Route 3 Wildlands, Thronemarch Province, Kingdom of Eidros

August 20 2034

"Battle stations!" Jacob yelled as more trip wires were hit, the used soup cans jingling loudly and menacingly in the darkness. Colton had already grabbed a large stick they had found earlier for use as a weapon, Baldric getting into a fighting stance. Zeara had torn from her blankets, Blumpy already floating close by while Hannah had already stood up, Surtr growling at the darkness.

Gods are they back again? She thought to herself as the camp tensed, waiting for a tide of little cephalopods to sweep over them, I should have read up more on them in my Pokedex. I didn't think they'd be this persistent!

Another set of cans were thrown in the air and emerging into the shadowy light created by the crackling fire, was a singular Clobbopus. Slightly taller than average, with an angry red scar across its right eye. Hannah and the others made ready to attack, but paused when no other Pokemon appeared with it. The Clobbopus let out an angry cry, tapping its tentacle-fists together, its teal-blue eyes angrily drilling into Hannah's dark brown ones.

"Wait, that's the leader one," Zeara said, craning her neck around as Blumpy floated above, the Drifloon letting out a confused moan as it surveyed the campsite clearing, "But where's the rest of it's gang?"

"Think they are waiting for a signal from it?" Colton asked as Baldric took a guarded step towards the wild Pokemon, the Machop having his arms raised to block any potential attacks. The Clobbopus alpha briefly looked at him, before resuming glaring at Hannah.

"I don't know, but why is it just standing there glaring at Hannah?" Jacob asked, Mr. Bungles growling at the intruder at his feet. He hadn't released his new capture, not until he had some time to acclimate it to him. Last thing they needed was a confused Lechonk attacking everything in sight.

Hannah tilted her head at the wild Pokemon, not as unnerved by its death glare as maybe she should have been. This was like the would-be bullies in school, trying to intimidate her, make her feel small. It hadn't worked then and it wouldn't work now. Actually, the more she thought about it…

"It's here for a rematch," Hannah said, the realization hitting her like a truck, "It got humiliated in front of its gang. It's here to prove its strength." She locked her eyes with the wild Clobbopus. "That's what you want right? Just a fight with me and Surtr?" The cephalopod gurgled, slamming its fists into the ground. Hannah smiled.

"Hannah, are you sure about this?" Colton asked, "Surtr took a beating last time. We really need to get him to a Pokemon Center. We can just all attack this thing and end this right here." He had a look of bewilderment on his face when Hannah raised her hand at him.

"No, we got this," she said, confidence swelling in her voice, "Nobody interfere, no matter how bad the fight is going for me. It's just me and Surtr."

"Han, what are you planning?" Jacob asked as he realized that there were eyes looking at them from the tree line. The Clobbopus gang was here, but they seemed to be waiting. There had to be at least twenty of them, some in the underbrush, others in the lower branches of the trees. Pale blue eyes glowing in the darkness.

"It has to prove to its gang it's still fit to lead," Hannah said calmly as she motioned for Surtr to get into a combat position in front of her, "I like this one. It's determined. If I lose, they can come take our food, but," she spoke directly to the Clobbopus alpha, "If I win, you're coming with me though. You seem like you had to fight for everything, just like me. So let's stop talking and fucking do this! Surtr, Rollout! Flank him!"

"Wait, what?!" Jacob yelled as Hannah's Cyndaquill obeyed, rolling at a high speed at the Clobbopus, before launching into a leap above it just before he got within striking range. The Clobbopus grunted in frustration as its Mega Punch missed the fire type, only to cry out as it was blasted in the back with an Ember. There was the sound of concerned gurgling coming from the treeline, the gang talking to each other as their leader was hit with a Tackle from behind as well, doing little damage but knocking it off balance.

"Duck under its swings, blast and then retreat!" Hannah called out to her starter, "Do not give it a moment of rest!" She had a feral grin plastered on her face that made Jacob and Colton look at each other with concern as Surtr rushed forward, letting off a faint Smokescreen as he went, just enough to break up his silhouette. A Brick Break hit the ground where the fire type had been a second before, kicking up dirt, dust, and ash as he skid on his claws to the flank of the Clobbopus, back blazing with fiery quills as another Ember left his mouth.

"Shit, back up!" Hannah called as her Cyndaquill took a Rock Smash to the face, letting off a squeal of pain. The Clobbopus pressed the advantage, a Brick Break smashing the fire type straight into the dirt. Colton looked alarmed as the little fire type struggled to get up, looking to his Machop.

"Get in there and help Baldric!" His Machop growled in affirmation only for Zeara's Drifloon to screech at him, blocking his way. Colton rounded in fury to the pale artist, only for her to shake her head.

"Hannah said don't get involved. She's got this," Zeara said, her voice serious as she watched the fight, "Have some faith in her." Zeara smiled when Surtr's back lit up with such a fury that she could feel the heat on her face from fifteen feet away.

"Nice hits, but you aren't the only one that's relentless," Hannah spat at the Clobbopus as Blaze kicked in, pure power flowing through her battered by still standing starter, "Surtr, Ember. Ember until you can't."

The others shielded their eyes as the diminutive little porcupine Pokemon unleashed a barrage of miniature fireballs. Only some hit as the Clobbopus tried to close the distance, but the sheer barrage forced it back. There was so much smoke and dust being thrown up, no one could see the battlefield. The treeline was alive with gurgled chants and fists being rhythmically pounded on the ground.

"Surtr! Bring it down!" Hannah coughed out, her eyes burning from the smoke, but she kept them open, barely able to make out the silhouettes of her Pokemon and his enemy. The Clobbopus had abandoned any strategy at this point. It was flailing its arms in the air, fists coated with bright orange energy. It reminded a lot of her fight against Sif, back in her freshman year. She had taken hits, but all it took was a few well placed punches and kicks to get the bigger girl in a rage, where she just swung widely. Dangerous, but if you didn't mind getting hurt in return…

It could give you an opening.

"Rollout right in the face! Now!" Hannah called out as her starter coated itself in rock type energy and spun out, digging grooves in the ground as he picked up speed before launching himself directly at the Clobbopus. Blinded by rage and the smoke, the alpha didn't have the reaction speed to pull its punch, a Rock Smash infused fist swinging right below the now airborne Cyndaquill. It let off a gurgle of surprise as the Cyndaquill slammed directly into its eyes, before latching on with its claws, using the momentum to flip the Fighting type over onto its front, hitting the dirt with a thud.

"Blast it point blank! Everything you have!" Hannah screamed, adrenaline pumping. Pokemon battling wasn't the same as being in the thick of it yourself, but Gods this feeling. She felt like a conductor, overseeing an orchestra of fiery destruction, Surtr her baton that painted flames on her enemies with but a motion and a word.

This is so fucking fun! She thought giddily to herself as her starter let the full power of the Blaze into one final attack. There was an explosion, dust and smoke flying past the campsite. Everyone stopped to cough, holding their shirts up to their noses to breathe. Even the mumbling Clobbopuses in the treeline had fallen silent, waiting for the smoke to clear with baited breath.

"Surtr, you okay buddy?!" Hannah called out, stepping forward, ignoring everyone's protests to stay back. She waved her arms, blowing some of the smoke away, before seeing a sight that made her heart soar.

Her Cyndaquill let off a tired by happy yelp. He was sitting on top of the alpha Clobbopus, the creature's back blackened and burnt. It was still breathing, but the breaths were labored. A light breeze, courtesy of Blumpy, blew the rest of the smoke away. Everyone looked on, with Jacob's mouth open in amazement and Colton just looking flabbergasted. Zeara smiled and started clapping.

"And the win goes to Hannah-Banana and Surtr!" she yelled, loud enough for the audience in the forest to hear, "Good job girl. Went a little crazy with the explosions, but a little bit of crazy makes a plan even better!"

"Surtr, come over here buddy. You can relax," she patted her leg as her starter wobbled over, his face already turning a nasty purple from the hits he had taken. She lightly scratched his chin before recalling him into his Pokeball. He had earned the rest and she knew that the gang wouldn't attack. Not when she had bested their leader in front of them by herself.

"You fought well," she squatted down to be closer to the creature, which had started to lift its head up, looking at her with tired eyes, "If we didn't have Blaze, it'd be me on the dirt right now. Deal's a deal though. You're coming with me. Z, get into my pack and toss me a Pokeball."

"You can't seriously want to catch that thing?" Jacob asked, "It still looks like it wants to murder you!" Hannah looked down and indeed, even though it was obviously beaten and tired, there was still a spark of defiance in the wild Pokemon's eyes.

A fighter to the end huh, she thought warmly, Yeah that just makes me want you on my team even more. She caught the Pokeball that Zeara though at her deftly, pushing the button to enlarge it for catching mode.

"Han, you sure about this?" Colton looked at the Clobbopus with distaste, "This thing actively hunted you down. Is this even trainable?" He frowned when she ignored him and touched the Pokeball to the Clobbopus, the Pokemon disappearing in a flash of white. The ball shook and rolled, stopping right after the third time. Hannah picked it up and held up the ball to the forest. Colton saw numerous blue eyes glowing in the trees and underbrush disappear. He watched as Hannah ran her hand over the Pokeball, smiling the whole time.

"Welcome to the team Thresh."

It was late in the afternoon when they finally arrived through the security gate that separated Bryneby from the wilds of Route 3. Though there was still a few hours of sunlight left, the group was tired. Everyone except Zeara still had bruises from the previous attack, everyone's feet hurt, and Hannah desperately wanted a long hot shower to rinse the smoke smell that had clung to her for the past day and a half.

"First order of business," Hannah took charge, not ready to deal with any potential bickering from her two male friends, "We find a Center with open rooms. We get our Pokemon healed up. And we check into the human side. My bruises are ridiculously sore right now."

"Same here," Jacob agreed, "The Center serves free food for League trainers. I'm starving and something that hopefully wasn't canned sounds so good right now."

"Food does sound nice," Zeara agreed as her stomach growled loudly, her Drifloon floating beside her, waving its arms at everyone they passed by on their way through the gate. Aside from the Ranger staff that manned the gate, there were a few crowds coming and going through the Route 3 gatehouse. Most looked to be young Trainers, traveling in groups, some with Pokemon out. Lots of Starly, Rattata, Zigzagoons, and other common Pokemon, though Hannah did spot a tall redheaded girl that had an actual Piplup riding on her head. There were also a few dedicated hikers and nature enthusiasts heading out to enjoy the wildlands before the routes became too clogged with battle-frenzied Trainers.

"Second order is for me to get a second Pokemon, because this is seriously unfair that I'm the only one with just my starter," Colton grumbled, before guilty looking away from his Machop, who was giving him a look of pure betrayal, "I didn't mean it like that. We just need to get you a sparring partner. You're still going to be my ace, no matter what buddy."

"Maybe if you weren't too busy flirting, you'd have caught something," Jacob mumbled to himself as Bungles rode on his shoulder, eyes and tongue darting to everyone he saw.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Hannah ignored the comments, fingering the two Pokeballs on her belt. Both of her Pokemon were quite beat and her newest one was probably still going to be aggressive once he was feeling better. She had scanned his Pokeball to her Dex that night and not only had his sex being revealed, but so had his move list. Mega Punch, Rock Smash, Bide, Feint, Leer, Detect, and Brick Break. He needed some refinement when it came to quicker opponents like Surtr, but she was confident that Thresh was going to be a powerhouse.

Too bad I can't send it to Tove to decorate, she thought sadly, I love the flames she did on Surtr's ball. Maybe I'll ask her tonight what she would draw and try my best at it. Too bad PC teleportation wasn't a thing like in the Pokemon video games she had played as a child. If she wanted Tove to have it to draw on, she'd have to mail it or trek back to Hearthstone.

She pushed the thought to the back of here mind as they got their Trainer IDs scanned by the beefy looking Ranger sitting at the desk, before being let through the gate. Hannah braced herself, having never actually been to another town besides Hearthstone.

"Well, this is a bit disappointing."

She agreed with Jacob. Bryneby didn't look that much different at first glance. Same architectural mismash of sleek modern buildings with the old gothic Reaver style. Well maybe not the same. The air was cleaner here, lacking that industrial chemical smell that permeated throughout Hearthstone. The skyline was dominated by the Great Spear Bridge, a titanic thing of concrete and steel whose mighty pillars seemed to reach for the clouds as they burst from the blue of the ocean. There were cars everywhere and the sound of train whistles was ever present. Goods flowed to and from the Bridge, a vital artery of commerce, with steel and fish coming from Spear Island's settlements and coal, iron, and domestic goods heading towards them.

Wingull were everywhere too, their noisy squawks betraying their presence long before you saw or smelt them. Bryneby was busy, the streets filled with pedestrians and Pokemon. Hannah saw several Machoke and Machop helping unload a train filled with steel products in a large railyard to their right. Stray Meowths and Purrloin napped in sunny spots near cafes and shops, while several Vivilion with garden pattern wings fluttered around the many potted flowers that seemed to be everywhere in the town.

Made it to Bryneby. Will call you tonight, she shot a quick text to her brother as Zeara had already pulled up the Center app on her phone. After a minute of scrolling and screen-pressing, the young woman let out a cheer.

"Two streets ahead on the left! The Applin Lane Pokemon Center had four rooms available!" Zeara pointed and indeed as Hannah followed her gaze saw the familiar red capped roof of the League's Pokemon Centers.

"Sweet shower and an actual bed, here we come," Hannah said as Jacob rushed ahead of them, the dark-skinned man nearing plowing over a man who was busy talking on his cellphone.

"Free food!" Jacob said, ignoring the older man who flipped him off. Colton sighed and shook his head.

"Man truly thinks only with his stomach," he said, "We better get moving before someone else grabs those rooms. Lots of Trainers passing through here."

"No one is keeping me from a free hot shower," Hannah growled as they all picked up their pace, having already lost sight of Jacob and Bungles in the crowd. It took a few minutes of maneuvering but soon they were walking through the sliding glass doors of the Center.

"Hey there they are!" Jacob was already at the check-in counter with the Center receptionist, pointing at them like madman, "Those are my three other friends! Can we please have the rooms?"
The receptionist, who did at least appear to be pleasant if the dimpled smile on her face was anything to go by, nodded and typed on her computer. The same could not be said for the line of seven other people behind Jacob, who were glaring daggers at the new arrivals.

Are we not allowed to have a person reserve us stuff ahead of time? Hannah thought to herself but buried it when the receptionist handed Jacob four keycards.

"Alright all of your rooms will be on the third floor, wing number two," the receptionist brushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear, which had Pokeball styled earrings on it, "We have two rooms available still. Next please!" The audible groan from the rest of the people in the lobby made Hannah quickly walk up and grab her keycard from Jacob and hurry to the elevator. For all his bravado, even Colton followed her quickly. Fistfights had been known to break out in Centers during Tour over who got rooms and no one in Hannah's group fancied paying the ten thousand krone fine the League had for any kind of violence in its Centers.

After what seemed to be an excruciatingly long time of death glares and murmured insults towards them, the elevator finally dinged and opened up. Hannah had to step aside as a dark-haired man in a dark gray shirt with a black Pokeball design on the lower half, that read "Sinnoh League Circuit 2030" walked out. She noticed that he had four Pokeballs on his belt, though only one was an actual Pokeball. The other three were the blue and red Great Balls, the better model ones that you couldn't even buy until you won your first badge.

This guy must be a veteran. Must be from Sinnoh or coming back from time overseas, Hannah thought, before averting her eyes when the man turned to look at her, apparently sensing that he was being watched.

"Han, the hell you waiting for? Let's go!" Colton called out to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, got lost in thought," she mumbled, getting in as the elevator door started closing. She did notice that the man locked eyes with her as the door closed. A chill as cold as the man's icy blue eyes went through her body.

Who the hell was that guy?

There is nothing better in life than a hot, steamy shower, Hannah thought happily as she stepped out of the bathroom that adjoined her private room. She had wrapped herself in the white towels the Center provided and sat down on the double bed in the middle of the room. She let off a tired but approving moan. The bed felt so soft and her feet were so sore. She was half tempted to simply lay down for a second but reluctantly forced herself to sit up.

If I lay down, I'm going to sleep, she thought as she wistfully looked at the bed, I have stuff to do. Need to get my boys to the nurses to get healed up, need to get some dinner, and come up with training plan for however long we are gonna be here. Oh, I need to do laundry too.

Reenergized by her checklist, she finished drying herself off and quickly got dressed into her remaining semi-clean outfit. A black tank top with white trim and a crescent moon on it and a pair of thigh-length jean shorts. Everything else was soaked in sweat, ash, dirt, and smoke. She thought about reapplying her make-up and decided she was too tired to care. She grabbed her wallet and her two Pokeballs before slipping her shoes back on and heading out the door.

She checked her text messages, seeing that Adrian and Tove were happy she had made it safely to town and were looking forward to seeing her new team member. The group chat their group had made also had a few messages. Everyone else had already deposited their Pokemon after getting settled in. Colton and Jacob were heading to the cafeteria while Zeara was taking a shower. Hannah passed by several cleaning staff, saying polite hellos as she did.

The League ran all of the Pokemon Centers in Eidros, of which there were several in each town and a few on the routes and wildlands as well. Anyone could use them for Pokemon healing, but only League registered Trainers got the free healthcare. Anyone else had to pay. The Centers also had a clinic for basic human health, though anything major and you had to go to an actual hospital. Along with the lodging, which was first come first serve, the Centers also provided free food and drink for both Trainers and their Pokemon, though the quality was as basic as it could get. The Centers also had a small shop that sold basic Potions and medicines, though you had to go to the specialty stores for anything super advanced.

Hannah knew a good part of her taxes helped fund these programs, which was always a major gripping point during election years from the more fiscally conservative parties. Still the Commonwealth had never pulled the funding, owing to studies that Trainer fatalities had decreased by over eighty percent since the Centers went towards a free model. Hannah was grateful. She never would have gone on Tour if the Centers had still been private franchises like they had been in the past.

A short elevator ride took her back to the first floor, where the bulk of the Center's Pokemon medical facilities were. Stepping into the expansive lobby, Hannah had to blink at how stark white everything was inside. The tiles of the floor, the walls, even the couches and stands. Always thought these things were built to be cozy, not sterile, Hannah thought as she walked forward, noticing there wasn't a line. Hopefully she had missed the flood of new arrivals getting their teams checked out.

The nurse manning the front desk had on a crimson and black uniform, the colors of the Eidros League. Her hair was a dark blonde with dyed purple bangs and she had on thick glasses as well as she typed away, before looking up with a smile.

"Hi, welcome to the Applin Lane Pokemon Center," if the girl's cheer was fake, Hannah couldn't tell, "My name is Kelly. Are you here to get your Pokemon patched up?"

"Yep first time being in a Center actually," Hannah said nervously as she grabbed both her Pokeballs off of her belt and fished out her Trainer ID card from her wallet. Kelly just gave a genuine smile.

"First time on Tour huh," she giggled slightly, "Well no worries, this process is super easy. All I have to do is swipe your card to confirm your League registration and then just give us a brief summary of your Pokemon's current health state and demeanor." She took Hannah's card and swiped it, nodding at her screen. "Okay Miss Koppel, your registration is up to date. I see two Pokemon registered to you. A Cyndaquill and a Clobbbopus?"

"That's correct," Hannah answered as she gently set her Pokeballs down on the counter, "Both are pretty beat up. Surtr, the Cyndaquill is standard battle wear but Thresh, sorry, the Clobbopus has a burn and is pretty beaten down. I just caught him last night, so he's probably still going to be aggressive. Sorry."

I hope he doesn't hurt anyone back there, Hannah thought to herself with some guilt, I just want him not half-dead before we try to get a bond going. She felt relieved when Kelly just typed some more and hummed to herself, before taking both Pokeballs and putting them on a tray that looked like a metallic egg carton.

"Thank you for the heads up, we still have a lot of experienced Trainers who forget to remind us that some of their Pokemon are fresh catches," Kelly said cheerfully before grabbing a paper that printed next to her and taping it to the tray. She turned to Hannah, "Alright, it should be about three to four hours before your team is ready to be picked up. Is the cell number you have on your League profile still valid?"

"Should be," Hannah said as Kelly nodded and typed a bit, causing Hannah's phone to vibrate as a text message came up.

"That's going to be our text reminder for you then," Kelly said, "If anything comes up we will text you to report back here. Otherwise, whenever your little friends are healed up and ready for you, we'll send a text letting you know! Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No I should be good, thank you so much for everything!" Hannah said, turning as she went only to collide with someone directly behind her. Hannah jumped back as she knocked the coffee the girl had been carrying out of her hand, spilling creamy brown onto the white floor. And the girl's bright blue shirt and skirt.

"Oh Gods, I am so sorry!" Hannah felt her face flush as she went to pick the girls cup up, but the death glare the woman sent her made her freeze in place.

"You clumsy fucking idiot!" the girl stared down in horror at the huge stain on her clothes before glaring at Hannah, "Do you have any idea how much this costs?! This is Leanne Vertaunt you stupid Spinda!"

"Hey I'm sorry!" Hannah held her hands up defensively, "It was an accident, I was expecting you to be right up my ass as soon as I turned!"

The girl, who Hannah had to guess was probably her age if maybe a year or two older, looked ready to explode. She was a good three or four inches taller than Hannah and slim too, like a catwalk model. Hannah briefly wondered if she had noticed if she had gotten coffee in the long blonde hair that went to the middle of her back or that the blue and black bow she had in also had stains.

"I'm sorry, are you saying this is my fault?!" the girl's green eyes twitched. Hannah had felt bad and still sort of did, but this overreaction was rapidly evaporating her sympathy. She frowned and crossed her arms, starting to feel that familiar fight or flight reflex kicking in.

"Well maybe if you stood back like a normal person I wouldn;t have bumped into you!" Hannah yelled back, as the girl looked absolutely dumbfounded.

"Oh sweet Arceus, not only are you dumb, but you're entitled too," the girl shook her head and Hannah felt her rage spike, "Well if you aren't going to apologize, you can hand me your Trainer card so I can charge you for the dry-cleaning I'm going to have to do this." She actually reached out her hand to grab the ID card from her and Hannah slapped it away. The girl recoiled back, eyes wide as she grabbed her hand.

"I said I'm sorry, but you try to grab my property again, I'll put you through the fucking floor," Hannah let some edge into her voice, the same way she talked to her mother or to the drunk factory workers who had catcalled her since she was a teenager, "Now get out of my way."

"You fucking hit me you bitch!" the girl held her hand, which made Hannah roll her eyes at the melodramatics, "What gives you the right-"

"Ladies," Kelly's voice made both of the girls jump. It had none of the cheerfulness in it. The girl's voice sounded as hard as steel now. "May I remind you that any physical altercations will result in your immediate ejection from the Center as well as a ten thousand krone fine? I'm sure none of us want that, so will you please be civil before I feel the need to call security."

"Yes ma'am," Hannah said immediately, before glaring at the blonde, "I'd say see you later, but I really hope not."

"Watch your back bitch!" the girl yelled back as Hannah walked out of the lobby, texting Zeara to meet her in the cafeteria. The young woman let herself sigh angrily as Kelly called for a custodial crew, before craning her neck over to the tray that the girl had left her Pokeballs on.

"Hannah Koppel huh," she committed the name to memory as Kelly turned her attention to her, "Sorry about the outburst. I just really love this outfit."

"I understand the frustration, it is really cute," Kelly agreed, "Just try to be civil in the Center. Settle your differences in the arena, not here. Now, Miss Ackerson, both of your Pokemon are fully healed up and ready to go. We gave your Tympole a full fresh-water soak, but we did see signs of dryness on him. I'd recommend trying to get more soaks in for him in the future."

Valerie Ackerson smiled as mindlessly agreed to whatever the nurse was saying. She couldn't really care less. Her mind was elsewhere. She had revenge on her mind.

After the dry-cleaning of course.

"Can you believe the nerve? Like who thinks it's okay just to grab stuff from other people?!" Hannah ranted as she stuffed fries in her mouth, Zeara sitting across from her in the Center cafeteria. Both of the girls had trays with the Center's special for the day, Tauros Burgers with Kalosian Fries and a chocolate pudding cup, which Zeara had subbed out for a fresh apple instead. The cafeteria was packed with Trainers like them, those too poor to afford food out or wanting to save as much money as possible before the Tour officially started.

"I'd say she's lucky I wasn't there, but it sounds like you had it handled," Zeara was cutting up her apple into fine slices, "I sometimes forget how scary you can get when you're angry. You had that creeper with the trench coat ready to pee himself last month!"

"Oh Gods, I forgot about that guy!" Hannah laughed, "He had a serious obsession with you. He's honestly lucky that a police officer was driving by in the parking lot or I would have beaten his ass for following you to your bike."

"You weren't even working that day and it was the one day I left Blumpy at home to entertain my little cousin," Zeara thought back to that, "You were in that parking lot instantly. My knight in a band t-shirt and sweatpants."

"Not going to let anyone hurt you Z," Hannah smiled, "I'll always have your back."

"You're a good person Hannah-Banana. Scary but good!" They both laughed and just did some idle small talk to get Hannah's mind off her unpleasant encounter. Mostly art, as Zeara had already started sketching Hannah and Surtr's fight against Thresh, then to TV as they both realized they could watch whatever trashy reality TV shows they wanted with absolute privacy. Eventually the conversation turned back to the Tour.

"So, I want to make sure I have Thresh fully tamed before we leave here," Hannah hadn't realized how hungry she was, having demolished her burger and fries and was rapidly finishing off her pudding, "And I want to work on a new move for Surtr. I'm going to hit the training facilities tomorrow. Might see about making some money on battles too."

"Who would have thought that Miss I Can't Afford to Tour would be so dedicated to Training," Zeara said playfully as Hannah stuck out a chocolate stained tongue at her.

"If I'm doing this, I'm doing it right," Hannah said, before getting up and swiping a bag of potato chips from the counter, "We need to have enough money to replace our supplies and stock up. Whistling Forest isn't dangerous if we stick to the main paths, but I imagine we are going to want to go off that to add to our teams. I knew that there's a couple Pokemon that live there I might be interested in grabbing, if my Pokedex is correct anyways."

Zeara blinked as she let her friend ramble on, but inside she was happy. Hannah had become a depressed zombie back at Hearthstone, between two jobs and being a full time mother to her siblings. It had taken a bit of luck with the Raffle, but this was the Hannah that Zeara had become fast friends with back in Sociology 101. She took an opening as Hannah was debating what type would be the optimal addition for her initial three.

"Well, I don't know if you heard or saw the posters, but there is a tournament in town in the next three days," Zeara grinned as Hannah stopped and perked up like a Purrloin seeing a free meal.

"Wait, really? Is it open to anyone?" Hannah asked. There were a couple non-League sponsored tournaments that ran across Eidros, though many of them had special requirements or gimmicks and some of them weren't open to first years.

"Actually it's only open to first and second years," Zeara pulled out her phone and quickly found the tournament's website, "The New Beginnings Tourney. Grand prize is ten thousand krone and a TM that's being handed out by Mikalov Testan."

"The Mikolav? Like the Elite Four member?" Hannah tried to hide her excitement and failed miserably, "Wait I'm so dumb. I forgot that he's from this town. Gods, I wonder if he picked the TM himself?"

"Uh yeah it says that it's a move he uses regularly on his team," Zeara thumbed through, "Looks like you have to have a minimum of two Pokemon to enter. Have to register by tomorrow evening. It's a hundred krone fee to register. Looks like the semi-finals and the final match are double battles with a terrain randomizer. That sounds intense."

"It does, but ten thousand krone and TM from an Elite Four? That's a huge leg-up!" Hannah could feel gears turning in her mind, "Well I shouldn't get ahead of myself. Are there second and third place prizes? They usually do that at tournaments right?"

"Yep, second place is five thousand krone and generic TM provided by Frontier Combat. And third place gets two thousand krone," Zeara scrunched her face up, "That's still not bad. I know we need to get a move on to Ravnroost, but I think we should enter this. Even if only one of us wins third place, that's going to be a good chunk of money."

"That settles it, I'm entering," Hannah was giddy, "I guess Colton better catch a Rattata out of the garbage can if he wants in. Speaking of which, where are those two?"

"Jacob went to bed early after he got some pain meds from the clinic," Zeara said as she watched fascinated as Hannah had moved on to a second bag of chips. The only place Hannah seemed to put on weight was her thighs and her breasts and Zeara envied the girl for that. "As for Colton, I think he said he was going to withdraw some money from his savings to buy some camping supplies. Haven't heard from him in a bit actually. I'm sure he's fine though."

"Yeah I'm sure he is," Hannah said, thoughts drifting to her friend? Potential partner? She shrugged mentally, not wanting to worry about it.

"Oh that reminds me, would you be willing to help me out with an art project?"

"Absolutely, but only if Tove approves."

It was around ten at night when Hannah had gone to retrieve her Pokemon. Thresh surprisingly hadn't put up much of a fight, but Hannah was still going to keep the Clobbopus in his ball until she could assert her alpha status to him tomorrow. She had spent the last hour reading up on Clobbopus training tips and care guides and had pretty good idea of how to get him to fall in line.

Surtr was out of his ball and after having some zoomies around the Center room, was snuggled up to her on the bed, a ball of warmth as she stroked his head.

"I missed you too buddy," she said softly, "I'm so glad I got you. It's only been three days, but I feel so much lighter. So much happier. You are a big part of that." She smiled as the little fire type grunted happily and lifted his head up slightly for her to scratch under his chin.

Her call to her siblings had been full of amazement and wonder. Trove was so proud of her for making it to town and Adrian had starting strategizing with her for the tournament.

It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, her dreams pleasant and happy.

Another chapter down. Hannah has a rival and a goal for the imediate future. As well as a new teammate! Expect to see a lot of Thresh in the chapters to come! As always thank you for reading.

ARandomOne: Me and Jacob both forgot about that lol. Though Jacob is very attached to Mr. Bungles so I'd say its within character.

nataliacigsova: I plan on continuing for a long time! Thanks for reading!