“Are you sure you want to hand this Onix over to the Rangers?” asked Nurse Joy.

Brock had earlier summoned an irate Nurse Joy over to look at Onix since it was too inconvenient to move the Pokemon without his Ball. The pink haired nurse ended up using her authority to break Onix’s psychic imprint to Cole’s Pokeball and captured him in a new one.

The Gym Leader gave a sad nod in response to the question. “Yes, but tell Honoka that if she’s having trouble resettling him, feel free to come back and I’ll take over his care.”

Brock explained that he didn’t want to keep the Onix around if possible because he did not want to upset Cole if the boy ever caught sight of his former partner. The man had decided to take his brother’s Pokemon privilege away after a joint scolding from Melina and Nurse Joy. And since he was such a pushover when it came to women, he caved almost instantly.

“Will do. I won’t put a mark on Cole’s record since he’s still underaged, but I’ll be making a report to the League about you and the Gym if I ever hear about anything like this happening again. Do you understand?”

Brock nodded weakly with his shoulders slumped. The woman’s warning was especially potent since it was rare to see the usually gentle Nurse Joy be this incensed. It was like disappointing a maternal figure, only ten times worse.

Nina also got Tini checked out while the professionals were around and got a clean bill of health from Chansey. “Chance!” Cried the Pokemon, with a happy wave of her flippers.

“Just make sure that Dratini gets some rest and he should be fully recovered by tomorrow,” added Nurse Joy, after a quick spritz of Potion on the little Dragon.

“Will do. Thanks Nurse Joy!” Beamed Nina.

“Tini tin!”

“You know, I’m not too sure if taking Cole’s Pokemon away from him at this point is necessarily the best idea…” Said Nina, after the nurse had left.

“Nonsense!” Rebuked Melina. “That boy needs to be whipped into shape before he can even think about touching a Pokeball,” she then shot another intense glare towards Brock. “Make sure he stays out of trouble or I’m getting the elders involved…”

Brock visibly tensed up at the threat and nodded stiffly. Nina had more to say but seeing her grandmother just turn around and walk towards the exit, she opted to silently follow suit after giving the Gym Leader a sympathetic look.

***

“I do feel a little bad…” Confessed Nina.

The girl was currently behind the reception counter of the daycare chatting with Aunt Seki. The woman was a much more reasonable and understanding person than her grandmother.

“I mean, I know the kid’s in the wrong and it still pisses me off that he just abandoned his fainted Pokemon. But is taking Onix away from him really the right move to make here? If anything, I feel like this is just going to exacerbate the issue and turn him down a darker path.”

The older woman hummed in consideration. “So what would you have done then?”

“Maybe have the Gym take temporary custody of Onix? And have Cole undergo some corrective measures just to educate him on some of his misconceptions. Probably separate him from Flint as well since the guy’s being such a bad influence on his child.”

“All very reasonable suggestions,” agreed Sekimori. “I have to say Nina, you are a very mature girl for your age.” Nina smiled at the compliment, one that she had heard a million times before due to her secretly adult brain.

“But in this case, I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong answer. Flint’s youngest is a well known troublemaker around these parts, but we’ve always treated him as just another rambunctious child. After he got his Onix, however, things changed. His usually harmless stunts risk causing real damage to his surroundings.”

She then went on to briefly list out some of Coles misadventures; challenging older kids to a Pokemon battle in the middle of the city, attempting to ride his Onix up Mount Moon, threatening the kids who were being mean to him, and even pulling his Pokeball out in class when a teacher had admonished him for not paying attention.

“From what you’re telling me, it seems that Nurse Joy supported Melina’s push to have Onix separated from the boy because she considered the fact that Cole had only been with the Pokemon for only a couple of months. This is still within an acceptable range for easy resettlement,” explained Sekimori.

“Leaving Onix with the Gym would also be an option, but whether or not they decided to incorporate him among the Gym’s existing roster of Pokemon or return him to Cole eventually would determine the level of care Onix would receive. And knowing what a softie Brock is, it’s likely that he would just keep hold of Onix until his brother matured a bit more.”

Nina nodded. “Which means Onix will probably be neglected or only receive minimal training until then.” The girls stretched out her arms and let out a groan. “This is so annoying. I didn’t expect to be caught up in so much drama just from a simple guided tour.”

Sekimori chuckled. “That’s just life Nina. There’s no escaping politics and drama when we’re living amongst humans.”

Nina sighed, fully sympathizing with all the hermits living off route and away from civilization. “Speaking of drama, what’s going on with the egg?”

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“Azumarill’s trainer is a kind person and one of our regulars, so she’s willing to make arrangements with the other party. We even agreed to house Azumarill for a few more days since he’s reluctant to leave his mate and their new egg,” said Sekimori

“Marill’s trainer, on the other hand, is away from the city, in addition to being a student. We talked to his parents and they seemed inclined to relinquish their custody over the egg. Problem is, Marill might not want to separate from her new family, so we’ll have to wait for them to come back and see.”

“Well at least things aren’t entirely disastrous on this front,” mused Nina.

To take her mind off matters, Nina decided that she would go hang out with the Pokemon in the daycare. Maybe go and creep on the Azumarill couple some more.

“Pika pi!”

“Oh hey Pikachu, how was your day?”

Patrick’s Pikachu rarely got the chance to interact with other Pokemon outside of Tini, so she chose to stay behind in the daycare when Nina and Tini went out during the day. The electric mouse seemed to have befriended a set of Pichu twins that kept following her around like little ducklings.

“And I see you have your friends with you as well. Hi Pichus, do you guys want some berries?”

Nina reached into her Berry Pouch to grab some of the treats she took from the pantry. She marveled at the softness of Pichu’s fur as the duo approached to eat off Nina’s hands. “Grandma’s right, maybe working in a daycare isn’t so bad after all.”

However, before Nina got too complacent in her fantasies, Pikachu pulled on her sleeve and gestured towards a certain direction.

“Hmm… What’s up? Do you want me to follow you, Pikachu?” She asked, receiving a nod in return.

Pikachu did not seem to be in a hurry so the little girl and three Electric mice took a leisurely stroll through the woods of the Lunar Mountain Daycare, stopping occasionally to interact with the various guests staying within its confines.

“Hey, Beedrill. How’s it going?”

The Beedrill that Nina met in the morning made a buzz and a click before nodding her head.

Nina offered the Pokemon some Berries which she gingerly grabbed with her two hand stingers and brought it up to her face. There were apparently mandibles hidden beneath Beedrill’s teardrop shaped head, but it was uncanny how Nina could not catch sight of it, no matter from which angle she looked at.

“So where are we headed, Pikachu?”

“Pika pika.”

“We’re almost there?”

“Pika!”

The place that Nina was led to was nothing special, just a part of the daycare where the trees were relatively more dense. There weren’t even any other Pokemon around.

“What’s this, Pikachu?” Nina bent down to examine the spot where the electric mouse was pointing at. “Hmm… There seems to be something shiny there.”

The girl squatted and pushed aside some of the vegetation to find what seems to be an oval gemstone with a pinkish and opaque hue. She grabbed hold of it out of curiosity and surprisingly, the object was warm to the touch.

“Is this some sort of held item?” Nina rummaged through her memories to try and see if she could recollect anything similar from the games, but came up empty.

“Well, I was never exactly a completionist when it came to the Pokemon games. There were even some that I never finished because I didn’t like the artstyle or Pokemon design. Like the Black and White series.”

“Did one of the daycare Pokemon drop this?” Nina asked.

All three Pokemon shook their heads in denial.

At this point, Nina was quite perplexed. “Then do you know what this is and who it belongs to?”

Pikachu made a series of cries and gestures, before ultimately pointing up towards a tree. Nina followed with her eyes and managed to catch a glimpse of a glittering trail that went behind the leaves.

“Interesting, is it some wild Pokemon that wandered into the daycare. Judging from the brief flash of pink I saw, it could be a Clefairy. We are next to Mount Moon after all.”

Nina gave chase, wanting to go make friends with the mysterious Pokemon. But the Pokemon in question seemed to be able to fly as it deftly circled around the trees, letting out a melodious giggle every once in a while as if teasing its pursuers.

The closest Nina got was catching a glimpse of its slender pink tail which had a little nub at the end. “That tail. It looks familiar…” murmured Nina. “No, it can’t be… Mew! You’re Mew, right?!”

A childlike giggle could be heard in response to Nina’s question, but this time the voice seems to be transmitted directly into Nina’s brain. It was a little unsettling, but the girl took it as confirmation of her suspicions and doubled down on her pursuit.

“I’ve got Berries. All sorts of flavors, do you wanna come over so we could share?” Called Nina, but only got another mischievous giggle in return as the Pokemon never slowed down.

“It wants to play tag with us,” realized Nina. So the girl and her three Pokemon companions played along, Nina even incorporated some strategy by asking Pikachu and the twins to circle around and take up various positions to encircle the elusive Mythical Pokemon.

Mew giggled excitedly, getting a kick out of the increased difficulty. The more airtight Nina’s entrapment, the more wily the Pokemon became. There was a point where she even managed to catch sight of the Pokemon’s full body in all its pink and feline glory. “I knew it!” Exclaimed the ecstatic Nina.

For as powerful as Mew was, it was being a good sport by not flying above the treelines or using any moves aside from their flight. But it did not diminish how tricky the alleged Ancestor of all Pokemon were. Everytime, Nina or any of the electric mice came close to cornering Mew, the Pokemon would just make some sort of impossible maneuver to escape their grasp.

At some point, Nina became too tired to continue. As energetic as her childish body was, she could not compare to the stamina of an average Pokemon, let alone a Mythical one. Even Pikachu and the Pichus were looking a little rough as all four of them sat down beneath a tree.

“Mew?” Cried the slightly disappointed Myth.

Nina chuckled. “Sorry Mew, but I’m beat. I think you’re the winner. Here, have some Berries as your reward.”

The girl grabbed a fistful of Berries from her pouch and held it out to Mew whose eyes sparkled and flew circles around Nina.

“Mew mew.” The Mythical Pokemon seemed to be experiencing choice paralysis as it stared intently at the selection on offer, before reaching out and grabbing a random Aspear Berry to nibble on.

“Mew~” the sourness of the Berry seemed to have taken Mew by surprise as it scrunched up its face and did a little shiver, eliciting giggles from Nina and the other Pokemon.

“If you don’t like sour foods, you can give that to Pikachu, cause she loves her Aspears,” suggested Nina. “Feel free to try some of the others as well, no need to be shy. I’ve got plenty where those came from.”

Mew cried out once more and settled down on Nina’s lap, much to her delight, and began gingerly picking at the colorful Berries. True to its feline form, the Pokemon Ancestor reminded Nina of cats in its feel. They had a similarly soft texture to their fur and the same sort of lean muscular physique.

Being able to caress the elusive Myth was an absolutely surreal experience which Nina never thought she’d be able to do even after her awakening in this world. This world of Pokemon was fiction in her old world. But even in the context of this world, Mew was something close to fiction as well — a theorized existence but never fully confirmed.

Or maybe it was confirmed but those who had the honor of interacting with Mew chose to obscure their findings in an effort to protect the innocent Pokemon. Nina vowed to do the same.

“By the way, Mew,” Nina took out the pink gemstone she found earlier from her pocket. “Is this yours?”

Mew nodded, its Berry stained mouth made for an adorable sight.

“Here, careful not to lose it again, okay?” She offered, but surprisingly, Mew shook its head and closed Nina’s fingers over the stone.

“Are you saying, this is for me? Thank you. But erm… What’s it for?”

Mew tilted its head and let out a giggle. The little prankster then flew in front of Nina and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek with its Berry stained mouth, before doing a twirl and disappearing in a flash of light.

Nina simply sat there mouth agape, unsure of what had just happened. She then looked down at the mysterious gemstone and tried to get a feel for it. “This warmth, and this… aura? Now that I’ve had a chance to touch Mew, this gemstone does kind of feel familiar…”

The girl had no idea what the gemstone was, but since she was gifted the item by a Mythical Pokemon, Nina decided to keep it a secret from her grandmother and stash it away.

“I have no idea if this thing contains any sort of power, but just in case, best that I keep it safe with me at all times. Maybe I can turn it into a necklace or something. I should ask Beverly when I get back.”