I thought that this would be as easy as our first-ever conversation, but so far that belief had been squashed, squeezed, and thrown out of the window. After inviting Anne over to my place, which she had agreed to over the phone, I waited with confidence that our conversation would be simple. Simple, however, was something that Sinnoh abhorred.

Then came the memories of what Byron had said. Even if he told me she hadn't said anything, which I doubted immediately, there was still the feeling of betrayal. Doubt. I never wanted to doubt my trust in her, then again we weren't exactly the closest of friends. She could've gone behind my back at any point and not felt even an ounce of guilt.

Mistakes. I'd made so fucking many. Today I took control of them, or they'd forever haunt me. One awkward confrontation at a time.

"So you and Byron spoke?" she asked me, drawing me away from my line of thought. Good for her, by the way, as the thoughts were getting very dangerous.

"Yep," I responded simply.

"And?"

I breathed out long and hard. Might as well just get this over and done with. "You told someone about my aspiration to become a Pokémon breeder, didn't you?"

"It wasn't like it was going to remain under the radar," she quickly tried to reason. "Eventually the League would've found out regardless of whether I told them or otherwise."

"That's not the point and you know it." I watched her staunch attitude flicker. Doubt simmered in her mind. Serves her right for how she betrayed my trust. "Why did you tell the League about that?"

Anne released Delibird to distract Ellen, forcing her into the garden for playtime. Ellen nervously turned away from Delibird to look at me again. I nodded and she started spraying the ground in weird flames before slowly walking away. Good on her I suppose.

Anne rolled her shoulders back and settled herself fully on the couch, propping up her feet like she was at some kind of hotel. I'll be honest, that really pissed me off. She wore the same outfit she had the first time she came to my house. Although this time her hair was different, more unkempt and left to the will of the wind to decide. Her eyes were tired and her lips parted in relaxation. It was as if she wasn't even there, more so sifting through the myriad of thoughts plaguing her.

"I wanted to keep things private but people," she stressed before turning to me, "are watching you. Taking pictures of you–"

"Is it Team Galactic?" I asked panicked. "Do they know where I live?"

"No? It's the League Eric. They had some people following you around. I'm not sure why but they're interested in you."

"I take it you know about this through your work?" I probed carefully.

Anne nodded. "Yes, from work… resources."

So first she went blabbing behind my back about Arceus knows how much, then she magically finds pictures of me? This smelled so wrong, like an abandoned piece of meat left to rot. My face contorted at the notion of such a smell, a contortion that made Anne both wince and sigh that much more.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to keep you safe but… I don't know who to trust any more."

"Oh?" I laughed. "You don't know who to trust? Then what about me, huh? What about how I'm supposed to trust you? Don't get me wrong," I reached into my pocket and pulled out my breeder license, "it's great that I have this now. Fantastic even, but it's how I got it that bothers me. Whatever you did… whatever or whoever you spoke to… that so wasn't cool. At all. It still annoys me."

"I know," she whined. "Wait – you have a license?"

She reached over and nabbed it from my hands. My defeated self just sat there looking at Anne like she was out of her damn mind. You know what? She was out of her mind. For someone I was on rough terms with she sure knew how to act like everything was alright.

"Yes," I tried to get it back, but she batted me away. "I'm turning eighteen tomorrow. Big day, right?"

"Your birthday is so soon... why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you but it doesn't matter now. My dreams have been reached… kind of. The lady that dealt with my initiation was a little stupid bitc– I mean great person," I coughed, she chuckled a little. "But she screwed me. She said the only way I can become a breeder is to collect all eight Gym Badges by the end of the year. I know she's doing this because she wants any excuse to battle me."

"It's kind of nice of her to give you this as soon as she could. I don't see what's wrong here, you get a license, and she gets a one-time battle. It sounds like you're the one coming out on top of this arrangement."

"She's conniving. I don't trust her, at all. The only reason I got this stupid license was because of her sister, whom I saved not even a week ago. Some way to thank me, am I right?"

Rayla might have been doing this purely out of spite; perhaps to get me one on one, even still it was such a low blow. There was literally no way I was going to let a battle happen right now, I had other priorities. Who knows, maybe I'd face her at the Conference and crush her in front of millions. I had to stop myself from frothing at the mouth at the thought. And no, not for that reason. Purely for battling purposes.

"Ok but where does this leave us? I could get you a gift but it'd be awkward if we weren't still… friends? Is that ok to say? I know you're annoyed. We work well together, so why not get along with one another?"

"Yes I'd like that," I spoke slowly, "plus we had an agreement. In exchange for you helping me with Ellen's diet, I'm supposed to help you deal with Team Galactic."

"It's kind of you to say that, even more so after all that I've done. I know you might not believe me, or whatever, but please know that you don't owe me anything. You don't owe Byron anything, nor the League." Her voice drew the attention of our Pokémon, who were not so subtly hiding behind a curtain, and they had no intention of showing us that they were interested in our conversation at all. "You did me a solid down in the tunnels. Don't think I'll forget that any time soon, Eric–"

I hushed her and quickly pointed to the curtains. Anne initially frowned at first thinking that I was done with talking to her out of anger, but when she saw Ellen's small legs as well as Delibird's white feet, her expression grew warm. She had to hide a snicker behind her fist when I urged her to help me play a prank on them.

We pulled at their legs dragging them beneath the curtain until they were in view. Ellen was probably saying that she wasn't that scared. Delibird, on the other hand, was apologising profusely, bringing things out of his bag that I hadn't known he could even fit in there. I swear I saw him pulling at the edges of a grand piano. How the hell did he even manage to put one in there!?

"That reminds me," I swiftly pulled out my phone, tapping at the banking app. The screen froze, guess who the manufacturers of the phone are? Yep, you already fucking know. Unbelievable– actually no, this was completely believable.

"You should get a Pokétch." I heard from behind me. Anne lifted Delibird onto her lap and started tickling his feet.

I know. I know.

"Yeah someday."

"What are you trying to show me anyway– holy Rolycoly!" her eyes dropped to the balance. Ok now I thought about it, this seemed like an odd flex. Especially when the person I was flaunting my money in front of had just lost her job... damn my awful luck.

"Sorry–"

"No need," she smiled. "I'm happy for you. Really, it's awesome you're doing so well."

"Would you be interested in joining me?"

"Hm? In what?"

I rolled the words around in my mouth quite like how a Whimsicott would roll around in gale winds, what had I just said? Should I feel embarrassed? Oh no, she's going to think that I'm taking advantage of her! Quick brain, say something!

"Join me in getting all of the Gym Badges."

Anne started at me, as did her Delibird. If Sandile were out he'd be hopping up and down in support of me! Or chewing me to the bone. I wasn't sure which was worse. Her eyes eventually fell to my lap where Ellen was circling around on the spot. "Is she ok with it?"

"Ellen?"

"Vesta?" she asked back.

"We have a dream to be the best, like the top of the top. Fuck the bottom. That's where we are right now. We have a chance at battling our way all the way to the top–"

"Ves! Ves!" she screamed hopping around.

"–but we might be away from home for a while. Like a long while. We'll get to understand this amazing world together."

Anne grumbled under her breath, "Oh so now you're telling her…"

"Vesta." Her blue eyes turned to the garden fences angrily, but I wasn't sure why she was so furious. She didn't seem nearly as miffed about the fences before this conversation. And I know she wasn't burning them down whilst Anne and I were chatting.

At least I hoped not - her diva behaviour wasn't to be trifled with.

"She hates not being strong enough," Anne said simply after taking one glance at my Pokémon.

Of course, I understand now. Prideful as some Pokémon may be, and strong as they could become, not all liked the process of gaining strength. Smaller the Pokémon, the bigger the ego. Usually, the strongest of Pokémon go through the toughest of stages. Bagon, for example, is forced into an enormous shell that they're forced to walk around in, sometimes for months, until finally they could evolve wings and turn into a mighty Salamence.

I couldn't even wait for a year to go by in Kanto, I had to leave. No, I needed to leave as a matter of fact. But Bagon… had the patience to see through the toughest of times in order to achieve their dreams. After all me and Ellen had gone through over the last few days, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly, I had yet to ask her how she felt in her own body. What her dreams were. Right now it was like she was just tagging along. I hated that. We both needed to help each other achieve our goals.

"I don't see why she'd ever view herself as weak," I commented. "She defended the grounds from a maddened Poochyena…"

"A Poochyena?" Anne asked, her eyes stricken with worry. "Where did it go? Also good on you, Ellen!"

My Pokémon shook her shell excitedly after the compliment.

"I haven't the slightest clue," I stood up and held out a hand, "but I might know where it came from."

"Uh wouldn't going outside to where it came from be a super bad idea? What if there's more than one out there that you haven't found yet?" Anne asked.

"Then we'll find it. Me, you, Ellen, Delibird, and even Sandile."

"What does 'even Sandile' mean? He's a good boy... most of the time. He doesn't bite me!" she yelled from behind me. I was already in the garden by the time she caught up.

The walk outside felt far less awkward than when we initially met up. Ellen was marching dutifully beside me casting a warning glare at the bushes. She wasn't comfortable living here now… all because she thought she was weak? Her lower segment kept her safe, her shell prevented most of the damage, so what in Arceus' name was the problem? Maybe her pride? Now that was where the true problems would eventually be fleshed out.

She wanted to evolve. The way she'd look at Butterfree sometimes... anyone would think she hated them. But she didn't. The Pokémon themselves were completely fine, Ellen was just jealous of their wings.

"Here it is." We came to a stop in front of the enormous bush. A few Pokémon lurked within staring at us in confusion, but one Ember was all it took to send them scrambling away to safety.

"Ugh, Ellen watch the heat!" Anne complained as the Fire-type only warmed the ground up that much more.

"Vesta," she retorted smugly.

"Yes, your flame is very hot." I teased. "The hottest in fact–"

"Did you seriously bring me all the way out here to see a bush get lit on fire?" I stared at her. "What? Is there something on my face?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just… I was complementing Ellen. As you did, remember?"

"Yes I remember," she replied somewhat impatiently. I sighed and moved the bush to the side, getting stung three times by barbed leaves. "Was this here when you bought the place?"

No, it wasn't, I wanted to say. It appeared at random after I arrived… but there was always a chance I was wrong. There were some peculiar things going on in Canalave, whether it be beneath the surface, or atop the waves. The blue skip I crouched behind in the tunnel when Byron battled against Mars had to have been there for some time, and whatever the vessel was that had been left in the middle of the storm had been there for a few days. How odd...

"Maybe, maybe not," I shrugged.

"Ooo, spooky," Anne said in a spectral voice, forcing Delibird to cover his ears with his small hands out of fear.

"You're not out of the woods yet," I said quickly. "If you help follow me into this place, we'll be on good terms again. But I'm not going in alone again. No chance."

"Good terms are usually the best ones," she muttered. Sandile burst forth from the Poké ball she held in front of her, and he immediately went for my ankles. That slithery bastard could move when he wanted to, that was for sure. Sandile's massive mouth was latched around my left ankle whilst Ellen was repeatedly stinging his underbelly with her horns. Eventually, he let go, but that look it gave me… it reminded me of that Rufflet.

And the Rufflet on the bridge, although I was certain there was something wrong with that one.

With Ellen on patrol duty with Delcatty and Delibird, Anne and I followed on chasing after the wiggly tail of Sandile deeper into the network of tunnels. Vast crystals covered the entire ceiling in one room giving it an eerie white glow, and in another, the crystals glowed a bright red. The crimson light put Anne and me off. However, it only incited Sandile to work that much harder.

Anne lightly tapped me on the shoulder with a curious expression on her face. I held an arm out for her to sit beside me as we watched Sandile burst back and forth through holes he had made. He deserved some fun even if he was a cheeky little Rattata. Anne's bastard was a fitting name for him, it sounded amusing, I'd be sure to mention it to Ellen even if she couldn't understand me.

"You uh," she began nervously. "Do you have any idea what you're going to spend all of that money on? I mean… it's a lot to take in for me, I can't even imagine what it's like for you–"

"The money came from selling my old… home. My mother's place, that is. You see, she passed on and I couldn't bare that house any longer. It's why I'm here. I came to Sinnoh to escape nonsense…"

"Oh come on..." Anne said sadly.

"I never thought the nonsense would follow me here."

"Don't be such a downer!" she said. "Stop putting yourself down over things beyond your control. The world isn't out to get you, so you and Ellen should be fine for a long time with that money."

Yeah, but I wanted to spend my money on something else – Charmanders. They were both still in my shopping basket and all I needed to do was press continue to checkout. Weird how such a small button carried the weight of another planet. The temptation to relax for years at home was tempting. Just me and Ellen chilling. It sounded like a paradise, so why did it leave a foul taste in my mouth?

"I wanted to buy these Pokémon," I handed her my phone.

"How the hell do you work this?" she tapped the side buttons curiously, exiting the page she was supposed to be on. A picture of Ellen and me popped up. Sadly it wasn't of my Pokémon. "You have her eyes–"

"Give me that–" she moved the phone an inch out of my reach, forcing me to take… drastic action. I grabbed her leg making Sandile growl. He launched in my direction and I dodged the Bite move at the last second, making him latch onto the wall behind us. That was enough of a distraction to get the phone back.

"Are you serious!?" Anne screamed. "You… you… bastard!"

I smiled at the name – Sandile and I had something in common then. Anne didn't know of this joke though, and she thought I was taking the piss. "I just wanted to show you the Pokémon I wanted to buy. Do not snoop on my phone again."

"I wasn't even– fine. Sorry." Anne listened carefully as I explained what each button did. To my surprise, she didn't exit from the website immediately and instead scrolled through my basket with curious, if not probing, eyes. "This isn't the black market, correct?"

I deadpanned. "What do you think?"

"Right," she coughed. "No black market for Eric. Annabelle looks a little… um–"

"Fat?" I answered. My fingers found themselves at Sandile's feet. I tickled him into submission much to Anne's amusement. He loudly growled at the sensation and tried to wriggle through the wall.

"Yes, is that normal?"

"It's excellent, literally. It's on the Flame Control for Age – get it? Excellent…"

She clicked the buy button and– wait. Hold the fuck UP.

"What did you… Anne that's so much money!" I exclaimed grabbing my phone back. The PokéNetwork app wasn't opening. It was like fate was trying to hold me back and take my money. Load phone! LOAD!

"Yes, but you would've never bought them otherwise. Coward."

I sighed when I saw the money had already been transferred to the breeder. Of course, she was right about this. Working where she had for as long as she has... Anne had probably seen a fair bit. But the experience I was about to go on could not be predicted. I wanted to be different and treat my Pokémon like they were all equal to me. They will eat because I will eat. The day they starved would be the day I, myself, died of starvation.

"That's so much money. 112,500PD and I've already spent 92,000PD… what am I going to do?"

"Battle. Earn money by recording each and every battle. Who wouldn't want to miss a battle with a Larvesta? Of all Pokémon in this region, she's probably the rarest. And with the Charmanders arriving in–"

I rolled my eyes. "Two days."

"–two days, that means you'll have a massive amount of attention around you. Sadly there's no way you can run a breeding business and get all Gym Badges. Time is a problem and seeming as I'm going with you, there won't even be anyone here to do business with." Her points were valid. Damn it.

"The Charmanders we, you, ordered are pretty strong. Annabelle and Ellen will hopefully get along well. It's the spunky one I'm worried most about – Terrence. He's going to want to breed as soon as he becomes a Charmeleon, but right now none of my Pokémon can even breed even if they wanted to, so this license," I waved it in front of Anne, "means so little right now. I need to be the most powerful Fire-type trainer this region has ever seen."

"Bold goal," she laughed. "Also, I think it's sweet you already view Annabelle and Terrence as your Pokémon."

The tunnels suddenly started vibrating making me lose my footing. Whatever was causing the immense vibrations were giving me the jitters, and I had no intention of staying in a place where the ceiling could cave in at any time. For some reason, it felt like we were the intruders here. Like we had been the ones to trespass on another Pokémon's territory.

I guess from a Pokémons perspective we were an invasive species. I met up with Ellen, Delibird and Delcatty outside. They looked to be quite worried, although I wasn't exactly sure if it was about the shaking or the lack of noise from us when we were deeper in the tunnel network. Ellen seemed furious at the cave; proving my theory right. We were the intruders to the land… but what the hell could roar like that? No Pokémon that I'd seen could rattle a cave nearly as badly as what we'd gone through.

Anne agreed holding Sandile in her arms. Again, he was just staring at me. He was drooling.

"Whatever Pokémon that is," she breathed heavily, "it can stay in there. I don't know what species it is but be careful, Eric. Right now we don't stand a chance. For all we know, it might even be a Rhyperior."

I highly doubted that. Byron's Steelix came to mind but I shook those doubts away. No way in hell could a Steelix, let alone a wild one, make a hole that wide. I'd have to get Byron's help on that, however, that would probably happen after the Conference. We'll have to see.

Ellen started sending the odd Ember through the cave hoping to hit something or other. I thought it was sweet. Anne on the other hand wanted to get the hell out of my garden, swearing profusely that she'd never return until whatever the Pokémon was that had made the tunnels was long gone.

That was another thing that bothered me. Tunnels themselves weren't necessarily a problem, it was other stuff. For example, Team Galactic could be utilising a Pokémon to make those tunnels. They were down there when I fell through Stands Street, so what's to say there aren't any other tunnels used by Team Galactic to move around whenever other people expected them to pop up somewhere the least? Hiding spots existed all over Sinnoh, I guess it sucked that one of them might lead a vicious Team to my garden.

Coffee. We needed lots and lots of coffee. I still couldn't make it for love or money, so we had to pretend to enjoy the bitter taste. I was checking my phone screen every fifteen minutes to see where my Charmanders were at. Right now the screen relayed information based upon the processing of my order. No surprise there. It was an enormous order with a whole lot of money. A Roggenrola loading icon continuously rolled around on the screen.

"Would you like to go on a walk, Eric?"

"Not really," I responded, sipping on my coffee. It was always fun watching Ellen play around with the flannels on the floor that she had intentionally knocked off the counter. I know so because I saw the fiend do it three times so far.

"Hm," she hummed, "alright. Just so you know… I'm definitely going to challenge you to a Pokémon battle tomorrow."

A battle? My palms turned sweaty and my grip on my cup tightened. "One-on-one?"

"Duh. How would it be a fair fight if I used a full team, Eric? Be realistic."

I shied away a little. "Ok, sure. Will you tell me who you'll lead with?"

I figured she'd answer me truthfully. This was a beginner's battle and would preferably be a friendly match. No money would need to pass hands, especially on a day when I believed Anne would be bringing me a gift of sorts. She was the type to do something like that out of the blue, I could see the look in her eye. A glint of mischief – which was thankfully the only trait she shared with that arrogant crocodilian. Speaking of which, he perked up at the mention of battle.

"A battle implies surprise does it not?" she playfully responded.

"Mhm but you've battled before, so throw a Poochyena a bone here. Don't look at me like I'm old, that's a perfectly fine expression!"

"Yeah," she said, "for a grandma. Eric Voldbee, you're the youngest old person I've ever met. It's a pleasure." She held out a hand. I flipped her off with a smile nearly dropping my mug in the process. Some coffee tipped over onto Ellen's mane. Act natural. She wouldn't–

"VESTAA!" she roared. Her Ember narrowly missed me and flew out of the window.

"Uh Anne," I urged. "Wanna help birthday boy out over here?"

She was laughing her head off. Delibird was entertained until one of Ellen's Embers nearly burnt his sack to a crisp. He started fishing out buckets of water in a hurry.

"ANNE HELP!"

"Nope. Ellen, aim for his ankles. Follow Sandile's approach to battles! I promise you'll get really strong if you aim for the ankles!"

WHAT? NO!

"Do not listen to her. And do not aim for my ankles or any other part of my body. Wait that doesn't mean– Ellen. Don't you fucking dare." I warned slowly pulling my hair back.

Her body was leaning against her back legs. She was staring not at me, but through me. So that's how it's gonna be.

"GO FOR THE HAIR!" Anne cheered.

"No wait–"

And too late. Just when I thought that my reflexes were getting better…