{Reshin 15th, 11:02pm}

{Route 1}

"To the success of Operation Rescue The Princess!" Warren sang, passing around bottles of soda as the four of them sat out under the stars. The summer night was so warm and clear that while all of them save Bianca had been camping plenty of times before, none of them were particularly fussed about putting up their tents. Eating packaged dinners under the stars had the right celebratory atmosphere.

"I just hope that ninja don't tell my parents 'bout us runnin' away…" Bianca said, twisting her hands nervously around her bottle.

"They're gonna notice when you're not in your room in the mornin', Bianca," Carlotta said, rolling her eyes. "I'm just grateful that she didn't sound the alarm or stab me or anythin'."

"Once they confirmed that the situation was neither a break-in nor a kidnapping, they likely decided that it was none of their business," Cheren said with a shrug. "Their business is, specifically, anyone or anything that may be a threat to Sar Saylee Pryce or her family. We are not in that category."

"Well, unless you believe Bianca's folks that we corrupt the very air we breathe," Warren said, patting Cheren's shoulder with a grin.

"To corrupting the purity of evenly divided and partitioned existence," Cheren said, clinking his can against Warren's and then kissing his boyfriend instead of drinking the toast. Bianca pilfered both of their cookies while they were distracted.

"I think we should celebrate by pickin' our Pokémon," Carlotta suggested, grabbing Warren's bag to get the box out, which proved to be enough to get her brother and his boyfriend to come up for air to intercept her.

"Remember, we agreed that Bianca gets to pick first," Warren pointed out.

"I know! Here," Carlotta said, opening the box with a flourish and presenting it to Bianca. "We got a Snivy, an Oshawott and a Tepig," she informed the blonde, "and you get first pick. Whichever one you want!"

"Snivy is a grass-type that evolves into Servine and then Serperior," Cheren rattled off. "Oshawott is a water-type and evolves into Dewott and Samurott. Tepig is a fire-type that also becomes part fighting when it evolves into Pignite and Emboar. Their best-known attacks are Leaf Tornado, Razor Shell and Flame Charge, respectively. It can be difficult to earn a Snivy's respect, but they are famously intelligent and protective of their trainers once they've bonded. Oshawott are known for being affectionate and fiercely loyal. Tepig are the most headstrong but also very friendly. When they evolve, the-"

"Thank you kindly, Cheren," Bianca giggled, cutting off Encyclopedia Mode. She stared at the pokeballs for a long moment, biting her lip. "I… I think… I think I want Tepig," she said finally, reaching out a tentative hand for the pokeball with the fire decal.

"Yesss! I get Oshawott!" Carlotta hooted, snatching up the pokeball that was emblazoned with a water droplet almost before Bianca had gotten a grip around her own pokeball.

Cheren sighed, but smiled. "I wanted to take on the challenge of raising a Snivy anyway," he declared, taking the last pokeball, which had a small green leaf emblem on it. "I suppose that if we're travelling together, we can trade at any time if we are unsatisfied with our choices."

"I actually have a Pokemon," Bianca said, hugging the pokeball in rapture. "I could never be unsatisfied with this baby!"

"So release 'em and meet 'em," Warren suggested, peering curiously at the pokeballs. "And then one of you owes me an Audino."

"I'll catch you one!" Bianca promised, holding out the pokeball containing her new Tepig. Her hand shook slightly as she did so. "Do… do you think it'll like me?" she asked, her excitement at having a Pokemon of her own suddenly overtaken by nerves and fear.

"Tepig are about as friendly as they come," Cheren assured her. "And so are you, so I am certain that the pair of you will be fast friends."

"Okay…" Bianca said, taking a deep breath and opening the pokeball.

The little orange-and-black Tepig that appeared shook its head as it materialized, as if waking from a long sleep, and then immediately flattened its ears at the happy squeal from its new owner. It stared up at her, wide-eyed.

"The way you're squeakin', I think it thinks you're tryin' to talk to it!" Warren laughed.

"I can't help it! It's so cute!" Bianca squealed, holding out her hands to the small fire-type. It sniffed her hands with its large snout, squeaking interrogatively before looking up at Bianca. When she smiled, it smiled back and hopped into her hands, allowing itself to be picked up and cuddled. "I love you, Tepig!" Bianca sang.

"My pokedex says 'e's a boy," Warren said, scanning up and down his device. "It also says 'unregistered'-your fingerprints opened the pokeball so it'll only open for you, but we definitely need to go get you a trainer card in the mornin'. Congrats!"

"What are you gonna call 'im?" Carlotta asked, reaching out a finger to tickle the little Tepig. He tucked his head shyly under Bianca's arm, squeaking.

"Hmmm… Tiberius," Bianca declared, stroking her new Pokemon's ears. "He looks like a Tiberius, don't 'e?"

"If you say so," Warren said with a shrug.

"My turn!" Carlotta said, hopping to her feet and opening her new pokeball.

"Hey, what makes it your-oh, never mind," Cheren sighed as Carlotta opened her pokeball and her new Oshawott leapt out, squeaking enthusiastically and brandishing its scallop proudly. It spun on its heel, taking them all in, chirped and waved to Tiberius, then spotted its pokeball in Carlotta's hand and bowed to her.

"Nice," Carlotta said with a grin, reaching out to pet her Oshawott's head.

"He's a boy, and… yep, now registered to your trainer card," Warren affirmed, glancing down at his pokedex. "What's 'is name gonna be?"

"Well, clearly this little guy's a mighty hero, so I'm gonna call 'im Owain!" Carlotta declared, pointing at her new Oshawott. Owain pointed at himself and squeaked. Tiberius snorted at him, sending the little water-type into a high-pitched tirade, waving his scallop about. "Hey, no more of that," Carlotta decided, pulling Owain into her lap. "Bianca's my friend, so that makes Tiberius your friend too, got it?"

"Well, you guys should probably all have practice battles once Cheren's met his Snivy," Warren said pointedly.

"Ooooh, yes, let's meet 'im!" Bianca squealed, pointing at the leaf-decorated pokeball in Cheren's hand.

"About time, too," Cheren said in a mock huff. He clicked the pokeball open, releasing a small green-and-white lizard onto the ground. Owain and Tiberius immediately set up a chorus of what were presumably "hello"s, and Owain started brandishing his scallop again. The Snivy just blinked slowly at the pair of them, then turned up its nose.

"Snooty little jerk," Warren chuckled. "Also a boy, by the way, and securely registered. What are you gonna call 'im?"

"I don't know… what?" Cheren asked as Warren grinned broadly.

"Yeah, you do," Warren prodded. "Go on. You know you wanna."

"I was joking!" Cheren complained, throwing up his hands.

"Jokin' about what?" Bianca asked curiously.

"You joked about it a lot," Warren pointed out. "C'mon, it ain't geekier than Carly naming her Oshawott after a video game character. Bianca's gone for a freakin' Scriptural name. You are not the biggest-well, not the only dork in the field," he corrected himself with an unrepentant grin.

"Fine," Cheren declared with a sigh, reaching a hand out to his Snivy. "Forgive me, but your name is now Sherlock."

"Aww, c'mon, that's perfect!" Bianca said brightly. "I mean, he looks real smart-or real snobby, anyway… that's the same thing, right?"

"Perfect match for Cheren," Carlotta sniggered. Sherlock looked from her and Owain, to Bianca and Tiberius, and then at Cheren, who rolled his eyes. Sherlock smirked and scurried up Cheren's arm to curl up on his shoulder.

"Aww, I think they're goin' to sleep," Bianca giggled, rubbing her eyes. "Maybe we should practice battle in the mornin'?"

"Well, if we want to move at first light, that gives us five hours," Warren said, looking at his watch. "Hope you all had your naps earlier…" He gave Carlotta a stink-eye. "And if not, you're gonna just have to deal with it tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Carlotta declared, saluting her twin as she flopped over backwards, tugging her bag under her head as a pillow. Owain curled up against her shoulder. "Night, all."

"Good night," Bianca yawned, curling up on her side with Tiberius cuddled close. "And… thanks, y'all. Really. I can't tell all y'all how much this means to me…"

"It's our pleasure," Warren told her, wrapping an arm around Cheren's shoulder as they lay down, tugging his hat over his eyes and sticking a thumbs-up in the air. "All for one, and all that junk."

{Reshin 16th, 06:13am}

{Route 1}

"Round one: Carly vs Bianca!" Warren called, flipping pancakes over the small portable grill while Cheren fed berries to Sherlock. "Aaaand go!"

"Tackle, Owain!" Carlotta ordered. The Oshawott immediately barrelled headfirst into his opponent.

"Tiberius!" Bianca cried. "Ummm… Tail Whip!" Tiberius turned, hitting Owain with his springy tail, making the Oshawott squeak unhappily.

"Tackle 'im again, Owain!" Carlotta called. Owain hit Tiberius again, knocking him to the ground.

"Oh, no… umm… Tackle!" Bianca shouted. Tiberius was looking the worse for wear now, but he got to his trotters and hit Owain full-force, knocking him down. Owain whimpered as he staggered back to his feet.

"That's it! I know you've got it in you! One more Tackle!" Carlotta hollered. Before Bianca could respond, Owain knocked Tiberius down, and this time the Tepig collapsed with his eyes closed and didn't get up.

"Match!" Warren called. "The winner's Carly! Bianca, bring 'im here so I can check on 'im, okay?"

"Sure," Bianca said, hurrying to scoop up her Tepig. "You did a great job," she whispered. "And so did you! Wow, Carly! You're really tough!"

"Woo-HOO! That was an awesome first match!" Carlotta said, leaning down to rub Owain's head. He smiled up at her, waving a little weakly. "Hey, War, you got some healing juice for Owain?"

"Let me give Tiberius his Potion first," Warren said, spraying a bottle over the Tepig's wounds. "Cher, can you get the pancakes?"

"Got 'em," Cheren said, quickly tipping a slightly burning pancake out of the pan and onto a napkin. "Help yourself, Bianca. You put up a pretty smart fight, weakening Owain's defenses like that. They're just too young to do much of anything tactical. Carly, are you up for the next fight against me?" he asked.

"Bring it," Carlotta said, catching the potion that her brother tossed to her and kneeling down to spray it over Owain's wounds. "How you feelin', big guy? Ready to fight again?" Owain waved his scallop, chittering proudly.

"Come on, Sherlock," Cheren said, standing up and allowing Bianca to take his vacant seat with a plate of pancakes. "You've got the advantage here."

"If he knew any grass moves yet," Carlotta pointed out with a grin. "Owain's gonna wreck your delicate little leaf."

"He's not as delicate as he looks," Cheren promised.

"Just fight already!" Warren yelled, pouring more pancakes.

"Leer!" Cheren ordered immediately. Owain flinched as Sherlock glared at him.

"Don't be scared of that twig!" Carlotta ordered. "Tackle!"

"Don't you have any other strategies?" Cheren asked with a frown. "Tackle, Sherlock!" Owain was knocked down by Sherlock's full-bodied strike, but easily rolled back to his feet.

"Hey, this early, we're gonna go with what works," Carlotta responded. "Tackle 'im again, Owain!"

Sherlock screeched as Owain slammed into him, crumpling on the ground.

"That's the match!" Warren called. "That looked like a critical hit! Cheren, bring 'im here, lemme see 'im…"

"Good match," Cheren said, fistbumping Carlotta as they both went to pick up their Pokemon and he hurried his unconscious Snivy into his boyfriend's care.

"Yeahhhh! Two for two!" Carlotta whooped, hoisting Owain up in the air. "Well done, little guy! You're a badass!"

Owain cheered and spat a jet of water into the air.

"A badass who just learned Water Gun, from the looks of it," Cheren mused, smiling at Sherlock as the Snivy blinked awake. "Bianca, shall we have the next match?"

"We're game, right, Tiberius?" Bianca said, feeding her Tepig a last berry before getting up. Tiberius squeaked, shaking his ears out before running onto the field to face Sherlock.

{Reshin 16th, 07:31am}

{Nuvema Town}

"Mummy, look!" Scarlet called, running into the dining room. "We're twinsies! Like Amy and Ray!"

"What do-oh," Saylee said in surprise, staring at the exact clone of her daughter that was following Scarlet into the room. "What's…?"

"Meloetta," Janine said, gesturing to the second girl as she walked into the room. "If you listen closely, you can hear her humming. She's using the humming to project some form of glamour. It's kind of amazing."

"She looks exactly like you, Lettie!" Amber said, peering closely at Meloetta. "Cool!"

"Hey, can you transform into other stuff, too?" Raphael asked excitedly. "Like… like dinosaurs! Or an alien!"

"Nuh-uh! She's gotta look like a human so the people who hurt her can't find her, dummy!" Scarlet argued.

"Hey, play nice," Blue said, stepping in between his daughter and the twins, ostensibly to crouch down in front of Meloetta. "Don't call people 'dummy', it's mean. Are you doing this because you want to come with us?" he asked Meloetta

Meloetta nodded tentatively, their glamour dissolving when their humming stopped. "If you are willing, I would be grateful," they said melodically. "I ask for little but to hide among you. I do not wish to endanger you."

"We'll protect you! My mummy and daddy are the best trainers in all Kanto an' Johto," Scarlet declared proudly.

"An' our mummy's the best trainer in all Hoenn!" Amber added.

"They can beat up anybody!" Raphael put in. "Hey, can you turn into me?" All three children shrieked with laughter as Meloetta smiled and promptly did so.

"Which doesn't make much difference if we don't have any Pokemon for diplomatic reasons," Key muttered sourly. "WMDs my ass…"

"Which is why I brought the greatest human warriors in the Fairlands as my security detail," Saylee said soothingly, gesturing to Janine in a vague gesture that also encompassed the rest of the building and wherever Koga, Linda and Alice might be lurking.

"And we did take care to bring Pokemon just below the level where they're classified as WMDs in Unova," Janine added, tapping the pokeballs on her belt. "We can protect you and Meloetta from whatever poachers attacked her-"

"Not poachers," Meloetta interrupted, their glamour dissolving again when they stopped humming to speak. "A Hydreigon, one of the rarest and most fell creatures in Unova. This was not a wild one, either, but one trained specifically to hunt rare ones like myself…" They trailed off, frowning in concern. "I must at least go to Castelia with you. I… have a friend there whose safety I must see to. You are kind people, with Kyogre themself among you…" They gestured to Archie, who nodded vaguely, frowning in a way that suggested some internal debate was going on. "...But please forgive me for not saying more," Meloetta concluded. "It is a matter of safety. You understand."

"Fair enough, really," Saylee said with a nod. "We are going to Castelia for the party Caitlin's throwing."

"Until then, what are we gonna do, tell people we secretly had twins this whole time?" Blue asked, ruffling Scarlet's hair. "We've got hotels and appearances booked, public shit like that where everybody involved knows we have one kid. The public probably doesn't know the difference, but all it takes is one person to get off their ass and check either of our official profiles, right?"

"Easiest would be for Meloetta to masquerade as part of the security detail," Janine suggested. "We all keep our faces hidden in public, nobody's paying as much attention to who we are as who you are, and even if they are, part of our formation requires that nobody be able to see all of us at once. Preferably, only half of us should be visible at a time, at most. So if Meloetta remains as one of the visible ones, nobody knows how many are hidden out of sight…" She chuckled. "And if we are needed, it'll be a nice extra element of surprise if somebody who is paying enough attention to know that you have four guards doesn't see the fifth coming!"

"How about it, Meloetta?" Saylee asked, gesturing to Janine, who pulled her hood and mask up to conceal her features. Meloetta looked up up and down, then began to hum again, their form shifting up to be a duplicate of Janine, as indistinguishable as she was from Linda and Alice and even Koga if you weren't paying attention to how they moved. "I think I should take that as a yes."

"Why can't Daddy come with us?" Raphael said with a pout. "He could beat anybody!"

Archie smiled tightly as he sat down next to his kids, putting his arms around their shoulders. "Daddy's special rules, you know that," he said gently. "I can't travel with you. It's not allowed."

"Well it's not special rules, 'cause Uncle Silver comes to Kanto all the time," Scarlet pouted. "How come you got extra special house rules?"

"Send me lots of cool pictures, okay?" Archie said, ignoring the question and squeezing the twins until they began to giggle and flail to escape, "Especially if you find any weird Unovan water Pokemon!"

"I'll bring Dad, Linda and Alice up to speed," Janine said, pulling her hood back down and reaching up to her comm.

"I know we can trust their discretion," Saylee said, glancing at Meloetta.

"You wouldn't have brought us as your guards if you couldn't," Janine said. "Meloetta, while you're disguised as part of the security detail, you're playing a junior member, okay? That means obeying any order that the rest of us give you. That isn't a trainer-Pokemon thing, it's just a hierarchy thing-Linda, Alice and I all obey any orders Dad gives, Linda and Alice have to obey any orders I give, and so on. Okay?" Meloetta nodded silently without dropping their glamour.

"And we need to get packed to go to Striaton," Saylee said, checking an alert that came up on her pokegear. "Lettie, Amy, Ray-you understand, right?" she said, crouching down to be at the kids' eye level. "Meloetta isn't quite like Archie or Uncle Silver, but she is somebody that you can't tell anybody about, okay? It's just as important to keep Meloetta a secret as to keep Archie and Silver secret."

"Duh!" Scarlet proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and nodding at the younger twins. "We won't tell anybody we ever saw Meloetta, right?"

"Nope! Not ever!" Amber swore.

"We're not gonna let anybody hurt you, even if you are a ninja now," Raphael promised, looking up at Meloetta. "Hey, can you turn into a pirate?"

{}

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The Meloetta event was going on around the time I started playing this run (that's how long ago I played this :P) so I decided to make her a story element. I never used her ingame because you get her at level 50, so it would probably be cheating.

Okay also, basically: My ingame catches are going to be given to Bianca, while Key's ingame catches and deaths on her two runs are given to Carlotta and Cheren, and Warren is just gonna get an Audino for the time being because this party needs a healer (Clearly, Carlotta's the fighter, Cheren's the wizard, and Bianca, as the only one of them who can carry a tune in a bucket, is the bard.) By the way, literally all three of these starter names have nerdy origins. Sherlock should be obvious, and Owain's named after a Fire Emblem character, but when I was trying to think of a Tepig name beginning with T, my first thought was "James Tiberius Kirk". He's just Tiberius, though. ANYWAY.

I do not have regular schedule plans at this time, but here's hoping this does not take the two and a half years that Dimensional Destruction did! Actually, this only being 39 chapters, my goal is to finish it in under a year. I hope you're as excited as I am to get on with it!

I will also call this the casting call officially closed. Thank you very much to everybody who submitted a character, and I look forward to featuring them all!

Carlotta

Name: Owain. Species: Oshawott. Nature: Adamant. Ability: Torrent. Caught: Nuvema Town. Level: 5

Bianca

Name: Tiberius. Species: Tepig. Nature: Jolly. Ability: Blaze. Caught: Nuvema Town. Level: 5.

Cheren

Name: Sherlock. Species: Snivy. Nature: Sassy. Ability: Overgrow. Caught: Nuvema Town. Level: 5.