Here, Have a Cookie a Pokemon Fanfiction

“Well... congratulations, I guess,” Roxanne said as she walked up to me. “Here’s your second badge. Don’t come crying to me when you brick wall some place.”

I all but pounced on the badge, and smiled as I held it up in the light. “Mine!” I said greedily.

“If you start hunching over and calling it my precious, I’m getting an exorcist.” May commented as she pulled me into a sideways hug. “Great fight.”

“See, Lea. This is how normal people react to their friend getting a badge.” Wally needled.

I was so happy right now to care about his teasing.

“Right, here’s your prize money and your TM too. I grabbed a different TM for you, because you already got the TM for Rock Tomb. It’s Stealth Rock,” Roxanne explained.

I snagged both and smiled at the now tidy sum that rested in my bank account. Claiming the monetary reward for both fights left me sitting pretty as far as money was concerned.

“Was the fight everything you wanted and more?” Roxanne asked. “Cause they’re only going to get worse from here.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m an idiot for doing this. Blah, blah. My gym challenge is going to be a pain. Nag. Nag. Train my ass off,” I mocked. “Still don’t get what the big deal is, me having a harder time now is just going to make life easier once we hit the conference.” I nodded before thinking of something. “Is there any reason to keep the other badge, or can I toss it.”

“You really did not like picking on my gym trainer, did you?” Roxanne asked.

“Nope.” I said with a pop. “Felt cheap and boring. This is a MUCH more fun story for how I got my first badge.”

“No, you only need one. Your virtual profile will have you marked as a two-badge trainer, but the second stone badge serves no purpose.”

I reached into my pocket, pulled out the old Stone Badge, dropped it, and ground it into the dirt with my heel.

“Now that’s just excessive,” Wally commented.

“Don’t care.” I turned and looked at both of my friends. “Let’s blow this joint. I got sick of school the first time around, and I'm sure my whole team would appreciate me getting them to a center.”

“And after that.” May smiled. “We party. This time with gusto. We all got our badge, even if Wally got off super easy and I kind of hate him for that.”

“Don’t care. Today, I take solace in the fact that I'm the only sane member of our group,” Wally commented.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Can we hit up that pizza place you guys told me about?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah, Pizza sounds good. Center first though.” I paused in thought. “May, call them and reserve us a table. I don’t want to wait again.”

“Why do I have to call?” May asked.

“Cause you’re the one with the fancy Rotom Phone and I’ll be busy getting my Pokémon looked over,” I argued. “Stop being lazy.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll call. Speaking of. Sergei!” May called and Sergei hurtled back to May’s outstretched hand as he left video mode. “I felt it prudent to document this for posterity. I wanted to use it as a moral to not bite off more than you can chew, but I guess now it’s a video of you kicking Roxanne’s ass, so I-”

“Language!” Wally hissed.

“I'm still here, ya know?” Roxanne complained.

“Yup, you were right. This is the best pizza I've ever had,” Wally complimented.

“You wouldn’t tell by looking at you.” May deadpanned.

“A Knight must always hold his composure,” Wally said.

Legends above, he’s sounding like Gawain already.

Wait...

“Did... Gawain manage to form a bond with you?” I asked.

Wally shook his head. “No dice yet. He is, however, very good at making sure I have access to everything he says through chat.” Wally smiled. “Another tenant is that a knight should be pious and share what he can, so I suppose I should let out a few friends to enjoy it with me, huh?” Nimue, Gwen, and Gawain all appeared in a flash of white light. “Who’s up for some celebratory pizza?”

His mons collectively cheered.

“We’re going to need more pizza, because I think that’s a great idea.” I smiled as Apollo and Joern formed next to me.

Suzaku, Samie, and Bulbasaur all formed next to May as well.

“Alright team, more’s on its way, but I feel like you should get first dibs, for all the hard work you’ve put in,” May said.

‘Er... what is it?’ Joern asked as he looked down at the thin crust in the middle of the table.

‘One of mankind’s greatest creations,’ Emilie stated zenly. ‘Pizza. We can split a slice, Apollo, and I'll help you eat it.’

‘That’s very kind of you, lass,’ Apollo responded.

‘I am torn.’ I heard from Wally’s side of the table. ‘A knight should hold himself above temptation, but it looks yummy.’

“Just this once, Gawain, I think you can let your virtues slide.” I smiled as I observed Bulbasaur’s vines reach out and grabbed a slice, before holding it in front of Samie. “Now grab some before it’s all gone, and you have to wait for the next pizza.”

Gawain hesitantly took a slice and bit down, before moaning and inhaling the rest of the slice. I laughed.

“So, are we done in Rustboro then?” May asked.

“Martin wanted us to stop by Devon HQ before leaving, but outside of that, yeah,” I agreed before flagging down a waitress. “Oi, one more of the same.”

“Which means we get to go back through the forest,” May cried. “Yay.”

“Well, you two do...” Wally commented, and I focused on him instantly.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” I asked.

“Verdunturf, remember?” Wally whined. “Where I’m to live with my uncle for a bit to help my lungs.” Wally looked away. “It won’t be for too long, but I'll be leaving to the east and going through the Shattered Pass. It’s more or less a short jog to my uncle’s place.” Wally chuckled dryly. “I actually got a call the other day wondering what was keeping me.”

“That sucks...” May looked down. “You’re like, the most normal of the three of us, how will we interact with the village people if you’re not around.”

Wally laughed. May turned more serious.

“I was looking forward to running the circuit with you. It’s more fun with more people,” May muttered quietly.

“You’re okay with ending things here?” I asked, sad that I wouldn’t have another person to butt heads with. “I don’t want you calling it quits just cause your family’s being pushy.”

“Don’t worry, I fully plan to meet up with you in Mawville. I’ll bust out of my uncle’s house and sneak away if I have too,” Wally promised, and I relaxed a bit. “I doubt it’ll come to that though. Uncle Walt’s always been supportive of me. I’ll make it work,” Wally said.

“Our gym battles are going to look so weird once we hit Mawville. It’s literally going to be a two-badge battle, a three-badge battle, and a four-badge battle and we’re all supposedly traveling together.” May commented before poking me in the side of the head. “Why’d you have to go and make everything weird?”

“You’re assuming other gym leaders aren’t going to jump up the team a badge level for you like Roxanne did.” I pointed out. “I fought a modified version of what you dealt with. The only difference was I couldn’t switch.”

“That Nosepass you got was scarier than mine.” May corrected. “Mine didn’t use Rock Slide.”

“I don’t think you gave yours the chance to use Rock Slide.” I corrected her correction. “Suzy is way better at keeping pressure up than Emilie is. Unless that Nosepass got chipped by someone in the EXACT same spot as yours did, it was the same Nosepass.”

May frowned.

“Emilie hasn’t even evolved yet and she bodied a Pokémon Suzy fought to a draw,” May complained. “Just thinking that makes me want to hit the training fields and not leave for three weeks.”

‘Meh, I could take her,’ Suzy said with a grin. ‘All I have to do is compliment her a bit and I’ll have plenty of time to kick her ass while she showboats.’

‘You’re just jealous I punch things better than you do,’ Emilie commented.

‘I’m a Combusken. We kick things. It’s in the job description,’ Suzy glared at Emilie. ‘You can’t even DO anything without help, first.’

Emilie glared back at Suzy.

‘Maybe I SHOULD fight you. Losing to a fighting type would do a good job at curbing your ego.’ Suzy continued.

‘You have a wilder imagination than Lea if you think you can take me in a one on one,’ Emilie taunted. ‘I doubt I'd even have to do much. Flexing a bit of psychic muscle would probably put you into a wall.’

‘Care to test that theory, Goth girl?’ I felt heat push out from Suzy as she started to get up.

‘Bring it, feather-’

“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty, and you both took down a gym battle way above your weight class.” I talked over both of them.

The waitress I flagged down earlier brought another pizza out, and Joern, Bulbasaur, and I all went for another slice.

“Now eat your pizza and shut up. Please,” I ordered.

They both reached out towards the same slice, glared at each other, and turned away from each other in a huff. May looked up from Sergei and sighed.

“This is supposed to be a party, you two. Like Lea said, you’re both awesome. Your fights were amazing in different ways, so stop trying to pit one against the other.” May said.

Suzy looked away from the group, while Emilie just looked annoyed.

“Besides, I easily had the cleanest badge here,” Wally said, cutting through the tension. “Didn’t even have to USE Gawain.” Wally’s smiled at both of us.

“You don’t count.” “You got the baby trainer fight.” Both May and I yelled at the same time.

“Look, all I'm saying is I got a badge and only sent one mon to the center.” Wally grinned. “Scoreboard.”

“That’s not how this works at all!” I shouted. “Besides, if we’re talking scoreboard, I'm the winner. I got two badges in one city. That’s one whole badge more than you two.”

“I’m looking forward to watching that bite you in the ass later,” May commented dryly. “I hope you’re okay with being in Mawville for a while, Wally. No way in hell is Lea’s team beating that on the first run through.”

“Will too,” I called back childishly. “You’re assuming I won’t have a new member by then. That’s a full three cities away. A lot can happen between now and then.”

“Yeah, you’ll probably catch water type numbers three and four. We’re going over an ocean for most of the trip,” May taunted.

“Rude,” I said. “Regardless of what it is, I know my next Pokémon's going to blow whatever you catch next out of the water, so there.”

May just shoved half a piece of pizza into her mouth in response.

“I’m sure I’ll find something awesome. Dewford’s more than an Island paradise, after all. Who knows what kind of cool Pokémon hang out in the caves.”

May choked on her pizza.

“You want to go spelunking instead of hanging out on the beach?” May asked.

“I mean, I’d like to do both, but spelunking sounds fun,” I said back.

May sighed.

I pushed myself up from the table. “I need to use the restroom before we go, alright? Be right back.”

“Sounds like a good idea. I'll walk with you.”” Wally got up, and Emilie teleported to my shoulder.

I stared at both of them funny.

“You’re both leaving me with all the Pokémon?” May looked at the conglomeration in fear. “You better not be trying to stick me with the bill.”

“You’re making us pay for our celebratory meal?” I asked incredulously.

May blushed a bit before wincing. “You’re right, I'm sorry. I really am a mooch, aren’t I?” May muttered the last bit, but I still heard it and smiled in vindication. “Whatever, just go use the restroom already,” she said, glaring at me.

‘I wanted to ask you something while we were away from the table.’ Emilie said as we started moving through the restaurant. ‘I know you joked about it a few days ago, but would you be okay if Gawain guarded your head for a bit tonight?’ Emilie asked.

‘I... suppose. Where are you going?’ I asked back. Emilie shuffled in place.

‘I want to visit with my mom for a bit while we’re still in the city. If that’s okay?’ I nodded, though for some reason, my brain rebelled at the idea. I felt... nervous?

‘Of course you can!’ I replied trying to sound upbeat.

Emilie winced.

‘Thank you for trying, but please stop. I honestly don’t expect you to like her, all things considered, and that’s okay. Thanks for letting me see her, though. That means a lot,’ Emilie said.

‘I don’t let you do anything, Emilie,’ I said quietly as we rounded the corner. Aha, there were the restrooms. ‘You’re your own person, er... Pokémon. Thank you for asking.’

Emilie nodded with a smile before teleporting away. I assumed back to the table. I moved to open the door, but Wally grabbed my hand to stop me.

“Oi, hold up for a second,” Wally called.

“Wally, the tea went right through me, can’t this wait a second?” I asked.

Wally shook his head. “I don’t want May to see.” Wally whispered before pulling out a pair of tickets. “I’ve been a terrible wing man, mostly because I've been freaking out about my gym battle, but I didn’t forget my promise. I want you to have these.”

“Eh...” I briefly looked them over, spotting the word cruise as Wally held them out. “Cruise tickets- Wally, how much did this cost?!” I shouted. “I can’t-”

“I already got them, and I can’t use them.” Wally cut me off. “They weren’t that much more expensive than the normal ferry tickets. Just surprise May with them and have a good time on the trip to Dewford. Maybe do a bit of casual flirting to get the romance flowing?” Wally suggested as he waggled his eyebrows. “Hard to picture a more romantic setting than a cruise liner at sunset, maybe a bit of light music in the background-”

“Stop!” My face was solidly red as the scene played out in my head. I hastily snatched the tickets. “T-Thank you. Really,” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it. Just make sure you have fun, alright?” Wally said sincerely.

“Can do.”

“Damn, Devon Corp doesn’t do anything by half, do they?” I commented as I looked up at what had to be the tallest building I had ever seen. The company logo stared back at me as May took the lead through the double revolving door.

The lobby looked like something out of an old movie, with crown moldings, etched walls, gold light fixtures, and marble tile floors. Just the thought of having enough money to run a place like this had my brain short circuiting. I stepped up to the front desk...

Is that Jade wrapping around the top of this thing!?

“Hello, do you three have business with our company today?” The receptionist asked kindly.

“Er... yes. My name is Lea, and these are my friends, Wally and May. A person who works here, goes by the name of Martin, asked us to stop in on our way out of town.” I said, as politely as I possibly could. I felt so out of place here.

“One moment please.” The receptionist rose from her seat and made her way back towards one of the side doors secured by a pair of guards.

“I feel...” May started.

“Overwhelmed?” Wally finished.

“Yeah.” May agreed as she looked around the room. “I also feel underdressed.” May commented as she looked at her outfit.

“We’re fine,” I reassured. “Hey, do you think the people here would like a snack? I have some extra baked goods left from what I made for the gym.”

“I swear to god, you think everything can be solved with cookies, donuts, and scones,” May teased.

“It’s worked so far, so shut up,” I said.

The receptionist came back, and both May and I quieted down.

“The elevator is set to take you where you need to go,” she said before bowing. “Also, thank you. Martin is very dear friend.”

“Er... don’t mention it, really.” Wally said as May ushered us toward the elevator.

“Oi, don’t get so pushy.” I called out.

May slapped the back of my head at the outburst, and I glared back at her before staring at the opening doors. A man in a suit greeted us as we walked inside.

He pressed the third floor, the fifth floor, and then the top button. A bit odd, I didn’t think-

The doors opened, and we were already on the top floor. How the... I didn’t feel a lurch at all! We didn’t even stop for the other floors!

“The president will see you now.”

“President!” Was the uniform response from all three of us.

“Bahahaha, ah, I love pulling that prank on people. I swear the reactions get better all the time.” A gruff voice sounded from behind a desk.

“So, you’re not the president?” May asked.

“No, I am,” he casually announced.

May face planted.

“I just like springing it on people. Come in, have a seat, and let me get a look at you.”

Coming further in, I noticed he’s quite a bit older than I was expecting. He was thin, sported a long beard, and was rocking one of the nicest looking white suits I had ever seen, complete with a matching bowler hat. I very slowly took a seat in one of the upholstered chairs, that I’m assuming were just there for meetings like this. They seemed out of place.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, President Stone, sir.” May politely bowed before taking her seat.

Oh, guess I should’ve done that too. Ah well, Wally also just sat down, so May’s ire will at least be spread around.

Why is she only glaring at me?

‘Because she feels personally responsible for your stupidity,’ Emilie commented.

I wasn’t sure who I should glare at.

“Bah, none of that now. If anything, I should be the one that’s bowing. Martin’s been my assistant for years now, you have no idea how annoying it would’ve been to break in a new one,” Mr. Stone joked.

I hoped that was a joke, at least.

“Not to mention at this point, he’s a very dear friend,” Mr. Stone finished.

Probably a joke then.

“It was really nothing, sir. We were happy to help.” Wally explained.

“Weren’t you hospitalized as a result? That hardly sounds like nothing to me,” Mr. Stone said.

Wally blushed a bit.

“Regardless, we’ll get to that later. I’m pleased that Martin passed my message along to you. I ordinarily don’t outsource like this, but I feel like I'm lacking in options presently.” Mr. Stone pulled out a letter, a stack of documents, and a wrapped parcel from below his desk. “I’m in need of a courier to personally transfer these to where they need to go. Sending them via transport isn’t safe and I don’t want a repeat of what happened to Martin. I’d be willing to pay you quite well for your time and effort, of course.”

“Er, where would we be running this too?” I asked.

“The parcel and documents are meant for my branch office in Slateport. The letter, however, is for my son, who is currently partaking in one of his favorite pastimes in Dewford,” Mr. Stone explained.

“Tanning?” Wally asked.

“Spelunking,” Mr. Stone corrected.

I smiled as May groaned.

“Wait, son?” I asked as my brain suddenly stopped working. “WE’RE GONNA GET TO MEET STEVEN STONE!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Lea!” May reprimanded.

“If you accept, yes.” Mr. Stone pushed through as though nothing weird had happened at all. “Try not to be too hard on your friend. That was tame compared to what I've seen.” He chuckled.

“We accept!” I said as soon as Mr. Stone stopped talking. Meeting the Ex Champion... I had so many questions! This was so cool!

“Lea!” May groaned, running a hand down her face as she stared exasperatedly at me. “It’s on the way, I suppose. We’d be happy to help, Mr. Stone.”

“Wonderful!” Mr. Stone pulled out a pair of capsules and I couldn’t believe my eyes as our packages were sucked inside.

I want like twenty of these, where can I buy them?

“Here you are. Thank you for assisting with this.” He slid the capsules to May, who pocketed them. “The branch office in Slateport will give you payment once you reach them.” Mr. Stone stood up. “Now then, I have something else for the three of you. Over the course of my son’s many excavations, I've accumulated a massive collection of rare stones. Now, obviously, most sane individuals would sell these, but I find myself oddly attached to them. Can’t bring myself to sell gifts from my boy.” He pulled out a Fire Stone and set it down on his desk. “That said, I think I could part with three to people that saved the lives of my employee and his Pokémon.” Thunder, Ice, Moon, Leaf...

Holy shit that’s a Dawn Stone.

“MINE!” Wally leapt on it as soon as it hit the table.

This time, May did in fact slap the back of his head.

“For the love of, would you two act your age? Please?” May complained.

I gingerly reached out and grabbed a water stone. I could have a Ludicolo today if I really wanted.

I’m not going to, cause evolving Joern this soon would be fucking stupid, but the fact that I had the option blew me away.

“And that just leaves one more, for you,” President Stone said, grinning at May.

May looked at the two of us, before examining the stones on the table. For her, this wasn’t as clear cut. Wally and I needed these, there was a very real chance May didn’t need any of them. She reached out and picked up the Dusk Stone.

“Practical choice,” Mr. Stone commented.

Considering it was probably the most expensive stone on the table, I found myself agreeing.

“I don’t know that I agree with accepting this, but I don’t want to offend you by not,” May said in return. “Thank you for your kindness.”

“Meh, I’ve got more evo stones than I know what to do with. Least I can do, really.” Mr. Stone brushed off May’s concerns. “Regardless, it’s been a pleasure, but unfortunately, I’ve got a four o’clock meeting that I need to prepare for.” Mr. Stone looked at us expectantly.

“Right!” I jumped out of my chair and grabbed both of my friends. “It was a pleasure meeting you, bye!”

“Dammit Lea, I still can’t run that fast.” Wally complained.

“Bye President Stone, it was lovely meeting you.” May called out.

“I expect great things of you three.” Mr. Stone called out as we left.

Emilie POV

Emilie took a deep breath before taking in the center room she was teleporting out of, making it a point to memorize every facet and feature of the room.

Gawain was all too happy to volunteer his services once she had explained what she was doing. Emilie only wished he could have been normal while he did it. The entire group had gone to a super ranked contest after shopping for supplies. Emilie was a bit worried that Lea might have spent a bit too much money on those transport pods, but she supposed it was a worthwhile long term investment.

To say that she was looking forward to Lea using the portable mini oven she got on the road went without saying, really. That didn’t sway her thoughts at all.

She took one last look at the room, took a deep breath, and focused on the glade. The world disappeared around her as it had a million times before, and she smiled as she took in the familiar setting of her Mother’s glade. Turning her head to take in the sights, Emilie noticed a distinct lack of her mother’s presence.

She couldn’t remember the last time her mother left the glade. Emilie expanded her sense and was overwhelmed as her Mother teleported to her side and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

‘My child!’ Mom shouted in my mind. ‘I am pleased to see that you are well.’

‘Hi mom,’ Emilie replied. Mom pulled back and gave me a look. Emilie sighed as she remembered who she was talking to. ‘Hello, Mother,’ Emilie said formally, tilting her head downwards slightly. It had only been a little over a week, but it had felt like a lifetime had passed since she had left.

‘Have you succeeded in your endeavors? I was starting to get a bit worried, it shouldn’t take THIS long to teach a human how to throw up a barrier.’

Emilie winced at the hidden barb, before glaring up at her mother.

‘It’s still a process. I decided to come back to visit for a bit,’ Emilie said.

Gardevoir tilted her head to the side before smiling. ‘Ah, you’re being quite a bit more thorough in your teachings. You do realize she’s a human, right?’ Mother laughed.

Lea’s earlier misgivings about peeping on the emotions of strangers played out through her mind and she snarled as she tightened up the barriers around her own head. Emilie glared balefully at her mother, who quickly smoothed down her features as she smiled down upon her daughter.

Privacy was a luxury she had gained, and she was loathe to give it up.

‘I’ve learned that humans are quite a bit more impressive than what you had me believe,’ Emilie replied.

Gardevoir sighed. ‘Let’s not fight, my child.’

Emilie noticed that she had not yet referred to her by her title.

‘Tell me of your travels, you’ve grown quite a bit stronger in your absence,’ Mother said.

Emilie’s face lit up at the chance to get away from the topics Mother had focused on.

‘Well, we encountered a gang of roving dark types, cut through the Greenpath, thwarted a hostage situation, treated with a coven of Fae, plunged into the depths of an ancient ruin, and discovered a secret plot by a group in blue.’ Gardevoir’s eyes got wider and wider as Emilie listed off the highlight reel of her trip. ‘And that all happened in the first three days!’

‘Really?’ Gardevoir asked, she looked a bit faint. ‘Please tell me the last four have been a bit less eventful.’

Emilie pouted.

‘We spent the last four days in the City of Rustboro.’

Mother scrunched her nose up.

‘I got to try so many new things! Have you ever had Pizza, Mother?’ she asked. ‘It’s delicious!’ Emilie said before her mother had a chance to respond. ‘Humans have so many cool clothes, too! I got to help Lea pick out a new wardrobe, and it was so much fun!’ She looked down at herself. ‘Kind of wish I could change up my look, honestly.’

‘I find it hard to believe that humans could make anything that could match our majesty,’ Mother said. Emilie frowned before pushing forward.

‘They have all kinds of stuff, Mother. I think you’d love it if you gave it a chance.’ Emilie saw the skeptical look and sighed. ‘Apollo, Joern, and I also helped Lea take on a few battle challenges. There are some seriously talented trainers out there, even at the lower levels!’ Emilie started bouncing in place. ‘The fights were so much FUN!’

‘Apollo and Joern?’ Mother asked.

‘Lea’s Wingull and Lombre.’ I replied.

‘Right, Emilie, have you forgotten why you left?’ Mother asked, slightly exasperated.

‘To travel with Lea?’ Emilie asked, slightly confused.

‘You were supposed to secure the girls mind.’

Emilie scowled. ‘I am! No one’s getting in on my watch, of that you can be certain.’

Mother sighed. ‘You’re not on watch right now,’ Mother stared down at me.

Emilie winced as she looked away from the gaze. ‘I got Gawain to babysit for a bit,’ Emilie muttered.

Mother's eyes widened.

‘You’re traveling with that buffoon!’

‘Don’t call him that!’ Emilie shouted, before her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. ‘I didn’t mean to speak out of turn, I apologize.’ Emilie bowed deeply.

Mother rubbed the bridge between her eyes.

‘Your time amongst humans has made you a bit more disrespectful, it would seem. I also spoke out of turn, so I’ll forgive this misstep,’ Mother said.

Emilie sagged down in relief.

‘However, I’m still worried about you. I had assumed that you would help her and return to me, my child. I didn’t realize I was giving you up to this... girl.’ Mother spat out the final word as though it were a curse word.

Emilie chafed at the obvious dismissal of her trainer.

‘That is not an equivalent trade,’ Mother said.

‘My name is Emilie,’ she muttered, glaring hatefully at the ground.

Mother didn’t even acknowledge her statement. She just tilted her head and urged her to explain herself.

‘Do you not realize what you did to her?’ Emilie asked.

‘She’s a human, it hardly-’

‘You ripped her walls apart and traumatized her so bad that she freaks out when I’m in her mind. I had to rebuild the block on her fear, or she wouldn’t be functioning right now.’ Emilie glared up in challenge.

Mother met her glare with her own. This time Emilie didn’t care.

‘You nearly turned her into a vegetable, because you thought that she had harmed me. I feel responsible for that. It is MY weight on the scale that I am paying, not yours!’ Emilie snarled.

Mother froze, leaning away with widened eyes.

‘I’m my own person.’ Emilie repeated Lea’s earlier words with a smile and realized that she would probably be paying her dept to Lea for the rest of her days. ‘I’m not yours.’

‘You...’ Mother’s look of shock slowly morphed back into a glare.

‘Fix your own damn karma and figure out how to balance your own scale.’ Emilie brought her hands together and focused on her room at the center.

‘My child-’ Whatever else she was about to say was cut off as the glade faded away to the familiar center room she had been staying in with Lea for the last four days. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. Lea had gotten back during the trip.

“How was your trip?” she asked, her eyes pinched as she smiled.

‘It... was fine,’ Emilie answered, surprised she was even able to say that. She supposed that things went well enough that fine wasn’t a lie.

She got to come back, and Mother didn’t follow her.

Lea tilted her head as Emilie teleported back to her shoulder.

‘How was yours?’ Emilie asked.

Lea smiled before explaining how much more interesting a super ranked contest was. Emilie smiled as she watched the memories to go along with the description as Lea got ready for bed.

The gate going out of Rustboro to the east toward Route 116 was packed. Multiple check hubs were filled with trainers, Pokémon, businessmen, and tourists alike coming into and leaving Rustboro. It made sense, really. This route was a direct line between two of the biggest cities in Hoenn. Hell, we’d take it if May didn’t want to take the traditional gym route.

Still made this goodbye a bit awkward, though, with all the spectators watching us be sappy morons.

“Girls, we’ll see each other in like, three weeks. Calm down.” Wally tried to downplay it, but he was sad too. He better damn well be sad, at least.

“Shoot us a message in the group chat once you make it to Verdunturf. We also expect regular updates.” May said, as she pulled Wally in for a hug.

“I think the message once I make it is a bit excessive, this is probably the safest, most traveled route in all of Hoenn,” Wally whined.

I noticed May tighten her hug.

“I’ll text, I’ll text, calm down,” Wally said.

May loosened her grip but didn’t let go. “Worrying about Lea doing something stupid is a full-time job that’s already giving me grey hair. Don’t add me worrying about you to the list,” May whined.

“Oi, that’s just rude. Slanderous even.” I piled on the group hug. “Wally, I’m going to need you to send me nothing but compliments and praise if I’m going to pull through the next few weeks without you. May never does either.”

“Tauros shit I don’t.” May elbowed me and I let go.

“I will give you exactly as much praise as you deserve,” Wally said.

“Why do I suspect we have different metrics here?” I jibed.

‘Because your ego’s been the size of a small planet since you took down Roxanne,’ Emilie cut in rudely.

‘Like you’re one to talk. Why is everyone being mean to me again?’ I asked pitifully.

‘It’s for your own good,’ Emilie said zenly.

May poked me.

“You can include me in the conversation now, stop being lazy and secretive!” May said with a glower.

I froze. “I am not doing ANYTHING with that ability until I’m sure I have a handle on it. The last thing I want to do is accidentally scramble your brain,” I said with a shudder.

May blanched and nodded fervently.

‘Of course, your actual reason is that you don’t want to accidentally blurt out your undying love to her in the middle of a conversation with me. There’s not a Snorunt’s chance in hell that you’d scramble her brain,’ Emilie joked.

I turned to glare at her. ‘Shut up.’

“Right, well, I’m going to be here for a while. I’m glad we crashed one more night in the center. I have a feeling that once I get through the lines, security, Route 116, and the Shattered Pass it’s going to be nighttime,” Wally complained.

“Are you trying to get rid of us?” I asked, slightly amused.

“I'm saying only one of us has to suffer this security checkpoint nightmare, and you both have a long walk to just get back to the south end of Rustboro. Not to mention you have to go through the forest again, and really, those tickets I gave you are time-”

“Fine, we’re going,” May said, cutting off his rambling. “See you soon.” May waved before turning around and marching away from the gate with purpose.

“Don’t have too much fun without us, alright. Later.” I followed behind May, jogging a bit to catch up. I noticed she was stiff. Her movements were forced. “This isn’t goodbye forever you know. We’ll be one big dysfunctional family again before we know it.”

“I know, I just... got used to it.” May took a deep steadying breath before nodding once. “Alright, we’re fully stocked, right? Petalburg woods with just the two of us is going to be fun.”

“Plenty of potions, antidotes, and food for the trip.” I checked off. “Plus, a supply of emergency baked goods.”

“How can baked goods be used... never mind.” May cut herself off. “We’re fully packed, all our Pokémon are well rested, and we’re way stronger than the first time we made this trip. Ready to charge back into the wilderness?” May asked.

“Can we take one more hot bath before we go?” I begged. “Maybe use an actual toilet?”

“No to the bath, yes to the toilet.” May sighed. “Then it’s back to Petalburg Woods for us.”

“Yay.” I said with the appropriate level of enthusiasm.

Sergei POV

‘Oh lord these fights are gold.’ Sergei thought as he watched Emilie slam her water construct into Nosepass for what had to be the fifth time today. Sergei felt a thrum of electricity as he excitedly hit the rewind button to the massive explosion that Joern somehow tanked. That... that was all kinds of impressive. Then there was his owner’s fight. May’s dig trick with Suzy still made for amazing viewing, even if the video was starting to get a bit stale after the eighth time viewing it.

Sergei still didn’t understand though.

Why wouldn’t May or Lea share these cinematic masterpieces? They kicked butt against insurmountable odds and put out fights comparable to some of the best Poketube gym matches.

Those were against higher level Gym Leaders too.

The David vs Goliath standpoint of a lone Bulbasaur taking on and defeating an Onix thirty times its size, Samie playing whack a Diglett with Anorith and coming out on top, Suzy laying a smack down on that oversized moai head...

Lea taking on a team meant for people with a single badge and coming out on top with a clean victory.

That team, being parallel to the one May had fought the day prior.

All these things had been recorded, quite masterfully if he did say so himself, and they deserved to be seen. His girls deserved that limelight...

‘I could...’ It wouldn’t be hard. The videos are prepped and ready to go. I wouldn’t be sending anything into the Aether that they wouldn’t like, so really, what would be the harm... no, this felt like an overstep.

It was one thing to play jokes on his humans. They weren’t too bright, but they were nice, and fairly good sports. This wouldn’t be a joke, but it still felt wrong to do it without their say so.

...but for the sake of argument, what would an upload look like. Sergei pulled up the first video of May’s battle and thought of a title. He had access to May’s Poketube account, that was easy, but creative license... that was trickier. ‘Punching up, How I beat a team meant for people with one badge!’ Sounds nice enough, now for the description...

‘Right, well, spoiler, I won anyways, so it’s not exactly a big deal, but I figured I’d share this. My best friend recorded this with my phone. My first gym battle... against a team meant for people that already had a badge.’

That sounded like something May would post. Now for Lea’s...

‘My best friend’s crazy. And really, really good.’

‘So, I’m traveling with a couple friends, and my best friend, Lea, got paired up with a gym trainer. (Jealous) She sweeps him. No effort, I don’t even think Joern broke a sweat. Rather than do the sane thing and take the badge, she demands a fight with Roxanne. As far as she was concerned, she hadn’t earned her badge. The gym trainer told her that Roxanne was very busy, and that she had already earned her first badge.

My friend decided to challenge the gym again and use her original appointment time (The match started early, and she kicked the gym trainer’s butt so fast that she finished before her start time.) to demand a match with Roxanne. We had to walk all the way across town to the Pokémon Trainer’s School for this fight to happen, but the actual fight was sooo awesome I just had to share it. It also proves that Roxanne was picking on me the day before.’

Yeah, that sounded good, and it avoided making Lea sound too much like a Karen on a rampage after the Gym Trainer fight.

Yeah... Sergei made his screen go blank as May pulled him out of her bag and...

Tapped where the upload button was on his touch screen.

Oh.

Oops.

May swiped up, going away from the Poketube page without even seeing it, and pulled up the nav function.