Twin Colors

by tremor3258

Generally getting cheat memories is supposed to be a *bonus*. OCs, Paldea, post-game.

6. First Day Jitters

Twin Colors

By tremor3258

Chapter 6: First Day Jitters

---

There was silence on the other end of the phone. After twenty seconds, Rose tapped the phone to make sure it was still connected. It was, but it didn't generate a response

"Hello? Did you hear me?" Rose asked into the silence. She gestured and Azucena jumped into her lap for hugs. She was already sure she was going to miss this when her partners were grown up.

"I'm not sure, Rose, can you repeat that?" her Uncle said.

"Did having twins cost my mother her position as warden in the Solaceon Ruins?" Rose said clearly. She hoped her Kantonian was still in shape enough for this. Her phonics were a mess.

Mei and Rose had discussed it briefly earlier, that something important happened in the Ruins. Mei was asleep exhausted, after a long day of having different lives stuck in their heads. So Rose was taking it on herself to investigate, since the Ruins seemed to factor in all three timelines. And, if this stupid 'wish' had been for Mei if she was… extra. It'd been eating at her more and more.

Their mother hadn't been entirely surprised by the day's events was also worrying.

"No, it wasn't good for her health, but she could still do the rituals – I shouldn't talk about this with you. Why are you asking?" Olive asked.

"This morning, the Ruins came up in conversation. Some things make a lot more sense that last winter if she was involved there. Today has been insane, but I just want to make sure for Mom's sake. We went around the world, Uncle Olive – why?" Rose pressed.

"I can't say all your mother's thoughts there – that's a question to ask her. But she went to Galar for personal reasons, not because of an exile. No one even suggested she needed to step down. It was her choice. I should go see the herds," Olive said, and Rose could hear a chair move and steps. He wasn't waiting for anything else.

"This really isn't something we can discuss with, well, outsiders Rose," Ava said apologetically.

Rose opened her mouth to protest and then closed with a click. A lot of her remembered being eighteen and growing up in Solaceon. There her mother's health had spiraled down after visiting in the winter on a terrible night. Why had never been clear, and that Rose apparently had known not to ask – emotions on the memories were hazy.

Here she was ten, and she'd left Solaceon when she was three. Between waiting for paperwork to clear between Juibilife and Wyndon, she'd been four by the time they made Galar. Hannah had kept them moving around the region.

"I think I understand that. I'm sorry. It's not always been easy, and I didn't think about that," Rose said.

"It's a lot to have thrust on you. But I don't want this to be all doom and gloom. You said you lost your first match, and you were having a challenge lock before? So, you leapt right past the question then," Ava said. Ava had never bothered to seek out taking that step. Olive either.

Ivy wouldn't meet her gaze when she looked at him. "Yes, that's right. I'm still able to talk to them even before Grass-types are partners, some. They offered and I took it," Rose said.

"So, you're a battle trainer now and forever – Rose, honey, your brain is shifting around right now. Did they cover it in school?" Ava asked.

"Yes. A little," Rose confirmed, rolling her eyes since the video function was off. Trainer school as primary had talked about it vaguely to avoid being upsetting, but the twins had read more professional literature on their own.

Rose's assumption, and Mei had agreed, that the League wanted to present being a full trainer in the best light. When you had that level of clarity of Pokemon it never switched back off. Your life was Pokemon, no matter your day job. And there were never that many battle trainers. Most people didn't have partners, they had pets. Or livestock, to include Ava and Olive.

Rose looked down at her hands, which were carefully smoothing Azucena's leaves with nothing else to do.

"We're not the only trainers to make that choice the first day," Rose said quietly.

"No, but you did – and then you lost the match after needing to have it. You're lashing out," Ava said firmly.

"That… wasn't my intention when calling you two. I'm sorry again," Rose said.

"You're not wrong to ask though, even if you pressed hard. We can't give you the answer to what you're asking and not asking. I'm sorry, it isn't our place," Ava said, apologetically.

"He's never come back to our lives and that's plenty for me," Rose said firmly.

"Rose, besides your father, you do need to watch out for this. You're going to have some changes going forward – I think this is the most you've ever actually spoken to me in one conversation, and we've only spoken a few minutes. Bonding fully with Pokemon gives you a lot of strength, but you're going to be more competitive than you used to be. I've seen it – you need to be aware of it to channel it, ok? Your mother was a complete hellion for a while when she made the choice" Ava said.

"That's better advice than my mom gave me on it," Rose said, "I'll try. I want to do the best by my partners, is all. And what you get is thin compared to this." Azucena cheeped happily.

"I know, but it's not bad, but people and Pokemon are different and you're pushed closer. Hannah was always competitive and ready to get out of Solaceon when she was younger," Ava remarked.

"Our mom wanted to leave? What happened?" Rose interrupted.

"I think she just got enough travel during her life," Ava said after a moment's reflection.

"But she was always competitive, so she probably didn't think of it when you got Pokemon. You wanting to be the best you can yourself is a healthy starting point for the life you're in now. Most of the League best, not that circuit trash, aren't interested in beating everyone either," Ava said firmly.

"We did pick partners at a bit of a rush," Rose admitted. Because half of the twins were reaching out for Pokemon that weren't there and Hannah was frightened of the consequences.

"Please apologize to Uncle Olive for me? I wasn't trying to put him on the spot about what's warded in the Ruins. If those secrets best be quiet, I didn't want to dig for them. I'm not Galactic," Rose asked.

"You'll be fine once he settles down. Your mother leaving with both of you was a lot for everyone, and he still misses you. There are… things he would tell if we had the right. And that frustrates him too. It must be nearly ten there. You get some sleep, all right?" Ava said.

"I'll try," Rose offered, "Have a good day. I hope the herds do well this season."

"We'll do our best. I know we didn't really give anything, but if you thought you learned anything, it's safe to pass it on to your sister," Ava said.

"Thank you. Good health to you both," Rose said, and reflexively starting bowing until Azucena protested at the oncoming torso.

"You as well," Ava said, and the connection cut off.

"Well," Rose said, switching back to Paldean, "I feel a little better, but that didn't answer much."

Azucena chirped a question on her lap.

"Parts of the Ruins are open to the public, but I was too young to go. The Ranger visited once but it was rocks, and she didn't seem to be paying attention. If there's something Mom did that opened us up to get blessed with the connection I'm lucky to have, it could be there," Rose answered.

She sighed and scratched Azucena's leaves harder. "But Mom travelled all over and there's a lot of grass Pokemon in Solaceon too. Affinities tend to show up repeatedly in families but with Sinnoh's settlement, the family registry doesn't go back very far. She could do something or it could be utterly random. We need to be a much stronger team if we want the money to go to Sinnoh, too," Rose summarized.

Ivy growled a bit. "That will mean more team members someday, yeah. Not this week, though. And whatever was going on in this battle, I think I'm going to be finding more grass types as partners, just in warning. here was a… vibe even if it's missing parts," Rose said.

Azucena flexed triumphantly. "I know we'll do better next time," Rose promised, and looked around the room. The last bout of insomnia had handled the unpacking, so she didn't have anything to do. Her body was tired and yelling to sleep but her mind was going too fast to want to hit the pillow yet.

"If you guys want to stay up we can try and see if we can untangle what's going on a bit. Otherwise I'm going to watch Milo videos from last year," Rose stated. Azucena reached for the phone and Rose giggled.

"Fine, training, then Milo videos."

---

Eventually enough streaming caught up with Rose and she had to lay down. As she'd thought, she fell right asleep. Also as she thought, sleep wasn't very restful. She kept waking up with tears in her eyes, knowing she dreamed but not remembering what.

Finally, an hour before dawn she gave up and went to look out the window. This side of the dorms mainly got a view of the crater, but what sky was there should start lighting up soon.

It was darker outside than Rose expected, deep shadows over the window, and even the lights of the campus were obscured. It took several groggy seconds to realize why.

Then she started giggling and couldn't stop, even as she opened he window. Several Hoppip bounded in through the sill, smiling and trilling. Azucena noisily chittered behind her and uprooted herself, waving her arms and yelling.

"You're not joining us," Rose informed the Hoppip, who sighed, disappointed. "I'm sorry, I'm not taking anyone right now."

Azucena had climbed up to the sill and threw her little arms wide to block them coming in. "There were Hoppip who did this in Artazon, and a few would blow up to the apartments in Hammerlocke too during the spring." She leaned out the window towards Mei's room, and back in. "They're there too," she informed Azucena, who waved dismissively. Not her trainer, not her problem.

"I'm not trying to send anything in my sleep, Azucena to call for more partners yet. Hoppip sprout up everywhere and they float. Most don't make it to evolve without human help, so the seeds get spread everywhere," Rose reminded her Pokemon.

"Actually, can you guys get down?" Rose asked. The Hoppip awkwardly looked away, not meeting her eyes. Rose realized a breeze was blowing towards the school from Area Zero. "Blown up against the building?" she asked. The little Cottonweed Pokemon nodded grimly.

"Well, the full term starts Monday so there aren't that many students on campus yet, so no one should mind if I carry you through so you can float towards the city, okay?" Rose said kindly.

Azucena chittered. "We're just taking them up two flights of stairs to the roof, okay? No Poke balls, I promise. I'll send Mei a text if she wakes up from the noise. I'll try to get the ones at her window myself," Rose answered.

"Grab as many Hoppip as you can carry so they don't float into the vents," she directed. Azucena sighed and hefted a Hoppip over her head. Ivy jumped over from where he'd been not paying attention to pick one up by the neck in his mouth. Rose finished her text and started scooping.

After a minute she got a broom and brushed the ones by her sister's room over too. The light was still dark in there, thankfully. She wasn't going to be able to get all the ones against the building, but this was a bunch that weren't going to be a local Starly's snack because the Academy was in the way.

"Just don't shake him, all right?" Rose asked Ivy, slightly muffled as she gathered the others up in her arms. Ivy nodded, the alarmed Hoppip trying to stay still as his leaves rustled.

Rose managed to get a hand free, letting the Hoppip hang in the air briefly, to be able to open the door. They didn't try to go far, so she was able to clutch them quickly.

"We'll eat when we get back," she promised, brightening up her Pokemon's expressions.

There was fortunately an assist button for the roof door on the stairs, making it easier to maneuver their slightly jiggling cargo. Reaching the railing over the main courtyard, the trio lightly tossed their cargo in the air, the one from Ivy's mouth yelling at the jerking motion. The rest of the Hoppip cooed as they caught the breeze and floated towards the city. Several turned to wave fondly with their forepaws as they continued to their destinies.

Rose waved after them briefly, though in the light pollution of the city they quickly vanished. "See, they weren't staying," she chided. Her Pokemon shrugged.

"Are you growing them?" asked a quiet voice down the railing. Rose blinked and looked. A girl a bit taller than her with purple hair and yellow streaks was leaning on the railing. Unlike Rose, she was already wearing a Naranja uniform for the day. Rose leaned against the building – the breeze blowing through was quite nice up here, with a hint of alpine to it.

"No these were poor Hoppip against the building. I'm good with grass and they pick up on it, so they went by my window. I wanted them to have a chance," Rose explained, "I'm Rose – entering the general track. I'm sorry if I disturbed you." Rose started to head to the stairs.

"We're classmates then," the girl said, holding out a hand to stall Rose, "My name's Alamy. I was already up and my room's the floor below. My body's still on Lumiose time, so I was looking at the city. Say hello Bandwidth." She had the accent for Kalos's heart, from the lessons the twins had been doing.

Rose took the hand to shake it, and a Quaxly poked his head out to peer at the two grass Pokemon nervously.

"It's fine, we're not battling now," Rose said kindly. The Quaxly shook his head and stayed hidden.

"I don't think he likes his chances very much," Alamy observed, "I'm still getting used to him and how to give commands. Your two follow you very well."

"I'm a battle trainer," Rose explained, which was all that took, really. Alamy nodded.

"Galar, yes? That would make sense," she said, though without the traditional disdain for regional rivalry.

"Wow. After the quick-learn, most people say Kanto," Rose said, impressed.

Alamy laughed, a light sound, "You're wearing a Hammerlocke Scalebacks t-shirt," she pointed out.

Rose looked at her pajamas for the city football team in their dark green and purple colors and giggled. "That does make it easier, doesn't it?"

She looked out across the city, lights shimmering spread out below. "I guess it's too early to be officially in trouble for not wearing the uniform during the week. I didn't think about it," she said, and stifled a yawn.

"Are you jet-lagged too?" Alamy asked.

By about eight years, Rose thought wildly. Aloud, she said, "No, my mother was able to transfer to Artazon last month. She's a research team head on Grow Sures' production side. I think it must be something like first-day jitters."

"It was nice of her to uproot like that," Alamy said, sounding a trifle bitter.

Rose didn't press, instead saying, "I usually sleep in. Past the first alarm, even, but this view makes up for a lot of it. Especially with the city all nice and quiet."

"Mesagoza is very different than Lumiose – rougher, a riot of colors, but both are quite noisy. It's hard to get away from the press. This," Alamy said, waving her hands to take in the Academy, "Is far more luxurious than I had imagined."

"I've never had so much space to myself. It's a bit frightening," Rose said, without thinking.

Alamy glanced over and Rose explained, "My sister Mei's also here – she's still asleep. We're the same age and share a room at home."

The Kalosian was silent after that, and Rose was content to enjoy the breeze moving past and watch the city shine below. Mesagoza would wake up soon enough for another hot day, but now it slumbered.

Rose sat down to soak in the lights and watch her partners luxuriate in the cool breeze, lolling around or chasing each other. Bandwidth mainly stayed hidden near Alamy, and Rose had to send a few nudges to keep Ivy from heading over to menace the poor Quaxly. Alamy kept glancing, watching the two grass Pokemon tumble.

Eventually, though, Alamy asked, "Do you hear them all the time?" She moved to sit down, leaning against the railing to face the breeze.

The grass Pokemon stopped playing to line up before Rose and get petted as she thought about her answer.

Finally, she answered, "I'm lucky, or cursed, depending how you take being so set in one direction. But I'm lucky to have a strong affinity to grass-types. I can usually make out what they're saying without being partnered. For these two, we've been partners for a day, and yes, we're always there."

She reached out to scratch both of them for a moment before continuing, "Pokemon trainer: 'one who lives with and by Pokemon', right? They're so excited to have someone to talk to that I've looked forward to always having that. It's not as strong as it's going to be, I hope, as we get more practice. I can't imagine life without them already."

"I get little bits from Resistor, the Pichu Mama and Papa got when I was old enough. She hasn't… offered whatever is that changes people. Bandwidth is I think still a bit frightened of me," Alamy said. She brushed her hair back and Rose realized she had little lightning bolt studs in.

She was probably closer than she thought. Rose had gone through a period of irritation when she was younger when she realized her wardrobe was seventy percent green, so said nothing.

"I had, or am, something like a pot that was ready to be planted in. Or a socket looking for its connector, in another metaphor. I've been taught a lot about it, too, so I knew how to be ready," Rose said, shrugging. She'd always expected she'd be a battle trainer. Her affinity was too rare a talent to waste not being fully honed and trained. And the excitement of the League cup was everywhere at home.

"Most people say no, or never bond far enough to reach a decision point. Naranja's a good place to ask though, I bet a lot of upperclassman are battle trainers," Rose encouraged.

"Did it hurt, though?" Alamy mumbled the question, then blushed a bit, realizing Rose heard her on the quiet roof. She repeated it louder, voice trembling a bit.

"No, the first part is the same with pets and Poke balls, for connecting. It… kept going past that point when Azucena gave it. The extra energy part, I don't know if it's not there or it just can't be used but it's there then. Like a foot that was asleep that woke up," Rose said.

Alamy nodded and went silent, though fidgeting a bit. She looked lost in thought, but occasionally glanced over at Rose.

"You can ask the other part," Rose said kindly, eventually realizing what was going on. Mentally, she went through on her phrasing for what was coming. Alamy was new and seemed nice and she didn't want to frighten her.

"I'm sorry, it makes the whole thing sound bad. I know I'm not supposed to. You must think I'm rude," Alamy said, blushing again.

"It's a good question, though, and you should ask. Battle-sync can come up again if you refuse, so whatever it is that… works it, being informed doesn't stop it," Rose said.

"You should just refuse me, it'd be less embarrassing," Alamy muttered, "But… do you feel different? Do you think different than before you were a trainer?" The last words were at a rush. The world needed all the trainers it could get for the sakes of both species. If trainers' personalities sometimes tended to extremes, well, you weren't supposed to ask if the Pokemon made them that way.

"Yesterday was very stressful, so it's hard to judge which is which," Rose said, carefully. "I moved and got a new… perspective, but also spent much of the day thinking about a match after I had Pokemon. This morning the breeze is nice, and the scene is pretty, and I wish I had my phone with me to save it. But part of me also is thinking about the pine on the breeze and if this would mean an advantage here."

"So, yes," Alamy said. Rose nodded and shrugged.

"My mother's a battle trainer and started in sales a few years ago as just a job. Now she's leading a team in finding new crop hybrids. She said she used to do a lot of matches on the road, but now in the new job she'll ask up a trainer walking by every now and then. I think there's different ways it can get an outlet. But also Pokemon want matches and you need to be responsible to them, so that's a reason to seek them. You're a battle trainer because you want to be stronger and the partners reflect that. I don't know," Rose said, and sighed.

"It's been just a day, so everything's probably still changing. I don't know where I'll end up. I just hope I'm not one of those noisy trainers in the movies. I hate yellers, a lot. It's a lot to keep up with," Rose fretted.

"You too?" Alamy, said, surprised and pleased.

"I mean, I know I'm not the only person who likes space from dealing with a lot of people. Mama and Papa do not always understand. I'm glad to see there's one as a full trainer," she continued.

"There's a few around," Rose said lightly, then frowned. "I don't mean to scare you off it. I can't imagine being without any partners now. It's a delight being with them."

"It would be nice to always be with friends. Resistor would like to be closer, but knows I fret," Alamy said quietly.

She smiled. "Most of those movies, the trainers are loud idiots before they have Pokemon, so you are probably safe. It must be a boring sort of role, but it does seem good money," Alamy said.

"Do you want to do films?" Rose asked, "Professional battler is our top choice, but my sister and I are here to figure out a second. Our mom made sure to let us know it doesn't always work out."

"I've done a little acting, at school. It can be fun to be someone else! And if you're on stage, you can focus with the lights to only see the cast, so there's not many you must connect with. But my parents didn't want me to overestimate my chances, so general track instead of humanities. Kalos has many actresses, and many are hungry," Alamy explained.

"That's too bad," Rose said sympathetically, "I hope you can make it."

"Kalos's champion did. Pokemon are very helpful, and a good electrician is useful on set. But Resistor's been more than that, now, so… I'm thinking about it, if they offer," Alamy said.

"Most of the professors here are very high-grade battlers. I saw the home ec teacher battle one of Paldea's Champions yesterday, and our home room teacher is very strong," Rose said.

"You can tell?" Alamy said, interested. Rose nodded.

"It's easier when you have them and the… rest of it starts, but humans have enough of it you can get a feel with practice. Psychics can probably do it easily too, but I never tested high there," Rose said. Alamy shook her head. Her neither.

"Thank you, that is good to know," Alamy said.

"Thank you – I didn't think I'd find someone easy to talk to besides my sister," Rose said. "I'm not good with people always, and they were always moving."

"I am an only child," Alamy announced, throwing a dramatic flourish, then laughing. "I don't know many I am happy with either," she confessed, then pulled out her phone. "You don't have yours on you – but could I get your number? I'd like to be a friend." Rose nodded and listed it off.

---

Sunrise, unfortunately, made the roof less appealing as the light slanted right into it. Rose and Alamy retreated to prep for the day as a result.

"Alamy was nice! Kept her distance and she knows her basics. That poor Quaxly you two really had terrified, though" Rose noted back in the room, changing into a gym version of the Naranja uniform. It was still very early when she got back. She'd decided a run would help. She put the kettle on and looked around for anything else.

Azucena chittered disparagingly.

"Oh, just not much there yet with the Quaxly? I've seen a few matches in the neighborhood between people who train their pets and new trainers, back in Hammerlocke. There's still a lot you can do just battle-sync doesn't make up for. Don't get cocky, especially as many ice moves water-types usually learn," Rose answered.

Azucena nodded.

"I wonder what her Pichu can do, though. But for us – the legend continues today. Who's up first?'

Ivy meowed, and Azucena beamed.

"They'll be some training later still," Rose warned. Ivy curled up as his answer.

"Fair enough – Azucena, you get to keep me boosted. Good practice for both of us, and Ivy you can do this afternoon. With training certification, we can get out of the city but that's too far to go train this morning. I still need to look up if there's a good pet shop to keep the Potions flowing, too," Rose warned.

Ivy meowed confidence as he was recalled to his ball, and Azucena jumped the small distance to climb up on Rose's head. The three set off to run around the school grounds now the sun was up.

---

It wasn't until Rose was out of the shower later when Mei knocked on the door. She didn't hear it over the hair dryer, but Ivy did. She came out of the bathroom to see him pawing at the door. A quick check and she let her sister in.

"Good morning – you set your alarm earlier than I thought," Rose said, cheerfully, with the unjust joy of someone who was already caffeinated. Azucena trilled from her dirt pot, getting some morning photosynthesis in.

"Bleh," Mei said, elegantly. She was wearing a pajama version of the Turffield gym uniform, and her hair looked like something nested in it.

She cleared her throat and tried again. "My alarm gives me another twenty minutes. A Staravia picked off two Hoppip outside my window." Rose winced.

"You must have been in the shower," Mei continued, "How long have you been up?"

"Fiveish? It was before dawn," Rose said. Mei eyed her. "I sent you a text," Rose said.

Mei blinked a few times, "Yeah, all the notes on the floor meeting? It's too early to read that. I mean, thanks, but not yet."

"After those," Rose said, visibly irritated.

"Ah," Mei said, and shrugged.

"Did you sleep okay, at least?" Rose asked, anxious, "You were barely upright."

"I don't even remember getting into bed. I don't think I woke up in the night, so I think so. I feel a lot better. More energetic," Mei said.

"That's great. Your partners well? Ivy doesn't seem to have a sprain, thank the dragons," Rose said.

Ivy looked awkwardly at the floor, trying not to broadcast. It wasn't a bad sprain and he didn't want Rose to have bad expectations after less than a day.

"They woke up and went to guard the window, little dears. I put some kibble down and figured you'd been woken up too. It was a bit messy," Mei said. She looked over Rose, "Do you still have concealer? I'm sorry you didn't sleep well." Caffeine couldn't hide everything.

Rose touched the side of her eyes and sighed as she realized she had bags. Mei thought there was something else different but couldn't put her finger on it.

"It was nice getting in a run before it was warm. I may set my alarm earlier. There's a very nice view from the roof," she enthused, eyes glittering. Azucena and Ivy voiced approval.

Mei shuddered at the thought of being up so early. "It's probably got too much glare for a while," she demurred. Coming over may have been a mistake if Rose actually wanted a conversation. Mei still had twenty minutes on her alarm!

"Oh," Rose said quietly. "Okay. You want some tea, then? I bet your kettle's still heating up," she offered. Mei nodded, keeping a poker face that she hadn't turned it on yet.

Rose turned and went to grab a mug out of her cupboard, which made Mei groan a bit internally. She hadn't unpacked either. Mei felt a flash of irritation, like Rose was somehow winning more at life. As Rose reached up for the door, Mei realized what her subconscious had spotted earlier.

"Did you redo your nails too last night? How much sleep did you get?" Mei asked. Rose glanced at her hand and pointed at her Pokemon.

"I wanted to add them in, and the floor meeting didn't go that long," Rose defended her time usage, as she grabbed the teapot. She poured a cup and passed it over. Before Mei could sip, she added, "I need to finish my hair, but I called Uncle Olive last night too."

Mei paused with the cup nearly to her lips. "I did win last night, didn't I? How are you getting all this done? We'd barely even talked about that," Mei protested.

"I decided since I was up," Rose said, firmly, holding for a few seconds before looking down. "And you won, yes," she said, with an artificial lightness.

"You doing the battle-sync right then? You seem much more energetic than I am," Mei asked. Rose frowned.

"Sorry," Mei said, "I'm still waking up, I guess. And still a grump." She swirled the teacup.

"Yesterday was hell," Rose said, waving aside any concern for Mei's mood. "I didn't learn anything, really. They agreed Mom was a Warden, but nothing on why or what she was doing. Whatever happened in Solaceon though – she stepped down, wasn't forced."

"So, it wasn't us then?" Mei said with a burst of optimism. "That's great to hear!"

"If she wasn't fired, that may mean it's more likely Gabriel's alive somewhere," Rose warned. "That didn't help my sleep. We did link training and then watched Milo videos for an hour before I could lie down."

"Everything on that is such a blur. There was a lot of yelling," Mei summarized.

"Everyone wants to keep this a blur for some reason," Rose agreed.

"Thank you for not waking me up to give your findings, scant as they are. I know I'm getting nightmares about the Knight's childhood eventually," Mei sort of half-thanked Rose. Rose eyed her for a second and then let it go.

"I didn't sleep very well at all though I don't remember why. We may need sleeping pills at this rate," Rose admitted.

"I'm not getting tranquilized if I can help it! Not again!" Mei suddenly shouted, ice running through her veins. Rose stepped back as, behind Mei, Ivy suddenly went into a crouch. The twins turned and looked at the walls of Mei's room, they could hear her Pokemon suddenly exclaiming.

"I'm not," Mei said, serious, suddenly calm. Her Pokemon continued to shout.

"I'm sorry. I need to go."

"Absolutely. Go. Show them you're okay," Rose insisted, "Just wash the mug out and bring it back later."

Mei was already moving to the door. "Yes, fine – thank you," she said and hurried out. Rose went over and shut the door. Mei was going to be a bit.

Ivy hissed and Azucena dropped the Absorb she'd been prepping, huffing angrily. "She wasn't going to attack me," Rose said wearily, "She's allowed to be mad about all this too."

Rose pointed at Azucena. "And you're lucky she didn't see that, or Pome probably would have burned through the wall. I'm glad you wanted to save me, though," Rose said, walking to the pot. She rubbed under the Petilil's neck ruff to Azucena's satisfaction, and then went back to finishing her hair.

---

It was weird eating breakfast alone, but Mei didn't want to face her sister again after that outburst. The Knight's memories had the emotions distant, but the actions were clear, and what Mei had processed had her horrified. The Knight had accepted a lot of terrible things without reacting. Mei did react if she was faced with it, and her Pokemon had come dangerously close to reacting as well.

Maybe it'd be easier if I didn't too, Mei thought briefly, then shook her head. Rose's pride meant she took too much and Mei had to intervene a couple times as they were growing up. It really didn't seem worth imitating, especially today. With school starting, Rose's concerns felt far away to Mei.

She smiled at Pome and Terpsi, who were blasting through their breakfast. They'd reached out, but the connection she had thanks to her strength and whatever heritage had kept things under control. It'd taken some concentration to where she'd had to be short, but no violence had occurred to her packed belongings. They calmed down when she got into their sight but insisted on checking her over. It was nice to be appreciated.

The Knight hadn't been appreciated. Her Pokemon tolerated the strength she gave, and that was it. All she was, was the damage her Pokemon could do. Even when she was 'Champion' as a puppet to Lysandre. She accepted it. The Knight accepted a lot of things.

Like accepting the need to swallow at least six pills of various sizes with each meal. That she was too cowed to dare ask what was in them. Who knew what was in the food too? The last few weeks before they cut off with the wish, the Knight hadn't been eating at Flare bases or Café Lysandre. She'd cried, she'd laughed, she'd raged.

It didn't take a scholar to make the conclusion. Being pushed around like the Knight was terrifying. Letting that level of being controlled sneak up on her was scary. There had been a deal, how long would it last? From the sound of it, Rose was getting too much already.

And Rose had still had to call her out on using the Knight's mannerisms, if discretely. Rose, even though Mei was the one who was the social one and took care of them. Rose who'd gotten creamed. Well won, it was touch-and-go there for a bit, and that was irritating too.

But she didn't deserve to be yelled at. She was only trying to help fight whatever this was and try to help.

But she'd yelled at her sister, who was only trying to do what they'd agreed on and was trying to help. It was too embarrassing to head back right away, so for the first time since Rose was seven and had gotten sick, she was going to eat breakfast alone during the week.

Mei would be proud to say she was decent, too. Rose and her usually switched off days of cooking. Their mother had rarely made meals for years after she trusted them with the stove. Sales visits and then long hours climbing the corporate ladder. When she was home, she honored their request for training.

Though the word 'trying' kept trying to fit into that last sentence, thanks to the extra scope of the Knight's experience that was creeping up on Mei. The Knight had been paved over and frozen, but her bond was… closer to what Mei felt than how her mother's mechanism had described.

And Rose thought her control had been a mess. She'd gotten too close as a beginning trainer with newly bonded Pokemon facing a type disadvantage. Everything Mei knew and the Knight knew said it would be no contest. Rose had apparently fumbled the whole thing and she'd nearly pulled it off with the deck stacked against her. A little more luck on paralysis and she might have won. It was scary to think about, if Mei had done that poorly.

There were a lot of scary thoughts.

Cooking helped. Cooking was normal. And the Knight couldn't cook. At all. Probably couldn't boil water. It'd probably freeze, in fact.

Once Mei started cooking, her stomach started rumbling and wouldn't stop. Yesterday's battle had taken a lot out of her, so she made double for her and the Pokemon. That was another expense problem, but probably a temporary one. Rose's pet shop idea wasn't bad even if it gave her an excuse to hike all over the local countryside. If they could find where pet owners hung out to have matches, they might be able to clean up some forfeits as well.

Pome was sliding whole eggs down his gullet as Terpsi made her usual mess. They had bacon too. Their mother's home cuisine was what they normally cooked, and neither twin could handle fatty foods well.

So, Mei concentrated on a mammoth pile of eggs and watched Terpsi eat bacon. Or try to eat bacon. Mei really need to go out shopping and get her a little platform or a raised plate. She'd stacked a few extra dishes to improvise, and it was helping with the spills. But Terpsi chewed with her mouth open and great relish. Mei's estimate was only forty percent of the food Terpsi tried to eat was reaching her stomach.

The Bounsweet's portions were much smaller than Pome's though, now that Mei had a better idea of her appetite. That was helping the mess. Mostly she was working on the biggest bowl Mei could find to fill with water. She'd had to refill it twice. The little Croc Pokemon barely sipped at a glass, most of his moisture came from his food as a Fire-type. He was using his hands quite neatly to bring food to his mouth and Mei vaguely considering seeing if he could be taught a knife and fork, or that would be considered a Move.

It helped distract her and feel normal.

When breakfast had been demolished – they'd put away at least a dozen eggs between them and half a loaf of toast – she proposed the big question for the day.

"Which of you wants to stay out today? You're both small enough you can fit anywhere in the school. We have a walking tour, some sort of orientation lecture. Then lunch will be provided. So glad I don't have to make that too when I still need to shower. Then we have homeroom and you can't come out for that. Or do you want to split the day up?" Mei asked.

The little jungle fruit and crocodile eyed each other warily. While Mei was the central 'node' they did have a weak link with each other, so they could lean in on each other's experience. That didn't mean they didn't want to get all the time in they could, and they didn't really know each other well enough yet not to be erstwhile competitors.

Pome was trained to be a starter but was in the secondary position here. However, he was stronger right now than Terpsi and victory had been his yesterday.

Both wanted to show off their trainer to the world. This was their new life together and they were determined to make the most of it.

Since Mei was clearly linked to both, she was getting this better than the two partners' stare-off. Neither had spoken yet, not willing to risk the first move. It was so cute and sweet they wanted to be with her. Also, an angry fuming Fuecoco was just funny to watch.

"You two are adorable. I can't wait until we've gotten all the rough spots out and are fully in tune," Mei enthused. She had a thought and went to her suitcase, coming back with a commemorative coin from last year's Galar Championship. It'd been part of the compensation package for Hammerlocke citizens.

She held the coin up for their perusal, flipping it back and forth. "Charizard for Pome, Leon for Terpsi. Does that sound fair?" she asked. The two broke their tense stand-off to nod.

She flipped the coin into the air. When she went to snatch it, it almost seemed to be floating, it moved so slowly. She slapped it on the back of her hand revealing…

"Leon, Terpsi gets to start," Mei announced. Pome looked downcast, and she scratched his head around the 'hair' flare on his head.

"This is mainly just to look around. We'll have time for real training after that homeroom this afternoon," she said. "Now let me try to get presentable so Rose doesn't show us up."

As she ducked in the shower though, she thought at Terpsi, Clever move boosting my reaction speed, so I'd grab the coin at the right moment. When Pome figures it out, you're on your own, though.

Terpsi squeaked dismissively. Pome picked up something passed. As Pome turned to whistle inquisitively at her, she dove back into her third bowl of water with exaggerated glee, ducking the question.

---

Mei was at Rose's door forty-five minutes later knocking on the door with the handle of a hairbrush. When Rose opened it, she pushed the brush into her hand. "Braid. Please," she requested. Terpsi reinforced the request with a demanding trill from Mei's shoulder. Cleaning up the breakfast fallout had taken longer than Mei thought. And now, after her shower, her hair was being unmanageable.

"At least sit down first," Rose said, pointing at the desk chair. Rose, to Mei's irritation, was fully made up to show off for the day and looked much more mature. She'd tied in purple ribbons to trail down the sides of her hair to make up for the shorter length.

The purple was vivid and Rose had done a good job weaving it in. A thought occurred.

"Wait, no, let me get a picture with you by the window. With the light coming behind you, Mom might think you dyed your hair," Mei directed gleefully.

"Wait, no, let me take a picture, with you by the window. With the light coming in behind you, Mom might think you dyed your hair," Mei directed with some glee.

Rose rolled her eyes a bit. "I still wonder what that's about," she said, but went to stand anyway as Mei brought her phone out. Without a word, Azucena hopped up the sill to her shoulder as Ivy jumped in her arms.

"I don't look too much like a Gloom, do I?" Rose asked, worried, as Mei took a few shots.

"Not in your colors. I couldn't pull it off with red. Probably no one would notice, Oddishes aren't native here, anyway," Mei said, "More of a Sawsbuck in autumn vibe with how the flowers hang down."

"That's not a bad idea, I have some flower hairpins that would help," Rose said, and looked down at the orange and grey autumn uniform. "Huh, must have been subconscious, it does give that vibe."

"The psychology of elemental alignment on wardrobe is a curse and blessing," Mei quoted from one of Nessa's interviews, and shrugged.

"All done here," she said, pocketing her phone and went over to the chair. Rose set Ivy down and went over with the brush. Only to find there was a true Rattata nest on Mei's head.

"Did you forget conditioner?" Rose asked.

"No, ow! Sadly not," Mei said, wincing at a couple of the pulls.

"I see why you needed help. I've never seen it this bad before. Did Pome sleep in your hair?" Rose asked.

"I don't think so, but he does roll around. Yours wasn't bad this morning?" Mei asked.

"No, it brushed out fine. I have a lot less than you do now," Rose said, a bit bitter. That coin-toss hadn't been very long ago, and she missed her hair being to her shoulders. She'd worked on that.

"You know we're still going to get a lot of questions about how we look alike even with me having three more inches," Mei said.

"Not at the rate I'm getting through this. We may need gel to force this straight," Rose reported.

She glanced at Terpsi on the desk, who hopped innocently. She hadn't slept in Mei's hair either.

"I didn't think I'd need any gels until there's a school dance or something. It usually lies flat. Ow!" Mei continued as Rose pulled on it.

"You did sweat a lot yesterday," Rose mused, "This is downright strange though. It didn't look that bad when you were here earlier."

"Maybe there's a Ghost -ow- Pokemon haunting our floor, channeling the spirit of hair stylists gone wrong?" Mei speculated grandiosely.

"The tour might cover that. You're going to get a single braid here at best. We're running out of time," Rose warned. It wasn't the most painless process, but she was making progress.

"Better than having -ow- to keep a hat on indoors. Tangela are in logos on every shampoo aisle in the continent," Mei said. Rose struggled on for a few more minutes.

"Okay, I think I got the worse of the snags out. Did you bring any barrettes or pins?" Rose asked.

Mei didn't risk shaking her head if she was finally nearly presentable. "Just a scrunchie. I'm not unpacked yet," she admitted.

"You already need to return a dozen barrettes," Rose said pointedly.

"It'll happen," Mei promised again for the third time.

"Just basic's fine, really. This isn't a Kalos school I'm trying to impress," Mei said.

"This'd be easier if our stripes split on the centerline," Rose groused for probably the hundredth or thousandth time as she gathered up hair to start.

"And I appreciate you doing it, it's hard to do a midline braid and not have it three-quarters blue on my own," Mei said.

"Oh, you're welcome," Rose said, and paused briefly to survey her progress.

"This may lean a little," Rose warned.

"At this point as long as no one tries to throw a Poke ball at my head, it's fine," Mei assured.

The two jumped a little at a sudden clatter. Ivy had found the hairbrush on the desk and started batting it.

"They're both out still?" Mei said, surprised. Rose knew she was in control, right?

"What, recalling's quick and I like talking to them," Rose said, "They're going to be too big if I end up with a full legal team, so I want to let them out when I can." Ivy nodded empathetically and looked smugly at Terpsi, who stuck her tongue out in reply.

"If?" Mei parroted. Rose flinched but continued braiding. It was a few seconds before she spoke.

"I don't know what's going on. Everything's fine here but full power had so much gone on. Mom's advice didn't feel like it was even safe to consider," Rose said, glum.

"I guess things seemed kind of floaty over there, but you were making them move around," Mei said.

Rose didn't reply to that, and Mei filled the silence hastily, "I'm sure you'll make it work." Rose shrugged, unsure.

"I'm not sure if Mom's advice was right either," Mei confided. "Maybe it's the whole grass thing but there was an underlayer of power. Like old-growth wood for getting it to move, though. I did try and force Mom's method and it took Ivy out, but I bet it was most of why I was so tired afterward. Something felt like it nearly gave I pushed so hard."

Rose stopped tying. "You nearly had a backlash break? If you're joking, it's not funny. I'd have stopped the match."

"You sure? You seemed out of it during the battle," Mei said.

"I was focusing," Rose said stiffly, "All that power getting loose can cause permanent damage. You need your brain, Mei."

"It was fine!" Mei said. After another few seconds, Rose restarted braiding.

"I'm glad we're in battle class early to work on this, though. Professor Dendra should be better at teaching specialists. And everyone's impressed how well we assess, so we should get her attention," Mei continued.

Azucena asked a question from Rose's shoulder. Rose opened her mouth to reply, but Mei cut in to give the answer. "Mom was a committed generalist when she was active professionally," Mei replied. She yelped as Rose tugged the braid a bit too tightly.

"Sorry," Rose said coolly.

Mei couldn't quite turn around but was a little surprised at Rose acting up. "You usually want me to talk to others," Mei said. Even if she didn't like it always, she was better at it.

"That's talking to other people. This is me with partners. They're family now," Rose said, maybe a bit too brightly.

Terpsi watched the byplay, worried, and chirped her own question. Rose merely continued braiding.

"Right," Mei said, not able to turn around or see Rose's full expression in the mirror.

"Did Mom tell you any about how it works on the human side for picking teams?" Mei asked. Terpsi squeaked no.

"Okay, this is a basic Trainer School overview so it's full of stereotypes and assumptions. Ignoring pet and work partner relationships, that leaves battle trainers. We fall into three broad groups," Mei began.

Mei relaxed and fell into a cadence as she talked, "The most obvious is people who specialize in one type, like our genes pretty much set us to. Type specialists and experts focus on specifically raising the type and its battle specialties. They know its strengths and weaknesses well and how to utilize the specific nuances of their energies. Both partners are concentrating on the same thing, so it's easier to reach heights of strength faster. But people know what to expect and you're easier to plan against."

Terpsi nodded understanding. Ivy had rolled on his side and was kicking the hairbrush absently, paying attention to how well his partner's sister did on the lecture. Azucena put out an 'arm' and leaned against Rose's head, fascinated.

"You do have some battle-synched trainers who specialize in a specific species and its stages. They aren't necessarily professional battlers as trainers, but are battle trainers, right? There's a stereotype of fishermen carrying a full brace of Magikarp and Gyarados on their belts because it's the fish they first caught," Mei continued.

"Meowth fanciers, and that kind of thing is in this category but those are usually pet owners. This is all sort of a subgroup of the first. The second real group is people who choose a team for a particular battle style or theme that suits them. Hex Maniacs or Hikers are stereotypes here. Most battle trainers when journeying are in this group. There's millions of battle combinations but if you build on a consistent strategy it's a big power multiplier, especially if you can't handle a full team's load yet or afford the upkeep," Mei said, and paused to swallow, her throat getting dry.

Rose tapped Mei's shoulder, and she nodded. "Mom fits this. She sold most of her partners that wanted to stay in Galar besides Thorny. But she had a team that was good at farm or ranch work there too as her battle partners."

Mei swallowed again and spoke up again, "But a lot of trainers graduate to the first group if they focus on staying active professionally. Most people hit a point where if they want to improve further, they need to narrow down to focusing on one energy type as a base. It's one reason Gyms are set up the way they are."

Terpsi burbled impatiently. "I'm getting to group three. Group three are the committed generalists. Trainers who have decided to try and pick up and use a wide variety of Pokemon with different capabilities. They usually take longer for their own growth, and their partners can be a bit weaker since the trainer hasn't had as much time to focus their training and improve them. But if they make it through the plateaus, they tend to be the strongest overall trainers. Genuine Pokemon masters," Mei finished.

Terpsi stood up, spinning around to take in the city, and asked a follow-up question. "Oh, good question, Rose did you get that?" Mei asked, politely.

"Oh, if I heard that right. Kieran probably is the third group from the team he described. He likes dragons, though. Like Mei said, these are stereotypes," Rose said.

Mei nodded involuntarily and winced, since Rose was still not quite finished. "Gym Leaders' best partners are in their type, but they're usually strong enough fighting full bore they can beat most trainers with a team of anything. I think Nemona's that, a fighting specialist who hasn't needed to specialize since she's so strong. From what we saw in the match," Mei said. Terpsi settled back down, questions satiated.

"That Tauros was something," Rose said with near reverence, "And Nemona didn't even think it was ready."

"I'm glad we got to see that intense a battle, but from everyone keeps bringing up Florian, I wish we'd been able to see him in action," Mei complained.

"You're all finished back here," Rose reported, snapping the scrunchie into place and stepping back. Mei's hands rose almost without conscious control to pat the braid. It wasn't necessary, Rose had done her usual good job.

Mei stood up and spun around so Terpsi could see. The little Bounsweet voiced jealous approval.

"You'll be evolved with fancy head leaves before you know it, and missing these days you fit on desks," Mei consoled.

Rose tapped on her phone and pulled up the Pokedex app to show a Steenee. "Bet you're looking forward to hands for your table manners," Rose said. Terpsi nodded so fiercely she nearly fell over.

---

"Six battle court plazas, three separate materials labs, four individually climate-controlled biological research suites, two world-class chemical laboratories, the oldest and grandest library in Paldea, and complete wifi," boasted the head of the tour. It was about ten o'clock, and the tour had begun at the entrance desk in Naranja's grand library/reception annex.

There were several groups starting in the library. With Naranja's vast range of interests and ages that joined, the young students who would be here the longest for a full set of courses were getting the front-and-center introduction to Naranja, instead of meeting in the wings. Hundreds of Pokemon and people were all in the huge space at once, and voices echoed in a roar.

There were multiple tour guides splitting the central newcomer group into batches of twenty people. The tour guide and introduced himself as Giacomo. His voice was pitched to carry above the din, and Rose focused on that through the noise. She'd caught the movement as one group had turned to listen to him over their own guide's attempts to be heard.

Ear plugs would be counterproductive for the tour, but she hoped the group would start moving quickly.

Giacomo continued, "And for the humanities side, my personal favorite, an eight-hundred seat and two three-hundred seat auditoriums, composition rooms, digital art spaces and a complete ceramics facility. Naranja is the best-equipped learning institution in Paldea, which ya all know, since ya enrolled." His Kingambit, sitting squat on his hair, nodded firmly.

"We'll spend a while walking the grounds and get back here before the speech at eleven. Then lunch. Any questions before we begin?"

Mei shot her hand in the air and only flinched slightly when the gazes went to her. Even with Rose's help battling her hair, she'd been in a hurry and barely felt put together for this grand introduction. Rose, meanwhile, had added the flower hiarpins she'd mentioned and tied ribbons to the ends of the other to increase the 'hanging flower' effect.

Even their guide had a 'spread-wing' hairstyle that must have taken an hour to put together. It wasn't fair.

"Was this building ever a Gym?" she asked, "If you took the books out, you'd have space for a battle court out to either side here."

Giacomo looked to survey the two library wings behind him to either side and nodded. "No idea!" he said cheerfully. Mei sighed.

"But you've got a good theory! Space for risers up on those balconies out of the way of attacks, the pillars are all solid, and this floor's built over bedrock. It'd make a lousy concert hall with these acoustics, for sure," he noted.

"Well, guess that research project didn't have an easy way out," Mei said.

"Easy way's not always the good way, kid," Giacomo said, mood falling away and being serious for a moment before putting his tour guide expression back on

"Good investigative question to start the year! Any others right now?" Giacomo asked. No one raised a hand, until one at the back simply shouted.

"What's for lunch?"

"No idea!" Giacomo said cheerfully, "Well, a little idea. It'll be buffet but on a more open day like today, it'll be what inspiration hits the cooking staff. These days, Naranja believes in a flexible learning environment and figures creativity comes from the top. Which reminds me I'm still booking out the last half of the semester. If you need a beat, DJ Vice will bring the house-" A sharp, sudden cough cut through even Giacomo's voice. The older student paled and looked over.

A grey-haired man in a Naranja jacket with a goatee continued to clear his throat briefly and then smiled, where he was standing next to the reception desk. Mei's jaw worked briefly. She wasn't reading anything from the man. That meant either no Pokemon at all, ever, or a great deal of discretion on the man's part.

"But maybe later for that. Let's get started!" Giacomo said hastily, starting to gesture to follow as he walked backwards. Kingambit huffed and waved his bladed arms, scooting backwards without rising.

---

The tour itself was informative for finding one's way through a structure built on over centuries. Giacomo kept color commentary to a minimum after his scolding but did know a lot about the fastest ways through the building.

The opening ceremony arrived soon enough. Naranja always had people entering and exiting for short courses, but the larger study course had more regulated entry. The main auditorium dwarfed the term's entering group size, even with all three tracks present. It really put Mesagoza's massive scale with its hundreds of thousands of people.

Pokemon weren't permitted off stage in the auditorium, as it was quite nice upholstery. A few student volunteers were making sure people had their partners recalled at the entrance. Terpsi continued protesting she didn't shed until she was recalled. Azucena handled it with more grace, but Rose suspected it was only because she was ready for nap. They'd been up for six hours already.

Giacomo had gotten them through the building quickly. People were still filtering in as the twins picked spots in the back. There were plenty of open seats, even with some people having family members (given not being in the uniform) in attendance. Mei did a quick count below them. "Just looking for Naranja orange, maybe the library wasn't as big as I thought. It seemed more people in there.

"Maybe some are skipping the speech," Rose suggested quietly.

"I would have said we should do the same if I wasn't sure Mom would ask about it," Mei admitted, "I doubt it will cover anything new."

Mei was right. They started with a video on the history of traditions of Naranja. Most of which were covered in the introductory packet and the rest on the website. There was a second, student-produced, video that seemed to be a blipvert ad for Paldea.

The older man who had kept Giacomo in line was in fact the Academy Director, Clavell. Apparently, he was the hands-on sort for checking problems. Mei was still sure he was suppressing and whispered such to Rose. His speech mainly welcomed new students to the world of Pokemon study and enthused the opportunity to work with people from across the world. And Paldea's future would be decided by the student's discoveries, etc.

By the time Clavell left the stage, Rose was starting to nod off between the excellent cushioning, the lowered lights, and not enough sleep. Mei nudged her to wakefulness and pointed at the stage. Nemona was coming on.

"Welcome, welcome all! My name is Nemona and am proud to be the student body president again this year," she said with a smile. "Naranja Academy is the beautiful fruit of Paldea – my own time here I'll always treasure, and it's my sincere belief that all of you will find your own treasure here; even if it's not what you were expecting!"

"Here you'll learn of the world, Pokemon, and yourselves, and the skills you'll want to find your place with all three. If you love battles like I do, or just making the perfect sandwich is a dream – there's a place for everyone here! I'll say from my own experience; the staff is always willing to help – this is a grand adventure we're all on, and I'm sure it'll be a good one!" she finished, to polite applause.

"That didn't sound like her last night," Rose whispered.

"The staff probably helped work on it," Mei theorized. She stood as the lights came up, looking around. She pretty much knew of one other student, but she couldn't spot Kieran among the other students.

"You know, you think purple hair stands out until you try and pick one specifically out from a crowd," she commented.

"His hair had different colors underneath and up top," Rose remembered, "Or he could have skipped it or gone for a balcony."

"It was Worth a shot. Let's get lunch before it gets crowded. I'm going to put 500 on 'do you ever dress the same?' for top comment, by the way," Mei reported.

"I'm going to go with a dark horse and pick 'use the same Pokemon'," Rose decoded, standing up.

---

"Oh, so you're twins and not just sisters who look alike?" the lady at the drinks dispenser asked slightly later as the twins were finishing going through the buffet line. "Do your parents ever get confused?"

"No ma'am," they answered in rehearsed eerie sync. You had to get your fun somewhere with everyone deciding their entire lives they must be shocked to look alike.

Mei wasn't having as much fun with it as usual. Rose's work meant she looked like the older sister by a couple years instead of a couple minutes. It felt vaguely wrong that Rose was getting more attention as a result. After all, Mei won.

They had still gotten a few results. So far it was two on parents, five on 'use the same Pokemon', three on 'dress the same', with a surprise 'have the same favorite colors' leading at nine.

Mei wondered if people were color blind. Rose was wearing purple flowers and ribbons all through her hair. Mei hadn't time for a lot, but had multiple bracelets in differing shades with a red scrunchie. And she'd managed eyeshadow, at least.

"Who wins if another question is in front? It's been a while since that happened," Rose asked in a quiet Kantonian as they bowed slightly to accept the juice cups.

"I think it hasn't happened in two years. I can't remember if we came up with rules for that," Mei confessed.

"Maybe a draw then?" Rose suggested as they moved farther away and could speak louder. The courtyard they were in had a buffet line on one side and was crowded with plastic tables and chairs. The line was full of 'oohs' and shouts thanks to an incredible visual presentation of delicious-smelling sandwich ingredients. The twins were headed as far from it as they could find an open table.

"Maybe let's split the decision after we're finished and had dessert. I don't think I'm out of the game yet," Mei stated. She noted in passing a lot of tables were eating the cold sandwiches open-faced with a knife and fork. Whatever that tradition was, they were insufficiently Paldean to get it.

Fortunately, most people weren't interested in the back corners and they found a table. Mei carefully put Terpsi on one side of it and moved the other chairs to the other side so the Bounsweet would have a splash zone as Mei put the large bowl of potato salad she'd gotten for her partner.

Mei took a cautious bite of the pick she'd been recommended and was pleased. "Ooh, this potato said is good on bread. Pretty heavy on the cream or mayonnaise. Glad I only took a little," she reported.

"I don't want to risk it as little sleep as I had – what's the rest there, onions?" Rose asked. She had some spiced sticky rice eggs, and a little lettuce and tomato on white. Adventures in sandwich eating felt like a lot since she was still sleepy from the auditorium. She had an extra pair of small bowls on her tray she sat next to her.

"Little watercress in there and some tomatoes, I think. If this is where creativity leads, this is a great advertisement for Naranja," Mei said, talking around another bite with relish.

After swallowing, she asked, "They were pretty clear to have one partner at a time unstowed outside of the room. What's with the double bowls?"

Rose placed both her Poke balls on the table and lifted Azucena to the table. After the little Pokemon chewed on her mix for a little bit and gave a thumbs up, Rose tapped the buttons to recall and bring Ivy out at the same time. "Switching training to react to situations. They're trading off lunch," she explained, then took a bite of her own sandwich. It was quite good. Ivy chewed thoughtfully. Somehow, the larger grass cat was a slower eater.

"Playing switch-em-up?" Mei asked, doubtful.

Rose switched out again before replying, "Working this morning too, basic energy practice for endurance while walking around."

"So what's the game help with?" Mei asked.

"Practice," Rose stated simply and swapped them again. Mei was still looking askance, but Rose took another bite of her sandwich first.

"This bread is amazing," she said as an aside, then sighed.

"Mei, it's something I can work on through lunch, and the faster they can get moving out of the Ball the better if the match doesn't have switch restrictions. I'm a newbie trainer with two little Pokemon. My head's full of experience that isn't working in this universe. I'm not sure what all I need, so anything I can get in is something. Do you think I'm silly?" Rose asked, then swapped out again.

"Maybe some," Mei admitted. She blinked a few times, and said slowly, "I don't want you spilling all your energy moving up and down. Yesterday was exhausting."

"Fast as we managed yesterday was why I got as close as I did, dear sister," Rose said, a little acid etched in her voice. She stopped and rubbed her forehead.

"I just had a conversation on this a few hours ago. Trainer brain and competitiveness. I'm sorry," she said, contritely. She still went and tapped the buttons to switch Ivy back in. Azucena was packing it away.

"I saw what you did yesterday, but there's something else. You're making sense, for you, but I can't imagine playing a game of who's that Pokemon with juggling Poke balls helping as any kind of serious training," Mei said, a bit concerned as she enunciated it.

Rose stiffened a bit again, "I'm not just… being weird. I'm taking this seriously. I want Ivy and Azucena to be great. I know what you think sometimes," she said hesitantly, tapping her necklace. Mei winced slightly.

"You're just quiet," Mei assured, too hastily. Rose said nothing but switched her partners again and took a bite.

"It is probably trainer brain. Just seizing subconsciously on what worked yesterday. And we were already a bit deep in it for being Grass-covered," Mei continued, "And the other stuff I'm sure isn't helping."

That made Rose stop and look up, confused. "Hmm? What do you mean?" Broadly, despite the type differences, the teams Mei and Rose had knowledge of had similar roles being filled.

Mei stared at her, "Well, the Knight had a bunch of coaching on problems and the Ranger didn't – we're picking up on different things that worked. Mom couldn't train either much as we got, too."

Mei sighed and watched Terpsi form a disaster area for a few seconds.

"And there's whatever that is. Mom's stuff is working better for me, clearly, but there's still something off. I feel like we should have gotten better than we got."

"A gut feeling?" Rose asked, swapping her Pokemon again.

"Maybe, or just how the Knight had her role hammered early. And there's an extra… filter in place for how Mom handles her partners, now that I have my own to reference instead of just going through the motions," Mei admitted.

"We should have seen it coming even without all this though. You really aren't like Mom," Mei commented.

"She met her Gabriel, and the Knight's. I'm not like him either," Rose said darkly. Ivy hissed in agreement.

"Oh dragons, I didn't mean that! Rose, no, no, never!" Mei assured her. Rose still glared, and defiantly took a bite of her sandwich.

"I'm not like Mom either. I'm a bit closer, but she likes noisy conferences and parties. We wouldn't all necessarily have the same battle preferences, but we got trained like we would. I can see that now clearly but it's not strange to consider where I was two days ago," Mei finished.

"Well, Mom can be a bit blunt," Rose said, "We didn't have Pokemon and she thought a professional battle career was risky, so we didn't get much battle training. It was more advice than specifics. She's got her preferences, and Thorny's really strong and proud of it, so we had her testimony all the years. Mom was never a Gym trainer, maybe she's a bad teacher?"

Mei grimaced at the thought. "I don't know. It feels like there's something more, but I can't think of what. You know how far we can push Mom at a time, and the budget problem takes priority." Rose nodded.

"That's more important right now," Rose agreed, she looked over and didn't swap. Azucena's was clear and Ivy was still working on the last bits of his lunch. She started back in on her sandwich.

"Maybe if we figure our style, it will make more sense," Mei reflected. She turned to her Pokemon who was finishing up.

"Terpsi, can you slow the brain chemistry changes down a couple days so I can get a handle on this?" Mei asked.

Terpsi, in her debris field, made non-committal noises. She wasn't a psychic type, and what Mei was going through was from having any partner than anything she had control of. Mei put her face in her hands and thought a bit.

"All that trouble yesterday getting past the trainer shock drain, and today feels weird still," Mei said, muffled.

Rose opened her mouth, then looked down. Ivy, with a few spots of lunch left, hissed at her. Rose stared for a few seconds then broke contact with her cat, fidgeting with her necklace. Fed up, the little Sprigatito poked her with his paw.

"Ow! All right, you're right. I'm being stupid on it again. Mei, I need you to listen closely for once," Rose said. Surprised, Mei lifted her face out of her hands.

"You weren't the only one having trouble yesterday. There were other things that were a mess," Rose said, hesitantly.

"Yeah, I get it, you're looking a bit better but you were exhausted," Mei commented.

Rose waved her hands. "No, I can't get distracted," she insisted. Ivy nodded firmly.

"What? I just want you to train well. I know you want to do better," Mei continued. Ivy hissed and rolled his eyes and went and tapped Mei's forehead with the points of his paw, faster than she could react. As she cried in surprise, Ivy huffed dismissively. He pranced over and tapped Azucena's ball and his, recalling himself. Azucena had her arms crossed when she came out, staring at Mei defiantly.

"What was that about?" Mei said, "Did you want a rematch?" Mei wasn't sure why, it didn't seem worth the effort.

"I mean it, listen please. This isn't easy for me," Rose said. Mei winced, but nodded.

"I spent yesterday in challenge lock," Rose admitted quietly.

"Wait, like the battle lust challenge lock?" Mei asked. Rose nodded glumly.

"What, that's all? When, with Kieran?" Mei laughed, a little despairingly. Mei had spent the day with a massive headache or overspending herself and Rose was all bothered about wanting to get to her loss?

"Since Miriam," Rose mumbled.

"When you got Ivy?" Mei asked. Rose shook her head.

"You can't mean the morning," Mei said, now paying more attention. "You'd locked enough for a challenge and had to battle all of yesterday?" Rose nodded and Mei leaned back, impressed and a little scared.

Azucena sighed with relief that it was finally out, moving back to her shoulder position to pat Rose reassuringly.

"How were you functional?" Mei said quietly. Rose shrugged, looking away. Mei was a bit dismissive of Rose as a trainer. She'd been sure she'd end up better as long as she remembered. This was more serious.

Mei gently reached over and grabbed Rose's chin. Rose flinched slightly but didn't struggle as Mei positioned Rose to meet her gaze.

"See, no problem," Mei said, "Rose. Most people can't make it an hour until they're stuttering, shaking wrecks at best if they get a Pokemon's share of needing to compete."

"That's mainly a saying," Rose said.

Mei's lips were a flat line. "It's not. Sometimes it's even faster. Miriam wasn't trying but you got it because of the power difference, right?" Mei asked. Rose nodded.

"I saw it happen to weak trainers when a Champion stared at them with killer intent long enough," Mei said, grim.

"When did-" Rose started but her eyes widened with comprehension.

"Well, not 'I' but there was a lot of it, and since it was forcing a challenge the Pokemon's sensations push a lot into the memories as well," Mei said quietly.

"Dragons," Rose breathed, and played with the necklace.

"But you were being silly. I was asleep but if you suppressed it so well, you knew what was going on. Why didn't you ask in the dorms for a match? It's a medical issue," Mei asked. She giggled a little at her sister missing something simple like that, even as stressful as yesterday had been.

Rose and Azucena looked at each other, before both just gestured to all of Mei. "The big first battle of destined rivals ?" Rose said indignantly.

"Ah," Mei said guiltily, "Right." She looked down. Her sister had nearly fried herself rabid and she hadn't noticed. And worse, there was a little voice saying this helped Rose focus and push ahead.

And she was pretty sure it was hers and not the Knight's.

"You did something like this for me and I'm all this today. Is there something I can do to help you?" Mei asked, eyeing her sister for a reaction. Rose had a lot of reserve, normally. One reason they didn't play card games for money anymore.

"I don't know. The wind's dying down," Rose said, a little distantly, then refocused herself.

"I'm not mad at you how you're acting. I wish I won but we're under tremendous stress. I just thank the dragons I'm not so out of balance I'm taking it out on my partners," Rose said fervently, and grabbed her necklace.

"There's a lot I need to work on. I didn't get the knowledge of having been a Champion, Mei. Just that I dragged this to us," Rose said, quietly, voice thickening with self-loathing. She wiped her eyes.

"I got all those assurances I can and it's not helping right, either," Mei said.

"I'm all jumpy and want to lash at something and don't know what. It's close. Stuff doesn't want to move like I think it should, and it hurts when I do move it like I 'know' it works. I'm not drugged to the gills, is probably it. I don't know where this is going. But I'm going to get through this. Maybe if I help me I can help you, but I'm not doing it right now," Mei apologized.

"I hope the school can put this in context," Rose said, "I'm afraid what will happen if we tell them, still."

"I know, I don't want to have anyone taken out of reach, either, and I won," Mei said, then winced.

"How are you putting up with me today?" Mei asked.

"We're being tossed around in the wind, Mei. You're more rooted or something so it's tearing you out. I'm not using the right words," Rose said. She tapped her chest. "There's something in here, with the rest, that I think will help, but I don't have it yet. I usually don't. Feelings, sometimes. I look around a lot and make guesses."

"You've always gotten that more broadly than I do. You'd think we'd have the same there being aligned, right?" Mei said.

"Who knows? Our floor warden's a natural Fire specialist. It's hot enough she got moved alone with it too. Maybe you should talk to her, I probably asked the wrong thing," Rose said, looking down.

"Ugh, okay, I keep making you sad. Let's try something happier, meanwhile, all right? Maybe Kieran's in the crowd or something?" Mei said. Rose nodded a bit harder than needed. The two looked around.

Mei spoke as she surveyed the buffet line, "You were playing switch'em for a few minutes. That makes enough noise with the pop you think someone would come and ask."

Rose gasped, a sharp sudden sound, and Mei turned around to look. Azucena was quivering on Rose's shoulder from whatever her trainer saw. Wordlessly, Rose pointed, and Mei followed the line to the dessert table.

Mei whistled out loud. A tall green-haired androgynous type with a long ponytail bunching it out was standing near a short lady in a Narnaja uniform with a visor. The tables around had stopped eating, suppressed into silence.

"That's quite a pair," Mei finally managed. They didn't have Pokemon out as far as she could see and were just standing there. The power was still considerable. It wasn't a surprise everyone was feeling it. Together, the two were more than Kieran or Nemona.

"They're not Gym Leaders, I've read up on them," Rose said, voice dropping to a whisper in respect.

"Well, Nemona's the second-youngest Champion in Paldea, so that one in gray must have just come out worse than even us in height. The dark hair doesn't look out of place, so… some fifty- or sixty-year-old taking supplementary courses? Or teaching them, most likely. The other one is dressed more casually. A younger sibling? An aide or a child?" Mei theorized wildly.

The two unknowns glanced around a few times, resigned to the attention. They finished at the dessert table and left the courtyard to eat in privacy.

"For a region famous for having a weak battling culture, that's the third and fourth trainer I'd rank over Gym Leaders in the last twenty-four hours," Rose said.

"And our tour guide knew what he was doing. Miriam and Saguaro could probably protect a Gym if they wanted to, and they're not even the battle teacher. I bet the Director's something to. He was masking hard," Mei said.

Rose's eyes gleamed as she spoke, "Well Mom was right, we're in the right place to learn our skills over a traditional journey."

"Excited or worried?" Mei asked. She wasn't sure herself what to think of trainer after trainer crossing their path who could crush them without a thought.

Rose said, "Excited. I'm going to go with the dragons and say we're not some odd destiny. We're in the Pokemon school. I think this is Paldea's epicenter, Mei."

"Yeah, I think I panicked yesterday. The teachers are amazing, the student council president is unstoppable. I think we'll get a chance to grow fast so long as we keep at it. Assuming none of them knock the school down or something getting excited in a match. Like you said earlier, trainer brains," Mei said, and the two giggled.

Rose relaxed a bit that Mei seemed a little more herself, and looked towards the dessert table and frowned.

"If you want dessert after all that mayo, I don't need any. There's too many eyes on the dessert table," Rose said, tapping her necklace at the thought.

"I'm sure they're as great as these sandwiches, but maybe we can whip something up. I missed doing breakfast with you," Mei said. The courtyard was filling up with noise now that the singularity of two Champion-grade trainers was no longer suppressing it. It was starting to get uncomfortable as more people worked through the buffet.

"Head to the classroom?" Rose offered.

"Yeah, I don't want the entire incoming class judging which cookies I get," Mei agreed. "It'd be much better to head to the classroom to make an –"

Mei didn't quite finish as an electric guitar theme suddenly blared. Rose flinched, and fell backwards, tipping over her chair as Azucena squeaked and jumped off to land ready.

Two Klefki carried a booming speakerinto the courtyard, dropping it and then taking off back to the sky. After they set it down, a Wigglytuff jumped down from the roof surrounding the courtyard. As it landed, the twins could see it was carrying star-shaped sparklers and began to dance along to the beat.

Pink and orange smoke burst from the point on the wall. "Hah!" came a voice from out of the smoke, then a Hattrene jumped down as well. Several people screamed and began to rush away from where it landed, overturning chairs. Paldea taught its citizens the sensible reaction like Galar, apparently.

Fortunately, instead of a murderous rampage, she merely looked up at the wall and concentrated. An older teenager in an incredibly pink tux, with gold accessories and a scepter, stood calmly in a standing position as he was lifted through the air out of the still curling smoke by the Pokemon's psychic powers.

"-impression," Mei finished weakly, before Terpsi's shock wore off and she slammed into Mei's midsection to force her to the dirt, out of view.

---

Notes:

Between environmental concerns, energy limitations, and deals with Pokemon, the human population appears quite a bit lower in their world than ours. So Mesagoza's considered huge for what would be a small and not very dense city in our world.

Rose forced to swallow a bit of her pride to get Mei to focus. The discussion and dispute the two had on training was a difficult part to write, I didn't want the tone too acrimonious even if they're disagreeing. It took several rewrites to get it how I liked.

Terpsi being an absolute tornado of spilled food every time she eats amuses me when I visualize it. After the she evolves, the cringe from the pictures the twins take will be real.

Paldean trainers are weirdly easy going. They don't often hit the 'eyes meet and battle' spike in seeking each other out.

More canon characters. Even with the student body being more unified this year, Clavell's too busy to meet everyone. Once in a lifetime prodigies are a special case. Giacomo needs the extra credits, though. And gigs, apply for DJ Vice online at…

World wise, most trainers – especially a lot of the game 'chaff' are what the twins usually consider pet owners. There's a link between them (that fortunately is rarely abused but not nearly as strong. The strength and reaction in battle are a pale shadow of what the serious trainers can do naturally. This broad group the twins dismiss from the focus on their own goals includes a lot of adults who have 'normal' lives and work with Pokemon in their jobs or just for companionship.

It's still enough that the 'pets' rate above wild Pokemon between being able to do strategy and the extra training and care they get from their trainers. Battle trainers are usually fairly rare outside Gyms, with League trainers scattered keeping an eye on things.

Usually rare unless you're at one of the world's premier Pokemon institutions that's tied intimately financially and politically with the region's League. The latest Champion has inspired a lot of people, so maybe the state of play will improve.

Poppy did say she was looking at the Academy in Indigio Disk. I'm treating her as a special case as an Elite Four member to have not done the Champion certification because everyone was frightened of letting her journey unprotected. So the two most recent and youngest Champions being Nemona and Florina is accurate, technically, even with the Savant of Steel.

Sinnoh's nutrition wasn't as good fifty years ago (the growing season sucks) and senior citizens tend to be shorter with bone problems. Solaceon as a quiet town has an older population and it's what the twins vaguely remember to set as their approximation. Hammerlocke the apartments they were in tended to skew much younger, so Mei's context for her estimate is informed, but way off.

Since we're introducing more and they've been talking about it, if I'm going to be a very broad power scale on where people fall (ignoring type advantages, clever tactics and strategy, etc) trainers fall in a line somewhere like:

Pokemon pet owners

new battle trainers

experienced pet owners

experienced wandering trainers, usually experienced enough they've developed hobbies/interests alongside

Pokemon Ace Trainers (while the usual dedicated up-and-comer class isn't as developed in Paldea given the lack of supporting professional battling circuits to provide jobs)/Gym trainers/Team Star admins/League troubleshooters

Naranja staff/Gym Leaders/Most Paldean Champions (there's a few. Not as many as Geeta would like Elite Four all-out/Geeta

Kieran and Nemona, though who's stronger depends on the battle format

Sada's AI counterpart

Florian.

For whatever reason, the newest Champion wins. Kieran's gotten over his resentment at the fact, but he isn't wrong it's like he's a main character.

Hope people are enjoying the story.