New story alert! I know I said this last time, but Aim to be a Pokémon Master has really inspired me to write. Since there are only two episodes left (which means only two more episodes of Pokémon for me to watch period) I'm really using writing to fill the void that I know is coming.

Aiden and Michelle: 9 years old

Elizabeth: 3 years old


Sibling Rivalry

When Michelle felt something whiz by her head, she was sitting on the patio couch in the middle of reading a book. Instantly, she looked up from her reading with an alarmed expression…one that quickly melted into annoyance when she saw her brother running towards her.

"Was that your stupid baseball again?!" Michelle demanded.

"Maybe," Aiden replied without stopping. He continued running until he was behind the couch, at which point Michelle cast aside her book and peered over her shoulder. Just as she had suspected, he was retrieving his baseball; the same one that had almost hit her three times already.

"Would you go practice somewhere else?" Michelle hissed as Aiden stood back up, ball in hand. "I'm a little tired of you almost taking my head off!"

"Maybe you should go read your dumb book somewhere else," Aiden bitingly suggested, narrowing his eyes at his irritated sister. "You don't have to do it back here! But I have to practice back here."

"No, you don't!" Michelle cried. "Go practice in the front of the house!"

"No way! There's tons more room back here! And I'm trying to perfect my swing for the tournament this weekend."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it considering the ball's coming all the way back here!"

"What'd you say?!"

"You heard me!"

Aiden and Michelle had gotten so into each other's faces at this point that their noses were practically touching. And they were so busy snarling at each other that they failed to notice their mother and sister stepping out the back door.

"Seriously?" Misty groaned as soon as she saw the two. "How are you both fighting again?"

"He/she started it!" Aiden and Michelle screamed at the same time, pointing at who they each believed to be the offending sibling.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that excuse a hundred times this week," Misty grumbled, folding her arms as she glared at the twins. "You two have been at each other's throats way too much lately. Not only is it disappointing for me and your father, but it's also not setting a good example for your little sister."

Elizabeth shook her head to show that she agreed with her mother. "I don- like it when Denny and Shelly fight."

Sighing, Michelle took a reluctant step back from her brother and apologized, "sorry, Lizzie. We didn't mean to upset you."

"S'okay!" Elizabeth chirped, clearly not all that distraught over it.

"Well, it's not okay with me," Misty continued, causing both Aiden and Michelle to wince. "I'm tired of all the arguing! You two have got to learn how to start putting your differences aside and at least be civil with each other."

"But Mom, it's really hard when he's literally trying to kill me with his baseball!" Michelle whined.

"She's acting like I did it on purpose; it was an accident!" Aiden shouted.

"Yeah, an accident that's happened like four times already," Michelle seethed, looking over her shoulder to glare at her brother.

"Then you should've moved after the first time it happened!" Aiden bit. "Right, Mom?"

Misty groaned and rubbed her temples. "Okay, so clearly that's not going to happen." Throwing her arms down, she ordered, "you two are going to go at least one day without fighting. I don't care if you're both annoying each other; you're not going to say anything mean to one another, or raise your voices, or anything in between. And if I catch you arguing at any point over the next day, there will be consequences. Understood?"

Neither twin was thrilled with the situation, but knowing they didn't have a choice, muttered a reluctant, "yes."

"Good," Misty replied.

With a smile on her face, Elizabeth asked her older siblings, "we play now?"

Michelle giggled. "Sure, we can play now. What do you want to play?"

"Mmmm…" Elizabeth intoned as she looked around the backyard before stilling her head and quickly pointing. "That!"

Following her younger sister's finger, Michelle asked, "trampoline?"

Elizabeth grinned and nodded her head before running towards it. That left Aiden and Michelle alone once again, and the two were able to do nothing but swap uneasy glances with one another. Finally, Michelle decided to be the mature one and break the silence, instructing Aiden, "let's go."

"Go where?"

Michelle bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to jump over and strangle her brother. "To the trampoline. Lizzie wants to play with us."

Aiden kept the static look on his face, but replied, "I have to keep practicing for my baseball tournament."

Michelle glanced over at her mother, silently begging for help. Misty was not about to get any further riled up about something so insignificant, however, and shook her head at her older daughter. Letting out a puff of air from her nostrils, Michelle huffed a short, "fine" before turning around and marching off towards the trampoline, leaving behind a quietly annoyed Aiden.

Groaning, the boy turned the other way so he was now facing his mother. "Am I gonna get in trouble if I take all my anger out on my baseballs?"

"Nope, because they're not your sister," Misty effortlessly answered. "You can go to town on those."

XXX

"Why won't Aiden and Michelle even look at one another?"

"Because I told them they're not allowed to argue for the next day."

"…and why are they actually listening?"

"Because I also told them that if they did argue, I'd punish them."

"Mist!"

The gym leader was in disbelief at her husband's scolding. "Don't 'Mist' me! Aren't you tired of them bickering 24/7 too?"

"Of course I am…I don't like to see any of our kids not getting along," Ash sighed. "But how are you going to threaten them with a punishment for arguing? You've always told me that it's totally normal for siblings to fight!"

"It is, but Aiden and Michelle have really been pushing it lately," Misty argued. "They're arguing over every little thing from the second they wake up until the second they fall asleep. It's starting to become a problem."

"Yeah, I hear ya…" Ash sighed. "But do you really think this is gonna get them to stop bickering?"

"I don't know if it's going to stop them forever, but at least it gives us a little more time to think of something else to get them to ease up on all this fighting," Misty replied.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "It gives us less than a day."

"Hey, I said a little more time," Misty emphasized. "So, less criticism, more brainstorming."

XXX

Around the same time, as Michelle prepared to go to bed, she was surprised when her bedroom door opened…and even more surprised when she saw who it was.

"What're you doing here?"

"Shh! Don't let Mom and Dad hear you!"

Michelle scowled as Aiden closed her door behind him. "Why? You really believe Mom's threat that she'll punish us if we keep fighting?"

Spinning around, Aiden shot his twin a deadpan expression. "Obviously."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I don't know about that. Mom's bark is way worse than her bite."

"What do you have? Selective memory?" Aiden challenged, moving closer to his sister. "Don't you remember the time we weren't behaving and Mom warned us she wouldn't take us to Pokémon Land if we kept acting up? And she actually did it?"

Michelle grimaced. "Ugh, yeah. And she and Dad had already bought the tickets and everything!"

"Exactly," Aiden sighed. "And who knows what she'd take away this time! Like…what if she doesn't let me go to my baseball tournament? Or your next swim meet? Or…what if she decides we can't go to the Lily of the Valley Conference next month?"

Michelle's eyes widened in horror. "No way! I have to go to Sinnoh! Dawn promised me a practice Contest battle!"

"And Mom won't care if you and I keep trying to bite each other's heads off," Aiden replied, taking a seat on the foot of his sister's bed. "She already gave us a warning, and you and I both know she means it. So, I think we should call a truce. Even if it's only for a little while."

Biting her lower lip, Michelle sheepishly admitted, "well…it's not like I really enjoy fighting with you in the first place."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You don't?"

"No," Michelle scoffed. "Just because I've gotten really good at it doesn't mean I like it."

Twisting his mouth, Aiden mused, "that's a good point! I actually think I might feel the same way as you."

"See? We finally agree on something!" Michelle teased, a small smile finally appearing on her face.

Aiden chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we do."

XXX

When Ash and Misty came downstairs for breakfast in the morning, with Pikachu riding on Ash's shoulder and Vaporeon at Misty's feet, they stopped at the foot of the stairs once they realized they'd been beaten into the kitchen.

Aiden and Michelle were already scurrying about the space, sifting through the refrigerator and pantry and laying out various foods, utensils, plates, and bowls. That was strange enough, but even more bizarre? The two were actually talking to one another; not insulting one another but having an actual conversation. Heck, they even laughed every once in a while!

"Misty," Ash breathed, "I think you broke our children."

Rolling her eyes, Misty walked right into the kitchen, calmly asking the twins, "what are you two doing up already?"

"Getting ready for breakfast!" Michelle chirped.

"Yeah, we thought we'd help you guys out!" Aiden added, beaming at his bewildered parents.

"Did you guys happen to come across an Elgyem last night…?" Ash unsurely asked. "Because I've definitely seen them do some weird things to people."

"Pi…" Pikachu quietly agreed.

"Nope, no Elgyem!" Michelle giggled. "Aiden and I just had a really good talk last night, and we realized we were being childish."

Ash looked over at his wife and raised an eyebrow, mouthing childish?

"We agreed it is pretty dumb that we're always fighting," Aiden continued, nodding his head. "I mean, it's not like it gets us anywhere, right?"

"Right…" Misty murmured, clearly still confused.

"So, no more fighting!" Michelle concluded.

"Yep, never again!" Aiden agreed.

Ash and Misty blinked, unsure of how to follow that up. On one hand, they were glad to see their older children getting along so well. On the other hand, however…they weren't so sure that the twins were being entirely sincere.

In the midst of their uncertainty, Elizabeth came flitting down the stairs, swinging Teddi by his arm. When she saw her older siblings standing side by side in the kitchen, not screaming at one another, she slowed up and became as equally confused as her parents. "Wha-s happen?"

"Your brother and sister are setting the table for breakfast!" Misty replied after clearing her throat, finally glancing down at her youngest. "Isn't that nice of them?"

"Ya…" Elizabeth confirmed unsurely. "But is weird."

Ash couldn't help but chuckle. "Aw, why do you think it's weird, pumpkin?"

"Cause Denny and Shelly love to yell," Elizabeth chirped.

"Well, they told Mommy and me that they would prefer to not do that anymore!" Ash cheerfully explained.

Elizabeth furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side. "Dey wan- somefin."

Aiden and Michelle gasped simultaneously before crying out, "no, we don't!"

"Uh huh," Elizabeth drawled, obviously not buying it.

"What could we possibly want?" Aiden groaned.

"Yeah, it's not like Mom promised us something if we got along," Michelle agreed. "Just that we wouldn't get in trouble!"

Turning to face her parents, Elizabeth concluded, "dey're lying."

"No, we're not!" Aiden and Michelle cried simultaneously.

Ash chuckled, unable to help himself. "I love when they do that." Glancing down at his unsure youngest daughter, Ash continued, "why don't we give them a chance, Lizzie? It sounds like they really mean it!"

"Hmm…" Elizabeth hummed, clearly not willing to just give in.

"I agree," Misty piped up, bending down to pick up Elizabeth. "It's nice to see your big brother and sister getting along! We should all enjoy it."

As Misty carried the toddler away to sit her at the table, Elizabeth stared down her older siblings over her mother's shoulder, pointing at her eyes before turning her finger onto a startled Aiden and Michelle.

"I'm starting to think we should be more afraid of Lizzie than Mom…" Aiden grumbled.

Michelle slowly nodded her head. "For once, I agree with you."