Jax clenched his sweaty hands against the wheel of the car. It wasn't his car, rather one he had been lent by his superiors to complete his task. This was his first "mission", and so as Jax waited in the cat for his co-workers the anxiety gradually increased, like drops of water slowly filling a bucket.

It'll be fine. Jax thought, beginning to lightly tap the wheel. Just a simple escort job.

Suddenly, there was movement outside. Jax jumped as a young girl with dark skin and silver hair opened the backseat of the car, throwing herself into the seat and slamming the door closed behind her, an irritated expression on her face. "Let's go". She said simply, anger coating her voice. Jax silently started the car, a bead of sweat trickling down his face.

The girl in the seat behind him was his superior in the organization. She had been present during his interview with Hector, alongside Reina. Jax didn't know much about the current hierarchy of the organization he had joined. Hector was his direct superior, in charge of giving him his missions, and from time to time, Reina, Hector's partner, would give them in his stead. Both of them, however, seemed to heed the words of the girl currently in the back seat. Jax didn't know how high the ladder she was, but she was obviously a big deal.

Jax's job today was simply to drive this girl to a specific location, and then drive her back to the hideout. Simple enough, but the girl made him nervous for some reason. She would constantly stare at him, as if scrutinizing his every move, adding to his anxiety. It felt like he was at some kind of performance review. Trying to relax, Jax took a deep breath and focused on the road in front of him.

"You know, you don't have to be so nervous." Jax jumped as the girl suddenly spoke. Looking at the rearview mirror, he saw her looking at him with an amused expression.

Jax blinked. "Huh?"

"You're not being tested or anything. I bet Hector gave you a 'job' to escort me, but it just means everyone else was too busy to take me." The girl glanced down at her phone, frowning before looking back up "Also, seeing my driver sweating so much is a bit nerve-racking."

Jax gave a nervous chuckle. "Good to know. B-but will there be some sort of test in the future? If you don't mind me asking, ma'am."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Ugh. None of that 'ma'am' nonsense. You can just call me Autumn. And you might think I'm a big deal because of how Hector and the others treat me, but I'm not. I'm just the person who happens to get good ideas from time to time, and give them to the higher ups."

"I-I see." What the hell does that mean?

"In any case, how do you feel about our group so far, if you don't mind me asking sir?"

Jax nervously chuckled. "Well, you all don't seem that bad. And the pay isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Some people aren't the friendliest, but at the very least my boss is a cool guy."

Autumn hummed. "What led you here in the first place, anyway? I heard a bit from the interview, but I feel like there's more."

"Now this feels like an interrogation."

Autumn waved her hand. "You don't have to answer. I was just curious."

"And to be honest I'd rather not."

The car was silent for a few minutes, the low rumble of the car on the gravel of the dirt road reverberated through the vehicle. Jax's anxiety began to bubble again. Was I too harsh there?

"What would you say is the highest authority in the region?" Autumn asked suddenly, her expression hidden behind her white hair as she looked out the window.

"Uhh, that'd be both the Champion and League Chairman, right? Both of them hold an equal amount of power, and are supposed to balance one another out."

Autumn smiled. "In theory, yes. But reality is a bit different."

"Huh?"

"In truth, both only hold as much power as the Founding Families let them."

"Uhh, that term sounds familiar."

Autumn turned at Jax, a confused frown on her face. "I'm guessing you weren't the best student in history class."

" I did tend to fall asleep. Plus I think most teachers hated my guts."

"I hope you're better when it comes to driving." Autumn said, looking at the road. "The Founding Families were several influential and rich families that, as per their name, founded the pokemon league. The league originally existed as a spectator sport to entertain the rich and the masses, but eventually grew into something more. I won't get too in depth, but even as society progressed, these families still managed to hold on to their wealth and influence, and very much intend to keep it that way."

"So, old money huh?" Jax said, hand tapping the wheel. "I'm surprised they aren't more famous."

"They are, just not in the normal way you'd expect. I'd say about 90 percent of the wealthy celebrities we have are related to them in some way."

"90 percent!? That seems a bit hard to believe."

Autumn shrugged. "You can believe what you want. The research we've done speaks for itself."

Jax shifted awkwardly. This seemed a bit too conspiratorial for his liking. Against his better judgment he asked another question. "What are the names of these families anyway?"

"I'm certain you at least know a few. There's the Joy's, the Jenny's, the Shirona's, and the Hearthomes."

While Jenny and Joy were familiar names to him, Hearthome was only familiar to Jax as a city, and Shirona didn't ring a bell at all. "I guess I'm not surprised about the Joy's and Jenny's. They are pretty well known. It is surprising though, that they were around that long in Sinnoh."

Autumn hummed. "In any case, most of what we do is try to limit their influence."

"Is that even possible?"

"Of course it is. It just isn't easy."

Alice felt a pure happiness she didn't know she was capable of when she saw Floaroma Town in the distance. The group had made it out of Ravaged Path a while ago. While the journey was becoming easier, with the steep hill beginning to finally flatten, Alice was reaching her limit.

"Can…can we make camp now?" She said, pain erupting from her legs with each step she took.

"Now, now. We're almost at Route 204's campsite! Just five more minutes!" Archibald seemed completely fine with the trek they just did, obviously accustomed to such long travels.

"I-I don't think I can last that long." Alice grumbled, looking at the ground.

In the front, Jack gave her a sympathetic smile. which Alice looked away from. She still wasn't ready to talk to her friend. She didn't know what to say to her after her explosion of emotions earlier.

Suddenly, Alice felt one of legs give out, strength leaving the limbs like a puppet cut from its strings. With a yelp, she began to tumble forward, her arms flailing uselessly in front of her.

Just as her body was going to hit the dirt, she felt arms wrap around her body, catching her at the last moment. At first Alice thought the person who caught her was Archibald (That kind of over the top thing would suit him), but she found her expression of gratitude falter when she realized Jack was the one who had come to her rescue. It was something that Alice would expect out of her, and the fact she still did it despite their fight just made Alice's guilt grow even more.

"Thanks." Alice mumbled, not meeting her friend's worried gaze.

"Y-yeah, no problem! Though I think I have an idea of how to help you."

Please don't say you're going to carry me there, Alice thought.

Thankfully, Jack's idea wasn't to carry Alice herself, but rather to have Plume do it in her stead. Of the things Alice was going to experience on this journey, she could never imagine that being carried by an Infernape would be one of them. The experience was surprisingly comfortable, with the flame ape gently cradling her against its body with minimal effort.

"Enjoying the ride, princess?" Archibald joked, earning a dark glare from Alice. "You look like you've made yourself at home."

"Plume is very good at carrying people." Jack said, pride in her voice. "I always rely on him to carry me across dangerous terrain."

The group eventually makes it to Route 204's campsite, and Alice notices two things immediately. First, Route 204's campsite seemed to have things already there to help travelers settle in. Several tables were scattered throughout the edge of the site, with clear space for tents in mind. Secondly, they were far from the first ones to make it here today. Two groups seemed to be settled in already. Three girls chatted excitedly on a table quite a distance away, yet Alice could still make out their conversation. A man and woman were setting up a tent closer, both of them staring at Alice's group while chuckling at each other.

Alice wondered what they were laughing at, then flushed at the realization. Even after they had made it to the camp, she was still being held by Plume. Scrambling out of the Infernape's grasp, she muttered a thanks to the pokemon before purposely turning away from the couple, heat flaring across her face.

Archibald opened his mouth to speak. "Don't say a word." Alice growled. He closed his mouth, but still had an amused smile on his lips.

It was immediately evident that Archibald was an experienced traveler. Alice hadn't doubted the man knew how to travel, but when he got his tent up even faster than Jack did, Alice couldn't help but be a bit impressed. He had also insisted on doing the cooking, and Alice had a feeling he'd be good at that too. The camp had many spots suitable for propping up a cooking pot, so Archibald had swiftly chosen a site and gotten to work. In the meantime, Alice and Jack were still working on their tents. Without Archibald to depend on for conversation, Alice was left with her friend in an awkward silence.

"Alice." After minutes that seemed to stretch on for hours, Jack spoke up.

Alice flinched at her friend's words, but didn't look up, ignoring them for her tent.

"Alice. We can't keep doing this. We need to talk." Jack's tone was firm and serious, something she had only heard when her friend was in the midst of a serious battle.

Alice stopped what she was doing, but still didn't look up. "Doing what, Jack?" She said, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could. She could feel that irrational temper starting to brew again.

"Alice, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so weird about Archibald and the contest stuff. I just… was really happy you decided to become a trainer like me. Archibald is practically famous for recruiting coordinators, so when I saw him, I got nervous. I still have so much I want to show you, things that I love about being a trainer that I want you to experience too. I would never want to keep you from trying new things." With every word, Jack seemed to crack more and more. At the end, when Alice met her eyes, she could see tears flowing down her friend's face. A pang of guilt struck Alice's heart. She hadn't seen Jack cry like that in a long time, and for it to have been her fault hurt even more. She couldn't leave things like this.

"I-It's fine." Alice muttered, bringing in her friend for an embrace. But even as the two of them hugged, Jack crying into her shirt, she felt an empty gap in her heart. In the end, even her friends would try to steer her course in life.

"My, my. I suppose you two have made up now, am I correct?" Letting go of Jack, Alice saw Archibald was standing a good distance away, an apron tied around his waist.

Alice gave him a strained smile. "I suppose so. Is it alright to leave the food?"

Archibald snorted. "I've been cooking for years, girl. Don't worry about it. Now then, did you want to continue our discussion from before?"

Now? Alice looked toward Jack, who was staring at the ground, wiping tears from her eyes. "I don't think so. It's been a long day, and I'm tired." And after talking with Jack, Alice felt as tired mentally as she did physically.

Archibald stared at her for a moment, and then nodded. "Tomorrow it is. Today has been quite the day". He walked off, lightly skipping to the simmering pot.

The rest of the night passed with a blur. Archibald's stew was infuriatingly good, and the smell even drew one of the girls from the other groups over for a curious look.

"I have enough for another bowl if you'd like". Archibald said, making the girl jump. Hesitantly, the girl nodded. With trembling hands, the girl accepted the bowl, going back to her group with her friends whispering and giggling at her.

Before she knew it, Alice was back in her tent, curled up in her sleeping bag. The usual night sounds seemed more distant, a light lull compared to the usual loud hum of noises.

Alice's mind felt like it was floating through poisonous sludge, her thoughts disappearing into murky liquid. Once she actually went inside her tent, it began to hit her how tired she actually was. As the exhaustion began to lull her to sleep, a single thought surfaced. It seemed everyone had an idea of what she should do. Her mother, Jack, Archibald, and she doubted they would be the last. But were any of them right? She had been becoming a trainer because it was a different path she could easily get help with, but that wouldn't be enough, would it? She needed to look at other options as well, no matter what the people around her wanted her to do.

The next day when Alice woke up, she could hear the others were already awake and getting ready to leave. After fixing her hair and making sure her clothes were in a presentable state, she lethargically went out her tent, squinting from the sharp sunlight. Archibald was whistling while packing away his tent, while Jack had released Plume, the girl watching her Infernape do some morning exercises. One of the other groups, the couple, had already left, while the group of girls were also packing up their things.

As Alice started to pack up her tent, she heard a squeal behind her that made her jump.

Turning around, one of the girls had come closer, and was jumping up and down excitedly, pointing at Jack.

"Oh my god! You're Jack, the one sponsored by the former champion, right? I'm a big fan of your matches! I still watch that match you had against that Kanto gym leader everyday!"

Jack chuckled, her ears slightly red. "Thanks, I'm glad you like my battles so much. Are you a trainer?"

The girl awkwardly looked down. " I-I mean kind of? I don't have any badges, but I do want to try someday!"

Jack's eyes lit up, but instead of looking towards Alice she nervously shifted her feet. "I-I see…"

"Well, what a coincidence!" Alice found herself jumping again as Archibald walked up to the girls. "Alice, you don't have any badges either, right? Why don't the two of you have a little battle here?"

Alice blanched at him. Just when Jack hadn't pushed her into a battle for once, Archibald was there to pick up the slack. It was almost comical. "Why?" She finally managed to sputter out.

Archibald smiled. "I'd like to see you and your pokemon in action. It might give me a good sense of what kind of performance you and your pokemon could perform."

Alice sighed. Damn him for making sense. If she wanted to try coordination, the battle would be a good thing to do. Irritatingly, she wasn't as apprehensive as she was about battling random people as she was before.

The girl, on the other hand, seemed as hesitant as Alice was before. "I'm not the best at battles though."

Jack perked up at that. "Don't worry! Besides, this is good practice if you do want to start the gym circuit." She then nervously glanced at Alice. "That's of course if Alice is up for it…"

"Yeah, yeah." Alice took out Houndour's ball with an exasperated breath. "Let's get this over with."

Jack let out an excited squeal, and looked excited at the girl. "There! Now, I didn't catch your name…"

The girl blushed. "Jane. And, I guess you make a point there."

Jack grabbed the girl's hand excitedly. "That's the spirit! Win or lose, you can always learn something from a battle!"

It was a massacre. Alice had sent out Paragon, hoping to have a closer battle with the newer trainer. But Alice had underestimated her Starly's growth. Paragon had swiftly delt with Jane's Psyduck, not even needing to use heavy hits such as Wing Attack. The Psyduck hadn't even learned Water Gun yet, so Paragon had simply kept just out of range of the Psyduck's claws and peppered the other bird with pecks and slashes with its talons. Eventually, Jane forfeited, returning her pokemon to its ball with a bright blush on her face. She mumbled something Alice couldn't hear, but was immediately cut off by Jack clapping with a bright smile on her face.

"Well done you two!" She said, "Alice, I can already see how much your decision-making in the course of a battle has improved! Jane, I'm impressed with your adaptation through the battle. Although it didn't pay off in the end, I could see how you and Psyduck's timing were gradually improving whenever you tried to counter attack.

Alice looked at her friend surprised. She hadn't noticed anything of the sort happening. In the end, she guessed that was one of the things that separated a brilliant trainer from a decent one ( Not that Alice was in the first place).

Archibald on the other hand, had taken out a small, old-looking notebook and was writing furiously in it, his hand going so fast that if smoke had begun to rise from the pages no one would have questioned it.

Alice walked over to the focused coordinator. "I hope you got something from that. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm not exactly thrilled that I won that battle."

Archibald chuckled, still looking down at his notebook. "Of course I did. Not only for you, but I got inspiration for my own performances."

Alice blinked. "From that terrible battle?"

"I would never call that battle terrible. After all, you performed magnificently. Battles are one of my greatest sources of inspiration, and I make it a point to write down all my thoughts before they scatter into the breeze." Archibald suddenly snapped his notebook shut. Giving Alice a bright smile, he walked past her to join Jack and Jane, asking the young girl about her interest in contests.

Jane's group went south, apparently making their way to Jubilife to visit family. Alice's group continued on North, and thankfully not for long. After about an hour, the group made it to the outskirts of Floaroma Town. Before she even saw the signs of civilization, the first thing Alice noticed was the smell. A strong smell wafted on the wind, carrying the scent of flowers and earth. The dense sea of trees around them began to break apart, revealing meadows that seemed to stretch for miles. Occasionally, Alice would catch sight of a Combee lazily floating in the wind, the bug types slowly floating from flower to flower.

"I've heard you can find Heracross around here if you get lucky!" Jack said excitedly. "You'll have to get a special type of honey to lure pokemon though. Wanna try it? Having a fighting type would be useful for your current team."

A fighting type, huh? Alice mused. The first thing that came to mind that her team was weak to was rock types. Not only did the type hit both of her pokemon for super-effective damage, but her pokemon didn't have a good way of hitting back.

Now that I think about it, wasn't there a gym leader famous in Oreburgh for using those? Or was it steel?

"I guess you're right. But Heracross is part bug type right?" Alice said, taking out her pokedex. "That makes them more vulnerable to rock types than pure fighting types. There's probably better choices there, right?"

Jack deflated. "Heracross is so cool though."

Shouldn't I choose the pokemon I think are cool? Alice grumbled in her mind, looking back down at her pokedex. Looking through the pokemon commonly found in the area, none of them jumped out at her as particularly appealing.

"Now, now, now. We can discuss what pokemon Alice can catch another time. We should make our way to Floaroma Town. Today is the last day we can sign up for the contest, after all."

Alice's heart lurched. Right, the contest. In which she would have to perform. In front of an audience. "Oh right. That."

Archibald smiled. "Don't worry! This contest is a small one, so it's perfect for beginners like yourself! And despite its size, it'll still count towards the Grand Festival!"

"Grand Festival?"

"It's like the League, but for coordinators". Surprisingly, Jack was the one who answered her. "Not as big, but it's still a pretty renowned event. Surprised you haven't heard of it."

Alice felt her cheeks light up in embarrassment. "I-I don't pay attention to stuff like that!"

"You always used to watch the League though."

"That's because you always wanted to watch them!"

The two girls continued to bicker as they walked down the dirt path, the buildings of Floaroma Town gradually coming into view, small houses and stores appearing over the landscape. The meadow appeared to grow as well, the natural growth gradually giving way to carefully curated rows of flowers and berries.

The entrance to the town seemed to be as meticulously maintained as the flowers: a large white arbor stood at the entrance of town, with the perimeter of the town surrounded by a white picket fence. The paint on both the arbor and the fence seemed brand new, as if a fresh layer of paint had been done yesterday. If there was one thing the citizens of Floaroma Town took seriously, it was appearances.

"The contest hall should be a bit to the east." Archibald said, squinting his eyes and tilting forward.

"In that case, I'll go reserve our rooms at the pokemon center." Jack said. She looked towards Alice with a curious expression. "There shouldn't be any problems with you staying there, right?"

Alice nodded. She didn't know the people who ran the Floaroma Town pokemon center that well, and she doubted they would recognize her on sight with how long it'd been since she'd visited.

Archibald smiled. "Marvelous!" He turned, beckoning Alice forward before strutting ahead, kicking up clouds of dust as he walked.

Jack gave Alice a pat on the shoulder, as saying 'good luck', before she casually walked away, taking in the scenery as she did.

At least make sure I'm following you. With a slight scowl, Alice followed the older coordinator.

The Floaroma Town contest hall wasn't as extravagant as Alice had expected it to be. In her mind, she had imagined an old fashioned building, slightly refurbished and decorated with floral decorations, advertising the hall in bright colors, reflective of someone with a personality like Archibald's. Instead it was a normal, quaint building, a repurposed gymnasium from the looks of it. There was a large banner advertising the content hall, but it definitely lacked the flowery aesthetic Alice had in mind, simply being pink with large white words to catch people's attention. Behind the building, Alice could see a large grassy field, with the perimeter surrounded by seven rows of bleachers. A table with three empty seats sat near the front of the field, with a mic in front of each seat.

"Surprised?" Archibald asked, looking at Alice's expression. "Contests on Floaroma started in this building. There have been offers from various celebrities giving funds to the town for a new one, but if there's one thing this citizens here hate more than anything, its change. There's a reason one of the oldest pokemon reservations is nearby." Now that he mentioned it, the citizens of Floaroma were always the ones at the forefront of protests against any change around Ravaged Path.

"When you put it like that, I kind of like it." Alice said, looking at the building. "I don't agree with Floaroma about everything, but I do think it's kind of cool this building is still being used after all this time."

Archibald chuckled. "I agree. The relics of the past do have their unique charm."

The apparently old building looked brand new from the inside. While not as grand as Alice had expected, the reception room was spotless and neat; the walls were painted a light green hue, with advertisements for other contests neatly arranged throughout. A large screen was hanging from one of the walls, an interview with a girl she swore she could almost recognize playing on the device. Before Alice could remember, she was distracted by Archibald's delighted gasp.

"Percival, I didn't expect you to be here!" The coordinator said, striding forward with a bright grin on his face.

A large man in a red suit sat at a large wooden reception desk, jolting up with surprise when he heard Archibald. Looking up and parting his long black hair that covered his face with a small smile, he replied in a low voice Alice had to strain her ears to hear. "It's a pleasure to see you, Archibald. It's been quite a long time since we've met in person."

"Indeed! It must have been five years since our last reunion! After you're done with work we should grab a drink!"

Percival nodded, and his gaze flickered towards Alice. "Is this a new pupil of yours?"

Archibald chuckled. "Possibly, but that depends on her. This is Alice, a new trainer interested in trying out Coordination. Alice, this is Percival, a good friend of mine. He's managed countless contests throughout the world, so he's quite the big name!"

Percival chuckled. "He's exaggerating. I'm more the guy who fills in those positions when others are busy."

"And does a great job of it!"

"Anyway, I imagine you're here to sign up for the contest, right? I'll need some kind of identification."

Alice's words got caught in her throat. It wasn't like she was fully committed, right? She could quit any time she wanted. "Y-yeah." She managed to say. She fumbled around in her bag, and gave the man her pokedex.

Percival raised an eyebrow, but took the device without a word. After typing for a bit, Alice saw his eyes widen as he realized something.

"This is your first contest, huh? Well no wonder you're so nervous." Percival chuckled. "And a Joy to boot huh? Think I know a few Joy's in the coordination world. Do you know them?"

Alice scowled. "Do you know how large the Joy family is? I barely know everyone in my immediate family, let alone distant relatives."

"Oh."

There was an awkward pause, with neither of them saying another word. Archibald clapped his hands together, catching his friend's attention. "While it's nice to get to know more about one another, let's get what we came here to do wrapped up, yes?"

Percival was jolted out of his embarrassment, looking back down at the screen in front of him. "R-right. Sorry. Give me a moment." After typing at the keyboard for a few more seconds, Percival turned around, opening a cabinet and began to dig around as if looking for something. With a "Ah-hah!" he turned back to them with a small case in his hand.

"Here's your ribbon case! Floaroma Town is pretty popular for upcoming coordinators, so we have a special case for those that start here." The case was light green, with small yellow flowers decorated at each corner.

Alice wasn't a fan. "T-thanks?"

"No problem? Here's your pokedex back. You should be able to sign up for any future contests using it. I can make you a physical card as well to use if you'd like."

"No thanks."

"In that case, the contest starts in two days, at 9 am. I look forward to seeing another one of Archibald's protégé in action!"

I never agreed to be his protégé. Alice grumbled internally. To her irritation. Archibald didn't correct him (not that it surprised her), but simply smiled.

Jubilife Pokemon Center was surprisingly empty this day, something Molly didn't mind at all. She had worked at a few centers for her degree, and the ones that were in cities had to be the worst. They were more prestigious, however. Anyone could man a center in a small town, treating the occasional bruise or bump. If you could show you could work at the busy, high stress centers people would take your experience seriously. And so Molly would endure. Even past the annoying entitled coworkers, dangerous situations and odd people she sometimes had to interact with wouldn't shake her resolve. She would become an official pokemon doctor.

Today, it seemed, was one of those days, as the latter had just opened the doors to the Jubilife Pokemon Center. It seems today's oddball was a young woman. She was dressed in a black baggy sweater that seemed a size too large for her, along with beaten up blue jeans. The woman seemed to walk with a pace that seemed to suggest she was searching for something, and would disregard anything else.

OK Molly, brace yourself. "Hello, welcome to Jubilife Pokemon Center, how can I help you today."

The woman gave Molly an easygoing smile. " Nothing much dear. Just want to ask you a few questions."

Maybe Molly had misjudged the woman. "Sure! What can I help with?"

The woman pulled out a small photo, one that looked like it belonged on a locket. "Can you tell me if you've seen this person recently?"

Molly squinted at the picture and her heart dropped. It looked to be of a young girl around 16. She had tired brown eyes, pale skin and while she was dressed in an elegant white dress, she didn't look happy in it. Her most striking feature was her pink hair, slightly curly and neatly tied up.

It was unmistakably the spoiled teenager she knew all too well, Alice Joy.

Hello! It's been a long while huh? Sorry for the delay, just a lot of irl stuff going on right now. I'll try my best to get things to their regular pace. As always follow or even leave a review if you wish. It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, and have a wonderful day!