Leaf

  —

  I had been kind of disappointed by the Museum, I guess? It was nice, don't get me wrong, but it had also been packed, and most of the exhibits were kind of boring. The ten foot tall geode full of crystals had been beautiful, sure, but still boring.

  Not the Hall of Legendaries, though. That was mostly because of Erin's face as she read apparently inaccurate descriptions of the five they had displays and models of. Arceus apparently wasn't a huge humanoid figure, judging from her expression. Giratina also wasn't a formless mass of smoke, I had to assume. The Legendary Birds, though, Erin hadn't reacted to much. Maybe they were just… big birds, I guess? If her knowledge was accurate… We knew for a fact that it wasn't completely accurate, look at Togepi!

  The exhibit from Kalos was interesting, but not very? The armor had looked very cool, for sure, but the set of weapons only had two swords, and judging from Erin's face, neither looked like a Honedge… Of course, Pokemon could have variety in their forms, especially those that possessed objects, so one may have been a Honedge… Erin had been dismissive of them, though. Apparently the 'sabre' met some internal 'cool' criteria for her, but she had snorted in amusement at the two-handed cleaver-like sword there… The branch of their 'Tree of Life'? It looked like an actual, regular tree branch, and Erin had dismissed it after a single glance.

  I was just grateful we didn't have to explain to the guards why an ancient sword was hanging off of her as we left…

  Still, it had killed some time, and as we walked out Dexter flew out of Erin's jacket with a wide smile. He deliberately ignored Erin as he flew over to my face and grinned, and I returned the expression. Erin was glaring at me, even as Alex looked confused.

  Erin's voice was overwhelmingly sarcastic. Sarcastically deadpan, in fact…

  "Sis, what are you planning? That expression never means anything good." I burst into laughter as she smirked at me. It was usually me saying something like that…

  "Well, I was thinking that as good as it was, I kind of regretted ordering the Farfetch'd last time, honestly, so maybe this time I'll try those ravioli's you actually enjoyed?" Her eyes got wide, but of course Alex was still so confused.

  "No way! How did you get a reservation?!" Alex looked a little more understanding now, even as I grinned.

  "Well… We might not have a PokeNet famous Gym Leader with us this time, but we do have The Tiny Tyrant! Who is also PokeNet famous! Also infamous, but ehh?" She was frowning at me now, but not harshly.

  "They let us skip a month-long waiting list because of me? I'm not that… infamous." I giggled a little and looked at Dexter. He 'cleared' his throat with a wide smile.

  "Well, Erin, you kind of… are? You have plenty of, uhh, haters, but you have multiple fan clubs, actually! You and Leto both. The owner also… Ah…" It was interesting when Dexter was actually reluctant to speak, considering it was such a rarity…

  "They also lost someone in the attack on the Saffron Center years ago, so they have some personal reasons to hate Team Rocket, and they wanted to give you the option to eat there again when I contacted them to ask. They knew you." Erin was stunned, and a little pale, as she digested that.

  I understood, though. She had fun eliminating Team Rocket, and she obviously felt good about freeing the rescues, but she… didn't take a lot of pride in it, honestly. It was just something necessary to her, like a chore. Still, she didn't let that stop her, so she might want to get used to it. I had looked her up a few times as well, and she had a reputation. It had started off a lot 'rougher', but these days? About seventy percent of what I saw online was positive, actually.

  Even if some of it was her creepy fanclubs…

  Okay, most weren't creepy, they focused more on her Pokemon and her killing Team Rocket, especially her bodycount, but there was one that I had found… Well, according to Dexter, and through him Looker, the page was run by a fourteen year old, so it hadn't been shut down.

  Yet.

  Savage tyrant with a kill count? Sure, also pretty… Still creepy to me, to have fans that had pictures of every outfit she had ever worn except the swimsuit… There hadn't been anything illegal, either, since they had all been taken in public spaces… I really hadn't enjoyed the 'Companions' page with pictures of Alex and I, either… Dexter was keeping an eye on it, and if 'TopTyrantFan' ever crossed any line he would be getting sued, or at the very least, the site pulled.

  Alex finally found her voice.

  "So we're eating somewhere tonight, I assume?" I smiled at her.

  "Tonight we're eating at Pewter City's finest restaurant, The Rocky Feast! Erin and I went with Raihan after we won our first Badge, before…" I trailed off and saw Erin wince. She shook her head a little, though.

  "I doubt Team Rocket is going to try something in this city again… If they do? Well, I'm not leaving anyone at the Center this time, obviously, so they will regret it…" She chuckled darkly a few times, but Alex looked mildly confused.

  "Wait, Team Rocket? What do you- Oh! Oh… Yeah, I doubt they're still around in any numbers." I nodded.

  "Yeah, that's too dumb even for them… They're probably keeping track of Erin, actually, so even if they were around, they won't pop up unless it's one of their bosses…" Erin scowled at me.

  "Stop trying to jinx it, Leaf! We're going to have a nice dinner, and that's it!" I giggled a little despite the seriousness in her voice.

  "Yeah, we'll be fine, and this time you'll get to enjoy all the flavors!"

  Her eyes shone briefly even as her whole face lit up with a smile, and I was very glad that Emily had run into us.

  This was going to be great! Actually…

  "Dexter, can you do me one more favor…?" He grinned at me, because it was kind of obvious…

  —

  Patricia Greenwood

  —

  I touched down in Pewter City as the light was beginning to fade away, and I shivered slightly from the sight of Mt. Moon in the near distance. Midir noticed under me, and gave me a questioning look, but I just shook my head at him.

  I wasn't about to leave the Ranch with nobody to defend me, of course. Midir was strong enough to block most attacks with his Protect, and Maddy would have very quickly descended on any attackers with the fury her line was known for. Wukong would have been even more furious, of course, but his retribution would have had to wait for the ground…

  My personal Pokemon all trained, of course, but I was in no way an active trainer anymore, nor had I been very good at it, so they usually did it by themselves, without any input from me… I still enjoyed watching. Midir was the strongest of them all, but not by much. Maddy could beat him in a purely aerial match, and Wukong could do the same for a ground battle.

  The problem was that Midir could easily transition between the two, whereas Maddy had some mobility issues on the ground, and Wukong was limited to throwing Moves… and himself. It wasn't very effective, but it was hilarious to see him launch himself straight up at Midir… Petals rarely trained, however, and while Alfred did train, he wasn't the best fighter by any means.

  I leapt from Midir's back as we landed at the Pokemon Center, arms wide to receive the strong hug from Leaf. A very strong hug! Those exercises Dexter ran them through, not to mention Gravity, worked! Erin joined her a moment later, visibly excited for tonight, and I couldn't help but laugh in happiness momentarily.

  "Looking forward to this, girls?" I pulled Alex into another hug as my daughters released me, and she barely struggled this time.

  Erin's smile was so wide, it looked like it threatened to break her face in half.

  "I am, actually! How could you tell?" I laughed again, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

  Midir gave me a small huff to get my attention, grinned, and then returned himself to his new Luxury Ball on the belt I had started wearing. I smiled at the stunned looks on all three faces.

  "He said if he's a 'Greenwood dragon' then he doesn't mind being my Pokemon. Of course, I think there's a little more to it than that, but he's quite good at not talking when he doesn't want to." I smiled as they began walking back to the Center briefly, before turning to look at me in confusion. I hadn't moved.

  "Let's wait for our other guest, shall we?"

  Erin got it immediately, and I was happy to see her look happy. She might like to give Lance grief, but her happiness for me aside, she did like him. He had supported her almost from the moment they met, despite her being… her. Still, he was… him, too, so I guess it balanced out? Honestly, they acted more like siblings than anything else! They both liked to poke at the other, Erin was just more vicious with it.

  Obviously…

  It took Alex and Leaf a few more seconds before their eyes lit up. There was happiness there, sure. Alex loved Lance, of course, and Leaf also liked him. They were still at that age where their parents, or even relatives, having a romantic life was 'gross', though, so I wasn't surprised by the scrunched up noses.

  Alex's smile was still more happy than grossed out.

  "So, Lance is coming? Do we have room in the booth we, uhh, 'reserved'?" She looked at Dexter, hovering there as usual, and he laughed.

  "I knew she was going to invite him, so I already got it confirmed. The owner was more than happy to move us to the largest open booth they had, actually! Leto won't be able to come out, it's not tall enough unfortunately, but everyone else should be able to squeeze in!" He was grinning at Leaf now, and I knew why.

  "Dexter, dear, don't be like that! Lance and I will be paying for our own meals, and those of our Pokemon! We wouldn't make Leaf pay for all of us!" Leaf's face, which had gone slightly pale, brightened back up at my words.

  Three people? She could manage after her… 'service fee' as a Fairy Master, but five people and their Pokemon? No way they had paid her that much, even if they had been quite generous. They had reached out to me afterwards, in fact, just to thank me. Not that I did anything but raise her, obviously, but… I would have done the same thing in their situation. She had potentially saved that poor girl's life, or even their lives.

  I felt mildly sick to my stomach that my children and Alex had been that close to a Togetic of all Pokemon, but of course, Leaf was so much more than she had been at the start of the Circuit. More confident, more capable. More commanding.

  Dexter had gleefully sent me the video earlier today, and initially I had cursed him for it. To see them that close to such a horrific Pokemon… Then I had been very grateful for it. Leaf may be the nicest, sweetest girl I had ever met, but she had dominated that thing with the help of her Pokemon… and Stabby, of course, but it had done wonders for my worries to see Morgrem defend her.

  I had been confident in her ability to handle him, sure. Her, her team, Stabby, and Leto… Still, to see the… care, maybe? The… defensiveness he had for Leaf? That had felt good. The Impidimp line was known to be the most violent, sadistic fae line, barring the Togepi line, and those were universally reviled, of course. I had already been put at slight ease by her hugging him after his loss on that beach, and him not fighting it very much, but still, I was far more relaxed about him being on her team now.

  Dexter laughed at my words.

  "I think you'll all be getting some discounts, actually. When I talked to him, I got the feeling Erin was going to be getting one, and with the Champion joining us? Not to mention the Matriarch of the latest, greatest Rescue Ranch? Leaf might be able to pay for everyone, actually!" He dodged out of the way of my lazy swipe and I scowled at his gleeful little eyes.

  "Dexter! I had better not find that name somehow spreading! I swear to Arceus, I will find some way to make your life bland and boring! Even around Erin and her vortex of insanity!" He burst into laughter. Him, Leaf, Alex, every Pokeball on my belt rattled, and after a second I joined in.

  Erin just playfully scowled at us all before scanning the skies. I was happy to see her in her new dress, too. She was adorable in it, and more than that, I knew it was her first one… and that she loved wearing it.

  "I assume he should be here soon?" I nodded.

  "He should be, yes. In the meantime…" She raised an eyebrow at me as I trailed off.

  "I hear you're doing a performance?" Her face grew slightly pale, even as I felt a mind connect to my own.

  ""Erin not plan! She scared!"" I laughed at Hecate's words, glancing at the multiple Pokeballs rattling on her bandoleer. She shook her head a little.

  "Yeah, it's going to be me and Artemis, and no, we haven't worked something out yet… I kind of figured Leto wouldn't be able to compete, and kind of ignored the practice part…" I frowned in confusion.

  "Yes, I assume she would demand to perform… Dexter just said you were going to be in one, so…?" She grinned a little.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Leto is the guest judge!" I burst into laughter at her words, waving away her slight glare.

  "I'm not laughing at you or her, but… She is going to be harsh on her daughters, you realize that, right?" She scowled at me, folding her arms.

  "Yeah, we are well aware…" I laughed again at the resignation in her voice.

  Erin was saved from further embarrassment by a large Dragonite dropping straight out of the sky nearby. Dragonite, of course, and Lance jumped off her back even as she was returning herself. I had expected Lance, of course… I had not expected him to be dressed… almost normally?

  He certainly had on nice clothes, but they were casual clothes, not his usual outfit, and he was missing a cape! I had never seen him without one!

  I was also grateful that I had dressed somewhat nicely as well, because he cut a sharp figure even in simple black pants and a pressed white shirt. Dresses don't work very well with riding Pokemon, and I honestly didn't own any that weren't plain and unadorned. My slacks and blouse were nice, sure, but I could see the difference in quality quite easily.

  He glanced over the children briefly before giving me a warm smile, and I gave him a tight hug as his arms enveloped me. Also a quick kiss, and I could hear Leaf and Alex fake gagging from behind me. Even Erin let out a faint eww at the sight, but… fair enough, honestly.

  I turned back to them as he walked up to Alex, and laughed as he gave her a crushing hug that lifted her into the air. She flailed, of course, but her face was bright red when he finally set her back down. He turned to Leaf and Erin, a wide smile on his face. A wide, slightly mocking smile.

  "So the insane duo is fine! Still have all your digits? Well, most of your digits?" I burst into laughter as Leaf gave him a weak punch- wait, that had been a hard punch, actually. She hadn't managed to hurt him, obviously, but that had been a good punch! Even I could tell that, but Erin?

  Erin smiled mockingly and raised her left hand.

  "Still at nine fingers! Check this one out!" Stabby was out even as she was making most of a fist, and she laughed as he lightly punched her in the head.

  I cleared my throat with a smile.

  "Dinner?"

  —

  —

  Lance was quite distinctive even without his cape, and we were ushered to our private room in quick order. It was large enough that everyone from the girls teams could come out, although Dignity had to mostly curl around the edge of the private room. Maddy, Wukong, Midir, and Alfred all looked excited to be here, and to try the expensive food, of course. Dragonite was joined by another Dragonite, smaller than her, but the Aerodactyl that emerged last was slightly surprising. I hadn't met any of his team but Dragonite (the larger, Champion Dragonite), so it was slightly startling. Most of Lance's team was public knowledge, of course, but still, Aerodactyl were intimidating Pokemon…

  Lance laughed at everyone's startled faces as Aerodactyl grinned at us.

  "I normally take Gyarados with me too, at least, but I had to leave him at the Aerie. He would pout all night not being able to come out inside. He's almost thirty feet long, and much wider than Dignity, here."

  Erin snorted in amusement, then looked intrigued.

  "I don't suppose your Gyarados is from the Lake of Rage, is he?" Lance shook his head.

  "No, I heard about the 'Red Gyarados' from Patricia, but as far as I'm aware there hasn't been one sighted there before." Erin looked slightly disappointed, then shrugged before looking over at the other Dragonite and Aerodactyl. She nodded at them, followed by us, and they nodded back. Her voice was full of humor as she spoke.

  "Let me guess, he hasn't named you two, either?" They shook their heads and shot light glares at Lance, who was scowling at Erin now. She grinned at him.

  "Lance, at the very least your two Dragonite deserve names! How do you even address them?" The smaller Dragonite was nodding along with her words now, and Dragonite was as well, smirking. Everyone else was chuckling, giggling, or grinning at Lance now.

  Lance groaned and leaned back in his chair.

  "Erin, I am… not creatively inclined! I just kind of…" He trailed off and Alex stopped lightly giggling long enough to speak.

  "Decision paralysis, Lance? Not what I would expect from the Champion!" He looked up and glared murder at her, even as Dragonite reached out and patted his head. His face got red at that, and Erin began to laugh. She stopped long enough to speak. Barely.

  "She said her mascot doesn't need to worry about it!" Lance laughed, slightly bitterly, as we all burst into laughter.

  "Yes, Alex, kind of? Now I'm not trying to name just my team, I'm naming the Champion's team! The last thing I nam-" His mouth snapped shut, and we all gave him intent looks. He sighed, deeply, leaned on the table, then buried his face in his hands.

  "I named my… stuffed Charizard 'Charry' and Claire made fun of me for years! I honestly don't have a good naming sense, even these days…" He looked so embarrassed to admit that, but Erin just smiled warmly.

  "Well, in that case you're dating the right person! Mom tried to rename Wukong Mittens! His old name, when she was ten, was Mister Punches!" He began to laugh, even as he lightly glared at her. Wukong growled loudly, tone full of rage, of course… Also humor, as his mostly raging eyes met mine, and I smiled. Maddy was giving me a glare, though…

  "Yes, well… I may not be the best at naming, either… Thankfully Erin has all that insanity in her head, and she came up with a nice name for him. Him, Alfred, and Midir, because he did not want to be named by me…" Wukong and Alfred nodded at me, even as Midir smirked at Lance's Pokemon. For their part, they looked slightly upset, but mostly intrigued.

  Leaf broke in, smiling.

  "My names just kind of made sense, I guess? Hazard will always be hazardous, Hope is obvious, and Grace is, too! Noibat…" She trailed off as her small dragon… well, he was watching her, but just idly resting on top of Hope right now. She smiled at him.

  "He'll have one soon. I just have to think of something to name him other than Lazy!" Now he glared at her as their teams all laughed.

  Alex was blushing fiercely, though.

  "My team likes their names, but I still think I could have done, I don't know… better?" Honor and Unity both shook their heads, while Joy smiled at her and Dignity poked her with the end of her tail. She glanced over and they all smiled at her.

  "Dear, I think they like their names, and more than that, I think they liked that you put thought into them, that you named them!" She smiled and picked up a menu, probably to hide the blush that crept over her face.

  Lance looked over at Midir, a smile on his face.

  "So, I thought you didn't want to be someone's Pokemon?" Erin laughed at that.

  "For some reason dragons all like her! Most Pokemon do, sure, but dragons? They instantly like her! It's been kind of bugging me, actually! She doesn't have some strange aura, but I don't think she's ever met a dragon that didn't like her immediately! I've asked them, and they can't explain it, either!" She was right, and I had wondered about that myself more than once.

  Lance, though?

  Lance just smiled.

  "She's probably a Dragon Friend. I'm sure there's other Type Friends, but I'm not sure how it works for them, and I've only seen Dragon Friends. It's not exactly an official term, like Dragon Master, but the Clan has seen more than a few over the centuries. It's not aura, or at least not a typed aura that can be felt. Dragons just… like them? Dragon Friends don't have to deal with the usual refusal to obey, questioning authority, or things like that. It can still happen, of course, but it's never as bad for a Dragon Friend." He smiled widely, and a bit proudly, of course.

  "I'm one, actually, in addition to being a Dragon Master. Most other Pokemon can actually pick up on it slightly, and unless they are fae, they'll usually feel calmer in our presence. Well, not most of the prey species, but predators do. Not that it scares off the prey species. It's one of the few phenomena where there's no downside, honestly. Masters embrace their typing, and usually gain some of the weakness as well. Me and you aren't bothered by cold more than normal, but Ice or Fairy energy can wreak havoc on our auras."

  We were all giving him dumbfounded expressions. Honestly, I liked Lance, quite a bit, and I knew he was smart… I just hadn't expected him to sound smart, I guess?

  Was it the lack of a cape?

  Erin finally spoke up distractedly.

  "Huh, I guess that makes sense? Maybe that's why Leto liked her immediately, too… Thanks, Lance. I'd never have figured that out on my own…" Leaf and Alex burst into loud laughter, and she looked over at them in confusion. Leaf stopped laughing long enough to speak.

  "Maybe that's why you liked her so much, not to mention get disciplined so easily! Promise or not, you could be mad, but you never are!" Alex was next, and she had a wicked grin on her face.

  "So, Erin… Lance taught you something about dragons you would have never figured out on your own?" Erin slowly, cautiously nodded at her, still looking confused.

  Dexter flew to the middle of the table, also laughing.

  "You forgot! Thankfully, I'm always recording! Here, I'll play it back for you!" Erin's face went pale as she remembered something, and she tried to snatch him out of the air, but Dexter just floated up a bit higher, angling so we could all see his screen.

  It was the three of them in the plains, along with three Rangers, and Erin looked furious! Alex was smirking as she spoke.

  "'You might want to lean into that angle? Make any retaliation from Team Rocket less likely?'" Erin just glared at her.

  "'I don't knowingly lie, Alex. I'll be his protegee the second he teaches me something to do with dragons I've never heard of or wouldn't have figured out on my own, or when he can intimidate me like Professor Oak. Considering that will be never, I'm fine.'"

  Dexter stopped the video, smirking.

  "They had just found out about the headlines following Saffron, and one was 'The Savage Trainer and the Champion: A young protegee for the famous Dragon Master?'. Erin didn't take it that well, as you can imagine. Well, she Screeched by accident, actually…"

  Erin looked like she was about to explode out of sheer embarrassment, but Lance?

  Lance looked like he had smelled something nasty. Like he had smelled Muk, even if that poor Pokemon at least wasn't vomit-inducing anymore.

  "Yeah, no thanks. I don't need a protegee, and I certainly don't need one like Erin!" Erin's face turned red as she began to glare at him.

  "What's that supposed to mean, huh? I'm awesome! Tell him, Dragonite!" Dragonite, for her part, just laughed at Erin and shook her head.

  We were all laughing now, and thankfully for Erin, there was a knock on the door before a very nervous looking waitress practically crept inside. She was shaking, actually, and after a moment's thought I realized that made sense.

  Lance himself aside, there was a Master level Pokemon out, along with many Champion level Pokemon, none of whom were restraining their auras…

  I stood up with a smile.

  "How about we go outside to make our orders, hmm? I think this gathering is a bit much for most people…" Everyone followed me into the hall, where the very grateful looking waitress took our orders.

  —

  —

  I had to admit, even Erin's otherworldly recipes fell short in the face of Pewter Cities most expensive, exclusive restaurant. Of course, some of it may have been the hard to acquire ingredients.

  The girls had all conspired to share their dishes, and gladly split them up when they were delivered. Leaf ordered the Clawitzer Ravioli that Erin had last time, while Alex ordered Galarian Slowpoke Curry and Erin ordered Crabominable pasta. I had asked why she ordered such a similar dish as last time, but she had just shrugged.

  "We hunt and eat plenty of land-based Pokemon, but Crabominable aren't from around here, and other than Krabby and Kingler, we don't have many 'shellfish' that taste good here in Kanto. We didn't hunt them while we were camping on Route Seventeen, either. Zavier's Kingler probably wouldn't have enjoyed the sight, and King is cool…"

  I had a Sawsbuck Roast with a Pansage leaf salad, while Lance ordered a huge deep-fried Octillery leg platter for himself. I gave him a little look when he had, but he just shrugged and told me the rest wouldn't be wasted. Considering the looks from his team, that was accurate…

  The Pokemon had their own menu to order from, the larger ones at least, and had been highly enthusiastic about the whole experience. Our meat eaters had a variety of raw, baked, grilled, and deep-fried meats for themselves, but I had actually asked to try some of Hope's fruit bowl, which the few non-meat eaters had ordered multiple of to go with a huge buffet-style salad. I regretted it immediately, however. The Tropius fruit I bit into first had been delicious, actually, but the undiluted Bounsweet juice topping had been far, far too sweet.

  Alex had to deal with a slightly irritable Yanmega, a Pokemon that was far more intimidating than anyone else on her team, but she had just smiled and told him it was too bad. There wasn't enough room for him to catch his food out of the air, so he would have to eat from a plate or bowl, just like everyone else.

  He had… Well, I knew he was glaring at her, but it was hard to tell visually. He had perked right up after his first taste of deep-fried Veluza, however. The deep-fried Veluza, and the performances down below. A few of our Pokemon were idly watching them, but most of them, and us humans, were more focused on the food.

  Ahab stood in the corner lightly glaring at us as we ate, but he didn't eat food, and no restaurant was going to keep live Pokemon on the menu. Eating a Pokemon was one thing, killing it for lifeforce was another. Keeping one alive to be killed at the table was an entirely different level of 'absolutely not'.

  He would get over it.

  —

  —

  After dinner we spent another hour back in the girls Pokemon Center room, just talking. Alex was very happy to actually introduce us to her newest Pokemon, and for his part Yanmega seemed to like her. According to Lance, he was still kind of dismissive of her strength, but it was 'fun' to be around her, and he liked being full all the time, so that would have to work for now. Ahab, of course, glared at Lance when he had asked why Ahab wasn't bigger. Lance could feel his strength, and he could have been at least fifteen feet tall.

  Erin had also glared at Lance for that one, however.

  "Because, Lance, I had to buy him an anchor! They didn't have anything larger that wasn't twenty feet tall, and he's not that powerful yet. He probably will be by the time the Conference rolls around, though." Ahab had nodded his kelp at that, still fiercely glaring at Lance, and reached out to pat Erin's shoulder. She barely winced this time, so I guess you could get used to having your lifeforce drained…

  They were very surprised when I took out a small Storage Ball and pulled out a pair of pajamas from within, but I just gave them a wide smile.

  "You're all having your Gym Battles tomorrow, so I can get away with having Mrs. Maple stay over and watch the Ranch for another half day!" They looked happy at that, then almost as one their heads turned towards Lance, who was also pulling out his own small Storage Ball. He just lifted an eyebrow, though.

  "What? Alex's battle is tomorrow, I'm here, and I guess I could watch you two insane children's battles as well."

  Erin laughed, but still smiled at him.

  "Yeah, sure, that makes sense… If you two are going to kiss again, though, maybe go get your own room?" He went red and glared at her, the same as I did.

  "Yeah, please! I don't need to see my own mom kissing Lance! I mean, Lance is a great guy, sure, but… eww…" My glare shifted to Leaf, even as Alex laughed.

  "Yeah, agreed! I don't need to see my… dad kissing someone." Lance turned his glare on her, but it was very light.

  "I thought you wouldn't call me that?" Alex shrugged.

  "Don't expect to hear it that often, Lance. Erin calls Ms. Greenwood 'Patricia' sometimes, but she has two moms. I have you, so you're Lance unless I have to make it clear that I don't want my… father to kiss in front of me." Now I was glaring at all three of them.

  "Children, you do know that people kiss, right? You're all getting to be around that age, do we need to have a talk?" I burst into laughter at the horrified looks on Leaf and Alex's faces, but I stopped after a moment. Erin looked… I didn't actually know how to put it into words, honestly. Not disappointed, not resigned, but… something.

  "Erin, dear, something to share?" She looked up at me with a conflicted look on her face before she shrugged and flopped backwards onto Cerberus.

  "I mean, I don't need that talk, obviously, but… It's just going to be years before I can even think about dating anyone, you know? I'm not mad about that, it gives me time to… work on myself, but still. If the people I found attractive right now found me attractive I would be calling the police…" She trailed off, and I frowned. I'd had the same thought in the past, but despite her words, I knew it must bother her somewhat.

  Lance continued to surprise me, however.

  "I thought you were an adult before? I thought you had been through those ages before?" She looked at him in confusion and nodded, and he smiled at her.

  "Then you should know that any relationship before you're sixteen is almost certainly doomed to failure anyway, right? How many successful relationships did you see at those ages in your previous life?" She took a moment to think, then burst into laughter.

  "Yeah, you're right, Lance. They all imploded, or became bitter enemies… or had to drop out…" She looked slightly relieved now, and I smiled at Lance.

  She might not find anyone her new age attractive, but her wanting to work on herself aside, it was a good thing she didn't. A fourteen year old wasn't exactly mature, and I remembered my own relationships at those ages… Lance had a good point.

  I wonder how Robert was doing, though… That had been my only mutual breakup, and we had remained friends for a few years after that…

  I stood up with a smile, and Lance followed my lead.

  "Well, you girls have a good night! Meet us for breakfast tomorrow?" I smiled as they eagerly nodded, pulling Lance behind me as we exited their huge room.

  The poor Nurse on duty looked a bit startled to see Lance standing there, but quickly found a medium sized room for us and our Pokemon. I wrapped my arm around Lance's waist as we walked and looked up at him with a smile.

  "Ready to watch your daughter beat up poor Brock?" He snorted in laughter, his own arm falling across my shoulders.

  "Brock's a tough young man, he'll be fine… but yes, I am!"

  I laughed as we entered our room.