas looked down at the ground. ‘Time in particular is beating me up right now. Everything in Lea’s memory is completely different from the flashes I see. It’s very disorienting,’ Lucas said.

I nodded once. 'You can come to any of us if you have questions,’ I said.

Emilie smiled down at me.

‘I know, I kind of stopped for a bit. I’m sorry. I got distracted.’

‘Are you feeling tired at all from doing this?’ Emilie asked.

I shook my head. ‘I don’t feel a strain anymore. I barely noticed when I pushed thoughts out to everyone earlier today, ’ I replied.

Emilie grinned.

‘Then you can stop, if you want. The purpose of this was to work on your endurance and to make you more aware of the world around you, ’ Emilie said. ‘I noticed your eyes snapped to the idiot the second he had his episode.’

‘I could feel it,’ I said. ‘It wasn’t even directed at me.’

“Yeah, you’re doing fantastic.” Emilie looked down at the ground. ‘Don’t know why I doubted you. We’ll work on other stuff tomorrow night. It’ll probably be way too late by the time we get done tonight.’

“Right then, at any rate, this time I’m calling it to order. We haven’t had one since Rustboro. Team meeting time,” I said. “Given how much has happened, I feel like it’s necessary.”

“Right.” Emilie nodded. “Where the hell do you want to start? I feel like we have a lot to unpack tonight.”

“First thing’s first. Joern.”

Joern snapped his head my way. I suddenly realized he was spending the last few minutes glaring at Lucas.

“Words cannot begin to describe how sorry I am. You had a front row seat to that horror show, and you’ve been dealing with it by yourself. We all talked about stuff in the hospital room, but-”

‘The hell are you apologizing for?’ he asked. ‘I’m the one who should be apologizing. You went through hell, and I couldn’t even break through a stupid lock. I was too slow to stop you from getting taken and too weak to stop the madness. ’ Joern looked away.

“It’s not your fault,” I said, my tone firm. “Joern, from a pure power perspective, I’m like eighty percent sure you’re the scariest member of my te-” That word didn’t feel like it covered enough anymore. “At the moment, you’re the strongest member of our family. They prioritized two things when they took me. That you and Emilie were out of commission. They knocked Emilie out with a sneak attack, and without her... what exactly were you supposed to do?” I asked.

Joern glared up at me in challenge. I didn’t blink.

“You being returned was the first thing they did when they took control. The locks on those poke balls are designed to hold monsters like Gyarados and Ursaring at bay when they’re in a rage. They’re meant as a safeguard against the worst mons out there. I don’t know what Solrock and Lunatone did to get out the first time, but it wasn’t by brute force, I can tell you that much.” I sighed. “There was nothing you could have done.”

‘You’re WRONG!’ Joern shouted. ‘You have to be wrong.’ Joern sagged down, his shoulders hunched forward. ‘I was there, for all of it. There had to have been SOMETHING.’

“That’s what I’m apologizing for,” I said. “I’m sorry that I didn’t have this talk with you sooner. Our talk in the hospital helped, but... we all still have a lot to work through.” I looked down at the ground. “Don’t forget, I was there for all of it too.”

‘There was nothing you could have done,’ Joern said, before sighing and looking down. ‘I want to evolve.’ Joern finally said. ‘I... I don’t believe that there was nothing I could have done. But... I’m going to try. I would still feel better if I was stronger.’ Joern looked me in the eye and smiled. ‘I want to be strong enough to protect our family.’

I grinned back. “I have no intention of stopping you,” I replied. “In two weeks, you can be a Ludicolo. I don’t want you crippling yourself by evolving too soon.”

Joern opened his mouth to argue-

“Evolution isn’t the only path to strength.” Emilie cut him off. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that I can still whoop Gawain’s ass up and down the stadium.”

I gave her a worried look, remembering earlier today.

Emilie glared at me before continuing. “It’s not about your tools, it’s about how you use them. Power is nothing without control. Master what you have now, and you’ll be better than any Ludicolo with the same moves.”

“You’re really enjoying this whole Roshi kick you’ve been on recently, huh?” I asked.

Emilie smirked, before staring down at Joern.

“If you insist on blaming yourself, for whatever stupid, asinine reason, then go about things the right way. Don’t be an idiot,” Emilie said. Joern stared at the two of us for a while before nodding his approval.

‘We will be training more though, right?’ he asked. ‘I think we’ve been taking it way too easy the last few days.’

“Yeah... sorry about that.” I chuckled a bit. “Things with May were... a bit intense for a while there. I’ll get better,” I promised.

‘In that case, cap. I feel the need to return this to you.’

Apollo pulled my water stone from... somewhere? I don’t know where he hid that. I kind of don't want to know where he hid that.

‘I... ah, appropriated it so Joern wouldn’t get any ideas while you were in recovery,’ Apollos said.

I hesitantly grabbed the stone. It was warm to the touch.

“Thanks. I think.” I replied.

“Second order of business. We have a sword now,” Emilie said.

Lucas waved. ‘Holero!’ Lucas shouted. ‘My name is Lucas. I like stars, long walks on the beach, and dad jokes.’

‘You don’t have any feet,’ Joern pointed out dryly . ‘How can you walk on the beach?’

Lucas unsheathed himself, causing Joern to tense, before looking at the space beneath his blade.

‘Huh, you appear to be correct. Thank you for telling me. I never would have known,’ he said seriously. ‘Holero! My name is Lucas, I like stars, long floats across a beach, and dad jokes.’ Lucas capped off his reintroduction with a cacophony of spectral laughter.

Emilie groaned. I grinned once I noticed Joern had relaxed. He looked the sword Pokémon up and down, before sighing and extending a hand.

‘I’m sorry,’ Joern said. ‘I’ve been exceedingly rude, and I apologize. If it weren’t for you, we might not have taken down Solrock and Lunatone.’

Lucas looked down at Joern’s hand and frowned.

‘I don’t really know what you expect me to do here,’ Lucas said as he once again looked at his own body. ‘Just making sure, and nope. No hands either. ’ Lucas turned back around and smiled as Joern pulled back his hand and blushed. ‘ I accept your apology, though. I know we’re not exactly meeting under the best of circumstances.

Joern nodded once before walking back to the tree he had been leaning against.

“Now then, let’s cut to the chase,” Emilie said. Lucas smiled wide and Emilie face palmed. “Shut up, that was unintentional. What can you do?”

‘I cut things, ’ Lucas said.

Emilie rolled her eyes.

“We kind of already knew that. HOW do you cut things?” Emilie asked again.

Lucas looked confused.

‘With my sword? I’m not really understanding the question. I have no clue how I pulled off half the crap I did in the cave, so... really all I have is I cut things.’ I pulled up my Pokedex. It still read Lucas as an unknown Pokémon. He came up as Lucas in my registry, but the picture was just a big glitchy L thing, and he was registered as Missing No. I couldn’t see any moves, abilities, or anything else that would be helpful.

“I... Don’t know anything about you, so training is going to be rather interesting. I have a feeling I’m going to be borrowing May’s Pokedex a lot tomorrow.” Or Sergei, one of the two. “Regardless we aren’t doing any training tonight, so it doesn’t matter right now. I just wanted to make sure everyone met everyone and that you all had a chance to talk. Even if how I got you fucking sucked, I’m happy you’re here, Lucas.” I smiled.

‘Don’t mention it. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.’ Lucas said seriously.

I smiled down at him and nodded.

“Now then, we still have plenty of time to tease Lea about her new love life!” Emilie said with a grin.

I returned the team and glared at my starter.

“Killjoy,” she muttered.

***

I groggily untangled myself from May’s arms as I pulled myself up from the bed. She rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head. The sun had long since risen, and I winced as I looked at the digital clock on the center’s nightstand.

It was noon.

I groaned. Of course we slept half the day away, none of us got in till like one last night. I stretched my arms up over my head before freezing as my eyes caught sight of a very familiar sight.

Standing beyond the sliding glass door, was a very familiar looking Absol. There was one key difference though. Something that struck a chord that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on in as she glared hatefully towards the Poke Balls on my nightstand.

This visit didn’t feel like a social call.

“Everyone, wake the hell up right now!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as I backed away from the glass door slowly. “We’ve got company, and she looks pissed.”

May jumped a solid two feet into the air before flailing, her legs getting tangled in the blankets as she rotated in midair and slammed face first into her pillow. Joern exploded out from his Poke Ball and stood between me and Absol, as Emilie rose up from her position on the bed.

‘Huh?’ Joern asked dazedly. ‘You better not be here to give us more bad news. One disaster per visit to Dewford, please. I don’t think my heart can take another,’ Joern said, crossing his arms in front of him as Emilie teleported to my shoulder.

‘Give it back!’ Absol snarled.

“Give what back?” Emilie asked as May quickly untangled herself from the blankets. She ended up wadding the whole bed set together before tossing it across the room and running to the window, face set in determination. She visibly relaxed once she saw who was at the door.

‘The sword!’ Absol snarled.

“Lea, it’s fine. I don’t know how much you remember but Absol helped us. She’s not an enemy,” May said.

Absol walked back a few steps and Joern brought his hands together, an orb of water forming. Absol pounced, before stopping in midair as Apollo slammed into the aggressive dark type. I heard an audible gasp of air as Absol was knocked back across the deck, through a table, before slamming into a wooden post that held up the railing surrounding the wooden high rise.

‘Dammit lass, calm down, would ye. If ye’ve got an issue with us, tell us. We’re a rather reasonable bunch, I swear.’ Apollo said.

Absol slowly pulled itself up before glaring viciously at Apollo. ‘Liar! Fool of a Pirate. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t see? For decades I have served my role of tomb keeper, as my family did before me. ’ Absol hissed as her horn glowed black. ‘ I can feel it. You have it with you! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you!’ Absol brought her horn down, unleashing a massive pulse of energy.

The attack collided with the table set that floated up to meet it in midair. The black blade pushed out on contact before condensing in on itself, pulling the wood into a small void before exploding outwards as sawdust.

The screen door opened and Joern rushed forward, a ball of water already forming between his hands as multiple beams of white light exploded from May’s side of the table. Suzy, Leshy, and Samie all stood at the ready in front of us. Absol jumped backwards onto the beach, away from the growing mass of opponents.

Joern held the attack back and focused. The orb grew larger in his hand as he jumped down the stairs, his eyes focused on the cat like Pokémon in front of him. Absol opened her mouth and a wispy purple orb started to form in front of her open maw, an eerie howl sounding out through the beach as it expanded in size.

Lucas rose up from the ground between them.

“Fuck! Lucas, don’t-” My reprimand was cut off as the beach exploded in sound.

A torrent of water violently cascaded out from Joern’s hands towards the sea, missing Lucas by inches as it swept across the beach. The Shadow Ball was aimed down before sinking into the sand, harmlessly pushing through the ground to seemingly no effect.

Ghost type attacks were fucking weird.

May rushed out ahead of me, her team in tow as she sprinted across the deck and stared opposite from the Absol.

‘Good morning Dewford!’ Lucas shouted, causing the Absol to recoil back and stare at the sword with wide, terrified eyes. ‘A little early in the morning to start up the action, but you wanted me so I’m here. The king of comedy, at your service, my lady.’ Lucas grinned as he lowered his sheath down in a mock bow.

‘I... what are you? ’ Absol asked.

‘Well, my friends call me Lucas, and I'm an Aquarius, thanks for asking. A lot of people don’t appreciate it, but you look like the type to love astrology, so-’ Lucas stopped as a pillow phased through him and landed harmlessly in the sand in front of him. He turned and glared at Emile. ‘Rude! I was on a roll.’

“Not the time!” Emilie shouted.

May looked down nervously at the Absol, biting her lower lip as I tried to stand next to her. She got in front of me and shoved me behind her.

“May-”

“Why are you attacking us?” May cut me off, glaring at the white furred menace.

Oh. Right. I was supposed to be translating.

Whoops.

“She wants the sword back,” I whispered into her ear.

The Absol hadn’t moved from her spot. ‘The blight...’ she whispered.

‘Oy, my jokes are the highlight of every conversation, and that is a horrendous insult upon my person, ’ Lucas complained.

“How attached are you to the sword?” May whispered back.

“May!” I whisper shouted.

She winced before looking back out across the clearing. “Alright, look. I’m usually down for respecting the customs of wild Pokémon, but I draw the line at keeping someone chained up in a dark room for hundreds of years. So far, the worst thing Lucas has done is air how well Lea did in her formative years.”

My face lit up. “May!” I whined.

“The sword is staying with us,” May said.

Absol finally snapped out of its daze as its hind legs started to tense up. Suzy put herself in front of both of us, and Leshy launched himself forward to stand next to Joern.

‘Do you truly think you can stand against all of us?’ Leshy asked, tilting his head to the side.

Absol sagged down into the ground before glaring at Lucas.

‘You do not understand, ’ Absol said. ‘The most constant vision through the years, through all of my ancestors, is of the calamity this blade will leave in its wake.’

Lucas leaned back as if he was struck. ‘I would never! What would my fans say!’

I groaned and May face palmed.

“Are you sure?” May asked.

I glared and she sighed.

‘I understand his personality leaves a bit to be desired’

Lucas turned and glared at Leshy.

‘But I hardly see how a possessed piece of scrap metal can bring about a ‘Calamity’,’ Leshy said.

‘Scrap Metal!’ Lucas shouted. ‘I’ll have you know I was forged by the best smiths in all the land!’

“Really?” Emilie asked, looking at Lucas suspiciously. “Funny, I thought you couldn’t remember stuff from before.”

Lucas froze before turning to look nervously at Emilie. ‘Some things are peeking through, remember?'

“Legends above, I wish I could read you. Like, at all,” Emilie groaned.

‘You ran me through, and I’m still kicking. You’re less effective than a weedwhacker; you can’t be that sharp,’ Leshy said, never taking his eyes off Absol.

‘My family has stood guard over that blade for close to a millennia. I will not be swayed from my-’

“Do you feel a disaster coming on soon?” Emilie asked, cutting her off.

Absol froze before looking at Emilie. She focused for a moment, staring intently at the psychic before leaning back with wide eyes.

‘No... I don’t... ’ Absol’s face sunk in as she stared down at the ground. She looked back up at Lucas.

He waved at her.

‘We... were tasked...’ Absol trailed off, her face ashen.

“I’m sor-”

Absol sprinted down the beach and jumped through the tree line before May even got a chance to finish her sentence.

‘I hate this fucking island,’ Suzy said, glaring after her. ‘That’s what, the third time we’ve been attacked here? I’m staying out of the ball for the rest of our trip, afternoon nap be damned.’

“Aw, but you need all the beauty sleep you can get,” Emilie said as she teleported to my shoulder.

‘Big words for someone so sma-’

“Not now!” Both May and I said at the same time, glaring at our respective starters.

They both winced, before looking away.

“And you were doing so well.” I muttered before looking out towards Lucas. “If you ever decide to pop out of the ground between two attacks again, I’ll...”

Fuck, what do I threaten him with?

‘I’ll be good, don’t worry. I just wanted the fighting to stop,’ Lucas said, grinning after the Absol. ‘I didn’t want her to get hurt, and I didn’t want her to hurt you. So... I took a chance. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I no longer walk amongst the living.’ Lucas shimmied up and down. ‘Literally AND figuratively.’

“Don’t think you’re indestructible just because you’re a ghost type,” May chastised. “Your hold on this world can be just as tenuous as a living, breathing Pokemon. If the focus of your possession is damaged beyond repair, you’ll fade. Just like the rest of us.”

Lucas stared back at May with wide, panicked eyes. ‘Ah... so ghosts DO die. Good to know. ’ Lucas floated lower as the words left his lips. ‘Can we-’

“Is everything alright!” Wally shouted as he ran along the coast to get to us. “I heard a crash. I pounded on the door, but you didn’t answer.”

Gawain appeared next to him instantly and took in the area around us before focusing on Lucas.

‘Uh... hi! I don’t know that we’ve met,’ Lucas said slowly, floating away from the psychic type’s gaze.

“We had a visitor this morning. The Absol that helped us thought we pulled a smash and grab,” I explained. “He’s one of mine, Gawain. Calm down.”

Gawain’s stance relaxed and he shifted his gaze towards me. ‘Terribly sorry, Lady Lea. I find myself acting as sword more than shield right now, a behavior I need to correct forthwith. Forgive me.’

Ah, I missed this. So much.

“You’re good. Lucas was actually what she thought we stole,” I said. “I guess, in a way, she was right, but... I don’t know that you can steal someone when they come with you willingly.”

‘Fair-’ Gawain stopped and stared at me for a brief moment as his jaw fell and his eyes widened. His gaze shifted from me to Lucas, then back to me. All at once, he pressed his head to the ground. ‘Your Majesty! Forgive me for speaking out of turn, I had no idea.’

I blinked down at Gawain twice. “Uh...”

Emilie face palmed as she glared at Gawain. 'He got a look at how you obtained Lucas.'

"Ah..." I said, not sure how what to do with that information. I took in Gawain and sighed as he all but vibrated in place. "Let's just get breakfast." I thought about what time it was. "Brunch. I don't know. I just... need a break."

'Of course, your grace. I will prepare something for you post haste, count on me,' Gawain said before teleporting away.

I blankly stared at the space he had just occupied and sighed again.

Chapter Text

“For the last time, Lea is not a fucking queen!” Emilie snarled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Wayne come into the cafeteria in sleepwear and bunny slippers with a cup of coffee in hand. My eyes briefly met his as he took in the scene. He sighed, shook his head, and walked back out the door.

‘He thinks it’s too early to deal with this. I for one agree!’ Emilie shouted in my head.

Rude.

‘You’re just pissed someone’s getting treated like royalty and it isn’t you,’ Suzy jabbed.

“Emilie, I think you’re being far too rash, here.” I said before Emilie could throw an insult back Suzy’s way. “If Gawain wants to declare me the ruler of my own sovereign nation, who are we to stop him?” I asked, before eating the floating grape in front of me. “Fantastic selection, my loyal vassal. These are my fave.”

‘Your praise warms my pious heart, your excellency,’ Gawain said, his eyes glowing blue as the leaf he was controlling fanned cool air my way.

Wally was sitting across from me with his forehead in his hands, glaring down at a breakfast he’d barely touched.

“Why did I agree to those vows? You could have had a normal Pokémon, Wally. A little bit of patience and you would have been set,” he muttered.

May smiled sadly across the table before giving me a look. “The leaf fan is a bit much, Lea.”

“Fine, nix the fan. Killjoys...” I sighed as the leaf flew out the open window before eating another grape.

‘Is there anything else I can do for you, my liege?’ Gawain asked before being sucked back into his ball.

“Awww!” I complained. “Wally, I was having fun.”

“I was having a migraine. I need things to be sane for a bit, okay?” Wally begged.

May started laughing. “Wally, sanity checked out a long ass time ago when you agreed to travel with us again.”

I giggled before sighing as one of my balls opened on its own. Lucas stared, forlornly, at the muffin in front of me.

‘It’s not going to attack you, you know?’ Suzy said as she pecked at a piece of toast. ‘If you want it, eat the damn thing.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, my fine feathered friend, but I kind of lack a traditional digestive system,’ Lucas said . ‘At least I don’t think I have one. That one’s kind of hard to tell at a glance.’

“I... can he eat food?” I asked May, feeling lost. “Sergei never does. I don’t know if that’s a ghost thing, or a sentient piece of technology thing, or-”

“It... depends. Hang on,” May fished around in her bag for her Pokedex. “Let me see... kind of.”

‘Don’t have to tell me twice!’ Lucas shouted before inhaling the sacrificial baked good.

“Wait!” May shouted.

Lucas chewed a few times before his eyes widened and his face scrunched up. He spat out what remained, and I recoiled away from the smell. The muffin had decomposed, for lack of a better term. The bread had molded, the blueberries rotted, and the sugar on top had browned. What had once been a perfectly edible morning treat had been reduced to a half masticated, decayed, pile of trash.

‘Mistakes were made,’ Lucas muttered, a light green tint discolored the sides of his sheath. ‘That was foul. I thought I was going to die.’ Lucas glared down at the remains of the muffin. ‘Wait, I’m already dead. Oh, thank Arceus.’

“I tried to warn you. Preserved foods are your best bet, Lucas. Try to eat anything like that” May nodded towards the muffin. “And that’ll happen. Your body doesn’t process the food. It decomposes it. That’s how you get the energy from it.”

“So, a lot of salt and nothing that spoils easily,” I said, before sagging. “That means he can’t have any of my baked goods.”

Emilie perked up, and a pleased feeling passed through the bond.

“I’m sure there are a few recipes for cookies for ghost types somewhere out there. We’ll just have to look for them. There’s not much of a rush. Lucas doesn’t HAVE to eat anything. It’s just better for him if he has the occasional snack, as opposed to just subsisting off the ambient life energy in the area,” May explained with a cheery smile on her face.

Okay, that’s good at... wait what?

“I’m sorry, back up,” Wally muttered, suddenly looking very pale. “What exactly do you mean by life energy? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, May, but I don’t exactly have the healthiest of dispositions.” Wally waved his hand towards the black mask on his face.

May winced, and Lucas looked away.

‘I’m not-’

“It’s not something you would notice, Wally. It’s a very light pull. Most ghosts just pull on the life force of random plants and their trainers to persist in the world around them. The effects are minimal, because they’re unconsciously pulling from a lot of different sources. For example, we’ve all been around Sergei for weeks at this point. We’re all fine.” May smiled as her phone floated up at being summoned.

‘I’m slowly killing you,’ Sergei said. ‘But you’re liable to die of old age before it’d actually happen.’

Wally slowly backed up from the possessed phone before glaring at May.

“Really old age if Agatha in Kanto is anything to go by,” May confirmed.

'Whatever, none of this is important. You’re telling me I can’t eat good food anymore?’ Lucas looked pleadingly at May. ‘I remember liking food. Eating was a beloved past time. It was right up there with drinking and sleep-’

“Technically speaking, you don’t have to do that anymore either,” May said, cutting Lucas off.

‘I...’ Lucas trailed off before floating backwards. He stared down dejectedly at the table. ‘What can I do?’

Suzy patted May’s arm and pointed at Lucas. ‘Maybe cool it with the nerd speak for a bit. Sword boy isn’t looking too hot.’

Lucas started chuckling. ‘Ah, a fellow lover of puns. How lovely!’

Suzy sighed and looked away. ‘That was unintentional.’

May winced before staring apologetically at the ghost type. “Sorry, Lucas. I... kind of forgot you’re a bit new to life as a ghost Pokémon. It’ll get easier, I promise.”

‘It’ll be fine. I just... need to adapt. Shouldn’t be too hard, I don’t remember much of what I’m adapting from.’ Lucas grinned back at May.

“You sure you’re good?” I asked worriedly.

‘I’m sure. Cut it out with the depressing talk, alright. It makes life a fair sight duller than it needs to be. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m all about the sharpness.’ Lucas bounced around a bit before turning to me. ‘Please tell me we get to go on an adventure. I’ve been bored out of my mind in that ball the last few days.’

“I... uh, well,” I muttered nervously, glancing away from the excited ghost type.

***

‘This wasn’t what I had in mind. ’ Lucas deadpanned as we left the gym.

“Yeah, well, we had to re-register for the gym challenge. Be glad you didn’t have to wait in the Rustboro line,” I commented.

May and Wally both shivered. Suzy just shot me an unimpressed look.

‘At least you weren’t being carted around like a plushie for most of the day,’ Suzy muttered.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t miss being carted around like that,” Emilie pointed out with a grin.

Suzy blushed and looked away. “Stay out of my head, princess. I’m a rough and tumble fighting type, I don’t do cud-”

May cut her off with a hug. “Aw, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. We’ll have to figure something out later, you’re too big to cart around anymore.”

Suzy sputtered a few times before glaring back at the now laughing Emilie. ‘May, you’re ruining my image.’

“You don’t have an image,” Emilie said.

I brought up my fist and lightly bumped her forehead. “Says the person that lives on my shoulder. I’m half convinced the reason you don’t want to evolve is that you’d have to walk places again, lazy bones.”

Emilie glared at me. “As if, I don’t think a Kirlia would have any issues hanging out up here. We don’t exactly get that much bigger, and we sure as fuck don’t gain much weight.”

Suzy stared intently at Emilie, focusing on the pouch around her waist. I looked towards her, and she looked away from my gaze as May finally let her out of the hug.

“Just remember that I’m always down for hugs,” May said. “Your feathers make it feel like I’m holding a pillow, actually. It’s quite warm and cozy.”

Suzy blushed, shifting in tone from orange to red as she glanced away from her trainer.

‘Go hug your girlfriend instead, would you?’ Suzy complained.

I grinned down at the bird before freezing as May snaked her arm around mine.

“An excellent idea, Suzy.” May grinned at me. “You’ve been working overtime translating recently. Thanks for that. It means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said as a smile pulled at my lips.

“This is the fun police, remember that we have to train,” Wally said, looking pained at the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Ugh, fine. I’m here for the grind and nothing else, let’s go train...” I muttered.

May glared at Wally and pulled me closer, before sighing and nodding. “Three days isn’t a ton of time, you’re right.”

“Either of you know where a good training field is?” Wally asked. “I don’t really know the area.”

I froze. I did know, but...

“I’m looking it up on Sergei now,” May said, her face scrunched up as she quickly swiped through Sergei’s nav functions.

Okay, good. May didn’t want to go back there either.

“We’re going to be walking for a bit,” May said with a wince. “Honestly, they need more of these. Dewford’s been a pain in the ass to do anything battle related in. I know it’s a resort town, but there’s a gym here too. You could throw the trainers a few more bones.”

Wally looked over May’s shoulder.

“What are you talking about, there’s one right here. It’s like a ten-minute walk,” Wally commented.

“We’re not using that one.” May’s tone was clipped.

“Why- Oh.” Wally stopped. “Right, let’s get to walking. We've got a lot of ground to cover.” Wally picked up the pace as May and I looked at each other.

A small blush dusted my cheeks. “I’d probably be able to-”

“I wouldn’t.” May deadpanned.

Right.

“Wally, wait up.” I shouted as I awkwardly shuffled forward, untangling myself from my girlfriend as I went. “I also stepped in it.”

“Both of you stop being idiots, I'm the one with the map.” May shouted as she ran to keep pace, slapping us both upside the head as she took the lead.

Suzy snickered at us before falling in line beside her trainer.

We walked in silence for what felt like a very awkward eternity.

‘Say something, stupid.’ Emilie whispered in my mind.

‘Like what?’ I asked.

‘I dunno, but this is awkward. Break the tension.’

‘You’ve got a voice now, you do it,’ I said.

‘Fine!’ Emilie huffed.

“Out of idle curiosity, Wally, has Gawain sworn you into the knights of valor sworn to uphold the truth and justice of Lady Lea’s reign yet?” Emilie asked.

I ran my hand down my face and groaned. “I regret teaching you how to talk.” I preempted Wally’s reply. “I thought having a talking Pokémon would be cool. It isn’t. It’s pain, suffering, and humiliation all tied together in a small, white and green package.”

'Have you considered a career in theatre? I know overacting isn’t really a hard skill set to master, but you do it in a way that’s quite entertaining,’ Lucas said with a grin.

I groaned louder this time. “Why are all of my teammates sarcastic ass hats?” I asked.

“They take after their trainer,” Wally answered.

“That was rhetorical.” I shouted at him.

Wally chuckled, the lighthearted laugh sounding dark and warbled through the machinery.

“Alright then, answer her question, dork lord. How many new henchmen do I have? I need more for my plans of global conquest to come to fruition. Right now, it’s just May and all of our Pokémon. I need my sith apprentice if I’m going to conquer the galaxy,” I said, making my voice raspier the further in I went.

“You’d do Papa Palpatine proud, but I serve no master. Thank you, very much,” Wally said.

“And excuse me?” May asked, glaring at me. “Let’s get one thing straight, you’re my henchman, got it?”

“But I did the thing! By divine right, I’m the queen now. Bow down before my queenly queenliness,” I ordered.

‘Technically speaking, I phased through the stone. You were just on the other end when it happened,’ Lucas supplied. ‘Besides, I’m no Excaliber. I’m quite content to be called Lucas now. Thank you very much.’

“Why is everyone picking on me?” I moaned.

“There, there. Hon.” May patted me on the back consolingly. “It’s going to be okay. I treat my subordinates with love and care.”

Suzy nodded along zenly.

“You better,” I muttered sadly.

“Whipped.”

Both May and I shot Emilie a vicious glare.

“Right, that was supposed to be a mental barb. Not a vocal one,” Emilie muttered.

I noted the lack of an apology and glared at her.

“Continuing on.” Wally talked over all of us. “I talked Gawain down a bit from his vows as one of your knights of honor while you two were trying and failing to get Wayne and Jasmine to hang out with us.”

“Aww....” I whined.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Emilie replied. “That idiot has one mode, and it’s a renaissance cosplay. Lea pulling Lucas from a pedestal in a dark cave is something out of his wildest fantasies. No way he calmed down on that yet.”

An explosion of white light erupted from Wally’s belt.

‘My lady.’ It really wasn’t helping his or Wally’s case that the first thing he did once he got out was kneel to me and say that. ‘My knightly oath shall not be reduced to that of a cosplayer.’ Gawain paused. ‘Whatever that is. You said it as though it were an insult, so I’m assuming it’s bad!’

“Only as bad as your grandstanding and ham brained pledges of unending loyalty. You leaving Wally behind to join Lea’s nonexistent crusade or are you dragging him along for the ride.” Emilie teleported down from my shoulder and got right up in Gawain’s face.

‘My loyalty will always be to my liege lord first, above all others, and I will thank you to not question it again!’ Gawain shouted back. ‘Honestly, you’ve only gotten wilder and more unruly in the past days. A far cry from the regal lady you once were.’

“You want to say that again, ass hat, because I'll kick your ass so hard you won’t be able to tell which one of us is your liege lord, evolution or no!” Emilie shouted.

‘Why you...’

“Alright, that’s enough.” I shouted as I grabbed Emilie and pulled her back. “Time out, starting now, going until you calm the fuck down.” I held her tightly as she struggled to get out of my hold.

A single red line shot out and pulled Gawain back in. Emilie stopped struggling as much once Gawain disappeared.

“What’s gotten into you lately?” Wally muttered into the ball. “The incident with Wayne yesterday was bad enough, but now you’re picking fights with our friends Pokémon over stupid shit. You’re also in time out. Calm the hell down.” Wally wheezed a bit after he finished.

“Good riddance,” Emilie muttered.

“You want to go back in the ball, too?” I half yelled at her. “What the hell is up? You were nowhere NEAR this bad when we were together with them in Rustboro.”

“Yeah, well. He was slightly less obnoxious at that point,” Emilie replied.

My glare hardened and I started reaching for my belt.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I... didn’t handle that well.” she muttered.

“Understatement. Look, Wally’s our friend. Gawain’s his starter. They’re going to be with us for a good long while if I have anything to say about it. You don’t have to like it, but... find a way to coexist, please,” I ordered.

Emilie pouted but nodded.

‘I’ll... try.’ I smiled before looking over Wally’s way.

He was still staring at Gawain’s ball, silent. He turned my way and looked at both me and Emilie.

“You know... it suddenly occurs to me.” Wally started. “It feels like a lifetime ago, at this point, but before we charged into Petalburg Woods, you promised me something. Something I had forgotten about, honestly. I think now would be a good time to cash in on that. I think it’d be good for our Pokémon.”

“What did I- oh.” I grinned as the memory popped into my head. Guess we never got to it in Rustboro.

“Care for a battle?” Wally asked.

***

“Is a three on three fine?” I asked with a grin as we entered the clearing.

The ‘training field’ was a beach. It was just a damn beach with a few training dummies.

We could have stayed at the fucking center and had a better place to train! Ugh... It had been way too long since I got into a battle. I needed to get this aggression out of my system.

Wally frowned. “We can do a four on four, if you want. Maybe take your new member out for a spin?” Wally asked hopefully.

He had caught something else, then. Nice.

“I want to get some practice in with Lucas before I use him. My dex still returns an error when I try to scan him, and his response to us when we asked him what he can do is ‘I cut things.’ So...”

“Right, three on three it is,” Wally said with a grin.

‘Mind if I watch on the side, then?’ Lucas asked.

“Why would I mind? Having my own cheer section sounds great,” I said, grinning at the floating sword.

‘Right, you got this Wally. I believe in you,’ Lucas said with a grin.

I sagged and glared at my most recent capture.

‘I kid, I kid, calm the calamities that are your mammaries, woman. Geeze,’ Lucas said.

I started reaching down for his ball, when he faded down into the ground. I looked around for a second before seeing him pop up on the other side of the clearing.

‘Alright, Lea, kick his ass and make it look good. I want to take pride in being associated with you,’ Lucas shouted.

I sighed, before turning and wincing at May’s worried expression.

May looked between the two of us before glancing up at Emilie. “Are you sure this is a good idea after the blow up earlier?” May asked.

“I’m not going to turn into a murder hobo just because I’m annoyed at the idiot. I would have done that a long time ago if that was what sent me over the edge,” Emilie complained. She wilted away a bit at the glare I sent her way.

“I decided to do this because of the blow up.” Wally turned and smiled at me. “Maybe give our Pokémon a chance to blow off some steam.”

“It’s guy logic, May. I don’t really get it either. Everything’s always cool after they beat the crap out of each other.” I sighed before looking out across the beach. “I’ll be careful. Do you mind reffing for us?”

May nodded hesitantly. “Any other rules besides three on three and no maiming?” she asked, emphasizing the last two words in the sentence as she once again stared at my starter.

I thought for a moment before a grin pulled at my lips. “Want to make things interesting, Wally. No switches. Once you release your Pokémon, you’re locked in until he or she goes down, cage match style!” If he wanted a slug fest for Emilie and Gawain, this would be the best way to do it. Just good old fashioned, head empty, violence.

“Sounds good to me,” Wally confirmed.

May nodded once before smiling and pecking me on the cheek. She turned and started running to the side of the clearing. “Good luck,” she shouted behind her.

“Should I be a bit worried about the ref being biased?” Wally asked.

I grinned Mareepishly. “Maybe? Probably not though.” I walked to the side of the field that was closer and grinned cheekily at my opponent. “Well, get going, your spot is over there.”

“Nice, make the kid with breathing problems walk more. You truly are a sith lord,” Wally complained as he started walking.

“Give into your hatred, my apprentice,” I called after him with a giggle. “It’s the only way.”

Alright, so the safest bet would be to lead with Joern. He could set up rain and was either good or neutral against most of Wally’s known team. That was obvious though, and Wally wasn’t going to do something stupid like send Gwen or Gawain out into an unknown field. I also didn’t know who mon number four was, though I had an idea.

Wally was most likely to start with Nimue so he’d have an advantage against Joern, so the best bet for me would be...

“Trainers, poke balls at the ready,” May shouted. “Begin!”

Legends above she was taking this so seriously, that’s adorable. I released my favorite waterfowl at the call out.

Wally released a Pineco and my eyes lit up.

“Oh, you did manage to find them! How was the trip?” I asked happily.

The Pineco gave me a long-suffering look. ‘Moving through the forest was simple enough, but mobility once I escaped the dense tree line was... not fun,’ Pineco explained.

I nodded. “Yeah, I was a bit worried about that. Still, were you happy to spend time with Nimue again? I know you really missed her.”

Pinco visibly brightened. ‘I’m not used to the names yet, but yes. Nimue actually gave me mine. She really wanted to name me Ogier. ’ Ogier froze and looked away bashfully. ‘ He was one of her favorite knights, and-’

“Are we going to fight or not?” Emilie shouted impatiently.

‘Aye, I’d like to take out a bit of aggression on this bagworm. I’m still a bit miffed about how we left things in the forest,’ Apollo complained.

“Neither of you have any chill. At all,” I said, glaring at my team. “Fine, we’ll catch up later. Air cutter.” I raised my hand at the somewhat lazy command.

“String shot to evade,” Wally countered. “Didn’t realize you two had history.”

Ogier lifted into the air above the shot of sharpened air as his string latched onto a pine tree. Apollo had already fired a second shot without my command at the webbing that was pulling him up, and I laughed as Ogier was sent flying.

“Like shooting Magikarp in a barrel. Wing attack.”

Apollo’s wings glowed white as he flew after the Pineco.

“Iron Defense,” Wally ordered.

Holy, damn that’s an annoying trick. Apollo slammed into what may as well have been a steel ball. A rather colorful collection of words came out of Apollo’s mouth as Ogier slammed into the sand with a heavy thud.

“Now, Ogier. Spikes,” Wally ordered.

Yay, hazards. Those weren’t annoying at all.

‘Would you focus on the fight already!?’ Emilie shouted in my mind.

‘What? I’m having fun,’ I countered as Ogier started to spin. “Harass him with Air Cutter, Apollo. Don’t let him get up off the ground again either.”

Apollo’s eyes focused on the spinning insect and three different wind sickles shot forth as he beat his wings.

“Iron defense while you spin,” Wally called out.

I groaned as the attack slammed into Ogier to minimal effect. At least he winced, so he had to be feeling something.

“Is your plan with Ogier to just be as annoying as possible until they give up in frustration?” I asked.

Wally didn’t respond. He just stared at me. He was probably smiling smugly at me, I just couldn’t tell.

“Just keep up the assault, Apollo. He can’t keep this up forever, don’t get close again no matter how much you want to. I don’t want you getting blown up.”

Wally winced. “Was kind of hoping you forgot about that.”

Was he serious? That was the thing Pineco were notorious for doing! I’m not that dumb.

I don’t like that Emilie was whistling now.

“Keep up your defenses and put more spikes out when you can.”

I sighed as Ogier all but ignored Apollo's assault as layers upon layers of spikes covered the field. Small pieces of chitin flecked off with each hit, so I was at least getting somewhere, but this nightmare of a field was going to be hell to navigate for Joern and Emilie.

“Now, Faith Dive.” Wally shouted.

What the fuck was a Faith Dive?

Ogier launched a single String Shot and launched himself towards Apollo. He started to glow white.

“Aerial Ace away! Now!” I shouted.

Apollo disappeared and...

Nothing happened.

“Psyche!” Wally shouted. “One last round of spikes for the road, Ogier. I’m so sorry you got this match up.”

My eye twitched. Legends above, this was miserable. Who enjoyed fighting like this?

“Air Cutter, Water gun, I don’t care. Pelt the little guy and end this.”

Apollo complied and unleashed a veritable onslaught of long ranged frustration, his attacks slamming into Ogier and the ground around him as yet another layer of spikes was launched out into the field.

Ogier fell over and rotated to show that his eyes were closed. He didn’t move, and May raised her hand towards me.

“Lea wins the first round. Wally, please send out your next Pokémon.” May shout casted with a flourish of motion.

“Are you having fun, babe? You look like you’re having fun,” I said with a grin.

May winked at me and Suzy face palmed from her spot behind her trainer.

Wally returned his fallen knight and sighed. “Yeah, that’s about how I thought that would go. Ogier did his job, at least. You’re up, Gwen!”

Alright, sweet we get to see what Mari-

“Azumaril.” Rang out across the field like a war cry.

“You were busy, huh? Didn’t Azurill just evolve?” I asked.

Wally blushed. “Well, apparently, the Azurill line evolves really fast. I was surprised too, honestly. Aqua Jet.”

Before I could even process the fact that he snuck a command into our conversation, a torrent of water appeared under Gwen and shot her toward Apollo. Apollo zipped out of the way with a low hum, and I breathed a sigh of relief that my pirate had better reflexes than I did.

“Wally, I didn’t start you guys yet!” May shouted, fixing Wally with an annoyed glare.

He rubbed the back of his head and shrunk away. “Sor-"

“Steel Wing!” I shouted.

Apollo’s wings glowed silver as he swung down low, and he slammed them both into Gwen when he got close. The Azumaril winced slightly before glaring down at my Pokémon. Uh oh.

“Ugh, whatever. You’re both ruining this for me, do whatever you want,” May complained.

“Play Rough while it’s close.” Wally shouted, ignoring May’s disappointed mumblings.

“Aerial Ace, get behind her,” I countered.

Apollo disappeared as Gwen lashed out, hitting the ground and...

“Whoa!” I shouted as the entire ground shook.

Sand exploded from the spot Gwen had struck, catching Apollo as he tried to approach from behind and sending him back. He rolled a few times as he crashed into the ground, and Gwen pounced; delivering a glowing pink fist into Apollo’s side and sending him flying across the field.

He didn’t get back up.

May didn’t say anything and we both looked at her as I lifted up my Poke ball.

“Oh, now you want a ref,” May said with a huff before chuckling and lifting her hand towards Wally. “Winner, Gwen. Lea, please send out your next Pokémon!”

“What the hell was that!?” I shouted. “You been feeding Gwen steroids or something? How the hell did that adorable blue mouse do... THAT!” I waved my hand towards the crater.

“Huge Power. It’s a nasty ability, I have to admit. Gwen’s muscles are a bit more efficient in how they use what they have.”

'I'm sorry that you stood no chance.' Gwen said, flexing at me. If it wasn’t for the massive crater in the middle of the arena, I’d think it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

‘Oi.’ Emilie cried out, sounding moderately offended.

I patted her on the head and gave her a cookie.

I will not be bribed.’ She still took the cookie though.

“Lea...” May was waving her hand as though to tell me to get on with it, and I blushed.

“Right. Joern. Let’s have some fun.” I said, happy to be going into this with an advantage.

That joy died as the entire battlefield came to life under Joern’s feet. Every single spike erupted from the sand and shot towards Joern the second his feet touched the ground. I stared, wide eyed, as dozens of tiny spiky balls dug into my grass type.

“Lom...” Joern grunted in pain before shaking, knocking most of the spikes off before taking a step towards the grinning water type. He winced backwards as he stepped on a few he had knocked off.

That was probably going to make dancing a no go, wasn’t it?

Emilie glared at me.

“Okay, maybe I should have paid more attention last round. In my defense I didn’t think they were going to do that much damage!” I frantically explained. “I just thought they were going to be like Roxanne’s Stealth Rock. Annoying, but not debilitating. I was wrong.”

“Begin!” May shouted.

“Aqua Jet to get in close, then Power Up Punch.” Wally ordered the second the word left May’s mouth.

Like hell was I going to let you make this monster even stronger.

“Water Pulse!” I shouted. A giant ring of water pushed out from Joern and slammed into the jet stream that was Gwen.

She powered through. How the hell did she power through that? I knew she was a water type too, but the force from that should have at least given her pause!

The Aqua Jet cut through the shockwave like a cake knife through a wedding cake and rushed forward towards Joern with violent intent.

Joern... two stepped out of the way?

‘Huh, Waltzing is useful in real life. Who’d have thought?’ Joern commented as he carefully stepped around the spikes and out of the way of Gwen’s attack.

Gwen huffed as her other fist glowed. She took another swing, and Joern sidestepped again.

Punch. Sidestep. Punch. Sidestep.

It took me a second, but I started to realize this was happening in a rhythm. A rhythm that Joern was encouraging, though I couldn’t help but notice the occasional wince as he misjudged and stepped on a spike.

Clouds started to form above us, and my eyes widened. Did my Pokémon just figure out how to Rain Dance defensively?

Fuck I should probably be doing something, shouldn’t I?

“Try and hit it with Leech Seed.” I ordered.

“Disengage!” Wally shouted, a bit too late.

Joern rotated his head and launched the seed as Gwen tried to backstep away. It slowly started to blossom, and vines wrapped themselves around the blue mouse. She winced as the vines got to work.

“Now Absorb.” I ordered, smiling widely at having finally set up shop. Now I just needed to stall the round out for a bit and-

“...Perish Song,” Wally ordered reluctantly.

Fuck you, Wally.

Joern glowed green as Gwen started to sing the most depressing song I've ever heard. The tones were discordant and hollow, and I winced as a dark aura overtook both Pokémon. Gwen went down immediately after finishing her song, and Joern looked fit as a fiddle.I idly wondered how long that would last.

“Sorry, I-”

“Send Gawain out.” I cut him off, slightly annoyed. This would be the second time someone’s used a kamikaze move against Joern. I supposed I should be flattered that people thought they needed to resort to these tactics, but it just annoyed me. Let my tank be tanky, dammit!

Wally recalled Gwen and tossed Gawain out before May could even announce the result.

‘Ah, a worthy opponent, our battle-’

“Water pulse!” I felt bad cutting off his quote, but I was on a timer. The attack radiated out before being swallowed up by a sand bank being pulled up in front of it.

“Pull the sand around you and turtle up, we just have to wait this out.” Sand shifted so that it formed a protective ball around Gawain.

“Get in close and slam Water Pulse at point blank range. Break his shield.”

Joern ran through the field as he brought his hands together. A single concentrated ball of water formed, and Joern followed my orders and brought his attack down on the sand orb. Water exploded against the shell. Joern maintained his assault and the sand started to collapse in on itself from the force.

“Teleport out.” Wally ordered. Aloud. Again. Could they... not just talk mentally. The dome caved fully as the psychic type supporting it disappeared. Gawain landed elegantly on his feet behind Joern...

Directly into a launched Leech Seed.

‘You psychics... always like to teleport... to our blind spot...’ Joern sounded woozy and was swaying from side to side. ‘It’s... predictable...’ Joern fell forward and passed out, his body glowing black as Perish Song took hold fully.

“Joern is unable to battle. Lea, send out your final Pokémon.” May shouted.

Emilie had already teleported into the arena before May had finished talking. Sand rose up from the ground around her as the spikes came to life. They dug harmlessly into the shell as she looked back at me nervously.

‘Lea. I...’ Emilie started before looking across the field at Gawain. ‘Would you mind if I tried to do this fight on my own?’

I leaned back, surprised .'I-'

‘This is just... something I feel like I need to do.’ Emilie muttered.

I hesitated.

‘I need to prove something to myself, alright?’ Emilie asked. ‘Please.’

I sighed before shooting my starter a smile. ‘Kick his ass,’ I said with a grin.

Relief and determination flooded through the bond as Emilie sagged in place. She focused her eyes forward at the challenge in front of us.

“Begin!” May shouted.

“Hmm... I’ve never used a flail before.” Emilie commented. “Let’s try something new!”

Emilie brought her hands together and the sand wall around condensed down into a spiky ball about a foot wide. Emilie shoved forward, and the attack sailed across the arena. Gawain eyes glowed blue and a wall of sand rose up between them. The attack slammed into the shield, deforming as it made contact.

“Good, now-”

Gawain raised both of his hands before Wally could finish, and the beach under Emilie came to life. Several tendrils of sand rose up from the ground as her feet sunk into the ground.

Emilie teleported out the second they moved inward. The writhing sands collapsing in clumps into a single mound of wet muck.

I wonder how good of a sandcastle we could make if we all worked together?

Emilie reappeared at the top of one of the palm trees, her eyes shining ethereally in the pouring rain as the downpour started to pool around her into a single, azure sphere.

“Gawain?” Wally asked, looking at his partner with a knitted brow.

Gawain made no sign of acknowledging his partner as he raised his arms even higher into the air, and the entire arena came to life.

‘Gawain’s acting on his own too?’ I asked.

Emilie didn’t respond as the water lifted her into the air. She dived down the tree and glided along the field, dragging a bit of sand up with her as she went, and staying ahead of the shifting dunes beneath her. She turned on a dime as walls rose up to block her path, ripped through tendrils that attempted to trip her up, and teleported both herself and the ball whenever she became surrounded.

My eyes widened as I very quickly imagined the possibilities, and I grinned down at my starter. I didn’t really understand how she was using the water to move, but it was a brilliant idea now that I was seeing it work in front of me.

Gawain’s fists clenched, and sand rose up from the ground, before condensing down into tightly packed balls of muck. He opened his hands, and the attacks launched forward, blistering across the battlefield. The balls broke apart halfway across the field, and Emilie’s blue orb easily beat the sand back.

“See, you’ve got to focus on the balls while they’re moving, otherwise they just do that,” Emilie chastised.

Seven more balls rose up from the ground.

“Fuck.” Emilie muttered as she urged her orb to move faster.

The spheres were a fair sight slower this time, but they were controlled, and more importantly, staying together as they moved through the air. Emilie was barely able to stay ahead of the orbs that were following her as two broke off from the pack, trying to flank her as she turned the corner at the edge of the makeshift sand arena.

She teleported as the attacks converged next to the sea.

I half wondered if her water orb could just glide across the ocean.

The giant wad of wet sand pulled itself apart and started to condense back into separate projectiles. More sand rose up from behind Gawain, and at first, I thought it was a second volley.

The sand slammed into Gawain, sending him forward into the writhing ground beneath him. Tendrils shot up, wrapping themselves around Gawain's arms and legs, pulling him into the ground. Gawain teleported back, causing all the sand he was currently controlling to fall to the ground.

“All of that extra power, just bursting from your fingertips...” Emilie glared across the field. “And you still can’t split your focus worth a damn!”

Gawain glared back as his eyes glowed blue. Sand wrapped itself around him before expanding out into a ball.

He was copying Emilie. Rude.

A small hole opened up towards the front of the sand orb, and his eyes focused on Emilie as the orb started to move.

Still completely silent.

I frowned. Beyond the opening line that I had cut off, Gawain hadn’t said anything the whole fight. That was... extremely out of character. Wally looked just as lost as I was at the display in front of him as Gawain chased Emilie down.

He attempted too, at least.

By all rights, Gawain should probably be moving faster than Emilie. He had evolved and could put more power into his control of the world around him, but he was actually falling behind, and even getting slower the longer things went. I had an epiphany.

“The sand is getting heavier...” I said in awe. It was picking up more and more water as the rain pelted down into the sphere of earth. Emilie was light, and the only thing that was moving her around was the water around her body.

Emilie brought her hand up in front of her as she moved, and a wall of sand came up directly in front of Gawain’s sphere. He slammed full force into what may as well have been a solid brick wall, and both constructs collapsed into each other before collapsing against the ground.

“Gawain!” Wally shouted.

Gawain appeared in front of Wally, leaning down and panting hard. Sweat dripped from his head as the vines dug deeper into his skin. I watched him wince before rising up to his full height.

‘Okay, as a heads up, we need to switch into seeded mons more. This feels incredible!’ Emilie gushed. ‘I don’t feel tired at all! No wonder Joern’s so hard to deal with.’

‘Wait, you’re actually getting something back? How the hell does that work?’ I asked.

Emilie shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Don’t care. This is lovely.’

“Gawain, I know you’re mad at Emilie, but I need you to listen to me! We aren’t going to win if we don’t work together.” Wally didn’t get a response back, at least, I assumed he didn’t.

‘He’s not,’ Emilie confirmed. ‘Gawain’s gone radio silent. I can’t get in his head, either.’ Emilie frowned before throwing herself forward. She glided across the field and pulled her fist back. An aquatic fist started to form just outside of the sphere.

Gawain threw his hand out, and a single column of sand shot up, slamming into Emilie’s aqua sphere with an audible crack and launching her backwards into the air.

“Emilie!” I shouted.

She caught herself in midair with a small platform of sand and quickly moved herself away from Gawain as she got her bearings back. Gawain shifted his gaze and Emilie stopped moving. Emilie stood, and it looked like she was shaking.

‘If he wants it, let him have it.’ I couldn’t help but suggest.

Emilie grinned at the thought, leaned back, and kicked off of the floating piece of earth, sending it towards Gawain as she did so. Gawain stopped it just a few inches away from his face.

“Teleport!” Wally shouted, and Gawain finally listened and disappeared as another patch of earth shot towards Gawain from his blind spot.

‘Behi-’ I didn’t even need to give the warning. Emilie had already turned and launched another wall of sand behind her. Gawain hit the ground and tumbled a few times, wet sand caking to his body as he moved.

“Didn’t learn the first time, huh?” Emilie taunted with a grin.

I waited with bated breath as the battlefield stilled.

“Gawa-” May stopped mid announcement as a hand rose from the ground and wrapped itself around Emilie.

‘TELEPORT NOW!’ I don’t know if shouting in your mind actually translated all that well, but I'd seen more than enough anime to know all the different ways this could go wrong.

Emilie disappeared and the sand fell harmlessly to the ground as Gawain pulled himself out from under the dirt, his eyes regaining focus as he looked around him.

‘I...’ That was about as far as he got before another pillar shot forward and slammed into his back. He shot forward and rolled a few times before coming to rest, completely still.

“Gawain is unable to battle!” May shouted with confidence this time and waved her hand my way. “The winner is my fabulous girlfriend, Lea!”

Chapter Text

I walked across the field towards Gawain as Emilie teleported back to my shoulder.

“You sure you need me?” I asked.

Emilie blushed. “Don’t act like I didn’t use your tactics, I just swapped out power for speed. Besides, I listened to the few commands you did give.” A grin pulled at Emilie’s lips as she looked back at me. “Thanks, though. I needed that.”

“Do you feel better now that you’ve gotten that out of your system?” I asked.

“I do.” Emilie nodded once. “I’m... more confident that my decision to remain as I am is currently the correct one.”

‘Good, do you mind apologizing to Gawain for being kind of a bitch to him, then?’ I narrowed my eyes as I locked gazes with my starter.

Emilie winced. ‘Do I haaave to?’ Emilie asked, sounding extremely petulant as she looked anywhere but my eyes.

I held firm.

‘Fine! Ugh. You’re way to nice, you know that, right?’

I smiled. ‘Don’t care. Thank you.’ I turned to see May walking towards me.

“Soooo...” May started as we got closer. “Congrats?”

I grinned. “We’ve been dating for less than a week, and you’re already using the word fabulous in sentences.”

May huffed. “See if I ever judge for you again. You’re both terrible fighters. Neither one of you listened to me. I may as well have not been a judge at all.”

“I love that you got mad at me for stall tactics, and then proceeded to stall out the entire last round for Leech Seed to do its job.” Wally complained as he walked closer, Gawain’s Poke Ball already in hand. “Good match.” He extended his free hand my way.

“Good match,” I replied. “Do you... really think that helped at all?”

“It was odd...” Wally said. “Towards the end of the fight, Gawain started talking to me again. He seemed confused. Like he wasn’t completely sure of what was going on.”

I frowned. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

“He’s having a hard time controlling his emotions,” Emilie said. “They’re even more heightened for him right now, and he’s getting everything, from everyone, all at once.” Emilie winced. “I got some biofeedback from that. It wasn’t pleasant. Not to mention...”

“Fairy issues?” I asked.

“Fairy issues,” Emilie confirmed. “He’ll have to learn and adapt to that part of his brain being stronger and act accordingly. Meditation will help.”

Wally nodded along before sighing. “More meditation. Yay.”

‘Good to know that Fairy Pokémon are still completely insane, even in this era,’ Lucas said as he drew closer.

‘Yeah, Emilie’s had more than a few episodes where she just goes off the deep end,’ Suzy confirmed.

“I’ve only lost it once!” Emilie shouted.

‘Yeah, but there’s other things that are obviously signs of an unstable mind. Like, seriously, you think you can take me in a one on one in that tiny ass body of yours. You obviously have a few screws loose.’ Suzy sneered, chuckling lightly to herself.

Emilie leaned forward, glaring intently at May’s starter.

I reached up and patted her on the head. “Down girl.”

Emilie swiped at my arm and glared at me. “I am not a dog Pokémon; you can’t treat me like this!”

“Yeah, yeah. Would you like a treat for not fully rising to the bait?” I asked, leaning down and pulling my pack off.

“Yes please,” Emilie said, suddenly staring intently at me.

‘Not a dog Pokémon, she says...’ Suzy said.

Lucas snickered.

“Don’t suppose I could borrow that Stealth Rock TM you got for beating Roxanne while you’re in there?” Wally asked, with wide pleading eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. One second. The suit does jack all for your ability to beg, by the way.” I sifted through another side pouch to find it empty. What the... that can’t be right. I unzipped the main pouch and fingered through some of my clothes. Not there... “Am I... out of cookies?”

Emilie crawled down my arm and more vigorously checked, only to find empty pockets and barren bags. As the realization came, it was like watching Emilie’s soul vacate its host as she gazed towards the ground with a blank, empty look in her eyes.

“There is no joy left in this world,” Emilie commented, her voice sounding as vacant and lifeless as the rest of her. “Only sorrow.”

“And you call me a drama queen. Hey May, you- huh?” I looked to my left and noticed that May had adopted a similar state of being to Emilie. She sat down on the sand near my starter and pulled her legs to her chest.

“This truly is the darkest of days,” May commented.

Emilie nodded her agreement before leaning her head against May’s knee.

‘Dammit May, you’re better than this. Calm down, it’s just some-’

Suzy wisely shut her beak as May shifted her gaze and stared ominously at her starter. Their eyes locked, and Suzy paled slightly. A thin veneer of sweat shined on her forehead as she slowly backed away, never breaking eye contact with her overly dramatic trainer.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, please stop, I’m so sorry...’ Suzy pressed her forehead to the ground, breaking the spell as May looked around the clearing.

“Suzy, are you okay?” May asked, looking incredibly confused.

“What on earth did you see in those eyes?” I stared at my girlfriend with wide, terrified eyes.

‘Unspeakable things...’ Suzy cried.

“Okay, May’s a cognitohazard. Good to know,” Wally said, quickly putting as much distance between himself and my girlfriend as he possibly could.

Lucas was currently dying for the second time at my friend’s antics. The wails and shouts echoed in the clearing, and I felt a dull throb behind my forehead. I lifted his ball, called him back, and sighed in relief at the blissful silence.

“I’ll ask Nurse Joy if I can use their kitchen tonight. In the meantime, please calm down. Legends above you’d think I don’t feed you two. I literally just got out of the hospital!” I groaned before handing a small disc to Wally. “Here, enjoy.”

Wally grabbed the disc before frowning down at his Poke Balls. “Guess we’re heading back to the center, then.” Wally groaned. “The long, long walk to the center.”

I sighed, glancing down at Joern’s and Apollo’s balls. Emilie slowly perked her head up and glanced at me with a hopeful smile.

“I, uh... potentially have a solution to the walking problem.” Emilie said hesitantly. “I think I’m strong enough to manage a teleport with a tag along.” Emilie looked away, a faint red glow on her cheeks. “If one of you wouldn’t mind being a guinea pig.”

“Er... I’d love too, but really. Dewford’s a lovely island, and I’d love to take in more of the sights.” Wally looked my way pleadingly.

I held out my hand.

“Give em here,” I said.

Wally instantly gave me three of his Poke Balls. “Thank you. I really didn’t want to teleport again.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Emilie said.

“You’ve already accidentally teleported me once. I think at this point you can handle teleporting with me on purpose.” I smiled down at my starter as she beamed at me. “Just don’t throw up on my shoes this time.”

“Would you stop mentioning that?” Emilie begged, her face red again.

“Nope,” I replied.

Emilie teleported to my shoulder and the world around me changed before I could even say goodbye to May. The center foyer came into focus, as I felt my body lurch downward. I almost fell forward as my knees buckled, but I held my ground and grinned.

“Nice try.” I laughed before slowly standing up straight.

A weight leaned up against my neck.

“Emilie-”

“Sorry... kind of tired.” Emilie panted before pushing herself up.

Pushing my head to the side as a result.

“Why is it you being tired leads to me getting manhandled?” I frowned when I didn’t get a clap back. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. That was hard, but doable. We’re definitely not pushing it any further than that though,” Emilie said. “Hurry up and talk to Nurse Joy, already. I wanna take a nap in a restoration machine.”

“Oh, right.” I lifted Emilie’s Poke Ball up and returned her before jogging up to the front desk.

“Ah, good afternoon. Did training cut out early for you?” Nurse Joy asked.

“Not quite. We had a mock battle and a lot of Pokémon got banged up in the brawl. I’m here to drop off my team and a few members of my friend’s team,” I held up a few shrunken Poke Balls.

She held out a tray and I put all seven of them down.

“I’ll be taking these, do you-”

“I know the drill.” I said, cutting her off with a grin. “Thanks.”

The Joy smiled back before turning and walking to the back room. I sighed, turned around, and froze.

This was an exceedingly rare sight. On the couch, staring with angry eyes at the coffee table in front of him, sat Wayne.

Not Wayne and Jasmine. Just Wayne.

I slowly walked across the room and sat on the couch opposite him. “Hey, big guy.”

Wayne whipped his head up and stared at me with wide eyes before leaning back, barely stopping himself from tipping the entire couch back.

“Give a guy a little warning next time, Lea. Damn,” Wayne patted his chest a few times before grinning at me. “Give a man a heart attack, why don’t you?”

“Somehow I doubt you have to worry about that. What’s up?” I asked. “You look... lost.”

Wayne sighed before leaning forward and resting his arms against his knees and looking down. “I am, a little bit. Me and Jazz had another fight this morning.”

“About Slateport?” I asked.

Wayne nodded.

“I know she’s been wanting to do something like this for a while now. She’s wanted to be a reporter for as long as I’ve known her. A live, in person look at what’s going on there would be fantastic for the channel.” Wayne sighed. “I just... I just got done watching her get out of the hospital. I’m not so eager to go back into one if something goes wrong.”

“Is it bad?” I asked, suddenly feeling anxious. MudkipSupremacist commented that it was more or less a minor annoyance, but those thugs at the ruins were scary.

The fact that I was able to look back on that now and wonder what the fuck I was smoking made me anxious for entirely different reasons.

Wayne pulled up a video on his phone and passed it my way. I tapped play.

There was a picket line all around the Devon Labs. That was going to be fun to get through. I could faintly hear a chant in the background, but it was discordant and all over the place that I couldn’t really tell what they were saying. I could, however, read a few of the signs people had. Stuff like ‘Stay out of my Ocean’ and ‘Down with Devon’ were dotting the crowd, as no less than a hundred people in blue bandanas shouted bloody murder at a worker as he flew over the picket line on a Fearow to head home.

A flash of light blinded the camera for a second, and a single bolt of electricity arced towards the fleeing researchers. I leaned back in shock as the person just trying to go home narrowly banked to the left of the attack before passing the phone back to Wayne.

“Got it. Bad. Very bad. I...” I closed my mouth and swallowed.

“Yeah. My girl wants to run head first into that. League sanctioned news networks are practically ignoring the damn thing, too,” Wayne said. “A few smaller channels are talking about it, but it’s not something they’re putting a ton of focus on. It might get more traction if we covered it, but...”

“You don’t want to risk getting hurt,” I said.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to see Jazz get hurt again,” Wayne said, before leaning back in his chair.

“You could mount a camera on Skarm and just... report from a distance. You don’t HAVE to get up close and personal with the picket line,” I suggested. “When are you leaving?”

“Jazz wants to go soon, I keep dragging my feet.” Wayne chuckled bitterly as he finished. “It’s why we argued this morning.”

I sighed before leaning back. My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me.

We had to deliver something to that damn building. Fuck me, why was President Stone’s errand shaping up to be something so bad. It was bad enough that we would have to go BACK underground in this shit hole of a cave system to find Steven.

Wait...

“What if we went with you?” I asked. “If Jasmine is dead set on going, we could be your back up and extra security. We already have business in Slateport.”

Wayne looked at me with a grin, before sighing and looking down.

“How long are you going to be in Dewford?” he asked.

“Our gym battles are scheduled to happen in three days, and after that we were tasked with finding someone that’s on an archaeological expedition underground. We can’t leave until that’s done, and I don’t know how long it’ll take,” I said. “I’d also probably have to talk to May and Wally about it, but considering our business is going to take us right next to that,” I waved my hand towards the phone. “I think they’ll be happy to travel together for a bit longer.

Wayne’s brow furrowed. “I can ask Jasmine about it,” he said. “You guys being there would make me feel a bit better. Though I don’t know how I feel about you all getting anywhere near that picket line.”

“I can probably cheat and have Emilie sneak me through. She actually teleported me here, if you can believe it.” I laughed to myself. “You said you would’ve stuck with us even if I warned you, yesterday.” I stared intently at my suddenly nervous friend. “That’s a lot for someone you’ve known less than a week.”

“Not a lot of people have the patience to put up with Jasmine. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she can be a bit...”

“Abrasive?” I supplied.

“That’s one word for it. She’ll say or do something that someone hates, and it ends up chasing a lot of people off. She really appreciated y’all giving her a second chance on the ship. I did too, honestly. I’m looking forward to your interview, by the way. That’s one of the things I’m using to keep her from running off to Slateport,” Wayne said.

I winced.

“You forgot about it, didn’t you?” Wayne asked with a grin.

“In my defense, a lot happened, okay?” I asked Mareepishly, before looking more intently at Wayne. “I want to be there for you guys if things go bad, okay? I... probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your team.”

“I’m glad they were able to help,” Wayne said, a dark look settling on his face. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about them anymore. I know Jasmine’s been breathing a whole lot easier since yesterday.”

“Lea, your mons are ready.” Nurse Joy said from the front desk.

As soon as she finished, two flashes of light engulfed the room. Emilie teleported to my shoulder instantly, and Lucas floated close by with a glare.

‘Why on earth did you hand me off? I didn’t need looked over!’ Lucas complained.

Wayne leaned back from the ghost type and darted to the other side of the couch, putting as much distance between them as possible without getting up.

“I was hoping they could fix your sense of humor,” I said before standing up. “You really don’t like ghosts, do you.”

“I’ve seen some things, aight?” Wayne never took his eyes off of Lucas.

‘There ain’t no fixing what isn’t broken. These pointed words will not go unanswered,’ Lucas said with a glare.

Emilie tensed on my shoulder.

‘I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s-’

“Stop translating,” I snarled at my starter.

“If I have to listen to it, so do you.” Emilie put her hands over her ears as she glared at Lucas.

I quickly ran up to the front desk and snagged Lucas’s ball before returning him. I sighed in relief as blissful silence once again graced my ears and snatched up the rest of the Poke Balls. “Thank you.”

She bowed. “Have a wonderful day. We hope to see you again.”

Emilie was right. That’s a terrible thing to say as a nurse.

I turned back around and walked over to Wayne. “You sure you don’t want to join us for a day of training?”

“I’m good. I might hit you up later though.” Wayne sighed. “I think I should brave our room and talk to Jasmine again. Talk to you later.”

I nodded as he got up and walked towards the rooms, before turning to give Emilie a grin.

“Ready to make a return trip?” I asked.

Emilie groaned.

***

I looked at my team in front of me, carefully inspecting the squad as I walked up and down the beach in front of them.

“You as a tough as nails instructor would be a lot more believable if I didn’t catch you singing the Pokémon Rap into your hairbrush after your showered,” May said with a grin as she took in the scene.

Lucas and Emilie both dissolved into giggle fits as I turned to glare at my girlfriend.

“You have no proof,” I said with narrowed eyes.

“I have a Sergei.” May smiled happily at me with closed eyes.

I sighed as the little guy popped up out of May’s pocket and flashed me a salute emoji, before looking to Wally for support.

“I really do take joy in the fact that I’m not the dorkiest person in our group,” Wally said before cupping his own Poke Balls. “Can I release my Pokémon now that May’s ruined your bit.”

“I didn’t ruin it, I preempted it. There’s a difference,” May walked up and patted me on the head.

“Go away,” I said with a huff.

She just smiled at me. “I want you to know that you’re adorable when you’re embarrassed like this.”

Wally tossed out his squad and I froze.

Wings.

“How the fuck did every single member of your team evolve?” I stared, wide eyed, as a pair of wings glared down at me from on high. Legends above that looked creepy in person.

‘I’m so happy we’re traveling together again. I missed your food so much.’ Nimue talked over Wally as she flew down and landed gingerly on my shoulder. ‘You too, I guess.’

“Thanks,” I deadpanned. “I don’t have any treats for you, so buzz off.” I sighed at the grin Lucas shot my way as Nimue flew back to Wally.

“I had nothing to do but train for a week, and most of my Pokémon evolve fast. What do you want from me?” Wally asked before looking at Gawain nervously.

The little guy was staring down at the ground, making it a point to not make eye contact with anyone.

That didn’t feel right.

“Sir Gawain,” I said firmly.

He snapped to attention instantly. ‘Yes, your grace.’

I giggled before walking over and bumping him in the forehead. “How are you feeling?”

‘I wish to apologize for how I have behaved. I acted below my station and lashed out without thinking.’ Gawain knelt down. ‘Please forgive me.’

‘That wasn’t what I asked,’ I said. ‘I asked how you were feeling.’

Gawain remained in a kneeling position.

“I forgive you for reacting to Emilie acting her age, please get up,” I begged silently.

“Rude,” Emilie shouted as Gawain rose up from the ground.

I stared pointedly at my starter and tilted my head toward Gawain. She stared at me for a few seconds before groaning.

“I’m sorry.” Emilie forced out with great difficulty. “I was... being a brat.”

Gawain stared at Emilie with wide eyes before a grin slowly pulled at the corners of his mouth.

‘Thank you, my lady. Your words warm my heart that-’

“Please stop,” Emilie begged.

“Good, are we all friends again?” May asked as she grabbed her own Poke Balls and released her team.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to find a quiet corner somewhere to focus in. I want to work on setting up barriers,” Emilie said, staring intently at Gawain.

‘I-’

“Alone,” she said, cutting Gawain off before disappearing.

I groaned as she disappeared. “Sorry about that, Gawain. She’s... working through some stuff.”

‘It is fine, Lady Lea. I’m sure she’ll work through it in her own time,’ Gawain commented.

Suzy glared at the spot she disappeared from, before clucking twice at May and leaving the group.

“Er, okay. That’s-” May trailed off as Suzy left.

‘Wants to. Talk to friend. ’ Samie pushed out slowly.

‘Good job. You’re getting much better. We’ll get rid of that pausing in no time,’ Leshy complimented.

“Samie, I think calling Suzy and Emilie friends might be a bit of a stretch,” May grinned down at her team before looking my way. “Though... considering the last few days...”

“They are, but they’ll never admit it,” I agreed. “Thanks for translating, Gawain.”

He nodded my way once without saying anything further.

‘Can I talk, yet?’ Joern asked quietly as l turned to look at the rest of my team.

‘The captain hasn’t dismissed us from lineup, yet. Stay your tongue or I’ll have yer leaf,’ Apollo replied, glaring at Joern.

‘Wait, are we a crew? Oh, could I be the musician? I’ve got quite the collection of songs-’

“Denied.” I cut Lucas off. “You lost your singing privileges this morning, swabbie.”

‘Swabbie!’ Lucas said, sounding scandalized.

‘Yo, someone lower than me on the totem pole,’ Joern commented with a malevolent grin. ‘I could-’

‘Quiet,’ Apollo ordered.

I grinned down at my bird before waving my hand. “You’re all dismissed from whatever it was Apollo called it. I appreciate you trying to hold some kind of order together, Apollo, but I think it’s a lost cause with everyone out here at once.”

‘Aye, cap. I do believe you’re right.’ Apollo saluted with a sigh.

‘I missed hanging out with these people. I forgot how weird everyone was,’ Gwen said, earning glares from my team.

‘You’re being rude again,’ Nimue pointed out before flying down low.

‘What do you mean, thinking someone’s funny is a compliment, isn’t it? ’ Gwen asked, tilting her head.

“Not... in this context,” Wally glared tiredly at his water mouse.

‘Well, I think so, and I’m usually right, so...’ Gwen trailed off.

‘No, you’re not, you stuck up-’

“Alright, everyone shut up,” Wally said, staring intently at the conglomerate of Pokémon in front of him. “We’re here to train.”

“Right,” May and I both said. “Jinx.” Same time again. We giggled.

Wally sighed. “My job is way too hard, alright, look, I don’t think any of us are going to get anything done if we’re in a group like this, so let’s split off. I’ll take my team and work with them by the beach, May can work with her squad by the entrance, and Lea can work with her team here, sound good?”

“Aww, but I-” May stopped at Wally’s look before nodding. “I guess things were getting a little silly. It’s just... been a bit since everyone’s been out and about all at once.”

“I’m fine with it, but I need to borrow May’s Pokedex for Lucas. I can’t use mine and I have no clue where to start.” I looked forlornly at my spectral pain in the ass as he and Apollo stared each other down.

May fished around in her bag before walking over and pressing the fancy tech into my hand. She leaned forward and pecked my cheek.

"Uh..."

“We’ll meet back up shortly after sunset, agreed?” May smiled cheekily at me.

I nodded slowly, faintly hearing Wally sigh as he usher his team towards the shore. May let go of the dex before darting away, leaving Leshy and Samie as they slowly trailed after their trainer. I turned to look back at my squad with a grin.

“Now then.” I pulled the Dex up and scanned Lucas. “Let’s get started.”

****

Emilie’s POV

***

Emilie looked out across the beach before closing her eyes and focusing on what she wanted, the calm breeze and ocean air helping her focus on the task at hand.

‘Just breathe in, and... exhale. And... Wall!’

Nothing happened.

“How the fuck does Mom make this look so easy!” She groaned. ‘Just try again, Emilie. Barrier’s the easiest of the wall moves to learn. Just-’

Darkness surrounded her as a tall looming shadow loomed overhead. Emilie scrambled to her feet and turned to see Suzy staring down at her.

“Whoa!” Emilie backed up, tripping over her own two feet as she fell backwards into the sand. “Don’t DO that. With how often we get jumped on this island I'm halfway liable to actually attack you. Do you know how long I’d hear it from Lea if I accidentally hurt you?” Emilie picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off.

Suzy glared down at her with narrowed eyes. “You’re being a bigger bitch than usual, what’s up?”

“Excuse-”

“Cut it out with the banter for like... five seconds and answer the question. There’s what we do, and then there’s that.” Suzy waved her hand back towards the training field.

“It’s none of your business, feather-” The words died on her throat as a single feathered fist slammed into her stomach, sending her careening backwards with a resounding crack. The world seemed to slow as she slammed into the sand, before rolling back into the sea with a splash.

Suzy rubbed her knuckles as she glared at the wheezing psychic type. “I happen to like Gawain, so I’m making it my business.”

Water rose up around Emilie and Suzy darted forward, slamming into Emilie before she could even think of moving it. She threw Emilie back into the shore, before freezing.

Emilie strained as she held Suzy in place, desperately trying to suck in air.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Emilie wheezed.

Suzy just glared.

“If I let you go, are you going to attack me again?”

Suzy rolled her eyes. Emilie dropped the confusion.

“Just how hard is it to directly manipulate Pokémon like that? I’m a fighting type, I thought we were... what was it you said? Smooth of brain and full of violence?” Suzy asked.

Emilie glared. “Violence is right.” She rubbed her stomach as she finally managed to get her diaphragm to work again.

“Don’t be such a baby, I held back, and you fucking deserved it. You’ve been extra bitchy since we got back. I know this place doesn’t exactly instill the warm and fuzzy feelings we thought it would, but that’s no excuse to treat a friend like that.”

“I...” Emilie trailed off. “I know. The reason’s stupid, anyway. I’ll be better.”

“Uh uh. I ain’t Lea. I’m not going to take that at face value. Tell me what’s up,” Suzy glared. “And for all that’s fucking holy, what is up with the Everstone fanny pack? Do you know how ridiculous that looks? How the fuck are you going to keep up with me if you’re stuck as a fucking midget forever!”

Emilie froze.

“I... felt that it would be prudent to-”

“Cut the Tauros shit,” Suzy said. “Tell me straight up. Five little words and I’ll drop it. I don’t want to evolve.”

“I don’t need to-”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Evolve.” Suzy enunciated each word slowly, sounding it out with care and precision. “Nice and easy for you lumpy brained psychic types.”

“I...”

“Don’t want to evolve.” Suzy finished with a grin. “Come on, you can do it if you-”

“I don’t want Lea to be afraid of me!” Emilie all but screamed, before looking away.

Suzy leaned back before sighing as she started to hear sniffling. “Oh, fucking hell, please don’t-”

“That fucking ass hole just gets to prance around in his second stage, not a fucking care in the world! Doesn’t matter that his fairy brain is making him act like a crazy person right now, that shit goes the fuck away when he evolves!” Emilie snarled, water and sand getting lifted into the air as she started ranting. “He doesn’t have to worry about Wally looking at him like he’s some kind of monster!”

“Emilie, I-”

“Shut up!” Emilie’s glare lasered in on Suzy, and the psychic storm she had been holding back lashed out. Sand launched forward in an instant, narrowly missing the fire bird as she jumped into the air. “What the fuck would you know about it?” Emilie reached up and mentally grabbed Suzy before throwing her down into the sand. “May trusts you enough to fucking lean on you while you’re fucking practicing FLAME CHARGE!”

“Emilie-” Suzy stopped as Emilie lifts her up into the air and tosses her back into the sand on the other side of her.

“I...” Emilie stopped talking, panting hard before falling to her knees. “I... I don’t... why can’t I just fucking say it...” Her cheeks felt wet.

“Because it would be a lie.” Suzy wheezed out, slowly pushing herself to her feet and sitting down next to Emilie. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t need,” sniffle “Your pity.”

“It’s not. I shouldn’t have pushed it. At least not on the Everstone. That’s on me.” Suzy sighed, before hesitantly reaching over and patting Emilie on the back. “Er... there, there,” Suzy awkwardly offered.

Emilie chuckled. “You’re really bad at this, you know that, right?”

“I do. I don’t have any idea how what I did with May in Rustboro worked,” Suzy said. “I kind of thought you were handling stuff better. You’re usually quite poised and proper. Makes it hard to get a read on you sometimes.”

“Not all of us have the luxury of wearing our hearts on our sleeves.” Emilie winced. “Sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize, the insult felt normal. I missed it,” Suzy's beak pulled back into a small grin. “I thought-”

“At first, I held myself back to prove a point to mother,” Emilie said. “That I would never be like her. I realized once I had calmed down that going to such an extreme for something like that was childish. I fully intended to let myself evolve once Lea left the hospital, but... then I saw it.” Emilie shivered. “When I tried to help Lea work through her attack, I saw the face of Lea’s fear through her eyes. For the most fleeting of seconds, a distorted, grotesque mutation of my final form stood across from her, taking my place. She was horrified beyond reason, and all but went into a panic attack from the sight.” Emilie pulled her legs to her chest and looked out across the ocean. “She looked at me with those wide, terrified eyes...”

“Yeah, that... that sucks,” Suzy said lamely. “I don’t really know what else to say to that.”

“She’s comfortable around me now. Even with the block not doing its job anymore, she still lets me in. She still trusts me. How much of that goes away if I'm not me anymore,” Emilie said, looking down into the sand.

Suzy snorted.

“Something funny?” Emilie asked with narrowed eyes.

“I’m having trouble picturing you as anyone other than the spoiled princess with an attitude problem.” Suzy grinned. “Doesn’t matter what you look like, you’re still going to be the same bag of crazy that Lea loves, for some reason.”

“You don’t-”

“Nope, I get to interrupt you now, so deal with it. Gawain’s still Gawain, he’s just a little more him. He’s extra protective, surprise. Who’d have thought a knight would want to protect people? Who’d have thought he’d have pride in his skills? I can’t imagine you being any more you than what you are right now, so on that front I don’t see what the big deal is, and at the end of the day...” Suzy waved her hand a few inches over Emilie’s head. “I don’t think a growth spurt is going to make Lea extra jumpy. Give her just a little bit more credit.”

“She’s not ready,” Emilie said.

“This is the same chick that told Solrock and Lunatone to fuck right the hell off when they tried to get her to stab May. I think she can deal with you being you. She has been so far.” Suzy leaned back and glanced back towards the clearing, where Lea was looking hopelessly at Lucas. “I think I see what May sees in her now, so give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“I wish I could...” Emilie muttered, before clenching her fist. “When the dam finally breaks. When Lea is her own person, free of limitations, and is comfortable enough to let me into her mind without fear. Only then will I let myself rise to the next stage.”

“Setting a date for it now?” Suzy asked cheekily.

“It’s the only way I’ll be sure of myself...” Emilie muttered.

Suzy nodded. “I look forward to that day, then. When we can stand as equals.”

Emilie tilted her head. “Did we not see the same encounter? I’m clearly above you now. How would me evolving put us on even footing?” Emilie shook her head. “Clearly, I’ve given you some kind of head trauma. Lea’s going to give me an earful for this, I'm sure.”

“If you want, I can put you in the ground again. I won’t pull my punches this time and you can get one shot like the porcelain princess you are,” Suzy clapped back.

“Assuming I even let you get close enough to try...” Emilie smiled. “Thanks, Suzaku.”

Suzaku leaned back at the full name.

“I feel better. Better than I have in days. I guess... I should listen to my own advice more, huh? I’m giving it so it must be great. I needed this, so... thank you,” Emilie looked away shyly, a blush on her face.

“Don’t mention it,” Suzaku replied with a smile before adopting a more serious tone. “To anyone.” Suzy paused before glaring. “EVER.”

Emilie just grinned back.

Chapter Text

“May, your stupid machine has got to be malfunctioning. There’s no way the only move you know is Cut!” I shouted to my girlfriend that wasn’t even here.

‘I told you,’ Lucas said, floating further away from me as I stared down at May’s machine in contempt. ‘I Cut things.’

I actively didn’t even know if it was Gawain or Emilie translating right now, God this training session was so scuffed.

“That’s not something to feel... ugh!” I groaned as Apollo flew up to my shoulder.

‘Don’t worry, cap. We’ll get the spook his sea legs,’ Apollo patted my head with his wing.

‘That’ll be a neat trick, considering he doesn’t have normal legs,’ Joern commented.

Lucas started giggling and I ran my hand down my face.

“Please, Joern. Don’t start. You’re my one bastion of sanity on my whole team. I need you to not,” I cried. “I’m begging you here.”

‘I suppose, for you, I’ll abstain. At least for a little bit. Are there any moves that he learns naturally that we can help with?’ Joern peeked over my shoulder at the dex.

I clicked a few buttons and a list popped up. A grin pulled at my lips as I stared at Apollo. “You might be helping him more than you thought. He naturally picks up Aerial Ace.”

Apollo returned my grin. ‘Really now. I get to personally put the swabbie through his paces.’ He grinned malevolently at Lucas. ‘I suppose I could give the lad a hand. Though the training to be an ace flier is rather intense. I imagine he won’t be as adept as me, even if he does get it down in time for the match.’

“Do it, and I’ll put a few extra treats out for you tonight,” I said.

‘I would’ve done it for free, but thanks. Much appreciated.’ Apollo took off from my shoulder and flew out towards the sea. ‘ Follow me, ya bilge rat. We’re doing this over open water.’

‘I-’

‘Trust me, it’s preferable. You’re going to screw up, and it’ll hurt less cutting into the sea than it will into the ground. Quit ye bellyaching and let’s get on with it,’ Apollo ordered.

Lucas glared for a moment before nodding and floating after him.

I shifted to look at Joern and frowned. “Did Apollo seem... harsh?”

‘A little. Probably a pecking order thing,’ Joern said. ‘I know he mentioned hazing new guys when they joined the crew he ran with before.’

“He didn’t do that with you.” I pointed out.

‘I apparently earned his respect in our battle. I don’t know. I’m doing good to work through our crew’s quirks on a good day, don’t ask me how they work.’ Joern sighed as he turned and smiled at me.

“Now Apollo’s got you saying it,” I said with a smile.

‘I like the term,’ Joern said. ‘What’s on the docket for me?’

“Honestly, Joern, with you, we’re kind of at the point where most of what you learn is improving what you know. Turning absorb into Mega Drain, speeding up Water Pulse, making it rain faster...” I trailed off as Joern sagged.

‘So basically, improve my core kit.’ He sighed. ‘Great.’

“Sorry, most of your improved coverage options more or less need a TM to show you how the fuck things work.” I thought for a moment before remembering something from his fight against Gwen. “There is one thing, though. You managed to work the Waltz into your Rain Dance and set up while avoiding attacks, you might try working on improving your implementations. If we can do that consistently-”

‘Then I’ll be able to set up rain under duress.’ Joern grinned. ‘I’ll see what I can do. I’ll find a secluded spot, so you won’t get drenched.’

“My whole team is abandoning me, what the hell am I supposed to do?” I looked at Joern pleadingly.

‘Rest, because you just got out of the hospital,’ Joern glared pointedly at me.

I sighed before nodding and leaning back into the sand. “I suppose I could catch some rays. Maybe even up my tan a bit...” I frowned. “Don’t wander too far away, though. I don’t trust this Island not to throw something random at us for funsies.”

‘Didn’t plan on it.’ Joern waved as he started walking away, and I threw my arms back behind my head and relaxed.

“I should have brought my suit,” I muttered.

‘I wouldn’t recommend that, my lady,’ Gawain said, teleporting directly in front of me.

“BAH!” I jumped a good solid foot from the ground before coming down hard into the sand. I coughed a few times and winced as sand got in more than a few uncomfortable places. “Dammit, Gawain. Don’t do that.” I stared nervously as I scooted back slightly, my heart hammering in my chest. Calm down, Lea. It’s just Gawain. Calm down. “Surprised to see you, honestly. Your team getting on your nerves?”

‘I find it... difficult, to be around Gwen for extended periods of time,’ Gawain explained. ‘Also, apologies, Lady Lea. I did not mean to startle you. That said, if you’re going to take a nap, I encourage you to do it under shade. Red would not be as good a color for you as it is for your paramour.’

Para- oh, May.

“Fair enough, I guess. It’s just a lovely day out here. This is something out of one of my fantasies. I think every wage slave on the planet dreams of taking a nice vacation to a tropical paradise.” I slowly got to my feet. “You’re right though. Sunburns suck.”

‘Not a problem, Lady Lea. Always happy to help.’ Gawain beamed at me before looking away. ‘Alas, though... I feel like my actions recently have anything but helpful. Our fight earlier... I let personal grievances and my own pride stand in the way of an honorable duel. I feel that I had lost control of myself.’ Gawain shivered. ‘I... did not like that feeling.’

“Could you describe it?” My voice came out shaky. Dammit all, Lea, It's just Gawain! Calm the fuck down.

Gawain turned back to me and frowned. ‘It was like... a guiding hand was directing my actions. I couldn’t ignore it, no matter how hard I tried. I already apologized profusely to Wally. His tactics might have proven better suited to dealing with Emilie’s more... surgical style.’ Gawain chuckled. ‘I’ve dueled with her so many times, yet I’ve never proven myself the victor. I thought...’

“Yeah, Emilie’s awesome.” I bragged, hoping the bravado would calm my heart down. “Still though, you were also impressive. Don’t sell yourself short just because you didn’t beat the toughest Ralts around.” I sighed. “She could stand to be a bit nicer, though. She was... way out of line earlier.”

Gawain raised both of his hands and shook his head.

‘Bah, I don’t really care that much. Lady Emilie has always found my ways cumbersome. I'm just... not used to feeling everything so vividly. My head is clearer now, and honestly, I don’t know why I was mad in the first place.' Gawain shifted in place and blushed a bit. 'I was... actually hoping to talk with her.’

I tilted my head. “What for? No offense, but I would figure she’d be the last Pokémon you’d want to see right now.”

Gawain shook his head. ‘I need to learn.’ Gawain stated resolutely. ‘Emilie did hit the nail on the head earlier. I’m a Kirlia. Multitasking should come as easily as breathing, and yet,’ Gawain lifted his hand up and a pillar of sand rose behind him. He teleported to the left about three feet and the collumn collapsed instantly. ‘I can’t do it. I have no idea how to even learn. I’ve lost control of my emotions half a dozen times since evolving, usually to mine and my companions detriment. I... I want to learn to be better.’

“No one ever taught you?” I knew the Ralts line was very big on the whole... family unit thing. Parents were very hands on with training their kids.

‘I... for as long as I've been alive. I’ve been alone. I know not who my parents were nor what happened to them.’ He waved at his person. ‘By and large, all I know is self-taught, and I have a feeling I'm reaching the end of what I can achieve without proper guidance.’

“I’m... sorry for bringing that up,” I muttered, looking away.

Gawain laughed.

‘Worry not, my lady. You did not know. Besides, it is not something I feel that strongly about, I never had a chance to know them. I don’t mind talk-’

“You mind.” I interrupted. “The fact that you didn’t know them is what makes it so hard.” I swallowed before stepping closer to the knight. “You miss them, despite not knowing them, but you don’t have anything to hold onto to chase away that pain.”

Gawain suddenly went very quiet and still.

“It’s something I'm intimately familiar with,” I finished.

‘...right then. ’ Gawain said with a sad smile pulling at his lips. ‘I won’t put up the same brave face with you, Lady Lea. I feel... that it would be an insult. Please forgive me.’ He bowed.

“There isn’t anything to forgive,” I replied. “I’ll talk to Emilie later. You guys can probably work something out.” I’d make her work something out if I had too.

‘Thank you.’ Another bow.

I needed to stop getting used to this.

“Would you stop that! Friends don’t... bow to other friends.” I laughed.

‘Alas, my lady, you honor me, but that is an arrangement I cannot honor. Forgive me.’ He bowed again, before disappearing in another teleport before I could chastise him.

“Whatever.” A smile tugged at my lips.

***

I glared down at Emilie as she squirmed under my gaze.

‘Please don’t make me do this,’ she begged.

‘Emilie, it’s just an apology. A real one this time.’ I didn’t know your thoughts could be exasperated. ‘And maybe a couple of tutoring sessions...’

‘Tutoring sessions! ’ Emilie shook her head adamantly as she looked across the center to where Wally was playing a card game with his Pokémon.

Gawain kept splitting his focus between what he was doing and looking towards us.

‘I don’t want to train that clown.’

‘Emilie! ’ I was just... so done. ‘Why is Gawain such a massive problem now? You tolerated him fine in Rustboro. I don’t get why this is such a massive ask for you.’

‘I... don’t feel like talking about it.’ Emilie looked away.

‘I’m withholding cookies from you till you talk to him, and to me.’

Emilie chuckled. ‘You’re out, remember?’ Her eyes lost a bit of color as she said that.

‘Nurse Joy gave me the go ahead to use her kitchen tomorrow.’ I countered.

Emilie groaned. ‘No fair.’

I poked her head.

‘Quit it. What does he want help with, anyway? What is above the great and powerful Gawain’s wheelhouse that little old me can do?’

‘He wants to know how to multitask. He can’t figure it out on his own,’ I said evenly.

Emilie scoffed. ‘Of course, why am I not surprised. Can’t even-’

‘He also wants help reigning in his fairy half. What happened today in our battle spooked him,’ I glared venomously at my starter.

Emilie stopped her tirade.

‘I know that’s a sensitive subject for you, but-’

‘I’ll help with that.’ Emilie interrupted me. ‘No promises on anything else, but...’ She bit her lip as she looked over at Gawain again. ‘I really want to know what you talked about earlier today.’

‘It was private,’ I explained. ‘Thank you for not just... looking.’

‘You’re welcome...’ Emilie looked at me and frowned before looking away. ‘Would you be opposed to a trade offer?’

‘Emilie, I hardly think you have any right to-’

‘Could I learn how to bake from you tomorrow?’ she asked with a blush.

Any and all words I was going to say died on my tongue as a warm feeling filled my very being. I stared down at her with a wide smile. ‘Now that, sounds like fun.’

A loud shout sounded from the table as Nimue moved a pile of chips closer to Ogier. Were they playing... oh that's adorable. I needed to tease them the next time I saw them.

‘But I expect a genuine apology, Emilie. None of the crap you tried to do today, alright?’ I asked.

Emilie nodded.

‘I’ll apologize.’ Emilie reassured me. ‘I’ll do it after they’re done with their game. Gawain’s trying to cheat, but Nimue and Ogier keep screwing with him with their hive mind crap. It might be a bit, so we still have time to talk.’ She looked away. ‘I am sorry if my actions displeased you.’

I giggled.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘You.’ I said. ‘That last line sounded like something you would have said when we first met. It threw me for a second.’

Emilie winced. ‘I... suppose that would make sense.’

‘Hey, I’m sorry if that upset you, I just noticed it and thought it was funny.’ Emilie looked off into space and I worried I had actually upset her.

‘It’s not that, it’s just... I am different from the Ralts I used to be.’ Emilie looked down in thought. ‘In both good and bad ways. I think spending so much time in your head has rubbed off on me. ’ She looked back at me. ‘I wonder if that’s what Mom meant when she... I guess it is a bit jarring. Me changing so much in such a small amount of time.’

‘I’ll support you if you want to go talk to her,’ I said instantly. ‘I know what she did was kind of messed up... but she’s still your Mom.’

Emilie shook her head. ‘I still stand by what I said. She has to be the one to make the first move.’

Right... I wasn’t sure how Mama Gardevoir would FIND us to do that, but I guess she had her ways...

Good god that thought scared the fuck out of me.

‘If she doesn’t like who I am now, we’d just fight more. I’m not the same meek little Ralts that left home. She needs to figure that out.’

‘You’re still who you were too, though.’ I commented.

‘Who I was, was a small, sheltered, lonely child.’ Emilie countered. ‘I... didn’t like feeling like that again.’

‘Well, you never have to worry about the lonely part again. Trust me, after a few months, you’ll probably want to take a vacation to the glade just to get away from all of us. Our entire group belongs in an asylum.’

Emilie laughed. ‘I’m the craziest one here, because I like you all too much to leave.’ Emilie looked away shyly, a blush on her face. ‘Thanks.’

‘Any time.’

Wally’s table exploded in sound again, and I looked over. Nimue was dragging what looked like the rest of the chips towards Ogier and her side of the table. Gwen looked poleaxed, Wally glared at the duo, and Gawain just looked resigned.

‘That’s my que.’ Emilie stood up and turned. ‘By the way, Lea. Tomorrow... Just have as much fun as possible, okay? Go on a date with May, bake cookies with me, hell, have an interview with Wayne and Jasmine and play poker with Wally if you want. Just... enjoy yourself, okay?’

‘This sounds ominous as all hell.’ I mumbled. ‘You do realize we have a gym battle coming up, right?’

‘I just want you to enjoy the full breadth of what your journey has brought you so far. I’m not the only one who’s not a lonely child anymore. Enjoy it.’ Emilie disappeared in a light buzz.

I smiled at the sentiment but couldn’t help but worry at the undertones.

The doors to the center opened and I looked over as-

Holy shit.

I got up and sprinted across the lobby to put an arm under May as she limped into the center. Her clothes were torn up, there was a small gash on her left arm, and her hair was a frizzy, disorderly mess. What worried me though was that through it all, she was smiling like a loon.

“What the hell happened to you? Did we get hit by Space Rocks Three, Revenge of the Pricks?” I looked behind her in a blind panic.

May laughed. “No, you dumb ass, I’m fine.”

I gave her a very disbelieving look.

“Well, mostly fine. Help me get to the front desk, would you? I need to check my Pokémon in.”

I begrudgingly complied, doing my best to support her weight as we shuffled up to the front desk. I caught Wally standing up out of the corner of my eye as we moved in.

“Oh, my.” Nurse Joy said, leaning back at the sight of my girlfriend. “Hon, do you medical assistance or-”

“Nah, Lea’s got me covered. Just look over my Pokémon, please. Lea can play nurse,” May said with a grin.

I really don’t know how to feel that May was waggling her eyebrows when she said that.

Nurse Joy nodded, and May shifted in place as she reached toward her belt.

I looked down at the counter as May gingerly placed down, her first, second, third...

And fourth poke ball.

***

May’s Pov

***

May stared out at the small clearing she had found for herself, nestled behind the palm trees beyond the beach. She smiled at the grass beneath her feet, happy to be on more sure footing and far enough away from the ocean that she didn’t have to deal with the smell.

One thing this trip had shown her was that real life beaches did not hold up to fantasy. The sea fucking stunk.

The sun had long since set, but between Sergei and Suzy, visibility wasn’t much of a problem. Light bounced around the clearing well enough that May was able to get a good view of her struggling Pokemon as they worked through their own personal projects.

Leshy sneezed, eliciting a sigh from May as powder exploded outwards from his flower, coating the grass beneath him with a veritable cocktail of sweet smelling death.

“Honestly, Leshy. I think we’re good at this point if you want to start working on something else. Thirty minutes is more than good enough. Go ahead and switch from powder control to aiming your Razor Leaf better,” May ordered softly.

Leshy glared her way before closing his eyes and going back to what he was doing before he sneezed.

“If you want.” May hastily tacked on, backing away from the annoyed grass type.

“Ivy.” Leshy muttered, before going back to holding his focus. “Saur.”

May looked down at Sergei and sighed. Leshy didn’t think it was anywhere close to good enough, apparently.

“I... that’s fine,” May turned to her fire type.

Suzy stood with her eyes closed and her arms raised in front of a palm tree off to the side. “Busken!” She cried as she tried, and once again failed, to reach the speed and precision she needed. A new dent marred the most recent in a long string of failures to launch a successful Aerial Ace. A small bit of fire surrounded her fist as she slammed it into the ground. “Busk!”

“Apollo said you’d have a harder time learning this than Lucas would. You can’t leverage flight speed to make Aerial Ace work.” May walked over and patted Suzy on the back reassuringly, Sergei floating just at eye level. “You’ll get there, don’t worry.”

Suzy sighed before turning and grinning at me. “Sucks that I couldn’t get more one on one time with him. Why’d you have to go and send your girl home early, huh?”

“Lea just got out of the hospital. She shouldn’t be out here working with her Pokémon till midnight,” May said, a frown etched into her face.

“And we do?” Suzy asked. “Brawly seemed pretty chill when we talked in the hospital. I don’t think he’d be likely to jump up the difficulty on us like Roxanne did, so we should just be fighting something we already know we can beat.”

May sighed. “I wanted Leshy to be able to hang out more, and to do that, he needs to be able to control his powders better.” The excuse sounded even stupider when she said it out loud.

“You can just tell me you’re worried, ya know?” Suzy said.

May snapped up to look at Suzy.

“What, I can be insightful and shit.” Suzy leaned back, her face scrunched up.

“It’s not insight when it’s obvious,” Leshy said. “A Zigzagoon could figure out why May wants us to go harder. We’ll never be ready for everything, girl. Strength will come through hard work and sacrifice, but it’s not something that’ll be acquired quickly.” Leshy grinned at me. “We’ll keep at it though, don’t worry.”

Samie launched himself out of the ground, mouth agape, at Suzy from behind. Without even looking. Suzy turned out of the way, dodging the impromptu attack without trying.

“Pinch.” Samie whined as he slammed back into the ground, mouth first.

“Samie, what have I told you about roughhousing during training?” May did her best to glare disapprovingly at her ground type.

If the looks Suzy and Leshy were sending her were any indication, she wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Only do it out of view so you can deny knowing about it,” Samie said, his mouth drooping down.

“That’s right,” May said, before wincing away from Suzy’s glare. “Er, that is to say-”

“You coddle the brat too much,” Leshy complained.

“Don’t be mean to mom,” Samie slammed his mouth into the ground and glared at Leshy.

May froze as she looked down at the words on Sergei’s screen. She blinked a few times before scooping Samie up in a hug.

“You are far too precious for your own good,” May bearhugged the antlion.

“Pinch...” Samie rasped.

Suzy chuckled before grinning. “Suppose one of your hugs is punishment enough for the little guy.”

Sergei took it upon himself to hover right at eye level so that May had no choice but to read the text. She eased her grip and smiled.

“Sorry, Samie. I got... a little emotional. I’m also really proud at how much progress you’ve made in speaking.” May smiled lovingly at her adorable little ground type.

“Pinch.” Samie’s face practically glowed in the dark with how bad his blush was.

“Now, did you get Rock Tomb and Sand Tomb down?” May asked.

Samie nodded happily.

“Care to show me?” May gingerly set him down on the ground and backed up a few paces.

Samie beat the ground once with his jaw, and Suzy jumped backwards as four stone walls formed a pyramid where she once stood.

“Samie!” May chastised. “Stop-”

“Busken!” Suzy shouted, lifting her hand up and staring down at Samie. “Do that again.” Suzy closed her eyes as she finished the command.

“Suzy-”

“Ken,” Suzy said.

Samie hesitated for a moment, before slamming into the ground again. Suzy leapt forward this time the instant the slabs of rock started to rise.

“Okay, that’s weird,” Suzy commented. “It’s like I can sense an attack before it happens. What on earth is-”

“Detect,” Leshy said, grinning Suzy’s way. “Congrats, your instincts as a fighter are good enough that you can instinctively predict your opponent’s next move and act accordingly. No, I don’t know how it works. Ask our brainiac trainer.”

All three Pokémon quieted down and looked eagerly at May.

“Ah...” May looked around, her face feeling flush and her palms sweaty at suddenly being put on the spot. “There are more than a few theories regarding it, though the general consensus is that through obtaining a sense of calm during battle, a Fighting type can tap into a sixth sense that lets you see things coming. It’s not fool proof, obviously, but it’s still very useful, especially for someone as fast as Suzy.”

Suzy beamed at the praise, fluffing up her feathers as she rose to her full height.

May started laughing at her. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look? Like, half of the feathers on one side are smushed down, so you just-” May broke down into giggles.

Suzy looked away, her cheeks flushed with blood as she calmed down.

May walked forward and started fluffing the matted down feathers. “Alright, so Aerial Ace training screws up your feathers. Good to know. I’ll have to bring the specialty comb I got in Rustboro to our next training session.”

“Busken.”

Helpful. “I need to get myself a psychic type. Needing Sergei all the time for this is starting to get annoying.” May sighed. “I suppose we really should-”

May cut herself off as Suzy grabbed her and moved forward, pushing her out of the way as a black blade of energy carved into the ground she had just been standing on.

“PINCH!” Samie slammed his mouth into the ground, causing the entire field to explode in a cataclysmic seismic event. Tunnels he had dug earlier caved in, trees shook violently, the ground cracked, and...

A white furred creature slammed into the ground from high up, right next to Leshy.

Suzy held May up as the chaos unfurled and Leshy lashed out with four different vines, each appendage wrapping around one of Abol’s legs.

“SOL!” Absol cried out as Leshy pulled her close and let loose a putrid concoction of powders from his flower, releasing everything he had been holding. Absol convulsed in the haze, her eyes wide and blank before a snarl exploded from her mouth. The sound radiated across the field with a physical presence, beating back the powder and throwing Leshy backwards. Absol leapt away as Leshy’s grip loosened.

“CombusKEN!” Only to get swept off her feet by a Low Kick. Suzy rotated the sweep into a dual kick combo, knocking the Dark type back with a pained whine. She rolled across the grass before landing in a collapsed heap across the clearing.

The ground beneath her started to sink and her still form was dragged into a sand pit of Samie’s making.

“Enough!” May shouted.

Suzy turned to look at May in shock as Leshy slowly pulled himself up to his feet. Heavy, labored breathing sounded out from the sand pit as May walked closer.

“Keep her restrained, Samie,” she asked, looking cautiously at the wounded dark type.

Samie nodded.

May lifted Sergei up. “Why did you attack us?”

Absol hacked and coughed a few times before glaring balefully at the trainer in red. “Why wouldn’t I...” she rasped. “You, who stole from me when I offered you aid. You, who failed to heed my warnings. My purpose, my reason for being, all I had left in this world...” Absol grit her teeth before straining against the cloying sands pulling her down. “I have lost all I am, and it’s all because of you!”

Absol rotated her head as her horn glowed, and a massive black wave exploded from the pit. May brought up her arms to shield herself as a pair of vines pulled her backwards. The attack slammed into a tree and exploded on contact, pushing bark out in a hail of shrapnel and pain.

The wood dug into May’s arms as Leshy pulled her further back from the action, and a Rock Tomb formed around Absol. Samie glared hatefully before frowning. He lifted his mouth into the air and brought it down, causing the earth to come alive under his maw once more. The ground shook violently and cracked as Absol erupted upwards, her eyes white as she jumped across the shaking field with practiced precision, dodging a hail of vines and leaves as she darted straight for May.

Suzy appeared in a buzz of sound that cracked against the air, before landing a vicious kick to Absol’s head, sending her careening across the field. Suzy disappeared again and slammed into Absol’s stomach, fire exploding out from her body on her reappearance.

Absol’s mouth opened in a silent scream of anguish, her eyes vacant as she slumped down to the ground.

May’s eyes widened as Absol’s legs started to move. She pulled herself up through pure instinct, spite, and rage, and a single terrifying thought passed through her mind.

This Absol was determined to do one of two things here, kill her, or die trying.

May rushed to grab a Poke Ball as Suzy tensed her legs to go in again. She hurled it at the white furred Pokémon and hoped that she could successfully take a third option. The ball made contact and sucked Absol inside before falling to the ground. It shook once, twice, and...

Ding.

May sagged down in relief, before wincing. “Fucking hell, that stings.”

Suzy was next to her almost instantly.

“Sorry, Suzy. I guess the adrenaline wore off. That was a bit of a rush,” May said with a sigh. “Don’t worry though, I’m fine.”

Suzy gave her a pointed look as she gestured to her bloody arms.

“Yeah, yeah, you disapprove. Help me grab the Poke Ball, would you?” May pulled herself up to her full height and slowly walked across the clearing to grab her new mon. “Congrats on getting Aerial Ace, by the way.” She clicked the lock closed.

Suzy sighed.

***

Normal POV

***

“We’re giving that thing to the rangers, right?” I picked another piece of wood out of May’s arm. “You’re lucky your pants took most of the abuse for your legs. If you had been wearing your skirt, I’d have to do this for your lower half, too.”

May winced as the tweezers dug into her skin again. “I... was actually thinking of keeping her.”

I seized up and May winced at the sudden movement against her injuries. Wally glared at her.

“It tried to kill you.” I deadpanned. “And you want to make it part of your team!” I shouted. “Did you get a concussion on top of everything else!”

“If we give it to the rangers, they’ll release it somewhere else, and she’ll make her way back towards us,” May argued.

“She tried to kill you.” I said each word slowly, hoping she’d listen to reason if I upped the sass.

“This wouldn’t be my first difficult Pokémon. I got through to Leshy just fine,” she rambled. “She’s half the reason you’re alive right now, and she’s hurting and feeling betrayed. I want to help-”

“Kill. You.” I said each word like it was a curse and stared May down. I would not budge on this.

“May, I wasn’t here for what happened, but I can say, with a fairly large degree of certainty, that this Absol does NOT want your help.” Wally joined me in glaring at our idiot.

May wilted. “This is a lot less fun than what I had envisioned in my head. Your bedside manner could use some work.” She glared at Wally. “And you’re ganging up on me.

My left eye twitched slightly as I pulled the last bit of wood from May’s wounds and pulled the wrap from May’s first aid kit. “I’ll be the picture of whatever the hell you want me to be as soon as that monster is on the other side of the planet.”

May’s bottom lip quivered. Fuck that.

“The person with mental blocks in her head inhibiting her ability to feel fear is telling you this is a bad idea. Let that sink in! You went through the trouble of bringing in Mama Caroline to even let me open Lucas’s poke ball. We are not entertaining the idea of trying to tame that psychopath,” My glare remaining steadfast in the face of-

May pouted. Fuck the pout. I hate that pout with every fiber of my being. Do not cave. Do not even entertain the idea of caving.

“Pleaaase?” May asked.

“No,” Wally said for me. Thank god. “I’m with Lea. You almost got wasted in your tale of how you caught the damn thing, I don’t feel comfortable with that thing in our group.”

“You would be dead if it wasn’t for this Absol,” May said. “You didn’t see what she was like. I just... Please.”

‘Let her keep the damn thing.’ Emilie whispered in my mind.

I turned my head away from May to Emilie so fast that I almost gave myself whiplash.

‘Keeping it close is better than letting it roam in the wilds. We can watch it, and you can add the stipulation that the damn thing doesn’t get let out of its ball unless we’re ALL in attendance.’ Emilie looked from me to May. ‘I’m sure Lucas will have plenty to say to her as well. I... understand where May is coming from.’ She sighed. ‘I owe a debt to this Absol. If this is how I repay it, then so be it.’

“You’re both insane. Fine! Keep the damn murder machine.” I ground out.

May’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, you-”

“But I’m agreeing with Emilie. She stays locked up unless we’re all with you. Me, Wally, fuck, Wayne and Jasmine too. I am not taking any chances. It can stay in the damn ball,” I grit out.

May sagged down and I relaxed a bit as the pout went away.

“Fine.” May sighed before turning to me and smiling coyly. “Soo... am I winning the cool capture contest again?”

“Ghost sword trumps all,” I said petulantly.

Nurse Joy walked back towards the front desk and sat a tray down on the counter.

“Your Pokémon are all in perfect health.” The Joy gave May a rather vicious glare. “That said, a bit of a warning for that Absol would have been appreciated. Chansey did not appreciate having to lay down the law on such short notice.”

I helped May to the front desk as she chuckled nervously.

“Sorry about that. New capture and I wasn’t thinking.” May took her poke balls back before turning to look at me. “So, care to talk to Absol?”

My eye twitched. “This is revenge for all the crazy shit I’ve done, isn’t it?”

May gave me the cutest, fakest smile I had ever seen.

“It’s way too late to deal with this right now and I still have to do my exercises with Emilie tonight. We’ll deal with you,” I stopped and grabbed the only locked ball from her belt. “And you, tomorrow.” I pocketed the ball and shot May a glare when she opened her mouth. “You’re acting too much like me right now for my comfort, so I'll be holding on to this. Now, let’s get you in bed. You need rest.”

“And this is revenge for how much I babied you in the hospital, isn’t it?” May threw my own words back at me with a glare, and I returned the sweet, fake smile. “Fine!” May stood up on her own and started limping forward towards our room.

I rushed forward and propped her up as we moved. “Have a good night, Wally.”

“Keep an eye on her and don’t let her talk you into doing anything stupid,” Wally called after us.

“Er... on the subject of exercises with me,” Emilie said. “I think we can push tonight’s lesson off one more night.”

“Works for me. I’m ready to fall out, and it’s always cozier with Lea there.” May smiled coyly at me.

“Probably because I’m cold and you’re a fucking space heater,” I jibed. “You get to enjoy life at a normal temperature, and I get slow roasted.”

May looked at me worriedly. “We can sleep in different beds tonight if you want, I understand if you’re feeling a bit uncom-”

“The hell we are,” I cut May off and pulled May closer. “I’ll adapt.”

May looked at me worriedly but didn’t say anything else.

‘She’s worried-’

‘I’m not dependent on May,’ I said, cutting Emilie off as we made it to the room.

‘Did you... pick that out of my head?’ Emilie looked impressed. ‘ And I’m not so sure. You get anxious when she’s not around, you’ve more or less shared a bed almost every night since the attack, she had to practically threaten you to come to the center-’

‘I should have stayed with her for that too, clearly,’ I snarled back.

Emilie winced, and the link went silent for a bit.

‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I... maybe you’re right. I just... want May close after tonight though, okay? Besides. We’re in the honeymoon phase. Of course we’re clingy. Why is me wanting to spend time with my girl a bad thing?’

Emilie nodded slowly before grinning at something behind me.

I turned to see May smiling at me.

‘Would now be a bad time to tell you that I finally managed to bridge the gap,’ Emilie said cheekily. ‘No more awkward games of telephone.’

“I’m happy you worry about me, but I’m fine. Thanks for letting me be your space heater. I think we can ditch the sheets if that’ll help.” May pulled me closer. “And you’re right. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with your girl. As long as you can function when I’m not around. I think the baking class with Emilie tomorrow will be a good chance for both of us to make sure we aren’t going off the deep end with it, though.”

“How...” I trailed off before glaring at my starter.

“Don’t worry, I doubt I’ll have many private conversations with her. This is a lot harder than talking to you.” Emilie looked a bit pale.

“Fine.” I set May down on the bed before a thought occurred to me. “DIBS!” I sprinted into the bathroom to the sounds of a laughing girlfriend.

Chapter Text

“You agreed that we would do WHAT?” May shouted.

I attempted to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat as I backed away nervously from my angry girlfriend. If Suzy witnessed half of the horrifying things I just saw in those eyes, she had far more mental fortitude than I did.

“I didn’t agree to anything, yet. I said I’d talk to you first. This is me. Talking to you first.” I hastily put my bag between us, hoping the buffer would save me.

“Lea, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but we are a danger magnet.” May started pacing in front of her bed. “Bad things happen in our general vicinity everywhere we fucking go. Why would I actively spend an extended amount of time around an angry picket line?”

“Because we have to get past the angry picket line anyway to drop off President Stone’s package?” I asked hopefully.

The noises that came out of May’s mouth barely qualified as human, and I slowly backed away even further as my girlfriend slammed her fist into one of her pillows. Feathers pushed out from the top and spread out through the room, their quills shining in the morning sunlight.

“I regret agreeing to that stupid fucking errand.” May huffed before turning around and slamming into the bedspread with her arms crossed. Her face froze. “We still have to fucking find Steven on this Island. Ahh!” May leaned her head back, bumping into the base board of the bed.

“I’m not sure how well turning down a personal request from one of the most powerful and wealthy individuals in Hoenn would go. Though...” I winced. “Is Steven even still here? It’s been-”

“Steven’s expedition underground was slated to last through the end of next month,” May said.

“Eh?” I tilted my head.

“I called while you were in the hospital.” May leaned forward and groaned.

“What?” I asked.

“I... nothing. I’m just, annoyed.” May sighed. “And a little scared.” She looked away.

I joined her on the bed and grabbed her hand. “I get it, okay? The video I watched was terrifying. That crowd looked anything but peaceful.” I rubbed a circle on May’s hand with my thumb, and frowned when I noticed her tense.

“Are you-”

“Block’s still in place. Doesn’t really seem to be doing much, though.” I smiled reassuringly at her.

“Why exactly is Jasmine picking something so dangerous to launch her career off of?” May shook her head and pushed herself up before getting out of bed.

“For real, she’s on the same island as a former...” I trailed off as the words that were coming out of my mouth registered. “Stone didn’t say we couldn’t tell people what we were doing on this island, did he?”

May grinned at the idea. “No, he didn’t. Think she’ll go for it?”

“I think she’d be stupid not too. Steven dropped off the face of the earth when he stepped down. Granted, getting him to agree to anything is probably not happening-”

“But there’s a chance. Sergei,” May said.

The phone floated up from the floor, dragging a pair of socks up with him. “I was in the middle of a heated forum war. What?”

“I wanted to call dad, and make sure he’s aware of what’s happening in Slateport.” May grabbed Sergei out of the air and flipped to her contacts, slowly walking towards the deck.

“Oi, I like talking to Norman too, you know?” The covers wrapped around my legs as I pushed myself up off the bed and I fell forward. The carpet did not, in fact, soften the landing.

May giggled before grinning down at my sprawled form. “I just want some one on one time with dad, okay?” May slid the door open. “I... want to be better about that. I didn’t think you were ever going to get off the phone with Eve last night.”

“I was making up for not hanging out with her more in Rustboro.” I pushed myself up and chucked the blanket’s back up onto our bed. “This thing is going to kill one of us before we leave this island. Go have fun with your dad for a bit, and don’t spend the whole time talking about psychotic environmental groups, okay?”

May smiled and nodded at me before closing the door behind her. Emilie appeared in front of me as soon as the door clicked closed.

“Enjoy your shower?” I asked.

“I’m not appropriately sized for the activity.” Emilie glowered down at the floor. “I really hope the next center we stay at has a bath again. I liked those.”

“You do realize you could just fill up the sink and use that, right? You’re small enough.” I grinned as she claimed her usual spot. “We could even get you a Rubber Psyducky.”

“Please stop treating me like a small child,” Emilie complained.

“But you make it so easy, and that image is entirely too adorable for me to resist.” I grinned at my starter before frowning and looking away. “The block’s going bye bye tonight, isn’t it?”

Emilie froze.

“Multiple days where we don’t meditate together, your cryptic advice to just enjoy life today... I’m not stupid, Emilie.” I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat.

“I never said you were, I just...” Emilie looked away. “I was hoping you wouldn’t realize something was up until tonight. I didn’t want you to worry about it.”

I grinned bitterly before lightly bumping her nose.

“Oi.” Emilie rubbed her face before glaring at me.

“You being emo and moody is a terrible look for you. It’s completely uncute. Children are supposed to be adorable.” I walked towards the bathroom and grabbed my brush, before wincing back from the mirror in disgust. How the fuck was I supposed to comb that?

“I regret telling you my age. All you’ve done is tease me about it.” Emilie pouted.

“Yeah- well.” I winced as I slowly pulled through a knot. “You take yourself too seriously sometimes. It’s good to get made fun of every once in a while. Keeps things light.” I smiled confidently. “We’ll push through this and be better than ever, ya hear? So, no doom and gloom. This is going to be my day, and I’m very much looking forward to our personal baking class.” Right after we deal with Absol.

“Er... it might not be just you and me.” A blush dusted Emilie’s cheeks as she pushed her hands together. “I might have mentioned something about it when I was talking to Gawain and the rest of Wally’s team last night. I know Gwen and Nimue were interested in attending, and everyone else thought it would be a fun group activity and-”

“I get to host my own baking class!” A smile pulled at my lips at the thought. “I can have my own baking legion.” I pulled down harder than intended and bit back a curse as a bit of hair got pulled from my scalp.

“I regret so many things...” Emilie sighed. “I’m looking forward to it, though. Please don’t go mad with power and rule the class with an iron fist.” Emilie pointed at me accusingly as I opened my mouth. “I can see the visions forming in your head, and I refuse.”

I jutted out my bottom lip and stared pleadingly at my starter. “But the apron would look so cute on you.”

“No.” Emilie held firm as a swirling blue aura emanated from her small body.

I sighed. “Fiiine. Killjoy.”

***

I sighed before lifting my hand and pounding on the door of Wayne and Jasmine’s room, flanked by Wally and May with Emilie on my shoulder.

I heard some shuffling behind the door and frowned as I heard something crash.

“Fuck.” Jasmine’s shout was muffled, and the pitch was grating and slightly warbled against my ears.

“Jasmine?” I shouted. “You good?”

“One sec.” More weird sounds played out from behind the door, until finally, after what felt like an eternity, it opened.

I leaned back in mild shock. Jasmine’s hair was a frayed and chaotic mess. It looked like an attempt was made to pull it back and at least straighten it, but it still looked positively wild and unkempt. Dark circles dusted the skin below her eyes, and the general smell wafting out from her room almost knocked me on my ass.

“Hey.” Her voice sounded strained, and the smile she plastered on her face looked fake.

“Not much of a morning person, huh?” Wally’s tone was light and joking, but the tone through the respirator made it sound like an insult. Wally winced. “Sorry, that was meant to be a-”

“I know.” Jasmine said. “I, uh. Didn’t get much sleep last night.” She looked bashfully at the group before wincing and moving to the side. “Right, uh. Come in. Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess.”

Mess was an understatement. This put May’s disasters back home to shame. A half-eaten pizza was on the table, with grease stains lining the inside of the box. A fresh stain was starting to set in the carpeting, and the faint scent of wine wafted my way. The couch looked well laid in. Like Jasmine had been in it for most of the night.

There was a half-eaten container of Whitney’s brand moo moo ice cream on the floor right next to the couch. That was not a good sign.

“So... uh. What’s up?” Jasmine’s fake smile was off putting, but what made it so much worse were the actual emotions that I could literally feel rolling off of her in waves. Desperation, fear, worry, loss, hopelessness...

Rage, regret, jealousy, what the fu-

Emilie teleported from my shoulder and landed on Jasmine’s head.

“Oi, my hair’s already fucked up, get off.” Jasmine reached up and grabbed my starter before freezing.

“Emilie, what are you-”

My reprimand died as a wail echoed off the walls. My hands shot up to my ears instinctively, and I desperately tried to block as much of the sound as I could. It was like a Scyther running his blade up and down a violin.

Just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The world stilled as a dark aura shrouded Jasmine. Emilie was thrown backwards, slamming into the wall behind her as a cheshire grin stretched across Jasmine’s face.

Gawain erupted from his ball and launched himself towards... whatever that was. It sure as fuck wasn’t Jasmine. He teleported up and placed his palm against Jasmine’s forehead and leaned forward, knocking her to the ground in the process. Jasmine opened her mouth again, but no sound came out this time. Instead, an odd black mist burst forth from her eyes and mouth as Wally’s hand glowed blue. The wisps ensnared Gawain, wrapping themselves around his limbs as he worked. He paid them no heed as they to, glowed blue.

Emilie had pulled herself up from the floor and had lifted her own hands up. She was shaking as she struggled, desperately, to keep the black wisps controlled.

“Kirlia!” Gawain shouted out a warcry as he pulled up from Jasmine, pulling up something inhuman and unnatural as he rose up from the ground.

The black mist thrashed and writhed against Emilie and Gawain’s collective hold before condensing down into a small, floating mass of concentrated spite. Tendrils extended back before shifting to a lighter purple, orbs shined before solidifying around the center of the writhing mass of shadows, and the smell of burnt incense filled the air as a pair of bright red, piercing eyes opened wide.

“Misdreavus.” The word echoed through the room with homicidal intent as she lurched forward, slamming into Gawain in an instant before phasing through him completely.

Gawain gasped before falling forward as the ghost glided through the air. Making a beeline straight for me. My eyes widened as I fell backwards, scrambling to get away from the monster that loomed overhead. One of my Poke Balls opened on their own, and Joern was on the attack, a ball of water already forming between his hands.

Before he even got the chance, a red line slammed into Misdreavus from behind. She wailed out in surprise before being pulled back into a single, black ball with green circles all over it. Jasmine shook as she held the ball in place before flipping the lock shut and sagging back down into the ground.

Wally rushed forward and helped her to her feet as May and Joern both helped me to mine. Gawain shakily got back to his feet before walking over to Emilie.

“I’m fine, Sir Gawain.” Emilie smiled as Gawain leaned back in shock. “I think you’ve earned that title, today.” Her voice was shaky as she fell forward.

Gawain grabbed her before she could hit the ground, but the weight was enough to bring him down. ‘My lady, I think we should both take a breather.’

“Breather sounds good. I don’t think I’m getting up any time soon.” Emilie rolled so that she was facing upwards.

I jogged forward and scooped her up from the ground. “Good thing we’re in a center, huh?”

Emilie nodded.

“What on earth was that... thing?” Wally’s voice shook as he stuttered out the question.

“That... was Misdreavus. My own personal curse.” Jasmine gingerly took a few steps forward before collapsing down on the couch. “Thank you. That was... torturous.”

“That was a Misdreavus!?” I leaned back. “But... it looked nothing like-”

“They wouldn’t.” May cut me off shakily before taking my hand. Her skin was like ice, and I suddenly realized how cold it was in here. “Misdreavus are pure ghosts. The pokedex does its best to give a generalized picture of it at its most stable, but those... things lack a physical form. They’re just emotions and regret made manifest.”

I guided us to the couch opposite Jasmine and slowly sat down. Wally claimed the spot next to Jasmine and Joern sat cross-legged on the floor.

‘I’m usually all for a challenge, but I think you might have bitten off more than you can chew with that one,’ Joern said.

Jasmine chuckled. “I wish I could get rid of it. Every time I try it finds its way back.” Jasmine looked away before sighing. “I’ve tried reasoning with it, handing it off to gym leaders, giving it to the rangers... it just always comes back. It finds me.”

“I’m never complaining about Lucas’s bad jokes again...” I muttered. “I just realized how much worse my most recent capture could have been. Do you know why it’s obsessed with you?”

“It’s been like this since I caught it the first time. I don’t know why it hates me so much. It just...” Jasmine trailed off, her voice breaking as she started to shake.

Wally moved closer and gave her a sideways hug. Jasmine instantly turned and started crying into his shoulder and Wally froze, before slowly bringing his hand down and rubbing her back.

“Er... there, there.”

Wally, you’re terrible at this.

Another ball on my belt opened on its own, and Lucas levitated towards Jasmine. ‘I’m glad you put her in time out. This is the living room, no place for a ghost like that.’

Jasmine tensed against Wally’s hold the second she turned and saw exactly what was talking to her. I moved to grab his ball, but Emilie stopped me.

‘Look, baby, you’re way better than that shitty spook, so don’t let it get you down. If it bothers you again, I’ve got more than a few points to make with it. In fact, I might even have a whole edge!’ Lucas floated slightly closer.

Jasmine didn’t outwardly react as she stared at Lucas with wide eyes.

‘Damn, I’m bombing hard, here. Suppose I should hire myself some ghost writers.’ Lucas paused in thought for a moment. ‘Wait, I think I qualify for my own application, tell me, do you think I have a face that would wow the boss? Really make me stick out for the job I’m going for here?’

“I... you’re applying to yourself for the position?” Jasmine’s face scrunched up as she tried to work through Lucas’s circular logic.

Lucas paused for a moment to think things over in his head. ‘Huh, you’re right. I’m already all but guaranteed the position. Thanks for that!’

“I was hoping he’d make her feel better, I put too much faith in his sense of humor,” Emilie said before teleporting above Lucas. “Ghost writers should neither be seen, nor heard.” She phased right through him and landed in a heap on the carpeting.

Lucas chuckled heartily as she pulled herself up from the ground. ‘Really floored you with one, eh?’

Lucas stopped moving as his body glowed blue. Two pillows slammed into him from the couch as Emilie glared.

“If your sword is as sharp as your wit, you’re the weakest member of the team,” Emilie said.

The pillows fell limply to the ground as Lucas grinned at my starter. Before he had a chance to retort, a light chuckle stopped both of my Pokémon in their tracks.

Jasmine had a smile on her as she looked around the room. “Thanks for that, guys. I appreciate the slapstick comedy routine.” She sighed before leaning away from Wally. “Sorry about that, Wally. I’ve had a rough couple of days.”

“Don’t mention it, happy to help.” The words that came out of Wally’s mouth were rushed and panicked.

“Where’s Wayne?” Emilie asked.

Jasmine winced before looking away, an ashen look on her face. “He left the center last night after a fight. I... I said something stupid.” She waved her hand around the room. “Misdreavus got excited with how miserable I was and managed to phase out of her ball while I was about... halfway through that pint of ice cream. She wanted to... savor the emotions.” Jasmine shivered. “She heightened all the bad emotions and kept me trapped in a loop of fuck ups and regret while she got to run the show.”

“You going to be okay?” I glanced across the table with a frown. “I... uh. Know how rough something like that can be.”

“You don-” Jasmine stopped before looking away. “I guess you’re right. I’ll push through, don’t worry. I...” Jasmine trailed off. “Honestly, I just want to find Wayne. This trip isn’t worth the trouble. The crap I just saw... I refuse to be that person anymore.” Jasmine clenched her fists before standing up.

“I’m... feeling a little lost,” May said.

“Yeah... look. I know you guys were probably wanting to do something, but... I’m not really in much of a mood right now. I need to find Wayne and fix what I fucked up. We can talk later, alright?” Jasmine sprinted out of the room before I could even offer up a reply, Ignoring May’s question in its entirety.

“I... So does this mean we’re waiting even longer to talk to Absol, or” May stopped talking at the glare we collectively levelled at her. “Right, shutting up now.”

Wally stood up and started to collect the trash that had been strewn about the room. “Gawain, could you do me a favor and follow her? I... don’t know that leaving her on her own is a good idea right now.”

Gawain rose to his full height and nodded once. ‘An excellent course of action, my liege. I shall endeavor that nothing untoward shall happen to Lady Jasmine.’ Gawain bowed before disappearing.

I narrowed my eyes as Wally scooped up the carton of melted ice cream and started walking towards the trash.

“Still not my type,” Wally said cheekily. “Wayne is a lucky man, though.”

“Hopefully,” May muttered.

I nodded before getting up and helping Wally clean up the room.

“Also, your look is very hurtful. I’m a knight of virtue and loyalty, ya hear?” Wally took a deep rasping breath as he finished, his hand held out in a fist in front of him.

Emilie waved her hand towards Wally. ‘I warned you about this in Rustboro, but nooo, you had to take up for the hedge knight.’

I stuck my tongue out at her before grinning at Wally. “I’m sorry for questioning your knightly virtue. Though if you were anything like what most actual knights were like, my concerns would probably be warranted. Toss me that waste bin, would you? I’ll help clean up.”

I picked up a few bottles and tossed them in, before looking back at my oddly quiet girlfriend.

She was half way through a slice of pizza.

I gagged. “May that is disgusting.”

“What?” May waved towards the box. “I’m hungry, and this is perfectly serviceable. Cold pizza’s great. This room is like ice.”

“We just had breakfast!” I shouted.

May ignored me and took another bite. I groaned as Emilie teleported to my shoulder and patted me on the head.

‘Sure can pick em, huh?’ she asked teasingly.

I sighed and nodded, before lifting up some old newspaper clippings. I grabbed the can before my arms froze in place.

‘Just... put those in a nice pile on the kitchen table.’ Emilie’s voice in my head sounded sad. ‘They’re important to Jasmine.’

‘What have I told you about-’

‘I’ve been good, don’t worry. I just... look at the name on the articles.’

I frowned before thumbing through. They all bore the same name. Gabby Jameson.

‘That last name is Jasmine’s last name,’ Emilie said.

I froze before leaning back.

Emilie smiled at me. ‘The only thing I’ve picked out from Jasmine is basic stuff. I don’t even know the relation.’

I gingerly collected the clippings and put them in a neat stack on the table, careful not to accidentally rip any.

Gawain reappeared in the room with a crack.

“Is everything alright?” Wally asked.

Gawain nodded. ‘I stopped trailing after her when she ran into Wayne about halfway to the other center, my liege. I figured she’d be in capable hands, and I didn’t want to intrude.’ He shifted his gaze towards a Poke Ball on my belt. ‘I also felt that it would be prudent to make sure I'm here for... that’

I groaned before looking at May. “I suppose we shouldn’t put it off, should we?”

May shook her head.

I sighed. “Alright, let’s get Gawain and Emilie looked over before we tackle May’s own personal curse.”

***

The sand felt warm against my feet as I looked out across the makeshift training ground outside the center. The sun beat down on my skin and as I looked across my full team. We had made a quick trip to the front desk to make sure everyone was as able bodied as possible to deal with this. Lucas stared down at the ball in my hand with a pinched... decal? Calling them eyebrows didn’t feel right.

The rest of the squad just looked focused.

“If this doesn’t go well, we’re shipping her off to Norman or Birch, got it?” I asked before turning to look at May, who was currently squared up behind Leshy and Suzy. Samie stood motionless in the middle of the beach, his mouth pointed towards the heavens.

May bit her lip, but slowly nodded. “I can agree to that. I just... I want to try and help her, if I can. I know I’m being stupid, but...”

“You are.” Wally rasped out the reply, his full squad minus Gawain at the ready. “Either party would be better equipped to deal with this.”

May didn’t say anything, she just glared at Wally before nodding at me. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

I sighed before lifting up the ball. Emilie lifted up her arms, and a layer of sand rose up to about waist level around us. I smiled before aiming the ball away from our group and unclicking the lock.

The ball burst open instantly, and Absol formed a solid five meters away from me. She shook her fur out before staring intently at May.

The entire clearing seemed to still for what felt like an eternity. No one moved an inch.

“Okay, so-”

Absol lunged forward towards May, and I hit the return button on her ball. A single red line raced outwards and pulled her back into the ball. I held it closed and stared at May.

“That’s not looking good for your chances,” I said.

“Honestly, that went better than I thought it would, I fully expected her to charge me the second she got out of the ball.” May smiled at me. Fucking smiled. The nerve-

I aimed the ball away from us again and relaxed my grip. Absol formed further away this time in a sitting position. She glared at me with a dry, plain expression.

“Alright, so are you going to play nice and talk to us like a rational Pokémon or are we going to play this fun little mini game for thirty minutes? I’m cool with either.” I returned Absol’s glare.

She remained tight lipped.

“Talkative,” Emilie said. “Legends above, I wish I could break into that head of yours.”

Absol’s expression relaxed slightly, and she grinned at Emilie with a half lidded gaze.

Smug bitch.

I glanced at May and motioned my head towards the Absol.

She jumped up before nodding. “Right, uh. Hi.”

Absol and I shared an expression as we looked at May.

“Mood, anyway. I wanted to talk. I... know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but I felt like-”

Absol sprinted towards her again.

I sighed and recalled her. “I wasn’t joking earlier, I’m down to play the mini game. I grinded sub quests for hours just to get a pair of virtual sandals, don’t think I won’t do this for half an hour.”

The ball shook in my hand and I face palmed.

“I’m an idiot. May, just talk into the damn ball. It’ll save me from having to recall the stupid dog.” I held my hand out towards her.

“Actually, Absol belongs to the Feline family of Pokémon. There physical characteristics lend themselves more to Pokémon like Skitty and Meowth than-”

“If you’re about to tell me that thing isn’t a Dog Pokémon, I’m putting you on the couch tonight.” Please don’t call my bluff.

“Tauros shit.”

Dammit. Why did that come from three different voices?

“It’s a dog Pokémon. It looks like a dog Pokémon. It walks like a dog Pokémon. It BARKS like a dog Pokémon.” I glared at my girlfriend as she casually pulled out her dex. “I don’t give a fuck what the dex says. The dex is wrong!”

“Now that’s just you being ignorant. You’re going to argue with a-” May froze as she scanned through the article, before flushing bright red and putting the machine away. “Okay, we’re not referencing THAT again. Ho boy.”

“Can we get back to the reason we’re here. You’ve already lost ten minutes from your time, May.” Wally glared at both of us.

“It’s only been five!” May shouted, pointing accusingly at Wally. “We agreed to thirty minutes.”

“I’m altering the deal.” Wally met May’s glare with his own. “Pray that I don’t alter it further.”

I grinned. “Well done, my apprentice.”

“Alright, if that’s how you want to play it.” May took a deep breath, and Suzy quickly took a step away from her trainer. “Absol, I know you think I’ve screwed up your life but I don’t really know how and I’m sorry for whatever I did and I know that doesn’t mean much but honestly I don’t think your purpose has to change that much if you’ll just listen and-”

“Breathe,” I ordered.

May stopped and sucked in a huge breath of air.

‘Cap, are you sure your lass is altogether... with it? ’ Apollo asked.

‘She’s just flustered. She hates getting put on the spot like this,’ I said. “Please just talk like a normal person, May. Talking to the dog-”

“Cat.”

“Dog through the ball is already scuffed, don’t make it worse by trying to rush through it.” I smiled at her. “Just... be you, alright?”

May glanced nervously at the ball before nodding. “Your life doesn’t have to change, Absol. You’re supposed to protect that sword, right? Nothing’s stopping you from guarding it with us. You don’t have to live your life in a dark cave anymore. Just... continue your purpose with us.” May frowned.

The ball in my hand shook a bit and I stared down at it worriedly. “This would be your third strike. If you rush at May, I’m recalling you, locking your ball, and shipping you off to parts unknown, got it?” I lifted my arm and released Absol.

The white furred dog sat tiredly across the beach, and I let loose a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding when she didn’t rush at us.

‘Why on earth would I willingly travel with you morons?’ She tilted her head and glared at me in particular when she uttered the insult.

I thumbed the red and white ball for a second and the Absol tensed.

“Lea, please don’t antagonize her.”

I whipped my head around and stared at May in mild disbelief before immediately twisting back around to keep Absol in my sights. “She fucking started it!”

“I know, but reprimanding her isn’t going to do anything, so please act like you're the oldest member of the group for like... ten minutes,” May said.

I glared angrily at the smug look Absol’s face. “The reason you’ll listen to May and travel with us is because that’s the only way you get to carry on your ‘purpose’. Because Lucas isn’t going back to that dark creepy cave with you, got it?”

‘I think you’re a very pretty pokemon, but I’m just not into you like that, okay?’ Lucas grinned.

Absol’s entire face went red. ‘Shut up, demon sword. You won’t-’

‘Not a demon sword.’ Leshy cut Absol off with a bored command as he started walking forward. ‘In fact, if the walking encylopedia that is my trainer is correct, the sword houses the spirit of your former master, so-’

Absol started laughing and Leshy glared out across the beach.

‘Just how old do you think I am, weed?’ she asked.

Four vines launched across the beach and wrapped around Absol’s legs. ‘Old enough to behave better than this.’ Leshy glared balefully at the bored looking Absol.

‘We both know you’re not going to do anything, your master would be cross.’ Absol leered down at Leshy, before wincing as the vines began to tighten.

“Leshy-”

‘Calm down, old man. You’re giving her what she wants.’ Suzy walked forward and patted Leshy’s flower a few times.

Leshy sighed before setting the dark type down. A single vine stayed out for a second to pat Absol on the head condescendingly before retracting with the others.

‘Why does the red wearing human want this thing again?’ Ogier asked.

‘Some kind of weird human sentiment, I think,’ Gwen replied.

Nimue smacked them both on the back of their heads with her wings. ‘Quiet.’

“Look, I know you don’t like me. You blame me for screwing up your life. I get it.” May’s voice didn’t waver this time as she stared down at Absol. “I wish I could release you and go about my business, but I can’t. You’ve got two options in front of you right now. Stay with us, live your life serving your ‘purpose’ as you were before in a much more pleasant setting.” May stopped talking and stared down at Absol with a frown. “Or get shipped off to Professor Birch’s lab and spend your life on his ranch. The choice is yours.”

Absol glared back up at May before sighing. ‘Not much of a choice. I’m being taken from my ancestral home either way.’

“You lost the right to complain about that the second you tried to off my girlfriend. Please do me a favor and pick option two.” I lifted up the poke ball and pointed it at Absol.

‘Such a warm welcome to your new teammate, how could I possibly leave?’ Absol leered back at me. ‘I suppose, if I must, suffering your presence wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve ever done for my familial obligations.’ She looked away. ‘Thought it’s fairly close.’

A small unseen force held me back as I leaned forward. Emilie smiled at me as I glared at her.

‘Go ahead and return me, witch. I’m tired of looking at you,’ Absol said.

I obliged instantly, recalling the stupid dog. “Send the damn thing to Birch anyway. Fuck, I cannot stand her.” I tossed the ball back to May after locking it again.

“Thank you for giving me a chance.” May talked into the ball before grinning up at me. “And thank you for not going off the rails. I know that was hard for you. I’m sorry about the whole act your age comment... That was uncalled for.”

I glared at my girlfriend before sighing. “You're forgiven, I was madder at the dog than I was at you.”

“Please be sickeningly sweet to each other somewhere else. You’re giving me a toothache,” Wally complained. “So, the murder hobo is staying on the squad?”

“Can that be her nickname, please?” I stared at May pleadingly.

May shook her head. “I’ll come up with something on my own for this one, I think. Neither of you can be trusted.” She sighed. “Though honestly, I think I’ll have plenty of time to think. I’m not going to try and give her a name until she’s really a part of the team. I think we’re a long ways away from that happening.”

“Now then.” Emilie cut into the conversation and smiled eagerly at me. “Can we pleeeeease have our cooking class now?”

I smiled at her and nodded.

“Cooking-” May stopped talking as Emilie turned to focus on her. “Aww,” May cooed at my starter.

“Shut up.” Emilie pouted before looking back at me pleadingly.

I grinned back at her before looking at everyone else on the beach. “Who else wants to join my class?” I smiled as several hands and wings lifted up into the air.

Chapter Text

“Alright, class.” I smiled brightly as I clapped my hands together. “I’m really happy to see you all here, today.”

“Is the full teacher motif really necessary?” Emilie looked up at me from the table with pleading eyes.

‘Lady Lea is simply holding herself to the role she’s taken for the day. A teacher should take joy in teaching, after all,’ Gawain said. A mixing bowl was to his right, and he was holding a whisk that was longer than he was tall.

Legends above he was adorable.

‘I am a knight. A knight is not adorable.’ Gawain glared at me before setting the whisk down.

Emilie grinned smugly at him while Wally patted his head.

“We’re going to be making cookies.” I continued my intro with grace and poise as the psychic types started to bicker. At least May and her team weren’t here for this. Last thing I needed right now was a full-blown brawl between Suzy and Emilie in the kitchen.

That’s what I kept repeating in my head, at least. She’s just in the field out back, calm down Lea.

“Mostly because I’m completely out, and Emilie and May are starting to show withdrawal symptoms.”

Emilie twitched a bit as she stared up at me with an empty gaze.

Joern raised his hand from his spot by the stove. He had already started preheating the ovens, nice.

“Yes, Joern?” I asked.

‘What’s withdrawal?’ He tilted his head and gave Emilie a nervous look.

“It’s what happens when you form an unhealthy dependency on something, and it gets taken away from you,” I replied.

Emilie teleported to my shoulder and poked the side of my head. ‘I can and will make you think your cookies taste like canned asparagus.’

“Well, I won’t have a reason to make them then, will I?” I placed my finger on my chin and pretended to think about the possibility.

‘I’ll be good.’ she said.

I smiled.

‘Such shameful behavior of a lady of your stature.’ Gwen said.

I curled my nose up a bit. Not sure Emilie deserved that.

‘Yet she is still a lady of stature, and you would do well to remember that.’ Gawain glared hotly at the water mouse as Emilie tensed.

‘Don’t worry, I-’

“Am shutting up now.” Emilie cut Gwen off.

Gwen huffed and turned her nose up. Legends above, she felt like a completely different pokemon to the cute little Azuril I met on Route 104.

...and proceeded to not talk or interact with me at all in the days after. Come to think of it, didn’t she evolve the first time because someone insulted her?

Maybe this was in character...

‘I don’t take orders from you-’

“But you do from me, cut the crap or I’m recalling you,” Wally said.

Nimue chuckled. ‘I do kind of want to get to the cooking. Even if the show to go with dinner is shaping up to look like a hit. Quit being you and enjoy the class.’ Nimue flew down from her spot and landed on Wally’s shoulder before tucking in her wings. ‘Though I’m not terribly sure of what all I can do.’

‘At least you have appendages,’ Ogier complained from his perch on the table.

‘Don’t worry, Oggy, I’m sure the two of us together can come up with something.’ Nimue smiled down at the blushing bagworm Pokémon.

“Oggy...” Emilie said the word with disbelief in her voice before grinning at Ogier.

I loudly cleared my voice and grinned as the whole room quieted down.

“Right, I’m just going to start things off with the Oran Berry Cookie that Emilie loves so much...”

***

I began rolling out my own cookie sheet as everyone got to work. This would probably take a third of the time it usually did, all things considered.

...Assuming they all followed the recipe and didn’t screw up. This was probably going to take just as long, wasn’t it? I started to tune out the rest of the world as I got to work on rolling the dough out flat. Let the noise and the bickering fade out, Lea. Just cut your cookies and-

‘Would you shut up!’ Gawain shouted mentally, giving me a headache.

Dammit all.

‘But you’re doing it wrong.’ Gwen pointed at Gawain’s admittedly thick dough with a smile on her face. ‘It’s supposed to be nice and thin, so you get a nice crunch.’

‘I like mine chewy,’ Gawain said.

Honestly, with these, they probably could have done little dough balls and just put them in the oven and it would’ve been fine but May liked the crunchy ones and I was hoping to get a big enough supply so I wouldn’t have to worry about her pilfering my softer cookies.

‘Girls, you’re both pretty.’ Nimue brought her wings between them and pushed them away from each other. ‘Cool and it and make what you want.’

I walked next to Wally and grinned down at his little dough balls. “Never would’ve thought that Nimue was the voice of reason for your team.”

“Her and Ogier are the sane ones. Having two fairy types on the team at the same time was a mistake. They butt heads constantly.” Wally sighed. “I’m surprised Gwen isn’t yelling at me for my dough balls. Guess I’m enjoying my special to the fairy privilege right now.”

I nodded along before frowning down at Ogier.

The little guy just looked forlornly at the ball of dough that Nimue flattened out with her wings. It was uneven and lumpy, but none of these really had to be perfect. Cookies were cookies after all. They tasted good even if they were deformed mutated abominations.

I walked over and stared down at the little guy. “Need a hand?”

“Want to help friend. Lack a way to do so.” Ogier looked down. “She always helped me do stuff I couldn’t in the forest. I hate that I can’t do things for her. This body... is really annoying sometimes.”

“I get it. I couldn’t imagine a life without hands, much less arms and legs. I don’t think she minds helping you though.” I grinned before leaning closer. “I think she enjoys spending time with you, in fact.”

Ogier looked away. “I enjoy spending time with her too. She’s very patient and” Ogier stopped mid-sentence and glared across the room. “One second.” Ogier lowered his head and launched a single web. It latched onto the wall, and he pulled himself towards the argument. “No hurt friend.”

Gwen backed up. “I wasn’t going to-”

Ogier glowed white and Gwen snapped her mouth shut.

Ogier grinned. “Good. Shall we finish our cookies, my lady?”

Nimue stared down at the bagworm Pokémon before smiling and grabbing him with her feet. “I suppose our mishappen mess could do with a bit of cutting.”

I grinned at them as Nimue flew back to her part of the table. They were so cute together. The fact that I thought like this about bug types of all things still threw me. It was such a stark contrast from what I was used to from movies.

People needed to be nicer to bug types, that was all there was to it.

A feeling of nausea passed through the link, and I looked towards where my starter was supposed to be working.

Half of the cookie dough she started with was already gone.

‘Emilie...’

The only response back I got was a groan. I walked up closer and frowned at my starter Pokémon, the evidence of her misdeeds clear as day on her lips.

“I might have a problem,” Emilie muttered dazedly.

I looked down at her with pity. “You’ve taken a very important first step, and I’m proud that you’re taking it before it started leaking out into the other facets of your life and affecting the people you love and care about.”

“My stomach isn’t big enough to enjoy this to the fullest.” Emilie groaned again.

“That’s not the problem here and you know it!” I turned to glare Joern’s way when I heard him laugh. “You didn’t think to cut her off?”

‘I tried.’ Joern looked down at my cookie monster and winced. ‘She scared me.’

I sighed in time with Emilie’s groan before looking pointedly at Joern. “Just go ahead and add what’s left of her dough to your pile. Guess It’s my own fault, honestly. I left her around sweets unsupervised.”

Joern nodded before cautiously claiming Emilie’s leftovers, giving the psychic type an incredibly wide berth as he did so.

I gave him a flat, unimpressed look.

‘I saw things, okay?’ Joern shivered.

I chuckled lightly before going back to my own workstation. Honestly, this was going better than I was expecting.

Gwen chucked a wad of flour at Gawain, nailing him in the back of the head. She chuckled lightly as the cloud dispersed downward, and Gawain’s green skin shifted in color to match the rest of him.

‘I felt you needed a bit more flour. It makes rolling easier,’ Gwen said.

I officially did not like this thing. “Gwen, don’t-”

I stopped talking and groaned loudly as white powder started floating angrily around the psychic type.

‘That’s it. Have at thee, foul harpy.’ He let the volley fly with a hearty laugh.

Gwen ducked under the bulk of the attack, causing the bulk of the assault to slam into an unsuspecting Wally as he put his cookies in the oven. He turned and glared at his starter, who cautiously started to back up as Wally loomed closer, a cloying aura surrounding him as he grabbed a bag of sugar.

“Wally, don’t-”

My pleas fell on deaf ears as he whipped the sugar around in a wide arc, sending an arc of the sweet stuff Gawain’s way. The response was stopped in midair, and Wally ducked as Gawain whipped it back around and chucked half a bags worth of sugar across the kitchen.

I watched in horror as Nimue was knocked out of the sky by the confectionary counterattack, and Ogier glared bloody murder at Gawain before launching himself across the kitchen. His shell glowed white in promised retribution before a red line pulled him back into the Poke Ball. I sagged down to the floor in relief before freezing as a familiar, overwhelming presence made itself known from behind me.

“Alakazam.” The single word was uttered as I made eye contact.

“We’ll clean up.” I uttered those three words so quickly and quietly that I was unsure if I even said them at all.

Alakazam just shook his head, chuckled, and walked out of the kitchen. ‘You better.’

I groaned in time with Emilie as I took in the massive mess we had just made of this kitchen.

***

Cold air gripped me as I trudged into the training ground behind the center, my starter held gingerly in my arms. She was still a bit green in places that shouldn’t be green, but the small vomit session she had on Wally’s shoes seemed to help things significantly.

The fact that he wanted nothing to do with us afterward was a bit of an overreaction, though. Honestly, his shoes didn’t look that bad, all things considered.

I shivered. Fucking hell, I thought tropical islands were supposed to be warm. I scanned the beach and grinned down at the familiar form of my spectral sword.

Lucas rested on the ground, a soft pant escaping from his mouth as Apollo glanced down at him with narrowed eyes. ‘Why am I... winded... I don’t... even need... to breathe...’

‘Aye, quit yer bellyaching. Do you know the kind of crap the cap put me through to get this down?’ Apollo stared down from on high with a frown etched into his beak. ‘Ah, speak of the devil.’

“Devil, eh?” I asked.

Apollo froze before smiling nervously at me. ‘Just a turn of phrase, cap. You understand.’

“Maybe I should revisit some of those training practices? I’m sure Emilie would love the chance to work on controlling living things.” I grinned as Apollo started to pale.

Emilie’s groan instantly undermined my threat, and I sighed as Apollo relaxed.

“Hey, what’s up? How did class go? Can I have some cookies?” May called over.

I turned to see her jog up to me from the other side of the beach and smiled. That smile slipped from my face when I realized I had to explain what happened. “So, we might be banned from the kitchens.” Ripping the band-aid off was probably the best approach.

“What.” The word was uttered in a way that chilled me to my core.

I made it a point to not make direct eye contact. “We got a ton of cookies made up before we got kicked out, don’t worry. We just made a bit of a mess. We got most of it cleaned up, but we weren’t quite finished when Nurse Joy got back and she was... not pleased, to say the least.” I hastily pulled out a small bag of May’s favorites and offered them to her.

She snatched the bag from me in an instant and I sagged in relief when the overwhelming malignant force dissipated into a calm, serene presence.

“How goes training?” I asked the greater contingent at large, doing my best to ignore the somewhat familiar unimpressed stare Joern was pointing my way.

‘Right, I’m the pathetic one,’ he muttered.

Suzy, Leshy, and Samie all groaned from their resting positions on the ground, and I passed Joern’s look along to my girlfriend.

She stopped her munching with red cheeks as she nervously looked her teams way. “We’re taking a break. I... might have pushed them a bit hard.”

‘A break... sounds good.’ Lucas slowly levitated up off the ground. ‘Arceus above, I ache in places that shouldn’t exist. Quite the feat... considering my lack... of muscles.’ He levitated back to the ground and closed the eyes on his sheath. The big glowing eye in the middle of his hilt remained open and was locked on Apollo at all times.

‘Aye, cap. Credit where it’s due, the lazy piece of steel is a quick study. He’s still a fair sight slower than me, but he’s got a good understanding of how to get the job done.’ Apollo flew down and perched himself on my shoulder. ‘I see the first mate made a right pig of herself in the kitchen.’

“You’re lucky I’m still feeling sick to my stomach, or I’d be punting you into the ocean.’ Emilie burped as she finished.

I made it a point to face her away from me and held her away just a bit.

‘Would you stop, I’m not going to throw up again,’ Emilie said.

I reluctantly pulled her close again and shifted to look at Lucas’s taskmaster. “How’s his endurance? I know he’s not looking his best right now, but-”

‘Swabbie managed six shots before eating sand. He’s been down there ever since,’ Apollo said.

I grinned down at my spectral sword. “Nicely done, Lucas. Don’t let Apollo’s browbeating fool you. This little guy could barely fire off one of those before passing out when I first caught him.”

Apollo stared at me in abject betrayal as Lucas floated up and started laughing.

‘Consider this revenge for the water incident in the forest. Best not to cross someone with a perfect memory, remember that, quartermaster,’ I said.

‘Ah, laughter is the best medicine, I’m feeling much better,’ Lucas said.

Apollo shifted his glare. ‘Aye, so we can get back to it then? Now that ye’ve had your break?’

“I think it’d be best if we focused on something else, Apollo.” I lightly knocked my bird on the head. “Quit it with the hazing.”

‘But cap-’

“No buts.”

A loud belch pulled me out of our conversation, and I looked over at a red faced May, who was currently holding an empty bag.

“Excuse me,” she muttered, doing her best to look anywhere but my face.

“Out of idle curiosity, did that taste like cookies, or the day old pizza you pilfered from Jasmine’s room.” Emilie asked.

I pulled her up and gave her a noogie. “That is not something you ask.”

Emilie lifted her hands up and frowned when she couldn’t quite reach my fist.

“The pizza,” May replied.

“It’s also not something you answer!” I stopped and pointed angrily at my girlfriend.

May just giggled as Emilie teleported to my other shoulder.

‘I think it’s just safer up here. Being in your arms is dangerous, and I’m feeling much better now. ’ Emilie smiled before ruffling up my hair. ‘Also, payback’s a bitch.’

I swiped her arms away running my hands back across my head and pulling my hair back. I turned to glare at May’s giggling form. “How the fuck is it, that between the two of us, you easily have worse manners than me. You LIVED with Caroline.”

“Dad.” May said that word like it explained the meaning of the universe.

I sighed, before looking back at my new teammate. “Can I hijack your dex again?”

May smiled before pulling the thing out of her pocket. “You can probably keep it for a few days, if you want. I don’t need it right now."

“Aren’t you supposed to keep this on you at all times?” I asked.

May waved me off. “Meh, I can scan some stuff when we go in the cave, I doubt I’ll need it till then, and you need it for Lucas.” She put her finger on her chin as she handed me the device. “If you want to thank me for this gloriously generous offer, though...”

I thought about the earlier belch and what she had to eat today and quickly shuffled away. “I think I’ll just accept your kindness at face value and thank you another time...”

May pouted before nodding and walking back over to her team. I booted up the bookmarked page on Honedge and grinned at him.

“Alright, so according to the pokedex, this next move should come easier than breathing. It’s called Shadow Sneak,” I said.

Lucas leaned forward and stared down at the computer screen. ‘Sounds edgy. What does it do?’

Joern sighed. ‘Are you sure a ghost as goofy as him is going to be able to understand how to be ghostly?’

I clicked on a few screens and a video popped up showing a blue sword slam into the ground. Its shadow extended outwards before the bladed tip came up out of the ground at the end of its shadow.

Lucas copied the actions taking place and slammed the tip of his blade into the sand.

Nothing beyond that happened.

“Huh, you’re right, that was easy.’ Lucas grinned cheekily at me.

I face palmed. I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was being an idiot to spite me or actually being an idiot. Both felt equally likely.

Joern just tilted his leaf and grinned. ‘See.’

“I think you’re missing the entire latter half of the move, Swabbie,” Emilie said, her face pinched as she looked down at him.

‘Oh, right, the whole shadow thingy.’ Lucas pulled himself out of the ground and stared at me. ‘How exactly do I do that, because I have no earthly clue how I’m supposed do that.’

I opened my mouth, then instantly closed it and clicked on a few more info guides.

“Just... relax your body, and fade into the shadows. The dex says you should be able to get a feel of how to manipulate them,” I said.

Lucas nodded and...

Laid down on the sand.

‘I am one with the darkness.’ Lucas said. ‘Think like an edgy teenager, Lucas. Come on.’ Nothing happened. ‘Are you sure this is supposed to come naturally?’

“YES!” I groaned as I looked down at my supposed ghost type. “You phased through the stone, why are you having so much trouble doing this?”

'Ohh, that’s what you meant. That’s easy.’ Lucas disappeared through the ground.

Emilie face palmed. “I think we found our version of Samie.”

Lucas rose up from the ground and tilted his head to the side.

“Head empty,” Emilie explained consolingly with a patronizing smile.

A look of comprehension dawned on Lucas’s face as he nodded, before suddenly stopping and glaring at Emilie.

“Why is it that whenever we find what is supposed to be one of the most powerful Pokémon in a region, they end up dumber than a bucket of rocks?” Emilie asked.

“Because if they were smart, they wouldn’t agree to come with us.” I replied, glaring at Emilie.

‘Was that another insult aimed my way or yours? I honestly couldn’t tell.’ Lucas said.

“Yes,” Emilie replied.

I slowly breathed out through my nose and stared at Lucas for a moment. “Alright, so how exactly do you phase through stuff. Maybe if we break down your... ghostliness, we can work through this a little bit easier.”

‘Well, I don’t exactly know how I phase through the ground and stuff like that. I kind of just... do it by feel,’ Lucas said.

‘Just have him describe it as he does it, Cap. Like you did when you taught me rain dance,’ Apollo said. ‘I’ll probably be easier if he’s doing it while he explains it.’

“Sounds like a decent enough idea. Lucas, go ahead and do... whatever it is that you do.” I gently patted Apollo’s beak as I finished.

Lucas complied, and the sand didn’t shift around him this time as he sunk into the ground. “Alright, now what?”

A hot gust of air pulled me from the conversation, and I looked across the clearing. Suzy’s entire left arm was engulfed in flames that kept trying to extend further out to the rest of her body. Her eyes were starting to cross as my girlfriend gave her a bit of distance.

“Lea, as fun as this is, I’m going to bug the featherhead. She looks like she could use it.

Emilie disappeared from my shoulder, and I frowned for a moment before I saw her reform across the beach next to Suzy.

“Did I just get ditched by my starter so she could go hang out with her ‘hated rival’?” I asked the group.

Joern just started chuckling. ‘I think so. Guess they aren’t as bad as they were.’

Suzy spat a small flamethrower at Emilie, and my starter responded by teleporting behind her head and locking her legs around her neck before leaning back, sending them both into the sand.

I gave Joern a look.

‘Don’t even try to tell me that’s not an improvement.’ Joern met my look with one of his own.

I sighed. “Whatever. Lucas, just... tell me how it feels to be phased into the ground.”

‘Right, uh... It’s weird. My body’s there, but also not there. That doesn’t make any sense, does it?’ Lucas shifted his sheath around so that he could look at where his blade was going through the sand.

‘Makes about as much sense as anything else a ghost can do,’ Joern said.

I frowned in thought. Maybe... “Focus on the part of your brain that’s telling you the blade isn’t there. Maybe it’s just... intent based? Like you just have to visualize the part that you can’t see somewhere else?”

Lucas shrugged but complied. He closed his eyes, and my mouth dropped open as the shadow he cast started to move on its own. The shadow moved slowly around the sand before a small, black, blade pushed out directly below Joern.

‘Oi!’ Joern jumped backward and away from the tip just in time to avoid getting nicked. ‘Watch where you’re pointing that thing.’

Lucas’s eyes snapped open, and he grinned Mareepishly at Joern. ‘Sorry. My brain pulled me towards something that I could stab. I’ll try not to make a habit out of it. Slicing is way more fun.’ His grin turned into a full blown smile. ‘That said, your girly shriek made me realize I did it. Yay!’

“Not yay. That was slow as fuck. I thought the hallmark of this attack was that it was fast!” I glared down at the pokedex.

‘Well, cap, he did just learn the attack. Give him a second to maybe get his bearings straight. Maybe even do the attack with his eyes open?’ Apollo waved his wing in a circular motion as he stared pointedly at Lucas.

‘Oh, right. I should get to the point.’ Lucas quickly snapped to attention and pointed his sheath at the ground. His shadow crawled along the sand at the same sluggish pace. ‘I uh... can’t make it go any faster.’

“What the hell?” I groaned. “What’s the point of this attack if it’s this slow? Cut would be more-” I stopped talking as Lucas slowly lifted himself into the air. His elongated shadow remained as he ascended, looking incredibly odd in the afternoon sun.

‘Huh, that’s really easy to do, now that I know I can do it,’ Lucas said. ‘Guess I’m a bit sharper than you gave me credit for, eh?’

I groaned as I rubbed my eyes together. “So you just, move your shadow around while you float, and when you want to use the attack-”

Lucas slammed into the ground and the blade came up instantaneously at the end of his shadow.

“Do that, okay that’s a lot more useful.” I grinned down at Lucas. “We’ve got Cut, Aerial Ace-”

Apollo waved his wing from side to side when I said that.

“And Shadow Sneak. You already know more moves than Emilie.” I grinned down at Lucas.

‘I really don’t think that’s a fair comparison when you think about all the things Emilie can do with those two moves...’ Joern muttered. ‘Besides, she can... kind of use Rain Dance.’

‘That pathetic little cloud she can summon is not a Rain Dance,’ Apollo said. ‘Though, Captain. While we’re still working on this, I actually have an idea. Lucas, go float in the shadow of one of those palm trees.’

Lucas nodded before lifting himself out of the ground. The second his shadow joined the palm tree’s, it shifted in color. From a pale darkness to a bleeding void, pitch black against the sand. ‘Whoa.’

“Where all can you stab from?” A smile pulled at my lips as I very quickly picked up what Apollo was putting down. Clever bird.

Lucas slammed down into the round four or five times, and the blade came up from a different spot with each stab.

‘Probably not that useful, but it’ll be helpful outside if-’

“Joern.” I cut Apollo off as I grabbed my umbrella. “Do a little dance for me, would you?” My grin was practically splitting my face as I realized how terrifying a ghost under cloud cover truly was.

***

“So, a straight beats a flush, right?” I asked Wally with a thick cover draped over my shoulders. As it turns out, making it rain while it’s cold outside, even with an umbrella, was a bad idea.

Who knew?

Wally handed me a cup of hot tea as he took his spot on the sofa in the center foyer, a deck of cards in his hands. “No, a flush beats a straight. They both lose to a full house, though.”

“That’s a pair and a triple in the same hand?” May asked.

“Maybe it would be better if I just had a piece of paper on the table that orders the hands.” Wally sighed before staring balefully at both of us. “How is it that you’re both great at Pokémon battles but terrible at remembering hands of playing cards?”

“I can remember the hands just fine. It’s ordering them that’s tripping me up. My memory trick is really bad at sequencing sets of information, apparently.” Good to know about, though. “It’s mostly just keeping the straight and flush in the correct order. The hands with multiple of the same card are easy. I think I'm good to play a hand.”

“I think I would like the cheat sheet.” May said, before huddling up close to me.

I lifted an arm and pulled her under the cover. “You do know we’ll have to split if we play, right?”

“I know. I’m cold, though,” May said.

Wally smiled at the two of us as he jotted down some stuff on a napkin. “I’ve never heard of a tropical island getting cold like this.”

“I’ve never heard of any place getting cold like this right now. It’s summer.” I took a long sip of my tea.

“Snowpoint,” May said.

I poked the side of her head. “I’m not counting a city at the top of a mountain in the coldest region, you nerd.”

May stuck her tongue out at me before reaching out and grabbing the napkin from Wally’s hand. “Just hide your cards. I’m not moving. I like this spot.” She smiled at me. “It’s comfy.”

I sighed before shooting her a teasing grin. “I suppose there are worse places to be.”

“Stop being sickening and take your cards,” Wally muttered as he started to deal.

I reached my hand out from beyond cover and snatched up my two cards, cautiously glancing at my hand before looking back at Wally. A three and a five of hearts. Not great. “What are we gambling with?”

Wally brought out some chips, from his bag, but May raised her hand. She shifted around under the covers and slowly pulled out a bag of cookies.

“May, I just made those, how in the hell did you already steal a bag?” I asked, frustrated.

“You’re surprisingly easy to distract and Joern’s surprisingly easy to bribe,” May said, a smile on her face. She opened the box and passed half of the cookies to Wally, an action that looked like it caused her physical pain, before leaving the rest of the box in front of her.

I looked at her expectantly.

“You have your own,” May said.

“I should make you sleep on the couch tonight.” I glowered at her as I slowly pulled out some of my own cookies. I made it a point to take from Joern’s personal supply. I’d have to scold him later when Nurse Joy was done.

May snorted. “Yeah, right. Like hell you’re chasing your teddy bear out of bed.”

“Can we play? I would like to play.” Wally stammered. “Everyone throws a single cookie in at the start. Then we make a round of bets starting with May, since she’s the one to the left of the dealer.”

May threw in an extra cookie.

Dammit May, you barely know what you’re doing, why are you being aggressive.

“I call.”

Wally did the same.

“Now, I bin three cards, and flip three cards.” He flipped up a two, four, and a nine.

All of which were hearts.

“Now-”

“We get it at this point, Wally.” May interrupted him. She shoved five cookies into the pot. Damn, someone was confident.

“Call.” I replied instantly.

“Fold.” Wally shook his head. “You two do know that if you both have a flush, the pot splits, right?” May shushed him as he flipped up the next card.

A two of spades.

“Another five cookies.” May grinned.

Either I was getting played, or her poker face was ass. “I call.”

Final card flipped was ace of hearts. I barely was able to keep my face blank as May shoved her entire stack into the center.

“You’re playing chicken with someone who can’t feel fear, I want you to know that.” I called.

“Not playing chicken, and the block’s been slacking.” She flipped a full house as I revealed my hearts. May reached out to grab the massive stack of cookies.

Wally stopped her. “Uh, May? You lost.”

“Huh, no I didn’t. Your little piece of paper said a full house beats a flush and a straight.” May looked very confused.

“It does. It does not, however, beat a straight flush. Also, both of you are cheating somehow, and that’s a neat trick, cause I’m the one dealing the cards.”

I gave May a vindictive grin as I reclaimed my pilfered sweets.

May smiled at me before batting her eyes. “Don’t act like I'm not just going to steal them back later. You’re my girlfriend, I have an unlimited supply.”

“You. Still. Loooossst.” I sang.

Wally looked at my giant stacks of cookies and sighed. “Thanks, May, now I have to deal with that.”

Unfortunately, the fact that I didn’t really know what I was doing started to play into our hands. Wally slowly and meticulously chipped away at my stack of cookies as the hands played out. The fact that May kept eating from my pile wasn’t helping matters, either.

“So which member of the squad made these? They’re more poofy than I’m used to.” May asked as she shamelessly plucked one off my pile.

“Gawain’s. And stop stealing from my pile. I’m trying to reclaim what you stole,” I complained.

May sighed before snuggling into my side. “Yeah, but you’re losing. I need to get what I can while I can.”

Wally chuckled. “Don’t count her out just yet. She is getting-”

The doors to the center opened wide and Wayne walked in, his arm wrapped around Jasmine as they approached us.

“Hey,” Jasmine muttered.

Wayne lazily waved before sitting down on the unused love seat with Jasmine. “I’m mad jealous that you two snagged the blanket. It’s cold as fuck and I did not pack for this.”

Jasmine nodded before huddling up closer to her boyfriend.

“So... I’m guessing you guys worked things out?” May asked.

I face palmed. “May-”

“I got my head out of my ass, yeah,” Jasmine said. “I agreed to wait to leave with you guys.”

“I don’t know if you were the only one with there-”

“I was more or less ignoring your complaints and worries. This was my fuck up. Bask in being right for a bit.” Jasmine gave the big guy a small smile before reaching up and patting him on the head. “It doesn’t happen that often.”

“Yes dear.” Wayne smiled down at Jasmine before pulling her in close.

Emilie appeared on my shoulder, and I looked over to see Nurse Joy bringing out our Poke Balls.

‘So, I’ve kind of noticed this a lot. Is everyone whipped in a relationship or-’

‘It’s called being a loving and supportive significant other!’ I mentally exploded at her. ‘Would you stop, already. Legends above, at least get material. This bit’s moldier than that sandwich we found under May’s bed that one time.’

Emilie winced before looking away with a frown. ‘Sorry.’

I sighed before smiling back at her. ‘Thank you. I don’t suppose you could levitate our balls to us. I really don’t want to get up.’

Twelve balls levitated off of the tray and slowly floated towards the table. I waved at Nurse Joy and blushed as the rest of the table gave me a funny look.

“I thought we were done with the whole private conversation thing.” May glared at me.

I leaned away from her and chuckled nervously. “I was just chastising her for a mental comment, don’t worry. I’m glad you two made up. I uh... actually wanted to let you in on something. We were going to tell you this morning, but-”

“Ghost bitch attacked, and we were on the outs, I’m aware.” Wayne sighed. “I’m pissed I wasn’t there to help with that.”

“It got handled, can we drop it,” Jasmine said, her voice stiff.

I bit down the question that was on my lips and snagged the cards that Wally threw my way. I flicked them up and-

Holy shit, pocket aces. Dammit Wally, I hate that I now know that term.

Wally threw in the minimum.

‘Check here,’ Emilie said.

‘Emilie, I have the advantage here, why wouldn’t I press it? And stop helping. I don’t want to cheat.’

“So, what was the news you were wanting to share?” Wayne asked.

‘If you raise, he’ll get scared and dip. Check the pot. Let him raise,’ Emilie urged.

I begrudgingly tossed a single cookie into the pot before turning to Wayne. “It’s about what we’re doing after our gym battle. We were actually hired to run a few errands for Devon back in Rustboro.”

Wally flipped two fives and an ace. Holy-

“Right, so they didn’t have us sign anything saying we couldn’t tell people about what we were doing, but... please don’t shout when you hear what I’m about to tell you.” I played with my cookies a bit before whacking away May’s hand.

Wayne put his hand over his girlfriend’s mouth before grinning at me. “We’re good, though I doubt you’re meeting up with anyone-”

“We’re delivering a letter to Steven Stone.” May dropped the bomb before Wayne could even think about finishing.

“May, I wanted to tell them,” I whined.

“You were taking too long. Call or raise. Wally already chucked in his chips,” May said.

I turned to see five cookies in the pile.

‘See?’ Emilie gloated.

‘I don’t want to cheat!’ I complained.

‘Then Ignore me. I like winning, and I like your cookies. Call, but stare at the cookies for a minute. Hesitate.’ Emilie ordered.

I sighed before chancing to look at Wayne and Jasmine. A laugh bubbled up from my stomach as I took in Wayne’s face. The man’s eyes were as big as poke balls, his mouth had completely stopped functioning. The slackened jaw wobbled to and fro as his entire brain seemed to vacate his body. Through it all, he somehow managed to keep a hold of Jasmine, who was currently having a meltdown.

I called before grinning back at them. “Think that’ll be good enough to tide you over?”

Wally flipped over a seven. Boring.

“I’m sorry,” Wayne finally said. “I think I blacked out for a second. What?”

“Steven Stone-”

“I know what you said, woman! I need you to explain what in the hell you mean Ste-” Wayne glared down at his girl as Jasmine turned and pressed her hands against Wayne’s mouth.

Wally bet ten cookies. Damn, someone’s confident.

‘He smells weakness and is trying to bully you. Just call. Make him think he’s leading you,’ Emilie advised.

“He’s on an archeological expedition in Dewford’s cave system. I doubt he’ll be all that interested in talking to a reporter, but... there’s a chance? If you aren’t annoying and don’t look too pathetic?” May offered lamely.

Wayne and Jasmine both nodded their heads so fast I was worried they were going to pop off.

“Calm down, would you? I know he’s a big deal, but he’s still just a guy. Just be chill and see where things go.” Wally said before flipping the final card and-

Holy shit, I have four of a kind.

“Being chill right now is way easier than it should be,” Jasmine complained, finally free from Wayne’s hold.

Wally raised five.

‘Push him to go all in.’ Emilie grinned down at the table.

I hesitated.

‘Eh, fuck it, these are my cookies anyway.’ I shoved my entire stack into the middle of the table.

Wally leaned back in his chair. “Why do I suddenly feel like I'm getting hustled?”

I remained tight lipped and stone faced. “Fuck it, I’m in too deep anyway. If you have it, you have it.” He called and flipped up his full house.

I flipped up four of a kind. I grinned as I reclaimed my stolen goods.

“Pleasure playing with you.” I lifted a stack of five and handed them to Wally. “For teaching us how to play.”

Wally smiled as he popped one into his mouth. He moaned. “I forgot how good these were.”

I smiled at the compliment before putting my winnings into a bag. May pouted.

“You can have more later. This is why I ran out, and I can’t make more till we hit the next town, so behave.” She pouted harder.

‘Stay firm. She will destroy us all given the chance,’ Emilie ordered.

‘You’re getting rationed too,’ I replied.

‘Damnation.’

“Come to think of it.” Wayne leaned forward and snatched a couple of cookies from the top of my pile. “I don’t think I’ve had one of these, yet. Considering how much May raves about these, they’ve got to be good.” He chucked one at Jasmine before popping the pilfered baked good into his mouth.

They both moaned.

“Holy shit, these are almost as good as the stuff they had on the cruise,” Jasmine said.

I froze, my gaze becoming demonic as I glared hatefully at Jasmine. The entire world faded away into various shades of red and black as I loomed over her. “What do you mean ALMOST.”

Jasmine froze.

“She’s crazy, Lea. These are better, honest!” Wayne slowly shifted himself so that he was between me and Jasmine. “Calm down, please. You’re scaring me.”

“I-” stopped talking as May popped a cookie into my mouth.

“For your own information, Lea’s sister catered for the couple’s cruise.” May smiled happily at them. “She’s got a bit of a complex.”

“I do not.” I pouted before glancing frowning. Why was Emilie so stiff?

I turned to see an ashen faced Psychic. A sheen of sweat dotted her brow as she stared vacantly forward, her hands clenched into fists on her knees.

‘It’s all in your head, Emilie.’ was being repeated over and over again in a mantra.

‘Emilie?’ I asked.

‘Please don’t sick the cookie monster on me!’ Emilie cowered away as I called her name. ‘I’ll be good, I promise.’

I sighed before patting Emilie on the head. She slowly relaxed back into her usual position, and I grinned at the table.

“So, we up for another game, this time with chips instead of cookies?” I asked.

Wayne and Jasmine grinned as Wally started shuffling up the cards.

***

Legends above, the hours just flew by. I bowed out gracefully at my defeat and ducked into our room in the center alone.

Emilie was tense against my neck.

“It’s going to be okay, Emilie.” I turned and smiled at her. “We’ll get through this, promise.”

Emilie met my gaze for a long moment before holding out her hand. “I uh... don’t really have conventional human fingers but... pinky promise?”

I grinned down at my adorable starter before offering her my pinky. She wrapped her hand around it and lifted it up and down.

“There, now then, should we tackle this now or-”

“Can we have a watch party before we do this?” Emilie asked, her voice incredibly small.

“I don’t have-” My words died on my tongue as Sergei floated through the wall. “I stand corrected.”

“Emilie called me,” Sergei messaged me. “Anime night?”

I nodded once before sitting down on the bed. “Sounds like fun.”

Emilie hopped down as I leaned back against the pillow. I pulled her up onto my stomach, booted up Poketube, and...

Oh, new Pokemon Ranger. Yes please.

I let the video play and let myself get lost in the OP as Emilie slowly leaned back into me and relaxed. I smiled as her head all but radiated warmth in this cold ass room.

The perfect end to a mostly perfect day. Hopefully, this would help Emilie see that we’d have many more to come, my head troubles be damned.

The clock ticked away above my head, and I let myself relax as the world faded out.

Chapter Text

I jerked awake to the sound of a closing door, knocking Emilie off my stomach as the world slowly came into focus.

May sauntered over to the bed with a smile. “You two look cozy. Watching anything good?”

Emilie groaned before turning and glaring at me. “We were supposedly watching the newest episode of Pokémon Ranger together, but Lea conked out on me.”

“I, uh... was tired?” I looked up from Emilie to May for help.

She just laughed at me.

Emilie sighed before glancing forlornly at Sergei. “I suppose it was probably for the best. Tonight’s going to suck, it’s better that you’re well rested for this crap.”

May tilted her head at me and I bit back a curse. Right. I hadn’t actually... told her about tonight.

“What’s tonight?” she asked with narrowed eyes.

“...okay, in my defense I did just, kind of forget to tell you. We’re removing the fear block tonight.” Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. Please don’t-

“How do you forget to tell someone something like that?” May’s voice rose in pitch as she glared at me.

Dammit all. “I-”

“She got distracted by Jasmine’s psychotic Misdreavus, your psychotic Absol, and how cute Ogier and Nimue are as a couple.” Emilie grinned up at May before teleporting to my shoulder. “Mostly that last one, though. It’s...” Emilie paused, like she did when she was tripping over a lie. “Going to be fine.”

I grinned at her. “I’m happy you believe that. You had me worried for a bit.”

May glanced up at Emilie, biting her lip. “You’re not leaving yourself a lot of room to... adapt for Brawly. Are you sure now’s the best time to do this?”

“We either do this in a controlled setting tonight, or it happens on its own tomorrow.” Emilie winced as the words left her mouth. “I know it’s shit timing, but-”

“It’s not going to matter because I’m going to be fine, and you’re making a big deal over nothing. We go in, break the block, and go about our business.” I glanced over at Emilie with a wide smile.

She sighed. “I really wish I had your optimism.”

I ruffled her hair...dome.... thing, and she clawed at my arm with her tiny little hands.

“Is there... anything I can do?” May asked.

I turned and felt a pit open in my stomach at May’s look. “I don’t-”

“Actually, yes. Call out the grump. Leshy can use his vines to make sure Lea doesn’t hurt herself or others.” Emilie cut off my reply with a glare. “I don’t care how well put together you think you’ll be after this. The process is going to be ass and you’re going to want to thrash around like a crazy person having a seizure. I’d rather you not beam yourself in the head. Legends know you need all the braincells you can get.”

I opened my mouth to complain but was cut off as a bright light filled the room. Leshy stared flatly at my still form on the bed. ‘What exactly will I be doing?’ His tone sounded less than impressed.

“Yes, Emilie, what exactly will he be doing?” I asked with an equal amount of enthusiasm.

“Restraining you to the bed, so you don’t hurt yourself,” Emilie said.

As soon as the words left Emilie’s mouth, multiple vines pushed out from Leshy’s flower.

I blanched, before leaning away from the angry appendages, my back hitting the baseboard of the bed. “Please-”

“Gently restrain her.” May smiled cheekily at me. “Please stop acting so excited.”

The vines lashed out quick as lightning and tied me to the bed.

“Not into this, at all.” I bit out.

May blushed lightly before flicking my forehead. “Stop being weird. This is for your own good. Hurry up and do your weird meditation thing.”

Leshy just grinned smugly at me from his spot by May’s side.

I sighed. “Fine, just-”

The world around me faded before remaking itself in the image of Petalburg. I stood on a dirt pathway directly in front of my house.

Wait, not quite my house. Where was the- ah, there’s the broken planter.

I just imagined that into existence, didn’t I?

“You did,” Emilie said, her voice trailing upwards from the ground below me. “I’m glad. That’ll make this a bit easier, honestly. You really are a natural at this.”

“Is there a reason you just hijacked my mind and dragged us here? I’m more than-”

My words died on my tongue as I felt it. A whirlwind of dread lashed out against my very being, seeping into my every pore as the world around me became darker. An overwhelming pressure bared down on me, bringing me to my knees as my eyes widened. I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. I... what was this.

“Me being in here is... more or less pushing the block past it’s breaking point.” Emilie smiled up at me sadly. “It’s why I put off our meditation sessions the last few nights.”

I hung on every word, her voice calming in the sea of dark thoughts and horrifying images. My heart pounded in my chest as the taste of copper filled my mouth. Emilie froze for a moment, her body half phasing out of existence as a dull pain made itself known in my mouth.

“Sorry, I needed to tell May to gag you.” Emilie chuckled lightly before looking away. “Probably not one for conversation right now. Sorry. I just... need to tell you a few things before we really get started. You already know about the barrier trick, but I never got the chance to show you the other way to protect yourself. To hide it.

My wide eyes followed her every move as she paced forward, guiding my gaze towards my house. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

“Don’t try to talk,” Emilie ordered.

My mouth snapped shut.

“Just focus on me and what I’m telling you.” Emilie smiled at me. “I know it doesn’t feel like it but you’re doing great. Your mental palace is the physical representation of your mind. Where it is,” Emilie raised her hand out towards the house. “Is entirely up to you. Your house, the gym, May’s house, fuck, it could be in a trash can in the middle of the park. It doesn’t matter where you put it, just so long as it’s hard to find. At the end of the day, intruders don’t know what they’re looking for.”

My heartbeat started to pick up again.

“Fuck, okay, uh... If it wasn’t abundantly obvious, this entire world is yours to change. These houses can have anything in them, random video game puzzles with spike traps, the scariest rpg bosses you can think of, random horror shows you found on the internet while you were bored... A psychic type could spend hours in here if you build it right, and not find a damn thing.”

I kept clenching and unclenching my fists as whispers I didn’t recognize started flitting around my ears. The world started to swim.

“Focus on my voice, and nothing else,” Emilie ordered, her voice loud in the swirling chaos. Black wisps entered my peripheries, and I swallowed down a lump in my throat.

“I doubt you’ll be able to stop yourself from just throwing up a wall, but I needed to tell you about this. It doesn’t feel like you’re safe. It feels like you're walking around with nothing between you and a world that wants to hurt you, but... It works. And it lets you do all the things you can now.” Emilie teleported.

It felt like my heart leapt into my throat when she disappeared. I leaned away as a familiar weight formed on my shoulder. Why the fuck did I lean away?

Emilie stared at me with a bitter smile before turning. “I’ll stay with you for as long as I can. Thank you for... so much.” Emilie nodded once before guiding my gaze towards the chaos in my own mind. “I look forward to the day when I can walk through this world with you again.”

I froze as the storm in my own mind surged. That same feeling of dread rocked into me harder than May’s first attempts at cooking, and I opened my mouth in a silent scream as ice filled my veins. A creature stalked out from the bakery, it’s form constantly shifting and writhing as it moved. I couldn’t comprehend what I was looking at. Every step this beast took blackened the grass it stood on. Every move it made pushed out another black cloud that corrupted the air I breathed. The smell of burnt sugar and bile made me turn my nose up and hold my mouth as I backed away.

Fear.

True, primal fear rose up from my very being and loomed over me, it’s presence larger than the town I stood in. For a single clarifying moment, I stared back at this abyssal entity. I witnessed it well and truly, and the being dissolved under my gaze. An otherworldly howl that grated upon my senses sounded out into the void as a massive wave of darkness pushed outward from its origin.

The shadows took me, and I blacked out.

***

May’s POV

***

May rubbed her thumb along her girlfriend’s tensed scarred hands. She stared down at them and smiled, happy to feel her girl’s actual skin as opposed to those damned cloth gloves.

She wondered if the feelings of terror were being transferred out into the world, or if her own pounding heart was the result of her own worry. Lea had been so confident. So unbelievably sure that things were going to be alright that May somehow managed to believe that herself.

That confidence died the second Emilie popped out of whatever the hell she was doing and helped her gag her girl so she wouldn’t bite through her cheek or tongue during this.

Leshy’s vines strained as Lea shifted against his hold. “Ivy.”

“Yeah, not really what we were expecting to do tonight, huh?” May glared down at her girlfriend for a brief moment before sighing. “I know she doesn’t like to worry me, but... I’d like to know about these things sooner than right before they happen, you know?”

Leshy extended another vine out from his flower and wrapped it around May’s arm. He gave her arm a light squeeze. “Saur.”

“Yeah, I suppose I’m not that much better, huh?” May frowned. “I... It’s weird. I can’t understand you, but I have a general idea of what you’re saying.”

Sergei floated up to eye level. Next to Leshy’s name, two messages popped up. The first one was rather simple. Leshy called Lea an idiot.

The second one was telling May that she worried too much.

“Well, I got one of two right. I agree, she is an idiot.” May sighed. “But she’s our idiot.”

“Saur!” Leshy rolled his eyes and went back to focusing on Lea. “I suppose.” Appeared in Leshy’s chat box.

Emilie’s body jerked. May whipped her head up to look and leaned backwards, narrowly getting out of the way as Emilie’s body shot across the room and into the wall with a thud. She cried out on contact before falling down into a pair of Leshy’s vines.

“Ow...” Emilie groaned before pulling herself up. “That was a more... violent ejection than what I was-”

Emilie’s words died as objects started to float around Lea. Sheets and covers lifted up from the bed of their own accord as Leshy desperately tried to keep things stationary.

“Emilie-”

“I’m not doing anything!” Emilie shouted, cutting May off as the covers started to form a cocoon around Lea. A faint blue glow emanated from underneath the sheets about where Lea’s eyes were. May backed away and in that moment, the covers blew out towards Leshy.

May’s grumpy grass type was pushed back lightly as the bedspread slammed into him. He sputtered to get the sheets out of his mouth as the bed started to levitate slightly off of the ground.

“Emilie, when you talked about this, you failed to mention this was going to be a scene from the exorcist!” May said, her voice shaking.

“Don’t you think I would’ve told you if I thought something like this might happen!” Emilie ducked under a floating glass that broke against the wall. “I’ve never seen a human do stuff like this before!”

‘Less... talking. More... helping,’ Leshy said as he dug his feet into the ground.

May ducked down and ran towards the bed. A thud sounded through the room as she hopped on. Unintelligible mutterings filled May’s ears as she slowly lifted her head up, and she felt Lea strain against her binds. Things started to float up from the nightstand.

“Emilie.” May said.

The small psychic type lifted her hands up and the aura surrounding the alarm clock and Poke Balls glowed more intensely. May noticed the balls start to shake. Emilie frowned before letting her control wane, and the balls opened instantly.

Light engulfed the room as Lucas and Apollo moved to Leshy and started pulling the covers off him.

‘Your ghost type cosplay sucked. I want you to know that,’ Lucas chimed as he phased through his ball.

Leshy just glared.

May looked down at her girlfriend and frowned. She wasn’t...

“Leshy, go ahead and pull back your vines,” May said.

Leshy shifted his glare over to May. ‘Are you in-’

“Just do it, please. I’ve got a hold of her just in case she starts jerking around.” May glared back at her grass type.

Leshy hesitated for a brief second before sighing. The vines slowly slid out from under her, and May leaned back as Lea shot up in her bed. The muttering stopped and Lea started panting heavily. Her clothes were slick with sweat as the blue light started to fade, showing dilated eyes below.

“Lea?” May asked slowly.

Lea didn’t respond. She instead whipped her head around and stared, intently, at Emilie. She froze, before scrambling backwards. Pulling May back as she put as much distance between herself and Emilie as possible.

“Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, make it stop-” The gibberish from earlier formed into a single, repeated phrase as Lea brought her arms up to shield herself from something that wasn’t there.

“Make what stop?” May asked.

Lea didn’t respond. She just continued rocking back and forth and repeating the phrase.

“Emilie?” May turned to the psychic type with wide eyes.

“I... don’t think she’s actually conscious. She literally threw me out of her mind, so I can’t exactly help her right now.” Emilie looked down at the floor. “She has to push through this on her own.”

May sighed before slowly wrapping her arms around Lea and rocking back and forth with her. The chanting slowly faded to a low hum before Lea went silent completely. Apollo flew over and roosted on Lea’s shoulder. Nipping her hair a bit with a frown.

‘Cap?’ he asked. ‘You in there?’

Still no response. Lea slowly closed her eyes, and her whole body tensed. May prepared for another rocking session, but nothing came. She remained sitting, her back ramrod straight against the base board.

Emilie teleported up to the bed, and May instantly realized how big of a mistake that was as Lea’s eyes snapped open and instantly homed in on the small psychic type. Lea’s breathing picked back up as objects started to rise up around the bed again.

Emilie lifted up her own hands and halted them midflight. “I’m... really glad... she’s not that strong...”

‘Emilie.’ Joern walked over from his spot next to Leshy. ‘I know you don’t want to, but...’

‘I should leave.’ Emilie’s voice broke a bit on the final word. ‘I know. I just... really thought...’ Emilie disappeared before she could finish her thought.

Lea whipped her head around the room a few times before tensing again.

“Well, there goes the only person that might have a clue on what’s going on right now.” May sighed before glancing back at her girlfriend.

She sat in silence for a while, just glancing nervously at Lea, until finally, Lea’s entire body went limp, her head lulling to the side as she fully passed out. May laid Lea down, careful not to bump her head on the hardwood bedframe, before slowly getting up.

She looked around the room and frowned. Joern was nowhere to be seen.

“Leshy-”

“Saur.” Leshy nodded once before pointing his head out towards the hallway.

May nodded back before walking out to the hallway. She almost tripped over Joern as she turned and found Lea’s wayward members almost instantly.

Emilie had both of her legs pulled up to her chest in a crouched position, and her eyes locked on the floor.

Joern poked her once. “Lom. Lombre.”

Emilie just grunted and Joern sighed. The brooding psychic glanced up at May as she slowly moved around the lily pad Pokémon before relocking her gaze to the floor.

May opened her mouth, then snapped it shut as a white light exploded outwards from her waist. Suzy instantly formed in front of her.

“Combusken.” Suzy reached down and plucked Emilie up by the back of the neck, before bringing her up to eye level. “Busk!”

“I don’t want to talk right now, so fuck off,” Emilie snarled.

May and Suzy both leaned back at that.

“Emilie, I-”

“BUSKEN!” Suzy clucked out, her face pulling down into a glare. Sergei floated in from the room and May grabbed him instantly, happy to have a willing translator.

“Stop being a moody teenager for like, five minutes and listen the fuck up. I get that you’re sad. For what, I don’t know. It was abundantly obvious that Lea was fucking out of it, so calm your ass down about that shit till she wakes up, ya hear?” Suzy shook Emilie a few times. “And don’t think I’m going to let that weak ass banter slide, midget. I don’t care if you are depressed. The least you can manage is-”

Emilie teleported out of Suzy’s grip and wrapped herself around the back of Suzy’s neck. “You are the most annoying, insufferable, aggravating featherhead on the planet.”

“Better,” Suzy choked out as she tried to reach behind her and grab the angry psychic type. Her entire body glowed blue.

“Emilie-” May snapped her mouth shut as Emilie whipped around and glared at her.

Joern walked up and grabbed Emilie, ignoring the angry glare sent his way. “If you attack me, I’m telling Lea, and she’ll cut off your cookie supply.”

The glare instantly disappeared.

“That’s better,” Joern said.

“Impromptu” Cough. “Piggy back rides” Cough. Sputter. “Are neither wanted” Hack. Cough. “Nor appreciated.” Suzy finished with an angry glare.

Emilie just stuck her tongue out at her.

“Emilie.” May cut through the chaos and smiled at Emilie. “I know you’re sad that you couldn’t stay with Lea, but Suzy’s right. No part about that was my girlfriend. I don’t know what that was, but it was she was... not altogether with it. Let her wake up on her own and see how bad it is, okay? You might be freaking out over nothing.”

“I...” Emilie trailed off before glaring up at Joern. “If you’re going to carry someone, could you at least do a good job of it? I can feel myself slipping.”

Joern promptly let go and Emilie slammed into the hardwood floor. “You’re right, you are hard to carry.” He grinned smugly at Emilie’s glare.

Emilie sighed before pushing herself up off hallway floor. “You’re right, I guess. It just... didn’t feel good to be looked at like that. Thank you, May.”

Both Joern and Suzy stared at Emilie expectantly, and her gaze remained squarely locked on May as she ignored them completely.

“You're welcome, now then.” The smile took on a more strained look as May pointed into her room. “What the fuck was that?”

Emilie winced. “Uh... an exorcism?”

May’s smile cracked.

“Look, I don’t know, okay? The block more or less broke the second I hopped into her head, like I was expecting it to. Everything else?” Emilie shrugged her shoulders. “Not a damn clue. A giant... thing, crawled out of Lea’s mindscape and exploded, and then Lea kind of lost her marbles.”

May opened her mouth-

“No, I also didn’t know she was capable of moving crap with her mind. I didn’t know humans COULD do that,” Emilie said.

“I uh... hold up.” May grabbed Sergei and pulled up a search bar.

Sergei filled it in before May could get a chance to, and webpage displaying human psychics popped up. May glared down at her phone for a brief moment before sighing and scrolling through. “There are a few documented cases of human psychics with very basic telekinesis. Sabrina’s the most famous, because she’s the most powerful, but she also has an entire school in Saffron dedicated to helping people control their abilities.”

“Did any of them pick it up secondhand?” Emilie asked.

May frowned. “I can’t tell. Psychics naturally gravitate towards the psychic type, for somewhat obvious reasons.”

She paused before seeing the written logs of an interview with a member of the Johto elite four. May clicked on the link and started scrolling. “Will’s mostly self-taught, according to this. He’s-”

“A member of the Johto Elite Four, specializing in the psychic type.” Emilie frowned. “I guess it’s... doable, I just.” Emilie sighed. “Lea HAS to have some kind of natural psychic abilities. There’s no way a normal human should be progressing this fast with her abilities.”

May leaned back and stared at Emilie for a moment. “I... it’s possible? None of us really... know much of anything about Lea’s parents. Eve never shared much. We could have Lea ask Eve-”

“We’re not talking about this with her at all!” Emilie’s pupil’s contracted to pinpricks as the world around them shook. “Lea nearly blew up the room we were all just in. Do you really-”

‘Have more faith in the captain, ye barnacle brained halfwit.’ Apollo complained as he flew down and around the door. ‘She’s not some porcelain doll that needs to be protected from every little thing. The cap’s made of sterner stuff than that.’

Emilie winced before looking away. May half wondered why THAT was what brought Emilie up short. She’d been powering through everything else.

“We should still wait till she’s got a better handle on things, okay?” Emilie argued. “I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Apollo tilted his head, sighed, and nodded. ‘Aye, I suppose.’

They both turned their heads to May, and she froze.

“I...” May didn’t know what the right thing to say here was. She didn’t want to hide stuff from her girlfriend, but... “I, suppose I can agree to that.”

Lea probably needed consistency more than a shiny new toy right now.

“Good, so... Now what do we do?” Emilie asked.

May looked around the hallway before wincing as she looked up at the clock on the wall. “Probably go to bed. Not much we can do, and it’s getting late. We can figure more stuff out in the morning. Hopefully.”

Assuming Lea woke up by then and wasn’t a jittering mess of nerves, phobias, and panic attacks.

May lifted up Suzy’s poke ball and returned her. She gave Emilie a wave before fading away in a flash of red. Joern and Apollo both walked into the room, but Emilie stayed rooted to her spot.

“I... is it alright for me to go back in there?” Emilie asked.

May smiled sadly at the brooding psychic. “I don’t know. She was out of it when I left, so I think you’ll be fine.”

Emilie nodded before tiptoeing into the room, making as little noise as possible as she scrunched her body down even smaller than it usually was. Joern and Apollo had already returned themselves, and Lucas was nowhere to be seen.

“Any movement?” May asked Leshy.

‘She’s out cold,’ Leshy replied. 'Only thing I heard is some light snoring. She’s probably sleeping it off.'

“That’s good.” May and Emilie said at the same time. “Jinx.” Same time again.

May giggled before turning back to Leshy. “Ready for bed?”

‘Just recall me. This grumpy old man needs his sleep.’ Leshy glared pointedly at Emilie.

Emilie stared at Lea, ignoring him completely. “I can’t read her at all.”

“Isn’t that... a good thing?” May recalled Leshy after he huffed at being ignored. “That means her mind’s protected, right?”

“...yeah.” Emilie sighed before looking down. “I’m just not used to it.”

May walked over to Emilie before crouching down. She winced slightly as her knees contacted the freezing hardwood floors. “I know this is hard, but...”

“Give it till morning, I know.” Emilie sighed before smiling up at May. “Thanks for helping. It... means a lot.”

“Anytime.” May returned the smile.

Emilie turned away from May before teleporting up to the nightstand. She briefly glanced at the bed before groaning and turning her attention to the Poke Balls. She stared for a moment, sighed, and lifted her arms up.

A single, mono white ball shot up from Lea’s bag, before floating over to join the rest of them on the nightstand. Emilie looked at the ball with a grimace, before slowly extending her hand down and pressing the middle button. She was sucked inside instantly.

May frowned. Before looking back at the bed. “Guess we’re down a sleeping buddy, huh?”

“Honedge,” Lucas agreed.

May shouted at the sudden inclusion, her heartrate spiking as she raised her arms up and leaned away from the ghostly Pokémon. “Don’t do that!”

“Hon hon hon hon hon hon.” Lucas’s laughter echoed off the walls, his smile remaining firmly in place as Sergei floated back into the room.

Sergei characterized the whole thing as a simple lol.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up at the easily spooked human,” May muttered.

Lucas leaned forward slightly. “Don’t worry so much. Unlike me, you have to worry about wrinkles.”

May’s glare froze Lucas in place.

“Never heard... of a human... having a Pokémon move,” Lucas gritted out.

May quirked an eyebrow. “We don’t? And how would you know?”

Lucas smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I just felt like giving you the same pep talk you gave the yandere. Lea’s going to be fine, you have nothing to worry about, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.”

“Is that you being an ass or Sergei?” May asked, a grin pulling at her cheeks.

“Yes.” Was the only reply that appeared on the screen, with no inclination as to who sent the message.

“Great. There’s two of them.” May sighed before plucking Sergei out of the air. “And don’t call Emilie a yandere. She’s a wonderful, friendly part of our team.”

Lucas leaned back. “Uh... sorry? To be honest, I only half know what that phrase means from Lea’s memories. So-”

“Tsundere works better, at least with everyone who isn’t Lea.” May looked up to the ceiling in thought. “Actually, with how much they bicker, maybe even with Lea.”

Lucas perked right up. “Ah, good to know, I’ll be sure to call her that when-”

Sergei stopped translating and a terrified face popped up on screen. “Do you have a death wish?”

Lucas grinned. “How can I? I’m already dead.” He capped off the line with another round of echoed laughter.

“I’m not, so please don’t tell her I said that.” May looked nervously towards the balls on the nightstand. The white ball shook once, and May’s heart seized in her chest. “I’m so sorry, please don’t kill me.”

Nothing happened and May sagged in place. “Oh thank-”

The white ball opened, and Emilie burst out, her arms over her head as her eyes glowed with promised power. May jumped up and landed flat on her ass on the cold floor. She scrambled back from the menacing psychic type before groaning as Sergei, Honedge, and Emilie all broke down into laughter.

“You all fucking suck!” May shouted.

“Oh, Sergei, please tell me you got a photo of her face,” Emilie said.

Sergei floated up and started playing a video of May’s reaction.

“Sergei!” May shouted, reaching for the phone that floated just out of reach.

‘We’re showing that to Lea when she wakes up, right?’ Lucas floated next to Emilie.

“This, and the video that Sergei is probably taking now, because this is almost as good.” Emilie grinned as May leapt up again, her hands grasping air. “And Lucas. If you ever call me either of those things, I’m taking you back to the cave and letting Absol have her way with you.”

‘...how very Tsun of you.” Lucas laughed and beelined it straight for his poke ball as Emilie lifted up the blanket that was still on the floor.

“You better run,” Emilie muttered as Lucas returned himself. She teleported back up to the top of the nightstand before smiling back down at the Poke Balls. “Thanks, though. I think I... we needed that.”

Lucas’s ball shook once.

“Yeah, yeah. You're alright for spook, I guess. See you in the morning.” Emilie returned herself once again.

“Hah, got you!” May pumped her fist in triumph as she came down from a jump, Sergei in hand. “Now, give me the goods.”

Sergei just posted a gif of a Buneary pushing their paws together and looking cute.

“Yeah, I know better. Emilie help...” May trailed off as she took in the empty room. “Or not.”

Three dots appeared next to Sergei’s name. “Do you really think she, of all Pokémon, would help you get rid of funny videos like that?”

“I, well... shut up.” May pouted.

“Look, it’s just something fun for when Lea wakes up. It’s fine. I won’t share this with world, don’t worry,” Sergei messaged.

“You better not.” May slowly walked over to the bed and laid down next to Lea. “Guess she was serious about not needing the covers, huh?”

“Seems like,” Sergei replied. “You doing okay?”

May took a moment to listen to Lea’s breathing before looking down at Sergei. “I’m fine.”

Lea shivered, and May took that as her cue to wrap her arm around her shoulders and pull her into a sideways hug. Lea turned and wrapped her arms around May in her sleep.

“Yeah, I’m definitely fine.” May smiled. “I think Leshy was right. She’s just sleeping now. Good thing she’s a heavy sleeper, with how much noise we were making.”

“Didn’t want to wake her up to see how she’d deal with... everything?” Sergei asked.

May scrunched up her nose. “She only falls out like this when she’s exhausted, and I didn’t want to put Emilie through that right now if it went bad. I... think this is better.”

“Fair.”

May frowned at the lack of further response. The silence felt stifling as she glanced worriedly at Lea. That was only half of it, really. Worry pooled at the back of her mind as she thought of what tomorrow might bring.

Was it wrong of her to want to put that off for a bit? To just rest for a bit before the next big thing? There had been so many big things recently... she was so tired.

Odd that she couldn’t bring herself to close her eyes.

She glanced over at Lea again, and this time, the sight made her giggle. She hadn’t changed before doing... whatever that was. May could still see a few flour spots on her shirt. May supposed she should just be happy it was something they had picked out for everyday wear, though the thought of Lea’s tantrum if she had screwed up-

Wait.

“Sergei,” May ordered quietly. “Please bring up the Rustboro online shopping page. I think I need to make a purchase.”

Sergei sent a salute before complying, and May started thumbing through catalogues.

She passed out just after buying the cart.

Chapter Text

I groaned as I felt the harsh rays of sunlight hit my eyes. It was far too early to get up and deal with the day. My body felt heavy, and I ached. A dull pounding behind my eyes made itself known as I slowly came back to reality.

The fuck did I do last night?

...Right, dumb question. I groaned before opening my eyes, bringing my hand up to shield myself from the sun. That damn light wasn’t doing my headache any favors. At all.

I moved to sit up and frowned as something held me in place. I glanced down and smiled at the arms wrapped around my waist.

“Hmm... five more minutes.” May groaned before rolling around, away from me.

The sudden lack of my own personal space heater made me realize it was freezing in here. I jumped up out of bed and immediately tripped over a wadded-up blanket on the ground.

Who the fuck did that?

“Wha...” May slowly rose up from the bed before looking down at my prone form. “Lea!” She hopped out of bed and started looking me over.

“Morning, May.” I grinned at her as I slowly pulled myself up from the ice-cold floor. “So, I know this place is a ‘tropical paradise’ and all that, but do you think they have a thermostat I can crank up? I’m freezing.” My voice came out raspy, and I noticed a bit of a dull ache in my cheek as I talked.

May leaned back from me, her eyes wide. She quickly grabbed the blanket and pulled me close, before wrapping us both in it. “Better?”

“May, this cover’s cold,” I complained.

May giggled at me. “Just give it a minute and take time to enjoy your space heater.” She smiled at me before looking away. “So, uh... how do you feel?”

I winced. Getting right to it, huh? “I have a headache, and my joints ache. Outside of that” I shrugged. “I don’t feel any different.”

I felt May relax against me. I hadn’t even realized she was tense.

“Good. That’s good. How much do you remember?” May glanced at me shyly. “You were really out of it last night.”

“I did things after that horror show?” I looked over at May with widened eyes.

May nodded but didn’t respond further.

I sighed. “I was in my mindscape with Emilie, when I felt a... pressure. A weight bearing down on me. It was” Unnatural. Dark. Wrong. “Suffocating. Emilie told me some stuff, and after that. I turned around and saw... something.” Still don’t know what that was. “I blacked out after that.”

May sighed. “So, you don’t really remember” May paused and looked me up and down. “Anything, that you did out here?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Noooo? Should I?”

“Nope.” May shook her head so fast I was worried it was going to fall off. “Not a thing.”

Tauros shit. I groaned before rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Where’s Emilie stashed herself away at, anyway? She’s usually out cold way longer than us.” Lazy brat.

“I... She thought it would be prudent to hang out in her ball last night. Just to be on the safe side. You” May looked up to the ceiling and thought for a second. Like she couldn’t figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. “Didn’t react well to her last night.”

Fuck. I reached out to the nightstand and grabbed the lone white poke ball. I hovered my thumb over the release button, and hesitated.

Why the fuck was I hesitating, this was Emilie.

My heart rate picked up a bit before I bit back a growl. I squared my shoulders and opened the ball. Emilie’s still sleeping form manifested in the middle of our bed.

Why does she always claim the middle? She’s not even conscious right now. Her body just formed there on its own!

I reached my hand over and poked my starter in the head a few times, hopeful she wouldn’t need too much prodding to get up for once. I smiled as she unconsciously swiped at my hand.

“Don’t wanna...” Emilie complained.

I giggled a bit before leaning back as Emilie’s eyes snapped open wide. She stared at me, her eyes running up and down my form, like I was mythical being transported to this earth to bless it with sacred baked goods.

“Uh...” I trailed off nervously, slightly freaked out by her gaze. “Hey?”

Emilie remained silent for a few seconds, before snapping out of her gaze as May coughed a few times into her fist. “Right, uh... hey.”

Legends above, that’s not awkward at all.

“Alright, I’m stopping this right now. I’m fine. I’m not running for the hills from my bestie. Would you stop being weird and-”

Emilie disappeared and my heart dropped to my stomach. A familiar weight reformed on my tense shoulders and a pair of arms wrapped around the side of my head. My body relaxed slowly as I lifted my arm up and tried to pull my starter off my skull.

“Oh, thank you. I was so worried this was going to be ass and I was going to have to live in that thing! Ugh, it’s so boring.” Emilie steadfastly held onto my forehead.

“Emilie, let go. I can’t see,” I complained.

Emilie ignored me. “I’m so happy you’re not scared of me. Last night sucked so bad.” The errant sniffle sounded through the room. “You kept freaking out when you looked at me. I hated it so much...”

I stopped trying to pull her off. “I... Emilie.”

The sniffling got worse, and I felt my hair get wet.

“I’m not going anywhere, alright?” I patted her awkwardly on the back. “I think I’m brave enough to tough out hanging out with the coolest Ralts from Route 110, so quit the waterworks, yeah?”

Emilie finally pulled back from my head, and I was able to turn and look at her. Her hands blocked most of her face as she wiped her eyes, and she kept opening and closing her mouth. I at least took solace in the fact that a grin was slowly pulling up at her lips. A tissue box entered my vision and I turned to see May offering it to my starter.

“These work better than hands.” May smiled kindly.

Emilie ripped a tissue from the box that was probably about as big as she was before blowing her no-

Wait.

“You have a nose?” I asked, my head tilted to the side.

Emilie’s crying stopped almost instantly as her face shifted in color from white to red. “Shut up!”

I winced back from the volume, fuck that was right in my ear.

Emilie started pounding on the top of my head with her little fists. “You are the worst, most embarrassing human being on the face of the planet. How the hell is THAT a question you would think appropriate to ask in this situation!? Why?”

“May, a little help here?” I looked at my girlfriend pleadingly as Emilie continued to smack my head. The hits lacked any kind of weight, but my hair was getting more and more fucked up by the minute. “Please.”

May just smiled widely at me with her eyes closed. “I think you’ve got this.”

I groaned as I walked to the bathroom, resigning myself to my bad hair day as Emilie wholesale devolved into yelling random gibberish with each strike.

***

“Stop ignoring me, you deserved it.” May glared at me as we walked to breakfast.

I ignored her. The damn traitor. “I’m sorry I was insensitive, Emilie.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m used to it.” Emilie looked away from me with a pout, her legs crossed in front of her on her usual spot. “My trainer’s a massive dork. I forgot about that for a minute.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far,” I muttered.

“I would,” May said.

I continued to ignore her as we crossed the threshold into the cafeteria. Ah, Wally beat us-

I froze. My eyes locked on to the waist-height psychic on Wally’s right, happily munching away on a muffin.

It’s just Gawain, Lea. It’s just Gawain.

“You okay?” Emilie asked.

I shook my head before turning and meeting her worried eyes. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not, and that’s fine.” Emilie smiled at me.

“To be completely honest, I was surprised you handled Emilie as well as you did, all things considered.” May hopped in front of me, blocking my view of the table across the dining hall.

“I don’t know what-”

“I saw you tense when she teleported.” May cut me off. “I know you don’t want Emilie to know, but it’s better if we’re open about stuff. Only way we can work through it is if we talk about why something freaks you out.”

Emilie nodded. “You were still tense when I landed.” Emilie looked away. “I just assumed you didn’t like the teleport when you relaxed.”

“It wasn’t...” Why did I tense? The teleport itself didn’t bother me, but... “I think I was more freaked out that I didn’t know where you were.” I looked away. “I couldn’t feel the pull you usually do when you teleport.”

“So, the teleport itself wasn’t an issue?” Emilie asked. “Huh, I just figured, psychic did psychic thing so bad.”

I tilted my head at how she said that. “Are you-”

“I just structured that in a way that was easily digestible for you. Your brain likes to think in caveman sometimes.” Emilie smiled down at me.

“Rude, and uncalled for.” I sniffed before looking at May. “You see what I deal with?”

“Your own kind. What is it that bothers you about Gawain? Is it the fact that he’s a more powerful psychic?” May asked.

Emilie turned her head and narrowed her eyes at May. A dull thrum of power emanated off her in waves.

A bead of sweat trailed down the side of May’s head. “Relatively speaking, of course. I was just thinking about the evolution-”

The energy became tangible as the aura enveloping Emilie started to warp the area around her.

I bonked her on the head. “Be nice to my girlfriend, or I’m hiding all your favorite snacks.”

Emilie rubbed her head and glared at me, before shrinking back at the threat. “Yes ma’am.”

I smiled before realizing something. “Okay, if that didn’t scare the shit out of me, then Gawain’s general existence should be fine.”

May moved out of the way so I could see Wally and his Pokémon staring at me from across the room. Beautifly whipped up a whirlwind in my stomach as I started considering the merits of eating breakfast in my room. “Why the fuck is the goofball freaking me out? Emilie just threatened you with a category five psychic bitch hurricane and I was fine. Gawain wouldn’t hurt a fly as long as it didn’t try to fuck with Wally.”

Emilie pouted. “Everyone’s being mean to me today.”

May looked at the table before looking back at me. “Do you want to go back to the room?”

“No,” I replied. “I... need to push through this. I’m not just going to... ignore Wally and his team for the rest of our journey.”

“But Leaaaaaa.” Emilie looked up at me with big pleading eyes.

“No.” I bumped Emilie in the forehead again. “Bad.” I sighed again before looking back across the room. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and marched towards the table with shaky legs and chittering teeth.

Why the fuck was it getting even colder!? Fuck this stupid island.

“Hey,” Wally waved as I got closer to the table. “What’s up? You and May were at the entrance for a while.”

“Nothing.” The word left in a clipped whisper as my eyes remained glued to the smiling psychic next to Wally. Fuck you, brain. I will not be irrationally afraid of my own friends!

“Kirlia. Kir, Kirl lia.” Gawain smiled at me, his eyes crinkled as he waved.

I swallowed down my nerves and waved back, before resting my head in my hands. Right. Emilie can’t really translate for me if my mind’s locked behind a massive, fuck you barrier, can she? Maybe...

No.

Dread pooled up from my stomach and an all too familiar feeling started to take hold of me. My arms tensed as I clenched my jaw. Shadows creeped into the corners of my vision, just out of sight, but there. Always there. Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t-

Stop.

The world around me came back into focus and I lifted my head up. I leaned back in shock.

Everyone was looking at me.

“Okay, uh... not nothing. Sorry.” I muttered the apology as I looked away, blood making itself known in my cheeks as my face felt hot.

Emilie patted my hair. “We removed Lea’s fear block, and we’ve kind of noticed a few issues.” She turned and stared at me worriedly. “The fuck caused that.”

“I uh, I noticed you couldn’t translate for me and tried to bring down the stupid wall in my head.” I shivered. “Bad idea. Brain didn’t like it. Not trying that again anytime soon.”

Gawain popped up next to me, before patting me on the back. “Kirlia.” He held his hand out in front of him in a fist. “Kir Kir kirlia.”

One good thing that came from that, the earlier unease I felt from Gawain was a drop in the fucking bucket compared to that. “Thanks, Gawain. I’m going to assume that was a pep talk. Sorry I was weird before.”

Gawain frowned at me before raising his hand in a thumbs up. I looked over to my shoulder and saw Emilie shifting her view from person to Pokémon.

Great, I’m the only one out of the loop, now. Wonderful.

“Not fun, huh?” May asked from her spot next to me.

I turned and glanced at her. “Huh?”

She winced. “Nothing, sorry. Uh, ignore me.” May made it a point to not meet my eyes. “Forget I said anything.”

“Azumaril.” Gwen poked her head up close to me, her face inches away from mine as she looked at me. “Azu azumaril.”

“Pine...” Ogier sighed. He glared at the intrusive water mouse before firing a string shot at her and pulling her away from me.

“Azu...” Gwen whined, before turning and glaring at the small bug type.

“Masq.” Nimue whacked Gwen on the back of her head.

“A little help here?” I asked, looking up at my starter.

“Huh? What do you- oh, right. Sorry.” Flecks of red dusted Emilie’s cheeks. “I was doing what I usually do. Guess those thoughts just go into the void right now, huh?”

“I don’t like that you’re referring to my head as a void,” I complained.

Emilie just smiled at me, and I felt a vein pulse on my forehead.

“Emilie.” I waved impatiently towards the gaggle of idiots around Wally.

“Right! Gwen was curious about what happened to your head.” Emilie scrunched her nose up. “She was really rude about it, too. Ogier told her off for it, and when Gwen turned to yell at the little guy, Nimue whacked her upside the head.”

“Right...” And most of that was paraphrased, wasn’t it. Ugh.

Sergei popped into view, and an image of a Wingull saluting popped up on screen. “Reporting for duty, sir!”

“At ease.” I grinned down at the ghost before glancing at May.

“I’m not taking no for an answer this time, you need him way more than me right now.” May got up from her seat and made for the cafeteria line. “I’m going to grab us breakfast, do you want your usual?”

“Yes, please.” I smiled at her before turning my attention back to the spectral smartphone. Guess I was going to be doing a lot of reading over the next few days.

Please just be a few days.

“So, tomorrow’s the big day.” Wally cut through the conversation with a rasp. “You think you’ll be good to go.”

I winced, before looking back up at Emilie. “Well, my usual tactics with Emilie all just got shot to hell and back.” I sighed. “Definitely going to spend most of the day trying to work through that. Lucas is... actually coming along really nicely, and Apollo and Joern are-”

“Apollo and Joern.” Wally supplied, before stabbing what was left of his breakfast. He lifted the fork to his face. The lower part of his mask retracted on its own, and Wally shoved his breakfast into his mouth. “Fair enough. Not like you aren’t heavily advantaged in this. Two out of three mons brutalize this gym type wise, and one is immune to all of Brawly’s best attacks.”

I winced as Roxanne’s Lileep came to mind. “Types aren’t everything.”

Wally’s mask automatically reformed as he lowered his fork. “Fair. Guess I’m the only one who didn’t get the advanced badge treatment back in Rustboro. Still though, I think you’ve got this.”

I smiled before staring at his mask. “What exactly is it that your uncle does? That mask is an incredible invention, considering he only had, what, a week to get it made?”

Wally’s eyes crinkled a bit. “Little less, actually. Man’s a genius inventor. He used to show me all kinds of cool stuff when I was a kid. He’s a researcher under one of the Elite Four now, so that job keeps him fairly busy.” Wally looked down at his plate. “He made time for me, though. He’s always made it a point to make time for family.”

My eyes lit up as I smiled at my friend. “Sounds like a pretty awesome dude. I’m glad you’ve got someone like that.”

“Yeah.” The smile on Wally’s face could be heard. “He’s great. That entire week was a blast. Even though I wanted to spend it with you guys, I’m glad I got to hang out with him. I don’t get to do that enough.”

“Good, now then...” I leaned forward. “You can’t just dangle that your uncle works for a member of the Elite four without telling me who it is.”

Wally just stared at me, not saying a word.

“Come onnnnn, tell me. Is it Glacia? No, wait Sidney. A dark type specialist sounds like the type to have his own researchers!” I slapped my hands together.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Wally glared up at me.

“Kirlia!” Gawain agreed.

“Not Sidney, then. Hmm... Phoebe and Drake don’t strike me as sciencey types so that just leaves Glacia. Is your uncle trying to help her figure out how to go below absolute zero?” I asked.

Wally tilted his head at me. “Uh, Lea, your elite four knowledge is a bit dated. Drake retired last year.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah, it was announced at last year’s conference. Drake didn’t want to deal with Wallace anymore, apparently. Can’t really blame him on that one...” Wally sighed before grinning back at me. “You didn’t see? You always watch the conferences.”

“I was busy with bakery stuff when the last conference happened.” The fact that I would have been out there on that arena if I had left when I was supposed to didn’t really make me happy to watch the damn thing, either. Wally didn’t need to hear that, though.

“Right, well, the new guy’s a fire specialist. First time we’ve had a gym leader and an elite four member with the same type specialty,” Wally said.

“Well then, Mr. Nerd. Since you know so much about him, I’m willing to be that he’s your uncle’s boss.” I smiled knowingly at my green haired friend.

Wally winced.

“Come on, just tell me his name. I’ll just look it up on Sergei now if you don’t, but having a name would make it way easier.” I waved Sergei around to prove my point and giggled as a Munchlax popped up on the screen looking a bit green in the cheeks.

Wally sighed. “Fine, ugh. It’s not like it’s a big secret, calm down.”

I pointedly ignored him as I leaned forward.

“The new member of the elite four, and my uncle’s boss, goes by the name of Maxie.

***

I stared back out across the beach behind the center and sighed, my coat pulling down at my shoulders as I took in the sandy shores. I was happy I managed to get Wally and May to join Wayne and Jasmine for a day of sightseeing. I really wanted this to be private. I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed my poke balls. “Alright everyone. Here’s hoping this isn’t ass.”

Three flashes of light filled the area, and the temperature dropped a bit more as Lucas took center stage directly in front of me. Apollo flew in and landed on my shoulder, and Joern grinned up at me just a few feet away.

“Hon Honedge.” Lucas floated up higher and got closer. “Honedge.”

Emilie groaned from my shoulder. “Please stop.”

I grinned, happy to have avoided the pun for once.

“Wingull. Wing?” Apollo leaned in closer as I pulled up Sergei. “Ahoy, cap. Everything alright upstairs?”

“Not... really, Apollo.” I groaned as I let myself fall into a cross-legged seat on the sand. “Though I’m handling things better than I thought I would.” I turned and grinned at my ghost sword. “I was actually a bit worried Lucas was going to be a bit of an issue, but I suppose you’re too much of a goofball for that.”

“Honedge!” Lucas grinned as he bobbed up and down in the air.

“Don’t get too excited, that means I don’t have to work on being around you too much, and you get to go train with Apollo more. Your Aerial Ace still needs some work.” My grin caused Lucas to back away slowly from the group. Suppose this was a bit of revenge for all the sword puns and badly sung musical numbers.

“Gull.” Apollo’s grin matched mine.

I didn’t need Sergei to understand that one. “Get to work, you two. I expect the swabbie to be shipshape by the end of the day.”

Apollo saluted before taking off across open water. Lucas sighed, glared at me, and followed.

“Lom.” Joern raised his hand. “Lombre.”

Didn’t need Sergei for that, either. “You’re going to be with me. You’ll actually have the very important job of watching me while I do this.” I turned to Emilie and smiled at her. “I need to get rid of the barrier around my head.”

“What?” Emilie stared at me with wide eyes. “Lea, our gym battle’s tomorrow, we aren’t-”

“I don’t care about the stupid gym battle.” I yelled, before wincing. “Sorry, I...” I sighed before looking away. “I want to push through this as fast as possible. I... want you back in my head. I want to hear Lucas’s shit jokes and Apollo’s pirate banter. I want to listen to Joern’s sarcastic comments and your mental bickering with Suzy. This.” I pointed to my own head. “Fucking sucks.”

Emilie opened her mouth, closed it, and looked away. “I know it does, but... we’re not going to be able to work through this in a day.”

“So, we work our asses off at it every day till I'm normal again. It hasn’t even been a full day yet, and I hate not being able to understand everyone.” I sighed. “I understand why May was so happy, now, when I finally started learning how to push thoughts. Hearing everyone is so much better than reading it on a tiny little touch screen.” I grinned down at Sergei. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Sergei messaged. “Though my touch screen is one of the biggest on offer, so watch yourself.”

I chuckled. “Fair. Regardless, though... what can we do to push through this? You guys are like family, I want to listen to what you have to say, got it?”

Emilie kept her mouth shut for a bit before nodding. “In that case, I guess we’ll just have to get started by taking stock of how bad the reaction really is when you try to remove it. What did you feel in the cafeteria?”

I smiled down at Emilie. “It was the same feeling I felt when you first appeared in my mindscape last night. I was petrified, and I could barely think straight. It was... horrifying.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of.” Emilie smiled at me. “I think I realize now that your trauma isn’t really tied to my type, it’s tied to feeling helpless and vulnerable. My type’s just... better at making you feel those things. Unfortunately.”

“Great, so I need to feel secure in my own head without the psychic barrier,” I said. “Only way to do that is to meditate and take stock of my head.”

That same feeling of dread froze me in place, and I gasped as the whole beach seemed to expand around me. I gulped as the world started to spin, and a sense of nausea overtook me. I bit back our breakfast before collapsing into the sand.

“Lea!” Emilie shouted, before running over. “What the hell was that?”

“I, uh... meditation might be hard,” I muttered before pushing myself up from the sand. “Great, I’m too scared to go back into my own head.”

“These aren’t... normal fear responses, Lea,” Emilie muttered.

“I know. I, it doesn’t really make sense. I’ve been afraid before. I dealt with it. Fuck, I dealt with it this morning with Gawain, and I still have no clue why I was worried about him in the first place.” I swallowed. “This is something else.”

Emilie sighed. “Oddly enough, this is something I know more about.”

“Can’t imagine why someone who learned about human psychology from a Mr. Mime would know more about why I’m being a whiny crybaby right now,” I said.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that.” Emilie’s eyes narrowed as she glared at me. “Considering all the Tauros Shit you went through, you being a mostly functional human being is incredible.”

I winced. “Sorry.”

“Lombre.” Joern raised his hand and pointed at Sergei. “So, if most of our issues get worked through by Lea meditating and working through her issues, how do we do that if she’s scared of meditating.”

“Good question, do you have an answer for us, oh great and wise therapist?” I asked cheekily.

“Uhhh...” Emilie kept shifting her gaze between me and Joern. “Why are you scared to meditate, let’s start with that.”

“The giant black death cloud thing that almost made me piss myself the last time I was in there,” I deadpanned. “Why do you think?”

“Don’t have to bite my head off about it,” Emilie muttered.

I winced. “Sorry, I’m a little on edge.”

“I know, I know. The upside, is that whatever the fuck that thing was, isn’t in your head anymore. I saw the black cloud explode before I got the boot.” Emilie smiled at me.

“I, uh... are you sure it’s gone?” I asked, my voice sounding shaky. “Really sure?”

Emilie opened her mouth, and the words died in her throat. It sounded like air was being let out of a balloon.

“Thought so,” I said.

“If there is something left, it’s a lot less of an eldritch abomination than it was before.” Emilie took a deep breath before looking me in the eye. “It’s your mind. You run the show. Even if there is something left, kick it’s ass and tell it to sit in the corner.”

I stood perfectly still, my eyes locked to Emilie’s.

“This will be what we work on today, then. Making you comfortable enough to meditate without freaking out.” Emilie nodded once. “Think you’re feeling up to it? Me and Joern can help you deal with the aftereffects, but...”

“I’ll do it.” I cut her off before she could make me doubt myself. I took a deep breath through my nose, exhaled through my mouth, and closed my eyes.

My hands instantly started to shake.

This was going to be a long day.

***

I dragged myself into the center with heavy eyes and a drooping head. My coat was doing fuck all to deal with the cold now that the sun had fully gone down. If it wasn’t for my own personal stash of chocolate peanut butter cookies, I’d probably be a passed out husk in the sand. As it was, this sofa was calling my name.

“Lombre.” Joern patted me on the leg as soon as I turned around and crashed. “Lombre lom.”

“Yeah, yeah. I did good, right?” I asked, my voice raspy and drained.

Lombre leaned back with wide eyes.

“You’re very expressive, Joern. It makes it easy to at least figure out what the gist of what you’re saying is.” I smiled at the grass type. “Especially since you usually don’t say much.”

“Lombre.” Joern huffed and looked away.

“That’s not a bad thing, Joern. Especially right now.” I smiled before pulling him into a sideways hug.

“He’s right, though. I think you might be able to swing a meditation session by tomorrow night. Assuming the gym battle goes well.” Emilie smiled at me from her new spot on the table. It looked strained. “I still think we should have at least worked a bit more on how we’re going to communicate during the battle. I-”

“You took down your evolution with minimal input from me. We’ll be fine,” I said. “Do you really think I’ll be able to stay calm enough by tomorrow? I had so many episodes down there. Only reason I think I was able to stay calm was how tired I am.”

Emilie disappeared and reformed on my shoulder. “You don’t give yourself anywhere close to enough credit.” She patted my hair. She was doing that a lot today. “Thank you for this.”

“You guys are worth it, so cut it with the thanks crap.” I leaned back into the couch and closed my eyes. “I miss your running commentary on my thought process so much. It annoyed the shit out of me before, but now I miss the fuck out of it.”

The sound of a sliding door pulled me from my daze, and I lifted my head to see the full squad slowly make their way in.

In full winter apparel.

“Guys, it’s cold, but it’s not THAT cold.” I smiled at May’s scowling form. “How was sightseeing?”

“Short. Nobody in this town knows how to deal with the cold. Half the shopkeepers were freaking out,” Jasmine complained before claiming the spot in front of me. “There was someone in front of the gym handing these out, and I just jumped at the chance. I didn’t think I’d need to pack winter coats for this trip.”

“I’m from Alola, originally. I’m not used to dealing with weather like this,” Wayne said, before sitting down next to Jasmine and pulling her closer.

“How’d your training go?” Wally asked.

Gawain peeked his head out from behind Wally, and I grinned.

“You’re alright, Gawain. I’m dealing a bit better than I was.” I groaned before sitting up. “Granted, I also feel tired as fuck, but I think I’m handling things better. I’m at least getting better at pushing through my panic moments and staying coherent.”

“Good.” May plopped down next to me. “I think.”

“Kirlia!” Gawain knelt before me once before bouncing back to Wally.

“Idiot.” Emilie muttered softly.

‘How very Tsun of you,’ I mentally pushed.

She didn’t respond and I felt like crying. Of course she didn’t respond, you idiot. I sighed before pushing myself up off the couch. May grabbed my hand and looked up at me with a frown.

“I know we haven’t hung out a ton today, but I’m exhausted.” I sighed. “Do you mind if I just turn in early? We’ll be together all-”

“Get some rest.” May cut me off with a smile. “I’ll join you soon. We have to get up decently early for our matches.” Her eyes cut across the room to Wally. “Since SOMEBODY had to take the nine slot.”

“It was open?” Wally chuckled lightly.

“There’s a reason it was open, no one wants to get up that early, you prick,” May said.

“Oi, I have to get up that early all the time with Gawain.” Wally grabbed the psychic type’s head as he finished. “This little knight in training rises with the goddamn sun. It’s about time I made you stupid night owls deal with the same crap I have to.”

“Kirlia,” Gawain complained.

“Great.” I gave May’s hand a squeeze before grabbing Joern’s poke ball and returning him. I looked up at Emilie. “I’m leaving you guys with Nurse Joy tonight, okay? I want everyone to be ready to go first thing in the morning.”

Emilie nodded once, before levitating the balls from my waist. “I’ll take care of that if you want.”

I looked my starter up and down before smiling. “Thanks.” I waved to everyone as Emilie disappeared, and slowly made my way to my bedroom.

Fuck, why the hell was I so jittery about tomorrow. This was a gym battle. No life or death stakes. No crisis needed to be averted. Nothing.

Why was I so nervous? I didn’t feel like this before Roxanne.

I couldn’t feel like this before Roxanne. Fuck. I spent the entire night seething over getting saddled with a fucking gym trainers. A shiver ran through my whole body as I pushed into our bedroom. Fuck, the entire room still looked like a jumbled up mess. Whatever, I didn’t care.

I crashed into the bed and passed out almost instantly.

***

I woke up the following morning to the sound of water hitting the shower floor. Dammit all, May actually made it into the bathroom before me. It was already fucking cold, I didn’t want to deal with not having no hot water while I washed up.

Blankets weighed me down as I slowly started to pull myself out of bed. I sent a mental call out to Emilie before wincing.

Right.

Psychically handicapped at the moment.

Yay.

I froze once I realized it wasn’t actually a cover draped over me. The green fabric looked familiar, and I almost shouted once I realized just what it was.

My Haori was draped over me. I pulled it up and traced the garment with my eyes. It looked exactly the same. Down to the back hems and sash. How-

A note fell down onto the bed, and I slowly picked it up and opened it.

‘It didn’t feel right for the ‘Jade Witch’ to not go into battle looking her best. (Please don’t tease me for the name, I tried my best) I know this journey’s been a hell of a ride, but I believe in you. You’re stronger than anyone else I’ve ever known, Lea. I don’t know how to help you through what you’re dealing with now, but here’s hoping this will give you a bit more courage.’

XOX

May

PS – Please shower and change today. You’re starting to get a bit ripe.

“I, May, you big sappy dork,” I muttered to myself before pulling the Haori close.

Brawly wasn’t going to know what hit him, today.

Neither was May when she got out of the shower.

Chapter Text

“Okay, I don’t care how cold it is, sand is way more comfortable than bleachers. If it wasn’t for the weather, Brawly’s arena choice would be fucking goated,” I said, looking out across the massive sandy arena with a smile.

Guess that practice match with Wally was a better idea than I thought.

May nodded stiffly before looking away again, fully garbed in a winter coat, gloves and scarf. We had well and truly left fall weather in the rearview mirror, as the temp finally dipped down below freezing.

I sighed and leaned backwards, propping myself up with my hands against the sand. “Look, I’m sorry that my thank you got a little passionate-”

“Under no circumstances, will you EVER apologize for kissing me like that again,” May ordered.

I quickly nodded my head up and down, my eyes wide. Forceful May was scary. Hot, but scary.

Granted, that all went out the window when her gaze lingered on my face for too long and her face went red. Again.

That thank you might have gotten a bit out of hand.

A massive shadow loomed over me, and I turned to see Wayne and Jasmine.

“We’re not late, are we?” Wayne asked.

“We’re still waiting on Brawly. Surfer boy’s running late.” I glared over at Wally. “Though I can’t really blame him for not wanting to drag himself out here this early in this cold.”

He gave me the finger from his spot on the beach. Said ‘arena’ was one big, poorly drawn white box that the ref was currently drawing out. A Kadabra was off to the side, tracing after the lines with his finger.

Kadabra wasn’t freaking me out. Good to know.

A few spectators giggled at our antics, but most seemed too cold to comment. Most of them were even more padded up than May and the rest of us.

I patted the spot next to me. “Don’t just stand there, take a seat before this place fills up even more.” The fact that Wally even drew this much of a crowd this early in the morning was kind of surprising, though.

Jasmine threw a blanket down next to me and the two of them sat on that.

Damn, that was a smart idea. Wish I thought of that.

“You better not have hijacked the center’s blankets,” May chastised, glaring at the ground cover with envious eyes.

“I snagged one while we were shopping yesterday.” Jasmine grinned smugly at May. “Nice scarf, by the way.

May’s face went blank as her face went red. “Thanks...”

“What, I just-”

I nudged Jasmine with my elbow.

She clicked her mouth shut and matched May in color.

“Y’all are weird. I- oh, Brawly’s here.” Wayne pointed across the beach.

Brawly looked a lot puffier than I was expecting. I was used to seeing pictures of the fighting type specialist showing off his abs in swimwear. He was on more than one cover in the surfing magazines Eve got in all the time.

Eve really needed to get a boyfriend.

This man had to be wearing at least three different coats right now, complete with mittens, a winter hat, and...

Were those leggings I saw underneath those sweats?

“Whoever picked this timeslot, in this weather, is a bastard.” Brawly glared across the beach at Wally.

Wally’s respirator releasing a breath of air as he sucked in a raspy breath was the only response he gave.

Brawly laughed. “Guess it goes with the look, I suppose. Still, uncool bro.” Brawly shifted his gaze to the Ref. “We ready to go?”

The ref cast a look over at Kadabra, who nodded, before turning back to Brawly. “We’re good to go, boss.”

“Rad.” Brawly took his spot on the field and pulled out a ball. “Hope you don’t mind, but you’re going to be a bit of a warm up. You’ve got four, so I wouldn’t mind you using them. I know four-on-four's a bit odd for a second badge, so I’ll leave it up to you if you wanna back out.” Brawly grinned. “I’ll even throw in an extra switch.”

Wally stared down at the sand in thought for a second, before looking at me. His gaze lingered for a moment before turning back to Brawly. “I’m knocking those four out, so I’m not sure about the warm up part. Four-on-four sounds great.”

“You tell him, Wally!” I shouted.

Emilie just groaned. “The battle hasn’t even started yet, and you’re already being embarrassing.”

“I like the confidence. Make sure it doesn’t turn into arrogance.” Brawly nodded at the ref and motioned for him to start.

The ref raised a pair of flags above his head, and the arena went silent. Sergei was floating around up top and already recording.

The ref remained quiet for a moment longer, before lifting his head up.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us here today on this cold Sunday morning. We’ve got a hell of a bout for you today, so keep your eyes peeled for ringers. Our challenger hails to us today from Petalburg City, and his trainer card comes to us with quite the endorsement by Roxanne. Claiming his first badge with only a single casualty, give it up for the Green Knight. WALLY!” The ref, no, announcer shoutcasted Wally to a wave of claps and whistles.

“Where was this guy for our fights in Rustboro?” I asked May, doing my best to shout over the crowd.

May grinned as she joined in the applause. “What did you expect? This is the fighting type Gym.”

“Y’all are in for a treat. Brawly’s bouts are always a great watch,” Wayne said.

The announcer waited for the crowd to calm down before glancing at Brawly. “Normally I don’t do this, but considering he’s wearing enough coats that he can’t properly bend his arms-”

“Fuck you, it’s cold!” Brawly yelled.

“Give it up for our crybaby Gym Leader, Brawly!” The announcer brought his flags down as clapping mixed in with laughter.

“Why do I pay you, again?” Brawly asked.

“Professionalism.” He raised both of his flags again. “This will be a four-on-four fight. Each side will be allowed two switches, and there is no time limit. Are both trainers ready?” Wally nodded and Brawly gave a thumbs up as he lifted a poke ball into the air. “Then you may begin!” The ref threw his flags down and two bright lights pushed out from both sides of the beach.

Ogier stood stalwart, his gaze firm and ready as he balanced on the sandy ground beneath him. “Pine.”

Across from him stood a mon I hadn’t seen before.

“What-”

“It’s a Makuhita.” May said, smiling at the chance to go full Bulbapedia. “It’s a fairly common fighting type on the island, at least in Dewford Cave. They’re really good at dealing with variable climates and are skilled practitioners of sumo style. They also like surfing.” May glanced down nervously. “We’ll probably see quite a few when we try to deliver Steven’s letter.”

“Stealth Rock.” Wally gave the first command of the fight, and Ogier glowed white.

“Oh, great, you’re one of those trainers. Stop it with Fake Out.” Makuhita all but teleported across the field, kicking up a massive amount of sand as he moved, and threw a false punch that stopped just a few inches short of Ogier’s eyes. Ogier stopped glowing and flinched away from the fist before getting tagged by a follow up punch to his...gut?

What even was the biology of a Pineco? A question for May, probably.

“Now Fire Punch while you’re close.” Brawly wrapped his arms around his chest and shivered a few times. “Make it extra hot, this arena could use it.”

“Hita!” Makuhita jumped across the beach, his fist glowing red. A bit of heat pushed out from the arena, and I grinned, happy to feel a bit of heat for the first time today.

“String shot the top of the barrier to get out of the way and start laying Spikes,” Wally shouted.

The sticky white line shot upwards and latched onto the ceiling of the psychic barrier, before pulling him up. Tiny spiked balls launched outwards as he ascended.

“Bounce on landing and follow him. He can’t change his direction right now, so he’s a sitting duck,” Brawly ordered.

Makuhita landed in the sand with a flop, and his body seemed to shift his weight downwards as his feet slowly spread apart before jumping up, his flab pulling down as he rapidly gained altitude.

“Detach, lean back, and-”

Makuhita slammed his glowing fist into Ogier before Wally could even finish giving the order. Fire exploded outwards from Makuhita’s hand as the bagworm, now on fire, was launched into the beach with the force of a meteor. Sand and fire intermingled for a brief moment before pushing outward from the impact.

“Gotta be a bit quicker than that, Wally. You can’t just react to what I do, you’ve got to get ahead of me if you want to dodge effectively.” Brawly grinned as Makuhita landed with a soft thud.

“Ogier, keep laying Spikes. I want this field coated!” Wally shouted through the chaos with his hands around his mouth.

How were you even sure that Ogier was still-

Spikes exploded out from the dust cloud, cutting off my thought process.

Brawly grit his teeth. “Makuhita, take that thing out before it can make our life even more difficult. One more Fire Punch should seal the deal.”

Wally smirked. “Now Kamikaze.”

“Protect.” I noticed that Brawly had yet to raise his voice or shout a command. His posture was laid back, and I wondered if he was even taking Wally seriously.

Wally was going for his second badge, of course he’s not taking this seriously. Think Lea.

Legends above, I actually miss Emilie making fun of me in my own head. I turned and noticed that Emilie was watching the battle intently. Guess I’d have to make fun of my own commentary.

...I’m really not right in the head.

Ogier launched a set of Stealth Rocks instead of blowing up, and I grinned at the fake out. “See, I’m not the only one that gets hit by that shit!”

Emilie smiled condescendingly at me. “Honey, compare our field with this one.” Emilie lifted her hand up. “Notice the spike discrepancy?”

“Shut up.” I muttered.

May giggled as Jasmine shushed us.

Makuhita’s barrier faded, and he stood, frozen in place as he hunched forward to take a breath.

Wally grinned, before seizing the moment. “String shot towards him and blow up for real this time. Let’s start this match off right!”

“Pine!” Ogier complied, leaning forward and jetting across the beach. “Pineco!”

Emilie groaned.

“What?” I asked.

“Do-” Brawly was cut off by Ogier going supernova.

The explosion wasn’t even remotely close to as destructive as Roxanne’s Onix, but it was just as deafening. I pressed both hands over my ears and groaned as sand was once again kicked up into the air. The Makuhita was sent backwards, the front of his body lightly charred. I could smell the acrid scent of charred fat as he slammed into the psychic barrier with a loud crack.

Neither Pokémon moved, and the ref raised both of his flags.

“In an incredible display of tactics and strategy, our noble young knight triumphs over our frigid Gym Leader while setting the field. A fantastic display at this level,” The announcer called with a grin.

“For all that is holy, call the match and hurry up, I’m freezing out here,” Brawly yelled.

“This is, of course, a double knock out.” The announcer glared at his boss before pointing a flag at Wally. “Because the final move used was a kamikaze attack, our noble Green Knight must send out his next Pokémon first.”

That was good to know for the future.

“The crazy thing said Banzai on his way to blow up.” Emilie scrunched her nose up as Wally recalled Ogier. “I will never understand the Pineco line, only Pokémon I’ve ever met that actively enjoys blowing themselves to kingdom come.”

“Still, I think that went about as well as it could’ve gone,” I said. “This arena really isn’t doing the bug many favors, huh.?”

“He’ll be a lot more mobile once he evolves. That’s going to take a while though.” May smiled. “The fake out explosion is funny.”

“It’s annoying!” I groaned.

“I’m kind of mad I didn’t get to watch y’all’s match. Wally seems like a fun guy to fight against.” Wayne grinned out at the field hungrily. “I wonder-”

“Down boy.” Jasmine smacked Wayne in the chest.

A light filled the arena and a pair of wings spread out in open air as Nimue took flight.

I leaned forward. Nimue was the only one I hadn’t seen fight yet.

Brawly took a second to look at the field and think.

“Know what, it’s been a bit since you’ve gotten to have some fun. Combusken, brace yourself.”

May hyper focused on the battle the second those words left Brawly’s lips. Spikes and rocks came to life as soon as fire fowl landed in the sand. Just as they had done in my battle against Wally, the very arena came to life the second he fully formed. Rocks lifted up from the ground before surging inward, and a hail of spikes raced along the ground towards their new target. Combusken winced as it brought its arms up to shield itself, and the attacks drew an audible cluck of pain as they converged.

“Begin,” The ref shouted.

“Defog/Whirlwind.” Brawly and Wally both started the command before the ref could even finish starting the match.

A single wave of air pushed itself out from Combusken as Nimue started beating her wings, and all of the spikes and stones that littered the arena were slowly pushed out of bounds. The light that emanated from them faded as the winds started to pick up. Sand very quickly started to get lifted into the air, and the arena was engulfed in a raging sandstorm that belted into Combusken. He lifted his hands in front of his face, but before he could be hurt more, a single red line shot from Combusken back towards Brawly. I looked on as the fire chicken was recalled without anyone moving to do so.

“What the hell?” I asked.

“Whirlwind, when used on a captured Pokémon, forces the Pokémon back to its poke ball.” May explained. “It’s forced, so it doesn’t count as a switch, but it’s a nasty combo with Spikes and Stealth Rock.”

I leaned back. “Okay, so whoever Brawly sends out is just going to get pelted again? That’s a nasty bit of strat-” The words died on my throat as I realized something. “Oh my god, Nimue and Ogier complement each other, that is so cute!”

“Defog cleared the hazards.” May explained. I grinned.

“Just as useful as a pokedex and infinitely prettier, I’m so happy I'm dating a nerd.” I started laughing at the odd face my girlfriend was making. The glare was muted by the blush, and I couldn’t help but lean forward and pat her on the head. “It was a compliment, honey.” I smiled. “A pet name, even.”

“No.” May deadpanned.

I pouted.

“Flirt later, Brawly’s sending out his Pokémon,” Jasmine said, before offering-

“Where did you get pocky from?” I asked.

“Bought it yesterday, you two need to plan better for watching your boy kick ass,” Wayne said.

“Air Cutter, Nimue! Keep your distance.” Wally ordered as Combusken reformed on the stage.

Ah, that’s why Wally wanted to borrow Apollo for a bit. Apollo taught a lot of Pokémon a lot of cool stuff the last few days, I’d have to find make him some personalized cookies at some point as thanks.

...Maybe I could beg Nurse Joy to let me back into the kitchen if I promised not to invite my insane asylum teammates.

“Dodge with Flame Charge and start building speed. Keep the fire going, too,” Brawly countered.

Various wind sickles were launched at the area Combusken used to be as he charged directly towards the ground under Nimue. The sand beneath him started to glass, and my eyes widened as Combusken found solid footing on ground that up to that point, was a shifting, coarse, mess. Combusken jumped into the air and instantly closed the distance between himself and Nimue.

“Fire Uppercut.” Brawly smiled.

Nimue barely beat its wings fast enough to move back and avoid the blazing fist, and a pulse of heat radiated out through the clearing.

A red line pulled Nimue back into her poke ball as Combusken landed.

“The challenger has wisely elected to use one of his two switches. Will it be enough to deal with the fiery menace?” The announcer leaned forward a bit as he lifted a flag out towards Wally.

“I’m impressed with your tactics, bro,” Brawly said. “I almost let you keep the hazards, but I wanted to see how you adapted. Hope you weren’t locked in to one strategy.”

“You’re a lot more amicable than Roxanne,” Wally said.

“Nah, she’s just like that with groms. Most people are so nervous that they can’t even give commands for their first gym battle, so she riles em up to get them stoked for their fight.” Brawly laughed. “I’m terrible at it. Makes me happy the only people that fight me first are the locals. They know me well enough to know how chill fights can be.”

“Fair enough. Gwen, you’re up.” Azumarill formed and looked across the field. The malevolent look she sent the Combusken sent a shiver down my spine.

“I’m so happy I’m half psychic. That,” Emilie waved her hand out towards Gwen. “Terrifies me.”

“She wasn’t... that bad. She was a bit haughty in the cooking class, but-”

“She likes us.” Emilie cut me off. “She sees us as friends.”

“Fair enough.” I nodded quickly.

Brawly started to move towards his belt.

“Aqua Jet.” Wally ordered.

Water pushed out from beneath Gwen, and a thin viscous membrane of liquid formed around her so fast it almost looked instantaneous. She pushed off from the sand and all but disappeared in a blue haze before slamming into the Combusken. My ears popped at the force of the impact, and water exploded forward on contact.

The aquatic assault sent the fire fowl backwards, his body ragdolling as he rolled through the sand. His eyes were white, and his beak was stuck open in a rictus of agony as he slammed into the barrier.

The damn thing cracked on impact.

It didn’t get back up and I stared at the arena with muted horror as my mouth stubbornly refused to work or close.

“C-combusken is unable to battle.” For the first time in the fight, the announcer was struck speechless. “Will the gym leader, ho, I need a minute. Legends above, what do you feed that thing?”

Wally leaned back from the ref with wide eyes. “Uhh, well, May’s dex recommended a protein heavy diet, and Lea’s custom cookies are actually really good about following nutritional guidelines for Pokémon, so-”

“Stop talking,” The announcer ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Wally muttered nervously.

Brawly chuckled nervously, his face pale as he slowly lifted up Combusken’s ball. “Well, that thing’s terrifying.” For the first time in the fight, Brawly looked conflicted. “Breloom, you’re up.” A bipedal mushroom man formed opposite from Azumarill.

“That’s what Shroomish evolves into, right?” I asked. May nodded. “That looks badass as hell, Martin’s going to have a hell of a Pokémon if it ever evolves.”

“They’re really versatile, too. Imagine all the annoying grass type tricks Joern has and combine them with Suzy’s agility and power.” I shivered. This was going to be rough.

Brawly looked out to Breloom with a an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to wake you, Robbie, but this guy’s a lot tougher than he looks.”

The Breloom, now named Robbie, nodded and his half lidded gaze sharpened on Azumaril.

“How worried do you think Wally should be that Brawly named this mon?” Emilie asked.

“Very,” May and I replied, our eyes wide.

“Play Rough.” Wally shouted. I was a bit surprised he didn’t use his second switch here. It’s not like Brawly had a wealth of options available to him right now, he only had a single mon left, and Nimue would be a much better choice for this.

“Spore,” Brawly commanded.

Robbie shook his head, and yellow toxins exploded outwards. Honestly, Gwen approaching didn’t really matter much, as the entire field got doused. Wally’s strongest physical attacker fell asleep instantly, her body falling forward as she passed out and landed, face first, into the sand.

“Now Bullet Seed,” Brawly ordered.

“Gwen now is not the best time to be taking a nap,” Wally shouted.

Gwen’s only response was a cute, soft snore. Switch out, you idiot.

Robbie leaned back and fired, the seeds crossing the field in an instant. The attack pelted into Gwen’s side, immediately waking it up as it screamed in agony. An Aqua Jet formed underneath her, and she used moved away from the rapid fire grass move.

Robbie tracked her, through the beach as she moved, as easily as if she was standing still.

“Return.” Wally shouted.

You should have done that from the start. I once again sagged when I realized that Emilie couldn’t hear me.

“The challenger has used his final switch.” The ref shouted.

“You’re one to talk about terrifying Pokémon,” Wally shouted at Brawly.

“Robbie’s definitely on the upper end of what’s acceptable for this level. I needed something that could ride whatever swells your Pokémon could throw my way,” Brawly said.

Wally nodded.“Well, here’s a familiar swell. Nimue, welcome back to the field.”

Okay, good. He hadn’t revealed Gawain yet.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that. Robbie, return.” A single red line pulled the Breloom back as Brawly looked out at the flying bug type.

Before the ref could even announce the shift. Brawly had another ball in hand. “Hariyama, we got some work to do.”

My mouth once again dropped open as the hulking mass slammed into the sand. I was fairly confident that if this was a normal field, that would have caused an earthquake.

“Hariyama is the evolved form of Makuhita, they-”

“I kind of figured that one out already.” I cut May off dazedly.

“Are we done playing musical Pokémon?” the announcer asked, glaring at both participants.

Both Wally and Brawly chuckled nervously.

“In that case, this harrowing battle between the steadfast Hariyama and the speedy Masquerain can begin!”

“Keep your distance, Nimue. He’s big and slow. Air cutter him until he goes down.”

Nimue quickly put some distance between herself and the hulking sumo wrestler. Brawly didn’t react. A single wind sickle cut through the air with a whistle before slamming into the hulking fighting type.

Hariyama lifted his hand up to his mouth and yawned.

“I... feel like there’s a bit of power discrepancy here,” I said.

May and Emilie nodded slowly.

“Well, nice to see I don’t have much to worry about. Let’s take this as our chance to Bulk Up.” Brawly grinned out at the field at Wally. “Thanks for the chance to set up.”

Wally cursed. “Just rapid fire Air Cutter. They have to be doing something, I don’t care how much Hariyama is pretending they aren’t.”

Don’t get frustrated, Wally. You’re still up a full mon.

Nimue’s attacks sailed through the air and cut into the flexing fighting type to little effect as he slowly started to increase in size.

This looked bad.

“Now, let’s live up to this gym’s namesake. Surf!”

My eyes widened as Hariyama threw out both of his arms and a wall of water erupted on either side of him, lifting him up into the air. The massive fighting type threw one hand behind him and the other forward as he took the standard pose for cutting through swells with practiced ease, and the entire body of water lurched forward across the arena.

“Dodge,” Wally said weakly.

How the fuck were you supposed to dodge something like that! It covered the whole damn field. Nimue was washed away into drip and was slammed into ground as the whole thing cascaded down into the barrier.

Brawly grinned. “Now, end it with Ice Punch.”

“Nimue!” Wally shouted.

Nimue blearily pulled itself up from the sand before taking in the lumbering form rushing towards her faster than anything that size had a right to move. She desperately beat her wings but rather than take off, she merely shook off the water. Hariyama slammed his frozen fist into Nimue’s abdomen, and she passed out before she even hit the ground.

“A chilling end to a one sided beatdown. Does the challenger have anything that can stand up to the might of our Gym Leader’s ace?” The announcer called out as Wally returned his downed moth Pokémon.

“That... was terrifying,” May said.

I nodded. “Wasn’t expecting surf. At all.”

“I wasn’t expecting Rock Slide.” Emilie said.

I winced as I remembered the match against Roxanne’s Nosepass. “This is the ace of Brawly’s two badge team.” I spoke. “It’s going to have tricks for everything, more than likely.”

“Adaptability is the name of the game, kid.” Brawly explained. “What are you going to do in the face of pure power?”

Wally didn’t respond as he looked down at his remaining poke balls.

“Come on, Wally. Don’t rise to the bait. Just send out Gawain,” I muttered.

“Wouldn’t it be better to send out Gwen?” Emilie asked.

“Brawly would just switch. I don’t think Gwen can beat that Breloom,” I replied.

“So, Gwen’s a liability now.” Wayne winced. “This team’s no joke.”

“Yeah, wonder how much fun the three badge team is going to be,” I said, glancing at the gym leader nervously.

“Meh, Gawain’s got this.” Emilie said, her voice the pitch of unconcerned indifference. “My protege would never shame me by losing to the fighting type gym of all things.”

“You haven’t taught him anything yet.” I glared at my starter as the words left my mouth.

Emilie winced. “Right, uh... I’ll get right on that?”

My glare lasered in on her. “You better.”

“Challenger?” The ref asked.

“I’m going, this choice is hard.” Wally replied. “Gawain, let’s have some fun.”

My muscles relaxed as I sagged further down into the sand. ‘At least now he’ll have a backup if things go bad.’ No reply. Damn it all, I needed to stop doing that.

Brawly groaned as Gawain formed opposite of his Hariyama. “Two Fairy types? You are setting yourself up for a headache and a half, bro.”

“I already have a headache and a half, trust me,” Wally complained.

Gawain turned around and glared at Wally. “Kirlia.”

I thought back to the baking lesson yesterday and wondered how many arguments he had to defuse in a day. Probably too many.

“He-”

“I got the gist, Emilie.” I cut her off with a chuckle.

“And the challengers final Pokémon is an imposing Kirlia. I hope you’re ready for blowout folks, because this is going to be a hell of a ride. Kirlia Vs Hariyama, begin!” The announcer threw his flags down.

“Feint Attack,” Brawly ordered.

I cursed under my breath. Of course this thing knew dark type attacks. That made both mine and Wally’s life harder.

A dark aura overtook Hariyama and he rushed towards Gawain faster than a Pokémon that size had any right too.

Gawain disappeared from the spot where he was standing, and Wally’s eyes glowed a faint purple as his head was pulled to where Gawain reformed. Sand started to rise up from the ground, a faint blue glow encompassing it as it rose up into the air and surrounded Gawain.

“And I will have you know that I did show him at least one trick,” Emilie complained. “He can maintain a psychic dialogue with a human and use his abilities at the same time. I taught him that when you were giving May a hick-”

“Emilie!” May’s entire face was bright red as she glared at the psychic type on my shoulder.

Wayne just started laughing as Jasmine gave me an appraising look. My own face heated up and I sighed before bumping Emilie in the head.

“I’ll show you how to cover that up with makeup later, okay?” Jasmine asked with a smile.

May just nodded, looking completely mortified by the conversation.

 

A giant wall of water rose up from the ground and drew our attention back to the fight. Apparently, the command for Surf had been given while we were arguing. Gawain threw his hands forward, and a wave of sand pushed forward into the wall of water. The cascade collapsed downward, pulling the sumo wrestler down into the ground with a resounding thud.

Brawly winced. “Wipeout, that’s no good. Get back up and keep using faint attack. He’s using Confusion to manipulate the sand, so one good hit with a dark type attack should break it.”

Hariyama leaned back and jumped up to his feet, and a dark aura once again engulfed him.

Gawain once again lifted his hands into the air, and the water from the surf came to life. A ball formed around him and he darted out of the way of the oncoming force of malevolence.

“Copycat!” Emilie shouted.

Gawain actually took the time to wave at Emilie before floating backwards, casually avoiding the Hariyama’s continued charges.

She shook in revulsion. “This is what I get for being nice to the nerd.”

“Meh, take it as a compliment. You’re awesome enough that Gawain felt the need to copy your homework,” I said.

Emilie hesitantly nodded.

Gawain proceeded to continue copying Emilie’s homework as he threw up mini sand walls to slow down and hurt the Hariyama as he rushed forwards. Brawly sighed and lifted his poke ball into the air.

“Hariyama, return.” A single red line pulled Hariyama back. “Robbie, you’re up again.” The Breloom shook a bit as it formed and stared apprehensively across the field. I’m sure the smile on Gawain’s face looked terrifying from his perspective, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Gawain was just happy to have challenging foes.

“The exact phrase going through his head right now is ‘A worthy challenge for my knightly valor.’” Emilie said.

A cold feeling shot up through my spine as I wondered if she had somehow found a way inside my head.

“Just because I can’t cheat anymore doesn’t mean I can’t guess. You’re like an open book sometimes, calm down.” Emilie muttered before looking away.

I both blushed and looked away at the same time.

I needed to get over this. I know Emilie said it would be hard, that it’d take a lot of work to push through this, but I needed to. I refused to let this dictate how I interacted with her.

“Kirlia Vs Breloom. Begin!”

“Spore.” Brawly ordered immediately. Bit predictable, and very avoidable, all Gawain had to do would be to redirect the toxins.

Gawain breathed deeply and promptly passed out. The arena went silent as Brawly stared across the field.

“Really wasn’t expecting it to be that easy. Breloom, Bullet Seed.” No response. “Breloom?” A snore echoed out across the field, as both fighters were out cold

“Okay, am I missing something?” I asked.

Emilie smiled. “The Ralts line has two abilities. Mine, which is Trace, let’s me copy the abilities of another Pokémon on the field.” Emilie waved her hand out towards Gawain. “Gawain got the other one. Synchronize, which lets him share his physical condition with his opponent.”

“So, inducing sleep...”

“Makes both Pokémon pass out.” May finished.

“So... what? Whoever wakes up first just wins? I know Wally likes to gamble, but-”

As if hearing me from the field, Gawain immediately opened his eyes and teleported across the field. He held both of his hands together and a single, rainbow-colored orb began to form between them. He pushed forward, and the orb transformed into a beam that distorted reality around it. Light reflected in ways that made no sense, wind curved around it, and despite the attack cleanly going through Robbie, no outside wound was made. Robbie’s eyes opened as soon as the attack made contact, and his mouth opened in a silent scream. As the light faded, Robbie stood, unmoving for a single, tense moment. He promptly fell forward and collapsed into the sand.

“Breloom is unable to battle.” The ref announced.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked, awe and fear both creeping into my voice as I watched Robbie get pulled back into his poke ball.

“Psybeam,” May said. “A concentrated, mental assault, delivered at point blank range, to a fighting type.”

“I... didn’t think he had gotten that down, yet,” Emilie said.

I turned my head up to Emilie. “Can you do that?”

“Maybe?” she answered hesitantly. “My mom showed me how, but I haven’t tried in a hot minute. I didn’t have the raw power to make the attack work. You’re basically taking a battering ram to your opponent’s pain receptors and layering that with a concentrated telepathic shove.” Emilie turned her gaze towards the ground and remained quiet. “I... think I could probably learn to do it now. Honestly, there is a lot that I really need to try and see if I can do. I’m a lot stronger than I used to be.”

“I mean, you do have an awesome trainer,” I bragged.

Emilie rolled her eyes. “Humble, too.”

“Would you both shut up,” Jasmine hissed as Brawly grudgingly lifted up his final poke ball and sent Hariyama back out.

“And so, our leader fights to the bitter end against not one, but two fae. Will Hariyama stand triumphant in the face of these indescribable odds?” The announcer lowered his flags on what felt like a hopeless cause. “Begin.”

“God, you didn’t even shout that one, this really is looking bleak. Fake Out to get in close,” Brawly shouted.

“Ga-”

Hariyama’s Fake Out was even faster than Makuhita’s. How the fuck did that make sense, this thing was three times its size.

Both hands rushed inwards, stopping just shy of slamming into the sides of Gawain’s body as he flinched out of the way, tripping backwards as he did so. Hariyama proceeded to lean forward and wrap his hand around the tiny psychic type.

“Now, while you’ve got a hold of it, Faint Attack. Do not let him teleport away from this onslaught.” Brawly grinned at the potential slug fest as a dark aura surrounded his last Pokémon.

Hariyama slammed his whole body down onto the stunned Gawain, the dark aura locking him in place.

“Teleport the second that attack fades. He can’t keep it up forever!” Wally shouted, his voice panicked as the fighting type dragged Gawain through the sand.

“We don’t have too, we just have to keep it up long enough. Slam him into the barrier, Hariyama.”

“Hari-” The fighting type brought the small fairy type up with a grunt, his hands bringing it back as he grinned. “YAMA!” The resulting slam smashed through the barrier, throwing the psychic type across the beach to the sound of breaking glass as a visible hole opened up in the wall of psychic energy.

“Dammit, Brawly, you already know you aren’t supposed to use dark moves on the barrier,” the ref complained.

“I’m sorry, how the hell else am I supposed to win against that thing, just call the match and we can fix it before the next one-”

Brawly’s complaining died the second Gawain teleported back into the arena. His arms hung limply down to his side as he hunched forward and took a deep, shuddering breath. A massive bruise started to form from where his back impacted the barrier, and sharp, labored breathing highlighted the psychic type’s pain as he slowly stood to his full height. His eyes were wide, and for a single moment, the fear I had felt when I first saw him yesterday bubbled up once more.

“Kirlia.” The second that single word was uttered, the entire arena came to life.

“My turn,” Emilie muttered.

The tendrils of sand instantly converged on the dazed Hariyama, before lifting it into the air.

“Faint-”

Gawain slammed the Hariyama into the barrier, and it bulged under its weight as several spectators quickly moved out of the way. Hariyama groaned as the hulking body was dragged along the wall before stopping suddenly as the fighting type rammed, face first, into a wall of sand.

The fact that the sand didn’t immediately explode outwards said a lot about how tightly Gawain packed that together. Hariyama glowed black, and Gawain’s control finally broke as he brute forced his way through Gawain’s attacks.

“Yama...” Hariyama glared at the vengeful psychic type with labored breathing, a black eye, and a long gash running down his chest. “Hariyama.”

“Kirlia.” Gawain responded.

Both pokemon started to chuckle.

“Hariyama said he’s completely spent,” Emilie translated. “The idiot replied with I can’t even lift my arms.”

“How are they both still conscious?” Jasmine asked.

“Pride.” Wayne and I answered at the exact same time. I turned and grinned at the big guy, who returned it in kind.

Gawain’s eyes glowed blue once more, and a significantly smaller amount of sand rose up from the ground. Hariyama bowed his head in challenge before lifting one leg into the air. He slammed it down into the sand in challenge.

“YAMA!” Hariyama let loose a warcry as he charged, headfirst, through Gawain’s meager assault. The sand wrapped around the hulking fighting type, before trending downwards. The Hariyama fell forward as sand wrapped itself around his feet, tripping him up. Sand exploded forward as the massive Pokémon slammed into the beach.

The last bits of sand Gawain had control of moved his arms in front of him, and a familiar rainbow colored orb started to form between his hands as the Hariyama stopped, just in front of the psychic type. Gawain brought his hands down and fired.

Hariyama blacked out before the attack could even finish, and Gawain lurched forward before collapsing into the sand below him.

“Both Pokémon are unable to battle.” The announcer called out with a grin before lifting his flag towards Wally. “Since the challenger still has a Pokémon, it is my pleasure to announce to you, that Wally, The Green Knight has triumphed on this day, and claimed his second badge.”

Chapter Text

“In maintaining my apparent superiority, I once again claim my second badge in less knockouts than either of you.” Wally stole a French fry off my plate as he finished gloating and popped it in his mouth before I even opened mine. He was lucky the cafeteria food in the center was free.

“I haven’t even gotten my second badge yet, you moron.” May chucked a wadded-up napkin at Wally before smiling my way. “You did, however, do much better than Lea.”

I pouted before sliding my plate away from my mooching friends. “You’re both terrible people.” I pouted. “Good match, by the way, Green knight.”

A bit of red creeped up Wally’s cheeks. “Look, there was a spot on the application for a ring name, and I thought it sounded cool. On brand, in fact.”

I chuckled before taking a bite of my sandwich, passing a fry to Emilie before looking at Wally with a grin. “I’m just glad you didn't go full geek and put down something stupid like Darth Frère or something.”

“He thought about it, Gawain threatened not to fight if they went in under the pretense of a dark knight,” Emilie said, her voice muffled by random chewing. “That’s got to be a new level of low, right? Something so bad Gawain wants no part of it?”

“Sounds pretty bad to me.” I nodded my head before taking another bite of my sandwich. “Honestly, Wally, what kind of apprentice would give the game away like that. For shame.”

“Would y’all quit torturing the poor boy and let him enjoy his win,” Wayne said as he took his seat at the table, a large tray of food in his hands.

“Amazing that you still have room considering the two of you horded an entire box of pocky during the match,” May muttered.

Jasmine just smiled before taking her seat next to Wayne. “Aren’t you a bit warm in that scarf, May? They got the heat cranked up pretty high in here, and I imagine that can’t make it too easy to eat.”

May glared at the dark haired narc before slowly pulling down the front of her scarf and popping a chip in her mouth. “I’m fine, thanks.”

Wayne leaned down and clapped Wally on the back, almost forcing my friend into the table. “Ignore your friends teasing and take pride in that fight. That Kirlia’s something else.”

“Thanks! I was worried for a bit there. I wasn’t expecting such a varied selection of fighters for the second badge. That was harder than I thought it would be.” Wally smiled at the giant before reaching for a cookie off Wayne’s tray.

“Touch my dessert and I will touch you in ways that you cannot be untouched from,” Jasmine threatened.

Wally’s hand quickly receded to his side of the table.

May shuffled in her seat a bit as she looked around the room.

“May...?” I asked.

“Okay, so... you didn’t hear this from me." May beckoned us closer in a hushed tone. “But Gym leaders usually up the difficulty for more talented trainers. They like to have fun too, after all, and the gym challenge is in fact supposed to be challenging. You almost swept your first gym, so Brawly stepped on the gas a bit and picked a slightly stronger line up.”

I laughed. “What the hell would they have sent against me if I just took my first badge like a good little girl?”

Emilie snickered.

May glowered at me as she reached all the way across the table and snatched a part of my sandwich. “You probably would’ve gotten four aces. Which would still probably be easier than what you’re going to deal-” May stopped talking as the scarf she had been wearing slowly slipped down.

A bright, angry looking bruise made itself known on the side of May’s neck for what felt like a fraction of a second before May blurred. Her body turning the bruise away from the rest of us as she grabbed the scarf and tightly rewrapped her neck, a bright red glow dusting her face.

“Huh, May are you alright? You look like you got mauled.” Wally got up and started to make her way over to May.

Wayne just started laughing as Jasmine gave me an appraising look.

“Oh, she got mauled alright,” Jasmine said with a smirk.

May got up from her seat and made it a point to keep her chair between herself and Wally. “I’m fine, Wally. Really.”

“Are you sure? That looked like it hurt. I probably-”

“I SAID I’M FINE!” May hissed.

Wally froze, looking at May worriedly before going back to his spot and reclaiming his seat. Wayne leaned over before whispering something in Wally’s ear, causing the boy to blush bright red.

“Oh.” Wally went back to his own food, refusing to look at anyone at the table.

“I’m-”

“I TOLD YOU TO STOP APOLOGIZING!” May shouted.

Were her teeth always that sharp? I don’t think they were.

May brought my sandwich to her mouth before freezing. “Ah, fuck it.” She ripped her scarf off and inhaled her meal. “Your match is going to be hard as fuck, you ready for it? You’re scheduled for right after we get done with lunch.”

“Meh, I’ll be fine,” I said, doing my best to ignore the heat in my own cheeks. “Three out of four of my Pokémon are advantaged here, and the fourth one is Joern.” I just needed them to ignore how stiff I was, how fidgety my leg was being, the fact that I hadn’t eaten most of my fries...

Who was I kidding here?

Sergei started beeping, and my gaze shifted across the table to stare at the annoying little piece of shit, announcing to the world that we had to go back to the beach for my match. Legends, why was I so stressed about this? This was the highlight of Rustboro!

Hell, it’s just a fucking gym battle, the worst thing I could do is lose!

“And that’s lunch. You ready to kick some ass, babe?” May asked.

I’m better at hiding my nerves than I thought, apparently.

“Me and Lea will dump everyone’s trays and then we can hit.” Emilie lifted her hands up, and all the uneaten food and trays formed up into a neat little stack in front of me.

I subtly glared at my starter for volunteering me to be everyone’s buss girl before standing up and grabbing the stack. Legends above, even with other people eating off of my plate I still had shit I hadn’t touched. Why the hell did it feel like I wanted to throw up? I turned away from the group as they got up, noticing May start to stretch as I did so. She seemed so relaxed.

Emilie pulled my head over close. “Who came up with the plan to turn arena five into an aquarium?”

“I-”

“Answer the question,” Emilie said, her tone sharp.

“Me.” I clicked my mouth shut as soon as the word left my mouth.

“Who marched down to the Rustboro public school and demanded to kick Roxanne’s ass in person?” May waved her hands forward, gesturing to me to keep moving as she whispered harshly into my ear.

“Me.” My voice felt a bit more confident this time.

“Who-”

“I get it, Emilie.” I cut her off. “I know being scared about this is stupid, I just” I froze, trying to think of how to describe it. “I don’t want to let people down.”

“Mon amie, the only thing that’ll happen if we lose is we’ll get made fun of for like a day. Maybe get one I told you so.” Emilie sighed before glaring at me. “Doesn’t matter though, because we’re kicking Brawly’s ass. I ain’t scared of no fighting types.”

“Right...” I muttered.

“Look, this is the fun part of the journey, remember? No high stakes. So, just let loose, and have fun.” Emilie smiled at me. “Can’t be a champion if we let something as silly as a little gym challenge spook us.”

I returned the grin, before dumping our tray into the trash. “Suppose you’re right.”

“Good, because I was about to start quoting battle memes off the internet to get you to move.” Emilie scrunched up her nose. “Really didn’t want to resort to that.”

“Ooh, what were we cooking?” I asked eagerly.

“...The cream of the crop speech Crasher Wake made back in his Wrestling days.” Emilie muttered shyly, a blush lighting up her cheeks.

I actively started giggling. “I can’t see you committing. I’m sorry. I also don’t think you’re unhinged enough to make it work.”

“Whatever, we can watch a few meme videos after the fight, for now though,” Emilie whacked the back of my head. “Ya, mule.”

"Yes, ma’am.” I pulled my Haori a bit tighter before turning around and hustling back to the group.

***

The sand crunched below my feet as I stared across the blank, sandy field. The field that had been made at the start of the day had been redrawn, and a faint glimmer let me know the psychic barrier was already in place.

Brawly was smiling. Wider and happier than I had seen all morning. “I’ve been looking forward to this! It’s not every day I get square off against a swell like this. My three badge team’s been itching for this fight since Roxy first called and complained.”

“Can we limit the surfer lingo, please. I don’t know what most of it means and being called a swell makes me uncomfortable.” I asked as politely as I could. Brawly fell forward and twitched. “Sorry?”

“Nah... It’s fine. I can be a normie for a bit.” Now looking deflated, Brawly shifted his gaze towards the ref. “You can go ahead and count us off.”

The ref nodded once before turning to look out into the crowd. There were even more people than there had been during Wally’s match. “Alright then, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Pokemon of all shapes and sizes, we’ve got one hell of a match up for you today.” The ref lifted his flag up my way. “Hailing from Petalburg, we’ve got the woman that can’t say no to a challenge. Fighting for what is functionally her third badge, let’s give it up for Lea, the Jade Witch.”

I instantly turned and glared daggers at my girlfriend, who looked incredibly smug as the crowd started to clap. Damn, that was loud. Deafening, even. Fuck I was going to be saddled with that now, wasn’t I?

Emilie was staring up at me with stars in her eyes. “So cool.” She froze, before looking at me with narrowed eyes. “You can come up with that, but you call my ultimate attack the Emilienator.”

Meh, I guess it could be worse.

“And on the other side, now sporting a much more reasonable number of winter coats, we have the bastion of battling on this island. The brawler, the don, the boss that wonders why I do so much improv when all his written intros sound like this-”

“Just start the damn match,” Brawly ordered, cradling a poke ball in his left hand.

Right, uh. I should probably have someone ready. I quickly grabbed a ball off my belt.

“Everybody’s a critic. Brandishing a team that maybe gets to see the light of day once every few months or so, let’s give it up for our gym leader, Braaawwwlyyyy.” The ref raised his other flag towards the gym leader and the crowd exploded in sound.

“Deep breaths,” Emilie muttered into my ear.

“I’m fine,” I replied. Clutching Joern’s poke ball. “The nerves from earlier are gone, I think. I feel way better now that I’m out here.”

Emilie smiled at me. “Good, then let’s kick his ass.”

“Now then, for the boring part. This will be a four on four match, with one switch allowed for the both of you. Understood?” The ref looked between the two of us as we nodded. “In that case.” The ref raised both flags above his head. “Release on my count. One.”

I gripped Joern’s ball and leaned forward slightly, a smile on my face.

“Two.”

Brawly returned the smile as he lifted his ball into the air.

“Three!” The ref brought his flags down in front of him, and the arena exploded in white light.

“Lombre.” Joern gave me a wave before hopping backwards towards me, I assumed to put distance between himself and...

Oh fuck.

“Hera.” A giant blue bug with a massive horn hovered just above the sand, his beating wings pushing a cloud outwards with every flap. He shot a cocky grin my way as Joern started to very subtly sway his hips.

“Heracross vs Lombre. You may begin!” The ref shouted.

“Aerial Ace,” Brawly ordered calmly, a smug grin adorning his features.

The blue stag disappeared, his wings buzzing louder than any hive, before reappearing directly into Joern. His horn slammed into Joern’s chest, sending him backwards into the barrier behind him with a sickening crunch.

“Lom!” Joern clutched his chest as he slid down, taking a knee before quickly getting back on his feet.

“Now Bug Bite while you’re close, bring the pain, I don’t want to see a cloud in that sky,” Brawly ordered.

“Avoid like we practiced, Joern.” I countered, hoping Joern would be fast enough to keep up with the stupid bug type.

The Heracross started chittering, his mouth looking unnatural as he brought his fangs to bear.

“Lom.” Joern squared up his shoulders and stood up to his full height, sliding out of the way at the last possible second into a dip and he rose up with a sway of his hips.

Heracross flew forward and banked course, coming in for a second pass. “Hera-”

Joern spun, his body brushing up against the beetle as he passed. Joern ended with a flourish, before bringing his arms down into the stag, sending him into the ground.

“Cross!” Sand exploded as Heracross crash landed into the darkening beach.

Holy shit that was fast.

Joern raised his fist into the air and grinned down at the Bug type as rain started to fall.

“Creative dance moves you got there,” Brawly said.

“Thanks, we’ve been practicing.” I beamed at the praise. “Water Pulse.”

“Aerial Ace again, blunt the force this time,” Brawly countered.

That same buzzing from earlier filled my ears as sand exploded outward from the ground. Heracross slammed his shoulder into Joern, breaking his concentration and sending the water attack skyward.

“Now grab him and Struggle Bug!” Brawly ordered.

“Leech Seed and Ingrain,” I countered as the Heracross pulled Joern close and started shaking, his body glowing red as the vibrations became more intense.

That was new.

The seed dipped down off Joern’s leaf and bloomed into a menagerie of vines and leaves, but Joern failed to follow through on the Ingrain as Heracross’s move began in earnest. Joern opened his mouth wide as the attack dug into my grass type, but no sound came out.

“Now-”

“Return.” I said, cutting off Brawly’s command by returning Joern.

I didn’t care if I burned my switch, this match up looked ass. Joern can heal up a bit on something that didn’t spam bug and flying type attacks. Let's see now... Bug and Fighting type.

I mean how can I not? “Apollo, you’re up.”

“Gull!” Apollo let out a battle cry as he flew above the field.

“And the Jade Witch-”

“Return.” Brawly called Heracross back before the ref could pick up steam.

Rude.

“Rude,” the ref said, unknowingly agreeing with me.

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll get over it.” Brawly dragged Heracross’s poke ball down and clipped it to his belt. He pulled up a new ball before grinning my way. “That’s one hearty Pokémon you got there. I don’t know of a lot of grass types that can stand up to an onslaught like that.”

I smirked, happy to hear the praise. “Thanks, I’m sad Heracross didn’t get a chance to play with Apollo, though.”

Brawly laughed. “I’m sure you are. Medicham, you’re up.”

A bright light slowly shifted into a tall, bipedal Pokémon with red leg warmers. He calmly took in the field before raising his left leg up and bringing his hands together.

“That thing looks wicked,” I whispered, giving the fighting type an appraising look.

“It’s also a psychic type,” Emilie whispered into my ear.

I froze, before leaning back from the suddenly more imposing mon that stood in front of me. “Uh, am I-”

“He’s ninety percent fighting type and ten percent psychic monk, don’t worry.” Emilie smiled reasurringly at me. “I think I have more psychic chops then this species.”

“Says the most badass Ralts from Route 110,” I countered before staring back at the opponent in front of me.

“Are you two ready to commit acts of violence against each other yet, or should I bust out the comedy routine?” the ref asked, glaring at the two of us.

“Anything but that,” Brawly said. He leaned back from the ref at the threat.

Said ref lifted both flags into the air. “Medicham vs Wingull. Begin!”

“Aerial Ace,” I ordered frame one.

Apollo disappeared in a much quieter hum and slammed into Medicham with an audible crack, his beak driving into the fighting type’s chest.

“Confusion to hold it, don’t let it get away,” Brawly ordered.

“Wing Attack to break his focus. If he wants to hang out, let him,” I countered with a grin. If Brawly thought he could trip Apollo up with something like that, he had another thing coming.

Apollo’s wings glowed white, and he leaned into the force of Medicham’s psychic hold before slamming his wings home.

Brawly grinned. “Thunder Punch.”

Fuck! “Aerial Ace away, now!” I shouted.

Apollo disappeared before the second word even left my mouth. An electric fist discharged into the wet sands below, kicking up an explosion upwards as Medicham leapt backwards. Well, sandy mud, hones-

Wait a minute.

“Air Cutter and keep your distance, Apollo. I don’t want you eating a taser fist.” I also needed to stall a bit.

“Mess with his flight patterns Medicham, and stay ahead of the blades. Bring him back to you,” Brawly ordered.

I was moderately surprised he was giving verbal commands to a psychic Pokémon. Maybe Medicham didn’t have the mental chops to maintain a psychic dialogue?

Apollo’s flight path barely changed, despite the fact that he was glowing bright blue. He brought his wings up before beating them both down simultaneously, firing the first volley of concentrated air at the focusing Fighting type.

“Holy...” My mouth dropped open as Medicham leaped over the attack, sailing over the assault and throwing himself at Apollo, his fist crackling with power.

Apollo disappeared once again, before reappearing behind Medicham and slamming him downward, his wing slamming into the airborne fighting type with aplomb before forcing the fighting type into the earth with a resounding thud. “Gull!”

“Excellent work, Apollo,” I said, smiling down at the field.

Apollo dipped down a bit as he sent me a salute before beating his wings and banking upwards, a smug grin on his face.

Medicham slowly pulled himself out of the ground, sand lightly caked to his body as he glared up at Apollo. He raised his hand and a dark orb started to form, an ethereal hiss filling the air as it grew in size. The Shadow Ball shot through the air and whispers tickled my ears as the attack rose up higher.

Apollo banked to the left and the noise almost became deafening as the ball left the barrier.

“What the fuck is that noise?” I complained, my hands pressed tightly against my ears as the sounds slowly started to fade as the attack faded out.

Emilie’s eyes pinched as she looked at me with a frown. “What noise?”

“You didn’t hear that? It was-” The words died on my lips as the whispering returned, louder and more oppressive than before. My hands did nothing to block the madness out as two more Shadow Balls formed in either hand. “Dodge out of the way and Water Gun. Full force!”

The spectral noise makers once again went wide of my agile little sailor and Apollo leaned back and let a massive water bullet fly from his mouth. The damn thing looked bigger than Apollo, how the fuck did that come out of my bird?

Medicham strained to move, and I grinned as the sand firmly held him in place. I didn’t quite understand why or how, but I had seen more than enough cheesy ruins adventure anime to recognize quicksand when I saw it.

The Water Gun hit it's mark and the force from the impact was so loud that I leaned back from the arena.

“Medicham, are you alright?” Brawly shouted through the waning downpour as Medicham tried to pull himself up. His legs were solidly submerged in the pit, and the force of the water attack had pushed the lower half of his waist and his hands into the sludge filled stage hazard our arena had become.

“Refresh the rain. Don’t let it stop falling,” I ordered.

Legends above, this was perfect. I didn’t exactly know what else was on Brawly’s squad, but I imagined a decent number of fighting types needed to use the ground to fight on. Considering three of my four pokemon could deal with this with zero issue, I just had to deal with Heracross and I’d be set.

Water poured off of Apollo’s wings in waves as he beat them into the clouds above. As the storm started to reassert itself, a brilliant white light shined down from on high, and I gazed up at my water foul in awe as his form grew. His wings grew, both in length and in size. His beak expanded downward before shifting in shape to meet his growing form.

“Pelliper!” Apollo shouted, announcing his change to the world, and the storm surged, becoming more potent under Apollo’s presence.

“Fantastic! I knew you were close, but wow! Congratulations, Apollo!” I shouted with glee. “Now Air Cutter, full power.”

Apollo nodded and beat his new wings towards the ground. What I had thought would be a small, moderately powerful blade of compressed air morphed into a massive air sickle, easily eclipsing Skarmory’s best shots by miles as it screamed through the sky.

Medicham, still glued in place, managed to pull an arm out of the arena. Another Shadow Ball formed in his hand, and I sighed in relief as the whispering ball was obliterated against Apollo’s attack. The air blade cleaved into both Medicham and the ground, causing a small explosion on contact and kicking up a decent amount of the goop Brawly’s fighting type was stuck in.

The chaos revealed a passed out Pokémon, half submerged in the quicksand with swirling eyes and a small gash on his chest.

“And thanks to an incredible stroke of strategy by the warrior of weather, Brawly’s Medicham is unable to battle.” The ref raised a flag Brawly’s way. “Will the illustrious gym leader of Dewford please send out their next Pokémon.

Medicham was already getting pulled back into his ball by the time the ref finished.

“You do know I’m the one that signs your paychecks, right?” Brawly asked.

The ref remained tight lipped with his flag still raised.

Brawly sighed. “Can’t find good reliable help these days.” He looked up at me and grinned. “Congrats. I’ve seen quite a few evolutions on this beach, but I never get tired of it. It’s always a great sight to see.” He lifted another poke ball into the air.

“Even if you lose a mon because of it?” I asked.

“Meh, Medicham will be avenged.” Brawly waved towards the field. “Though I do have to ask, was this intentional, or accidental. Because I’m going to be honest, this is incredibly rude, and severely limiting.”

“Yeah, I wish I could say I planned this, but I didn’t. Still though, we take happy accidents.” I grinned widely at the gym leader.

“Will the gym leader please stop stalling and send out their next Pokémon?” the ref asked in a long, suffering tone.

“You’re harshing my vibes and I don’t appreciate it.” Brawly glared before grabbing a new ball from his belt. “Hawlucha, you’re up!”

A Pokémon I had never seen before took to the skies, his wings trailing back like a cape in the rain as he slowly lost altitude.

“Don’t land, the ground is currently hazardous to our health,” Brawly ordered.

The mini luchador rapidly flapped his arms before locking his gaze with mine. In an instant, he all but teleported across the field, stopping right right in front of me. The bird looked me up and down before sneering and flying back.

Did I just get judged? I think that little shit was making fun of me!

“Hawlucha, calm down would you, the round hasn’t even started yet.” Brawly groaned as Hawlucha gave a weak chuckle and scratched behind his head.

How the hell was he maintaining altitude while doing that?

The ref cleared his throat and Gym Leader and Pokémon alike snapped to attention. “Pelliper vs Hawlucha. Begin!”

Hawlucha disappeared as soon as the round was called and slammed his wing into Apollo. That... was that Aerial Ace? I didn’t hear anything. Is this thing just... that fast naturally? What the hell?

Apollo winced slightly, but otherwise tanked the hit without too much issue. Hawlucha brought up a single clawed foot in an attempt to land a roundhouse kick, but Apollo beat his wings and a large gust of wind beat him back and sent a veritable cascade of rain his way for his trouble.

“Don’t react.” Emilie whispered from my shoulder. “Apollo wants you to leave this to him for a bit.”

I hesitantly nodded very stiffly. “Any reason why?”

“This Hawlucha is... very uppity. Apollo really doesn’t like him,” Emilie muttered. “He wants to teach him some manners."

I chuckled a bit. “Tell him he’s good to discipline the child as he sees fit.”

“You two do know you can talk freely as long as you’re not giving advice to Lea, right?” Brawly asked.

Both of us froze. Busted.

Brawly laughed. “Hell, advice is probably fine, too. It’s been a minute since a talking Pokémon's been on this beach. I’m surprised a Ralts would even bother.”

“It’s rude to invasively poke into people’s heads without asking.” Emilie shouted across the field.

I split my focus a bit as I tried to both pay attention to the fight and listen to the conversation. It wasn’t every day you got to strike up a conversation with a Gym Leader.

Apollo gained altitude and let gravity do a bit of work as he dived toward Hawlucha with grey colored wings. Damn, he really didn’t like this Hawlucha if he was breaking out Steel Wing.

“Fair enough, fair enough. You’re a lot more courteous than most.” Brawly shivered. “You should really try to... press that lesson when you go up against Tate and Liza. They’re really cavalier about it. Makes me hate our meetings.”

I blushed a bit, happy that he had confidence we would even make it that far. “I’ll keep that in mind. Well, try too at least. We’ve got a long way to go before we get there.”

Hawlucha barely flew out of the way of Apollo’s attack and countered with a dive kick to Apollo’s forehead. He pulled himself up and beat his wings out towards the drenched Hawlucha.

“Eh, you’ll get there. At some point, at least.” Brawly grinned confidently at me.

I leaned back, before frowning as Apollo winced away from the kick. “Shouldn’t you be... directing your Hawlucha?”

Brawly shook his head. “Harley is way too proud to listen to me order her around. I can offer the occasional suggestion, like get above the clouds and beat your wings to dry off.”

Hawlucha flew up. Apollo flew to meet him, but even soaked, Hawlucha was still a bit too fast. Apollo was also moving a bit slower, and I winced at a sudden realization. Pellipers were tougher and hit harder, but they were slower. We’d have to completely change our strategies.

I wondered if that was another reason Apollo asked for freedom to act as he pleased here.

“But yeah, she doesn’t like getting ordered around all that much, and I think she does a decent enough job on her own that I don’t bother.” Brawly said. “I respect her descision making well enough, and I’m guessing you respect your pokemon’s just as much, considering you’ve yet to give a command.”

“Apollo probably knows what he’s doing as a Pelliper better than I would. I trust him to handle this,” I replied.

Apollo beat his wings, and four different wind sickles launched into the storm clouds above. A shout of pain echoed from above and a disheveled Hawlucha dive bombed from on high. Apollo disappeared in a buzz and met the Hawlucha head on. The resulting crack was deafening, but neither pokemon backed down. Electricity started to crackle around Hawlucha’s fist.

“Apollo!” I shouted.

Apollo brought his wing down rather than Aerial Ace away, and fired a massive column of air, reminiscent of Skarmory’s Air Slash from our fight on the cruise, point blank as the Hawlucha rose up and drove his crackling fist into Apollo’s stomach. The sky exploded and sent both Pokémon away and down into the quicksand pit.

Neither moved to pull themselves up and they slammed into the muck below. Neither one moved.

“And in a spectacular display of aerial acrobatics, the skybound match up ends in a draw. Both Pokemon are unable to battle.” The ref raised both flags high into the air. “Since this was a double knock out, both challenger and leader will send out there next mon at the same time. One.”

I breathed a sigh through my nose and lifted up Apollo’s poke ball. I recalled him and grinned down at the poke ball. “You were incredible.” I smiled and looked across the field to see Brawly doing much the same.

“Two.”

I took a second to think as Brawly pulled up his next poke ball. “That’s probably Heracross. I doubt he wants to spring has Ace on me yet.”

Joern would be a terrible pick, Emilie would not appreciate dealing with a bug type. Apollo was down... “Only one choice, then.”

“Three.” The ref repeated his earlier flourish as the arena once again exploded in white light.

I grinned at being right, Heracross flew above the pit, his eyes narrowed as he flexed menacingly at me.

“Where on earth did you find a Honedge in Hoenn?” Brawly’s eyebrows climbed up to the top of his forehead as he took in the spectral sword.

The dark chamber flashed in my head, and I winced. “I don’t want to talk about it.” I grimaced before doing my best to smile at Lucas. “You ready for our first gym battle, Lucas?”

“Honedge! Hon hon edge, Honedge.” Lucas replied, bouncing around in place with every sylable.

“He’s looking forward to it.” Emilie said, a grimace adorning her features.

Lucas turned and glared at her.

“Fine, he wants to... get to the point.” Emilie’s nose turned up as the words left her mouth.

I grinned down at my starter. “You know what, he’s actually way funnier now that I have to listen to him second hand through you.”

Emilie glared at me before turning to the ref. “Oi, start the damn match. I don’t want to deal with either of these two right now and could use a distraction.

“Right!” The ref jumped a bit and lifted both flags into the air. “Honedge vs Heracross. Begin!”

“Knock off!” Brawly shouted.

Why do all of his Pokémon have Dark and Electric moves?

Fighting gym, of course they do. Brawly knows his weaknesses better than anyone. Of course they know dark and electric moves.

“Aerial Ace to counter,” I ordered. Lucas disappeared to the sound of air being cleaved in two before reappearing behind the Heracross, his blade pointing towards the sky as single gash formed on Heracross’s shell. The dark aura faded from his fist as he was shoved backwards, clutching his chest before spinning around towards the phantom blade.

“Hera!” Heracross brought his fist up, glowing once again with a dark aura, and slammed it home into Lucas’s glass eye. Lucas rocketed backwards from the angry bug type before instinctively dropping down and phasing through the ground.

“And of course this thing knows Aerial Ace too.” Brawly groaned. “Going to have to hit it a lot harder than that to push through Heracross’s shell, though."

“Yeah, well-” I froze as I realized something incredible.

Vines. Slowly inching their way around Heracross’s body. He was still SEEDED! That persisted through a recall? I suddenly felt very bad for the Nurse Joy’s out there that tended to pokemon I fought. Those vines were a bitch to get off.

“Close your eyes and focus, Heracross. Honedge will come to you, just be ready to counter.”

Heracross nodded and closed his eyes, his body tense. A shadowy blade sprung up from the ground and Heracross casually flew just out of reach. This process seemed to repeat for a while too. A black blade would rise up from the ground, always just a half second too late to tag the focusing Heracross as he zipped around the arena.

These attacks were nearly instantaneous, how was the damn thing dodging?

“Now counter with Knock Off!” Brawly shouted.

“Aerial Ace out of the ground this time. Meet him head on,” I ordered, glaring at the bug.

The muck exploded upwards as Lucas slammed his blade against Heracross’s attack. The two attacks held each other at bay, and a small crackling sound filled the air as Lucas started to giggle.

A black spectral blade rose up from the ground behind Heracross, and ran him through.

Heracross screamed, his face twisted in agony as Lucas’s floated backwards to reveal his shadow still connected with the ground below.

I stared on in worry as the astral blade pulled back into the ground and Heracross started to float downwards, clutching his chest. Despite the fact that it had just been run through, no wound was left behind.

“What the hell?” I asked.

“It’s better if you don’t question how ghosts do what they do.” Emilie said.

“Are you good to keep going, Heracross?” Brawly asked, concern tinting his voice as the Heracross brought his fists into his palm aggressively.

“Herrra,” Heracross growled, before disappearing in a buzz of familiar sound and slamming into Lucas, full force.

Lucas looked bored as it floated backwards, away from the force of the attack.

“Return the favor, Lucas, aim for the spot you targeted before,” I ordered as the rain slowly started to weaken.

Fuck.

“Honedge.” Lucas disappeared once again, this time appearing a solid fifteen feet forward through the Heracross, and an angry red line appeared on Heracross’s chest as he fell down into the bog. The cut looked fairly shallow, but the attack hit home.

Heracross fell forward into the bog, and a red line tagged the bug type almost instantly.

“Heracross is unable to battle.” the ref shouted, waving his flag my way. “Honedge is the winner of this round, putting Lea at an incredible three to one lead. Will our gym leader find a way to claw back from this?”

“We’re certainly going to try!” Brawly shouted, his fist held up into the air with a single poke ball at the ready as he grinned up at the clearing sky.

The rain came to a full stop as the clouds began to dissolve into the air. The sun shone onto the arena for the first time since the start of the battle.

“This is going to be fun.” The fact that Brawly didn’t sound nervous at all was freaking me the fuck out. “Haven’t had to claw back from this big of a deficit in a while, I am pumped.” He lifted the ball up and enlarged it in his palm. “Gallade, you’re up!”

I’m sorry, WHAT!

My heart jumped into my throat as what could only be described as a knight of the realm formed opposite of me. His feet glowing as sand pulled up from the ground and formed a mini platform to stand on. Green blades juted out from his arms and a look of hunger crossed his features as he looked my way.

No. As he looked Emilie’s way.

“He liked what he saw from Roxanne’s battle.” Emilie muttered, her voice sounding as terrified as I felt. “He wants to test me.”

I swallowed down the lump that had formed in my throat. How was something this terrifying in the three badge bracket? I was staring down Gawain’s future, trained by a gym leader.

“Are both of you ready?” The ref asked.

“No,” I muttered as that familiar cloying darkness played with my mind.

“Miss Sakai-”

Brawly lifted his hands up and the ref paused. “Take your time. I’m not in any hurry.

“I’m sorry, uh. Give me a second.” I took a deep breath, trying and failing to think calming thoughts. I just-

“Visualize the rain falling against a glass door.” Emilie chanted off in a soothing voice. “Think of the world dissolving away and focus on my voice, okay? We’re in a gym battle. Not the cave, and not the wild. Breathe in... and breathe out. You’re safe.”

I complied, and felt my body start to relax as the world started to calm down around me. “I... I think I’m good.”

Brawly nodded.

“In that case, Honedge vs Gallade.” The ref brought his flags down. “You may begin!”

“Aerial Ace,” I ordered, my voice shaking slightly.

Lucas disappeared, and I gaped at the scene in front of me.

In that split second, less than a second even, Gallade had brought his arm up to meet Lucas’s assault and held the bladed pokemon back with his own, mini arm blade. Their edges met in midair as Lucas shook in place, his spectral body struggling to maintain the lock. Gallade slowly brought up his other arm, and the much longer blade glowed purple in the afternoon sun.

“Phase through and go to ground! Get out of there now!” I shouted frantically.

Lucas phased through Gallade’s bladed arm before sinking into the beach below, narrowly avoiding a Knock off as Gallade pounded his fist into the ground.

I felt myself sag at the brief reprieve. Going in close was suicide, got it. Good to know. Fuck, that was Lucas’s whole kit. Brawly hadn’t given any orders, so either he wasn’t taking this fight seriously enough or he was giving mental orders. Neither option was good for me, because it didn’t give me any kind of warning, and-

The arena was levitating.

Wet sand and water rose from the ground at a quickening rate, and soon, I could see the outline of the box that was the underground part of the barrier. Among the floating masses of sand and water that were quickly being separated, I could see Lucas gaze up in awe at the floating constructs.

“Aerial Ace while he’s focusing!” This would be our one shot to land a meaningful hit. All I had to-

My heart stopped when Gallade once again brought his blade up to meet Lucas’s edge. The sand started to float back towards the ground, but the massive body of water that had fallen onto the arena over the course of this fight remained airborne. Gallade’s eyes glowed with an etheral blue light, and the mass disappeared. I heard a massive splash a good ways off shore and gulped.

Multitasking, antipersonal teleportation, a mental connection, and matter manipulation on a scale that broke my brain. Legends above we were fucked. Lucas floated away from the monster before us, and the light emanating from Gallade’s eyes shifted from blue to red.

He moved. Infinitely faster than I could ever dream of keeping up with or tracking, Gallade glided across the battlefield, pulled back a glowing white fist, and slammed it into my ghost type.

How the fuck did that work!?

Lucas was blown back, slamming into the barrier. His blade stabbed into the shoal as his tassel flowed limply in the wind.

Down in one punch.

“Honedge is unable to battle.” The ref announced the result with what felt like the finality of a death sentence.

I stared at the field and slowly lifted Lucas’s poke ball, my heart hammering in my chest at the beatdown I just witnessed.

“Foresight into Drain Punch,” Emilie muttered, her voice sounding far away. “We’ve had him for three days, and he’s barely been trained.”

I wasn’t sure which of us she was trying to reassure.

“For a first battle, he did great.” Emilie nodded to herself before smiling at me. Joern barely got tagged while he was out and I'm still fresh. We CAN win this.”

I nodded and grabbed Joern’s ball. “Stop freaking out. Got it.”

Joern formed in front of me and glared at the empty skies before starting to dance, probably eager to get as much of a head start from this as he could. Gallade leaned forward.

“Gallade vs Lombre. Begin!” The ref hurriedly announced.

Gallade started moving before the word even left his mouth. Joern shimmied his hips, before rotating. He brought his hands together while he was facing me and charged a massive Water Pulse in the split second he turned toward me. He launched it at the now airborne Gallade, firing point blank and beating the overwhelming psychic type back as water exploded out across the arena.

Gallade appeared on the opposite side of the field, slightly drenched but otherwise fine. His eyes glowed and the sand started to move and shift beneath Joern’s feet.

Joern jumped as the ground tried to grab him and landed a few feet away in a flourish, landing in the writhing mass of a field our arena had become. Sand snaked up and grabbed the grass type, pinning it to the shifting beach as clouds started to form once more. Joern was slammed downward, face first into the sand as the first few drops of a new rainstorm started to fall.

Gallade rushed across the field once again and jumped. He all but touched my artificial clouds before bringing his legs down on my pinned Pokémon.

“Grab him once he lands and Absorb. Set up Ingrain, and Leech Seed if you can.” I found my voice for the first time in this fight. Joern was doing his best, and it was incredible. I needed to snap out of this.

Joern gasped as Gallade’s leg slammed into Joern’s stomach, but despite that, he forced his arms through the sand, took hold of Gallade, and turned. Gallade lost his balance and faceplanted into the sand as roots and vines started push from Joern’s feet into the ground beneath him. He was sucking in air rapidly as he struggled to focus on his opponent, and he rotated a seed around on his head before lobbing it at his downed opponent.

Gallade teleported out of Joern’s grip, and the shot missed.

“Fuck!” I shouted.

“Language,” Brawly said with a smile, speaking for the first time since the fight began.

Joern focused a ball of water and blasted a Water Pulse directly behind him as Gallade reappeared in front of shockwave.

“Fuck!” Brawly shouted.

I laughed. "You do realize that my team trains against each other, right?” I asked as Gallade was thrown backwards by the massive torrent. “We’re used to how psychic’s fight. Gallade might be several magnitudes more annoying than anything else we’ve had to deal with up till now.”

Emilie punched my arm and glared at me.

“That we’ve had to fight seriously.” I quickly corrected.

Emilie huffed and looked away from me.

“But we’re not completely out of our depth.”

“Fair.” Brawly smiled as his Gallade teleported in front of him.

He winced as he landed, before slowly rising to his full height and staring across the field. Joern met his gaze with a cocky grin as he rose up to his full height, looking far healthier than he had before.

“You shouldn’t mind some of your own tricks being thrown back at you, then,” Brawly said.

Gallade slowly started to lift into the air as a massive amount of sand levitated towards him. The growing ball of sand twisted and morphed before slowly taking shape into more defined features. Two sand replicas of Gallade flanked the original. “Well, with some minor tweaks, of course.”

“Sand clones. Great. One of them wasn’t annoying enough. Blast them with Water Pulse, full power. I don’t care how strong the Gallade is, sand is sand,” I ordered, my voice firm and confident in the falling rain storm.

Joern complied and brought his hands up. The two sand clones split from the pack going left and right as Gallade jumped above the attack and descended on Joern in another dive kick. Joern swished his head around and another seed was launched toward the descending menace. He teleported away, and both sand clones rushed my rooted teammate. One slammed his fist into Joern’s head while the other one drove a kick into Joern’s stomach.

Joern rotated away from the hits, and the force of the attacks pulled him out of the ground. I sighed. Sand really didn’t make for the best material to try and ground yourself. Joern rolled twice across the ground before catching himself. Both sand clones were on him instantly and Joern threw another Water Pulse out. The sand clones ran face first into the attack and dissolved instantly.

They reformed on either side of Joern and took another swing. Joern ducked under the haymaker only to get swept by a low sweep and face planted into the sand. I felt like we were getting no where fast. I needed to...

Joern was starting to sink. The ground was starting to get overly saturated again, the floor was quickly starting to return to the bog it had once been.

“Go under, Joern, and wait for your moment. I know this is probably a bit different to the ponds you’re used to, but it’s better than being above ground and dealing with the three stooges,” I shouted.

Joern complied dove deeper into the muck. The two clones disappeared as Gallade turned his gaze downward. His eyes once again glowed with an ethereal blue light, and he raised a hand out towards the ground. He focused for a while, and I looked on, confused, as nothing happened.

“Joern’s a piece of work, I want you to know that. Not many pokemon can resist Gallade’s confusion,” Brawly complained.

My eyes widened. Gallade let out a soft cry, probably the first sound since appearing on the field, and started levitating the sand again. I couldn’t help but notice he was pulling the sand up slower this time. Joern slowly became visible a few feet away from Gallade, and a smile spread across my face from ear to ear as I watched vines sprout from Gallade’s chest.

“Gottem!” I shouted. Ooh, both of them look so mad. Now I just need to-

Gallade brought up his hand, and clenched it into a fist.

All of the sand he had been levitating rushed towards Joern. In the blink of an eye, he was engulfed in a sand ball and levitated into the air. Gallade brought his hands together, and a rainbow colored ball formed as he brought Joern closer. The ball bulged as water exploded out from the sand prison and Joern winced in pain as he fell towards the ground.

Joern was... not in good shape. One of his arms was limp and splotches of blistered skin made themselves known now that he was out of the trap. He glared up defiantly at the titan in front of us and fired a jet of water from his mouth. It was dispersed in midair before it even made contact.

Gallade put his hands out in front of him, and the single orb pushed outwards and became a beam. Joern got blasted, point blank, by Psybeam.

The cry of pain reverbeated out and distorted as the rainbow colored beam shot through the arena. I watched in horror as the light slowly faded. Joern stood perfectly still, his mouth agape in undisclosed agony and torment.

“L-Lom...” His voice was small, and his whole body shook.

The fact that he was still conscious was something I could barely comprehend. I floundered as I reached for his ball.

“Lom... Lombre!” Joern threw up his one good arm and focused what had to be every last bit of strength he had left into a single, massive, ball of water and pushed! The Water Pulse was unfocused, messy, and chaotic, but it rocketed out from his hand with the force of a charging Tauros and slammed into Gallade, throwing him back towards the back wall of the psychic barrier. I heard a faint cry of pain echo back my way and stared in awe as the attack continued.

Gallade disappeared, and Joern turned and shot a water gun behind him instinctively. He hit nothing but air, and a drenched, panting, Gallade that was holding his stomach in pain reappeared to his left.

He delivered a single, swift chop to the back of Joern’s neck, and I watched on as the consciousness faded from his eyes as he fell forward.

“Joern is unable to battle.” The ref announced.

I instantly returned him and held the ball close. “That was... insane.” I said into the ball. “Rest for a while. You’ve earned that, and so much more.” I looked across the field at Joern’s handiwork.

Gallade was seeded, bruised, breathing hard, and favoring one leg over the other. One of his sword blades was awkwardly bent, and his head fin was slightly torn.

“You ready?” I asked Emilie.

“If I follow up that performance with a loss, I’m swearing off cookies for a week.” Emilie answered before teleporting into the arena. I nodded once at the ref, and he raised both flags.

“Final round of the fight, Gallade vs Ralts,” the ref called out.

Legends above this match up sounded absurd on paper.

“Begin!”

Gallade disappeared and reappeared behind Emilie, who had already lifted a sand wall between them. A single, dark fist slammed into the wall and sand exploded outwards. Emilie had already disappeared from her spot. I opened my mouth, and realized I didn’t really know how to describe what I wanted her to do. I couldn’t just visualize it anymore.

“Rain ball.” That sounded like a decent description of what she did against Wally the other day. I breathed a sigh of relief as Emilie lifted herself into the air with condensed water and glided across the battlefield, away from a charging Gallade.

“Bad touch.” Emilie shouted after dodging another fist. “Bad touch!” Another missed swing almost tagged her shoulder.

Gallade tripped as one of his feet held into the quick sand, the area around his feet glowing blue as Emilie helped the process along. My starter flew backwards as Gallade threw his hand forward. Four tendrils of sand shot up from the ground and rushed towards her, slinking across the field with practiced precision.

‘Teleport!’ I thought the command and groaned. Emilie disappeared on her own, thankfully, but I needed to be better than that.

The sand below Gallade came to life and started engulfing him. “Sand Burial.” I ordered, hoping she got my meaning from our shared memories. Gallade teleported out as the sand pushed in. He reappeared across the arena holding his chest.

Emilie reappeared in front of me and started pulling more sand up from the ground. “I figured doing this now would save us from hearing your cursed name for the technique.”

“Wait, don’t-” A sand golem formed around her, and she brought a pair of arms up on either side of her. A more defined hand formed on the golem’s left hand, and she beckoned Gallade forward. I cursed. I thought it was a bit early to bring that out, but maybe this would be okay. Gallade looked exhausted.

Three sand tenrils burst from the ground and lashed out at the construct. The sand scattered on contact and barely dented Emilie’s creation. Gallade’s fist started to glow black as the clouds once again began to fade, and Emilie disappeared.

The sand golem exploded as Gallade swung around and backhanded the psychic construct, slamming his blackened fist into my tiny little Ralts. Emilie was launched into the air as her limp body flew across the field in an arc. My brain stopped.

One hit. All it took was one hit.

I couldn’t breathe.

Emilie was laid out in a lump before me. An overwhelming psychic presence pervaded my every sense. A weight settled in my stomach and my limbs trembled before the familiar sensation of losing control.

I couldn’t breathe.

The world around me felt muted and dissonant, and I couldn’t focus. My surroundings distorted into something I recognized quite well. The familiar palm trees rose up around me like pillars, holding up a clear, unyielding sky.

I couldn’t breathe.

I was in the field again. Helpless before a presence my mind couldn’t comprehend. I knew if I turned now, I would see Solrock staring back at me. His cold, unmoving face the picture of all my worst nightmares.

I couldn’t breathe!

“Ralts is unable to battle!” It sounded so distant... Where was that voice coming from? I couldn’t focus... “Gym Leader Brawly is the winner!”

I blacked out.

Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Chapter Text

A cold stone slab was my bed as I slowly felt myself coming around, the frigid air acting as the world’s worst alarm clock. The ground was slippery and white, as I slowly pushed myself up from the cave floor.

“Where am I?” I received no response. I reached down to my belt and grabbed air. Not a single poke ball to my name, and Emilie was nowhere to be seen. The muscles in my arms and legs radiated with a dull ache as my stiff bones slowly started to move.

The tunnel I now found myself in was frozen solid. The natural stones and dirt were trapped behind a thick prison of ice and frost, and long icicle stalactites descended from the ceiling like jagged teeth, ready to swallow me whole.

I put my hands around my mouth. “Is anyone there?”

Silence greeted me for a single, frozen moment in time. I noticed the thick, thermal mittens on my hands, and looked further up my arms to take stock of myself. I had at least four layers on, including a thick winter coat.

How the fuck was I still so cold?

A frigid wind blew through the tunnel, accompanied by a thick, mechanical grinding. The entire chamber started to shake.

The corridor collapsed behind me, and I sprinted forward as the ceiling started to cave in, narrowly moving out of the way of falling stalactites. My lungs screamed at me as I panted in the biting winter air at a quickening rate.

A light shined up ahead, and I grinned. Little further. Just a little more...

The ground turned icy underneath my feet, and I slipped and fell forward. My heart hammered in my chest as I slid, barely staying ahead of the cave in, and into a massive frozen over chamber.

The cave sealed shut behind me and I floundered as I carefully tried to pull myself to my feet.

The entire chamber was one big sheet of ice. White and blue intermingled as I breathed out a very visible shuddering breath. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was even colder here.

I cautiously took a few more steps forward, looking around the chamber for an opening of some kind. Everything looked so similar and bright that it made it hard to see-

I froze, no. My brain stopped working as I ran in place for a few seconds before falling flat on my face. I crawled along the ground to what I saw, my blood frozen in my veins.

Tall, frozen statues of my friends stared back at me as I pulled myself up, my eyes meeting the solid white face of my girlfriend in widened disbelief. Wayne was standing in front of Jasmine, both Nuzleaf and Skarmory stanced up and ready to fight whatever did this. Wally had a pair of poke balls in hand, his fingers hovering just over the release button as he stood with angry eyes between May and Wayne.

Suzy stood, still as a corpse, in a fighting stance. How the fuck do you freeze a fire type?

“How?” The words escaped my lips to chittering teeth as a presence invaded my senses. The world went white as the entire chamber shook once more, and the overwhelming cold overtook me. Pain radiated through my skin as the very air itself seemed to freeze. I strained against my hardening body to look behind me, desperately trying to get a look at what was doing this.

My body solidified into a frozen sculpture before I could really look at it, but seven, glowing red eyes glared at me as my world went white.

I shot up from my bed and sucked in a massive breath of air, my heart hammering in my chest as I took in the drastic scene change. The familiar glass wall on the far side of the room gave way to sandy beaches and palm trees. May’s clothes were strewn about on the floor to my left, and the prevailing frigid air felt like a furnace compared to what I just went through.

“Just a dream,” I muttered between shaky breaths. My hands were shaking. What the fuck even was that? Why would I dream that? I lifted my hand up to my chest and took a deep breath, trying desperately to slow my heart down.

“It was a dream.” I repeated, breathing out through my mouth. “But it felt so real.”

“Glad to have you back,” Wally said, coming through the open door.

I whipped my head up to take him in. He was fine, breathing harness and all. Nothing had happened to him. He was fucking fine.

“Weird dream?” he asked, pulling up the chair next to me and leaning forward.

I shot up from the bed and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, lifting him out of the chair in the process. “You’re okay.”

“Should I not be?” Wally tried, and failed, to pull away. “Oi, I’m happy to see you too... but I already have trouble breathing... and you’re not making that any better.”

I let go and looked away, blood pooling in my cheeks. “Sorry.”

Wally held the respirator closer to his face and breathed deeply. “Not that I'm not happy to be hugged by a pretty girl, but what was that about? Couldn’t resist my charming personality?” He held his arms out on either side of him as he finished talking.

“Nightmare.” I grimaced. “Really, really bad nightmare. I’m just... really happy to see you right now.” I looked around the room. “What happened? Wasn’t I fighting Brawly?”

Wally winced.

“What?” I asked.

“We were hoping you would tell us. Emilie got one tapped and you kind of" Wally paused, looking up to the ceiling in thought. “shut down. You passed out on the field.” Wally looked moved so that he was looking at me again. “May was really worried.”

My ears perked up and I looked around the room. “Where’s May?”

“Considering how late it is? Probably finishing her gym battle right about now,” Wally said.

My eyes opened wide, and I started moving towards the door, grabbing Wally’s hand in mine as I pulled. “May’s winning her second Gym Badge and we’re in a stuffy center room? Why aren’t you with her? I’m fine!”

Wally stayed rooted in place. “May was adamant that someone stayed with you. I was barely able to get her to leave for her battle. She’s probably on her way back now, so stop trying to rip my arms off.”

I groaned and let go. “I really wanted to see Suzy fight in this gym in particular. Martial arts duels are soooo much fun to watch.”

Wally gave me an odd look.

“What? I know May always gives me weird looks whenever I talk about kung fu movies, but everyone’s-”

“You aren’t sad you lost?” Wally asked, cutting me off.

“Huh?” I asked before wincing and looking down. “Oh, right. I lost.” I frowned for a moment before sighing. “I mean, it sucks, but I can just try again in a few days-”

“A week.” Wally interrupted. Again.

Why do people like interrupting me so much?

“A week?” I asked.

“It’s the minimum grace period between attempts,” Wally explained. “I might have done a bit of research while you were passed out.”

“Well, that’s shitty, but it gives us plenty of time to train for the rematch. Fuck, if me and Emilie weren’t fighting with a handicap, we might have brought it home today!” I brought my arms up in front of me, fists clenched as I smiled.

“You’re really taking this much better than I thought you would.” Wally said, looking me up and down.

“It’s just a gym battle, Wally.” I repeated the words that Emilie told me before the fight. “Losing’s not the end of the world. Probably won’t be the first time-”

“You passed out,” Wally cut me off. AGAIN.

I winced. “That had nothing to do with me losing the gym battle.” I breathed in through my nose before exhaling through my mouth. “I’m fine, though. Really. Don’t worry so much.”

Wally’s gaze lingered for longer than necessary. “Well, I’m glad you’re taking this so well. Your team will probably need that enthusiasm.”

I winced. Joern and Emilie in particular were probably going to be miserable. Yeah, that was not going to be fun. “Think my boundless enthusiasm is infectious enough to kill the angst party?”

Wally chuckled. “It might help.” Wally paused again, the sounds of his suit filling the empty air as he stared me down. “I want to know why you passed out, Lea. If you know, that is. I want to be able to help you.”

“I-” Images played back through my head as I tried to force myself to focus. “I-” Emilie. Emilie on the ground. Defenseless.

“Lea.” Wally’s voice pulled me out of it, and I felt his arm on my shoulder.

“Thanks,” I muttered, before walking back to my bed and sitting down.

Wally reclaimed his seat and grabbed my hand. “Sorry.”

“Don’t, I-”

“Should I come back later?” May asked from the door. “I leave you alone for a few hours, and you’re already putting the moves on my girlfriend?”

Wally turned and smiled at May. “You left her alone, she needed someone to comfort her in her time of need.”

“Tauros shit.” Both me and May said at the exact same time.

I giggled. “If I ever send you away, May, assume mind control or robotic replacement. Did you win?” I pulled my hands from Wally’s grip and smiled at her. “Am I the only reason we’re still stuck in Dewford?”

May returned the smile, sitting down and pulling me into an awkward, bone crushing hug.

Legends above, this is what I did to Wally earlier, what the hell is wrong with me. “Can’t... breathe...”

“Deal with it. You gave me a heart attack passing out like that. I know losing sucks, but-”

“She had a flashback to when Solrock and Lunatone abducted her, had a mini panic attack, and passed out.” Wally interrupted. “Also, we still need to do a mail run in the cave, so-”

“How the fuck?” I whipped around, glancing away from my flinching girlfriend, and stared at Wally with wide eyes, cutting him off before he could finish.

“You’re not freaking out about losing, so.” Wally paused before looking me up and down. “It’s not that hard to piece together.” Wally winced at my look. “Sorry, you were struggling with it, so I just... ripped the band aid off.”

My gaze shifted to a glare. “It’s fine, I guess.”

Was it fine? This was the same kind of crap I’d yell at Emilie for. I should be the one to tell people crap like this.

Except I didn’t want to talk about it, and I still wanted May to know.

I sighed, before shooting Wally a smile. “Just, warn a girl next time.”

“Are you going to be alright?” May asked.

“I’ll work through it,” I said firmly. “Now answer the damn question! Am I the only reason we’re staying another week?”

May grinned smugly. “I think I set a new record for fastest gym battle. I was in such a hurry to get back here that I just... played really aggressively and took it down two to three.” She pulled out her badge and showed it off. “Sorry we don’t have a matching set.”

“It’s fine, I’ll get it soon.” I smiled at her.

May leaned back and stared at me like I grew a second head.

“What?” I tilted my head at her.

“I was surprised too, but I think she’s legitimately okay with it,” Wally said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I get to see that awesome Gallade again!” I exclaimed with glee. “It was terrifying while I was fighting it, but now looking back, that thing was so fucking cool! Oh, I can’t wait for Gawain to evolve, he’s going to be twice as bad ass.”

Wally puffed up a bit in pride at my praise, and May laughed.

“Calm down, you have to get there first.” May said. “Besides, freshly evolved, he’s probably going to be about as bad ass. I don’t think that thing was used to being a Gallade yet. He didn’t go melee enough.”

“May, did we watch the same fight?” Wally asked.

“Yeah, and Gallade hasn’t been sucked into the fighting type brain rot yet. He still used all the fancy ranged options. Most fighting types are trying to figure out the most effective way to punch something as often as possible.” May sighed as she stared down at her belt.

“So, Emilie should’ve been a fighting type. Got it.” I grinned at my girlfriend. “I’m just super excited to fight it again. The rematch is going to be awesome once me and Emilie work the kinks out of our battle tactics. I have so many cool, new ideas.” I started bouncing up and down on my bed.

May just smiled at me before pulling me into another spine shattering hug. “You’re so adorable when you get like this.”

“May... I love you... but sometimes... your love hurts,” I complained.

May smiled sweetly at me as she pulled back. “Deal with it.”

“Gag,” Wally sounded off from his chair, before looking around the room. “Did you leave Wayne and Jasmine behind in your rush to get here?”

May winced. “Uhh...”

I gave May a pointed look. “Do they even know where I am?”

May winced again. “Uhhhh...”

A shadow was cast from the door leading out to the hallway, and I looked over to see the pair start to make their way inside.

“We had to guess, and our first bet was the hospital,” Jasmine glowered at my girlfriend from the door, her boyfriend close behind with a matching expression.

May sheepishly turned away from me and chuckled nervously. “Oops.”

In all the madness, a single dark spot on May’s neck made me realize something.

“May, did you go into your match without, uh...” I trailed off and pointed at my neck.

May’s face went white as a sheet before shifting to a brilliant red.

I patted her consolingly on the back as she buried her face in her hands.

***

I looked down at my contingent of poke balls in the little tray that Nurse Joy laid out for me and frowned. The fact that Emilie hadn’t just let herself out yet was already worrying. I sighed before reaching out and picking up the white ball.

“Just open the damn thing, would you? I’m hungry,” Jasmine said, her head peeking over my shoulder.

Nurse Joy smiled at me. “She’s fully recovered, she just got her bell rung. A little quiet, but that’s not uncommon with Ralts.”

Oh. Legends above, this is worse than I thought.

“Emilie?” May asked. “Quiet?”

“Are you sure this is the right Ralts?” Wayne followed up, looking down at the white ball from behind me.

Nurse Joy nodded, before bowing. “Thank you, we hope to see you again.” She turned and left through the door behind the counter.

“Well, I suppose...” I clicked the release button on the poke ball and prepared for the worst.

The ball opened and a very weak white light filled the area as Emilie appeared on the counter, hunched over with vacant, listless eyes.

I leaned forward and lightly poked her on the side of her head. “Emilie?”

No response.

Jasmine sighed before walking up to the psychic type and picking her up. “Okay, look. You lost a gym battle, it’s not the end of the world. Hell, your trainer is handling this better than you are, and it impacts her more-”

Emilie teleported out of her hold and reappeared on my shoulder, her arms crossed as she sulked. “My life is pain.”

“You-”

“Have to give up your cookies for a week.” Emilie cut me off as she wailed, her sorrow palpable through the cry.

The tenseness left my shoulders as I stared at my starter with unimpressed eyes. “Good, maybe going cold turkey will curb your addiction.”

Emilie sniffled. “It’s not an addiction, it’s a way of life.” She winced as my unimpressed stare shifted to a glare, before turning away. “It’s okay though. I know I fucked up.”

It was my turn to wince. “You didn’t fuck up. Neither one of us was at our best out there,” I argued. “You were right the other day. If we had worked out a better way to communicate-”

“We would have lost a whole lot sooner, because you would have been a gibbering mess for the entire match against Gallade.” Emilie turned and glared at me. “I could’ve just stalled the round out and let him pass out to Leech Seed, but nooooo, I had to show off like a dumb ass and get wrecked for it!”

“I could’ve started working on something with you before things hit the fan in my head,” I countered. “I didn’t want to think about it though, so I put it off. THAT is what cost us this match.” I sighed before looking down at the floor. “I fucked up too, so stop beating yourself up, okay? I’m the trainer here, it’s my job to help direct you guys, not the other way around.”

“I just, how the fuck did that thing just... cleave through the Emilienator like butter, huh? I packed that sand tight enough that it may as well have been a brick wall!” Emilie wailed as she grabbed the collar of my Haori and started shaking. “How?!”

“I’m sorry, what did you call that thing?” Jasmine asked to the backdrop of Wayne’s boisterous laughter.

Emilie whipped her head around and stared at the group at large. May and Wally both had their mouths blocked by their hands, but the faint sound of snickering could still be heard. My adorable little starter blushed bright red, before crawling down my arm and pressing the return button.

“Oi, Emilie, get back here!” I jammed the release button to no effect. The fuck, how the hell are you doing that, you psychic drama princess! I lifted my head up to the judgmental stares of my friends. “The fuck you looking at?”

“You. You have no right to make fun of my naming conventions ever again.” May leaned forward and bumped my forehead. “The fuck is an Emilienator?”

My face shifted to match Emilie’s earlier look as I did my best to look anywhere other than May’s face. “...a pun using Emilie’s name and eliminator.”

Lucas’s ball burst open, because of course it did. “Hon hon hon hon hon.”

The connotations of Lucas’s approval weighed heavily upon my soul as I braved a glance back at the rest of my friends. “Look. I wholesale stole that name from the game you got me. They’re terrible at naming shit, not me.”

May just gave me a look. “Then why did you copy it?”

I looked away again. “I thought it sounded cool.”

“Hon hon hon hon hon” Lucas started laughing even harder.

Stupid, piece of shit, Kalosian sword. I take it all back. The stupid Absol can have you.

“Emilie, please come back. We’re laughing more at Lea than you. It’s fine.” Wayne said each phrase through chuckles as he pulled himself back up and started walking towards the hallway that led to the cafeteria. “You’ll miss dinner if you spend the whole night sulking in your ball.”

“How the hell are you hungry?” Wally rasped as he chased after him. “You ate like, two bags of popcorn and half a pack of pocky during Lea’s match alone.”

“I’m a big man, I have to eat more than you people.” Wayne called back.

“That’s not how it works!” Wally shouted.

Jasmine sighed before staring at me expectantly. “You want dinner? I know it doesn’t feel like that long, but lunch was like, seven hours ago, and you barely touched your plate.”

May’s gaze sharpened as it locked in on my sweating form. “You’re supposed to be maintaining a solid diet to make up for the calorie deficit the regenerators caused.”

“Uhh...” I blinked a few times as I tried and failed to think of a good excuse. “I was nervous, alright?”

May practically dragged me towards the cafeteria, grabbing the tray that my remaining poke balls were in as she went.

I watched as Lucas and Jasmine both stared at each other for a brief moment, chuckled, and followed.

Traitors.

***

I stared at the hulking monstrosity of a meal my girlfriend made for me with wide, fearful eyes. “May, I can’t eat all this. I’m not you.”

“Should’ve thought about that before skipping a meal.” May glared at me before setting her own tray down and sitting next to me.

“You ate half of my food!” I complained.

May winced. “That’s beside the point, there was still half a sandwich, at least.” She glanced down towards my gloved hands as I slowly gripped my fork. “I really have been slacking on helping you through rehab, have you-”

“My grip’s gotten way better, don’t worry.” I waved the fork around to prove my point before sticking it into the noodles she got me. “Nothing to worry about.”

Wally sat down right next to me and leaned in close. “I’ll sneak some food off your plates, don’t worry. I think May’s just in helicopter mode because of earlier.”

I winced, before carefully sneaking a bowl of rice onto Wally’s tray as May started talking to Jasmine. “Thanks.”

Wally nodded.

“-are we going down?” Jasmine asked.

May froze at whatever the hell Jasmine just said.

“Huh?” I asked, leaning forward. “What are we doing?”

Jasmine sighed, before glaring at me. “When are we going down into the Dewford Caves? I know you just had your gym battle and are dealing with that, but I really want to talk to Steven.” The girl practically vibrated in her seat. “Just thinking of that interview is fighting with my ability to sit still.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Wayne stabbed aggressively at his plate. “When do we get to meet the pretty boy ex champ?”

I stared down at his food and winced, that poor piece of chicken. “I mean, I know I’m going to have to do some work with Emilie so we can fight together better. At least for the short term. I’ve got more than a few ideas for that, so hopefully that doesn’t take too long.”

Emilie winced from her perch on my shoulder, cracker in hand.

I patted her on the head, before turning back to the group. “I also want to see if I can teach any of my pokemon Dark-Type moves. That was how he blasted Emilie’s golem-”

“The Emilienator.” Wally piped up as his mask shifted, revealing a teasing grin as he grabbed the bowl of rice.

The rice glowed blue before rising up and smacking him in the face.

“Emilie.” The word left my lips with a token glare.

“I’m sorry, I-”

“Once wasn’t nearly enough,” I said, cutting her off.

Emilie grinned as Wally glared at me, his rice coming to life in his bowl as it deftly moved away from Wally’s eating utensils.

“You’re both exceedingly mature,” Wally said.

“Thank you for acknowledging that.” I grinned as Wally finally managed to get a bite of food. “But yeah, Dark-Type moves to deal with psychic attacks better. I need to learn that before my rematch, so I should probably have my team learn before we go down into the abyss.”

May muttered something I couldn’t quite hear as Wayne lifted up a single poke ball.

“Nuzleaf can probably show your crew a thing or two. He’s kind of a dick, but he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to dark type attacks,” Wayne said, spinning the ball on his finger. “I can have Skarmory there to make sure he behaves.”

I vibrated in my seat at the prospect of finally meeting the grass ninja. “I’m looking forward to meeting him, I think Joern could probably learn a thing or two from him at least, so that’s good. I already know he probably wants a rematch.”

A light exploded from my waist as Joern formed in front of me. “Lombre. Lom lom.”

Emilie looked down at the Lilypad Pokémon with a glare. “He said he’s soloing the stupid psychic type by the end of the week, and to not worry about learning to order me around.”

Joern smirked up at me before glaring at my starter. “Lom.”

Emilie winced. “Yeah, I screwed up. We’ll-”

“Would you stop blaming yourself?” I glared down at my starter before shifting it over to Joern. “And don’t make her think our loss is her fault. We all fucked up both before and during the match.” I glanced down at the table. “Considering how well Lucas did in his match against Heracross, I could’ve saved us all a lot of pain and sent him out sooner.”

Lucas rose up from his hiding place in my shadow and grinned at me. “Honedge?”

Another light exploded from waist as Apollo formed behind the laughing Ghost type, only to smack the back of his hilt. “Pelipper, Pel-”

His chastising got cut short as rain clouds quickly started to form. I instantly went for Apollo’s poke ball and returned him as Emilie lifted her arms up and started ushering the rain clouds out the window.

“Okay, I also apparently need to teach Apollo how to hold it in, didn’t think that’d be a thing,” I muttered, staring down at the ball with a pinched brow.

“He did just evolve,” May muttered stiffly.

What was up with her?

“Then, yeah. Probably going to have to train that too, somehow.” I sighed at the growing to do list. “How the hell do you train a pokemon to not make it rain?”

May opened her mouth, closed it, frowned, and pulled out her pokedex. “Uh... let me get back to you on that.” She closed the dex before staring back up at me, her mouth pulled into a frown.

“May, are you-”

“This is starting to sound like a really long training session,” Jasmine said, cutting me off by echoing my earlier thoughts with a frown. “So, are we all going down after Lea’s rematch, then, or-”

“I don’t think Lea should go down with us.” May rushed the words out so fast that I had trouble understanding her.

“Come again?” I asked.

My girlfriend took a deep breath, leaned back in her chair, turned away from her untouched food, and stared me right in the eyes. “I think you should stay up top and train while we go into the caves.”

Never mind, I didn’t have trouble understanding her. She did just tell me to wait up here while she storms down into the frozen abyss.

I leaned back from the table as the rest of the group, as a whole, decided now would be a good time to make themselves scarce. Plates clanged, chairs scraped along the floor, and little mini dust clouds formed in the areas that used to be occupied by Wally, Wayne, and Jasmine.

May looked around the table before sighing. “You passed out because Emilie got knocked out and you freaked out. What do you think will happen when you go underground?”

I froze as memories played out across my eyes. Bloody rocks pulling away torn sleeves. Blank stone faces urging me deeper into the abyss.

“I’d manage.” I choked out, as images from my dream beat back the memories.

May shook her head, a sad look on her face. “No, I don’t think you would. I think you’d have an episode the second we got attacked.” May sighed. “It’s not your fault, but going down there, with how you are right now... I think we all know that’d end badly.”

“Lom.” Joern nodded once, his eyes focused as he looked my way. “Lombre.”

“He said to listen to your girlfriend,” Emilie said, lifting her cracker up and nibbling on it. Her face scrunched up and she stuck her tongue out. “I agree too. If me getting knocked out sent you into a panic attack, then the caves are going to make you catatonic.”

“I, I don’t-”

May groaned before glaring at me. “Please, just. For once, listen to me. I know you had your heart set on meeting Steven, but-”

“I don’t care about the stupid champion,” I shouted, earning a few glances from other tables.

May leaned back. “I don’t-”

“I need to be there to keep you guys safe.” I leaned over and grabbed her arm. Fuck, why did it feel colder? The sun went down, you idiot. I-

“Lea, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but I am in fact a very accomplished trainer.” May scrunched her nose up, before pausing. “Well, accomplished enough, at least. Dewford Cave doesn’t have anything that scary in it.”

“You don’t know that,” I muttered. I felt like I was grasping at straws, but I actively didn’t understand how to explain this without sounding like a crazy person. I dreamed of you all turning into fancy ice sculptures, so please don’t go into the island cave without me.

It sounded fucking ludicrous, and I didn’t even say it out loud.

“Even if there was, the four of us would be able to handle it. We might not be able to do that while protecting my comatose girlfriend who can’t even use half her team at the moment,” May said, her voice firm.

I flinched back and pulled my hand away, before staring down at my plate. “Right.” I picked up my fork and started playing with my food. “Got it.”

The conversation fell into an uncomfortable silence as May looked down at her untouched plate.

“I’m sorry. That-that might have been a bit too far.” May picked up her fork and started playing with her noodles, awkwardly twirling without actually moving the fork up. “I just need you to listen to me. Anything else and I’d have you right there with me. I just-”

“You’re right, though.” I sighed, stabbing at my dinner plate. “I hate that you’re right, but you’re right. I just... I want to be there to keep you safe.” I looked up at her, before looking back down at my plate. “I wasn’t the only one that almost died down there, you know?”

May winced, and I couldn’t tell if it was from the reminder of what happened to me, or what almost happened to her. Her grip tightened around her fork, and a light scraping filled the air as she pressed down harder against her plate.

“What would it take to get you to stay up here?” May asked. “I know this is hard for you. How can I make it a bit easier?”

I froze. What could she even do? I wouldn’t be able to see her for days. I’d be alone up here, with-

Emilie patted my hair and Joern reached out and grabbed my tensed hands. Fuck, that hurt. My hands were cramped up so bad right now.

“Thanks, guys.” I squeezed Joern’s hand before looking up and meeting my girlfriend’s eyes, frowning at the hunched over form. “I, honestly, I don’t know what to ask. Just let me know you’re alright, I guess? Leave me Sergei and call on Wally’s phone. Every night.” I felt myself get a bit more confident as the words left my mouth. “If I don’t hear from you, I’m charging into the place, ptsd episode be fucking dammed.”

May looked away before nodding. “I can agree to that." She looked back up at me. “Was probably going to do that anyway. I’m going to go nuts not having you with me.”

I smiled at her. “You know, the easy solution to that-”

“No.” May glared at me again.

I sighed before looking back down at my plate. “Fair. I guess. I’m going to miss you too.” What else did I need to-

Oh.

“You’re also going to leave Absol with me.” The name fell from my lips like a piece of bile. “Like fucking hell you’re taking that thing with you into the pit. I’ll have enough to worry about without the chance of her breaking out and going back on her word to behave.”

May winced, before looking down at her belt. “I-Do you really-”

“Yes,” I said with the same intensity May did to me earlier. “You taking that thing down with you is as stupid as taking me right now. Give me the damn dog.”

“Cat.” May smiled at the glower I shot her way, before sighing and unclicking a single poke ball from her belt and placing it on the table. “I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about, though. She’s been good. Way better-” The words died on her lips as she took in my glare.

“And how exactly would you know how she’s been?” I asked, my eyes narrowed into slits as I glared hatefully at the ball.

Emilie levitated it up and it shot into my open palm. “She knows because she’s been sneaking little conversations with the murder hobo.”

My glare intensified. “You promised-”

“I know.” May sighed out through her nose. “I’m sorry. I just, she’s not really angry anymore. She just... doesn’t really emote much at all.” May looked down at the table. “I’m worried about her, honestly.”

I glanced over at the ball with a frown. “You do know you have one of the foremost experts on pokemon behavior on speed dial, right?”

“He’s already been helping me with her, actually,” May admitted.

I leaned back from the table and stared at her.

May chuckled. “I know when I’m in over my head, it just takes me a bit to realize, sometimes.” May stared forlornly at the ball. “I’ll agree to this one if you do me a favor in return. Could you talk to her for me?”

“Me?” I asked. “What the hell do you think I can do?”

“You’ve got a certain way of bringing people out of their own head.” May went back to playing with the food on her plate. “It’s one of your best qualities, honestly.”

I glared at the ball in my hand before reaching back and pocketing it. “I guess I can agree to that.”

The conversation died again, and I sighed before picking at my plate a bit more. It felt like I was forcing myself to eat right now, given how many knots my stomach was tied into.

You know what, fuck it. May can look at me like a crazy person if she wants to. “If you come across a weird frozen over cave down there, have Gawain teleport everyone out.”

May looked up from her plate and stared at me, her eyebrows pulled back. “Huh, Lea, I know it’s cold, but going underground is going to make it warmer, not colder.”

“I had a weird dream, and bad things happen to you if you go there,” I said.

Emilie looked at me oddly.

“I don’t think it means anything. The whole thing was really weird and what I saw honestly feels impossible, but... I need you to just promise me that you’ll get out of there if the dream was more than a dream,” I said.

“Was there anything specific about the room?” May asked, taking me a lot more seriously than I thought she would.

“Whole thing’s completely frozen over. I’m actually not sure if there’s any rocks under the ice in there, it just looked like a big hollowed out ice cube,” I said.

May nodded. “Got it, stay away from the giant frozen room of death. Can do. Probably would have done that anyway.”

“You’re... taking this far more seriously than I thought you would.” I glanced at May, before smiling.

“Lea, over the course of this trip, I’ve seen you do all kinds of impossible things. I’m taking your warnings very seriously, even if future sight is one of the most inconsistent parts of a psychic’s tool kit. I’ll be careful, don’t worry.” May nodded once at me, before staring down at her plate and taking a bite.

Emilie just looked at my head with a frown on her face. “Do you think it was a vision?”

I shook my head. “The things I saw honestly didn’t make sense. It still felt like a dream, just... a lot more vivid.” I sighed. “I don’t really know what it was.”

Emilie looked down in thought for a moment before nodding. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Those words put ice in my veins.

“Lombre.” Joern glared up at Emilie, before reaching out on the table and grabbing a bowl. “Lombre lom.”

“Hey?” May asked.

I looked up from the two pokemon and stared back at May. “Yeah?”

“We’re good, right?” May looked away shyly. “I know I was kinda harsh, but I just wanted to make sure you would listen to me. I didn’t know about the other stuff. I’m sorry if I was a bit much.”

I smiled at her as well as I could. “I guess this qualifies as our first fight?”

May winced.

“You’re right. I’m sorry you had to go so far for me to see it.” I looked down at my plate. “I’m also sorry you felt like you had to. I really didn’t do a good job of listening to you before, huh?”

May smiled bitterly before shaking her head. “I didn’t do a good job of stopping you, either.”

I chuckled. “Yes, we’re good. Don’t worry so much. I’ll stay up here, you can go down and find the rock fanatic, and beg him to come up and give me an autograph.”

May giggled, before reaching across the table wrapping her hand around mine. The touch seemed to chase the cold away, and I smiled at her.

“Good,” May said. “I’ll drag him kicking and screaming if I have to.”

I smiled at her before looking back down at my plates. “And May, this is still entirely too much food.”

May just started giggling, before reaching over and grabbing a plate for herself. I grinned at her mercy, before digging in.

Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Chapter Text

I sat down, cross-legged on the bed with my eyes closed, and focused.

Think calming thoughts, Lea. Come on, you can do this! The pitter patter of rain on the sidewalk, just... imagine that sound. White noise filled my ears as I let my thoughts drift away, and I could feel the cold start to fade.

An uneasy feeling bubbled up in my stomach as the world started to fade, and I opened my eyes to Tapu Masks and plain walls.

Damn it all.

“You almost managed it that time.” Emilie said, before leaning her head back on my leg.

I nodded once. “Yeah, I felt the world start to shift. It’s what freaked me the fuck out.” I sighed. “This’d be a lot easier if you could just send me to lala land like you did before.”

Emilie lifted her head up and glared at me. “How exactly do you expect me to do that through your stupidly strong mental barrier, that shit’s stronger than the thing you made in practice.”

I leaned back. “Really?”

“Perks of you being scared out of your mind, I guess.” May said as she came out of the bathroom. “As a heads up, we don’t have any more hot water. You’ll probably have to shower in the morning.”

“Wouldn’t be my first cold shower...” I mumbled.

May glared at me before joining me on the bed. “Yeah, well this time I lost it in like, ten minutes, so it’s not my fault.”

“This time.” I grinned cheekily at her.

She poked my forehead and pushed, and I fell backwards onto the mattress, laughing.

“Rude.” The word was accompanied by a pout.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll be good.” I lifted up both of my arms and put them behind my head. “I didn’t ask earlier, but when do you want to leave to go hunting for Steven?”

May froze. “Honestly, probably the day after tomorrow. I still want to give you some time to train with Wayne’s Nuzleaf, and I want to shop for some better hiking gear now that we’ve got the pay day from the gym battle.”

I nodded once before closing my eyes. “Think you’ll be done in time for my rematch?”

“If we’re not, I’m teleporting up and watching, progress underground be damned.” May grinned at me. “You think I’m going to miss the chance to see all these ‘new and cool ideas’ you have?”

I blushed. “Thanks.” I popped an eye open. “Sorry I missed your match.”

“Meh, you can watch it on Sergei if you want, he taped the whole thing.” May glared at the phone as it floated up from her pocket. “Just don’t upload this one to Poketube.”

Sergei floated away from May into my waiting hands. “This is why I like you more.”

“Yeah, I think you’re pretty awesome too, little guy.” I thumbed through Poketube before pulling up the official video covering the match. “Don’t know why you care, your actual video covering the match has like, a zillion views on it.”

May’s face went white for a second before she groaned and sat next to me. “What are the comments saying about the fight?” Her voice was nervous as she pulled the phone over and scrolled away from the match as Leshy put Brawly’s Meditite to sleep.

“Oi, you can’t just-”

“Huh, no one’s commented on my mark, yet,” May said, sagging down. “At least not in the top comments, that’s good at least.”

“Probably too busy being blown away at how fast you cleaned Brawly’s clock, considering the video isssss” I fought with May to scroll back up. “Ten minutes long?”

May blushed. “I was in a hurry.”

I giggled. “Yeah, yeah, I wonder if my video’s as popular.”

May let go and I swiped up for the search bar, I typed in my name and-

Nothing.

What?

“Dude, where’s my match?” I asked, glancing down at the possessed smartphone.

A bunch of infographics and letters flashed across the screen all at once, before a single error message appeared on the screen.

“We’re sorry, but the video you’re trying to find doesn’t exist?” My voice slowly started to increase in volume as I read. “What?”

“Your first match is still up.” May said, grabbing Sergei. “It’s probably just a glitch in the system, they happen all the time. That or Brawly’s about as bad at making sure they get posted consistently as Dad is.” She leaned up against me and threw her arm around my shoulders. “You do know you can upload your own video, right?”

I shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Honestly, this is probably a good thing, the masses don’t get to watch me get creamed. I can just study Sergei's video.” The fact that the idea of uploading a video of my own now made me nervous as fuck was probably something that didn’t need shared.

“Fair enough, though the fight was still a ton of fun to watch, right up until you passed out.” May frowned before resting her head against my shoulder. “Thanks again for agreeing to stay up here.”

“Thank you for listening to my list of demands.” I smiled. “I figured we had enough of us being idiots for a while with how we got together.”

May smiled bitterly. “Yeah, probably.” Her voice dripped with exhaustion as she closed her eyes, and I smiled down at her still frame.

The smile slid from my face at the first snore.

Emilie teleported up to my pillow and stared at me with a grin. “Sergei, picture.”

The ghost phased through my hands and floated upwards, before turning around and complying with Emilie’s demand.

“Just how many pictures do you have for the scrapbook, anyway?” I asked.

Sergei just sent me a smiley face emoji.

“Right, so we’ll keep trying to meditate tomorrow, I want to sleep now.” Emilie turned before rolling into me and cuddling against my shoulder.

“Both you and May are lucky I can sleep on my back,” I complained.

Emilie just chuckled. “Just do me a favor and tell me about whatever dreams you have tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure thing,” I said to an already sleeping pokemon. I groaned before letting my eyes close, hoping that I wouldn’t see any new horrible things.

***

Dark cave walls once again painted my vision as I blearily opened my eyes. The viewpoint this time was far more familiar as carved out black stone doors loomed just within view. This was the same cave that May carried me through when I was bleeding out. I moved to stand, but my body wouldn’t listen.

‘What?’ I could perceive the question, but no sound left my lips.

An odd ethereal sound played through my mind and a single word appeared in my head. ‘Watch.’

A dull ache thrummed behind my skull as the word took shape. It was like telepathy, but at the same time, different. The thought lacked a voice. There was no emotion or drive guiding the order, just a single word, backed by an unwavering will.

“Daddy!” A high-pitched tone pulled me out of my thoughts as my body jerked up all on its own. A small, white furred Pokémon rushed into me and hopped up on my back. It was an Absol, without question, but it was far smaller than what I was used to. “You’re awake! Wanna play?”

A deep chuckle sounded through the cave as I slowly stood up, my back bowing slightly under the weight of my newly acquired passenger. I turned my head and-

I had white fur.

This wasn’t me. Why did it feel like me? Why was I looking through someone else’s eyes?

“I think I can spare a bit of time for a game of tag, but we should probably find your mother first. I think you left her behind with how excited you were.” The deep voice sounded old. Tired.

“But I wanna play now...” The child's voice came through whiny, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Oh, I had used that same tone on Eve so many times.

“But think of how sad your mom would be if we played without her.” The deep voice was light, playful even. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

A pained look crossed the small Absol’s face as she hopped down from her father’s back. “No.”

A throaty laugh sounded through the cave, and my eyes were drawn to the base of the cave. A large Absol stood tall. “She giving you trouble, love?”

“Hardly, little one’s just got way more energy than me. Did the hunt go well?” he asked.

The new arrival puffed up her chest. “Of course it did. Didn’t even have to go out that far for breakfast. A tasty set of morsels thought they’d try their luck with our daughter.” A malevolent grin crossed her face. “It was their final mistake in a series of many. Honestly, venturing this close to the crypt.”

Childish laughter filled the room, and I idly wondered what kind of kid laughed at something like that.

Dark-Types. Dark-Types laughed at stuff like that.

“Mommy was super cool! She was all like ‘Rawr’ and the bullies were all like ‘ahhh’ and then she pounced on them and-”

Loud raucous laughter filled the room as my viewpoint started walking closer to the little Absol pup. “Sounds like your mommy put on quite the show for you, eh?”

“Uh-huh. She was amazing,” she said, bouncing up and down as she rambled on.

This little thing was just too precious for words. The way she was carrying on was almost enough to make me forget that she was talking about some random Pokémon getting eaten.

Almost.

“Think it was from the same group?” Words echoed through the hall, and I realized the voice was coming from me again.

I was so focused on the adorable little thing in front of me that I had lost track of where we were looking. My viewpoint was now focused on the strong female Absol in front of me.

“Errant psychics that don’t really belong here? Yeah, I’d say they fit the bill. It’s odd. You’d think someone trying to break in would be sending in things that might actually have a chance. I was grateful for the meal, though. Been a bit since I’ve had pork.” A bit of blood made itself known as she grinned.

Pork? What was she-

Oh. Grumpigs. That or Spoinks.

“Don’t take them lightly. This is the third time this week, and the things they’re throwing at us are getting stronger.” Our gaze shifted to the pup, still rambling away about how cool Mom was. “I’m going to start training the little one. Showing her the ropes.”

A snarl pulled our gaze back to Momma Absol.

“You will do no such thing. She’s still far too-”

“She’s older than you or I were when we learned.” A sigh filled the room. “We’ve put it off for long enough, and... I’m worried things are going to get worse, before they get better.”

“A few psychic types are nothing to worry about.” Momma Absol puffed her chest up and glared at us.

“The sword stirs,” he said.

Momma Absol froze.

“I can feel it from here. It’s... I don’t know if alive is the right word, but it’s active.” A deep sigh filled the hall. “Our duty may be coming to an end soon.”

“The basics only.” Momma Absol’s voice was firm.

I felt us move backwards, and I felt... insulted?

That wasn’t me feeling that, but I felt it anyway. Fuck this was so weird.

“I’m not putting her through the same torture we went through, love. I’m not them.” My gaze shifted back to the little one, and the adorable little thing had stopped talking completely.

“I get to learn how to fight like Mommy?” she asked.

Fuck me, this thing was so cute.

“Well, honey. First things first. You’re going to learn to fight like daddy, okay?”

The look of joy on her face made me want to scoop this thing up and hug the crap out of it.

“Okay!”

A loud buzzing sound filled the air, and the cave distorted, before disappearing completely as I opened my eyes. May groans right next to me before turning and slamming her hand into the alarm clock. She stretched her arms out as she slowly sat up.

“Did you set an alarm?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep.

May quickly stood up before turning around. “You mean you didn’t?”

“I’m glad, if either of you intentionally made me get up this early, you would not have liked what I would’ve done to you,” Emilie muttered.

A loud knocking echoed through the room, cutting my reply off.

“You girls awake, we got a lot to do today, and I want to make sure we get it all done,” Wayne said through the door.

May and I both stayed still, our eyes trained on the door as another round of pounding started.

“Come on, I know Wally said y’all were heavy sleepers, but this is ridiculous,” he said.

“Excuse me for a moment.” Emilie disappeared, I froze for a split second, and the knocking instantly stopped.

“Oh, hey Emilie, I- ow. Ow ow ow, mmmphh, mm mph...” The muffled shouting trailed off and I grinned.

Serves you right, the sun’s literally just now coming up.

“Should we do anything about that?” May kept glancing between the door and me.

I chuckled before sitting up and turning. “Nah, Emilie’s not going to do anything that would... permanently injure Wayne.” I think. “Probably just going to make sure he never does something like this again. We should be good.”

A particularly loud muffled shout made my smile slip slightly from my face, and I heaved a sigh as Emilie reappeared on my shoulder. I opened my mouth-

“He’s mostly fine,” she said.

I glared at her.

“Mostly. I’m like, ninety nine percent sure he can still have kids.” She batted her eyelashes at me.

I sighed. “You’re lucky you’re on a self-imposed cookie break. Though I suppose I could just extend the days.”

Emilie shrunk in place, before puffing up and glaring at me. “Don’t give me that, you wanted to hurt him too.”

I grinned at my starter. “Yeah, but I had restraint. I probably would’ve just snuck something fun into his food later.”

“You’re both terrible.” May was caught between glaring at us and giggling. Her face quickly took on a more severe look as she met my eyes. “Any other premonitions?”

“Only if they’ve somehow managed to figure out how to turn people into Pokémon. I think this was just a lesson in not eating a big meal before bed.” I started rifling through my bag for something easy to wear for training.

“That’s good, at least,” May said.

Emilie remained quiet as she stared at my head, her eyes focused. “Yeah, nice.”

I didn’t like that her voice sounded less sure than May’s.

“Regardless, I’m enjoying the rare chance to get a hot shower in.” I walked into the bathroom before shooting my starter a grin.

“What?” she asked.

“I got you a present.” I grinned as I turned on the hot water for the sink and dropped the drain. “Well, more specifically I had May get me something for you.”

“Oh, what’d you get...” Her happy voice trailed off as I pulled out a small rubber psyducky and squeezed it a couple of times. “You’re an ass.”

“I can take it back if you don’t-”

“Gib.” She had both hands out in front of her and I started laughing. She teleported down to the sink the second I gave her the toy.

***

“Is it bad that I’m getting tired of this beach?” I asked, looking out across the sandy training field with a sigh before turning to my two training buddies.

Wally and Jasmine were both put in charge of getting supplies for our... their cave diving.

Legends above, I hated that a lot more than I thought I would.

May’s nose was scrunched up as she looked out across the ocean. “Yeah, a change of scenery would probably be a good idea, but all the ‘training grounds’ on this island are fucking beaches, so...”

“Not all of them.” Wayne gave the two of us a relatively laid back look, but I couldn’t help but notice his voice was a bit higher than usual.

“No.” May and Emilie refused at the same time.

Wayne backed up slightly from the angry psychic on my shoulder and brought his hands down. “At the risk of getting brutalized again, it’s” Wayne paused as he looked back towards the city. “Cathartic. I paid a visit with Jasmine when we got out of the hospital, mostly because she dragged me there, but it helped a lot more than I thought it would.”

I reached up and whacked Emilie on the forehead, and Wayne instantly relaxed as my starter shifted her glare to me.

“Be good.” Honestly, I half wondered if Wayne was right. I understood why May and Emilie wanted nothing to do with the place, but...

The whole point of my training was to push past my own hang ups. This felt like a good place to start. S’not like bashing my head against the brick wall a million times was making any significant progress.

“I think Wayne has a point,” I said, hoping-

Yeah, no. May’s mad.

“Are you nuts?” she shrieked, and I held my hands up against my ears. “In what universe is going back to where we were attacked supposed to be healthy?”

“The one where we need closure,” I replied. “May, you keep looking at me like I’m a glass doll. You jump at every overly loud sound, fuck you probably need something like this more than me!”

“I don’t-”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you freeze up when Wayne pounded on the door this morning.” I cut her off with a glare. “It’s a big grassy field with palm trees. You’re treating it like the place is going to open up and swallow us whole. If you really don’t want to, I won’t force it, but...”

“It might be good for us,” Emilie muttered quietly.

May looked at everyone else before groaning, her hands clenched together so hard that I was a bit worried she would draw blood. “Fine, we’ll go to the stupid training ground.”

I sagged and let loose a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I still think this is stupid, but I’m not going to let a fucking training ground of all things scare me off. I fully intend to complain and freak out the whole time, and you get to-”

I reached out and grabbed her hand, before leading the way. May’s mouth snapped shut, and I grinned before shifting my gaze over to Emilie.

“I’m fine. I’m just... not thinking about this rationally. You’re right, it’s just a bit grassy field. Well, mostly grassy. The battle ground might be a little charred, but-”

“I’m a little shook up too,” I said, a sad smile on my face. I felt May squeeze my hand.

An explosion of light brought my attention back to our largest friend, and metal grinded against metal as an angry screech filled the skies.

We got a few looks from the locals, but most of them just went right back to what they were doing.

“Skarm’ll show the big bad training field whose boss, don’t worry.” Wayne grinned up at his best friend before shifting his confident look to the two of us. “I wasn’t a whole lot better about this, honestly. Jasmine forced me to go there, I think I mentioned that already, didn’t I?”

I nodded once but didn’t say anything else.

We spent the rest of the walk in silence, and stopped as we left the city proper and passed into the training field.

Someone had replanted grass.

“Huh,” I said as I walked out into the large open field. “I half figured this place would still be trashed. That Draco Meteor was... exceedingly stupid.”

Wayne winced. “Don’t remind me. I’m keeping my girl away from the casinos in Mauville.”

I chuckled lightly, before frowning as May let go of my hand and walked forward. “May?”

“It’s fixed,” she said, before walking further in, towards-

Damn, just going right for it, huh?

“May, wait up!” I shouted after her as she quickly walked into the tree line. I felt my heart pick up as the familiar trees started to take shape in my mind's eye. I swallowed down a bit of bile before pushing through.

May’s dealt with enough of my crap, I can help her deal with one stupid fucking thing without freaking out.

Calm thoughts, rain drops, white noise, just... focus on your girlfriend. Come on.

Another loud screech sounded out behind me, and I whipped my head up to see Skarmory glance down at me with a small smile. He flew down and hovered right next to me and Wayne as we kept pace with May.

May froze in place as we reached the small clearing I had talked to Jasmine in. I half expected the entire area to be destroyed, still. But the debris the space rocks had thrown around had been cleared.

What I wasn’t expecting, though, was for the person fixing the place to still be here.

“Good work, Kahuna. Whole place looks good as new.” That voice sounded exceedingly familiar.

I stared in slack jawed awe at the towering Pokémon in front of me. Giant white spikes stuck out of its back as it casually lifted an entire tree up, planting it back into the ground with a practiced ease that blew me away. A very tightly bundled Brawly knelt down and started shifting the dirt in place.

“Chesnaught!” The cry was almost deafening as the large bipedal pokemon let go and admired his work. He smiled, before turning our way. “Ches.”

“Visitors?” Brawly turned away from his work and grinned. “Ah, it’s you guys. Glad to see you up and about, little one. Didn’t think you’d take losing that badly.”

I blushed. “I didn’t faint because of the loss.”

“Looked like it, but I’ll take your word for it. Still, I thought I closed this training ground off. Tito was supposed to chase off anyone that came in while we worked.” Brawly started looking around the trees.

“We didn’t see anyone on our way in.” Wayne said, staring eye to eye with the lumbering grass type. “I’ve never seen a Chesnaught this big before.”

“Of course you didn’t, lazybones probably took a nap under the shade somewhere.” Brawly looked annoyed, before smiling at Wayne. “Yeah, Kahuna eats his Wheaties. Special blend that I make myself, in fact.”

“You fixed it,” May muttered in a lost tone of voice. “How?”

Brawly chuckled. “Yeah, this place was pretty thrashed. Going off your reactions, I’m guessing you were here for that?”

May nodded once, before swallowing. “Did- did Dad tell you what happened here?”

Brawly winced. “Yeah, got quite the earful for that one. I’m sorry Dewford hasn’t been the kindest place in the world to you guys.” Brawly turned and nodded at Chesnaught. “My friend here helps me keep the training ground in order. Brings the grass back to life where it grows, replants trees...”

“Ches!” The big guy thumped his chest before putting an arm around Brawly’s shoulders.

“Keeps me out of trouble. Everything really.” Brawly laughed before returning the sideways hug.

May walked forward and placed her hand against the freshly rooted tree, and I quickly ran up to stand by her side.

“It’s not much, but... It’s better than what it was. Sometimes, that’s all we can offer. Might not be enough, but just that little bit can make all the difference sometimes.” Brawly lifted up a poke ball and recalled his pokemon. Chesnaught waved as he disappeared into the ball.

May turned and smiled at the gym leader. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Next time some big scary monster tries to screw with you, come get me, alright?” Brawly winced. “One session with the old man was enough.”

May laughed. A solid hearty laugh, at that. “Will do.”

Brawly nodded before walking back through the clearing of trees.

“Lea,” May said.

I whipped my head around to look at my now smiling girlfriend.

“Thanks for dragging me here.” May pulled me in close and hugged me. “I-I can’t explain why, but...”

“You feel lighter?” Wayne asked. “Like what happened is actually behind you?”

May nodded into my shoulder, before pulling away. “You ready to do some training?”

I smiled, before releasing the full squad. Rain clouds instantly started to form, and Emilie lifted her hands up into the air. The clouds moved away from us as the first rain drops started to fall.

“Pelipper.” Apollo appeared on the ground, his left wing rubbing the back of his head. “Pelipper, pel.”

“Honedge.” Lucas appeared next to him, looking incredibly smug.

I held my hand out to May. “Sergei me, please.”

“I can translate, you know?” Emilie complained.

“Yeah, but you don’t SAY everything like Sergei does. I want my crazy team, not my crazy team through your filter of restrictive stupidity,” I complained.

Emilie glared at me as Sergei floated into view.

“It’s alright, hon. We all have performance anxiety sometimes,” Sergei messaged, before opening up the live feed.

“Alright, first things first. Apollo said sorry about the weather, Captain. Legends above it feels good being called that again. I missed it so much and I’ve only been deaf to you guys for a couple days.” I grinned at my now much larger water fowl. “The constant rain is something we’re going to try and fix. Well, more specifically, May’s going to try and help you fix it. My pokedex gave me jack all and shit to work with.”

May nodded before reaching into my bag and grabbing my umbrella. “I think Lea could do it too, but she’s going to be busy with her own thing.”

“Honedge.” Lucas snickered as they walked off.

I scanned down through the messages and noticed Lucas taunting his superior officer in the chat room. That couldn’t stand, now could it.

“I wouldn’t act so cocky, you’ll be going with them and working on your current move pool.” I grinned as the color in his sheath seemed to fade. “Hop to it, he can give you pointers while he works on his own stuff.” Pointers, heckling. Same thing, really.

“Hon hon Honedge.” Lucas hovered after my friends.

Now that sounded like sass. I glanced down at the phone before putting my hands around my mouth. “He’s being insubordinate, Apollo. Give him hell!”

“Pelipper!” Apollo shouted out, glaring at the spectral sword as he turned and glared at me.

I shrugged, before giving him a pleasant smile and wave.

“Lombre.” Joern lifted his hand into the air, before looking pointedly at me.

“Yeah, that’s where I come in, big guy.” Wayne stepped forward. “If you’re going to go toe to toe with a strong psychic type, Dark Type moves are your best friend. Nuzeaf is going to be giving you a crash course on how the type works, and we’re going to try and figure out what works best for you.” He turned back towards me. “About as far away from Lea as we can get.”

“Skarmory!” Skarmory nodded his head up and down as he glared at Wayne’s belt.

Wait.

“Wayne, you have a third pokemon?” I asked.

Wayne winced, and I wondered if this would be another Misdreavus incident.

“Ball’s empty, actually. I keep it as a good luck charm,” he quickly explained.

“Right, at any rate. Joern, this will be the first time you’ve worked outside your type. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get it at first. Just try and absorb as much information as you can so we can work on it once they go down,” I ordered, before sitting down in front of the tree, my legs crossed and my hands on my knees.

“Lombre.” Joern nodded before following Wayne into the deeper foliage. I wasn’t sure if that was really part of the training ground, but whatever made Wayne feel more comfortable.

Now.

“Alright, let’s hear it. What’s the cool idea?” Emilie tapped her foot on my shoulder.

“Well, I just figured that we need to expand our naming scheme, right?” I asked with a grin.

Emilie chuckled. “Yeah, we can come up with cool names like The Emilienator or Sand Burial.” Her laughing became a bit forced. “Let me guess, you want me to come up with them all.”

I smiled at her. “Actually, I think I’ve got a rather nice collection of names we can copy wholesale. To start things off, why don’t we call your funny little water ball trick... Guard Sphere.”

My smile split my face as the realization started to dawn on Emilie. I was worried it actually might when I watched her brain process all the different ideas that thought gave her.

“You’re literally having me design moves and abilities... based on a video game you played when you were twelve?” Emilie asked.

“Do you have a problem with any of those names?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Emilie thought for a moment, before grinning at me. “Just one. I think Azure is a bit of a miss for us, huh? I think Jade Strike sounds better off the tongue.”

I laughed at that. “I’ll let you work through how you want to recreate your toolkit on your own for a bit, okay?”

“But Lea, the whole point of this is getting us to communicate better, how can I do that if-”

“Guard Sphere. Azure Strike. Bullet Rain. Spin Dance.” I cut her off. “If you think I don’t remember all of these, you’ve lost your mind. Your memory trick is stupid, and I love it so much.”

Emilie smiled at me, before chuckling. “I’m guessing you want me to think of some cool creations for those while you do... whatever it is you’re going to do.”

I giggled. “Emilie, I’m going to be completely honest with you, I haven’t been this relaxed in a while. My brain isn’t screaming at me that the world’s going to blow up if I close my eyes for too long. It’s... peaceful.” I closed my eyes, and took a deep, calming breath. “I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”

The world faded away, and for once, I didn’t jerk back.

***

A giant brick wall stretched out before me, extending out infinitely in every direction.

How the fuck did I get around this?

“Alright, my subconscious was very... dedicated to keeping everyone out.” I muttered. No response. “Right, I’m just talking to myself now... That’s healthy.” I put my hand against the wall and put a bit of weight against it. Solid. A gut feeling told me that trying to feel for a weak point would be a waste of time.

“So, the easiest solution here would be to just imagine the wall away.” A sudden feeling of apprehension and dread filled me to my core, as if the very idea would court death in the most painful, gruesome way imaginable. I leaned against the wall to steady myself as I tried to get my breathing under control.

“Right, brain still doesn’t like that idea. Legends above my head is so fucked up.” I sighed before looking at the wall again. This would be way easier if I had any clue how the fuck I did this in the first place. How the hell did I come out of my own head if I built a massive ass fucking wall around my brain, did I teleport th-

“I’m a fucking idiot.” I closed my eyes and visualized myself on the other side of the wall. I didn’t need to change anything, I just needed to shift my perspective.

I opened my eyes. I was still staring at the wall.

“This is fantastic, I get in and I can’t even get in!” I briefly wondered if I was saying all of this outside. Meh, Emilie’s used to my brand of crazy.

I turned around and sucked in a breath.

I’m still an idiot. Yay. Good to know. Of course I was still staring at the wall. The wall has two sides.

What greeted me as I turned around was my old house In Petalburg. Eve’s herb garden was in the windowsill, the paint was peeling in all the right spots, there was even that small hole in the roof next to my room!

I started to move forward but stopped myself. Instincts were screaming at me, telling me this was wrong, that this wasn’t where I needed to be.

Damn, maybe I’m not stupid. That’s actually really clever. Anyone who’d breach the first layer of defense would just assume this was my inner sanctum, and dive right in. I’d be willing to bet I put something nasty on the other side of that door.

“I wonder if I’m cruel enough to have intruders face down Eve in her face mask?” I was acting on instinct and terrified out of my mind when I made this, of course I fucking would.

Yeah, not going in there.

I started walking towards where our mother’s bakery would normally be in town. This was honestly the first chance I had to really look at my creation. I kind of peaced out in a hurry when I made it, considering I was mad at Emilie, and last time was... that.

I honestly did a really good job, all things considered. The houses that weren’t important to me weren’t all that detailed, which made sense. I didn’t know a ton of people, and I barely paid attention on my way to and from work. There were a few stand outs though. I saw the gym in the distance, and May’s house next to it.

I briefly considered if either place would hold my home away from home but dismissed the idea entirely. Everyone knew how close May and I were. Fuck, random people on Chatot were aware at this point. That was WAY too obvious a hiding spot. I turned to where the bakery was, grabbed the door, and froze.

Come to think of it, this place would be way too obvious too. I let go of the door as if it burned my skin.

All of the more detailed buildings were important to me. They were obvious hiding spots. I know how I think, I wouldn’t put my Mental Palace in any of those places. Especially if I was terrified beyond all belief when I made it. Emilie knew where all of these places were, I couldn’t let any psychic types break in!

“Where the fuck did that last thought come from?” I shook my head and tried to focus. “Worry about your weird ass fucking brain once you get there, Lea.”

So where would I put it? It would have to be a place of some significance to me. I couldn’t just stick it in some random, generic house. I’d never be able to keep it straight with how many homes there were, but I wouldn’t stick it somewhere obvious, either. It would have to be a middle ground, like...

Wally’s house.

I suddenly found myself standing in front of the plainest building I had ever seen. Gray siding, single entrance, a couple of windows on a two story, and surrounded by a white picket fence. The grass was perfectly trimmed, and the bushes were square and uniform. It was the perfect picture of a house out of suburbia, and the only thing distinguishing it from the other houses was the fact that it was right next to the gym.

I know Wally’s house. Wally showed it to me on our way out of Petalburg when he grabbed all his shit. This wasn’t it, and I would a hundred percent have made this place to scale.

The only reason I wouldn’t was if I was trying to hide something here.

I walked down the sidewalk with confidence and grabbed the plain brass door handle. It was locked.

Of course.

I groaned. Alright, think Lea. Where would you stash a key so that you could get to it easily? Door mat was too obvious. Honestly, the whole door is a bit obvious. Where else would you try to go in?

A window.

I slowly walked around the side towards the only window on the first floor and lifted. It opened without any issue, and I climbed inside. As I stood up to full height, the world around me shifted to a black, empty void. I briefly worried I had gotten it wrong until a single spotlight shone down from on high on a single, wooden door. I took a step forward and the window behind me faded into the abyss.

I wrapped my hand around the door, opened it up, and frowned. The only thing that greeted me was more blank space. I leaned forward, and sighed as I remained exactly where I was.

I thought for sure this was it. I could feel the heat from the oven on my skin, for crying out loud.

Maybe it was the other window... No, that seemed wrong. Instinct had brought me this far. I knew my own mind. I might not remember how I hid my mental palace, but I knew it had to be on the other side of this-

“Wait a minute.” I pulled the door closed, a small smile forming on my face. “Clever girl.”

I walked around the door, grabbed the door handle, and pushed. My bakery, fully formed and looking better than ever, greeted me on the other side. Not sure how that was, considering all the shit I’ve been put through, but I’ll take it.

“Hallelujah.” My voice was dry and deadpan as I walked inside. Holy fuck that was convoluted. The wall was completely unnecessary, nobody but me would be able to find this place. Damn.

Nope, brain still hated the idea. Not as much, though. The dread felt subdued. Almost manageable.

Progress. Yay.

I froze as I heard it. This was my mind. Sealed up tighter than a pressure cooker and hidden behind about twenty different illusions. Most of which I didn’t even know what they were!

I should be alone here. Completely and utterly.

So why is it that I heard sniffling?

“H-hello?” My heart leapt up into my throat as I heard a very familiar voice, sounding out into the Aether. One that I had gotten used to all my life.

It was mine.

Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Chapter Text

Joern’s POV


Joern kept his eyes locked on his trainer as the large trainer pulled out a pair of poke balls. The bumps on his skin felt more pronounced than usual and his leaf felt stiff in the crisp frigid air. He didn’t trust this training ground. Not for one moment.

“Relax, would ya. You’re the tensest Lombre I’ve ever seen.” Wayne tossed a fancy looking poke ball into the air, and a light filled the air.

Joern sighed as the metal bird filled the air. He supposed he couldn’t be too angry at the large human. Most of his kind were lively jokers. Joern looked out across the clearing towards his psychic teammate and pushed. 'I’m as serious as I need to be.’

Emilie stopped what she was doing, the water surrounding her falling to the ground as she briefly glared my way. ‘Don’t use me to pass messages unless you have too, okay? I’ve got like, three new attack patterns to try and figure out, and while talking to humans is doable now, it’s still hard as fuck.’

Joern shot a teasing grin her way. ‘All things considered, you could probably use the endurance training.’

‘...shut your face.’ Emilie’s blush was apparent to the whole clearing. Guess red on white really was super obvious.

Joern chuckled before leaning back. He supposed he couldn’t be too mad at her. That Gallade hit like a truck. It wasn’t fair to hold the rest of his family to his standard. ‘Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’ll try and limit my conversations with the big guy.’

‘Thanks,’ Emilie muttered, before going back to her own training.

Joern grinned, grateful that the banter ended there. He wasn’t too sure he had another line ready after that.

Skarmory landed right in front of him and spread his wings out. “Snap out of it.”

Joern simply turned his head and gave the bird an unimpressed look. “Sorry, I was talking to my teammate. Were you saying something?”

Skarmory sneered before laughing. “Like trainer like pokemon, huh? Wayne’s been trying to talk to you for a few minutes now.”

Joern pulled back before shifting his focus to the big guy leading the session. He rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry.”

“You’re good. Just stay focused on what I’m about to tell you, cause I don’t want to repeat myself a third time.” Wayne smiled down at the water type as he cradled what I assumed was Nuzleaf’s poke ball. “Nuzleaf’s a bit of a headache on the best of days, and you’re new. So I want to lay out some ground rules. He’s not going to trust you right out the gate. He might get cagey about me in particular, and he’s very serious about his role as my protector.”

Huh, might not hate the guy.

Wayne just stared at Joern for a long moment before nodding. “Just give him the benefit of the doubt, don’t do anything that’ll piss him off, and if he says anything rude about Lea, I apologize in advance.”

Never mind, he’s probably a dick.

Legends above, he was spending too much time around Emilie and Lea.

Joern narrowed his eyes as the dark and grass type formed between him and his trainer, his arms pulled up in a fighting stance with a single, sharp, green leaf held in each one.

Coming out of the gate with an attack already at the ready. Joern wondered how he did that. “Hello.”

The low tier shinobi wannabe made no notion that he heard him, and simply tightened his fists in anticipation.

Damn it all, he was terrible at breaking the ice. Why couldn’t he get the personalized training with May? The damn bird didn’t need help learning to turn off the waterworks, he’d probably figure it out by the end of the day. His instincts couldn’t be that bad, and Joern wanted nothing to do with this weirdo. Fuck, think, Joern. What would the others do here?

Emilie would insult him to try and get him to banter, but that probably wouldn’t go over well here. Joern could just imagine the one-sided beatdown that would ensue if this thing attacked him. Joern liked Wayne. He didn’t want to put one of his pokemon in the center if he didn’t have to.

Apollo’d start rambling on about one of his ‘great expeditions’ that may or may not have actually happened with mates that Joern had no proof even existed. He’d once found it hard to believe that a flock of Wingull would put up with his eccentricies, but that notion quickly died once he grew more attached to the water fowl. Regardless, Joern had no stories to tell.

Lucas would crack a bad joke in the hopes of pulling either a laugh or a groan from the person he was trying to talk to. Honestly, that might work, what was a pun he could make about-

“Would one of you talk to the other already? I thought I was going to have to break up a fight, not watch a staring contest.” Skarmory beat her wings, and a small gust blew across the clearing. “Say something, you antisocial idiots.”

“I was getting to it, meetings should be handled appropriately,” Joern said. He glanced over at the now tense Nuzleaf and sighed. “I’m sorry if my silence came off as rude, though considering you look like you’re ready to try and cut me to shreds, I thought a bit of planning would be prudent in dealing with you.”

Nuzleaf’s eyes narrowed, and his arms didn’t lower.

This would be a whole lot easier if Wayne gave Joern anything to go off for what he wanted him to do here. This prick certainly wasn’t. Oh, that works for a pun. “You’d think a Nuzleaf would be nicer, nuzzle is literally in the name.”

Ah, a groan. He fell into the Tsundere category with Emilie, then.

Nuzleaf finally lowered his leaves before looking back at his trainer. “When you told me I would be training someone, you failed to mention he was an idiot.”

“Be nice,” Wayne ordered, saying something for the first time since this ass hat came out.

Fuck, screw Emilie. That one just straight up came from Lea. What were these people doing to him?

Nuzleaf glowered at his trainer before turning to look at the lilypad pokemon. “Don’t know how a softy like you expects to learn dark type attacks. My shogun can be eccentric at times, but this one takes the cake.”

Softy?

Him?

“Your words are about as sharp as your leaves. I was expecting more interesting barbs from a dark type, but compared to my teammates, you’re about as effective in a battle of words as you are in a battle of vines.” Joern glared balefully at the annoying grass type, his tone of voice never rising in octave.

“Implying that I would even need to try in either instance against someone like you.” Nuzleaf looked Joern up and down. “I suppose I have something to work with, at least.”

“Stop posturing and get to the point,” Wayne ordered.

Joern looked up towards the normally gentle giant with a frown. How he interacted with Nuzleaf seemed out of character. No jokes. No nonsense. Just orders.

“Yes, Shogun Wayne.” Nuzleaf nodded once, his countenance shifting instantly. “I’m going to assume you have no idea what you’re doing going into this?”

Joern leaned back at the abrupt change before narrowing his eyes. He couldn’t quite place it, but... the act was off putting. He supposed he could play along. “Up to this point, I’ve only learned moves in my own set of types or general purpose moves that are easy for anyone to pick up. This would be my first foray into things outside of my general wheelhouse.”

Nuzleaf nodded once. “Good, then I don’t have to break you of your bad habits.”

Joern didn’t like how this thing said break. Neither did Skarmory, apparently, because a single, sharp blade of wind cleaved through the space between us. Joern backed away from the assault, Nuzleaf didn’t even blink.

“Quit it with the goody two shoes instructor act. It’s creepy, just talk like you normally would and walk him through the process. Teach him Knock Off or something, that one’s fairly easy to pick up, right?” Skarmory tilted his head to the side.

Nuzleaf growled. “I was following my shogunate’s orders.”

“And your shogunate’s first order is to be your normal, asshole self. Keep the acting for the enemy. We’re amongst friends.” Skarmory glared down at the wannabe ninja, and the grass type backed off.

“Not sure how friendly it is considering she’s here.” Nuzleaf glanced over at Lea with a hateful gaze.

Joern blurred across the clearing, putting himself between Lea and the crazy grass type, a ball of water already formed in his hand. “Touch my trainer and drown.” The words came out in a snarl.

Nuzleaf leaned back from the grass type, before throwing his head back and laughing. Joern pulled back slightly, before sucking in a sharp breath as a black fist slammed home into his stomach. Joern had already laid vines into the ground and held his stance firm as he threw his hand forward, launching the devastating tide of water outwards and pushing the grass type away from him.

Nuzleaf flipped in the air and landed on his feet, before glancing at his fellow grass type with a smile.

Skarmory flew down and cleaved a line in the dirt between them. “Now that you’ve both gotten that out of your system, calm the hell down. I can and will cut you both to ribbons.”

Joern backed away from the angry bird type, slightly unnerved by the grin he had on his face as he said that. Why were all of Wayne’s Pokémon psychos?

He had very little room to talk, didn’t he?

He shifted his glare back to his ‘teacher’ as he rubbed his stomach. “My trainer is off limits. Bad mouth her at your own peril.”

The grin never left Nuzleaf’s face. “As long as she doesn’t try and hurt my Shogunate’s chosen again, I suppose I can abide by that. This training session might be easier than I thought.”

Joern glared.

“Way easier. What I just did to you was something the humans call a Sucker Punch. Why they feel the need to name all our little tricks to shout them out to our opponents in the heat of battle is beyond me, but in layman’s terms, that’s what you’d find if you looked it up on one of your trainer’s fancy little devices.” Nuzleaf lifted his hand up, a dark aura coating it.

“Alright, that’s what I’m here to learn, then. How do I do that?” Joern asked.

Nuzleaf chuckled. “I doubt you’ll be able to go that far, mostly because I don’t think your body can move that fast. You strike me as more of a wall.” The black glow faded. “My annoying aerial acquaintance over there honestly had a good idea. Knock Off is probably more your speed.”

Joern briefly looked back to his trainer, who was still sitting ramrod straight in a deep trance. Did he have to listen to her and deal with this idiot?

“Now then, most trainer indexes will tell you to think negative thoughts to channel the power of the void. When my lord took it upon himself to start training me, he used those foolishly created reference materials in an effort to heighten my connection.” Nuzleaf shook his head. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Joern quickly turned his head and stared intently at the dark type in front of him. Lea loved crap like this, the nerd. She’d want to hear all about it when they could talk again. “What exactly is the void?”

Nuzleaf grinned. “It’s that part of you that constantly says you’ll come up short. The doubt, the fear, the wrath, all the worst parts of you pooled together around one simple truth that you dedicated yourself to.”

Joern tilted his head. “Sounds miserable. Though, what truth are you talking about here?”

Nuzleaf chuckled. “You’d be right if you tried learning from the machines. The truth is your reason for being. It’s what you dedicate yourself to in the hopes of having a more promising future. The reason you get up and keep getting up, despite the fact that what you’re trying to pull from wants to pull you back down.”

Joern tilted his head. That didn’t sound healthy.

Nuzleaf sighed. “You’re not a dark type, you’re only trying to learn our ways. I can respect that, but your pull to the void will be far weaker than mine, just because you're not constantly being pulled down by your worst impulses. Before we begin, though, you need to have that truth in mind to ground yourself. What do you dedicate yourself to more than anything else? What is your purpose?”

Joern once again shifted to look at his trainer, before pausing. He shifted to glance at the rest of his team a good ways away. He glanced at the rain longingly before focusing on his friends.

“Protecting my new family,” Joern said.

Nuzleaf smirked. “Didn’t do a very good job of that, huh?”

Joern leaned forward as the mental image of this thing being shoved through a tree played through his head.

“Good, hold on to that feeling, and keep your goal in mind.” Nuzleaf raised his arms up and brought them up in a fighting stance in front of him. “Dive into that feeling and focus. Push it out of you!”

Joern glared hatefully at the moronic grass type. What feeling? The desire to break Nuzleaf’s face? The helplessness from the event in question? The-

His thoughts were cut off as Nuzleaf appeared in front of him and punched him lightly on the back of the head. A shadowy whisp pushed out from his head, and he groaned.

“Did I screw up?” Joern asked.

“You lost yourself in the negatives. You didn’t push through.” Nuzleaf shook his head before sighing. “This might take us a bit. Just be glad you aren’t learning from the books. People think dark types are all dark thoughts and evil temptations, but in reality, we’re equal parts hope and despair. Emotions always exist in parity, remember that.”

Joern tilted his head. “So, what advice would you give?”

“Focus on the bad, then banish it with the good. THAT is the cycle through which dark types master their craft, and it’s why that truth is so important.” Nuzleaf turned and glanced at Wayne with a wistful smile. “Just focus on them.”

Joern nodded once, before closing his eyes. He focused on the words Nuzleaf said before, and the feeling they invoked. He-

Stopped.

A gust of air exploded outwards from the clearing Lea was currently meditating at. Joern’s eyes snapped open, and he instantly turned and started running towards the grove. Dirt and sand levitated around his trainer in a similar fashion to what they did when the fear block broke.


Normal POV


I stood just beyond the door and stared down at the little girl wiping her eyes at one of the tables. Adorned in beat up goth ware, she slowly pulled her hands away from her face and looked at me, her eyes red and puffy. Dark blue hair framed her face, her bangs casting a shadow over her features in the dim light of the dining room.

Fuck, even in my head, we can’t keep all the lights on in this place.

Okay, calm down. Finding another version of you in your own head doesn’t mean you’re crazy. Fuck, she might not even be me! Oh god, I hate that idea even more. Deep breaths. Calm down. She’s just a kid, just breathe.

“Hello?” Her voice was hoarse as she repeated the question.

I snapped to attention, pulled from my musings by the feelings of ice water filling my veins. “Hi.” I waved. Fuck, what exactly do I say. “Are you, uh... talking to me?”

“Yeah...? Who else would I be talking to?” The little girl waved her hands up and gestured to the empty bakery, her head tilted to the side with unrepentant sass.

Yeah, this was me. Legends above my head was fucked.

“Sorry, I was just surprised. I REALLY wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here. Do you know how you got here?” I slowly started walking towards the table.

She shook her head. “I woke up here a while ago, I-I don’t know how long it’s been.” She started tearing up a bit. “Please help me find my sister. I’m so scared.”

“It’s going to be alright, okay?” I knelt down to put myself at eye level and made my voice as soothing as possible. She might’ve been me, but she was still a little kid. “Do you know where you are right now?” No reason this should be any different from all the times back home.

“It’s my momma’s bakery!” Little me brought her hands together with a smile before looking around the room. “At least, I think it is. I’ve never actually been here before.”

Fuck, she was really young.

“Eve talks about it all the time, and it looks just how I had imagined it.” The little girl went back to staring nervously at the table. “I was really hoping she would be here somewhere, but I can’t find her...”

“Your sister sounds like a pretty cool person. Could you describe her for me?” Did I really just ask that? Okay, maybe I shouldn’t go full auto pilot work mode. I don’t really need her to describe-

The little girl nodded excitedly. “Of course! She’s really tall and has dark hair. She usually makes faces like this.” Mini me puffed her cheeks out and scowled. “Or like this.” She closed her eyes and her mouth hung slightly, as if she was falling asleep standing up.

I had to bite my upper lip to stop myself from laughing. Okay, never mind, I a hundred percent needed to ask her about Eve.

“Are you alright, miss?” she tilted her head at me again.

I sucked in a deep breath through my nose before calming down with an exhale. “I’m fine, don’t worry. Your sister sounds like a very interesting person.”

Mini me nodded. “She was a grouch for a while, and kind of scary, but now she’s been really nice. She even agreed to help me start my Pokémon journey!”

That... wasn’t right. Well, actually, no. It was. The event’s correct, but the time’s all wrong.

“Miss?”

I jerked before staring down at mini me. “Oh, sorry. I get lost in my head sometimes. How old are you, kid?”

Mini me puffed her cheeks out and frowned. “Don’t call me kid! I’m...” She started counting her fingers and paused once she ran out. “I’m not sure how to count that high, but I know it’s a lot!”

My eyebrow twitched as the last two words came out of her mouth.

“And the name’s Lea!” She nodded once with her arms crossed in front of her.

“What a coincidence!” I did my best to sound as upbeat and jovial as possible. “That’s my name too!” Just what are you, you small child me? “It’s a great name, isn’t it?”

Mini me nodded. “I like it loads! My friend got me a game the other day, and her name was Lea too! She’s really cool, and shoots laser balls out of her hands and is strong and brave and-”

“Whoa, calm down there, little one. You gotta remember to take a breath every once in a while. She sounds really cool. I’m glad you like it. Who’s the friend that gave you the game?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“May! She’s really nice, and REALLY pretty.” A blush lit up little me’s face as she shifted in her seat. “We play loads at her house, cause Eve is always really busy.”

I nodded along. So, either current me was bleeding through to this child version of me, or I was hopeless from a very young age. Got it. Probably the former, considering she couldn’t give me a straight answer about her age. “She sounds amazing, are you two going on your journey together?”

Mini me looked away.

“I want to, but it probably won’t happen.” Mini me looked away. “I’m so scared...”

“Why are you scared, hon? It sounds like your friend would love to travel with you.” I put my hand on her back and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m not smart like her, or popular, or any of the other stuff she is.” Mini me looked away from me. “She’s going to figure that out and leave on her own before I can, I know it.”

The words that came out of her mouth ran through me like a hot knife. I froze as a large, inky blackness extended out from below the table. What the-

“I’ll really be alone, then,” she said, her voice almost drowned out by the odd dripping that filled my ears.

Focus! Think. That was... for the longest time that was my greatest fear. To be left all alone. To be left behind like yesterday’s long johns.

“T-that’s ridiculous.” I forced the words out through clenched teeth as I fought through dark thoughts. “May’s an amazing person, and an amazing friend. I know, without a doubt, that she’ll stick by your side, no matter what!” The words flowed from my mouth with a conviction I didn’t know I had. It may have been my nightmare once upon a time, but I knew better. “So, you just stick by hers, alright?”

Mini me’s eyes grew wide and started to sparkle as the darkness faded.

“Y-yes, ma’am.” She nodded fervently. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I dumped that shit on you.”

My eyes sharpened at the curse word.

“Stuff! I meant stuff.” Mini me pulled herself away from our hug and put some distance between us.

I’m chastising myself for my own bad language. Straitjacket, here I come.

“Thanks for the pep talk, you’re alright for an adult.” She stared at me with narrowed eyes. “Though, how do you know May? Are you also friends with her?”

I froze before grasping at the offered lifeline. I wasn’t entirely sure how well acknowledging this place was a mental representation of my mind would go with this thing, and I didn’t want to find out. “I’m in here all the time and May comes here a lot too. We hang out.”

Mini me nodded.

“Do you know who you want to be your starter Pokémon?” I asked, genuinely curious. What would this version of me want to go on a journey with?

Her eyes grew wide and fearful, and she slowly backed away. “I... don’t know.”

That was a curveball. Through all of my years of wanting to go on a grand adventure, I always had an answer to this question. That answer might have changed, but it always existed. Her not having an answer was... alarming.

Let’s go with the classic and see if she vibes with it. “Really, you must have some idea. I know I heard May talking about a friend that was all about Torchic a bit ago, was that you?”

Mini me shook her head. “I don’t want a Torchic anymore.” Her voice was petulant. As if the idea insulted her. “Dad had a Torchic, and I don’t want to be like him AT ALL!”

Well, that wholesale confirms that this little girl knows more than I did at this age.

“Besides, May wants a Torchic, and she studied really REALLY hard to pass Mr. Birch’s exam. I already know I’m not smart enough to pass, and I wouldn’t want to take that away from her,” mini me said.

I winced. Was I really this negative all the time? I didn’t think so, but maybe I needed to watch that more. “I think you’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit, but I understand wanting to help a friend.”

Mini me shook her head. “Not as smart as May.”

“No one is as smart as May.” Brainiac that she is, she’d probably be able to tell me what the hell is going on here.

Okay, that might be overselling her a bit, but she’d probably have something by the end of the day.

Mini me giggled and nodded. “Yeah, she’s kind of a nerd, huh?”

I nodded, a small grin on my face. “Yeah, she is, isn’t she? Did you have any ideas on who else you wanted as a teammate? There aren’t really any wrong answers here, outside of Zigzagoon.”

Mini me scrunched her nose up at the normal type’s name. “I-I don’t know. I had an idea, but...” She shivered and looked away. “They’re kind of scary.”

Emilie? Scary? Please. “What’s scary, hon?”

She stilled, her face white as she stared directly into my eyes. We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, unwilling to look away and break the spell. I opened my mouth, and she cut me off instantly.

“The whole world’s kind of scary, honestly.” The little girl grabbed her arms and looked away, a frown on her face. “Lots of bad things happen all the time.” Her grip tightened, and an inky blackness started to push outwards from the table again.

I froze as a pit opened up where my stomach used to be, and a cold sweat dotted my brow. Visions of familiar scenes played through my head. The thief in the woods, the girl with the dragon, Jasmine’s Misdreavus, Jessica and Atticus’s blank faces...

“I-” I tried to talk but couldn’t force out the words.

“I just, I feel so powerless.” Her voice sounded so far away. “Like nothing I do matters.”

I could faintly see Solrock and Lunatone leering down at me through the void as the shadows started climbing up the walls, and my blood froze in my veins. A dark figure started to rise up from the floor, the shadows piecing together into a long flowing dress. I leaned away from it as it finished forming into the silhouette of a Gardevoir.

My heart leapt into my throat as it started to move forward.

“And I’m all alone.” The words were a whisper in the swirling tide.

Seven glowing red lights in a cross-like pattern stared down at me from on high as the bitter chill that filled the room became overwhelming. The whispered words acted like a lifeline as I turned and focused on the little girl in my head.

The lower half of her body had been consumed and the shadowy figure was right next to the table, her hand outstretched-

“NO!” I screamed the word and a force pushed out from the center of my being, shoving away shadows that I didn’t even realize were there. I sprinted through the room and got between mini me and the dollar store Gardevoir.

The creature pulled her hand back, and the shadows beneath her feet started to twist and writhe. Indistinguishable faces formed and faded in the miasma as the creature lifted up its hands.

“Yeah, well screw you too. I might not know what the fuck’s going on here.” I swallowed down a lump that formed in my throat. “I might be scared out of my fucking mind right now. Hell, I might be completely insane, for all I know, but I’ll be fucking damned if I let you hurt a kid in my own head!”

The world shook as the walls bulged inwards, the shadows receding back down as I found my footing.

“The world’s a scary place, filled with terrifying things.” I almost choked on my own words as I forced them out in the chaos. I winced back slightly as the red glow from on high grew in intensity. “But it’s also filled to the brim with amazing people and Pokémon.”

Tables lifted themselves up into the air and formed a barrier around us as the silhouette threw her hands forward, sending the miasma our way. The cloud bounced off my makeshift shield.

“That’s the great part about us going on this adventure.” New visions played out through my mind. Of an angry little cookie addicted psychic standing up to her mother in the hospital room, just to stay with me.

A small white figure rose up in front of my makeshift defense and lifted her arms up into the air, a brilliant white exploded forward, and the ashen monster that stood before me disappeared in a hiss.

Nascent whispers filled my ears as the tables started to crack under the incessant scratching.

“Your team, your friends, hell, your whole family is there to help protect you from the bad guys. To laugh at your jokes, pick you up when you fuck up, and help you when you need it.” More scenes pushed their way into my mind. May dragging my broken body out of that cave. Wally standing by my bedside when I got out of surgery. Joern standing between me and an angry ghost type.

Another white light rose up directly in front of me and lifted his arms up into the air as the spectral invader finally pushed through. Glowing red eyes rushed towards me with homicidal intent, only to slam into a giant, white barrier. A hissing wail echoed off the walls and the smell of burnt incense filled my nose as the miasmic entity evaporated into the air.

A grin split my face as I noticed most of the shadows starting to fade with it. That grin slipped as the shadowy visages of my torturers slowly pushed through the veil, their bodies adopting the same warped appearance as their regal predecessor.

“Just think of all the people you wouldn’t meet, all the stories you wouldn’t be able to tell, if you let the bad things in the world scare us. If we don’t even try.” More images. Jasmine pulling me aside after our match and giving me a pep talk. Wayne dragging us here to face our former demons and win. Apollo cleaving my tormentors in two.

A third light formed above me, his wings spreading out wide as the Apollo lookalike shot through the air with breathtaking speed. A loud crack filled the open air as the nightmares were cleaved in two. The would-be attackers dissolved into a fine black ash before they could hit the ground.

I winced as the glowing red light grew in intensity. I shielded my eyes as I met the gaze head on. “Even though the world is a scary place. Even though we don’t know what it’ll throw at us next.”

A final light formed in midair, before extending downward. A shining sword glimmered in the radiant glow as a single eye started to form in the hilt.

No clash followed. The two entities stared at each other as the rest of the world slowly started to calm down, the shadows gone save for this one point near the ceiling.

I sucked in a deep breath and looked upwards. “We can meet it with everything we’ve got, and do our best to push through and see all the amazing things it hides.”

The red lights slowly started to fade as the last of the shadows disappeared. The projection of Lucas nodded his head once before slowly fading into the Aether.

My legs gave out from under me, and I felt myself slowly slink down to the floor. I could still feel my heart pounding in my chest as I lifted my hand up to my collar bone. “Holy fucking shit, what the hell did I just do.”

“You won.”

I whipped my head around. What used to be a small, scared, child version of me now stood tall and proud, a mirror image of my own face, framed by long, flowing dark green hair. Her hand was extended outwards, open to grab for a hand up.

I slowly reached up and grabbed the offering, pulling myself to my feet as I looked my doppelganger over. “You grew up.”

She nodded once, a smile on her face. “We did.”

She tucked a lock of hair back behind her ear before taking in the bakery. The tables and chairs were a mess, but despite that, everything else was right as rain. Surprising, all things considered.

Other me clapped her hands twice, and the bakery instantly reformed itself to how it should be. I felt all my memories from the last few days locked into place as the world around me righted itself.

“I-How did you-”

“It’s our mind,” she cut me off. She reached out and offered me her hand again. “This world is a scary place. I think we both realize that now. I’m sorry it took me so long to see the good to go with the bad.” She looked away. “For so long, that’s all I saw.”

“You-”

“Show me a brilliant world, Lea.” She still had her hand outstretched. “That’s all I ask.”

I stared down at the offering again, before grinning. “Bet.”

I grabbed her arm, a smile splitting my face as she grabbed mine. We shook once, before pulling apart.

A light exploded outwards from our outstretched hands, and I pulled away to shield my eyes. When I looked back, my twin had disappeared. In her place, stood a strong, black and white, wooden pillar, extending up into the rafters.

A loud crumbling sound invaded my bakery from outside before I could even think to think about what just happened, and I rushed through the double doors of my mindscape to see just what was happening.

What greeted me was a mental image that both terrified and excited me all at the same time. Equal parts of fear and hope bubbled up in my chest, and I smiled at a sight that would have left me catatonic not but a scant half hour ago.

Cracks traced the wall that enclosed my mental fortress. What had once been an impregnable defense against a harsh, unforgiving world now looked like it’d be doing good holding back a guppy.

This was what I wanted, yet the thought of it leaving still scared me to my core.

Show me a brilliant world. I clenched my fists and took a deep breath.

Fear wouldn’t hold me back. Not anymore.

The cracks gave way, and the wall disappeared.

Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Chapter Text

I slammed back into the driver’s seat of my body so hard that I almost gave myself whiplash, my body arching back against the massive tree I was meditating at. I sucked in a deep haggard breath before wincing, looking down and away from the bright afternoon sun.

Why the hell did my brain decide it’d be fine to kick me out the second the wall came down? Was it too much of a shock for me to stay calm?

I winced away as a small, familiar weight appeared on my shoulder, before whipping my head around to stare directly into Emilie’s eyes. She had her mouth open and was saying things, but I couldn’t quite understand her through my own rapid breathing.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In... out...

“That’s it, Lea. In. And out.” Emilie leaned forward and placed her hand on my forehead. “Rough session?”

“I...” I closed my mouth before staring at my starter. How the hell did I explain... that, without getting carted off to the funny farm? “I didn’t say anything out here?”

Emilie shook her head. “Yeah... no. Your mouth was moving but the only thing coming out was unintelligible gibberish.” Emilie shivered. “Kinda spooky, actually. What the hell did you do?”

“I uh, don’t really know how to explain it, honestly.” I felt my heartbeat start to calm down and grinned at Emilie. “It helped, though. If that makes sense. I feel lighter.” I shifted in place before looking out across the clearing.

The grass around where I was sitting had been ripped out of the ground, and the dirt looked partially overturned, like someone had tilled the soil recently. Broken branches and twigs littered the ground, but what really freaked me out was the weird ass fucking fence that dotted the edge of the carnage. Every few feet, a single stick had dug itself into the ground.

Beyond the border of the chaos, I saw May staring worriedly, but not moving to come closer. My team hung around her, giving me similar looks, and further back in the tree line, I could make out the outline of Wayne staring at me with wide eyes. An angry looking Nuzleaf stood in front of his trainers, a single leaf in hand, and Skarmory stood next to him, wing raised with an eye trained on the grass type.

What on earth did I do?

“Well, I’m glad you did what you had to do.” Emilie looked me up and down, a frown etched into her features. “Whatever that was. Is it alright to pull everyone else over? I told them to wait just in case, but if you’re good-”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I was pulled up from the ground and into a death grip. Damn it May, I wanted to hear Emilie’s answer!

“You need to stop scaring the crap out of me! Got it!” May shouted into my ear. “Since when does a meditation session turn into a scene from the exorcist? I get why it happened before, but why the hell did you do it now!?”

Before? Exorcist?

I opened my mouth, but the sounds that came out were choked murmurings as May continued her ramblings. ‘Emilie, help! Please.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Emilie stiffened, her eyes going wide. She lifted her hands up, and I sagged downwards as May’s grip slackened.

I sucked in a deep breath before turning to her. ‘It helped.’ I repeated the earlier phrase with a wide grin. ‘It's not perfect, but I feel braver, if that makes sense. More confident.’

‘How?’ Emilie asked.

That single word hit me like a truck. My eyes went wide, and my heart started beating harder in my chest.

Fuck me, how does a single word do this to me!? This was stupid! It’s just Emilie, calm down. It’s just Emilie.

My starter pulled back from me and teleported down as if her presence was a poison. “I’m sorry! That was probably too much too soon. I shouldn’t have pushed it. I’m sorry-”

“Stop!” I cut her off with a shout, causing both May and Emilie to lean back. “Sorry.”

Emilie was still staring at me with wide eyes from her new perch, a small boulder on the ground. May kept shifting between the two of us looking lost.

How the fuck was I supposed to calm everyone the hell down?

'Uh... hello?’ I pushed the phrase out to everyone, hoping this would do a decent job of starting the conversation. ‘Can you hear me now?’

May leaned back at the words as the rest of my team froze in place. “So, you’re back to normal then? Well, normal for you, I guess.”

“I don’t like how you phrased that.” I narrowed my eyes at my girlfriend as she smiled indulgently. “I... kind of.”

“I’m repeating my question. How the fuck?” Emilie glared at me.

I winced away from her angry eyes. “I’m still scared. It’s just,” How do I phrase this? “I feel like I can fight back now. It’s not crippling like it was before. Like I said, I taught myself to be brave again.” The smile melted from my face and my heart dropped into my stomach as I felt May grab me. “Mercy.”

I received none.

May pulled me into a second bone crushing hug and a silent curse left my lips with all the air that was currently in my lungs. “I’m so happy for you, love.”

My brain stopped working, whether it was from the pet name of lack of air, I didn’t know, but I felt myself go limp in May’s arms. The air around us shifted as we started to fall forward.

“Wait, Lea-”

May stopped talking and let out a shriek as I pulled us to the ground, a dopey expression on my face. The ground felt soft against my back and the cold dirt brought me back to reality as May landed on top of me.

“Ow, okay. May, remember I love your hugs, but repeated exposure is deadly, even for me, I need you-” I froze as May slowly lifted herself up. Our gaze locked for a brief moment as she looked down at me, her hands pinning my arms to the ground, and I watched as red flooded May’s cheeks. Considering how hot my face felt, I wasn’t doing much better.

My girlfriend instantly jumped up and away from me. “I’m sorry!”

“Pel pel pel pel pel pel pel.” “Hon hon hon hon hon hon.” The laughter intermingled with each other, and I turned to glare at my quartermaster and swabbie.

“Who on earth do you think you’re laughing at?” I did my best to push through and sound stern, but it came out forced, and I stuttered the whole way through.

Apollo instantly stopped, before throwing his wing out and smacking Lucas across the hilt. The sky above started to become overcast, and Apollo groaned as rain started to fall.

“Don’t complain too much, you’re getting better.” Emilie lifted her hands up, and a large dome of water formed around us as the rain started to fall.

“Lom,” Joern complained, glancing up at the falling water.

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t mind, but we do. You can play in the rain later.” Emilie put her hand on her hip before looking at me.

I looked at the scene with tired eyes before squaring my shoulders and rising to my feet. I was done with guessing words and conversations. “Emilie.”

She stopped talking and turned to look at me, eyes narrowed. “Yes?”

“I want you to translate for me,” I said.

Emilie leaned back. “I can, but Sergei would be better-”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” I talked over her with a frown.

Emilie shook her head. “You freaked the fuck out when I said a single word, how the hell do you think you’re going to deal with entire conversations?”

“I’ll deal.” The two words left my lips with purpose.

Emilie didn’t budge and continued to stare at me like a disappointed parent. “Tell me that again with legs that aren’t shaking like overburdened twigs.”

I glanced down and glared at my own body before shifting that glare to Emilie. “Look, I’m not ready. I know I’m not ready. I have no illusions that this is going to be easy, but,” I trailed off, my gaze softening as Emilie stared down at the ground. “We have to start somewhere.”

Emilie remained quiet, as did everyone else in the clearing. The pitter-patter of rain falling against my starter’s psychic wall was the only thing I heard as Emilie processed my statement, her lips pulled down into a frown.

“I can’t hear your thoughts at all if you don’t project them to me,” Emilie finally said. “I can’t feel your feelings or do anything else. I know where to look, but not how.”

“Emilie-”

“I’m saying all this to help put you at ease. Those are all good things and I’m not going to pry. Your head’s still safe.” Emilie stopped before smiling at me. ‘So don’t freak out when I talk in your head like this, okay?’

My heart once again started beating loudly in my chest, but I beat it down and grinned at her. ‘In that case, know that I’m going to do everything I can to be okay with where we were before.’ I smiled at her.

Emilie leaned back.

‘I trust you, Emilie,’ I said. ‘It might take me a bit to push through, but we’re better together.’

‘So, she can understand me again?’ Lucas floated right up close to me with a wide, pleased smile.

I jumped backwards, glaring at the sudden intruder, before nodding slightly.

‘Fantastic!’ Lucas bounced up into the air, and I did my best to beat back my anxiety. ‘Not going to lie, but talking to these guys was incredibly dull. They don’t get my sharp wit like you do.’

My response was something completely out of character. Emilie stared at me like I was possessed and Joern backed away slowly.

I threw my head back and laughed.

***

Lucas POV

***

A dull ache emanated from Lucas’s origin point as he slunk back from the group. Phantom echoes of memories whispered in his mind that it wasn’t all that dissimilar from a headache, though that didn’t feel like the correct word here. He had no head to ache, after all.

Moments like this caused this. Happy moments shared amongst friends and family, moments of triumph against a long set enemy, shared glances between paramours...

They all brought up echoes of memories he didn’t recognize. Of times long since passed and people long since dead.

Lucas slunk down into the shadows with a smile on his sheath. So what if new memories dredged up old ones? He’d take it all in stride. He couldn’t quite recall enough to miss what he had, at least not quite yet, but if these joyful times were what brought the memories to bear, then he couldn’t imagine the life he lived before was a bad one.

Fleeting glances exchanged with a green-eyed beauty at court, the rallying cry of men hardened by battle to defend their homeland, the watchful gaze of our guardian deity...

Yes, a good man indeed. Though the wistful feeling he felt as the memories took root was something he could do without. Regardless of whatever else happened in life, those times had long since passed.

Father Time really was a dick, huh? Arceus above, that girl’s mouth was infectious.

He idly wondered if Apollo would ease up a bit once he regained more of his memories to exchange stories. He doubted it. The bird reminded him too much of his old guard captain. Old man never let things like stature get in the way of his lessons, harsh as they were.

Lucas wondered if they shared the same sense of loss.

Probably. Old sea dogs like him usually did. He supposed he should be grateful Lea had someone like that on her team, considering how green he was. This whole Ghost Pokémon thing was a bit of a ride.

A wide shadow was cast into the clearing, and Lucas frowned as he slowly peaked his sheath out of the shadows.

“Lea didn’t teach you that move so you could hide away from the group.” Joern lazily walked through the tree line, his gaze fixed on me as he moved.

“How did you know where I was?” Lucas rose up out of the ground and grinned. “This shade blends in with the other shade, in case you weren’t aware.”

Joern grinned. “The area gets darker when you’re hiding somewhere. It’s easy to spot if you know what to look for. Now stop dodging the question.”

Lucas winced, before floating down and resting his blade into the ground. Honestly, floating everywhere got old after a bit. “Caught that, huh?”

Joern nodded. “Apollo noticed you were gone and tasked me with finding you. Figured it’d be better if I came looking so he didn’t tip Lea off with a moving rain storm.” Joern chuckled. “I think you worried the old man.”

“He did not say he was worried,” Lucas deadpanned.

“He did it in his own way. It’s about as close as you’re going to get.” Joern nodded once before giving Lucas a once over. “So, talk. Why’d you dip? This feels like premium bad joke time.”

Lucas sighed. “Just feeling a bit melancholy, I suppose. Tell the old feather head not to worry so much. I’m fine.”

Joern shook his head before walking closer. “You do know you’re always welcome in the group, right?”

Lucas just started laughing. “I can assure you, I’m quite aware at this point. You’ve all made it abundantly clear, even Apollo in his own special way. Trust me, this has nothing to do with that.”

Joern stopped, before nodding. “I suppose... we can wait till you feel like sharing, then. Expect some prodding from Emilie though.”

“Ah, I suppose that’s to be expected. Psychic types can never leave well enough alone, can they?” Lucas winced. “I’m just glad she doesn’t think I’m plotting some dastardly plan anymore.”

“Nah, you’re too much of a dork for that. Her words, not mine,” Joern said.

“Of course.” Lucas sighed.

Neither one said anything for a while.

“You’re not going to let me hide out here, are you?” Lucas finally asked.

Joern shook his head. “Nope. Brood on your own time. Or don’t, honestly. It doesn’t suit you. Come back and chat. Maybe a few bad jokes will do Lea some good. The weird face she makes when Emilie translates for us stopped being funny a while ago.”

A cacophony of laughter echoed through the clearing as Lucas floated up out of the ground. “Well, I suppose there’s nothing for it, then. I’ll cut to the quick of the matter and liven her spirits.”

“How can you liven anything up?” Joern asked with a grin.

“This is why you’re my favorite. No one else plays along.” Lucas took the lead and started floating back towards the clearing. “Besides, just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t have plenty of life left in me. Don’t make me break out my A material.”

Joern chuckled, but his pale face gave way to his true feelings. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Liar.” Lucas smiled as the rain bubble came into view.

Old memories be damned. He had new ones to make. Besides, he was the best example on the face of the earth. Ghosts didn’t have to be scary.

That was a lesson he would take to heart, even if he didn’t have one.

***

Normal POV

***

The rainstorm above me had finally dried up and I grinned down at my psychic type. The full squad had disappeared back to their corners of the training field, and that left me with my starter, who was doing her best to look as innocent as possible on her stony perch.

‘So, what exactly did I do while I was out?’ I asked, point blank.

Emilie recoiled back as if I’d just punched her in the stomach. ‘What do you mean?’

My mind briefly rebelled at the intrusive thoughts before I shoved my anxiety down and waved my hand around, highlighting the clearing. ‘Emilie, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the clearing is trashed. Brawly’s probably going to be mildly angry that I tore up the training ground he just fixed, and I would like to know how this happened.’

‘I-’ The words died as it looked like her tongue got stuck to the roof of her mouth.

“Emilie!” I said aloud, groaning as she shook her head. “Why are you so tripped up about this? Does it mean something bad? Am I losing my marbles or something? What?” That gnawing pit in my stomach seemed to get worse as my mind conjured up new worst-case scenarios.

“It’s nothing like that!” Emilie pulled me out of my own head before putting her hands over her mouth and looking away with a blush.

“What is it like, then? I imagine this is something that I should probably get a handle on, don’t you think?” I tilted my head and looked down at her.

She bit her lip before sighing. “You can move stuff with your mind when you’re under intense duress.”

My eyes went wide. “THAT IS SO FUCKING COOL!”

Emilie smacked her forehead and groaned. “No, not cool. VERY not cool. It’s fucking terrifying. Do you want to know how much crap you’ve thrown at me while you’ve been out of it?”

“Meh, you’re fine. Oh, I need to figure out how to practice with that! I never have to get up for a remote again, I don’t have to touch the hair wad May leaves in the shower anymore, oh the possibilities are endless!” I was bouncing up and down on my toes and I didn’t care.

“Okay, first off, ew.” Emilie glared up at me.

I stuck my tongue out at her. “Ew all you want, you don’t have to touch it.” I shuddered.

“SECONDLY, you aren’t freaked out? At all? I mean look at this place. You drove wooden stakes into the ground, for fucks sake!” Emilie’s glare was getting more severe the further into her rant she went. That was probably not good.

“Look, it’s just another thing I need to practice with, right? I know you won’t let anything bad happen and once I work with it, I’ll be able to control it better so that I don’t accidentally stake my friends and family like they’re dollar store vampires,” I said.

Bordel de merde , you’re, ugh!” Emilie teleported away.

I winced as a loud crashing sound echoed through the tree line. Fuck, that probably wasn’t good.

Emilie reappeared in front of me, the picture of calm decorum. “Okay, I’m good now.”

“What exactly did you do? And what does ‘Bordel de merde’ mean?’” My tone was slightly manic as I looked in the direction that I heard the crash from. I couldn’t see anything, but that just meant that whatever she did was bad.

“Not answering either of those questions. Can we get on with the training session, please?” Emilie begged, her left eye twitching.

“I...” I still wasn’t sure if that was all there was to this. Considering Emilie somehow got May to cover this up, if her earlier comment was anything to go off of, there was probably more that I wasn’t getting.

I probably wasn’t going to get anything else from Emilie, though. If that blow up was anything to go off of.

‘Right. What did you come up with while I was out of it?’ I asked, hoping me slipping back into a mental dialogue would prompt Emilie to do the same without asking.

Emilie looked at me for a long moment, her brow knitted together as she stared up into my eyes from her perch, as if weighing her options. ‘ Guardsphere was more or less already done. I do that whenever I make a dome around myself. It’s a little hard to see if I don’t have your eyes to look through, but water’s fairly see through.’

I had my hands clenched through that entire explanation. Fucking damn it, at least it was getting a little easier the longer we did this. ‘And the other three?’

“Lea, I appreciate you wanting to push through this, but if you need a break-”

‘I want your voice in my head,’ I said, cutting her off. ‘I want to hear what everyone has to say in their own voice.’

Emilie sighed before glaring up at me. ‘Yeah, yeah, you’ve said this I don’t know how many times.’

‘I’ll say it however many times it takes to make sure you understand.’ I stared down at Emilie’s aqua bubble and grinned. ‘Now then, the other three?’

‘Jade Strike is also something you’ve seen me do before.’ Emilie lifted her arms up, and a pair of water fists rose up from the soaked ground . ‘The faster, less powerful version of the Emilienator fists. Good for getting in, punching something, and getting out fast.’

‘Your favorite, then. That’s two options down, now for the last two. Spin Dance and Bullet Rain.’ I listed those last two level one arts with a grin, eager to see what my little genius had come up with.

Emilie winced. ‘I, uh... Had a few ideas, but I haven’t exactly perfected them.’ Emilie shook her head. ‘At all.’

The pit in my stomach ebbed slightly as I leaned forward, my brain latching onto the chance to see something new. “Well, show me the work in progress, then. I wanna see.”

The floating water fists dissolved into the sphere as it started to spin faster. Long spikes extended out from the construct as they picked up speed, but the attack never got faster than spin cycle down at the laundromat.

‘The idea was to just create a spinning buzzsaw of water, but... this is about as fast as I can make it go.’ Emilie glared out from her bubble at the moving water. ‘It’s also really hard to see when I do this, so I thought we could save it-’

“To punish people who get close.” I nodded along before looking at the spinning attack with a frown. “Is it a volume issue, or is this-”

“How much water I control isn’t an issue, this is just how fast I can control it,” Emilie complained.

I narrowed my eyes, but before I could say anything she threw her arms out and the Guardsphere pushed out and away from her, reforming into a bunch of mini water shots. They pelted the tree behind me, and a tiny bit of bark was blasted away on impact.

‘Sorry, I’m just annoyed. That was Bullet Rain, by the way. That one’s a little easier to mess around with, because I get to use physics to make up for my speed. It’s literally just the rock throwing exercise, but I’m making the rocks out of water. ’ Emilie waved her hand from side to side in front of her. ‘I can whip the attack around like a psychic sling and launch the balls while focusing on the central point of each sphere to keep them compact. Yes, that is as hard as it sounds.’

I never took my eyes off the tree. “I mean, it’s hard, but it looks like you got it?” I did my best to keep my voice steady, before realizing something. “Wait, isn’t that just what Gawain did on the beach?”

“Shut up!” Emilie’s glare could almost be qualified as a move. “THAT was far more refined and potent than that weak ass bastardized version of what could be fine psychic motor control. Honestly, comparing ANYTHING I do to what that idiot is capable of is-”

“So yes,” I said, a cheeky grin splitting my features as I closed my eyes.

Emilie growled at me, before teleporting up to my shoulder and poking my head multiple times.

Wait, I think she might be trying to punch me. That’s adorable. “Oi, don’t attempt violence against your trainer.”

“Nah, I train myself, you’re there for moral support,” Emilie shot back.

“Alright, miss smarty britches, what’s wrong with that one then?” I asked, before reaching up, grabbing her, and moving her back to the rock. “Preferably explain from a safe distance, and mentally.” Those last two words were accompanied by a glare.

Emilie muttered something I couldn’t quite hear before lifting a hand up. Water rose up from the ground before forming into a medium sized, see-through ball. Emilie clenched her fist, and the ball shrunk down to a dense, blue orb. She lifted her other arm and water started to rise up around her, but at the same time, the ball started to expand.

“Ah, got it. You can’t do this and other stuff at the same time. That’s honestly not that bad, considering this is supposed to be a distance option, and the attack looks powerful.” I kept giving a side eye to the blasted tree that Brawly replanted.

Legends above, he was not going to be happy with us, huh?

“Like higher level opponents aren’t just going to close the gap instantly and one tap me.” Emilie rubbed her cheek as she finished.

I winced at the reminder before sighing. “Yeah, we need to be mobile against faster opponents, which means that Bullet Rain needs to be at a point where you can multitask...”

Wait.

“There’s nothing really for it except to practice, honestly. I just-”

“Can you spin the blue orb?” I asked.

Emilie turned away from the floating ball of water and looked at me. “What?”

“Spin the ball. This is the densest you can make it, right? Can you spin it?” I asked again.

Emilie frowned before looking down at the orb. “I, think so?” Her head tilted to the side as the words left her mouth. “It’s kind of hard to tell. The ball doesn’t really have defining features.”

“Well, let me just,” I reached out and placed my hand on the ball. For all that it was supposed to be a liquid, this was probably the smoothest solid object I had ever held. I couldn’t push into or mold it at all. “This is so weird.”

“Do you feel it moving at all?” Emilie asked.

“Not... really?” I replied. “I honestly can’t tell. It’s like this thing isn’t causing friction. How the hell does that work?”

“I’m doing this by focusing on a single point and pulling the water in as tightly as I can. I guess the water is just... very equally distributed?” Emilie asked.

The fact that neither one of us knew what we were doing kind of worried me.

“I get that pop factor by letting go of my control at the point of impact. The water expands violently against whatever I’m hitting.” Emilie waved towards the tree as she finished explaining.

“Got it. I was kind of hoping training one could help train the other, but if neither one of us is sure that this is actually doing anything-”

“I’m spinning my focal point, at least, so I’ll probably get something out of it. Doing this constantly is a good focus exercise, at the very least.” Emilie smiled at me again.

“Good, in that case, we’re also adding the tried and true. Make as many orbs as you can and go up when you think you can handle another. We’ll have you hitting things with balls in no time,” I said.

“Sure-” The word died on Emilie’s tongue as she glared up at me. “How is it that I’m five years younger than you? Please explain why I’m the more mature between the two of us.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just having a serious discussion about your balls.” Ah, seventeen going on nine. I don’t care. Emilie’s expression was making this worth it.

Emilie gave me a deadpanned look before teleporting away. I chuckled before sitting back down on the ground and leaning against the tree, wincing slightly as the cold surfaces brushed up against my skin.

What now? I chased away my entertainment. Wait, I don’t need to be with them anymore to bother them. Score!

A small rain storm started a small distance away, kicking up a small, chilling breeze. I frowned, closed my eyes and focused, reaching out for one of my teammates in particular. ‘Apollo?’

‘Eh, captain?’ His voice deeper than before, and his tone sounded gruff.

‘Just checking in. You were doing a pretty good job of keeping your ability in check, and I was wondering what was up?’ I asked.

Apollo laughed through the connection. ‘Aye, this is a bit trickier than I was expecting, but I’m gettin the hang of it. It’s like working a muscle, really. Mostly I let loose because the first mate told me too. She wanted more water to work with.’ There was a brief pause on the other end. ‘What on earth did you do to the poor lass, she was madder than a Gyarados on her cycle.’

I winced, both at the mental image and the reference. ‘Apollo...’

‘Won’t make the comment again, cap,’ he cut me off before I could even finish.

‘Right, well, I had a bit of fun at her expense. Honestly, I think she’s just going through withdrawal. She’s usually more fun to mess with.’ I frowned at my empty shoulder. ‘Want to work on speed training while Emilie’s using you for her practice?’ I could practically feel the wince through the bond.

‘Aye, captain. I doubt I’ll ever be as fast as I was as a Wingull, biological differences and all that, but getting used to this new body of mind would be a good idea.’ The line goes silent.

I leaned back against the tree and sighed, feeling drained. I forgot how tiring this could be.

Well, that and the eldritch horror show my brain put on.

‘Oh, by the way,’ Apollo’s voice suddenly reappeared in my head.

My eyes snapped open and jumped up, banging my head against the tree.

‘Your lass is making her way over to you, I don’t really need her help anymore,’ Apollo said.

Why did his voice sound teasing? His warning apparently came too late as the sound of giggling filled my ears.

‘Thanks Apollo.’ I turned up towards the giggling and smiled. “See something funny?”

“Just you being a dork. You doing okay?” May walked over before turning around and sitting next to me. “No lingering effects from meditation? Not going crazy from the voices in your head?”

“Yes, mom. I’m fine,” I said.

May flicked me in the forehead. “I love you, but please don’t ever call me your mom again.” She shivered before reaching up and rubbing the faded bruise on her neck. “Ever.”

I winced, before looking away with a blush. “Got it.”

Warmth radiated up from my hand and I shifted to look down. May had wrapped her hand around mine.

“How have your hands been?” she asked.

I winced. “I uh, I haven’t really checked-”

May started pulling one of my gloves off, a frown on her face. “Lea...”

“I know, I know. I should be keeping track of them and not hiding them all the time. I hate looking at them. You know I hate looking at them.” I leaned back as the angry red skin glared back at me, before glancing back and tilting my head. “Huh, the scar tissue really is starting to fade.”

May beamed down at the sight before flipping the hand over. They were still heavily scarred, but the redness had faded, and I could see little bits of white start to peek back out from where my nails used to be.

“They still look freaky, but... I guess not as freaky.” I lifted the hand up and looked it over.

May flicked my forehead again. “You’re not freaky, you're my girlfriend.”

“Babe, I did this while I was meditating.” I waved my hand around. “I’d say I’m pretty freaky.”

May winced. “Emilie clued you in, then?”

I nodded.

“I didn’t want to hide it, but she made a fairly convincing argument. You handling it okay, then?” May asked.

“May, I have superpowers, what exactly is there to handle?” I leaned forward and poked May’s side. “Something else I don’t know about?”

“I... Emilie didn’t, of course she didn’t.” May groaned before looking away from my face. “Telekinesis isn’t really something people just... learn, Lea.”

“I mean, I learned-” I stopped talking as what she said caught up to my brain. “What exactly do you think that means?”

“You probably inherited your ‘gifts’,” May said. “Emilie thinks that’s why you’ve been blasting through your training exercises. Did Eve ever mention-”

“No.” I cut May off with a sigh. “Granted, getting her to talk about Mom or Dad was a massive chore, so I kind of just... stopped asking.”

“You okay?” May tilted her head and grabbed my hand again.

I smiled. “Like I said, I’m fine. Don’t really care how I got my superpowers, all I know is I got them, and I’m never touching one of your hair wads ever again.”

May pulled her hand out of mine and smacked the side of my arm. “Lea!”

“Cry about it. Maybe clean up the shower before you split if you don’t want me to complain.” I laughed as May crossed her arms and looked away from me. Her pout was adorable.

“Maybe I should just go back to hanging out with Apollo.” She stood up and I grabbed her hand, pulling her back down to my level.

“I’ll be good, I promise. I like hanging out with you.” I smiled when she let herself be pulled.

May snuggled up to my side and smiled at me. “I don’t trust you for a minute, but I like hanging out with you too.” She yawned and closed her eyes. “Though I might take an afternoon nap, if that’s alright with you. You’re cozy.”

“I suppose there are worse fates than being used as a pillow.” I yawned. “Honestly, I might join you. I’m wiped and you’re warm.”

“Hmm...” May grumbled.

I smiled before letting my eyes close.

Chapter Text

Suzy’s POV

***

Suzy stared out of her little peep hole to reality and groaned. She could faintly hear the telltale sounds of her trainer sawing her way through Petalburg Woods through the thin shell of her ball.

May forgot to let her out again, didn’t she?

An active training session, where Emilie was learning to do new things, and she was stuck in her ball.

Listening to buzzsaws and lawnmowers.

This was premium mocking territory. How the hell was she supposed to deal with Emilie’s Tauros Shit moves if she didn’t know what all the little gremlin could do?

Screw this.

She pushed out towards the opening and forced her energy out into the world, aiming for a single spot right next to the palm tree. She supposed she should be grateful that May left her balls in such a way so that the opening was pointing out. Blind releases were always a damned pain in the ass.

Suzy slammed face first into the tree she was trying to appear next to and groaned. Why the hell were normal releases so annoying? The damn bug can do this, no problem. He does it every mealtime!

Stupid Samie. Can’t wait for him to evolve. Let’s see how much free food you get when you’re out of the adorable phase.

Suzy clucked out a single grunt of pain before sliding down the tree towards the ground. She turned towards her trainer, ready to yell at her, and froze.

“Sergei,” Suzy whispered. “Get out here and snap a photo really quick.”

The ghost phone phased through May’s pant leg before resting just at eye level. “Who do you take me for?” An image of Lea and May curled up against each other, Lea’s back against the tree, appeared on Sergei’s screen.

Suzy leaned back. “When the hell did you do that?”

An image of a Whismur holding a finger up to its mouth appeared on screen. “I was quiet and stealthy, two things you apparently know nothing about.”

She opened her beak, before glancing back at the sleeping trainers and snapping it shut. “Whatever, I don’t suppose you know which way the gremlin is, do you?”

“You know, for a pair of Pokémon that claim they can’t stand each other, you sure do hang out an awful lot.” Sergie floated closer as the words appeared on his screen.

Suzy’s beak remained closed as she lifted an eyebrow and rotated her claw in front of her in a get on with it motion.

“It’s not as fun if you don’t engage with the banter. Just head toward the falling rain. Apollo and Lucas are probably with her.” Sergei floated back to May as soon as the final words played out across his screen and phased back to his usual spot.

So much for extra company. One of these days she was going to ask how he did that without waking her up.

She turned toward the downpour and winced. Why did May’s mate have to like water so much? Water fucking sucked, and she just KNEW that little gremlin wasn’t going to make her a psychic umbrella.

Suzy ducked down and sprinted through the clearing, wincing as the cold air ruffled her feathers. The border of the storm came all too soon.

Apollo flew at its epicenter, continuously diving and flying back up again. He was probably working the muscles around his wings. Suzy winced at the sight, realizing the waterfowl was picking up altitude a lot slower than usual.

Her mobility increased when she evolved, she supposed others weren’t quite as fortunate.

“What on earth are you doing here, featherhead?” Emilie called out.

Suzy whipped her head around and smirked. Good. Princess was hanging out at the edge of the storm. She didn’t have to get wet.

“What, too high and mighty to grace this lowly peasant with your presence?” Suzy asked.

The ball of water Emilie was levitating in front of her violently expanded at the quip, soaking her in the process. Emilie groaned before lifting her other hand up, and moisture lifted up from her skin and condensed down into a decently sized sphere. “Yeah, so buzz off. I’m trying to focus, and your existence is a distraction.”

“Deal. I wanted to watch little miss perfect screw up her techniques, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Suzy chuckled at the glare she got. For as strong as Emilie was, Suzy couldn’t help but think that her attempts at being intimidating were more adorable than scary. “Besides, you really think your opponents aren’t going to be just as distracting as I am?”

Emilie scoffed. “No one is as distracting as you are. Now shut up. I’m trying to focus.”

The orb of water instantly shrunk down, and Emilie lifted her other hand out to grab the rain and pool it around her. Sweat dotted her forehead as she stared intently at the ball in front of her. It expanded as soon as the rain condensed into a slightly more solid form.

“Damn it all.” Emilie threw her hands down, and all the water she had control over got hurled into the ground.

Suzy chuckled. “You can be such a kid sometimes.”

The glare was back. Legends, it was like watching a nine-year-old throw a tantrum after they didn’t get their way.

“Like you’re one to talk. Do you have any idea how hard this is?” Emilie asked. “I have to focus so hard to keep the water compact. I can’t let up for a second or it blows up, but I can’t stop doing other stuff or I get wasted.”

“Wouldn’t this all be way easier if you were... like six inches taller, give or take?” Suzy asked.

Emilie growled. “If you’re not going to say anything helpful, then-”

“Lea’s already letting you in.” Suzy smiled happily at the psychic type. “How long do you think it’ll take her to bring you back to her room and read anime while eating imaginary baked goods.”

“Watch anime.” Emilie tilted her head and looked at me like I was an idiot. “You watch anime and read manga.”

“What’s the difference?” Suzy asked.

“Manga is a book and anime is the show and none of this is important. Stop distracting me.” Emilie frowned and turned away from me.

Suzy ran in front of the psychic and giggled when the midget turned away again. “Look, you were working on barriers before? Just put the ball in a barrier. That’s probably easier than trying to keep them compact on your own.”

“That’s not...” Emilie trailed off, before looking down at the ball of water. “That might work. If I manage to get the stupid move to actually work, at least.”

Suzy grinned cheekily before ducking down. “Legends above, you’re hopeless.”

A rain cloud moved away from the others and Suzy glared up into the sky as she started getting pelted. She jumped away, and groaned as the cloud followed her.

“Oh, reallll mature,” Suzy muttered.

“I just needed to remind you of your place.” Emilie grinned as she directed her own personal rain cloud.

Suzy darted straight for her, and Emilie sighed as the cloud stopped.

“What, don’t feel like getting wet?” Suzy asked, a smug grin on her face. “I’m honestly surprised you aren’t copying Apollo’s ability to figure out how to use Rain Dance yourself. Don’t you suck at it?”

Emilie’s left eye started to twitch. “I already did that.”

Suzy backed away as a soft grinding filled the air. “And?”

“It didn’t help.” Emilie bit out the words as though they caused her physical pain. “Could we drop this?”

Suzy froze. “Wait, so summoning it isn’t the problem?” She tilted her head before leaning back in realization. “Wait, are you seriously so bad at dancing that you can’t-”

“I SAID WE’RE DROPPING IT!” Emilie punctuated the phrase by throwing water directly at Suzy’s face.

She ducked down, barely avoiding the assault, before frowning as an odd sound filled her ears. She looked away from the gremlin towards the center of the typhoon.

Both Apollo and Lucas were currently dying in the middle of the field, their mouths open in laughter and shared glee as Lucas did his best to hold Apollo up with his cloth handle.

Suzy grinned as she panned her view back over to the munchkin, who was currently more red than white.

“I don’t get how you’re supposed to move your body in time to a beat that doesn’t exist, and I keep tripping over my feet, and the whole move’s just stupid. Ugh.” Emilie turned her face down towards the ground. “Can we please drop it.”

Suzy looked up to the sky and pretended to think about it for a second before wincing, wondering at what point teasing turned into bullying. “I suppose I can let it go for now, though I fully expect you to show me later. It’d be good for a laugh, and I might be able to help you not be ass.”

“Joern’s already given up on me. What the hell do you think you can do?” Emilie asked, her eyebrow quirked up.

“I dunno, but I can try.” Suzy shrugged. “I can’t have you being all weak and shit, it makes me look bad when I eventually punt you into the ground.”

A blood vessel throbbed above Emilie’s eyebrow. “You couldn’t just... leave it as you being nice, could you?”

Suzy snorted.

“Fair enough.” Emilie sighed before falling back into a sitting position on the ground. All the water she had been controlling fell into the soil below, lightly saturating the ground as she let out a sigh. “Can we be serious for a bit? I... need to ask you something.”

“Are you ever not serious?” Suzy backed away from the resulting glare, genuinely scared for the first time since coming into the clearing. “I kid, I kid. I can be serious. I ooze seriousness, in fact.”

“Sure you do.” Emilie sighed before looking up, directly into Suzy’s eyes. “You were listening in when Lea told May about her dream, right?”

Suzy’s grin immediately slipped off her face. “Yeah, some weird icy room that turns everyone into popsicles. What about it?”

Emilie nodded. “Lea thinks it’s just a weird dream, but I’m not so sure. I-”

“May’s already taken precautions.” Suzy sat down in front of the psychic type and nodded, the grass around her smoking slightly as she did so. “That’s actually what Jasmine and Wally are out buying. The poke mart here has something on sale that’s supposed to instantly thaw you if you get hit by an ice type move.” She snapped her claws. “Just in case things go extra bad before Gawain can evac the squishy humans in a worst-case scenario. May’s taking this trip very seriously, so don’t worry so much.”

Emilie sagged in place before grinning at the fire type. “How the hell does that work?”

Suzy winced. “No idea. May tried explaining it to me when she saw it in the online catalogue, but it all sounded like gibberish.”

Emilie nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” She giggled before fixing a firm stare at Suzy. “Just... be out and about as much as you can, alright?”

“That was the plan.” Suzy grinned. “Nice that you have so much confidence in me, but I suppose it makes sense. I am-”

“A fire type.” Emilie cut me off with a grin. “Which means you can’t be frozen. Your biology is the most useful thing about you, funnily enough.”

“As opposed to you, who’s not useful at all.” Suzy met Emilie’s grin with a glare.

“That’s just grade A copium, right there,” Emilie said.

“What?” Suzy tilted her head, before glaring.

Emilie face palmed. “Don’t worry about it. I need to remember who I’m talking to. Fire bird make fire. Is good. Do it lots of times. Understand.”

“I’m going to punt you to another training ground.” Suzy lamented not having teeth to grind as her beak clicked shut.

“You may try. It will not go well for you.” Emilie made no motion to move. She just sat there, and stared at me with that stupid, smug ass grin.

“God, you’re a pain in the ass.” Suzy pushed herself up off of the ground before turning back to the clearing where May and Lea were. “Thanks for trusting me to keep everyone safe.’

“If you mention it to anyone, I’m dying your feathers purple,” Emilie promised.

“...I’m going to be honest, that sounds bad ass. I wonder if I can match my fire to that in color.” Suzy brought her hand up and channeled a small ember.

“Trust me, you can’t burn that hot.” Emilie shook her head. “You do not WANT to burn that hot.”

Suzy shrugged before clenching her fist around the fire. “I’ll take your word for it, nerd. Guess I’ll just have to keep your secret, then.”

Emilie smiled, before nodding and standing up. “I... suppose I should thank you too, then.”

Suzy leaned back before putting her hand up against Emilie’s forehead. “You feeling alright? You’re being way too nice.”

Emilie shoved the hand off and glared. Ah, we’re back to the cute glare. “Quit being you and accept the thank you.”

Suzy leaned back. “I-”

“ACCEPT IT!” Emilie shouted.

Damn, managed to make her lose it twice in one session. Today’s a good day.

“Fine.” Suzy nodded quickly and backed away from the small psychic ball of angry energy.

“Good.” Emilie looked up at Suzy and grinned. “Wanna sp-”

“Yes, please.” Suzy launched herself forward as soon as the words left her mouth, her claws hitting open air as water started to pool around her.

***

Normal POV

***

I looked out at the world through bleary eyes and tense. Dark cave walls once again filled my vision, and a body not my own slowly started to lift itself from the stone floor. The trickling water flowing through the dimly lit cavern drew our shared gaze towards a small stream, and I held my breath as we moved closer for a morning sip.

We were in a different subsection of caves this time. The ground and rocks were normally colored, at least for the area, and the stream seemed to split the cave cleanly in two.

We stuck our head down into the flowing water and lapped a couple of sips. I could feel the frigid water going down my throat before pulling back and looking at the river.

A moderately scarred face stared back at me. I now realized that my earlier assessment was incorrect, only a single eye took in the long violent cut across our black face. A listless white iris peeked out behind the faded wound, and hair noticeably didn’t grow on that side of the face.

A sigh heaved through our body, one that I didn’t prompt, and our body moved of its own accord once again, turning away from the river and back toward the hall leading out of the chamber.

She was late. Again.

I didn’t know where that thought came from or who she was, but the voice filled my veins with ice.

A single, white spot entered my vision, before quickly increasing in size as our visitor came barreling down through the long stone hall. She was noticeably larger than the tiny little thing I had seen in my last dream.

This was a dream. Right. Of course it was a dream.

This did not feel like a damn dream.

Watch.

“I’m so sorry, dad. Mom and I were talking about stuff, and she started talking about some stuff going on in the village and I got distracted and-”

“Enough.” The voice was gruff and harsh, more gravelly than it had been in the previous dream.

The younger Absol winced, before snapping her mouth shut and standing at attention, her posture rigid as her eyes traced my movements.

We walked back and forth, looking the little one up and down. “You’ve grown.”

“Yeah, that uh... happens when you don’t see someone for a few months.” She broke her stance before looking me in the eye.

We didn’t break contact for a good long while. A deep rumbling emanated from my mouth, and I looked away, kicking at the ground.

“Sorry about that. I’d be around more, but-”

“You don’t have to apologize.” The smaller Absol kicked at the ground herself. “I understand. Mom... doesn’t make it easy for you, does she?”

We sighed. “No, she doesn’t. I can still make more of an effort. I’m sorry.”

The smaller Absol got closer and bumped her head into mine. “I said don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl. I can deal.”

We laughed. “I suppose you’re right, but you’ll have to give me a bit to get used to that. My little Sol, all grown up.”

Sol blushed bright red, before looking away. “Dad...”

A deep chuckle filled the cave. “What, too old and cool to be called that anymore?”

Sol stayed quiet for a bit, long enough for her blush to fade. “I suppose it’s fine... if it’s just us, at least.”

Another laugh filled the cave. “Thank you, Sol. I appreciate it.”

The playful mood died down quickly as Sol once again stood up straight, her shoulders squared as we inspected her.

“You’ve not been slacking in your physical exercises, I see,” we said.

Sol growled. “Only thing Mom will let me work on.”

“She has her reasons, as I have mine. Do you feel it? The strong sense of danger, the overwhelming darkness that envelops our future?” We turned and started walking further into the cave, back towards the small river.

“Unfortunately, yes. I do.” Sol sighed from her place behind me, her feet keeping in step to mimic my movements as closely as possible.

Good, she remembered.

“Have the attacks waned?” we asked.

The duplicated footsteps ceased. “Kind of? Random psychics are popping up every few weeks or so as opposed to every few days. They’re getting stronger.” A dry chuckle filled my ears. “Mom said she actually had to try against the last one. Still don’t know why whoever’s doing this is sending psychics into the meat grinder like this. They have to know how fucked-”

“Language.”

“Their chances are.” Sol powered through the complaint without stopping.

We growled lowly before turning and facing the youngling. “I doubt getting the sword is their only objective at this point. If we were dealing with garden variety thieves, they would have adapted their strategy.” We laid down on the stone floor and stretched our back. “They have adapted a bit if they’re giving your mother troubles.”

“I can’t tell if they’re getting stronger or if Mom’s just getting older. She won’t admit it, but I see her slowing down. I was a bit worried to come out here today, but the sense of impending doom wasn’t as bad as it usually is, so I figured it’d be fine,” Sol said.

“That’s good, at least. Go ahead and light us up, would you? My eyes don’t see in the dark as well as they used to.” We winced slightly. “Well, eye.”

Sol nodded before lifting her head into the air and opening her mouth. A small orb of light slowly started to expand outwards, emitting a brilliant white light that shone with a heat so intense that we backed away slightly. The resplendent orb slowly rose up into the ceiling, illuminating the entire chamber in faux sunlight.

We preened under the light for the first time in months, a smile tugging at our lips as the aches permeating our shared body seemed to lessen. “Ah, my little Sol, how I’ve missed this. You brighten even the darkest of days.”

“Dad, stop being corny and help me master Night Sl-” The words died on her tongue as a loud explosion rocked the cave, rattling the room and causing a few rocks to fall from the ceiling.

“Down.” We rammed into Sol, knocking the both of us out of the way of a particularly large falling rock.

The two of us darted forward, making our way out of the larger room and into the smaller, sturdier hallway as the chaos unfolded. Before we could say anything else, though, an overwhelming sense of dread filled the essence of my being. A clawing void chewed at my thoughts, blocking out all sense and reason as a premonition overwhelmed my senses.

“Mom!” Sol uttered the word in a whine, before darting through the hallway.

Without even realizing it, we were quick on her heels, following her towards a cave we had long since been banished from.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I jerked up, ready to punch someone in the face. I fell back down as May’s grip held true, and I winced as my head hit the back of the tree we were leaning up against.

“Ow.” I rubbed the small bump on the back of my head before looking up to see Wally, staring down at the two of us with a grin.

“You two look cozy. How goes ‘training’?” Wally raised an eyebrow as May let loose a loud snore right in my ear. “How do you sleep through that?”

“Practice. May, get up. Jasmine and Wally are back.” I nudged her shoulder before looking around the clearing.

The bright sunny day had been replaced by orange hues and dim red rays, and the cold was starting to set in. Legends above, it felt like so little time had passed in the dream, but the whole day was practically slept away.

Why did I still feel so tired?

“Mah... don’t wanna,” May mumbled into my hair.

I sighed, before looking back towards Wally and freezing. Gwen was out of her ball.

“Wally, I want you to think about what you’re doing.” My tone was quiet and shaky as Wally grinned at the pair of us. “Don’t make me force choke you.”

Wally started chuckling through his respirator. “I’m sorry, my master, but it’s the only way. We’ll be here till the sun sets completely if we wait for you to get her up.”

“Don’t-”

“Water Gun, low power. Try and hit May as much as you can.” Wally quietly ordered.

‘No promises.’ Gwen’s grin morphed into an open maw and water surged forward.

Fucking fucker fuck that was cold!

“I’m up!” May screamed as she jumped up and away from me.

“Screw you, you blue Pikachu wannabe!” I screamed as I bounced up. Damn it, why does my hair retain water? At least my coat blocked the rest of this.

Gwen shot me a glare and puffed her cheeks out as I wrung out my locks, but Wally called her back before she could fire a second shot.

I opened my mouth to yell, but quickly closed it as an ominous force of evil permeated the clearing. I turned, and leaned back as May stalked forward towards our green-haired friend.

“Wally, I’m going to-”

Wally disappeared just as May got close enough to strangle him, and my girlfriend screeched as he appeared just to the left of me.

“Good job Gawain, you’re getting much better,” Wally shouted as he angled his head up towards the tops of the palm trees.

I arched my head and froze as the Kirlia came into view. It felt like my heart fell into my damn stomach as the psychic type disappeared, reforming next to his trainer with a pleased look on his face.

Wally tilted his head my way and grinned. “Pretty cool, huh? I’ve been having him practice ever since I saw Brawly’s Gallade teleport all that sand. It was a bit bumpy at first, but the practice has really helped.”

I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm down. It was just Gawain. Just like Emilie was just Emilie. These weren’t Pokémon I needed to worry about. Just calm down.

Wally tilted his head at me before blanching and lifting up Gawain’s poke ball.

“Wait!” I lifted my hand. “Just, give me a moment.”

May was suddenly right next to me, her eyebrows knitted together with a frown. “You sure?”

I took a deep breath before staring back at Gawain. ‘I’m sure.’ I pushed those two words out to everyone.

Wally and Gawain both leaned back. “How-”

“I managed to meditate and work through some stuff.” I swallowed before giving my best smile. “It hasn’t been easy, but basic communication has been... mostly fine.” I winced as Emilie teleported to my shoulder and gave me a look. “With a few hiccups.”

“A few hiccups, she says.” Emilie shifted to look at Wally and Gawain. “How was shopping and where’s Jasmine?”

Wally snapped to attention. “We got the stuff, and they should be fairly straight forward to use. I still think this is a lot of money to spend on Lea’s nightmare, but-”

“It’s my money, so shove it.” May glared balefully at Wally, channeling a bit of the malevolent aura she had when she first woke up.

Wally seemed unfazed. “Yeah, yeah, it’s probably good we got these anyway. Nice little safety precaution for Ice types in the wild. Jasmine wanted to find Wayne, and I imagine-”

‘I have seen things. Things that cannot be unseen.’ The words were distant and haunted, a stark contrast to the now visible grass type as he entered the clearing.

Emilie’s eyes glowed blue for a brief moment before she gave the grass type an unimpressed stare. “They kissed for like, four seconds. Quit channeling your inner Lea and calm down.”

“I resent that.” What really sucked is I heard an echo of those exact same words in Joerns voice as I said that.

We glared at each other for a moment before a bit as the couple in question entered the clearing.

“He’s got a pretty good feel for how the attack’s supposed to work, and he understands how the element should be used.” Wayne smiled at the grass type. “Really impressive for a single day of training, honestly. Nuzleaf was impressed.”

‘He lies,’ Joern complained. ‘That prick trash talked the entire time we were out there.’

“Yeah, well, for him, that’s what impressed looks like.” Wayne backed up slightly at Joern’s glare. “Killjoy.”

Jasmine just looked at the scene and grinned. “I’m glad you had fun, babe.”

Apollo flew in, with both Lucas and...

“Suzy?” May asked.

The fire type rubbed the back of her head. ‘I wanted to stretch my feathers a bit, and watching the gremlin trip over new stuff was fun.’

‘How many trees did you ram into when you were learning Aerial Ace again?’ Emilie asked.

Suzy snapped her beak shut and glared at the psychic on my shoulder.

‘That’s what I thought,’ Emilie said.

I moved to tell the two of them to play nice but froze as I looked up at the sky.

The clear, starry sky.

Apollo shot me a grin before raising his wing up in salute. ‘Reporting for duty, cap. Dry as a red stone under the summer sun.’

“Great work, Apollo. I look forward to having you out all day tomorrow,” I said.

Apollo nodded once.

I stared further back towards Lucas, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. The ghost had buried itself into the ground, his edge a solid five inches into the dirt, and the eye that adorned his hilt was half lidded. I lifted up his ball and recalled him.

‘Aye, that one worked hard today. Speed training’s a bitch even if you are used to it.’ Apollo nodded again before looking at his own ball. ‘I wouldn’t mind a bit of nap meself. If that’s alright, captain.’

“I think you’ve all earned it after today.” I lifted Apollo’s ball and recalled him. “Brawly’s not going to know what hit him by the end of this week.” I looked over towards Joern, who shook his head. I didn’t even bother asking Emilie.

‘I don’t think any of us were ever doubting that, Lady Lea.’ Gawain uttered each word slowly, his tone scared as he broached my mind with his own.

I turned to give the psychic type my full attention, my fists clenched at my sides as I beat down my rising heartbeat. ‘Thank you, Sir Gawain. I appreciate the vote of confidence.’

Gawain nodded once, before smiling at me. ‘I’m glad you’re bouncing back so quickly. Many of us were quite worried when you cut yourself off. I... missed our talks.’ Gawain looked away shyly. ‘Brawly doesn’t hold a candle to the trials you’ve already conquered. I know my presence in your mind is still a problem for you, but I needed to say that, and I’m happy you’re doing well.’

‘You’re entirely too sappy, you know that, right?’ Emilie asked.

‘Ah, my lady, I hate to say it, but one of us has to be.’ Gawain shot my starter a cocky grin.

A smile spread across my face, and my heart finally started to calm down.

Are you giving these two your approval, mini me?

‘Thank you, Sir Gawain, but I fully intend to have both you and Emilie in my head as often as possible. It’s more fun that way.’ I smiled widely at him before shooting Wally a mischievous smile. ‘Have a bit more faith in your queen, hmm?’

Gawain dropped into a deep bow. ‘Forgive me, my liege, if I spoke out of turn. Such thoughts were foolish of me.’

Gawain disappeared in a bright red light as Wally joined Emilie in glaring at me. “Really?”

My earlier grin still hadn’t left my face. “What can I say?” I bumped Emilie once in the forehead. “I missed these guys.”

***

Emilie’s POV

***

Emilie looked up at the night sky and sighed, happy to be away from the dinner downstairs. Wayne and Jasmine seemed determined to celebrate their last night above ground for a while.

It was all so loud when all Emilie wanted for a bit was quiet.

She should be happy right now. Lea’s taken a giant leap forward in her recovery. Her teammates were making great strides in improving themselves, she was learning new ways of using her powers and moves...

Why did she feel so down?

Emilie groaned as another presence appeared beside her. Great, the idiot.

“Good evening, my lady. I see you’ve taken a similar liking to the night sky.” Gawain looked up and grinned. “A boundless sea of stars, truly a sight to behold.”

“Yeah...” Emilie sighed before giving Gawain a look. “Thanks for helping with Lea. She seems a lot calmer now.” Admitting that felt like a punch to the gut. She’s on edge the whole time we’re in the training ground, but a few cheery words from this cosplaying knight was enough to get her to ease up?

It was so stupid.

Gawain laughed. “Nay, I just gave the final push, I believe. Your presence, your continued determination in the face of adversity was what helped guide our liege to the place that she could make the jump. I just... offered a hand over the cliff.”

Emilie scoffed. “Yeah, right. Only thing I did was give Lea heart palpitations.” Emilie glared back up at the sky. “Just another in a long list of screw ups.”

“My lady?” Gawain leaned forward.

“I feel lost.” Emilie wasn’t sure if she was telling this to Gawain or herself. “I don’t know what to do.”

Gawain just started laughing.

“What the hell’s so funny?” Emilie glared pointedly at the cosplaying knight.

“My lady, I can say with absolute certainty that you’re never lost. For as long as I’ve known you, your path has been your own. As long as you walk it to the best of your ability, your path should be clear.”

Emilie glared down at her fanny pack before tossing Gawain a look.

“And no, that has nothing to do with you evolving. So what if you’ve had a few setbacks? You’ll bounce back three times as strong and hit four times as hard.” Gawain held his fist out in front of him as he finished speaking. “Take it from someone who knows.”

Emilie sighed before leaning back against the roof. “Self-deprecating humor isn’t like you, Gawain. It also doesn’t suit you, so don’t start now. Leave the teasing to me, got it?”

Gawain preened. “Your words are far too kind, my lady.”

Stupid cosplaying hedge knight. “Yeah, whatever. My ‘path’ has been ass for a bit. I could barely do anything to help Lea in the cave, I lost us the gym battle, my best friend is scared to be around me-”

“Yet we’re all still here, raring up to dive into the great unknown.” Gawain smiled. “Excuse me for speaking out for turn, but self-deprecation doesn’t suit you either, my lady.”

“Ugh, fine. I guess a princess can’t have a pity party in peace, huh?” Emilie smiled.

“I would be remiss if I allowed such a thing to continue, yes.” Gawain shifted his gaze back out to the sky and smiled. “And don’t worry so much about our journey. Should Lea’s vision come to pass, I’ll have us above ground before May’s purchase even comes into play.”

“I believe it after that display earlier. You’ve improved a lot from when you teleported Wally in the center.” Emilie hugged her legs closer to her chest.

“I had a good teacher. Your tips helped a great deal.” Gawain shifted his gaze back to Emilie. “Don’t be so quick to write off your own achievements to focus on your failures. I’d probably still be floundering without your help.”

“Yeah, and now you can do tricks that I can’t. That Psybeam was awesome.” Emilie’s gaze briefly shifted to a glare. She winced before looking away.

Gawain laughed. “I think you’ll find that move far easier than you think, my lady. Do me a favor, and just do what you did earlier while you were training.”

“You peeked!” Emilie’s glare was more permanent this time, and a faint psychic aura flowed from her.

“I picked up the image from your surface thoughts, and I apologize, but please. I think you’ll be pleased with what I’m about to show you.” Gawain backed away from the angry psychic type as the words left his lips.

Emilie let her glare linger for a moment longer before sighing. “I don’t have any water.”

“You won’t need it, just... focus on a single point and visualize a sphere,” Gawain said.

Emilie raised her hand up and did just that, she leaned back and almost lost it as a multicolored sphere formed at the end of her hand.

“Now push, preferably towards the night sky.” Gawain leaned back and grinned.

The single sphere stretched out and thinned as the beam instantly launched itself upwards, the attack slowly fading as the light reached out towards the moon.

“I... just did that.” Emilie muttered.

“Correct, and one handed too.” Gawain closed his eyes and smiled. “Still one upping me, I see.”

Emilie didn’t respond, she just looked down at her hand, before a single, wide grin started to spread across her face. “Thank you, Gawain. Oh, I have so many ideas now. I want to test so much. This could lead to so many cool new ideas for combo attacks. I-”

“Why are there like three different anime fight scenes playing out on loop in your head right now?” Gawain asked with a frown. “I tried not to look but they’re so loud it’s hard not to.”

Emilie blushed bright red. “Shut up!”

“Yes, my lady.” Gawain replied automatically.

Emilie opened her mouth, closed it, then sighed. “We need to work on that. It’s not fun if you don’t banter back.”

Gawain tilted his head, looking lost.

“Never mind.” Emilie lifted her arms up and stretched before waving. “I think I feel Lea moving towards her bed room. Thanks for the help.” Emilie looked away. “This talk hasn’t been... horrible. Thank you.”

“Thank you for talking with me, your highness. I’m glad we talked.” Gawain went silent afterwards.

Emilie sighed, before teleporting down. She supposed that would do, for now.

An image of a rough and tumble kid, insulting her to her face and challenging her to a duel played through her mind, and she winced. It was still a far cry from what it used to be, but she supposed this wasn’t terrible either. As much as she missed the kid, the knight was slowly starting to grow on her.

Even if it was different, the path Gawain walked was one she could at least respect.

It was the least she could do, for her first friend.

***

Normal Pov

***

I sat up in my bed and glared at the rising sun. Guess taking a five hour nap really screwed with your ability to sleep soundly through the night. Still don’t know how May managed. I think I got three hours of sleep. Maybe.

It didn’t help that I was afraid to close my eyes. It was surprising, honestly. I fully expected to see another Absol dream, but nothing. My shoulders sagged at the thought. The next dream like that was probably going to be pretty bad.

I glanced worriedly at the locked poke ball on my end table, before shaking my head. These dreams were just that. Dreams. No way in hell could I pull thoughts and memories from a dark type of all things.

I turned away from the ball and stared down at May, taking a brief moment to take in her sleeping face.

I was going to have to sleep alone for a while, wasn’t I?

Legends above, that was going to suck. My own personal furnace was leaving me to go hang out in a stupid cave in the middle of a cold wave.

At least it was warming up slightly. That had to be a good sign, right?

I sighed, before going about the long, arduous process, of waking May up.

***

“You’ve all got everything, then? Provisions, equipment, safety gear-”

“Lea, for the last time, yes.” Wayne glared at me as we stood before the opening in the cliffside. “You act like we can’t just have Gawain teleport back up if we need something we don’t have. We’re fully decked out, and we’re wearing your funky friendship bracelet.” Wayne waved his hand around.

If the damn thing worked as advertised, a gas would be dispensed at a certain temperature, and sublimate the ice, turning the solid structure into a gas, and freeing the frozen individual.

How the hell that worked, I had no clue, but I memorized May’s explanation. The potential side effects were minor burns and dehydration, and I had water and salve in my backpack.

Breathe in, breathe out.

“I’m sorry, I just-” I turned to look into the cave and froze, the dark chamber feeling all too familiar to the stuff of my dreams. I swallowed down a lump in my throat and turned back to look at May’s smiling face.

She reached forward and squeezed my hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah, uh. You were right.” I winced. “I definitely wouldn’t handle being down there very well.”

“It should just be for a few days. We’ll be fine. I’m coming back above ground for your rematch, Steven or no, so don’t worry so much.” May gave my hand a squeeze. “We’ll be fine. The strongest thing currently on record in this cave system is a Sandslash.”

“Yeah, cause the rangers keep such a good record,” Jasmine mumbled.

Wayne elbowed her at my sudden tensing.

Suzy exploded out of May’s poke ball and slammed her clawed fist into her other hand. “Busken.”

I turned toward Emilie, who shook her head. “Nothing to translate. Sometimes we just like to say things as a battle cry.” She shrugged. “I don’t get it either, it’s probably a smooth brain fighting type thing.”

‘Your mother was a whore, and your father smelled of Figy Berries,’ Suzy said.

“Really, you don’t know what copium means, but you’ve got Monty Python references on standby.” Emilie glared at the fire type.

I turned and gave May a knowing grin.

“I was bored the other day, and Suzy’s warm and fluffy.” May’s face was red.

“I’m mostly just annoyed you didn’t invite me. I’m always down to rewatch those movies,” I said.

“Can we move on to the whole diving into the abyss thing?” Wally asked, before walking over and giving me his phone.

“Thanks.” I smiled before turning to May. “If you don’t call regularly, I’m assuming something terrible happened and I’m going down to get you, claustrophobia and past trauma be damned.”

“I know, I remember our deal.” May leaned forward slightly. “I’ll miss you too.”

“Alright, I think that’s our cue to leave and give these two some privacy.” Jasmine slapped her hands together before dragging Wayne into the cave.

“Ack, Jasmine.”

Wally lingered for a moment before reaching out and patting me on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure everyone comes back, so don’t worry about us. That’s a vow, and a knight always keeps those.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, Wally. Go on ahead, I don’t want to hold you guys up.”

Wally let his hand linger for a moment, before nodding, and following after the bickering couple.

I turned back towards May. “So this is goodbye, huh?”

“Don’t say it like that.” May scrunched up her nose. “I’ll call every night, at a minimum. Probably more if I’m being honest. I’m already dreading trying going to sleep tonight.”

“You and me both.” I chuckled before letting myself get pulled down.

I still wasn’t used to this. I wasn’t sure I ever would be. My brain just didn’t work right when our lips met.

I pulled back and sighed. “Stay safe and come back, alright?”

May pulled back and nodded. “I will, that’s a promise.”

She turned before walking away, her body slipping into the dark.

I sighed before turning to Emilie and opening my mouth. I froze as white fur flitted across my peripheral vision, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it.

In front of me stood a single, familiar, white furred shape. A jagged scar running down his face, cutting directly through his eye. The Absol smiled at me, before turning, and I leaned back as I saw a large, bloody hole in his side. The creature faded into mist as it turned away.

Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Chapter Text

I stared down at Sol’s... Absol’s poke ball for what felt like an eternity as I made my way back down the path towards town. Palm trees swayed in the background as my brain rebooted.

What the hell did I just see? That couldn’t have been real, right?

I leapt up and almost dropped the ball as Emilie tapped the side of my head. “Don’t do that!”

“What else did you want me to do? I called your name verbally and mentally and you ignored me!” Emilie tapped her foot against my shoulder as she glared at me. “I know you’re worried, but-”

“I have faith in them.” My shaking voice probably wasn’t very convincing. “It’s... not that.”

Emilie frowned at me as we passed by a napping fisherman, his line swaying in the ocean breeze as the first few houses on the outskirts of town came into view. “What is it, then?”

“I-” I looked down towards the ground, wondering how to explain this without getting carted off to the funny farm. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Bit late for that, but for you, I’ll let you ask another.” Emilie grinned, her eyes closed and slightly curved upwards.

I glared, before sighing. “Aim a bit higher on the tree, why don’t you? That was so low hanging it was starting to rot.”

A vein throbbed on Emilie’s forehead. “Ask the damn question.”

“I wouldn’t want to go over my quota.” I grinned as the buildings started to fill out the empty space a bit better.

Emilie started stomping her foot into my shoulder, and I thwacked her forehead.

“Fine.” I looked away, biting my lower lip. Maybe an indirect approach would be best. Lead into it. “A couple of days ago, when we raided Jasmine’s room, how did you know she was possessed?”

Emilie leaned back, before tilting her head at me. “Kind of out of left field.”

“Humor me?” I asked.

Emilie paused for a moment before nodding. “I could feel more than one mind occupying the same space. Ghost possession is a bit different to mind control, but even though they’re very chaotic entities, they still have thoughts and feelings.” Emilie shivered. “Powerful feelings.”

I nodded once, a frown on my face. I couldn’t feel anything from that thing. No emotions, no words, just air. Like it wasn’t even there.

Yet I saw it.

“Any reason you’re asking about this now?” Emilie asked.

I winced. Should have seen that question coming. “Don’t know yet. Need to do an experiment.” I held up Absol’s poke ball just as the grassy training field came into view.

“An experiment for what?” Emilie tilted her head.

To see if I’m crazy. “Science.”

We quickly came to the same big tree that Brawly had replanted. The grass had once again sprouted anew, and the bark looked as pristine as the previous day, before we started training.

Did Brawly come out here every day?

Hippie surf junkie that loves nature. Of course he came here every day. Hell, he probably... trained... here.

Good to know.

I quickly turned around and sat down, my back up against the tree as I pulled out my dinosaur of a pokedex and typed.

“How are ghost Pokémon formed?” Emilie read the screen with a frown. “Lea, are we being haunted.”

“Maybe.” Hopefully, honestly. “Did you see or feel anything while we were in front of the cave?”

“No, that doesn’t mean much, though. Ghosts are hard to track, and I was kind of focusing on other things.” Emilie’s eyes narrowed. “Lea, what did you see?”

“Like I said, don’t know yet,” I paused as the old piece of crap pinged. “Yes! Please don’t be Tauros Shit.”

It goes without saying, but ghosts don’t form in the same way as most Pokémon. Whether it’s from regret, longing, hate, love, or one of a million other little things, people and Pokémon both form an attachment to the world of the living. That attachment doesn’t fade just because their heart stops beating. When someone dies, after a variable amount of time, a ghost will sometimes spawn from the spirit of what once lived.

I looked up at Emilie and winced at her glare. “What?”

“What did you see?” Emilie asked.

I winced at how firm her tone was. “Like I said, I don’t know. I think it was a ghost, but it wasn’t a Ghost Pokémon.” I looked down towards the ground. “Assuming those even exist and I’m not just going crazier than I already am.”

Emilie leaned back slightly before looking back down at the report.

The time between death and rebirth is never consistent, and the process seems to have variable effects on the Pokémon. Some have no memory of their past life at all, and their new life is all they know, but for the rest, they lock into their regrets and build an identity around that. These Pokémon are usually identified as ‘Pure Ghosts’ and are chaotic, malevolent entities until they stabilize their existence.

“How do you stabilize your existence?” I asked. “I went into this thing looking for an answer to my question, instead I found something that might help Jasmine.”

“That’s where the article ends, so... I’m guessing they don’t know either.” Emilie looked up at me with a frown before teleporting down to the ground. “And you’re not crazy.”

My eyes light up. “So you do-”

“I’ve never heard of what you described, but if you saw it then it exists.” Emilie’s voice brokered no room for argument. “Let out the rest of the squad. If we’re going to be dealing with little miss psycho, I don’t want to take chances.”

It took me a bit to react, but I quickly reached down and grabbed everyone’s poke balls.

Joern appeared close to me, his eyes narrowed on Absol’s ball. 'I don’t like this.'

'YOU don’t like it?' Lucas asked, before slinking back behind me and hiding in my shadow. 'How do you think I feel? That thing wants to take me back to its cave and work out its weird bondage fantasies on me.'

Joern snorted as Emilie tilted her head and looked up at me.

“What’s bondage?” she asked.

I got up, whipped around, and glared at my shadow. “Lucas, that’s the least of your worries. Get up here and stay solid so I can murder you.”

'How can you murder what’s already dead?' Lucas asked, his head peeking up from the ground with a snicker.

I narrowed my eyes before kicking the ground where his hilt was, sighing as I went through nothing but air. “Anything’s possible with enough violence.”

Apollo landed down close to Emilie and put his wing on her shoulders. 'We’ll tell you when you’re older, lass.'

“Meh, I’ll just look it up later on Ser... Damn it.” Emilie visibly deflated before staring up at me with pleading eyes. “Please.”

“No.” I held firm before looking at my squad. “Apollo, you can go ahead and cut loose, I want the field advantage. Emilie, you and Joern will be my bodyguards during this. Go ahead and make a psychic umbrella. Lucas, I’m counting on you and Apollo to keep an eye on things and intervene if she tries anything.”

'Aye aye, captain.' Apollo saluted as clouds started to form overhead.

Joern sighed before taking his position next to me. ‘Never get to dance anymore...'

I glanced as Joern and winced, before frowning. The thought felt quieter than usual. More Distant. ‘Emilie?’

‘What?’ she asked as a small dome appeared over my head.

Water slowly started to fall from the newly formed clouds, rhythmically slamming into the psychic shield. Barrier was coming along nicely, it would seem.

‘Did you translate private thoughts again?’ I asked.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ Emilie gave me a blank look before settling next to Joern with a determined look on her face.

Huh. Did I do that, then?

Neat.

“You can dance later today, Joern. We’ve got five days of nothing but training, after all. We all have plenty of time to work on what we want to work on.”

Joern turned and looked at me with slightly widened eyes, confirming my earlier theory. ‘Thanks, I suppose.’

‘Can we get this over with?’ Lucas asked.

I sighed before gripping Absol’s ball tightly. I pressed the release button and aimed it as far away from me as possible.

The white-furred Pokémon appeared on the other side of the clearing, stretching its back before wincing and hopping further away, landing on the border of the falling rain. ‘Do you have any idea how annoying wet fur is?’

“No.’ My tone was clipped as I glared. ‘I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?’

Absol sneered. ‘Why on earth would I do that?’

“General decency?” I asked.

She laughed at me. Rude.

Okay, think Lea. What would she want? Well, May did want me to try and talk to her. Maybe... “If you help, you can stay out of your ball for the day?” Fuck, that sounded weak. Also made me feel a bit too much like a prison warden for my taste.

The rest of my squad looked at me like I had grown a second head. Emilie let the psychic barrier falter, and I sputtered as the newly formed downpour drenched me. ‘Emilie!’

The barrier formed above my head once again. ‘Sorry, I just needed to make sure you were aware of how stupid you just sounded.’

Absol threw her head back and laughed. ‘So, my reward for being a good little girl and doing what you say is I get to hang out in the cold and watch your little stand-up routine? As if I’d sell my time for such a small amount.’

I winced. At this point, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that she wanted nothing to do with me. We more or less have been keeping her prisoner.

Stop it. She tried to off May. Quit feeling bad for the angry, lonely, orphaned...

Your dreams are dreams. Nothing more.

‘Well, you’ve just established that such a thing does exist and is obtainable, now we’re just haggling over price,’ Apollo said, his tone mildly flippant.

I turned to glare at Emilie, who just shrugged.

‘He wanted to watch a pirate movie. I found a pirate movie,’ she said.

Absol grinned up at the bird, her canines extending down. ‘Release-’

“No.” I cut her off with a glare. “You already know that’s not happening. Besides, you’re not mine to release, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” And honestly, it probably wouldn’t do you much good. “I thought you wanted to stick around and watch Lucas?”

‘Oi, don’t bring me into this!’ Lucas hissed from his spot in my shadows. ‘I’m the one most in danger now, leave me out of it!’

Absol snorted, before glaring at me. ‘That idiot’s about as threatening as a garden spade. Our purpose is meaningless, remember?’

That was a gross mistranslation of May’s statement, and entirely unfair. “You know, things might go a lot better for you if you weren’t a raging bitch all the time. That won’t earn you many friends.”

Absol glared. ‘As if I want to be friends with thieves and liars. Your talk mighty brave for someone hiding behind a veritable army of trained thugs.’

My team bristled as I preemptively raised my hand into the air. Combative, liked pissing people off to get out of talking...

Legends above the resemblance was uncanny.

“We aren’t taking the bait,” I said.

Absol sighed before laying down on the ground and closing her eyes. ‘Then leave me alone. I have no interest in helping you.’

I pulled my pack around and started going through my bag.

‘Keep your damn cookies, too. They’re probably laced with something if you’re offering them to me.’ Absol didn’t even move from her spot.

“That’s insulting in like, seven different ways. Do you have any idea how much I would kill for one of those right now!” Emilie glowered at the dark type. “Can I please just drop a boulder on her? I really want to.”

“Down girl.” I bumped her head with my fingers before glancing down at the creature curling up for a nap. “All I want to know is if you feel a disaster on the horizon. That’s it. Yes or no.”

She ignored me.

Emilie’s eyes started to glow blue, and the rain clouds started to move, extending out beyond the previously defined border and drenching the dark type. Absol snarled as she hopped to her feet and opened her mouth.

My whole team tensed as a single white orb appeared just above her open maw, and Joern brought his hands together, a single orb of water growing between his palms.

I lifted my hands up, my eyes wide as I took in the very familiar sight. “Wait.”

“What-” Emilie cut herself off as the white orb launched into the air.

An overwhelming heat washed over my skin as I brought up my arm to shield my eyes. The artificial sun pulsed as it ascended, banishing the clouds as it pushed upwards, and grew in size as it finally stopped just above the tree line. I swallowed down a lump that formed in my throat at the familiar sight.

My dreams weren’t dreams.

Absol once again laid down on the ground and yawned, her feet digging into the soft soil as she stretched her back out. ‘Much better. See that you don’t-’

“Your name is Sol,” I said, my voice calm and steady.

Absol froze.

I attempted to swallow but found my mouth too dry to push through the lump that formed in my throat. I took a deep breath before starting again. “Your father had a scar over his right eye, and had a deep, commanding voice. He-”

‘Shut up!’ The words were hissed out with enough malice that it felt like a tangible force in the air. ‘You dare-’

“Was killed by a wound through his chest.” I pushed through and finished my earlier sentence.

Absol’s anger dissolved, and clouds started to slowly encroach into the radiant aura of her sun. Her eyes became listless as she backed away from me.

I took a deep breath before continuing. “Before that happened, your parents were separated. Your father lived in a cave with a large stream running through it, and you stayed with your mom to help defend the king’s tomb.”

Emilie looked up at me with wide, awe filled eyes as I rattled off private facts about a dark type.

“Something horrible happened when you visited your father, what that something is I don’t know yet, but...” I took a deep breath before smiling at the dark type. “Holding onto that anger, all that spite and resentment, lashing out at everyone... it feels good, doesn’t it?”

Absol leaned back as though she were struck. ‘I-’

I pushed through, not giving her a chance to answer. “It feels like anger is all you have, like if you give up you won’t have anything else to push you forward. You lash out at everyone, because they don’t understand, even though they’re trying to help.” I reached up and rubbed my cheek. “You’re not doing yourself any favors.”

‘How, get out of my head!’ Absol snarled. ‘I don’t know how but get out and STAY OUT! You have no right to go poking around in my mind, you fucking psychics are all the same!’

I smiled, all my earlier worries and stumbling forgotten as another angry face played through my mind. The scowls were almost identical, even. Right down to the way Eve’s right eye twitched when she got mad.

“I’m not in your head.” I tilted my head and smiled at her, my voice calm as the artificial sun got blotted out by Apollo’s storm.

‘Liar!’ The dark type leaned forward but recoiled back as rain once again started to fall. ‘The only Pokémon that know anything about what happened down there are dead. I don’t know how, but-’

I drowned her out as a familiar white figure drifted into view, his presence wispy and faded as he stared out from beneath the shade of the palm trees. He leapt forward and nudged his head into his daughter’s side.

Sol froze, the unheard words dying on her tongue as the spectral visage of her father phased right through her body. Her body briefly shook as she turned and looked around the clearing. ‘What the hell was that? What did you do?’

“Lea, what’s going on?” Emilie looked around the clearing, her tone clipped and panicked. “Something feels off.”

I sighed. Great, she couldn’t see it, but she could slightly feel it. That was... decidedly unhelpful. It would have made things about a million times easier if the fairy that couldn’t lie could back up my-

‘You mean you don’t see it?’ Lucas poked his head out of the shadows, his eyes trained directly on Sol’s father. ‘Buddy, we need to get you to a center, you’re in bad shape.’

My own ghost, of course he could see him! He’s a damn ghost type!

How the hell could I see him?

‘See what? Ave ye lost whatever marbles you had left, you daft sword? ’ Apollo waved his arm out to the field. ‘No one’s here but us.’

‘What are you talking about, he’s right-’

“They can’t see him, Lucas.” I smiled down at my sword as he slowly rose up out of the ground. “Not like you and I can.”

‘What do you,’ He paused, before looking at the bloody fur. ‘Oh.’

The old Absol nodded his head, before turning and looking sadly at his daughter. I let my eyes follow his and winced.

Sol’s eyes bored down into Lucas’s form, and her entire body shook. ‘Start making sense, or I’ll stop playing nice. You think you’re safe up here, you bargain store Halloween decoration? I-’

“Just because someone’s dead, doesn’t mean they’re gone.” I cut her off with a sad look.

Sol recoiled away from me as if she’d been struck. ‘What kind of hoodoo nonsense are you trying to peddle? He’s-’

“A ghost.” I turned and looked at him. “A very sad one.”

Emilie followed my line of sight and focused, really hard. “I can... is that him? I can sort of see an outline, but... it’s so hard. My mind can perceive that something is there, but I can’t figure out or comprehend what.”

Sol looked down at Emilie with a snarl, before recoiling back even further, her eyes going wide, and her mouth snapping shut. ‘T-there really is something there.’

I grinned down at Emilie before focusing on Sol. “That’s what Emilie says. I know it’s hard to believe. Hell, I’m still not sure if I believe it. But it’s true. Straight from the fairy’s mouth.”

Sol kept squinting her eyes and inching towards what she probably saw as open air. The father just smiled sadly before reaching his own paw out. Sol froze just before touching it and backed away.

‘I just- I can’t-’ Sol shook her head.

“I don’t really know what to do, but... I want to help. I know-”

‘I just can’t!’ Absol sprinted away from the clearing, a pained look on her face as she ran.

“Damn it, Apollo-”

‘Already on it, Cap!’ Apollo gave chase in the air, disappearing in an instant after her.

The clearing stood silent as the two left, and I groaned before shifting my gaze back to the sorrowful ghost dog.

He simply looked back at me, smiled, and slowly disappeared with the rain.

***

Apollo’s POV

***

Damn stupid overly emotional dark type. Evolving was the biggest damn mistake he ever made. He was slower, Aerial ace was a damn pain, and he had to focus constantly to make sure he didn’t drench everything. The extra power and bulk were NOT worth it.

He supposed he should be at least partially grateful that the brat had run into at least three different palm trees as she made her ‘escape’. Tearful eyes weren’t that easy to see through, apparently.

“Would ye quit yer running? I ain’t gonna do anything. You can do whatever the hell you want. I just need to make sure you don’t run off and do something stupid.” Apollo swooped down and landed directly in front of the Absol, his wings raised in challenge.

Sol jumped up and dived forward, her jaw opened wide as her teeth glowed black.

Apollo beat his wings and three sickles of air launched forward in an instant, slamming into the dark type and pushing it back a solid fifteen feet. She slammed into the dirt, kicking up a small bit of sand as she rolled a few times through the grass.

Kyogre below, doing that felt nice.

Sol coughed a few times before glowering at him. “Like I can trust a word that comes out of your mouth, pirate!”

Apollo sighed before leering at the brat in front of him. “Fine, if ye want to get drawn and quartered, who am I to refuse.” He leaned forward and glared. “Yer just angry at everyone, huh? Captain was right. Still don’t know why she’s giving you the time of day.”

“Shove it. Like I’m just supposed to believe that little side show carnival act in there was legit? Get real.” Sol spat into the ground and glared. “Even if dad was still around, I know for a fact he’d want nothing to do with me. The whole thing is ludicrous!”

Apollo's glare turned vicious at the insult. “I’d advise you to watch. Your. Tone. Cap’s not one to lie, and the lass literally can’t. Just because you’re throwing a tantrum doesn’t make their claims any less real.” Apollo leaned back and smiled as the first few drops of rain hit the ground.

“Bold claims from a liar and a thief. I should rip you to pieces, see if little miss perfect wants to ‘help’ after that.” Sol leaned forward, her claws digging into the ground.

“Feh, you’re more than welcome to try.” Apollo leered down at the white furred menace. Legends, he wanted to rip this slip of a girl a new one.

The ground rippled underneath Sol’s feet as she tore across the clearing, her horn glowing black. She swung her head forward, and a black beam of energy swept through the clearing, pushing through open air as Apollo blurred.

He slammed his glowing white wing into the dark type’s chest, forcing the air from it as he threw her backwards. “Tell me, out of idle curiosity, is there anyone you don’t hate on principle?”

“Shut up.” Sol blurred forward as the words left her mouth.

Apollo instinctively moved upwards, narrowly avoiding her fangs and throwing several sickles of wind her way for her trouble. “The captain seems to think she can fix you with kind words, compassion, and empathy, but I don’t think she quite understands.”

“I said shut up!” She jumped over the blades, whipped her head up, and opened her mouth. A large, wispy, purple orb formed before shrinking down to the size of a baseball. An echoing wail shrieked against the downpour as the attack fired.

Apollo opened his mouth and fired a massive jet of water, consuming the ghostly orb in its path and cascading down towards Sol. “You and I both know better though, don’t we? You don’t care about anyone. You don’t have anyone.” Apollo pulled his beak down into a frown. “Not anymore, at least.”

Sol coughed and sputtered from her spot on the ground, her legs shaking below her weight. She glared hatefully upwards and jumped, her claws glowing black.

Apollo disappeared and body checked her back into the ground. “You’re going to keep picking fights, because the anger feels good. Because it’s something.” Apollo followed after the downed form and slammed into her with silver wings, the attack cutting into her side. A gasp left her lips as Apollo slammed her, hard, into a palm tree.

She snarled for a second before staring into the Pelipper’s eyes. She winced away at the reflection.

Apollo brought his other wing up, still glowing silver in the slowing rainstorm. “Until one day, ye finally pick a fight with someone ye can’t beat.”

Sol closed her eyes and leaned away as Apollo buried his wing into the tree. It splintered under the force. She slowly opened her eyes and pressed herself up against the tree.

The attack had stopped just short of her skull.

Apollo frowned before flashing the underside of the wing he just used to attack. A large, jagged scar ran down its length. He pulled back from the tree and hopped out of the way as the Absol fell forward. “Be grateful that someone is me and believe me when I tell you it can be a lot worse.”

Sol sucked in air like she had been suffocating, before trying, and failing, to get back to her feet. “You...”

“Me.” Apollo grinned before sighing. “The last living member of the Peeko Riders, in the flesh.”

Sol winced before glaring. “Don’t assume-”

“That I don’t know how angry you feel? How much the world wronged you? How desperately you wish things could go back to the way they were before?” Apollo laughed.

Sol winced at the broken sounds coming from Apollo’s beak before scampering backwards, her legs still feeling like Jello.

“Nothing but a swabbie with a chip on his wing, ready to fight anyone who dared to talk about me mates. Good or bad.” Apollo looked down and glared at the ground before lifting up his left wing. “Learned really quick that I wasn’t shit where I was, so I flew down south. Started brawling with random wilds that were just minding their own business.” A sigh left his beak as he looked away. “Didn’t need much of a reason, really.”

“Let me guess, you met the idiot squad and learned the error of your ways?” Sol sneered, before wincing away from the glare sent her way.

“If only...” Apollo looked away again. “You can only be angry at the world for so long. At some point, you realize you're just as horrid as the things that took away your family.” Apollo shivered. “It’s a horrifying realization, really. One that makes you wonder what horrors the guy before you went through to get to that point.”

Sol stood still, her eyes trained on Apollo’s beak.

Apollo waited for the interruption. He stood silently for what felt like hours, ready to cut the dark type off. No words came, and the waterfowl heaved a sigh of relief. “I know I’m just a pirate and a thief. I’m not good, by any stretch, and Kyogre knows I’m probably the last Pokémon anyone should really listen to, but I’m at least smart enough to know that you’re a good kid who’s been dealt a shit hand. Instead of listening to me rattle on about my own crap, ask yourself this. Would you be able to live with yourself if you succeeded in killing May?”

Sol opened her mouth, then closed it and leaned back, her eyes trained on the ground.

Apollo frowned. “Could you push through, knowing that you’d be robbing someone of their kid, of stealing away someone’s mate, or of robbing the world of a genuinely good person?”

“I...” The word died on Sol’s tongue as she kicked lightly at the dirt. “I don’t know.”

Apollo flapped his wings once and started to rise up into the now clear sky. “Well, be grateful you don’t have to find out. Think on it though.”

Sol tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “You’re not dragging me back?”

Apollo laughed. “I’m not scared of you. Honestly, there’s no reason to be. Stay, leave, I honestly don’t care. May wants you around for some reason, and the cap thinks you deserve a shot, but no one can force you to do anything.” Apollo turned around and started to fly away from the dark type, before pausing. He turned around slightly and looked over his shoulder. “Just... know that you don’t have to go through the rest of your life alone. It might not seem like it, but life can get better.” Apollo turned back around. “Even if you don’t feel like you deserve it. You lost one family, doesn’t mean you can’t find another.”

Apollo blurred once again, flitting through the sky back towards camp.

***

Normal POV

***

I stared down at my quarter master for what felt like an eternity as stormy clouds loomed overhead.

He stared back up at me with a blank expression, never breaking under my scrutiny.

I sighed. “Just run me through this one more time. You caught up to her, you fought, you won, and you left her out there alone.”

Apollo tilted his head to the side and looked up at one of his storm clouds before nodding. ‘Yup, that sounds about right.’

I slapped my forehead and groaned. “Course it does. Why?”

‘In my defense, she started it, and she needed an attitude adjustment. Not everything can be solved with kind words and an open hand, Captain.’ Apollo sighed before looking away. ‘I understand if you wish to punish me for this. I went against orders, and insubordination is no joking matter.’

“I’m not, that doesn’t answer the question. Why did you just leave her out there?” I asked, my tone exasperated.

‘It wasn’t my place to force her, and honestly, I think she needed time to think.’ Apollo leaned up and beamed at me. ‘I have every confidence that the lass will return of her own accord, though.’

“Of course you do.” Emilie quipped as she teleported back to my shoulder, putting her training on hold as she glared down at Apollo. “She’ll probably try and pick us off while we’re doing other crap and yoink Lucas back to her cave for their bondage-”

“Finish that sentence and you’re never getting cookies ever again!” I shouted, my face red. “Same goes for ever using that word. It doesn’t exist, got it? You never heard it.”

Emilie nodded fervently, her eyes wide and desolate. “Got it.”

‘Ye won’t have to worry, even if she was plotting something, which she wasn’t, I didn’t leave her in any kind of shape to-’

His words were cut off as a small purple orb slammed into his back and he lurched forward into the ground.

I whipped my head up and winced at the sight. Sol was barely holding herself up on all fours, and a large red gash made itself known on her right side. She smirked proudly as she glared at my waterfowl.

‘That was revenge for that stupid fucking Steel Wing, you prick,’ Sol spat.

“That was your last mistake.” Emilie snarled as her eyes glowed blue, a dozen stones rose up into the air before circling around her at increasing speed.

‘The only mistake was how pathetic that shot was. If I had known how shit you were with that move, I wouldn’t ave bothered blocking it in our match.’ Apollo got back up to his feet, awkwardly turned, and glared at the white furred Pokémon.

‘Yeah, well... I didn’t really feel like hurting you, alright?’ Sol looked away as she finished her sentence. ‘Still though, a dark type has to keep some pride. A little revenge is required after a beat down like that.’

Apollo threw his head back and laughed. ‘Fair enough, I suppose.’

The stones around Emilie slowly started to sink back towards the ground. Her eyes never left the intruder in front of her.

Sol collapsed back into the ground. ‘Oi, sappy tree hugger, recall me would you? The ball makes most of the pain go away, and I could really use that right now.’

“And what if I wanted you to deal with it for attacking my quartermaster?” I asked, my eyes narrowed.

‘Meh, I suppose that’s fine. Not like I don’t deserve it.’ Sol shifted slightly in her spot on the ground and winced. ‘Though I suppose I’d be down to make a trade. You said you wanted to know if I felt any looming disasters, right?’

I leaned back, my eyes wide. “You-”

‘Outside of the normal sense of impending doom that all Absol feel about the end of the world, no looming disaster is making itself known. Near as I can feel, it’s all sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, and unicorns, at least as far as the near future is concerned. I’m not exactly strong enough to see beyond that, but your friends are only supposed to be down there for a few days, right?’ Absol asked.

I pushed down all the questions I wanted to ask about the first part of that and nodded. “May said they were coming back up for my gym match in five days regardless of whether or not they found Steven.”

‘Then they’ll be fine.’ Absol closed her eyes and rested her head on the grass. She glanced briefly at Emilie before lifting it up again and sighing. ‘I really wish I could just send her my thoughts. I really don’t like talking right now.’

“Deal with it,” Emilie spat.

I winced. Guess it was too much to hope that Emilie would be chill right away. Still though, it felt like I could breathe again. Fuck, I did not realize how tense I was.

‘At any rate, my ball, please?’ Absol looked up at me expectantly.

I jumped to attention and quickly went to my belt. “Right.” I pulled up her ball, aimed, and pressed the return button. I held the ball close and smiled. “And thanks.”

Apollo stood at attention, looking incredibly smug as he leered at Emilie.

A single rock shot up from the ground and whacked him on the forehead. “Don’t get uppity just because you were right.”

‘Why not, you do.’ Apollo rubbed his head before looking back my way.

“Play nice you two. I don’t know what you did or said, Apollo, but thank you.” I smiled down at my favorite waterfowl. “You’re a good friend.”

He blushed and looked away as I pocketed Sol’s ball. 'Twernt nothing, my captain.'

I opened my mouth but froze as white fur once again filled my vision. Just behind my first two captures stood Sol’s father, looking regal in the crisp afternoon air. A smile dotted his lips as he eyed the three of us, and he nodded once before fading out again.

A new weight suddenly loomed over my shoulders as I glanced back down at my pocket, and I sighed.

Eve was still a pain in the ass even now. I couldn’t take it easy just because she was giving us a chance. That just felt like tacet approval, so I had to live up to it.

I glanced down at my bickering Pokémon and smiled. At least I wasn’t alone to do it.

Chapter Text

May’s POV

***

“Ow,” Wayne muttered as he leaned back from the lowering arch. “You know, for as fun as the damn brochure made cave diving sound, they failed to mention how piss ass dark it’d be.”

“Language,” Jasmine said. “Not the cave’s fault you’re huge, just stop walking ahead of Sergei's light.”

May sighed before looking at the phone forlornly. So much for text time with Lea while they were pushing down. She glanced up towards the ceiling as a few Zubat spread their wings and dived.

They froze in midair before being slammed into the wall, a faint blue glow enveloping their skin.

“I thought controlling living creatures was difficult?” May winced as the small creatures slowly slid down the wall and glanced towards Gawain.

'Ah, you would be quite correct, your grace, but I’m quite a bit more adept than I used to be. A few bats are a trifling matter for a knight such as I.’ Gawain puffed up his chest as he finished.

“Since when was I a ‘your grace’?” May asked.

Wally reached out and thwacked Gawain on the back of the head before he could answer. “Translation, he’s got a bit more oomph since he evolved, and the bats are like half a pound and poison type. Don’t get a big head and focus. Us getting jumped down here would suck.”

Nimue nodded sagely from her perch on top of Wally’s head.

‘Forgive me, my lord. I forgot myself.’ Gawain bowed before turning to look forward.

Sergei pinged twice with message notifications, and May jogged forward to glance at his screen, taking care to duck under a set of stalactites.

She frowned once she saw it was just a few emotes posted by her phone. “Sergei...”

“Oi, don’t get mad at me because you miss your girlfriend. I like to talk too, ya know.” A gif of a small little muppet creature attacking the camera with a rubber spatula popped up on screen immediately after Sergei’s message, with the caption of ‘May your woes be many, and your days few.’

‘Don’t put that evil on us while we’re going through this pit. I can and will light you on fire, I don’t care if it won’t hurt you.’ Suzy leaned forward and pointed her claw at the floating phone.

May sighed. “It’s a meme gif, Suzaku. Calm down.”

Suzy winced at the full name before nodding and falling in step next to her trainer.

“I still can’t believe your phone doesn’t have a text to speech option built into it.” Jasmine leaned over and gingerly grabbed the phone out of the air. “Last gen Poryphones had text to speech, and it’s not like he doesn’t have a speaker.”

May shrugged. “Sergei can’t find the setting and online options are... not ideal.”

The Kazam Translate incident was not something she wanted to go through again. Thank you very much.

Jasmine stayed silent as she thumbed through menus and setting options, before brightening. “Ah ha! And that would be why Sergei couldn’t find the settings. What’s your password?”

“What? Password?” May tilted her head before jogging up next to Jasmine and looking at Sergei’s screen.

A sign-in prompt had popped up, attached to a file called administrator functions.

“Jasmine, I don’t have a password. I don’t even have an account for whatever the hell this is.” May leaned back, taking a step away from the two before frowning. “Never really saw the need for extra security with Sergei at the helm.”

“Maybe your dad set it up then?” Wally suggested, his voice raspy. “Huh, the air’s a bit worse down here. Surprising.”

A small, orange mouth popped up out of the ground. ‘Alright?’

Wally waved his hand in front of him. “I’m fine, Samie. My uncle built this, I could probably push through a burning building and be fine.”

May shot him a worried look before sighing and looking down towards Samie. “Any subterranean threats we should be aware of, Samie?”

Samie shook his jaw. ‘No. Is odd. Normally many fellow diggers. Today, empty.’ Samie looked down towards the ground and sighed. ‘Ground is cold.’

May winced before leaning down and scooping the little guy up. “I’ll keep you warm for a bit. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking about that.” She glanced back towards Sergei and Jasmine. “I suppose I can call dad and ask later. Still seems kind of odd, though.”

Messenger opened back up, and a text popped up. “What exactly are you all looking at, anyway? I don’t see anything on my screen.”

“I don’t think you would, hon. They’re system files for core programs. They probably didn’t want you tampering with something by accident.” Jasmine scrolled down and a list of functions popped up. “Apparently there’s a program in here that ejects you from the phone, if this list is accurate at all.”

A big red X lit up Sergei's screen. “Nooooo thank you. I’m quite content to vibe, thank you very much. I’ve seen the kind of crap these morons get up to. Let me stay in the warm confines of my case.”

Wally rubbed his arms together. “Can I join you? It’s fucking cold in here.”

May stiffened at the complaint before tracing her eyes up and down the walls. "May, there aren’t ice monsters down here, calm down.” Wayne grinned at her. “And if there was, Skarm could take em.”

“Yeah, I love Lea, but clairvoyance is kind of out there as far as abilities go, and it’s nowhere cold enough that the cave is going to freeze over.” Jasmine let go of Sergei and let him resume his position of lead. “Back to the phone, the text to speech option is locked behind that sign-in. I’m guessing they didn’t want to give a ghost the power to turn his voice on and off.”

“I can understand why.” May leaned back in surprise as she heard her words echo. She turned to see Wally rubbing the back of his head.

“Ass hats,” Sergei messaged.

May checked to make sure that it was Sergei and not Lea before chuckling. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t abuse the fuck out of being able to talk.”

A winking face emoji popped up on screen.

“That’s what I thought.” May smiled before ducking down below an archway.

The cave opened up to a larger chamber, the rock ceiling ascending farther up. May groaned as she realized just how many paths branched off from this chamber alone.

Wayne breathed out a sigh of relief before standing up to his full height. “At least the other caves look bigger.”

“Yeah, I-” May trailed off as she took a closer look at the walls.

Several of what she thought were rocks moved slightly at their conversation, shifting slightly closer to each other. Some towards the bottom were smooth, some holding on towards the top were lumpy...

May swallowed down a lump in her throat at the fact that three towards the back of the chamber were spiky.

“What-”

May shushed the tall man before reaching down to her belt and grabbing Leshy’s ball. The various Pokémon hadn’t outwardly reacted yet, but better to be safe than-

They were all shivering.

May lifted her hand up to stop Wayne as he pulled out a pair of poke balls. “Hold up.”

Leshy formed just to her right. “Ivy?” He tilted his head before looking towards the cave. “Saur.”

“Leshy, could you let loose a very VERY low power Razor Leaf and pile them up in the center?” May asked.

Leshy tilted his head to the side before nodding. ‘Always the bleeding heart.’

‘What’s going on?’ Samie poked his head out from below ground again. ‘Why is mom attacking the ground.’

“Samie, I need you to dig up to the top of the cave and make holes in the ceiling that lead outside. We aren’t that far from the entrance and this cave isn’t that tall, so it should be a fairly short trip,” May whispered as the first set of leaves formed on the cave floor.

Samie just nodded before diving underground again.

Wally slowly moved further in, before leaning up close to May’s ear. “What are you doing?”

“They’re freezing. I wanted to give them a fire to warm up next to,” May said.

Wally looked back towards the cave walls before nodding. “I’ll have Gawain grab Samie when he falls out of the ceiling.”

May blanched slightly. “I, uh. Didn’t think about that.”

“Pinch!” The orange gremlin in question fell from the ceiling like a stone before stopping in midair, his jaw slack as he whipped his head around to look at everyone. ‘Again, again!’

“Honestly wouldn’t be a bad idea, you’ll probably want a couple of ventilation shafts.” Wally looked up towards the ceiling and grinned as Samie dived down again the second his feet touched the ground. “Excitable little guy.” He shot me a teasing grin. “Mom, huh?”

May blushed. “Who am I to tell him what to call me?”

Wayne leaned forward and rubbed May’s hair. “I think it’s adorable. I-”

“Slash.” The word was spoken calmly, but the stance was anything but friendly as the largest of the three spiky rock creatures hopped down from his spot on the wall and pointed a single clawed hand at them. ‘Who are you?’

May leaned back slightly before sighing as Suzy quickly got between her and the ground type. “Just travelers passing through. Thought I’d offer you a fire to warm up next to for a bit, you seem cold.”

A fine mist extended out from the Sandslash’s mouth. ‘No tricks?’

‘No tricks,’ Gawain replied. ‘Your people could use the warmth, it looks like, and it’s a fairly simple gesture.’ The fairy type stopped talking as he lifted his hand up and caught the ground type out of the air again.

The Sandslash relaxed, before nodding. “Slash!”

The cave walls started to move, and May leaned back in shock as dozens of eyes looked down from the walls. That... was a lot more than she was expecting.

‘Is this enough?’ Leshy asked.

May shook her head before glancing down at the decently sized pile of leaves. “Should be. Suzy, light it up with a very weak Ember. We want it to last for a bit.”

Suzy opened her beak and spat out a few fires. The kindling ignited instantly.

‘I thank you, traveler. The caves have been quite cold as of late.’ Sandslash relaxed instantly as the heat washed over his skin.

The Geodude and Sandshrew started to shamble closer towards the flames, hopping down from their spots on the wall.

“It won’t last too long, unfortunately. Leaves burn quickly, but it’s better than nothing.” Wally walked forward and smiled at the spiny Pokémon.

‘Meh, now that we have a fire going, I can have a few of the Makuhita venture out to grab firewood.’ Sandslash turned and nodded towards one of the smaller Sandslash, who sighed before going deeper into the cave. ‘Those idiots don’t seem to mind the cold as much. Still, though. It’s rare we get human travelers anymore. Looking for something specific.’ A hint of steel creeped into his voice as the final words left his mouth.

“Yeah, but not a Pokémon. Don’t worry. We’re looking for another human. Probably about Wally’s height, dark silver hair, might exude enough power to flatten this entire cave system if you pissed him off,” Wayne explained.

Sandslash winced. ‘Ah, him. A few of my younglings were stupid enough to pick a fight with him. I’m happy he was benevolent enough to let them off with a minor beatdown.’ Sandslash pointed towards the cave at the far end of the chamber. ‘Last I saw, he went down that chamber.’

Jasmine brightened before jogging forward. “Sweet, thanks!”

Sandslash moved to stand in front of her, blocking her path. ‘I’m perfectly content to allow you passage, though I ask that you take a moment to enjoy your own creation, maybe stoke the flames until the bruisers get back with wood.’

Jasmine backed away from the ground type slowly before almost tripping over a Geodude. “I suppose we can stay for a bit.”

“Jasmine, I don’t think you have to worry too much about the big scary Sandslash. Calm down.” Wayne walked over and wrapped his arm around Jasmine’s shoulders.

May nodded towards the large ground type before glancing down at her Pokémon. “You guys good to make sure the fire keeps going for a bit?”

Suzy leaned back, her beak pulled tight in a sneer. ‘Little flames like that? Child’s play.’

‘I suppose I can tough out this cold if we’re near a fire, and it’s been a bit since I’ve been out for something other than a fight.’ Leshy narrowed his eyes at his trainer.

“You’re the one that complained about the cold during training,” May said.

Leshy sighed before moving closer to the fire and letting a few leaves out to burn. ‘Guess I lose most of my right to complain, huh? Meh, that’s never stopped me before. It’s cold out here, but the ball is boring.’

“Noted. I’m counting on you two to keep the fire going for a bit, alright?” May smiled down at the two as they nodded.

‘Thank you. This cold air isn’t entirely new to this cave, but this is the first time it’s ventured this far up.’ The group of Pokémon scrambled out of the way as the large Sandslash walked forward and gazed into the flickering flames. ‘Is the island in a similar state?’

“Yeah, the cold front’s been... not fun.” Wally crouched down before sitting down on the ground. “Samie was right, that’s really cold.”

Sandslash chuckled. ‘If you think that’s bad, try digging through the stuff. It’s a miracle none of the babes born in the last few days bore white skin, though at the rate we’re going, it’s only a matter of time.’

May instantly leaned forward. “White skin?”

‘A quirk of my line’s genetics. Those born to a frigid environment adapt to the world around them and change.’ Sandslash turned away from the fire and grinned at her. ‘In fact, if you go further in, you’ll run into a few. Descendants of a group of Sandshrew that retreated to the colder parts of the chamber to escape predators.’ Sandslash chuckled. ‘Smart bunch, honestly, though for some reason, I’ve never seen a member of their tribe evolve. It’s the only reason I’m worried about the cold.’

May frowned. “They probably won’t unless you can find Ice Stones in the cave somewhere. Alolan Sandshrew, that’s what the research community calls white-skinned Sandshrew, evolve when exposed to that.”

Sandslash turned and stared into May’s eyes, his eyes widening as a smile pulled at his lips. ‘Well then, that’s good to know. It is possible, at least. Thank you. Back to the matter at hand, though. You say the island has also started to cool down?’ He shook his head. ‘Mildly worrying, but I suppose that explains why my home is so inhospitable.’

“You said the caves get colder deeper down. Any reason why?” Jasmine asked.

Sandshrew shook his head. ‘Near as I can see, it only really happens around the Ancient Basin. Whole place down there is weird, honestly. Too cold for me and my ilk to do much exploring. The Frostclaw tribe would be the better group to ask.’

Jasmine bit her lower lip before sighing. “Yeah, guess that checks out. You guys aren’t exactly equipped for the cold.”

‘I’m surprised to see you lot doing so well. The islanders that I know are complete babies if you throw any kind of cold air at them.’ Sandslash started to chuckle.

A pair of fat, yellow blobs with boxing gloves filed out towards the group as they brought in an entire log over their shoulders.

That was a hell of a lot of firewood.

Sandslash groaned before rising up to his full height. ‘I told you to bring wood for a fire, not chop down a tree. What the hell am I supposed to do with this?’

The fighting types looked towards each other, down towards the tree, then back towards each other with a grin. “Hita.” The word came from two mouths at the same damn time. The pair got to work chopping into the tree with their bare hands.

Gloved hands, though the greater research community at large wasn’t quite sure if those gloves aren’t actually just Makuhita’s skin. Leshy launched another salvo of leaves into the fire as they got to work, and Suzy spat out a few more embers to keep the smoldering flame ablaze.

Sandslash sighed before turning back around. ‘Thank you, really. You’ve been quite the help. For payment, please heed my advice and be careful as you plunge further down. The caves have been odd for the last few days, and it’s not just the cold. Chambers are shifting around, hallways that used to lead to nowhere now connect to places that didn’t exist, and the Zubat are more spooked than usual. ’ Sandslash shivered. ‘A few younglings have already gotten lost, so tread carefully.’

Wally hopped to his feet before patting Gawain on the back. “Thank you for your advice, but even if we do get lost, Gawain can get us out.” Wally smiled. “Though honestly, this chamber feels like a good spot to come back to for camp, assuming you don’t mind us imposing on your hospitality.”

Sandslash started laughing. ‘So long as you don’t mind me taking advantage of your Combusken, I take no issue with it. Welcome to the tribe, travelers.’

May nodded before glancing back towards the cave Sandslash pointed out. She swallowed before taking lead, taking note of the much more cautious steps Wayne and Jasmine were taking as they went down.

***

Normal POV

***

Wally’s screen glared back at me as I leaned back in bed, my hair still dripping from what was probably a longer than was healthy shower. Still no messages.

I sighed before letting the phone fall against my chest. They were probably fine, they didn’t leave all that long ago, really. Nothing to worry about.

...May could at least send me pictures of cool rocks or something.

I glanced down at my empty belt before leaning my head back against the pillow, struggling to remember a time I was honestly, truly alone in the last month and a half. My nose curled up at the thought, and I lifted the phone up to check for messages again.

Legend’s above, I really was pathetic. A quiet evening after a long training session was probably a good thing, really. It gave me a chance to unpack things. Absol really was Sol, we were being haunted, my starter passed out if she tried to combine elemental manipulation with Psybeam...

I checked the phone again. Still nothing. “Fuck this.” Swiping up, I quickly locked on to the address book. Half a dozen names popped up that I didn’t recognize, and I slapped my forehead.

“Right, not May’s phone. Oops.” I moved to swipe over to the keypad before freezing as a single name jumped out at me. Specifically, the fact that the name had hearts around it. “Ohhh, Wally, you’re going to have some explaining to do when you get out. I don’t know who Tabitha is, but you’re going to get an earful for not sharing with the class.”

I swiped again and brought up messenger. It didn’t look that bad if I called this soon into the trip if I had a reason, right? Didn’t paint me as desperate?

Who the hell was I kidding here?

“How’s subterranean sleuthing going?” I hit the send button and sighed, rubbing my eyes before snapping to attention at an almost instantaneous reply.

“Thanks for making me money. I knew you would cave first.” What? What the hell did that mean?

Rude. The line was silent for a bit before another message popped up, this one clearly labeled May. “Sorry, Sergei’s working as our light in the darkness, and Wayne got to it before I did. The most exciting thing we’ve found so far is a Sandshrew and Geodude colony. How’s life up top?”

I frowned. “Was the colony friendly, or did you have to crack some skulls?”

May sent a frowny face emoji in response. “We do not crack the skulls, Lea. We lightly cook and put to sleep, get it right. They were really chill once I had Suzy make them a fire. Like I said though, enough about me, how’s training?”

I groaned, before leaning back against the pillow. “Well, Joern’s still having issues with Knock Off. He’s not having much trouble pulling the energy, but he’s struggling with pushing it out and using it offensively. The attacks just look and act like normal punches.”

The line stayed quiet for a bit, with no indication that someone was typing on the other end.

I frowned before typing out the next message. “Lucas had been working on improving his speed, though he’s kind of hitting a brick wall. He knows he can move faster, but he doesn’t know how, and it’s bothering him enough that he’s not making as many puns as usual. Apollo’s doing the same, and the fact that he can’t move as fast as he once did is driving him nuts.”

I sighed, wondering if it’d be better to lean into boosting his ranged options more. He was still fast enough to play keep away, and his Air Cutter got way more bad ass now that he’s evolved. Joern could take a break from Knock Off to help him learn Water Pulse. Maybe we could dive into improving Air Cutter into Air Slash...

“Apollo does know he won’t ever be quite as fast, right? It’s less a skill issue and more a biological one, his body isn’t as aerodynamic as it was before,” May messaged.

I smiled. “Yeah, you more or less just echoed my thoughts, I’m probably going to work on going in a slightly different direction soon. Emilie knocked herself out when she tried to combine Psybeam with her elemental manipulation.” I sighed thinking about the little weeb. The fact that she charged the attack like a freaking Kamehameha still made me laugh. “Tell Gawain thanks for that, by the way. She’s been super excited all morning.”

When she wasn’t worried about Sol being a general menace to society and me being able to see ghosts.

“You are quite welcome, your grace. It was my honor to pass along that information to the princess.” Well, nice to know Gawain’s doing good.

“Sorry, Gawain got excited. Maybe tell Emilie to not push herself that hard,” May messaged.

I giggled. “Can do. I’m at the center right now getting everyone looked over.” I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. “I uh, don’t suppose you could send me Eve’s number? Wally doesn’t have it in his address book, and I forgot it.”

“Stay out of my contacts.” That message popped up fast, damn.

I smirked. “What’s wrong Wally, worried I’ll tell them about Tabitha?”

The line went quiet for a bit before a single ten digit message popped up on the screen, followed by a message from Jasmine. “May and Wally are a bit tied up right now, so here you go. Though why you couldn’t find your sister on messenger I don’t know.”

A laugh bubbled up at the thought. Eve? Use messenger? “My sister still uses a fifty-six k modem for the bakery’s computer.”

Thank fuck that our neighbors never changed their wifi password.

“Understood, I am so sorry,” Jasmine messaged.

“Right, tell the idiots that I’m glad they’re having fun, would you?” I asked.

“Can do, take it easy. Don’t spend all your time training, okay?” Jasmine messaged.

I smiled, before tapping on the number she sent me and saving it to contacts. Let’s see here. Ring once, twice...

“Hello, thank you for calling. ‘Eve Sakai’ is not-” I swiped through the red end call button.

Why am I not surprised she doesn’t have a personalized message for her voice mail? I groaned as I pulled myself up and crouched over the phone, glaring at the screen before letting my eyes flicker to the bracelet on my left wrist.

Setting the phone down on the end table, I sighed before pulling the stupid thing off and twirling it around on my finger. I honestly don’t know why I wore the damn thing all the time. Not like I actually have the damn mega stone to go with it. Not like the hunk of metal looked nice. At all.

Guess it was too much to hope that Dad would’ve cared about looking stylish.

Legends above, being alone gave me way too much time to think. I already have enough to worry about with Sol and ghost dad, I didn’t need to add dealing with my own daddy issues on top of that.

Fuck, that was going to be an awkward conversation. I still needed to figure out how the hell to talk to her about that without being called a sideshow act and a fake. She should be grateful, really! How many people have someone love them so much they tough it out through fucking dying?

...I wouldn’t be doing much better if someone told me they could patch me through to talk to the old man, would I? Not like he’d stick around, the prick.

A loud buzzing pulled me from my thoughts, and I grabbed the phone without even checking the ID. “Hey Eve, sorry, Sergei’s with May right now and I’m using another friend’s phone, I just wanted to talk-”

The deep chuckling that came from the other end of the line made my face heat up as I realized this was not, in fact, Eve.

“I suppose that answers the first two questions I had in ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Why do you have my nephew’s phone?’, though now I find myself wondering about your name.” The voice on the other end of the line was light and airy, despite its deep tones.

“Uh, Lea. Sorry, guess I should check the caller ID. I just called my sister, and it went to voicemail, so I just assumed, and I’m just going to hang up now. I am so sorry.” Could this bed just swallow me up please?

“No, no, there’s no need for that. I’m quite content to talk with one of my nephew’s friends, though I could have sworn he said your name was Shizuka...” he trailed off. “No matter. Lee, was it? How are you today?”

“I, uh. It’s Lea, not Lee. I suppose I’m doing alright. Thanks. I’m guessing you’re Wally’s genius uncle that I’ve heard so much about? The genius that works for a member of the elite four?” Why did my mouth feel so dry all of a sudden?

A loud laugh sounded from the other end of the line. “Hah, I suppose that word works, but I think Wally’s the only one that calls me that. Everyone at the office calls me a mad doctor, though if you would, I quite prefer Walter to all of them.”

“Right, well Wally’s currently spelunking in the caves with a few friends. They’ll probably be gone for a few days. I don’t really have a phone, so-”

“My nephew left you his.” A sigh echoed through the line. “I suppose that’s fair, though I wish he called and told me that before he went down. I wanted to check up with him to see how his suit was doing.”

I got up from bed and started to walk in front of the bed, a smile on my face. “I’m honestly more inclined to agree with Wally, that thing’s incredible. I have no clue how you threw it together in less than a week.”

“He hasn’t had any issues? Good, good. I was a bit worried the mechanisms that controlled the mouth plate wouldn’t work for meals. He left in quite the hurry, and we didn’t get a chance to test certain features.” A sigh sounded out through the line. “Getting that boy to pick up the phone is a chore sometimes, I swear. What is it about teenagers that make them not want to talk to their parents?”

I paused at the choice in words, before deciding to push past and ignore it. “Couldn’t tell you, I talk to Eve all the time.”

“I guess I’m just unlucky then.” The line went quiet but for the faint sound of papers rustling on a desk.

I shuffled in place awkwardly. Was he expecting me to say something? “Uh, sorry about that, by the way.”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t worry dear, I’m quite used to it. Young people don’t want to talk to old people, I think it’s just a fact of life,” Walter said.

“Er, not about that. I’m probably the reason Wally left in a hurry, I just got out of the hospital recently. Wally came to make sure I was okay.” I shuffled awkwardly in place.

A snort sounded over the phone. “My dear, it’s hardly your fault that you got hurt. Still though, I’m quite happy my nephew has someone he values so highly to drop everything to go see.” The last few words lilted upwards suggestively.

“I’m happily in a relationship with my girlfriend, May.” I stressed the word girl in that sentence.

“Of course you-” The line went silent, and it almost sounded like Walter was choking on something. “Did you say May?”

The light airy tone was gone, replaced with a severe gravity that made me take a step away from the phone. Was I still talking to the same person?

“Y-yes?” The line went silent again. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, it’s just that the world is far, FAR smaller than it has any right to be.” A loud sigh echoed through the speaker. “Still though, I’m happy May found her courage to take the plunge, she was in quite the state when I talked to her in that hospital room, for more than one reason.”

“Huh?” I asked.

“I sat with May in the waiting room for a bit. Helped calm her down, talked her through a few panic attacks, and offered a bit of life advice. I’m happy to see she took it, and even happier that you seem to have pulled through. You’re a nice girl.” Walter sounded pained as the words left his mouth.

My eyes widened. “Wait, you’re the weirdo from the waiting room?”

A choking sound once again flitted out of the speaker. “Laura, please. Weirdo is my least favorite nickname.”

“Oh, sorry, I say things without thinking sometimes. My filter really isn’t the best. Still though, May talks about you a lot. She used the same trick you did with her to pull me out of my episodes when I still had them.” I shivered.

Walter stayed quiet for a bit. “I suppose the incident that left you hospitalized-”

“Happened underground.” I finished. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel the same crawling sensation when I talked about it this time. That was a good thing, right? An improvement?

“Right, uh, I guess I should apologize this time for bringing it up, eh Leanne?” Walter asked.

“Don't worry about it, I’m getting better, and I feel like I can talk about stuff again.” That was close enough to the truth, right? “And it’s Lea.”

“Oh? Yes, of course, dear.” Walter chuckled lightly into the phone. “Oh, does the poke center cafeteria in Dewford still have those deep fried pickle chips? Those were always my favorite when I visited the area.”

I couldn’t tell if he was being senile, or I was being fucked with.

Yes. The answer was probably yes.

“I can’t say that I’ve checked, Walter.” I sighed before a random thought brought an evil smile to my lips. “Hey, Walter, could you tell me who Tabitha is?”

“Oh, has Wally mentioned her? She’s my personal assistant down at the labs, though I’ve all but adopted the poor girl.” The line went quiet for a moment. “She’s around the house all the time, usually making sure I stay on task and not off scaring the village people.” Walter’s voice sounded annoyed towards the end of the sentence. “She spoils all my fun, Lyna.”

“Sounds like she has a very tough job.” I giggled a bit at the whine that sounded from the other end of the line. “Out of idle curiosity, how old is she?”

“Oh, she’s actually only twenty. Now you want to talk about geniuses, that girl has brains in spades. It amazes me that she can keep up with my ramblings and aid in our experiments at such a young age.” The pride that filled Walter’s voice made me smile. “Ugh, the fact that the ass hats that had her before couldn’t see her potential baffles me to this day, honestly, Lea, some people shouldn’t be allowed to have children.”

I winced, not expecting the sudden rush of information on someone I had never met.

A coughing fit assaulted my ears. “Ah, I’ve said too much again. Sorry. Why do you ask? If you don't mind my asking.”

I grinned again. Time to return the favor for Wally’s wingman services. “Well, Walter, if you’re eager to try and fix Wally up with someone, I’ve got a bit of a secret to share with you...”

Chapter Text

Walter’s POV

***

Walter smiled as he sat the transceiver back down on the hook and leaned back in his office chair, swiveling to the side as he slowly let loose the breath he’d been holding. Tabitha might tease him for still having this relic, but the damn thing still patched calls through just fine, and quite frankly, he missed the force of hanging up on someone, where appropriate.

Ah, truly, Wally had found some wonderful friends. Blunt, but wonderful. Honestly, Walter could appreciate that approach at this age. Looking back, it felt like he wasted so much time playing games with his late wife that could have been spent more productively. More candlelit dinners atop the Astral Plaza in Mauville, another raft ride through Pacifidlog’s Shipping Canal, a moonlit walk through the piers in Lilycove...

Yes, the direct approach truly was the best. Win or lose, at least you didn’t waste time.

Honestly, considering it took her almost dying to push through the fog of early teen romance, Walter was a bit surprised. She was the genius if she figured out that lesson in a few months. It took him a couple years to find his balls.

His research and plans almost killed and traumatized one of his nephew’s closest friends.

He pushed himself up from his mahogany desk, littered with random research papers from the last few days' test results and walked over to his safe. Let’s see, what passcode was this one? Why was he suddenly craving dessert? Oh, right. Three one four one five nine and...

Eureka.

Walter reached inside the safe and dragged out his scrapbook. He opened it to the last page and placed his hand over the image. A family photo. His wife. His son.

So many empty pages...

Just because this hit close to home didn’t mean the course could change. Far too much had been set in motion, and so many things still needed to be done. The world needed to change. The current state of affairs was untenable, especially considering the oncoming crisis the world would face.

And should this path also grant him the revenge he had been craving, well, who was he to stand in the way of fate?

They could be a bit more careful with collateral, though. Those two honestly shouldn’t have cleared the screening phase; even if they did respond rather well with the compound, they were warped before they were ever even exposed to the orb.

Walter flicked back through the years. Expanded birthday parties with Wesly and his side of the family, his nephew attempting to blow out his candles only to fall face first into the cake, Tabitha’s first day as his assistant in their old shack of a private lab...

His son bringing a cold, lonely girl in from the cold and offering her a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket after a far too harsh life.

Ah. That’s why he thought the girl was named Shizuka.

Walter gingerly snapped the book closed and put it back in his safe before reaching further in and pulling out one of the burner phones. His eyes lingered on the photo album for a short bit, until finally, he reached up and gently closed the safe. A soft click sounded as he turned and walked over towards his shelves, his eyes trained on a small black box as he pounded in a familiar number.

The line rang twice before an audible click sounded through the speaker. “Please tell me you remembered to use the burner this time?”

That was decidedly rude. “Hm, why would I need a burner for a phone call? I’m not making tea.”

“Wal-”

“I did however grab the phone from the safe like you told me too.” Walter grinned at the audible groan that sounded through the line.

“Right, good. That’s good. Are things alright in the lab? I know you’ve been having a few issues with some of the more recent test subjects.” Zinnia’s voice progressively got faster the longer she talked.

“Remember to breathe, dear. I’m fine. Don’t let my assist-”

“Code names!” Zinnia shouted.

Walter leaned away from the speaker. “We’re on a private line on burner phones, why do I... ugh, fine. Agent Caldera was referring to this pair’s penchant for finding and controlling humans, not any sort of physical threat they might have posed. I assure you, Greavard would’ve been able to handle it if anything went wrong.” He gulped down a fresh set of bile as the video the observation drones took played out through his head again. “We’re fine.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Good.” The word was spoken softly into the receiver. “I’m glad.”

“You know, you can just swing by and visit. I still have that blend of cocoa you like.” Walter smiled. “Tab-”

“Ah ah ah ah,” Zinnia said.

Walter sighed into the phone. “Agent Caldera would love to have you.” Every word felt like an assault to his higher brain function. “You do know I’m doing good to remember everyone’s regular name, right? Now you expect me to remember all the fake ones?”

“Heaphaestus-”

“And the fact that you picked that for my name doesn’t help matters!” Walter growled into the phone to the sound of giggling.

“We both know your mind is impeccable, so quit trying to downplay it.” Zinnia paused. “Agent Caldera is living proof of that, after all.”

She would mention that. “Yes, well I need to have a bit of fun here and there, and you’re avoiding the question.”

The line went quiet again. “I don’t think it’d be right of me to visit.”

Walter sighed. “Just remember the invitation is there. Regardless. I suppose I should move on to the actual reasons that I called you.” Walter let his words hang for a moment as he stood up straighter. “Are you currently on assignment?”

“I’m idle.” Zinnia spat the final word like it insulted her. “Kahuna hasn’t had anything for me to do since the runaway. You’d think he’d send his strongest agent on something other than babysitting and catching strays.”

“It’s not like much is going on. We need Archie to sow a bit more chaos if we want to sell Magma as an option for the league.” Walter sighed into the receiver. “Here’s hoping he knows where the lines are.”

“I know that, but it’s so boring,” Zinnia groaned; the sound reminiscent to a five-year-old being denied her favorite toy. “You’d think this base would have more cool shit to do, considering where it is.”

“Well, what I’m about to ask you isn’t quite that interesting, but it’ll get you out of the base. Would you be more interested in babysitting my nephew and his friends than the new recruits?” Walter asked.

“Is Wally okay?” The earlier playfulness that had highlighted Zinnia’s earlier speech disappeared.

“He’s fine, dear. Don’t worry.” Walter sighed. “His friends however, got caught up in the most recent failed run of Project Primal.” Walter let the information hang for a moment.

“Ah,” Zinnia replied. “Was-”

“Yes, it was bad.” Walter paced in front of his desk. “I don’t feel like going into specifics. Just know that the girl was recently released from the hospital.”

“Got it.” The two words came out clipped. “You know... we do have other projects if you feel the need to take a break from this one. I know-”

“This is easily the most important on the docket!” Walter felt his voice get louder as he went. “We need to understand how the orb affects those it infects, and how to counteract it if we hope to use them in the future. Our ability to manipulate those capricious entities is paramount to our survival.” Walter again felt a bit of bile rise in his throat as he remembered back to the first time someone took hold of that shining red orb. The madness, the mutations, the pain...

These foul baubles had ruined his life. They would be mastered and subjugated, no matter what.

“Of course,” Zinnia whispered into the phone. “Sorry.”

Walter winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.” The line remained silent. “I’ll say it as many times as needed, my dear. I don’t blame you.”

“You should,” Zinnia said. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d have a family.”

“Poppycock.” Walter felt his lips pull downward. “The gods saw fit to rob me of my family, not you. They’ll pay quite dearly for that, believe me, but you share none of the blame.” Walter chuckled. “Besides, your Salamence is living proof that the Orb’s aura of influence can be fought off and controlled. I’ll crack these things, don’t worry.”

“Right,” Zinnia said quietly. “I’ll be babysitting some new trainers from afar, then?”

“Correct, there’s no one I trust more to watch over them. Hell, you might even consider this a vacation, considering where it’s at.” Walter smiled.

“Vacation?” Zinnia asked.

Walter leaned up against his desk and looked towards his globe. “My nephew’s still in Dewford. Make sure you pack a bathing suit, my dear.”

***

Normal POV

***

I glanced down at Wally’s phone and sighed. Still no call back from Eve. She didn’t know how to set up a call filter. I know she didn’t, so she should be getting these. I sighed again before typing out to call me back at this number when she had a moment, hoping she might actually check her messages at some point, and pushed myself up out of bed.

Dark skies greeted me from beyond my windows. Fuck, guess I was on the phone a lot longer than I thought. So much for getting more training knocked out today.

I stretched before leaving the room, swiping over to Wally’s saved photos. Let’s see here, do you have any...

I should stop, shouldn’t I?

I sighed before closing the folder, my eyes tracing a tall woman with long dark hair in a white lab coat before the main screen popped up. The contact book was just me being an idiot, but this felt a bit too intrusive.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket. I wasn’t about to apologize for pushing the envelope a bit with Tabitha, Wally needed to get out of his shell a bit, but I needed to not go full crazy.

Even if Wally sent us on the couple’s cruise from hell.

“Oh, good, I was about to come and get you,” Nurse Joy called out, pulling me from my musings as I entered the lobby.

I quickly walked over to the counter. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine, you were just gone for quite a while. You usually pick up your team as soon as they’re ready, so... I got a bit concerned.” Nurse Joy nodded down at the tray.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I got lost in a conversation on the phone and time got away from me.” I reached down and started placing the balls on my belt, before stopping. “Eh?”

Nurse Joy tilted her head down before wincing. “Oh, right. Your Lombre went back to the training ground we have here once he was done with treatment.”

I sighed. “Yeah, that sounds like him. Everyone’s good, then?”

Nurse Joy nodded. “The Absol was quite a bit nicer this time. Good work. Chansey only had to glare at her for a couple of seconds to get her to mind.”

A low powered, evil aura radiated from the Joy as she closed her eyes and smiled at me. The ball currently in my hand shook a few times, and I quickly snatched it back and retreated from the desk.

“Thank you again for all your help.” The words spilled from my mouth so fast I was surprised they were still coherent. The last image I had of the nurse was of her opening her eyes and tilting her head at me as I booked it.

A light exploded from my belt, and I adjusted myself to account for the weight on my shoulder.

“Took you long enough.” Emilie tapped her foot against my shoulder. “You were making fun of me over the phone, weren’t you?”

I sighed. “Emilie, I’m not going to make fun of you behind your back, that’s rude. I’d do it to your face, so I can enjoy the scandalized expressions you make.”

Emilie smiled, then frowned, then sighed. “Thank you? I think?”

“Besides, every Shonen weeb on the planet’s done that at least once. You just get bonus points for actually firing a giant fuck you beam when you do it.” I poked her in the forehead and grinned as her white skin became red, before aiming a finger gun at her. “Will you be trying the Psygun next?”

“Shut up.” Emilie pouted before turning away from me.

I smiled up at her before wincing at the cold night air. The sand between my toes felt frigid and coarse as I made my way through the beach that the center called a training ground. “If I shut up, I can’t tell you about the fun new gossip I found out while you guys were getting looked over.”

Emilie shivered before glaring at me. “You complain about me peeking in on random strangers' emotions but love to talk about other people’s business. You do see the double standard here, right?”

I winced. “Yeah, I kind of went a bit overboard too, and snooped around in Wally’s photo album. I’ll apologize when he gets out.” I sighed as a loud thunking sound met my ears. “Do you not want the gossip?”

“I didn’t say that. I was just giving you shit. I’m an unrepentant snoop, so spill.” Emilie leaned in closer to my face as the final words left her mouth.

I leaned away from the little gremlin. “Wally’s got a crush on someone at his uncle’s job. Legends above would you calm down?”

Emilie froze, before shivering slightly.

I frowned, wondering if I needed to ask May for some money to get my starter a coat. “Is the cold really-”

“Eeeeeeeee!” A horrifying screech left my starter’s lips as she started jumping up and down. Stars formed in her eyes as she gazed up at me with a smile so wide I was worried her face would split in two. “I get to play matchmaker again!”

A crack filled the night air. The two of us stopped and instantly turned our heads towards the source of the sound and I leaned back at the sight.

A training post had been snapped in half, its top section shattered and broken. Joern glared at the offending piece of wood as he took in deep, haggard breaths, his arm glowing black in the dimly lit clearing under the pale night sky.

“Well done. I’m happy to see-”

‘I didn’t do it right,’ Joern growled out as he shifted his glare from the post to me. ‘I just got mad and put more oomph into that swing than I should have.’

I winced. “Right, sorry.”

Emilie tilted her head. “Are you sure you didn’t do it right? That looks a lot like how the video described Knock Off.”

Joern lifted himself up as the black aura faded from his outstretched fist. ‘I already know Nuzleaf would take one look at that and laugh, the prick.’

I leaned back with widened eyes. Honestly, this whole scene felt weird. Out of all of us, Joern was the most levelheaded. “Are you alright?”

Joern sighed. ‘I’m fine, promise. It’s just,’ Joern looked down, glaring at the splintered remains of the training post. ‘The head space this move puts me in isn’t the best.’

“Do you want to stop? We can switch to something else if you want. Honestly, we almost took it down the first time, we’ll probably crush the gym on our next-”

‘I want to master this.’ Joern cut me off with a steeled gaze, his face blank and shadowed as he lifted his arm up and clenched his fist. ‘Having a trump card against a Psychic opponent... I need something like that.’

“Not planning on taking me out at some point, are you?” Emilie joked.

Joern sighed, before grinning malevolently at my starter.

“Are you?” Emilie’s tone was no longer joking.

I walked forward and bumped Joern in the forehead. “Don’t pretend to plot Emilie’s demise. She gets paranoid and then I’m up half the night telling her to calm down.”

Joern rubbed his head. ‘Killjoy.’

“Now then, walk me through the process on how the hell you use a dark type move. I’m... not really that knowledgeable on the subject.” I glanced down at the pocket that held my ‘pokedex’ with a glare.

Joern shuffled awkwardly in place, looking everywhere but my face. ‘In order to call on the void, I need to think of negative thoughts while channeling an intent to harm. I push the attack out by overcoming those negative thoughts.’

“Uhhhhh-huh.” I dragged the word out as I inched closer towards the retreating grass type, his face pulled into a wince as I brought my arm up and pulled him into a noogie.

“Just so we’re clear, when exactly were you going to tell me you were torturing yourself to channel your new mojo!” I all but shouted into his ear.

‘Not the leaf, not the leaf! You have no idea how much that chafes!’ Joern cried out, his words muffled against my arm.

A new light exploded from my belt, and Joern hopped away instantly as I reached down and grabbed for the poke ball the second the white light faded to white fur. Joern instantly jumped in front of me.

A grin pulled at Sol’s lips, but her eyes looked bored as she took in our appearance. ‘Huh, chilly reception. Not as down to sing kumbayah around the campfire with me as you were the halfwit sword?’

‘You didn’t lock her ball again!’ Emilie hissed in my mind.

‘I didn’t feel the need,’ I replied, before swallowing and focusing my gaze on the Sol. “Well, running down the list, you did storm off, call me a fraud, attack one of my Pokémon-”

‘And that’s just today,’ Joern hissed. ‘You’ll forgive us if we don’t think you’re on the up and up.’

Sol sighed, her lips pulling down as she glanced towards another of my poke balls. She waited for a second, only for nothing to happen. ‘Yeah, that’s fair.’

I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me. “Did you want something?”

Sol glanced up towards me before glaring at Joern. ‘Who taught you how to channel the void?’

Joern remained tight lipped, his gaze stony as he dug his foot into the sand.

Sol sighed. ‘Meh, doesn’t really matter too much. He was a shit instructor.’

‘Feh, I could have told you that. Idiot’s got a few screws loose.’ Joern chuckled before throwing both hands over his mouth, his eyes wide as he resumed his stance and sent a glare back towards Sol.

‘Oh no, the demon child made me laugh, whatever will I do?’ Sol grinned as she took a couple steps forward.

Joern lifted both his hands up and charged a single ball of water between his palms. ‘Back off.’

Sol looked up towards the moon and groaned. ‘My ball’s been unlocked for forever, if I wanted to do something, I would have done it by now.’

“That’s just what you want us to think.” Emilie narrowed her eyes.

I groaned as my world view well and truly shattered. The title ‘trainer’ may as well just be read as fucking babysitter. “For fuck’s sake, Emilie, Joern calm down. Sol, quit being a smart ass and spit it out already!”

Sol leaned back with wide eyes, before looking towards the ground with a frown. Joern shot me a look of abject betrayal as Emilie face palmed before lifting her hands up. A sand wall formed around me, stopping just around my neck. I glared at my starter who just smiled sweetly at me.

“I’m just making sure you’re safe. Not my fault you’re way too trusting,” Emilie said.

Joern nodded along, his arms crossed.

‘Anyway,’ Sol shouted over the lot of us and looked up at me with a grin.

She had something to say about this. I know she did, Eve gets the same look when she’s pretending to be nice!

‘The idiot that taught you threw you off the deep end without teaching you how to swim. You don’t even attempt to channel the void till you have a firm grasp on your own purpose. You need a buoy, or you’ll drown.’ Sol’s horn glowed, shining a black light on her face that highlighted her sneer. She sighed as Joern once again got between me and her. She whipped her head towards the far side of the training ground.

Nothing happened.

Sol’s eyes widened as her pupils traced upwards towards her horn. A small click sounded through the area as the Absol snapped her mouth shut and glared up into the sky, the light from her horn fading.

“Performance anxiety?” Emilie grinned down at the dark type.

‘Shut up!’ Sol snarled. ‘Ugh, I don’t know why I’m bothering.’

Another light exploded from my belt, arching up and over Emilie’s makeshift sand barrier. Storm clouds briefly formed overhead before dispersing back into a clear night sky as Apollo flew up into a palm tree and glanced down at Sol.

Apollo’s stern gaze met Sol’s withering glare with confidence, and they held each other’s focus for a while under the crescent moon. Sol looked away first.

‘Who are you, and why do you fight?’ Sol asked, glancing up at Joern.

Joern paused, tilting his head to the side. ‘If you’re speaking of a guiding purpose, then my teacher explained that as well, I just don’t understand how one-’

‘Answer the damn question,’ Sol shouted.

Joern tilted his head the other way before glancing up at me, then shifting his gaze up towards Apollo. He sighed. ‘My name is Joern, and I fight for my trainer.’

I glanced toward my water type with a smile, before sighing. I really needed to get my team some more hobbies besides battles and anime, or I was going to get a lot more corny lines like that, huh?

Sol sneered. ‘Liar.’

Joern’s confused look shifted towards a glare. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Is that really all you are? Honestly? Kind of pathetic, really, if that’s the case. I asked you who you are, and you give me that lame ass answer. ’ Sol sneered down at Joern.

Joern frowned, before narrowing his eyes.

Sol sighed. ‘So, to clarify, you’d be okay if I bull rushed the chibi and made her a chew toy? She’s not part of your purpose, right?’

“I’d like to see you try, dog breath!” Emilie lifted her hands up again and sand started to swirl around her.

Joern chuckled before stealing his gaze. ‘As much as I think Emilie can take care of herself, I wouldn’t let you get close.’

‘Yet not but a few minutes ago, you said with such conviction that your purpose was your trainer.’ Sol tilted her head.

‘Fine, my name is Joern, and I fight for my friends.’ Joern shot me a mischievous grin at the line.

Damn it, May. Quit telling my Pokémon about your nerdy tactical jrpgs.

‘Gag. Take this seriously, leaf,’ Sol snarled. ‘If you’re about to feed me that line, it’s no wonder you can’t use the void right. Is that ALL you are? A shield? Surely, you’re not so pathetically one note? So passive and weak?’

Joern instantly narrowed his eyes at the barb. ‘Say again, Ass Hat?’

I facepalmed. ‘Please don’t tell me I sound like that when I say that?’

Emilie just smiled at me before turning back to glare at the dark type.

Sol grinned. ‘That’s it, isn’t it. You can’t give me a good answer because you hate the answer. You’re weak. A small little tadpole far from home.’

‘Cram it,’ Joern snarled, his arms glowing black as he glared murderously at the dark type in front of us. ‘You-’

‘Would you stop barking? Hell, it’s all you do, that and brood. Can’t even break out of a tiny little ball to protect your ‘purpose.’ Are you actually going to do something for once?’ Sol smiled. ‘Then fucking do it. Quit cowering like a baby, come over here, and make me, little tadpole.’ Sol capped her rant off with a giggle.

A fucking giggle.

That’s it. “Alright, break it up, I-”

A loud, guttural yell sounded out through the clearing, and Joern moved. His body blurred through the clearing, the faint black light emanating from his arm leaving a trail as he glided across the beach.

Sol leaped back as Joern slammed his fist into the ground, the sand exploding outwards as black light carved through the clearing, the essence of the void dancing through the rising dune as it chaotically pushed outwards.

‘I said shut, the fuck, UP!’ Joern screamed. ‘My name is Joern, and I don’t need a damn reason to punt your white furred ass into oblivion. I’m the strongest damn mon in this clearing. I took a Gallade to the mat with no way to deal with his Tauros shit psychic powers and almost fought him to a draw. So go ahead. Call me weak, you pathetic waste of space. See what happens, because I. Am. Strong!’

My jaw refused to work as I stared down at my grass type with slack jawed awe. Where the fuck did that come from? Joern had two moods. Chill and mother hen. THAT didn’t happen. Ever.

The faint sound of sand slamming down into the ground brought me out of my daze and I glanced up at Emilie, who bore a very similar expression to my own, before looking back out across the beach towards Sol.

The damn thing was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Now that’s more like it. Don’t ever forget it, either.’ Sol turned around and started walking out of the clearing. ‘Your purpose is more than what you tell yourself. You’re more than just your desires and wants. You’re strong. Own that, and don’t ever forget it.’

Joern glared after the dark type, still panting heavily as she walked past the trees.

Sol casually flipped her head around and grinned at me. ‘I’m going for a midnight stroll. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to enjoy a night like this, and I intend to take advantage of it.’

I nodded dumbly as she jumped out of the clearing, barely paying attention to the sound of cracking air as my flying type disappeared from his perch after the white furred Pokémon.

Emilie teleported down next to Joern and tapped him on the leg. “You, uh... feeling better now that she’s gone.”

Joern jerked away from the new voice before glancing down. His cheeks flushed bright red. ‘I’m... I don’t know what came over me. I just snapped.’

“I think that was the goal, Joern.” I hadn’t taken my eyes off of the break in the trees Sol had gone through. “She wanted you to go off the handle to help you figure out exactly who you are.” I glanced at the crater in front of Joern and grinned. “I think it’s safe to say it worked.”

Joern flinched before turning and looking down, a small smile playing across his lips. ‘I suppose it did. She kind of just... kept saying the things that played out in my head. It was a lot easier to attack an external force than an internal one.’

Emilie huffed and glanced away. “Kind of a barbaric teaching method. Just picking away at insecurities until something snaps. I’ll never understand dark types. How the hell did she come up with something like that?”

Goosebumps ran up and down my arms as the chill in the air dipped even colder. I crossed my arms and rubbed my sides as a white wisp slowly congealed into something coherent. The white furred specter was glancing down, glaring at the small divot in front of Joern before looking away.

“I think it’s something that you learn, Emilie,” I muttered quietly.

My starter shook her head. “Yeah, well it’s stupid. Teachers are supposed to help you, not make you feel like ass.”

‘I think, in this instance, it was the correct course of action.’ Joern clenched his fist and a faint dark aura glowed in the night sky. ‘I’ll have to practice, though. I’d rather not go off the handle every time I use that move.’

I glanced back out towards the trees and grinned. Apollo was circling an area a decent distance away, and I could hear a faint call across the treetops.

“It alright if we wait on that till tomorrow morning? I think I need to have a bit of a talk with someone, and it’s already getting late.” A loud growl punctuated the end of my sentence, and I glanced down at my stomach with a blush. “And I'm a little hungry. I might have accidentally skipped dinner.”

Joern chuckled before nodding. I lifted up his ball and recalled him, before glancing up at Emilie.

“What?” she asked.

I sighed before rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Don’t what me. I’m going to have a conversation with a grumpy dark type. I need you to... not poke the bear. For once in your life.”

“I thought she was a cat?” Emilie tilted her head with a grin.

“Emilie!” I shouted. “Please? I know you don’t like her, but I think she’s trying.”

Emilie narrowed her eyes.

“I know it doesn’t look like it, but she is. It just takes a while to lose that prickliness once it settles in.” I frowned and looked away as bad memories played out in my head. “She wants to be better, so I want to help. It’s not going to happen if we call her an evil psychopath twenty four seven.”

Emilie winced, though rather than nod, she instead looked away with a pinched brow. “I don’t know if I can bring myself to be nice honestly. I don’t think she’s earned that, yet. I can, however, promise to keep my mouth shut. Will that be good enough?”

I nodded. “I’ll take what I can get.” I smiled softly at my starter. “Thanks.”

Emilie groaned. “Yeah, well. Ugh. I swear, the fairy half of my brain is fucking bipolar. I can’t tell if I owe her a debt, or if she owes us one.”

“Probably doesn’t help that she doesn’t make it easy.” I looked away and glanced at the ground as I started walking across the beach. “I guess it’s just... easier for me. I know what I’m looking at.”

Emilie glanced up at me with sad eyes. “I love your sister. At least as she is now. But it wasn’t fair to you if you had to deal with something like this when you were a kid.”

I winced. “It wasn’t fair that she lost both her parents in the span of a day.” I swallowed down a lump that formed in my throat as shouting matches started playing in my head.

“Still sucks though.” Emilie teleported back up to my shoulder.

I opened my mouth to argue more, to defend my sister before wincing at my starter’s glare. I sighed before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, it did.”

The white furred ghost fell in step beside me, his movements not leaving tracks in the sand as he walked. He brushed up against my leg a bit and shot me a smile as I pushed past the tree line, his single good eye glowing with an ethereal haze.

Words appeared in my head of their own accord, in a voice not my own. They were barely audible and at first, I couldn’t understand the repeated whispers.

They became slightly more audible the more I focused on my visitor.

I’m sorry. You’re strong. Thank you.

I grinned before reaching down and running my hand through Absol’s transparent mane, my fingers pushing through his fur. Despite the fact that the air around me felt frigid and bare, my hands felt warm as we pushed deeper into the island.

Chapter Text

Sand quickly changed over to grass and dirt as I pushed past the palm trees and away from the center and the unnatural light it provided. Were it not for the faint ethereal glow emanating from my otherworldly guide and the faint cries of my faithful quartermaster, I’d have probably run into three different palm trees and wound up on the opposite side of the island from my annoying mutt.

May’s mutt. May’s annoying mutt. Legends above I’m going through all this trouble to housebreak her and I don’t even get to keep her.

Meh. The mon was goth bait anyway. The whole aesthetic just screamed emo rock phase and I was so over that look.

I shivered in place before shoving past a large fern and wincing as my bare feet stepped over a few small rocks. “Ow, fuck me.”

Emilie shot me an unimpressed look. “Is there any particular reason you decided barefoot was acceptable hiking ware?”

Now on my ass and rubbing my sore foot, I bit back a curse word as I turned and glared at my starter. “I was on my bed and comfortable when I realized how late it was and didn’t think to throw them on when I came and got you, okay?”

Emilie shook her head and sighed.

I felt my left eye start to twitch. “Look, ordinarily, I’d be willing to play the game a bit before snapping, but it’s late, I haven’t eaten since this morning, I’m tired, and I just stepped on nature’s equivalent to Lego blocks. Either offer a solution to the current issue or cram it.”

Emilie leaned back as I finished my little blow up, only to lose her balance and tip back off my shoulder and slam, headfirst, into the ground. “Oww...”

I winced before looking down. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I'll live. I already miss the beach though. Sand is softer than dirt.” Emilie pulled herself up and rubbed the back of her head. “The perils of being the smartest person on the squad, I suppose. I’m a bit top heavy.”

“Uh-huh.” My tone dropped as I stared at her with listless eyes. “Right. You sure it's not just a giant cinder block up there?”

Emilie tilted her head. “Soooo, you don’t want some nice cushiony sand to walk on the rest of the way.”

“Yes please.” I grinned.

Emilie stared at me expectantly for a minute, before sighing and lifting up her hands. The faint blue glow from her eyes lit up the area before tendrils of sand rushed forward, guiding my eyes toward the phantom that was tapping his foot against the ground.

“Yeah, yeah. We’re coming, calm down.” I shoved myself up to my feet and stepped onto Emilie’s makeshift trail.

Emilie reappeared on my shoulder and focused on the area in front of us. “He’s back?”

“Still can’t see anything?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I can sense that we’re not alone, but... nothing.”

“Well, that’s better than before, at least.” I frowned before jogging forward. “We can worry about it later.”

The squawking was getting louder the deeper we went into the trees, until finally I could look up and see the faint outline of Apollo diving down to greet us, and a grumpy looking Sol lying on the ground.

‘I knew you were a bit thick, but I thought you were at least decent on picking up subtext.’ Sol glared at me before hopping to her feet. ‘Bad enough I had to deal with bird brain bugging me.’

Emilie bristled on my shoulder but held her tongue. I smiled down at her before turning to focus on Apollo as he landed in front of me.

‘Ahoy, Captain. Glad ye could join us.’ Apollo lifted his left wing in salute.

I grinned down at him. “Happy to be here.”

‘Why? Why are you happy to be here? It’s cold, dark, and filled with morons.’ Sol groaned as she got to her feet. ‘Arceus knows I’m not happy you’re here.’

I stared down to look at Apollo, who just grinned.

‘Meh, if the lass actually meant it, we’d be having Shadow Balls chucked at us left and right.’ Apollo chuckled.

Sol growled, and I lifted Apollo’s ball and returned him before he could provoke her further.

The dark type stopped growling and looked at me with a tilted head. ‘Rather brave of you to hang out with the big bad dark type with nothing but the gremlin.’

Emilie’s right eye started to twitch, and I could faintly hear the telltale sound of grinding teeth.

“Meh, Emilie’s strong and you’re not going to do anything bad.” I smiled at Sol.

Sol grinned, showing her canines. ‘You sure about that?’

“Yup,” I popped.

Emilie had both hands raised up as the word left my mouth, and sand started to float around me.

“Apollo trusts that you’re going to be chill, and I trust his judgment. He acts goofy, but he’s good at reading people.” I grinned before looking towards Sol’s dad. “His judgment isn’t the only one I have faith in, either.”

Sol snorted. ‘Right. You’re still trying to sell me this crock of Tauros shit.’

I opened my mouth, before closing it as the ghost slowly shook his head. I glanced back towards Sol and winced.

Her legs were shaking, and the angry glare she was sending my way was quickly being replaced with a frown and glossy eyes.

“Honestly, right now? I just wanted to thank you for helping Joern, even if you did it in the most asshole way possible.” I did my best to ignore the expression and smiled at her. Come on, just navigate the minefield. You’re good at this, you’ve done it before.

‘Feh, as if. Watching that moron flail his arm around like that was getting hard to watch. It was an affront to proper dark type masters, such as myself.’ Sol puffed up her chest, closed her eyes, and tilted her head up into the air.

The specter turned and gave his daughter a blank look, his mouth pulled down into a frown as he looked her up and down. “Sol.”

A chill ran up my spine as I heard him talk in the open for the first time, his voice echoing in the clearing in unnatural ways. Neither Emilie nor Sol reacted as I winced at the sound.

“Some master.” Damn it, Emilie. You were doing so good.

Sol just grinned. ‘This coming from the psychic type that passed out from firing a Psybeam.’

“It wasn’t just a Psybeam, and at least I can fire one off. Let’s see the master fire off a Night Slash. Surely that’s within her skillset.” Emilie leaned forward a bit at the taunt, her lips pulled up in a knowing smirk.

‘I don’t feel the need to show off like you do, little gremli n.’ The smirk never left her face. For a brief moment, an outline of a slightly larger Absol appeared over Sol, and I rubbed my eyes to dispel the illusion.

A pained look now coated the ghost's features, and I realized it wasn’t just me that saw the resemblance.

“Regardless.” I managed to get the word out before Emilie could poke the bear more. “Thank you. This is something he’s been struggling with, and you helped out quite a bit.” I thought back to how desperate Joern was to get at the water stone when I first got out of the hospital. “Probably with more than just the move.”

Sol pulled her nose back and looked away. ‘Ugh, gag. If I say you’re welcome, will you go away? This little anime friendship moment you’re trying to build here is making me nauseous.’

I tilted my head to the side. “You’ve spent most of your life in a cave. How do you know what anime is?”

Ghost dad let loose a whine and ducked his head down. If he had any blood in his body, I’m fairly confident he’d be blushing.

‘That’s none of your business.’ Sol’s cheeks were in fact bright red.

Things suddenly clicked in my head, and I started to giggle. “Awww, did your dad take you out on the town to people watch when he had visitation?”

Sol snarled. ‘Stay out of my head, Witch! I don’t know how you keep getting in but get out and stay out!’

“I’m not, I’m not, it’s just your reactions. For a dark type, you’re so easy to read. Don’t worry, though. Your secret’s safe with me.” I reached up and grabbed my smirking starter by the back of her neck and stared at her intently. “And her, if she knows what’s good for her.”

“I don’t, but I’m down to accept bribes.” Emilie’s grin never faltered.

I frowned at her. “With what, you can’t eat cookies for another five days.”

She reached up and patted my cheek. “You’ll think of something, I’m sure.”

Sol gave the both of us a disgusted look before plopping back down on the grass. ‘Whatever. You’ve thanked me, now go bug someone else and let me enjoy the night sky in peace.’

I sighed before nodding and gingerly putting Emilie back on my shoulder. “Fair enough. I’ll leave some food out for you for when you come back, alright?”

‘Don’t bother.’ She didn’t even bother lifting her head.

I turned and started walking back towards the center, before wincing as a low growling sound hit my ears. “I really hope Nurse Joy lets me at least use her kitchen. I know we probably missed dinner, and I’m starving.”

Emilie grabbed my shirt and started crawling down.

“Ack, Emilie, what the hell-”

“Shhhh, I want to make sure the ghost can properly hear this.” She leaned down and put her mouth right next to the poke balls on my belt. “Just so we’re clear. THAT is a tsundere. Got it? Now that we’ve gotten that straight, you can’t ever call me that cursed phrase again.”

I could feel the ball shake on my hip. It took a second, but once the words registered, I joined my ghost type in what I was sure was a very hearty laughing session.

***

I grinned as my starter nibbled on the proffered baked good. “So, what do you think.”

“Your cookies are way better, but... these are pretty good too. These are brownies, right?” Emilie asked.

“You’re out of your mind if you think cookies are better than chocolate brownies.” I frowned at the little gremlin as I made my way back to our room from the kitchen, a satisfied smile on my face with a plate of beef steak and potatoes in tow. Center food was good, but nothing beat homemade cooking.

Emilie lifted her head up from the treat and nodded. “These do taste good, they’re just not as sweet as I like. Those custom cookies you make me are perfection in cookie form.” She shrugged. “They hit different.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but snapped it shut as my... Wally’s phone pinged. I instantly stopped walking and reached into my pocket, careful not to spill Sol’s food.

“And... damn it, Eve. Why aren’t you May?” I pouted as I pulled up the messages.

Emilie leaned her head down so she could get a look at the phone. “What, I thought you were trying to talk to your sister.”

“I did, I just... worry.” I guess that word worked, right?

“Uh-huh.” Emilie wasn’t buying it, was she? “What did Eve have to say, anyway?”

“She said she was sorry she missed my call. Caroline needed to take some time off for a bit, and it left her shorthanded at the store.” I winced as I looked a bit deeper into the message. “She’s been pulling a few double shifts and solo shifts to keep up with the extra work, because she had to take her Pokémon with her too. That’s a yikes. She said she’d love to talk, but she’s too tired. I doubt I’d even get a text back if I replied with a good night.” I still took the time to do that before pocketing the phone.

“Did it mention what Caroline needed the time off for?” Emilie asked.

“No, it didn’t.” I walked down the hallway towards our room, making it a point to not look at the freaky Tapu statues on either side of the kitchen door. “She was tired. She probably saw my text when she got home, typed a quick nothing reply, and crashed on the couch. Hell, she’s probably still in her uniform.” I groaned as a new thought popped into my head. “Which means she’s going to be sore tomorrow, and extra grumpy when I try to talk to her about it.”

Emilie didn’t instantly reply, and I glanced over to see her glowering towards the ground.

“Emilie?” I asked.

Emilie leaned back at the direct address. “Huh?”

“You alright? I kind of lost you for a minute.” I stopped in front of the door to our room as the question left my lips.

“Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff.” She went quiet again, before turning and staring at me. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? I mean I’m a little worried about May and the others, but outside of that I’m feeling pretty good.” A grin pulled at my lips. “I don’t get jittery when you translate for the others anymore, everyone’s making progress with what they’re working on-”

Emilie twitched when I said that.

“Mostly, and Sol’s starting to open up. Honestly, things are kind of going well. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” I asked.

Emilie looked back towards the ground as her eyebrows pulled together. She kept tilting her head back and forth before finally turning and looking at me. “You said Sol reminded you of Eve back when you were younger.”

I froze. “Did I?”

I don’t remember saying that out loud. Maybe I did? That or Emilie picked up a surface thought. I thought the stupid-Stop. Stop freaking out, this is Emilie. There’s nothing to get worked up over, and I didn’t hear a word of what she just said, dammit all.

I lifted my hand up to stop whatever the hell she was saying before taking a deep breath and holding it for a second. I breathed out and gave her a shaky grin. “I, uh. Sorry. You might have to repeat that.”

Emilie leaned forward with wide eyes. “Are-”

“I’m fine.” The two words were spoken with finality as I stared intently at my starter.

“Right.” She looked away. “You muttered something about it while we were first talking at the training ground. Either that or you pushed that thought to me without meaning too. That can happen sometimes. They sound the same, so it’s hard to tell. Your mind’s still fine. I have no clue where your mind palace is.”

I winced. “I, that’s not-”

“It is why you freaked out. It’s okay. Baby steps.” She looked up and grinned at me. ‘To be completely honest, I never dreamed we’d be able to talk like this so quickly. We’ll get back to where we were in no time. But I don’t want to force you to adapt too fast. Last thing we want is a relapse.’

I opened my mouth, before closing it and grinning at Emilie. ‘I guess you’re right, though... if we’re talking baby steps, maybe I can try just being with you in my mindscape. Maybe try and get used to it.’

Emilie shook her head. “I think that’s a project for another night. You need to get back in the habit of regularly meditating first.” Her eyes narrowed in on me accusingly.

“I, uh. Oops?” I lamely shrugged my shoulders, slightly throwing off Emilie’s balance as she waved her arms in the air. “Sorry.”

“Good. Now then, my original question?” Emilie asked.

I opened my mouth before snapping it shut as one of my neighbors walked down the hall and shot me an odd look before walking into her room.

Why did she look familiar?

I hastily reached out and turned the knob before hurrying into my room, making it a point to place Sol’s meal down on the floor where she could get to it if she came back during the night. I met Emilie stare with my own before giggling and poking her on the forehead.

Emilie lifted her hands up and shoved my hand away. “Hey! I'm trying to have a serious conversation, stop being a weirdo and talk, damn it.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but I’m good, really. You don’t have to worry about me.” I smiled as I walked over to my bed.

“Are you sure? Cause I’m going to be honest, those memoires kind of fucking sucked,” Emilie snarled.

“Emilie-”

“No, it’s my turn to talk. Every time that stupid dark type opens her mouth a new memory pops up, and I’m having a hard time reconciling that the hard-working, snarky, bakery owner that almost hugged her sister to death in the center in Rustboro and the bitter, annoying shrew are the same damn person.” Emilie took a deep breath before glaring at the ground.

I stared at my starter for what felt like an eternity, before sitting down on the messed up cotton sheets. “You wouldn’t recognize Sol for the Pokémon she used to be, either.”

I smiled bitterly as a few of my own memories played out. How Eve would tense and yell at me to pipe down whenever I brought up mom or dad. How she’d lock herself up in her room and cry only to come out smelling like something had died. “The first dream I got shown was of Sol when she was really young. Like, I’m talking your size, young. She treated her parents like superheroes, and I don’t know if the smile ever left her face when she gushed about how cool her mom was when they went hunting together.”

Emilie tilted her head. “I’m going to need you to send me a mental image of that for later use, okay? I’m going to need it if I’m going to survive being nice to the Tsundere.”

I giggled. “Yeah, that’s fair. I kind of wondered why that was the first dream I got shown, when the second one would’ve just done the trick. I think I get it now, though. He wanted to humanize his daughter.”

“Pokemanize,” Emilie corrected.

“Shut up, you knew what I meant.” I turned away from her and glared out into the night sky. “Grief fucks people up.”

“I know that,” Emilie said. “It’s still a big change, though.”

My lips pulled down. Honestly, I wasn’t sure she did get it.

“There’s a video that was taken a couple days before I was born; I think it’s one of the few things we have that has my mom’s voice.” I smiled at the memory. “Eve kept talking about all the stuff she wanted to teach me. How excited she was to meet her baby sister. She looked so happy in that.” I looked down towards the floor. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen my sister happier than in that video. I think the closest I’ve seen is when she hugged me in the bakery after our fight.”

Emilie teleported down from my shoulder to sit next to me on the bed, her head resting on my leg. “I remember you finding that video. It was after the big fight, right?”

I swallowed before nodding. “Yeah. That.” I looked away. “I still stand by what I said. I deserved the slap. What I said was... horrible.” I pulled my knees up to my chest. “You do know that for every awful memory you mentioned, you had a half dozen more that were great. A lot of good times happened before that slap.”

“It’s just hard when the bad ones are so bad,” Emilie whispered. “I thought my relationship with mom was weird, you two take the cake.”

“I giggled. Yeah, well I would hope so, we make them often enough,” I said.

“You’ve been spending way too much time with Lucas, that was horrible.” A large grin spread across Emilie’s face.

“Yeah, well it did its job. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with my bad memories while we help Sol.” I smiled before letting my legs drop down and standing up. “Now quit it with the depressing talk. Just do what I do when I think of those times and imagine the rice flour incident.”

“What is- phhhht.” Emilie dissolved into a giggle fit. “How did you manage to make the entire bakery white.”

“I don’t know but it took forever to clean. Our battle made the mini flour fight we had in the center kitchen look tame.” I smiled at her. “You feeling better now?”

Emilie pointed at me accusingly. “I should be asking you that. Legends above, you’re weird. You complain about May all the time, but you’re an even bigger mother hen than she is.”

“Lies and slander, I-” Instantly stopped talking as Wally’s phone vibrated. The small speech bubble was at the front of the notifications, and a weight lifted from my shoulders as I realized it was from May.

“Sorry I’m late sending this, but it’s impossible to keep track of time down here. Day and night cycles don’t exist. Please don’t tell me you’re blazing a trail to come get me already. I’m too tired to yell at you,” I read off.

Emilie had her hand lifted up in the air, waving towards the phone as though that entire sequence proved her point.

“Yeah, well... shut up. Your face is ugly when you’re smug.” I ducked under the psychically thrown pillow before pulling out her ball. “Alright, missy. That’s a time out.”

She teleported out of the way of the red line and landed on top of my head, messing up my hair in the process. “My pouts are adorable, and I will hear no more of this slander, understood!”

I reached up to grab her, only for my hand to clasp at open air. “Damn it, Emilie. Quit screwing around.”

She reappeared in front of the bathroom door, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot. “Fine, ugh. I’m going to wash up a bit in the sink while you talk on the phone.”

I sighed once she disappeared again, before glancing back down at the phone.

“...You’re not, right?” May messaged.

I giggled, before pulling up my own keyboard. “Nah, I was just screwing around with Emilie. I’m in my bed at the center, don’t worry.”

“Good. I really don’t want to explain why a crazy girl with green hair is charging at the colony we’re hanging out with. They’re pretty chill, but not that chill,” May messaged.

I bit my lower lip. “Speaking of chill, how’s the weather down there?”

A bit of time passed as the ‘May is typing’ marker popped up. A block of text filled the screen a short bit later. “Mildly chilly, but we’ve got a cave friendly fire going on, courtesy of Samie and Suzy. We did learn that there’s a spot down here that’s always cold.”

My heart skipped a beat as I read that line, and I had to stop for a moment to calm down.

“We’re making it a point to steer as far away from it as possible. If Steven’s there, President Stone can send the letter down with a team of aces. I don’t care,” May messaged.

I let loose a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks. I appreciate it.”

The only reply I got was of a cute, anime character that I didn’t recognize saluting me.

I grinned down at the phone. “Now then. You guys seen anything interesting down there besides Zubat, Geodude, Sandshrew and Makuhita?”

“Actually, yes. Jasmine met and befriended an Aron while we were exploring. She hasn’t actually caught the thing yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she asked before leaving the caves,” May messaged.

“Good. She needs something with some stopping power to put that Misdreavus in its place when it gets rowdy,” I messaged back, before thinking for a moment. “Now then, I know you’re tired, but before you go to bed, I wanted to get your opinions on a few things.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not too tired. I just don’t want to bug some of the Pokémon with Sergei’s light. What did you want to talk about?” she asked.

I grinned. “Well, I was wanting your opinion on the best revenge for the cruise. I was thinking of setting Wally up with a nice candle lit dinner at a fancy restaurant in Mauville, but I’m open to new ideas.”

The line went quiet for a minute before finally I got another prompt.

May preceded the message with a heart. “Don’t worry, I’m still here. Now then, you’re thinking too small. An occasion like this needs the perfect atmosphere, and I have just the thing...”

***

Black stone walls greeted my vision once more as we moved through the shaded halls. This was a dream. That fact did little to ease my rapidly beating heart, nor did it grant me any control over the body I was inhabiting. Heavy panting set the tone as we rushed further into place of my nightmares, and Sol made herself known to me as she outpaced me, taking the lead towards what I knew would be her worst memory.

‘Please don’t. I don’t need to see this,’ I mentally whispered.

‘You must.’ The words popped into my head from seemingly nowhere. ‘Time is limited.’

Before I could say anything further, both Sol and I froze. Ice filled my veins as I gazed forward, taking in the grisly sight in front of hell’s gate with wide, unflinching eyes.

Sol’s mom lay on the ground, completely still, her legs bent at awkward angles. The horn that normally stood tall and proud hung limply against her bloodied skull, and her chest looked shallow. Like her ribs had been caved in.

Above her stood a tall, menacing figure. Four white wings floated out from his shoulders as the creature stared down impassionately at his work, his face highlighted with a white turban adorned with a glowing, yellow jewel. Bloodied hands, fixed with golden bracelets marred by red stains, came together in front of him, not quite touching as he lifted his left leg in the air.

“Cham.” The word was spoken hollowly, and I leaned back in shock as I took in the listless eyes of this monster.

“What is this thing?” we asked.

“Medi.” The thing whipped its head around and focused intently on us, its eyes glowing red as it held our gaze.

This thing was a fucking Medicham? It sure as fuck didn’t look like the one I fought in my damn gym battle!

“MOM!” Before I could even process, Sol sprinted forward, a massive purple orb forming in front of her as she charged.

The world buzzed with sound, and the Medicham blurred, its body moving across the stone floor with such speed that I doubt I’d be able to keep up if I were looking at this with human eyes. The air pulsed as it slammed an open palm into Sol’s side before she could even turn her head.

She teleported into the wall so hard that her body indented into the stone, the entire cave shaking on impact. Medicham nodded before shifting its gaze over to us.

I gulped. Sol’s father held his ground, and the two locked eyes with one another. In an instant, the entire world blurred. An inky black aura filled my peripheral vision as the entire cave came to life in a cacophony of flesh slamming against flesh. The air cracked as the two met, our glowing black horn diverting a single open palm down into the ground.

The entire floor cracked under the power. We took advantage of the opening and swung our head up, our horn pulsing with an overwhelming amount of power as a cold, unrelenting fury gripped my heart.

The resulting dark blade cut the air in two before pushing through frozen form in front of us, cleaving the creature in half before pushing forward, carving a massive gash through the cave and knocking a few stalactites loose from their resting place into the ground.

The two halves of the monster slowly faded into a fine mist, and we jumped backwards as our attacker exploded out of the shattered ground, its body kicking up blackened shards of shrapnel as its fist met open air.

Three purple balls, twice the size of what Sol was charging earlier, were rapid-fired as we jumped backwards, and a grin pulled at our lips at the telltale grunt of pain that sounded through the clearing.

We weren’t done yet, though.

Medicham plowed forward, pushing through the purple whisps with gritted teeth as it shoved a glowing white fist forward, a manic grin adorning its features.

We disappeared into the void, a loud buzzing sound filling the air as we glided along the shadows and away from the angry Pokémon.

Medicham gave chase, its fists still glowing with unspent energy as it bounded forward, covering meters in a single stride as it gave pursuit.

We changed the direction we were moving on a dime, and slammed our head, horn first, into Medicham’s lithe body, sending the creature careening across the ground.

A loud snarl filled the air as we pushed forward. “You enter my territory. Intrude upon my terrain. Assault those closest to me!” We were screaming now as a black, radiant light exploded out from our horn. The launched blade was the width of the cave.

Medicham jumped forward, toward the assault, and brought up a single, glowing leg in challenge. The attacks slammed into each other, causing a ripple to push out through the cave. More stones fell from on high, and the shockwave threw both Medicham and us backwards. We rolled, slamming through three different sets of boulders before impacting the wall.

Our adversary skidded across the scarred cave, its left leg bloodied and mangled as a loud cry echoed off the walls. It collapsed to one knee the second it stopped skidding and fell forward, its hands falling in front of it to stop itself from hitting the ground as loud, raspy breathing filled the air.

We picked ourselves up from the wall before whimpering as we attempted to put pressure on our front right leg. Our gaze traced across the shattered pass towards Sol, and a haggard sigh left our lips. She had fallen from the wall at some point during the chaos, and we could faintly see her body move up and down in line with breathing.

Thank fuck.

“Medicham,” the creature growled as it steadied itself on its good leg, its eyes a reflection of our own as its face twisted into a sneer. It glanced around the clearing before hopping back towards a set of stalactites that had slammed themselves into the ground. It gripped the stone skewer with a single hand, before lifting it up into the air with minimal effort. It turned towards us and smirked, the action looking unnatural on this creature’s face.

We leaped forward, careful not to put weight on our bad leg as we rushed along the quickly widening cave system.

Medicham took the stone javelin in hand and held it over its head, before throwing it with enough force that the tip cracked the air as it traveled.

Our heart all but stopped beating as we saw where it was aimed.

We moved faster than we had ever moved in our lives, and shoved Sol’s still form with all our might, forcing the prone, unconscious body out of the way before freezing as the giant stone spear pierced our flesh, and pinned us to the ground.

Blood flowed freely from the wound as pain started to push through the shock, and a copper taste filled our mouth as the world slowly started to blur.

“DAD!”

That single, heart breaking word was the last thing I heard before the world went black, and I shot up from my bed in a cold sweat.

Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Chapter Text

Sheets gripped to my shaking frame as I sucked in a deep haggard breath, desperately trying to get my heart to slow down. Pain kept lancing from a spot on my chest, but everything was fine. No cuts or wounds or anything. Everything was... was...

Fuck, God, I could still taste the copper on my tongue.

I stood up from my bed, bringing the covers with me as I straightened up, and started pacing. Maybe moving will calm things down a bit. Yeah.

“Bad dream?”

I whipped my head towards my bed with wide eyes before groaning. Fuck, I woke up Emilie.

“Dumb question. Sorry. Don’t worry, you didn’t wake me up, I’ve been watching out for Sol.” Emilie motioned her hand out towards the doors. “Still hasn’t come back yet, by the way. It’s like, four in the morning.”

“Right.” The word was breathy and soft. “Sorry, I.” I sucked in another deep breath. “That was, so much worse than any dream.”

I glanced around the room before biting back a curse. Of course the stupid ghost was hiding. Fucking prick.

“Vision?” Emilie asked.

“Yeah. Sol’s dad sent me another dream.” I steadied myself against the foot of the bed. My heart was slowing down now. Good. “Bastard made me sit through his own death. Like I needed to see or feel that.”

I wanted to scream but I didn’t want to get thrown out of the center. Damn it all!

Emilie winced. “Feel?”

I nodded before swallowing down a bit of bile and glancing down at my chest. “I keep feeling phantom pain from wounds that aren’t there. The uh, the,” I snapped my fingers before walking away from the bed and towards one of the end tables. “Medicham! Right. The Medicham skewered us with a giant stalactite. Bastard fucking cheated and aimed at Sol’s unconscious body, so we’d get in the way of the stupid attack.”

I pulled open the drawer before wincing. Right. Only thing I put in there was Wally’s phone. My dex was in my bag. Which was... which was...

Why the hell was I so scatterbrained right now?

“We?” Emilie teleported to my shoulder and turned my head towards her.

I winced away from her glowing eyes. Light in general felt like a bad idea. Oh god the room is spinning.

“Lea, I need you to look at me, okay?” Emilie’s tone was light. Calming.

She was never this nice. What-

My thoughts were washed away as my eyes were held firmly in place by Emilie’s glowing gaze. She brought up a single hand and placed it on my forehead, squarely between my eyes. The entire world lit up in a brilliant white, and I felt my legs turn to Jello.

I steadied myself before letting myself fall lightly to the floor. Fuck, my limbs felt like they were trapped in a vat of syrup, ugh. “What on earth was that?”

“Me finally being able to see him,” Emilie said, her feet firmly on the ground as she looked behind me.

I slowly moved my arms underneath me and pushed myself up, before twisting around to look.

Absol’s crumpled body rested on the ground, his form looking more solid than usual. His white fur was stained red as the wound on his chest seemed to bleed anew, and his horn and face were pale.

“Was he,” I struggled to find the right words as my heart started to pick up the pace again. “Just... chilling out? Inside my body?”

Emilie nodded. “It wasn’t a possession, not a full one at least. He was just hitching a ride. I’m guessing he has to do that to share his memories with you.” She walked closer to the downed spook, her eyes still affixed to his fallen form. “I can’t believe it...”

I spasmed slightly on the ground as the single, overwhelming urge to take a shower urged me to my feet. “You can’t believe I’m not crazy? I thought you were already on that train.”

She turned and glared at me before sticking her tongue out. “Not that. We all know you’re crazy for other reasons, but that’s not what I'm talking about.” She turned back to look at Absol. “I know this was once a dark type, but I don’t feel that. His mind is... chaotic. Most ghost-types are, but it’s available. I can at least feel something from him. It’s odd.”

“Yeah, well. It felt even more odd when it was hitchhiking, so thank you for giving him the boot.” I smiled down at Emilie. “Now, how do we wake up something we can’t touch?”

“Correction, YOU can’t touch. I can probably-”

Her words died as a bitter cold wind filled the room with the faint smell of burnt incense and rot. The lights in the room briefly came to life of their own accord before dimming down and sputtering off. An otherworldly wail traveled through the air as the still form on the floor slowly started to levitate upwards, bringing a number of random small objects up with him.

I swallowed as I eyed the floating sheets and pillows. “Emilie, why is my room starting to resemble a scene from The Exorcist?”

Emilie’s eyes glowed blue as she lifted her hands up, pulling the floating objects back down to the floor. “S’not the first time, and I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with ghosts before, just Ghost Pokémon. Did you do something to piss him off?”

I rapidly shook my head. “Nope. I’ve been the ideal medium. Sunshine, rainbows, and lollipops. Why the fuck are we-”

This thing’s eyes snapped open, and they were all white; not an iris or pupil to be had. The creature opened its mouth and I recoiled backwards, bumping my back up against the glass doors leading out into the beach as the wails increased in volume. A thin line of goopy flesh trailed down from the top of Absol’s maw before reconnecting to his lower jaw, and I watched, transfixed, as Absol’s once solid form started to melt, his fur dissolving into the aether as the beast collapsed in on itself.

Emilie snapped out of her daze at some point and teleported in front of me. When, I didn’t know, but a single, bright, white wall of energy formed in front of me as the creature started to shrink. His body lost shape and form as it condensed down into a small, black ball of floating sludge. A single glowing light shined through the mound of spectral flesh before the creature began taking shape into something new. A skull mask slowly formed, its eye sockets baren and empty as it stared me down, before finally, the spell was broken.

The single blue flame at the heart of the newly born Ghost Pokémon slowly rose up through the miasma, before peeking through the eye sockets of the skull mask.

I stared on in silence as the last bits of the transformation truly took hold on the Absol in front of me.

“Dusk...” he muttered, his voice shattered and hollow. An ominous purple wave washed over the room, warping around Emilie’s barrier and rattling the doors behind me as it leered down at us.

“Absol?” I took a step forward, stopping just short of the clear wall Emilie had made. “Well, I guess that’s not-”

The ghost phased into the shadows before I could even finish talking, and I bit back a curse as a cold feeling trailed up my spine.

He was gone.

I stared blankly at the empty, open air in front of me before slowly walking forward. “I... What the fuck did I just watch?”

“Ah, I guess a birth? Death? I dunno. It’s really hard to define that with ghost types.” Emilie teleported to my shoulder. “Good news, I think I got barrier down now. Guess all I needed was the threat of death from a malevolent specter.”

“Why are you not freaking out about this!?” I shouted, before wincing and throwing both hands over my mouth. I looked towards my door for a minute before sagging down and relaxing.

Emilie giggled. “Well, we’ve been getting haunted for a couple of days at this point, and he seemed pretty chill. I doubt if he’ll be much of a problem now that I can actually see him. Besides, did you see that tiny little thing? Legends above he was adorable.”

“Right...” I trailed off. “Did we witness different things, because that looked bad. Like oh my god, the world is ending, please send food care packages levels of bad.”

She winced. “So... I’m guessing he isn’t usually the creepy, moaning, otherworldly abomination that we just saw?”

I shook my head slowly, giving Emilie my most deadpan stare.

“Right. Probably not ideal, then,” Emilie said.

“Emilie!” I whisper shouted. “Ugh... why did he change? How? He was fine earlier this evening, why did he change into a Duskull?”

Emilie stared down towards the floor. “I don’t know why, but I might have an idea on how. I think...” She swallowed before glancing towards me. “Well, at least a theory.”

I spun my finger in a get on with it motion.

Emilie huffed. “No need to be rude. I was easing into it because you seemed freaked out earlier, asshat.”

I could feel my bottom left eyelid start to twitch.

“Legends above, you’re moody today.” Emilie winced as I started to lift my left arm to grab her. “Alright, so most ghosts subconsciously feed off of the life energy of others, right? Well, what if Ghost Dad pulled some from you every time he decided to take a stroll down memory lane?”

“So, you think he just... hit critical mass and turned into a Duskull?” I asked. “That, I feel like there should be more to it than that.”

Emilie shrugged. “Yeah, well. Ghosts are weird. What do you want? Be glad he had better things to do, a lot of Ghost Pokémon can get really cranky when they first form, and I really didn’t feel like going another round against an angry spook.”

I slowly nodded before freezing, my eyes going wide at the sudden realization.

He wasn’t haunting us. He was haunting Sol. He stuck around after kicking the bucket because his soul was too worried about his daughter to find peace. How the hell would that translate to what he was now?

“Huh? What’s u-whoa!” Emilie clung on to my neck hard as I started to move.

I darted over to the nightstand and grabbed my poke balls, before sprinting out of my room towards the beach, pulling up Apollo’s poke ball as I pushed the door open.

His passed out form materialized on the sand when I released him, and I groaned.

“Quartermaster Apollo, Captain on deck!” I ordered.

The bird fell forward and kicked up about ten pounds of sand as he scrambled to take a stance befitting his post. He sputtered and coughed a few times on the inhale before standing straight, his wing bent in salute as he gazed up at me tiredly.

‘On deck, Captain. Forgive me.’ He looked around the dimly lit beach and winced, before shooting me an annoyed glare. ‘Forgive me for speaking out of turn, cap. But it’s a wee bit early. I know yer eager to keelhaul yerself a Gallade, but there is such a thing as burning the Litwick at both ends.’

I groaned before glancing up at Emilie. “Mini movie time. Show him the cliff notes of what we saw.”

Emilie leaned back before glancing nervously at Apollo. “Er... I’m going to need you to relax and be moderately open, assuming you’re-”

Apollo laughed. ‘Get on with it, lass. I want to deal with whatever the cap needs dealt with and go back to sleep.’

“Good luck with that after this,” Emilie muttered before closing her eyes and lifting one of her hands up to her head.

Apollo’s eyes flashed purple for a moment, and he winced. ‘Eugh. Note to self, great beyond looks a hell of a lot more attractive than whatever the hell I just watched. Going quietly into the night is preferable. I’m guessing you want me to track him?’

“Yes and no,” I said, my tone of voice solemn. “I think I know where he’s going. I need you to find Sol, preferably before he gets there.” I looked down towards the sand. “I don’t know what... that, did to him, but honestly, no matter how I look at it, I don’t see that meeting going well right now.”

Apollo opened his beak before snapping it shut and flying upwards. 'Look for the other lass, got it. Can I use the First Mate for sonar?'

Emilie winced. “Err, I can’t really track a dark type, Apollo.”

Apollo tilted his head. ‘Can you copy her ability?’

“Yeah, what’s that got to do with-oh.” Emilie blushed bright red. “In my defense I’m running on minimal sleep and a migraine.” She turned towards me before answering my unasked question. “I think humans call it Justified. The ability isn’t exactly common.”

Apollo grinned. ‘Hop on, we’re scanning the island. Steer me in the right direction when you feel something, alright?’

“Oy, who outranks who?” Emilie asked before disappearing from my shoulder and hopping on Apollo’s back. “Stop being bossy and fly, featherhead.”

‘Oh, good. I get to be featherhead now. Suzy can’t get back soon enough.’ Apollo started gliding through the palm trees toward the last place we saw Sol.

“Oi, don’t go so fast.” I shouted as I sprinted after them. “Remember, the squishy human can only go so fast.” Fuck I could already feel my left leg start to cramp.

The two of them just laughed as they maintained their pace. Mutinous little bastards.

***

Emilie POV

***

Emilie glanced behind her and grinned. They had successfully ditched their trainer. “Thanks for this.”

“Don’t mention it, lass. I’m just following orders. Not my fault I’m old and I couldn’t quite hear what the Cap was saying as we flew away, no sir.” A smug grin pulled at Apollo’s beak as he rose even higher into the sky.

“Don’t go too high. My Trace doesn’t exactly have the biggest range in the world,” Emilie said.

Apollo nodded once before diving, dipping just below the tree line as Emilie clutched onto the waterfowl’s back.

“I didn’t mean divebomb the palm trees,” Emilie shakily muttered.

“Bah, where’s the adventurous spirit that forced a Skarmory into a dead man’s dive?” Apollo glanced upwards, his head tilted slightly in the cresting morning light.

“She had a series of reality checks. Don’t start with me or I’ll find her again and steer you into palm tree.” Emilie glowered, meeting his gaze before smirking.

“Fair enough. I take it yer not as concerned about the wandering revenant?” Apollo asked.

Emilie rolled her eyes. “Please. You were right at the center. I don’t care how strong it was in life, Sol is more than capable of dealing with a freshly born spook.”

“Aye, that was my thought process too.” Apollo broke eye contact before glancing back down towards the ground, his eyes scanning the clearings as he went. “I’m more worried about what happens if she deals with it a little too well. Ghosts are always off their rocker the first few years they’re born. It’s a miracle Lucas is as sane as he is, though considering where we found him, the swabbie’s probably a special case. Chances are that our lass is liable to end the little guy before we can explain what’s what.”

Emilie winced. “Fair enough. This area’s clear, by the way. I’m getting Drizzle from you, a few Thick Fat’s from random Makuhita, and a bunch of Keen Eyes from the trees.” Emilie grinned before lying down on Apollo’s back. “Got any family local?”

Apollo snorted, though it lacked enthusiasm. “Yer avin a laugh. Not all Wingull are related, lass.” His eyes lost focus and the two of them drifted toward a tree.

“Watch it!” Emilie grabbed a few feathers and pulled, prompting the water type to veer to the left. “Head in the game, Apollo.” Her eyebrows pulled together as she stared down. “You alright?”

“Right, sorry. I remembered something, is all. I don’t know any of the local birds, but a human I once knew might be around.” Apollo glanced out toward the docks as he glided. “Might pop over and say hi if he’s here. See how the brat’s doing.” Apollo glanced down toward the ground. “We didn’t... leave on the best of circumstances.”

“Do I need to rough someone up?” Emilie’s eyes glowed blue.

“Feh. I appreciate the offer, but if I needed someone roughed up, I think I can handle it meself.” Apollo smiled. “Thanks for the sentiment, but we both were at fault with how things ended. I’m half worried me saying hi is just going to stir up trouble, but... I miss him.”

Emilie leaned down and ruffled Apollo’s head feathers, smiling at the slight dampness. “I’m guessing you don’t need therapy hour with me, right?”

“I think I’ve lived long enough to keep my own head on straight. Again, thanks for the offer though, lass. An extra big thanks for not just looking inside my noggin and pilfering my secrets for yourself.” Apollo chuckled dryly. “Was a bit worried about that when I first joined way back when, not gonna lie.”

“I’m not THAT nosy.” Emilie frowned. “Well, not anymore, at least. Not everyone likes getting prodded.”

“Aye, people and Pokémon alike enjoy their privacy. What can I say, we’re a secretive bunch. Speaking of secrets, though, I’m idly curious why I’m helping you sneak off to have a chat with our surly stowaway. I don’t need an answer per say, but it’d be nice to know why I’m earning the captain’s ire.” Apollo shivered, dipping down slightly as we flew past a sheer cliff face.

Wait, this cliff looked... and there’s Sol.

“I just wanted to clear the air, and I can’t do that if Lea’s trying to play peacemaker.” Emilie scowled down at the dark type as she stared blankly up at the rock wall. “You’re a good enough babysitter and I trust you to butt in only when necessary.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.” Apollo nodded before glancing around the clearing. “I don’t see our new spook, do you?”

Emilie shook her head. “Don’t sense it either. You keep an eye out, I’m going down for my chat.”

“Watch yerself and don’t poke the bear too much,” Apollo said.

Emilie teleported down, not bothering to answer, and reformed right next to the brooding dark type.

Sol didn’t even turn her head away from the cliffside. “You idiots don’t know how to leave well enough alone, do you?”

“We’re like fungus. We’ll grow on you eventually, promise,” Emilie deadpanned.

“Doubt it.” Sol sighed. “You lot are more annoying than anything. At least May and her ilk gave me space.”

“Holy fuck, you said her name.” Emilie smirked widely. “I wasn’t even sure you knew it.”

Sol giggled bitterly. “Ah... that’s refreshing. Going to be honest, I prefer the dollar store banter over the kid gloves your trainer’s been trying to handle me with. It feels more natural.”

Emilie winced before falling back and sitting on the cold, stiff grass. “Noticed that, huh?”

“She went from wanting to light my ball on fire with me in it to trying to be besties, all because she somehow pulled a few memories from my head.” Sol scowled. “Didn’t even know humans could use Miracle Eye. Regardless, tell her I don’t need her fucking pity.”

“It’s not pity, it’s... empathy. And learned behavior, honestly.” Emilie pulled her legs up to her chest.

Sol finally ripped her eyes away from the cliff face to look at her, before turning away and scowling. “Whatever, just tell her to stop.”

“Heh, good luck with that. As much as she yells about May’s hovering, she’s just as bad when we’re dealing with shit.” Emilie giggled.

Sol turned towards Emilie and glared. “Could you just get on with it? I’m assuming you came here for a reason other than to annoy me.”

“There was. A few of them. I wanted to tell you off, honestly. Legends know you deserve it.” Emilie met Sol’s glare with her own. “Looking at how pathetic you look makes that hard.”

“This coming from a tiny little girl playing at being strong.” Sol sneered before turning back to the cliff face. “You know, I’ve seen the pirate fight. He could’ve ended me, easily. The leaf might not be completely put together at the moment, but he was right. He is strong. That aspect of his being defines him. What exactly do you do, little girl?”

Emilie clenched her fists as rocks started to levitate around her. “This coming from the dark type that can’t use the void.”

Sol snorted. “Implying that you wouldn’t cave to a single Shadow Ball. You think throwing a few rocks around makes you strong? Even the damn sword can fight with power, though he doesn’t know how to use it yet. You’re just a little girl, playing in the rain.”

Emilie glared venomously at Sol, before looking toward the ground and relaxing her fists. The objects she had pulled up fell to the ground with a soft thud. “Just because you want a fight, doesn’t mean I have to give it to you.” Emilie looked up and grinned. “I’m more than a snarling beast, nipping at the wind.”

Sol instantly turned and lunged forward, biting through cold air as Emilie reappeared behind her.

“Slow,” Emilie taunted.

Sol pivoted and swiped her claw through the air as Emilie teleported onto her back.

“Sloppy.” Emilie grinned down at the creature as she leaned forward.

The dark type twisted around, and wails filled the clearing as a purple ball of smoke launched from her mouth. She winced as her own attack hit her tail end.

“Sad.” Emilie purred the word as she grinned down from the top of a palm tree, her voice mingling with a light creaking of wood.

“Cute.” Sol pounced upwards, only to be batted into the cliff as the palm tree recoiled forward. The dark type let out a soft whine as it slid down the rock onto the freezing ground below.

“Woo.” Emilie let out an exhalation of held breath as she reformed on the ground. “Thanks for that, I had a lot of pent up aggression and that really took the edge off.

A low growl sounded as Sol got back to her feet. “You are the most annoying, insufferable, pain in the ass-”

“I thought you liked that about me?” Emilie tilted her head and smiled.

Apollo landed on the ground between the two before tossing a glare at Sol. “I never imagined I’d be spending my later years playing referee to a pair of squabbling brats. Both of ye calm down, would ye?”

Emilie sighed. “Fiiiiine. Spoil my fun. Your accent gets more pronounced when you’re pissed, did you know that?”

Apollo ignored her. The bird kept his gaze focused on Sol. “I thought we were past the ‘picking fights with random idiots’ phase of grief.”

Sol winced before digging slightly at the ground. “She... got under my skin.”

Apollo winced. “Aye, she’s good at that, though you came out the boat swinging. Any particular reason for that?”

“I-” Sol bit back her words before glaring at the cliff face behind her. “To be honest, this place just pisses me off. I don’t know how I was able to come back here so many times after what happened.”

Emilie opened her mouth, before snapping it shut at the withering glare Apollo sent her way. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

“I’ve heard that before, lass.” He narrowed his eyes. “Earlier today, in fact. I thought Fae couldn’t lie.”

Emilie blushed. “I said I’d try.” She pushed her fingers together and looked away nervously. “I did try, I just failed. I promised this time. There’s a difference.”

“And this is why that whole ‘They can’t lie’ is a bunch of Tauros shit,” Sol muttered.

“Anyway, I think I can answer your question. If you don’t mind getting therapy advice from a Ralts that got her degree from a circus Mr. Mime.” Emilie smiled at the widened, terrified eyes.

“Arceus above, you all being nuts suddenly makes sense!” Sol shouted.

“When you were guarding Lucas, you had something to distract you from the horrible things that happened here. You could push your feelings down and ignore them because you were focusing on something you thought was more important than yourself. Something your family was sworn to protect.” Emilie nodded once. “Well, at least I think that’s what it was. This is a lot harder to do when I can’t peep inside your head to cheat a little bit, but considering your parents died-”

“Shut up!” Sol shouted. “Just... stop talking.”

Emilie winced. “Sorry. I poked the scab a little too hard. That was my mistake.” Emilie bowed, before lifting her head and meeting Sol’s gaze. “I know it feels like a mountain’s in front of you, but talking really will help. Putting it off, burying it.” Emilie shivered as memories of a swirling black miasma engulfing Lea’s mind played through her head. “It doesn’t ever end well.”

“Oh, and let me guess. I’m just supposed to talk to you?” Sol asked, her tone acrid as she turned her nose up.

Emilie opened her mouth but froze as green hair and a really embarrassing set of Team Electabuzz pajamas came into view.

“Tell me, great and wise therapist of questionable origin, how exactly does talking about it help? My parents were murdered protecting a stupid, pun loving, weak Ghost Pokémon. What value am I supposed to extract from that!” Sol shouted.

“He didn’t die protecting the sword. He died protecting you,” Lea said firmly, before turning an angry glare squarely at her Pokémon.

***

Normal POV

***

Sol’s eyes were narrowed, and I bit back a sigh as I glared at Emilie. “You shanghai my flier, leave me behind, and then proceed to pick a fight with a volatile Absol, all in the span of an hour. Did you even warn her about the wandering Duskull?”

Emilie winced. “I was getting to it. I just got side trac-”

“You’re on crackers and orange juice for the rest of the week,” I sentenced.

Emilie recoiled before turning up to look at me with wide, pleading eyes. “Please, no. The crackers taste like salty sadness and the juice makes my face do weird things.”

“Well, you should have thought of that before you abandoned me at the center.” I shifted my eyes back over to Sol. “You were your dad’s purpose, not the sword. Your life meant more to him than anything.”

Sol snorted before looking away. ‘Yeah, and looking after my worthless ass got him killed.’

Lea winced, before looking down towards the shadows. “I’m going to tell you something that I've probably told myself half a dozen times. I know it’s not going to make a difference and you’re not going to believe me, but it’s not your fau-”

‘Do you have any idea how easy it was to kill that monster after dad was impaled?’ Sol snarled. ‘That thing was on its last legs, literally and figuratively. It could barely move, his attacks lacked weight, the stupid thing couldn’t even move because his legs were blown out, and dad died because he had to protect the deadweight. If I wasn’t there, he’d still be alive!’

“You had no way of knowing how strong that thing was, and you had been helping your mom fend off threats for a while before that. You had no reason to think you couldn’t help.” I met Sol’s look head on with crossed arms and a bitter grin as I moved across the hard, slightly frosty grass. “And most importantly, you aren’t the one that killed him.”

Sol opened her mouth.

“You’re going to think of about a million things you could have done differently, wonder about every what if, and ask why to a universe that will never give you an answer until the day you die. But despite all that, at the end of the day, the only person to blame for your dad’s death is the one that killed him.” I walked closer to Sol and knelt down, sighing as she winced away. “You’ve got two choices, Sol. To be honest, they both kind of suck, but it’s what we’ve got to work with, and I’m sorry. You can let what happened rule your life, or you can push past it.” I smiled as I looked over at Apollo and Emilie. “We’ll be here to help regardless, but I hope you’ll choose the latter.”

Sol kicked at the ground and sighed. ‘I’m trying, but... it’s just so hard. I just get angry, and it’s so hard to control. I can’t, I-’

“Baby steps.” I lifted my arms up before she could ramble more. “Just... take it one day at a time, alright. That’s all we can really do.”

Sol nodded before glancing back at Emilie. ‘I-’ She choked on her words like the topic was causing her physical pain. ‘am. Sorrrrrrrrrrr-y about how I act-ted earlier.’

Emilie lifted an eyebrow up and shrugged. “I accept, for no other reason than watching you apologize again might trigger my gag reflex and I really don’t want to know what brownies taste like coming back up.”

“Bad,” I said, wincing as a familiar, disgusting taste entered my mouth. “The answer is bad.”

‘Yeah, well, whatever.’ Sol looked away from the two of us, her face a dark red. ‘She’s not as bad as I thought, I guess. Can we get out of here? I’m sick of this place, and apparently you all pissed off a ghost Pokémon for some stupid reason.’

“Right!” I hopped up before freezing and looking at the cliff. Leshy’s final goodbye played through my head, and I sighed as an idea popped into my head. “And Sol, before we leave this island, I think it’d be a good idea to go down and give them a proper goodbye. It helps a lot more than you think it would.”

‘I-’

“I’ll go down with you, if you want.” I cut her off, earning wide eyes and dropped jaws from everyone in the clearing. “May too, honestly. Not sure how well we’ll deal, but I know she’ll be there for you if you need it. Just... think about it, alright?”

Sol hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Good, now then, Emilie?” I asked.

Emilie snapped to attention and clicked her jaw shut before nodding at me as I pulled out a pair of poke balls. “Yes, sir!”

Apollo rolled his eyes. ‘It’s ‘aye, captain’, you land loving-’

I recalled him and Sol before he could finish. “Think you could teleport us back to the center, I’m tired and I really don’t want to have to walk all the way back.”

“Can do.” Emilie teleported back up to my shoulder and I sagged down in relief as the world started to disappear.

That relief turned to dread as a small, black shadow peaked out through the trees before sinking down into the ground as the world faded out and the walls of the center foyer filled my vision.

Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Notes:

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you have a happy holiday.

Chapter Text

Day One

***

I sneezed before rubbing my nose and pulling the drawstrings of my coat closed. That better not be a sign of me getting a fucking cold. I knew I haven’t exactly been the best about dressing for the weather recently, but it wasn’t that cold.

At least it hadn’t been.

Glancing down at my belt, I took stock of the five filled balls on my waist before pulling a hat down over my head. How the hell had it gotten colder in the afternoon? The sun was supposed to bring heat, damn it. This felt almost as bad as the damn walk-in freezers back home.

Come on, stop freaking out, it’s just a cold wave. Everything’s fine.

I pulled the phone out and shot a quick text to May asking if she was alright.

The instant thumbs up I got in response quickly calmed my nerves, and I let loose a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

That breath was fucking visible.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket before bringing my hands up and blowing into them. God, we needed to get this show on the road before the sun went down. The thought of being out here after dusk was not a pleasant one.

Bright white light covered the beach as I subjected everyone else to this frozen torture. The shared look of disdain brought a smile to my face.

“Adversity breeds strength.” I ducked down as two different Water Guns from two different Pokémon sailed harmlessly overhead. “If we aren’t strong enough to kick Brawly’s ass, then we’re stuck here on this frozen rock. I hate being out in this shit as much as you do, but we need to be at our best, and that means we need to train.”

Emilie teleported to my shoulder before crawling down and climbing into my coat.

“Oi, watch what you’re grabbing!” I shouted.

“Sorry.” Emilie poked her head out from the v line. “You’re warm, though.”

I sighed before bending down and pulling my bag around. “I brought us a few blankets for breaks, and the center’s right there if you need someplace to warm up at.”

‘Meh, It’s not that cold.’ Sol shrugged. ‘I don’t know what you’re all making such a big deal about.’

‘Says the Pokémon with a natural fur coat,’ Apollo grumbled.

Sol smirked. ‘Skill issue.’

‘Lass, I’m an island bird. My body’s made for beaches and sunlight, not this Kyogre forsaken cold.’ Apollo’s whole body shivered. ‘Sailors don’t sail in this. That’s all there is to it.’

Joern sighed before turning and looking out towards the ocean. ‘I don’t think anyone sails in that, honestly.’

I followed his finger and felt my jaw go slack. “Is the ocean... freezing?”

“We might not be leaving for a bit regardless, then. I don’t know how well ships are going to be able to push through that,” Emilie muttered.

“Yeah, fuck that. The second I get my badge we are gone. You and Gawain can get us the hell out of dodge. I am sick of this stupid island,” I said.

‘Wiser words have never been spoken, cap. In fact, if the first mate is able, it might do us good to turn our sails toward an older, warmer destination. If only for the afternoon.’ Apollo peered at Emilie pleadingly.

“I wish.” Emilie scowled. “Teleporting Lea across the island is almost enough to make me pass out. I don’t want to try teleporting us long distances over open water.”

Apollo winced. ‘Fair enough, lass. Can’t blame a bird for trying.’

I sighed before freezing. There was a distinct lack of puns being thrown around right now, what- oh. I could faintly make out a single glowing red eye from my shadow, and it was squarely fixed on Sol.

Still scared of her. Got it.

“Frozen training ground it is, then. Square up, troops, because on top of getting the ever loving shit scared out of me by a ghost Pokémon, I also came up with a few new ideas with how we should approach training.” I grinned at the collective groan before pulling out my pokedex. “Let’s get to-”

“Excuse me.” The voice was so quiet I barely heard it.

I turned around and was met with one of the dumpiest looking trainers I had ever seen. Short, unkempt, dark hair framed a young face with pale skin and blue eyes. I could faintly see a few layers of clothing peeking out around her neck from underneath a light red, baggy tracksuit.

It took me a minute, but I slowly realized this was the same person I had bumped into the night before. “Not much of a morning person, huh?”

She shook her head before pulling out a single red and white ball. She glanced at the ball, then at me, then back at the ball, before shoving the ball back on her belt and looking away, her body hunched over as she slowly seemed to shrink smaller and smaller.

“Oi, wait a minute.” I rushed across the beach and grabbed her hand.

For a brief second, a small smile lit up her face. That smile quickly dissolved into slow, awkward chuckling as she went limp, her body taking on similar properties to an abstract art painting.

I quickly let go and winced back from the strange thing that was in front of me. Was she actually a Pokémon pretending to be human? No, her mind felt human. Mostly. “Sorry. That was really rude of me. I’m guessing you were wanting to use the field, right? I can share.”

She solidified and started nodding fervently, her hair bobbing in the breeze. “I won’t t-take up much space, I p-promise. I just wanted to get some t-training in with B.”

Emilie teleported up to my shoulder and stared down at the human with a sneer. ‘Who’s your new friend?’

‘Emilie, could you please not pick a fight for like... a day. I’m begging you here.’ I sighed before thwacking her on the forehead. ‘And calm down, you’re scaring her.’ I frowned as the words left my lips and turned to look at the other trainer more closely. She was acting scared, but… I didn’t feel that from her. Odd.

She shrunk down even smaller. “I can l-leave, though. I’m sorry...”

“Don’t, Emilie’s just being rude.” I smiled at her, doing my best to block out Emilie’s mental mumblings. “The space is more than big enough for everyone. My Pokémon can share. To be honest, it’s kind of nice to have someone else out here with us. I was starting to think we were the only trainers on this island.”

“M-maybe the c-cold chased them away.” She smiled slightly before grabbing out her poke ball again and releasing a-

“Oh my god you are so adorable,” I shouted before rushing over and scooping the small pink ball of joy up into my arms and pulling her into a hug. “Who’s a cute little Whismur? You are.”

“Whis...” Its cheeks turned pinker.

“I, uh. Please don’t. B doesn’t like being touched either. Well, at least by people who aren’t-”

The small trainer’s warning was cut off as a loud shriek filled the air and dropped me to my knees. Fucking hell, that hurt.

Whismur leapt from my arms into the sand and hopped back over to her trainer, hiding behind her legs as I clasped my hands over my ears in pain.

“I deserved that,” I mumbled as I slowly got to my feet. “Sorry, little guy. I get carried away sometimes when I see cute Pokémon.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” The girl started inching away from us towards the other side of the clearing. “We’ll train over here, and t-try not to get in your way too much. Bye!”

She all but teleported across the beach, and I groaned.

“Well, I fucked that up.” I turned to glance at Emilie, who was still glaring after the small girl. “Is there a reason you’re being overly antagonistic towards our socially awkward neighbor?”

Emilie winced before turning up to give me an awkward grin. ‘It’s instinctive, I...’ Emilie looks back over towards our guest before wincing. ‘She feels like dragons.’

I winced back before turning and giving the tiny, shivering slip of a girl an incredulous look. ‘That feels like dragons? Really? She looks-’

‘I know.’ Emilie nodded. ‘But every instinct in my body is screaming enemy right now. I’ll keep a lid on it, don’t worry. Just... be warned, alright?’

I froze for a bit before nodding and turning back to my team and Sol, doing my best to put the small dragon girl out of my mind.

***

Emilie’s POV

***

Just breathe. Focus your energy into a single point. And push.

A single multicolored beam launched across the frozen ocean before dissipating in the open air, the light blending in beautifully with the horizon.

Emilie clenched her teeth and groaned. Four and a half seconds. That was way too slow to be useful. What the hell was she thinking trying to add elements to this, she couldn’t even use the base technique in a way that was useful! Still though...

“I hate that she’s right, I want to tinker with this move so badly.” Emilie glanced over at the meditating teenager and sighed.

‘Half the problems you’re having right now are related to power and focus. We just got a really powerful new tool to add to your arsenal, so a lot of what we need to focus on is mastering it. Let’s see how low we can push that charge time. Once we get it down to it being second nature, the cool shit you want to do should come a lot easier.’ The advice echoed around in her head, and Emilie sighed at the memory before bringing her hands together and charging another beam.

She froze, her energy fading into the wind, as Sol plopped down on the sand behind her.

“Mind if I nap here?” she asked.

Emilie felt her left eye twitch. “You know, you wouldn’t be tired if you didn’t spend half the night wandering legends know where.”

Sol popped an eye open and grinned at her. “Meh, I’m nocturnal. Most of my species is. Excuse me if I haven’t quite broken that habit yet.” She yawned before sighing. “To be honest, my sleeping pattern’s been all kinds of screwed up lately, so... I’ll take whatever shut eye I can get.” She popped an eye open. “Though, before that, do you mind if I ask you something?”

“You just did, though I suppose I can allow you to ask me something else.” Emilie lifted her hands up and got to work on another beam. Same damn charge time.

“I noticed this with the human, too. You don’t clarify a name when invoking the gods. Do you not have a deity you follow?” Sol tilted her head and focused both eyes on the psychic type.

Emilie froze, before glancing down. “Not really. Mother prays to specific entities, I’m sure, but I guess I stopped fairly recently. Probably about the time I joined Lea’s team.”

“You mean when you were captured?” Sol glowered.

“No, I mean joined. I formed my partnership with Lea by choice.” Emilie’s tone was firm as she fired another shot across the ocean. “Back when I first joined up, Lea’s mind was an open book, and I was a fair sight less disciplined than I am now.” Emilie grinned. “As much as she puts herself down, Lea’s incredibly intelligent.”

Sol snorted. “Could have fooled me.”

Emilie glared, but held her tongue, remembering her trainer’s earlier complaints. One day, Emilie. You can one day without picking a fight. “One of the things she’s read about over the years is the various myths and legends of all the different regions. Every region has something different, you know?”

“Hmm?” Sol leaned in. “Groudon formed the continents, Kyogre filled the oceans, and Rayquaza sheltered the sky. That was the legend that was passed down through our family. What else have humans come up with?”

“Quite a few things, actually. The people of Sinnoh believe in deities that control time and space, as well as the Pokémon that gave birth to thought, willpower, and emotion. Johto has built monuments to a bird that is believed to have breathed life into the world, while the people of Kanto have scientifically traced back the genetic origin of life to a single, ancient organism that is rumored to still exist today.” Emilie chuckled. “Hell, Alola worships a bunch of mobile tiki torches that watch over their islands, and there’s a subset of people in Kanto that worship a fucking helix fossil.”

Sol snorted. “Idiots.”

Emilie smiled. “Who knows, really. At this point it feels impossible to separate fact from fiction. I can’t really tell which legends are more or less believable, really. At the end of the day, I guess I just decided to lump them all together and let them figure out who wants to take credit for whatever I’m whining about.” Emilie fired another shot across the ocean, before sighing. “The world’s a much bigger place than I thought when I first left home. Is it wrong that I want to have an open mind while exploring it?”

Sol looked at her for a long time before closing her eyes and resting her head down on the sand. “I... suppose not.”

Emilie nodded before firing another shot. She frowned before charging again and firing. A wide smile spread across her face.

That felt closer to four and a quarter seconds. She’d have this down in no time.

***

Normal POV Day Two

***

The world around me froze as I slowly breathed out through my mouth, a faint fog spewing forth from my lips. This cold made it hard to focus, but honestly, that was ideal. I focused on Emilie, and let my mind wander towards the frozen shore line where another beam was fired into the horizon.

‘Three... and a half... seconds...’ Legends above, I could hear the pants through the mental link.

‘Take a break,’ I ordered. ‘I’ve got some brownies in my bag you can have.’

‘But-’

‘No buts.’ I pushed my feelings of exasperation and worry through the bond. ‘You passing out from overexertion is the last thing we want right now. Take a break to catch your breath, what you’re doing isn’t exactly easy, especially at your level.’ A chill went up my spine as a malevolent force brushed up against my head.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she asked.

‘That you’re a very, very terrifying little girl, but you’re still a kid,’ I said.

The dark presence dissipated as Emilie teleported to my shoulder. ‘Sorry.’ She reached behind me and started fishing through my pack. ‘I thought you were cutting me off.’

‘Yeah, you did well with Sol yesterday so I thought I’d take it easy on you. Besides, you know how bad I am at enforcing punishments.’ I smiled at her before glancing out toward the area our visitor used the other day.

‘She’s sus, by the way,’ Emilie said.

I turned and glared at her.

‘What, she is.’ Emilie nibbled on the offered baked goods and smiled. ‘I couldn’t see into her head at all. That’s like, decently advanced level shields considering how strong I am.’

‘It was less that, and more the word you used. She made me a bit nervous too. The emotions I felt from her and how she was acting didn’t really line up.’ I shivered. ‘She’s not here today, though, so we probably don’t have to worry about it.’

‘Yeah.’ Emilie stretched for a bit before turning back to the shoreline. ‘My five minutes are up.’

‘Em-’

She disappeared before I could finish, and the connection cut off.

I sighed. ‘Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? I know we’re right next to the center, but I still don’t want you hurting yourself.’

Silence permeated through the connection for a bit before a warm feeling brushed up against my temple. ‘I’ll pace myself, don’t worry.’

I nodded. ‘Thanks.’

A strong gust of air blew through the beach, and I clenched my teeth as the cold dunes sifted past me as my quartermaster stumbled about in front of me.

‘Sorry, cap.’ Apollo shambled to the left with all the grace of a pirate on his third cask of rum. ‘That cannonball got away from me, it did.’ He fell back on his ass the second he stopped walking. ‘Won’t happen again.’

I sighed before walking over and crouching down. ‘Why don’t we take a bit of a break from speed training, alright?’

‘What!’ he squawked. ‘Listen, cap. I can feel it. I just need a little more work and I’ll be back to where I-’

‘Apollo!’

He winced back before looking down at the slightly dug out sand around us. ‘Aye, Captain. Sorry.’

I rubbed his wing and sighed. ‘Look, all things considered, you’re still incredibly fast. The dex said most Pelipper slow way the hell down when they evolve. You’re still flying circles around Lucas, and you outpaced Sol.’ I smiled. ‘You’re incredible, so stop worrying, alright. Pokémon change when they evolve, we just have to adapt to the changes.’

Apollo glared down towards the ground before beating his wings and taking off from his spot, kicking up even more sand as he flew up and landed on my head.

‘Oi, get down from there,’ I said, lifting my arms up to swipe at him.

‘Sorry, cap, but I need a new perch. I’m too big for your shoulder and the ground’s colder than a Glalie’s ass.’ Apollo flew off of my head and landed on my outstretched arm. ‘Would this be alright?’

I sighed. Guess this wasn’t too annoying, and he wasn’t that heavy. ‘It’s fine. Besides, you won’t be around for long. Just because we’re giving up on speed training for a bit doesn’t mean I’m letting you take it easy.’

A single line of sweat dripped down the side of Apollo’s head. ‘O-oh?’

I nodded. ‘And it shouldn’t even be that hard, the dex said you learn this move naturally as a Pelipper.

Apollo sagged down on my arm and a sigh pushed past his beak. ‘Oh, thank Kyogre.’

I glared. ‘What?’

Apollo blanched before glancing up at me apologetically. ‘Sorry, cap, but our personalized training sessions together usually run afoul of an iceberg or two. They work, don’t get me wrong, but they always leave me feeling sore as the day is long afterwards.’

I winced. ‘They’re not... that bad, are they?’

‘The confusion training with Emilie, me nearly passing out trying to force a move that you can apparently only inherit, the whirlwind incident a few days ago-’

“You promised you weren’t going to mention that!” I shouted, before shoving my hands over my mouth. ‘Damn it, Apollo.’

‘Oi, don’t yell at me, you’re the one working on your telepathy. Not my fault yer easily flustered. ’ Apollo blanched at my worsening glare. ‘Before ye make me walk the plank, what was it that you were wanting to show me.’

I sighed, doing my best to try and think of a way to make this training as annoying as possible for my waterfowl in revenge. ‘The move’s called Stockpile, and the setup for it is easy, take a deep breath of air and try and condense it down in your beak into energy. This should be fairly straightforward, because you’re already full of hot air.’

Apollo chuckled. ‘Suppose I deserved that.’

My bird beat his wings against my arms and opened his beak wide as he took off. His pouch inflated to comical sizes as he closed it, before condensing down as it started to glow. A bead of sweat appeared on Apollo’s brow as he dipped down slightly, and he winced before beating his wings and regaining altitude, his beak looking only slightly puffier than it had before.

‘I, wow. I knew the dex said you’d pick this up fairly easily, but I didn’t think it would be-’

Apollo looked away from me and opened his mouth. A white orb of energy rocketed from his bill and sailed across the ocean, slowly expanding as it went further out before dissipating over the open waves.

My quartermaster sucked in a deep, normal breath before glaring back at me. ‘That felt... unpleasant. What in Kyogre’s deep ocean was that?’

I grinned vindictively. ‘That, my fine, feathered, friend, was Spit Up. The offensive result of Stockpile. The other half of that equation, Swallow, is the support option, and it’ll give you some much needed staying power.’ I sighed. ‘Though that… was a lot less bombastic then the video I saw on my dex. I guess that makes sense. That Pelipper was charging up for a lot longer.’

Apollo leaned back, his beak opened wide in shock. ‘L-longer? Cap, do you know how bad of a headrush I got from doing what I did? How hard it was to contain that energy?’

‘Now, now, don’t be that way. You just need practice’ My grin shifted to match my unhinged thoughts. ‘Think of the explosions, Apollo!’

My bird sighed before glancing back up at me and smiling. ‘I can’t ever have a normal training session, fine, I’ll work on it. I suppose the trick I need to learn is to figure out how to keep the energy down while I’m doing other things. I need to get used to it and slowly up the charge. Shouldn’t be too hard, honestly.’

‘Thanks,’ I said.

Legends above, I loved working with Apollo. Everyone else was always fussy when I tried to get them to do something odd like this. I...

Was starting to feel a bit bad about the vindictive smile I sent him earlier. ‘And Apollo?’

He turned back around and hovered in the air. ‘Yes, captain.’

‘I don’t say this enough but thank you for all that you do. You’ve been a massive help with... honestly, everything.’ I smiled. ‘Thanks.’

Apollo grinned, nodded once, and turned away. ‘Don’t mention it, cap. Always happy to help.’

***

Lucas’s POV

***

Lucas cast a wary glance around the field as he cleaved through the air with a low buzz. After trying to go as fast as possible for so long with this move, trying to slow it down was harder than pulling teeth.

That was really saying something considering he was fairly sure he didn’t really have any. He was fairly confident the food he’d been trying, and failing, to stomach wasn’t really chewed, if the way it looked after he gagged was anything to go off of.

He lacked a stomach and a gag reflex, so why were these reflexes still plaguing him?

Focus. He needed to focus. Ignore the fact that SHE was stalking about. Forget about what May said about still being able to die. Disregard the fact that Apollo’s working on something with Lea right now, and he can't bail you out if SHE comes knocking.

Arceus above, why the hell did they have to babysit this thing.

It didn’t matter. He just needed to get this, to understand exactly how this move worked. All the moves he had been shown so far helped him go faster in short bursts. He should be able to reverse engineer this to figure out how to go faster in long bursts. It was simple. It should be simple.

Why the hell wasn’t it simple? He just wanted to streamline his movement, was that so much to ask. He was a sword, for Arceus’s sake. He should be able to cleave through the air just as easily in death as he was able to cut through it in life.

Lucas went through the motions, braced himself, and-

“Sup?”

Froze.

There she was. Smiling at him. Why the hell was she smiling? He wasn’t going back there. He wasn’t going back. He wasn’t-

“For the love of, would you calm down? First time I’ve ever seen a ghost try and hyperventilate. What the hell is up with you? You weren’t this freaked out before.” Sol frowned as Lucas sunk further down into the ground. “Hell, you weren’t freaked out at all when you decided it was a good idea to get between Joern and I. What gives?”

Lucas dipped fully into the ground. “Yeah, well, the me of a few days ago lacked a functioning brain.”

Sol raised an eyebrow. “You’re a sword, you always lack a functioning brain.”

That was a good one. “Rude. And not the point. You wanna take me back to your dungeon and do unspeakable things to me, and I would very much like to not.”

Sol groaned before hopping towards where Lucas had been. “Come on, I’ve got a decent enough handle of your sense of humor by now, that should have at least gotten a chuckle.”

Silence.

“Look, I know you’re not the harbinger of disaster our ancestors claimed, alright? You don’t have to worry about me carting you back to the cave.” Sol glared down at the ground. “Doubt I could deal with being back there at the moment anyway.”

Lucas cautiously stuck his hilt above ground and stared at Sol with his true eye. “Promise?”

“Don’t know why you’d believe it, but sure.” Sol sighed before glaring at him. “And what ‘unspeakable things’ do you think I’ll commit. Hate to break it to you, but you’re not exactly my type.” Sol shivered. “Or anyone’s, for that matter. Kind of hard to get blood pumping when your heart’s no longer beating.”

“Ah ah ah. You’re technically correct, but also off base. My heart no longer exists. BIG difference.” Like hell he was going to be out punned by this hellion.

Sol rose up from the ground and smiled, barring her canines as she walked closer. “Heartless, huh? That doesn’t seem right.”

Lucas rose up and met her gaze, not backing away from the challenge. The rest of the group trusted her at least a little bit, he supposed he could do the same. “That’s right, and if you keep pushing my buttons like this, one of us is going to get hurt.”

Sol’s eyes dropped into a scowl as her lip pulled up. “Oh yeah, who’s that, tough guy.”

Silence. The beach stilled as the two Pokémon stared each other down, not backing away a single inch as the waves crashed against the frozen shore, their impact a soothing white noise.

Lucas smiled. “Me.”

Sol fell forward, her eyes going wide as a low growl escaped her muzzle.

Lucas could spy both Emilie and Joern giggling further down the beach. He supposed some of the new jokes he’d seen from this era were pretty alright. “Sorry, you set that up rather nicely and I couldn’t resist.”

Sol groaned, stretching out before rising back to her full height and turning her nose up. “I think I liked it better when you were scared of me. Is it too late to try and drag you back to my ‘dungeon’?”

“Yup!” Sol leered as he got closer. “You played the game, hon. I know you’re an alright sort now, even if you try acting all big and bad. You’re a softy underneath.”

Sol sighed before leaning back and sitting down. “If you say so...”

Lucas frowned. “What’s eating you? Besides the cold, bouts of random depression, grief, forced capture, you know what, I'm just going to stop talking.”

Sol chuckled. “Just lay it all out, why don’t you?” She sighed before looking out into the ocean.

Lucas frowned before joining her, resting the tip of his blade into the sand and staring out into the ocean with her. “You know, at least one of those is fairly easily remedied. I’m fairly confident May would cut you loose if you asked at this point.”

Sol froze for a moment before sighing. “Right. She’s technically my trainer. How exactly does that work? I’ve spent way more time with Lea.”

Lucas chuckled. “Do you think I know? Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not exactly hip with current training practices. All I've got to go off is a bunch of jumbled up memories that were crammed into my hilt when the girl pulled me out of the stone, and a few fragments from when I was... something else.” Lucas sighed. “To be honest, it’s quite the challenge figuring out what’s me and what isn’t.”

Sol groaned. “Yeah, that checks out. I... honestly don’t know what it is I want to do, really. I’m kind of lost myself.”

Lucas frowned, before glancing over towards the others. Emilie had stopped what she was doing. The little voyeur was probably listening in, the little cretin. Everyone else was still going about their business, though.

“That’s alright, you know? You can be lost if you want. You find out all kinds of cool things when you don’t know what you’re looking for,” Lucas said.

“Yeah, right. That might work for others, but it’s a freaking nightmare for dark types. I...” Sol snarled as she glared out across the sea. “I can’t even launch a fucking Night Slash. That was one of the first things my dad taught me.”

“Do you really need to worry about kicking ass and taking names right now? Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re not exactly getting attacked any time soon.” Lucas froze, before giving Sol a worried look. “We’re not, are we?”

Sol chuckled. “Clear skies and sunshine, metaphorically speaking. It’s weird. For so long it was just dread. A constant feeling of impending doom. It was suffocating.”

Lucas winced. “I... can’t imagine how that feels.”

“It’s something I'm grateful for, honestly. One of the few good things that’s happened recently.” Sol smiled. “I suppose that’s not really fair. Don’t tell the others, but things haven’t been that terrible with you guys. You’re all various brands of insane, but it’s been... nice.”

“How hard did you have to force it with that last word?” Lucas asked with a raised decal.

Sol looked a bit green in the face. “No comment.”

Lucas chuckled. “Fair enough I suppose. Regardless, back to your question earlier. May handed you off to Lea because she could help you more. You can stick around if you want, I don’t think Lea would mind, but considering the fact that we all stick to each other like glue ninety percent of the time, I really don’t think it matters too much, and honestly... your skill set doesn’t really jive with Lea’s style.”

Sol leaned forward, her eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Be honest, going off what I’ve seen, how often is your approach just ‘Throw really big, scary attacks at things really fast until the other guy stops moving.’” Lucas leered.

“...shut up,” Sol snarled.

“Yeah, if you stick around, stay with May. May loves rush down strategies. Lea lives to play mini games when she fights, I swear to Arceus. You would HATE fighting with her.” Sol shivered. “I think the most replayed memory in that girl's head is watching the playback of her cruise ship fight. She turned a battlefield into an aquarium.”

Sol leaned back and frowned. “I... what, how?”

“Rain, water, rain, hit and run tactics, did I mention rain?” Lucas shivered. “I’m so happy I can’t feel that.”

Sol blanched. “Do you know how annoying wet fur is? How heavy it is?”

Lucas smirked. “I’d love to answer you, sadly, I am only a sword.”

Sol groaned. “Ugh, okay. Got it. Stay with the firebrand that likes to smash stuff. Got it.”

Lucas lifted himself up out of the ground and smiled. “Does that mean you’re staying? Kind of hard to be lost if you know where you want to be.”

Sol froze, before smiling. “I... suppose there are worse fates than being shackled to you lot.”

“Just admit you like us already. This tsundere crap is getting really old, really fast!” Emilie shouted from across the beach.

Red filled Sol’s cheeks as she turned around and glared bloody murder at the small psychic type.

Emilie leaned back, before teleporting away from her spot as Sol lurched into a dead sprint.

“Get back here, you little shit,” Sol snarled.

“I regret nothing.” Emilie gave herself away from her spot on top of the center, and Lucas grinned as the dark type leapt the distance in a single bound, only to bite into air as the gremlin reformed on the beach.

The game of keep away lasted until Lea begrudgingly got between the two, her face red as she bit her lower lip to stop from laughing.

***

Normal POV Day Three

***

Joern leapt forward, his entire left arm radiating an ominous, black aura as he slammed his fist into the palm tree in front of him. Bark cracked and fissured beneath the onslaught as he jumped back, smirking as the tree tipped over and slammed into the sand with a resounding thud.

My mouth was firmly stuck in an open position for the better part of five seconds before Emilie smacked me on the back of the head. “Right, excellent work. I, holy fuck, how?”

Joern chuckled lightly as he started waving his hand in the air. ‘Don’t give me too much credit, that hurt. I don’t know what they make palm trees out of, but those things are way harder than the trees back home.’

“That just made what I just saw even more impressive!” I shouted, before wincing as Emilie smacked the back of my head again.

Emilie met my glare with a calm smirk. ‘I’m just listening to your orders. You’re talking out loud.’

I winced. ‘Right, thanks. So, do you think you’re ready for your rematch?’

Joern nodded. ‘It took a bit, but yes. Putting what Sol showed me to use consistently was actually a fair bit more difficult than I thought it would be, but I think I’ve got this move down. Granted, there’s still room for improvement, but it’ll do its job nicely.’

Emilie teleported behind Joern and grabbed his neck on the way down. Joern buckled slightly before pulling himself forward as my little gremlin pulled up to his shoulder and hugged him.

‘You splintered a fucking palm tree with your bare hands. Take the w and revel in your newly acquired awesomeness already, would you?’ Emilie asked.

Joern shot me a pleading look and I knelt down and grabbed Emilie from her newfound perch.

‘You are the last person I want to hear that from. You're still mad that you’ve only managed to cut your charge time down to a third of what it was.’ I brought her close and matched her glare with a grin. ‘Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is? It took Gawain twice the time to fire that in a match. Hell, I’m pretty sure that’s a faster charge time than the Gallade that kicked our asses not but four days ago!’

‘Yeah, well I’m easily three times as awesome as Gawain, and Gallade specialize in close combat, so excuse me for wanting to push that number down even more.’ Emilie pouted. ‘It’s like I hit a brick wall. I’ve been stuck at a one and a half second charge time for the last three hours.’

Legends above she was being whiny today.

‘Have you thought about firing more than one at a time?’ Joern asked.

Emilie raised her hand up and opened her mouth, closed it, stared down at the ground, and lifted her arms up.

‘Huh, wait, Emilie don’t-’

My pleas fell on deaf ears as two orbs of light formed at the end of both of her hands, before exploding forward on either side of me. Emilie’s eyes briefly rolled back into her head before she reached up and clutched at her skull. ‘Oh, fuck that’s a head rush. Note to self, that’ll need some practice. Still, only a two and a half second charge time, I thought it would have taken-’

Her thoughts died as she took in the energy radiating off of me in waves.

‘Emilie, sweetie,’ I said.

She winced at the nickname.

‘Out of idle curiosity, why exactly did you think it was a good idea to field test something while I’m in front of you?’ My voice was steady and calm, a nice contrast to my shaking frame.

‘Uh...’ Emilie turned towards Joern, who had already steeled himself behind his felled palm tree. ‘ I thought it would look cool and that I could handle it?’

In through the nose, out through the mouth. I’m a gentle swaying breeze washing over the ocean, calm and tranquil in an otherwise violent and dangerous world.

Wooshaw.

‘Next time, please restrain yourself,’ I begged.

Emilie winced before nodding. ‘Can do. Sorry.’

‘It’s-’

I stopped as a loud crack filled the beach. I whipped my head around with wide eyes, only to sigh as Apollo fired off another low power Spit Up. Damn, he held that one in for quite a while.

Emilie teleported up to my shoulder and frowned at me. ‘Any reason you’re like, hyper paranoid right now? You’ve been jumping at shadows all day today.’

I winced. ‘I, well it’s been three days since the incident, and it’s been quiet. I feel like a little paranoia is warranted, considering we’re dealing with the revenant of an absurdly strong dark type.’

Emilie winced. ‘Okay, fair.’

Joern tentatively stepped out from his hiding spot. ‘Is that why you’ve been talking exclusively in thought for the last three days for everyone but Sol?’

I shook my head. ‘No, that’s actually because of the weird girl with a Whismur that felt like a dragon.’ I stared down at the beach in thought. ‘Well, that, and I want to get good enough at talking to you guys without help that I can do it in the heat of battle.’

Joern froze. ‘Uh... was I not supposed to talk to the Whismur the Rock cosplay.’

I turned and glared at my starter.

Emilie shrugged. ‘What, it’s a good show. I wanted to watch it for real, and Joern looked bored.’

‘I’m not mad that you watched anime in your free time, I’m mad you didn’t invite me.’ I needed to watch that again.

Emilie winced. ‘You... were indisposed. Don’t make me expand on that.’

‘Fair enough. At any rate, you were saying, Joern?’ I leaned forward and narrowed my eyes.

‘I knew I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I figured it was fine, the gremlin translated for me after all.’ Joern froze as Emilie shook her head. ‘What the hell do you mean you didn’t translate? She understood me perfectly.’

‘Well, if she had a translator, it wasn’t me. I couldn’t read her, like at all.’ Emilie sighed. ‘What did she want?’

‘She was just curious about where all our friends went. She seemed particularly interested in Wally, actually.’ Joern scratched his chin. ‘I... may or may not have told her that they went spelunking in the Dewford Caves. I uh, might have also talked Wally up while I was at it. She looked cute by human standards, and why are you both looking at me like that?’

I was currently rubbing the bridge of my nose. ‘Joern, we don’t know this woman from a hole in the wall, neither Emilie nor I can read her, her emotions don’t match her actions, she smells like dragon Pokémon, and you thought it was a good idea to try and set her up with our breathing challenged best friend.’

Joern paused for a long time before staring up at me and nodding. ‘Yes.’

‘Why?’ I asked, my left eyebrow twitching.

‘...she looks and is nice, and that’s enough for like, ninety percent of guys.’ Joern shrugged.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. I’m a wave, crashing serenely against the sandy shore.

Wooshaw.

‘I will never understand the male brain. I’ve been in hundreds of them throughout the course of my life, and none of them make sense. ’ Emilie stared down at Joern with a narrowed gaze. ‘Besides of which, Wally already has a crush.’

I froze, fuck, I forgot about that. ‘Wait, my plans. My revenge! Ruined!’

‘Look, I didn’t force the chick on him, and Wally’s a big boy who can make his own decisions. It’s fine, calm down,’ Joern said, his voice bored.

Emilie patted me kindly on the shoulder as we commiserated over the situation.

***

Sol’s POV

***

Just because I found a new family doesn’t mean I replaced the old one...

Apollo’s words batted around inside her skull, and she glared out across the ocean as Lea and her team started to pack up for the night. This would mark the end of her third day of dedicated training.

She didn’t know what they were dealing with, but she doubted it was strong enough to deal with this rag tag group. She supposed it worked well enough as a family unit, but honestly, Sol didn’t see the appeal.

At least she was on the more normal one’s team. May was a bastion of sanity and reason compared to these idiots. Seriously, what psycho thinks fighting in a perpetual rainstorm is in any way a good idea.

Sol shivered. Yeah, if she was sticking around, she was happy right where she was.

You know, if you’re going to leave us alone, I’m sure May would be happy to release you...

Why the hell did that single thought freak her out so bad? A few days ago, she would have given anything to go back to that cave. Back to when things made sense.

Now she couldn’t even look at the place without getting pissed off and sad.

I’ll go down with you, if you want...

Sol shoved herself up from the sand and growled lightly. She was spending too much time with these idiots. Lea was right, they were a damned fungus.

Ugh, she needed time to clear her head for a bit before she went back with them. She blinked a few times before realizing that at some point, she had already left the beach.

Arceus her head was screwed up.

She supposed it was a good thing that she knew this island well enough that it was basically impossible for her to get lost. Lord knows she didn’t know how she got here. Even if she knew exactly where here was.

Stupid cave.

The world’s a much bigger place than I thought...

Stupid gremlin.

Stupid weirdo trainers.

Stupid space rocks.

Stupid overpowered Medicham.

Damn it all.

This was stupid. She didn’t belong here. Not anymore. This place had no claim over her.

She sighed before turning around, ready to head back to the center with Lea’s team, only to stop short.

A single, glowing red fire passed between two empty eyes, its light illuminating a pale white mask in a floating ball of black miasma.

Chapter Text

May’s POV

***

The fresh smell of bacon grease over an open fire was what drew her out. It was a trick. The world was horrible and cold, and her sleeping bag was warm, and cozy. It asked nothing of her, and leaving this sanctuary would surely be a mistake she couldn’t come back from.

She unfortunately retreated to her cocoon a moment too late, if the new pressure against the side of her head was anything to go by.

May groaned before opening her eyes and glaring at the offending wooden spoon, tied to another wooden spoon, held by a man standing a solid five feet away.

“I made bacon and eggs?” Wayne asked, his voice small and terrified.

She sighed as she spied Jasmine, Wally, Nimue, and Ogier giggling as she slowly rose up from her sanctuary. “What are you doing?”

Wayne winced back and scrambled away from her. “Please don’t, I want to have kids someday!”

May just tilted her head to the side, her eyes unfocused. It was too early for this.

Wait, oh.

“Wayne, Emilie’s not here. Your manhood is safe, I promise,” May said, before frowning and glaring at the still petrified trainer. “And why the hell did you think I ordered her to do that? She’s Lea’s Pokémon!”

“I’m not taking any damn chances after last time. I couldn’t sit down right for like two days,” Wayne shouted back.

The giggling had evolved into full blown laughter. The pricks. She finished unzipping her sleeping bag before wincing as the cold air bit into her skin. Fire. She needed to get closer to the fire and grab her coat.

“I swear to fuck, it gets colder down here every day.” May moaned as the heat washed over her skin, and smiled as she took a seat next to a group of Sandshrew munching on some berries.

Samie popped out of the ground and nuzzled into his trainer’s leg. ‘The earth around the fire. It feels nice. How was your sleep?’

May rubbed the top of Samie’s jaw with a smile. “It was heavenly. I didn’t want to leave the sleeping bag. I don’t suppose any of your new friends among the tribe have anything helpful they can share?”

Samie shook his head. ‘Nothing beyond what the chieftain has shared. Steven Stone was last seen heading towards the Ancient Basin a few weeks ago.’

Leshy plopped down next to her and grinned at Samie. ‘I see your speech has improved a great deal.’

Samie’s eyes widened as he shifted his gaze toward the grumpy grass type. ‘Ah. Didn’t see there. Hi Leshy. How you now, friend?’

Leshy just started laughing. ‘That’s the worst acting I’ve ever seen. You don’t have to fake your progress, Samie. You being a source of intelligent conversation in this group just means I don’t need an excuse to hang out with you, calm down.’

Samie sagged in place before nuzzling his jaw against Leshy’s leg. ‘Thanks.’

‘Oi, none of that. You're ruining the moment.’ Leshy leaned back from the attention, a small smile on his face.

“Quit being a sourpuss.” May smiled before putting her hand on Leshy’s head. “You’re a big softy under all of that grumbling. Admit it.”

‘These slanderous accusations are a lie. I will hear none of it.’ Leshy closed his eyes and looked away from us.

‘You know, most Pokémon trying to save face would take this as an opportunity to storm off in a huff.’ Suzy ducked her head down between us and grinned.

‘It’s far too cold for that, and they are the ones who offended. By all rights, they should leave.’ Leshy nodded along as the words left his lips.

‘Uh-huh. Cool story, Mr. Sensitive.’ Suzy clucked once before turning to stare at her trainer. ‘You buying any of this?’

“Meh, I suppose the big, strong, surly grass type is above our tokens of affection.” She pulled her hand away and grinned as Leshy’s pleased expression shifted back to his trademark scowl.

‘...I didn’t say THAT.’ That particular thought was fairly quiet.

May glanced over toward Gawain and gave him a single, grateful nod. One which he returned with a light smile on his face.

Leshy narrowed his eyes before turning and glaring at the psychic type. ‘Quit broadcasting crap we don’t want you to broadcast. It’s rude.’

A small chuckle sounded through the link. ‘Fair enough, my comrade. I apologize, but it was a jape I couldn’t resist. Forgive me?’

Leshy groaned. ‘Can’t believe I miss the gremlin. Never have to worry about this crap with her.’

“I’ll let her know you miss her in my text to Lea tonight,” May said.

Leshy just grumbled and stared into the campfire.

“So, the Ancient Basin, huh? That’s the place that was always cold, right?” Jasmine plopped down next to May and handed her a plate, which she hesitated to grab. “Figured I’d cut my man a break.”

May turned and glared at Gawain, who looked away from her and levitated a few logs onto the bonfire. “It’s-”

“Look,” Jasmine said. “I know you’re freaked by what your girl saw. Not going to lie, the whole thing feels kind of creepy. But we’re here to find Steven, and all the signs are pointing us towards the colder part of the cave.”

May sighed before reluctantly grabbing the offered plate. “I know.” She stared down into the smoldering embers as she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “You sure we can’t just dive a few more cave systems? You might find someone else that wants to join your camera crew.”

“Aron.” The little guy nudged May at being mentioned before scampering back to Jasmine. ‘Cold cave weird, but fine. Big door not hurt anybody.’

“As adorable as this little guy is, we got a job to do.” Jasmine smiled as the steel type started crawling up her arm.

May sighed. “I’m just... not comfortable going down there, alright? The whole thing freaks me the hell out.”

“That’s fine. Wayne and I can drop in and take a look around. Maybe send Aron out with Skarmory to give the place a once over. If they don’t find anything, we can call it in for the week and go up top for a bit. I know we’re getting close to your girl’s rematch,” Jasmine said.

Wait. “What day is it?”

Jasmine pulled out her phone. “Let’s see, this’ll be day four we’re down here. It’s Thursday, by the way. Lea’s grudge match is the day after tomorrow, so we have time to run the area and bail.”

May kept her mouth shut as two large Makuhita filtered into the cave, before throwing four logs onto the fire. The embers surged at the new source of fuel, and May smiled as the glow of the fire lit up her face. “We run the area for one day. If no one finds anything or things go south, we get the hell out of dodge, got it?”

Jasmine beamed. “Don’t worry, we’ll-”

“Shrew...” The low cry echoed off the walls, and everyone turned to stare as a white skinned Sandshrew limped into the cave before collapsing forward, his skin lightly tinged red with fresh blood as Wayne rushed forward.

***

Lucas’s POV

***

Memories really were a gift. For most, basic things like walking through town or a meal with friends wasn’t really worth commenting on. His life from before was still a fragmented mess of places he didn’t recognize, people he didn’t know the names of, and actions he didn’t understand. He had no context to string the echoes together, and that was enough to drive him mad on some days.

Truly, a mind was a terrible thing to lack. Could he trade this ghostly body out for a more normal one? He supposed he should be grateful anyone from his past life was well and truly dead, especially if some of the more recent spooks were any indication.

What separated him from them? Why was he sane? What made him so special that he didn’t attack those around him in a blind haze?

If Misdreavus and Duskull had the same shattered memories of a former life he did, then only one thing made sense.

The second Lea took him by the hilt and freed him from his tomb, she bestowed upon him the greatest gift he had ever received. Her life laid bare as something he could cling to. References, feelings, people...

Blackmail.

He chuckled lightly from his spot in Sol’s shadow as she moved through the forest towards a familiar cliff. By all rights, he should be terrified, considering this was what he was trying to avoid earlier in the week, but the dark type was acting odd. Odder than usual, even. Which was really saying something. It takes quite a bit to get both sets of numbers involved.

As much as this place put him on edge, he couldn’t bring himself to let her wander off on her own. Especially if the newly born Duskull was even a third as unhinged as Jasmine’s Misdreavus.

For as much as she could be a bitch, no one should have to deal with something like that.

...come to think of it, did that word work wholesale as a way to describe Sol? For all that she denied it earlier, she did at one point want to drag him back to her dungeon and chain him up again, and Lea seemed rather insistent that she was a ‘dog’ Pokémon.

He’d ask Lea about it later. She was fairly smart when she wasn’t being an idiot.

Lucas lurched forward slightly, distorting the dark type’s shadow as she stopped and looked up at a familiar sheer rock wall.

Wait.

He couldn’t hop back into Sol’s shadow.

Why?

He heard Sol mutter a few things under her breath that he couldn’t quite catch before muttering a few choice words of his own. Sol’s shadow stretched out to three times its size.

Of course this thing learned Shadow Sneak. Not like it was one of the easiest ghost type moves to learn. Why wouldn’t it figure it out?

Duskull’s blue eye lit up the clearing as his body lurched upwards. A chilling wind rolled across the ground as a light wail sounded out into the crisp night air.

Sol didn’t even flinch as she turned and glared at the new arrival. “Riiiiight. You must be the ghost that Lea somehow pissed off. I know you’ve got that whole vengeful dead thing going on, but I am waaaaay above your weight class. Go back to playing hide and seek with the shadows, maybe hit the gym, work on your cardio, and evolve into a Dusclops before trying to pick a fight, eh?” Sol tilted her head and grinned.

Lucas groaned. ‘Uhh, Emilie? Please tell me you can hear me and I’m not out of range.’

The ghost only tilted his mask slightly in the opposite direction. “You. Know you. Remember. Foggy.” The words came out as a dull hiss as the black miasma that made up Duskull’s body convulsed. “Fighting. Pain. So much pain.”

Great, he was right. His brain was a giant, scrambled mess. ‘Screw it, I’ll take either of you, honestly. Lea, I know you’ve been working on your telepathy. You’ve literally been living in our heads for like the last three days, please tell me one of you is listening.’ Lucas winced from his hiding spot as the Duskull’s body started to wobble. ‘What you were worried about is happening and I don’t know how to stop it!’

Silence. Fuck.

“Oh, you remember me? That’s different. I don’t think I’ve done much to, oh! Did I have you for dinner at some point? You’ll have to forgive me, but that doesn’t really narrow it down all that well, and you might also be thinking of my mom. We kind of look alike, so-”

“You. Enemy.” Duskull’s eye glowed brighter, and a single, disembodied hand rose up into the air from behind his back, a large black spike held at the ready.

He needed to do something.

Sol sighed before crouching down. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He needed to do something now. Damn it all. “Wait!”

For the second time in his afterlife, Lucas rose up from the ground and put himself between two violent Pokémon getting ready to tear each other limb from limb.

Well, glob from glob. Arceus, he was a moron.

Sol shifted in her dive and angled her mouth up, before biting around Sol’s hilt and dragging him back as the Duskull slammed the black nail into his own chest. His eye glowed red as a wave of malevolent intent permeated the area. His vision spotted for a brief moment as they blurred back, away from the revenant as a pulsing black miasma spilled out from the new wound on his chest, pooling down into the shadows.

Sol opened her mouth and glared. “The fuck did you do that for? Do you have any idea how bad that could have been?”

“I, I needed to stop-”

“Why!? It’s a random ghost you guys found in the wild. I was just gonna kick its ass and send it on its merry way. What’s the issue? These spooks pop up all the time on this island.” Sol turned away from me and glared, before wincing. “Fuck, get back!”

Lucas pulled away from Sol and slipped into the familiar motions to Aerial Ace backwards, away from the spiteful specter. The shadow it was feeding itself into warped and extended out after both of them as he came out of the move. He dipped into a separate shadow, before reappering at the base of the tree he just piggybacked into.

“What exactly is this?” Lucas asked as he sent out what felt like his fifth distress call to his psychic friends.

“Curse. Nasty attack. Don’t let its shadow touch yours or you’re done.” Sol leapt back before hopping to the left away from the writhing mass of black tendrils. “I thought it was a newer ghost, now I’m not so sure. It takes a lot of focus to manipulate shadows like this while you’re in that much pain.” A single purple ball started to form in front of Sol’s mouth.

“Wait-”

Lucas winced as the purple orb launched across the clearing and slammed into the Duskull. An unearthly shriek pierced his nonexistent ears as Duskull’s body contorted around the energy. The shadows dissipated as he was swept back, before smacking into the cliff with a resounding glop. The poor ghost type slowly slid down before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

“There. Stupid little grim reaper wannabe. You alright?” Sol walked towards me at a leisurely pace, her eyes never leaving the downed ghost.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Lucas’s voice sounded distant to his own ears as he slowly levitated upwards. “Is it... alright?”

Sol snorted. “It’ll probably wake up in an hour or two, forget what knocked it out, and wander around looking for another random idiot to try and scare.” Sol sighed before finally taking her eyes off the ghost. “What are you doing out here?”

Lucas winced. “I, uh. Well, it seemed like a lovely evening and, uh...” Lucas wilted slightly under Sol’s narrowed gaze. “Alright, fine. I was worried about you wandering off on your own, so I tagged along in your shadow.”

Sol leaned away before throwing her head back and laughing. “I’m sorry, you,” Sol waved her head forward and shook her horn in his direction. “Were worried about ME?”

Lucas looked away, the sides of his sheath feeling hot. How the fuck did that work, he didn’t fucking have blood to blush! “Shut up. Last time that happens, don’t worry.”

Sol rushed forward and leered down at him. “Aww, don’t be that way, it’s adorable.”

“Is there a point to this, besides mine?” Lucas floated away and made it a point to not stare directly into Sol’s mocking face. Stupid dark type. Can’t ever just be grateful or nice, nooooo. Everything has to be looked at through the eyes of a tsundere. Arceus above, he was so happy this era had a phrase he could use for it. “It wasn’t exactly obvious that you would have been fine, alright? Your track record hasn’t exactly been stellar.”

Sol instantly stopped giggling and glared viciously, though she failed to hide the faint tinge of red that dotted her cheeks. “I’ve been off my game recently, alright? Not my fault most of you morons are battle freaks.” Sol shivered. “Apollo can be terrifying when he wants to be.”

Lucas shivered. “Aye, that be true. I haven’t quite gotten used to his brand of companionship.”

“I know, right? He’s great to talk to, but sometimes he just-” Sol stopped abruptly before glaring. “Stop trying to change the subject and tell me why the hell you jumped between two fighting Pokémon. Again.”

Lucas wilted before sighing. “You’re not going to believe me.”

Sol raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

Lucas let the question hang for a moment, taking a moment to look Sol up and down. Despite the fact that she just downed an angry ghost on a mission, she didn’t look much worse for wear. She was calm, relaxed even.

He sighed before lifting himself up and sheathing himself. “Because you’ve yet to believe Lea.”

Sol looked down in thought for a moment before freezing. Her gaze hardened as she turned back toward Duskull, her shoulders tensed. “So, you expect me to believe that that’s my old man? No offense, but uh... even in a new, ghostly body, he’d wipe the both of us. In like ten seconds flat. In which the first nine is him laughing his ass off at how pathetic we are.”

Lucas winced at the mental imagery, and briefly looked up to the sky and thanked every legend that was out there that this ghost didn’t retain his battle prowess. “No, I expect you to believe that it used to be.”

Sol didn’t move, nor did she open her mouth to speak.

Lucas sighed, wondering what the best way of explaining this would be. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if what he was about to say was right. Lord knew he wasn’t the best example for how normal everyday ghosts acted. “Before the change, Lea was gifted visions of a life not her own. Moments in time your father deemed important, primarily to help you through the worst of your grief.”

“She did an ass job,” Sol said listlessly.

“I don’t know about that. A few days ago, you’d have shut me up already.” Lucas grinned. “Some might even call you pleasant to be around.”

“Can you hurry up and get to the point?” Sol growled.

Lucas’s grin widened. “I usually do.”

Sol groaned. “I hate you. So much.”

“I don’t believe you. After passing the memory of his death, your father changed into the form you see in front of you.” Lucas sighed before glaring down at the ground. “I don’t really remember my change. I think I was sealed when it happened, but I for sure know what it was like waking up. My mind was a scattered mess, I had no idea where I was or what I was, I couldn’t remember my life or even my own name.” Lucas sighed. “For a brief moment, all I had were my regrets, and a feeling of loss.”

“And yet you’re still an annoying practical joker goofball that likes to make puns.” Sol glared at him before pointedly looking at the Duskull. “I wouldn’t go so far as to call you sane, none of your group is, but you’re a lot better than this thing.”

“If it wasn’t for Lea, I wouldn’t be.” Lucas sighed again as he glanced around the clearing. The sun had fully gone down at this point. “When she took hold of me, I gained clarity. The memories I watched weren’t my own, but they grounded me. It took a while for me to fully come out of my haze, but I found the new me somewhere in the chaos.” Lucas grinned.

Sol remained quiet as she glanced up at me.

“I know that without that anchor, without that shining light in the sea of chaos and scattered dreams, I would have been no different than this listless husk, wandering the island in a haze and hopelessly trying to piece together the fractured remains of my mind as the world continued to change around me.” Lucas turned and floated towards the fallen Pokémon. “I don’t know if you believe us or not, but-”

“I do, now.” Sol swallowed dryly before glancing at Lucas. “A ghost telling tales is honestly a fair sight more believable than a human pushing past a dark type’s natural immunities. I’m just... having trouble reconciling how this thing was once my father.” She glared down at the grass.

Lucas chuckled. “If anyone from my past was still alive, they’d probably say the same about me.”

“I, honestly, I think seeing him like this is worse than knowing he’s gone. At least then, I could think that he found peace.” She chuckled. “Guess I worried him too much for him to pass on.”

Lucas winced. “It’s not exactly easy, and it definitely takes some getting used to, but life after death isn’t all that bad.”

“Yeah...” Sol’s tone sounded anything but convinced. “You said Lea gave you clarity? I don’t really understand how that works, but do you think she could help him? I know he’s not exactly him anymore, but... anything sounds better than letting him wander around the island aimlessly not knowing who he is or what he’s doing.”

Lucas nodded. “It’d be worth a shot, though she wasn’t exactly cognizant when she helped me. It’ll probably take a bit for her to help.”

Sol nodded back, before shifting her gaze back to Duskull.

Lucas frowned at the scene before letting himself fall into the ground below. “How about you run and grab her, and I’ll keep watch.”

Sol winced. “I-”

“-am not doing great,” Lucas finished. “No reason to torture yourself like this. Grab Lea. I’ll keep watch over him for you.”

Sol stood still for a while, before a small smile spread across her lips. She nodded her head once and rushed out of the clearing.

Lucas smiled back before shifting his stance to watch over his fellow ghost, before freezing at the very chilling realization.

He wasn’t there anymore.

A single stabbing pain permeated his core, and the world went dark.

***

Normal POV

***

I stared down at Wally’s phone and sighed. Still no text back. It was getting late. She usually texted me by now.

“Don’t worry so much.” Emilie patted me on the head consolingly from her usual perch as we lounged around in the Pokémon Center Foyer, waiting for Joern and Apollo’s checkup to finish. “She’s been fine for the last four days, and she’s with a bunch of really strong Pokémon and trainers, a few of which she trained herself. She’ll be fine.”

“Should I tell Suzy the nice things you said about her?” I turned and smiled at her.

“I was talking about Leshy,” Emilie deadpanned. “Honestly, Samie’s been impressing me recently too. His ground control’s looking really good, and he’s carrying conversations a lot easier than he did before.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, he’s gotten bigger, too. Guess it helps now that he’s getting good food on a consistent basis. Do you think he’s getting close?”

“Close to what, evolving?” Emilie frowned, before looking down at the table. “I dunno. He’s way stronger than what he used to be, but... he evolves into a dragon.” A sour look crossed Emilie’s features. “Those take forever to evolve, lord knows how long he spent down in that cave.”

I nodded. “Yeah. It’d be cool though. I’ve only ever seen the one dragon. That massive Salamence that the girl in the woods had. It’d be cool to see one and not worry about it trying to eat me.”

“Cool, but Vibrava aren’t as cute as Trapinch,” Emilie said before turning her nose up. “And dragons are lame.”

A snort left my lips before I could stop it. “There’s not an ounce of type bias in that statement at all, right?”

Emilie’s lips were sealed, and she made it a point to turn away from me.

I smiled. “You’re adorable, you know that?”

Emilie turned and glared at me, her cheeks red. She opened her mouth, before snapping it shut as the doors into the center pushed open, and a familiar dark type came into view.

“Hey, you're back. How was your walk?” I asked as Sol bounded toward us. “Did Lucas behave?”

‘He was an idiot, that’s beside the point. I need you two to come with me.’ Sol instantly turned around and moved back toward the door.

My shoulders tensed as I took in the sullen look on her face. I got to my feet and started jogging behind her. “I’m guessing you two ran into trouble.”

‘I... Something like that.’ Sol sighed as she picked up the pace. ‘Your Duskull found us.’

I winced. “I... how did that go?” I picked up the pace a bit. “I’m guessing not well?”

‘I kicked his ass and felt bad about it afterwards.’ Sol glared down at the ground as the sand shifted to dirt. ‘Lucas explained after I knocked him out. He didn’t recognize me. Well, he did, but he didn’t know who I was. This is hard to explain and I’m tired. He tried to curse us.’

I smiled consolingly. “I’m guessing you got out unscathed, considering you don’t look half dead.”

“Where’s Lucas?” Emilie asked.

‘Standing guard over Duskull’s unconscious body. I tagged him with a Shadow Ball after he tried to curse us. I doubt he’ll be up and about till tomorrow morning, honestly.’ Sol turned up and looked at me with hopeful eyes. ‘He said you might be able to help.’

I stopped for a second, staring after Sol’s moving form. “What the hell can I do?”

Sol stopped. ‘He said your memories are what grounded him in the cave.’ She looked away from me as she kicked at the ground. ‘I, I know that you probably weren’t exactly aware of what you were doing at the time, and I know it’ll probably take time and even if you manage to do something, he won’t be the same, but-’

“I’ll do my best.” I smiled down at the stammering Pokémon before running up next to her and ruffling the fur on top of her head. “I have no idea what my best is going to look like, but I’ll do it.”

Emilie smiled at the two of us before glaring down at the ground. “Where exactly did you leave them at?”

Sol sniffed slightly as she batted my hand away with one of her front paws. ‘It was by the cliff that hides the king’s tomb.”

“Oh, good, then we’re fairly close. I can just-” I froze as I came to the sudden realization that Emilie came to. “Can you?”

“No.” Emilie’s tone put ice in my veins.

Sol kept shifting her gaze between the two of us. “Is something wrong?”

I sprinted ahead, pushing past Sol as fast as my legs could carry me. “Yeah, we’re almost right on top of them and I can’t reach out to Lucas at all.”

“Why exactly did you think Lucas of all Pokémon would make a good guard dog? That goofball’s got three working moves to his name and the attention span of a garden gnome,” Emilie shouted, before teleporting down onto Sol and whacking her on the head. “You’re literally called the disaster Pokémon! How the hell didn’t this idea ping your fucking danger sense?

‘Well, little miss perfect, I was thinking he was capable enough to deal with whatever random chaff that’s hanging out above ground long enough for us to get back. No way that Duskull’s awake yet, he got hit head on with my best Shadow Ball.’ Sol growled. ‘Besides, he insisted. Didn’t want me to have to sit with my undead, unhinged dad.’

Emilie winced. “I, it was still a bad call, apparently, because-”

Emilie’s words died on her throat as I stopped, a light breeze freezing me to my core as I took in the sight. A melted, shadowy glob had melted into the ground, and the grass around it had shifted to a sickly brown color. A foul smell filled the air as I slowly walked forward.

“I, what is that?” Emilie stared at the sunken mass with wide eyes as her voice shuddered. “You don’t think-”

‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’ Sol snarled as she stalked forward toward the mass. ‘Of all the moves you remember from when you were alive, the fucking party trick is the one that sticks!’ She slammed her claw into the broken mass with purpose, dispelling the sludge with minimal effort and a healthy amount of rage.

I snapped out of my daze and frowned. “I’m... guessing you know what that was, and that it wasn’t either ghost passing on?”

Sol whipped her head around and hissed at me. ‘It was a fucking Substitute. I got played!’

I sucked in a sharp breath before jogging forward and joining Sol. “So, where’s the-”

“Guys...” Emilie muttered quietly before slowly lifting her hand up and pointing at the cliff. “Why is the door open?”

Oh.

It is.

I didn’t even notice.

Sol growled before hopping forward towards the cave. ‘Dad...’

She sounded so far away. So quiet.

Dark. Very dark and cramped. Blood. Blood and pain and darkness and make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it-

“Lea!” Emilie shouted right in my ear.

I jumped up, suddenly hyper aware of everything around me. Light buzzing still filled my ears, and goosebumps spread across my skin as a cool breeze chilled me to my core. “Y-yeah?”

Emilie frowned at me, before sighing. “That was... probably the fourth or fifth time I called your name. Are you- That's a stupid question.”

I chuckled lightly before slowly walking towards Sol. I could feel my heart beat louder as I got closer to this cursed place. “Lucas and your dad are in here, aren’t they?”

Sol nodded. ‘If Lucas was right, then dad’s running on bad memories and regret. He hated that cave more than anything, I think. Thought our family gave up too much to watch over it.’ Sol turned and looked at me. ‘He’s probably got a picture in his head and no idea what it means.’

“So he’s trying to recreate it to see if something shakes loose,” Emilie finished with a groan. “And to do that, he needs tall, dark, and pointy. Great.”

“I... that feels like a bit of a stretch,” I whispered out. “A-are you sure he’s in there?”

Sol winced at my tone, before looking up at Emilie. ‘I’m guessing you got a feel for the old man when he turned? I know you said you got attacked by the ghost, but I don’t know how much of that was Tauros Shit to spare me having to deal with it.’

Emilie closed her eyes and lifted a hand into the air. “It was mostly honest, we just left some stuff out. I can’t feel him either.”

‘Then yeah, they’re in there. Probably in the chamber if you still can’t feel anything at all. He didn’t have enough time to clear your range, especially if he’s got Lucas in tow. Fucking hell, how is his terrain still active, I haven’t been by to feed it in weeks.’ Sol sighed. ‘How the hell did he find it if he doesn’t remember anything?”

“Instinct mixed with muscle memory. Spend enough time in a place and I doubt it’ll ever leave you, even in death,” Emilie said.

‘And yet he couldn’t remember me.’ Sol glared down at the ground.

I had to go inside. I had to go back. Dark.

‘Lea,’ Sol barked out. ‘You and the gremlin stay here.’

I felt the tension slowly bleed out from my shoulders before cursing quietly to myself.

Emilie teleported down and got right in Sol’s face. “If you think for a second that I’m going to let you go down there by yourself, you’ve lost your damn mind. I know Lea’s a wreck right now, but you’re not much better. You’ve been shaking for like the last two minutes.”

I winced. Legends above, I really was pathetic, wasn’t I? One of my own was in trouble and I can’t even keep it together enough to plan. It was a newly born Duskull and I was acting like it was the end of the world going down into this cave to deal with it.

‘And leave the catatonic human up here alone? Did you forget how useless you are down there? No way. I’m more than capable of handling myself. This place was my home for most of my life. I can deal with an uppity ghost on its last legs,’ Sol growled.

Lucas was terrified of ending up down there again. He still came out here to keep an eye on Sol and volunteered to stay so she didn’t have to deal with it.

Emilie ground her teeth. “Do you think you’ll be able to attack that Duskull now that you know?”

Sol winced, before looking back and nodding. ‘I don’t have a-’

“Emilie.” The word came out a lot calmer than I felt.

Both Pokémon stopped arguing and turned to look at me.

“I need you to teleport back to the center, pick up Joern and Apollo, and teleport back. It’s probably overkill, but I don’t want to take any chances.” I smiled shakily at the two before walking forward. I stood in the base of the cave and took a deep breath before pushing on. “When you get back, we’ll all go down. Together.”

Emilie stood still for a moment before nodding once and disappearing.

Sol looked me up and down, a frown etched into her face as she stared deeper into the cave. “Sol? Absol.”

I chuckled. “I didn’t understand a word you just said, but I think I know what you asked. I don’t know if I’m ready to do this, but you said it yourself. I have to be. Emilie’s right, you going down alone is a horrible idea.”

Sol growled, pulling a laugh from my lips.

“I made you a promise, several at this point, honestly.” I joined her in looking back into the cave. “I said I’d go down with you, regardless of hang up. I meant it then, and I mean it now. We’re getting Lucas back, we’re getting your dad, and we’re going to help him.” I nodded once at her. “No big scary cave is going to stop us.”

Sol smiled for an incredibly brief moment. If I wasn’t staring directly at her I would have missed it. She huffed and looked away from me, before lying down on the ground.

Stupid Pokémon.

Emilie reappeared on my shoulder, a pair of poke balls in hand. I grabbed them both, squared my shoulders, and marched as our guide took the lead into the abyss below.

Chapter Text

Deep breath in, and deep breath out. Just don’t think about it. Put one foot in front of the other. Think calming thoughts. Winning your next gym badge. May. A fun day at the beach.

I felt a force pull down on my left pant leg, and it took everything I had to hold in my scream. Last thing I wanted was to pull down a horde of Zubat.

Joern looked at me and sighed, a pitying look on his face. ‘Lea, you don’t have to do this to yourself. Me and Apollo are more than enough to deal with this.’

Take it. Just get the hell out of this hell hole. They’ve got this.

“I’m fine,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up. It’d probably be a lot more convincing if my arm wasn’t shaking.

I would not be defeated by this. I beat fear into submission before and I was going to do it again.

“Besides, you need me to light the way.” I waved Wally’s phone around with a weak grin. “You need me.”

‘I think I can manage a phone, Lea,’ Joern said. ‘It can’t be that hard.’

“Joern, you don’t know how to read.” Emilie deadpanned as we moved deeper into the cave.

He didn’t? Of course not. He lived in the wild for most of his life and I haven’t taught him. I needed to fix that.

‘...fair, but you do.’ Joern nodded towards Apollo. ‘I’m fairly confident he does too.’

The waterfowl in question blinked a few times before blushing. ‘Aye, I suppose I can, though this old seadog isn’t all that good at it. I doubt I’d be much help pushing buttons on that tiny little thing, though.’

It didn’t have buttons. It was a touch screen.

“Out of idle curiosity, Apollo. How old are you?” I asked, my urge to be a smart ass beating down the desire to run out of this shithole screaming and crying.

‘Captain, as a personal request, please don’t make me answer that question. I’ll do it if you insist, but-’

“You’re fine, don’t worry. Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” I sighed as Sol took a left at the fork. “You alright, Sol?”

‘Not great. Probably better than you, though.’ She turned and grinned. ‘Your inane ramblings are doing a good job at distracting me from how much I hate this place.’

“Fair enough.” I smiled at her, before fully processing what she said and how she probably meant it. “Also, rude.”

‘You are neither my mother, nor my trainer, so suck it.’ She stuck her tongue out at me. What was she, five?

...I am the last person that should be thinking that.

“I dunno about that last part. Considering how solid this week has gone, May might try to pawn you off on us full time,” Emilie said as she glanced up towards the ceiling.

Sol looked like she’d bit into something sour. ‘I already take frequent walks through the island to get breaks from your stupidity, please don’t make it a full-time thing.’

Joern snorted. ‘I like how you think it gets better when May’s around. Ninety percent of the time, Suzy and Emilie bicker like an old married couple, Leshy glares at us at random intervals before muttering something under his breath and complaining about the good old days, and Samie yoyos between being the most adorable mon on the face of the earth to being the poster child for why testing adhd meds on a Pokémon might be a good idea.’

“I... you, that’s not.” Emilie kept opening and closing her mouth at odd intervals, with random words coming out that didn’t form any kind of coherent stream of information.

“Huh, I didn’t know a conversation was something that could be won, but I think Joern just did.” I smiled down at him and patted his leaf.

‘Not even going to mention the constant make out eyes the captain and her lass have with each other?’ Apollo asked.

“The what!?” I screeched, before throwing both hands over my mouth and looking up towards the ceiling. Please don’t let there be bats.

‘I didn’t feel the need to. She probably saw plenty of it when May was above ground.’ Joern shot me a teasing smirk.

‘Fair enough, fair enough.’ Apollo nodded zenly.

Emilie ignored the both of them, her eyes trained on the shadows between hanging rocks from above.

‘I’m starting to realize that I want to wallow in the bad emotions this place brings out in me more than I want to listen to this conversation.’ Sol’s stare looked dead inside.

‘The point, lass, is that you were conscripted by a group of sailors that probably belong in an asylum. Doesn’t really matter where you end up, you’re living through the best of it with us.’ Apollo grinned before swooping down and landing on Sol’s back. ‘You know what, I’m kind of tired, and this perch is rather comfortable.’ He lifted his wing and pointed further into the abyss. ‘Onward, swabbie. If we don’t have our other swabbie back by daybreak, you’ll inherit his title and it’ll be the Crowsnest for ye.’

Sol growled but slowly picked up the pace. ‘I hate you, so much.’

‘Coming from a dark type, that doesn’t mean-’

“Where are the bats?” Emilie asked, cutting off the stupidity before it could get worse. “None of us have been particularly quiet. There were a ton of random Pokémon the last time we went through here. Where are they?”

‘Great! Just great. We’ve got the starting plot point of a B tier horror movie on top of all the other shit this hellhole has going for it, because why the hell-’

‘Lea, you’re projecting your thoughts,’ Emilie hastily whispered in my mind.

My brain halted all at once as my face lit up bright red. Fuck tonight. Everything about tonight was bad.

‘They’re probably just huddling up somewhere deeper into the caves to get warm, lass. This cave is a fair sight colder than the last time we went through it.’ Apollo brushed past my accidentally aired freak out without batting an eye, and I couldn’t love him more for it.

‘That, or the Duskull’s been practicing his new fancy ghost moves on the locals, and we’re going to find a pile of bodies in the ritually sealed chamber from-’

“Joern!” ‘Joern!’ Not a single other Pokémon's voice was left out of that shout as my heart leapt into my throat.

‘...sorry. That joke kind of-’

I ignored him as I pushed through the group, light in hand, and made tracks for our destination. The sooner we got out of here, the fucking better.

‘Wait, I’m the one that knows the way!’ Sol shouted.

“Screw you. I know where I’m going. Keep up!” I shouted back as I took the middle path in a set of three. “I’ve only been in here for ten minutes and I am already done!”

‘Damn it all, you bilge-sucking addlepate! We had her calm, and you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and think for five seconds!’ Apollo screamed as he flew up, carefully dipping below some dangling rocks from the ceiling.

‘I know, I know. Latrine duty, I’m aware. Yell at me when we’re not busy chasing down our only light source in this pit.’ Joern groaned as a weight formed on top of his leaf. ‘Damn it, Emilie, I’m not a Ponyta, get off!’

“Shut up, your legs are longer than mine and trying to stay balanced on Lea’s shoulder right now is a dance with death. Sol, how much are we going to have to backtrack once she calms down? I remember you saying these caves were one big maze,” Emilie said as we dipped to the right at another fork.

‘Uh... actually, we’ve been going the right way,’ Sol said. ‘Lea, I know you’re really busy having a freak out right now, but how do you know where we’re going?’

“No idea. This path feels familiar. I blame being possessed. Less talking more runn-ah!” I stopped talking as a horde of Zubat swarmed us as we rounded the corner. I lifted both arms in front of me as they rushed down, before wincing as a hundred tiny little bodies bounced off my tiny frame before bounding out through the cave we came from.

‘See. Further in.’ Apollo floated down and landed on the stone floor; his wing raised as the last of the Zubat filtered through. ‘Now. Are we all calm? Is this group of sailors ready for the mission? Because the door’s right there, and it’s sealed shut again.’

I slowly let out the air I was holding in as I sunk down to the floor and hugged myself.. "Just think of outside, Lea. Think of outside." I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and slowly let the air out through my mouth. In, and out.

Casually glancing around me, I winced as I noticed the somewhat familiar sights. That indentation was where Sol was slammed into the wall. There was a faint bit of blood just a few feet away.

I glanced down at Sol with a knitted brow. How many times did she come back through this chamber? How long did she spend just... hanging out, where it happened? She was walking towards the door like this place didn’t even bother her right now. Why the hell was I so pathetic?

‘It’s been resealed. I don’t know how, though.’ Her voice was low. ‘I was at least partially right. The door’s gray now, instead of black. God, dad, just how strong were you? It’s been weeks since I’ve been back here to reinforce it, and the Terrain is still up. ’ Sol sighed before turning back to the group. ‘I don’t know if you’ll be able to do much, Emilie, but it shouldn’t be as bad as the last time you were here.’

Emilie nodded once, before lifting both hands above her head. Several loose, large boulders rose up from the ground. ‘Stand clear.’

‘Huh, wait, Emilie. That didn’t work last time, what-’ Joern barely managed to hop out of the way as the volley of stones slammed into the ornate doors.

Several cracks formed on impact, before the whole thing exploded inwards, kicking up dirt and gravel as the smell of decay assaulted my nostrils. Cold air permeated the hall as chaos settled, and the chamber stood open.

“I’ll forgive you for thinking I’m anywhere close to as weak as I was a few weeks ago. You’re not the only one that’s been training their ass off.” Emilie huffed as she slowly started walking forward.

Joern just nodded, his mouth opened wide as he took in the sight. ‘Thanks... I think.’

My legs were still frozen in place as Joern started to follow. Could they not smell that? Could they not feel that cloying unnatural cold chill?

Sol brushed up against my leg and I took a deep, shuddering breath. I hadn’t been breathing. How had I smelled anything?

The dark type just stared up at me and smiled, before nodding toward the open passage. ‘I’m not going to bother telling you to wait here. You’re way too stubborn for that, but... if you want, I can stay close.’ She looked away with a blush. ‘I hear that fur can be quite calming.’

I took a few more deep breaths before nodding, my heart slowly calming down as I gave her a gentle smile and rested my hand on top of her head. “Thanks.”

‘Don’t mention it. To anyone. Ever.’ Sol slowly walked forward, and I kept in step.

Apollo just looked at the two of us and smiled, the prick.

Black walls had been replaced with a monochromatic greyscale that oozed a single pronounced feeling of loss. It was tangible and cloying as my nightmare slowly formed around me. Torches lit up the whole of the chamber in an eerie blue light, and at the center of it all, stood a proud, red sword, slammed deep into the ground atop the raised dais.

“Lucas!” I moved quickly once I saw it, the rest of my worries melting away as I moved to lift him from the ground. “Lucas, are you alright?”

“Lea, wait-”

Emilie was cut off as the ground shifted and warped beneath me. A writhing mass of shadows lurched upwards, shoving me backwards as a single thought plagued my mind. Why did this place look so pristine? Why was it put together at all when we practically destroyed it the last time we were here?

Something was horribly wrong.

‘You’re intruding. On my Terrain.’ A crippling chill gripped my spine as a blue flame danced in front of me, forming seconds before a white mask stared deep into my soul. ‘Sleep.’

A crippling sense of lethargy overtook me as the word bounced around inside my skull. A volley of glowing blue leaves slammed into the ground in front of me, forcing the ghost back, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I slowly started to fall backwards.

‘If you think you can bully my trainer while I’m up and about,’ Joern snarled as his arm glowed black. ‘I’ll be damned if I let anything hurt her in this cursed room again!’ He leapt forward and slammed his fist into the ground as the ghost type slunk down into the shadows. Rocks exploded upward in a hail of shrapnel that bounced harmlessly off Joern’s thick skin.

‘Up you go, cap. We can’t be sleepin’ on the job,’ Apollo said as he pushed up against my back with his beak, doing his best to keep me upright. He sounded so far away.

‘Care to give that fancy little ball of yours a shot?’ Emilie whispered into my mind, her tone gentle and soothing.

"Wha...”

A small stream of cold water blasted me in the back of the head, and I sputtered for a few seconds before nodding and falling to one knee.

I turned back and nodded at Apollo before focusing. “Sorry. I got tunnel vision.” I reached down and pulled up Lucas’s ball, before aiming it at the sword.

A single red line reached across the room and made contact, before dissipating to no effect.

I leaned back, before doing a double take as the ground Joern just destroyed slowly started to reform. “What the fuck?”

Sol stared at the ground before looking around the chamber and sighing. ‘Oh, good. The party trick wasn’t the only thing you remembered, because of course it wasn’t. I should’ve known it was something different.’

‘Care to share, lass?’ Apollo asked as he glanced toward the ground worriedly.

‘He set up Terrain. The ground doesn’t look different because the old one’s fading, it’s different because it IS different.’ Sol jumped toward me and got down low. ‘I have no fucking clue what this does, so be ready for anything.’

Joern growled as he lifted his arms up, a spinning ball of water forming between his hands. ‘Counteroffer. Fuck this and his little shadow puppet game. Emilie-’

“Already on it. Let her rip.” My starter disappeared, before reforming in front of me. The air around me started to shine.

‘Hide from this, coward.’ Joern slammed his hands up, and the water expanded outward before exploding in every direction. The six blue fires that lit up the chamber sputtered and died as the cascade slammed against the walls and rattled the torches.

As the fires died, a small figure rose up from the darkness into the flooded cave. I stared on from my spot behind Emilie’s barrier and watched as Joern swam through the receding water and leapt up into the air, before bringing his arm down on the ghost type. It cleaved into the miasma with a resounding crack, and the shadowy form exploded in a black goop that coated the cave.

Joern whipped his head around as the last of the water flowed out of the chamber. ‘Another fake.’

Sol leapt forward and slammed Joern out of the way as a black tendril rose up from the ground where Joern had been. A single wind sickle launched out from behind me and cut the attack in two, and a piercing wail sounded out into the darkness.

‘Yeah, well keep your tentacles to yourself, you craven scallywag.’ Apollo hopped forward. ‘Any ideas on how to draw this thing out, cap?’

I whipped my head away from the spot where the tendrils fell back into the ground to look at my quartermaster, my thoughts a scattered mess. “I... I don’t-”

Sol leapt backwards as two new black tendrils rose up from the ground, a Shadow Ball already charged. A brief pained look crossed her features as she fired, her shot going completely wide of the things that just attacked her.

‘Damn it, Cap. Keep your head in the game!’ Apollo shouted, his face right in front of mine. ‘I know you’re terrified. You’ve every right to be, but we need you right now. You’re the brains of this crew, so stop fighting scared, unfurl your sails, and show this dime store ghost ship reject just how outmatched he-’

Three black tendrils rose up from below Apollo and slammed into his sides. I stared with wide eyes as his beak opened wide with pain as he slowly rose up from the spectral vines that dug into him.

In that single moment, my worries seemed to fade into the backdrop as my waterfowl launched a Water Gun into the shadows below. We weren’t in a cave. We weren’t in a tomb, fighting for our lives against some unknown, overwhelming force of nature. It was just me with my family, fighting against some random, wild Pokémon that thought we’d be easy pickings.

I clenched my fists and glared down at the moving shadows beneath us. “Emilie, can you move your barrier?”

Emilie tilted her head up at me and nodded. “Uh, yeah. Kind of. It’s slow, but we can move. Why?”

“Good, in that case, we’re getting Lucas back, now.” I lifted myself up to full height and pressed my hands up against the wall Emilie had erected around us. “Joern, Apollo. This thing doesn’t want me pulling Lucas out of the altar again. When it pops up to stop me, hammer it with your strongest attacks.”

“You want to use yourself as bait, are you nuts?” Emilie shouted right in my ear.

Legends above she was getting shriller as time went on. “I have every confidence in your ability to keep me safe, now start moving this wall.”

‘You can... count on us... cap.’ Apollo’s thoughts came jumbled and echoed, a warbled quality distorting the message.

“Sol, your job is to keep these two from getting hammered while they look for an opening. Just because I’m pissing off the angry ghost doesn’t mean he still won’t try to go for you guys,” I ordered.

Sol nodded once before shifting her gaze to the ground below.

I reached out my mind to my quartermaster, a frown marring my features. ‘You alright? Sorry you got hurt talking sense into me.’

‘It’ll take more than a few hits from a trumped-up ghost to bring me down, Captain. Don’t worry so much,’ Apollo said.

I nodded up at him, before almost falling forward as the wall I had placed myself against slowly started to move forward. “Ack, Emilie, a little warning?”

“You’re the one that told me to move the walls, mon amie.” Emilie smirked at me as her eyes glowed in the pale darkness. “Grab the phone so the stupid ghost can’t get it.”

I scrambled to do just that when another sneak attack came from below. The tendrils rose up and slammed into Emilie’s wall, bouncing off the barrier without leaving so much as a crack. I lifted up the only consistent source of light we had in this hellhole as a sickle of wind sliced through the exposed appendages, and slowly trudged forward towards our goal.

This march continued in much the same way for what felt like an eternity, as I slowly realized exactly what kind of fighter this thing was. Not once had it stuck its own mask up to fire something with more power. It continued to hide, despite the steady progress we made, taking potshots wherever it could, hoping to land another strike.

I could honestly state that I hadn’t felt this annoyed since my fight against Wally.

Things quickly changed the second I took my first step up to stand on the dais in the middle of the room. The torches once again came to life, shifting in color from blue to purple before settling on an unnatural lime green as several fires rose up from the abyss that matched them in color.

Just as soon as they appeared, a massive torrent of water was let loose, once again flooding the area as Joern glared down toward the ground. ‘I don’t care how spooky you make it, fire’s still fire.’

I grinned, before taking another step up. Lucas was right there. The barrier expanded slightly, and within a few steps, I stood before what I assumed was the unconscious form of my pun-loving ghost type. At the base of the pedestal, I could faintly make out a symbol carved into the base. One I couldn’t understand.

I wrapped both hands around Lucas’s hilt, and winced as an otherworldly shriek filled my ears. Duskull himself finally launched out from the shadows, his eye glowing red as one of his hands rose up above his head, a faint purple glow radiating from it as he moved forward with the speed of a freight train.

He didn’t even get to touch the barrier.

Joern slammed his fist home, driving the Knock Off into Duskull’s face with an audible crack and slamming it into the ground. He bounced twice before landing in a heap across the cave, his body unmoving.

Sol hoped forward before nudging him with her claw, her shoulders stiff as she took stock of the unconscious ghost type. ‘It’s real.’

‘Oh, thank Kyogre. That was miserable.’ Apollo grinned as he shifted his gaze to me. ‘Care to give that idiot a tug so we can get out of here, captain? This old sea bird could use a nap.’

I nodded with a grin, before turning around and grabbing Lucas by the hilt and pulling. A small bit of resistance made itself known, before a blinding blue light cascaded throughout the chamber, banishing the grey aura that clung to it and revealing the shattered chamber beneath. Beams of moonlight shone through holes in the ceiling, and massive piles of stone and rock covered the ground around them.

“What... what on earth?” I muttered as I slowly lifted the blade into the air, the moonlight reflecting off the steel in resplendent glory.

Emilie smiled before teleporting to my shoulder. “We thrashed the place last time, remember? Multiple cave ins, huge ass fight, ringing any bells? I don’t know where exactly we were or what he did, but... when we walked through those doors, we sure as hell weren’t here.”

I nodded grimly before taking a few steps forward. “Sol, Apollo, Joern, are you alright?”

Apollo flew up from behind a single pile of rocks and landed in front of me, before collapsing down in an exhausted heap on the ground. ‘Reporting for duty, captain.’ An attempt was made to make a salute, but the wing fell limply back to the ground before it could be completed.

‘Yeah, we’re good, Lea,’ Joern muttered as he shoved a large rock up and stood proud as Sol hoped out from under the pile.

‘We came back in a pile of rocks, really?’ Sol muttered before shaking out her fur. Dust and gravel flew out in every direction as she stretched out and glared behind her. ‘Nothing can go right tonight, can it. Well, we won, so I suppose it can’t get any worse.’

Emilie teleported down and landed angrily on Sol’s head. “Idiot. You don’t just say crap like that. Do you have any idea how bad it is to tempt fate? Do you?”

I started giggling before sucking in a sharp breath as something started to move in my hands.

‘Lea, I uh... I appreciate you coming down here like this for me, but uh... well, I’m exceptionally flattered but, Arceus this is awkward. It’s not you, it’s me. You’re human, I’m a talking undead spirit in a sword, it’d never work.’ Lucas kept going faster as he went, a light tinge of red spreading through the hilt that was being held in his tassel as he glanced form left to right. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, could you, uh... let go?’

I couldn’t help it. I started laughing, hard, as I let the spectral sword float out of my hands. ‘I’m sorry, Lucas. Thank you for letting me down easily.’

‘So out of idle curiosity, is that why-ow.’ Joern cut himself off before meeting the glare of an angry dark type.

‘I’m doing Apollo’s job for him. Not where children are present.’ Sol nudged her horn toward Emilie.

‘You do realize I’m translating for all of us and know what almost everyone’s going to say and not say, right? Besides, going off how hard Lucas is trying not to laugh right now, that whole skit was him being him.’ Emilie capped off her thoughts with a giggle as the ghost type joined me in laughing.

‘Just a little bit of fun, is all. Besides, that was more or less just us holding hands,’ he said between giggles. ‘ Now then, why don’t we call it a night and get out of here, Apollo looks half dead, and I could use a-’

A black shadow moved just out of the corner of my eye, and I shoved Lucas backwards as a tiny black ball of shadows with a cracked mask dove, headfirst, into me.

“Lea!” Thoughts mixed with words as all of my Pokémon rushed forward. Joern propped me up as I slowly fell down to the ground, and Emilie teleported back to my shoulder before putting her hands on my head.

“Wait,” I gasped out between shuddering breaths. “I’m fine.” What was weird was, I wasn’t lying. I felt like myself, and I could tell exactly where Duskull was in my head, despite not being there.

This was easy, and I had no idea why.

‘Lea, that thing’s trying to possess you, I need to shove him out before-’

I cut Emilie off with a grin. ‘He’s not going to get very far. I can feel him trying to look for something to grab hold of. Anything...’ I glanced down toward Sol with a smile. ‘I trusted you earlier. ’ I let my eyes drift closed and fell back on the cold hard ground behind me. ‘I made a promise, and I think I know of a way to keep it.’

I heard a loud, annoyed growl from my right and felt a thump on my right shoulder and smiled even wider, before letting the world around me fade.

My own personal world rose up from the darkness, and a single, tiny black ball of goop, barely larger than the palm of my hand, scurried back behind a fence post. I could feel the abject fear and regret rolling off him in waves, as he tried, and failed to flee my mind.

I closed my eyes and imagined myself on the other side of the fence, before opening them and grinning down at the shadowy interloper. “You bit off way more than you can chew, huh?”

The mini specter lurched upwards, before diving back between the posts and scurrying away from me. He almost seemed to crawl along the ground, he was moving so slow.

I chuckled lightly to myself. “It’d almost be cute if it weren’t a bit sad. I wonder. Do you remember this place? You had to have spent some time here before you turned, but I have no idea how much of that stuck.”

The small blob didn’t respond as it scurried forward, desperately trying to reach one of the buildings. I sighed, closed my eyes, and brought my hand up before clenching it into a fist. A single, loud yell flitted through my mindscape, and I grinned as Duskull looked up at me from behind a small, stone cage. Outside, he could probably phase through the bars, but here? In a world dictated by me?

My rule was law.

I slowly walked over and knelt down to stare at the creature with narrowed eyes. “Sorry about this. I just needed to make sure you understood. Trying to possess someone is wrong, and more than a few people out there are equipped to make sure you have a very bad time.” Thinking for a second, I reached down and picked up the small, spherical prison and visualized myself with black, hollow eyes. “You wouldn’t want to have a bad time, would you?”

Duskull pressed himself to the back walls of his prison as he quickly shook his head from side to side.

I grinned before letting the stone ball dissolve into dust in my hand as I closed my fingers around the writhing ball of shadows. “Now then, you might not know it, but I believe I owe you a debt.”

The single blue dot behind Duskull’s mask kept rapidly moving between my face, and my other hand.

I sighed, already tired of being feared. “You probably don’t remember any of it, but you helped me help a friend of mine through a really tough time.”

The fire behind Duskull’s eyes stopped moving as I let my eyes start to glow.

“You gave me a gift, even if I didn’t view it as one when it happened. I think it cost you everything you had left at the time, but you didn’t mind. You just wanted to help someone close to you. I...” I sighed before looking down at the ghost with a sad smile. “I admire you, honestly. Not a lot of people or Pokémon would do what you did. None of this means much of anything to you, does it?”

Duskull didn’t break eye contact.

I sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. Still though, that doesn’t change anything. I didn’t really know how I was going to do this, but I think I have a very good idea now that you’re here.” I closed my eyes and imagined myself in my mind palace.

A niggling twinge of doubt gave me pause, but as I visualized the tiny, terrified creature in the palm of my hand and Sol’s depressed, hopeful face, my decision was made for me. The bakery formed around us in an instant, and I took a seat at one of the tables. “It’s time I returned the favor and gave you a gift of my own. So just close your eyes and join me, as we take a trip down memory lane.”

***

I let out a sigh as I opened my eyes and glanced around the shattered chamber, before glancing to the left as a small black blob flowed into my shadow before disappearing into the caves beyond.

‘How did it go?’ Sol immediately put herself in my personal space, her eyes pleading.

“Are you alright?” Emilie asked shortly after, glaring at the dark type.

I smiled at my starter. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’d like to think I can handle a new ghost trying to bully me. Have SOME faith in your teaching skills.”

“Excuse me for being worried, you were out for a bit.” Emilie put her hands on my head, her eyes glowing. “He’s not still in there, right? Do I need to show a spook who’s boss?”

“Already did, don’t worry.” I pushed myself up from the ground. “I had to show him all the memories he showed me, plus all the new ones he made when he was just a ghost and not a ghost Pokémon.”

‘He’s good now then? Where is he?’ Sol whipped her head around the room, tracing every shadow.

I let out a long sigh. “To be honest, he slinked off as soon as I let him, and is probably somewhere on the island having a long, hard think about all the things he just lived through.” I grinned as I looked out a hole in the ceiling towards the moon. “Trust me when I say that it’s a lot.”

‘Oh.’ Sol sagged low, a frown on her face.

“He just needs time, okay?” I did my best to smile at her. “I could also feel guilt rolling off of him in waves, in addition to him being really overwhelmed. He’s... not exactly proud of how he’s acted these last few days.”

Sol chuckled before returning the smile. ‘That’s a good thing, at least. Means he’s got a handle on his thoughts and feelings and isn’t just an angry, vengeful ghost.’ She laughed again. ‘Honestly, that’s more of a relief than anything. I already knew he was going to be a mess after this, him taking a sabbatical for a few days isn’t out of character. Dad’s not too great with feelings.’

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, before wincing. Legends above, that question was stupid.

Sol chuckled. ‘I will be, don’t worry. Dad’s in the driver's seat of his own mind for the most part. We can deal with everything else later, preferably with more sleep and during the day.’ She glanced at her ball.

I rolled my eyes at the over the top hint, grabbed her ball, and recalled her. “Where’s everyone else?”

“I recalled Apollo because he was dead on his feet, and Joern’s keeping watch at the entrance to make sure we don’t get jumped.” Emilie nodded towards the door. “Want to grab him and get out of here?”

I nodded once before grabbing Wally’s phone and freezing.

My gloves were gone.

How long did it take me to realize that? I don’t think I took them off, when did I lose them?

Why am I not freaking out?

I took a moment to really look at them. My nails had started to grow back. Legends above the little nubs were actually kind of cute. They still had a long way to go, but it was nice to see them. Most of the scar tissue had faded. The skin wasn’t as misshapen.

Honestly... they looked nice. Not great, but still.

I smiled to myself as I swiped down on the phone, wincing at the time. Two in the morning, great. To top it all off, we hadn’t had dinner.

I tapped the light function back on, before freezing and swiping toward messenger. May hadn’t shot me a text tonight.

A cold chill gripped my shoulders as a frown pulled at my lips.

‘Everything alright?’ Emilie asked.

I turned toward my starter and did my best to smile. “Probably nothing. I’ll call May tomorrow, she’s probably asleep now. No since in worrying-”

“Send a text. Sergei will respond if no one else is available,” Emilie ordered.

I froze, slightly taken aback, before nodding and typing my message asking if things were alright.

I instantly got a ping back and sighed. “Sergei said they got caught up in something with the variant Sandshrew, and they didn’t really have time to talk. He also said that Wayne now has a new member from the cold tribe.”

Emilie’s shoulder sagged. “Good, that’s good. Probably still a good idea to call tomorrow, though. You ready to get out of here?”

I nodded, before walking towards the shattered doors. “You have no idea.”

***

I pulled up Wally’s phone and tapped on Sergei’s number before taking in the sight of my full squad. Emilie was playing keep away with Joern’s bacon as the first dial tone played, and Apollo snatched it out of the air with his beak before throwing his head back and swallowing.

‘Rude! Leave some for the rest of us, old man.’ Joern reached out, only to grab air as the flying type flew juuuust a bit higher.

‘Not his fault you’re a bit dull,’ Lucas said.

Another dial tone played as a small, bundle of shadows faded through the wall. Everyone tensed slightly, before the ghost chuckled lightly and waved his hands in front of him.

‘I come in peace. I, uh. Just wanted to talk.’ The ghost shifted his gaze to look towards the frozen dark type. ‘If that’s okay, Sol?’

Sol practically beamed as a third dial tone played in my ear. ‘I’d love that.’

I smiled at the scene before freezing, my veins turning to ice in an instant and my heart practically stopping as a monotone voice played out in my ear. “The number you have dialed is currently not available. Please hang up and dial again.”

Chapter Text

Cold wind blew out from the mouth of the cave as I stared down into the cavernous chambers below, the yawning void descending down. Ice coated the sides of the walls and dangled down from the top of the cave in sharp, jagged spears. Damn thing looked like it wanted to swallow me whole.

“Be brave, Lea,” I muttered to myself, pulling my coat tighter around my shoulders as movement started to writhe from beneath the layers I had dawned for this expedition.

Emilie stuck her head out from a small opening at the top of my zipper and looked up at me, her eyebrows pulled together as she shifted her gaze around the clearing. “Where the hell is he?”

I sighed, doing my best to hide my chattering teeth. “We’re not his only responsibilities, Emilie.” I glanced up toward the cloudy sky and winced as the wind once again shifted direction.

Emilie just kept her mouth closed and stared down into the cave.

I reached up and patted her on the head, which was now covered with a small green beanie. “We’ll find them, don’t worry.”

Emilie turned up and smirked, before batting my hand away. “Don’t treat me like a kid…” Her complaint lacked its usual heat. “Finding them isn’t what I’m worried about. It’s how we’ll find them.”

“They were prepared for the worst when they went down. I’ve got faith in-”

Emilie shot me a look that I didn’t know how to respond to. I just snapped my mouth closed and looked back down the cave.

We stood in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time as Emilie lightly shivered.

“You can hide out in your poke ball, you know? I’ve got Lucas and Duskull out here with me,” I said.

Emilie shook her head with a smile as a small glowing blue light shone from my shadow. “I’m staying out here to keep an eye on you. Got it?” She shivered. “You were alone in your vision. I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll deal.”

I nodded, before smiling at her mischievously. “Would now be a bad time to state that you look absolutely adorable in that beanie?”

Emilie buried herself in my coat again and I started chuckling.

“Surprised to see you in high spirits,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned and grinned, my eyes locked to the eight poke balls strapped to his belt as I took in just how puffy he looked. Legends above, how many layers was he wearing? “If I didn’t make jokes with my Pokémon, I’d be a freaked out ball of panic and nerves.” I stopped as I let the previous night play out across my mind. “That’s not helping anyone. I need to be at my best.”

“Well said. Are you ready to go?” he asked as he walked forward toward the cave, a flashlight in hand.

***

Three hours ago

***

I pulled my phone away from my ear, my heartbeat picking up in pace as I tapped on May’s profile in the contacts again and hit call as Sol and Duskull ducked out of the room. It rang once, twice, three times...

“Lea?” Emilie poked her head up from her spot at the table first as the line once again went to voicemail.

I hadn’t even known that Sergei had a damn voicemail. “If this is a practical joke, I’m figuring out a way to break into that damn case.”

Lucas, Joern, and Apollo were now glancing my way. I didn’t need those looks right now, damn it.

Okay, deep breaths. Just think. Maybe Sergei was busy with something. Wouldn’t be the first time. Scroll up, and... score! Jasmine was in here. Alright, so just call, and...

“The number you are dialing is no longer in service.” A long, dead tone filled my ears as my heart fell to the bottom of my stomach.

Jasmine was always on her phone. That girl would sooner die than see anything bad happen to that damn thing! There was a north of ninety percent chance that she’d probably be buried with that stupid piece of plastic and circuitry.

Visions of frozen statues played through my head, and I bit back a curse.

‘Everything alright, captain?’ Apollo was the first one to break the tension, his eyes glued to the offending piece of junk in my hand.

My mouth felt like sandpaper. “I can’t reach them.”

Emilie teleported up to my shoulder and frowned. “Doesn’t Sergei have-”

“Yes!” I winced as my starter flinched at the volume. “I don’t even know what you were going to ask, but I’m pretty damn sure Sergei has it. That damn phone has everything you can think of on there.”

‘Well, maybe the signal is being blocked, ’ Joern suggested.

The group as a whole shifted their gaze to the lily pad Pokémon.

‘What? That felt like the obvious conclusion to make.’ Joern shrugged his shoulders as Lucas sighed.

‘That conclusion is probably a lot better than what’s running through Lea’s head right now. ’ Lucas nodded once, the decals on his sheath that resembled eyebrows scrunching up as he glanced toward me. ‘I’m not exactly hip to how the new fangled cellular devices you kids use work. What could block a signal?’

“I, uh...” Honestly, what COULD block Sergei? I saw how long the damn list of safeguards was in the manual May didn’t read.

My girl really did pick the weirdest things to not nerd out about.

“Really strong electromagnets,” I finally settled on. “Maybe a Pokémon with an absurdly strong Lightning Rod ability or a really advanced machine based Pokémon.”

The latter options were a bit of a stretch.

I nearly launched myself into the damn ceiling when Wally’s phone started buzzing in my hand. New message from Sergei, oh thank-

The second I opened the message, Wally’s phone almost seemed to scream in pain as the screen started to glitch out. The white background shifted blue in color as an image flickered in and out of screen, then bright red as a loud, high-pitched whine assaulted my ears. Before I could even think of hitting the back key to try and get out of this mess, the phone went black, before displaying the Devon Logo as it started to reboot.

“What the fuck was that?” Emilie asked, giving the phone a wide-eyed stare as she leaned away from the device.

I glanced her way, my expression a mirror of hers. “You think I know?” Legends above my voice was cracking.

Before Emilie could answer, a single image displayed on the screen, taking up the whole phone. A bunch of tiny holes had been gouged into a smooth sheet of ice in some kind of odd pattern. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, the dots were seemingly random, but the placement looked deliberate. None of Wally’s apps were displayed, and regardless of where or what I pressed, the screen wouldn’t change.

‘What is that?’ Joern asked as he pushed his head around to see. ‘Human languages are usually a bit more diverse than a bunch of dots, right?’

‘They look similar to the symbols my mates and I found down in that desert expedition. Our client was able to decipher them, but I have no earthly clue what they mean,’ Apollo said as he floated over my shoulder.

I turned and tilted my head, my eyebrows furrowed. “It’s dots. How do you decipher-”

‘Hold the phone sideways,’ Lucas choked out, the usual red color that decorated his blade looking decidedly pale as he inched closer towards the phone.

I turned, before nodding. The frozen image didn’t rotate, and Lucas’s true eye scanned across the picture slowly.

‘It’s braille.’ The words lacked their usual airy quality, and I desperately wanted him to break out a horrid pun right now about dots and points. ‘I don’t know how, but I can read this.’

‘Care to share with crew, swabbie? You’re freaking the captain out even more.’ Apollo ducked down and waved a wing forward, only to meet air as his feathers pushed right through my ghost type.

Lucas swallowed down a gulp of air before nodding, his eye locked in place as his body shook. ‘Long did we live here, in this cave. All thanks to the deity living alongside us. And yet, we sealed it away. Alone, in the dark. We feared it. Those who still have courage. Those who cling on to hope. Throw open the doors. An eternal being awaits.’

“That’s... incredibly ominous,” Emilie whispered out.

‘There’s one last word.’ The words that left Lucas’s mouth were so quiet that I could barely hear them. ‘Right here. It’s this messy scrawl at the bottom. It’s kind of hard to make out.’ He pointed at the chaotic carvings with a shaking tassel. ‘Thieves. That’s what it says.’

I pushed myself up from the table so quickly that the chair behind me fell backwards to the floor and sprinted to the video phone room.

***

Sol’s POV

***

Sol glanced behind her for a brief moment before hopping down the hall, eager to get away from the over the phone flirting and sappiness before it even began. Dusk- Dad floated behind her, keeping a healthy distance as they moved through the center.

“Is it alright to leave them? Lea seemed worried about something,” Dad asked.

Sol shivered, and briefly wondered if she would ever get used to the echoed mess that was his voice. “I’d be worried if I actually felt something bad coming on.”

“You didn’t feel anything when I attacked Lucas.” Duskull stared down at the ground, doing his best to not meet her eyes.

Sol jumped forward and nudged the ghost with her horn. “None of that, alright? You weren’t yourself.”

“I still don’t think I am.” His voice sounded defeated. “There’s still this disconnect when I see my past self’s actions.”

Sol frowned. “You’ve been a ghost Pokémon for less than a week. You just need time. Most of your type is still floating aimlessly trying to make sense of the world.” She leaned in closer, forcing the ghost to look her in the eye. “What do you remember, anyways?”

“The things Lea showed me connected a lot of dots with images that were still in my head. A lot of it revolved around you, obviously.” His eye lit up as his body thrummed. “I don’t really remember much about your mother at all, though.”

Sol chuckled. “That might be a good thing for you. You pissed her off a lot.” She shivered slightly as she let herself sit down on the floor. “Please tell me you want to stick around.”

A dull, throaty chuckle pushed out from the ghost type. “Where else am I going to go? I’m happy you managed to find such a lively bunch, Sol. They’re good for you.” The bottom of Duskull’s skull mask stretched slightly in what Sol assumed was supposed to be a smile. “It’s a nice contrast to your poor old dad.”

Sol lifted her paw up and slapped her forehead with it. “Please… no. That is not a ghost trait. Don’t pick up the stupid sword's terrible sense of humor.”

“I don’t know that I have a choice, hon. I picked up a few other things while I was hanging out in Lea’s head. Considering these jokes have been given the label of ‘Dad Jokes’, I feel obligated to embrace this aspect of modern culture,” he said.

“Of course you do,” Sol muttered. “How is it that you’re a lot less broody and chill as a ghost, huh? You fucking died.”

Duskull floated up and tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, I don’t get that. Past me had an amazing daughter, a beautiful, if scary wife, a roof over his head, and three square meals a day.” Duskull nodded once. “He even got to kick fifteen different kinds of ass on occasion. I can’t fathom why someone like that would behave like a moody teenager.”

Sol sighed before staring at her father with a frown etched into her features. “Yeah… you spent too long in Lea’s head. You caught her crazy, damn it all.” She shook her head before getting up and walking closer. “Do you… remember anything outside of our life in the cave?”

“No, should I?” he asked.

“Nope.” Sol violently shook her head. “Nothing about it is worth remembering, and…” A smile pulled at Sol’s lips as she bumped into Duskull’s mask with her forehead. “I can get used to it. I like you being happier.”

The ghost stared at her for a minute before floating down and hiding in Sol’s shadow. “I thought it was the parent’s job to embarrass their kid, not the other way around.” His voice wavered a bit as he talked. “I like seeing you happy, too.”

“I’m sure you’ll do plenty of crap that’ll make me wish I wasn’t related to you, don’t worry.” Sol lightly scratched at her own shadow and sighed when the ghost didn’t pop back up. “It’s alright to be a little emotional, alright?” She wasn’t doing her absolute best to put up a strong front. Nope. Not even a little bit. That voice break totally wasn’t audible.

A light chuckle floated out from her shadow. “We’re both full of it, aren’t we?”

“Yup.” That voice break wasn’t audible either. “I’m just… I’m just so happy I still have you-” Sol broke down, a smile on her face as she finally allowed the tears to fall.

The ghost rose up from the shadows and moved forward, a pair small, disembodied hands raised to either side as he pulled the dark type into a hug.

“I missed you. I missed you so much it hurt some days,” Sol said between hiccups. “I just did my duty. Day after day, because it was all I had left. I felt so lost.”

He rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder. The cold hands felt rough and leathery, yet she didn’t want them to leave.

“I know. To be honest, I don’t think I ever left. Even if I don’t remember that time super clearly, I can’t imagine leaving you behind.” He leaned back and stared into Sol’s eyes. “So quit it with the tears, alright?”

Sol nodded, before sniffing and looking away. “I’m trying.” She wiped at her eyes with her paws. “So you’re alright hanging out with the rest of the asylum escapees, then?”

Duskull grinned. “I don’t know of a way you could stop me. To say nothing of the now… massive debt that I owe Lea, you’ve found a new home with them.” He floated closer and rested a hand on Sol’s head. “It’s a bit of a relief, honestly. I wanted you out of that cursed cave.”

“You do realize that Lea doesn’t care about debts, right?” Sol leaned into the touch as she talked. “She’s kind of a bleeding heart.”

“The right sort of person to be your trainer, then.” Duskull nodded to himself.

Sol winced. “Uh… technically speaking-”

“I don’t care about who owns your poke ball,” Duskull cut her off. “I care about who’s been there for you the most these last few days.”

“I never gave May a chance,” Sol shouted as she glared down at the ground.

Duskull remained silent as he leaned forward, urging his daughter on.

“May just… didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to listen to what she had to say.” She growled, wincing at the memory. “It took Apollo bearing his soul to me while he kicked my ass to get me to listen. To realize who I was taking my anger out on. I want to give her a chance before making any decisions.” She chuckled. “I already know neither one of them cares where I end up as long as I’m happy, and I could do with keeping my fur dry, thank you very much.”

Duskull nodded before bumping her forehead with his mask. “You’ve matured while I’ve been away.”

She nodded before glancing back toward the cafeteria. “Besides, This week was a bit of an outlier. I’m willing to bet this has been the longest those two haven’t occupied the same air. It doesn’t really matter who owns my poke ball at the end of the day.

Duskull held his daughter’s gaze for a while, before letting out a chuckle. “I look forward to officially meeting her. She must be quite the woman to have captured Lea’s heart.”

Sol snorted. “Knowing those two, they’ll both try to adopt me and co-train…” Sol trailed off as the color drained from her face. “Fuck me.”

“Language, young lady.” The bottom of his mask stretched again.

Sol groaned and opened her mouth, then snapped it shut as a trainer walked through the hall, an alert playing on his phone.

“...and with the current temperatures, it’s expected that the winter storm will have debilitating effects on the island as the winds slowly start to ramp up. Gusts are expected to reach fifty miles an hour, with snow, ice, and hail hitting the island later tonight. The source of this weather phenomenon remains a mystery, as the storm seemingly appeared over the island without any warning…” The broadcast cut off as the trainer walked out of hearing range.

Sol snapped to attention and ran after him, then winced when she looked outside through one of the windows.

The clouds overhead blocked out the sun, their presence a suffocating weight on the island. A faint howling could be heard as another group of trainers quickly rushed through the door.

“...Theorists suggest that a Pokémon might be responsible for the sudden, freak weather change, but no Pokémon on record is capable of a change on this scale…” The broadcast was deafening as Sol turned the corner, only to wince back as the entire foyer, which was normally empty, was packed. Trainers of all ages, shapes, and sizes lined the room from wall to wall, taking every seat and standing around with their eyes glued to their phones as Nurse Joy walked around, offering hot chocolate to the new people that shambled in.

“...one thing is for sure, though. Our meteorologists all agree that this will be one of the biggest disasters for the island in living memory. It’s suggested that everyone hunker down in the nearest shelter, and for…

Sol felt the color drain from her face as she darted back through the hallway. How the hell did something like this happen? She was the disaster Pokémon. Her entire species was able to predict cataclysms, foretell the fall of empires.

Why the fuck was her sense of danger on the fritz?

She bit back a swear as she spotted Apollo resting on the ground, his eyes determined and his beak sealed shut in a thin line.

“All hands on deck, swabbie. The expedition team is missing and we’re going in after them.” His tone brokered no room for argument.

She looked back to the foyer, took a deep breath, and nodded once, before following him. She glanced down and sighed as she spied her father, following along in her shadow.

***

Normal POV

***

Come on, you stupid piece of crap. Patch me through. It’s the fucking gym during working hours. I know someone’s there, damn it-

A tall, pale trainer with spiky green hair in an ace trainer shirt popped up on screen, his face the picture of boredom. “Petalburg Gym, this is Gym Trainer Randall, how can I direct your- oh, hey Lea. How’s the road?”

“Can’t talk right now, Randy. Where’s Norman? I really need his help for something, it’s an emergency.” Because like fucking hell I could deal with that thing on my own. I saw how that storybook ended, and me striking a pose so my to scale frozen sculpture looked cool was not how I wanted to go out.

Randy’s eyes widened. “Uh… out. Ah, fuck it, if you’re not on the list of people we can tell, I’ll happily take my damn pink slip. The boss and his wife took a trip to Slateport to clear up some stuff. Said they needed to clean up a mess the league should’ve dealt with a while ago.”

I sucked in a sharp breath as Eve’s earlier complaints flashed back through my mind. That was why she was shortstaffed, fuck. Caroline probably took her team with her, too. “Please tell me you can contact them. This is a capital E emergency and I really need to talk to Norman. May’s in trouble, and I don’t-”

Randy lifted his hands up to get me to stop talking. “I’ll blow up his phone, but I have no idea if he’ll actually pick up. Everyone looked really tense when they teleported out.” He sighed before glancing behind him toward the doors that lead into Norman’s challenges. “He also took the gym’s teleporters and almost all of the trainers, we’re working on a skeleton crew right now.”

I sagged further down into my chair as he kept talking. “Right.”

“I might still be able to send over a bit of help, don’t look too depressed. What exactly is the capital E emergency?” He tilted his head. “You’re still in Dewford, right? What’s Brawly doing about it?”

“Nothing, yet. He’s the next person I’m going to after we disconnect.” Assuming I could find him and he actually believed me, honestly, with how out there some of this felt, I wasn’t sure if Randy would. Maybe if I just eased into it with the shit that made sense. “They went spelunking in Dewford cave, and I lost contact with them. Since that theoretically shouldn’t be possible with Sergei-”

“You’re thinking something happened. Fair enough.” He nodded his head along as he finished for me. “Surprised you weren’t down there with them.”

“I don’t like small spaces,” I said tersely.

Randy winced. “Right, get off the phone with me and call Brawly. Caves are his backyard and he likes to train in there sometimes. He’ll probably find them before I manage to send someone down. I’ll still light up Norman’s phone, though. Shoot me a message if the situation-”

“Randall, who’s on the phone? Is that dad?” A nasally voice called from offscreen.

In the span of a single second, my entire body convulsed as my brain connected the horrific tonal voice to the one member of the Maple family that I actively could not stand.

Nope.

Not dealing with it.

Hell no.

The video cut off as I pressed the disconnect button. I didn’t even realize I had reached up to cut the call.

Emilie appeared on my shoulder as I stared blankly at the screen. “You alright? I know you’re freaked out, but you seem even more tense than when you left.”

“Just re-repressing some memories, give me a second.” I took a deep breath to steady myself before nodding once. “And we’re good. Petalburg Gym was a bust. Norman and Caroline are dealing with the protests in Slateport and the trainers can’t seem to get a hold of him. Dewford gym is the next best bet.”

Emilie tilted her head. “We can’t just call them directly? You’ve never had their phone number?”

I froze, before letting my mind focus on my memories with Norman. Dinners with May, May being annoyed at her dad for working so much, May calling her dad after I told her about what Jasmine wanted to do, me catching a glimpse of the phone number while she walked out to the beach-

“Thanks for reminding me. I kind of couldn’t focus and got off topic because of how fast my brain is going right now but I still got what I needed.” I smiled at her as I put in the last number and put the phone up against my ear.

“The number you’re trying to reach is not in service.” I pulled the speaker from my ear and stared at the phone in horror as Emilie groaned. That was an entirely new problem that I didn’t have the slightest idea what to do with. Whatever, we’d deal with it later. Fuck, now I was worried about Norman and Caroline too.

“Alright, back to plan B.” I started dialing the number for Dewford Gym as Emilie hopped down. “Where’s Apollo, Joern, and Lucas?”

‘I’m right here,’ Lucas said from below me. I hopped up a few inches and cursed as my finger jammed into the clear key by mistake, before glancing down at a grinning shadow. ‘Thought I’d take up residency to get used to it before we headed down into the caves. I want to be able to hop out and guard you as quickly as I can, and that means hiding in your shadow. Pretty sharp idea, huh?’

“Good idea, yeah.” I finished dialing and put the phone up against my ear.

Lucas floated up and leaned in close to Emilie. ‘She didn’t even groan.’

“We’re worried, alright? Apollo and Joern are checking on Sol and Duskull, by the way. We want to be ready to go down as soon as we can,” Emilie said.

The third ring played across the receiver as I glanced up toward her and opened my mouth, only to snap it shut as another answering machine started to play. “Due to the extreme weather conditions, the gym has been closed until further notice.

Where the fuck were all the high ranking city officials? Damn it all.

I slammed the receiver down so hard that it left a dent, turned around, and left the phone booth. Stupid fucking crybabies. You throw a little bit of cold at them and they’re shutting everything down. If I was that much of a wuss, the truck wouldn’t have gotten done on time for half of our deliveries.

I realized a second too late that the Center’s foyer was packed as I walked through the double doors leading out into the cold, cruel world.

The wind stung my skin as the cold bit into my exposed hands, and a fresh wave of white powder pelted my face. A light snowfall was blowing through the air, seemingly changing directions every few seconds as the wind chaotically rotated in place, picking a new direction to blow every other second.

“Holy fucking bird jesus that is cold!” I backpedaled through the double doors so fast I almost tripped over the coffee table in the middle of the room.

“Keep the damn door closed,” one of the trainers sitting on the couch grumbled as she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders. “That cold is unbearable.”

I glanced over toward the trainer, ready to rip her a new one, only to stop short. Where have I seen this woman before? She looked familiar, but I couldn’t…

‘You let me use her Magmar to give a Metang third degree burns, then gave her life advice after I gave the fire type a swirlie,’ Emilie said.

“Magmar lady?” I asked, both to Emilie and the woman wrapped up in a blanket cocoon.

She tilted her head as she looked me up and down. “Who the hell are you? I think I’d remember someone with green hair.”

I winced. “I got a new haircut between now and then, it used to be black with blue highlights and a lot longer too. I’m Lea, remember?”

She still looked lost.

“I’m the girl that dropped your Magmar in a pool after using it to give a Metang third degree burns and a deep seated fear of lava?” I leaned closer as I talked.

Her eyebrows rose up into her bangs before dipping into a sneer. “Oh good. As if my vacations could get any worse. Where’s the other half of the wonder couple?”

I opened my mouth, before looking around the room as I remembered who this chick was attached too.

“Donny got off this island three days in when I dumped his ass. It’s been the only good thing to happen since coming here. Island fucking paradise, yeah right.” She sighed before glaring at me. “Yours ditch too when the weather started going south?”

I winced, before looking outside. “She’s in one of the cave systems out there.”

Magmar girl’s eyes went wide as she glanced toward the door. “She’s-”

‘Captain!’ Apollo drowned her out as he swooped down, landing in front of me with a scowl. ‘The winds aren’t very favorable for our voyage, are they?’

Sol hopped forward, her eyes glued to the door leading out.

“Where’s Joern?” I asked.

‘Right here.’ The water type set my backpack down on the floor a few feet to my left, my winter coat resting on top. ‘Figured we’d need a full pack for the journey.’

Apollo gave Joern a once over. ‘You didn’t appropriate a certain stone while you were bringing it in, did you?’

‘And risk being laid up while you guys face this nightmare?’ Joern shook his head, his eyes pinched as he glared out toward the double doors leading outside. ‘Not a chance.’

‘The gym leader and a number of gym trainers have been sweeping through the areas to make sure people are staying indoors. The storm’s supposed to be the worst one on record for this island.’ Sol glared at the ground. ‘I’m sorry.’

“None of this is your fault, alright? You’ve had a rough few days.” I sighed before walking over and grabbing my bag. “Can’t predict every disaster that comes our way.”

“You’re not thinking of going out there, are you?” Magmar lady’s voice was high-pitched and screechy. Legends above that was annoying.

I glanced up at Emilie. ‘Were you translating for her?’

Emilie looked away nervously. ‘Well, she was part of the conversation before, so I just figured it’d be rude… look, answer her question and leave me alone.’

I looked back over Magmar lady’s way and sighed as she impatiently tapped her foot. “Look, uh…”

“Brenda!” God that was shrill.

“Brenda, right. I know the weather’s ass, but my girl’s in trouble and I need to help her, so it’s been real, but I need to leave, maybe try and get Brawly’s attention somehow and-”

“That coat’s not enough for out there.” Brenda got up and took my hand, before dragging me deeper into the center.

“I’ve got gloves and a hat too, I’ll-”

“Not what I meant. They’re saying frostbite’s a real possibility out there right now. Clothes and a coat won’t be enough.” She turned and looked me up and down. “I ordered some thermals online when the weather started going to shit. Figured it’d blow over at some point and I could enjoy some fun in the sun. You’re shorter than me, but they’re stretchy, and you’re…” Her eyes glared at my chest. “Slightly more plush. I’m hoping it balances out.”

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is there a reason you’re pawning off your clothes on me?”

“Quit your bitching and take it, alright?” She glanced away from me as she fiddled with her room key. “Think of it as thanks for the pep talk after our fight.”

“I… thanks,” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it.” The door opened and she waved her hand towards her room, which I noticed looked significantly nicer than ours. “Top shelf of the dresser. Take what you need. I’ll be out here while you change.”

I nodded awkwardly, before charging into the room, my Pokémon in tow, and winced as the door clicked closed and the entire room fell silent, before grabbing everyone’s poke balls. “I’m going to call you guys back, alright? It’ll be easier to travel as a smaller group in the storm.”

‘I’m staying out,’ Lucas said. ‘I’m not bothered by the cold and I don’t take up space.’

Emilie looked up at me before teleporting to the bed. “I’m not leaving your side, got it?”

I sighed before smiling. “I suppose that was expected.” I panned my eyes over to look at everyone else. “I… know this is probably a stupid question, but I do need to ask it.” I swallowed down a lump. “If anyone wants to back out, now would be the time.”

Joern and Apollo both looked at me like I had grown a second head.

‘Are ye daft, woman?’ Apollo shouted. ‘We’ve dealt with worse in worse situations, so don’t even think of trying to ditch us.’

‘What he said. The fact that he didn’t call you captain at the start of that should be really telling of how stupid you sound right now.’ Joern glared at me.

“You two weren’t really who I was asking, but thanks for reaffirming my belief that you two are awesome.” I gave them a long hard look before shifting my gaze over to Sol as Duskull slowly levitated out of the ground. “You just got your dad back. Don’t think you have to follow us on this because you think you owe us. It’s going to be dangerous down there.”

Sol kept her mouth shut as she gave me a long, hard look before shifting her gaze to Duskull. ‘The thought of potentially losing dad again scares the ever living fuck out of me. You’re right about that.’

I sagged down, disappointed but accepting at losing a powerful set of Pokémon as I lifted her ball.

‘That’s why I’m going with you, because I already know there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell this idiot’s going to let you go down without him.’ Sol glared at her dad as he chuckled Mareepishly. ‘I suppose I’ll look out for you and the rest of you morons too.’

I grinned before clicking the return button and smiling down into the poke ball. “Thank you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Duskull dive down into my shadow. ‘Hope you don’t mind sharing with this old spook.’

Lucas chuckled as he dipped down into my shadow. ‘Couldn’t imagine a better Pokémon to hang out with now that you’ve got your head on straight. Just stay sharp and keep your head on your shoulders, alright?’

‘A bit late on that head part, don’t you think?’ Duskull asked.

I ignored them and clicked Sol’s ball onto my belt before aiming Joern and Apollo’s poke balls at them. “Ready to give ‘em hell?”

‘Aye, captain!’ Apollo saluted as the red line pulled him into his ball.

Joern slammed his fist into his hand and grinned at me. ‘Going to take more than an overgrown icicle to scare me off. Let’s go.’

I clicked the return button again and turned to glance at Emilie as Joern disappeared.

She nodded once. “Hurry up and change, we’ve got work to do.”

I nodded before throwing my shirt off and pulling the wardrobe door open.

***

The fact that I was still cold as I pushed through this nightmare, despite the fact that I had on at least five layers of clothes, terrified me. If it was this bad above ground, just how miserable was it below?

May has a fire type with her, calm down.

I shoved the intrusive thoughts behind me as I pushed through the tree line, eager to get to the training ground and see if my hunch was correct.

I felt my starter writhe around in my coat. “Where are we going? Wouldn’t we have more luck finding Brawly in the city?”

I grinned, doing my best to not let my chattering teeth be too audible. “If we tried going up and down the streets of Dewford trying to find someone, we’d probably just get a gym trainer, who’d just shove us back into the center without really listening to us.”

Emilie tilted her head to the side. “So we’re just going into the wilderness hoping to find a random bird to carry our message, or-”

She stopped instantly as we took in the massive form of a towering grass type, his hands dug deep into the ground as a green pulse thrummed through the earth and up the trees in the training ground we’d just walked into.

“I’m thinking we’d have a much better time of it if we found one of Brawly’s Pokémon.” I ran up to the hulking titan and tapped him twice on the leg.

He turned and faced me, lifting his arms up as he rose up to his full height. ‘Small human, I strongly urge you to seek shelter. It isn’t safe to train today.’

“I know, believe me I’m aware, but I need help. Do you remember me?” I leaned forward, my tone desperate. I did my best to try and push those emotions onto him as I asked.

He tilted his head to the side. ‘You’re the human that was with the woman in red. My trainer likes you. What’s wrong?’

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but… I know what’s causing this storm.” I was pretty sure, at least. No way a giant ice monster waking up in Dewford cave wasn’t related to the freak cold wave and storm we were having. “And I think it’s got my friends.”

Chesnaught leaned back before looking up to the sky. ‘You’ll have to forgive me, you said something is causing this? Why?’

“I don’t know, but you have to feel it, right? The wind is changing direction every few seconds. This island never dips below fifty but all of a sudden we have a freak snowstorm? Please, I can’t stand up to it by myself, but I will if I have too. I just need to-”

Chesnaught lifted his arms up to stop me. ‘You’re not lying, I can feel it.’

I sagged in place.

‘Something capable of causing a storm like this… I can’t even begin to imagine how strong that would be.’ A grin slowly started to spread across the Chesnaught's face. ‘I bet he’d have lots of incredibly strong ice type moves, too.’

I felt Emilie slap her forehead.

‘A genuine challenge… with the fate of the island at stake?’ His voice kept climbing in octaves as a grin slowly stretched across his features. ‘Don’t worry, little one, I’ll get my trainer now.’

He bent his knees and crouched down low, before jumping.

In the blink of an eye, the grass and fighting type cleared the tree line, easily jumping twenty to thirty feet into the sky. He grabbed a palm tree on the way down and let it bend for a few moments, before letting it launch him across the sky toward the city.

A single snowflake landed on my tongue before I snapped my jaw shut. My eyes were wide as they trailed after the hulking figure.

Emilie chuckled lightly before pulling the coat closer. “I guess if all of Brawly’s mons are as crazy powerful as that, we don’t have too much to worry about.”

I slowly nodded before leaping back as the fighting type master suddenly appeared, his grass typed partner to one side as a Gallade stared down at me with a piercing look.

“What do you know?”

***

Brawly stared down at the image on my phone with a furrowed brow, his eyes locked on the ghost sword that was hovering around our heads. “So, you had a vision of a big scary ice monster, but didn’t give it much weight because you thought it was a weird dream and your imagination playing merry hell with your sanity?”

“I was already terrified of May going down below considering what all had already happened on this island, so…”

“Fair enough.” Brawly looked up at the sky and sighed. “You do realize a ‘mon capable of doing something like this is champion level, right?”

I sucked in a sharp breath before shaking my head. “I do now.”

Brawly sighed. “If it’s one Pokémon, I can take him with my full team. I’d like to think I’m a fairly capable trainer if I want to be.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “So you believe me then?”

Brawly nodded. “It’d be kind of a ridiculous lie, and Chesnaught and Gallade both confirmed you at least believe you’re telling the truth. They’re really good at telling, too. I’ll get stuff put together and head down as soon as I can.”

“I’ll meet you at the cave, we’ll-”

“Like hell you are!” Brawly shouted, his voice deafening.

I glared at him. “I’m going down there. My friends are down there, not to mention May! Superpowerful team of absurdly strong Pokémon aside, you going down as the only human is suicide! Besides, I’m the one it wants.”

“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go anywhere near this cave. You’re a three badge level trainer going into the deep end. You’re out of your depth, girl. These waves are WAY too big for you.” Brawly walked closer, but stopped as Gallade lifted his hands into the air.

‘Tell me, girl. It’s just us talking right now.’ Gallade gave his trainer a look and he nodded. ‘You’re mental defenses are quite the sight, can you hear me alright? I don’t want to push too deep and hurt you.’

‘You’re fine,’ I said, my mental voice shaky.

‘Oh, a psychic? Quite impressive indeed.’ He sighed. ‘Be honest with me, young squire, if my trainer parked you in the Center and told you to stay put, would you?’

‘No,’ I replied.

‘Even knowing that my trainer is one of the most accomplished trainers in the land? With a team that has been considered multiple times for promotion to the elite four?’ Gallade asked.

I leaned back in shock, before nodding. ‘It’s a feeling I have. Considering the fact that ignoring that the first time got May and the rest of my friends into this mess, I’m going to listen to it this time. If I don’t go down there, something really bad is going to happen. ’ I shivered. ‘I can feel it.’

Gallade sighed, before closing his eyes. ‘If you don’t mind, I’m going to have a look for myself.’

Before I could say anything else, Gallade’s eyes snapped open, a blinding white light erupting from them as his mouth opened wide. A thousand and one emotions played across his face in the span of a second as he pulled back, his face returning to normal as his eyes stared up into the sky with terror.

‘W-what did you see?’ I asked.

‘I can’t tell you. That’s how future sight works. It’ll change.’ He looked at me with a confident grin. ‘Brawly!’

The gym leader snapped to attention and stared at his psychic type. “You get her to stay?”

‘Opposite, in fact. She convinced me to let her come.’ He nodded once as I cheered.

“Lele, that’s-”

‘The future where we win requires her participation. It’s written in the stars and clear as day,’ Gallade cut his trainer off and met his gaze. ‘She’s important.’

Brawly gave his Pokémon a long, suffering glare before groaning into the sky. “You’ve got to be fucking, fine!”

“Yes! I-”

“You’re going to listen to everything I tell you, word for word. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide. If I tell you jump up and down on one leg and sing the Pangoro song-”

“I’ll do it happily and without complaint,” I said. Legends above, I was entirely too happy to go down into a frozen death trap.

Brawly groaned before nodding at his psychic type. “Meet me at the mouth of Granite cave, ready to storm the deepest levels of the underworld. Got it?”

I nodded once, and watched as the three of them disappeared, Chesnaught waving as he did so.

***

Present

***

I nodded at the gym leader once, before squaring my shoulders and walking beside him. “Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s go kick a giant ice type’s ass and save my friends.”

Brawly grinned at me as we crossed the threshold, past the icy stalactites and into the abyss.

A massive ice wall slammed down behind us once we were a few feet in, trapping us inside.

Chapter Text

I did not scream like a little girl. I’m above such things. It’s fine. We’re going further in anyway. Calm down.

“Quite the set of lungs you’ve got, huh?” Brawly rubbed the sides of his head as he glared at me.

I turned and met his glare. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. That was Emilie, I swear.” I sucked in a deep breath as Emilie elbowed me in the chest.

“Liar.” My starter turned away from me and looked at the sheer ice wall behind us. “Guess we can’t rely on having the element of surprise, huh?”

I sighed before bringing my arms up and hugging her closer. “We were expected, and I don’t like that. Can you still teleport out or-”

“I can’t sense the outside world at all,” Emilie cut me off. “It’s kind of like what we dealt with last night, only… bigger. Way bigger.” Emilie shivered. “I can’t push my consciousness out to get a feel of where I’m going, which is the first step to a successful teleport. We’re stuck here.”

“Well, we wanted to be here anyway, so that’s not the end of the world, but I’ve always chafed at being told what I can and can’t do.” Brawly lifted up a single poke ball from his belt. “Kind of a lame welcome too, if I’m being honest.” A flash of white light brightened up the dimly lit corridor. “Light it up, Toa.”

In one fluid motion, the tall fighting type formed and crouched forward, his arms ablaze as he slammed his fist into the wall of ice. A resounding crack forced me back as I clutched my hands over my ears. For the first time since this morning, I felt genuine warmth as fire pushed out from the small crater Toa was carving into the ice, lighting up the room as he pushed forward.

The warmth was short-lived as the walls glowed blue. They pulsed a single time, snuffing out the fire, before focusing on the hole Toa created. The fire type was thrown back as the cracks and indents fused together to once again form a solid wall.

“Blaze…” Blaziken slowly pulled himself up from the ground and rubbed his head, before glaring at the wall and lighting up again.

“Don’t bother, Toa. That was mostly an experiment.” Brawly heaved a sigh before looking at my frozen frame. “Guess we’ll have to toast whatever’s causing this if we want to get out of here. Toa can break it just fine, but it won’t do any good if whatever’s doing this is just going to fix the wall before we can push through. Looks like we’re… Lea?”

I didn’t immediately respond as I stared at the beast in front of me. Bright red skin contrasting against white feathers, his mouth split between a beak and a jaw as his eyes locked on to the blue wall. I had to crane my neck to get a good look, too. He was taller than me. God, he was just… “So cool!”

Toa turned and looked at her, his eyebrows pulled together. “Blaz?”

“Oh, for fuck’s-” Emilie was cut off as I moved.

I all but teleported across the hallway and pulled the coolest fire type on the planet into a bone crushing hug. “Legends above, you’re the coolest Pokémon on the face of the earth, that fire was so cool, I’m so happy we have something like you on our side this is so awesommmmmmmeeeee–” I trailed off as the world started spinning.

‘I like the kind words and enthusiasm, but I like my personal space,’ Toa complained as he spun around, doing his best to throw me off.

I didn’t want to let go, though, he was both warm and cool at the same time.

“Lea,” Emilie yelled, her voice shaky in the chaos. “Legends above.” She dipped her head out and put her hand against her mouth before glaring at her trainer. ‘Would you let go!?’

I complied and let my grip slacken. Regret instantly slammed into me like a freight train as I sailed across the hallway, my eyes widening as I let out a small shout and slammed into the wall with a resounding thud. “Owie…”

“You could’ve just brought a few gym trainers, Brawly. But no, Gallade wanted this one and to leave as many people behind to deal with the storm as possible…” Brawly heaved a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his mitts before extending that same hand out to me. “Need a hand up?”

I glared before pushing myself up. “I’m fine, thank you very much. I just… got excited. I like Blaziken, alright?”

“I noticed.” Brawly shot me a grin.

‘So did I.’ Toa shot me the side eye as he inched away.

“Look, can we just start diving into the death pit already? I’m tired of being made fun of.” I could feel my cheeks heat up despite the cold air that permeated the chamber. “And have Blaziken heat it up, would you?”

“I don’t-”

Toa cut Brawly off by pulsing a bit of fire out from his chest and holding it there. ‘After our training, this isn’t noticeable, and I’d rather be warm. Don’t try and push through this crap to be macho. You know it’s bad when I’m complaining about the cold, and the last thing I need is for Tito to yell at me for letting you get frosty while I’m out and about.’

Brawly glared at the fire type before nodding. “Fine, I don’t want him mother henning me either. At any rate, before we go deeper, I want to take stock of what I’m working with. Send out your full squad.”

I nodded once before releasing the team.

‘Ahoy, captain, commodore. Happy to come aboard.’ Apollo saluted once before taking flight, hovering just at waist level. ‘Even happier to have a source of fire on deck.’

Toa smiled as Joern waved lazily. Sol stretched out and yawned before nodding at me..

Brawly looked the dark type up and down with a grin. “The Absol’s new. Nice catch, too. She’s a strong fighter.”

“How can you tell that just by looking at her?” I asked.

Brawly grinned. “Gym leader secret. You notice a few things being in the business as long as me. Where’s the Honedge?”

Lucas stuck his sheath out from the shadow and tilted forward, before returning to his hiding spot. Duskull popped out fully for a second before diving back down.

“Ah, you caught another ghost too. Happy you already have them camping out in your shadow, I was about to tell you to do that, actually. They make really good protectors when things start going wild.” Brawly glanced further into the cave. “I want you to keep everyone out, alright? We could get jumped at a moment’s notice.”

“I know basic protocol for being in a dangerous location, don’t worry. Petalburg Woods but worse. Got it. Can we push on? We’re burning daylight.” I marched ahead, only to wince as someone grabbed me by the backpack.

“Second order of the trip: I take lead.” Brawly fixed me with a lazy glare before pushing ahead, two more poke balls at the ready. “Lele, Crash, you’re up. Toa is taking point, you guys get the flanks.”

Gallade and Hawlucha both formed on either side of him, before nodding and scanning the room.

“Let me guess, the Hawlucha is the dad of the one I beat?” I asked before falling into step behind him.

Hawluch sent me a caustic glare before looking away from me with a huff.

“Mom, actually.” Brawly laughed at me as the blood quickly flooded my face.

‘You really don’t want to know how she’s describing you right now.’ Emilie looked up at me with a grin before teleporting to my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

Crash just sighed and ignored me.

‘Meh, don’t worry too much, cap. Old birds like that are too proud for their own good. I remember meeting an old Murkrow once. Made the mistake of calling her old to her face, damn near lost my sea legs that day.’ Apollo shivered.

Crash started to visibly shake as she turned her ire to my quartermaster.

Apollo froze, before fixing Emilie with a look. ‘That was supposed to be for the captain’s ears only, you bilge-sucking swine.’

Emilie chuckled. “Serves you right for being rude to one of our protectors.”

Lucas poked his head out of my shadow. ‘Not very sharp of you, I have to admit.’

‘Some might even call it bird-brained,’ Duskull complained.

‘Oh god, there’s two of them,’ Joern complained.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Toa dip back and pull Lele to the side. ‘Are you… sure that these guys need to be here?’

Gallade just grinned in response as the fire type sighed and resumed his position at the front.

‘Rude, ’ I mentally muttered to the rest of my squad before looking back towards Brawly. “By the way, technically speaking mine are the Ralts, Pelipper, Lombre, and Honedge. Sol is technically May’s, and Duskull is…” How exactly did I explain this? Did I even want to explain it? Not really. “A friend of ours.”

Brawly turned to me, his gaze sharp. “Will they listen to you?”

I nodded.

“Doesn’t matter then, for all intents and purposes, they’re yours for the trip.” Brawly grinned. “Sorry about Crash. Your Pelipper, Apollo, I think, was right. She’s too proud for her own good. It’s why her son’s such an idiot. She needs the air let out of her head every once in a while.”

Crash huffed again and turned away from her trainer, her beak pointed skywards as she dived forward.

Brawly waved her hand out. “See? Already breaking formation.”

Before I could reply, the corridor opened up into a small chamber with three branching paths.

Well, it used to be three branching paths, at least.

Brawly sighed. “Whatever this thing is, it seems very eager to meet us.”

I nodded before looking at the two frozen barricades blocking our path. Walls had risen up to give us a single path forward. “I don’t like that we’re being corralled to where it wants us to go. That’s kind of worrying, right?”

“Very.” Brawly nodded before moving forward, his gait confident.

I glanced at him for a moment before giving his team a once over. “Is it fine for you to just have three ‘mons out? You said this thing was strong...”

Brawly chuckled. “I actually have four out, you just can’t see the fourth. He’s been out this whole time, in fact.” Brawly’s shadow practically vibrated and I jumped back as it bulged, before sinking back down into the earth. A faint chuckle filled the air.

I glanced down at the writhing black mass at Brawly’s feet and grimaced. “Guessing that’s the fourth?”

Brawly smiled. “He’s a bit shy, don’t mind him. I’m sparing Kahuna from dealing with this cold as much as possible, and the other three are being kept in reserve to swap with these guys where needed. We need some ‘mons to watch us if we need to set up camp in here, after all.”

I nodded, before ducking under a low hanging stalactite. I was wracking my brain trying to think of a ghost and fighting type combo and coming up empty. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

We moved in silence for a bit, following the only allowed path we were given at every crossroads. I felt my nerves start to fray at my thoughts for a moment, only for the silence to be broken up by a small crackling.

It sounded like fire.

I glanced toward Toa. No, he wasn’t doing it.

‘Captain, I feel a change in air pressure close by. There’s a bit of warmth up ahead.’ Apollo dived down low and perched himself on Sol’s back.

‘When exactly did I become your taxi service?’ The glare Sol sent Apollo dissolved the second Apollo fixed her with a glare. ‘With all due respect, I’m not complaining or anything, honest-’

Joern joined Apollo in chuckling at the dark type’s worrying before glancing around the new chamber we pushed into.

The opening was massive, larger than any we had stumbled into before. Several holes had been sealed shut by a massive wall of ice, similar to before, but unlike before, this chamber showed signs of life. A few Sableye and a Mawile were huddled up next to a shrinking fire, with a lone white Sandshrew hanging out further back. The Pokémon gave us a passing glance before scooting over, making space for us by the smoldering inferno.

‘You might as well have a seat, this is the warmest spot in the cave for a good long while,’ Mawile suggested.

The Sabelye nodded, rubbing their hands together.

I jogged over before giving them a once over, a sigh of relief escaping my lips. There were signs of life down here. This was fantastic. It wasn’t just an apocalyptic, frozen wasteland.

“Lea, wait…” Brawly’s warning died on his lips as I kneeled down in front of the fire, and he sighed before jogging up with his team.

“What?” I asked, waving towards the Mawile. “They’re chill. You guys hungry at all? I’ve got some snacks in my bag for wild Pokémon if you are.”

I riffled through my pack before pulling out a small container of Emilie’s favorites and pulling off the lid. My starter watched them with wide, desperate eyes as the Mawile sniffed them, before popping one into her mouth.

A sense of euphoria pulsed through the room as Emilie let out a moan.

I turned and glared at her. “Did you just… vicariously enjoy my cooking through another Pokémon’s emotions?”

“So… yummy…” Emilie sighed contentedly as I grabbed back my… now empty container. What the hell?

I didn’t even see her eat the rest!

‘Thanks for the snack, food’s been a bit scarce today.’ Mawile sighed contentedly before looking towards her friends. ‘Don’t worry about feeding these two, they don’t need it.’

The ghost and dark types chuckled, grinning at me creepily. Weirdos.

“What about-?” I stopped talking as I looked around, and noticed that the Sandshrew had disappeared. “Huh, guess he doesn’t like talking to strangers.”

‘He’s been skittish since he got here,’ one of the Sableye muttered.

The other one nodded. ‘No surprise, considering what happened last night.’

Brawly leaned forward, suddenly interested in the conversation. “What happened last night?”

The ghosts looked at each other and shrugged. The first one shivered. ‘Don’t know for sure.’

‘Just know it was bad,’ finished the second.

Mawile glared down at the fire, her eyebrows pinched together . ‘What’s a set of trainers doing down here in this weather? This is a nightmare for me and the boys, I can’t imagine dealing with this in your soft, squishy bodies.’

I growled before nodding towards Toa. “We brought a portable heater, don’t worry.”

‘Most awesome Pokémon in the world one minute, fucking space heater the next. Stupid human,’ Toa muttered.

I had a feeling I wasn’t supposed to hear that. I shot Emilie a look before nodding at the Mawile. “We’re looking for what’s causing this, actually.” I glanced down toward the ground. “And a group of humans that was already down here.”

Mawile winced. ‘I’m sorry, what?’ Her gaze stiffened as she took us in. ‘Two humans and their Pokémon. That’s all you brought? Isn’t that a bit light?’ She motioned towards Brawly. ‘I’ll admit the puffy human’s team looks impressive, but, still, two trainers? That’s it?’

“Well, once we meet up with my friends, we’ll have plenty of-”

‘Your friends were at ground zero of that clusterfuck down there, along with almost every damn member of the Sand Tribe.’ Mawile shivered. ‘They’re probably all statues by now, or worse.’

I froze, my skin growing cold despite the dying blaze in front of me.

‘Damn cold used to be content to hang out in one part of the cave, why the hell did the gates of hell open last night? I knew the seal was weakening, but I didn’t think it’d break now…’ Mawile paced in front of the fire and rubbed her hands together.

“So you saw what happened then?” Brawly asked. “Could you describe it for us?”

Mawile snorted. ‘I didn’t see for sure. I saw the doors start to creak open and got the hell out of dodge.’ She shivered. ‘I can still feel the cold on the back of my neck, and it has nothing to do with the damn temperature.’

Brawly nodded before kneeling down in front of the smoldering logs.

“So you didn’t see what happened to the group?” Emilie asked, her voice desperate. “Were you just skulking around in the shadows when they got jumped?”

Mawile shook her head. ‘You’re right, sister, it is an assumption, but the power I felt...’ Mawile shivered. ‘It’s hard to imagine getting away from that unscathed, especially after they took down The Behemoth.’

I whipped around and glared at her. “I’m sorry, the what?”

‘I think it’d help if you started from the beginning, little one,’ Lele said. ‘The story is getting a bit jumbled. Who exactly is The Behemoth?’

‘It’s a territorial Aggron that likes to come up from deeper parts of the caves and yell at the younger generations to remind them he exists. Dude’s kind of an asshole, honestly.’ Sol spat on the ground before turning to look at the rest of the group, her face Mareepish as she took in our looks. ‘What?’

Mawile nodded once, before taking a deep breath. ‘I’m surprised you talk so cavalierly about him; he’s quite the terrifying force down here. Something disturbed him last night and sent him into a rage near the Snow Tribe. The Sand Tribe, with a group of humans, came down to help, and a fight broke out in front of the gates near the Ancient Basin. It took a lot of effort, but many overcame the one and defeated him before he could cause any more harm.’

‘And then the gates were thrown open,’ Sableye said.

The other Sabelye nodded. ‘And the world froze.’

“I guess that’s what Sergei was talking about when he said that May was busy. Was anyone hurt before the doors were thrown open?” The pit in my stomach still hadn’t left, but I was feeling a bit more steady. Things are fine, they’re FINE!

One of the Sabelye shook his head. ‘Don’t really know for sure.’

‘We kept our distance while the fight was happening, didn’t want to get pulled into it.’ The other Sabelye shivered before looking toward the Mawile. ‘Ma took a look when it was all said and done, but she grabbed us and pulled us away from the chamber almost immediately after.’

Mawile just stared at the dying embers, her face tense as her second mouth clenched shut.

I sighed before nodding. That was decidedly unhelpful. “I would ask if you could show us the way, but…”

Mawile giggled. It sounded creepy and unnatural. ‘I think the entity beat you to the punch on that one, love.’ She batted her eyelashes at me. ‘Though I can appreciate you wanting to spend more time with someone as lovely as me, an undertaking would be worth more than a light snack.’

A dark aura emanated from my starter as she glared down at the fairy type. ‘Those cookies are worth twenty of you, and you should be happy to be cannon fodder for tasting their greatness!’

Mawile let her mouth drop open as she stared up at me awkwardly. She blinked a few times as the fire finally smoldered out, and a cold chill swept through the chamber.

“She’s going through withdrawal,” I explained lamely. “It’s a very tough time for her, too. You’ll have to forgive her for being a little unhinged.”

‘Are you SURE we need them to take care of what’s down here?’ Toa asked.

I turned around and glared at the fire type as he leaned away from the chuckling psychic type, before sighing and looking at the group of Pokémon in front of us. “Thanks for the info you did give us. It’s more than what we had before.”

Mawile nodded before hopping to her feet and looking towards the ghost bros. ‘Thank you for the cookies. Not often I get to eat something that nice.’

‘What are you three planning on doing, if you’re not going to help deal with the problem?’ Joern asked.

‘We’re making our way downtown,’ Sabelye said.

The second Sabelye nodded. ‘Walking fast, moving past.’

‘And we’re outbound,’ Mawile finished, smiling at her traveling companions. ‘This place is way too dangerous for the likes of us.’

“I can understand wanting to leave, but you’re going to run into trouble trying to get out.” Brawly crouched down to eye level and smiled sadly at the steel type as she puffed up her chest. “You said cookies weren’t enough to get you to tag along, but how about some information? The entrance to this cave has been sealed shut.”

Mawile winced, before staring down at the ground.

‘That…’ Sabelye started.

‘Complicates things,’ the other Sabelye finished.

Apollo nodded. ‘Aye, the scallywag that froze everything sealed it up tighter than the locker once we crossed into the caves. You’d be hard pressed to force your way out. We threw a giant angry space heater at it and it threw him back like yesterday’s chum.’

Mawile let out a screech before slamming her fist into the ground. The rock sunk in slightly under her fist before bouncing back up, ice crystals forming between the fractures. She sighed. ‘Guess that rules out busting up the walls around the door, too.’

‘Still think it’s a better idea to try and high tail it?’ Toa asked. ‘I don’t know that you’d offer much, compared to the rest of us, but every little bit helps, especially if you know of more wild Pokémon that would want to help.’

Mawile tore her gaze away from the self-repairing terrain and glared at him. ‘Weren’t you just complaining about the help you have?’

Toa nodded. ‘Yes. I would like sane help. All I have is nutjobs. It’s-’

Crash brought her wing down in front of Toa, before glancing at the Mawile with a smoldering glare. ‘Where’s the tribe that was here?’

Mawile looked away, staring down at the ground with pinched eyebrows and a scowl. ‘I already told you. They went further in. They were at the epicenter of this madness.’

Crash nodded, before beating her wings and taking and hovering above the ground. ‘I know a great many members of that tribe. I patrol this cave quite often in my free time, helping out stragglers when they need it. The Sandslash that lead that clan are good, honest, helpful Pokémon, eager to lend a claw to all those who needed a warm place to stay or food.’ She looked the three wild Pokémon in front of us up and down. ‘You three strike me as outcasts.’

A vein throbbed on Mawile’s forehead. Your point?’

Crash chuckled. ‘You seem like the type that might have needed help often. Can you sit well with yourself, knowing that you’re leaving them to their fate? Can you live with that debt?’

Mawile visibly recoiled at the final word. ‘The dead can’t be repaid.’

‘Yet you don’t know if they live or die. You were too much of a coward to stick around and see.’ Crash threw both of her wings out and laughed. ‘Hell, even if they were frozen, do you really think something like that would kill the chieftain? Give those Pokémon some credit, dear.’ She tilted her head and grinned. ‘But if you think you can stomach that stain on your honor, who am I to tell you what to do? Go on, hide. Like the coward you are.’

Brawly sighed before reaching up, knocking the back of Crash’s head. “That’s not fair, and you know it.” He turned and smiled at Mawile. “I’m not going to lie and tell you that you coming along wouldn’t be helpful. Even if our path is laid out before us, this thing’s going to be incredibly strong. We’ll take whatever help we can get. That said, if you want to hunker down and play it safe until this disaster blows over, that’s completely fine. It’s your life.” Brawly turned and glared at his masked bird. “Don’t let some hot-headed luchador convince you otherwise.”

Mawile stared at them for a long moment, completely still as she watched the trainer and Pokémon battle for dominance.

Before she could even answer, though, both Sabelye stepped forward.

‘If a guide is what you seek,’ Sabelye said.

The other Sableye nodded. ‘We would be happy to oblige.’

Mawile whipped her head around and glared at the two of them. ‘You two-’

‘You don’t have to keep looking out for us, Ma,’ Sabelye said.

Mawile growled, giving both of the spooks a glare. ‘You know I hate that nickname, and if you think you’re equipped to go back down into this frozen pit, you clearly aren’t ready to strike it out on your own, you morons.’

The other Sabelye shook his head, before smiling at the Mawile. ‘It’s more than a nickname. It’s a title.’

Mawile leaned back as though she had been struck.

‘You’ve looked out for us for years. Kept us safe. Kept our head on our shoulders.’ He grinned before looking over to his brother .

‘You don’t have to watch out for us forever. We’re big ghosts now.’ The first Sabelye turned to his brother and grinned. ‘We can look out for ourselves, and each other.’

‘And this is our home.’ Both Sabelye nodded as the words left their mouths.

‘It’s a lot of other Pokémon's homes, too,’ Mawile muttered before sighing. She walked forward towards the two ghost types and pulled them into a hug.

I smiled at the scene. “Thanks, we-”

The steel type pulled back and slammed the two ghosts heads together. An odd warbling sound echoed through the room as they made contact, and the two Pokémon collapsed to the ground in a heap.

‘Big ghosts that still fall for shit like that.’ She chuckled before turning back to look at us as she picked up both of the Sableye. ‘If you want help, real help that might mean something, then follow me and don’t mention the existence of this place to anyone.’

I swallowed at her tone before nodding, pulling myself up to full height and hesitantly following the fae.

Brawly quickly got in front of me, his Pokémon following suit to form a defensive formation around us. “Anyone ever told you that you’re really bad at listening?”

I briefly smiled before looking at the solid rock wall we were walking towards. It wasn’t even a sealed off corridor. “Just my girlfriend, my sister, Norman, my Pokémon-”

“I get the picture. Just-” He froze.

The wall seemed to fold in on itself as the chamber itself expanded. A light, pink fog flowed into the room, and instantly my body relaxed, like a veil had been draped over my emotions, slowing my racing heart and calming my shaking hands. A faint sweet scent filled my nose, almost like cotton candy mixed with cinnamon, as a warmth passed through my body.

This felt both similar, and different.

Emilie’s entire body tensed as she stared vacantly down the new cave that opened before us.

Mawile turned at the base of the new cave and snarled at us. ‘You lot coming, or what? This door isn’t staying open for long.’

We snapped to attention and ran forward.

‘So, you know these caves super well, any idea what this is?’ Joern asked as he jogged.

Brawly just turned and grinned at him. “Not a clue, honestly. Mawile aren’t really super common down here, and most of them keep to themselves. This is just as new to you as it is to me.”

Emilie shifted slightly before glaring at him, doing her best to balance on my shoulder as we moved through the cave, the pink mist inching higher as we moved. “And why are you so happy about chasing after a random fairy Pokémon down a dark cave in the middle of a snowy apocalyptic wasteland? We should be going deeper in, why are we wasting our time with this?”

‘Because it’s important,’ Lele replied.

Emilie turned and glared. ‘We both know how shoddy a practice looking ahead really is, so don’t feed me that rubbish.’

Lele just chuckled.

I sighed before running into the softly padded brick wall that was Brawly’s back. “Why did you, oh.”

What had once been a pleasant smell had become cloying and overpowering as I took in the wall of pink smog that billowed forth from the cave opening. Seals dotted an archway that was just barely visible through the mist, but what drew my eyes was the faint silhouette of another Mawile, sitting cross legged in the middle of the passageway.

Her head shifted, and a smile glowed from within the swirling tide. ‘Oh, yet another wayward sister returned home? What good fortune I have, so many have returned to me this day.’

Emilie pulled my head close in a vice grip. ‘She brought us to another fucking coven!’

‘Yeah, well, the outside world isn’t looking so good, so-’

‘You ran, and brought guests.’ The shadow in the mist tilted her head to glance at us before focusing once again on our guide. ‘Still raising your strays, I see.’

Mawile bristled, but kept her mouth shut. ‘I’m keeping my kids safe, yes.’

A raspy chuckle filled the room. ‘I admire your conviction. Very well, it’s not my place to judge another’s chosen family. Still though, all these tunnels, it’s proving rather difficult to keep the cold at bay. The ancient one must be getting impatient.’

I moved forward, pushing past Brawly. “You know what’s-”

‘Be silent.’ The command echoed off the walls as I felt my tongue stick to the top of my mouth. ‘Worry not, my dear. I’ll get to you momentarily. We have much to discuss, but it’s not every day I get to catch up with my sisters. I wish to revel in this moment for just a touch longer.’

I felt a force bare down on me from above, and I grit my teeth. Whatever the hell this was, it wanted me on my knees. Screw that. I’m not submitting to anyone, ever again! I focused on the Pokémon in front of me, and pushed.

The mist receded back slightly, and the wizened, wrinkled form of a Pokémon well past her prime took shape. The green of her second jaw had faded, and what I had thought was a malevolent grin was washed away with the tide as I took in her sad, weary, faded eyes.

She was blind, but it felt like she was looking right through me.

I grit my teeth and met her look head on. ‘The entire island is currently below freezing, there’s a massive blizzard getting ready to slam into this island, and my girl and the rest of my friends were down here in hell when things took a nosedive into oblivion. Catch up on your own time, cause if we don’t deal with this now, you won’t have another chance.’

The wizened Mawile stared at me for a long while, her gaze unfaltering as she glared.

I refused to back down.

She sighed, before glancing toward our guide. ‘You’ve found quite the strong-willed group, sister. That’s good. They’ll need that strength.’ She turned and smiled at me. ‘It’s been quite a while since I met someone with a will quite like yours. Most people have trouble dealing with my gaze. Regardless, though, if you’re worried for your friends, you’ll find that you’re not on a time limit.’

I frowned. ‘What’s that-’

‘Though my eyes have long since failed me, I do not need them to see. Through my centuries of life, I have been shown things beyond normal means. The secrets of this cave are laid bare before me, for they see me as its keeper.’ Mawile waved her hand, and the pink smoke exploded outward.

I raised my arms in front of me as the billowing mist washed over me. My senses dimmed and for a brief, terrifying moment, the world around me warped and changed. I saw glimpses of a grassy field, of rainbows and sunshine arching across a golden tree with apples as large as my head.

The light faded almost as soon as it began, and the pink smog dispersed, leaving a stone archway leading into a dead end.

What the hell was that?

I glanced around, and sagged down in relief; my team was still here, as was Brawly and his squad.

Our guide and the Sableye, however, had disappeared.

Mawile chuckled lightly before raising a hand up, beckoning us closer. ‘Worry not, my child. I simply allowed them passage home. It’ll be a safer place for them. Now, where was I…’

Without the billowing pink smoke, the chamber felt normal, and just as bitingly cold as the rest of the cave. My team shivered before Blaziken lit up his chestplate with small embers.

‘Thank you, dear. The cold is quite hard on these old bones of mine. My sisters don’t mind it as much, but at my age, it’s far more noticeable. Now then, I do believe you’ve come to me seeking something. Answers, aid, hope…’ She chuckled dryly. ‘I’m inclined to give you what you seek, but, well, she may be of a different coven, but I’m sure she’s told you how these things work. The smile that spread across Mawile's face turned predatory. ‘Nothing in life is free.’

I swallowed down a lump before nodding. ‘What do I say?’

Emilie whipped her head around to look at me with shifting eyes. ‘Uh, she’s old as all hell and traditionalist. Food, preferably something she hasn’t had before. My mom always got something weird when she visited other fae.’

‘Think she’s had cookies before?’ I asked as I reached behind me and pulled my pack off.

‘Give her mine. Even if she has, she’s never had yours before.’ Emilie smiled at me before wincing as I pulled out a bag. ‘Talk them up, though. Make it feel extra special.’

“A special blend of Oran Berries mixed in with my own personal baking recipe. They’re quite the delicacy back home.” I almost tripped over my words half a dozen times as I slowly approached the old Pokémon in front of me.

She took the bag from me and smiled. ‘Hmm… I’ll be eager to taste these at a later time, then. Thank you.’

Emilie sagged down and I chuckled. No secondhand exposure for you, my little cookie fiend.

‘Back to what I was saying earlier, you needn’t worry too much about the time in which you make your way down.’ Mawile rested the bag behind her before putting both hands on her knees. ‘Though the ancient one may be growing slightly impatient, he would never break his oath. Your friends still live in these hallowed chambers.’

I sagged down where I stood as a tension I didn’t even know existed left my shoulders. “Oh, legends above, thank you-”

‘Though that’s not necessarily a good thing,’ Mawile continued, ignoring my outburst. ‘The ancient one is a powerful being, primordial in nature. Your friends may yet live, but if they were caught in the great unsealing, then it is a half life. Frozen in time, content to watch the world around them in frozen isolation. Unable to move, to feel, to live, or to die. It’s a torturous existence, trapped in a frozen shell till you’re granted release in whatever form it is given to you.’ If it was possible, the vacant expression in her eyes seemed to grow more distant. ‘Not even death would dare pry those souls from his icy grip.

I swallowed down a lump that formed in my throat before taking stock of everyone else in the room. Everyone had grown far more pale at the description.

“You… speak as though it was a personal experience,” Brawly muttered, his voice shaky.

‘Because it was.’ Mawile turned to look up to the ceiling. ‘That’s the hope I can offer you, my child, however fleeting it might be. That being isn’t unbeatable, and the forces you’ve gathered under your banner are quite formidable.’ She met my gaze as a smile spread across her lips, the wrinkles around her mouth crinkling. ‘All you need do, is win.’

I looked at her with determined eyes and nodded. Same mission plan, but with a lot less panic. This was good, even if it felt like a nightmare. “Any info you could give us on this ancient one?”

Mawile shook her head. ‘Not without breaking my own oath. You know how it is.’

I sighed before nodding. “Yeah, yeah. Fae can’t lie. I know.” I looked down to my starter with a smile. “I’m all too aware. I don’t suppose you could help us with something a little more recent, then? The Mawile from before mentioned a fight breaking out before the doors opened. You said you know about everything that happens in these caves; did anyone get hurt?”

The Mawile tilted her head to the side before smiling, her eyes matching her expression for the first time since we had come down here.

‘Well, that one’s a fair bit more interesting, now isn’t it. I could just give you an answer, but I don’t think that’s all you want, now is it?’ Mawile lifted her arms up and opened them wide. ‘I can show you so much more and I think it’s something you need to hear.’

I tilted my head to the side, before slowly nodding. “If you think it would help.”

‘Knowledge always helps, dear. What you glean from this is your own treasure, for it’s one of the better tales that’s graced this humble hamlet.’ The grin started to become more manic as her words picked up in pace. ‘It’s something that I’ve come to consign as one of my more joyful memories. Come, little one, and let me tell you a tale.’ Her eyes glowed pink. ‘A story of a group of brave warriors, who faced impossible odds…’

Chapter 55

Notes:

Entire chapter is from Mawile's pov

Chapter Text

His roar was a beacon, a catalyst of death and anger in the gripping chill of days gone by. The Behemoth stood without peer as he gazed down at the weakness splayed out before him, his mouth pulled up in a sneer as he surveyed the wreckage of the once thriving hamlet, before focusing on a single standing tribesman. Red stained the pure white ground of this hallowed place just as it marred the once unblemished skin of the monster’s victims.

Their number had dwindled down to a handful in the conflict, only leaving a scant few defenders to run interference so that the majority could survive and flee. Though it felt like an eternity to them, their efforts had probably bought only a few moments at most.

The Survivor met The Behemoth’s gaze head-on, his shaking frame a contrast to the steady gaze he maintained as he lifted his head up in defiance. “Was there a reason for this? I know you enjoy terrorizing the village people every now and again, but this feels excessive and you usually don’t venture this far down into the basin.”

The Behemoth inched forward slowly, a snarl playing out across his features. “For good reason. You cowards are the only ones that enjoy this nightmare, and the cold that permeates this place is inching forth, invading that which it should hold no dominion over.”

The Survivor leaned back. “You think my people responsible?”

He ducked his head down and quickly began pushing himself underground as his opponent loomed closer. The Behemoth slammed his metal claw down into the frozen wastes, his claw aglow with a faint silver aura as it cleaved through the land The Survivor had been standing on in two.

“Why else would the world be freezing? The key remains hidden, beyond the bindings of this sacred place. Were the sword to be freed willingly by a hand seeking it, the doors to perdition would have been thrown open to welcome its newest challenger.” He slammed his tail into the ground and the entire chamber shook. “The only answer remaining is that the seal is being weakened through other means. I have no desire to live in a world where that thing roams free.”

The Survivor lifted his head above ground, his neck craning to stare up at the monstrous presence before him. “Our people have lived a peaceful existence here for decades. We sought shelter here in times long past because we disdained conflict. Why would we throw that away?”

“It matters little.” The Behemoth slammed his tail into the ground, and the earth stood at attention before falling to pieces. “Your games end now.” Cracks formed underneath the impact, before opening wide as ice began to shatter under the overwhelming force of a calamity made manifest. White rocks tumbled down, stalactites pierced through the ground…

The Survivor, locked in place by the cataclysmic shift, looked on as his end drew near.

His fate was not to die that way.

A hero cloaked in green appeared over him, before grabbing him and disappearing in a single fluid motion. The Knight was the first of his vanguard to arrive, gliding through the battlefield and snagging many a wounded warrior as The Behemoth roared, his prey denied to him by a being far too quick.

***

“Ugh, for the love of, of course the fairy-brained crone calls him a knight, because why wouldn’t she.” The Brat sighed, before directing a pulse of ire at her. “Can we hurry this up, please? We’re kind of in a hurry. We don’t have time to sit through seven different shades of fairy tale while you wind us up for the relevant info.”

No respect for her fellow vassal, nor the story she was so painstakingly crafting for her. She seemed to be The Queen’s most trusted, but she struggled to understand why. She hardly acted the part.

“Emilie!” Her Majesty shouted.

A low squawk met her ears, and a grin pulled at her lips as she casually reached down and placed her hand on the earth beneath her. The old Mawile knew she shouldn’t use her powers for something so trivial, but the mental images that were running through her head beckoned her to look. The world played across her mind's eye, before settling on the scene before her.

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she witnessed her majesty hold the small child up by the back of her neck, a glare marring her features as she gazed down at the petulant face and crossed arms of a girl caught sticking her hand in the cookie jar.

The Brat, yes, that was a fantastic title for this tiny little Ralts.

A deep sigh left her majesty's lips as she turned towards her with downturned lips and tensed shoulders. “For as rude as she said it, she did have a point. Can we get the cliff notes version?”

The Queen’s Champion stepped up closer behind me and nodded.

Mawile chuckled dryly. Ah, to be young and in a hurry again. Though she supposed she could understand, the whole thing needed to be said, or they wouldn’t get the information they needed. She wouldn’t be able to say it. “A good story can’t be rushed, for it would ruin the message, and tie my lips to what info you need. There are players at work. Things you should know. I can only tell you what the cave showed me, exactly as I witnessed it. It’s up to you to infer meaning from my musings.” A smile tugged at her lips as The Queen took in a sharp breath of air. “You’ve already gleaned something from my ‘meandering’, haven’t you, child?”

Her majesty swallowed before focusing up at her. “You’re saying it’s my fault?”

The old Mawile let out a full belly laugh, her voice throaty and dry. Honestly, what a ridiculous notion. “I’m not saying anything, dear. I’m telling a story.”

The Queen’s Champion gave a light cough, pulling the attention of the room his way. “I’m struggling to understand how a seventeen-year-old girl can wake up an ancient Ice Type Pokemon.”

Her Majesty hesitantly turned to give her chosen warrior a terrified glance, before nodding down at her shadow and backing away from the intense stare of the avian behind him. “I’m pretty sure the sword the big scary Aggron mentioned was Lucas.”

Said sword popped out of her shadow, before turning and giving The Seer a worried look. “Guess we found that calamity you were talking about when we first met.”

The chosen blade was haunted?

The Absol winced before nodding. “He probably couldn’t stand your humor.”

The ghost shivered. “Talk about a chilly reception. Deity took one look at me being out and about and dropped the island into a deep freeze.”

The Sailor sighed before lightly whacking his ride on the back of the head. “Quit engaging with the idiot, swabbie. I want to hear the next part of the story, preferably before the entire island freezes over.”

None of them seemed terribly bothered, and the ghost seemed fine.

The Seer growled before biting open air as The Sailor leaned back. “He started it, why are you only yelling at me!”

“He likes me more.” “He’s a lost cause.” The statements came at the same time, and Mawile felt a chuckle leave her lips as the ghost slipped back down into Her Majesties’ shadow.

This collective was a fun group, she was going to hate watching them leave.

The Champion stared after the blade before giving The Queen a once over. He stayed quiet for a moment before nodding. “The weather change started after your incident, so that checks out, but don’t blame yourself for getting attacked. Especially considering what you had to deal with.”

The Queen’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks for not freaking out, we didn’t know anything about this, it just.”

The Queen’s Champion chuckled, before glancing towards her. “Nah, none of this is your fault, I’m just worried about the topside, is all.”

Topside? Why would-

Oh.

“The storm shall only begin in earnest if The Ancient leaves the chamber, having conquered the one who took up the challenge.” The old crone sighed, before leaning back. “For if the leader is lacking, the people themselves must be tested.”

The Queen leaned back, her eyes wide. “I’m not a leader of anything! I’m a seventeen year old girl on a journey!”

She shook her head, before grinning. “You may not view yourself as such, but that is what you are being judged as. And although you’re far from what I was expecting, I do not believe you to be lacking.”

Her Majesty opened her mouth, before closing it and looking away. “Just… get on with the story.”

She supposed borrowing the cave's sight was warranted for this meeting. The Queen was quite the expressive person.

A smile pulled at both sets of lips, and she lifted her hand up from the ground and clapped. “With pleasure.”

***

The Behemoth shifted his head from side to side, his eyes tracing across the ice dripping down from the ceiling like a set of angry, jagged teeth. “This has nothing to do with you, wretch. Those cowards would see this whole island frozen over.”

The Knight pressed himself up against a column of stone and moved slowly around to stay out of sight, before probing out with his mind to give the beast a silent command. ‘Stay your sword, beast. Your unjust attack upon these people is without cause, and you now pick a fight with a knight of the realm.’

A deep bellowing laugh filled the chamber. “First time I’ve ever fought a knight that hides like an insect. You sure that title’s legitimate?”

A slight twinge played behind The Knight’s forehead as a grin spread across his lips. They were ready. “I’ll thank you for not besmirching my noble ladies’ honor, and thank you for not standing down.”

The Behemoth threw out his arm and a hail of boulders were cast out toward the pillar, their tips jagged and deadly as they tore into the support, bringing both it and a large bit of the ceiling down.

The Knight appeared behind the grinning beast with three steadfast warriors at his side. Long spikes trailed down their backs as The Chieftains brought their claws to bear. “Know that I will take great joy in seeing you get slammed into the cold stone floor.”

A blinding white light filled the chamber as they jumped, their claws sparkling as they brought them down, slashing into the metal armor of The Beheomth’s chest. Three small lines traced the wake of their strikes as a single drop of blood oozed through the largest gash in the creature’s plating.

The Behemoth roared, the ground shaking beneath him as he flung his glowing silver arm into the open air, grasping at the empty space his enemies occupied before opening his mouth wide. A glowing yellow ball quickly grew in size, before vaporizing the space between himself and his enemies in a fraction of a second.

The smell of burnt air and charred flesh permeated the space as the beam of light slammed one of The Chieftains into the wall, his scream of pain deafened by the crashing of footfalls. A steel horn gored the wall as the fallen warrior disappeared in a flash of light.

The Behemoth growled as he pulled his horn out of the wall, only to gasp as something slammed into his side hard.

A cascade exploded forward as she descended into the fray, her frame glowing with power and prestige as she charged through what had once seemed like an immovable force. A resounding crack made itself known as the lines in his armor buckled and frayed as she moved upwards, slamming her fist into his jaw before bouncing backwards with a malevolent grin. The Princess cracked her blue tail into the ground and slammed her fist into her palm. “Annoying. Do me a favor and stand down, would you? I’m sure you’re quite the impressive beast, but I’m obviously better than you.”


“Do me a favor and never call Gwen “The Princess” to her face. Last thing we need is to inflate her ego more than it already is,” The Brat said.

The Queen shushed her. “Really sorry about that, I taught her to talk a while ago but teaching her to shut up has been a work in progress.”

This Old One merely nodded, a smile on her face as she glanced down, her bones aching in the cold. Oh, to be young again.

“She is a bit haughty, but her heart’s in the right place. It certainly helps that her might backs up most of her claims.” She leaned forward and pressed against her knees as she thought about her fellow sister. “To challenge The Behemoth in strength… honestly, I was amazed. I’ve seen quite a few things in my lifetime, but to see someone so young do something like that…”

“Yeah, Gwen’s terrifying. Still way too overconfident,” Her Majesty said. “I have a feeling it’s going to get her in trouble, too.”

Mawile kept her mouth shut as she winced.

“Thought so,” The Brat said.

The old one rubbed the skin between her eyes. “...Let’s just get back to it.”

***

The small pool of water that surrounded the crater quickly disappeared as the sound of scraping earth and cracking rocks filled the chamber.

The Princess sighed before quickly hopping away, using her tail as a spring. She hopped again as soon as she landed. “Always have to do things the hard-”

Her complaint fell on deaf ears as another flash of light appeared in midair. A single, small, orange beast hurtled toward the ground as his escort once again disappeared. A loud war cry sounded through the air as the creature slammed his maw down into the cold rock floor.

In that instance, the chamber came to life.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground as entire sections of the chamber split apart and sunk down. Walls bulged before exploding in a hail of rubble as the jaw of the chamber slammed shut. A hail of jagged icicles and stalactites pierced the ground as the Pokemon aboveground deftly avoided the chaos.

A cascade of water flew up into the air as The Princess glared down at the new arrival. “Are you completely insane?”

The Child grinned before backing up slightly, his mandibles chittering as he moved away. “Mom’s orders. I honestly think she’d be overjoyed if this place got buried. Besides, Gawain got the little guys out of trouble, and you’re all more than equipped to deal with a few-”

The ground shook once more, before erupting underneath them in a hail of steel, ice, and pulverized stone. The Behemoth roared as he emerged and slammed his fist into the small orange defender before slamming him down into the destroyed chamber. A red and yellow beam began to glow at the tip of his chipped horn before firing down into the ground.

A red light pulled the unconscious child from the blast zone fractions of a second before the beam slammed into the ground, detonating on contact and sending a shockwave through the war torn chamber.

“Oh, thank fuck, that was close.” The Witness sank down to the ground, bringing her arms up and bracing herself against the sifting shards of stone and ice, her scarlet coat shielding her from the worst of it as she fell down lower, taking refuge behind her stalwart orange protector as the chaos died down.

The Knight pulled himself up beside her and winced. ‘Should I-’

“Bring Wayne, Skarm, and Wally. I know it’s out of order but I didn’t think he’d be this put together after we dropped half a cave on him.” The Witness nodded toward the disappearing knight before glancing across the dusty cave, spying the faint silhouette of a monster four times her size. “Leshy-”

Before she could even state the order, a cloud of fumes washed across the field as multiple vines reached out and wrapped around The Behemoth’s arms. A beautiful pink blossom, pristine and flourishing in the chaos, launched upwards as the vines retracted, its picturesque visage a stark contrast to the demonic expression marring the face of the beast attached to the flower.

The Vengeful slammed bud first into The Behemoth, and on contact, a rainbow of powders erupted from his bud and coated the lumbering steel type, freezing him in place as the pungent aroma hit his nose. Vines began to bloom from a single point on The Behemoth’s chest as the grass type pulled back, his face still contorted in rage as he fired volley after volley of razor sharp leaves into the beast’s shattered armor, stripping away pieces of steel and carving into the exposed flesh beneath.

“Damn it, Leshy, that was not part of the plan at all!” The Witness screeched.

The Vengeful turned and glared. “He hurt Samie.”

The Witness opened her mouth, before pausing as a pair of red, bloodshot eyes snapped open. “GET AWAY, NOW!”

A guttural roar filled the cave as bloody arms surged forward, and fingers wrapped around vines. The Behemoth took hold of the offending appendages before sluggishly starting to spin, pulling the grass type up from the floor and yanking his anchoring vines from the ground in one powerful motion. He slammed the grass type into the ground behind him, cracking the stone on impact as he glared at the offending interloper.

***

“We really need to work on Leshy’s anger issues,” The Brat interrupted, again.

Four different members of her highness’ contingency shushed her, and a smile played across the old woman’s lips. The smile vanished as she felt the small vibrations playing through the ground.

The Queen was shaking, was it, no this chamber wasn’t that cold yet, so…

Ah.

Maybe she could, no… She couldn’t spoil anything. Not while keeping the story intact. She needed it to be contained, delivered in a single set. She wasn’t sure if she could say what needed to be said if she didn’t. “May I continue on?”

“You won’t answer any questions, will you?” The Queen asked.

Astute girl. Wise too. “I’m afraid I can’t.”

“Then hurry the hell up.”


A torrent of water slammed into him before he could capitalize on the opportunity to strike, and a seizing pain gripped him from the side as a glob of blood escaped his mouth.

“If you bleed on me, I’m kicking your ass twice as hard.” A frown pinched her lips as she glared down at the ground. “Ugh, I’ve been spending too much time with the baker-”

An arm reached out and grabbed her by the forehead before slamming her skull against the concrete. A shuddering gasp left her lips as The Behemoth lifted her up into the air for another slam, only to shove his fist into the pulverized earth as another red line pulled her away from the action.

Strong winds pushed through the cave, locking the creature in place as he turned his head and glared, his body sluggish as he pulled himself up from the ground.

The Witness glanced up at the floating malevolent glare, smiling at the small Pokémon before turning her gaze over to a messy head of green hair supported by metal and wires.

The Tactician sighed down at his poke ball, before glancing back toward the battlefield. “Keep up the pressure, Nimue. I think he’s too tired to fight back against the winds.”

The Chieftains that remained moved to stand between the humans and their target as The Mask kept up her assault.

“Things can’t ever go to plan, can they?” The Witness asked, “Where’s Wayne?”

The Tactician groaned, his voice distorted by the machinery as he glared out toward the opening at the base of the room. “He’s having Skarmory and Nuzleaf help the Sandshrew deal with the Lairon that tagged along with this guy. Diplomatic discussions broke down when one of the assholes decided Jasmine’s new Aron wasn’t worth talking to, and attacked.”

The Witness winced. “Are they alright?”

“Jasmine’s having her Clefairy play cleric to pokemon as they get hurt with Wish, but they’re all fairly tied up.” The Tactician let out a raspy breath before pulling up his last poke ball. “Haven’t felt like this since the Mightyena. Really wasn’t expecting to get pulled into a turf war of all things when I came down here.”

The Knight appeared on his left, a single poke ball in hand. ‘Jasmine said to use this should things get truly dire. She isn’t sure what she’ll do, but she’s hoping self preservation instincts will trump… whatever else drives it.’

The Witness winced before reaching out and grabbing the ball. “Great. Our backup is a homicidal ghost who’s just as likely to turn on us as it is to help. Better than nothing I guess.”

The Tactician nodded before turning back to his soldier. “Gawain, I want you to start firing Psybeams. Keep your distance and snipe the damn thing, I don’t want you getting grabbed.”

The Knight nodded and brought his hands together in front of him, but a loud grinding broke his focus as he glanced up.

The Behemoth stood, battered, bruised, and bloodied, but firm as the powerful winds blew past him. Exposed skin poked out from underneath shattered armor as the dilapidated, broken pieces of steel exoskeleton fell from his body.

The Witness leaned back, her eyes wide. “How the hell is that thing still conscious?”

One of The Chieftains snarled as the other brought up his claws and crouched down. “Age, experience, determination, spite, honestly take your pick. You don’t rise to the top of the local food chain by being weak.”

The Protector puffed herself up and stood directly between her trainer and The Behemoth, her eyes wide as she lifted her arms up. “Look alive, because he’s doing something.”

A large, glowing boulder slowly started to form as The Behemoth opened his mouth, his body still braced against the prevailing wind. Rock shards and shattered stone slowly rose up to join the glowing mass, and the sound of rock grinding against rock made itself known over the roaring tempest.

The Chieftains moved as one, quickly moving to either side of The Mask, their arms glowing silver. In an instant, the concentrated ball of earth launched through the air, the wind barely slowing it down in the slightest. The Mask ducked down, stopping her assault in time with her defenders moving forward to meet the assault head on. The orb exploded on contact, sending shrapnel and ice through the room once again.

The Witness shouted, once again bringing her arms up. A wall of fire lit up in front of her and The Tactician.

The Protector nodded to her green and white compatriot before looking behind her. “You two alright?”

The Tactician ignored the question as he ran forward, hands in front of his mask. “Nimue!”

A light mewl made itself known in the chaos, and in that instant, the hulking form in the mists pounced, rushing towards his target at a lumbering pace.

The Tactician groaned, before sighing. “You know what, screw it, it’s got to be enough at this point. Gawain, do it now.”

The Knight brought his hands up and grinned. He disappeared with a condensed poke ball in his hand and released the contents right next to The Mask, before grabbing the bug type and disappearing with a smile as The Behemoth lurched forward, his crashing footfalls causing tremors through the chamber. He lifted his arms above his head, a malevolent grin on his face.

That grin quickly dissolved into a wide eyed, slack jawed, gibbering mess as the dust fully cleared and he looked down upon what it was he was attacking.

“Pine.” That single word was the only warning he received before a blinding white light filled his vision.

***

“Yeah! Get him Ogier. Oh my god it’s so much better when it’s not happening to you.” A light gust of cold air brushed up against her skin as The Queen shouted out her glee.

“Lea!” The Brat hissed. A light thwack sounded through the chamber.

Hmm… maybe the brat was too nice. The Deranged. Yes, that worked better. This child really needed to learn some manners. She was the last person that should be complaining about interruptions. “Yes, that part was a favorite of mine as well. The Sentinel was brave well beyond his stature. To wait until The Behemoth was right on top of him…” She shivered. “I don’t know that I would have the strength of will to do so.”

The Brat chuckled. “Yeah, that Aggron made the mistake of trying to hurt Nimue.”

“So many explosions…” The Queen’s voice sounded distant.

The old Mawile coughed uncomfortably before smiling as the chamber quieted down. “Honestly, the boy surprised me too. Quite the adept bit of tactics honestly. Hold onto that boy when you get out of here, he’s quite the intelligent one.”

“Yeah, that kid impressed me when we fought. I’m happy to see he’s able to keep his head in real life struggles just as well as when he’s in the gym,” The Queen’s Champion said.

A cold chill moved through the cave, and the old crone felt her bones rebel at the harsh temperature. She sighed before raising up her arms.

A loud shriek filled the air in time with the grinding of stones. The chamber instantly warmed up slightly as she breathed out a sigh and basked in the warmth radiating off of one of The Queen’s entourage.

“You’ll have to forgive me, the cold was proving to be a bit much for these old bones. Don’t worry, I have every intention of letting you leave, hell, I might even make your trip a bit shorter for the scare.” She chuckled lightly, delighting in the chance to earn a favor from the young girl.

“I suppose that would be suitable repayment for locking us in here with you for the duration of this tale,” The Deranged countered.

Another faint smacking sound could be heard as a private conversation was held beyond her gaze. She sighed as she leaned forward, her vacant eyes boring into the location she had last heard speaking. “Quite shrewd, little one?”

The faint sound of swallowing bile graced her ears. Ah, at times, she truly did revel in losing her sight. Vision truly was a limiting factor in truly beholding the world.

“I’ve had to be.” The Brat nodded once.

She sighed. The Deranged probably was too harsh. Oh well.

“Shall I continue, then?” A smile pulled at her lips at the sudden freeze in movement.

“You mean that… wasn’t the end?” The Queen’s Champion asked, his voice shaky.

She grinned, shook her head, then opened her mouth to continue.

***

The first thing The Witness observed was the sound as she pushed both of her hands up against her ears. It was so much louder than what she had been forced to endure in Petalburg Woods. She counted her blessings that she never caused this particular Pineco to blow up as she pulled her hands away to shield herself from the oncoming shockwave. The entire room had been muted as she was thrown back by the force, her head pounding as her starter got behind her and braced her so she didn’t get thrown into the wall.

She looked over and shouted toward her best friend, her words muffled and dissonant to her own ears as a constant ringing played out constantly in the chaos. The Tactician turned and nodded as The Knight propped him up against the chaos, a large purple barrier keeping the worst of the madness at bay.

The Witness thanked every deity above for petty childhood rivalries before slowly pulling herself up to take stock of the damage. The entire area around the unconscious incendiary had been burnt completely, and any and all stone or ice in the immediate area had been vaporized or blown away.

The Chieftains slowly pulled themselves up, their heads poking just above the ground as they looked out from their burrowed hiding places with lightly charred spines. Both of them turned their gazes to the wall.

The Witness followed their gazes, before letting her jaw go slack.

The Behemoth had been thrown clear across the room, and his body had slammed so hard into the chamber’s wall that he had been entombed into it, his body the centerpiece to a very specific indentation. Blood dripped from between exposed plates of metal, what little armor remained was charred and obliterated, and limbs were bent in ways that did not make anatomical sense. The only thing that betrayed that this thing was still somehow alive was the uneven heaving of the creature’s chest that resembled breathing and a rough, haggard, gargled rasping that was slowly getting louder as the ringing slowly died down.

“-It’s over.”

The Witness whipped her head around to look at her friend. “What?”

The Tactician threw his hands up and covered his ears, before glaring back at her.

“Sorry.” The word still sounded quiet to her own ears, but she supposed it was louder than she thought.

“I said I think it’s over.” The Tactician smiled as he pulled up a poke ball and aimed it at his fallen comrade. “Only took five of our pokemon, but I think we won. I was wrong, by the way, this was worse than the damn Mightyena.”

The Witness nodded before brushing off her coat and looking out across the destroyed battlefield. “I feel like I wasn’t much help with that.”

“You think I knew what I was doing?” The Tactician asked. “We ping-ponged ideas off of each other on the way here and adapted when things hit the fan. Samie dropped most of a cave on him, and Leshy probably dropped enough paralytics to freeze a freight train in place, we just…”

“Yeah.” The Witness looked away from the wall towards her friends, a smile on her face.

A loud explosion sounded from beyond the chamber, and all eyes whipped around to the door.

“Gawain!” The Witness shouted.

The Knight teleported just above them, ready to grab them and take them to the other battlefield.

A single, charred, cracked claw backhanded him out of the air as the chamber violently started to shake. The Witness turned back and gaped as she gazed upon the impossible. Metal cracked and flayed, bones snapped, blood leaked down from his jaw, but despite everything, the hulking beast that once had the wherewithal to be called The Behemoth freed himself from his would-be tomb.

He collapsed to the ground, his breathing haggard and uneven before forcing himself to rise. His body buckled and undulated wildly as he rose up to full height and stared back down at the Witness with blank, hate-filled eyes.

A guttural, broken roar filled the chamber as The Witness stared up, completely frozen at the creature that loomed over her. Odd, considering she didn’t see the beast’s mouth move. She watched, completely petrified, as the monster before her charged at her, her body unwilling to listen to her mind as it screamed at her to move.

A wave of heat hit her back, and she felt her legs give out as something pulled her back from the coming onslaught. Broken from her trance, she looked back to see the worried gaze of The Protector watching on as a new beast descended onto the battlefield.

His wings were blood red and wide, curved as a new crescent moon in the evening sky, with jagged blue talons extending out from their apex. Bright yellow lines glinted as it descended, its face pulled into a violent snarl as the beast landed on its hindlegs between its prey and The Tactician, its tail slamming down into the earth with enough force to crater the pulverized battlefield..

The Witness let loose a breath, before noticing a small girl, no taller than herself, hop down from the creature’s long, black plumage. A long brown cape hid most of her frame, but she could make out short black hair atop her head, and a long, snake-like stone wrapped around her bare leg.

She raised up her arm, The Witness blinked, and The Untamed had slammed what was left of The Behemoth into the ground and held him down, seemingly unbothered by the writhing beast held beneath his heel. He opened his mouth wide, and a single, black ball of pure malice formed. Its mere existence was enough to send a pulse of energy through the chamber and force those who weren’t prepared to their knees.

“Put it out of its misery.” The words were cold, detached, and empty.

And in another blink of the eye, it was over. There was no loud explosion, no shockwave of force or any other sign of something happening. Just a single lunge forward as the attack extended down into a beam, ripping through the beast’s flesh as though it wasn’t even there, and pushing deep down into the chamber below.

The Witness stared on in horror as she took in the vaporized hole where her adversary once stood, her nose burning from the smell of ionized air and melted stone. She stiffened as the being that commanded this god amongst mortals turned and looked her directly in the eye, the girl’s face a mirror image of her own as she glanced over at The Tactician.

“I’m happy I was able to get here before anything too bad happened, you two okay?” she asked.

The Witness swallowed down a bit of bile before nodding, not trusting herself to speak.

She felt a warm hand rub against her back and turned to see The Protector smiling down at her.

“Busken.” Right. Her translator was unconscious.

“Thanks, Suzy.” She slowly pushed herself up to her feet before taking a few deep, steadying breaths as their new arrival walked over to The Tactician and helped pull him to his feet.

“You’re going to give your family a heart attack one of these days, you know that right?” They knew each other.

“Zinnia?” His voice was distant and in awe. “I-What are you doing here?”

The Lorekeeper smiled at him before giggling, her face losing most of its worry lines. “Your uncle was worried.” She glanced back toward the still smoking hole in the ground. “Looks like he was right to.”

He nodded, his words stuck in his throat.

“Now, I don’t know how many of your ‘mons are fighting fit, but I have a feeling it’s a really low number. Let’s get you and your friends out of-”

Her words died on her lips as a new sound filled the chamber. A million and one footsteps made themselves known as everyone that had been fighting in the chamber before them filtered into the room, a towering presence leading the charge.

Before The Witness could even think of giving a greeting, a bright blue light washed over them, its presence physical, and bitterly cold as a low creak met their ears. Five sets of eyes instantly traced to the source, and watched as the large, frozen over doors creaked open, an unending and unwavering wave of cold pushing out from the abyss as the roar of the ancients made itself known.

***

She paused to take a breath, and delighted that she was able to render her audience speechless. “Poké for your thoughts?”

“What on earth would you even do with it?” The Brat chimed.

Arceus above, how did a child of that bloodline turn out like this?

“Could you tell me exactly what kind of Pokémon this Lorekeeper rode in on?” The Queen’s Champion asked. “I’m… really having trouble placing it.”

She shook her head. “The cave gives me whispers and images, but nothing concrete. It’s odd, usually the cave has an understanding of what goes on within, but this creature has never graced its halls.” She smiled at the sound of claws scraping against the ground. “Sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“It’s alright, I… think I’ve seen it before.” The Queen swallowed down a bit of bile, her presence moving through the cave as she moved closer to her chosen warrior. “I recognized the description as something that I saw in Petalburg Woods. It kind of looks like a Salamence, but it’s… different.”

The Queen’s Champion sighed. “Probably some kind of genetic mutation. Wouldn’t be the first time, though that thing sounds horrifying.”

A cold chill filled the air, and the ancient frowned as she pushed out to the cave. No, she still had the place sealed.

“You mentioned a blue wave passing through the chamber before the doors were opened?” Ah, the other ghost wanted to speak.

“Yes, it was the beacon to let the ancient know that his challenge had finally been taken, and with it, the seal upon the door was broken.” She sighed. “His response has been a bit heavy handed, though, I will admit.” She sighed as another silence permeated the chamber before kneeling down and placing her hands upon the cold, stone floor. A world of color exploded before her as the world played out across her mind’s eye.

The Queen slowly stepped closer to the floating ball of shadows, her steps loud in the otherwise quiet chamber. “It’s not your fault, you know that, right?”

The specter chuckled. “How is it not? That light’s the same light that filled the tomb. It happened around the same time.”

The short, white-furred prophet hopped forward, landing just in front of The Queen and forcing her rider to take to the skies. “You heard the big scary Aggron, the seal was getting weaker. This was going to happen at some point regardless. Besides, you weren’t yourself.”

“Maybe, but I certainly sped up the process.” The specter sunk down into the shadows.

He quickly rose back up as The Queen’s Blade forcefully evicted him, a dark vortex swirling around his soul as he floated closer.

“Lucas-”

The blade silenced his queen with a look, before turning back to glare at the offending shade. “Nothing we tell you is going to change your mind, so let me just get straight to the point.. Regardless of what you did, or what you might have caused, you’re with us now, helping to fix it. So quit with the pity party, square up, and march, soldier.”

“What exactly are you guys-” The towering furnace stopped as a wave of psychic power pulsed through the clearing, He turned toward her majesty with a newfound look of respect before turning toward the shade, a smile on his face. “Look, I’ve seen half a dozen new ghosts form in my life and they’re all crazy as hell on formation. Trust me, the things you did before getting a handle on your headspace were tame, believe me.”

The shadow beneath the champion’s feet warped and bulged out, its movements indignant.

“I didn’t name you once, the fact that you’re getting uppity just says more about you than it does me.” A cocky grin spread across the royal furnace’s features before he turned. “Always nice to meet a Channeler. You folks do a great service, and you seem to know what you’re doing more than most.”

Her majesty snapped her gaze toward the fire type.

The champion let loose a laugh. “Alright, Lele, I can see why you wanted her to tag along now. Most ghost specialists have the ability to calm vengeful spirits. The League’s taken to calling them Channelers. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one at work, though. I might make a few recommendations once we get out of here to have them train with psychic types from now on. It seems to help the process quite a bit, and you’re a hell of a lot more put together than most of them.”

Her majesty just stared. “I… okay.”

The old one couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh as she took in the completely lost expression on The Queen’s face, her mirth breaking her connection to the cave and robbing her of her sight once more. She could feel the stares tracing her up and down as she leaned back. “Ah, forgive me, my child. Don’t mind me, I just found the discord humorous.”

A low growl sounded out through the chamber as The Brat disappeared, her form lost to her as she reformed directly in front of her. “Enough with the games. We listened to your story, and although it was informative, I still don’t understand why you couldn’t just answer Lea’s question like a normal pokemon so we can hurry up and help them. So open up the damn door and fucking send us on our-”

Enough.

The Brat’s tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as the ancient one brought her presence to bear, forcing the small child to her knees as she rose up to full height. “Normally, Pokémon treat me with a little more respect.”

She could feel the defiant stare aimed her way, and sighed. Was she losing her touch? She supposed it wouldn’t do for a princess to have anything less than a will of steel, but why did it have to come attached to someone so tiresome? “I haven’t released you for one simple reason, child. It’s the same reason I have told you this tale. For as binding of a covenant I may have forged, a single rider was left.” A wide, toothy grin pulled at both mouths as mirth once again bubbled up. “My story remains unfinished.”

***

A biting chill gripped her to her core as she floated atop her loyal compatriot’s back, her skin paler than the frozen buildings that rested beneath her, frozen in time and space as the storm whipped itself into a frenzy. Snow and hail pelted her from all sides as she locked her gaze upon seven glowing dots, all fixed on her as she inched closer.

She cursed herself for only bringing a single pokemon on this trip. Of all the arrogant, stupid, ham-fisted…

The air burned her lungs as attempted to breathe and dispel the intrusive thoughts. She was staring down winter incarnate, and she couldn’t afford to lose.

“I know this is hell for you, but we don’t have a choice here. That thing… it needs to die.” Her fists clenched so hard that her nails drew blood.

A roar reached her ears, and she smiled a hollow smile.

A low rumbling filled the chamber, and The Lorekeeper clutched onto her companion’s feathers as he rapidly flew backwards, narrowly moving out of the way of a giant ice skewer rising up from the ground.

The Ancient hadn’t even moved.

They flew up higher, and The Lorekeeper winced as the glacier bloomed, new spikes jutting out from the frozen construct in every direction, their jagged edges the foundation of a mockery of life as branches reached out towards the two of them.

“Dive!” The order was screamed as the wind pulled at her skin. She wasn’t even aware that she could get cold. The prevailing winds of the mountain were nothing compared to this frozen hell she now found herself gliding through.

Her companion blasted every oncoming branch of ice that got too close, and she pulled herself closer to the black feathers that covered his back as he sailed through the air, his wings gliding through the inhospitable conditions as though they were a stiff morning breeze coming over the ocean. He ducked down below the lowest branches and brought himself low, close to the iced over roads of a kingdom long since forgotten.

The ice came to life beneath them and reached out, narrowly dodging the dragon as it once again picked up height. Its mouth opened wide as it once again opened its mouth. A black and white orb once again formed in front of him as they loomed closer to the towering ice golem.

He still hadn’t so much as moved.an inch. The air grew colder as they got closer.

She wasn’t the only arrogant one, it would seem. “Make it regret underestimating us. Nightmare’s End.”

The orb extended out into a beam and the wave of malice slammed, full force, into the monolith before her. She grinned and threw her hand up into the air as the beast was forced backward, an odd mechanical sound filling the air as it slammed into the white castle walls behind them.

That joy slowly died as she realized the attack wasn’t going any further.

The black beam slowly faded out into the aether, and The Lorekeeper gaped as she took stock of the damage. A long, black gash ran crisscross across the beast’s chest, just below the glowing yellow eyes.

Their strongest attack, reserved for the most dangerous of enemies, and it barely left a scratch.

Her companion quickly gained altitude and banked away from the statue as more icy hands reached up from the depths, eager to grab them and pull them down into the cold, angry abyss.

“Hit and run tactics, and don’t let up, we can hurt it, so all we have to do is-”

Seven yellow eyes glowed red as the monolith moved of its own accord for the first time since they entered, and the entire world went white.

Chapter Text

Their world went white.

“What the hell do you mean ‘their world went white’?” Emilie’s voice pierced through my skull as she all but shrieked directly in my ear. “And what exactly is the point of telling us ‘The Tale of the Toppled Titan’ if you don’t even tell us what happened to EVERYONE! You skipped all the important people and went straight to the dragon lover. There was an army of Sandshrew and half a dozen humans in that cave when the doors opened up. What the hell happened?”

‘I have told you all that I can. Be thankful I was able to share that much, Brat.’ She sneered up at my passenger.

An image flashed through my head, and I took in a deep, shuddering breath as a wave of phantom cold coursed through my veins. White, frozen statues. Lifeless caricatures of my friends staring back at me as my own skin hardened into a frozen prison cell.

‘All you need to do is win.’

Those words echoed around inside my skull, alongside the image of my own apparent defeat.

Emilie leaned forward, her face red as she glared down at the wizened old Mawile. “They had a damn fire type with them! A strong one too; how the hell do you expect me to believe that she’s frozen solid? That’s not how science works, you-”

Lele stepped forward toward me and put his hand on Emilie’s shoulder. ‘Maybe she didn’t explain, because she can only comment on what she can confirm.’ He turned toward their host. ‘Is that the case?’

Mawile didn’t respond.

Brawly sighed. “Either they got away and are somewhere in this frozen cave, locked behind a wall somewhere, or they met the same fate as the girl with the dragon. Neither option is great.”

‘With the second option being more likely, if Lea’s vision is to be believed.’ Toa nodded before leaning down, picking up a few stones.

‘Can we not believe her visions?’ Sol asked, her voice strained. ‘I know that’s rich coming from me, but future sight is shoddy at best and misleading at worst.’

Emilie nodded, her jaw set in a frown.

‘Regardless of if our host is to be believed, in either instance, we just have to beat the big scary ice monster and all our problems go away.’ Joern walked closer to the fire type as he talked. ‘Before we move on, though, I feel the need to say that I was in fact right about sending the dragon trainer after our friends and that you’re all way too paranoid.’

“Right.” I swallowed down my nerves and nodded at Joern.

I wasn’t a statue, frozen and alone at the bottom of a frozen over cave. Everyone was alive at the end of the Aggron fight and that was what mattered. Just breathe. Forget that you’re in a stupid fucking cave again with monsters that want to turn you into an art exhibit, and just breathe.

Sol approached and leaned against my legs, her soft fur warm and soothing. ‘You alright in there?’

I froze for a second longer before nodding and running my hand through some of her fur. “Sorry, I just... got a bit overwhelmed. Thanks.”

‘No problem.’ Sol smiled at me, before slightly shifting her gaze and smirking.

I turned to see Emilie’s teasing face instantly shift to something more innocent, before looking back and seeing Sol’s tongue pull back into her mouth.

Children. I’m surrounded by children. “Behave, the both of you.”

‘I’m wholly innocent.’ Sol lifted up a paw and pointed up at Emilie. ‘She was being rude.’

‘I just thought the scene was cute,’ Emilie said.

‘The last thing the cap needs is you lot acting like a couple of addlepated swabbies.’ Apollo dove down and landed next to Toa. ‘Now pipe down.’

The two looked at each other before nodding, both muttering a quiet apology.

The imposing fire type turned and glared before beckoning his trainer over. ‘If you idiots could hold it together for like... five minutes so we can plan, that’d be really helpful.’

‘I-’

I cut my starter off with a glare before walking over to look at a bunch of rocks, haphazardly thrown about on the floor. “Feng Shui?”

Toa blushed before glaring at me. ‘I like visual aids and all we have is rocks and that’s not the point so shut up.’

I giggled before getting nudged by Crash. “Shutting up. I’m guessing you got more from that than ‘big scary ice monster can freeze people and make giant ice trees’?”

“A few things, actually.” Brawly leaned forward and knelt down, before tracing lines through the dirt with his fingers. “We know that there’s a city underground, and that will likely be our battlefield. We learned the Pokémon can control ice beyond what usually fits into normal move pools.” Brawly sighed, before glancing up at the grumpy furnace. “And we learned it can freeze with just a glance. Do you think-”

‘Sheer Cold.’ Toa nodded, his face grim. ‘I’ve never heard of a Pokémon mastering it to such a degree, though. Glacia’s Walrein would be the closest, but that monster still needs longer than a focused glance to trap her enemies in a prison of ice.’

“Sheer Cold?” Emilie asked.

‘The height of an ice type’s skill set.’ The markings on Crash’s mask of feathers distorted as her eyes widened, and she slowly glanced away from Toa to stare up at my starter. ‘The user focuses on his opponent’s exact location and drops the temperature to absolute zero, freezing them on the spot.’ She shivered.

My stomach felt hollowed out as I stared at her with wide eyes. “That... doesn’t sound survivable.”

Lele chuckled. ‘Yeah... you’d think that. Surprisingly enough though, it’s almost never lethal. The move doesn’t give your systems a chance to respond to the drastic change in temperature. Your body just... stops. At least if done correctly. I imagine that’s the case considering our benefactor’s advice that this is reversible.’ He leaned down and stared at the drawn out battlefield.

Joern swallowed before glancing toward the powerful psychic type. ‘Can we... counter that at all?’

‘Really, I don’t much like the idea of being a frozen statue.’ Sol shivered.

‘It sounds like this creature requires direct eye contact, so at least we have that going for us. The attack can probably be intercepted by barriers.’ Lele looked up and smiled at his trainer. ‘I’ll make it a point to keep a barrier between us and it at all times, if I can. It’s going to be rough, considering we’ll have to stay mobile the entire time we’re fighting, but-’

“We don’t have a choice.” Brawly sighed.

Brawly’s shadow spread out across the room before solidifying around him in a protective shell.

The gym leader laughed. “Fair enough. Don’t bother shielding me, Lele. Tiki has got me covered.” He sighed. “Still. We’re going to have to limit the number of Pokémon we field at once, or we’re going to lose teammates that way too frequently for my liking.”

‘Which also means Lele needs to not engage it himself, if he can help it. ’ Toa shook his head, before glancing my way.

His gaze felt damning, like a titan glancing down at an ant that had no right to be here. I was finding it hard to fault him.

“Should me and my team hang back, then? We’re obviously not strong enough to deal with whatever that thing is.” The words felt like ash in my mouth.

‘That-’

‘-would not be advisable.’ Lele gave Toa a grin as the fire type glared holy murder at his partner. ‘Granted, I can’t see much of the future. This entity seems to shroud everything in a rather unpleasant mist, and future sight was never my forte, but the futures where we leave you behind, in any capacity, seem far darker.’

I nodded, the words I wanted to say getting stuck in my throat as the idea of facing down that creature in any capacity started to take up all of my thoughts.

I could normally think of strategies, at least. Flooding the arena against the Space Rocks, using Emilie’s abilities to pull air into Suzaku’s embers to turn them into mini bombs, and turning the field into a quicksand pit against Brawly’s fighting types came to mind. Outside the box thinking was a good way to deal with opponents that were stronger and scarier.

At a certain point, though, I couldn’t really wrap my head around HOW to counter the enemy in front of us. How did you outmaneuver something that could control the world around them so effortlessly? That could freeze with just a thought?

‘Do you seriously expect me to believe that this, girl, is actually going to help us take that thing down?’ Toa stared at his partner like he had grown a second head.

Lele started laughing. ‘Of course not.’

I felt my cheeks heat up at how easily I was just dismissed. Just because I couldn’t picture it didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. That’s just rude.

‘There’s something beyond the ice giant. Something it’s trying to protect that only Lea is able to get to. I imagine it has something to do with her being the one to free her ghost type from his stone prison.’ Lele turned to me and smiled. ‘We need to make sure she can get there.’

‘Protect the Captain at all costs as she charts a course for parts unknown, basically.’ Apollo nodded once to himself. ‘Doesn’t sound too different from everyday life, honestly.’

Joern nodded with a grin, before glancing down at the boxes drawn on the ground. ‘The parts unknown are what’s worrying me; it’d be nice if we had a heading.’

Emilie groaned. “Oh, don’t you start with the nautical nonsense-”

‘The palace.’ The two words were quiet, barely above a whisper, but they echoed through my ears as Lucas slowly rose up from the ground, his eyes locked to the badly drawn boxes on the ground. ‘It’s... hold up.’

In a single sweeping motion, Lucas swept up the badly drawn map before slashing down into the ground. The group backed away as the sweeping motions got more precise and widespread, giving way to a much more detailed layout of buildings and roads. Five central paths diverged from a massive central square, before leading up to a massive structure that seemed to be twenty times the size of the buildings surrounding it. The main roads led off to smaller alleyways and smaller roads, but the city seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Lucas stopped with a flourish, before quickly floating to the edge of his drawing, and carving a large circular border around the quickly drawn replica. ‘There!’

I stared down at the finished work with awe. It was still fairly abstract, but still. “Lucas, what-”

‘It’s an image that has been stuck in my head. Me gazing down upon a city from on high as the sun bears down on it. I can still see it vividly.’ Lucas floated down toward the map. ‘It’s a memory. A fragment from when I was still alive. It has to be. I haven’t seen anything like this in your memories.’

I nodded slowly before looking down and pointing at the wide open space in front of the large building at the edge of the drawing. “I’m guessing this is the palace, then?”

“Hard to imagine a place that big as anything but.” Brawly turned toward Lucas with a smile, probably already anticipating the answer. “How sure are you that this city Mawile talked about and the one in your memory are one in the same? I don’t think the sun has shined on this place in quite a long time.”

Lucas turned toward him, the eye in the base of his sword glowing vibrantly in the chamber. ‘I’d stake my soul on it.’

I leaned back at the serious tone of voice that inflected into my spook’s voice.

Lucas chuckled lightly. ‘I don’t... really have much else to gamble with, though. I’m quite certain that that’s something I still possess, at least. I’m confident.’

I sagged down, relieved at the slightly morbid joke, before walking gingerly on the drawing and standing in the big open space. “I think this is probably the only place on the map where a giant ice tree could shoot up from the ground and not destroy a ton of houses. Considering how hammy our storyteller was in spots, I imagine she’d mention wonton property destruction if it happened. That means our opponent is close to the palace.” I stared out across the drawing. “There are quite a few places a Pokémon might be able to hide.”

“You’re thinking of having me hide some of my team in houses to take some of the work off of Lele.” Brawly sighed. “I had been bouncing around the idea, and I could probably get away with Kahuna causing chaos at a distance, but I have a feeling this thing just needs us to have a connection to the ice to know where we are. At a certain point, a lot of Pokémon form a connection to the world around them with whatever element they decide to master. With this thing firing off Sheer Cold like it’s nothing…” He trailed off.

I turned around and glanced at the palace, my eyes wide. “Doesn’t that mean this thing would be able to track me once I got inside the palace?”

‘Not if we keep it focused on us.’ Toa slammed his fist into the palm of his other claw, a plume of fire pushing back from his wrists as he ground them against each other.

Brawly walked up behind the fire type and lightly smacked the back of his head. “Yeah... as much as I agree with the sentiment, we’re keeping our distance as much as possible. I don’t want to know what that thing can do if we get too close.”

A single white light engulfed the cave as a hulking mass of muscles and power formed. A low thud sounded as the creature slammed into the ground, his four arms flexed in various postures that seemed to defy anatomical sense as he swept his gaze across the room and focused down at the drawing he landed on, his feet scuffing the lines as he glared at his trainer.

‘The heck you mean we aren’t getting close?’ The whiny tone of this hulking behemoth contrasted drastically with his shape.

I glared up at Emilie, who lifted her arms up and smiled at me as I reached back towards my bag to grab my Pokédex.

“I haven’t been translating for a while. Been too nervous to really focus on it like I usually do, honestly. Lele’s been translating for everyone,” Emilie said.

I nodded slowly before smiling at the wave Lele sent me. Machamp. Capable of toppling skyscrapers and moving mountains with a flex of its mighty power. Throws two thousand punches in two seconds. God, who the hell wrote these entries.

“I’m sorry, Auma, but fighting at a distance is probably the best bet.” Brawly reached up and patted the big guy on his shoulder. “If it makes you feel better, you’ll be one of the first stringers. No way am I going to hold you back from the action.”

‘No, you’ll just do your best to make the strongest thing we’ve fought in months boring.’ Was the whiny tone getting worse? Auma lifted his arm up and pointed at Lele. ‘Quit screwing with my voice. I know you’re doing it. I can see Toa fighting back laughter.’

The fire type proceeded to lose it as Lele lifted up his arms in mock offense. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘Uh-huh, sure.’ Auma’s voice took on a much deeper quality in my head as he looked down at the drawing carved into the sand. ‘Hey, sword. How big are the buildings down there?’

Lucas leaned back. ‘Uh, a few of them are several stories, though a lot are smaller affairs.’

‘Can I throw them at the monster? ’ Auma asked.

I wasn’t alone in doing a double take.

‘T-throw a building?’ Lucas fell back down into the dirt.

Auma scoffed. ‘Yeah! Brawly told me I needed permission to throw things that belonged to other people. Can I throw your buildings or not?’

Brawly had his head in both of his hands as he shrunk away from the group. A sinking feeling of dread started to pool in my stomach as the stark realization set in. The craziness wasn’t unique to me, and it didn’t go away as they got older.

Lucas puffed himself up. ‘My good man, nothing would bring me or my people greater joy than seeing a four-story tower careen through the air and slam into that ice monster at Mach twelve.’

Auma fist-pumped the sky with four different fists, an action that caused the very ground I stood on to rumble slightly. ‘Yes!’

Brawly sighed before lifting up a Poké Ball and recalling the fighting type, his eyes trailing after the receding red line with a certain exasperated fondness that I was all too familiar with.

“Out of idle curiosity, are the members of your team we’re currently hanging out with the sanest? Because I noticed that Kahuna was also a bit-”

“Does your Ralts ever shut up?” Brawly asked, his tone pleading.

I reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “I understand your pain.”

A small fist smacked the side of my head, and I turned to see Emilie pouting. “If you two are done, can we go back to planning? Lucas, don’t suppose you remember anything else that’d be helpful, do you?”

Lucas looked away, a frown in place. ‘Need a bit under a whetstone to make the images a bit clearer cut, unfortunately.’

“That’s fine.” Brawly nodded toward the ghost once before looking Crash’s way. “I honestly think we’ve got enough for a good jumping off point. Crash, you okay with going with Lea through the palace? If there really is something important in there, then I don’t trust it to be sunshine and roses once we push past the monster.”

Crash eyed me up and down, before turning her ire back to her trainer. ‘You're getting me out of the way, aren’t you?’

Brawly winced. “Crash-”

‘I accept.’ Crash glared away towards the ground. ‘I’m not at my best in this.’

“That’s not it at all.” Brawly sighed before ruffling her feathers. “Out of everyone here, you have the most important job, and I trust you to look out for her and her team more than anyone else.”

Crash chuckled before pecking at the hand and smoothing out the feathers on her head. ‘If that were completely true, you’d be sending Tito.’

Brawly winced.

‘We haven’t seen a Tito yet, have we? ’ I asked Emilie.

She shook her head no.

“You already know that mother hen isn’t going to let me out of his sight for this entire battle. I’m honestly surprised the big guy hasn’t let himself out to yell at me for coming down here yet.” A single ball on Brawly’s belt wiggled as he desperately tried to plead his case.

Lele smirked. ‘Tito understands your reasons, is mad at you for diving in without league backup, but is giving you space to not smother you like he usually does.’

“See!” Brawly yelled.

Crash sighed, before nodding. She pecked at a Poké Ball and returned herself before Brawly could say anything else.

Brawly groaned. “That discussion definitely doesn’t feel over, but... I guess we’ll take what we can get.” He turned to me and smiled. “You ready to dive?”

I froze for a moment before nodding. “Let’s go beat up an ice cube and save our friends.” I turned toward the stone arch, only to freeze again, suddenly becoming very aware of a voice that hadn’t said a word in this whole exchange. “Mawile?”

No answer.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Emilie snarled the words out as she teleported down and walked through the gate, only to fall forward in a heap on the other side. “Oi, you forgot to let us out, you stupid old crone!”

‘She said she was going to catch up with family once she got done with her story,’ Joern said, his voice distant. ‘I... sort of figured she’d wait for us to leave, though.’

Brawly glanced around the room. “Toa, I don’t suppose you... remember where we came in at, do you?”

Toa shook his head. ‘I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t even remember what this cave looked like before that Mawile changed it.’ The color started to drain from his face. ‘That’s bad, isn’t it.’

Brawly kicked at the ground a bit before walking over to the walls and placing his hand against the rock. “Yeah, that doesn’t feel right. Lele, can you-”

Lele’s eyes lit up, and a faint purple glow enveloped the wall. Large chunks of stone were effortlessly peeled away, only to show the same shear wall, completely unscarred.

“Yup, that’s what I was afraid of.” Brawly let out a sigh before falling down to the ground in a sitting position, his hands on his knees.

“Please don’t tell me we’re trapped in here until that old bat comes back and springs us.” Emilie looked toward Brawly with pleading eyes. “I know how much old fae like to talk. We could be here for weeks. I don’t think Suzy and the others have that kind of time.”

I gave my starter an odd look before turning back to Brawly. “Do you know what this is?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Brawly sighed. “Tiki’s looking for some kind of tether in the shadows to unravel. The really simplified version is that some Pokémon can sort of... bend the rules of reality a bit. You get these weird pocket spaces where physics kind of stop making sense.”

The crypt from last night came to mind. “Terrain?”

“Sort of? It’s a bit more in depth than that.” Brawly glanced down toward the ground, and I finally realized that his shadow was gone. “Like I said, Tiki’s looking for some kind of tether. He’ll overwrite this and we’ll be on our way in no time. Just... get comfortable in the interim.” Brawly closed his eyes and slowly leaned back, putting both hands behind his head as the chamber became quiet.

I groaned before glaring back at the wall. I had no clue how he could be taking it easy right now. I just... ugh. I needed to move. WE needed to move. The longer we were down here, the worse it felt like things were getting.

Why did I think following that stupid fairy type was a good idea? We could have just walked further in. Instead, we were stuck here, in this stupid little cave. What good did that stupid story do if we were trapped here? Why the hell did she just leave us?

‘Lea,’ Emilie said, cutting through my panic.

I froze before turning my head and looking toward the voice. Emilie was looking at me, her eyes meeting mine as she leaned up against the archway.

‘I… thanks,’ I said.

Emilie shot me a small smile before turning back to the arch and looking it over. ‘Just remember to breathe, okay? No sense and working yourself up considering we can’t go anywhere. And if you need it, don’t forget I’m always here.’

Breathe. I can do that. Just stop getting worked up and focus on the task at hand. Emilie’s right, there’s nothing we can do about it now but try to find a way out. Brawly’s shadow could do its thing while we looked for something up here. The walls had to have something. Anything.

I ran my hands up and down the stone surface, the rock far smoother than a cave’s surface should be. I idly wondered if I could dig through the damn thing; I was apparently good at that, if previous experience was anything to go off of.

Legends above why did I think that? Ugh. A chill went through my spine as I continued to run my hands along the walls.

A hand grabbed my shoulder. I whipped around and threw a punch, hitting air before another arm grabbed my wrist.

“Lea!” Brawly's voice was loud as he tried to hold me still. “Lea, it’s just me.”

I stilled, before backing away as Brawly loosened his grip. “Sorry.” I looked away, glaring down at the stone floor. It was getting colder here.

Brawly nodded once, before sighing. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for a bit. You looked… not great.”

Brawly moved and patted me on the shoulder. “It’s alright, I wasn’t exactly the pillar of strength I’m supposed to be in situations like this.”

I shook my head before taking a deep breath. “It’s fine. I just... How are you calm? I don’t get it. I was calm, I don’t know how, but I was, but the first time something goes wrong I fall apart and I just... How?”

Brawly chuckled lightly. “Years of experience?”

I imagined my eyes as deadly lasers and tried to will his head to explode with my mind. My brain very quickly reminded me that I in fact had psychic powers somehow and I looked away before I somehow made my fantasy a reality. “Anything helpful?”

Brawly chuckled. “Not really, but at least I know making you angry distracts you for a bit. Good to know for later, I suppose.” He sighed before walking over to one of the larger boulders and taking a seat. “I don’t have any advice for you, unfortunately. To be honest, over the years, I’ve just gotten better at hiding it.”

I froze. “Huh?”

“People think they need to be fearless to stand at the top. It’s a bunch of Tauros shit.” Brawly sighed before looking over at Toa, who was standing with Lucas, Sol, and Duskull. “Truth of it is that the world’s a scary place. It doesn’t matter how good you are, facing down something like this’ll get to you.”

“This... wasn’t the speech I was expecting to get.” I looked down at the gym leader with narrowed eyes.

Brawly shot me a grin. “If I fed you a generic ‘things will be alright, believe in me and your team and we can do this’ hope speech, would you buy it or laugh in my face?”

I sighed and shook my head. “The second one. In this case especially.” A groan pushed its way out of my mouth as I leaned back against the wall. “Thanks for not doing that, I guess.”

Brawly chuckled. “Yeah. I think out of all the new crop that’s popped up this year, you probably understand it the most. If you were staying with me, I still think I would have tried, but you’re not.” He glanced down at the ground. “You’ll be going on ahead, which means you need a good head on your shoulders. At the end of the day, fear’s a friend as much as it is a foe.”

My earlier thoughts played out across my mind, and I bit back a swear. “Yeah, right. Great friend.”

“Yeah, he’s an ass alright. I’ll give you that much, but once you push through his stupid ideas and force yourself to take the plunge, he’ll always be there, looking over your shoulder to help make sure you don’t fuck up.” Brawly turned up at me and grinned. “He’ll push you well past your limits, fight off every monster, win every fight he can, because at the end of the day, he knows you know what’s really important.”

‘Show me a beautiful world...’ Those words echoed around inside my skull, and I felt something shift in my own head. “I think it’s she, in my case.”

Brawly laughed. “Fair enough, probably be a bit weird otherwise.”

“I... thanks.” I smiled at him before taking a spot on the ground next to his rock. “What’re you putting it all on the line for then, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Brawly glanced around the room, his gaze heavy as his eyes slowly panned across everyone here. “I’ve been all over the world. Seen things you couldn’t even begin to imagine. Fought in all kinds of tournaments and ran through the league gauntlet of more than one region. Through it all, this island’s never left me. This place is my home.” He clenched both fists. “Anything tries to drop it with the gnarliest of waves, they’re going to have to go through me first.”

“Sounds like more than a good enough reason to me.” I smiled at him, before turning and pulling my legs up to my chest and waiting quietly for the world to shift.

***

Lucas POV

***

Looking down from a balcony on high, he could still see his city’s splendor, glinting in the midmorning sun. That was the mental image that plagued his mind. Why couldn’t he remember the specifics beyond that? He could visualize the entire town, but not what happened to it. It shouldn’t be underground, locked behind giant blue doors.

That old Mawile knew more, but she wouldn’t share. Why? The gaps were driving him mad. His friend’s needed to know as much as they could if the beast that slept down here was as strong as they thought. If he could just connect the dots, this would be so much-

“You still sane over here?” Sol asked.

Lucas instinctively flew away so fast that he phased through the back wall into... nothing? The world dipped down into a blank void that he couldn’t quite comprehend as a light buzzing played along his blade. He quickly floated forward and found himself back in the stone room he was in before. “Okay, note to self, don’t try to phase through the wall. Bad idea.”

Duskull floated out of Sol’s shadow and loomed over him. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, just... jumpy, I guess. Kind of hard to imagine considering I don’t have any feet, but I guess the feeling doesn’t need them.” He floated back toward the two of them and gave them a shaky smile. “Don’t worry about me.”

“So long as you aren’t driving yourself mad.” Sol sighed before glancing at Lea as she paced along the walls. “I think Lea’s a lost cause.”

“She’s worried.” Duskull glanced toward Emilie as she continued to look over the arch in the middle of the room. “We all are, I think. Some of us are just handling it better.”

“Yeah, that’s an understatement. Still though, you’ve been off since you drew the map.” Sol leaned forward, her paws moving over the outer edge of the map. “You aren’t going to go crazy on us like my old man, are you?”

Lucas floated back slightly before shooting Sol a glare. “We’re all crazy for being down here in the first place, but as far as losing it and attacking people goes, I think we’re good.” He floated above the open space in front of the palace. “Mostly I’m just angry. I have to know more about what’s going on. I lived there, for fuck’s sake! Surely I’d remember a giant ice monster being baked into my people’s history.”

“Your memory is just as spotty as mine, though.” Duskull floated down toward the map. “Random pictures connected by broken memories and regrets. You’re not much older than me, I’d imagine.” Duskull glanced up at Sol as she raised an eyebrow. “Well, spectrally speaking. I imagine you’re quite a bit older than all of us, considering-”

Lucas cut him off with a laugh. “Don’t worry so much. I look good for my age, I know. Quite trim with no wrinkles, how do I do it?” He stopped before pointing towards a few small squares around the square. “And to answer your question, I do remember more than a few random pictures. Those stalls over there served the best soup in the city and were a favorite of me and my...” Lucas stopped and sunk down lower, before catching himself and resting the tip of his blade into the ground. “My wife. I had a wife.”

The light behind Duskull’s mask dimmed slightly as he floated down and rested a hand on Lucas’s hilt. “I understand the feeling.”

“You would, wouldn’t you.” Lucas sighed before looking back down. “Over here is a guardhouse. I was trained to fight here. I... I’m fairly confident the Poké Ball hadn’t been invented yet.” He sighed. “If it had, it hadn’t made its way to us yet. Would have made life a fair sight more bearable, I can tell you that much.”

“How so?” Sol asked. “Were you at odds with the Pokémon in the area?”

“No, I...” Blank. Life beyond the wall didn’t exist, as near as he could tell. “I don’t know. I just know it was hard. Something attacked us, I just... can’t remember what it was or how often.” A single image flooded through his mind, and he gasped. “Absol.”

“Hmm?” The dark type tilted her head. “What?”

“No, I remember now. Absol were a mainstay in the city. They were our allies and helped keep us safe. We... I was very close with the leader of the order.”

“The order of what?” Duskull floated back to give him some space.

“I don’t know!” Lucas pulled himself up and glared down at the drawing. “I’m so close to something important, but I just can’t push myself the rest of the way there. It’s so... Ugh!” He brought his blade down on the map as she screeched out, and carved a long, black gash through the middle of the drawing.

A wave of heat pushed through the area, and he froze as a set of claws wrapped around his hilt and held him in place. Lucas cast his eye up and froze as Toa stared at him with glowing green eyes.

“I... I’m sorry. Don’t quite know what came over me.” Lucas looked away as the fire type let him go.

Toa nodded once. “I know you want to help, but don’t push yourself to remember. We have a decent enough plan, and Crash is more than capable of keeping you lot safe if we’re keeping the big guy busy.” Toa smiled. “Let us do the heavy lifting, alright? We’re more than capable.”

“I, fine.” Lucas frowned. “Guess I was living up to my role as a spooky ghost, huh? I wish I had your confidence.”

Toa laughed. “Just got to keep the faith. We’ll kick this ice monster’s ass and be home in time for dinner.”

“Assuming we ever get out of this cave,” Sol muttered.

“Tiki’ll have us out soon, don’t worry. Granted, the cave might get a bit spookier, but we’ll be able to leave.” Toa glared down at the shadows. “Assuming that hothead doesn’t get distracted.”

Sol sighed at the message before looking over at her father. “You alright, dad?”

Duskull shook his head and met his daughter’s gaze. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Lucas grinned before floating over. “I know you’re a bit floaty, but try to keep your head out of the clouds, would you?”

Duskull huffed and floated away from him. “You’re just mad that I can pull off aloof pondering better than you can. I don’t look like an edgy teenager while I ponder the meaning of my existence.”

“If anyone’s going to know edge, it’s going to be me.” Lucas chuckled dryly before shifting his focus to Sol. “Though I think your daughter knows a fair sight more about the edgy teenager phase, if we’re being honest.”

“You do know it’d be exceptionally easy to leave you down here to die, right?” Sol leaned forward, her teeth glinting in the faint red glow of Toa’s fire. “Be reaaaaal easy to make it look like an accident, too.”

Lucas floated away before leaning up against the wall. “Meh, you like us too much to do that now. We grew on you.”

“There’s always a line-”

“If... you don’t mind my asking.” Toa lifted up his hand and interrupted the would be brawl before it could even get started. “I’ve heard you call Sol this Duskull’s daughter more than once. I don’t suppose that’s a story you lot would be willing to share, would it?”

“I... if they’re alright with it. It’s their story to tell, after all.” Lucas glanced back toward his companions, giving them a wary glance as the two debated silently. Sol nodded once.

“Are you sure-”

“It’s a hard tale, but the story has a happy ending now, doesn’t it?” Sol asked, cutting her father off with a shaky grin.

Duskull paused before nodding hesitantly, the ember behind his mask glowing brighter.

“Well, if you want the truth of it all, it started quite a long time ago, right here on this very island,” Sol started, her voice strong.

***

Emilie POV

***

This archway had to have something special about it. It was the damn centerpiece of the room, no way in hell was it not important. She could practically feel the energy pooling off of the damn thing. She just needed to figure out how to make the damn thing work and they could leave.

She knew coming down here was a damn mistake. They’d spent close to an hour listing to the old bat take the most winding route possible to tell us what they actually wanted to know, only for the stupid wiry crone to fucking leave!

She wanted to throw boulders at the damn thing until it was a pile of rubble, stupid piece of crap. Damn it, nothing was responding to her in this damn hellhole! She just wanted out.

“You know, those rocks aren’t going to spontaneously combust if you glare at them hard enough.” Lele was suddenly there, and Emilie bounced back as she glared at the hunched over figure.

“Do you have any idea how condescending that is? I’m small, I get it, stand up straight and talk to me like a damn normal person.” Emilie huffed before turning back to the stone arch.

“Except I’m not a person?” Lele tilted his head, before bouncing up and rising to his full height. “I get what you mean, though. What are you up too, trying to piece together the puzzle that is this room?”

“Wanna help? We might get out of here quicker.” Emilie placed her hand against the stone and focused, only to get a headache.

“Quicker than Tiki finding the anchor points of this space and commandeering them?” Lele smiled. “Ambitious little thing, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, forget it. Should’ve known. Legends above, all the members of our species that dream of becoming a Gallade have white noise between the ears,” Emilie bit out, before wincing as something thwacked her on the back of her head. “Ow. Quit with the child abuse.”

“Then quit with the rude remarks. I know you’re worried about your little fire type, but we’ll find them, don’t worry.” Lele leaned back and crossed his arms in front of him. “Unless this is a more personal debt?”

Emilie rubbed the back of her head before glaring up at her aggravator. “Nah, you just remind me too much of the stupid Gallade that beat me in my gym fight. Bastard had a mean right hook.”

Lele’s face lit up. “Yeah, he does! Oh, I’m so proud of my boy. He’s come a long way in such a short time.”

Emilie sighed. “Right. Your boy. Look, it wasn’t exactly my best performance and remembering it bothers me. Nothing personal, alright?” She turned away from him and went back to inspecting the arch, pulling at it with her mind to try and understand-

“You’re forgiven,” Lele said.

Emilie felt herself get lifted up into the air as Lele grabbed her by the back of her neck and turned her around to face him. “I rescind my apology. Put me down.”

“Why would I when I’m doing what you ask? I never said no to helping you, just that you were too ambitious, especially considering the fact that you’re going about this all wrong.” Lele grinned at her before reaching out and placing a hand on the arch. A faint blue glow enveloped the structure, before fading instantly as Lele backed away. “You’re trying to push through the wrong half of the equation and logic the inner workings of this world. That’s the wrong approach.”

Emilie huffed. “Alright, Mr. Know it All. If you know how to make the damn thing work, why don’t you do it?”

Lele winced, a pained grimace passing his features as he glared down at the ground. “I can’t anymore, unfortunately.”

Emilie leaned back. “So... it’s a fae thing?”

“In this case, yes, though that’s just because that’s the type that set this up. Since no one’s here to actually maintain it at the moment, it’d be fairly easy to influence with the right approach. Sadly, I think you’re the only fairy type in the group.” Lele frowned as he finished.

“I’m... not really all that skilled at controlling that half of my abilities.” Emilie frowned at the understatement.

“Hence the ambitious comment.” Lele nodded once before setting her back down on the ground. He shook his head once before sighing. “Sorry, I guess you’re not the only one on edge.”

Emilie looked away before frowning. He only really got testy after the Gallade comment... “Did you... maybe want to talk about it?” If she couldn’t piece together how this damn arch worked, she might as well work on something else. Wouldn’t do for one of their frontliners getting distracted in the big fight. Totally.

Lele grinned. “Angry kid worried about their friends one second, concerned therapist the next.” He leaned down and ruffled her hair. “You’re not anywhere near as prickly as you like to present yourself, are you?”

“You’re deflecting.” Emilie grinned at the wince.

“Sharper than you let on, too.” Lele sighed. “It’s... Brawly caught me as a fully evolved ‘mon, shortly after I had broken my bond with my former trainer.” He looked away before sitting down. “He very much wanted a cool and knightly Gallade, and I very much wanted to evolve naturally into a powerful and elegant Gardevoir. Neither one of us left that relationship getting what we wanted.”

Emilie winced, suddenly feeling absolutely horrible. “I am so sorry, I didn’t-”

“Know, I know. It’s alright. I’m not mad at you.” He stayed quiet for a bit before looking back toward the archway. “Brawly’s been a great help in getting me acclimated to my new life. He’s... honestly trained me as a Gardevoir more than a Gallade. It’s odd, I know, but it works, and it makes me happy. I know it’s odd for a fighting specialist, but he... put my wants ahead of his own. It’s a nice change of pace. Still though, I miss it. That connection. Learning to live without that part of me has been... not without difficulty.”

Emilie nodded once, before leaning forward and patting him on the leg. “I kind of get it, I think.”

Lele snorted. “Really?”

“I’m jealous of the male members of my species.” Emilie looked away. “That never leaves this conversation.”

Lele put his hand over his mouth and gave her a thumbs-up.

Emilie laughed. “You dork. I wish I had the same choice. I like getting up close and personal. I’m overjoyed that Lea seems all too content to let me. If I had the same choice, I’d probably take your form over what I’m eventually going to have. So... I know it’s not the same, but-”

“It’s not that different, either.” Lele smiled grimly. “Not having a choice and having it taken away both kind of suck, honestly. Sorry for getting on your case.”

Emilie smiled. “Thanks for understanding.” She looked back toward the arch with a frown, before turning back to her new friend and grinning. “You know, if it’s really as easy as you say it is to take the reins of this place, you could show me how it’s done.”

“I-I can’t-”

“Just walk me through it. You don’t have to do anything, just tell me what to do.” Emilie shrugged. “Worst thing that can happen is we fail and, Tiki, was it, busts us out of here in a little bit.”

Lele stayed still before looking down and nodding his head once. “Right.” A smile spread across his face. “So, your empathy’s actually going to be a big help here. Your emotions need to be open, and you need to direct them toward the construct. In this case, the arch.”

Emilie nodded before closing her eyes and placing her hand up against the archway. She let the worry drip through. Her fear and anger. Her happiness and hope.

“Exactly like that. Let it flow through and saturate the area. I know it feels weird to do this with what feels like an inanimate object, but the world is more alive than you realize. Just keep up the flow, and... pull back.”

The same emotions she put out into rock came back to her with interest, as new feelings welled up from her fingertips to her toes. It was overwhelming, intoxicating even, as hundreds of small, terrified voices passed through her mind. Joyful reunions, quiet goodbyes, half-formed thoughts frozen and incomplete...

They washed over her like a tidal wave, and she struggled to maintain contact with the archway.

“Perfect. You’re doing exceptionally well.” Lele’s voice rose in pitch as she opened her eyes.

Pink smoke had pushed out from the gate, dispersing toward the ground as a low wind ripped around her.

“You’ve got the world’s attention. Now make your request, one from the heart!” Lele shouted.

Emilie focused forward and gazed through the archway, focusing on all the people she wanted to save. May going full nerd, Wayne and Jasmine wrapped in a tight embrace on the couch, Wally playing cards, Suzy throwing her down into the sand when she was being an idiot...

“Take me to my friends... Please.”

The smoke stilled as the earth in front of her began to bulge and move. Rock walls shifted of their own accord as the cave extended outward, small torches lighting the path before brown gave way to ice. The chamber opened out into the world, and through its opening, huge alabaster doors coated with ice stood strong, a bitter chill billowing forth as snow surged out from the chamber beyond.

Everyone from the room had hopped up from their spots, their eyes wide as the way forward made itself known. Emilie swallowed as she begrudgingly tore herself away from the connection, only to have a hand proudly pat her on the back.

“You did it!” Lele stared down at her, his smile so wide and proud that Emilie worried it might break his face.

“I... I did.” She couldn’t believe she could say that. “Did you-”

Lele nodded, before lifting her up and pulling her into a hug. “I did, and... thank you for sharing. It was nice to feel that again.” He pulled back before sighing and looking toward the way forward. “You ready to get your friends back?”

It took a second for her to register those words, but she nodded once, a grin of her own spreading across her lips. “Let’s go kick his ass.”

The overwhelming confidence and hope that pushed through the new bond she had just formed almost made her pass out.

Chapter Text

Cold wind stung my face as we pushed further in, the wind picking up as the chamber better came into focus and the spectacle fully came into view.

Pure white ice statues adorned the chamber, their bodies trapped in various stances. Towards the front, a pair of Sandslash stood ready to fight, hunched forward with claws pulled back. Countless Sandshrew littered the ground behind them, all with various cuts that you could barely make out through the ice and snow. A third Sandslash was huddled low further toward the back, his body crouched around one of the smaller Sandshrew. Neither had escaped their fate.

What truly haunted me as our group slowly moved through the chamber were the Sandshrew closest to the mouth of the cave. Their backs were turned, and they were all captured in various forms of retreat. One had fallen forward, and his claw had dug into the sheer ice wall that made up the far side of the room.

No one was allowed out, and as far as I could tell, no one was allowed in, either. Was… was meeting with that Mawile actually the only way through? Was the other passage just one big lie?

Zinnia and her dragon had been propped up right next to the door, their frozen form set as some kind of sick trophy. The dread that I had beaten back in the cave was starting to push its way back, and I swallowed before ripping my eyes away from the scene and looking at Emilie.

Legends above, I had seen more life in photographs than in this damn fucking cave.

Just think of your friends and push through. Come on, it's not that hard, just push through. May needed me to be strong.

I smiled. “Good work.” Legends above I was hopeless. My starter just opened up the gates to a frozen hellscape and I’m congratulating her.

Emilie chuckled lightly. “I just did what Lele told me to do.” She looked around, before smiling. “Hey, maybe no news is good news. I don’t see our friends anywhere.”

I swallowed before looking at the only way forward. The doors were far more ornate than I had imagined. Gold rims had been inlaid into the stone to give it a more regal appearance, dots carved into the surface in a similar pattern to what we had been sent. A strong, bitterly cold wind blew snow and ice out from the gates, making it all but impossible to see what lied beyond. It took everything in me to not curl up and huddle down for as much warmth as possible.

“Considering the only way they have to go is forward, I’m not sure if good news is the right term.” I sighed before turning towards Brawly. Fuck my resolve was already cracking this felt so hopeless. “You said this was reversible. How? Is it some kind of special medical spray?”

“Kind of. The emergency freeze tech does a good job of thawing you when you get frozen, but once the cold fully sets in, it gets trickier. Mystic Fire users are a favorite if we’re lacking in options; that move in particular is just the right temperature and the users generally have far more control over the flames. All of those methods come with a certain degree of risk, though. Especially for humans.” Brawly shivered.

I bit back a swear word, before glancing meaningfully at Toa, who shook his head no.

‘It’s not a technique in my wheelhouse. I kind of lack the whole ‘mystical’ side of the Fire. I could maybe mimic the temperature, but not the control. I might be able to thaw someone, but it’d be just as likely that I'd burn them alive, and I’d rather not take that risk.’ Toa sighed before looking towards the frozen dragon. ‘Although...’

Lele walked up and slapped Toa upside the head. ‘The trainer’s still frozen to it, don’t even think about it. We can get everyone fixed up on our return trip with the paramedics. Besides, he’s a flying dragon, even if you did get him out successfully, the big guy’s going to be out cold for a few days, minimum.’

I sighed before looking over toward Brawly. “What’s the other method? You mentioned more than one.

Brawly rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s not really worth mentioning, considering the situation, but the other method is the Pokémon reversing the process themselves.”

I tilted my head. “Couldn’t any advanced ice type do that? You mentioned Glacia’s Pokémon being able to use the move.”

Brawly didn’t reply, instead grabbing his Poké Balls from his belt. A bright light filled the room, reflecting brightly off the ice and snow, to the point where it was almost blinding. Auma and Kahuna towered over the squad, their scowls a stark contrast to how they looked when I first met them. Crash flew over to my side and landed, her claws resting on her knees as she crouched down.

The last two, though, were Pokémon I recognized but hadn’t seen personally yet. The first was a Breloom, who huddled closer to Toa as soon as he formed. First time I had ever seen a grass type actively get closer to another fire type. As much as the two... tolerated each other, Suzy and Leshy generally always kept a healthy six feet away from each other. The little guy shyly looked around the room for a second before hiding behind Toa's legs.

In contrast, the behemoth in front of me had to be one of the largest Hariyama I had ever seen and demanded my attention. His hands were behind his back as he glared down at Brawly and leaned forward, his left foot angrily tapping as he looked around the room. ‘Aren’t you going to answer the girl, Brawly?’

Legends above, why did this remind me of the Eve stare?

‘So let me see if I’ve got this right.’ The tone did not sound amused. ‘ A little girl comes to you with a vision of a hulking ice monstrosity lurking deep in the caves of Dewford on the eve of one of the biggest environmental clusterfucks we’ve ever seen.’ Hariyama took a step forward, and the ground cracked beneath his foot. ‘And your response is to dive into it headfirst?’

Brawly smiled.

I was currently too terrified of this monster to even speak, and the idiot smiled.

“Tito, we’re the best this island has to offer, and Lele backed her up. You can’t expect me to drag gym trainers down-”

‘I expect you to at least notify the league, especially considering the massive winter storm that’s floating overhead. You know, considering this is a tropical island.’ Tito stepped even closer. 'Glacia in particular would be incredibly helpful right now.’

Brawly leaned forward, his own glare matching Tito’s. “Point me at someone I can trust then, cause I sure as hell don’t trust that snake Wallace has running the day to day.”

Tito leaned back before snarling. ‘Fucking call Glacia directly, then. Surely you can’t believe she’s on board with that madness.’

Brawly winced. “I don’t know, and that’s the problem. I want to, but I feel like I can’t really trust anyone up top at the moment. Too risky.” Brawly glanced up and stared Tito down, his gaze steely. “Do you want the island to be crawling with Magma goons? We’d be a puppet state before the end of the week.”

“Magma?” I asked, feeling incredibly lost.

The two looked over at me before wincing. Brawly gave Tito a look before turning to me. “Forget you heard that.”

‘Tito worries too much.’ Kahuna beat his chest with his closed fist. The white fur on his chest ruffled as he grinned. ‘We’re strong.’

Auma nodded along, shooting Tito a quadruple thumbs up before gazing out into the frozen chamber. ‘It would be nice to see Glacia again, but even if her Abomasnow is fun to hang out with, I think we’re more than enough for whatever this ice cube can throw at us.’

Brawly just sighed before smiling. “I get that you’re worried, but we’ll be fine.”

Tito went back to glaring at his trainer, before sighing. ‘When we get done here, call Glacia. I refuse to let you disfigure a ton of people just because you were caught up in human politics. ’ The sumo glanced toward Zinnia with a frown on her face, before freezing and glancing back towards her trainer. ‘So worried about Magma, when we already have a stooge poking her nose in.’

I turned and glanced toward Zinnia, before realizing what they were talking about. That meant the thief we helped stop in Petalburg Woods was also... yeah, I could understand wanting little to do with that.

Brawly’s eyes widened slightly before glancing at the frozen statue. “I-”

“Does any of this really matter right now?” Emilie shouted, glaring at the large gathering in front of us. “We’re taking way too long. You two can kill each other after we save everyone, chop chop.”

Tito shifted his glare. ‘You-’

“She’s right,” Brawly said, cutting off his Pokémon. “Lea, recall your Pokémon.”

What?

Apollo shot up from his makeshift perch on Sol’s back. ‘Are ye daft, lad?’

“What he said!” Emilie shouted, right in my ear.

“Emilie, Apollo please, I’m going to go deaf by the time we leave this island if you keep this up.” I sighed before grabbing the team’s Poké Balls. “Guessing you want the smallest target possible to escort, right?”

Brawly nodded.

Emilie glared murderously at our protector, and I sighed before thwacking her on the forehead.

“You can stay out, alright? Just always stay on me.” I looked towards Brawly as the words left my lips and sighed in relief when he nodded. Last thing I needed was a grumpy Emilie once we got to the castle.

“Duskull and Honedge are both fine too if they stay in your shadow, and the extra eyes on you would be good.” Brawly nodded toward Apollo, Sol, and Joern. “Those three however... less to worry about. I want to keep the number of creatures I keep an eye on to a minimum.”

Apollo shot me a pleading look as I begrudgingly aimed his ball at him. “Sorry, but I agree.” A red line extended out and pulled my quartermaster back. “Captain’s orders. Once we’re past the golem, I’ll call you back out, alright?”

Apollo’s ball shook and I sighed before turning to the other two.

Joern glanced toward the doors and shivered before nodding. ‘Know that I reserve the right to bust out if you don’t call on me when needed.’

Sol nodded, before glaring down at my shadow. ‘ And dad? Do me a favor and keep yourself safe, this time.’ She shivered. ‘I can’t... do that again. Got it.’

A small black glob floated up from my shadow and nodded before receding back into the darkness.

I smiled at the two before returning them and nodded at Brawly. “You ready, then?”

“Not quite. Bulu?” Brawly asked.

Breloom, who I now knew was named Bulu, jumped at being addressed. The mushroom ‘mon slowly inched out from behind Toa, before nodding. ‘Y-yes?’

What exactly was this scared little thing supposed to do down here?

Brawly smiled kindly at the little guy before nodding to the rest of the room. “Your job’s important. I need you to look after everyone in this room, alright? I don’t want any chaos from in there to hurt someone in here.”

The mushroom ‘mon stood up straighter as a wide smile spread across his face. ‘I don’t have to fight?’

Brawly shook his head, giving the grass type a small smile. “Nope, just stand guard.”

Bulu nodded, before moving up closer to the doors.

Brawly smiled after him before shifting to give me a sheepish look. “Bulu... doesn’t like fighting. At all. He will if he has to, but I try to find things for him to do away from the action, and the last thing I want is for the Pokémon in this room to get caught in the crossfire.”

I leaned back, slightly offended. “I didn’t say anything.”

Brawly chuckled. “No, but you were thinking it. If he wasn’t so skittish around new people, I’d have introduced you sooner, but-”

“Talk about it later, scary door now.” Emilie clapped her hands together twice before pointing at the door.

“Fine, princess. Kahuna, as soon as we go in, I want you to take to the buildings. I trust you to be able to handle yourself if this thing can attack you from a distance. Stall tactics mixed with draining moves. Don’t show yourself,” Brawly ordered before glancing toward Auma worriedly. “Maybe put some distance between yourself and us,

The grass type visibly shrank. ‘Aww... wanted to make a snow cone.’

‘Meh, you still can. We can do it afterwards.’ Auma grinned before resting one of his four hands on his shoulder, being mindful of the thorns sticking out of the Chesnaught’s armor. ‘We can grab some flavoring from the gym afterwards; I know you like strawberry.’

Kahuna scowled. ‘Not what I meant.’

Auma tilted his head to the side. ‘What did you mean, then?’

Kahuna shook his head, lightly and sighed. ‘Nothing.’

Brawly chuckled before looking over at Crash.

‘I’m on babysitting duty, I know.’ Crash huffed before glaring back at me. ‘Please don’t remind me.’

‘Rude,’ Emilie muttered quietly in my mind.

I smiled and nodded. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

Crash shot me a glare before sighing. ‘Smart ass.’

“Though honestly...” I turned toward Emilie. “I know your ability to teleport is kind of on the fritz, but do you think-”

Emilie teleported from my shoulder down to the ground before I could even finish my sentence. She then teleported back to my shoulder and teleported the both of us across the room.

Right in front of the door.

“Fucking hell that’s cold.” I all but sprinted away from the damn thing.

“If I can see it, we can go there, trying to go through any kind of wall in here is a no go, though.” Emilie gave me both a smug grin and a thumbs up. “T-that’s not as taxing as it was before. G-guess the Psybeam training’s paying dividends, huh?”

I reached up and bumped her forehead before pulling my coat tighter. “All the damn places you could have teleported, and you picked right in front of the damn fucking freezer?”

An action that quickly got undone as my starter once again took up refuge in the front of my coat. “Y-yeah, I realized my m-mistake as soon as I did it.”

Toa walked closer, and I sagged as I felt the temperature increase.

I muttered my thanks before turning to Brawly. “If I get close enough to see where we’re going, Emilie can get us there.”

Brawly smiled. “Good, Crash can follow behind. She’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.” He turned and looked at the door. “Lele, do you think it’s worth it to run recon at all? We've got a pretty good lay of the land already thanks to Lucas, and I’m a bit worried about sending any of you in there alone.”

The psychic type shook his head. ‘I don’t think we’ll get anything more by waiting around here. Let’s get my new student her fire type back.’

I could feel the vein throbbing through the damn thermal wear as I tried desperately not to bust out laughing.

Brawly clapped his gloved hands together before pointing toward the door. “Alright, in that case, we march.” He smiled at Auma and Kahuna. “Let’s go make some snow cones.”

***

Pushing through the veil felt like taking a step into another world.

Though I had imagined the town in my head after Lucas had drawn the map, I wasn’t quite prepared for the massive town laid out before me. The room was massive, a huge dome of ice cresting over the entire structure towered overhead, laughing in the face of logic, gravity, and physics in general.

Several of the buildings were a few stories high, with old Hoenn-style architecture being the cornerstone of design for most of them, but what blew me away the most was the absolute size of the palace. It towered over everything else here. The entire scene was like a picture from one of the history books my sister forced me to read once upon a time, and the absolute stillness of this place sent a shiver down my spine.

Though granted, that might just be the cold getting worse.

“You know, compared to the palace, that big frozen tree doesn’t look so big,” Emilie muttered.

Toa nodded in slack jawed awe. ‘So, this whole kingdom’s been under our feet all this time?’

Emilie nodded. “And if Lucas’s shoddy memories are to be believed, he used to be king and live in that huge ass palace.” Emilie glanced down toward my shadow. “Kind of a downgrade, don’t ya think?”

‘Meh, if you like that sort of thing. Drafty annexes, chamber pots, excessively long meetings with dreary advisors, listening to everyone’s problems while being able to do little about it...’ Lucas trailed off. ‘The more I remember of my previous life, the less I want to.’

‘Focus,’ Brawly mentally ordered as he slowly walked forward. ‘We’re officially in enemy territory, so stay alert. And keep all conversation mental to avoid making noise.’

Kahuna nodded before hopping forward, probably looking for a good place to hide.

Emilie looked away, a small tinge of red on her face. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.’

Brawly shook his head. ‘My fault for not saying anything beforehand. Lele, you want to teleport us ahead a bit? Try and pick a spot low to the ground if you can. I don’t know if this thing can find us through the snow yet, but I’d-’

In that very instant, I felt it. The houses, the frozen trees and vegetation, the people and Pokémon I had come here with, everything... it all faded away as an overwhelming presence loomed down on me. My entire being felt locked in place, I couldn’t breathe.

My body seemed to move of its own accord. Whether it was from some innate curiosity or some outside force controlling me, I couldn’t say, but my eyes were drawn upwards, toward the apex of the long staircase leading up to the main doors of the castle proper, and upon that mantle was a sight that froze the blood in my veins.

It felt like I was right there. Standing directly in front of this icy statue. Its form was both the same and slightly different from what I visualized after hearing Mawile talk, and from the vision that stalked my nightmare.

It was as though an ice crystal had been given form, the very element given sentience. Its appendages had form but lacked function. Like the creature that designed the golem missed the memo on what exactly those body parts were supposed to do. His ‘legs’ were similar to tops my sister had gotten me as a kid, and hung limply down as the creature floated a scant six inches off the ground. ‘Arms’ pushed out from either side, much too large and bulky to rest easily at his side yet were only connected to the mockery of life by a single, pointed tip. Three ice crystals were attached to these floating protrusions as what I assumed were supposed to be fingers, and four jagged frozen spears seemed to extend out from his back.

Maybe they were wings; perhaps that was why it could fly.

There were only two things distinguishing this unmoving mass of ice from the rest of the frozen-over town; seven yellow dots, fixed in a wide, cross-like pattern on the front of its body, and seven eyes, fixed on my exact location. Watching me as I now watched it.

The second thing, however, commanded all of my attention. Though Mawile had told me Zinnia had managed to wound it, she did not mention how badly.

A large, jagged, x-shaped crack ran along its chest, and a dark black ooze seeped from it.

Just as I was about to tear my gaze away, the yellow dots started to light up. Each time, a different pattern lit up, making symbols that seemed to burn themselves into my memory. The edges of my vision started to fade as a throbbing headache made itself known, and the pain slowly started ratcheting up the longer it went. A distorted mishmash of sound echoed through my skull that sounded completely incomprehensible, and I reached up and clutched at my head before feeling it.

All seven lights shined red, and in an instant, the world directly in front of me froze completely. An invisible wall suddenly became visible as it violently froze before slamming into the ground. I felt my body pull, and the spell was broken as we disappeared and moved significantly further into the city. A large pair of hands grabbed me and violently pulled me underneath a frozen canopy before dragging me inside a house without doors.

‘Lea!’ The mental scream was deafening and echoed. Legends above, it was so loud. I leaned into Tito as I felt the world spin, why was I so lightheaded...

Oh, I needed to breathe. I took in a deep shuddering breath before glancing around at the rest of the room, breathing heavily as I tried to regain my bearings. ‘I think I’m good now.’

‘What the hell was that?’ Emilie leaned forward. ‘You just stopped. Next thing we know, you’re muttering in tongues and clutching your head in agony.’

I swallowed down a bit of bile as I tried and failed to get my breathing under control. Fuck, my lungs were burning. ‘I locked eyes with the monster.’ I turned and shot Brawly a grin. ‘At least we know for sure Barrier works.’

Brawly’s eyes were locked onto mine, and I’d never seen someone look so terrified in my life. He rushed forward before checking me over. ‘You’re not frozen anywhere, are you?’ He moved my face from left to right, looking over the most exposed part of my skin.

‘I’m fine, just shaken.’ I gave him a smile before pulling myself up and giving Tito a thankful nod. ‘Emilie, could you send these symbols to Lucas?’ I concentrated on the images I just saw, before pushing exactly what this thing looked like to the group at large. ‘Maybe he can make heads or tails of it.’

Emilie nodded, and the room went quiet.

I frowned before staring down at my shadow. ‘Lucas?’

The ghost sword slowly floated up from his hiding spot, before glancing around the room and sighing. ‘This... this was my favorite tavern in the kingdom.’ He glanced at the bar longingly. ‘I wonder if the booze is still good.’

‘Lucas!’ I mentally shouted.

The sword winced before floating lower. ‘Sorry, sorry. Easy to get lost in thought here. My, uh... memories seem to be coming back more and more the further in we go.’ He turned toward Emilie. ‘Could you replay those images? Maybe arrange them in my head so they’re readable? Trying to piece it together letter by letter is making me feel a bit dull.’

Emilie nodded as her eyes glowed blue.

Lucas sighed. ‘Didn’t even get a groan, ahh well. Let’s see...’ Lucas’ lips pulled into a grin. ‘Seems he’s saying hello. He was even nice enough to introduce himself. Goes by Regice, it would seem.’

I nodded along before stopping, my eyes suddenly going wide. I ripped my pack down and started shuffling through it, before pulling my Pokédex back out and typing the name in. ‘Come on, you piece of shit, give me something usable for once... Yes!’

A simple cave drawing popped up on my screen under the search results, and I felt like fist pumping the sky. The image exactly matched the thing I had seen topside.

Toa leaned over my shoulder and grinned. ‘Got a hit?’

I nodded. ‘This thing was part of a cave drawing in a tower just to the east of Pacifidlog, apparently.’ Wait, why did that sound like somewhere familiar? A feeling of dread settled in my stomach as I looked at the full painting. ‘It’s one of six golems in the painting, apparently.’

‘SIX!’ Tito shouted. ‘There are six of those things?!’

I shook my head. ‘Not specifically, the other five look very different, and seem to follow a different type. Considering what we’re dealing with, I think Regice is the only one we’re dealing with.’

Brawly sagged down. ‘That’s good at least.’

I glanced down below at the dex and started reading the description. ‘The picture depicts the smaller golems in front of the largest one, which from deciphering the ancient text had been given the title Regigigas. In olden times, they were heralded as guardian deities, protecting entire cities that had earned their respect from natural disasters and powerful Pokémon alike.’ I frowned down at the words. ‘Why the hell is ours a violent, freeze-happy psycho, then?’

‘I think we’re still in the ‘earning respect’ category.’ Tito sighed before glancing at Lele. ‘Has it moved at all?’

Lele disappeared out the door, looked up, and teleported back all in the span of a second. ‘Nope. He’s hanging out.’ His face looked more white than usual . ‘Just standing there. Menacingly.’

‘Worth noting, he also apologized before trying to flash freeze us,’ Lucas said. ‘Maybe he’s... not as unreasonable as we thought?’

‘He’s got a terrible way of showing remorse,’ Duskull muttered.

Brawly turned back toward me and motioned for me to continue reading the dex entry. ‘What else does that thing have on it?’

I scrambled before looking down at the entry. ‘Uh, general information on what they’re capable of is shoddy at best, because this thing has never been seen in living records. Just the myths translated on the tab-’

The words died on my throat as I noticed who was credited with the discovery. ‘The tablet was found on a rescue mission performed in the area when a group of trainers sailed through the Apex Triangle and were lost at sea. A group of rangers, led by one Satoshi Sakai, discovered it when they found the wreckage of their ship washed ashore.’

Emilie snapped over to look at me, her eyes wide as dinner plates. ‘Excuse me?’

I rested my head in my hands and leaned against the table, its frozen surface feeling cold even through my coat. ‘Dad was in charge of the group of rangers that found this thing. I just... how even?’

Brawly glanced down at the dex before giving me a pat on the shoulder. ‘World’s always a lot smaller than you think it is. Was he-’

‘He died shortly after finding it,’ I bit out. ‘I’m sorry, just... give me a second.’ Deep breath in, and out.

A small nudge pulled me from my freak out and I looked down to see Emilie patting my chin. ‘I know this lacks the usual comfort of me petting your hair, but it’s really cold right now.’

I couldn’t help myself, I just started laughing.

‘Shhhh-’

Tito scoffed. ‘ Toa, quit your bitching. The stupid thing knows where we are, it’s just being lazy as all hell. Girl, you saw it at the palace, right?’

I nodded. ‘Right in front of the front door, in fact.’

‘So instead of coming to us, it’s waiting for us to go to it, because we have too.’ Tito started pacing. ‘ That or it’s just guarding the place. Which gives a bit more weight to Lele suggesting we need to get something inside.’

Lele huffed before turning away from the big fighting type. ‘Why do my visions need weight? Have I been wrong before?’

Brawly turned and grinned. “Alola, sunset on the beach, five years ago with that Gardevoir-”

‘One time!’ Lele screeched, looking scandalized. ‘And you never let me hear the end of it!’

‘Anyway.’ Tito glared after the two of them. ‘ The fact that we have to go after it means it gets to pick at us the whole way to the damn palace.’ He rested his head in his hands. ‘Ugh, this isn’t going to be fun at all, is it?’

I couldn’t help but giggle slightly at how funny such a common stance looked with hands that large.

Tito just stopped before walking over to me. ‘That ice beast didn’t scramble your brains, did it? Things going on okay up there? I’ll beat that thing up twice as hard if he did.’

My head was once again being turned against its will and I was not a fan. ‘I’m fine, honest. Sorry, it’s just... laughter is how I push through stress. I make bad jokes in my head, ignore me.’

‘Well, if you’re sure.’ Tito begrudgingly stepped back before glancing toward Auma with a grin. ‘What say you to following through on your earlier idea?’

Auma froze for a second, before a wide grin pulled at his features. He clapped both sets of hands together before moving for the door.

Tito groaned before running after him. ‘I didn’t mean right now, you muscle-brained moron!’

I stared after them wondering what the hell was going on as Lele disappeared from view.

Brawly grabbed me, pulling me with him as we left the building, and barely giving me enough time to grab my stuff.

I glared. ‘What’s going-’

‘If that thing wants to grief us, we’ll grief it back. Crash, make sure Lea stays out of the way, and let Emilie teleport you when she needs to, okay?’ Brawly patted me on the back as I haphazardly put my pack back on.

As soon as it was, Crash landed on it and violently dragged me up into the air. A small scream left my lips as we rapidly gained altitude upon leaving the bar, and faster than I thought possible we had a bird's eye view of the city.

I quickly glanced back toward the palace and winced as we were tracked through the air. The golem still hadn’t moved from its spot. I wanted to meet its gaze head on, but the world was moving too fast. We were moving too fast. I couldn’t focus on anything for longer than a second.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I muttered.

Crash gave me a glare. ‘If you hurl, aim down. Try and tag my idiot of a trainer or that musclehead if you do.’

“Wouldn’t be the first time... I threw up on someone’s shoes,” Emilie muttered as she jostled around in my coat.

I pulled my arms around her tightly, making sure she didn’t go anywhere, before gaping as things started to move below us.

The bar we had just been standing in not but a few seconds ago was hurtling through the air. Not part of the bar. Not the rubble from the destroyed building. The whole damn thing.

“I... I just, how?!” I muttered.

‘Damn it all, I wanted to check the booze!’ Lucas moaned.

I moved to yell at him, but quickly stopped as a thought struck me, where exactly was my shadow? “Lucas? Duskull?”

A glowing red eye with an ember floating around it made itself known on Crash’s plumage around the same time that my ears popped.

A loud bang followed the chaos as I watched the tree of ice in front of the palace grow and stretch before backhanding the building out of the air. The deformed mass of stone and clay slammed into a neighborhood just west of the palace, and I cursed.

The damn thing didn’t even move.

A crack met my ears this time, and a second volley was launched

Then a third.

Fourth.

Fifth.

Tenth.

Twentieth.

My jaw slowly started to stop functioning as more and more buildings were launched through the sky at a speed that made the air sing. Entire sections of housing were ripped up from the ground and launched in seconds.

I had thought Auma was joking when he said he wanted to throw buildings at the monster, but now I was wondering if this was even a workout.

This, at least, prompted action. The arms on either side of the ice golem rose up into the air, bringing three walls of frozen stone to act as a shield. The tree had all but come to life, moving to knock away oncoming debris, but the further into the city they moved, the faster the oversized artillery became.

Crash flew us up even higher as the wreckage started flowing more freely, narrowly pulling us out of the way of a roof that had been knocked off of a three-story inn. I noticed a faint blue glow coating the object but couldn’t tell if Lele had pulled the object lower, or if he was helping the buildings stay together as they flew through the air. At what point did raw, incomprehensible strength force physics to tap out?

‘Keep an eye out for a moment where the ice golem is focused on the fight so we can sneak into the castle,’ Crash said, her mental voice barely hearable over the chaos below as the first house broke on Regice’s ice barriers. ‘Is there a side way in or do we have to go in through the front?’

‘How the hell am I supposed to know?’ I mentally screamed back.

Crash gave me a pitying look. ‘Not you! The sword.’

‘Uhh, not without potential issues, I don’t think. It’s fuzzy, but I remember traps and barricades at the entrances connecting to the outer walls.’ Lucas’s glowing red eye darted up to an incoming piece of concrete as an accompanying blue ember pulsed. ‘Duck!’

Crash had already been moving before the warning was given, and I noticed a slight eye roll as we once again gained altitude. ‘Front door works best, got it. That’s fine, I just need to give the boys a minute.’

I whipped my head up and gave her a wild look. ‘I feel like a few traps would be preferable to playing keep away with the giant freeze happy ice golem!’

‘We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to-’

Crash pulled up sharply, cutting off Emilie’s ramblings as she sneered down at us and shook her head. ‘Toa’s got it, calm down.’

Emilie snapped out of her crisis of faith to join me in glaring up at our ride. ‘What the hell do you mean Toa’s got it?!’

Asked and answered, the very air I breathed ratcheted up quite a few degrees as the faint scent of burnt wood and charred stone met my nostrils. A wave of heat pushed through the chamber, and the multiple buildings that were still hurtling through the air ignited, lighting up the entire cavern in a faint red glow.

The slag ripped through the icy branches like a razor through a Mareep’s wool before slamming into the frozen walls of ice with a loud glop. Steam poured off the barrier as more molten fireballs sailed through the air, crashing into the barricade, slamming through, and hitting home.

A low hiss sounded from beyond the shattered wall, before fading as the molten mixture quickly hardened to a black glass that coated the upper parts of Regice’s body. The ice golem rose a few feet higher into the air, before slamming back down into the ground. A wave of cold air pushed out on impact, quickly cooling down the fires and hardening the molten earth to the same black stones that had now broken off of its body. Cold air started to whip around the creature, sending small shards of ice and snow out through the area, and casting a cripplingly cold aura out across the room.

No sooner than the localized storm had started, Tito appeared a scant few meters off the ground, his arm raised above his head. He slammed his hand into the ground as he landed, sending a shockwave through the ice and stone, and shattering it into tiny fragments that quickly got pulled into the swirling tide of cold air.

A faint blue glow enveloped the shrapnel before they could fly too far, and sent it hurtling down toward Regice, pointy bits aimed appropriately.

They shattered like porcelain dolls against his frozen body, and the wind picked up speed.

We quickly gained altitude before diving out across the chamber across the city to the other side, leaving my rapidly beating heart behind as we screeched across the sky faster than I could process.

“Crash!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

‘I’m fine, don’t worry.’ We quickly pulled up before leveling off just above a set of buildings that were caving in. ‘Wasn’t expecting the gust of wind.’

I nodded, doing my best to slow my heartbeat, before scanning the area in front of the palace. Tito had disappeared from his spot in front of the creature, and I gulped as I watched the tail end of a massive, blue laser move down the stairs, freezing everything in its path.

‘That... That was an Ice Beam?’ I asked.

‘Yeah, this thing is definitely no joke, but we knew that coming down here.’ Crash dipped up as the monster started to turn our way.

Vines sprouted up from the ground and wrapped around the creature’s limbs, locking them in place as a faint green glow enveloped it. They froze and broke almost instantly, but more vines quickly replaced them as the creature tried and failed to rise out of reach. A loud grinding assaulted my ears, and I threw my hands up to cover them as less and less of the creature was visible. Regice stopped moving, before falling back down to the ground.

The entire platform cracked as the stones shifted beneath it. A hissing sound vibrated out as the fractured ground quickly froze back together. The vines withered and died, before joining the new sheet of ice. It slowly rose up again, before ducking back down, a set of four ice walls forming around it.

A massive, flaming, four-story tower slammed into it with the force of a freight train, covering the area in front of the palace doors with fire as a creature jumped up from the building on impact. An acrid smell assaulted my nose, and I pulled back as the structure Regice had built was thrown back into the palace doors, rattling them on impact.

Warmth pulsed through the room as Toa landed on the burning mess that was supposed to be our destination, a massive orb of fire raised above his head that was blinding to look at. The ball rose higher and higher into the air, warping the oxygen around it as the damn thing started to pulse. The storm that Regice had whipped into the air started to dissipate, and our flight started to steady off.

It took me a second to realize that this blazing inferno Toa had called upon was a damn Sunny Day. How the fuck did you even do something like that? That was so much more powerful than Sol’s.

It didn’t stop there though.

As Toa stepped down from the wreckage of the burning tower, the ground started to melt. Fire pushed down into the ground as the earth itself blackened. That same fire wreathed itself around the fire type, enveloping him before being pushed out in a wave that changed the landscape. Ice vaporized instantly, air burned and wailed, and the stairs leading up to the makeshift arena started to melt as things that shouldn’t ever be flammable burst into flames.

I tugged at my coat as sweat started to drip down my forehead. ‘What... what is this?’

‘Fire Terrain,’ Crash answered, a smile tugging at her lips. ‘I think Toa’s had enough of the cold.’

Regice floated up from the shattered remains of the frozen shell he had taken refuge in and loomed closer, the ground freezing beneath him as he moved. White frost slowly inched forward but stopped a meter in front of Toa.

A line almost seemed to form between the two mons as the two environments clashed, and the air stilled for a brief moment as the two stared each other down. The fur around Toa’s arms ignited, before a sweltering inferno formed between his hands as he brought them together in front of his chest.

Seven yellow dots quickly changed to red, and a massive wall of ice formed in front of Toa. I stared in slack-jawed awe as the frozen construct continued to stretch around the fire bird completely, the glowing orb shining through the frozen barrier as Toa moved the attack lower.

‘This is it, be ready to go,’ Crash ordered.

Regice floated aimlessly for a moment before a blue sphere of energy started to form in front of him.

I held Emilie closer and gulped, before nodding. Just think about what’s important.

Emilie pushed up from my arms a bit before looking down at the scene. ‘I’m watching, the damn chicken hasn’t done anything-’

As if to spite her, the orb surrounding Toa exploded as a massive wave of white and red forced its way through, slamming directly into a blue beam.

It barely slowed it down. Fire overtook ice before washing over the ice golem. Steam exploded out on contact as a mechanical wail sounded through the chamber. I leaned forward, half wondering if this would be enough to win on its own.

That hope died as the creature floated down, phasing through the ice at his feet. Toa’s assault continued, though, and slammed into the doors of the palace, exploding outwards across the massive stone doors before shrinking down to a small point.

The attack had pushed through to the other side, punching a hole into the palace proper.

I felt like cheering. This... this was unreal. Like a hero made manifest from my childhood dreams. Hell, I don’t even think Dad’s Blaziken was as badass as this thing.

That joy froze over as I spied it. Right as Toa’s attack finally died, and the fire bird took a knee, did I finally notice.

The aura of Toa’s Fire Terrain was shrinking, losing ground to the constant waves of cold that pulsed up from the earth. Gone was the overwhelming heat as the fires slowly died, only to be replaced with a crisp blue wave of ice and snow.

The ice demon rose up from the ground, his chest glowing an angry red as a large chunk of ice broke off just under his older wound. A blue orb glowed in the creature's palm as it lunged forward, his fist pulled back as it moved on the prone form of my second favorite firebird. Energy pulsed out at random intervals, striking the ground and walls and creating flowers of ice crystals as they made contact.

‘Move, you idiot!’ Emilie mentally screamed.

The fire type turned toward us and grinned, before struggling to lift himself up from the ground. His knees buckled. He fell forward. Regice lunged.

I blinked and missed it.

The ice golem had disappeared from my view again, but I had a pretty good idea of where he had gone to this time as a loud crash sounded off in the distance. Auma stood triumphant, an arm extended out and covered in ice and cold as he looked out across the chamber, grinning at the sight of a well-thrown punch.

I sagged down and reminded myself to breathe again. Toa was safe. Regice was on the other side of the room, and-

It wasn’t on the platform.

‘Emilie!’ I mentally shouted, pulling both of my companions off out of their stupor. ‘Go now!’

My starter type jumped before looking down at the gates leading in. The large hole was already shrinking, quickly killing any hope that Auma’s punch had done the trick as ice filled the roll of stone and wood.

We needed to go now.

I took a deep breath as I felt a pulse of psychic energy radiate from Emilie and stared straight toward the goal, and in that moment, my nerves all seemed to calm.

We hadn’t won the war, but this still felt like a win regardless. This wasn’t impossible.

There was hope, and we could win.

I squared my shoulders and braced myself, before closing my eyes. ‘May, everyone... we’re coming, just... hold on.’

The world around me faded away, and I grinned as the wall of ice closed up behind me.

Chapter Text

An absolutely massive chamber greeted us as we pushed through the gates, something I was immensely grateful for as my boots scraped the bottom of the stone floor as my ride frantically pulled up. A large set of stairs extended up on either side of the room to a central stone arch that led further into the castle. Though it wasn’t the only offshoot, from the main entrance, it was the most obvious path forward and the target of Crash’s ascent as she beat her wings harder.

The palace itself seemed to have other plans.

I bit back a scream as tendrils of snow and hail lurched up after us, a stabbing pain shooting up from my ankle as a weight pressed down on it, and we froze for a moment, sleet pushing up against my pants, as a wave of powdered snow encircled us.

A blue fire erupted from the shadows, consuming the grasping cold in an eerie glow before washing over the offending elements. The attack melted away, and I let out a scream as the spectral fire sunk into my leg.

‘Sorry, but a small burn is probably better than frostbite,’ Duskull shouted as we rose higher towards a set of banners. A large blue sphere resting on top of a red orb could faintly be seen through the snow and frozen bits.

I gritted my teeth before breathing out of my nose. 'It’s fine. It wasn’t that hot. Like accidentally leaning up against the oven.’ Liar. Fuck, that hurts. Legends above I wish I had some vinegar right now. ‘Don’t worry about-’

We dived down before I could finish, and I once again fought back the urge to throw up at the involuntary roller coaster ride that was flying with this stupid Hawlucha.

A volley of ice spears fell from the rafters, their pointy bits aimed at the airspace we had been occupying. They ripped through the banners, tossing bits of snow and hail into the air that seemed to home in on us as we moved.

I bit back a swear as a massive sheet of ice started to inch forward from the outreaches of the stone arch. Great, the whole damn place was alive, and it was trying to pincer us. Green wings pulled up slightly before a faint blue aura urged them back down.

Crash glanced down for a second. ‘What the-’

‘Keep going forward,’ Emilie shouted as she shoved herself up, her head inching out from my coat. ‘I got it.’

Hawlucha leaned her head down, a faint blue glow engulfed us, and the world lurched. In a flash, we were at the end of the stone hallway, well past the ice wall that had completely sealed itself off behind us and pushing into another massive chamber. Ice and stone greeted my knees as we crash-landed into the new room, my head roughly slamming into an old half frozen wooden bench as we did so.

The world swam for a moment as I clutched at my skull, wincing as things slowly came back into focus. I spied stained glass, each displaying an impressive contrast of colors to the cold stone walls. An Absol guiding a kid out of the cold, a Mawile huddled up close to a campfire with knights on either side of it... the glass murals painted a picture as I rose to my feet and traced my eyes along the beautiful scenes up to...

I stopped and felt my jaw go slack at the three glass carvings at the front of the chamber, each an ornate masterpiece that extended all the way up to the ceiling. A man garbed in red and gold stood regally in the window on the right, his hand resting on a familiar looking pommel. Long golden locks flowed freely down, framing a smooth face with bright blue eyes and a short, trimmed beard, his gaze locked to the stained glass on his left.

A woman with black hair just as long stared back, cloaked in a flowing blue dress that concealed her feet and frame. The same symbol I had seen on the banners outside repeated down the front of her garments, and seven yellow dots were shaped in a wide cross along her chest.

Beneath the glass rested a small altar for prayer and a podium that someone might stand at to speak, but what really stole my breath away was the largest of the windows.

At the center of it all, looming overhead like a blight, stood the stained visage of Regice, his depiction resting on the shoulders of the two smaller images below. Blue skin contrasted against a red backdrop as a sun shined out from behind him, almost seeming to dim his presence with its glow.

It was equal parts breathtaking and intimidating, and I found myself at a loss for words.

“Ow...” Emilie shoved her head up through the opening in my coat, hand rubbing her bruised skull as she looked up at me and grimaced. “That looks like it hurts.”

I lifted my hand away from my skull and recoiled as it came back red before giving the room itself a more thorough once-over, warily glancing at anything that looked even remotely snowy or icy. What I had taken as benches before were actually church pews, and unlit candles stood at the far end of both. “As shit as I feel, it probably looks worse than it is. What the hell was that? You never have rough landings.”

Emilie grimaced before shifting in my coat so that she could look up at me. “We’re usually standing still. I’m not used to teleporting moving objects other than myself and we were under duress.” She looked away. “Probably something to work on if we get out of here.”

I glared down at her. “When we get out of here. Ain’t no quitter talk on this team.”

‘Damn right,’ Crash called out as she flew down and landed next to me. She pecked at her wings to straighten out some feathers before turning her beak down and offering me a clawed hand. ‘Sorry. I either let you go or slammed you into the benches. Didn’t have enough time to pull up with how low Emilie brought us in.’

I smiled before carefully grabbing her claw and shaking. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine, really. Barely even got a headache.”

Snow started to collect on the ground behind us, and I cursed. Of course we weren’t clear yet, we were in this stupid golem’s domain. “Crash, we need to-”

A loud bang rattled the building, forcing me to spread my feet out wide to keep myself upright. In a single instant, the world froze as a large crack ran up the stained glass depicting the ice demon that loomed over us. The malevolent snowstorm fell to the stone floor alongside a fresh deposit from the rafters above.

I sagged down low before sighing out a long shuddering breath and glancing over toward our avian escort. “Never mind.”

I pressed my hand lightly against the pews and winced at the cold that somehow pushed through my gloves. Definitely not taking a seat. I spied a number of doors and halls all leading away from this room and frowned. The world was our oyster, it would seem, and we had no idea where to go.

“So... who’s up for a rousing game of pick a door?” I asked, before wincing at the frosty glares I received. “Eesh, tough crowd.”

“Forgive us if we don’t share your coping mechanisms.” Emilie sighed before easing back down into my coat. “Don’t know whose sense of humor is worse; you or Lucas.”

Said ghost slowly rose up from my shadow, I assumed, at the teasing.

I grinned down at him, hoping to gang up on my starter. “Lucas, do me a favor and defend me, would you? I-”

‘With this vow, I offer up my heart, my soul, and my people. May we stand together in life, hope, and joy and through sickness, pain, and loss. Though our nights may be cold and struggles many, with this fire, I now join my life to yours, for you are the light of my world.’ Lucas slowly rose up higher, his voice distant and hollow as he locked eyes with the stained glass behind the altar, his gaze focused on the bottom left. ‘May that light guide your heart, and I pray that we’ll always be by each other’s side.’

I froze for a moment, the words and their meaning sinking in as I glanced sadly at my Pokémon. “Lucas?”

He froze, before leaning back and turning to face me. ‘Sorry, I seem to be a bit out of sorts. This place... I was just lost in a memory, it would seem.’ He looked away, focusing on the stained glass once again.

I nodded before stepping between the pews, unsure if I should comment further.

“You had a lovely wife,” Emilie said, instantly stepping on the landmine I had wisely stayed quiet about.

Lucas winced at the words, and I sucked in a breath before thwacking my starter on the head.

‘Emilie.’ Legends above, I needed to teach this girl tact.

Emilie winced before looking over at Lucas, her head downcast. ‘I, sorry. I wasn’t thinking.’

Lucas chuckled lightly. ‘The past tense in that statement cut me a bit deep. I just... wasn’t ready for it. I know you meant it as a compliment though, so thank you all the same.’ He smiled at me. ‘Don’t be quite so hard on her, eh?’

I nodded slightly, before nodding toward the altar. “Quite the sanctuary.”

A faint glow shone in Lucas’s eye. ‘The gods made it a habit of making themselves known in the olden days. Can you blame us for being devout?’

I looked up at the cracked stained glass of said frozen deity and winced. “Suppose not, though I’d still like to know what exactly I did to piss this ‘god’ off so bad.” I sighed before looking back down toward Lucas. “So is your palace actually a church or-”

‘Both,’ Duskull answered. ‘I... This place reminds me of a story I heard. Back when I was an Absol, no bigger than a stuffed bear, of a sanctuary at the height of a great city...’ His form wobbled slightly as he moved around the room. ‘It’s a memory that sticks out, separate from what you gave me.’

Lucas nodded. ‘I’m not surprised.’ The ghost floated up closer to the stained glass depicting an Absol. ‘As you can see, we were on rather friendly terms with the pride that lived here. Considering where we found Sol, they were probably your ancestors. They aided in natural disasters, foretelling attacks...’ The light in Lucas’s eye faded slightly as the last word faded into an awkward silence.

I winced, worried about just what exactly he was remembering. “Do you remember the end, then?”

‘Not quite. It’s... odd. I don’t think the ice deity was responsible for the sordid state of our kingdom, though it’s probably hard to believe that.’ He waved his tassel around. ‘Something prompted this, I believe. I just... can’t seem to grasp it. To bridge my thoughts.’

Emilie looked around the room, her eyes narrowed. “I mean; to be fair you probably don’t want to remember it. I can’t imagine whatever caused this kind of reaction from your guardian deity as terribly pleasant. Are the motives of our illustrious host a bit easier to make out?”

I winced again. Damn it, Emilie. ‘Tact. Please, I’m begging you. Learn it.’

Emilie blushed and looked away. ‘If you don’t mind answering, that is. I’m guessing you’ve got a good idea of what we need to do, so we can just-’

Lucas chuckled lightly before turning back to us and grinning. ‘Seriously, don’t be too hard on her, Lea. It’s in a child’s nature to be inquisitive, and we’re all a little on edge.’

I stared at Emilie, my mouth pressed in a thin line, before sighing and looking back toward Lucas. ‘Suppose my private nudge was a bit obvious, huh?’

Lucas chuckled before nodding.

I smiled. ‘Just don’t feel pressured to answer every question that pops into her head, alright?’

Lucas smiled before staring down at the ground. ‘I feel like I must, though. We’re here for a reason, and we don’t know what that reason is. I need to remember, for all our sake.’ The ghost sword floated up to the cross made of dots. ‘To be honest, I don’t quite remember seeing that thing in person at all. I know I did at some point, it’s a feeling I have, but...’ Lucas shrugged.

I nodded once, before drifting off in thought. Considering Duskull barely remembered what his own daughter looked like, I supposed that I should be grateful that Lucas was doing as well as he was.

Wait.

He did remember something though. Quite vividly, if that earlier reaction was any indication.

It couldn’t be that simple, could it?

“Lucas, I want to do a little experiment if you don’t mind?” I smiled as he turned and dipped his hilt down in a silent nod. “I want you to visualize the clearest memory in your head from back then. What sticks out to you the most out of every single image in your mind?” It felt weird asking that considering I already had a good idea, but I wanted to mimic how Emilie did this with me as much as possible.

The patterns on Lucas’s scabbard scrunched up in a frown before a smile played across his features. ‘Probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering earlier. This place cemented that memory into my head. I can picture it so vividly. Soft, plush lips. Long dark hair... an anxious jilt in her step as she gazes up into my eyes, a breathtaking smile on her face. There’s music playing, quiet music.’ Lucas stopped as a chuckle left his lips, and he turned away from me. ‘The pews are filled, but I can’t for the life of me recall their faces. I’m not sure that I cared to notice them.’

I nodded along, a small smile pulling at my lips. I moved to walk closer but felt a chill run up my spine, locking me in place. I glanced up, getting a better look at the front of the chamber.

Was I seeing double?

It was like a canvas come to life. For a brief moment, I could make out her features as though she were standing in front of me. The masterfully crafted structure seemed to pale in comparison to the real thing. Fair skin, a kind, regal smile, eyes that smoldered with a passion and longing that made me take a step back.

I blinked and it was gone. The world righted itself as I reached up to rub my eyes, only to be met with nothing.

“Good, now play the memory forward, focusing on the woman. Keep her as your focus,” Emilie said, her tone calm.

I glanced around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of it. I saw it! I know I did. Maybe. Legends above my head hurt.

His smile stretched wider. ‘We’re... exchanging vows. She was smiling, but nervous. The rest of the world almost seemed to drift away as the ceremony concluded.’

Fuck it. Focus on what’s in front of us. A happy memory to start things off with then. Good. That’s good. I had a feeling things were going to get worse as we went. “Now, keep playing those memories forward, focus only on her. Where do we go next?”

Lucas snorted, before turning and giving me a salacious grin. ‘Lea, honey. I love you, but no. I am not telling you about our wedding night.’

Red creeped up my cheeks as I coughed, my throat burning as I sucked in a violent breath and pulled a bit of saliva down my windpipe. Hacking up a lung, I gave Lucas a halfhearted glare that was probably undercut by the grin that pulled at my lips. “Just... keep playing your memories forward in your head with her as the focus and tell me when something stands out.”

Why the hell did it feel like that glass portrait of Mawile was smiling at me? If you can see this, you old crone, I hope your family reunion is seven different shades of ass!

Lucas chuckled, before nodding and kneeling his head down. A white veil draped down across his eye, and I briefly entertained the notion that this was how he closed it.

“Is that what it looks like when you close your eyes?” Emilie asked, and I slapped my palm against my forehead.

‘EMILIE!’ I shouted in her head.

She winced before turning back to me, her frame smaller than usual. ‘Look, you have your coping mechanisms and I have mine, alright?’ She huffed before turning away from me, her arms crossed. ‘Besides, he’s so out of it right now I doubt he even heard me.’

I glanced back toward Lucas, still floating listlessly in front of the altar, before sighing and ruffling my starter's hair. ‘And you’re the only one allowed to complain about coping mechanisms?’

Emilie groaned and buried herself in my coat, her face petulant. ‘Yeah, that’s how it usually works.’

We stood in silence for a minute, and a sense of awkwardness fell between the two of us. I didn’t like it. ‘I’m sorry if I’m being a bit overbearing. I-’

‘Good idea, by the way,’ Emilie said, cutting me off. ‘Organizing his thoughts I mean. He’s still a ghost though, so don’t be too surprised if you hit a brick wall somewhere. Some memories are just... gone.’

I frowned at the subject change, then nodded. ‘Thanks for keeping it up for me. I got distracted by something.’

Emilie tilted her head. ‘See something bad?’

I shook my head. ‘Nah, I think it’s just the minor head injury playing tricks on me. Nothing too ser-’

I stopped and winced as the ground shook once again, sending me to my knees as cracks ran through the stained glass on either side of the room, fracturing the still landscapes portrayed in both. A long line ran exactly through the Mawile as the chaos stopped, and I frantically pushed myself back up to my feet as a cold air started to waft through the church.

‘I... I remember her getting paler.’ Lucas explained, seemingly unbothered by the chaos that had just taken place. ‘We’re in the throne room, and a group of merchants have requested an audience. A number of Lapras have taken ill, and it has delayed a few supply shipments. There’s several Absol in the chamber, and they look tense.’ He frowned. ‘My wife offered to bolster the town’s food supply with reserves from the castle and I decided to up the guard around the wall. Something didn’t feel right.’

“Alright, now let’s stick with your wife. We’re trying to make a chain of memories and tie it to something. What’s next?” I asked, doing my best to ignore the uneasy feeling that was stirring in my gut.

‘The scene’s a bit different. This memory is... I think it’s fairly soon after that audience. My queen is guiding me through the Howling Chasm. I... I don’t know how we got here, but this place feels wrong. The wind that’s pushing through the valley sounds like the wails of the damned. I,’ Lucas stopped, before shuddering. ‘She looks so much smaller than she used to. Her hair’s lost its shine. She’s turning to look at me and her face is sunken-’

He stopped completely, his eye regaining its usual vibrance as he locked eyes with me.

"What is it, Lucas?” I asked, my voice calm and low as I tried my absolute best to imitate how Emilie talked to me in my mind.

‘Her eyes. They’re bright red.’ Lucas swallowed, and I briefly wondered how that instinct worked considering his anatomy. ‘Something is very wrong.’

Duskull floated up and rested a small, cloaked hand on Lucas’s pommel. No words were spoken aloud, but something seemed to pass between the two.

"Do you need a moment?" I asked, feeling like a third wheel.

Lucas shook his head before turning and grinning at Duskull. ‘I can keep going. My wife is guiding me somewhere. These caves... they’re fairly sacred. I remember that now. We come down here hoping for a miracle, as it’s the closest point of contact we have with our god. It’s... more commonly walked by our high priestess or her matrons.’

"Where are you going?” I asked. “Do you know where this place leads?”

‘I...’ Lucas trailed off, before freezing, his red eye shining bright as his mouth dropped open. ‘The howling caves open into a massive chamber, and it descends onto us the moment we enter. It’s... I don’t know that I’ve ever felt cold like that before. In life or death. The air in my lungs felt painful to breathe, like it was heavier somehow. I know we just met the damn thing out there, but this... this felt far different.’

"Might be that he was focused on you. I know we all saw it out there, but when I locked eyes with it, right before we teleported out," I trailed off, before swallowing and nodding at Lucas. "I don’t know that I’ve ever felt anything so intense."

‘Maybe...’ Lucas didn’t sound sure. ‘Still, I don’t know what’s going on. What’s wrong with my wife?’

Keep calm. Just keep calm and help him through this. I can do that. “How does the rest of the memory play out? That might shed some light on it.”

Lucas’s eye dimmed as he looked down. ‘She’s smiling at me as the ice golem descends. There’s a rather... passionate kiss. Then... She told me goodbye? Why...’ Lucas trailed off as he froze again, his scabbard losing a bit of color as he floated down. A snarl ripped itself from his mouth as he stopped floating and stabbed down into the cold, stone floor. ‘Nix the allies part. It... why would it do that? I don’t understand.’

I swallowed, wondering why I was even asking. ‘ Ice statue?’

Lucas nodded, his face grim. ‘I just... Why am I not doing anything in the memory? I’m just content to look at her crystalized beauty as the ice demon slinks back up to the upper recesses of the chamber.’ Lucas stopped before taking a deep breath. ‘There are others in the room, all frozen solid. I... I think I recognize a few. Priests and matrons, a few Pokémon, it’s...’ He stopped before pulling himself out of the ground. ‘They’re all thin. Gaunt, even. It’s hard to tell, given the circumstances, but they don’t look particularly healthy.’

I nodded along, my mind drifting back to Mawile’s advice. How our friends were functionally frozen in time.

‘I’m... really hoping my past self wasn’t the type for human sacrifice and that’s what this is. I’ll seal myself back up in the damn dark room if that’s what’s happening.’ Lucas’s voice started to shake as he continued.

Emilie lifted a snowball and chucked it at my sword. ‘Lucas, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that you did anything like that.’

Lucas stared up at her. ‘Have you looked around us recently?’

Emilie’s glare worsened. ‘You’re a goofball, not a psychopath, calm down.’

I nodded before moving forward, a dull throb pushing out from my ankle as I moved closer. ‘Maybe that was the only choice? Buying time for something? If they’re sick, then maybe Regice is keeping them alive long enough to find a cure. Brawly mentioned that the person that cast the Sheer Cold could undo it.’

Lucas visibly relaxed. ‘I... yes, I suppose that might make some sense. Still though... witnessing that firsthand is...’ His body vibrated. ‘It’s instantaneous. They’re real one minute, then the next it’s just... a void. A moment, trapped forever in ice and snow.’

I frowned at the wording. “Not forever.”

Lucas shot me a smile, though his eye seemed to lack the vibrancy that it usually had when he did so. “I suppose not, no.”

I wasn’t sure if he believed that or not.

A tremor rocked the chamber once more, this one exceedingly violent as more cracks started to form along the floor. A number of candles tipped over as the glass murals all started to shatter, sending multicolored shards raining down onto the stone and snow.

Crash quickly panned her head from side to side, taking stock of the room. ‘Is this going somewhere useful? I’m getting a bit antsy being in this room like this and you’ve all been quiet for a bit.’

I looked over toward Emilie, an eyebrow raised. ‘ I might have cut her connection when Lucas mentioned human sacrifice. WE know he’d never do something like that, but-’

‘Probably a good call.’ I nodded toward the luchador with a Mareepish grin. “Sorry, the subject matter was... slightly sensitive.”

‘There was a Mawile among the frozen,’ Lucas shouted, his tone of voice oddly gleeful. ‘I just remembered. It... You don’t think?’

I stared down at him like he was a moron. “You had a stained-glass portrait of a Mawile near a campfire. Who did you think that was?”

Lucas chuckled, looking slightly embarrassed. “Well, it’s... look, something being alive for a millennium is a bit hard to wrap my head around, alright?”

I stared after him for a moment before sighing. “I... fair enough. Okay, so we can’t follow that thread anymore, but we have a new memory thread we can follow.” I winced at how that sounded considering the previous subject matter. “That is-”

Lucas cackled slightly. ‘Get on with it, Lea, and stop worrying so much about my mental state. I’ll speak up if I need to stop.’

I nodded once before pressing on. “You remember seeing Regice, now. He exists in your memories, which means we have something new to focus on and move the story along with. What else do you remember about him? Focus on him and see what else comes of it.”

Lucas nodded once at the prospect as he closed his eye but froze a moment afterwards. His eye snapped back open as he glanced nervously around the room. ‘That’s a sharp idea, it’s just... why am I so scared to do that?’

I rested my hand on Lucas’s crossguard, trying to channel the same kind of energy Brawly did when we talked earlier. I probably didn’t have the level of cool energy to make it work, but maybe my inner dork could be corny enough to make him laugh instead. ‘It’s alright to be scared, just... don’t let it rule you, okay? If you want to, at least.’

Lucas chuckled. ‘The alright to be scared speech, really?’

Yup, too much dork energy. Damn it all. “I mean-”

‘Stop, I think I gave this speech to my men more times than I care to admit. I-’ Lucas trailed off, his eye regaining some of its earlier shine. ‘I’m more than a ghost in a sword. I should be the one giving that speech.’ He floated up higher before falling back down, his eye closed.

A light clapping met my ears and I glanced around the room. No one had moved from their spot. Though the chamber was in shambles, the stained-glass portrait of Lucas’s wife still seemed to hold its form.

I was starting to wonder if something outside of physics was helping that along.

A frown pulled down at Lucas’s inlays as he opened his mouth. ‘Fire comes to the island. That’s how it starts.’

I leaned forward. "What starts?"

‘The end.’ Lucas trembled slightly as the words left his lips, as if they left a foul taste in his mouth. ‘There are ships. Quite a few of them, actually. I can see dragon Pokémon flying overhead, a great many I don’t even recognize. Fire meeting waves of darkness and ice. Swords clashing against swords.’

‘An invasion,’ Emilie said.

Lucas nodded. ‘My troops were weak; something was afflicting them. The walls were broken in places. Civilians are being roasted alive in the streets. It’s... a slaughter.’ A faint misty veil was cast upon Lucas’s crystalized eye. ‘I’m sprinting toward the square, cutting through enemies with ease, but they don’t stop. I’m trying to get somewhere...’ He trailed off again.

‘Where?’ Crash asked, her head tilted up to gaze at my ghost sword, her eyes eager like a child waiting for the next part of a fairy tale.

‘I... sorry. My guard connected back with me. They... they held back our enemies and helped me cut a path back to the palace. Not... not everyone lived through the exchange.’ Lucas stopped for a moment before smiling. ‘Sorry. I know everyone from that era has long since died but remembering it like this…it feels fresh.’

“Do-”

‘Stop asking if I need a damn moment. We need to know where to go!’ Lucas glared at me, then winced and turned away from worried eyes. ‘Sorry. That was uncalled for.’

I sighed and nodded. ‘You’re right, though.’

Lucas nodded back before pressing on. ‘I’m rushing through the castle halls. I push through this room to get to where I’m going, actually. Clanking metal, an iron taste in my mouth, a faint tinge of red coating the ground, desperation...’ Lucas stopped, his mouth clenched as a haunted look overtook him.

“Take-” I snapped my mouth shut at the glare Lucas shot my way.

He took a deep breath. ‘I... I threw open the doors to a small chamber with a glowing red orb atop an altar. Damn thing is as vibrant as the summer sun. Heat washed over my skin, and I moved toward the device with purpose. Before I got the chance to grab it, a sword pushed through my chest from behind.’ Lucas winced hard and began sinking low. ‘I... as I hit the ground, a wave of cold air pushed through the room. Through the bars on the window, I can make out a massive wall of ice ascending around the city as my vision starts to blur. I’m... I’m shivering-’

“Stop,” I ordered, my voice a pitch higher than I intended. “That’s more than enough, Lucas. You, you can stop...”

Emilie nuzzled closer to me, and I lifted my arms up and wrapped them around her.

‘Regice froze the entire kingdom and dropped it into the ocean rather than allow it to be claimed by an invading force,’ Lucas said. ‘Why wouldn’t he lend his aid before that? I don’t understand.’

I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know.”

Lucas just vibrated in place as he looked away.

‘It’s not invincible,’ Crash said, cutting into the conversation with a pinched brow as she looked over to our storyteller. ‘It was hurt when we came here, and Toa hurt it worse to get us in here. You saw the force that came to attack, do you think it could beat them all?’

Lucas opened his mouth but hesitated.

Crash nodded. ‘You were there, as hard as that is to believe. Do you truly believe that thing was your ally?’

Lucas tilted his blade in agreement. ‘It’s odd, but... I do. I know it for a fact, but I don’t quite know why.’ He glanced around the room. ‘And I doubt we have the time to fully figure it out.’

Crash nodded again. ‘Then it acted in your interests, and I assume you acted in its. I don’t know why this thing is attacking us now, but in the end, that’s not what this story is about. You valued getting to that orb. Your whole world was going to hell, and you were desperate to reach it... I’d say that’s something worth checking out, don’t you?’

Lucas paused, before turning up to me and grinning. ‘Captain... I do believe we’ve found our heading.’ He floated across the chamber toward an untread hall and beckoned me to follow.

I hesitated. “Are you sure you’re alright to push forward?”

Lucas huffed. ‘Doesn’t do us much good to wallow in our memories. I’ll mourn my people when we’re out of this death trap, but for now, we have our heading and I’m ready to push through.’ He smiled. ‘I’ve got a warrior’s spirit, Lea. As long as I’ve got a mission, I’ll push through.’

I nodded, then winced as another tremor wracked the chamber and forced me to my knees. A wave of blue surged across the chamber, and I felt a chill go up my spine as it washed over me. “Getting a move on is probably a good idea.” I turned toward Crash as I pulled out a set of three Poké Balls. “Please tell me I can let the team out in full. I know you’re probably more badass than my entire team combined, but I feel so naked without them.”

The masked avian shook her head. ‘ It’d be faster to travel in a smaller group, and I’m leery of someone getting trapped if the snow and ice come to life again. This place is more of a death trap than I thought it’d be, considering what’s going on-’

Another loud crash met my ears, and I braced myself for a tremor that didn’t come. I glanced around the room before focusing on the altar at the front of the chamber. The ground was bulging, cracking as something pushed its way up. The tremor that I had been expecting earlier came in full force, forcing me to my knees once more as the entire chamber began pulsing.

I was shoved, hard, to the left, my body knocking into one of the benches as a chandelier slammed into the ground I had been standing on. I glanced up to see no one there, but the faint feeling of cold air on my shoulder seemed to give it away. I whipped around to look at our escort, who was already moving toward the door that Lucas was standing by. I pulled myself up to my feet and sprinted forward, careful not to trip on the still shaking ground as the ground at the front of the chapel threatened to rupture.

As I pushed past, I noticed that Lucas’s gaze hadn’t wavered. He was staring, straight on, at the place I had been standing, eyes wide as he looked at the offending ceiling ornament.

“Lucas?” I shouted.

No response.

The chamber shook harder, and I moved forward to grab him. A faint sickening feeling pushed through my stomach as my hand phased through his hilt. “Lucas!” I called again, this time getting a reaction.

‘Lea?’ He looked lost, like he wasn’t grasping what was happening around him.

“Lucas, we need to leave. Now!” I shouted, urging him to follow as my hand reached down for his Poké Ball.

He cast one last glance to the front of the chamber, his eyes locking on to the still standing visage of his late wife, before glancing at the mound of crumbling stone and ice. His eyes widened as he turned to me, nodded, and ushered me through the stone arch he had floated to moments prior.

Two sets of eyes bore down on me as we fled the room. Two blue eyes, filled with worry, followed me as I pushed through the gate to parts unknown, their presence a comfort in the cold that now dug its way into my bones as the last of the stained glass finally shattered.

The other, however, promised nothing but pain as it slowly surged out from beneath the ground, their gaze reptilian and fierce as a long, slender frame slowly started to push out from below the stone. One thought permeated my brain as Crash picked me up by the backpack once more:

Run. As hard and as fast as I could.

Chapter Text

Running and frozen floors don’t mix. If it wasn’t for Crash snatching me up, I know for a fact that my face would have married the stone floor shortly after we fled the chapel.

I almost wished it had, because that would save me from the nightmare I was looking at. The beast thrashed as it pushed forward, its body large enough to bang against the walls as it moved. Four yellow dots were carved into its forehead, accompanying four horns that extended backwards from its draconic skull in every direction as its mouth opened wide, its head giving way to a long, pale blue, serpentine body. Two clawed arms scraped the floor as it gave chase, and I idly wondered how something like this was flying.

As we ascended higher, a realization washed over me like a cold stream of shower water after May was done in the bathroom.

This thing still hadn’t fully left the sanctuary.

“Crash, I know I bitched outside about your driving, but for the love of God go faster!” I screamed, my eyes widening in horror as I stared back at the ice dragon looming towards us. I was barely able to crane my neck to watch as the beast started rising higher to give chase.

A loud shriek left her beak as she turned around, her body maintaining her forward momentum as she lifted her claws above her head. The muscles in her wings tensed as her feet gripped my bag tighter.

A flick of the shoulder, a crack of air, one singular motion... and the world behind us was engulfed in a hail of blades.

Wind sickles, extending from the floor to the high-rise ceiling, pushed through the creature like a hot knife through a snow cone. There was no grinding sound, no cry of pain, no warning at all of what this attack did. For about half a second, I believed that the attack did nothing, other than kick a faint breeze in the ice dragon’s face.

I was an idiot. It was already dead.

I wondered what it looked like from its perspective. Did its viewpoint split in half as one side of its face desynced from the other? As the creature surged forward, the aftereffects of Crash’s assault made themselves known as the dragon slowly fell to pieces, each cut clean and straight.

I kept waiting for a surge of blood that never came as the luchador flew down to get a better look. What I had believed was a living, breathing dragon of unfathomable power had been nothing more than ice given form and function. My thoughts briefly flashed back to the golem outside, and I quickly realized that the lack of normal anatomy probably didn’t mean much down here.

‘Whole lot of pomp for not a lot of substance,’ Crash complained. ‘Guess I forget my own strength sometimes.’

And suddenly I realized that the thing that just did that was carrying me around like a ragdoll and I felt horribly small and weak in her presence.

She tilted her head at me as she glanced down. ‘What?’

I didn’t respond right away.

Emilie shook her head and elbowed me. “Get a grip, would you?”

“Duh, I mean...” Had I been staring? I was, wasn’t I? I shook my head slightly and looked away, red dusting my cheeks. That can be from the cold, right?

Fuck, I knew they were on our side, but still, watching what these things could do was making me feel self-conscious. How the hell was I supposed to match these things at some point? Brawly’s personal team was filled with monsters.

Practice, lots of practice. Emilie’s right, get a grip. I glanced up, winced, and sighed..

Crash just grinned at me, preening slightly at my loss for words.

“Sorry, I was just... Impressed.” There really wasn’t any way to mask that, either. Hopefully my escort wasn’t the type to let a bit of praise go to her head. “I’ve never seen air quite so sharp.”

‘I like cutting things.’ The masked avian preened. ‘It’s how I differentiate from the rest of those brutes. Well, mostly. Lele likes cutting things too. Though not as much, I suppose.’ She shifted her head up and to the left with a grin. ‘Though I'd like to think I’m a bit more skilled. I can even cleave through steel, given the need.’

Why was she looking longingly at Lucas when she said that? What the hell kind of emotion am I feeling from her with my empathy!?

‘Back on topic,’ Lucas quickly shouted, looking decidedly uncomfortable as he darted down behind me. ‘We need to get to the throne room, and we should really get a move on, because it’s a bit of a trip.’

I nodded, quickly looking anywhere but at the smirking malevolent gremlin that would be my ride. As I gazed around the hall, an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. Something didn’t feel right.

Weren’t there more ice cubes, earlier?

A light scraping tipped the game away, and Crash had already started flying away as the beast she had felled slowly started putting itself back together.

‘Guess that confirms that whatever the hell that thing is, it isn’t alive.’ I winced as three different sections of skull fused back together as we put more distance between us.

Crash nodded before picking up the pace. ‘I’ve never known an ice type capable of something like that. I saw it manipulate the ice outside, but something like this is... unheard of.’

I opened my mouth to reply, only to almost bite off my tongue as we quickly gained speed, my ghostly companions settling back into my shadow as we pushed through the winding hallway. Sets of armor and weapons blurred in my peripherals as we shot through the hall.

‘Left or right up here?’ Crash asked.

I whipped my head around, my face stinging as the cold bit into my skin, to notice a fork at the end of the hall. A white and gray silhouette smiled at me, her eyes closed as she waved. Her dress billowed lightly as she slowly floated down the hall on the right.

‘Left, that’s the shortest path, ’ Lucas shouted.

Crash nodded once and banked away from the ghost.

I could feel a cold feeling of dread shoot down my spine as we curved around the chamber. “Wait, I think-”

Crash stopped, a flash of icy steel passed in front of my eyes, and a few strands of hair fell to the ground as our escort rapidly kicked her wings back to go the opposite direction.

As we flew down the other path, I was able to take stock of them, the armor that had come to life. Full plate mail, taller than Wayne, slowly rose to full height, its mask open to reveal a hollow void as the frozen effigy of false life lifted his hand up to lower his helmet, the pale blue ice clanking as he moved. A bright yellow dot sat dead center on the phantom’s face plate.

‘Ice dragons, hollow knights, terrain that comes to life and tries to kill you, Lucas I’m just going to come out and say it. Your castle blows. ’ Emilie glared down at the trail of darkness that darted along the wall, her hands coming together in front of her. The air around her distorted as and launching a Psybeam at the soldier as it lifted its sword up and started gliding along the floor toward us.

The soldier took the beam head on, barely pausing as he brought his sword up and cleaved the attack in two.

Emilie gaped at the display, her eyes wide as she ripped her gaze away from the charging sentry and glared down at her own hands. ‘Barely even slowed it down...’

I frowned at the whispered words as our escort shifted around again, my pack slipping from her talons at the sudden change of momentum. I tumbled forward, roughly hitting the wall, and glaring up at the luchador as she brought her wings down in an arching slash. Wind whipped forward, splitting the knight right down the middle.

Crash turned back to me and winced. ‘So-’

‘Stop apologizing.’ I groaned, my muscles protesting as I slowly dragged myself to my feet. ‘Just stop chucking me around like a ragdoll.

Crash nodded, before wincing as a loud, grinding screech met our ears.

Great, the dragon caught up. Well, ice creature. Dragon made of ice?

Crash darted forward, pushing past the armor as the two halves fused back together and deeper down the path that Lucas had outlined. I glanced back to see the ghost sigh and fade into the aether.

Why the hell was it trying to lead us away from the throne room? I cut off my own thoughts as we pulled up, narrowly avoiding a set of gauntlets that thrusted up from the ice. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest as more hands, some armored, some not, joined in as the horde started to drag themselves out of the ground.

It was like a scene out of a George Romaro movie, shambling frames, rising from the depths to hunt and devour any who dared enter their airspace, cleaving at any who dared claim ownership of what they lacked.

Living, breathing flesh for them to claim.

Emilie elbowed me. ‘Lea, stop being dramatic, you’re accidentally projecting again. Your panicking is so loud that I can hear it from here.’

I pointedly ignored her and faced forward, away from the horror show. “Crash, for the love of all that’s holy, punch it!”

‘Already punching it, like hell do I want to be a part of the Dawn of the Dead extended universe!’ Crash screeched as she beat her wings faster.

“How the-” The world around me blurred and my stomach didn’t get the memo that we were moving now .

‘Toa loves those stupid movies.’ Crash shivered lightly. ‘Emilie, lift the mental map from Lucas and navigate. If cutting these things to pieces isn’t the answer, then we’re blitzing this stupid dungeon.’

I swallowed and braced myself as we pushed further ahead, my vision shifting wildly at the absurd speeds. The only thing I could make out was another split in the hall. No ghost girl to potentially lead us away from danger this time.

‘Left at the end of this hall,’ Emilie mentally shouted. ‘Also, I’m calling Tauros shit. I saw the kind of crap everyone else can do. The Air Cutters are impressive, but-’

‘My job is to keep you safe,’ Crash countered before Emilie could finish. ‘Me cutting loose would be glorious. The chance to put everything I have into a fight comes up so rarely anymore, and I have to hold back because if I didn’t, I’d turn everyone in this damn hall into minced meat, and probably bring down half the palace .’ Crash turned an eye down and glared at my starter. ‘But I can’t do that, because you lot are here.’

“Shutting up noooo-” Emilie screamed as we dipped down low, banking slightly to the left and narrowly avoiding a group of ice javelins that jettisoned themselves from the ceiling.

Crash pulled her head up with a snarl. ‘Honestly, those lug heads up top get to have all the damn fun. This is what I get for being the fucking sensible one.’

Was she just not caring about the hell that was going on around us? I bit back a scream as we once again picked up speed. God, I wanted off this rollercoaster so bad.

'I’m really hoping Brawly’s doing alright,’ Duskull muttered from my shadow. ‘If we’re having this much fun, I imagine he’s getting put through his paces out there.’

‘He’ll be fine, don’t-’ Crash cut herself off as she banked back up, narrowly pulling me from another icy grip. ‘Worry so much. We just need to push through whatever the hell’s in here, got it?’

I nodded, bracing myself as we banked left. A wall of white sentinels stood at the ready directly ahead of us, spears in hand.

‘Teleporting now.’ Emilie shouted and I felt us lurch forward. The world swam in my vision at the sudden movement as we rose up higher yet again.

More hands rose up from the ground and a curse bit out from my lips as the doors on either side of us started to blur together as we picked up even more speed. Thankfully our pace slowed as another set of frosted javelins launched out from the walls ahead of us. Crash stopped, letting them cross in front of us, then diving down out of reach of a pair of arms reaching out from the ceiling. Frozen spikes shot up as she did so, nipping right at my feet as we moved forward.

‘Teleporting again.’ The world lurched forward a second time. ‘Ohh, I’m starting to feel the head rush on that.’

‘There should be a huge set of double doors at the end of this hallway. Those lead to the throne room,’ Lucas explained. ‘The path to the red orb is behind that, through a passage underneath my chair.’

“Not really your chair anymore, you can’t really sit down!” I shouted cheekily.

‘Not the time, Lea!’ Emilie screamed as we once again picked up altitude as frozen gauntlets grasped at my feet.

“I, can’t, help, it, it’s, how, I, deal, with, stress!” I was jerked in a different direction at every word as Crash’s flight path became more and more erratic.

Lucas chuckled lightly. ‘I thought the joke was good, Lea. I approve.’

“Thaaaanks.” The world disappeared as we zipped through another group of sentries, and I finally lost my battle against my breakfast and hurled.

‘Aim down!’ Crash screeched.

I coughed lightly and glared up at the stupid bird. ‘Where the hell else am I supposed to aim?’ I shouted back. ‘Do you have any idea how unpleasant this is? Cut me a break, damn it!’

More icicle spears. This was starting to feel less like a palace and more like a damn Pikachu Kart course. All it needed was a lack of guard rails and track music.

‘Please tell me we’re almost there?’ I asked. ‘I know this palace was huge, but this is-’

Crash came to a dead stop, and my body lunged forward at the sudden change in momentum. For a brief moment, my head had a forward view of the chamber, and all upper brain function ceased.

No less than two dozen frozen soldiers guarded the passage leading to the throne room, and the ornate stone doors were sealed shut, a thin layer of ice coating them.

Crash swung her wings forward, sending out a horizontal blade of air that met a united wall of shields. For the first time since coming down here, the attack was repelled. The phalanx of frozen guards took a step forward, and I swallowed as Crash beat her wings to back up.

She swung me down and I sagged down in relief as my feet touched down on solid ground. I reached down and pulled up all three of my occupied Poke Balls.

“I’m not taking no for an answer this time. Sol, Shadow Ball, Apollo, Air Cutter. Joern, Razor Leaf. Emilie, Psybeam. I don’t care where you aim. Fire at will and don’t stop until those things are shaved ice!” I shouted as an explosion of white light filled the chamber.

‘Aye, captain!’ Apollo shouted, before leading the charge with one of the largest Air Cutters I had ever seen. Four long wind blades launched forward from a single beat of his wings, only to bounce just as harmlessly off the barrier that thwarted Crash.

‘Apollo, those things stopped Crash’s attack, what the hell did you think that would do?’ Emilie asked.

Apollo puffed up. ‘Let’s see you do better, lass.’

Emilie hopped up from my coat, her eyes glowing blue as she teleported to Sol’s back, her arms outstretched as she focused. Her Psybeam and Sol’s Shadow Ball seemed to merge into an odd purple and white laser that pushed across the wall of ice the creatures presented, phasing through the metallic barrier entirely and slamming into the icy bodies behind them. The creatures seemed to sag down as the wave of energy moved across the chamber.

‘Oh, for Kyogre’s sake.’ Apollo groaned as he rubbed his forehead with his wing.

"Huh,” Emilie muttered. "That was... okay these things don’t like psychic attacks at all, what the hell?"

‘A little help back here. ’ Joern asked as he launched his attack behind us. The same direction Crash was now facing.

I spun around and winced at the sight. The army we had left behind as we pushed deeper was starting to catch up, and their numbers terrified me. Shoulder to shoulder, the mass of lifeless armor marched forward. I took some solace in the fact that Joern’s leaves were at least doing something, but it paled in comparison to the dilapidated messes that Crash was leaving in her wake, her air blades cleaving through the horde with a practiced ease.

It still wasn’t doing much to leave a dent in their numbers, though. If only we could...

I tentatively turned away from the motionless frames in front of me and focused on the horde behind us.“Joern, I want to do an experiment. Let’s turn these things back into a block of ice. Water Pulse, full power,” I ordered, before glancing toward my starter. “Emilie, I need you to-”

A cracking sound met my ears as a sword shoved itself through the ground. I jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack as the creature was pulverized into a faint white powder, its frame crumbling to dust as a black wave pulsed over it. I glanced up to see the wide, frantic eyes of Sol, her horn glowing an oppressive black as she hissed at the ground.

‘Stay the fuck away from my trainer, you frozen, zombie wannabes!’ she screeched, her teeth barred as she whipped her head back around and launched another Night Slash toward the shield guards and finally breaking the barricade.

A loud hissing sound drew my attention back and a small smile pulled at my lips. The second Joern’s attack made contact with the soldiers, the water crystallized. Their steps stuttered as their bodies expanded. Joints fused, before losing form entirely as the hollow knights fused together in a massive wall of ice that barred passage to and from the hall we just flew through.

‘Why do I have a feeling that just bought us time?’ Lucas asked.

Crash gave a cry, then dove down, her wings shining silver as she cleaved through the now motionless shield guards in front of us. ‘Probably because there’s already a hand shoving its way through the damn glacier.’

Joern turned back and paled, his eyes widening as more of the body followed after. ‘What’s the point of killing something that isn’t alive? There has to be something pulling the strings here, we aren’t actually in a damn zombie movie.’

A haunting wail pushed through my mind as my shadow expanded out below me. Whatever appendages that had been clawing through the ice quickly crumbled to powder as an ethereal glow overtook the hall. Green fire lit empty torches on either side of the sealed doors as the stone slowly asserted itself over the ice.

‘They crawl, from the cold,’ Duskull rasped out from the shadows. ‘Just had… to return this place… to how it was.’

I frowned. “Duskull?”

‘The ice is fighting back,’ Duskull said, his voice strained. ‘Whole place is under terrain.’

I swallowed down a lump in my throat before turning to the large stone gates, their natural appearance shining through for the first time as a pair of ornately carved Absol faces stared back at me.

Now or never, then.

“Then we should get a move on.” I nodded toward Crash who lifted up her wings.

‘Wait,’ Duskull shouted. ‘I don’t know if I can take the strain and keep this up. The doors are open. Hell, they should be transparent. Just... push through...’

I turned toward the doors, before hesitating. Something felt off.

The ground quickly started to freeze over once more as Duskull floated closer to the doors. My team looked at me expectantly as Apollo dived forward. Because of course that idiot would be the first to dive headfirst into the abyss.

Screw it. Whatever this place wanted to throw at me, I’d deal.

I pushed through the doors, and the world shifted.

***

A loud crack was the only sound that met my ears as we pushed through the sealed gate into the throne room, my body once again tumbling along the hard stone floors. It was odd, though. Despite us probably being close to the heart of the palace, no ice lined the floor.

I slowly dragged myself to my feet. “Kind of a rough landing, don’t you think, Crash?”

No response.

I quickly glanced behind me, only to see the large stone doors slam shut. Two Absol figureheads stared back at me, but no Pokémon.

“Emilie, can you hear me? Where are you? What happened?” I kept turning, my eyes frantically trying to place a familiar face. All I was greeted with were limply hanging flags, unmoving suits of armor, and a staircase that extended up beyond what I could easily see.

I was alone.

“Joern, Apollo, you two were right next to me, where the hell did you go?” I shouted. This didn’t make any damned sense. “Lucas?”

As the final name left my lips, the sound of metal scraping against stone broke the silence the chamber had gifted me. My eyes darted toward the armor sets I had learned to distrust, but they remained still and lifeless. My eyes quickly traced up to the top of the stairs as a messy head of stiff hair crested the top of the stairs.

Full plate mail, just like the rest of the soldiers outside, but this... this was different. The armor wasn’t empty, nor was it whole or well put together. The steel still had that frosted over shine, but it was cracked in several places, a large hole adorned the center, with a number of black lines trailing from the wound. A single gloved hand rested on a white pommel, while the other hung limply as his side.

His face, though... That’s what truly set this thing apart from the hollow knights outside, and what made it worse was that it was a face I recognized. Short beard, long hair... It was all passed through a lens of frostbite and blood though. What had once been a majestic mane of blonde hair had matted together, flecks of black binding it together in a frozen mess. White skin had adopted a blue hue, and the eyes remained closed as the former king marched down the stone staircase, a red cape billowing behind him slightly as he moved.

I froze for a moment, then dipped down into a low bow, my shoulders tense as the sounds grew closer. “Your majesty?”

No response. Just a steady clank, clank, Clank, Clank.

“Worth a shot.” I sprinted away from the creature, desperately tracing along the walls for someplace to go. Some shelter I could gain from the shambling icy remains of my friend’s once noble body.

I had no delusions that I could take this thing on. My team could barely dent the ones outside, what the hell was a tiny little human like me supposed to do?

“Lucas, Emilie, Sol, Crash, fucking anyone at this point. I don’t know where you are, but for the love of all that is holy, get in here and save my ass!” No response. I pushed out with my mind, desperate to try and find someone, anyone that could help stop me from becoming a pincushion for the very large sword the big scary ice zombie was pulling out of its scabbard.

A weight lifted off from my shoulders as two minds entered my field of view. To my immense surprise, the creature that was leisurely chasing me through the room had something resembling higher brain functions. Maybe... conversation wasn’t out of the question?

I let out a soft scream as symbols once again flashed through my mind. The same dotted symbols ran through my head as I clutched at my skull in agony. A loud ringing settled behind my ears as I leaned up against the wall, my vision going fuzzy as the mental feedback loop asserted itself. I broke off from the creature, doing my best to push back against its mind as I left.

To my great surprise, the creature stopped moving.

I took several heaving breaths as I tried to steady myself. “Great, and me without a translator.”

‘Not entirely...’ The words echoed around in my head, barely above a whisper. They were feminine, and decidedly not attached to the creature in front of me. ‘Hello? This... feels odd and incredibly intrusive, but... I seem to be missing a few of the important bits for normal communication. Ears, a mouth, eyes...’

I glanced up towards the source of the voice before pushing myself away from the wall and climbing the staircase in front of me. ‘I’ll take whatever I can get at this point. You’re the first friendly voice I’ve found since coming here, and I’m used to it.’

Two ornate seats rested at the end of the room, and a grin pulled at my lips as a familiar specter stood proudly in front of the left chair, her eyes striking despite her ghostly appearance.

The setting finally struck me, and I quickly bowed my head. ‘Uh... hello?’

Giggling echoed around in my head, and the floating monarch tilted her head to the side. ‘A fair sight duller than my husband, but I suppose that’s to be expected. He is a sword, after all.’

Oh, god, they shared a sense of humor. That was equal parts adorable and terrifying.

‘Regardless, I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances. I am Persephone, the final queen of the Hailfire Kingdom.’ She bowed her head back. ‘It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Lea.’

I leaned back, glancing nervously at the shell behind me. It remained motionless, much to my relief. ‘Nice to meet you too, though you seem to know a fair bit more about me than I do you.’

‘Hmm, well, I suppose it would be quite cold of me to not know a bit more about my husband’s new friends.’ She grinned. ‘I’ve been following you since you entered the palace. I might have pushed out to find you sooner, but... leaving the castle seems quite hard to do at the moment, unfortunately.’

I nodded. ‘Don’t suppose you know where my friends are, do you?’ I winced at the casual tone a second after the words left my lips. ‘Uh, your grace.’

Giggling once again met my ears. ‘You’ve helped my husband through quite the ordeal, I think we can dispense with the titles. They’re not quite you, my dear.’ She lifted her arms up with a flourish before floating forward. ‘Believe it or not, they’re also in the throne room, just... a slightly different one. You have no idea how odd this is for me. This castle... It’s like I’m looking at two different versions of the same place. Our patron is quite the powerful entity, I suppose.’

‘Powerful is right...’ My eyes trailed back toward the motionless soldier behind me as my mind made the connection to what Duskull mentioned earlier. An eerie crypt flashed through my mind, and I grimaced at the comparison. ‘I was already in its terrain, though. How did it separate us?’

Persephone shrugged. ‘I wonder everyday how he does what he does. Every time I’m left with more questions than answers.’ She smiled down at me. ‘ This one, however, is fairly simple. You were in its terrain. I pulled you out.’

My eyes widened. ‘Wait, so-’

‘This is the real world.’ She glanced past me to the upright corpse, her nose scrunched up in disgust. ‘In all its putrid glory.’

I leaned back. ‘How?’

She floated up closer to me, her hand resting against my cheek. Pins and needles seemed to dance along my jawline as she smiled at my frozen frame. ‘You called out to me. I could feel a pull, a connection. I simply pulled back and here you are.’ She smiled. ‘You’re welcome. I can’t imagine being on the receiving end of our patron’s ire is pleasant.’

Move. I needed to move. Somewhere. Just...

Her smile widened. ‘Not used to dealing with stronger spirits, are you, hon. Feeling a little spooked?’

That giggle felt more malevolent than it did before. My chest was starting to hurt. My vision was spotty. Why?

She tapped me twice before leaning back. ‘Breathe, darling. You’re no good to me dead.’

I sucked in air like it was going out of style, my vision coming back into focus as I put some distance between the two of us. ‘ How the fuck did you do that?’

‘I’m a very old ghost, and you’re a very young channeler.’ She paused as she looked me up and down, as if assessing me. ‘Quite skilled, to be sure. Your mind is quite the fortress, but young.’ She crossed her arms and floated backwards. ‘It doesn’t matter how well your mind is hidden away if I can fill every inch of it with my being. How do you think possession works?’

I quickly backed away from her, suddenly far more terrified of the being in front of me than the husk behind me.

‘Aw, don’t be like that, I was just proving a point. I could very easily take everything I wanted from you. I’m not. So, when I ask you the questions I want to ask, you’ll be honest.’ The smile that accompanied that statement dropped my spine in an ice bath. ‘Sound good?’

My head was moving up and down before I could even fully process what it was that she was saying.

‘Good. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, tell me.’ She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as a demonic visage supplanted her face. ‘What are your intentions with my husband?’

My brain suddenly stopped functioning, as various mental images plagued my head, all more confusing than the last. I blinked twice, before staring at the specter with a vacant expression. ‘I speak with absolute honesty... that I have no intention of moving in on your man. ’ I shuddered as her face paled. How a ghost could pale was beyond me, but... ‘Even if I did swing that way, he is both dead AND the wrong species, so...’

‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it!’ She shouted, her face now solidly red.

‘Are these facial expressions a holdover from when you were alive and it’s all just instinctive? Because I know for a fact you don’t have any blood to blush.’ I pointed at her face as I finished.

The ghost bit her lip as she tried, and failed, to contain her giggles. ‘Okay, that was a good one and stop distracting me and answer the question!’

‘I don’t know what you want me to say! The question doesn’t make any sense!’ I lifted my hands up in front of me and backed away slowly. ‘Unless you mean him. In which case I think I broke him. Sorry. Uh... Also no judgment. Well, maybe a little bit of judge-’

I think the glare she just shot my way stopped my heart. No, hold up. There it goes. Oh, thank God.

‘That... thing,’ Her face contorted like she was tasting something sour on the final word. ‘Is a puppet, and a pale imitation. A frozen over marionette that our patron saw fit to test you with.’ She grimaced. ‘You didn’t have to try very hard to cut its strings, it would seem.’

‘Guessing you’re not a fan?’ I asked.

‘Hardly. Though I have confirmation that my husband’s spirit has found a new home, this spectacle is offensive to me in more ways than I can stomach. I take solace in the fact that my husband's actual body rests in a crypt beyond this city. Parading his actual corpse around would be...’ She stopped and turned away from the image, a glint of hate still present, and bore down at me. ‘Which brings us back around to my original question. What are your intentions with my husband? Why did you steal his sword from his tomb?’

‘I didn’t steal anything.’ I lifted my hands up defensively. ‘Hell, I technically stopped a pair of homicidal monsters from stealing it, so bite me. It’s not my fault he wanted to hang out after the fact.’ I shuddered. ‘Honestly, just thinking about being trapped down in the crypt gives me the willies.’

The specter’s frown worsened, and for a moment I thought I was going to back up even further. She sighed before turning away and placing her hand on the other throne. ‘You knew nothing of our kingdom, then? Of what we guard, even in death.’ Her hand clenched. ‘Why do you seek our sacred charge? For what purpose do you want the orb?’

I frowned. ‘I just want my friends back. I don’t really know what the hell is down here. I just know they are. Somewhere. Look, I don’t know what I have to do with any of this, alright? I just... The red orb seemed important.’

She turned to glare at me. ‘Important enough to steal?’

I groaned. ‘You can throw as much shade as you want, but your ‘patron’ threw the first punch. I don’t care about any ‘trials’, and if your god cares so much about a dude that’s been dead for a thousand years, then he can take his supposed divinity and shove it up his geologically correct ass!’

Persephone leaned back as if I’d struck her.

‘Please, just... I want my friends back. That’s it.’ It was getting harder to focus. Something cold was stinging my face. I reached up and wiped at my cheek, only to wince at the light moisture I felt.

Great, I was breaking down in front of a queen.

‘Has... has it really been a thousand years.’ Persephone’s voice was incredibly distant, and she had lost most of its pallor. She looked away from me as her body shook. ‘I’ve barely felt the years pass.’

I wiped at my eyes with my gloves before glancing back up at her. ‘None of us knew this city even existed. Honest. I’m no thief.’ I firmed up my gaze and glared at her. ‘The only thieves around here are you and that stupid block of ice out front.’

Silence met my ears as her majesty glanced down, her brows pulled together as she seemed to bounce something around in her head. ‘I... suppose that would explain some of the more drastic changes in wardrobe.’ Her gaze hardened. ‘But you’re wrong about who struck first. A group broke into the shrine of eternity a few weeks ago.’

I leaned back. ‘ The what?’

She turned and looked me over, her eyebrows lifting up towards her hairline as she slowly leaned back. ‘You really don’t know, do you?’

I shook my head. ‘No clue. The extent I know about your kingdom is what little Lucas has told me.’ I grinned at her. ‘Most of it revolved around you, though you’re not really leaving the best first impression.’

She opened her mouth, before snapping it shut and looking away. ‘I’ve never been the best at that. Regice only knows how that goofball put up with me.’ She glanced back up at me, her gaze softer. ‘ The shrine of eternity is where the hopeless cases go. Where people who are too far gone for normal means of recovery go to be cast into a frozen shell, in the hope that in the future, whatever ailment that plagues them might be cured.’

I felt my jaw go slack, before snapping it shut as a thought struck me with the force of a sledgehammer. ‘Wait, Lucas brought you here to be frozen!’

She nodded. ‘An illness plagued our kingdom in its final hours. No doctor could find a cure. I... Percival believed we just needed more time.’

‘Percival?’ I tilted my head to the side, holding back a laugh as I slowly realized what she was referring to. ‘Wait, Lucas was called-’

‘That was his name in life, yes. He seems quite taken with his new name in death though. To be honest, he never enjoyed being called that. He always urged me to pick some other pet name, but I liked it too much to do it all the time.’ She looked down, a soft smile on her face. ‘He always got so fussy when I deigned to call him by the name his mother gave him, it was cute.’

I smiled at the image, filed that info away for potential blackmail later, and took a step forward. ‘I just don’t get why you’re dead, if you were frozen. I was under the impression that time stopped for you guys.’

‘It does.’ She laughed bitterly. ‘Assuming you don’t get buried under a pile of rubble when your deity decides to plunge the entire city into the ocean while your people are getting massacred in the streets.’

I winced. ‘Ah.’

‘Yes, ah. I don’t hate him for that, though. He made the right choice, considering the alternative. Those craven monsters from the mountains would have been the worst sort to have control over the Red Orb. ’ She shook her head. ‘It also saved a great many others that were down there. I was just... unlucky. I’m very grateful a few others beyond myself had regrets that tied them back for a time. They filled me in on what happened.’ Her face went cold. ‘The invader almost shattered a number of them when he first arrived. Regigigas be praised that our patron managed to get the jump on him before he could cause any more harm.’

I sighed, wondering if whoever attacked this place was the same person that sicked Lunatone and Solrock on me. No, the timelines don’t really match up. Besides, what would be the point of sending some psychics down to do your dirty work if you were just going to come down and wreck shop yourself.

Wait.

Something clicked in my brain and it took everything I had to not jump up and down. ‘Persephone, could you describe who it was that came down here?’

She glanced at me with narrowed eyes, and I took a step back. ‘Friends of yours?’

I quickly shook my head. ‘Nope. Never met them. Only people I know were the group of teenagers that fought off a big scary Aggron in front of the big scary door.’

Her eyes narrowed further as she started floating closer. ‘How can you never meet someone you don’t know?’

I swallowed. Legends above she could be terrifying when she wanted to be. ‘I don’t know them, but... I might know OF them, alright. Look, my friends and I came to this island to find someone, and we... really haven’t been having much luck. Tall, kind of lanky, silver hair, probably dresses like he shits gold bars.’

Persephone scrunched up her nose and glared at me. ‘You know, for a lady, you sure seem to swear a lot.’

I glanced around the room nervously, looking anywhere but directly at someone that actually carried the title of royalty. ‘...Look, they’re just words, alright?’

She glared at me. ‘ They aren’t words that should be coming out of the mouth of a lady of your standing.’

My standing? What, as a poor baker turned rookie trainer?

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, it’s just... your description is fairly apt. That man blasted into the chamber with a beast that defied comprehension. A hulking monstrosity of metal, more powerful than anything I had ever seen. Even in death, I could feel its presence.’ She stopped and looked away. ‘I was so terrified that he was going to shatter the statues that still remain down there with how violent of an entry he made. If it wasn’t for our patron’s swift actions, he might have.’

I sagged down in relief and felt a smile pull at my lips. We found him. One of the strongest trainers in the world, and he stumbled, ass backwards, into one of the biggest clusterfucks of all time.

Fuck, he might have actually caused it. Duskull and Lucas were both innocents, damn it all.

‘Guess we found him, then. Is he still alive, out of curiosity?’ I asked.

Persephone chuckled lightly. ‘By some metric, I suppose. I don’t see him being thawed anytime soon. I’m grateful they were tagged before they got a chance to react, I’d rather not think about what a clash between those two might have done to that chamber.’ She shivered.

...fuck.

‘Right... Not anytime soon.’ I sighed. Yeah, things couldn’t ever be easy, could they?

Well, that’s not true, I suppose. I didn’t even know what I was doing and I put the fake Lucas in a vegetative state.

Hooray for small miracles.

‘You’re really good at avoiding questions, aren’t you?’ Persephone inched closer still.

Oh good, the feeling of dread is back. ‘How so?’

‘Don’t get me wrong, this conversation has been informative. I’ve got a decent idea of who I’m talking to and learned... one or two disturbing things about how time works for ghosts, but you still haven’t told me what you intend for my husband.’ She tilted her head as she stopped, just a scant few feet away from me. Her presence felt intoxicating, overwhelming my senses and locking my focus. ‘Tell me’

“I don’t intend anything for your husband. I was just happy to have another friend.” The words spilled forth from my mouth as they popped into my head. May had always joked about my lack of filter, but truly losing that felt horrifying. “He joined me, all but begged us to stay, and I’m happy to have him as long as he wants to be with me.”

‘Surely, you have some great designs for him?’ She asked, her voice wavering slightly. ‘You’ve earned the favor of a king. Many would kill for such a position. To use that for their own gains.’

“He’s just Lucas,” I countered. “He’s no more a king than either of us, not anymore. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have my own goals that he’s helping me reach, but at the end of the day, I don’t really care about that.” I felt a smile pull at my lips. “He’s always there with a joke when needed, regardless of how bad it is. He loves seeing other people happy. Despite the fact that he’s dead, he’s one of the livelier members of my team, and that’s a tall order, let me tell you.” I stared up and met her gaze head on. “He’s my friend. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

I saw a war wage in Persephone’s eyes in the span of a second. Worry and fear pushed past me, mixing with relief and pain. They washed over me, seeping into my core and pushing away the cold feeling that settled there.

In an instant, that shared calm shattered as panic rushed off of her in waves. She overtook me, her being filling every part of me, and my body moved all on its own.

We lunged forward, kneeling down as a shadow passed over the top of my head. Our head panned around as we twisted, gliding through the air with a practiced grace and elegance that I knew I lacked.

A tiny bit of jade hair slowly drifted down to the ground as I glimpsed at the now mobile doppelganger, his sword poised next to his head as he lunged forward with the tip aimed directly at my skull.

Chapter 60

Notes:

Hi, so uh... Probably should have been doing this for a bit, but I kind of forgot so... here's the link for the cookiefic discord. We like to have fun, talk about cookiefic, various anime, recipes, and whatever other cool stuff people like.

We also have a channel dedicated to pictures of cute animals and pets.

Come hang out, and please enjoy the chapter https://discord.gg/vWbNkH6wQb

Chapter Text

We ducked down low and rolled across the cold stone floor as the frozen doppelganger plunged his sword into the wall behind us. The blade sunk a good four inches into the wall as we reached up and ripped one of the ornamental swords from the wall.

“Tch, how rude. Attacking a lady in the middle of a conversation.” The words that spilled forth from my mouth weren’t mine, and that thought made me nauseous. It felt like a million bugs were crawling under my skin.

‘Get out.’ The words were hissed with more vitriol than I intended, but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to care. This... I felt wrong. Hollow.

The fake pulled his sword from the wall with minimal effort and brought it forward, both hands firmly grasping the hilt as he squared his shoulders.

“And let you fight against this thing? Have you ever even held a sword.” Persephone tilted her head as she lifted the blade up to her cheek, crouching down slightly as she circled our opponent.

My head. She was tilting my head. She was using my body.

‘Get. Out.’ My vision was hazy. Legends above my heart was going a million and one miles a minute and I couldn’t fucking focus.

She sighed. “Look, I’m the better fighter between the two of us, and my win rate against my actual husband is... fairly positive. I doubt this fake will compare, so just let me lay it out real quick, then you can rest while I figure out how to-”

I felt the world fade out for a second. Darkness creeped into my vision as my field of view shrunk down to a tiny little stone passageway, black stones barring my way, and a large yellow and orange stone sun looming behind me. You can rest soon. Just a bit further, and you can rest for a long, long time.

I felt myself freeze, my body locking up as the memory tried to play out in front of me. I wouldn’t let it. ‘Get. Out!’

‘What- how?’ Her voice sounded quiet. It took a second to realize it, but it was mental, not vocal.

My arms were heavy. I tilted my head up, then froze.

I lifted my head. Not her.

The king lunged forward, sword raised overhead as he skated across the field at a speed that was hard to track.

I could feel her trying to push her way back in. ‘Girl, you need to cede to me. You’ll die-’

I darted to the left as the blade swung down, breaking whatever form Persephone had set us in and sprinted across the hall, back toward the stairs going down.

‘Left!’ she screamed.

I listened instinctively, shifting just as a sword once again cleaved through air that I had previously been occupying. I reached out with my mind, only to find a solid sheet of ice lining the outside of this thing’s brain.

“Damn it, of course it learns how to fucking barricade It’s stupid frozen brain.” I brought the sword in my hands up and was shoved across the room as the great sword in the fake’s hands clanged against the piece of scrap in mine. Vibrations worked their way up through my arms as my muscles spasmed in agony, and I dropped the sword before hopping backwards.

‘This isn’t a fight you can win, girl.’ Persephone’s voice sounded desperate as I felt claws scratching at the inside of my skull.

The frozen king stared listlessly at me as it swung his sword down, and calmly walked towards me as I fell to my knees, a single hand clutching my skull at the overwhelming headache. Legends above it felt like a thousand jackhammers going off at once.

A wave of cold washed over my skin, and I felt my body start to freeze up as I started losing control of my limbs. No. Not again.

A white hand extended up from my own arm and reached up to my face, calmly cupping my cheek. ‘I’ve given you no reason to trust me. I know, but if you don’t let me fight-’

“My body is MINE,” I snarled, headbutting the spectral appendage. “And I’ve said it at least three times now, so let me say it extra loud and extra proud. Get. The fuck. OUT!”

As the final word left my lips, a wave pushed out from me. A faint blue light outlined the edge of it as it moved across the chamber, shoving both king and queen alike away from me.

I slowly pushed myself up to my feet. The pain in my head was slowly starting to dissipate, and I felt like I could breathe for the first time since entering this chamber.

I needed to get back to my Pokémon. Yesterday.

Persephone floated limply across the way, her glow diminished slightly. Great.

“Oi, ice bitch?” I shouted out.

No response.

“You’re already dead. I don’t think you can die again, and a creature without a body losing consciousness doesn’t make any kind of sense. Quit playing dead and send me the hell back to where I came from before tall, dark, and frozen wakes up.” I tapped my foot impatiently, then froze as another sound met my ears besides my foot tapping.

That damn thing fell at least thirty feet, and probably hit half a dozen stairs on the way down, how the fuck is it moving around?

Probably the same way the giant dragon got back up after Crash cut it to pieces. Stupid fake ice golem things.

‘Ow...’

I whipped my head up to stare as the ghost slowly regained some of its luster, before wincing as a loud clanking met my ears and the top of the fake’s head crested the top of the stairs. Pieces of his armor were fusing back together, and cracks in its skin disappeared as he came into view.

Persephone looked down, grimaced, then floated back towards me. I backed away, only to trip and fall backwards, landing my happy ass onto the throne.

Persephone placed her hand against my skin, her hand wrapping around my arm as she leaned in, only to be repulsed by a force I couldn’t see. She stared after me for a long moment.

‘I... I can’t enter.’ Her voice shook as she looked up at me in wonder.

I glared at her and pulled my arm out of her grip. A grip that felt surprisingly solid, surprisingly. “Good! And stay out. Undo whatever mumbo jumbo you did to drag me to you and send me back to my friends.”

She winced. ‘I... can’t. I don’t know how. Not without being able to feel you. To know your mind.’

My glare worsened. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

‘Can’t!’ she screamed, her eyes slightly manic. ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is not how I wanted company!’

I swallowed and looked past her as the monolith of a soldier fully crested past the top of the stairs, great sword still in hand. Now that I wasn’t losing my mind, the realization of just how screwed I was hit me like a freight train. “Alright, so... plan B then?”

She sighed as she floated up, towards some decorative blades mounted on the wall above me. Her hand phased through them, and the pout quickly shifted back to a glare. ‘Couldn’t just let me kick my fake husband’s ass, could you?’

My glare intensified.

Persephone sighed, shooting me a smug grin. ‘Fine, Plan B. Don’t die.’

About half a dozen different swear words popped into my head as she disappeared from the room completely. Because of course she did. Why the fuck wouldn’t she?

Fuck it. How hard can sword fighting be? Pointy bit goes into the bad guy, just don’t get stabbed.

I reached out and grabbed the blade I had dropped and shakily stood my ground to the left of the throne. Of all the ways I had envisioned myself dying when coming down into this damn cave, this sure as shit wasn’t one of them.

“Alright, you stupid, dollar store monarch. Come and get me.” I shouted, trying my best to not let my voice shake.

Did- Did the fake just crack a smile?

I didn’t get time to double check as he surged forward, blade held above his head. I shoved my own sword up and looked away, my eyes pressed together as I braced for the worst.

A loud clang sounded through the chamber, a sound seized my heart in a vice grip as I let out a loud, high-pitched screech that I will forever deny having the ability to make. Despite it all, though, no impact met my blade.

I tentatively opened my eyes, and a grin pulled at my lips.

A long, red blade was vibrating visibly as he slowly rose further up into the air, pushing back both ice king and weapon alike as the decals present on his sheathe scrunched up in focus.

‘So this is where you’ve been hiding.’ His voice was incredibly strained as he looked me up and down. ‘As good as you’d look on that chair, Lea. I think you should stick with the group from now on. Wouldn’t want you to get left out in the cold.’

I let my own blade clang to the ground and reached up to grab Lucas by the hilt and give him a bit more support. With the both of us working together, even with my feeble weeb muscles, we managed to push the frozen soldier back.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you. How did you get here?” I asked, looking around. “And how can I understand you? Where’s Emilie?”

Lucas chortled. ‘Like hell if I know to the first two, and probably still in the throne room for the third.’ He glanced around the room before wincing. ‘Well, other throne room. Arceus above, this place is certainly weird, isn’t it.’

Lucas pulled himself up and blocked a thrust, his weight diverting it as I just barely managed to move to the left. He twirled inside the fake’s guard and brought his blade upward, only to meet air as the fake leapt back.

‘Last thing I remember, I was helping the rest of the squad fend off the army of frozen soldiers in the audience chamber. A weird glowing white cloud slammed into me, and suddenly, I’m here.’ Another clang sounded out as Lucas parried a sideways slash, before lifting his tassel up and catching a fist that was thrown my way, stopping it just inches away from my face. ‘Good thing, too. I shudder to think how well you’d be doing here with your noodle arms.’

I winced. “Oi, I lasted long enough for you to get here, didn’t I.” How much of that time was spent running didn’t need to be mentioned. And lord knows he didn’t need to know about his psycho wife at the moment.

‘How much of that was spent running?’ He asked.

I winced, both at the callout and another clang of metal meeting metal.

‘Asked and answered. Care to hop back, hon?’ Lucas asked.

I winced before hopping backwards, away from the fight. The next swing phased right through Lucas’s edge just as Lucas swung. Red steel cleaved right through the creature, and I let out a small cheer as the top half of the fake slowly fell to the floor.

The ghost blade turned around and bowed, a massive grin pulling at his scabbard as he slowly sheathed his blade. ‘Stop, stop, you’re making me blush.’ He chuckled before turning back towards the top half of our defeated foe. ‘So, who’s this handsome devil. He’s a bit more detailed than nameless tins of ice and iron we’ve been beating up.’

My eyebrows worked their way up my forehead at the odd statement. “Uh... You don’t recognize him?”

Lucas glanced down and shrugged. ‘I mean, he looks familiar, but I have no memory of him.’ The decals that resembled eyebrows furrowed down as he looked the fallen creature down. ‘Very familiar, honestly. He doesn’t play a prominent role in any of my memories, though.’

I facepalmed. “Lucas, you just saw him in the stained glass out front.”

He tilted diagonally, looking away as the eye in his hilt pulsed a vibrant red. ‘I, uh... Might have only had eyes for a single part of that canvas.’

I opened my mouth, closed it, then sighed and shook my head. “You know what, that’s fair. I guess it’s weird that in all your scattered memories, you never got a good look at yourself.”

Lucas leaned back, floated down, and gave the top half of the ice sculpture a once over. ‘Hmm... The beard is nice, though the hair could use some work. I suppose that just comes from it being frozen, though. ’ He puffed up a bit and floated upwards. ‘Still, though. I’m built. Wonder if that helped woo my wife...’

I sighed at the banter, before feeling a chill run across my skin at a realization that came just a touch too late.

Where did the legs go?

A force shoved into the back of my ankles, and I fell backwards with another high-pitched shriek that I would, again, furiously deny making for the rest of my days.

‘Lea!’ Lucas turned and floated toward me, only to let out a rough groan as a hand shot up and grabbed him. A wave of frost pulsed across the surface of Lucas’s scabbard as the imposter used the ghost to pull himself up.

“Lucas,” I groaned as I pulled myself up, shambling away from the lower half as it haphazardly moved without much direction. I don’t know what was tripping me up more, the torso sticking out of the ground, or the legs walking around without a body. Considering the fact that the two were getting closer to each other, it probably wouldn’t be a distinction I would have to make for long.

‘Let go of me, you handsome brute. I-Damn it all, why can’t I phase through his damn grip,’ Lucas complained as he struggled.

I looked around for a moment before noticing a small mace hanging on the wall just above my head. As I grabbed it, my arm swung down to the ground with a resounding thud as the blunt instrument of death cracked the stone and ice floor. “Fucking hell, how did people use these things to fight.”

‘Upper body strength, regular physical activity, exposure to sunlight-’

“Do you fucking want saved, or not?” I screamed, wincing at the sight in front of me.

The fake pulled itself together and was eyeing me up and down like a new damned toy. Why the fuck was it still smiling?

“Don’t laugh at me. Stupid piece of...” I pulled up with both hands, barely managing to lift the stupid mace above my head. “Give me back my sword!”

I charged, doing my best to stop gravity until I was right on top of him. Just slam it home, and-

He grabbed the handle mid swing and effortlessly stopped the weapon from making contact. I fell forward slightly as one of my hands slipped off, then fell backwards as the fake ripped it out of my hands.

“I’m getting really tired of ending up on my ass...” I looked up and winced as the fake casually tossed the mace aside. “Okay, look. I think we got off on the wrong foot, can we start over? I’m Lea, and I’d really love it if we could... maybe not kill each other? At the very least, you not killing me would be fantastic.”

The fake took a step forward. Lucas still vainly struggled to escape its grip.

“Pretty please?” I begged as I scrambled back.

It stopped.

Oh, thank whatever legends are listening, it stopped.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Uh, I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think I’d get this far, now I don’t know what to say.”

‘Lea... ’ Lucas groaned, his tone just... sounding so incredibly done.

The creature let go of my spectral companion before glancing down at his own weapon. The creature started to shake as Lucas floated away, a lustrous aura shining off his skin as he seemed to fight against himself.

‘Lea, I usually pride myself on being fairly sharp, but I’m a bit lost,’ Lucas muttered as he turned and glared at the odd scene.

I turned and shook my head. “I’m-”

A wailing screech drew my hands to my ears as Persephone was cast out, her form rocketing across the chamber as the frozen soldier scrambled down to his blade.

‘Well, that didn’t work as well as I wanted it to. Following the pattern, I’ll bet I won’t be able to do that again, either. These things are certainly adaptable.’ Persephone rubbed her head as she floated back down towards me.

As if responding to her complaints, the armor our opponent was wearing started to shine. It thrust its sword into the ground and used it to push himself up as a yellow dot briefly formed on its forehead, before fading as the ice warped and cracked. It hunched down as it started to change.

Persephone sighed. ‘Well, I suppose I should take pride that it deemed me enough of a threat to physically change its form. ’ She tossed a glance my way. ‘ Good job, you didn’t die. Your psychic is very efficient. Only Pokémon I could snatch away was my husband. That stupid little gremlin kept teleporting the other members of your caravan before I could drag them out.’

I bit back an angry barb and nodded at the body snatcher. “Thanks for the save. It does not make us even.”

Persephone sighed. ‘Of course it doesn’t.’

‘Persephone...?’ Lucas spoke the word with the same love and care I would show a fireplace in a log cabin.

I was so sick and tired of being cold.

Persephone stared down at her husband, her face torn between joy and shock. ‘You... you can see me?’

Lucas nodded, a bright light shining from the eye on his hilt. ‘Hear as well, it would seem. I... I don’t know if I should be happy or devastated. I had resigned myself to never seeing you again, but... when I remembered what happened all those years ago,’ Lucas stopped and looked away. ‘I had allowed myself to hope that you were still alive, as ludicrous as that sounds. This... I didn’t want this fate for you.’

Persephone smiled down at her husband, before wincing as the sound of ice slamming against stone met her ears.

We all turned and faced the newly adorned soldier, and I went from feeling like a third wheel to a dead woman walking. It was bigger, spikes jutted out from its shoulders, and a new helmet formed around its head as it lifted its sword from the ground and let out otherworldly screech from... somewhere. Wasn’t the damn mouth, that thing still hadn’t changed from the slightly pleased grin it had made earlier.

‘As much as I’d love to catch up, we have more pressing matters.’ She turned and grinned. ‘Just know that I’m happy beyond reason that you’re here with me now, regardless of the form.’

“Yeah, that sounds good. Reunion later, Aerial Ace now!” I ordered.

Lucas disappeared in a buzz of sound and air before slamming, tip first, into the fake’s chest plate. Cracks spiderwebbed out as the armor caved in slightly, and our frozen foe slid back several meters from the impact, before bringing himself to a stop a few inches away from the stairs. It whipped its head up and growled before charging forward, the wound on its chest slowly fusing back together into its normal armor.

“Okay, that’s just Tauros Shit. Shadow Sneak!” I shouted before darting behind the throne.

Lucas dove down, and the fake pushed past making a beeline for me. An etheral black blade shoved its way out of our opponent’s shadow as he moved, only to bounce harmlessly off his armor.

‘Lea, I’m starting to think this thing is built different from the mooks we fought on the way in, ’ Lucas said as he disappeared again, slamming into the creature’s back with another Aerial Ace and sending it forward slightly. ‘Okay, that actively did less than the attack I launched a few seconds ago. What the fuck?’

‘That’s its trick. It adapts to what’s hurt it before. This thing isn’t just a nameless soldier. Its ice given life. An avatar of our lord, meant to command the foot soldiers in our lord’s realm.’ Persephone floated closer to the fake and wrapped herself around it, her body contorting and losing form. ‘But adaptation presents opportunities. Downside of blocking possession and ghostly attacks. I can touch you now. Leave my husband and his human alone, you stupid, hunk of slush.’

Said hunk of slush reached up with his free hand and started pulling at the whisps holding its throat. Persephone let out a cry but didn’t let up. Her grip only tightened, something that felt slightly mind numbing. This thing stopped a Mace with one hand, I knew it wasn’t weak.

How the hell was a ghost this strong? Sol’s dad could barely interact with the world around him, for fucks sake. “The difference a thousand years makes, I guess,” I muttered to myself.

Lucas slammed Aerial Ace after Aerial Ace into the soldier, battering him around like a ragdoll as he struggled to stay upright. ‘Unhand my wife, you cheap imitation.’

Nothing felt like it was breaking through, though.

“I don’t suppose you have another premium quality Cut like you started us off with, do you?” I shouted.

Lucas grunted before disappearing again. ‘Do you think I’ve been hitting this thing with a blunt edge? I’ve put everything into every swing. This thing is hardier than it was before.’

‘We need... to hit it-’ Persephone cut herself off as the creature swung around and pulled his other arm free, his sword once again clanging to the ground as he did so. ‘-With something stronger. Take it down... in a single-’

With a roar, the creature reached up with both hands, grabbed Persephone, and pulled down. A shockwave pushed out as she was flung forward, catching both sword and ghost alike and throwing them several meters forward. Lucas clanged once before being driven into the ground by the force, and Persephone rolled and landed in a heap to the right of her husband.

The fake reached down and charged, picking its sword back up as it rushed across the chamber, his sword primed to be driven through the ghost.

It was probably instinctive. Persephone knew how to fight with a sword. I knew that from when she took control of me. It’d make sense that she’d reach for something to defend herself with in a fight like this. Part of me wondered though if a deeper instinct played out here, shared between the two as her Majesty pushed herself up from the ground, reached her hand up, and grabbed Lucas by the hilt.

A brilliant white light shined through the entire chamber, reflecting off ice and almost blinding me as the two individuals joined together. Persephone was pulled into the eye on Lucas’s hilt, her body shifting to a fine mist before disappearing completely as a second blade started to materialize in the shadow of the first.

A clang sounded through the chamber as the two blades broke apart from each other, before crossing together in the air underneath the fake’s great sword. The three blades locked together, until finally.

Crack.

Lucas cleaved through the sword, splitting it in two and rushing forward. I blinked, and in that tiny moment in time, the two blades were on the other side, and two long gashes marred the fake’s chest in a cross pattern.

I fist pumped the sky as it fell backwards, and the realization of what had just happened set in. “Holy- Lucas, you look incredible.”

The sword on the left perked up slightly as it turned its sheathe to face me, a smile etched into its decorations. ‘Really? I don’t think I look too different if I’m being honest.’ He turned to glance at his new partner. ‘My wife, on the other-’

The sword froze, and all at once, I was slammed with several second-hand conflicting emotions. Outrage warred with concern. Shame and fear clashed with worry. Disappointment. Horror. Guilt, oh god the guilt. I could barely move, and these emotions weren’t even mine.

Lucas looked pissed, and the other sword was doing its absolute best to look as small as possible.

It was odd. It felt like I was pulling emotions from a single individual, but it was abundantly obvious that these were still two different people. I had wondered what a Doublade would be like, but I hadn’t imagined two separate souls inhabiting the same Pokémon.

“Are you two alright?” I asked as I took a step forward.

Both blades moved toward me instantly as the creature mirrored my movement, his sword reforming as he moved. Doublade crossed both swords threateningly in front of me, ready to intercept.

The second sword didn’t respond and made it a point to look anywhere but at me.

‘We’re not fine, but we’re alright,’ Lucas ground out, pointedly glaring at his other half before averting his gaze to their opponent. ‘Do you have any idea-’

‘I do now,’ she whispered, cutting her husband off.

She was in the other blade, then. Legends above, that made things so very, very complicated.

Lucas swayed from side to side, mimicking a shaking head. ‘And you didn’t think you were stepping over the line when you decided to take her for a spin?’

Persephone winced before glaring back. ‘What, would you prefer letting her get stabbed?’

‘I would have preferred you leaving her mind when asked, and I would have very much preferred you never threatening her in the first place.’ Lucas lifted himself up slightly as the two of them moved to intercept a diagonal slice. ‘How did you not pick up that something was wrong with how she was acting?’

‘Yes, I now realize I fucked up,’ Persephone said, voice defensive.

My eyes widened at the language. “Weren’t you complaining about my language not but half an hour-”

‘Not now! ’ The two voices hit me as one as two of them shoved the fake back.

Persephone gave me an sad look before wincing and looking away. ‘I just... needed to be sure of her character, alright?’

‘And you couldn’t trust my opinion?’ Lucas asked, sounding hurt as he lifted his blade up and swung down at our opponent’s head.

Two swords clanged together, and the fake slid back a solid foot from the impact.

‘You barely had any memory of who you were, you’re the third group in as many weeks trying to get into the chamber, and the first thing you lot do after busting in is work out where the royal vault is.’ Persephone disappeared in a haze, before slamming into the fake’s chest, doubling down on the damage it had taken from their previous assault. ‘Excuse me for thinking she was a grifter taking advantage of grandpa’s bad memory to get at your retirement fund.’

Huh. I guess I won’t have to teach Persephone how to use Aerial Ace. Good to know they both know the same moves.

Lucas dropped down slightly as the knight slid back several more feet. ‘I’m sorry, I’m what?’

Persephone turned around before slamming her pommel into the flailing knight’s chest, shattering his breastplate and sending him to the ground. ‘Arceus above, her mouth is infectious. Why the hell are you blasting me with her memories?’

‘I-’

“Actually, yeah. That’s an incredibly good question!” I shouted, quickly moving toward the bickering couple and glaring at Lucas. “Some things should very much remain private!”

Lucas blanched slightly before wisely backing away. ‘I’m not blasting anyone with anything, alright? It’s an aftereffect of our “Evolution”.’ Lucas shivered. ‘I guess a small upside is her memories are making mine a hell of a lot clearer.’

I glanced nervously at Persephone, whose eye was several shades paler as she met my gaze. I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut as she rapidly turned toward the ground.

‘Words cannot begin to describe how overwhelmingly sorry I am.’ The words came so fast that I could barely understand them, and her hilt and pommel were almost touching the ground in what I assumed was the world’s deepest bow.

“I... uh.” I shuffled in place uncomfortably, not really knowing what to say.

‘I misjudged the situation, and although I was acting in my husband’s interests, it does not excuse my abhorrent behavior.’ She still hadn’t moved from her spot.

I stared toward Lucas pleadingly, who just shook his head as he held back giggles.

Persephone rose up from her spot and frowned at me. ‘I’m making you uncomfortable.’

What makes you say that? “No, it’s fine. I-”

‘It isn’t fine.’ Persephone cut me off.

I sighed before rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Okay, you’re right. It’s not, but it doesn’t need all this.” I waved my finger in front of me. “You stepped past lord knows how many boundaries, and then tried to run me around like your own personal meat suit. I don’t care how cool your fancy ghost powers and fighting skills are. This,” I held up one of my noodle arms and let it swing for a moment before pointing to the still downed frozen soldier. “Wasn’t beating that.”

Lucas floated back and rammed his blade into the opening Persephone had made as the fake slowly started to push himself back up from the ground. ‘Shut up, the adults are talking.’

Persephone winced. ‘ After fighting it, I can agree. Watching you lumber that Mace around was... quite the revelation.’

I pouted slightly before pressing on. “Despite that, I’m willing to concede that... us coming here how we did and when we did does look a little bad, and if it wasn’t for you, I would be in several pieces on the floor, as opposed to one moderately whole piece.” I bowed lightly. “For that, I thank you. It’s not forgiveness, but... I’d like to start over if that’s alright?”

Persephone tilted her scabbard slightly. ‘I... don’t know that I deserve that.’

I glanced back towards the fake as it wrapped its hands around Lucas’s blade. My spectral companion was slowly lifted into the air as the creature managed to free itself.

I crouched down and prepared to jump backwards as Lucas sliced through the creature’s fingers and flew back towards us. “A big step forward would be helping us put this stupid piece of shit down for good. If you’ve got any ideas, I’d love to hear them.”

Persephone nodded once before offering me her hilt. ‘In that case... and forgive me for bringing this up... I think our best course of action is the attack you and my husband used when you were being controlled.’

I recoiled hard, before frowning. “I-Lucas has no idea how he did that, and I barely remember anything of what happened.”

The fake lunged forward slightly as the hole in his chest slowly started to close.

Lucas floated closer and offered me his hilt as well. ‘My wife has an idea of how we did it... and it very much is a ‘we’ in this case.’ Lucas stared meaningfully at me. ‘With your permission, and only with your permission... can I take the wheel for a bit?’

I froze, before glancing nervously at the fake as he slowly recovered.

‘I will whack away at this thing until it’s shaved ice, captain,’ Lucas smiled at the familiar term of address. ‘But it’ll be a fair sight harder than this.’

“Please don’t join in on Apollo’s insanity,” I begged. “What do I need to do?”

Lucas smiled at me. ‘Just... grab a hold of us and relax body. I’ll take it from there.’

I nodded once and grabbed both swords.

Without preamble, we leapt backwards toward the thrones, and a dull thrum pulsed between my ears. “Alright, so admittedly, I’ve never duel wielded before, but to be fair, I’ve also never tried to use psychic powers either, so... Here's to winging it.”

I frowned as my brain started to move faster than I could process. I forced myself to focus inward, doing my best to shut out the world for greener pastures. I would just get in the way, or worse. Last thing we needed was me throwing my own Pokemon out of my head on instinct and getting us killed.

Still though, Lucas mentioning my abilities kind of threw me. How the hell was I supposed to help him fire off giant ghost beams?

‘It was the only thing that made sense to me,’ Persephone said.

I tensed slightly. “You-”

‘I’m not touching anything, I’m not looking at anything, and if it was up to me, I wouldn’t be here at all,’ Persephone said.

The world around me faded completely as I brought my mental village into focus. No sooner than I arrived did I see Persephone, her form still a regal example of queenly splendor.

‘It’s... odd being myself again,’ she said, her eyes glued to the grassy soil beneath her feet.

I nodded tersely, my mind rebelling at the thought of her being here. Dark clouds flitted across the sky, and a light rain started to fall.

Persephone looked up. “Interesting. An odd mental response to an intruder. Am I so distressing?” Her tone sounded sad.

“You mean you don’t just know?” I scrunched my nose at the thought. Fuck me, why did they both have to get a peak at my life.

Persephone shook her head. “I’m doing my best to ignore them. It’s not... I’ve intruded enough.”

I sighed. “Is the rain going to be an issue?”

“It’s the first thing I’ve really truly felt in a long time. It’s not a harsh rain. The pitter patter is soothing honestly.” She tilted her head. “Is that its purpose?”

“Something like that.” This was a pointless conversation. “Lucas said you had an idea of what we did in the cave. Care to share?”

Persephone opened her mouth before closing it and biting her lower lip. “It was a combination of Lucas’s natural spectral energy and your psychic abilities, probably with a bit of confusion from Sol-” She stopped herself, wincing slightly before continuing. “From them. Not much though. They were trying to conserve as much of their own strength as possible to deal with the army that came after you. At least, that’s how it felt.”

I tilted my head. “How on earth are you-”

“I loved to read.” A blush dusted her cheeks. “It was my favorite thing to do in the castle, and the castle library had... so many books.” Her eyes widened in wonder. “So many wonderful books. Do you have any idea how agonizing it was not being able to touch them as a ghost?”

I winced, remembering the various times I actually managed to step in it bad enough that Eve would bar me from my room other than to sleep. “I have an idea, but I don’t think I could imagine dealing with it for close to a thousand years.”

“I was being honest before,” Persephone mumbled. “It really didn’t feel that long.”

I nodded once. “I believe you.” I looked up to the sky and saw reflections of steel clashing against Ice. Another flash showed blades moving at impossible speeds, and Lucas moving around with a grace that I lacked in all aspects of my life. A second sword floated around him and lashed out when openings were made. “How are you in here and out there?”

She smiled. “I spent awhile with nothing but myself for company. I... became rather good at splitting my focus and thoughts. Made things feel a bit less lonely.” The smile turned wistful.

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Though I’m honestly a bit curious why you’re down here, and not out there.” She turned down to focus directly on me.

“What help would a weak little human like me be?” I asked, fidgeting slightly as I averted my gaze.

She took a few steps closer. “My husband doesn’t know the first thing about your abilities, other than what they can do. You’re hardly a normal human, I’ve been on the receiving end of your power a few times tonight.” She grinned as she cupped my cheek. “You’re strong, why do you cower?”

“I’m not-”

“You’re hiding,” she pressed on. “Why?”

I flinched before looking away. “I...” The words felt like ash in my mouth as a horrid feeling settled into my stomach. “Is it wrong that I like feeling in control of myself.”

Persephone’s smile turned sad. “No. But my husband is a far kinder soul than I.” Her head tilted down slightly, before correcting itself as she moved her hand down to my shoulder. “Shame is not a flattering look on you, my dear.”

“You wear it better,” I snapped back, regretting the barb as soon as it left my lips. “I’m sorry, I-”

“I would like to say that we have things handled, but I don’t know that this is a fight that any of us win alone.” Her tone was a bit more clipped, but she didn’t back away and instead clicked her tongue. “I know better than to rise to a barb tossed out by a frightened child, have a bit more faith in me.”

“Child-” I cut myself off and winced, then tore my eyes away from hers. That was a fairly accurate descriptor, wasn’t it.

Resolve yourself to push past the fear... and it’ll be your greatest ally. I hadn’t really done that though, had I? I was... I was still hiding.

I sighed before looking back up. “Fair warning, I still don’t really know what I’m doing.”

“I think, between the three of us, we can recreate it.” She giggled. “Hell, you can name it if you want, I’m sure there’s some random anime out there that you’re dying to copy here.”

“I don’t appreciate being called out like this,” I deadpanned, before mentally crossing Getsuga Tenshou off the list.

...I was talking to a sword spirit inside my mindscape. What was my life?

“Fine then, don’t complain when I pick something dorky.” I took a deep breath to steady myself, before closing my eyes.

I could feel the world around me shift and thrum as I stepped back into my own body. My heart pounded, my muscles were burning, and I could faintly feel a faint stinging sensation right over my nose as my body glided across the room, away from the monster at a bounding rate.

This felt nothing like earlier. Where the possession felt cold and cloying, this felt warm. A calm aura washed across my skin and power radiated from my fingertips. Union and strength instead of scattered panic and fear.

No words passed between the three of us as instincts started to run, and I lifted my arm up to grab Persephone’s sword.

It would seem cruel to deny her the chance to kick her fake husband’s ass after all this.

Both blades glowed an angry red before shifting to a familiar purple as I reached out to contain that growing energy. It was familiar, like clenching a fist.

We smiled vibrantly as the cracked and bowed visage of Lucas’s past life gave chase to our retreating form.

In a single arcing move, Lucas brought the blades up, I released the energy, and Persephone spun.

A wailing wind erupted from our blades, before enveloping the frozen form of our opponent in a swirling vortex of purple light. It trapped him in place, consuming him whole before grinding down into its armor. White dust was cast out into the chamber as the massive soldier slowly started to dissolve in the grinding energies.

The last thing I saw of it as what remained fell into the rising tide was a carefree, peaceful smile adorning its lips.

I blinked back in shock and watched as the purple winds faded into the Aether, carrying a shining dust across the room and carrying away the last of my worries and fears.

‘Bushogoma,’ Lucas muttered, his voice proud. ‘I don’t care what my wife says, either. That’s what just popped into your head, so that’s what we’re going to use, and she can’t call you a weeb if I’m the one that named it.’

I shut out the giggling voice of Persephone and just basked in the afterglow of a hard-fought victory.

Chapter Text

Emilie’s POV

***

She gritted her teeth to stop them from chattering as another volley of ice shards shattered against her barrier. Cold seeped into her skin, frost pushed out from her mouth, fucking drums were pounding in her head-

Crack.

“Fucking hell!” Emilie lifted her hand up and a new barrier quickly formed behind the broken one. She had very quickly learned that replacing what was broken was significantly easier than trying to repair it. She stepped back, only to freeze as her foot stepped on something soft and fluffy.

A large black wave surged forward, sailing above her shield and slamming into the archers above, their balcony crumbling as the energy exploded on contact. Sol brought her horn down before scooping Emilie up and throwing her on her back. “You alright?”

“No.” Emilie huddled closer, burying herself in Sol’s warm, inviting mane. “Lea and Lucas both got snatched up to who the fuck knows where, Crash is grounded with a frozen wing, we’re all scattered across this massive ass fucking room, and we have no fucking clue what we’re supposed to be doing to progress.”

Sol brought her head back down as another black sickle arced through three different suits of armor. “Well, on the bright side, we aren’t dead yet.”

Emilie lifted her head up and surveyed the battlefield. Apollo had been staying low, darting through whatever soldiers dared get in his way with silver wings, his beak puffed up with a small white light shining through the pouch underneath.

Joern stood over a collapsed Duskull, arms glowing black as he shattered an ice soldier’s sword and continued to the bastard’s head, caving his mask in on contact. A swath of Razor Leaves rushed out of his head, rending the contingent that was charging forward into something more at home in a glass of iced tea.

“Just be glad these things are getting weaker, probably means Brawly is doing well.” Sol turned her head and opened her mouth wide.

Emilie sighed before bringing her hands together. The purple whisp that formed in front of Sol quickly coalesced around her rainbow-colored orb, its influence darkening the end result. Her eyes flashed as she pushed out, and the beam carved through a couple dozen soldiers before fading out. A heaviness settled in Emilie’s arms as she leaned forward, her eyelids heavy.

“Oi, nap on your own time!” Sol shouted. “We’re—”

“Losing,” Emilie finished, before flexing her hand.

A group of stalactites fell from the sky, impaling another set of archers that had formed above them. Like hell was she going to let them get off another cheap shot, the first one had nearly sunk them.

How Crash was still cutting swaths through the armies that kept charging the door with a frozen wing was beyond her, but it was still only delaying the inevitable.

Legends above, why were there still so many...

Sol grimaced before bringing her head down, another black wave sweeping through the throne room. “Little ray of sunshine today, huh? Thought I was supposed to be the moody one.”

“Today’s been shit, and we’re all exhausted.” Emilie winced as another gust of cold air chilled her to her core. Wasn’t even a damn sun in here to help fight this stupid— “Besides, sunshine’s your job. Do me a favor and light things up, would you?”

Sol turned around and looked at her, before whacking her paw against her forehead. “I’m an idiot, got it.” She lifted her head up once more, but the orb that pushed up from her mouth radiated warmth as opposed to death. Light pushed through the chamber as it rose up even higher, and the biting cold abated slightly.

Unfortunately, it also seemed to draw their enemy’s ire. Ice slammed against Emilie's barriers as the soldiers that had been harassing Joern and Apollo charged their position. She winced before bringing her arms up and pushing, shoving the wall outward slightly and throwing some of the soldiers back.

“Okay, so now would be a really good time for you to tell me that you know some random fire move that goes hard under sunlight,” Emilie said through gritted teeth.

“Sooooo, now would probably be a bad time to mention that I don’t really know any moves to take advantage of that?” Sol asked.

Emilie whipped her head down and stared at her partner with dinner plate-sized eyes. “Are you fucking—why do you know how to do this, then!?”

Sol winced and leaned down, before resting her paw on her forehead. “It's a weird genetic quirk, alright? Dad said one member of the tribe picks it up every generation.”

Emilie opened her mouth to yell, before wincing as the barrier she was holding up broke. She threw her arms out and grinned as a small clear surface appeared beneath their feet before lifting up with her mind. The two of them quickly rose up into the air as three swords stabbed forward.

Water surged forward, and the platoon of soldiers were swept along with the tide as Joern shot Emilie a salute, then brought up a black fist to meet a frozen steel blade, shattering it on contact. Though the chunks of ice that were their adversaries grew in size, the entire floor failed to freeze over as it did when they were outside.

Sol just shot her a smug grin. “See, it was good for something after all. Quit your bitching and cheer up, would you?”

Emilie sighed as the balls of ice slammed into the back wall, shoving both thrones aside as though they were made of plywood. “That is something, at least.”

She threw her hands down and lifted, positively glowing at the chance to do something a little more familiar. New arms, new fists... Gods this felt so much better than firing off Psybeams left and right. Emilie lightly flexed her arms, her water constructs mirroring her movements as clenched fists rose up on either side of her barrier. In a single sweeping motion, a punch was thrown, and water swelled up in size before launching across the room as fast as lightning.

A path was carved through the chamber, cutting through the horde and clearing a path through the army of the damned that Joern quickly made use of. He scooped up Duskull before dead sprinting towards her. “Thanks for the assists. Never thought I’d be happy to see a vibrant shining sun on the battlefield.”

“Thanks for the water. How’s Duskull?” Emilie asked as she swept her other water arm to give them some breathing room, wincing at the increased weight and rigidity as it started to freeze. “Guess it’s too much to ask for this to stay water when I’m slamming it into these things, huh?”

Joern winced and lifted his hands up, another ball of water forming between his hands. “I can give you ammunition—”

“Don’t, I can kind of work with this and making more ice is probably not a good idea.” Emilie dropped her focus and launched her new frozen wrecking ball up top at an archer that was aiming toward the front gate. “Stop trying to get another cheap shot on Crash and fight, you stupid hunks of scrap!”

Crash turned and gave a quick nod before spinning. Multiple air blades collided with the soldiers and each other, grinding the army directly at the gate into a fine white powder.

Joern sighed before launching a hail of leaves behind them, shredding a fresh wave of gauntlets as they rose up from the ground. “Duskull’s still out cold, near as I can tell. Whatever happened when we pushed into this chamber—”

“When Lea was taken,” Emilie corrected, her tone brokering no room for argument.

“When Lea was taken.” A scowl creased Joern’s features. “At least Lucas is probably with her?”

A wave of darkness pushed through Emilie’s barrier as Sol snarled. “Yeah, cause that goofball has a great track record in times of crisis. Totally didn’t get taken hostage biting off more than he could chew the other day.”

“You mean yesterday?” Joern asked.

Emilie sighed before spinning around on Sol’s back, guiding the frozen wrecking ball as she went. “Who the fuck knows at this point? Should we try getting Apollo? We’re doing a lot better together and I’m worried about archers—”

Her mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. At least, she couldn’t seem to hear it. All she could hear was a loud crack as the room came to life. A white ball had slammed into the ground ahead of her, before expanding. Wind forced her to her knees as she grabbed at Sol’s fur, desperately trying to hold on as her barriers shattered.

She didn’t want to think about what would have happened if those weren’t in place.

A strong arm grabbed her back and she looked up. Joern had grabbed them, and vines had wrapped around the lot of them. A small, barely noticeable drain started pulling at her mind. Was he using Leech Seed to hold everyone in place?

Then, as suddenly as it started, the attack faded, and the room stilled. Joern waved his hand and the vines that wrapped around her fell to the ground. His mouth was moving but no sound met her ears. Why—

Oh.

‘Is everyone alright? ’ she probed. She felt a bit silly, but... honestly, she was having to remind herself to breathe right now. Forgetting telepathy seemed forgivable.

Sol just nodded her head, before pointing to her ears. Emilie was sure that if she could hear right now, she’d hear whining.

‘Sorry! ’ Apollo shouted as he landed down next to the group. ‘Nearly sunk the crew with the corsairs with that one. Didn’t think my cannon fire would be quite that large. I held it in for as long as I could. That was just... Kyogre I am so sorry.’

Joern sighed before rubbing the bridge of his nose. ‘I mean to be fair; you cleared the room.’ He waved his hand around, before frowning and looking toward the front. ‘And the hall, apparently. Crash, are you okay?’

The luchador swooped down and landed with both wings thawed as she cast a glare toward Apollo. ‘How, the fuck, did you do that?’

‘Spit up,’ Emilie complained. ‘That’s apparently been building up for the last half hour. How the hell are you still conscious?’

Apollo blushed and rubbed the back off his head with one of his wings. ‘To be honest, I’m a wee bit lightheaded. Sorry if that caught you off guard, Crash.’

Crash leaned back, looking chuffed. ‘As if anything you lot could do would be capable of hurting me.’ She puffed up her chest and held a clenched claw in front of her, before wincing and hiding the charred feathers.

Emilie shot her a smug look. ‘Uh-huh.’

Crash groaned. ‘Look, you just ruffled my feathers a bit. Considering this wing was frozen until about five minutes ago, I don’t even feel the burns.’

‘Burns?’ Apollo asked, his tone raising an octave.

‘Guys,’ Joern interrupted. ‘Well, gals too, considering that’s most of the group right now.’ He pointed toward the back of the chamber. ‘I think Apollo might have brute-forced the way we’re supposed to go.’

Emilie whipped around and leaned back at the massive hole behind the shattered thrones. A cave opened up to stairs. Stairs that went down.

More hands shoved up from the ground and Emilie groaned. This really wouldn’t ever end, would it?

“Alright,” Apollo said before hopping forward. “I know we’re exhausted, but once again we have our heading. Who’s ready to kick some undead swashbucklers’ asses?”

Emilie leaned back, surprised that she could hear that, before nodding. “Aye.”

She was surprised that she wasn’t the only one that answered.

The group pushed forward, only to freeze as the hands shattered into white dust of their own accord.

Emilie blinked twice, before looking back to the group at large, specifically at Crash. “Did you do that?”

She shook her head. “I, no, and I believe Brawly is still fighting outside, so...” She shrugged. “Maybe it was something Lucas and Lea did?”

Emilie froze for a moment, before nodding. “Maybe...” She turned her head and looked down into the cave below. The trip was short, at least. A large set of white double doors waited for them at the bottom.

Sol moved, and Emilie fell backwards onto her back. “If you’re going to ride, pay attention. I don’t want to hear you complain when you fall off. Your voice gets all nasally and it’s really annoying.”

Emilie growled before hopping onto Sol’s neck. “Yeah, well your fur smells funny, when was the last time you actually bathed?”

Sol raised her nose up. “If it does, I blame the passengers. Lord knows where you lot have been.”

Crash lifted her wing up, only to stop as Joern lifted his arm up and sighed.

“It’s not worth the effort unless they actually start brawling.” Joern shivered. “Knew a couple siblings back in my old tribe that just fought like this constantly. It was how they talked to each other.”

Crash nodded as she pressed her wings against the sealed door. “I see, I see.” She tossed her head back toward Sol and Emilie and smirked. “Play nice you two, and your trainer might let you have some treats, alright?”

Sol snarled at the simpering tone as Emilie pouted and looked away.

“This is how I get treated for saving your ass from—” Emilie’s words died on her throat as the chamber cracked open, a beam of light shining through the chamber to show its contents. She teleported down to the ground, before sprinting through the narrow opening, her heart hammering in her chest at the still image she had been dreading.

“Suzaku!”

***

Normal Pov

***

I probably stood still for a solid ten seconds after Lucas officially dubbed our new technique, waiting quietly for the other shoe to drop and some new frozen monstrosity to emerge from the aether. The mad dash for the throne had shown me that this place could always throw more bodies at a problem. Oddly enough though, nothing happened. The chamber stood silent as I traced my eyes along the chamber walls.

‘As fun as that was, could you maybe let us go now, Lea?’ Lucas asked.

I glanced down toward the two spectral swords resting in my hands, their conscious minds back in their appropriate place, and blushed. “Uh, right. Sorry.” I quickly let go before walking forward toward the thrones. “Surprised you didn’t just phase out if you were uncomfortable.”

‘I’m, uh... making it a point to ask your permission for most things right now.’ Persephone turned away from me, her scabbard pointed toward the ground. ‘Only seems right.’

I sighed. “Okay, look. We’re starting over, remember? None of this.”

‘Well, if we’re starting over, then I feel it would be prudent to not make the same mistakes I did before, so I’m going to continue asking for permission for most things, especially if they involve you.’ She tilted her scabbard down once as though nodding before turning toward me with a forced smile. ‘Do we have an accord?’

I blinked twice before turning toward Lucas. “Is she always so proper when she talks?”

‘Gigas no. I think she’s working overtime to try and stamp out your memory’s influence on her language. ’ Lucas chuckled lightly before floating closer and bringing his tassel up to my ear. ‘If you want the truth of it though, she swears worse than you do whenever she screws up during practe- Ouch! What the hell, woman?’

Persephone had grabbed Lucas’s tassel with her own and pulled back, hard. ‘Husband...’

Lucas blanched slightly before turning and meeting her glare. ‘Don’t ‘husband’ me. I’m still mad at you and intend to milk that for as long as I can.’

Persephone sighed before looking back up towards the ceiling. ‘Lea and I have... something resembling an accord, so the time on that indignance has been cut short.’ She tossed a grin her husband’s way.

Lucas matched that grin, before smoothing his features out into a blank expression. ‘You’ve got a sharp wit, hon, but I’ve been at this for far longer than you. My point still stands that you could have trusted my judgement. A sharp mind still exists in this ghostly body.’

Persephone winced. ‘A fair riposte, though last time I blindly trusted your judgment, we ended up using your longsword to scrape dinner off the wall, so-’

‘You promised you’d never bring that up again!’ Lucas shouted, his eyes dipping into a much deeper shade of red. ‘ Of all the double-edged behavior—’

“As fun as this pun off is,” I cut in dryly. “How the hell do we get out of here?”

Lucas joined me in looking at Persephone.

“I can... handle you hanging out in my head, if you need to do that.” A sick feeling pushed through my stomach at the thought. “I just... I’ve been away from the rest of the group for a while, and I’m starting to get worried about them.”

‘I—one second.’ Persephone’s eye dimmed as her sword phased through the stone floor below.

An awkward silence passed as I blinked a few times, before locking eyes with the other blade in the room. “Uh… I was kind of expecting you to tell us your plan before you did it.”

No reply.

‘Persephone? ’ Lucas called out, his voice slightly higher in pitch. ‘Honey you can win the argument, please come back.’

Nothing changed.

I walked over and rubbed my hand along Lucas’s tassel. “She’s probably looking to see if it’s safe to bring us over.”

Lucas nodded. ‘Right... That’s probably it...’ He started drooping down until the tip of his blade rested against the floor. ‘I... am suddenly feeling incredibly tired.’

I reached out and grabbed his hilt before he could fall to the floor. “Whoa, easy there. What’s wrong?”

Lucas shook his head slightly. ‘I don’t—’

A loud shriek cut off whatever reply was on Lucas’s lips. I whipped around toward the other sword to see Persephone rocket across the floor.

‘Sephy!’ Lucas darted across the room, all trace of his previous malaise gone.

Persephone took several deep breaths, paused, then winced. ‘I’m fine, darling. Honestly, you worry too much.’

Lucas stared at her with a vacant, deadpan expression. ‘Honey, we’re both dead. Clearly, I didn’t worry enough.’

Persephone glanced down at herself before sighing. ‘I suppose you’re right.’

“Regardless, don’t wander off like that. The second you left Lucas started to collapse. I don’t think you two can be that far from each other at the moment.” I knelt down between the two blades and stared into the decals on Persephone’s scabbard. “What happened?”

Persephone winced. ‘I couldn’t push through the terrain. Apparently, a Ghost Pokémon has more presence than a regular old spook.’ She sighed before looking away. ‘When I tried forcing the matter, I was thrown back. That was...’ She shuddered. ‘Not pleasant. It’s odd, though. I would think that our lord would be all too eager to have us back in its domain.’

“So we’re stuck, then.” I frowned. “We’re trapped on the outside, and we can’t even look in.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my mitts. “Lucas, your castle sucks. We can’t take three steps without something going wrong.”

‘If it makes you feel any better, now that I’ve been able to collect my thoughts on this and the outside world, I agree.’ Lucas grinned as he turned to face me. ‘Give me a space heater and running water to this frozen hellscape any day of the damned week.’ He mimicked his wife’s earlier shudder. ‘But honestly, I very seriously doubt if the big guy actually wants us out of his Terrain. Brawly’s probably hogging all his attention if that squad of his was as tough as it looked.’ The decals on his scabbard scrunched up. ‘Maybe, I honestly don’t understand how any of this works.’

“I’m pretty sure this thing qualifies as an honest to capital G god legendary, so... I don’t think we’re supposed to.” I glanced around the room looking for any kind of way forward. All the doors were sealed shut with a thick layer of ice over the top. “We’ll just have to make it pay attention to us somehow.”

‘...why exactly do we want to go back into the terrain again? I fully expected to go in there and drag your team out.’ She looked down at her body and frowned. ‘Granted, I also fully expected to take my shiny new body with me and not become this weird black... specter thing once I brushed up against his world.’ She puffed up before glancing my way. ‘Speaking of, when we get out of here, I fully expect you to get us some nice polish and a good whetstone. Lucas might be able to rock the rough and tumble look, but I fully intend to maintain my sense of poise even in an altered state.’

I stared down blankly at her as a small headache started to thrum beneath my temples. “I can’t ever find anyone normal, can I?” I spied Lucas open his mouth and decided to nip that in the bud before it could even be a problem. “Look, Sephy, I came here to get my friends back. They got frozen in the big scary frozen terrain. Therefore—”

‘Logic would dictate that you would need to go back. Yes, I see the line. Please don’t call me Sephy.’ Persephone pouted. ‘It’s such an embarrassing nickname. So undignified.’

“And yet you didn’t complain when Lucas called you that?” A teasing lilt entered my voice as I gave Persephone a smirk.

The gem in her hilt glowed a vibrant red. ‘Yes, well... this is this, and that is that, and do you want to get out of here or not!’

Lucas laughed, before backing away from her glare. ‘Sorry love, I missed this. Seeing you get teased was always a joy.’

The glare turned more playful. ‘I’m sure, Perc.’ She frowned at Lucas’s recoil. ‘Love?’

‘I... don’t know why but I don’t like being called by my old name. It doesn’t feel like mine anymore.’ He tilted his sword to the left. ‘I—’

‘I’ll refrain from doing so, then.’ Persephone moved closer and wrapped her tassel around Lucas’s crossguard.

I glanced nervously at the two before inching away. There really wasn’t anywhere to go, though. Legends above I felt like a third wheel.

‘Sorry, hon. I’m... still getting used to the changes. I don’t know that... either of us have escaped our changes, well... unchanged. We’re different from who we were before.’ She glared down at the ground.

‘Just gives us a chance to get to know each other again.’ Lucas gave his wife a smile as the two—

“Still here,” I muttered, my face redder than May’s favorite bandana.

The two tossed me a glance before pulling apart.

God, I felt like a heel. “Sorry, I’d give you some privacy if I could but—”

‘We’re on the clock, and we’re stuck here,’ Lucas finished.

‘We’re the ones that should apologize. ’ Persephone nodded before glancing toward the front of the chamber. ‘Now, I do believe I mentioned having an idea.’

‘You want to ‘steal’ the orb. ’ Lucas joined her as they floated toward the front of the chamber.

I grinned as I followed behind. “Thief.”

‘Yes, well... it’s the most likely way to get the big guy’s attention. I’m honestly pretty sure he’s connected to the damn thing. If we try to take it, he’ll probably drag us back, regardless of whatever else he’s doing, just to make sure we don’t get away with it in tow.’ Persephone glanced at the solid stone wall, tracing the bricks as if she was looking for something in particular. ‘Though, failing that, I could probably use this thing to break in.’

“Assuming it doesn’t just freeze us where we stand when we enter the room,” I muttered.

Persephone giggled. ‘Well, he hasn’t so far... so, winning?’

She pushed against three stones in the middle, wait, they were different. How did I not notice that before? Three triangles seemed to push forward as she pulled back. Was that... were the stones moving?

I glanced back toward the two blades, who looked equal parts confused and worried. “What’s up?”

‘That should have opened the way completely,’ Lucas muttered, his tassel rubbing the relief in the wall.

‘I think... that we’re more different than I initially thought.’ Persephone glanced toward her husband. ‘You do it, see if it’ll work if it’s a monarch by blood.’

Lucas leaned back. ‘Persephone, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but neither one of us has much blood to go—’

‘Just quit arguing, for once in your afterlife, and try it.’ The decals in Persephone’s scabbard rose and fell as she once again glanced at the wall.

Was that how these two rolled their eyes?

Lucas groaned before pressing the same three stones to no effect. ‘See? Too ghostly still.’

Persephone huffed. ‘Well not if you’re going to half ass it like that. Be more regal about it or something.’

Lucas turned and glared. ‘How the hell in Regice’s frozen ass do you expect me to ‘be more regal’ about it?’

This was getting us nowhere. Shoving my way through, I quickly lifted up my left hand and pressed up against the wall. An odd heat radiated from my wrist as I followed the same sequence the two ghosts had done.

‘Wait.’ ‘Don’t!’ The shared disapproval faded as the wall quickly started to shift and collapse inward. The opening quickly grew as more stones swung around, moved by a force I couldn’t see in a way that almost seemed like magic. Torches lit up of their own accord to light my path forward. Forward and down.

Why the fuck did we have to go even further down? I pulled back my hand and rubbed at my wrist, glancing down toward the mega bracelet. The damned thing was glowing, what the hell?

‘Huh, well I’ll be. Guess yer a wizard after all,’ Lucas muttered as he floated closer to the passage.

I glanced nervously between the two before taking my first step down to follow him, my heart suddenly beating louder in my chest. A dull ache accompanied it. Grief, pain, loss...

Where the hell was all this coming from?

‘Lea?’ Persephone asked as she stopped and turned toward me. ‘ You alright, hon?’

Had I stopped? We—

We were already in front of the door.

“Huh?” I asked, still feeling out of it. “I—sorry. I don’t know what that was. It was like... It felt like my heart just got ripped out of my chest, and I have no idea why.” I stared down before taking a deep breath. I could worry about this later. It wasn’t important right now. Steadying myself, I put both hands up against the door and pushed.

The damned things were warm to the touch, almost too hot to handle directly.

...Considering I was wearing four different layers and gloves thick enough that I couldn’t actually make a fist, they actually probably were too hot to handle directly. What the hell was up with this damn orb?

‘I’m starting to worry that you’ve taken one too many hits to the head, hon.’ Lucas rested his tassel on my forehead. ‘Do you need a breather?’

I shook my head and pushed harder, working my noodle arms to their limit. The doors parted, and a hot gust of wind slammed into me as the room breathed fresh air for the first time in a millennia.

My chest grew hot, and the burning around my wrist grew in intensity. I swallowed before forcing my way through. The room was sweltering, and the air in front of me was wavy and acrid. For the first time since coming down here, I was privileged to a room completely barren of any kind of ice. Bookshelves lined the walls, each adorned with scrolls, lengthy tomes, odd instruments...

Gemstones...

“That... is a lot of diamonds,” I muttered, my eyes tracing along a different kind of ice.

Lucas nodded. ‘Can’t really keep gold in a place like this, now can we? The heat would give us a nice gold puddle before the end of the day. This is the kingdom’s treasury, in addition to it being a private vault for our most precious of resources.’ He tilted his head toward the podium in the middle of the room. ‘Gawk at my riches another time and keep an eye on the prize, would you?’

I begrudgingly tore my gaze away from the gemstones and focused on the centerpiece of the room. Once I did, I found myself entranced. A guiding force pulled me closer, urging me on. Heat washed over me as I moved through the room in greater waves, almost in a pulse-like rhythm, and a faint, otherworldly whisper echoed in my skull. Getting louder. More insistent.

Needy.

‘Found you.’ The words broke my trance, and I shook my head to clear the fog.

“Lucas... it, this thing feels alive. What is this?” My hands were trembling.

‘We don’t know,’ Persephone answered. ‘We were simply charged with its protection. Our lord... felt that such knowledge would be a burden.’

I swallowed again as sweat started to dot my brow. “Do I just... reach out and take it?” That felt wrong. This thing wanted me to take it. It was tempting me, surely-

‘Any and all traps were on the door, which you somehow bypassed. I guess a thousand years is a long ass time to expect traps as complex as what we had to hold up.’ Lucas urged me forward. ‘I just... wouldn’t recommend touching it with your bare hands. You’ve got gloves on though, so it’s fine.’

I barked out a laugh. “Fine, he says. Gloves are important he says.” I raised my hands up and tentatively moved them closer. “God, I feel like I should have an equally weighted bag or something to put in its place. Are you sure it’s not trapped?”

Persephone chuckled. ‘Lea, I promise you, no giant boulder is going to run you down. Just grab the damned thing.’

I nodded once, steeled myself, and grabbed the orb with both hands.

Visions flooded my head on contact.

A volcano, submerged beneath the ocean floor.

A soot and ash filled sky blocking out the sun.

Fire raining down and burning everything in its wake.

Molten earth stripping the sea bare.

Bones... so many bones.

Until finally, a massive red creature, larger than the tallest mountain. A primordial fear gripped me as it leaned in closer, its eyes a vibrant angry red as power surged around it, steam rippling across it in waves as light surged through the cracks in its armor around its joints.

I couldn’t breathe.

‘Lea? Lea!’ I turned away and looked... up? Lucas was hovering overhead, his eyebrows scrunched together in worry.

I was on the floor. Why was I on the floor?

I shook my head again. Seemed I was getting lost up there quite a bit with this thing. “Sorry, that was intense. I, holy fuck.” I wasn’t even quite sure how to describe it.

‘Are you alright?’ Persephone asked as she floated down and wrapped her tassel around my shoulders.

I shakily got back up to my feet before nodding. “I, I think so. Sorry, I just don’t know how to explain it.”

‘It’s alright, hon, take your time.’ Persephone rose up with me, and I smiled at the soft tone.

How the hell was this the same woman I’d met not but an hour ago?

I smiled up at her and opened my mouth, before snapping it shut as the world shifted around me. I clutched the orb tightly, happy that it was still giving off heat, even if in smaller amounts, before bracing myself to keep my footing as the world around me started to shift. Stone became ice, bookshelves became more run-down...

I carefully steadied myself before standing to my full height. The shift was so subtle, yet the second I took the time to actually take stock of my surroundings, I froze, before focusing on a single thing.

I sincerely hoped more than anything else that Brawly was giving that sick piece of trash the beating of its life. Whether it was punishment or some sick sense of humor, I had found myself back in the frozen terrain, standing directly in front of the frozen visage of May Maple, her form locked in the perfect expression of unbridled terror.

Both of my hands wrapped more tightly around the orb, and I could feel a pulse of heat radiate from it. My teeth were clenched so hard that I was worried I might draw blood.

‘Seeing it first hand hurts so much more than imagining it, doesn’t it?’

I whipped my head around, only to see a familiar face. “Joern!” I screeched out before sprinting across the floor, throwing myself down and pulling my tank into a bone-crushing hug. “Oh my god, I’m so happy you’re alright.”

Joern chuckled. ‘That’s my line, don’t steal it.’ He pulled back before glancing upwards, a look of terror beyond any I had ever seen trailing his features. ‘Kyogre below, there’s two of them now.’

‘Come play with us, Joern,’ Lucas said as a smile stretched across his scabbard. ‘Forever and ever and ever.’

Persephone floated closer and just smiled, not speaking to give the game away.

Joern quickly looked toward me. ‘ I think I’ve learned all I can from you. I would like to be released.’

“Quit being morons, the lot of you,” I ordered before pulling myself up to my full height and looking across the room.

The frozen terrain equivalent to the vault was, quite literally, a big open room. Were it not for the frozen visages of all my friends, the space would have been quite empty. I bit back a wince as I caught sight of my starter, glancing up forlornly at Suzaku’s statue.

“Guess I wasn’t the only one to take seeing this kind of hard.” I swept around before smiling as a pair of birds landed on either side of me. “That being said, you don’t have to worry too much, Joern. Though she’s currently remaining quiet, the souls that inhabit the two swords of Doublade are two different people. Meet Persephone, Lucas’s wife.”

A smile pulled at Joern’s face, before quickly being smothered the longer he thought about it. ‘Uh... congratulations, maybe?’

Crash glanced between the swords, noted the smiles pulling at their features and the interlocked tassels, and smiled. ‘They seem happy enough, so congratulations probably works.’

‘Per—my husband remains a bit saddened that I had to go through the ordeal of being a ghost and becoming... this, but I’m overjoyed to be reunited with him, and he’s getting more on board with the idea the longer we’re out and about. ’ She snorted. ‘Honestly, I rather like my new form. Makes it easier to stab things and you wouldn’t believe how frustrating it is to try and grab something, only to have your damn hand phase through it.’

‘Per?’ Apollo asked, leaning forward. ‘Might that be the start of another name, lass?’

Persephone opened her mouth, only to snap it shut as her decals scrunched together. ‘As if you’re worthy enough to speak it, pirate.’

I groaned. “Persephone, he—”

I was cut off by a loud, booming laughter.

‘Oh, I like her. Way more fire than her husband.’ Apollo turned to me and saluted, a grin pulling at his beak. ‘I’m happy to see you’ve secured the treasure, Captain. Your plundering seems far more fruitful than ours.’

I glanced down at the pulsating red orb in my hands and nodded. “Yeah, still don’t know what this thing is supposed to do for us, but... we got it.” I glanced around at the group. “Where’s Sol and Duskull?”

Apollo waved his wing out toward Wayne’s statue. I shifted slightly, and chuckled. Sol had huddled around the little black ball of ectoplasm, and the mask barely poked out from her fluff. The light had faded slightly, and Sol’s eyes were closed.

‘Duskull passed out after we pushed into the main chamber. I believe him asserting his terrain in this was too much for him.’ Crash sighed before looking towards the other side of the room, where a large cave stood ominously.

This ‘castle’ was starting to look less and less like a castle the further into it we went. In fact-

My blood ran cold as I started to realize that this room was the one from my vision.

‘We didn’t want to push any further into the chamber without you, didn’t really know where the hell you went, and didn’t know if we should press on or stay now that we’d found your friends,’ Crash pushed on, ignoring my internal freak out. ‘The knights have disappeared, thankfully, so we decided it’d be a good time to take a bit of a break. Lord knows we could definitely use one.’

Apollo glared across the room. ‘Half wondering if I should go for a nice fur coat right about now.

I turned and glared at my waterfowl. ‘ Apollo—’

Whatever words I was about to chuck his way were cut off as a loud bang rattled the room we were in. The ground shook beneath me as snow started to trickle down from above. I quickly pocketed the gem before moving toward May, making it a point to hold her upright just as a precaution.

She was all but glued to the ground, so I didn’t know why I bothered.

Crash was already up in the air, quickly moving to the entrance. ‘That sounded close. I knew we were having it too good for too long. You lot stay here, I’m going to run recon and deal with it if it’s an issue.’

She disappeared before I could say anything in response. I sighed, before glancing over the group. “So... I feel like we probably have a decent number of things to share. Feel up to swapping stories?”

Apollo preened before stepping forward. ‘Aye, captain. Would be my pleasure.’

***

Emilie was small.

I had known this for the entirety of the time we had been traveling together. In fact, it was something I frequently took advantage of. Never before, though, had that fact been thrown in my face quite like this. Maybe it was the way she usually carried herself, or a presence she had, but now...

She felt so... tiny. So much smaller than usual.

I was at a bit of a loss for what to say here. A normal greeting felt awkward and out of place. ‘Are you okay’ was just a stupid question that wasn’t even worth asking...

‘Hey,’ I mentally probed. Yup. I was right. Awkward.

Emilie tilted her head away from the statue of her rival and gave me a subtle nod. ‘Hey.’ She turned back without much fanfare. ‘I see Lucas evolved. Persephone seems nice.’

Legends above she used his actual name, that was not a good sign. I should probably curtail her insulting nicknames now that I thought about it, but that was still not a good sign.

‘We took down something Persephone called an avatar. We think that’s what was controlling the soldiers. ’ At least it felt that way once we compared notes.

‘I’m glad.’ Her voice felt monotone. I didn’t like it. ‘Do you... do we know what’s next?’

I winced. That... that wasn’t really a question I had an answer to. It felt like we had all the ingredients, but the recipe had fallen onto the stove.

‘That’s what I was afraid of.’ Emilie sighed before falling back and sitting down. ‘Did you know that I asked her to watch out for everyone before they came down here?’

‘Emilie—’

‘Fuck me that was stupid. What the hell was she supposed to do against that?’ She waved her arm out toward one of the walls before growling. ‘Don’t even know where the stupid piece of shit ice golem is anymore. How the fuck does a fire type get frozen? How the hell does that work?’

I knelt down low and sat down next to her, frowning when the orb in my pocket pulsed out a wave of warmth.

‘It’s not your fault.’ God, that probably didn’t help at all either.

‘Doesn’t really matter, huh? She’d either be frozen in person or frozen in her ball.’ She glared at the statue. ‘Wonder if the ones in the balls are aware or not?’

Legends above, please don’t put thoughts like that inside of my head, oh god. ‘Don’t ask Joern that question.’

Emilie chuckled lightly. The laugh felt like it lacked warmth. ‘I’m not THAT tactless.’

I gave her a look.

‘Rude.’ She glanced away from me and went back to looking at Suzy. ‘Stupid damn featherhead... making me worried.’

I chuckled. ‘I’ll have to tell her about that once we thaw her.’ I frowned at the lack of response. ‘Emilie?’

‘For all the crap I talk, I know Suzaku’s really strong,’ Emilie started.

Was this humility? Dear god, things really were dire.

‘I know I’d win the head-to-head.’

Oh thank god, she’s back.

‘But I already know that’s not a fair fight. We're both great at different things. She's better physically than me... she’s got more tools... she’s—’ Emilie stopped for a moment before pulling her eyes away from the statue. ‘She’s as strong as me, and she’s still here, frozen solid in a room filled with our friends. Just, what are we supposed to do?’ She looked at me pleadingly. ‘Tell me what to do, please.’

I once again found myself at a loss for words. I opened my mouth, before closing it as the chamber rattled lightly. ‘I don’t know exactly what we can do. I just know that we can’t give up.’ I sighed at how corny that sounded. ‘I know that’s a line from like, every corny power of friendship speech ever, but it’s also all I’ve got right now.’

Emilie started giggling. ‘At least we still have bad jokes.’

‘Nothing will ever take that away from us, especially if we have Lucas and Persephone.’ I nodded as the words left my head.

‘And Persephone?’ Emilie asked, her tone of voice sounding worried for new and exciting reasons.

I grinned. ‘They share a sense of humor.’

Emilie shuddered. ‘I... guess I’ll just have to get used to it.’

I smiled. Plans for the future, that was a good sign.

She turned and looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time since I had walked over. ‘You’ve got a cut across the top of your nose.’

I sighed. ‘ Yeah, it stings a little. It’s not bleeding anymore and... honestly first aid’s probably going to be an interesting proposition right now, so-’

‘It looks kind of badass, honestly.’

I puffed up my chest and grinned. ‘ Really?’

Emilie nodded.

‘Think May will think so?’ I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

Emilie rolled her eyes. ‘You’ll have to ask her, won’t you?’

I nodded. ‘ Sounds good.’

Emilie looked away shyly. ‘Thank you for making sure this was a private conversation. I... I love the others, but I don’t know that I’m comfortable sharing feelings like this with everyone.’

I smiled before ruffling the green fluff on her head. ‘I’m honored that you feel comfortable enough to do it with me.’

‘Even if me being in your head is difficult?’ Emilie asked, her voice small.

I smacked her lightly in the forehead. ‘There is no one, and I mean no one, that I would like in my head more than you. Got it?’

Emilie almost seemed to sag down in her spot. ‘Yeah.’ A small blush dusted her cheeks. ‘Thanks.

‘Any time.’ I smiled before reaching into my coat pocket. ‘So... wanna see the orb we snagged from the real world?’

‘Might as well, we almost died lord knows how many times to get it. Maybe I’ll be able to pick something up from it that you guys missed.’ Emilie pushed herself up to her feet as I pulled it out of my pocket.

The ball thrummed in the open air, and I smiled at how warm the room felt. It wasn’t quite as intense as when we found it, but... it seemed to really like Emilie.

Emilie swayed back and forth as she locked her eyes on the lustrous red glow, her gaze transfixed as she inched closer. “I don’t... what is this? It feels alive.”

I nodded once. “I heard whispers when we were in the other chamber. I couldn’t really understand most of it, but I managed to pull out ‘Found you’ in the chaos.”

Emilie blinked, before focusing more intently on the orb. “Whispers, huh? All I’m getting is white noise.” She glanced up at me. “You sure you didn’t hit your head while you were in the other world?”

I sighed before rubbing one of the sore spots on my skull. “A couple of times, actually. I blame Crash’s shitty driving.”

Emilie smiled. “Yeah, it wasn’t exactly the best ride in—”

The ground violently shook beneath our feet this time, way worse than before. I quickly scanned the ceiling for falling rocks, happy to see that despite the cave-like structure of this room, there were no stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

The unfortunate thing, however, was the icy floor mixing with my sudden lack of balance. For the umpteenth time today, I found myself slipping and falling to the ground, the orb slipping from my grip and bouncing a few times before rolling, stopping once it tapped against Suzaku’s foot.

The shaking subsided, and I quickly started to shift my head around to take stock of the room.

I glanced toward Emilie first, who was barely faring better than me as she slowly pushed herself up. Apollo was flying toward Joern as Sol quickly stood at attention, her fur shifting as Duskull started to float higher into the air. None of the ice sculptures even showed signs of being moved, let alone being damaged, so... that was something, I supposed.

“Everyone alright?” I shouted.

I received two salutes from my water types as father and daughter started floating closer.

‘We’re good, how are you guys?’ Sol asked.

I opened my mouth, then closed it as an overwhelming sensation of dread permeated my being. It pulled my eyes down and I realized the cause.

Emilie was pale, the pallor in her cheeks gone completely as she stared toward the opening with wide, terrified eyes. “I... I can’t feel her.”

“Who...” I trailed off as the realization sunk in, and Emilie’s feelings became my own. “Crash.”

A loud otherworldly screeching forced me to cover my ears as a low rumbling sent me back to my knees. Apollo grabbed Joern and flew towards us, taking a defensive position in front of me alongside Lucas and Persephone. I could faintly trace the outline of distorted air and a light blue glow as Emilie lifted both hands up.

Cracking ice and shattering stone heralded its arrival as the massive form of the ice dragon we had left behind so long ago slithered into the chamber, its claws scratching a deep gash into the stone archway as it pushed through and rose up, higher and higher, into the air.

The rumbling stopped as the chamber leading in caved in after it pushed through, finally giving into the strain of this beast forcing its way through.

“Sol, Night Slash, Joern, Razor...” A deafening wail accompanied a chilling wind that drowned out what I had said, and the full size of this thing stole the words from my mouth. The temperature plunged as air left my breath, and I stared up at the beast's open maw as a giant blue orb was slowly starting to expand. ‘Brace yourselves!’

Our entire group huddled together as the blue walls in front of us started to multiply, the bag on Emilie’s waist slowly starting to shake.

In a fraction of a second, the orb fired a beam of pure white light that froze Emilie’s first barrier on contact. I observed, in horrified fascination, a kaleidoscope of colors as what had once been an ethereal wall solidified into something tangible before shattering, the process repeating as the beam slammed into the next barrier.

‘My everstone! Get it off of me!’ Emilie screamed in my head.

‘What?’ I asked dumbly, my eyes still locked onto the symphony of destruction above.

‘Do you want to live or not?! I’m barely keeping up! I can’t let us lose to one of that thing’s minions of all things. I’d never hear the end of it! Please.’ The last word came out strained, and I whipped around to see her sliding backwards with each shattering shield, a thick sheen of sweat beading her forehead.

I rushed over and reached down, my hand wrapping around the bag holding her everstone in place.

‘Just this once… I’ll listen to you, featherhead. If any time’s a time to stop being scared, it’s now.’ Was I… supposed to be hearing this? ‘Just let it be enough, please.’

I snapped off the latch, pulled back, and the brightest white light I had ever seen shined through the chamber with the force of a battering ram.

The barrier above us pushed back against the beam of cold, this one holding firm for longer against the assault before breaking as another formed behind it. How the fuck she was maintaining focus while her body was literally changing shape boggled my mind, but honestly, considering how much of a perfectionist Emilie was, I shouldn’t have been that surprised.

I could see my starter rising up higher as she grew, her robe lifting up before flaring out in the classic tutu her second stage was famous for. Before she could complete the change, though, a wave of heat surged through the chamber, and the white glow of evolution shifted to a violent, angry red.

Before I could even question it, the silhouette of Emilie lifted her arms, and a small red ring formed around her wrists. A violent stream of white fire rose up through the barriers before slamming into the dragon’s attack, banishing the cold as it rose up through the room. The two attacks stood deadlocked for a moment, before another pulse of heat surged through the room, pushing through the assault and slamming home into the beast’s open maw.

The entire upper half of the dragon exploded as it leaned backwards, before slamming into the back wall of the chamber and sliding down. Its head had melted and warped into something out of my worst nightmares, malformed and ugly as the flames licked further down its body.

What the hell was that? Since when could Emilie use fire attacks?

A sharp cry of pain snapped me out of my stupor long enough to realize that something wasn’t right, and I whipped around to see my freshly evolved starter crouched down on the ground in pain. Steam pushed off from her body in waves, billowing from her mouth as odd markings worked their way down her arms and legs. Her eyes glowed an angry red, a stark contrast against her white skin, and her tutu had drooped down, now more resembling a normal dress.

‘Orb…’ Emilie forced out, her voice sounding warbled and echoey. ‘Get the orb.’

Orb. Where was-

I dove down and grabbed the damned thing, feeling my heart race as I realized that this vile stone had half-merged with my best friend in the chaos. The steam slowly dissipated. The lines faded, but…

The eyes remained the same angry shade of red that had pierced into my very soul back when I first looked into them.

Before I could even think to give an order, Emilie disappeared, before landing on an invisible platform looking out over the battlefield. “You stole our friends.”

Fire erupted from Emilie’s hands and bathed the still form of our enemy as the words left her mouth. What had been trying to reform into something coherent quickly shrunk away as it desperately tried to contort it’s body around the flames.

“You trapped us here.” Emilie flexed her hands, and four orbs of light formed in the inferno before moving. My mind flashed back to our first day of training, when I had her working on moves from—

My starter just picked up the fucking fire element from the ice dungeon. The universe was officially screwing with me for my choice in names, damn it all.

The orbs slammed into the writhing mess in front of us before exploding, punching new massive, circular holes into its form as it shrunk down even smaller.

“You’ve been torturing us, for what? Is this just some sick game? Some test?” Emilie snarled as she held both hands up in front of her. “Whatever the hell it is, fuck it and fuck you.” A massive rainbow colored orb formed in front of her, before warping as orange and white light surged from deep within. “Come back from this, you stupid, oversized, parade decoration!”

The orb expanded out into a beam, and what could only be described as a laser beam cleaved through the beast, vaporizing what was left of the creature as a loud, sickening cry pushed through the chamber.

I… holy hell. That was—

‘So… cool…’ Lucas muttered from beside me. ‘Well, I guess not quite cool anymore.’

I winced at the corny joke, before smiling. “Nah, you were right the first time.” I looked up to the floating psychic type with my hands around my mouth. “Emilie, get your ass down here, I need to gush about how cool you look.”

My starter winced, before glancing down at me, with a knitted brow and… slightly less red eyes. They looked more pink now. That’s good. I think.

“Hurry up, this is an all-inclusive pass for free, unlimited praise. This has to be one of your fantasies, right?” I shouted.

A sudden increase in weight on my shoulder pulled me to the left for a second before I could autocorrect, though oddly enough, the weight got lighter on its own.

“I… sorry. I might have put on a bit of weight,’ she said, her feet dangling down to my shoulder as she turned away from me. “I just… wanted to see if this was still doable. I suppose it is, but I’ll have to get used to pulling my own weight, as it were.” She chuckled lightly, her voice sounding nervous. “At least this works for training?”

I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh. Long and hard.

Emilie pouted. “What?”

“I, you,” legends above, I couldn’t talk, this was great. “You just orbital striked a dragon made of ice, and the first thing you do is make sure you can still sit in your spot.” Oh, fuck, the laughter was getting worse. “Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?”

I wasn’t sure if the last bit of that was intelligible or not, and I didn’t care.

Emilie blushed bright red, before looking anywhere but at me. “Excuse me for wanting a bit of normalcy.” She huffed, then whipped her head up to meet my gaze head-on. “And I was right! I did figure out what to do with the orb before you did.”

“By complete accident,” I countered. “And it looked like it was trying to take you out while it happened. The pyro play is awesome, but that was terrifying.” I shivered. “Don’t scare me like that, alright? I like knowing that you’re in one piece and not in intense agony, thank you very—”

My words died on my throat as I started to realize something. I knew I was horrible at math, but… it felt like we were down a few sculptures.

I watched May sink down into the ice below us and my heart leapt up into my throat. “Hey!”

I dove down only to grasp at a solid surface. Of course this asshole would move the goal post now that we got here. It’s not like we had a way of thawing… them…

“Emilie, blast Suzy with as much firepower as you can! Sol, Sunny Day to boost it! Double time it, move move move!” I screamed.

Both Pokémon jumped at my order, before complying. I noticed the ground below Suzy start to soften and ripple, fuck. We weren’t going to—

A black wave pushed out through the chamber, and the ice quickly faded away. The room seemed to revert back to the one I had seen when I first entered, except… not quite right. For one thing, an exit formed. A billowing wind spewed forth from the front of the chamber, assaulting my ears with an otherworldly wail. Beyond that though, other things quickly changed. The walls were greyscale, the fires were green—

‘I refuse,’ Duskull muttered, his voice strained and murderous. ‘Like hell am I going to let you taunt us like this. You dangled this in front of us, taunting us, but now…’ Duskull almost sounded manic as the sun rose up to the apex of the chamber, and the fire in Emilie’s hands started to swell in size. ‘We get a win.’

The fire slammed into Suzaku before enveloping the firebird completely, pulling her into an inferno that brought the chamber up to a sweltering heat. For a brief second, I worried that it still wouldn’t be enough. That we’d need fire from the earth’s core to thaw someone frozen by this creature.

Soon though, I noticed. The differences were subtle, barely even noticeable, but they were there. The tempest swelled, before exploding upwards as May’s perennial firebird leapt out from the blaze, a war cry bellowing from her beak as she slammed down into the ground before bringing her claws up in front of her.

Suzy froze as she took in her surroundings, shooting me a smile as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. ‘Hey, Lea… I’m guessing you’re part of the rescue squad. I—’ She froze as she looked over at Emilie. ‘Shortstack… you’re not as small anymore.’ Her eyes shined as she smiled once again. ‘Still shorter than me, though.’

Emilie didn’t reply at first. She looked like she didn’t quite believe what was in front of her.

I wasn’t even sure if what I was looing at was real.

‘What? Was it something I said? ’ Suzy asked, tilting her head. ‘ Don’t think you’re hot stuff just because you evolved, got it. I can still—’

“Sure you can, chicken legs.” The reply was swift, but lacked its usual bite. “I was… better than you beforehand… Obvious—ah, fuck it.”

Emilie teleported across the room and all but tackled Suzaku, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

‘Emilie-’

“You scared the ever-living fuck out of me, alright?” she muttered into Suzy’s shoulder. “Don’t ever do that again, you stupid, fighting-brained firebird, got it? I can’t… I just…”

Suzy cautiously wrapped her own arms around Emilie and returned the hug, and Emilie dissolved into a blubbering, incoherent mess.

‘I have no intentions of doing so, alright? ’ Suzy muttered, her tone soft. ‘Thanks for worrying about me.’

Emilie nodded, her face still buried into Suzy’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

“So, as far as you’re aware–”

‘I was just frozen, like no time had passed at all,’ Suzy cut me off, rubbing her claws together. A few embers sparked, and she blew a small plume of fire at her hands before glancing at Emilie. ‘How are you not freezing? I’m freezing, and I’m a fire type!’

“Clearly, it’s just another instance of me being superior to you.” Emilie smugly grinned as she elbowed her benchmate. Her eyes had regained their normal white hue, though the lines remained.

‘Yeah, more likely that freaky orb power-up is still in your system,’ Sol said as she gently nudged her once again unconscious father. ‘Lea, could you do me a favor and catch my dad? Not like, as an official capture or anything. Lord knows I don’t know what my dad wants to do going forward, but–’

“It’s a lot safer than him being out here while he’s out cold, I got you,” I replied before lazily tossing a ball at the little guy. The ball didn’t even shake before dinging once. A faint blue glow enveloped the ball as it snapped back to my hand, and I glanced back toward Emilie and Suzy. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Kind of just wanted to make sure my control is still solid with the added power.” She grinned before giving me a thumbs up. “Guess waiting to take the plunge makes my transition a lot smoother than the idiots.”

Lucas perked up and gave the psychic a glare. ‘Oi, I think we’re doing quite well, thank you very much.’

Persephone didn’t comment. She just kept staring at Sol.

Emilie just rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I meant Gawain, the fact that you thought I was talking about you says a lot, though. You really need to stop walking into self-burns.”

Lucas just grinned at her. ‘You’d prefer doing that yourself now, right hot stuff?’

Emilie’s eyes narrowed. “I take back what I said earlier. You can go back to whatever plane of existence you were on before.”

I just sighed before pulling out my dex and pointing it at my starter. “You sure you’re feeling alright, by the way?” Error. Great. That was helpful. Stupid hunk of junk.

“Better than ever, actually.” She slammed her fist into an open palm. “Quit worrying so much, alright? We got bigger things to worry about. Our escort was on the other side of that cave-in, and I’m pretty sure she got flash frozen at best.” She sent a worried glance toward the collapsed passage. “What’s your call?”

I blinked at the question before sighing and pulling myself up from my crouched position. The muscles in my legs protested, and I bit back a swear as my back started to complain at the sudden movement. “We could probably burn through, but I doubt she’s in the same place if May and the rest of them disappearing into the ice is anything to go by.” I glanced towards Apollo. “Think we should press forward?”

The bird stared down toward the ice and stone floor before sighing. ‘Aye, cap, that’s probably our best course to chart.’ He glanced toward Emilie. ‘Also, we might be busy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate you unfurling your sails. Evolving’s kind of a big deal, lass, especially when it’s into something a bit off charted waters.’

‘Please, for the love of everything in creation, do not feed her ego.’ Suzy glared at the waterbird before pushing herself up to her feet. ‘She’s got her own fire to provide hot air now. She’s liable to blow the whole place up if her head gets any bigger.’

Emilie puffed up her cheeks. “Speaking from experience, featherhead? With how cocky you can get, it’s a wonder your hot air was contained at all.”

Suzy blushed. ‘I–’

“Nope, you’ve officially been given the ‘Damsel’ tag. Now play the damn part, march your ass over to the corner, and say my name in worried undertones while we figure out how to get everyone else out of here.” Emilie stared over at Suzy smugly as she opened and closed her beak.

‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You stupid little midget.’ That was weak, Suzy, you can do–

Why was my starter mirroring–

“I’m almost as tall as you now!” Emilie screamed.

Suzy grinned. ‘Almost doesn’t count.’

‘Enough.’ Joern stepped between the two of them with a ball of water floating above one of his hands. ‘Y’all can flirt later.’

Both starters glared murderously at the water type before glancing at each other. They proceeded to look away with a huff, and...

Was that red I was seeing dusting Emilie’s cheeks?

Thoughts for later.

‘I see what you mean now,’ Sol whispered to Apollo, who nodded along with a grin pulling at his beak.

‘I can’t believe this brat gets the cool battle evolution and I’m stuck with touching a damn rock in the center lobby,’ Joern muttered.

I noticed a vein start to throb on Emilie’s forehead and sighed. “Emilie, stop sharing private thoughts.”

She shot me a look filled with betrayal, before wincing as I shot the message I just got back at her. “Alright, not a completely smooth transition, didn’t even realize I was doing that.” She turned toward Joern. “My bad.”

Joern just stared at her and sighed. ‘It’s fine.’

I sighed again before glancing toward the yawning chasm toward the back of the vault. “Any idea what’s waiting for us down here?”

Both ghost swords hopped to attention, but Persephone was the first to speak as she ripped her gaze away from my white furred friend. ‘Right, uh. That would be helpful, wouldn’t it?’

Lucas stared listlessly at the opening as he floated to my side, the light in his true eye a murky miasma of red and black. ‘This is the passage I walked with you when you were frozen, wasn’t it?’

Persephone nodded. ‘The Howling Chasm, and at the end, the Chamber of Eternity.’

That didn’t sound fucking ominous at all.

She glanced back towards Sol. ‘My people and my remains both lie at the end of this chamber. There is... something on my more corporeal self that I would very much like for you to have.’

‘Ooookay.’ Sol tilted her head, before sucking in a sharp breath. ‘So are you just a skeleton in there or...’

I facepalmed before glancing toward Persephone, who was doing her best to stifle giggles.

‘Nothing so gauche, I assure you.’ She glanced toward Lucas as he wrapped his tassel around hers. ‘Just a bunch of shattered ice on the floor, honestly. I frequented the clowder quite often, and grew quite friendly with a number of the Absol that called my kingdom their home. They gave me a gift that I believe would be quite useful. ’ The decals that looked like eyebrows on Persephone’s scabbard seemed to crease downward as her mouth clenched. ‘As the last of your... of our line, I believe it would only be right if you had it.’

Sol nodded once.

“Alright, so more power-ups from old artifacts from an ancient kingdom. It’d be nice if we could get... a bit more... help.” My mind instantly flashed back to what Persephone had told me about the first intruder of this old kingdom. “Persephone, are you sure this place is the same one you’re thinking of, cause this place likes to–”

‘Regardless of whatever terrain affects the land, this place is a constant mainstay,’ she cut me off. ‘It’s always a cold, frozen temple, and regardless of where I approach it from, it’s always in the exact same spot.’ She smiled. ‘I don’t think that our lord can hide it away.’

A grin split my face at the weapon that had just dropped in our laps.

For the first time since coming to this damned island, I knew exactly where Steven Stone was, and I just got a way to thaw him.

I clapped both hands together. “Alright then, Quartermaster Apollo, take the helm as we dive into the abyss.” The grin I shot him was predatory. “We have a champion to thaw.”

‘Aye, Captain, Let’s get out of here before Duskull’s terrain wears off!’ Apollo shouted as he flew towards the opening, taking point as we marched as one towards the final cave.

‘Wait...’ Joern said, his eyebrows knitted together. ‘How... exactly is his terrain still up?’

I turned toward the Lilypad Pokémon, before stumbling down to the ground as the largest earthquake yet wracked the entire room.

***

Brawly’s POV

***

‘They’re in,’ Auma shouted. ‘Lele, get Toa back over here and have him thaw my damn hand. The tingling feels weird.’

‘Just use your other three, then! Toa’s still cross-eyed.’ Lele glared up at the top of the staircase as Auma gave him some rather colorful gestures with those hands before glancing back at Toa. ‘You alright now?’

Fire pushed out from the tufts of feathers on his chest as he spat out a glowing red ember. ‘Just send me back up to the big moron. I’m fine, I was just winded. I went... very hot. Not used to doing something like that in base.’

Lele glanced toward his trainer, his eyes glowing blue.

Brawly nodded. ‘Something to work on for later I supposed. I think he’s fine, Lele, send him up. Tito, I need–’

The massive fighting type had already hopped to the top of the highest roof he could find. ‘I’m already on it. Don’t worry. Honestly, I’m starting to think I was worrying over nothing if it can get hurt by a small little flare-up like that.’

‘Bite me,’ Toa snarled before disappearing in a flash of blue light.

‘Not a bad idea, actually,’ Tito muttered. ‘It’s been a bit since we had chicken.’

Lele scrunched his nose up and glared toward the Hariyama. ‘As if you need the calories.’

Tito puffed up his chest. ‘It’s five hundred and sixty pounds of pure muscle, you indulgent brat. Not my fault my line carries its weight like this.’ He blew out a sigh before turning back to look at the castle. ‘Besides, it provides a nice balance. We can’t all be thin as a twig like you, mister ‘bully the enemy with psychic powers until they ragequit’.’

‘Look, I’m just saying there was two-thirds of a pizza in the fridge last night when we went to bed, and when we got up this morning and I went for it for breakfast it was gone, any counters to that, mister ‘last one up’.’ Lele leveled a glare up at the heavyset fighting-type.

Brawly pinched his nose before cutting Tito’s rebuttal off with a glacial glare. ‘Weren’t you supposed to be checking on the ice golem?’

Tito blanched slightly, rubbed the back of his head, and turned toward the collapsed buildings.

Lele chuckled lightly, then snapped his mouth shut as the glare shifted his way.

Brawly softened his look slightly. “Play nice, you two can argue over breakfast options later. Right now, we need to—”

His thoughts scrambled as the ice beneath them came alive. A sea of appendages, malformed and distorted through a black veil that came up around him, quickly started clawing and scraping at the barrier Tiki had brought up.

His stomach twisted slightly as the world shifted, cold air meeting his face as they fell a few feet onto a clear barrier hovering over the city. The gym leader slowly pushed himself up and relaxed as the heat from Toa’s Sunny Day washed over him. ‘Alright, maybe staying up here is a better idea. Getting grabbed by those things does not sound rad.’

Lele nodded in agreement.

‘Is everyone alright?’ Tito shouted as he slammed his foot into the ground. A shockwave pushed out from the impact, and the ceiling caved in as he leapt high into the air.

‘We’re good.’ Auma peaked his head out from the cocoon of fire that engulfed the entire upper section of the palace. ‘Feels kind of nice up here, actually. Like a day at the steam bath.’

Tito landed on another clear platform a few meters away from them. ‘Stupid kids. Fighting a centuries old, supremely powerful ice type, and they’re over there enjoying a lovely day at the spa...’

Brawly glanced toward Lele, who whistled innocently before looking away, and wondered not for the first time if those thoughts were supposed to be aired publicly. He sighed. ‘Says the man that wanted chicken. Kahuna, report?’

Silence.

Tito started to glance down toward the city, his eyebrows pulling together. ‘Brat, don’t play with me. Stick a leaf out and say something, damn it.’

A cold feeling settled in Brawly’s stomach as a loud crack sounded through the chamber. Buildings parted and stone cracked as the armored grass type hopped upwards, his spikes slightly frosted as he struggled to bring his arms together. A yellow orb glowed between his palms as he ascended, quickly growing larger as he basked in the artificial sunlight.

Ice billowed out from the widening crater as Brawly once again locked eyes on their opponent, the golem looking no worse than he had after Toa’s assault. A chilled wind pulsed out as its eyes glowed, and frozen icicles branched out in a spiderweb of tendrils that slowly encroached inwards on his friend.

Brawly glanced over as Tito hopped down toward the two, his feet shattering the barrier as easily as the stone building he had just leapt from. He cleared half the distance in a single jump, but stilled as the air started to crisp.

A war cry bellowed out through the chamber, and the yellow orb pulsed before expanding into a radiant beam of light and power, pushing through the frigid assault before stopping cold against a giant wall of ice that jutted out from the ground.

Kahuna glared down at the beast and shouted his eyes glowing while vines extended down to hold him up as he redoubled his efforts, continuing the solar assault.

The ice wall shifted, and as if it were just a beam of light hitting a mirror, the Solar Beam bounced harmlessly off the shiny surface.

Right towards them.

Black tendrils once again shot up and formed a protective shell around Brawly. A low wail scraped at the gym leader’s mind like nails on a surfboard before dissipating into a low hiss as Lele brought up barrier after barrier, each cracking under the force of the beam of light and heat as the attack was shoved further and further back.

‘How,’ Lele paused as the beam gained ground, ‘the fuck is this thing blocking this so easily.’

The light faded. Brawly quickly cast his gaze back towards Kahuna as Tiki’s protective shell sunk back into the shadows.

Chesnaught had been entombed. What had once been a wall had quickly transformed into a prison as the ice extended up and joined at a single point. Loud bangs repeated in a slowing, drum-like beat, tapering off as the walls started to shrink.

‘Tito, break...’ He let the order trail off as he realized it wasn’t necessary.

Tito had already cleared the rest of the distance between them, and bore down on the crystal with a single white, glowing palm. The impact sent a tremor through the chamber as cracks spiderwebbed out from beneath the prison. A loud crack spread out across the top of the ice, and Tito twisted slightly before slamming his other palm into the weakened barrier.

The whole thing shattered, leaving a picturesque frozen statue in its wake as Tito stared down in muted horror. He pulled himself to the left slightly, narrowly missing the still form of one of his closest friends as it fell into the shattered ice below him. He reached up and rested a hand against the ice, before shouting as the whole thing sunk into the ground, disappearing from the battlefield.

Lele leaned back, his eyes widening. ‘I... can’t sense or hear him at all.’

Tito rested his hand against the ground, his eyes wide as it slowly clenched into a fist. ‘Stupid brat...’

The ice underneath him started to move as a shadow cast itself over Tito. Three loud beeps sounded through the clearing as different lights shined on the creature’s face.

Brawly swore under his breath. ‘Get him out of there, now! I don’t care if you have to light the whole area on fire!’

A single clap hit his ears, and Tito appeared next to him in a haze of blue light, still looking slightly dazed. Brawly opened his mouth but was cut off as the other half of his order rained down on the battlefield.

The ball of fire hanging high in the sky pulsed as streams of white-hot death poured down onto the city below. A faint blue aura enveloped the raging wildfire as it surged and directed it upwards, then rained it all down on the creature.

The golem slid backwards, skating on an icy road that it created behind it at breakneck speeds. The floating balls of fire gave chase as new pillars rained down from on high, aiming ahead of the creature as it glided along the ice with a masterful ease. Tracks bobbed up and down, left and right, all to the effort of staying ahead of the onslaught.

Brawly lifted his arms up as a thin black veil surrounded him, shielding him from the heat. This... needed a new approach. Maybe something that covered a bit more area. ‘Auma, how are your hands?’

A chuckle pushed through the link. ‘I only froze one, kid, and hothead’s putting out so much heat up here that it’s long since been fixed.’

‘Then let’s add your own brand of fire to this swell. Island King’s Wrath.’ The thought had barely fully materialized when the Machamp jumped up from his spot by the palace doors and onto a newly formed clear barrier. Brawly glanced worriedly at Lele, only to be waved off.

He idly wondered just how many things Lele could do at once before smiling as the bodybuilding champ of Hoenn’s fists started to steam. Grey skin shifted to red as they glowed in the unnatural light, and fire started to trail through the air as his Machamp took a deep steadying breath.

Auma slammed a fist forward, cracking the air as he pulled back and threw another. Then another. Then several hundred more in the span of what felt like a second. The air ignited, then exploded, before being sent down as a hail of fire and kinetic energy washed over the ground, leveling everything below into a pile of charred rubble and melted ice. Like a wave, the attack pushed outward before slamming down hard on the ice golem, shattering the frozen roads it stood on and forcing it into the ground below.

All at once, the three attacks converged in a massive hailstorm of explosions and heat. Lele’s white orbs swelled in size before detonating, fire washed over the beast from every angle, pockets of air slammed into it from all sides...

Through the medley of chaos and fire, a single, wailing grinding noise pushed out from the golem. Four walls rose up around the ice type in a pyramid, and though he doubted the barrier would do much against the attacks, a cool feeling of dread washed over him.

Something didn’t feel right.

‘Stop,’ Brawly ordered.

As one, the attacks ceased. Through the billowing smoke and caved-in stone, Brawly spied the remains of the barrier finish caving in, revealing nothing.

Regice had disappeared.

‘Keep your eyes peeled, that thing could be literally anywhere,’ Toa said.

Lele growled. ‘I’d like to know how an ice type of all things is shielding its mind like this.’ The tall psychic kept shifting his head from side to side, trying to take in as much of what was left of the city as he could. ‘This thing reached out and touched Lea’s mind. I know it has something going on upstairs. Where the hell is it?’

‘To be fair, you practice on us.’ Auma hadn’t moved from his spot, his eyes closed as he clasped a pair of palms together in front of him. ‘We don’t exactly put up much resistance when it comes to practicing.’

‘Most of us have gotten better about that,’ Toa complained as he hopped up and joined him on his platform. ‘It’s just you that’s still a bit of a ditz.’

Auma shrugged. ‘I can’t help it; I’m an open Pokémon.’

Lele shivered. ‘Too open.’

Auma jumped, moving seconds before four ice walls shot up from the ground right below him. He chuckled slightly as he landed next to his feathered friend, his eyes glowing a light blue as he looked Toa up and down.

‘I don’t like that look in your eye,’ Toa complained.

Auma didn’t seem to care as he moved forward, threw him over his shoulder, and jumped again, once again preempting the attack by seconds.

‘Quit your bitching and focus, would you? I’ll fuck it up if I’m the only one tracking this thing with Detect,, and I’d rather avoid anyone else getting statuefied,’ Auma grit out as he landed next to Brawly on their platform.

‘Great. So Whack-a-Diglett, and we’re the Diglett. Wonderful.’ Brawly reached up and crossed his arms, focusing intently on the ground below. He felt an intense warmth move down his arm as he focused on the orb fastened to his wrist. ‘Toa–’

Tito stepped in front of him, his hand raised up as he glared down at the ground. ‘Not yet.’

Toa opened his mouth, only to stop short at the resulting glare and the radiant glow of power pulsing out from Tito’s necklace.


Tito POV (Flashback)


“Ce bâtard l'avait prévu!”

“No Kalosian in the training ground. You won’t learn Common if you don’t keep at it.” Tito clapped his hands together, sending a small shock wave through the air. It wasn’t enough to cause any harm, but it did get the brat’s attention.

The little guy turned away from him and turned his focus toward the plywood this place called a training dummy. “Common is hard.”

Tito felt a laugh push out from his chest. “And what, picking a fight with a random Clawitzer is easy? You’ll get there eventually.”

Chespin spat a seed into the sand before slamming one of his hands into the wood with a chop. He winced before pulling back. “So what? I let bastard bad mouth friends?” He slammed into the training post again. “Lele still upset about form. Bastard Pokémon from a bastard trainer.”

“Aye, he might be a bastard, but he’s way above your weight class. You’re too young to be picking fights like that.” He thumped his chest. “Now what you need to do, is tell ME when someone’s needing an ass kicking. The Big Kahuna of Dewford is more than capable of handling a few bullies on a power trip.”

Chespin grunted, then turned and sent another kick into the post before tumbling and slamming into the sand. “Why am I here?”

Tito tilted his head, an annoyed huff leaving his mouth as he rested his hand on his hip. “I already–”

“Why am I on team?” Chespin turned and glared, his eyes looking lost. “Why did the professor give me to trainer like Brawly? I’m... I’m meant to be first friend. To protect and help. It’s what I was raised for.” Chespin turned his glare toward the oncoming tide and kicked at the sand before sighing. “Can’t help other new member. Weakest member of the team by far–”

“You are not weak,” Tito said firmly. “You are young, know the difference.”

Chespin opened his mouth, fully ready to argue.

“Don’t sell yourself short. Just because your journey’s started a bit differently from other lab Pokémon doesn’t make it any less important. You are young, try not to take things so seriously.” Tito looked down awkwardly at the brat before scratching the back of his head. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance to form that close starter bond. As much of a headache that it can be sometimes being the first on Brawly’s team, it’s an honor I wouldn’t trade for anything...”

Chespin matched his gaze, and Tito sighed.

“If that is something you would like to pursue with a newer trainer, I can talk to Brawly for you, but I know of quite a few ‘mons that would be sad to see you go. I know Lele is starting to take a shine to you.” That was putting it mildly. “Auma also seems eager to teach you the finer points of cutting waves in half.”

“You haven’t answered my question,” Chespin pointed out, not answering his earlier inquiry. “Hell, I don’t even have a name!”

“That’s because your question doesn’t have an answer, brat. At least not one I can give you. Brawly picked you because he liked you. He thought you were a fun little guy with a good character and would fit well with the rest of us. Where your place is in this chaotic mess of a family is... well, that’s on you to figure out.” Tito shrugged. “Your name is your own, to be chosen when you like.” A grin pulled at his lips. “Be warned that if you pick something silly, Toa will mercilessly mock you for your choice.”

Chespin turned away from him, his head resting on the training post. “I think I’d be stupid to leave. That... wasn’t issue, really. I just didn’t get why you would want me. Vibes didn’t feel like enough for someone like him.”

Tito just groaned. “Vibes are everything for Brawly. Sometimes to our detriment, believe me.”

“I do.” Chespin returned to his earlier training, sending various punches and kicks into the post. “Why do you have two names? That hardly seems fair.”

Tito knelt and gingerly thwacked the brat on the back of the head. “One’s a title, brat. Given to me for completing the island challenge of Alola with the rest of my family.”

Chespin rubbed the back of his head and tossed a nasty look his way. “Bully. Don’t deserve two names.” He turned his nose up and grinned. “I think Big Kahuna is wonderful name. I’ll take it.”

This time he put a tiny bit of force into the flick, grinning as the brat went soaring across the beach into the ocean. “You’re about a million years too early for a name like that, brat. Tell you what. Make me care about an attack you send my way, and I’ll consider it, but for now... Little Kahuna is a far more apt title.”

Laughter bellowed across the beach as leaves harmlessly bounced off Tito’s skin.


Present


Tito tightly gripped the crystal wrapped around his neck, his eyes locked on the shifting ice below him as a loud thumping played between his ears. He had been with that brat for most of his life, pushed him until he was too tired to complain, taught him everything he could and some things he probably couldn’t...

He clenched his fist, and the pounding was quickly replaced with cracking. “I don’t know what you are.”

Power surged through his veins, and his heart started beating faster. An electric, tingling sensation pushed out from his fist like a wave.

Memories of ice cream with the boys after training, pranks on Auma and Toa, both of his evolutions. “I don’t really care, either.”

The air started to crack and sizzle as a faint glow pushed out from his skin.

He tensed his legs and clenched both of his fists, sending a wave of power out that shattered the invisible platform he was standing on, as well as the barrier around him. Five yellow eyes formed below from the ground, before shifting in color to red.

“You took one of my sons from me.” Tito pulled his fist back, pulling as much energy into it as he could.

A wave of cold hit him like a truck, and he could hear the muffled cries of his friends in the background. Worry, concern, fear...

Touching, but unneeded.

Power surged out from his very being, beyond whatever this being could ever hope to contain, and in that instant, the icy prison shattered into a million tiny shards.

“And I will be taking him back!” He slammed his fist down, and the energy that had been building up launched down, slamming into the ice deity before he could finish his statement and rapidly expanded outwards.

The ground below exploded, sending him upwards as the air he breathed ionized. The remains of buildings and icy monoliths toppled before vaporizing as the shockwave grew wider. He cast a brief glance upwards towards the others before lifting his arms up and bracing as a massive plume of ice dust and smoke plumed upwards, washing over him as he flipped back and landed on the scorched earth below.

He stared down into the smoldering crater, his eyes tracing the center of the devastation, looking for–

Ah.

It didn’t get away.

It saw its chance, went in for the kill, and was punished for it.

A smile pulled at Tito’s lips as he stared down at the now-cracked visage of the beast in front of him. Spiderwebs extended out from the gash that Toa and the dragon had dug into this golem’s skin, and the crystals that this thing called arms and legs had taken on a much more misshapen form.

It shifted slightly, casting its gaze back toward him, and Tito grinned as energy once again filled his core as the monster lifted his hands up, and ice the air around the creature started to crystallize.

They were far from done, and that was fine with him.

He ducked down below a glowing blue shard before jumping forward, rolling to the left slightly as he launched to dodge the second and glancing behind him as he did so.

A giant spire of white needles had erupted from the point where the first spike had slammed into the side of the crater. He brought his arm up as he turned back around and spied a third shot, aimed squarely at his chest.

Worthless.

“Some God!” he shouted as he brought his hand down, spiking the shard into the ground with enough force to create a crater within the crater.

Ice spilled out from the crack before pulsing out from the fissure in the ground as a numb feeling started to travel up through his hand as it started to freeze over.

He flexed his hand as another pulse of borrowed power pulsed through body, and the ice shattered as he landed, before jumping again, that same arm glowing with promised pain and retribution.

Regice moved back slightly on the second launch, and the ground cracked again as he sailed through the skies toward his target. A shining light radiated from above as a warmth washed over him, sending him to an even higher point as blue light enveloped the creature. He grabbed the ice type in a vice grip and winced, his entire arm freezing instantly on contact.

“Dimensional–” Brawly started, the command accompanied by a punch being thrown forward, hitting open air.

“Impact!” Tito finished, screaming out as the ice shattered once again as he moved, shoving the beast sideways before slamming him down hard.

The floating ice golem all but teleported to ground level, pushing past it with just as much ease, fracturing the ground in a cataclysm of light and sound as beams of energy pushed out from the cracks that coursed through the hard cold floor. Stone and ice forced their way up from below as a scar made itself known, pushing deep into the fractured crater, its depth concealed by cloying darkness as it descended deep into the earth below, like a portal to another world.

Tito landed just beyond the newly formed hole into the abyss, his breathing haggard and strained as he hunched forward. Exhaustion washed over him he knelt down and sweat dripped from his forehead as he anxiously propped himself up and looked back.

Lightning surged out from the cave, a holdover from the radiant power that he’d channeled into his throw. He smiled, before allowing himself to fall backwards and stare up at the sky.

Auma hopped down before peering into that same abyss. “Damn. Way to make me feel inadequate.”

A laugh spilled forth from his lips, one that made his ribs hurt. “Oh. Oh don’t banter right now. Everything hurts.” He tried moving both arms, and a white-hot lancing pain surged through his muscles. “I’m getting too old for this. When are you minnows going to start picking up the slack, eh?”

Auma balked as he turned and glared at him. “You’re like, four years older than me. Calm down, pops, ain’t neither one of us ready to be put to pasture yet. You’re barely in your forties.” He turned back and looked down into the hole, letting out a whistle. “Besides, you definitely put up a hell of a beating. I kind of want to know just how far this damn thing goes.”

“Quit joking around and come help me, I can barely move, and this ground is all kinds of cold still.” Tito tilted his head up, doing his best to look at Auma as he backed away from the hole, turned, and...

Scooped him up and threw him over his shoulder.

“This is so humiliating,” Tito grumbled.

“Would you prefer bridal style?” Auma asked with a grin as he shot two thumbs-up toward the rest of the squad with his left hands. “You know Lele can’t teleport you for a bit after you use a crystal. Z-moves fuck with his psychic powers and what not, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just get me up so Brawly can return me and you lot can start scouring this damn frozen hellscape for–” The words died in Tito’s throat as the ground shook.

That was all the warning they got as a cascade of cold air and snow billowed out from the chasm below. A wall of ice formed overhead, cutting the two of them off from the rest of the world before quickly moving down.

Auma’s fists glowed red as he brought them up, but the attack didn’t even slow the encroaching tundra down as it slowly sank lower, enveloping the two in an immovable prison of ice and snow.

A cold feeling of dread settled into his heart as he stared at the opening in fear, before his entire world went white.


Brawly POV


‘How...?’ The word came out as a whisper from three separate minds, but the one Brawly could see hit him hardest as the fire type slowly backed away from the edge of the barrier, his mouth agape in slack-jawed awe as the connection to Auma and Tito cut off. ‘Those attacks took down an Ultra Beast... but that thing, it’s... how?’

Brawly swallowed before glancing back at Lele, who wasn’t doing much better. A black miasma wafted up from his shadow before condensing back onto the barrier in a puddle, a pair of hate-filled, malevolent red eyes glowing as it stared down at the block of ice that shielded the inside of the crater from view.

Brawly swallowed before glancing down. “I know you’ll hate me for this, but not yet.”

Tendrils launched up from the abyss before lightly shoving him back, and he bit back a shout as Lele caught him.

“I know you’re mad, hell I’m pissed too, but we need your rage to be legendary. If this thing can get back up from that, well...” He pushed himself up from Lele’s grip with a nod and focused down at the malevolent collection of shadows and fury. “You’re our trump card. Bottle it, let it boil over, control it... if this doesn’t work, you’re our last hope for winning this fight.” He pulled both fists up and crouched down as a glow started to pulse out from his gauntlet.

He tensed as the familiar drain pulled at him as he locked eyes with Toa, a burning heat passing through their shared gaze as fire pushed out from every pore on the firebird’s body. Sweat beaded Brawly’s brow as the heat continued to rise and a roaring inferno drowned out all other sound.

It wasn’t long though that this inferno quickly gave birth to something new. The blaze quickly condensed down to straps of fire pushing out from his friend’s wrists, which crossed in front of him as he hunched over. He threw his head back, pulled his arms to the side, and let loose a roar that pushed a wave of hot air throughout the chamber. The new white feathers that pulled away from his face in a cross pattern ruffled slightly as he stomped forward, a wave of fire pushing out from beneath him as the burnt feathers along his legs folded together, pushing the fire down.

The scene drastically contrasted with the ice tendrils that had creeped up around their barrier as seven red eyes pushed out from below, their gaze locked on the clear wall beneath them. Lele teleported them out just as the window to the world below frosted over completely, moving them to just over the castle’s entrance, and giving them a bird’s eye view of the chamber.

The sprawling city had by and large been reduced to a flattened pile off rubble and ice shards, the errant building sticking out as a shattered ruin, save for a few sections on the outskirts that remained untouched.

Nothing to hide behind, and everything to see.

Brawly recoiled in horror at the shattered frame that slowly rose out of the ground. Pristine sheets of ice had been replaced with a shattered, barely held together mess. Ice trailed up after the body, twisting around and forcing itself back together into mangled, fused together ice chunks where its arms and legs used to be. The crystalized spikes sticking out of its back had all broken off, and its back had flattened and caved in. Angry grinding forced Brawly to his knees as he shoved both hands over his ears.

Toa snarled, before hopping down from their makeshift platform and gliding down the stairs toward their target, the ground melting underneath his talons with every step he took. In the blink of an eye, he had closed the gap and ducked under the angry red eyes to slam a glowing red fist into the biggest carved-out chunk in the beast’s body.

Fire exploded out on contact as the ice type sailed backwards, slowing quickly before slamming what was left of its fists into the ground. A trail of ice spikes jettisoned out from the ground, only to meet a massive wall of fire and turn into a roiling steam as it pushed out from the other side. Toa jumped up over the flames before divekicking into the inferno, pushing it out through the ground and leaving behind a molten wasteland of red-hot earth and steam.

Brawly sucked in a sharp breath as a phantom pain shot up his left leg, wincing as more grinding assaulted his ears. Lele pushed out in front of him and lifted both arms in the air as hands of magma lifting out from the abyss and reaching out to grab at Regice.

Its response was a glance, and the entire area in front of it instantly crystallized. Steam pushed out from the black obsidian as the winds started to pick up, ice and snow being carried across the battlefield.

‘Like hell we’re doing that!’ Toa screeched as he cast his hands up, a ball of fire forming between them that hurt to look at.

Putting his earlier Sunny Day to shame, Toa cried another bird-like screech before bringing his other foot forward and slamming it into the ground. The entire surface seemed to liquify instantly as his foot sunk down slightly, and the black glass hands sunk back down into the ground.

Before Lele could capitalize on the opportunity, though, both combatants disappeared from sight. A loud bang sounded out above them as they were sent recoiling away from each other. Brawly let out a gasp as he felt the air push out from his lungs against his will as Toa backflipped in the air and landed on a clear platform above them.

Toa shot the psychic a nod before lifting both hands up and launching plumes of fire out from his palms.

The ice type quickly slid back, speeding away from the shots as the ice it used to escape quickly melted behind it.

Toa jumped after it, throwing his arms out and firing more streams of... plasma. Brawly was pretty sure that was plasma at this point, as they had gone beyond normal fire. The beams left explosions in their wake, spreading the influence of the fire terrain with each shot as the ground continued to become inhospitable to anything with a pulse.

The ice type stayed ahead of the assault, trails of ice melting behind him as moved toward the outskirts of the city.

Close to the door and frozen mons that Bulu was guarding.

‘Go after him and don’t give him any room to breathe, Toa! Finish it off before it can do any more damage,’ Brawly ordered as he felt his legs start to shake.

Toa landed on a small section of building and tipped it down into the newly forming lake of fire with a thumbs-up. He threw both arms behind him, and two streams of fire launched his makeshift surfboard across the chamber towards the door.

Brawly smiled, then winced as his legs gave out from beneath him as exhaustion started to overcome adrenaline. Tendrils pushed up from below him, supporting him as Lele gave him a worried look.

Mega evolution after a Z Move was probably pushing the envelope on what a human could reasonably help with just a bit too far. “Just a little tired, it’s fine. Go help Toa deal with that monster, I’ll watch through your eyes and help when needed.”

‘But–’

“Tiki’s got me, now go!” he shouted.

Lele glared, but nodded and disappeared.

Brawly’s world shifted as he looked through eyes that weren’t his own, wincing slightly as more heat washed over his skin. Legends he really wished the mega bond wasn't always quite so personal.

A black orb floated high in the sky between two towers that were slowly starting to sink down into the earth below, hot slag and fire billowing out from every window.

Streams of fire drew his attention back to his hotheaded partner as he spotted him gliding through the air, jetstreams pushing out from his feet as flew toward the floating ball of crystalized rock, a growing inferno between his hands.

The ball flew back several feet as Toa detonated that attack on the shell’s surface. The ball shifted back in color from black to red as it flew backwards, only to freeze in place as a wall of magma rose up from the ground behind it, the earth glowing blue as it swallowed the shell hole.

In an instant, the magma hardened into a fresh layer of obsidian, and he heard Lele curse through the bond.

‘Don’t worry, it’s been taking dips in the magma on its own!’ He brought his leg up in a roundhouse kick that slammed a stream of fire into the ball, before snapping it back and spinning, a tiny ball of fire held in his hand that seemed to almost scream as he moved through the air.

That tightly packed ball all but exploded down, a torrent of death sweeping across the land. It engulfed the ball completely as Toa focused, maintaining the blaze for as long as he could before pulling away in a backflip, narrowly avoiding a red, black, and blue spike that had been launched his way.

‘You can’t hide forever! I know that damn ball is probably hotter than the damn surface of the sun. As a literal ball of ice, that can’t be fun for you.’ Another kick forced the ball up as Toa threw both arms out, pelting both sides of the ball with a fresh coat of red. ‘Come out and play, ice breath.’

Brawly wiped at the sweat that covered his forehead and sagged down into the cold embrace of Tiki’s shadow. ‘Just don’t forget we don’t have forever either, Toa.’ The words came out raspy. ‘If heat doesn’t work, let’s go with brute force. Lele, cut that thing in half.’

Lele’s hands came up from the bottom of his peripheral vision, and the air pulsed directly above the orb. A gash formed along the surface as an invisible blade ran down the length of the ball, sending it backwards and revealing the ice wall below as the floating shield was sent backwards toward the wall of the chamber.

A glowing yellow light pulsed from the heart of the object as ice pushed out to fill the gap as more lines started to rapidly open up, the green hands in front of him moving rapidly in line with the slits that kept opening up in the golem’s defenses.

With a flourish, the psychic type brought both arms up in an x and brought them down. The same pattern cut deep into the sphere and shoved it into the wall as a barrier formed underneath Toa.

‘Break it!’ Lele shouted as he threw both hands forward, launching the avian forward.

Toa flipped in midair before bringing his talons forward, his foot ablaze as he slammed it home into the weakened barrier, pushing past the wall and deep into their opponents chest.

A loud grinding sent a sharp pain through his skull and a biting cold gripped him as ice started to trail up Toa’s body. His forehead furrowed as fire pushed out from every feather and with a flourish, the firebird backflipped, any ice left on his body gone as slush steam poured out from the wall in waves.

As it cleared though, Brawly could faintly make out the gaping hole in the beast’s chest that was seeping out liquid. Regice vibrated, its eyes losing the glow they once had for a brief second before reasserting itself in an angry red. What remained of his barrier vibrated with the same intensity as it pulled itself from the wall, the cracks deepening as it rotated in the sky-

‘Barrier! Now!’ Brawly screamed.

A deafening crack forced his hands to his ears as the ball exploded, sending shrapnel out in every direction with enough force to blow what was left of the sinking buildings apart. Jagged black and white stone littered the clear wall in front of both Toa and Lele, their points digging deep into the barrier. Brawly couldn’t help but notice the tip of ice that had stopped just inches away from Lele’s face and shivered.

‘I knew it would stop, I would have teleported out otherwise. I’m fine,’ Lele said. ‘More to the point, was that the monster going boom, because I don’t see it anywhere.’

His field of view shifted wildly before locking in on his own location, his still form at the top of the staircase held up by Tiki’s nightshades, his body moments away from getting flash-frozen as a giant orb of blue light pulsed out from behind him, radiating a wave of cold that was finally pushing past the heat from Toa’s sun.

Brawly’s stomach flipped as he was teleported down, his nose wrinkling at the acrid aroma of burning earth. A coughing fit wracked his body as the air made its way down to his lungs, his vision growing spotty as black tendrils wrapped around in a protective dome. With a flash, the air was clean yet stale. Dead. He quickly started breathing through his mouth before looking back towards where he had been.

The beam of concentrated cold had slammed down into the ground, a flower of ice pushing out and expanding as it hit before moving down the stairs, leaving a treacherous patch of icy thorns behind it as the world once again started to freeze, ice and snow intermingling with the clouds of smog.

‘Lele, are you good on breathable air?’ Toa asked as he landed next to his trainer.

Lele nodded as he floated higher into the air, smoke and steam pushing around the barrier beneath his feet. ‘I’m having to work for it a bit, but yes. Kind of surprised you haven’t just burned through it all.’

Toa nodded before glaring up at the beam of cold that still hadn’t abated. ‘Good, send me up.’ Fire pulsed beneath his feet. ‘I feel like one more good hit will put this thing down for good.’

Brawly frowned as the ice continued to push outwards and Lele lifted up his arms. Why was it still blast freezing the ground? ‘Wait.’

Toa blew out a breath of fire. ‘We’re butting up against the longest you’ve maintained a mega evolution, we don’t have time to–’

‘Something’s off. I don’t… you’re right.’ Brawly nodded toward Lele. ‘We don’t have time. It’s doing something weird, though, and I don’t like it. Be careful.’

Toa shot Brawly a smile before disappearing in a flash of blue light. The world shifted once more as Brawly’s gaze once again became someone else’s.

Toa’s kick lit up his vision as fire pushed upwards, his whole body aglow as he dived down through the golem below. A shout echoed off the chamber walls as the creature beneath his talons shattered into a dust resembling diamonds glittering in the wind as its body slammed into the frozen flower below.

Entirely too easily.

Toa jumped up instantly as the flower came to life below him, writhing upwards as the ice thorns wrapped around him and ensnared his leg in a vice. Seven yellow eyes shined up from the flower’s core, meeting Toa’s gaze as the ice started traveling up Toa’s body.

‘Like hell.’ Another flourish of fire, a crack vibrating through the skies–

Toa was held firm.

“Teleport him out,” Brawly ordered, his eyes wide.

‘I… I can’t.’ Lele stared up at the scene before disappearing, putting himself between Toa and the thing that had taken on Regice’s face. A wall of ice crystalized beneath them instantly as more frozen tendrils started to extend upwards.

‘Lele, leave me, I can’t–’ Toa’s words were cut off as ice started to creep up his leg.

Brawly felt his vision start to go fuzzy. Damn it, just a bit longer. Please.

‘This isn’t just some random ice construct, is it?’ Lele asked as he lifted his hands up, a sphere of ice forming as the tendrils slammed into his psychic wall. ‘ It’s you, rearranged. That’s… quite the impressive ability.’ He winced as the ice tried desperately to push inwards. ‘You know, for an ice creature… you’re rather resistant to fire.’

‘Lele–’ Brawly cursed as his vision was suddenly cut off. The sphere of ice at the top of the platform solidified, with only a faint blue glow beneath letting him know that Lele was still keeping the frozen assault at bay. ‘Damn it!’

Shadows pulsed beneath him as the nightshades propping him up started to vibrate. The barrier they had been standing on crumbled to dust, and his shadow started to twist around him, holding him in midair. He felt his heart jump to his throat as the drain of helping Toa disappeared.

Despite that, though, the blue glow remained.

The frozen flower slowly started to warp and twist as seven yellow crystals gradually pulled the bulk of the ice together, coalescing into a single ice crystal that floated up into the air, staring directly at the orb connected to it by a single ice tendril.

Slowly, Brawly floated down to the now cold, hard, obsidian ground, its surface cool to the touch. Shadows writhed beneath him. A chill ran up his spine as he fell forward, several goosebumps making themselves known as an ethereal howl permeated the air. The wind began to pick up as the force of Tiki’s presence started to make itself known.

Brawly risked a glance upwards. What was left of the ice golem remained locked in place, its gaze shifting in color from yellow to red, but the blue glow remained as new crystals materialized on the outer wall of the shell. Cracks started to form along the surface now, and

Once again, he could see through his friend’s eyes as a long, jagged spike shoved its way through the prison. Toa was completely encased in ice, his form unmoving and unresponsive as the blue light surged outwards.

‘Your body can’t melt, is that your trick? At least not to conventional fire. It’s the only thing I can think of to explain why Toa’s Blaze Kick wouldn’t just end you on the spot.’ Lele’s voice strained as his eyes thrummed with power.

The prison exploded, sending chunks of ice into a frozen barrier as the area in front of Regice once again froze, yellow switching to red and back. Power thrummed around his psychic as three audible cracks sounded out through the room, each coinciding with a new crack forming in the crystal that now housed what was left of the ice golem.

‘You can break, though. Oh… you can break.’ Lele strained even harder as a blue glow started to form around Regice himself. The ice golem practically vibrated, but Lele held firm as he landed on the cold ground below, nimbly landing on the dias just in front of the castle. Brawly could even feel the smile pulling at his lips. ‘You might be a tough bastard, probably one of the strongest we’ve ever fought, and Arceus above we’ve fought some doozies, but you can break.’

Lele tilted his head and looked his way. Even from a distance, he could faintly see a pair of massive red eyes float amongst a mass of writhing, angry, black tendrils. Tendrils that thrashed against anything and everything around it, save for him. Tendrils that slowly started to gain form and function as they warped into fists and feet that slammed into the ground with a fury that sent cracks through the black obsidian below. The few tendrils that remained rapidly shifted in color as Tiki’s white and grey hair surged outward from his hate-filled red eyes. A tiny pink nose contrasted against the visage of rage incarnate as his Annihilape threw both arms up into the air and wailed.

“Spectral Terrain,” he ordered, the words barely coming out above a whisper as the world instantly greyed out. Like a wave bringing in the new tide, ethereal buildings came into view as the world desperately tried to remember what it once was, the memory of a city given form. Stone archways that hadn’t been there before reformed, ornate tapestries littered the walls, the faint scent of booze from the local tavern, phantom echoes of song…

It all washed over the chamber, completely shutting out the Frozen Terrain that had done its absolute best to cling to this area like a plague despite their best efforts. As the monotone greyscale illusion reached the zenith of the kingdom, the nation’s castle, Regice completely stilled. Lele seemed to sag down slightly as the ice golem stopped resisting, seemingly content to gaze out at what was lost.

Brawly frowned at the monster, then winced as Tiki tossed a vengeful glare his way, his look filled with the desire to let loose, to unchain what he had bottled up on their enemy.

He nodded once, and before he could even give the order, Tiki disappeared, an aura of malevolence pouring off him as his fist glowed red.

Loss came for everyone, including gods, but it did not justify the things this creature had done and it did nothing to placate Tiki. Almost as an afterthought, as the ghostly monkey sailed through the air, Brawly affirmed his friend’s course of action. “Rage Fist.”

Like a chain reaction, the words prompted motion as the glowing red fist of his Pokémon condensed down in size. Flecks of black flitted through the red aura pushing out from his fist. Tiki let his rage boil over, and then…

He disappeared, and the world shook.

The energy pushed outwards once it was brought home, slamming what was left of the ice type into the pavement below as the plaza in front of the castle cracked and bowed. A barrier parted the giant red and black wave reaching his location as a winded, wide-eyed Lele teleported directly in front of him. Clouds of ash carried the stench of death shortly thereafter, but through it all, Brawly could faintly make out a fine white powder being swept along by the spectral smog.

Lele relaxed slightly, and once again, the world came into focus through new eyes as he stared through Tiki’s perspective. The yellow eyes that lit up the creature’s face had faded to black as the hole Tiki punched through its chest slowly started to expand, the golem’s body breaking apart into a fine pink mist that was slowly becoming more white as his breathing calmed down.

Tiki stared down at the disintegrating body and backed away slowly, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let out a long, painful sigh. ‘We won.’

Brawly couldn’t even work up the energy to nod.

‘Doesn’t feel like a win,’ Lele said, his voice melancholic.

‘Never does if I’m the one ending things.’ Tiki pulled back, his eyes still locked on their defeated foe. ‘When we get out of here, I want a normal fight. I don’t mind being our team’s avenger, but…’

‘The rage is hard to control, and you feel horrid for weeks afterwards. I know.’ Brawly felt a smile pull at his lips. ‘You’ll be the personal ‘mon used on the next eighth. That should help you burn off some–’

The world faded away before he even got a chance to finish. The ethereal grey kingdom had been replaced with a large white chamber. Five pedestals ascended high above him, each with a unique set of dots carved into them from the side and water cascading down them in small, dug in waterfalls. He followed them down, but found that he couldn’t see the bottom.

Only clouds.

Brawly quickly glanced around, all previous exhaustion dissipating as he turned, only to find that neither Lele nor Tiki were with him, and froze once he spotted a sequence of dots that he recognized. Dots that were glowing bright yellow.

He blinked and found himself in front of a crystal throne, before the being that he had just reduced to dust. “We… how?”

‘Too soon.’ The words just appeared in his head, along with a set of symbols. He couldn’t understand nor make sense of the images, but despite that, the message was clear.

Another blink, and the world once again shifted, and the image in front of him locked him in place as his earlier exhaustion came back in full force. Lele stood before him, completely frozen. The chamber had once again fully reverted to Frozen Terrain, and off in the distance he could see the outline of Tiki’s statuesque appearance.

A numb feeling pushed out from his back. Brawly glanced behind him, his vision going white. What greeted him quickly shattered whatever hope he had left as a single glowing yellow eye lit up the center of a very familiar face. One that he had started his journey with, all those years ago.

The statue backed away from him as he fell forward, his eyes locking on to the familiar pattern he had grown to despise lighting up upon the very ground he stood on.

His world went white.

***

Normal POV

***

“Is the planet done throwing a temper tantrum?” Emilie asked, her voice shaky. “That was not pleasant.”

‘Earthquakes usually aren’t, lass,’ Apollo quipped from on high.

‘Says the Pokémon that was in the air,’ Joern grouched before helping me up. Well, as much as a two foot tall grass type could help me up, at least.

“Compared to half the crap that’s happened to me down here, that was tame.” I glanced around the room and smiled. “Looks like we’re all good, so let's get moving. We need-”

As if to spite me, the universe picked that moment to shift from greyscale to ice and snow. The room once again dropped in temperature, and though the way forward remained open to us, a loud screech made it abundantly clear that we weren’t going to be able to just walk to our next location.

The ice statue that flew out from the wreckage of our previous path though, was something that filled my heart with dread, as the familiar visage of a luchador sailed overhead, her cries triumphant as she descended, a yellow jewel shining in her forehead.

Chapter Text

My stomach lurched as I teleported backwards, my feet slipping as my instinct to jump back combined with the sudden movement and the somewhat slippery floor. Sharp wind and icy blades slammed down into the ground I had been standing on as I landed flat on my ass, scattering my team through the room.

Two streams of fire, one from my shoulder and one from across the room, launched upwards and swelled in size under Sol’s artificial light, pushing through the carnage that was trailing after Joern as he haphazardly slid backwards. Pale blue light enveloped both and usurped control of the blazes, combining them into a massive swell of fire that trailed after the flying sculpture, and...

Boom.

Legends above I knew it was coming and it’s still obnoxiously loud. Shielding my eyes and face, I just barely managed to peek through my fingers to see the explosion force the fake down, trailing a firestorm down after it as it slammed beakfirst into the unforgiving ground below.

“Please tell me this is an ice fake and not the real deal with a fresh case of icy mind control!” I shouted over the roaring blaze that was currently pelting the ground.

Holy fuck it was getting back up. It was tough guying through a damn fire storm, what the hell?

‘Cap, if this was the real Crash, we would have already been over the plank having dinner with Davy Jones.’ The seabird capped his reply off by disappearing in a buzz of sound and slamming a silver wing directly into the sculpture’s stomach, launching it across the room.

‘I don’t really feel any life from it, either,’ Peresphone quipped as she floated upwards, briefly breaking contact with her husband as the chunk of ice sailed between them. ‘ Another copy, how droll.’

Lucas winced as said copy slammed into the wall with a resounding thud. ‘With all the form and none of the substance, it would seem.’ A whistle sounded out as he floated closer, chunks of ice falling from the wall. ‘Yup. No flesh or blood to be found. Nice work, Apollo.’

‘Kill stealer!’ both Suzy and Emilie shouted before looking at each other. ‘What do you mean kill stealer!? That was mine!’

‘Ninety percent of that was my fire, shortstack! Whatever giant snake you blew up before had to have been pretty pathetic to get blown up by those carnival grade pyrotechnics!’ Suzy started moving toward my starter, her shoulders shaking.

“You wish your fire was as cool as circus fire, featherhead. Besides, my stream was smaller because I condensed it down. Makes the fire hotter.” She waved her hand and tossed her hair back as she looked away. “Not to mention that explosion was ALL me. Go back to being the damsel and let the grown-ups do their jobs, alright, hothead?”

Suzy thwacked Emilie in the head and laughed. ‘Grown-up. That’s adorable. The only thing that’s grown is your ego, pipsqueak.’

The red was back. Legends, why do I get the best ammunition to torment my starter in fucking battles to the death with ancient ice deities? I’m like ninety percent sure this is a problem that only happens to me!

“More grown up than you at—”

“For the love of everything holy, we have more pressing matters, so cram it, shove it, and stow it, capiche?” I leveled a glare at the both of them and smirked as they shrunk away. “Good, now let’s book it before some other random ice sculpture decides we’d make a good—”

A blade of ice shattered inches away from my face against the unyielding steel edge of Lucas’s blade, my cheeks burning from where the remaining shards glanced past. In the blink of an eye, that same blade was above me, barely holding back a pair of angry blue talons from tearing me to shreds. My heart skipped a beat as I backpedaled, tripping and landing flat on my ass for the second time as another blade came up from behind and bisected the bird at the chest.

‘If you lot are going to squabble like children, have the decency to make sure the damned thing is dead first,’ Persephone screeched, the eyes in her scabbard glaring balefully at the two starter Pokémon as her sword rose up high in the air, turned, and delivered a powerful vertical slice that cut right through the ice bird’s wings and split the reforming bird from shoulder to hip. ‘And would someone with a bludgeoning move come over here and finish—’

Joern slammed a glowing black fist directly into the ice bird’s back, sending the top half flailing across the ground before slamming the other half behind him with a backhand.

‘Thank you.’ Persephone smiled at Joern, then looked at Suzy, a baleful glare taking shape upon her scabbard. ‘Now, make yourself useful and incinerate what’s left. You leave even a piece of these damn things and they pop back up like cockroaches.’

Suzy snapped out of her daze and nodded, a blaze already forming in front of her beak. Joern hopped back just as she tossed her head down and lit the ground up with a Flamethrower.

I scrambled backwards as the flames started to push beyond where Suzy had been aiming. “Careful, I’m cold, but I’m not that cold.”

Suzy winced and cut the blaze, once again looking shamefaced as she rubbed the back of her head, a blush making itself known from behind her feathers. ‘Sorry. I, uh... don’t know my own strength sometimes.’

“Rookie mis—” Emilie snapped her mouth shut and looked away from the group at the glare she got from both Apollo and Persephone. “Shutting up now.”

Why did I hear metal grinding against stone?

I pushed myself up, dusted myself off, and slowly made my way over to the giant black scorch mark on the ground. No ice moved or thrashed about. No wings. No talons...

All traces of our opponent had completely disappeared from sight, save for a single yellow jewel resting in the center of the black stain that was already shifting back to blue in color, the snow seemingly appearing out of nowhere and inching closer.

Almost as though it wanted to touch the jewel...

It couldn’t be that simple, could it?

I reached down and snatched the little thing up seconds before the cold reclaimed it. Damn thing was cold to the touch, something I could feel despite my thick winter gloves, but despite that, there was a gentle thrum. A pulse that pushed through that felt alive.

God, the weak spot was the eyes all along. Video game logic held true to real life, and that both made me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

A loud bang and a plume of snow and ice pushed out from the passage that led down to here, and I whipped my head around to take stock as Emilie roughly landed on my shoulders. My world faded out, my stomach lurched, and we were partially through the cave leading out of the chamber. The smoke cleared to reveal pale blue skin and a yellow jewel, and I swallowed down my panic as more copies of Brawly’s squad glided into the chamber.

“Time to go!” I shouted, before snapping my jaw shut as the world once again lurched forward, this time with my view pointing in the correct direction to run.

I spied both swords sink down into my shadow as Apollo swung down low, with Joern riding Sol as she darted up next to me.

Suzy brought up the rear as we started to move, and I glanced back to see her shooting me a confused look. ‘I feel like we could take ‘em. We dealt with the wannabe wrestling fanatic fine—’

“Correction, we ganged up on one fake member of Brawly’s squad, it tanked an explosion and a firestorm, and it still almost iced me,” I shouted back. “I don’t want to deal with all of them at the same damn time, in a big open area, where the fake fighting types have a crap ton of space to move in. Fuuuuck that.”

A wall of ice formed behind us as a stream of cold fire slammed into Emilie’s barrier.

How the fuck does that work? How is fire cold? Why is fake Toa already almost on top of us, this is dumb!

‘Joern, pelt the damn thing with Razor Leaf. Aim for its feet to try and trip it up,’ I ordered, glancing back at the rapidly approaching Ice Blaziken.

Legends, why did something so cool have to be on the other side?

The ice chicken jumped over the sharpened leaves, its feathers unnaturally static as it glided up, its hands held together behind it as a blue orb formed between his palms.

“Oh, you are not kamehamehaing me, you stupid bird. Emilie, light the damn thing on fire,” I said, my voice panicked.

A low rumbling assaulted my ears as my starter focused and a glowing red orb grew between her hands. A bright flash of light was the only warning I had as the attack launched out across the hall, slamming into the opposing Ice Beam. The two attacks fought each other for half a second, before combining into a massive purple ball of energy that started to grow, until finally...

“Teleporting now!” Emilie shouted as she cut off the flow.

I felt my stomach lurch as the world once again reoriented itself around me, though for once, the accompanying bile didn’t rear its ugly head. A gust of wind met my back, urging me forward once more as I glanced around at the other members of my team, who had gotten a bit ahead of us while we focused on Ice Blaziken. I moved to turn back before feeling a pair of tiny hands directing my head to face forward.

“You’re not supposed to look at the explosion, and you run faster when you’re not distracted.” She clapped her hands next to me ears. “Pump those legs, work it, come on!”

My lungs burned as I glared at my starter Pokémon. “You know, I could run faster if I didn't have to lug around a forty-pound tagalo—” My words were cut off as we teleported further ahead again. “You know what? I think I’m starting to get used to that.”

“Good, because we’ve got another runner that’s managed to play catch up!” Emilie shouted, sending me a mental vision of an Ice Machamp as the world once again moved around me mid-step.

“Just the Machamp?” I asked.

She gave me an odd look before nodding. “Blaziken got sent backwards and is playing catch up. Gallade is the next closest but it’s a decent bit slower, and the others are trailing behind.”

A loud crash sounded out behind me, and I grinned before switching over to telepathy. ‘ Good. That was the other reason I wanted to run. Apollo, Air Cutter the ceiling as you fly forward. Sol, you help with Night Slash. Joern, same with Razor Leaf. Let’s see if we can’t bring the house down.’

Apollo blanched slightly. ‘Err... are you sure that’s wise, Cap? I’d rather not have a repeat of—’

A fist slammed down into the ground where i had been running as Emilie moved us further forward yet again, her eyes glowing an angry blue as she grabbed some errant rocks and ice and threw them behind her at the crystalized creature. ‘Just do it, and go fast! I’ll keep Lea safe.’

‘Aye, first mate,’ Sol cheekily replied as she twirled her head around, her horn glowing black as a sickle pushed out from her head.

Apollo gave me a nervous look before nodding and lending a wing. Stalactites were the first to fall, skewering the ground behind us and sending cracks through the stone as both the Ice Machamp and Ice Blaziken moved out of the way. I kept my eyes trained on the fake fighting types as a third caught up, letting Emilie guide me as a Gallade skated along ice that formed beneath its feet. A loud pop followed by rumbling quickly pulled my head up, but the ceiling above me remained untouched as Emilie once again teleported us forward.

“Okay, either Gawain was undershooting how much of a boost evolution gave him, or I’m built different. These back-to-back teleports are a breeze.” Emilie shot me a grin before glancing over at Suzy. “You keeping up, featherhead?”

‘I’m the only one keeping up, princess. Don’t go too far ahead or we’ll get separated from the others,’ Suzy said from beside me, barely audible even through the mental link over the stones slamming into the ground behind us.

I glanced back nervously, before sighing as I pumped my legs even harder. If nothing else, I was confident in my team’s speed. Boulders and dirt were tumbling down behind them as they moved, Apollo being the first to appear at my side with a buzz of sound. Sol darted forward to join him, her fur flowing as she glided between falling rocks with Joern tightly holding onto her back as she jumped forward.

The fake Lele was right behind her, damn it.

“Joern, Water Pulse, like you did in front of the gate!” I shouted.

Joern was already spinning around before I could finish giving the command, a ball of water exploding outwards, point-blank, at the fake Gallade. The water crystalized on impact, and the thing that had decided to steal our friend’s face lost form as the ice expanded outwards, sealing off the chamber behind us.

Joern grinned before falling forward, his hands flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to grab something to steady himself.

‘Oi, watch the tail! ’ Sol shouted as she slowed down. ‘That thing is sensitive.’

Joern grunted before pulling himself up and facing forward. ‘Keep up the pace. That won’t keep them out for long. It barely slowed down the army of the damned, and I'd be willing to bet those things are a lot stronger than those foot soldiers.’

A loud crack proved Joern’s point, and we once again were on the move. As I turned away, a single yellow jewel caught my eye as it was launched from the small opening. “What’s—”

The visuals flitted into my mind instantly as Emilie shared her memory of the event as it happened. The yellow gem launched back into the air, bringing up a decent amount of ice and snow that reformed into the frozen mirror image of our psychic friend. Two hands rose up into the air, and two sheets of ice launched out from the wall.

I blinked as the mental image bled into reality, and bit back a swear word as the frozen barriers raced alongside us, boxing us into a narrower section of the cave. I chanced a glance to the left to see my own reflection staring back. Dried blood matted my unevenly cut hair, wool puffed out of a few tears that littered my coat, my face was a damned mess...

Legends above, I could hear May fussing over me in my head already.

Needed to get to her first though. Even if my lungs were screaming and my legs were crying, we couldn’t slow down.

Still, mirrors... I could work with that. ‘Psybeam, aim it at the mirror and angle it back the way—’

My order died in my throat as the reflection shifted. No longer content to show what ran beside it, my form twisted and warped until it showed something familiar, yet different. Two extra arms pushed out from my back as the image grew, until finally pushing free of its prison.

My stomach lurched as we moved forward, and yet another loud boom assaulted my ears as the cave cracked and shook. Pale blue and white spikes lifted from the ground as four separate fists brought it home.

Another lurch, and I was beside the rest of my team as the last spike impaled the air where my head had been.

“Yeah.” Emilie winced as she eyed the mirrors. “No. I’m just going to focus on keeping you ahead of that—”

‘Get down!’ Joern screamed.

The sequence after that probably took less than a second to play out in real time, but it felt like it stretched on for an eternity.

Two massive hands shot out from the ice behind us, power radiating from every part of its being.

Joern leapt from his spot on Sol’s back and tackled me down, pushing me out of the way as the arms descended, a violent scowl glaring at me as its eyes traced after my falling form.

“Kahuna...?” The word left my lips in a hushed whisper.

The creature froze, inches away from Joern’s face.

The moment passed, and my stomach lurched as we disappeared once again. A fresh wave of pain surged through my back as I slammed into the cold stone floor beneath me, a cry leaving my lips as heat surged through the chamber. I whipped my head up and frantically got back to my feet, feeling a twinge of pain from the burn on my ankle as I strained against the hot air and steam.

The entire chamber behind us had been subsumed by the largest Flamethrower I had ever seen, and through the roaring blaze, I could hear a loud mental war cry as the flames shifted from orange to white. The mirrors on either side of us warped, showing distorted, half-melted images of my team, then fell to the ground and shattered.

What the fuck was that? These things were supposed to be fakes, why did it react to the name?

‘I think my ice wall trick is a bad idea against these things,’ Joern muttered as he grabbed my pant leg. ‘We need to move.’

I glanced back toward Suzy as Apollo flew forward. At some point, we had apparently gotten ahead of him with all the teleporting.

‘The scallywags are hanging back and waiting for the lass to catch her breath.’ He shifted his gaze to Emilie. ‘You want to teleport her back so we can all cast our sails for smoother waters?’

“Actually...” I muttered, remembering a rather fun combination from when we were on the ship, “why don’t we try a fun little combination attack? Apollo, prep an Air Cutter. The second Suzy’s clear, blow out their sails.”

Apollo grinned. ‘Aye, Captain.’

“Suzy, get ready to get pulled back!” I shouted as Emilie disappeared from my shoulder.

What followed was one of the most beautiful and terrifying things I had ever caused. I also realized two things; Suzy was capable of blowing out a lot more fire than she could on the boat, and Apollo apparently had more potent Air Cutters than Skarmory.

The second Suzy disappeared from view, it was like a switch had been flipped. My ears fucking popped as the inferno exploded, filling the entire cave before pushing away from us, engulfing the tunnel in a blaze that went back further than I could see and traveling at a speed I had trouble quantifying. The wall of ice Joern made to trap them didn’t even slow the damn thing down.

A whistle pulled me out of my awe, and with a bit of difficulty, I closed my mouth and glanced at a grinning dark type.

‘Think that took them out?’ she asked.

I sighed before turning around and moving forward. “Have we been that lucky once since coming down into this hell hole?”

‘No.’ Joern glared backwards. ‘But that did a good job of clearing the ice.’

I froze.

“Emilie. Can you feel around and see if they left something behind? It’d be a couple of small gems. Yellow ones.” I winced at the odd looks some of my team shot me before glancing back down the hall and freezing. Damn thing was already icing up again. “Now would be good!”

“I was already looking, I think I found two. That or some very stubborn rocks, they’re like the only loose stones in that direction.” Emilie was twirling her hand as she talked, and she kept shifting her focus to the walls on either side of the hall.

I nearly stumbled as Emilie once again landed on my shoulder. God, still not used to that new weight.

“Sorry, I’m just... antsy. Can we at least move while I do this?” Emilie asked.

“Just—” I stopped talking as they both came into view, their light shining brightly in the dimly lit cave.

...come to think of it, why was the cave dimly lit and not just pitch black? We hadn’t seen any torches or, ancient godly deity’s own personal dimension, Lea. Stop questioning it.

I reached out with both hands as they drew closer, clasping my fingers around the first before reaching for the second...

Crack.

Only to be pulled away, my vision quickly shifting as a tendril of snow wrapped around my prize, pulling it back into the cold that was quickly starting to reassert itself over the cave.

“Apollo, Suzy, blast them again! Show them a cannonade your captain would be proud of!” I shouted, my heart beating out of my chest as the front pieces of my hair seemed to freeze. Okay, that was a little too close.

Still, two down, five to go? I still hadn’t seen Tito, and I had no earthly clue what Tiki was, but—

My mouth dropped open as the attack that had previously nuked the hallway dispersed harmlessly against a raised wall of stone. Not even a damn crack.

“Alright, welp, that’s enough for me!” I turned around and started running. “Time to go!”

The squad instantly started running beside me, a cool wind at our backs as a dull, echoing wail started to sound out through the chamber. I sucked in a sharp breath as cold air rubbed up against my face, its touch a biting sting as my teeth started to chatter.

“You’d think I’d be used to the cold by now,” I muttered, before glancing up at Emilie. She didn’t even look bothered.

Maybe I should touch the damned shiny rock. Eh...probably a bad idea.

I glanced behind me we pushed further in, surprised at the calm sprint through what was left of this cave, before pulling up the yellow gem I had managed to snag.

“Care to share why you’re looking at that stone so tenderly?” Emilie tapped her foot against my shoulder. “If you start calling it your precious, I’m teleporting you back to the ice sculptures.”

“If you ever compare me to Gollum again, I’m dying you purple.” I glared.

She gave me that look again, the one where she doesn’t say anything and just tilts her head to the side. Like she’s saying she knows that I can do better and should.

Damn it, Emilie.

“I’m like, ninety percent sure these little trinkets are what gives the ice life. Take this away—”

‘And they stay down for good.’ Sol finished with a grin. ‘Go for the stones, just like dad taught me. Can do.’

Emilie facepalmed as I giggled.

‘You’re a lot less of an asshole now, I’ve noticed,’ Suzy piped up, an edge to her voice as she ran in step next to Sol.

I tensed as I suddenly remembered how things were left between these two when they last saw each other.

‘Meh, you’re not all so insufferable. Besides, the world’s ending. Big massive scary ice storm outside, horrifying monster inside, figure if I left it ALL up to this gang of asylum rejects, we’d all die, so...’ Sol shrugged. ‘Truce.’

‘God, you are such a tsundere you can’t even admit you like us,’ Lucas muttered from my shadow, almost causing me to trip from the sudden input. ‘So cold, it’s almost enough to make a long sword cry.’

‘I wonder how good of a chew toy he’d make,’ Sol muttered.

‘Quit the banter and pay attention, it’s been quiet for way to long.’ Joern was glancing from wall to wall, probably eyeing them for the slightest distortion.

I winced before pushing myself to go even faster, my lungs complaining from the constant abuse. Fucking hell, that wind was getting strong. We had to be getting—

‘Land ho, cap,’ Apollo shouted as he flew forward, taking lead toward an arch that spilled out an eerie, rainbow-colored light.

“Land—the whole damn thing is land.” Emilie glared up at the bird. “Surely you can think of something better than...that...”

Apollo fluttered down before landing, his gaze locked on the majestic structure in front of us as Sol and Joern slowly joined him. ‘B-beautiful...’

I nodded as I let myself take in the room, my head swiveling around as I took in everything around me. It was like stepping into a kaleidoscope, each corner of the room shining with a different color that melded together into something unreal. Reds, blues, golds... all reflected off the massive structure in front of me. A frozen rose, megalithic in size, pulsed out a faint transcendent aura that the room seemed all too eager to reflect back.

‘This... is different...’ Persephone murmured as she gingerly rose up from my shadow. ‘I, where is everyone?’

I winced as the words brought me back to reality. “If I had to guess, probably inside the giant glowing ice flower.”

‘Well, I guess you were wrong about that thing not being able to change this room.’ Suzy’s look of awe morphed, her eyebrows pulling together as her beak tensed. ‘You know, suddenly, the novelty of this thing has worn off.’

“Wanna light it on fire?” Emilie asked, a small ball of fire forming between her hands.

‘Sounds good to me.’ Suzy opened her beak and breathed in.

Emilie fired first, her blaze seeming to dance as it moved through the room, shrinking in on itself before growing and contracting in rhythm. It was odd, seeing her fire like this without any other moves or abilities altering it, at least none that I could see.

Speaking of things I couldn’t see, the fire did next to nothing as far as melting the ice. Suzy breathed out and a stream of heat and pain spilled forth from her beak, wild and overwhelming. The room shifted an angry red in color as the two attacks melded together, but despite the increased intensity, the fire simply washed across the flower’s surface.

I faintly heard a low growl from my shoulder warmer and saw the inferno glow blue, before shrinking down. All at once, the fire violently rebelled against Emilie’s control, before swelling out in an explosion that cracked the barrier in front of us.

Not even so much as a scorch mark.

“Alright, well. That’s a bust.” I craned my head upwards and squinted, doing my best to push past the light and try to see the top of this thing. “Up and over, then?”

Emilie opened her mouth—

The entire ground shook.

I let loose a small scream of pain as my head was pulled down, Emilie yanking out a tuft of hair as she fell from her perch at the sudden movement. Lifting my head, my body froze up as the cause of the tremor leapt towards us, cracking the ground beneath him and knocking me off my feet, filling almost the entirety of my vision with ice as it lifted an enormous hand up to backhand me into oblivion.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for an impact that never came, and the loud scream that would probably haunt my nightmares for weeks wasn’t even mine. Whipping my head up and following the shout, I fall flat on my ass as Emilie was sent careening through the cave at a terrifying speed.

‘Emilie!’ Suzy jumped after her, away from the group.

‘Lea!’ That shout was from the other side. It sounded like Joern, but I couldn’t seem to focus or even force the words out to reply.

I just sat frozen as the follow up came back, moving faster than I could track.

“Emilie...” I whispered out, eyes wide with panic.

Clang.

The sound was deafening, and enough to pull me out of my daze.

‘I know that’s how most of your nightmares start, but you need to focus on what’s happening now, Lea!’ Lucas floated in front of me, shaking as his blade held back Ice Hariyama’s fist.

Clang.

I blinked once and turned, before moving backwards, away from the beast as Persephone held back the second strike.

‘Good.’ Perephone grinned as the two blades spun and deflected both fists into the ground, before rapidly floating back towards me, their hilts on offer. ‘I think a bit of resonance is in order if we’re going to take this thing down.’

I froze for a second, before taking in the now drastically shrunk room. Two massive ice walls had formed on either side of me, cutting me off from the rest of my team. A curse spilled out from my lips as I reached out and grabbed both hilts, letting myself feel the pull as one consciousness became three.

With a swiftness I knew I didn’t possess, we hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding a forward jab, then twisted in midair as we focused, letting the power build up before letting the Bushogoma fly.

The attack met a spiral of cold wind in the space between us, spinning the opposite way. A biting cold kissed my skin as the two attacks violently fought each other, before petering out in a small gust of powdered snow.

“Should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy,” I muttered as I glanced across the field at our opponent, who was looking me up and down as he inched to the left. “Think the others are okay?”

‘They’re strong, they’ll be fine.’ Lucas sent a bit of warmth through the connection. ‘Only thing we can do now is deal with the problems in front of us.’

“Problems?” I asked before glancing up.

Right.

Our shit luck.

‘At least this one is a human sculpture?’ Persephone asked.

I just gritted my teeth and allowed them to guide my stance as an ice replica of Brawly walked out of the flower, his shadow stretching up all the way to the ceiling as a cocky grin pulled at his lips.

This was not going to be fun.

***

Apollo’s POV

***

“Lea!” He heard the outcry of his fellow crewmate through a haze of frozen dread, the pale blue light pushing out from the frigid prison a distraction in this bitter hellscape as a wall of ice cut the room in half.

Nay, probably thirds. He struggled to think of a reason these scallywags would go to the trouble off singling out the first mate without isolating her as well. Just their luck to not have any fire starters on this side of the wall.

A loud banging pulled him from his thoughts, and he cast a keen eye towards Joern, his hands aglow with a sickly black light as he hammered into the wall.

“Lad, I’m as rightly terrified as you are, but a few fancy punches aren’t going to push through that blockade.” Apollo winced at the glare the grass type sent him.

“Cool it, hero,” Sol cut in.

“And what exactly should I be doing, hmm?” Joern tilted his glare towards the dark type.

Sol rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards me. “I dunno, we just saw Apollo drop a tactical nuke on a horde of ice soldiers not that long ago.”

Spit Up. They wanted him to use that atrociously named attack on the damned wall. Of course they did. “Aye, I won’t be able to talk for a bit, but it’d be the best plan of attack.”

Joern just stared long and hard at him before glancing back towards the ice. “Fine, but hurry. For all we know Lea’s alone against an army.”

“She has Lucas and Persephone at a minimum, and dad if he’s woken up from his beauty sleep,” Sol scoffed. “If they can’t keep Lea safe long enough for the old man to bring out the cannons, then we’re probably screwed regardless.”

Joern winced. “Not exactly a comforting thought.”

Sol chuckled darkly before scratching at the ice beneath her feet. “Yeah, well... we’re in this shit together at least, so—”

Whatever words that were on her tongue died as a single muscled arm burst through the mirror and wrapped itself around Joern’s throat.

“Joern!” Sol jumped forward, only to get batted away by two more arms from beyond the veil.

A fourth arm joined the attack as the rest of the creature pushed out from the mirror, lifting Joern higher as it glanced around, its eyes piercing and angry as it surveyed their own little section of the cave. The ground shook as it stepped out onto the cold stone floor with purpose, knocking the already shaken dark type back off her feet.

Joern struggled briefly before lifting his arms up, a malevolent pulse of darkness surrounding his hands as he brought them up above his head.

A visage that was locked in place as the Machamp focused his gaze on the grass type, the gem embedded in his forehead shifting to an angry red color as Joern instantly crystallized.

Apollo kept his beak shut tight, his discipline and experience as a sailor the only things keeping him level-headed in the face of losing...

No.

Not losing.

Don’t think like that, you old sea dog. No one’s lost yet.

Sol was locked in place, her eyes wide and panicked. Damn it all that his partner in this was the only one that couldn’t catch telepathic thoughts right now.

Not that it’d matter; the little lass had been radio silent ever since the walls went up.

Apollo beat his wings once, and with a light buzz, he was beside Sol, resting a wing on her back as he felt the last bit of air he had gathered with that first breath condense down. He dared to open his beak to speak but stopped himself, and started breathing in the next round when he felt the energy shift.

If, no... when they got out of here, he was going to double down on mastering that whole ‘do other things while storing energy’ thing Lea was talking about.

It took a second, but she was looking at him now. He didn’t know if that’s better or not, but the damn thing hadn’t moved yet. Still hadn’t put their frozen crewmate down, either. Not sure how he felt about that, honestly.

“I... sorry.” Sol swallowed before getting to her feet and glaring across the room. “Square up, sailor, right? We’ve got work to do.”

Apollo nodded before focusing on the titan in front of them. Out of all the frozen copycats running around, this thing easily scared him more than any other member of Brawly’s team.

“We don’t have a fire type to put that thing down for good on our side...” Sol muttered as the Machamp gently sat the grass type down on the ground.

Odd that it cares about the statue's condition.

“Do you think you can obliterate it in one go if given enough time?” Sol asked as Joern sunk down into the ice, disappearing into the ground as the whole spot seemed to freeze over.

He nodded once before taking to the skies, eager to put as much distance between himself and this scallywag as possible. Flashy heroics weren’t going to win the day here. He needed to keep his head about him if he wanted his revenge.

“Then I know what I’m doing.” Sol hopped forward just enough to put herself in front of him. “Hey, musclehead! Just want you to know that your jewelry looks tacky as fuck. Trying to pull off bodybuilding jock does not gel well with the whole Third Eye thing you’ve got going on.”

The creature glanced briefly at Sol, before doing the one thing Apollo was hoping to avoid.

Stare directly at him.

“Oi! I’m fucking talking to you!” Sol screamed as she whipped her head around, a glowing black blade pushing out from her horn and carving into the battlefield.

Machamp jumped, his feet cracking the ground as he pushed himself up, casually dodging Sol’s improvised cutlass. Faint blue light coated the fists he was pulling back, and the world slowed down to a crawl as Apollo clamped his mouth tight and let instinct take over.

Last second. Last possible second or he could follow and redirect. Maybe even go for the lass. He couldn’t forgive himself if he lost two mates under his watch.

Now!

A buzz accompanied the beat of his wings, and he let the wind it created carry him across the chamber.

He chanced a glance behind him, and winced as the entire section of the cave he had been occupying froze over completely.

Fucking hell this thing was terrifying.

Sol quickly jumped between the two of them and charged up a Shadow Ball as Machamp rose up to his full height again and stanced up, each fist glowing blue. Well, at least the fighting type was a brawler. Kyogre below, was this thing even a fighting type anymore—

Why the fuck did this thing have projectiles!?

Apollo darted forward and beat his wings with purpose, firing as many Air Cutters into the hail of icy death this beast was slinging their way. Each jab shot ice their way, and between him and Sol, they were barely keeping up with the onslaught.

Deep breath in through the nose. This was stalling, even if it was exhausting. The deadlock was staying even, at least, though he was a bit worried about the frozen shrapnel that was getting sent out every which way from the thrice be damned ice chunks.

Thankfully, more of it ended up on its side of the cave than theirs.

And then it stopped.

Their flurry of attacks sailed through the open air with a wailing shriek before impacting the glowing brig in front of them. Not so much as a dent was left, but the force pushed the rest of the debris they had been making out into the rest of the room.

“I got it!” Sol shouted out before launching a Night Slash at the problem, vaporizing the attack as it came.

That might have been the better option to use in the deadlock, but he supposed the lass was doing her best to keep up with Shadow—

Move.

Apollo nudged his beak under Sol before slamming his wings into the ground and violently dashing through the air.

A loud bang met his ears as pain lanced up from his legs.

Don’t scream. Don’t scream, for the love of every sea creature out there do not let this attack go out into the void.

A loud hum of pain pushed out against his beak as he slammed his wing forward, tossing his swabbie across the room, away from the muscle clad sculpture. He glanced down at his feet and winced as the pain slowly shifted to a dull numbness, his talons coated in a thin layer of ice and frost.

Landing was out. Got it. Landing was lame anyway, who had time to stand still on the battlefield.

The thought that he was spending too much time with Emilie briefly crossed his mind as he violently beat his wings against the ground to regain altitude, the tips of his feathers kissing the now completely frozen ground as he fought to stay airborn.

A shadow cast itself over him and he turned. If this brute wanted to cross blades, then he’d put him in his place. With wings glowing bright with the same hardness of steel, he brought his own personal cutlasses to bear, cleaving through two of the monster's arms with nary an issue as he glided through the ice with practiced ease. A grin pulled at his beak as hands seemed to float away at the edge of his peripheral vision.

The grin died when the extra hands reached up and grabbed his wings at their base, sending a violent chill through his whole body.

Kyogre below that hurt.

“Apollo!” The scream sounded distant. Muted. Damn swabbie couldn’t even yell properly...

So tired.

He was losing feeling in his wings now; that probably wasn’t good.

A gust of cold wind blew in his face, and somehow, he could smell it. In this tiny frozen cave, he could smell the sea.

A small drop of rain tapped the top of his head, then another, until finally, a downpour started to fall on them. The rain was cold, but not as frigid as he had imagined.

For the monster holding him, though, it was a prison sentence. Each drop that hit its crystalized skin hardened instantly, causing the creature to morph and twist as its body became too cumbersome to move.

Warmth radiated from his shoulders. How? Something was behind him, but he was still held in a vice grip far too firm to see.

“Apollo? Apollo!? Are you still with me?” The swabbie... that lass.

His crew.

Opening his mouth wide and breaking a bit of ice that had creeped up along his beak, he sucked in as much air as he possibly could before slamming his beak shut and focusing. His eyes bulged as the energy turned volatile, his beak straining as he desperately fought to clamp it down, to turn it into something useful.

He didn’t need wings, or feet, or anything else. To Davy Jones with this monster and everything it stood with.

He would lose no one else, especially not to this cheap copy!

He forced his eyes closed, braced himself as best he could, and fired.

The first thing he felt was the force slamming into him as the crystalized scallywag instantly shattered, the yellow crystal flying through the air as he sailed backwards. It felt like things were happening in slow motion yet despite that, he was still moving so fast.

The first impact with the ground hurt the most. Despite the numbness, he could still feel things, and the sound of something shattering was not something that brokered confidence.

Each following impact was barely felt as tiny pieces of ice broke off, his wings remaining whole despite the rough treatment.

Sol was already running toward him. ‘You idiot, get the jewel!’

He couldn’t move his beak to form the words, and Emilie wouldn’t be any help here even if she could translate for him.

“Apollo...” She had tears in her eyes. Legends above he must be in a sorry state. “You—You’ll be fine, alright? We’re getting you out of this.”

A chuckle rumbled through his body. He couldn’t tell if she was lying to him or herself, though he supposed either way he couldn’t really say anything.

Legends above he was an ass. He wasn’t sure if the first mate would be crying or finishing the job.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see it, ice pulling the crystal closer to the wall between him and his captain. All that, and he couldn’t even put the damned beast down for good. So tired...

“Apollo?” Sol’s voice sounded so far away.

‘Don’t worry lass... I’m just... taking a bit of a rest... That’s all... ‘

“Apollo!”

Chapter Text

Emilie POV

***

Blue and purple light exploded in her face as a massive fist of ice shattered her barrier and slammed her across the room. Time seemed to slow. She gritted her teeth as the world briefly went fuzzy, the pale white and blue ice blurring together as she sailed away from her friends, and she could faintly hear a muffled shout of her name.

Hazy memories of slamming into the sand flitted through her mind. Of getting obliterated without even putting up a fight. “Not... again...”

She couldn’t even focus enough to Teleport. Fucking hell, she hated how frail she felt sometimes. She tensed her shoulder and lifted her head up. Legends above this landing was going to–

Be fine?

She slammed into something warm and soft, like a long-used pillow after a full night's sleep.

That hadn’t stopped moving.

Taking a second to suck in a few deep breaths, she grabbed hold of the orange feathers in front of her as the fire bird darted forward, dipping just out of the way of half a dozen stalagmites that had jettisoned up from the ground below.

‘You alright?’ Suzy’s voice lacked its usual teasing lilt.

“I– one second.” It took her longer than it should have to process what Suzy had even said. Her head was still swimming.

Suzy hopped up and away from a foot slamming into the ground, cracking it beneath them as the angry visage of her final form hopped up after her. She twisted her body, turning in midair, and brought her own foot up to meet him.

The two collided with a deafening crack, the force of the impact sending them flying away from each other. The ice Toa slammed back down into the ground, violently tumbling backwards along the cold surface as Suzy soared up toward the ceiling. She flipped and brought her legs up, the ice melting from her shin almost instantly, and stuck the upside-down landing.

“Think... I’m going to be sick...” Emilie muttered.

Suzy winced before tensing her legs and jumping down at the Ice Blaziken that was getting back to his feet. “Aim your vomit at the bad guys, then. Sorry, but I can’t stop–”

That statement would prove a painful lie as both of them slammed, beak first, into a massive wall of ice that had lifted from the ground.

“Ow...” Suzy muttered.

Emilie rubbed her head before pushing herself up and taking stock of the room. Powdered snow flitted in and out of sight, and a giant wall had divided the room, cutting them off from the rest of the team.

From Lea...

‘Cold...’

Emilie whipped her head around. The whisper echoed inside her own skull, fully focusing her eyes on the block of ice beneath her. A block of ice that was doing its level best to pull them in.

She brought her hands up and teleported down to the ground. “You alright?”

Suzy rubbed her head before taking a deep breath, fire pushing out from her feathers as she exhaled. “I’m fine, shortstack. Thanks for the save.”

Emilie nodded before looking across the room. The cracks that had appeared on the Ice Blaziken’s body had already fused back together as it rose up to full height, snow starting to swirl around the area next to him as another figure rose.

“Great, the Ice God has a sense of humor.” Emilie sighed before bringing her hands together, an angry ball of red forming between them. “You feel up to tangoing with our “final forms”, featherhead?”

Suzy spat out a glowing red ember before darting across the cave. “Just keep up, shortstack.”

She got about halfway there before the ground beneath her started to rise. Emilie’s eyes glowed blue, and she shot her partner a mental image of where she was going. Suzy jumped up toward the ceiling, using the momentum of the rising ice block to speed up as her body started to ignite.

Fractions of a second before impact, right as Suzy was starting to sweat, she disappeared. In a flourish of fire and pain, the featherhead reformed in front of the two ice sculptures. Fire engulfed that entire half of the room, and Emilie smirked as she spied two different creatures jump up from the blaze, their bodies steaming in the afterglow of Suzy’s inferno.

“Can’t even finish them off with my help, huh featherhead?” Emilie smiled as she brought the orb between her hands up, before mixing it, focusing it inwards, and concentrating it to a single point as she wrapped the fire in her own psychic energy.

The beam of heat pushed across the room, only to slam and be reflected as a sheet of solid ice formed between her and the Ice Blaziken.

“Shit!” Emilie teleported out of the way of her own attack.

“I’m doing just fine!” Suzy shouted as she jumped up from the fading flames and grabbed the Ice Gallade by the ankles. Fire flared up around her claws, sublimating the ice as it formed, and the fire type gave a mighty cluck before slamming the sculpture down into the ground, cracking both the stone and the ice. “Maybe you should worry about yourself, shortstack!”

Emilie gritted her teeth before teleporting again, narrowly moving out of the way as the Ice Blaziken slammed its foot down into the ground, freezing the ground beneath it solid. She swore as the creature was already on her. “How-”

Before she could teleport again, the fake got slammed into by its own partner, sending the two of them flying toward the massive wall of ice at the back of the room.

Suzy jumped up next to her, her breathing hard and ragged. ‘You’re welcome.’

“I...” Emilie bit back her insult. Stupid bird. “Thanks. Guess ranged attacks aren’t the best idea.”

‘At least not that beam attack.’ Suzy hopped up into the air before breathing out a massive stream of fire. Steam pushed out as snow and bits of ice pushed through the attack. ‘And for fuck’s sake, switch to telepathy, it’s hard as fuck to hear in this, and it’s easier to do while we’re fighting.’

Emilie shot the firebird an odd look. ‘What are you-’

‘I think it’s time you stopped playing scared, don’t you?’ Suzy shot her a cocky look as she passed the mental image to her partner.

Emilie winced. ‘I don’t think-’

‘You’ve been playing keep away with these things since I thawed.’ Suzy’s look shifted to a glare. ‘That’s not like you at all.’

Emilie winced before looking across the room. The two sculptures were both giving the stream of fire cautious looks as they inched around the room.

‘You going to suit up or not?’ Suzy asked, her tone clipped. ‘I’m not going to do this forever. Come on, the fire’s fine, show me a brand new Emiliena-’

‘Shut!’ Emilie shouted as she brought her hands up and grabbed the inferno, before pulling down and surrounding herself with it. ‘Up! That is not what it’s called!’

Emilie floated upward, her feet resting on a clear barrier that folded up and wrapped around her in a see-through barrier as the fire slowly engulfed her. Sweat dotted her brow as she threw her arms out, and the blaze flowed out and took shape, warping into something more human.

‘I’ll fucking show you. Who the hell did you say was playing scared?’ She leaned forward and urged the barrier to move, smiling as the fire moved with her. ‘Like hell am I going to let you use that cursed name. Let’s see you keep up, featherhead!’

‘Doubt I’ll even have to try!’ Suzy shouted as she darted behind her, her feathers lighting up once more.

Emilie twisted, her body turning in midair as she threw out a roundhouse kick, the fire mimicking her movements. She smirked as the flames licked outwards, pushing beyond her normal range.

The Gallade had brought its arm up, and she locked with it, a glowing red barrier digging into its arm with a petulant hiss. She let her control slip slightly, and a portion of the fire she had been holding back breached containment, bathing the doppelganger in a sea of flames.

Ice Blaziken leaped forward, only to slam its leg into Suzaku’s still-burning arm.

“Oi, don’t look at them.” She brought her head down and slammed it hard into the creature's stomach.

Emilie smiled before feeling her leg get shoved backward. She floundered for a moment before catching herself as the Gallade jumped back, the left half of its body slightly melted like something out of one of Lea’s horror movies.

Water refroze and bulged in odd, misshapen ways as the creature flung its arms out, sending out an arc of water that quickly froze into a single blade.

Emilie grinned. “Nice idea. Mind if I steal it?”

She threw her own arm out and let the captured flame go. As soon as the two attacks made contact, and it looked like the ice might even push through, she clenched her fist and pulled the air into the inferno. The attack exploded, sending shards of ice flying out in every direction.

‘Slow...’ The whispers felt like hissing in her ear as she reached up and clutched at her skull, her vision going spotty. Emilie took in a deep shuddering breath, then looked up to see no sign of her opponent.

“Did that... do it?” She reached out for a jewel and felt only ice shards and disappointment.

Two hands rose up from the ground and wrapped around the barriers that held her creation’s feet together, freezing them before shattering them completely. Steam pushed out briefly as the fire making up the bottom half of her golem flickered violently before being cast out into the frigid air.

Emilie’s heart seized as she moved backwards on reflex, her eyes locked with the Ice Gallade’s. A single, glowing blue orb grew between its hands as it pulled back, a listless expression on its face.

A beam of cold screamed through the cave, solidifying the air it moved through before slamming into the ceiling above with a tangible force. Small cracks briefly formed before widening as a massive ice lattice pushed out from the fissures.

Emilie sucked in deep breath after deep breath as she looked at the fracturing mess of barriers and ice she had almost been a part of. Legends above, she actually felt the pull of the teleport for once. Fucking hell, she needed to focus. She needed her damn heart to slow the hell down.

‘You... need... us...’ Each word came out as a whispered promise, dripping with warmth and calm. ‘Just reach out.’

‘Shut up!’ she hissed. ‘Don’t know what the hell you are but stay out of my head and let me focus on the damned fight!’

No response.

She sighed before tensing up as the invisible wall around her froze solid. Her eyes locked onto where her barrier shattered and teleported away.

...Directly into the path of a flying orange bird, damn it all. A warm set of feathers slammed into her, and she instinctively teleported again, dragging Suzy along for the ride.

“Hey! I was winning!” Suzy shouted before snapping her beak shut as she realized that Emilie had teleported them a bit farther up off the ground than she would have preferred. “Damn it.”

Both tumbled roughly, Emilie letting out a soft cry of pain as she rolled across the ground. Suzy rolled forward before scooping the psychic type up and running, clawing at the cold stone floor with her feet and narrowly staying ahead of a giant frozen leg that dove down into the ground.

This stupid fake was entirely too fond of the dive kick.

“Sorry! I just... reacted.” Another deep breath in. Dammit all, why couldn’t she calm down. “I don’t–”

The world lurched as Suzy jumped through the air, narrowly jumping out of a pair of hands that were reaching up from the ground. A yellow glint left Suzy’s eye as she opened her beak wide and bathed the ground in yellow flames. Her eyes narrowed as she instantly jumped again on landing, barely keeping ahead of the angry Ice Blaziken that smothered the fire with a single touch.

‘Okay, why the hell is a fake fighting type the world's most annoying camper.’ Suzy spat more fire behind her. ‘Damn thing’s just hiding and waiting for a chance to pull me down into the abyss.’

‘Well, it is based on Lele, who never wanted to be a fighting type.’ Emilie winced, wondering if she was supposed to share that. ‘How are you staying ahead of that, anyway?’

Suzy ran a few more steps, rounding a corner before jumping once again right as the hands shot up. ‘I’m abusing Detect like crazy, that’s how, and it’s starting to do trippy shit to my brain.’

‘I’m giving you some platforms to jump on, sorry if they’re a little hard to see, but just... trust that I won’t let you fall.’ Okay. Breathing’s getting more under control. Good. Just stay calm and maintain the barriers.

‘Just know that I won’t ever let you hear the end of it if you–’ Suzy skidded to a stop as a long, ice skewer shot up in front of them, cleanly skewering one of the longer feathers on Suzy’s head.

Emilie threw her hands up, and the barrier they were standing on moved higher. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah…’ Suzy swallowed before freezing in place. ‘Open a hole in the barrier, now!’

Emilie nodded as her partner leaned back, a massive ball of fire forming in her beak. Heat washed across her skin as the stream of death pushed through the opening, consuming the fake Blaziken just before he made contact. A grin pulled at the psychic’s lips for the briefest of moments, right up until the momentum carried the monster the rest of the way.

A half melted, misshapen mess slammed into the wall with a violent crack, fracturing what was left of their platform as a malformed hand reached through the opening for Suzy’s throat. The fire bird instinctively backed away, her foot slipping off the barrier as something that’d put Lea’s horror movie monsters to shame closed the gap.

Emilie lifted her head up and froze as the still solid Gallade surged out from the giant wall separating her from her trainer, arm pulled back as it glided through the air.

She focused on the ground below, held tightly onto Suzy’s feathers, and teleported back to the ground, Suzy collapsing on re-entry.

“Ow...” Emilie muttered, her head pounding as she shoved at the fire chicken. “Get off, would ya? You are entirely too heavy to be on top of me like this.”

Suzy dug her elbow into Emilie’s side as she got up, more than likely on purpose. Stupid featherhead. “Muscle is heavy, I don’t know what to tell ya.”

As the featherhead moved her oversized behind out of her field of view, a brilliant light shined from above, more radiant than that of the crystal prison. Shielding her eyes as she gazed up, she winced as all of Suzy’s hard work was undone. What had been a barely cognizable blob of water, ice, and snow had congealed back into a much more tangible form. Still, something felt off. Why would–

A loud grunt pulled her from her thoughts as her partner pushed off from the ground, her body aglow with a blazing light.

“Wait!” The warning came out far too late as a massive frozen barrier materialized between Suzy and her targets. She winced at the sickening crunch that Suzy made on contact, her Flame Charge pushing out harmlessly as she slowly slid down with a sound reminiscent of skin rubbing against glass echoing through the chamber. Another wince at the impact with the ground.

Legends above, she was hopeless without her.

Emilie teleported on top of the groaning bird, before teleporting again as the massive ice wall moved down to press them into the frosted stone floor. ‘Alright, so we tried it your way. Didn’t work. Are you willing to listen to the psychic that has a functional brain as opposed to bum rushing the ice monsters?’

“Tell me... where she is... and I’ll be down...” Suzy muttered between pants.

‘Worthless.’ The word came with a sharp spasm of pain that lanced through her skull. ‘We’re more than enough. Call us...’

‘Shut up.’ Emilie bit her lip lightly to hold back a shout of pain as she clamped down on her mental barrier. She lurched forward as a pair of hands pulled her up from the ground, and fought against whiplash as they moved across the ground, narrowly staying ahead of the large chunks of ice that were falling from the ground.

‘You alright? You keep spacing out and it’s starting to worry me,’ Suzy shouted over the chaos.

Emilie opened her mouth but felt her tongue stick to the top of her throat. Stupid– ‘Been better. We’ve been fighting almost non-stop since we got here. I think it’s starting to catch up with me.’

God, the look she was giving her made her feel pathetic.

‘So, I'm guessing the potshots you fired while I was half out of it on the ground mean you’ve got some kind of plan? Care to share?’ Suzy tilted her head at her as she jumped up, her feet digging into the wall as she darted up before backflipping over the oncoming ice spears.

Emilie nodded once. ‘We’ve been playing a small game and trying to take these things down with normal attacks. It hurts them, sure, but–’

‘It’s not enough.’ Suzy finished and let loose a Flamethrower at a set of oncoming ice spears, then dodged under what remained and sprinted along the edge of the chamber. ‘So what would you suggest?’

She grinned. ‘I’m suggesting lighting the whole damn chamber on fire, preferably all at once.’

Suzy stopped moving and just stared at her for a second, and Emilie slapped her forehead before teleporting them both across the chamber, away from the pursuing… everything.

Legends above there was so much ice and snow moving through the room right now and all of it looked deadly.

‘Ya, mule! If you stop moving we’re dead! Teleporting doesn’t mean much if the whole room’s a death trap!’ she screamed.

‘Running!’ Suzy darted forward, ducking her head down below a massive spinning block of ice as she cradled her closer to her chest.

God, of all the ways to carry her, this stupid chicken had to pick bridal style, really? This was only barely better than being chucked over her shoulder like a damn cavewoman.

‘So how exactly do you propose we blow up the chamber? Did you bring like, three dozen Pineco from the Petalburg Woods and stash them in a pocket dimension or something?’ Suzy was running up the damn wall again. ‘You better not be thinking of having me provide it all. I can barely see where I’m going when I fire off Flamethrowers.’

Emilie winced. That… that was problematic. ‘Well, the plan was to have you blow out a lot of hot air and for me to keep it going, until I pull it and a punch of air into one spot and let it blow up, but–’

‘Shortstack, I need to be able to see in this bullshit.’ Suzy jumped up as spears of ice launched from the ground, her eyes glowing slightly. ‘Fuck, my head hurts.’

‘It’s because Detect generally isn’t something that’s supposed to be spammed, idiot.’ Emilie glanced up at her fire-clad escort worriedly.

‘You want me to try and predict this shit without it, midget? We’d be skewered in less than ten seconds.’ Suzy winced slightly on landing. ‘You’re the one with the fancy brain powers, why am I the one with the headache.’

To be fair, she had a headache–

Wait. That… that could work. ‘I… Have an idea. Suzy, I know we don’t usually agree on a lot of things, but-’

‘What do you need me to do?’ Suzy deadpanned.

She winced. ‘Do you trust me?’

‘You’re an idiot, of course I do. Now fucking hurry up and tell me what your stupid plan is before we get turned into fine works of art, because I gotta tell you, the stupid golem does not give you enough time to make a badass pose and I’m still fucking freezing from the damn thawing process!’ She jumped and slammed her foot, talons aglow with an orange blaze, and slammed it into another wall of ice, sending them both backwards as the blockade cracked and steamed under the force of the blow.

‘What I need you to do is why I asked, idiot.’ She threw the half-hearted insult back at her. ‘Put me on your shoulders so I can see better. I’m… we’re both overwhelmed right now, but–’

Suzy pulled her up with one arm, and moved her to her side. ’Be careful while you climb, you’re too big to piggy back, but just… I dunno, wrap your arms around my chest or something. I’ll hold onto your legs. ’ She winced as a spear of ice glanced her thigh. ‘And for fuck’s sake, stop dancing around it and spit it out, I’m dying out here.’

‘Our issues get solved if we share the load,’ she spat out as she crawled around and grabbed a hold of Suzy as she’d asked. ‘I’ll link my mind with yours. Shoulder the strain of Detect and let you see through my eyes. ’ She swallowed. ‘I… I don’t know how to limit the connection, we’ll be able to see just about anything and everything. Every–’

‘For crying out loud, quit yammering and do it already!’ Suzy shouted. ‘We REALLY don’t have all day.’

‘I–’

‘Trust you,’ Suzy finished. ‘So stop talking and start doing. I like your plan. Let’s blow up the damn cave. It looks ugly as sin and needs to be burned down.’

Emilie felt her mouth drop down before nodding. ‘Just, open your mind, as much as you can. I’ll do the rest.’

‘How the fuck–’

‘Just don’t think a lot, for you it should be easy.’ Emilie grinned at the glare before reaching out. In the span of about two seconds, she instantly felt herself lose a few IQ points as her mind touched Suzy’s. Her view widened, and she was amazed at how easy it was to feel at home. Normally the brain would offer some token resistance, even if the other person was willing.

She wondered not for the first time if Suzy was actually brain damaged. The sudden influx of rage reminder her that this was a two way street at the moment, before working to take on the mental strain of her partner’s battlefield clairvoyance. She briefly balked at how much of a baby Suzy was before sharing her line of sight.

The homicidal intent was held back by a since of urgency we both seemed to share. Probably a good thing for their continued health and welfare, honestly.

The connection lasted all of two seconds before a flurry of images washed over her. This was something she had intended, but she wasn’t quite ready for the sensory overload of it.

Neither was Suzy, apparently, as the featherhead tripped over her own two feet almost instantly. They flew forward, and Emilie turned her own gaze up, and spied a single floating ice block sailing towards them.

Emilie imagined them there, and they disappeared. Suzy threw her feet down instinctively and started running up the block. Fire streamed out from Suzy’s mouth, the ice block steamed, snow evaporated, and she lifted up one of her arms and pulled. Pulled as the stream swelled up into an inferno as the fire Suzy created pushed past it’s normal lifetime and evolved into something more.

A tingling went off in the back of her mind, and she teleported them both back to the ground, mentally grabbing her captured blaze once she reformed as three skewers of ice punched holes through it.

That was Detect? Seemed… incredibly simple. Useful though. Very useful. She’d have to tell Lea later that she found the Pokemon equivalent of a spider sense. Now she was wondering if any new scans from Unova were available. She’d have to look once they got Sergei back.

She ducked down below an chucked icicle skewer and chuckled at the exasperated ranting she was pulling out of Suzy’s head right now. It wasn’t her fault the featherhead couldn’t compartmentalize.

Legends above she missed this. It wasn’t the quite the same as what she had shared with Lea, but it was close.

She teleported them to the other side of the chamber as another tingle scratched at the back of her mind, and grinned as Suzy seamlessly moved with the teleport, another flamethrower at the ready.

Emilie captured this new blaze and glanced out across the room. She couldn’t find her opponents. She knew they had to be somewhere. They were still getting everything and the kitchen sink chucked after them, after all, but still. Lele was the distance fighter, at least, she assumed, why wasn’t Toa out here hunting them down in the snowstorm.

Her answer came as another tingle pulled at her mind, this one louder than the others.

It also came far too late.

A pair of hands had wrapped themselves around Suzy’s legs, and she bit back a scream as she felt the pain feed through the loop. Gritting her teeth, she glanced down as red fire pushed up against the ice trying to work it’s way up Suzy’s body. As she pushed through, Emilie sees it.

There, glowing in the middle of the fake Lele’s head, were two glowing yellow gems.

To hell with that stupidity.

A new flamethrower joined the fire pushing out of the lower half of Suzy’s body, yet the stupid thing seemed to be holding firm, barely melting despite the insane amount of heat.

Another tingle, and Emilie whipped her head away from their captor to see, spears chucked their way from all sides. She couldn’t force a teleport. Why the hell couldn’t she teleport?

She lifted her hands up and a barrier formed around them. Pain wracked through her body at the impact as she strained to maintain the wall between them and potential certain death.

She feels lightheaded for a second, and winces as the flamethrower pushing out of Suzy’s mouth slowly died off, her body sagging as she finally pulled herself from the icy grip. Tendrils of snow followed after them as they trailed backwards, a frozen arm reaching out as they moved, almost desperate.

Emilie felt exhaustion wrack the both of them as another Flamethrower left Suzy’s beak, this one noticeably smaller, yet still enough to shake off the offending snow, and provide a bit more to the fire she was guiding. Steam had started to fill the chamber as more and more snow passed through her creation.

She teleported as another tingle hit, not even bothering to wait to look where the attack might be coming from before doing so. Like hell was she going to make the same mistake twice. Her head drooped down slightly on re-entry.

Fuck, she was tired.

The Ice Gallade was gone again, but she didn’t think that mattered as she started pulling the artificial inferno closer, bringing in as much air as she could with it as she focused on a single point within the firestorm to bring it all together.

She brought her barriers up, and as the attack finally came together, let her control slip and let nature run it’s course.

Their entire side of the chamber was enveloped in a radiant heat, fire consuming everything as the energy she had collected violently rebelled against her psychic hold. Frozen platforms vaporized. Barriers shriveled and died. Spears dissolved inches away from their faces as the firestorm consumed anything and everything in the makeshift arena below.

It was taking everything Emilie had to direct the blaze away from them, and even then, her barrier was fraying at the seams. Too much.

‘You need only call...’ The words were whispered in her ear, sweet as honey, and a violent contrast to the rest of the world. Yet despite that, no pain accompanied their plea.

Emilie glanced nervously toward Suzy. Despite their new link, the featherhead seemed unbothered by the words. She seemed content to just gaze at the dancing flames below.

Could she not hear them? Were the words something only she could grasp?

A crack formed at the base of her barrier, and she let a curse slip as she threw another beneath their feet.

She could worry about this later, she needed to focus now! Suzy–

Would, honestly, probably be fine. She briefly toyed with the idea of kicking the firebird out into the blaze to make her life a bit easier but quickly discarded the idea as Suzy reached over and grabbed her arm.

Could she actually still hear her thoughts?

“I don’t know what you’re thinking anymore, but that look in your eye spelled trouble. Let’s hold off on the practical jokes till after we’re sure they’re dead, alright?” She tilted her head and shot her a smug grin.

Rude.

“I–it’s dying down,” Emilie sputtered. “Thank whatever legends out there that aren’t this stupid frozen piece of crap.”

Tension left her shoulders as the fire slowly started to die down. She let the barrier stand, her brow furrowed as she glanced around. Small sections of the chamber were still on fire, though what kept that blaze going was something Emilie wasn’t sure of. She was honestly terrified that she wouldn’t be able to breathe if she stepped out into the chamber proper. The oxygen had to have been obliterated from that, right?

This merited testing.

She teleported to the ground and winced slightly. The floor was still hot to the touch.

‘Can you breathe?’ Emilie asked.

Suzy looked at me funny. “Yeah? Should I not be able to?”

Idiot. She’s a moron. One of her closest friends had air between her ears and why the hell did she just think of her as one of her closest friends?

Legends above she was so tired...

“Fire burns oxygen, and I just shoved a metric shit ton of it into as much fire as I could possibly control. Use the empty space between your ears and figure out why I might be concerned.” She let the barrier bubble they were standing in fade as she gave Suzy her most unimpressed stare. Like hell she was going to let that insult be a quiet thought, that was a good one.

Suzy’s eye twitched. “Just find the fancy yellow stones before the wall does, would you? I don’t know that I have a round,” she stopped and started counting on her claws, “four in me right now.”

Emilie grinned before reaching out with her mind and tracing along the ground. Among the ashes and soot, she found two solid objects resting listlessly.

Her grin widened as she pulled, and the badly charred yellow stones lurched from their resting spots. Victory, finally. Now they could focus on blasting that damn barrier to kingdom come. They only had a few more fakes to bash up and then...

God, what then? They had already dealt with so many ice monsters, what else was this thing going to throw at them? How much longer could they last against this?

Whatever, they’d deal with it as it happened. Right now, they just needed to deal with what was in front of them. She grinned as the yellow gems got closer. At least these two wouldn’t be an issue anymore.

A massive tremor rocketed through the chamber, knocking her off her feet. She briefly lost focus, and the yellow orbs dropped–

Right into Suzy’s hands. She shot me a cocky grin as she held up the two fancy rocks between her talons. “What would you do without me?”

“Live a long, happy, peaceful life,” Emilie deadpanned.

Suzy chuckled before running back next to her. “Sounds boring. Any idea what that was?”

“My guess is we’re not the only ones fighting. We–Lea!” Her heart seized as she remembered they weren’t anywhere close to done yet. “Help me blow this wall down! We need to get to her yesterday, I–”

A single cracking sound was the only warning they got. Another tremor wracked through the cave, this one more severe. The wall in front of them shattered outward, a pulse of energy following behind and blasting through all of her barriers as though they were made of paper and throwing the two of them across the room, slamming them against the wall.

The harsh impact sent spasms through her back as she bit back a scream of pain, her vision swimming as she slowly felt gravity run its course and pull her to the ground. No soft orange feathers softened the blow this time. A soft cough left her lips as she pushed herself up, her head throbbing as she looked towards Suzy.

“You...a-alright?” Legends above she hated how weak she sounded right now.

“No...” Suzy held her side as she pushed herself up. “I think I'm solidly in the not okay camp. R-really wish the world would stop spin–” Suzy’s beak froze as she looked across the chamber, her eyes wide and terrified.

“Suzy, what’s-” Emilie froze as she followed her gaze.

Lea was held high in the air, her body hanging limply, a massive, cold blue hand wrapped around her. Two swords were sinking into the ground, completely frozen.

No.

Why?

How?

‘You can’t do this on your own.’ The voice was pitying now. ‘Please, before it’s too late.’

“LEA!” Emilie screamed, sprinting across the dust filled room, her previous exhaustion forgotten as her heartbeat picked up to a fever pitch. She could hear other screams in the background, but she didn’t care.

She needed to get to her.

The mockery of Tito tossed Lea behind him, toward the flower at the back of the chamber, and turned to look at her dead on. Four glowing yellow jewels blazed in the thing's forehead.

A wave of cold slammed into her, locking her feet in place. Her eyes pulsed and she disappeared, an orb of fire growing between her hands.

“Burn, ass hat!” she screamed as she formed above the monster and fired, putting everything she could into it. The fire washed over it, bathing it in the hottest fire she could muster.

She let out a yelp as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her down, narrowly dragging her out of the way of this thing’s massive arms. “Let go--”

“Are you insane!?” Suzy screamed before hopping backwards, away from the Hariyama.

It looked completely fine. She put everything into that attack, and it did nothing.

“I know you’re pissed at that thing and scared out of your mind, but getting yourself flash frozen isn’t going to help Lea. We need a plan if we’re going to–” Suzy stopped talking, her eyes wide.

“Suzy?” Emilie tilted her head, confused as they jumped to the left.

Her face scrunched together, a wince crossing her features as a bead of panic shot up my spine.

She shot her a grin. “Sorry for being a shitty damsel in distress.” A glint left Suzy’s eyes as she lifted her up. “In my defense, you were a horrible hero.” Suzy threw her across the room.

“Suzy!” Emilie screamed. “What the–”

The words died in her throat at the shrinking image of Suzy freezing solid and tumbling along the ground as thrashing blue tendrils rose up from the ground and sunk into her.

Emilie slammed into the ground and rolled twice, her vision finally starting to fade as a cold feeling settled into her bones.

‘No!’ The single word echoed through her skull, each reverberation sounding different, like hundreds of people were trying to talk to her all at once. A pulse of heat pushed out from her core, turning the frost that’d started to coat her body into a cloud of steam.

This time, though, she could tell. She could hear where the whispers were coming from. Her eyes locked on to the little red orb, resting a few inches from Lea’s still unfrozen form.

‘You’ve reached the end, child, but one choice still remains.’ She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the orb. Each word pulled her in closer, tantalizing. ‘Finish what was started and accept the bond. Break both our cages.’ A deep throaty chuckle sent shivers down her spine. ‘And burn it all down.’

Her arms moved on their own, and the orb shot to her faster than lightning, burning through three separate tendrils that had shot out of a fake Brawly’s shadow and tearing a hole through the fake Tito’s chest.

All just to get to her.

The second she touched it, an overwhelming feeling pushed through her. Like fire was running through her veins. Heat poured out of every pore. Steam pushed out from her mouth as she let loose a deep, shuddering breath. Despite the overwhelming sensations though, she felt no pain. In fact, she struggled to remember a time she had ever felt better.

A loud bang sounded through the chamber, yet she couldn’t tear away her gaze. She just basked in the radiant heat, a smile pulling at her lips as her body moved of its accord.

A wave of euphoria pushed through her brain as the orb was pressed against her chest, a feeling that was amplified exponentially as the orb slowly sank below her flesh. The world around her faded, and in its place, a giant molten basin rose up, surrounding her with an unyielding heat that felt nicer than the warmest blanket.

She smiled, wide and radiant, because in this hellscape, she’d found what she needed.

An ally.

A massive creature pushed out from the magma, rising above her as the angry red and orange liquid was shoved aside, revealing a creature only spoken about in reverence from some of the oldest religions. Angry red skin was marred with silver spikes. Veins of magma pulsed between plates of armor.

She stood before something primordial, yet she felt no fear. Only a desperate desire to be closer, yet her body refused to move. She could only watch as the black inky abyss that was this thing's eyes snapped open, its pupils shrinking down to pinpricks as it focused entirely on her, its gaze overwhelming and intense. A roar spilled out from its mouth, shaking the very foundations of the chamber itself. The very next second, she was awash with a power not her own. She felt her body change. The lines along her skin pulsed with the same red glow as her patron’s. Her skin hardened. Heat pulsed out from her very core.

Her mind, fully overwhelmed with sensations she couldn’t even begin to process, went blank as the world faded to black.

***

Sol’s POV

***

Something was wrong.

Heat washed over her fur as she slowly got back to her feet. She gingerly glanced toward where Apollo was, only to see the last bits of his frozen forehead sink into the quickly diminishing ice.

Considering the sorry state he was in; she supposed that was a good thing. Still...

A hollow feeling settled in her stomach as a dark premonition washed over her. They had been fighting for their lives for the better part of at least a day, yet she had barely felt so much as a trickle of warning. Yet now...

Why did it feel like the world was ending? She didn’t even feel this bad when her parents were killed!

A loud crack brought her out of her pondering, and she whipped her head up to stare across the now very open chamber.

Two separate frozen constructs were desperately wailing away on a red barrier, each hit creating a shockwave.

Her heart stopped as she looked at the barrier’s contents. She moved to help, only to freeze as she got a better look at her friend.

The look of longing and manic glee that radiated through her expression as she gazed down at Lea’s pilfered goods was enough to make her want to take a long, hot bath. Steam was pouring off her in waves, the lines along her body were glowing vibrantly...

Her eyes were the same blood red as the orb.

The horrid feeling in the pit of her stomach grew ten times worse as the orb descended into her chest. Sol shoved both paws over her ears as a loud, piercing scream pushed through the chamber, Emilie’s voice echoing alongside a hundred different voices. The noise felt like it went on forever, and before long, a light rumbling took its place. Sol shakily pushed herself up, before lunging forward. Her body moved of its own accord towards the back of the chamber, right towards–

“Lea!”

She wasn’t frozen. How the fuck wasn’t she frozen. Out of everyone here, the squishy human would’ve been her pick for the first to be dipped into the deep freeze.

Whatever, she didn’t know what the hell was happening right now. All that mattered was that she was between her, and whatever disaster was brewing.

She’s out cold. Of course she was. She was still breathing, at least. Now–

She felt the ground shift violently beneath her feet and finally lost her battle with gravity as she landed flat on her face in front of her trainer.

Red and orange liquid rose up from cracks in the floor, and all at once, the temperature of the room ratcheted up even more. She panted lightly as what she assumed was magma rose up and surrounded something she barely recognized. It was still... Kirlia shaped, but... she hadn’t ever met a Kirlia in what looked like white armor traced with glowing red lines.

A low growl instinctively pushed out from her throat as the new Emilie slowly rose to full height before locking eyes with her. She saw nothing. No hint of mocking humor nor any kind of emotion that would even hint at recognition. Only a battle hungry grin.

The two frozen sentinels moved, inching ever so slightly closer to the monster wearing her friend’s flesh, and the spell was broken.

A low warbled cry sounded through the chamber, and ice and fire clashed.

Chapter 65

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sol’s POV

***

Steam exploded out into the chamber alongside a shockwave as frozen fist met molten tendril. The magma shifted in color to an angry black as the knockoff Tito’s hand sublimated into the air, a pale vapor pouring out from the stub that had been its arm. The obsidian tip fell to the ground and shattered, yet the magma behind it didn’t stop as the glowing red ball of rage glided along the stone floor. Blue spears rose up in front of the fake, barely slowing Emilie down long enough to let the hulking ice golem retreat backwards.

God, Sol wasn’t sure if calling that thing Emilie right now would be correct as she hunkered down over Lea’s unconscious body. Steam rolled across her fur, and a looming sense of panic seeped into her veins.

Sol didn’t miss this feeling. It was something she had grown so used to, yet in this situation, the dread felt like a knife pressing against her’s and everyone else's throats. Who exactly was the danger here? Was Emilie ramming a lava javelin through Hariyama’s chest a good thing or a bad thing?

...bad thing. God, it was like a fucking specter had her spine in a vice grip. Every strand of fur stood at attention as her heartbeat reached zeniths she had never previously thought possible, until finally, her eyes drooped as she buckled under the weight of her own curse. A haunting scream pushed through her mind, the steam shifting around her, clearing the way to visions of a not-so-distant future.

Massive hands of dripping lava prying open a dome of ice, seas of magma surging through the chamber, sweeping up everything in its wake, scores of people and Pokémon alike sinking into the sea of death, a massive eruption devastating the island, clouds of poisonous fog and ash sweeping across the sea–

For all that is holy what the fuck did you unleash, you stupid little psychic!

A black aura pushed out from her horn as she put every bit of power she could muster into this Night Slash, her eyes crazed and shaking as she twisted her head and fired. Magma spread wide in the open air as the blade of darkness cleaved through with ease, steam pushing out from stone as it landed.

Okay, good. Emilie, the orb, whatever it was, was still using psychic powers to manipulate the lava. She could work with this.

She could not work with her strongest attack dissolving on contact with the glowing red demon child without even chipping her shiny new armor.

That was, how? How the–

The demon was looking at her now.

The world slowed down to a crawl. Sol’s entire body locked up as her knowledge of what was to come should she fail here warred with her flight or fight response. Every hair stood on end. Every muscle tensed. Run. She should run. She needed to–

The spell broke as a fist larger than the psychic swept down low, slamming into Emilie’s side and throwing her across the room, steam enveloping her as ice formed and thawed instantly.

Ice Hariyama nodded once at her before jumping after Emilie, his fist glowing blue as he sailed through the air.

She sucked in deep breath after deep breath as she sunk down to the ground. Calm down. The ice golem was probably on their side now, that had to be enough, right? At least, she hoped it was on their side. That was probably the closest she was going to get on a confirmation of a truce. She’d take it, though. Now she just needed to get Lea someplace safer–

A psychic barrier shattered beneath Hariyama’s fist, and she was forced to the ground as the loudest sound she’d ever heard assaulted her ears, followed by a constant high-pitched ringing that silenced the ensuing explosion. Stone, ice, and magma slammed harmlessly against a wall of ice that had formed in front of her. Steam billowed around the structure as she uselessly spoke out into the chaos.

She couldn’t hear herself talk.

What the hell was that?

One second the Hariyama was above Emilie, the next, this.

How?

It wouldn’t be so bad if she could at least see what the hell was going on. The ice surrounding them had expanded, becoming black and shiny as the lava rapidly cooled against its opaque surface. The ringing persisted as she backed away, her foot gently nudging against Lea’s coat. Out of the edges of her periphery, an explosion of white light pulled her gaze away from the action as her father floated closer.

Muffled moans were all she could make out, like he was trying to talk through a pillow with a windstorm in the background. Still though, it was slowly improving. Her hearing wasn’t a complete wash, thankfully.

“...alright?” Ah, a word she could understand.

“Peachy.” The word came out panicked and strained. “A little shell shocked, though. Guessing the bang woke you up?”

Dad nodded before looking down at Lea. “I’m guessing we’re losing?”

Sol felt a broken laugh leave her lips. “Oh, God. I wish it was just that. This is so much worse than losing.” She sucked in a few ragged breaths to try and calm down the jackhammer in her chest. “Status update. We have a truce with the scary ice golems, primarily because Emilie absorbed the artifact Lea found and completely lost her mind. We need to stop her before she burns us all alive and sinks Dewford into a molten grave.”

Duskull leaned back at the high-pitched end to her rant. “Ah, so we’ve left pear-shaped and hit the topographical dimensions of a tesseract inverted through an oran macaroon.”

“Would you be serious! Last time I felt anything close to this you fucking died!” Sol screamed.

The ghost type winced before floating closer. “I am. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head before turning back to the barrier. “Whatever, just... pay attention, I guess. Avoid making direct eye contact.” Assuming there was even a fight still going on. It had been silent since... whatever the hell that was. Not that she could hear in the direct aftermath. A gnawing worry prickled at the back of her mind as she bit her lip.

She was worried Emilie was hurt.

Protecting Lea through this madness was all well and good, but... explaining what had happened with Apollo was already going to be painful, and adding Emilie on top of that...

Cracks formed in the black barrier, and she tensed her hind legs and started to focus, letting energy build up in her horn. She didn’t have the luxury of being picky here. The wall shattered above them as the ice Hariyama was thrown into the frozen dome behind them, the body slamming so hard into the structure that it sunk into the wall with half its chest melted.

Tendrils rose up from the shadows and diverted the falling ice and obsidian away from them. “Nightshades.” Dad answered her unasked question. “Very versatile. Eyes forward.”

She winced before tearing her gaze away from the ice golem half buried in a wall they had previously thought unbreakable. Glowing red and orange hands of molten earth were visible through the steamy haze that had settled over the battlefield. She walked forward, a soft pant pushing past her lips as she squinted to get a better look through the clearing mists. It took her a second to realize that the steam was billowing out from a small hole in the ground, cracks splaying out from the shattered ice and stone.

She snapped her jaw shut and swallowed as an armored hand pushed out from the crater, small cracks running up her arm. The thing pushing through got shot through the ground. Sol wasn’t entirely sure how hearty Emilie usually was, but from the light ribbing she picked up on, she was kind of a glass cannon.

Ice spears lanced up from the Brawly lookalike’s shadow, slamming against Emilie’s armor and shattering. A small tilt of the head, barely a flex of motion for warning, and the lava under Emilie’s command moved. The hands jerked, contorting like puppets on strings as they sailed through the air, their fingers congealing into a ball as the fists lost form, easily slamming through multiple walls of ice that rose up from the ground as they sailed toward their target.

Another wave of shadow ripped through the chamber, cleaving the balls of fire in two and sending them off course. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it; it was just... reflex.

The air around Emilie seemed to explode as steam was sent rushing through the chamber, hot air singeing her fur. Pain radiated through her cheeks as her skin screamed at the rough treatment, but she persisted, refusing to back down from her spot between Lea and the demon that wore Emilie’s skin.

She did wince at the hateful expression it sent her way, though.

That was a warning. A warning that meant nothing because she knew what this thing wanted to do!

Why were they getting a warning?

“Emilie?” Sol shouted.

A head tilt.

Progress, maybe. If Emilie was still aware, maybe... “Emilie, I need you to listen, the orb, you need to get rid of it. Please, just–”

Emilie disappeared. Teleport. She could still Teleport, of course she could, why the fuck wouldn’t she–

Sol’s thoughts were cut short as a hideous noise assaulted her ears, like gears grinding against a chalkboard with about three times the volume. She wanted to press her paws against her ears, but instinct instead turned her head towards the noise, a glowing purple orb already forming in her mouth as she turned her head upwards and fired a Shadow Ball.

The purple miasma dissolved in the air before it could ever hope to meet its target, a pale white mist overpowering the weak attack with minimal effort. Emilie didn’t even turn around to acknowledge them, her eyes focused on the malformed remains of the false Hariyama. Her glowing red arms dissolved the misshaped mess into the miasma that permeated the air. The jewels that were left behind sunk down into the structure beneath, and ice glowed an angry, orange and red.

A low, guttural growl sounded out from above them as Emilie focused, her arms becoming brighter as she dug her tiny little fingers into the frozen wall. The growl shifted to a scream as fire poured off her hands in waves, expanding the indentations and sending a cascade of very sharp, pointy, painful looking ice down towards them.

“Lea!” she shouted, her eyes wide as she darted forward, grabbed the girl’s hood, and jumped backwards, putting as much power into her legs as she could to get away. Shadow tendrils shot up from the ground beneath them, helping her move her trainer away from danger as her father floated after her.

The barrier, something that had once looked beautiful, started to bubble and twist, its shape sagging underneath Emilie’s weight as the structure completely dissolved, a faint yellow light glimmering in the air as the jewels floated listlessly in the air, but beyond that...

An empty throne with seven dots carved into it, some fancy dot-based writing on the back wall, and some bones.

That was it?

Where the fuck was everyone!?

Emilie surged forward and slammed her fist into the empty throne, shattering the offending object before bringing her foot down on the biggest slab of what was left, fire pushing off her limbs in waves as she threw what seemed to amount to a tantrum.

She knew now that this thing wasn’t Emilie, not really. The psychic would sooner die than put Lea in harm's way like that. But... God, whatever had control of her was acting like her, now.

Still, this wasn’t what she saw. Was what she saw wrong, then? No, she would make it wrong, but the threat was still there, still niggling at the back of her skull.

That niggling turned to a massive headache as symbols started dancing around in her head. Dots danced in front of her view as her mind somehow pieced together a message from the madness.

‘What you have seen shall not come to pass.’ The Brawly lookalike stepped in front of her. ‘The shadow will swallow the light on this day. Fate shall not have its due.’

“Now’s not the time for cryptic ass hints,” she hissed, her head throbbing.

The damn copy just smirked at her before darting forward, four blue tendrils pushing out from its shadow.

Emilie stopped her thrashing and turned to once again glare in their general direction. A red barrier formed around her as the copycat drew closer, but no contact came. The clone had reached past her, ignoring her completely as the ice subsumed the yellow crystals still floating in the air.

The barrier vanished as another snarl left the demon’s lips, her arms reaching up and shattering two of the tendrils before charging the replica. The ground beneath her rose as she brought her fist forward, swinging through open air as the air crackled and burned. A blaze poured forth from her fist and slammed into the wall behind them, exploding across the back section of the chamber.

Sol briefly felt an overwhelming sense of relief as the exit melted open.

That joy quickly shifted to dread as the stone itself melted under the intense heat, turning the entire hallway into a deathtrap.

She glanced nervously towards her still unconscious trainer before looking at her father.

The father she had just gotten back.

Brawly had morphed and twisted into something new. A giant, hulking, ice abomination that kept shifting into something she didn’t quite recognize. She briefly wondered if this was Tiki, before crouching down as the heat became even more unbearable.

Emilie had lifted her hands up, and the fresh molten earth she had just created surged forward, wrapping around her in a ball before swelling outward, shifting in shape to resemble something she had only seen on murals on Lea’s weird talking computer.

She remembered Emilie showing it to her after their talk on the beach, which felt like an eternity ago.

“Groudon...” They were screwed.

“You know what that thing’s supposed to be?” Dad asked.

She turned and frowned before glancing back at Lea, her face grim. What could they even do? She had half hoped that golem would assume its true form, but all seven crystals were present and it hadn’t.

For whatever reason, it seemed like it couldn’t.

This thing it had transformed into had all seven gems glowing in its skull in the same cross pattern the big guy outside had, and it couldn’t push past the lava construct. Four punches had only served to harden the shell of the creature as it glided through the chamber, slamming its claws into the frozen golem’s stomach.

“Dad... I want you to use your nightshades to get Lea out of here.” Her voice sounded a lot braver than she felt.

Duskull leaned back as though he had just been struck. “Come again?”

Sol chuckled. “I... I can’t lose you again. Either of you, honestly. I think Regice bought his own press a bit too much.” She winced as obsidian claws ripped the ice golem in half, their tips glowing a malevolent red as it threw the creature across the chamber. Ice rose up from below only to crack and shatter as the beast opened its mouth and spewed out a fresh wave of fire. “I’ll... Lea’s too big for me to move well. You'd be a better escort out. I’ll stall–”

“If you think, for one second, that I would even entertain the idea of leaving you here to fight that monster, you’ve gone infinitely more insane under Lea’s mentorship than I realized.” The blue ember floating behind the mask glowed red. “I–”

“You’re not the strongest thing on the island anymore, dad.” Sol kept her eyes locked on the creature as Ice Tiki pulled itself back together away from the inferno. “This... this isn’t a fight we can win, and you’re wasting time. GO!” She crouched down, her horn glowing black. “Get her somewhere safe! I’ll fucking haunt your ass and you two can put my head back together after I make the change.” She stared pleadingly. Wishful thinking, really. Getting off this island honestly felt like an impossibility at this point. Still, though... a part of her refused to give up hope. “Please, you can’t have much left in the tank... Don’t make me watch you die again...”

The entire chamber shook as Emilie’s construct slammed a claw into the golem’s face, sending a single yellow gem flying towards the bones she had spied earlier.

Duskull floated, frozen in place, before sagging, his body seeming to shrink as he stared listlessly at his daughter. “I understand.” He turned away from Sol and took in Lea’s unconscious body. “I hate it, probably as much as you hated me after I died, but I understand. Just promise me...” His voice broke. “Give that body snatcher hell.”

Hopeless, but... “I’ll do my best.”

He nodded, and Sol turned around, squared her shoulders, and jumped directly into the maw of hell to let loose the largest Night Slash she had ever fired, its arc extending up to the ceiling and growing in width as it glided along the room, carving a path through the stone before rending into the false idol. Black plates of lava glass and molten earth strained against the shadows before getting shoved backwards, a gash forming in its chest.

Tiki’s clone darted forward, its fist pulled back as it capitalized on the opening, only for it to be warded away as a wall of fire surrounded the Groudon construct.

Sol jumped next to the bones, looking desperately for the gem that had been knocked off earlier. Those things were a power boost for these constructs, and she wanted this thing to be as badass as possible. She needed to find it while that thing was on the defensive.

It was resting on the damn skeleton’s ribcage, oh, gross. Lord only knew how long these things had been down here for. At least the clothes were still around, she wouldn’t have to touch it. Kind of impressive they’d survived this long, and the crown–

This was Persephone.

She... she was sniffing around a new friend’s old corpse.

Just grab the damn gem and throw it at the stupid golem.

The second her teeth touched the gemstone, the thing came to life. Ice spread out from the little trinket and wrapped around her chest before inching up towards the crown atop Persephone’s head. As though on a mission, it dug into the single white gem that adorned the front of the circlet and pulled, breaking the fragile relic in two as it pulled back its prize.

Sol pulled away from the skeleton as soon as the ice let her, and she sucked in a sharp breath as the pseudo necklace formed completely around her neck, the gemstone resting at the center off her chest.

“What...?” Before she could question it further, a brilliant, shining light illuminated the whole room, blinding her as the stone on her chest quickly became hot.

***

Normal POV

***

My body felt heavy.

It was more than just aches and pains. The dull throb of my muscles screamed at me with the slightest attempt at movement. I could barely even open my eyes and the things I could see through my half-lidded gaze were blurry at best. My bones ached. A searing pain was pulsing through my ankle.

Everything hurt, and despite being out of it for who knows how long, I couldn’t even muster up the energy to move my damn arms.

Still, I wanted to look around. The fact that I was still lying on rocks and dirt meant we were still in the cave. I was warm, though. In fact, it felt like I was boiling inside my jacket. Fighting against the growing desire to pass out again, I forced my eyes open.

A blinding orange light forced them to close again. As spots danced across my vision, my headache worsened. What on earth was that? Carefully, I squinted and breathed a sigh of relief as my eyes slowly started to adjust. What had once been blinding settled into a faint glow, and the blurry shapes started to become clearer.

Duskull and Sol.

Were... were they the only two unfrozen? How had I managed to not get frozen? How long have I been out for?

I opened my mouth, but for the life of me I couldn’t make a sound. My throat was dry and I quickly found my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth. Snapping my jaw shut, I instead focused on craning my neck up a bit to take in the rest of the room.

Legends above, they couldn’t have at least put me on my back? Being face down in the dirt really fucking suck–

What the hell was I looking at?

‘Things stronger than you could ever possibly imagine.’ A weight rested on my shoulders as the words appeared in my mind.

Though familiar, I couldn’t quite place the voice. It was soft, warm, kind even, where...? ‘Who are you?’

Sol jumped away from me after barking something at Duskull, the skeleghost nodding, turning to me, and freezing, his eye shifting in color to a bright, vibrant purple.

'No time for that, unfortunately. God, I really wish there was.’ There was a pause. The voice was stronger now, more defined. ‘That spitfire of yours, the fancy Kirlia... she bit off way more than she could chew.’

My eyes locked onto the hulking black and red goliath as Sol slammed a beam of dark energy into it. ‘That’s–’

‘She’ll die if this keeps up.’

I stopped and felt my entire body go cold.

‘A lot of people will. That orb you grabbed… it’s far more dangerous than you could ever imagine.’ The presence squeezed my shoulders. ‘I know you’re exhausted beyond reason, but–’

‘What can I do to help?’ I asked, glancing nervously at Duskull.

A chuckle echoed in my mind. ‘I’m surprised you’re so willing to listen to the unknown voice in your head.’

I froze. It was weird, but... for some reason I knew that I could trust it. It didn’t feel foreign. In fact, as weird as it was... she felt like this presence was familiar. ‘I trust you.’

I felt a weight sag down against my back.

‘Good, that’s... we’re going to need to trust each other for this to end in anything other than tragedy. You’re a strong girl, and brave. So... so incredibly brave.’ The voice broke slightly towards the end of the statement. ‘I know you’ve gone through a lot in here, but we’re still not done yet. Your Absol’s already marched herself off into battle, but to pull through, she needs more... she needs you.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I can barely move.’ I strained my overtaxed muscles and winced as they failed to even push me up from the ground, my head falling back against the hot stone floor.

‘I’ve noticed, and what I’m asking from you is an incredibly tall order, believe me.’ A pulse of heat surrounded my wrist as warmth pushed out from my core. ‘But you won’t be doing it alone.’

Duskull floated listlessly forward, leaving my vision. A small chill ran up my spine, followed by a wave of energy. Spectral hands seemed to wrap themselves around my being and urged me up, helping me to my feet as I shoved myself off the ground.

‘Any reason Duskull is three shades away from starring in a Romero movie right now?’ I asked.

‘A quirk of the line. Duskull can attune themselves to spirits far more effectively than most Ghost Pokémon. I bore my soul and offered to help,’ he said.

I frowned. ‘But–’

‘I’m sorry, but we need to hurry.’ The words were punctuated by a massive wall of fire rising up from the ground. ‘Even with me and the other ghost helping, you won’t have a lot of time.’

‘Time for what?’ I mentally shouted. ‘I don’t even know what I’m doing!’

‘You’ll figure it out.’ A sense of mirth pushed through my body. ‘I think it’ll be fairly obvious in a second, but I don’t want you to psych yourself out.’

A loud crash pulled me out of the mental conversation, and I spied ice starting to form around Sol.

‘Close your eyes and focus.’

I snapped my mouth shut at the authoritative tone. There was fuck all else I could do here, so why not. ‘What the hell am I supposed to focus on then?’

‘I need you to keep a positive memory in your head of your Absol. It can be a moment of triumph, of joy, of catharsis, anything as long it has meaning to both you and her.’

Uhh... we’d only known each other for a couple of weeks and most of that was spent at each other's throats, though...

“We’ll all go down, together.”

“...if you want, I can stay close. I hear fur can be quite calming.”

“Hands off my trainer!”

My eyes snapped open and the heat pouring off from my wrist started to burn.

‘Fantastic, now focus on that feeling and reach out to her. Let it be the bridge that pushes you both further,’ the voice urged.

I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. The world seemed to almost be spinning as I desperately tried to focus on Sol, my arm rising up on instinct as I faintly watched the ice settle on me in the form of a bracelet, a white gemstone emblazoned with a mega emblem shining brighter than any other light I had ever seen at the center with a single yellow stone floating above it.

Oh.

That’s what this was.

What!?

My eyes met hers, and we stopped, a brief moment of hesitation as my brain processed the scene, paralyzed. This...

She nodded once, a grin pulling at her lips as her hair stood on end.

‘We got this.’ For the first time, I heard Sol’s voice. Her real, actual voice without Emilie playing translator. The deep undertone shocked me out of my daze, and I found myself smiling along with her.

“Damn right we do!” I shouted before pulling my sleeve down and letting my keystone loose from my coat. The second it was free, a surge of energy pushed up from my core. “Let’s kick that stupid rock out of my best friend. Mega Evolve!”

The light pushing out from my keystone grew brighter, temporarily blinding me before pushing out through the chamber and being absorbed into the stone on Sol’s chest. White light washed over her fur as she shifted and grew in size.

Her fur pushed out in a wide arc around her neck, before flaring out to resemble something divine–wings that would look more at home on an angel than a dark type. Her face shifted as her entire frame seemed to move up, her legs extending in length and becoming more defined. A second horn pushed out from her head as the first grew in size, and her bangs extended down, well below her chin.

Addrenline pulsed as my heart pounded in my chest, my body vibrating as the transformation took hold. Hell, she was as tall as me.

...why was I on my knees?

I sucked in a deep, haggard breath of hot air and felt my lungs burn. Exhaustion washed over me, and I quickly found it hard to keep my eyes open. A dull ache pushed through my bones as a low thrum sounded between my ears. The world itself was going fuzzy.

Then just as soon as it had started, it had stopped, like someone had turned off the faucet. I sucked in another sharp gasp of air, my lungs screaming at me in petulant agony.

Had I been breathing through that at all?

Faintly, I could feel a pair of phantom limbs holding me up, making sure I didn’t fall forward. ‘Easy now, you did great.’ The words sounded like they were right next to my ear. ‘Was worried for a second there. The initial transformation is the worst. The drain shouldn’t feel as bad now.’

Drain?

What drain? I didn’t feel anything. In fact, if I did, I was fairly confident I’d have faceplanted into the dirt already, spectral support be damned.

Furthermore, the glow enveloping Sol still hadn’t faded, just shifted color, white light fading to blue. The heat pushing out from the bracelet on me slowly started to fade, only to quickly be replaced by a biting cold. My eyes snapped open and focused on the sensation, and I quickly remembered the way I felt going into work with Eve in winter.

Exhausted, yet aware.

A crystal armor had encased the dark type, shrouding her in something that would’ve looked perfectly at home in the halls beyond this chamber. The yellow gem that had been adorned above the mega stone before had migrated north, working as the centerpiece to a headdress that rested just above Sol’s eyes.

“Sol?” I asked, half terrified as I took in the battered wall of ice that surrounded her. Multiple black crystals had dug into the barricade, a few pushing through it in its entirety.

‘I’m fine,’ she replied. ‘Better than fine, even. I feel incredible. Like I could do anything.’

‘Don’t get cocky,’ Duskull piped up from inside my head. Good, he wasn’t still a zombie ghost. ‘We’ve seen what Emilie can do with the orb’s power, it’s not something to be underestimated.’

I swallowed down a bit of bile. The thought that I was pointing Sol’s new shiny form at my best friend made me want to hurl, but… we needed to at least knock her out or something.

Sol winced. ‘I won’t. I just… let me enjoy the form, would you? I doubt I’ll ever get to rock something like this again.’

Another loud crack, accompanied by a new fissure forming in what I assumed was a massively thick sheet of ice to still be standing, snapped her out of her thoughts. “Ready to take it for a spin then? Night Slash, full power. Sweep it wide and give this thing a surprise.’

With a grin and a nod, dark energy radiated through Sol’s horns. A pulse pushed through the chamber, and as she spun, the attack pushed out from her head like a wave. Calling it a Night Slash didn’t even begin to do it justice.

The wall buckled and shattered on contact, sending shards of obsidian and ice through the cave. The attack didn’t stop though as it sailed through the molten wasteland, sailing over less than solid earth, pushing through lava plumes and burning air, slamming into the hard shell surrounding my starter and sending it back a solid three feet before dispersing.

A low growl pushed out from the beast as it shoved both arms forward, and the burning earth began to move.

“Emilie, stop!” I shouted worthlessly as Sol jumped up, the ground beneath her freezing as she opened her mouth wide.

Instead of the usual spectral energy I had come to expect, a ball of concentrated cold started to form in front of her maw, swelling massively in size before sweeping across the battlefield, instantly freezing everything in its wake and carving a path through the hellscape Emilie had created.

Regice was apparently offering more than a nice outfit and helping hand, then.

‘Tried that, didn’t work!’ Sol shouted as she landed on the hardened obsidian floor, a wave of frost pushing out from her feet as she charged. ‘I don’t think Emilie’s even awake, Lea!’

I snapped my mouth shut, mentally groaning as a mental probe was met with silence, and watched as Sol rammed into the giant construct, darkness pushing out from her head as she cut loose a Night Slash at point blank range.

A loud boom rendered the world silent as the creature was forced back against the wall. The area Sol hit bore a new scar, but despite that, no major damage remained.

What on earth was this thing made of?

A massive black and red claw surged forward, throwing Sol backwards and cracking the armor that protected her.

My eyes widened as I saw where she was going to land. “Sol!”

The still-molten ground hardened instantly as she landed roughly, the obsidian almost catching her. A low whine pushed from her lips as she shoved herself up, breaking the glass as she moved.

“Jump back now!” I shouted.

Sol listened and moved without question as Emilie’s construct moved faster than it had any right to, cleaving through the ground and shattering what was left of Sol’s platform.

Right at that moment, the fake Tiki descended upon the battlefield from on high, pushing out from a small patch of ice that had, somehow, survived this hellscape of fire and death, and slammed a giant, frozen fist into the beast’s back.

Legends above, it felt nice having the stupid hax legendary Tauros shit on our side.

A shockwave pushed out from the impact as ice enveloped the golem’s form, sending snow and soot through the room. Shielding my face, I squint through the chaos to see it rising in defiance of the assault, shattering its would be prison.

How the hell did it take that on the chin and not go face-first into the ground?

‘Brute force doesn’t seem to be doing the trick.’ The other voice was back.

‘Can you reach out to her mind, Lea?’ Duskull asked. ‘Maybe—’

‘Walled off,’ I replied, watching Not Tiki hop away from danger. ‘I… maybe I could do it if I could see her? Emilie always harps on visualization being key in our lessons, and right now I’m having trouble even believing that thing is Emilie.’

Especially when it chucked a geyser of lava at Sol like that.

‘So we need to at least break her out of that thing, then,’ the voice said. ‘Preferably in short order.’

‘...or we remove her ability to control it,’ Duskull suggested.

I blinked twice before looking out across the field. “How the fuck do you suggest-”

An unnerved feeling and pressure pushed through my head, like someone was pushing just at the surface of my mind. ‘I need to talk to Sol, can I–’

I reached through my mind, found the little blob of shadows and practically forced him into the driver’s seat. The pressure faded, and a sense of gratitude washed over me as I mentally took a deep breath.

Duskull instantly sagged slightly as he took control, a sharp shuddering breath leaving our lips as the full weight of how weak I was hit him like a truck. “How are you still conscious?”

Legends above, hearing my voice and not being the one to say things was so fucking weird and sent about seven different nerves on end. Calm down, it’s just Duskull, he’s not going to hurt me, and even if he wanted to, you can throw his ass out. Just calm down.

Duskull winced before looking down. ‘I’ll make this fast. Thanks.’ Duskull smiled using my mouth before looking across the cave. “Sol!”

The dark type cast a brief glance my way before jumping away from the golem’s claws. ‘Little busy at the moment. Just give orders like you usually do if you have any ideas, alright?’

Tiki’s clone surged forward, slamming an uppercut into the monster and shoving it back, ice forming and instantly shattering as it flew through the air.

“Sol, this isn’t Lea, it’s your father, and I have an idea.” A sense of unease passed through the bond.

Sol whipped her head around and glared. ‘What the hell are you doing in… nevermind. I’m open to ideas.’ She hopped backwards as fire pushed out through the chamber. A massive pulse of darkness surged outwards from her head and met it head-on, pushing through the attack and bouncing off the thick obsidian armor surrounding Emilie.

Duskull paused for a moment, before nodding. “We’ve been working too small so far. The closest we’ve come to cracking that shell is when you fired a Night Slash at point-blank range. What we need is to saturate her in that dark energy. Cover the whole room with it, in fact.” A grin pulled at our lips.

Sol stopped, before wincing as a black shard of glass grazed her side, chipping part of her armor and drawing a bit of blood. She hopped backwards and the biggest Shadow Ball I had ever seen launched out from her maw, the wails sending a light pain through my skull. ‘How the hell do you expect me to figure out Dark Terrain in the middle of a life or death battle!?’

We winced. “You’ve had practice! I know you refreshed mine after I died, it’s not that much harder to set it up, promise.”

I idly wondered if ghosts picked up traits from the person they were possessing. Duskull usually wasn’t usually this awkward.

Sol hopped behind a wall of ice that rose up as yet another wave of heat pulsed through the chamber. Despite the brunt of it being sent upwards, I could still feel my skin sting as the air ratcheted up in temperature.

“I know you’ve had problems this last week finding what drives you. Finding a purpose to put behind your attacks, but honey, I know you, and this… you’ve never been more ready. You’ve found a family, and friends, and… You’re strong. If your mother could see you now I think she’d weep with pride.” A small crack pushed through our voice, and I smiled at the warm feelings that pushed through our bond. “Seize your new purpose, hold it in your mind, and use it to push all your worries away.” We smiled at her. “We’re not going anywhere, you hear me?”

Sol opened her mouth, snapped it shut, then growled and turned back towards the fight. ‘Legends above, you’re both so embarrassing.’ She glanced back towards me, before taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes. A faint black aura washed over her, from the bottoms of her feet to the tips of her wings.

Wings that seemed to extend further up into the air. Black light started to spread through the room, casting a pale across the room.

That seemed counterintuitive to what should happen, but honestly, pokemon moves didn’t always make sense. It didn’t look like much was changing though, and I half thought that this Duskull’s idea might have been a bust.

Then things stopped moving.

Lava that had been floating in the air fell to the ground, before freezing and hardening to a pale black obsidian. Fires smothered and died, black shards of shrapnel tumbled to the ground, and most importantly of all, the creature that Emilie had conjured up froze completely.

It was like someone pressed the pause button in the middle of a boss battle.

I smiled, for all of about five seconds. Then both of my spectral partners were banished from my mind, and I suddenly felt like I was about to pass out. I swayed from side to side before gritting my teeth, tensing my shoulders. I can’t… I needed to…

A shuddering breath pulled me out of my spiraling and I glanced up at Sol. God, I felt like I was going to throw up.

‘Did I do it?’

Before I even got the chance to answer, a ball of fire formed in front of the black statue, aimed directly at Sol.

Who was standing directly in front of me.

Sol turned and whipped her head around, letting an attack fly instinctively.

The resulting Night Slash bathed the entire area in front of us in darkness, washing across the room and consuming everything in its wake, including the beam of fire that had been launched, and slamming into both Emilie’s statue and Tiki’s clone. Regice’s avatar was swept away, slammed into the wall across the room with a resounding thud. But Emilie…

The obsidian shell held firm for half a second before cracking. The sickening sound made me wince slightly until finally, the whole thing shattered in explosion of fine, black dust, revealing the changed, battered Pokémon inside to me for the first time.

My heart seized in my chest at the sight. She looked different, sure, but what really worried me was how banged up she looked. Cracks ran up and down her arms and legs, and while I was pretty sure that was armor, the fact that red light kept surging through those cracks was worrying. Sharp, rapid breaths were pushing out from her lips, each accompanied by a small cloud of steam. The skin that wasn’t covered by the armor looked cracked and dry.

She floated down to the ground, and it started to sizzle beneath her feet.

“Emilie, stop!” I shouted, my eyes pleading.

For once, she did. Emilie locked eyes with me and froze, her irises a smoldering inferno of red and blue light that seemed at war. Her body was vibrating in place as she held my gaze.

Biting back a shout at the intensity, I shakily took a step forward, my body protesting at the sudden movement.

Then I took another.

Each step felt like I was walking across glass, like my body might finally revolt and collapse.

But I needed…

Emilie needed help.

“It’s… alright…” I rasped, my voice hoarse as I slowly marched across the cave. ‘I’m fine.’

Emilie reared back as if struck, then recoiled back and started moving towards the back of the chamber.

I stumbled slightly, only to feel something prop me up. Glancing down, I could faintly see the outline of someone. Someone I vaguely recognized.

Someone I had only seen on the TV screen back home.

‘I’ve got you.’ The voice broke on the final word, and a warmth filled my chest. ‘You do what you need to do, kid. I’ll walk with you the rest of the way.’

I smiled, before focusing on the gremlin in front of me and widening the mental connection, letting her see more of my thoughts and doing my best to help see hers. Chaotic ramblings and gibberish that I couldn’t understand kept flowing through, but I could get the gist. Horror, pain, guilt… it all washed over me in waves, accompanied by manic whispers that picked apart at my perception of the world.

I shut them out and continued moving forward. ‘You worry too much.’

With each word, the whispers started to quiet, each sound silenced as I closed the distance between us, blue slowly overtaking the red as her breathing continued to pick up in speed.

‘S-stay away.’ Emilie sounded so small. So scared. ‘I can’t—’

I allowed myself to kneel down and pulled the empath into a hug. A brief wave of pain pushed through me as bare skin pressed up against hot metal, but I fought through it as I held my best friend in my arm, her skin rapidly cooling as I fought to keep her there.

“I know you,” I whispered into her ear. “You’re one of the strongest Pokemon I know. In more ways than one.”

The red light slowly started to fade as I pulled her away from me, staring into her still closed eyes. ‘You’re stronger than this, so show that fancy rock who’s boss.’

The psychic froze in place, the red lights dimming as she fought against the impulses being forced on her. The whispers were reaching a fever pitch, and it was taking everything I had to not pass out from the headache, until suddenly…

Silence.

Blissful, peaceful quiet as a blinding red light appeared at the center of Emilie’s chestplate. The orb phased through her skin and armor as thought it wasn’t there, before floating listlessly in front of me, a faint blue glow surrounding the ball that still pushed out an unyielding amount of heat.

Ice surged forwards, cracking the black obsidian stone before wrapping around the offending object and pulling it away. In that same instant of rapid movement, Emilie heaved a violent, shuddering cough and spat out a sickly wad of blood.

“Emilie?” Silence greeted my reply as I watched my starter shudder, before falling into my arms, limp. I shook her once to no reply, then winced as a bitingly cold feeling pressed up against my shoulder.

I turned, my eyes wild as I desperately traced along Emilie’s neck, looking for a pulse.

Brawly’s fake stared back at me with a frown, his eyes listless and glassy as he reached down and grabbed my starter pokemon from me just as I found the erratic mess that was her heart. A faint smile pulled at his lips, then…

Ice.

Emilie was completely frozen in an instant, and despite how I should feel about that, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

‘Back off!’ Sol screamed, jumping forward and between me and the fake, her eyes glowing black.

She had reverted back to her normal form during my walk at some point, and I could tell by the way her legs were shaking that we were in no shape to do much of anything.

A small grin pulled at the ice sculpture’s face, but despite that, he kept his distance, instead offering something that I didn’t quite fully understand.

He was holding his hand out to me.

Sol’s growl slowly drifted off into a low hiss as we continued to stare at each other, neither one of us wanting to move.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I grit my teeth in determination and leaned forward, doing my best to rise up on my own before buckling again and sighing.

I reached out and took his hand, and the world faded to white.

The cave transformed, falling away to pillars rising up from a big white empty that just seemed to never stop. Water poured down the walls in a waterfall, and the hand I was grasping shifted from cold and unyielding to soft and fleshy.

I was staring directly into the eyes of the Dewford Gym Leader.

“Nice fight,” Brawly said.

Good lord I wanted to fucking beat the shit out of him, you don’t just say that after… after that!

Legends above, why did I have to be practical. “Thanks. Where are we?”

A low hum answered me before Brawly could get the chance, and I whipped around to see Regice, in all of its full-formed splendor, descend down from on high to take its place on the platform in front of us. Its eyes rapidly shifted between different symbols drawn in dots as the world started to slow down. In my brain, images started to form. Letters appeared in my head, each slowly spelling out words. It was the most broken, piecemeal form of communication I had ever experienced, but the longer it went, the more I understood, until finally, the images stopped. It was like… the damn thing just downloaded an alphabet into my damn brain.

I stared directly at the ice golem as the yellow jewels adorning the golem lit up with purpose, spelling out its intent.

‘I think it’s time we talked.’

Notes:

And so, upon this day, to much aplomb and celebration... Ao3 has fully caught up and will now be updated along the other two sites.

Huzzah!

If y'all like what you've read, consider joining the discord, where we talk about cool stuff like, the fic, adorable pet pictures, anime, video games, and various recipes. It's a fun place so come hang out. Link is https://discord.gg/vWbNkH6wQb