Gran glanced at the Zubat on the bed, folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at me. When I didn't speak, because I had the feeling anything I said might be used against me, she shut the door. "Sugar tells me you want to start training. Frankly, I have my doubts that you're ready... but it's best if we discuss this as a family."

My eyes widened. Family meetings were called only over serious matters, like when Grandpa had needed heart surgery or when Cynthia had nearly died her first time going through Victory Road. I'd never had one called about me before. Gran's phone rang ominously as she put it in speaker mode. "Come."

"She means it," Sugar warned me.

"All right." I walked over to them, my stomach twisting. "But there's no need to call everyone, I'm sure Cyn is busy—"

The screen flickered, and a face popped up on it. But it was only Grandpa, his bald head shiny with sweat, his Muk's arms draped around his neck like a gooey scarf, and a huge grin peeking out of his massive beard. "Hello!" He shouted brightly, Muk sliding down his shoulders like melted wax. "Arceus, how I've missed you!"

I smiled. "I missed you too, Gramps."

"So you've been out adventuring, huh?"

Gran scowled. "She's been out riling up Onix and chasing dragons."

"Ah, to be young again!"

Before Gran could reply, the phone's screen froze and split as Cynthia joined the call. She looked tired, judging by her slightly sloping shoulders, but her face was calm as ever, not a single blonde hair out of place. Her Lucario sat next to her, his snout peeking into the camera. "Am I late?" Cynthia asked, stacking up papers full of complex diagrams scattered across her desk.

"No, we're just starting," said Gran, and then launched into a dramatic recollection of our cave expedition. Sugar occasionally interjected to make sure she described his bravery and sick moves while fighting the Onix magnificently enough, since his telepathy didn't work over the phone. "Now she thinks it's a good idea to keep the Zubat who mauled her and train it."

"She didn't maul me," I protested. "...much. I'm fine. And I was already going to start training, I might as well start with her." I glanced over at the bed, but my Zubat was no longer there. "Wait, where'd she go?" My heart jumped in my throat. What if she'd changed her mind already?

"Zubat!" I called, dashing across the room. "Panic!" A muffled squeak came in response. Panic fluttered out of the gap between the bedpost and the wall in a blur. She stopped inches from my face, her mouth full of needle sharp teeth. "...Hey."

"She was roosting," explained Sugar.

"Ah. I'm talking to my family, and I need you to back me up here." She tilted her head, ears twitching. I poked one of her wings lightly. "Come on." Panic landed on my wrist, heavier than she looked, then tucked her wings and climbed up my arm. Gran stared at us, brow furrowed.

I walked back into view of the camera, carrying her on my shoulder. "This is Panic. See? No mauling. We get along."

Cynthia's eyebrows rose slightly. "Panic?"

Grandpa guffawed. "A name to strike fear in the hearts of your opponents!"

"It wasn't my idea. She just liked it."

"She seems comfortable with you already," Cynthia mused as Panic leaned her head against mine.

"We talked a bit. Sugar really helped with the translation," I said, pointing at the Chimecho, who preened.

Gran shot him a dirty look, but he nudged her with his tail and chimed softly. Her expression thawed. "True," she said, sighing. "You have a responsibility towards this Zubat now, Claudia. Raising a Pokémon might teach you a lot about training."

I lit up. "So you agree?"

"No," Gran said. "I think you should go home and keep Zubat as a pet. Maybe in a couple of years you'll be ready to go on a journey."

"What!" I cried indignantly. "But I'm ten already. All my classmates are going—"

"So? Are you a Mareep that must follow the herd?"

Cynthia broke in calmly. "What are your goals?"

"Huh?"

"What are your goals for a trainer journey?" Cynthia repeated, her eyes boring into me.

I looked at Panic for help, but she was hanging upside down from my shoulder, soundly asleep and snoring against my chest. Really? How could she nap at a time like this? I sputtered. "I, um, gym challenge, I guess? I mean, I do have… goals. I still want a Gible." When Gran glared at me, I added hastily. "I don't mean now. I'm gonna train Panic until we're strong enough to get one. And there's someone I wanna beat."

"Me?" Cynthia asked, smiling slightly.

"Um, no. This annoying kid I met." Grandpa laughed at Cynthia's surprised face.

"And why can't that wait?" Gran asked.

"I've waited my whole life. You're all great trainers—"

"We don't mean to force you into any path. If you want to do something else, there are trade schools and internships," Cynthia pointed out. Grandma nodded in agreement.

"No," I said quickly. "I want to be a trainer too. A good one like you. I just… I don't know what I wanna specialize in or if I…"

"Honey, you're ten. There's plenty of time to figure it out," Grandpa chortled, wiping Muk slime off his beard.

"Oreburgh's gym is a good starting point. Train to challenge it while Grandmother works at the museum," Cynthia suggested.

I blinked. "What. But she'll only be here a week. I can't beat Roark in a week—I've got a Zubat—she's weak to rock—"

Of course Cynthia knew all that. She smiled serenely at me, undeterred. "I'm giving you a goal to strive for. You can learn a lot in a week of training regardless." Her eyes flicked away from me. "Would you agree to let her have a supervised trial, Grandmother?"

Gran rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'll be busy working, but Sugar can keep an eye on her. Fine."

As much as I resented the implication that I needed a babysitter, I wanted this chance. "I'll work really hard and stay super safe. Promise."

"Excellent," said Cynthia. "Did you get the package?"

"What package?"

But she wasn't talking to me. Granny pushed the phone into my hand, then walked over to the bed, where she'd left her backpack. She rummaged through it and retrieved something red, holding it out to me.

"Is that a new Dex?" I squealed so loud that Panic startled awake, jolting upright on my shoulder. "Sorry, Pan. Arceus, how did you get it?"

"Cynthia called Rowan. She almost got you a lab starter too, but you insisted it just had to be a Gible." Gran threw me a reproachful look. "For all the good it did you."

I was too happy to care. I grabbed the Dex in my free hand, squealing again. "Thank you so, so much, Cyn. You're the bestest ever. Panic, look! We got a new Dex." My Zubat pointed the tips of her wings at the skin folds where her eyes should have been and hissed at me, clearly saying I am blind, you crazy human. "...Oh, right. Figure of speech, sorry."

Grandpa snickered. Even Gran's mouth twitched like she was holding in a laugh. Panic huffed, then went back to roosting.

"Consider it a late birthday gift," Cynthia said, smiling. "And scan as many Pokémon as you can. Professor Rowan appreciates it."

My new Pokédex beeped as the screen lit up. I glanced at it, then frowned. "Wait, Claudia Smith? What?"

"Our family name is a bit too recognizable, dear," muttered Grandpa. "It's better to have you registered as Claudia Smith."

I winced. "Are you guys ashamed of me or something?"

"No, of course not—"

"Let me explain," Cynthia cut in. "I'm a public figure now, and anyone close to me is… unfortunately a target to some degree. I'm truly sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with any of this." She sank deeper into her chair, eyes half-shut, and suddenly she looked exhausted.

"It's not your fault," I said.

Cynthia shook her head. "It is. I knew my ambition to become champion would have consequences for those around me. Again, I'm sorry. I've tried my best to keep your name and face out of the press."

"It's fine. Claudia Smith doesn't sound so bad. But, I mean, everyone in Celestic knows I'm your sister."

"Yes," she agreed. In a small town, few secrets survived. "But most people you'd meet on a journey wouldn't know. Except the gym leaders, of course, I let them know to give you a proper challenge."

I squeaked. "Wait—what do you mean—"

Lucario's paw appeared on the screen, nudging her shoulder. Cynthia nodded at him. "Ah, I have to go now. Talk later. I love you all."

Just like that, her side of the screen faded to black. I stared, my mouth hanging open. "Cynthia! Did she just—"

Grandpa cackled at me. "Oh, relax. Your sister just likes teasing you in her own way."

Easy for him to say that. He wasn't the one expected to challenge Roark after a week of training with a Zubat and somehow do well enough to impress Granny. "...Right."

The first thing I used my new Dex for was scanning Panic—she was half a meter long and weighed seven kilos!—and then reading up on the Zubat line. My biology class in school had covered most common species found in Sinnoh, so I knew basic facts about Zubat: nocturnal, cave-dwelling, primarily hematophagous but capable of digesting berries. Still, I read through the professor's entry on Zubat, their listed moveset, then went further.

Along with the Pokémon encyclopedia written by Professor Rowan, the Dex also carried a massive digital library full of articles and books written by world renowned trainers. But I ran into a problem: there weren't many elite Crobat specialists. Well, there was Kanto's Koga, but ninja kept their secrets. I found several articles analysing his style and breaking down his Elite Four battles, which I bookmarked for inspiration later, but nothing written by the man himself. So I had to broaden my search criteria.

A few Falkner articles about aerial maneuvers were also added to my bookmarks, though they seemed geared towards bird Pokémon. Then I found Agatha's Ghost Stories, which had a massive Gengar on the cover, but what caught my eye was the Crobat hovering in the background. Ghosts had made Agatha famous, but she'd also trained poison-types and even had a Crobat on her main team. Her book had a whole section devoted to the little bloodsuckers, thank Uxie.

From it, I learned some really bad news. Zubat weren't just averse to sunlight, they were vulnerable to it, and too much could burn their wings. Apparently, Zubat sunscreen was a thing that existed and could be ordered online from specialty stores. But even with sunscreen, Agatha recommended no more than half an hour of direct sun exposure for a freshly caught Zubat. They could be trained to build up a resistance to it, but that was best done over the span of several weeks, gradually increasing exposure times.

Which complicated things. How was I supposed to find trainers to battle if my Pokémon couldn't even be out in the sun? All the nice outdoors practice fields around the Center would be useless. I held back a groan. I'd have to check what indoor battling options Oreburgh had, plus try to cram as much training in the nighttime hours as we could.

I glanced at my pokétch. An hour until sunset. That gave me enough time to run to the Pokémart to grab potions and other training supplies before we started.

I nudged Panic off my shoulder and onto the bed. "I'm gonna buy us some stuff. Be back soon, and then we're gonna train, okay?" Panic stirred, ears twitching, but only nodded drowsily as I left. However, Sugar woke up and insisted on coming with me. Apparently he took his babysitting duties seriously.

At the Pokémart, I picked up half a dozen potions, a couple of status heals of each type, plus some tennis balls, a small training dummy and a glass bowl to use for target practice. I also found out the hard way that they did not sell blood. The teenage clerk had given me a disturbed look when I'd asked, and as I'd stammered it was for my Zubat, he'd told me to ask at the Center.

Surprisingly, nurse Martha informed me the Pokécenter did offer blood bags for the Crobat line, but they charged extra for them since it was a specialty order—it was really pricey, but I'd promised Panic, and I could hopefully use it to motivate her. When I asked about indoor battling, Nurse Martha said that many trainers in Oreburgh liked to hang out in the mines and battle there, which... I supposed I'd have to do in order to avoid sunlight. After today's whole Wayward Cave ordeal, I was not eager to spend time in underground tunnels again so soon, but it was the best option I had. At least we'd get practice against rock types.

But tonight, we could stick close to the Center. As I returned to our room, Sugar carrying my shopping bags after us (Arceus bless him and his psychic powers), I crammed the new supplies into my backpack. "Panic! Time to train."

She fluttered out from behind the bedpost and sniffed the air.

"Yeah, I got you a blood bag. But I'll only give it to you after training." She chittered grumpily, ears drooping, but soon followed me outside.

The night's first stars were peeking out in the sky. Around the Center, a couple of the practice fields were taken up—a Floatzel faced off against a Machoke in one, sending jets of water splashing everywhere, and a Buneary hopped around dodging thunderbolts from a Shinx in another—but a few were empty. Probably as a result of the Center being halfway closed except to emergencies. I glanced around the berry trees lining the practice fields in search of an opponent. There weren't any queues for battle that I could see.

A dark-haired boy walked out into an empty practice field alone. He let out two pokémon, a Geodude and a Wobbuffet, then took... tennis rackets out of his bag? Thus began the weirdest, fiercest tennis match I'd ever seen in my life, the Geodude holding two rackets at once and the Wobbuffet none, just Countering the ball back across the field.

"Let's check that out," I mused. Sugar snickered as we approached their group, but Panic appeared fascinated. Too bad she didn't have arms to play. When I reached the sidelines, I stopped to wave at the dark-haired boy, who waved back. He was skinny, maybe around twelve, with thick-rimmed glasses and a gap-toothed smile.

"Hi," I greeted. "Are you guys up for a battle?"

"Sure," he said immediately, glancing at Sugar and Panic. "I'm Landon. Standard wager? Two on two?"

"Um, I'm Claudia. Standard wager is fine, but one on one. Just the Zubat."

Landon nodded. We exchanged trainer codes and logged the battle on our pokétches. "All right." He ran out into the field, waving his arms. "Guys, pause! Battle time. Genevieve, it's yours," he said, pointing at the Geodude.

"Let's go, Panic." My Zubat flew into the field, baring her fangs.

We squared off, our Pokémon facing each other near the center of the field. The Wobbuffet waddled out of the way and joined his trainer on the sidelines.

"Go?" asked Landon. I gave him a thumbs up. "Rock throw, Genevieve! Don't let up."

"Dodge and supersonic," I called.

His Geodude sank low to the ground. Her fists swung down, tearing out chunks of rock from the field, then rose and hurled them high towards Panic. My Zubat swerved sideways, screeching out loudly. But the Geodude did not falter, continuing to pelt her ferociously. Panic squeaked as a rock brushed against the edge of her wing, knocking her off balance.

"Fly up! Get out of reach!" I yelled. My Zubat flapped her wings frantically, rising higher into the sky, but that left us at an impasse. If she stayed out of range of the rocks, she couldn't really hit Geodude either. "Get behind and supersonic." Panic flew over the Geodude and then dove suddenly, letting out an ear splitting wail.

"Turn and rock throw, Gen," Landon ordered, but the Geodude was half a second too late. Her eyes went cross-eyed as she turned, the Zubat's supersonic hitting the side of her head. Her rocky fist swung wide and slammed into her own face. Though it did not seem to hurt her much. Clearly the embarrassment of hurting herself only made her angrier as she let out a roar. Landon yelled, "Speed it up!"

Geodude stopped hurling rocks and held herself still for a moment, a faint sheen glistening all over the jagged edges of her body.

"Get her!" I cried. Panic threw herself at her opponent, fangs bared for a bite. But the Geodude suddenly burst into motion again, throwing rocks twice as fast as before, suddenly so agile her arms were a blur. Ah, I realized, that'd been a Rock Polish move, and now Panic was too close to dodge. A rock struck her dead on with a sickening crunch, sending my Zubat crashing heavily to the ground.

"Tackle," Landon called, and the Geodude closed in, about to flatten her.

"Astonish," I yelled. Panic picked herself up and hurtled towards the Geodude, an awful bonerattling screech leaving her mouth. Geodude flinched, halting halfway through her attack. "Absorb!" A rope of green energy burst out from my Zubat, coiling around the Geodude as her energy was drained. Panic spread her bloodstained wings wide and rose, strong enough to fly again.

Then she vanished into a cloud of smoke, materializing behind her opponent. What? Was that a Feint Attack? My Zubat sank her fangs into the crook of the Geodude's arm, who flailed frantically, trying to shake her off. But Panic hung on, biting down hard.

"Defense curl and rollout," Landon ordered. Geodude folded her arms over her chest and crashed to the ground, taking my Zubat down with her.

"Ah, fly up! Fly up!" I screamed. But Panic couldn't, pinned under the Geodude's weight, though she flapped her wings frantically. "Run! Supersonic!"

"Rollout again!"

My Zubat scuttled sideways, letting out a screech, but the Geodude rolled forward and rammed into her even harder. Panic squeaked, then went limp on the ground.

We'd lost.

My stomach dropped as realization sunk in. "We're done," I said quickly, raising my hand. Then I ran out into the field, kneeling over Panic and scooping her up in my arms. She whimpered faintly, her breath coming in short gasps.

"Hey," said Landon. "Good battle. Standard wager, right?"

"Yeah, I'll pay. One second. Sugar, please help her."

Sugar rang his bell gently, letting out a healing pulse that shimmered in the air. "Feel better, baby bat."

"Thanks." Panic twitched upright in my arms. She still looked bruised, but her head rose and she climbed slowly up on my shoulder. I patted her gingerly. Then I turned to Landon, who was still waiting for his money. I took out my Dex, logged into my battle account and sent him a wire transfer. "Thank you for the battle."

"No problem." He grinned, but as he looked down at his pokétch, his face fell suddenly.

"Did you not get the money?"

"Eh? Oh, no, I did. It's fine, I just—must be useful to have a Pokémon that can heal," he said, pointing at the Chimecho. "I bet you save a ton on potions."

"Sugar isn't really mine. He's my grandmother's Pokémon. We're just... hanging out." It was too embarrassing to say he was babysitting me. "Want me to ask him to help out your Geodude too?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

"Nursing duties on top of babysitting duties?" Sugar asked sarcastically, sending out another heal pulse towards Genevieve the Geodude, who bowed her head in gratitude.

I grinned at him. "Yes, you're a Chimecho of many talents."

"...Is he talking to you?" Landon asked. "In your head?"

"Yeah."

Landon whistled. "Sick. I've been trying to get Bob to learn it for months," he pointed at his Wobbuffet, who groaned miserably, "but we're not there yet. Only real strong psychics can do it."

Sugar preened at the acknowledgement of his greatness.

"HEY, LANDON!" A shrill voice yelled out near us. I glanced around and found nobody. Then I turned to Landon, who was looking up.

Above us a massive Tropius slid through the air, softly flapping its broad leaves, then touched down with a thud near the treeline. Three people rode on top of it, two blonde boys and a red-haired girl. As they dismounted, I realized with a start that one of the boys was stupid Sean from Wayward Cave.