Nova

  —

  I was more than slightly conflicted as I watched the three younger girls disappear. Not in a flash of light or snap of displaced air, of course. No, they simply weren't there after a certain instant, just gone. It made sense, though, given who had Teleported them…

  What kind of business did they have with someone like Sabrina, though?

  Although, considering who they were, and who one of them was related to… It made some sense, at least.

  I groaned as I realized that a solution to my issue wouldn't magically appear today like I had been hoping for… Not that Sabrina had really interrupted anything. We had finished generic strength training and our practice battles by that point… Arceus above, though… I was a serious trainer, and had managed to get to the top sixteen in last year's Indigo Conference, after years of attempts, but those girls…

  If I was right, the only reason their Pokemon weren't crippled for life was the certified Nurse Pokemon, not to mention the other, un-certified yet qualified healers. I had never heard of training like that… Gravity was a well-known training method for physical strength, sure, but sparring in Gravity so intense it was almost visible? Most Gravity training was just simple exercises!

  When my team sparred it was nothing like that! Well, it was only Wiggles and Splash these days, but even in the past with a full team, we never went that hard! Spars would always end with a single strong attack, because that could easily be healed, even if a Pokeball's stasis was needed for a more serious injury.

  Them, though?

  Their spars looked a lot more like full-blown battles than anything else. They seemed to try avoiding knockouts, but it happened more than once… A few of the spars were obviously instructional, like the Hakamo-o exchanging punches with an Indeedee, or the Morgrem lightly sparring with a Tinkatink, but most of them were full-power brawls. Watching that terrifying Yanmega dive-bomb the large Hydrapple had been more than slightly intimidating, honestly…

  Especially the way he had managed to bring the huge Bug down with a barrage of Bullet Seeds. They hadn't done much damage to Yanmega at all, but the wide shotgun-style spray had forced him lower to the ground… right into a few small Syrup Bombs that stuck to his wings, courtesy of the smaller syrupents. It had only taken a few more Dragon Breath's at that point, leaving an almost untouched Hydrapple to hiss out his victory over an unconscious Yanmega…

  If that had been my team I would have been rushing back to the Pokemon Center. Not because the wounds were dangerous, of course, but it was simply a time issue. The autohealing of a Pokeball could and would heal all but the gravest of injuries given enough time… It took a long time to recover from the injuries, though, so it was always faster to just go get them healed.

  It at least partially explained their strength. Even trainers with Pokemon capable of healing didn't rely on it the way those three did, because they weren't certified. Now, an uncertified Pokemon wouldn't make the situation worse, of course. Urban legends about injuries healing wrong were just that, urban legends… Incorrectly applying the healing Moves could, however, drain a Pokemon's vitality itself. It wouldn't hurt, but it would slow down the recovery process for their internal reserves. They would be fully healed, but exhausted beyond belief…

  So they had some extreme training, training that looked almost military, sure, but they were all… fresh trainers, still inexperienced.

  For most people it was hard to visualize the difference between Pokemon strength. Take Wiggles vs Zweilous. Just looking at size and strength, Zweilous should have easily won. He was an Alpha, but even if he hadn't been, his species hit hard, and bit harder. Both of them had been blind as well, but Zweilous had been trained to echolocate. His two heads and four ears were still better than Wiggles' four horns. Zweilous were also known for being hard to control, and for their wildness in battle, but…

  Their Pokemon were all so simple… I guess straightforward was the nice way to put it…

  It was a common issue for younger trainers, though, and I had been no exception when I first started out. When Wiggle's had managed her first Dragon Pulse I had felt so powerful, and seeing the damage she caused to aggressive wild Pokemon, I had felt even more powerful… There were very good reasons that some Pokemon sought out humans as trainers, though.

  By strength alone Zweilous was strong, stronger than Wiggles, but he fought like a very clever wild Pokemon. They all seemed like that… In the wild, fights were over quickly for the most part. You wanted to put your opponent down, or drive them away, as quickly and painlessly as possible for yourself, and there was no Pokeball to retreat to, no convenient Pokemon Center to heal your wounds. If you were exceedingly lucky or strong you might control a wild Berry tree or vine… but Berries weren't always ripe, or available at all. Best not to draw things out.

  In a higher level of battle, though?

  Ending things quickly was still preferred of course, but a trained Pokemon generally didn't go down easily, or quickly. Even if they did, sometimes it was more advantageous to leave a weaker opponent on the field. Why knock out an opponent easily when you can set up the field with terrain effects? Lay traps like Stealth Rock or Poison Spikes before knocking out the opponent? Then you could end the current match and have an advantage for the next ones.

  If you were land-based, how would you respond to a ranged opponent without your own ranged Moves? What if they were too fast to hit? What about a flying opponent?

  I had seen that angry little Fraxure fight a Pidgeot the other day, and I knew that at least he realized their issue… Nah, they all did, I had seen Erin's eyes tighten too much earlier for mere annoyance over a loss…

  "Ready to get some real food, Wiggles?"

  I sighed heavily as she continued to ignore me. I did my best to ignore the look in Splash's eyes, too.

  I don't know what I expected, really…

  I was just a random girl from a random town off Route Eleven that didn't even show up on most maps! I wasn't a dragon tamer, I had just wanted a friend! I'd gained one, too, a great friend!

  One friend.

  Wiggles had been even more adorable as a Goomy, but she hadn't been doing all that great when we met. Food was easy to find in the forests around town, sure, but Goomy were generally a social species. They were so weak they needed to group up for safety, even if most Pokemon had no desire to attempt to eat one…

  Wiggles had been almost alone in a small pond when I met her. It had taken her a long time to pantomime it out, but Wiggles had come over on a ship of some sort. Considering she didn't remember anything before then, I had to assume a Sliggoo or Goodra had laid their sticky Eggs somewhere on a shipping vessel… It had certainly spread the species!

  It was also terrifyingly dangerous for a species like Goomy.

  Wiggles had become separated from her siblings at some point between the ship and the forest, and had become somewhat trapped after a few weeks of wandering. That tiny pond was the only source of water for a good distance in any direction, and if she got too dry, Wiggles would die… Splash had found her, and he was able to extend her range with his Moves, but Goomy dried out fast, and Rain Dance was far, far in her future back then.

  Obviously not these days. My rain coat wasn't just for the mucus layer, and my large bucket hat had been a huge necessity. Having a small rain cloud follow you around sometimes could get exhausting…

  So when I had wandered into that clearing a few weeks after my tenth birthday reeking of Ultra Repel I had 'borrowed' from my parents, well… They had both reacted predictably. Screams, retching from Splash, and poor Wiggles had almost fainted as the smell permeated her skin… It had taken long minutes, and a very rude Water Gun from Splash to rinse me off, but I had made friends with Wiggles. Wiggles had been eager to make more friends, to potentially move on from her small pond. They had joined me at my house for half a year while we waited for the next Circuit to start, and Wiggles and I had become good friends during that time.

  Splash had not made friends with me before we left, and still hadn't. Oh, he wasn't an enemy or anything, and had actually fought to defend me from a very pissed off Ursaring once… That had been our fault, to be fair… No, he just didn't like me. At all. I didn't take it too harshly though, considering I didn't exactly like him all that much. Well, I would be willing to like him, but I had reached my 'extend a hand in friendship' limit long ago.

  We both liked Wiggles, so that was enough for me… usually. I hadn't reacted, but I had seen Erin's eyes flicker over to him… Giving her advice on asserting herself…

  I sighed again and returned Wiggles manually, ignoring Splash as he returned himself. Maybe it wasn't the worst advice to give her? She certainly had been kind of passive…

  If you went on the PokeNet most people had certain… expectations about Type Specialists and Masters. Rock Masters were hardheaded, Flying Masters were kind of flighty, Fire Masters were hotheaded… They were generalizations, sure, but there was a kernel of truth in them. How did the PokeNet see Dragon Masters?

  Prideful, arrogant, full of themselves, domineering. Commanding. You had to be with a type like Dragons, though, because they rarely submitted easily. Even a well-behaved dragon could be… a bit much. Erin's dragons had somewhat broken that mold, but that made sense. The insane girl felt like the Alpha Tyrantrum, on top of being her adopted daughter, and her dragons simply… obeyed her easily. It was kind of uncanny, honestly…

  Leaf's Fraxure and Noibat? That had seemed more typical. Fraxure obviously had some anger issues, but he hadn't directed them at Leaf… just a general glowering sense of anger. The little Noibat had followed her orders… but slowly, with exaggerated sighs each time.

  Alex's dragons were a weird mix of the two. Her Dragonair and Noibat adored the girl and eagerly followed instructions. Her Hakamo-o seemed to like and respect her, but still carried itself with a strange mix of humbleness and arrogance… Her Hydrapple, though? The 'commander' seemed to like her, and to follow her instructions, but the rest of them were dismissive of her to the point of anger, something the commander was not happy about… They had actually spent more time arguing amongst themselves than anything else when not sparring…

  Still, Erin was a Dragon Master, Leaf was a Fairy Master, and Alex was close to being a Dragon Master, and they all knew it, acted sure of themselves… Me?

  I was just a girl who made a dragon friend! I wasn't a master of any type, my aura was barely larger than a non-trainers, and I just… didn't fit the typical image of a Dragon Tamer!

  I'd never had to discipline Wiggles, never had to beg, plead, or even demand! I just… asked my friend, a friend who was always happy to help…

  I knew that I wasn't exactly the whole problem here. I might need to work on a few things, like how confidently I commanded Wiggles, but there was something going on with her, too… She wanted to Evolve, badly, that was easy enough to see, but… just what did she need? I had gone through grocery stores and plant nurseries, letting her nibble everything, but nothing had provoked a reaction…

  Hopefully whoever Erin had texted got back to her, because this really sucked… I knew Wiggles didn't hate me or anything, but it was… lonely without her presence. She was usually out of her Pokeball a lot, and it felt almost weird for her not to be following along behind me, or wrapped around my torso…

  Hopefully I could help her… Hopefully I could get my friend back…

  —

  —

  It didn't take long for Erin to get back to me, only a few hours, so I initially perked up. She hadn't heard back from her contacts though, but she wasn't actually calling about my request… she had her own request, actually.

  Instead of the fee I had posted for my request, I would do my best to give them some advice on strategy, because they had all noticed the same things I had. We didn't feel like leaving the city again just for this, however, so for today we skipped practical demonstrations.

  Today I joined them in their massive room and talked about battle strategies, helped by a huge Rotom connected to the TV.

  I admit that I had some… expectations when I began this, but really… Erin was having the hardest time wrapping her head around these ideas! I had honestly expected Leaf to have the biggest issue, Alex being from a famous Clan of Dragon Tamers… but no, it was Erin who continued to look slightly confused.

  Some of her ideas were brilliant, actually, but the vast majority of her answers to my theoretical scenarios boiled down to 'punch very hard, then repeat'... Which worked often, sure, but…

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "You're a Dragon Master and you haven't worked out some sort of strategy using Dragon Type Moves?" I mean, seriously?

  Erin just nodded, though, face red as she reclined on her Zweilous like he was a damn chair…

  "Other than buff's, no? I mean, if the battle is even slightly 'even' then it usually makes more sense to just… end the fight. It usually doesn't take very many attacks, and if the opponent is stronger, like Brock's rematches, then…" She trailed off as I nodded. We had already watched their matches against the man, and they had been… educational.

  "Yeah, then you get dragged into a brawl, which most of your Pokemon are good at, sure. Although, how would you have dealt with that Aurorus if it had fully pushed out a Hailstorm, instead of stopping almost immediately? If it had knocked your Hattrem far away to give it time to make the Hailstorm worse, to the point even Aurorus would take some damage? Then you would have probably still taken it out with your Zweilous, but there's no way he's got enough left to face Carbink after that, so it's Tyrunt vs a fairy and then a dragon." I stopped, because she seemed to get it… her and the other two girls, both looking slightly embarrassed… Not nearly as embarrassed as Erin, though.

  "I'm not saying radically shift how you battle, but… try to think about the next round of a match before you think about the current round, how to use a Move for something other than damage, stuff like that. I can tell you what works for me, Wiggles, and Splash, but not what works for each of your Pokemon. Don't you watch matches? Take some inspiration!" Now they all blushed a little bit, the huge Tyrantrum huffing out a laugh.

  I met her eyes and they squinted at me in amusement before the huge Rotom lit up… Seriously, that had to be the largest model they made!

  "Leto says that 'My daughters do watch matches sometimes. They also think they know best…'" I barked out a laugh even as the huge face got very embarrassed, and Rotom snorted before continuing.

  "Leto also isn't the best one to give advice on things like this. She's smart, sure, but most of her strategies involve being huge, deadly, and most importantly, fast. Those were hunts, though… Oh, she says she fought the other Terror's occasionally, but those were more like territorial spars than anything." I blinked up at the grinning face of the Rotom in confusion.

  "Terrors?" Erin chuckled at my question.

  "Well, in the Lowlands there were a lot of Alpha's with all the competition down there, but only three Dragon Alpha's. Mom here is the Terror of Land, the Tyrant Queen. I guess they had some kind of respectful agreement or something? They stayed out of each other's way… Kallen's father is the Terror of Water, an Alpha Dragalge… Actually, Kallen is slightly larger than his dad, now!" I eyed the gigantic Dragalge warily. I knew he wouldn't attack me, but even though he seemed happy right now, back straightening with pride, Dragalge were mean looking Pokemon… He looked like he wondered what you looked like covered in acid, melting, honestly…

  "Cerberus' father is the Terror of Air, an Alpha Hydreigon… He actually didn't startle me as badly as Kallen's father did, though. I ran from him, well, from his aura when I felt it from the lake, until mom made me come say hi… I at least got to hear the Hydreigon roar and fly in, and he just smelled me for a few seconds instead of staring me down for a minute…" Arceus above…

  It was oddly easy to forget what this girl had gone through when you were talking to her, but now the thought was in my mind. Naked and alone in the Lowlands of the Crown Tundra Preserve, one of the deadliest known places on the planet! She loses a finger and encounters literal maneaters there… one of which was watching my face grow paler with a wide smile.

  I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

  "W-Well, it's a lot different fighting when you know you'll survive… Actually, that's a good example. I didn't really see any of your Pokemon attempt to take a strike to land one other than Hakamo-o, and that's just how they prefer to fight. It's something that a wild Pokemon would avoid, but a trained one? Why not sacrifice the use of an arm to claim certain victory? What you three need to work on isn't in-depth strategies that take every variable into account, that's more how a psychic fights. You three need to change how you view battles themselves, and through you, your Pokemon…" I trailed off, because it wasn't really something you could explain to someone.

  Even someone who had killed with her Pokemon… and with her own hands.

  Battling was not hunting for food, quickly ending a life to sustain your own, or even letting your prey bleed out over time to minimize the risk of injury. Battle was not a brawl, strength against strength, and it wasn't the opposite, strategy over brawn. Battling wasn't killing in a war, in a skirmish, out of self defense or even out of rage. Battles, officially sanctioned Battles, were a sport. Survival was guaranteed other than exceedingly rare tragic accidents, so you didn't have to worry about holding back reserves for after the fight unless the battle format demanded it. Victory in the wild could consist of running away to live another day, victory in the arena came from only one thing… and victory was the only thing that mattered. Aside from following the rules, obviously…

  It was hard to put into words, and I had been there… Hitting a wall where the Pokemon themselves didn't seem to get much stronger, but suddenly they were so much more… serious. I knew that the Pokemon of these three girls could do it, though.

  What made a strong fighting Pokemon?

  More than training, strength, or species, it was drive. The sheer willpower to force your way through a Thunder to land the decisive blow, the grit to clench your teeth at the pain and to keep going, the ironclad belief that you would withstand it, would win. I thought of it like being a professional fighter. Everyone who wanted to be a fighter knew that pain was involved in the process, but if a hundred people aimed to be a professional, how many would pull through? I didn't know actual statistics, but probably not many at all! Especially not once they've had their nose or a bone broken for the first time! The same applied to Pokemon and their trainers, especially for younger trainers.

  I'd had the same… issue myself.

  It was one thing to dream of being a trainer, all the bright lights in the arenas, the flashy Moves, the prestige, the power… It was another thing entirely to hop onto a bus to Vermilion and start my Journey from there, a ten year old girl with a friendly-yet-weak Goomy and a mildly strong, standoffish Psyduck on her belt… The first part of the Circuit had been rough, but rewarding. Pokemon grew in strength rapidly at first, and we had all gotten a little overconfident as we rolled through most of the Kantonian Gym's…

  We hadn't been practicing like we should have been, either, so when we had reached our sixth badge in Azalea Town we had strolled into the Gym full of confidence, and after passing the Challenge there easily, we had practically been brimming with it…

  Then Wiggles faced off against a Beedrill. That was it, just a Beedrill. Bug types were weak individually, right? The barrage of Poison Needles had been overwhelming, as had its speed, but Wiggles' had the most issue with the poison itself.

  Goomy were weird Pokemon, honestly, sharing a lot of characteristics with small insects like slugs, and one of the biggest weaknesses she shared was porous skin… and Bugsy realized it. The next Move from Beedrill had been a Sludge Bomb, and then Wiggles had screamed…

  We had not gotten our sixth Badge in our first Circuit…

  It had taken me a while to realize that fact, however, as I soothed my hurt, fragile little dragon. Drive was required for strength, but at the same time, so was pain tolerance. There was simply no getting around that fact… Realizing that had fractured most of my team. It was one thing to playfully spar, or even to full-on fight… To endure pain like that willingly, though? Repeatedly over months or years? For sport? It took a certain kind of Pokemon, honestly…

  Which was why it was so hard to make that leap for most trainers and their Pokemon, why so many eventually gave up on being a trainer at all. Even if your Pokemon was completely fine with it, you were still watching someone you cared about get hurt, over and over and over again. You had to have a certain determination to even begin to deal with that… That, or you stopped caring. Those trainers didn't usually last long, though. Even the most grateful Pokemon will eventually leave a trainer that didn't care about them.

  I don't think these three would have those issues, though, considering their training… No, their big issue was also overconfidence, but the problem was that it was at least partially deserved!

  They were all exceedingly strong for a first year trainer, and especially for trainers with five badges! The Gym Leaders knew that after Surge, and had started pulling out stronger Pokemon… but only so they weren't instantly knocked out. I had a feeling that their upcoming Gym Battles weren't going to be fun for any of them, and they looked like they knew that as well.

  Erin cleared her throat, face slightly red.

  "Yeah, I can almost put it into words, but not quite. It's like we're doing everything correctly, just not… correctly enough?" I nodded my head from their couch. Still kind of weird to see them reclining on the Tyrant Queen and the Zweilous, but… I liked doing the same with Wiggles, even if it was usually an outdoor kind of thing… She hated the feeling of most tarps when she came out indoors, but we still cuddled sometimes…

  "Close enough, yeah. Just try to think about the next round, not the one you're in, and…" I sighed and rolled my head around. "Like you said, it's hard to describe… Sabrina should be a great demonstration, though." They all winced and I perked up.

  Gossip.

  "What's up with the flinches? Did Sabrina…?" I trailed off as they winced harder briefly. Alex broke the silence, still wincing.

  "When she said goodbye, she also hinted that she's really looking forward to watching our Challenge… So she has something planned, and we're not looking forward to finding out what…" They all looked like they were dreading their Challenge… They probably should, from what I remembered of my own Challenge two years ago…

  Sabrina was… a very nice person from all accounts… She also enjoyed watching those who challenged her Gym squirm, and Challenges weren't supposed to be easy… Especially those past the fifth Badge…

  "Mind if I ask why you met with her earlier? Feel free to ignore the question, I'm just kind of curious…" They all looked between themselves for a few moments before they stared at… Alex? She sighed and leaned back.

  "Well, Sabrina has another job that she does…" She trailed off while looking at me, but I was still confused. She frowned before continuing.

  "Sabrina's a licensed therapist. We're all going to be seeing her, so that was us just… meeting each other to start with." Oh… Not what I expected to hear, but… I could at least partially figure out the reasons… Also not going to pry any further…

  "Oh, cool! So, where are you three heading after you beat Sabrina?" I honestly thought they would win… probably. Almost certainly…

  They all relaxed a little, even as Leaf scowled slightly.

  "Johto… Where in Johto? Who knows?!" Now I was confused, but Alex looked just as frustrated. Erin looked slightly frustrated, but also understanding, and her voice was intentionally soothing as she looked at her sister.

  "Now, we don't know yet, and there's a good reason for that. We're really just skipping Cinnabar, and Cinnabar is… okay, I kind of wanted to see the volcano, but other than that there's not a whole lot to do there! They have beautiful beaches, but by the time we get down there the water will be too cold to enjoy it… Maybe we'll start in Blackthorn City?" Good reason for it? What was the reason? Alex spoke up before I could even decide if I would ask or not.

  "I doubt we'll go there first. In fact, we're not, because I want to fight Claire for my eighth badge…" The other two perked up at that, Leaf's eyes practically sparkling.

  "Ooh, yeah! I guess she's going to be my… aunt, I guess? What is she to Lance?" Alex looked kind of confused, though.

  "It's kind of hard to say off the top of my head, really? Cousins, I think? Unless your family is directly related to another, like two brothers leading two families, you don't generally… follow the bloodlines all that much. In my opinion they're like siblings, and it's kind of common in the Clan, considering how many grow up in the same compound. I got unlucky, actually. The next youngest kid in the Clan is like three years younger than me…" Clans were weird… and it seemed like she knew it, judging from the embarrassed look on her face.

  "Then yeah, I want to beat my future aunt's butt before she actually becomes my aunt!" We all laughed a little at that. What a family to marry into…

  I almost felt bad for the Champion, actually…

  The huge Rotom flew over to Erin's face and she smiled widely before it backed off, angling to catch all of us on the screen.

  There was a dark-skinned man on the screen, bright orange… hat? Hat-thing? On his head, and he was smiling widely. He looked sleepy, like he had just woken up, but it was past noon already by now… oh!

  "If it isn't the Tiny Tyrant herself! There's even the… Fae… fiend? Leaf, you need to get yourself a nickname!" He was grinning, and it was matched by the two girls.

  "Hi to you too, playboy." There was a bit of a playful edge to Erin's grin, honestly…

  "Hi Raihan! You still owe me a birthday gift!" Leaf sounded indignant, but the man just laughed.

  "What do you think getting six Indeedee released was, girl? Finding one that wanted to fight?" His eyes drifted over to Alex and I, but Erin beat him to the punch.

  "This is our friend Alex, and this is Nova. We just met today, but she's the one with that problem I asked about…" Raihan looked intrigued, but he looked happier to just be talking with them… He still nodded his head at us, and I barely remembered to nod my head back in greeting through the mental whiplash I was experiencing.

  That was Raihan! Gym Leader Raihan of Galar! Sure, it wasn't that strange if you'd done any research on Erin Greenwood at all given the photos of them together, and I had… I still hadn't expected her question to have been to him! To one of the strongest trainers in the world!

  "Friend, huh? From what I hear from Ms. Greenwood, 'sister' sounds more accurate." He laughed as their faces all went red, then his eyes found mine. Even through a screen it was intimidating, and I found my back straightening unconsciously.

  "So you have the Sliggoo?" I nodded, and his face grew serious.

  "Well, are you vegetarian?" I nodded again, feeling so confused.

  "I kind of am, but not… really? Meat is just expensive…" I didn't really have ethical concerns with eating meat, I was just kind of always broke… He didn't look surprised, though.

  "Feed her some meat and see what happens. Even strict herbivores will usually take any chance for some easy protein, and eat plenty of insects, but if she's not foraging for most of her food, she might not be getting any at all as a byproduct of grazing. Let me know if that doesn't work, but I get the feeling it will. It's a rare problem to find, simply because most trainers prefer to let a Pokemon that can graze just do it. It saves on food costs if nothing else… I bet she eats all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies from you, right?" I nodded again, feeling slightly… lost? Mad? Relieved?

  At least it wasn't a big issue, but… really!? If I had shown her slightly less care this might not have happened?!

  "Well, feed her some meat, see if that helps… Now, Erin, why is it that the only time you ever text or call me is when you need help with something?" The wide-eyed look of innocence on Erin's face was certainly intended to placate Raihan… if only it didn't look so fake.

  "You must be misremembering things, Raihan-" She ignored the false outrage on his face and whipped her head around at me, grinning.

  "Want to join us outside of town for dinner? It might take awhile to cook them, but we haven't set up the dragon's roasting spits in a few days, and if Wiggles needs meat? Why not have ribs?" Ribs sounded good, but the howl of distress from the Rotom, and the Gym Leader on the other end, was kind of disconcerting.

  "You said that where I could hear on purpose, Erin!" She laughed and nodded.

  "Yeah, I did! What's the big deal, Raihan? I sent you the recipe for my spice mixtures." The man looked frustrated, though.

  "You did, sure, but you know where I can find Tauros in Galar? The Isle of Armor! You know how much would make it back if I sent Flygon? Not much, and I'm too busy to waste hours on hunting!"

  "That sounds like a you problem… Have you been good?" She looked concerned, but Raihan just shook his head and yawned.

  "I've been fine, Erin. If you want to catch up then text me later or something, I need to finish waking up…" He scrubbed at his face briefly before refocusing on the camera.

  "Nice to meet you Alex, have fun being a part of that family, Ms. Greenwood is the only normal one!" Alex burst into laughter as Raihan's eyes found me.

  "Nova, same, it was nice to meet you. I think you should notice some differences by tomorrow, but if not, reach out to me, Dexter can give you my number." I gave him a relieved smile.

  "Thank you, Raihan… I hope you're right, because this has sucked…" He smirked a little wryly.

  "Yeah, sometimes too much care can smother, but it's a better problem to have than the opposite. Good luck with your Challenge, you three!" There were waves for a moment before Rotom- Dexter's screen went dark. The three younger girls got up, Pokemon returning themselves, and looked at me.

  "Ready to eat some Tauros ribs?"

  Oh Arceus I didn't know they were talking about Tauros ribs! I wanted to help Wiggles, sure, but… I'd only had Miltank ribs before… Even Splash looked intrigued, and he didn't get to eat much meat, just whatever he hunted when we were near water!

  Judging from the looks on most faces before they retreated into Pokeballs? Including the huge rumbling stomachs of the Tyrant Queen and the Alpha Zweilous? I was about to enjoy this…

  really don't like RR's algorithm...

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