“Okay, uhm… Kitten-” Virah tried not to wince at the cold, absolute zero, apathetic look Whitney's Meowth shot her when she called him by his nickname, “we need to work together-”

With an irritated huff, the Normal Type jerked his head away from her and strutted off to the shade of a nearby tree.

Now- now she understood why the damn thing- in Whitney's words, - “couldn't be tutored”, it's because he simply doesn't listen when addressed! That's a problem normal to the Meowth (and the occasional Persian,) species but this one in particular was a lot more stubborn because of his nickname.

But Virah was sure that the nickname may have helped with his attitude, sure, but Meowths and Persians are very prideful as a rule and cutesy nicknames aren't everything!

Virah slumped when Kitten glared at her, ‘but it clearly is for the Meowth.’

Kitten was a nickname that Whitney has given to her Meowth- something that didn't surprise Virah in the slightest, - and the Pokemon took it with all the offense its tiny frame could muster.

Even doing as simple as uttering the name made him mad so the already torturous tutor session only got worse.

Virah didn't know what to do, sure she could simply call him “Meowth” but again, he's too prideful to not have a nickname so it would have the same effect anyways!

She had known this damn thing for a week now and Virah was starting to think that tutoring him may just be the most impossible thing in the world, second only to fighting and capturing Ho oh himself.

Virah decided to take a break and turned away from Kitten and shifted her gaze towards Whitney.

For the past week, their relationship had… stabilized, and ever since Virah decided that her feelings never truly mattered in that one eventful morning, Whitney had never crossed her mind and their friendship had only gone better because of it.

And yes, friendship, because Whitney had decided to stick around Virah like a Shellder would to a Slowpoke, and ever since Whitney had come by Virah's side, the pinkette never left.

Virah thought Whitney looked nice, and that was how she honestly felt about the girl.

Virah didn't know if she could keep ignoring her feelings like she does now forever but she sure as hell would try and she knew that Whitney and her lack of understanding of personal boundaries wouldn't break down her walls anytime soon.

“Mrrrow!”

A loud growl got Virah to focus back on the present and once she was out of her own head, the first thing she saw was Whitney grabbing Kitten and hugging him tightly, the Meowth, for all he was worth, did his best to fight back with actual Scratches but Whitney didn't seem deterred by them in the slightest.

Whitney lifted him up and spun him around, causing the Meowth's legs to whirl out and fan a bit of wind strong enough that Virah felt some of it reach her, Kitten started to whine and all the while Whitney just kept going.

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She didn't stop even as her Meowth turned docile, rubbing and cuddling him with a grin.

Kitten now had a scowl on his face that Virah thought would never leave. Why she had the impression that it was permanent, Virah wasn’t sure.

Looking away from the two, Virah found herself staring at her Weedle.

Nitro sat atop the branch of a tree, eyes closed and expression serene, it made Virah smirk, she didn’t know why the young Weedle thought that “roosting” meant acting like one of the many monks of Bellsprout Tower but hey, if that’s what gets him to learn the move then by all means, all the power to him.

He would learn Roost in a short time, probably less than two months even.

Virah was certain of that fact because well, Nitro didn’t just manage to somehow learn Bug Bite in just two days- he had also decided that his newly learned move clearly wasn’t enough and so, that tiny boost when he first used Bug Bite?

The one that got him to somehow speed up to catch the falling oran berry? Nitro had somehow managed to repeat it when using the move, adding to the move's overall power.

Virah wasn’t sure how, but he did.

Now, unlike most Bug Types when using Bug Bite, Nitro didn’t just lift his head and then hammer it down towards his opponent before letting out a bite boosted by Bug Type Energy, he could also give himself a short burst of speed using that specific move.

It wasn’t any different from using Quick Attack to boost speed but still, a newly birthed Weedle managing to create a unique variation of a move- as far as Virah is aware, but she's sure Bugsy has something like this too, - is quite a feat and Virah hopes that Nitro continues on like his in the future.

She turned away from the serene looking Nitro and back to Whitney and Kitten, the two were now cuddling on the ground, with Whitney resting her head directly on top of Kitten’s legs, disabling him from moving away.

It didn’t stop the Meowth from trying though and patches of dirt and grass flew about as the Normal Type did everything he could to get away.

Virah watched it unfold, content with being the observer.

She found a seat on a nearby rock and reviewed her battle tactics until Whitney woke up, the pinkette grunted as she pushed herself off the ground and left her “pillow” behind, she yawned as she walked away.

Where? Virah wasn't quite sure.

Kitten started poking his legs, his limbs were obviously asleep from being, well, slept on, and currently, the Pokemon couldn’t even move them.

“Mrowww.” The Meowth sounded sad.

Virah saw an opportunity and like a shark smelling blood in the water, she moved in for the kill, “hey, Kitten,” the Pokemon in question stopped moping to scowl at her, which Virah knew was just a brave front, “I can give you a break from Whitney playing with you,”

“... Mrow.” The answer was only said after a brief pause and the Meowth said it in a tone that conveyed- ‘make it quick, I don’t have time for this,’

Virah nodded, “right, so, how about this, you and me, we work together,” Kitten narrowed his eyes, clearly aware of where Virah was going with this, “you go ahead and start learning under me and I, Kitten, would start teaching you,” she offered him a deal, “and you’re probably wondering- what would we both get out of this?”

Kitten nodded, Virah snapped her fingers, “well, you get your wanted free time away from Whitney and I earn Pokedollars by the hour, how does that sound?”

“Mrow.” Answered Kitten.

“No, I’m not giving you any money, and we’re not splitting it up,” Virah crossed her arms and stared the Pokemon down. Buying Nitro’s vitamins had already been bad enough for her wallet and this little shit taking her own earnings is just going to make it worse.

Kitten shook his head and shrugged in a ‘what can you do about it’ way that made Virah’s lip twitch up in irritation.

“Are you seriously trying to pretend like you don’t want a break from Whitney's antics?” And Ho oh knows Virah wants that too, “to what? Convince me to give you money?” The Meowth eyed her, face dull, then he shook his head, “no huh?” Virah turned away from him, “oh well, then I’ll also say no,”

“Mrow?” Kitten said from behind her.

“Yeah,” Virah nodded, “I’m not going to tutor you, it’s not like I need the money that much,”

She does, by the name of Ho oh and Lugia she does, her wallet was weeping tears of misery right now after spending all her earnings from battling her classmates on nothing but vitamins.

Virah pretended like she didn’t care and shrugged, “well, guess I’ll continue battling to earn money then, and you can continue being played at by Whitney,”

“Meowth,” it wasn’t a pur, it wasn’t even a half-assed call of its name. Kitten, for once, spoke.

Virah grinned, “oh, I can definitely convince Whitney to play more lightly with you,” she didn’t know if she actually could do it but hey, nothing wrong with a lie or two towards a Meowth of all mons, it's not like the mischievous little shit didn't deserve it, “and if you let me tutor you, I’d do it,”

“... Meowth.”

Virah turned to Kitten with a smile on her face, she reached a hand down, “deal,”

The Meowth stood up and shook her hand, then he fell back down on account of his shaking legs unable to support his weight. It almost made Virah feel bad for lying to him.

Almost.