The first thing I feel is the pain.
Well, not pain, more like a throbbing soreness, but it hurts nonetheless.
I open my eyes, and the lights in the room are dimmed.
I slowly scan the room, to see Cleo, Effie, and Belle all curled up in a bed by the corner, and Aspen is sitting between my legs.
Sitting up slowly, I gently kick my legs off the bed, standing.
I need to make sure Kai is okay.
I check the clock...
2AM.
Sighing, I wake my pokemon up.
After the initial tackling and kissing, Cleo and Effie take a side, while Belle leads the way and Aspen follows.
I grab hold of Effie and Cleo, and we make our way out.
There are no doctors on, but a few nurses give me concerned looks. I just wave them off, telling them I feel fine, and jst want to sleep in my own bed.
We make it to the commons room without hiccup.
We enter, and I notice Medoa is sitting, sipping from a steaming cup in her hands, and shes talking to... Prim?
Prim's eyes light up as she sees me.
"Oh my god!" She cries, flying into my arms.
Medoa walks over, hugging me as well.
"I see you get into lots of trouble, mister!" She tuts me, but laughs.
"Where are you going?" Prim asks, wiping her tears away, and I point to the stairs.
"Bed, hopefully." I laugh, but my abdomen stings with each heave.
"Need help?" Medoa asks, but I wave them away.
"I got all the help I need, but thank you girls." I hug them both again, and head slowly up the stairs.
We get about halfway when I hear the door at the bottom bang open, and hurried footsteps behind me.
Sighing, I turn around to face the wrath of N.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" He growls quietly, his face beet red with anger.
"What? Did I do something wrong?" I ask innocently, and he groans.
"You need to be resting!"
"Where do you think I'm going?" I laugh, and he shakes his head, the color fading from his complexion.
"You are going to get yourself killed!" He chuckles, and I laugh with him.
He leans in, kissing my cheek, then takes Cleo's place, helping me up the stairs.
We make it to the room, and quietly open the door.
I was hoping everyone would be asleep, but Mom and Dad are on the bed, talking quietly, a small bundle between them.
"Baby!" Mom cries, darting off the bed and into my arms.
"Hey mom." I laugh, kissing her hair.
"I was... so... worried!" She sobs quietly, and Dad gently takes her off of me, hugging me gently.
"Hey bud. You get going to bed, we will talk in the morning." I nod, and turn to N.
"I got it from here, babe. I will see you tomorrow for the results ceremony." He nods, and I kiss him, firmly, before heading into the room.
Before heading to bed, though, I turn back to my parents.
"What is that?" I ask, pointing to the bundle, and Dad smiles.
"That's Delibird, the pokemon your brother saved."
I wake up, and my phone says its 6am.
Smiling, I go to sit up, but my pokemon are so huddled in around me I can't even move.
"Guys, I have to go out!" I laugh quietly, and they begrudgingly move, growling and murmuring in tired voices.
I quickly shower, making sure to watch my stomach, and get dressed.
"Coffee! Anyone interested?" I ask, and they all shrug, knowing they'll get juice and cookies out of it.
"Bro?" Kai turns over, his eyes slitted in the light from the bathroom.
"Hey little brother! How are you?" I sit on his bed, and he grabs my arm.
"I was... so scared..." He whispers, but I squeeze his arm warmly.
"I am so proud of what you did, and I'm sure Delibird is to." His eyes go wide.
"Delibird? Is that the pokemon I helped?"
"Yes! It's with mom and Dad." He instantly sits up, pulling a shirt on, and lifts himself into his chair, quickly wheeling himself out.
Mom and Dad are chatting over coffee on the balcony, as usual for this time in the morning, and Delibird is fiddling with it's bag on the bed, but it's eyes light up when it sees Kai.
"Biiiiir!" It squawks, flying into him.
He hugs it tightly, and I see mom and dad walking in to see what the commotion was about.
"Hey buddy!" Kai laughs, kissing it's forehead, and it shakes its head, smiling.
"Bud...ette? Bud-ette?" Kai corrects himself, and she nods.
"How are you feeling?" He asks, and she smiles wider, laughing and flying around in circles.
"She looks happy." Mom says, and me and Dad nod.
"Well, I'm sure you want to get back..." Kai says quietly, but she lands on his lap, lifting his chin and shaking her head.
She points to a pokeball on my belt, then to him, smiling.
"Wait..." He stutters, and I hand him an empty pokeball.
"Are you sure...?" He asks, and she nods, headbutting the middle of the pokeball, and getting sucked in in a flash of red light.
The ball shakes three times, then clicks.
He releases her instantly.
"Oh wow! My first pokemon!" He laughs, and we all cheer.
"Are you going to name her?" Dad asks, and Mom giggles in excitement.
He thinks for a minute, and Delibird hops from foot to foot in excitement.
"What about... Oh! Delia!" He shouts, and everyone goes quiet.
Delibird jumps around, chirping and clapping for her new name.
He scoops her up, hugging her tightly.
"Delia it is! Glad to have you on my team, Delia!" They laugh, and she plants a kiss on his cheek.
"So he named it Delia?" Matthew asks, and I nod.
"Shes a total sweetheart, and they are going out to train today." I smile at the thought of Kai training his own pokemon, and Ray puts her hand on my wrist.
"We are so proud of him." She whispers, and everyone nods.
"Stop that mushy stuff, I'll cry!" I laugh, wiping a tear out of my eye, and they all laugh to.
"So, results ceremony tonight..." Matthew starts, and we all tense up.
"The pact still stands, no matter what." Nareen puts in, and we all nod.
"If we all get in, and we make it to the end, what happens then?" Rayna asks, and they all look at me.
"We fight, fair and square. One pokemon each, loser takes the fall. That way, no hard feelings, and no-one gets hurt." They all nod.
"Thats fair. I would hate to have to beat you guys up..." Nareen laughs.
"Trust me, if Prim gets in there will be enough of that!" We all laugh.
"Are you going out to train with Kai as well?" Rayna asks me, and I shrug.
"Probably, but mom and dad want to go to so I might just hang around here till tonight. Maybe go see Marlon, had a question for him about Effie's training." She nods.
"Can I tag along? I have no plans for today either." She asks, and I nod.
"I have training with the Rockets, this morning." Nareen says, and Matthew nods.
"Same with me and the Magmas." We all nod.
"Well, we will see you guys for the announcement tonight!" We all hug, then go our separate ways, mine and Rayna's pokemon following us closely.
"A what?" Marlon asks, scratching his head.
"I forget what its called, but its something a water type pokemon holds... it boosts their attacks..." I wring my hands, searching for the answer.
"Oh! Like, a Mystic Water, or a Water Plate!" He claps, pointing at me with a grin.
"Yes! Mystic Water!" I laugh, and Rayna laughs behind me.
"I have some here, did you want one?" He asks, and my eyes go wide.
"Would you lend me one, till I can get my own?" I gasp, and he laughs.
"Of course, bud! I don't need all of them!" He laughs, reaching into a small cupboard behind him in the living quarters, and taking out a beautiful necklace, with a teardrop shaped glass capsule, filled with a shimmering liquid.
He hands it to me, and I wave Effie over from where shes swimming with my other pokemon, except Belleweather, who isnt allowed in the water because she shocked the whole gym on accident.
Effie jumps gracefully onto the dock, landing beside me in a quick somersault.
I gently slip the necklace on to her fin, and it slides nicely down to her forehead.
The chain fades away, leaving the capsule embedded in her forehead.
She smiles, nibbling my fingers before jumping in again.
"Oh, and I had something for you to..." His brow furrows, and he heads into the living quarters.
"Be right out!" He shouts, and theres sounds of something being rummaged through.
Me and Rayna go back to the lily pad we were floating around on, and stick our feet off the edge into the water, playing gently with the small pokemon flitting around.
"I wonder what he has for you?" She asks, and I shrug.
"Probably something to do with Effie, but I'm not sure."
He appears from the back room again, something clenched in his hand, and he dives into the water, swimming quickly towards us.
"Here!" He hands me a small leather bag, sealed tight with straps.
"What is it?" I ask, undoing the straps.
"I'm not to sure, but the man I bought it from said it had something to do with Sharpedo, so I grabbed it for you." He smiles, pulling himself onto the pad beside us.
"Oh my god, Marlon! You didn't have to!" I take it out, and gasp.
In the bag is a beautiful stone, about the size of a small pebble. It glimmers in the sunlight from the glass roof, and it shimmers in the colors of Effie, navy blue and a light yellow. It is encased in a wiring case, which is attached to a leather cord, and I slip it around my neck.
"Marlon!" I gasp, watching the light dance off of it, and he laughs, pushing me gently.
"It's fine! Looks good on you." He gives me a wink, before slipping back into the water and swimming away before I can protest.
He swims over to Effie, gently grasping her top fin, and they shoot off.
"Thats gorgeous." Rayna whispers, gently rolling it around in her fingers.
"I know..." I laugh as Effie flies into the air, barely grazing the roof with Marlon wide-eyed still on her back, and lands with a mighty splash, soaking everyone around them.
We grab our seats, and Matthew and Nareen are already there.
"How's it going guys?" Rayna asks politely, but they just nod.
This is the final moment, the moment of truth.
N walks out on stage, and the room goes silent as the grave.
"Well, I wont bore you with the niceties tonight, as you are all probably wanting to hear the results." There is a polite clapping from around the room, but noone says a word.
"I have asked my fellow team leaders to come up, and announce their own team's winners. We will start with Team Rocket."
Jessie and James walk to the front of the stage, and Jessie holds out an envelope for James to read from.
"Team Rocket has chosen it's two contestants! They will be..." Nareen tenses up beside us, and Rayna puts her head on her shoulder.
"Nareen and Daryn! Congrats ladies!" James claps, and Nareen finally breathes out.
"Yay! Go Nar!" Rayna hugs her, and I reach across the table to kiss her hand.
Shelley and Archie head up next.
"Hey sweethearts! We picked ours, after much deliberation!"
"We picked... Sam and Harold!" There's polite clapping as the contestants stand and bow.
Next is the man who introduced himself as Maxie.
"Magma has two as well..." Matthew sucks in a deep breath, and I rub his arm reassuringly.
"Matt and Marcia!" We all cheer, and Matthew breathes out, wiping a tear from his eye.
Jupiter is next, with a tall man with a stern face and blue hair.
"Here we go guys!" She giggles, as the man reads the names quickly and efficiently.
"Ram and Wendy." He says gruffly, and we all cheer.
N walks forward next, and my heart stops.
"Here at Plasma, we decided on two as well. We will be sending in..."
I look over to the table where Prim, Sky, and Cosmo are holding hands, eyes closed, and Rayna grabs my hand.
"Primrose and-" Sky and Cosmo cheer like crazy as my name is called as well.
Rayna squeezes my hand, kissing my cheek, and Matthew hugs me as well.
N winks at me, before heading off stage.
Next is Lysandre, but I dont even hear who he calls, cause I'm so pumped with adrenaline.
Finally, Kuikui walks out on stage.
"Guzma got called back home to Alola, but I will be here to help train the contestants from Skull! And, speaking of, here they are..."
Rayna tenses, but I kiss her hair, and she leans onto my shoulder.
"Grant and Rayna! Great job you two!" He laughs, and his lab coat flies back as he turns, revealing a chiseled six pack and the slightest wisp of chest hair.
She cries out, and covers her mouth with her hand as she cries happily.
"We did it! All of us!" Nareen laughs, grabbing us all in a group hug across the table.
"Now, would all of the contestants please follow us leaders? We will be having a private dinner to discuss what we are doing from here." N bows, and waves us up to the stage.
Grabbing my drink, we all head up.