"Alright Harry, keep it steady now…"

Dangling precariously from a railing, Grant held four nails in his mouth while hovering a hammer over Alex's tired doorframe.

It was about time he actually did the woodworking stuff he said he'd do. Selling a few of the items he'd found in his last excursion gave him enough for the tools and nails, while Harry proved strangely efficient at knocking down trees, and Ivan was happy to carve them down into planks in exchange for the spare wood. At least that's what he hoped, anyway.

How long had it been now since her Kangaskhan had ruined that doorframe on their first day here?

If he were honest with himself, he'd lost track of time. Days just blended seamlessly into each other here, what with the constant montage of training, sleeping, and occasionally remembering to eat. His bored looking Hariyama was propping up the frame with one of its massive hands.

"Sorry buddy, I'm sure you're not thrilled by this," he mumbled through the side of his mouth, slowly tapping nails into the wood. "But a couple days off won't hurt us, will it?"

Harry groaned pointedly and rolled its eyes. Agree to disagree, then.

While he was tapping away, he didn't notice Alex herself approach from across the courtyard. Her Kangaskhan trotting alongside her merrily, she held her Burmy in her arms, and little Ty was riding on the Houndoom they'd somehow acquired.

"Good morning Grant!" She called over to him. "How're y'all gettin' on?"

"Pretty good," he said, nudging the third of four nails into place. "Should be done in a little bit, so I'll be out of your hair then."

"Looking forward to it hun," Alex beamed up at him. "Did you… maybe want a ladder?"

"Nahhh, no point now," he chuckled. "Wouldn't know where to find one anyway."

"Huh. Just… don't slip off and hurt yourself, okay?" Alex grimaced. "That's the last thing y'all need."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've fallen off something," Grant offered a smirk, meanwhile Alex just backed away carefully.

"I'll… leave ya to it," she let out a nervous laugh. Her hand instinctively hovered towards Toast the Houndoom, which recoiled angrily the moment it came near.

"No! Bad Toast!" Little Ty immediately scolded it. "Don't eat Mama!"

"Ahaha… Mama's okay, Ty!" Her hand remained withdrawn. Toast continued to stare at her as if she were the bane of its existence, however. Thankfully Kanga and Russell the Burmy were a lot more accepting of her. She just needed to get the Houndoom on her side.

Night times were especially harrowing, with Toast refusing to leave Ty's side yet snarling whenever she came near. Its piercing red eyes glowed in the dark, and it spent all of every night staring at the both of them, which made sleep a challenge.

It felt like she was making progress, though. Toast had retracted from barking and snorting flames to just a warning growl over the past week or so. Any day now she would be allowed to actually touch it. Hopefully.

If she could get Teddy's folks' pet bloodhound to like her, then surely this one wasn't going to be a challenge at all. But then again, Cerise also liked Ty straight away, and this dog could burn the house down if it disagreed with her, so that probably wasn't the best comparison.

"Time for a snack, Ty?" She knelt down to ask her boy.

Toast immediately shrivelled up in fury at the sight of her, but Ty was overjoyed.

"Yaaay!" He threw his fists into the air. "Snack time, snack time! What we having?!"

"Well I don't know yet," Alex gestured to the little corner store. "We gotta get there first!"

"Okay, okay!" Ty cried. "Run fast, Toast!"

The Houndoom obeyed him at the word and took off with a howl, bounding smoothly towards the little corner store in the distance. Alex let out a shriek like a burst pipe and took off after the pair of them, with a confused looking Kanga ambling behind.

Once again the pair of them were thick as thieves, she groaned internally.

This village had definitely seen better days. What started off as a good thirty or so people had dwindled down to a mere few stalwarts who were either taking a break from their training or just refusing to leave. Ever since Cookie went north for reasons he'd never quite discussed, she was only ever seeing snapshots of other villagers as they passed through. It was good news, really, because they were coming back, and that meant they weren't out there dying.

But it didn't stop her from feeling isolated. After that giant dog creature thing stole her Kanga's baby, she'd only felt more out of place than before. Was it her duty to Ty that kept her here? Or was she just hiding behind that?

"Did you wanna look at the stuff in the store with me, Ty?" Alex braved another death stare from Toast.

"Nope!"

Toast let out a huff of triumph, and Alex just shook her head fondly. It looked like snacktime was her decision.

She wasn't going to lie to herself; a pang of sadness did wash through her as she returned Kanga and Russell to their respective pokeballs and walked into the little store, closing the door between her and her son. Sure, Ty was safe – there was no chance of some stranger getting near Toast if she couldn't – but his absence was already palpable, even if was only for a couple of minutes.

Every now and again while absent-mindedly staring at various things on the shelves, she reached out her hand and expected her boy to cling onto it from nowhere. And realisation hit with another unpleasant bump.

An extended sigh escaped her, and she buried her face in the newspaper.

'Hundreds Feared Dead After Lowlands Flash Flood' was an article eye opening enough to divert her attention.

Now her mind was racing for different reasons. What if Cookie or someone was out that way? What if they'd been swept away by floods?

The tranquillity of this little village was slipping through her fingers like water. Suddenly she found herself probing every last word in the tabloid for clues. 'Unexpected storm', 'collapsed bridges', 'houses swept away', 'rivers overflowing'. The article was concerning enough to hook, but far too vague to actually inform. Were the lowlands near here? Was there a wall of water waiting for her?

But then the newspaper gave its ultimatum;

'To find out more, please purchase this newspaper.'

Alex swore. The urge to ball this rag up and just throw it was all but irresistible.

But why, she raged internally. Why was this affecting her so much? She had Ty to take care of. She couldn't just go swanning off around the world like the rest of them. She couldn't just…

Before she could stop herself, her hand slipped, cleaving the newspaper in two.

"Excuse me!" Came an angry voice from the other end of the store, and Alex felt the blood drain from her face. "I'm afraid you'll have to pay for that!"

"I, uh," Alex's eyes darted between the disgruntled looking store attendant and the ruined tabloid in her hands. "I um… I'm sorry! I-I'll pay for it, don't y'all worry!"

The blood in her cheeks re-surging with a vengeance, she shuffled awkwardly to the front of the store and grabbed for her purse. "I'll also take a, um…"

But the coins were either hiding from her probing fingers, or simply not there. Another reason to be mortified.

Alex retracted, counting silently under her breath. "The paper, one of those and uh… what flavour are those?"

"Custap."

"Err…" Alex groaned. That wasn't helpful. What the heck was a Custap?

Beggars couldn't be choosers though. The ripped-up newspaper could attest to that.

"I'll… take three, please."

Something inside her deflated when she handed the note to the cashier and got just a couple of coins back in response. She at least got the snacks though, which was something. Alex stuffed the remains of the newspaper into her bag and left the store, where Ty and Toast had yet to move a muscle it seemed.

"Hiya sweetie. Did you miss me?" She knelt down in front of her boy. Toast immediately bristled.

"Missedyou lots, Mama." Ty smiled widely. "Snacktime?"

"Almost," Alex pulled something out of a packet. "But first I wanna try somethin'. Could y'all get off Toast real quick?"

"Huh?" Ty gave his mother a confused look, but nonetheless did as she asked and shuffled off of the Houndoom. Toast's eyes narrowed with obvious mistrust, but it didn't move, instead focusing on her hands.

"N-now," the quiver in her voice betrayed her. "Toast, y'all want this?"

A tendril of flame snaked out of Toast's snout, followed by an obvious warning growl, but its eyes remained focused on the weird bun thing in her hands.

"Whassat, Mama?" Ty frowned at it.

"It's a, uhh… treat!" Alex eventually answered after staring at it for a good few moments. "And if Toast is a good boy, he can have it! Okay Toast, ya hear me?!"

Toast snarled, its nose wrinkling. But still, it didn't move.

Ty muttered something fretful, but Alex swallowed down a lot of nerves and shifted slowly closer. She had to do this, for Ty if no one else.

"Nice…" she kept the bun in Toast's line of sight, while reaching towards it with her free hand. Toast's breathing got noticeably heavier, and another wisp of flame escaped.

"Mama…!" Ty whimpered, bringing his little hands to his face.

"It'll be okay, baby," Alex kept her voice low. "Me an' Toast, we gotta be friends!"

She placed the bun on the ground, and Toast lunged for it the moment her hand was clear. Her other made contact with the back of its head and Toast snarled upon realising that it had been duped. It remained where it was though, continuing to tear chunks out of the bun but allowing her hand to stay. Alex flexed her fingers amidst the rough, coarse fur, and felt a bizarre, dry heat fume beneath the surface. A calming ripple descended down Toast's body at her touch. It was still furiously snorting out flames while inhaling the bread bun thing, but it wasn't threatening her. This was progress!

"…o-okay, that'll do!" She tore her hand away, and watched Toast soften before her eyes. It spent a few good minutes tearing the bread bun to shreds, picking tiny crumbs off the ground and even lapping at the patch of ground where Alex had placed it before remembering itself. Toast sprang back to its feet, staring Alex dead in the eye. Her heart was furiously pumping blood somewhere behind her left ear, but she'd be damned if she broke the stare. Ty just stood there with his mouth half open.

Toast occasionally fluttered flashes of sharp teeth, wrinkling its nose and boring into her very soul with its stare. But eventually, finally, it relaxed its stance and lowered its head before her.

"Did it… did it work?!" Alex gasped. Her hand twitched with the temptation, but that was probably enough bravado for the day.

"Yay, Mama!" Ty wrapped arms as far around her as they could reach. "Snacktime now?!"

A grin creased her features as she reached into her purse again, pulling one of the three cookies from the paper bag.

"Snacktime, sweetie."

"Yaaaay!"

With Ty happily nibbling on his cookie, the trio slowly made their way back to the residential area, where Grant was still hanging dangerously from the rail, scrubbing at the doorframe with what looked like a rag?

"Wow, y'all're still workin'?" She gaped up at him. "And it looks amazing! It's like it never broke!"

"Eheh, I dunno about that…" He blew away a lungful of dust. "But that should just about do it!"

He hopped down from the railings and gave the door a tap. "Here, give it a try."

Even at just a touch, the door felt lighter. No resistance as it dragged against the floor, no shaky hinges, and it locked right into the frame without an argument.

"Oh, and it works so well!" She opened and closed the door a few more times just because. "This is amazin' y'all, I can't even-"

"-no worries," Grant smirked. "I'm just happy to help out, you know?"

"Aw, ya did more than help Grant!" Alex threw her arms around him. "How much ya want for this? I'll-"

Memories of her depleting funds rose to the surface, and Alex's hands fell to the side. "H-hey, y'all wanna go trainin' sometime?"

Grant gathered up his various scattered tools. "Sure, if you want?"

Alex actually felt herself bristle with surprise. No judgement on her taking a back seat while everyone else went off fighting?

"Oh um, well… thanks," she mumbled. "F-for everything, Grant. Can I owe you some money for it?"

"Don't worry about it, seriously," Grant flipped the hammer over in his palm. "I said I'd fix it for you, so I did. But you're gonna insist you pay me, eh?"

Alex just nodded vigorously. "I… I can't not. It goes against everything I know."

Grant offered a tired looking smile. "Then how about a coffee?"

"A coffee?!" Alex said. "Are y'all sure?"

"Sure I'm sure," Grant said. "And we can go training after that. Sound good to you?"

A chuckle escaped Alex. "…alright, that sounds kinda nice. Oh, and I got a newspaper while I was at the store. It's got puzzles?"

"I'm always keen on the crossword." Grant grinned.

Alex opened her front door once again – which swung open smoothly – and invited him inside for a coffee.


The quiet serenity of the dusty trail was broken by squeals of delight.

Sinking her teeth into a burger and stamping her feet with happiness, Aurelie was getting weird looks from just about everyone, from the food vendor, to Caitlyn, to anyone passing by.

"Mmm…!" she moaned between mouthfuls. "Why did I ever give you up, meat?! You're so good!"

"And now you're un-giving it up… why?" Caitlyn frowned at her.

"Cause I'm hungry, dammit." Aurelie grinned through burger. "I mean sure, my stomach's gonna hate me for a couple days, but it's worth it. Want a bite?"

"N-no, you're fine thanks."

"Oh, good! I was only offering to be nice."

Caitlyn humoured her with a dry chuckle. After spending a large amount of last night swaddled up together on her couch – not the most romantic of starts to their weird relationship but hey – their trip to Sugarleaf started bright and early. The trip was definitely a lot more interesting with her there, that was for sure. Navigating the overflowing rivers and swollen banks was so much easier when you had someone with you that knew the land. How she knew the land was anyone's guess, but she wasn't going to complain. Getting hopelessly lost in the wilderness didn't sound fun by comparison.

She would've been a bit more suspicious of this food truck in the middle of nowhere, were it not the fourth or fifth time they'd passed people trying to sell them stuff, from foraged berries to gathered trinkets to a foul-smelling homebrew trapped in naked bottles. Apparently it was 'whiskey'.

Ignoring the pang of homesickness, she managed to argue the peddler down until they insisted on her taking a leaflet, which she promptly stuffed into the Oddish tote.

Bailey the Minccino seemed to be enjoying the countryside air a lot more too, wandering about alongside them and sniffing the flowers, then sneezing and finding it hilarious. Maybe those pills she was having to feed it were finally taking effect, she wondered. She wasn't going to lie, having an actual Pokémon to fight with would've been a blessing about now, even if it was just a little Minccino.

Aurelie looped a hand around hers and she felt a strange flutter somewhere about her middle. It was still a bit of an alien feeling, but she supposed she had all the time in the world to get used to it. It was just the two of them out here after all, travelling down muddy roads with the gentle pitter patter of a nearby stream as their only neighbour. It was almost as if the rest of the world had left them to their own devices out here.

"Gonna be a long journey to Sugarleaf. You're okay with that, right?" Aurelie suddenly asked after a while.

"Sure?" Caitlyn shrugged. "I mean, we're already halfway there, so it'd be silly to turn back now, right? Also it's not like going outside and getting fresh air and exercise could be a bad thing, huh?"

"True that," Aurelie said. "And if we do find stuff to fight, Cleo can keep us safe and your little Minccino… did you name him?"

"Bailey."

"Ooh, so cute! Y-yeah, Cleo can do the fighting and little Bailey can share the experience too!"

"…okay I won't lie that'd be grand."

"Anything for yoouuuu, my darling…!"

As expected, Cleo made short work of just about everything that crossed their path, from the many water-types to passing birdlife and one Mr. Mime that frankly looked a bit lost, but it definitely helped the time pass faster, and Bailey the Minccino was gaining experience from just being there, so it was a win-win as far as Caitlyn was concerned.

With occasional stops to catch breath, get a snack or similar, the day whittled on as they edged their way towards Sugarleaf town, with the skies themselves surrendering to time before the trip was complete. But always the optimist, Aurelie conveniently found them a place to stay for the night, booking a room in at a little bed and breakfast that had just seemed to appear from beyond the horizon.

So with a warm dinner of stewed sausages and mashed potato - yet more meat for Aurelie - the two of them settled down into a room for the night. And of course there was only the one bed. Something Aurelie didn't seem to mind at all.

"So yeah, shouldn't be as much walking tomorrow," she said, snuggled up next to Caitlyn amidst the fluffy sheets. "I think we're a little over half way there."

"Sounds good…" Caitlyn could feel the tiredness settling into her very bones. A good night's rest was definitely the ticket.

"Aha…" Aurelie yawned. "So a nice rest up, and then crack on tomorrow. Oh, and KitKat?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Thanks for… all of this. Like, we might not even see each other once this is all over, but you still wanted to. A-and that's kinda nice…"

Aurelie actually sniffled, then snuggled up closer to her still. Meanwhile the urge to sleep had all but vanished completely. That was going to keep her up for a few hours.


There was a ripple of magnificent silver against the dark backdrop of the cave as an enormous shadow smoothly evaded its pursuers. Shrugging off a bolt of lightning as if it were nothing, the Lugia fired back a powerful vortex of air, sending a Manectric tumbling away.

Three sharp spines of ice chiselled into its wing, but it again fluttered them away like nothing had happened, and then just simply watched as a Slowbro bodily threw itself, but couldn't quite make the jump, and just landed with a heavy thud.

But Lugia had run out of places to escape to. Burly opponents were closing in from every angle and there was a perfectly sturdy wall behind it.

Lugia shrieked, flapping out of the way to stop Manectric lunging at it with a Thunder Fang, then fired a blast of psychic energy to repel the Mamoswine, but couldn't react in time to stop the Rampardos from charging straight into it.

Defences completely shattered, the enormous beast was at the mercy of Rampardos' Head Smash, with wall and obstacle alike toppling like dominoes. With every crumbling obstacle, Lugia's sheen got fainter and fainter, until the beast let out an almighty scream and shattered into blue sparkles.

After a few shouts, Rampardos was still charging blindly. Shaking his head fondly, Shemmy just withdrew the thing back into its pokeball to save time.

"Well done, Rampa." He chuckled and minimised the capsule. Half a dozen other battered trainers met up with him.

"Phew!" The Manectric's trainer wiped her brow. "Another one down. Good work with the Head Smash there… Chef, was it?"

"Close enough," Shemmy shrugged. "Okay, we have… Psychic TM. Who want?"

"I'll take it?" The Slowbro's trainer raised a hand. Shemmy casually threw the CD in his direction.

"Good…" He muttered. "Max Potion… is good for Rampa. Who want pants?"

"Sure?"

"Pearl?"

"That's a Silver Orb isn't it? I'll take that."

"Whatever. Kitchen sink?"

"Wait, really?"

"…is right there."

"Oh yeah…"


Author's Note:

Hey there everyone. A slightly slower chapter with some 'catch up', if you will, but not completely shying away from the action either. As always, thanks for reading. :)