Janine's training with us was doing wonders for our members.

  Much like their trainer, Janine's team didn't like me all that much but they were also capable of keeping things professional.

  The same could not be said for Green. They, much like Janine, adored my companion.

  Funnily enough, they also liked my team more than they liked me.

  With the loss of Venomoth, you could tell that Janine and her team were a lot more disjointed. Nidoqueen seemed to be stepping up as the group leader in place of the bug type.

  Janine's Nidoqueen had the most disdain for me. Considering how motherly she acted with our third companion, she probably didn't appreciate the fact I slugged her in the face and gave her a black eye.

  Not like I cared. While not as strong as my disdain for Nidoking, I still didn't like Nidoqueen as a pokemon at all. Ground type and all that jazz.

  So long as they didn't have a problem with my team, I truly didn't care how they felt about me.

  My eyes flitted over to the poison type trainer who just took a seat next to me.

  "Do you not mind being alone?" Janine asked curiously.

  I grunted, watching as Charcadet was gently instructed by the Salazzle.

  "I don't care."

  She continued to stare at me. "I don't understand you," Janine said eventually.

  "Should you really be trying to understand someone you don't like?" I drawled. I idly smiled, as Charcadet conjured a small flame and excitedly looked over at me.

  Janine pursed her lips. "I just don't see how you can travel with someone like Green and still end up with such a depressing personality."

  "You sound like you have a crush on Green," I pointed out boredly. "Do you want my seal of approval? You aren't getting it. She could do better than you."

  The girl blinked, a mortified expression making its way to her face.

  "I don't even know why I tried speaking to you," she hissed with a deep glare.

  "I'm wondering the same thing," I scoffed.

  Janine let out a growl of frustration. "I don't get you! You have such a kind companion. You have an incredible team... but you're still such a bitter creature!"

  My eyes locked onto her and I sighed.

  Janine jumped as I suddenly closed the distance and stared into her soul.

  She shuddered underneath my piercing gaze, eyes wide in shock.

  "What do you want from me, Janine?" I asked calmly, staring a hole into her.

  "I..." she trailed off.

  "You don't like me. We've come to an agreement to work professionally to stop Team Rocket. You've even made friends with Green. So what do I offer that you want?" I mused, watching as she finally broke eye contact.

  "...I don't understand. Nothing about you makes sense," she admitted finally.

  I raised a brow.

  "You are antagonistic and cruel, yet you care deeply for your team and Green. I've never seen you have a positive conversation with strangers, yet you were considerate enough to willingly become my target. You have such a deep anger hidden behind your eyes, but not even the words you say, truly reflect that."

  What was this? A case study on Silver?

  "You're an enigma. Who are you really, Silver?" Janine muttered.

  "..."

  I stared at Janine with a neutral expression.

  "I don't hate you Janine and it's clear you don't hate me the way you think you do, but we aren't friends by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not inclined to share information about myself so freely. You already know too much," I replied frostily.

  Janine flinched back at my words and nodded slowly.

  "You are... correct. My apologies. I'm the one who set such a boundary between us, it's unbefitting to be the one to break it."

  I stared at her and snorted. "You're the confusing one. Nothing you're doing makes sense to me."

  Janine frowned at that. "It appears we are destined to never see eye to eye. How fitting."

  "Some people are just like that. You'll meet people you can't stand but you gotta put a smile on and work with them regardless," I said truthfully.

  "Oh like father with Gym Leader Surge or Giovanni," Janine said without really thinking about it.

  I snorted abruptly at that, before a chuckle erupted from my body.

  Janine looked taken aback by my laughter, before a smile made its way to her face and she began giggling.

  She had no idea that I thought her dad not liking my dad, was just a funny and poetic thought but good for her for finding the situation funny regardless.

  "It's probably a bit soon to ask but do you plan on ever filling your last slot?" I asked as my chuckles died down.

  Janine sobered slightly at that. "I've thought of it... but at the moment, I think I am fine with my current team. It is... difficult to think of what could replace Venomoth."

  "That's the problem. You're thinking of a replacement. Doing that will set your next member up for failure," I chided, leaning against the large tree.

  "If you go in with the thought that your next pokemon has to replace your first, you'll never be satisfied. Maybe raising a new one will fill the void."

  "That's..." Janine muttered, gazing at me in surprise.

  "Do you... have any suggestions? A poison type would be preferable," she asked tentatively.

  I raised a brow and gazed at her team with a curious expression.

  "You should catch a Mareanie or Skorupi," I suggested bluntly. "I think they would be good for your team."

  Janine nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps I will get both. I think they are equally good options."

  "Not a bad idea," I shrugged, shutting my eyes.

  "...Thank you Silver. You aren't nearly as terrible as you try to make yourself out to be," Janine said suddenly.

  "I'm worse," I said gruffly.

  There was a comfortable silence that took place and I noted that Janine still hadn't left.

  "Silver..."

  Ah. She still needed something from me.

  "What?" I sighed.

  I opened my eyes and stared at Janine, who was gazing at the floor with an embarrassed expression.

  "Since I'm teaching you and Green what I can, could you um... help me act less like a "drone"?"

  ...

  Janine's eyes were glued to the ground, not even daring to stare at my incredulous expression.

  "I realized that you were correct in your assessment... I have a difficult time speaking normally to others around our age."

  I said nothing for a long while, before a tiny snicker left my mouth.

  "D-Don't laugh at me!" Janine exclaimed.

  "Alright alright, quiet down," I sighed in mild amusement. "I'll help you be less of a drone. I've already helped Jasmine out so it'll be easy."

  Janine blinked, taken aback by my quick agreement.

  "We're in mutual agreement already. I don't mind assisting," I added with a shrug.

  "I... okay thank you." She smiled at me, before a confused frown made its way to her face.

  "Jasmine? Do you mean Gym Leader Jasmine?" Janine asked warily.

  "Yeah, she's one of my best friends," I shrugged.

  Janine blinked owlishly, mouth opening in shock.

  "H-Huh? You and Jasmine? How is that even possible?!"

  "Dunno. She's a gumball though so we put up with each other. Hard to be mean to such a pure person."

  "This is what I mean. You don't make any sense at all."

  "Silvy! Saury is evolving!"

  I jolted at the loud scream and gazed up.

  "He is?" I asked. Without any hesitation, I pushed myself up and made sure the sleeping Charcadet wasn't too bothered by the jostling.

  I jogged over where the light was shining and met the excited gaze of the buzzing Green.

  "What's the occasion?" I asked curiously, watching as Saury's body began morphing.

  "He was training with Vee! I guess Vee was taunting him a bit too much and this is the result," Green explained with a happy grin.

  Vee had the decency to look sheepish. The Espeon had clearly been taunting Saury a little too much. With evolution, he could have a much easier time defeating his friend.

  Clearly that pushed the Ivysaur over. Not only did I have an easier time beating him, now he wasn't even the strongest on his own team?

  Saury was Green's most competitive member. He hated anyone taking a lead over him so this evolution was a long time coming...

  But goddamn was he huge.

  The average Venusaur was about 6 feet tall and Saury looked like a solid 8. The bud on its back bloomed into a large pink, white-spotted flower that was supported by a thick, brown trunk surrounded by green fronds.

  "Venusaur," Saury rumbled, deep voice carrying through the field.

  His mouth opened in surprise, showcasing two pointed teeth in the upper jaw and four in the lower, and he turned towards Green.

  Green let out a shout of joy at the recognition in his eyes and leapt onto Saury.

  "Saury! Look at you! You're so big!" she gushed happily, squeezing the tree of the Venusaur.

  Saury grunted, vines seeping out of his body to properly adjust Green atop his newly evolved body.

  "We need to get to a center," I said immediately, walking up and inspecting Saury with a calculating gaze.

  Saury caught my gaze and nodded in respect, allowing Green to fuss over his new form with his custom boredom.

  "He's huge. Gotta make sure he can handle his new body weight and whatnot. I need to get Charcadet properly checked up on anyways," I mused, slightly adjusting the fire type in my arms.

  "Yeah! Good idea! We skipped a couple towns since we had enough supplies but we should be pretty close to Saffron now!" Green laughed. She was practically latched onto the Venusaur and the sight of the girl atop the giant frog, was way too funny.

  It really gave a good idea how big Saury had become by just comparing him to his trainer... or me.

  Saury nodded in agreement, allowing Green to return him to his pokeball without further prompting.

  "Alright! Let's move out!" Green cheered, marching forward without any hesitation.

  I rolled my eyes and followed after her, patting a dissatisfied Gaia on the head.

  "Don't worry girl. You're going to evolve soon too. Then we can focus on crushing that giant ass Venusaur," I assured.

  She gazed at me with a surprising amount of fierceness, eyes all fired up.

  We both smiled in unison and I returned Gaia to her ball.

  "Slow down Leaf. We still have a bit before we can make it there," I sighed.

  "I can't help it, I'm so excited!"

  "We haven't even eaten yet."

  "...I'm not that excited! Let's eat!"

  "Moron."

  "What did you say?!"

  Janine sighed miserably from her perch in the tree. "Here we go again."

  "Shower," Green moaned tiredly, practically dragging herself into Saffron City.

  I ran a hand through my hair, scowling in annoyance at the feeling of it.

  Being out in the wild for that long was not something I expected. Even with the periodic baths the three of us took in the pools of water we found, my hair still felt way too grimy.

  It was matted to my head and I had long since gotten used to that feeling...

  Doesn't mean I still didn't have to hate it.

  "Almost a month in those forests… I almost forgot what civilization looked like," Janine sighed.

  The band in her hair had been gone for the last week or so, spiky hair running free and making her look actually fairly normal for once.

  I nodded in agreement with her sentiment, watching Green fish out her Pokegear to probably message Gold and Crystal.

  They had arrived to the city much earlier than us, by virtue of Celadon being much closer to Saffron than Fuchsia, and were preparing for the next steps… in case I was right of course.

  "Let's go to the center," Green decided, already dragging her feet there.

  I snorted and nodded, making my way there.

  It was the middle of the day so Saffron was packed. People and pokemon were everywhere, filling the streets with endless and noisy chatter.

  I already hated this place.

  Without much effort, I grabbed Janine and Green's arm before beginning the familiar process of pushing through as many people as possible.

  My two companions yelped, faces going red in embarrassment as I bulldozed people much taller than me in the process.

  "S-Silver, wait! Don't just do this!" Janine exclaimed with wide eyes.

  I ignored her of course, continuing my course with a single-minded focus.

  "Hey! Watch where you're going—"

  The person saying that choked on their words as I focused a steely glare onto them, craning my head just enough to appear the maximum amount of creepy.

  As expected, the middle aged guy, who looked like he had an office job, shut his mouth quick and briskly looked ahead.

  "Damn freaky trainers," he muttered rushing off and adjusting his suit.

  I snorted in amusement.

  The differences between trainers and normal people, were pretty apparent if you focused on trainers.

  Spending all that time in the wilderness, around monsters wielding such volatile energy, had a long term effect on people.

  This world was practically saturated in the energies of pokemon and as its inhabitants, every human was bound to get affected by it... Trainers just got affected more than others.

  They tended to appear more wild and feral as a result of practically living in the wild with all their pokemon. It wasn't something anyone could deny either.

  This was just a natural side effect of being a pokemon trainer.

  It was even more apparent in specialists. Specialists were practically half whatever type they trained… especially depending on the type they trained.

  It's why Lorelei was always so damn cold or Lance felt like an apex predator. It was just a cause of being around creatures with such dominating abilities.

  Generalists at the very top, didn't have one defining trait that specialists tended to have but as a result, they were far more unpredictable.

  You could have the seemingly normal Cynthia, who I was absolutely sure had some issue once you actually met her, or the completely off the rails Alder, who you didn't have to meet to see that there were a few screws loose.

  It was natural. Different pokemon had different influences. Not every specialist was the same. Not every generalist was the same.

  For instance, Lance was renowned for his Dragonite so even as a dragon master, he came off as much more gentle than someone like say, Elite 4 Drake, who was renowned for his monster of a Salamence.

  No one trainer acted the same as the other. Some trainers could get completely overwhelmed by their pokemon's traits, others could not be affected by it at all.

  It varied with everyone. For me, my personality was most influenced by whichever member I was battling with.

  In comparison to trainers, the civilians in this world were far more ordinary. Most tended to be crept out by the unrefined trainers. After all, trainers were both the protectors and enemies of this place.

  A formidable trainer was just as much a sword as they were a shield. It only took one rogue Master to cause untold amounts of damage in a short span.

  Trainers always had the most eyes on them in the world, whether that be because of fame or infamy.

  They truly ran how the world worked. No amount of politics could stop a Hydreigon from leveling a city.

  I was honestly pretty thankful that Team Rocket seemed to have no Masters in their midst. Getting wayward masters under control was an almost impossible task. Those who didn't work for the league, preferred to be left alone in isolation.

  Well, it wasn't like they needed a Master. I'm fairly sure Giovanni probably didn't want Master levelled trainers for the same reason I listed. Too out of control and unpredictable.

  It was fascinating learning about how this world was ran. I wouldn't want a wayward Master working under me either. The potential fallout would be too messy.

  I finally released my group as we made it to the Pokemon Center, looking none the bothered as I walked through the door.

  "A-Are you going to do that every time we enter a crowded city?" Green mumbled, face burning as she hid it in my hair.

  "H-He's done this before?" Janine gaped in disbelief, blushing in embarrassment as she repeatedly glanced through the double doors we just walked through. "I thought you said my social skills were atrocious?!"

  "I never said mine weren't. Pretty sure I even told you I have no social skills back at Fuchsia. I just understand that about myself while you didn't," I replied easily, walking up to the Nurse Joy there and ignoring Green clutching the back of my long sleeved black shirt.

  "We're here to book a room," I said bluntly, adding just a dash of patience to it because Nurse Joys were typically chill and I only reserved my rudeness for one Joy in particular.

  I needed to see how Joy was doing. It's been a while since I gave her a status report on my life… about two weeks?

  "Of course!" Nurse Joy smiled gently.

  "Our teams would like a checkup as well," I added. "I hatched an egg while traveling in the wilderness and never got him checked on. He seems healthy but I'd like you to verify it."

  "My Venusaur evolved too!" Green's muffled voice added.

  Joy nodded easily at my request, cooing at the sight of the Charcadet curiously staring at her.

  "Of course!" she smiled, accepting my 5 pokeballs without prompting.

  "Go on," I nudged Charcadet, keeping Gaia's ball with me. She was the most healthy of my team at most times, needing the pokemon center the least, so I kept her ball with me to avoid suspicion.

  Charcadet blinked at my words, before horror filled the little guys eyes.

  "Char!" he cried out, wrapping his arms around my neck desperately.

  Huh?

  I blinked in confusion and gazed at the little guy with a tilted head.

  "What? You don't like hospitals?" I mused. "It's fine. It'll be quick. Just go."

  If anything, that made him react even worse and I grunted, alarm swiftly filling me, as his body began warming up in his distress.

  "Woah woah," I said placatingly, holding him away from my body in both hands.

  The distraught in his eyes were very real. The little man was absolutely terrified of something.

  Did he hate hospitals like me?

  "What's your deal? Why don't you wanna go?" I asked in confusion.

  "Char!" Charcadet cried, actual tears welling up in his eyes that instantly steamed.

  ...Huh? I didn't form a bond with Charcadet long enough to understand his grievances.

  "He doesn't want you to leave him," Green interjected, letting out a sigh of exasperation as she placed a soothing hand on Charcadet.

  "It'd be the first time he does something without you there. He's terrified of not seeing you."

  Nurse Joy nodded with a small smile. "It's normal for a hatched pokemon to be especially attached to their trainer. Would you mind coming to the back with me while I perform a checkup?" she asked politely.

  I blinked and nodded slowly.

  I had no idea Charcadet would have attachment issues but then again I even slept with him.

  He really was Green alright. At least my tent was fireproof.

  "Alright alright, I'm not going anywhere," I sighed, allowing Charcadet to clutch me once more. "See? I'm still here so let's go."

  Charcadet nodded strongly, looking relieved by that detail.

  Just great. Guess I needed to postpone that shower.

  I followed the Nurse Joy to the back after she handed my companions their cards and ensured that Gaia's ball stealthily ended up in Green's hand just in case.

  "Char!" Charcadet beamed up at me, leaving his bad mood like it were never even there.

  I rolled my eyes and absentmindedly pat his head.

  Joy giggled at that and tentatively accepted the Charcadet, making sure I was in his sight the entire time.

  As the Chansey handled my team, Nurse Joy personally tended to Charcadet. She ran him through various tests, checked his status and made sure nothing was amiss.

  All the while, I watched with half an eye.

  Seeing as I had nothing better to do, it seemed appropriate to speed up the messaging Joy thing I was planning on doing.

  You: Sup. Here to give you a report on my status. Alive for now but grumpy and tired.

  Bundle of Joy: Nice to see you're still a beacon of happiness. I watched your gym battle against that Erika girl recently. Not bad at all kid. I think I'm gonna tune into all your battles now.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  You: Wow, you really are a fan of me. I should be flattered that a Nurse Joy, especially one as unappealing as you, is rooting for me.

  Bundle of Joy: It's impossible to compliment a person like you. You're so damn annoying.

  You: Can't help it. Your cousins are too nice. Makes it all the sweeter when I can finally harass you.

  Bundle of Joy: Are you telling me that you spare my cousins from your annoying tendencies just to unleash them on me? Am I some type of stress doll?

  You: Not at all. Seeing people with your face all the time and having to resist saying what I'd say to you is a tall task. When I finally get to speak to you, it's like the floodgates open.

  Bundle of Joy: Genuinely, you are the most sickening 12 year old I've had the pleasure of meeting. I didn't think a human being like you could exist.

  You: Pleasure? That means you enjoy my stellar personality. Doesn't that make you sicker than me?

  Bundle of Joy: It adds spice that others don't is all. Other people don't have the entertainment value that you do. I condemn everything about you but you're still interesting.

  You: You sound like an addict. "I know its bad but I can't stop". Stop using me as your drugs, you maniac. Go get a life besides being confined in the hospital.

  Bundle of Joy: How do you think of this shit?

  I chuckled at that and we continued our banter, even as the Nurse Joy here wrapped up her inspection.

  Almost as soon as she finished, I grunted as a tiny figure immediately leapt atop me.

  "You have a perfectly healthy Charcadet!" Nurse Joy giggled, watching as my baby pokemon happily snuggled me. "No mishaps at all with him except for homesickness from not being in your grasp."

  I rolled my eyes. "Very funny," I said dryly, standing and stretching idly as Charcadet sat happily on my shoulder.

  Nurse Joy had a bright smile. "You've already figured his diet out and are taking the right steps to nurture him… but do keep in mind that you should refrain from putting him in serious matches for a while. Keep them friendly with your allies, okay?"

  "Char!" Charcadet shouted in distress, crossing his arms.

  Nurse Joy put a hand to her hips and a stern look replaced her kind smile. "No, Charcadet. You're too young to fight! In around another month you should be fine to push yourself further but for now, friendly training!"

  "Sure thing mom," I said sarcastically.

  "Char char," Charcadet mimicked, eyes drooping to match my half lidded gaze.

  Despite the obvious sarcasm, nothing could get a Nurse Joy's spirit down and she just laughed again, running a gentle hand against both Charcadet and I and getting a dirty glare from the both of us in return.

  Unreasonable. They had to be clones.

  "Would you mind bringing your teams back up to your friends?" Joy asked kindly. "You all look exhausted so I'd hate to have them moving again. Please tell Ms. Green that her Venusaur is perfectly healthy and just needs to get adjusted to his size."

  "Yeah yeah," I sighed, accepting the trays with dividers on them for our team. "I'll handle it."

  "Thank you Silver. Have a good day!" she waved.

  I nodded in acknowledgement, walking off to the room while balancing the tray in one hand.

  You: You ever stop to think that Nurse Joys are all clones and you're an error in the system with how shitty your personality is?

  Bundle of Joy: I hope you understand that either you're visiting me when you come to Hoenn, or I'm visiting you. The amount of Nurse Joy jokes you've made, have landed you firmly on the properly reprimand list. You're too much of a rotten kid so don't dodge what's coming to you.

  You: Looking forward to it. I fight back. Don't think being a dainty little nurse, is going to save you.

  Bundle of Joy: Freak.

  You: Defect.

  "Thank you, Silver," Janine said with a small smile, accepting her team once more as I tiredly handed it to her.

  "Thanks Silvy!" Green beamed.

  "Bay!" Gaia beamed, crashing into me happily.

  I smiled tiredly at her, even as Charcadet cheered and leapt, landing atop my Bayleef and getting them both to laugh. "Hey girl, how are you feeling?" I asked quietly.

  Gaia puffed up, flashing me a confident grin. "Bay!" she assured.

  I chuckled. "Right right."

  "So now that we're in the city, I believe now is the right time to ask why you're willingly carrying a team of 7?" Janine said in a hushed whisper, sitting on Green's bed.

  "Can't part with my team now. They aren't developed enough for me to box them," I said easily. "I was not going to catch Charcadet until the time came… but I didn't want to risk anything happening. He's pretty rare after all."

  Janine nodded thoughtfully. "Some trainers are allowed to hold onto a newly hatched pokemon if they already have a team of 6 and it won't count. Perhaps you should consider speaking to someone about it?"

  "I've been illegally carrying for about a month now. I don't think that's much of an option right now," I replied.

  Janine frowned at that and nodded slowly. "A valid point… very well, I'll not speak about it. I'm willing to vouch for you however if you ever choose to. As Gym Leader Koga's daughter, my word can carry some weight."

  I perked a brow. "You're willing to keep my secrets... and help?" I asked in confusion.

  We had been traveling with the ninja for so long that I was sure she had picked up on more than a couple of things. Considering her designation as a ninja, she likely had heightened perception as well so it wouldn't be as difficult for her.

  "I am," Janine nodded. "You were planning on protecting me in your own way, by letting me place the blame on you… so to make up for it, you may truly consider me an ally. I'll protect you as well. You must have good reasons for harboring the things you do."

  I paused at that. "...Thanks," I said lamely.

  Janine looked more stunned than I did.

  "You're thanking me?!" she asked in surprise.

  "Yeah," I said truthfully. "This is important to me and you can tell. I appreciate you not ratting me out, even when you blackmailed me earlier."

  Janine blushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that. Despite my less than stellar attitude towards you, you still treated me rather nicely… well as nicely as I'd expect you to act after getting to know you."

  I snorted. "We traveled together for a month. No point staying enemies when we could both potentially kill each other."

  Janine nodded sagely. "It would be most lethal. That's why I never slept near you."

  "After our interaction that one night, I made sure Green was close to me. No way would you be able to kill my adorable rival and feel good about it," I replied, ruffling her hair.

  Green let out a gasp of horror at that. "Y-You piece of shit! You used me as collateral?!"

  "I have a far more killable personality. No sane person would consider killing you," I said truthfully.

  "As evil as he is… I am inclined to agree with him. I could never kill him with you in the tent. You are far too innocent," Janine replied with a small smile.

  "See?" I replied.

  Green puffed her cheeks out, glaring at the two of us with a red face. "D-Don't compliment me after what I just heard! Ugh, I can't believe this! I'm no longer sleeping in your tent!" she declared.

  I raised a brow. "Why are you making it sound like its a punishment for anyone but you? This is the happiest news I've heard in awhile."

  She opened her mouth and then shut it, a look of realization crossing her features.

  "I-I'm sleeping in your tent from now on! Prepare to be smothered to death by my hair!" she said instead.

  My smirk vanished in favor of wariness. "Wait, I actually think your hair can kill me."

  "That's the point!"

  "Please bathe before you two fight," Janine interjected with a roll of her eyes.

  I hummed in contemplation, watching as my team trained from the comfort of a nice bench.

  Janine's pokemon were going through the motions once more, drilling my team as usual.

  Throughout our trip here, Janine's pokemon had beat our own into quite the shape. She was definitely above us by a fair bit so Green and I took great advantage of that.

  The two of us took turns sparring with her team over and over again. Despite still not liking me very much, watching me teach Janine how to be more normal, had warmed them up to me.

  Not Nidoqueen though.

  Salazzle was the one who liked me the most out of her team and she had a special fond spot for Charcadet. Considering he was permanently attached to me, that meant the salamander was around me as well.

  She was cool. Bit of a haughty personality but generally chill around me.

  We were in an isolated training area. It was far off from where people would come but still in decent range of Saffron.

  Janine and Green were conversing with each other, while I fiddled with a Pokeball.

  "Green! Silver!" A voice greeted.

  I craned my neck, meeting blue eyes with an almost unnatural hues and eyes colored too deeply to be considered yellow.

  "Gold! Crystal!" Green beamed happily, jumping up and rushing them.

  She pulled them both into a crushing hug, getting a happy flush out of Crystal and a large grin out of Gold.

  They all exchanged pleasantries and I smirked in amusement as the chatter duo of Gold and Green got into it.

  "Your friends?" Janine asked quietly, scooting next to me as our teams briefly looked over and focused back on their training.

  "Something like that," I replied dryly, watching the three converse. "If you ask them, they'll say yes."

  "But you're too cool for that, right?" Janine asked in amusement, ignoring my scalding look.

  "You sure did get comfier acting human. Does wonders I bet," I grunted, rolling my eyes and ignoring her glare next.

  "No thanks to you. Motivating me to change as a person, while you yourself are this ignorant, is ridiculous," she bit out.

  I smirked. "Once again a victim to having no independent thought. You still have much to learn," I shrugged helplessly.

  "Yo Silver!" Gold grinned.

  "Gold," I nodded, noting that he didn't have the Aipom on his shoulder anymore.

  "How's it going? Who's your friend? Girlfriend?" Gold asked curiously, looking Janine up and down before shooting me a thumbs up. "She's cute! Not bad dude!"

  "Gold!" Crystal chastised with a look of exasperation, holding her head at his antics.

  "How'd you know? We were put in an arranged marriage by her clan. High compatibility. We love each other a lot," I replied effortlessly.

  Janine nodded in agreement and scooted closer to me, smiling slightly. "We must be of age before we solidify our relationship. But it's ideal to get to know each other better so we're traveling together."

  Gold and Crystal's jaws dropped at that, taking in our utterly serious expressions with wide eyes.

  "Oh… uh. Congrats? I meant it when I said she's cute," Gold said awkwardly, shooting Crystal a helpless look.

  "You both look good together! We're sorry for making fun of you!" Crystal said supportively, a blush of embarrassment on her face.

  Green erupted in giggles. "You two are so funny! Were you thinking of that for a while?"

  My serious expression melted. "Nah. I just thought of it after Gold asked if she was my girlfriend."

  Janine nodded. "It felt apt to follow his lead so that's what I did. I admit, it was rather funny. One of the more enjoyable things you've taught me, is the thing you call "trolling". It explains many of your actions," she smiled.

  "You did good. I'm surprised," I nodded in approval.

  "I'm more surprised you know of arranged marriages," Janine retorted.

  "Do you think I'm stupid?"

  "You think I'm stupid, yes?"

  "Dumb question to ask."

  "Likewise."

  "That… was a trick?" Crystal asked in confusion.

  "Seriously?! You two sold that way too well," Gold complained.

  "Silvy's been teaching Janine! She's a pretty good student! I've also been sorta learning trolling but Silvy says I'm too nice for it!" Green beamed happily.

  "Trolling eh? Never heard of it," Gold mused.

  Green nodded eagerly. "I actually think you'd be great at it Gold! You have that personality to you!"

  Gold grinned, before it vanished. His eyes squinted and he peered at Green. "That doesn't sound like a compliment if Silver's really good at it."

  A snort left me at their actions, before grunting in dissatisfaction as Gold looped an arm around my shoulder.

  "How's it been going, Silver?" Gold asked with a grin.

  I shrugged his arm off. "Well enough. Lot on my mind as always."

  Crystal smiled. "Well you've got the two of us now so we can split up the hard work!"

  Green cheered. "Yeah! The color squad is here!"

  Gold opened his mouth to agree and then shut it. "Hold on... are we actually all named after colors?"

  "That would explain why our group chat is called the Color Gang..." Crystal said, a disturbed expression making its way to her face.

  Janine looked surprised at that. "That's... truly strange. I've never met another with your names either so its double strange that you happen to all know each other," she noted.

  Gold scratched his head. "My mom and Crys' are best friends, that's why we're both named after colors..."

  "My family name is Green," Green mentioned, midlife crisis look appearing once again. "Did you guys notice we all have the same eye color as our names as well?!"

  They gaped in realization. Gold looked at Crystal, Green and I, before fishing out a mirror and gazing into it.

  "What... the fuck?" Gold said slowly, face morphing into one startlingly similar to Green's.

  The idiot duo of Gold and Green began panicking at the same time and I sighed tiredly.

  "Wait... do you two only live with your moms as well?" Gold asked curiously.

  Green nodded with wide eyes. "Yeah! For as long as I could remember!"

  "Same with Crys and I!" Gold explained.

  I'd input my two cents here and say I had both my parents, but I wasn't a main character like these three were and my parents were shitty.

  Besides... the closest thing I had to a mom currently, was Lorelei and I guess she was single too.

  "Wow this is crazy! I wonder if there's more people with the color and eye combination like us," Gold mused.

  "We should find them all and form the color army!" Green gushed.

  Crystal sighed. "I think it's just a coincidence you two. I'm sure there are people out there with a name that matches their eye colors... and our chances of meeting them are extraordinarily low too."

  "So explain the four of us!" Gold puffed up, a glint in his eyes.

  "Uh huh! It's fate! The color army must rise!" Green laughed happily.

  Crystal gazed at them in some disbelief. "There's no way you two think we're actually going to find them. That's so specific! Silver, tell them they're being ridiculous!"

  Three eyes looked expectantly at me and I scratched my head.

  "Never say never," I said lamely, knowing damn well I'd probably be meeting more of this so called "Color Army".

  There were none active right now besides us but I imagine that'd change soon.

  Crystal looked dumbfounded by my words, eye twitching at the smug look in Green and Gold's eyes.

  "What an interesting group you all are," Janine mused with a small smile.

  I rolled my eyes and watched as Gaia happily yanked Crystal and Gold into a hug. "Alright enough of that. Now that we're all met up… let's see your teams. It's been a while since we've seen each other."

  "It would be ideal if you joined us in training as well. We're sure to make great leaps with the 5 of us," Janine added.

  "Yeah! I wanna battle you two. I love battling Silvy but some variety is definitely fun!" Green grinned challengingly.

  Gold grinned right back. "You and me both! It's really been a while since we've seen each other! You aren't the only ones getting stronger here!"

  Crystal nodded eagerly. "We got new members too you know!" she exclaimed, revealing a set of 6 Pokeballs.

  Gold did the same and I raised a brow in surprise.

  Gold and Crystal were like Green and I. They were both skilled trainers around each others levels that had probably even better synergy than me and my friend.

  Considering we tended to exchange ideas, I wouldn't be surprised if their rate of growth was just as fast as ours. They had each other to improve with after all.

  "Teams of 6?" I mused. "You had three last time and you seemed to time your captures pretty well."

  "I caught two pokemon in the Safari Zone and I recently finished off my sixth in Celadon," Crystal explained with a small smile.

  "I caught one on the way to Fuchsia, one in the Safari Zone and I got my most recent while we were checking out the areas around Saffron waiting for you two!" Gold grinned.

  I looked on in visible interest as they subsequently released their teams and my brows shot as high as possible.

  Why the hell did I have to nearly die to get what the hell I wanted and these idiots managed to capture their teams by sheer happenstance!

  Crystal's team caught me almost completely by surprise. She still had Misdreavus, Growlithe and that surly Croconaw… but her final three members were the ones that caught me by surprise because what the hell was this?

  Crystal's final three pokemon were an Eevee… a Kangaskhan and a goddamn Dragonair.

  "Eevee was in Celadon," Crystal explained. "She was… from the Game Corner," she explained quietly.

  I sobered at that.

  Ah, Eevee was one of the captive pokemon. That would explain why the little thing looked afraid of its own shadow.

  It's eyes darted to and fro, before eventually stopping on Vee with a look of blatant curiosity.

  "How'd you end up getting her?" Green asked in worry.

  "She chose me," Crystal said, gently lifting the little thing up and tucking the fox into her frame. "I was just exploring Celadon before I encountered her, hiding near a tall building. Officer Jenny said she runs from everyone but she didn't take off from me… so that must have been a good sign. We bonded during my stay there so I adopted her."

  Eevee stared at me, tilting her head as some recognition entered her gaze.

  I caught her eyes and we had a stare off, before the Eevee let out a cute bark.

  "I think she likes you!" Crystal awed.

  "She hates me," Gold complained.

  I smiled and ran a hand against her head. Maybe she recognized me from the raid on the Game Corner by scent. I hadn't seen any Eevee but I wouldn't keep an Eevee out in the open either.

  "What about your other two?" I asked, watching as Dragonair glided over to Ares with a curious expression.

  "Crystal has an innate gift at attracting pokemon who want to join her," Gold rolled his eyes. "We went to the Safari Zone and those two were stalking her practically the whole time."

  "I didn't even know Dragonair was watching me until I made it to a body of water and he popped out!" Crystal exclaimed, face red. "Gave me the scare of my life! Kangaskhan at least didn't jump me like that!"

  Green giggled at that. "That's insane! Your team is so cool, Crys!"

  She beamed with a rosy blush and I took the time to gauge Gold's team.

  Ambipom, Quilava, Pupitar… Looks like that Aipom and Larvitar of his had evolved during their travels...

  Good. They would be quite helpful.

  I took my eyes off the familiar faces and focused on the new encounters which were a Seadra, Scyther and a Rufflet of all things.

  "I caught Seadra on the way to Fuchsia. She attacked me with no hesitation so I caught her because I respected her grit!" Gold exclaimed.

  Seadra puffed up at that and glared fiercely at us. It was clearly a feisty little thing but I was beginning to realize most of Gold's pokemon were feisty.

  Like this Scyther glaring over at me.

  "Scyther was my Safari Zone encounter! She's a tough girl that was eager to get outta there so she joined me!" Gold grinned.

  Scyther gazed at the assortment of pokemon battling with a hungry look in her eyes. It was obvious she wanted to get into battle as quickly as possible.

  I grunted as a weight landed on my head and glared up at the excited Rufflet.

  "Rufflet approached me while we were exploring the area! We found him near a place called Silver Town and he just landed on my hat and refused to get off," Gold grinned, rubbing the back of his head.

  Rufflet chirped at that, flying over to Gold and landing directly on his head.

  I hummed as I assessed them.

  "You guys have improved... but you can improve a bit more," I nodded in approval, ruffling in my bag for a bit. I finally pulled out what I was looking for and tossed it over.

  Crystal caught it with wide eyes, nearly stumbling at the unexpected move.

  "W-Wha…?!" she gaped, looking at the Fire and Dusk stone with disbelieving eyes. "How did you get these?!"

  "Fire Stone was from the Game Corner," I grunted.

  "A-And the Dusk Stone? These are really rare!" she exclaimed.

  That… was at Slateport. Along with a Shiny Stone, Sun Stone, Dawn Stone, Moon Stone, Leaf Stone and something called an Ice Stone.

  It was a bundle. Not sure why anyone would ever want a bundle of every single stone but you never knew I guess…

  Besides, the bundle was so easy to steal. They were begging me to do it by placing it out in the open there.

  "It was a bundle," I said calmly.

  "But why are you giving these to me…?" Crystal asked in confusion. I saw her Misdreavus pop out, eyes shining as it locked onto the Dusk Stone.

  "You need those for your members don't you? I don't need any evolution stone at all and I doubt I will for the foreseeable future," I said bluntly.

  I took a glance at the Eevee tentatively talking to Vee and ruffled in my bag more.

  Then, I pulled out the Leaf Stone, Thunder Stone and Ice Stone.

  "Here," I said bluntly, dropping them in her hand without prompting. "For your Eevee. I have a hunch it'll pick one of those 3. Picking the right Eevee evolution is important."

  Crystal had wide eyes. "T-This is insane, Silver! You're really just giving these to me?" she asked, gazing at the stones with wobbling lips.

  "That's what I said didn't I?" I grunted. "You'll need to get strong. Use those when you feel like it but now you always have the option."

  Misdreavus and Growlithe stared at the respective stones with a reverent gaze and I absentmindedly caught the eyes of Crystal's very hateful Croconaw.

  It looked bigger now, much like Gold's Quilava… and Gaia too. If I had to guess, all three were going to evolve soon.

  Good. With Saury's evolution, Green's power had leapt ridiculously but if the rest of our starters evolved as well, it'd be great in the long run.

  I didn't know about Crystal's Growlithe, but I'm sure her Misdreavus was probably ready for evolution anytime now. It was her first pokemon after all.

  Crystal said nothing, before pulling me in a crushing hug.

  I grunted, body twitching violently at the sudden contact but it wasn't nearly as bad as when Green first hugged me so I was able to resist body flipping her.

  "Thank you so much, Silver! You just saved me so much money and time! We were in Celadon earlier but they were really expensive and I couldn't buy them without putting a dent in my wallet! I had to spend a lot of money getting Eevee good to go!" Crystal exclaimed happily, grinning ear to ear

  "Don't just suddenly hug me like that," I chastised. "You should thank Green for hugging me so much. The first time she touched me, I flipped her on her back."

  "First 10 times!" Green beamed, not even slightly putout by that detail.

  "Huh, you too?" Gold asked with a raised brow. "First thing he did when I grabbed his shoulder, was flip me over it."

  "I'd do it again," I replied bluntly. I was about to remove Crystal from my grasp, up until I saw that damned Croconaw giving me the evil eye for daring to make contact with his trainer.

  Oh yeah?

  I flashed a villainous smirk at the little bastard, before wrapping a single arm around Crystal.

  "You're welcome for the help," I said easily.

  "H-Huh?" Everyone, barring Green, said. Crystal's eyes were wide and I couldn't blame her because I had to stamp down a lot of disgust to do this.

  But anything to win.

  My longest human companion immediately began searching for something and it didn't take her long to see Crystal's Croconaw getting ready to chew me in half.

  "Oh my Mew," Green sighed tiredly, holding her head in exasperation and dragging me away from Crystal. "I'm sorry about him, Crystal."

  "W-What?" Crystal stuttered, confusion pouring off of her. "You're sorry that Silver… hugged me?"

  "You'll understand the longer you hang out with him," Green said sagely. "Silver is at his best, when he's terrorizing someone."

  "Guilty as charged," I said, smiling as Croconaw took a single step, before a vine wrapped around both him and Quilava, pulling them over to the excited Gaia.

  "Alright, you guys got stronger so you can join us for training," I praised, nodding in approval.

  "We got our Saffron Badge too!" Gold grinned cockily. "That's 6 for us!"

  I grunted. "Right, we still have to get ours, Green. That should be fun," I sighed in misery.

  Another meeting with Sabrina? I was looking so forward to it. No really. Just thinking about it left me excited.

  How fun.

  "It's gonna be so fun!" Green cheered.

  "We should apply later today—"

  "There is no need. I've already applied for the both of you to challenge me. Your battle will commence in 3 days time."

  I stiffened at that, watching as a figure walked into the clearing.

  A very familiar, very annoying figure.

  Great. She must have sensed my joy at wanting to see her and visited instead.

  Woo. Fantastic.

  "What the hell are you doing here?" I scowled at Sabrina, immediately locking eyes with her.

  It was impossible not to. She honed in on me like a missile, gaze just as unnerving as mine.

  "It is not as if I'm willing to put myself in such uncomfortable situations. You merely hamper me to a degree that is worth investigating," Sabrina intoned, expression neutral.

  "Hamper you… That's what we're calling it. That's why you practically slammed your palm onto the hot stove last time right?" I retorted with a raised brow.

  "...What the hell is going on?" Gold whispered to Green.

  "It's a long story that Silvy will kill me for if I tell. Sabrina might kill me too," Green replied sagely.

  I effortlessly ignored them, glaring at Sabrina. "You've verified that it's me. You can fuck off now," I sneered.

  Sabrina didn't even blink at my harsh language. "Last time was merely curiosity. I merely acted out of turn, due to it being my first time experiencing such a sensation," she explained.

  "But you were actively hurting yourself in the process. Don't be a suicidal dumbass," I chastised.

  Sabrina blinked this time, surprised by my reprimanding tone. "Is it not natural for one to wish to learn more about that which confuses you?" she asked

  "Yeah, when it's not actively harming you," I fired back, sighing in exasperation.

  "Look, it's happening again. Get outta here. I do not want a repeat of last time."

  True to my words, her face was already steadily getting flushed. Sweat was forming on her features and she straightened up, eyes flickering repeatedly as her legs shook slightly.

  This was the effect I had on the strongest human psychic alive. I couldn't even imagine what I'd do to a lesser one.

  "Your concern is unnecessary," Sabrina denied, staring at me with narrowed eyes.

  "It's not concern for you. It's concern for me," I bit out, glaring at her.

  "I am no barbarian. Attacking you is an unnecessary and unlikely option," she stated calmly, eyes narrowing even further at the slight inflection in her tone.

  "You're embarrassing yourself. What point are you trying to prove?" I raised a brow.

  Sabrina attempted to speak but stumbled instead.

  I watched her catch herself with a bemused expression. "You barely know how to walk. It's actually like dealing with a newborn."

  Ridiculous. What did she gain from this?

  "Sabrina, are you okay?" Janine asked in concern, stepping up to her with surprising familiarity.

  Right, gym leaders and all that jazz.

  Sabrina focused on the voice and pursed her lips. "Gym Trainer Janine… I was not expecting your arrival."

  Janine's eyes widened. "Y-You didn't? But how is that possible?!"

  Sabrina didn't say but it didn't take a genius to figure out what was affecting her so much.

  All eyes focused on me and I grunted.

  "You need to get out of here. For both our sakes, let's hope I don't stay here for too long," I repeated blandly.

  Sabrina's eyes focused onto me once more.

  "Your presence is a hamper to my abilities. I cannot safeguard Saffron like this," she frowned.

  I sighed. "Gotta get this gym badge somehow. Take this time to learn how to be human," I retorted.

  Sabrina said nothing, pondering my words. "Perhaps, this is a challenge in its own right. Seeing as I am completely unable to avoid your presence, I will take the time to grow used to this sensation and improve my limitations."

  Yeah, I can't even say I'm surprised about that.

  "I will see you in 3 days, Trainer Silver and Trainer Green. These may be the first battles I experience… blind," she mused, turning on a dime and beginning to walk away.

  "You look like you barely know how to walk," I said snarkily.

  Sabrina didn't deign to reply to my insult, just walking slowly out of the clearing, until an Alakazam appeared next to her and teleported away with the Gym Leader.

  The psychic pokemon only spared me a single glance, knowing full well that inspecting me, was only going to be harmful to it in the long run.

  Smart. Much smarter than its spoiled brat of a trainer.

  I huffed as she vanished, watching as all eyes locked onto me again.

  "Do you and Sabrina have hate boners for each other?" Gold asked bluntly.

  "Gold!" Crystal shouted, shoving him to the side.

  "Something like that. I just want her to leave me alone because she's annoying. She is fascinated by things that she doesn't understand, even if that thing is harmful to her," I grunted, nursing my head with my fingers.

  What an annoying conversation I just had. Unfortunately, I needed to make sure Sabrina didn't end up hospitalized by my presence since her help against Team Rocket would be valuable.

  ...

  "Alright. Fuck. I'll tell you," I sighed tiredly. "We're already potentially going to die. So yeah whatever."

  Green sat next to me. "Are you sure?" she asked in concern.

  I shrugged. "It's not like I know all the details myself. I could always be wrong but at this point… this is the least of my concerns about what you guys already know," I sighed.

  The three who had no idea, gazed at me in concern.

  "Silver…?" Crystal asked quietly. "Is everything alright?"

  "Never has been." I rolled my eyes.

  "I was experimented on by Team Rocket. They did things to me. I don't remember what, I don't really know what, but I know that I'm a bother to psychics and ghosts and I know they want me back. Am I mandatory? Don't think so but they will look to get me back eventually."

  There was a terribly loud silence at that.

  No one said anything.

  I didn't say anything either because I didn't wanna.

  I didn't even wanna tell them this but at the end of the day, did it matter whether they knew this information or not?

  No. It didn't. There were many more incriminating things about me that they knew.

  Gold and Crystal already knew I was the criminal who assaulted Elm and stole Gaia. That was literally the single biggest detail that would ruin my life and they were safeguarding it for no reason other than the goodness in their hearts.

  What would them knowing about me being tampered with by Team Rocket do? Nothing. It didn't matter. It wasn't a significant detail in the grand scheme of things. It was near the bottom of my list of issues and was only higher up because Team Rocket were active.

  As for Janine… well whatever. She was jumping to her own conclusions so now she could just stick to the right one.

  The silence was eventually broken up by probably the most expected person.

  "That's… shit man," Gold scowled, taking a seat from the shock of what I said.

  His expression was pinched, anger bright and visible in his eyes. "No wonder you hate being touched," he muttered.

  I grunted at the observation, running a hand through Loki's fur as he sat next to me.

  That made sense. I didn't make that connection about why I hated being touched.

  I just thought I hated everyone... which was probably still true.

  "That's… so sad. I can't believe that," Crystal frowned, expression turning distraught.

  She put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "We're sorry Silver. We had no idea you had gone through such a thing… it's no wonder."

  Janine frowned deeply. "I see... that is why you and that Executive recognized each other. It's no wonder you weren't wary of my attempt at blackmailing."

  "It's whatever you guys. Now you know some of my motive. What you do with that information is up to you but I'd like it if you didn't tell anyone," I sighed, lying against Loki's curled up body.

  His hair was very comfy. I found myself dozing off against him more often than not.

  "We won't tell anyone," Crystal assured, a determined look in her eyes.

  "We'll handle this. Trust us a bit, Silver, that's all you need," Gold said, grinning cockily.

  They really were heroes alright.

  I scoffed. "What I'm doing right now is trying to trust… this is as much as I can give out," I said bluntly, getting up and dusting myself off. "Now enough trying to be sappy. Let's get to it. We got work to do."

  They all nodded in unison, grins on their faces as a challenging look entered their eyes.

  "Wait... did you just say blackmail?" Crystal asked in confusion.

  Janine and I sighed at the same time.

  "It's a long story."

  "We've never actually watched you two battle," Crystal pointed out.

  I raised a brow at that. "We've never watched yours either."

  Now that I think about it, I only really saw them battle against me on the boat. I had no clue how they had evolved their styles further.

  "This is a good opportunity! Watch us win!" Green beamed happily.

  I snorted at that.

  "Let's get this over with. Just being in here gives me the creeps," I said with a sigh.

  There was no one at the front desk and I tilted my head in confusion.

  "There's a note here," Green mused, grabbing it.

  "Please enter when you arrive, Trainer Silver and Green." It read.

  I shrugged. "Guess I incapacitated the receptionist. Shame... no terrorizing today," I sighed.

  "You terrorize the receptionist?" Janine asked, pinching her nose as I nodded.

  "You should have seen the one in Celadon! Her and Silver hated each other but then she ended up liking him!" Green exclaimed with wide eyes.

  I groaned. "Don't remind me."

  Crystal giggled at that. "I do find it funny how despite your terrible personality, you somehow make friends."

  "Friends? What the hell are you talking about? I have two friends only," I said blandly.

  Green grinned brightly. "Who are they?! Come on! Name them!"

  "Jasmine and Jasmine," I said bluntly.

  Green balked and rounded on me. "S-Stop! You can't just say Jasmine. You already admitted I was your friend!"

  "I don't remember that. Could you show me?"

  "You're so shameless!"

  Janine abruptly stepped in between the two of us with a tired sigh.

  "You two are in the midst of entering a gym battle and you still have time to fight?" she asked in exasperation.

  Green puffed out her cheeks. "He knows we're friends. I dunno why he acts like we aren't. He's a tsundere."

  I blinked, before glaring at her. "How the hell do you know that word?"

  "Context clues from whenever you chat with Metang!"

  Gold whistled. "And I thought we were bad," he whispered to Crystal.

  "That's because you realized who the brains of the operation is," Crystal whispered back with a small smile.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Gold's eye twitch.

  Huh, this group was really chaotic.

  Our group of 5 entered the back of the gym, all while sorta bickering with each other.

  The dubbed "Color Gang" was quite dysfunctional. At some point, I put Gold in a headlock.

  Don't ask me why. He probably irritated me with his voice.

  Sabrina's gym was simple in nature. It had a purplish-pink theme but other than that, it didn't stand out too much unlike Erika's gym.

  Elegant and simple, it was a nice reflection of the leader, even despite Sabrina's issues these past few days.

  The Gym Leader stood in the center of the room, eyes closed as she took deep breaths.

  "So you've finally arrived," Sabrina said, opening her eyes and boring them into our group.

  To my slight surprise, she seemed to be faring much better than before. There was still a permanent flush on her cheeks but it wasn't remotely as prominent as before.

  "Are you feeling better, Ms. Sabrina?" Janine asked politely.

  Sabrina idly glanced over at Janine, expression as neutral as ever.

  "Thank you for your concerns, Gym Trainer Janine… I'm recovering quite well. In fact, I find myself welcoming such trials. Improvement is a core part of every human being…" she explained, gazing at her hands with a curious expression.

  "And you've been learning how to be human, huh?" I mused with a sardonic grin.

  Sabrina turned her gaze towards me, disgust barely visible. "When you have something for as long as you can remember, losing it causes one to act in a matter reminiscent to blindness. Since the moment I carelessly bent a spoon as a child, I have never known a life without my psychic abilities."

  Her eyes glowed faintly. "This vulnerability has been enlightening. It's both humbled and taught me the weakness of humans… but there is beauty in even weak things and I look forward to exploring that further," she smiled somewhat.

  I rolled my eyes. "You sound like a psychopath. You must have been suffering quite a bit these past few days to be referring to humans like this. I wish I would have seen you attempt to open your door with your psychic abilities… and then crash face first into it," I sighed forlornly.

  Gold snickered at that, putting his hands up in mock surrender as Crystal shot him a glare.

  Sabrina pushed a hand against her hair, placing it behind her shoulder as she stared at me, practically confirming my sentence by not saying a word.

  "Trainer Silver… I look forward to our battle," she said shortly.

  "You're a little too excited don't you think? But I'll accommodate you and go first," I decided, smirking cockily at her.

  Sabrina huffed of all things. "I grow tired of you. As much as I'd prefer to use my most exceptional members in our battle… I must reluctantly adhere to the guidelines set. I'd also like you out of my city at the earliest convenience."

  I scoffed. So she wanted to crush me with her strongest team huh? Good to know she still hated me.

  Jokes on her. I had no intention of leaving this city until I was finished with my business here.

  "Let's get started then, freak," I sneered.

  Sabrina's eyes narrowed. "Very well, abomination."

  Thank you all for the support shown! I really appreciate it. If you have any questions, I'll try and answer them to the best of my ability! If you want a higher chance of an answer just ask me on Discord :)!

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