How, dammit?!?

Bianca was absolutely sure she hadn’t been followed, and yet the moment she passed through the illusionary wall right next to her house, she heard a voice coming from deeper inside. 

The voice of a boy; an all too familiar sounding boy.

With a concerned frown, she quickly marched her way down the steps, making her way in the direction of the voice. There she could see the boy in question looking at an uncloaked Latios, with Latias between the two in her disguise. Oddly, it seemed she was protecting the stranger and his Pikachu, which didn’t particularly calm her, as Latios was clearly furious with the stranger. She quickly made her way over to them, calling out in a challenging voice, “What’s going on here? What are you doing to Latios?”

The boy turned to face her with an open mouth of confusion, and she took a moment to properly inspect him. His eyes were a warm chocolate, and his black hair was a wild mess barely held in check by his hat. A simple blue and white striped shirt sat on his frame.

He hardly looked villainous, but she wasn’t going to find him to be innocent without an interrogation.

“Well?” She demanded, continuing to glare at him. He quickly waved his hands as he pleaded, “Hold on a second! We weren’t doing anything, really! We just followed this girl here.” He gestured with both hands down to the Pikachu at his side, which Bianca ignored in favor of flicking her gaze over to Latias before looking back at him as he continued. “This is my friend, Pikachu.”

“Pika-chu!”

He turned back to her with an earnest look as he introduced himself. “And I’m Ash, I’m a Pokemon trainer.”

In an instant, both her and Latios were on guard. If he was a trainer, he had to go.

She took a couple of steps back as she hardened her glare. “Oh really?” She happened to see Latias’ expression shift away from her friendly demeanor to one of confusion at her words, before turning to horror as Bianca looked to Latios and commanded, “Alright, Latios, get him!”

However, even as Latios gave a loud cry, a voice shouted from behind them, “That’s enough!”

Flinching, Bianca turned to see her grandfather behind her, looking stern as he walked up to them. “Bianca, Latios. I’m sure this young man means no harm,” he chided them. She stared at him in outrage, hardly believing he could be defending the trainer. Didn’t he stress not to let anyone find out about the Garden her entire life? 

“But Grandpa, they were-” she began to protest.

“Hey, I know you!” The intruder behind her exclaimed. Annoyed with the interruption, she nevertheless continued. “But they-”

“Shh!” He hushed her with a gesture, and she stared helplessly at him. How could he not see the problem here? This trainer was clearly trespassing! Frustrated, she could only watch as he looked past her and asked in a friendly tone, “It’s okay; Latias, do you want to play with your new friends?”

Stunned with disbelief, she turned to see Latias smile and nod happily before her friend took Ash’s hand and ran past them, pulling the hapless trainer along with her. He expressed his confusion as they ran around the corner of the pool and to the swing, nonetheless allowing her to set him down on it. 

As Bianca and her grandfather slowly followed, she watched as Latias hopped on the back of the swing, illusionary feet on either side of Ash’s rear as she grabbed the ropes and began swinging the both of them. Seemingly taking this in stride, the trainer looked over his shoulder and asked in a curious tone, “Hey, no offense, but I thought Latias was the name of a Pokemon?”

Her grandfather stifled a chuckle as Latias’ smile grew, and her form shimmered and changed to that of her true appearance.

With a cry of alarm, Ash jumped away from the swing and ended up face planting on the stone, making Bianca wince. Latias immediately zipped over and helped him sit up straight, hovering close as she inspected his face. At her concerned cries, the trainer grinned and reassured her, “Thanks, but I’m okay! Thanks, a lot!”

Pleased, Latias flew circles around him with joyful coos, and Bianca heard a remark from Lorenzo, “She must have really taken a liking to this young man.” Biting her lip, she slightly nodded in agreement, now feeling a needle of guilt pricking her heart as her unease started slightly slipping away. 

Maybe I should have put more faith in Latias.

Her friend wouldn’t have dragged someone who wasn’t trustworthy into her home, and her brother didn’t particularly like anyone outside of their circle anyway. Now that she observed him with Latias, it was becoming clear that Ash wasn’t someone with malicious intentions, but rather a good-hearted individual that her best friend clearly trusted.

And someone that Bianca would have to apologize to.

A nervous “Pika” called her attention down to the electric type as he stood his ground against an approaching Latios. The blue dragon lowered his head to Pikachu in an apologetic manner, and the smaller Pokemon seemed to relax his own stance, giving the dragon a mild chitter in response.

Now on friendlier terms, the two began talking in the language only they understood before Pikachu bolted up a tree and leaped from a branch onto Latias as she flew underneath. Bianca smiled as she watched for a few moments, then turned to see Ash still sitting in place as he watched his friend jump between the twins as they flew around.

Well, I guess this is as good a time as any to patch things up.

Walking over to the trainer, Bianca stopped in front of him and held out her hand in invitation. He brightened up immediately as he took her hand in his own and pulled himself up. Bianca almost fell forward, not prepared for his strength as he stood up.

That is, until her eyes trained on his exposed arms and noticed there was a clear definition of muscles. While he wasn’t exactly a bodybuilder, it was clear he was a very fit individual.

Maybe Latias is a muscles kind of girl, Bianca thought with a flicker of amusement, letting go of his hand once he stood up straight.

Brushing himself off, he smiled widely at her and nodded. “Thanks!”

She shook her head in reply and smiled, “It’s the least I could do. I’m Bianca, by the way. Sorry I almost attacked you before, Ash.”

His smile grew as he flashed her a thumbs up. “It’s okay, Bianca. No harm, no foul. But, I do have a few questions, though….” Ash trailed off as he looked up towards the Pokemon playing just overhead.

Her grandfather chuckled as he walked up from behind and stood next to them. “I’m not surprised. I suppose you’re wondering why Latias looked exactly like Bianca?”

“Yeah,” Ash confirmed, sounding intrigued. 

“That’s one of her powers,” Bianca began as she started to follow the edge of the pool, keeping an eye on the twins as they started flying ahead. “She can take on the appearance of a human, and since we’re best friends, she turns into me a lot,” she finished fondly, casting a look over her shoulder.

Ash was listening to her intently, although Latias’s cries made them both turn and watch as Pikachu jumped from the dragoness onto Ash’s shoulder. The Pokemon greeted his trainer with a nuzzle before Latias swooped in and snatched the hat right off of Ash’s head. 

Bianca giggled as Latias fled with it, while Ash started his pursuit with a laugh, “Hey, what are you doing?”

As she watched the two play in front of the pedestal’s balcony, her grandfather joined her to her right and gave her an amused side-eye. “I’m glad you apologized to the young man. I’m sure Latias is glad her new friend didn’t get smeared into the ground by Latios.”

Flushing, Bianca pouted. “He followed me first, Grandpa. I thought he was a creep at first. Or a poacher.”

“He followed you, did he?” His tone of voice brought a small sense of dread to her, a feeling that turned to embarrassment as he continued. “I did notice him staring at you in the museum during the little tour. Did my granddaughter catch the eye of a dashing young bachelor already?”

“Wh- what? No, Grandpa!” Bianca cried in mortification as she snapped her gaze to the side. “We just met, there is no way-”

“Got it!”

Ash’s triumphant shout made her jump, and she turned to watch as the two continued to play, grateful for the distraction. I’m not going to just date the first stranger I get along with, she thought with a small amount of annoyance. I should have known he’d try to pair me up with the first guy I met. 

Not that it mattered much, really. If he really were a tourist, then he likely wouldn’t be staying long. Even if he turned out to be “boyfriend material’, they likely wouldn’t see each other again after he left.

Suddenly, Latios approached the two, bringing his sister’s attention to him. As the two chirped at each other, Bianca moved forward until she stood next to Ash and saw the elder sibling’s eyes glow, which surprised her.

Does he really trust Ash enough to…?

Bianca watched Latias turn and face her brother before her eyes began to glow as well. Latios then dove straight into the pool, and his sister floated down beside the three humans and Pikachu before producing a flash of light that lasted for but a moment.

When it cleared, Bianca could see water all around her, along with the stone-walled canals as they appeared to rush by her. Wow, he’s actually willing to show him this.

Next to her, Ash questioned in an astonished tone, “What’s happening?”

Glancing over, she smiled and reassured him, “Don’t be afraid, Ash; Latios has the power to project to us exactly what he’s seeing.”

“Sight sharing,” her grandfather said warmly. The inquisitive trainer tilted his head and repeated in wonder, “Sight sharing….”

Even as they watched, Lorenzo continued to talk. “It’s a rare privilege to see through the eyes of Latios.”

Bianca nodded and cast another look at the trainer. “I guess Latios thinks he can really trust you and Pikachu, Ash.” As he nodded and stared ahead eagerly, she thought with a tinge of worry, Just please don’t ruin that trust, if only for Latias’ sake.

As she faced forward once more, she instinctively flinched as a group of Quagsire suddenly came into view as Latios turned the corner. Ash merely laughed in amazement. He glanced at Latias and said excitedly, “Latias, this is amazing! Tell Latios we say ‘thanks’, okay?”

Latias gave a single nod, and as the two turned to face forward again, Bianca let out a long breath. Maybe this really wasn’t so bad after all.

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“How long have you guys known Latios and Latias?” inquired Ash as the group stood over the various pictograms that sat overlooking the fountain.

Bianca was quick to reply. “Well, Grandpa has known them since they were babies.” She nodded to the etched stone as her grandfather explained further. “I’ve known them since their father brought the water to our town,” he answered solemnly, glancing at the twins dancing around them. “He rescued the people from a life of terror, and left us with this beautiful water city. But I’m afraid it was too much for him,” he finished with a melancholic tone.

The twins circled around them, staying out of the way, although Bianca could hear Latias whining, “Come on, hurry up! I wanna play some more!”

Biana subtly shook her head as she thought, “Multiple times older than I am, and she’s acting like a bored Growlithe.”

Neither Ash nor Pikachu seemed to notice as they nodded sympathetically, although Bianca got the feeling the trainer was itching to know about the deceased parent’s actions. She took a breath before elaborating, “He used all of his power to bring the water before he vanished into thin air.”

“But in his place was a beautiful crystal orb, called the Soul Dew, said to contain the spirit of Latios,” her grandfather continued with a nod.

The trainer took a step closer and peered down at the pictograms. “So their father died protecting the town, and his children became orphans….”

“I’m afraid so, Ash,” Gramps agreed with another nod. Then Ash peered closer at another pictogram, before starting in surprise, “Hey, that looks like the Defense Mechanism that’s in the museum!”

Bianca flinched, although this went unnoticed by Ash. As her grandfather explained the machine in question, she shot a look at Latios, who met her gaze. She twitched her foot, something he caught as he nodded and gently entered her mind. His deep and melodic voice was slightly strained as he spoke. “You’re worried. About the boy, and how much Lorenzo is telling him.”

Bianca didn’t bother nodding, instead replying, “Yeah, you could say that. I know Tia trusts him, and that he saved her and all. But to just… spill everything like this…?”

Latios glanced over at Ash and her grandfather as Latias continued to weave around, impatiently waiting to play with the trainer again. “I don’t… entirely trust Ash, yet. But-” he paused before pushing on, “I’m not picking up any bad vibes from him. And I don’t think the pest has either, and she’s better at that kind of thing than me.”

She rolled her eyes at his name-calling, abstaining from acknowledging it as she quietly sighed. “That’s true, I suppose….”

She noticed Ash straightening up and looking around, asking in an inquisitive tone, “Hey, where is the Soul Dew?”

Bianca tensed, and she felt a slight tremor of worry from Latios as Gramps led the trainer over to the pedestal. Plastering on a slight smile, she followed them to the gem’s resting place, watching as Ash peered closer. “Woah, that’s really cool.”

Latios muttered to her in a serious tone, “If he so much as reaches for it, I’m splattering him from one end of the city to the other.”

She winced at the imagery but nodded nonetheless. Ash seemed like a good guy, but his life was not worth sparing compared to the thousands of lives that called Alto Mare their home. 

Thankfully, it seemed the trainer had no intentions of doing such a thing, and leaned back away from the jewel as her grandfather said, “I’ll tell you something, Ash. That beautiful jewel contains not only the spirit of Latios, but in the wrong hands, the power to destroy our town. It must never leave this pool.”

He turned to Ash and looked at him sternly. “So you can see that its location must be kept a secret.”

Ash nodded and smiled as he replied, “Right. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Not even my friends!”

Bianca received what felt like an approving nod from Latios, relaxing her. If he didn’t sense any falsehoods from the boy, then maybe he’d prove to be an interesting companion for the remainder of his stay. Hopefully, without any “interference” from Gramps, she thought with a roll of her eyes.

Suddenly, Latias’ impatience finally came to a head as she pushed her face into Ash’s side, crying out, “Can we finally play now? You guys talk too much!” Without a prompt, she adjusted her position, grabbed Ash from beneath his arms, and attempted to lift him into the air to do Kyogre-knows-what. Pikachu, sensing this was a bad idea, immediately jumped off his trainer onto the stone.

Fortunately, she seemed to be able to carry him up and over the pedestal.

Unfortunately, it seemed Ash was too heavy, and he was sent headfirst into the pool with a considerable splash.

Bianca facepalmed while Gramps snorted in amusement as Latios shook his head and dived down, safely retrieving the trainer from the pool. Gently dropping the soaking boy onto his feet, albeit without his hat, he slightly bowed his head as the trainer heartily thanked him.

Latias flew up shortly after with Ash’s hat in her mouth, ducking her head in shame and embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Really, really sorry!” She floated over to the wet trainer, ears flat against her head as she handed him his hat.

Even though he didn’t seem to understand her friend quite yet, Ash didn’t look particularly angry, although he did cast a half-hearted look of annoyance at Pikachu, who looked and sounded like he was laughing his little heart out. Sighing, he gently took his hat from the apologetic dragoness and wrung it out.

As Ash placed the hat over his head, he picked at his shirt and sighed. “Well, at least I have spare clothes. Guess Mom was right, huh, buddy?”

“Pi-ka!”

The wet trainer then ruefully grinned at Latias, placing a hand over her head and gently scratching behind her ear tufts. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you, Latias. I’ve been tossed into water so many times, I’ve lost count.” As he finished speaking, Ash turned and caught her eye, staring momentarily before laughing.

Starting to frown, she leaned forward and squinted. “What’s so funny, Ash?” Bianca questioned with an annoyed tone, although she kept it under control.

“S-sorry,” Ash giggled as he mindlessly pet Latias, much to her friend’s enjoyment. “It’s just, I knew this one girl in Unova. Every time she saw me and my friends, she would run at us. And some how, she would trip and run right into me. It must have been really bad luck, because we’d always be close to water, and she’d always hit me right into it.”

Bianca snorted, as did her grandfather. While Latios wasn’t verbal, she could vaguely feel his amusement. 

She cocked her head and inquired, “Okay, that’s funny, but I don’t see how I relate to that.”

Latias whined as Ash retracted his hand as the trainer responded, “Well, because her name was ‘Bianca’ as well. You almost look like her, too, it’s weird. She wore a round hat thing, and a white skirt like yours. Although I think hers was longer…?”

Bianca gave him a slight raise of an eyebrow, although didn’t interrupt him.

“Anyway, she was really clumsy around us. She was great, but I don’t really miss being knocked into water all the time.” He finished with a smile, missing Latias as she guiltily tapped her claws together. “But I guess I’ve got to go now. I’m sure my friends are wondering where I am, and I’ve got to get changed.”

If it was possible, Latias looked even more sad, head drooping as bad as her tufts. Bianca felt sorry for her friend, but nodded to Ash nonetheless. “Alright, well, good luck finding them, and with your wet clothes situation you have going on.”

Gramps stepped forward and looked at Ash in a friendly yet stern manner. “And remember; don’t say anything about what you’ve seen and heard here today. Should you decide to come back to the Garden, please make sure you aren’t followed. I’m sure your friends are trustworthy, but the less that know about this pla-”

He was interrupted by a gasp as Ash slapped a palm to his forehead. “I almost forgot! Lorenzo, when I met Latias, she was being attacked by these two women.” Latias perked up and nodded, crying out, “Oh yeah, those two meanies! They somehow knew I was me.”

Bianca immediately locked eyes with her grandfather as fear shot through her veins before he looked back at the trainer and urgently asked, “Two women? Who were they? Did they follow you?”

Ash shook his head, sounding unsure as he replied, “I-I’m not sure. I’ve never seen them before, but… I think they were trying to capture Latias. Pokemon poachers, or Team Rocket. Those guys are always trying to steal Pokemon. And uh… I don’t think we were followed? I haven’t seen them since we got away….”

Latias nodded again, pushing her head against the trainer’s chest. “I only got away thanks to him and Pikachu. I was so scared they were gonna get me.”

Allowing herself to slightly relax, Bianca bit her lip in thought as her grandfather sighed, “Well, I’m glad you’re safe. All of you. But it looks like we’re going to be on the lookout from now on; I’d rather not take any chances. Thank you for telling us about this, Ash,” he said in a grateful tone. “If you hadn’t…. Well, now we know that less than savory people know about Latias and Latios.”

“Oh no, it’s no trouble, really. If they do come back, just call me up and I’ll be glad to help!” the trainer replied, sounding determined. 

Her grandfather chuckled, “I’m sure Latios and Latias are more than capable of holding their own against a couple of people, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Alright, young man, what’s your phone number?”

The trainer cocked his head and replied with a confused tone, “Phone number? Oh, I don’t have a phone.”

Silence filled the meadow as everyone gave Ash a disbelieving stare. Bianca took a measured breath and closed her eyes, opening them a moment later. “Nevermind. Let’s get going.

Gramps recovered from his nonplussed expression and nodded, gesturing to Ash. “Come along, Ash. You as well, Bianca; might as well catch two Pidgeys with one ball.”

She nodded and fell in step with her grandfather and Ash, shooting Gramps a bemused look as she did. “What do you mean? What are the two Pidgeys?” 

“Well, we must show this young man how to get out of the Garden without attracting suspicions, don’t we? And I think this is a great opportunity for you two to become very good friends.”

Immediately, Bianca shot him a sharp glare, knowing exactly what he was trying to do. She refrained from saying anything, however, as she noticed Ash was looking over curiously. Pikachu, on the other hand, snickered as he raced up Ash’s body and sat on his shoulder. She rolled her eyes at this; Not the rodent, too.

Electing to deal with it later, she turned and waved at the twins. “Goodbye, you two. I’ll come by later with a few Oran berries.”

Ash flashed a smile over his shoulder and flicked his hand in the laziest goodbye Bianca had ever seen. Despite a brief moment of joy at the mention of Oran berries, Latias fell into a disappointed droop as she watched Ash walk away. Bianca spared her a sympathetic glance before turning and walking away with the strange trainer.

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The boat ride to the Pokemon Center was calm, albeit mildly awkward on Bianca’s end. She didn’t have much experience dealing with people beyond a professional level, choosing to avoid having any friends outside of the twins. 

This was partly due to the fact that her grandfather was eager to get her into the dating life, seemingly keeping eyes peeled for any boy that appeared to have his head on straight. She could almost appreciate him not being super over-protective, but it sure didn’t make things easy for her.

I suppose I should be grateful Ash won’t be staying for long. I don’t want to imagine what Gramps would do if he decided to linger, Bianca thought with a small grimace, which thankfully went unnoticed by the trainer. As for his shoulder-mounted friend…

…he was staring at her with something that looked suspiciously smug, which strangely infuriated her.

What do you want, you yellow rat? She wanted to challenge the Pokemon, but was unable to without attracting the attention of his trainer, and wouldn’t even be able to understand a response if one was given. She settled for giving him a glare, which only served to make Pikachu stick his stick his tongue out at her.

You little shit!

Bianca almost snarled at him, barely keeping it from escaping by pursing her lips, teeth clenched. She had no idea what was making Pikachu look so satisfied, nor why she was so incensed by it, only wondering if she’d prefer her grandfather’s matchmaking attempts over this smug little bastard.

At least her grandfather meant well.

Clearing her throat she tore her eyes away from the irritating rodent and looked at Ash, asking something that had been at the back of her mind ever since he mentioned it. “Those two women, Ash, what do they look like?” They could be more prepared if they knew who to look for, and knowing is half the battle.

“Hm? OH, uhh,” Ash jumped as he turned to meet her curious stare, before frowning in thought. “Well, one of them had short purple-ish hair? Like a light purple, but not super light purple-”

Outstanding.

“-and the other had big yellow hair, with long buns that kind of just stuck out either side of her head.” Ash made a vague gesture with his hands, which Bianca could only interpret as his attempt to approximate the appearance of the shape of the hair. 

Finding it wasn’t terribly useful, she was about to ask him to elaborate when a strange robotic voice shouted nearby, making her jump.

“Ashzzt! You guys, I found him!”

Bewildered, Bianca whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the voice, only to see a hovering red… thing shoot its way over to float by Ash’s head. She stared at the red thing with an open mouth, wondering what it was as it waved its arms-

Are those arms?

-around and started chattering away at Ash. “Where have you been? You realizzze we’ve been trying to find you for ages! Everyone was worried! And who is thiszzt?” The red thing finished as it turned and “faced” her, making a question mark on what appeared to be its screen.

Bianca was too busy staring at it to respond, so Ash replied in her stead, “Oh, hi Rotom! This is Bianca! We met a little bit ago. I actually saw her at the museum, so I followed her.”

That sounded more creepy than what he probably intended, she almost snorted, thankful that he had only confused her for Latias. Then she gave the red thing a critical glance, curious at what Ash called it. So it’s a Rotom? Doesn’t look like any I’ve seen, but maybe they just look different wherever he’s from?

The Rotom gave her a salute, its screen turning into an upwards curving line as it responded. “Hello, Bianca! Itzzz a pleasure to meet you!” 

She blinked and replied, “Eer, hello.” A talking Rotom was definitely new to her, but then again, she was friends with two Legendary Pokemon.

It was then that she noticed the two ovals slanting away from each other at the top of its screen, and realized with a jolt that it actually had a face , and that the line was a smile.

That’s…. Alright then, why not.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed a group of people running over, one of whom seemed taller than the rest. He didn’t seem to be wearing any shirt underneath his open lab coat, which she thought was strange.

The group ran up to the side of the canal and stared down at them, panting lightly. “Where have you been?” Asked a tall trainer that…wasn’t wearing anything over his chest. “What….Kiawe…said,” a rather round boy wheezed out, hunched over.

Ash gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry ‘bout that, you guys. I was chasing someone and kinda got lost.”

Another boy with squinty eyes shook his head in amused exasperation and muttered, “Why am I not surprised? Ash, you’d think with a sense of direction as bad as yours, you’d stick closer to the group.”

Bianca snorted at that, finding herself not at all surprised that this was a common occurrence for the trainer.

The noise finally attracted the attention of the newcomers, all four giving her confused looks. “Ash, who is this?” The one named Kiawe asked as he crossed his arms, staring down at her with an unreadable expression. Bianca stared back, unimpressed, and refused to back down. 

Ash chose that moment to interject cheerfully, “This is my friend, Bianca! I kind of met her in the…in the city,” he finished lamely, seemingly realizing he almost let the secret loose.

Bianca raised an eyebrow at this, but chose to let it slide. Rotom was less forgiving, and blurted out, “Ash followed her from the museum!” 

She bit her lip to hold back a laugh as the group of men turned and stared at Ash in disbelief, watching as he squirmed in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable under the gaze of his companions. Pikachu snickered from his spot on his shoulder, prompting a scowl from Ash.

“Er, yeah, that’s…yeah,” he finished, sounding defeated. 

The man with the open lab coat had an unreadable tone as he asked, “Is this who you were chasing, Ash? Do you know her?”

The trainer struggled to come up with an answer, prompting Bianca to sigh and come to his rescue. “I looked like someone he knew. He followed me to see if I was her, which I wasn’t. After he caught up to me, he realized his mistake. I wasn’t very busy, so I decided to show him around for a bit. I’m sorry if I kept him too long.”

Ash looked at her with grateful eyes before nodding quickly. “Yes! Yes, that’s what happened. Don’t worry, I won’t do it again, hehe….” He laughed awkwardly, while Kiawe and the round boy nodded, looking mollified. Bianca let loose a breath, pleased the little lie worked, until she noticed the man and the older boy were still regarding her and Ash with some suspicion.

The man didn’t say anything, and just studied Ash before relenting, “...Alright. Make sure you don’t, I’m not sure we’d be able to find you in this city. It’s practically a maze.”

“I won’t! Promise!” Ash all but shouted, making them wince at his loud tone.

The older boy still didn’t look convinced, although he was regarding Ash with something akin to respect.

Disregarding this, Bianca turned to her new “friend” and asked pointedly, “Well, are you going to join your friends, or sit in the boat all day?” His companions snorted as he jumped up, rocking the boat as he did and nearly falling out as a result. Fortunately, his friends grabbed him by the shirt and prevented him from being soaked, again, and helped him as he clambered out.

Kiawe frowned as Ash straightened up, asking in a bewildered tone, “Ash, why is your shirt wet?”

“I sort of fell into a fountain.”

“Your shorts are soaked, too.”

“It was a big fountain.”

Kiawe threw his hands up, exasperated as he said, “You know what? Nevermind. I shouldn’t even be surprised.” Bianca bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing, his companions looking similarly amused. The round boy snickered, “Trust Ash to avoid every single canal, only to fall into the one large fountain in the area.”

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

Ash slumped over with a sigh, “Thanks, guys….”

Bianca was about to turn the boat around to go back home, only to pause and turn to his companions. “As Ash stated earlier, my name is Bianca. And you are all…?”

The man in the lab coat smiled and replied, “Right, sorry. You can call me Kukui. I’m a professor at Alola. These are my students, or at least some of them.” Bianca nodded politely even as the squinty eyed boy stepped forward. “My name is Brock; I’m the only one present that isn’t a student, or at least one of the Professor’s. I actually live in Kanto, studying to become a Pokemon doctor.”

After Bianca greeted him, Kiawe spoke up, “I’m Kiawe, as I’m sure you heard Sophocles yelling about here,” he playfully jabbed his rotund companion before continuing. “I’m a Pokemon trainer, as well as a farmer. I’m aiming to be a trial captain!”

She had no idea what that was, but Sophocles didn’t give her the opportunity to ask as he jabbed a thumb to himself and proclaimed, “And I’m Sophocles, inventor extraordinaire! Pleased to meet you!”

“Pleased to meet you to-” She started to say, only for the Rotom to fly between them and sweeped an arm into a bow, “I’m Rotom-Dex!

????????

“Best not to wander around that fountain again, Ash. We wouldn’t want anyone else wandering into it,” she warned, trying to be subtle. To her relief, he seemed to understand what she was trying to say, giving her a solemn nod.

Satisfied, Bianca carefully maneuvered the boat and started heading back to the house, giving one last wave of her hand before engaging the throttle.

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“So? How’d it go? Is he gonna come back?” Came the excited ramblings from Latias as her friend flew around her.

“Sorry, Latias, but I told him he shouldn’t come back,” Bianca apologized to the dragon, dipping her feet in the fountain.

Her friend pulled back, looking hurt. “But why? We were having so much fun!”

Bianca sighed, but didn’t relent. “I know, but he knows how to get here now, and I’m worried that if he does decide to come back, one of his friends might follow him. A secret spread isn’t a secret at all.”

Latias drooped, pouting, “I know, but still….”

“How about this; if you want to see him, why don’t you go to him? It seems like him and his friends will be staying for a couple days, and I know they’re using the Pokemon center’s inn,” she suggested, looking at her friend sympathetically as the dragon perked up. “You’ve been practicing your writing, haven’t you?”

At the eager nod, Bianca shrugged and continued, “Well, then take a sheet of paper from my sketchbook, find a pen or pencil, and write on it. Say you’re mute. I’d suggest sign language, but from what I can tell, none of them are deaf, just dumb.”

“Hey, Ash isn’t dumb!” Latias pouted, looking offended on his behalf. Bianca smiled and replied smugly, “I never said his name. You did.”

There was a moment of silence, then Bianca found herself pushed by an invisible force, yelping  before splashing into the fountain. Quickly surfacing, she loudly spluttered, “LATIAS, I SWEAR ON YOUR FEATHERED ASS, I’LL-”

“Language~!” Latias replied in a singsong voice, before dancing away with a trill. 

Bianca glared in the direction her “friend” flew off to, before another invisible force gently pulled her out of the water and onto the grass close by. 

“Thanks, Latios,” she said gratefully, taking off her shirt and doing her best to wring it out. The blue dragon came into view, shaking his head before turning to her. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure out what to do with her.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s only a couple of wet clothes. Not like I can’t change out of them,” she sighed, frowning as she put her shirt back on.

Latios snorted as he glanced at her, “I know why you humans wear clothes, but they really feel like a hassle to me. I doubt I’d ever be comfortable with them.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have feet that can be burned, or bare skin that gets cold easily,” Bianca retorted, glancing over and frowning at the sight of her beret in the fountain. As she walked back over to the edge of the water, she added, “Not to mention we have social standards. You may think there’s no point in wearing clothes, but we don’t exactly find a point in being in the nude in front of people.”

“And yet, you find a point in constantly changing in and out of different ‘outfits’, as you call them, whenever they get dirty,” Latios countered as he used his psychic abilities to fetch her beret. “Just wear one set, and wash in those, or something.”

Bianca snorted as she grabbed her cover. “First of all, that feels gross. Second, have you no sense of fashion?”

“I’m a Pokemon,” he pointed out dryly. “So, no. Plus, you wear the same style of clothing every day. I don’t think you get to talk to me about fashion.”

“Touche,” she sniffed, looking down at her skirt. “Still,” she added, “I would rather people not be ogling me, or rather my chest, thank you very much.”

Latios cocked his head to the side. “Are you referring to you human’s strange fetishization of your mammary glands? Because if you are, I wouldn’t worry about it much. There are plenty of females in the city with considerably larger breasts that people would be looking at instead.” 

Bianca looked up and leveled a flat glare at him.

He paused, shuffling in mid-air, before asking, “….What?”

“If you weren’t a Pokemon, I’d probably wack you upside the head for that,” she responded dryly before marching off, ignoring Latios’ cry of, “I don’t even know what I did!”

————————————

Lorenzo was humming to himself as he fixed himself a cup of tea, feeling somewhat relaxed despite a rather eventful day.

First a tour that started off with a group of excitable youngsters, then one of them touching the DMA-

He was lucky he was clueless

-before running after his granddaughter. Naturally, he then had to cut the tour short to try and follow the boy and ensure he wasn’t going to do any funny business with his last remaining kin-

That he’s willing to talk to, at least

-only to find that the boy had followed a playful Latias right into the heart of the Garden, and was nearly attacked by Latios under the direction of Bianca.

Overall, it was-

He jumped, nearly spilling his tea as Bianca opened the door, stormed through it, and slammed it, before marching towards the stairs. Turning, he just barely caught sight of her stony expression before noticing her clothes were looking considerably wet.

“Bianca? What happened? Did Ash find his way-“

His question was cut short as she whipped around and seethed, “Ash’s friends are weirdos, Latias pushed me into the fountain, and Latios called my boobs small.” With that, she turned her back and continued to stomp up the stairs.

Lorenzo blinked rapidly before turning and sipping his tea again in bemusement. “Eventful day, indeed.”

—————————

The silence of the Garden lay nearly undisturbed, broken only by the occasional rustling of the wind through the leaves and the chittering of nocturnal Pokemon. 

None of these things could come close to waking Latias, however, and she found herself dreaming. Latios was there, and of course Bianca, but to her pleasant surprise, that boy she met today was there as well!

She smiled in her sleep as Bianca and Ash chased her around the Garden, Latios occasionally swooping in and joining in on the fun.

At one point, her brother dove at her, and-

“Laaa-!” A cry escaped her as she was jerked awake, falling off her branch in time to see something flew over her head. She activated her levitation at the last moment, almost slamming into the ground as she looked around in bewilderment.

“Latios?!” She called out, trying to figure out what was going on. A sudden yank pulled her to the side as another object flew by where she had been not a moment before. Following its movement, she peered at it and-

A net?

Latias didn’t get the opportunity to ponder why a net just narrowly avoided her as a clawed arm swung around and grabbed her head, forcing her to look at her brother, who looked both angry and panicked. 

“Latias! Latias, go get-”

"Playing hard to get, are we? Go get ‘em, Ariados!”

“You too, Espeon! Shadow ball!”

Her brother’s words were cut off by two familiar voices shouting what Latias could only determine to be commands, and she was once again forced to move as Latios dove at her. A dark mass hit him square on the back, forcing a gasp from her as he cried out in pain and anger.

Shaking his head to recover, he turned a piercing glare to the side, and Latias followed his gaze to find the two women from earlier, holding some kind of equipment that she didn’t want to know the purpose of.

The mysterious objects were the least of her concerns, however, as she spotted the lithe form of Espeon sprinting in their direction. Unfortunately, she couldn’t spot where the Ariados went, and didn’t have the time to try and find it as Latios shoved her to the side and immediately began to charge up an attack from his mouth. 

Quickly, Latias began to do the same in the hopes of deterring their attackers. She was forced to launch the attack early when the Espeon spat out another mass of dark energy straight at her. 

Any hopes of stopping the mass of energy were destroyed as quickly as her attack, the dark mass obliterating the pathetic pink orb like it wasn’t even there before striking her in turn.

She howled in agony as her nerves were struck with a pain comparable to all of the feathers being ripped out of her body at once. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she lay gasping on the ground, stunned by the hellish sensation.

She barely noticed Latios releasing his attack in retaliation, the Luster Purge blasting towards the offending Espeon with blistering speed. 

It didn’t get a chance to move as the beam of light struck it head on, blasting the Pokemon back many feet before coming to a stop by the two women. Latias managed to levitate, albeit with some difficulty, in time to see that the two women looking stunned.

Shortly after, the one with the yellow hair stepped closer to the fallen Pokemon, only to jump back as it leapt to its feet. 

“Well done, Latios!”  The one with the short hair crowed, even as Latios glared at them.

“Of course, we’re going to have to pay that back in blood eventually, but at least we know your power will be more than enough!” She gave a sinister smile, before calling out, “Now, Ariados!”

What?

Both siblings looked around for the arachnid, only for Latios to cry out as it dropped from the canopy above and bit him in the neck. Latias let out a gasp, watching in horror as Ariados began webbing up her brother, held in mid-air by multiple lines of silk leading up into the branches. 

Latios looked incredibly ill as he was gradually immobilized by the Pokemon, the silk wrapping around his body until he was a cocoon.

Latias began charging up another attack in desperation, only to have to dodge as the now-recovered Espeon launched another attack at her. Panicked, she looked between the Eeveelution and the Ariados, the fear in her building as the arachnid finished trapping her brother in layers of silk and turning its attention to her. 

She didn’t give the women even so much as a glance as they began mocking her.

“Oh no! Poor Latias…. If only you had come with us willingly! We could have taught you so much about fashion.”

“I don’t know, Oakley, I think Latios is the one with the fashion disaster now. Silk clothing was so three years ago.”

The short haired woman put a hand up to chin as if to think. “You know, Annie, we could help them with their style at the same time?”

Annie put a hand on her hip and gave a pleased smile. “That’s a wonderful idea! Ariados, let’s help out Latias with her lack of fashion.”

“Espeon, assist Ariados!”

Espeon leapt into action, joining Ariados and quickly surrounded the dragoness with next to nothing able to get in their way. Latios struggled against his bondage, trying his damndest to escape with the little strength he could muster. Latias stared down the duo who looked more than eager to return their dues. 

“How about we finish this, Oakley?” She asked her partner who was delighted with this idea.

“Shadow Ball, make sure she regrets her fashion disaster!” Oakley shouted as the black sphere emanated from Espeon’s maw. 

“Ariados, hit her with Night Shade!” Out of Ariados’ eyes, shot a black wretched bolt that struck Latias in her back just as the orb of shadow collided with her front. The combined attacks sent her hurtling for the ground where she would land in the grass.

If she thought it hurt before, it paled in comparison to the pain that flooded her body. There was absolutely no comparison for it that could have done the agony justice. The only thing she was aware of was the vague feeling of the ground beneath her and the lack of sound coming from her mouth, her screech practically tearing her vocal chords to shreds in the throes of her pain.

Latios let out a horrible sound, seeing his sister taking such powerful attacks. At this moment, that hurt far more than the poison in his system. He saw Annie and Oakley preparing something small with black bulbous figures attached to it. Latios figured that must be their end game; he’d seen a Poke Ball before. This looked far more sinister.

As his body shook and twisted, he managed to get a bit of leverage. Just that much was enough to finally snap the webbing and send him plummeting to the ground. He had to get to her no matter the cost. If even one of them managed to escape, then it would be enough! 

"We've got you a new piece of clothing, Latias. You wanna try it on?!" Annie said, grinning all the while. 

Oakley smirked, cocking back something on her device. "It's practically to die for." 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Not too far away, another door was opened. Bianca had heard some of the events unfolding through several loud bangs and had to find out what was happening. What she saw stunned her to the core. It looked like part of the garden had been damaged and as she continued further in, Bianca saw both of the two women that Ash had described earlier. 

“What in the….”

The two women appeared to be approaching Latias, an Espeon and an Ariados flanking them. A pale… thing was laying on the ground close by, and to Bianca’s rising horror, she determined that it was Latios, most likely having been tied up by the Ariados.

Unfortunately, Latias appeared to be in a worse state than her brother, her fallen form struggling to get up as a slight steam emanated from minor burns across her feathers.

Instantly, anger overtook her as she raged, “YOU! How dare you! Get OUT! Leave Latios and Latias alone!”

All four attackers turned to see her in her nightie, fists clenched at her sides as she bared her teeth. The two women simultaneously narrowed their eyes, before grinning. 

“Well, well, Latias, I didn’t know you had a sister! That is so cute.” The lilac-haired woman sneered. 

The blonde woman laughed darkly, “And she looks even more unfashionable than Latias does! What a perfect opportunity for us to be heroes!”

Bianca gritted her teeth in frustration, looking past the two and seeing that maybe she’d made some difference. Latias was starting to move albeit shakily as the two continued to prattle on. Latios for his own part was not happy to see Bianca caught up in this, but he had no choice beyond accepting the reality of this situation. 

‘I’ve gotta get Latias out of here, that's the most I can do.’ Latios thought, trying to come up with a plan to do that much. 

Annie shrugged, “Fashion disaster or not. We can’t have you getting our plans out there in the open. So, we’re gonna have to drag you with us. Sorry, not sorry.” With that, she turned to Espeon, “Why don’t you give her the beauty treatment? She’s already in that tacky nightie, some sleep might do her some good.” 

Espeon nodded, giving Bianca quite the glare, “You can help give her some new threads, Ariados.” Annie added with a flick of her wrist to which the spider Pokemon eagerly began crawling toward the young woman.

Bianca felt her stomach clench in fear as the Pokemon made their way over to her. Looking around for something to defend herself with, anything, she accidentally made eye contact with Latios. His voice echoed weakly in her head, “Latias….out. I’ll….distract….”

Paling, she nodded, glancing back at the approaching Pokemon. “Well?” she challenged, standing firm even as her fear ate at her. “Are you too scared to attack one girl? I knew you were cowards to come here while we were sleeping, but I didn’t know you were this pathetic!” Bianca spat at them, her instincts screaming at her to shut up. From the corner of her eye, she could make out Latias just barely managing to hover, while Latios was doing his best to discreetly charge an attack.

Swallowing her fear and better judgment, she marched towards the Espeon. The move seemingly bewildered the Pokemon, and it did nothing as she stood in front of it, glaring down. “Your trainer is a waste of oxygen, and you are a disgrace to every Pokemon in the city.” With that, she raised her hand back and slapped the Espeon across the face.

Needless to say, the move stunned not just the struck Pokemon, but the Ariados and women as well, the two opposing women standing there shocked with open mouths.

From her point of view, it looked as though Latias was looking at her with wide eyes, although she quickly made herself transparent. Even as her friend disappeared from view, Bianca yelled out, “Now, Latias! Get Ash! He’s at the…He’s at where you first pranked me!”

The two women wouldn’t understand this, but it was enough for her friend to understand, and the sad cry and a gust of wind confirmed that Latias obeyed the command.

Her yell broke the attackers out of their stupor, and even as the women began to shout commands, Latios unleashed his last ditch attack. 

Multiple streams of light blistered the ground as the beams tore their way over to the Espeon and Ariados, striking them head on. From her experience watching the twins developing their signature moves, Bianca knew that Luster Purge lost attack power every time it split up. It was further weakened with Latios in his current condition.

Despite this, the attack did its job, and the two hostile Pokemon were sent to the ground, momentarily stunned. Despite a somewhat quick recovery, neither of their attackers were able to stop Latias from leaving the garden, leaving a bound Latios and a now-defenseless Bianca alone.

A fact she was now very aware of as the women turned and glared at her.

“That was a mistake, girly,” the short-haired woman growled darkly. “Espeon, knock her out. No need to be gentle about it, either.”

Before Bianca could turn and run, the Espeon obeyed its master with a bolt of psychic energy, the last sensation shooting through her being immense pain.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she finally came to, Bianca blinked open her eyes before wincing in pain. Her entire body ached, and her shoulders felt stiff.

She tried to move her head, but was unable to do so. It was then that she felt the binding all over her body, keeping her pinned to what appeared to be the wall in… The museum! She finally took in her surroundings, seeing the DMA while she struggled against the webbing. 

She looked around a bit more, seeing in the inky darkness that Latios was being dragged to a certain point. In her peripheral vision, she noticed that her grandfather was there too. He was moving back and forth, but unable to break it all the same. 

“Grandpa!” He stopped struggling at her call.

“You’re awake?! Ngh!” He grunted, trying even harder than before. To no avail.

The woman with the two blonde buns edged a look in their direction, “Oh? Look who decided to wake up from their beauty sleep.” She said casually while holding the Soul Dew tauntingly and gazing into the jewel’s depths. It was like looking at the clearest waters where the sun shone all the way to the bottom. Truly a one of a kind treasure in its own right. 

The woman with lilac hair was busy directing where Latios was to be placed, and to Bianca’s frustration, she could see they hadn’t even bothered to unravel the webbing. 

“Why are you doing this,” she spat angrily, struggling in vain to get free. “What do you even want?”

The blonde woman laughed, lightly covering her mouth with her hand. “You really need to ask that? We came for this , of course,” she replied as she held up the Soul Dew. “What a beauty it is, don’t you think?”

“Don’t forget powerful, Annie,” her companion added from her position by the DMA. “We’re here for what it can do, not how it looks.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Annie dismissed, holding the jewel up to the moonlight. “Still, such a shame you keep this all to yourselves. Not even all the precious little people in your city have seen it. That’s pretty selfish of you.”

“THAT’S THE SOUL OF A LATIOS! HE KEEPS THE CITY SAFE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA-mmph!” Lorenzo bellowed out before Ariados spat a web at his mouth.

“Yes, very sad, I know. Protects everyone, doesn’t it? But you didn’t even bother using it to defend against us, so really, I don’t understand why you’re getting so worked up. It’s only right that it goes to someone who will put it to good use,” Oakley said, giving Espeon a little nod which allowed her to drop the massive dragon where he lay. Espeon jumped out from underneath Latios, stretching her body and thanking her master whether the lilac haired woman knew it or not.

“‘Good use?’ Nothing you could possibly be doing could be defined as ‘good!’” Bianca retorted, her comment earning an eye roll from Oakely as the woman walked over and snatched the jewel from Annie’s hand. She didn’t relent, however, and continued to pester the invaders. “You don’t even know what it can do, much less how to operate it!”

Oakley shrugged as she approached the DMA. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Plus, this is just a demonstration. I’m sure the boss won't mind if we give it a trial run!” 

Before Bianca could shout, struggle, or do anything , she could hear the museum doors burst open. She nearly sagged with relief as she could hear Ash’s voice yell out, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Annie and Oakley spun around, looking annoyed at yet another distraction. “Latias must have moved pretty quickly for reinforcements to be here already,” Annie remarked dryly as the women’s Pokemon whirled to face the entrance.

Ariados and Espeon had been through the ringer at this point. Yet, another group was here and there were four of them?! Maybe if they played their cards right, they could take out a few, but it might be just enough for their trainer’s to do what they could. Ash was followed by Kukui, Kiawe, and Brock who were all taking out a PokeBall each. 

Ash let Pikachu leap down from his shoulder with threatening sparks lighting up a small area around itself. Latias was the last to make it in, still floating a bit weakly from all the damage she took earlier. Despite that, she was still looking rather confident with a band of comrades surrounding her.

Kiawe unleashed Turtonator, Kukui sent out Lucario, and Brock let loose his Ninetails. Each Pokemon let loose a rather intimidating cry of their own before staring down their opponents which were starting to realize that they were making a tall order here. Brock was the first to make a move.

“Use Flamethrower on Ariados!” He shouted, the fox charging at a blistering pace toward her opponent. 

Ariados jumped backward, trying to create some extra room so it could fire off string shot only for the excess strings to go up in flames before they got the chance to get close. Kukui grinned, taking in the moment before pointing forward, “Lucario, use Extremespeed on Espeon!” 

Espeon shrieked as Lucario appeared next to her without any warning, slamming her with a kick to the side that ended up pounding her into Ariados. Kiawe wanted to get in a Z move, but considering the location they were in. It might get him in trouble if he angered Lorenzo, so he decided on something else.

“Let’s get some setup in! Use Shell Trap!” Turtonator obliged, turning his back on the opposing Pokemon.

Annie almost looked offended at this, slicing her hand through the air and shouting, “We’re not good enough to fight? Ariados, climb that arrogant thing and give him a bite to remember!”

Ariados clicked its mandibles and charged towards Turtonator, launching itself forwards and landing on the large Pokemon’s back. Just as it tried to scuttle up the shell and land a bite on Turtnonator’s neck, a few of its legs brushed up against the spikes on the back.

To Bianca’s astonishment, the spikes began to glow before violently exploding, sending Ariados flying back looking charred. The move also had the unfortunate side effect of scorching the floor of the museum, with cracks appearing in the areas closest to the spiked Pokemon.

Lorenzo looked horrified, “MMMMPH NNPPPPH!” He silently roared while watching the precious flooring get messed up. Kiawe smiled nervously, hoping that since he was saving the day, it’d be just fine. Right? That’s when his friend stepped up last.

Ash, with Pikachu raring to go, turned his hat backward, “Alright, let's give them one heck of a thunderbolt! Ready Pikachu?!” Pikachu nodded, his undeniable smirk as he smacked his red cheeks and prepared a massive thunderbolt just for them. 

Unleashing the lightning from within his small frame, the power overtook the Espeon with little trouble and sent her flying backwards where she unceremoniously smacked into Oakley who had been trying to climb into the DMA. 

She hit the floor, stuck under the weight of the fainted Pokemon as Annie began to panic, seeing her unconscious companion. In desperation, she sprinted to her fallen friend and snatched up the Soul Dew from her limp hand. She turned and faced everyone, raising the jewel above her head.

“Looks like we’re in a bit of a predicament, so I’ll make this easier for all of you! Come closer, and we’ll see what happens when you smash a Soul Dew to a thousand pieces!”

“You wouldn’t! You’ll kill us all!” Bianca cried out in shock, grabbing the attention of Ash’s friends.

“Ash, what is she talking about? What is that thing?” Kiawe questioned as each side glared the other down. Ash shot an uncertain glance at her, as though unsure of how much to say. Gratitude coursed through her veins at the gesture, appreciating how seriously he took his promise about not saying anything. Nonetheless, now was hardly the time for secrets, and Bianca took it upon herself to answer for him. 

“It’s a powerful relic that keeps this city safe. It’s the reason the water stays safe year round…and it’s the soul of a Latios,” She confessed, seeing Kiawe’s eyes widen. Kukui and Brock were similarly affected, although they kept their gazes trained on Annie as Bianca continued, “If it breaks….”

Annie let out a humorless laugh, twitching her hand. “Then I guess you don’t have much of a choice, then; Oakley and I will leave, and we’re taking this with us. Try to stop us, and we’re more than willing to- AGH!” The jewel was gone and Annie had hit the floor herself.

One second later and Kukui breathed a sigh of relief, holding the jewel in his hand. Lucario was delighted with himself.

“Heh… Extremespeed. She wouldn’t have the time to react.” He explained as everyone gave him an appreciative look. Ash chuckled a bit nervously, glad it all worked out. Annie wasn’t knocked out, she was however feeling quite a bit of pain. 

Kiawe spoke up, “That’s awesome, Professor! Nice one!” 

Bianca and Lorenzo seemed to relax in their bondage, small beads of sweat still on their forehead from the aforementioned potential death of them all. Thank goodness they had such luck that all these people happened to be here and were able to get here fast enough. Latias had disappeared to the side, pulling her brother away from the location he was on many moments ago. 

She was laying beside him, feeling so happy that nothing horrible came of this. Nuzzling Latios a bit too much for his liking, but he didn’t pull away. No, he’d let her have this because on the inside, he was just as happy. Oh, who was he kidding? He nuzzled her back, a smile on his own face.

Ash walked over to Bianca and Lorenzo, “Well, we got here in time! Thank goodness for Latias, or we’d all have been asleep through all this!” He stood there with his hands on his hips, looking at the twins with a smile. 

When he didn’t move, Bianca cleared her throat, and raised an eyebrow when he turned to face her.

Ash stared at her for a moment, before ducking his head in embarrassment. “Right, sorry! Let me just….” He stepped forward and pulled at the webbing around Bianca, Pikachu leaping up to Lorenzo’s shoulder and began chewing through the silk.

Fortunately, it only took a couple of minutes to free the two of them, and once she was clear of the webs, Bianca threw her arms around Lorenzo.

“I’m so glad you're okay,” she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. He reciprocates the gesture, patting her back and murmuring, “Next time you go up against a couple of lunatics, warn me first. I can’t tell you how scared I was when I entered the garden and found those two standing over you. I thought they killed you.”

Wincing in guilt, she pulled back, dropping her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Grandpa. When I saw what they were doing to Latios and Latias, I just…” Bianca trailed off, trying to find the words.

“You acted on instinct, doing what you thought was right,” Brock’s voice came from her right as he walked up. At her frown, he smiled and jerked his head to Ash. “Don’t worry, we have one just like you. I can’t tell you the amount of times Ash has done something like that.”

“Tell me about it,” came Kiawe’s call, shaking his head as he walked up. “I swear, if he heard so much as a Salandit in trouble, he’d throw himself from the top of Wela Volcano to protect it.”

Bianca had no idea what any of these things were, but at the moment, she couldn’t muster up the strength to care. 

Suddenly, she noticed Kiawe’s expression drop into one of guilt, and she turned her head to see her Grandfather giving him a flat stare.

“That move your Pokemon pulled off did quite the number on my floor, son,” he said sternly, making her wince.

“Yes, sir, I’m-” 

Kiawe was cut short as Lorenzo raised a hand, taking a deep breath as he relaxed his expression. “But…you I can hardly fault you for that under the circumstances. You helped save the city, and you helped save my granddaughter. A building can be rebuilt, but a life can’t ever be replaced.”

Kiawe ducked his head in embarrassment and mumbled, “It was no trouble, sir. Besides, Ash was the one that convinced us to come.”

“Somehow, I don’t doubt that,” Lorenzo said, transferring his gaze onto the aforementioned trainer. “I wish I had the words to express my gratitude to you and your friends, young man. I knew you had a good heart when Latias brought you to her home, but I think you’ve surpassed even her expectations. If there is anything you need…if there’s anything any of you need,” he corrected himself, looking at their rescuers, “Don’t be afraid to ask. If it is within my power, you have my word that I will do everything I can to make it happen.”

It was at that moment when Latias and Latios floated over, the red dragoness shooting forward and grabbing both Bianca and Ash with her psychic and dragging them in, squeezing them as hard as she could.

Bianca frowned with annoyance as she found her cheek brushing against Ash’s, but ultimately decided to let it slide as the trainer laughed and hugged Latias back, seemingly unaware of the unintentional intimacy. A moment later, she relented and hugged her friend back.

“I’m so sorry I left you behind!” Latias apologized as she finally let them go, staring at Bianca with large, tearful eyes. She shook her head, replying softly, “If you hadn’t, we would have never been able to fight back. Those two were just too strong for us.”

Ash frowned and looked over to the side. “Speaking of them….Professor, what do we do?”

Everyone turned to the women, watching as Annie tried dragging Oakley away, only for Latios to come up behind her, expression twisted into one of rage. Annie whipped around just as Latios’ mouth began to glow.

Bianca’s eyes widened; were they about to witness a double homicide? Before she could ponder the consequences of such an action, Ash yelled out, “NO! No, don’t kill them!”

Everyone turned and faced him with varying degrees of incredulity, confusion, and on the part of Annie, relief. Kukui, Brock, and Lorenzo had more neutral expressions, studying Ash.

Latios on the other hand snarled, although the glow in his mouth did die down somewhat. “Ash, these pieces of filth attacked me and my sister, and stole my father’s soul from the Garden. Why shouldn’t they die?”

“I know! I know, they did terrible things here, and they’ve probably done horrible things before as well. But look at them,” Ash pleaded, gesturing towards the women.

Annie shrunk under everyone’s appraising eyes, even as Ash pressed, “Their Pokemon have been beaten up pretty badly, while ours are in nearly perfect condition. They’re practically defenseless now. If you kill them, then….” He swallowed, before taking a deep breath. “Then you’d be as bad, or worse, than they are.”

Bianca bit her lip in thought, thinking about what he said. All of it was true; the two women had no way to defend themselves. Espeon and Ariados were out for the count. Killing them now….

The thought left a bad taste in her mouth. Looking around, she saw a small smile on Brock’s face, him and Kukui looking proud. Kiawe was nodding thoughtfully, while Latias was looking conflicted.

Latios was still scowling, but he didn’t let his attack loose, much to the relief of Annie. 

Lorenzo was still staring at Ash, until he gave a slow, appreciative nod. “Merciful, even to your enemies. You continue to impress me, Ash.” He glanced at Bianca with a subtle smile, making her flush when she realized what he was implying-

Is this really the time for that, Grandpa!?

-then turned and shook his head at Latios. “The young man is right, Latios. They shouldn’t die, not like this. They will be punished, but not by our hand. We’ll let the police handle this. They’ll give them a fair trial, but I imagine they will still go to prison, and for a long time.”

Everyone waited with baited breath, Annie most of all, until Latios snarled and released his hold on the attack, letting it dissipate in his mouth. “Fine! But if I catch them slinking around like this city again…”

He growled threateningly at Annie, making her flinch away in fear.

“...I’ll see how ‘fashionable’ they feel when I throw what’s left of their corpses into the sea for the Pokemon to devour.” 

“Then how do we prevent them from doing this again?” Latias questioned, keeping her wary eyes trained on the women. 

Latios narrowed his eyes, then nodded and muttered, “Good point. I suppose we can scramble their minds…or at least alter their memories,” he backtracked at Bianca’s sickened look.

“You can do that?” Kukui said looking intrigued after Lorenzo translated for everyone.

“If I’m careful, I think I should be able to,” Latios replied dispassionately, narrowing his eyes as he approached Annie. The woman began to scramble back, only to freeze in place as Latias’ eyes glowed, surrounding the woman with a pinkish-red field. Annie’s eyes widened, the only movement the psychic restraints allowed, until her eyelids drooped a minute later, before collapsing next to Oakley.

The blonde was next as Latios turned his attention on her, barely taking any time at all before he backed away, drooping his eyes. “There, ” he muttered, turning away from them. “Erased their memories of what happened, made them forget how to get into the Garden, scrubbed out Bianca’s appearance, all of that.”

With that, Latios turned away from Oakley, before pausing and glancing at Ash. “Something you should know, or at least the police. While I was in their heads, I found out they were hired by a group known as ‘Team Rocket’. No idea who they are, but if you find out anything-”

“Team Rocket?!” Ash blurted, making Brock, Kukui, and Kiawe all frown in unison.

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. “So you know of them?”

Ash growled as Pikachu’s cheeks sparked. “Yeah, of course. They keep trying to steal Pikachu, or at least, three of them are. I knew they were trouble, but this….”

“This is certainly troubling,” Kukui murmured as he rubbed his chin. If Latios is the only one that knows who hired them, it will be tricky to prove the connection to anyone that isn’t currently here.”

“So what do we do, Professor?” Kukui asked as he crossed his arms. Brock spoke up this time, his tone serious as he replied, “If we’re careful, we can at least make it seem like we suspect Team Rocket. Even without proof, the Alto Mare police, and by extension the Johto officers as well, will be very interested in looking into the actions of a Kanto crime syndicate in their region.”

“Wonderful. Ash, if you really deal with Team Rocket as you’ve said, then do us a favor and give them hell when you can,” Latios snorted , floating over to Latias. “Come on, we’re leaving. I’m tired, and I want to sleep.”

As the two of them moved to leave, Brock stepped forward and raised his hand. “Excuse me, but as a Pokemon doctor in training, I feel I have to tell you that you really need medical attention, both of you.”

Bianca was inclined to agree; Latias was looking pretty bad, and Latios moreso. However, they couldn’t exactly take them to the Pokemon center right now. Even at this hour, people still popped in and out of the building, and Nurse Joy couldn’t leave her station half the time.

She watched as Latios appraised Brock with his scarlet eyes, before begrudgingly nodding. “Fine. But not here. I’ll take you, and only you, to the Garden.”

“He says alright, but not here. He’ll take you to a place where you can heal them, but everyone else must stay behind,” Lorenzo helpfully translated, making Brock nod in satisfaction. “Good, thank you.”

Latios grunted and didn’t reply, begrudgingly allowing the human to follow him and Latias as they slowly flew out of the museum.

Ash cocked his head and questioned, “Won’t they be seen?”

“Despite his condition, Latios is likely on high alert right now. If someone even so much as wakes up, he’ll know about it,” Lorenzo reassured him, making the trainer relax.

A sudden click from the side brought Bianca’s attention to Kukui as he tucked what she assumed to be a phone away. “I’ve contacted the local police department. They should be here soon. I’ve also texted Burnet about my absence. I’m sure she’ll be upset about missing all the action, but I didn’t want to drag her and the girls into this.”

Bianca frowned and nodded towards Kiawe. “What is he doing here, then?”

Kukui ruefully grinned and replied, “I have no jurisdiction over Brock. As for Kiawe, he would have come here anyway. Both him and Ash are two twins in all but blood and parents. If I let Burnet know, then the girls might have found out, and then they would have been put in danger. Kiawe wasn’t preventable, but they were.”

That made sense, she reasoned. Although…

“Where’s the…eccentric one? Sophocles?” She asked curiously, now having noticed he was absent.

“He was in a completely different room,” Kiawe snorted. “Wanted to stay up to work on his various…whatever he makes at night.”

“Oh right, he did say he was an inventor, didn’t he,” Bianca muttered to herself. Before the conversation could continue, there was a loud thumping noise as multiple uniform wearing individuals stormed the museum.

Lorenzo looked to both Latias and Latios, but they had already gone invisible. As the officers got to the room with the DMA inside it. They shined multiple lights in, finding both groups inside. Lorenzo shook his head, walking up to the officers.

“Thank goodness you all made it.” Lorenzo pointed at Annie and Oakley who were still sitting in their original positions, “Those two broke into my museum that I’ve curated for years. When me and my granddaughter got here to check on all the racket, they attacked us. That Espeon was especially nasty to us.” Lorenzo said, moving over to Kukui and the others.

“This ragtag group here was close enough that they were able to come to our aid in this perilous moment…. I couldn’t possibly begin to thank them enough” He finished as Kukui and the others scratched their heads in embarrassment. 

One of the officers stepped forward, pulling out a notepad and pen. It took a moment for Bianca to recognize him as Officer Lospio, one of the police officers they had met some years back. After a moment of writing in his notepad, he questioned, “They attacked you, you say? Could you please describe the manner in which you were assaulted?”

Lorenzo nodded, answering as he shot a sharp glare over to the unconscious women as the officers cuffed them and began hauling them out of the museum. “Yes. The purple haired one there had her Espeon knock me out cold. I believe her name was Oakley?”

The pen stopped as Lospio looked up. “Oakley?” His pen scribbled faster across the notepad before he nodded, “Please continue.”

Bianca spoke up this time, adding, “The blonde, Annie, had her Ariados tie us up, although not after Oakley had her Espeon attack me, as well. Didn’t hold back, either,” She finished darkly, shivering as she recalled the pain.

The officer looked up again with a frown, only to focus back on the notepad, writing faster than ever. “I see,” he said after a few moments. He lowered his notepad and looked between them. “Just so we’re clear; these two, Annie and Oakley, both assaulted you without provocation? And they used their Pokemon to do so, correct?”

Both Bianca and Lorenzo nodded, and he grimaced. “I see. Do you know the nature of the attack? That is to say, could you give it a name?”

They both hesitated before shaking their heads. “I’m sorry, but no,” Bianca regretfully answered. We don’t really engage in any Pokemon battles, you see. We don’t even have Pokemon of our own. All I can say is that it was pinkish, and kinda looked like a wobbly line. Except fast. Very fast.”

“So you were defenseless,” the officer concluded, looking incredibly unimpressed as they both nodded. “Well, then, I’m sure the folks back at HQ will have a field day with this. Thank you for your cooperation. Someone should be here shortly to provide medical attention should you-”

“I’m here!” A woman’s voice caught Bianca’s attention as she turned and saw Nurse Joy hurrying over. “Now, then, come along. Let’s get you cleaned up,” she insisted, quickly removing the strap for her medical bag and setting it down.

“Hmph, I should be fine. Get my granddaughter first, she got hit with the worst of it,” Lorezno gruffly replied, prompting Bianca to sigh and shake her head. “Grandpa, I’m fine. I’m young, after all.”

He snorted and raised an eyebrow, “And I’m not?” He glowered as Joy giggled and snarked, “Young enough to remember when the city was first built, I’m sure.”

Bianca had to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing, although she subtly cast a critical eye over Lorenzo as she did. He did seem fine; his eyes were still sparking with annoyance, which meant he wasn’t in too bad of shape.

Reluctantly, she allowed Joy to look her over, only looking up as the officer finished writing and put his notepad away. “Fair warning, you will probably be asked to come in for further questioning, although we will of course allow you some time to recuperate. This is just to get a better idea of what happened.”

Lorenzo grumbled his consent as the corners of Joy’s mouth curved high as she finished checking on Bianca and moved to her grandfather. “My, my, Officer Lospio, so formal. Would it kill you to loosen up a bit?”

“Probably.”

Bianca and Joy snorted, while the corner of Lospio’s mouth twitched, before he inclined his head. “Well, my job here is done. I’ll get this back to HQ. They’ll make sure those two shouldn’t be causing you any more trouble after today.”

The officer left as Bianca and her grandfather thanked him, watching as he made his way over to Ash and his friends. Bianca carefully looked around, before leaning in to whisper, “The twins are back in their home being looked at by a doctor in training. He seems alright, but can you check in on them, please? They took a big beating today.”

Nurse Joy gave a short nod, smiling reassuringly at her, before standing and bowing at the two of them. “Both of you are in good health. You are free to head home if you would like, but please stop by if you feel any lasting effects from tonight.”

She nodded and began walking side by side with her grandfather, eager to head home. “I really hope the twins are okay….” She murmured as they passed through the doors, feeling a slight breeze as the moon shone down at them.

“I do as well. Bianca,” he replied, then stopping just outside of the doors. She frowned as she questioned, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he shook his head, looking annoyed with himself, “I’m merely waiting here until the officer is done questioning Ash and his friends.”

“Why?”

“Because what do you think they’ll do the moment they meet back up with the rest of their class?” 

His question made her pause, before grimacing in realization. “Oh, right.”

They were quiet after that, looking up at the stars as they waited.

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Bianca rocked on the balls of her feet, idly tapping the tube in her hand, feeling mildly anxious and plenty exhausted as she glanced at the clock. Ash and his friends had said they would stop by sometime in the morning before they left, but never specified exactly when.

She clutched the tube with a strong grip, looking down at the object with doubt.

This seems like such a small way to thank him. One measly drawing; and I didn’t even make one for the rest of his friends. Will he even like it?

Before she could consider tossing it aside in her room, there was a knock at the door, along with a voice that shouted, “Hello?”

Bianca jumped before yelling back, “I-I’ll be right there!” She stared at the tube in her hand, before nodding to herself and hurried out of her room and down the stairs, almost tripping.

I am too tired for this, what was I thinking?

 However, her Grandfather had already beaten her to the door, and as she spilled into the living room, he threw it wide open.

“Ah, hello, young Ash. Greetings to all of you, as well. Please, come in,” he invited, stepping to the side as Ash eagerly strolled in with an excited “Thanks!”

Behind him, his classmates and friends followed, including the girls she had met the day after the…incident.

To her relief, all of them were pleasant to talk with, even Lana with her mischievous nature was a kind-hearted soul. Bianca was sad to see them go, especially Misty, who she had bonded with over their shared observation of Ash’s semi-idiotic side.

As she politely stood by and observed them shuffling in, she couldn’t help but wonder when, if ever, she would see them again. She would certainly like to talk more about recipes with Mallow, who had provided cooking that far exceeded almost everything else she had eaten in her life. Even the twins had taken to it, after Bianca had snuck some out to them after their guests had left.

Lillie was far more reserved, although no less fun to interact with once Bianca had talked to her. Her passion and knowledge of Pokemon was just barely beat out by Kukui and his fellow professor, Burnet. 

Bianca couldn’t confirm it, but there definitely seemed to be a spark between the two of them. While not a romance connoisseur, it was hard for her to miss the lingering glances and softened tones when the two talked with one another. Something Gramps also seemed keenly aware of.

She eye twitched as she recalled the almost smug look in his eyes when Kukui introduced them to Burnet, and her annoyance was only exacerbated when he turned and glanced between her and Ash expectantly. Did other people have to worry about their family members constantly trying to pair them up with someone.

Probably not.

“Watcha got there?”

Misty’s voice made her jump, breaking her out of her thoughts as she turned to see the tomboy looking curiously down at the tube. Recovering from her shock, Bianca shrugged and muttered, “I…I don’t know. A parting gift, I suppose.”

The ginger leaned against a wall, back turned towards the inattentive crowd behind her, and asked with a suspiciously casual tone, “That’s nice. For who?”

Bianca was hesitant to answer, although she begrudgingly admitted a moment later, “For Ash, I suppose. He’s a nice guy, and he helped out a lot when those two creeps attacked the…the museum.”

She would have almost preferred that Misty would have noticed her near slip up at the end. Unfortunately, Misty’s response only deepened Bianca’s suspicions as to where this conversation was leaning towards.

“Oh, that’s very nice of you. It’s art, isn’t it? I think it’s very sweet of you to draw something for him. You have a real talent for it, so I’m sure you put a lot of passion into whatever you drew for him,” the ginger smiled as she finished, making her pinch the brow of her nose.

“...You think I’m into him, don’t you?” Bianca muttered, brow furrowed as she looked up at Misty. “You can save your breath, I get enough of that from Grandpa.”

Misty only shrugged, giving her a friendly smile. “Maybe. But if you saw the amount of girls I’ve seen or heard of that have nearly thrown themselves at him, you pick up a thing or two.”

Bianca shook her head as she responded, “From what I’ve seen, I can’t say I doubt what you say. But it’s not like that. He’s a very nice guy, but a few days really isn’t enough for me to start liking someone like that. I doubt I’ll see him again after you all leave, anyway.”

Bianca didn’t comment on the widening smile that the ginger gave, although she was relieved that Misty seemed content to let the issue go. As sad as it was that they were leaving, she was beyond tired from her work, and wanted to sleep.

“Well, we of course can’t stay long. Our boat leaves in about fifteen minutes, and it’s a five minute walk to the dock,” Kukui began, shoving his hands in his lab coat pockets and ignoring Kiawe’s quiet question of why they even stepped inside. “But, we wanted to stop by and thank you for the tour and your hospitality during our stay, as well as express our relief that you are in good health after that whole fiasco.”

There were smiles and agreeing sentiments shared by the guests, warming Bianca’s heart. For all their quirks, they really were a good group of people. Clearing her throat, she stepped forward and bowed her head as she replied, “It is us who should be thanking you, really. Without you, we-” 

“It’s no trouble at all!” Ash interrupted with a wide grin, catching her off guard. “That’s what friends are for, yeah? Helping each other out?”

Bianca blinked before slowly nodding. “Er, yes. Yes, I guess they do….”

It was odd to hear him being so eager to call her a friend when they just met, but she couldn’t bring herself to be surprised. He was so sunny that he probably made friends with everyone he’s met, whether they wanted it or not.

She couldn’t help but feel that friendship with him.

Joke’s on me, again, she chuckled to herself as she straightened up and cleared her throat again. “That being said, I wanted to…I drew this for you, Ash.” She swallowed as she slowly reached out and handed him the tube, still questioning if it was even worth giving. Still….

“We may be…friends, as you say, but I couldn’t let you leave without at least giving you something to express my gratitude,” she finished as she watched him carefully take the top of the tube off and tilted it until the rolled up painting slid into his hand.

The entire class leaned towards Ash as he began unfurling it, before letting out sounds of astonishment as the picture came into view.

It was an image that depicted the plaza outside of the museum, facing the large doors of the building . The museum itself was done in great detail, but the main focus of the painting was done front and center; Ash and Pikachu, leaping into the air with expressions of joy and laughter on their faces. 

It was by far the most work she had put into a piece in recent memory, and she had lost plenty of sleep trying to get it done before the group left.

It was also the cause of a growing smile on her grandfather’s face as he, too, peeked at the drawing. Bianca elected to ignore this, and instead murmured, “I apologize for such a lackluster gift, but-”

She was stopped in her attempted apology by a look of confusion on Ash’s face, his tone mirroring that as he questioned, “What are you apologizing for? This is great! I’m definitely putting this on my wall.”

His words made her sag with relief and no small amount of happiness, beyond glad he liked it. “You have no idea how much that means to me,” she admitted, giving him a tired smile. He returned it with an even wider grin, before looking back down at her, now his, art.

Unfortunately, it was now ruined when Lorenzo spoke up, “You know, Ash, since you like to travel a bunch-”

I have a bad feeling about this.

“-why don’t you come back here after you finish your studies in Alola?” His words came very close to breaking her demeanor into that of sheer annoyance. Her smile was frozen in place as she listened to Ash agree after a brief pause. “Yeah, that sounds like fun!”

“Bzzzt! Roger that! I’ll remind you of this whenever you decide to leave Alola, Ashzzt!”

She couldn’t muster up the strength to jump as Rotom’s voice spoke right by her head, merely opting to squint her eyes up at it. “I had a feeling someone was missing.”

Rotom whirred and faced her and exclaimed, “I was trying to identify a strange phenomenon I picked while we were on the way!”

That sent a gut punch to her stomach; if that living Pokedex caught sight of Latios or Latias….

“And? Were you able to find it?” She asked casually, before relaxing a moment later as it answered in the negative. “Unfortunately not. It was much too fast!”

“What a shame. Anyway, we should be going,” Kukui quickly spoke up, earning a swift nod from Brock. “Indeed. Misty and I are needed back in Kanto, and I’m sure these guys will need to catch a flight at a decent time to get back to Alola.”

Bianca sighed and nodded, slowly walking up to Ash and giving him a brief hug. “As unbearable as Gramps is sometimes, I wouldn’t mind if you stopped by once in a while. I’m sure my friend wouldn’t mind seeing you again either.”

Ash looked confused for a moment before nodding in understanding. Misty stretched and looked disappointed as she expressed, “Speaking of, I wish we had the chance to meet her. She sounds like she’d be fun to hang around with.”

Lorenzo nodded and laughed, “That she is. Unfortunately, she is a rather busy one. Plus, I doubt you would ever get the chance to leave with her being as she is.”

There were a few laughs amongst the group as they started shuffling to the door, while Brock and Misty lingered behind. At the questioning glances, Brock merely waved them off by saying, “We’ll be right there. Go on ahead, we can catch up.” After the consenting nods they smiled patiently as Ash called back, “Bye you guys! I’ll come see you when I can!”

With that, they were gone, and the door was pushed close, and the two visitors turned towards Bianca seriously, making her want to groan. She knew where this was going.

“Look, I know what you said about Ash and all…” Misty began, prompting Brock to continue where she left off, “We just wanted to warn you ahead of time, just in case.”

She raised her eyebrow at that, ignoring Lorenzo’s curious stare. “Warn me? Just in case for what?”

“Well, Ash isn’t exactly the best person at picking up what others feel for him. I speak from experience when I say that,” Misty said with a wry grin, making Bianca blink.

“If, IF, you change your mind, and maybe want to pursue a relationship with him, you will have to be blunt. Unless by some miracle-”

Bianca’s patience snapped at this point, and she stood up straight. “Look, I appreciate this advice and all, but it’s not needed. I don’t even know why you’re giving it to me, but-”

“I apologize if we’ve offended you,” Brock spoke up now, barely looking apologetic at all. “It’s just…we want him to be happy. Misty has told you about all the girls he’s traveled with and whatnot, but he hasn’t looked at any of them. Not even the one that straight up kissed him on the lips,” Brock shaking his head as he said this.

“And you think I’d be any different why…?” Bianca sighed, feeling annoyed.

“Call it intuition,” Misty offered as she started towards the door. “A gut feeling, if you will.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

Her protest was met with another wry smile from Misty as the ginger replied, “Feelings never make sense. But I kind of find that to be inspiring.”

With that, Misty was gone and out the door, leaving Brock alone with Lorenzo and Bianca. “I get that you’re probably wondering why we brought this up, but all I can say now is that I wish you the best of luck, with whatever you choose to do. And give those two my regards, will you?”

Bianca gave a terse goodbye as the doctor in training left, shaking her head as she turned towards the steps. She stopped as her grandfather suddenly spoke up, “I won’t tease you about getting married anymore, by the way.” 

She paused and looked back in disbelief as he continued, “I can’t make you date someone; I’ve never believed otherwise. All I want is for you to experience life before it’s too late. Putting some places under your brush outside of this city. Something that you can look to for inspiration.”

And with that, her grandfather turned and hobbled out of the back door, leaving Bianca alone with his cryptic words.