Warren-Pokemon: 1 Deaths: 0

Carlotta-Pokemon: 6 Deaths: 0

Cheren-Pokemon: 4 Deaths: 3

Bianca-Pokemon: 3 Deaths: 3

{Reshin 21st, 10:32am}

{Pinwheel Forest}

"Hey, guys?" Warren said, stopping in the middle of the bridge and looking at his C-Gear. "Maybe we oughtn't go back to Nacrene right now…"

"Why-oh," Cheren said, looking at Warren's screen and wincing. "Of course. Should have known. The press are all over the museum," he clarified to Carlotta and Bianca.

"It too much to hope your folks don't watch news?" Carlotta asked Bianca, who'd gone deathly pale.

"Um… is Mono News reportin' on it?" Bianca asked anxiously.

"Hold on, this app only shows real new stations… aw, shit, they're showin' it too," Warren sighed.

"We'll come back an' fight Nacrene Gym later on," Carlotta decided. "An' don't you start," she added immediately, turning to Bianca, who shut her mouth. "We can fight 'em in any order, port back any time we like, this ain't a problem or setback for nobody." She put a hand on Bianca's shoulder. "Just remindin' you you ain't done nothin' wrong an' have nothin' to apologize for, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," Bianca said with a shy smile. "Okay! Campin' again! I'm lookin' forward to it! This forest's real pretty!"

"I believe there is a popular trainer campsite by the lake," Cheren added, turning and leading them back across the bridge, deeper into the forest. "It ought to be an ideal place to train, maybe with other trainers to have practice battles with."

"Hey, here's a plan-we challenge some other folks, wreck their Pokemon, an' charge 'em for Angus' Heal Pulse," Carlotta cackled.

"Says the police are at the museum, too," Warren mumbled, still looking at his c-gear screen. "Think they're gonna wanna talk to us?"

"They probably aren't in a rush, seeing as none of the thieves escaped and they have plenty of witnesses," Cheren mused. "Has that detective made a statement?"

"Oh, yeah, here 'e is," Warren said, turning on a video. The screen was too small for the others to see, but they could hear the report just fine over the rustling leaves and smooth, quiet flow of the river below.

"...with the aid of some travelling trainers," the detective was saying. "But as they were minors, I'm not going to give their details out on the air. I'll leave it to the discretion of themselves and their guardians to visit the police to offer statements."

"I like this guy," Carlotta mused. "I like 'im a lot."

"What a solid dude," Warren agreed.

"Is that ranger lady okay?" Bianca asked, peering at Warren's c-gear.

"Uhhhh… oh, yeah, says here Ranger Irene Cooper was hospitalized with a broken leg, but thanks to her own quick first aid she should make a full recovery," Warren reported. "She's gonna be fine, don't you worry."

"Good," Bianca sighed in relief. "I'm glad they got that skull back safe, too. Been a real shame for that poor thing not havin' 'is head no more…"

"He's been dead for over three thousand years, Bianca, I don't imagine much bothers him," Cheren said, looking up at the signs standing over the path ahead. "Ah. Campsite this way. There we go."

The campsite wasn't directly off the main path leading to the bridges, but instead down a winding trail between the trees. It was a pleasant day, with the sun filtering down through the trees casting everything in a warm, dappled light. It was peaceful, beautiful, quiet, and all in all worlds away from the morning's violence. It was only a few minutes' walk before they first got a glimpse of glittering water through the trees, and not long afterwards until they found themselves in a field of short, scrubby grass before a lake. It was mostly empty, aside from a couple of tents dotted amongst the stone-ringed lake itself was the sort that was too large to be a pond, but the far shore was close enough that individual trees could be made ou, and they could practically see Carlotta estimating how long it would take her to swim it. At the water's edge, where the grass gave way to a small strip of damp sand, a couple of trainers were fighting-though on closer inspection, it clearly wasn't an actual fight.

The two trainers were standing on opposite sides of the rough outline of a battlefield drawn in the sand, as if having a real match, but there was no way the Pokemon in the middle were really battling. One, a gigantic mass of red-and-blue stone with something like a big nose and moustache on front, wasn't even moving, just grunting as a little orange thing with a burning tail spat tiny spurts of flame that washed harmlessly off of the bigger Pokemon's hide. One trainer, a tall, pale man with dark blue hair to his shoulders, was cheering on "Giro", while the other, an equally tall dark-skinned trainer with very long, straight red hair, was just watching with a smile.

"Awww, are they helpin' the baby train? That's real sweet!" Bianca gushed.

"Hi!" Carlotta called, waving. "Mister with the li'l guy! If you're needin' a proper fight, I figure we're more on your level! How many badges you got?"

"Hi!" the man called, waving. "Gearing up to get my first. I'm thinking Burgh, it'll be easiest on my team. How about you?"

"We've got our first badges," Cheren said, pulling out his badge case as they approached the battlefield.

"And you couldn't resist showin' it off," Warren ribbed his boyfriend, nudging him. "Competitive trainers. Can't take y'all anywhere. Since we skipped over the whole introductions part, my name's Warren, this is my boyfriend Cheren, my sister Carlotta, an' our best friend Bianca."

"Oh, yeah, hi," the guy said with a nod. "I'm Marco. I'm from Accumula. Are you from around here? Giro, come back!" he added, shouting over his shoulder at his little orange Pokemon, who immediately scurried over and clung to his ankle.

"We're all from Nuvema," Carlotta confirmed. "How 'bout you?" she asked the other trainer, who just returned their huge Pokemon and they strode over with their hands shoved into the pockets of their black jacket.

"I'm Fern," they said. "I'm from Sinnoh!"

"Wow, your Unovan's real good!" Bianca gasped.

"My girlfriend is from Undella, she taught me!" Fern said proudly. "I'm here to visit her, but also I want to see… what is the word… the god places?"

"God places?" Carlotta said, looking around with an eyebrow raised at the campsite. "I'm not sure that's the word you want…"

"Not here," Fern said, pointing at the ground before gesturing all around, "but in this forest, there are god places."

"Yeah, we were talking about this before… I always heard that this is Virizion's forest," Marco said, stooping to scoop up Giro in his arms. "Haven't you guys heard? Nuvema's not far from here, right?"

"Honestly, most I know 'bout Virizion begins an' ends at the cartoons," Carlotta admitted with a shrug.

"What is this li'l cutie?" Bianca cooed, waggling her fingers at Giro, who waved a little claw back at her.

"He's a Charmander… not surprised you haven't heard of them, they're very rare," Marco explained. "You were saying you've got one badge each already… would you be willing to give us a proper fight?"

"Oh, well… it's Carly an' Cheren got badges," Bianca admitted, shying away, with her eyes downcast.

"If you don't wanna fight just now, Bianca, how 'bout we set up our campsite while they fight?" Warren suggested, tugging her away by the hand. "I ain't a battler, either," he added.

"Tch, it is morning," Fern said, waving their hand dismissively. "You want to camp and see the famous sunrise, yeah? If you do not want to fight, come explore the forest with me! I can protect you from wild Pokemon, and maybe we will find a god place!"

"Bianca does have some interest in gods," Cheren said. "Alright, Carlotta, which one of us will fight Marco first?"

"We're deciding this like warriors, Cher," Carlotta declared, raising one fist in the air. "Rock, paper, scissors, three, two, one-!"

"I don't actually know anythin' 'bout Virizion, either," Bianca clarified as she and Warren hurried to keep up with Fern's long stride. "We didn't get to watch cartoons, an' my folks said anythin' but the Dragons are false gods."

"The Dragons you mean are Zekrom and Reshiram, yeah?" Fern said. "But there are many, many, many, many other gods!"

"Yeah, Bianca's folks're pretty intense," Warren said. "Virizion… he was always the pretty one. Always flirtin' with somebody, had to have all his attacks real pretty. Uh, in the cartoons an' movies, anyways," he added with a cough when Fern looked curiously at him. "Don't know much 'bout the god except that its thing is grass, an' it hangs around with Terrakion an' Cobalion."

"Yes! The three are battle gods, who travel to fight on behalf of Pokemon in need!" Fern exclaimed. "Virizion is the most beautiful, they say, and the most gentle. And, yes, grass. That is why they live in this forest, maybe. Hello," they said to a Pidove that was pecking at the path ahead of them. The tiny grey Pokemon looked up, staring quizzically at them. "In Sinnoh we have Starly. Not so cute, I think. Do you have? I know these ones are very common here."

"No, but ain't she adorable?" Bianca cooed, crouching down and carefully holding out a hand to the Pidove, who chirped and nuzzled it.

"Awww, kawaii desu ne… she thinks that you are very cute also," Fern informed Bianca. "If you want to have a Pidove, I think she will let you catch her. Do you have pokeballs?"

"What? Y-yeah," Bianca said in surprise, digging in her bag. "Really?"

"Pokemon don't just let you catch 'em," Warren pointed out.

"Well, do you ask before you take? No!" Fern scoffed. They looked down at the Pidove, firing off a question in rapid Fairlan. The Pidove looked up and chirped. "Miss Penny says, I want to see far-away places, and to meet different Pokemon. That is why she is looking for a trainer."

"Got it!" Bianca said, pulling an empty pokeball out of her bag. "You sure she's really gonna just… let me catch 'er?"

"I asked, and she answered! I am sure that miss Penny is a good bird who would not lie," Fern said firmly.

"Well, here goes…" Bianca said, holding out her pokeball and tapping it gently to the Pidove's head. The little Pokemon vanished immediately in a burst of light, and the ball didn't even rock before locking.

"...wow," Warren said in amazement. "That was easy."

"I told you, I spoke to her, and she agreed!" Fern insisted. "Are you an Unovan who thinks that it is not true, that we speak to Pokemon?"

"W-well… it don't sound very… sensible, do it?" Warren said, backing up a little as Fern loomed over them, hands on their hips and a scowl on their face. "I mean, Pokemon don't all communicate in the same way, first off…"

"Pah! Sense! If it makes sense, does not matter," Fern said flippantly. "It is true, whether it makes sense or not. "Many clever people are studying it, and maybe one day they will make sense. But until then, it is still true."

"Then you don't gotta be so bossy 'bout it, do ya?" Bianca said, standing up with her hands on her own impressive hips as she put herself between Warren and Fern, glaring up at the much taller person.

"It is okay, okay?" Fern chuckled, hands raised. "You, much more tough than you look. Protect your Pokemon as well as your friend, yeah?"

"Uh… okay," Bianca said, looking down at the pokeball in her hand. "I'll do my best."

"Good! Now, where might a god place be?" Fern mused, looking at their wrist, where they wore something like a C-gear, though chunkier. They started fidgeting with the map function, which looked to be covered in custom pins.

"Damn, B," Warren said, patting his friend on her shoulder. "You could be that intense more often."

"Well… they were bein' rude to you, and there weren't no call for it," Bianca mumbled, going red. She drooped a little more, hunching in on herself. "Why couldn't I never talk to them like that?" she almost whispered.

"Your folks?" Warren guessed. Bianca nodded. "Well, that's different. They're your folks. This is just some person we just met. An' hey, thanks for gettin' tough on my account," he added, squeezing her shoulder, "what with Carly not bein' here to do it!"

"'Sokay," Bianca said, smiling shyly as she went even redder. "You're my friend."

"You are all very sweet," Fern noted, causing them to jump and hurry to catch up with them on the forest path. "Are you old friends?"

"Known each other since we were… what, four, five?" Warren said. "All four of us."

"Osana najimi! It is a very important, very strong bond," Fern explained. "All four of you? Very rare, very strong. But it is difficult. We change friends many times when we grow up because we become many different people on the way. To still be friends means to work, to understand, and to love. I hope you will do that," they said with a smile, making an "OK" sign with one hand.

"I hope so too," Warren said, imitating the signal back. Then he frowned, looking back over his shoulder.

"What's up?" Bianca asked, following his look back. They had moved onto a path-off-the-path, where the trees were denser and darker, and the ground underfoot thicker and more coated with leaves and roots.

"Nothin', just… felt like we were being watched for a moment," Warren said, shaking his head. "Nothin' there, though."

"If you see any strong Pokemon, then Gatsby and I will keep you safe," Fern offered, releasing a tall, green-and-white Pokemon that looked a little like a beautiful woman. "He is a Gardevoir! He is very brave!"

The Gardevoir looked them up and down, humming. It was a pleasant sound, but if he was speaking, neither of them could understand it.

{Reshin 21st, 11:19am}

{Pinwheel Forest}

"You two are not on my level," Marco grumbled, returning his last Pokemon, a little blue water-type called a Piplup.

"Have I told you I love this girl?" Carlotta boasted, watching a newly-evolved Thamina flex her new muscles. Carlotta flexed back. "'Cause I love this girl."

"She's a Gurdurr now," Cheren explained, looking at his pokedex, "and she'll start gathering anything metal to create a new club with, so keep an eye on your things."

"Nice," Carlotta said, returning Thamina. "She trains real hard. No wonder she evolved so darn fast."

"I need to get stronger, fast, as well," Marco said, digging potions out of his bag. "What's your secret?"

"Daily trainin' an' a consistent regimen, pal," Carlotta declared. "No skippin' out! It all adds up!"

"Are you talking about you or your Pokemon?" Marco asked, pointing at Carlotta, who was still flexing.

"Both!" Carlotta said proudly.

"She isn't joking," Cheren sighed. "Daily training is key, though, and taking on a few strong opponents does you more good than many weak ones, though it's riskier. We travel together, so we can train together several times a day."

"Hmmm…" Marco loaded potions into his pokeballs thoughtfully. "I prefer my Pokemon."

"Well, if you want to fight Burgh first, I'm sure your Charmander could handle a first-badge Bug battle alone," Cheren said encouragingly. "Where did you get one, anyway? They're extremely rare, aren't they?"

"My parents are Fairlan, and they both have Charmeleon that they've had since they were children," Marco explained. "They're Giro's parents. Yes, they're very rare, though I hear Sar Kanto sponsors a program in Kanto that's building the population back up."

The question so, do you really believe in all that talking-to-Pokemon stuff hovered on Cheren's tongue, but he bit it back. He was curious about it every time the topic of the Fairlands came up-as it seemed to daily, lately-but if there was one thing he'd learned online, it wasn't just to pick your battles, but the time and place for them, too. The issue of talking to Pokemon was a touchy one, and there was nothing for anybody to gain if it sparked an argument between two passersby at the same campsite.

Instead, he asked, "you said you needed to get stronger fast. Are you taking the League challenge?"

"Only as a means to get stronger," Marco said, leaning back on his hands. "I want to be able to protect Pokemon from people who are cruel to them. It's so damn easy to get away with hurting Pokemon in this damn country. If the law won't protect them, I will."

Well. That also sounded like a touchy subject, but… "You know… the most effective way to protect them would be to lobby to change the laws concerning Pokemon rights," he pointed out. "Just attacking people will only get you arrested, and it won't really help the Pokemon. It certainly hasn't garnered the Plasma Foundation any sympathy."

"Plasma…" Marco snorted, his expression darkening. "I'm not planning to run around dispensing vigilante justice, but if I see them again, I want to know I can protect my Pokemon and any other Pokemon they have their filthy, murdering eyes on."

"Murderin'?" Carlotta said in surprise. "I ain't heard 'bout them killin' nobody, that lady they threw acid at lived last I heard…"

"Not a human, a Pokemon," Marco said, shaking his head. "I saw them kill a Kangaskhan to take her baby. If I'd been a trainer at the time, if I'd had Pokemon, maybe I could've done something…"

"Damn… human or Pokemon, that's fucked up," Carlotta muttered. "Didn't we see somethin' like that at the Dreamyard?"

"They were beating up that Munna, yes… I can't think what they plan to gain from it, though," Cheren said, frowning.

"I don't know or care what they plan to gain from it," Marco spat. "They're not getting away with that shit again. Not on my watch."

"I can respect that," Carlotta said, putting Thamina's pokeball back on her belt. "Think yours are all healed up and ready for another fight? Y'all gotta work hard to get tough!"

"Sounds good to me," Marco said, jumping to his feet. "Just not the Gurdurr. Please."

{Reshin 21st, 5:14pm}

{Castelia City}

Saylee leaned back against the arm of the sofa, one arm tight around Scarlet while she held up her tablet in her uninjured hand, watching through a playlist of cartoons that her cousin Lucy had sent her. She'd skipped out some kind of charity dinner, and felt a little bad about it, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to cope with having Scarlet out of her sight for a little while. Besides, the host, a local gallery owner, had been very gracious about her giving a generous donation instead of attending, and she figured that anybody she'd meet at that dinner, she was also going to meet at the gala in a couple of days. It was worth it for a peaceful evening, watching Scarlet giggle at the cartoons while Blue and Red continued their reversi rivalry on a board they'd found in a stack of board games under the television. The noises of the cartoon, Scarlet's giggles and the click of Blue and Red placing and flipping pieces all seemed woven together harmoniously by Meloetta's humming. The small Pokemon was sitting at the foot of the couch, eyes closed as they hummed in tune with the small sounds of the room, sometimes singing wordlessly, turning every random sound into part of the melody.

The view of the sprawl of Castelia City was famously impressive, especially from the penthouse she was in, but she'd drawn the curtains. Koga's team hadn't lost to any of the three strange ninja who'd attacked them, but none of them had really won, either. She'd never met anyone who could go toe-to-toe with anyone from Fuchsia in hand-to-hand combat, and she didn't like knowing that they were still out there.

There was a soft knock on the door and Key stuck her head around. "Hey, put down the fragiles," she announced. "There's news from the interrogations and you're not gonna like it."

"I'll hold the cartoons, Mummy," Scarlet said, reaching up for the tablet. "Can I keep watching?"

"Yes, but only if you promise not to press any of the buttons, okay?" Saylee said, gently shifting her daughter onto the couch. "I have important things on here. Cartoons only, or no more cartoons, okay?"

"Okay!" Scarlet said immediately. "I'll tell you what happened when you get back!"

"Awww, thanks, honey," Saylee said, kissing her on the forehead and getting up. Blue and Red also stood up. "Red, stay here and keep an eye on her, okay?"

"This isn't us fobbing you off because you're a kid," Blue said quietly when Red opened his mouth, possibly quietly enough that Saylee wasn't supposed to hear it. "We all had a real scare, okay? We just… even if it's just stepping into the hall outside, just keep an eye out for us, okay?"

"...Sure," Red said, moving over and sitting down on the couch next to Scarlet. "So, who're they?" he asked, pointing at the characters on the screen.

Saylee stepped out into the entryway of the apartment-style hotel room, though she kept a foot in the door so she could still hear Scarlet's voice as she and Red chatted and keep the pair of them in the corner of her eye. "Okay, so what's happened?"

"The kidnappers confessed, but claimed that they only wore Plasma outfits to distract the police to make them harder to track down once they escaped," Key said quickly. "Plasma themselves declared that none of these people were ever members, and since they haven't claimed to be members, the police have no grounds to search their records. Which… unfortunately, they don't. Plasma regularly gives their outfits to short-term volunteers at their shelters and don't require that they be returned, so they could've gotten those uniforms without being members or doing anything for Plasma."

Blue pressed a hand to his mouth and whispered, "ffffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck them. Fuck 'em. Fuckers."

"They're loyal, I'll give them that," Linda, the guard by the door, commented. "No doubt they've been incentivized to lie to protect Plasma, but proving it will be difficult. A good prosecutor could maybe do it, but it'll take them months."

"So why did they try to take Scarlet?!" Saylee hissed.

"They claim to be independently anti-Fairlan," Key sighed, "putting it politely. They each went off on separate crackpot rants about getting you to confess to being a dictator or something, that they've been stalking your evil ways, yadda yadda. None of them brought up your, y'know, paternity, which tells me they don't actually know a thing about you and were put up to this by somebody else, but again, that's not really quick or easy to prove. The Nacrene Museum thieves this morning did claim to be part of Plasma but not acting on the organization's behalf. They just said they stole the skull because their hearts broke for the poor dead Dragonite, having its remains so desecrated."

"I am so goddamn angry that I agree about that, although I'm sure they're lying through their teeth," Saylee groaned, dragging a hand over her eyes. "Wait, if they admitted to being Plasma Foundation members, the police do have a right to demand access to Plasma's records, don't they?"

"Under Unovan law, no, not unless they claim to be acting on Plasma's behalf, and they weren't," Key sighed. "Or at least, they say they weren't. I'm sorry, Lee, this headache isn't going away anytime soon…"

"Maybe I should take Lettie and Red and head out," Blue said, putting a hand on Saylee's arm. "That'd be diplomatic, sorta, right? And a bit of a fuck you to anybody trying to drive you out of the country with this shit."

Saylee glanced over at the couch, where Scarlet and Red were engrossed in something loud and smashy happening on the tablet screen. "You probably should," she said reluctantly. "Gods, Lettie was so excited about this trip, and we've never been apart for more than a schoolday before…"

"She's a bright kid, she'll understand," Blue promised, pulling her closer to lean his head against hers and give her a one-armed hug. "I guess if we hang around until the gala, we can let Caitlin know in person that we want to head back to the embassy and out of the country as discreetly as possible…"

"Yeah, you don't wanna advertise it," Key agreed. "And, well… could you take Ray and Amy back home, too? It won't be as fun for them to travel without their friends, and, well…" She tucked some hair behind her ear, casting a glance at Saylee. "I'm standing with you, whatever shit's coming our way, obviously. I just don't want my kids mixed up in it, y'know?"

"Hey, I don't want my kid mixed up in it either," Saylee said, raising her hands. "Linda, can you ask Koga to come talk to me to make a plan? Caitlin might have a security detail that can look after them, but if a breakaway detail is an option…"

"We're honoured, as ever, by your absolute trust in us, Sar," Linda said seriously, "and we won't fail you again. I'll ask him to talk to you after the kids' bedtimes?"

"Please," Saylee said gratefully, putting an arm around Blue and hugging him back. "I'll miss you too, jerk. Facing this kind of thing always seems easier when you've got my back. But it feels good to know you've got Lettie's."

"Of course," Blue promised. "I'll get on that 'good prosecutor' thing, too. I think we know a guy who might know a guy. And I wanna know why the hell, if Plasma is ordering these crimes and then incentivizing their people to lie about it… why wear the Plasma costumes at all? They're doing this shit in broad daylight, in recognizable costumes. Why? Were jeans and t-shirts outlawed?"

"Harder to wear a decorative sword with, maybe," Saylee said, glancing at the bandages on her shoulder. "If they were making good life choices, they wouldn't be kidnappers and thieves."

"Point."

{}

{}

Fern belongs to MusicalityMix and Marco Grennings belongs to Ultimate5x! Thank you for sharing them with me!

I know, it's been forever. Depression be like that sometimes. DAMN, it feels good to be back to writing, though. And, y'know, frantically scouring the internet for any intel on the lil nut boy who started showing up on Pokemon Go so I can start figuring out how to work that wee dude into this storyverse. Am I gonna need an avatar for this thing? These are the questions that fill my mind whenever it comes to new Pokemon games these days.

Also, ingame we all actually had quite uneventful Lenora experiences. No, really. No, really. This does seem to be a running theme of us not having a problem with infamously dangerous normal-type gyms (neither Whitney nor Norman were any fuss, either) and then having MAJOR trouble with gyms that don't seem to have much of a rep.

Warren

Angus the Audino

Carlotta

Owain the Dewott, Loyal the Herdier, Paden the Pansear, Pijon the Tranquil, Roland the Boldore, Thamina the Gurdurr

Name: Saria. Species: Sewaddle. Nature: Rash. Ability: Chlorophyll. Location: Pinwheel Forest (Interior). Level: 15

Bianca

Tiberius the Tepig, Packard the Watchog, Wilhelmina the Woobat

Name: Penny. Species: Pidove. Nature: Timid. Ability: Big Pecks. Location: Pinwheel Forest (Interior). Level: 15

Cheren

Sherlock the Servine, Poncho the Panpour, Rocky the Boldore, Lilli the Petilil