Chương 14: Odd Happenings I

These Silver Eyes

"Right, I'll do that. If I don't show up in the next 3 minutes. Leave." Green looked at the message, a look of dread on her face as a terrible knot formed in her stomach.

"Green? Where are you going?!" Crystal shouted in horror, watching as the girl suddenly dashed in a direction that would lead deeper into the ship. The Pallet trainer completely ignored her, eyes wild in fear as she stumbled forward. Silver was in trouble. Silver was in a lot of trouble and she needed to help him. An explosion rocked the ship and sent Green tumbling.

Pain erupted through her body and she let out a cry, as her head crashed into the railing and the girl tentatively pulled herself up blinking away the tears to the best of her abilities.

"Green!" Gold yelled in concern, catching up to her and grasping the girl.

"Shit! You're bleeding! Are you okay?!" Green blinked sluggishly.

"Silvy needs my help. I have to go help him!" she said, tasting something metallic on her tongue. Crystal opened the girls mouth and winced at seeing blood pooling.

"Green we need to get you out of here," she said slowly.

"NO!" Green shouted, pushing them off of her.

"I need to... I have to go help Silvy! He's in trouble!" She took a single step and fell flat to the floor, unable to stand straight due to how dizzy she currently felt. Gold clenched his jaw and quickly came to a decision. He grabbed Green and began heading to the railing of the ship.

"C'mon Crys the ships about to blow," he whispered urgently to her. Unfortunately, Green heard him.

"What?! No! I'm not going anywhere without Silvy!" Green said immediately, struggling in his grip with all her might. Gold grunted as he tried with all his might to hold back Green but the girl was seriously strong.

"Green the ships about to blow!" he said, watching as she wildly connected with his jaw without any hesitation. He instinctively moved one hand to his face at the hit and Green took the chance to escape his grasp.

"I don't care! Silvy needs my help!" Green said frantically, poised to run deeper into the ship. Gold was not letting that happen. He immediately tackled the girl and brought her to the floor.

"Do you think Silver wants you to risk yourself like this?!" He asked seriously.

"There's no way I'm gonna let you risk your life like this. We need to jump ship now and worry about Silver afterwards." But Green wasn't listening to him. She was growing steadily more hysterical, struggling intensely in his grasp and Gold feared that she'd hurt herself further just to get out of it. A flash of light caused a momentary lull and Gold watched in slight trepidation as Green's giant Ivysaur materialized.

"S-Saury! Get him off me!" Green demanded urgently. They were wasting time! She had to help him! Green had to help Silvy — Green watched with a shocked expression as Saury wrapped a vine around her, effortlessly lifting both her and Gold up. With another vine, he grabbed a Pokeball and handed it to Crystal, gazing at the girl with intent. Crystal quickly understood what he was getting at and grabbed the Pokeball, before releasing Lapee into the sea.

"S-Saury?" Green whispered in disbelief.

"Ivysaur," Saury said quietly, dropping the two into the ocean. He looked towards Crystal once more, handing her a final pokeball and she nodded hesitantly, returning the Ivysaur into the ball and taking a deep breath — Before jumping into the cold ocean below. She winced at the impact but quickly surfaced to the top, latching onto the Lapras and hastily pulling herself out of the freezing waters.

"Lap," Lapras said softly, gazing empathetically at the betrayed Green being dragged out of the water by Gold. Green turned back towards the ship with wide eyes, watching as a blast of cold and heavy energy obliterated the S. S Anne where it stood stationary.

"No way..." Gold said in disbelief, paling at the rush of power that washed over him. Crystal shuddered.

"T-Team Rocket really have the means to do this...?" she whispered in terror. In just the blink of an eye... the S. S Anne had... it was just gone. What was that? Who was that? A choked sob interrupted the two and they turned towards the utterly stricken Green, tears flowing down her eyes.

"S-SILVY!" she screamed in a panic.

"No! We have to find him! We have to!" Gold said nothing, clenching his jaw as he guiltily turned away from the frantic girl. There were some boats and pokemon sailing away so he could take some solace in the fact that some people managed to get away but... The S. S Anne still had so many people and pokemon on it... just how many got caught in that blast? He saw Crystal shuddering and grabbed her hand, watching as she tightened the grip without any hesitation.

She hadn't torn her eyes off the sobbing Green and he saw tears forming in his best friends eyes too.

"Lapee," he whispered.

"Could you... do a few rounds? Maybe we'll find Silver." Lapee had a crestfallen expression on her normally smiling face and nodded, swimming through the ocean. Green continued to wail curling into Crystal. His best friend was always one to cry easy so he wasn't surprised at all to see her quietly weeping as well.

"Should we have looked for him?" Gold thought, clenching his fist. No... it couldn't have been the right call. They wouldn't have been able to find him in time and make it off the ship. But it felt really shitty. Gold made the correct call to abandon ship but... but it felt like he made the wrong call. As Lapee somberly swam, Gold vigilantly looked for anyone that might have needed help. He hadn't found anyone yet but that was probably because of all these ludicrously strong pokemon showing up out of nowhere.

Gold warily gazed at the sight of a flurry of flying figures dashing through the air and close to the water. That wariness turned into horror at seeing a gargantuan Gyarados burst out near them. It gazed over at them, sparing them a glance and Gold could immediately tell that this was not a normal Gyarados. The Gyarados rumbled, sending vibrations through his bones and Gold realized it could probably eat him and Lapee whole. He heard about Gyarados. Everyone heard about Gyarados.

It was one of the most famously aggressive pokemon that wasn't an outright dragon. Gyarados were rare for a reason. No one wanted to deal with a wild Gyarados. One bad move could have them levelling a city for the fun of it. Thankfully for Gold, the sentiment of Gyarados being rare seemed to hold true because this Gyarados had an assortment of people on its back.

He let out a sigh of relief as the Gyarados eyed them for only a second longer, before snorting and turning in a direction, swimming off with the large amount of coughing people on its back.

"I-I shouldn't have let him go on his own," Green sobbed.

"... I'm sorry, Green," Crystal whispered quietly.

"But we couldn't let you get hurt anymore! You took a serious blow to the head! Silver would be furious if he realized you sacrificed your life for him."

"But who's gonna be there for him when no one wants to save him?!" Green wailed. Crystal frowned sadly at that. Green's anguish was mixing with the concussion she was likely suffering and it made her completely inconsolable. She gnawed on her lip in concern, before a thought came to her.

"Green do you have your Pokegear with you?" she asked hesitantly, glancing worriedly at the blood matting her outfit and hands. Green needed medical attention and badly. Crystal had already wrapped a gauze around her head but a Nurse Joy would be far better in diagnosing her. Those big and sad green eyes stared up at her, looking slightly unfocused and Green took a worrying amount of time to answer her question.

"I... yeah I have it?" she eventually replied.

"Do you have Silver's location? Maybe we can find him like that," Crystal pressed. Seeing the hopeful look in Green's eyes, truly made Crystal hope that this worked. It was no wonder Silver wanted to protect her... Green fumbled around, shivering slightly as she attempted to locate her Pokegear, before locating it and grasping it in her soaked hands. Her brows furrowed in frustration as she tried to get it to work and Crystal mercifully took it out of her hand.

Green watched in anticipation as Crystal made it to contacts, not having to scroll due to Silvy being a favorite contact. Crystal clicked the name that said "Silvy: D!" and focused on his location. Despite looking at the same device, Green was too dizzy to make out what it was telling her.

"..." Crystal let out a sigh of relief.

"It says he's in Vermillion City."

"He's okay?" Green whispered.

"I think so," Crystal muttered right back. Green heard that and let out a relieved sob, sagging into Crystal and clutching her like her life depended on it. The sound of flapping interrupted the group and Crystal hesitantly looked up, going pale at seeing a gigantic Charizard in the flesh.

"I thought it was strange that there was a Lapras idling by the area that Gyarados didn't recognize..." the figure atop the Charizard muttered. Green perked up at that, turning a hazy gaze towards the Charizard.

"Green, it's good to know that you're safe," Lance said. He had a tense expression on his face, as his team continued soaring through the area, scouring for any survivors.

"L-Lance," Green whispered.

"You're here!" Gold's jaw dropped a bit at that, gazing at the champion of Indigo with wide eyes. Lance's brows furrowed at that.

"Yeah, it was thanks to Silver... were you looking for him?" he asked in some concern, noticing the bloodied gauze around her head, the soaked outfit, and the heavy sniffles. Green nodded.

"Mhm," she mumbled.

"He was... still on the ship when it exploded I think." The Champion's tense expression never let up, eyes flitting out to the sea.

"Silver's safe and accounted for. My companion brought him over to Vermillion because of his injuries," he said eventually.

"You should be doing the same, Green. You look like you're suffering from a concussion." Green nodded hesitantly.

"Can I see him?"

"After you get checked up," Lance said firmly.

"Altaria, bring them to the Center in Vermillion. We'll stay here and continue searching." The Altaria sang its understanding and flew closer to the trio. As they climbed the beautiful dragon, Green returned Lapee to her ball and practically fell asleep the moment she made contact with the cotton. Lance frowned at that and turned towards Gold and Crystal.

"Thank you..."

"Crystal and this is Gold," Crystal introduced to the champion, stumbling over her words a bit.

"Crystal and Gold. Thank you," Lance said with a small frown.

"Green would have ignored her injuries if it was up to her."

"I get it though," Gold said quietly.

"She's worried about her friend... I'd be just as reckless if Crys was in trouble." Lance's weary features made way for a small smile.

"We all would... but it's always nice when another presence can reign you in," he said.

"Get some rest yourselves, kids. You look tired. I'll handle the rest." With that, Lance was off. Crystal and Gold watched him go with expressions of awe.

"He's cool," Gold said bluntly.

"Yeah..." Crystal nodded.

"Taria!" Altaria agreed.

"How's it looking?" Lance asked Lorelei grimly, landing next to her. Lorelei remained silent.

"I've set out a search to continue conducting any rescues. We deployed both rescue pokemon and ships but... we aren't holding out hope for any further survivors." Lance had a frown on his face.

"There isn't even any shipwreck. I thought the person was hysterical... but they told me one second the ship was there and the next, a wave of power washed over it and completely eradicated it."

"I did find it strange that we didn't encounter any wreckage of the sorts... not to mention we seemed to have shown up only moments after the ship was destroyed. How did we miss that?" Lorelei wondered in concern. What did Team Rocket do?

"Forget that for now... we need to verify the survivors," Lance sighed, running a hand through his spikes. Lorelei nodded.

"There were 5000 trainers and civilians alike on that ship, excluding their pokemon. So far, we've only accounted for approximately 1, 500." Lance said nothing at that. 1, 500 survivors... on a ship with that many people. That wasn't even counting the pokemon or the Rockets.

"To think it could have been even less if I didn't receive that message," Lance frowned. So many lives lost and for what? What was even the point of Team Rocket doing such a thing?

"Lance you look exhausted," Lorelei said worriedly.

"You must get some rest." Lance sighed wearily.

"Later. There's many things I have to do. I promise I'll get some rest, but you should go spend time with your nephew." The ice trainer glanced at him in surprise.

"You knew?"

"Why do you think I said you'd be interested in him?" Lance replied, climbing atop his Charizard once more.

"I'm going to meet with the psychics and see if they can detect anyone. Any extra life will make this trip worth it." Without waiting for a response, Charizard spread his wings and took off into the night sky again. Lorelei watched the young champion fly off with a frown.

"He's running himself ragged," she sighed, raking a hand through her hair. This was a mess. There were no signs that Team Rocket were going to attack the S. S Anne and even if they were... how were they capable of succeeding? Her team was still out there, searching for any signs of life but by now... if they didn't find anyone then that meant — Lorelei banished such thoughts. She would go join Lance in the search for now. He was right. Even one extra life saved would make the trip worth it.

The first thing I noted, was that it was cold. I did not like being cold. The second thing I noted, was that I was in a bed and it smelled suspiciously like the products you'd find in a hospital. I did not like the hospital. The third thing I noted, and the most important, was that there was a presence hovering me while I slept… I did not like being hovered. I especially didn't like waking up to someone hovering me. In fact, I hated the fact that someone was so close to me while I was asleep.... Ugh.

I groaned and my eyes fluttered open, shutting them on instinct as the bright light threatened to blind me. Why the hell was it so goddamn bright?!

"Thirsty?" I grunted in affirmation, nodding thankfully, with my eyes still shut, as a cup was placed in my hand. The moment the water made its way past my lips, I let out a sigh of relief and downed the whole thing at record speeds.

"Slow down, you'll choke. You just woke up after all."

"Nagging me as soon as I wake up is something I really like so thanks for that," I said sarcastically, slowly opening my eyes to regard the mysterious voice. What greeted me was a whole lot of red. Red eyes stared at me, behind a frame of simple yet expensive looking glasses. Atop their head was a frame of red hair that was styled in a slight ponytail, still leaving a good amount of it free. She was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, and had a purple mini skirt on…

"Who the hell is this hot lady and why is she hovering me?" I blinked slowly, still in the process of waking up. Good looking or not, I didn't need anyone being this close to me. Who the hell did this lady think she was? Next to her, dozing off, was a pale blue and white fox with flowing fur. Its coat shined with care and I briefly admired how pristine the Alolan Ninetales looked. An Alolan Ninetales? Wait a second...

Seeing the ice type finally reminded me of who the person in the room with me was and I frowned in confusion.

"Elite 4 Lorelei," I said blandly, rubbing my head and scowling in outrage at feeling a wrap around my skull.

"Just Lorelei is fine," she said, gazing at me with an expression I couldn't identify. She was startlingly close to me, chair practically right next to my bed, as she shut a book she had been reading. I absentmindedly made to rip my bandages off, but tossed that idea in favor of glaring at the woman who moved my hand away.

"Stop that. Tampering with them will do no good. You need them," she reprimanded quietly.

"Don't touch me," I bit out with a scowl, moving my hand back to my bandages in clear defiance. She frowned disapprovingly at me but dropped it for now.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked instead. Remember anything? I frowned and gained a pondering expression. Last I remember, I was on the S. S Anne… and then — Mewtwo. I jolted violently as all the memories came flooding back and bit back a snarl of rage. Those filthy fucking bastards Team Rocket! They actually went and attacked the S. S Anne?! And they used Mewtwo to destroy it! So they really were willing to use Mewtwo to do their bidding... Why were they taking so long to make a concrete move?

What was the point of this?! They had such a powerful legend at their beck and call but they weren't making an immediate move to dominate the region? This wasn't like Aqua or Magma or any other team that were pursuing a legendary. Team Rocket already had theirs. What the hell were they doing? Those bastards really didn't care about anyone's lives… Wait.

"Green," I said urgently.

"Is Green okay?" I asked with a tinge of concern. That little idiot was the type to wait for me to show up before leaving. She would ignore the dire state of the ship so long as I didn't show up. That's why I told her to leave. I knew she wouldn't otherwise. Goddamnit if she died waiting for me… If that happened —"Green is fine. She suffered a head blow but it wasn't anything too dangerous." I sighed at that, falling back against my bed as relief flooded my body.

"What about my team?" I questioned with a frown.

"Green is watching them. They were restless but calmed down at the sight of her, so to distract them both we killed two pidgeys with one rockthrow," she replied. I peered at Lorelei. She was a good speaker. Professional to the core, with no inflection in her voice. It's like she knew the perfect answer to everything I was going to ask —" I'm Elite Four Lorelei and I'm… your aunt. My sisters name is Ariana… she's your mother, right?" I jolted violently and gazed at her with wild eyes."

You," I whispered in realization.

"You're the one who saved my life," I pointed out. Lorelei nodded, a neutral expression on her face as she gauged my reaction.

"... And you said you're my Aunt." Another nod.

"…" I let out a tired sigh.

"Fuck me." Just great. I was related to Elite 4 Lorelei. Goddamnit. If there was one thing I was asking for, it was definitely a high ranking relative with a lot of sway over the region. That's definitely what a criminal like me needed. Yay.

"I would appreciate if you refrained from using such crass language," Lorelei requested firmly, expression cracking somewhat. It sounded like a request… but she said it in a way that made it come off as a demand.

"I would appreciate if you fucked off with that. Don't bother trying to order me around. I don't care who you are," I grunted, utterly unintimidated by her. I saw her twitch slightly, clearly displeased by that and she adjusted her glasses slightly.

"Deplorable behavior... We'll deal with that at a later time," she muttered to herself, composing herself at my rather foul language. I watched my aunt stare at me, before both our attention was grabbed by the sight of the Ninetales waking up. It stretched regally and trotted up to Lorelei, allowing its trainer to run a hand through its fur.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me gently.

"…" I stared at her for a moment, pondering the circumstances and completely ignoring her question. If she was uncomfortable, she didn't show it. My fellow redhead just stared back at me, posture ramrod straight.

"When can I leave?" I asked bluntly.

"Not anytime soon. You had glass shards in your head that had to be carefully removed. We're going to ensure you are perfectly fine, not suffering any concussions, internal bleeding… etc," she listed. I scowled in dissatisfaction.

"How long have I been here?" I asked instead.

"A full day. I rushed you to the Pokemon Center due to your injuries combined with the fact that you were submerged underwater for an extended period of time." Damn she was efficient. She wasted no time answering my questions.

"Any lasting injuries?"

"None. How did you get that scar on your chest?" Lorelei asked immediately. I stared at her with narrowed eyes, remaining silent. She had a lot of gall to ask such a personal question so quickly. My supposed aunt sure was bold. Lorelei didn't let my silence phase her.

"Are you truly Ariana's… son?" Nothing. I just continued to stare at her with my distrusting gaze. Lorelei gazed at me, nonplussed by my silence and eventually sighed.

"... I know my reputation with the people. I'm cold, professional and seemingly stuck up. Lance and Karen frequently call me a "hardass" at times and though I disagree, I won't deny that I may give off such an image..." I shifted uncomfortably at the tone she was taking.

"... But may I request that I speak to you as just a curious woman named Lorelei? Could you forget the Elite 4 title just for this conversation?" she asked me earnestly.

"I understand… you have reason to be wary around me… but I've recently found out after 12 years, that I may have a nephew and… I'd like to know more about him if possible," she began softly. I frowned at the sincerity of her tone and sighed.

"I nearly got killed by a wild pokemon, that's how I got this scar… and yeah I'm her kid but don't ask me where she is because I dunno," I muttered. To no one's surprise, Lorelei looked horrified at the part where I mentioned I almost died.

"Are you alright? If you managed to gain a scar then it must have been a serious injury," she said in blatant concern.

"I'm fine. Don't even notice it anymore," I replied calmly, shuffling uncomfortably. Why couldn't I get out of here sooner? This place was way too stifling. My discomfort only grew as Lorelei, a woman who I didn't even know I was related to until now, continued to gaze at me with worry in her eyes. This was weird. Lorelei looked as if she wanted to question me some more about my life, but must have thought better of it. Smart. I wouldn't have answered her at all.

"If you don't mind, Silver... I'd appreciate if we could..." she trailed off, stumbling a bit over her words. I raised a brow at that.

"How can I put this..." she tried, not sounding too sure of how to properly articulate herself. That was pretty funny. The moment she wasn't speaking business, Lorelei was quite the awkward talker. Must have been because she was speaking to her nephew who she didn't know.

"You want to connect with me," I finished her train of thought.

"Yes. Connect. I'd like to connect with you," Lorelei nodded in agreement.

"No." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. She looked stunned at that.

"No?" I sighed and shook my head.

"Thanks. You saved my life," I said earnestly, meaning it.

"If it weren't for you, I probably would have died so I'm actually grateful for that…" I fixed my gaze on her with my unnerving gaze and frowned at her.

"... But I don't want to connect with someone because of a person I don't even like." Lorelei went completely silent, gazing at me with wide eyes.

"The fact of the matter is, you only want to connect because of your relations with my mom. I get that because you two are sisters, you feel obligated to form a bond with me… but you don't have to force yourself to do that and I'm not interested in that," I grunted with a shake of my head.

"My mom and I don't have a good relationship. You don't have to feel obligated for something I'm not thinking about," I waved her off, shutting my eyes and laying back down. It was a nice gesture, but wholly unnecessary. I had given up on the idea of having useful family members so Lorelei, no matter how formidable, had no reason to do this.

"Ariana and I never had the best relationship growing up." I paused at that, opening my eyes and locking gazes with my aunt"She and I were polar opposites you see," Lorelei began, a faraway look in her eyes.

"She was hotheaded, had a temper and foul most of the time. A troublemaker is what my parents called her," she informed me. I resisted the urge to snort. She sounded like me.

"I was quiet and studious, always tucking my head low and focusing on the future," Lorelei said bluntly.

"Ariana liked to call me the golden child. She resented me for it." I gazed at her in mild interest.

"I looked up to her you know? She's my older sister… she was cool, was never afraid to speak her mind and did things her way, regardless of her envy. Most of all, she never let anyone bully me for how I chose to live my life. She used to say "only I'm allowed to bully Leilei," as she beat up the other kids." Lorelei sighed.

"But we were kids and deep down… a child always wants their parents acknowledgment." I said nothing at that, merely resisting the urge to scoff. Yeah right.

"Eventually, Ariana was eligible to gain a starter and she left with a Lapras and Murkrow… I never saw her so happy to be gone." I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested about this tale so I didn't bother interrupting her.

"I was 10 at the time, so Ariana had a two year headstart on me. When I first started my journey I made up my mind to find her and try to mend our fractured relationship," she revealed.

"She didn't contact any of us for those entire two years. It hurt and I didn't really get why she refused to contact us as kids," Lorelei sighed.

"You didn't realize you were the golden child?" I asked her with a raised brow. She shook her head.

"I didn't realize they were neglecting her… how could I? It took me a bit more years of traveling to realize what went on but I think by then, Ariana let her grudge go. We eventually met up again. She had traveled through some different regions at that point and was a notably strong trainer." There was fondness in her voice. Lorelei truly did have fond memories of my horrible mother…

"And then it all went downhill… and it was my fault." I tilted my head at that.

"How so?" I asked, far too invested in this tale to just stop listening. I wonder if it was because it was about my mother...

"... When I was 16, I entered the Indigo League. I had been traveling for a few years at this point. My strength had grown immeasurably. I had an affinity with Ice and Water types and my team was formidable so I figured I could join," Lorelei said softly.

"It was the tournament I was going to use to put myself forward as a candidate of the Elite 4… and can you believe that Ariana happened to join this tournament too?" she asked me with a frown.

"…" I could take a guess where this was going.

"It was awful timing. We didn't discuss it or anything. Both of us were surprised to see each other. We battled our way through the bracket… and we met in the finals…"

"It wasn't close. I… won and I only lost three pokemon in the process… and that was the biggest mistake I could have ever made." Lorelei shuddered softly, prompting Ninetales to sink further into her.

"I knew I was talented. I was even recognized and trained by Gym Leader Pryce. That tournament wasn't one I expected to struggle with at all… I knew I was going to win… but," she trailed off.

"I was a fool. I knew my older sister envied me but she managed to move past that… and I dragged her right back down to that pit. I never felt more guilt, than seeing her face after the end of that battle…" Lorelei actually looked sad at that moment.

"She looked at me without any emotion at all. There was no hint. No happiness, sadness, anger... just nothing. An important milestone for me… was turned into such a disaster because of that. I haven't seen her since. She disappeared off the face of the planet afterwards." Ah. So that's how it was. My mom got her soul crushed by her little sister. Unfortunate. Some parents sucked. Ariana's parents sucked and Ariana herself sucked. I guess I also had to suffer the consequences of that. Hooray.

"I know you think I'm doing this out of obligation… but I want to at least get to know one family member… and I'd enjoy it if we were on good terms," Lorelei said truthfully, gazing at me with an earnest expression.

"…" Well, she did save my life.

"Alright, what do you wanna do?" I asked simply. Lorelei stared at me, before a small smile adorned her face.

"How about we just have a conversation and take it from there? I'd like to know more about you," she requested. I snorted.

"Sure. I'm not a pleasant person to have a conversation with though."

"I'm aware. We'll be fixing that."

"I'd like to see you try." Lorelei was kind of a stickler. She twitched at my foul language, attempted to correct me on multiple occasions when I used said foul language and dearly looked like she wanted to reprimand me for using that foul language. Unfortunately, I was very unintimidated by most people and Lorelei was no exception so cowing me into submission, with the stern aura of an Ice Queen, was not something she could do.

Once she seemed to resign to that fact, she just took the time to learn anything she could about me… Which to be fair, wasn't much but even if I wanted to tell her stuff… it's not like I had the memory for it.

"That reminds me," Lorelei muttered, pulling a file from who knows where.

"Forgive me for appearing too worried but… I did some research when trying to learn more about you and I noticed some things." She missed the way I stiffened.

"You started your journey approximately four months ago, but unlike most trainers, it took you nearly two months to challenge a Gym Leader, all while amassing a team beyond just the Zorua you began with."

"She's dangerously smart," I noted with a frown.

"Now normally, I would commend you for this. Not many trainers would take the time to find their team first, train them and then battle the Gym Leaders but I noticed something alarming..." Lorelei frowned. Alarming? Was it the team I had amassed?

"... You didn't use a single Pokemon Center up until you arrived to Vermilion City." … Fuck. Pokemon Center trips were logged?! What in the fuck do you mean they were logged?! But she said I didn't go to one up until Vermilion City… that wasn't true. I went to one in Hoenn — Joy. Did… Joy not record my trips at the Hoenn Pokemon Center? No that wasn't quite right… Did she clear them? But why would she do that? Was it… because she thought my family situation was that bad?

"Are you in danger, Silver? Were you trying to stay hidden?" Lorelei asked me softly, resting a single hand on my arm. I sucked in a breath at the cool (a byproduct of being an ice type trainer I imagine) touch and ripped my arm away from her.

"Don't touch me," I scowled. Lorelei made no reaction to my action. She just continued to stare at me with those bright red eyes of hers.

"Silver. With your assistance, You single-handedly saved hundreds, no thousands of lives at the S. S Anne. You were one of the first to take initiative and you helped us put some control over a catastrophe." I shifted uncomfortably at that detail.

"And despite all you did, you nearly died. If not for how fast I rushed you to the Center, you would have needed stitches at the minimum…" Lorelei gazed at me with visible concern.

"And in spite of all I just said, you hardly look phased by these things. You aren't panicking at being in the hospital, you haven't asked further about the injuries you sustained… I'm worried. Forgive me for coming off as condescending, but these aren't normal reactions for a child," she admitted with a frown.

"Your first mistake was comparing me to what you've seen before. Don't bother doing that, I'm not like anyone," I said with a sigh, leaning back as I mulled over this unexpected situation. Having an overprotective aunt, who happened to notice all these details, made my life way more stressful.

"My danger is the same as every other trainers," I informed her with a scowl.

"Team Rocket is all our issues, so of course I wanted to fuck them over. If I didn't, we would have just died."

"And I won't let that happen," Lorelei said protectively.

"If you're ever in trouble, Silver… please don't hesitate to give me a call. I'll be there as quick as I can." She really was hellbent on maintaining a relationship with me… A normal family member sounded…

"Whatever," I grunted, handing my Pokegear over to her. Lorelei looked startled by my action, before she realized what I was doing. A small smile made its way to her face and she delicately took it out of my hand.

"I hope you don't use this to try to reconnect with my mom," I said gruffly.

"This isn't about reconnecting with Ariana. This is about connecting with you." If she wanted to get close with her family, who was I to deny her that? And… it was nice in a way for someone to be interested in me for something as simple as being family. It's not like I planned on acknowledging my other family members. At least Lorelei was normal. And she saved my life. I didn't want to owe her for that. This seemed like a good form of payback.

Since she saved my life, I'd allow her to do what she wanted and find a spot in it. As my aunt put her number on my phone… I distantly realized that all my plans of staying hidden had gone completely haywire. The champion had my number, my aunt was a part of the Elite 4, I was traveling with the main character of Kanto… and I had an assortment of people invested in my journey.

Before I could properly begin my process of edgy teen brooding, a rapid set of footsteps stamped towards my door and pushed it open without hesitation. I jolted a bit in shock at that, eyes sharpening in alertness but at seeing how relaxed Lorelei's Ninetales was, I simmered down a bit… And that simmering down allowed way for… relief because Leaf Green was crying and tear stricken but she was alive and I didn't end up getting her killed.

"SILVY!" Green sobbed in relief, launching herself across the room.

"I'm so happy you're alive! I-I thought you were… I thought something so bad happened to you and it m-made me so saaaad!" she cried, squeezing me with all her might. I exhaled at that, unable to muster up a snide response because… because those were genuine tears of terror for my well-being. And I was relieved she wasn't dead either.

"Idiot… I thought you would have tried staying behind until you saw me," I replied quietly, returning the hug with a relieved sigh.

"I thought you waiting for me, would have gotten you caught in that explosion. If you died because of that…" I trailed off. Green withered in guilt.

"I did… I tried waiting for you. I was going to wait until you showed up but Gold and Crystal forced me to jump ship," she admitted, trembling in my grip.

"Good," I said firmly.

"Don't ever prioritize me over yourself, Leaf. If your life is in danger, make sure you get to safety. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Green flinched at that, gazing at me with wide teary eyes. There was something there that I couldn't identify and it confused me for a moment.

"... Your life is important too, Silvy. Make sure you also prioritize yourself," she returned with a sniff. I stared at her dumbly for a bit, before I snorted.

"Idiot. That was never in doubt. I wanna stay alive y'know?" I asked rhetorically. She looked immensely relieved at that for some reason.

"Good," she said firmly, tightening the hug on me. I couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of concern at seeing how hard she was shuddering. For all the ways I called her annoying and bothered her… I didn't want anything terrible happening to Green. I especially didn't want it happening on my behalf. Green was annoying. But she was an earnest and cheerful girl who was just trying to have a journey and become strong. I sighed at put a hand firmly to her head, patting her and getting an even harder tremble."

I need to get even stronger," I thought with a dark frown. I didn't realize Green had the exact same thought as me.

"How'd you get this?" I asked, moving her hair out of the way to inspect the bandages wrapped around her head.

"I hit my head on the railing after an explosion hit the ship," she replied. I frowned at that.

"Was this after I told you to leave?"

"..." Green said nothing at all, averting her gaze.

"Did you try to keep looking for me after taking a blow to the head?" I pressed. The silence was all the answer I needed. I sighed.

"Green," I said patiently. She stiffened at the use of her name and glanced at me like a child about to get scolded. Well she was, so it was a pretty good look.

"I appreciate that," I told her first and foremost.

"I appreciate that my wellbeing is important to you... but don't think I'll be happy if something happens to you because you were stuck worrying about me," I chastised.

"That'll actually piss me off more than anything. I meant it when I said prioritize yourself. I understand that you were afraid... but you can't be that irrational next time." Green nodded glumly.

"Sorry," she mumbled. I sighed.

"Don't be. You tried to do what you thought was right. It was just to a fault." I pat her head at that with a small smile.

"Thanks Leaf, you're a good friend." You would think I gave her the world at that simple statement. If you looked hard enough, you'd see literal stars forming in her eyes as my traveling companion beamed at me.

"Of course Silvy!"

"I'm going to go check up on some things," Lorelei said, reminding us of her presence. A red dust of mortification covered Green's cheeks and she bowed to the smiling Elite 4. There was a proud look in her eyes as she gazed at us both and I turned away from her, not liking the way it made my stomach turn.

"S-Sorry, Elite 4 Lorelei. I didn't mean to interrupt you two. You must have been talking about something important and it was really rude of me to barge in," she stammered in embarrassment. Lorelei idly shifted her ponytail behind her shoulder and waved Green off.

"Don't worry, Green. I've been hogging my nephew for more than enough time. I don't blame you for wanting to see him," she smiled gently.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to read the reports on this… disaster to put lightly. Silver, later on you will likely be getting questioned so that we can verify your perspective on the event that took place. If you don't feel like speaking to the Officer Jenny, I can conduct the interview." I gazed at her and nodded.

"Sure. I'd prefer to speak to you if I have to speak to someone." Lorelei looked pleased at that and made her way out of the room, Ninetales following her dutifully. As she quietly shut the door, Green finally picked her jaw off the floor.

"D-Did Elite 4 Lorelei just call you her nephew?" Green asked me dumbly.

"Yeah… apparently she's my aunt," I replied idly, watching her take Lorelei's seat and (somehow) pull herself closer to my bed.

"W-Wow! That's insane! Elite 4 Lorelei is really mysterious you know?! I never would have thought you of all people would be related to her!" Green gaped.

"I know right? I was just as shocked as you," I snorted. It was just my luck that my mother was a criminal and my aunt was a part of the Elite 4. Wonder how that meeting would go down if they ever met again.

"You just found out Elite 4 Lorelei is your auntie and you don't even look fazed! I'd be screaming to the world! Lorelei is really famous!" she exclaimed. I gazed at her with a pondering expression and decided… Green deserved a bit of trust.

"Being honest, I do care a bit," I told her with a sigh, crashing my head back into my pillow.

"It's just… I don't really have a good relationship with my parents. Family isn't really something I've been thinking of so to be blindsided by someone that's making the effort..." Green sobered up at that and nodded in sympathetically.

"You… aren't letting your hopes up?" I frowned at that.

"Sorta… but she wants to be a proper aunt and I won't deny her that. Besides, she can be useful to us." Green couldn't stop from sweating.

"You're twisted Silvy… but I get you!" I nodded with a smug smirk.

"So how's my team? Are they okay?" I asked in concern. My companion sighed.

"They're fine. They really want to see you and now that you can accept visitors, I'll bring them over. They… really love you, you know? Gaia and Freyja were crying and have been spending time with Lapee. Loki and Ares have been sparring nonstop with Saury and Vee to take their mind off things… it's been hectic." I frowned at that.

"I want to see them soon. I gotta make sure they know I'm fine." Green nodded and shot up.

"I'll go get them! I've been taking care of them in your stead… hopefully you don't mind!"

"It's fine if you went through my bag to do that," I waved off.

"You were using it for my team so I don't mind… is my bag alright? Anything destroyed?" She shook her head.

"Your bag is waterproof and you sealed it shut! Nothing was damaged in the process and I made sure to keep it away from anyone who might have pried through!" she explained to me. I blinked before an appreciative expression made its way to my face.

"Good job, Leaf." She beamed.

"Call me Green!"

"No."

"I hate you!" I chuckled at the fact that she said that with the same beaming expression.

"I'll go get your team now! Don't move an inch, I'll tell the nurse if you do!" she threatened, rushing out of the room with a wave. I watched her go and sighed. Lately, Green's presence had been a lot more welcomed by me. She caught on to my mannerisms and life very easily and our synergy had reached a state that made her… a lot more trustworthy. She was… a damn good friend. I let out a wheezing laugh, as nearly my whole team bombarded me with affections.

Gaia and Freyja were crying and I hastily put a reassuring hand on them both in hopes of calming them down. Somehow, Ares managed to get up here and I watched her rub that hard shell against me, careful to not crush me under her new weight.

"It's okay guys, I'm alright," I soothed fondly. It was always shocking, seeing how much my team cared for me. I… liked it. Gaia whimpered in relief and I sighed at that, wiping her tears gingerly.

"I wanted to thank all of you for protecting me," I addressed them suddenly, making them perk up.

"Seriously, you guys did amazing for how sudden that was sprung on us."

"All of you saved my life in one way or another and I'm grateful to you all so thank you," I said earnestly.

"And that includes you Freyja." Freyja perked up at that, watching in awe as I wiped away her tears with a small smile.

"All of you did amazing… but despite all your setbacks, despite your self imposed status as the weakest on the team… you were still strong enough to give me the strength to survive. If it weren't for you, I don't know if I woulda had the resolve to keep going." My team knew how thankful I was to them… but Freyja was the type to always downplay her involvement. But Freyja didn't understand that she played a huge part in motivating me to get out of that crushing water.

If I didn't see her trying her hardest to save me. If I didn't see my so called weak little fish trying her best to get me out of that water, terror in her eyes at the thought of losing me, I don't know if I'd still be here.

"You're a hero, Freyja. Never forget that you saved my life," I smiled earnestly at her. Freyja teared up at that and nodded at my words, leaning into my touch with a happy cry.

"It was a bit bumpy, but I'm no doubt alive because of all of you and I won't forget that," I said earnestly.

"This is just another hitch in the road. But we'll get so strong, that we'll pave new roads and patch up all the hitches in them." Ares rumbled in agreement and I smiled.

"So what's the plan Leaf?" I asked her conversationally. She was gazing at me in awe, a fire in her eyes at my words.

"Since we're in Vermilion, I was thinking of heading to Lavender through Route 11, then we can just head north through Route 12!" I pondered that, eventually nodding. I forgot that since there was no convenient obstructions like a massive sleeping Snorlax, heading through Lavender like this was probably significantly faster than the Rock Tunnel route.

"Fine by me. I'm guessing you wanna fill out your last slot with a ghost?" I asked curiously. Green nodded enthusiastically.

"Ghosts are tricky and hard to command but if you can manage to get one under your control, it's super beneficial in the long run!" I found myself nodding with her.

"Maybe I'll look into catching one myself. If I see one that I like, I'll give it a go."

"We've got a plan! We'll head out as soon as you're recovered!" Green beamed, pushing herself up.

"After Lavender, we can go to Celadon through Saffron or the underground road!" I nodded at that with a curious expression.

"That's a good plan. Alright then." She shot me a thumbs up, before turning it into a wave.

"Alright, I'm gonna go get some sleep! Now that I know you're okay, I can get some real sleep! My head kinda hurts!" I waved her off.

"Sure thing, good night Leaf."

"Night Silvy!" I watched her go and a yawn left my mouth.

"I'm a little tired myself and I missed you guys so everyone find a spot and I'm going to sleep," I grunted, closing my eyes. With that, I fell asleep immediately. A pleased sigh left my mouth at the warmth of my team and fell into a dreamless slumber. I awoke to more visitors. This time, it was Gold and Crystal who decided to visit me.

"Sup," Gold nodded.

"Hey, Silver!" Crystal greeted enthusiastically, placing some flowers next to my bed. I blinked at the kind action and nodded in greeting at the two.

"Hey," I said simply.

"Didn't expect to see you guys, thought you would have moved on by now." Gold raised a brow.

"You serious? After what you did, there's no way we would feel good just leaving you behind." Crystal nodded immediately.

"You saved our lives, Silver! You kept a calm head and properly guided us on the right way to handle the situation!" I grunted.

"I just did what I needed to do to make the situation salvageable. If anything, I should be thanking you for making sure Leaf didn't kill herself waiting for me." Gold snorted.

"She was really about to. I understand her worry though… I woulda done the same for Crys! But I know Crys would be pissed if I risked myself for her and I know you'd be the same way, so I had to get her outta there."

"She looked so heartbroken… I'm glad to see her smiling again," Crystal said softly.

"Tell me about it! She socked me in the jaw and I still feel it," Gold complained, not seriously offended by it. That got a snort out of me. Green was picking up a lot of my mannerisms.

"I'll apologize on her behalf," I said begrudgingly.

"And stop looking so guilty," I demanded, glaring at Gold. Gold flinched back.

"You could tell?" he said sheepishly.

"Course I can. You wear your heart on your sleeve," I scoffed.

"If you're guilty at making the decision to leave me behind, don't be. It was the right one. Sometimes you gotta make tough decisions." Gold frowned at that.

"But it sucks. It felt like... it felt like both options ended with me losing." I sighed.

"Sometimes you run into situations like that. Pick the one where you lose the least. That's what a leader does."

"... Being a leader must be hard," Gold muttered, fiddling with his quiff as a contemplative expression took over.

"It's never easy," I replied truthfully. Crystal gazed at me with a searching gaze, those bright blue eyes looking for something. Eventually she smiled.

"You're smart, Silver."

"I know," I replied with a snort.

"We just wanted to see that you were alright before continuing our journey," Crystal informed me.

"We're gonna head south to Fuchsia City now. We want to see what the Safari Zone has to offer!" The Safari Zone…

"Smart. You two could use a new member or two," I nodded.

"You'll need to become as strong as possible, if you plan on calling yourselves my rival." Both Gold and Crystal's eyes shone competitively at that.

"You and Green are way stronger than we expected but you aren't unbeatable! Next time, we'll beat you both!" Crystal exclaimed passionately.

"Fires me up just thinking about the day I win a battle against you two!" Gold grinned eagerly. I snorted.

"Whatever you say." Pleasantries over, the duo waved goodbye and left to continue their own journey. Fuchsia eh? That was opposite of Green and I, so it'd be a long while before we met again. I wonder how their teams would look next time I saw them... Hopefully it was formidable. They were probably on Team Rocket's radar now so they'd have to be careful. A gentle knock on the door interrupted my bored scrolling and I glanced at the door.

"Fuck off," I said idly, turning back down to my Pokegear as I ran a hand through Loki's fur. Gaia was snoozing across my legs, effectively trapping me (she did it on purpose) and despite the fact that I could punt her light ass to the other side of the room, I was obviously not going to do that. I didn't even blink as my door opened anyways.

"They told me you'd say something like that. I was told if you said it, I could just come in anyways." I blinked at that, gazing up in some confusion at the unknown voice. It was a girl. Definitely not one I recognized and she looked absolutely nothing like any main character.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked curiously, gauging her appearance. She had on some shorts and a form fitting shirt underneath an open jacket. If I had to guess I'd say she was like, 17? A trainer by the looks of it. She was definitely dressed like one.

"Silver, right?" she asked.

"I'm Maria. I'm no one special or anything like that... but you saved my life back on the S. S Anne." I stiffened at that.

"Look. I really am not looking to take credit for that, so there's no need to come all the way over here to thank me," I waved her off.

"You stopped me from getting assaulted," she informed me. I blinked and peered at her.

"Huh?" Black hair, brown eyes, somewhat pretty but ultimately unrecognizable. Yeah this was just a completely random person. When the hell did we meet —"Oh," I said in realization.

"You're the girl with 7 badges. The one who was dressed in her underwear." I remember now. She was the one that dumbass rocket was getting feisty over. I snorted as she blushed in embarrassment.

"Please don't bring that up. I'm just here to thank you," she mumbled.

"If that's all you came here to do, you were better off just continuing your journey," I waved her off. Maria rolled her eyes.

"Green was right. You really are an ass." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah I know. Now is that all you wanted?" The random girl sighed.

"Look, I'm trying to thank you for something that's really important to me. You really got me out of a tough spot and if you didn't take out that Rocket... I saw what happened to the ship. There's no way I would have survived if you didn't wake me up." I frowned at that.

"I was just making sure scum like that didn't get away with doing whatever they wanted. Stooping to levels like that isn't something anyone should be cool with," I said truthfully. That Rocket mentioned wanting to have some fun, right before I smashed my foot into his nuts. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he had been intending on doing.

"And I wanted to thank you for that," she said earnestly, smiling at me. I grunted.

"Whatever. Don't expect someone to always be there to bail you out." She rolled her eyes.

"You're exhausting to talk to and it's only been like 3 minutes."

"That's how I feel when someone opens their mouth around me," I replied with a sneer.

"Now get out. My hospitality limit has been reached and I'm already pissed that I'm cooped up in here." Maria rolled her eyes.

"You're so grumpy. You remind me of a feisty Liepard." I blinked at that. Was that her way of calling me a cat?

"Alright alright, I'll head out now," she said stretching slightly and turning towards the door.

"Oh and before I forget..." I watched warily as she approached me. I may have been cooped to this bed but I was very willing to kick the shit outta her if she tried anything. I blinked in utter confusion as she leaned and kissed me on the cheek. Huh?

"That's thanks for saving me... and don't say "I guess" when someone mentions a girl's looks next time. That's offensive," she said cheekily.

"See ya Silver, try not to be so exhausting next time. You're a cute kid so you'd be more popular that way. If we ever run into each other again, I'll try to properly repay you," Maria waved. I blinked in confusion.

"Is she fucking stupid?" I mused.

"Why would I want to be more popular? I already know I'm good looking."

"Bay," Gaia growled warningly, glaring daggers at the spot the girl was at. I sighed deeply and pat Gaia to placate her.

"Who the hell kisses someone randomly like that? Does she think this is some romantic movie?" Whatever. This is why I hated interacting with people and I especially hated interacting with randoms. You know, it was dawning on me how many people cared for me, when Jasmine burst into my room with tears in her eyes. My shy and dainty best friend, launched herself across the room and directly onto my bed.

I let out a way too familiar sounding grunt, as Jasmine crushed me in a hug, practically smushing me back onto the bed.

"Jasmine?" I said in clear surprise, returning the hug to the best of my ability as she sobbed atop me.

"What are you doing back in Kanto?"

"What am I doing back in Kanto?!" Jasmine shouted tearfully, glaring at me with all the fury of a chipmunk.

"Do you think I wouldn't visit my best friend in the hospital?! Gym Leader be damned! I would have visited you no matter what anyone said!" Green and I blinked in shock at her use of foul language, before Jasmine's fierce expression immediately melted and her tears renewed. She grabbed the yelping Green and dragged her into the hug, just letting her tears soak the both of us.

"I-I'm so glad you two are okay!" she cried, squeezing us.

"When I heard that the S. S Anne was attacked, I began to fear the worst and then… and then Champion Lance told me you were in the hospital!" I sighed and ran a soothing hand through her neat hair. Jasmine whimpered.

"I-I can't believe Team Rocket would attack you guys. I promise I'll make them regret all their decisions! They better hope I never see any of them or Rusty is going to have lunch!" she swore.

"It's alright Jas," I soothed.

"We're fine now!" Green agreed, hugging our distraught friend.

"They'll pay for this, alright?" Jasmine nodded in our grasp, sniffing and wiping her tears away.

"Let's stop being sad," I said with a shake of my head, reaching for my bag.

"Here, I got you a gift." Jasmine sniffed, not removing herself from the bed and watching with wide eyes as I pulled out a small Steelix plush, followed by a giant one of a Piplup.

"I won a bunch of these on the ship and saved these two for you." My best friend gasped, mouth opening wide in, franky adorable, awe as she tentatively accepted the two gifts and I watched as the tears in her eyes renewed.

"T-This is my first time receiving a gift from a friend!" Jasmine cried, wiping her eyes unsuccessfully as she grinned at me.

"Thank you Silver!" I sighed.

"Sometimes I think you abuse how adorable you can be sometimes," I pointed out. Jasmine flushed red immediately, before yelping as she was bombarded by an army of plush.

"Here Jas! You can have some from me too!" Green beamed.

"You never got a gift from a friend?"

"N-No?" Jasmine mumbled in confusion, struggling to contain all the plush she suddenly got.

"Alright! From now on we'll get you all the gifts you could think of!" Jasmine's mouth opened at that, gazing helplessly at me and sighing in resignation as I simply flashed her a smug smirk.

"Have you got any new team members?" I asked curiously. Jasmine perked up at that and nodded enthusiastically.

"I did actually! I got two new pokemon after you started giving me such useful advice! I have no idea how you know so much but I finally got the Ferroseed I mentioned to you and I'm in the process of securing a Tinkatink for more power!" she exclaimed happily. Ferroseed... now that was an awesome damn choice. I very much approved of that one. I flicked open my pokedex to gaze at the one named Tinkatink.

I only took a single glance at the first form of Jasmine's upcoming pokemon before I immediately came to a conclusion.

"It's literally you in Pokemon form." Green perked up, glanced over Jasmine's shoulder, gazed at the picture and burst out into laughter.

"H-Holy shit it really is you!" she cackled, getting an amused huff out of me. Jasmine looked mortified at our observations.

"T-That's so rude of you two to say! I've been getting better because of you both!" I nodded.

"Yeah you've already evolved into Tinkatuff. They're almost menaces but not quite yet… we just gotta turn you into a Tinkaton. These little fellas are demons," I said, looking completely impressed by the final form of Jasmine's fairy. Tinkaton? This little girl was a real monster. I approved tremendously.

"Wow, so doesn't that make you her trainer?!" Green pointed out.

"You're the reason she's slowly becoming a menace after all!" I nodded with a pondering expression.

"That makes a lot of sense to me. What do you think, Jas?" Jas looked at us with a horrified expression.

"You two are horrible… I can't even peacefully visit you," she said with a defeated sigh. I chuckled at that.

"So I guess you can't stay for too long right? How long do you have?"

"Just a day. I'll be leaving before night hits… I just wanted to make sure you two were okay," Jasmine said with a relieved smile, diligently placing all the plushies she got into her bag. Knowing her, she was going to set them all up as soon as she got home and then send us a picture of it.

"Alright, we can chat. Just the 3 of us then!" Green beamed. I nodded in agreement, watching as Jasmine slowly but surely realized she had been squeezing me atop my bed practically the whole time. As I watched Green begin teasing the red faced Jasmine, I felt strangely light. These two were my friends. It was surreal to think about but yes, I had friends and they meant a lot to me… I couldn't let Mewtwo and Team Rocket succeed. I had to stop them in anyway I knew how… And that meant I needed to get strong.

But would I ever be strong enough to stop a legendary? I don't even think Lance could stop Mewtwo… My eyes narrowed slightly, running through a bunch of plans… before coming to an epiphany. This could either work, or end up being really fucking dumb. But hey, it was either that or I get captured… Alright yeah, I'd try to make this plan work. If it worked, perfect. If it didn't, I was probably going to die. Oh well. It was a last resort kind of thing anyways.

Actually, if I thought about it, I had a couple of last resorts. Surely one of them was bound to work? Only time would tell.

"Silvy! Jas and I are gonna go get some food! You must be tired of all the hospital stuff so we'll get you some too!" I blinked at that, focusing once more on Jasmine and Green and noticing that they were both staring at me with those innocent expressions of theirs.

"Tell me about it. Something actually good please. I'd kill for a burger," I agreed with them, watching as they both got off my bed and patted themselves.

"Kay! We'll be right back!" Green beamed. Jasmine smiled and waved, before the two departed. Yeah… I'd protect them both. These were my friends and that innocence may have been something I didn't have… but they didn't have to lose theirs. I sighed. So this was what it was like to care for people. Knowing that you could handle things in a smarter fashion, but being unable to because it wasn't just you that mattered anymore. It… was as nice of a feeling as it was terrible. Truly a double edged sword.

"You look like you're in a bad mood." I glared at Lance as soon as he said that.

"Speak for yourself. I've been healed for a few days now. You look like shit." Lance tried to hide his exhaustion by laughing at my comment but I narrowed my eyes at him, peering at those bags under his striking yellow gaze.

"It's been a hectic few days. I would have visited you sooner, but there were a lot of things I needed to do," Lance informed me, ruffling a giant hand on my head and withdrawing before I could bite it. I straightened up slightly, at seeing my aunt appear from behind the giant champion.

"Bad?" I asked, nodding towards Lorelei and watching as her serious expression, made way for a tiny smile. Lance's easy expression vanished for a moment.

"It's been a mess, but this is far better than the alternative… and that's thanks to you, Silver." I blinked.

"We received various testimonies on your involvement in the S. S Anne," Lance revealed to me with a tired smile.

"One even said you stopped them from even getting assaulted. That one really stuck with me."

"Not only that, I spoke to Green and she told me you were the first one aware that Team Rocket was on the ship, utilizing her and two other capable trainers to bring eyes on their involvement. You kept a cool head and immediately messaged me, ensuring a call went through as well so that I had a higher chance to see it... but not saying anything to compromise your position." I shifted uncomfortably as his sharp gaze landed on me.

"It's no exaggeration to say that you spearheaded the rescue of so many people and helped largely thwart whatever Team Rocket wanted to do so I'd like to thank you as Champion of Indigo. You did your part masterfully and I'm truly thankful for that," Lance said, bowing towards me in a display that I knew was completely out of character for the proud dragon in human flesh.

"…Stop that," I grunted, looking away from him.

"I just did whatever was going to give me and Green the best chance of survival."

"And that decision impacted thousands of innocents," Lorelei said softly.

"The casualties were numerous… but you helped save many people. That is an achievement worth acknowledging and we cannot thank you enough." … This was awkward. I didn't want such praise.

"Whatever…" I muttered.

"You have questions for me?" Lorelei nodded and stepped forward, taking reign of the conversation.

"Could you tell us your perspective of the events that transpired on the S. S Anne?" Lorelei asked, releasing a Jynx from the pokeball. I gazed at the humanoid pokemon with an interested gaze, resisting the urge to snort as it used its abilities to bring out a clipboard. It looked at me for a brief moment and I felt a slight tingle, before Jynx recoiled back harshly. My brows furrowed at that and Lorelei chanced a glance at her pokemon in some confusion.

Perhaps it was the type of pokemon, because Jynx seemed to have reacted a lot worse than Bronzy did... in fact Bronzy seemed to be the one with the best reaction to me to date. I frowned.

"I woke up in the middle of the night randomly. I decided to leave my room for a bit and when I opened the door, there was a Rocket trying to break into Green's room. Naturally, I reacted not great to that and dispatched of him, before dragging his unconscious body into my room." Lorelei interrupted me for a moment.

"You dispatched of him? How so?" she asked curiously. I gazed at her.

"I grabbed his head and slammed it into a wall. Then I stomped on his face twice," I replied truthfully. Lorelei pursed her lips at my violent words, while Lance smirked idly.

"After knocking him unconscious, I messaged Champion Lance and called him for good measure so he could see. Then I stripped him of his clothes and donned on Team Rocket's attire."

"Why?" Lorelei asked, not liking the conclusion she came to.

"To pose as them and move around more freely," I grunted.

"It was an easy solution that Loki, my Zorua, made easier. I knew I couldn't do this alone, so I called Green and two of my other… friends. Their names are Gold and Crystal." Both of them nodded in recognition at the names and I continued.

"I informed them of the situation and instructed the three of them to meet up with each other and wake up anyone they could. Meanwhile, I would pose as Team Rocket and disrupt them as much as possible."

"That's incredibly reckless," Lorelei chastised, losing the professional air slightly in place of concern.

"You could have been hurt."

"I was hurt," I said dryly.

"I disrupted about 5 groups of rockets. After saving a girl who was about to be assaulted, I was blindsided by one of them and they smashed some sort of glass onto my head." Both Lorelei and Lance clenched their fist at that.

"That would explain the head wounds, concussion and glass bits," Lorelei frowned deeply.

"My team heard the scuffle and they… dealt with the rocket who did that," I grunted.

"They saved my life. After patching me up, I was planning on heading to Green's location, but then the ship blew up and a hole got ripped where I was running, before I fell into the ocean." The memory was still rather fresh and I shuddered at the chilling water that had grabbed me from all directions.

"I thought I was gonna die," I admitted with a small sigh.

"While swimming, I could see everything. I could see all the pokemon staring curiously at the mayhem taking place. I saw the Tentacruel wondering if it was worth it to use me as food. I saw the Magikarps and Goldeen swimming away… and I saw my Feebas trying her hardest to save my life." Lance's brows furrowed at that.

"Afterwards, I saw a figure reaching out for me and I grabbed it. And then I saw you and you introduced yourself as my aunt to a person that just got out of a life threatening situation," I said dryly. Lorelei had the decency to cough slightly, turning away from that and I snorted in amusement, watching as Jynx finished writing it all down.

"Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, Silver… now I just have one more. Are you aware of what could have destroyed the ship?" …

"A pokemon probably," I said with a frown.

"I don't know what it was, but a pokemon definitely destroyed the ship." They did not need to know about Mewtwo. League morale needed to be high and knowing there was a Legendary they very likely couldn't defeat, would only be a net negative. I'd have to be the one to deal with that…

"I see…" Lorelei mused.

"Right. Thank you again, Silver."

"No problem Ms. Aunt," I grunted.

"Now when am I free to go?"

"I'd appreciate if you referred to me in a less sarcastic tone," Lorelei pressed, accepting the notes out of Jynx's hand.

"No can, Ms. Aunt," I replied. Lance snorted.

"You've actually been clear for a while now but they'll let you go tomorrow. I just told them not to release you before I got to interview you because you would have left beforehand." I scowled fiercely.

"Fuck off you shit champion! Stop holding me back or else I'll stomp your nuts out!" Lorelei frowned deeply at my tone and language."Silver —" Lance chuckled.

"You need to stay still a bit. You remind me of a worse version of myself in terms of recklessness. Sometimes it's nice to take things easy." I scoffed.

"Lance is not wrong. Pacing yourself is important Silver. You're intelligent and you use that intelligence to fuel your reckless actions… please also use it to regulate yourself," Lorelei requested.

"... And use it to gain better manners," she added, stressing this one the most.

"I'll think about it but probably not," I informed her, gauging my aunt.

"That reminds me," Lance suddenly said, gazing at me with suspicious eyes.

"Your Shelgon." I blinked.

"Yeah, caught me by surprise too. Why's she so big? You have any idea?" Lance pursed his lips.

"It's likely because of something called the Alpha Phenomena." Alpha Phenomena? What was that?

"You've seen Green's Ivysaur, right?" Lance asked curiously. I nodded.

"Yeah hard to miss Saury."

"That's because he's an Alpha Pokemon. They're bigger than the average pokemon and stronger too."

"It's a very recessive gene," Lorelei added.

"You won't just find an Alpha Pokemon in the wild."

"That would also explain why Ares has the recessive ability," Lance muttered. Oh. Ohhhh. That's why Ares' mom refused to let her go! Oh shit I was an even bigger criminal than I thought! Ares was an actual psycho for seeking me out though, I doubted she knew all the details. I'd say I was lucky, but I nearly died getting this damn Shelgon and Green got an Alpha as her starter!

"What's in the egg?" I asked Lance suddenly. Lance snorted in amusement.

"Curious about it huh? I was going to offer up a different egg, but we received that one as a gift instead. It's a pokemon from a faraway region... you're smart so you might have heard of it but no harm if you haven't," he told me. I furrowed my brows. I didn't really want an egg of a pokemon whose identity I didn't know but it's not like I was starving for a 6th pokemon.

"So you won't tell me what it is?" I asked.

"Nope." Asshole. Whatever.

"Are you two heading back to Indigo?" I asked instead.

"We've dispatched forces to help Vermilion deal with the aftermath and Surge has taken a personal interest in this," Lorelei informed me.

"He's as pissed about this as we are," Lance sighed with a firm frown.

"If you hear anything more about Team Rocket —""Do not hesitate to call me. I will be there as quick as possible," Lorelei finished his statement.

"Will do," I replied easily.

"And… don't be afraid to message me for miscellaneous things… I truly don't mind," Lorelei tried to say as normally as possible. Unfortunately it wasn't normal. I snorted in amusement.

"Alright, aunt. I'll keep that in mind. Now go get back to your duties." They both nodded and I watched them depart. Lance's confident steps, followed by Lorelei's quiet waltz. She glanced back one last time at me, opened her mouth, then closed it and shuffled out of the room. Weirdo. If you wanted to say something… just say it — I blinked as my pokegear began vibrating and gazed at the device." Please be careful… and I meant it when I said don't be afraid to message me.

I'd be happy to speak to you about anything." I snorted out loud. My aunt was such a dork.