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.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

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.