To match her two on the field, Avery tosses out a scratched up and worn Poke Ball that looks like it's practically held together by the fire-shaped stickers adorning it, and his next Pokémon steps out amidst the flashy smoke-and-flame holograms.

Marcella always thought Shortcake was ridiculously named, but Avery argues she was small when she earned the moniker, even though her days as a Torchic were extremely limited under his training. Still, as the Blaziken towers over her team now, she can't help but remember what a menace this thing can be. True to her typing, Shortcake is hotheaded and always ready to fight. Marcella wonders if that's what evolving too quickly does to one's temperament, or if she was just always destined to be an asshole.

"Ready?" Avery asks, pulling her out of her fond memories of the Blaziken. Marcella nods.

And they begin.

"Okay! Jade, let's—" But before she's able to say anything more, she's distracted by Bijou, who draws in close to Meringue for a Sucker Punch. Once. Twice. Marcella can tell she is lunging at her hard, but both attempts fail to surprise her target as the idle Whimsicott deftly dodges her attacks, glancing back at Avery for instructions. "It's okay," He murmurs, letting it play out.

"Bijou! You have to listen to me!" Marcella calls out, but her words fall on deaf ears. Her moves require some tactical timing that she doesn't yet have the experience to pull off on her own. She, too, looks to her brother exasperatedly for advice, and between his own Pokémon and sister, his reaction is a little delayed. "Uh—"

He's able to make a decision a moment later, and it seems he is deliberately giving them an in. As the sunlight fades away, he calls out to Meringue.

"Okay, start charging up for a Solar Beam. It's alright," He tells her gently when she gives him a 'really?' kind of look.

As the Whimsicott closes her eyes and focuses—harder than she would have had to in brighter sunlight—Marcella kneels down next to her Purrloin. "Bijou, you have to wait. Remember? Catch them off guard when they're preparing an attack. Hone your claws first."

Her tail flicks, but she obeys.

"You have to make sure they don't see it coming, right?" She continue patiently, petting her with a smile. She glances back Meringue, still in deep concentration. "Okay, now Sucker Punch."

As the Purrloin bounds forward, though, both Marcella and her brother are suddenly reminded that not everybody got the memo about this training session's purpose, and Shortcake instinctively flings herself at Bijou to protect her vulnerable partner.

"Shorty, don't—" Avery steps forward a second too late, and Bijou goes flying.

"Bijou!" Marcella calls out, but the Purrloin rights herself exceptionally quickly. "Come here," she beckons. Bijou looks back at her briefly, before disobeying and taking a step forward. She hisses at the Blaziken, which seems to invite her to ready another attack.

"No—!" Marcella gasps. She rushes towards her, but Avery grabs her wrist. "Marcie, don't be stupid, you can't take Close Combat. Shortcake, stop!"

And then, amidst the chaos, a pink berry soars through the air. The Persim Berry Jade had pocketed. She'd hurled it at Shortcake, and the bird squawks in surprise as it bursts, entombing her with Ground-type energy.

Marcella breathes out; Jade's stunt stalls her enough to halt the assault, and Avery swiftly lets go of Marcella's wrist, waving his arms in the air to catch his Blaziken's attention. "Shortcake, we're not battling battling—" She hears him say as she drops down by Bijou's side.

"Baby, what's gotten into you lately?" She coos, gently picking her up. "That was very reckless. I'm glad you want to battle, but we're a team—you have to listen to me. I know I'm not the best trainer, but—" Bijou meows softly, almost as if in protest to that. Marcella smiles, hugging her close.

"And you—" She shifts the Pokémon around and picks up Jade too, so that she has one in each arm and they are both on her lap. "That was really great thinking, Jade. Saved the day, and that was so cool. Oh, I can't wait to do more with that Natural Gift thing! Good thing she was around, huh, Bijou?" She beams at the Petilil, but when she turns to Bijou, she's only met with a steely gaze. She holds eye contact for a moment, before turning away from the little green Pokémon on her trainer's lap.

"Oh. Um," The sullen reaction throws Marcella off guard. "Anyway, do we want to take a break, or—?" But the Purrloin leaps off her lap, scampering back onto the field.

"Right, let's keep going, then." Marcella breathes.

When they reunite with Avery and his team, Shortcake is sitting off to the side with her arms crossed, sulking a little and clearly having been reprimanded. Pudding has replaced her on the field; the Azumarill bounces merrily as he regards the Purrloin and Petilil in front of him. "I know what you said, but—you know," Avery smiles apologetically. "But it's two-on-two anyway, so this is more fair, all things considered."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine," She responds, head hanging low. It was dumb of her to ask him not to hold back and expect her Pokémon to not get hurt like that. Avery doesn't have a single Pokémon, regardless of typing, that can't flatten her team if they tried.

But she has to pay attention now to prevent that from happening again.

With no instructions from Avery other than to "play nice", Pudding and Meringue are given free reign to train with Marcella as he supervises. They are not as cutthroat and are willing to be patient with her less experienced Pokémon, but even in their lighthearted and self-directed battling, they can be a little tricky. Marcella witnesses the Whimsicott's Switcheroo, where she vaults over Bijou's head and snatches her Safety Goggles off her, replacing it with her own Miracle Seed necklace before sticking out her tongue and sprinkling a handful of Poison Powder her way.

She decides to direct Bijou to attack Pudding, while Jade uses Growth. Marcella had forgotten about Pudding's dual-typing, though—the Azumarill begins to target Bijou with his own Play Rough, which could be quite dangerous for her, but the Purrloin kicks up a Sand Attack into his face and he misses, thankfully.

She's able to get Jade to direct a barrage of Magical Leaves at him after that, but the Fairy-type attack could still be a problem for them, and she wants to do something about that. "Bijou, Torment! And Jade—" She turns to the Petilil to call out a command, only to see her acting on her own, proactively throwing an Occa Berry at Meringue. "That's—that's right! Great job." She's pleasantly surprised by how intuitive Jade is, despite how little 'proper' training she's had.

It's a stark contrast to Bijou, who'd only been staring at Jade since the Occa Berry burst into flames as it made contact with the Whimsicott. She's not listening. "Bijou, what are you doing? I said Torment!"

The lull in action from her gives Pudding an opening, and he's running towards her; even if she uses Torment now it would be too late. They have to do something else. "Jade, Sleep Powder!" Marcella calls out, and the Petilil springs into action, diving between the Azumarill and her partner to throw the dust at him. He slows to a halt just in time, falling over at their feet, fast asleep.

"Yes, Jade—good work!" Marcella sighs with relief as the Petilil runs over to her, holding up a hand. Oh, great. She must have picked that up from watching Avery do that earlier. But she did well, and Marcella obliges, giving her the tiny high-five she wanted.

"Bijou, come on! What's going on?" She shakes her head at the Purrloin. "That's twice she's saved you from your carelessness today. If Jade didn't—"

Her sentiment is cut short as she notices the Dark energy swirling around the Purrloin, much like it does when she uses Torment. But she's looking directly at Jade, skulking over to where the Petilil is standing. It almost looks like she's targeting her.

She can't be, though.

But she is. She's targeting Jade. Consciously, purposely, and seemingly with none of the more lighthearted spirit the rest of their battle had up until this point.

Jade looks confused too, glancing between their trainer and the Purrloin approaching her. Backing away, she's not able to defend herself and she stands, stunned, as Bijou lurches forward and rakes down the small Petilil's face with sharp claws, causing her to stagger back. It all happens so fast, so unexpectedly, that Marcella doesn't know what to do.

It's quiet for a second, then the Petilil's expression crumples. And now Jade is crying on the field. No, she's bawling.

All eyes turn in their direction, and Avery makes his way over to her side. "Hey, is everything okay—oh. Lotta tears today, huh? Okay, back up, back up."

Meringue and Shortcake crowd around her to see what's stopped the battle, and Avery ushers them back, kneeling down to inspect Jade.

"Well it doesn't look like it hurt that much, Pokémon can take a lot." He assesses. "Maybe it's just the shock of being attacked by her teammate, or—"

Still bawling, Jade holds out her hands, and Marcella sees her clutching half of a leaf. She turns her around to find where it came from, and sure enough, she see one of the shiny, green leaves on her head is torn.

If humans take pride in their hair, it would seem this is the closest thing to that for the Petilil. And if there's one thing she knows about Jade, it's that she can be a little vain, too. Marcella can empathize.

"Oh—oh dear. It's okay. The leaf will grow back," She reassures her, picking her up. "We'll snip it off a bit more cleanly at the contest venue—like pruning a plant, right? It will grow back greener and more beautiful, I promise."

The crying tapers off as she gently rocks her in her arms with more quiet reassurances, and when she's settled, Marcella lets her back down. "Okay, go sit with them for a bit, I'm going to check in on Bijou." Jade glances nervously at the Purrloin before fleeing to Meringue and taking her hand.

Taking a deep breath, she waits until everyone else has followed Avery off the field, and sits down next to the Purrloin. "Okay, Bijou, what is going on?" Marcella demands sternly.

She, of course, does not expect her to communicate whatever it is she's feeling to her through words, but what Bijou does is also not what she was expecting. She simply climbs onto Marcella's lap, paws tucked defensively under her body as she stares intently at the ground.

She'd wanted to yell at her, scold her for disobeying, for attacking Jade for no reason. But in this moment, she doesn't see an unruly battle partner, but a pet that just wants to be held. Marcella exhales, and she just sits quietly, petting the Purrloin and unsure of what to do, what to say, or what brought this on.

She supposes it could be jealousy, but why now? What specifically about the newest addition to her team seems to threaten Bijou like this?

It's not not important, but she thinks the complex feelings she might be having about Jade right now demands more time than she has at the moment. And after a few minutes of pondering, she checks her phone. "Oh, honey, I don't have time to figure this out right now, but we will talk about this after the contest, okay? We have to prepare."

Bijou doesn't budge. Marcella picks her up and slings her over her shoulder. "I need to get Pearly out here to practice her and Jade's routine, too." She explains softly as she hauls the Purrloin off the field. "We will talk more after the contest," she promises again.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F



PEARLY
Clamperl, F



MIDAS
Meowth, M



JADE
Petilil, F

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany
6-3: "Friendly" Fire

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)
Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf ()
Safety Goggles ()
Bright Powder ()
Quick Claw
Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3
Quick Balls x 2
Net Balls x 5
Poké Balls x 8
Lum Berry x 2
Razz Berry x 2
Sitrus Berry
Oran Berry x 8
Occa Berry x 5 (-1)
Yache Berry x 9
Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue

Trainer Info

Chapter 6 - 7
Go Big or Go Home
Part 5

Despite the faint noise of percussion coming from the outside sparking a brief imagination of how he would enjoy listening to the ensemble with his loved ones as most people would. For Arthur, this was nothing but a distraction at the moment. After all, he had a tournament to win in less than 30 minutes, and failure was definitely out of the question after all the effort he had poured. So with a resigned smile painted over his face, he sent out a message to his mentor telling the latter that he was going to start preparing the finishing touch to the winning plan he had concocted since the very first day he had set foot on Mauville.

With a deep sigh, the boy wearing the red dress shirt leaned back his head to the wall and closed his eyes for a moment to rest. It was clear from the fatigue he felt, the burden that came from his unquenchable desire to win had weighed him more than he initially imagined it would, no matter how much he had convinced himself that it was okay to lose, especially now that he was one step away from winning the ₽300,000 that could be pivotal to propel his way to be the greatest trainer anyone had ever seen.

That money was something he need– No, he must win, no matter what. After all, becoming a trainer doesn’t require a lot of money, but to be among the greatest that had ever graced the field, pure effort, and dedication to master the craft alone wasn’t enough to push you to that level. After all, dedication alone wouldn’t pay for the TMs, held items, and berries you’d need to progress far, you’ll need cold hard cash for that. Something that the bespectacled boy was painfully aware of even before he reached the tender age of seven.

Feeling that his eyes were getting heavy, Arthur slapped the right side of his cheek as hard as he could, not only causing his cheek to turn red, but also causing one of the female staff to look his way before lowering her head and rushing outside, perhaps because she felt awkward, or perhaps it was just his imagination and she did have to go outside. Either way, it was an embarrassing moment for sure.

But he had no time to dwell on such things, not now. Time waits for no one, and the more he let the time tick down not doing anything, the less chance he had of gripping the victory firmly in his hand.

So he projected the screen of his Holotch for better viewing. Inside the device contained the fruits of his labor last night, everything that he thought was essential for him to clinch his victory.

His opponent’s usage of Pokemon, their moveset, how they won each and every matchup, and even how his opponent reacted to certain moments that he thought were noteworthy to record was all there inside the device, and that wasn’t the end of his preparation, far from it. Because it wasn’t the only thing that was contained inside the sleek black Holotch Arthur had, as from distilling and analyzing the data he had obtained, he had meticulously designed the best strategy he could to ensure that the victory would be his. Of course, he even had several plans up his sleeves just in case that the implementation of his strategy had gone awry one way or another, that’s just par of the course.

Was it excessive? Perhaps. But considering what was at stake, Arthur was sure that it was worth a shot, even after facing several laughs and criticism that was addressed to him by those who felt that his methods were dumb during his training at the Mauville Gym. Besides, what better way to shut them up other than to show them the fruits of his effort?

After Arthur had skimmed over the details of the plans and made sure that none of the details were left unaccounted for, now for the next part, was time for him to rebrief his Pokemon to make sure that they still remembered what to do when certain situations came up during the battle. And that would’ve been a simple task to do, at least if he didn’t feel a sudden pain in his head.

Arthur couldn’t help but have the urge to scream while dropping to one knee as he felt that the throbbing pain inside his head, so much so, that he wouldn’t be surprised if his head blew up at any moment.

With his trembling right hand, he reached out toward the front pocket of his bag where an old friend of his resided, a single strip of tablets containing 500 milligrams of Mefenamic Acid. It is a type of painkiller that Arthur really liked, mostly because it wouldn’t take long for the effect to work, usually 5-10 minutes after drinking from his experience ingesting it when he felt headache during his time pulling all-nighters to study.

As Arthur desperately drank the water inside the bottle he had put on the side of his bag after ingesting the painkiller, he couldn’t help but have thoughts about what had really caused the throbbing pain. He had carefully adjusted his schedule to prevent things like this from happening, six hours of sleep should’ve been plenty enough in this kind of situation. It’s not like he overdid his training too, he had done much worse during his time enrolling in Mahono.

But there was nothing he could do but lean back his head and constantly take deep breaths to alleviate the pain. There was no need to alert the attendants about his condition, after all, the medicine should be good enough to sustain him at least until the final battle ended so there was no need to kick up some fuss just because of the slight issue he had. And just after five minutes had passed, it seemed that it was most likely going to be the case as his head felt light once more as if the throbbing pain never happened in the first place.

From the boy's belt, he pulled four Pokeballs of the ones he trusted had the best chance to win. He couldn’t help but feel grateful that his Pokemon wasn’t there to see what had happened earlier since distraction was the last thing they needed in their collaborative effort to bring the title of Winstrate Cup Winner away with them. The boy in red didn’t skip a beat and continued to brief his Pokemon as if nothing ever happened in the first place.

He had to be strong, he had to be brave, as he and his Pokemon had squeezed every single blood, sweat, and tears that they could muster all in the preparation for this very moment. For nine long days they have persevered, now they were one foot away from tasting the sweet taste of victory, and Arthur would do everything in his power to make sure that no one would be able to stand in their way to prevent them from tasting it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcella swindles her brother into taking her shopping for a few last-minute props before they arrive at the venue, stopping at an arts supplies store and a cookware shop first. They're supposed to separate into their respective contestant and audience seating areas at the contest hall, but Avery sneaks backstage to keep her company until the show starts.

"'PokéChef' kinda sounds like you're cooking the Pokémon, by the way." Avery comments as he looks over her shoulder.

"No, it doesn't." Marcella snaps at her brother as she puts finishing touches on the sign she's prepared for the third and most important round. "…It's a working title. I'm on to something here, I know it. It's gonna be great. Okay, get—get out of here, I think we're starting soon. You want a front row seat to my victory, don’t you?"

"Everyone's getting a front row seat—it's a D-rank contest, only parents and siblings are gonna be watching."

"Elitist." Marcella sniffs.

"That's not even what that means."

"Rankist."

Avery rolls his eyes, standing up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Good luck out there."


She's given a pretty early number this time, and they are on stage for their first round after only two other contestants. She flashes a smile at the crowd and judges as the MC introduces her, bringing both of her Pokémon to the center of the stage—Jade on one shoulder, her bag on the other, and Pearly in her arms. The Clamperl is very heavy, but she keeps smiling through gritted teeth, walking as gracefully as she can into the spotlight.

She knows she could just carry both of them in their Luxury Balls, but it's probably better for their nerves if they are not just suddenly thrust onto stage; she wants them both to be able to acclimate to the contest setting and she figures it's better that they are out for the whole process.

As she gently sets the Clamperl down, Jade hops off her shoulder and Marcella quickly reaches into her bag, setting down the five clear glasses she'd bought with Avery earlier in front of Pearly, then handing Jade two spoons. She curtseys before retreating to the back of the stage, letting her Pokémon take the spotlight completely.

And then it's quiet.

Pearly… come on. Marcella exhales nervously, hoping the Clamperl doesn't freeze up. But after a beat of silence, she launches into action. Their routine is a little slow to start, as Pearly aims her Water Gun into the five glasses in front of her, carefully filling them up to the varying levels Marcella had marked out on them backstage. And then Jade steps up. A simple melody rings out loud and clear as she starts playing the tune Marcella had taught her by tapping the spoons against the glasses.

There's a few polite ooh's from the crowd as the notes chime and echo through the quiet hall, but nobody's thoroughly impressed by just half the routine yet. As she hits the high note, though, she lets it ring out for a moment in a dramatic pause, before giving the crowd a flashy spin in her dress and letting loose a barrage of Magical Leaves.

The colourful, glowing foliage swirls around them, rotating between the various floral shapes they'd practiced together on Route 110. And then Jade directs a single blade of leaf right at Pearly before picking her spoons back up to continue playing her song. The Clamperl catches the blade on cue with her two front appendages and holds it to her mouth, playing it like a whistle in harmony with her partner's tune.

The crowd gets a bit livelier as the two Pokémon play their 'instruments' together, and as the song draws to an end, it's up to Jade to close out their routine. Her Magical Leaf freezes in the shape of a flower over the stage, and then she directs all the leaves back at her and Pearly. The two gather as many of the petals as they can, arranging them into three small, glowing bouquets. And then Jade hesitates.

She turns back to look at Marcella, who nods back encouragingly at her. 'Go on!' She mouths. The Petilil's cheeks redden, but she does as they planned, bringing the bouquets up to the judge's table.

Delighted chuckles and awws sound out from the crowd as the shy Petilil climbs up and presents each judge with a "bouquet", which, next to a grown human is really more of the size of a boutonnière, but they each graciously accept it all the same with wide smiles.

"Thank you, Jade! And thank you, Pearly and Miss MacMillan, that was a very cute routine." One of the judges lean over her mic to address her over the applause as Jade clambers back on stage and up Marcella's shoulder. "We look forward to seeing you in the next rounds."

"Thank you!" Marcella beams as she rounds up her props and Pokémon before exiting the stage. She squeals once they are backstage and reunited back with Midas and Bijou, who are still lounging in the armchair she'd left them. "Oh, that went so well! You two did great out there. See? Not scary, right?" The flush in Jade's cheeks had left, and she smiles back through her eyes.

Placing Pearly down next to them, she scoots her two feline Pokémon over to make room for herself on the chair, and they patiently watch the next nine contestants' routines as they await the next round.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F



PEARLY
Clamperl, F



MIDAS
Meowth, M



JADE
Petilil, F

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany
6-3: "Friendly" Fire
6-4: Round One, Take Two

Inventory

WALLET: ₽5,950

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)
Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf ()
Safety Goggles ()
Bright Powder ()
Quick Claw
Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3
Quick Balls x 2
Net Balls x 5
Poké Balls x 8
Lum Berry x 2
Razz Berry x 2
Sitrus Berry
Oran Berry x 8
Occa Berry x 5 (-1)
Yache Berry x 9
Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Fabric glue

Trainer Info

The girl standing in front of her is a stark reminder of why she needs to climb out of the D-rank. She is fighting literal children. Her opponent looks thirteen, maybe, and there's no way around how insignificant even a win is going to feel against someone so young. But a win is a win.

Marcella takes a moment to study the opposing team. Both of her Pokémon look like they are at least part Grass-type; she'd probably just wandered into her parents' garden and—

"Ollie, Take Down!"

On the girl's command, the bulbous, shrub-like creature charges recklessly into Pearly, her shell skidding backwards from the impact with a horrible screech.

Oops. Focus. It would be much more humiliating to lose to a child.

Since it's still close to the Clamperl after its attack, she seizes the opportunity to have Pearly swiftly Clamp down on it before it regains its balance. A suspiciously hardy thunk can be heard as the shell snaps shut, and Ollie wriggles fiercely in the Clamperl's grasp. Marcella squints, scrutinizing the little chunks that seem to have chipped off of his body.

That's a rock.

Huh. Tricky little thing. It definitely looks like a small bonsai plant. Alright, so what does that mean for us? She ponders this while Pearly keeps Ollie trapped, and has Jade deal with the purple flower in front of her.

Her Magical Leaf chases its target before knocking it into Ollie right as he frees himself from Pearly's shell. And once again, Marcella hears a noise that's almost like grating pebbles.

Are they… both rocks?

"Jolie, Acid Spray!"

Poisonous rock, that one. Could be a little scary for Jade, but that simplifies matters. Drawing back some energy with Mega Drain to ensure she can withstand any tricks the purple "flower" might have, Jade spins away from her opponent. She narrowly dodges more acidic liquid as the Bright Powder in her dress casts a blinding glare, and it also gives her a moment to set up Growth.

The girl and her not-plants fight valiantly, but the Rock-types are really fighting an uphill battle against Marcella's team. They dominate the stage, making quick work of Ollie and Jolie.

Within minutes of starting, Marcella calls out her final moves, fairly confident this ends the battle. "Pearly, Scald! Magical Leaf again, Jade!"

And it's over. Easy.

She sure showed that child.


"Welcome to the first ever instalment of Petite PokéChefs! I'm your host, Marcella MacMillan, and we are joined here today by Jade—" The Petilil curtseys as Marcella presents her to the crowd, and then the girl moves next to the Clamperl, who waves with a shy smile. "—and Pearly! What are we making today, chefs?"

Jade juggles a few berries in the air enthusiastically, and Pearly holds up a pack of soba noodles.

"That's right! Pearly and Jade will be showing us how to make a Berry Stir-Fry!"

The contest hall staff had kindly let her borrow and help set up one of their folding tables on stage between rounds, and she has her sign propped against it now, with all her ingredients, cookware and Pokémon sitting on the surface.

"Now, our first step is to prep the ingredients. The noodles have to be cooked before we can add them to the stir-fry—not too much, since they will also be cooking in the skillet and we don't want them to turn mushy, but do boil them first." She pushes the pot over to Pearly, who throws the noodles in.

"And why wait for water to boil when you can do this? Pearly, Scald!" She points to the Clamperl, taking a step away from the table as Pearly shoots boiling water into the pot. "That's right, instant hot water—you don't need a stove if you have Pokémon. And be careful of any splashing, because it is boiling water."

Moving along the table to where Jade is standing, Marcella continues her narration. "While we wait for that to cook, let's chop our other ingredients." She picks up a berry and tosses it behind her back, which Jade instantly dices it up neatly with Magical Leaf.

"That's right, Magical Leaf is not just beautiful, but as you may know, very sharp and never misses! So why use that just for battling?"

Jade continues to make a show of finely chopping the array of colourful berries with her Magical Leaf, as Marcella tosses them in the air for her and catches them back in the skillet once they go through her blades. "Beautiful work. Let's check in on the noodles—"

Marcella picks them up with her tongs, putting them into a dry bowl to inspect. Soft, but not overcooked. Perfect for their next step. "Looking good! Let's put them all in the mix," After adding a splash of oil to the pan to prevent sticking, she lets Pearly do the honours, holding out the skillet for her to dump the soba noodles into. "Alright Jade, let's turn up the heat!"

Murmurs of confusion and intrigue fill the room as they watch to see what the Grass-type was about to do.

With a flip of the skillet from Marcella, she tosses its contents into the air as Jade pulls an Occa Berry from her pocket, drawing Fire-type energy from it to cook the ingredients. A few oohs and gasps can be heard as the berries and noodles are seared, and they give it all a few more flips and tosses over the fire to get an even cook on them.

They carefully plate the dish when it's finished, garnishing it with some of Jade's glowing leaves before proudly presenting it to the judges and cameras.

"Oh, that looks great! Now, do we get to try some?"

Ugh. She was afraid they would ask that. Despite all her confidence that her idea is novel and cute, she doesn't actually know how the dish tastes—not great, she would have to assume, as she'd planned everything more from a visual aspect. But she did realize on some level that, if she is presenting this as a cooking show, the judges will want to eat the final product. Still, she emphatically declines and hopes they understand.

"Oh, no, but definitely next time! We just have refine our technique a bit, so be on the lookout for us in one of the upcoming contests if you want an excuse to snack on something mid-show!" Marcella gives the judges a playful wink.

"We sure will!" Luckily, she's not pressed further, and this is probably one of the perks of being in a D-rank contest—the expectations aren't too high. She grins, relieved, as the MC comes up to lead her off the stage.

"One last round of applause for our little—sorry, Petite PokéChefs Pearly and Jade, and of course their lovely coordinator Marcella!" With a curtsey and a wave, she exits the stage with her Pokémon as a few staff members help her retrieve the folding table and supplies.


She takes a bite of their dish backstage and scrunches up her face, glad that she did not let the judges try it. It's not terrible, but could definitely use some seasoning. She takes another bite, chewing slowly. It is terrible, actually. Marcella makes a mental note to make something actually palatable next time.

She'd spent all the time poring over berry knowledge studying their Natural Gift effects and medicinal properties, but not their flavour profiles, so the sauce is a confusing blend of sour, spicy and sweet, but in the worst way possible. All the berries she'd picked were entirely from the criteria of which colours looked prettiest together.

She is about to bin the rest of the noodles, but notices Pearly staring at her. "What? You're not a bad chef. The flavours just don't really work. And that's on me! Next time, we'll—we just have to look at the flavours together—"

Pearly's frown deepens and Jade joins in now. "Ugh—" She groans, but takes another bite. "Mm…!" Marcella exclaims, much like a mother pretending to enjoy their kids' fake tea party and biscottis.

But they look appeased, and the first chance she gets where they look away, she quickly scrapes the remainder of the dish in the garbage can.


"And in first place, we have Miss Marcella MacMillan, and her delightful Petit PokéChefs!"

Marcella feigns shock and surprise as she accepts her ribbon, but having seen the rest of the routines, she knew she had this in the bag.


She takes a few moments to admire her new ribbon as all the contestants pack up to leave backstage. It's the first merit she'd earned this trip she actually feels proud of, and it feels good to be making some progress.

"Great work today, my dears. This is the first of many!" She promises, showing Jade and Pearly what they helped achieve, before tucking the ribbon away safely. "Alright, let's grab Bijou and Midas and get out of here, Avery's probably waiting for us outside."

She looks back at the armchair she'd left the two in, and through the crowd she can see Midas' brown-tipped white tail flicking as half of him hangs off the side of the seat. He's deep asleep, she realizes as they approach, and she gently shakes him. "Hey, we won," She tells the Meowth, and he snorts as he jolts awake, putting his paws together for a few unenthused claps before sitting up properly. "Where's Bijou?"

He looks at the empty spot next to him, as if it's the first time he'd noticed she is not beside him. He shrugs, grooming his fur. Marcella sighs. "Where did she go?"

She must have gotten bored and wandered off. Marcella quickly checks under the armchair, looks around the vending machines down the hall in case she was hungry and was trying to break into one of them, and searches up and down the backstage area. "Bijou?"

As people file out, it becomes more and more apparent the Purrloin is not here.

"Bijou!" There's panic in her voice now. As she comes back to the armchair her Pokémon are sitting around, she quickly returns Pearly to her Luxury Ball and lets Jade back on her shoulder. She picks up Midas and clutches him tightly despite his protests so she doesn't lose him, too.

"Has anybody—seen my Purrloin?" There's not a lot of people left backstage to ask now, but she approaches everyone anyway even though she's only getting back blank stares and headshakes.

Bursting back on the stage, she tries some of the staff cleaning up as well. "Excuse me! I had a Purrloin backstage, she was sitting in an armchair, and she's—"

"N-no, I haven't seen a Purrloin…"

Marcella roughly pushes past her to get to the main door, emptying into a sea of people as she exits the contest hall. To her right, she can faintly hear Avery calling to her as he approaches, but he sounds far away.

Her vision blurs as she looks around, ignoring her brother and dashing out onto the walkway. It's rush hour now, so people are all around, leaving work, going home, getting to their vehicles.

She earns a few dirty looks as she stands obstructively in the middle of the walkway with her eyes fixed to the ground, looking for a flash of purple fur among all the busy movements, a hint of the Purrloin still around the venue, anything. There's a few pushes and shoves as she moves against the grain calling out to Bijou, but she doesn't feel it. She doesn't feel anything except the lump in her throat as she tries not to cry.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F



PEARLY
Clamperl, F



MIDAS
Meowth, M



JADE
Petilil, F

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany
6-3: "Friendly" Fire
6-4: Round One, Take Two
6-5: Hollow Victories

Inventory

WALLET: ₽10,950 (↑ ₽5,000)

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)
Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf ()
Safety Goggles ()
Bright Powder ()
Quick Claw
Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3
Quick Balls x 2
Net Balls x 5
Poké Balls x 8
Lum Berry x 2
Razz Berry x 2
Sitrus Berry
Oran Berry x 8
Occa Berry x 4 (-1)
Yache Berry x 9
Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Skillet
Fabric glue

Trainer Info & Merits

They used to sit by the windowsill together, eating pastries and looking down into the courtyard from Marcella's bedroom. Rain or shine, Avery trained day in and out there whenever he was home. And Marcella would laugh, feeding PokéPuffs to Bijou and mocking her brother as the little orange chicken jumped and kicked and flailed as hard as she could under the boy's direction.

And even as the Torchic grew into a Combusken, and every time Avery returned to that courtyard, he brought with him a larger team—even as the Combusken had grown into a Blaziken and Bijou stayed the same, Marcella never once indicated that she wished for the Purrloin to be anything else. Or to have any other Pokémon, even.

Or so Bijou had always thought. But something's changed.

The last few weeks have been hard. Plucked from their comfortable, spacious home, they were suddenly sent out on the road, camping in the rain, walking for days, thrust into battles and new situations neither were familiar with.

There were some terrible times, but they were having a terrible time together, and Bijou found some sense of contentment and solidarity in that. The journey was family-imposed, but somewhere along the way, it wasn't anymore. That in itself isn't a problem—it's not like Bijou would like her trainer to be miserable, but for the first time ever, she's started to feel pressure. Pressure to change and adapt in ways she'd never felt before, pressure to fight. Not just physically, either, but for Marcella's attention. And despite her best efforts, she isn't keeping up.

And as their team keeps growing, she feels the pressure more and more. She feels in the way. Not good enough. Replaceable.

Despite being Marcella's first Pokémon, she's not a hard-hitter, she doesn't have any practical skills outside of battle and, seemingly most importantly to Marcella right now, she's not really that good on stage. Everybody has a role on this team except for her. And it's become glaringly obvious.

When their team first started growing, Bijou really didn't mind. She kind of likes their company, even.

First, there was Pearly. The young Clamperl is fine. She doesn't really spend a lot of time outside of her Poke Ball. Bijou often forgets she's with them, and even when she is, she's not really cuddly.

Then, there was Midas. Another cat. Like me. But a little grosser. A little less loveable. Kind of aloof and independent. He was just an alley cat when Marcella took him in, and now... well, he's still just an alley cat, but an alley cat with a satchel.

Perhaps most importantly, neither of them really compete with her for Marcella's attention. Not in the same way, at least.

And then came Jade.

By all accounts, she never should have even been with them. She's a thief, she's an intruder, but she forced her way into their lives and, somehow, Marcella's heart. And suddenly, everything was about Jade—let's train Jade, let's make a dress for Jade, look at what Jade can do with the berries besides just eating them. And she's light enough to constantly sit on Marcella's shoulder, or be carried like a big baby.

But as Bijou runs now and her body and mind tires enough for her to let her guard down, she sees things a little more clearly; she knows it's not Jade, but her presence has merely been shining a bigger light on her own inadequacies.

Because what was the Petilil's crime? She... likes their trainer, and is good at following her commands. This is just a Petilil who wanted a different life, a life like hers. And she lashed out because she couldn't keep up.

But she's tired of trying to keep up now. Maybe she's just not good for Marcella anymore. Maybe Marcella doesn't need her anymore.

And she's tired of running now. She's not exactly sure how long ago she left the contest hall or how far she'd run, but it's far enough that she can't be a burden anymore. Maybe she'd thought that if she kept running she could run away from her jealousy, her shame, her guilt. But she just feels empty and tired now. She slows to a jog and then a walk, trying to catch her breath.

What do I do now? Where do I go?

She looks around, noticing her surroundings again for the first time since she'd left. The tram station she had wandered into is packed, but she weaves through the many sets of legs in front of her to get through.

The door chimes as it opens, and Bijou walks in with everyone else without thinking.

There's people all around her and it feels crowded, almost suffocating. The world is suddenly so much scarier now that she's alone. She looks up, meeting the unfriendly gaze of a man and quickly averts her eyes. She takes a step back, bumping into someone else.

"Out of the way, tubby."

"Sir, please put your Purrloin away."

"Yeah, man, look around—there's not enough space on this thing for people to be letting their Pokémon out—"

"Bro, it's not mine!"

Frightened, Bijou scurries under a seat as people continue to argue around her, where she bothers no one and no one can bother her. As the voices die down, she gains some momentary relief from finally being able to rest and she closes her eyes, waiting to see where the tram takes her.

BIJOU
Purrloin, F

Memories

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany
6-3: "Friendly" Fire
6-4: Round One, Take Two
6-5: Hollow Victories
6-6: Crowded - Bijou POV

She looks like hell.

Marcella couldn't sleep at all last night. How could she? She'd spent most of her evening running around the city like a madwoman, but as Avery had pointed out once he'd caught up to her, Mauville is massive and densely populated. With no plans or any idea where to start, Bijou was not going to be easy to find. And she was running on fumes.

So he'd forced her to eat a small dinner, then they each got a room at the Pokemon Center to rest for the night, where she mostly laid awake for hours wondering what went wrong, replaying everything she had said to her Purrloin leading up to the disappearance.

Maybe she shouldn't have delayed the talk at all. She didn't think a few hours would have mattered. Maybe, at the very least, she could have given her some kind of reassurance that things would be alright, that nothing had changed and nothing would change. That Marcella loves her very much.

But she didn't. She just said she would talk with her after the contest. And now there's no 'after the contest' with her.

I did this. She concludes.

At least she was able to put together a 'Missing' flyer on her phone during the night, something she could get printed tomorrow bright and early to help with the search. So it was a somewhat productive night, even if it wasn’t restful at all.

And as she looks in the mirror now, it really shows. Marcella sighs, dabbing concealer under her eyes. It hides the dark circles under them, but not how red and puffy they are.

As soon as the closest print shop opens, she gets her flyers made and hands half the stack to Avery, ultimately deciding to split up so they can distribute them over a larger range together.

And the hours fly by as she plasters the city with them, handing them out to anybody who would take one. She'd decided to start with the area Bijou was last seen in, in case she’s still just hanging around, but as noon rolls around and it feels like she'd searched all of level 25 and spoken to every single person on it, the sinking feeling sets in again.

As she gets to Hill Station, she collapses on a bench.

She's exhausted.

She closes her eyes for just a moment when she hears a rustling as her stack of fliers is disturbed. Someone takes one off the top and looks it over. "Lost Pokémon? Oh, that poor kitty! And you must be devastated!"

She's had a few sympathetic glances thrown her way as she accosted people with her fliers, but not too many people had willingly come up to take one. And aside from a few creepy dudes she ran into earlier, certainly nobody wanted to stay and talk about it unless she was adamant in stopping them, so she jumps out of her seat and seizes the opportunity now to ask if they have seen her.

"Why yes, dear! I've—" She pauses briefly as she studies the small girl reading the flier. "Hey! Natsuko, wasn't it? Oh, your—" 'Your Magikarp humiliated us on stage' are not the words she wants to use to jog the girl's memory, but they are the first ones that come to her tired brain as she recalls their first encounter. "We fought back in a Dewford contest a few weeks ago, if you can recall. It's- it's the Purrloin I had with me in that contest, actually. Have you been in the city long? I don't suppose you've seen her?" She adds hopefully.

Natsuko looks at her in confusion for a moment before recognizing her. "Marcella! Oh, wow! I'd ask how you've been, but…" She gestures to the fliers vaguely. "I've only been here a few days, but no, I haven't seen her. When did she disappear? Where did you last see her? Tell me everything."

The two sit down and Marcella spares no details, even telling her about the Purrloin's strange behaviours she had noticed leading up to it. She feels a little bad dumping everything on the poor girl like this when they are essentially meeting for the first time off-stage, but Natsuko doesn't seem to mind, listening intently. And verbalizing it all seems to help her think.

"So it would have been around 4 or 5 yesterday that she went missing - it was right after the contest. Well, that was when I noticed she was gone, anyway." Marcella lets out a frustrated sigh. "But I don't think she's here. Not anymore." She gestures around her vaguely, having already told Natsuko she'd searched high and low at the very level Bijou had gone missing. As she does, her eyes land on the Hill Station tram schedule they are sitting next to. "I wonder..."

Natsuko herself looks at the tram car in the distance. "If we've checked everywhere on this level, logic dictates that she must be on another level. If she got on a tram somehow, she could be anywhere!" She ponders for a second before realizing how that sounded. "Oh, but at least we have a starting location! We just have to follow the tram to its first stop! Maybe someone saw her get off?"

"Yeah, maybe.” Marcella responds glumly. “Well, that's a plan, then," It's not a good one, but the best that she has, given the circumstances. Bijou really could be anywhere, like the girl said.

She also said 'we'. "Wait, are you coming with me?"

"Only if you'll allow me, I suppose." Natsuko shrugs, then looks at the flier in her hand. "I know we don't know each other well, and maybe we're not friends, but your Pokémon is missing, and I want to help. I know what it's like to lose a friend."

She stands up, offering Marcella a hand. "But this isn't the time to talk about my backstory, we have a tram to catch! If we work together, we double the chances of finding Bijou! Let's go!"

She hasn't had much to smile about today, but a smile spreads across Marcella's face now as she takes the girl's hand, and they rush to get on the next tram together.

The girls split up at each station to cover more ground, and her stack of fliers gets thinner at each stop. They really start to move through the stations quicker once she threatens to return Midas to his Ball to prevent him from moseying off, and he begrudgingly follows more closely so she, at the very least, doesn't have to worry about both of her cats running loose in the city.

By the time they've made their way down to level 18, they have a fairly good system of popping in and hitting all the most likely areas without straying too far from the trams. They figure asking the staff at each station and just checking in with the people working in the surrounding areas and shops is more efficient than running through the entirety of every level blindly, if they are to cover this many of them.

Their monotonous routine is disrupted on this level, however, as Marcella taps on the shoulder of a janitor she spots. "Excuse me, sir! Have you seen this Purrloin? She went missing yesterday at-"

"Yep." His eyes barely flick down at the flier and only says the one word, but it was unmistakably a confirmation - the only confirmation she or Natsuko had heard today - that someone had seen Bijou. And then he just continues pushing his cart, leaving her with her mouth hanging open. Stunned, it takes Marcella a moment to react, but she steps forward and reaches out before he moves away from her, grabbing the back of his shirt with so much force Jade almost falls off her shoulder.

"Hey, hold on! Where?"

Her reaction seems to have startled him, and he stops in his tracks, finally turning to look at her. "I-I don't know. I cover a lot of stations here. I'm- paged every time a kid spills his soda or, or Berry Juice or whatever. See a lot of things." He pauses, seemingly reflecting on the last bit. “Lotta Berry Juice calls lately, actually. And people get their panties in a bunch about that muk more than anything else ‘cause it kinda looks like blood, but-” There’s a bit of pity in his eyes as Marcella's shoulders slump and he sighs, softening his tone. "Your cat- she got on some kind of red and green eyewear? I remember 'cause it looked kinda funny."

"Yeah! That's her!" Marcella's squeal echoes through the station as she grabs the man's arm. "Oh, please, try to remember where you saw her."

The commotion draws Natsuko's- or Tsu, as she said her friends call her- attention, and she quickly approaches the pair, silently clutching her fliers to her chest.

The man scrunches up his face as he thinks, but shakes his head. "Man, I don't know," He repeats. "It was low, though. Like, single digits."

"That's something!" Tsu swoops in. "Cuts the number of places to check in half! We'll head to Floor Nine next! …what's on the lower levels, anyway?"

"Eugh," Was Marcella's reflexive response, but she thanks the janitor and lets him get back to his job before answering Tsu. "Not much we'd want to involve ourselves in, really. But I guess we have to, if that's where she was last seen."

She'd really hoped they would have found her before they went much lower. The only times she'd ever gone to the single digit-levels was as a younger teen, and even then it wasn't frequent; she and her friends had gone a few times because certain pockets of Mauville's underbelly play a little fast and loose with the law and legal drinking age and all that, but since she turned 18 a few months ago and can get a drink anywhere, she's had very little reason to even think about it.

"There's a Game Corner that takes up a few of the lower levels - she had accompanied me there a few times. They serve- well, you know, greasy arcade food and all that, maybe she got hungry enough and made her way there for something to eat." A pang of guilt hits her again as she thinks out loud. She had changed her diet pretty drastically.

"A Game Corner? Interesting…" Tsu ponders the concept for a moment, then snaps her fingers decisively. "From what I know of Game Corners, the patrons wouldn't have seen anything, but the staff are always on alert. If your hunch is correct, we'll definitely get some answers there!"

Her new companion's optimism doesn't really allow her to wallow, and she's grateful for that. "Yes, let's go, then!"

Back on the tram, Marcella looks out the window, but her vision dims as they make their way to the Mauville Game Corner's levels. Even if it wasn't already getting dark, not a lot of natural light reaches the depths of the city.

As they arrive at their destination, she and Tsu get off with a few other passengers; the atmosphere is immediately different from the ten-or-so floors above they came from. She and her friends never left each others' sides the times they'd been here, so she grabs Tsu's hand now, as she starts to head off. "Oh, hun—maybe we shouldn't split up this time."

Tsu looks around, her curiosity fading to uncertainty, and she gives Marcella’s hand a small squeeze. "Yeah, that makes sense. Better to stick together down here."

Together they ask around, targeting staff members of the dingy Game Corner to question as Tsu had suggested and also getting permission to put up a few fliers. Most of the staff are just teens working part-time, so they don’t really care. Although Tsu had predicted patrons wouldn't have been paying attention, Marcella does notice a girl looking over her shoulder as she puts one of the fliers up. She squints at the photo on it like she's trying to remember something, and Marcella watches her expectantly.

"Hey, I think I just saw it. Your Pokemon." It takes her a few seconds, but she finally speaks up. "Like, right back there."

"Really? Oh, that's wonderful!" Marcella exchanges excited glances with Tsu. "Is she still there? Can you take us to her?"

"Yeah! For sure, come on. It was literally just now when I was buying my drink."

The girl looks harmless enough, so they follow her. Led through a few rows of arcade machines, they're brought to a lounge area of sorts, and the girl points to the Pokemon there that's being unsuccessfully wrestled off the bar by a weary-looking boy in the Game Corner staff's uniform.

"There it is!" The girl exclaims cheerfully.

Marcella's not sure what to say. It's definitely her cat.

The Silk Scarf he wears as a bag rolls onto his back as he reaches up a shelf behind the counter he's standing on, and Marcella finally finds her words. "When the hell did you- Midas!" Startled, the Meowth looks back, meeting her gaze with guilty eyes.

Marcella takes a deep breath, turning back to the girl. "Okay- that's a Meowth," She starts evenly, a little annoyed, but decides she did a good thing for her after all, since she might have lost Midas too if she wasn't informed. Seriously, when did he leave her side?

"Yeah! What did you say you were looking for?"

"A Purrloin—they're purple!"

"Well it's—kind of purple. Now it's blue. Now it's red. Now it's purple again." She giggles, slurring her words as the neon lights above them dance and flicker, bouncing off the white cat and turning him various shades of bright colours.

"Yeah." Marcella sighs. Further questioning doesn't seem necessary; she should have noticed sooner but probably just ignored it in the hopes that she really had spotted Bijou, but she can now clearly tell that the girl is not sober. "Thank you." She says curtly as she turns away, marching over to where Midas is, with Tsu already there and holding onto his Scarf.

"What did I say about wandering? Get down from there—I'm so sorry," She smiles apologetically at the boy behind the counter as she grabs Midas by the scruff of his neck and pulls him into her arms.

"No worries. He, uh, sure has an eye for quality." The boy chuckles awkwardly as he reaches out, trying to grab something out of Midas' paws. The Meowth hisses, swatting him away.

"Midas!" Marcella scolds. "What have you got there?"

Shamelessly, the Meowth presents his new treasure to her.

"It's an Amulet Coin. I don't blame him–you know, they really do work. Just got one myself last week, found ₽500 yesterday! It'll basically pay for itself in-" The boy behind the bar counts his fingers, quietly mouthing numbers to himself like he's doing some math in his head. He doesn't quite seem to get there. "Well, um. Anyway. Maybe you should buy that one for him." He adds hopefully.

"Oh, I think I'm good, thank you. Tsu?"

"No thanks. Most Amulet Coins are just a scam anyway. There's no way to prove if they work or not, and usually places like this just sell slightly modified Meowth coins rather than the real deal. You'd have to already be pretty lucky to get an actual blessed Amulet, you know?" Tsu shrugs nonchalantly, unintentionally insulting the Game Corner as Marcella nods along. She has no idea if what she's saying is true, but regardless, she doesn't really believe in good luck charms. It's not like horoscopes or anything, this is completely baseless.

"Oh. Okay, then." Unsure of what to say, the boy shifts uncomfortably before turning back to Marcella and looking pointedly at her Meowth. "Well..."

"Alright, Midas, give it back." Marcella tells him gently, but he wriggles out of her grasp and drops back on the counter, stamping his feet angrily as he clutches the coin.

"We're not doing this right now. Hand it back over to him." She tells him sternly. He crosses his arms and glares at her for a moment. Then he jumps off the counter and scampers away on all fours.

Tsu immediately chases after him. "Not you, too! Get back here, Midas!"

"You–!" Marcella has some words for him, but he and Tsu have already run out of sight. She hastily pulls her wallet out of her purse. "How much is the damn coin?"

"Um. That'll be ₽6000, thank you ma'am."

"Six-" For a cheap arcade keychain?! "Fine. Whatever, here." She fumes silently as she hands over her contest winnings and an extra ₽1000, rushing to catch up with Tsu and Midas.


She finds the pair outside, Tsu sitting on the ground and holding Midas close. "Hey, watch where you're going next time!" The girl indignantly calls out.

"Why don't you watch it? And keep your cat on a leash?" An obnoxious voice responds.

Tsu is about to reply, but stops, staring at the individual who had apparently knocked her over.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you two alright?" Marcella stoops down at her side to check on them. Midas seems fine, the only thing remotely amiss are his paws tightly curled around something; his new coin was in one paw, and something crinkly in the other. "What's this? 'Aw, Shucks! The spicy candy that makes you blush'?" She mumbles to herself, reading out the text on the wrapper.

Just some candy he appears to have swiped from the run-in. She gives it back to him before turning to follow Tsu's gaze; Marcella only sees him for a second, but even as he vanishes into the crowd, it's clear to her what Tsu must have been staring at. "Wait! That's-" She quickly stands up and tries to get to the man wearing what was unmistakably Bijou's goggles, but he was already gone without a trace.

No trace but a trail of prints the soles of his shoes left, that is. A dark red trail.

Blood.

She covers her mouth in shock as she looks down, her head going through all the combinations of scenarios that could have possibly led to this man being in possession of those goggles and the stains she's looking at, and very few of them are positive.

She feels ill.

She faintly hears footsteps behind her, and feels Tsu's hand on her shoulder. "I was right, wasn't I? Those are definitely- hey, what's wrong?"

"Look," Marcella whispers, pointing down. "And you saw the goggles too, right? I know it's not the only pair in the world, but what are the odds? And now there's- Midas, what the psyduck are you doing?!" Her voice peaks at a hysterical shriek as she roughly grabs the Meowth to pull him away from the stains he'd started lapping up. "That's evidence and disgusting-" She begins as she holds him up, their faces just inches apart, but stops when the sweet-smelling scent on his breath hits her.

She gingerly leans in closer to give him a good whiff, and the sticky red substance coating his whiskers seems to be... "Berry Juice?" A wave of relief washes over her as she utters the two words out.

"It's- it's juice. Well, it's definitely not blood, at least." Marcella exhales sharply as she strokes Midas until he whines to be freed from her grasp, then puts him back down. There is now less proof Bijou has met a terrible fate, but she is left with more questions than ever. "What is the meaning of all this? What do we do now?"

"What do you mean, 'what do we do now?' There's a literal trail of evidence here to follow!" Tsu gestures to the footprints leading deeper into the city. "We're closer than ever, but we're gonna have to hustle or we'll lose the guy!"

"Right, okay. You're right!" This is the lead they've been searching for all day. She's filled with apprehension about what lies ahead for them but at least she's not alone; Marcella grabs Tsu's arm again with one hand and beckons for Midas to stick close with the other, and their little search party follows the prints into the depths of Mauville.

Party

BIJOU
Purrloin, F



PEARLY
Clamperl, F



MIDAS
Meowth, M



JADE
Petilil, F

Dear Diary

CHAPTER 2: LIVE FOR FUN

2-1: M.I.A.
2-2: Footwear Filchers
2-3: Cut Off
2-4: Bijou Bootcamp
2-5: Beached
2-6: Pearly
2-7: Showtime - ft. Avril, June, Tsu, Robynn, Shuna
2-8: Natsuko vs. Marcella - ft. Tsu
2-9: The Three C's
2-10: In/Dependent
2-11: Connections - ft. Avril, Hikaru

CHAPTER 3: YOUR BRAIN GETS SMART

3-1: Fiancé
3-2: Promise
3-3: Roughing It
3-4: Feline Friends
3-5: For Tuna
3-6: The Bear and the Maiden Fair
3-7: Unruly
3-8: Tough Call
3-9: In Your Shadow
3-10: Renewed Resolve

CHAPTER 4: SO MUCH TO DO, SO MUCH TO SEE

4-1: Ranger's Regret
4-2: Creative Outlet
4-3: Homework
4-4: Ghosts of the Past
4-5: Direction
4-6: A Quiet Day
4-7: Long Road Ahead
4-8: Observations

CHAPTER 5: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW IF YOU DON'T GO

5-1: A Crossroads
5-2: Lurker
5-3: Peace Offering
5-4: Loophole
5-5: Recharge
5-6: A Quick Detour
5-7: Shining, Shimmering, Splendid

CHAPTER 6: SHINE AND GLOW

6-1: Avery
6-2: Botany
6-3: "Friendly" Fire
6-4: Round One, Take Two
6-5: Hollow Victories
6-6: Crowded - Bijou POV
6-7: Search Party - ft. Tsu

Inventory

WALLET: ₽4,950 (↓ ₽6,000)

KEY ITEMS

Fanclub Membership Card (Annual)
Contest Pass

HELD ITEMS

Silk Scarf ()
Amulet Coin ()
Safety Goggles ()
Bright Powder ()
Quick Claw
Wave Incense

EVOLUTION ITEMS

"Battery Pack"

TMs/TRs

TM Toxic

CONSUMABLES

Luxury Balls x 3
Quick Balls x 2
Net Balls x 5
Poké Balls x 8
Lum Berry x 2
Razz Berry x 2
Sitrus Berry
Oran Berry x 8
Occa Berry x 4
Yache Berry x 9
Honey (¾ of jar left)

MISC. GEAR

Medium-sized leather suitcase of clothes
Rotom Phone (Sky Blue)
Family-sized tent
Inflatable mattress
Inflatable stools x 2
Electric air pump
Binoculars
Small lidded pot
Skillet
Fabric glue

Trainer Info & Merits