Alex

  —

  "I'm still not sure why we had to come here… You said Erin's other mother is here?" Leaf's grandfather sounded so confused as we walked up to the Pokemon Center. Confused, and suspicious.

  "Actually, I just said we shouldn't leave anyone out of our family talks, I never said Leto was at the Pokemon Center." Ms. Greenwood was far too amused by this entire thing, in my opinion. Well, to be fair, so was I…

  I didn't have a great opinion of these two, not yet, not after seeing how judgemental they were. Them not liking Pokemon? It seemed fucking stupid to me, but some people just… didn't like them. I was fine with that, actually, because that was still better than how Team Rocket and their sympathizers saw them…

  They hadn't said more than 'hello' to me, either. I also didn't initiate any conversation, sure, but I was kind of the sixth wheel here. Lance and her hadn't married yet, or even gotten engaged, so I wasn't related to any of them… yet. It was just a matter of time, though, and I had the feeling it wouldn't have made much difference, anyways. Ms. Greenwood would have treated me like a niece at the very least…

  We almost made it inside before we were interrupted. A smaller man darted in front of us, in front of me, camera raised.

  "How are you related to the Champi-" He cut off as Erin probably slapped the hell out of him with her aura, the elder Greenwood's looking shocked as the man froze in terror. Erin grinned and leaned into the camera.

  "Once again, your face is recorded, and you will hear from Lance's lawyer. You don't even look like a real, employed reporter, just some idiot who thinks he can sell a sound-bite, so… Enjoy paying those fees, dumbass! Not to mention, someone already got that info! It should be out tomorrow morning, in fact!" We left him behind as we entered the lobby, but not before Ms. Greenwood flicked her ear. Erin laughed, though, so I guess it was worth it?

  The elder Greenwood's were silent as they followed us to our room, but once again, we couldn't just walk… and our door was near the counter…

  "Miss Greenwood?" Four heads turned towards the Nurse Joy standing behind the counter and she blushed.

  "Ah, I meant Miss Erin Greenwood. We could use your help with something." Leaf's grandparents looked shocked as Erin sighed.

  "Is it urgent?" Nurse Joy shook her head. "In that case, I'll get back to you later, probably tomorrow morning, does that work?" She nodded at Erin.

  "We would appreciate that, Miss Greenwood, thank you."

  We finally made it into our huge room, and the two older people looked at Erin in confusion. Leaf's grandfather found his voice first.

  "What was that about, uh, Erin?" She chuckled a little.

  "Well, I did introduce myself as a Dragon Master, so that was them needing a Dragon Master. Probably a training request, considering the surrounding areas aren't exactly dragon habitats, she didn't seem upset, and it's not an urgent request. Not that there's many dragons native to Kanto, or even Indigo as a whole… I hope some as- idiot didn't release a dragon around here, that would be cruel…" They looked stunned, but only for a moment as Erin continued to speak.

  "Come on out, team! Teams, I guess…"

  Our Pokemon came out in a huge wave of red, and despite having met them, Leaf's grandparents still froze momentarily under the gaze of so many Pokemon, a significant percentage of which were not just intimidating, but terrifying. I wasn't focused on my Pokemon, though. No, I was watching Erin, and more specifically, the four-foot tall Tyrunt that came out with a stomp. It wasn't a bad one, but she was still obviously not happy…

  A fact that she made clear by her huge growl and narrowed eyes, but Erin was there even as one foot rose into the air.

  "Artemis! You will not tantrum in here! I let you out because you said you would be good! We can blow off some steam later, but not in here!" Artemis snarled directly in Erin's face, and despite my certainty that she wouldn't hurt her own sister, I was mildly worried… Not as worried as the pale-faced Greenwood's, though.

  "You call this under contro-" Leaf's grandfather shut up at the glare from all of us, because he did not need to piss Artemis off further. Erin deliberately turned her back on Artemis, and her lightly-snarling jaws, to eye them angrily.

  "Hearing issues? Might want to get that looked at, because I already said she doesn't need to be under my control. Is she in some respects? Sure, I'm her trainer, but I'm not about to control my family, my sister, like you seem to think I need to." They looked so confused by Erin's words, but Erin wasn't done. Her glare dropped into an easy smile as she glanced at our Pokemon, and they all made some room…

  "Wanna come say hi, mom?"

  I was studiously watching the elder Greenwood's, and I wasn't alone. Everyone was staring at them as the flash of red came out of the Luxury Ball. I felt my mood lighten as their heads rose and rose, even as they got paler and paler. They began to shake as the red light just kept growing, and I barely stopped myself from snickering as even the shaking stopped.

  Leto fully came out, cracked her neck, and then nodded at them slightly. Very slightly, because she obviously already didn't like them, but they hadn't made her an enemy… yet. Ms. Greenwood leaned in between her two frozen parents and smiled. It looked a lot like Maddy's smiles, honestly…

  "Dragons respect respect, so at the very least give her a nod of respect back." They didn't so much as twitch, still frozen, and she barked out a laugh. "When you're capable of movement, at least."

  We all laughed a little, Leto included, because that might take a while.

  —

  —

  "So you run a… Rescue Ranch now?"

  It had taken a few minutes to completely calm them down, but Leaf's grandparents were just… talking to Ms. Greenwood now, catching up on over a decade of absence. Her mom looked very uncomfortable as she asked that, though, and I don't think it was just how we were all laying back on Leto… except for Erin on Cerberus, obviously. Like every room we stayed in, the couch was unused by us, so they sat on it as they talked.

  Ms. Greenwood smiled, but it was a bit uneasy…

  "Yes, after Erin stopped Team Rocket from abducting, and trafficking, the people and Pokemon at the Pewter Breeders Ranch, she gained responsibility for the Rocket Pokemon… She wouldn't let them be disposed of, like they usually are these days after… Victoria, so I knew I had to do something to help. Professor Oak guided me through the process, thankfully."

  "Aren't they dangerous, though? More than, ah… 'normal' Pokemon?" I could understand Mr. Greenwood's unease. Victoria's story had soured most of Indigo on even attempting to save them… I couldn't even blame them, a year ago I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere near one, either…

  Ms. Greenwood frowned and glanced at Erin reclining on Cerberus, and Erin sighed heavily before meeting their eyes.

  "They were, but I… managed to get them bound by a fae's true contract. They can't hurt anyone unless it's in self defense, or defense of another… These days Hope can do it herself, and she bound the ones from Saffron. It took her a week, but she got it done…" She trailed off as Hope smiled widely, even her shine. Ms. Greenwood cleared her throat.

  "So yes, I do. There's over two hundred rescues there right now, and they are all safe… Even if Muk's smell still tries to kill my nose every morning… He's the friendliest Pokemon I've ever met, and he's as non-stinky as possible, but… The hugs are an experience, that's for sure…" She trailed off as we chuckled. Erin brightened up, though.

  "He is, isn't he? I'm glad he's doing better these days, he was… so sad when we first met…" Her face fell again, but Ms. Greenwood quickly broke back in.

  "Yes, he's quite happy these days. Sometimes even the children will play with him and the Grimer! Not for long, but if anyone could endure a smell like that to play with them, it would be children…"

  "Children? What children?"

  Ms. Greenwood smiled happily at her father.

  "Well, the Drowzee and Hypno require good dreams to function, they'll starve without them. Some of Pallet Town's children usually get dropped off at the Ranch every few days. They play with the Pokemon for a couple hours, stuff themselves on blackberries from my garden, go for a swim in the pond, eat dinner, then they have a sleepover. I had a… I guess it's basically a visitors center? I had one built for prospective adopters to visit, and for residents. There's plenty of beds there, and after they fall asleep the Drowzee and Hypno will… feed. It doesn't hurt, you just wake up a little irritable the next day, and for about an hour afterwards, but in exchange they get to view other people's dreams. It's honestly worth it, viewing a dream is much different than dreaming yourself." Huh, next time we drop by I might have to do that… It sounded kind of cool…

  Leaf's grandmother had a different reaction, though.

  "You let them eat children?" Ms. Greenwood just scoffed at her mother.

  "Maybe Erin was right about your hearing? I just said they ate their dreams. They are in absolutely no danger at the Ranch, from any rescue, they literally can not hurt them. My other Pokemon could, but they never would. Wukong plays with them most afternoons as it is, Petals helps them get blackberries and avoid the thorns, the Indeedee are of course gentle and kind with them, and even Gyarados, Midir, and his family will sometimes play with them when they come over. Kingdra and Maddy aren't fans, though, and stay away when they come around… They're well behaved children, for the most part, but still children." Maddy rapidly nodded her head at that. Yeah, I couldn't picture Maddy happily playing with children…

  They both stared at Wukong for a long moment before Mr. Greenwood found his voice.

  "Ah, well, that's… good? Why is there a… Gyarados there, though? Or a Kingdra?" Ms. Greenwood went a little red at that, so I broke in for the first time, grinning.

  "Well, Lance's Dragonite was supposed to take Ms. Greenwood back to Pallet Town after Saffron, but I guess she was worried about Team Rocket retaliating, so she took Ms. Greenwood to the Aerie first. Dragons like her, and Grandpa Grant let some come back with her for protection. Well, protection and colonization, because Midir took his whole family. Kingdra and Gyarados are there for protection, but give it a year and there will be many more of their lines in the pond." I turned to Midir.

  "I have to assume your mate has already laid a clutch of Eggs, right?" He nodded proudly at me, then held up a claw a few times. "Four Eggs in a new location? Yeah, they aren't going anywhere at this point…" They were staring at me, and I realized I hadn't introduced myself. Well, I said 'Hi, I'm Alex', but that was it. I leaned forward on Dignity's head and grinned at them. I may not be Erin, but sometimes it was just appropriate.

  "Hi, I'm Alex Blackthorn! Lance is my…" I winced a little. "He's my adopted father." Leaf threw an arm around my shoulders and dragged me in for a hug.

  "She's basically our sister already, even before mom and Lance get… married." Her grandparents narrowed their eyes at her before her grandmother spoke up.

  "You seem to have a problem with that…?" Leaf shook her head, slapping me in the face with her hair, and I narrowed my eyes at her. She didn't release me, though.

  "I mean, I like Lance, a lot actually, it's just kind of… weird? First impressions count for a lot-" She narrowed her eyes at them and they winced slightly. "-and Lance had probably the worst first impression. He's not bad these days, though…"

  Dexter took that moment to laugh and zoom near the TV, which turned on.

  "I won't play much, but here, watch how bad of a first impression he made!" The view was weird for one of his video's, and after a moment I realized he had taken this from inside Erin's jacket… I guess he had some sort of 'periscope'? That made sense, actually, if he was always recording, considering he wasn't always floating next to Erin… We could see in front of her and behind, actually, two views right next to each other.

  Oh wow, Lance almost busted the door to their Pokemon Center room off its hinges! He was frustrated back then at the compound, and it showed…

  "'Are you Erin Greenwood?'" Wow, he was glaring hard… Erin just looked at him blankly, Leaf in the background giving him a judgmental look, which, duh… Erin nodded at him once, a shallow nod of her head.

  "'Yeah, I am. Who's asking? Because I really don't like door to door cape salesmen, they look like crap.'" Ha! Yes! That was great! She just kept going, too, as his jaw dropped.

  "'Are you here to spread the word of our Creator and Savior, Arceus Almighty? Already his most fervent disciple, bud. You can leave, now.'" Oh Arceus, this was golden! Ms. Greenwood was smiling as she watched, the same as Leaf, but her grandparents looked stunned. That made sense, though. Lance usually restrained his ego in public…

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  He stepped up to her, finger rising to her face.

  "'Listen here, your damn Tyr-'" She glared at him so hard he actually took a step back, then Erin stared towards his waist. Present-day Erin looked nervous, though…

  '"Dragonite, get out here and reign your idiot in before I beat his ass! I MEAN IT, DRAGONITE! NOW!"' Dragonite popped out and bowed her head to Erin, a small smirk on her face, receiving one from Erin in turn, before turning around and glaring at Lance!

  The video cut as Dexter burst into laughter, followed quickly by Midir and Dignity. The rest of the Pokemon also looked highly amused, but those two knew Lance before that happened…

  Holy shit! No wonder Erin was so nervous! Yeah, there it goes, Ms. Greenwood was rounding on her with an amused yet angry face.

  "You threatened Lance the first time you met him?" Her voice was calm, and slightly amused, but that calm… That was a dangerous calm.

  Erin went red, but shrugged.

  "Mister Dragon Master Champion disrespected me, and he knew I had an Alpha Tyrantrum, that I was a Dragon Master. He tried to stomp in there and dominate the conversation, dominate me, so I didn't let him, simple as that. I mean, I was also mad, sure, and I went a bit too hard, but… Dragonite understood. I apologized for yelling at her immediately after, and she was fine with it. She knew him better than I did, and his effect on people, of course…" Midir bellowed out a laugh before going back to his light laughter, and Dignity nodded her head along with Erin's words. Yeah, no wonder Lance was so… antagonistic to her over video that first night.

  Ms. Greenwood caught Midir's eye and sighed after a moment.

  "Okay, fine, but how about you don't threaten Champions when you meet them, dear?" Erin smirked, and I knew what she would say before she even did…

  "I apologized to Dragonite, though!" I burst into laughter, and soon everyone was laughing. Not Ms. Greenwood or her parents, but she was smiling as well.

  "Be nice, Erin. Lance is the Champion… Dragonite wouldn't want to do all that paperwork, anyway." She started giggling, and I really enjoyed how confused her parents looked right now. I caught their eyes and smiled.

  "Lance is a great guy, and I love him, but he had a huge ego, more than normal even for a Dragon Master, and everyone in the Clan knew it. Erin and Dragonite kind of shook him up, but I think it was Ms. Greenwood who did the most damage! She flicked his ear for cursing!" Ms. Greenwood went red at that, but… Yeah, there it goes. They weren't stunned, just confused, but at least a small part of their worldview had just crumbled…

  If they wanted to be in their daughters' life, and.. ours? Yeah, I guess ours… Well, they would need to get used to it.

  —

  —

  "So how did you meet… Leaf, I assume? How did you meet her, Erin?"

  Erin frowned at her… 'grandmother's' question, and I had to wonder how she would explain that without lying…

  "Well… First, do you two just not watch the news?" Mr. Greenwood looked embarrassed, actually.

  "We do, of course, but honestly not very often… We spend more time watching dramas these days, or… socializing. Why?" They were for sure hiding something, and I saw Hecate's eyes widen, so I knew she picked it up at least. She didn't look mad though, so it must not have been bad…

  "Well… Dexter, want to show them the video from Freezingpoint?" Dexter grinned and flew up again. It had been a while since I saw this video, too… I was more focused on the elder Greenwood's, though.

  The shock of Leto running through the snow carrying an inverted skin was clear, and the disgust, but I got that one as well… That thing had been horrible. Literally like it was out of a bad horror movie… Then their utter shock as Erin's head popped out of the skin. She really had been pale from the cold, hadn't she… Not to mention bruised and bloodied, especially her face and that scar… Well, open wound back then, trails of blood running from it. Their shock grew even greater as Erin stumbled into the snow barefoot, wearing nothing but skins, before 'catching' Leto.

  Erin grinned at them as she idly scratched Cerberus' heads.

  "I experienced… something similar to a Teleportation accident, I guess you could say?" I guess she didn't count that as a lie… Technically her soul got teleported somewhere? It was also 'something similar', sure… She frowned as she probably recalled her death, and that still boggled my mind… She had literally died…

  "Well, I got dropped naked in the Lowlands of the Galarian Crown Tundra, halfway up on a mountain… I knew exactly where I was, and I was… terrified." They both looked pale now, looking at Erin with sad horror. "I managed to make it halfway down from the little plateau I was on when I ran into Artemis. She was still a baby, barely a foot tall, and she was being… tormented by a Sneasel. I was really dumb and threw a rock at its head… It ate my pinky for the offense." She lifted her hand to show them her stump, and they looked beyond horrified, now. It didn't actually look that bad these days, but it was still a mess of scar tissue. There wasn't actually much of a stump, really, nothing that… moved.

  She looked uncomfortable as she continued.

  "Well, long story short, I managed to kill it with Artemis' help. It's this part of my jacket." She fingered the collar of her jacket. "Then mom, Leto mom, showed up. She almost ate me, actually, but she eventually realized I wasn't the one who hurt her baby. She left, and I kind of… passed out for a while, holding my stump… I…" She looked uneasy, and glanced at them, but I guess she saw something in their horrified, sad eyes and continued.

  "I… accepted my death, honestly. Either I bled out, or a different Pokemon killed me… Then Leto came back with an Oran Berry for me so I didn't bleed out. I spent the night with them, and the next morning she helped me leave the Lowlands, but not before I picked up the rest of my team, other than Stabby and Ahab." She glossed over a lot, but I guess she didn't want to have to mention that Hatterene…

  "I got in contact with the authorities, and they offered me a choice of places to go. I chose Pallet Town because of Professor Oak, and while I was at his Ranch he introduced me to Leaf…" She trailed off, and Leaf took over the story, her stunned grandparents eyes shifting to her.

  "I was having some trouble with Hazard, and Erin and Leto helped me out. We also decided to Journey together during that... Well, Raihan came to visit Erin, and he helped me out, too." Her grandfather was frowning now, though.

  "Where did you come from before then, though? Why not go back there?" I felt my breath catch at the question, but Erin was apparently prepared for that one.

  "My old parents were… dead or absent, and I didn't exactly have a home to return to. I like Kanto, too…" That was a bit of a non-answer, but all true.

  Her 'grandmother' looked confused, still. Confused, and sad at Erin's words, sure…

  "How does that result in you being adopted, though? That seems like a rather large step…" It was, if you didn't know the story… Ms. Greenwood took over.

  "Erin… saved Leaf and I from something, and it… injured her, badly. I'd already spent two weeks with her staying at our house before the Circuit began, and after that, and her healing for that long… Well, I couldn't just not offer. We already loved her at that point, so it was… natural." I could see the questions forming behind their eyes, but Ms. Greenwood clapped her hands together.

  "Enough of that depressing talk, though! You know what I've been up to, but what about you two? Do you still own that bookstore downtown?"

  They froze for a moment, and looked nervous… Crap, I recognized that look… Mr. Greenwood cleared his throat uncomfortably.

  "We don't, actually. We lost it four years ago…" Ms. Greenwood was frowning now, though.

  "How did you lose it? I thought you owned the entire thing?" He winced.

  "We did, but we… made some bad investments, had a debt called in, and had to sell half of our share. Then the legal fees kicked in, and… It was easier to sell the remaining half after a while." Ms. Greenwood frowned.

  "So you have no income or property?" Her mom took over, visibly embarrassed.

  "We still rent an apartment, the one we used to rent out to people near the southern gate… But that's it, and no income…" Ms. Greenwood sighed heavily.

  "I guess that explains the loose suit, you always gave me grief when I wore… 'ill-fitting clothing'..." They both winced, even as she continued.

  "Let me ask you something. Did you intend to leverage my relationship with Lance in any way?" They went silent, and Ms. Greenwood frowned. So did Meowstic on her shoulder, and I had to assume he was giving her some unpleasant information.

  "We… Yes, partially, but we mostly did just want to see you again. We shouldn't have been so… disapproving of your career, your… complacency, and we regretted it, but after a certain point it was just… hard. Hard to admit we were wrong, hard to envision coming back into your life and not being… hated." Her frown lessened, so I guess they meant that…

  Ms. Greenwood sighed heavily again before staring at them.

  "How long until you lose your apartment and have to go to public housing? I assume you have no intention of getting a job again after all this time, not to mention your old jobs won't want you after decades, and that apartment is relatively expensive to rent, too expensive for universal income." They both winced hard, but after a moment of silence her mother spoke up.

  "We have a couple months left before we run out of money… We were going to ask for… something. I really don't know what we were going to ask for when we heard you were in town, or if we were at all, it was mostly wanting to see you again, but…" She trailed off as Ms. Greenwood's eyes flickered between Leaf and Erin. They both caught her eye, and Meowstic's eye, and frowned for a moment, but eventually Erin perked up and broke the oppressive silence with a sharp laugh.

  "Looks like your career prospects were worse than moms!" They ducked their heads in shame, but Erin wasn't finished.

  "Why not move to Pallet Town? There's more than a few retirees there, you know?"

  They looked absolutely shocked by her question, and I began to get where this was going… Mr. Greenwood sounded very uncertain, too…

  "We couldn't afford to move there, Erin, and even if we could, we couldn't afford a house. A place as small as Pallet Town probably doesn't have public housing, either…" Ms. Greenwood laughed a little.

  "We don't, no, but there's more than a few empty houses… If you are interested, I could get one set up for you." They looked at her in stunned, dejected hope, and she caught onto it.

  "Yes, it's a town, and none of your… friends are there, but is that so bad? Your friends don't seem to be helping you much, it seems? With money, sure, that's not their responsibility, but I can't imagine that they did nothing, right?" Their heads fell, and I had a thought. I cleared my throat to get their attention.

  "Do you have friends, or do you have old business acquaintances? Ones that… still like to brag about their businesses and connections?" They looked ashamed as I said that, and I knew I was right. Not exactly an uncommon story, really…

  Mr. Greenwood cleared his throat nervously.

  "Well, like Patricia said, it wasn't their responsibility… I'm sure that they arent… bragging like your assuming, young lady." I shrugged.

  "It sounds like Clan politics, just without the Clan structure, honestly. You 'lost', so now you… probably don't get invited anywhere? Just talk to them on PokeNav's occasionally, right? Maybe little comments about how nice your bookstore was?" Their faces tightened, and I sighed. Yeah, typical…

  Ms. Greenwood broke in, sending me a light glare.

  "Alex, that wasn't nice… It seemed accurate, though. Is she correct?" They got red, but nodded nervously. Ms. Greenwood sighed again, heavily this time, and glanced at Meowstic for a moment. Dexter twitched before his screen went dark, too…

  "Would you two like to move? Universal income goes a long way in Pallet, and the house would be paid for. Plenty of people your own age to talk to, as well… You could even… visit whenever you wanted." Their eyes grew hopeful at that last bit, hopeful and questioning, and she shrugged.

  "I haven't… forgiven you, but you never gave me reason to hate you, either. I'd rather not see you in public housing, and with no real friends, not in a city like Saffron. Not that public housing is bad, but you are my parents… It's your call, but… I could afford the house for you, personally. It would be… nice to get to know you again, I guess…" She looked uncomfortable, but her parents' expressions brightened considerably at her last words before they shared a long look.

  Her mom looked uncertain, still, but hopeful as she spoke up.

  "That would… It would be nice to get to know you again, as well… Pallet Town is also… a nice place for retirement, I guess…" She sighed heavily, and it looked like it hurt her and her husband when she said her next words.

  "If you would do that for us, we would be very grateful… I'm sorry that we even need help…" Ms. Greenwood waved her hand dismissively, though.

  "Like I said, I don't hate you two. You're family, and not the kind I discount as family, despite our differences, so… don't worry about it. Do you have much in the apartment? Anything that's private or sensitive?"

  They looked so confused at the question.

  "No, just some furniture and things like pictures… Why?" Ms. Greenwood grinned at them as Dexter dinged, a green checkmark on his screen.

  "Because it's moving day!"

  —

  —

  I know Erin wasn't Ms. Greenwood's biological daughter, and vice versa, but maybe she picked up her decisiveness from Erin? Because she'd asked Meowstic to have Dexter ask Professor Oak to sell her a house, and of course he had easily agreed… Not that it was sold already, but if Professor Oak said he would sell one, he would…

  It only took a couple of hours for us to help them pack up their old apartment, and it was… depressing. It was a nice apartment, honestly, halfway up one of Saffron's shorter buildings, but it was dirty, like it hadn't been cleaned in months. Their TV was tiny, and the fridge was almost empty aside from a few frozen dinners… It was… sad, honestly, but sadder because it could have been nice. It could have been cleaned, it could have been bright, it could have been… better.

  It was like they had lost hope, and if they only had a couple months left here before they ran out of money, I guess that… made sense? They were probably depressed, had given up, and considering how understanding Erin had looked when we walked in? That was accurate.

  Still, it didn't take very long to pack up their scant possessions. It was sad that after a lifetime their possessions fit into ten boxes, four of which were pictures and personal knickknacks. They still had an old award of Ms. Greenwood's, too. Apparently she had been a decent chess player in school, because she had won a tournament when she was nine…

  I guess they really did care about her, and weren't just saying it, considering the sheer number of pictures of her, too… There were plenty of baby Leaf as well…

  The whole situation made me sad, but I guess it would get better now? Pallet Town was a nice place to retire, and maybe they could build a relationship again?

  "And you're sure the moving company will get them all there safely?" Ms. Greenwood sighed in exasperation, again. It was mid afternoon already, and this was the fifth time she'd asked that question…

  "Yes, mother, they will get your stuff there just fine. You can stay with me until everything arrives and the sale goes through. Leaf's bedroom is open, along with the couch and the visitors center… I'd say Erin's room, but Wukong sleeps in there." They looked at her belt nervously and I couldn't stop the chuckle. He wouldn't hurt them, but Wukong was… intimidating, and they hadn't made the best second impression on him, either.

  We stood in front of the Pokemon Center, and we all gave Ms. Greenwood a hug. I did like her, a lot, and it would be nice to have a mom that actually cared about me… Leaf gave her grandparents quick, light hugs, too. Erin even spared them a friendly smile to go along with her words.

  "Who knows, maybe I'll call you two grandma and grandpa eventually…" They looked embarrassed by that, but grew very nervous for her next words.

  "Hopefully you can get over your dislike of Pokemon, too. I… almost get it? Is it mostly fear? You don't seem to find them… lesser." They both nodded, and Erin sighed and wiggled the remaining fingers on her left hand.

  "Yeah, I completely understand that one… If you can get over it long enough, especially while you stay at the house, well, you do know that some of our rescues can't even defend themselves? Or you, but… I really don't like that they wanted those bindings, but they never wanted to hurt anyone again, and now they can't… There's more than a few that would like to… just be loved, and have their own sort of retirement…" She trailed off, but her 'grandparents'?

  They looked intrigued. Cautious, but intrigued.

  Ms. Greenwood finished putting the harness she had bought on Midir, and he grinned over at them. He could easily carry two people, sure, but two elderly people? Well, they weren't elderly like Professor Oak was, but still. There was no way we trusted them to be able to hold on, even if there was almost no wind pressure with Midir's Protect. Maddy stood next to him, glaring at the elder Greenwood's, but not as harshly as I knew she could.

  "Okay, then! Let's get you two strapped in, and then we can fly… home."

  It took more than a few minutes, and the assistance of Meowstic and Alfred, but they were eventually strapped in tightly, looking very nervous. They had probably never flown, actually…

  Ms. Greenwood smiled at us from Maddy's back. She looked… uncertain, but not unhappy, at the whole situation.

  "Goodbye for now, girls! I might come watch your battles, I'll have to see how my… schedule looks in the future. Just let me know when you beat your Challenges and get the date."

  Soon they were disappearing into the distance, and I shared a look with Erin and Leaf. A long, exhausted look. I spoke up, mentally exhausted from the day.

  "Well, back to the Center?" Leaf nodded tiredly, but Erin shook her head.

  "We need to go out of town for a little while… Artemis is still furious, she's just been restraining it… somewhat well. She's still complaining about that Delcatty, of course…"

  Damnit, I somehow forgot about that…

  I just wanted to relax and not deal with more family crap, but… I also didn't want to deal with a still-pissed Artemis, either…

  At least we got a free lunch?

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