Here, Have a Cookie a Pokemon Fanfiction

I stared on in oblique sadness as a team of five Kadabra worked together to funnel my masterpiece of strategy out into the ocean.

“It’s not fair...” I muttered.

Emilie shot me an exasperated look. ‘Did you expect them to build glass around it?’

I glared at her. ‘It would have been nice. They could’ve just turned it into an aquarium or something. It would’ve looked sick as hell.’

‘I genuinely can’t tell if you’re a genius or a dumb ass. You come up with strategies like... that.’ Emilie waved her hand to the draining structure. ‘And then you come up with stupid ideas like this.’

‘That’s very hurtful,’ I said back in a faux insulted tone. ‘See if I get you dessert tonight.’

“Is your girlfriend always like this?”

I blushed a bit before turning and glaring at Atticus. Both he and his girlfriend were huddled next to each other on a bench, cupping a cup of hot tea.

“Yeah,” May agreed in a long-suffering tone of voice. “I’ve gotten used to it though.”

“You’re all being mean to me.” I sniffled before adopting a more serious look. “How are you two holding up?”

“I...” Jessica started but looked away. “Not well, honestly.”

Atticus pulled her closer.

“We’ll get through this, babe.” He muttered into her hair. “Words cannot begin to describe how grateful we are. We ordered those two through a breeder service out of Lillycove.” He shook his head. “The balls were locked when I got them. I thought it was strange, at first. I should’ve realized.” Atticus trailed off, his eyes losing focus. He shook his head before continuing. “As soon as I undid the lock, Solrock popped out.” Atticus shivered before taking a sip of tea. “Next thing I know, there’s this voice in my head. It sounded like me, but... I knew it wasn’t. It put thoughts in my head that weren’t mine...” Atticus trailed off and looked down into his cup.

Jessica hugged him close this time.

“You don’t have to explain,” May said consolingly. “I can’t imagine going through what you went through. I know it’ll be hard, but... You pushed through it.”

Jessica nodded slowly, but Atticus just continued to stare down into his cup.

‘Do you know if those ass holes did anything to them on their way out?’ I asked Emilie.

She shook her head. ‘I didn’t notice. Doesn’t matter too much, though. THEY don’t even know how long they were being controlled. So many things could have been done to their minds in that time.’ Emilie shuddered. ‘I’m honestly trying to stay OUT of their heads. It’s almost as hard as staying out of yours.’

I winced. ‘Well, that’s not good.’

Emilie nodded her agreement. Who the fuck sends...

“You remember the name of the breeder?” I asked.

“Aquatic Autonomy,” Atticus replied.

What kind of name for a breeding company was that?

“I’m going to have my parents open a case against them,” Jessica said, her eyes more focused than I had seen them all day. “No way in hell those... monsters were cleared by any kind of metric.” She shivered. “We remembered all the things they had us do. It was like...”

“Like watching your own body move on autopilot,” Atticus finished. “Is... is that Swellow okay?” Atticus was looking down at his own hands.

I felt shame radiating off him in waves.

“He’s going to make a full recovery,” May offered reassuringly.

“I... good. That’s good,” Atticus said, his voice sounding shaky.

“Just to confirm, you’ve locked their Poke Balls, right?” I asked, slightly nervous those things might come out and play again.

“Locked, sealed, and fucking gone.” Atticus snarled. “I handed them off to the captain while you were lamenting your ‘Masterpiece’. I hope I never have to see them again.”

I opened my mouth to ask another question but thought better of it. I doubted they knew much of anything, but it was bugging me.

Why did those stones come on the cruise? Why did they enslave you? Why did they enter the tournament?

I doubted I’d ever get answers to these questions, but there was one question I needed an answer to.

‘I can answer this one,’ Emilie offered.

‘Why didn’t anyone else notice?’ I asked, annoyed beyond all belief. ‘Didn’t any friends notice a change? Fuck, there are FIVE Kadabras behind me right now. How did none of them notice anything?’

‘The change in behavior I can’t answer without looking deeper into their heads,’ Emilie said.

I shook my head.

‘I agree, I'm not doing that right now, but as for the other psychics on the ship, what Solrock and Lunatone did was very hard to trace. I realized that as you fought. If you aren’t looking for it, it wouldn’t look any different from what you and I are doing right now,’ Emilie explained.

‘But you saw it,’ I argued.

‘Like I said, if you aren’t looking for it,’ Emilie explained grimly. ‘I’m always looking for it. For any stray probe that’s less than friendly. Every second of every day.’ Emilie looked down and rested her arm around my head. ‘I take my role of protecting this.’ She shook my head a bit. ‘VERY seriously.’

‘...thanks.’ I didn’t know what else to say.

“Lea? Lea?!” May shouted.

“Wuzzat? Oh, right. Sorry,” I muttered.

May groaned. Both Jessica and Atticus looked at me with varying degrees of fear.

“Don’t mind me guys, Emilie and I were having a conversation about a few things, nothing to worry about,” I said.

“You’re okay with her being in your head?” Jessica asked.

I did my best to not feel insulted on Emilie’s behalf.

“I trust Emilie with my life,” I said simply.

Emilie, Atticus, and Jessica leaned back in shock.

“If it makes you feel better, I know a bit of what you’re going through. My incident wasn’t as bad as you guys, not even close, but it was still pretty rough.” They didn’t move to stop me, so I continued. “When I first left home with May, I made the rather colossal mistake of grabbing Emilie while she was teleporting home.” I shook my head. “Emilie passed out from the strain once we made it, and I had the pleasure of dealing with a very pissed off Gardevoir, that thought I had hurt her baby.”

‘I am not a baby.’ Emilie huffed. ‘I do think it’s nice that you’re talking about this more, though.’

“She ripped my mind to shreds,” I explained. “It was the single most painful experience I've ever gone through. I honestly thought I was going to die in that clearing, when suddenly, it all stopped.” I looked toward Emilie. “Gardevoir saw that I hadn’t done anything to Emilie and proceeded to apologize.”

“An apology isn’t enough,” Jessica said.

Atticus nodded.

“You’re right...” I sighed. “She also put my brain back together,” I explained, before looking down. “As well as she could, anyway. I need Emilie’s help to make sure the lights stay on.”

May elbowed me in the ribs. Hard.

“Don’t joke about that,” May ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” I nodded.

‘Whipped,’ Emilie commented.

“So, what happened next?” Jessica asked.

“Well, Emilie woke up, and proceeded to throw up on my shoes.” Emilie grabbed my collar and started shaking.

‘You promised you wouldn’t tell people about that. You’re a lying liar, that lies!’ Emilie shouted.

‘Consider this payback for the whipped comment,’ I replied. ‘Besides, look.’

Jessica was giggling.

‘...Fine.’ Emilie huffed before crossing her arms and looking away from me.

“We then proceeded to power wash my shoes in the nearby stream. Gardevoir wanted to kick me to the curb. To send me out into the wild blue with a fractured mind and no way to defend myself. Emilie stepped in.” I put my hand on her head and ruffled her frills. “She stood up to Mama Gardevoir and said that she was going with me. She’s the reason I'm even standing here right now, having a conversation like a functional human being.” I might have been playing it up just a bit, but I felt like trying to downplay my troubles would be bad for the point I was trying to make. “She’s also seen anything and everything in this little noggin of mine, and still thinks I'm awesome to be around.”

Emilie was the same color as May’s overshirt.

‘Would you please stop saying such embarrassing things!’ Emilie begged.

“Don’t let a couple of rotten eggs sour the type for you. Psychic types are as amazing as they are terrifying, and I encourage you to let them help you.” I ended on. “Maybe one of the Kadabra can help get your noggins on straight. I don’t know what all they did to you, but...” I trailed off. “It was a lot. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

Jessica froze for a bit before nodding.

“...We’ll keep it in mind.” Atticus offered weakly before looking down at his cup. He stayed quiet for a few minutes. “...The second Solrock formed, my thoughts were a jumbled mess.” Atticus started talking with a firm voice and a determined look in his eyes. “I wanted to spend time with Solrock, despite knowing it was doing things to me. I didn’t want to recall him. I didn’t want to go out. It... encouraged me to think of it as the most important being in my life. Like my world revolved around him.” Atticus shook his head. “I don’t know how long I spent in my bedroom back home. He kept trying to get me to open Lunatone’s Poke Ball. I was somehow able to resist.”

Wait, why couldn’t he open it himself?

“It was at least a day,” Jessica said. “You sent me a text, saying you got the Pokémon from the breeder. I wanted to come over right away, but family stuff got in the way.” Jessica looked away. “It didn’t... sound like something you would write though.”

Atticus nodded.

“The Solrock knew who you were to me. I was so tired when I sent that text.” Atticus looked down.

“Sounds like you resisted for quite some time,” I commented.

“Doesn’t feel like it,” Atticus said, his voice bitter.

“Do you know why Solrock couldn’t open the ball himself?” I asked.

Atticus chuckled. “I think the Poke Balls were specially made. They were solid black in color. That really should have tipped me off. I’m assuming they were infused with Darkness,” Atticus explained.

‘Void Balls,’ Emilie said with a hiss. ‘Those things may as well be a prison for my type.’

“The second Jessica opened my bedroom door, the world had clarity again, for one single, terrifying moment.” Atticus looked away as he began his story again.

“Solrock attacked m-me,” Jessica stammered out. “I was levitated into the air, and I could barely breathe.”

“He gave me an ultimatum. Open the second Poke Ball, or watch Jessica suffocate and we start over.” Atticus glared out across the ocean. “Once Lunatone was released, any token resistance I was able to put up died. I was all too happy to listen to their every request.” Atticus stared at Jessica for a long while. “I’m so sorry you got pulled into this.”

“You didn’t do anything,” Jessica said, giving Atticus a bitter smile. “I think they were taking shortcuts to get us to do what they wanted. We were already going to go on this cruise, so they didn’t have to try that hard to get us here. They were content to have us sit in our room for the voyage.”

‘That makes sense,’ Emilie said. ‘Solrock and Lunatone usually don’t have enough strength to completely control someone.’

“How the hell did you manage to get into the competition?” May asked.

Jessica turned to Atticus and smiled.

“Atticus had preregistered at some point,” Jessica said. “An attendant came knocking on our door this morning. They thought it would look suspicious if we didn’t come out and fight... so...”

“You were able to escape your room and we could beat the crap out of them.” I finished for her.

Atticus nodded.

“I’m glad,” he said quietly. “Again, thank you. Both of you. For more than you know.”

Jessica nodded, before grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.

“I think we’re going to be living in the dining room for a bit. It’s... been a while since I got to eat real food,” Jessica said.

I nodded as they turned and walked towards the double doors going down.

May grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a hug.

“Sorry, just... making sure you’re still here,” May explained. She wasn’t letting go.

“Where else would I be?” I laughed.

“Shut up and let me hug you,” May ordered.

“Yes Ma’am.” A whip crack sounded off in my mind. ‘No cookies for the next two days and get some new material. This bit is getting moldy.’

‘I’m sorry! I’ll be good!’ Emilie groveled. I sighed before looking back at May.

“I’m glad they opened up.” I said, looking at the doors. “That’s probably the best lesson I’ve learned on this trip. You don’t have to deal with your crap alone.” I turned and gave Emilie a smile. “I understand it was kind of a forced lesson but thank you for helping me see that.”

“W-WAAuucome.” Emilie glared at open air before turning back to me with a determined look in her eye. “Welcome!”

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, round three will be underway soon.” The announcement pulled us out of our musings, and I turned towards the bullhorn. “We apologize for that brief intermission. The pairings for the four remaining couples will be posted in about ten minutes while our Kadabra take a much-needed break.” May nudged me as she handed me... two poke balls?

“I figured it’s only fair. You got to show off your Pokémon last round, so I should get to show mine off this round.” May smirked. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble figuring out what to do with her.”

“Wait, this is...” I trailed off.

May nodded.

I tackled her in a bear hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU! This is going to be so much fun!”

“Alright, Round Three of the Couple’s Doubles tournament, now with a new rule, no flooding the field.” The ref sent a glare our way. Honestly, having a new rule made just for us made me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside. I bounced up and down on my heels as I cradled Suzy’s Poke Ball. “May and Lea will be facing off against Wayne and Jasmine.” Wait, what? We were fighting them already?

‘You were so excited at the chance to fight with the fire bird that you didn’t notice,’ Emilie needled. I felt a twinge of sadness pulse through our link. ‘Enjoy the damn fight and be happy you got a more normal field this time. I’m just a bit sad I won’t be able to fight them now. I’m sure I'll get another chance.’

‘If you’re sure...’ I hedged.

Emilie nodded.

“Two.” Oh shit, uh right. I really hope no one else said anything important. I looked out across the plain, dirt field and smiled. Plenty of room for Suzy to run around on.

“Three.” I hit the release button on the ball and smiled a massive ear to ear grin as Suzaku roared onto the stage in a blaze of glory. May sent out Leshy, and on the other side...

A Skarmory spread his wings wide as he formed, and a Clefairy hopped from one foot to the other.

“Aww man, I wanted to face off against Emilie,” Wayne complained.

“Sorry, we used two of mine last time, so May wanted to let her Pokémon have some fun.” I shouted back. “Nice to see that the ‘Scariest thing I saw was a Skarmory’ line was just you singing your own praises.”

“Thanks! I was a bit proud of that-”

“Are we going to fight or not?” Jasmine and May both interrupted.

“Yes ma’am.” Wayne and I responded.

“Good, Seed the stupid bird,” May ordered.

Leshy launched a single seed from his bulb.

“Yeah, we’re not doing that. Gust into a takeoff,” Wayne ordered.

Skarmory beat his metallic wings against the ground and a small wind pocket almost seemed to explode in midair as he took flight. The seed was beat away as he gained altitude.

“Well, at any rate, you’re with me for this fight Suzy. Flame charge the Skarmory, don’t let it get off the ground for free.” Suzy was already moving before I finished the command. So fast...

“Thunder Wave the fire chicken.” I heard Jasmine call out. Fuck.

“Abort! Make some distance,” I shouted.

The electric pulse hummed in the air for a split second as Suzy jumped back. Well, this was going to suck.

“I’ll play with the plushy, Lea, you deal with the stupid bird. Close the distance with Vine Whip,” May ordered. Bulbasaur reached out and slung himself right towards Clefairy.

“Skarmory, get in her face and Wing Attack,” Wayne ordered.

“Flame Charge,” I ordered again.

Suzy shot me a look before igniting her feathers and rushing the flying type. Great, May’s starter was judging me.

‘Fuck her, she wouldn’t know good strategy if it bit her in the ass,’ Emilie commented. ‘Muscle brained moron.’

‘Oi, don’t-’

“Thunder Wave again, Clefairy,” Jasmine yelled.

“Don’t pull back this time, I’ve got it!” May shouted.

The resulting brawl looked like pure, undiluted chaos. Skarmory met Suzy’s Flame Charge head on, and the area around them exploded in fire and heat as Suzy’s flames interacted with Skarmory’s wind. The explosion knocked Clefairy back, and Leshy, seemingly not caring about the fire, slammed into the Fairy.

“Stun spore, now.” May shouted with a smile. Leshy never got the chance as Skarmory emerged from the inferno first, slightly singed, but looking mostly unbothered. He slammed into Leshy and knocked it back, forcing yellow powder from his bulb that coated the metallic bird. His wings visibly browned.

Bulbasaur was sent careening back towards May and rolled a few times before stopping on his back.

“Bulba Saur.” He sounded dizzy as he rolled a bit before landing on his feet and launched a Razor Leaf in almost every direction.

“Wait, Leshy don’t-”

“Ember at the oncoming leaves, make it a firestorm!” I shouted over May as the last of the inferno around Suzy died down.

I had hoped the leaves would push through the fire and we’d have a sick looking combo attack.

What we got was a few embers hitting a few leaves and exploding in midair. It was still probably better than Suzy getting tagged. Skarmory dragged its body to stand in front of the Clefairy, and the leaves bounced harmlessly off his slightly rusted wings.

At least the damn bird was paralyzed.

“Flame Charge,” I ordered, hoping to tag the bird while he was stationary.

“Iron Defense, I don’t care if she’s on fire, no one’s beating your defenses,” Wayne called out.

Skarmory glowed bright silver as the Suzy ran, head first, into a brick wall. Fire exploded outward on impact, and Skarmory barely flinched as Suzy was knocked backwards. “Now Air Cutter. Clear the air and bring the pain!”

Skarmory froze.

“Dammit!”

“Dig!” I shouted. I needed time to think, and I really needed to give Suzy a chance to breathe.

“Aromatherapy,” Jasmine said.

Clefairy lifted both of her arms and a pulse of green light filled the air. Skarmory’s wings regained their natural shade of grey.

“Follow up with Wish.” Jasmine really wasn’t that... talkative, during fights, was she?

“Razor Leaf the damn plushy, I’m already tired of dealing with her,” May growled.

“Run interference again, Skarmory. Some leaves aren’t even going to leave a scratch.” The leaves bounced off Skarmory’s now pristine looking wings as a solitary star floated up into the air.

“You two are really annoying to fight against, you know that right?” May shouted.

“Defense is king, hon. Ain't no one toppling our walls.” Wayne bragged. “But hey, if you wa-”

“Come up under Clefairy now! Hit her with your strongest Flame Charge!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The earth underneath Clefairy became molten as fiery death erupted from beneath the ground. Suzaku slammed into Clefairy and launched her high into the air. “Now jump and punt that pink puff ball into the ground!”

“Stop her, Skarmory!” Wayne shouted, panicked for the first time in the fight.

“Vine Whip to hold Skarmory back, Leshy. Ingrain to ground yourself!” May yelled.

“Com!” The entire sequence played out in slow motion as the orders were carried out. Suzy leapt into the air after Clefairy as soon as the words left my lips. Skarmory beat his wings against the ground, kicking up dirt and gravel as Leshy’s vines cracked across the sky and wrapped around Skarmory’s wings. Leshy was almost pulled forward before he could fully set up Ingrain. Skarmory watched on, helpless, as Suzy loomed over his partner.

“Busken!” Suzy let lose a powerful war cry as she spun in midair and slammed her foot into Clefairy’s back, sending her hurtling towards the field with the force of a meteor. A loud crack filled the arena as the ground cratered beneath her. Clefairy laid, unmoving and slightly singed, in a small pit of cracked earth.

“Clef-”

“Turn around and slam into that Bulbasaur, Skarmory! If he wants to hang out so bad, give him your best Wing Attack!” Wayne roared over the ref, sounding more pissed off than I had ever seen him before.

Skarmory complied, and hurtled across the field, being helped along by Leshy’s own vines. His wings glowed a faint white before slamming into Leshy, hard. Leshy was pulled out of the ground, the vines from ingrain tearing as Skarmory beat his wings forward, sending him flying across the field and slamming him into the barrier with a resounding thud. Leshy slowly slid down the psychic wall before landing on the ground in a single, collapsed, heap of bruised grass type.

He didn’t move to get back up.

“CLEFAIRY AND BULBASAUR ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE!” The ref shouted, glaring murderously at Wayne, who glanced back at him with a shaky chuckle. “Will both trainers please recall their Pokémon?”

Jasmine already had her Poke Ball out, as she recalled her Pokémon. She glared venomously at Wayne, who was looking anywhere but at her.

“Keep your head in the game and don’t get distracted again. You can trash talk after you win,” Jasmine said. Damn, what the hell? You could at least be a little encouraging. I don’t think I’d ever talk to May that way.

“Oy, I handled half of the problem. Give me a second to deal with the other half!” Wayne said back as May recalled Leshy.

“Kick his ass, Lea,” May said. “Just don’t get overconfident.”

“The Skarmory is already half dead, how hard can this be?” And just to spite me, an ethereal star phased into Skarmory and light bloomed from him. His wounds healed, his burns faded, and his coat regained its lustrous shine.

Fuck. That Clefairy used Wish. I forgot about that.

“I’m making you watch the video explaining Murphy’s Law after this. I didn’t think that was necessary, but-”

“Air Cutter! Rapid fire and put some distance between you and that damn chicken,” Wayne shouted, cutting off May’s bullying.

Skarmory’s launched itself up, each beat of his wings carving a blade of wind into the air that soared across the battlefield as he gained altitude.

“Dodge and keep moving. Build up as much speed as you can.” I ordered as I wracked my brain for a way to get in close. “Rapid fire Ember as you move. Make Skarmory’s air space a bit more hazardous.”

Suzy blitzed left as the wind scythes carved through the ground she just stood on, launching orbs of fire from her mouth as she sprinted forward to stay ahead of the subsequent blades.

I realized my mistake as soon as one of the blades dug into an Ember. The air exploded, sending Suzy flying backwards from the force as the wind seemed to come to life in a symphony of explosions, the first one causing a mini chain reaction with the other Embers in the air. Skarmory took his chance, and beat his wings against the roaring inferno, fanning the flames to our side as the conflagration engulfed Suzy.

“Suzy!” I shouted. “If you can hear me, push out with Flame Charge. Get out of there!”

I could barely see anything in front of me through the fire, but I could just barely make out the form of Suzy, kneeling down in the roaring blaze. Fire engulfed her body, though I couldn’t tell if she was the one causing it or if she had just... gotten set on fire. Regardless, her form pushed through the roaring flames as she jumped up towards Skarmory.

“Counter with Air Slash while she’s airborne!” Wayne yelled.

Air what!?

Both of Skarmory’s wings glowed silver as she sunk down below Suzy, and he flew downwards as he beat them upwards. A massive blade of compressed air was shot straight up, directly into Suzy. Once again, the air around her exploded as the attack rebelled against Suzy’s fire. The force of this explosion silenced the field as the air beat the earlier inferno into the ground, it’s blaze being reduced to smoldering embers as a blinding orange light shot Suzy upwards, and I winced as I noticed the damage. A single large gash ran up and down Suzy’s chest, and her eyes were white.

She was already out cold.

I had lifted up Suzy’s Poke Ball before she could even start falling back down to earth, and a single red line pulled her away from the battlefield. My heart was pounding in my chest as I sprinted away from the field, eager to get May’s Pokémon looked at.

“Lea has recall...” The ref faded out as I got more distance away from the battlefield. I knew we lost. I didn’t need to hear about it!

‘Lea!’ Emilie shouted in my head. ‘Calm down, would you? The stupid fire chicken is fine!’

I slowed down to a normal walk as I hit the bottom of the steps that led further into the ship.

‘Are you sure?’ I asked, shaking. ‘Cause that cut looked bad.’

‘For a human, sure. For a Pokémon? A fighting type, even?’ Emilie laughed. ‘Tiss but a flesh wound.’ I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at the reference. Emilie frowned. ‘We’re made of stronger stuff. It’ll take way more than that to take that blowhard down for good. Have a little faith in your best friend’s starter.’ My heart started to slow down a bit and I nodded once.

‘We’re still hitting up the infirmary, effective immediately.’

Emilie nodded.

‘Of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t, I am however saying that you should wait for May to catch up,’ Emilie said with a smile. ‘I’m sure feather head will appreciate your concern, though. She could stand losing a bit more often, honestly. Might humble her a bit.’

‘You are the last person that should say that,’ I said. Emilie shot me an amused look. ‘Pokémon, whatever, you know what I meant.’

‘I’ll take your confusion as the highest of praise,’ Emilie said.

“Lea!” May shouted as she ran up to me from behind. “When the hell were you able to run that fast?” Every other word was interrupted with a pant, and May was leaning up against the wall.

“I’m so sor-”

“Don’t,” May said once before gasping for more air. “Sorry, just... give me a second.” May leaned against the molding for a moment before standing up to full height and giving me a glare.

I shrunk back a bit.

“We lost.”

“I’m-”

“And that’s fine.” May cut me off again. “It was a great fight; we both did our best,” May said with a smile. “Stop trying to apologize every time something goes wrong, okay?” May grabbed my hand and squeezed. “And don’t worry about Suzy. A quick trip to the infirmary and she’ll be right as rain before you know it.” May looked away.

I let out a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding and sagged down a bit.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “Emilie said the same thing before you got here.” I pulled up Suzy’s ball. “This belongs to you, though. Thank you, even though we lost, that was a blast.”

May grabbed the ball.

“That said, I think I’ll stick with my crew from now on. The fantasy... didn’t quite hold up to reality.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fuck, go back. May sounded mad now.

“I’m just used to my squad okay,” I said. “My fights are usually more... aquatic. I’m not used to the explosions.”

May glared. I wilted a bit before she cracked and started laughing.

“Let’s just hit up the infirmary,” May said.

I nodded.

Dinner with Wayne and Jasmine should have been an enjoyable affair. The food was still every bit as amazing as it had been the last few days. The ambiance was great. The music was nice. Hell, I was even starting to like hanging out with them. It was all perfect save for one thing.

I did not like the smug look on Wayne’s face.

“Told you Skarmory was the scariest thing on this ship,” he bragged, a trophy under his arm.

‘You’re a dick.’ I pushed his way. I smirked as the color drained from his face.

“Please don’t liquify my brains, I’ll be a good boy, I promise,” Wayne said, sounding genuinely terrified.

I laughed.

“Okay, good. He can be trained,” I said.

Jasmine glowered at my comment.

“Don’t try to train my boyfriend. That’s my job,” she said, before tossing a glare Wayne’s way. “I’m still mad at you for earlier, by the way. Clefairy would have been fine if you focused on the match.”

Wayne glared back. “Oi, I like having fun in my battles on occasion. Not everyone can turn into a robot when they fight.” Wayne clapped back.

Now Jasmine looked pissed.

“Well, maybe-”

“You still won, so stop the arguing!” May shouted over both of them. “Be happy and gloat, it’s what we’re here for.”

“Well, as happy as I am that we got the trophy, I’m still mad. I wanted a fight against Emilie.” Wayne turned to me and glared. “I can’t even use the footage from that fight for the channel.” Why n- Oh. Right. Couples’ Doubles tournament against a pair of ‘Closeted Girlfriends.’ Yeah, that video would not go well for us.

“Well, how about a rematch?” May offered. “We can do it once we hit Dewford. You get to fight Emilie, Suzy can get redemption by beating you, and you can even post it because we’ll be on dry land. Win-win-win.” May shot a predatory grin Jasmine’s way. “I have more than a few ideas too.”

Jasmine scoffed.

“Wait, speaking of... Sergei!” I shouted. The possessed phone phased through May’s pocket and levitated towards me.

“Yes?” Sergei messaged.

“First things first, did you record those fights?” I asked. Sergei nodded yes. “Good, I can rewatch the fight against Solrock and Lunatone. Do not, under any circumstances, put them anywhere close to Poketube. I don’t care how strong your case is, I will find a way to break it.” Sergei shrunk away from my glare before nodding.

"Lea, stop being mean to my phone,” May said.

“Yes, May,” I replied.

Wayne made a crack sound in time with Emilie, and I turned my glare towards him.

‘You want to say that again.’ I pushed out to him. This really was getting easier.

“Shutting up now.” Good boy.

A loud foghorn drowned out the rest of the world as I giddily bounced in place. The Dewford Pier was massive, open, and packed. I counted no less than twenty small boats from here all the way down to the beach at the end of the marina. We were in a luxury liner big enough to host a Pokémon tournament on, and we had a clear route to berth without bumping into anyone.

May walked behind me at a snail’s pace. I don’t know how she wasn’t geeking out about this. I fully expected a monologue on the history of this marina, and the silence was annoying me.

“Come on, hurry up. I want to explore the island,” I whined.

May laughed. “Lea, it’s nighttime, we aren’t exploring jack tonight.” May brushed a few stray hairs from her face before looking out over the railing. “I can’t wait to hit the beach, though. We have to dedicate at least a day to beach activities.”

“Duh. We’re in a tropical paradise, of course we’re hitting the beach. Just don’t forget that we also have to TRAIN for the gym battle.” We really needed it, too. Outside of the tournament, we hadn’t gotten any serious training in. “This isn’t a vacation.”

“I know, I know. We also have to deliver a letter. Let a girl enjoy herself. The trip from Dewford to Slateport isn’t going to be anywhere near as lovely as the trip here, so I'm not in any rush to deal with Brawly. We can pace ourselves a little bit here,” May argued.

I sighed before nodding.

“I’m still sad the tickets only took us to Dewford. It was nice not having you dig through my backpack for goodies,” I said, glaring.

May blushed before looking away and whistling.

“Where does Sergei say the closest Pokémon Center is?” I asked.

May grabbed her phone and pulled up the nav function. “Huh, only two centers. I figured it’d be more.” May shrugged.

“I mean, Dewford is nowhere near as big as Rustboro,” I argued.

“You can’t escape, stop trying to sneak off the boat without us.” I heard behind me, groaning at the impromptu challenge. “I want my rematch.”

“Normally people are only this excited for a rematch if they lost the previous round. You can wait a day, at the least, good lord,” I complained.

“First one didn’t count,” Wayne said.

“You sound like Lea after her ‘Gym Battle,’” May explained. “Where’s Jasmine?”

Wayne sighed.

“Still in our room packing. She threw me out.” He looked away. “She doesn’t like how I pack,” he complained.

“Let me guess, you just throw a big wad of stuff into a suitcase and sit on it till it closes?” I asked. Wayne stared at me in abject fear.

“Stay out of my head, witch.” Rude.

“May does the same thing. I fucking hate it,” I complained.

May sniffed. “It gets the job done.”

No. No, it doesn’t.

“I had to repack your bag this morning because you couldn’t zip the damn thing,” I complained.

“Me being so bad at something that it makes you do it for me qualifies as getting the job done,” May explained.

“I hate you so much right now,” I said.

May just smiled.

“So, when are we fighting?” Wayne asked again.

“Legends above you have a one-track mind. I want to check into a Pokémon Center and go to bed. I would like to limit dealing with your stupid metal bird to once a day, thank you. Besides, I’m sure Skarmory could use the break,” I said.

“We can meet up tomorrow. I’m sure you and Jasmine can find something to do on an island paradise to fill the time,” May said.

Wayne groaned.

“Fiiine. Just don’t forget about us.” He walked back through the crowd as the boat shifted again.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we have officially docked. Thank you for-” She was cut off as a loud explosion rocked the boat. I heard screams and people started to shift around me as they made tracks for the gate. I reached out and grabbed May’s arm, pulling her close as I looked for the source...

I felt a presence brush up against my mind and my vision swam.

‘Stay. The fuck. OUT!’ Emilie screamed. The pressure disappeared and I saw Lunatone and Solrock making tracks for the island. My head felt like someone shoved a rail spike through it.

“Lea? LEA!?” I faintly heard May shout. She sounded really far away as the world around me shifted. I felt something run down my face. I reached up with my hand, pulled back...

Blood.

“LEA!”

I blacked out.