“I’ll miss you Bev.”

“Haill mwisszz heu doo Nims…”

Nina was currently trying to console the crying Beverly while trying hard not to get snot and drool all over her — “Aaand, there goes my expensive dress.”

It was the new year and Nina was now eight years old. Which meant that her friend Beverly was now ten. They were currently in the Cerulean Gym, hosting a farewell party for the girl who had decided to skip school and go on a journey instead, just like Misty once did so many years ago.

“Don’t be cringe, Bev. Are you seriously gonna embarrass yourself in front of your junior like this?”

Beverly took the napkins that were offered to her by Daisy and began aggressively blowing her nose. “I don’t care!” She exclaimed, voice sounding a bit nasally.

“I’m gonna take my Nina with me. Together we’ll travel the world and become the best mermaid duo ever! Just you wait and see!”

Nina laughed at her friend’s proclamation and pulled her in for a hug, intentionally squishing Beverly’s face against the part of her dress which had been soiled earlier.

“Don’t be silly Bev, I’m just going to be deadweight in your journey. And it’s not like you’re going away forever. I’m sure you’ll come back to visit at some point, right?”

Beverly sniffled and nodded enthusiastically at Nina. “I promise I’ll come right back once I get a flier or a teleporter.” Then the girl started bawling again, suffocating Nina with a hug and begging her not to go looking for another bestie while she was away.

Nina gave a wry smile and just let the girl vent to her heart’s content. After meeting Beverly’s mother, Nina learned just how deep her friend’s insecurities were. Her lofty background and inherent need to please the people around her made it difficult for her to form any sort of meaningful relationships.

That’s why she tried so hard to mimic the role models around her in an attempt to gain acceptance among her peers, unaware that it only made her even more unapproachable to kids her age.

“Alright, that’s enough,” said Daisy as she pulled her clingy cousin away from Nina. “You’re ten years old now, so act like it. Besides, Nina has a gift for you. Don’t you, Nina?”

Nina nodded, then she bent down to pick up the Eevee right next to her and shoved it right into Beverly’s embrace.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get your own Eevee,” said Nina, her eyes beginning to water as the words struggled to come out of her mouth. “I know how much you love Eevees… So…” Nina averted her gaze and began choking up. “S-so, please take care of this child for me!” She blurted.

Beverly was speechless, she looked back and forth between the Eevee in her arms and her best friend. Tears of love and gratitude began flowing from her eyes as she tried to come up with something to say.

“I… This… I can’t! Nina, this is too much! I can’t take Espy from you!” She shouted. Then the girl felt a lick on her face and a sense of wrongness welled up in her mind.

“Wait,” thought Beverly. “The Espy I know is a stone cold bitch who scratches at me everytime I try to pet her.” The girl wiped away her tears and looked closely at the brown fluff ball who was lolling his tongue at her. “This Eevee… It’s a male!”

Beverly looked up in shock, only to see Nina and her cousins grinning at her mischievously. “You guys…”

“Happy Coming of Age, Bev!” Cried Violet, as the people surrounding Beverly all popped confetti in her direction.

“I know you’ve been nagging at me for an Eevee, but I betcha you never thought I’d actually follow through didja?” Teased Violet with a wink.

“I…” Beverly sputtered. The girl really wanted to lash out at her cousin for stringing her along for half a freaking year. But all she ended up doing was bursting out into tears once more as the warmth inside her chest was too much to be contained.

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Nina watched her friend’s overwhelming happiness with a bright smile, also feeling a trickle of tears gracing her cheeks in solidarity. “Being loved is such a wonderful thing,” she thought.

Beverly ended up naming her Eevee, Vapey, to match with Nina. Which the girl was fine with, just that… “Vapey sounds a bit wrong, or is this just my past life sensibilities talking?”

***

Nina submerged her shoulders into the hot water. The girl let out an involuntary moan as she felt her muscles relax and her exhaustion melt away.

Ever since Beverly left on her journey, Nina remained the sole apprentice within the Gym and has been pulling double duty ever since. “Now I know why Beverly is always complaining about being a slave.” Forget break days, Nina doesn’t even have spare time during the weekends anymore.

“We should buy a bigger tub, Tini.” The girl was growing fast and was almost to the point where she wouldn’t be able to fit in Tini’s portable tub anymore. Even Tini himself has grown quite a bit during the last two years since he’s been with Nina.

The brightside to Nina’s increased workload was that her savings have been increasing alongside it, so she could splurge on luxury goods. Which was great because Espy’s fur care product was ludicrously expensive.

Speaking of which, the Eevee nuzzled against Nina with Baby-Doll Eyes and a whining “Eee…” Espy’s favorite time of the day was grooming time. Despite her dislike of cold water, the dainty Eevee does love her hot baths. And she especially likes the expensive conditioner that Nina bought for her in Saphira.

In fact, Nina and Espy’s shopping trip to Saphira was the most animated she has ever seen her Eevee. Espy’s eyes practically glowed as she yipped and yapped, bouncing between the selection of products that was laid out in front of her by the store attendant, and sniffing each and every one of them to find her favorite scent.

Nina giggled and nuzzled her Eevee back. She reached out to the side for Espy’s conditioner and lathered a generous amount into her mane, making sure to run her fingers through every strand of fur and gently rubbing at the skin underneath.

“Veee~” moaned Espy in pleasure, eyes squinted and crinkled in ecstasy. The cute little brown fur ball even lolled out her tongue subconsciously, making for quite a cute sight.

“Spending money to spoil a cute girl is as satisfying as ever, no matter which world I’m in.”

“Tini, Espy, make sure to wake me up if you see me falling asleep…” Nina mumbled as she slowly dozed off in the tub.

***

“Morning, Nina!”

“Morning!”

Nina made sure to return the greeting of every kid who took the initiative to greet her. Her work with the Cerulean Gym and her sponsorship with Bill has turned her into the most popular kid in school. It was a novel new experience for her, since Miles was never a popular kid. He was more part of the gloomy emo crowd.

That said, her relationships with her classmates remain as shallow as ever, most of them were a little intimidated by her, and some admired her too much. “I can see why Beverly always complained about not fitting in with her fellow students.” The difference being, Nina had greater emotional maturity and did not care for the lack of friends.

Nina smiled and greeted a teacher who was passing by as she made her way to her classroom, Pokeballs dangling on her belt. Her companion Pokemon privileges had long since expired, but Principal Margaret judged that the girl was at least responsible enough to allow her to keep her Pokeballs with her.

Speaking of, Nina had also asked Espy to decorate her Pokeball. And the Eevee, with her elegant and refined taste, chose a simple sticker of a crescent moon enveloping the sun to put on the center of the Ball and nothing else.

Though she did catch her eyeing a Premier Ball while they were in a Pokemart, so she vowed to buy her one once they have enough money to spare. Maybe when Bill transfers Espy’s registration to her, that would be a good time, since they’ll have to break the old Pokeball anyway.

“Morning Nina, did you watch Sabrina last night?” Asked Nina’s desk neighbor, whose name she couldn’t recall for the life of her.

“Sorry, I fell asleep in my bathtub last night. I pretty much went to bed right after my Pokemon woke me up.”

“Aww… Must be nice to have Pokemon already. I wonder what my parents are going to get me for my coming of age.”

“Did you talk to your parents and tell them what you would like?”

The girl shook her head in response. “Not really, I kinda want it to be a surprise you know. But I do kind of want an Abra. Baby Abras are super cute, and Sabrina’s Alakazam is so cool.”

Nina hummed. “Liking surprises is fine and all, but your starter is going to be your partner for life. So it’s important that you find one that you like, at least. Especially if you really want an Abra. Those guys are wily and extremely hard to catch. Not to mention the League is very protective of Psychic Pokemon due to how dangerous they are. Your parents will need time to secure one for you, so I recommend having a discussion with them and see what they think.”

The girl let out a noise of awe towards Nina and nodded her head. “As expected of a Gym Apprentice, you’re super smart, Nina. I’ll talk to daddy when he comes home.”

After that Ms Roxy walked into the classroom, signaling the beginning of their lessons for the day. There were only two to three classes per year in Nina’s school, since it wasn’t a particularly large neighborhood. Which meant there were also big overlaps in the teaching staff.

“Alright, settle down everyone.” Began Roxy. “Before we begin, some announcements — This year’s Cerulean Gym Little League will be an open format. Previously, it was the school who would recommend contestants, but this time around, everyone will have the chance to compete so long as they pass a written test set by the Gym.”

Excited murmurs spread throughout the class in response.

This was actually Nina’s idea since she was desperate for more help. Nominations will still happen of course, but the written test will be made intentionally difficult to screen for other potential candidates and cast the net a bit wider.

After all, teachers were not omniscient and there’ll inevitably be biases. For example, Beverly was not a very good student, and one wouldn’t think of her as Gym Apprentice material at a simple glance. This was the argument she used to convince Daisy of her idea. It also helped that none of the Cerulean Sisters, sans Violet, were particularly studious back in their day.

“And before you all get any ideas. I don’t want to find out that any of you went and bugged Nina about the test, okay? I’m sure she’s not aware of the questions or the format. Anyone caught cheating is a disgrace to the school and will be severely punished.”

This time, a wave of disappointed whines spread throughout the class.

“Oh, and Nina? Come by the office after school. We received an email from a certain… tree.”

Nina buzzed with excitement. “Yes, finally!”