"Are you okay?" Lila asked. I had left the door open, and was in the process of slowly winding the window open as far as I could get it with the little handle. She sat watching me from the bottom bunk.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"It's just, you didn't seem like yourself with that guy in the cave. He got all rude with you, and you just agreed with him. It's not even like Lucky did anything that bad; if you'd called Spin back first, it would have just been a normal battle he was upset he lost, and I can't imagine you'd just roll over and take that kind of treatment."

She was right. He'd insulted my puppy and my training, over what? Natural Growlithe behavior? A minor faux pas in an unofficial battle he'd challenged me to?

"Huh," I said. Why had I gone all meek and apologetic?

Any further ruminations were interrupted a little while later by a piercing shriek from the lobby, followed by the sounds of a commotion. A moment later, Vola slipped under the open window. I closed it behind her, murmuring, "You were sneaky, right?"

She just gave me a flat stare, then pranced up to the top bunk. I looked up to see Lila looking at me.

"Like I said."

"Oh, come on," I said, "You should've seen this girl. She called Lucky a mongrel just for walking into the background of her video."

"So what did you do?"

"I dunno."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

I couldn't help the smirk as I said, "I literally don't know what we did. I just set Vola loose."

Lila looked scandalized. "Then whatever it was, I'm sure it was bad," she pulled the covers over her head. "I'm going to be under here until tomorrow, just in case."

I rolled my eyes.

But I wondered at Lila's sense when, a few minutes later, a knock came at the door. I opened it hesitantly, holding a hand out to Vola to get her to stay under the blanket until we knew what was going on.

Chansey stood there, and happily waved for me to follow her. I pulled my trainer belt on over my PJs and returned Vola.

"Lila, can you keep an eye on Lucky for a few minutes?"

Lucky looked up from where he was fighting with one of my towels, and losing, when he heard his name.

"Okay, but I'm not coming out," came the muffled reply. "Lucky, hop up here."

My pup was familiar enough with Lila to start towards her, but he stopped and looked to me for approval.

I smiled at him, "Good boy! Yes, go ahead. And you're getting a treat for being such a good listener when I get back." That set his tail thumping as he joined Lila on her bunk.

I followed Chansey to the lobby, waiting for the shoe to drop and the girl to say, "That's her! I know it was her!"

My mind raced with possible responses, and I didn't get to use any of them because Nurse Joy said, "Ah, good. You have a call, Katie."

A what?

"A what?"

"A vid-call. The stations are on that wall."

I shook my head, "No, I mean, how? I wasn't expecting to be here, and haven't told anyone where I am."

"That's why we have the CenterSeek system. Bill- you've heard of Bill, right? Designed the Pokemon Storage System?- worked with the League to set it up last year. Your circumstance is such a common occurrence for trainers that they decided to do something about it. For trainers without their own phones, it can be difficult for loved ones to get in contact with you. The CenterSeek system lets family and friends request an alert when you check into a Pokemon Center. Then they can call the service, and it connects them to a vid-phone at the appropriate branch." She sounded like a salesperson. Especially when she added, "And it's completely secure! Unless the trainer approves the request specifically, the interested party only receives a ping that you've checked in, not where. And the call connection to the specific Pokemon Center happens on our end, so random people can't track down trainers."

"Okaaay," I said.

Nurse Joy looked to her screen. "I have a Jill Castle on Line 3 for you. Just hit Line 3 on any of the vid-phones, and enter the last four digits of your trainer certification number to verify."

"Um, thanks," I said, and made my way over to the bank of vid-phones. Nearby, the girl from earlier was picking bits of glass and plastic out of the carpet. I also saw some damp spots with small bits of melting ice. She was grumbling under her breath, and didn't notice me. I wasn't sure how Vola had pulled it off, but it seemed like it had been effective.

I put on the attached headset and entered my code, and Mom's face popped up on the screen.

"Katie!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it's so good to see you, honey. Is everything okay? It's been almost two weeks. How did your battle with Erika go?"

"Hi, Mom," I said, smiling tiredly. Had it really been that long? "I must have gotten caught up with stuff." I showed her my Rainbow Badge. "It took two tries, but I won."

Mom squealed in delight, "Oh, my girl, I'm so proud of you! How is Vola? She helped, right?"

I filled Mom in on the general points of my battle with Erika, about meeting Abigail, then traveling with Lila and Izzy. I left out most of the more… personal bits, though. She filled me in on the goings-on of the orchard, some news from Fuji Cares, and other gossip from around town.

Once she started on the latest graffiti found in Rock Tunnel, I knew it was time to go. "Sorry, Mom," I said, "I'm glad you called, but it's been an exhausting day, and I need to get some sleep. I should be able to challenge another Gym this week; I'll call you and let you know how it goes, okay?"

"Of course, dear," she said, "I'm glad you're taking care of yourself. Tell Vola I love her, too, okay? Good night."

"'night, Mom," I said, and signed off.

As I pulled the headset off, I heard the girl mumbling behind me in a mocking tone, "Thanks for cleaning up that mess, Gab. Oh, no problem Nurse Joy, you sanctimonious Slowpoke. What do you want?"

The last bit was directed at me, I realized. She'd turned around to see what the noise was when I stood up to leave.

"Nothing," I said, innocently as I could manage, "Just finished with my call."

"Pffh, whatever," she said, pulling her phone out. It was one of the fancy ones, with a built in camera and everything.

As I walked away, I heard her speaking to it, probably to some unseen audience.

"Hey Gabagang, it's ya girl. Sorry for the late vid. This Thrashy girl let her mutt run around wild, and it messed up my whole video." I peeked over my shoulder, in time to see her hold up most of a camera. "Then my camera just straight-up breaks, and the PC police are like, 'You better clean that up, Gab,' like her fat pink egg can't operate a vacuum. Anyway…"

I smirked as I entered the hall. Couldn't have happened to a nicer girl.

There was a wait to use the Pokemon Center's training area the next morning. I guess it made sense; with mountains on all sides, Viridian Valley didn't get a lot of Pokemon migration in or out. With the entry to the Indigo League complex in Viridian City, the area saw a lot of trainers coming through catching Pokemon, so what was left were often the weaker, younger ones. Route 3 was crowded with new trainers. If Vola didn't have years of practice, this would probably be a perfect place to train and catch Pokemon without worrying about finding something too strong for us to handle.

"Why don't we get going?" Lila suggested. "If we find a good spot to train, we can stop."

I liked my routine, but I liked not sitting around for no reason more. "Yeah, okay."

On our way out, I saw two girls watching me, whispering to each other. They noticed me notice them and quickly turned away, trying to seem nonchalant. Not suspicious at all.

Dart seemed eager that she had a new exploration buddy as Lila and I walked. Lucky gamboled around near us, sniffing everything. I released Vola as we approached the first few people outside the Center.

"Try to keep him reined in, okay? I don't mind if he explores, but try to distract him if it looks like he's going to bother someone. Maybe play 'Tag' or something."

"Vulpix!" she agreed. Even if chaos was all I had, I could try to keep the various types so tangled they wouldn't be a nuisance to anyone else. Vola took to her duty as chaperone with a will, leading Lucky around to interesting things to smell, using her tail to pull his focus, and just generally keeping him so occupied he didn't have time to disrupt anyone else. I think she enjoyed it as much as he did.

Lila and I watched their antics as we walked in companionable silence. She held Buttons close, like a stuffed toy. Buttons played her part perfectly by taking a nap and being basically motionless. I got the impression Clefairy slept at odd hours, what with their moon worship, because these early-morning naps were common.

We had been walking for over an hour when we finally passed a trainer who wasn't occupied with their own business. "Hey, you," he called out, always a winning prospect when you want someone's attention, "Let's battle!" It didn't seem like a request, because he was already throwing a Pokeball. Out came a red Vulpix. "Yours against mine."

I wasn't about to humor him. Vola eyed the other Vulpix, then rolled her eyes, sat on her haunches, and yawned. I wasn't about to send her into an unfair fight for the kid's ego. I was reaching for Spin's Pokeball when, after Vola's little performance drew attention to it, Lucky charged towards the other Pokemon. I rested my face in my hands.

"We just talked about this," I complained. Lila snickered beside me. I looked back to the field. It seemed Lucky had remembered our conversation, because he skidded to a halt before he could crash into the little red fox and turned to look at me. I sighed, "Yeah, you can play. Listen in case I give you directions, though, okay?"

He barked happily, then turned back to the Vulpix, adopting an adorably menacing pose. They were still roughly the same size, but Lucky had a presence, and the Vulpix shied back slightly. It bolted back to its trainer and hit the button on its Pokeball a second later when Lucky let out a full throated, "Grooooowl!" The boy scowled as a Metapod popped out from another Pokeball in his pack. He must have caught it evolved, because all it did was tighten its carapace, hardening its shell.

"Turn it into a chew toy, Lucky!" I called. Lucky tried to get his jaws around the cocoon, but its smooth, tough exterior gave his teeth no purchase, and he started to get frustrated. "Reversal!" I said, but Lucky just seemed confused by that.

He studied Metapod for a moment, before leaning over and nosing it over. Metapod tipped, then fell sideways. It blinked at him, unfazed.

That was the last straw for Lucky, and he reared up, flames exploding from his fur. I saw the expression on the other trainer's face as Lucky came down on his Metapod in a flaming slam. As unhappy with how things were turning out as I was, that expression was comedy gold. I smirked as I looked back to the battle. The recoil left Lucky woozy, but Metapod was out.

"Okay, Lucky," I called gently, "That's all for now, come on back." He unsteadily trotted back to me, head held high, if slightly glazed. "Hoboy," I said, picking him up, "We're going to work on some different techniques. This is ridiculous."

"This isn't over," the boy said angrily, recalling his Metapod and sending out his Vulpix again.

It was over shortly after, with Spin weathering everything the fox could throw at him without flinching as he steadily clomped towards it, then ending the battle with a solid pawful of dirt to the face. The blow knocked the Vulpix over, and it just lay there, head lolling as Spin climbed onto it and sat down, unarguably declaring himself the winner. Trying, and probably failing, to conceal a grin, I recalled him, wished the boy well, then walked away, cradling my groggy Growlithe.

We were settling down for lunch when we were interrupted again. A quartet of girls around our ages had been behind us on the road for a while. Rather than continuing past us, laying out our food on the side of the road, like most travelers, they angled towards us.

"That's it, isn't it?" the dark-haired girl in the lead addressed me. She was caked in makeup. It wasn't the subtle, enhancing touches I was used to with Erika. More like a coat of paint slathered on, completely covering and reshaping any natural features.

"Huh?" I responded in confusion. After the words left my lips, I was already thinking of snarky responses like, "It's nice to meet you, too. The weather is lovely, isn't it?" and, "Of course! How did you know this 'It' was the one, out of all the possible 'its'?" Alas, my mouth ran off without my brain again, and she was sneering to her friends before I could regain my composure.

"No wonder she couldn't keep her mutt under control. She isn't even smart enough to keep it in its 'ball."

The other girls laughed obediently. Another one said, "And look at it! So scruffy. No wonder Gab needed to scrap the video. Who'd want that thing in the background?"

Gab? That was the girl from last night, wasn't it?

"Yeah, that's definitely it, Courtney," another said, "That fur has the same dirty smudges as in the screenshot. I doubt it's ever had a bath."

"Sorry to interrupt," I said, not sorry at all, "but can I help you with something?"

The head mean-girl- Courtney?- turned a pitying look on me as I got to my feet. "You? Help us? With what, a before-and-after photo?" That got another round of sycophantic laughs. And she was so quick on the draw!

"Bubbles, why don't you stick up for our friend," Lila said softly beside me, "Maybe help them clean up their act." I turned in surprise. She was glaring at the girls, eyes blazing in a way I hadn't even seen when she'd told off Izzy.

Then her words sank in. The little Squirtle was waddling forward, a spray of bubbles blown out of his mouth and floating toward the girls. I spun back to Vola, "Oh no, Vola-"

But it was too late. Vola, quicker on the uptake than Bubbles and just as eager to cause mischief, had already jumped in front of me, tails high in challenge. Her "Piiiiiiiiiiiiiix!" resonated in the air as the hailstorm blew in, buffeting all of us. The girls all shrieked and clutched at themselves as their fashion-forward skirts and tops flapped in the wind. The bubbles popped before reaching their targets, covering the girls in powdery mist. Vola opened her mouth, readying an attack, and I dove at her, scooping her up in my arms and covering her muzzle with one hand. Her storm died almost immediately as her battle-readiness was replaced by confusion, and she looked up at me for answers.

Lucky chose that moment to join the play, landing on top of me and knocking the wind out of me. Dart landed on top, trilling.

The girls were pulling themselves together as I regained my breath. Before they could say anything, from under my pile of Pokemon I said, "If you don't have anything productive to say, I think it's best if you go. No one has said or done anything that can't be forgiven, and I suggest that we keep it that way."

Courtney, red-faced from the wind, hair blown every which way, just glared at me and turned away in a huff.

One of her minions, the tall blonde who hadn't spoken earlier, said, "You're going to regret that. Courtney won't-"
"Shut up, Heather. Let's go," Courtney barked without stopping or turning around. Heather's mouth snapped shut and she scampered after her alpha.

Once they were out of earshot, I turned to Lila, "What were you thinking? You can't sic your Pokemon on people like that! Those girls could've gotten really hurt!"
Lila herself looked stunned. "I- I'm sorry!" she said, "I was just so mad… I didn't… Bubbles wouldn't… I wanted to wash their mean mouths out with soap, I was so angry. I didn't mean to escalate things."

"It's not entirely on you. Vola is constantly looking for an excuse to mess with people and Pokemon, and you just gave her an out." I looked down at Vola, "And you do know better. I'm really disappointed in how you acted. Those girls were bullies, but we could have just ignored them. Now we're the bad guys."

Vola's ears flattened in shame. I didn't use the 'D' card very often, and it would stick with her. I looked around at the ruins of our lunch. Spin was still eating curled around his bowl, but the rest of the food and supplies were blown all over the place.

"Lila, please don't let that happen again. And the rest of you, let's get this cleaned up. Vola, you walk with me for the rest of today. Dart and Spin will keep Lucky busy instead. I think you've done enough."