Here it is, the twelfth chapter in my latest Hearts Universe side story 'Problems of the Heart' released when I wanted it to be released within the Hearts timeline give or take. This time the wait wasn't as long as before and it will be even shorter before the next chapter as that is set to come out in a few weeks time with another one not too long after that. As for this one, for those wondering, it takes place sometime during the Snowbelle Arc but after the Wallace Showcase so around Part CLVXIV as the main group are still in Snowbelle when this chapter occurs. Anyway, that is all I have for this note and as there were no questions or guest reviews to respond to please time to sit back and get ready for the twelfth Problem of the Heart.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Miette I
Sabrina walked into a Pokémon Center just to the west of Snowbelle City and headed to the reception desk to check in with the Nurse Joy stationed here. She was on her way to Anistar City, via Gloire City, to see Olympia there for the first time in years, a fun and needed reunion where her old mentor was going to be thrilled with her progress since she'd left Kalos. She couldn't wait to tell Olympia all of the details about her battle with Ash, she just had to make sure her whole route was planned correctly after heading this way to meet up with Alain.
This stop would be key to ensuring that as she had to be back in this part of the Kalos to meet up with May around the time the girl reached Gloire City for the Master Class Showcase that would be held there. That quartet, that included Ash and Dawn who Sabrina was also looking forward to seeing again, would certainly be there seeing as Dawn just qualified for the Master Class so it was the best place to meet up and see how May was doing as well as probably her first with this Serena girl if she was down for it before heading to Anistar to see Olympia.
Sabrina knew that she needed the chat with May hence the need to plan her route to ensure she got to Gloire before the Master Class for the chat and then left the city before it became too busy and excited for her broken telepathy to handle. May had emailed her a while back saying that she really needed a chat when Sabrina was in Kalos for her planned trip here thanks to Misty's invite for the Wallace Cup and Sabrina was not someone to pass up a chance to see how one of the many girls who'd lost Ash to Dawn was doing while also getting a chance to meet another new one and see is she too needed help.
May wouldn't go into too many details about why she needed to talk to Sabrina, however. All she said was that her past had returned with a vengeance, and she needed help dealing with it which of course Sabrina was more than willing to do. Who else was better that May knew at dealing with one's past than Sabrina who carried her own dark past and many mistakes she'd made back then with her wherever she went and would until the end of her days.
Of course, Sabrina had long made peace with her past, made her amends with one exception as she had yet the time to speak to Brock about it, and was finally sober from her addiction to her own psychic powers, or at least as sober as she could be given that her powers were still a part of her. She would never forget her past, nor should she, but she would use that to help as many people as she could to either avoid making the same mistakes she made or recover from their own mistakes.
One of the reasons she was sticking around in Kalos for a while was to do just that. One such way was helping May out with her problems regarding losing her love to a rival. It was something that Sabrina had been doing since inadvertently helping both Misty and Anabel out with it, the former by her own initiative the latter by accident as they were good friends prior to Sabrina finding out about Anabel's crush on Ash. Since then, she'd also helped another girl called Angie who'd she'd learned about and used the girl's challenge of her in Saffron for that purpose and had begun to help May.
Misty's invite to Kalos had been that allowance for Sabrina to get her second chat with May to see how she was doing on her travels in the region with Ash and Dawn, but there was more to coming here than just that. Returning to Kalos had allowed Sabrina to address her own heart related problems that she still had deal with.
That was because her own heart had finally settled on its feelings for Alain, her first true friend she'd ever made back when she was first in Kalos, and she'd had to see him first when she came here. She'd met him shortly after she'd arrived, before watching the thrilling Wallace Cup on TV, and learned of his own problems and demons while also confessing her feelings to him, knowing he returned them.
In time they would work on it but first they had to finish their own paths and then they could try. They would meet again before Sabrina left the region and then they'd have a battle so she could test out her new Mega Stone for her Slowbro and see how both were doing but that wouldn't be for a while.
At the moment, though, Sabrina did not know where her own path led. However, ever since meeting Ash again when he challenged her to a full battle and learning of Dawn and all the issues around Ash getting over his density for one girl while several others where also in love with him, and ending up dealing with said girls, Sabrina had found a path to take for the moment.
She owed Ash more than she could ever repay. When they first met several years ago, he had been the one who had done the closest thing to sobering her up after years of being in a mental haze due to her own abuse of her powers, not that he realized his actions at the time, which gave her a second chance at life once she got the help she needed to address her addiction. As such, her way to repay him was to help all those who'd lost to Dawn in a game of love that she could find so that nothing bad came from their heartbreak.
It was as Sabrina was thinking this, having been checking in with the Nurse Joy who was surprised to find a Kanto Gym Leader all the way out here but showed her professionalism by not revealing it, that Sabrina heard it. Well, more accurately she heard the intense thoughts in her head.
She hadn't meant to hear it of course but alas a consequence of her years of power abuse with her psychic powers had led to some permanent damage to her mind in the form of breaking her telepathy. It was her second power and more passive than the other two, but she'd overused it so much during her years of trying to perfect her powers, which of course failed, to the point that she had lasting issues from that abuse. To this day it was the biggest and most constant reminder of her past sins.
The issue was that Sabrina couldn't actually turn off her telepathy anymore. She could suppress it for a time in order to have a clear mind for a little bit, but the strain always weakened her natural state and caused it to return with a vengeance and a need to lie down for a bit when that happened. A good battle or enthralling conversation would make her forget about it but most of the time it was as it was. A year of training with Anabel who had a similar power in empathy had allowed Sabrina to gain as much control as possible of it to the point that for the most part it was just a dull buzz in her head.
At least that was the case most of the time. Sabrina had learned during her 2 years in Kalos where she was mentored by Olympia and got the help she needed for her addiction, she was going to one such meeting in a nearby town on that front tomorrow as it had been a week since her last one, that she couldn't handle crowds. It had been at that year's Anistar Showcase and she was Olympia's guest at it when the size and excitement of the crowd shattered her weak control over her telepathy and caused her to have a seizure right there and almost lost control. Only Olympia's intervention saved her.
Ever since then Sabrina had been unable to handle large, excited crowds. It meant that she could not attend any good events in person, but it was a price she was willing to pay for her past actions, a punishment she knew she deserved as a consequence of abusing her powers to the point of becoming addicted to them.
It was annoying but she could live with it and sometimes, on very rare occasions, it came in handy. One such occasion was today as she had just finished checking in when she heard it. It was the thoughts of a girl in the common area behind her who Sabrina couldn't see just yet, but they were clear to her.
"I can't get him off my mind." The girl was thinking and that alone peaked Sabrina's interest seeing as usually that meant only one person, the rest confirmed that as she focused her telepathy on the thought despite hating when she did it. "I knew I liked him the moment I saw what he was all about, he was just so confident, so caring, and so passionate how could I not fall for him? Naturally Serena had to already like him, we have good taste in men that is for sure, but alas I had lost before I even had a chance as that Sinnoh girl, Dawn, had gotten there before me. She's very pretty and, well, she is strong, I can acknowledge that, she accepted my challenge and won, really showed she was the alpha girl, but still, it is hard. After the Wallace Cup, seeing Ash do that, well, how can I not fall more for him."
Yup Sabrina had assumed correct, the girl was thinking of the one and only Ash Ketchum, he was seriously impressive when it came to leaving impressions even if he didn't realize it himself. Given that he was currently traveling with Dawn, May and Serena this was a new girl, one Sabrina had never met before and likely a Kalos native if she had to guess based off her thoughts and reference to Serena. Damn Ash, the boy really knew how to make a girl fall without knowing it seemed. Well, that girl was in for a surprise soon enough because Sabrina was going to be there to see if she needed help.
First though she had to control her telepathy and suppress it. She felt dirty when she actively used it, a feeling she always felt with it now that she was sober and not abusing it, and she'd definitely need that meeting for sure, but it had helped her for once, so she was at least grateful for it. The girl had also thought about the Wallace Cup and with her mentions of Serena and Dawn she had to be someone from that kind of scene so as Sabrina turned to look at the common area she looked out for a familiar face from the Wallace Cup.
With so many people who Sabrina knew in it, and some surprise faces in Brock who was apparently in Kalos right now for some unknown reason to her, she'd naturally watched it and what a Contest it had been. Held in Snowbelle in a special stadium built for the event and using an ice rather than a water battlefield it had been a unique event even by the standards of the Wallace Cup and it didn't disappoint. Then again it had Ash in it, how could it not be wild.
It was the only Contest that year to feature the Big 3 coordinators on the circuit, the three favorites for the Ribbon cup in Brianna and Emily from Kanto and Jessilina from Sinnoh, in the same Contest as all wanted their 5th ribbon in it. That alone made the Wallace Cup an even bigger Contest than it usually was, but it didn't end there.
In addition to them, many local Kalos fan favorites from the Showcase scene who were transitioning to Contests to improve like Serena, Shauna, and Miette, the three rookie finalists in the last Master Class apparently, along with a girl called Amelia who was a Master Class favorite this year, were present along with up-and-coming coordinator rookies from Kalos and Johto in Tierno and Khoury. That had been really useful for Sabrina as it showed her who Serena was, so she'd know who to speak to when the time came for their chat.
Not to be outdone by all this, trainers like Ash, the girl he beat in the Kanto semi-final last year Lyra, and May's brother Max had also participated in it. That said, Lyra hadn't advanced past the appeals, but the others all had.
With such a pedigree and more it had been a great Cup and to make it even more spectacular none of the Big 3 had won it. The random bracket after the appeals had been a brutal sight and a shock to all as all 3 favorites were in the top half of it meaning only one of them would get a chance to go for the Dawn Ribbon and it also featured strong trainers like Ash, Brock, and Max. Meanwhile the bottom half of the bracket was basically a Kalos bonanza with all but 1 of the 8 slots filled with Kalos natives, that one filled by Khoury from Johto, and much more open with an almost guaranteed Kalos finalist.
Even then the craziness didn't end because one by one the Big 3 fell in the last 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals to the same trainer, Ash, because of course they would. He even had an evolution in the semifinal against Brianna with his Noibat to win it over her Flygon and advance to the finals because of course he did.
There he faced Serena who's been the Kalos native to make it out of the bottom half of the bracket by showing impressive coordinating skills that clearly came from her performer background and had faced Ash in a final that was epic. It looked like Ash would win until Serena's Rhydon revealed it knew an instant KO move in Horn Drill and landed the notoriously hard to land hit on Ash's Talonflame to win it to the crowd's shock and joy at a Kalos champion of the Wallace Cup, the first new winner in 4 years.
Of course, that was because Dawn had won the last 3 Wallace Cups and become the unofficial queen of it because of those wins, all against May incidentally. Her notoriety in it was such that, with her permission, Wallace had renamed the Aqua Ribbon the Dawn Ribbon with the color changing to a hot pink edged in a blue that matched Dawn's hair, pink was her favorite color after all, and with a Piplup face seal for her starter who'd won all 3 finals for her.
To add to all this Wallace had insisted Dawn be a 5th judge for the appeals with the highest and lowest scores removed to avoid accusations of bias, though she would not be a judge for the battles. Regardless, Dawn herself presented Serena with the ribbon at the end which was an interesting sight though both girls were extremely professional when the moment came.
It had certainly been a wild Cup and that was just a precursor to the upcoming Master Class, especially with one of the favorites for it in Amelia from Fleurrh City in Kalos making it all the way to the semifinals, beating Miette and Shauna in the process. That would of course be taking place in Gloire City which Sabrina was planning her route to but after her meeting tomorrow it seemed.
Yup it had been an interesting return to Kalos for Sabrina, and she was really enjoying being back here again. Now she had a new person to help as well and as she turned to look she instantly knew who it would be, and the girl even had a psychic type in her lap that she was grooming so Sabrina had the perfect icebreaker to introduce herself to the girl.
The girl in question was a pretty girl with what Sabrina would call a sharp beauty to her and who she put at around Ash's age if she had to guess. Her blue hair was even short, though not as short as Angie's or Anabel's and with a distinct feminine cut that barely fell past her earlobes while being held back by a frilly orange and light blue headband that made it puff out at the back and gave the girl an uneven fringe. Even from this angle, Sabrina could see that her eyes were red as she focused on her grooming of the male Meowstic in her lap likely still thinking of Ash as she worked with a Slurpuff out next to her as well.
Sabrina also noted that the girl clearly knew Kalos fashion as she was wearing a light green blouse and medium green skirt that was only just too long to be called a mini skirt. Over it she wore a dark green waistcoat the fell down past her waist and had a pocket on the side, a useful accessory and uncommon in female clothing Sabrina noted. She livened it all up with an orange tie thing that some girls favored and was clearly a Kalos thing but not something that worked for Sabrina, though this girl clearly rocked the style and knew it.
It was the hair and eyes that Sabrina recognized though. The girl was called Miette, she was a major rival of Serena's in the Showcase and Contest circuit but had lost in the first round in a rather brutal battle with Amelia that showed that there was no love between the girls. Given her crush on Ash, Sabrina was all but certain the girl had a crush at this point, then watching him dominate his way to the final the way he did, especially in that semifinal slugfest with a clearly unhinged Brianna that Sabrina was sure she'd learn more about, would have only deepened Miette's feelings for him.
Well, she was here in Kalos to do a job and smiled as she pulled out a Poke Ball and let out her Espurr, Meowstic's earlier stage that always traveled with Sabrina for support as she didn't use it in battle, and picket it up before heading over to introduce herself. This was the perfect way to greet the girl and from there work her way up to seeing if she wanted to talk about her feelings for Ash.
"Excuse me miss; I couldn't help but notice how amazing your Meowstic's fur is." Sabrina said as she reached the girl. "Do you have some tips; I just can't get it right with my Espurr no matter what I try to do."
Miette was startled by the sudden question. Sure, she got the occasional question in a Pokémon Center, but she was so absorbed in her work on Meowstic that she hadn't even noticed the woman approaching until she spoke. Well, that and she'd been deep in thought about the recent Wallace Cup she'd been in and how it had gone.
She had underperformed and she knew it. In the first Wallace Cup without May or Dawn in it in years Miette had advanced past the appeals as expected before losing her first battle to that bitch Amelia where she really saw that girl's horrible personality first hand. It was a shame to because Miette had felt that with how the bracket had fallen that she'd have a shot at making the final, or at least facing her friend and rival Serena in the semis, but alas she had to face Amelia and she'd lost it on points in the end.
Despite dealing with Amelia, who Miette wasn't going to give the pleasure of thinking about anymore as that would be playing into that bitch's game, it had been a fun event to attend, and seeing how well Serena did by blending her performance style into her Contest battle style had really inspired Miette to do the same. Serena had a habit of doing that at times, it was why she was the favorite to one day beat Aria and the Wallace Cup really showed that. Miette had left right after to really practice it and she'd already won her 3rd ribbon by mixing in her performance style with her battles, but it still needed work.
As for the rest of the Wallace Cup, naturally Miette had stayed to watch Ash and Serena reach the final, defeating the great toxic females that were Brianna and Amelia in the semis, and cheered when Serena won it for all of Kalos. She would have liked to stay to watch Ash in his gym battle, but she'd opted to take her leave to go and get that 3rd ribbon and qualify for the wildcard round just as Serena had done with her win in the Wallace Cup as there was a Contest she could win that she'd managed the day before.
With that win Miette now had the time to really hone this new style and go for 2 more ribbons to outright qualify for the Grand Festival. Hopefully, she met Serena before so that she could even the score for that loss she'd suffered in the Coumarine Contest and go into the Grand Festival even with her rival.
There had been another reason for why she'd left, however. Miette was a confident, assertive, girl and she knew it. It was all part of her style and why she did well in Showcases though even she could acknowledge that Serena was better than her her right now but after a few years as a coordinator Miette was certain that she'd be a match for Serena. It was also that confidence that was causing issues for Miette right now however and especially with her heart. That was because as soon as Miette realized she was getting her first crush she was able to accept it and go with it.
Alas that was not going to be the case for her. The issue was that Miette had fallen for Ash Ketchum pretty much as soon as she saw him for who he was, the way a few others had fallen for him, but alas Miette had been too late. Ash, as dense as he was and he redefined that word, had managed to notice one of the girls and felt the same way in the form of Dawn, his friend from his Sinnoh travels and who was one of the Top Coordinators helping out in Kalos this year having won in Kanto the year before when traveling with Ash as a couple.
Naturally, Miette had confronted Dawn about this as it should be, challenged her to prove she was the alpha female and been soundly beaten by the Sinnoh girl. Still, that didn't mean that Miette's heart was going to just stop the way it felt. She'd fallen for Ash hard and fast and that had only deepened the more she'd seen him, and the Wallace Cup had just driven it into overdrive.
Ash had been incredibly in it when he took out not one but all 3 of the favorites for the Ribbon Cup this year in Kalos one after another on the way to the final, especially that semifinal against Brianna where he put the bitch in her place and defended May's honor, that had been extremely hot to Miette when she watched it and she knew she wasn't the only girl present who felt that way. There was no way that Miette's feelings wouldn't deepen after all that.
Course she wished that she actually had the chance to face Ash in battle but alas she'd been knocked out long before then, so she had to settle for the amusement of seeing Serena face him in the final. All that amusement was intensified thanks to Serena's last second victory to take home that newly named Dawn Ribbon as it meant that Dawn had to present it to the new Wallace Cup winner and a rival. She'd done so and it was well done but Miette couldn't help but smirk at the clear tension she noticed during the presentation.
Therefore, Miette had left Snowbelle to both seek out her own 3rd ribbon and to try and deal with how her feelings for Ash had gotten stronger. She wanted to at least be able to confess to him but at the same time she wasn't sure that she was ready to do that just yet and as such he'd been on her mind as she worked until the woman interrupted her. That had caused Miette to look up with a slight start at the woman standing before her. She was not what Miette had been expecting.
The woman before her wore a form fitting red dress that fell to just below her butt and had cuts in the sides along her thigh. It had a black thing around her waist that accented her clearly impressive bust that didn't help Miette's own feelings about her small one and was completed with black sleeves that fell just past her elbows. She finished the look with black stockings and light green ankle boots.
Then there was the woman's startling eyes that looked into Miette's as she stood there smiling shyly at that Kalos girl her beautiful Espurr in her arms. They were a piercing blue that reminded Miette of how a Psychic attack looked when used but that was just the surface of them, there was a lot more to the woman's eyes and that's what really stunned Miette.
That was because there was a depth to them that Miette had never seen before, especially in a woman who looked to be in her mid-20s, so she seemed to be too young to have such a deep a mix of pain, regret, and sadness in her eyes. It gave the impression of someone who'd seen and done things far beyond her age. It was so shocking that Miette almost missed the woman's long, dark green, hair that was gelled into a fancy tail with an angular fringe that matched her eyebrows in a look that really suited her or the odd silver circlet the had attached to her waist for some reason.
"Sorry." Miette mumbled when she realized she was staring with her mouth slightly agape which was clearly rude, but the older woman clearly didn't mind it for some reason. "Um, sure, I can help. Have a seat."
"Thank you." Sabrina said to the girl with a smile as she sat next to her in the seat the girl had offered and held out her hand once she had her Espurr settled in her lap. "And I should be the one apologizing for just coming up to you like this out of the blue. My name is Sabi by the way, and you are?"
"Miette." Miette said taking the woman's hand while her Meowstic and Sabi's Espurr chatted as well and noting the woman's distinctive accent and how much it was like Ash's in a lot of ways. "You're not from Kalos, are you?"
"No, though I did spend two years here a few years back, I'm from Kanto." Sabrina said with a smile as she let go of Miette's hand. "It's how I got my Espurr as an egg and it doesn't want to evolve, so I am happy leaving it as is. It is more of a Pokémon for support than battle for me, so I like to take good care of it, but your Meowstic is something else with how his fur gleams."
"Thank you, it's because I use a special Poke Puff I make just for him with a recipe of my own creation that is designed with his gender, physiology, type, and personal tastes in mind." Miette said looking at the Espurr in Sabi's lap and noticing that it was just as impressive as her own Meowstic and really didn't need any help with its fur unless this Sabi woman was thinking of trying her hand in Showcases then maybe a specialty Poke Puff would work. "But your Espurr looks great in its own right, you've raised it really well."
"Well, I am a psychic type specialist, so I do know a thing or two but as I focus on trainer battles not Showcases or Contests, so I am not the best at grooming." Sabrina admitted which was true, her mother was the one who was best at that, and all her Pokémon loved it when her mother groomed them. "Mom mainly does it, but some tips will be helpful for when I'm away from home. I'm not exactly a great cook but I should try to make Poke Puffs for my Pokémon. I have friends that know Poke bloc and Poffins so I can learn from them as well."
"Ah that is why your Espurr looks so strong." Miette said. "So, what is a Kanto psychic specialist doing all the way out here in Kalos? I know you said you've been here before, but you seem a little specific to be a trainer challenging gyms. There's Anistar City of course, Olympia is a psychic specialist I believe, so are you here to see her?"
"You are correct that I'm not here to challenge gyms, don't really need to as my day job back in Kanto doesn't allow for it." Sabrina said glad that they were moving this along and she could begin to steer the conversation to where she wanted it to be. "I'm taking a break though, haven't had a long one in 4 years and that was a medical leave of absence that I kinda had to take to sort my shit out and get clean hence why I came to Kalos even if that break lasted 3 years. Now I'm here to see some of the friends I made and stayed in contact with back then, including Lady Olympia, as well as see some other friends who are here who I help out from time to time."
All Miette could do was nod at that. She wasn't entirely sure what the woman was going on about though the reference to getting clean did tweak something she'd heard about from her mother back when she started out on her journey though what she couldn't recall. All Miette really could think of was Ash and how if this woman was from Kanto then she was from the same region as her crush and might even know him. That was something she'd have to ask about if it came up, which it did though much sooner than Miette was expecting.
"You're not wrong." Sabrina said with a chuckle at how quickly they'd gotten here, and the surprise on Miette's face. "I do know Ash Ketchum; I owe him my life in fact as he's the one who saved me about 8 years ago now and helped me get sober so to speak."
"Wait how did you know that I was thinking of Ash?" Miette said a little freaked out, just who was this woman?
"I am sorry I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your thoughts, a side effect of my past abuses alas." Sabrina said and Miette heard the deep regret and apology in the woman's voice, so she knew the woman felt bad for listening in on her thoughts, which really startled Miette. "You see, I am a psychic in all senses of the word and an have 3 psychic powers, telekinesis, telepathy, and transmutation. I abused them when I was young and caused myself a lot of issues as they became a drug to me, but Ash saved me and gave me the chance I needed to get my life back in order."
"Oh, so that's what you meant by getting clean." Miette said getting it now, she'd naturally had the drug and alcohol talk before setting out, so she understood the basics at least though she was still a little taken aback by all this but also intrigued as she'd never met anyone so open about such a thing. "And somehow Ash is involved, that honestly doesn't surprise me."
"Ash Ketchum is like that, and he certainly helped me get my feet back so that I could seek the help I needed to overcome my addiction, hell it helped me realize that what I had was an addiction because I got that help." Sabrina said before her tone got serious again. "Alas that abuse damaged my telepathy, and I can't really turn it off. When I heard your thoughts of Ash, well I knew you were like the others and came to say hello and offer my help. I am sorry for deceiving you, but I can help, I've spoken to May about her own crush and hope to speak to Serena too I was just not expecting to find another one randomly like this. If you are up for a chat we should probably take this somewhere more private however."
"You know all about the situation?" Miette asked both stunned and amazed as she tried to process what the woman was saying though her mentioning of May and Serena did show that she had some knowledge at least, as well as the fact that Miette hadn't mentioned Ash only thought about him so clearly the woman had some ability that Miette couldn't comprehend at the moment. "Just who are you?"
"I know about many situations regarding girls and Ash, some through accident, some by design, and some by a mix of a few factors." Sabrina said. "It all started before I met Dawn when I learned a friend of mine in Kanto, one who I spent a year with helping me get some control and stability with my telepathy to the best it can be though her power isn't the same, had a crush on Ash which was a bit of a shock because she'd never seemed interested in romance before. From there it seemed as if the world wanted me to meet the girls who lost him and help them out so that's what I've been sort of doing when I have the time. It's helped me in a lot of ways as well and once again it seems like Arceus has brought me and an Ash girl together for this so if you want to let me help you."
"I won't lie, I am curious and as I have been having Ash on my mind more than usual lately I could use some advice with how to deal with the pain of having an unrequited crush." Miette said deciding that talking about this was at least a start as she'd never really discussed it with anyone so why not with someone who clearly had experience, well that and she'd seen what polluted love was with Brianna and didn't want to end up like her so maybe a third party's perspective could help her. "Let's go up to my room, we can talk better there."
"Sounds good, I just checked in so I can drop my stuff off on the way." Sabrina said with a warm smile and Miette just nodded before they got up to go upstairs.
Miette did recall ger Pokémon as she got up, Meowstic because she was done with grooming him and Slurpuff more because she wasn't the best with stairs, but she'd let Slurpuff once again they got to her room. Sabrina kept her Espurr out and carried it with her as they ascended the stairs and went to Miette's room. Sabrina's was on the way, and she quickly dropped her bag in the standard Pokémon Center room of a bunk bed, desk, terminal, and chair before leaving and heading to Miette's.
Just like Sabrina's, Miette's room only contained a bunk bed where Miette was clearly on the bottom with her bag on top, a chair, desk, terminal, and nothing else. As soon as they were there, Miette closed the door, let out Slurpuff onto the bed before sitting down on it with her. Sabrina took the chair and moved it so that she could face the blue haired Kalos girl.
"To start off I should be fully honest with you about who I am as I am kinda trying to keep a low profile while in Kalos." Sabrina said. "You deserve that much. All I ask is that you keep it to yourself as only a few here know my full identity."
"Huh?" Miette asked surprised by that. "Sabi isn't your name?"
"It's a nickname I gave myself, a shortened version of my name in a way." Sabrina said. "It started as what you in Kalos would call a nom de guerre to hide my true identity when I first came to Kalos all those years ago to seek out Lady Olympia and get help from her to control my telekinesis in such a way that it didn't control me, allowed me to safely use it, and ultimately overcome my addiction to my own power once I realized that I was an addict. However, after so many years of using it while on my road to recovery it became more than just a cover name but a full nickname I use for myself when I travel even in Kanto. It's a way to be unrecognizable and I also change my outfit to this for that reason though these are just my casual clothes and not my gym attire."
"I, um, see." Miette said a bit taken aback by all that but going with it as she expected to get the full answer soon enough. "So, what is your full name them?"
"Sabrina." Sabrina said. "But you can call me Sabi if you like. It is the name Kalos knows me as, so I prefer it when I'm here. Even the few who know my full name in Kalos still call me Sabi."
"Sabrina." Miette said thinking on the name, it definitely rang a bell albeit a faint one in her mind. "I know I've heard that name before."
"Well, that wouldn't surprise me, it's why I don't use my full name when I travel." Sabrina said with a small smile as she got ready to drop the ball on Miette. "After all it's not every day one meets the Saffron City Gym Leader and world's best psychic out on the road in rural east Kalos."
"What?" Miette said her eyes going wide. "You're a gym leader?"
"Yup been so for a while now." Sabrina said thinking on it for a moment. "I think I was around 14 or 15 when I took over for my dad though I can't be sure, and it may even be earlier than that. That was back when I was in the thralls of my addiction, so my memory is a little hazy of those days and the monster I was back then. When I was 18 however a boy from Pallet Town showed up and through his tenacious efforts, refusal to give up despite the shit I pulled, and a rather playful wild Haunter they managed to save me from myself on his third attempt at the Marsh Badge."
"Save you?" Miette asked confused, she'd been going along with the slightly odd woman for a bit because she knew Ash, May, and Dawn but she needed a little clarity now. "I know you keep saying you're an addict, but this is something I really don't understand beyond the simple warnings I got growing up to stay away from drugs, don't drink until I'm of age and then only in moderation, and what not. You don't strike me as having had a substance issue though, not that I'd really know what to look for there."
"That's because my addiction is not one of the 4 major ones though I am keenly aware that because I fell victim to addiction that I might become addicted to other things, so I abstain from those vices as well." Sabrina said. "But I am still an addict, always will be, though a more unconventional one. I was addicted to my own psychic powers in the way a drug addict is addicted to drugs, at least that's how Olympia put it when she deduced what had led to my, er, teenage years of being a cold, cruel, bitch obsessed with perfecting her power."
"Come again?" Miette said blinking at that.
"For a brief overview, it all started after my powers first manifested when I was too young to comprehend them." Sabrina said. "I wasn't mentally mature enough to handle that kind of power, no one is, and as a result I became obsessed with perfecting them. The more I used my telekinesis and telepathy the more I liked it and wanted to keep doing so because then I'd be even better. That was the fix I needed but I didn't know it at the time, I thought I was in control and becoming the great psychic I believed I was. I wasn't because in the end my powers took complete hold of me and fractured my mind in two."
"Woah." Miette said trying to process all that she was hearing as she stared at the woman before her. "And you're comfortable talking about this?"
"Of course, it's my way of healing myself by ensuring others don't suffer the way I did or if they did then they can look to me to see that you can overcome your own demons." Sabrina said. "Even today there is a bit of a stigma with the idea of actively seeking help for mental health problems. There shouldn't be and those who need it should be encouraged to seek the help they need."
"And that helped?" Miette asked
"It's done a fair bit though there's a long ways to go." Sabrina said. "But if one of the Kanto Gym Leaders can be open and honest about her own mental health and addiction struggles then it will help destigmatize it I feel and I know it has worked for many who'd sought me out for help before it got worse. It took me 3 years of recovery to reach this point but when I was strong enough to resume my duties at the Saffron Gym I made it clear that I will be open and honest about my past."
"That's actually kinda refreshing." Miette said realizing what Sabrina was trying to do and somehow feeling more comfortable and willing to be open with her now that she was hearing Sabrina's own story and how open the woman was being, it also explained the depth she was seeing in Sabrina's eyes and the remorse Sabrina had for her past actions. "I never really thought about this stuff before."
"Somehow I think you're not the person who I'd need to reach for this kind of thing." Sabrina said. "You strike me as calm, confident and self-assured young woman, very different to how I was at your age. You wouldn't fall victim easily but now that you are armed with knowledge you'll be strong as a rock."
"Oh, um, thank you." Miette said surprised by that. "But do go on, I want to understand all this and how Ash plays a role in it so that I can really understand why you're helping. I know how Ash is, are you one of us?"
"No, I never fell for him, he is 8 years my junior who I met when he was 10 and while I have feelings for a younger guy our gap is only 2 years or so." Sabrina said with a light laugh that reassured Miette though did make her curious as well. "I don't like Ash the way you and many others do, I am just eternally grateful for him saving me and allowing me to get clean."
"That's good to know." Miette said. "I've got enough rivals in the pack behind Dawn already."
"Yes I've met several already and there's at least one more for me to meet." Sabrina said with a light chuckle. "For a man as dense as Ash is he certainly knows how to win a girl's heart it seems. Anyway, as I said, my mind had fractured into two because of my abuse. One half was me in my body, the cold, cruel, emotionless gym leader. The other half was the lost little girl who I wanted to be growing up but who was killed by my addiction taking hold so young. That manifested in a doll I still have that I'd transmuted into being alive and spoke for me always wanting to play."
"Come again." Miette said trying to process the latest development, she'd gotten the first part about Sabrina not liking Ash that way, but the doll thing just sound wrong. "You made a doll alive and spoke to people. That sounds extremely creepy."
"Oh, it was beyond creepy." Sabrina admitted. "Ask Ash, Brock, or Misty if you met her during the Wallace Cup because I know she was at it because they saw it. I was so far gone by that point that I wasn't in control anymore. That never justifies my actions, only explains them and, well, why I ended up turning my mother, Misty, and Brock into dolls that I could play with in a doll house forever."
"What?" Miette asked shivering but the sorry in Sabrina's voice and the way she couldn't meet her eyes anymore showed that the woman was telling the truth. "You um…"
"Yeah I was a monster back then, I don't deny it and I live with the regret and remorse for my actions every day." Sabrina said sadly, absentmindedly stroking Espurr for support. "I've made amends to my mom and Misty for how I wronged then but not Brock. I will do so one day, though and I know my mother and Misty forgive me even if I can't forgive myself for what I did to them."
"How did you do that though?" Miette asked. "Are you really that powerful?"
"I am and it is that level of power in an undeveloped mind that caused me to become addicted to my own power." Sabrina said. "As for how, transmutation is my third power, I am the only psychic with a third and the only with that power and, well, it's the most addictive and dangerous. I have not used it since getting clean and never will, and thankfully I have no lingering desire to use it so it's easier to avoid than the other powers I have."
Sabrina paused but this time Miette didn't say anything. When it became clear that the younger girl was waiting for Sabrina to continue she did.
"Because they are part of me, and thanks to my training, I can use the other two powers though I always feel dirty using telepathy actively, but I use them in moderation." Sabrina said. "I can't suppress them, that just causes me to need to use them more until I run the risk of losing control, so I use them sparingly to keep the demons of my addiction at bay."
"Is that healthy?" Miette asked deciding to just skip over the whole transmutation stuff as that was clearly a dark spot for Sabrina and she had dealt with it in her own way it seemed. "Using you powers like that?"
"It's the healthiest that I've found." Sabrina said. "Just once a day or so I use a small amount of telekinesis, that ensures that I keep the deeper urges at bay. I've tried suppressing them entirely but I almost relapsed, destroyed the entrance to the Anistar Gym in the process actually and passed out though not before my Kadabra and the wild Haunter with me got me back to normal long enough to pass out. That Haunter was a godsend to me during my recovery. He made sure to always be with me, to make me laugh at least once a day to remember how I was saved and that I was human again. When I was stable he let me catch him at last and is always with me for that reason."
"Oh ok." Miette said. "So that helped?"
"More than you can know." Sabrina said with a smile. "It was Ash's third attempt against me for the Marsh Badge, that's the name of the Saffron City Gym Badge. After he failed the first time and managed to escape thanks to my father he went to Lavender Town down the road from Saffron to catch a ghost type to counter my psychic types but that had only netted him a wild Haunter ally, not a new Pokémon."
"Somehow that still sounds like something Ash would do." Miette said.
"It was very him that is true, I think he even had a rather wild adventure in the Pokémon Tower, but you'd have to ask him about it." Sabrina said, that was a story best left for Ash to tell personally given how he almost, or may actually have, died during it. "He returned from Lavender Town and tried again though despite the penalty for losing being me turning them into dolls, yes I was evil back then I don't deny it and failed though my dad saved him again but couldn't save Brock and Misty a second time. He failed because Haunter wouldn't help but then returned to Ash, so he tried again. Again, Haunter left but reappeared and through slapstick comedy made me in my real body laugh."
"I can't even begin to imagine that." Miette said. "Other than that Ash was part of it, that I can imagine."
"It's hard to explain." Sabrina said smiling at the memory. "Even harder because my laughter caused Kadabra, with whom I'd forged a telepathic link due to my telepathy, to laugh as well and that broke the spell my powers had on me. From there, and after trying to use my powers again, I realized I desperately needed help and as Olympia is the second-best psychic in the world I came here."
"I've not met her, but I have heard of her reputation." Miette said. "She uses two Meowstics and as I have one myself I have looked into her a bit to help improve my own training with Meowstic."
"Olympia is gifted and actually managed her power correctly, it's why she was the only one who I felt could help me out." Sabrina said. "As I've probably said, she was the one who deduced that I had an addiction and sent me to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting that helped more than anything in getting me to understand what I was going through and how I wasn't alone in getting help. From there it was 2 years here to get telekinesis under control but after an incident at the Anistar Showcase I needed help with telepathy."
"Incident?" Miette asked.
"My telepathy as I've said is broken, a price I accept for my past transgressions." Sabrina said. "It's always active but these days short of an intense thought like yours regarding Ash it's more just a constant buzz in my head that I can live with. I can suppress it to nothing, which I'm doing now by the way, but it won't last long, and I'll need a nap soon because of it but for the most part it's not something I mind as it's a reminder of my past actions and to not be like that again."
"I can see how that could be annoying but manageable, I guess." Miette said. "But I take it that that's not always the case."
"Alas no." Sabrina said with a sigh. "Large crowds are a problem for me because the excitement people have and volume of mental presences around me is too much for my damaged mind to handle. The result the one time I dealt with it back in Anistar was a full-blown seizure that Olympia and Haunter had to help me get clear lest I lose control. Ever since I can't do large crowds, a small price to pay for sobriety in my book."
"Oh, I see now." Miette said as she understood the issue though of course couldn't relate. "And now you're good and helping people out."
"As best I can yes." Sabrina said. "I have a strict schedule back home that I stuck to for 4 years until my current trip to Kalos. Basically, I see challengers in the morning, train with my Pokémon in the afternoon, and either family time, guest speaking, or addiction meetings in the evenings."
"That's that Narcotics Anonymous thing you mentioned, right?" Miette asked.
"Correct but I run a slightly meeting in Saffron called Obsession Anonymous for those with more esoteric and obsession-based addictions like shopping, porn, or what not but I also attend and host Narcotics Anonymous ones as well as those are closest to what I dealt with." Sabrina said with a nod. "It's all part of my healing and I take a week off a month to reset myself and make sure that I am back to normal. This is the first long break I've had in years, but I needed it and it's been even better than I could have imagined because I can now try and help you."
"I don't know how you can help me though." Miette said with a shrug. "I'm not sure what is going on. I have a crush on Ash, I don't deny that or that it's my first crush, but it's deep and I'm not sure what to do about it."
"I've helped 3 girls as much as I can and begun helping May, I didn't have the time to do more than make sure she was ok, but I will be seeing her soon to get an update on how she's doing." Sabrina said. "Each had their own issues and feelings but with me they were able to vent about them, talk about them in a healthy way, and come to understandings."
"How so?" Miette asked curious to see what worked.
"Naturally I won't go into details, but I can give you a general overview I feel." Sabrina said thinking on the other girls she'd spoken to. "For one it was the need to make up with Dawn for past actions and be the best friend to Ash and Dawn as possible despite her love for Ash while properly accepting her loss and addressing her other issues which she's done. For another it was more being able to talk about it as she'd accepted she'd never be with Ash but just needed a friendly face to finally talk to about her crush on Ash. The third it was to get it off her chest so that she could begin to move on. I worked with all of them and will do so with you as well."
"So, it varies." Miette said thinking on what Sabrina had said. "I guess when it comes to the heart that does make sense. So, what do I do? How can you help me, Sabi?"
"Just tell me how you fell for Ash." Sabrina said with a smile. "Usually, the first stage is to get it off your chest, to accept your feelings and express them to a neutral third party who knows how to listen and also knows what kind of person Ash can be without having fallen for him herself. After that I can give you some advice as to how to go forward."
"Honestly there isn't much to tell on that front." Miette said. "Unlike others there really wasn't a singular moment for me or anything of that sort, it was more just very clear right away to me that I liked him. I'm a confident and self-assured girl as you noted, I always have been and it's what makes me and Serena such good friends and rivals because I realized she was my equal right away, if not better than me, and made it all clear to her from the start that we were rivals. I didn't meet Ash until earlier this year of course and when I did it was at a Poke Puff baking contest I had entered again, same one I met Sabrina at in fact, and, well, one thing led to another, and I saw Ash for who he was."
"Let me guess, that trio of thieves known as Team Rocket showed up and caused a ruckus." Sabrina said. "And Ash sorted them out with you present so you saw how well he could handle such a situation."
"I see you've experienced them then." Miette said.
"Heard not experienced, well maybe but I think that was my doll self or something as it was back before I got sober but go on." Sabrina said trying to think back on the trio she'd heard a lot about at the very least. "I know that they often do that though you falling for Ash because of it is a surprise, usually it takes some big event or a little time with him to do so."
"Hardly, I'm attracted to confidence that is like mine, at least that is how it seems." Miette said with a shrug. "Ash was that and more. Team Rocket stole the food for the bake off and ran away with it. He took charge and with the others we used my Slurpuff to track them down."
"Slurpuff." Slurpuff said helpfully. "Slur, Slurpuff."
"A Slurpuff's smell is amazing, having one at hand when food is stolen is very useful indeed." Sabrina said recalling the Pokémon well from her last time here. "So that's a smart move."
"It was and from there it was easy." Miette said. "Ash took charge of the battle and directed me, Serena and Dawn with what to do. It was so damned sexy and hot that I was basically crushing from that moment on. Then, when I realized that Serena liked him as well, well that only made him even more appealing as we are rivals, so I set her a challenge to see who'd tell him first. Alas that was already too late."
"Because of Dawn." Sabrina said understanding the situation easily, it was a little like Anabel's only more abrupt it seemed. "I take it they were respectful beforehand, so you didn't realize."
"Correct, they were which is nice of them but did cause me to develop feelings for Ash, not that I think knowing ahead of time would have prevented them if I'm honest." Miette admitted. "But Dawn had won the Poke Puff contest we were all in and they were, um, celebrating as a couple so I knew I had lost."
"They do have a habit of doing that." Sabrina said. "Usually they're pretty well restrained but sometimes they slip up when one wins something but that's only natural."
"It was annoying but, well, I am a bit confrontational when I want to be." Miette said which didn't surprise Sabrina in the least. "And while it wasn't negative in anyway, I didn't beat around the bush with Dawn and just went right for it with her. Even she was shocked by how direct I was, though she did pick up on why I was confronting her right away, and sent Ash back with Serena to talk to me while her Malamar was out watching."
"Oh, Dawn has a Malamar, how great." Sabrina said happy to hear that Dawn had another psychic type to go with her beautiful shiny Espeon. "I have an Inkay back home from my time in Kalos, but it never evolved, I'll have to talk to Dawn about her Malamar when I see her around the time of the Master Class."
"Oh, you're in for a surprise with that one." Miette said with a grin. "Dawn's Malamar is a character and a half, and she was out the entire time Dawn and I were chatting when I confronted her."
"I look forward to learning more about Dawn's Malamar then." Sabrina said. "And Dawn no doubt felt relieved that you were so direct with her."
"Oh, she was, it was refreshing to her to be challenged so directly and quickly." Miette said. "I was the 6th to appear to her apparently but the first to do so without any part of it coming from Dawn. We chatted, I found out I never had a chance, but I still needed to test Dawn and air it all out. We did so by having a double battle the next day in the style of a Contest battle so that it was similar but different to Dawn's battle with Serena after she confronted Serena over her own crush on Ash. I lost and accepted Dawn as the alpha."
"Well, you've accepted that you lost and know your feelings, that is both healthy and a good place to begin with." Sabrina said thinking on the situation, this one was different to the others in no small part due to Miette's personality. "That means you won't be ruled by them or fall down a dark path, you are too assured of yourself to allow that to happened to you. However, there is clearly something up am I right?"
"Yeah I may have accepted everything but that doesn't mean that my heart has moved on." Miette said with a sigh. "It's not a rational organ and, well, this is my first crush, and it is on someone like Ash, so it's only deepened. I don't know if you watched the Wallace Cup, but we were both in it and well I really saw so much more of Ash there that I couldn't deny my feelings for him got stronger. Add in my little dance with him at Pierre's party a while back and, well, yeah my feelings aren't going away anytime soon."
"I watch the Cup; I couldn't not seeing as Misty going to it was why I came to Kalos." Sabrina said surprising Miette. "She invited me to it but naturally I can't attend given my telepathic issues, but I did want to come to Kalos again, I had to make sure May was ok and I had my own problems to address here, so it made sense to come. As it was the reason I came I watched it, it was interesting for sure.
"It certainly was, and Ash was amazing in it." Miette said with a smile at how well he performed in the Cup. "That is actually part of why I didn't stick around when they stayed for his gym battle with Wulfric, I needed to get clear. I'll see him at the Grand Festival and be with everyone for the Lumiose Conference, Dawn has already asked for my measurements for that for some reason, and I know it will be as it was before, so I needed to get clear to focus on my own goals before facing Ash again."
"Oh, I know what those measurements will be for, you're in for a real surprise." Sabrina said with a knowing grin. "As for what you're doing, it's actually not a bad idea for you I think. You are keenly aware of yourself and your feelings, more so than any other I've spoken to was at this stage as the others were either on the brink of a dark path or already accepting that they didn't have a chance but unsure of how to proceed. Honestly at this point you're in a good and healthy space you just need time to deal with things and work on yourself."
"Huh, I do?" Miette said though she was feeling relieved now that she'd spoken about it. "How so?"
"You've accepted all you can, but you also know that being in the same area as Ash has its drawbacks given who he is and how he has no clue the effect he has on some women." Sabrina said. "So, if you want my advice I would say enjoy the rest of the year and use your feelings as you see fit to better yourself and then, when the year is done, properly find yourself away from all this by avoiding a region that Ash is in. I have found that travel can help and as you are a coordinator and performer you have an excuse to do so, so go for it."
"I think I can see what you're getting on at." Miette said her eyes narrowing as she thought on what the older woman was saying. "I was already planning on leaving Kalos after the year if I didn't win the Ribbon Cup at the Grand Festival and going somewhere new with Contests to see how they were, maybe Galar or Alola as they seem interesting, and growing more away from my home region, so I can see how that would help. A year away from all of them could help me find myself both on my own, as a performer to get to the next stage, and to see what it is like away from my friends and feelings for Ash."
"Exactly, for you I think this is the best course of action and if you do decide then let me make one suggestion." Sabrina said glad to see that Miette was already understanding, she was well on her way to moving on like Angie had been she just needed time to truly find herself away from her comfort zone.
"What?" Miette asked.
"Don't go to one of the new Contest regions but come to Kanto instead." Sabrina offered. "We are one of the oldest regions out there so there is a lot to learn from us and I think you'd like the Contests and the change of pace we have there. Plus, it is where Ash is from so it will help you understand what forged him so that you can fully process your feelings for him. All that and I will still be in Kanto so when you come through Saffron, it is the biggest city right in the heart of the region so everyone does in the end, you will be able to give me an update on how you're doing. I'll host you at the gym and we can have a great time."
"Huh that does sound nice and fitting seeing as Ash is in my home region right now, plus Kanto is one of the older Contest regions, so I'll see more about them there." Miette said thinking on Sabrina's offer and in her usual confident and quick manner already coming to a decision. "Alright, I'll do it, I'll come to Kanto next year if I don't win the Grand Festive and compete in Contests there to help further my skills as I round out the rough edges of my performing. I'll hold you to that offer Sabi."
"Good then I'll give you my email before I leave." Sabrina said a little taken aback by how quickly Miette had agreed to the idea but given the girl's personality she probably shouldn't have been. "I am surprised you accepted this so readily."
"What can I say, I know myself well." Miette said with a shrug. "And when I feel like something is right I go for it which is the case with this. Honestly just talking now has helped me put some sense to my thoughts and knowing how Ash is like this all the time no matter who the person is just shows how special he is. I am sure a year in his home region will help immensely and I will see plenty there who will have their own stories of Ash to tell. All this will give me more clarity so that when I see you in your hometown I can have a clearer picture of what I want."
"That's all I ask for." Sabrina said with a smile as she rose, she was nearing her telepathic limits, so she needed to rest. "And this is a good opening conversation. I can see that you do need more time before another and probably a third at some point just to wrap everything up, three seems to be a key number with these, so we will talk more in time."
"I'd like that." Miette said and meant it; this talk had been surprisingly helpful for her.
"Same." Sabrina said. "For now, though I do need to rest as my telepathic issues are about to come back in full force. I would suggest a battle tomorrow for fun but alas I have to go to a local Narcotics Anonymous meeting as it has been a while since my last one and I did use my power earlier, so I need a meeting before I head to Gloire City to intercept May and possible Serena there before the Master Class and talk to them. I'll spend the Master Class making my way to Anistar to see Olympia and then see what is next for me before I leave Kalos."
"I would like to battle you, but I too must be on my way in the morning." Miette admitted. "There is a Contest a few days away that I need to make and go for my fourth ribbon there as I'm trying to avoid the wildcard round and just qualify directly for the Grand Festival, but I do hope to see you again Sabi, this has been helpful."
"As do I Miette, until then email me if you have any questions or just want to chat." Sabrina said as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a card to hand to Miette. "I'm open to talk about anything and good luck in the Grand Festival, I'll be watching it to see how you all do in it."
Miette just smiled and nodded as she took the card from Sabrina. The older woman then turned, her Espurr still in her arms, and took her leave. Miette was certainly feeling better about everything. Her feelings were still there but no longer was she a jumbled mess about them. She had a direction to go in to really deal with them, so she'd do just that. First though her focus was on getting to the Grand Festival and beating Serena at least then she could decide on her next course of action.
For Sabrina she just smiled as she retired to her room for a nap, Espurr having already gone to that point during her chat with Miette, so she just laid her Pokémon on the pillow on the top bunch so that it was comfortable. She hadn't expected to find a new and unexpected Ash girl here of all places, but she had, and the talk had been productive. She could tell that Miette was strong and would pull through and move on she just needed time away to do so and Sabrina had helped show her that. She felt good and her meeting tomorrow would help more before she continued on to see May and Serena.
Yes, today had been an overall good day for Sabrina as she lay down for a nap content with her latest step on her journey to help those who'd lost Ash to Dawn and looking forward to the next person she got to help as she repaid her debut to Ash. With that in mind, Sabrina fell asleep to deal with her own demons and the light that she now saw at the end of her own tunnel that was her heart.
Well, there it is, the latest Problems chapter and the first one with Miette which was probably a surprise that she was the first of the 3 girls in Kalos, but this was the best place for the Miette chapter I felt, and it helped set up her next one, which won't occur until Hearts 5. Next up is the next May chapter which I am sure those who know the current shit she's dealing with in Kalos know will be one of the deepest yet, but May needs it, and Sabrina will be there for her. That, and the first Serena chapter because it's obvious at this point that Serena will be getting one soon, will occur during the upcoming Master Class arc so only a few weeks away, shorter than usual for this story but plenty more to come but for now I will leave this chapter off here. As always, given the content all I will do is ask that if you want to read more that you favorite or follow it and let me know what you think of it in your reviews or PMs to me. Until next time.
Stringdog