Episode 12: Easy, Peaceful Days

"You're awfully well behaved right now," Prem commented. He was at the tea table again, but this time it was only him, Laurent, and Rosie. "Are you feeling alright?"

"What do you mean, my little sugarmuffin?" the Mimikyu replied with a sway of her hood.

"There it is," Prem rolled his eyes and turned away. There was silence for a moment. "That's all? No more affectionate quips?"

"Naww. You do like it when I do that, don't you? Maybe you're naughtier a Pikachu than I remember," Rosie teased.

"Not at all. I'm just used to it from you. Does Dinair have you on a leash?" Prem asked.

"'On a leash' sounds so forceful. No, but they do have my utmost respect," Rosie replied. "The previous High Priest was one I followed as closely as I could, but I must admit, in the past decade they became questionable. It became more and more difficult to follow their orders. I found solace in protecting you, but then we had to fight anyway…"

Prem didn't comment, but he shook a little. Those were good and bad memories. Memories he didn't want to bring up, but here they were.

"Dinair is remarkably different. They very much reveal how twisted and exploitive the previous High Priest was. Dinair, they have my utmost respect and devotion. I would follow their demands until the end of time… and that means treating guests with our code, including you," Rosie explained. "If you want, I can go back to how I was. My heart still belongs to you, my beloved Prem."

"Daddy, is it okay for a boy to have more than one girlfriend?" Laurent asked as they sat on the table.

"Lau—" Prem choked. "Where did that question come from?"

"I do not know. Do questions come from a place? If they do, I want to go there!" Laurent said excitedly. "Then I can learn lots and lots!"

Prem was hesitant, and snuck a glance across the table. Rosie looked like she was giving him a smirk from behind that rag of hers, but turned it into a motherly smile. Both were unsettling.

"This is really mature stuff," Prem sighed and leaned on a paw. "Seriously, why did you ask?"

"You have a lot of Pokémon that love you a lot. I thought you could marry them all. It would be nice if you could marry Uncle Leos too, even though he is with Auntie Gree!" Laurent said.

Prem couldn't close his mouth in shock. Contrary to his beliefs, he knew that suggestion was well outside of the realm of possibility. Even if it wasn't, Leos was with Griselle, now. All was said and done, and he had to move on.

Yes. Moving on. The very thing he had to spend two years doing before this whole mess started.

Suddenly, it hurt to think. His chest twisted, his head started to rush, and all sorts of emotions wanted to burst from him. Anger at not trying harder to be with Leos, confusion of not thinking of Laurent's suggestion, whether that was morally right or wrong, and whether it was worth trying or not. Life was simple a week ago, so why was it challenging him so much now?

"I understand why you see the little guy as a kid, now," Rosie giggled, snapping him back to the moment. "Children ask the toughest questions and do the boldest things without a second of consideration, a trait we lose when we grow up. All 'cos they want to know and understand the truth."

"Lau isn't…" Prem mouthed.

"Do you care what I think?" Rosie asked. There was quiet. "That was to you, dear Laurent."

Laurent glanced back and forth and shifted a bit, but Prem rubbed their back. "Don't worry. She's safe."

"Uh huh. What do you think?" Laurent cocked their head.

"If there's something you really, really want in life, and it isn't hurting or doing bad on others, then I think you should try it. Better to try and let that Pokémon know how you feel, rather than never tell them and regret it later," Rosie said. "But at the same time. There's a time and a place for everything. If we're talking relationships, and things don't work out, then it just means it wasn't your time."

"I… had no idea you were so," Prem mumbled.

"A-ah, this is all figuratively, of course. I'm talking as if both parties are like, being super mature about stuff. If the other Pokémon gets angry or even attacks, then you've got to defend yourself! At that point it isn't a romantic relationship, but a fight. Do you know how to fight, Laurent?"

Laurent shyly shook their head and blushed, prodding their hands together.

"Would you like to learn?" Rosie proposed.

"You look swell offering to train someone else's child," Prem commented without looking at her.

"Oh? I thought you didn't see them as your child?" Rosie giggled. "Pardon me, but I believe I have a good read on things. Watching the way you and Dinair chatted, and the way Laurent behaves… you want to protect your Daddy, don't you?"

"Huh?" Prem said and turned back.

"Prem deary is a little too docile to ever teach you to fight. I'm offering to help however I can," she said.

"I am sorry. I am scared of fighting," Laurent hung their head again.

"Keep that up and I'll leave," Prem added.

"Heh heh heh. Okay, suit yourselves," Rosie leaned the head of her rag on her claws.

…

"With all the travelling and crazy stuff yesterday, we kinda forgot the most important thing for the new house," Griselle said. Her and Leos were sat beside each other on the bed while Lollipop curiously looked up at them from the floor.

"Which is?" Leos wondered blankly.

"There's no food in here," she pointed out.

"Wait wasn't that your idea? You wanted to do a big lot of shopping when we got here to try lots of new food," he stated. "Or was it mine? Or both of us? I know I remember something like that being decided on."

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was!" she giggled and hopped off the bed. "We're gonna have to do somethin' about breakfast. My stomach's singing over here."

"Really? I can't hear anything," he cocked his head.

"G-good. You don't want to hear that," she blushed a bit. "What're you in the mood for? I'll see if I can find it."

"Wait, we're not going out together?" he wondered.

"Of course not! You saw this place. Chances are, we're gonna have to do a bit of work to get stuff. And I'm the more working type, so…" she mused. "Don't worry, I won't get lost or anythin'. I explore too, silly."

"That's not what I'm worried about. Ah, fine. Just, please don't take too long," he said worriedly.

"Hey, you get to spend a bit more time with Lollipop, just like you wanted," she giggled.

Leos and the Cosmog glanced at each other. Something about that little Pokémon's smile filled him with uncertainty. I wonder if I'll be able to keep them happy while Griselle's away? This is the first time they'll be without her, after all… or maybe I'm worried about nothing.

"So anything you want me to look for?" Griselle called out. She was already putting her jacket on by the exit.

"Oh er, you know me. Anything spicy!" he hopped off after her. "Griselle!"

"What's with the whine? I won't be long, I mean it. This isn't like you at all," she giggled.

"I just… you know," he said. He held out his paws, and she blushed.

"Ehee hee. Okay," she replied. They cuddled, and she gave him a little peck on the cheek. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"That's my line. Oh wait, do you need anything from the toolbox they gave us? Seriously, they've got lots of good stuff in there," he asked.

"Well they don't have any food, so obviously it's not all good. I should be okay though. I'm me!" she said, waving as she left. He waved too until she was out of sight, and still ran over to the windows that looked out over the river. He could see her happily skipping towards the upper portion of the cliff where the village was.

Please don't do anything crazy, he prayed.

"Pupu?" a curious noise brought his focus to the middle of the room. Lollipop was still there staring at him.

"Just me and you for a bit. Maybe it'll just be an hour or something. I wonder what she's going to get you to eat?" he wondered. "Wait a second. Have you even eaten anything since you woke up?"

Cosmog didn't reply.

"What… do you even eat? I don't imagine a baby your size eats a lot," he mumbled, wagging his tail in thought. Lollipop still stared up at him. "Berries are half your size, so you don't have the stomach for those."

Lollipop frowned and shook.

"Thought so. And seeds are a little crunchy for a Pokémon with no teeth," he added.

"Pupupu!" Lollipop shook even harder and hammered its appendages.

"So something soft and tiny. Hard to believe you understand me so much," Leos mumbled and swayed. "I can't think of anything practical, though. I've never looked after a baby before."

Lollipop pouted and puffed out its cheeks. "Pu."

"All this thinking of food is making me hungry, too," Leos muttered. He glanced around the room a bit, then back to Lollipop, who went back to admiring him. Does she really expect me to sit here until she comes back with a meal? What do I do?

"Uhh… I guess for the time being, how about a game? Do you want to play a game? That'll pass the time," he suggested, raising a paw. Lollipop's frown turned right around, and they began to sway with him. "Alright, now we're getting somewhere."

"Pew pew! Pu pu pu, pew!" Lollipop cheered happily. Leos put a paw to his hip and smiled at the creature's joy, only to grow concerned as its body started to glow pink.

"Uh, what's happening?" he shuddered. In a flash, Lollipop vanished into thin air. "Ahh! Oh my gods, Lollipop! Lollipop?"

He darted around the room, threw the blanket off the bed and tossed everything off the desk, too. Lollipop was well and truly gone. "Ah what the heck! What do I do, what do I do? Lollipop, Lollipop!"

Babyish laughter echoed from somewhere, and he froze. It was definitely Lollipop's, and it was from somewhere in the house. With a gasp, he scrambled over to the other bedroom to find the Cosmog prancing around in its cot.

"Oh thank goodness," he sighed and slumped. He walked over to scoop them up. "You gave me a heart attack. I didn't know you could use Teleport! Don't do that aga—"

Right as he was about to touch Lollipop, they vanished again, making him lean too far and fall into the cot. He didn't even register what happened, he just rolled over and sat up in a daze. Lollipop's laughter snapped him back to reality.

"What's going on?" he gasped, following the sound again. This time he found Lollipop on top of a book shelf in the main room. "Hey, get down from there!"

"Pu pu pew! Pew pew pew, peeew!" Lollipop sang as it ignored him. It danced around on top of the bookshelf, swaying its appendages like flowers in a breeze. Leos could see Lollipop falling off with the way they were moving, and anxiously held his paws out.

"Easy now little guy. Just bounce down here. I'll catch you," he said. His heart raced as their dancing only got more excited. "Alright fine. Have it your way!"

He kicked off the wall and latched to the side of the bookshelf to climb it, completely underestimating how heavy he was in comparison. The whole shelf shook, and promptly tumbled over.

"Argh shoot—" Leos choked, staying attached as it fell. A loud crash shook the house, and a cloud of dust exploded as books and paper scattered everywhere, some of which buried Leos in a pile. It didn't hurt as much as it sounded. He brushed them away and stood up, but Lollipop was already gone, giggling somewhere outside the room again.

"Lollipop, are you alright?" he cried. The laughter felt like it came from outside this time, yet still close enough that it was definitely in the house. He turned to find them on the edge of a window, laughing away. "What're you, some kind of adrenaline junky? Get down from there!"

"Pew pew!" Lollipop sung. It almost looked like it waved to him as it bounced out the window. Leos had never let out a higher pitched scream before, and dove after them with Aqua Jet.

"I've got you—" he cried as he dove out the window. As he fell from the eyes of their Samurott-shaped home, Lollipop was nowhere to be found. He only had twist to realise they had simply teleported to the other window, and laughed at him as he plummeted into the river below.

…

Meanwhile Griselle had made it to the upper portion of village without much trouble, but also without spotting a single villager. She passed many of their simple habitats on the way, but there were no signs of Pokémon in or about the area at all.

"Strange. Where are the shops?" she muttered as she looked back at the path.

"You expected shops in crowded place like this?" a familiar voice made her jump. Gretel the Sunflora was beside her.

"How did you—"

"You won't find a shop or a stall or a market anywhere for miles. Probably gotta go to the next town over for a chance of those," Gretel stated. Griselle gulped.

"Oh. That's… inconvenient," the hybrid mumbled. "Is that where everyone else is?"

"Ha! Like anyone in Vanil ever has any money. Tell me sweetheart, does this look like the kinda place where anyone's got any gald?" Gretel laughed. Griselle was silent. "I shouldn't be teasin' ya, but you can really tell you've come from the big city. Small villages tucked between mystery dungeons like ours will never have any kind of lucrative business goin' on. But that's exactly why I settled here."

"Wait a second, you said yesterday that there weren't many dungeons around. Now we're stuck between them? Which is it?" Griselle challenged.

"It's both. You've got the long, open fields with beautiful scenery and vast plains, or you've got the mystery dungeons that mysteriously transport you to other towns in an hour there and back. Your choice," Gretel answered.

"Well that kinda puts us in trouble," Griselle rubbed her arm. Her stomach answered Gretel's obvious question, to which she blushed. "S-sorry. We don't have any breakfast. I'm worried about the kid now, too."

"That's fine. We don't expect ya to starve, but we do expect ya to work for your stuff. Fancy learning how to till your own field?" Gretel asked with a cocky grin.

"I er… I could but… I-I shouldn't leave Leos and the kid for too long. Lollipop's probably crying by now. I need a quick solution," she murmured, still rubbing her arm. "I hate to ask this, but just this once, could I borrow some of your food?"

"Borrow? From a Sunflora?" Gretel's pitch rose. Without warning, she bashed her walking stick on Griselle's foot, causing her to yelp and dance. "Bish! I get my energy from the sun. And who the hell 'borrows' food? You're only gonna eat it. Just say that you want to take some!"

"Ah, oww, you didn't have to hit me," Griselle whimpered. "What do I do, though? We don't have time to wait for stuff to grow just now."

Gretel's smile grew wider. "Tell ya what. I'll take ya to meet the others. They might know what to do with ya."

"Wait, you knew where they were?" Griselle gasped as the Sunflora walked off. "Aww, will you make sense?"

Oddly, Gretel directed her back into the village between the cliffs. The slower pace allowed her to look around a little more, where she spotted unusual details she never noticed before. There was a broken bicycle tangled up in a large bush, which was squeezed between tall streetlamps. The tops of those lamps didn't have Luminous Orbs, and were empty instead.

There were a few ladders that led into solid cliff, too. Opposite them was a torn hand glider. A wrapped gift box hung from a string attached to the overhead cliff. Griselle tripped a little, finding a few bumps on the floor. Those bumps were painted to look like various fruit.

"This place is as mysterious as a mystery dungeon. I've never seen anything like it," Griselle remarked.

"You'll get used to it. The guys really have too much time on their paws. And can't make up their damn minds, too. They're weird, right?" Gretel said without slowing down.

They did leave the village, but their destination was clear enough that Griselle didn't complain. On the other side of the way they came to the village, the river descended into a deep valley filled with moss and rocky architecture. A waterfall created a huge lake at the end, but it was far away enough that it wasn't too noisy.

"Gretel honey! You're just in time!" An Indeedee waved them over. He looked older than her, but he didn't have any walking aids.

"Pl-lease don't call me honey," Gretel grumbled.

"Hoo? What's this?" A Noctowl joined them. "Our guests are here? Yoo should have told us soooooner!"

"The royal couple? The royal couple are here?" a young Lairon joined. Griselle flinched as his heavy steps sounded like he might trample her, but he came to a perfect halt.

"Easel, stop! Don't scare them, give them space," another Indeedee cried, this one female and closer to Griselle's age.

"Will all of you shut up?" A wiser voice commanded. On a ledge pointing to the centre of the lake, a Clawitzer watched them all. He was even older than Gretel and the male Indeedee. "Quiet. The Magikarp are to begin their ascent."

"Is this really everyone? There's so few of them… and they're all different species," Griselle asked.

"Yep. And none of 'em eat normal food, as you can see. But they're so bored, they do utterly stupid stuff like this," Gretel explained. "One of 'em's bound to have something you and your husband can chow down on. You might need to put a little work in still, though."

Griselle faced the front like everyone else. The lake was silent besides a few ripples here and there. As she stared, the life below its dark surface started to become clearer and clearer, revealing all sorts of water Pokémon, like Magikarp and Remoraid. Several of the Magikarp closed in on the surface, and some even began to leap out of the water.

Wait, Leos told me this story. Is this one of those waterfalls Magikarp jump over? She realised, putting a paw to her lip.

As if they wanted to answer her, the Magikarp began to jump higher and higher. Each time they jumped, they made a bigger and bigger splash, eventually even large enough for her to feel water despite her distance. A minute later, one of the Magikarp shot out of the water at blinding speed, and disappeared into the sky above the waterfall.

The group of Pokémon were wowed, and they all cheered. The Indeedee clapped while Lairon rallied them on, and Noctowl complained about wet feathers. More Magikarp followed, disappearing above the waterfall with their graceful jumps. Griselle couldn't help but smile, and laughed in excitement.

"I should have brought Leos and Lollipop. They would've loved this. Why'd I leave without them?" Griselle gasped.

She had only ever seen Magikarp splash about weakly before. To think that the legend was true, and they could leap so high! Their bodies were straight and their fins flapped like wings as they rocketed up into the sky. Their scales shimmered through the water that trailed with them as their bodies glowed in evolution, though their forms didn't fully change until they were out of sight, well beyond the waterfall.

"It's a good thing ya didn't bring 'em," Gretel warned, her leaves folded.

"Huh?" Griselle glanced at her, then back at the lake.

One more Magikarp flew from the water. Griselle followed it as best she could, and her face switched when it just about made it to the top of the waterfall. She knew it'd fall thanks to the speed of the water. Surely enough it did, but not without evolving in mid-air. By the time it reached their level, it was a huge, white silhouette that crashed into the water with such force that a massive wave rose above them.

"Watch out!" Clawitzer shouted, guarding himself with his cannon arm. Everyone only had the time to guard themselves a similar way before they were soaked. Griselle wasn't bothered, though. The water was clean.

"Aww, they didn't make it," she said. She moved to look over the edge, but Gretel stopped her.

"Stand back!" the Sunflora shouted.

Griselle was a little confused by the warning, but obeyed anyway. Silence fell, so she could hear the water bubbling over. More and more ripples came, and a large blue figure could be seen spiralling below the surface. That Gyarados was about to rampage.

She only had time to gasp when the Gyarados emerged, splashing the group with a wave of water again. The great blue serpent roared at them, its size and volume causing the entire area to vibrate. While all the Pokémon cowered, Griselle shifted one foot in front of the other and reached for her lance.

"Wait where's? Shoot, I left my weapon at home," she hissed as she realised. She glared at Gyarados despite that, and they glared right back. Their eyes gave off a red aura, their gaping maw drooled, and their body swayed irritably. I can still do this, but it's gonna be tough.

Gyarados roared again, and then dove down into the water, splashing the group yet again. While the other Pokémon continued to complain, Griselle stood unfazed, her sight locked onto the giant Pokémon. It leapt in and out of the water with great force, smashing its head and tail on whatever was beside it, filling the water with rocks and debris from the cliffs. It soon began to rampage downstream however, prompting her to follow.

"No, it's heading to the village!" she gasped as she sprinted into action. The other Pokémon tried to chase after her, but only Noctowl could keep up.

"What do yoo intend to dooo?" Noctowl called out. Griselle puffed and panted too much to answer.

It's too big and fast. I won't make it in time! She quickly concluded, unable to close the distance between herself and Gyarados. She flung her arms back loosely and sprinted as fast as she could, and still she could only match the monster's speed. Seeing that, she concentrated her energy elsewhere, within her belly. C'mon, please. Please just work, please!

She quickly felt weight in her stomach, and slowed down a little. Skidding to a stop, she thrust her head as she threw up a Hydro Pump, aiming for the Gyarados' head. The force of her attack caused her to lose balance and miss, but her blast of water at least crossed Gyarados' path, bringing it to a surprise halt. She didn't dwell on that, and rushed towards it.

"Stop right there!" Griselle cried as she leapt onto it. Gyarados roared as it was wrangled, and smashed itself against the walls of the riverbed in an effort to throw her off. Griselle didn't even realise she'd been brought underwater, or that the river was so deep. She concentrated and growled and she dug her grip into the water type's neck, trying her hardest to stop it from thrashing about.

A hard impact to her left made her cringe, followed by another on her right. The second hit made her choke on water and she let go briefly, where an unexpected force sent her flipping through the water. Gyarados took the opportunity to flee.

"No you don't!" she coughed, latching to the tip of its tail. She had no leverage however, and could only brace as it continuously smashed its tail against the rocky walls.

The water wasn't the problem, it was her grip. She could barely keep a hold of the jagged fins on Gyarados' tail as she took hit after hit on hard stone, each hit enough to chip off large rock. If she couldn't dig her feet into something soon, it would reach the village and destroy property. With their new house right by the river too, that was a vision she didn't want to have.

All of a sudden, Gyarados whipped its tail straight up and surfaced, flinging her high into the air. She managed to stay held on, but her body was being flung like a ragdoll. She could have been sick if she had anything to throw up.

"Griselle, now's your chance!" Leos shouted, flashing her back to reality. Somehow, she spotted him on the ground below, staring straight at her. Whatever he'd done, it brought Gyarados to a complete stop, and he had its full attention.

Its tail stopped moving as wildly too, held up high and lightly swaying as if ready to spring at any moment. Griselle didn't hesitate any further. She took a deep breath, stood tall, and leapt towards Gyarados' head, latching on with a triumphant shout. Gyarados immediately thrashed, but with both paws on its head crest, and her feet locked around its neck, she had full command over its movements. It couldn't hit any walls or dive with her here.

"Yeah, go get them!" Leos cheered, pumping his paws.

"Hmpf! Listen to me!" Griselle growled. She threw her body back with all her might, pulling the Gyarados into a suplex aimed straight at solid ground. The Pokémon screeched with its impeding impact, and then was silenced as it was slammed with so much force that its head was buried into the dirt. Its tail stopped moving after a few moments, implying its defeat.

"Phew. That was a morning workout," Griselle sighed and brushed herself off. She had to wring out her jacket too.

"Griselle, are you alright?" Leos gasped and rushed over. "What in the world?"

"Are you alright? What're you doing here, where's Lollipop?" she gasped.

"Uh… if I saw a Gyarados rampaging toward the house, I'd dive out to confront it. Which is what I did," he replied, pointing behind him. Griselle was blank, but he was right. Their house was closer than she expected. "I left Lollipop inside though. I-I maybe should've made a break for it."

"I… okay we both messed up there. Never mind. Thanks for helping me out there. Last time I leave without my lance," she remarked. They both paused for a moment.

"So er, this isn't your idea of breakfast, is it? I'm not a meat eater," he commented.

"Ah, no no! Neither am I. This is, er," she staggered. They both flinched when Gyarados began to move and dig itself out of the ditch. The red aura in its eyes had vanished, however.

"Angered. So angered! How did little kitten throw me?" Gyarados said. Its voice boomed every word as if it was angry.

"You need to calm down! Never mind how I did that, what you did was dangerous!" Griselle cried.

"I failed to leap over the gate. That angered. I release angered! But pipsqueak kitten stop me. Why? Let Hyde be angered!" Gyarados growled.

"Hyde? That's your name?" Griselle asked.

"Hyde. Hyde, the strongest Koi of the lake!" he announced.

"Well you're not a Koiking anymore," Leos replied. "We've got a baby in that house, and you could've smashed it up if she didn't stop you. And gods know what else in this peaceful village you could have damaged."

"Baby?" Hyde shrieked. "Hyde no mean to hurt baby. That would be an atrocious disaster."

"Yeah, that's all. I don't care what you do, just don't go smashing up property and stuff!" Griselle said, leaning toward him. "Well? Go on, get outta here. This is just a quiet little village. There's nothing for you here!"

"… No. Hyde make it up to you. Hyde never made it up the dragon gate. Not a true Gyarados. Plus, little kitten defeated me," Hyde grumbled. He knelt down to their height as if bowing, making the couple lean back. "Hyde serve Pokémon as masters until strong enough to defeat you or climb the gate!"

"Se-serve me?" Griselle squeaked.

"Hey, that might actually be a good idea. You're royalty now, so why don't you take him on as a retainer?" Leos suggested.

"A retainer? Him?" Griselle got even squeaker. "Leos that's a crazy idea! Is that how you chose your retainers?"

"… Sort of, actually. That's a whole other story," he said, a paw on his hip.

"Learn Gyarados' call, and I will come no matter where you are!" Hyde replied. They promptly returned to the river and swam upstream, though far calmer than before. She couldn't believe what had just happened, and blankly watched him until he was out of sight.

"L-Lollipop. Leos, we're leaving Lollipop alone!" Griselle gasped.

"I… I know but… gosh, I'm so confused," Leos cocked his head. "What were you doing with a Gyarados in the first place?"

"Did yooo stop him?" Noctowl called out, grabbing their attention. "Hoo incredible. The tales seem to be true. A small, not fully evolved Pokémon, and you were able to calm him down. Just incredible!"

"Wow, they really did it! They're so cool, they really are heroes, aren't they?" Lairon cheered.

"If they weren't before, then they are now. They just saved the entire village," the Male Indeedee announced. "My Lady, we are in your debt."

Me? Wait, they're going to- Griselle gasped in her head as she scrunched up and squeaked. The Pokémon swarmed around her, but they didn't go to touching distance like she was used to. She couldn't hear what they were saying, and fighting instinct made her fur crawl. Their words drowned out, her hunger disappeared, and all she could focus on were their movements.

"Hey, what've I said about givin' ladies some space? Quieten down you crazy kids," Gretel said as she pushed the group aside. Griselle slowly lowered her guard. "Seriously, ain't no one think to ask if you're okay? The big guy didn't hit ya anywhere, did he?"

"Uh… almost. It doesn't matter, anyway. He's gone now," Griselle replied. "I-I don't really get the retainer thing, though."

"Gretel is right. I was not expecting one of the Magikarp to fail and rampage. Your Highness, you have saved us, even though it was not your duty. For that, we are in great debt to you," Clawitzer stated as he came closer. "If there is something we may do for you, please do not hesitate to name it."

Oh no… d-do I ask them for breakfast? They seem really friendly, but… they might… Griselle mused, playing with her paws. Awful memories flashed through her head. Having food knocked out of her grip in the streets, Pokémon pretending to praise her so they could trip her up, and other cheeky tricks that looked just like this scene.

Her head spun and everything blurred. She shook herself back to focus after a moment. "It's alright. You don't have to do anything."

"You do not need to be modest. Everything is—"

"I said it's alright!" Griselle snapped, bringing silence to the scene. She walked off quickly despite that, prompting a confused Leos to follow her.

"U-um, Griselle? Is everything alright?" Leos called out as she climbed the stairs into the house. She was about to answer him, but tripped and nearly fell over.

"What the?" she choked. The entryway was blocked by a pile of books and the fallen bookshelf. "Leos?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, this happened," he shrunk and scratched the back of his head.

"What did you do? The house is a mess. I was only gone for a bit!" she gasped as she stumbled around. All three rooms were littered with mess. The books, the stuff in the explorer toolbox, and their belongings, too. Lollipop sat in their bedroom, blissfully confused. "I know you like to keep your room messy, but you're not living alone anymore. Can you try to keep it tidy, please?"

"Hey, I know that! It's not my fault, this little guy turned into trouble!" he cried, pointing at the Cosmog. It rolled to its side, even more confused. "Don't give me that look you, you evil… droplet! Go on, show her your Teleport!"

"Teleport?" Griselle cocked her head. Lollipop copied her, equally confused.

"… No. We're not playing this. Are you really going to be a troublemaker when she's not around, and an angel when she is? Do not do this to me!" Leos raised his voice.

"Forget it. Whatever. Just, help me clean up please," Griselle sighed as she got to work. "I'd expect to find this mess thanks to the kids in Halcandra, not you. When we finish, actually keep the place tidy, please?"

"I know I know, I will. Sorry about this," he said, shuffling through a few books to scoop them up. "Hey it's a volume of Orna's diary. How did a rare thing like this show up here?"

"Orna's diary?" Griselle said, concentrating.

"It's a mysterious Pokémon who's said to have travelled to different worlds before. They have several diaries that are all written in a way that implies they don't originate from Etheria. Weird languages, never before seen speaking mannerisms, and their species is never once identified. Explorers and researchers around the world are constantly trying to decipher these diaries. They're a true enigma of our time," Leos explained.

"That does sound super intriguing… are you—" she replied as she turned to him. He was already nose deep in the pages. "Hey we just started. Don't get distracted!"

"I won't," he said without moving. There was a pause.

"You're still reading," she moaned.

"Won't take me long," he added just as distantly.

"Damn it Leos, this is your mess! C'mon, just tidy up first, please?" she shouted.

He seemed surprised, but stood up to help. "Sorry about that."

She sighed and moaned a little. Something told her he'd get distracted by the next book he picked up, but he seemed to focus this time. Eventually he approached her with his paws on his front.

"Hey uh… this is a weird question I guess…" he began, and she cocked her head. "What should I call you? You know, like what do you want me to call you?"

"Huh? What's wrong with Griselle?" she wondered.

"Er nothing really, but you know, like how you call me 'soldier' and all that. I was wondering if there was a nickname you wanted me to call you. I thought it'd be better to ask you directly before anything," he explained just as shyly. He wouldn't stop playing with his paws and head fur. She couldn't help but blush and smile either.

"Hey it beats formality all the time. Somethin' tells me you're just gonna forget by tomorrow, though," she giggled.

"I won't! Or I'll try not to," he gasped, and scratched the back of his head. She giggled again and faced him this time.

"Baby," she said.

"Baby?" he repeated.

"Yeah. Call me baby," she nodded. Just saying that made her cheeks heat up.

"Huh. Somehow I was expecting something a bit more elaborate," he admitted with a furrowed brow.

"Well if you were gonna come up with one yourself, why ask me?" she commented. "Baby is cute. Don't you think of me as cute?"

"I just thought… eheh," he mumbled. "I didn't see you as cute, I see you as beautiful."

"Oh," she replied. He flinched.

"H-hey I didn't mean it that I way! I just meant like… oh gods, that came out wrong, didn't it? Sorry Griselle- uh- hon- er baby- I mean—"

"Ahaha, Leos have you been stressing about that all morning? That's weird for you," she asked. His face was bright red.

"Pew pew pew!" Lollipop cheered, making them both flinch. They jumped into Griselle's paws, forcing her to drop the stack of books she held.

"Lollipop?" she gasped.

"Pewpy," they said.

"Was that… you're gonna call me baby too? See Leos, Lollipop gets it!" Griselle giggled.

"Oh it's on now. You're my baby, no one else's," Leos stated.

"That- wow, when'd you two become rivals?" Griselle laughed.