“Make sure to eat your fill, dear.”

Nina nodded, mouth full of delectable egg sandwich made using Chansey’s egg. “I didn’t know you could even buy Chansey’s egg.” Nina never forgot the heavenly taste of the Pokemon ambrosia of her childhood and she made sure to look into it once she had developed enough motor skills to do so.

Mrs Bratwurst giggled. “That’s because you can’t, dear. Not unless you have connections that is. One of my regulars is a Joy. I helped save her wedding after her caterer bailed at the last minute, and she’s been in my debt ever since.”

Nancy Bratwurst was unlike her son. The woman had luscious blonde hair and a tall figure owing to her Kalosian heritage. She had married into Kanto after falling in love with Bobby’s chef father, who was constantly on tour to manage his numerous restaurants.

The woman now ran a simple looking cafe right by the Quay, the interior of which was tastefully decorated with various assortment of houseplants and art pieces. But otherwise, it was quite unassuming. One wouldn’t think that this was a place that requires a month long wait just to get a reservation for brunch.

The second floor of the cafe was closed today, specifically to host a party celebrating the coming of age of his son and his two friends. It also served as a farewell party of sorts for Charlie and Nobita who will both be leaving Cerulean City soon.

A huge spread of food was laid out for both humans and pokemon alike, all of which was delicious beyond reproach. Bobby was one lucky boy.

“Thanks for all the incredible feast, Mrs Bratwurst.” Said Nina. “You have no idea how long it's been since I’ve had Chansey’s egg. Sometimes I even dream about it when I sleep.”

The affable woman smiled at the cute little girl stuffing her face with food. “Oh, no worries dear. If anything, I should be thanking you for making that stubborn son of mine see the light. He’s been diligently experimenting with Berries as of late.”

Nina shook her head. “I just laid out some facts about Shuckle for him. I’m sure Bobby already knew what a treasure he received. He just needed someone to validate him.”

“And that someone was you. So make sure to eat up and let me know if there’s anything specific you want me to cook up, okay? And if you ever want to stop by, just give me a call and I’ll get you a table. Our doors will always be open to you.”

Nina thanked the woman for the offer but was otherwise content with just gorging on an egg salad sandwich made using Chansey’s egg. The miraculous ingredient was every bit that she remembered. Better even. Due to all her pent up nostalgia serving as extra seasoning for the eggs. Fairy Types were basically magic with how incomprehensible they were.

Nina looked around and saw her father chatting with the Rockfords while Tini was having a get together with his best buddy Phanpy. Fortunately, the two troublemakers had mellowed out a lot since their introduction to civilization, so there was no need to constantly keep an eye on them.

“So Charlie, are you excited for Vermillion?” Asked Nina.

The boy gave her a big grin, though she could sense some unease in his eyes. “Yeap, still a little bummed out that I didn’t manage to score a spot in the dorms. But I did apply late so that’s on me I guess.”

“You’ll be staying with family, right? Can’t be too bad.”

Charlie groaned. “Aunt Vanessa is fine, I guess… It’s just that her children are a bit uppity, you know?”

Nina nodded. “Come to think of it, I never asked him why he was so dead set on enrolling in the Vermillion Flame.” But before she could ask, Charlie got into an argument with Bobby who was sneaking food away from his plate, so Nina turned to speak with Nobita instead.

“You’re headed to Celadon right, Nobita?”

The bespectacled boy nodded.

“So what’s the deal there? Your mom is in Cerulean but your dad is in Celadon. So will it just be you going or is your mom coming along as well?”

“Mom will be staying behind,” replied Nobita, not even looking up from his food.

Nina tried to ask about his father as well but the boy was quite curt and wasn’t willing to say much about the topic so she took the hint and moved on to discussing his Nidoran. The little runt seems to be doing quite well, having gained a fair bit of weight from Nobita’s care so that was good.

Aside from that, the rest of the event was pretty pleasant. Everyone had a good time with great food and familiar company.

***

Nina was now seven years old and well into her new school year. The new year had been uneventful so far with the only notable thing being Charlie and Nobita’s farewell party.

Her hectic schedule had pretty much stabilized into a routine at this point; Mondays were when she went fishing with Tini, Tuesdays she spent in the library or visiting Leanette in the hospital, Wednesdays and Thursdays were when she worked in the Gym, Fridays were her Roxy mandated break days, with the woman still being coy about her so-called opportunity.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

And of course, Tini still rehearsed for shows during the weekends. Her little noodly boy had developed quite a following ever since his stellar performance during Golden Week. The one thing that did change was that both Nina and Tini got a bit more comfortable being apart from each other, so she would often hang out with Beverly or some of the other Gym Trainers during the weekends as well.

Nina could afford to take it a bit easier on herself. Her income was supplemented by an unexpected windfall in the form of Dratini sheddings, not to mention the increased revenue from Tini’s shows where he played a leading role. Who knew that a bunch of old scales and dead skin cells could sell for so much?

The Luxury Ball which she was balking at not too long ago was now squarely within the realms of possibility, not that Nina would ever be so frivolous in her spending. Tini was perfectly happy with his sticker-bombed Pokeball and she would rather spend the money on getting better feed for her Pokemon and saving up the rest for an emergency.

“Your mom’s discharging next week,” said Patrick, while Nina was in the kitchen cooking dinner for them.

Ever since Leanette was admitted, the two of them had pretty much lived a bachelor’s lifestyle, what’s with how busy each of their schedules were. At some point during this period, they came to an unspoken agreement to do a bit of home cooking at least once a week. And whenever they got take out, they would always order extra so that the other could have something in the fridge for when they wanted it.

“The doctors finally gave their okay?” It’s been over two years since Nina’s mother had been hospitalized. Progress has been slow but she had seemed a lot better during the recent times when Nina went to see her, so this wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Patrick nodded. “Yeap, they said she’s pretty much as stable as she can be now. No more sporadic episodes. But they wanted to keep her for an extra week just to be doubly sure.”

“That’s awesome! I’ll call grandma after dinner and let her know.” Nina knew first hand how impatient the old woman had been as of late.

Her father returned with a reluctant smile. “Sure, just… tell her not to come on the day of the discharge. I’d prefer it if it was just the three of us. I’m sure she’d understand, probably.”

That last part was said with a fair bit of uncertainty but Nina got the message loud and clear. Patrick wanted her to convince her grandmother to hold back. A tall task, but not impossible.

“I’ll make sure to tell her that,” she replied simply. “So what day is she discharging?”

“I’m hoping for Thursday. Do you think you could get the day off?”

Nina nodded. “Should be fine. I’ll inform the Gym and talk to Ms Roxy. I’m sure she’d be okay with me skipping school for the day.”

Patrick frowned at her daughter’s mention of truancy. “It’s okay, I’ll talk to Roxy and send an email to the school for you. Worst comes to worst, I’ll get your mom’s doctor to write up some nonsense saying that she needs her daughter with her for emotional support or something.”

Nina laughed at her father’s audacity and ladled some curry onto their plates.

***

The Jones family stepped out of the hospital with Nina holding Leanette’s hands. The woman seemed almost overwhelmed by the large space that suddenly opened up in front of her.

“Are you alright, mom?” Asked Nina. Leanette gave a weak nod in response but Nina could tell how pale she seemed.

“Do you think you’re up for taking the Tram? If not, I’m sure dad could get us a taxi for the ride home.”

Leanette opened her mouth hesitantly, looking like she was about to reject the offer before nodding her head once again. “I think… Yes, a taxi would be lovely. Thank you, Nina.”

Nina shot a concerned look at Patrick who smiled at his daughter to reassure her before pulling his Pokegear out to make a call.

“Come on, mom. We can sit over there while dad calls for a ride.” Said Nina, pointing towards some benches set out in front of the hospital.

Leanette seemed a little aloof and distant, but that’s par for the course. Nina hadn’t failed to notice her mother’s unusual state recently. “The Hypnosis treatment really did quite a number on her.”

According to Leanette’s doctors, the woman’s aversion towards Pokemon was deeply rooted in her childhood. The therapists had to go deeper than they usually did just to help undo some of the damage that Melina had unknowingly inflicted on her daughter over the years.

In fact, there were multiple times where they had to get Patrick’s consent due to how invasive some of the treatments were.

Nina was personally a bit iffy about them needing to be so thorough. But unfortunately, she wasn’t included in the discussion. Patrick himself was ambivalent and Melina was quite extreme in wanting her daughter to be thoroughly “fixed”, so they went ahead with it.

“Welcome home, mom!” Exclaimed Nina.

Leanette stepped back into her home, but looked around like she had just walked into a spaceship.

“Are you hungry, mom? I got Mrs Bratwurst to cook up some stuff to celebrate your return. You don’t know her but she’s Bobby’s mom…”

Nina dragged her mother over to the dining table and began talking about her friends and school life. Pikachu and Dratini were notably absent as the two Pokemon were currently in their Pokeballs. Nina and the adults all agreed to slowly ease the woman back into regular life. So they were holding back to avoid overwhelming her.

Patrick chimed in as well, talking about his work and all the drama that was going on there. Meanwhile Leanette just nodded along and replied absent mindedly. “That’s nice, sweetie… and I’m glad your boss got transferred, honey.”

After lunch, Patrick proposed that they all go out for a walk. It wouldn’t do Leanette any good to have her cooped up in the apartment. And hopefully the more familiar surroundings of the neighborhood would be easier on her.

When they had stepped out of their apartment building, they finally released their Pokemon. Because if Leanette couldn't handle her own household’s Pokemon, then it was doubtful she’d be able to handle the ones roaming around outside.

“Pika!”

“Tiin!”

“Hey Tini, you’ve not met her before, but this is my mom,” introduced Nina. “And mom, this is Tini, my partner. We met over at the Safari Zone.”

“Tini Tin!” Greeted Tini, but the little Dragon refrained from getting close to touch her like he normally would. Nina had already discussed proper precautions with him beforehand.

“Pika!” Cried Pikachu, with a wave. Nina had a sneaking suspicion that the electric mouse was happier without Leanette around since she could cuddle with Patrick at night, but she was being a good sport in welcoming her back regardless.

Leanette simply smiled, not having a particularly strong reaction towards the Pokemon in any way. But she also did not greet them back which was a little concerning.

Tini took up his usual spot by wrapping himself around Nina, while Pikachu climbed onto Patrick’s shoulder, and the entire Jones family set off to their neighborhood park for a stroll.

Along the way they were greeted by a few neighbors. Some of them even went up to Leanette to catch up with her. She interacted with them normally enough, even if she was being a little distant. It was a good thing that everyone seemed to be somewhat aware of her condition.

There was a point where a neighbor's Growlithe got too friendly and attempted to sniff her. But she remained passive throughout that interaction so Nina and Patrick’s concern was unwarranted.

One of the more common topics of conversation was Nina. The neighborhood housewives loved gushing about what an accomplished little girl she was whenever they encountered any of her parents. Often lamenting their own children’s ineptitude in the same breath.

“What a wonderful daughter you have. I saw her Dratini’s performance the other day. To be such a good Pokemon Trainer at her age, and even managing to become a Gym Apprentice. Sigh… If only my son/daughter had her head on their shoulders.”

Nina just smiled politely whenever this occurred, not bothering to mention that making comparisons between children was not conducive to a healthy upbringing. Nina remembers resenting Miles’s parents in her past life for the longest time because of it.

But overall, it was a fairly pleasant stroll and the rest of the day proceeded uneventfully with Leanette being able to tolerate the presence of Pokemon in her home just fine.

The next day, however, Patrick made sure to leave Pikachu in the house before he left for work just to make sure that there was a set of eyes on Leanette. Nina agreed, and even sneakily instructed Pikachu to Paralyze Leanette and call for help if she sensed that something was wrong, knowing that Patrick wouldn’t have the heart to do so.