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Seven and B’Elanna were walking to the mess hall as B’Elanna rambled. “Tom and Harry replicated these old gaming consoles and they’ve been obsessed with them. Knowing them, they’re probably on them right now,” she said, rolling her eyes as the pair walked in.
Tom and Harry sat next to each other in the mess hall, saving the seats in front of them for Seven and B’Elanna. They had their consoles on the table to the right of their plates. Their focus rarely moved from the consoles as they ate, only turning their heads to make sure there was actually food on their utensils. “See! What did I tell you?” B’Elanna said, feigning an exasperated sigh as she sat down in front of them. “Well, good morning to you too,” Harry joked, gaze still focused on the screen. B’Elanna rolled her eyes playfully as Tom replied, “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, ‘Lanna.”
“I just don’t understand the appeal of… whatever that game is called.” B’Elanna huffed, not quite grasping what it was about the game that had captured their attention. Harry paused, looking up at B’Elanna with a serious expression. “It’s called Pokémon. And it’s a lot of fun. Not that you’d understand, Lieutenant Buzzkill.” Tom chuckled as B’Elanna pouted. Seven had been quietly observing up until this point when she decided to interject.
“What is the objective of… Pokémon?” Seven said, pausing before the foreign word. Tom looked up excitedly. “You play as a Pokémon trainer, and you go around your region catching pokémon and training them for battle with different gym leaders. All of this is in preparation for the ultimate challenge: beating the Elite Four.” Seven raised her eyebrow and B’Elanna tried to pretend like she wasn’t interested in what Tom was talking about. Harry, still mostly focused on his game, had noticed Tom talking - and B’Elanna’s sudden shift in attention. He smiled to himself - he saw right through her - and shook his head as he went back to his battle.
“So, these Pokémon, how would you describe them?” Seven asked, trying to understand the game. B’Elanna gripped Seven’s arm, shaking it as she playfully whined, “Seven, don’t let them suck you in!” Tom glared at B’Elanna playfully before continuing to explain his newest fixation. “Pokémon are like monsters, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are modeled after different Earth animals or plants. They also have different types!”
“Explain.” Seven said. “Well, there are 18 different types of pokémon, and each type has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example grass types; strong against water types, weak against fire types.” Seven nodded, slowly taking in the information. “I wish to try this game.” Everyone else at the table looked at her and said “Really?” Seven nodded. “Yes. I believe the strategic elements of the game will be… interesting.” Tom and Harry high-fived and B’Elanna rolled her eyes, secretly agreeing with Seven’s sentiment. All four of them agreed to meet once their shifts were over in Tom’s quarters.
After their shift together in Engineering, Seven and B’Elanna made their way to Tom’s quarters. They decided to forgo looking for Harry; he would undoubtedly be waiting for the pair alongside Tom. Seven looked over at B’Elanna as they walked. “You are excited.” Seven said matter-of-factly. B’Elanna scoffed, stopping as she turned to look at Seven. “I am not!”
Seven raised her right eyebrow and tilted her head. B’Elanna rolled her eyes in mock frustration; she never could keep anything hidden from Seven. She began walking again as she replied, “Okay, maybe I am a little excited. It actually sounds kind of fun. Don’t tell them I said that though!” she said, looking at Seven again. The corners of Seven’s lips turned up ever so slightly before she replied, “Your secret is safe with me.”
Tom’s door opened and he scrambled into a standing position; he’d been laying down on the bed next to Harry, who was still laying on his stomach playing on his console. “Hey!” Tom said. “Glad you could make it!” He moved to grab the devices for them, having a bounce in his step that B’Elanna found endearing. She enjoyed seeing the things he was passionate about, even if he had to endure some light teasing on her end first.
“Here you go!” Tom said, holding out a console in each hand for them to take. B’Elanna’s had red controllers on either side, and Seven’s had blue controllers. “I tried to get them in your favorite colors,” Tom said, almost beaming but showing restraint. He led them to the bed where they all sat in a circle.
B’Elanna and Seven started setting up the game, Tom glancing over at the two to make sure they were finding everything okay. Harry was more focused on his game but still listened to keep up with where they were. After a bit it was time for them to choose a starter Pokémon. As Tom was explaining the different types, Harry perked up; he was excited to see what each of them chose. After much deliberation on both of their parts, B’Elanna chose Fuecoco, a fire type. Seven settled on Quaxly, a water type. Tom grinned upon realizing that the starters they picked matched their consoles, but didn’t mention it.
Soon it was time for their first battle. Harry and Tom both set down their consoles to watch the girls play. “Okay, so… what do I do? Which move do I pick?” B’Elanna asked, looking at the choices on the screen. “It looks like you have offensive and defensive moves to choose from. What you go for is really up to you.” B’Elanna hummed. She used Leer, lowering her opponent’s defense. After their turn, she followed up with Ember, winning the battle. She smiled softly, showing Tom the victory screen. He smiled back at her, happy she seemed to be enjoying it and getting the hang of things.
Tom diverted his attention to Seven, who was being very quiet. She stared at the screen, taking in all the information. She selected Growl, frowning when all it did was lower her opponent’s attack. “You can see what each move does here,” Tom said, pressing a couple buttons to reveal the move descriptions. Seven nodded. Yes, this was much better. She used Water Gun and knocked out her opponent in one move. The corners of Seven’s mouth turned up in satisfaction. She found offensive moves to be far more efficient than defensive moves.
As soon as they were able to, Seven and B’Elanna wanted to join Harry and Tom in co-op mode. Once they were connected, B’Elanna and Seven looked at one another and smiled, causing Harry and Tom to frown and look at one another. “What?” Harry said. “Let’s battle.” B’Elanna said, grinning. “Girlfriends versus boyfriends.” Tom smiled, scoffing lightheartedly. “Oh, you’re on. ”
Harry and Tom’s team consisted of Harry’s Sprigatito and Tom’s Fuecoco. Seven and B’Elanna held their consoles up high, not wanting the guys to see them pointing at one another’s screens suggesting moves to use. Seven had decided that she would go after Tom’s Pokemon, and B’Elanna would go after Harry’s, noting the type matchups. B’Elanna nodded, smiling and kissing Seven’s cheek, making her blush. “I love your mind,” B’Elanna whispered before turning back to her console. In the end, Seven’s strategy worked perfectly, Harry and Tom dramatically groaning in defeat after the battle was over with. B’Elanna cheered and Seven was beaming as B’Elanna wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek repeatedly.
By now it had gotten late and it was time for them to turn in for the night. They piled into bed together and slept, excited to do it all over again tomorrow night.