Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

Pokémon: Pokédex no Isekai

Chapter Twenty-three: They're literally, like, totes the worst sisters ever

The fashion building next to the Pokémon gym in Nimbasa City, Unova, was bustling with activity. That is no surprise, it always is. But this time things are even more energetic due to how The Big Beauty was parked outside next to the fashion building. The reason for that is because Dawn Berlitz was bringing in someone who wanted to break out into the world of fashion and fashion design, and they had figured that Nimbasa City was just the place that they needed to get to in order to get the chance that they had been so greatly craving.

Elesa, the gym leader for the Nimbasa City gym, stood by with Dawn, Kenny, Trip, Mina, and Tabitha's little sister Clair as Tabitha herself was being reviewed by a fashion expert who worked at the fashion building. The fashion expert was a somewhat older woman, slender with fair but slightly faded skin, light gray hair in a neat and smooth chin length bob cut, she wore a black beret hat, a pink long sleeved blouse, a black ascot scarf around her neck, a black knee length skirt that hugged her thighs, black stockings, and pink high heels.

The fashion expert also wore black sunglasses with pink frames, and she held in between her right index and middle fingers a long and slender smoking pipe at the end of which some smoke was coming out. The pipe itself was pink in color. "Mmm, you seem to know what it takes to shine in the world of fashion in the free lands, darling," the fashion expert said to Tabitha, "It boggles the mind that you weren't accepted there and had to come here to the Team Heart Empire in order to show the world that you have what it takes."

Tabitha gently placed her plump hands over her considerable belly. "Well in the free lands, living large like what I'm doing isn't considered fashionable," Tabitha remarked, sounding a bit bemused.

"Darling, you have no need to worry," said the fashion expert, "Even before it was absorbed by the Team Heart Empire, Unova had a reputation for being the leading region in the world for the cause of fat acceptance, even already having plus sized models."

"Oh, well I'm not entirely sure if I can model," Tabitha said, "I can certainly design the dresses without issue, but modeling them?"

The fashion expert took a drag from her long and thin smoking pipe, exhaling with her head turned away from Tabitha. Turning to look back at Tabitha, the fashion expert went on, "You'd be surprised with how many persons who shop for fashion in Unova live larger than life. In fact, I'd estimate you to be about the same size as Lady Bianca, so clothes you wear to model while walking down the runway could be worn by the girl who rules over half of the world."

As Tabitha talked it up with the fashion expert, Elesa turned to look at the reborn trainers and Clair. "Thanks again for bringing Tabitha along," Elesa said to the reborn trainers, "We're down some folks who can design clothes and or model them, so Tabitha is quite the boon."

"What do you mean you're down some folks who can design clothes and or model them?" Kenny asked, looking curious.

Elesa let out a troubled sigh. "Well, it all be-"

"Elesa," a female voice called out, making everyone turn to see a very notably chubby fair skinned girl come walking up to them, carrying a to-go cup of coffee. The girl looked to be mid to late teens, had black hair in a straight chin length bob cut with the bangs at a slight angle, and the girl's baggy maroon sweater plus pants held up with a belt, clunky dark shoes, and the clipboard that she was carrying just screamed 'fashion industry assistant'.

Handing the to-go cup of coffee over to Elesa, the chubby girl said, "Here's your hot chocolate that you wanted."

"Thanks, Ayana," Elesa replied as she took the drink from the now identified Ayana. The reborn trainers, aside from Mina, actually recognized Ayana; in the Team Scorn timeline, Ayana was actually a member of the Longsword Sector of Team Scorn, led by her cousin Yoshitsugu who went by the moniker Admin Swordsman. The reborn trainers were NOT expecting to run into a girl who they remembered from the previous timeline.

Seeing the surprised looks on the faces of Dawn, Kenny, and Trip, Elesa said, "Oh, guys, this here is my assistant Ayana. She actually used to be one of the plus sized models for the fashion brand that I work out of, but she was forced to step down when news came about that a relative of hers is a member of Aincrad."

Ayana looked troubled. "...My cousin Yoshitsugu, yeah. He can't stand how Unova is living under the imperial rule of the Team Heart Empire. He's always been big about people, Pokémon trainers especially so, having freedom. I'm not sure how high ranked he is in Aincrad, but Yoshitsugu is at least a high ranking member."

"I'm surprised that you weren't thrown into a labor camp because of how you're related to a member of a terrorist group threatening Team Heart authority," Clair remarked.

"I had to publicly disown Yoshitsugu as family to avoid it," Ayana said, looking guilty, "And even then I barely avoid trouble because I had helped to, as it had been put, spread and support Team Heart creed. I still had to step down as a model, though. That was really tough for me, I've always wanted to be a plus sized model."

"But at least she's still able to work in the fashion industry," Elesa remarked, "At least to an extent. It's actually rather miraculous, considering what her cousin she had to publicly disown had done."

"What did he do?" Trip asked.

"He attacked Lady Bianca's father," Ayana said, drawing surprised looks out of the reborn trainers, "With his long sword, and with the intent to kill. Lady Bianca's father survived due to the interference of some Team Heart rank and file, and Yoshitsugu was forced to flee. But the attack still happened. You won't believe the bounty on Yoshitsugu's head."

When Dawn asked to see a photo of Ayana's cousin Yoshitsugu, it was Elesa who pulled out a copy of the wanted poster for Yoshitsugu. To the surprise of the reborn trainers, Yoshitsugu is Admin Swordsman of Team Scorn, at least he WAS Admin Swordsman back in the Team Scorn timeline. Here in the Team Heart timeline, Yoshitsugu was using his real name. He also attacked Bianca's dad anyway, but the man survived.

After Elesa put the wanted poster away, the fashion expert came up to her, with Tabitha waddling along behind her. "Elesa, darling," the fashion expert began, "I have to say that Tabitha is a real gem. Are there any open positions for designers and or runway models?"

"I'm not sure if there are open runway model positions," Elesa began, "But Eva did tell me that she and the other fashion designers are a bit short handed. Eva ought to be in town today, her older sister Lexi is visiting from Icirrus City and the two of them were planning to have fun shopping and all that good jazz."

"Well that Eva girl needs to be found," said the fashion expert, "We need to know for certain if there's free space available. Getting a girl like Tabitha will be a boon, not to mention how it'll line up nicely with Team Heart Empire cree-"

The fashion expert was cut off when two girls working at the fashion building came running in. "Hey yo, there's big trouble right now," said the first girl, "Eva and her older sister are being bothered by some Team Heart members outside of the cafe that's closest to the local Pokémon Center!"

Dawn was suspicious as to what was going on, with Team Heart harassing Eva and Lexi. "Want my friends here and I to go investigate?" Dawn half asked half offered.

"If you can," Elesa replied, "If Eva is in trouble with Team Heart, then we may end up losing her. It would be a terrible loss indeed." Dawn nodded once before she led the others with her out to go see Eva and Lexi, although Tabitha and Clair remained behind.

A short while later, Dawn and the others with her arrived at a scene outside of a cafe near the local Pokémon Center. There, they saw two fair skinned blonde girls who were either late teens or early twenties being bothered by a squad of Team Heart members, led by a pair consisting of a uniquely dressed male Team Heart member and a girl in the standard female Team Heart grunt outfit.

The guy in the unique outfit was cocoa skinned, with black short curly hair, and he wore round lensed glasses with black frames. His outfit consisted of a black and pink stripped long sleeved shirt, black pants, black shoes with pink shoelaces, and he had a black Team Heart 'H' on a pink patch on his shirt over the left pectoral.

The female grunt next to him, aside from wearing the standard female Team Heart grunt outfit, was fair skinned, blonde haired, and at least half a head taller than her uniquely dressed fellow standing next to her. The two Team Heart members, with half a dozen Team Heart grunts behind them, were talking to the two fair skinned blonde haired girls.

The first girl kept her blonde hair straight and chin length, and she wore a blue sleeveless tank top, tan baggy cargo shorts held up with a belt, sandals, and a pair of white pearl earrings with each pearl earring dangling from a small chain attached to an earlobe each. The other girl had much longer blonde hair, she wore a sleeveless seafoam green dress that reached halfway down her legs, she also wore sandals, and she had black sunglasses with white frames on her head, plus red hoop earrings, one in each earlobe.

The cocoa skinned Team Heart member looked at the two blonde girls with an expression that conveyed utter contempt. "You know, the both of you have a lot of nerve," the cocoa skinned Team Heart member spat bitterly, "Have a good ol' time on the town and all, as if you two had never done or contributed to anything wrong."

"That literally was not our intention, Jahzir," said the blonde girl in the blue tank top, looking and sounding an even mix of resigned and guilty, "Me and Eva here know full well that our family and us had screwed up. We're... we're just wanting a brief moment away from having to beat ourselves up over how badly we had messed up when it came to Wolfgang."

Dawn heard the blonde girl in the blue tank top refer to her companion in the seafoam green dress as Eva, and she also mentioned Wolfgang by name. Dawn was figuring the girls to be Eva and her older sister Lexi, but how is it that the girl who is probably Lexi knows Wolfgang so much? As well as how she's apparently familiar enough with the cocoa skinned Team Heart member to not only identify him as Jahzir, but speak as if she's known him for a while?

Putting all of that to the side, Dawn led the other reborn trainers over. "Sorry, but we were sent by the fashion people in the building next to the Nimbasa City gym to find a girl named Eva and her older sister Lexi," Dawn said, "Eva is being summoned to help with the interview process for a potential new hire named Tabitha."

Jahzir turned to look at Dawn and her group. "...I did hear from Wolfgang and Betzabe that you were in Unova, Dawn Berlitz," Jahzir said, "But to think that I'd personally run into you."

"My crew and I were actually the ones who brought Tabitha and her little sister Clair to Unova, as Tabitha thinks she has a better shot at breaking into the world of fashion here," Dawn explained, "Anyway, I don't suppose I could get your name, as you clearly have mine?"

"That's fair," Jahzir said, "I'm Jahzir, First Captain of the Unova Sector of Team Heart. The tall girl with me is my Captain's Assistant, Natalie."

"Did the two girls here do something to warrant you and your fellows bothering them?" Trip asked.

Scoffing, Natalie said, "Fuck yeah they did something to warrant it. They and the rest of their shitty sisters, plus their equally shitty parents, decided that Wolfgang never was and would never be worth a damn, and proceeded to treat him with that mentality his entire life."

"Well we need to get them over to where Eva's fellows at the fashion place need them," Mina said, a bit surprised by how harsh of language Natalie was using. Jahzir decided to let Lexi and Eva go, a mercy from what Dawn was able to assess. Dawn and the other reborn trainers were able to get Eva and Lexi to their destination without further incident, but this wasn't quite the end of everything as there was going to be a lot to unpack once everyone was at the fashion building.

Later when everyone was back at the fashion building, the reborn trainers and Elesa were able to sit down with Lexi and Eva. Eva had just finished helping the fashion expert get Tabitha situated and set up to begin work in the fashion industry in Unova. "Tabitha is, like, totes good," Eva began, "I'm rather surprised that she wasn't scooped up by the fashion industry in the free lands."

"Well Tabitha found it hard to get accepted in the fashion industry in the free lands due to how she's admittedly rather obese," Mina explained, "She thought that she would be more accepted here in the Team Heart Empire because they don't discriminate against persons who are plus sized. Team Heart doesn't support any kind of discrimination. They don't like fatphobia obviously, but we've also seen them staunchly against racism, religious discrimination, classism, homophobia." Shifting in her seat a bit, Mina added, "And now sexism."

Both Lexi and Eva looked guilty and resigned. "I know, I know," Lexi began, "A lot of the anti-sexism laws established by the authority of Team Heart here in Unova occurred at least partly due to how me, my sisters, and our parents, at least all of us as a collective, had treated Wolfgang starting from when he was young."

"I'm surprised that Wolfgang has any family," Kenny said.

"He has the usual parents of one mom and one dad," Elesa spoke up, "Plus ten sisters."

"We got a bit of an idea already," Dawn replied, still surprised that Wolfgang has so large of a family although it's mainly due to the sheer number of sisters he has. Wolfgang's parents obviously have a thing for... getting busy.

Lexi let out a resigned sigh. "Unfortunately, our parents are the leading cause to how Wolfgang ended up as the kind of person that he is today. Our parents, especially mom, had grown up with old fashioned beliefs about how boys and girls work. Boys always getting up to mischief and into trouble, girls always being perfect. You know the deal. Anyway, our parents ran with those beliefs as they raised me and all of my younger siblings."

Looking to Lexi, Dawn said, "I take it you're the oldest."

Nodding once in the affirmative, Lexi replied, "Yeah, I am. As such, I often was put in charge of my younger siblings when our parents were busy. I will admit that I had literally become something of a drill sergeant when supervising my younger siblings, but given the sheer number of them plus how unruly some of them can get, it was kind of necessary."

"You didn't run with your parents' old fashioned sexist views when supervising your younger siblings and as such was a total jerk to Wolfgang, did you?" Kenny asked.

"No, I didn't," Lexi replied, "He tried keeping out of trouble as much as possible to avoid our parents getting upset with him. As such, I never had any issues with Wolfgang because I only take issue with someone if they actually mess up. I refused to punish Wolfgang for something he didn't do. It's the same deal I had for all of my younger siblings."

Scowling, Lexi went on, "And yet our parents would always punish Wolfgang anyway for stuff our sisters did, even if they know full well that a specific sister was the guilty party. All that had to be done was for a sister to somehow come up with a way to blame the trouble on Wolfgang, and that was all that our parents needed to punish him over the sister."

"How did your sisters feel about this?" Dawn asked.

"A few of them literally took blatant advantage of it and used it to further intensify the hell that Wolfgang was being made to go through," Lexi explained bitterly, "With me and Eva's younger sister Ella being one of the worst offenders. Although Annaka could also be pretty bad too. In fact, there was this one incident when we were growing up..."

(FLASHBACK)

Lexi and Eva were in the backyard with all of their younger sisters in front of them, while a younger Wolfgang was standing off to the side, having long since come to the realization that he will never be accepted amongst his own siblings. "Okay everyone," Lexi said, "We have to figure out where we are going to be going for dinner out tonight. Any suggestions?"

"Ooh, ooh!" said a sporty looking girl in a red and white jersey, also said girl had brown hair in a ponytail, "Let's head to the pizzeria and arcade!"

"No, we ought to go out for burgers!" said a younger sister dressed in overalls and she wore a red ballcap backwards.

There was a cacophony of suggestions being shouted by the younger sisters of Lexi and Eva, with Eva turning to Lexi and saying, "Umm, there's this new buffet place I wanted to try."

The arguing reached a point where Lexi had to sharply whistle to get everyone to stop. "Alright, we literally need to figure out how to decide where we're going," Lexi began, "Any ideas on how we can settle things here?"

"How about we have a mini Pokémon battle tournament?" suggested a girl dressed up in a pink princess outfit and she also wore a little tiara, "Winner gets to decide where we go."

"Hey, that's a good idea," said the athletic sister, "I say we do it!"

As the younger sisters of Lexi and Eva all generally agreed, Lexi said, "Alright, we'll do a Pokémon battle tournament. August is too young to be a trainer or keep any Pokémon period, and I have to run the tournament and serve as judge and referee, so that means-"

"Can I enter?" Wolfgang spoke up, catching the attention of the sisters as they all turned to look at him.

Scoffing, the princess sister said, "You, Wolfgang?! You think that you can actually stand a chance of winning against any of us?!"

Wolfgang's eyes narrowed as his gaze leveled on the princess sister. "Given that Lexi is going to be the one running it and she rules things fairly, I suspect that I actually have a fair chance to win."

Shrugging, the athletic sister said, "It's your loss, bro, because there's no way that you're gonna win."

"We'll see how things go, Annaka," Lexi spoke up as she and Eva began to organize the tournament.

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"And so the tournament proceeded," Lexi said, "Wolfgang ended up getting matched to battle Ella in the first round. All battles were single style, three on three, as each of us who had Pokémon owned three each."

"How did the battle between Wolfgang and Ella go?" Trip asked.

"Wolfgang's Lopunny swept Ella's entire team of Buneary, Smoochum, and Purrloin no problem," Lexi said, "Wolfgang then fought our sister Catherine in the second round, again sweeping with just his Lopunny, taking out Catherine's Mime Jr., Voltorb, and Koffing. After that was the final round, where it was Wolfgang versus Annaka."

"I was, like, totes worried about Wolfgang's odds because all three of Annaka's Pokémon are fighting types," Eva said, "And his Lopunny is a normal type."

"But as it turned out," Lexi went on, "Wolfgang literally had more than just normal types..."

(FLASHBACK)

Annaka stood apart from Wolfgang, an amused and self assured look of confidence on her face. "I'd like to see you try to win against me, Wolfgang," Annaka sneered, "I never lose among our siblings, I'll have you know."

"Then what was with the hissyfit you threw when Aubin sent out her Haunter in a battle against you last week?" Wolfgang asked.

"Using ghost Pokémon against me is cheating!" Annaka exclaimed, "Anyway, get ready to lose, you brat! Go, Toxicroak!"

"Go, Lucario!" Wolfgang said.

Both Pokémon came out for the battle, Annaka's Toxicroak against Wolfgang's Lucario. A lot of the sisters looked surprised at Wolfgang's choice of Pokémon. "Woah, since when did Wolfgang have a Pokémon like Lucario?" asked the sister in the overalls as she and the others stood by to watch the unfolding battle.

Scoffing, Annaka said, "It doesn't matter, because I'm going to win! Toxicroak, use Karate Chop!"

"Lucario, use Psychic!" Wolfgang commanded, drawing a surprised look from Annaka.

As Toxicroak ran at Lucario to strike it, Lucario conjured a telekinetic blast of psychic energy that it blasted Toxicroak with, sending it flying back until it hit the ground and laid there, having clearly been defeated. "Toxicroak is unable to battle," Lexi ruled, "The winner is Lucario!"

"Woah woah woah, time out!" Annaka said suddenly. Looking to Wolfgang, Annaka snarled, "Why the hell are you cheating, you brat?!"

"Excuse me?" Wolfgang replied, genuinely surprised by the accusation.

Pointing at Lucario, Annaka said to Wolfgang, "Lucario ain't a psychic type Pokémon, so it shouldn't be using psychic type moves! It's doing so anyway, which obviously means that you're cheating!"

"Annaka, Pokémon literally don't have to use attacks that match their types," Lexi pointed out, "And it's perfectly valid for Lucario to use Psychic."

Stomping a foot in frustration, Annaka said, "Wolfgang still shouldn't have his Pokémon use moves that don't match their types!"

"Where was this when Wolfgang's Lopunny defeated Ella's entire team?" asked a goth girl looking sister in an accusatory tone towards Annaka, "Because Lopunny never used any normal type moves to defeat Ella's Pokémon."

"Annaka is just throwing a hissyfit because she's on the losing end," said the sister in the overalls.

"I am NOT throwing a hissyfit and I am NOT losing to Wolfgang!" Annaka said. The battle went on and Annaka sent out a Crabominable. "Remember Wolfgang, don't have Lucario use attacks that don't match its type," Annaka snarled. Gesturing forward, Annaka said, "Crabominable, use Brick Break!"

"Lucario, use Flash Cannon!" Wolfgang called out, drawing another surprised look from Annaka as the battle continued.

Crabominable tried to rush Lucario, but Lucario conjured and cast its Flash Cannon attack, striking Crabominable square in the forehead and making it reel back in pain. "Hey, hey, hey!" Annaka snapped, "I told you to not have Lucario use attacks that don't match its type! Lucario is a fighting type Pokémon, Wolfgang!"

"It's also a steel type Pokémon," Wolfgang pointed out, starting to get at his limit in dealing with Annaka being a sore loser.

"Our brother is correct, Annaka," said a very young but clearly very intelligent looking little sister, "Lucario is a species of dual fighting steel type Pokémon. Your demanding request that Wolfgang have Lucario use only moves that match its type is being fulfilled by Lucario using Flash Cannon."

Growling in frustration, Annaka snapped, "Whatever!" Getting back to the battle, Annaka said, "Wolfgang! Lucario is a fighting Pokémon, so have it use fighting moves!"

Arching a wry eyebrow, Wolfgang said, "Are you sure you want fighting moves used on Crabom-"

"Just do it!" Annaka snapped.

Scowling, Wolfgang said, "Lucario, use Aura Sphere."

Lucario conjured and cast an Aura Sphere that flew at and blasted into Crabominable, knocking it out. "Crabominable is unable to battle," Lexi announced, similarly getting annoyed with Annaka, "The winner is Lucario!"

"Annaka, Crabominable is dual fighting ice type," the short smart sister pointed out as Annaka called back her fainted Crabominable, "That partial ice typing makes it weak to fighting."

Annaka was starting to get annoyed, especially as she was losing to her brother in a Pokémon battle. "Whatever," Annaka scowled. To her brother, Annaka snarled, "You had better start going down, you damn brat. I do NOT need the embarrassment of losing a Pokémon battle to a loser like you! Go, Hitmonchan!"

"Lucario return," Wolfgang said as he swapped his Pokémon around, "Go, Houndstone!" After Annaka sent her Hitmonchan out, Wolfgang swapped his Pokémon around to have his Houndstone out to battle Hitmonchan.

"Woah, Wolfgang's got a Houndstone," said the goth little sister, "That is totally awesome."

"Doesn't matter how good it is, it's going down!" Annaka declared, "Hitmonchan, use Drain Punch!"

"Houndstone, use Phantom Force," Wolfgang called out.

Hitmonchan was faster and was able to hit Houndstone. But to the surprise of Hitmonchan and Annaka, the fighting type attack did nothing to Houndstone, who then disappeared into the shadows. "Hey, hey, hey!" Annaka complained, "Is that Houndstone thing a ghost type Pokémon?! You're using a ghost type Pokémon against me in a battle?! That's cheating!"

"Why is it cheating?" Wolfgang asked, "Because you're a thick headed bully who doesn't believe in variety and also throws temper tantrums whenever she's on the losing end? Seriously Annaka, why don't you have your Pokémon learn anything aside from fighting type attacks?! No wonder Aubin has an easy time whenever she battles you, she uses ghost Pokémon meaning your Pokémon can't even touch hers!"

"She cheats against me is what she does!" Annaka complained, "And what's with this in calling me a sore loser, you brat?!"

"That's what you are! A sore loser!" Wolfgang snapped, "You complain when things don't go your way, you accuse others of cheating against you if you're losing to them, and you also threaten and insult others you think are lesser than you! Here's a news flash for you, Annaka! You aren't the best! And with the attitude that you have right now, YOU NEVER WI-"

*huwapap*

Everything went off the rails when Annaka rushed in and slugged Wolfgang across the face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Hitmonchan moved in to help Annaka, but Houndstone reappeared and struck Hitmonchan with Phantom Force, knocking it back. Hitmonchan knew only fighting type attacks due to how Annaka raises her Pokémon, and one of Annaka's Pokémon was facing off with a ghost type Pokémon; things didn't look to be favoring Hitmonchan.

The other siblings all jumped in to separate Annaka from Wolfgang, although the commotion was stopped when an adult woman's voice called into the backyard, "Kids! What's with the fighting?! Can't you settle disagreements between all of you peacefully?!"

(FLASHBACK OVER)

"I then clearly explained to me and my siblings' mom that a fight broke out because Annaka attacked Wolfgang because he was winning a Pokémon battle against her," Lexi said as she was wrapping up the story, "Literally saying it that Wolfgang was battling fairly against Annaka. Our mom still grounded Wolfgang anyway because he made Annaka upset, also she automatically believed Annaka's accusations that Wolfgang cheated. Not helping was Ella who said Wolfgang also cheated against her in their battle."

"Did that Catherine girl also throw in a cheating accusation against your brother?" Dawn asked.

Gently shaking her head, Lexi said, "No, she didn't and made it clear to me she never intended to. Catherine may take her fondness for pranking a shade too far a lot of the time, but at least she's not as malicious as Annaka or Ella. Anyway, we ended up doing what Annaka wanted to do for us going out to dinner, also Wolfgang was forced to sit out of it by our parents."

"Do your parents have any regrets about how they handled raising Wolfgang?" Kenny asked.

"Not until Wolfgang ran away in the middle of the night the evening of that ill fated battle," Lexi went on, "And even then it took Wolfgang re-emerging as a leading member of Team Heart, then Team Heart taking over Unova, Wolfgang being made Unova's Head of State, and me and some of my sisters having to spell things out to our parents, using a LOT of yelling no less, to make mom get it that she and the rest of us had literally messed up."

"Just your mom?" Dawn asked.

Nodding once, Lexi said, "Unfortunately, our dad still literally believes that Wolfgang is a bad seed, citing how Wolfgang being a member of Team Heart proves the point, despite how it's pretty clear that we, the rest of the family, had been the ones to push Wolfgang into it."

Shifting in her seat, Mina asked, "Where are the rest of your family members now?"

Lexi let out a troubled sigh. "...Ella and dad are both in Team Heart labor camps here in Unova, albeit in different ones each."

"They're in labor camps?" Kenny asked, "What did they do?"

"Ella, the spoiled brat that she is, made a fatphobic crack about Lady Bianca when the school that Ella and some of the other younger sisters goes to was visited by some Team Heart members," Lexi began to explain, "As for our dad, he was arrested because he had refused service to Team Heart members who came to his restaurant."

"Your dad owns a restaurant?" Trip asked.

Lexi nodded in the affirmative. "It's still in operation, although a friend of my dad's is running it while my dad himself is in a labor camp." To the reborn trainers, Lexi went on, "And the worst part is that dad had literally no real reason to deny service to those Team Heart members. They simply came in wanting to get dinner, they even conducted themselves properly and didn't do anything wrong. Dad just told them to get out anyway."

It's a sad day when Team Heart members are in the right. Dawn gently shook her head to rid her mind of the trail of thought that she was having. "What of the rest of your sisters? Your mom?"

"Lara ran away," Lexi began, "Sometime shortly after Team Heart had risen to power here in Unova and Wolfgang was made Unova's Head of State by the Team Heart authority. As for the rest of my sisters and I, we're mixed. Annaka and to a lesser extent Catherine think that Wolfgang is evil and the reason we're suffering, some of the younger sisters aren't sure what to think. As for me, Eva, Sophia, and our mom-"

"We're, like, totes the worst family ever!" Eva cried, her face falling into her hands as she began to cry, "Look at what we did to Wolfgang! What we drove him to! None of us are fully innocent here except maybe August because she's too young to have been able to do anything! It's our fault that Wolfgang became what he is! We did that to him! We broke him! He hates all of us!"

Lexi gave her sister a sympathetic look. "...Eva..."

"And I'm the worst screw up of all!" Eva went on, "I admitted that I found Wolfgang to be annoying like how little siblings tended to be to older siblings, because he frequently sought my attention and time while we were growing up! But it turned out that he only did that because I was actually his favorite sister because I was the nicest one to him! I was the sister that he liked the most! And I broke his heart! If only I had known how Wolfgang felt, then I could have-"

"Eva," Lexi cut in, getting her sister to calm down momentarily. "...It's not your fault that Wolfgang ran away and didn't resurface until he became a leading member of Team Heart," Lexi said, "At least it's not the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. It's what our parents did, the influence of that on some of our younger sisters."

Gesturing to Lexi and Eva, Dawn said, "Is there anything that you can do to try to repair the bond between Wolfgang and the rest of your family?"

Lexi looked resigned as she thought about it. "...I literally doubt that some of the family will ever even want to try to make amends with Wolfgang. I know full well that dad will never do so due to how he's been arrested by Team Heart authority and thrown into a labor camp, despite how Wolfgang literally had nothing to do with it, it was two rank and file level members who dad had refused service to at his restaurant."

Shrugging, Dawn said, "Maybe my crew and I can do something. We do have a tendency to run into ranking members of Team Heart, maybe the next time we do so, we'll ask them if it's possible to get Wolfgang to sit with at least one of you."

"That would be, like, totes great if you can do it," Eva said, "And pass along the message to Wolfgang that I'm sorry for everything bad I've ever done."

Dawn nodded once, saying that she'll look into it. Things seemed pretty depressing now, given that the reborn trainers had learned just how badly the situation for Wolfgang's family had gotten. But then again, one could say that it was karma coming to bite them right in the ass for how they had made life for Wolfgang an utter hell. Dawn was certain that the family bond there can never be fully healed, but maybe, with the right setup, at least some mending can be done.

...If the necessary strings were pulled.

(Unknown location, Unova region)

A young girl, a bit under a decade old, was laying on a cot in a bunk room. She was a fair skinned girl, with collarbone length scruffy brown hair, round glasses with black frames, and she wore a baggy green sweater that exposed her shoulders although she wore a white lab coat over it, a pair of brown baggy pants held up with a belt, and a pair of white socks. A pair of black shoes sat on the floor under her cot.

The young girl, looking rather intelligent for her age, reached down the front of her sweater and pulled our a locket. She popped it open, looked longingly at the photo contained therein, then closed the locket back up before slipping it back down the front of her sweater. She then swung herself into an upright sitting position before she got up off of her cot.

Right as the girl stood up, there was a knock at the door of the room she was in. "You may enter!" the girl called out, prompting the person outside to answer. It was Yoshitsugu, a leading member of Aincrad, the freedom fighter organization native to Unova, although Team Heart says that they are nothing more than terrorists. Yoshitsugu wore a mostly black version of the outfit he wore in the Team Scorn timeline, although he had no idea of that timeline.

"Yo Lara," Yoshitsugu said to the young girl, "We need your help in figuring out some old Team Plasma tech that we were able to get a hold of. We think that it can be used to do some damage to Team Heart. A super genius like you ought to be able to run circles around it figuring it out."

Nodding once, the young girl, identified as Lara, replied, "Just let me get something to eat. I'm feeling a little bit peckish."

END, CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Author's notes;

This chapter sees the reborn trainers bring Tabitha and Clair to Nimbasa City, where they rescue two of Admin Wolfgang's sisters, Lexi and Eva, from some trouble. The two sisters of Wolfgang then share with the reborn trainers how the way their family as a whole had treated Wolfgang resulted in karma coming by to kick them right in the ass. Dawn says that she'll help do what she can to mend things between Wolfgang and the rest of them.

Meanwhile, Lara, one of Wolfgang's younger sisters, is in cahoots with Yoshitsugu, a leading member of the group Aincrad. But what Lara is up to exactly still isn't known. Anyway, the next chapter will see some Unova dex work done, as well as seeing how things are going on in Driftveil City. Until then, take care.

Dawn's Pokémon: (on hand) Chi-Chi (female Infernape), Tsukune (Palkia), Leni (female Lucario), Argent (male Arcanine; alpha; Hisuian), Lincoln (male Latios), Ezio (male Eevee; shiny)

Kenny's Pokémon: (on hand) Black (Giratina), Shallot (male Glaceon), Cell (male Scizor; shiny), Roshi (male Torterra), Zarbon (male Machamp), Kermit (male Politoed)

Trip's Pokémon: (on hand) Deelia (Dialga), Lisa (female Latias), Mr. Popo (male Magmortar), Veda (female Abomasnow), Myde (male Empoleon), Villetta (Miraidon)

Mina's Pokémon: (on hand) Scar (male Eevee; scared over one eye), Gardevoir (male), Lucario (female), Umbreon (male; shiny), Espeon (male; shiny), Jolteon (male; shiny)