Chapter One: Start of a Journey: Allies
Another night with a strange dream. A strange man and a woman saying something about Destiny. Why was she so different? She didn't understand. Also there was that annoying beeping. Or was it ringing?
Her alarm clock rang, disturbing her sleep. She hit the snooze button and got out of bed. She yawned and stretched, clearing the lactic acid out of her arms. Once she finished stretching, she looked over to her bed where the two closest friends she had were still sleeping, both of them snoring.
Pyro, the louder snorer, had brown fur all over her body, save for a collar like mane around her neck that was white and the end of her tail, which was also white. Said tail was really fluffy and was almost a foot long and almost six inches thick. Her actual size was about a foot tall, but that didn't really bother her. Her four legs were small, but they were very strong. Her ears were long and came to points in the end. The insides were black, like charcoal. Her nose was black and very small, like a smudge. Her eyes, if they were open, were brown and black, very liquid and soft, but had what seemed to be a fire of fury and courage deep down inside them.
Psy, the quieter snorer (pretty much silent), had white fur. She appeared to be wearing what resembled a long, white robe or nightgown. Her legs were bent under it (she walked on her knees half the time). At full height, she was just a little bit taller than Pyro. Her arms were thin and seemed graceful, in slight description. She had green hair that resembled a helmet or bowl cut in shape. Two round, red horn-like objects protruded from it, on pointing up and forward, the other pointing up and backwards. They seemed to warm up when she was happy. Her eyes, were they visible (they're hidden by the "helmet"), were red with the smallest possible traces of black mixed in. They were warm and friendly (not that they were really seen often). Her mouth was small, but her smile was always big, just like her heart (in the figurative sense).
"Hey, guys." Shade said, lightly shaking them, her voice confident. "It's time to wake up."
"Five more minutes" Pyro said, smacking Shade's hand away with her paw, her voice fiery. "Give me five more minutes, mom."
"Pyro" Shade said, shaking her best friend again. "You need to wake up."
"Ugh, fine!" the Eevee said, as she sat up in the bed, stretching herself. "I'm up."
"Your turn next, Psy." Shade said, gently shaking her other best friend.
"Allright Shade." The Ralts said, her voice gentle and quiet. "I'm up."
"Great." Shade said, clenching her fist. "Let's get going. We've got a big day ahead of us."
"But Shade." Psy said in her quiet voice. "You're still in your pajamas."
"What?" Shade asked. She looked down to see that she was indeed still in her pajamas. They were pink striped with black hearts on them.
"Oh" Shade said, her face getting a little redder. "I guess I am."
"You should get changed." Pyro said. "Those pajamas are hideous."
"Well" Shade said, shrugging her shoulders. "My other ones are in the wash."
"Whatever." Pyro said, laughing. "Just get changed already."
"Fine." Said Shade, stripping out of her pajamas and putting on her clothes for the day. She put on her black pants and black shirt. She put a black jacket on over it, leaving it unzipped (she really likes black). She put on her favorite black shoes. She combed her black hair, making it softer and lusher. She looked in her mirror, seeing her icy blue black eyes staring back at her. They seemed shimmer in the right light.
Making sure she was ready, Shade walked to the door of her room. Pyro and Psy jumped off the bed and walked over to the door as well. Shade opened the door, her and her two best friends stepping out into the kitchen, ready to start the day.
"Good morning, Shade dear." Her mother, Night, greeted her. "Did you three sleep well?"
"Yep." The three girls said.
"I take it from Pyro and Psy's input" Night said, laughing. "That they had a good night's sleep as well."
"They sure did." Shade said. "I had a little trouble getting them up (mostly Pyro), but they slept well."
"I still wanted five more minutes." Pyro said, grumbling under her breath.
"Quiet, Pyro." Shade whispered under her breath.
"Did Pyro say something?" Night asked, looking at her daughter.
"She said she wanted five more minutes." Shade said.
"Well" Night said, laughing. "I'm right there with her. If she wants to join me for a nap later, she can."
"Pass!" Pyro said. She walked up to the breakfast table. "I'd prefer to train."
"What did she say this time?" Night asked her daughter.
"She said she'd rather train." Shade said, getting cereal for her and her two partners.
"Well, she does love that." Night said. "Maybe she could train some after breakfast."
"Cool." Shade said, eating her cereal.
"Just don't break anything when you do." Night said, heading back into her room.
"Okay." Shade said, still eating.
"She's still the same girl she was five years ago." Night thought from inside her room as she went into her bathroom to take a shower. "Still believes she can understand her Pokémon. Such a great imagination. No one's been able to talk to Pokémon for centuries. And those that claimed to were labelled insane. I hope she keeps her imagination to herself when she leaves for her journey. I don't want her to end up like those people."
With Shade, Pyro, and Psy
"So" Pyro said with her mouth full of cereal. "What should we do first? Should we train a little or head out?"
"We need supplies." Shade said, eating her cereal.
"Supplies for what?" Shade's uncle, Alucard, who lived with her and her mother, asked as he entered the room. He was dressed in a black shirt with black pants, black boots, a red hat and a blood red trench coat with two large pistols capable of killing vampires tucked inside (ignore that last part—wrong Alucard). He had on a small red ascot that went really well with his red eyes (which were almost always hidden behind his red-orange glasses).
"I'm going on a Pokémon journey today." Shade said. "I need basic supplies for travel and such."
"Right" Alucard said, remembering. "I did hear something about you starting your journey."
"Yep." Shade said. Pyro and Psy said their agreements (not that Alucard could understand). "Today's the day."
"In that case" Alucard said, pulling a box from his coat (at first Shade and her two friends thought it was a gun (for, um, reasons)). "Let me give you a present for your journey."
Shade opened the box to find a red scarf that was a crimson color. She squealed and put it on (she loved scarves and had always liked red).
"Thanks uncle Alucard." Shade said, admiring herself in the mirror. "I love it."
"I knew you would." Alucard said, chuckling. "Now go enjoy your journey."
"Okay." Shade said, going to her room and packing a few supplies that she would need on her journey.
"Now I'm all packed." She said, walking towards the front door, along with Psy and Pyro. She gave one last look at her house before she walked out the door, the last time she would do so until the end of her journey.
Outside the house
She was on her journey, leaving her friends in Pokea Town behind. Her two best friends were right beside her every step of the way. As she walked through the Pokea Town gates, she felt a sense of pride. She was finally going to take on the league challenge, going to try to beat the league. Her sister, Luna, had tried the league challenge six years earlier, but she hadn't been heard from since. But Shade was going to triumph where her sister had not. She was going to succeed or die trying.
"It feels good to be out of the house." Pyro said. "It's been getting stuffier in there every week."
"I have to agree with Pyro." Psy said.
"My mom kept using these dumb candles." Shade said. "I don't like them either and my uncle complained that they disrupted his aura or something like that."
"Well, now we have fresh air and beauty." Psy said, sniffing a flower on the side of the road.
"Yeah." Pyro said, taking a deep breath. "Smell that good air."
"Pokea Town did have its fair share of smog." Shade said, stopping in front of a sign. "But now we're here on the start of our journey. This is our first day."
"Yeah." Pyro said, standing tall (somewhat) on her four strong legs. "Shade, what does the sign say about the route number?"
"It's" Shade said, reading the sign. "1006"
"Really?" Pyro said, looking back at her best friend.
"Yeah." Shade said, rereading the sign. "Kick some ass, Pyro."
"Yay" Pyro said, jumping into the grass, only to be attacked by about ten pissed off Pidgey. Pyro was thrown out of the grass over to Shade's feet.
"Um, Shade." Psy said, teleporting onto Shade's shoulder and whispering into her ear. Shade's expression turned to confusion as she grabbed a Potion from her bag (healing items in this fic are orbs that one crushes in their hand, allowing he contents to fall over a Pokémon and heal it—sometimes a Pokémon broke it themselves so as to get all the juices).
"Pyro" Shade said. "I read the sign upside down. It's over 9000. Rah! *insert Shade breaking the Potion, the juice falling onto Pyro*"
"You sound bored." Psy said as Pyro stood up and ran back into the grass.
"It's still not a threat." Shade said. "We're strong enough to handle anything this route could throw at us. See, Pyro's already gotten her revenge."
"I think I'm part Saiyan." Pyro said as she threw ten unconscious Pidgey at Shade's feet. "Because I am just super."
"Enough with the bad Dragon Ball jokes." Psy said, teleporting down onto the ground next to Pyro. "Let's train a little bit."
"But I didn't get to make a Princess of all badasses joke." Pyro whined.
"Should we catch a Pokémon here?" Shade asked, changing the subject.
"Do you have any Pokéballs?" Psy asked.
"I—dammit!" Shade cursed. "I knew we should have picked some up on our last shopping trip."
"Well, that's your own fault." Pyro said, walking toward the grass, moving her tail with craftiness, as if sneaking up on some unsuspecting prey.
"You were with me." Shade said, pointing out her best friend's flaw in her argument.
"It was your shopping trip." Psy said, pointing out Shade's own flaw.
"Whatever the case" Shade said. "We have no Pokéballs until we reach New Tao City."
"How far away is that?" Psy asked, curious.
"Only about a day's walk." Shade said. "We should be there by tomorrow."
"That's going to be a long walk!" Pyro called from the grass where she was happily beating the sh!t on whatever she happened to find (man, Eevee are scary mother #$ers).
"You'll have to deal with it." Shade said. "We're going there for the first gym challenge anyway."
"Whatever." Pyro said as she walked back over to where Shade and Psy were. "I'm tired of fighting the stuff on this route anyway."
"Well, then" Shade said, walking down the road. "Let's get going. It's going to get dark in a few hours and I want to at least get most of the way there."
"Good luck with that idea." Pyro said, chuckling. "With your determination and distractability we'll evolve long before we even get to the city."
"If we evolve" Psy said, holding up a finger. "Then we'll be more prepared to face the Gym leader."
"She's a Flying type leader." Pyro said. "As long as I don't evolve into a Leafeon, we'll be fine."
'You're putting a lot of faith in yourself." Shade said.
"If one of us is at a disadvantage" Pyro said. "Then we're all at a disadvantage. That's the twelfth rule of battling."
"I see." Shade said. "Well, since you brought it up, what do you want to evolve into? We never really established it in our last talk."
"I want to be the most badass Eeveelution there is." Pyro said. "Which limits me to an Umbreon or a Flareon. I'm leaning more toward Flareon. "So, if you got a Fire Stone…"
"We'll have to get one at the store." Shade said. "I don't have any stones."
"Damn it!" Pyro exclaimed. "I wanted to burn the grass."
"You're very destructive." Shade pointed out.
"I love to fight." Pyro said.
"That you do." Psy said as she heard a noise. "What was that?"
"I heard it too." Shade said. "It came from behind those bushes."
"Let's go check it out." Pyro said, running quietly over to the bushes. Shade and Psy followed, quietly moving the bush's branches so they could see what was behind it.
Behind the bush they saw two Pokémon. They were launching strange Shadow Balls at each other, the black orbs colliding in midair (they were strange because Shadow Balls are a deep purple color, not unlike the color of a Purrloin's fur— these were black).
The first Pokémon was a very, very light pink in color. It was very cute in its looks and seemed feminine in voice and looks (because it was a girl). Her shape was round, but not quite fully round. She had two short, pink legs. They had two toes each. The toes had small claws on the end of them. Her arms were about the same length as her legs. They had three fingers each. She had a tail that curled around in a spiral pattern. It rested behind her back. She had six points on her back that resembled angels' wings. She had two points on her head that ended in black tips (these were part of her ears). She had a curl of hair that curled in the same shape as her tail right between her ears. Her eyes were small, but they were vibrant and gentle. They were blackish red in color. Her mouth was small, but it seemed like it could smile a mile wide. She was a Clefable.
The other Pokémon was almost the opposite of the Clefable in terms of color. It was also a male, judging by its voice and attitude as well as looks. His body was a deep black color. His shape was very similar to that of the Clefable's. On his back were black pointy spikes that were similar to quills (large, painful quills). He had a thick tail that went out behind him. His arms were small and ended in three claws. His ears (or what resembled his ears) were pointed and black. His eyes were red, a deep crimson. He had an enormous grin that seemed very sinister. He was a Gengar (this Gengar is different, if you're wondering why he's the wrong color).
"What are they?" Shade asked.
"The lighter one's a Clefable." Psy said, using her Psychic powers. "And the Darker one's a Gengar."
"Think we could take 'em?" Pyro asked her Pokémon companion.
"The power level of one of them is more than ours combined." Psy said. "It would be suicide. Both of them dwarf us. And I don't think that this is the full extent of their power."
"You talk about power levels like they actually exist and matter." Shade said to her Psychic best friend. "I've watched enough Dragon Ball Z to know that they're bullsh!t. Besides, don't Pokémon go by XP levels?"
"That's a method invented by humans." Pyro said.
"How come I didn't know that before?" Shade asked.
"You never asked us before silly." Psy said, giggling.
"So, wait." Shade said. "What's the difference?"
"XP levels are how a measure of a Pokémon's stats according to the moves they know and the strength, speed, and durability they have." Psy explained. "They are constantly growing as a Pokémon wins fights. But, it doesn't leave room for a Pokémon to be holding back power in its calculations, and doesn't account for when a Pokémon powers up or down due to a move or a Mega Evolution."
"Whereas power levels" Pyro continued. "Are actually more accurate than people believe. It shows the current power of the individual being scanned. It's just that usually people believe that what they read is the maximum they can put out, so they usually underestimate them. Most Pokémon can in fact hide their power levels and do so. Also it changes as a Pokémon raises or lowers its power as well as when it evolves or Mega Evolves."
"Another thing is" Psy said. "That a power level doesn't include strength. It's the amount of energy a Pokémon can put out in a given time."
"And just between us." Pyro said, whispering in Shade's ear. "Even an infant is capable of learning Hyper Beam under certain circumstances. Most of what people believe about Pokémon is untrue."
"Interesting." Shade said. "When you guys were telling me stuff about yourselves when we were younger, I thought you were telling stories, but you were telling me facts about all Pokémon."
"Yep." Psy said. "But back to the matter at hand."
"Yeah" Pyso said as she looked over at where the Gengar and Clefable were. "We should go kick their… asses. Where'd they go?"
"Where are they?" Shade asked, noticing that they were indeed missing. "They couldn't have just disappeared, could they?"
"Actually." A voice came from behind the three friends. "We can. But that's beside the point. We're right behind you."
"Aahh!" the three females jumped, turning around.
"What?" the Gengar asked, chuckling slightly. "Did I scare you?"
"What do you want?" Shade asked.
"Your stuff." The Gengar said.
"Try and take it." Pyro growled as she and Psy stood in front of Shade, ready to defend her.
"Oh, please." The Gengar said. "We can smash both of your asses a dozen times over."
"Try it!" Pyro said, leaping towards the Gengar and using Bite. The Gengar didn't move when the attack landed.
"I expected more from an Eevee." The Gengar said, grabbing Pyro by the neck and beginning to choke her.
"Leave her alone!" Psy shouted, using a Dazzling Gleam attack on the Gengar. He flinched, but the Clefable fired a "Shadow Ball" at her, which knocked her back a few feet.
"What was that?" Shade asked, confused. "That should have done less damage to that Gengar, him being a Poison type, but it seemed to be extra effective. What is he?"
"I'm something you'd best not mess with." The Gengar said, walking over to Shade while holding Pyro and Psy by the neck, both of them unconscious.
"Leave my friends alone!" Shade shouted, running over to the Gengar and punching him in the face.
"That shouldn't have affected me." The Gengar said, actually looking confused. "Now, I'm going to teach your friends why you shouldn't try to mess with a Gengar."
"Wait" Shade said, standing up. "Don't hurt them. I'll give you my stuff if you'll leave them alone."
"Then get started." The Clefable said.
Shade took off her bag and tossed it to the Gengar, who dropped Pyro to grab it. He put Psy on the ground and dug through the bag, pulling two yellow orbs out. He crushed them in his hand, the juice pouring onto Pyro and Psy's bodies. They slowly blinked their eyes, returning to consciousness.
The Gengar tossed Shade's bag back to her. She caught it and looked at the Gengar and Clefable in confusion.
"It would seem that you're who we're looking for." The Gengar said, walking up to Shade. Pyro and Psy stood in front of her, ready to fight them again.
"I'm done fighting for now." The Gengar said, the Clefable walking up to him and taking his hand. "But we would like to join you in your journey."
"Why?" Shade asked.
"You're special." The Clefable said. "Not very many people can talk to Pokémon. It takes a being of a pure heart."
"Really?" Shade asked.
"Most people are locked up when others find out they can speak our language." The Gengar said. "Let's hope you don't end up the same way."
"Why did you try to take our stuff?" Psy asked.
"To test you." The Clefable said. "We needed to know if you were as pure hearted as we think."
"Let me tell you something, ghost." Pyro said, standing in front of the Gengar and growling, which did nothing in terms of intimidation (an Eevee still looks adorable even when it's mad). "Shade is the kindest, most caring, and sweetest person I've ever met. And we would fight to the death for her. And she'd do the same for us."
"Then we have something in common." The Gengar said. "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Shade."
"My name is Pyro." Pyro said, standing proud and tall. "I'm gonna be the most badass Flareon in the world."
"Sorry, Pyro." The Clefable said. "Someone else already secured that spot for herself."
"And I'm Psy." The Ralts introduced herself. "I'm helping Shade complete her journey."
"I'm Shade." Shade said. "I'm a rookie trainer trying to enter the Pokémon League."
"My name is Shadow" the Clefable said, introducing herself.
"And I'm Ace." The Gengar said. "We're similar to Yin and Yang."
"How so?" Psy asked.
"A Gengar is a Clefable's shadow." Ace explained.
"What?" Shade asked, confused.
"Let me explain." Ace said. "Clefable and Gengar are interdimensional beings. When a Clefable is born, a ritual is preformed that removes the Darkness from its soul. That Darkness fuses with its shadow, becoming a Gengar. This doesn't mean that a Gengar is evil and a Clefable is good, but the two parts of the soul are separated. It is a symbiotic relationship. If the Gengar or the Clefable dies, the other will die too."
"But both of them are evolved beings." Pyro said, thinking it over. "That take stones. A Clefable needs a Moon Stone and an Gengar needs a Dusk Stone (in this fic Gengar, or any Pokémon for that matter, don't evolve by trade, but by a specific Stone or by their own power)
"Not exactly." Shadow said. "When a Clefable or Gengar crosses into this dimension, the act of dimensional travel drains so much of their energy that they revert to a weaker forme, those of Cleffa and Ghastly respectively. They regain energy by attacking things in this dimension and build enough energy to evolve into a new forme, eventually reaching their true formes."
"That's not what the Pokédex says." Shade said.
"The Pokédex is bullshit!" Ace shouted.
"How so?" Shade asked.
"Take a Charizard for example." Shadow said. "If a Charizard's tail flame goes out, it won't die. It will be unable to use Fire type moves until it is relit, however."
"Pretty much the only thing that's right in the Pokédex" Ace said. "Is the average height and weight for Pokémon."
"Average?" Shade asked.
"Yeah." Shadow said, giggling. "You didn't think every Charizard was five foot seven did you?"
"No" Shade said. "But I thought that it was closer to the normal than that."
"Well" Ace said. "now that we've ruined your perception of human science and examination, let's continue on your journey."
"Where is your first stop?" Shadow asked.
"New Tao City." Psy said. "We're going to challenge Korra, the Flying Type Gym leader."
"Funny" Ace quietly whispered to Shadow, but not quiet enough that everyone else couldn't hear. "I heard she used to have trouble training Flying types."
"Yeah." Pyro said. "She said in an interview that she prefers Water, Fire, and Ground types. She also said that it took her years for Flying types to trust her enough to let them train her."
"Well, then" Shadow said. "It seems you have an advantage, then."
"How so?" Shade asked.
"She has little experience with Flying types." Ace explained. "You guys could use that to your advantage."
"But I have little experience as a trainer." Shade said. "And she has years. If anything, she has that much of an advantage on me."
"You'll win." Ace said, shrugging his short arms. "You've got guts."
"Oh" Shadow said. "And we're not helping you in the first battle."
"Why not?" Shade asked.
"You need to learn to fight yourself." Ace said. "We'll help you later though."
"Allright." Shade said, sighing. "That makes sense."
"We will help you guys train, though." Ace said. "You could use some training from a very experienced opponent."
"You two can train us?" Psy asked.
"Yep." Ace said. "Let's get started. Shadow, you train Psy and I'll take Pyro."
"Allright." Shadow said. She led Psy a little ways away, talking with her. Ace moved Pyro over a little ways and began to train her. Shade watched the two Parallels train her two best friends (google search Clefable Gengar and you'll understand that).
With Shadow and Psy
"Now, Psy." Shadow said, standing in front of the young Ralts. "You're going to need to focus your full powers into your attacks if you want to do decent damage with them."
"I don't know how." Psy said. "I just attack with whatever I can get."
"Well, I'll teach you." Shadow said. "It's actually very simple."
"You seem to know a lot about Psychic abilities." Psy said.
"I've used a few here and there" Shadow said, smirking a little.
With Ace and Pyro
"Your power is mostly offensive." Ace said, sizing up the young Eevee. "So, let's work on making it come out in force."
"What do you mean?" Pyro asked.
"We're going to make you stronger in your physical power." Ace said. "And when you evolve, we'll work on the attributes that come with your next stage."
"You seem to know a lot about power." Pyro said. "A lot more than a Gengar should know."
"Trust me." Ace said. "I'm expert when it comes to power."
With Psy and Shadow
"Psychic!" Psy shouted, using one of the most powerful Psychic type moves in existence on her opponent, Shadow. Shadow, however, was almost completely unaffected by the Psychic attack.
"You need to focus more." Shadow said. "Otherwise you'll never be able to use that attack effectively. If you plan on using it to the best, then make it strong, strong enough to hurt a Dark type."
"But Dark types are immune to Psychic type attacks." Psy said.
"This is something you should learn at this point." Shadow said. "Immunities can be nullified if the power gap is sufficient."
"What does that mean?" Psy asked, confused.
"It means" Shadow explained "if your Psychic type attack is powerful enough, then not even the immunities of one's type can stop you. You don't even have to use a move like Miracle eye or Foresight."
"Cool." Psy said. "But, does that mean that a Dragon can hurt a Fairy type?"
"Yes." Shadow said. "But you shouldn't have to worry about that yet. There are no Dragon types around here."
"Oh, good." Psy said. "But I still need to work on my Fairy type moves as well as some minor physical combat."
"Let's do it then." Shadow said, getting into a fighting pose. Psy did the same. The two of them leapt away from each other, launching Shadow Balls and Psychic Blasts at each other.
With Ace and Pyro
"Another thing you should know" Ace said "is that even if a Pokémon is immune to a certain type due to an ability or type, they can still be affected by the force of certain moves. For example, if a Pokémon with Flash Fire is hit by a Blaze Kick, the Fire aspect wouldn't hurt them, but getting kicked in the face would still break something."
"Cool." Pyro said, her eyes wide. "So if I become a Flareon, my Fire power would be super high?"
"If you train hard." Ace said. "Otherwise you'd be weak and your Fire couldn't melt ice."
"So, I have to train." Pyro said.
"I think that's a 'duh' statement." Ace said. "Now, let's see how that attack looks in actuality."
"Bring it on!" Pyro called, getting into a fighting stance. Ace also got into a fighting stance.
The two of them leapt towards each other, a Dark Punch (Pyro is a normal type) and a powerful Bite attack colliding in midair from the two fighters.
Later
The four fighters sat down on the ground, panting. Psy and Pyro were panting more than Ace and Shadow. Shade walked over to the groups, impressed.
"That was epic!" she said, picking up her two best friends and hugging them. "You guys were awesome!"
"Your partners can fight." Ace said. "I've never had such a good fight from a rookie Pokémon. You've impressed me, Pyro."
"You did great, Psy." Shadow said, giving the young Riolu a thumbs-up. "Keep up the great work."
"It's getting dark." Shade said, looking up at the sky. "We should make camp."
"Follow us." Ace and Shadow said, walking further into the woods. "We know a place that will shelter us for the night. Tomorrow you take on the gym."
"How far is New Tao City from here?" Shade asked.
"About two hours." Shadow said. "But it's going to rain, so let's get into the woods and seek shelter."
"Allright." Shade said, carrying her tired partners as she followed the Mirror Pokémon (that's what they're called because they're basically mirror images of each other, besides color) into the woods. Tomorrow they would take on the Avatar Gym leader, Korra, and her team of Flying type Pokémon. But, for now, they needed some sleep.
So, Shade has started her journey. Will she succeed? Or will she fail? You won't find out in this chapter. Can she trust these strange pokemon, Ace and Shadow? Find out on Dragon Ball Z-er i mean, un In Dark of Night
So, this is the first chapter. I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Please bear in mind that i've never written a trainer style fic before (I started to on Deviantart, but it didn't work-was way to short). And, yes, her uncle is a clear reference.