Welcome to Gaia! ::

Skye put down the other pokeballs and handed the decorative purple ball to her friend. Her eyes twinkled as she smiled, and she gently stroked Wurmple's head with the index finger of her other hand. "You have chosen... wisely."

"GOD DAMN IT WHERE'D I PUT MY CAMERA," Skye spluttered, searching around on top of her bed, sweeping pokeballs aside in her search. "That was so precious, and I MISSED IT!"

On other bed, Pancake was sitting down swinging her legs, and at this the look on her face became guilty. With an exaggerated 'Blehhh,' she opened her mouth wider than should've been possible and Skye's camera plopped out onto the duvet. Then she giggled.

"Well now that you've gotten my attention," said Skye, with a michievious smile, "I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that when I stopped at the pokemon center this morning, Joanna had sent through your pokeball, little madam!"

At this, Pancake, gave an exaggerated gasp, and began to flail her tiny arms in horror. "Miiiiiime!" 'You wouldn't!'

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen! I know you don't dislike your pokeball. Though I don't know why I bother really," Skye continued, directing this next part to her new fellow trainer, "All my psychic and ghost pokemon are so mentally strong they can just break out whenever they want anyway. Mienshao too. The only thing that keeps them inside is their respect and love for me. And love for the convenience of being wherever I am, all the time."

Skye reached over to the drawer of her bedside table, took out and enlarged Pancake's pokeball. It was another custom job - pink and indigo to match the little mime, with a soft-swirl ice cream cone either side of the pokemon's name - Pancake. The pokemon herself was still mock-freaking out at the foot of the other bed, rolling around and flailing like a tantrum-ing toddler. "Come on now, why don't you show your new friend Wurmple how good you can be? You've gotta set a good example now! You've gotta teach him how to be a good partner for Ginga!"

At this, Pancake immediately stopped, looked for a moment at Wurmple, and then her face broke into a wide grin. "Miiime!~"

She floated backwards onto Skye's lap, looking every bit an angelic little baby pokemon who'd never dream of disobeying her trainer. The only things she was missing were a halo and little chibi wings. Skye giggled and patted her on the head. "Gooood girl!" she said, activating the pokeball. Pancake disappeared inside of it. "Now... what if I just left you in there for... oh, I don't know... a month or two?"

The button on the ball became an oversized tongue, which blew a big raspberry before vanishing again.

"Ahhh that's an AMAZING idea. Last night sitting at the bar was so relaxing. I could go for another evening of that. Hey, how about we head out and do some shopping now, then? They must have some good shops around here that aren't just touristy and souvenirs. And maybe a nice cafe we could have dinner at!"

It was decided. After a quick wash and change, the girls and their pokemon headed out onto the town.

Sitting alone at the bar, Skye swirled the ice around in her drink, not thinking about anything in particular. Ginga may have retired early, but Skye wasn't nearly tired enough for that yet. She crossed her arms on the counter and looked around, content again to just enjoy the night and the activity around her. She thought non-commitally about maybe checking out a club, seeing as she was dressed quite nicely, but clubbing isn't really any fun by yourself, and it can be dangerous. Not that she was ever particularly concerned for danger, with her pokemon at her side. She shifted her position slightly, and the little keychain-like clip to which she'd attached Missy and Pancake's pokeballs before they went out tapped against the side of her thigh. She reached down and gripped them in her hand, just for the feeling of reassurance and company it brought.

The bartender had run out of clients to serve for the moment, and he ambled back towards Skye's part of the bar. He finished whatever he was doing and smiled at her. "Can I top you up?"

"Oh, no thank you. I was actually just thinking about leaving soon."

"Your friend did leave quite a while ago now. You know..." he said, putting both of his hands on the counter and looking at her hard. "Something's telling me I've seen you before, but I really can't place where, or why."

Skye's stomach flipped. "Uhh... I can't say we've ever met before, I'm sorry," she said, as unconcerned as possible. Was she an actress, or was she an actress? Her lips stretched into a beguiling smile. "I'm sure I would've remembered meeting a man as handsome as you."

He began to laugh bashfully, but before he could reply, another man sitting just a couple of bar stools away jumped into the conversation. "Hey, I was thinking I'd seen you somewhere before, too! But I know if I met a gorgeous girl like you, I'd remember the details."

"Well, this is weird," said Skye, hoping to bluff it off with a laugh, "I think I'm being mistaken for some other gorgeous blonde. We're not exactly an endangered species, you know."

"You got a name, gorgeous? Maybe that'll help jog our memory," said the man at the bar. The bartender, embarrassed, had moved away apologetically.

"Patricia," said Skye, the lie leaping quickly off her tongue. Patricia was the name of a character in a soap opera she'd caught a glimpse of earlier on a TV in the hotel lounge. It was the first thing that sprang to her mind.

He seemed disappointed. "Hmm. Never met a Patricia in my life."

"You really must be mistaking me for someone else then."

"Do they call you Pat, or Patty, or Patsy...?"

"No, just Patricia. Um - if you'll excuse me, I think I'd better head out, it's getting pretty late," she said, swinging her legs around to get up. She was wearing a miniskirt under a fancy assymetrical top, and the man watched her legs admiringly as she moved. As his eyes made their way around, he spotted the dangling pokeballs on her hip.

"You're a trainer! Only two pokeballs? Who goes around with only two pokemon? A real trainer needs a full set at all times. You gotta be prepared for anything."

This stunned Skye, and made her all the more eager for a quick escape. "...Wow, okay. That's what you think. Thanks for sharing? Good night."

"I guess you don't battle? Do you?"

He stopped her as she tried to move past by taking her wrist - not in a threatening manner, but god, he was starting to annoy her. What a persistent douchebag! "Hey gorgeous, I asked you if you battle."

If this was his way of coming on to her still, he was seriously misguided. "Are you drunk or something? For god's sake, it's the middle of the night, I'm not gonna battle you now."

"So you do battle?"

"Yeah, I battle! But I'm not gonna waste my time or my pokemon's energy on you."

She pulled herself free and glared at him for a moment before walking away. He took a long draw of his drink and then called out tauntingly after her. "You just know you'd lose, that's all!"

"Oh no, I am not having this conversation!" she called back from across the room. However, she then stopped, anger blooming across her face, and marched back over to him, where she stood, talking threateningly into his beer-swilling face. "You can think what you want, you arrogant little p***k, but I'm not running away from you. I simply don't care enough about you or your pathetic, overinflated ego to even bother unclipping one of these pokeballs from my waistband."

"Hey hey, if you guys are going to fight, do it outside!" the bartender called over to them, suddenly taking notice of what was going on. His Aipom appeared from under the counter, looking ready to deal with any trouble. "Water still leaks from the ceiling here sometimes thanks to the last pokemon battle some idiots had. Do you need me to throw this guy out, Patricia? Is he giving you trouble?"

"Yeah, he's giving me trouble! But it's okay, I was just about to leave myself."

Suddenly, the guy stood up and grabbed her arm again, this time like a vice. "I'll come too. We can settle this outside," he hissed.

"HEY, leave her alone!!"

"Let me go!!"

"Aipom!" said the monkey pokemon, leaping forward and giving him a strong whack around the side of the head as Skye fought to free herself. He jerked to the side, but didn't let go. Both pokeballs on her belt vibrated fiercely, shaking with anger, but neither pokemon leapt out... because they knew that Skye had already decided what to do about this. From the moment she'd risen to his taunt, it was clear how it was going to end.

"FINE! I'll battle you, dirtbag! You need a couple of lessons beat into your skull! You'll think twice about messing with people in the future once I'm done with you!"

Once again yanking herself free, she blazed towards the door, and when he didn't immediately come, senses dulled by drink and that whack to the head, she yelled at him to hurry up.


~~~~~


He had six pokemon on hand just as he'd bragged, but it didn't matter. This wasn't going to take long. She'd beaten trainers with five times his skill and merit. TWENTY times. Fifty!

"Let's see if you battle as well as you boast, b*****d!"

"Little girl, you talk big, but we'll see how you sound after I put you in your place," he returned.

The first pokemon he sent out was a Huntail. A water pokemon. Skye felt pretty sorry for it, because it was going to have to face a full blast of Missy's electrifying anger - literally. Her loyal Mismagius' pokeball was vibrating still when Skye chose and enlarged it. Teaching him a lesson couldn't come soon enough for either of them.

Skye didn't even give a command - Missy, her ghostly form swirling and malevolent with rage, unleashed what seemed like a hurricane of electricity. The Huntail immediately fainted.

"Holy s**t," said the douchebag. In the dark, Missy must've looked like something out of a nightmare from his side. He shakily recalled his first pokemon, and sent out his next. Missy tore through it. And the next. And the next. And the next. "God... ******** hell... I-I never thought a single pokemon could be this strong..."

"Well, you thought WRONG, didn't you?!" Skye yelled. "It's not the quantity of pokemon that matters, it's the QUALITY - the time and effort you put into them! And I've put more time and love into Mismagius than you've put into all of yours combined!"

"You shut up, b***h! It's not over yet. You've got no right to judge me!"

"People like you will never change," said Skye, disgusted, "You're too stupid and stubborn to know what's good for you and your team! You could forfeit now to save your last two pokemon from being hurt, but your pride just won't let you, will it?"

"Damn right it won't!"

"You make me sick."

He was right on one count, though - it wasn't over yet. And Missy wasn't finished with him by a long shot. With his previous four pokemon, she'd blown them away with her ferocious energy, but for his fifth, she really wanted to twist the knife. And Skye didn't even have to issue any commands. They'd worked together so long, this battle was like swatting a fly. Skye hadn't said a word throughout, because Missy knew all of the strategies and where each of her powers would work best just as well as her trainer did.

She began to chant, as Mismagi are well known for. Her form had solidified a bit more from the whirling, angry mass she'd been before. Her "robes" and her hat were now properly discernable. Their opponent took this as an opportunity for his pokemon to attack - but they missed.

"...Did you honestly just try that kind of attack on a Ghost pokemon?" said Skye, shaking her head. "That's just incredible. I'd switch out if I were you, before it's - oh, it's too late."

Missy's eyes suddenly grew and flashed to an astonishing, ferocious size, bearing down on her opponent in a terrifying assault on its mind. The other pokemon grew paralysed and rigid with fear, and stopped responding to its trainer's commands. When he pulled out its pokeball, neither could it return.

"What the ******** is this?! What the heck did you do to him?!"

"Mean Look'll do that," Skye sighed, "I told you you should've just withdrawn before it was too late."

Mismagius completed her chant, and a strange, sinister energy passed through the group.

"That's it. There's nothing to do now but wait."

"Snap out of it!! You can still do this! Attack it again!"

The pokemon came to its senses a bit and lunged at Mismagius, who proceeded to dodge around, dissipate, reappear and scare it, in a horrible display of torture that went on for an agonisingly long time. And all the time, Missy just grew more gleeful, feeding off the fear of her opponent, as ghosts tend to do. Skye's misfortune had turned into a very fun night for her. Then, the strange energy returned, almost like a time bomb winding down - it made itself known. Missy cackled in horrible triumph as Skye - in the nick of time, just as they'd done many times before - recalled her. A terrible, pulsating energy shot through the body of the remaining pokemon, causing it to scream in agony before it utterly collapsed.

"NO! Holy s**t, you are SICK! That bullshit pokemon is a monster!"

"Your pokemon didn't deserve that at all, you b*****d. You LET that happen to it. You SAW what Missy did to the others, and yet you still let that poor, quaking little creature face a pokemon well out of its league and typing. What kind of trainer are you?"

"A better trainer than you," he raged back at her, sending out his final pokemon - a Croagunk, pretty large and burly-looking. A bit like the normal kind you'd see in the wild pumped up on steroids.

"Have it your way," Skye spat, "Go Pancake!"

Pancake burst out of her pokeball in a shower of confetti and party balloons. "Miiiiime!~"

"Oh what the ********, you're just insulting me now! You think my Croagunk can't take down your tiny little baby pokemon? I'll show you, you b***h."

Skye sounded bored by his retort. "Uhhuh, go right ahead and show me. Pancake, you know what to do."

The little clownish pokemon stood and happily waved at its opponent. The massive Croagunk blinked at her and then raised its large, poison-spewing hand and made a swipe. But Pancake wasn't there when it brought its hand down. She was two feet away, still grinning like she was at her own birthday party. Every time it swiped at her, it missed, unable to match up to the effectiveness of Pancake's Double Team. The Croagunk began to get more and more irate, lashing about wildly to try and catch the elusive little pokemon. It got madder and madder until finally, Pancake decided it was time for it to take a nap. She appeared directly in front of the Croagunk, and her eyes became large, exaggerated spirals - all for show, really. She didn't need swirly eyes or a pendant to send the other pokemon to sleep. It slumped on its side, snoring, and Pancake, rather than immediately deal her next move, took some time to dance around with some pom poms she'd produced out of the air.

"La la la~ La la la~"

"Once my Croagunk wakes up, that baby is toast!"

"I wouldn't be so sure it's going to wake up..."

At last, it was time for the finishing move. Pancake really didn't need more than one to defeat it. But while she was out there, she wanted to ******** around with the guy who'd hurt her 'mommy' just as much as Missy had.

She waved at the guy to get his full attention.

"Huh? What's it doing...?"

Then, Pancake's face exploded. In a show of destructive mental force that would give anyone nearby nightmares, she grew a face bigger than a human's whole body, misshapen and twisted and studded with fangs, which then latched down onto the helpless Croagunk as the little pokemon unleashed her terrifying mental assault on its sleeping mind. Dream Eater.

It didn't stir again. For that matter, neither did its douchebag trainer. He'd screamed and collapsed, and didn't move when Skye spoke, nor when she went over and gave him a little kick on the leg.

"Huh. I think you gave him a heart attack, Pancake," she said, a little solemnly.

"Mime?" the baby pokemon replied uncertainly, copying Skye by kicking him in the shin.

"Yep. GOOD JOB!" she exclaimed, "High five!"

"MIME!" Pancake jubilated, zooming up into the air to take that high five.

"Yeah!! Awesome! Great job to you too, Missy! Then again we could've beaten that guy in our sleep, couldn't we?"

Missy didn't come out of her pokeball or even stir, but Skye knew she could hear everything, as usual. "Only... now what should we do about this guy? I guess we could go to the police... I still haven't reported what happened today... but it's soooo late..."

A little tendril of purplish smoke seeped out from Missy's pokeball, and Skye felt the familiar cold presence of her joining into her aura, or energy, or whatever it was. He will learn no lessons from this. Leave him here to stew in his failure for the night.

"If that's what you think... there's not much we can do for him here anyway," Skye replied. "Alright. Let's go find somewhere else to have a drink. And maybe a snack. I dunno if I can sleep after all that crap... I'm still so mad I could punch something!"

~~~~~~

Little did Skye know, she wasn't alone on the dark beach. And after she moved off, her company, who'd been watching the battle with a calculating interest, stepped out from the shadows of the palm trees and examined the fainted trainer and his pokemon. Whoever-it-was gave a sigh, and flipped his communicator open.

"Clean-up on aisle four. Got a guy collapsed on the south-east beach, 223-225-2, his party wiped. No investigation needed. He just... bit off way more than he could chew."

The next morning, Ginga woke up to find herself alone in the hotel room, with the exception of Wurmple, of course. She frantically searched around the room for any sign of Skye but she found nothing; both of her friend’s Pokéballs were gone and it didn’t look like she had been in the hotel room at all since they’d left the night before.

“Oh man Skye what did you get yourself into this time?” said the girl, worried. She reached for her phone on the nightstand between the beds and called Skye. No answer. “Dammit! Where the hell did she go?!”

The racket Ginga made even woke up her new Pokémon, who’d been sleeping comfortably on a pillow in her bed.

“Wurmple?” it asked groggily.

Ginga turned to face her Pokémon. “Oh Wurmple, I’m sorry,” she said, picking it up and cradling it. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. It’s just my friend Skye is missing. Remember, your friend Pancake’s trainer?”

The little worm Pokémon was surprised and immediately jumped down from Ginga’s arms, searching the place high and low for signs of Skye and Pancake. “Wurmple? Wurmple? Wuuuuurmple?!”

While Wurmple’s actions were sweet, the blonde girl couldn’t help but laugh. It was like her Pokémon was searching for itself. She picked it up once more. “Aww you’re such a cutie!” she said, nuzzling it. “In the meantime, we shouldn’t panic. Skye’s old enough to handle herself; I’m sure she’s fine. I have an idea. How about I get cleaned up and we go out together, just you and me, Wurmple. How about that?”

Her Pokémon seemed to agree and waited faithfully on the bed watching TV while its trainer got ready. When the girl emerged from the bathroom, she found Wurmple seemingly enthralled with a program on tourist attractions. It seemed to be especially taken by a story about a skyscraper with a glass floor. Its eyes were wide with awe.

“Haha, you like skyscrapers Wurmple?” Ginga asked, fixing her hair. She was wearing her trademark dress, adorned with a harness and flowy, feathery fabric at the skirt; perfect for someone originally from Fortree City. “Me too. Being in one with a glass floor like that probably makes you feel like you’re flying, doesn’t it?”

“Wurmple…” it was still amazed by the images on the screen. Ginga sat down on the bed and placed Wurmple in her lap, watching the screen too.

“You know, when you get stronger and evolve, you’ll be able to fly too,” she told it. “No matter what form you evolve into: Beautifly or Dustox. You’ll be able to soar through the skies with the best of ‘em!”

Wurmple seemed to like this idea. It closed its eyes and blushed a little, thinking about the idea of flying.

It turned out the TV program was quite interesting, so they decided to watch the rest of it before heading out on the town.

~~~

First stop, the Pokémon Center. Ginga applied for her trainer card and had the nurse give Wurmple a check-up. Everything checked out okay, and Ginga emerged with a 100% healthy Wurmple and trainer card.

“You know, I really could’ve taken a better picture for this card,” she said, looking at it as she walked out of the Pokémon Center. “I spent all that time getting ready this morning and I still look strange. Oh well. Could be worse.”

Wurmple looked down at the card from atop her head, curiously. It didn’t seem to completely understand what its trainer meant, but hey, it was enjoying the views and the weather, so it couldn’t really complain.

Ginga put the card back in her mint-green messenger bag and took Wurmple off her head, carrying it in her arms. “Where would you like to go next?” she asked. “How about the market?”

“Wurmple!” her Pokémon said happily.

They strolled around the Slateport market for a little while, looking at all the colorful goods and meeting loads of interesting people. Ginga bought a few things for herself, Wurmple, Skye, Pancake, and Missy and decided to go somewhere else.

“I don’t really know where we should go now Wurmple,” she said as they walked around. “We already hit a lot of the hotspots last night, and it’s still early in the day, so not many places are open…”

“Hey!” someone called out.

Ginga turned to her left. “Huh?”

“Are you a new trainer?” a bright, spirited woman asked her.

“Umm…” Ginga said, not sure how to reply. “Yeah…I just got this Wurmple yesterday and my trainer card today…why?”

“Ooh that’s wonderful! Why don’t you come and check out the Contest Hall? It’s really cool! You can even get a Contest pass there, if you want to participate yourself.”

“Oh, I love Contests!” Ginga said. “I used to see them all the time when I was a child. Sure, I’ll go in.”

“Hooray!” the woman shouted cheerfully. “I’m so happy! By the way, I’m sorry for introducing myself so late, but I’m Vivian, the emcee for the Contests!”

“Nice to meet you Vivian, I’m Ginga,” the blonde girl said, shaking the woman’s hand. She could understand why she was the emcee with all that energy.

“Hey I know, I’ll give you a tour! C’mon!”

Vivian took Ginga and Wurmple inside. The lobby was teeming with life; from the people to the Pokémon, a certain energy flowed through the air. The building was colorful with beautiful murals painted on the walls. There were many windows as well as a glass ceiling which allowed lots of light in.

“Wow,” the girl said, amazed. “They’ve done numerous renovations since I was here as a kid…”

“Indeed!” said Vivian. “About four years ago, Contests had a sudden surge in popularity again, most likely due to the elimination of the Teams plaguing the nation. So we decided to renovate the Slateport Contest Hall. What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” Ginga replied, looking around. Wurmple seemed to echo her sentiments, not knowing where to turn next.

“In that case, why don’t we head out to the arena itself?” the energetic woman asked.

The arena was even more amazing. Thousands upon thousands of blue seats, each row higher than its predecessor, lined a large stage in the middle. The stage was a light green in color, but the ceiling had spotlights that could make it look like any color in the rainbow. Vivian also told Ginga that the ceiling was retractable, and often used in that manner for Contests featuring lots of flying Pokémon and for the Grand Festival.

“Amazing,” the girl said.

When they got back to the lobby, they stood in front of the main desk.

“So would you like to get a Contest pass?” Vivian asked. “It guarantees you entry for any Contest in the Hoenn region aaaand it’s absolutely free of charge!”

Ginga thought a moment. Looking at Wurmple, the Pokémon looked at her and smiled. It looked excited about seeing the beautiful Contest Hall and almost like it wanted to get in on the fun. The girl smiled.

“Why not?” she said. “I’ve always loved Contests and it looks like it’ll be really fun!”

“Wonderful!” said Vivian. She turned to the woman behind the desk. “This young lady would like to get a Contest pass please.”

“Sure thing.”

Ginga gave the woman her information and while she waited for her Contest pass to print, a scuffle was heard in the lobby.

“Marill, stop it!” someone yelled in the background. Ginga turned to see a girl was chasing a Marill and the Pokémon was relentlessly attacking everything in sight. It frequently fired off Attract moves, stunning many of the Pokémon in the area. One of them was sent in Ginga’s direction, with Marill following close behind.

“Look out!” Vivian said, pushing Ginga out of the way. In the process, she accidentally knocked Wurmple out of the girl’s arms.

“Wurmple!” Ginga cried, attempting to reach for her Pokémon, but to no avail. Wurmple fell from her arms but landed safely on the ground, much to her relief.

The Attract attack hit Wurmple, but surprisingly, it disappeared upon contact, having no effect. The Marill stood a few feet away from Wurmple, startled. The little worm Pokémon looked at Marill angrily, almost similar to the way it had looked at the Aqua guys just one day prior. It spat out one little Poison Sting spike, hitting Marill in the forehead.

“Maaaa-aaaa-aaa-aaaa-rill!” the Aquamouse Pokémon said dizzily as it spun around and fell.

“Wow, your Wurmple knocked that Marill out in one hit,” Vivian said, shocked.

“Marill!” its trainer said, running toward and aiding it. She looked at Wurmple, and then up at Ginga.

The blonde girl thought Marill’s trainer was going to rip into her about how her Pokémon shouldn’t have attacked, but instead, her face softened. “Thank you so much,” she said. “I just got this Marill but it doesn’t listen to me very well.” She returned the Pokémon to its Pokéball. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you look like you’re a new trainer.”

“I am,” Ginga said, picking up Wurmple, who had calmed down. “And you’re welcome, although I didn’t really do anything…”

“Wow, and your Wurmple’s really strong too! She’ll be a really good member of your team.”

“You think so?” the blonde girl asked. Then something dawned on her. “Wait…she?”

“Yep,” the girl told her. “My Marill’s female, and because her Attract attack didn’t work on Wurmple that means Wurmple’s a girl too.”

Ginga laughed. “Well how about that! You’re a girl Wurmple!” she said, cuddling her Pokémon. “Wait ‘til my friend hears about this, she’s gonna flip! She totally thought Wurmple was a boy.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but Miss Ginga? Your Contest pass is ready,” the woman behind the desk said out of the blue.

“Oh it is? Thank you so much!” Ginga said, taking the pass handed to her. She looked it over. Everything looked correct. “Awesome! Now we can compete in Contests, Wurmple!”

“Wurmple!” her Pokémon said happily.

After a few brief conversations between Vivian, the Marill trainer whose name turned out to be Cassie, the woman behind the desk and herself, Ginga signed up for the next Slateport Contest taking place in two days and prepared to exit the building.

“You’re not going to win that Contest,” a voice said.

“Huh?” Ginga turned and saw a girl about her age staring at her darkly.

“You’re not good enough to win that Contest,” the girl said. “That one-hit KO your Wurmple got with Marill was nothing but dumb luck.”

“And how do you know?”

“Simple; I have a Wurmple too. And it’s going to beat you in two days’ time.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Ginga told the girl and promptly left, not wanting anything else to rain on her parade. But the girl’s comment still stuck with her. “That really makes me mad,” she told Wurmple later. “People like her make me sick. She’s one of those people that only compete to show off how strong they are.”

Wurmple agreed, but had relaxed some since she felt the breeze on her face.

All of a sudden Ginga got an idea.

“Why don’t we go to the forest to train?” she asked her Pokémon. “We can get stronger and maybe even develop combinations for the Contest!”

“Wurmple, Wurmple!” The worm Pokémon answered.

“Well, we can do that, and…I want to investigate yesterday’s incident. I want to find out if Team Aqua really is reformed. If they are…I definitely don’t want to think about it.”

Ginga had just entered the forest when all of a sudden Skye was in front of her, freaking out and saying something about staying out late and how she got involved with this guy…

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down,” Ginga said, putting her hands up. “First of all, are you okay? Calm down and tell me what happened. I was worried sick about you!”

Ginga let Skye spill her story. She sighed.

This is why I don’t like drinking… she thought. It gets you into strange situations.

“It’s okay,” she said. “The important thing is that you’re all right, even though you’re clearly rattled. But hey, he’s gone and it’s over now.” She patted her friend’s shoulder, Wurmple even getting in by nuzzling Skye’s hair with her nose. “Why don’t you sit down and enjoy the weather for now? And then later on you can go back to the hotel and get some decent rest.”

Ginga reached into her bag and brought out the presents she’d bought.

“Here,” she said, handing them to Skye. “This one’s for you; I figured you’d like the colors of the beads on this Pokéball-holder. It’s handmade too. And these Pokéblocks and Poffins are for Pancake and Missy.”

Wurmple eyed the food with envy. She almost started to drool.

“Oh, are you hungry too Wurmple?” Ginga asked. “Here, I got some for you too.” She gave her a Poffin, which was eaten up almost instantly and followed by pining for another.

“Yep,” Ginga told her friend. “It’s imperative we get to the bottom of this. But I also would like to take some time out to do some training. We’ve got a Contest to prepare for, don’t we?” She patted Wurmple on her head, making the little Pokémon smile in agreement.