Leaf

  —

  I was really enjoying being able to finally Journey! I mean, sure, Leto was fast, and I was used to her speed these days, mostly, but I still really enjoyed being able to just… walk down a Route! Granted, Route Sixteen hadn't really counted as a Route, considering it was just following a short path past Celadon's west gate… Route Seventeen, though? I had forgotten something rather important about this Route…

  Route Seventeen was one of the longest Routes in Indigo, maybe the longest, and it was highly recommended to have bikes if you didn't want to walk for more than a week! We didn't have bikes! We had a Leto!

  "Leaf, you're sure we can't just… ride there? You know the chances of us finding trainers worth battling are low, it's a long route, and we could be in Fuchsia tonight! Well, we could be in Fuchsia tomorrow morning if mom doesn't shake us around! Still! It would be very easy to… actually…" Erin trailed off with an intrigued look on her face and I grew worried.

  Hope found that funny, though.

  "She's scheming! Exciting!" 'Exciting, sure, also scary!'

  Alex looked worried too, considering she was moving to put me between her and Erin!

  "Erin… what are you thinking?" She turned to me with a normal smile as Dexter grinned at me.

  "Well, I was thinking that this world made sense, so Route Seventeen isn't a huge bridge almost all the way from Celadon to Fuchsia…" I would hope not! That's right through the middle of Vermilion Bay!

  "I was also thinking that it's been a long time since poor mom had Tauros ribs…" I frowned at her.

  "Erin, mom had Tauros ribs yesterday! Ribs and three legs!" She gave me a warm smirk that got poked into a smile.

  "Sis, we kind of have two moms, remember?" It took my brain a second to catch up to what she was saying, but then I smiled, like Erin couldn't!

  "You know what, I think I agree with you! Route Seventeen sucks! Alex, want to visit our Ranch?" She looked at me in confusion for a moment before she got it and nodded with a smile.

  Route Seventeen ran along the western coast of Vermilion Bay before it turned into a huge bridge across the narrowest points, with Fuchsia City at the south-eastern end. There was no City on the opposite shore, but there were small towns that dotted it. Also Route Thirty, not to be confused with Johto's Route Thirty… Now that I think about it, were they numbered that way because of some… game logic?

  Either way, Route Thirty connected Viridian City and Route Seventeen, so we could easily follow a Route there… Not that Leto used Routes when she could help it. She had to slow down on them so she didn't tear them to pieces. The Route Seventeen bridge luckily had a long section of suspended land for Pokemon traffic, so Leto didn't have to slow down there… It still took her an hour to cross it at full speed…

  "Yeah, let's do that! If Leto drops us off at home fast she can get to the plains and back before dinner!" Alex's face went pale, but Leto was already releasing herself as Erin excitedly began to unpack the Ride Basket.

  "She doesn't lie out loud, but she lies to herself! Says she wants to walk, but hates walking! Her legs are so short, I don't blame her!" 'Hope, you probably have a point, but I agree with her on this one at least.'

  Erin spoke up distractedly.

  "Should we surprise her or let her know ahead of time?" I gave that question serious thought for a moment.

  "Dexter, can you let her know? Professor Oak is probably going to want to come over… well, he will want to if we're having ribs, I know that much…" He was enthusiastic about them, to say the least… Not that I blamed him! I might fight him for some ribs!

  "P-Professor Oak?" Oh yeah… I gave Alex a little look.

  "Your cousin is the Champion, so yeah? I grew up in Pallet Town just seeing him around, he helped mom out a lot to get our Ranch up and running, and his Charizard still just comes over to hang out since we don't cower before her." She froze for a second and then blinked rapidly.

  "Huh, yeah… I guess that does make sense? You're one of his sponsored trainers, too…" I grinned.

  "Technically, so is Erin! Oh, yeah, why don't I hear about more trainers with the starter Pokemon from the games? I mean, I see them, but Professor Oak didn't offer- Well, I had Hazard, I guess…" I still would not have minded a Squirtle! They were adorable, and Blastoise were so cool!

  Erin snorted as she put her backpack back on, starting to climb in.

  "Because they are all powerful species that are predominantly male, already somewhat rare, and coveted for their quick growth that doesn't cap out early, like a Rattata. Sure, you can continue to train that Raticate, and I have used one in the past… once… A Venusaur, though? Any third Evolution starter? We would have one by now if we started with one, or close to it, but they would only have stepped into their power. When Cerberus finally Evolves, sure, his 'ceiling' is going to be much higher than a regular Pokemon, slightly more than even a Charizard, but he is a dragon in typing, not just… draconic, like they are."

  "Charmander especially are valuable, and from what I remember, the Professor's Charizard had a lot of kids. It's finding those kids viable mating partners to continue to increase the population that's hard, even with Pokemon's whole 'females make more of their own species no matter what' thing. Remember, they're a majority male species, same as Tyrantrum. The Clefairy line is the opposite, so they obviously have no problems."

  Erin turned and gave Alex a look as she slowly, reluctantly pulled herself into the Ride Basket.

  "He may not have the game starters to give out, but I'm sure he has a Pokemon that wants to leave his Ranch." I watched Alex's face morph from shock, to excitement, to a very familiar look.

  The look of one who is excited, but disappointed at the same time.

  "We'll see… I kind of want to earn it…" Erin smirked at her for a brief, non-poked second.

  "Oh, if there is one, you will."

  —

  Patricia Greenwood

  —

  I really don't know why I was even slightly surprised that my insane daughters, yes both were insane these days, were going to just… come for a visit. I truly shouldn't have been, of course. Leto was fast, and I knew that they were heading to Fuchsia City next, for game logic reasons, and it was very close when you didn't care about Routes…

  I still mildly panicked. For no reason, of course, but I did!

  Still, it's not like I had all that much to do to prepare for their arrival. Leaf and Erin's rooms were still set up, and got dusted occasionally… Although, I had the feeling they would be stuck with Leto in Erin's room or the Barn, along with Alex. Professor Oak was of course highly enthusiastic for ribs, and Charizard was similarly enthusiastic. Mrs. Maple was actually off today, but she would drop by for dinner anyways. The rescues were obviously excited to see Erin, of course, but they also wanted to meet Leaf… the Matriarch's daughter, of course…

  We would also be having one more guest joining us for dinner. That worker who had been interested in adopting a Rattata? That Rattata had been interested. Julia was already here interacting with him, and the sight brought a huge smile to my face. Also a few tears, but they were happy tears. Considering she was also surrounded by various species? I highly doubted he would be leaving here alone.

  I'd had more than a few residents interested in a rescue, and if all went well with their background checks, which I had very little doubt of, we should begin seeing more adoptions soon. Technically Mrs. Maple was already cleared, but she was waiting for one to ask her. She didn't want to make it seem like she was playing favorites…

  ""Skip dreams tonight, please? Greet Tyrant?"" I smiled at the old Hypno. I had gotten quite used to them, finally. They still kind of creeped me out, sure, but they creeped everyone out. Even those that had volunteered to help them.

  See, the whole 'bad dreams make us sick' thing? Accurate, they did require good dreams… They preferred the good dreams of children, not for nefarious reasons, simply because they were even better! So when I had gone to the Professor with my problem and he had posted a community notice asking for volunteers? Well… We had enough volunteers now, sure, but still, very few had wanted to show up to begin with… Except children.

  Why children? They woke up irritable and grouchy, and Hypno and Drowzee were… Hypno and Drowzee! They should be nightmares to the children, right? Well, wild ones, absolutely. Ones that had to request permission to eat your dreams? Ones whose psychic touch was so light they didn't cause any pain when they talked to you? That was actually one of the other primary reasons they were used in healthcare instead of just examining minds through dreams. They were delicate. So they didn't wake their feast up, sure, but the fact remained…

  All that is to say, the children were more than happy to give up a good dream in exchange for being shown other dreams when awake! I'd been very surprised the first time a parent had come over to hesitantly make the offer. Extremely surprised, actually, but after the first child had practically raved about how cool it was to watch someone else's dream? We had adults who volunteered, too!

  I'd even let the older Hypno eat one of my dreams, and he had shown me one of his favorite dreams. Whoever'd had it was very imaginative, considering I had ridden a golden Gyarados to the moon! It was irritating waking up with the sense of loss, but by the time my day was fully started I'd been just fine, and that dream had been quite fun to watch!

  Thanks to the contracts I had been able to simply let them meet the children, their parents, and the other volunteers at the Community Center each night with Maddy or Wukong for protection. Not that they needed it from the residents, of course, but safety first. I had already reached out to the same construction company about making my own sort of community center, and they should actually be starting soon. The wall's expansion a few days ago had been simple, no more than a few hours of work even without Leto to help. The land hadn't been cheap by any means, but after Erin's money? My finances were fine.

  So when the older Hypno asked to give up dreams to greet Erin, I didn't laugh or get suspicious or anything. I just gave him a warm smile and nodded.

  ""Thank you, Matriarch. Join us for Nights of our Unlives?"" I smiled at him even as I winced at my new… title. That PokeDrama was actually very entertaining, especially Shuppet and her unrequited love…

  "I might, but I just want to get everything ready… Not that there's anything to get ready, really, but tell my brain that!" He grinned at me and lifted his pendant jokingly, making me laugh a little.

  "Not literally! I don't have anything to prepare! Well, a big meal, but Leto needs to go kill most of the meal… Actually…" I frowned as I had a thought. I raised my voice as I called into the Ranch from my deck.

  "Midir!" Soon enough he was gently landing next to me, face inquisitive. I rarely called him for anything, considering he wasn't my Pokemon. Technically he was 'trainerless', him and his family all having Pokeballs, but they had caught themselves to stop any attempt to capture them. Their Pokeballs were unregistered and buried in their underwater nest. It was actually quite beautiful down there with a rebreather, but I had only gone once at his mate's insistence. Maybe if I got a wetsuit… End of summer or not, it got cold the deeper you went!

  "So my insane daughters and Alex are coming to visit tonight, and they plan to send Leto out to hunt down a Tauros…" His eyes were already squinting in amusement before I even finished.

  "Think you can tag along with her and carry a second one back? Maybe you and Gyarados, but I know he isn't nearly as fast as you." He laughed, nodded once, then shook his head. Yeah, Gyarados was powerful, but he wasn't a fast flyer at all. He swam through the air. Midir cut through the air.

  "Thank you, dear. We might be able to convince her to carry two, now that I think about it… Maybe she wouldn't complain about a crick in her neck if she had a counter weight…" He laughed at that.

  —

  —

  Leto apparently didn't care about announcing her arrival to the entire town with a huge Roar directly into the air. It was certainly a bit startling even for me, so I felt bad as I watched her leap over the ten foot wall! As I felt her land! She knew not to do that, either!

  I was halfway to her, finger raised, when Midir flew straight to her. After exchanging nods she stared at Erin for a moment before Erin laughed, tossed Midir Leto's Pokeball, and Leto returned herself. As he flew high above and blasted off towards the plains I realized that made a lot more sense. She would still have to sprint back, but why not get a nice ride there?

  I didn't get to talk to Erin for nearly an hour, of course. The rescues wanted to greet her. All of them, even the nocturnal species. She met them in the Barn, to be fair.

  In the meantime, as I watched Erin get mobbed by a hissing, chittering, barking, howling, meowing horde of Pokemon, I caught my other daughter in a huge hug. It hadn't even been two weeks since we met in Saffron, of course, but still! She had twice the number of badges!

  I released her after a moment, only to pull a startled Alex into another huge hug. She flailed a little, but not much.

  "It hasn't been long, but look at you! You look much happier these days, dear! Not to mention much cuter!" She blushed and ducked her head, but I just smiled at her.

  "Now, I think we might need to wait for a while for Erin…" I glanced up and my heart broke. Because of course my daughter was crying as she greeted the rescues, and while there were happy tears in there… I knew first-hand how gratitude could hurt. Especially when you think you don't deserve it…

  "In fact, let's go inside for a while…" They noticed Erin and nodded, following me quietly as we walked back to the house. I did smile as I spoke next, though.

  "I have so many pictures of Leaf to show you!" I ignored her little cries of outrage even as Alex began to laugh.

  —

  —

  Dinner that night was amazing! Well, it was Tauros ribs, Ponyta tenderloin, and a huge spread of grilled and baked vegetables, but I hadn't had these ribs in a long time! Well, not that long, really, but it felt like it! I managed to stop Erin from doing her weird pre-slicing ritual, too. Thankfully… It would have been far too awkward.

  I mean, there was me, Mrs. Maple, the construction worker Julia, Erin, Leaf, Alex, and Professor Oak! Eight people was too many for her silly pecking order.

  Plus, number eight would have pitched a fit when he was allowed to take one last.

  Because of course I had invited Lance! My own growing affection for the man aside, he loved Alex, and cared about my daughters in his own way. I hadn't really had to do much to convince him, either. I just told him I was having Tauros ribs with Erin's spice mixture. He was aware of her issues, obviously, and how delicious her food was, so he didn't just seize the chance. He had flown here as fast as Dragonite could take him.

  Wait, nine people? Dragonite was joining us, while Midir took some ribs to share with his family on the pond shore. Ten, Charizard was obviously here… Alfred made eleven, but he didn't eat meat, so he was just eating some veggies… after I forced him to sit at the same table as me… Twelve, Maddy could eat bones…

  Poor Julia was having a hard time remaining calm next to not only Dragonite and Charizard, but Maddy, Leto in her corner watching her meat roast itself as a motor spun her meat spit, and Wukong idly munching on the singular rib he had wanted to try. He wasn't a huge fan of meat, so no big surprise there, but my daughters' teams may have also given her pause. Or minor heart attacks, really.

  Leto's side of the backyard was also designated the Cerberus Zone, because we did not trust his second head around defenseless or mostly defenseless rescues. It was also the Hazard Zone, even if he was careful around the rescues, which I assume was Leaf's doing… Probably around when he started obeying her easily…

  "Julia, dear, if you want to leave, you can. We won't judge you, trust us." Charizard pouted at my words, but nodded at the poor woman. Julia sort of jerked a little and mechanically raised her second rib to her mouth, voice barely audible as she responded, Rattata, Ekans, Meowth, and even a Bellsprout in her crowded lap.

  "I mean… I would feel bad… I also feel like I'm going to die, but I haven't yet… It's almost like demolition work… I know I'll be fine, but my brain doesn't believe me." I giggled a little at that. Well, we all giggled, chuckled, or in Professor Oak's case, took notes! Professor, that is far from the first time you have heard that from someone!

  Lance spoke up with a wide smile.

  "You're actually doing much better than most people do when they encounter a Master level Pokemon! I've seen people faint standing up!" I giggled at the thought. I knew what it felt like, that first time I had met Leto, meeting Charizard once when I went to the Lab last year.

  Mrs. Maple's voice was unsteady, but not terribly so.

  "It does get easier, and I feel like in a month I'll be completely fine, but until then? I know Charizard is a sweetheart, and that Leto is… Leto, but the feeling remains." We all laughed, even Leto in the Cerberus Zone with the rest of Erin's team. Well, with all of their teams but Alex's Noibat as she got returned, to Jangmo-o's obvious relief. He wasn't used to her noise yet. Or at least as used to it as the rest of their Pokemon. Lance only had Dragonite with him right now, the rest of his team apparently 'busy at the Aerie'... Which didn't worry me at all… Truly…

  "Well… I will be back tomorrow morning to finish the adoption process…" Julia was pale as she said that, but the faces of the Pokemon in her lap lit up when she said that, and I couldn't help but tear up a little.

  She left with Mrs. Maple after dinner. Mrs. Maple was letting her stay overnight, giving us some alone time.

  Time I would use very well.

  —

  —

  "Erin, dear, my craziest daughter… I don't suppose you have a new, different song you might sing?" I ignored her fierce glare, mainly because it only lasted a second! I gave Dexter the biggest smile and thumbs up at the sight. She huffed a little as she pouted! Oh, I hope she never stopped that! It was adorable! Also hilarious!

  "I mean… yes and no? I wrote out some song lyrics, but… Most of the music I enjoyed enough to remember that well are either dirty, so no, or they're… intense." I frowned a little. Me, the Professor, and Leaf all frowned.

  "As long as they aren't like… that song…" She grinn- smiled at me! I love it!

  "I like that song! Well, I like its rhythm, and you didn't get much of that at all…" Dexter took that moment to ruin her night. Again.

  "She has a few that she thinks are close! I could pla-" Erin managed to snag him out of the air. Only for a moment, because Dexter apparently knew exactly how much he could safely shock my daughter. Maybe a little unsafely, as I saw sparks dance between her fingers for a second.

  "Dexter! Those are not done! Not even close!" She looked up into the silence. Into our waiting, anticipating faces. Into Professor Oak's camera. She scowled, not even flinching this time from the shock.

  "What do you think I do as I listen to the music I make? Most have very little lyrics! They are all fast! Most are violent!" We were frowning at her now.

  "Dear, they can't all be violent. Not every song you remember?" She chuckled a little, eyes amused.

  "Sure, but I know many more that aren't. Want to hear a few names?" I frowned a little at her tone, but she was being playful. Just viciously playful.

  "Go ahead, dear…" Her grin grew wide, and Dexter ignored it. I guess she had reached some sort of agreement with him…

  "Resistance, Seven Nation Army, Victorious, Burn it to the Ground, Back from the Dead, Heavy is the Crown… Shoot to Kill, Get my Way, Pull the Trigger… Nemesis, Save Me, Villain, Murder Plot, Enemy, Devil, Battlecry… Oooh, actually, if I get to Giovanni and he's still not arrested, I'll call him out with Devil! Riell was a good artist…" We were all sort of… not really in disbelief. There were violent song names here, of course, so those hadn't been that out there… Most of them…

  'Murder Plot'?

  "Sis, you must have one…" Erin grinned at Leaf, and I grew worried.

  "Suuure… How about I sing 'Monster'?" I scowled at her.

  "Erin, we don't need to hear you try and inventively badmouth yourself!" She smirked at me.

  "You're not entirely wrong, really, but I do remember it well… Actually, how about this? How about I sing one that I listened to the last time I was fourteen? Or close to it, I guess?" I gave her a wide smil- Wait.

  "What kind of music did you listen to then, Erin?" Her grin told me all I needed to know.

  "Well, mostly rock, some electronica, and a little rap?" Better than what I expected, it couldn't be too bad…

  "There's… 'Down with the Sickness'?" Of course! I scowled at her.

  "I think… Oh! Okay, so I hated modern country when I was alive. It was all too… fake, too performative I guess? Old country, though? The Charlie Daniels Band is classic!" She smiled at us. "I've decided! Dexter, c'mere, let's try and get this almost half-century old song right!" She looked up at us with a wide grin as Dexter flew into her hand.

  "I actually used to get asked to sing country kind of often… especially the ones made for bass, but I can… probably make it work with my squeaker voice?" Squeaker? Oh, okay, that was good! Accurate, too!

  Lance looked over at her with an odd look in his eyes.

  "I have a deep voice…?" She peered at him for a long moment before smiling.

  "You know what, yeah, sure. Let's clear out a room in the Barn. Give us like, twenty minutes. Country songs were relatively easy, considering most were designed to be sung while you played a guitar. I mean, this was made for fiddles too, but screw it. I've been working on something similar, actually… Half an hour… I actually did play the violin for a few years in middle school… just not well… Certainly not well enough to do it justice, but…" She what?! Somehow that was more surprising than many of the things I learned about her!

  I watched as my daughter and my newest 'friend' walked towards the Barn, and I felt like my face probably looked quite a bit like Leaf and Alex's, full of anticipation and amusement as I watched two 'enemies' walk side by side… The Professor, though? He gave me a grin I remembered.

  "Care for a shot, Patricia?" I smiled even as Charizard practically leapt to her feet.

  —

  —

  I really wasn't expecting the Hypno and Drowzee that followed the two back not ten minutes later. I really didn't expect how excited they all looked.

  Erin especially.

  "Okay, so, change of plans! This is a great song, sure, and we can perform it, too… Howeevveerrrrr…" She turned to smile widely at the older Hypno.

  "Someone noticed our practice! These wonderful little dream demons can copy a dream! They can also do memory sharing if they work together!" Her smile was so wide!

  "Remember I told you about a song I really, really wanted to hear again?" I felt my own smile grow wide at the look on her face. She was so happy!

  "Well, thanks to these brilliant Pokemon, I'm going to show you all a… memory. It… It might be a bit awkward? You'll be living it from my perspective…" My smile grew much wider.

  "That sounds perfect, dear! Can we all hear? Or watch, I guess?" She nodded at me as she sat down. Lance looked slightly disappointed, but I knew my daughter was probably working on that romance song she mentioned for him… In fact, I would guarantee she was, just to embarrass me…

  "Before I show you that, however, I have a few snippets to share…" She looked far too pleased with herself now. Still, she looked happy…

  "And those snippets would be…?" She giggled a little.

  "Well, other than Alex and I, you and Leaf showed up in a certain game, and Professor Oak and Lance showed up in a game and anime…" I felt my face practically explode in a blush.

  Leaf merely looked amused and intrigued, the Professor of course only intrigued, but Lance? Lance looked ready to run.

  Erin was already gesturing at the elderly Hypno, though.

  I could feel that most of the perspective had been somehow trimmed from these memories, and they started slowly. A clunky-looking black and white Professor, tinted red, asking for her name. A fully colored Professor asking if she was a boy or a girl, then Leaf stood there, a small, determined smile on her face as she wore her usual outfit. The same one she wore now, in fact. A much more detailed drawing of Leaf, smiling happily. A small sprite in a house, handing her 'Running Shoes', and I knew that had to be me. Lance with his cape, tossing out Dragonite on a small screen.

  Then I saw an image of Lance on a PokeNet site of some sort, and… wow, I was very glad that he wasn't that young here in reality. Then a slightly older image of Lance with storm clouds in the background. Still too young for me, but much more handsome… Even with that cape…

  Then the Professor, animated and moving as he was… electrocuted! Burned! Smashed with Moves! Comically, but still, it was somewhat startling!

  Erin was smiling at us as the memories faded.

  "Interesting, huh?" I playfully scowled at her even as Professor Oak looked confused.

  "I assume I was… comedic relief?" She laughed a little.

  "Not really, for the most part you were smarter than that. Those were from a kind of Pokemon lecture mini-series, actually. Still comedic, though. Kids show, remember?" She turned to a confused Lance.

  "See what I meant? You actually looked kind of cool in Generations." His confusion dropped and he scowled at her. Far less playfully than I had, but not angrily.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "I… yes? Still a cartoon, but sure. I'm much more impressive in real life. Obviously." She snorted and turned to a happy Leaf.

  "You were just adorable, of course!" Leaf blushed a little and deliberately ignored the very amused Alex next to her.

  "Very funny, sis… Now, music?" Erin shook herself a bit and glanced at Hypno briefly.

  "Well, just for some context, this memory is…" She looked uncomfortable now.

  "This was actually a cover band doing Bohemian Rhapsody, not Queen, but they were good, so it's not radically different… I was eight… With my old… uhh… mom." She looked so uncomfortable, and I realized I had never heard about her mother. Just her aunt and grandmother…

  She cleared her throat awkwardly.

  "Anyways, don't be startled when you're viewing it from a low angle, I guess?" She was avoiding our eyes now. "Just lean back so you don't fall forward and hit your head. Actually, you might want to just put your heads down… It's a decently long song…"

  I thought I might have been prepared to be short again… I was not prepared to feel Erin's senses as she stood outside in a massive crowd in the dark, in the middle of the night. I could feel the humidity, much more than I had ever felt before, the air itself almost liquid. I could feel the huge speakers as the air vibrated, vibrated her bones and lungs. I heard the occasional faint cry of a strange Pokemon… or 'animal', I guess… I felt the Ekans-like creature that draped itself over Erin's small shoulders and snuggly around her neck, scales so cool in the sweltering hot, humid night air. She had mentioned these before, these 'snakes'.

  I truly wasn't prepared to feel her emotions.

  The intense boredom that slowly transformed into excitement, the thrill of her whole body vibrating to the deep bass… Her deep unhappiness with herself hurt me, but it was the feelings for her mother that truly distracted me. There was such love there… There was also resentment and fear. She had only been eight, though, and the worst emotion? The fragile hope I felt, how she knew it was a doomed hope, and I could tell she didn't trust her own mother… Didn't trust her not to abandon her.

  Again.

  All of that I understood instantly, as soon as the memory began. In an instant I understood, at least partially, her issues with family. Also, probably why she had let us all view this, to share in her past. Because of course Erin didn't like to talk about herself, but showing? Apparently that didn't bother her as much…

  I would have given that more thought, but I was enchanted by the voice of the man on stage. Not the original singer, according to Erin, but he was good! I lost myself in the true sounds of a different world's music, not just Erin and her horrible attempts. Now I understood why she had refused to sing this song, this Bohemian Rhapsody. She would have done it a huge disservice.

  When the song finally ended and I felt myself come fully back to my body, it took me more than a few moments to gather my thoughts.

  Erin didn't give me those.

  "Okay, here's a twenty minute song!" My head rose in horror, mine and everyone else's, only to find her smiling at me. I gave her a light scowl, but she just giggled at me.

  "Dear, that's not funny. Nobody would make a song that long!" She burst into laughter.

  "I know two! Not remember, obviously, but if we're doing it this way? Rush is classic! Their song is called Twenty One Twelve, as in the year… It was a story, really… The other was by a band inspired by them called Coheed and Cambria, and I saw them live once when I was sixteen, one of the few shows I ever saw live. Actually, yeah!" She turned to the Hypno with a wide grin.

  "Relax! It's a shorter one! Only four minutes! It's called A Favor House Atlantic!" I glared at her, but she was already gesturing!

  Suddenly I was a teenager, so hot as sweat drenched me, crushed against a short girl in front of me as a press of bodies pushed me forward with unrelenting force. My arms weren't around the girl, they were grabbing the railing in front of her as I tried to stop her from being crushed against it. Distractedly, absently, because up on the very close stage was a huge man with massive hair and a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

  Her nose was also broken! Badly! Set, yes, but it hurt!

  The whole crowd was singing! Erin was singing, broken nose ignored! Also, Erin wore glasses?!

  "Your eyes tell the stories of a day you wish you could

  Recall the moments that once have

  Retract the footsteps that brought us to this favor

  I wouldn't ask this of you…"

  The entire crowd synced their voices perfectly for the next lines, and it left me stunned!

  Good eye, sniper

  Here I'll shoot, you run

  The words you scribbled on the walls

  With the loss of friends you didn't have

  I'll call you when the time is right

  Are you in or are you out?

  For them all to know the end of us all…"

  I truly didn't know she could feel that carefree and happy! Especially with a broken nose! She was swaying with the entire crowd! They were far too packed in to dance, but they could lightly sway side to side! The energy in the air was electric, and I actually quite enjoyed that man's voice!

  Wait… I know this feeling, Erin… That's a different feeling, but she's a sixteen year old crushed against a girl… That feeling, however, was very different!

  Her smile was wide and relaxed when I raised my scowling face. She looked confused by my expression.

  "I thought you'd like that one, mom? I mean, Coheed was kinda soft for what I usually listened to?" I cranked my glare up and she went pale.

  "What?! I didn't do anything!" Lance was trying not to laugh, and failing badly, but I wasn't finding it funny.

  "Was it that girl? I forgot about that part, but you could feel that I didn't have a choice, and she knew it! My arms were dead from not crushing her all night! That barrier was just plain metal, it hurt to hold, much less get crushed up against, and she was tiny! Still bigger than me now…" I managed a small snort before my glare continued.

  She just looked confused, however.

  "Seriously mom, what? I relived it too, I don't know why you're so-" Now she got it, face paling further.

  "Young lady, why were you drunk at sixteen? Why were you on some drug? Also, why was your nose broken so badly?" She burst into laughter at the last part.

  "Honestly? I don't remember drinki- Okay, now I remember. Me and two friends got dropped off downtown an hour before the show, so we… pre-gamed with some older guys? You can't blame me for not remembering that part… We also smoked a few, uhh, recreational drugs beforehand… To be fair, that particular drug was used for thousands of years responsibly until someone found a way to do similar things and made it illegal so they could make more money… Not to mention racists that labeled it- not saying that crap… Because it's always a few people…" She trailed off in frustration and I sighed.

  "That aside, why was your nose broken?" Leaf and Alex nodded along, faces a little red, but amused. And embarrassed… Ah, yeah… Well, now they know something very different… Poor Leaf… Kind of funny, though.

  "I didn't remember that before I shared it either, but I remember it breaking. Coheed and Cambria was the main band that night, but there were two opening acts. One was… okay… The next was so bad, so drunk on stage, drinking on stage, that we all got kind of… bored and moshed?" What was mosh?

  "What is a mosh?" She grinned at me, and of course I was soon in her memory again.

  A sad looking, overweight, shirtless bald man was stumbling on stage as he drank from a beer bottle, and I could feel the crowd growing restless. Then I felt the crowd begin to surge, like waves on a shore, only against each other, and it grew. For almost a minute I watched the memory of an entire crowd grow so bored they decided that thrashing around was better!

  I also felt my daughter's old eyes widen at the elbow that came for her face. Luckily the memory broke off right before it connected.

  I looked up, scowling, but Erin was already dancing!

  "They helped me remember a good song, too! I love Hypno now! Hell yeah!" She jumped into the air as she began to sing to a beat only she fully heard, stomping out a beat with her feet as she gestured violently!

  "Yeah, me I don't settle

  Just pedal the metal

  That look in my eye

  Like I'm 'bout to fly

  My enemies tremble!

  So get outta my way, now

  I'm takin' it way down

  I'm shaking the whole ground

  I'm a whole 'nother level!

  Oh, I don't know about you, no

  Oh, I don't know about you, but-"

  Her aura blazed purple all around her and she grew animated! Also dangerous looking and feeling as she threw her arms down with her words!

  "Me I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm better!

  You spell my name in all capital letters!

  My mama said

  I always was a go getter

  Won't settle for second rate

  No, I want better

  Best, best, best

  Gimme the best, best, best

  Don't want the rest, rest, rest

  Gimme the best, best, best

  Best, best, best

  Gimme the best, best, best

  Don't want the rest rest rest

  Gimme the best, best, best"

  She paused momentarily, smiling wide as she swayed in place.

  "Yeah, I put in the sweat

  Ain't got no regrets

  You make your excuse

  You sit on the floor and you throw a fit!

  Yeah, there's no time for that

  I put up the numbers, the stats

  No slowing down, too fast

  Beast mode, about to attack!"

  Her aura was flaring around her visibly as she sang! It was honestly very uncomfortable!

  She just kept going for almost two minutes, aura more of a light show than anything else! Luckily the rescues were at least used to Wukong, Maddy, and Midir, but this felt dangerous.

  When she finally came to a stop she was so happy… I was a little irritated, though.

  I never got the chance to grill her.

  "Erin, what the hell was that sh- crap with your aura!" Lance was livid as he glared at her. Of course, my daughter just smiled at him.

  "I mean, I flared it out like in an anime? Even if it does nothing more than look cool? Why? Don't worry, Lance, I won't die." He was snarling now, though.

  "You idiot! Push too much out and you will die! Your heart will stop!" She gave him a strange look for a long moment.

  Then she exploded in aura, a visible wave of purple energy that lifted away from her. Lance was already scrambling for her, but she just smiled and pulled it back in instantly. He stumbled as he halted, mouth hanging open.

  "Lance, my mind is aura, more or less. I will never die from expelling too much, because I'll always have some up there, and I have insane control because it is my mind. Now, that did feel very awkward, and once again did nothing more than look cool, but I'm fine… Still kind of bitter that I don't get super strength and I get mind stuff instead, even if it's cool…"

  Before I could ream her out, Leaf spoke up, and I forgot my anger. Momentarily. I had a long memory…

  "How about, instead of a song… Can we see part of your old world? Maybe a… happy memory?" I watched her face screw up on itself, but she didn't shake her head as she sat back down.

  "Sure, but… Give me a moment… I… don't have a lot that would qualify, but… Yeah…" She closed her eyes tightly and I sighed internally. I knew she was trying to find a happy memory that didn't involve alcohol or drugs…

  "There's that morning, I was sober… no, not that one…" I cleared my throat and she gave me a very embarrassed look.

  "It was the… freest I ever felt? For a few seconds? In the predawn air, mist hanging over a river before me and my… relative went fishing… Specifically, me waking up while… going into that river, off an embankment…" Her eyes closed again as we all laughed.

  Freest she's ever felt? That sounded great… But not that!

  "So, this one isn't bad. I was maybe fifteen? You'll see, but there was a huge dam built on a river close to me, and my little cousin and I climbed it when she visited once. Then she decided she wanted to run down it… So I did, too. I thought I was going to break my ankles going that fast, but…"

  Suddenly I was standing at the top of a huge grassy embankment, looking at a building in the distance half-hidden in a rocky valley, and I knew that was the actual 'dam'. I turned, and across a thin road I saw a lake so large that I couldn't see the farthest side, tiny-looking boats dotting the waters. Then my vision turned again, and I saw a beautiful river laid out below me, shining in the sun. There weren't walls along the river, but the forested valley it cut into rose rapidly after a couple hundred feet on each side. My view shifted down the embankment and I saw just how high up we were. Almost two hundred feet, easily, and that was a steep angle! It was covered in trimmed grass, and I could feel my daughter's legs already burning and shaking from the walk up.

  "Come on, zzzttt, I bet I'm faster than you!" I could feel that her old name had been ripped right out of the memory, and I was glad. I didn't want to know it. I knew about deadnames. Very literal deadnames, in this case…

  I felt her panic as a young girl Leaf's age began running down the hill.

  "Alex, stop! Alex- fuck it!" I felt her exasperation as she began to run after the girl, then her fear as she began to run faster.

  Then her pure elation as she began to skip down the hill in huge, leaping bounds, easily passing her cousin. There was mild fear she would snap an ankle, but it quickly disappeared. I felt her sheer joy as she sped down that hill in the bright sunshine laughing, the feeling of freedom as each jump lasted far longer than it felt like it should as she went forwards and down the steep angle, like she was flying!

  I also felt her sheer terror as she drew closer to the bottom. The bottom, and the large, concrete drainage ditch there.

  Her intense relief when she leapt over it was short lived, because she rolled across a strip of grass onto asphalt that felt much rougher than any road surface here.

  Then I was back, and this time I had nothing to be mad about! Imagine my surprise!

  "That was a beautiful lake! And that river!" She smiled warmly at that, eyes slightly unfocused.

  "I fished in that river a lot, actually. The lake, too, but you needed luck to find the schools close to shore, or the wanderers. You required a fish finder to actually be productive, and I never had the money to buy one… Want a few memories of me fishing? I was always pretty happy doing that." I smiled and nodded, even as I noticed the happy looks on everyone else's faces, even Lance's smile warm. Well, Professor Oak was happy, but he was also furiously taking down notes, of course…

  Then I was in a bright yellow plastic, individual boat of some sort… a sit-in kayak of some odd design, and I could feel how easily my daughter could flip. She would have had to just lean slightly, but she wasn't. She was practically reclined in the kayak actually, her lower body inside the kayak… Most of it. Her bare legs and feet were thrown precariously over the sides as she somehow relaxed while balancing herself.

  It was cold water, icy in fact, so cold it hurt. I could tell it was dawn by the sun that barely peeked through the thick mist that hung over the water. Thick mist, because it was hot and humid despite the water's temperature, and she seemed completely at ease with the sharp, shooting pains in her icy feet and legs. It made sense compared to the sweat that already coated her, though.

  She was idly drifting down that same crystal clear river, past sunken logs and jagged looking rocks, and I saw a tiny looking fishing pole in her hands as she reeled it in. I could feel her idle concentration as she slightly lifted the tip to send her lure over a rock, and I felt her joy as a flash of light struck at it. Then I felt her extreme shock as the fish pulled! I also felt her… puff on a cigarette! Excuse me?!

  Still, her elation was so overwhelming as she fought that fish that I let it go… For now… It was a… small fish? Well, it would be a small Pokemon, but judging by the tiny rod, her shock, and her whooping cheering I assumed that the poor brown fish with bright spots was large for its species. It was only like, ten pounds, though? Well, there were small aquatic Pokemon too, of course, but still…

  Then she was standing in the middle of that river in regular clothes, an icy, powerful current doing its best to knock her over. Her entire lower chest and body were painfully numb, but she was uncaring of the water's temperature! She had simply braced herself against the current with one bare foot on rough rocks slick with algae, idly casting even as the life jacket she wore pushed her ever so slightly up. I saw her rod bend, and felt her mild excitement and then disappointment as the small fish was reeled in. It was tiny, far less than even a half a pound, but her excitement grew intense. It must have been a rare kind of fish for this area, because it was absolutely stunning with its brown scales covered in bright spots, far more vibrant than the last fish I had seen despite fitting neatly into my daughter's large hand.

  Suddenly it was another memory, and I was back in the same kayak, cheap lights strapped to it as it floated more than a mile from shore in that lake at night! I felt her exhilaration as a large fish of some sort slowly dragged her kayak through the water, a much larger, thicker rod in her hands… I also felt how she was very, very drunk! With a cigarette hanging from her lips the whole time! The memory cut off abruptly, and I knew that hadn't been intentional. I would ignore that one, just that one… That kayak would have filled with water if she had flipped! A mile from shore! Almost shitfaced! At night!

  Then I was back, and I glared at her.

  "You smoked?!" She barely reacted to that, just raising an eyebrow at me.

  "That's your question? Yeah, I did? Never managed to kick that habit, actually, but I'm glad that craving didn't migrate bodies… Probably because smoking does nothing for you mentally after you're addicted, you just have to maintain… I hate alcohol, but it does alter your state of mind… One more." My scowl was still fierce as I viewed another memory.

  I was small, even smaller than when she was eight, and judging from the heat and humidity, in the same area the first concert had been in. The sky, though! It was a sunset, the sky full of puffy-looking clouds, but I had never seen a sunset like this, one so stunning! It was emerald green shot through with vibrant ruby! The entire sky looked like a glowing gemstone!

  I felt my daughter's pure, unfiltered awe at the sight, how she knew for a fact that she would remember it forever… Then my vision drifted down and I was pulling up a… it looked like a two foot long Whiscash, honestly? It was ugly, whatever it was, almost as dark as the black water under her. My daughter grabbed it by the jaw, unhooked it, and… just walked off, holding a much larger fishing pole than in that river, even as it bit down harder on her thumb with its toothless mouth.

  She walked off of the small dock she had been on, and I found her at some sort of large boating dock marina, dozens of small, very flat boats everywhere.

  "Kid, are you eating that?!" She looked up and an older man with a large beard was pointing at the fish with a disgusted look. I felt her smile.

  "No, I'm feeding it to a gator!" The man laughed at her, held up a finger and rushed off. He came back with a clear bag full of some large green fish with huge mouths. Very dead fish.

  "Here, you insane kid. I just got them weighed, take these, too! I'm not gonna eat them!" Why? That's such a huge waste!

  "Thanks, old guy!" I felt her amusement as the man laughed. I also felt the live fish thrash on her thumb, but she completely ignored it other than tightening her grip, taking the heavy bag full of fish from the man.

  Then she jogged towards some tall grasses off to the side of the marina. She burst through them and my heart skipped a beat, or hers did?

  There was a large, ten foot long… black and green reptilian 'animal' laying on the mud next to the black water maybe eight feet away, and I felt her heart rate spike. I could feel that this 'animal' sometimes killed people. Ate them. Didn't feel anything about it when it did. It wasn't malevolent or evil, just dangerous, especially to children.

  She found it so cool!

  "Yo, I brought you some more! Remember, you can't eat me! Not that I would trust you!" She tossed the live fish at the… 'gator'? The gator's head, and I watched those jaws snap with stunning speed and crushing force. I felt her heartbeat skip, and I felt her grin! I knew it was the same grin she still got, even before Leto, her aura, and everything in this world!

  "Good, huh? Well, I have a lot more this time!" The gator didn't react much, simply turned very slightly to look at her. It didn't react violently even as it ate the next few fish right out of the air.

  The last one fell short as it slipped in her hands, landing three or so feet from the jaws of the 'gator', and I watched in disbelieving horror as my daughter casually walked up to the beast! She was watching it closely, of course, and I could tell she knew how to do this, and had been taught how to interact with these creatures!

  I could also feel that she knew better than to do it in the first place!

  It didn't snap at her, though, somehow. It just stared at her with those soulless green eyes as she gently tossed it the fish, less than four feet from its jaws. I knew that she knew she was in danger! Mortal danger! Even as it snapped the fish out of the air far too close to her, she grinned!

  She didn't care about the danger! She thought the animal, its danger, was awesome!

  "Well, that's all I have for you, bud!"

  The memory began to fade, but before it fully faded I felt another memory get brought up, her still a child.

  She was on top of another 'gator', but this one was huge, almost fifteen feet long! It's.. oh, its jaws were wrapped in black tape, though… It could still trample her! Simply roll over!

  Then she was holding a baby one, then a juvenile almost four feet long in her weak, shaking arms.

  Then she was crouched next to what looked like a Persian, jaws right next to her vulnerable, child neck!

  Then she was beating an aggressive 'snake' that kept charging her! With a stick!

  Then she was still a child, swimming at a beach, and I saw her reach some… nets? Nets that divided the sea, partitioned it… She climbed over them, swam down into the silty, cloudy water with her eyes stinging, and came face to face with a… long, yellow Sharpedo? Her terror was mild! She wasn't that afraid of whatever it was, but it was almost seven feet long! It just… swam away as she pulled herself back over the nets that kept people safe!

  Then she was in the mountains, an adult, staring at a very angry looking… Ursaring? A small black one, with two smaller cubs. Once again, she felt terror, but it was mild! She just backed up a dozen feet and indicated the path she had been on! Like she was telling that thing to go first! It… did, too!? Hesitantly, warily, eyeing her the entire time, but it did! Somehow!

  Then she was being slammed with a hard beak as a… large avian of some sort fought her. Fought her arms trapping its wings and her hands, which had a vice grip on the poor animals legs that were tightly wrapped in fishing line. I felt her rage at the pain this thing had to be in, her fury at whoever hadn't disposed of it properly.

  Then she was a child, crying as she stared at a… green Squirtle look alike that had been… half ran over, twitching… The memory cut off just before the rock she held came down on its head.

  Then she was in the mountains again as an adult, in a tiny, icy, freezing creek, snow on the ground, pulling a baby… Stantler of some sort out of the water, drying it off with her discarded jacket as she locked eyes with the very wary, skittish, far away mother and smiled, even as her whole body shook from the cold.

  Then we were back, and I knew she hadn't meant to show us all of that.

  She was glaring at Hypno, but he looked confused. After a moment her expression relaxed and she leaned back with her eyes closed, silent.

  "Those were… 'animals'?" Lance was the first to speak, and he sounded disturbed and intrigued at the same time.

  "Those were animals, yes… I didn't mean to show you all that, but I guess I was thinking about 'interacting with animals' and it just sort of… flowed. Sorry…" I was shaking my head, not that she could see.

  "We're not mad, not at all! Although, why were you so calm around that 'gator' thing?!" Her eyes opened, and there was amusement dancing in them.

  "Because they were everywhere where I grew up? They weren't dangerous if you were careful, left them alone, or were just fast and smart… I should not have fed it, it acclimated them to humans and made them more likely to associate us with food, and we are meat, but I was six!" Six?! Why had she been alone?! Wait… Oh…

  "That long yellow Sharpedo?" She laughed hard at that.

  "That was a Lemon Shark! Technically, sure, it could have eaten me, but Lemons weren't that aggressive, that's why it just swam off. Humans are too hard and bony for most sharks to do more than take a test bite, if that! Now, if that had been a Bull Shark? Well… I'd at least have gotten bitten, probably eaten. Or a Tiger Shark, and they were both in those waters. Sharks killed far fewer people a year than vending machines tipping over did, though… even if that comparison was kind of skewed, since far more people used vending machines than swam in the ocean every year." So it wasn't that dangerous, but it could have been deadly?!

  Leaf spoke up, disbelief in her voice.

  "What was that Ursaring?" Another laugh.

  "A black bear. Not very dangerous, and they would rather run than fight. Cubs make them dangerous if you get between a mother and her cubs, but as you saw, they would rather rush their cubs past you if you're calm and respectful. I would not have been calm if it was a brown bear or a grizzly, but they weren't in my area. We had a little saying. 'Black, fight back. Brown, lie down. White, good night'. Black bears you got loud or actually fought and they would probably run, and you at least had a chance of escaping, brown and grizzly bears you acted dead and hoped they weren't hungry right then, polar bears, white bears? Hyper-aggressive arctic carnivores. I would never have run into one, but if I somehow had? Guaranteed death unless I had a very powerful rifle, amazing aim, and enough time for it to realize it was dead." Arceus… Well, they weren't as dangerous as Pokemon, sure, but they had no Pokemon of their own!

  Professor Oak's voice was intrigued as he spoke up. Spoke up while still taking notes, of course…

  "You seemed to like those 'animals' quite a bit?" She smiled at him.

  "I loved animals, actually! I just never got much of an education past high school… If I'd had my way? I'd have been in an animal rights group, but… well, you watched my little breakdown?" She frowned at him, but lightly. She had suggested it herself, just to keep him in the loop. Literally everyone on this side of the world that knew the truth was here. He nodded at her.

  "Well, that tiny fraction of one percent of one percent… they… assaulted the planet for profit, violated it… In fact, one last memory. It's not graphic, but it is a perfect example of what I despised about my old world." She turned to stare at Hypno and I grew nervous.

  I should have been.

  I was watching a video of a huge ship. A huge fishing ship, and the gargantuan net being pulled closed behind it in an honestly impressive feat of engineering. I couldn't wrap my head around the scale of how many were harvested until the bulging, tubular net was slowly, carefully opened… Then a torrent of dead and dying fish was pouring endlessly from the end of the tube of netting, a river of flesh flowing into giant holes in the top of this ship. Men wandered around idly pushing fish back towards the holes even as more climbed on top of the huge tube of netting hundreds of feet long still packed with thrashing, dying fish… I felt her rage, and her helpless horror.

  Then I was back, face pale. Her voice was harsh as she spoke.

  "It was called trawling, and it, and other techniques, turned fishing from a hobby, a profession, a way to feed your family and community, into strip-mining flesh from the oceans. A good percentage of it was just… wasted, too. Thrown back because it wasn't the species they were targeting. When I died they already said the ocean was too far gone to ever fully recover. The decades, over a century of warnings had been deliberately downplayed and ignored, scientists and activists discredited if not outright killed." She snarled a little.

  "Our planet was dying to further enrich the ultra-rich, and they didn't care. They were literally building spaceships to try and leave, not to mention huge bunker complexes to ride out the apocalypse they were causing in their greed if that never worked. Once you hit a certain amount of wealth, it doesn't bring you any more security in your life, or even dozens of generations of your descendants. It's just a number they wanted to be bigger! Just like an addiction!" Professor Oak idly nodded at that, face disturbed, just like all of ours. He would know, he was rich beyond rich… and most of it was donated!

  She looked around at us with a serious face.

  "This world is amazing, and I would have believed that no matter when I died, but… My planet was on its way out. Well, not out, it would have recovered eventually, if not the millions or more species we would have caused to go extinct… Humans? We might have survived, probably would have in some capacity, but the vast majority of that eight and a half billion? They would have starved to death. Before they did? Every nightmare scenario when you have billions of omnivores with nothing to eat!" I winced at the implied horrors…

  She sighed heavily.

  "Sorry I showed you that, I just… That was my old world. So beautiful and full of life and love, and so full of horrors that wouldn't even be possible here… I love this world…" Her head was bowed now, and I felt my throat tighten up at her voice.

  Alex spoke up, voice deliberately light.

  "Was your cousin one of those female 'Alex's' you said you knew?" My daughter's face rose, and her face was light. I watched her almost visibly push her old world to the back of her mind and smiled at her expression.

  "Yeah, actually! She was… kind of cool… I guess? Then she grew up around that part of the 'family'…" She started to frown again and I rushed to cut that off.

  Leaf got there before me.

  "Erin, I know you might not want to, but… You had your own animals, right? Are there any you might want to… show?"

  Erin's face fell, even as her eyes teared up and she smiled.

  "Yeah, yeah I think I would… actually like that? Just a few snippets, I think…"

  Suddenly I was in the woods, a small white canine charging through drifts of dead leaves as I felt my daughter laugh. It disappeared over a hill, but she didn't stop her… hike down a mountain trail? Then it burst over the hill and ran up to her, tongue hanging out as it panted, brown eyes shining with joy as it looked up at my daughter, and I felt her love and affection for this small creature.

  A pitch black feline staring directly into her eyes with vivid yellow ones as it lay on her chest, nails dug in and rhythmically pushing at her chest as it purred deeply. She just stared back contentedly as she stroked its back, smiling warmly.

  A different feline, larger and orange, that she put her head on and napped with in warm sunshine, the love she felt so overwhelming.

  Another Squirtle look-alike, red and slightly larger than her hand stretched its highly vulnerable neck out to let her gently scratch it, and I could feel her awe in the trust this wild animal had in her.

  A small white room, and I knew this wasn't intentional by the overwhelming grief as she held that orange feline, so weak and frail and in pain.

  The memory abruptly cut off, and I knew that had been accidental all around, as even Hypno and his group were tearing up now.

  Erin was… crying, but gently, almost smiling.

  "Sorry…" She was silent as we wrangled with the grief we felt.

  Lance spoke up softly after a long moment.

  "They were your family, weren't they?" She nodded, still smiling.

  "They were, and more that I didn't show. They were each and every one my family except for that trusting wild box turtle. Unfortunately, unless they died in an accident, you almost always had to choose when they would die. You would run calculations in your head. Are they still getting more joy out of life than pain? Is it worth the medications that keep them alive longer if they made them ill?"

  "They weren't sapient, so you couldn't ask them… It was always a tragedy, because how do you know you didn't do it too soon? Too late? Still… it was worth it, all the same. I love Pokemon, but there was something special about an animal's unconditional love and trust… Well, our companion species that had been bred to be that way, at least… Also so unfortunate, because not everyone was kind…" She trailed off and I spoke up gently.

  "I think they would be happy for you, Erin." She looked up at me with wet eyes, but a wide smile, even if it trembled slightly.

  "Yeah, they would be! They would be proud of what I do here…" She trailed off, but I didn't want to let that thought fester.

  "You should also feel proud of what you do, Erin." She shook her head, her pigtails swaying.

  "I… I try to, I swear… Not that I lie… here…" She trailed off for a moment before she met the exhausted eyes of the old Hypno.

  Then she began to sob, and I knew what he was doing. He could show her dreams. Good dreams, and bad dreams. Memories.

  The emotions of the Pokemon she rescued.

  His face was kind and gentle as he looked at me, even through the exhaustion.

  ""Tyrant is… hero. Tell? Tire-"" He winced and grabbed at his head as I felt the thought cut off.

  "Don't hurt yourself, please! Rest! I- We will, thank you, thank you all for tonight." He smiled at me once more before he let himself get picked up by two other Hypno as the Drowzee slumped.

  They left us in the backyard, us and the girls teams. They had all watched, of course…

  I knew Hecate was talking to her right now by the way her lips twitched even as she continued to cry softly, so I took the chance to look around.

  Alex was… she looked mostly okay? She was certainly worried for Erin, obviously, but I could tell her own situation had been highlighted by those memories. Erin had never gotten to transition, and there had been a deep sense of unhappiness in every memory, even the joyful ones…

  Leaf looked… fine, other than the remembered grief? Obviously worried for Erin, but she had spent far more time with her sister than I had, so maybe not much of this was very surprising…

  Professor Oak was, of course, still furiously taking notes, not that I had expected differently, but he did glance up at her in worry occasionally.

  Lance was… frowning at her in concern, but also… I don't even know what it looked like, honestly. I had seen compassion there before, and it was close, but… He spoke up, voice steady.

  "You were fearless. Why?" She looked up at him as she wiped at her eyes.

  "You know, Lance. Don't make me say it." He shook his head.

  "I'm not talking about you not caring, Erin. I meant fearless." She was frowning at him now.

  "You could literally feel my fear! I was scared!" He shook his head again.

  "Erin, why did you feed an apex predator that would have eaten you if given a chance?" She laughed a little.

  "Because I honestly wasn't scared of them! I saw one rip a guy's arm off because alcohol makes you dumb, but that's because he hit it! They were… predictable. Most reptiles were." He smiled at her even as I winced at her horrifying words.

  "So you were scared, but fearless? That's what I just heard." He laughed at her intense scowl.

  "That's not fearless! That's being brave! Being brave is feeling fear and doing it anyways, being fearless is different!" He smiled at her.

  "So, if you're brave, and you help people, and you're a good person, what does that make you to those rescues?" He jerked a little as my daughter probably smacked him with her aura, but he kept his eyes locked to hers, even as she scowled at him with blazing eyes.

  "Lance, you know how I feel about that!" He grinned at her.

  "Very true, I should accept your opinion on the matter, right? I wasn't really involved, I have no say, correct?" She nodded at him, before she caught on and scowled again, glow fading from her eyes.

  "Well, there's over two hundred rescues who think of you as a hero, Erin, despite your dislike of the word. Are they all wrong? Is their opinion on the matter valid? Maybe feel a little pride in yourself? They certainly do!" She stared at him for a long moment, mouth hanging open, a confused look on her face.

  "Who are you and what did you do with the real Lance?! Lance is not smart enough to mentally outwit me like that, not the Lance I know!" We all erupted into roaring laughter as poor Lance grew so red in the face.

  Erin never lied, but she could be wrong!

  dumb kid, honestly. Sense of caution? Fear of apex predators? What are those?