I had been on my way outside when I’d been partially surrounded by a handful of other kids. Then what had been an attempt at bullying went wrong.

Maybe I was supposed to be above all of this, but when the little shits wouldn’t just leave me the hell alone, I’d gone and lashed out. Cathartic it might have been, but now I was having to deal with the aftermath and poor Mrs Wooly with all her experience of small children just wasn’t equipped for a little boy who could actually string a proper sentence together.

I was more annoyed than anything else because I’d been planning on going out and seeing if the Ralts was about. A baby Pokemon she might have been and she might have been incapable of talking back too, but she was a lot better company than the little girls and boys I was finding myself growing up alongside.

“Harry…” Mrs Wooly said. “You can’t just go around hurting the other children…”

“You’re right, I can’t,” I replied dryly. “I defended myself, after several other kids ganged up on me. Let’s be grateful that you’re dealing with a split lip instead of dealing with… what was it you said you were gonna do? Feed me to some wild Poochyena for being a weirdo? That’s what you said, wasn’t it?”

“He’s lying!” little Darren what’s-his-name defended, and so did a couple of the other kids but the expressions on the rest of their faces betrayed the truth.

I simply levelled a flat look at the teacher, daring her not to make a deal out of this. Fortunately adults aren’t always incompetent, that’s usually reserved for fiction where the kid protagonist needs to solve their own goddamned problems instead of sensible adults doing it for them.

Mrs Wally grimaced at the mental image I’d given her and seeing the slightly nervous responses from the kids led her attention turning back onto my would be bullies.

Five minutes later I was walking out of the door, bully free. I didn’t doubt there was going to be more trouble from them later down the line, but at this point there was going to be trouble regardless of what had happened. Bullies didn’t just let you go, they’d keep trying because they didn’t know anything better. For right now at least, I was free to spend the rest of my day in relative peace and quiet.

It was getting a bit windy as we went into the end of summer, the tree branches swayed and rustled as I headed out of the city. Ralts was waiting for me not too far past the treeline.

“Sorry I didn’t come out straight away. There were some bullies I had to get away from,” I apologised.

The Ralts’ expression was one of confusion and she tilted her head adorably.

“Ralts?” She asked.

I wasn’t unfamiliar with having to explain some human things to her at this point so I could tell she was asking for me to explain what I meant by the term “bully”.

“A bully is someone who tries to hurt someone either emotionally or physically because it makes them feel good for some reason,” I explained simply. There was probably a more elaborate explanation but hopefully that would be enough for the little Pokemon. Either way, it seemed my explanation had been enough.

“Raaaalts!” the Ralts called out in seeming distress. She ran towards me, barely managing not to trip on her dress and hugged my middle, shaking her head as if in denial. I was glad that horn was rounded off or she might’ve impaled me.

“Don’t worry they aren’t going to do anything to me. I’m fine, see,” I told her, patting the adorable Pokemon’s head. I hadn’t expected such a reaction from her, but maybe there was a bit of a clash in cultures here. Had Ralts never encountered the idea of bullying before? Somehow I didn’t think I would find myself surprised if that were the case.

“Why don’t we go explore the trees and find somewhere to chill out for a bit?” I suggested. As long as we didn't stray too far we would be perfectly fine. Ralts had found her way to me plenty of times already and I was pretty sure all she knew how to do was Growl right now.

My words seemed to light a sudden fire in the Pokemon and she looked up at me from under her bowl-cut hair with a serious expression on her face. It only made her look cuter in my opinion. She took hold of my hand and started pulling me through the forest.

***

“Shall we head back to the Gym for now?” I suggested. “I can explain my thoughts there.”

“Sure,” Norman said. “I figure your Ribombee’s Sweet Veil can’t last much longer anyway.”

Kira reached up to grab me with his ribbons, lowering me to the ground while Norman and Alexia were helped down by the Kangaskhan who had been sat patiently waiting for us.

We set off back towards the entrance and from there we headed back into the Gym proper. Norman offered us something to eat and I happily agreed.

Norman’s Gym had a small lounge and kitchen that was used by him and his Gym trainers, although it was mostly empty right now. Myself, Norman, Alexia and our Pokemon sat together.

Kirlia seemed very interested in the Pokechow that was brought out for her and seeing the other Pokemon digging in decided to risk taking a bite. The confused expression on her face as she chewed on it was adorable. She’d probably only ever eaten berries and other naturally grown food before.

But I was still thinking about what I’d seen in the habitat.

“Have you ever seen Jigglypuff in the wild before?” I asked, mostly to just voice my thoughts and where they were running over the issue.

“Not… really no,” Norman admitted. “I’m from Olivine originally. The closest Jigglypuff were over in Kanto, Route 3, and they weren’t a Pokemon that ever appealed to me personally. It sounds like you’re suggesting this isn’t normal behaviour though?” Norman asked, concerned.

“Maybe,” I said thoughtfully. “This isn't like what I’ve seen Jigglypuff do before. Sure like you say, they go out and Sing at people. That’s what they’re famous for. But I’ve never seen them coming and going constantly like this before either. They still have to eat.” I gestured at the food. “What do they do for food in the habitat?”

“We provide food that would be normal to them in the wild,” Alexia said. “Not Pokechow. Berries and fruit mainly.”

That was what I expected more or less and I nodded.

I felt like I was putting together the pieces.

“Fairy types… Are often pretty solitary,” I told them both. “Either staying alone or at least keeping to their communities. But what I would say the next biggest characteristic I’ve identified is their tendency to demonstrate obsessive behaviours of some kind.”

“Like the singing,” Alexia said while Norman nodded. He was concentrating, putting together the pieces of what I was saying.

“Yeah Jigglypuff are a classic example, but that’s the surface level of things. They’ll often approach a problem through things they’re familiar with, we’ve all seen that with a bunch of different Pokemon species and humans can be guilty of it too, albeit on a lesser scale.”

Both Norman and Alexia nodded in agreement. Pokemon with a particular theme or activity associated with their species tended to be pretty obsessed about it in one way or another.

“In the case of Fairy types it can be the same, just more so. Whatever the problem is, the Jigglypuff are using singing as their solution to whatever they think their issue is, regardless of if it’s the best way to go about it or not or sometimes even if it’ll work at all.”

“Go on,” Norman said with interest, sensing I was getting to the point.

“I think…” I began, “that the Jigglypuff aren’t following their routine of singing to impress people like we’d usually expect to see, or a defensive measure against a dangerous Pokemon. I think instead they’re using it as a weapon to force the other Pokemon away.”

“Force them away?” Alexia asked with confusion in her expression. “That wouldn’t do anything. The Pokemon couldn’t leave the habitat without our permission regardless. And why would they need that? They’ve got their own nest spot already and none of the other Pokemon were really bothering them before this all started.”

“That’s right. Maybe in the wild it’d work, as the Pokemon would be forced to leave to other areas. But the situation’s different and like I said, they aren’t thinking everything through. I think it’s all stemming from where they came from.”

“Route 115?” Norman asked. “There’s nothing special out there, it’s just another wild area.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But you said it before. There aren’t many wild Pokemon out there. That guy tried to set up his hotel, or whatever it was there because there weren’t many Pokemon and he thought he could get away with it. Out there the only Pokemon you’re going to find are flying types, and Jigglypuff.”

The revelation caught both Norman and Alexia by surprise.

“They’ve barely had to deal with other Pokemon and now we’ve thrown them together with a lot of other Pokemon in the same space,” Norman said before huffing, expressing his surprise. I nodded.

“Most wild Pokemon are used to interacting with other species but these ones aren’t. If all they’re used to is other Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff then it's no surprise they’re scared of the other Pokemon, especially with strong Pokemon around like the Slakoth line. But they aren’t going to ask for special treatment either, they’re probably too proud to admit it too. So they’ve fallen back on old methods which probably worked on the occasional Pokemon that appeared in the wild, but obviously won’t work in their new environment here.”

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“It seems almost… silly,” Alexia said. “Why wouldn’t they just tell us they were uncomfortable?”

I huffed in amusement.

“Don’t expect it to make sense, at least by human logic. The first thing you should know about Fairy types is that they’ll fall into one or two categories. Either they’re either very upfront about their feelings and what they want to do, or they’ll simply never give you a straight answer and be happy to go to great lengths to avoid doing so.”

I was speaking from experience there, and I even had another good example right now. I glanced in Kirlia’s direction, where she was happily talking with Alexia’s Eevee and Kira.

She’d not given me any indication of it and had been perfectly happy to let me form my own idea of what she was doing wanting to come out here. But I’d already sussed out that coming to Petalburg with me wasn’t really about just seeing the city and what it was like.

What Kirlia was really here for, was to see what it might be like to live amongst other humans and if possible, find herself a trainer.

Norman huffed.

“It’s not entirely a surprise, we would’ve probably figured it out on our own eventually but you’ve saved us a lot of headache with this, so thanks,” Norman said.

I didn’t have anything else to suggest about the Jigglypuff situation, but Norman seemed happy with my advice. We talked a bit about Eevees and my Sylveon, which Alexia and Norman were just as interested in. It was during the conversation that we heard a banging noise accompanied by shouting.

The three of us stood up immediately and our Pokemon went onto alert. Kira was by my side in an instant as we turned towards the doorway we had heard the noise through.

“No, stop damnit!” Shouted a man’s voice. “Use Take Down!”

There was another crash and a shout of “stop!” before the doors opened and through them stepped Leah.

“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “That’s my Gardevoir.”

Leah saw me and her eyes lit up. My starter floated across the room towards me and she put an arm around my waist, hugging me gently while the other trainers watched with slight amounts of incredulity in their expressions.

“Leah was staying behind to catch up with her family,” I reminded the two other trainers, making them relax a bit more. Although Norman seemed a bit perturbed as he looked my Pokemon up and down. “Why’d you come through the Gym instead of teleporting right to me?” I asked her.

Through the door a man staggered through. He had a red jumpsuit on and spiky green hair. He was breathing heavily and had a Pokeball in his hand.

“Leader! This Pokemon just came and forced her way through the building. W-we couldn’t stop her!”

Leah put a hand against her cheek and tilted her head before chuckling. I raised an eyebrow at her which only made her turn her head to look away. There was only amusement in her expression. She’d clearly had a bit of fun with Norman’s Gym trainers as she cut a path through them to get back to me.

Norman sighed.

“We have Dark emitters to stop unpermitted teleportation,” he told me.

“Oh, I’m sorry then. I thought she’d be out there longer. Normally when we’re separated Leah will teleport to my side once she’s finished. I’ll of course pay for any damages she might have caused,” I finished, looking at my Pokemon as I said that.

I could feel my Pokemon withholding another chuckle. Well we’d see how funny she thought it was when she didn’t get any tasty snacks from in town later.

Norman sighed again.

“It’s fine, Berke. You go and get your Pokemon checked out. I’ll come and see everything in a bit.”

The other trainer nodded, shooting a nervous glance towards Leah before obeying his boss and leaving the room.

I decided it was best to make a speedy retreat at that point. Norman pointedly escorted me to the door and I got to see the mild devastation my Pokemon had dealt on her way through the Gym to my location. There wasn’t much damage, but there was one wall where a large Pokemon had been thrown through.

Norman didn’t seem too upset, maybe slightly exasperated but thankfully not angry as we quickly said goodbye and left, but I wasn’t daring enough to ask if I would still get his endorsement as a Gym Leader.

Still, that was another task more or less completed, I thought to myself as I headed off to find a place to stay for the rest of the day. Next I needed to figure out if I wanted to go visit Winona next or maybe try and take Roxanne’s test.

But there was still one thing left to do before we moved on too.

I looked down at Kirlia, who had stayed with us.

“I think it’s time you went home little one,” I told her kindly.

The Kirlia pouted and looked slightly sullen, but she allowed herself to be teleported home by Leah.

Of course I suspected she also already knew Teleport herself. So now she’d been shown the way here, Kirlia was probably going to be able to find her way back to the Petalburg Gym and probably try to find herself the trainer she’d been looking for.

Well if she wanted to find herself a trainer then that was entirely her choice. I knew already there was very little point in arguing with a teleporting Pokemon. I already knew from experience that they went where they damn well pleased.

***

I trusted her and let the Ralts lead me eagerly through the forest. Along the way I snagged some of my clothes on a branch here or there, but I wasn’t too worse for wear. I’d seen far worse after some of the kids took a tumble after playing outside and they hadn’t got in trouble for it.

I was also lost. Worrryingly lost. Ralts could apparently move fast when she tried and she was more familiar with the forests on the outskirts of Petalburg than I was. I hoped she wouldn’t mind showing me the way back home after she’d finished with whatever she wanted to show me.

We did eventually reach our destination.

The trees seemed to part, revealing a little grove. Bright green grass covered the floor and the sunlight came down through the open canopy. Flowers bloomed here and there, little spots of colour sticking out through the sea of green grass.

But what caught my eye immediately was the Pokemon.

A trio of Ralts were sat together in a circle, playing some game like patty cake. Two Kirlia were being spoken to by a Gardevoir and there was also a Gallade, which I found slightly surprising was kneeling on the ground on his own, eyes closed in meditation. No, there was a second Gardevoir sat down on a tree stump and she was looking right at me.

She looked older than the other Gardevoir, giving off an air of maturity and experience and something told me she also had a lot of power too.

Ralts pulled me into the clearing before I could stop her and the motion led almost immediately to several more pairs of eyes turning towards us. They saw me and their expressions quickly became both surprised and wary.

I found my mouth going dry.

I suddenly had the feeling like I might not be welcome here, that I was intruding on something I wasn’t supposed to be seeing. This was a Pokemon nest, but I knew that the best word to describe what I’d found myself intruding on was home.

This was a special place, a secret place. Humans like me weren’t supposed to be here.

But the Ralts I knew personally didn’t let any of that stop her, whether or not she was aware of it. The Pokemon continued to pull me along with a strong grip on my hand.

“Ral ralts ralts!” She called as she led me forward to the Gardevoir her words sounding slightly desperate as she spoke quickly towards the younger Gardevoir who had been speaking to the Kirlia before. She gestured at me, clearly worried as she explained herself.

Looking confused, the Gardevoir looked at me, clearly surprised and uncomfortable with my presence.

“Gard,” the younger Gardevoir began. She was speaking slowly, her gaze moving from Ralts to myself and back to her. “Garrrde gardevoir?”

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be here. I-I’ll leave,” I said quickly, drawing attention back to myself. I went to turn around, but a hand on my shoulder made me stop in my tracks.

The Gallade was standing behind me. A stern expression on his face had me freeze in my tracks and I turned to look where the Pokemon had been before. There was no Gallade there now. This was the same one.

How the hell had he moved that quickly? Had he used Teleport? Didn’t that move make a noise when you used it?!

I licked my lips and swallowed.

All the other Pokemon were looking at me with expressions that varied between worry for me and worry about me.

How The Gallade had got behind me didn’t matter. I knew then that I wasn’t simply going to be allowed to just leave right now.

The Gardevoir was speaking to Ralts, sounding parentally concerned as she admonished the younger Pokemon gently, but my friend wasn’t having it. She waved her hands, arguing with the older Pokemon, who I assumed had to be her mother.

The Gardevoir replied more gently, gesturing in my direction and then the small Pokemon looked at me with concern. Whatever the Gardevoir was saying wasn’t getting through to her.

Ralts was clearly worried for me. I wasn’t sure why she’d brought me here to her home, but I could at least do my best to assuage what seemed to be the likely cause of her concerns.

“Don’t worry about me Ralts, I’m not going to let the bullies hurt me, I promise.”

The Ralts pursed her lips and looked back to her mother before turning and running at me. I found myself with an armful of Pokemon again with the rest of her family looking on.

“Gall gallade,” the Gallade said from behind me. He was speaking to the Gardevoir, the older one, who had stood up and was approaching us.

I and Ralts looked up at the Pokemon.

I didn’t know what he was saying, but I figured he was likely talking about me.

The older Gardevoir came and knelt down slowly in front of us.

“Ralts?” my friend asked, sounding a bit more awkward now that the crisis had ended.

The Gardevoir smiled at us both, but her eyes met mine and stayed there.

“Voooiiir. Garde gard,” she said, her voice taking me by surprise at an odd melodious tone that underlaid it. She then reached out and put a hand on my shoulder.

I gasped as I felt something envelop me and my perspective was suddenly different.

Looking around, I could see buildings through the treeline and hear a couple of vehicles in the distance. We were outside Petalburg again.

It looked like I was being sent home.

I gave her a big squeeze before I let go and stepped back and away from Ralts, who likewise seemed to have realised what was happening. She seemed a bit worried still. So I smiled at her to show that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.

“I’ll come and see you tomorrow,” I promised. One way or another.

I glanced at the older Gardevoir, who nodded, smiling at me.

“Gardevooir,” she said in that melodious tone again.

With the other hand, she reached out and touched the top of Ralts’ head.

The Gardevoir spoke again, to the Ralts this time and then both of the Pokemon waved at me.

A moment later they disappeared in a burst of pink light.

I dusted myself off, looking at where the two Pokemon had disappeared.

“Fantastic,” I said to myself. A bit of giddiness erupting within me that nothing bad had happened just now. I’d gotten away with entering the home of Ralts and her family with everything in one piece.

Next time I’d have to get permission if I wanted to go back to that picturesque little clearing, but that was perfectly fair, I decided.

My surprise adventure over, I headed back towards civilization. Now I had another thing to think about.

After meeting my friend’s family, which included a bunch of other Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir I knew I couldn’t just think of her as simply “Ralts” anymore.

I was going to have to think of some names for her to pick between.