Rika ran up the main staircase of the Paldea League building, stealing a worried glance at her watch as she did so. She was late, but not by much. Still, Geeta didn't like it when you were late. Especially when she had summoned you to a meeting with all the other elites to introduce the new member of the quad.

Rika didn't know anything about this new elite four member except that her name was Poppy and Geeta had handpicked her. If she had caught Geeta's eye, she must be good. Reaching the top of the stairs, Rika practically dashed towards the corridor leading to Geeta's meeting room.

"Dumb machine! Gimme the gummy bears, dumb-dumb!"

Rika froze. It was the voice of a young child, punctuated by the sound of a small fist punching a solid surface. She turned towards the source of the noise. On the other side of the corridor stood a little girl - maybe five years old? Six? She stood in front of a vending machine, jumping in vain to press a button that was too high for her. Noticing Rika, the little girl waved.

"Hey! Hey, miss lady! Over here! Can you come here and help me, please?"

Puzzled, Rika rushed to her. Who left and forgot their child? What am I going to do with her? Will Geeta consider helping a lost child sufficient excuse for being even more late? Am I getting paid enough for this?

"Come on, miss lady!" the little girl said impatiently, urging Rika to walk faster. "You gotta help me get the gummy bears!"

Rika approached, taking a closer look at the kid. She was really small, with a round, angelic face and red cheeks. She was dressed quite neatly and formally for a child, with a buttoned-up dress and an honest to Arceus bonnet. Her black eyes shone with impatience.

"I gave it money!" she exclaimed, pointing at the guilty vending machine. "I put it in and everything. But I want the gummy bears and the gummy bear button is too high and I can't reach it."

"I see", Rika said, trying to keep her composure. "Quite the predicament you got yourself in, squirt. Let's see if I can help." She pressed the button, and the gummy bears popped out of the machine.

"Yay!" the girl cheered, grabbing them and tearing the bag open. "Thanks, tall lady! Want some?"

"Thanks kiddo, I'm good. Listen, do you know where your mommy or daddy is? Did they bring you here?"

"Huh? Oh, no. The important lady brought me here."

"Geeta?" Rika asked, astonished.

"Yep!" the child said cheerfully. "She's very nice! She's waiting for me in the fancy room with grandpa Hassel and mister tired man. She said I could go get the gummy bears by myself, but I had to go back afterwards."

Rika blinked. Hassel had never mentioned he had a granddaughter, or that he would bring her to work today. And why was Geeta commuting Hassel's granddaughter to work, anyway? In fact, why was Geeta even allowing Hassel to bring his granddaughter in the middle of an important meeting?

Regardless, this was better than having to deal with an actual lost child. Rika smiled at the girl. "Well, squirt, you got what you came for, so let's get you back now. Okay?"

"Okay!" the little girl said brightly before ambushing RIka. Rika gasped for air as the kid's surprisingly strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, seemingly in an attempt to crush it. "You helped me get the gummy bears!" the kid shouted. "That means we're going to be best friends forever!"

"Oof!" Rika unwrapped the girl's hands, as gently as she could. "You're stronger than you look, aren't you? Well, if we're gonna be friends, you have to handle me more carefully. That hurt a bit."

"Aw…" The girl hung her head, staring at the floor. "Sorry. Didn't mean to. People tell me I'm too strong all the time… Didn't mean to hurt you."

"Hey, no, it's okay", Rika said, kneeling at her level and trying to comfort her. "Being strong is good! Just be a little more careful, alright?"

The kid looked up. Seeing Rika's sincere expression, she smiled. "Okay."

"Nice." Rika offered a hand, which the girl took. "Come on, let's go find the important lady."

"Sorry I'm late", Rika said casually, strolling into the meeting room where her colleagues waited. "I was helping out your granddaughter, Hassel. Really, you should have given a heads up. I didn't even know you had a granddaughter."

"I didn't either", Hassel dryly replied.

Rika frowned. "What?"

"Good of you to join us, Rika", Geeta interposed. "I see you've met our newest member, Poppy."

Rika gave her boss a confused look. Geeta met it with a calm, unchanging expression. Rika turned to her colleagues, silently asking for further clarification.

"She's not my biological granddaughter", Hassel explained. "She… sort of adopted me after Geeta brought her to work here."

Silence.

"What", Rika said flatly.

"Grandpa Hassel said I adopted him", the squirt piped up.

"No, I mean… work… what?"

Larry rubbed his temples. "This child is one of us now."

Rika stared at him. Her hands rose mid-air out of their own volition, their wild gestures expressing her incredulity. "What?"

"I'm not sure what is so confusing, Rika", Geeta said calmly. "Poppy here is your new colleague. I assure you, she is quite prodigious. She feels she doesn't fit in at school due to her giftedness in battling. We talked, and, with the consent of her parents, she has agreed to join the elite four."

"But…" Rika gaped incredulously at her boss, searching for the words to politely express how insane this was. "We can't hire a child."

"Hey!" the girl exclaimed indignantly from Rika's side. "I'm really strong! Let's fight and I'll show you!"

Rika sighed. "Kiddo, I'm sure you're very talented, but all of us have been doing this for years. You're what, six years old?"

Poppy looked at Rika as if the latter had betrayed her most sacred trust. "I'm eight and a half!"

Geeta pointedly cleared her throat. "My dear Rika, professional advancement should be based on merit, not age. Poppy is perfectly qualified."

"But… she's a minor. How does this work? Doesn't Paldea have any labor laws?"

Larry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know, it's really unclear."

"Enough chit-chat", Geeta said. "We shall now go outside, where you will now engage in combat to determine your placements in the league order."

"Woah, woah, wait." Rika put her hands up. "We're fighting the kid?"

"Naturally", Geeta said. "How else will we determine her rank in the elite four? The challenger must face you in a certain order, as you should know."

"Yeah, let's fight!" Poppy said excitedly. "My Pokemon are the best!"

"What type do you specialize in?" Rika asked, hardly believing the conversation she was having.

"Steel!"

Great. Geeta wants me not just to beat up a little kid, but a little kid I have a type advantage against.

Rika took a deep breath. Since this was happening, she might as well try to make it as painless for the kid as possible: prepare her a bit for the inevitable outcome.

"Alright, squirt", she said, in what she hoped was a kid-friendly, reassuring tone. "Just do your best, alright? Remember, Pokemon are our friends and we train together so we can get stronger and stronger. It's okay to lose sometimes. Battling is not about winning every battle, it's about self-improvement and, uh, bonds of friendship. Yep. What matters is diligent effort, and… um… learning from your failures and… stuff", she finished lamely.

The kid gave Rika a blank look. "Um… you can do all that, but I'm fighting to win."

Rika sat still on the bench she had collapsed on, clasping the pokeball of her last defeated team member in her hand. She was staring aimlessly at the distance, questioning her life choices and the meaning of the universe.

Poppy, on the other hand, was jumping around quite happily.

"Yay, we did it!" she celebrated, hugging her Tinkaton. "We did it, Twinkie! We won! You were awesome!"

"Magnificent", Hassel said. "Simply astounding."

"Thanks, grandpa Hassel!"

"It is truly remarkable", Hassel continued. "Yet another stunning victory for Poppy."

"And none for Rika!" Poppy said cheerfully.

"The last one was close", Rika said, stung. Then she closed her eyes and shook her head, as the realization struck her that she was neener-neenering with a child.

Larry nodded. "I must admit I had my doubts, but Poppy is quite strong."

"Thank you, mister tired man! You're strong too! But we'll get you next time, you'll see! I will do… um… avenge! Yeah! Did I say that right?"

"That settles it, then", Geeta announced. "Challengers will start with Rika and progress through Poppy, then Larry, and finally Hassel. Thank you all for attending today's gathering, it was quite… productive. I will take Poppy home now. Rika, once you're done admiring the void, you may come back in to heal your team. Come on, Poppy."

Poppy tugged on Geeta's sleeve. "Um. I want to stay with Rika a bit."

"Oh?"

Poppy nodded. "I wanna spend some time with her. It's important to get to know your new colle… col… friends!"

"Very well", Geeta said. "Rika, once you two are done with your conversation, please bring Poppy to me in the meeting room."

She went back inside, Hassel and Larry following in tow. Poppy sat next to Rika on the bench. She needed to climb, and her feet weren't touching the ground.

"Um", she said awkwardly. Then she stopped talking, looking down.

Rika took a deep breath and forced herself to get a grip. The situation was… strange, to be sure, but she wasn't going to be a jerk to a child over it.

"What's up?" she asked, smiling at the girl. "Sorry, I spaced out a bit. Congratulations on your wins. You did great."

"Um…" Poppy mumbled. "Sorry I was a little mean about winning just now. I was mad because you didn't think I could fight."

"Oh", Rika said. "Well, that's understandable."

"I never fit in with other kids", Poppy said. "I'm too strong for them. It's not fun to battle like that. When Geeta said I could join you, I was really happy because I was hoping you'd accept me."

Rika practically melted. "Of course we accept you. I'm sorry I was doubtful before: I didn't expect something like that, that's all. But I know how strong you are now." She held out a hand. "So… I look forward to working with you, colleague. We'll make a good team, don't you think?"

Poppy's face lit up as she shook Rika's hand, trying to make her mannerisms very grownup. "Yeah! We're gonna be the best team ever!"

Rika laughed at her enthusiasm. "And hey, since you're stronger than me, let's make a deal. If any challenger makes it past me, you have to avenge me. Alright?"

"Deal!"

Rika found herself smiling. It was all really weird, but perhaps it could be a good kind of weird after all.