A/N: Here it is. Sinnoh's final arc, and a new one begins slowly, as always.

CHAPTER 338

"Do you have your toothbrush?"

I paused for a second, eyes meeting Maylene's, and she smirked at me while leaning against the doorframe of my apartment. She was lucky her smugness was always accompanied by an unbeatable force that I couldn't go against unless she pushed too far.

She was just really cute.

"I knew you'd forget something," she said.

"One thing. One." Leaving her in front of my apartment door, I scrambled to my bathroom and ignored her yells that running was unneeded. I swept my toothbrush and toothpaste, shoving them in my backpack which was admittedly running out of space. After one last look around the room, I sped back to the entrance, struggling to put my bag back around my shoulder until Buddy helped with a makeshift limb from under my shirt. "Okay. Now I'm ready—wait."

I glanced at the ceiling, going through a mental checklist of what I had with me, hand wrapped around the handle of my suitcase. It wasn't really my fault I'd forgotten. Usually in hotels and in Pokemon Centers, they just gave you that stuff, and my brain was still in 'you'll be staying in a hotel' mode instead of where we were actually going. Plus, with all the excitement buzzing around—how could I not forget something? It was a miracle that I'd even managed to pack when the Conference would begin tomorrow morning!

"Yeah. I'm probably ready."

"Hrm…"

Maylene's arms wrapped around me slowly, where she stayed for a few seconds and leaned against my shoulder. Her new pink hearing aid looked really good on her, and we were matching, now. These were a lot better than the emergency one I'd needed to use after my battle with Gardenia.

"What's up?" I laughed a little before returning the hug. "I mean it's nice." I rubbed the back of her head, softly digging against her scalp. She smelled so good… Arceus, no, no, those were bad thoughts to have. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just happy I'm finally off work and we can spend more time together. It's been so busy lately."

"Right." Between Poketch and the rush from her Gym, we'd gone more than a week without seeing each other in person at times. "But this month's ours. We'll have a lot of fun!"

"Don't try to act like you aren't nervous." I didn't see her smile, but I could tell she was anyway because of her voice. "I can feel your Jellicent through your shirt by the way…" she grumbled. "Kind of ruins things."

The ghost type let out a click, half apologizing, half not understanding what it was with us humans and skin-on-skin contact. Mimi chimed in agreement around my neck, that little rascal.

"I mean if you want," I paused, interrupting the hug to grab Buddy's Pokeball, and recalled him for a moment before outstretching my arms. "There."

She sank into me again, this time running her hands under my shirt—but in appropriate areas, just to feel me. She had me pushed against the walls of the hallway; I could feel each shiver within her when I ran nails behind her back. Thinking about it, this probably had the opportunity to turn into practice if I pushed for it, but would we be late? Probably not, I thought as my lips grazed her neck. And worst-case scenario, she'd told me Candice and Volkner were always late to these things—

Maylene froze around me for a second, and then detached herself without a word, leaving me wanting. A few moments later, one of the neighbors passed by with groceries in hand, greeting us with a polite smile before stepping into her apartment. She'd gotten used to seeing Maylene around here, and it was often underestimated how easily people could get used to seeing famous people around their living spaces.

"Legendaries!" My girlfriend shuddered, hugging herself tight. Her face was as red as a tomato. "We almost got caught!"

I rolled my eyes. "We were just hugging."

"My neck begs to differ!" It was funny seeing her making wanting eyes at my lips before realizing what she was doing and internally scolding herself. "You were basically about to kiss me!"

Damn it. I should have dragged her inside instead of doing this out there. "At least we can hold hands in public now." The teasing did not go unnoticed, and she grumbled something unintelligible under her breath. Just that, and not for long. Going beyond was still too embarrassing for her. "But you're right." I raised a knowing finger. "There's a time for everything!"

At least we weren't going to be late. I locked the door, and once Maylene grabbed my suitcase before I could say anything, we made our way to the elevators. I kind of complained, but not really. I mean, I wasn't going to say no to seeing her arms exert themselves carrying both her and some of my stuff, and summer was the perfect season for her numerous tank tops. Her suitcase was a lot smaller than mine, but she'd assured me that she'd have enough clothes and that worst-case scenario, she'd just go home and grab some more at an opportune time.

Gym Leader privilege. Privilege that I was now privy to, for better or worse for my public image. Cass was getting better at it, but long-distance across a region was still a pipe dream and months away.

Maylene pressed the elevator button and warned, "You'll have to behave in the house with the others." She gave me a knowing look.

"Psht." I waved a hand in dismissal. "I can behave."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Yeah. And you can also do more than fifteen pushups in a row," she said, tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm serious! I'm not gonna do anything bad, okay?"

Maylene kicked her feet, suddenly a little shy. "It wouldn't be… bad. Just not while they're in the house, it'd feel weird."

"Of course!" I wasn't about to be that brazen. "I promise!"

When we stepped into the elevator, someone was already inside. We stayed quiet until he got off on the first floor—he was probably going to the recycling chute—and we continued on our way to the ground floor.

"Sucks that I couldn't say goodbye to your dad," Maylene lamented.

"Work doesn't stop, yeah," I said with a small nod. He wasn't actually going to arrive until tomorrow for the opening ceremony, the same as Mom.

"Feels like he just doesn't want to see me. I mean, I get it, but it sucks."

"What?" I scoffed. "Come on, he—"

The doors opened. I could see the Kadabra waiting for us beyond the apartment complex's lobby—I recognized this one because of the slight bent and rust in his spoon. You got used to recognizing them when you relied on their services so much.

"It's tough for him because of his… history," I added as we stepped out. "But he genuinely does want to get to know you better! He's a softie at heart. And he does like you!"

Maylene glanced at me. "Dinner was weird, though."

She was talking about dinner the last time we'd seen each other last week, where I'd decided to finally rip off the band-aid and let them see each other again after everything that had come to pass. Everything had just been off that night, from the way she tripped over her words the entire time to how he seemed to be way more difficult in his test of character than he'd ever been when he met Cecilia in Hearthome. It hadn't been a disaster, but it hadn't been great either.

"It wasn't weird, it was… offbeat," I said.

"Hm. Offbeat." She paused as we stepped out of the apartment. "I like that."

"Yours truly has a way with words." I bent down in an exaggerated bow.

"Don't let your head get too big now, dork. Now it's your turn to get eaten alive by my family."

"It won't be that bad. Candice is already my friend! Gardenia's… cool." My lips tugged upward a little. "It's the others I'm worried about."

The Conference was an entire month of festivities, battles, and high activity all concentrated within a single island. Pokemon Centers and hotels were going to be packed full, and some people even set up tents outside of the League in designated areas to stay the entire month, opting to use the Centers' public showers or the many laundromats that dotted the city to keep themselves going the entire month. Gym Leaders? They got to stay in their own place a ways away from all the activity of the bustling League—a quiet retreat of sorts. According to Maylene, there were two homes, one for the adults and another for the… well, they weren't kids, considering only Maylene and I were under eighteen, but they were of the younger generation. Each was close enough to be considered the same property and shared a yard with a pool, so it'd be a real opportunity to show them what I was made of. I'd proven myself to Gardenia and Candice, but what about the others? In a way, this entire month would be another battle of some sort.

Ugh. Now I was a little nervous. But it'd be better if it hit me now instead of the moment I made it there.

This was a recent addition to how things were organized and was only two years old. It had been pushed mainly by Candice, Roark, and Wake from what Maymay had said in her extensive lessons. I was a last-minute addition, so I'd have to room with Maylene for the month. It was a big step forward, especially considering I still had never stayed over at her Gym overnight even after we started officially dating, but we only had a little under two months left before I went to Unova. Poketch had already set a date.

It was okay to be greedy once in a while. And if things went badly, I could always stay with either Mom or Dad. I doubted I'd find space in a Pokemon Center or a hotel this late. Outside, we greeted the sheepish-looking Kadabra and allowed him to take note of everything he needed to Teleport before he began to concentrate. I felt a little naked without Buddy under my shirt, but it'd just give Kadabra extra work, so I waited until he Teleported us to release him again. It felt a little chillier and drier as soon as we appeared further north at the Lily of the Valley.

I could hear the faint noise of the flurry of activity down in the city—hell, I could even see it some. Ferries docking at the Lily's port, helicopters flying overhead for the richest patrons, and people dotting the streets like little bugs, each going about their day and getting ready for tomorrow's ceremony. Beyond trainers or companies using this month as an opportunity to drive sales, the League itself would try to recuperate as many losses it had incurred as possible during the past year of dealing with Team Galactic. You'd be hard-pressed to go two minutes before seeing them selling anything they managed to scrounge up. Elite-Four based merchandise, training classes and workshops, and of course, anything a trainer would need for the month, including items.

I had a few ones in mind—though they were more for a funny little story than anything. It wasn't like they were game-changing.

My friends would arrive later in the day too, including Marley. Lauren was going to participate, I'd heard, and I'd love to reconnect with her and Mira before I left.

And Cecilia was going to be here too, I assumed.

Maylene gently bumped my elbow with hers, catching my attention. Kadabra was gone, and all that remained was making our way to the Gym House. It was a few minutes away because the psychic had never been, so we'd have to walk for a bit.

Things were a little confusing with the group at the moment. There'd been a falling out between Pauline and Cecilia—the former had told me all about it—and now Cecilia was more separated from them than ever, save for her connections with Louis and Chase. These days, you'd most likely find her with Temperance's clique most of the time. She'd walked all over Emi's feelings with the tact of an uncaring bulldozer, and while I'd heard enough raging from Pauline for a lifetime and I agreed Cecilia had been unnecessarily mean, I had no right to criticize her considering what I'd done had been far worse.

Just…

Hopefully she was landing on her feet.

There was some friction between Emilia and Pauline too, even if that was largely gone. The fact that I'd been somehow involved in these after everything left a strange taste in my mouth. Not bad. Just strange. In my mind, it would have been a clean break. I'd done something wrong, and so I'd pay the price and lose them. But here I was, weeks later, and things felt different, but also the same. Mostly, Pauline would use me or Denzel as a way to vent because Emilia wanted to hear nothing about Cecilia so she'd be able to move on and get over that hump.

Still… thinking about them together? It was a lost cause now considering what had happened and that Cecilia didn't reciprocate, but I could have maybe seen it. It was easier to imagine her with someone else without me these days, even if it still stung. There was still a lingering dislike for Temperance, a childish one that I couldn't wait to get rid of. If there was one thing this year had shown me, it was that time was the best cure for a lot of afflictions like these.

"You okay?" Maylene asked.

"Yep. What about you?" I asked. "Sorry if my suitcase is too heavy."

She scoffed, pulling it up with ease. "Come on. I could carry your backpack easily too. And you."

"And me?"

"Yeah. Not like I haven't done it multiple times."

That was true. Not just in Coronet to save my life—I repressed the awful memory. There was that time at the beach in Sandgem when she kissed me just as the sun was setting and the sky had been a tapestry of vivid oranges and pinks, fading softly into the night, and we'd fallen on the ground, my hair and clothes full of sand. Another when I'd surprised her in her room when she'd come back at night after a long day of work—there were a few more, but I had noticed she enjoyed picking me up.

"Meh. I bet you couldn't do it while carrying all of this luggage," I lied.

Oh, how easy it was to provoke her. Just as we reached the gates of the property, Maylene swept me off my feet and spun around. I laughed, the sound echoing through the quiet morning as she lifted me effortlessly, her strength both playful and grounding. "Put me down!" I protested, half-heartedly, feeling the thrill of her hold, the steady warmth of her hands. But Maylene only grinned, that mischievous spark in her eyes, and spun me around once more, as if daring me to resist.

"What if I threw you in the pool?" She stood at the edge of it, its waters clear and spaces wide. It was deep enough to jump.

"Maymay!" It was getting difficult to breathe because of how hard I was laughing. "I'll make you regret it, I swear to God!"

"Yeah, but for a moment, I'll be winning and you'll be losing—"

"I see some of us are having fun," a voice—no, that was Wake—said.

Even Maylene had failed to notice him—she quickly let me on the ground and slid behind me like a child full of shame. The water type Gym Leader swam along the pool's edge with only his head and nose above the water as if he were Feraligatr. Now that I could focus, noticing other Pokemon dotting the yard was easy. There was a Rampardos lounging in the grass, having created a nest of stones below himself to rest. A blurry, orange shape below the water darting to and fro that must have been Wake's Floatzel. A Drifblim floating high in the sky with a posse of Drifloon, though Buddy whispered that there were a few more powerful ghosts out and about. I waved awkwardly at Roserade, who returned to growing flowers in her corner of the backyard soon afterward. Gardenia's Carnivine was busy sparring with a Luxray a few hundred feet away outside the property.

"G—good morning," I said, swallowing an apology. "We didn't know people would be outside already."

Wake pulled himself out of the pool with a grunt, and water dripped from his skin. "It's just me and a few Pokemon!" he laughed, as boisterous as ever. "Don't let me interrupt your kids' fun."

"Uh." Maylene hesitantly stepped out from behind me, her fingers intertwining with mine as if to reassure me that things were fine. I knew that already; she was just embarrassed by physical touch in public when she was initiating. "Is J.P. here yet?"

"He'll be there later today—there were some last-minute issues to deal with at the Gym before closing and he basically forced me into an early break." The Gym Leader ran a hand over his wet, bald head. It was easy to see the love and care in his eyes whenever he brought up his husband. "Don't know what I'd do without him—but Grace!" He beamed, smile stretching so far yet looking so natural still. "I've wanted to talk to you for—"

Maylene pushed me forward. "Come on, don't just immediately press her on stuff. We'll—we'll talk later! I promise!"

Wake just shrugged, deciding to hop back into the pool with Floatzel, who had finally come back up for air and decided that splashing the entire surroundings with his spinning tails would be the next best thing to do. I whispered a 'thanks' to her; she'd known that I wouldn't be ready moments after we were fooling around, that I would have gotten in my head and overthought things, and ended up not saying anything great.

The house's walls were painted in a soft, weathered white, with the faintest traces of sea-blue hues where the paint met the wooden window frames. The windows were wide and sliding, large enough to catch a glimpse of a lounging Leafeon on a fort of pillows and Volkner, who was evidently napping on the couch in a pose that spelled disaster for his neck. His excited Raichu's head popped up from behind the couch the moment I opened the sliding glass door and slapped his forehead with his tail repeatedly until the Gym Leader groaned and blearily opened his eyes.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he nearly yelled. Raichu darted toward Maylene and affectionately wrapped his tail around her leg while she dropped parts of our luggage to pet his head. "Oh. You guys are here." Volkner's eyes settled on me, and I couldn't help but feel a little out of place. All of these Gym Leaders and their Pokemon, and then me? I was just some girl!

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

It was a good thing I'd worked so hard these past few weeks to fight back against the nepotism allegations as best as I could. They were real—there was no doubt, but at least I'd done a good enough job for Poketch to allow me to stay here so long as I stayed discrete. It hadn't stopped the side-eyeing or the much of the trash talking online, but we expected that to diminish with time and if I had performed well at the tournament. There were still narratives that it was somehow going to be rigged to get me to the top, which would be funny if they weren't relatively popular among newcomers to the Conference like me.

After a shy greeting and some small talk between Maylene and Volkner, my girlfriend looked around the spacious living room, taking it in for the first time in over a year. It was open and airy, with large windows flooding the space with natural light and offering views of the lush yard outside, a little against what Maylene liked, but I was willing to bet her bedroom was small and cozy. Plus, it wasn't like she couldn't stay in spacious places.

"I'm surprised you made it this early," Maylene said as her older friend covered his mouth to yawn.

"Don't lump me in with the likes of Candice," he slowly chided. "I learned to show up to things on time when Jasmine threatened to break up with me if I didn't."

I expected sadness there, but it looked like he was over it, for the most part. There was just a trace of melancholy, of what could have been, but other than that, he didn't seem to care much any longer.

"Well, if you hung out with me more, maybe I'd know!" Maylene complained with a cute pout, grabbing her luggage again. "The others?"

"Catching up on their sleep, mostly. The plan is to reconvene together when everyone's here and we're well-rested for what's looking to be a late lunch and… I don't know, probably tabletop games and ranting about work. Gardenia brought a whole lot of 'em." An elongated sigh followed his statement. "Monopoly today, I think. Those are always so, so long."

"Oh. Time together, the horror!" Maylene joked.

He rolled his eyes, lying back down on the couch with his hands over his stomach. "We're missing Candice, Jean-Pierre, and Byron."

"Byron?" Maylene questioned with a hum. "He's usually punctual."

"He's working on some Iron Island project. I don't know much about it, I can't be expected to keep track of anything not Sunyshore-related now that I'm off for the next month." That made sense, considering that while their Gym was closed, they still had responsibilities over their cities. If it called for it, they'd leave for a few hours or even a few days if need be to handle things. Volkner paused, eyes meeting mine once more. "Anyway. I'm looking forward to this," he said with a slight smirk.

"Ugh. Don't be weird. Weirdo." She went over to grab the pillow from under his head and threw it on his face. "Treat her normally!"

"I didn't say anything!"

"I know that look!"

"I was just surprised you got yourself a girlfriend, you hardass—"

Oh.

This was strange. Maylene was the only other Gym Leader I'd seen outside of a work setting for any extended period of time, so it was like I'd stepped foot on a completely different planet. It'd feel strange to step in and join, even if I saw some angle of attacks to gang up on Maylene, so I stayed silent, lips quirking every time either of them landed a good jab. A minute later, she gave in and we continued on our way.

With a lean, I whispered a question. "Why doesn't he sleep in his room like the others?"

"Oh, he's odd like that. He enjoys sleeping on… basically anything other than a bed. If you asked, him, he'd say the most comfortable place to sleep is at his desk." she said as we walked through the wide hallways. Our room was near the edge of the house, with an exit door nearby and a winding gravel path that led to what Maylene said was a backdoor to the adults' house. The bedroom was small, as expected, just big enough for a double bed pushed against the wall. Maylene would usually have slept on the ground, but we'd compromised and she'd had the usual mattress replaced by a tougher one so that we'd both be fine with it. Above the bed was an empty shelf with a few books Maylene had left here last summer, most of them about employee management. The bathroom was opposite the bedroom, which we'd have to share, but I didn't mind. In fact, it was kind of… exciting. It felt like we were moving in somewhere together.

We spent the next thirty minutes unpacking clothes and belongings with the help of a few of our Pokemon. Cass, Medicham and Princess, mostly, though Lucario helped some too before he couldn't resist the prospect of cannonballing in the pool to surprise Wake. Once we were done, she released the rest of her Pokemon so they could go and socialize with the rest, something I was going to wait to do first. I needed to have a talk with them before I let them loose. The usual 'don't be weird, be more social' thing that I had to tell them every time we met a new group of Pokemon and people.

"Are you ready?" Maylene threw her shoes into the closet, opting to go barefoot, and stretched with her hands above her head. "You look stressed out."

"I am," I said. "It's kind of sunk in."

"Come on, you'll do great, just like with Nia and Candice." She got close and lifted up my chin with a finger. "And if you don't, well—that's fine too. It's not like I didn't screw up first impressions with your family."

"It'd be easier to do this through battle," I said. Her pink eyes softened with a quiet laugh. "What?" I added. "It's true!" Words were just that. Words. Battling someone meant that you'd learn so much about them through the way they approached the fight—all of the different facets of battle, win or lose. "Too bad I can't. And now I'm overthinking things, and I—"

"Cass?" Maylene said, still staring directly at me.

One of Cassianus' eyes rotated toward us. They'd been sifting through Maylene's old books with Buddy. "Hm?" they absent-mindedly answered before— "Oh, pardon my unmannerliness I mean—how may I help you?"

"What'd you think the first time you met Grace?"

"I thought she was one of my Kings' descendants, bound by blood! A tyrant who would order me around as her slave!" the psychic enthused, arms shivering in excitement. "Instead, she's just a child. I suppose she carries that mantle through title only. But a King is still a King, and she remains mine. She's inherited—"

"Okay," she interrupted, not wanting another flurry of anecdotes about ancient Sinnoh. "Buddy?"

The Jellicent hovered there, eyes dimming, and he said he thought I was an annoying brat that he'd eventually manage to kill until he slowly figured that maybe life could be interesting again and he got out of that century-long malaise.

"Um. I didn't—understand that, but she did, and that's the goal." What she'd heard was a flurry of wind-like whistles and the occasional click. "But here's the spirit of what I meant. I hated you when we first met, right? Sure, it morphed into a kind of obsession…"

"Not kind of."

"I'm trying to help you and you stab me in the back," Maylene playfully sighed. "What I mean is you have a way of worming yourself into peoples' hearts, even if it takes a while."

Was that… true? Come to think of it, a decent amount of the people I was close to hadn't liked me at first. Cecilia, Pauline, Sunshine, Chase—well, not Chase anymore.

"Are you calling me a worm?" I said, trying to cheer myself up.

"You know what? Yeah." Maylene shrugged. "Don't worry, I'll keep you in a nice terrarium."

I stuck out my tongue at her and plopped myself down on the bed with a loud, admittedly exaggerated exhale. I'd been given no reason to be anxious, and they'd probably all be nice and polite to me. It just felt like I always had to expect things to go south and for everything to blow up in my face, especially considering that things had been going way too well lately. I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I felt at the tough mattress with a pensive hum. Yeah, this was going to be fine to sleep on. "Don't forget you have to start eating outside your regimen. You promised! No more delaying."

"Yes, yes, I will. I promise," she said. "Now are you ready to go see the others? They're all separated, so it shouldn't be too overwhelming."

I restrained a groan. "Sure." Maylene outstretched her hand, and I took it. "Maymaaaaay," I whined in a sweet voice, "can I have a good luck kiss?"

Buddy made himself small and looked away, and Cass suddenly found that page 38 of Maylene's book demanded all of their attention.

"So much for controlling yourself," she said, glancing back at the closed door. "Just this once."

—

These past few months, Roark hadn't been able to sleep well.

Knowing how close they'd come to catastrophe—to Cyrus summoning some country-wide apocalypse that would wipe Sinnoh and its people off the face of the earth—kept him up both at night and during the day. He had tried to nap for thirty minutes at this point, and none of his sleeping techniques were working well. Imagining himself in an endless underground tunnel that stretched for miles and miles usually did the trick. With a grunt that was half frustration half misery, Roark sat up from his bed and wished he'd brought his handheld magnification lens, the one with the bright light and multiple magnification settings that allowed him to inspect every tiny crevice and vein in his fossils. He'd found an Old Amber months ago that he still hadn't had time to inspect closely. In fact, it was sitting right there on his desk, bright and orange, the ancient history and countless years it must have seen almost taunting him.

Finding his glasses on his nightstand, he grabbed his phone and noticed a text from his father saying that he would be there soon. With the existence and convenience of their League Kadabra—Arceus bless their service to the state—it was easy to let yourself go and work until the last possible minute before Teleporting where you needed to be. He was apparently dealing with a lot of red tape and a complicated bureaucratic network to allow Canalave to have more sway over the Iron Islands, at the moment, but Teracore was fighting back relentlessly.

Roark was surprised his father was moving now of all times. Byron had been the one to regulate the Oreburgh mining companies before he'd taken over Canalave, so it wasn't out of character, but he'd been in charge of that city for over a decade.

There was no use asking questions without answers. If Byron wanted to tell him, he would. Once he gathered his thoughts, Roark opened his bedroom door and found himself face to face with Maylene and her new girlfriend Grace doing the same further down the hall. He vaguely remembered Grace's challenge because she'd been the one to first alert him about Team Galactic—her and her friend he forgot the name of. Danny? Daniel? D-something.

"Hey you two," he greeted them with a smile and a wave. "I didn't hear you come in, I must have been out of it."

"Hi, Roark!" Maylene rushed toward him, and anticipating getting all the air knocked out of his lungs, Roark squared his legs and braced himself. She tackled him with a hug and sank her head into his chest. "I haven't seen you out of a work setting in so long! I missed you!" She turned toward Grace and gestured for her to get closer. "Come, come. He's not gonna eat you, even if his resting face is kind of a glare. He only looks like that."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." They let go of each other, and Roark got a better look at the girl in question.

He'd read her file. What she was capable of. He'd never disapproved—Sinnoh's survival was worth a lot to him, and while some of it had been disturbing, he'd never held it against her like the others had before. And knowing she'd scaled Coronet, she most likely had a body count higher than anyone he could think of other than Cynthia or maybe one of the other Shards. She was brutally scarred. Her left forearm was covered in shallow cuts, and the entire side of her body was burned up to the cheek, leaving behind only charred skin. Yet before him stood a nervous teenager who couldn't even bear to look him in the eye for longer than a second.

"N—nice to meet you," she mumbled. "R—Roark." Grace held out a nervous hand, and he shook it.

It was sweaty.

"Maylene's been happier since you started dating. And thank you for helping deal with Oscar," he firmly patted her on the shoulder.

"It wasn't just—" she stopped herself. "No problem. I'd help again a million times. Buddy, Mimi, say hi."

Out of her clothes, a crawling, blue amalgamation wrenched itself free with the morbid whistle of the wind across an ocean and the smell of salt. A Jellicent oozed out and slowly took shape with only red, hollow eyes to use as a frame of reference for its head. Behind her, Maylene eyed him with a knowing look. She'd warned him about this—it was her way of feeling safe from any sudden attacks. A trauma response. It was mildly unsettling, but he could get used to it if given time. The Jellicent's appearance had made him not notice the little blob of metal that had crawled atop her head. It was… dancing. Waving its hands from side to side and wriggling as some sort of greeting.

"That's Meltan. They actually got an entry in the Pokedex recently!" Grace said, pointing at her head. "They can turn into anything. Here, Mimi, do a crown." The steel type morphed into a diadem of some sort. "Isn't that cool—I mean, it's… you know, it's cool." She scratched the side of her arm.

"They can also turn into a skeleton key to open any doors. I'd better be careful if I were you, we don't want to catch you freaking out over a rock," Maylene teased.

"That happened only once. And it was a Plume Fossil, which is usually only found overseas in Unova and Orre! I was right to be freaked out!"

Grace blinked a few times. "I mean, a skeleton key is nice, but couldn't I just blow up the door?"

"Uh…" Roark trailed off. "I guess?"

"She's technically right!" Maylene said.

"I mean, if you want to be discreet, I could see the advantage, but Buddy can slip through doors easily too. With the way he can fit in any cracks and crevices, you'd never see him coming, and I wouldn't need to endanger myself…"

Had any of what they'd said implied fighting in any way? Was this because of her experiences too? Roark almost expected Maylene to stop her and redirect the conversation, but she just looked at her with a smile she could barely hide.

Small talk continued, mostly with Roark prodding about how Grace was feeling for her first Conference, but a few minutes later, Maylene took her away for her to meet Wake outside so she could release the rest of her Pokemon.

That had been a strange first impression, but… yeah she was fine.

Now to go take a walk and see if that cave he remembered from last year was still there…

—

Amidst the chaos of eight big personalities clashing, I found myself observing Candice trying to cheat in Monopoly by trying to invent new rules. It was a four-person game with Roark, Volkner and Gardenia, and a large part of the round had been spent in both of the boys allying to defeat Gardenia out of fear of her social acumen. I sipped on some juice and grinned when Roark landed on one of Candice's spaces, and the rent cost nearly took him out of the game, forcing him to mortgage some of his properties. I wasn't exactly rooting for anyone since Maylene wasn't playing and she was currently chatting with Wake on the patio, but there was something about seeing Roark angry that felt at least a little funny considering how mature and calm he'd looked earlier.

There was a shake around my wrist, a warning from Mimi because I was on my own too much. Introductions and small talk were well and good, but I needed to get in there somehow. I couldn't interject and interrupt their game, and just interjecting in Maylene's conversation with Wake felt wrong. Was I really that socially useless without her to carry the conversations? What could I even talk about? The last thing they wanted to mention were battles because most of it for them was work and this was a month to get away from that! But it was also the best icebreaker I knew…

Another vibration made me bring my wrist up to my mouth. "It's easy for you to say considering you can just sit there and backseat me," I whispered, fingers clenching my glass. "I mean, Fantina and Byron are talking." The ghost type specialist was currently coercing Byron into wearing proper clothing on the couch while she sipped on a glass of red wine. It was really weird seeing her with her hair down and not in some extravagant style. "Everyone's in a group except, uh…" a metallic arrow protruded out of the steel type in the kitchen's direction. "Jean-Pierre, I guess."

Wake's husband had arrived a little earlier in the day and had gone off to prepare lunch. He was the opposite of Wake—somewhat lanky with hair long enough to be tied into a ponytail and a thick, salt-and-pepper beard that was excellently trimmed. He moved through the kitchen with practiced ease, his long, nimble fingers skillfully chopping vegetables and seasoning meats like he could do it with his eyes closed. He was making Boeuf Camphrier, a classic Kalosian dish which was going to take a while.

"Would it be weird to ask him if he needed help, you think?" I asked in a whisper.

Mimi 'sighed', as in they contracted around my wrist and crawled up my arm and into my shirt. They were giving up on me! I side-hugged myself, giving Maylene's back one last look, and I downed my grape juice. I wasn't going to just hang around awkwardly and do nothing until either she or Candice could pick me up and help. I had to be independent, and Jean-Pierre was just a normal person like me. Not a Gym Leader. It was probably unfair to him, but that made the decision easier. Using my empty glass as an excuse, I slowly made my way to the kitchen counter and rinsed it out before putting it in the dishwasher.

I eyed Jean-Pierre to the side. "Need any, uh, help?" I asked.

He was taller from up close; it was somewhat intimidating. Nevertheless, he gave me a soft smile. "Maylene's told me you're an avid cook."

Unlike Fantina, he'd nearly completely lost his accent. I could still somewhat tell, but it was extremely faint.

"Well, me and my Electivire." Honey was probably off racing with Volkner's own Electivire across the island's wilderness. "But yeah. Kind of."

"There isn't much else to do with the beef but put it in the oven, and I'm nearly done with the sides as well," he pondered, wiping his hands on his flowery apron before he went to wash his hands. "But you could help me clean this place up and bake the dessert."

My eyes widened. "You're making dessert?!" Oh Arceus, that had been loud. Loud enough to turn Fantina and Byron's heads. "Sorry. I mean, after all of this work?"

"These fools have got to eat somehow, don't they?" He nudged his head back to the living room. "They already neglect themselves so much they deserve a little treat," he said. "Though I'm pretty sure Fantina would be able to subside solely off of wine."

I snorted. "Is she big on that?"

"One glass a night, usually—"

Speaking of the devil, Fantina cocked her head to the side with pursed lips. "Jean-Jean, are you badmouthing me to Grace?"

He clicked his tongue a few times like a disappointed father. "Are your ghosts spying on us again?"

"Again implies that they had ever stopped, my dear." Suddenly, there was a chill running down my neck that I couldn't help but shake my entire body at, and a shriveled-up shadow darted back in Fantina's own. Damn. I wondered if Buddy would have noticed if he'd still been close. He would have been, but it'd be inconsiderate of me to have him by me all the time when every other Pokemon had gone to socialize. He was swimming in the pool right now with some of Wake's team.

"I have a shovel at my disposal and a man willing to use it." Fantina spun the wine in her glass a few times.

Byron raised both of his hands. "Leave me out of this. I might have some emails to answer." With that, he rose and ran off—Fantina grabbed onto his cape to stop him. It was stuck there a lot better than it looked. "I'm serious Fantina. Furious messages from Teracore and such. That's why I won't be able to stay tonight."

With an understanding sigh, she let go. "Very well. I suppose my bake-off idea for revenge will have to wait."

"Oh. A bake-off would be cool some other day!" I excitedly said, feeling my inner competitive spirit flare to life. "I'd want to be against Maymay, though…"

"We aren't making anything complicated today. Just brownies," Jean-Pierre said.

"Oooh, I can help with those," I chimed in. "You can never go wrong with chocolate." I paused, noticing him wrinkle his nose. "You… what?"

"I don't like chocolate much. I can eat it, but—"

"Are you kidding?!" My mouth gaped, and I looked over to Fantina as I leaned over the counter and pointed at him with a thumb. "Is he screwing with me?"

"He really isn't. Jean-Jean was cursed with a terrible palate when it comes to desserts, I'm afraid," The Gym Leader said, slowly shaking her head in disapproval. "He doesn't really like anything sweet, which crosses off a lot of desserts."

I turned back to Jean-Pierre, eyes tightly shut, and clasped his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Both he and Fantina laughed. Things were easier from here on out.

I stood by the counter, sleeves rolled up, watching Jean-Pierre sift cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl with the ease of someone who had done it a thousand times before. He handed me the wooden spoon, nodding for me to start stirring while he melted butter on the stove. Amidst tips of being gentle with the eggs to avoid air bubbles or adding less flour, he and Fantina told me old stories about Kalos and that their friendly rivalry stemmed back from her being from Lumiose and there being some kind of joke in their country that anyone from that city being an asshole.

"Maylene's told me you want to travel," Jean-Pierre had said. "If you want to truly experience our dear Kalos, you'll want to go anywhere but Lumiose."

"Mais tu racontes n'importe quoi, toi," Fantina said—though I didn't understand, and they devolved into Kalosian bickering until she noted that I'd feel left out.

Kalosian was weird. Felt nice on the ears, though. Maybe I'd be able to pick up on a few words here and there this month.

Funnily enough, the brownies finished before the main course, so I went out to call Maylene over so she could have a taste while Jean-Pierre went to talk to his husband and Fantina went to check in on that seemingly endless Monopoly game. They'd be scorching hot, yes, but her mouth could take a lot of pain—and that wasn't meant weirdly. My girlfriend lifted up a piece of brownie which had been cut into a square, and she stared at it like it was going to—

"It's not going to kill you," I teased. "Come on, you can do it."

Maylene audibly gulped, and then whispered, "feels like Oscar's going to jump from behind and yell at me any second." Her voice was small and weak, like she was about to freak out. It was a mental block first and foremost. "It's terrifying."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed in an attempt to share my belief in her. "He's not here. He won't ever have that much power over you again." And if he did, I'd kill—wound—restrain him. I'd restrain him without harming a hair on his stupid fucking head just because things so be so complicated otherwise. "Just a little bite."

Ever so slowly, she leaned in and sank her teeth into the brownie. She chewed at a slow pace, and I didn't know if it was to savor it or out of fear, but—

"Maymay!" I chuckled. "You did it. You did it!" My arms found themselves around her, and I jumped in place, unable to contain the sheer happiness within.

"I did it…" she murmured in disbelief. "It's—it tastes really good, it—" she took another bite. "Oh my God, how is it so good—"

Then, a deathly silence.

The advantage of the house being so open meant that we could see everyone all looking at us. From Candice's mouth gaping open with a bunch of fake money in her hand, to Fantina blinking silently and tapping her foot on the ground, to Wake and Jean-Pierre through the sliding window. It was all quiet until—

A cacophony of cheers and congratulations erupted, first coming from Roark of all people. The Gym Leaders swarmed around not just Maylene, but us, and even I got thanked for getting her to deviate from her diet. They'd tried for years, and none of them had succeeded until today.

"Wanna play another game of Monopoly after lunch?" Candice asked me. "We can do six player this time!"

"Just don't cheat, and we can play again," Gardenia said.

"Pookie, honey buns, snookums." With each word, her girlfriend stepped closer to her. "how could you insinuate such a thing? That I, Candice, would ever cheat at anything? And you cheated too; you never targeted me."

"That's called realpolitik. You were useful to me in the game, so I let you run rampant."

"A likely story. So, Grace?"

With a grin, I jumped in excitement. "Yeah! I'll play. Maylene, you're dead to me."

"Wha—oh, you're on!"

I'd done so much wrong in the past, and maybe I'd do wrong in the future too, but I felt a part of this. A part of them.

Things were going to be okay!