Katy woke up the next morning to the sounds of Beedrill buzzes, Beautifly chirps, and Ribombee hums. Not because any of these Pokémon were hovering around her in her bedroom physically, but with their beautiful sounds downloaded to her phone and programmed to wake her up each morning as a series of alarms, all those wonderous exotic Bug Pokémon may as well be surrounding her in a spiritual sense.

She went through her usual morning routine. Shower, then hair wash. A round of makeup and spray, and getting her uniform ready for another day's work at Patisserie Soapberry.

Usually, Katy did all of this with a perky smile on her face. Positivity begets positivity, after all. But she was having some trouble working up a smile this time. And it wasn't hard to blame her, given all the uncertainty that yesterday's… excitement had brought.

Geeta didn't say very much to Katy after their match yesterday, explaining that she was very, very prompt to return to her work. Katy had a feeling that she was also trying to hide how flustered she was, but of course she couldn't be certain of that.

What she was certain of was that as she was saying her farewells to her boss, she could spy Geeta pulling up her phone with her email app open, and she had a pretty strong feeling to whom Geeta was sending correspondence to.

However, by the time Katy took a cab back to Cortondo, the sky approaching nightfall, Larry was nowhere to be seen.

He probably got up and left very soon after I did, she'd figured. So there was no way of knowing if there was news, and whether it had already reached him or not.

I guess if he contacts me again very soon, that's how I'll know, Katy decided, as she said her goodbyes to her Venonat helper and left her house. I wonder… how will he respond to it? Will he be happy? Proud of me for doing it? Or possibly upset? I know… he can be very stubborn about receiving help.

Katy closed her eyes, a spark of determination setting over her, walking down the mostly empty early morning roads of Cortondo.

Regardless of what happens… I need to be brave. I'm going to insist to Larry that we remain together, and that we'll work through the logistics of it together. Not just because I love him but… because I want him to better himself. There are so many ways that he's stubborn and careless about himself, and his health. It's all… so self-destructive.

I love that he always put people's needs before his own but… he really takes it too far sometimes. He needs to know how much I care about him, and how much he needs to love himself as much as others love him…

I've got to find a way to spark a conversation like this with him. But… first thing's first.

The lights were off at Patisserie Soapberry. Katy wasn't always the first one to arrive in the morning. But today was one of those days where she found herself getting up very quick, going over her morning routine even quicker, and arriving before any of her openers, and so it was going to be her job to unlock the door, turn on the lights, and start unpacking boxes from last night's shipment.

There's no telling what today will bring, she opined one last thought to herself. But aren't those the most exciting kinds of days?

Fishing out her copy of the shop's main key from her work bag, Katy inserted it into the keyhole… only to find it not turning the usual way. In fact, upon further observation…

The door's unlocked already?

She pulled on the handle, and the door opened a crack. Katy grumpily hmphed.

"We're going to have to have a little chat with whoever was the last one to leave yesterday," she muttered to no one in particular.

She thrust open the Soapberry doors, casting light into the otherwise completely dim main dining room. But there was just enough in the shadows for her to make out something which gave her a nasty fright.

"GASP!"

A voice sounded. "…Sorry. It's only me."

Katy, utterly baffled, went to flip on the lights.

"Larry!?"

Larry immediately put his hand over his eyes, blinded by all the sudden fluorescent light bathing into the empty establishment.

"What are you doing here!? I—More importantly, how'd you even get in!?"

He put his hand down. "You gave me a spare key last month, remember? Symbol of trust?" he said with a weird amount of bite.

Katy searched her memory banks. "Ohh! Yes, yes. I remember that now. …Didn't expect you to use it to break in, though," she said with a light chuckle.

Larry didn't respond to that. In fact… he seemed to be refusing to even look up at her.

"I've been here like this before… I came here a couple of times to wait for your staff while we were broken up, because I wanted something for breakfast but I couldn't bear to see your face. … But that's not what's important right now."

Katy was understandably concerned. Larry hadn't looked up at her even once since she came in. His face was just down to the table, and he had been speaking with a low voice. He was either very tired… or bitter about something.

…

"Why'd you do it, Katy?"

Katy was very apprehensive now. "Why did I do what?"

"…Don't play games with me," he said surprisingly cold. Finally, his eyes slowly rose up to look at the pastry chef. They didn't look very happy. "I know what you did."

Katy gulped. "…Meaning?"

"This."

Larry took out his flip phone and slid it across the table Katy's way. Katy walked up, and saw an email message that was open on it. She read it.

It was the email Geeta had sent him yesterday.

"How di—How do you know I had something to do with that?" she asked. She could feel her hands starting to shake.

"Because... I called Rika. First thing this morning."

Katy gulped again.

"I asked her if you were at the League building yesterday. She said yes," Larry said with a bit of a snarl. "Funny place to be after you said you were going to the bakery." Katy was now twiddling her fingers nervously. "I asked if you were there to see Geeta. She hesitated for a bit. And then she said yes," he put some bite on the last sentence. "So I asked… what happened next?"

Katy found herself choking on her words at first. "What did—what did she say?"

"She said… 'You should ask her yourself.'"

Larry calmly, but coldly, stood up from his chair. Katy took a deep sigh, reading the room.

"Alright… so you're upset."

"Just a little!" Larry snapped, startling her slightly. "How could you be so irresponsible!? I thought I could confide things in you because I knew you wouldn't do something so rash as… as THIS!"

"Alright, hey, hey," Katy tried to calm her love down. "I'm sorry. Let me just say that first. I'm sorry for doing that without asking you first. Calm down, please, and let's talk about it."

"Oh! Oh, now we're going to talk about it!" Larry replied sarcastically. "You picked a heck of a time for it, Katy!"

Katy anxiously inhaled. The man was wound up. He must've been stewing about it since this morning, however long he's been up. … However long he slept. If at all.

So, wordlessly, she walked over to his table and took a seat.

"I didn't ask you to do anything on my behalf," Larry said a bit more calmly.

"I know," Katy said quietly.

"But to go up to the League, without even telling me, and then to do whatever you did while risking jeopardizing both of our careers, I- I… I don't even know what you did to make Geeta change her mind, and I don't want to know!"

Katy only glumly nodded. She knew Larry was right to fret over these things. After all, the meeting with Geeta could've gone very south. This much she knew. And it was weighing on her now just how much she was gambling with not just her own post, but also Larry's.

Larry had his head in his hands. "I just… I don't know what sparked you to be so careless."

Katy bristled. "Hey. I didn't go up to Geeta just out of carelessness. In fact, it was out of care. Care for you."

"I. Didn't. Ask for you to do anything for me," he seethed.

"You didn't have to," Katy sighed. "I could see how depressed you were. How much you wanted to give up after yesterday. It was very hurting to see you like that. I just… I couldn't let it stand. Not as your girlfriend. Or even as your friend. You had done your part already. So… I guess I felt I had to do mine. I was just… I knew you needed an extra hand to make that push. Towards what you really want."

Larry responded by increasing his breathing, his hands still over his face. Eventually, they fell off and slinked onto the table.

"I didn't want your help, Katy. I don't need anyone's help."

Larry finally looked up at Katy. His face looked dead and sleepless. Crow's feet were prominent over his baggy eyes. His nose twitched repeatedly. And his eyes, those beautiful square eyes, were casting a very harsh, very cross glare.

"Why… do I keep doing my best, pull through all my circumstances, and insist endlessly that I'm fine, I'm fine! To anyone who asks… and still, all I get… is nothing but pity."

"It is not pity—" Katy began to retort.

"Oh, come off it already!" Larry shouted, standing up from his chair again. "Rika pulls this crap with me too, I just thought you of all people were much more sensitive to my boundaries!" He started to pace furiously in the empty building. "Geeta too. You're all the same. You just… You all think that I'm some baby. Some poor young Swablu who needs to be nurtured."

Katy slowly rose from her chair, getting increasingly concerned at her friend's angry rant.

"Everyone just needs to babysit Larry and look after him the same way we ask him to look after Poppy! Make sure he doesn't hurt himself or do anything too rash!" Larry continued to spout, his voice croaking. "I'm not a child, Katy. I'm not. I am a full-grown adult who is more than capable of looking after himself and making his own decisions!"

"I never said that you weren't," Katy rebutted sympathetically.

"This whole assistant thing, it… it sucks. I admit that, okay? It's going to be unpleasant. But it was still my decision. I said yes to it! I said yes to Geeta! And now, now I have to work up my nerves again, and go through all the motions, again. I am going to schedule another meeting with her, just so I can tell her to forget everything that happened and proceed with what we planned already! Only now, she probably trusts me far less to keep doing my job stably and I might be out by the end of next quarter anyway." He looked Katy's way. Uncharacteristically, his eyes were watering. "All because of you, Katy."

Katy could feel her own throat beginning to choke. This show was almost worse for her to witness than yesterday's. She wanted nothing more than to hug him right now and tell him how sorry she was, and for them to go back to normal.

"I—I'm sorry!" she apologized again. "I didn't mean to do all that to you, Larry! I just… I just wanted to help. I was just looking out for my friend!"

"You told me I had to do this not just for us, but for myself! Remember? That's what you said!" he shouted. "And then… and then after all that, you went and did all of this just for yourself! Just because I said we couldn't be in a relationship anymore! I promised you I wouldn't do anything selfishly, but practice what you preach, am I right?"

"It wasn't selfish!" Katy defended, her voice shaking like she was trying not to cry. "The entire time I was up there, in that building yesterday! I wasn't thinking about myself or my worries about us being together even once! The only thing running through my head, that entire time, was you!" she pointed sharply at Larry.

"But why?"

"Because I love you. And because…" Katy took a huge breath as she mustered the courage to say what she had just been thinking minutes ago needed to be said. "Because you do need help, Larry. You think that you're so well put together and that you've been handling everything the best way you can, but I've been watching everything you do these past few months being with you and you're dead wrong!"

Larry scoffed. "How am I wrong about myself? What makes you think you know me better than I do?"

"Because underneath that thick exoskeleton of yours, you know what the key ingredient missing is?" She strode right up to Larry, and accusingly poked him in the chest. "You don't assert yourself at all. You never do. You complain, and you moan, and you want things to change. But you never be the one to do something about it!"

"That's not fair," Larry said back, staring over her.

"It isn't?" Katy replied incredulously. "Who didn't want to walk through the desert with me and Kofu but wasn't going to step up and say so? Who was constantly telling me they were fine when you were really in danger of being fired? And whoooo," she accentuated, circling her finger until she pointed it at him. "-just as recently as yesterday morning had decided he was going to quit from the Elite Four, only to stick his head back down in the sand and take on way more work instead just because the boss said so!?"

Larry was fuming. Katy knew she had hit his weak spot.

Frankly, I'm glad. He needed to hear this.

Larry made a few circles through the dining room, head up to the ceiling, as he tried to keep his head cool and wrestle with the indignity of everything Katy was accusing him of.

"I know better than to make a fuss when it isn't helpful," he retorted when he circled back around to her. "You're right, life deals me a crappy hand sometimes. I've known it my whole life. There are plenty of things you can't change without upsetting everyone and looking like the bad guy. Knowing when to assert yourself and when to stay quiet and work to make other people happy is the cornerstone of being an adult, Katy. And at first, I thought you knew that just as well as I did, and that's why I thought we had a kinship."

Katy huffed offendedly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Come on Katy, you can talk a big show but you're just as complacent as I am," he asserted, walking right up to Katy's face. "You think this is a one-way street? In for a reality check? I know you're suffering too, far worse than I am." Katy gave him a wide disbelieving look. "You want so badly to handle your duties as a Gym Leader your way and battle just like you used to. And yet… I've been watching you too. I've had to try to comprehend your complete lack of confidence and self-esteem. Every time you called me up so excited to win another Gym Battle, I could feel the hurt hidden beneath your bright smile. You hate it. It's eating you up inside that this is what you used to live for, and now you're lucky to get a satisfying battle once in a blood moon."

Katy's throat constricted in and out. She hadn't broken her indignant glare towards Larry, but she knew he was right. … She also knew where this was going.

"But after all that, you've done nothing about it. Not a single thing. You know why? Because you are just like me, more than you realize. Like I said, you could threaten to resign or you could face Geeta the way you did for me to demand you lead your Gym the way you see fit. But you fall in and follow her prerogative instead, because you know it's the safer path. The one you keep saying works for everybody."

Katy just responded with a laugh. Not a hearty one, but a very sarcastic, haughty laugh of disbelief.

"Is that what you think? You know me so well, do you?" Her vexed smile disappeared, and became a harsh snarl. "That's it."

She stomped over to the doors, thrust them open with extreme prejudice, and motioned to Larry.

"You. Come with me."

Katy hustled briskly down the road, Larry following as fast as he could make his legs walk. He was admittedly a bit unnerved now, but also determined that whatever Katy was leading him to wasn't going to change his mind about anything.

Admittedly, it was rare to see her as worked up as she seemed right now, especially towards him.

I knew that I was going to have to push her buttons a bit, but I thought with enough convincing I could get her to see eye to eye with me and stop this whole charade…

Eventually, they ended up all the way back at Katy's house. Larry raised an eyebrow, even more defiantly curious.

Katy threw open her door, startling her poor Venonat who was woken up from sleeping on the couch. It jostled over to Katy and chirped curiously as it watched her rifle through the papers in her foyer stand.

"A-ha!"

She marched back out to Larry, and sharply thrusted a sheet of paper at his face.

"You think I can't take necessary actions like you? Have a look at this and tell me what you think."

Larry grabbed the document and scanned it with his eyes. Those eyes were perplexed, and then shocked, and then in even further disbelief as he reckoned what he read.

"Katy, this is…"

"That's right," Katy snarled. "I wasn't risking anything of mine at all when I was up there… because I had already made up my mind that I won't be a Gym Leader any longer."

The form was an official Pokémon League Resignation form mailed straight from the organization's stationery. Katy had filled out all her personal information, the title she was resigning, and written out a full summary detailing her reasoning, punctuated with her full signature.

"But… but why? Do—do you know how much you'd be giving up by doing this?"

"Yeah. I do. I've been thinking about it for a very long time now. It's like you said. I've been suffering here. And I have been fully aware of that. This isn't fun anymore. It hasn't been for a very long time now. And it doesn't matter if I can start believing in myself anymore, working under these restrictions is always going to hurt. Not the League, or Cortondo, or whatever else I was worried about before. This… will always hurt me specifically."

Larry was still reading over the form, completely shocked and taken aback.

"So I'm not thinking about the rest of the League anymore, I'm doing what's best for the future. I'm going to quit my position as Gym Leader, and dedicate my time to finding new ways to help Cortondo and make it a lively town again. Doing it this way will help me achieve that goal more than focusing on keeping my Gym easy and accessible was ever going to."

"I just…" Larry was at a total loss for words. "I- I had no idea it had already come to this. I'm so sorry, Katy."

"It's okay, Larry," Katy assured. "Really, this is the best thing for me. I finally started thinking for myself for once, because I was following, or at least I was following, your example," she pointed out, now speaking much more sternly.

"My example?"

"Yeah!" she said, grabbing the form back. "You were going to do the same thing. You were ready to quit too, with the Elite Four! All you had to do was take that last step! Heck, maybe you could have just signed this form too, at least to get the ball rolling with Geeta! But—but… you can't! You blame Geeta for all your problems, but you'll never stop rolling over and being her lap Maschiff!"

"Once again Katy, that's not fair!" Larry declared, turning away.

Katy put her arms on her hips.

"Larry. Look at me."

…

"Look, at me." He reluctantly turned around. "I mean really look at me. With your eyes."

With an annoyed sigh, Larry faced her at eye-level. To his shock, Katy strutted over and started grabbing at his face.

"What are you—"

"Uh-huh. Just as I thought!" She lightly shoved his face back as she let go. "Baggy! And full of wrinkles! Like they always are!"

"Of course they're baggy," Larry defended. "I didn't get very much sleep last night—"

"YOU NEVER GET ENOUGH SLEEP!" Katy bellowed. It was Larry's turn to be startled now, as he had never heard Katy raise her voice that loud before. "Because you are completely overworked beyond human capacity! And anyone can see plain on your face just how much it's taking a toll on you. I don't think I've ever seen your eyes not baggy. You're almost always slouching. Your hair's a mess on more days than not. Your face is getting new wrinkle lines every single day. And don't think the foundation's hiding that!"

Larry gasped.

"Yeah. That's right. Did you forget Tulip and I are friends? She's run her videos by me before, I know her skin care routines when I see them. 'For the man needing beauty in the absence of beauty sleep' indeed."

Larry swallowed with a hint of embarrassment.

"It doesn't matter how many layers you try to bury those cracks under. You think Rika hasn't noticed all these things either? I've spoken to her before at the League parties and she's brought up how much she worries about you too!"

"She… she does?" Larry questioned in surprise. "I never—I didn't think she cared about me that much."

"That's… your… problem! That's what's wrong with constantly projecting this image of a normal everyman who's not special," Katy argued, her voice croaking like she could feel herself wanting to cry. "You think that you're so average that nobody cares about you and don't deserve happiness! But we all do care about you Larry! I CARE ABOUT YOU! Because you're such a great person who deserves the world!" she proclaimed, her eyes getting shiny. "That's why it hurts that you can't see that, and or the that you're constantly pushing yourself to the brink for no reason!"

Larry took a step back. He could feel his lip quivering. He opened his mouth to try to say words, but couldn't feel any coming out.

Katy's eyes were watering fast. "This isn't about treating you like a child! Or feeling pity for you! It's about being your friend, being in love with you, and watching you live like this." Larry began to look down shamefully. "It was different in the beginning, when we were just Gym Leaders getting to know each other, and I was distracted by my own problems! But now I'm seeing clearly, I'm understanding how much I care for you, and how much it hurts that I want you to be happy and live your own life, but you CAN'T!"

Larry's pupils were shaking with saline. "Katy… I… I…" He reached out his hand. But Katy balled her hands up over her face as she sniffled loudly. "Oh no. Please, Katy… I'm sorry. Please don't cry."

With a furious grunt, her hands dropped down. Katy's face was red, tears were streaming down her face like a brook, and her eyes were red and angry.

"If this is how you're always going to be, keeping your head down in order to make everyone else happy while you lay miserable and rot, then so be it!" she spat, her voice choking up. "But, but… B-but I can't do this anymore, okay!?"

"Please, Katy. I'll… I promise I can listen and change. Just, just tell me what I need to do to make it better." He reached both hands out to try to console her, but she forcefully shoved them away.

"I don't want to be around to watch you keep suffering until you destroy yourself, Larry. I'm—I'm sorry." Katy grasped both hands over her poor aching heart. "I'm just going to hold on to the memories we had. And remember my friend Larry: the fun Larry, who took risks, who smiled and laughed, and actually started allowing himself to let loose!" She gasped loudly. "The Larry who made up his mind, who went into that meeting yesterday, that's the Larry that I love and was so proud of."

She shook her head in agony, the emotions getting too much for her to bear.

"I—I… I feel like that Larry went over the mountain and came back and I'm still waiting for him."

"Katy…"

"I'M SORRY!"

In quick haste, Katy took off sprinting down the road, hands covering her face as she cried loudly and mournfully.

"Katy, wait!"

Larry was about to run after when...

*POP*

Suddenly, there was a flash of white, and he looked up again to see something incredible standing in front of him.

"SCIZORR!"

"What th-?" Larry reacted to the tall bug, aghast. "Where did you come from!?"

The Scizor stared Larry down angrily, before activating its wings and flying off, in the same direction Katy ran.

Stunned, Larry had his hand out, reaching to the air as if he could use the wind to just pull her back. Pull her back into his embrace, tell her he was wrong, and fix everything.

But alas…

He felt his head aching as tears streamed down from his own face. His legs wobbling as they turned to jelly, he made himself sit down in front of Katy's house, grasping his head while he tried to get ahold of himself.

"I'm sorry Katy… I'm so, so sorry… For everything…"

"Veno?"

Katy's Venonat, who had run away and hid while their argument blew up outside, peered through the open door to see if the dust had settled. Seeing its friend sitting there shaking and sniffling, Venonat thought quickly and ran into Katy's kitchen, looking for something delectable.

There was a tin of macaroons on one of her shelves. Venonat jumped up with great might, grabbed an orange one, and ran back out to Larry. It then chirped several times to get his attention.

"Huh…?"

Larry took his hand off his wet face and looked down at the little bug, trying to hold up the macaroon as high to Larry as it could.

"That's… for me?"

Venonat nodded.

"No thanks," he sniffled, pushing the treat back. Venonat made a noise of dismay and confusion.

"I don't… I don't feel like eating anything right now."