The hotel was full of energy all night and into the next day after the Sinnoh harem's victory over Cynthia. It spilled from Nicholas and Sabrina's floor to the common areas, the stairwells and elevators, the outdoor facilities. His pokegirls were everywhere as they celebrated with the four who had fought and the two who shared their glory.

Nicholas himself had barely even taken a rest. Just enough to welcome Sabrina for the night and see her to sleep before returning to the wild antics, as well as retiring when the sun rose to fulfill his promise to her. But once Sabrina had left for the day, he was right back at it. As tireless as the pokegirls themselves.

It was getting to be lunchtime when Nicholas heard a voice calling for him and turned to see Ashley skipping out the door and using her wings to dip down towards where he and the majority of the harem was enjoying the hotel pool. "Master! You have visitors."

"Who?"

Ashley grinned and flapped to steady herself as she landed perched on a railing. "One of them claims she's a friend. I don't know, though. Even after what you did to her yesterday?"

Nicholas burst out laughing when he saw Cynthia approaching from where Ashley had come from. "I hope she is! Cynthia! Good to see you!"

Cynthia took in the scene before laughing herself. "A beach day. What a novel idea! Rest…"

"…is as vital as training, when kept in balance," Nicholas finished. "What made you come find me?"

Cynthia smiled as she took in the pokegirls watching her. "May my harem join yours while we talk?"

Nicholas glanced back and rolled his eyes. "OI! Cynthia's a friend, girls. What happens in the arena stays in the arena." He glanced back at the Sinnoh Champion. "At least, I think it can now."

Cynthia nodded. "I'm glad to say it can. We've finally had our battle. Witnessed each other."

"You heard her," Nicholas called to the harem. "No more trouble than usual." He grinned and turned his attention fully to the woman as she motioned to summon her pokegirls from where they'd been waiting further inside. "So, what brings you to find me today? Isn't the big exhibition going on right now back at the stadium?"

"It is, but that's for the crowds, not the competitors," Cynthia replied. "I came to talk." She was walking around when Nicholas saw another figure following behind Cynthia's pokegirls and his eyebrows rose.

"It is okay if I join in as well, yes?" Diantha asked happily as she moved over to wave at him. "Hello, Monsieur Nicolas!"

Nicholas immediately stood to find seats for the two women. "I am honored, Champion Diantha. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you are both here to talk to me about my little speech yesterday?"

"Somewhat, yes," Cynthia replied with a laugh. "Mostly though I just wanted to finally have a moment together without everything still hanging over us. Diantha invited herself along."

"Do you two know each other then?" Nicholas asked curiously.

"Yes, yes!" Diantha exclaimed. "Cynthia is my good friend, I believe it is you say? C'est mon amie Cynthia? Blegh." Diantha made a face as she worked her tongue. "So, strange, in English. No, that is not the word… Awkward! Yes! C'est 'awkward'! So many words to say so little."

Nicholas and Cynthia laughed with her. "I figured with how familiar you were with each other," Nicholas explained. "How long have you been friends?"

"Oh, quite some time now," Cynthia breezed.

"Yes, many years," Diantha agreed. "Monsieur Nicolas, it is true, then? You intend not to battle tomorrow?"

Nicholas nodded slightly. "I entered the PWT to meet Cynthia in an official arena. I considered not entering at all and just finding her in Sinnoh at some point." He looked to see Cynthia with a smile on her face. "My fiancé convinced me to take this chance. I'm thankful she did."

"Merde!" Diantha exclaimed in disappointment. "I had so been looking forward to a battle against either such a dashing champion or my best of friends, and I am to have neither?"

"Technically since I withdrew from the tournament Cynthia should take my place in the finals," Nicholas said.

Cynthia shook her head. "Maybe that's what the organizers will do to salvage the final day of competition, but technically, you forfeited the final match," she explained. "The official result of the bracket is already set. Diantha wins, you take second, my record of losing to second means Steven takes third."

"Eh."

Cynthia chuckled at his grunt. "Of course you don't care about that. You got what you wanted." She studied him. "What do you intend to do now?"

"Return to what I was doing before getting the surprise invitation to the PWT," Nicholas replied. "My fiancé is very busy filming right now and I'm meant to be her agent. She's got a lot of various offers I've been neglecting over the last week."

"Iris thought you'd be coming for her."

Nicholas blinked. Cynthia was gazing at him solemnly. "You know Champion Iris…? Oh, right. Skyla said you did." He rolled his eyes. "I am not setting foot in a Unovan gym until Sabrina herself tells me to. Everybody expects me to but I'm not doing it, dammit. I came to Unova for her sake and nobody else's. I already didn't want to participate in the PWT since it would take time away from her."

Diantha gasped and held her hands over her heart. "Es charmant! Oh, si beau, Monsieur Nicholas. Your love is wonderful. For love, I will bear my disappointment, yes. I know it is one day we will meet again."

Nicholas smiled. "Thank you, Champion Diantha. I will look forward to our battle whenever it comes."

"Enough jabbering about all that," Cynthia snorted. "I came here to hang out, not gossip about our positions as Champions. What have you been up to lately, Nicholas?"

Nicholas shrugged mentally and settled in to chat. He'd been meaning to ask Cynthia if she knew why Iris seemed to dislike him but she'd changed the subject before he could get the chance. No matter. It wasn't really that important anyways.

.

.

Nicholas gazed out over the breaking waves. The grand skyscrapers were coming into focus as they got closer and he turned with a grin to the cluster of bodies at the rail with him. "That's Castelia?"

"Yep! The Unovan capital," Sabrina explained brightly. "There's a massive bridge on the other side of the city connecting it to the east but you have to take a ferry over here."

"What's the plan when we land?"

"Explore!" Sabrina exclaimed. "Castelia is known to be home to dozens of art studios, and I've heard that there's tons to do down on the piers."

Nicholas chuckled. "Sounds great, honey." He glanced over at the pokegirls accompanying them. When he'd made an open invitation to the harem to come with him and Sabrina for the day he'd gotten a lot of mixed reactions, but there had been one who jumped for it immediately. Celine was basking in the morning sun, seemingly just excited to come along to watch the two humans, but beside her… there had been another pokegirl who had hesitantly joined the group as they prepared to leave that morning. Miruko. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead at the approaching buildings.

Besides those two were Cathy and Kali, neither pokegirl shirking from their assigned humans for even a moment, and also Sabrina's Alpha Diana. The Alakazam had been the only one to show from Sabrina's harem though he'd caught a glimpse of the other pokegirls taking full advantage of a day without both their Mistress and Alpha as the group left the hotel.

"This is your weekend off," Nicholas said to Sabrina as they disembarked the ferry. "Just lead the way, and…" he trailed off when he saw a number of heads turning their way from the passerby. "…ah, dang."

Sabrina glanced at him questioningly. "What is it?"

"I completely forgot that we're both famous now," Nicholas grumbled. "People are looking. That guy's pulling out his phone."

Sabrina glanced over at the man in question. "Oh. That's right. Especially after your performance at the PWT last week." She looked back with a pained expression. "And I chose the busiest city in Unova."

Nicholas was considering what to do when he heard gentle laughter coming from behind him. Turning, he saw Celine gazing at the two with a bemused smile. "So carefree," she said wistfully. "My Nicholas was much the same, though others might have called him impetuous or perhaps a bit dense." Her smile grew. "Now you have a mate just like you."

Sabrina let out a defeated sigh. "Great. We're amusing miss observer over here. What do we do?"

"Have your day," Celine said firmly before Nicholas could reply. "Look." She gestured at the man who'd been taking a picture. He was already walking away. "I have watched eternity. There has never been anyone important enough to make humans or pokegirls change their ways. Each are selfish creatures. You two may be noticed, but none will break from their own days to enter yours. Even if some do, isn't that why Cathy and Kali have sworn themselves to defend you?"

Nicholas blinked at her a few times before glancing at Sabrina. "I think Celine is trying to say that random people might notice us and take pictures or even say hello, but if we can deal with that they'll move on pretty quickly."

Sabrina rolled her eyes as Celine laughed again. "And if they don't that's why we have bodyguards." She looked at Kali. "How are you the same class of pokegirl she is?"

Kali gazed back, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. The outfit Nicholas had proposed to her was just like what Abby, Joseph Stone's Absol, had used while on duty. A perfectly tailored black suit to fit her body while allowing her tail freedom and a white dress shirt that was as bright as her long white hair. "The Chronicler and I are only the same in that we are eternal, Mistress." She shot Celine a look. "I find her just as conceited as you do."

Celine pretended to look hurt. "You wound me, Kali."

"Alright, enough of that," Nicholas sighed. "We don't want anyone overhearing you two and getting the right idea. Come on. Let's find something to do."

They spent the morning traveling along the oceanside boardwalk and taking in the atmosphere alongside thousands of others doing the same. Maybe a dozen did anything more than notice. By the time Nicholas and Sabrina had looped around and off the main piers, into the secondary part of the oceanfront where the roads were dominated by shops and restaurants, it was well past noon and Nicholas had already forgotten about his initial worry.

"I'm exhausted from all that walking," Sabrina said as they moved off the main road and all took a seat on a bench. "What do you think, Nicholas? Lunch?"

"I think that's a good plan," Nicholas replied, looking around at the few restaurants nearby. "What are you thinking? Craving anything in particular?"

"Well-"

"If you'd like to stop for lunch, we shouldn't do it here," a voice interrupted. Sabrina and Nicholas turned to Miruko as the Lopunny glanced between the two humans. "We're still deep in the tourist trap. You'll pay double for terrible food."

Nicholas glanced back at the nearby advertisements. "I mean it's lunch, maybe a burger or something right? How bad could it be?"

"Trust me," Miruko replied quietly. "If you want something that's better than a fast-food chain, we should head towards the central park."

"You know the restaurants in Castelia City?" Sabrina asked curiously.

Miruko seemed to hesitate, to sink back into herself slightly before her chest rose with a deep breath and she nodded. "Unless things have changed in the last forty years."

"I doubt it would have changed enough for your advice to lose meaning," Nicholas replied softly. "Sure. How much farther is this central park?"

"Five or six miles?"

"Oof." Nicholas made a face. "An hour or two of walking. Let's get a cab."

It was easy to find some waiting drivers considering they were just off the boardwalk and less than an hour later the group was emerging into a massive open space, a fountain marking the center surrounded by roads and dozens of green spaces in between.

"I see some cafés over there," Sabrina called. "Let's find one and eat!"

The day was approaching late afternoon by the time the group left their meal. Nicholas had to admit. Miruko's suggestion had been worth it. The food had been just as good as the fancy diners within Pokestar Studios with none of the uptight atmosphere.

"What's the time?" Sabrina checked her pokedex and groaned. "Ah, crud. The ferry back leaves in just a few hours. I wanted to explore some art studios."

Nicholas glanced at Miruko. She'd been growing more distant throughout the course of the meal and he knew he'd caught her gazing off down one of the streets multiple times. "Let's see if Kalmiya can help out. Kalmiya?" He lifted his pokedex. "Can you show me if there are any art studios along the roads back to the pier?"

"…No need for that," Miruko interrupted after a moment. She turned to look at the group and gestured back down the street Nicholas had seen her watching. "There's a little place called Studio Castelia down that way, or there should be. If you want real art that's where you want to go. It's a gallery for Castelia residents, unlike the corporate things everywhere else in the city."

"Kalmiya?" Nicholas asked. "Is Studio Castelia open today?"

"It is and is in the same spot it has been for over a hundred years," Kalmiya replied happily.

Nicholas watched some of the tension evaporate from Miruko's shoulders when she heard that. "I like the sounds of that. Sabrina?"

Sabrina nodded enthusiastically. "I love it. I'd want to see real art anyways instead of some kind of sterile exhibit."

"What even is 'real art'," Nicholas grumbled as they began walking down the street. "Isn't anything art as long as someone sees it as such?"

"Oh come on, you can't tell me something made specifically for profit or some kind of exhibition is real art," Sabrina huffed. "Real art is made because the artist wanted to express themselves first. Whether or not people enjoy it is secondary."

"So, in other words, movies aren't real art."

Sabrina glared at Nicholas until she saw his cheeky grin before matching it. "First of all, honey? Rude. Second of all, you can't say an entire art form is or isn't real art. Only individual works. No, I don't think the movie I'm currently acting for is real art, but my performance is."

"I think that everyone's definition of 'real art' is going to be vastly different, but I will say you make some good arguments." Nicholas chuckled and moved to throw his arm over her shoulders affectionately. "Let's see what you think of this gallery."

Studio Castelia was a medium sized gallery full of works in all kinds of styles, and apparently was holding a theme for the month. The signs advertised it as being an exhibition of "the legends of Unova", which made Nicholas tease Sabrina relentlessly about whether the paintings and sculptures on display were 'real' art or not. Despite it, he very much enjoyed himself. It reminded him of the cave paintings he'd seen in Hoenn, of the primal legendary pokegirls there. Most of the pieces depicted the stories he'd heard, of the original kingdom, the original dragon pokegirl, the first king, and the war that had come upon his death, but there was a wide variety beyond that. Including a few other pokegirls who must have been other legendaries known around Unova – a burning forest was repeated a few times with various different gallant figures depicted, storm clouds and wind swept across natural scenes, and there were even more beyond that. A region rich in culture.

He was admiring an abstract maelstrom of warm color seeming to be an interpretation of some kind of pokegirl when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and turned to see Miruko uncertainly shifting from foot to foot behind him. "Miruko?"

The Lopunny cleared her throat. "We only had a few hours before the ferry left, right?" Nicholas nodded and Miruko took a deep breath. "In that case, before we're forced to go straight there… There's somewhere I think you and Mistress Sabrina will like. Kalmiya says the lines are even longer than I remember."

"Oh?" Nicholas asked curiously. "Where's that?"

"Well, it used to be a small food stand," Miruko said. "Now it's a full ice cream parlor."

"Ooh, ice cream sounds like a perfect end to the day," Nicholas chuckled. "When should we leave?"

"Kalmiya says the sooner the better, but there's no big rush," Miruko said.

"Got it, I'll find Sabrina." Nicholas was turning when Miruko reached out to get his attention again.

"…I already spoke to Mistress Sabrina," Miruko said when Nicholas turned back questioningly. "I asked her to meet us there in about half an hour."

Nicholas was nodding when her words processed and he frowned. "Meet… us?"

Miruko nodded very slowly and glanced at Cathy. "Cathy? Would it be okay, if I… if I took Nicholas on a small detour?" She swallowed. Hard. "Alone?"

Cathy gave the Lopunny a kind smile. "I trust you with him, sister."

Nicholas watched the Miltank walk away to find the others. "Miruko…?"

"Are you… are you done looking at the art?"

Nicholas shook his head and turned his full focus to her. "I've been enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would, so not really, but I don't think I'd have enough time to be done regardless. I can always come back some day. Where do you want to go?"

Miruko didn't answer, just gesturing silently as she turned to lead the way for the door.

The two exited onto the street, and at first, Miruko led him towards the ocean. That only lasted for two blocks before she abruptly turned down an alleyway and vanished from sight.

Nicholas only hesitated a moment before following. Miruko hadn't slowed and he had to shove past a few trash cans to keep up as she picked her way through the narrow alley with practiced ease. He was about to ask her again where they were going when Miruko glanced back to make sure he was still behind her and turned to squeeze through a small gap in a wall. With a sigh Nicholas sucked in his stomach to follow.

He came to a halt. Miruko had stopped a few feet ahead at the edge of a small, overgrown park. Maybe at one point it could have been the common area for some of the buildings around them but now it was barely maintained, likely by whatever young humans or pokegirls used it as a secret hideaway. As he took the last few steps to stand beside Miruko he realized she was taking extremely controlled breaths, no doubt in an effort to keep herself calm.

He glanced from her to the park and the towering twisted oak tree that sat in the middle and back again. "What is this place?" he asked softly.

"Where did you first meet your Buneary?"

Nicholas frowned at the question. Miruko's eyes were fixed on the tall grasses that ringed the tree. "Sorry?"

"Where."

Nicholas contemplated her. "I believe her profile lists her as having been met in Jubilife, in Sinnoh."

"A Buneary, in a city like Jubilife?" Miruko asked. "A city of concrete and steel, without cover, where even the hardiest or sneakiest of wild pokegirls are easily discovered and rehabilitated? That doesn't make any sense. Wild Buneary thrive in the forests of the world. Under the trees and undergrowth where they can forage in peace."

Nicholas looked back at the overgrown park for a while. Eventually he spoke, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "That's where I met a Buneary. It doesn't mean that is where my Lopunny came from."

Miruko slowly raised her hand to point at the grass. "Look."

Nicholas was. He'd already seen the movement in the undergrowth and was completely unsurprised when he saw a half dozen pokegirls peeking out. There was a decent assortment of Normal-types – a pink-furred Skitty, a creamy Eevee, a twitchy Rattata. A girl sitting crouched on her heels. Her long ears rolled up on top of her head, ready at a moment's notice to spring out and foul an attacker. Her legs ready to spring her away. A Buneary.

"Were you born here?"

Miruko slowly lowered her arm. "Was I born here. It's been fifty years. I can't fully remember a lot of things. I do know these streets, though the buildings have expanded a bit. This place is still here. I remember I lived here. One of the hidden grottos of Castelia City." She turned to him. "I remember that it used to be a popular place for teenage humans to hang out on the weekends. Like today. Play games in the field. Mingle with the pokegirls who lived here. Sometimes they'd take one with them when they went home. Nowadays they're all home playing video games, not hanging out in back alleys."

"And you?"

"I mingled." Miruko turned away again. "I probably had some human ask me to go home with them while I lived here, but I never accepted. I was content existing. No thoughts of anything more. Just being alive."

Nicholas nodded slightly. "So what changed?"

"One day… I was exploring the streets," Miruko recalled slowly. "Pokegirls like me… humans called us 'wild', but none of us were. Not like the ones you refer to. We weren't feral or even half so, we just didn't live with a human, outside of their society. So I had to be careful. I had learned how to walk with humans on the street to appear as if I was with them. I scrounged lost currency and had bought a few small things for my den here. It was exciting, these adventures, but eventually, something would have to go wrong. One day it did. I was following a man, focusing on myself, and didn't notice when he pulled on a ski mask. Suddenly there was screaming. Before I could react he'd attacked someone, a robbery, and bolted to leave me standing in his place. The humans started screaming at me. I looked as if I was his pokegirl, and so of course none of them thought any different. It had been what I wanted them to think."

Nicholas winced. "Oof."

"I didn't know what to do," Miruko whispered. "I stood there for far too long. Other pokegirls, pokegirls belonging to the humans around me, began to turn for me. I would be attacked for something I had no part in. Captured, no doubt, and lose everything. I ran."

Nicholas waited as Miruko lapsed into silence. After a few minutes of her standing silently he looked around to find an overgrown bench and walked over to take a seat with a loud sigh. Miruko's eyes darted to him when he did and he gave her a smile while patting his lap. "Come sit down." She immediately did and Nicholas pulled her into his arms, scratching the base of her ears until Miruko completely leaned into his touch and let out a contented sigh that drained the tension from her body. "There we go," he murmured to her. "Much better."

"How is it you still love me?" Miruko asked quietly.

"What, because of your past?"

"Because of the Buneary you once met," Miruko whispered.

Nicholas sighed. "Because you are not that Buneary, Miruko. You are not thirty-nine, or whatever the hell that number was, you are not Miru, you are not any of that. You are Miruko. A name you chose. A pokegirl you wished to be." He kissed her hair. "I came to love and connect with the pokegirl you are."

He could hear her sniffling as she fought not to cry. "That's what I used to have here," she choked. "That's what you've given back to me. The ability to be content just being alive."

"Did the incident you were talking about take that from you?"

"…yes," Miruko whispered. "I ran. I didn't know where I could go. What I could do. Cameras were good enough then for my appearance to have been captured by the security systems all along the street. I would be hunted. Hunted for a crime I never committed. So, as I ran… as I began to hear the cries of police, of the pokegirls coming to hunt me and the robber, I realized there was only one thing I could do." She clenched her fingers in Nicholas' shirt. "I chased him. The human. It wasn't hard – I knew the back alleys of Castelia by heart. I found him quickly, but the police were coming too. And I… I attacked him. When the police found us, they found a pokegirl… who had attacked a human."

Nicholas let out his breath. "Shit."

"Shit," Miruko agreed. "But it was the only way I could prove I wasn't associated with him. I didn't kill him, or I would never have made it past that day, but even still I was beaten unconscious. When I woke up I was bound completely in a small room. Captured. Being watched by a man in a dark suit."

"From that day, you could never return to being a part of the city."

"Never," Miruko whispered. "But, it wasn't because the police now knew who I was, or that I had been captured. It was because, as I'd chased the robber, as I'd attacked him, I'd felt… anger, then the anger had turned to excitement. I'd felt good. Somehow I must have made the police see that because the man watching me wasn't one of them. He was there to offer me a choice. To be tried and sentenced for the battery, or to become one of his pokegirls. One of his… agents. He complimented me. Said that I was strong, for a Buneary. Said that he needed strong unassuming pokegirls like me to infiltrate Castelia's underbelly. I accepted. How could I not?"

"And so began your career."

"He wasn't with the International Police, but his handler was," Miruko murmured. "Over the next few years, I trained hard and worked with other 'weak' pokegirls undercover in various crime rings. Sometimes… Sometimes I was the product being passed around in black market sales. Sometimes I was the entertainment for criminal gangs. In various ways. But I was often allowed to fight back. Once enough information was gathered, or if my situation was ever out of control and I was in danger, I was allowed to strike. I lived for those moments. Watching the smug looks on scum vanish and be replaced by horror when I kicked their faces through a table. When their entire squad of bodyguard pokegirls were taken apart by nothing more than a mewling Buneary. A Buneary many of them had just held pinned to the floor as they raped her, or had been watching in amusement as she was sent to be torn apart in a gladiator pit. I took so much pleasure in those moments, Nicholas. I could no longer be content just being alive."

"Where did you go from there?" Nicholas asked.

"It got to the point where I was doing too well," Miruko explained. "I became known to the criminals, and once that happened, I was useless. I was passed on to the handler and after a decade of being the bait I became an agent of the International Police."

"Which, if I remember correctly, you rose through the ranks of their combat division?" Nicholas asked. "Continuing what you'd already been doing but without any of the… you know."

Miruko nodded slightly. "That's right. I still didn't evolve. I never felt the urge to. I don't know why, but I never did, and it never happened, so I was still used to infiltrate pretty often. Just a harmless Buneary, you know? You remember. Nobody ever suspected. Nobody."

"I've talked to some old colleagues," Nicholas said. "I really want to return to research someday, but for now they've told me our experience is pretty expected for a Buneary evolution. There's a very small but growing list of pokegirls that are theorized to only evolve once their bonds with their human tamer reach a critical state. Not a pokegirl's energy, not an external force, not an overcharge and forced evolution, but… when a pokegirl and her tamer understand each other at a level that makes them inseparable. When they love one another." He smiled when he felt Miruko nuzzle his neck. "It's something similar to what I have with Sera. I'm not sure if I would call that bond love, but I trust her implicitly. I… yeah, no it is. I love her enough to let her feed on my blood. She doesn't need to. She could survive just fine on fruits and other liquids but I let her bite me because I love her."

Miruko pulled back so that she could reach for his lips with her own. "When I was with you, back then… The part of me that remembered what simple pleasure there was in being alive stirred again. Living in an environment that let me be. That was enjoyable every day. Just because it was another day… with you."

They kissed until Nicholas felt Miruko's hands moving under his shirt. Soon he was naked and she was joining him, pulling off her tight clothes while letting him fondle her for a bit before slipping off his lap and pulling him to his feet. Nicholas let her lead him into the grass, the other pokegirls scattering as Miruko led him to a small hollow under the tree. He watched her spread out on the soft grass, the Lopunny's eyes sliding shut as her fingers and toes dug into the dirt, reliving memories of when she had lay there as a nude Buneary so many years ago. Then her eyes opened and he got down with her, sliding inside as the two enjoyed each other's bodies under the gnarled oak.

It was probably a bit more than half an hour later when the two reemerged onto the street by the art gallery. It was fine. When Nicholas had worried out loud Kalmiya had assured them that she was keeping a watchful eye and would interrupt them if they went too long. She never had. Now Miruko wrapped her arms around his as they walked, the Lopunny positively glowing with her contentment as she snuggled close.

A few more blocks and Nicholas saw a massive line of people trailing out a door. "That's it," Miruko said, squeezing her grip with a happy noise when Nicholas paused a moment. "That's the Casteliacone stand. Or, I guess now it's called Castelia Cones."

Nicholas chuckled. "If it ain't broke don't fix it, I suppose." He smiled and waved with his free hand when he saw Sabrina in the line. "Hey honey!"

Sabrina waved back when the two got closer. "Hey! You made it. The line's moving pretty well."

"Awesome." Nicholas slid in beside her. Cathy let Miruko remain where she was and he found Celine. "How did you like the art gallery, Celine?"

Celine smiled slightly. "I was pleasantly surprised that most of the pieces were faithful to their inspirations."

Nicholas snickered at that. "Good to hear it. Nothing too bad, I hope? Just artistic liberties?"

They were all chatting away when a siren blipped and caused the street to all turn in confusion. Nicholas saw a uniformed officer walking along while a few police pokegirls darted through the crowds and, remembering Miruko's story, made sure to place an arm around the Lopunny's shoulders as they got closer. He knew he felt her happy, trembling gasp when he did.

"Did anyone see a man in a light blue hood and white cloth hauberk pass this way?" the officer was calling in between bursts from his siren. "We are looking for a man described as wearing a light blue hoodie under a white cloth robe or hauberk. Potentially carrying a small bag or a number of pokeballs."

"Don't think I've seen anyone like that go by," Sabrina muttered. "Wonder what happened."

"I know we didn't, but we weren't on the street," Nicholas chuckled.

"It must be important for them to be searching manually," Miruko murmured. "That's usually what happened when there was a kidnapping."

Nicholas blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. There are so many cameras in Castelia that the police could usually track down where thieves fled to within a few days. Doesn't mean they always caught them, but they didn't usually bother doing manhunts like this unless the incident was time critical, like a kidnapping or an attack."

"If it's time critical why can't they use the cameras?"

"There's a legal process for it," Miruko explained. "It's pretty fast, but not instant, even in situations like that. Plus they'd need time to review the footage even once they got access to it. All that is time the suspect could be using to escape the city."

"A legal process, huh." Nicholas smirked. "Kalmiya, you wouldn't happened to have seen a man matching the description the police are looking for, would you? You know. Somewhere."

He heard a giggle and then static as Kalmiya zipped off through the computer systems of the city. The policeman was just passing them when there was another burst in his ear and Kalmiya began whispering. "Found him. He slipped into an abandoned building on the west side of the city, back closer to that central hub you ate lunch near."

"Excuse me?" Nicholas called. "Sir? Mister Officer, Sir?" When the policeman turned Nicholas waved him over. "It was a little while ago but I think I saw the man you're describing."

The officer hurried over. "You did? Did he pass this way?"

"No, I actually saw him at the central park," Nicholas said. "I remember because he was running around and trying to stick to the outer ring, nearest the buildings. I thought it was weird."

The officer nodded and whipped out his radio. "Thank you. How long ago did you see this man?"

"Uh…" Nicholas waited for Kalmiya to feed him a time. "Thirty minutes? Maybe? I'm not great with time without a stopwatch…"

"No, that's perfectly alright." The officer began barking into the radio. "Did you happen to see a direction he was traveling? Anyone with him?"

"He was alone, but maybe?" Nicholas said, even though Kalmiya was telling him that there had been others inside the building the man had fled to. "He did look as if he was searching around for something or someone, though it might have been to avoid you. As for direction… Geez, I'm terrible with those too. Which way is the gym from here?"

"West."

"Yeah, west. He went all the way to the westernmost road, the gym road, and I lost sight of him when he turned down the street." Nicholas paused while the officer began directing units. "Hey, aren't there a bunch of old abandoned buildings over there?"

The officer paused a moment as his eyes narrowed. "There certainly are. Thank you, citizen." Nicholas watched as the searching pokegirls immediately formed up as the officer broke into a dead sprint down the road.

"He kidnapped someone's pokegirls," Kalmiya said quietly through the radio. "There's a massive police presence down on the boardwalk." She made a surprised noise. "Oh, Champion Iris is there too."

Nicholas made a face at that. "Ugh. We'll leave it to the police. Thanks to you they know exactly where to go to catch the kidnapper."

"Not interested in seeing her again after last week, Master?" Kalmiya asked in amusement.

"Not particularly, no," Nicholas replied. "It's fine. I'm sure the professionals can handle this."

"Welcome to Castelia Cones…!"

They'd moved through the door at this point and Nicholas nodded at the employee greeting them from behind the counter. At Miruko's suggestion everyone got a classic cone instead of one of the many variants being advertised and as they walked back onto the street every single person in the group was devouring the ice cream with gusto.

"This is incredible," Sabrina gushed as they made their way back to the piers while the sun began to make its way towards the horizon. "No wonder the line is so long. And they say they've been in business for nearly two hundred years."

"Yeah, this has got to be some of the best ice cream I've ever had," Nicholas agreed. "I can't identify the flavor but I'm so glad you convinced us to try the classic instead of something else, Miruko."

They'd returned to the normal orientation by now, Cathy back at Nicholas' side while the Lopunny walked on her own. "It tastes just like it always has," she murmured, eyes unfocused and lost in the past. "Maybe even better." She blinked when Nicholas patted her on the back with a chuckle and cracked a grin for him. "Thanks for the treat, Master Nicholas, Mistress Sabrina."

"Oh, you deserve much more than just this," Nicholas chortled. "Thank you for the excellent suggestions today, Miruko. I'm very glad you came along."

Miruko's grin faded into a smile. "So am I."

Soon enough they were on the last ferry to Virbank and cutting over the waves. Nicholas was still finishing his cone as the group gathered to look at the setting sun and the various sights throughout the bay. "We'll need to visit that one at some point," Nicholas said, gesturing at the lighthouse they were passing by. "Liberty Garden, I think it's called. From what I've heard it's some kind of private island park and pokegirl sanctuary that the Unovan government had to fight to build the lighthouse on. Crazy stuff. I'd love to explore it."

Miruko turned to look at the island. "There might be another reason you would like visiting."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Stories say it's where a certain pokegirl makes her home, for many of the reasons you just said," Miruko explained. "She's a pokegirl who's obsessed with triumph and freedom, and so that place is perfect for her. A lighthouse built for the greater good, a place of freedom for humans and pokegirls alike, continuing to exist in defiance of the government force that sought to subjugate it. The island is known as the symbol of Unova in many ways."

"A certain pokegirl, huh." Nicholas smirked. "Which part of the gallery belonged to her?"

"Anywhere you saw fire and energy that wasn't being used destructively."

"Ah." Nicholas nodded. "I think I was looking at something like that right before we left."

"I think so."

"Well, if I meet her I meet her," Nicholas chuckled. "What do people call this pokegirl?"

"She's known as Victini."

"Victini," Nicholas said with a flourish. "Nice name for a legendary that you say represents triumph and freedom. Victory."

A pair of pointed orange-furred ears twitched.

"Well, it's widely accepted that she lives there, but nobody can really say for sure," Miruko said with a shrug. "She's an interesting eternal one. People claim to have witnessed her across Unova even in recent years, I think. I know they talked about her when I used to live here."

"So not like some of the others I know of, who are reclusive or outright hidden from humanity," Nicholas said. "Neat."

The ferry had passed the island by now and Nicholas was turning to the next landmark when something caught his eye. A flash of light from the base of the lighthouse. There it was again. He squinted to try and get a better look. Was it… fire?

…Fire and energy were the hallmarks of this legendary?

Everyone turned when the scream echoed over the water, not just Nicholas and his group on the VIP deck but every single passenger and crew on the ferry. The pure exhilaration in the sound made each and every listener take notice and perk up as an inexplicable energy burst within them.

Victini ran. Her feet barely touched the waves as she sprinted towards the ferry off the coast of her island. All the passengers could see was a streak of flame burning a brilliant orange and red shooting towards them until suddenly it jumped, easily clearing the boat as Victini's euphoric cry continued.

Nicholas was turning to try and follow the arc when he realized it had stopped directly overhead and now the fireball was rapidly growing larger as whatever was making it rocketed towards him. With a panicked yell he threw himself out of the way before Victini impacted the deck, her excited scream never stopping for even an instant as she lunged for him.

Cathy had moved to stand between Victini and Nicholas while Sabrina and the others were scrambling back away from the legendary so the lunging fireball found herself slamming into a bugling Miltank that intercepted her path with an arm and torqued her body to throw Victini tumbling back across the ferry deck. The ferry shuddered when the motor cut and the captain began excitedly calling for the passengers to come to the VIP deck. To him, it was just an incredible chance encounter of a being Miruko had said was very well known to the humans of Unova. But when Victini picked herself up, the flames that had been cloaking her ebbing away to reveal the pokegirl underneath, Nicholas knew better. The legendary's eyes were locked on his. She was here for him.

Cathy's interception had cut off Victini's excited squeal and she shook her head to clear it before giving the growling Miltank a massive grin. "NICE! You want to play?"

Cathy's eyes narrowed and she settled into a deeper stance. "Back off."

"Nuh-uh!" Cathy roared when Victini shot forwards again, taking a swing that whistled past the smaller pokegirl as she flattened herself to the deck and popped right back up to give the Miltank a flaming hug. "You're Cathy! You're one of Nicky's super cool pokegirls! Let's have fun!"

Cathy roared in pain when Victini's fire flared up and broke her hug by bringing her horns crashing down into the legendary's skull. Nicholas took a moment to glance behind them. The passengers were starting to gather and multiple cameras were coming out as Victini reset for another playful attack. What should he do? As far as the world was concerned, Victini was a legendary, a pokegirl beyond anyone. He couldn't act normally here and take control of the situation, could he? What kind of rumors would THAT start? His eyes flicked to where Kali stood in front of Sabrina, with Celine gazing at Victini beside her. Her expression was perfectly blank. No doubt hiding annoyance at this younger pokegirl's antics. She wasn't going to be any help.

"Wait a minute-!" he tried to call but Victini was already sprinting in and Cathy had closed up and compressed herself into a solid ball of muscle that charged towards the legendary.

The passengers ducked with assorted shouts when flame exploded from where the two met, Cathy losing her footing and tumbling across the deck while Victini similarly was thrown into the air. Only she had the ability to recover from that position and almost instantly was zipping down, her excited laughter echoing past her lips as she bore down on the tumbling Miltank.

Fuck it. Nicholas' eyes narrowed slightly as he prepared to summon his aura. I was going to have to announce myself to the world at some point. Might as well make it today.

He was just about to get between the two pokegirls when Cathy let out a pissed-off bellow. Suddenly she was back on her feet and glowing yellow energy was crackling across her body. In an instant she had launched herself at full speed towards the diving Victini while a massive orb of purple force sprang to life around her.

Victini's eyes widened when she saw the Miltank launching herself into the air. "WHOAH! That might hurt!" She swiveled on her approach, deftly slipping underneath Cathy's flying form as psychic power began to build along the leading edges of her large orange-furred ears. Then with an earth-shattering boom Cathy was rocketing off on a new trajectory, sailing over the railing and crashing into the ocean to send a plume of water sky high.

Victini landed and immediately ran to the railing to peer down at where Cathy had impacted. "ARE YOU GOOD DOWN THERE?" she screamed. When Cathy broke the surface thrashing about and yelling expletives back Victini burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHA! Yay! You play super hard, Cathy! That was AWESOME!" She whirled back to Nicholas and scampered for him. "Your pokegirls are just as cool as you are! I can't believe you're finally here!"

"Who the hell are you?" Nicholas said as he backpedaled away from Victini. With Cathy out of the picture he needed a second to think.

That did the trick and Victini ground to a halt with a gasp. "Whu-? No, you know me! I heard you say my name!"

"You- You did?" Nicholas stammered.

"YEAH!" Victini threw a goofy pose with her hand thrown forward and two fingers raised in a v. "I'm Victini! V for victory! And you, you're Nicholas Topolski! The most victoriest guy around!"

"Victini…?" Nicholas said. "You're… You're a legendary pokegirl?"

Victini clapped her hands together with a happy squeal. "THAT'S ME!"

"Look, I'm, um, flattered that you know me, but maybe we could meet each other later…?" Nicholas tried to plead as a last-ditch effort.

"Later?" Victini gasped. "No, no! I've waited for a human like you for SO LONG! I-"

"I said later." Victini's mouth snapped shut in surprise when she felt the energy coming from the human in front of her change. Nicholas gave her a steady stare. She wasn't going to back down easily? Fine. Let the cameras see who he was. "Right now, this ferry is on its way to Virbank. While I know everyone is excited to see you, it needs to get back under way, and you are the delay."

Victini blinked at him a few times. "Er…"

"You came here for me, didn't you?" Nicholas asked. "Whether it was to meet me or something more, this is not the place. Would you like me to visit your island? Or would you like to meet me back at the hotel I'm staying at?"

Victini finally seemed to shake from her stupefied state. "I…" she turned to look at the gawking crowd and back to him. "Whoah. You're even better in person. I think I'm getting wet." After a few more blinks her grin returned. "You're coming back with me."

"Wait a second-!" Nicholas cursed when Victini leapt for him and he felt her hands grabbing at his body. "I didn't mean NOW!"

"WELL I DO!" Victini screamed excitedly. "COME ON COME ON COME-!"

Sabrina gasped when she suddenly felt the presence in front of her surge to life.

Nicholas was summoning his aura, getting ready to truly fight off the legendary, when he similarly felt Kali's anger appear. NO! he tried to cry to her, but too late. Kali had had enough of this annoying little brat.

One moment Victini was grabbing at him; the next, she found herself teleported twenty feet in the air with no idea how she'd gotten there. Then she, too, felt the energy below her and swiveled with a gasp to see Kali hovering after her, her glasses cracked and broken to reveal eyes shining purple. "OOH YOU'RE E-!"

"Be QUIET!" Kali roared, her hand snapping up as her long white hair began to break from her body and hover around her head in a corona of power. Victini's mouth popped open, her jaw working without a single sound making it past the psychic barriers Kali had erected to contain the other legendary. "Be thankful my Master is more patient than I am, she who is known as Victini. Be glad that I do not decide whether or not you are to be allowed near him again." Her fingers twitched as Victini began testing the strength of the barrier and a few cracks raced across the surface. "You will listen to him. Or you and I will not simply 'play'."

Victini stopped her attempts to look at Kali, her eyes having lost the childish delight she'd held throughout the entire encounter. Eventually she raised a hand and tapped Kali's barrier, sending it shattering around her. "And who are you?" she asked softly. "I've never seen you around Nicky before."

"I am the pokegirl who will one day stand above all others, just as he will one day stand above all of the world," Kali snarled.

Victini slowly drifted back as the flame in her eyes returned. "Okay." Kali's head snapped down when Victini dropped back to the deck but it was just to land in front of Nicholas and give him a wink. "See you later." With a boom her body had reignited and she launched herself over the bow, angling towards Liberty Island at first before changing course and racing ahead and straight for Pokestar Studios.

Nicholas waited for Kali to return to the deck herself before reaching over and patting her arm. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?" he asked quietly.

Kali slowly turned to look at the crowd. After a few moments she blinked and turned away. "Defended you when she would not."

Nicholas glanced at where Celine stood. "The world knew of Victini. It knew of even Celebi," he explained quietly. "It had no knowledge of the daughter of Mew."

Kali scowled out at the ocean. "Well maybe it was time it did."

.

.

"There's nothing I can say anymore," Celine was hissing as the group walked down the street towards the hotel. Nicholas had checked with Kalmiya and just as he'd feared the encounter with Victini was lighting the internet on fire, even more than when he and Cynthia had displayed Mega Evolution to the world at the PWT. The prevailing rumors already identified Kali as a legendary, and him as being her tamer. "You are a fool, Kali."

"Are you not meant to observe the turning points of creation?" Kali shot back. "Or do you prefer cowards hiding?"

"YES! I am the witness. But I am also Nicholas' friend," Celine retorted, slamming to a halt and forcing the others to turn to her. "Do you have any idea what you have done today?"

"Defended him from one of us who would have taken him as her own."

"If only it was as simple as you think," Celine replied. "Did you not see? He was already defending himself. Doing so and doing everything in his power to keep the incident within what humanity already knew. Victini has never cared to separate her business from humanity, placing her firmly in their public eye, but she was still known as eternal. Above them. Yet today, a human matched her will. And then, one of his pokegirls not only matched her strength, but threatened to exceed it." Celine let out a frustrated shout. "Don't you understand? As far as the world knew, you are one of his pokegirls! The same to him as any other! What will they think once they inevitably realize? Once they understand that to him, we eternal are no greater than the pokegirls across the planet? HOW DO YOU THINK YOU CAME TO BE, KALI?"

Kali stiffened. "Do not speak of that."

"I WILL SPEAK OF IT AND OF MUCH MORE!" Celine roared. "YOU EXIST BECAUSE EVIL HUMANS SOUGHT TO CONTROL THE ETERNAL! THEY SOUGHT WHAT THEY BELIEVED TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, AND IN YOUR DEFIANCE YOU PROVED IT WAS! BUT NOW, NOW YOU REVEAL THAT HE CONTROLS YOU?" Celine was gesturing wildly in Nicholas' direction. "DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE JUST SHOWN ALL OF HUMANITY THAT THEY WERE RIGHT TO TRY?"

Celine stiffened when Nicholas walked over and placed a firm hand gripping her shoulder. "Enough," he growled. "I do not control any of you. Do not say I do, even in this context." He looked for Kali. "As for what Celine is trying to say, Kali, she is right. I wish you had not done what you did today. But what's done is done. It would have occurred someday regardless of anyone's wishes, because some day I intend all humanity and all of pokegirl kind to live as one. No eternal one will be above that gift. I am not unique; there will be champions of humanity, who will be partners to the eternal ones, and I intended to plant that seed today."

"Then what did I do wrong?" Kali hissed.

"What are you?"

Kali blinked. "Huh?"

"What are you, Kali." Nicholas released Celine's shoulder. "What did the enemy name you."

Kali's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. "Mewtwo."

"Mew. Two. Daughter of Mew. Daughter, of an eternal one." Nicholas shook his head. "The eternal do not have children. Your mother is unique even among the others like you. And you, you cannot exist, according to what humanity thought they knew."

Kali's anger slowly faded away as she began to understand. "I have revealed that there is an eternal one humanity did not know. They will search for where I came from."

"They will. They will learn the truth now. They will see, in their blindness, that I am your Master, and they will draw the conclusion that you are an eternal one they can control." Nicholas gazed at her sadly. "They will try again."

Celine was shaking her head with a pained expression when Kali's expression changed. "Let them."

Everyone looked at her in surprise. "What?" Celine stammered.

"Let them." Kali drew herself up and locked eyes with Nicholas. "Let them try. Why do I exist? Why was I born? Why did I suffer?" Her eyes shone past her broken glasses. "I did not know my purpose on this world, Master Nicholas. I do now. To rise above all others, yes – and to protect them from the humans who wish them harm."

Nicholas slowly came to smile at her. "What's done is done," he whispered. "As I lead humanity into the future I will be relying on you to be there beside me, Kali."

Celine gazed at them both before letting out a defeated sigh. "You truly intend to rebel against Her. So be it."

"Will it be a problem for us, Celebi?" Nicholas asked

Celine chuckled ruefully. "Why would it? I am merely an observer. It was not by my hand that this version of the human I love moved to create a new world in defiance of the Creator. Despite my greatest protests a pokegirl of his I call sister entwined her destiny with that world. It will not be by my hand they are stopped. And…" As she trailed off Nicholas felt her worry clearly.

"Don't worry," he murmured, projecting a gentle calm. "Whatever comes, I will never be lost to you."

"…You better not be," Celine breathed.

Nicholas chuckled and looked around at the others. Cathy was the only one not walking with them as she'd handed him her pokeball after being rescued from the bay and he'd understood, recalling her to give the exhausted Mitank time to rest. "Well. I had a great day. We had a bit of extra excitement at the end there, but how about everyone else?"

Sabrina shook her head slightly. "It was great. Let's not do it again."

That got a few chuckles from the group. "Unfortunately, if I'm right about what she wants, we'll all be getting to know Victini a lot better," Nicholas said. "As long as she fits in, of course."

"I doubt she intends for anything permanent with you," Celine replied. "Victini has always been a flighty one, even in regards to any humans she takes a liking to."

"I don't really care what her intentions are." Nicholas began walking again, leaving the others to stare after him. "If she wants me, she'll need to play by the same rules as everyone else."

Silence fell over the group at Nicholas' statement before the laughter began. "No, I suppose you wouldn't care!" Celine laughed, Kali grinning while Sabrina was laughing in resignation. "I will enjoy watching her struggle against you. Do you think she's waiting at the hotel?"

"She's a Psychic-type like you and Kali, right? I think I saw that kind of energy from her." Celine nodded. "Then yes, I think she will be. She'd be able to figure out where 'my hotel' was pretty easily."

"Well then." Sabrina sighed and struck forward again. "Why keep her waiting?"

.

.

Celebrity Profile Overview

Cynthia Celestica – Sinnoh Champion

The World League has no World Champion. But there must still be a strongest tamer. Cynthia Celestica is that tamer. She has it all – beauty, stature, power. The blowout favorite of every Champion popularity poll across the World League, the Sinnohsian Champion embodies the rich history of her region and is the reason it is still respected as one of the most influential leagues.

Diantha Carner – Kalos Champion, Actress

Everybody knows the fair lady herself, Diantha Carner. A global phenomenon, this actress is more than just a pretty face. She is also the reigning Champion of the Kalos League. Described as having a battle style as beautiful as her acting, her beauty and grace stand as the symbol of Kalos.