Leaf

  —

  I did not enjoy this Gym Challenge! At all! I already had to deal with Erin and her training! Sometimes! I mean, she had been nice recently, so it had been awhile…

  Still, I did not appreciate the traps! I was very unhappy with the pitfall in particular! It had only been a couple feet deep, but still!

  I was really looking forward to this, however.

  The ninja that dropped in front of me from the ceiling didn't speak, just pulled out a Pokeball and tilted their head. I smiled at them as I pulled out a Luxury Ball of my own.

  The Nidoking that came out looked healthy and happy, but I didn't feel bad as I released my own Pokemon. She was not happy today, and she actually frowned at the Nidoking! Not much, of course, but Indeedee was very unhappy that Hope was taking care of Tinkatink right now, even if they were just hanging out with Alex in the lobby for the moment.

  So it was no surprise to me that, once the match started with a raised arm dropped, she unleashed Giratina's fury on that poor Pokemon. Well, she unleashed a Psychic on it as she spun out of the way of a Poison Sting. Then another. Then another… She didn't need another one, the poor Pokemon finally going down under her assault halfway to her. I looked at the ninja, but he just motioned me forward.

  Indeedee healed it before she returned herself, of course, but she was still frowning!

  It was going to be an issue if she kept this up. I mean, I knew they liked childcare! It was one of the first things you learned about when you looked up female Indeedee on the PokeNet! She was always so rational and calm in everything else, but with Tinkatink? She trusted Hope, absolutely. It wasn't an issue of trust or worry.

  She was just jealous!

  The next section of my Gym Challenge actually made me laugh. Why laugh?

  Well, apparently Janine believed that young trainers could use some fitness training! The hall was a treadmill, and I knew without ever stepping on it that there was an employee that would keep it just too fast for me… Well, that's what they thought.

  Dexter loved to shock you when you slowed down, even if it wasn't painful and just extremely annoying…

  So when I began to sprint down the corridor, it took them more than a few seconds to turn the speed up. They eventually managed it, but before it could increase too much I leapt, clearing the treadmill. I even managed to dodge the cloth ball that came flying out of the wall at me.

  I did not dodge the fake floor that dropped me into another pitfall!

  Why pitfalls?!

  —

  Erin

  —

  I glared at the ninja across from me. Lightly glared at the ninja. The one who's Pokemon refused to come out.

  "I thought ninjas were good at information gathering? Your pitiful little traps are more than laughable. Your Pokemon is terrified of me, and wouldn't fare much better against my team. So I ask you, in a nice way…" I let my gaze move upwards, to the blank ceiling. The blank ceiling with a pinprick hole in the corner, not even noticeable. Not to me, at least. I didn't have super vision.

  I could feel her aura, though.

  "Can you please give me an actual challenge in this Challenge? I know you've done your research on me and my team. You and the entire PokeNet all know who was responsible for Saffron by now, and most of what happened in those tunnels. I would greatly enjoy not stomping this Challenge and then Janine." I felt her presence disappear as she ran off, probably to call Janine or some other leadership figure.

  I gave the stunned ninja in the room with me a wide smile.

  "Sorry? I really am, actually. I'm not trying to insult you or your Pokemon, either…" He chuckled, pulling his cloth mask down around his neck.

  "I'll be honest, they don't want to fight you, and neither do I. You must have been terrifying down there! Anything juicy you could share?" I grinned, accepting the poke.

  Yes, I was being nice. That was a nice grin! It was also a bit vicious. I may be a kid, and fully accept that these days, but I was still an assassin, and one with a nice score.

  "I can do you one better, Dexter has videos." His grin grew equally vicious as Dexter flew out.

  Yeah, Team Rocket used a lot of poison Pokemon. Aside from the usual, normal outrage, a Gym Leader who took that good care of a Weezing, of a Gulpin, would have even more reason to want Team Rocket dead. Her and her trainers, both.

  Maybe I should send Janine some videos? I'll ask her, but if her trainers were like this… She would probably be happy to receive some…

  Not that I really expected differently from ninjas…

  —

  Leaf

  —

  I frowned at the ninja across from me. I frowned hard. Why did I frown? Because my face was already scrunched up, anyway! I was already close to a frown!

  The Vileplume across from me was laughing at my perfectly reasonable disgust!

  "Noibat, you're up!" He better be!

  He was, thankfully. He still groaned as he flapped into the air… That did it. I was having a talk with him tonight, no matter how well he did in this fight!

  With another dropped arm the fight began, but before the Vileplume could do more than practically explode in Powder, probably of the Sleep variety, my little dragon was Gust-ing them back towards the ground. It worked much less well here on fragile-looking hardwood than on grass, but the majority of the spores were sent off course.

  "Noibat, Supersonic Air Slash!" I rapidly pulled out a pair of earplugs, thankful that Alex had literally put some in every pocket she could find.

  Even the ninja flinched from the sound, the Vileplume flinching worse, even as its eyes blinked rapidly in Confusion. It was way too disorientated to avoid the sharp blade of wind that slammed directly into its cap, and even as it began rapidly bleeding it was being returned.

  Arceus! Well… maybe I wouldn't have that talk with him yet…

  The ninja frowned at me, or I thought they did behind their mask, before they pointed down the hall and walked through a wall! Well, probably a false wall or something, but still!

  The hallway actually irritated me. Badly. Very badly.

  It wasn't a pitfall, at least.

  It was just an obstacle course above a huge, shallow pit…

  Still, Dexter kept us busy when we trained, and one of the first set of exercises we had ever done involved balance, and we started each session with a small refresher. It's hard to train if you trip and hurt yourself… and don't have a Nurse Pokemon, but the point stood!

  So I may have been irritated, but I still sprinted through the obstacle course. I still made it through, and I did not fall into a pitfall trap when I cleared the hallway. I didn't get hit by one of the cloth balls that flew out of the ceiling this time, either!

  I did get knocked back into the pit by the section of wall that swung out, though!

  It took me a few more moments to scramble out, but eventually, I passed the stupid Challenge… I was going to destroy Janine!

  —

  Erin

  —

  "Yes! Are those blades actually sharp?! They are! Hell yeah!" I wasn't going to ask what Badge level of a Challenge this was, nor did I care! This was fucking awesome!

  The hallway in front of me looked like it was straight out of a very dangerous video game. The kind I used to bash my head in on in my impatience… Now? I watched the motions of the blades closely, searching for a pattern in their movements. The floor blades were actually slower than the ceiling ones, making ducking and weaving more important than footwork… To start with, they got faster…

  Yes, blades.

  They were small, and had thick backings, so I wouldn't get sliced in half or anything crazy like that. It would be more like getting hit by a paddle than a blade… except for the actual, half-centimeter blades in the middle of the thin paddles.

  They spun out from the walls, they swung from the ceiling and floor, not that there was a floor. There was barely more than a series of half-foot wide rails above what looked to be a pit of very short spikes, more like bumps than actual spikes. It would hurt, but it wouldn't maim. Everything here was easily healable as long as my eyes were fine, and I could feel the Chansey through the wall. Combined with the goggles I had been given, this was far safer than it looked like.

  This was insane! This was going to be so damn fun! I was so happy! Yes!

  I should probably be a little worried about how much I was going to enjoy this, but honestly? This wasn't new. I had never liked fighting before, sure… I had loved adrenaline, though… That hadn't changed, and I was in great shape, enjoyed fighting these days… and I was a kid! Kids are allowed to have stupid fun doing stupid stuff!

  I was grinning as I did a quick stretch, my eyes never leaving the blades. I had already mapped out most of a path, but the last third was moving too fast, too randomly to actually plan… probably by design. That was the 'skill issue' part of this Challenge… Actually, this was probably one of the ninja's tests, wasn't it? This was overkill even for an eighth badge Challenge, considering there were other young kids in here taking their own Challenges. I mean, I was a bit special. There weren't many fourteen year old kids trained as assassins in this world… I hope.

  Now that I thought about it, I really needed to get a sparring partner… Dexter's flimsy holograms didn't have weight, obviously, so I never had to deal with the actual force of striking in my hands other than hunting, and those were my Blades, not my kukri… I mean, I had, but I had been more than a little sloppy in Saffron. I had broken one of them!

  My smile grew feral for a moment before I started moving. This was so fucking cool!

  I made it halfway through the hallway, calmly stepping, skipping, and backtracking through the patterns, before the ninjas decided to up the ante. I laughed as small panels in the walls opened up and small cloth balls began flying at me with speed!

  I still managed to make it to the last third easily enough… Kind of easily enough. I hadn't been hit yet, or even come very close, but I was panting and sweating! This is where it got serious, though.

  It did get serious, and I was actually very grateful I had worn my stupid 'Misty' outfit today. I didn't get hit, but I came so close, so many times! My jacket would have been cut, or a skirt! I still managed it, though, and as I stumbled into the empty room on the other side I barely leaned out of the way of the blunt kunai that flew at my head from the side. I grinned at the attempt. That had been close, and heavy! Blunt, more like a rod than a kunai, sure, still steel!

  Janine grinned right back at me as she tossed me two wooden kunai. Not kukri, but I could work with these…

  —

  —

  Leaf

  —

  "Sis, you look way too happy! What did you do?!"

  My sister was drenched in sweat when she finally met me and Alex outside the Gym. Drenched in sweat, but completely unharmed… Or rather, completely healed, because the blood on her clothes was for sure hers! Her shirt had splatter patterns, and her shorts were spotted with it! Mainly her shirt, though…

  "I didn't do anything bad, Leaf! In fact, I was nice! Right, Dexter?" I glanced at him and he nodded at me! What?! She smiled at the look on my face.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Don't look so surprised, Leaf! I just asked nicely for a challenging Challenge… and to look at my history before they administered it… I'm relatively sure that was one of the ninja's tests, actually, not a Challengers test! The blade hallway was fun, sure, but Janine kicking my as- butt up and down that room? That was really fun!" Excuse me?!

  Alex was looking at her in stunned confusion, and I couldn't help but compare the expression to the ones Maxx and those poor Rangers had shown when we first met them, even as she finally found her voice.

  "Blade hallway?!" Erin's smile just grew! Somehow!

  "They were safe, more like thin paddles with tiny blades along the length! I managed to ace that test, actually, and the sneak attack. Never got hit, even if it was close!" Erin… What the hell?!

  "You fought Janine?" She laughed for a moment, smile still so wide!

  "No, Janine fought me! Kicked me around like a soccer ball, in fact! It's a lot different fighting someone who knows you're there, with no Pokemon assistance, no aura shenanigans like terrifying them to stun them, and when they're also bigger than you!" My mouth was hanging open by this point, just like Alex's, and almost in unison we looked over at Dexter.

  He gave us a serious nod and played a five-second clip of Janine literally kicking Erin in the jaw! She lifted my sister off her feet! That explained the spray patterns…

  "She actually invited me back to spar while I'm here, which is awesome! Well, to spar with her trainers. I didn't learn much from being tossed around like a ragdoll. Some, yes, but I'd rather not have to get healed every ten minutes." Arceus! She had been in there for almost an hour…

  She turned to me with a wide smile as we walked back to the Pokemon Center for showers.

  "How about your Challenge, Leaf? I know you passed, they booked us to fight Janine back to back in a few days, but how'd you do?"

  She pestered me the entire time until I finally got into the shower! I was trying to do the whole 'not lying' thing, so I just didn't say anything!

  —

  —

  "Indeedee… we need to talk about this." She scowled at me! Indeedee! Scowled! At me!

  I scowled right back at her even as I ate another bite of my Tauros-bowl. It was delicious, and it was cheap! For us. Cheaper, really. The Tauros that Leto had culled weren't sold to anyone, they were just given out to local restaurants and businesses. It was illegal to directly sell Tauros culled from a Stampede, actually. Nobody wanted to incentivize going out and stirring up a Stampede just to profit off of it… Mainly because that had happened in the past. Now? It was just a small economic boon for the city each time. Culled Tauros was actually the same price as farmed Miltank for that reason, too.

  We still only paid for the rice and toppings. Leto had provided enough Tauros for the shops to sell it for almost a week! Erin was actually becoming known for her pigtails, and with the green hair, feathers, and scar? They knew who she was when we all walked in, and who our mom was.

  They also knew who had provided all that Tauros, of course. The videos were all over the PokeNet…

  Erin was devouring her bowl with enthusiasm, and I couldn't stop the huge smile that momentarily made its way onto my face as she ignored the… conversation happening in favor of stuffing her face! To be fair, she was visibly exhausted from… getting her butt kicked. She was hungry! She was also enjoying the flavor! Probably not as much as we were, but she hadn't had to add salt or any extra flavor to still love it! She was so happy!

  "Indeedee… You held Tinkatink all day yesterday when I wasn't! Let Hope show her some affection! I know you're not irrational! Usually!" She scowled even harder, but didn't do her weird painless slap thing.

  "She's not actually bothering me that much. Kind of irritating, sure, but it's similar to Tinkatink and her metal. She doesn't need to care for the young, she just wants to very badly." 'That's nice of you, Hope, but still… This is stupid!'

  "Indeedee, I will discipline you if I have to! Lightly, because I understand that you really want to care for Tinkatink! I get it! Will you try and keep her away from me?" Her scowl lessened and she shook her head.

  "I don't think Noibat cares about babying her… or much in general, really. Hazard… seems to like her, actually? He just doesn't care about babying her." He nodded at me briefly before going back to his food.

  Still so surprising, but I wasn't complaining! Actually, maybe he wanted her to toss him into the air at Hope once she was a Tinkatuff or Tinkaton… No, he didn't lie. He did like her. He probably also wanted to get launched…

  "That leaves you and Hope from my team that want to baby her! Be a rational… wait, I never even asked! You are an adult Indeedee, right? Not a teen or something?" She nodded at me with amusement on her face… for a moment. Then she scowled a little again.

  "Then be a rational adult! Like Hope is being!" Her scowl didn't lessen one bit.

  "You're acting like Hazard!" Hazard looked up from his second mega-bowl of Tauros for a moment, laughed at Indeedee, then went right back to eating without a care in the world.

  We'd had to pay for that bowl… The first one was free for our Pokemon, actually. Mom hadn't been very happy about not getting any, since she could not fit into the restaurant, not even the Pokemon-friendly section we were eating at, but honestly? She could probably go a few days with no food! She ate three Tauros the other day!

  Indeedee's scowl slowly slipped away as she looked at Hazard with a frown. Hazard really lived up to his name! It was hazardous to even be compared to him!

  "I'm not saying never care for her again! Just talk it out with Hope! She's a lot more rational about it than you, so she'll probably let you do it plenty!" Hope nodded at Indeedee, eating from her bowl of fruity rice! It actually looked like it tasted fine… I mean, it was plain white rice, so it was just a base to add flavor to, sure… It just looked odd!

  Indeedee glared at Hope, but Hope just smirked at her and went back to her food.

  I really didn't imagine the first conflict in my team would be over a baby! A baby who was even now giggling at the argument while eating a small bowl of fruit! The Tinkatink line required metal to eat, sure, but they also ate normal food… and her fork!

  "Tinkatink! What did I say about eating utensils?!" She just grinned at me, picked the last piece of fruit out of her bowl with the highly diminished fork tines, and bit right through the handle. I scowled at her.

  "You are making them a new fork when we get back tonight. It may be worse, and they may throw it out. I'll still have to pay for the fork you just ate either way. I don't care. You will replace that fork out of your own metal!"

  She looked at me in shock, her mouth slowly falling open as tears started to form in her eyes! Maybe I shou- wait! No! She is a fae! She is manipulating me!

  I growled at her for a second and she jerked slightly. Then she giggled! Giggled at me while eating the rest of the fork!

  Aaahhhh!

  Erin finally finished her bowl and looked up with a very satisfied expression. Also rice on her face… I caught Alex's eye briefly, and we shared an unspoken understanding in that moment. We wouldn't say anything!

  "Tinkatink, you know Leaf is going to do her best to be good to you, to help you fulfill your desires, to grow, right?" Tinkatink nodded at Erin cautiously.

  "Well, wouldn't you like for her to continue to do that? Everyone has their limits, little demon, and she never swore to care for you forever! I know you're just pushing at her, trying to find the limit of her patience so that you can walk right along it, but actions have consequences. Would you rather be her baby, be babied and loved, or would you prefer Leaf treat you like most people treat fae, even a species like yours?" I wouldn't do that, but… Considering the look Tinkatink was giving me, as if daring me, I would have to figure out something!

  Pranks? Didn't care! Being highly annoying on purpose? I cared, sure, but she was still a baby! Essentially stealing? Absolutely not! Not when she knows what she's doing and I requested she not do it after Maxx's chair!

  She was not happy when I told her that I had been serious. I might not be Erin, but I was trying not to lie, or go back on my word. She would be making them a fork!

  Even if I had to pay a bit extra today for the trouble!

  —

  —

  Erin wanted to go spar at the Gym… We wanted to sight-see. To explore Fuchsia! Erin wasn't opposed to that, in theory… She just really wanted to spar! Unfortunately, we outnumbered and outvoted her, and we couldn't separate that far. In the same Gym, sure… We did still have bounties on us, though…

  Fuchsia was beautiful, in a very… old wasn't the right word. Historical way? There was none of the intense population density that Saffron had, it wasn't full of greenery like Celadon or beautiful canals like Cerulean, it wasn't boring and… 'enduring' like Pewter was. It felt like you could feel the weight of history, walking down the older streets.

  We still broke it off soon enough. Erin might not have gotten to spar again today, and she was doing her best, but she still hated being around crowds…

  —

  —

  Tinkatink actually took quite a bit of time to make the fork that night. She wasn't delaying it, or trying to get out of doing it. She wasn't acting like she forgot, either. No, she just couldn't get it right! To her! It was a fork!

  She didn't care. Even if she couldn't keep it, she was going to make it look good! I didn't have the heart to tell her that she could just use steel, either. Instead she was weaving hair-thin strands of copper she pulled off of an ingot around each tine of the fork! The handle had brass embedded in it!

  Honestly? It was still rough, but it was the nicest looking fork I had ever seen when she got done. It was not a fork you would want to eat with, though, at least more than once. It would be so hard to clean all the tiny crevices… I got the feeling that the restaurant was going to love it, though.

  She hadn't liked me taking it from her until she could give it to them tomorrow, but I honestly didn't trust her not to eat it… Because then she could just make another one! Something she really liked, sure, but it had taken her hours and hours to do something so finely detailed… Plus, she got distracted very easily. Fully-formed mind, sure, but not all of it could come through yet, so still a baby!

  —

  —

  "What do you say to the nice owner, Tinkatink? Are you sorry you ate her restaurant's fork?" The older lady in front of us was highly amused by the squirming baby fae standing on her counter. A baby fae who sullenly shook her head.

  "Okay, fair enough, that would be a lie. Do you wish you hadn't so you didn't have to replace it?" She nodded tightly, drawing a laugh from everyone present. The owner, two employees, and even a few customers who were watching the exchange.

  "Well, maybe next time when I ask you not to eat other people's utensils, you'll listen! Or, if you want to eat your fork when you're done with your next meal, you can make your own! Then eat it!" She brightened up at that with a huge smile. Then she drooped a little as I pulled the fork out of my pocket and handed it to her.

  She stared at it for a long time, turning it over in her hands, before she slowly, hesitantly extended it for the owner to take. The second it left her hand she slumped, but I was smiling so widely it almost hurt!

  "Great job, Tinkatink! Did that feel good in any way? Look at how happy she is to receive such a nice fork!" She looked up, eyes slightly pained, and saw the stunned expression on the owner's face. And the employees. Also the customers' faces, because I hadn't been exaggerating! It was rough, yes, and it was a fork, but that fork was practically a work of art! From a three-day old!

  Tinkatink's eyes got huge as she looked around, and she nodded at me! She got even more excited when the owner finally spoke.

  "This is the most beautiful fork I have ever seen! This is too nice to actually use!" Not to mention unsanitary… "I'm going to need to hang this up on the wall! Actually, could I get a picture of you holding it, little Tinkatink? This will make a great story to tell every time someone compliments it!" She must have kids or something, because she said everything right.

  Tinkatink's happy, smiling picture would be on that wall, hanging below the highly over-decorated fork, for a long time…

  —

  —

  "Tinkatink, I don't think Dipplin wants to try copper. None of us can eat metal, unfortunately, and he can't hold anything…" She pouted as she stopped trying to offer the confused apple dragon a tiny, mildly-detailed copper fork. I still smiled at the sight.

  Fae wanted something when they came here. They came for many reasons, but beyond the growth, beyond experiencing time and everything that came with that, they had desires! Stabby? His desire wasn't to stab, actually. His desire was to have fun! Hope? The same! Tinkatink? Exactly the same!

  Their… 'realm' was dreadfully lacking, so other than the chance to grow, they all came for fun new experiences! They all desired that, there was no other reason to bind themselves to time like they did. Now, how they found that fun was wildly different.

  Sure, Stabby loved to stab, to stab repeatedly, in fact, but at the heart of it, he enjoyed being a defender. He liked protecting those who were less able to defend themselves. He had actually gotten poor Giggles to take over his self-appointed task of poacher murdering, and Giggles had been happy to. Giggles? He had wanted to explore feelings of fear. His own, and that of others. Nowadays he got that from the poachers… and unfortunately, from the rest of the Clefairy line back at Mt. Moon. I hadn't asked, never would, but I felt relatively certain that even that thing found his name to be horrific. If it had suited him, then sure, it would be an amazing name! It did not suit him, not at all!

  Honestly, though? I felt worse for Duncan. Giggles actually giggled occasionally, at least. Duncan? He couldn't just… go around 'Duncan-ing'...

  Hope was easy. She had wanted to explore feelings, especially that of friendship. She desired that, and had fulfilled many of her desires in that respect already. She gained a new desire in that cavern. It wasn't to help, although she obviously did, and it was a natural extension of her new desire. To bring hope to those who needed it. The look in Koffing, in Honey's eyes, had been something so overpowering, so raw, that it had changed my fae. She had chosen, and thus she had grown.

  Tinkatink? She was a baby, so we couldn't know what her desires were in detail. We had some theories, though. After seeing the look on the restaurant owner's face? On the employees, the customers? After proudly getting her picture taken with a huge smile, and watching the owner hang it up on a temporary hook? After hearing about how the owner would be getting a small display case for it?

  Tinkatink certainly desired that look of wonder in giving gifts. She was still a baby, and would absolutely develop new desires, new needs, but for now? My baby fae wanted to give everyone a gift!

  My fork-eating idea had really resonated with her, unfortunately. I mean, these forks were actually usable, being plain, undecorated forks. Erin, Alex, and I already had one each, luckily plain steel with basic copper designs in the handles. Indeedee had accepted hers, but Hope had told Tinkatink an unfortunate reality that irritated Indeedee. Because Indeedee didn't want to disappoint her…

  Nobody else could eat the forks, just use them… It didn't stop her from trying to gift forks out, but Dipplin? Dipplin didn't have appendages to hold the fork! He ate insects in the first place! Also small pieces of meat, sure, but not often. They didn't make him sick or anything, but they digested slowly, and made him drowsy. He still liked a couple pieces before sleeping, though, at least while we were in cities. When we were out and about, he would be eating insects most nights.

  "Sweetie, I'm really glad you like giving gifts to others, but maybe try and… personalize them more?" She gave me a confused look, and I couldn't stop the giggle that erupted at her natural expression, especially that tooth-thing and her almost-pouting expression. She looked distraught, but I could tell she was just confused. She was going to be hilarious as an angry-looking Tinkatuff, that was for sure!

  "Well, most Pokemon don't use tools, you know? They can't eat metal either. You know what they can do with a gift?" Her eyes were wide as she looked at me with anticipation.

  "They can wear things you make! How about you try to make a necklace, or a bracelet? I'm sure Dexter would be happy to find some references for you to use!" She began to excitedly babble, even as she ran to her stockpile of metal and began pulling at a steel ingot.

  "Hold on!" She looked up at me in confusion, then hunched over her pile like she thought I was going to steal it!

  "I'm not stopping you! You can make whatever you want, however many you want! But what was the difference between the fork you gave the restaurant owner and the one you ate?" She frowned for a moment before her eyes lit up, and I smiled at her.

  "Exactly! Yours was fancy! It also took you hours to make, right? I won't tell you how to explore your own creativity, but maybe spend a long time on making them nice? I'll wear a plain bracelet or necklace, sure, but I would prefer one that you had put a lot of time and effort into! Not only would it look nicer, but it shows that you put thought into the gift! It makes it more personalized, and it feels better to know how much effort went into it!" She babbled at me briefly, including a surge of incomprehensible communion, before she turned back to her metal and began to slowly pull out steel. She was so excited!

  She stopped and paid rapt attention when Dexter flew over to show her pictures of accessories, however.