"Come on Staravia! Use wing attack! Don't let me down now. We've been through too much for that."

"What in the world are you doing?" Nico jumped as Percy came into the room, smirking.

"What do you think? I'm playing Pokémon. Diamond version."

"Ooh. Impressive." Percy said sarcastically. He looked out into the hallway, and then closed the door. "Can I play?"

Nico laughed. "Grab the D.S. from the shelf. There should be Pearl version in it. It's the same as Diamond, but with a different legendary Pokémon." He watched from his position on the bed as Percy grabbed the gaming device and took a seat in the chair next to him.

"What have you done to my room?" Percy asked.

"I made it more personal. It needed my stylish touch. Anyway, have you ever played this game before?"

"Never." Percy said. "But I have used a D.S. Annabeth likes to use Pictochat when she can't use her phone at home. She fiddled with the transmitter until it picked up signals from across the country." They were quiet for a few minutes as Nico continued his game, occasionally screaming "Come on!", and Percy read the introduction. "I think I understand." He said after finishing.

"Which Pokémon are you going to pick as your starter?" Nico asked skeptically.

"I don't know. I like Piplup."

Nico stared at him with an incredulous expression. "Chimchar is obviously the best. Dude, he's a fire monkey!"

"I'll prove how good my team is by winning a Gym Badge first!" He said. He looked at Nico with a glint of battle in his eyes. "Unless you're scared."

"No way. You're on!"

Thirty minutes later…

"Dude, I warned you not to use Piplup." Nico said triumphantly as Percy hung his head in defeat.

"I –."

"Percy? Are you here?" A voice called from the entryway.

Percy smiled. "I'm in my room with Nico. Come on in."

The door opened and Annabeth stepped into the room. "Hey guys." She walked over to Percy and kissed him on the cheek.

"Gross." Nico said.

Percy laughed. "We've been playing Pokémon. It's actually a lot of fun."

Annabeth picked up the strategy guide on the floor and looked through it. "It looks simple enough. Let me try."

"Are you sure you can do this?" Nico asked. "I mean, this game is a little harder than it looks."

"Oh, big mistake." Percy said.

Annabeth stood as tall as she could and glowered down at Nico. "Is there something you're trying to say, Nico?"

Nico laughed nervously. "Nope. Want to play my game?"

Annabeth smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. "No thanks. I brought my own." She pulled a D.S. out from within her jacket. "Do you have another copy of the game that I can use?"

Nico looked at Percy expectantly. "You know where they are Perce. Set her up."

"Let the games begin." Percy said as he went to the game shelf again.

The next morning…

"Must… beat… gym leader." Nico was slumped against the bed, his eyes drooping shut more every minute he tried to stay awake.

Percy was lying across the foot of the bed, his head and feet hanging off as he snored lightly. Annabeth was curled into a ball on the chair in the corner, a blanket thrown over her by Percy before he crashed. They had only gone to sleep about an hour ago, but it felt like forever to Nico. A knock on the door snapped him out of his reflection. He set the game down and got to his feet, moving Percy as he did so.

"Who is it?" he asked as he approached the door.

"Who do you think Shadow Boy?" a sarcastic voice replied. "It's Thalia. Annabeth made plans with me for today, and I thought I would come and see if Percy wanted to join."

"Oh." Nico opened the door and Thalia swept past him.

Percy was sitting up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Hey Thalia. What time is it?"

Thalia grinned. "About 7:30. I thought you might like a little wake-up call."

The talking woke Annabeth, who sat up with a start. She looked around until her eyes found Percy's, and she smiled at him with that peaceful look of just waking up.

"Anyway," Thalia said. "What were you guys doing all night?"

Percy looked at Nico. "Well… maybe he should explain." He said.

Nico smirked, now feeling completely awake. "Not that you would understand, but we were playing Pokémon."

"And why wouldn't I understand?" Thalia asked in a deadly calm voice.

Nico just smiled. "I'm the best out of all of you at this kind of stuff. I just won my eighth gym badge."

"Huh" Percy said. "I've got seven. With a Piplup." He looked at Nico with a defiant expression.

"I have five." Annabeth said. "I wanted to enter a few contests before earning anymore badges."

Thalia looked at her friends with an amused expression. "Actually Nico, I believe I'm the best. After all, I am the Champion three times over."

Nico's jaw dropped. "What… how…?"

Thalia shared a look with Percy and Annabeth. "Some things just happen, Ghost Boy."

"Oh well." Nico said. "I'm still better at MythoMagic!"

"That you are buddy." Percy said.

"Look at the bright side of Pokémon, Nico." Annabeth said before she left with Percy and Thalia. "At least you didn't lose to a girl. Oh, wait." She said with a laugh. "You did."