A/N: Team Roster: Jackson (Cinderace), Sap (Vikavolt), Hudson (Mudsdale), Rosa (Bellossom), Dia (Meowstic)

Chapter 16 - Wind, Hail, & Lightning

"FINALLY!" Dolly yelled into the air, pumping her fist.

It was her eighth Ultra Ball, but there was no way she was letting go of that wild Corviknight. She healed him up and let him out for a proper introduction. He ruffled his feathers and dipped into a deep bow.

"You have bested me in battle, I am now eternally at your service, Lady…" he paused, then glanced up at her.

"Uh, Dolly?"

The Corviknight stood to his full height. He seemed to chew the name over.

"Dolly... Short for Dolores, I presume?"

Dolly nodded in response. He bowed again, dipping even lower.

"Lady Dolores I am honored and humbled to serve you here after in anything you need. Only say the word and I shall be by your side. I am Theodore, knight of the-"

"Lady Dolores? Who does this guy think he is?" Jackson snickered, jabbing a thumb at Theodore.

Hudson shrugged as Rosa looked him up and down and gave a brief nod of approval. The Corviknight's red eyes flashed as he gazed down at Jackson.

"And you are…?"

Jackson opened his mouth to reply, only to have Theodore interrupt him.

"Lady Dolores'... lackey? Bellboy? A scrawny Pokémon as dirty as yourself certainly can't be an actual part of my Lady's team?"

Jackson's mouth hung open, then he puffed up his chest and marched to stand in front of Theodore. His barely five-foot-frame wasn't much compared to Theodore's seven.

"Your Lady?! I'm actually her first ever partner, thankyouverymuch," he sneered.

"Simply no knowledge of etiquette on this one, I see," Theodore yawned, lazily looking down his beak to Jackson two feet below him. "Hard to believe someone as powerful and elegant as Lady Dolores would pick what I'm sure was the runt of the litter."

Fire blazed in Jackson's eyes. Yep, Dolly thought, his color was back and now it was all red.

"You know anything about type advantages, Theodore?" Jackson growled, stomping closer. Dolly had to pull him back by the scruff of his neck.

"Alright lads, that's enough for one day," she said, letting out a huff of air. This was going to be a long trek to Circhester.

"I would have much preferred a pretty Gardevoir…" Jackson grumbled, crossing his arms.

Dolly and her team set out through the wheat fields of Route 8. What she thought was going to be a nice and easy stroll was instead filled with squabbling between her oldest and newest partners, and a horrifying amount of climbing. Now was another good example of why sitting on her couch for years wasn't aiding her in this journey… Jackson was running laps around her as he bound up and down the hills and ladders throughout the route, Dolly panting the entire time.

"Come on, Dolly, let's get a shift on! The sun's already starting to set," Jackson whined. "We've barely covered any ground!"

Dolly wiped off the sweat that was saturating her forehead.

"Easy for you to say," she panted. "I feel like my legs are going to fall off."

"Shall I carry you, Lady Dolores?" Theodore offered, swooping his wing out.

"She doesn't need that," Jackson replied, shoving himself under Theodore's wing. "She needs the exercise. Just think of this as a great workout!"

They climbed one more ladder, and Dolly plopped to the ground with a wheeze.

"Alright. That's it, we're setting up camp."

After more sweating and panting, Dolly and her team set up their tent and had a crackling fire. They tucked themselves into a rock outcropping looking over Route 8. Dusk was beginning to settle over the area, and a few fireflies flitted in the air. Stars flickered in the indigo sky, peacefully watching over the swaying wheat and rugged rocks formations. Their camp was set beside the tunnel leading further into Route 8, and Dolly watched a few Pokémon scuttle in and out. She made eye contact with a Sneasel, only for it to disappear a moment later.

"So, my Dolly," Rosa said, skipping over to her. "I have been taking time to think. You are a captivating and capable young woman. You must have a slew of suitors clamoring for your attention, yes? Where are they? I wish to meet them, approve of them, before any of them take your hand,"

"I concur," Theodore added, nestling beside them. "He is valiant and brave, I assume? I have only known you briefly, but can only imagine what kind of king would ask for your hand in matrimony,"

"Oh, uh, n-not quite," Dolly stuttered, stoking the fire.

"Then what is he like, my Lady? When shall we meet him?" Theodore asked, looking down at Dolly.

"No, that's uh, that's not what I meant," she said, tucking her chin between her knees. "I mean I don't have a slew of suitors. Or any, for that matter. It's okay though, I'm used to it. I'm kind of boring, and I'm not pretty or anything, so I kind of gave up on that... Especially since I've got this huge scratch on my face and a gross black eye. Now I'm just focusing on being a good Pokémon Trainer instead,"

"Nonsense!" Theodore cawed, ruffling his feathers. "To say you are not enrapturing is akin to saying the sun will not rise, Jackson has manners, and the ocean has no waves! I cannot sit idly by while my Lady thinks so little of herself."

Jackson looked up.

"Hey!"

"Yes, Señor Teo is right," Rosa agreed, interrupting Jackson's retort. "Do not try to change the subject to your Trainer-ship. I have always believed you were quite lovely, and you have proven to me your heart is lovely as well. Why do you not believe you are worthy of pursuit?"

"I mean, the last time anyone was interested in me was a long time ago and he said I was only average looking at best," Dolly shrugged. "Kids in school said I had an ugly laugh, a weird shaped head... Ever since that I never really thought anything different. I just kind of assume people are trying to make me feel better if they say anything else."

Then, she sighed, poking at the fire.

"Plus, I just… I don't really want to get my hopes up."

"What about that Hop lad, with the purple hair?" Hudson asked from across the fire. "The one who kept holding your hand in that forest? He's always staring at you whenever he's around."

"Yeah!" Jackson quipped. "Even that Spritzee said you had cooties or something way back in the Glimwood Tangle! Mateo said your auras-"

"It said 'they were cuties,' Jackson, not that they had 'cooties'" Hudson sighed.

Rosa whipped her head back to Dolly. A devious grin inched onto her face and Dolly quickly looked to the ground, careful to hide the color rising to her cheeks.

"He's uh, he's just a friend," she stammered.

And he was. He was just a friend who was funny and kind and caring and happened to have a beautiful smile that for some reason recently made her feel simultaneously supported and weaker in the knees.

"Holding hands?" Rosa hummed, trotting up to Dolly. She peeled Dolly's arms away from her face and let out a giggle. "And you enjoyed it, didn't you, señorita? I can feel it in the air, and I can see it on your face!"

"N-no! It's not like that," Dolly sputtered, waving her hands. "He was just guiding me through the Glimwood Tangle is all, an Impidimp broke my glasses,"

"Ah, so he is noble and just! Guiding a fair damsel in need through a treacherous thicket," Theodore beamed.

"Yeah, because you were distracted by making goo-goo eyes at each other." Hudson sighed. "I was there too, remember? Both of you slept on me?"

"You slept together?" Rosa yelped. "Señorita!"

"No! No, it's not like that either!" Dolly yelped, waving her hands in front of her. The heat in her face was almost steaming the lens on her glasses. "We slept next to each other, it just sort of happened! Well, no, nothing happened, not like that-"

"You were totally snuggling!" Jackson called from across the fire.

"Ah, so what I am hearing is that you do have a suitor! Excelente!" Rosa said as she clapped her hands together.

"Congratulations, Lady Dolores," Theodore beamed as well.

"Th-that's not what I, h-he's just my friend, I - Ugh, never mind..." Dolly sighed, plopping her head in her arms again as Rosa skipped around her.

"It's no use with these two, Dolly," Hudson sighed along with her. "I'd just embrace it."

After a few more futile attempts at defending herself, Dolly ultimately gave up and let Rosa and Theodore plan her and Hop's future wedding. Even Jackson and Hudson joined in, throwing in recommendations about colors and how many tiers their cake should have as Sap buzzed out the melody to the Wedding March. Once the moon began to rise, she sent most of them off to bed, leaving Jackson out to stay with her in the tent. Theodore insisted on keeping watch outside, 'so nothing untoward' would happen in her sleep.

A few snowflakes had started to drift from the sky, as they set up camp pretty close to Steamdrift Way. She wasn't sure of the time when she awoke with a start to the sound of rustling beside her.

"Jackson?" she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What're you doing up?"

The rustling stopped immediately. Dolly rubbed her eyes again as they adjusted to the darkness. She looked to her right, where Jackson lay sleeping soundly. She looked to her left, where she had laid her bag and belongings. A figure stood frozen, gripping around something in her bag. Dolly peered closer.

Suddenly a Pokémon lashed out with a hiss, and Dolly flinched back. The figure darted out of the open tent flap, still holding something in its hand.

"Hey, get back here!" Dolly yelped, scrambling up.

Jackson groggily lifted his head as well. She heard a caw, and some rustling from outside and Dolly scrambled to make it out of the tent. The moon shone down from directly overhead, casting light onto Theodore and something in his talons that was struggling wildly to break free.

"Hey, let me go!" the figure yelled, biting at the gripping talons. Dolly saw her wallet and coins scattered around the ground beneath. She stepped closer to the two Pokémon.

"You're that Sneasel," she whispered, looking closer to the Pokémon.

"Back up lady, or I'll give you another black eye!"

Theodore smashed the Sneasel into the ground, pressing on her back with his foot. The Sneasel's face was flush against the dirt as she winced. He began pressing harder into her, adding more weight to the pressure on her body.

"Don't you dare threaten Lady Dolores," he pressed harder and she let out a cry. "Or I'll break your flimsy spine."

"Theodore, stop, you're hurting her!" Dolly called, scrambling down to the Sneasel.

Theodore lightened his grip, only enough so the Sneasel was still gripped tightly in his talons. She wiggled more, to no avail, and as Dolly got closer, she spit in her face. Dolly wiped it from her cheek.

"What do you need?" she asked. "Money? Food?"

The Sneasel paused in her struggling, then started up again.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" she spat.

"I want to help," Dolly offered. "If you've got a family that's hungry, we have food that can feed them. You don't need to steal from me,"

The Sneasel stopped again, brow still furrowed.

"Just tell me your name, and I can start cooking right now," Dolly said. "I've got all the stuff in the tent, I'm sure you saw it,"

"It's - it's not that," the Sneasel said, her struggle stopping completely. "I need money... I saw you and your team earlier and you had all sorts of fancy stuff, thought I could nick it when you were all sleeping,"

Dolly waited, still gazing at the Sneasel. She knelt there a while, as the Sneasel looked to the ground. Theodore waited as well, keeping his grip tight on her shoulders. The way she kept wincing and the purplish tint on her cheeks seemed familiar to Dolly.

"My brother's in a gang," she said finally. "He got real messed up by some rival Pokémon, now they won't let him go without cash,"

Dolly nodded and looked to Theodore. He dropped the Sneasel and she fell to the ground. As she picked herself up, Dolly held out a Pecha berry to her. The Sneasel looked at it hesitantly, then up to Dolly with wide eyes, who still held still.

The Sneasel reached gently, then stabbed the berry with her claw, and popped it into her mouth. She suddenly was standing taller. Dolly relaxed and sat on the ground.

"How did you…" the Sneasel started, eyeing Dolly.

"I could tell the symptoms," she shrugged. "I'm a Trainer, so I'm pretty accustomed to status conditions. You tried to save your brother yourself, didn't you? And they poisoned you?"

The Sneasel looked to the ground.

"I don't know how long my brother has left," she whispered. "So, I was trying to scrape up the cash as fast as I could,"

Dolly stood suddenly, the Sneasel jumping back.

"Then what are we still doing here? Let's go save your brother!" Dolly said, pumping a fist. She started closing up her tent as the Sneasel stood, watching. She looked back. "I said I was a Trainer, remember? We'll fight this gang and get your brother back,"

The Sneasel looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"I… uh, alright," she said, taking a step toward the tunnel. She looked back a few times. "He's this way,"

The Sneasel guided them through the tunnel to the Steamdrift Way, then through a handful of icy trails.

"Name's Rouge, by the way," the Sneasel muttered as she crawled under a branch.

They continued for a few more minutes, until they reached a cave covered in ice. Rouge guided them through, and ultimately into a small corridor. After a brief scuffle, they emerged again with a Weavile in tow. Although Dolly was nervous at first, Jackson certainly wasn't, and his Fire-type moves were almost unfairly powerful.

"Say, you weren't so bad back there, sis," the rescued Weavile grinned, punching Rouge's shoulder. He was standing taller too, after a few potions from Dolly.

"Shut it Georgie, I learned everything from you anyway," Rouge grinned, her cheeks tinged pink.

Her brother smiled. He looked back to Dolly, then to his sister.

"Sis, why don't you go with this Trainer? Dolly, was it?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, there's nothing for you in this town," he continued, looking to his sister as the sun rose over the snowbanks. "You oughta give yourself a future, better than whatever rubbish you could find here,"

"Georgie," Rouge muttered, looking at her brother with big eyes. "I can't leave you after all that,"

"Something tells me those punks won't be coming back any time soon," he grinned, waving a paw at her. "Thanks to your new friends,"

Rouge looked to Dolly and Jackson, both waiting. Even Theodore was standing, watching patiently as the two siblings talked. Then, she looked back to her brother, who gave a slow nod.

"You're welcome to come with us, Rouge, if you'd like," Dolly offered as she knelt and extended her hand.

In it she held a Poké Ball, glinting in the rising sun. Rouge approached it slowly, then with one final look and smile to her brother, tapped it. In a flash, she was caught.

"Take care of her, yeah?" the Weavile said, crossing his arms. "She's a right bit of trouble, just like the rest of her family, but she's got a good heart."

Dolly nodded and started down the snowy path.

"Oh, wait," Georgie said. He ran up to Dolly and placed something in her hand. It poked her skin as she gripped it, the spirals smooth against her skin.

"Razor Claw - family heirloom," he said. "It's good collateral. If she does something dumb just say you won't give it to her and that she'll be a Sneasel forever. It's worked well for me whenever she doesn't want to do chores."

Then, with a nod he turned, running into the trees and out of sight. Dolly clutched Rouge's Poké Ball and smiled to herself. She started again towards Circhester as the buildings and fountains glistened in the rising sun.

~later~

Melony was a force to be reckoned with. Her Ice-type Pokémon were powerful, and her reputation as an intense Gym Leader was no joke - there was no hint of a smile throughout their entire battle thus far. Jackson was a fair match for most of her team, but as soon as Melony threw out a Lapras, there was no way her Fire-type was finishing that battle.

Dolly instead threw out Sap, grinning at the idea of an overpowered Max Lightning. Her Vikavolt darted anxiously around the arena as Melony's Lapras Gigantamaxed to momentous proportions. Sap withheld through a Max Geyser until she was able to Dynamax herself.

Lighting, rain, and hail whipped around the arena as the two Pokémon fought for a leg up. The weather was deafening as each Pokémon unleashed attack after attack, thunder booming and echoing throughout Circhester stadium. Dolly could hardly hear the announcer over the howling of the wind and rain. She whipped her head to Sap, still buzzing above her. She was low on HP, Dolly could feel it, but Sap was faster than Melony's Lapras. One more Max Lightning should do it.

Suddenly Sap began to shrink, growing smaller and smaller as she fell from the sky.

Dolly whipped her head to Melony in confusion. It hadn't been three turns, why was she shrinking already? Her fingers started to go numb as she ran to catch Sap as she fell from the sky. With a leap she caught her and tumbled, rolling across the pitch as the hail, rain, and lightning smacked into the ground and around the arena. She looked before her in horror.

Dents the size of baseballs littered Sap's shell. Dolly whipped her head around wildly as the rain and hail hit her face.

The hail.

She looked to the sky. The hail.

It was raining down, huge ice chunks flinging to the ground around her. The weather kept changing, kept mixing, and Dolly hadn't even thought it through. It was hail.

Dolly felt her heart crack once again, and the tingling turned to stabs in her chest.

"Sap?" she whispered, the hope in her heart slowly fading.

She couldn't bring herself to scream. She couldn't bring herself to cry. She only knelt there, yet another Pokémon dead in her arms, defeated because of her carelessness - of her pushing them too far.

Again, she was stunned into nothing. The wind and rain whipped around her, tore through her hair, chilled her to the bone. Numb fingers clutched at the Pokémon in her arms. Melony's Lapras still loomed over the stadium, watching the two on the ground. It started to hum a slow, mournful song as the rain, hail, and thunder crashed around them.

Dolly was soaked to the bone. She held Sap gently as she tossed out another Poké Ball, Rosa appearing before them. Her Bellossom had a high defense, she would be fine.

A few back and forth, and as Melony's Lapras weaved around and into the attacks from Rosa, it continued to sing the same, mournful song. Rosa hit it with a super effective Petal Dance, and its final note rang throughout the stadium.

It felt wrong, everything was too beautiful around her. Rain and pink petals and lighting were swirling around her, the chaos too intense for the nothing Dolly felt in her heart.

Dolly knelt there, lightly holding Sap as the rainstorm turned into a light trickle. She felt nothing, thought nothing, and saw nothing but her partner in her arms. Her mind flashed back to their first encounter in the Wild Area, so, so long ago. She was so small. She was the reason she beat Bede in the first Galar Mine. She was one of three that stayed with her from the beginning. She let out a deep breath and returned Sap to her old Poké Ball.

Melony helped her to her feet, and it seemed even the audience wasn't sure how to respond. This one wasn't as obvious as the last - there was no cry for help, there was no scrambling against the dirt, there was no partner to retaliate and hurt Dolly in return. Though, some audience members cheered, some booed, some only murmured among themselves as the rain and snow speckled.

She took the Badge, hair and clothes dripping, and left the pitch.

Dolly slowly pushed open the glass doors as her body was barraged by the cold outside winter. It pricked at her skin angrily, as she didn't even bother to change, and her wet hair started to freeze as she shivered in the plaza. Her shoes dragged through the snow, her breath wafting softly around her. She gazed at the blue sky. It was too cheerful, too bright. It hurt her eyes.

Another one. Another one, another one, another one. Why could she keep assuming they were fine? Why did she keep taking these risks? How could she be so careless? She deserved to be cold, she thought as she felt Sap's Poké Ball in her pocket. Why should she be warm when one of her loving partners was dead because of her? Sap was one of her partners that had been around the longest - she was part of her original team of six. The six that, as she assured herself at the very beginning, she would return to the wild after beating the first Gym and dropping out. Dolly's shoulders slumped, and she closed her eyes tightly as the tears threatened to fall.

"Hey Dolls, how'd your match go? You ready for a battle against me-"

Hop stopped in his tracks when he saw her face.

"Not great, huh...?"

He stood next to her as she continued to gaze at the sky.

"I won," she said softly. "You were right, Melony was tough. Her Lapras was mad strong."

She looked down to Sap's Poké Ball, now held out in front of her with numb fingers. Hop nodded and glanced between Dolly, shivering and wet, and the Poké Ball in her hand. Her fingers were turning white from the cold.

"Who was it?" he asked, gazing at the Poké Ball as well.

"Sap."

He nodded. He watched her small frame shiver and he took a step towards her, only for her to take a step back, and his eyebrows pulled together. She had never done that before.

"Let's battle tomorrow instead," Dolly sighed, tucking the ball into her pocket again.

She looked at her friend with one eye bruised, the other glassy. Her nose was pink and sniffling, the cold blotching her skin. He nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, of course. Take all the time you need," he said, gingerly reaching his hand out. She stepped back again, and he tucked his hands into his pockets. "Do you want me to come with you as you…"

She shook her head. This was an errand she wanted to do alone.

"Dolls…" he started, watching her trembling in the cold.

Her uniform shorts barely came to her mid-thigh, and Hop knew the fabric was thin to begin with. Where was that fuzzy coat she normally wore? She would get sick if she kept standing out here in the cold so dramatically like this; sopping wet, sniveling, and shaking. Why was she so determined to not take care of herself?

He clenched his fists in his pockets when she tucked her arms around herself. Something in his chest broke when she swallowed a sob, stepping back when he reached for her again. Hop heaved out a sigh, brows furrowed at his friend shivering in the cold. He shrugged off his jacket. She didn't even look at him as he slung it around her shoulders, clasping the first button at the top.

"How about tomorrow then, huh?" he said softly. "Gives you a day to take a break, and we don't even have to battle. Maybe we can grab lunch? Sonia's said she'll be around by then too, I'm sure I could persuade her to buy it for us,"

Dolly nodded, returning his weak smile.

He watched her as she set off through Circhester, heaving a sigh of his own.