Feeling the sudden sensation of her bag rumbling around, Kumiko frantically opened it as she took out the Egg in its incubator. Seeing it shake around inside, Kumiko then opened the incubator's lid as she cradled the Egg in her arms, anticipating the moment it would hatch. Shortly after, the Egg finally burst open, revealing the Pokémon inside.

"Dein?" the black and blue Pokémon cried out. Having never seen this Pokémon before, Kumiko took her Pokédex out to identify it as Reina and her Pokémon came over to see the newest addition to Kumiko's partners.

"Deino, the Irate Pokémon," the Rotomdex began to drone. "Lacking sight, it's unaware of its surroundings, so it bumps into things and eats anything that moves. This Deino is male, and knows the moves Crunch, Dragon Rush, Superpower, and Fire Fang."

As Deino were quite a rare sight in Octiva, Reina was immediately intrigued. "So you got a Deino Egg from the Day Care, and they're not common here. With it knowing some strong moves right off the bat, that must mean it had some powerful parents. Could it be-"

Reina's words cut off as she began to be engrossed in her thoughts, leaving Kumiko alone with her new Pokémon again. Hopping off Kumiko's arms (which were starting to getting tired) after nudging his Trainer, Kumiko's Deino began trotting on the ground as he began to feel out his surroundings, getting a taste of what life was like outside of an Egg.

However, his lack of sight did not help matters, and he soon tripped over a small rock. As Kumiko went over to pick him up and help him get back on his feet, a possible nickname for her newest team member came to mind.

"I know that this is going to sound ironic, but how do you like Trip as a nickname?" Kumiko asked her Deino. "Since you can't see, you're going to be tripping around things a lot, and it also works as a guy's name."

Thinking about how ridiculously cruel his Trainer was to come up with such a nickname, Kumiko's Deino couldn't help but also agree that it did hold some meaning, so he nodded his head in approval, while secretly hoping that he would grow some eyes in the future.

"Great! Then Trip it is!" Kumiko declared. Looking over at where her other Pokémon were, Kumiko saw that they were still attacking the Manaphy being held in the arms of Ogasawara's Golisopod. Just how much pent-up rage were they hiding, and why hadn't she noticed it as their Trainer?

"Hey! Quit bullying that poor Manaphy and get back here!" Kumiko yelled at her Pokémon. "A new teammate just hatched and all you're doing is punching an already captured Pokémon? What sort of untrained wild Pokémon are you?"

Slightly aggravated that his Trainer hadn't taken him seriously at all during the entire Manaphy debacle, Marcato had enough of Kumiko's obliviousness up to this point. Quickly hopping over to his Trainer, Marcato was about to unleash a weak Wood Hammer on Kumiko as payback when Trip intercepted him with a Dragon Rush, having sensed danger approaching his Trainer. and sent the sentient cactus flying into the sky.

"Trip! Why did you do that?" Kumiko asked in shock and confusion as she looked in the direction Marcato flew in, while Orpheus used Teleport to bring him back. "That was one of your teammates!"

Not wanting to tell his Trainer that one of her Pokémon was about to commit an act of mutiny to her face, Trip just looked in Kumiko's direction like a petulant Growlithe, hoping that his Trainer would forgive him for not even being born yesterday.


After parting ways with Ogasawara and leaving the beach alongside their new partners, Kumiko and Reina stopped by the nearest Pokémon Center to rest for the night. Time certainly passed quickly during a day at the beach.

As nothing special happened today outside of both of them getting new Pokémon, Kumiko and Reina had more time to unwind tonight. Settling in their room, Kumiko was about to turn in for the day when Reina lightly tapped her on the shoulder, fresh off of taking a shower.

"Kumiko, haven't you realized that it's been quite a while since we've trained with our Pokémon?" Reina commented, causing Kumiko to realize the last time they had done so was shortly after winning the Double Battle tournament in Edian City. "Since we've still got time now, how about a bit of early-night practice?"

"Sure. Anything to be closer with you." Kumiko replied, then immediately clamped her mouth shut with her hands upon realizing what she just said. Reina also noticed the meaning behind Kumiko's words, though her reaction was a much more subdued widening of her eyes.

Heading down to the battlefield at the back of the Pokémon Center, Kumiko and Reina then sent out their Pokémon, including the ones they captured earlier today. As Reina Mega Evolved Eurydice to test her limits and was figuring out what Handel could do in battle, Kumiko also Mega Evolved Orpheus and let him spar with his sister, while she focused her attention on Marcato and Trip.

"So, about the new move you used today." Kumiko addressed Marcato. "Solar Beam, was it? I noticed that it seemed to take a long time for you to charge it up. That sucks, doesn't it?"

As Marcato nodded sadly at how accurate his Trainer was about this issue he was facing, Kumiko went over to where Reina was to see if her desired knew any way to solve this problem. "Why does Solar Beam take so long to use? Is there any way Marcato could work around this?"

"The reason Solar Beam has a long charging time is due to the amount of sunlight a Pokémon needs to absorb for the move to be usable." Reina answered. "While it is certainly usable with any light source or none at all, even artificial sunlight can decrease the time it takes for it to finish charging."

Reina's words about sunlight seemed to stir something in Kumiko's brain, and she hit on something upon remembering her last Gym Battle. "Is there a way for a Pokémon to create sunlight in battle? I know there's an Ability that can do it, but there should be other ways as well."

"The move Sunny Day creates a miniature ball of light resembling the sun, but even teaching that move would be difficult." Reina replied. "I'd suggest waiting until we get to Minant City to purchase a TM for it. It's an extremely useful move that goes well with certain teams, but my Pokémon wouldn't be a good match with it."

"OK, thanks a lot!" With her words of gratitude, Kumiko leaned closer to Reina than both parties were expecting, then went back over to where her Pokémon were. With what she learned about Marcato's Ability at the last Gym and Reina's advice, gears were beginning to turn in Kumiko's mind as she thought about how these could be used together to increase Marcato's strength in battle.

Upon returning back to where her Pokémon were, Kumiko felt something half-nudging half-gnawing at her leg. Looking down, she saw that Trip was performing those actions, softly nibbling at Kumiko's bare flesh while bumping his head at her.

"Trip, that tickles!" Kumiko exclaimed. While she had expected her new partner to behave similarly to what had been described in the Pokédex entry for Deino, Kumiko didn't think that he would immediately be that enthusiastic about it.

Slightly frightened by his Trainer's display of shock, Trip recoiled back before lowering his head in shame. Unable to see properly, he often had to touch objects by biting them to get a feel of where they were, but doing so that carelessly had inadvertently hurt his Trainer.

"Don't worry about it so much, Trip." Kumiko responded, seeing her Pokémon's dour expression. "If you want to bite me, I'll just wear some longer and thicker socks. That way, you can't hurt me if you bite lightly."

Happy that his Trainer had found a solution to their problem so quickly, Trip reared up on his hind legs and did a small dance of happiness, causing Kumiko to laugh at his adorable actions. While she did so, Kumiko began to think about some strategies to have Trip battle effectively.

From her initial Pokédex scan of him, Kumiko knew that all of Trip's moves dealt damage up close, so he would have to reduce the distance between him and any opponents to get hits in. Though the moves he hatched with all were powerful, strength meant nothing if they missed, which was more likely due to Trip's visual impairment.

Pondering about how to rectify Trip's natural weakness, Kumiko then realized that it could be easily corrected from the relationship between Trainer and Pokémon in battle. Giving out precise orders to him on where to move significantly increase the chances that an opposing Trainer would see through what they were planning, but Kumiko reasoned those were better odds than having him not know where to attack.

Looking over to Sparkle, who was currently trying to get Reina to teach her some new moves, Kumiko called her over. "Sparkle, since you're not doing anything right now, can you help Trip with his training? I've got something in mind for him, but I'll need your help for that."

Once Sparkle came back to Kumiko's side after receiving some advice from Reina, Kumiko started to address Trip. "All right, now that we've got over our teething issues, let's move on to the next step. Since we're going to challenge a Gym soon, you need to learn how to battle, and I've got a plan for how you're going to get good fast."


The next morning, Reina woke up to an uncharacteristically empty bed. Confused as to why Kumiko was't sleeping beside her for a moment, Reina then remembered what happened the previous night.

After managing to find some usable strategies for Handel in battle and feeling that the other members of her team had done enough training for the day, Reina then went back to their room to get some rest, but Kumiko wanted to stay behind and help Trip some more.

Letting her special one be, Reina waited for Kumiko to return so they could continue their nightly routine of sleeping together. However, one hour had passed with no sign of her. Then two, then three. Eventually, Reina felt her eyelids drooping down and went to sleep by herself, the first time in many nights.

Wondering where Kumiko could be now after so many hours, Reina went down to the battlefield after finishing her morning routines, wanting to check if Kumiko was still there.

To her surprise, Kumiko had fallen asleep on one of the nearby benches, with Sparkle and Trip nuzzling next to her while Orpheus and Marcato were resting on the ground beside them. Surprised to see that Kumiko had been training well into the night, Reina didn't want to disturb her special one, but knew that Kumiko would catch a cold if she remained there any longer.

"Kumiko, wake up." Reina tapped her desired lightly on the shoulder. "It's already morning, you know? You've been asleep here all night. I'm worried about you. It's really easy to get sick if you stay out here."

"Mmm, don't wanna." Kumiko replied while still half-asleep. "Being woken up by a pretty girl sure is amazing, but I'm too tired right now. Reina's waiting for me back there, so I've got to go back to her."

Reina watched as Kumiko moved her body in strange ways while making her familiar weird noises, though they seemed to be more huskier than usual. Confused as to what her desired was dreaming about that involved her, Reina sighed and was about to leave Kumiko and her partners alone when Sparkle accidentally moved a bit and discharged all the electricity in her wool.

The shock and awe tactic was successful in rapidly waking Kumiko and her Pokémon up, though Sparkle herself still remained asleep through the entire process. Rubbing her head, Kumiko realized that the Reina she was previously doing things with had suddenly disappeared, replaced by the fully-clothed one in front of her.

"BWAHHHH!" Kumiko exclaimed, shocked with the reveal that the real Reina had witnessed all the actions she had done in her sleep with Reina's dream counterpart, including some that she wished were kept private. "Reina! What are you doing here?"

"It's morning, so I came to wake you up." Reina simply explained. "You were asleep here for the entire night. How long did you train for after I left? I hope you got enough sleep."

"Uh… I really don't know myself." Kumiko admitted. "Maybe around four hours? I kind of got carried away and lost track of time after Trip managed to understand the orders I gave him."

"Please don't do this again. I don't want to worry about your sleeping habits." Reina knew that having a healthy sleep schedule was key to keeping a person's mind sharp, and if Kumiko wanted to improve at battling, then missing rest was counterproductive to that goal.

"OK, then I'll try not to do that again next time." As Reina meant so much to Kumiko, keeping her satisfied was on the top of Kumiko's priority list. "Do we have anywhere to go before we head to Minant City today?"

"As far as I'm aware, no." Reina replied. "Unless if you've got somewhere you want to go to, our next stop is Minant City. Speaking of which, why haven't you told me about the reason you don't want to go there?"

"The reason I haven't told you yet is because you'll see it everywhere when we arrive." Kumiko responded. "I'll just tell you that it's not because of Bug-types. It's something else entirely."

"Fair enough." Reina knew Kumiko enough to not press the matter further, preferring to be shown rather than told the truth. After accompanying Kumiko as her special one went through her own morning routines (along with the nightly routines she missed), Kumiko and Reina were now back on the road, going straight to Minant City.


"Wow. I've been told about how big it is relative to other cities, but I didn't realize that Minant City was this big."

Arriving in Minant City after a couple of hours spent walking, Kumiko and Reina finally reached the city gates. With skyscrapers that seemed to glitter in the sunlight and streets paved with cobblestones, Octiva's largest and most modern city was clearly one built on its storied past.

"I've heard the Gym Leader in Minant City was actually appointed to the position very recently, and she uses Normal-types." Reina explained to Kumiko. "Rumors suggest that she knows either the Elite Four or someone else high up in the League, and that's how she got the position. Personally, I think that theory doesn't make sense. The only way a Gym Leader survives in their job is through skill."

"Yeah, I've got to agree with you on that point." Kumiko responded, trying to play her cards as close to her chest as possible. "There's no way that she- the Gym Leader here could've gotten her position through League connections. I mean, unless you're us, then there's almost no way a regular person could get to know someone high up in the League."

"Agreed." Satisfied that Kumiko agreed with her, Reina then saw that there was a shop selling TMs nearby, and motioned for Kumiko to follow her in. After finding some useful ones that suited their Pokémon, including the Sunny Day that Marcato so desperately needed, the pair exited the store when something caught Reina's attention.

Glancing up at a massive display hanging above them, Reina was intrigued at what it had to show about this equally massive city. On the screen, a Pokémon battle was raging on, featuring a Wigglytuff fighting a Chatot.

Though it was an ordinary fight by any measure, what caught Reina's attention was when the face of one of the Trainers battling flashed on-screen, along with a caption detailing who she was. Quickly looking back to Kumiko, Reina immediately saw the resemblance between the two, and put the pieces together in her mind.

"Kumiko, I think I now know the reason why you didn't want to come here." Reina told her desired, believing that brutal honesty was both the only and best option here. "Is it because of her?"

Looking at the screen, Kumiko saw who Reina was referring to, and confirmed her suspicions with a nod. "Yup, that's her alright. Guess I've gotta visit her now that we're in town."

Pulling up a map on her phone, it didn't take long for Kumiko to find the address she was looking for. "Oh, it's actually quite close to where we are now. We can walk there in a short amount of time."

Following Kumiko, Reina then began to see a long line snake around the block they were walking on, with the stream of people compounding into a cluster around the entrance of a shop on the ground floor of a rather tall building. Seeing Kumiko stop, Reina knew that this could only mean one thing. "Is this where you were going?"

"Yeah, sure is." Looking at the gigantic line, Kumiko was surprised that the shop had actually managed to be so successful despite being opened quite recently. Apparently, studying in Kalos was a good decision.

Searching for a way into the shop aside from queueing, Kumiko and Reina both couldn't see any other option, so they walked all the way back to where they came from and joined the line. As the queue shifted along at a Shuckle's pace, Kumiko's thoughts about camping in the line were interrupted by the voice she had anticipated. "Kumiko, is that you?"

Left with no choice but to reply, Kumiko turned to face the Gym Leader of Minant City, owner and head stylist of Minant City's largest salon, and her annoying-yet-adoring elder sister, Mamiko Oumae. "Haah? Sis, can't recognize your own sibling? Has staring at hairstyles all day made you blind to them?"

"Always with the barbed tongue, Kumiko." Mamiko chided her younger sister. "Though I've been guilty of that myself. How long has it been since I've last seen you? Two, three months? Half a year? Ugh, I've got so many things to keep track of that I'm not even thinking straight."

"Well, it should be around six months, give or take." Kumiko tried to assist her sister, knowing how much stress juggling multiple roles was giving her sister. "Anyways, the reason why my friend Reina Kousaka and myself are here is because we need to challenge your Gym to get all eight Gym Badges, and your Gym was the closest from our previous destination at Subdomi City."

"Kousaka, hm?" Mamiko's magenta eyes perked up at the mention of Reina's last name. "I've heard my friend mention that name several times before, but it was associated with a middle-aged man, so I'm guessing you must be his daughter, right?"

"Miss Oumae, who's your friend?" Reina asked. "And how are you so sure that I'm the daughter of the person you're mentioning? As far as you know, we could just be people that share the same surname, nothing more."

"For that to be explained, we'll need to have a little chat." Mamiko replied. "How about we go to my Gym for that? It's not as cramped as the salon, and it's on the second floor of the same building."

"Sure. I don't really have any objection to that." Despite being sisters, Kumiko didn't really know what Mamiko's Gym looked like on the inside, as she was too busy with her multiple jobs to keep in contact with the rest of her family these days.

With Mamiko leading them, Kumiko and Reina headed towards what seemed like a desolate side alley hidden away from view. Swinging open an emergency exit door, Mamiko headed up a dimly-lit stairway before opening another door that led into a corridor. A third and final door later, the three women were inside a cozy office, which was surprisingly neat given how slovenly Mamiko normally was.

"Ms. Kousaka, may I speak with my sister first?" Mamiko addressed Reina. "There's a lot I want to talk with her about, especially since we haven't seen each other in person for quite some time. You can wait in the main Gym battlefield until we finish. There should be some seats there."

"Yes, you can." Reina replied. "I'll excuse myself for now."

Heading out through the other door in sight, Reina exited the room she was in into the actual Gym itself. While she had no idea what to expect from how the battlefield area was designed, Reina was surprised to find that it was quite spartan, with little in the way of decorations or aesthetics.

Looking for the seats that Mamiko said were there, Reina then noticed that they were only cheap plastic chairs with little in the way of comfort near the main entrance. As Kumiko's sister had only been a Gym Leader recently, Reina concluded that she must have had no time at all to renovate her Gym with all her responsibilities, leaving it as-is for the time being.

Hearing the creak of plastic as she sat down on a chair, Reina took advantage of its poor joint connections to rock around lightly on it while she waited. After some time had passed, Reina heard a knock on the Gym's front door before it swung open, revealing the one face she never wanted to see ever again.

"Hello, is Miss Oumae here?" the voice of a certain Shuichi Tsukamoto rang through the Gym's barren interior. "I'm a childhood friend of hers, and I was wondering if she's accepting any challengers right now. Do I need to go down to the salon to find her?"

"The only place you're going is back to the depths from which you came from." Reina proclaimed as she sent out Handel. "Body Slam!"

"Wait, what? Feebas can't learn Body Sl-"Shuichi exclaimed before Reina picked Handel up by the tail and slapped Shuichi on the face with all her strength, causing him to drop two small objects from his hand. Quickly sending out Eurydice, Reina then gave her next orders. "Teleport him somewhere he can't get out of easily, then leave him alone and come back."

Obeying her Trainer's orders, Eurydice took hold of Shuichi and warped away, before reappearing in front of Reina a short while later. At the same time, Kumiko emerged from Mamiko's office with a luminescent blush on her face and tousled hair.

"R- Reina, Mamiko says you can see her now." Kumiko told her desired, not being able to hide her true feelings for long. Seeing Handel and Eurydice out of their Pokéballs, Kumiko was confused at this sight. "Why did you send out two of your Pokémon? Did something happen?"

"Nothing much." Reina responded. "Just had to kick an annoying pest out."

As Reina stood up while Kumiko sat down on the seat next to her, their arms brushed for a brief moment. The bright red on Kumiko's cheeks deepened further, and Reina could also feel the blood creeping up her face as well.

"…I'll get going." Reina bluntly informed Kumiko. Quickly walking over to Mamiko's office, she saw the older Oumae sibling reclining in a comfy chair while drinking something out of a mug, clearly having taken satisfaction from whatever she previously told Kumiko.

"Hello there, Miss Kousaka." Mamiko greeted Reina. "Or do you prefer to go by your first name?"

"Reina is fine." Reina replied. Though she preferred people outside of her family and close friends to refer to her by her last name, Reina wanted Mamiko to feel comfortable around her for some reason. Was it the cream-colored long-sleeved shirt and brown shorts she was wearing? Or was it something else entirely?

"Alright then." Mamiko seemed to be pleased at this arrangement as well. "With that settled, I'll tell you about why I know about you and your father. You see, I'm friends with an associate of his that you may know: the current Champion Noboru Taki."

"Sensei? You're friends with him?" Reina's emotions were sent into a state of flux as she processed the information Mamiko just gave her. So those rumors she previously read were true after all! "When? How did this happen?"

"Woah, easy there." Mamiko tried to calm down the frantic Reina. Apparently, the mention of her mentor put Reina into an emotional state. "To explain how I got to know him, I've got to tell you a little bit about myself."

"About a year ago, I went to Lumiose City in Kalos to train as a Pokémon stylist after I dropped out of university here." Mamiko explained. "Coincidentally, Taki was also there during that time, and we met each other one night after I helped him out of a tough situation."

"What? You saved Sensei? How?" At this point, Reina was beginning to feel conflicted by Mamiko's story. To her, Sensei was the very epitome of what Reina wanted to become, and the end goal she had strived for all her life. For him to fall was literally unimaginable from Reina's perspective.

"He was blackout drunk, rambling, and crying outside of the bar some friends and myself were drinking at." Mamiko answered. "I simply helped him back to where he was living, and frequently checked up on him to make sure that nothing like that happened again. Keep in mind that this was before he became the Champion, so he's a lot more well-adjusted now."

"Of course, Taki also helped me a lot as well." Mamiko continued. "He introduced me to an extremely famous Coordinator and stylist from Hoenn temporarily living in Lumiose known as 'the Charmer', who I worked part-time for while studying. Apparently, even being his apprentice made me a hot topic in the fashion scene, so I got a lot of connections and job offers, though I turned down all of them to continue learning under him."

"Eventually, Taki was invited back to become the Champion in Octiva, and I stayed back in Kalos to finish my training." Mamiko concluded. "However, he later told me that there was a Gym Leader position open here in Minant City, and asked if I could fill that role."

"Why would he ask you that?" Reina's curiosity was piqued. From what Mamiko had told her, her past didn't really seem to involve a lot of Pokémon battling. For what reason had Sensei recommended her?

"The Charmer's wife is a former Champion of Hoenn known as 'the Conqueror', and she currently runs the Gym in Petalburg City." Mamiko replied. "Taki suggested to 'the Charmer' that I go train under her for a month, then come back to Octiva and open a salon here, since there's a huge demand for Kalosian fashion."

"After that month of hell under 'the Conqueror' passed," Mamiko visibly winced at those memories. "I returned to Octiva and passed the Gym Leader trials, becoming this city's Gym Leader and Octiva's most in-demand stylist. With how well-known and connected I am in Minant City, I'm willing to help you with a favour on one condition, and I've already got it in mind."

"What?" Reina was now surprised at the direction this conversation had taken. First it was about Mamiko's connection to Sensei, then it was about her past, and now she wanted to offer Reina a favour? Just what was Kumiko's sister planning?

"If you can defeat me in your next Gym battle with Kumiko, I'll set you up on a date with her~" Mamiko playfully teased, causing Reina's face to immediately turn crimson. "You'll even get the full treatment at my salon beforehand, along with a choice of clothing for the occasion all on my dime. How does this sound to you, Reina? Too good to be true?"

"Wha- how?" Shocked at how Mamiko managed to find out about her true feelings towards Kumiko, Reina didn't know how to properly react. "…But I didn't tell anyone about my crush on her, and I just met you today! How would you know?"

"You didn't need to directly tell me about how you feel." Mamiko replied. "Just the way you acted around my little sister already confirms it. Kumiko doesn't let her guard down easily, and to see her do it so casually around you means that you've got a special bond indeed."

"Alright, but are you going to make it even harder for me to win?" Reina asked. "It's just going to be a normal Gym Battle with no added twist, right?"

"None at all!" Mamiko confirmed. "As her older sister, Kumiko's happiness is important to me, and she'll always remain that way with you around. I just want to take what you two have to the next level."

"Did you tell Kumiko about this deal you made with me?" If Reina held up her end of the bargain and won her Gym battle against Mamiko, then she wanted to surprise Kumiko with Mamiko's arranged date. "You know that we currently are just friends, right?"

"I also want to surprise Kumiko with this as well, so I haven't told her about what I've arranged with you." Mamiko told Reina. "Imagine the look on her face when you appear in front of her, dressed to impress and ready to spend a wonderful night together! Wouldn't you agree that's what you want?"

"Yeah…" Reina was already imagining how the date would go in her mind, but she suspected that Mamiko had already set something up in advance. With how Mamiko had structured this entire conversation around the objective of convincing her to go on a date with Kumiko, Reina wondered if she had formulated this plan when chatting with Kumiko beforehand.

"That's wonderful! Then you'll have your Gym battle tomorrow, and the date will be the day after that!" Mamiko seemed pleased with how things were fitting together. "Oh, and with how late it's getting, how about you two stay in my apartment's guest room upstairs? I'll even treat you to dinner!"

"I don't really mind, but I'll accept your offer. Thank you very much." In truth, Reina hoped that Mamiko would provide further insight into Kumiko's personality and character, letting her know more about the girl she desired.

"Great, then let's go!" Standing up and opening the door leading to the Gym's battlefield, Mamiko gestured for Reina to go first before following her. Waving to Kumiko at the other end of the Gym, Mamiko then led Kumiko and Reina as they stepped out of the Gym's main entrance and into a rather drab elevator lobby.

"This entire building doesn't look like somewhere you'd live or work in, sis." Kumiko commented upon seeing how bleak the building's interior looked. "I'd thought you'd live somewhere nicer."

"That's because I haven't found the time to hire someone to redesign the place." Mamiko explained, pressing the elevator button. "The entire building is owned by the League, but I'm just using only the bottom two and top, with the rest serving as physical and digital storage for now."

Entering the elevator, Mamiko pressed the button for the topmost floor, and waited as the lift doors closed and transported them upwards. With a ding some time later, the doors opened again to a single door in front of them, which Mamiko opened to reveal a better-decorated penthouse apartment.

Taking off her shoes, Mamiko placed them at the entrance, with Kumiko and Reina following her example. A Linoone scampered out of a hallway with a pair of slippers in its mouth and dropped them in front of Mamiko. Slipping them on, she then opened her shoe closet and took out two pairs, giving them to Kumiko and Reina.

Walking further in, Mamiko was about to step into the kitchen before Kumiko intercepted her, almost tripping in the process. "Sis, don't go in there! You'll end up making a disaster that barely passes as food again!"

Laughing to herself, Mamiko turned to face her younger sister. "Don't worry, Kumiko. I knew you would try and prevent me from cooking anything by myself, so I've already asked my Wigglytuff to buy some ingredients beforehand for us to cook together."

"What's this about cooking?" Reina asked, causing Kumiko to recoil with a look of pure terror on her face.

"Mamiko is such a horrible chef that she manages to burn cereal." Kumiko answered flatly. "Last time she tried cooking on her own, it took 12 hours for the smell to clear and two days for the kitchen to be fully cleaned."

Yanking Kumiko's ear, Mamiko was not happy about the lies and slander her younger sister was spouting. "Don't worry, Reina. Though I'm not all that good at cooking, Kumiko's just exaggerating about that incident. Right, Kumiko?"

"Right…" Dragged into the kitchen by Mamiko, Kumiko then proceeded to guide her older sister around as the two siblings began to prepare a meal, leaving Reina alone in the living room. Plopping herself down on the couch, Reina waited for dinner to be served as the smell of good food wafted through the apartment.

After a while, Kumiko and Mamiko carried out three steaming-hot plates of carbonara and a large bottle of citrus juice, which were coincidentally Reina's favourite foods. Did Mamiko have a Psychic-type peering into her mind?

Eagerly digging in, all three girls finished their meals rather quickly, having lost track of time while Mamiko was chatting with Kumiko and Reina at the Gym. The after-meal clean-up was the one thing that Reina was able to help with, helping to load the plates into the dishwasher (which she noticed had oddly colored stains in it).

Completing their nightly routines afterwards, Kumiko and Reina were about to turn in for the night when Mamiko told them one last thing. "By the way, the guest room only has one bed. Do you two mind sharing?"

"We don't mind." Kumiko and Reina responded in unison, giving Mamiko a surprise. Though both girls had told her that they were just friends, this statement meant that they were more comfortable with each other's presence than a mere friendship could account for.

"OK. Suit yourselves. Don't get up to anything while I'm not there!" Shooting them a wink before heading to her own bedroom, a faint blush appeared on both Kumiko and Reina's faces.

Settling in the guest room's sole bed, Kumiko turned off the light with the switch above them before rotating herself to face Reina. "Let's do our best tomorrow. I've got to beat my sister no matter what!"

"Same here." Reina replied. "After all, defeating her means that I'm one step closer to my goal!"


A/N: After 22 chapters of teasing what Pokémon will hatch from Kumiko's Egg, I hope the choice I made gave you a pleasant surprise! While I did mention way back that this was going to be completely unexpected, there's still a reason I gave Kumiko Trip the Deino. Since it's story-related, the only clue I'm giving is that he serves as a counter to a Pokémon on Reina's team. Feel free to guess who that could be (or what Pokémon Reina will catch that fits this description)!

I've also planned out Reina's date with Kumiko already, but leave your ideas in the review and see if Mamiko agrees with your choices!

Finally (after forgetting to mention it last week), a kind soul has drawn a piece of fanart for this fic! You can see it here (replace the (dots) with .): post/613898613132754944/to-be-a-solister-chapter-1-tekketsu08-