[PKMN FULL] TRAINERS (IC)

Gwen Alanis ft. Arianne Chandler

For better or worse, Gwen's excitement skyrockets to an all-time high at the thought that she might finally live out her crime-fighting fantasy- although it seems at the moment Hana has less grandiose plans for her. When she said she wanted to be a distraction she thought that meant busting straight into the building and hitting everyone in-sight with powerful attacks while everyone else would come in undetected. Instead, she and Ari will have to hide behind some crates. It's not as explosive as she dreamed, but soon enough she'll get to kick some bad guys' asses. Probably.

"Just saying, but I did expose those masked guys earlier when I charged in to take them on." Gwen boasts.

"Of course haha!" Arianne echoes her. "And me taking the Explosion is only more proof. That said though… these are different people. Not sure what to expect from these guards…" She takes a peek around the crates.

"Come on, these guys are just foot soldiers! You've seen how they are in movies, they just have Rattatas and Zubats! I bet I could just send Scar out and knock them all over like bowling pins!"

"Well…" Arianne shivers. "I think the plan was to use Sleep Powder, right? We do this quickly, we avoid getting too much attention on our side and we hope they don't get back up and hit back later…"

Gwen groans. For a brief moment she forgot there actually was a plan.. As much as she would like to say "Fuck it!" and use brute force, she knows a few people will be disappointed. Not only would Vermillion's gym leader be mad at her, there's also Casey, and she really doesn't want to get on his bad side again, not to mention, it'd only give more fuel for Vera. Plus, if she screwed up, she wouldn't look as cool in-front of Arianne. "Okay, fiiiine. So Lulu is just gonna use Sleep Powder? Does it even have that much range?"

"And… oh wow, I should really pay more attention to those details shouldn't I…" Arianne replies hastily. "I think the range is pretty good but… not this much. We have to gather those people in one area, I think, not have them standing in a line all spread out…"

"Which is why we need a distraction!" Gwen snaps her fingers. "Which is why I should- no wait, I can't do that. Fuck!" Feeling stumped, Gwen crosses her legs and puts her thumb and index finger to her chin. As she tries to think up a plan, her mind starts to dissociate. Being a detective doesn't just mean beating up bad guys. A big part of it is coming up with big brain plans, and I've done that in battle. I need to be more flexible with my detective skills. Think Gwen, think! Hana chose you for a reason y'know!... wait a second. When I battled Hana earlier…

"That's it!" Gwen snaps again and reaches for a Lure Ball to send King out. "King knows Bubble, and he can use that to grab their attention!"

"And so you bring them here… and Lulu hides behind the crate… and we get them! Simple enough right?" Arianne smiles, although it comes off slightly forced. She then lets her Grass type out, and explains the plan to her as well - with Lulu looking a bit confused throughout.

"Alright then, let's get it started! King, use Bubble towards the guardas!" As her Magikarp pathetically flops about, he spits a few bubbles from his mouth that drift through the crates and in the guard's direction while Gwen beams with confidence. As the bubbles flow closer to the guards, she anticipates the moment they'll take the bait. I must look so cool in front of Arianne right now! The second they notice, Gwen's smirk grows wider by the second as she eavesdrops on their conversation.

"Hey Phil… have I been sleep deprived or are there bubbles coming from over there?"

"You're definitely sleep deprived after the non-stop work we've had to do lately. But those bubbles are in-fact real."

The first guard sighs. "Guess we gotta do something about it." He grabs a Pokeball from a holster to release a crimson wolf-like Pokemon that stands upright and walks over to where the girls are hiding with piercing red eyes while the guards stay in their positions.

God fucking damnit.

"Uh… change of plans? Change of plans…" Arianne looks over the crate as well, struggling to remain collected. "I-I think you'll have to distract that Lycanroc and lure it away, as for the guards themselves…" She then kneels down towards Lulu and whispers something to her instead.

"It will take some time to do this, Gwen, but…" the Cinnabar girl sighs, "but maybe Lulu can extend her Ingrain all the way there to the guards. That's something we can use, right?"

"I don't think we have any other option." Gwen gulps. Midnight Lycanroc have a chance to possess the ability Vital Spirit, making their Sleep Powder plan useless, but what is Gwen supposed to do that'd make Lycanroc not sniff them out and bark at them? She has been able to come up with clever solutions under pressure, but she's not sure if now is one of those times, and when a Pokemon with sharp fangs and claws controlled by someone she associates Morgrem Guy with draws closer, it really seems as though she's screwed. Soon enough, Lycanroc gets close enough that it starts growling, just seconds away from barking, and Gwen's mind goes blank as she nearly cracks from the pressure. Panicked, she looks over to Bead to make sure her Pokemon will be alright, but he isn't where he stood just a second ago, although the sound of Confuse Ray being used gives her ideas. She shifts her gaze, and sure enough, Lycanroc is walking around in circles thanks to Bead's intuition.

"Bead…" She struggles to say anything as her heartbeat is still intensely pounding, and she gives a light sigh of relief. "...thank god."

"That was… not optimal…" Arianne echoes her, a Pokéball in her hand and ready to be used. "Thank you Bead from me as well…"

In a daze, the enemy Lycanroc swiftly stumbles back to the guards. "Oh… nothing was over there? Really? That's weird… I know for a fact I saw bubbles just a second ago!"

"I did too… could just be some wild Pokemon. Or maybe we both just need a good night's sleep… Haven't had that in awhile." The guard laughs.

"I'll say." The other agrees before turning his attention back to Lycanroc who again walks in circles . "...hey wait a second, why are you acting so strange, boy? What's gotten into you?"

"Shit, hold on, you're right! Look at his eyes- he's Confused! I think we've just been outsmarted by some punk-ass trainers!"

"Most definitely…" Arianne finally smiles, peeking over the crates as Lulu tries to do the same, lifting herself up with more mycelium under her tiny body. Eric is out, targeting her with a continuous Heal Pulse in hopes of helping her grow the Ingrain even faster. "See, Lulu? You're there! Go for it!" The trainer cheers, and in a matter of seconds, the white threads wrap around most of the guards' ankles.

"Argh, damnit! Show yourselves, you cowards!" One of the guards shouts.

"Oh, don't worry, we will!" Gwen cackles as she sends Pix out. She and Bead head out from behind the crates, and the pair work together to use Confuse Ray on each and every guard one-by-one.

In no time, Lulu also starts using Giga Drain with her roots, not only making the guards more tired but also making them trip more easily. They all fall down, stuck to the ground by the mycelium that is slowly growing onto them and too confused to react, thanks to Gwen and Bead's work. "You're doing great! And now all we need is some Sleep Powder!" Arianne throws a fist to the sky, before backing off from her Pokémon and trying to find something to cover her face with. At least this way, she won't fall asleep herself. The cloud of spores may be a bit slow, but it spreads menacingly across the whole area: a perfect way to seal the deal.

"Wow, that was- that was INCREDIBLE! It was just sooo super cool!!" Gwen cheers while her eyes gleam. While on one hand it is a shame to her how Arianne came out looking more competent than herself, just watching her come up with such a creative strategy on-the-spot definitely gives Gwen more respect for her. I don't know how else to say it, but this girl looks super awesome whenever she battles! It's not in the same way Jenny does, but it's different, she's like "COOL" but Arianne is like "cool"... that probably wouldn't make sense if I said it out loud, but I understand it, so whatever!

Speaking of Arianne, her voice tries to make her way to Gwen. "C...er your f...ce!" She yelps as the Sleep Powder gets closer. "Your face!"

Gwen nearly asks what she means before she notices the spores herself. "Uh, oh, right." She quickly cups her hands over her mouth and hides how red she is from embarrassment. That was a little awkward, but at least they completed their task without breaking any bones.

"Amazing! We should all be- oh." Arianne, still near the crates, seems slightly worried about a certain Pokémon in particular… the Lycanroc from before is not falling asleep at all, and seems to have snapped out of his confusion. "Uhm, help?"

"Oh, piece of cake!" Gwen chuckles and proceeds to navigate through the minefield of unconscious guards until she gets to the one she recognizes as Lycanroc's owner, and simply reaches for the empty Pokeball in his holster to return the Wolf Pokemon. When all is said and done, she gives Ari an awkward thumbs up before using that same hand to return her own Pokemon.

"Wow, nice job! So now… we scatter right?" Arianne laughs, before recalling Eric and… oh right, Ingrain. "I may need some cover up, I can't just recall Lulu now and run, apparently. Or…"

The laugh gives way to a somewhat sad expression. "Honedge? Just a quick Aerial Ace here…"

The Sword Pokémon doesn't even hesitate and cuts Lulu off from her Ingrain in a single cut, causing her to faint in the process. Only then, Arianne can recall all of her Pokémon and run back to Gwen. "Well I wish I didn't have to do this and I acted impulsively but… yeah now we'd better run! Let's go back to the front side."

Well uh, I dunno know if I can respect making your own Pokemon faint but… aside from that she's still super cool! Y'know I've been saying that a lot and it's starting to not even sound like a real word at this point, what else can I say? She's… daring! Yeah, I like that- wait where is my brain going with this? "Uh… yeah! Sounds good!"

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​

The unusual cold was most certainly a product of whatever had been happening in that warehouse, as the temperature rises dramatically even while the shadows ahead of them stretch further away. It's a welcome relief- at least, until clouds open up with a rumble and the trio hurry into the nearest open restaurant.

"Guess we're havin' sushi," Casey laughs, scrubbing hands vigorously through his wet hair despite his companions' complaints about the spray.

Someone clears their throat, and Casey makes eye contact with the restaurant's unamused host. "Apologies, but we do not have the facilities to host Pokémon in this establishment."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, okay, that's fine. Right, guys?" Pepper flops dramatically to the floor in a highly accurate portrayal of a toddler going limp so his caretaker can't move him. But Casey has a PokéBall, and Pepper grumbles about being foiled as he turns to light. Jordan nods and returns Tangles to her PokéBall with no complaint. Sage and Tiny require a bit more work to contain, the latter of his Pokemon bumping into a ceiling light during her attempted escape, earning the trio some dirty looks before all their Pokemon were eventually put away.

Finally allowed to be seated, the three spend a moment in quiet contemplation of the menu and order without much fuss.

"I'm starving!" Casey sighs, as the waiter bustles away. "Shoulda brought a snack to the warehouse or somethin'."

"I think I woulda been too nervous to eat," Jordan twiddles a chopstick between his fingers. "That was… something, though, huh?"

"That was weird." Vera states flatly, staring into her water. "Nothing about that felt right, and it's not what I signed up for."

"We signed up to battle her, not to work for her. She's got a whole gym full of properly licensed trainers! We're kids! Well, we are." Casey gestures to himself and Jordan. "But still, not even licensed! And we coulda been havin' a near-death experience again, like the other three. We can't do that again! Jordan almost got eaten last time!"

Vera touches the back of her head, feeling it for a second before playing it off as merely fixing her hair. "I thought we were going to make things better now that we found each other again. What do you say, this afternoon doesn't count? We start fresh starting now? With sushi?"

"Yes, please." Jordan agrees. "I mean, it feels good to have done a good thing, right? And yeah, we probably weren't the most qualified to handle all that, but... we did it. And I'm sure Professor Palm will hear about it, too. But yes, forget about all that now - sushi."

He gestures to the server as they return with their food, and the three exhausted and hungry teens eagerly dig in.

"The Pokemon deserve a treat after today, too, when we get back," Jordan mumbles between chewing. "Oh- right, Vera, are you headed back to the Pokemon Center too, or…?"

"I should." The thought seems to depress her. "They were all full when I went yesterday, unless I wanted to share a room. No offense, guys, but I don't think we'd all fit in one room."

"Yeah, they were full this morning when I got here, too. Just threw my stuff in Jordan's room." Another thought enters Casey's mind at the same time as a sushi roll enters his mouth, forcing Vera to interpret his muffled noises as "Wait, you had more stuff, too. Where'd you leave it? The gym?"

Vera stares at Casey in disgust as she tries to decipher his words. "No… Back on Route 11 I got a voucher or something from some Fan Club weirdos. Turns out it was for a free room for a day at their hotel. My stuff is still in that room. I still need to go back for it…"

"Oh, is that what this's for?" Casey's wallet is filled with all kinds of cards, a few of which fall out onto the table as he procures a voucher very much like the one Vera had been given. "Lady didn't say when she gave it to me. Not very useful if I don't know what to do with it, huh?"

"Let me see that… Yeah, this is the kind they gave me. Has that gold star on it. Weird, the guy that gave me mine didn't explain it either. I didn't find out what it was for until I got to Vermillion." She offers the card back to Casey. "They said one of these will get you your own room for 24 hours."

"Only one day? 'S inconvenient. You better take it with you, then." Casey primly takes a shaving of pickled ginger before switching to his other roll.

"Are you sure?" Vera pulls the card away, keeping it close to her chest. "That's nice of you, Casey. Maybe they'll let me have the same room!"

"Either way, least you don't have to go all the way back there, clear stuff out, then beg for a room at the Pokémon Center. They still haven't called me at all and I been on the waitlist since… what, 8?"

"Yeah, that's really nice of you, Casey." Jordan glances sideways at him with a dawning suspicion in his eyes. "Especially since it does seem like there's a good chance they won't be calling you today. So… what are you gonna do if you can't get a room there?"

"Sleep on your floor, obviously." Jordan sighs, but does not look surprised. "Hey, I have a good sleeping pad. I'd go up and camp on Route 6, but I prefer a shower. An' I still gotta get back to the gym tomorrow anyhow."

"Yeah, okay, fine." Jordan waves a hand dismissively. "And yeah, me too. Do you think Hana will treat us any different after what we did today?"

"Better give us some glowing reviews no matter what the battle's like!" Casey laughs, but there's a humorless edge to it.

Jordan nods, nibbling on the nori on his roll. "Hope so, too." He turns to Vera. "How was it? How's she in battle, I mean."

"She's tough." Vera tucks the voucher into her jacket pocket. "You have to register which three Pokémon you're using before you go in, and she picks her team based on your choices. Plus, she hides them under the water, so she automatically has home field advantage. Hmph… no wonder she beat me…"

"You lost, huh?" Casey nods to himself, hovering his chopsticks uncertainly above his choices of rolls. "In the water- that's different. An' none of ours can really swim. Wait, yours either- how'd you even battle?"

"It was a close match!" Vera protests, ashamed to have admitted defeat. "You should have seen it. I had Ebo… uh, I mean…" She remembers who she's talking to, taking a moment to consider her words. Casey tilts his head curiously.

"Some of my team can fly. So I had them fly over the water and found a way to negate Hana's ranged options. So her Pokémon had to leave the water to attack, evening the playing field a little." She frowns as she remembers the last round. "Be careful of her Kingler, though. That giant claw isn't just for show. That thing's a monster in melee."

"An' I'm basically down a Pokémon, too," Casey muses, splashing his chopsticks in his dish of soy sauce. "Don't 'spose she'll go two-on-two…"

"Well, she also gives the option to put little floaty pads on the water, but I don't trust that." Vera puts a roll of her own into the soy sauce, stirring a chopstick around it to demonstrate her point. "Seems like an opportunity to get outflanked easily. Just stick to the shore, where they can only come from one direction. Or find a way to make the water problematic for her. Hey, didn't I see Ginger freezing the water earlier? Maybe do that, or use electricity."

"She's not good enough with Triple Axel to do somethin' like that yet- hey!" Casey yelps, glancing around wildly. The staff aren't nearby, so he thumps his chest gently. "Don't freeze me, you're not even s'posed to be out!" he hisses. "And it's true. That ice won't be able to hinder them, 'specially in that warm pool. She was havin' trouble even skating down Route 11. Electricity might be somethin', but I'm almost wishin' I had Jordan's plant collection for this!"

Jordan looks like he's deep in thought, but snaps out of it at the mention of his name. "Oh. Oh, yeah. I was thinking I'd have an easier time here with my Grass-types, but that's a good point, they don't really know how to swim..." He taps his chin with his chopsticks. "Tiny and Hop should be able to navigate it fine, at least."

"Yeah, I guess you fall apart at a third, too. Tangles'll prob'ly sink if she falls in, Spirit's no good for it… I guess you're down to Sage? Oh, shit, and what if she has ice? Did she use ice against you, Vera? Jordan, you're gonna have to be clever if she does!"

"Um… oh! She had a Croconaw! It knew Ice Fang." Vera mimes a crocodile's jaw with her chopsticks. "Chomp, chomp."

Casey laughs, miming the same at Jordan. "Don't let it chomp you!"

Jordan playfully bats his chopsticks away with the ends of his own, but he's grinning. "Ice Fang, huh… that's good to know." He turns his chopsticks at Vera's, opening and closing them at hers. "You'll come cheer us on, right?"

"Of course I will. I wanna see you take Hana down." She feels a little silly playing with her utensils, but there's a smile to go with her slight blush. "Yay, go Jordan, go Casey! You're so cool!" She opens her chopsticks like a mouth as she quietly cheers, accidentally dropping them in the process. "Uh.. something like that…"

"I'll get you some poms, do the whole cheerleader thing!" Casey's not entirely joking. Cheerleading is fun! If he sees some poms he might have to buy them. Though Vera dropping her chopsticks doesn't speak to much coordination. "Throw the gym leader off, if nothin' else. I don't remember any full routines to teach you. Gonna have to make it up as you go!"

"Me, a cheerleader?" Vera shakes her head at the image. "Probably not."

"Why not? Put your hair up with some cute scrunchies an' do a high kick, shake some poms… it'd be cute!"

"Cute? I, I don't know..." She subconsciously runs a hand through her hair, putting an entire sushi roll in her mouth rather than keep talking, but there's no hiding that her whole face is red now.

"Back me up on this, Jordan." Casey leans back in his chair and pops one roll into his mouth and slides another unsauced one into his jacket for Ginger.

Jordan coughs, choking on his tea a little bit as Casey puts him on the spot. "Yeah, Vera. You're cute- it'd be cute." He quickly corrects himself. His face is reddening also, but he pretends it's from the coughing fit and hides it behind his cup. Casey's grin is undeniably mischievous.

"Two votes for cute! I'll buy you some poms and scrunchies if I see 'em."

Vera fans her still-red face, tears at the corners of her eyes. That last roll was spicier than she'd thought it would be. "You guys are terrible." She says with a chuckle. "Fine, I'll be your cheerleader. Just don't expect too much."

"I expect the complete and utter adoration I deserve," Casey says grandly, though he falters, laughing, at the end of the clearly absurd statement. "And high kicks! They're important."

"And some of these moves," Jordan gestures wildly with his arms, and a waiter approaches him. "Oh, no, I wasn't- sorry." He shrinks down with embarrassment as the man leaves with a small bow, the plastered smile on face twitching slightly.

"Yeah! Some of those!" Casey watches the waiter out of the corner of his eye and sneaks another sushi roll into his jacket. "Cheerleading's mostly enthusiasm, you'll do great!"

Vera looks between the two, certain she'll never remember all of those silly moves. But Casey was right about one thing. "Of course I'll do great. I am great. And with me cheering you on, you'll both do great, too!"

Gwen Alanis ft. Arianne Chandler

The Pokémon Center is, predictably, Arianne and Gwen's next stop, after what went down at the warehouse. The two girls walked there together, without really paying attention to any other trainer that they happened to be with, and are now in the lobby, once again dealing with the large crowd of trainers waiting in line to heal their Pokémon, book a room, or simply get something to eat or drink.

Only when they finally hand in the Pokémon that were hurt to the nurse, they can finally take a long breath and try to collect themselves. "That's settled too, finally… oh, and you know, the pain from the explosion is already fading and even the cold is gone! Thanks for sticking with me through all that, Gwen!"

"No problem!" Gwen smirks, giving a thumbs up. "But also… god damn, I haven't had anything to drink in awhile! I'm gonna get me a soda!" She exclaims, reaching into her pockets for her wallet. Unfortunately but not uncharacteristically of her, it takes her a solid minute for her to find what she's looking for, and what she eventually does end up finding definitely isn't her wallet- instead it's a strip of paper she vaguely recognizes.

"What the hell is this?" Gwen cocks up a brow. "Pokemon Fanclub Gold Star Voucher… oh right, I remember! I think some grandma gave it to me on Route 11 or something… but what does it vouch for?"

"Oh, I have one as well! Also from route 11." Arianne looks over Gwen's shoulder, somewhat surprised.

"Do you know what it's supposed to be for?"

"Uh… good question. I don't, or maybe I just forgot!" The Cinnabar girl smiles nervously.

"Jeez, do people just hand these things out like candy without explaining what they even do!?" Gwen groans.

"To be fair, in my case, I got it during a pretty hectic situation! I had some trouble with Espurr and all…" Arianne chuckles, a hand running through her hair.

"Well… what's stopping us from just going there ourselves and asking them what these things do?"

"True! But unless you wait, you'll have to give up your soda…" Arianne points at the queue still growing behind the vending machines. "I bet they have some over there anyways!"

---

After a quick trip over to the Fanclub, the two find out the Gold Star Vouchers allow them access to a room at the Fanclub for a night. It's really bizarre to Gwen why the people who hand these vouchers out don't say what their use is, but she can't exactly complain if she doesn't have to deal with the crowd at the Pokemon Center, although it would have saved her a lot of trouble last night… oh well. But almost as if to make up for that, they're also provided a fancy dinner! Admittedly it's all too fancy for Gwen to even recognize what's on her plate, but she's too hungry to question it and gleefully hounds it all down.

After her meal, she's directed to her awfully luxurious room that has a bathroom that's just as luxurious. It looks nice and all, the only real issue is that the bathroom just has, well, a bath- no option to shower in sight. This poses an issue to Gwen, because whenever she washes off she wants to get in and out as quickly as she can, and taking a bath just isn't as fast. But given it's her only choice, she takes what she can get and does her best to wash off as swiftly as possible- although given how surprisingly relaxing it turns out to be, it doesn't go exactly as planned.

When she's done with that, it starts to hit her how tired she is. It's pretty late too, so the best course of action would be to go to sleep. As part of her nightly routine, she releases all of her Pokemon besides King and watches them crawl onto her bed while Bead floats on standy and Scar just lays on the ground. It's nice she gets to have Scar out now that Arianne has her own room.

...although speaking of that, it's kind of weird to think she actually has her own room for the night. In reality it's not abnormal since that's been every night for Gwen since… well, since forever, really. But it was nice to have some company last night, and it's something she feels she could always use. Oh well. It shouldn't be a major problem, right?

---

Eyes wide open, Gwen lays in her bed, surrounded by her sleeping Pokemon while she stares at the ceiling of the dark room. It's weird- she never has a hard time falling asleep, and after such an eventful day, there's no reason she should be awake right now. But no matter how many times she tells herself that, her mind is still too active to sleep.

Damn, being alone fucking sucks. How did I do this for so long?

Thoughts such as these litter her brain, practically forcing her awake. It's kind of unbelievable how much she's socialized these past few days, and getting used to it has made her old habits unbearable. She never had any siblings close to her age to share a room with, and she didn't even have a roommate at Cape (as far as she remembers anyways). Why is it that she's only now bothered by it? Or maybe… maybe it's always bothered her and she just never noticed it until now. Whatever it is, she can't keep ignoring it. She has an idea of what to do, although it is risky…

Well, she never was the type to play it safe.

Having had enough of it, she shakily walks down the hall with all her Pokemon (except Scar) following before standing in-front of Arianne's door. Alright Gwen, here goes nothing!! Her unsteady breathing is slightly alleviated when she swallows, before she closes her eyes and knocks on the door.

It takes a bit for Arianne to walk up to her room's door and open it up, only to look at the culprit with a flabbergasted expression. "G-Gwen? You good, can I help?" She speaks up, wearing a wrinkled t-shirt with the wrong side up front. She chuckles awkwardly as she looks down and appears to notice that detail herself.

"Uh, s-sorry if I'm bothering you, I just thought that, uh, well, it's just that I was having a hard time falling asleep, so like, I was wondering if I c-could… m-maybe sleep in your room? I-I brought my sleeping bag though, so don't worry about that!" Gwen fidgets about, rapidly shooting her pupils everywhere besides towards Arianne while tapping her index fingers together.

The Cinnabar girl still looks somewhat surprised, but smiles slightly. "Oh… are you sure? Are you really willing to give up your bed? I mean… hmm… we could set up a PokéGear call as we sleep, so we still have each other's company? If you want."

From behind Arianne, Lulu bounces towards the door as well, leaving a trail of luminous spores behind. While not terribly bright, it's still enough to bother Tusk who was dragged into this by his trainer. Thank god he's tired because if he wasn't he'd for sure try to start a fight. "I mean, I don't really need to sleep in a bed. I can sleep anywhere, I could sleep on a Sandslash's back if I had to! Well uh, if I'm asking you this I guess that's not one-hundred percent true, but still! I just… need some company from other people, that's all..."

"Well… ok, first of all, come on in!" Arianne nods. "And we can figure it out without bothering the others!" She takes a look at all of Gwen's teammates who follow their trainer one-by-one. Rather than her entire team though, only Tusk, Pix, and Talon are present in this line- Bead just floats by Gwen's shoulder, as he usually is.

"Thanks... " Gwen tries hiding how red her face is by creating a distraction with her sleeping bag she tosses onto the floor. The Pokemon of hers that can sleep all pass out the second they have an opportunity to, but their trainer isn't at this point. While she's here she tries thinking up a topic they can converse about, and through enough fumbling: "So uh, I gotta say I think it's really cool how you've trained Lulu to grow her roots out like that!"

"Oh, thanks… it's been useful many times and she's definitely great at it!" Arianne chuckles as she sits back down on her bed. In the meantime, Morelull takes on the job of lighting up the room herself, and gives out her usual pink ambient light.

"That must take a lot of skill! I've seen those kinds of techniques in tournaments Jenny battles in, and... oh yeah, Jenny…" She pauses when her sister's name comes up. It's only now hitting her that she's the next city over- and Gwen still hasn't heard back from Jenny.

"Hm… as you might've seen, I haven't mastered that technique though. It's like the more I try to think about what my Pokémon can do, the more difficult it gets…" Arianne sighs, looking at the ceiling. "Oh by the way… you still sure you wanna sleep here? I'm just… trying to help…"

"Oh, I uh, n-no I like being here! Uh, no I mean, I don't mean it like that just…" Gwen interrupts herself with an exhale before burying her face in her knees. "I dunno. I've just been getting a lot of weird feelings lately, and one of those weird feelings makes me…" Not wanting to sound completely incoherent she slows down to carefully select her words. "...makes me feel all lonely and stuff. And that's weird and I don't get it!"

Arianne scratches her chin for a bit. "I think I get it too… to me it's more like how some people eventually stand out from all the rest, and you really feel better and more at ease when you have them around…" The girl muses as she eyes her PokéGear, which is now sitting on the bedside table.

"Yeah… that's definitely it." Gwen's heartbeat kicks up tenfold, her face going red. "It's... just super weird because I never got this way before until I started talking to people. Up until now I didn't think I needed friends- I thought Jenny and my Pokemon were all I ever needed. But then I came across some people- you, Casey, Richard, Courtney, Sarah, and there even seemed like there were some other trainers who went to Cape who seemed cool! I even think I heard someone say they liked Detective Greedent Reloaded and now I'm thinking about how I want to get to know him! This didn't happen before!"

Arianne lets out a laugh. "Aw, that's nice though! They say that who finds a friend, finds a treasure, and… I can confirm! It just makes everything better." She looks up towards the ceiling again, keeping a smile on her face, before briefly getting up to take off her daytime shirt. Gwen starts trembling at the sight but seeing she's wearing another shirt puts her at ease.

"I guess you're right. And y'know actually... funny thing, during winter break I promised Jenny that I would make friends before we started our graduation journey. To be honest, I didn't think I'd actually do it, but here I am." She chuckles awkwardly. "Speaking of which though, she lives in Saffron, which is pretty close, so do you, uh… c-can I introduce you to Jenny when we get there?"

"Well… alright!" Arianne smiles as she eventually lays down on her bed. "You have been talking about her a couple times, so I'm sure it will be interesting!" As she speaks, Lulu jumps on top of the bed as well and perches herself on one of the corners, her light still up but gradually becoming dimmer as she tries to fall asleep.

"I mean, how can I not? She's the best! She's won sooo many tournaments in Saffron- there was this one Gyrados that looked really scary, but Jenny's Krookodile took it out in one hit with a Rock Slide! She has a Blastoise too, and he does all these spinning maneuvers and he can get around the battlefield really fast that way! And then there's her Volcarona- the fact she even has one to begin with should say enough about her skill as a trainer!"

"I heard… Blastoise?" Arianne giggles. "This makes everything more interesting… and even then, sounds like your sister really deserves all the praise! You're lucky to have her…"

"I'll say! She's helped me out with a lot with other stuff too! It's because of her that I actually went to Cape in the first place! I used to live in Unova, but my parents were giving me a lot of shit because-" Gwen bites her tongue. Fuck, I almost let that slip. Gotta be more careful… "Uh, she was able to take custody of me so I could live with her in Kanto, and I couldn't be happier! And yeah, she has a Blastoise. His name is Shellshocker!"

"Aw, that's a sweet story, I'm sorry for your… parents though?" Arianne stops, seemingly looking for confirmation. "I'm glad it worked out though! And… as for Blastoise, I'm sure Eric will be happy to meet him too!"

"The thing with my parents is… a long story. Anyways, I'm sure Eric will appreciate Shellshocker's awesomeness! And… y'know, while we're at it we can invite other people over as well! She wanted me to make friends and introduce them to her, so might as well."

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea! We got you!" The Cinnabar girl speaks up again, before letting out a short yawn. "You know, though… you're making me think about my own friends and how they may be doing right now. It's true that I can call them anytime and they'll usually be there, but it's not the same thing as being there, together, in Cinnabar… and I guess it's the same for Jenny and you, right?"

Considering the fact that her sister hasn't actually gotten back to her in months, Gwen isn't entirely sure how to respond to Arianne without acknowledging that. She'll try changing the subject. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. But anyways, we can invite Casey, Richard, maybe Courtney and Sarah, and maybe even some other people! We can watch a movie and order a pizza and play video games and see Jenny's super powerful Pokemon in person, it makes me so excited I can't even sleep!" She cries with excitement before letting out a loud yawn.

Arianne remains quiet for a bit and yawns again herself. "I guess we can, sure…" She adds, but doesn't sound as enthusiastic as the other girl. "Yeah, it will be alright. It will be worth it for sure…"

Gwen doesn't respond- it seems that she fell into a deep sleep while Arianne was talking, ironically enough. Very characteristically of her, she lays on-top of her sleeping bag rather than inside it, her extended limbs and long hair taking up a lot of space on the floor while she snores loudly. Indeed, all it took for her to rest easily was some company.

Casey wakes early as usual, on the floor of Jordan's Pokémon Center room with Parsley curled against one of his sides and Pepper against the other. No wonder he's sweating buckets in this tiny room! Ginger has the right idea, he finds, splayed out on the cool bathroom tile and only swatting at him once as he brushes his teeth and pulls on workout clothes.

Parsley comes along for a short jog. Casey's been more used to using his muscles in very specific, repetitive ways over the last two years- a lack of regular sports and an abundance of self-directed gym use will do that to a person. But now that he's been dancing, swimming, climbing, and carrying his whole life on his back for over a week- it's a different type of work, and he feels different because of it.

It's great fun, having these new experiences.

When Casey and Parsley get back to the room, Jordan is sitting by the window poring over something on his PokeGear, no doubt doing some last-minute preparations for the upcoming gym battle. He barely glances up as Casey returns. "Morning. How was the floor?"

"Prob'ly cooler than the bed, honestly! It's gettin' hot again, but I think they turned the heat on yesterday and forgot to turn it off. I woke up so sweaty." Casey peers into the bathroom to find Pepper sharing a granola bar with Ginger. "What're you doing? Did y'all get breakfast yet?" he asks the room at large, despite there being only one being that can verbally answer him.

"Not yet, figured you were coming back so we could go together," Jordan responds, hopping off the bed as he puts his device away. "Think Vera's up yet?"

"She sleeps later than us, right? Shoot her a text, she'll see it when she wakes up. I need a shower- oh, no, I gotta do laundry, everything I own is gross…" Casey fishes out the relatively clean items of clothing, which ends up being… only his swim trunks. "How necessary is it to wear a shirt around here?"

Jordan shoots him a disapproving look, but it quickly morphs into a devilish grin. "I know what you can wear." He dives into his pack and rummages around, before pulling out a familiar-looking brown shirt and throwing it at Casey.

Casey knows exactly what this is as soon as he touches the weirdly sticky screen printed slogan. "Amateur Archaeologist," he reads again, for the first time since he found it in Rock Village, and dissolves into giggles even before he turns it around. "Let's Get Dirty! Aw, Jordan, did you never wear it?"

"Please. Well, almost, when Ralph walked in on me changing." He dismisses Casey's immediate "what?" with: "But that's a story for another time. All yours if you need something clean to wear, though."

Casey grumbles both at the texture of the shirt and the lack of explanation before relenting and taking it with him to the showers. Once clean, dry, and dressed in what is possibly the worst outfit they could have put together, he collects his things, his Pokémon, and his friend and drags them downstairs to run a load of laundry while they eat.

Jordan's toast is loaded with a bizarre mix of whipped cream, chocolate spread and a large heap of fruits only at Casey's nagging, but he does observe that a good number of the berries go to Hop and Tiny once they sit down at their table. "What? They're sour." Jordan shrugs as he slips another to the Pumpkaboo.

"You can't just take good food, you gotta put it in your body for it to count! What's wrong with eggs and vegetables for breakfast anyway?" Casey gestures at his own plate, covered in exactly that. "'S good for you, gets your energy up, all o' that."

Jordan wrinkles his nose at Casey's plate. "Not really feeling a savoury breakfast today." He shrugs, taking a bite of his toast.

"It ain't about taste, it's about nutrition, I told you that like a billion times. I mean, you can even have… whatever that is, but half of it, and half somethin' like this. That's good for you. C'mon, Jordan, I don't want you to die before we're forty. You can't leave me all alone in this world, with no tether to reality, no voice of reason, no nothin'!" Casey's plea takes a turn for the dramatic quickly, as it tends to. Maybe this is why Jordan never actually listens. "Live for me, Jordan, don't leave me this way!"

Jordan's chewing slows as his friend's theatrics intensify, but he remains otherwise nonchalant. "Okay." He says plainly, after he swallows. "I can do half, at least, because life without chocolate is not a life worth living."

Casey blinks at him, then breaks out into a grin. He hadn't expected Jordan to actually, finally listen this time. "Half is good!"

Even after their breakfast is finished and their laundry is clean, Casey opts not to change into something better. He needs the swim trunks at the gym, after all, and there's no real point in switching shirts. Vera meets them on the way to the gym, and rolls her eyes to the heavens when Casey shows off his atrocious outfit. "How the tables have turned," she quips, clearly remembering when Casey snuck it into Jordan's backpack. Casey immediately decides to feign offense, defending his "clearly avant garde aesthetic", and Vera's properly riled up even before he manages to get the receptionist on his side as well.

It's a lot more fun than what lies ahead.

It's seeming like a trend, that the gym leaders aren't what he wants them to be. At least his irritation with Beaumont was solely for the way he chose to battle, as opposed to Hana's endangerment of himself and his friends. Casey doesn't know what Hana will be like in battle, not really. Vera says she's clever, and powerful, and uses her gym to her advantage. Maybe if he'd done this yesterday, he would have been able to enjoy himself. He likes battling, he likes the whirlwind of action and strategy and relentless pace, he likes this new challenge of terrain.

Maybe if he pretends it's not Hana Palm he's battling, he can have fun.

But also, he very much would like to one-up her in some way, and he knows that thought will help him focus and press forward when he otherwise wouldn't.

Casey takes his place on the wide edge of a long pool, rather irked that Hana keeps the vantage point of her lifeguard's chair on the opposite side. He peers suspiciously into the pool- it's deeper than he is tall, by a significant amount, and tugs nervously at the straps of his borrowed life jacket. Janice pats his shoulder reassuringly before she takes a place upon her own chair, binoculars and a snack in hand.

"Do you want platforms?" she asks. Casey contemplates the pool further, gauging its width. He doesn't see any reason to litter the pool with wobbly platforms that would obscure his vision just to maybe have a slight advantage of reach, so he chooses not to use them. Janice relays this to Hana with a dismissive wave.

"Janice told me you had a good lesson yesterday." Hana smiles down at him, and Casey tries his best to keep his expression neutral, though the tilt of his chin as he stares up at her is defiant, in a way. Hana falters, almost imperceptibly, but pushes on. "That Lapras is a gentle one. Mine isn't."

Said Lapras materializes in the long pool, stretching its long neck happily. They'd worried briefly yesterday about ice, and it turns out Hana has more than just a melee user of the type. Jordan will indeed have to watch out.

But what's rough for Jordan's team isn't the worst thing for Casey's.

Casey pulls a PokéBall from the pocket of his swim trunks and his Charmeleon joins him on the pool deck. Hana cocks her head. "Leading with a fire-type?"

He doesn't really want to talk to her, but that thought is immediately overruled by his default state of chattiness.

"Not knowin' what else you got means that 's far as I know, his best chance is here."

"You shouldn't have brought him at all," Hana decides. Clearly she has opinions on how well Fire-types do in her gym. Casey tilts his chin more haughtily.

"I didn't have a choice. Unlike you."

He could be referring to her Pokémon, and as far as Janice knows, that's exactly what he's saying. But Hana flinches slightly, and Jordan blanches. Vera smirks as she cheers from the sidelines. "Go Pepper! Send that dinosaur back to the Ice Age!"

Pepper happily waves to Vera, but he's as uncertain about the pool as Casey is, and mimes swinging his tanbō quizzically.

"Nah, not a good choice for this. You gotta use your fire." Pepper looks highly skeptical, with an undercurrent of anxiety. "Gotta use the range you have, 'cause I'm not lettin' you in that pool. Okay? And don't worry," Casey says, softer, "nothin' can start on fire in here."

Pepper blows out a nervous breath, flames flickering through his teeth, and pats his cheeks the way Casey knows himself to do.

"Everybody ready?" Janice calls, and Casey and Pepper give her a simultaneous thumbs-up. "Right- begin!"

Lapras ducks under the water immediately, twirling as it shoots down the length of the pool, doubling back at the end, and Casey knows this. He knows it immediately, and frustration jumps into his throat- this is his strategy, to dart back and forth, to strike and drop back, to outmaneuver anyone. What fun it would have been to do this yesterday, go against a reflection of his own style, without knowing what Hana would do to him later! To not have yesterday's fear and anger still hanging over him like a stormcloud...

Casey hasn't even commanded Pepper yet, only watched the Lapras propel itself back and forth. What can he do? Pepper's feet are already sliding as he shuffles on the wet pool deck, and even if it were dry he couldn't match that speed. Casey tugs at the straps of his life jacket anxiously- he needs a plan, any plan- his usual strategy just isn't possible in any form and he doesn't like that at all. Somehow, he'd been blind to the idea that the Lapras would go underwater, even though Vera had said. And how can he possibly hit something underwater with fire?

"Playing the waiting game?" Hana misidentifies his hesitation, but he's sure she would have commanded the same regardless. "Mist."

The Lapras pops up and blows out an icy haze that settles atop the pool. They can still see into it, more or less, and the Lapras dives in the face of Pepper's punching Dragon Breath. Casey watches the water absorb the beam's impact and blows out a disheartened breath.

"We gotta keep it out of the water, but- I don't-"

Pepper blows out a breath, too, wisps of fire and smoke mixed in, and Casey grins suddenly.

"Oh, that's- yeah! Make as much smoke as you can!"

Casey steps away as Pepper tips his head back and thick black smoke funnels upward, pushed further by the heat of Pepper's flames. It falls into the Mist and mingles with the icy droplets, and Casey's grin widens to see his plan work- the particulate in the smoke binds and drags the droplets down, splashing a gentle inky rain into the pool until the Mist is entirely clear. Like the stormcloud bursting overhead as they ran to the sushi restaurant…

Who says he has to let yesterday continue to darken his mood?

"Clever," Hana nods. "But I don't want more junk in my pool. Confuse Ray!"

Lapras surfaces, an eerie ray of light pulsing toward Pepper but Casey's back in it now and the speed they don't have to maneuver is still there in their techniques. Pepper puffs out another Smokescreen and the slow ray gets lost in the cloud. Even better, though, Hana has given him a clue.

"Fill the pool with smoke!"

He sees Hana frown, briefly, and knows he's got it right. Pepper takes as much time as he can to flood the pool with dark particles and barely jumps out of the way of another Confuse Ray. "One more, buddy!" Casey cheers, and Pepper puffs a big breath of smoke into the now-murky waters. The Lapras looks affronted when Hana tells it to dive, and Casey knows he's gotten somewhere. Unfortunately it still follows instructions, and surfaces right in front of Pepper to blast him point-blank with a powerful stream of water, sending him skidding backwards even past Janice's chair. Pepper whines, puffing out hot flames to warm himself, and scampers back to the poolside, where Lapras is yet again underwater.

"More smoke?" Casey asks, and Pepper shrugs. It's the only thing they can do.

A few rays and jets of water find their way to the surface, but each one falls further from their target. Hana is unwilling to give up the pool, her advantage, but Casey is going to make her and she can't do a thing about it if she's not going to bring Lapras back up.

Eventually, Lapras resurfaces at one end of the pool without command, shaking its head and blinking rapidly.

"It can't see, let's go!" Casey shouts, and Pepper runs as fast as he can on all fours across the wet tile, skidding to a halt and blazing hotter than Casey's ever seen to engulf the thrashing Lapras in wild flames.

"Brine, 5 o'clock!" Hana calls, and the jet of water punches through Pepper's fire and forces him back again. The Charmeleon darts forward, looking rough, but his tail flares brightly and the Lapras burns again. This time it falters, desperately ducking into the black water to escape, but slams into the side of the pool halfway down and resurfaces there.

"Dragon Breath!" Casey calls, and Pepper braces as it punches toward the Lapras, barely after the curing splash Hana called Life Dew. Another Brine misses its mark, because Pepper is darting his way back and roars powerful, blazing flames into the Lapras once more. The Lapras steams, Pepper inhales again, but this time the jet of water is right on target, barrelling toward Pepper and punching right through the shifting light.

"Excuse me?!" Hana cries, but Casey dismisses her and tilts his head back to look up at Janice.

"He's done, I won't use him again," he says easily, pocketing Pepper's PokéBall, and Janice shrugs.

"The challenger has retired his Charmeleon! Please choose your second Pokémon."

Hana frowns, but seems appeased enough.

"Now, we can move!" Casey laughs, and pitches a PokéBall high into the air.

Ginger materializes in an instant, high above Hana's still-blind Lapras, and drops foot-first into the back of its skull, bouncing off to finish the Double Kick by slamming down into its shell. The Lapras cries out and dives sideways into the pool, but electricity crackles as it does and bubbles pop above the surface as it lets out its breath. A second zap and the Lapras surfaces, Ginger's blunt little claws dug into its shell, and it can't do anything before it is kicked in the neck by those tiny, powerful feet. The Lapras slumps, head splashing into the water, and Ginger hops to the sidelines under Hana's chair.

"Lapras is unable to battle!"

Hana peers down, trying to get a better look at Casey's Pokémon. "Brutal, don't you think?"

Casey shrugs. It's Ginger's attitude that makes it seem so, but- "She's just fast. Counter her better."

Oops.

That was sassy.

Hana narrows her eyes, but Casey stands his ground. "Get her out from under there, it's unfair if I can't see her."

Unfair? What kind of gym leader talks about unfairness? Casey bites his tongue on that, at least, and waves Ginger back to his side of the pool. She obliges with a forward roll and ear-spring that launches her into his chest. "Oof. Thanks for bein' on target, I s'pose."

Hana's second Pokémon materializes in the murky pool, and it's Casey's turn to frown. "It's unfair if I can't see it," he parrots.

Hana might have rolled her eyes. He didn't quite catch it if she did. "It's a Whiscash, if you must know."

"Thanks." Ginger makes a move to drop from his arms, but he holds her back. "Wait, wait. This is better for Parsley." Ginger starts in on an unintelligible rant, which Casey fully ignores as he releases his Skiddo onto the pool deck.

"Switching?" Janice calls down.

"For now! Ginger, chill out- she's got three, you can start the next one- don't make me put you away-"

Hana snaps her fingers while Casey is busy wrangling his Buneary, and her Whiscash launches from the water at the perfect point to drive a Psychic-powered headbutt into Parsley's flank.

"Leech Seed!" Casey yells, and roots twist their way around the base of its tail as the Whiscash dives back into the dark waters. His earlier strategy might get him in trouble now. He's pretty sure Whiscash are swamp Pokémon, which means they can see just fine in nasty water.

Unfortunately, Parsley can't do the same.

It's good for them that the pool complex has big glass skylights overhead, because that lets Growth do its job properly as Parsley canters down the length of the pool. Hana tracks the Skiddo's pace and Whiscash throws a wall of brownish water at him a few times- they hit their mark, but Parsley shakes himself out cheerfully and runs on, energy draining into him from the Whiscash at the bottom of the pool. If Hana doesn't do something soon, it'll probably faint just from that. That would be boring.

So Casey mixes it up.

"Razor Leaf, into the pool!"

It's not going to do anything, of course- the leaves barely submerge before they lose momentum and float to the top. But it's only meant to show Hana that he's got a plan- even though he doesn't- and to coax that Whiscash out of the pool. And it works! Hana calls for Dive, a fast swim underwater culminating in a water-veiled slam against Parsley's shoulder. But that's not her end goal, apparently- when the water washes away, Parsley is thrashing on the pool deck, Whiscash tickling him with its fins. The only thing that stops the assault is the fish's wince as Leech Seed drains it further, and Hana's command for a retreat into the pool.

Parsley shakes himself and rolls to his feet, snorting and stomping. "You good, baby boy?"

The Skiddo trots by and nuzzles into Casey's outstretched hand, which he takes as an affirmative.

"Rest," commands Hana, from her chair, and Casey sighs. They can't even hit it if it's underwater while doing that!

He stares into the pool, still murky from Pepper's smoke and the Whiscash's muddy water, but… he can see a shadow, now?

Pools have filters, his brain helpfully supplies, but it doesn't really matter that they do- just that he can see again.

"Parsley, go 'round that side! Halfway down- grab it!"

Parsley does so, managing to find purchase on the wet ground enough to heave the Whiscash onto the pool deck, and Hana's command of "Snore" has Parsley flinching away at the noise, shaking his head vigorously.

"Vine Whip!"

The Skiddo sets about lashing the fish with his vines as the seed roots wrapped around its tail continue to bolster his energy. Another Snore is powered through, and the Whiscash wakes to Zen Headbutt the Skiddo in front of it and dive away safely.

"Pull it up again!"

This time it's not so easy- Parsley's hooves slide more with the momentum of the Whiscash, but with one vine attached to Hana's chair and one wrapped around the fish he reels it in, forcing it to surface and take a barrage of leaves to the face. Even Dive can't save it, though it almost pulls Parsley in twice- so Hana goes for another Zen Headbutt. Parsley staggers, vines around the lifeguard's chair slipping, and falls into the water with a splash. Casey and Ginger almost join him, the former tripping right up to the edge to see where his baby has gone, but Parsley surfaces momentarily, glowing with stolen energy and paddling back to Casey's side of the pool.

The Whiscash doesn't surface, but also doesn't execute Hana's command.

"Whiscash is unable to battle!"

"Yeah! Good job, baby boy!"

Casey opens his hands for Parsley's vines to wrap around, hauling him back out of the clearing pool. Ginger chitters insistently in his ear.

"I know, I know- Parsley, take a break, 's Ginger's turn again."

"You don't even know what my last Pokémon is," Hana calls across.

"Doesn't matter! She wants to fight an' I promised she could."

He'd do it even if he didn't have the advantage here, he realizes. He'd do it because that's what his Pokémon want to do, because it's good for them, because battles are supposed to be a fun test of skill. It doesn't matter if he wins. He doesn't have to prove anything to Hana- he already knows he doesn't care about her opinion. He's going to do things his way, whether she likes it or not, and if she complains about it to her brother- well. Casey has something to complain about right back.

Right now, though, he's going to let his Pokémon play.

Ginger doesn't flinch from her firm stance on the edge of the pool as a Lanturn materializes, curiously splashing at the clearing-but-still-murky pool water. The first thing it does is raise water to form circling rings around itself, and Casey grimaces. It looks as Life Dew had, clear and sparkling, and it must be a healing thing, too. He doesn't remember the name, or what it does, and he doesn't like not knowing. Usually he'd take cues from his opponent, but Hana hadn't even said the name- the Lanturn just did it, which means it's something it's used to doing.

So it goes, with defensive tactics, and he does have Hana on the defensive.

"You're gonna have to be pretty tight with your aim if you wanna hit it and get back without falling in," Casey tells Ginger. "It's gonna dive more'n Lapras. An' dont use Thunder Punch, it might have the ability that heals from Electric attacks."

Ginger scoffs and darts forward. "Hey-?!"

She's running on the water!

Each time her foot hits the pool, the water freezes at the point of contact, giving her just enough momentum to push off and do it again and again until she reaches the Lanturn and smashes a glowing-white ear into its face just before it blasts her back with a wave of electricity, sending her tumbling back to Casey's side of the pool and slamming into the wall. Her little paws scrabble at the side and drag her out of the water, soaked and angry. The pool crackles again, Ginger's feet barely clearing the surface as it does.

That's dangerous.

"Better jump when I say or you'll be gettin' that through your feet," Casey says, and Ginger's off again, speeding across the surface after the Lanturn below. Electricity lights up the pool and Casey realizes he's not quicker than a current run through water- but it's okay, this time, because Ginger ploughs on through this weaker charge. Static crackles through her fur and falls away as the Lanturn surfaces to see if its ploy has worked and it gets a kick to the forehead and the back of the skull for its trouble.

Limber! What an ability- it's crazy how many times it's come in handy, unlike Parsley's Sap Sipper. But- that's right- Parsley doesn't have Limber, Parsley is susceptible to electrical paralysis, and Parsley is next up. Casey grimaces, though none but him know why- Ginger's doing well, after all, following through with a Dizzy Punch plunged into the water and freezing her own feet to float back up again. Hana's Lanturn tries a Confuse Ray, but Ginger simply twists away, closing her eyes as she surfaces and scrambles back onto the pool deck.

She's going to have to finish this for them- he doesn't know what he'll do if Parsley's body locks up under him in a pool of all places. Casey shudders.

Lanturn wheels about underwater, glowing happily with crystalline restoration. Ginger, on the other hand, looks like a stuffed toy fresh from the washing machine, all sodden and matted fur. Her little chest heaves with effort- she's probably carrying twice her weight in water by now, not to mention the exertion of performing her usual acrobatics in an aquatic setting. Casey's heart sinks.

She won't be able to finish this.

But maybe she can get close enough that Parsley can without issue.

Bounce is thwarted by a Quick Attack, but mid-air Discharge sends Ginger flying back poolside before she can get another kick in. "Another thing to watch out for," Casey grits out. Parsley snorts in agreement. Maybe. It doesn't matter, he's the trainer, he has to be the one watching out- "Watch out!"

There's no watching out for Discharge, though, and Ginger's wet fur is as good a conductor as the pool itself. She slumps, barely perceptible, and Casey sighs. Because when Ginger's almost out-

She takes risks.

A straight dive down and a wallop to Lanturn's eye with Dizzy Punch is good, but she's hardly maneuverable in the water and coating her feet in ice to rise doesn't help when the water begins to swirl around Lanturn, drawing her back into the vortex, head bobbing too infrequently above the water for comfort. She wants to fight, Casey reminds himself, calling out for her to punch it again on her way by. Her ear barely grazes the fish on the first pass, and doesn't make contact the second time around. Lanturn times a Confuse Ray perfectly and Casey winces. She wants to fight, she wants to fight, she wants to fight-

"TIMEOUT!"

Casey doesn't even wait for Janice to interpret that request into Pokémon battle rules; he has Parsley snatch Ginger right out of the Whirlpool and deposit her into his arms. "Hey," he says urgently, starting to squeeze the water out of her fur. "You're done, you're done, you're good-"

Ginger gives him a weak smack and a glare, which is slightly hampered by the fact that her eyes aren't focusing in the same place. Casey doesn't like that at all, doesn't like seeing his strong little bunny unable to even lift her head. He remembers, vaguely, how you're supposed to hold a baby- upright, her little chin near the shoulder seam of his life jacket, one of his hands supporting her head and neck.

He jumps at the gentle beep-beep of Janice's whistle. "Casey! You're still battling."

Oh, right.

Ginger obviously retired like he'd done for Pepper, Parsley at his elbow, and the Lanturn glowing crystal in the bottom of the pool. Restoring health, even as he worries about Ginger. Equipped with moves to cripple and drown his baby Skiddo.

Casey takes a breath. "I-"

The smack to his jaw from Ginger is fully anticipated, even addled as she is, but the vine covering his mouth is very different. Parsley pushes into his side and snuffles.

"No, I don't-" want you to, his brain finishes, and the words die in his throat. Because that's not a good reason. Pokémon are built for this, they're built to spar and play and desire these activities. What he, Casey, wants has nothing to do with his Pokémon right now- what he wants is fully based on his own perceptions. He doesn't want to get in that pool. He doesn't ever want to experience paralysis again. He doesn't want to spend his morning dizzy and confused. But he is not Parsley, he is not Ginger, he is not Pepper. They are built to dish out and take far more than his human body is designed for and they shake it off far more quickly- Ginger's already more grumpy than dizzy, and paralysis hardly bothered Parsley back against Emolga. It had bothered Casey.

He'd do it because that's what his Pokémon want to do he'd though, just moments ago.

This isn't different.

"Okay." Casey takes a deep breath. "Okay."

Parsley steps forward to Janice's announcement. "Both participants are down to their last Pokémon!"

Parsley glows green as he trots along the poolside and his pelt fluffs out, and Casey is once again thankful for the sun. A crackling Discharge from the bottom of the pool doesn't quite spill over the side, but it's a threat nonetheless. The ring around Lanturn glows again and Casey has to do something about that, but-

"Hey, throw a Leech Seed in there," Casey says, and watches it plonk into the water. It hangs for a moment, then bursts into twisting roots, catching nothing and floating back to the surface. Interesting.

"Stop throwing crap in my pool," Hana complains, which is the first thing she's said directly to him in a while. Casey gives a breezy laugh.

"Nah." She can't be so worried about this damn pool- she invites people to battle in it. She just doesn't want him to figure out what he can and can't do with the water. "Parsely, throw a Leaf Shield on it."

Okay, that's just him being petty. The amount of leaves that float on the surface do nothing but irritate Hana, who calls for her Lanturn to surface next to Parsley for an in-your-face Confuse Ray. But Parsley is ready, and a seed punches through the glow- but it doesn't prevent the brain-addling light from settling behind his eyes and the Skiddo staggers. Luckily, not into the pool that the Lanturn has retreated into again, but still- not ideal.

"Don't move 'round too much, baby boy," Casey calls. Parsley snorts and stamps instead of listening, and Casey clenches his fists. "Just- Growth, okay?"

He listens to that, at least, and glows with that green energy again. And a bit more, but from the pool- the Leech Seed wrapped around Lanturn's antenna is doing its job, stealing away the healing water it has been relying on. But as it springs into the air, Casey knows Parsley can't avoid the resulting slam, not when he staggers just trying to move forward. The Skiddo hits the deck with a solid thud, the Lanturn making an easy escape back into the water because all Parsley can focus enough to do is cry.

Casey hates that.

"C'mon, baby, Synthesis, Synthesis, you can do it-" Parsley's side shudders with heavy breaths and glows gold in the rays of the sun. It takes a moment to stumble to his feet and by then the Lanturn is above him again. "Pursuit boost!"

The speed of the technique lets Parsley dart out from under the Lanturn's shadow but isn't enough to avoid the wash of electricity it sends out on impact with the pool deck. Casey yelps as sparks skitter up his legs. "What the hell-"

"Get back in the challenger's box, it's there for a reason," Janice scolds. Casey grouses about it, finally noticing that said box is not just differently-colored floor but has grounding points all along its edge.

The Lanturn bounces up again, but they have a strategy now, and each time it does it's easy to let Growth glow through Parsley's form and at the last moment use a boost to jump away. Casey knows why Hana is doing this- her other moves barely affect a Grass-type, and she can't win a battle of attrition against Leech Seed and Synthesis. But before he can change it up, she does it for him.

"Draw it in!"

What?

A Whirlpool forms above the water, draining the pool down as it does, but the Lanturn somehow flings the growing vortex in Parsley's direction and the Skiddo has nowhere to run- he gets swept into the water as it boomerangs back into the pool, pulling him down toward the center like trash caught in a drain. Electricity pulses through the water and Parsley's frantically paddling hooves falter- paralysis!- and stronger electricity lights up the whirling funnel, over and over. Parsley flails against it with his vines, but it Bounces up as he is pulled into the very center and this is his chance-

"Razor Leaf!"

Two flurries of leaves rush to meet the oncoming Lanturn but the fish keeps falling, slamming down into Parsley and submerging them both. The Whirlpool calms and the whipped bubbles clear to reveal only one Pokémon bobbing up and breaking the surface with a splash.

"Baby boy!" Casey cheers, holding out his hands for the vines to settle around so he can haul his Skiddo out once more and cuddle him. "Oh, good job baby boy! So brave bein' in the water and doin' all that work, yes!"

Parsley snuffles against his ear, which makes it hard to hear Hana across the way.

"Congratulations, Casey," she says. Casey looks up at her, and she actually does look happy for him. He doesn't know if he wants her to be. "Not many people pull off a win against me."

Casey nods his thanks, not quite trusting anything he might say.

Arianne Chandler
Vermilion City
Tuesday, May 28^th, morning
Written with QueenNothing as Gwen and Aquacorde as Casey

"Aw, Gwen, please…" Arianne mumbles, almost pressing her head against the pillow. "It's too perfect… just a few more… days…"

Soon she gives in and opens her eyes, only to see a fully dressed up Gwen, ready for adventure. "You're… ready to leave already? I… fine." She eventually gets out of bed, keeping an eye on her Pokémon who are still sleeping in their usual spots. "Just what made you so eager to… oh right, Saffron. And Jennifer." A smile finally appears on the Cinnabar girl's face.

"Damn straight!" Gwen says with her iconic smirk. "I'll get the chance to show her how much Pokemon I've caught, how many battles I had, and a bunch of cool stuff like that!"

"Alright alright, I'm getting ready!" Arianne replies, giggling at the other girl's enthusiasm as she starts getting ready herself and, eventually, decides to wear her blue skirt for the day. "At least it's no longer that cold, I feel just fine with this!" She cheers.

"It really wasn't that cold… but who cares, I'm gonna see Jenny today!"

"You do you but… yeah, Saffron should be kind of a straight shot from here anyways. And with that… I'm ready to go!" The Cinnabar girl grins. "So, let's go for breakfast, shall we?"

"Sorry- I already had breakfast." Gwen says. "I was so excited I had to do everything right away!"

"I… oh!" Arianne laughs nervously. At least this time, she can't help but ask why Gwen didn't want to have breakfast with her, or just… "Well, if you wanted to go straight away, don't let me weigh you down and… I can catch up later if you want!"

'Well... I wouldn't want to go without you! Besides, I'd have to wait awhile if I had to wait for anyone else." Gwen chuckles.

"Oh, that's how it is… I'll go right away then, and hopefully resist the temptation of trying all the food!" Arianne chuckles as well, before hastily leaving the room.

There's no real reason for her to refuse Gwen's idea of traveling together. They're meant to spend time together in Saffron as well, and with the capital of Kanto being this close, why would they need to separate? Besides, Gwen is probably one of the best friends to have around at this moment. For a lot of reasons. And no, liking Courtney is not enough of a drawback to justify staying away from her.

A quick breakfast later, and Arianne is back in her room. Or rather, almost there. She's got a few foodstuffs from the breakfast room to pack with her on the trip towards Saffron, surely a better solution than having a huge breakfast in a few minutes and then feeling groggy for the rest of the day. But as she approaches the door and tries to open it up, she stands still in the opening. Instead of announcing that she's back, Arianne gulps down her words and tries to make the least amount of sound - Gwen is on the phone, and she'd rather not disturb her now.

"Uh, hi Casey! Since Saffron is so close now and that's where Jenny lives I was wondering if you maybe, uhh..."

"Maybe what?"

Of course the call is on speaker… Arianne simply moves her arms around, trying to get Gwen's attention without being heard whatsoever, but is actually not sure whether she should leave the room entirely or wait there.

"W-well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and just, y'know... hang out...?"

"Over- where? At your sister's house?"

"Yeah, that's where! I mean, I know it'll be awhile before we get there and all, but like I thought I'd just ask now because I'm so excited and I've been waiting for this opportunity for sooooo long and all my... f-friends... can meet Jenny and see how cool she is!"

"Uh, sure. Text me the time and place later, I guess? Don't know how long we'll be on the road or anythin', guess we'll find out soon enough."

And that sounds like… yeah, definitely Casey. So, if Gwen's plan works, Arianne will meet that boy again…

"Great!! I mean, uh , yeah, I'll let you know where we can meet up when we get there! Or maybe, uh... m-maybe if you want we could, uh, uh... t-travel through route 6 together? I mean it wouldn't just be us, of course not, I'm already going with Arianne, but the more the merrier, y'know?"

"Oh, uh- I'm already hangin' out with Jordan and Vera, actually."

"Oh... w-well don't worry about it, I'll be fine! We'll already hang out in Saffron anyways, just thought we might be able to see each other sooner and y'know I'd like to see you again soon- n-no wait, I don't mean like that just that- uh, anyways, I'll call you when I get to Saffron, maybe Tusk and Ginger can have a rematch then! See ya!"

Before Casey gets a chance to respond, Gwen hangs up and releases a long, exhausted breath. "God damnit."

That's the cue for Arianne to speak. "I'm sorry about coming in during the call but…" She breathes heavily. "I'm here, I got some food for later, and I just need to pack everything up before we leave! Sounds good?"

"What the-!" Gwen just stares at Arianne with wide eyes. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh… well, not that long… it's ok!" Arianne chuckles very nervously, not sure what to say. Should she lie and hope Gwen didn't see her, or tell the truth and be scolded for it if Gwen thinks it's necessary? That's a good question…

Gwen's pupils shift from left to right before she nervously chuckles. "W-well, I'll just assume you didn't hear any of that so I can sleep better… Anyways, I'm ready to go whenever you are!"

How could she even assume that after keeping her PokéGear on speaker mode, that was a whole other question. But if that's the way to make things less awkward, then… alright.

Arianne remembers this only after raising her hand and muttering "Well…" before realizing what she's getting into, and stopping promptly. "Ok, just a few minutes to get everything in my backpack, and then we leave!" She announces, quickly moving over to her bed and trying to look very focused on folding her clothes. All the while, Gwen springs to her feet and acts as though she's jogging in place from her excess energy.

So far so good, uh? Arianne tries to focus down on Gwen out of the corner of her eye as she continues gathering her stuff and getting ready. The Saffron girl looks so impatient, so eager, but she's still waiting for her friend and that… in a way, is kind of cute. Even if Arianne may be upset she doesn't get to bathe in the luxury of this Fanclub place, her heart could never let her disappoint Gwen like that.

And so, after a few minutes, Arianne stops in front of Gwen, all ready to go. "Sorry I made you wait, Gwen. Let's get to Saffron now, shall we?"

'Fucking finally! I've been waiting for this day for like… uh, however long I've been waiting! Let's go!"

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 35 • Espurr, lv. 19
Blitzle, lv. 21 • Mizar, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 29 • Honedge, lv. 19

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Gwen Alanis

Route 6 is a nice change of pace after how insanely packed Vermillion was. Very few people seem to reside here which gives Gwen some space to breathe. She was in a hurry just a bit ago, but something about the atmosphere takes her aback. Taillows chirping, Eldegoss slowly drifting through the air, the running streams, the distant traffic noises... It's all so relaxing. Slowly her mind starts to wander off, and the thought of visiting her sister becomes secondary. It gets to the point where Bead has to swoop in to bite Gwen's hair and yank it back to snap her out of it.

"OUCH!!!" She turns to face Bead and gives him a disgruntled look. "Oh come on! It's not my fault it's so nice here!"

Arianne turns around with a slightly concerned expression. "What'd he do…?" She smiles. "Yeah, it's nice and relaxing here, and I'd never expected this between Saffron and Vermilion! We'd better enjoy this while it lasts. Just me and you, on this path…" Eric, who's walking beside his trainer, seems to let out a chuckle.

"Haha, yeah, I guess it is just the two of us when you put it that way…" Fuck, why am I so nervous!? Gwen shakes her head to refocus herself and clears her throat. "Anyways, Bead has a point! Jenny's place is straight-ahead, so we can't get distracte-'' She's cut off by the loud buzzing of a bug Pokemon swooping past her, which catches her attention. "Holy shit, is that a Yanma!? I've never seen one in person!"

"Oh, looks like it!" Arianne quickly grabs her PokèDex and gets it to confirm Gwen's words. "By the way, speaking of Jenny, we still have plenty of time…"

Arianne has a point. Afterall, Casey likely won't arrive in Saffron for a while, so there really isn't much reason to be in such a hurry. "I guess." She half-heartedly shrugs.

Someone else happens to be in a hurry though… as a boy nearly their age runs past Arianne and Gwen on the narrow path. And then, briefly turns back. "You saw a Y-Yanma going this way? I have to get it!" He hastily asks, still running in place.

"Yeah, it's over there." Gwen states, pointing to the bug Pokemon's direction.

"Got it!" He chases after the Pokémon, only to stop after basically two steps. "Wait, you're trainers too, maybe you can help me out? Please?" He looks at Gwen and Arianne with puppy eyes, enough for a cocky smirk to appear across Gwen's face.

"Of course I can!" She boasts. "Afterall, I am the younger sister of the one and only Jennifer Alanis!" Heh, bet this kid thinks I'm really cool! Wonder if Arianne thinks the same… "Come on out Custard!" The second her Pikachu is out on the field, Gwen yanks her off the ground and chases down the Yanma, something Custard very vocally dislikes as exhibited from her panicked squeaks. It's no use though as Gwen's hero fantasy is enough to drown it out.

Arianne is running ahead of her though, trying to track down the fast Bug-type even as it tries to take shelter in some of the nearby trees. Eventually, she calls out her Honedge, who lunges at the Yanma with a Pursuit in the air and, at the very least, forces it to fly off from its perch. "Uh… right, you'll need Autotomize to get up to speed!" Arianne calls out, one eye on the Pokédex and another on what's shaping up to become a proper battle.

Noticing the Yanma is getting faster by the second and that a simple Thundershock might not even reach it, out of desperation Gwen stops in her tracks and flings Custard forward at full-force, shouting for her to use Spark. While she's midair, Custard surrounds her body in electricity to prepare for impact, but to her shock Yanma uses its tail to smack her back the way she came right before she can make contact. When Gwen sees Custard coming back her way, her first instinct is to jump up and catch her, despite how her body is still surrounded in electricity, causing some of it to zap her as she falls into her arms. So much for looking cool I guess...

The electricity doesn't hurt Gwen that much though. Most of it is being absorbed by another Pokémon anyways, and that is Arianne's Blitzle. "Good job there!" The trainer yelps, while the Electric-type just nods nonchalantly. Thanks to Lightningrod, she really didn't need to do anything… I HATE being one-upped… So why don't I feel the same way now? Damnit, focus Gwen, think, think, think…

Honedge hasn't been attacking for a while, concerned with its speed getting progressively more useless against Yanma's Speed Boost, but now it's back with a Shadow Sneak. The Yanma is hit successfully, but it recovers quite quickly, and uses the opportunity to set up Foresight. From there, Honedge is unexpectedly hit by a Sonic Boom, and falls down as it's taken by surprise.

Right after it uses Sonic Boom though, Custard catches Yanma off-guard by ramming into it from the side with Quick Attack, knocking it back just slightly. "Arianne, now!"

"Yes! Shock Wave time!" The Cinnabar girl echoes Gwen. A Detect attack lets Yanma avoid the first hit though. Blitzle tries again, getting very close to hitting the target - that, however, seems to be the cue for Yanma to give up and attempt an escape. The Bug-type flies higher and further away, looking warily at the two Electric-types on the ground… and the look is returned by the boy who's right behind Arianne and Gwen. "Uh, are you sure you can keep Yanma here? It always escapes me!"

"Sure I can, just uh, give me a second!" Gwen furrows her brows as she tries to concoct a plan, but as she does this she just barely notices Bead zip past her, pushing his limits to catch up to Yanma's increasing speed. When getting just close enough for any of his moves to reach Yanma, his eyes flash a bright red and it's covered in a purple aura, which forces it to face Bead against its own will.

"That's Mean Look!" Gwen says to herself, shifting her eyes towards Arianne. "W-which I totally planned for by the way! But I just thought Mean Look only worked if they were making eye-contact…"

"Well, y'know," the boy butts in, "Yanma have eyes that allow them to see in every direction at once that it normally uses for seeking prey, and-"

"Woah, that's rad! But I have a hunch that Mean Look might wear off if Bead goes too far off, so… Bead! Hit 'em with a Psywave!" Bead circles behind Yanma to shoot a colorful blast of psychic towards it, knocking it just far back enough that it's within a decent range of a ranged electric attack.

"That was great! C'mon Blitzle, use Shock… hey!" Arianne looks in the air only to see Honedge flying past, its cloth trailing in the wind as it strikes down Yanma with a powerful Aerial Ace. "That was… rather close to becoming friendly fire," the girl complains. "But I guess this works too!"

Yanma has lost even more height from that hit, and is struggling to fly gracefully - possibly an effect of Honedge's Swords Dance powering up its attacks!

"Alright Custard, y'know what to do! Hit 'em with a Thundershock!" Electricity pulses through Custard's cheeks and is soon released in a super effective hit that zaps Yanma so hard it starts spiraling to the ground. "Hey kid!" Gwen shouts at the boy who got them into this in the first place. "You wanted to catch it, right? Now's your chance!"

"Y-yeah, here we go!" The boy grabs a Pokéball, and… walks up to the stunned Pokémon, before pressing the button against Yanma's body. That earns him a proud look and a giggle from Arianne, who calls back Honedge in the meantime - not Blitzle though, since she seems interested in Custard and is currently trying to approach her.

"What? I'm bad at throwing Pokéballs, so might as well be safe!" The boy nervously smiles, as he picks up his new catch. "Thank you so much for your help."

"No problem, kid! Like I said, I am Jennifer Alanis' younger sister after all!"

"Who?"

"Ugh. Whatever." Gwen crosses her arms, to the sound of Arianne giggling again. "Guess I can't expect everyone to recognize greatness."

"Phew! Now, with the help of Yanma, I can go and find all the hidden treasures of this area!" The boy cheers, in front of Arianne and Gwen. "With Compound Eyes, it will be a breeze!"

"Uh…" Arianne looks towards Gwen, then back to the boy, then to her Pokédex. "That Yanma had Speed Boost, not Compound Eyes…" She whispers into Gwen's ear, while nervously laughing towards the other, supposedly rookie trainer.

Gwen laughs as well, although unlike Arianne, she does so very loudly. "I guess this kid is gonna find out the hard way!" She blurts out, not at all picking up that Arianne was trying to not be heard. "I thought it would be obvious that Yanma has Speed Boost, but I guess my eyes are just trained to recognize a Pokemon's ability when I see them."

"Wait, you're saying it can only have one or the other…?" The boy raises his hand, and right at the same time Arianne's hand hits her own disappointed face. "It… it's ok, Yanma still has good vision regardless, and Speed Boost lets it explore places faster, so…" The Cinnabar girl tries to sound reassuring to the perplexed rookie.

"You did mention treasures, didn't you?" She changes the topic slightly. "If you want, we can help you out ourselves! Right Gwen?"

"Yeah, why not?" She responds presumptuously. Her previous encounter has her feeling on top of the world, and more training is always a good thing.

"Well… alright! There's some more people who are working on this and maybe, they could fill you in…" The boy nods, and while he still looks confused, he at least seems to be getting some enthusiasm back.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Show us the way, kid!"

"Yay! Oh, right… sorry I couldn't introduce myself before. My name is Mike Roe, but you can just call me Mike."

---

"We're just some amateurs coming from the city, they say, but we have already found some treasures in this general vicinity, and we're here to find more!" One woman in her thirties explains, proudly introducing herself as Brooke and her friend as Brett. A Marshtomp stands between her and the other 'historian', as he calls himself.

"See… a long time ago, the coast used to be way closer to Saffron, and this area looked more like the open sea. Ships sailed in the same place where we are walking today!" He continues. "And so, you can still find all sorts of things that happened to be on those ships if you dig deep enough. Sounds interesting, right?"

Gwen doesn't really listen to anything either treasure hunter says. How can she when she sees a Marshtomp in-person for the first time? Arianne, on the other hand, is already more intrigued. This feels almost like her Rock Tunnel adventure, except it's actually much safer now, and she does have a brand new swimsuit with her… and oh, right, the water is extremely shallow anyways. Too shallow to swim into.

"Hm… ok, how can we help then?" She asks, trying to get right to the point.

"Oh, right. We have a few places worth checking on our map, and with some more exploration, we're likely to find even more! And once that happens…" Brooke runs a hand through her black hair. "Our Pokémon and your Pokémon can get there and try to dig the treasure up! We can teach your Pokémon some moves that can help them with this, if you'd like. Deal?"

"Huh?" Gwen stutters. "Oh, right. Sure, whatever." She notices Bead gives her a nasty glare, and she responds by rolling her eyes. Bead really just needs to get off her case sometimes.

Arianne, luckily, answers nearly at the same time with a rather loud "Yes!" and lets Eric come forward. "We'd be happy to contribute!"

"Sure thing! I'll just use-" Gwen pauses when picking a Pokeball off her belt and sees it's a Lure Ball as opposed to the standard Pokeball she was expecting to see. Goddamnit. "Err, I was gonna use Marshall but apparently I forgot to switch him out, meaning the only water-type I have is King… again…"

"There's got to be other ways to help, haha!" the Cinnabar girl chuckles towards her friend.

At this point, a Nosepass appears from behind Brett, who nods towards it. "Good to hear! Let's get right to it."

"The plan is to scan the area first, obviously. Nosepass can do this by sensing the presence of metallic objects and pointing us towards them, while Marshtomp is perfect to see even in the murkiest waters. Once they can spot something, your Pokémon can come in and help them dig up the treasure. Or, you could help in the final stage: cleaning things up!" The man explains. "I… honestly don't expect anything crazy like you see in those pirate movies, but to me, even an old clay vase is invaluable!"

"...and it also proves how old and important Saffron is." Brooke smiles confidently.

---

Talon, Bead and Mike's newly acquired Yanma tries to fly around in search of something emerging from the ground, but - perhaps needless to say - it's Nosepass and Marshtomp who find something. The Rock-type has sensed some metallic object buried beneath some willows, while the Water-type simply waves his arms while standing in the middle of a rice paddle to let everyone know there's something down there. A couple different items, in fact.

"Gwen! We got something!" Arianne laughs, looking proudly at the various Pokémon at work. "And Eric is already there inside the rice fields!" She then points towards her own Pokémon, who is still doing what he can to help out even if the murky water appears to be taking a toll on his, well… non-Ground-type eyes.

"Ooo, lemme see!" Gwen's exclamation acts as a trigger to get Talon to quit his search and perch on Gwen's head where he seems to be most comfortable.

When she takes a few steps closer to her Pokémon, though, Arianne almost bumps into Brooke, who's also moving closer. "Oh, sorry!" She yelps, seemingly startling the woman who hadn't even noticed her.

"Your Wartortle is like… flailing around a bit down there," She comments as she recovers, a hand on her chin. "I said we could teach your Pokémon a move and I think I have an idea… what do you think about Dig?"

Now it's Arianne who has her hand touching her own chin. "But Eric is working underwater anyways, isn't he?" She asks, before calling his name out so that he can get back to the surface.

"Dig can still help him out when he's dealing with ground and mud… like now!" Brooke smiles, pointing at the cloud of dirt and mud that's tainting the water right where Marshtomp and Eric were working. "My Pokémon can teach Wartortle how it's done- so he should have less trouble getting these items up!"

"Hey uh," Gwen speaks up. "My Pokemon can be taught a new move too, right?"

"Oh, sure thing! They're mostly moves we need on our job, but any trainer could find them useful. I guess." Brett chuckles. "Dig, Dive, Covet…" He starts to list off a few moves, getting slower as the list grows.

"Maybe one of my Pokemon can learn Dig…" Gwen pulls her Pokedex up to check, and looking at the results it really seems as though any Pokemon can learn Dig! Half of her current lineup is able to learn it: Pix, Custard, and Tusk. However she doesn't think it'd suit Custard's speed, and she's already satisfied with the moves Tusk knows. That just leaves…

"Can you teach Dig to my Vulpix?"

"Yeah! Of course…" Brett smiles, before going into the nitty-gritty of how the move works.

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Arianne Chandler
Saffron City
Tuesday, May 28^th, afternoon
Written with QueenNothing as Gwen Alanis

"...man, that was sooooo amazing to witness! I didn't even know Petal Dance could go on for that long until I saw Jenny pull that off!"

"Oh, that's interesting too!" Arianne smiles again as she looks towards Gwen. "And look, in no time we reached Saffron…" She announces proudly, taking her first step on solid concrete.

After their archeology adventure, during which Eric and Pix learned Dig and dug up some treasure (Arianne kept a translucent Dragon Scale, while Gwen snagged a King's Rock), the two girls enjoyed a quick picnic along the dirt path. But once that was finished, nothing could hold back Gwen, and she made a beeline for Saffron with unparalleled enthusiasm. Her chosen topic of conversation? Jennifer, of course!

"FINALLY!!" Gwen pumps her fists into the air, her body clearly unable to contain her excitement. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this day!? It's been forever since I've seen her! I know Saffron like the back of my hand, I say we head over now!"

"Yes, let's go!" Arianne happily leans into the other girl's enthusiasm. It's inspiring and almost refreshing to see that kind of raw emotion, especially during a journey where the Cinnabar girl has never really felt like that so strongly. Maybe that is just what happens when people get to see their hometown after months spent elsewhere? She wouldn't know, she's never left Cinnabar for that long before joining Cape College. "You lead the way, girl!" Arianne laughs, before running after Gwen and - only after a while - trying to take in the city landscape she's now a part of.

At some point the two come across an apartment complex that seems like any other building in the city, but with how eager Gwen is while pointing it out it's no doubt where her older sister lives. From there her instincts completely take over, as she grabs Arianne by the wrist and pulls her forward seemingly without giving it much thought. Upon entering the building, Gwen makes one final sprint to the front desk, where an aging man reading a magazine sits.

"Hey old guy!" Gwen shouts at the man in a familiar tone. Most people wouldn't respond positively to being bluntly called "old guy", but the man doesn't seem bothered in the slightest, instead turning his attention towards the girl with a soft grin.

'Goodness, Gwen! How long has it been since I last saw you?"

"A long time ago, that's for sure!" She says and then flashes her pearly whites.

The older man guffaws. "Ain't that the truth." He then closes his magazine and perks his head up, directly making eye-contact with Arianne when noticing her. "Oh, you've brought a friend along! Why hello there young lady! What's your name?"

"Hello, I'm Arianne!" The Cinnabar girl smiles, standing beside Gwen. "Yes, we're traveling together for our graduation journey!"

"Already!? My, how time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday you moved in with your sister, Gwen." The older man comments.

"I don't know what you're talking about, that felt like it was a gorillion years ago. But speaking of my sister, that's who we're here to visit! Arianne here is about to meet a Pokemon Master!"

The old man's face suddenly goes somber. "Ah, well about that… truth be told I haven't actually so much as seen her leave her apartment in months."

"You haven't seen her leave this place? Did she get things delivered to her flat then?" Arianne questions. That's definitely strange- almost stranger than her not being here at all. Would she just train on the roof? Would she let her Pokémon out and about inside her flat, almost like Gwen did? If the younger sister could still get away with it, the older would have to deal with a Volcarona and a Krookodile, and that doesn't sound ideal.

"I'm sure she's around… if she knew Gwen was coming, she'd never miss it for anything!" The Cinnabar girl smiles reassuringly. Gwen rapidly nods in agreement.

"It sounds ridiculous, I know, but it's true. Haven't seen her since around February. But I do see her Pokemon come around a few times, interestingly enough."

"February…" Gwen thinks aloud to herself while her grip on the desk tightens. "That was the last time I-I-I…" Her body begins trembling as she faces the ground, doing her best to hide her eyes under her bangs.

This time it's Arianne who holds Gwen's wrist... the situation likely calls for it anyways. "Gwen, uhm… your sister could still be here! Let's just check out her flat since we're here, right?" She suggests, trying to make eye contact again.

"Yeah…" Gwen's arm is swiftly run across her face before attempting to look at the other girl. Within seconds her spirits are raised again, although she seems a lot more antsy now. "Well what are we waiting for? Come on!"

With that, she storms off up the stairs without even waiting for her friend. Arianne tries to go after her, but the old man at the counter calls her name, and she decides to stop by his counter.

"Pardon me for interrupting you, but thank you for sticking around with Gwen. It's nice to see her with friends." He grins before waving goodbye. "I'd suggest not to keep her waiting though. You probably know how she gets."

"Oh… it's nothing! I mean, she's a nice friend…" Arianne speaks up, but her voice becomes unsteady as her heart beats just a bit faster. That comment makes her happy- plain and simple. "Sure, I'll go now!"

After being told again where Jennifer's flat is, a galvanized Arianne runs up the stairs of the complex, managing to catch up with her friend just in time. "Phew… here you are!" Gwen, standing right in-front of the apartment that can only be her sister's, doesn't even respond upon seeing Arianne, instead opting to reach straight for the doorbell where her index finger repeatedly jams into the button. A ring is heard from the other side of the door but nothing else is. Gwen stands silent for a few minutes, anticipating an answer, but nothing comes of it.

"Uh, she usually takes a bit to answer the door." Gwen nervously chuckles, mashing her finger back into the doorbell. She impatiently waits in-front of the door again, but just as before, nothing happens. "Ah- maybe the doorbell just isn't working!" She doesn't even sound convinced by her own words, and she clearly is struggling to keep a smile plastered on her face. As much as Gwen might be denying it, it's obvious nobody is going to answer the door.

That turn of events was definitely not what Arianne expected or wanted, and seeing her friend in that condition was already heart-breaking. "Uh… maybe she's having a shower and is taking her time trying to look presentable…" She tries to think of a possible excuse Jenny may have for not showing up. It's not quite enough though, so Espurr is called out after a bit.

"Ok, you know Disarming Voice, right?" Arianne asks her Pokémon, who trembles slightly at the question but executes the attack, letting out a loud Meow towards the door. "And that's also the doorbell problem ruled out…"

Unsurprisingly nobody answers the door, but Gwen isn't ready to be defeated yet. "Well if she's just getting ready I say we wait here until she's done! That's when we can try again!"

"Alright, we will wait!" Arianne replies, trying to absorb Gwen's enthusiasm so that she can display it back at her. She then picks up Espurr and gently pats her a few times, but it's mostly a way to deal with stress. Gwen folds her legs in and sits in the hallway, brows furrowed, determined to wait a century if she has to. It might as well have been that long though since nothing happens during the wait period, yet Gwen still doesn't budge an inch. That goes on for about a half-hour or so, and Bead even starts to get a little concerned with how little his trainer has moved. It's not until he gives a worried bleat that she speaks up.

"Sorry Bead. I'm not getting out of this spot until Jenny answers."

While at first Arianne was gladly listening to the other girl, she soon found her face buried in her PokéGear, looking at all the things her non-trainer friends were up to. While she couldn't really say she admired or supported any one of them as much as Gwen did with her sister, she enjoyed their company, she enjoyed being there with them, and she missed those feelings for all of her permanence at Cape College. Surely, Gwen was also feeling... that with her sister- it wasn't just a matter of looking up to her.

This lets Arianne lose her own sense of time a bit, and it makes the wait more bearable, if anything. She doesn't actually check the time until Bead's cry, and only then does she realize how much time she's passed in front of that door. Jennifer couldn't have taken that long to get out of a shower, dressed up, and answered, could she?

Or better, how could she explain that to Gwen?

The Cinnabar girl kept waiting, with her head in her contacts again, but this time, things were different. Her mind was now screaming at her to go and get a room in a Pokémon Center, heal her Pokémon up, have something to eat and explore Saffron City at least a bit, so that she wouldn't feel like a fish out of water the next morning… and Gwen was turning more into an obstacle that was keeping her locked in place. Oh, but of course, she couldn't say that to her face. Never. Genuinely never.

"I'm… starting to get a bad feeling, Gwen…" Is all she can say, before letting out a long sigh. She looks down to the sitting girl, hoping for an answer.

"Getting a bad feeling about what?" Gwen abrasively cocks up a brow.

"Uh, it's about the r-rooms at the Pokémon Center, I don't want this to b-be like V-Vermilion but we haven't even c-checked that out!" Ari stutters. There's truth in there, but there's also nothing too direct, which is just what the girl needed, it's just the delivery that worked out terribly. Making a misstep is very scary in this situation.

"We won't need to worry about that when Jenny answers. We can just stay in the room I have here, right?"

"I guess so, but will there be enough space for everyone? What about our Pokémon?" Arianne runs a hand through her hair. "I mean, last time we sort of got away with it because we were staying at the Fanclub…"

"I-" Gwen puts her index finger and thumb to her chin. "I guess you're right actually. I do have some cool stuff in there that'd just be fucked up if we all had our Pokemon out…"

"W-well, I don't know how big your room is and all that but, maybe we should still check the Pokémon Center to have a plan B?" Arianne asks again.

"That's probably a good idea, yeah… B-but I can't just- I've been waiting soooo long to see Jenny again, I can't just…" Gwen's words start to become shaky and once again she tilts her head to the floor to hide her eyes. "I just wanna see her again, damnit!" She loudly sniffles a few times, likely doing her best to hold any tears back.

"I… I get that, Gwen…" Arianne mutters, now feeling Gwen's anguish spread onto her. "Hm, can you stand up for a bit?"

Gwen complies, back turned towards Arianne, and suddenly squeaks as she's embraced in a tight hug. Seeing as how the closest thing to resistance she puts up is shivering like a Snorunt, that's probably a sign that appreciates it.

"I think I'll still check out the PokéCenter and try to find room for tonight but… rest assured I'll be back here as soon as I can! I'm sure… I'm sure Jenny wants to see you again too." Arianne whispers in Gwen's ear before letting go of her and walking away. It still hurts a little though - that hug had something truly magical about it, something that makes the girl wish it could have lasted far longer than it did.

Gwen stands completely frozen for a bit before turning around with her face completely red. "I… I should probably go with you. I guess we can try again some other time."

TEAM:
Eric, lv. 35 • Espurr, lv. 19
Blitzle, lv. 23 • Mizar, lv. 19
Lulu, lv. 30 • Honedge, lv. 20

Gwen Alanis ft. Arianne Chandler and Casey Holt

Arianne sits at her table with a relieved sigh. "Phew! We're set now…" She smiles. "We have a room, our Pokémon are all healed up, and we're about to get dinner too!"

"And…" she interrupts herself. "When we're done, we should be free to explore the city… or figuring out the situation with your sister, o-of course. Right Gwen?"

"Well of course we are!" Gwen impatiently shouts, unaware of the fact that not only is she indoors, but also that her mouth is filled with chewed-up pieces of a burger she ordered. "You think I'm gonna give up on her that easily?"

"Oh no, of course not!" The Cinnabar girl looks slightly more nervous. "I'll come and help, you can count on me!"

"And," Gwen stuffs her mouth with a large handful of french fries, giving Bead a disappointed glare. "I also called Casey to see if he wanted to see Jenny as well, I just need to shoot him a text." Actually, given how greasy her hands are at the moment, that can probably wait until she's done stuffing her face.

A moment of hesitation stops Ari as she keeps munching on her food. "Oh yeah, t-that… sounds good!" In the midst of her feasting, Gwen takes note of her hesitancy and grows a little conscious. Is it because of how messy she's being? Did she say something weird?

Perhaps it doesn't hurt to ask, especially with how comfortable she's gotten around Arianne. "Uh, hey Ari? You okay?"

"Oh, of course!" She laughs it off. "I was just with my head in the clouds. Having Casey come with… it's no issue."

There's a faint sigh of relief from Gwen. "Well that's good. Lemme just finish my food and then I can text him." Since Arianne made no remark about how sloppy she's being, Gwen feels comfortable enough scarfing down the rest of her meal in no time.

"God I'm stuffed." Gwen reaches for some napkins to wipe her hands down. She whips out her phone, looks through the few contacts she has saved and starts typing out a message- or at least she would if she had the right words. Her thumbs float above the touchscreen, uncertain which exact keys to press. She could just say "I'm in Saffron now" but she wonders if that's too abrupt. Maybe she could be more formal, throwing a "Hello" in the beginning while adding more details. But does that come off as too formal and thus trying too hard? Thinking about it too much makes her anxious.

"Hm… unsure what to write, Gwen?" Arianne looks towards her from across the table. Gwen simply nods in response, too embarrassed to admit she's right.

"Well… time and place are enough, right?"

"Fuck it, why not?" Quickly she just types out the address that she has memorized with the only addition being "Be there ASAP". Hopefully this is serviceable.

"Or I can help you write…" Arianne states in the meantime, even if it looks like Gwen has made up her mind. Gwen grows a little flustered, blushing and averting her pupils to her right.

"Yeah, I guess I'd be fine with that…" She's too kind to offer to help with something as simple as texting.

Once Arianne gets her hands on Gwen's PokéGear it's just a matter of adding onto what the other girl already wrote. Some seconds later, the Saffron girl gets her device back with the message already sent and a proud Arianne smiling back at her.

"Hey Casey! Now that I made it to Saffron, here's the address for the meetup. I'm about to be there myself and I'd love to see you too! It's gonna be great ♡"

"Wow, that's uh…" This certainly hasn't made Gwen blush any less, that's for sure. This isn't something she'd type out, and Casey must be scratching his head reading this. She doesn't really mind though, and if anything is grateful to have somebody to help her out. Arghh, why does this make me feel funny!? "...thanks!"

"You're welcome!" The Cinnabar girl smiles. "It's nothing crazy but it still gets the job done… and now, we should actually head to Jenny's place ourselves, right?"

"Right!" Gwen pumps a fist into the air before taking one elongated sip from an oversized cup of soda. It's more than she can finish in one go no matter how hard she might try to, but eventually she just decides to take it to go. "This time we'll actually get to see Jenny! Let's go!"

---

For the second time today, Gwen finds herself running to the apartment building she used to live in, although her rather unhealthy meal choice is taking a toll on her. She has to push herself to go as fast as she did earlier, and every now and again she swears she's going to trip and fall. It's a harsh endeavor that she does get through at least, and once the building is just a few feet away her speed drastically decreases and long gasps for air are heard.

This lets Arianne catch up to her without much effort. She gives the other girl a pat on her shoulder as she cheers her up, but then shifts her attention to Casey, who's conveniently waiting for them under the light of a lamp post. "C'mon, look who's there…" She smiles.

"Oh, uh…" Despite her visible exhaustion, Gwen tries to compose herself by standing up straight while wiping the sweat from her brow. A simple greeting is a chore when trying to get it through in-between breaths. "Hey there Casey!"

Casey waves casually as they approach. "You ran here and I still beat ya?"

"Well, uh… I ate a lot before I headed out, that's why! I'm never making that mistake again…"

"At least you enjoyed the food, Gwen! And also, hi Casey!" Arianne slightly bows her head towards him.

"Hi, Arianne. How're you doin'?"

"Oh, I'm… I'm good! Route 6 was very nice. You?" The Cinnabar girl replies.

"It was, yeah! It's been a good day. Beat Hana, got outta Vermilion, had a nice walk, did some training- y'know. A good time. And the hotel had enough rooms, thank god."

"Well, c-congrats! That sounds like…"

"Alright, we can go over the details later!" Gwen interjects, impatiently pointing to the building. "We're here for a reason after all!"

"Sure. Meetin' your sister, right? What's she like?" Casey falls into step easily behind Gwen as the three make their way into the building.

"What is there to say that hasn't already been said? She's the best! She graduated top of her class, wins just about every Pokemon battle she's in not even counting the endless amount of tournaments she won in Saffron, and she's helped me out with sooooo much! If she didn't take me in I honestly don't know where I'd be."

Casey hums. "Okay, but what's she like? That's all stuff she did, y'know?" That's a good point actually. Whenever somebody asks about her sister she just goes on about Jenny's accomplishments rather than her actual personality.

"Well, to do all that, she's gotta have quite the attitude! Right?" Arianne quickly adds. "Headstrong, confident, all that…"

"Yeah, that!" Gwen waves at the man at the desk before turning back to her friends. "And she's just good at pretty much everything she does! She's also super kind and uh… stuff like that."

"'S good to have a kind sibling," Casey says vaguely. "She's way older'n us though, right? So how long did you actually live together?"

"Well," Gwen heads toward the stairs, beckoning the other two to follow. "I guess we haven't lived together that long. When I was three she was thirteen, which is when she left Unova so she could go to Cape. She'd stay over during vacations and a little bit after she graduated, but at some point she moved to Kanto, so for a while I didn't get to see her as much as I wanted to. But when I was thirteen she took custody of me after… Well, long story short, I didn't get along with my parents very well. But yeah, I lived with her before when I was in Kanto before I started school and during breaks and stuff!"

"Not long overall, huh? Makes things kinda different than like, Jordan's family." Casey hesitates, briefly, but his next question is- "Is she more like a parent than a sister?"

"Wait whose Jordan agai- ah, that's besides the point. But... yeah, when you put it like that I guess she is kind of like a parent. I never really thought about that until now, although it's a little different than her being a parent because sometimes I had to look out for her. She's usually tired after kicking so much ass so I sometimes had to make dinner and do her hair, stuff like that."

"Is that how you learned to do these?" Casey reaches over and playfully tugs at one of Gwen's buns. Gwen squeaks and flashes bright red, reacting quickly by slapping his hand to release herself. She's unsure how she feels about that, but she's going to pretend it didn't happen.

"Kind of, yeah…" Gwen caresses her bu0n as if to soothe it. "I taught myself how to do hair stuff since I didn't have anyone to teach me."

"Well, you're pulling it off and it looks cute on you!" Arianne chimes in after being quiet for a moment. She's remained one or two steps behind, but now that they're almost at the end of the staircase, she's catching up.

"Y-you really think so!?" Gwen's blushing intensifies and an awkward half-smile forms across her face. She's not used to receiving compliments for her appearance and doesn't know how to handle it but she definitely appreciates it. "Uhh… th-thanks!!"

"Yeah, they suit you," Casey looks around where they've paused. "Is this her floor?"

"Huh?" Gwen swings her head left and right, and indeed this is the floor Jenny's apartment is on. "Oh yeah, this is! Follow me!" With her remaining energy, she sprints forward without considering how closely Casey and Arianne are following. They can catch up.

And catch up they do, at Jenny's door, because once again she doesn't answer Gwen's frantic knocking.

"Again? She doesn't have the showering excuse this time!" Arianne comments after a bit, but then gives Gwen a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Maybe she just didn't hear that time!" Gwen knocks a second time, and her knuckles start hurting from how loud it is. She waits for up to a minute, but nobody's there. "Goddamnit, not again…"

"Didn't you tell her we were coming over?" Casey asks, leaning with his back to the wall next to the door.

"I tried anyway! She just… didn't pick up…"

"So is she even here?"

"The old guy at the desk said she hasn't left her apartment in months. Where else could she be?"

"What?" This finally breaks Casey's chill demeanor. "What d'you mean, she hasn't left? That's not possible. How does she get food?"

"I don't know either, which is why we can ask her when she answers already!"

"Uh… maybe she gets stuff delivered or something? Or do her Pokémon do that for her?" Arianne adds. From her tone it's clear that she's just saying the first thing that might calm down the other two trainers, no matter how much sense it really makes.

"But yeah, whatever the case, this… isn't really normal, uh? There, I had to say it."

"Yeah, not leavin' for months? That's crazy. I'd go crazy. She hasn't gone crazy, has she?"

"I wouldn't know." Gwen sighs. "I haven't heard from her in… awhile, that's for sure."

Casey opens his mouth, then closes it with a sharp click and makes a low "nuh-uh" sound to himself.

Arianne raises an eyebrow at that, looking towards the boy with… apprehension. "Nothing?" She then asks Gwen, trying to look at both simultaneously. "And what about the last time you talked? How did that go?"

"Yep. Nothing." Gwen somberly nods. 'Not since… February, I think. I've tried calling her but she never picks up and I don't know why… but the last time we talked there wasn't really any issue! It doesn't make any sense!" At this point she has to put all her energy into stopping herself from crying, but the loud sniffles coming from her convey the same emotion.

"Uh, well." Casey speaks up after a moment. "What if she can't pick up?"

"You don't mean…" Ari grimaces, stopping right there, with a hand covering her mouth. Gwen cocks up a brow, not picking up on the implication.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Well, I mean. If someone hasn't answered for months, and they haven't been seen for months, and they haven't left a space for months, then there must be a reason, right? And what if that reason is that she can't do any of that? Gwen," Casey strides over and places both hands on her shoulders to look her straight in the eye and says, very seriously: "What if she's dead?"

"WHAT!?!" Gwen cries, forcefully escaping from Casey's grip. "That's stupid! Of course she's not dead!"

"So she's been intentionally ignoring you, her sister-slash-child, and not going to work or tournaments or whatever she does, for months on end?" Casey crosses his arms. "If she's not dead, that sure don't line up with the kind badass you were tellin' us about."

"Shut up! She's not dead! I just know it!" Her body starts trembling with rage. The fact that Casey would even suggest such a thing is offensive to Gwen. Her fist clenches, and if she was any angrier she'd sock him then and there.

"Aerial Ace!" Arianne's voice is heard in the meantime, right before her Honedge strikes the door. It leaves nothing more than a mark on it, though, definitely not what the girl wanted if one could judge by her repeated attempts to bust the door open. "Can't turn back now!" Looks like Gwen might have an outlet for her anger after all.

"What the fuck, Arianne, put that away-" Casey's halfway down the hall, now, but Gwen doesn't care, not one bit. She reaches for one of her Pokeballs while ignoring the one that's shaking rapidly, sending Tusk out with a mighty "KEW KEW!"

"Alright Tusk, let's knock this goddamn door down! Use Dragon Claw!" Tusk smirks as his claws are surrounded with a draconic energy that's slashed across the wooden door. The cuts left behind are definitely deeper than Honedge's Aerial Ace, but still not enough to knock it down. "That's fine! We can keep doing this all day if we have to! Hit it as many times as you can!"

Honedge doesn't even need the encouragement, apparently - it just keeps having at it without breaking a sweat. Arianne recalls it after a bit though, only motivating that with a hasty "oh oops…"

After a few dozen swipes, the door starts looking worn down enough that a powerful enough hit should take it down. Noticing this, Gwen calls out for an Iron Tail, and Tusk swings his now metal-coated tail into the door, knocking it down, off of its hinges with a loud THUD!

Casey slinks back to peer inside. "Don't think you shoulda done that," he murmurs, but all three are now focused on the apartment's pitch black interior.

"After you thought she could be dead I… just couldn't stand there…" Arianne sighs back at him, before some deep breaths.

"There's literally a guy at the desk, we coulda asked for a key!" Casey hisses and earns a resigned sigh from the Cinnabar girl.

"Right…"

The only source of light in the entire room is the TV that's left on at a random channel, so Gwen has to flick the lights on to see anything. What she does see is mostly familiar, just a lot less… organized. Jenny was never one to be perfectly tidy, but seeing the floor littered with an endless sea of empty cans of coffee and soda is beyond what she'd expect. From what's visible of the kitchen from here isn't much better, the sink is piled with dirty dishes and tables and counters are covered in the remains of take-out food and instant meals. Pizza boxes, plastic bags, and microwaveable trays are all stacked on-top of each other. Gross. Not a single surface is left empty, the closest thing to that is the spaces occupied by grease-stained paper plates, some of which still have food remains. That certainly explains the rancid smell.

"What the fuck happened here…" Gwen winces at the state of this place.

"I hate this," Casey says bluntly, and that's probably the most negative thing she's ever heard him say. "You live like this?"

"This doesn't add up but…" Arianne looks surprisingly relieved. "She's not dead if she's eating this much…?"

"Exactly!" Gwen reluctantly steps into the room, trying to navigate the floor without stepping on anything. Definitely easier said than done. Casey makes his way to the kitchen entrance and surveys the room critically, hands tugging at the bottom corners of his jacket.

"Well if she's alive, this ain't how anyone should be livin'."

All Gwen can do is look around, lost in disbelief. She's so immersed in the feeling that she almost doesn't notice the slow footsteps from down the hall, although the second she does she fixates on the hall entrance like a Pyroar would on its prey. She wants to speak up, but the words are stuck in her throat.

"Jeeeeez. Did ya forget how to open the door again, Krox?" From the corner of the hall is… well, it's who Gwen can only assume is her sister. After supposedly not going outside for months it only makes sense she'd look different but that doesn't make it any less jarring. She's not wearing her usual semi-formal get-up, instead donning a dark blue hoodie and gray sweatpants. Dark circles have formed around her eyes, and her hair, which Gwen is used to seeing very short, just barely reaches past her neck. Clearly it hasn't been groomed in some time. She looks directly towards her younger sister, although with her glasses hanging from the neck of her sweater she doesn't register who she's looking at. She does slowly start to wear them, and after a readjustment she widens her eyes. "What the- Gwen!?"

"JEEEEEENNY!!!" Gwen acts on an impulse, charging forward towards her sister before throwing her arms around her. She buries her face into her chest and lets it all out, bawling endlessly about how much she missed her. Jenny doesn't look like she has any idea what's going on, but she strokes Gwen's hair anyways.

"I… have a lot of questions." Jenny looks directly at Casey and Arianne before turning her attention back to her sister. "I mean, I wasn't expecting to see you stop by so soon. Is it spring break or something already?"

"It's May?" Casey's correction rises into a question. "We're on our journey. And, uh, I'm Casey, this is Arianne. Thanks for...having us."

"May!? What the hell, how has it been so long!?" Jenny holds her head in disbelief. The realization of all the time she missed hits her like a train, and she holds her sister tighter. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Gwen!"

Gwen can hardly hear any of this over her sobbing. "Why didn't you pick up…"

"I don't have an excuse." Jenny sighs. "Remember how I lost early on in my last tournament? Yeah, I didn't take that very well. Like, at all. I was really banking on that going well, so when it went south instead I kinda spiraled into a really bad depressive episode- if that wasn't obvious." She gestures to the mess that is her living room. "I'm so sorry, I really am. I was supposed to do better than mom and dad but I couldn't even do that. I really am the worst."

Gwen hardly hears the muttered, "Arianne, c'mere," from Casey, and the shifting as they vacate the space. Tusk, who has just been awkwardly standing in the same spot since he busted the door down, follows suit. Thank god none of them will witness Gwen with tears rolling down her face.

"That's not true!" Gwen cries, poking her head out. "Don't talk about yourself like that! You're way better than mom and dad ever were, you shouldn't even compare yourselves to them!"

"Gwen, I made you cry. That's something I can't ever forgive myself for doing, you deserve better. I've failed as a sister, and that's just one of the things I've screwed up at."

"That's impossible!" Gwen doesn't even bother fighting against the flow of tears. "How can you be a screw up!? You helped me with so much, and your skills as a trainer-"

Jenny's sudden groaning cuts her off, and she holds a hand to her forehead. "Gwen, please, that's not relevant to this. Just… don't bring that up right now. Please."

"What?" It's not often Jenny gets this upset. Confused, Gwen stands still for a moment with wide eyes. "Why not? It's true, isn't it? I mean, I look up to you for a reason, and it's because you're the best-"

"Gwen! Please!" Jenny hisses and Gwen nearly jumps. "I just said to not talk about it! I know you've built up this image of me in your head, that I'm some kind of Pokemon Master because I've won local tournaments or whatever! Hell, even I bought into that for a while, but the second I went from Regional to National I was obliterated within minutes! I thought the same thing, that I could defeat the Hoenn League's very own Wally if I ever met him! Boy, was I stupid. My scope of Pokemon battling was extremely limited, and once I got a look at a bigger portion of the entire picture I was put in my place. It's a brutal world, and I don't think I have the capacity for it…"

"No!" Gwen screams, tears welling up again. "No, it's not true! You're so much better than you give yourself credit for, you have no idea! R-remember that time a few years ago against the Gyrados, where Krox-"

"Where Krox took out Endo Ueno's Gyrados with a single Rock Slide. Yes, I remember that." Jenny solemnly pushes up her glasses. "I remember it was a big victory for me at the time, it won me that tournament. Ueno had a pretty fierce reputation at the time, he was also a consecutive tournament winner. But in reality, he was just another mediocre trainer with an overblown ego. Rock Slide against a flying-type isn't impressive to anyone above that level."

"But, but, but…" Gwen tries her best to think of a response, but it just quickly turns into more bawling. Even though it's muffled by her sister's baggy hoodie, it's loud enough that Casey and Arianne can hear her clearly, no doubt. "But…. you don't understand! Without you, then… what am I?"

"What do you mean?" She asks, sympathy slowly returning to her voice. "Without me, you're still Gwen."

"I know!" Gwen growls. It's so exhausting hearing everyone repeat this, especially her own beloved older sister. "I know who I am, that's not what I mean! What I'm asking is that if you're not the greatest trainer ever… what am I gonna do now?"

There's some silence from Jenny as she stares at her younger sister before a faint chuckle is heard. "Right, that's what you mean."

"Hey, what's so funny!?"

"No, it's nothing like that! I just-" She clears her throat before kneeling to make eye-contact with Gwen. "It's hard hearing me talk myself down like this, isn't it? Your older sister who lived out the life you always wanted, the life that was so far out of reach for the longest time, only to find out she's not that good- it really sucks, huh?"

"I still think you're the best, but… yeah, it does suck." Gwen nods, rubbing her sleeve against her face.

"So when you've looked up to me so much you've no doubt used my journey as a reference for how yours might end up, yeah? You wanna mimic all my achievements so you can be on the same level as me, yeah?"

Gwen gives an eager nod. "Well to tell you the truth," Jenny continues, "A lot of the highlights of my career aren't really that impressive. Like I said with the battle against Ueno, a lot of them were down to me having a basic understanding of type advantages."

"No way!" Gwen cries in denial. "If you're not that impressive then… what about how you won every gym battle on your graduation journey?"

"Oh…" Jenny scratches her chin while averting her pupils. "Did I not explain that already? If not, well the truth is that I lied about that."

"WHAT!?"

Jenny nods. "That was a tale I told everyone when I was still a teenager to look cool… and maybe it originated so I could impress this one girl I liked, but still. That was a complete lie, and honestly I thought I told you that already."

"But… what about the Wailord story!?"

"Those things may be hefty, but any Liligant with Own Tempo and Petal Dance can slice it into minced meat."

"What about that epic showdown against the girl with the Charizard??"

"Sure, it was tough, but a Charizard with Solar Beam is still extremely weak to water-types. You get the idea though. I'm just any other average Pokemon trainer who had a big mouth during my heyday."

Gwen's jaw drops in shock, as if reality just crumbled beneath her feet. "But… but, what does that make me?"

"Ahh, we were just about to get there." Jenny holds up her index finger. "I know how you place a lot of importance on being my little sister, hell by now I know you introduce yourself as that! And even though most of that is built on a lie, I can tell you one thing I know for damn sure what isn't," She then takes her finger and points it towards her sister. "And that's you."

Gwen flinches. "What are you-"

"Gwen, you're the most passionate and authentic person I know, especially when it comes to anything relating to Pokemon. I know you admire me deeply, and I really appreciate that, but your love for Pokemon isn't built on me, nor is who you are as a person. Afterall…" Jenny pauses to shift her head both directions, making sure nobody can hear her. When the coast is clear, she leans in and whispers: "The name Gwen wasn't my idea, was it?"

Upon hearing this, the gears start turning in Gwen's head and her eyes even light up a bit. Is that what everyone meant when they said she isn't her sister? Maybe, but either way, Jenny's little pep talk made enough sense that it's finally starting to click. She still doesn't completely agree with everything she said, and some things will take some processing to fully grasp, but neither of those were enough to negate Jenny's words- especially that last bit.

"Heh, yeah I guess you're right after all." Gwen smirks, swiping her finger under her nose as if she wasn't just bawling her eyeballs out a minute ago. "I'm not Gwen Alanis, younger sister of Jennifer Alanis. I'm Gwen Alanis, Pokemon Trainer, Future World Champion, Expert Detective, and much more!"

"That's the spirit, champ!" Jenny flashes a wide grin, playfully ruffling Gwen's hair. Gwen chuckles as she does this before she's swallowed up in Jenny's arms when she goes in for a hug. It's been far too long since they had this kind of interaction.

"I'll say one thing though," Gwen speaks up. "And it's that even though you didn't do as good as I thought, you'll always be the best Pokemon trainer to me!"

"Gosh, you're too kind…" Jenny says while her grip tightens.

The two enjoy their moment together until a very loud and intrusive "KEW KEW!" from the kitchen comes forward. Tusk looks eager to show Gwen the trash that's skewered on his, well, tusks. That's definitely an interesting use of them.

Arianne joins the scene shortly after, first going after Tusk but then stopping, and looking at Gwen and Jenny. She smiles, eyes sparkling, and even if she doesn't say anything yet, her expression already speaks for her.

The person that actually speaks is Casey, though, peeking out into the hall with a dish towel in hand to search for his assistants. "Arianne, where- oh. Y'all done? Do you have any dishwasher tablets?"

"Oh. Oh my god, thank you so much for cleaning up!" Jenny says, letting go of Gwen. "I didn't think I'd be having anyone over anytime soon so I didn't bother cleaning the place… Sorry about that. I'll show you where I keep my dishwasher pods." She then turns to her sister. "And look at that! You made friends after all!"

"I didn't think I'd get this far, but I couldn't break our promise!" Gwen blushes.

"Speaking of them…" Jenny lowers her volume, "Did you tell either of them about… y'know…" Gwen furiously shakes her head.

"I see, just thought I'd ask." Jenny turns towards Casey and flashes her pearly whites. "I'll lend a hand while I'm at it. It is my place afterall."