Chapter Forty:
Woman Versus Wild

Disclaimer: I do not own the series Pokémon. Like, at all. It and all its respectable characters are © to Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri. However, all writing contents and semi-plots here are © to me; unless it is stated otherwise. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I do not own them.

Notes: Holy frijoles, I think this should be a pretty special chapter! It's chapter FORTY! I am so happy and proud to have hit this hallmark, and to have gain so many watchers and readers of this story! I could not have done this without my special lurkers either (you know who you are!) but I would love, love, LOVE to hear a line from y'all! Don't leave a girl hanging!

On a different note, I think I watched one too many survival how-to videos on YouTube to get into the mindset of Shardust and the training center, and the entire ideals behind it. I love this stuff and would love to attend a similar course. You can never be too prepared in life, am I right?

Current Team: Keno the Swampert, Sela the Mightyena, Ambrose the Kirlia, Faye the Swellow, Nux the Gyarados, Gunner the Aron

Badges Won: Stone Badge, Knuckle Badge, Dynamo Badge

"What's going on?"
"The usual. Aloy's trying to do something impossible, someone's trying to stop her. It's not going to work."
- Varl and Erend, "Horizon: Forbidden West"

"How in the hell does someone like you know the Champion?"

"You two were looking pretty cozy, chatting it up like you were old pals. What's your secret?"

"What the hell was up with your freak-out the other day with that hot blonde chick?"

"Can you get me the Champion's autograph? Please? I'll pay you for it!"

Holy shit, leave me the fuck alone.

It was the only thought going through her head.

Itch-shiver-scratch.

And Ambrose's now, too. She could feel him pressing into her every time she turned around.

I don't think I should have done all that battling the other day. These people won't leave me alone now.

Ambrose chuckled as he handed over a long branch to her and she scrutinized it, testing its springiness and durability. She couldn't bend nor break it, not even when she pressed her knee into it. Her knee lost the test and ached as she pulled away the branch. She set it alongside the others. Gunner pawed at the pile, enjoying the soft rattling they made when disturbed.

Hour three into their shelter-building course, day two. Their instructor was meticulous and specific in what needed to be done. This course would provide only some of the materials; the rest they had to scavenge for themselves in the wild. There were lush forests around the area that made up the foothills of Mount Chimney, having grown rich from the soil nourished in volcanic materials such magnesium, iron, calcium, phosphorus and more. Every student could utilize their pokémon teams to assist in that regard, as they were expected to build their shelter and finish it in the next day or so. This would be their homebase in the next few days, and their comfy stay at the Pokémon Center would be no more for the remainder of the course. Not for another three weeks.

"It will be up to you to make your own home and you'll be in charge of your own comfort. How seriously you take this course will determine just how seriously you take your own comfort. So, if you treat this like some great big joke, then I question how you will survive this course, never mind how you'd do in the wilds, away from people, from modern medicine, from your movies and restaurants and shopping districts, from all that you retreat to at the end of the day."

"Perhaps that was the point in having you battle. Steven seemed interested in you and your…skills."

"I don't like how you emphasized 'skills'. Was there more going on?" Shay groused back, her mind already spinning with that could possibly mean.

Ambrose took his time to reply as Shay took the saw sitting beside her and began cutting along the notch Ambrose had made in it with his claw.

"I couldn't say. I wasn't out. I just know he was curious from the last time we ran into him. But he was rather...guarded. Harder to read. Harder than most people."

Shay noticed the edge in Ambrose's tone. She cut through the last of her branch, and the smaller piece tumbled away. That could be used for something else. It wouldn't go to waste. She set both aside, along with the saw and looked at him. Gunner was napping beside him, looking as content as can be.

"What do you mean by that? Like…he was shielded?"

"Not shielded. Not like you are, when Sela's around."

"Sela shields me?" Shay blurted out. Ambrose tilted his head in her direction. Even when his expression was rather blank, she could sense the 'are you stupid' vibes he was simply putting out. It only took her a moment longer to figure out his meaning. "…right. She's a dark-type. Got it. But then how—"

"Mother told me, some humans are naturally resistant, at least for certain dealings in my kind. And others…"

Shay furrowed her brow, waiting, lips pursing tightly. "And others…what?"

"They're trained to resist us."

Before Shay could ask anything further, their instructor came strolling by and boomed out, "How's it going around here, Miss Courier? You doing good? You got any questions for me?"

Word seemed to have spread throughout the training center about her. She had Champion Steven's favour; she had won out the battle against the reporters; she seemingly had all the answers to questions their instructors posed to them. She was not 'Shay Kenway' to anyone here in their group. She was simply 'Miss Courier', to just about everyone in this course, even the instructors she had only just met. That was fine by her. She could pose as such, because it technically wasn't a falsehood. Not an entire one, at least.

The instructor was already scanning the work Shay had completed, as well as what she was currently toiling away at.

Shay had completed digging up the earth after using the mapping technique he had shown the whole class before letting them disperse to their own sites. The poles were already in place, outlining just how large the shelter would be. She just needed to lash everything together, and she wasn't sure how to do so.

The instructor's partner pokémon was a lovely-looking Deerling sporting muted browns and cream colours to her coat. She dipped her head toward Shay in polite greeting and picked her way over to Ambrose. Her voice was soft, and so was Ambrose's, but they seemed to carry on like old friends while Shay turned her attention to her instructor.

If only dad could see me now, she thought with a bit of a sad smile. He would be proud of me doing something like this. When it came to roughing it, even by her own mother's admissions, Shay was closer to her dad in that respect. She was the one who could handle being outside like this without squirming. Itch-shiver-scratch, and the whisper of amusement at the back of her head.

"I…do need some help, actually. What kind of technique would you suggest in tying everything together, if we're not using modern amenities, like nails or screws?"

"Good question. This is actually the perfect time to get you acquainted with the right kind of materials to use in lieu of rope or twine. I've also got a few tricks of the trade to make sure they last for a long while too."

Basil Grimes, by his own admission, had a rather eclectic history. He had once been an office worker from Unova, living it up in Castelia City. He had had it all: a good home, a nice car, a great-paying job. He had the money to splurge, the protection from being outright fired from his job, and yet, he had felt a hollowness at the end of the day.

Fast forward to his eventual downgrade in his life, traveling the world, and finding the thrill and massive spike in happiness with touching grass and communing with nature, and discovering his best self when roughing it. She's heard quite a few people—personally and not—in discovering a side they connected more with than in their current lot in life. City boy discovers the wonders of nature and took to it like he's been doing it his whole life. She was sure she's heard that story before, somewhere.

Despite that, she hoped she could trust him and his expertise. She was fairly confident that if he had asked her for the step-by-step process and analysis of supply chain logistics, she'd be able to provide such insights without hesitation. Everybody's got their something.

Basil worked with her for about fifteen minutes, showing her the proper course to secure her materials together. He then circled around the encampment in progress, offering her insight to better her small space of hand-built real estate. He even offered some tips for her chimney-to-be, as she wasn't sure how to proceed with making one.

When he finished, he gave her a chipper smile and a wink. "You're coming along just fine. You certainly don't seem to be struggling, which is a good sign. I have high hopes that you'll take what you learn here very far in life."

Ambrose returned to her side when Basil Grimes and his Deerling departed, and Shay assessed her site with a critical eye, mentally tallying what still needed to be completed. Basil's words of encouragement had lifted Shay's spirits. She was doing okay. She could do this.

The crackle and crunch of leaf litter being trod on stole Shay's attention, but she settled when she was that it was Nux and Keno returning, each carrying a bucket in hand or mouth. Shay stood and took the first pail from Keno, then Nux, and thanked them for their help.

The creek they had trekked to was less than a quarter of a mile away, and it was where she had gathered most of the flat stones. Those stones are what she'd eventually use to build her chimney with. The mud and clay within the buckets would provide her with the sealant for the chimney.

Nux yawned, a pleased growl rumbling forth from his chest as he flopped over, long body coiling around the site.

"Was there anything else we could help with?"

Shay mulled on the question before shaking her head. "I think I've got this. Hopefully I'll have the rest of this assembled before it gets dark."

Sela came bounding into the campsite, tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Shay greeted her and the Mightyena nodded back in acknowledgment.

"Enjoy your little run?" A voice called from above. Sela looked up, unsurprised to find Faye perched in a tree overlooking the campsite. Sela narrowed her eyes and snorted.

"Having fun spying on everyone from way up there?" She countered. Faye remained unruffled by the backhanded jab.

"Not spying. I'm on lookout duty."

"On lookout for who or what, exactly?"

"Whom," Faye replied with a sniff. She remained quiet for only a moment longer. "And I think you know what."

Sela stared hard at Swellow, nostrils flaring.

"…right."

She turned away from Faye and laid down, and shortly after, was snoozing away while her trainer worked and toiled away.

It was nearly dark when Sela awoke next. The sky was tinged with fire, and the shadows had grown grey and dusty, throwing everything askew and transforming the forest into an alien landscape.

The biggest change she took note of was the shelter Shay had seemed to complete. She was patching on clay and mud atop a layer of leaf litter that covered the rooftop and grassy patches atop that. Sela got up and circled the handmade abode. Smoke poured from a hole in the roof, smelling of burning wood.

"Are we staying here tonight?"

"I was contemplating it, but we still have to check out of the Pokémon Center, since the rest of my gear's there. Once I'm done putting this grass down, we'll go."

"Is there anything else we can help with?"

A part of Sela was guilty for having slept the day away, but Shay had insisted that she and the rest of the team rest and relax. "You guys already do all the hard work in battling. The least I can do is pull my weight in doing this myself."

Sela disliked it when Shay did that, trampling over herself and crediting all their success only to them. Shay kept the peace and made sure they ate and were in good health. She was their biggest cheerleader and advocate. When she'd heard what had happened to Keno on the first day and how Shay had defended him, a bloom of pride had swelled inside Sela's chest. Rolling over and showing belly wasn't how Shay did things for this pack, this team.

"I'm good, Sela. Thanks." It was a few more minutes before she spoke again. Shay stood and groaned, stretching slowly and carefully to work out the aches in her lower back. Her knees and hands were dirty from working with the raw materials of earth and wood and stone. The smoke continued to drift lazily from within the heart of the shelter and Shay disappeared briefly inside it. There was a loud hissing and sizzling noise from within and the smoke began to peter out as Shay stepped back outside, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"I think we should head back now. Ambro—"

"Excuse me! Hi! Hello, there!"

Shay tensed and so did everyone else at the new voice intruding upon their claimed domain.

Nux was up in an instant, tail thrashing hard enough to shake several trees at once, a low hiss building up to a rumbling growl. Sela snarled, her hackles bristling as she rushed over to plant herself between her trainer and the threat. Shay's eyes weren't great in the dark, she came to realize, much like most humans' eyes. Thus, Sela had to be her eyes in the dark.

Faye landed on the top of the shelter, wings spread and feathers puffing out to make herself look bigger. Besides Nux, Keno was by far the largest of their pack and looked far more menacing. He remained by Shay's side, a snarl painted on his face. Even the runty Aron came rushing to his trainer's side, trying (and failing) to look intimidating.

Shay herself was wielding a knife in one hand, and a hatchet in the other. Sela peeled back her lips to show off her teeth as she faced the intruder.

"Who are you?"

"Relax, I'm one of your classmates. You know, for this whole survival training and shit?"

Shay frowned, the hand wielding the hatchet lowering. She squinted into the grey gloom, taking in the shape of the person. Most everyone in the class was taller than her, and at least one had mistaken her for a middle school child earlier that day, which…fair. Shay was short. Being four-foot-eleven affords her more problems and does her no favours.

But she didn't recall everyone's faces from class, either, with only a few exceptions.

"What's your name?"

"Sato, Tohru Sato. And you're Miss Courier, right?"

Shay hesitated but nodded. Then she stopped, realizing he probably couldn't see all that well either. "Yes. You can call me that. What do you want?"

"I'm a bit lost. I got turned around at the creek when I was battling a Geodude, and I don't know what direction my camp's in. Or how to get back to town." Tohru said sheepishly. Shay's frown deepened and she glanced at Ambrose, who had snuck up on her and clasped a hand onto her wrist. She went quiet and still.

She turned her attention back to the intruder.

"If you've got what you need already on you, we can get you to the Center. Basil said even if we've finished our campsite, we can have one more night's rest there."

"That'd be great, yeah. I don't really have much to begin with, but I can leave what I do have at my site for the night. Everything else is back at the Center, in my room."

Shay looked to Ambrose again. That vexed Sela, the two of them talking without it being aloud. But perhaps, in cases such as these, it was beneficial. They didn't know this human. Who knew what their real intentions were, if face value couldn't be taken? At least the psychic can root around others' heads, drag out the truth from humans.

"We'll take you back, just give me a few minutes to clean up and put things away."

"Oh, of course. And I'm really sorry to bother you. I just, I saw the smoke and thought I'd try my luck out here with someone from our class. Does your Kirlia know Teleport, or….?"

"He does."

Tohru waited patiently, watching as Shay scuttled about, packing up her tools and storing them away inside the shelter.

"Are you almost done?"

"Pretty much. I've just added the grass on top of the roof right before you got here, and that was the finishing touch."

"H-how…did you get done so fast?! Did you have your Swampert helping?"

"Oh, Keno? The most he did was grab some clay and mud from the creek in a bucket. The rest I did myself." Judging by the silence, Shay sheepishly added, "I liked digging holes as a kid. Guess it's paid off."

"Holy shit. You're an amazing battler and turning out to be a top-notch survivalist too! What can't you do?"

Sela growled in warning when Tohru tried to venture closer. A mixture of hurt and apprehension stole across his face. "E-easy now, I don't mean any harm. Promise."

"I'm not amazing at everything. There's plenty I can't do." Shay replied, unfazed by Sela's defensive posturing.

"L-Like what?" Tohru asked, but kept his gaze trained on Sela. Even when his hand hovered over a pokéball clipped to his belt, she could smell his fear. He was probably concluding that even if he called out his partner, he wouldn't win. That pleased her.

"I can't whistle for shit. I can't snap my fingers without feeling like I'm breaking them. I'm not a rocket scientist or badass engineer and I'm certainly no genius, either. I can't deadweight lift a two-hundred-pound person. I'm not great at playing guitar." A pause. "I have no idea what I'm doing half the time and that terrifies me. I'm just faking it 'til I make it."

"Oh. That's kind of…sad, actually."

"Eh. It is what it is," Shay replied as she ducked back of the shelter, latching the door shut behind her. "Okay, everyone! Let's start heading back!"

The rest of the team closed in, and Shay returned them one-by-one into their pokéballs until Sela and Ambrose were the only ones left out. Sela glanced at the Kirlia and snorted.

"Keep an eye on this boy. In…whatever way you see the world, that is."

Ambrose only gave a little salute in acknowledgement and then the warmth of being recalled into her pokéball engulfed her.

Shay motioned for Tohru to come closer, and he did so, cautiously approaching her. Ambrose held out a hand to his trainer and she took it, then offered her other hand to Tohru. "Sorry, my hands are still kind of crusty with dirt."

He clamped his hand around hers. "I don't mind. We'll be cleaning up soon, anyways."

The rush came over her in an instant, all contents in her abdomen seemingly disappearing like she was freefalling. The light that encased them was blinding, so she closed her eyes. The air changed around her, suddenly smelling of bleach, antiseptic, and cleanliness rather than pine, damp earth, and woodsmoke.

The light also changed, even with her eyes closed, she could tell it was different. Instead of the energy from Ambrose, she was staring into the lobby of the Pokémon Center in Shardust when she next opened them. The larger hand that gripped her was gentle in extracting itself from hers, and she turned to view Tohru in the better lighting.

He was tall, perhaps just an inch or two shy of hitting the six-foot marker, tousled dark hair, tanned skin that said volumes about his time in the sun, and almond-shaped grey eyes. He grinned at her, eyes squinting at the edges, a dimple forming along his right cheek, but not on his left. It was rather endearing.

"Thanks for the help, Miss Courier. I appreciate it. Maybe we'll team up during the other exercises throughout the course. I'd be damn glad to have you at my side." He paused, looking her up and down before adding, "Even if you seem a little moody without your morning coffee."

Heat flushed across her face. I'm never going to live down going absolutely apeshit in front of everyone, am I?

Ambrose chuckled quietly beside her. 'Probably not. But at least this one isn't clamouring for Steven's autograph or some one-on-one time like the others. Speaking of…heads up. His stalkers are coming.'

"To-To! There you are! I was getting worried sick; you didn't come back to my campsite like you said you would!"

…Ah. Queen Bitch. We meet again, Shay thought sourly, her smile dropping the second she laid eyes on the prim-looking blond from day one. Shay had the unfortunate luck to remember her name. Sabine Savoy. She came flouncing over and snatched one of Tohru's arms, plastering herself to his side. Tohru briefly turned his attention to Sabine and her simpering. The mousy-looking brunette wasn't far behind, sporting a haggard and exhausted look on her face and with the way she carried herself, the way her clothes were dirt-riddled and rumpled. Shay narrowed her eyes.

Bet two to one she did all the work while Blondy sat by, playing on her phone all day long.

'That's not very fair of you. You would win that bet,' Ambrose replied, a ghost of a chuckle skittering across her mind.

Sabine Savoy flashed a wicked grin Shay's way, pointing a manicured finger at her. "Oh. It's you. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be crawling around in the mud? It looks like you've done nothing else today. Not unlike Shabby Abby back here."

Shay bristled, even as she took a moment to assess herself. She groaned inwardly. Yep, she was definitely sporting a thin layer of mud on her clothing, in varying stages of wet and dry.

"Um, actually Sabine, Miss Courier here helped get me here. I got turned around in the dark on my way back to my site." Tohru said, offering Shay an encouraging smile.

"Don't you mean our site?" Sabine cooed in a sickly-sweet tone, batting her long lashes at Tohru. He shifted, discomfort stealing across his face as he carefully extricated his arm from her grip.

"If you're referring to the shelter that Abby is building, then no. I'm not referring to that. You haven't lifted one finger to help, she's doing all the dirty work. Honestly, Sabine, you're going to get kicked out if you don't take this course seriously. And as far as I'm concerned, that place is Abby's, fair and square. And I've already finished doing most of my shelter. I won't let you take over once Abby's done and you're not bunking with me either."

Sabine huffed, unconcerned. "It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to me, getting kicked out. This whole place is a joke, I still don't get why Daddy sent me here. I wish that Champion Steven had done us all a favour and just had me be interviewed. I'm much easier on the eyes, and I would have told those reporters the truth about this place, unlike little Miss Muddy over here."

Shay snorted and rolled her eyes. She pinned her crossed arms over her chest. "At least I'm getting the full exfoliating experience, unlike you and your dry-ass skin. Did you even moisturize today? You're looking like a lizard-thing pokémon right now."

Sabine gasped, fury igniting within her baby-blue eyes as Shay smirked. "You fucking bitch!"

"Yep, I'm a bitch. But I can outgrow being a bitch anytime I want. You, on the other hand, won't grow out of being a shallow, stuck-up brainless twat-waffle. The one thing you and your daddy's money can't buy is talent, and honey, you have no skills at all out here in the real world, do you? Didn't think so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a hot shower and a hot meal calling me and my teams' name."

Shay took her leave, Ambrose clipping along right behind her.

"You woke up and chose violence today, didn't you?"

"You're goddamned right I did. If she thinks she's going to slide through this course unscathed, I'm so not letting her. Fucking prick-bitch."

"She's trying to get under your skin and you're letting her."

Shay flared her nostrils, and she clenched her fists at her sides so tightly, she felt a new warmth ooze against the palms of them.

"I fucking hate bullies who think they can walk all over people without consequence."

"Is that what you tell yourself when you go after Team Aqua?"

Shay came to a short halt, in the middle of the hallway that led to her room. Ambrose promptly ran into the back of her legs, and she whirled with a surprised jolt and an apology. He waved away her concerns and smoothed a paw over his snout, clouded eyes blinking once, twice. Shay's lips tugged downwards into a frown, nerves fraying into bits at the insinuation. "I'm not 'going after them'. Our paths keep crossing. There's a very distinctive difference."

"And yet, you do something instead of nothing when they're around. Curious."

She crossed her arms over her chest, tightening them around her. "It's not my job to stop Team Aqua. I shouldn't even be here, I'm just—"

Ambrose's blank expression was quite the poker face. She was a little jealous that he could skim across her thoughts, but she couldn't do the same in return.

"You're what, unlucky? In the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong universe?"

Ambrose's words were barbed, digging into Shay, deeper and deeper still. She wanted to scream at him. It wasn't her responsibility to hold Team Aqua—or even Team Magma—accountable. Wouldn't that make her equal parts arrogant and immoral to step in any further than she's already done? Who was she to interfere in matters that she had no business in even talking about?

If May was no longer here, then shouldn't that onus be more fitting to pass on to Brendan? Her actions could be screwing things up, possibly beyond repair, if she kept on being intrusive. She just wanted to get through the gym challenge, to defeat the Elite Four, and become Champion. Only then would they be strong enough.

"Brendan isn't here, you are. You know what's to happen, you know how to fix things—"

Shivers bolted down the length of her spine, chillingly so. "I'm not the right person—and fix things? I might be making things worse!"

The hallway was blissful quiet and empty, but for how much longer? She felt her attention drifting, her thoughts scattering from exhaustion, but Ambrose tugged her away from such thoughts. Just a little longer, she told herself.

"Then why suffer all this petty bureaucracy? Why stay in the lines of it all? Why don't you just get on Nux's backside and fly us out to Sinnoh? Right here, right now."

Shay had no answer. Not one that would satisfy herself (nor anyone else for that matter). Not without sounding like they were half-assed excuses. Why wasn't she doing as Ambrose suggested? A sliver of her was terrified of leaving, that's why. The very idea made her blood pressure skyrocket. They weren't strong enough, none of them were. They wouldn't be able to take on what equated to as gods of this world. She wanted—no, she needed—her team to be strong enough to weather the Creation Trio, to survive them.

And if she was caught trying to flee Hoenn—either here in Hoenn proper, enroute to Sinnoh, or worse, in Sinnoh itself. Whatever the circumstances, she'd most likely be sent back to Hoenn if she were to be found out. She'd either be sent to Norman's place or she'd end up locked up in some undisclosed location. And, most likely, it'd be without her team. Her lifeline. Her support.

Shay's defensive posturing softened as she hugged herself. Ambrose hummed and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I know you have enough on your plate. But you've been avoiding these questions for quite some time, even from yourself."

"Jerk."

"I know."

Movement caught Shay's eye and she saw another of her course classmates stumbling their way, looking perfectly how Shay felt. Ambrose patted her hand. "We should get some rest."

"'We'? Who's this 'we'? I did all the heavy lifting today!" Shay chuckled, poking at the Kirlia's shoulder. His edges of his mouth curled upward; eyes trained ahead.

"Only by your own admission, and I quote, 'Sit your asses down, it's time I pulled my own weight'."

"Never gonna live that down, am I?"

"Among many other things you've done or said lately? Not likely."

Burnt coffee and overly sweet creamer. It was a lethal combination, and not in the way Shay would have liked. But she continued gulping it down as Basil and his Deerling inspected her domicile. He ducked inside, while his Deerling traipsed across the sod-laid rooftop, pawing at a few choice spots with her hoof. She turned to Shay, who was nervously worrying at the ground with her boot, white-knuckling her thermos. She could feel eyes upon her, and the whispers and murmurs were doing little to assuage things.

Keno shifted his weight behind her, giving Shay a playful nudge. She nearly dropped her coffee in surprise, turning to scowl at whoever bumped her—but stopped short at the smile Keno flashed her way.

"Relax. You don't have to be so nervous. They seem to like what you made. You worked hard on it the last two days."

"He's not exactly hurrying things along," Shay muttered back with a nod towards Basil. He ducked out of Shay's shelter, testing the door and its durability with a few choice wags. It held firmly, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Well done, Miss Courier. You managed to get all this completed in the time frame I set for all of you. There were a few branches that were somewhat loose, but I'm sure you can tighten them up later on."

"The roof is solid against the elements as well. A few soft spots where, I imagine, there are larger gaps between the branches, but that can't be helped. It happens, it's not a fault of your design, but of the materials you used." Basil's Deerling—who was named Sakura—continued where her trainer ended, dipping her head toward Shay. "Well done, indeed."

Shay inclined her head to her instructor and his pokémon, while her heart continued racing, but with relief and exhilaration rather than panic and anxiety. Basil briefly stepped to her, and with a smile of approval, handed Shay three Shards. She tucked them away in her pouch that hung from belt.

Keno nudged her from behind again, flashing her another grin. "See? Told you!"

"Doooesn't mean I couldn't sweat it because I am drenched now, thank you." She said over her shoulder. Keno rolled upright as Basil signaled for everyone else to follow him to the next site.

Which happened to be Sabine and Abby's site, roughly a quarter of a mile from the creek and Shay's shelter. Or rather more accurately, it was more Abby's site rather than Sabine's. Abby's hands were freshly encrusted with mud and new blisters from the rest of her time toiling away throughout the morning in her haste to complete the shelter. She swayed on her feet, hardly seeming to take in any of Basil's words in. Sabine, on the other hand, was busily inspecting her manicured nails with a bored, if critical, eye.

Basil frowned at the stark dichotomy between the two women, his words dying out mid-sentence. The murmurs grew to a hushed crescendo. Tohru was frowning as well and gave Sabine a hard jab with his elbow. She spluttered, redness blooming across her pale cheeks, but stopped herself short when she noticed Basil watching her.

"Oh. Hello. Are we done here? I'd like to move on to the next mudhole, please."

Keno snorted behind Shay, which earned a venomous glare from Sabine. "At least she said 'please' this time," he said.

"Right, like that's her issue. The lack of manners." Shay muttered back, which earned another laugh from the Swampert.

Basil continued to stare between Abby and Sabine until he settled on the latter, arms crossing over his barrel-shaped chest. He waited a good half-minute, all the while the crowd around her brought the conversation to a louder volume.

"Hey, Rich Girl, he's looking at you!" A young man jeered, which earned him a half-hearted glare. Sabine whipped her head around and gave her best simpering smile, sweeping a hand through her carefully pinned hair in a seemingly careless toss.

"So, do we pass muster or what?"

Basil heaved a weary sigh. "Miss Abby does. You, however, do not."

Sabine stopped preening, hand dropping almost as far as her mouth. "Excuse me?"

"You're not excused, I'm sorry. You did absolutely nothing to assist in the efforts of constructing your shelter. Instead, you let your friend do all the heavy lifting, figuratively and quite literally."

"Does it really matter who does the work, so long as it was done in the timeframe? It shouldn't matter who did what."

A ripple of laughter rolled through the group. Basil shook his head, while Sakura regarded the blonde with a critical stare.

"Normally, I would agree. But you, Miss Savoy, have lifted absolutely no fingers whatsoever. I have never had a lazier participant who isn't even that! Participating!"

Shay exchanged a look with Keno, but also caught Tohru's eye. He grinned at her, and twirled a finger beside his head. That earned a snort from Shay. Sabine huffed, casting a dirty look over her shoulder before she returned her attention to Basil.

"Whoever said I was being lazy? I lifted a finger or two here and there. I was managing."

Basil's frown deepened.

"I don't know where you think you are, Miss Savoy, but an office where you can strut about in heels and a skirt isn't one of them. You're going to get dirty in this course. You're going to hurt from a hard day's labour. What in Rayquaza's name are you even doing here, if you can't even be bothered to take charge of your own comfort that doesn't come from the push of a button or swipe of a credit card?"

Sabine scoffed and waved a dismissive hand at the man. "My father sent me here, for some kind of lesson." The spread of a smile slowly crawled onto Sabine's countenance, turning wicked as she turned it toward Basil. "He's also the one who's donating quite a chunk of money to this little…experience, as I'm sure you know. So, if I fail, it'll be on your head and I'm sure Miss Morgan Greene would be very upset if all that hard-earned money were to just…disappear before making its way into your coffers. Won't it? And we can't have that, can we? No, I think it'd be best if you just left me be for the remainder of this…course. So…I want my Shards or whatever little reward gimmick you're passing off today."

That garnered a larger response from Basil; he stared at her, mouth agape and yet no words came out. Sakura stared worriedly between her trainer and the blonde woman, also at a loss for words. A few voices overlapped over one another in the crowd, with one shouting, "She can't be serious, right? Is she blackmailing the center in front of all of us?!"

"Are you fucking serious?"

The words were out of Shay's mouth before she could stop herself. Eyes turned toward her, hungry for the new blood in the water. And Shay had, apparently, churned up enough chum to garner such a response. Ignoring the sudden attention she commanded, Shay stepped forward, glowering at Sabine, who was still smiling ever so smugly. Even Abby, as she swayed on her feet, turned her half-lucid face towards Shay to watch her.

"You're not going let her get away with this bullshit, are you? She's going to walk all over us and dangle that ultimatum over everyone's heads if we don't comply with her. Don't let her just stand there and get away with this! Her money shouldn't be the final deciding influence how you run things here!"

"Stay out of it, little Miss Mudhole. This has nothing to do with you and whatever little crusade you're on," Sabine sighed, waving dismissively in Shay's direction. The gesture incensed Shay and she stepped forward with a growl. Sabine backed away, looking aghast. "Keep her away from me, she's fucking crazy!"

"Ladies," Basil boomed out, drawing attention back to him. He looked over them all sternly, and the talking quieted down to nothing. Shay's heart was pounding so hard inside her ribcage, surely everyone around her could hear it. Basil's lips remained downward, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He remained as such for a good long while, as though gathering his words—and his patience.

He dropped his hand and reached for a pouch hanging from his belt. The soft, metallic clinking from within heralded what it was before anything was pulled out. He deliberated on three of them in hand, lips pursing. Sabine, recomposed, thrust out her hand, palm upwards and waiting.

Basil met her eyes briefly. Then, he turned away from her and handed the Shards to Abby. She had enough clarity to take them and deposit them in her pouch. Sabine continued beaming smugly at Basil as he turned from Abby and neared her, arched brows rising higher expectantly.

The man turned from her completely and stepped to Shay, holding out three Shards to her. Sabine huffed and puffed behind Basil, who continued to ignore her. "Excuse me?! I'm right here! Are you blind?!"

"No, Miss Savoy, I'm not blind, although a little Taillow tells me one of our students' pokémon is, and I'm inclined to believe that pokémon can see things more clearly than you ever could."

Basil winked at Shay before he turned to face Sabine Savoy and the fury painted across her face. Sakura came to his side, looking stoically at the young woman. Sabine's hand twitched upwards toward the two pokéballs that hung at her hip.

"Don't even think about it, Miss Savoy. You're done. You're out. I'll escort you back to the center later on today. In the meantime, stay here. Miss Granville, if you'll come with the rest of us."

Abby perked at 'Miss Granville' and shuffled after the crowd hesitantly, flashing uncertain glances at Sabine, who stood in place, fuming.

"Onto…Mister Sato's encampment, let's see what he and his team have completed, shall we?"

As if some spell had broken, the words wagged out of several mouths' all at once. Shay flinched when someone clapped her on the back good-naturedly. Keno followed after her, and the crowd of humans parted around him, like a sizable boulder in a river's wake. Tohru fell back to walk in step with Shay, laughing as he did.

"You really don't know who her parents are, do you?"

"Nope. Does it matter if I do or if I don't?"

Tohru shook his head, a light smile pulling at his lips. "You just painted a very large target on your back today. You know that, right?"

Shay spared one last glance over her shoulder, where Sabine was screeching in frustration. She threw a pokéball out and from the dazzling energy, a Milotic emerged. The pokémon coiled around their trainer, fanning her with their patterned tail. Shay turned away and stared straight ahead.

"As long as she's out, I could care less. She doesn't know who I really am, so what difference does it make?"

"She's very good at finding these things out," Tohru said in warning, the smile dying from his face. "She could make things very difficult for you if you keep poking the Ursaring."

Shay peered up at the young man, smirking. "Then I say, bring it on. She wants to settle this on the battlefield, I'll take her on, any day of the week."

"It could be a longer, harder road for you if she does find out who you really are, Miss Courier."

"You have no idea how far I've come," Shay replied, leveling Tohru with a hard stare. "And I'm not stopping what I've started, especially not for some rich bitch who thinks her money can make everything happen or disappear at her whim."

She pressed forward, cheeks burning indignantly as she wove around the clustered bodies of her peers. Keno followed after her, keeping to the outskirts of the group until they rejoined towards the front of the pack. She raised her thermos to her lips, and grimaced upon finding it empty and wondering when, exactly, she had finished it off.