Helloooo all you wonderful readers!
I finished a chapter, and it didn't even take me months to do it! (It took me a little over a month, but still!)
Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!
Video Game
Grade Three
May (8), Drew (8), Ash (8), Leaf (8), Gary (8), Misty (8), Dawn (8), Paul (8)
"Drew, where are you?" May asked into her earphones' mic, her eyes glued on the computer screen.
"I told you, I'm by the lake," came Drew's voice from her earphones.
"Where? I don't see you."
"I can see you, you should be able to see me too!"
"Move around or something! I can't figure out where you are!"
Drew huffed, and May noticed movement among the flowers bordering the lake.
"Oh, there you are! You blended in with the flowers!"
They were playing an online computer game called Pokemon Explorers, where they picked a customizable Pokemon as their avatar and travelled through meadows and forests and caves, discovering new locations and treasures and battling non-player characters or other players who were after the same treasure.
It was a very addictive game. May had discovered it last year (it was like a virtual version of May's Expeditions!), and back then, Drew used to tease her about how obsessed she was with it. Eventually, she'd convinced him to try it out too. Now, he was more obsessed with it than she was - he'd even trained the Budew he'd started as up to a Roserade, and he'd explored more locations and gathered more treasure than May.
May and Drew had friended each other so they could do joint missions and explorations and battles. Ash had also discovered he loved the game, and he joined them whenever his home computer was free too. In fact, he'd said he'd join them today.
May moved her avatar, a Skitty she'd named Maykat, next to Drew's Roserade, BuDrew (which he'd named when it was still a Budew). "Now we just gotta wait for Ash," she said.
Just as she said it, she received a notification from one of the few friends on her friend list: Ash, asking for permission to chat. May happily accepted, and Ash's voice came from her earphones. "Hi May, Drew! Where are you guys?"
"We're by the lake," May said, moving Maykat so he could see them.
"Oh yeah, I see you running around, May!"
Ash's avatar, a Pikachu named Flash ("Get it?" Ash had said. "It's like fl-ASH!"), came running up to them.
"So," said Ash. "Where are we heading today?"
"Gary was saying something about some big treasure event at Dark March Cave," said May. Gary had also gotten into the game. He was a lot more competitive though, and he and Leaf were always trying to outdo each other, trying to get event treasures first.
Ash let out a low whistle. "That place is tough though!"
"That's why we need to go as a team," said Drew. "Heard lots of people tried going on their own, but they only got anywhere if they were really high level. Separately, the three of us aren't very good, but together, we should be okay."
"Man, I wish I had more time to play so I could level up Flash some more," said Ash. "We only have one computer, and my mom's always using it."
"Only one computer?" said Drew. "What if you and your mom both need it?"
"I just wait my turn."
"We have more than one," said May. "But sometimes both computers are being used and I have to wait."
"You don't have your own?" asked Drew.
"No. Do you?"
"Yeah."
"You're so lucky!"
A notification came from someone on her friend list. It was a message from Gary: Hey, you thinking of doing the dark march cave treasure event?
May wrote back: yeah, we were thinking about it. doing it with Drew and Ash
Gary: Wanna join us? Me and Leafy and Misty are teaming up, but our levels might be too low to go at it with so few of us
May paused. Leaf and Misty played too, but Gary was usually playing against Leaf, and Misty only played casually every once in a while, so even though she was pretty good, she wasn't as experienced as the rest of them. Gary must have found the cave really hard if he'd decided he needed a big team.
"Hey guys," said May to Drew and Ash. "Gary's asking if we want to team up with him. He's already teamed up with Leaf and Misty."
"Gary wants to team up with us?" said Ash.
"Looks like it. Should we?"
"I think it'd be a good idea," said Drew. "Only problem is, it only lets us have up to five people on a joint mission team. And if the three of us join the three of them, that'll be six."
"Oh. Right."
May quickly wrote to Gary: problem. we can't all team up cuz we can only have a team of 5
Gary sent a chat request, and then, Leaf and Misty did too. May accepted, and let them join her group chat with Ash and Drew. Soon, Gary's Arcanine, Leaf's Pidgeot and Misty's Poliwrath all appeared around them.
"Okay, guys," said Gary. "I really think we should have a full team for this, or we won't be able to get the special treasure. Someone's gotta stay behind."
"Aw, this sucks," said Leaf. "I wanted to do it with everyone."
Misty sighed. "I guess I'll let you guys do it, then," she said. "I don't really care if I don't end up getting the event treasure."
"You can't leave the team!" said Gary. "You're the only water-type here. You balance out our Pokemon types."
"Yeah, we should make our group according to types," said Drew. "So we're ready for anything."
"That's a good idea," said Ash.
"Okay, then," said Gary. "I'm the only fire type, so I stay. And so does Leaf, 'cause she's flying and also Leaf and me have the highest levels."
"Drew has a pretty high level too," Leaf pointed out.
"Yeah, and he's grass, so he'll probably be useful in a cave where there might be rock types," said Gary. "Oh, and Misty's staying too, since she's the only water-type. And we should probably have Ash, because an electric-type might be useful, like against Zubat and stuff."
"Then that leaves..." Ash trailed off.
But May knew exactly who that left. Only she wouldn't be able to go.
"I can stay behind," said Ash quickly. "I mean, what if you need a normal-type, and—"
"But May's level is too low, and she hasn't even evolved," said Gary. "If she was a high level normal-type, or at least a Delcatty, then maybe. But unevolved Pokemon aren't that strong. Though I guess if she has the right moves... What moves do you have, May?"
"It's okay," said May. "I can stay behind." She knew the team was much more balanced without her. Besides, Ash hardly got to play compared to her, and everyone else either had the right type or a high enough level to explore Dark March Cave. They had a much better chance of reaching that treasure if she was the one they left out.
"Aw, May," said Leaf. "I wanted you to come too!"
"Maybe we can split up into two teams," said Misty.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," said Drew.
"That won't work, guys," Gary huffed. "We were already going to go as two teams, remember? But then I realized we'd need a full team and that's why we decided to make a full five-player team to begin with!"
"Guys, it's really okay," said May. "I don't mind! Then after you get the treasure, we could go again and I could come the second time."
"But the event ends tonight, and players can only get the treasure once," said Ash. "If we reach the treasure, we won't be able to go again, and if we don't... well, if we don't get a chance to go for another round with you, you'll miss it!"
"It's okay, really!" said May. "I'll just go with you guys for the next event."
"Right," said Misty. "We'll take you next time for sure, even if we have to kick Gary out of the team."
"Hey!" said Gary.
"Maybe," said Drew slowly. "You could try finding another team and join them?"
"Another team?" May hesitated. There were lots of online players who made teams together, even when they didn't know one another. But May's parents had told her to be careful with online strangers. She could join up with and chat with the friends she knew in real life, but people she only knew over the internet? She wasn't so sure if she should...
"That's a good idea," said Leaf thoughtfully. "I've done it before. I don't chat with them or anything. I just see who online wants a team and send out a joint mission invite. If someone accepts, I go on the mission with them. We just do the mission - we don't chat or anything."
"Yeah," said Drew. "I've done that too. Though I sometimes talk with them with messages. If someone's saying stuff I don't like, I block them, but it's usually fine."
Hm. That didn't seem so bad. "Okay," said May slowly. "I'll give it a try."
"All right," said Gary. "If that's all settled, let's head out. See ya', May!"
And with that, May watched as her friends accepted invites to Gary's joint team and disappeared off to Dark March Cave.
May let out a slow breath. "Okay. Let's see if there are any teams that'll take me..."
Ten minutes after sending out a team-up request, however, May was sure no one wanted her on their team for Dark March Cave. It made sense, she supposed. She'd always loved the adventure part of the game, the exploration and discovery, even the mini-games in the game villages. After her friends had started playing too, she'd simply team up with them if she wanted to go to a higher level area and let them take care of the battling. She'd never needed to level up, and she'd never been interested in training either. No one would want to team up for a place like Dark March Cave with someone so weak.
May was about to give up, about to go off somewhere on her own, when she got a message from someone she didn't know whose avatar was a Lopunny named Bouncy Puff. May stared. Bouncy Puff's level was really high - higher than any of her friends', even. Why in the world did Bouncy Puff want to team up with her?
Bouncy Puff: hi Maykat, do you wanna team up? i'm planning to go to dark march cave too, so...
May hesitated. Then she typed: I would love too! but... what do you need me for? your level's so high
May had already sent the message when she started to regret it. She wanted to team up with someone, but what if she'd made Bouncy Puff change her mind about joining her?
Bouncy Puff: oh, just for the company. my friends were supposed to go with me, but they STILL haven't showed up and if i wait too long my computer time's gonna be up and i don't like doing adventures on my own so i wanted to do it with someone and you seem available
May paused at "computer time". She'd only ever heard younger kids like her having a "computer time". Older kids and adults seemed to be allowed to be on the computer for as long as they wanted. She wondered how old Bouncy Puff was.
It turned out May didn't have to ask, though, because Bouncy Puff then said: btw how old are you? i'm 8
Oh, me too! May wrote back before she thought it through. Her eyes widened when she'd realized what she'd done: she'd told a random stranger on the internet her age! Her parents had said she couldn't give private information like that online to anyone she didn't know in real life.
Bouncy Puff: that's amazing! i was hoping we were close in age! wanna turn on our mics and chat?
May froze. Her parents had told her she couldn't talk to strangers on the internet either.
Maykat: i'm not sure i'm allowed...
Bouncy Puff: no need to worry! i don't wanna force you. though if you want, you could allow me to talk so you could hear my voice and you could continue writing back. i just like talking better than writing
Maykat: i... guess that's be fine
It wasn't like she herself would be talking. And if Bouncy Puff didn't sound like a kid or said mean stuff, she could turn block her, like Drew had suggested.
A chat request from Bouncy Puff popped up in her notifications. After a moment of hesitation and a slow exhale, May accepted, though she kept her mic off.
Then came a voice in her earphones: "Hi Maykat! It's me, Bouncy Puff. You can call me Bouncy, if you like."
May was stunned.
The voice was familiar. Very familiar.
Instead of writing out a response, May turned on her mic. "Dawn? Is that you?"
A pause from Bouncy Puff. Then: "May?!"
"Yes, it's me! You play Pokemon Explorers too?"
May knew her other friends played it since they'd grown to like it because of her since last year. Dawn was new to their school this year, though, and the topic had never come up with her. May hadn't known Dawn played as well.
Not only that, judging from her Lopunny avatar's level, Dawn had to be a really dedicated gamer.
"Wow, um, yeah I play!" said Dawn. "I never expected you to play too."
"Huh? Why not? Pokemon Explorers is so much fun!"
"I know, right?" The surprise from Dawn's voice was slowly shifting to excitement. "I love it so much! A lot of the girls from my old school didn't play, though. They said video games were for boys. And the boys wouldn't let me play with them, so I didn't really get to play with a lot of people in real life. Like, my friends from my other school never judged me or anything, but they didn't play themselves, so it was kinda hard to talk to them about it."
"At this school lots of people play - girls too," said May. "Everyone from our friends plays too! Well, except for Paul, but everyone else is friends on here and we even go on joint missions and stuff sometimes!"
"That sounds like so much fun!"
"It is! I can totally get the others to friend you too, and then we could all go on adventures together!"
"Actually..." Dawn's voice became hesitant. "Could you not tell the others?"
"Huh? Why not?"
"I kinda like computers games to be my own thing."
"I thought you said you wanted to play with other people?"
"I did, but... I have a couple of friends I play with now, and that's about enough for me. I just... I don't know. I think I like it being a bit of a secret thing I do."
"Oh." May frowned. "Then you probably wish I didn't discover this was you."
"Oh! No, I was a bit surprised, at first, but I think I'm fine if it's you. As long as you don't tell anyone...?"
"I won't! Promise!"
"Thanks!" May could hear the smile in Dawn's voice. "By the way," said Dawn. "Weren't we gonna go to Dark March Cave?"
"Oh yeah!" May had forgotten all about that. "Let's go!"
They reached Dark March Cave, chatting along the way, and they were about to enter when Dawn said, "Wait!"
"What?"
"Looks like my friends finally showed up. They want to join our team too. You okay with letting them?"
"Um, I don't know," said May. "To tell the truth, I was sorta uncomfortable about joining a stranger's team to begin with. If it hadn't turned out to be you, I'm not sure I would have ended up continuing."
"You don't have to worry about Lucas and Barry. I know them - they live near my house. They're our age too."
"Oh. I guess that's fine, then."
"Hang on, I'll let them on the team..."
Soon, Dawn's friends had joined the chat.
"Hey Bouncy!" said a voice. "And Maykat."
"It's okay, Lucas, Maykat's my friend May from school. You can use our real names."
"Ah, okay. Hi, Maykat! I'm Lucas. Or, Tusks." He moved his avatar, Tusks the Mamoswine, so it faced May's Skitty. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," said May. "You can call me May, if you like."
"Hey, wait a minute!" said Barry. "Why do you sound so familiar?"
May blinked. "Wait, Barry? As in Barry from school?"
"Yup, the one and only!" said Dawn.
"I thought it was some other Barry!"
"Wow, you all go to the same school. That leaves me, I guess," said Lucas with a chuckle.
"Lucas goes to a different school," Dawn explained to May, mischief in her voice. "It's a super-rich, fancy private school."
"Oooh, a super-rich fancy private school?" May said teasingly.
"It's not that fancy!"
May giggled.
"Seriously, who are you?!" said Barry, his voice getting louder. "You have ten seconds to explain yourself! Nine! Eight—"
"Barry, she's in the same class as us," said Dawn. "You know May. I hang out with her all the time."
"Huh, really? I don't remember her at all."
"How could you not remember me?" said May, completely bewildered. "You've even hung out with us once or twice. Or, you were mostly hanging out with Ash, or trying to hang out with Paul, but—"
"Wait, I remember!" Barry said so loudly that May winced. "You're one of Paul's fangirls!"
"WHAT?!"
"Barry, how many times do I have to tell you," said Dawn, sounding like she was gritting her teeth. "Just because I - or May - hangs out with Paul, doesn't mean we're his fangirls!"
May could hear Lucas make a sound as if he was trying to hold back laughter.
"Yeah, yeah, anyways, what're we standing around talking for?" said Barry. He had his avatar, a Rhyperior named Rampage, move back and forth impatiently. "Weren't we gonna go to Dark March Cave?"
Dawn huffed. "Yes, we are, Barry! It was you guys who took so long to get here!"
Lucas laughed out loud. "Well, May, welcome to our group! Hope you don't get fed up with us before we get our treasure."
May had never been on a team like Dawn's.
Dawn, Lucas and Barry were amazing! Besides their high levels, they worked so well together. Whenever they encountered non-player enemy Pokemon, Tusks attacked first with moves that hit multiple targets, like Blizzard and Earthquake, clearing out the weakest of their opponents and causing damage to the stronger ones. He could take lots of hits too, so he covered for the others during enemy attacks. Then, Rampage knocked out their opponents with powerful, hard-hitting moves, and the agile Bouncy struck down enemies with quick, strong strikes.
May felt so out of place with them - her attacks didn't do nearly as much damage as theirs, and she found herself hiding behind Tusks more often than not, trying not to get knocked out.
They came across other player teams who challenged them to battle too. They had higher levels than the non-player enemies, but Dawn, Lucas and Barry's teamwork was unmatched. May felt a little sorry when they defeated yet another team. If the other team couldn't make it through Dark March Cave, they wouldn't be able to get the treasure.
"Why do they keep challenging us?" said May. "If they left us alone, we could all reach the end and get the treasure."
"Oh, don't you know?" said Lucas. "Only one team will be able to get the treasure tonight."
"Huh? How come?"
"Because the treasure only appears once every twenty-four hours," said Dawn. "If a team takes it, another team has to wait a whole day before the treasure appears again, and because the Dark March Cave special event will end tomorrow, there won't be another chance this time."
"So teams are trying to stop others from getting ahead of them. That's why they keep trying to take us down," Lucas finished.
"Wow. I didn't know that," May admitted. "I thought everyone got to have the treasure."
"Everyone on whatever team gets it first. But not every team."
"Enough talking, come on, hurry up!" Barry said. "If we go this slow, some other team will get there before us!"
"We're almost at the end," said Lucas. "I think there's only one more staircase we have to find, and then we're there."
"There, I see it!" said Dawn.
May saw it too, but she also saw another team about to reach the staircase before them. If this was the last staircase and they went up, they would get the treasure first! As fast as she could, she sent them a battle challenge. They had no choice but to accept.
"All right, May, good thinking!" said Dawn. "Now, let's knock these guys out!"
As usual, Tusks attacked first with Blizzard. It did a lot of damage to the Pidgeot and the Roserade, but they could still go on.
"Heads up, they're about to fight back!" Lucas warned.
"On it!" Barry burst forward towards the other team's Pikachu, but their Arcanine was faster and intercepted. Rampage and the Arcanine collided, exchanging powerful blows. Rampage could withstand Arcanine's moves, but that Arcanine seemed to be super high-leveled: even super-effective moves weren't finishing it off. Meanwhile, Bouncy went into combat with the Pidgeot and the Pikachu, while Tusks tried to take down the Poliwrath and the Roserade.
"Wow, these guys are strong!" said Lucas.
"Why won't this Arcanine just faint!" yelled Barry.
"You know what could give us the upper hand?" said Dawn, and May could hear the smirk in her voice. "Bouncy, Mega Evolve!"
Bouncy transformed into Mega Lopunny before their very eyes.
May gasped. "You can do that?"
"Oh yeah!" Bouncy started moving faster, her strikes stronger. "Take that!"
But then the Pidgeot started transforming too: Before they knew it, it had become Mega Pidgeot.
"Uh oh," said Dawn. "Looks like they can do that too..."
"Watch out," said Lucas. "Mega Lopunny is a fighting type too - flying type moves will be super-effective."
"No need to worry, I've got this!"
But even if Bouncy's moves were stronger, and she even knew Thunderpunch, a super-effective move against flying types, she was struggling against the Mega Pidgeot. And it certainly didn't help that she had to deal with the Pikachu too.
Tusks was struggling as well. He was strong against Roserade, but Poliwrath's fighting type moves dealt a lot of damage, and adding the fact that the Roserade kept poisoning him was making it worse.
And as strong as Rampage was, the Arcanine was faster and quick at dodging. It didn't have any moves that were super-effective against Rampage, but it was slowly dealing more and more damage.
May needed to do something to help out. She couldn't stand useless anymore.
None of her physical attacks did a whole lot, but her teammates had great moves. And for that, Maykat used Assist. She didn't know what move she would end up using, but it ended up being a useful one: Earthquake.
The opponent Pikachu and Roserade, both of which had already taken a lot of damage, were knocked out. The Arcanine managed to dodge, and it didn't affect the Mega Pidgeot, but the Poliwrath took a big hit too.
"Yeah, way to go, May!" Dawn cheered. She landed a powerful Thunderpunch and finished Poliwrath off for Tusks.
"I'll help out with that Mega Pidgeot," said Lucas as he struck it down with Ice Fang, stopping it mid-attack.
"Looks like you're having a little trouble there, Barry," Dawn teased. "Can't take down an Arcanine, even with a type advantage?"
"He's too darn fast!" said Barry. "And he has way too many healing items!"
"Watch out, the Pidgeot didn't faint!" said May.
Sure enough, the Mega Pidgeot had taken flight again, and it dodged Tusks next move to attack Bouncy instead.
"Yikes, gotta do something about that!"
Bouncy and Tusks hit the Mega Pidgeot with a final Thunderpunch and Blizzard combination. The Mega Pidgeot had been able to dodge moves before, but not two super-effective ones at once, and, finally, it went down and didn't get back up.
That left the Arcanine, and even though it was fast and stocked up with way a lot of healing items, when Bouncy, Tusks and Rampage attacked it all at once, it didn't stand a chance. Maykat finished it off with Assist, that resulted in Giga Impact.
And that was the end of that.
"Wow," said Dawn. "We did it."
"That was one tough team," said Lucas.
"Pfft, we could've defeated it quicker if they didn't cheat and use so many healing items," said Barry.
"Uh, Barry, that isn't cheating," said Lucas. "Besides, we used healing items too. Do you know how many attack moves I had to miss to heal up because that Roserade kept poisoning me?"
"And that Pikachu's Static ability was a pain!" said Dawn
"And you had to stop and heal that burn, remember, Barry?"
"I only healed myself once!"
"But the real hero of this mission," said Dawn, "is May!"
"Yeah, those Assists really helped," said Lucas. "Thanks!"
"Well, obviously she was able to take them out," said Barry. "We only have the strongest members on this team!"
Maykat was nowhere near as strong as the others, but May couldn't help but burst with pride. "Aw, thanks guys!" she said. This team really appreciated her! Even after her friends hadn't thought she was strong enough to join them, an even stronger team had taken her in, and she'd even been able to help them!
Oh yeah, the others, May remembered. She'd been having so much fun with Dawn's team, she'd completely forgotten about Gary's. She wondered how far they'd gotten.
"Come on, guys, we gotta get that treasure!" said Barry.
"Oh right!" said Dawn. "Good job, team, now let's go!"
May went up the final staircase with the others. A treasure chest awaited them at the end, and they all stepped forward to claim their prize.
The next day...
May arrived in class bright and bouncy. Long after she and Dawn's team had said goodbye last night, May had remained energized from their successful mission. Her good mood had carried on to today, and she couldn't wait to tell the others just how great yesterday had been.
"Hi Dawn!" she chirped, going to Dawn's desk in excitement. "Dark March Cave was amazing, huh?"
"Yeah, it was," said Dawn, eyes bright. "We should totally do another mission together, someday!"
"Definitely!"
"Hi guys." Drew was coming up to them. "What are you guys talking about?"
Dawn gave May a hesitant glance, and May remembered that Dawn didn't want the others to know she played.
"Oh, I was just telling Dawn about Pokemon Explorers," said May. "You know, how we went to Dark March Cave and everything?"
"You know Pokemon Explorers?" Drew asked Dawn.
"I heard of it," said Dawn, shrugging as if she hardly knew a thing.
"Well don't ask June, or she'll talk your ears off," said Drew, giving May a teasing smirk.
"My name is May," said May, pouting. "And you're an even bigger Pokemon Explorers fan than I am."
"But I don't talk people's ears off."
"Hey guys!" Ash had arrived. "Whatcha guys talking about?"
"Drew's a bigger Pokemon Explorers nerd than me," said May, pointing an accusatory finger at her green-haired friend.
"Nah, I'd say you're about equal," said Ash, looking thoughtful.
"Equal at what?" Misty said, walking up to them.
"Playing Pokemon Explorers," said Drew. "Though honestly, I think I'm the better player."
"Why are you guys fighting about it, then?" said Misty, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't seem like the kind of thing to get worked up about. You both enjoy it, right?"
"We weren't fighting," said Ash.
"What were you fighting about?" said Gary, showing up.
"Nothing," said Ash.
"What nothing?" said Paul, appearing beside them.
"What we're fighting about," Ash explained.
"So we're not fighting about Pokemon Explorers?" said Misty.
"Oh. You're talking about that," said Paul, looking disinterested.
"Why don't you play it?" said Ash. "I think you'll have lots of fun!"
"Don't care. I'm outta here," said Paul, heading to his desk.
"Yeah, yeah, well anyways." Gary crossed his arms. "I can't believe we lost in Dark March Cave."
"Oh right," said Ash glumly. "That sucked. We were so close!"
Misty sighed. "Well, you win some, you lose some. Honestly, though, if we hadn't been so close to getting it, I wouldn't be this bummed out."
"How far did you get?" asked May.
"We got to the final staircase," said Gary. "Our team was perfect! And then this other team showed up—"
"They were way too strong," said Drew, shaking his head. "Leaf Mega Evolved and everything, but we couldn't beat them!"
"That's too bad," said May.
"It was ridiculous," said Misty. "They had this Lopunny that could Mega Evolve too, but Leaf should've had the advantage! We had more players too..."
"But we just weren't strong enough," Gary finished glumly.
"We'll just have to train up and win it next time!" said Ash, trying to be optimistic. "Anyways, May, did you end up finding a team to go with you?"
But May was deep in thought. Misty had mentioned a Mega Lopunny, and yesterday, Bouncy had Mega Evolved into one. She'd Mega Evolved during a battle right at the last staircase, and fought and defeated a Mega Pidgeot who should have had the advantage...
May hadn't been paying attention to the names of the team they'd defeated, but now that she thought of what Pokemon were on it, they were the same as her friends' avatars...
May caught Dawn's eye, and it looked like she was realizing the same thing.
"May? Mayyy!"
May blinked out of her thoughts. "Wha'?"
Ash laughed. "You got all spaced out! Well? Did you find a team?"
"Yes...," said May hesitantly. She'd wanted to tell the others she'd made it to the end, but then they'd know who she was teamed up with. She didn't have a problem with them knowing she was part of the group that beat them, but what if they asked her to introduce them? What if it led to Dawn's online identity being uncovered?
"That's good," said Misty. "I was worried you didn't get to try. How'd it go?"
"Oh, you know." May shrugged, trying to act casual.
"Oh come on, Misty. Obviously she didn't make it to the end," said Gary. "When we couldn't make it, how could she? That Mega Lopunny team's probably got the treasure."
"Yeah, probably," said May, exchanging a secret smile with Dawn.
"Everyone, to your seats." Their teacher, Mrs. Primm, had arrived. "And don't forget to hand in your homework before class begins. Bring it to my desk, please!"
May and her friends stared at one another in horror. They'd been so into Pokemon Explorers, they'd totally forgotten to do it!
"And this is why," said Paul, walking past them to hand in his homework, "I don't play Pokemon Explorers."
May and the others quickly found their homework sheets and began scribbling down as many answers as they could before the bell rang for the start of class.
Oh well, thought May. Making a secret online friend was worth it!
Annnd done!
Hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what you thought in your reviews.
Bye bye for now! Have a great day, and be sure to stay safe and smile all the way! :)