CHAPTER 198

"Well I kind of did feel pressured," I finally answered. She immediately tensed and pain flickered in her eyes. "But I don't regret it, I guess. It's fine."

My mother's face relaxed with a sigh, and it was only now that I realized how easy she was to read. She was basically an open book, which was probably where I'd gotten it from? Or maybe it was a coincidence, I didn't know how genetics worked. There was an awkward silence between us as the hustle and bustle of the crowded park seeped into the background.

"Look at you," she smiled. "You've grown since I saw you in Twinleaf."

"Not really. I'm still 5'5," I said.

"I meant that the way you look at things… it's like you're all grown-up," she said. "Should we go somewhere to speak? Somewhere with fewer people?"

"Sure, I guess," I said.

I didn't really feel anything except a vague sense of contempt, but I supposed that was better than rage. Plus, she was trying her best, or it looked like she was, so I decided to do the same.

"So how did you even get here?" I asked, trying to make conversation. Anything was better than this awkward silence.

"Your grandmother had some business in Veilstone. She's actually the co-owner of a toy store around here. She lived here when she was young, but she retired early. She still chimes in on business decisions from time to time."

A toy store? That was certainly a strange niche, but kids did need their entertainment.

"Now that Herdier was all recovered with the medicine you got him, he helped us get to Sandgem. It wasn't difficult, especially now that all these government agents are crawling around Twinleaf. They tend to keep the route clear. From there, we took a ferry to Veilstone. I couldn't let your grandma go alone, not with how old she's gotten."

"Hm. Were you involved in it at all? In the business?"

"Oh, no. I worked… well, when I lived in Jubilife, I worked in an accounting firm. I was an audit manager," she said. "When I left for Twinleaf, I just stopped working. I was lucky enough for your grandmother to support me financially so long as I helped around the house," she explained. "Doesn't sound too impressive, doesn't it?"

"I mean, I don't know," I shrugged. "But why did you leave? Even after you betrayed dad, you could have stayed in Jubilife. I know you said that guilt was too much, but isn't that just running away from your mistakes? You left him to pick up the slack alone. I know how hard it is to take care of kids alone."

Let alone when you couldn't put them inside of Pokeballs.

My mother blinked. "I know. It's— there's— there's no excuse," she stammered. "Nothing I said would be enough. I'm sorry. To you and to Arthur."

Her apology was appreciated, but it didn't really bring anything out of me. Every time I thought I was being too harsh on her, I remembered what she had done. Surely there was a middle ground I could reach?

"You've gotten quite famous, haven't you?" She said. "I listen to people talk about you on the radio sometimes. I don't know much about battling, but it's entertaining."

"The radio— never mind. Yeah, I guess I have. People are saying I'm one of the best first-years this Circuit."

"I know it doesn't mean much, but I'm proud of you. I'm trying to— trying to not be too forward, but I had to say it."

"Thanks," I said.

"You've been through a lot too, haven't you?" She said, her stare lingering on my burns. "That horrible day at Solaceon."

"It was tough. Hard to push past, but I think I'm fine now," I said. "Kind of."

This conversation felt awkward, but it wasn't that bad. Certainly not as bad as I thought it'd be. We finally reached a more private part of the park, away from its central fountain and more at its edges.

"Kind of?"

"Well, it's tough to forget it happened," I said. And there was also the unsaid fact that I was a lot more important than I thought and that it'd paint a target on my back if Team Galactic ever figured it out. A bigger one than the one I currently had. "But it's okay. You learn to live with it."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," she said before pausing. "Which is my fault."

"Why don't I introduce you to some of my Pokemon?" I asked. "You've only met Princess."

She beamed. "Of course! I hear so much about them, it'd be great to actually see them in the flesh."

I nodded, releasing Togetic first. Just like with my father in Hearthome, I didn't want to overwhelm her by releasing all of them at once. Princess had been shy before, but she'd really come into her own now. The flying type eyed my mother and nodded with a polite chirp. That was as basic of a greeting as you could get with her, but it could have been worse. My mother hesitantly approached her until she flew backwards, propelling herself with her wings for a quick burst of speed like we'd trained.

"Nice to officially meet you. Last time, it was so busy in the house, I didn't have time to talk or anything," she slowly said. Princess let out a series of chirps.

"She says likewise and that she'll be watching you today," I translated.

"Ohh, you can understand her that well? Impressive."

I turned and scanned the entire surroundings. The story and my importance had me on edge, so I didn't exactly want to say these things out loud even if I was getting a reputation for my understanding of Pokemon.

"I can," I quietly said. "But don't go around repeating it. The attention's annoying."

"My mouth is sealed," she nodded, mimicking zipping up her mouth. I was getting around the fact that she could be quite… quirky. Her body language was very extra, and she moved her hands around a lot when she spoke. "You never told me how you did get her. You left Twinleaf so quickly. You said there was danger at the Lake, and you were off to Sandgem. I had no idea that a few weeks later the League would come in and just take over. We aren't allowed to visit it anymore, which is a shame. It was quite calming."

It was then that I realized that talking to someone that knew vastly less than you did was suffocating. It was uncomfortable and I found it hard not to squirm. Desperately wanting to change the topic, I moved on to how I'd gotten Princess and explained the story of how my Dad had won her egg by pure chance. Togetic nodded along to the tale. She was always happy when I told it to someone, and it seemed that some of Sunshine's pride was rubbing off on her.

I didn't exactly know what was impressive about the story to her, but I wouldn't rain on her parade. Plus, she was cute like this.

"Arthur did always like buying tickets to lotteries or raffles. He'd bring a bunch of stuff back home that we didn't need," she smiled.

"Come on. Don't reminisce. Not when you… you caused the split," I quickly said.

"Oh. You're right."

She missed him, I realized. She would have to live with the consequences of her actions, which felt appropriate to me, but melancholic at the same time. It was difficult to explain. Maybe I missed what could have been, but would never be. Togetic rubbed her forehead against mine in an attempt to comfort me, and I caressed her cheek for a few seconds.

"Anyway, that's Princess," I said. "I guess I'll have you meet the most troublesome first."

When Turtonator came out of his Pokeball, I realized that it was the first time he was actually out in such a public place. Sure, we were at a secluded part of the park, but people and Pokemon came and went as they pleased. His eyes narrowed at the unexpected sudden noise and activity, but he settled down when I placed a hand on his leg.

"Relax, big guy. Remember how I told you we'd be meeting my mother? This is her. Her name's Samantha."

For her part, Samantha shrunk down and shook like a leaf under Sunshine's judgemental gaze. The dragon snorted and called her too weak to have given birth to me, which to be honest, I did find kind of funny.

"What did he say?"

"Well, he wasn't very nice," I told her. "But he's got a good heart. I caught him in Mount Coronet."

"I heard about that on the radio… you came out with those," she said, looking at my burns. Turtonator, for his part, didn't look guilty at all, and I didn't expect him to. Princess chastised him and told him to apologize already.

I ignored my mother's stare and continued. "They talked about that on the radio?"

"I didn't use to listen to trainer stuff much. I mostly tuned in to see how you were doing," Samantha said. "It's this sort of back and forth thing between two guys that have been in the industry for a long time… a podcast, I think. They pick a few trainers to talk about for the day, but I only listen when you're in it. I gave the name to Casey and Ronald too, and they listen when they speak about Denzel."

It took me a few seconds to place those names, but I remembered that they were Denzel's parents. I'd only seen them once, but he'd complained about them plenty. The complaints had stopped after Snowpoint, though.

"Oh, that's pretty cool," I said. "I'd like the name of the program for him, I bet he'd like it."

"Oh, sure. It's 'Poketracker: Spotlight on Future Champions'. They've got some online recordings too, but I'm not very good at all that internet stuff. Even your Grandmother's better at that than me," she laughed, waving a hand dismissively.

I wrote down the name on my phone and thanked her while Sunshine kept commenting on how frail and weak my mother looked.

"We're humans. We're all weak," I muttered.

He snorted, agreeing heartily while Princess disagreed and called me the strongest human on the planet.

"I'm sure Sweetheart would agree with that, but it's obviously wrong" I smiled, turning back to my mother. "Sorry, I kind of answer them on autopilot. Don't feel left out."

"You're fine, I'm just content to look."

"I guess Sweetheart can be next. She's kind of the family's baby," I explained. "Don't tell her that or she'll have a tantrum."

I released Pupitar, who was getting so heavy that her mere presence created an indent in the dirt.

"Don't move around too much, or you'll mess up the park," I quickly said. "This is my mother Samantha. I told you about her."

The ground type let out a rattling, echoing scream that made her jump out of her skin.

"She's greeting you. Sorry, she's just a loud girl, don't mind her," I said, petting her cocoon. Sweetheart protested and said she'd been quiet just now, but Princess chided her. "Listen to your sister and be a good girl."

Sunshine breathed out warm air and said Pupitar should be allowed to be as loud as she want as an honorary dragon.

"When did that even happen?!" I yelled. "You know what, never mind."

The rock type preened at her draconic title, and Princess begged for me to release some of our more sensible family members before these two made her go crazy.

"You call them sisters?" My mother noticed.

"Oh yeah, all of my Pokemon are siblings," I explained. Turtonator groaned, refuting the notion. I patted him on the arm. "Except Sunshine, but I'll rope him in soon. It took me weeks to get him to accept the name, but in the end, he agreed."

The fire type turned away from me, heating up the air slightly. I'd grown so accustomed to his tantrums that I hadn't realized how terrified my mother got again.

"No, no, he's harmless. He wouldn't hurt me," I quickly said.

I really did need to lower the tension. Angel was perfect for that. As usual, the big bundle of vine greeted all of us with touch, ignoring Turtonator's complaints, and then moved on to the new person in his sights. Luckily, I'd been ready for him.

"No!" I yelled, holding out a hand.

His vines froze in place. I wasn't about to let him make her that uncomfortable, especially because he had no self-control. He was as innocent as they came, but she would not see it that way. I gently grabbed one of his vines and placed it in my mother's hand, who hesitantly shook it like a hand.

"He doesn't want to shake your hand, he wants to feel your skin," I said. "His name's Angel."

"Hello…" she whispered. She waited for his greeting, but it never came. Instead, he rapidly blinked and his other vines writhed in place.

"He doesn't speak, but he's very happy to meet you," I translated.

"They talk about him a lot on the show," Samantha said.

"Do they? Hear that, Angel? You're famous!"

The grass type excitedly bobbed up and down.

"What's with the vine around the ankle?" She asked.

I stared down at my foot and saw that he'd already wrapped my ankle in a vine. "It's his thing. It reassures him when he can feel me. He doesn't trip me or anything, it doesn't bother me at all."

Princess lay down on top of the grass type and lazily asked him to make her a blanket. Angel obliged her and wrapped a ton of vines over her, which made Sweetheart jealous. She yelled until Tangrowth also surrounded her in vines, although he couldn't lift her on the ground. She'd grown too much.

I noticed that Samantha was staring with a curious look.

"They're more comfortable than they look. They make for a really good bed in the wild," I said. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"I'm okay," she said.

Angel's vines drooped, but I comforted him with a hug and my mother apologized profusely. She was making it a bigger deal than it actually was, but I realized she probably thought she'd offend me if she made one of my Pokemon sad.

"Don't worry, he's just a big softie," I said. "His mood changes quickly too, he'll be back on his feet in no time. Look."

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I released Jellicent, who didn't even have a second of respite before he was dragged around by three vines. Tangrowth shook him like a rag until he had his fill, and Buddy just stayed there and took it even though he could have slipped away.

"Here, this is Buddy—"

The water type's form constricted and expanded, loosened and tightened until Tangrowth was done with him.

"You really went hard with him today, huh," I sighed. "Princess, I think this is because you kept lifting him with Extrasensory when he hadn't evolved yet. Now he's taking it out on others."

It'd been meant as a joke, but Togetic took it seriously and fervently denied these allegations. Instead, she redirected the blame to Sunshine, which made absolutely no sense, but it was funny. The dragon type protested and said he had nothing to do with our childish antics.

"Anyway, this is Buddy," I repeated. "He's a little reserved around people he doesn't know, but he's really nice."

Now that he had some respite, the ghost type stared through my mother, judging her every movement. I had asked him to judge her character, and he always took his tasks seriously. I shot him a look to ask him what he thought at first glance.

He said that he couldn't see any sinister intentions, but he needed more time to make a more detailed assessment.

"He wants to watch you," I said. "Don't worry, he's harmless."

"Do you say that about every single one?"

"Yeah, they're all harmless."

Compared to the potential they'd hopefully all reach in time? They definitely were. I finished with Electabuzz and introduced him as well. His normalcy was a welcomed change of pace for her, and they even shook hands. He was very serious. While he'd tried to prank my father with a jolt, there was none of that here— just polite introductions. I let all of them interact for a while, and I was content to just watch.

To be honest, I was pretty sure I'd be able to just watch all of my Pokemon hang out forever. They were all so precious. Sunshine tried to brag about his accomplishments to my mother, who couldn't understand a word of what he said while I sometimes chimed in to translate. Angel and Sweetheart cheered him on, and Princess had fallen asleep on the grass type's head. Honey and Buddy observed Samantha, but the water type was the one that truly unsettled her. At least Electabuzz moved around and joined in on the conversation, but Jellicent was completely still. Only his eyes shimmered, changing intensity with each interaction.

Finally, my mother said something that had no doubt been on her mind the entire time.

"Could you… tell me some stories about your childhood, maybe? I know I don't have a right to ask."

I sighed. "Yeah. Some, maybe. Just… some."

—

Meeting my mother hadn't been this cathartic experience. It hadn't been a disaster, nor had it been a long-awaited mending of the relationship. It had been awkward, there had been stumbles and I still didn't really think of her as family, but at the very least, things had gotten better. We were on a conversational basis now, and I wouldn't ghost her any longer. I even sent my dad a picture of us and he seemed overjoyed.

He really was a good man.

"I'm going now," she said. "It was very nice to see you again, Grace. Thank you for giving me a chance."

"Thank Denzel, he convinced me," I said. I had recalled most of my Pokemon at this point, but Princess and Angel were still out. She was done with her nap and was just lazing around on his head. "It was… nice, yeah."

"I don't want to be too forward, but let me know if you ever feel like doing this again. I'm leaving Veilstone in a week and a half, and I'm always open to meeting. Of course, I won't force anything if you want your space."

"Yeah, I don't really know right now, but I'll tell you if I change my mind," I said. "Have a safe trip back—"

A yell from Togetic alerted me. I turned toward her as I felt a vine wrap around my waist. An Abra had wandered behind me.

An Abra.

I flinched when a thick void surrounded the psychic and twenty spikes from Princess buried themselves in the darkness. Lou appeared before me, and it was only then that I realized that there had been four undercover League Trainers around me at all times. A couple with a Morpeko on the woman's lap stood up and ran toward me. I noticed the thin strands of blackness linking Morpeko to the submerged Abra. A man reading a news paper did the same, and a Honchkrow swooped from the sky the join his side, and one last woman landed on a Dragonite's back next to me.

I only had time to focus on the Abra for less than a second, but my heightened senses told me one thing.

His intentions had been nefarious.

"Grace, what's going on—"

Lou cut my mother off. "Ariel, Dick, you stay here and clean up. Serena, Maxwell, check the entire park to see if anything is out of order. This was an attack from Team Galactic."

The four trainers saluted and dispersed. When the darkness dissipated from the Abra, it was unconscious… no, it was dead. It had been stabbed fifteen times with spikes longer than its entire body. One of them had hit him in the forehead directly and blood was seeping from the hole. The other fourteen was all packed together, running through his torso, shoulders, tail. One of his arms was barely hanging on. Lou closed her eyes and held out a hand toward it. Veins next to her eyes bulged and her eyes shone behind her eyelids.

"It's dead," Lou confirmed. "I will Teleport you to the Pokemon Center, and you will be contained here until the threat has been dealt with."

I swallowed. Dead?

Just like that. One second it was alive and the next its life had been extinguished. And for what?

The dichotomy of my reaction and my mother's couldn't be more pronounced. She'd collapsed and was crying while I was just… standing there. I felt shaken, but I'd been so desensitized to it at this point that I couldn't feel anything but anger for the people that had made Abra do this.

"Thank you, Princess," I exhaled before turning to my mother. "I don't think it'd be good to meet. I'm… I attract danger. You're better off just leaving Veilstone early. It's not safe here."

"Are you done? I shall Teleport you now. Recall your Pokemon," Lou said.

I wasted no time listening to her, and in a flash, we were back at the Center. Lou leaned against the wall and entered a coughing fit. Her breaths were labored and she was clearly exhausted.

"I will stay here with you until the situation is contained," she said again.

"Can you give my mother guards during her stay here? And my grandmother too?" I asked. "Team Galactic's known to take hostages."

"I will send the request to Cynthia immediately," she nodded, grabbing her phone.

I sat on my bed and held out my hand.

It was shaking.

I clenched it around my phone and sent a message to the rest of the group about the attack and asked Mira, Chase and Cece to meet up specifically. The panic in the chat quickly subsided when they realized I was completely fine.

"Why now?" I frowned.

"The raid failed to capture all of Team Galactic's members. A few dozen of them escaped and are running free in the city," she explained. "We assume that Abra belonged to one of them, but nothing is set in stone. It could have been one from their main base that we do not know about. The only thing we are certain of is that it was a Team Galactic Pokemon and that it wanted to bring you somewhere. Odds are, we will not learn anything about it unless a trainer is found."

It took an hour and a half for me to be cleared to go outside again, and in that time, I came to terms with the fact that Princess had taken a life. It hadn't been… necessary. It was a terrible thing, and she'd reacted emotionally.

It was just such a waste. Arceus fucking damn it, I despised Team Galactic. How many Pokemon had been warped by their ideals?

I couldn't blame Princess, even if I disapproved. She'd attacked first because not unlike me, Togetic could feel emanating emotions. It was one of the tips Cynthia had given me when we spoke in Solaceon. Not only had she also figured out that Abra wanted to harm me, but she was quicker than me in doing so.

Could I hone my abilities in some way? They hadn't progressed in a while. I was just more aware of them now than I'd ever been.

Even though I was now allowed to go out, I did not. Instead, I went straight to Mira's room and saw that they were already waiting for me there. She'd already read my text, Cecilia sighed in relief when she saw me and kissed me. After asking if I was fine about ten times, I began to speak.

"As I said, I was attacked by an Abra belonging to Team Galactic on the way here. The ACE trainers took care of everything. It went by so quickly. One second, an Abra was behind me, and the next he was swarmed by dark type energy and stabbed by Togetic's Ancient Power," I explained, my eyes downcast. "My mother almost got caught in the crossfire."

"Damn. Sorry about that," Chase said. "At least things went alright."

Cecilia nodded. "Some of them escaped from the raid last night. They must have been one of the remaining stragglers," she said. I nodded and said that was Lou's theory too, but she raised a finger. "Wait, that doesn't actually make any sense."

"Yes, because why waste a chance at running off into the routes and saving themselves instead of targeting Grace," Mira said, snapping a finger. "This was probably an order from above, no?"

"Maybe," I muttered. "But they've got no idea I'm important. All they have is Mars' obsession with me."

Maybe they had been pressured by her to capture me? It'd make sense, in a way. That Abra hadn't aimed to kill me and their Teleportation scheme didn't work since the ACE trainers had a tactic to counter it. They wanted to bring me somewhere, possibly in one of their remaining bases.

"This is madness," Cecilia seethed with a clenched fist. "Instead of trying to save their own lives, they're stuck doing that crazy woman's bidding."

"You know she can do a lot worse than the League can," Mira frowned. "I'd rather take a painful memory extraction with a slight chance of not being too damaged and a few decades in prison over whatever she has cooking."

"Why not send Dusknoir after me herself?" I asked.

"Her hands must be tied," she said. "None of the Commanders are moving in any way. Them waiting for something important would line up with what Abel told me. And you said she was obsessed with their leader, right? He's the only one she'd listen to, if that was the case. Maybe the other Commanders too?"

"Hmhm," I nodded. I was still slightly shaken by the attack, but it was nice to see that the trainers Cynthia gave us were actually effective and that kidnapping by Teleport like they'd done at Valley Windworks wouldn't work here. The move was easy to counter if you knew to expect it. I just hoped the same level of care and security was afforded to the rest of our friends… and my mother. We knew they weren't above anything, not even taking hostages. Taking my mother sounded like some sick game Mars was capable of doing.

"Let's talk about the Copperajah in the room, then," I said. The quicker I moved on from this topic, the better it'd be for my state of mind. I just wanted to think about something else. We all turned toward Chase.

"Chase, you're rather silent," Cecilia said. "What was your meeting with Cynthia like? What did you think about the story and its implications?"

"Been thinkin'" he said with his arms crossed. "You know, my gut reaction was to think it was a load of bullshit, but I guess there has to be a hint of truth to it. I don't particularly enjoy knowing I've got some people babysitting me."

"A man after my own heart," Mira grinned. She sat cross-legged on the floor as she fiddled with her phone. Porygon sometimes entered and left the device. I expected some unwanted flirting next, but she stayed silent. Even she had her limits. "And?"

"I mean, I don't know, to be honest. I hate the idea of some old Legend fucking with my head and using me to do its bidding. Why not just do it yourself, you lazy ass? Arceus," he exclaimed. "But hey, this calamity business doesn't sound so good, so I'll do my best. Sinnoh's my home. I won't let another one be destroyed."

We all nodded at him, but Cecilia didn't notice the fact that he'd let slip that he'd already lost a home. I could tell Mira caught on due to her change in demeanor, but she said nothing. What Chase had said amounted to what I expected, although he had complained a lot less than I thought.

"Good answer, Chasey. Now, I came up with something yesterday night while I was chewing on some damn good quesadillas," Mira said. "Cynthia's not telling us everything, that much is obvious. She was handwaving a lot of the end of the story. Calamity's a pretty vague word, don't you think?"

"Calamity's pretty straightforward to me," Chase shrugged. "It's like, complete decimation. The entire region's gonna be destroyed."

"Decimation doesn't mean what you think it means, Chasey," Mira mocked.

"I thought the same," I said. "But it's not like we can force her to tell us if she doesn't want to."

"You're right, which is why I tried looking up the same stories she talked about. Nothing came up. Like it was scrubbed from the internet entirely using mass-produced Porygon. Even my Porygon couldn't find anything," she said. The normal type beeped disappointedly from the phone. "Even the obscurest shit will have some results."

"So what?" Cecilia scoffed. "It was scrubbed, obviously. Sinnoh's government isn't above censorship."

Mira continued, "I'm just sayin', why scrub it? It's not like some rando online could correlate anything from the story. Until yesterday, would you have been able to make the connection between Cynthia's story and Team Galactic if she hadn't linked the two for us?"

"No," she said.

"And it's not the only story about Legendaries with apocalyptic vibes. I've found plenty that looked not to have been touched with similar implications."

"So you're saying it was taken off so we couldn't find anything? Isn't that kind of extra," I asked with a frown.

"You guys underestimate how controlling Cynthia is as a person because you've looked up to her since you were kids," Mira shook her head. "She wants everything to be just how she likes it."

"I sure am not," Chase spat.

"I mean, I figured the gifts were to keep us happy," I said. "But to go so far…"

"It could mean that this calamity thing is a lot worse than it sounds," Cecilia said. The disappointment in her tone was easy to discern.

"Three Legendaries that look to approximately have the power of one of the Legendary birds' avatars wouldn't amount to much, despite what you might think. If they got to a city, then there'd be hundreds of thousands of deaths, but that's not that much in the grand scheme of things," Mira explained. "Come on, don't look at me like that. It's true. Now, I could also be completely wrong, but luck's been on my side when deducing stuff these days."

"When you're looking for an answer, what does it feel like?" Cecilia asked. "When we were at Acuity, it was like… this outside presence feeding us answers."

"That's exactly it. As long as the answer's within my reach, I can kind of tell what it is. It's not a hundred percent reliable, though. It's got other effects on me too, as you know. I was actually planning on visiting the lake when swinging up north if the League lets me. Maybe it'll get us some answers."

"Lake Valor's just south of here," Cecilia said, looking at Chase with hungry eyes. "Maybe we'd get guidance if we showed up."

"What if Cynthia says no?" I asked. "The place is a fortress crawling with League Trainers. We certainly aren't sneaking in."

"Then she'd be really stupid. Look, Cynthia thinks we're dumber than we actually are," Mira said. "Well, Chasey's pretty dumb."

"Huh?!"

"I meant it in a cute, endearing way, don't get all defensive. She wants to keep us happy. Here, do any of you play dating sims?"

"I'm not much of a gamer," Cecilia said.

"I'm not a nerd, so no," Chase said.

"You played dating sims?" I scoffed.

"You're asking the depressed girl with no friends if she played dating sims, Grace," Mira smiled. "Obviously I did. Anyway, in most dating sims, each love interest has like, a relationship value assigned to them that goes up and down depending on what text option you pick. That's how Cynthia sees people. She tries to keep them all happy, but she doesn't see us as independent people with our own needs and wants. She sees us as NPCs that'll react with a pre-determined line of text depending on what she says."

Chase leaned against the wall. "I almost fell asleep just now."

"What a convoluted metaphor…" Cecilia whispered.

"It's a damn genius metaphor, that's what it is," she smugly said. "Don't think of her as this flawless human being. I'm the only one that sees her for what she is right now: a fucked up human that just happens to be the voice of authority in the region because she's a damn good trainer. To be honest, it's not like I'm not fucked up, but hey, I'm just saying it like I see it."

"I've stopped doing that a while ago now," Cece shrugged. "I don't hate her like you both, though," she said, looking at Chase and her.

"Come on, I don't hate her. She's just fake, and I dislike that," Mira said. "Woah, am I a hypocrite? Whatever. And I didn't mean she doesn't have Sinnoh's best interests at heart. Anyway, where I was going with this whole dating sim tangent was, she wants to keep our values in the positive. That means that she won't deny us too many times if we ask for reasonable shit. Visiting our corresponding lakes is certainly reasonable."

"I'd have to backtrack or fly to mine," I muttered. "Lake Verity didn't have that much of an effect on me. I just felt… calm and at home, I guess. It was like a state of permanent bliss. I wonder what Willpower will do."

"Maybe I'd be able to beat my personal best for pushups there," Chase grinned.

"Okay, musclehead," Mira rolled her eyes before looking at me. I had to be the one to ask him?

In retrospect, maybe I was the best suited for it. He was closest to me, after all, and he'd called me his closest friend before. It was still nerve-wracking because he'd denied me every time I had asked beforehand.

"Chase. Cecilia, Mira and I were thinking about traveling to Sunyshore together and we were thinking about having you join us. Maybe Pastoria? Nothing's set in stone. We'll have to split at some point because Mira's last badge will be Candice."

"I wanted to fly there," he said.

"Come on, don't be like that. Join us," I said. "It'll be fun, and you'll get to visit Lake Valor with us because we're good at talking while you're abrasive almost all the time. Plus, it won't even take long to travel on foot and maybe you can bounce ideas off of Cece with the whole Willpower thing. To be honest, the entire point is to talk to each other and come up with answers about all this. Maybe learn some teamwork too? Get everyone to get better at working with each other?"

"Eh. I have to wait a week and a half to battle Maylene because of that Lauren thing. Wouldn't want to hold y'all back."

"I'm not even close to battling her either," I said. "Cece's going to sign up tomorrow and I don't even know about Mira."

The pink-haired trainer shrugged. "Eh, I don't care much about badges or the Conference, but it's something that'll make my Pokemon stronger in preparation for our confrontation with Team Galactic. If it comes to that. Maybe I'll find some other Pokemon on my travels too."

Chase groaned and scratched his head. "You guys seem annoying to travel with, but whatever. I guess I can do Sunyshore so long as you don't bother me."

"Nice," I grinned. "I promise we won't annoy you."

"Mira's crossing her fingers," Cecilia said.

"Way to sell me out!"

Now we'd have to tell the others soon too. No doubt they'd feel… left out, abandoned or worse, but they'd have each other. They could all combine into one large group if need be as well. I felt bad, but I thought it'd be for the best. Leaving them in the dark like this killed me.

"Looks like we'll be spending a lot more time together from now on, then—" Cecilia started.

Chase held out a hand and interrupted her. "Now hold on. I'm not going to start being stuck to you like glue. This is only for when we travel. I'm a busy man and Pauline's already annoying me in Flight School. Keeps getting on my fuckin' nerves."

"I'll take what I can get," I said.

"Anyone want to order pizza?" Mira asked. "I'm hungry and I'm craving pizza right now."

"Ohhh, I can go for pizza," I yelled excitedly. The smile felt forced, but I kept it there for longer than what was natural. Anything to move on. "Pepperoni?"

"I'll take a quatre-fromage," Cece said.

"A whole one?" I asked incredulously.

"We can share? Two pizzas are enough for four people, and if push comes to shove, I can give the rest to Zweilous."

"Are you kidding me? That's unhealthy as hell…" Chase complained. "I'm out of here."

"There's got to be healthy pizza. Just take one with a bunch of veggies and chicken on it or whatever," I said.

"You can have one custom-made!" Mira added.

"I'm not going to lie, I was just looking for an excuse to dip."

"You don't have anything to do. Come on, stick around," I asked. "Please."

Anything to move on.

"...Fine."

—

Despite spending longer than I expected with the others, I hadn't forgotten about my words to Sunshine. I entered my room and released him and him alone. This was his story to tell, and he wanted us to be alone for it. He didn't lay down as he usually did. I'd gotten so used to him by now that I had almost forgotten how regal he could be when he wanted. Turtonator stared me down in silence, but I knew he was asking if I was ready.

"You can start whenever you want," I said. "And feel free to stop if it gets too hard."

I would tell him about the attack after, along with the entire family. This was his moment and his alone.

Warm air streamed out of his snout as he began to tell me his story, not just of Kamaile's death, but how he lived.