"You two make a good couple," Frita smiled. "Yeah well," Jethro grinned. "We aren't the only ones!" Frita tilted her head. "I suppose that would depend on your definition of 'good'." Everyone threw her a horrified look.

"What the Hellgar?!" Steven was giving her an angry and confused look. "What? I never said I didn't love you, but we don't exactly make the BEST pair in a sense." Steven glared at her. "What does that even MEAN?!" Frita sighed, shaking her head. "We just have totally opposite personalities, that's all. I mean, do you remember all the fistfights we've had?"

"Hey!" Steven pointed at her. "That was almost always you! Do you know how many bruises I've had thanks to you? You literally just gave me a new one," he added, rubbing his shoulder. "You know," Frita turned to him, one arm on the table. "For a Steel Type Trainer you sure are a wimp."

Jethro's eyes widened and he let out a soft "O-ooh." Steven glared at her. "I'm not a wimp!" Frita shook her head. "Oh yes you are!" They got into another tiny argument that ended with Steven quietly calling out, "At least I'M not afraid of BUGS."

Frita's eyes widened and she shuddered heavily. "Yuck." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "You're afraid of bugs? You didn't give any hint about that when I first visited Mara."* Jethro looked surprised.

Steven grinned wickedly. "Oh she's absolutely terrified of Bug Pokémon. I remember this one time…"

Steven had come to visit Mara for the first time. He had been awed by it, particularly it's massive collection of rare stones. Wallace had come with him, and Keith, upon Frita's request. When they had arrived, they had been told to visit Frita's new home. It was high in the canopy of the jungle, with an unobstructed view. It took quite a long time to get there, and there was a very long rope ladder involved, but it was worth it.

"Oh. My. ARCEUS." Wallace's eyes lit up like sparklers as he looked around Frita's living room. There was a large window on one side and a spiral staircase in the left corner, on the same side they had come in on. The entire house was made out of a slightly pale, varnished wood and a large light hung from the ceiling. There was a large rug spread on the floor with several nice couches and chairs spread around on it. Little PokeDolls adorned several small tables and displays, and the coffee table had a glass top.

"What do you guys think?" Steven nodded, "Yeah, it's nice…" Frita caught a hint of disappointment in his voice. Wallace waved at him. "Don't listen to him, it's fan-tastic!" Frita chuckled and smiled at him. "Thanks, Wallace." Frita sucked in a deep breath. "Anyway...I've," she let her breath out quickly. "Decided to stay in Mara, as the Regional Champion." Steven's face had fallen after that. "So...you're settling down in Mara then." He had put his hands in his pockets and looked out the window, refusing to face her.

"Well, no, not exactly." Steven gave her a confused look. "I've also decided to accept the position of Pokemon League Grand Champion! This is just one of many residences that I'll have to aid in my keeping the League in check!" Wallace immediately grabbed her in an enormous hug, followed by Keith, who was excited she could go on tours with him. Steven smiled at her, and then he was focused on something just a little behind her. "Um...Frita?"

A Wurmple had very slowly lowered itself onto Frita's shoulder, and she didn't even know it was there. "What?" She smiled at him. He pointed at her shoulder. "Um…" Frita turned, coming face to face with the Wurmple, and her eyes widened. The image very slowly made its way into her brain, and she let out the most Arceus-awful screech any of them had ever heard.

"GETITOFF! GETITOFF! GETITOFF!" She screeched, flailing her arm. She eventually managed to fling the Wurmple off, and sucked in a huge breath, which was let out in an enormous sigh of relief. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She screeched, shooing at the Wurmple before shrieking and retreating as it came near her. It followed her around the room until she tripped and fell, at which point she had rapidly crawled away until she had been able to get to her feet again. She ran at Steven, jumping in his arms and forcing him to catch her, which threw him off balance and forced Wallace to catch him.

They had eventually managed to get the wild Wurmple out of Frita's house (she had refused to let go of Steven until it was gone), and she had vowed to put a Pokemon security guard inside to keep bugs out afterward.

Steven was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "It...It was...it was the best moment...EVER!" Frita flushed and turned away, crossing her arms and pouting. "Shut up! It was so gross…," she mumbled. Steven was still snickering as he gasped for breath. "Uh-huh, sure. Whatever, it was hilarious!"

The couple sitting opposite from them was having an incredibly hard time keeping their laughter inside, and Jethro was silently laughing so hard that his face had turned a deep red as his body shook, no sound except the occasional wheeze escaping his mouth. Felicia was doing a bit better of a job keeping her laughter in check, and tried nudging her boyfriend in the shoulder to get him to quit, with little success. After a few moments, Jethro finally calmed down, snickering softly in short intervals.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I haven't encountered anything like that for a while!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Seriously, though, a little Wurmple? A harmless little guy like that?" Frita hissed at him, "Disgusting little poison filled monster." Jethro looked at her incredulously for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Well, I can understand the fact that it can evolve into a Dustox can be unnerving," he said, "but at the sight of a mere Wurm- okay, shutting up now," he said hurriedly as Frita grabbed a fork and leaned toward him a little.

*Read all about Jethro's first trip to Mara in Adventures in Mara by my friend The ImaginatorAK47!