“So, Nina… Are there any good restaurants in the city? Somewhere with a good atmosphere, classy but not too formal. Preferably intimate as well, without too much noise.”

Nina puffed up her cheeks at her uncle and continued to aggressively scrub the floor she was cleaning.

“Please, Nina,” pleaded Ali. “I’m sorry for abandoning you earlier, but surely you understand. It’s not often one gets a chance to encounter such a refined individual.”

Nina rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Refined, he says. If only he knew…” But Nina did not consider herself to be so uncouth as to talk behind her boss’s back and chose to hold her tongue.

“Pretty please?” At this point, Ali was on his knees making a pouty face at his niece. The sight of a grown man trying to act all cutesy was enough to make Nina’s stomach churn.

The girl clicked her tongue. “Urgh… Get off the floor, you’re going to ruin your pants.” Nina swept at Ali with her scrub to get the man to stand up. “And fine, I might have a place in mind. But what’s in it for me?”

She figured, if she was going to have to endure the indignity of her boss having an affair with her uncle, she might as well get something out of it.

“What would you like?”

“The Tera Orb,” said Nina, without an ounce of hesitation, only to be shot down just as quickly.

“Nope, can’t do. Besides, the Orb needs to be recharged after every use. And as far as I know, there’s no source of Terastal Energy to be found outside Paldea.”

Nina groaned. “Right, I forgot that thing needs to be recharged.”

“How about this? I’ll take you on a fun ride on Martha. I know you’ve been eyeing her saddle,” proposed Ali, only to earn him a skeptical look from his niece.

“As if you wouldn’t have taken me if I had just asked. Don’t think you can cheap out on me like that! I’m not a naive little kid anymore.”

Ali couldn’t help but bend down and give his feisty little niece a hug at how cute she is. “You are the apple of my eyes, Nina. Just say the word and I’ll give you anything your heart desires.”

“Anything but a Tera Orb apparently.” The girl pouted. “How did you get that thing out of Paldea anyway? Isn’t the Paldea League worried that the other regions might reverse engineer it?”

Ali laughed. “They can try if they want, but it's impossible. You need special material from the Crater just to make one of these suckers and Terrastilization is a phenomenon exclusive to Paldea, since only they have Terastal Energy. Don’t ask me why though, no one knows.”

Nina knew. It was because of the Terapagos slumbering deep within Area Zero, not that she would divulge meta knowledge willy-nilly like that. Besides, she always found the in game lore to be a little absurd.

How is a single Terapagos capable of influencing an entire region? The Pokemon was only a Legendary by virtue of the fact that it was the last of its kind. It was said that there used to be many of them millions of years ago, so does that mean that Terrastilization was a common sight back then? If so then wouldn’t that have affected Pokemon evolution in some way?

Regardless, these are questions that Nina will have to answer for herself when she goes out to explore Paldea sometime in the future. Which gave her an idea on what she wanted as her bribe.

“I want you to pull some strings to get me access into the Crater when I eventually go on my journey,” demanded Nina.

Ali frowned at his beloved niece, face full of concern. “Nina… The Crater is a dangerous place…”

“I know, I’m not saying I want to go right away. Sometime in the future when I become strong enough to handle myself. You can be the judge when the time comes. If you think I’m not ready yet then feel free to stop me.” In truth, Nina could probably ask either Professor Oak or Bill to get her access, but it didn’t hurt to hedge her options a bit.

Ali stared intently in consideration. Nina could feel that the man was hesitant to put his one and only niece in danger. She appreciated the concern, but it also seemed quite hypocritical coming from a daredevil like Ali.

“Fine,” relented Ali. “I can make some calls when the time comes, but no guarantees. Professors Sada and Turo are quite stringent about who they let access into the Crater. Not to mention the League bureaucrats. But I’ll try my best, IF you’re actually capable of actually surviving in there.”

Nina frowned ever so slightly at the mention of Sada and Turo. It seemed that both Professors were active in this world, and were even married to each other according to her uncle. “Great, as if one mad scientist wasn’t enough, we’ve got a mad power couple in our hands. Or do only one of them go mad after the divorce?” Nina put her grim thoughts out of mind. Such concerns were way beyond her at the moment anyway.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Thanks, Uncle Ali!” Beamed Nina. “And yes, I can think of a good place for your date. There’s a quaint little cafe down by the Quay whose owner is secretly a Munchlax star level chef. You need to reserve a month in advance usually, but I happen to be friends with the owner, so I can make a call on your behalf and secure you their best table. Would this be good enough for you?”

Ali ruffled Nina’s hair in delight, much to her annoyance. “Thanks, Nina. I knew you were my favorite niece for a reason!”

Nina stuck her tongue out at the man. “I’m your only niece!”

***

“Oh hey, Bobby. Long time no see, did you bring over another batch of your Shuckle juice?”

Nina answered the doorbell to find a familiar looking face, outside her family’s doorstep. Bobby’s appearance had changed quite a fair bit since their time together at the Safari Zone. All the additional bulk from the boy’s childhood had been used to fuel his growth, turning him into a lanky teen who was taller than most others his age.

His personality hasn’t changed much though, as he gave the girl an awkward smile and greeted her in return. “Hey, Nina… Yeah, actually.” Bobby held up a paper bag and handed it to his friend.

“Here’s the newest batch of Shuckle juice. I tried going for a drier, more spicy flavor this time around. It might not suit your taste though…” The last part was said with a fair amount of hesitation.

True to his promise, Bobby had been gifting Nina with a bottle of his creations every time he completed a batch. Some were good, some not so much. But regardless, Nina would have a taste of it everytime and diligently wrote a no-holds-barred review for Bobby when she was done. She could tell that the boy was appreciative since he didn’t trust his parents to be objective.

“Thanks Bobby, I have a feeling that Espy might enjoy this. Oh right, you haven’t met my Eevee yet. Come on in, let me introduce the two of you. She was gifted to me by Professor Bill and happens to have quite a sophisticated palate.”

The boy seemed a bit shy at the invitation, hesitant to step into the house of a girl. But after another urging from Nina, finally pushed through the threshold.

“Mom, Bobby’s here to visit,” called Nina as she told the boy to take a seat. She then went into the kitchen to grab a bowl for Espy and two glasses for herself and her guest.

“Espy, c’mere I have someone I want to introduce to you.” Her Eevee looked a bit incensed at being roused from her favorite spot on the sofa, but still sauntered on over to Nina.

“The juice is good to drink at room temp right?” Nina asked, getting a nod from Bobby before unsealing the bottle of Shuckle juice she was gifted. “C’mere Espy, you have to try this. Bobby here is a Shuckle juice brewer and a great cook, I think you might like this.”

Espy curiously approached the bottle of blood red liquid that her human poured for her, staring at it intently and giving it a cautious sniff before daintily licking at the beverage. The Eevee tilted her head a little, ruminating a bit on the flavors dancing on her tongue, before going in for a bigger sip, much to Nina’s satisfaction.

The girl giggled. “Seems like Espy enjoys the flavor,” said Nina, before pouring out more juice for herself and Bobby to sample.”

The juice tasted very much like the wine of Nina’s past life, but without the alcohol, which was unusual for Shuckle juice. Usually the drink had a flavor profile closer to expensive high end cocktails.

“I like it,” said Nina after taking a sip. “I doubt children will like this but I think adults will get a kick out of this if you ferment it into alcohol before selling it. And I have a feeling that this might pair very well with red meat or a hearty stew.”

Bobby nodded fervently at Nina’s comment. “I think so too! Mom even asked me to make her another batch just so that she could use it in her cooking. Said that it’ll make for a very decadent sauce.” As usual, the boy turned into a very different person when talking about his passion.

Nina nodded along. “Yeah, saute some mushrooms and hard herbs in residual pan jus, deglaze with Shuckle juice, and finish with some cold butter to add a bit of gloss to the final product. I think that sounds absolutely delicious.”

At some point, Bobby took out a tiny notepad and began scribbling down Nina’s ideas, saying that he’ll pass it on to his mom.

“E~” chimed Espy, begging for more of the red liquid. Even Tini got curious and asked to try some. But Nina knew that her Dragon had a very one note palate and told him to sample some of Espy’s before asking for more. And as expected, the Dratini made a gagging noise and crumpled onto the floor in an exaggerated manner to showcase his dislike.

Nina sighed at her little drama king. “Tini… Don’t lay on the floor, and what you did was extremely rude to Bobby. Get up and apologize to him.”

“Tiin…” Cried Tini, his head drooping a little in remorse. In response, Bobby waved his hands frantically, saying that it was okay and that he didn’t mind.

Surprisingly, Espy, who usually hated approaching strangers, went up to Bobby to give him a little sniff and a lick to his hand before jumping off the table and back to lounging on the sofa.

Nina couldn’t help but swoon at her Eevee and her awkward little gesture. “Gosh, she’s just so cuuute! Oh, that’s Espy’s way of saying thank you for the treat, by the way. She usually hates touching people she doesn’t know, sometimes even people who she does know. So licking you is the highest compliment she can give out.”

Bobby blushed at the compliment, happy to gain any form of acknowledgement. “I’ll make sure to bring another bottle for her once the next batch is done brewing.”

Nina smiled at the offer. “Thanks, that’ll be much appreciated.”

After that, an awkward silence descended between the two of them, despite Nina’s best efforts to make small talk. Her friend looked a little constipated, like there was stuff he wanted to say but was unable to get the words out.

“Is something wrong, Bobby?” Asked Nina, as tactfully as she could.

“No, it’s just…” Bobby took in a deep breath to steady himself. “My mom got invited to a brewery near Saffron City. We were planning to go there during summer break… I was wondering if you wanted to come along?”

Nina was a little surprised by the sudden invitation, but readily agreed to it. “I didn’t know there were breweries in Saffron,” she said. “Is it just you, me and Nancy? Or is your dad coming along as well?”

Bobby shook her head. “Technically, the brewery is located off Route 5. So it’s actually fairly close to Cerulean — we can get there in under an hour by flying. And no, dad is too busy to come with,” the boy sounded a bit dejected by the absence of his father. “I think mom’s trying to invite the Rockfords as well, but it’s looking like only Kumiko and Tiffany will be coming… If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Not at all,” responded Nina. “It’s been a while since I’ve hung out with Kumiko so I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m surprised that Tiffany is tagging along though.”

Bobby sighed, failing to hide the distaste on his face. “That girl likes to act all adult and mature. Probably just wants to brag to her friends about how sophisticated she is when she can’t even tell the difference between Oran and Sitrus.”

Nina laughed at Bobby’s rebuke, fully agreeing with the boy on his assessment. “Well Bobby, I’d be happy to join you guys on your trip. Just let me know the precise dates so that I can get some time off from the Gym. Do you mind if I invite my family as well?”

Bobby had no qualms with Nina’s request, saying that she was free to invite who she liked so long as she informed his mother beforehand in order for Nancy to make the necessary arrangements for accommodations.

It seemed as if inviting Nina was the main purpose of Bobby’s visit, because the boy left after exchanging a few more pleasantries after that.

Nina once again thanked the boy for his gift, before walking him out the door. Feeling a little excited about her upcoming trip. “Breweries weren’t a thing in the games or the anime. I wonder what it’ll be like. Also, I wonder if dad can get some time off? I doubt mom will want to tag along without him.”

The girl also pondered if she should invite her Uncle Ali. Despite Bobby saying that she could invite whomever, she did not want to impose too much of a burden on Nancy.