Chapter 7: Unexpected Reunion

I pushed the front
door open and poked my head inside the house. I couldn't hear the TV or anyone
talking, so that was a good thing. I carefully scanned the hall and the stairs
before slowly opening the door wider so the hinges didn't squeak. I turned to
Dust and pressed my finger to my lips. Dust nodded and pressed his massive jaws
together. We crept into the house and closed the door quietly behind us. I double-checked
the living room to make sure it was empty. There was no one inside. I began
tip-toeing toward the stairs with Dust close behind.

Just as my foot touched the bottom step, a voice said: “Y'know, you
would make a terrible thief."

I froze. I knew that voice. I looked into the living room again. Bryce
was standing in the middle of the room with a big smile on his face. People
said we looked a lot alike, but I didn't see it. He had a narrow face and dark
brown eyes. My face was rounder, and my eyes were lighter. Also, Bryce's hair
was nowhere near as long as mine.

I rushed across the living room and wrapped my arms around my brother's
waist. “Bryce! You're back! When did you get here?"

“Just a few minutes ago," Bryce said, straining with every word. “It's
nice to see you too, Maya, but I kinda like my insides on the inside."

I let go. “How long are you back for?"

He shrugged. “Just for a few days. I have to get to Anistar City
before—" His smile dropped when he looked at my face. “What the hell happened
to you?"

I threw my hair over my face and shrugged. “Don't know what you're
talkin' bout, bro."

Bryce brushed my hair out of the way and turned my face up to his. I
winced when he ran his thumb over the cut on my cheek. “Were you fighting
again?"

“No!" I said quickly. I turned away when he stared at me. “…Yes. But it
was different this time."

Bryce rolled his eyes and motioned for me to follow him. “C'mon. Let's
get you cleaned up before mom and dad come home and see that."

Bryce led me to the downstairs bathroom, where he pointed to the
toilet. “Sit," he commanded.

I did as I was told. Dust warbled and jumped into my lap.

Bryce grabbed the first-aid kit from the shelf in the corner. He sat it
on the sink and gave me a disapproving look before digging around inside. It
didn't take long for him to pull out a pack of antiseptic wipes.

I groaned loudly. “Aw c'mon, Bryce, you know I hate that stuff. It
stings."

“You should've thought about that before you started picking fights,"
Bryce stated, opening the pack. “I swear, Maya, you don't even have your trainer
license yet and you're already beating up the neighborhood kids."

I winced when Bryce dabbed my cut with the wipe. “I didn't start the
fight. Tyreese was talking shit again—"

“Hey, language," my brother warned. “Mom and Dad may not be here to
tell you off, but I won't have my nine-year-old sister talking like that. Now
tell me what happened—without the swearing."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Tyreese challenged me to a Pokémon
battle. When I beat him, he called me a cheater. He said there's no way a
trashy Pokémon like Dust could beat his mom's Raichu, so I punched him in the
nose."

“Since you're my little sister, I know you didn't cheat, right?"

“Right. Tyreese was just mad because I beat his mom's Raichu."

“Wait, you battled Mrs. Blackwood's Raichu? The same prized Raichu she
spoils rotten? The one she pushes around in a stroller?"

“Yep," I said, chuckling. “Dust whupped it good."

Bryce didn't smile. “She's gonna be pissed when she finds out."

I shrugged. “Tyreese started it; I just finished it. Ow!"

“That's what happens when you don't hold still," Bryce said. “Now, I
don't need to tell you that using an electric-type like Raichu against a
ground-type like Trapinch was bad idea. On top of that, Mrs. Blackwood only
uses that Raichu in contests, it doesn't know the first thing about an actual
battle."

“What do you mean?"

He tossed the gauze, grabbed a washcloth from the linen closet, and
soaked it in water. He then used it to start washing my face. It felt more like
he was trying to wipe my face off my head. “I mean, that Pokémon you battled
against wasn't trained for battling, so Tyreese didn't have much of an
advantage over you. If anything, he was doomed to fail."

He sat the washcloth down and put a band-aid on my face. It was one of
the plain ones. I preferred the ones with Vivillion on them, but I didn't wanna
complain. “You know you can't start a fight with everyone who talks shit."

“Hey! How come you can say that, but I can't?"

“Because I'm older than you."

“Jerk," I said pouting.

Bryce laughed. “Yeah, that's one of the perks of being an older sibling.
Now let's get a look at your Trapinch."

“Why?"

“You think I didn't notice that slight limp of his? I'm guessing Mrs. Blackwood's
Raichu put up more of a fight then you're saying."

I turned and looked at Dust. He looked at me confused with his
cross-shaped eyes. Suddenly I felt guilty. The battle wasn't easy. Dust came
very close to losing except Tyreese called out the wrong move at the last
second.

Bryce rinsed the washcloth in the sink and knelt next to Dust. He
started wiping the dirt off his body. Dust fidgeted, not liking the water on his
body, but he let my brother clean him up. “Maya, I said I wouldn't lecture you,
but this needs to be said: Don't push your Pokémon just so you can win. Dust
isn't registered, and you don't have a license. The League doesn't make a big
deal out of it unless it's supervised, but you could get in a lot of trouble
for battling without a license. You'll be lucky if Mrs. Blackwood doesn't tell
when she sees what you did to her prized Raichu."

My chest tightened. “But-But it wasn't my fault!" I cried.

“The League doesn't care who started it," Bryce said sadly. He reached
into his bag and pulled out a spray bottle and roll of bandages.

I looked down at my toes, trying to hold back the tears in my eyes. It
didn't take long before tears started falling in my lap. It wasn't fair. I
hadn't done anything wrong. It was Mrs. Blackwood's stupid son Tyreese who was
mad because I embarrassed him in front of his friends.

Dust nudged my leg and looked up worriedly at me.

“Hey, Maya, what does Dust mean to you?"

I wiped my eyes and turned to Bryce. “What?"

“Dust, what is he to you?"

I had no idea what Bryce was getting at, but I answered his question.
“He's my friend."

Bryce nodded. “That's good. I want you to remember that. No matter what
happens, remember that Dust is your friend, okay?"

“I don't get it. Why do I need to remember that? Am I gonna forget he's
my friend?"

“No, nothing like that," Bryce said, chuckling. He then looked really
serious when he said, “You'll understand when you're older."

I wanted to argue that Bryce always said that when he didn't want to
explain something, but I was too sad. I looked down again and nodded quietly.
Dust cried out happily and nuzzled my leg again.

Bryce tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, don't cry. I didn't mean to
upset you. I'm sure Mrs. Blackwood wouldn't take your Pokémon away. Besides,
the worst they can do to you is make you set him free. If that happens, I'll
catch Dirt for you and hold on to him until you get your trainer license.
Deal?"

I sniffled and wiped my eyes. “Okay, deal. But his name is 'Dust,' " I
added, frowning.

“That's what I said."

“It is not!"

“Tell you what, you beat me in a Pokémon battle, and I'll apologize."

I gave my brother the darkest look I could. I couldn't beat him in a
battle and he knew it.

I heard the sound of the front door opening, followed by mother's
booming voice, “MAYA MARTIN! YOU COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

I sighed and turned to Dust, putting on a brave face to hide how scared
I really was. “Stay here. There's no point in both of us getting yelled at."

Dust shook his head and stared at me with a determined look in his
eyes.

“Looks like he wants to go down with you, Maya-hem," Bryce said. “I
guess he thinks of you as a friend, too."

“Thanks, Dust," I said. I took a deep breath and headed into the hall
to face my mom's wrath.

****

I snapped my eyes open and sat up. It took me a minute to
realize I was sitting at the kitchen table and not my bedroom. The semi-darkness
of the room was a little disorienting, but once my eyes adjusted, I made sense
of my surroundings. The table top was covered in papers, charts, books,
letters, pictures, and newspaper clippings. It was all my notes from my search
for my brother. I yawned and stretched, feeling something against my leg under
the table. I peeked under the table to see Dorian and Sparks sleeping at my
feet. Arbor and Aqua were on either side of me sleeping in the booth.

             Memories of last night came back in a slow,
steady flow. I was gathering my old research notes from my search for Bryce,
deciding whether to throw them away. It was hard to look at and not think about
how I'd acted in the meantime. Looking at the papers scattered around, I
assumed I was too busy going over the notes until I fell asleep.

A half-empty bottle of soda sat
in the middle of the table, and I wished I had something stronger. The moment I
thought of booze, my stomach tightened as if preparing to reject it. After
watching my dad drink away his marriage, I could barely touch alcohol without
wanting to vomit. It didn't help Cassandra's Delphox apparently had a drinking
problem, and we couldn't risk having booze in the house anyway. I never spoke
on it, but I knew it was either Cassandra's fault her Pokémon was a drunk or
she had a problem with drinking too. Not that I could blame her; whenever I
visited Patrick's house, there was a tension in the air whenever Cassandra was
mentioned or entered the room. I never asked about the specifics of her childhood;
it didn't seem like a happy one.

I yawned again and started
gathering the papers when the back door opened. All of my Pokémon lifted their
heads and faced the door. Cassandra came inside, sweaty and a little out of
breath with her Furret, Fury perched on her shoulder. The way Fury curled his
long, skinny body around her neck, it was easy to mistake him for a brown
scarf. That was until one of his ears moved and he looked at me. His blinked
his beady black eyes and chittered softly as if in greeting.

Cassandra gave a quick nod in my
direction and said, “ 'Morning," before going to the fridge.

“It's morning?" I grumbled.
“What are you doing up this early?"

“Pretty much. It's around seven
o'clock, but I think that counts." She pulled out a bottle of water from the
fridge and pointed at the papers on the table. “I'm always up this morning to work-out. What's with the homework?"

“It's my notes from when I was
searching for Bryce," I said.

“I thought you gave that up?"
Cassandra sat an empty bowl on the counter and filled it with water from the
bottle. Fury hopped off her shoulders onto the counter and lapped at the water
eagerly.

“I did. I was getting the papers
together…to burn them," I said, growing quieter until it was a whisper near the
end.

Cassandra's eyes widened. “Burn
them? That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

I shrugged. “It's the only way
to make sure I don't feel tempted to go back again. This part of my life is
over. I can't go forward if I'm thinking about the past. With this, maybe it'll
feel—Are you even listening to me?"

Cassandra was staring out the
window behind her and didn't answer. Before I could what she was looking at,
she dropped the water bottle and rushed to the back door. “Something's wrong
with Ian."

I jumped up and hurried out the
door after her all our Pokémon close behind. Ian was being carried toward the
house by his Lucario, Lulu, and his Ampharos, Flux. The two Pokémon were
shorter than their trainer, so Ian had to hunch over to lean on them and avoid
being dragged. All three of them were covered in leaves and dirt like improvised
camouflage. Lulu looked like a walking ball of blue dust as she dragged her
feet beside her trainer. The cream-colored fur covering her torso two shades
darker, making the large pink x-shaped scar on her chest stand out.

Flux didn't have any fur or
hair, so he didn't look any different other than the leaves and dirt clinging
to his yellow body. He had a dark bruise on his cheek. His black-stripped ears
were peeled back in irritation as he attempted to hold his trainer up. His tail
dragged on the ground behind him, the red orb at the end of his tail and in the
middle of his forehead glowing dimly almost as if signaling an SOS.

Cassandra and I jumped off the
porch and hurried to them. Lulu barked with relief when we took over carrying Ian.
Sparks and Aqua circled around Lulu while Fury and Abor ran to Flux. As we
walked back to the house I scanned Ian for any injuries. Other than a few
scratches on his face and that he was limping, I couldn't see anything wrong
with him. There was no blood at least, so that was a good sign.

“What happened?" I asked.

“Uh…we were trying out a new
move combination, and it…didn't work out too well. I think I sprained my ankle
getting out of dodge."

“You look more like they used
you for a training dummy," Cassandra said. “What the hell was this new move
combination?"

“I wanted to combine Lulu's Aura
Sphere with Flux's Thunderbolt. I figured it was a good way to amp up the
power."

I looked back at Lulu who was
nursing her paw. There were red blisters easily visible on her black paw. She
licked at the wounds, wincing at the pain.

It
looks like you amped the power a bit too much. “So,
you limped all the way back here? Why didn't you just call Gale to carry you
back?" I asked.

“I did. But you know how Gale
is. She took one look at us covered in dirt and she flew off without us," Ian
said.

Flux grumbled under his breath
and Lulu gave him a worried look. She whined, and Flux spun on her, crying out
angrily. I had no idea what Flux said, but Fury found it funny.

“Y'know, that's not a very nice
thing to say," Cassandra said. “I'm sure Gale had her reasons for ditching you
in the middle of the woods."

Even I was shocked she could say
that with a straight face. She was probably trying to keep Flux's temper down
as much as possible. If he got too worked up, he would start shooting sparks
from his body then it would be dangerous to get near him.

We helped Ian onto the back
porch and into one of the lawn chairs. “Thanks. I think it's just a sprained
ankle; it doesn't feel like it's broken," Ian said, rubbing his right ankle. “I
didn't think the attack would have that much force. Lulu could barely hold it."

“It's because they weren't
in-sync," I said. “You have to remember, you can't just blend two different energies
together and think they'll mix. What did they teach you guys in trainer school?"

“How to get blown up," Ian
replied, smiling. Flux didn't share his humor and neither did I. Blending moves
together could be dangerous if it wasn't done right. Ian was lucky Lulu only
had blisters; she could've lost a paw.

“Hey, Maya, you mind going
inside to fetch the first-aid kit?" Cassandra asked.

I nodded and went back into the
house. Dorian was still under the kitchen table, and he lifted his head when I
came in. “No, no. Don't bother getting up," I said sarcastically. I grabbed an
ice-pack for Ian's ankle and first-aid for Lulu's paw. When I came back
outside, Lulu had moved by Ian's side. She looked worriedly at her trainer
while hiding her paw from view. Ian was smiling and reassuring her he was okay while
scratching the Lucario behind the ears. Flux sat on the edge of the porch, his
back turned to them and a sour look on his face.

Seeing Lulu at Ian's side like
that pissed me off. She needed to have her paw looked at, and Ian didn't seem
to even care that Pokémon could be hurt. I walked over and pulled Lulu away
more forcefully than I meant to and tossed the ice pack onto Ian's lap. She
could've easily resisted but didn't. Ian cried out from the sudden shock to his
crotch and gave me a quizzical look.

I ignored him and tended to
Lulu. First, I took her into the kitchen, so I could clean the dirt off her
paw. This time Aqua followed us. She whined when I held it under the faucet. I
patted her head and said as gently as I could, “I know it hurts, but I have to
treat this it doesn't get worse." She nodded in understanding and didn't make
any more noises although her face was twisted in pain. Aqua had followed us
inside, and she kept nudging Lulu and saying things to her to distract the
Lucario. Once Lulu's paw was clean, I rubbed ointment on the blisters then
wrapped her paw in a bandage. Finally, I took a pain pill from the medicine
bottle and gave it to her.

“This'll take care of the pain.
Now it's gonna hurt for a few days, okay? If the pain gets any worse, I want
you to tell me or Cassandra right away."

Lulu nodded and swallowed the
pill. Before I could say anything else, she hurried back outside. I sighed and
followed her, bracing myself for what I would see when I got out there. Sure
enough, Lulu was back at Ian's side. My eyes gravitated toward the pink
x-shaped scar on her chest and felt my temper rise. I looked away and joined
Cassandra who was standing away from porch, using the hose to rinse the dirt
from Flux's body. I went over to them.

“Isn't it dangerous to spray an
electric-type with water?" I asked.

“About as dangerous as spraying
your TV while it's unplugged," Cassandra replied. “Flux has enough control that
he won't hurt me unless he wants to."

Flux turned to me and started
chattering in Pokémon language. I raised a brow and turned to Cassandra for a
translation. “He wants to know how Lulu's doing," she said.

“She's fine," I said. “The
blisters don't look too bad, and I gave something for the pain. I told her to
come to us if it gets worse."

“Did you tell Ian she'll have to
skip practice until she's healed?"

“I shouldn't have to. It won't
make a difference anyway; Lulu is more worried about him than herself." I
turned to Flux and decided to change the subject before I said something I
regretted. “Why's your trainer practicing move combos anyway?"

“There's a tournament coming up
and Ian really wanted to start training for it," Cassandra translated. “Since
it's been so long since we last battled, he wanted to come up something to give
us an edge."

“Well that was his first
mistake. You guys have been out of practice for too long. You need to be
reviewing the basics and getting back into the rhythm of things before you
start trying advanced moves." I sighed and shook my head. “If Ian had come to
me from the start, I would've told him that."

“In his defense, you've been
pretty moody lately," Cassandra said. She shut off the hose and began gathering
it back up. “I think that's why he goes to Lumiose City to train. That and he's
afraid of disappointing you."

“Why does he care what I think?"
I asked.

“Wow, you can be pretty dense.
He respects you, remember? He's friends with a Champion—"

“Ex-Champion."

“Whatever. The point is, he
thinks he needs to impress you. Given the way you snap at him when he says
something wrong, I don't blame him for thinking that way."

I rolled my eyes. “It still
wouldn't kill him to ask for help."

Cassandra leaned in and lowered
her voice. “Then you should tell him that."

Before I could argue, there was a
loud, panicked cry. A few seconds later we saw Ian's Goodra, Butter, hurrying
toward us. Unlike typical Goodra who had purple bodies, Butter's body was more
of a pale-yellow color like butter—hence the name—and he had purple eyes
instead of the usual green. His pudgy body jiggled with each thundering step,
sending goo flying from his body in a sickly yellow storm. Every Pokémon in his
path jumped back to avoid getting caught in the fallout. The curved horns on
top of his head wiggled, making me think of a worried parent flailing their
arms over their head. The image caught me off-guard and I burst into laughter,
making everyone raise their brows at me.

Butter shot past us without even
a glance, and we followed in case he accidently smothered Ian and we had to pry
the two apart. It wasn't something I looked forward to.

Lulu saw the distraught Goodra
before Ian did. Instead of leaping away, she stayed where she was, staring at
Butter as if her look alone could stop him.

“Butter, wait!" Ian cried, his
eyes wide with panic. “It's okay, I'm fine! See? It's nothing serious, so don't
worry, okay?"

Butter came to stop just a few
feet from his trainer and warbled sadly. We stood there frozen as if afraid to
move. Goodra were naturally friendly and sensitive, but Butter seemed sensitive
by even Goodra standards. It didn't take much to make him cry which caused him
to leave gooey tears all over the place. The problem was the only way to calm
him down once he was upset was to give him a hug which none of us wanted to do. All Goodra were covered in a sticky slime
that took forever to wash off and
stained our clothes, and if we got upset about that, it made him cry even more.
The last time I made the mistake of hugging Butter it took three bottles of
shampoo to wash the slime out of my hair, three weeks to get rid of the smell,
and I had to throw out my second favorite shirt.

Butter's eyes welled up, but he
kept his cool this time. He simply nodded and sat down at Ian's feet, causing a
small tremor to move through the porch.

“Don't worry, big guy, I just
need to stay off my ankle for a while, and I'll be good as new," Ian said. “If
you're feeling upset, I'm sure Aunty Maya will—"

“Don't make promises for me,
Ian," I said darkly.

Ian cringed and said, “Never
mind. Maybe Cassandra—"

“Nope," Cassandra said quickly.

“Aw, c'mon. He needs
reassurance," Ian whined.

I sighed and said, “Butter, your
master is gonna be just fine. If anything happens, I promise I will give you
all the hugs you want, okay?"

Butter sniffled and nodded, his
spirits raised.

I smiled and turned to Ian. “As
for you, I'm taking over your training from now on. Don't even think about
arguing with me. Right now, just focus on resting that ankle. I suggest you
rest up because once you feel better, I'm gonna break you in every way I know
how."

I went back inside. I scooped all
the papers on the table back into the box. I sat down and stared at the box. It
felt weird. I felt…lighter knowing that I was giving it all up. I expected
disappointment, but maybe it was a sign I really was moving on.

“Can we talk?"

I looked over my shoulder to see
Cassandra standing by the door. Fury was back on her shoulders, looking around
as if searching for eavesdroppers. “What, are you worried about Ian?" I asked. “It
was a figure of speech. I'm not gonna actually try to break him."

“That's not what I'm talking
about." She sat down in the seat next to me. “I mean you can't be encouraging
him like that."

I raised an eyebrow.
“Encouraging what?"

Cassandra sighed and lowered her
head. Fury nuzzled her cheek. It made me nervous. Whenever she got serious was
never a good sign. “I mean—fuck it. You know when Ian's father came by a few
days ago? He asked me to convince Ian to give up Pokémon training."

“Cassandra, we agreed to stay
out of it."

“No, you said we should stay out of it. I said we need to do what was
right for Ian as his friend."

“I am doing what's right as his
friend, by staying out of his business," I replied, trying to keep my voice
even. “I don't know why his dad would want his son to give up training, but it's
not our call if Ian should stop or not. Neither of us have room to talk. I ran
away from home to become a trainer, and your acts of rebellion are legendary."

“You're right. It's not our call—but
at the same time I think we should talk to him. C'mon, Maya, you've seen Ian.
The guy's smart as hell, he can come up with some strategies that'll make a
veteran's head spin, but he's not cut out for this. He's too nice, and he's a
little naïve."

I shrugged. “So? I wasn't the
sharpest when I first started out as a trainer, and I doubt you were any better."

Cassandra had a look in her eyes
as if begging me to take her word for it and not to push the issue. I folded my
arms across my chest and stood my ground.

She took the hint. She sighed
again. “I was talking to his Pokémon. Flux is getting frustrated with Ian's
leadership, Lulu is afraid of battling, Gale couldn't care less, and Butter just
goes along with whatever Ian does. The worst part is that Ian hasn't noticed
any of this. I saw the look on your face when you noticed Lulu hiding she was
hurt. It pisses you off. Hell, it pisses me off. We both know that Ian isn't a
bad guy, but her hiding things from him isn't healthy."

I stared at the fridge. I
couldn't deny Cassandra was right. It wasn't the first time Lulu pushed herself
and Ian didn't notice. Back then it almost got her killed. Ian took it pretty
bad. He still hadn't battled again since that day. He always talked about
training and getting back into the battling circuit, but he always had an
excuse at the last minute. I know he still thought about it sometimes, but it
seemed he hadn't learned his lesson.

“It's still not our call,
Cassandra," I said. “I know what it feels like to have someone try to make that
decision for you. If you really want to help Ian, you need to let him decide.
No matter what, we'll support his decision, deal?"

“…Yeah, deal."

I knew she was lying, but it was
the best I was gonna get out of her. We headed back outside to the others. Ian
was where we left him. Butter and Butter hadn't moved. Flux had moved closer to
Ian, although he still kept his back turned.

“Hey, Ian, why'd you become a
Pokémon trainer?" I asked.

“Huh?"

Cassandra jabbed me in the ribs
and whispered. “Real subtle, Maya."

“I don't care about subtle.
Answer the question, Ian."

“Um, why are you asking that all
of a sudden?" Ian asked slowly.

“Because your dad thinks you
should give up Pokémon training," I said. I avoided the glare Cassandra gave me.

A shadow passed over Ian's face.
“So, my old man is recruiting outside help now?"

Cassandra and I exchanged looks.
“You mean, you already know?"

“Yeah, I know. My dad's been
trying to convince me to quit for years. After my mom died, he decided I wasn't
fit to be a Pokémon trainer."

Flux grunted and walked away.
None of the other Pokémon said anything or tried to stop him. Ian stared at his
lap while playing with his hands.

“I guess that's a sensitive
subject for him," I said.

“Flux was born from my mom's
Ampharos," Ian explained.

“Wait, Flux's mom is gone too?"
Cassandra asked. She sat down on the seat next to Ian's. “What happened?"

“Aren't you the same one who
told me to be subtle?" I asked. “What makes you think he wants to talk about
that?"

Ian shook his head. “It's okay,
Maya. I don't mind. It happened a long time ago anyway. Ion, my mom's Ampharos,
got sick. There was nothing anyone could do. Shortly after that, my mom got
sick."

“That's how she died?" I asked.

Ian nodded and stared at his
lap. “The old lady who lived next door said it was because she missed her
Ampharos so much. My dad used to get so mad whenever she said that."

“She must've really been close
with her Pokémon," Cassandra said. “I honestly don't know what'll do if
something happened to any of my Pokémon."

“I can't believe she would give
up knowing she had a husband and kid. How selfish can you get?" I growled. I
was shocked by my reaction. Everyone except Ian stared at me in shock.

“What the fuck, Maya?" Cassandra
said.

I sighed heavily and leaned on
the railing. “I'm sorry, Ian, but that hit a nerve. I know it's hard to deal
with losing someone you care about, but to turn your back on your kid like that
knowing they don't fully understand that someone is gone and isn't coming back—"
I folded my arms across my chest, unable to find the right words to express my
sudden anger. “What kind of parents leave their child to figure that shit out
on their own?" I mumbled.

I was suddenly pulled into a
tight hug. It was Lulu, her body turned so I would be poked by the horn
sticking out of her chest. Aqua joined in, wrapping her body around my legs and
rubbing her face on my thigh. I wasn't really the “hugging" type, but I let the
moment linger for a bit. Butter looked like he wanted to join in, but he stayed
where he was which I was grateful for. Everyone else had looked away,
pretending to stare at something in the distance.

“What?" I asked.

“Nothing," Cassandra said.

I gently pushed Lulu and Aqua
away and turned to Ian. “I really am sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said."

Ian waved away my apology. “It's
okay; I understand. I said the same thing. I was just a baby when it happened,
so I don't know the exact details. My dad doesn't talk about it much."

“But why does your dad want you
to stop being a trainer?" I asked.

“I don't know. He just keeps
telling me that I have options. 'You don't have to become a Pokémon trainer
just because everyone else in the family is one,' he says. 'I just want you to
be happy doing what you love.' What I love is Pokémon training and battling.
Just like my mom did."

“Uh, Ian, your dad sounds like
he really cares about you," Cassandra said. “What's your problem?"

Ian slammed his fist on the arm
of his chair, making half the Pokémon with us jump. “My problem is no matter
how many times I tell him that being a Pokémon trainer is something I want to do,
and I love doing it, he refuses to believe me! Yeah, he wants me to be happy
all right, so long as it's doing something other than Pokémon training."

I turned to Cassandra, unsure of
what to do or say to this. She looked at me and shrugged. Ian's dad not wanting
his son to be a Pokémon trainer made no sense. It would make more sense if he
was pressuring Ian to be a trainer instead. I felt like an asshole for the way
I treated Ian's father. There was something we were missing, but I had no
interest of getting to the bottom of it. It wasn't our business. Ian had made
his decision. I planned to support him regardless. He wanted to follow in his
mother's footsteps and honor her memory.

I could relate to that. “Okay,
Ian. If being a trainer is what you want, then I'll back it. But first, I need
to know: What are your Pokémon to you?"

Ian raised a brow and turned to
each of his Pokémon who all had their heads tilted in confusion. “What kind of
question is that?" he asked.

“Just answer me. What are they
to you?"

“They're my friends, Maya. What
else would they be?"

“Just needed to confirm
something. Some people feel like their Pokémon are more than friends."

“They're Pokémon, Maya."

I noticed Flux turned away, his
eyes flashing with anger. Judging from the way Cassandra was sitting stiffly,
avoiding looking at the Ampharos, she noticed it, too. Flux was Ian's first
Pokémon. Since most of Ian's family were Pokémon trainers, he and Flux had to
grow up together. The Ampharos was also a living reminder of Ian's mother. It
must sting for Flux to spend so much time with Ian and know that he wasn't considered
family, and I was a little shocked by Ian's response. I wondered what Flux was
thinking.

Unless
they work things out, Ian's gonna have a hard time using Flux in a battle. I
thought. “Okay. Like I said before, we start your training the moment your
ankle heals." I rose from my seat and went back into the house.

Once back in the kitchen, I snatched
the box off the table and carried it back to my room. I expected Cassandra to
follow me and call me on my lie, but she didn't. Only Dorian followed me
upstairs. A knot formed in my stomach and tightened with each step as a thought
jumped out at me. I just made Ian my
student. Technically, he was already my student, following me to tourneys and
studying my techniques, but now it somehow feels…official. That meant passing
on everything I knew, and everything I'd done. But what if he hates me for it?

By the time I reached the top of
the stairs I wanted to throw up. How many movies and books told about this
exact same scenario? The student found out something shocking about their
teacher and felt betrayed. The student turned on their teacher and someone
wound up dead. I knew those were just fiction, but the idea had to come from
somewhere, right?

I went into my room, dropped the
box in the middle of the already cluttered floor, then laid on the bed and held
my stuffed Absol over my head.

“What the hell did I just sign
on for?" I asked the Poké Doll. “What do I know about teaching someone how to
be a good trainer? Me, the secret basket case who wishes she could turn back
the clock?" The stuffed toy stared silently with lifeless, blue eyes.

“Your Pokémon love you, so I
assume you did something right," Cassandra said.

I sat up. She stood in the
doorway looking sad and serious. She was also alone. When she noticed I was
looking at her, she walked in. “Can we talk?"

“If you want me to change my
mind about helping Ian, the answer's 'no.' I am a little nervous about it, but I
promised to support him."

“I'm not here to talk about
that." She looked at everything except me. “I want to talk about something
important."

I raised a brow at her. “Why? Is
something wrong?"

Cassandra shook her head. “It's
just word about this place is spreading. It's so popular that a pair of Hydreigon
have decided to nest here."

My stomach flipped. Hydreigon
were known for being violent. There were nothing but stories of trainers who
trained Deino and Zweilous into Hydreigon only to have their Pokémon go on a
violent rampage, attacking anything it set its sights on. They were so
dangerous, the League made trainers apply for the right to train one. “D-Did
you say, 'two?' And I'm just hearing about this now? Ian was just out there,
and you didn't warn him?"

“Maya, calm down. I already
talked to the Hydreigon, and they understand that they have to be nice if they
want to stay here. I also had no idea Ian had run off into the woods at the crack
of dawn. The problem is, some of the other Pokémon are nervous. I'm worried other
Pokémon might stay away if they found out."

Cassandra's words made me feel
sorry for the Hydreigon. They hadn't actually done anything, yet I was already jumping
to conclusions. It was probably the same for the Pokémon. One look and the
other Pokémon would attack them or humans would chase them away. It was sad
when I thought about it. “What do you need?"

“I want you to meet the
Hydreigon, and tell the other Pokémon that they're not dangerous. This is a Pokémon
sanctuary, and I don't want to turn anyone away just because of what they are."

“Can't you tell them? You're the
one who speaks Pokémon."

“I already did, but they also want
to hear it from you. The Pokémon here trust your judgment. They won't feel safe
unless we both agree."

It felt weird knowing so many Pokémon
put their faith in me, or that I was even acknowledged. I was hardly here, so I
assumed Cassandra made all the big decisions. “Okay, I'll do it. But what
happens if I decide they're not safe?"

“You won't. If I thought they
were too dangerous to have around, I would've done something already. This is
just a formality to make the others feel safe. So, why don't you go ahead and
get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs."

“Sure thing."

When Cassandra left, I sighed
and rolled over on my back to stare at the ceiling.

So now
I'm making decisions for wild Pokémon? Technically, they used to belong to
trainers, but it doesn't matter now. It's still a mess Cassandra's dumped in my
lap. What if the Hydreigon do something? Then again, I just found out they're
here and nothing's happened yet.

Something tapped on my window. I
sat up and saw Dust staring through the window. I quickly went over and opened
it. “You know Cassandra's gonna be pissed when she finds out you've been
digging your claws into the walls again."

Dust warbled and made a gesture
that resembled a shrug, so I assumed he didn't care. Not that he would since he
wasn't the one that was gonna get chewed out later. I reached out and patted
his neck. “You sensed I was upset, huh?"

My holo caster started ringing.
I plucked the holo caster off the nightstand and read the name of the person
calling. It was a private number that I didn't recognize. I wanted to ignore
the call, but I didn't often get calls from random strangers. “Hello? Who is
this?"

“Good morning, Maya Martin. My
name is Gwendoline Barbara." The woman spoke clearly and strongly as if she
were proud of her name. There was also a strong sense of authority in her
voice. “I am in charge of Public Communications for the Pokémon League."

I tightened my grip on the
phone. “Wow, what's a bigshot like you doing calling a washout like me?" Why is the League contacting me period? They
have a new Champion now. What could they want with me?

 “That's what I'm calling about," Gwendoline
said. “There is a lot to be said, so I would rather not do this over the phone.
There is a café in Santalune City, a little way from the town square and
overlooks the trainer school. Do you know it?"

“Yeah, I know what you're
talking about. I'm assuming you want me to meet you there?"

“Yes. I will be there three
hours from now; that should be enough time for you to fly here on one of your
Pokémon."

I fought the urge to hang up the
phone. “It sounds like you're giving me an order, Gwendoline. I never agreed to
meet you."

She was quiet for a moment before
answering. “Miss Martin, do you not understand the gravity of the situation? If
I am going out of my way to talk to you, then clearly it requires your utmost
and immediate attention. I am not forcing you to do anything, but there is no
harm in listening to what I have to say. Should you arrive before me, give tell
café owner my name." I heard the distinct click on the other line indicating
the call had ended.

I tossed the phone onto my bed
and sighed heavily. Whatever Gwendoline wanted, she wasn't taking no for an
answer. I wanted to write her off, but something told me I should at least see
what she wants. If the League higher-ups were calling me, it had to be
something serious.

I stood up and grabbed my Poké
Ball holster on the nightstand next to my bed. I called Dorian to his Poké Ball
then gave the ball holster to Dust. “Go round everyone up and then meet me out
front."

Dust took the ball holster and flew
away. I got dressed and packed an overnight bag. Santalune wasn't that far from
the Beacon. Dust could fly me there and back in less than a day, but it
wouldn't hurt to have a few supplies just in case. Once I gathered everything,
I headed downstairs where Cassandra was waiting for me.

“Dust told me that someone from
the Pokémon League wants to talk to you. What's up?"

“No idea," I answered,
shrugging. “Just one of the higher-ups wants to talk to me. Apparently, it's
too important to discuss over the phone."

“Do you think it has something
to do with Sharon Harris?" Cassandra asked.

“Who?"

“The current Champion who
challenged you to a battle on TV four days ago."

“Oh, right. I forgot about
that," I said calmly as I headed out the front door. I really had forgotten,
but Cassandra reminding me didn't make me want to battle her. Dust was waiting.
I took the holster and put it on before climbing onto his back.

“Maya, if the League is paying
attention to this, it's something you really should take seriously," Cassandra
said.

“Uh-huh. To be honest,
Cassandra, I don't care what the League wants." I patted Dust's neck and he
kicked off the ground into the air.

****

Santalune was a traditional kind of place, something they
took a lot of pride in. The buildings that weren't built before the dawn of
time still copied the old architecture. The streets were still cobblestone
which was why not many people drove here. The good news was they didn't abandon
modern-day comforts like Wi-Fi and air conditioning. The city's unique style
attracted a lot of tourists and having its own gym also meant trainers frequented
the city. Hopefully no one would bother me.

The town square was where Dust
landed. The square was famous for the massive fountain with a large stone
Roselia in its center. I wasn't sure why, but he attracted a lot of attention.
The moment we landed, people began whispering to themselves and stared at us.
The attention made Dust nervous which made me nervous. Granted, Flygon didn't
normally fly this far south, but it still felt like they knew who he was. I
brushed off the suspicions and continued to the café.

The café was easy to find and,
thankfully, empty except for a few people. The moment we approached, a balding man
wearing a tight grey blazer came to us. “Maya Martin! I'm so glad you could
make it!" He smiled and shook my hand like we were old friends. “Gwendoline
told us to expect you. I cannot begin to tell you how what an honor it is to
have a Pokémon League Champion at my establishment." He turned to Dust and
beamed. “So, this is the famous Flygon used by Champion Maya. It is a pleasure
to meet you as well."

Dust blinked at the man and trilled
in greeting. I chose to follow my Flygon's example and be nice even if I did
think the man was strange. I also noticed that no one seemed to care that the
owner had come to greet someone in-person. Either he did that a lot, or
everyone here was with the League. “Uh, you're welcome? I'm here to meet—"

“Oh! Please forgive my manners.
Right this way. Gwendoline is waiting for you." The man turned to lead me to
Gwendoline's table and stopped. “I'm sorry to say this but I'm afraid you'll
have to put away your Flygon. He's a bit too large to have in the dining area.
You can have a smaller Pokémon with you if you'd like."

I turned to Dust who looked at me
sadly. “Sorry, bud, but rules are rules." I recalled Dust to his Poké Ball then
released Sparks to join me.

The café owner's eyes light up, but
he said nothing. He spun and led us to Gwendoline's table.

Gwendoline was easy to spot. She
was wearing a green sunhat and matching top. The Pokémon sitting on the floor
next to her, looking down its pointed snout at us, was a Furfrou. Like Sparks,
it was a canine Pokémon, but it had white fur and a black face and paws. I
remembered Ian once told me Furfrou were used as royal bodyguards, and this one
proved it. Even with its white fur trimmed to look like sun hat and two long
pigtails while wearing a turtle-neck sweater, it looked like something I didn't
want to approach. Its red eyes held a strong “don't cross me" look like a bouncer.
Judging from the way feminine look of its fur trim, I assumed it was female.  

Gwendoline looked up and smiled the
moment I approached her. I felt my annoyance return. Something about the way
she sat there gave me unpleasant vibes. It was the wake-up call I needed to
remember this wasn't a leisure visit. Her Pokémon shot a look my way, but there
was no emotion in the Furfrou's eyes. I sensed Sparks stiffening, so I patted
his side to calm him down. When I calmed Sparks down, a man sitting alone at a
table nearby glanced in our direction and his hand slipped under the table.
There was no mistaking the Poké Ball in his hand.

Looks
like someone's being cautious. But why all the secrecy? What the hell did I
step in this time?

“Hello, Ms. Martin," Gwendoline
said, holding out her hand. When I refused to shake her hand, she cleared her
throat and continued. “I assume you're wondering why I called you out here?"

“Not really," I said as I sat down.
“It has something to do with Sharon Harris, right?""

The smile on Barbara's face
faltered, but it quickly came back. “Well, I guess that saves us some time. Do
you want to order anything? My treat."

“What do you want, lady?" I asked
curtly.

Gwendoline leaned forward and
folded her hands on the table. “I get the impression you don't like me."

“I don't. The League hasn't once
called me since I stepped down. So, that means you're only inviting me out and
playing friendly because you want something. You're in charge of public
relations and communications which is a fancy way of saying you make sure the
League looks good to the rest of the world. You wouldn't be bothering me if you
weren't worried about the League looking bad." I leaned forward on the table
and looked Gwendoline in the eye. Her Furfrou looked at me, but it did nothing.
“I don't like fake people. Don't kiss up to me because you think it'll improve
your chances. It won't, so just get to the damn point."

Gwendoline's smile disappeared. At
that moment, I saw it in her face: the real her. The woman who knew what to say
and how to say it. The one who could play a crowd as easily as taking a breath.
“Fair enough. I don't like fake smiles and false compliments either, but there
is nothing wrong with being courteous. Being polite carries much more weight
than you know. About a week ago, we crowned a new Kalos Champion. Three days
later, we officially announced it."

“And she called me out on national
television," I finished.

Gwendoline's expression turned
sour, and a ripple moved through her Furfrou's fur. “Yes, I would have advised against
something like that if we knew what she was up to. On behalf of the Pokémon
League, I apol—"

“I thought I told you to get to the
point. You caught me at a real bad time, Gwendoline."

“Please, call me Gwen."

“Fine. Speed it the fuck up, Gwen."

Gwen's lips pressed into a thin
line. I was being a total bitch, but I didn't care. I already made it clear I
knew why the League was reaching out, but Gwen was determined to ease into it
like someone trying to slowly pull off a band-aid. Whatever she was trying to
sell, I wasn't buying it.

After a few seconds, Gwen's
expression softened, and she continued. “Okay. I'll get to the point. We want
you to accept her challenge and lose."

I raised a brow and looked at
Sparks. He was normally composed, but now he had his head tilted in confusion. I
turned back to Gwendoline, hoping to see she had a smile on her face to
indicate it was a joke. She remained stone-faced along with her Pokémon. Guess that explains why she rented-out the
whole café and the people watching us. She can't afford to have people overhearing
us. I whistled softly and leaned back in my seat. “Wow, lady, you must really
have no faith in your Champion if you want me to throw a match."

“Actually, I have a lot of faith in
Sharon, but I'm also not stupid," Gwen countered. “I've seen a few of your
battles. You toe the line a bit, but there's no doubt that you're an excellent
trainer. You can command your Pokémon with a single thought or emotion and they
trust you completely. Your techniques are near impossible to predict or
replicate. I've seen you take victories despite impossible odds. Sharon is also
an excellent trainer, but she's not guaranteed to win against you."

She stopped to take a sip of her
tea as if giving it a moment for her words to sink in then she continued. “I
hate to admit it, but we need this. Thanks to Sharon's little speech, there's a
lot of pressure on us. If she loses, it makes the title of Champion look weak.
You know how people are; they'll start talking. By the end of a week, people
will claim Sharon was nothing more than a publicity stunt to get Diantha to
step down."

“So, you want me and my Pokémon to
be the sacrifice, so the League doesn't lose face?" I asked.

“Yes, unfortunately. I hate to ask
this of you, but if you lose, our problem goes away—so does yours. I know why
you haven't made any major appearances. You avoid all League-sponsored
tournaments because you're ashamed of that incident five years ago. I know that
you moonlight in the underground battling circuit. If you lose to Sharon, Maya
Martin will be nothing more than just another name on a gold plaque in the Hall
of Fame. You won't need to hide yourself anymore."

Gwendoline took a sip of her drink
and leaned on the table, lowering her voice. “The truth is, we've been getting
a lot of requests for you to return to being Champion, and we've been getting
ripped for ignoring them. If you lose against Sharon, then the complaints will
stop—or at least reduce to a more manageable level." 

I sat there, clenching and
unclenching my hands underneath the table. I could hear the dull sound of my
blood pounding in my ears. On the surface I made a point of keeping my face as
calm as possible although I figured Gwendoline could see the fury in my eyes.

This
woman has a lot of nerve. What kind of self-respecting trainer would agree to
something like this? I may have done some questionable things over the years,
but I never once lost a match on purpose. Throwing a match is one of the lowest
things a trainer can do. Why don't you just ask me to spit in my Pokémon's
faces?

Is
this really such a bad thing? I asked myself. I want to change my image as a trainer. I don't wanna to be known as
“ruthless" or “unfeeling" anymore. If I lose to Sharon and become a nobody—

Another voice went off in my head,
almost shouting. What about all that time
spent training? What about the promise to your brother? Your Pokémon battled
their hardest to make you Champion. They still stand by you and support you.
You would really betray them like that?

The loud voice had a point. I
turned to Sparks. He sat stiffly, staring straight ahead. He didn't like the
idea of me throwing a match, and I knew the others wouldn't like it either.

This was why I left the League.
Growing up, my friends and I thought it was such a glamorous life. Traveling
the world, visiting exciting places, meeting new people and Pokémon, going on
an adventure. Over the years, we saw it for what it was. Pokémon training was
hard and complicated. Trainers didn't prowl the woods for days to find a rare
Pokémon, they paid a breeder to get one for them. Going to new places was as
simple as a bus ride. Traveling on foot was hard and exhausting. Back door
deals and hidden politics were what really ruled the trainer world. Powerful
trainers didn't get to the top by beating strong trainers, they made
connections and formed alliances. The weak was weeded out before anyone even
knew their name. Those without connections quickly lost their power and became
nobodies.

I was determined not to be like
them, but it didn't matter in the end. I was a nobody, just some little girl
who dreamed of the good life as a Champion. I had no choice when I started
rising through the ranks; too many people wanted to knock me down a peg and I
couldn't fight them all. So, I made deals with other trainers and became the
trainer equivalent of an assassin. When I, the nobody with hardly an ounce of
trainer in my blood, defeated a trainer from some bigshot family who had been
training Pokémon since before League challenges were a thing, it sparked a controversy.
It always got people's attention. In return for upsetting the balance of power,
they would tell their friends I was off-limits. I regretted what I did to get
to the top but stepping down from being Champion was one of the few things I
didn't regret.

“All I have to do is sell out,
right?" I asked.  “And of course, if I
decide to change my mind at the last second, you can just tell everyone the
match was rigged and get my title pulled."

“We would never resort to something
like that, Miss Martin. The Pokémon League is the very face of Pokémon
trainers. If the League develops a dark reputation, things could get ugly for
everyone, for Pokémon and their trainers. We need to make sure that doesn't
happen. I know the whole prospect of losing on purpose sounds wrong, but this
sort of thing happens all the time. If gym leaders didn't hold back, rookie
trainers would never get their badges."

“That's different and you fucking
know it," I growled. I sensed Sparks tensing beside me. Gwendoline's Furfrou shifted
but did nothing. “Everyone knows that gym leaders have different Pokémon on
specific training programs, so they aren't too strong or too weak when dealing
with other trainers. And for the record, holding back is not the same as giving
in."

Gwendoline's eyes hardened. “Miss
Martin, you do understand what this will mean for your reputation should you
win this battle? You truly have no idea how popular you are? Did you know
trainers refer to you as Maya the Huntress? They say you stalk trainers like a
predator stalks its prey, taking down anyone who crosses your path. Everyone
fears your power but also wants to be the one to bring you down. If you defeat
Sharon, your reputation will only grow."

She sighed and drained the last of
her tea. “The League has been protecting you all this time, but if you beat
Sharon, you will put us in a very dangerous position."

I patted Sparks to calm him down and
leaned back in my seat. “Huntress, huh? I kind of like that. What do you mean
the League has been protecting me? Protect me from what?"

            “That
incident when you lost control of your Houndoom," Gwendoline said
calmly. “You ever wonder why the Abuse Division never showed at your door, or why
the incident never made the papers? A League Champion suddenly vanishes, people
ask questions. We kept the rumors to a minimum and let you hide away in peace."

            That hit a
mark. I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I couldn't. I hadn't forgotten
that day; sometimes I had nightmares about it. It was Dorian's first battle,
and I was defending my title as Champion. The battle had been going fine until
that trainer called his Sylveon. I didn't why it set Dorian off, but it took
Dust and Sunny to hold Dorian down long enough for the trainer to get his
Pokémon out of there. That moment was a wake-up call, informing me of how
extreme my tactics were that my Pokémon couldn't tell the difference between a
battle between trainers and a duel.

Sparks licked my hand, sending a
numbing sensation through my arm and snapping me out of my thoughts. “So, why
did you protect me? Because I was the Champion, I got a pass?"

            “Of course
not," Gwendoline spat. “We protected you because of your popularity and
reputation. Despite the rumors of you being ruthless, there was never a single
complaint filed against you, and no one denied you were close to your Pokémon.
We knew the Abuse Division would ruin your career just to make a statement, so
we kept it hidden. However, the more famous you become, the greater the risk of
your past coming to light. When it does, we won't be able to defend you without
giving the League a bad name."

            I chuckled
humorlessly. Persuasion and guilt didn't work, so now she was trying to threaten
me into it. “So that how it is?"

“It's not a threat; I'm only
telling you what will happen if you don't accept my offer. The title of
Champion will always follow you no matter how far you run from it. If you lose
to Sharon, you will be the woman who held
the title instead of having it.
There is a difference. Tell me: If you didn't want to the wear the crown, why
are you clinging to it? Don't you see I'm giving you the perfect way out?"

“I'm not clinging to anything," I
said. “You say I'm an excellent trainer, but then you come to me with this bullshit
proposal." I stood up and walked away. Sparks followed close behind me.

When I passed Gwendoline, she grabbed
my arm, “I urge you to reconsider. This could very well be the most important
decision of your career. Even should you choose to ignore Sharon's challenge, there
will be repercussions. You cannot ignore what you've built, and Sharon Harris
will not be the last person to challenge you. Clinging to your idea of what a
Champion should be will not bring your brother back."

I snatched my arm free and left the
café without responding. I kept going without stopping or looking back until I
reached the town square.

I sat on the edge of the fountain
and closed my eyes. The cool spray from the water felt nice, and for a moment,
I forgot about Gwendoline's proposal. Dust's Poké Ball eventually popped open,
and I opened my eyes. He gave me a worried look. Spark began talking to Dust in
Pokémon speech, probably filling him in on what happened at the café. I knew
when they got to part where I was asked to throw the match because Dust
squeezed his claws together and growled.

“Dust, I'm not gonna do it," I said,
reassuringly patting his side. “I would never betray you or the others like
that."

Dust nodded and calmed down. I
turned to Sparks to see if he needed any words of encouragement, but he was
occupied by something else. He was staring at a group of people standing
nearby. I assumed they were trainers based on how they were dressed. All of
them seemed to be my age, although one of them looked a little older. Almost
immediately, I found myself wondering about them. They're dressed for traveling in the wild which is odd for people in
the city. Their clothes aren't worn, so they haven't left yet. None of them are
looking at me or my Pokémon, so they either haven't developed their trainer's
sense yet, or they're too confident in their own skills. Either way these guys
are boring.

The trainers noticed I was
staring at them and started whispering to each other.

Uh-oh.
I think I watched them for too long.

I gave short whistle, signaling
for my Pokémon to follow me as I turned to leave. Just as I reached the edge of
the plaza, I heard a voice.

“Hey, you. Are you Maya Martin?"

I froze. There was a part of me
that screamed to keep walking. That part was slowly drowned out by… something
else. A strange feeling in my core that felt a lot like excitement except it
wasn't. It felt more like hunger as if I hadn't eaten in days and a juicy piece
of meat was being dangled in front of me. The hunger took hold of my legs and
forced me to face the voice.

“Who's asking?" I said.

One of the trainers stepped
forward. Just looking at him I could tell he was a legacy. He had that look
about him. That undeniable air of entitlement I felt from legacies. Just
looking at him pissed me off.

“I'm asking. Name's Leo." He
motioned to the guy with long blond hair. “This is Shawn." He pointed at the
shorter guy on the other side with the short brown hair. “That's Ed. We saw you
in the Under a few days back."

“Get to the point; what do you
want?" I asked irritably. I chose to ignore that he knew I was battling in the
Under. My Championship battle wasn't televised, and I didn't make a big TV
splash like Sharon did. I'd hoped too many people wouldn't recognize me as
Champion.

I should've known better. Thanks
to Sharon, a lot of people were looking up my name. Most League records, like
the Hall of Fame, were available to the public. All it took was one search to
find me and my team.

Leo smirked and pulled out a
Poké Ball with a dark blue upper half. A Great Ball. It was used to capture
tougher Pokémon. “I want to battle you. I know Sharon called dibs on you, but
since you stepped down, you're fair game. I can't let a chance like this slip
away. You're undefeated; whoever beats you becomes famous." He tossed the Poké
Ball without waiting for an answer, releasing his Pokémon onto the field. It
was a humanoid Pokémon that looked a lot like a warrior except its body was
covered in blades. It was hard to tell gender differences between Bisharp, but
I got a feeling this one was a male. Two crescent-shaped blades stuck out of his
body and a large one shaped like a battle-ax stuck out of his head. His beady
black eyes scanned me and my team as if daring one of us to move.

Something about the Bisharp
struck me as odd. I sensed it was powerful, but its power didn't quite fit like
seeing someone wear too small clothes.

I noticed the long-haired guy,
Shawn, was pointing a video camera at us.

So
that's their game. They're fame hunters tracking high-level targets to get
famous. Even if I beat them, they still get free publicity. That Bisharp looks serious,
but I can tell it's no match for me. Just like that, my urge to
battle disappeared. I turned away. These guys wanted a show, not a battle. “Not
interested. My Pokémon need sparring partners, not training dummies."

The one with the short hair, Ed,
snorted and started laughing.

“What's the matter? You afraid
of taking on a real trainer?" Leo cried.

I stopped again and sighed. The
whole “you're scared" tactic stopped working on me years ago. People who said
that were the scared ones. They were afraid of being ignored, being a nobody.
This guy was determined to make someone notice him. It was pathetic. “Really?
You do know that I became Champion, so the whole, 'pick on someone your own
size' argument doesn't really work on me. Or are you saying the Elite Four and
Diantha are all pushovers?"

Leo's mouth fell open, and he
looked away. His Bisharp glared at me and stepped forward.

Dust growled and put a claw on
my shoulder.

“You better get a grip on your
Bisharp," I warned. “Dust doesn't respond well to threats."

“Well, my Bisharp doesn't like
being called a training dummy," Leon shot back. “Now, since you are so sure of
yourself, why don't we raise the stakes? You take on all three of us in a
Battle Royale."

“A battle-what?"

Leon and his friends chuckled.
“Battle Royale. It's pretty big over in the Alola Region. Four trainers choose
a Pokémon and battle each other at once. Whoever scores a knockout first,
wins." Leo's friends, Shawn and Ed, released their Pokémon. An Azumarill and a
Garchomp joined Leo's Bisharp. The Azumarill didn't look like much of a threat.
With its long ears and ovoid, blue body, it looked more like an inflatable toy.
The Garchomp wasn't any different. It had a much rougher-looking body with is
pointed fin-shaped wings, sharp claws, and dark blue scales, but I could still
tell it wasn't enough of a threat. There was no notch in the dorsal fin meaning
it was a female. The Garchomp sniffed the air, her long tail slapping against
the ground as if in anticipation.

“So, the three of you want to
use this 'Battle Royale' as an excuse to gang-up on me." I smiled. I tried to
fight it, but it was like trying not laugh at something that was hilarious.  “You can't honestly think I'm that stupid."

The moment I said that, Maude's
Poké Ball burst open, releasing my Mawile. Great,
now it looks like I can't control my team. “Damn it, Maude. Can't sit still
for one second?" I cried. “I know I promised you a battle, but I haven't found
anyone good enough yet."

Maude straightened the purple scarf
around her neck and pointed at the three Pokémon staring daggers at us. She
made an interested cry as if declaring she wanted to battle them.

“You don't wanna battle them. They
wouldn't even be a good warm up. Look, they're just trying to play tough."

“Hey! We're standing right here!"
Leon shouted. “You actually think you're so good that you can treat us like a
joke?" Other people were beginning to notice. Leon continued screaming at the
top of his lungs. “So, the big, bad Champion is too good to waste her time on
the 'common-folk?' Typical. You don't know the first thing about me, but just
because I don't have some fancy title in front of my name, you think I'm
beneath you."

Just
leave. Just climb on Dust's back and fly away, I told myself. But I
couldn't leave. The idea of a putting this smug little shit in his place made
my palms itch. He had a lot of nerve trying to make me sound like an asshole.
The temper-tantrum was just for an audience; I could hear in his voice he
wasn't that angry.

“What's going on, here?" a new
voice asked.

I cringed. It was Gwendoline. Sure
enough, the crowd parted, and she appeared, her trusty Furfrou following and throwing
looks at people as if watching for anyone suspicious. I assumed Leo and his
friends had no idea who she was because none of them seemed worried to see her.
They all wore big grins as if they just won the lottery.

You
stupid bastards have no idea what you've just done. I thought.

Shawn spoke first. “Well, Miss, we
were just challenging the illustrious Champion here to a battle when she starts
talking down to us. Claiming we're just trash who can't hold a candle to her."

“No, I think you guys are trash,
just not for the reason you're claiming," I said.

Gwendoline shot me a look as if she
caught her child swearing in front of her. I didn't flinch. I wasn't her child,
and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to me. “I'm sure Ms. Martin would
love to battle you," she said. “I'm certain one of the Champions wouldn't be so
callous."

I groaned loudly. So that's how it is. Kick these guy's asses
in front of the crowd, or risk getting chewed out for ignoring it. I want to
change my image. I can't afford to have people bad-mouthing me. “Okay,
Maude, they're all yours, but I don't wanna hear any complaining about how weak
they are."

Maude beamed with excitement and
nodded. She threw a sinister back at the Bisharp who took a step back in
surprise.

“Before we start," I said. “I just
have one question: What makes you so certain you can beat me? Ex-Champion or
not, I still beat the strongest trainers in the region. You gotta know I'm not
a pushover."

Leo smiled. It was unnerving,
though I didn't know why. I felt like I was at the end of a bad joke. “Don't
get cocky just because you got some fancy title next to your name. Bisharp, use
Iron Head!"

His Bisharp lowered its head and
charged at Maude. He was fast, but Maude jumped to side, dodging it.

“Hydro Pump!" Shawn cried.

“Maude!"

A powerful stream of water shot
form the Azumarill's mouth. Maude could only hold her arms over her face as the
stream of water sent her rolling across the ground.

“Garchomp, use Brick Break!" Ed
ordered.

The Garchomp rushed in, dragging
the tips of her wings across the ground, creating sparks.

There wasn't enough time to dodge.
“Maude, use Substitute."

Maude turned to the Garchomp just
as she swung one her claws in a chopping motion. At the last second, a
strange-looking Poké Doll appeared where Maude was. The doll took the hit and
vanished.

“Sucker Punch!" I cried.

“Brick Break," Leo said.

Maude tried to rush the Garchomp
from behind, but Leo's Bisharp intercepted her. She just barely managed to
block it in time. I felt the force of the blow from where I stood. Maude
skidded across the ground. She quickly picked herself up and smiled. Several
people in the crowd cheered.

A condescending smile spread across
Leo's face. “I told you not to get cocky just because you got a fancy title."

These
guys are not playing around. I thought. Their
Pokémon are well trained, and their teamwork is good. They purposely use one of
their Pokémon to draw Maude in then attack from a blind spot. It was the
same tactic used by wild Pokémon hunting in groups. I studied those tactics
when I trained with Uncle Ty. The best counter was to isolate them and pick
them off one-by-one. But the open-space of the plaza didn't allow for that. It
was too open. The good news was their strategy relied on sneak attacks. In the
wild, the Pokémon would've ended this fight early before their prey caught on.
These guys were instead toying with Maude and dragging things out for maximum
embarrassment.

The feeling—that excitement from
before—came back again. Bad move. Even
the strongest predator knew better than to play with its food. “Looks like
we underestimated this one," I said. “You might need to lose the scarf."

Maude clutched protectively at the
purple scarf around her neck and shook her head.

“I'd listen to my trainer if I were
you," Shawn said, smirking. “I'd hate for that pretty scarf of yours to get
ruined."

I laughed at him. Maude's scarf
wasn't a fashion statement. I had it specially made to restrict her natural
ability and dampen her power. She only took it off when she came across a
powerful opponent and really wanted
to enjoy the battle.

But I never told anyone about the
scarf. The League knew it existed since I had to get approval to use it in
official matches, but it wasn't a standard item. Since my opponents were
getting the upper-hand, they had no room to complain. “We need to stop toying
with them. Ditch the scarf."

Maude groaned and frowned at me,
but she untied the scarf around her neck. She tossed the scarf over her
shoulder and flexed her claws, letting herself get re-adjusted to the power.

“I'm sorry? Did you just say, 'Stop
toying with them?' " Leo asked, his voice laced with anger. “We're kicking your
ass, and you think you're toying with us?"

“She's trying to play us, dude," Ed
said.

I ignored him. The battle was
already over now that I had an idea what their tactics were. They were
defending one another because I only needed one knockout to win. Too bad you decided to face the deceiver
Pokémon. “Maude, use Sweet Scent then Sucker Punch on the Azumarill."

Maude ran toward her opponent, a
clawed fist pulled back to strike. The air filled with a sweet smell that
reminded me of candy. I noticed the Garchomp and Bisharp circling around for a
pincer attack. The moment Maude was close enough to the Azumarill to strike,
the Bisharp rushed in to counter.

They
fall for it every time.  “Maude, now!"

Maude spun and grabbed the Bisharp
by the face; it looked awkward since Maude was much shorter. He flailed his
arms trying to break free. Maude stood there, unfazed, looking disappointed in
how weak her opponent was. The three trainers stared in shock. An uneasy murmur
moved through the crowd.

“Get in there and help him," Shawn
ordered. “Use Hydro Pump."

“Wait! My Bisharp is too close!"
Leo cried, his voice full of panic.

The Azumarill turned to his
trainer, confused if he should follow the order.

Two
rookie mistakes. You hesitated and stood behind a Mawile. I thought.

Maude never took her eyes off the
Bisharp. The massive jaws attached to her head snapped onto the top-half of the
Azumarill's body. The Azumarill's long ears stuck out the sides and his muffled
screams could be heard as he tried to break free.

“Goddamn it. I have to do
everything!" Ed said. “Garchomp, use Brick Break!"

The Garchomp rushed Maude from the
side, his claw held over his head to strike the moment he was in range.

“Maude, shield yourself," I sighed.
This battle was getting predictable. Now that they realized how strong their
opponent was, their strategy was falling apart. It was worse knowing they
couldn't beat me even if they were in-sync.

Maude spun and put the Azumarill
right in the path of the Garchomp. She cried out apologetically when she chopped
her ally in the gut. Maude took advantage of the opening and tossed the
Bisharp into the stunned Garchomp. Both fell to the ground, dazed.

“Play Rough," I said.

Maude and the Azumarill disappeared
under a cloud of white smoke.

Leo reacted first. “Shit! Bisharp,
get in there!"

The Bisharp didn't move. He just
stood there, staring straight ahead, his eyes blank. Leo's face paled.

Shawn tapped his friend on the
shoulder. “Leo, do you think he's having a reaction from the—"

“Dude shut the hell up!" Leo
screamed, his voice a pitch higher than normal.

My brow rose. “Did I miss
something?" Maude's attack was over, and the smoke quickly cleared. The
Azumarill hadn't been knocked out, but he wasn't trying to get up. Maude
noticed the Bisharp staring and tilted her head. Dust and Sparks stirred, and
the hackles on Gwendoline's Furfrou rose. Something was making them nervous.

“It's nothing don't worry about
it," Leo said quickly. “Bisharp, use Brick Break."

Leo's Bisharp continued to stand
there in a daze. His eyes had drifted, and he was rocking back and forth. Maude
pointed at him gave me a look saying, “What's
up with him?"

I shrugged in response. “Let's not
play around anymore, Maude. Use Play Rough."

“Bisharp! Snap out it!"

The Bisharp flinched and looked
around as if he had no idea where he was. Maude rushed in low. Before the
Bisharp could react, she jumped on him, the two of them blocked by a thick
cloud of smoke. I heard a few punches land and the Bisharp cry out in pain.
Maude leapt out of the smoke cloud with a big smirk on her face. The cloud
quickly vanished, revealing the Bisharp laying on the ground, unconscious.

Not
the direction I was looking for this battle to go in, but it worked.

“Hey, that was fucking dirty!" Leo
cried.

“Your Bisharp was wide open," I
said calmly. “It's not my fault he stopped paying attention. If you were really
worried about him, you'd call off the match."

Leo glared at me. Even from a
distance I could see him grinding his teeth together. None of his friends
offered any advice. They all knew I had a point. The battle had already
started, and there was no rule saying I had to wait. A murmur moved the crowd,
no doubt people arguing over whether that was legit or not. I didn't care. I
was only there for one thing.

And it wasn't to entertain them.

“Since your Bisharp is knocked-out,
I guess I win."

Leo ground his teeth together and
recalled his Bisharp. His friends recalled their Pokémon and stared at each
other nervously. The crowd was already thinning out. I caught a few people
dissatisfied with the battle's outcome saying things like, “She's the Champ,
what did they was gonna happen?" and “I bet those guys'll think twice before
challenging someone of her level." It was weird to hear. They seemed to be
blaming those guys for challenging me.

Maude grumbled under her breath as
she retrieved her scarf and came to me. Sparks barked happily, probably trying
to raise Maude's spirits. She waved away his encouragement and continued to
look sour.

“I told you they were weak," I
said.

Maude shot me a dirty look then
went back into her Poké Ball. I put the ball back in its holster and turned to
leave when I noticed Gwendoline was still standing there.

“What?" I asked, making no attempt
to hide my annoyance.

“Still as ruthless as ever, I see."

“Fuck you," I growled.

“That was just a taste of what will
happen should you win against the Champion. There will be others, ones far more
powerful than those fools."

The thought of that made me smile.
“Good. I'm tired of dealing with rookies anyway."

“And so, the Huntress is back on
the prowl." There was something in her voice, almost like amusement. It was
weird. A few minutes ago, she was practically begging me to lose the match
against Sharon. Now she's happy?

Sparks nudged me. I recalled him to
his Poké Ball and hopped on Dust's back.

****

“Welcome back,
Maya," Ian said cheerfully when I walked into the living room Aqua and Sparks
right behind me. Ian and Lulu had moved into the living room along with Cassandra,
Lucien, Fury, and Cassandra's Delphox, Delphine. The large fox Pokémon was the
only one who hurried over to me. I always liked how Delphine's brown and yellow
fur reminded me of a mage's robe.   She whined as she ran her paws through our
clothes and our hair. She even lifted and bent my arms as if checking to see if
anything was broken.

“What the hell is with the
inspection?" I asked.

“Delphine said she had a vision last
night where we were seriously hurt. She's been nervous ever since," Cassandra
said. “But we can worry about that later. What happened to your visit with the
bigshot from the League?"

I gently pushed Delphine away. “Your
Delphox tells you she saw a future where something happens to me, and you don't
care?"

“Her visions aren't very
accurate."

Delphine folded her arms across
her chest and grumbled.

“Yes, I'm still holding a grudge
because of that," Cassandra said through clenched teeth. “You told me I was
gonna die before I turned eighteen. I had a whole will written and everything.
Do you have any idea how tense I was?" Delphine rolled her eyes. Lucien sighed
and shook his head. Cassandra glared at her Delphox then turned back with a
smile. “What were you saying Maya?"

I dropped onto the sofa with a
heavy sigh. Aqua yipped happily jumped into my lap. She was heavier that she
looked, but I chose not to say anything. I appreciated she was trying to cheer
me up. As I stroked Aqua's back, I told everyone about my talk with Gwendoline
and what she wanted me to do. I also told them about the Battle Royale ambush
and how Gwendoline reacted. When I mentioned that she wanted me to throw the
match on purpose, the Pokémon reacted exactly as I thought they would. The room
filled with a series of barks and growls. Ian asked for a translation, but Cassandra
said it was better if she didn't. Short version: they were pissed.

When I finished my story, Cassandra
still sat there with the most serious expression I'd ever seen. Lucien looked
nervous sitting next to her.

“The League must be really
desperate to ask you—a former Champion—to throw a match," Ian said.

“You think it'll really cause
problems for the League if she loses?" I asked.

            “Fuck the
League," Cassandra said. I was shocked by her reaction. “The real problem is
what it'll mean for you if you win.
You stepped down from being Champion without telling anyone why."

“And I will never will," I mumbled
under my breath.

“Either way, if you beat the
current Champion, people will think you stepped down because you were bored. Your
popularity will go up and anyone who wants to prove themselves will want a shot
at you."

“Look, I'm not accepting her
challenge anyway, so I don't really care."

“A trainer turning a challenge from
a Champion?!" Cassandra asked in mock surprise. “Yeah, that'll end well."

“I don't care. She doesn't really
want to battle me. She wants to make a name for herself."

“Isn't that what every trainer
does?" Ian asked.

I stared at him like he just said
something incredibly stupid because he did. “Dude, you don't go around battling
other trainers just to make a name for yourself. It makes it sound like battles
aren't fun. The point is to test your bond with your Pokémon, not to make other
people feel bad."

“Right. Sorry, sensei."

“Don't call me that."

“But you are my sensei."

“Yeah, sensei," Cassandra said
teasingly. “It's your job to pass on your infinite wisdom."

“Both of you can go to hell."

            Before Cassandra
could tease me some more, there was a knock at the door. We all turned to Lulu
and Lucien. After sitting still with their eyes closed for a few seconds, they
opened their eyes and nodded, meaning there wasn't any crazies at the door.

            I got up
and answered it. Anything to get away from Cassandra's teasing. A tall blond
woman was standing in the doorway wearing all black and sporting a long red
jacket. My jaw dropped at the sight of her. “Taylor?!" How the hell did she find me?

            Taylor
smiled nervously. “Hi. I'm glad you remember me although you don't sound very
happy to see me."

            I shook off
my shock and took a step back, my guard up. Is
she mad about losing the battle? Did I hurt her Talonflame worse than I
thought? “I'm not. What are you doing here, and how did you find out where
I live?"

            “I'll tell
you, but first could you call off your Pokémon? I don't really like the way
they're looking at me."

            I didn't
need to look back to know Aqua and Sparks were waiting for me to give an order.
Taylor should be lucky Dorian was upstairs.

            Cassandra walked
up. “First, show us your true face." She turned to me and added, “She has a
Zoroark and she's using it to mask her appearance."

            Taylor's
eyes widened. “Damn. You gotta have be, like, crazy perceptive to be able to
see through Cypher's illusion."

            “My Lucario
figured it out."

            Her eyes
somehow got wider. “You have a Lucario? That is sooo cool. Can I see it?"

            I turned to
Cassandra. She looked as confused as I felt. Taylor looked to be Cassandra's age
but was somehow even more immature. It was more than a little weird.

            Taylor's
sudden voice reminded us that she was there. “Oh, right. I totally forgot.
Cypher, can stop the illusion, please?"

The air around Taylor shimmered as
if she stepped behind a veil of water. The air cleared revealing a Zoroark
standing next her. The black-furred Pokémon stood taller than Taylor. Its large
red mane looked like it could over Taylor's entire body. Taylor was no longer
as tall as she was although her hair and outfit were still the same which I
realized was mimicking her Zoroark. Her face was rounder and much younger
looking. If I had to guess, I'd say early teens.

            “Sorry
about the whole 'cloak-and-dagger'. It's just easier sooo much easier to travel
looking like a battle-hardened older woman instead of a 13-year-old girl."

            I found my
voice again. “You still haven't explained why you're here."

            Taylor
pointed at me and turned to Cassandra. “Is she always like that?"

            “Yeah, she
is. Now answer the damn question."

            “Are you
gonna at least invite me in? Do people in Kalos, like, not have manners?"

            “People in
Kalos don't like when random strangers show up outside their doors," I
countered.

            Taylor
looked as if she wanted to counter that, but she nodded in agreement. “Okay,
okay. I get it. Look, it's a long story. Do I really have to stand out here and tell it?"

            I turned to
Cassandra again. Neither Lucien nor Lulu had appeared with a warning about
Taylor trying to set us up, so I figured we could at least trust her on that
front. But I was a little skeptical that Taylor tracked me down after I battled
her at the Under. She never once let on that she was looking for me then. But
after what I did to her Talonflame, she was probably occupied.

            Cassandra
thought it over for a moment before saying, “Fine. Come on in. But I'll warn
you now, if you try anything, Maya will kick your ass."

            Taylor
smiled. “Are you really threatening me? I might be thirteen, but I'm no
weakling."

            “I already
kicked your ass once kid, I'm not in the mood to do it again," I said. “But I
will."

            Taylor was
quiet until we reached the living room where Ian and the others were.

She took one look at the Pokémon in
the room and started squealing. “OMG! Is that a Delphox? That's a Delphox isn't
it? The fur is pretty and soft looking. I would just love to brush it all day
long!" she rushed over and tried to pet to Delphine.

Delphine grabbed Taylor's wrist,
slammed her to the floor and pinned her arm behind her back. Taylor's Zoroark,
Cypher, snarled and rushed to help his trainer. Without looking up from Taylor,
Delphine snatched a stick out of her fur, its tip catching fire. She flicked
her wrist and a small flame shot from the stick, hit Cypher in the chest, and
sent him rolling across the floor.

Lulu jumped in front of Ian, ready
to protect her trainer from any collateral damage. Aqua and Sparks quickly got
out of the way, regrouping near me.

Lucien looked ready to jump in when
Cassandra put her arm in his path. “Taylor, call him off before he gets hurt. Delphine,
get off her. She's not gonna hurt you."

Delphine let go of Taylor and went
to Cassandra, shooting dirty looks at the teenager.

Taylor and Cypher slowly got up off
the floor. “Cypher's a girl," she mumbled.

“Oh, my bad," Cassandra said to the
Zoroark. “It's hard to tell sometimes, y'know?"

“Wow, you weren't kidding when you
said you'd kick my ass," Taylor said. “I've never seen any Pokémon take someone
down like that. Where'd she learn it?"

“I taught all of my Pokémon close-quarters
combat. It comes in handy when some weirdo scares them."

Taylor blushed and stared at her
feet. “Look, I'm sorry I scared your Delphox. It's just Delphox is my favorite Pokémon,
but they are impossible to find."

“After the way you reacted to Delphine,
I wouldn't be surprised if they were running from you," I whispered.

Delphine ducked behind Cassandra
and growled at Taylor. Cassandra patted Delphine's snout. “That's not nice to
say. I'm pretty sure she's not gonna do anything strange to you when nobody's
looking."

I leaned closer to Cassandra and
whispered. “We didn't act like that at thirteen, did we?"

“No, I was too busy trying to
convince my folks I wasn't crazy, and you were making the neighborhood boys
cry."

“Can someone tell me what's going
on?" Ian asked. He was looking at all of us like he was ready to run.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, right.
Taylor, that's Ian and his Lucario, Lulu. Lulu and Ian, this is Taylor the
chick whose ass I kicked back at the Under."

“Um, this is getting, like, super
weird, so I'm just gonna get to the reason why I'm here," Taylor said. She sat
down on the sofa. She turned to us as if waiting for us to join her. We didn't
move, so she cleared her throat and continued. “Okay, what do want to know
first?"

“How'd you find me?"

“Tracking you down was pretty hard.
I've been looking for you for months. First, I tried the official League
records, then I asked some of the gym leaders, then I started going to
tournaments hoping you'd show up. I always came up blank. People have, like,
literally, no idea where you live."

“That's because I never told
anyone," I said. “And I didn't want random people showing up at my door.

“I was gonna tell you after the tournament,
but after I took Scorch to the Pokémon Center, I lost you again. He's fine by
the way. That firestorm thing you did was, like, sooo cool. You have to show me
how you did that."

“Yeah, that's not happening. So,
how'd you track me down after the tournament?"

“Some guy told me. I didn't catch
his name, but he gave some serious creep vibes."

I turned to Cassandra. “We should
throw her out."

“That's not very nice. After all
the trouble she went through to track you down?" Cassandra said, smiling.

“That's the problem. How do we know
she's not some crazy?"

“Lucien or Lulu would've said
something if they sensed something off about her aura. Besides, if she did try
anything, your Pokémon would tear her apart."

“Umm, hello? I'm, like, sitting
right here," Taylor said, emphasizing her annoyance.

“So?" Cassandra and I said.

Taylor pouted and folded her arms
across her chest. “Sheesh, no one told me my aunt was this damn mean," she
mumbled.

I felt like I swallowed a Poké
Ball. I turned to Cassandra as if she knew what was going on. She looked just
as clueless as I felt. I turned to Ian who had sat quietly in the corner this
whole time. He shrugged while giving me a questioning look. I turned back to
Taylor. “What…did you just say? Aunt? Who are you talking about?"

Taylor stiffened, and her Zoroark
suddenly looked nervous. She slowly turned to face me with a nervous smile.
“Um…you?"

I couldn't breathe. Something was
wrapped around my throat and squeezing. That
can't be right. The only way I'm an aunt is if—if Bryce had… There's no way. “I
don't have a niece. There's no way I have a niece that I didn't know about."

“Well, I didn't know you existed
until, like, a few months ago. I just assumed my deadbeat dad didn't have
siblings."

Something in me just… popped. I saw
myself walking toward Taylor, fists clenched at my sides. I didn't try to stop.
Taylor just stared, unsure what to make of me. I grabbed her by the shirt
collar. “You watch your damn mouth when you talk about my brother," I growled.

Taylor tried to stare me down. I
wasn't budging. The room began to fill with low growls.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and
snatched me backwards. I stumbled into Delphine who pinned me against the wall.
Cassandra stood where I used to be, Lucien standing between her and Taylor's
Zoroark. “Okay, everyone calm down!" Cassandra said “Maya, chill. We don't know
everything just yet. Taylor, you got one minute to tell us a story we'll
believe because Bryce has been missing for years. Are you saying you saw him?"

Taylor shrugged, still glaring at
me. “Hell, if I know. I never met him. I just know he knocked up my mom and
left her to raise the baby, alone. If
he's been missing for years, I guess he ran off on you, too."

“I told you to watch—" I yelled.
Delphine pressed on my chest, forcing back against the wall. She gave me a
stern look saying, “That's not helping." Now
Sparks had joined in in holding me back, planting himself right on my feet.

Cassandra turned back to Taylor. “Start
from the beginning."

“My mom came to Kalos from Johto
for the Pokéathlon. That's how she and Dad met. After the Pokéathlon, they—well,
you know where babies come from. When my mom found out she was pregnant with
me, she moved back to Johto to live with her parents."

“Little bitch is lying," I mumbled.

“Not. Helping," Cassandra said
forcefully. She turned back to Taylor and said in a softer voice. “So how did
you find out who your father was?"

Taylor sat down on the sofa. Her
face looked like all the fight had been drained out of her. Cypher patted her
trainer on the shoulder. “My mom talked about him all the time and what a great
guy he was. But when she called to tell him about the baby, he never returned
her calls."

She chuckled humorlessly. “But she
never gave up the idea that he cared about her. She always sent him texts and
e-mails that he never answered, but Mom would not give up on him."

That drained some my anger. She held on to hope for all this time, never
knowing the truth. She's loyal, I'll give her that. “If your mom was so
stuck on my brother, why didn't she contact his family?" I asked.

“She did."

The whole room became silent.

“W-What did you say?" I asked
breathlessly.

“My mom did contact the family. She
spoke to my grandfather."

“What? You mean—you—what?" I shoved
Delphine and stormed out of the room. I didn't know what to do with myself. The
shock of learning Bryce had a kid and finding out my dad—and probably my
mom—knew about her left me feeling restless. What am I supposed to feel? Happy? Angry? Sad? It was all the
above. I slammed my fist against the wall and went upstairs to my room.

Dorian was laying in my bed. He
lifted his head when I came in, but he didn't look concerned although he had to
hear everything going on downstairs.

I sat on the edge of my bed, and Dorian
jumped to the floor. My mind felt like it had been broken into pieces. Things
with my dad had become pretty tense after the divorce was final and we found
out about his new girlfriend. Mom was convinced he had met her before the
divorce, and she wasn't shy about voicing her opinion. I hated him for moving
on and forgetting about his missing son. To avoid a custody battle, dad agreed
to let me visit on weekends. I made up every excuse possible to get out of
visiting him and his new kids. Our conversations were done through phone and
e-mail. Partly because I hated him, and partly because I wanted to focus on my
training. After I left to become a Pokémon trainer, he stopped calling, not
that I lost any sleep over it. It was possible my dad assumed Taylor's mom was
lying and didn't say anything to anyone else. He wasn't talking to me, so I
shouldn't be surprised to have been left in the dark.

The more I thought about it, the
more it pissed me off. He knew why I became a trainer, he knew what I spent
four years of my life doing. He knew, but he still chose to hide that crucial
bit of information. He chose to keep closure away from my mother and me. I took
my anger out on my pillow, punching it until my arms were tired. It didn't
help.

Sparks, Aqua, Arbor, and Maude came
into the room. I was shocked to see Maude. She was more of the
awkward-pat-on-the-shoulder type. She sat down on the floor and leaned against
the bed. Sparks joined her on the floor. Aqua jumped onto the bed and nuzzled
my face. Arbor jumped on the bed as well, but he only laid down close to me.
Dorian sat down near the door, facing it as if expecting Taylor to try to sneak
in.

“Do all of you think I'm a basket
case?" I asked.

Aqua lay her head in my lap and sighed.
It was supposed to be a distraction from my feelings, but it only reminded me
how alone I was. These Pokémon were the only ones I could rely on. I didn't
fear my secrets pushing them away. They knew about all everything anyway.

There was knock on the door. “Hey,
you okay?" Ian asked.

I looked up and saw Ian and Lulu standing
in the doorway.

“I just found out my brother has a
secret love child, and my asshole of a father knew about it. Do the math," I
said. “But thanks for asking."

“I know it's a stupid question, but
I really have no idea what to say in this situation." Ian approached the bed.
Dorian turned to him, and he cautiously stepped around the Houndoom and stood
at the far wall instead. Lulu stood casually near me, but she kept her eyes on
Dorian.

I suddenly felt guilty for my
sarcastic comment before. “I really do appreciate you checking on me, but I
think the main thing I need is time. A lot has happened today."

Ian nodded, his face serious. “Well
if you need anything, you know Cassandra and I are here for you."

“You sound like Cassandra. Ian, I'm
a mess. I've always been a mess. You don't wanna hear me whine about my
problems."

“Maya, you're my friend. I don't
care if you want to complain about stubbing your toe, I'll listen, and I won't
judge." He walked toward the door.

I sighed stared at the ceiling.
Aqua shifted in my lap. “I ever tell you about my journey?"

“Yeah, you mentioned it…once, and
you skipped the details."

“Well, I wasn't the nicest person
back then. I spent every waking moment tracing down leads. My friends spent
four years running all over the region with me. They never complained that I
was making our League challenge take longer than it should. They never
complained I was a complete bitch the entire time." I was surprised I spilled my
guts like that. I wanted to stop, but the words just poured out of me. Tears
rolled down the side of my head and pooled in my ears. It felt good like when I
was hugged in the yard earlier.

“Four years, Ian. Four. Years.
That's not including before I ran away. I spent so much time running around in
the woods, and mountains, and caves. Late nights questioning people and pouring
over old maps. I've been to places that aren't even on the map anymore. I know
half of the forests of this region better than the Pokémon Rangers. I could
tell you about so many rare Pokémon nests and hunting patterns. I know the best
areas in Kalos to see a sunrise, a sunset, a rainbow after a storm. I know all
these things, but I hadn't a clue my brother had a kid. All that time, and then
Taylor comes along and just makes me feel like I just played around this whole
time." I sat up and stared at Ian. “How could I have missed it? What the hell
was I doing, Ian?"

Ian didn't answer. He stared with pity
in his eyes. Seeing that look made me stare at the floor. Someone licked my
face. I thought it was Aqua, but it turned out to be Arbor. He whined and
licked my face again when I looked at him. I sighed and scratched him behind
the ears.

Finally, Ian said, “Maya, I get it.
You spend all that practicing something only to learn how just how little you
know."

I chose to ignore Lulu's paw going
to the badge of shame on her chest. It was a constant reminder of what happened
when Ian let his family name go to his head. He played things safer now, but
after seeing the way he ignored Lulu's injury today, I wondered if he was just
running from his problems. Admitting weakness was hard.

“You know what happened wasn't your
fault," I said.

Ian made a sound that I assumed was
supposed to be a chuckle, but it sounded like a sarcastic snort. “Yes, it was. I
should've listened to you when tried to warn me. But what happened to Bryce
isn't on you. It's not your job to put your family back together."

I frowned. “That's easy to say when
your family isn't broken. At least your dad wants what's best for you. Mine
won't even talk to me."

“Technically, my dad and I aren't
speaking to each other. Maybe we should start a club. We all seem to have
problems with our dads," he added with a weak smile.

“Unfortunately, I think we would be
the only two in the club. Taylor's dad is dead, so I don't think that counts. And
Cassandra says she gets along pretty well with her dad."

“Maya—"

“No, seriously. Take it from
someone with more than enough family drama. Don't burn your bridges if you
don't have to."

Ian nodded and walked out the room,
and Lulu gave me one last apologetic look before following him.

I closed the door behind them. I
flicked the light switch and made my way back to the bed in the dark. It took
some maneuvering to lay down comfortably with Aqua and Arbor laying in the bed,
but once I found a position, I fell asleep.

****

The sun shining through my window woke me up. I felt like
battered shit, all the consequences of a fun night of partying without any of
the benefits. Mostly I felt guilty. Taylor hadn't done anything to me, but I
called her a liar and threatened her. She was just a lost kid looking for answers,
something I knew too well.  It's probably too late to be a family, but I
could least apologize. I slowly opened my eyes to Maude sitting at the foot
of the bed staring out of the window. Her legs were folded and was leaning
backward, using the massive jaws attached to her head for support. I looked
around and didn't see any of the others except for Dorian who was sleeping in
front of the door.

            I slowly sat
up and wiped my eyes. “That's new. I never wake-up to your shining face."

            Maude
glanced at me and turned back to the window. My stomach tightened. The only
time Maude was that focused was when she saw a strong opponent.

            “What are
you looking at?"

            Maude
pointed. I followed her claw out of the window. Taylor was out in the yard with
her Zoroark, Cypher, her Talonflame, Scorch, and an Absol. From what I could
tell she had them running drills. The Talonflame was zooming around in the air,
firing streams of fire at Cypher. The Absol stood by Taylor's side, observing. Cypher
dodged and ducked under the attacks but didn't fire anything back. I turned my
attention to the Absol. It looked like any other Absol except its face, horn,
and tail were red instead of the usual blue. It was hard to tell from a
distance, but it looked like it had a mark on its left foreleg. I raised a brow
and turned to the stuffed Absol laying on my bed. Is that why you gave me that toy, Bryce? So I could recognize Taylor if
I saw her? Did you know about her? I turned to Maude. She was watching them practice intensely, clenching her
claws in her lap.

            Those guys she battled yesterday weren't
enough for her. Not that I blame her—that fight was barely good enough for a
warm-up. I need to get her in a real battle, soon.

            I got out of bed and changed my
clothes. When I left the room, Dorian and Maude followed. I went straight down
the stairs, figuring Ian and Cassandra were up already. The living room was
empty, so I went outside where Taylor was.

            Ian and
Cassandra were outside along with their Pokémon and mine. Everyone sat in small
groups talking to each other or just lazing about on the ground. Sunny noticed
me first, hurrying over and buzzing worriedly around me. I sighed and let her
bombard me with questions I couldn't understand. Trying to push her away would
only make her worry more.

            Eventually,
Maude said something, convincing Sunny to leave me alone. She seemed reluctant,
but she backed off. I headed for Taylor.

            Cassandra
cut me off. “Hey, are you good?"

            “I'm fine,
Cassandra. I'm just going to talk to her."

            Cassandra
studied me for a minute as if making sure I wasn't lying. I wasn't. Even if I
was still pissed, I wasn't gonna beat-up a kid. Eventually, she nodded and let
me pass.

            Cypher
noticed me first. She stopped and growled at me just before taking a
Flamethrower to the chest, sending her skidding across the grass. Maude snickered
into her claw. Cypher quickly jumped to her feet and rushed to her trainer's
side. Scorch and the Absol stared at me, confused. There was no mistaking the
Absol. It had the same mark on the left foreleg as the stuffed toy in my room.
This was the same Absol.

            “What's
going on with you?" Taylor asked. She saw me standing there and her puffy eyes
went wide. Her cheeks were also wet. “Oh. It's you. Come to throw me out?"

            Scorch
landed on the ground next to Taylor. He turned to his trainer and tilted his
head in confusion. Cypher muttered something, and Scorch's confusion turned
into an accusatory stare directed at me. The Absol stared without judgement.

            I ignored
the Pokémon. “I'm not here to throw you out," I said. Looking at her face
pissed me off, so I stared up the sky. “I just wanted to say sorry for how I
reacted last night."

            “Well, I
did just show up out of the blue and started claiming we were family. I guess I
thought it would like it was on TV." I looked at her. She was playing with her
hands and staring at her toes. “Cassandra kinda filled me in on what's
happened. Is…Is it true that Bryce is dead?"

            Seeing her
like that killed my anger. It was easy to forget she was a kid. “Yeah."

            Taylor
kicked at the grass. “Figures. I finally get up the courage to track down my
old man and find out I hated him for nothing." She lifted her head. Fresh tears
rolled down her face. “It's just me and my mom back in Johto. We only have one
picture of him and it's from before I was born. She stares at it, like, every
night. I hated that she wouldn't give up on him. I was so ready to find him and
give him a piece of my mind. Had a speech prepared and everything. Only now…"
Her voice started breaking making it impossible to finish her sentence. Cypher
put a claw on Taylor's shoulder, and she buried her face in the Zoroark's
chest. I could hear her muffled sobs. Scorch lowered his head and chirped
sadly. The Absol continued to look at me. It was making me uncomfortable.

            I sighed
and stuffed my hands in my pockets. Taylor was only two steps away from being
me. At least she had someone who could provide her the closure she needed. When
I started my search for Bryce, I had friends, but I was still alone. I wasn't
gonna let Taylor go down that road. “Does your mom know you're here?"

            Taylor
wiped her eyes on her arm and faced me. “What?"

            “I'll take
that as a 'no.' So what's your plan now?"

“I…I don't know. I was just gonna
go home after I cussed my dad out, but since he's gone, I guess I'll just head
home."

“Just like that? You'll leave?"

Taylor shrugged, looking confused.
“What am I supposed to do?"

            “I figured
you'd want to know a little bit about your old man now that you know he didn't
ditch you."

            Taylor
tried to hide her excitement. It didn't work. Cypher and Scorch gave me
skeptical looks. The Absol remained neutral.

            “Listen, I
gotta ask: Where'd you get that Absol?"

            “You mean
Abby? She was my mother's Pokémon. My mom gave her to me when I got my
trainer's license. I don't know where she got her, though. Why?"

            “No reason.
I just know now that your mom really did know Bryce. Go ahead and finish your
training. We can talk more about Bryce later. I need to get my head together."
I went back to Cassandra and Ian.

            “Looks like
that went well," Cassandra said. “So, what are you doing with her?"

            “I figure
it couldn't hurt to talk to her. Hey, I need a favor. You mind talking to her
Absol when you get a chance? She keeps looking at me, and I get the feeling she
knows me somehow."

            “Sure thing.
If it helps you move on, I'm at your disposal."

            I nodded
and turned to Ian. He had been very quiet ever since he found out who Taylor
was last night. He watched Taylor and her Pokémon, his face was blank making it
impossible to read. “Hey, you okay?" I asked.

            “I don't
like her. First that guy at the Under, then Sharon, then the Battle Chateau,
now this. You became real popular real fast. I'm getting worried. Are you okay?
There's a lot coming at you."

            “I'm fine.
Thanks for asking," I said.

            “You're not
thinking of accepting Gwendoline's offer, are you?" Cassandra asked. “I mean,
it has appeal; if you lose to Sharon, you're life'll quiet down a little. And what
guy at the Under are you talking about?"

            I sighed
and leaned on the railing. Cassandra struck me as a lot of things, but never
someone who would take the easy way out. “If it were you, what would you do?"

            Cassandra
was quiet for a moment. “I would tell Gwendoline to stuff it then go kick
Sharon's ass just to be a dick."

            “Damn
straight." Maude turned to me hopeful that it meant what is sounded like. I
smiled at her. “It's been a while since we took someone good enough to be a
Champion. Think you can handle it?"

            Maude gave
me a look saying, “You know I can."
She then ran off, probably to tell the others the good news.

            “You know
you'll only become more popular if you do this," Cassandra warned.

            “Then I'll
just have to become so strong trainers will be too scared to challenge me," I
said. That thought excited me. Ever since I stepped down from Champion and
decided I needed to change, I've only battled low-level trainers. Any trainer
with half and ounce of skill didn't enjoy easy wins. Worse, it was affecting my
Pokémon. Maude was getting restless, and everyone would start getting weak if
they didn't have any competition soon.

            That was
it. What I needed. Before, finding Bryce and becoming Champion were my goals. I
already became Champion, and I put Bryce to rest. I was bored; there was
nothing else to do. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the Battle
Chateau, but the idea of finding a level beyond Champion felt right.

            “How do you
go beyond Champion?" Ian asked, giving me a worried look. “The only trainers I
know above Champion are The Nine. Maya, you can't seriously want to mess with
them."

            The Nine was
a group of trainers feared and respected around the world for their skills. It
was mostly made up of Ex-Champions and trainers who pulled off amazing feats.
People said not even a Champion stood a chance against them. It wasn't even an
official group, but everyone trainer recognized it.  Defeating a member of The Nine was the only
way to join, but not many trainers wanted to challenge someone who was
legendary. Ian had found out the hard way how strong they were. It was the
reason why he hadn't had another battle sense.

            I turned to
Cassandra. She was one of The Nine although I never saw her contact any of the
other members. She didn't like talking about it because she said she only did
it to spite her parents.

            Cassandra
eventually noticed I was staring at her. “What? Are you sure you want to become
a part of that group? Trust me: it's overrated."

            “Maybe, but
there's no denying their skilled, right? I need a new goal to focus on."

            “Focus on
something else. Those people don't play around. They're not typical trainers."

            “Um, Maya?"
Taylor asked.

            I forgot
she was there. I faced her. She stood near the back porch, looking like a child
afraid their parent for something. Her Pokémon stood behind her. For a moment
none of us said anything. Finally, Abby nudged Taylor. “If it's okay, could you
take me to see my grandparents?"

            I hesitated
before answering. I hadn't seen my parents in years. I only spoke to my mom
over the holo caster, and I hadn't seen my dad since the divorce was final.
Still, I wanted to believe that Taylor was Bryce's daughter, and I wouldn't
deny my parents the opportunity to see their only grandchild.

            “Sure
thing."