Chapter 31 Weight of the World

Finally, she was alone in that cave whose air was alive with electricity. The static had set all the hair across her body to stand on end; even her brushed-down locks were starting to rise and frizz. Yet, Rosa relished that sensation, just enjoying the company of her Pignite, in that lovely silence for a few minutes, before she would haul herself to her feet and plaster that smile on so she could rejoin Nate and Hugh. All until she inevitably was dragged back to Dr. Colress yet again, like the arrogant yoyo she had become. She had every reason to believe this might be some of the last solace she'd find in a long time… Yet, it wasn't really as peaceful as she'd have liked.

Nate had divulged his darkest secret to her and although she had seen through the ruse easily and realized he had extended her the olive branch in hopes she might return the favor, she had truly appreciated his concern and his honesty… She had just been horrified by the story, by the sick details and the twisted implications. Once he had started, it seemed like Nate had just exploded, unloading all the details that he could onto her… Like a dam had finally been broken. It had taken everything in her power to keep from breaking down with emotion with him, or from venting all her pent-up aggression at his father. Somehow, the fact his father had (at least based on what he had said) always been disgustingly gentle and mentally manipulative as opposed to outright physically violent made it so much worse… To her, it sounded as if he had convinced Nate that it was their secret, it was something Nate was helping him with.

More than that, though, a following realization had floored her. As she had reassured Nate he had nothing to worry about and she most certainly didn't think any less of him, her knees had felt unsteady. In the back of her mind, the conversation she had engaged in with his father looped in her mind, specifically, his threat that he'd just have to come find him.

Rosa had defiantly decided she could handle Dr. Colress and Neo Plasma on her own, paralleling Hugh and Nate's stubborness, and with her pride swelled from that drummed-up confidence, she had mocked Nate's father from behind a cameraless Xtransceiver and goaded him into coming to find them. At first, she had the intentions of merely stopping him or showing him that Nate was far happier with them than he ever would have been at home, but now she understood how foolish that was. Much like Dr. Colress, there was no reasoning with that man; Nate's happiness had never been part of the equation. The discomfort blossomed into fury at herself. Why couldn't I have just kept my fucking mouth shut? Why do I love getting involved in just… all the madness?

She hugged her Pignite and he whined sadly at her, heating his body in an attempt to comfort her. "I've made my bed," Rosa laughed weakly, "guess now I've gotta lie in it." I'll have to handle Dr. Colress now. I'll have to take care of Neo Plasma…

…and I'll have to take care of Nate's father…

…Whatever that means…

Eventually, she plucked herself off the floor, and made her way into Mistralton. Although she felt guilty for not being able to reciprocate Nate's rare moment of brutal honesty, she wanted to show she was grateful for it. It was a conscious effort to be as calm and open to conversation (well, about everything except what he wanted to know, of course) as she could be once she reached the hostel room. Hugh had won his Jet Badge from Gym Leader Skyla and was happy to show that off to both of them once he returned. A weak joke from Nate prompted Hugh to demand a battle from him the following day, and Nate had just shaken his head and sarcastically agreed. Not long after, they turned in for the night.

With fewer secrets on the table, their house of cards seemed to be standing just that much stronger. Rosa just wished she didn't feel like she knew there was a storm coming to blow it all down…

Or was there?

She felt at the Xtransciever in her pocket, and she wondered just how fast Dr. Colress could get that suit of hers done… That intoxicating arrogance seeped back into her mind as she lay staring at the ceiling in the dark and she couldn't help the disconcerting smirk that crossed her lips.

If he could get it done soon enough, maybe Nate's father showing up wouldn't be such a problem after all…~

Nate felt fantastic the following day.

Perhaps he hadn't gotten the information from Rosa he had quite hoped for, but she had reassured him that while she still felt she couldn't share with him, she was deeply grateful he had decided to share with her at last. His face had burned red with shame at first as she insisted she thought no less of him for it, but he had wanted to lean into her words so much more than he wanted to fight off the awkward conversation. It felt as if the weight of the world and more had been raised from his shoulders. After telling her—more than he had even told Hugh—he had almost collapsed backwards onto the bunk in physical relief, letting tears streak freely… He hadn't realized just how badly he had wanted to hear those words… Why had he fought telling her for so, so long?

So, lean into those words he did, and ever since, their conversations didn't seem so tense and difficult to navigate. Even with Hugh involved, and his occasional tirades against Team Plasma or his half-brained plots on how to combat them in the future, rather than bitterly condescend him, he found it easier to (oftentimes jokingly) make suggestions or just listen. Rosa seemed far happier to join in their conversations without them badgering her about whatever it was she was dealing with. She had, at the very least, assured him that she was not dealing with anything in vein with what he had told her; there was no long-standing abuse or anything of that nature. Despite his worries, he had decided to trust her when she explained that to him. It was surprisingly easy to just… accept and trust what she said… It felt a lot nicer than to be constantly suspicious, too. He could get used to that feeling.

That next day, he had gone to challenge Gym Leader Skyla. Hugh and Rosa accompanied him, Rosa intending to challenge it as well, but they hung back in the training area of the main gym rather than following to watch his match. Skyla's gym looked to be more a warehouse than a gym; the enormous, boxy building was built with sheer metal walls and the main floor was covered in various blue training mats. People came and went from the gym with nothing more than a wave or a nod at the Clyde. It reminded him more of a fitness gym than a pokémon training gym, if he were to be honest.

After informing the Clyde he had five badges so far and upon reaching Skyla, he had been surprised to find her merely relaxing with her pokémon rather than training or even coaching anyone. Most gym leaders, to his knowledge, spent downtime at their gyms coaching others or even working on their secondhand jobs. Of course, he supposed they had to relax at some point… Feeling a little embarrassed for his momentary shock, he called out to her uncertainly. "Gym Leader Skyla?"

She was sitting cross-legged against the smooth, shiny floor of her battlefield, a Skarmory leaned over her shoulder on one side and a Swanna preening itself on the other side of her. She jerked her head up to look at him and blinked blearily. "Hmm?" she hummed, not really speaking.

Nate thought she looked exhausted. "Uh, I'm Gym Challenger Nate Daniels, and I… wanted to challenge you, Gym Leader Skyla, for the Jet Badge." Those formal declarations always sent a small pang of excitement down his spine, but that day, it felt clumsy and unceremonious, given Skyla's lost expression. She yawned as he spoke and then nodded.

"Right, right, sorry, you're the five-badger Clyde told me about…" she laughed, staggering to her feet. "I'm a little out of it today. Gym Leader Clay called a meeting last night pretty late…" She trailed off, as if realizing she wasn't supposed to be explaining that and strode ungraciously to one side of the battlefield. Nate exchanged a look with Spacey, straddling his shoulders as usual, and then Zeshi, who circled his feet like she was trying to herd him. Maybe subconsciously he had hoped she might have chimed in with something to say, but Zeshi had remained uncharacteristically silent after last night's phone call. Last night, it had made him feel gross, like perhaps she didn't want to even associate with him anymore, but Zeshi had been quick to tell him just a single sentence: I just don't know what to say… Then, she had patiently rubbed her head against his legs. But I still like you all the same.

Emboldened by Rosa and Zeshi's new, explicit support, and recalling everything Zeshi had told him yesterday, Nate found himself undyingly curious about what the gym leaders could have called a meeting for so late as he claimed his side of the battlefield. With all that pressure off him, he couldn't help but mull over the story of the Heroes and what Zeshi had said about Cobalion more and more… No, he still didn't want to be a discount Hero, but…

While Skyla almost dazedly recounted the rules of her gym battle—a three vs. three—Nate nearly missed it because Zeshi at last spoke to him again. She rubbed along his leg and said, You know… I can create illusions. If you send me in first, I can act like I'm something else from your team. Say, that Sunflora of yours… and that'll give you the edge of surprise!

"Really?" Nate asked quietly, almost under his breath, never taking his eyes from Skyla. "…That actually sounds really cool. But won't she see you transform into something right now? Since, y'know, you won't get into the Poké Ball?"

Zeshi all but laughed. I'm creating an illusion right now! So she doesn't see you talking to me! I can transform right now, and she'll just see it as you having returned me and thrown a Poké Ball.

"This seems a little sneaky," Nate snorted in amusement. "…I like it. Let's do it."

Skyla sent forth her Skarmory, and Nate gestured for Zeshi to go ahead. He swore Spacey laughed with him as he snickered at the way Skyla stared confusedly ahead. "A… Sunflora?" she questioned. "Well… uh. Skarmory, Air Cutter!"

The gleaming Steel-type shrieked and projected itself from the ground, cutting through the air blindingly fast, slashing its bladed wings across Zeshi's body as it sailed past. Although the attack still clearly hurt, she easily jumped back to her feet and, after a brief flash of violet, Skyla gasped and reared back slightly. Her Skarmory cawed and landed beside her again, eyeing Zeshi carefully with its narrow, golden eyes. "Oh, right, you had a Zorua with you… I did think it was really weird for you to send out a Sunflora against a Steel/Flying-type…" Skyla was cut off with another powerful yawn, vigorously shaking her head to try to get her head back in the game. "Skarmory, Air Cutter again!"

Nate opened his mouth to order Zeshi to attack, but then wanted to kick himself as he realized he had no idea what her attacks even were. "Zeshi!" he hissed. "The Pokédex doesn't know anything about you guys! What attacks do you even know?"

She snorted at him and flicked her tail. Watch and learn!

As Skarmory drew near and dove for the attack, Zeshi flopped to her belly and yelped, covering her face with her paws. Skyla's Skarmory reeled and flailed its wings as it halted, landing beside Zeshi concernedly. Nate raised a brow, too, wondering just what she was up to, but knowing better than to question it aloud. Ignoring Skyla's orders to pay attention and back up, Skarmory leaned its beak in close to Zeshi and nudged her reassuringly, which left Zeshi the opportunity to spring back to life, the air around her paws and face glowing with a deep violet, and she headbutted Skarmory in the chest. The dark glow enveloped the Flying-type and sent it cartwheeling away.

Fake Tears and Knock Off, Zeshi informed Nate with a single, quick glance over her shoulder. Raising her muzzle so he could see it, he saw that she also had something in her mouth. Plus, a bonus Quick Claw! No more speedy birds for her~!

Nate scoffed. "You are weirdly good at battling for a pokémon that never got trained. You said Rood never had time to train you."

Never said I didn't practice on my own! Unova comes first, but when all that stuff with Neo Plasma is over with, I have my mom to find! Zeshi exclaimed.

Skyla's Skarmory shrieked its outrage at having been tricked and having lost its Quick Claw, and at the gym leader's orders, attacked again relentlessly. Still, Zeshi had gotten in several free hits, and with another few strikes, Skarmory was done for. Of course, the entire time, Nate just had to grit his teeth and wince at what Zeshi had said. He hadn't considered before then that Zeshi might have missed her mother… He felt guilty over the assumption, but he had presumed that most pokémon didn't get that close to their parents. In fact, Zeshi had never even met hers, according to what Rood had said, so to hear that she still wanted to find her so badly…

He shook his head, focusing back on the battle at hand. Following Skarmory's defeat, Nate called Zeshi back. Although she had ran circles around the Skarmory, she was panting and her legs shaking unsteadily with the effort of standing; the pokémon had still done a number on her. With a newfound respect for that pleasantly obnoxious Zorua, Nate nodded at her approvingly. "You did great," he told her gently. Snickering, he added, "Almost like you don't even need a trainer."

Maybe, she snarked back, but it's easier to get food and to get places with one!

Rolling his eyes, Nate sent Spacey forward. She chattered excitedly and leapt from his shoulders to face Skyla's next pokémon, a Swoobat. Despite having no obvious type advantage, Spacey brute-forced her way through the opposition with a barrage of hits with her scalchops and additional fearless Aqua Jets. Once her opponent finally fell, Spacey danced in a circle, waving her shells around excitedly… Nate had been just about to congratulate her himself when she glowed and morphed before him, and he covered his mouth to hide the almost childish grin that had spread there as he quickly realized she was evolving.

She easily tripled in size, her body elongating and growing taller, the shells in her hands lengthening as well into something more akin to a blade. She fell onto all fours and waved her head back and forth as a pointed spire jutted from a set of shells that sprouted over her head, protectively encasing her neck. At last, the glow dissipated, and she bellowed a long, throaty roar, brandishing one of those new, shell-hewn swords with her right arm, the left still leaned against the ground to balance her out.

Entirely forgetting the battle at hand for a moment, Nate had gleefully reached for his Pokédex to allow it to scan the Samurott before him. One particular statement on the lengthy page the device pulled up for him caught his attention: in the time it takes a foe to blink, it can draw and sheathe the seamitars attached to its front legs.

Skyla drew his attention back to the battle with a laugh. "I haven't gotten the chance to see someone's starter evolve in a long time," she said. She had a kind look in her tired eyes. "It never gets old. I remember when my first pokémon ever evolved. It was just this little Pidove my dad gave me when I said I wanted to take on the gyms. Everyone and their mother has a Tranquill, but when she evolved, I couldn't stop smiling. Like you, right now. It's great, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Nate said breathlessly. Spacey looked back at him and clacked that seamitar against the ground. He didn't need her to talk in words to know what she was trying to communicate. He smirked and pointed ahead. "But we're still battling, Gym Leader Skyla! How's it gonna go, I wonder?" he drawled tauntingly. "You're down two and I'm down one… where's that Swanna~?"

"Oh, ho," Skyla tossed her head back and laughed. "Someone's feeling cocky now! Alright, then, let's see what that new Samurott of yours has got! Go, Swanna!"

Nate almost felt bad for laughing when Spacey easily dispatched the Swanna with just a few Slashes and another Aqua Jet. He felt a little better when Skyla joined in. She had shrugged at his uncertain look and just said, "I knew I was gonna lose. Doesn't do you any good to give up, though. Besides, you looked like you were having fun, kid." Those words resonated in his mind some as he ventured back to the main floor of the gym, Skyla in tow (she had said something about needing to check to see if Professor Juniper was finally ready to leave or not), and he came across Hugh and Rosa battling on one of the assorted blue mats across the warehousian gym.

Hugh's Servine had apparently evolved, and Nate smiled a little as he realized Ivy seemed more confident than ever even as it faced down Rosa's Pignite. Even with the type disadvantage, though, Ivy overpowered Pignite and the battle wrapped up quickly… (Nate was glad he hadn't said that aloud; Ivy had literally ended the battle by using Wrap.)

He managed to get a word in edgewise between Hugh's excited chattering to Rosa following his victory and tell Rosa that he wanted to head to the Pokémon Center, if she wanted to join him once she was finished facing Skyla. She nodded in acknowledgment and then interestedly turned her attention back on Hugh. Glancing between the two of them, Nate expected to feel a twinge of jealousy, same as before, but the sharp pang never came. Instead, he just felt a sort of calm… Maybe it was still the high of the battle floating him on cloud nine, but he didn't mind their budding closeness so much anymore. He felt he was as close to Rosa as he had ever wanted to be following making that revelation to her.

Patting his thigh to get Spacey and Zeshi's attention, the two pokémon bounded after Nate as he left the gym and headed for the Pokémon Center.

Zipping up his bag with restocked Healing Items and having just had a victory lunch, Nate had intended to just go and see what Rosa and Hugh were up to by then, but was stopped when he realized Professor Juniper and Bianca were both in the very same lobby. They were seated across the room on the side with a café, leaned over the table and talking animatedly with one another. Distantly, he felt the rise of apprehension; every time he talked to Professor Juniper, she constantly drew parallels between him and Hil. Yet…

You should talk to her.

Looking down at Zeshi, Nate just frowned at her. She was licking her paws and rubbing them over her ears—her method of cleaning them, apparently. "Why should I do that?" he challenged her briefly. Despite the biting edge in his tone, he was genuinely curious, finding himself more willing to listen to her.

Because you can believe I'm crazy all you want, Zeshi answered matter-of-factly, tossing him a look with those teal eyes, but she can tell you exactly what the League is doing. Then you can decide if you still think just the few of them handling Neo Plasma is enough. Don't you want to do the right thing?

Although her last words sent a shiver up his spine—of course he wanted to do the right thing!—he didn't have a chance to properly react to what Zeshi had said before Bianca's voice caught his attention, even from well across the room.

"And then! And then! He says that there's a meeting that's been called at like, ten at night! So, he gets up and hops on his stupid Unfezant and away he goes, in the middle of the night!" Nate crept a little closer and saw the blond cross her arms and shoot a mutinous glare at the very table she and the Professor were sitting at. "I thought we were over this whole 'I have to be everyone's hero' thing but I guess we're not. So, that's why I wanted to go study some at Reversal Mountain. It's not exactly pressing research, but if I have to see Cheren today, I might… I might…"

"You might what?" Professor Juniper asked with an amused smirk pulling at the edge of her lips. She sipped on a coffee. "You might intentionally wrinkle his ties or something?"

"I might hurt his feelings!" Bianca hotly defended herself, as if that were a dastardly retaliatory act, indeed.

"Oh, the humanity!" Professor Juniper gasped. "Bianca! Do have mercy!"

"What?" Bianca whined. "It's true, I might!"

Maybe Zeshi is right… It's not so bad to just ask about what's going on, right?

"U-uh, Professor Juniper? Bianca? I don't mean to interrupt, but… I was wondering if I could ask you guys about something…" Nate cautiously started once he had shuffled closer to them. Professor Juniper's expression lit up as she sucked down more of her coffee, and Bianca apprehensively looked Nate up and down, then just past him, as if checking if he was alone or not. That's fair, he thought ashamedly, last times she's seen me, I've been ready to bite someone's head off.

"Of course, Nate!" Professor Juniper beamed. "What's eating you? Oh, did you get a chance to beat Skyla—oh, that reminds me! I still need to take her offer to head to Opelucid! Dear me…"

Bianca blinked. "I reminded you of that… an hour ago…"

Fending off snickers, Nate awkwardly explained, "So… uh… I've been hearing a lot of strange stuff about this Neo Plasma. And I'm just kinda… worried… about it… I was wondering if I could ask you guys what you know of what the League is, um, doing about them… outside of the obvious, y'know, arresting the ones they can get their hands on. I mean, like, what're they doing about the ship, or… to try to stop them altogether? If that makes sense…"

Bianca looked sharply away from him, but Professor Juniper nodded vigorously. "Of course, of course, Cheren did say you and your friend, Hugh, joined him on that ship! Hey, why don't we go talk to Skyla? She just went to that meeting last night, she'll know way more than me, and I need to talk to her about taking me to Opelucid, anyway."

"Sounds great," Nate agreed with a forced smile.

"You don't want to get involved," Bianca suddenly said, darkly. "Just continue your challenge."

"Bianca," Professor Juniper tensely warned, "don't be like that. He just wants to learn more."

"Probably to get involved," Bianca shot back without looking up. She cagily crossed her arms. "Plasma has ruined enough without people willingly letting them muck with their lives."

Nate really didn't want to pick a fight, especially not that day, but he couldn't believe Bianca's reaction… What did she want people to do? Ignore Neo Plasma, act like they weren't there? 'Just continue on your challenge…' What the hell? He raised a brow at her and challengingly asked, "So… what do you want people to do about Neo Plasma?"

Shooting him a glare, she soon rose from her chair and gathered her stuff into her bag. Snatching up a plastic cup of water, she muttered something Nate didn't quite catch and stormed out of the Pokémon Center. Professor Juniper drew a long breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Nate," she said, "I know it must have sounded bad, but she doesn't mean to say that Neo Plasma should just be let free to do what they please. She's just… been through a lot. She and her friends all went through a lot."

He nodded stiffly. Doesn't justify letting others get hurt, but sure. People should still do what's needed… He took a shaky breath. Do the right thing. "Fair enough…"

"Come, let's go talk to Skyla!" Professor Juniper grabbed her coffee and started to shuffle for the door. Nate dubiously glanced to Zeshi and Spacey, and then hurried after her. He had to admit, it was a little awkward having two pokémon trail him everywhere, especially with how much Zeshi loved to get between his feet. Spacey was so much larger than she had been previously, too… Still, he knew Zeshi wouldn't willingly return to her Poké Ball, and he enjoyed having Spacey at his side so much.

Outside the Pokémon Center, Bianca was leaned against its front wall, hunched over her Xtransceiver. Professor Juniper assured him it would likely be best to leave her alone, and then ushered him over back toward the Mistralton Gym. "She told me earlier she was actually gonna go looking for you," Nate informed Professor Juniper.

"She's probably at the airport getting the plane ready, then," the professor shrugged.

Sure enough, just off the runway, Skyla was running in and out of a plane, readying the vessel for travel, her Skarmory assisting her. At Professor Juniper's call, she eagerly spilled back out of the plane and skipped to a stop in front of her and Nate. "Oh, there you are, Aurea! I was just about to send a search party to make sure nobody made a ghost of you out at Celestial Tower," she teased, then yawned. "Oh, hi again, Challenger Nate."

She's super tired. I really hope Professor Juniper knows that going into this flight, he thought a little amusedly. "Hey…"

"Nope, I'm alive and well, unfortunately for you! I wanted to cash in on that trip to Opelucid."

"Oh, is Nate coming, too?" Skyla asked curiously. "That will put him next to Opelucid and Humilau, and that's where the last two badges are…" She wrinkled her nose some and Nate raised a brow. She didn't seem to like mentioning those two cities…

"Uh, I dunno yet," Nate mumbled lamely. Especially not with you yawning like that, dear Arceus.

"Nate actually had a question I thought you might be best able to answer," Professor Juniper explained. "He wanted to know what the League is doing about Neo Plasma, particularly the sailboat they discovered them using."

"That's actually what we had a meeting about last night," Skyla grunted, taking a seat on the stairs protruding from her airplane's door. "Clay called an emergency meeting because…" she trailed off and frowned. "He didn't want us talking about it to everyone, though…"

"Oh, come on!" Professor Juniper waved a hand at her. "It's just me and a single challenger. What harm could that do?"

Cobalion isn't the only one that's recognized you for your nature, Zeshi chimed in abruptly, in an almost singsong voice. The professor is trying to get Skyla to talk you into something.

Nate set his jaw. He didn't know if he liked the sound of that or not, and he suddenly didn't feel so comfortable.

Sighing, Skyla nodded wearily. "Alright, alright…. Well, Clay was concerned because we haven't been able to get Drayden to come to meetings or talk to us for some months now. Clay says he has reason to think Drayden might know something about how Neo Plasma could have an Ancient Dragon of Unova, as they say they do… So, he wanted to see if we could come up with some plan to get him to quit moping and talk to us. Then, of course Marlon hasn't been coming to these meetings, so he wanted to try to see if we could figure out a way to get him to help, too. But otherwise, we're just trying to keep an eye out for the ship, and we have police across all the cities ordered to make that their top priority. Should that ship be spotted, it's to immediately be seized, and everyone aboard arrested." She paused. "We're still working on getting the Elite Four last night's notes. Getting those four to cooperate on anything is like pulling teeth…" she muttered.

"Quit moping…?" Nate shook his head. "I don't understand, what's going on with Gym Leader Drayden…?"

Skyla fidgeted and stared at the ground. "He's… been really out of it for a while now," Skyla said slowly. "I think he never expected the… you know about the Heroes and the Dragons and all that, right?"

"Yeah." Please don't explain that again. We all get it, I'm sure. We all get it.

"Well… Opelucid really thought we had new, uh, 'saviors' so to speak in these new Heroes, N and Hil… Like, Opelucid, Icirrus, those cities worshipped the original Twin Heroes, basically. So, I think when these new Heroes skipped town and never came back… Drayden didn't take it well," Skyla said uncomfortably. "He's just kinda… been isolating lately. He's still battling trainers, obviously, as we've had plenty of challengers to the Pokémon League with his Legend Badge, but…"

"Not… to sound like I know better than the Champion, or anything," Nate laughed and then swallowed nervously, "but… if he's not working with the rest of you guys, why is he…?"

"Why is he still a gym leader?" Skyla steeled her jaw and shook her head. "Because Champion Iris is his adopted daughter, and she won't force him to do anything. Says he's not hurting anybody, and he needs time…" The gym leader then tilted her head and blinked. "Nate. You have a Zorua. I've never seen anyone with one before… and you're really good at battling based on what I've heard."

Tensing, Nate narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah… What about it?"

"I have an idea. If you can show Gym Leader Drayden a really good battle, do you think you could ask him if he knows anything else about the Ancient Dragons of Unova?" she pressed, suddenly looking much more awake as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"Splendid idea!" Professor Juniper chimed in, as if on cue. She grinned wide at Nate. "You could battle Gym Leader Marlon first, if you fear your team isn't up to battling Dragon-types yet! Humilau is pretty easily accessed using the Marine Tube from Undella!"

Nate picked at his fingers anxiously. "I don't know if—"

"Oh, come on, I'm sure that Zorua can throw him for a loop!" Skyla teased. "And, I mean, you have to battle him eventually, anyway…"

They want you to show him hope again like Iris showed him a long time ago. Zeshi stepped ahead of him and rubbed between Skyla's legs, momentarily distracting the gym leader. I can sense their desperation, Nate. They don't know how serious it all is… but they know it's bad. If they're ready to ask you for help, isn't that proof enough things aren't as under control as they seem? Poking her head out from between Skyla's legs, Zeshi cocked her head back at him.

Nate heaved a heavy sigh and gave Zeshi a pointed look. Fine.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Rosa honey what is you doin

Also! Nate willingly told Rosa and look it did not go horriblyy-

I will say that there is a reason I didn't write out his conversation with her though. A) he's already told Hugh explicitly in the story and so you guys already mostly know his story, and I didn't want to rehash more of what we've already seen, but B) I kinda wanted to leave the exact details of that conversation and Rosa's exact reaction open to some interpretation. Like obviously she reacted well and he didn't get angry at her, but still.

But with that weight off his shoulders, it seems Nate's interested in exploring some of what others have been telling him lately...

Oh I also wanted to say, I have not explicitly given either of Nate's parents a name because honestly I did not want to insult anyone that way, in case any readers happened to have the same name as them. So, while I've tried to keep it from getting awkward, just know going forward that neither of them are going to be given an actual name.