Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Hey, hey, heyyyy! Everyone around the globe, turn up those speakers and lend me your senses! Your eyeballs are MINE—caught in my Electroweb! Whosawhatsit? Iono! 'Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!"

These are the words that greeted tens of thousands of viewers across the whole Pokémon world as they tuned in on the streaming platform Twika to watch their favorite net creator, the one and only Supercharged Streamer, Iono of Paldea!

"Welcome to the Iono Zone, everybody! We're all going to have sooooo much fun today that our hearts will stop! ZERO beats a second! They'll have to send all you to the hospital and use one of those electric shock thingies to revive you! And who'll be that jolt, that spark that brings you back to life? Da-da-da-daaaaaa~♪! ME! Iono, of course! Nyohoho!"

Just like every stream, Iono broadcasted from her eponymous "Iono Zone" live inside her luxury apartment in the hustling, bustling city of Levincia. Sometimes, if fans were lucky she would even make an appearance right in the heart of Levincia itself!

"And just how are we all doing today? My most loyal Ionites in chat! Let me hear some noise! You know I love you all! It's thanks to all of you that we're here together, conquering the world until everyone is screaming my name loud and clear!"

Iono's most loyal subscribers will tell you about the proud streamer's not-so-proud humble beginnings in the first year of her Twika career, recording in a shabby cramped apartment where she was constantly receiving noise complaints, and using whatever basic equipment she could afford on a Delibird Presents checkout girl's salary.

"Oh, man! Look at the bar go! We've only been streaming for a few minutes and already those sub numbers are going up, up, up! Blasting all the way to the Ionosphere! Wheeeeee!"

But ever since she became elected the Gym Leader of Levincia, Iono's star had risen dramatically. She was consistently making the front page of Twika every week, on top of being voted Paldea's most popular Gym Leader.

As a result, the young influencer now enjoyed a pro streamer's setup in a space that lavished from her Pokémon League earnings and multiple companies around the world fighting for sponsorship deals.

"Well, as your most graciously humble hostess, the only response I can muster seeing all this love and support is… NOT GOOD ENOUGH! We need to drive today's stream up MORE AND MORE! I wanna be the #1 trending streamer on Twika today, and I'm sure all of you want to be known as the super Ionites who made that big achievement happen!"

A high-end tri-monitor setup was where all the magic happened. One screen displayed her main output feed, stream controls laid on one side designed by a friend from Alola, and Iono's ever-fervent chat scrolled across on the other, vertical monitor to the right.

A pretty pink keyboard and pale blue mouse wired up front, an expensive ring light illuminating the bi-color haired girl's beautiful face for all her loyal fans to gaze at, and the best streaming mic Twika partnership money could buy completed Iono's meticulous setup, along with a green screen cast behind her to display a vibrant neon pink background to give the complete impression of her pale broadcasting room being the wonderous Iono Zone of dreams!

"And boy do we need to generate some buzz if we're going to match those AMAAAAZING numbers we pulled from my amazing gueRRRRilla coverage of those sweeties Larry and Katy being an adorable kissy-kissy couple on their not-so secret date! Have you heard how much fame they're both getting ever since I made their love go viral across the whole web? Apparently, Katy's got so many customers she's gotta build a SECOND Paterissie Soap-whatever shop place! All thanks to the hard efforts of IONO THE BRILLIANT MATCHMAKER, of course! After all these hard months of work, my quest for the Larry Bump was SUCCESSFUL!" she declared, striking an anime pose.

Cut to the present day, and Iono had cultivated a wide and loyal fanbase of viewers, whose numbers stretched to incredible digits. Iono's influence spread not just to her (disputed) native region of Paldea, but across every corner of the Pokémon world! Every corner with access to the Internet, anyway.

And these Ionites were always an excitable bunch, craving awesome content from their favorite streamer to brighten up their day. Iono was always eager for attention, and figuring out ways to get even more of it.

"Come on, my wonderous partners in crime! I know you're all out there!" Iono declared, pressing her face right up to the camera. "The third anniversary of the Iono Zone is coming up, you know! Three solid years of sending powerful thundershocks to all the masses! I want this year's celebration to be super-duper SPECIAL!"

Streaming is a numbers game, after all. The only way to remain successful, especially in the echelons of high-grade influencers that Iono ascribes to, is to constantly be chasing new opportunities to attract new viewership, and keeping your content fresh and vibrant enough that even your most long-time subscribers never get bored.

"A-ha! Here comes the super chat comments flowing on in! What sparks of exciting ideas have you got for your fearless leader?" Iono tilted her head as she started reading the flashy comments that appeared in her super-chat. "Hmm? Another matchmaking adventure with the Gym Leaders? OHH~♪! You wanna see… Tulip and GRUSHA paired up next? A very tempting idea Indeedee!"

The girl pouted, as the magnets of her seemingly sentient Magnemite hair clips drooped downward to match her dour expression.

"Oh… but unfortunately that's a no-can-doozy."

Those hair clips, which made Iono look like she was wearing Magnemite as round hairbuns, were a constant source of mystery. Not least because Iono cleverly changed her answer every time she was asked about them:

"They're real! Super-exclusive regional forms, from a region that only elite folks like me have ever heard of. Top secret, I'm afraid."

"Y'all heard those rumors about strange robots that look like Magnemite down in the super-mysterious Area Zero? Well, your girl's the only one who was brave enough to dive into that crater, faced these weird clackety-clack robots and lived to tell the tale!"

"CREATURES FROM OUTER SPACE! I found them in a crashed spaceship! That weird green light that everyone keeps seeing coming out of the Great Crater? It's the MOTHERSHIP, come back to claim their young! But I won't give my babies up without a fight!"

"Lmao, these things? They're just neato little magnet clips that you can control with a remote. Pretty cool, huh?"

Yes, she actually said 'lmao' out loud.

"Not only did that strict bossy pants Geeta totally reject my idea to promote our League with a viral Gym Leader matchmaking web show, but she even sent me this nasty cease-and-desist letter telling me I can't 'stalk' my fellow Gym Leaders for 'unscrupulous' reasons anymore!" she said in a mocking tone, holding up a legal document with La Primera's signature on it.

"Pretty lame, right? What do you think, Ionites? Should I light this mumbo-jumbo document up with a Fuecoco's fiery breath live on stream? That'd attract plenty of new viewers and fun press! HA-HA-HA!"

But then Iono leaned in more closely to the mic and gravely whispered, "Geeta, if you happen to be watching this stream, it's all fun jokes. Please don't send any more of your scary ninja lawyers after me."

There were downsides to being an influencer of Iono's magnitude, of course. The pressure to remain relevant, especially in a world of constantly evolving trends and Pokémon battling styles, could be downright nauseating sometimes.

"So let's hear some more ideas! Wh—a hot tub stream? Ohhh, come on now! Don't be so ridiculou—wha?" Her eyes bugged out as the Magnemite flew off her hair and spun in circles. "You want me to do WHAT kind of ASMR!?"

And Iono as, well, an extremely attractive young lady on the Internet, was no stranger to receiving attention from creeps and stalkers of her own. She was one of the few Gym Leaders to employ a bodyguard and staff with strict boundary rules to enforce, and even with self-appointed Twika mods making sure the chat was playing nice, the odd salacious comment would still come out now and then.

"Heh-heh-heh! You're all such a loony bunch of jokers! I'm glad you've all got a—a vibrant sense of humor today! Ah ha ha…"

But as Iono smiled in that signature way that made her teeth somehow look like shark fangs on-camera, she covertly sent a private message to one of her mods.

"Moody, please ban that user. Off to the shadow realm with this pervert."

But luckily, for every occasional weirdo that infiltrated her chat or creeped her out at a fanmeet, Iono could always depend on the rest of her loyal Ionites to respect her as a person and come to their Internet queen's defense.

"That's right, chat members! DUNK ON 'EM! Hee-hee-hee-hee! Now let's see, who else has got some really good ideas to make my Big Anniversary Stream viral? Oooooh! Here's a juicy one! 'You should collab with somebody super famous, like a celebrity or a Champion!' Oh, yeah! My collabs are always a surefire hit! Hmm… a celebrity? Or a Champion, huh?"

Iono started thinking deeply about this. It was a rare moment for her chat to witness, where the electric girl sat quiet and pensive for once.

"Well… if I knew any big people like that, that would make for a pretty awesome anniversary stream. But—that's where YOU guys have to come in! Ring in your favs for me! Tell them… the one and only IONO wants an exclusive collab! Get the word out! I'm sure some big celebrity or awesome battler out there won't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Agggghhhh! I'm late, I'm late, I'M LATE!"

A door burst open, blasting light into the otherwise pitch black room and startling awake the sleeping Veevees inside, as a short girl in glasses rushed in and swiftly closed the door.

"Freaking Nemona!" Penny groaned. "I knew I was going to regret letting her be my tutor, Umbreon!" she complained to her sleepy black Pokémon.

"Umbrrrrrrr." Umbreon purred as Penny patted its head affectionately. It had been sleeping on the floor next to her computer chair, which the bicolor-haired girl promptly sat down in as she woke up all her machines.

The rest of the young girl's Eeveelutions, or "Veevees" as she affectionately called them, were also laxing around. Leafeon and Jolteon were laying on Penny's bed, while Flareon and Vaporeon cradled each other on her kitchen met. Sylveon had conked out over the shelves containing Penny's manga volumes and boxed collectables while Penny's other, unevolved Eevee had made a space for itself inside her closet. "Vee vee…"

"What kind of nonsense is 'study battles' anyway? Is there anything that girl can't connect to her obsession with Pokémon battling?"

Unlike many other students' bright and neat dorm rooms at Uva Academy, Penny's little hideaway was a dark, packed nerd cave. A trendy Poké Ball-shaped clock and the bright, blue glow from multiple computer screens casting light into the otherwise pitch black room.

"Like I even need to study any harder than I do!" Penny fretted. "I've got like… straight A's in all the classes that are important. Not my fault history is boring and the match teacher hates my guts."

Penny had several unique posters in her room, including one depicting The Mighty Hero Palafin! and a special mounted picture of her own hand-designed Team Star logo. But in the back of the corner of the room sat Penny's own pride and joy: the desk that acted as her own personalized home office, which she readily sat into as she started typing rapidly on the keyboard.

"Geeta says I basically have a job already, so what does school even do for me anymore?" she reasoned. "Good grades are temporary, but Iono's streams are forever!"

Penny's high-end computer was a similar build to her favorite streamer's, also boasting a tri-monitor setup. What set this computer genius's build apart—not just from Iono, but most everyone else—was what her PC was hooked up to: a big server rack right next to her desk, with yet another tablet screen posed above it displaying extremely complex bits of network information that only an experienced hacker like Penny herself could decipher.

"I should only be a few minutes late, she usually does introductory stuff and shout-outs before getting to the good stuff."

With some rapid clacks on her keyboard, Penny opened up Twika. Clicked right on Iono's stream… and there she was.

That sweet, happy streamer girl who lit up Penny's screen—and her eyes—with her magnetic charm every time she appeared. Iono bounced around playfully on the screen, making her pastel ends sway along her bright, playful face in a beautiful motion. She flapped her oversized yellow sleeves around like she was a majestic bird in constant flight, and those eyes…

"Ah ha ha!" Iono captured Penny's eyes in her Electroweb with just a sly wink.

When those neon sunset-colored irises of hers stare right across the screen at Penny. Penny knows they're not reserved for her. (She also knows that they're obviously contacts.) But to imagine, for a brief second, that Iono truly is staring at her through the screen, well… The Eevee-loving girl's heart just melts.

Penny sighed. "She's do dazzling…"

The content of Iono's streams hardly mattered to Penny. Just getting to see Iono on her screen, and hang out with her for an evening as a constant friend, had added meaning to Penny's life ever since she returned from Galar.

"And she wants to go viral again. Nothing ever changes."

Of course, a part of her did manage to pay enough attention to discover that Iono was talking about the big third anniversary stream she wants to do, and fielding her Ionites for viral stream ideas.

"A special Iono Zone online showdown tournament? Ho-ho! Some of you guys have got FIRE in your eyes! We're gonna need a Blastoise to put you all out!" she clapped her sleeves. "I love seeing this energy, you're all just b-b-BURSTING with great ideas! Hey, you!"

"…M-me?" Penny said meekly.

"Yeah, you watching at home! You got a super-fun idea for me? If you're a super member, sound it off in the chat with a handsome bit donation to yours truly, and I'll read your brainy little scheme out loud so everyone can hear how smart you are!"

"She wants ideas for her big anniversary stream?" Penny said quietly. "From a r-really smart person?"

"Leafy?" Penny's Leafeon perked an ear.

"Mm?" She swiveled around in her chair. The Verdant Pokémon stretched out one of its brown-tipped paws in a big yawn, which nudged its yellow partner's paw.

"Joll…" Half-asleep, Jolteon outstretched its paw and weakly bat it around, nudging Leafeon back, who groaned quietly.

"Heh-heh," the Veevees' Trainer chuckled softly. "Don't you two start brawling in your sleep now."

Then her eyebrows flared up.

"Hey! There we go!" With a burst of excitement, Penny swiveled back around. "Maybe Iono could visit Uva's next School Battle Brawl, Sylveon!" she said to her oldest partner, who had stirred awake.

"Sylvee?"

"Our school has so many cool Trainers! Even the teachers are ridiculously strong! Heck, if Nemona shows up and kicks as much butt as she did in the last tournament, Iono's clicks would be through the roof!"

With a slightly mischievous chuckle, she noted, "It probably wouldn't even be that hard to convince Nemona to enter. And—and I can enter too! Yeah! And then Iono will see how cool me and my Veevees are!"

"Vee!" Sylveon enthusiastically agreed.

As Penny eagerly started typing her suggestion, she began to muse out loud.

"Imagine if Iono saw me battling! I wonder if she'd be impressed by me! And if she found out I'm one of the loyal members of her fandom, she might even make me a MOD! I—I…"

Penny stopped short of her excited rambling, and smacked herself on the forehead.

"UGH! I'm doing it again… Iono will never notice someone as insignificant as me. And that's all I'm making it sound like is like, I'm only doing all this to get her attention. Fans who act like that are the absolute worst."

She sighed heavily… and with a tinge of loathing in her voice, deleted the message she was typing.

"I don't want to become one of those toxic obsessed fans."

"Vee?" Sylveon tilted her head, concerned by her partner's sudden morose shift. She stretched out the pastel-tipped feelers around her body and started rubbing Penny with them, having to soothe her sullenness.

"Thanks, Sylvee," she chuckled. "I'm fine. I promise. I just—got a little over my head, that's all."

"Oh-ho, what's this?" Iono said through Penny's screen. "Iono plays matchmaker, f… for HERSELF!?"

She exclaimed so loudly that her Magnemite hairclips flew off again, and for a brief second her eyes became dazed swirls.

"G-golly gosh!" Normally in control of her emotions, the eclectic girl was blushing like mad now, and Penny even snorted out loud. "Finding someone super-special just for yours truly, huh? Locking a cutie-pie target down? Going on fun little dates? Maybe even making a super-corny game show to try to find my perfect match. You guys would… actually dig that?"

The comments erupted in a mass of text going down the chat, with… varied responses.

Sprigatito_Love OMG! iono getting a boyfriend or girlfriend live onstream would make me CRYYYYY
Newbie_Trainer_01 YES YES YES YES YES DO IT! It would be so cute!
Magnet_Holder IONO NOOOOOOO
Croagunk4Life Chat is this real?
KikiKami840 I thought you said something about romance being icky, iono
DhelmiseDruid MY FANFICS

"Nyohohoho! Let at 'em all go!" Iono spun around in joy. "Seems like turning that cupid's arrow on my own tush would drive those numbers WILD! But, hee-hee…"

The flustered streamer regained her composure and smiled at everyone. "That would never work at all. Not only is that kinda thing not my style when it's me I'm trying to gossy up, but those of you who are super-tuned into the Iono Zone know that my heart already belongs to someone special. Someone for whom my love is so big there's no room in this weak little heart for anyone else!"

Hearing this, Penny put a hand over her own heart, beating somewhere underneath that thick gray hoodie, and stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her dark ceiling, imagining for just a moment, one sweet moment… that Iono was talking about her.

That she would be the "cute" one trapping Iono's eyes and heart. That the two of them would go on dates together, holding hands. Laughing. Smiling.

"Thaaaaat's right! It's ALL of you Ionites watching at home!" Iono smiled shark teeth at her global audience, activating an effect to put sparkles flying all over their screens. "Especially those premium tier members sending me so much love and monies!"

Penny blushed in embarrassment at her own mad thoughts.

"Geez, Pen. Talk about parasocial…"

No_Iono_No_Life I'LL BE YOUR BOYFRIEND IONO LET'S GET MARRIED RIGHT NOW!

Seeing this comment made her huff. "Especially when you just promised not to be one of those simps."

"So let's quit worrying about the dark uncertainties of the future for a bit and focus on some fun and games, yeah-yeah?"

The next three hours of the Iono Zone were a sugar rush of fun and variety. Iono was like an artisan when it came to generating enough fresh content to keep her viewers entertained for the whole session, and all her viewers—including Penny—loved spending their evenings with the young woman and her magnetic personality.

This week was Iono's game corner, and today she was playing yet another indie game whose studio had approached Iono to give a spotlight. It was a frantic multiplayer party game where you had to race against other players in crazy obstacle courses, including a round where Iono's character found themselves pelted with giant balls.

"Woah-woah-woah-woah! STOP hitting me in the face, you lousy cannons! I need to squash these plebs and be in first place, so they know Iono's here to win! Or else my cute face will be in the Internet Hall of Shame FOREEEEEEVERRRRRR!"

"Good lord, she's getting slammed!" Penny chuckled to her Vaporeon, who had to come to melt in her lap. "Iono's so terrible at most games she plays, yet these devs keep on sponsoring her. I guess views are views, since it's so hilarious to watch her freak out!"

"Porrreon…" the blue crested Eeveelution purred.

After a bunch of chaotic survival games, Iono eventually finished a race in 4th place, which she considered enough of a victory to move on before that game really tested the limits of her sanity.

Her next feature was a one-on-one session with a tan-skinned streamer from the Orre region named Xander (better known by his screenname BlueTomahawk). Iono was clearly on friendly terms with this 18-year old boy, as they chatted with each other like old mates.

Iono asked him a lot of questions related to the perils of streaming in a place like Pyrite Town where Internet strength is… not the strongest, to put it lightly, even after ONBS helped set up data towers. And in turn, Xander gushed over having watched Iono's recent broadcasted Gym Matches and how impressed he was by the energy she brings as a global influencer, which left the young woman flapping her sleeves quite excitedly.

As their chat went on, Xander noticed the wall of comments going by on Iono's screen and began laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha! Hey Iono, why are your fans going on about some matchmaking show and saying I should be on it?"

"WHAT!? Eyyahhhh! Chaaaaat!" Iono whined, her cheeks flushing red. "Why you gotta rat on me like that!? I told you I'm NOT going to date someone just for your pleasure! And even if I was, Xander and I are just friends!"

"For real!" Xander laughed. "Iono's an awesome pal, but I could never live to your expensive standards, babes."

"Heeeey!" Iono pretended to sound offended, shaking her oversized yellow sleeves about. "You can call me prim and pampered all you want, Mr. Blueboy, but I'll take it any day over living out in the dusty boonies with you!"

"Ouch. Big-time apology to all my fellow Orre peeps watching."

A "Hmph!" came out of Penny's mouth as she stroked the Flareon in her lap. "Yeah, that's right, you two'd better just stay friends. Xander's such a loudmouth, it would never work."

Flareon stretched out its orange paws in Penny's lap, bringing her back down to Earth.

"Tch, it should be you getting all fired up, not me," she chuckled.

Tragically, the Iono Zone's magic didn't last forever.

After her hangout with Xander, where they played a couple rounds of a shooter game together, and an extra half hour spent responding solely to chat interactions (really just a stalling tactic to keep the chain of bit donations flowing), Iono announced that it was time to for the stream to end.

Cue the chorus of disappointed cries from the Ionites in chat.

"It's sad but true, but don't you worry, my rocking loves!" she assured them, putting on a much sweet, almost maternal voice to soothe her thousands of children. "Iono will never be gone from your lives and we can all hang out again very soon! I want to give one more big, big shoutout to my boy BlueTomahawk for the fuuuuun hang-out session today and the awesome folks at PointNCreate for sponsoring today's stream!"

Iono spun around in a delighted glee, her pink and blue twin-sided ponytails twirling in a rhythm with the loose black straps of her oversized jacket.

"And a HUUUUUUGE all-time best thanks for getting that Hype Train allllll the way to Level 5 today! My views are up today like a bunch of Eeelektross rising from the ocean! If we keep up numbers like this, we'll end up #1 on Twika this month for SURE! Rest well Ionites, the work ahead will be hard but also tons of fun! Don't forget to click 'subscribe' and hit that bell for more fun streams! Good night, friendos."

Penny smiled at her bright computer screen, now snuggling her unevolved Eevee in her lap as the brown Pokémon purred happily.

"Good night, Iono," she said sweetly, like she was seeing off a close friend.

"Vee-vee."

"Hmm? Whatzit?" Iono's attention was suddenly diverted to a highlighted comment. "OHHH! NYOHOHO! Thanks for bringing that up, Cheesemeister! Hee-hee, funny name. Don't forget that next Saturday is your one-and-only chance this spring to get to meet your favorite girl face-to-face!"

Penny gasped. "CRAP! The meet-and-greet!"

"That's riiiiiiight!" Iono chimed, as if responding directly to her. "I'm having my big-time meet-and-greet over at the Loopline Commons Center in the busy-ness strip of Levincia! Room, uhh, umm let's see… ahh, yes! It's in Room 9-C and will go from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM! There's going to be games set up for you to play with other Ionites, a cosplay showcase, and I'll even be doing a Q&A after signing autographs!"

The Uva student hurriedly opened a tab on one of her secondary computer screens to look for the event webpage. "I can't believe I forgot to get tickets…"

"See? I didn't forget, you sillies! It was all a clever little test, and you passed with flying colors. If you haven't gotten those tickets yet, they're going to be hotter than a Volcarona living on the sun!" Iono declared, tossing her sleeves up for dramatic effect. "Anyway, I REALLY gotta go now. Such a busy life, even outside of hanging out with my favorite crowd! Have a safe evening, everyone! Sayonara! Ciao! Adios and au revior! Laters!"

Iono moved her cursor to close the broadcast, and her stream closed down.

"Phew. Another one in the books."

The first thing the young woman did upon closing her stream was reach over into the mini-fridge next to her tricked-out setup and pull out a can of sake.

Iono was of course, always careful not to drink alcoholic beverages while in her public persona since she had a very impressionable young audience, as well as standards to maintain on Twika. So she usually treated her favorite beer as an after-stream treat.

She cracked open the silver can, the sound of which triggered for one of her prized partner Pokémon—one who knew better than to interrupt its owner's streams unless it wanted to be a camera-hog for a second—to waddle into the room.

"Bell-boll-bell?"

Iono took a few sips of her sake and let out a refreshed sigh. "I gotta tell you, Bellibolt, it is exhausting to be me sometimes."

Iono signed off from Twika just as Penny pulled the tickets page up for the Iono Zone gathering.

"Got it! And tickets aren't sold out yet!" She winced, however, looking at the prices. "Ouch. That's pretty steep. I definitely shouldn't have spent the last of my money on those Dungeon Fighter cosmetics."

"Vee?" Eevee tilted its head.

I really, really want to make this one too! Iono only does these once or twice a year, and since I'm on track to graduate by the end of next semester, I don't even know if I'll still be in Paldea by summer's end! This could be my only chance to meet Iono face-of-face!"

A thumbnail for the VOD of today's stream went up on the Twika webpage, showing Iono's blustering smile. Penny sighed lovingly on it.

"I really just want that one chance… to tell her how much she—I mean, her streams have meant to me this past year. Especially when things with me and Team Star were at their darkest…"

Penny stole a quick gaze at her Rotom Phone, sitting calmly on the desk next to her. First, there was a bit of a lip snarl as she buried that idea. Then she sucked it in, and finally a sigh as she pressed a button to bring Rotom to life inside the phone and float up to her face.

"Call… Peonia."

Her phone was patterned with an Eevee Case, which would come as no surprise to anyone who knows Penny and her fixation with the multi-faceted Pokémon. After only three short rings, someone picked up.

"Helloooo~♪!"

"Nia! Hi!" Penny spun around in her chair upon receiving an answer. "It's me."

"Well, heyyyyya! How's my favorite little sis doing?"

"Ha-ha! I'm good. Really good. How are… you doing?"

"Not so bad m'self!" Peonia answered. "Surprised to hear from you so early in the afternoon! You're usually such a little night Hoothoot!"

"Wha—I am not!"

"Uh-huh. You still using blackout curtains even in your fancy dorm room?" she chuckled.

Penny swiveled around to the dark drapes keeping light from encroaching onto her shadow habitat and grimaced. "That's—that's not important! And besides, you're on a different time zone than me now, remember?"

"Oh! Yeah, right! No, I totally knew that!" said Peonia.

"Speaking of which, ummm, how—how's life at uni?"

"It's pretty swell."

"That's good. Umm…" Penny fidgeted with her hands. "So, are you—making any new friends lately? Or done something really cool? Anything new with that hot professor that you—"

"Alright, cut the sweet talk, Pen. How much and what do you need it for?"

"What!?" Penny's eyes widened. "How di—why are you assuming I just called to asked you to lend me money?"

Her big sister laughed on the other line. "Because it's the only reason you ever call me these days, silly! And if you're calling me and not Dad, then I can only guess it's because you want to go somewhere that you desperately don't want him tagging along for, since you know him as well as I do!"

Penny groaned in annoyance.

"I bet you think you can just read anyone's minds now, huh Nia? You must be really acing those psycho courses of yours."

"I think you mean to call them 'psych' courses, Pen."

"What's the difference?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Ha-ha-ha! That's why I love you, Penny! You're always just so funny!" Peonia gushed. "You know what? Just for the bangin' laugh, I'll spot you good this time. Seriously though, where are you going? Probably should've asked that first before making a promise!"

"I'm—I'm going to a big Iono Zone meet-and-greet in Levincia."

"Awwwww! Isn't Iono that pretty streamer girl you have a massive crush on?"

"S-shut up!" Penny's face flushed. "It's not a crush. I just… think she's really pretty and smart, and maybe if I go to this thing, I'll be lucky and meet a girl who's just as cool and awesome as Iono is."

She gulped.

If I can even work up the nerve to talk to anyone there…

"Awww, that's the spirit, Pen! Oooh, my little sis is growing up so fast! I'm really rooting for you, y'know!"

"Hah. Thanks, Nia," she smiled. "I'm always… really glad to have you in my corner."

"Of course! What are big sisters for, am I right?"

"To be walking, talking piggy banks, obviously," Penny replied with a glib smirk.

She could hear Peonia's sigh over the phone, which tickled her. "Yeah. A real bang-up comedian, you are."

"Phew…"

Iono stood up from her expensive gaming chair and pulled down the zipper on her signature yellow jacket. The oversized coat fell onto the seat as Iono stretched out her limbs.

As always, underneath that giant wiggly jacket she wore a gray top with a shimmering hexagon pattern over it, her tight black shorts, and a single-leg pantyhose bearing the same hexagons on them, all leading down to her pretty gray ankle boots.

The slimmer clothes complimented Iono's figure well, enough that it's led some of her online acquaintances to question why a streamer like Iono who's so hungry for high viewing numbers would hide that slim body underneath such a gigantic piece of clothing.

If her camera was still on for the viewers to see her stretching her body like this, the young woman would've seen today's stream jump higher in the Twika ranking for sure. Iono always cited the main reason as her standards:

"There's a lot of things I'll do for clicks, but selling my body ain't one of them!"

But if the cameras were on, the viewers might catch not just a more intimate side of their favorite girl, but perhaps a more somber, sentimental one. After finishing her stretches, Iono turned back around to that yellow coat.

She picked it up and stared at it… The viewers might notice that her eyes started to glimmer with a sort of look that Iono would never let show on camera. An almost… wistful gaze.

There were only two eyes present to watch with concern as Iono held the jacket close to her face and started nuzzling it somberly. Well, not the two bulging white ones on Bellibolt's side that people think are its eyes, but the soft yellow ones in the center of its green face.

"Bell-bol-bol?" it cried softly.

Iono smiled warmly at her amphibious partner, and gently pat it on the head.

"Yeah… Don't worry about me, Bellibolt. I'm good."

She let out a sigh that suggested otherwise, but continued to wear a grin for her Pokémon's sake. Holding her hands up high, the pink and blue-haired girl clapped them together to cause an array of effects in her post-stream routine:

The main lights of the room shut off, leaving only Iono's various neon signs and fixtures to light the dim room in pulsing shades of blue, pink, and yellow. The green screen she used for her backgrounds ascended into a custom panel in the ceiling. The square tank in the corner of the room lit up, much to the delight of all her pet Tynamo swimming around inside.

And the Magnemite hairclips whizzed off Iono's head, returning to their charging stations next to her bed. Iono undid the rest of her hairties and let her pink and baby blue hair flow freely as she gently climbed into that warm, pink bed right up against the windowsill.

It was night out in Levincia, and the girl had been very particular about selecting which penthouse apartment she would grace with her presence.

Because this very window overlooking Iono's bed stared out into the north end of Levincia, towards the mining roads of the East Province of Paldea, and it was a perfect spot for it because this late at night, it wasn't the bright, illuminating lights of Levincia that Iono sees outside her window…

It's stars.

The twinkling stars in the sky, unbothered by all the bright hues of lively city lights over the hillscape, always brought Iono comfort for… reasons she couldn't really place.

It was almost like a vestige of a pleasant memory, and the starry sky always helped the young gremlin sleep at night, even on the world's most intense energy drink bender.

"Hmm…"

Usually, sitting there on her bed staring at the stars with a can of sake would be all the good vibes Iono needed to get over even a lousy stream. But as much as she tried to keep her smile up, the pain in her facial muscles from smiling nonstop for over five hours just couldn't seem to settle.

"Mis-magius?"

Iono's sorrow seemed to drive the allure of her most unique Pokémon, the champion of many Gym Battles. The purple ghost Pokémon Mismagius floated over to Iono's bedside with a frown.

She sat up and faced her phantasmic partner.

"Wazzat? Which thing was it that got to me the most? All those comments about doing a matchmaking show reminding the great Iono how nonexistent her love life is? Or… the other thing."

Iono grabbed a soft Bellibolt pillow on her bed and bunched her knees together with a deep, somber expression.

"That yucky thing that chat was asking me to do for my big anniversary stream…"

"Mis…"

Iono stood up and let out another, more resolved sigh. "Love my Ionites to the moon and back, but they don't even know what they were asking." Finally, she let out a chuckle. "I honestly might've rather done the hot tub stream than… that."

Mismagius and Bellibolt both giggled a little, happy to see a little spark in their partner's dour mood. And Iono laughed too, happy to always have her Pokémon around to be her private cheerleaders.

And a third one chimed in, as Kilowattrel flapped into the room, perched itself on top of Iono's big monitor, and cawed happily.

"Hee-hee-hee! You're totally right, 'Trelli! Clearly, my gears are still all wound up from that mega-earful Larry gave me for filming him without permission! Man, he can turn really scary when he needs to! He's just like the dad I never had!"

The Tynamo all crackled loudly in their tanks, making puffs of yellow electricity shoot up inside. Iono decided to take a seat at her computer again and dug out her pink and yellow Whismur-patterned headphones.

"Still not as scary as mean boss lady Geeta though! What was she even giving me shit for? I guess I was being too creative with my go-rilla filming strats! All these fussy adults just hate the content creator grind, Bellibolt!"

Bellibolt cried out in response, electricity pulsing around in its translucent guts like a plasma orb. Iono giggled much more happily now.

"Who needs IRL friends, or a lover for myself, or heck even family when I have all you guys? And my favorite Ionites! Why, I'm hooked up with the biggest inner circle in all of Paldea. Why did I even pretend like I was feeling lonely for a second?"

Those sharp shark-teeth flashed, as they always seemed to whenever this girl was happy, and Iono quickly opened up Twika on her laptop.

"Let's see what all my favorite streamer friendos are up to! That'll help get rid of all these silly dark thoughts from my head for tonight, won't they Magi?"

"Mis-magiiii…" Mismagius cooed, floating next to her.

The webcam might not be on anymore, but Iono still sat at her computer. Living on her chair. Forcing herself to wear a smile.

"Yeah… everything's just right!"

Somewhere far, far away from Paldea, keys jingled as one of them turned into a lock, and opened a door. With groceries clutched in her hand, a calm woman with pink hair stepped inside the fancy condo, accompanied with her teetering partner Pokémon.

"Spin-daa-da-daaaaaaa…"

The lights were already on as she stepped inside. Even separated by dividers, her living room and kitchen were both modestly huge, well enough that more than just one person could live in a condominium this luxurious.

And this woman didn't live alone. At least—in a physical sense. As her heels brushed the shag blue rug on the floor, she could hear noise from another room.

Something was playing in one of the bedrooms. … Her old bedroom.

"We're home, love!" she called out.

"Da-dee-daaaa!" Spinda cried along with her.

…

"Da-da…?"

"Heh…" She had only been half-expecting a response anyway. "Well, I'm feeling in a great mood to cook today, so I bought some stuff at the big mart and I'm going to whip up some hutspot! With smoked sausage too!"

The woman set her grocery bags down on the divider between the kitchen and the living room and tossed her handbag onto the couch, where it landed next to a soft Bellibolt pillow with tags on it.

"I'll set out plates for the both of us, so just… come out whenever you're ready and have some. I'll even—reheat it for you if it gets cold, heh-heh…"

After that, she didn't waste any time. The kitchen was her domain, and she was the master of it. Water fed into a crockpot. Stove switches all turned on with efficiency. Syrup and nutmeg taken out from the cupboard. Pot set to boil. Vegetables taken out of the bag and set neatly. And then…

CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!

She cut all the zucchini first, and then the potatoes into nice even cubes. Once the water was boiling enough, she tossed the sausage chunks in, and the kitchen bristled with the smell of hot, spicy pork.

"Da-dee-daaaaa…" Her clumsy little helper handed her the carrots next.

With a smile, she accepted the carrots and began chopping them. The room was filling with steam from the pot, but it wasn't enough to completely obscure the view outside the window.

This busy workaholic didn't normally get a chance to come home while the sun was still in the sky, but today she looked out the glass pane and admired the sight of all the ferries and boats leaving the town port. The sun shone brightly down onto the condominiums despite the smokestacks from the nearby complex puffing with steam.

CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!

She was in her own little world. Cooking was one of the things that brought her joy and tranquility since she was younger, and these days she needed all the joy she could get.

But as she kept chopping along, the woman heard a voice chiming distinctly from the other room. A voice that, as soon as she recognized, made a warm smile cross upon her face.

"Is that our little cherub?"

"…Mm-hm," came a soft reply from the bedroom.

"What's she up to today?" she called out from the kitchen.

"Not much new…" the voice murmured back. "She was streaming with that cute boy from Orre again today."

"Awwww! How did she look? Is she interested in him?"

"N-no, I don't think so… Seems like they're just friends."

"Well…" She stopped cutting for a moment. "It's nice to hear she isn't all alone and lonely there. On her own. Like we were afraid."

"Yeah…"

The carrots were all chopped up and ready to be added into the pot with the vegetables. She was just about to throw them in when…

"Did—did you know that… she said at the beginning that it's going to be her third anniversary of streaming soon?"

…

"…No."

Her smile fell a bit.

"Wow… Three years. It's really been that long, huh? Ah ha ha… it feels like—like it was only yesterday that she…"

She couldn't finish that thought. The words hung on her lips, but she couldn't say them aloud. Not just for her own sake, but for both of theirs. Now wasn't a time for regrets.

It was a time for hutspot.

"It's sad but true, but don't you worry, my rocking loves!"

That voice was ringing clearly from the other room now. That line made the woman pause for a moment, but only a moment. She couldn't let the sausages burn.

At least she sounds happy…

After dropping all the chopped vegetables into the crockpot, she began to stir meticulously.

"Iono will never be gone from your lives and we can all hang out again very soon!"

"…"

But that peace only lasted before she could hear something in the other room—something that quickly unnerved her. A sniffle.

"Huh…?"

That sniffling then turned into a sound that was unmistakable.

"B-babe!?" the woman cried out.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" a voice blubbered out from the bedroom. "D-don't worry about me…"

"Are you crying!?"

"NO! I'm not, I'm just... I… I… Grrrn…"

Distressed, the woman quickly shut off all the burners and tossed away her oven mitts. Then she made a mad dash into the bedroom to comfort her crying housemate.

"Hey, hey! Sweetie, don't cry!" She wrapped her arms around the sobbing mess and tried her best to be supportive. "Come on, now…" She let out a sniffle. "You know that—that if you start crying, then… I'm going to start crying too!"

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry… It's just… Ionnie…"

A tear fell down the woman's face. "I know… I know."

Spinda, wearing one of the discarded oven mitts landed on its ear, gazed over the now ruined mix of meat and vegetables in the kitchen.

"Spinnn?"

Chapter Text

Penny was somebody who preferred small, isolated spaces. Quiet. Not too bright. Or noisy. Just nice and comforting. The city of Levincia represented… the complete antithesis of all that.

This spawning cityscape was not just the largest city in Paldea, but also by far the busiest, making Mesagoza look like a small village. No matter what street you go down, you'd be likely to find yourself lost in a sea of hustle and bustle underneath towering skyscrapers. Everyone in this huge city seems to perpetually have somewhere to be, no matter what's in their hands. A briefcase, a suitcase, a shopping bag. You name it.

The amount of wide spanning businesses and shopping districts that call Levincia home meant that it was nearly impossible to turn a corner here and not find something exciting to do. And that's not even getting into it hosting the region's most popular Gym Leader!

It was certainly not the ideal tourist destination if you were looking for quietness and solitude. Even in the raised Poké Ball-shaped harbor at Levincia's center, you would have to watch out for people riding their bikes and Cyclizar everywhere, mind the folks gathering to watch a Gym Match with Iono in the central battling arena, and put up with the steam and loud horns of the boats and ferries down below.

Penny had to overcome these obstacles to reach the business strip unscathed, a small branch of the city where some of its most luxurious companies and buildings were located.

"I don't know how anybody—especially Iono—could live in such a big, loud city like this," she complained. "I've only been here half an hour and I already want to go back home and huddle in my cave again."

"Vee-vee?"

Penny had brought her Eevee companion for comfort. Holding it in her arms, she nuzzled Eevee's soft brown head for comfort, which helped her to relax.

"You're probably enjoying the bright sun out here a lot more than I am. Maybe today's the day you evolve into Espeon!"

"Vee…!" Eevee cooed in response to all the snuggles.

"No hurry though," Penny smiled. "You're still plenty adorable just as you are right now. Besides, we're here."

They had finally made it to the Loopline Commons Center, a large open house building for renting high-profile events. Already finding herself surrounded by fellow fans wearing Iono merchandise including wigs, T-shirts with her face on them, and collectable plushies of the Gym Leader's Pokémon helped bring Penny at ease too.

"These are my people…" she laughed to herself.

With a confident spring to her step, the short girl sucked in some courage and strolled into the convention doors and found Room 9-C, where both the website and Iono herself said the meet-and-greet was taking place.

"Woah…"

Room 9-C was a much larger room than Penny was expecting! Posters and banners lined the walls advertising the Iono Zone and its meet-and-greet event. Iono fans had set up stalls around the area to sell prints and hand-made items, with clothing racks set out by Levincia Gym officials, who appeared to be doubling as event security today.

And there were so many Ionites, of different genders, ages, and nationalities. They were all flashing their Iono Zone merch too, standing out in bright colors and many of them even copying Iono's look in full-out cosplay.

"So many people… all sharing their love for Iono like me. But…"

Penny looked down at her own ensemble. At first glance, she had dressed herself the same as her usual attire: dark gray hoodie, giant fluffy Eevee backpack, a see-through skirt over shorts, gray leggings with red and blue plus-minus markings, and her favorite black boots.

There was one keen difference though: Instead of her usual Poké Ball hoodie, Penny was wearing one with the same color, but from the Iono Zone store. It bore Iono's chibi Avatar on it, the same one on all those electronic billboards in Levincia she had passed by along with her signature phrase "Whozit? Whatzit? IONO!" written in small pink letters. There was also an Iono Zone keychain dangling from her backpack.

But even so, compared to all the flashy fans around her, Penny was feeling… out of place.

"Look at how much everyone else has gone all-out! I didn't know that other Iono fans were this serious," she lamented. "Iono's never going to notice someone as plain as me among all these much more loyal fans…"

"Eee-voii…" Penny's Eevee nudged its head up to meet her neck, trying to comfort its sad owner. Penny chuckled, Eevee's warm nuzzles helping soothe her anxiety.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm not just here trying to get noticed by her. I also really wanted to make new friends. I just have to… figure out how to actually go about making some friends."

The shy girl looked at all the active, outgoing Ionites flittering around her and gulped.

"Alright, Penny. You can do this. Mingle! Talk to people. It's so much simpler than teaching yourself how to code, right? You're a genius, you got this!"

She hoisted her Eevee bag up her shoulders to psych herself up.

"What was that advice Nemona gave me? Just… walk right up to them and start laughing like you're part of the joke, and you become part of the group?" Penny scrunched her face for a second. "…Worth a shot, I suppose."

Just at that very moment, Penny heard giggling and looked over to see two girls watching Iono's content playing out on a computer setup.

"Ohhh, man! I was there live for that stream, y'know! We all realized that Horsea was going to spritz her in the face at the same time and the whole chat was HOLLERING!"

Iono could be heard going "Yucch!" on-screen as her face became doused in black ink.

"Hee-hee-hee! My friend Jake showed me this clip on PikPek! Iono's face right there was my profile pic for like two weeks straight!"

They both laughed with each other, until they heard someone else laughing at an even louder—and more forced—octave than them and looked over to see a blushing Penny having straddled up to them.

"A-ha-ha… I… Umm…" She gulped. "Yeah, I—I thought that was funny too."

The girls' stares felt like needles pushing into her skin. Sweating, Penny blurted out "BYE!" and dashed off, leaving them confused.

"Huff… huff…"

Once Penny thought she had gotten far enough away from that embarrassing spectacle, she set her Eevee down on the ground, who spun itself a little circle as the sweating girl caught her breath.

"Alright, well… that didn't go well. Should've figured advice from Nemona would make me look all weird and eccentric, huh?"

"Vee-oii?"

"Guess I'll try what Arven told me? He said… if you want to get closer to somebody, try talking to them about something they're interested in. Hmm."

Penny looked ahead of her and spotted a young blonde guy who was running his own merch table. Sucking in her gut and clenching her fists, Penny decided to go for it.

She walked up to him, taking notice of the unique collectables he was selling: hand-painted Iono wood bobbleheads.

"Wowwww! Did you make all these yourself?" she asked him.

"I sure did!" he said proudly. "300 Poké Dollars each!"

"So cool!" Each of the bobbleheads had a different expression on Iono's giant face. The one where she seemed to be winking at Penny made her giggle, so she put some money down. "This one, please. And, umm… m-my name's Penny."

"Right on! Name's Donovan!"

"Cool!" she smiled back.

It's working! I'm really socializing!

…

Penny coughed.

"So umm… you uhh, you like the Iono Zone too, right?"

Donovan tilted his head in confusion and glanced at his Iono-themed bobbleheads. "Uhh, y-yeah? I wouldn't exactly be here making my own Iono crafts and selling them, would I?"

The awkward silence that followed was deafening.

"…Uhhh. Y-yeah. I guess that's true! Umm."

Another pause ensued.

This time, Donley coughed. "Will… that be all?"

"Y-yes! BYE!"

And she rushed off, leaving the boy scratching his head. After hiding behind a pillar, away from view, Penny stopped to catch her breath while Eevee ran up and found her.

"Eee-veeee!"

"Ohhhh, man. That was totally embarrassing. Why is it that I can be so cool meeting people online or through the phone, but I can't work up the nerve to talk to someone face-to-face like a normal freaking person? If my Team Star buddies hadn't accepted me as a voice on a screen for so long, I wouldn't have any friends at all by now… Same with Juliana."

Penny sighed sadly, remembering how badly she fumbled her first introduction with the girl who saved her from accosting Team Star grunts at the steps of Uva Academy, versus how smoothly Cassiopeia found Juliana through her phone and adopted the persona of a suave conspirator recruiting her for Operation Starfall.

"I should've called her up. Juliana makes befriending people look so easy, it's ridiculous. And so does Peonia... And, Nemona too, now that I think about it."

Penny stared blankly.

"Maybe I should just rename myself something ending in 'a'. Clearly that's the flag that'll switch my 'able to socialize' boolean to 'true'."

Eevee pawed at its owner's leg, trying to help her feel better. "Voi…"

Penny craned her head down and smirked for her adorable Veevee as best she could. Eevee started trying to be all cute, making adorable faces and rolling around at her feet, which made Penny laugh.

"Thanks, Eevee. I needed that. Even Pokémon know how to break the ice better than me." Then her eyebrows shot up. "Hey, wait! That's it!"

Somewhere else in the facility, the Supercharged Streamer herself sat in front of a mirror in her private room, doing some last-minute checks on her hair and makeup. She gazed deep into her reflection to make sure her contacts, which made her pupils look like a sunrise, were on correctly.

Nobody knew the true color of Iono's eyes, and she was comfortable keeping it that way.

"Alrighty… We're almost a perfect dazzling Iono for the crowds. Just gotta make sure my personality is on-point."

Inside one of her oversized yellow sleeves, Iono held a small remote with buttons to control the Magnemite hairclips on her head. She cycled through each motion, making faces of her own to mimic each intense emotional response.

"HAPPYYYYYYYYYY!"

The bots' blank eyes become bright yellow stars as their little magnets spun around looking excited.

"SAAAAAAAAD."

Now their magnets drooped as both pink and blue bulbs sagged down her head slightly.

"INTRIIIIIIIGUED?"

The little magnets jittered fervently, and the Magnemite bots' eyes darted in all directions.

"Aaaaand… beaten. Thrashed. Smoldered to an itty-bitty little crisp."

Iono pretended to look dazed and confused as the bulbs detached from her head and spun around in circles. With one more button press, they settled again and Iono nodded firmly.

"Just how this crowd always loves to see me, I guess. 'Tis but the give-and-take life of a crowd-pleasing entertainer such as I. … Oooh! I'm a poet and didn't even know it!" she clapped.

There was a knock at her door.

"Are you almost ready, Miss Iono?" called out Stryke, one of Iono's staffers. "You're scheduled to be on in about five minutes."

"Yeah-yeah~♪!" she gleefully called out. "Tell them Iono is locked and loaded!"

She spun around in her chair, despite the staffer not being in the room to see her flair. (Hey, I'm a poet too!)

"I'm so jazzed up to meet and greet my sweet and loving crowd today, it's like I blew up and became a viral sensation! Hee-hee, which I have! Multiple times! YAAAAAAY!"

Iono kept on laughing until she was sure Stryke wasn't on the other side of the door anymore, then she put a sleeved hand over her chest and wheezed.

"Easy there, Iono. Don't Ionize yourself too hard before you've even gone out to meet 'em. This is going to be super-fun! Always love getting to know the faces behind the silly comments!"

Resting her chin on her shrouded hands on for a second, Iono stared at her reflection even more and contemplated.

"Y'know… I kinda wish there was a better, much more—personal way to meet fans of mine. Maybe then we could all be IRL friendos! But, heh! Guess that's just the perks of being famous, right?"

She chuckled lightly to herself.

"Gosh. They're all going to be wearing those silly wigs and trying to look like me, aren't we?" With a sigh, her last pondering thought at the mirror was: "I just hope there's more kids who want to see me than gross weirdos this time."

"AWWWWWW!"

Penny definitely felt like she had made the smart play. Instead of just walking up to people on her own, she decided that a cute Pokémon like her Eevee would make for a fantastic icebreaker.

After all, who doesn't like Eevee?

And sure enough, it wasn't long enough before she was able to find two girls and a guy who all flocked to her and cooed over her adorable Pokémon.

"SO CUUUUTE!"

"HA-HA! I'VE NEVER GOTTEN TO SEE AN EEVEE UP CLOSE BEFORE!"

They were all dressed in bright clothes, including thick jackets a size too large, probably to mimic Iono's style. The man in the group had his hair dyed to match Iono's dual tones and even painted his own living Magnemite to resemble Iono's pastel hairclips.

"MAA-AAG-NEMITE!" it said in its robotic cry.

"Vee-vee!" Eevee said back.

"Ohhhhhh!" One of the girls gushed. She was one of the cosplayers, decked out in a full yellow jacket and wig to try to look like Iono. "Even its cry is adorable!"

"It's probably going to evolve into the cutest Jolteon on the planet!"

"Huh? O-oh, umm… yeah." Penny was a little thrown off by that. "Umm, I already have a Jolteon so this one's… I'm trying to get it to evolve into an Espeon instead. Because I don't—have one of those."

"Ohhhh," the other girl said, rearing her head back a little bit. She was wearing her giant double buns with magnet ribbons to look like Iono's hairclips. "…Huh."

"Well… that's cool too!" said the cosplayer, trying to sound supportive.

The guy in the group barely hid his scoff. "Surprised you aren't at Tulip's convention then."

"…Huh?"

"Seriously? Rude." the girl with the buns nudged him. "Don't listen to him… Penny, right?" She nodded. "That's really awesome that you follow your own heart. Sorry about him. Most of us in Levincia are pretty chill to tourists!"

"Ummm, thanks I guess!" Penny knew that this girl meant well, but something about that statement bugged her.

She picked up on me not being from Levincia just because I'm not raising an Electric Pokémon? That still seems… kind of excluding.

"Voi?"

Eevee could feel Penny's fingers beginning to sweat as they clutched the ball of fur. Penny was about to gain the courage to say something else, like "Hey, want to swap PokéChat ID's?" or "What Pokémon do you guys like?" when…

"Attention, Ionites!" a voice called out over the PA. "The time you've been waiting for has arrived! Your shining superstar Iono is heeeeeeere!"

Everyone in the conference hall immediately began clamoring and squeeing with excitement. Penny was a little startled at the sudden cacophony of noise, and had Eevee climb onto her shoulder so she could cover her ears.

If I wasn't so used to Momo's loud beats, this would be a great way to get tinnitus.

"Everyone who wants their chance to meet the buzzing electric queen of the Interwebs face-to-face should line up in front of Iono's Star Table!"

The convention goers all responded promptly, and descended towards the back of the convention hall like a stampede of Tauros.

"Come on guys, we gotta go!"

Even the trio Penny was talking with disappeared in a flash without even ushering her along, much to the Uva student's bafflement.

"…Geh?"

"Remember, single file please! Everyone is expected to practice Iono's rules of respect! And remember, Iono might not get to everyone in line today but she loves you all the same!"

"Awww, man!" Penny looked around at the nearby deserted space around her. "After how hard we worked to get here, we'll probably just end up at the back of the line." With a defeated sigh, she ushered her shoulder-riding partner. "Come on, Eevee. Let's try for it anyway…"

"VAY!" Eevee said with much more eagerness than her, which did help Penny's optimism a little.

Maybe I'll be lucky… We'll see.

Iono's "Star Table" was a huge stall set up in the very back of the convention room, adorned with huge glittering blue and yellow stars on the big banner that hung from the ceiling.

The motif of stars was… appropriately comforting for Penny, who gazed up at them and… the foolish red-haired part of her brain wanted to consider it a sign. That maybe her destiny is intertwined with Iono's after all…

Before the rational blue-haired part of her brain bonked the red-hair brain for being so silly.

But even so, seeing Iono using all these star decorations brought pleasant memories back to Penny: the early days of Team Star's founding, when she was working out the design for the team logo along with the artful Atticus, the creative-minded Mela, and all the rest of her squadmates giving their input.

"And voila! If thou willst allow me to say, I do decree this logo speaks wonderfully to the six of us and all our combined trades!"

"I couldn't agree more, Atticus!"

"Thy words do humble me so, boss."

Penny wasn't physically there, of course. This was still back when she was only the big boss Cassiopeia, whose voice guided everyone from a floating phone. But the memory's tight enough that Penny felt like she was just as much in the room as her friends.

That feeling of being included. That her friends all loved Penny for who she was even when they didn't know what she looked like. It was the biggest thing she held onto after Operation Star fell through and she was forced away from all of them.

Unfortunately, that feeling didn't come to Penny here, as she found herself… the very last person in line for the big meet-and-greet.

So much for big hopes. She'll probably get up and leave before we've even made eye contact…

Only a single white door separated fans of the Iono Zone from their zone goddess. And she stood on the other side of it, taking her last few deep breaths to ground her currents before she was to step out.

She could hear the fervent cries of her loyal fanbase on the other side of that door, and their enthusiasm was infectious. She could feel herself being powered up by their excitement like a battery.

Iono heard rambles. Giggling. Foot-stomping. The foot stomps especially made her chuckle a bit. If she wasn't committed to being a professional, she might want to leap out and join those feet in their happy dancing.

Remember, you're the famous one. They're the normies. If even one of them could be a new friend…

But… I gave up that kind of life, and that's alright. No showing your icky dark sides. No IRL friends. … And no… y'know. I threw all that away because I wanted this. I WANT this! There's no going back, and I never will!

"I… I'll never go back."

With one last exhale, Iono let go of the last frown she would allow herself to wear, before flipping that switch. She motioned to her staffers standing by the doors.

The doors opened, and the one and only Iono, everyone's favorite happy-go-lucky influencer, stepped out and flew her sleeves up at the sounds of raucous cheers and choruses of people exclaiming their love for her.

"Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! Your eyeballs are MINE—this time, IRL! Let me hear you make some NOOOOOISE!"

The volume of the room quickly spiked up to 11. Iono looked around, pleased at the high turnout. Just like always, looking into the crowd felt like a sea of warped mirrors like in one of those funhouses.

"HELLO, IONITES!" Iono declared, doing one of her classic twirls. "Who's ready to do some MEETIN'? And maybe even some GREETIN' on top of that!?"

"YEAAAAAHHHHH!"

The next hour at that booth made many Ionites' dreams come true. Each of them were granted approximately a minute to go up and say hi to Iono, and she would even fulfill whatever their quick desires were. Sign an autograph? Take a selfie? Record a specialized greeting for your own Twika stream or PokéTube channel?

"I'm your genie girl!"

She had even taken the time to catch a bunch of Electric Pokémon outside Levincia for anyone who requested a quick trade. Each one came with a unique Partner Ribbon letting everyone you battle know that you were carrying none other than Iono's Tadbulb or Magnemite!

"P-please sign my Trainer's notebook, Iono!"

Most of the visiting Ionites were a kindly bunch, with fair requests.

"Can you please give a shout-out to my cousin in Almia? She and her daughter LOVE your streams!"

Some of them didn't even come with a favor, they just wanted the humble chance to meet their favorite idol!

"Omigosh! You're so much prettier in person, I just—I can't even!" one girl literally bawled. Iono responded with a friendly wink and she threatened to melt into an anxious puddle right on the spot. "This is the greatest day of my life…"

Of course… being a young, attractive woman with a global reach like Iono's also meant she had to be prepared for dealing with those odder requests.

"And… there!" she said, capping off her sharpie signature with a winking face, per the 20-something male's request.

"Awwww, thank you so much, Iono! I'm going to treasure this always!" he declared, swinging around the 6-foot tall Iono cutout so wildly he threatened to slice the real Iono's head right off.

Stryke, Iono's Gym Staffer who she often employed as her bodyguard due to his bulky physique, was making sure this guy and his reckless cardboard were staying an appropriate distance from whacking the girl.

"And I'll… treasure this memory," she awkwardly said back to him. Luckily, he accepted that as completely earnest and walked away with his giant Iono.

The female Gym Staffer standing by spoke up. "Have you have had enough of the weirdos yet, Miss Iono?"

"Hey, the Ionites aren't all weird, Patty. Some of them are just… more eccentric than others. Aww, but don't tell me you're piping up because we're packing up!"

Patty was often nicknamed "Iono's Brain" for how efficiently she kept her assigned Gym Leader on task and schedule.

"Sorry, Miss Iono. I know you always get upset at having to leave some of your fans out, but we really should look at wrapping up so you have time to prepare for the Q&A."

Iono sighed. "I just really, really hate abandoning the ones who have been waiting longer than anyone else to meet their fav." She gazed out sadly into the short line of remaining people, about five or six. "They all look so eager, to crush their itsy-bitsy spirits would just be so… s-so…"

The girl's words tripped on her tongue as she stared all the way out to the end of the line and spotted someone… very intriguing.

Most of the Ionites come to visit her meet-and-greet were all dressed like Iono, either flashing really bright colors and oversized clothes or cosplaying the girl herself.

But the boy—or is that a girl?—at the very, very back stood out to Iono with her uniqueness. She wasn't being bright. Or flashy. Or anything like Iono. She was dressed in a very modest and rather cute gray hoodie, leggings, and boots.

Her hair was dyed two colors kind of similar to Iono's… except it was in her own special mix of red and blue. In a sea of wannabe Iono's, this was one of the only people the young influencer had seen all day who was…

Unique. Special. And the more Iono stared at her, kind of adorable.

As Iono continued to gaze her way, the girl's eyes drifted until… the two of them made eye contact. Just as quickly as it happened, the girl let out a small yelp and turned her face away.

This made Iono giggle-snort, and for the first time since she had come out at the booth, Iono felt a genuine smile on her face.

"Miss Iono?" Patty was desperately getting her attention now.

"EYAH!" Iono's gaze was sharply redirected. "Umm… well… Iunno, Patty. I think we can—let these last little Wurmples wiggle their way in before we close down for good."

"I don't know—"

"Trust me!" she said confidently. "I'm already dressed up and everything, so getting ready for that Q&A will be super-speedy!"

"Well… alright," Patty shrugged. "You're the boss."

Penny was looking down at Eevee with a flushed red face.

"Am I crazy or… did she look at me!? I think we might've made eye contact, Eevee!" she said through hushed whispers.

"Ve-ve-voi?"

"Oh… but we've also been standing here without moving for a while," she glumly realized. "I think this is where we get cut off…"

"ALRIGHT!" Iono sharply called out. "The rest of you, COME ON DOWN!"

And just like that, Penny found the line moving again.

"O-oh! Never mind? She has enough time for all of us after all!" She could feel her heartbeat rising. "Oh my gosh… It's really about to happen." Her hands getting clammy too. "I'm—I'm really about to meet Iono!"

The stragglers at the back of the line were equally thrilled to realize they were getting the chance to meet their favorite streamer after all.

Iono was so happy that they were happy, and gleefully took part in all their requests. But even as she met each fan individually and satisfied them by posing wide for selfies or recording their new voicemail message, her mind couldn't get off that one person at the back of the line.

The girl(?) dressed in tones of gray, and with each passing encounter Iono would eagerly crane her neck out to see how many people were left before it was that mystery fan's turn.

Penny meanwhile, felt her heart pumping an extra second faster with each Ionite in front of her that came and left. With every minute, the physical distance between her and Iono was getting inches and inches shorter. Eevee constantly snuggled against her legs to try to ease her nerves.

It's supposed to be me raising your happiness, not the other way around.

Then finally, it happened.

The dude who was in front of Iono walked past, having finished his meeting… and Penny found Iono's eyes staring. Right. Into hers.

She IS a girl!

Iono was getting a much better look at her last straggler now, clearly a young girl possibly still in her teens. Iono noticed for the first time the small Eevee accompanying this girl… complimented by the giant Eevee backpack she was wearing!

Awww, she's got her own whole theme going on!

"HIYA!"

Iono just spoke to her… and Penny felt her throat closing up. Her feet became like glue to the ground. She couldn't make her muscles move an inch.

She's… she's so much prettier close-up! Stop being an idiot! Why can't I say anything?

The Gym Leader meanwhile finally noticed how shy and flighty this girl was acting, and felt bad for her. She decided to try to make her approach much sweeter.

"Well c'mon! It's okay!" she ushered with a gentle voice. "I promise I don't bite!"

This worked. Penny laughed a little, and she could feel some of the Butterfree in her stomach loosening up, and finally, she worked up the nerve to move her legs and walk right up to her idol.

"I know my teeth look all super sharp when I smile, but you don't need to be afraid! I'm a tamed Sharpedo, I only want to feast on your laughs!"

And feast she did, as Penny really burst out laughing now, and Iono could see for the first time how small yet sweet grin that this young woman wore.

"Hi! I—I'm Penny… Sorry, I'm… really not good at meeting new people, but—but I really wanted to meet you 'cause… you're my favorite."

She had such a pure, innocent tone that was rare among all the more excitable fans Iono usually dealt with. Even her eyes cast a gentle gray tone behind those glasses. This girl radiated some type of aura that Iono couldn't pinpoint, but it fascinated her all the same.

"Pleased to meet ya, Penny!"

Iono held out her hand for Penny to shake, and she accepted it… but gasped when she realized that—unlike everyone else she'd watched shake hands with Iono's yellow sleeve—Iono put out her actual hand for Penny.

"Love that hip accent, by the way! Where ya from?"

"O-oh! Umm, well… I—I do live here in Paldea, but… I'm from—" Penny had to stop to swallow. "I'm from the Galar region."

"GALAR!? No way! That's that region where people do that awesome Dynamaxing stuff, right? Like, they take their Pokémon and the Poké Ball goes SHWOO-SHWOO-SHWOO! And then they throw it like HIYAA!" Iono was pantomiming wildly as she made all these noises. "And then the Pokémon's all huge and it goes like GRRAHHHHH-WAAAAAHHHHH and uses gigantic moves like sha-sha-sha-SHAAA!"

Penny squeaked a little, her funny bone tickled by the goofy faces Iono made as she pretended to be a Dynamaxed Pokémon. "Y-yeah! Yeah, that's Galar, alright."

"I've alllllways wanted to go to Galar and see one of those awesome Dynamax matches live and in person! Hey, now that I know that I've got at least one Galarian fan, maybe you can spread the word and get me there!"

"A-ahh! Uhh, me?" Penny fought the urge to tug her hoodie over her mouth. "Well, I—I…"

Iono giggled. "You're a shy little bean, aren't you Penny?"

She grumpily nodded and muttered, "What was your first clue?"

"Hey, it's okay to be shy, especially meeting someone super cool like your favorite Internet star! And lucky for you, I do more than enough talking for the both of us!"

Iono did a big twirl for Penny to help put her at ease more, and Penny giggled once again. Iono lit up hearing her giggle. Her voice was mousey and a little low, but just like everything else about her, it felt like the voice of a pure soul.

"There you are, I knew I'd fish you out of that shell eventually! But I gotta say Penny, I LOVE your look a lot!"

"Yo—you DO!?" Penny reared back.

"YEAH!" Iono threw her sleeved hands up. "I mean, everyone else is just trying to match my vibe. But you're the only one here dancing to the beat of your own drum!" She pointed to Penny's hoodie. "Like, I see you rockin' that sweet Iono merch but I didn't even know we sold that jacket in that color!"

"Oh! Y-yeah. I umm, I really love wearing dark colors. They're…" Penny gulped. "Very comforting for me."

"You got such a chill dark girl vibe, but like… not in a goth-y way. More of a… like a kindly ghost sort of way. It's very chic!"

"T-thank you so much!" Penny felt she was about to melt, being given all these genuine compliments! "Umm, you look very chic too!"

"Awww! Thank you so much, Penny! I can tell you meant that!" Then she looked down and gasped. "And speaking of chic, your Eevee is SOOOOO adorable!"

Iono leaned over, much to both Penny's and her bodyguard's surprise, and picked up Penny's Eevee off the ground.

Nuzzling it with her nose, she gushed, "Ohhhhh, you're such a cutie! Yes, you are!"

"Veeeee-voi!" Eevee cried back, enamored by Iono's fuzzy greeting.

"Aww, thanks! Veevees are kind of my thing, as… as you could probably tell," Penny chuckled, showing off her bag.

"Veevees, huh? I totally get why! Especially this one, he seems to be so full of love!"

"Yeah! I'm actually—I really want to evolve her into an Espeon." Penny immediately bit her tongue upon saying that, fearing that Iono was about to judge her the same as that trio she met.

"Really?" Iono gapsed, sounding genuinely surprised. "Espeon?"

"Y-yeah… I—I just—"

"FAR OUT!"

"Huh?"

"Y'know, every Ionite I've met with a cute, cuddly Eevee told me they were going to evolve it into a Jolteon! But that's why I like you so much, Penny! You're not afraid to stand out from the crowd! I can't believe we've never met before!"

"Y-you've actually met one of my friends before!" Penny said, a bit more excitedly now. "Although maybe you don't remember cause—cause you get so many Gym Challengers! But… her name was Juliana?"

"Juliana?" Then Iono elicited a long gasp and threw her sleeves down on the table. "DUH! Of course I remember Juliana! She was one of the coolest challengers I ever had, and she gave me an awesome assessment that put me in good graces with the big boss!"

Iono jumped up and down in excitement with Eevee still in her arms, much to Penny's amusement.

"How could I forget her? Both of my collabs with Juliana brought me some of the highest views ever and I owe her BIG time for that! And you're friends with a cool superstar like her? That's amazing, Penny! Have you ever considered becoming an influencer?"

"Wh—w—ME!?" Penny pointed to herself in disbelief.

"Yeah-YEAH! You've already got some crazy connections, and I can see so many people being inspired by your cool, shadowy vibe! I could totally hook you up and teach you everything I know!"

"You… you really t-think so?" Penny was spellbound. "I mean, I'm—I'm really flattered that you think I could actually have that kinda reach with people, but… I'm really not good with lots of attention and talking to people. I could… never do what you do."

"Hee-hee, that's quitter's talk! Anyone can be like me if they set their minds to it! Suit yourself I suppose, but out of everyone here, I think you have the most potential, if you ever want to give it a shot!"

"Well—well I don't know about that…" she replied, trying to hide her blush.

But Iono could see how red her face was getting. Her mushy-gushiness is so CUTE! I need to strike at her frail heart with even more sweeping compliments!

"Yeah-yeah! I think you might just be my favorite person I've met today, Penny!"

"Geh!?" Penny instinctively tugged the collar of her hoodie over her face, knowing it was probably redder than the front of her hair now. "You're—you're definitely just saying things now!"

"No, no, I really mean it! I'll prove it to ya!" Iono was practically leaning over the desk to be in Penny's face now, which was making her bodyguard Stryke flinch.

"I'll do anything you ask me! Want me to give you a special shout-out? New ringtone? I'll treat you to a photo and let you tell people we're besties! All free of charge too, 'cause the great Iono's love is PRICELESS!"

"It sure is…" Penny whispered to herself. "Gosh, she's just as charming off-camera as she is on. I wish I could hug her."

"Whazzat? A HUG, you say?"

"AHHH!" Penny's eyes flew wide. "Why do you have such good hearing!?"

"Awww! Nobody's ever asked me for a hug before! Not even kids! I dunno why, I'm so well-built for big snuggly hugs!" Then Iono's smile lit up. "You know what? I don't do this for just anyone, but if you really want a hug so bad, then I'll give you the bestest hug you've ever gotten, Penny!"

"Huh? W-wait!" Penny stammered. "I didn't mean—You don't have to—"

"TOO LATE!" Iono squeed.

Penny felt all the air leaving her throat as Iono did the impossible… and crawled onto the table so she could give Penny a full-fledged hug. The girl's giant yellow sleeves wrapped all the way around Penny's slender body like a warm, sweet-smelling blanket.

"Gh—Uh—Ahh—Ahhh!" Penny's entire brain was short-circuiting.

This can't possibly be real, can it? Iono's HUGGING ME!

Meanwhile, Stryke was breathing heavily against the wall, struggling to fathom what he was seeing.

"What is she DOING?" he whispered to Patty. "I've never seen her intimating so much physical contact with a fan before!"

"You're telling me!" she tutted. "This is way longer than a minute. She's basically throwing our whole schedule away right now."

What neither of the fretting staffers could see however, was the huge warm grin that was spreading across Iono's face. She felt like a big sister, cradling the fidgety young sibling she's never had. She could feel the rising heat of Penny's no-doubt flustered body giving her warmth.

All sorts of feelings were dancing around in Iono's head and body right now. Penny meanwhile was completely swallowed by a sprawling euphoria that made her heart want to sing. In her mind, she was already deciding that this was the best—and most surreal day of her life ever.

Once Iono let go, although neither of them would admit to it, both girls felt like they were dancing on heaven.

"There," Iono said sweetly. "How'd that feel?"

"That was… that was amazing," Penny said softly, her eyes tearing up. "T-thank you much, Miss Iono! I—Huh?"

She gasped again as Iono reached out—again with her bare, pink-nailed fingers—and wiped Penny's tears from her face.

"Thank you so much for coming here today, Penny. It was so much fun to meet you today." And Iono smiled, like genuinely smiled at her, in a way that made Penny feel like she was going to melt on the spot.

"Yeah! It was—it was so great meeting you too!" Penny smiled back, feeling a whole new sense of warmness in her heart. "Come on, Eevee! Let's—Huh?" She looked around in a panic. "Eevee? Where'd you go!?"

"Huh?" Suddenly, Iono felt something wriggling around inside her huge jacket. "Woah-woah-woah!" She moved her arms all around in confusion. "What's this?"

Then suddenly, climbing up Iono's back and out the back of her jacket, a brown ball of fur popped out.

"EE-VOI!"

"EEVEE!" Penny blurted out.

"Huhhh-UHHHH!" Stryke was practically sweating bullets now.

But Iono surprised them all yet again by not getting mad in the slightest. In fact, she scooped Penny's Eevee off her shoulders and started nuzzling its nose again.

"Awwww, you little rascal! How'd you even sneak in there anyway? I may be a lotta things, but a sleeping bag ain't one of them!"

"Vee-vee-voi…" Eevee cooed affectionately.

Penny quickly ushered Eevee to climb down Iono's shoulders and into her embrace again, feeling utterly mortified.

"Shit, shit, I am so sorry, Miss Iono! Eevee's never done that anymore, I—I hope you can forgive us…"

"Ahh, don't sweat it!" Iono waved her off with her big sleeve. "Looks like I sparked just as big a connection with Eevee as I did with you, Penny!"

"Y-yeah! I guess so." Having Iono be so sweet and nonchalant about the whole thing helped Penny calm back down, even if she couldn't understand how Iono could be so serene over the whole thing.

"Well, see you around, Penny!" Iono waved her off. "I won't ever forget this day, especially after all that fun I just had with your little whatzit! I hope we meet again someday, and maybe even be FRIENDS!"

"YEAH!" Penny blurted just as enthusiastically as she and Eevee walked away. "Umm… me too! Totally! Bye, Iono!"

"Bye-eeeeeeee!" Iono waved with both sleeves like an over-excited air traffic controller.

Once Penny was out of earshot, Iono sighed lovingly and let her body sink onto the table. Her frazzled staffers both walked over.

"Swear you want to give me a heart attack!" Stryke said gruffly.

"Oh, heh-heh… sorry Stryke. Guess I bent my own rules about personal space a little, didn't I?"

"A little!?"

Patty huffed loudly. "Miss Iono, if you're done having fun, we have LESS than zero time to get you prepped for your Q&A now!"

"Alright, fine," Iono sighed. "Why do I gotta fight for my right to party anyhow?"

Iono stood up from her booth and let her staffers usher her back out to cheers from all the Ionites watching their idol leave.

She could see all the brightly-colored masses waving their arms and shouting to profess their love for her, and it made Iono beam like always. She flashed a shark-toothed grin and waved to them all, which made their resultant cries deafening.

But even with all the love of her Ionites, Iono couldn't help but crane her neck up and look around for the short girl she had just met. She beamed even harder as she finally spotted Penny, awkwardly shambling away from the crowd.

Even as she was led through the door to the backstage again, she still kept her eyes locked on the Uva student.

What a cool girl. … She probably doesn't even know I was totally serious about wishing we could be friends.

Penny was still struggling to catch her breath. After that unexpectedly intimate encounter, she felt like she was walking on air!

"I can't believe that just happened, Eevee! Iono complimented my look! She called me cool! I mean frick, Iono HUGGED me! I feel like I'm going to wake up tomorrow and this was all just a dream!"

"EEE! Ee-vuh-voi-voi!"

"I know she probably said most of that stuff just to be nice, just because I'm a fan and all and she wants me to keep watching her streams, but— OOF!"

Distracted by her own euphoric high, Penny collided right into somebody and fell backwards, prompting Eevee to yell.

"Ugh…"

"Oh my! Are you okay?"

Penny rubbed her head and looked up to see an adult woman reaching her hand out. She was wearing a blue shawl over her clothes and wrapped around her head, only a peek of her brunette bangs tipping out across her forehead. The rest of her face comprised a pair of sunglasses and her concerned frown.

"Oh my goodness!" Penny accepted her hand the woman pulled on her wrist to help her up off the floor. "I—I am so sorry, ma'am! I wasn't watching where I was going! Please forgive me!"

She bowed out of shame, which only made the woman giggle.

"It's alright, sweetheart!" she assured Penny in a soft but sweet voice. "I wasn't really being completely aware of my surroundings myself or else I might've stepped out of your way! This whole convention is really overwhelming, isn't it?" she laughed.

"Uh heh-heh, yeah!" Penny laughed with her, still a little confused why she wasn't so mad. "I've umm, I've never really been to a place with this many people before. Especially not by myself."

"Wow! Really? Well, aren't you a brave one. I'm sure it was all worth it just to see Iono in person, right?"

"Y-yeah! Totally!" Penny lit up. "I just met her a few minutes ago and it was… one of the coolest experiences of my life!"

She cringed at herself a little, then readjusted her lopsided backpack and gazed at the woman humbly.

"Ummm, I'm sorry again for bumping into you, ma'am."

"I already said it was okay!" the woman laughed. "Just… pay a little more attention next time, alright sweetie?"

"Uhh, yeah. Anyway, b-bye!"

Penny quickly started to scurry away before she made even more of a scene, her face red all the while. "Man, that was embarrassing, Eevee."

"Ee-voi," Eevee responded happily, not having a care in the world.

"Miss? …Excuse me? MISS!"

"Huh?"

Penny was surprised to turn around and see that same woman running up to her.

"You dropped your Rotom Phone, miss," she said, holding out Penny's Eevee-patterned phone.

"Oh geez!" Penny grabbed it from her, her face flushing even more. "That would've been a huge loss for me. I've got a lot of important stuff on that phone."

Like homebrew apps, phishing tools, and a bunch of other stuff that would probably get the police called on me if anyone else found this phone and looked through it…

Penny kissed the phone like it was her lost child. "I can't thank you enough for spotting it!"

The woman giggled. "My spouse has a really bad habit of dropping things, especially electronics. So I've kind of made a habit of keeping one eye to the floor whenever I'm out."

She pulled up her left sleeve and flashed her sleek smart watch.

"It's also why I personally prefer wearing my tech on my wrist!"

"Oooooooh." Looks like a really expensive model, Penny thought.

Just then, an announcement came over the PA again.

"The Q&A is starting in ten minutes. Everyone who bought a ticket for the Q&A, please head over to Stageroom 7-A and find your seat number."

Penny gasped upon hearing this, and feeling around her person for a few seconds came to a horrified realization.

"CRAP!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" asked the woman.

"Ticket! I was—I was panicking so much about getting a ticket for the meet-and-greet, I totally forgot to buy one for the Q&A too! Awww, man! I would've loved to go to that."

She hung her head down in disappointment. Even Eevee's pawing didn't seem to jostle Penny. The tall woman looked at her with a face of pity and sadness. Then, having an idea, she fished inside her handbag.

"Here ya go."

"Huh?" Penny looked up, and was astonished to see the woman handing her a ticket with a number on it.

"If you want… we can go together! You can be my plus one."

"What!?" Penny replied, flabbergasted. "Are you… are you sure?"

"Yeah! I don't want to see anyone miss out. I love doing little favors like this. Besides, it'll be nice to have some company. So seriously, take it!"

Well, Penny wasn't about to look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth. And besides, there was something… very comforting in this woman's soft-spoken voice. It resonated a sort of familiar aura with Penny that she couldn't place.

"Alright… if you say so." She accepted the ticket—which read #39—even though she was still confused at this woman's unabashed kindness. "Thanks a bunch, Miss—umm?"

She giggled. "Well… you can call me Mei."

"Uhh, o-okay. Shall we go then, Ms. Mei?"

"Ah-ah!" She held up her left hand again, showing off her rose gold wedding ring. "That's Mrs. Mei to you! And what's your name, eager Gligar?"

"P-Penny, ma'am."

"Then come on, Penny. Let's be on our way!"

Chapter Text

Penny and her tall, generous new chaperone Mrs. Mei took their seats in Stageroom 7-A, another room in the Loopline Commons Center with a stage set up in the center-back. Murmured chatting filled the room after one of Iono's staffers informed everybody that Supercharged Streamer was going to be just a few minutes late.

As they sat and waited, Mrs. Mei decided to make small talk with the teen girl, enlightening her with some of the rumors she'd heard about Iono.

"I've read on the Internet this interesting theory that Iono actually hails from the Kanto region. Supposedly, her real name is Nanjamo."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Nanjamo? Really?"

"Yup! I guess their reasoning is because that's a name she's used in her roleplaying stuff before. They also think it's why she's so attached to Magnemite as a motif is… because she must've grown up near this big power plant up in the mountains where Magnemite is said to have originated."

"Tch," Penny scoffed in response. "No offense, but I think that's a stretch."

"Oh, I think so too, Penny!" she giggled. "I just like going online and reading some of those silly theories from time to time. People seem to be really invested in trying to figure out where she's really from."

"Well, it makes sense. Iono goes out of her way not to reveal even hints about where she's from, and if there's anything the Internet loves it's a mystery." Penny frowned. "Personally… I just think that kind of gossip is annoying. I get that Iono's a huge celebrity and all, but… even celebrities deserve to have some kind of private life, right?"

"Well put," Mrs. Mei smiled at her like a proud mother. "I'm the same way. By that I mean, whatever reasons Iono has for keeping that stuff private…" She paused for a minute, and then sighed deeply. "I'm sure they must be good ones."

Penny nodded in agreement. "So… how did you become a fan of Iono? I—I hope that's not an intrusive question. It's just—"

"Not a lot of people my age around here, right?" she guessed, snickering a little. "Well… Umm. I guess in a way, you could say—I first knew of her thanks to my daughter."

"Ohhh!" Penny blinked a few times. "Is umm… is your daughter here with you?"

She watched in concern as Mrs. Mei's polite smile slowly turned into a frown.

"Umm, no, she isn't. Umm…" Her voice grew very quiet. "It's a long story…. Sorry."

"Oh."

Penny was the one who felt like she should be sorry. After having just complained about idle gossip, she was kicking herself now for trying to probe into this nice lady's personal life. Man, I'm a hypocrite…

A young woman came out onto the stage and spoke to the mic.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Are you all ready for the girl of the hour?"

Everyone in the room cheered affirmatively.

"Here she comes! The Supercharged Streamer of Levincia! The hypercharged premier of Paldea! The dual hair maiden of destiny! The sultan of static! The grand poohbah of… p-paralysis." She squinted at her index cards and muttered, "I swear, she adds a new one of these for me to read every time, like it's a game…"

Nonetheless, she stepped back up to the mic and resumed her peppy tone. "The one and only electrifying… IONO!"

Two more staffers blew out confetti poppers as the sultan of static herself spun her way into the room, throwing her arms out and bearing that shark-toothed smile as everyone chanted her name.

"IONO! IONO! IONO! IONO!"

"Hey, hey, heyyy! Your eyeballs are MINE—but this time, you've all been caught in my IRL Electroweb! Whozit? Whatzit!? IONO! 'Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!"

"ELLO, ELLO, HOLA! CIAO AND BONJOUR!" less than 200 people all bellowed back before clapping ravenously.

Even Penny, lightened up by all the energy in the room, was compelled to stand up and clap too. Maybe I'm finally learning to be one of them… An extrovert.

But then everyone around her quickly sat back down, and Penny, realizing that Mrs. Mei hadn't even stood up at all, gasped and sat down too, her face reddening with embarrassment.

She was feeling so sheepish that she didn't see Iono had spotted Penny in the crowd because of that… and let out a big grin.

"Awww, come on now!" she shouted into the crowed. "My Ionites can do way better than that! Especially for those watching from the exclusive VIP stream! With special thanks to the Rotom Phone Company for sponsoring today's simulcast!"

She gestured to the yellow quad-bladed Iono Drone that hovered around the room, broadcasting this IRL session and turning it into a hot stream for the thousands of Iono Zone fans who either couldn't make the show or preferred to watch from the comfort of their home and paid for exclusive access.

"Let me see you all clap again in your seats, big and louuuuuder than a Noivern!"

Everyone started clapping again, which gave the scheming girl the perfect opportunity to scan the crowd, silently counting seat numbers across the auditorium.

Next to Iono, a staffer was setting up a spinning raffle wheel with ping-pong balls inside, each bearing a number from one of the assigned seats. Iono leaned over and whispered something in her ear. The staffer gave her a confused look but shrugged and acquiesced to her unusual request.

Then Iono turned to the crowd again, and flashed her arms.

"Wowzah! That time, you really made me feel all bashful and humble! Nyohoho! Silly Ionites! It isn't until after I finally become #1 on Twika that I'm going to start acting like some big-shot shallow celebrity and demand you do this sort of thing ALL the time!"

The crowd laughed.

"But hey, let's start the show already! Who's got Q's for me? Because I might have plenty of A's!"

The staffer spun the golden wheel and popped out a ball, which she handed to Iono.

"First up is, ehhhh…!" she droned, half drumming up suspense and half struggling to read the scribbled number. "NUMBER! ONE! TWO! SEVEEEEEN! You're the first lucky questionnaire extraordinaire on today's Q&A! Stay your name loud and proud and ASK AWAY!"

"Hi, hi!" an extremely antsy girl with the matching ticket number stood up and stammered. "First of all, oh my goodness, it's such an honor to see you in person!"

"Ho-ho-ho, it's an honor to see YOU in person too, my number one fan!"

"Umm, so I was just—I just wanted to ask, umm… what's your favorite sponsorship that you've ever done?"

"Woaahhhh, good first question! Glad I picked such a clever smartie-pants first!" Iono giggled, knowing she made the girl blush hard. "Let's see… well, my favorite company that's ever sponsored me has gotta be Dragapult's FastEats! They gave me free food for over three months and it was all so delicioso every single time! Maybe the fact that I didn't have to spend any monies on it is part of what made it SOOOO yummy!"

The questions continued in this vain for the next 40 minutes. Some of the questions Iono received were the typical ones she'd gotten used to answering many times before.

"So, your hair… my friends and I have a bet. Did you dye it or is it natural colors? Or is one side of your hair natural and the other you changed? Uhh—personally, I bet money on the pink side being your natural shade."

"NYOHOHO!" But Iono's face was one of simpering whimsy. "I'll never tell! But if you guys bet money on that, you can gladly donate it all to meeee!"

But people had some interesting questions as well.

"What's the weirdest encounter you've ever had with a fan?"

"Whaaaaa? I don't think any of you are weirdos, you're all my friendos!"

Iono heard the whirring above her head and she looked up at the drone filming her for all of Twitch. Privately, she bit her lip, knowing that the content machine doesn't always favor those just trying to make "friendos". Sometimes… she did have to play dirty.

"Buuuut, the Internet does love some good gossip, right? So here's something all you can clip back home on Twika! So there was this one dude, right? Definitely as old as my parents, maybe even way older! But no biggie, I welcome fans of all ages to the Iono Zone. Ha-ha, but this guy… He comes up to me and—Swear on all my view numbers I'm not kidding—he wants me to sign his—his daika… maka… Y'know what I'm talking about! One of those lewd body pillows!"

The crowd responded in a chorus of disgusted noises. Stryke, standing by, put a palm over his eye. "Sigh, I forgot about that creep…"

"Body pillows are NOT official Iono Zone merch! Not yet, anyway," she winked.

Iono had a lot of reservations about selling her sexy image to climb higher on the social ladder, but… the insistences of her other adult streamer friends was getting harder to argue with by the day.

"But I'd never sign off on something where my face looked like that! OR my cute lil' butt!"

Then Iono made a twinkly little pose where she shook her sleeved hands about and covered her face. It looked like some cutesy aegyo for the Ionites watching, but she also used it as a ploy to make her wincing face invisible to the masses.

"Ugh… was that too far?" she muttered to herself. "I might've taken that too far." She heard fans' laughter and peeked out from the yellow curtains of her jacket to see everyone was having a good time. I guess that's most important.

The next question came from a younger girl who was genuinely asking for advice to become a content creator in today's landscape.

"Y'know, I've been think-ering that I should teach my own class on how to become a mega-successful influencer! You guys think I would make a great teacher, right?"

Unsurprisingly, the crowd answered in calls of "Yes!" and "Of course!" and "I would sign up for your class, Miss Iono!"

"But howzbout this for some starter advice, free of charge? Always keep an eye open to what trends people are following! Maybe even BOTH eyes!" Iono stretched both her eyes open as she demonstrated this. "Cause at the end of the day, the only way to be successful as an entertainer is to give the people what they want! Flow with the ocean, or be washed away! Or… or something like that!"

"That's… not really true…" Mrs. Mei murmured next to Penny.

"Well… yeah. Popularity isn't everything," Penny agreed. "You lose a lot of yourself if you just go with what everyone else wants, but—I don't know. I guess it works for Iono. Maybe it makes her go out and do mean stuff sometimes like filming people or spreading gossip, but… it's not like anybody ever gets hurt."

Penny could see her adult companion grimacing a little bit.

"At the very least, she- she seems really happy, right?"

…

"I suppose."

"Alright, everyone! This has been crazy amounts of fun, but unfortunately the fun train has to hit the station for good! Such a tragedy, I know! But this next one will be our LAST question for the night! Who's going to be the lucky one?"

Penny gazed at the #39 ticket in her hands and sighed.

Definitely not going to be me…

The mathematically gifted student had counted exactly 182 people with seat numbers inside the room. Iono had taken questions from 19 selected audience members so far—add to that a snafu where she called for #194 only to be met with an empty seat, meaning there were probably still balls for the max 200 tickets inside that spinner, leaving Penny's realistic chances of being called at…

"Zero-point-fifty-five… percent," she read off her phone's calculator.

However, she hadn't accounted for the rogue variable…

Iono winked to the staffer with the wheel. The staffer spun the lever so that the wheel was spinning, and made of show of opening the little door. But in her palm, she revealed a pre-set ball with a number written on it and handed it to her boss.

"Alrighty-o!" She pretended to squint at the ball before stating, "Looks like it goes to… Number! Three! Niiiiiine!"

Penny gasped, looked at the ticket again, and gasped again.

Mrs. Mei nudged her. "Hey, that's us! Looks like you get to ask her a question, Penny! Well, go on! Don't be scared!"

"Ahh!?" Penny's heart felt like it was about to stop. "I—I…"

Her legs felt like jelly, and she couldn't make herself stand up. It only got worse as she saw everyone's heads bobbing around looking for the mystery #39 ticket holder. Iono was craning her neck up too, and if Penny didn't know any better, she'd swear the streamer was looking her way.

Penny took a huge gulp. "I… I can't." She passed the ticket back into a stunned Mrs. Mei's hands. "It's your ticket, Mrs. Mei. You should get your chance to use it."

"What!?"

"It just—it… it wouldn't be right, I think."

Really, Penny was just stammering to come up with an excuse for the fact that she was having too much of an anxiety attack to stand up and say anything.

"But—Penny? You… you really?"

Mrs. Mei tried to protest, but in the confusion she ended up standing, and everyone's eyes were suddenly drawn to the tall, shrouded woman.

"…"

"Well, hello there, ma'am!" Iono called out over the mic. "Umm…" But her face looked awfully confused. She leaned over and whispered, "You wrote down the wrong number!" The staffer shrugged defensively.

"I…"

Mrs. Mei had trouble drawing the courage to speak, having not expected this outcome at all. Everyone's eyes were trained on her, and she could see a few of them were looking at her rather oddly. She drew the shawl covering her hair a bit more over her face, and cleared her throat.

"Thank you, very—very much, for this opportunity, Miss Iono."

Penny tilted her head, confused that Mrs. Mei seemed to now be putting on a lower, more muted octave than she had been speaking to Penny with this whole time.

"I guess I just—wanted to ask… Umm…" She rubbed her temples for a second. If anyone could see under her sunglasses, they might notice how her eyes were darting around everywhere. "Who would… who would you consider to be your biggest inspiration for your career? Perhaps—I don't know… your family?"

There were a few scattered gasps and "Oooohs" in the audience. Iono looked very taken aback by the question.

"My… f-f-family?"

Stryke perked up, watching as the girl's muscles seemed to become tense and her arms starting to jitter.

"I… Well… That's…"

All the fans in the audience started to look concerned. Iono being lost for words was a very, very rare sight.

"My family, umm… Y-yeah! Yeah, totally! Always my biggest inspiration, forever!" She placed a hand to her heart and said with a renewed confidence, "I wouldn't be here and have all of this without them, and that's a fact!"

There was an awkward silence.

"…I see. Thank you," Mrs. Mei said quietly as she sat back down.

"Wowza! This was a lot of fun!" said Iono, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I want to thank all you lovely friendos for coming out here tonight! Can I be totally honest? No fooling, this might be the best meet-and-greet Q&A extravaganza I've EVER had in my whole streaming career!"

A guy in the front row muttered to his companion, "Didn't she say that at the last convention?"

Iono slammed her hands on the table, startling everyone. "Maybe, maybe not! But I actually MEAN IT THIS TIME!" she declared. "Cross my heart and hope to… to…" She stopped herself upon realizing she was still being recorded live.

"…become—unalive! Anyhoo, I gotta get back home and prepare for tomorrow's big POST-MEET N' GREET stream! Thank you all once again for coming, I love you! I love everyone here and I love all you watching at home! Feel free to hang out for the rest of the hour! This is the Iono Zone, SIGNING OFF!"

The loudspeakers all played the traditional "Iono Zone" jingle as the energetic girl gave everyone one final wave before departing.

Everyone stood up and started gathering their things to leave, including Penny.

"Well, that was fun! Umm, thanks again for letting me tag along, Mrs… Mrs. Mei."

Mrs. Mei had her back turned to Penny like something was on her mind. She turned around and said, "Oh…! Yes. It was my pleasure, Penny." She bowed gracefully. "Thank you for the company, and letting me ask her a question. Umm…"

Something about her lips made them look like they were trembling, but Penny couldn't figure out why.

"I know this is sudden of me, but… I—I really need to get going. I've got a… a long flight back home. So thank you! Hope to see you again someday!"

The woman grabbed at her clothes and dashed off, leaving a very confused Penny behind.

"Umm… bye?" She scratched her head and muttered, "That was weird."

She picked up her big Eevee bag and released Eevee from its Poké Ball again, but then she gazed at the seat next to her and gasped, spotting something left behind on the chair.

"Mrs. Mei!" she called, trying to push her way through the crowds. "You left your smart watch behind!"

But she ran out into the main floor, and was dismayed to find that the woman she'd been bonding with for the past hour had vanished completely.

"Ohhhhhh, no…"

Meanwhile, Iono exited the backstage into the hallways, flanked on both sides by Stryke and Patty.

She sighed heavily. "Thank goodness it's over…"

"I'm really sorry about that last question, Miss Iono," said Patty. "I did make clear on the website the questions to avoid asking you, and I made specifically sure to say your private life and family was off-limits."

"Ehhh, don't worry about it, Patty," Iono flopped her right sleeve. "She didn't mean any harm by it. And I'm… I'm fine. Really." But she tugged on her arm in a way that suggested otherwise. "I'm just… glad that I was able to think of an answer this time… It sounded totally legit too, right?"

Stryke and Patty gave each other looks of sympathy, both sensing the girl's unease. Patty placed a gentle hand on Iono's shoulder. "Is something troubling you, Miss Iono?"

"I told you, I'm finesies! It's just…" She flopped both her yellow sleeves over her head. "I don't know what it is. Something about the way that woman spoke, it just… I've got this weird buzz in my head. It's—it's almost like…"

"Mrs. Mei?"

"Huh?"

Iono gently pushed Patty's shoulder away and rushed to the end of the hallway, just out of sight from the main floor, but enough that she could see…

That girl! Penny!

Penny was out on the floor, still looking desperately for the woman. "Mrs. Mei!"

"Umm…" Iono's brain, in that moment, made a sudden decision. "Actually… I'm going to hang around for a little while."

"Uh—out on the main floor?" said Stryke. "By yourself?"

"Not like… where anyone can see me! You know me, I'm all stealthy like a ninja! I just… want to observe for a lil' while, that's all."

Her handlers were confused but decided not to argue with Iono's stubbornness.

After several months of undercover detective work trying to force an interview with Larry for her stream, sneaking around had become old hat for Iono. She clung to the outer walls of the room and shifted along as quietly as a Tandemaus. She dove behind boxes, crawled underneath huge displays. And the whole time she was exercising her ninja abilities, her sunset-colored eyes were laser focused on getting closer to one person.

That buzzing feeling in my heart… it's gotta be her, right? That cool, mysterious Galarian girl.

Iono just couldn't explain it. Penny had weeded herself into the streamer's brain in a way no other fan had done before. Iono found her fascinating, unique. And she knew that her hyperactive brain likely wouldn't de-power unless she started unraveling Penny's mystery.

Penny for her part, was still roaming the floor hoping that maybe she could catch Mrs. Mei.

"Mrs. Mei…!" she called out, her breath catching fast. "Ugh, my legs. I've never run this much before…"

Gazing around the showroom, where people were fielding out and giving her a much clearer field of vision, Penny glumly accepted that she had missed Mrs. Mei completely and slunk down onto the floor, leaning against a rack of designer clothes wrapped in plastic bags.

"Ehh, it's useless, Eevee."

Iono spotted her there and made a quick move to wiggle herself against the wall behind the racks. She inched closer and closer, watching Penny through every crack.

"I don't even how I would track that lady down, I never got her first name or anything!" she whined, staring at the watch in her hands. "Why should she even leave this behind? I can't believe she—Wait." Upon further inspection, Penny realized something. "This… this isn't the same watch she was wearing. It's like… a whole different kind of brand!"

Unlike the sleek, black smart watch Mrs. Mei had flashed on her wrist earlier, the one in Penny's hands had a yellow border and seemed to be a much older model of some sort.

"Uh-oh… did I grab someone else's watch by mistake? But it was on her seat…"

Penny tried clicking the buttons on it, but none of them would turn it on.

"Great, the battery's dead. Maybe… they won't miss it that much, then?" she tried to justify.

Eevee's ears shot up. "Ee! Ee-voi!"

Much to Penny's confusion, Eevee started pawing at the clothing bags. "Huh? Eevee, what are you—" Then Eevee jumped right through them. "Eevee!?"

Iono was trying to lean her head in and listen—when suddenly Eevee popped out and scared her. "AHHH!"

"Veee…"

Eevee began snuggling right up to Iono, pushing itself into her hands even as she tried to push it away.

"No, no, no, no…!" she whispered. "Please, please shoo!"

"Hello?" she heard Penny say.

Iono cringed. "Crap!" she whispered.

"I-is someone there?"

"Umm…" Iono cleared her throat and spoke out, "Sorry, I—I was just… admiring your Eevee!" Then she quietly urged Eevee to jump back. "Come on, go!"

And Eevee did jump through the open slit again, which made Iono sigh with relief… until she saw Penny's hands trying to part them open. "Hello? Who's in there?"

"Umm—uhh!" Iono reared back and stammered. "Please don't! I'm…" She scrunched her eyes shut. "I'm only back here because I'm—I'm really nervous!"

"Oh!" All motion stopped. "Well… that's okay," Penny said to the clothing bags. "I'm nervous too. In fact I'm—basically always in a perpetual state of anxiety. Sorry that my Veevee and I intruded on your hiding spot."

"Ohh. It's… fine," Iono answered back, a little puzzled.

She doesn't recognize my voice at all? We literally just talked!

Eevee kept trying to paw through the clothing bags to get to the mystery woman with the familiar scent. "E-Eevee!" Penny admonished it, confused at her Veevee's behavior. Seeing no other choice, she recalled her excited partner.

"Umm… would you like—somebody to talk to? Cause umm… to be honest, I'm really bad at meeting new people, but…" Penny chuckled at herself a little bit. "For some reason, I'm much better at it when we can't see each other's faces…"

"R-really?" Iono pretended to stutter back. "So you—you want to talk like that? Through these racks?"

Ohhh, maybe because she's used to hearing me all bubbly and loud on my streams! But when I talk all quiet and fidgety like this… She gasped. I'm like one of those Pokémon they have in Hoenn! The—the ones that can do the cool camouflage-y thing and disguise themselves. What was it called? Oh, yeah! Chatot! People make it do the funny swears!

"Sure! Umm, that's actually how I met most of my friends, was… just talking to them through a phone. My biggest group of pals didn't even know what I looked like for over two years and we still became fast friends!"

Penny was talking a much, much different way than when she met Iono face-fo-face. She sounded a lot more confident, and was stuttering a lot less. It left Iono really intrigued.

Maybe… maybe this is how I figure out this enigma named Penny. If she doesn't know I'm Iono, and isn't going all gaga over how cool and awesome I am… then we can talk just like we're friends!

"Yeah! That sounds great!" she piped up. Realizing she sounded a little too excited, and risked Penny recognizing that tone, Iono re-focused on making herself sound quiet and mousy. "Umm… as long as it's really not a bother to you."

"Not at all." Penny smiled, feeling proud of herself for seeming to have cracked somebody's shell all on her own. "So you must be here for Iono too, right?"

"O-of course!" It's not a lie! Iono rationalized.

"Right, yeah… Sorry, that was a dumb question. Of course you're here at an Iono convention to meet Iono. Are you a huge fan?"

"Oh, yeah! Totally! Iono's just the best! She's so smart, and awesome, and… and super pretty and talented!" Iono had half an impulse to throw her arms up in the air.

"Yeah, she sure is!" Penny chuckled. "Wow, you must be a really big fan. Did you… get to meet her?"

"Who, me? Mm… nah. She was too busy for me. What about you, Pe—err, miss rando person? Did YOU get to meet Iono?"

"Y-yeah! I was so lucky." Penny's eyes widened like she still couldn't believe it. "And she was so cool! She said so many nice things about me… She complimented basically everything I thought she would judge me for. I wasn't prepared for how much of a nice person she is IRL! I adore her so much. Oh, but… UGH!"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Iono tried to see if maybe there was a slit between the bags where she could peek at the frazzled girl's expression.

"Intros. We've been talking for so long, but I've been way too self-absorbed to even tell you my name."

Iono snorted. "That's not self-absored at all, silly! Being proud of yourself is great! You can never have too much self-esteem."

"Heh. I guess that's true."

"So what is your name? Or if you don't wanna tell me, I can just call you Cool Girl until the end of time!"

"Ha-ha-ha! That won't be necessary! My name is Penny."

"Awww, cute name. I love your accent, too. Galar, right?"

"Yeah!" Penny chuckled, impressed at her worldly knowledge. "How about you? What's your name?"

"M-my name!?" That time, the stutter was real. Iono began to sweat. "Umm, my—my name is… umm…"

Come on, think of something!

The streamer's gradient irises darted all around the cramped space, looking for any sort of name she could steal. But the only name she could find was her own name on the clothing tags…

I-O-N-O. She scrambled the letters around in her brain.

"My name is… uhhh, Noni. Yes… Yes!" A proud smile adorned Iono's lips, mentally patting herself for such genius on-the-fly thinking. "You can call me Noni!"

That's technically not a lie either, right? The letters are all real!

"Noni, huh? Hmmm."

Penny put her fingers to her chin and processed that.

"That's… a really cool name. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone called Noni before." She smiled. "It sounds very sweet."

"Oh, you think so? Hee-hee-hee… people say I'm a very sweet girl, so I guess it's only fitting."

"Aww! That is sweet. Hmm… so you've got friends too then. What are they like?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah-yeah! I've got tons of friends!" Over 50 million of 'em! But who's counting? "Let's see now…"

Iono rattled through the names of her VIP circle, which included fellow influencers, other notable figures, and the loyal moderators of her stream.

"Umm…"

But… this was an issue. Iono struggled to name any of these figures as her "friends". The trouble, she figured, was trying to name someone who a big and passionate fan like Penny wouldn't recognize.

"Let's—let's see…"

Since she couldn't see her through the cracks, Iono didn't notice Penny's face getting progressively sadder as she listened to this girl struggling to name a single friend.

"Friends, well—y'know! Way too many to count, I guess!" chuckled "Noni". "Umm, back at you, Penny! You said you met a lot of friends without seeing their faces, right? Why don't YOU tell me about 'em?"

Penny made another expression Iono didn't see: a slow, sympathetic nod.

"Yeah, sure… I can tell you about my friends." She sighed. "So… my biggest group of pals. We all met in school about two years ago. 'Cause like, all six of us had been struggling really bad with bullying…"

The Uva student went on to describe the circumstances that led to her becoming the de-facto leader of a makeshift squad of troubled students, all from the comfort of her own bedroom. Iono listened rapturously, picking up on all the extremely cute names of Penny's friends like "Mellie", "Ortie", and "Eri".

And the more Penny talked about her activities as the head honcho of this little group, the more Iono found herself enamored with Penny's bravery.

Penny's more than just a simple, shy girl… she's a born LEADER! She took charge and helped a whole group of kids rise above their little mess! I knew I picked out something special about her from the first moment we clicked!

"I'm still so happy… Even after I thought they were gonna hate me for trying to break up the group, or for hiding for so long…" Penny's lips trembled a bit, as old memories started to resurface. "It seems like they still like me?"

Her tone sounded a bit unsure. Deep down, Penny knew that she had issues with trusting people. That'd been true for as long as she could remember. And she couldn't shut off that part of her brain that kept trying to convince her that her Team Star pals were only playing cool with her out of pity.

Why else would they be so quick and easy to forgive someone whose face they hadn't even seen until Clive—err, Director Clavell—forced me out into the open?

Iono couldn't see any of Penny's insecurities through the wall of plastic, so she just smiled warmly and said, "Well, that sounds awesome, Penny. How lucky for you that you've got such loyal besties! Hmmm… Got any other awesome friends in your corner?"

Penny chuckled. "Well, there's a new friend I made not too long ago. A really cool girl. Named Juliana."

"Ahhh, Juliana!" There was a brief pause, as Iono tried to figure out how to spin recognizing that girl. "Yeah, I think I've heard of her before! She's that really spunky girl who aced all the Gym Challenges, right?"

"That's right!" Penny smiled. "She's really amazing and talented. And she actually helped me out a ton! That thing I just told you about? She was a HUGE help in getting my friends and I out of our little jam. And I paid my debt to her on this… wild, crazy adventure I can't even really tell anyone about. Getting to know Juliana has really helped turn my life around for the better!"

Penny was so deep in reminiscence that she began to sag again.

"…I really miss her."

"Huh? Why? What happened to Juliana?" Iono asked with great concern. "Uh-oh, she didn't die or something, did she?"

"Oh! No, nothing like that! That's—wow, that's a dark thought. Sorry, no. Umm, she's all the way in the Unova region right now. She got accepted as an exchange student over at Blueberry Academy."

"Oh, wow, umm…" Iono gulped. "Unova huh? Well, that's—that's cool. I hope she's having a lot of fun being a little blueberry!"

Hee-hee! Juliana kinda DOES look like a little blueberry from how I remember her! That school sounds perfect for her!

"Yeah, and I don't know. I guess it's silly for me to feel this way about it since… Arven and Nemona and I were the ones who convinced her to go. She was all scared of abandoning us and stuff… But she also had these special friends she wanted to meet again… That's what I like about her, though. Juliana is very loyal. Maybe—a little too loyal."

Penny sighed. "I hope she isn't wearing herself out too much over there at Blueberry. In all that time I spent analyzing Juliana in her adventures, she… she really doesn't know when to take a break. Sometimes, I'm scared she'll collapse…"

"Hey, that's fine!" Iono giggled. "Sometimes, I never know when to stop either. This Juliana girl and I sound like we could be real pals! So umm… who were those other two you just mentioned? Nemona and… Artie or something like that?"

The name Nemona rang a bell to Iono. Probably someone who's done her Gym Challenge before. But she'd never heard of the other one.

"Right, Nemona and Arven! They're friends with Juliana too." Penny bunched her knees together and sighed. "And… I guess now I can call them my friends too? We all went to the Great—Uhh, I mean, we all did that epic adventure together. And they've wanted to hang out with me a bunch since then."

"Nothing like cool secret adventures to really bring people together!"

"Yeah… That trip was pretty intense. I found out a lot more about those two than I ever expected to. So… yeah, I guess we're pretty close now…"

"Well now, you gotta tell me more about some of these adventures, Penny." Iono was finding it harder to hide how ecstatic she is. "Spill those deets!"

"A-ahhh!" A sweatdrop rolled down Penny's face. "I—I really shouldn't… Geeta might seriously have my head if she found out. If it was anyone else but her— GAH! I've said too much already!"

Geeta? Iono's eyes lit up in surprise. What kind of trouble could a girl like her have gotten into that would attract La Primera's attention of all people? Now I really gotta know!

She was about to figure out the best "shy girl" way of telling Penny she can totally keep a secret—and only use this information as stream gossip if it was juicy enough to be worth Geeta's reprimand—when the PA speakers let out a loud tome.

"Attention, all Iono Zone gatherers. We are getting ready to close down the convention hall now. We here at the Loopline Center thank you for attending this exciting event today and hope you all come back for even more fun with Iono and your other favorite celebrities!"

"Ohhh…" Penny gazed up. "I guess we gotta go. Wow, that was already an hour?"

"Gnnh!"

An intense look of frustration overtook Iono as she wiggled around in anger behind the bags.

No, no, no! And I was just about to crack Penny's egg too and figure out why she's so fascinating! It's not fair! This was my one chance!

Penny could hear "Noni" grunting behind the bags. "Hey, umm… Noni? That was your name, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Iono murmured dejectedly.

…

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Her head lifted up.

Penny stood up, her hand clutching one of the clothing bags.

"Thank you for, for being a really good friend and listening to all that, even though you're super shy… like me. I—I've been trying to make a new friend all day today and failing, really really hard…"

Iono's face leaned in as she thought she heard a sniffle.

"But talking to you for an hour made me forget all that, Noni. My throat actually hurts a little! This is the most I've ever really talked to someone before."

"Awww." Iono chuckled. "I know where you can buy some really cool throat spray, y'know."

"I know this probably sounds weird, but… you're the first person I've talked to all day that—that I really clicked with."

"That's not weird at all," Iono sincerely assured her. "I… I feel the same way, Penny. I'm glad that, that you were able to feel that way…"

Iono felt a warmness inside her. She remembered telling herself once this was why she wanted to become a streamer in the first place. Making people happy, helping brighten up their day… be a friendo to everyone who's lonely. It was the whole reason she started on this path.

It was… the reason she was so determined that she gave up everything.

And for what felt like the first time in her life, Iono accomplished that without the Iono Zone. Without even really talking all that much. She did it just by… listening.

It was an exhilarating feeling. And for a moment, Iono felt a spark in her: a newfound highness. She had helped someone as sweet as Penny come out from feeling so down!

…

But why is she so down?

"Hey, so. Do… do none of your own friends ever click with you?"

Penny chuckled. "It's so stupid, I probably sound so selfish."

"Hit me with it, girl."

"I guess I am lucky to have so many friends, but… even with all that, it feels like at the end of the day, nobody really… gets me, y'know? It's hard to find someone with all the same vibes as me, who… understands me perfectly."

So… she feels super lonely? Even with how cool she is and how many friends she has? This hit a pit in Iono's heart… one that she stubbornly tried to resist. Wow! Heh-heh, wonder what that feels like…

"I don't know what it is about you, Noni, but… I guess I sort of saw a… kindred spirit in you?" Penny grumbled. "Why'd I even say that out loud? That's kind of cringe, isn't it?"

"Mmm, no," Iono mumbled in response. Through an opening in the bags, she was now gazing at Penny with her left eye. "That's not cringe at all, Penny. Me—me too."

Penny's head turned upward, and the short, spunky girl took a sharp inhale, as if letting some of that stress (or that cringe) out of her system to feel free. Iono just couldn't stop staring. And her heart thumped so violently even her oversized coat felt like it couldn't contain it.

Her eyes slowly opened up, and Iono—who had been too excited the first time she met Penny—could finally see how they were like… the perfect shade of gray. Not plain, boring gray like that pesky Larry and his freaky square eyes. But… like sparkling pools of darkness and light at the same time.

Unfortunately, right at the same time Iono really found herself engrossed in them, Penny made eye contact… which caused Iono to yelp and dive all the way down to the floor.

Oh no! I just screwed up, didn't I? She just totally saw me and now she thinks her favorite idol is some creepy stalker! Just because I like to sneak up on people! Agggh!

In truth however, after getting that small glimpse of someone's eye looking right at her, Penny just smiled. She walked over to that open slit… and Iono gasped as she saw Penny's hand slip through it.

"Nyyehhh…" she whispered.

"Ummm, it was really nice to meet you today, Noni."

"Oh?"

Penny said with a wide grin, "I thought just meeting Iono was gonna be the best thing that happened to me today, but… I feel like meeting you was like… the other best thing."

…

Finally, Iono found the strength to smile too. Her eyes even began to get a bit glossy, which she usually tried not to let happen because of how badly it messes up her fake contacts.

She stretched out her hand, and shook Penny's.

"Yeah. Totally mutual feelings all around, Penny! I feel like… I made a special connection with you today! That I've never made with absolutely anybody else!"

"R-really?"

Iono nodded proudly at herself. Yeah, that's right! Nyohoho! I'm so good at telling people what they want to hear and pretending it's from the heart…

"Yeah, really. Meeting you was defs the best thing that happened to me today."

Penny held her hands together, trying so hard not to well up. "…Thank you."

I'm so good at helping people! Iono thought to herself. Maybe I should forget the whole matchmaker thing and open up Iono's therapy business!

As Penny let go, she managed to see the other hand through the shadows and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh! You uhh, you've got really nice nails!"

"Ahh, thank you!" said Iono, reaching her own hand back to stare at her own manicure. "Cool shade of pink, right?"

Penny didn't know why, but her mind flashed straight back to hours ago… when Iono shook her open hand with Penny's too.

"They look—a lot like Iono's!"

"Well, y-yeah! Heh-heh! She's a huge inspiration and all that! I saw the way she does her nails and just… had to copy her!"

"I don't think I'd ever seen her hands until today."

"Heh," Penny shrugged. "That's funny. Anyway… bye, Noni."

"Yeah, byyyyye!" she said back.

Penny bit her lip. She'd never been great at signing off from a conversation. Not that she was very stellar at the other aspects of basic human interaction. Her usual decision was to just… say goodbye and walk away. Bluntly? Maybe. Still awkward? Definitely.

And Penny still chose to just walk away this time, even though she felt more awkward about it than ever before.

She couldn't get herself to stop thinking about this Noni girl—and Penny figured that was for one obvious reason: how much she pitied the poor girl who put up such a front of being a social Butterfree but… seemed just as closed-off and afraid to express herself as Penny did.

This was feeling more and more like a pivotal moment for Penny. The cornerstone of how she finally turns her antisocial, one-girl island personality around! Penny had come to Loopline today not just to meet one of her biggest heroes, but to finally make a lasting connection!

"But in order to make a connection… somebody needs to draw the circuit!"

It was a corny saying right out of Iono's electric-obsessed playbook, and if anyone else were to say it, Penny would probably cringe. But now wasn't the time to worry about being cringe!

Gotta be brave like Juliana, gotta be brave…

Penny rushed back over to the clothing racks, hoping she wasn't too late.

"Hello? Noni? Are you still there?"

…

There was no answer.

Penny frowned. A part of her wanted to give up and accept defeat, but—she also wanted to hold on to hope. That same spark of hope that carried her through a year and a half of failed plans and fallen alliances.

"If you're still there, would you—would you…" She swallowed up her nerves. "Would you like to exchange PokéChat numbers?"

Still no answer. Penny sighed. I missed my chance. And she started walking away dejectedly. If I hadn't been such a coward, maybe we could've—

"Y-YES!" Noni blurted from the other side, startling Penny. "I'd—I'd love to be friends with you on PokéChat, Penny!"

Iono, from her perspective, was still in the clothing racks basking in that wonderous euphoria she was feeling.

"Yes! My plan paid off without a hitch, and she didn't even suspect a thing!" she whispered excitedly. "Oooh, that was so exciting! That juiced me up more than even the most caffeinated energy drink."

Throwing her sleeves all around, Iono couldn't keep the grin off her face.

"What an awesome test-drive for Iono Your Helpful Listening Therapist Buddy! And a great chance to know that wonderful little gumdrop so much better too!" she clapped. "Penny sounds like she lives such an exciting life. It's too bad we couldn't talk for long enough that I got to find out all her juicy secrets. I wish she stuck around longer."

She was just about to wiggle her way out from behind the clothing rack when…

"Hello? Noni? Are you still there?"

Iono's eyes bugged out in surprise.

Whaaaat? Her eyes still wide, she craned her neck up. Was there a wish-granting Pokémon listening in on me or something!?

"If you're still there, would you—would you… Would you like to exchange PokéChat numbers?"

Penny… Penny wants to be FRIENDS ON POKÉCHAT!? Iono scrambled for her Rotom Phone. Ahhhh! Do I even HAVE a PokéChat account!?

Sure enough PokéChat, the instant messaging app, was installed on her phone. Iono promptly opened it up—and was met with her own curated account, bombarded with over 737 unread messages.

That's right… I set up a PokéChat server for the Iono Zone and totally forgot about it months ago! AGGGH! This is why I need to hire one of those social media people!

She heard Penny sighing and began to panic. NO! Penny! My sweet gumdrop! Don't walk away when you've just given me the perfect chance to keep this charade going!

"Y-YES!" she blurted from the other side. "I'd—I'd love to be friends with you on PokéChat, Penny! Just… give me one second!"

I can't use this one, it's got ME plastered all over it! Must… start fresh with a new account!

Penny shook her head through the other side. Poor girl probably doesn't even have a PokéChat account…

Iono's fingers moved like lightning. Although she wasn't an expert programmer like Penny, she's still a child of the Internet, and she rapidly sifted through tabs on her phone with the speed of a Noibat. First generating a new PokéChat account, then having to find a new throwaway email address to use for sign-in. Then came choosing a screenname, and finally clicking the email verification link to fully unlock her account.

"DONE!" she finally shouted. "I mean… I'm ready! Let's do it!"

Penny sent out a friend invite using Rotom Phone's wireless signal, and Iono received a ping from "✫botan700" on hers.

"Friend… ACCEPTED!" Iono said with glee.

Penny received a ping back, and was bemused upon seeing her new PokéChat friend's identity markers: a blank profile pic, and…

"noni_the_normie?" she read aloud to herself. "…Interesting handle. Anyway, so that's it! We're friends!"

"Yeah!" Iono cried just as enthusiastically from inside.

"Alright, then. So long… friend," Penny said, unable to hide a big grin on her face.

"Yeah, so long… f-friend!"

Penny walked away again, but this time her head was free of any more lingering doubts. She'd accomplished her goal.

"Today went… better than I could've ever hoped! I got to meet Iono, she freaking hugged me, and as if that wasn't awesome enough…"

With nobody left in the main hall to see her, Iono finally flew out from the clothing racks, shaking off the dustmites that had gathered all over her.

"Like, WOWWWWWZA! This has been the most FANTASTIC day ever! My meet-and-greet went off without a hitch, I got to meet the coolest fan ever, and…"

She clutched her Rotom Phone in her hands, smiling all goofy at her big achievement.

"I still can't believe I can say this, but…"

"I REALLY MADE A NEW FRIEND TODAY!"

Chapter Text

Two days and several bus rides later, Penny had completed her trek from Levincia and only had one more obstacle before she was finally back home at her school, sitting proudly on the highest point of Mesagoza.

"Whoever… built these stairs… needs to be put in prison… forever," she coughed, this grandiose entrance being a cruel reminder of just how little exercise she gets.

"Come on, Penny!" a familiar voice cried out. "No pain, no gain, right?"

Penny looked behind her and was surprised to see one of the friends she had forged through sharing a perilous time in Area Zero together hustling up the long stairway.

"Oh, hey Arven," she said between huffs. "Did you just get back from your Area Zero thingy?"

"Yup! What are the odds? We both finished our journeys together!" Arven beamed at her.

He and Penny both stopped for a moment to rest halfway up the stairs.

"So… how'd it go? Did you figure out why the Great Crater was making those weird lights?"

"Sure did. Yup, we all uhh…" Penny swore she saw Arven's smile dim a bit. "We all solved the mystery, Juliana caught herself a fantastic Pokémon that was causing all these strange phenomenons, and… that's that. Easy-peasy."

His softened tone told Penny that Arven was concealing some deeper feelings about this second expedition to Area Zero. Perhaps returning to the site where his dad died unearthed some of his trauma again or… something new happened. Either way, Penny could tell he was in no mood to cry on her shoulder, so she changed the subject.

"You umm… you got to see Juliana, right? How's she doing?"

"Oh, she's doing great! Good old Jules, same old smile! I even got to meet her new Blueberry friends! They're a pretty eccentric bunch. In fact, uhh…" Arven leaned in close. "Don't tell her I told you this, but one of them's got the hots for Jules and I'm pretty sure the feeling's mutual."

"Oh, wow." Penny recalled Juliana telling her about a special friend she had met in Kitakami who meant a lot to her.

"Yeah, so that's pretty fun. I also did you a favor and made Juliana promise to actually keep in better contact with us this time! So you might even get a call from her very soon."

"Really?" Penny smiled. "That would be so nice. I miss her a ton."

"Yeah, me too. Now come on! Race you up the stairs!"

And to Penny's surprise, Arven shot up the stairs like a Boltund!

"Ahhh! Hey come on, no fair Arven! You didn't even give a headstart or anything!"

"That's why you need to get off that computer more often and actually use those legs, pipsqueak!" his voice called back.

Penny just grumbled in response as she trudged up the stairs again.

And when she stepped inside the huge doors to Uva Academy, the sensory overload was just beginning. She immediately heard Nemona's voice right in the center of the lobby, but was surprised to see her giving comfort to Arven, who she normally butted heads with.

"Wow, that's… that's a lot, Arvie. Especially after what we saw with your dad… I can't even imagine."

Arven sighed. "Yeah, it is…"

"Do you… maybe want someone to talk to about it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I kinda just—need some time alone to process it all for a bit."

"Okay, but… don't hesitate to—" She turned around and gasped. "PENNY!"

Nemona quickly tossed Arven aside, "Woah!" and ran right up to Penny, practically accosting her on sight.

"HI, PENNY!"

"YAHHH!"

"So how'd it go!? How many friends did you make? Are you besties with Iono now? AHHH!"

"Oh that's right! You went and did that Iono convention thing-y!" Arven recalled. "Did your cool pal Arven's fantastic advice score you a whole new clique of buds or what, pipsqueak?"

"Can you guys dial it down like… twenty notches?" Penny sputtered, her eyes bugging out. "You two whackos forget I don't run on limitless energy like you somehow do."

"Ohhh, I'm so sorry, Pen-Pen! It's just that I've been waiting for you to come back all this time!" Nemona said excitedly. "I wanna know ALL about the strong Trainers you must've battled while you were chilling with Iono! Levincia boasts some really hot battling arenas, and a Gym Leader's followers have to be a whole league above most of our peers, right!?"

"I'd tell you to chill out Nemona, but I don't think you even know what that means," Penny shook her head. "And I also told you to stop calling me Pen-Pen! Anyway, I didn't battle a single person over there."

"WHAT?!" Nemona's eyes threatened to bulge from their sockets. "How do you go somewhere as cool as Levincia and NOT want to spend the whole day battling your heart out!?"

"Typical Nemona." Arven put his hands on his hips and smirked. "Is it really so unbelievable that unlike you, most people have other hobbies than just battling all the time, student council girl?"

Nemona, her face reddening, turned away from Arven and scoffed. "Well… either way, I'm really glad both of you are back. Because now…"

Penny flinched again as Nemona hopped really close to her face now.

"I can get you all caught up on your schoolwork before Monday thanks to my newly-improved STUDY BATTLES!"

"…I'm gonna pass," Penny said meekly.

"WHAT?!" she shouted for the second time. "¡ANDA! PENNY! You promised after I beat you in the Academy Ace Tournament that you would oblige me on this!"

"I didn't make a promise, YOU were the one who said I had to do your dumb study battles!" Penny argued back. "But anyway, I've got uhh… way more important things to do."

Nemona groaned. "Aww, come on Penny! I know you're just making excuses… Why is everyone against me just for trying to mix the importance of studying with the unbeatable fun of Pokémon battling?"

Arven chuckled, as he and Penny shared a look of amusement at the peppy girl's antics.

"Sorry, Penny. You'll have to forgive Nemona. She's been desperate to try to insert Pokémon battles into everything ever since Juliana left. I think without our mutual pal around to keep her busy, she's been going stir-crazy!"

"Well how can I not be when all I've got is you two spoilsports for company?" Nemona whined.

"Ouch," said Penny. "Why don't you tell us how you really feel."

She sighed. "I'm—I'm sorry for taking that out on you guys. I just… y'know."

"…Mm, yeah." Penny scratched her head, feeling a little guilty. "I guess—I do know. Umm…"

It was happening again. That awkward break in the conversation where Penny just had no idea what to say.

"I—I should really go. I'm just super exhausted from traveling."

So she just did what she did best, and started making an exit from it completely.

"Don't be a stranger, pipsqueak!" Arven called out to her.

Penny made it up the last flight of stairs she had to conquer so she could start heading back to her dorm. Once she was behind a wall though, she couldn't help but listen in as Nemona continued chatting with Arven.

"…You don't really think I'm crazy, do you?"

"No…" Arven's voice sounded hesitant. "A bit high-strung, maybe. I really think Jules might be the only one who can match your energy. But hey, you know, I appreciate what you're doing for Penny."

…For me?

"I get worried about how much time she spends in her room alone too, y'know! That's why I don't fault ya for trying to get her to experience actual sunlight and human interactions!"

Penny grumbled. Just two more people who don't get me at all… I don't need their pity.

Not wanting to hear any more of this conversation, Penny walked away to find her room.

"You're just trying to keep everyone upbeat—the only way you really know how. Even if your ideas really don't make a lot of—"

"Awww! I'm glad you understand me at least a little bit, Pepper!" Nemona said, glomping him. "I guess you're more than just a grumpy underachiever after all!"

Arven sighed. "Alright, maybe Penny's right. Why don't you cool it with the nicknames?"

"Don't forget to subscribe AND hit that bell like it owes you LUNCH MONEY! And join Iono's amazing mailing list too, so you can get first dibs to be at my NEXT big get-together! Then we can all hang out together! Whoo-ee! Alright, good night everyone!"

Iono watched on her thin monitor as the chat became flooded with dozens of fans all saying "Good night Iono!" back to her. Iono smiled deeply at them as she shut down the stream window.

"A whole chorus of people answering you back is how you know you're not alone in this world, Magi," she leaned back and sighed, removing her hairclips and jacket.

"Maaaaagius." Mismagius was floating right next to Iono's pretty gaming chair, smiling contently.

Iono opened up her fridge. "Well, time to open a nice can of…"

…

She became stone-faced.

"Ohhh, cool. All out of sake. Gosh darn it all! ELECTRODE! I need you!"

"Eeeeelectrode."

A large Poké Ball-shaped Pokémon rolled dutifully into Iono's room, and Iono leapt on top of it so she could let herself hang over Electrode's round body and wallow in frustration.

"Uggghhhh… now what am I supposed to do to let off steam? I had to do a stream just two days after wrapping up at ol' Loopy-line and taking me a big siesta! But I gotta keep the Iono Zone open for business at least every other day if I don't want the algorithm to gobble me up. The grind just never ever ends, Electrode!"

"La-la-la-la-trode."

"CAW! CAW!"

"Huh?"

Iono's Kilowattrel flew off from its big LED-lit bird cage in Iono's living room and picked up her Rotom Phone in its beak. Iono commanded her Electrode to roll forward while she remained steady.

"HEY! What a kino idea, Trelli!" Iono lit up like an insta-watt lightbulb. "I've totally got Penny on speed-dial now! I can get myself all relaxed and happy by Chatot-ing her up!"

Iono grabbed her pastel-colored phone from Kilowattrel's beak and eagerly opened up the PokéChat app, where botan700's profile pic of a chibi Sylveon icon warmly greeted her.

"EEEEEEEEEEE!" Iono kicked her feet up, slightly making Electrode wince as it felt her toes pounding it in the back.

"Trrrrrode…" it groaned.

"So exciting to have an actual friend to talk about! But I don't even know proper friendo etiquette! What do I say? Do I start with a simple hello or like a big long HELLOOOOOOOO~♪? Or an emoji! Like a waving one! Maybe a meme!? Ahhhhhhhh!"

Iono hopped off from Electrode's round form as her anxiety's voltage increased.

"I don't even know if I'm supposed to give her the first shout! Do I open the gates, or wait for her to say something first? I don't wanna freak her out or anything! GAHHH! This is so much more complicated than I was expecting, Iono team!"

Mismagius, Kilowattrel, and Electrode all murmured in response.

"You know what? No more doubts!" She eagerly started texting. "Time to hit SEND on this new friendship!"

The door to Penny's dorm room creaked open. Next to the dusty, long-neglected light switch on her wall was a small mounted remote she had programmed herself. With the press of several buttons, the room filled with loud humming and a sudden burst of light as all of her electronics woke up.

"I'm home, guys."

The next step of her homecoming routine was to open up her Poké Ball case by the bedside and release all her Veevees into the room in one throw.

"COME ON OUT, EVERYONE!"

"Eeevee!" "Vapurrr!" "Jolty!" "Flarrrre!" "Umbrrr…" "LEAF LEAF!" "Syyyylveeee."

Penny tossed her Eevee bag onto the bed, and then proceeded to toss herself onto it, as she exhaled out two days' worth of physical exhaustion.

"Free from the crushing weight of the outside world at last… Alone and quiet." She closed her eyes serenely. "My paradise."

Only someone as introverted as Penny could understand the paradox of feeling constant loneliness while craving blissful solitude from too many social interactions.

Flareon was the one who decided to come up and make itself comfortable on Penny's laid-out form. Penny appreciated whenever it was this red fluffball's turn, due to how comforting its body warmth was.

"Flarrrreon."

She stared up at her ceiling, decorated with a whole sky of glow-in-the-dark green stars over her bed like radioactive constellations. The stars also reminded her of a certain group she hadn't checked in on today.

"I wonder how all my captains are doing…" she wondered aloud. "It seemed like they were all doing fine, right guys? Last time I was sneaking around and watching them anyway… Mellie's been spending all her time in the art club. Atticus's larping club is apparently quite popular, which… surprises me a bit."

Umbreon nodded, as in agreement. "Umber."

Penny was trying not to look troubled. Of course all her friends fitting in at school after going through so many hardships was a good thing. And she should be happy for them all.

With exciting new lives to lead attending school again, it shouldn't be that much of a problem that they seem to be too busy to check in with their big boss… right?

"I mean, I guess I can't really call myself the big boss anymore, can I? We're not doing 'operations' anymore, and I don't even have my own Star Training Center! …Heh. Not that I'd know the first thing about running one. That's why I always counted on my friends to recruit and lead people."

A deep sigh.

"My friends would come to me if they had problems… right?"

"Sylvee?" Sylveon, sensing Penny's distress, wrapped its feelers around her hanging wrist to try to soothe away her worries.

"Thanks, Sylvee," she smiled. "I'm glad you're always taking care of me. You really are my bright shining star."

"Sylvee!"

"I just don't know what to do. If only I had someone who was actually easy to talk to… Maybe then I'd have more to do than just stress out, binge anime, and stress out some more."

"Leaf?" Penny's Leafeon hopped over, holding something in her phone.

"Huh? Is that my phone?"

"VEE!" Eevee shouted. "EE-VEE!"

Penny gazed at her Rotom Phone. "Wait… that's right!"

She instantly shot up, disrupting poor Flareon. "Flohh!?"

I—I DO HAVE SOMEBODY LIKE THAT I CAN TALK TO! A REAL FRIEND!" She scratched her head. "Well… an online friend technically! Even if I first met her IRL… voice-only. That still counts, right?"

She eagerly opened up PokéChat. Penny's friends list consisted of her Team Star squad (since it's how she used to communicate with them as Cassiopeia), a couple of online acquaintances who Penny had sought tech help from in the past, and a shared family chat her father Peony pretty much strong-armed all of them into joining.

…It's laid dead for three and a half years.

"Okay, here we go…" Penny bit her lip upon clicking Noni's profile. "Is this even right…? Begging for her PokéChat and then texting her out of the blue? What if she thinks I'm such a hyperactive extrovert she gets scared and ghosts me?"

Her body started shaking nervously. However, it was the soft, reassuring cry of her most sociable Veevee that coaxed her out of it. "Peww!"

"Alright, Vaporeon. If you're so sure, let's do it." She started typing a message. "And…!"

botan700: Hi
noni_the_normie: u up?

Both girls' eyes flew wide.

noni_the_normie: OMG
botan700: did we just text each other at the same time?
noni_the_normie: WE DID
noni_the_normie: that's so incredible!

Penny couldn't help but laugh.

botan700: I guess we really are in sync
noni_the_normie:💯
noni_the_normie: we're like a double aa battery with a plus on both sides!
botan700 is typing…
botan700: ?
botan700 is typing…
botan700: So we power nothing and we're completely useless? 😂

Iono pouted.

noni_the_normie: NOT WHAT I MEANT
noni_the_normie: nvm forget the metaphor
botan700: sorry
botan700: hehe
botan700: just wanted to troll you 😝

Iono, puffing with rage, sent a meme of an angry male infant with his arms crossed. Penny replied with a male jester character from one of the anime she watches, captioned "MAD?"

noni_the_normie: what even is a botan anyway?
botan700: lol
botan700: That's your first question?
botan700: I took an online quiz once and it said that's what my name would be in kantonian
noni_the_normie: ohhhh
botan700 is typing…
botan700: So what's a noni?
noni_the_normie is typing…
<backspace>
noni_the_normie is typing…

"What does she mean by this!?" Iono gritted her teeth. "Is she figuring me out?"

"Mismaaag?"

"Alright, calm down, Iono. I just gotta play it cool!"

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: not much, what's a noni with you?
botan700:🤦‍♀️
noni_the_normie: HAHAHA

A few seconds passed without either of them typing.

noni_the_normie: So where do you live?

Penny balked at the question. "Where do I live? Does she not know never telling people your address on the Internet is like… online safety 101?"

botan700 is typing…
botan700: well where do YOU live?
noni_the_normie: levincia

"…I guess not."

botan700: So the con was just… a walk for you then
noni_the_normie: I guess so hehe
noni_the_normie: now YOU have to spill the beans 😈

Penny groaned. Then she thought more about it. "I mean… I guess I already know she isn't some creepy adult and—people don't go looking to abduct kids at a school anyway, right?"

Umbreon nodded sagely.

botan700: Well I live here at uva academy
botan700: I have my own dorm
noni_the_normie: ohhhhhhh
noni_the_normie: yeah that makes sense
noni_the_normie: is it like a big fancy dorm room? do you share it with someone?
botan700: Nah it's pretty average
botan700 is typing…
noni_the_normie is typing…

…

botan700 is typing…
botan700: I share it with seven roommates

Iono's pink and blue hair stood up on end. "S-S-SEVEN ROOMMATES!?" She turned to her Kilowattrel and gaped. "Penny lives on like… one of those reality shows!"

noni_the_normie: that's INSANE😲
noni_the_normie: it must be so cramped!
botan700: It is
botan700: And they can be pretty rude and knock things over sometimes
noni_the_normie: no way
noni_the_normie: how do you deal with that?

…

botan700: I just put them all back in their poke balls 😉

…

noni_the_normie: oh
noni_the_normie: oh i see
noni_the_normie: that was pretty good actually
noni_the_normie: LMAO

Penny was giggling to herself.

botan700: Alright t4t! Do you live with anyone?
noni_the_normie: I've got a pretty swag apartment
noni_the_normie: I share it with a lot roommates too
botan700: oh?
noni_the_normie: they like to play pranks and shock me a bunch

Iono glared at her tank of overexcited Tynamo. "That's right, I'm lookin' at you!" And her Luxray, which was laying in its big cat bed. "AND YOU!"

"Luxx?"

botan700: lol
botan700: Are they pokemon too?
noni_the_normie: I'd sue the pants off em if they weren't Penny
noni_the_normie: and all there other clothes too!

Iono's green partner Pokémon came waddling into the room. "Belli… bol?"

noni_the_normie: lol
noni_the_normie: the big boi is here
botan700: ?
noni_the_normie: my bellibolt!
botan700: awwww
noni_the_normie: wanna see him?
botan700: YESSSSSS
noni_the_normie: hang on

"Alright, handsome man!" Iono teased as she set her phone into camera mode. "SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!"

"Belliiii!" Bellibolt cried happily, flashing its cheery owner the widest grin it could muster as its tummy pulsed.

SNAP

And she immediately posted it on the chat.

noni_the_normie: TA DAAAAAA

botan700 is typing…
botan700: OMG
botan700: HE IS SO CUTE
noni_the_normie: RIGHT?
botan700: awww he looks JUST like iono's bellibolt
noni_the_normie is typing…

…

Iono stared at the screen, a bead of sweat trickling down her face.

"Wow… I have got to be more careful about this."

"Bellieee?" Bellibolt tilted its head, wondering if its modeling services were still required.

For the next hour or so, Iono and Penny sat in their rooms texting each other endlessly. Iono sent some of her favorite memes, Penny shared adorable Pokémon videos she'd saved on her phone, and on her prodding, Penny showed "Noni" some of her favorite Iono merch, like a 7'' hand-painted Iono statue figure from a second-hand seller.

noni_the_normie: WOW
noni_the_normie: that's a pretty good figure
botan700: Yeah!
botan700 is typing…
botan700: Speaking of figure
botan700: Apparently this is supposed to be accurate to Iono's figure…
noni_the_normie: 🤣
noni_the_normie: it's not
noni_the_normie: I can tell
botan700: haha me too
botan700: They def exaggerated her chest 😝

Iono went red-faced and looked down at her bust with a grumpy pout.

noni_the_normie: i was talking about her legs being too thin… 😭

Eventually, the conversation shifted back into anime. "Noni" admitted that she didn't watch a lot of anime because of her busy schedule. Penny was tempted to ask where she worked, but decided they weren't at that level yet.

So instead, Iono just sat and watched with an amused smile as Penny rambled, basically filling the chat with walls of text gushing about the series she just watched and the amazing action scenes in it… not to mention the pretty ladies.

One thing led to another, and much to her embarrassment, Penny forwarded her own personalized list of the top 10 hottest anime babes.

noni_the_normie: wowwwwwww
noni_the_normie: pretty
noni_the_normie: I love #7's vibe
botan700: That's madame twister from Ace Skarmory Squad

Now it was Penny's turn to sit and bunch her shoulders together with a red face.

botan700: I can't believe you convinced me to show this
botan700: I feel like such a weeb
noni_the_normie: DESPERATE lesbian vibes over here 🤣

…

noni_the_normie: are you a lesbian?
noni_the_normie: I didn't want to assume

Iono couldn't really explain why this mattered to her.

botan700: hehe it's okay
botan700: ummm I guess so
botan700 is typing…
botan700: I've never really like thought about it too much you know?
botan700: it's just the way that I'm wired, I think women are super hot
noni_the_normie: that's so valid

…

botan700: What about u?
noni_the_normie: i'm attracted to frying pans
…
…
…

botan700: what
noni_the_normie: HAHAHA I'M PANSEXUAL
botan700:🤦‍♀️
noni_the_normie: yup! i've got plenty of IONO <backspace> NONI LOVE for everyone in the world
botan700: that's kinda wholesome actually
noni_the_normie: uh huh!
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: it also means you and i are 100 PERCENT compatible 😉

…
…
…

botan700: JSJSJKLSKLJLLASLSL

All the Veevees' ears shot up in alarm as their owner started fervently kicking her feet around on the bed.

After they signed off for the night, Iono didn't waste any time. She immediately hopped to her computer to make a video call.

"Riiiiing… riiiiing… riiiiiiiing~♪"

"C'mon! C'MON, C'MON! PICK UP ALREADY!"

Then finally, the face of a smiling young man who looked to be around Iono's age picked up.

"SOFFYYYYY!"

Sophocles laughed. "Hey, Iono! What's up?"

Iono's orange-haired acquaintance from the Alola region sat tall with a soft physique in his computer chair. He wore a white T-shirt with a stylized Shiny Vikavolt logo on it along with an orange plaid shirt over it, and a small yellow scarf around his neck that draped down in the shape of a Kantonian Raichu's ears.

"Lots and lots is up, Soffy! And how's my second-favorite Electric Gym Leader doing on this awesome day?"

"Pretty good, but… second? Really? Heh, lemme guess, Elesa's your favorite."

"Wha—NO! It's ME, silly! IONO is the best of the best!" she declared. "Oooh, but I did forget how sexy Elesa is… Sorry, Soffy. You might've just demoted yourself to third!"

Sophocles scratched the back of his head. "Guess I shouldn't have opened my mouth. So what's new wi—"

"SOFFY!" Iono screamed again. "I'VE JUST GOT TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE MOST AMAZING THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME!"

"Guess that… answers my question!" he said, a little startled.

"I met someone, Soffy! At the meet-and-greet I did over the weekend! Someone I connect with on a MEGA-VOLT level!"

"Ohh, really?" Sophocles's dot-like eyes brimmed with curiosity.

"Yeah-yeahh! She's this mega-fan of the Iono Zone who's so cute, yet so bashful, yet so CHIC! I somehow got a chance to talk to her without the pressures of a celebrity, and then we became PokéChat friends, and I just talked to her today and it was so FUUUUUUN!" Iono threw her hands up excitedly.

"That's awesome, Iono! Tell me about her!"

"She is so cool! She's got this whole vibe, it's almost like a pastel goth sorta thing! Kinda like that ghosty girly you were so tight with! Or maybe you still are? Iunno! What was her name anyway? Rollie?"

"Ha-ha! Her name's Acerola! And yeah, we're, heh-heh, still dating." Sophocles started blushing a little. "Actually I uhh, I think we might be uhh—getting pretty serious."

"Oh yeah?" Iono sneered at him with a cat-like grin. "You gonna put a ring on it soon, big boy?"

Sophocles' unibrow flew up. "A-AAH! WE'RE NOT T-THAT SERIOUS!"

"Kekekeke!" Iono reveled in making her fellow techie flustered.

"Well… anyway, that's great that you've found a girl that you like so much, Iono. Sounds like you've got quite the crush on her!"

"WHAAAAAA?" Iono's eyes bulged out. "Na, na, na! You've got it all wrong, Sopho-McCletus! I don't got a crush on Penny at all! She's just… a super special new friendo!"

"Wait, her name's Penny?" Sophocles was intrigued all of a sudden.

"Yeah…?"

"Penny… And she's Paldean?" Iono nodded with a puzzled expression. "Hmmm. She wouldn't—happen to be like, really skilled with computers and have a thing for Eevee's, would she?"

Iono gasped so deeply she threatened to expel the whole room of oxygen, and burst right up to her computer screen.

"SOFFY! YOU MEAN YOU KNOW PENNY!?" She gasped yet again. "IS SHE LIKE—SUPER FAMOUS OR SOMETHING!? TELL ME, TELL ME, TELL ME!"

"Woah, geez Iono, settle down!" Sophocles laughed. "Ummm, yeah. I mean like, maybe not all worldwide famous like you or anything. But Penny's a huge name in our little sphere of web engineers. She's like, one of the best hackers in the whole world. We've cracked several regional VPN's and network systems with her help!"

"No waaaaaay!" Iono had stars in her eyes. "I knew Penny said she was good with computers but I didn't know she was so TALENTED!"

"Yeah, and that's not all! In Paldea, you got those kids who are in Team Star, right? You ever met any of 'em?"

"Had a pretty nasty brush with one of 'em…" Iono muttered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Uhh- nothing. Yeah, I'm totes familiar with those Team Star baddies. Well, sorta."

"Well, get this. Turns out their big boss who organized the entire time and led their whole operation was Penny all along!"

"Jigga-ma-WHAAAAAAAAT?" Iono's hair stood up on end. The girl was practically freaking out in her chair. "She said something…! That she led a whole group of her friends to do super cool things!" She gasped sharply. "That was TEAM STAR she was talking about!? That's positively shocking!"

"Right?" Sophocles chucked in agreement. "None of us in the forums even she knew she was Cassiopeia. She's like—all shy and stuff, heh, kind of like how I used to be! So to know that she has that kind of tenacity in her, it's—it's well…"

"It's flipping AMAZING!" Iono marveled. "Wowza! I've basically hit the friendo JACKPOT! My new pal Penny… she's so much more brilliant than I even realized!" She was cupping her cheeks with glee. "An amazing hacker-whiz? A born team leader? Cute looks? She's got it all! She's a TOTAL STAR!"

Iono started spinning around in her chair, her slim body filling up with all sorts of emotions as her tank of Tynamo all danced and crackled in the background to match her unfettered excitement.

Sophocles had his hands on his hips, unable to crack a smile at how adorable Iono was being. "So are you really sure this isn't a crush, Iono?"

Iono screeched her spinning feet to a halt like braking a motorbike, and used them to sail her chair back in front of the desk while grumpily huffing.

"Stop trying to make things real that AREN'T, Soffy! I'm not all dumb and giddy in love like you are whenever Rollie's in the room with you! Maybe I'm just so excited to finally have a real friendo! Do you know how lonely I get not having IRL friends to shoot the 411 with?"

"Ouch. Glad to know how much people like Nidothing and I mean to you."

"Aw, C'MON! You know I don't mean it like that! I'm talking about having someone who you're like… totally in-sync with! You and Dot are just nerds that I talk to whenever I need help with tech stuff, or I want you to build me cool things like my own Rotom-ic Iono drone!"

Sophocles shook his head and laughed. "That's true, you usually DO only call me when you need things. Hey, speaking of which! It looks like you still get a TON of mileage off of those Magnemite hairclips. Like, I'm glad they've become part of your identity, but… you've never told anyone who helped program 'em for you," he said with a bit of a sad expression.

"Well… I! I! I just… y'know! I forget to! That's all! I just get way too caught up in the excitement every time I'm live! I'll totally give you the credit you deserve next steam, Soffy! Just watch me!"

"Uh-huh…" She's totally going to forget again, Sophocles conceded.

"FINE THEN! I didn't know you were so bitter cause I never wanna talk to ya for no reason, Soffy! So let's do it right now! What do ya got?"

"H-huh?" Sophocles was a little taken aback. "You just want to talk casual… now? Geez, I don't even know where I'd start."

"SEE? If you want to sell me your wares, you gotta put down something that gets me all buzzed up! What did my mom used to call it? Squid pro… quotes? Summin' like that?"

"Well, I dunno, Iono! Give me a topic!"

Iono groaned dramatically. "Ugggh! Fine, tell me how… it is having your own fancy Gym now!"

"Oh! Well, s-sure, I can work with that. Let's see… I mean, I'm still new to this whole Gym Leader thing but it's a lot of fun! It reminds me a lot of being a Trial Captain, but it's also different in a lot of ways since you have to worry not just about setting up fun trials for the island challengers to do, but you also gotta train up a whole team of Pokémon, so I can't just rely on Togemaru anymore! And since I'm not just working at the observatory anymore, I also gotta watch how much electricity I use in my gym so I don't blow all the circuits! That Charjabug puzzle I used to do as Trial Captain was a great brainteaser, but the amount of watts it generates is enough to—"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Iono broke up Sophocles' long rambling with an exasperated yell as she threw her head back in the chair.

"BORING! Y'see? Boring, boring, BORING, BORING!" She pounded her fists onto the desk with each one. "This is why I need someone like Penny in my life, and not just NERDS LIKE YOU!"

"But… Penny's just as much a nerd as I am…" he replied, confused.

"Yeah, but this is what I'm talking about! You guys are nerds I only talk to through a screen, so the convos are so limited! Meanwhile, Penny she's... a nerd that I'm only talking to through a—a… well, WHATEVER! It's totally a different principle!"

"How so?"

"Because… I DUNNO! It just IS! Alright!? Get off my back, you're like a Joltik! Just—SKITTERING ALONG!"

Sophocles just laughed in response. "Well, whatever the difference is… I think that's really cool that you and Penny have sparked a great connection. She probably needs someone who shines as bright as you to help cheer her up, Iono."

"What do ya mean?"

"Well, Penny's… had it pretty rough. That whole Team Star thing blew over really badly for a while and left her so depressed she ghosted us all for months. And I guess life in Galar was really tough for her. She said something about going through an awful breakup, and… I think that's around the same time her parents separated too. So, it seems like she really needs a friend right now."

"Awwwww…" Iono felt like crying. "I didn't know the world has been so cruel to my perfect gumdrop Penny! Now I just wanna—wanna tell her who I really am and hug her again and tell her everything's gonna be A-OK!"

"It sounds like you just need to put your new friendship to good use and find ways to cheer her up. But…" Sophocles looked concerned. "What do you mean by 'tell her who you really are'?"

"Cheer her up… yes. YESSS! Soffy, you're a genius! I just gotta find ways to make every single day really happy for Penny. Gotta use some of my signature Iono RIZZ!"

"Yeah! That's the spirit! Umm… what is… rizz?"

"What is rizz!? Ehhhhhh! Why aren't you all caught up on basic Internet slang, you… grass touching geek?" Iono fretted. "This is why people think you guys don't have any Internet over there in Alola!"

Sophocles scratched his head. "I've… never heard people say that before."

"My point exactly! But how does one become a super expert in lifting Penny up? Cause even today, you've just filled me in on so many little nuggets of Penny lore I had no clue about. Unfortunately, that means maybe I'm not as synched up with Penny as I thought I was, so I gotta focus on figuring out what makes her tick and use that to score giga vibes with her!"

Iono put her hand under her chin as she put all her braincells to work.

"Hmmmm… In order to solve this great conundrum that is Penny, I need to find me a real Penny expert. Someone who knows Penny inside and out better than anyone else alive on this Earth!" A devious grin slowly started to creep on her face. "Hey… hey, that's RIGHT! I've REALLY hit the jackpot!"

"Why's that?"

"I'm starting to think all the stars in the sky have aligned to make me and my Team Star mega-president friendo besties for life, Soffy! Because we've got something no other fan of the Iono Zone does… a MOOT!"

Sophocles just stared blankly. "What's—what's that? Another… one of your Internet words?"

"UGHHH! I'm talking about mutuals! Penny and I have got a mutual, Soffy!"

"Ohhh! Gotcha." Then he frowned again. "Ummm… a mutual what?"

Iono wasn't the only one generating rotations. Penny found herself getting up and doing happy spins all around her room, making her Veevees quite curious and energized.

"Eee-voi!" "Flareon!" "Jolt-ohh!"

Finally, Penny began to stumble.

"Woah… I think I'm going to make myself dizzy." She was clutching her Rotom Phone tightly in her hands. "What is this feeling, Sylveon? This day started out kinda so-so and exhausting, but now I feel like I'm dancing on clouds! This is almost… better than the feeling I get watching Iono's streams every day! Is this what having a real best friend for the first time in my life feels like?"

"Sylveee!" Sylveon didn't know what Penny was talking about, but was happy for her all the same.

Penny leapt excitedly onto her bed, throwing the already messy dark orange covers into disarray. She stared up into those glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. The ones that remind her of being young and going out at night to stare at the Galarian stars with her family. …Back when her family was all together and not mega-annoying.

Today, those glittering green stars made her feel happy. Penny felt illuminated by their cool tones. Clutching that phone even tighter, she found herself doing something that didn't come often to her… she smiled. Really, really big.

"Y'know what, Veevees? I think… this has been the best week of my life."

Chapter Text

♪ You are saying nothing, but your tongue is getting blacker all the time! ♪

"Hmmm. What do you think, Terapagos?"

"Ter-poh-go-goos!"

"Heh-heh, yeah. It's definitely… a lot different from the music I listen to, that's for sure."

Penny's friend Juliana is, formally speaking, a Uva Academy student too. But across the seas in Unova, she was currently sporting the Blueberry Academy colors as she sat in her dorm room, which provided a large view of the ocean seas that swallowed the walls of the mostly underwater school.

She's been having a lot of exciting adventures in her exchange studentship, including meeting lots of new friends and even becoming the newly crowned Champion of the school's BB League!

But today, the day after she had just gotten back from a brief return to her home region for another perilous expedition to the Great Crater, was much more mundane. The girl sat quietly at her desk, finishing all her homework, as she listened to Drapion Dolls, a band that her Kitakamite friend Carmine had recommended to her.

♪ I remember golden days when all this was a mystery, and you could write a letter then or Arceus forbid come visit me! ♪

"It really suits Carmine's vibes though, I gotta give it that."

Juliana's newest Pokémon, a little souvenir from the underdepths of Area Zero, sat on her desk trying to be her little homework cheerleader. "Ta-pa-ga-pahh!"

"Ro-to-to-to-to…"

"TA-POO!?" Terapagos was startled by the strange object that suddenly flew out of Juliana's pocket and made weird noises.

She giggled. "It's okay, Terapagos! It's just my Rotom Phone! Huh. I wonder who's calling me."

beep

"Hello—"

"ELLO, ELLO, HOLA!" Terapagos jumped again at the loud voice and hid inside his shell. "CIAO AND BONJOUR! IS THIS JULIANA I'M SPEAKING TO!?"

"Uhh—it is!" Juliana replied. Tilting her head curiously, she replied "Is that… Iono?"

"NYOHOHO! THE ONE AND ONLY!" Iono did a little spin for flair, even though it was an audio-only call. "I'm glad you didn't forget about your number-one sensational co-star, friendo!"

"Of course! How could I ever forget… someone like you?" Juliana chuckled. "I'm just so surprised, I didn't expect you of all people to call me unless—" She gasped. "Are—are we live right now? Am I on your stream?"

It would be just like the first time Juliana thought she was entering a Gym Test only to find herself that day's guest star on the Iono Zone.

"Thaaaaat's right!" Iono replied without skipping a beat. "Say ALOLA to all the thousands of Ionites listening in right now, girlie!"

"A-AHH!" she panicked for a second. "Umm, hi everyone…!"

Then Iono snorted and burst out laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha! I'm just foolin'! Sorry Juliana banana, but I just had to snap up your bait! Wanted to make sure you're still the queen of improv!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Sorry, but listen, listen! I actually have some mega-important things to share with you, Juliana!"

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Well, ya wanna know what I know? DRAMATIC PAUSE! DRUMROLL! Badadadadada…" Iono started smacking her hands on the nearest piece of furniture.

Juliana laughed—but for a moment, she also looked concerned. Did something about Area Zero leak out?

"I knooow… that you kept your promise not to go collabin' with other channels! What a friendo!"

"Oh! Heh-heh… yeah. I guess I have." Nobody else has really asked me for a collab…

"I'm glad to see you being so responsible with your rising star power."

"My… star power?"

"Yeah-yeah! You're a young, fresh-faced Champion, Juliana! Any channel you collabed with would rake in the views… but you stayed a loyal Iono Zoner! Dares I asks? Are you… gonna keep on collabing exclusively with MOI!?"

Juliana laughed again. She was tempted to tease Iono and say she might branch out now that she knew about her "star power", but Iono's been entertaining her so much that she decided to be nice instead.

"Yes, of course I will, Iono!"

"Pa-gooo!" Terapagos chirped happily with her.

"WOO! Hot diggity dang!" Iono spun all around in her computer chair. "Ah man, I'm so jazzed, I'm on cloud ten again! Nay, cloud ELEVEN! And you know what? That makes me so happy to hear Juliana, that I'm just gonna skip right to the good news!"

"Good news?" Juliana's eyebrows perked up. "I like hearing good news!"

"ME TOO! So get this, Champion Juliana! Every friendo who came to my Gym and agreed to do a viral collab with yours truly was secretly entered into my super-duper awesome big Iono Zone sweepstakes!"

"Wow! Really? I've… never been in a sweepstakes before!"

"Uh-huhhh!" Iono nodded. "Not only that, but I've decided that you're one of the three finalists in the running to win a VERY special prize!"

"Oooh!"

"Ready to hear what you've gotta do for a chance to win?"

"Lay it on me!" Juliana beamed.

"I wanna hear all about… your FRIENDOS!" Then, muffling the phone speaker with her sleeve, Iono whispered a mischievous giggle. "Kekeke…"

"My friends?"

"Yeah-yeah~♪! To compete with the other finalists, I wanna hear all about your bestest pals in the world, Juliana! Old friendos! New friendos! Pretty friendos! Talented friendos! Pretty AND talented friendos! Especially friendos who are good with techie stuff! For as long as you want to, just… let it all out and tell me the things you love about 'em!"

"Well, okay…" Juliana cleared her throat. "Here goes…"

Iono had been rubbing her hands together like a supervillain and cackling gleefully, believing she had found the perfect way to get a master synopsis on everything she needed to know about Penny from one of the schoolgirl's most notorious—and talkative—friends.

The problem however, presented itself very quickly. Juliana has waaaaay more friends than Iono was prepared for!

It started simple, with Juliana naming off the new friends she'd made at Blueberry Academy. Which, you know. Makes sense, that's where her head's fresh at.

She put a particular spotlight on Kieran, a boy she had met in… some other place, Kitakami or whatever. They had a falling out over a special Pokémon they both wanted, but Juliana was very excited to report that they had just repaired their friendship again and were starting over.

…But then came Kieran's sister. And Juliana just would not shut up about this Carmine girl. She spent so much more time gushing over Carmine, telling Iono the whole story of how they became friends, naming a whole bunch of things that makes Carmine wonderful, and getting distracted talking about this tall gorgeous chick's looks no less than three times.

"Gee willikers, just kiss Carmine and marry her already…" Iono mumbled, her head laying flat on the desk with drool coming out her mouth.

"What was that?"

"Nothing…"

By the time Juliana had moved on, Iono felt like she could write an extensive 60-chapter biography on this Carmine girl and her life story.

"And then of course, there's my friends from Paldea!"

"YES!" Iono's head burst up like a spring toy. "I mean… yes! Paldean friends! Let's go!"

"Well, I GOTTA talk about my bestie Nemona! She's one of the strongest Pokémon Trainers I've ever met!"

Aaaaand Iono's head fell back in its prior position. "UGGGHHHHH!"

Iono was regretting the whole "For as long as you want to" part HARD. it wasn't just that Juliana had so many friends, it's that somehow these friends all seemed to live the most vivid and complex lives out of any human being alive.

Juliana rambled on and on about the extremely uninteresting not-Penny members of her little Paldean posse, from how Nemona encouraged her on her journey to becoming a Champion Rank Trainer to all the adventures she and Arven went on battling giant… Pokémon? Nah, she probably heard that part wrong.

"Between what happened with his parents AND his special partner, I just don't know that I've ever met someone as brave as Arven."

"Uh-huh." Iono's facial expression was numb. Her eyes glazed.

"Going through all that stuff and still smiling every single day… he's really become one of my heroes."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm so lucky to have him as a friend."

"Uh-huh."

"Let's see… I guess all that's left is to talk about Penny!"

"Uh-hu—WH-HAAA!?" Like Frankenstein's zombie, the lifeless Iono suddenly bolted back to life and whipped her head up.

"Oh, geez…" Juliana scratched the side of her head, embarrassed. "Is this something you're going to put on your streams, Iono? I don't want Penny to know that she was the last friend I thought about…"

"AH-G-G-IT'S—IT'S OKAY! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" Iono stammered. "That'll… all get sorted out later so none of your friendos feel left behind! NOW TELL ME ALL ABOUT PENNY!"

"Ummm, okay." Juliana was surprised at the Gym Leader's sudden eagerness. "Well, the first time I met Penny was…"

Now Juliana went into great detail about the day she first met Penny, a seemingly ordinary, flighty girl being pounced on by Team Star grunts on Juliana's first day of school. Her act of bravery had turned out to be the key that led "Cassiopeia" to reach out and recruit Juliana for a covert mission that changed her whole perspective on Team Star and the difficulties of student life.

And at the end of it all was… Penny. The same girl she had met before. But now Juliana realized just how smart and courageous Penny really was.

Iono was completely rapt the whole time, listening to Juliana explain Penny's story like a child being read their favorite bedtime book. Penny's story was just that incredible.

"Alright, alright!" she said excitedly. "This is viral GOLD in the making, Juliana!"

"You really think so, huh?"

"Abso-freaking-lutely! These one-of-a-kind stories about your friends, Penny and… and all the other ones, they tug at my heartstrings and inspire me like no other!" Iono gushed, tugging at her heart. "I'm sure the Ionites will think so too, let's just keep diving even deeper!"

"Okay… what else do you want to know?"

"OHO! EVERYTHING! Whatever you could possibly think of, like take Penny for example! What are her favorite foods? What's her best childhood memory? I know! The best icebreaker, absolutely guaranteed to score mega points in an appeal round!

JULIANA! What is… Penny's favorite Pokémon? Can you think of any specific kind of Pokémon that she really likes a lot?"

"Nyohohoho!"

Soon enough, Iono found herself leaping between brown brushes, surrounded by tan-colored grass on a windy plain in the South Province, just on the outskirts of Cortondo and the Grand Olive Orchard.

Her face popped out of random shrubs, resolute and determined like the world's most intense secret agent. She was on a mission now, and as she shook some pesky leaves off her Magnemite-bunned noggin, her shark teeth were grinning with glee.

"Sooooo Penny, you're hopelessly obsessed with Eevee and all its rainbow-colored evolutions of wonder, huh?" She chuckled mischievously. "I should've suspected as much! Between the Eevee you presented to me on con day, and that big adorable backpack you were wearing and… and the fact that you… told me yourself that you… love Eevees a lot."

Iono's head rested as on her sleeve as her expression deadpanned.

"Huh… I uhh, I guess that wasn't really the sort of exclusive intel I needed to get all schmoozy with Juliana to find out…"

She blinked several times.

"…OH WELL! It's not the journey that's import-ante, it's the destination! I'm here now and I am not going to leave this spot until I find the best, most worthy Eevee out of all the ones here to present as a gift of friendship to my wonderful new friend Penny!"

Iono ruthlessly scanned the area around her. Cliffs flanked her on one side of the open plains, leading up to that place with the huge, funny windmills.

"Assuming that our noble Champion's intel was also correct on where she remembered finding Eevees for that fancy Pokédex… Man, it's so hard to figure out people like Juliana, all… wearing their hearts on their sleeves and telling you exactly how they feel. What do you even do with that?"

All around the determined e-girl were Pokémon of various types. Flocks of Hoppip coming down to roost. Herds of Mareep being chased around by Maschiff. Lots of cute Fidough running around. And even the odd Jigglypuff shambling about. But Iono's targeted prize seemed elusive.

"I am not leaving this spot until I find the perfect Eevee."

Iono's eyelids sneered as the girl locked in her focus, scanning every single ounce of this brown plain from her clever hiding spot.

"Hmmm…"

Knowing that she was perfectly hidden, no chance of person or Pokémon possibly infringing upon her—

"Hello, you."

"GYAAAHHHH!"

Iono's circuits exploded as she fell from the bush completely frazzled, startling all the nearby Pokémon to dart away.

"WHATZIT!? HUHZIT!? WHO—"

Iono shook her head and looked up, furious to know who just disturbed her perfect plan—until her face paled to see the Gym Leader of Cortondo herself leaning against a nearby rock.

"So, who are we stalking today, little cupcake?"

"K-K-KATY!" Iono shrieked, her whole body standing on end like a terrified Skitty. "W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

Katy looked at her and glanced behind herself, confused.

"…This is Cortondo, dear. I live here?"

Iono looked at Katy, then at the town just yards away from them. Then back to Katy. Then back to the town. Then back to Katy again.

"Oooookay, smart answer. Well… h-how'd you find me all the way out here being completely incognito?" She gasped. "Have YOU been following ME? You can't just out-stealth a stealthy ninja person!" Then she flapped her arms about whining, "TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT, KATY!"

Katy just scratched her head in confusion.

"You're the most famous Gym Leader out of all of us, Iono. I'm surprised nobody else saw you out here. I happened to be out by the big tree over there doing provisional planning for my Patisserie Soapberry Express stand, and… saw you rolling around out here like a hyped up little Rellor!"

Katy bent over and tapped one of Iono's hairclips. "These giant things on your head are hardly a subtle look for someone trying to be stealthy, dontcha think?"

"Ehhh!" Iono whined, flailing her arms more. "Fine then! I guess you've caught me! WAAAHHHH! So what are you gonna do, Katy? You're probably still angry at me for filming you and Larry first-basing it at that restaurant, right? But I've already paid my dues for that! Your tall, grumpy boyfriend came stomping right to my own Gym to yell at me for it, and then our big even grumpier boss came over to yell at me even more and almost made me cry! Everyone's against me when all I wanted was that Larry bump!"

"Wow. I knew Larry went over to Levincia to scold you, but I didn't know Geeta made that trip too. She… made you cry?"

"ALMOST, I SAID!" Then Iono got on her knees and began groveling. "So—so… I SAID I'M SORRY ALREADY! I—I WON'T EVER DO IT AGAIN!" her voice trembled. "Whatever punishment you see fit to wring me with, Katy… just, just please be merciful! And don't do anything to my hair, please. That's several brand deals you'll be risking!"

Katy had her hand over her mouth, because… she didn't want Iono to see just how amused she was by this extravagant display.

"You really are born to be an entertainer, aren't you?" She sighed. "Calm down, Iono. I'm not going to punish you."

"R-r-really?" Iono stood up, even though her knees were shaking. "But… but why? I basically defiled your whole privacy! I turned your sweet, sappy workplace romance into cheap clicks! It got me on the front page of Twika and top trending over at XY, so it's not like it wasn't totally worth it but… shouldn't you be all mondo angry like Larry was?"

Katy huffed. "Well, I'm certainly not happy about it. But… it sounds like you've—been put through the wringer enough. Besides…" She sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it, you sure do have a strong pull. My little shop has seen customers lined up past the doors this whole week. Your Iono Zone has made my staff and I busier than the holidays! That's one of the reasons why I'm looking into that second shop right now."

"Heh-heh… I am basically cheaper than an advertising firm, aren't I?"

The tall bug-loving chef put her hands on her hips and stared at Iono with a puzzled expression.

"But if you're not here to spy on Larry again then… what are you doing here?"

"Hmmm? Oh. Right. This. Uhhhh…" Iono was all shifty-eyed. "It's kinda silly. You gotta promise me you won't laugh!"

Katy chuckled. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Alright, well, I'm just…" Iono shrunk inside herself. She hated feeling this vulnerable, especially to one of her fellow Gym Leaders. She mumbled out, "I'm just… searching for an Eevee to give to a friend."

"What was that? Couldn't quite hear you—"

"I SAID I'M LOOKING FOR AN EEVEE TO SURPRISE MY NEW FRIEND!"

Then Iono grasped her mouth with both sleeves, her face burning red with embarrassment. She moaned out, and then moaned even louder when Katy started snickering.

"NOOOES!" she screeched. "YOU PROMISED NOT TO LAUGH, KATY!"

"I'm so sorry, dear, it's just… I was prepared for something so much weirder than that!" Katy waved off. "That's really all?"

"Y-yeah, so what…?" Iono awkwardly shuffled her foot around. "You know me, Katy. You were on my stream once. I make a big deal outta everything…"

"Well, that certainly explains the cloak and dagger business. I've seen Eevee around these fields before, but it is very rare."

Iono grumbled. "What is a poor worldwide famous girl to do?"

Katy chuckled again. "Chin up, Iono. Tell you what. I hate seeing anyone in my town pout, so I'll help you out."

"W-WHAT!?" Iono's head whipped around. "You're gonna… h-help me?"

"Mm-hm!"

Katy meant it too. Before Iono could even process her offer, Katy had pulled a picnic basket out from her satchel and started laying down a blanket.

"I know a very secret, special sandwich recipe that's guaranteed to get a shy Pokémon like Eevee to come running!" She clapped her hands together. "And you can help me make it, Iono! It'll be tons of fun!"

"Uhh—I… Okay?"

"GREAT! Then I'll head over to the Artisan Bakery to get tofu and some other supplies from Margaret. Won't be longer than a tick, so don't move!"

"…Right."

Why is she helping me? It doesn't make sense. I hope she isn't doing all this hoping for more free promotions…

She watched the proclaimed Sugarbug start walking back towards the Cortondo streets, while Iono—who still didn't know what to make of Katy's unexpected niceness—decided to play her part and stood over the picnic items like a determined guard.

"Hmm! Hmm-mmm!"

She made a vigilant face and stood all mighty, watching the scenes and determined not to let anyone make off with her colleague's cherished valuables.

Eventually, Katy came back with a full shopping bag and an eager smile. And true to her word, she encouraged Iono to help her in assembling the Great Tofu Sandwich.

Iono fumbled a lot, dropping several ingredients and accidentally going a little ham on the wasabi and horseradish. But Katy remained a calm and patient teacher throughout, correcting all her mistakes without losing that smile on her face.

All this still confused Iono a great deal, but it also filled her heart with a warmness that she swore she hadn't felt in years.

Eventually, the fruits of their labor saw results, and the two Gym Leaders marveled at their stacked creation.

"Whoaaaaaa…!" Iono said breathlessly.

"Looks pretty scrumptious, doesn't it? The Eevee are going to think so too!"

Just then, they could hear rustling in the grass nearby. And Iono's mouth gaped as she spotted familiar brown ears beginning to poke out from the shrubs. Several pairs of 'em.

"Hmm-hmm! You see? Looks like we've already got some hungry customers!"

"No way…!"

"Eeee-vooiiii…"

"NOW! Goooooo, Poké Ball!"

Iono tossed the ball with the force of a World Series pitcher and watched as it absorbed Eevee's energy before falling to the ground and doing its thang.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Wiggle.

Iono grumbled.

…

Click!

"WA-HOOOO!" Iono picked up the Ball. "EEVEE SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURED!"

"Congratulations, Iono!" Katy clapped for her. "I can tell how hard you worked for that. And I bet your friend will be real happy too!"

"Yeah…" Iono picked up the ball and smiled. "Yeah, I bet she will too."

"Here, Iono. I have something else." Katy started reaching inside her brown satchel.

"Oh?"

To her surprise, Katy pulled out several wrapped treats: colorful desserts on sticks, each made to look like certain Pokémon that inhabited this area like Smoliv, Combee, and Tandemaus.

"Some chocolate pops that we made in my shop today! For a job well done. I hope they fill your belly real good."

Iono cautiously accepted the gumball-eyed treats and stared at them in her hands, still wearing a completely befuddled expression.

"…What's wrong, sweetie?"

"I—I just… I don't get it!"

"Get what?" Katy tilted her head.

"Why are you… being so nice to me? After I messed with your love life? And you forgave me like it was nothing…" She couldn't help but sneer. "What's your motive anyway?"

Katy blinked at her for a few seconds. But then she just smiled good-naturedly.

"Iono… I don't need any motivation to want to help out a friend."

"…H-huh."

Iono was shocked to know that Katy… actually considered her a friend?

"As for why I was so quick to forgive, well…" Katy placed a hand over her cheek. "I guess even despite what you did, I've always been able to see that you've got that spark of goodness in you."

"…"

"I think in this world, we should be rewarding good behavior when it happens, and not just tearing people down because they aren't perfect. That's how I've always felt anyway."

The Bug-type specialist leaned down and started packing her things up.

"Negativity spreads like a toxic gas in this world, but…" She threw Iono a wink. "Personally, I think kindness can be just as infectious. All it takes is one act being passed on."

Once she had everything easily folded and held in her arms, Katy gazed at the setting Paldean sun and sighed.

"My, look at how much time flies when you share it with someone special." She turned back to Iono with a final grin. "I've really got to get back to my work. Have a pleasant evening, Iono. I hope everything goes well for you and your friend."

"Y-yeah, thanks, Katy. You too…"

Iono was struck by Katy's intriguing nuggets of wisdom. The only thing that broke her intensely pensive state was hearing her own stomach growl.

Once she was sure Katy had left, Iono was quick to unwrap one of the choco pops, the one specifically shaped like a Mareep's head with black licorice gumballs for eyes, and she downed it in one savoring bite.

"Mmm… MMMMM!" Iono hummed in growing delight. "Ohhh, what kind of witchy magic does Katy work that everything she makes tastes so magical and yummy?"

She put a sleeved hand to her heart and sighed deeply.

"Man, Katy's so nice and she makes the most delicious things ever…" She chuckled a little. "No wonder Larry wants those buns."

"So, you managed to find that Eevee?" Sophocles asked eagerly.

"I did even better than that, Soffy… check it out! My two-for-one package deal!"

Iono proudly held up not just one, but TWO Eevee to the computer screen. Both of the tiny, furry Pokémon cried happily at the gobsmacked Alolan.

"Eeee-vee-vee! "Vay-voiiiiii!"

"Wowwww! That's so awesome!"

"Right!? And I did it ALL on my own, without any help at all! Well… maybe a TINY assist from good ol' Katy. Alright, appeals round is over, you sillies! Go wild!"

Iono gently let both Eevee down and they proceeded to run off into the rest of her apartment, playing with each other all the while.

"So what are you going to do with TWO Eevee, Iono?"

"I'm glad you asked, blondie boy! Here's my mega-watt lightbulb of a plan. I only wanted one Eevee so I could give Penny a Jolteon as a gesture of our tight bond. But now what I'm thinking is, I hand Penny one of them, keep the other little floofie for myself, and then we both evolve them into Jolteon at the same time! So we're forever JOLTEON BUDDIES! Pretty brilliant, right?"

"Uhhhh." A sweatdrop appeared on Sophocles's face. "Sure, pretty brilliant. Except for…"

"Except for WHAT? What could possibly spoil my ingenious plan?"

"Maybe the fact that… she already has a Jolteon?"

"Jigga-ma-wha-wha-WHAAAT?" Iono was so shocked that her Magnemite hairclips popped off from her head without a button being pressed, stunning Sophocles.

"Whoa. I didn't even design them to do that."

"How was I supposed to know that!?" Iono complained, bending over to lift the blue little bot off the floor. One of her newly-caught Eevee started playing with the pink one. "She only had one cute little Eevee with her, and she said she wanted to evolve it into Espeon!"

Sophocles started chuckling.

"QUIT LAUGHING AT MY MISFORTUNES!"

"I'm so sorry, Iono…" He wiped a tear from his eye. "But Penny's entire team is nothing BUT those Eevee-lutions. I'm surprised none of that 'espionage' stuff you were talking about zeroed you in on that."

"Wait, for real? A whole team of Eevee's?"

"Yeah! She's got at least six of 'em. I guess she must be trying for an Espeon like you said, so I think… Glaceon's the only one she doesn't have." Soffy scratched his head. "There's… eight of them in total, right?"

Iono counted on her fingers, trying to name every Eeveelution she could think of in her head… until she realized that she couldn't even see her fingers beneath the sleeves.

"Ummm, yeah. S-something like that."

"So you've never seen the video then?"

"What video?"

"Where Penny was battling against that Juliana girl for the fate of Team Star! It got uploaded on the web and was such a hot video in our group! I can forward you a copy of it if you'd like to watch it."

"YES, PLEASE!" Iono said, stars twinkling in her eyes. "A video exists on the Interwebs of Penny battling her little heart out and showing off a whole team of Eevee's? How did NOBODY in my Ionosphere ever inform me of something so amazing before?"

Sophocles sent Iono an MP4 file, and the Supercharged Streamer wasted no time opening it up to watch.

"Are you recording this, Clive?" Iono could hear Penny's voice in the video and it made her blood warm up.

"Yes. Yes, I believe so."

Her nose twisted up however as soon as she saw the resolution.

"UGGHHH! Vertical video for a BATTLE? What, did they get an old man to film this or something?"

"Then allow me to introduce myself properly…" Penny said with a resolute face. "I'm the big boss of Team Star. The name's Cassiopeia—No… Penny!"

"Alright then, Penny." The recording turned to show Penny's opponent, the ever-unshakeable Juliana wearing her same game face as when Iono was the one standing opposed to her. "Bring it on."

Penny chuckled. "Now… bow down before the overwhelming might of Team Star's founder!"

Iono could feel her heart skipping a beat. "Now that's a hot line."

She could see the sheer determination in Penny's eyes—even through the glare her glasses were causing on the video—as the girl sent out her first Pokémon. Sure enough…

"Umbrrrr!"

"I know that one!" Iono piped. "That's… Umbreon, right?"

"I won't hold back in this battle, Juliana!" Penny declared on-screen. "I'll stay true to Team Star's code and fight back just as hard as my friends!"

"Then this will be fun!" Juliana smiled. "Because I'm still the one who beat all those bosses for you!"

"You go and beat that girl's butt SILLY, Penny!" Iono cheered her on. "Not that… I'm rooting against Juliana or anything, but…"

Her opinion of Juliana dared to be reevaluated however, when Juliana opened with a Pokémon that sent shockwaves through Iono's core.

"Mienn!"

"What the—IS THAT A FLIPPING MIENSHAO!?" Iono shouted. "Wh—What the heck!? Where did Juliana get herself one of those things? She didn't even have a Mienfoo or anything when she did our sweet collab!"

Iono rested her head on her yellow sleeved hands as she gazed with astonishment.

"Wow. That's a Pokémon I haven't seen in… such a long time."

The battle between Penny and Juliana raged on, with Penny cycling through a whole variety of Eevee's different evolutions, each one with own unique abilities taking on Juliana's impressive team.

And Iono was watching the battle video play out completely captivated. Watching Penny be such a confident battler, playing to every single Eeveelution's strengths, was electric.

Just when she didn't think she could be any more amazed by this wonderful, mysterious Galarian girl, each abrasive command, every powerful move released by her Veevees, was like a set of jumper cables being wired to Iono's heart, just pumping it with more and more voltage.

And speaking of voltage…

"Jolt-JOLT!"

"JOLTEON!" Iono sprung up in her seat. "There it is!"

Penny had her Jolteon use Baby-Doll Eyes first—a similar strategy she'd been employing on all her teammates—to lower the attack on Juliana's tall grassy partner Meowscarada.

"Now… use THUNDER!"

"YES!" Iono screamed. "My favorite move!"

The thundercloud Jolteon summoned against Meowscarada wracked some damage, but not enough to take the Magician Pokémon out completely. It still got one more Grass Trick out against Jolteon, which made the Lightning Pokémon faint.

"NOOO!"

"I can't fault you on your battle skills at all, Juliana," Penny admitted, pushing up her glasses. "No wonder the bosses fell at your hands."

"Thanks, Penny!" Juliana said cheerfully.

"But it's time for my last partner to come out, and you don't want to underestimate this one… no matter how adorable it looks! GO, SYLVEON!"

POP

"Sylveee-eeeee!"

"So that's a Sylveon…"

…

"IT'S SO CUUUUUTE!" Iono gushed, pressing her face right up to the screen. "It complements Penny's pastel goth vibes SO WELL!"

Sylveon was not just super adorable like Penny boasted, but surprisingly vicious. The pixie Pokémon went straight for an immediate and intense Moonblast that knocked out Juliana's Meowscarada faster than anyone could blink.

"SYL!" it cried fiercely.

"What a BRAVE little mascot!" Iono beamed.

Juliana's final Pokémon was a Tinkaton… which made Iono reflexively grumble. One of her secret missions trying to capture Larry on her stream ended with her on the bad receiving end of Poppy's Tinkaton, and its massive hurting hammer.

"If I never see another one of those meanie Pokémon and their awful hammers again, it'll still be too soon…"

But whatever bad vibes Iono was picking up were quickly extinguished by the next words that came out of Penny's mouth. A sentence that would stay with Iono until the day she died.

"Time to Terastallize! Shine bright like the starry sky and become who you REALLY want to be!"

Iono's mouth was agape, and her brain practically short-circuited.

"…"

TERA-PA-GOOS!

Penny's Sylveon emerged from its Terastallization, sparkling brightly with a pink Tera Jewel on its head. Iono was seeing nothing but stars coming out of her computer screen now.

She closed her eyes. And within the dark recesses of her mind, she visualized something…

A star.

A really big, bright, sparkling star in the sky.

"That's right…" she whispered. "I—I remember that star."

It was a very blurry memory. Iono remembered being up somewhere really high, and how seeing that star inspired her in some way.

"Where… where was that?"

A huge shattering sound blasted through her speakers, and Iono was brought back to reality by the sight of Penny's Sylveon losing its Tera powers and fainting, Juliana's Tinkaton looking like a mean executioner with its giant crystal axe.

"NOOOOOOOEESSSSSS!"

"It's… it's over…" Penny gulped on the video.

Shortly after that, the video became a rush of blurs as this enigmatic Clive person fumbled with the phone before turning off the recording.

The screen went black, with a button to replay.

Iono was speechless. For the first time in her entire life, the hyper-energetic streamer genuinely had… nothing to say. No desire to verbalize her emotions out loud.

One of the two Eevee she had caught had curled up on her living room carpet to take a nice, chill nap. While the other one, still roused with energy, glanced at the once loud now totally stoic young woman, tilting its head at her. "Vee?"

Iono had no more words to say for the rest of the night. She got undressed from her casual clothes, prepared some milk and cookies as her bedtime treat, and curled up in her window-side bed. Keeping that curtain open like always.

She seemed to have a better view of the stars outside tonight than usual.

But it wasn't helping her sleep. Instead, Iono laid under her covers. Replaying that battle in her mind over and over. That declaration of Penny's kept ringing in her head like an inescapable earworm.

"Shine bright like the starry sky and become who you really want to be!"

And as she closed her eyes, Iono could only see Penny's pretty face, her confident smile, and her radiant, gleaming aura.

Why won't my heart stop racing?

Chapter Text

The next time Penny hopped onto PokéChat, she was amused to see "Noni" finally had a chibi Dedenne icon on her profile to match Penny's.

botan700: Awwww so cute!❤️
noni_the_normie: right?
noni_the_normie: I love dedenne <3
botan700: me too. it's so squishy <3
botan700: electric and fairy right?
noni_the_normie: that's right!
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: The perfect blend between my favorite pokemon and yours! ❤️

Penny gripped her chest tightly.

botan700: hrrrrrrrng
botan700: Stop you're gonna make my heart explode 😭

"Kekeke…" Iono had really come to enjoy teasing Penny through text. She almost wished she could see Penny's face.

noni_the_normie: So you REALLY love your veevees huh?
botan700: I don't like veevees
…
noni_the_normie: ?
botan700: i LOVE them.
botan700: they're all just the most perfect Pokemon on the planet
botan700: they're adorable AND badass
botan700: at the same time!

Unsurprisingly, Penny had two of her Veevee's, Leafeon and Vaporeon, cuddling on the bed next to her as she typed.

noni_the_normie: i knew you loved them
noni_the_normie: but i guess i just didnt know how much they mean to you

Penny smiled at her precious buddies, who purred loudly.

botan700: yeah
botan700: the first Pokemon my parents ever gave me was an Eevee
botan700: Ever since then they've always been my comfort pokemon!
noni_the_normie: AWWWWWW ❤️❤️❤️
noni_the_normie: your first eevee
noni_the_normie: is that the Sylveon you have now?
botan700: 😊
botan700: That's right!

Iono, sitting on her windowsill bid, started kicking her feet up. "YES! Slowly but surely, my lovelies, I'm figuring out how Penny's brain works!"

The Tynamo in their little square tank all crackled and splashed around, while Luxray gave an affectionate cry from its huge cat bed. "Luxxxx."

botan700: Vaporeon and Leafeon are next to me right now 🥰🥰
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: you know i just heard an interesting fun fact about vaporeons
botan700 is typing…
botan700: DON'T
botan700: PLEASE!
…
noni_the_normie: 😯?
botan700: i am SO sick of people sending me that disgusting "fun fact"
noni_the_normie: ???
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: all I was gonna say was that i heard vaporeon can melt right into the water
noni_the_normie: because it's cells are like
noni_the_normie: mostly water
…
botan700: oh
…
noni_the_normie: is that true?
botan700: yeah
botan700: It is

"Eeee-voi?"

Speaking of Eeveelutions, Iono was alerted to the sound of one of her own Cortondo-caught Eevee crying excitedly as it hopped onto the bed with her and begged for cuddles.

Iono laughed as she acquiesced to its demands. "Wowza! You're just a big ball of energy compared to your chillax sister, ain't ya?"

"Vee-veee!"

"Hmmm… I bet I know what will totally wet your whistle!" From her pocket, Iono dug out a Thunder Stone. "Howzbout I make you my newest team member? You'd fit right in with the rest of my charged-up pals!"

"VEEEE!"

Some time later, Uva Academy was rocked by a sudden shrill scream that boomed through one of the study rooms.

"P-PENNY!" Nemona sputtered out. "This is quiet study time! ¿Que mal contigo?" Then she muttered, "I didn't even know your voice could go that high…"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SO, SO SORRY!" Penny had her hand over her mouth, her face flushing red with embarrassment. "But—but look!"

She practically shoved her Rotom Phone into the baffled Nemona's face.

"It's IONO! She—she's got a JOLTEON!"

Nemona did not share Penny's excitement. "Penny… I said phones off while we're studying," she said with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, but Iono's live with a Gym Battle right now! I just—I HAVE to watch! Especially now that she's got a VEEVEE!"

"That's it, give it to me." Nemona held her hand out.

"Huh!? N-NO! I can't… I don't even need your help passing Languages, and—Holy shit!" Her eyes went wide. "What's Geeta doing here?"

"What!? La Primera?" Nemona whipped her head around… but didn't see the chairwoman anymore. Instead, she turned around in time to see Penny darting out of the room at full speed. "Ugh. Can't believe I really fell for that."

Jolteon moved like lightning on the battlefield, its glossy yellow fur illuminated by all the lights shining in the center of Levincia. And its bright, cheerful partner was looking as radiant as ever.

"Alright Jolteon, my dazzling new STAR! Nuke 'em with Pin Missile!"

"JOLT-JOLT!"

Jolteon, so bursting with energy that its whole body crackled with electricity, leapt into the air dragging a yellow streak along with it as it shot out Pin Missile from its spikes. They rained down on Jolteon's opponent, a brave but unprepared Steenee, showering it in sharp, bug-like spines.

"Steeeee-neeee…"

"GEH!" cried out Steenee's Trainer Nikita, a flighty young girl with dark magenta curls. She stood timidly watching the rain of needles, and shuddered even further as the crowd of hungry fans erupted around her. "H-h-hang in there, Steenee! We'll muddle through…" She gulped. "Somehow."

Iono's Jolteon landed on its feet, sending a shockwave along the ground, just at the same time Iono smiled her big sharky teeth, wowing the crowd even further.

"Oh yeah! We're really making sparks fly NOW!"

Penny burst into the room, pressed a button to cast her Iono Zone stream from her phone to the computer, and hastily sent out her own Veevee.

"Look, Jolty!" she said excitedly, pushing her yellow buddy up to the screen.

"Jolt?" Penny's Jolteon gazed at the screen and pawed up at it, curious to see another one of its own kind on the flat interface.

"I didn't even know Iono HAS a Jolteon!" Penny gasped. "You don't think… she might've been inspired to raise one after hearing about MY passion for Veevees, do you?"

Jolteon just tilted its head at her. "Joll?"

"Heh. Heh-heh-heh…" she laughed at herself. "Yeah, because Iono's world totally revolves around me now after we met the one time. That's definitely the reality."

The stream on Penny's computer was flooded with comments, many of which were playing out in front of Iono herself via the giant billboards dotting the Levincian harbor strip.

"Y'all feelin' the waves rising, Ionites?"

>I can totally FEEL IT!
>weezingzap subbed for 12 months!
>We love you, Iono!
>Bellibolt's the champ!
>Omega_Jelly_Lord gave 1,000 Poké Dollars!

The rush of passionate comments, subs, and donations buzzing in around the battlers, while charging up Iono's enthusiasm, also seemed to raise the jitters in her trembling opponent Nikita.

"A-alright, Steenee…" The girl stuttered. "C'mon! Use… Magical Leaf!"

"Steeeena!" Steena summoned a flurry of brightly colored leaves, and channeled them all to pelt Iono's Jolteon, knocking it off its feet and causing it to land to the ground with another electro burst.

A burst which seemed to dispel all Jolteon's energy. "Jolteeee…" it whimpered, with swirls in its eyes.

"EYYAHH! Jolteon, return!" Iono recalled her fallen partner. Softly enough that the floating Iono Drone couldn't hear, she gently patted the ball and whispered, "That was amazing for your debut showcase, sweetie. You really are a star!"

>NOOOOOOO
>IONO MY QUEEN
>A hype train has just started!
>Heartbreak city right here

Nikita, seeing comments like this no matter where she turned her head, started whimpering even more and pulled her Uva Academy jacket collar over her flushing face.

The chat messages burst out in an even greater fervor as Iono pulled out her trump card, the shifty spellcaster itself Mismagius.

"Maaaaaagi-us!"

"Listen to all those cheers!" Iono raved. "Let's give 'em a show worth singin' about! Iono power, GOOOOOO!"

Iono's Tera Orb bristled as it gathered Terastal energy, momentarily making Iono flinch before she recovered and struck a pose with a wink. She tossed the Orb high in the air over Mismagius.

TERA-PA-GOOS!

Crystals surrounded the ghostly Pokémon before it burst out covered in sparkling yellow crystals, looking just as energized as all of Iono's best Electric buddies, complete with a giant shining lightbulb-shaped Tera Jewel.

"Miiiiiis-mag!"

Iono danced to the beat of the crowd's cheers, pumped to see this Gym Challenge rise to its epic finale! But as she opened her eyes to see that look of hype echoing off her opponent's face, she noticed… something odd.

Nikita wasn't pumped up, or getting ready to command her own partner. Instead, she had her hands on her head, and was standing there with a strained, jittering look on her face.

"Ohhh?

Iono gaped. She recognized instantly what was wrong: the poor girl was frozen.

The influencer quickly felt overtaken by a sense of pity, especially as she saw the comments were starting to notice something was off too.

>Is Nikita alright?
>What's happening?
>Did my video freeze?

"Hmmm…" Iono wondered what she should do to rectify this situation. The words Katy passed down started to resonate in her eardrums.

You've got that spark of goodness in you, Iono.

💡

Stealthily, Iono pulled out her Rotom Phone and opened the app with all her controls. First, the floating yellow Iono Drone's camera went dark, blackening everyone's broadcast video, including Penny's.

"Huh?"

"Whoopsies!" Iono proclaimed on Twika's black screen. "Looks like we're experiencing some technical difficulties, friendos! I've heard this city has been seeing some mad-wild power fluxxies lately! The lights might even go off any minute now…"

As if on cue, all the spotlights around the battle arena dimmed… totally not because of Iono pushing a slider on her app.

Nikita kept holding onto her head, trying to will this supreme anxiety attack to just go away.

"I shouldn't have done this, I shouldn't have done this…"

"Hey."

Nikita was startled by the feeling of a sudden hand—or rather, a sleeve—caressing her shoulder.

"Huh?"

She looked up, and her eyes went wide to see Iono standing right up to her.

"I-Iono?"

"Hmph!"

Penny wasn't one to be deterred by something as small as a video connection being dropped.

"Hacking into Levincia's security systems should be a piece of cake… Just gotta break into their matrix, patch one of the video feeds to my processor…"

Running some decryption tools and typing commands so advanced they would make an average person's head spin trying to decipher, the girl worked between both her computer and her laptop to hijack the Levincia harbor's mainframe.

"I'll have to crack in security access so I can get audio and camera control too…"

After a few minutes, she had visual. A grainy visual, but visual nonetheless.

"AHA!"

Her fulfilled smile quickly turned into a confused expression.

"Huh? What's… Iono doing?"

One of the cameras above the circular harbor whirred as it turned remotely to face Iono and the shaking girl.

"You okay there, Sweetie McBeanie?" Iono asked her in a soft, motherly voice. "You seem pretty frazzled, friendo."

"I—I…"

Nikita swallowed a huge gulp, and found the courage to speak.

"I have really awful stage fright. Been that way… my whole life. Can't perform or do anything in front of people. That's why I decided to try the Gym Challenge, to conquer my fears! And I was handling it pretty well with the first few gyms but…"

Nikita's breathing grew heavier as she gazed out into the black masses of chatting, raving heads.

"Out here, with all these people watching. Your fans, all cheering for you to win because you're the great Iono… I just see you looking so cool and happy, and I—I—I just feel like I don't belong here after all…"

Iono was saddened. She felt a great pit in her heart listening to this girl's story.

Negativity spreads like bad gas, but kindness can spread to people too. All it takes is to do one little thing.

…

"Hey."

Iono bent her knees a little, so that she was facing her challenger at eye level now.

"Nikita, right?" The girl nodded. "It's totally alright to feel all scared in front of people. I know how it feels. That used to be happen to me too."

"It—it did?"

"Mm-hm! When I was first starting out as a streamer, I… froze up too sometimes. Live on camera, because I was just so nervous, thinking about how over a thousand people were watching me all at once. Nyo-ho! And now those viewer numbers have tripled! Quadrupled, even!"

"So… how do you deal with it?"

Iono thought about it for a few seconds, and then gave a very sage-like nod.

"You just focus on being yourself, I guess. And doing the best you can. The rest just—kinda falls into place!" She looked around at all the black masses that represented her dozens of spectators and loyal fans. "Can I let you in on… a juicy secret, Nikita? Just between the two of us?"

Nikita nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

"These Ionites all look so happy and excited to see me, right? But really, they can be a bunch of meanies sometimes. They like watching me LOSE more than winning!" she said with a bit of a grumpy pout.

"They do?" Nikita laughed.

"Yeah-yeah! In fact, you've got a PEAK advantage over me right now. They see you acting all shy and nervous, but that's what's gonna make 'em root for you!"

"R-really?"

"If I win this battle, I'll just look like the baddie! And ya know what? Now that I'm saying it out loud, I think I get it! They're not just here to see me and my dazzling self! They came to see a real test of strength! They're here—to see what YOU can do too, Nikita!"

"They are?" Nikita's mouth gaped in realization. "Y-yeah! That makes sense! They want to see us Gym Challengers get b-badges and stuff, right?"

"Correct-omundo! And if you screw up today, guess whatzit? You get to come back tomorrow and try again and again!"

Iono was flapping her sleeves all about to make Nikita laugh more.

"And once you lock in, any screwups you had before will be buried forever! The only thing folks will talk about is how awesome you looked, the day you finally got that W!" She chuckled a bit. "And you can bet I won't post any highlights from any matches you do with me until you WIN, Nikita! So go on and… and WIN! With your own special Nikita power!"

"My own… special power!" Nikita's voice rose in confidence.

Penny, watching this conversation play out on her staticy feed, put a hand to her heart as she felt it beating hard and fast.

"She's such an inspiration…" she said lovingly. "Maybe I should start going after Gyms just so Iono can pump me up too."

"So, powerful Nikita, are we ready to rock-and-roll?" Iono winked.

Nikita closed her fists together. "Y-yeah!"

"Stee-nee!" her partner nodded.

"Wunderbar!" Iono clapped.

One by one, the lights all came back on, and the Iono Drone whirred back to life, with Iono's gleaming smile illuminating everyone's screens once more.

"'Ello, 'ello! Looks like we're back, everyone! Sorry about those hiccups!"

Iono was back on her side of the field, ready to command some awesome moves with her Terastallized Mismagius.

"I hope you're still game to challenge us at our best, brave powerful Nikita!"

Nikita nodded. "Yeah… I'm TOTALLY ready!"

>Woah did she get more confident?
>So cool!
>This battle is so exciting!

"Then show us what you've got!" Iono's shark teeth came out, fierce as ever.

"Alright… use Stomp attack, Steenee!"

Steenee felt jazzed up by the rising bravado in its partner's voice, and leapt high into the air.

"Go ahead, we're not afraid of you!" Iono taunted. Her Mismagius murmured in agreement.

"Steee…!"

But just as Steenee reached maximum height, ready to divebomb onto the sparkling ghosty, something happened.

FLASH

It became bathed in blue light!

"Huh!?" Nikita gasped.

>What's happening?
>IT'S EVOLVING!!!

"NO WAY!" Iono's eyed bulged out. "We're getting this on camera, right? ARE YOU SEEING THIS, CHAT?"

Another flash ended the sudden light show…

"…REEEEEEEEENA!"

BOOM

"MAAAAAAAAAG!"

…and Mismagius found itself being crushed at the mercy of a much larger Grass Pokémon with huge leaves cascading like green locks and a beautiful, almost human-like figure.

"TSAR-EEEEE!" Nikita's freshly evolved Tsareena pressed her powerful foot into Mismagius's head, before doing an extravagant backflip and landing perfectly on her toes. For a dazzling finish, she flipped her hair-like petals to strike a glamorous pose for the whole crowd.

"Steenee! I mean—Tsareena!" Nikita jumped up and down, clapping. "You evolved just in the nick of time! I knew it'd happen eventually!"

"Wha—what's happening?" a frazzled Iono sputtered, watching all the audience's attention be pulled from herself. "I was just trying to cheer Nikita and her pal up, not give it an opportunity to steal my THUNDER!"

"Mis-MAG!" Iono's Pokémon heard the last word of that sentence and began charging up a storm cloud above its head to strike a mighty thunderclap down upon the newly evolved attention hog.

The attack missed.

And Iono blew her lid. "Maaaaagi! I wasn't telling you to use Thunder!" Mismagius had the decency to blush.

"Heh-heh!" Nikita found herself laughing more. "I guess… we have the upper hand now, Tsareena! Which means…" She scanned her Pokédex app really quick. "YES! I was waiting for you to learn this move!"

Iono was watching this wild new show of confidence from her opponent and beginning to quake in her boots a bit.

"In the midst of giving Nikita a boost, I might've just created the next viral sensation! That's still totes a win-win for me, right? RIGHT!?"

"Tsareena… use TROP KICK!"

"TSARRRR!"

The tall, witchy Pokémon leapt into the air again. But unlike that measly Steenee Stomp a few minutes ago, tons of grassy energy gathered around Tsareena's mighty stomper as she prepared to unleash the full forces of Gaia upon Iono's crystallized Mismagius.

"B-b-brace for impact, Magi!" she cried out, shielding her eyes with her thick sleeves.

BOOOOOOOOOOM

Penny cracked open her third Rotomi Rush energy drink as she committed herself to sticking around for Iono's post-Gym Battle stream.

"That sure was something, wasn't it friendos?" Iono said, moving her arms all animatedly on Penny's screen. "Nikita seemed like a shy little Spewpa at first, but then she and that big greenie girl burst out of their colorful cocoons and showed us who they really are, and now they're three—count em, THREE!—badges into their Gym Challenge! How awesome-tacular!"

Jolteon, whom Penny had been forcing to sit and watch this stream with for the past several hours, made a huge yawn as it wrapped itself up like a big yellow croissant and prepared to take a siesta.

"Let's sound off! What did YOU like best about that high-voltage battle, Ionites?"

"What did I like best…?"

Penny gazed over at her snoring buddy and a big grin drew upon her face.

"Iono showing off her Jolteon, of course! I should tell her that."

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard… but that smile turned into a frown. Doubt and insecurity threatened to become Penny, just like before. That voice in her head telling her she's a fool for thinking Iono would notice her.

…

But Iono DID notice me.

"Yeah-yeah! I think you might just be my favorite person I've met today, Penny!"

Penny fondly recalled meeting her idol at the meet-and-greet, how Iono broke all Penny's expectations to show her genuine appreciation and interest. And through meeting Iono that day…

"If you're still there, would you like to exchange PokéChat numbers?"

Penny found the courage to make a new friend. By coming out of her own shell, she brought Noni out of her nervousness, and the two of them were having lightning conversations now.

…

A smirk finally appeared. Cassiopeia was here. And she wasn't going to let something as small as social anxiety stop her from letting her feelings be known.

Iono was watching all the super-chat messages fly by. Some commenters were buttering her up by saying her Mismagius Terastallizing was the best part. But the girl Nikita had people championing her too, calling Tsareena's evolution and her vicious stompdown the hypest moment of the match.

But then… an extremely familiar screenname drew itself to Iono, giving out a very unique answer.

botan700 It was so cool to see your new Pokémon! I really love Jolteon a lot 3

"H-HEY!" Iono quickly cheered. "botan700! Thanks SO MUCH for saying so! I was really hoping you—any of you, would notice my brand spanking new team member today!"

Flashing a big smile into the camera, she declared, "I love Jolteon a lot too! Glad to see I have so much in common with you botan700, my number one fan!"

Penny gasped. Her head flew back several inches, shocked that Iono actually singled out her comment.

"Is it… just like at the con? Where she said—I jumped out to her more than everyone else?" Her eyes twinkled. "Did—did Iono really notice me again?"

Penny knew her brain was totally screwed up, because she was surer than ever that her favorite influencer was talking directly to her with that smile.

"Wait until Noni hears about this…!"

And if she wanted to be even more delusional, Penny could swear that it looked like her comment made Iono's cheeks blush.

"Take care of yourselves, my pretties, and have a very jolt-tastic evening! Sayonara! Ciao! Adios and au revior! Tee-hee! Good night!"

Iono signed off from Twika for the day and eagerly jumped up to remove her yellow jacket. "Whoo! Really worked up a sweat today!" she exclaimed, doing her usual stretches. "I'm flying higher than a Zapdos in the sky!"

"Caw-cawwww!" Kilowattrel chimed in from its perch.

"Ho-ho-ho! Or a Kilowattrel, yeah!" With glee, Iono activated her Rotom Phone and took it off silent. She gasped, "Penny's online too! YIPPEE!"

Iono was so excited to see the green icon next to Penny's name on PokéChat that she hopped onto her bed and just dove right in.

Luxray, sleeping nearby, perked up for a moment. "Lux…?" Iono not opening up the mini-fridge next to Luxray's bed to get her daily beer was a noticeable break in her routine.

noni_the_normie: HELLOOOOOOOOOO
botan700: NONI
botan700: NONI
botan700: DID YOU SEE IONO'S STREAM TODAY

Iono giggled rapturously.

noni_the_normie: i suuuuure did
noni_the_normie: and i saw a certain you know who there 😉
botan700: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
botan700: I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE SAW MY COMMENT

Iono grinned from cheek to cheek. Hearing Penny so excited by her little gesture was making her little electro heart flutter.

botan700: I was so scared
botan700: I thought it would be cringe but…
botan700: Now that I've posted it and she saw it and liked it, it all seems so silly😅
noni_the_normie: i'm glad you were able to find your confidence penny!
noni_the_normie: i'm sure iono is proud of you too!
botan700: Yeah…

Penny's head flew back onto her pillows with a bright smile. She seemed to be cracking several of those lately. It was starting to make her facial muscles hurt.

botan700: Thank you so much Noni.
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: well you're welcome!
noni_the_normie: but… what did i do?

…

botan700: being able to communicate with you…
botan700: I think it's really helped me be more social
botan700: Just making that comment on Iono's stream today felt like a HUGE VICTORY!

…

botan700: And I feel like I have you to thank for that
botan700 is typing…
botan700: Maybe even more than Iono

Iono clasped her phone tightly and held it close to her chest, bouncing her shoulders around vibrantly upon hearing something so wonderful.

"I really am… the world's biggest, bestest motivational speaker-ing problem solver!"

noni_the_normie: 😊
botan700 is typing…
botan700: So many good things have happened to me today

botan700: It really helps make up for all the bad things that happened

"Yeee—Wait, what."

Iono gasped and shot upright.

"B-b-bad things?"

noni_the_normie: what bad things?
botan700: Ohhh nothing
botan700: Nothing you need to worry about.
botan700: Sorry.
botan700: Probably shouldn't have said anything

Iono sat completely upright, hanging her legs off the bed now. Something was wrong. This feeling in her gut was all new, like what she felt watching Nikita but a million times worse. It was eating away at her insides.

She didn't know what it was, and she didn't like it.

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: hey
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: we're friends right?
noni_the_normie: you can tell me what's wrong

…

botan700: you sure?
botan700: I don't want to sound selfish

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: nuh uh
noni_the_normie: not selfish at all
noni_the_normie: you just need to let it go

Penny gulped. She was sitting upright too. Vaporeon was by her side trying to console her. "Poreee…"

botan700: It's just… school trouble
botan700: Specifically me and my friends getting in trouble
botan700: With one of my teachers

Penny's tormented morning came in the form of a severe tongue-lashing in Classroom 1-D, her homeroom. She sat alone at the front of the room, her head bowed shamefully.

The mathematics teacher Tyme, also the head of the STEM track Penny placed herself in, paced the room with each step from her yellow flats creating a small quake in the floor.

"To think this was once a respected institution, where the teachers set the rules, and the students and faculty followed them to the letter. Now, thanks to the efforts of 'Team Star'…" The eyeroll was heavy as she said that name. "Uva Academy has officially turned into a circus."

Penny just kept her head down, not speaking a single word. Only a sigh escaped her lips, and it made the former Gym Leader crack an eyebrow.

"Nothing to say, Miss Penny? Not willing to own up to the ruckus your little Giacomo has raised with his constant nights of loud, booming rackets? Between that nonsense and his and Mela's mockery of our school's fine dress code, like those unbecoming boots of hers, your little 'posse' is ready to drive me up a mountain."

Tyme shook her head in frustration.

"How about that girl Eri trying to scare all the students' pants off with that delinquent facepaint of hers? Or Ortega's repeated truancy?"

Penny still looked down and said nothing. Only the firm coming down of Tyme's hands on the table forced her head to leap up.

"I still don't know how you all got into Director Clavell's head and gleaned such clemency from him, especially when one of your little groupies is forsaking that promise to attend school again! I have half a mind to be raking HIM over the coals for all these maddening infractions! A year and a half of self-reflection, and those kids are still the same troublemakers they always were! What was even the point?"

Penny's head dropped again, and Ryme exhaled through her nostrils.

"Still nothing to say for all that, Miss Penny?"

Mostly… she was fighting back trying not to cry in front of her homeroom teacher.

Finally, in a low voice, she responded, "Why aren't you laying all this on the Director then? Or you could at least gather my friends up too, and discipline us all at once. Why… just me?"

Tyme put her hands on her hips.

"So now you don't want to take full blame for your rowdy squad. Alright then. If you'd like me to stick purely to your own infractions Miss Penny, let's talk about your hacking into the Pokémon League of all the places—"

"Geeta already forgave me for that!" she interjected.

"—AND breaking into Uva Academy's network itself to rig our lottery system for the joint field trip with Blueberry Academy!" Being interrupted only made Tyme's tone more brash. "Risking the embarrassment of not just one academy, but TWO! Are you at least going to be responsible enough to answer for THAT?"

The battle to not shed tears was getting ever harder for the poor Galarian girl.

"I just—I just wanted to send my friend Juliana on that Kitakami trip… So she could be happy, and—and get a lot stronger so she could help me convince my friends to go back to school…"

After a few more seconds, she blubbered out, "…I'm sorry."

Tyme crossed her arms and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She had noticed the blubbering tone in Penny's voice, so she tried her hardest to keep a lid on her temper.

"…As it stands, I need to have another chat with the Director on how best to deal with this… whole mess. And the most suitable punishment for yourself."

…

"Perhaps another return to your home region is in order unless you and your friends learn how to be proper students."

"What!? NO! Anything but that!" Penny stood up, her eyes wide as saucers. "You can wring out whatever punishment you like, Miss Tyme! Fail me for the semester, take away my dorm room, anything just… I CAN'T go back to Galar! Please don't send me back!"

Penny's breathing got faster, and Tyme could sense her rising anxiety. She turned her head away with softened eyes.

The quietness of the room was both still and unnerving, until finally the teacher calmly walked back to her desk and slumped into her chair, her fingers resting on her forehead. Penny nervously sat back down too.

"We'll… talk more about this on another day. For now, just please promise you and your friends will at least try to work harder on behaving yourselves," she said with gritted teeth. "…Before I need to nurse another migraine."

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Penny stood up and bowed. "I promise! I really will!"

She un-slung her Eevee backpack from the chair and put it back on, eager to escape from this terrifying interrogation chamber. As she cracked open the door, Tyme had one last thing to say.

"You were given a second chance despite the odds, Miss Penny. Don't squander it."

Penny nodded humbly.

It took all her restraint to wait until she had sprinted all the way back to her room to finally let all that sobbing out.

Meanwhile, alone in the room, Tyme's eyes grew a little sad.

"Okay, Tyme. So you clearly hit a nerve just there…" She opened up her desk drawer to gaze at a photo frame. "But… it's like you always said, Charla. Sometimes it's the only way they learn, right?"

Iono was completely speechless.

noni_the_normie: that's awful
noni_the_normie: i'm so sorry penny

Penny removed her glasses and wiped tears from her eyes as she texted her dear online friend.

botan700: it's okay
botan700: thank you for listening

…

noni_the_normie: was she really serious about sending you home to galar again?

…

botan700: I don't know
botan700: I really hope not.
botan700: I have my own reasons for wanting to stay in Paldea

botan700 is typing…
botan700: If I had to go back to Galar again it would completely destroy me.

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: can't let that happen
botan700: yeah. Can't let it happen.

…

noni_the_normie: is there anything i can do to help?
botan700: I don't think so unfortunately

Penny took a second to glance up at her wall. Right above her computer was a framed copy of the Team Star logo, reminding her of her treasured loyalties.

And she brought PokéChat down for a second to gaze at her phone wallpaper… a group selfie her friends had all insisted on taking together, the night of Operation Starfall's end.

A way to celebrate their troubles finally being over.

Momo was the one taking the shot with his Roto-Stick, giving a peace sign to the camera. Atticus stood tall and stiff, his arms crossed in triumph. Ortie was trying his best to look cool. His attempt at a smug smirk always made Penny herself smirk looking at it.

And then there were Mellie and Eri, who had their arms on Penny's shoulders, both beaming really wide smiles as they leaned their heads close to hers. Penny had on the most relieved, exhausted smile she could muster.

Penny loved looking at this picture as her wallpaper. She had always hoped it represented the stars finally turning her way…

More tears threatened to tremble.

botan700: The trouble is my friends
botan700: They want to fit in so badly, and I really want them to too.

botan700: But the teachers and students are all still messed up.
botan700: they don't understand that my friends are NOT troublemakers, they're just quirky.
botan700: And there should be NOTHING wrong with that!

Iono nodded vigorously IRL.

noni_the_normie: TOTALLY
noni_the_normie: quirky is way better than BORING!
botan700 is typing…
botan700: Yeah 😂

Just seeing Penny respond with a happy-looking emoji sent waves of serotonin coursing through the Supercharged Streamer's veins, delighted that she appeared to be helping in the moment.

botan700: They've all got their own problems too
botan700: I just

…

botan700: I really wish I knew how to help them.

…

…

…

botan700: it was so much easier when Juliana was here.
botan700: She helped me spy on my friends all the time to make sure they were all doing well.
botan700 is typing…
botan700: Now it's just me by myself
botan700: And I have my own problems too

botan700: is typing…
botan700: I can't be everywhere at once

Iono lowered her phone, and was alerted by the sounds of concerned Pokémon noises. To her surprise, Iono saw that most of her team had gathered around her.

"W-what? What are you all…" She felt something slide down her cheek. Wiping it with her sleeve, she discovered it was…

"A tear?"

Iono stood up. Her legs felt like jelly, so she started pacing around the room. None of it seemed to be helping all these… awful pangs in her heart.

"What are all these feelings, guys? I've never—felt anything like this before."

"Bell-boll…" Bellibolt croaked sadly.

"Is it… sadness you see in me, Detective Bellibolt? Heh. Could it be that I'm sharing in Penny's hum-drum mega depression right now?" She closed her eyes and squinted hard. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that is why I'm all screwed up."

"Caww?" Kilowattrel tilted its head in concern.

"This has turned into way more than just a silly online hookup, hasn't it?" She said the next words like they were a burden being released. "I CARE. I—I actually care about Penny as a friendo. No. Not just a measly 'friendo'."

That sad frown slowly began to turn into a hopeful smile.

"But a real bonafide friend. Penny's… my friend now."

Then her eyes started to drift upwards and gradually widen.

"And friends… they're supposed to help each other out, right? When you're feeling all down in the dumps, that's where a friend comes in to—fix everything for you. And turn that frown…" She bend her body forwards to look at her Luxray "UPSIDE DOWN!"

"Luxraaaaay!" the Gleam Eyes Pokémon mewed with joy.

"Hmmmmm! Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm!" Iono rested her head on a sleeved hand with a look of intense concentration. "But how am I even gonna go about trying to cheer Penny up when it's a problem with her other friendos? It's not like I can just visit all those Team Star goons at their… silly little bases… behind Penny's back and… fix… all their… problems?"

…

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Penny screeched in delight. "MAX VOLTAGE BRAIN BLAST!"

"BOOOOM!" Electrode was so startled it became packed with electrons and threatened to Selfdestruct right on the spot.

"I could… yes, yes… And then… YEAH-YEAH!" Iono relayed to herself with an increasing fever pitch. "Ohmigosh! It's the most perfect-est plan this cute little brain of mine has ever schemed up!"

"MIS-MAG!" Mismagius cried out in surprise as Iono quickly darted to her pink-doored closet and slid the door open, revealing an entire storeroom of wigs, costumes, and all sorts of fun clothing she kept around for giveaways, cosplays, and fun roleplays.

"Iono… no, NONI is about to do herself some undercover RECONNAISANCE WORK!"

Her eyes started beaming more and more as she picked things out from the closet for the ultimate roleplay.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha… HA-HA-HA-HAAAA!" Iono laughed like a goblin who'd just made off with all the gold coins in the world. "This wig… Maybe a little too glamorous, but THIS one! And pairing it with this hoodie, OHH no one would ever suspect a thing!"

Her little Eevee rushed over and started sifting through the huge bevy of clothes and boxes, throwing a cyan shirt over its head and stepping into some diamond-studded sandals as it tried to help its zestful new owner make a decision.

Iono picked Eevee up with glee and gave it nose-kisses.

"It's time, little Eevee! Time for Noni the Normie to finally step out of the shadows, and INTO THE STARRY-FILLED LIGHT!"

Chapter Text

"Hey-heeeeeeey! We still feelin' that buzz, Iono Zone viewers? My Electroweb better not be catching you with lazy eyes, because anyone who falls asleep during one of MY streams immediately gets locked up in PRISON! With zero chance of parole!"

Iono, broadcasting live from the Iono Zone, stopped to ponder a bit.

"Well… I s'pose unless we get Mina onboard for another one of those uber-relaxing ASMR hangouts. Then, I guess it's okay for some of ya to doze off."

Paldea's favorite influencer was alerted to several reminder messages from the chat.

"Huhzit? Pffft, silly Ionites! Of course I didn't forget about my cool guest spot this Tuesday! Geez louise, I forget to mention one meet-and-greet and now you all think I have the memory of a Goldeen?"

Iono slid her pupils to face different directions and imitated the fish Pokémon. "Glub glub. Where are we? Who are we? Glub glub? Iunno!"

The chat became filled with laughing emojis.

"But in case all the rest of ya are little Goldeen swimming around, this Tuesday yours truly is going to be one of the guest speakers on your favorite podcast Psychic Noize! It'll be me, good ol' Billy, that wily man Zweilucas, and…" She fake gasped. "The one and only BLAKBERY is gonna be there! SQUEEE! It's gonna be tons of fun, and the Iono Zone will host the podcast live so you got no excuse NOT to check it out!"

Klicklang That sounds AMAZING!
Johtonian_Beth I LUV BLAKBERY
SavannahKid93 Awww, Iono in the same podcast with her crush?

"Heeeey! I saw that comment, and I don't like being singled out! BLAKBERY transcends all meaning of the words 'crush' or 'love'! Anyone who isn't madly devoted to our fine friend Moze is just lyin' to themselves!" Iono declared. "I think you folks are in need of sharper brains, and what better way to sharpen those brains up than with one of Iono's FAMOUS QUIZZES!"

She clicked a button to have a confetti graphic burst on-screen.

"That's riiiiight! It's time for that segment I do every so often, Iono's Twisty Brainteaser!"

The Ionites in the chat seemed confused.

Sprigatito_Love Twisty brainteaser?
BeldumBeats I don't remember that being a segment.
Croagunk4Life Is the answer CROAGUNK?
Venom_Drencher she hasn't asked the question yet…

"Nyohoho! C'mon, you Slowpoke! Everyone knows about Iono's Twisty Brainteasers, it's a segment I do ALLLL the time!" Iono lied. "The oldies will know for sure! Are you sure YOU guys aren't the Goldeen? Because here's the answer I'm… SEAKING!" she winked.

A logo appeared on-screen. Not just any logo… but that of Team Star.

"We all know Team Star, right? And we all love Team Star! They're the most inspirational zeroes-to-heroes story to ever grace our fair lands of Paldea!"

Chef_Damian Well I bet Iono remembers Team Star…
Venom_Drencher ESPECIALLY Atticus and his sick poison types
RanseiHero OH YEAH! didn't one of those Spinarak sting her right in the butt?

"Hmph!" Iono pouted. "Just pretending I didn't see THAT, but that's right, today's brainteaser is ALLLL about Team Star! Here's the dealeo, Sealeo! There's five of those big bad Team Star bosses, right? And each of them has one of those fancy STC's! You pickin' up what I'm putting down, chat?"

Below the Team Star logo, a graphic of the whole Paldea region appeared.

"Today's stream is called 'Iono's Star Chart!' The first five—no, TEN people to send in the correct answers for where all five bases are located will get a free tier upgrade on Iono Zone paid content for over five months! So get going and send 'em in!"

"Ohhhh, so that's how you were able to lock down where their bases are!" Dot realized.

"YUP! A pretty ingenious plan, if I do say so myself!"

Iono was walking down that path with the funny windmills today between Cortondo and Cascarrafa, talking to another one of her fellow streamers through her Rotom Phone.

But right now neither girl really looked like how they appeared on stream. Dot was just talking to Iono as her own grape-haired self, rather than the giant blue costume she wore in her streams as Nidothing.

"Well, I guess it's one way to get info out of people…"

Iono pulled down on her white "bangs" one last time for adjustment. "Alright. So how do I look? Perfect disguise, am I right?"

The Levincian streamer wasn't herself today either. Instead, she was out in the wild as "Noni"! Her perfect disguise in question? Well… a red hoodie. A white wig with a ponytail. And some scuffed-up jeans.

"I totally blend right in with the normies!" she said, flashing a peace sign to the camera.

"Uhhh, well…" Dot trembled. "I guess maybe if… people have never seen Iono before, they won't have any reason to think that you're, y'know?"

"GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!" she beamed, showing her shark teeth.

"Maybe don't smile that wide." Then Dot mumbled, "How DO you make your teeth do that, anyway?"

"Woah…" Iono felt some tremors in the ground beneath the converse sneakers she'd put on. "Some big shaky-shakies happening over here."

"Uh-oh! You're up in the Western Province, right?" Dot raised her voice. "You'd better be careful, Iono! That big scary Bombirdier I heard about might still be up on the mountains dropping boulders!"

"Nah, nobody ever sees that silly bird anymore. Hey…" she realized. "I think it's… MUSIC! It's coming from over there!"

Iono spotted a diverting path on the road towards Cascarrafa, where the hills were marked with big dark flags that had a yellow star on them surrounded by purple flames. And the closer she got to this off beaten trail, the more the ground reverbed with what was clearly heavy bass sounds.

"I think I just found the first base!" She checked the map on her phone. "Yeah-yeah! The uhh… the See-gin Squad or something like that? Anyways, I gotta go, Dot. Sorry, but don't want ya blowin' my cover! Wish me luck, not that I need it!"

"Uhh okay, no problem Iono!" Dot smiled. "Umm… don't die!" She groaned at herself as she signed off.

Iono raced down the path towards the base with great speed, and eventually found herself at an open gate with a bell next to it.

"Oooh, a bell! I wonder what happens if I—nuh-nuh! Don't get distracted, Iono! I mean, NONI! Noni doesn't get distracted by pretty shiny things! That's an Iono-exclusive trait!"

The totally plain not-OCD-having normie girl Noni rushed inside the Segin Squad's base, "Woah!" where she was shocked to see so many tents set up.

And so many Team Star grunts! Just… sitting around. Not… doing anything. A few of them had various Dark-type Pokémon out. One of them banged a vending machine to get himself a soda.

Iono stepped forward, and that's when a girl sitting on her laptop noticed her.

"Hmmm? Oh hey, a Trainer's here."

The guy next to her snorted himself awake and peered at the mysterious white-haired girl.

"Ehhhh… sorry, miss," he groaned. "Star Training Center isn't open right now. Boss's orders."

"But… I hear the allure of music!"

From where Iono was standing, the bass beats had gotten loud and booming.

"Yeah, boss is practicing up there," the female Grunt pointed to a large raised platform in the back of the field.

"He doesn't wanna mix work with play. You get what I mean?"

"Hmmm."

Iono charged up some of her strength and decided to walk forward towards that big riser with brave steps. The Team Star grunts, surprised at her tenacity, decided not to stop her.

And that's when she finally saw him.

He was a pretty tall fellow, easily mistaken for an adult. He wore an outfit that… looked a little bit like the kind of uniforms Iono had seen Uva Academy students wearing, but like a heavily modded version.

This dude had turned something plain and shabby into his own custom vibe that both screamed darkness and colorful vibrance at the same time.

What a chad.

The boss sat on the big platform with a laptop on his knee that was hooked into the base's huge speakers and LED lights, creating a sensory overload of pounding beats and pulsing lights through this little corner of the valley.

And he was clearly in his own little world, until Iono decided to clear the air.

"HELLOOOOOO UP THERE~♪!"

Giacomo was so frazzled that he misclicked some keys, creating some piercing high notes from the speakers before it all came to an abrupt stop.

He sighed dramatically. "You just killed my beat, man. Not cool."

"Oh. Well…" Iono shrugged. "Sorry, I guess."

"Ehh, whatevs. I wasn't digging it that much anyway. The acoustics here are pretty dry. You here for some of the Segin Squad's brutal Star Training? I figured some stubborn Trainer was gonna come this way eventually."

"Erm, no! No, I—I don't even know what that is." She cleared her throat. "I'm a friend of Penny's!" she said with a confident tone that surprised even herself.

Giacomo's eyebrows drew up. "A friend of Penny's? No way." He closed his laptop shut. "Didn't even know Penny had the guts in her to be scopin' out new buddies. In fact, I still don't know if I believe it. How do I know you're for real and not just tryin' to get all chummy with me?"

Iono's face furrowed. "Uhhh, I dunno. Why don't you ring up Penny yourself and—" But she stopped herself. Because that's right, she didn't want to Penny to know she was doing this just yet. "Or don't. I guess you'll just have to trust me!"

"Oh yeah? Well how about a secret test of character then? You know our big boss Cassiopeia pretty well, huh? Can you tell me what her favorite Pokémon is?"

"Of course! Penny is a bonafide EEVEE appreciator! She has a full team of 'em that she calls her VEEVEES!"

Iono shook her hands about for a moment… before quickly realizing how strange that looked when her sleeves were short enough for those flappy grabbers to be out in the open.

"Anyway, uhh, yeah. I wouldn't know all about that unless me and Penny were in tight, now would I?"

…

Giacomo's eyes narrowed deeply… before he finally just shrugged.

"Ehh. Good enough for me." The teen jumped down from his high castle. "Name's Giacomo. But when I'm in the zone, just call me DJ Vice!" he pointed with his thumb.

"Nyo-ho! Well, you can call me uhh—Noni!" she declared, putting a hand over her chest. "I'm a freelance uhh, problem solver, I guess you could say. I roam the lands searching for people with problems and uhh—hmm. Yeah."

Iono had to stop herself, realizing that in order to stay in-character, "Noni" needed to be more of a listener than a bragging blabbermouth. She needed to learn proper restraint while on this undercover mission.

"A freelance problem solver, huh? That's wild. I didn't even know you could get paid for things like that. Going around fixin' stuff for people? You got mad respect from me, Noni!" Giacomo raised his fist out. "So what brings you to our neck of the woods? Hang on, I hope you're not tryin' to suggest my music taste is a problem that needs fixing!"

"Huh? Oh, no. Nuh uh. Nothing like that. Just—since I am a friend of your big boss's and all that, I decided I want to come out and meet some of Penny's rad underlings for myself!"

"Ha-ha!" Giacomo laughed. "Don't know if underling's a label I can jive with. How about amigo instead? Because if you're tight with Penny, then you've got an amigo in me too, bud!" He gave her a thumbs up.

"Yaaaay! I love making new friendos! Err, yeah! Amigos! I like that," she nodded. "Anyway, your beats sounded totally fire, Giacomo! So I got no beef with your spinning beats at all!"

"Well, I'm glad you think so. Personally, I feel like I'm losing a little bit of my groove, y'know?" he admitted, frowning.

"Ah-ha! Now that does sound like a problem, and that's my department!" Noni proudly declared. "So let's get to work. Why so hum-drum about such awesome tunes, man?"

"Well… really, it's just the complete lack of variety. I've been holing myself inside this little base pumping out new jams for over two years now. I was super stoked when we got the word from that rad Clavell dude that we could go back to school while still bein' in Team Star and all, since that means new digs to make my musical playground in. And it was really jammin' for a while, because my swank new dorm room has some great acoustics! But…"

Giacomo looked remorseful.

"Then I found out that the other students were puttin' in noise complaints, and that Penny was getting into trouble with the teachers all cause of me and I…" He sighed. "I decided it'd be best to come up here again when I'm in the mood to crank something out, but… I just haven't felt that big wave of creativity ever since. Maybe because of the tired scenery? Or my own guilt? Who knows, man…"

Iono had dedicated herself to playing the part of the listener, but… the more she let Giacomo go on, the more she realized that she was genuinely invested in his pain and guilt.

Guess I'm already playing this role a lot better than I thought I would!

"Hey… don't think like that, broski. It sounds like you just need to find that groove again! Like all you need is a bit of a shake-up to your little routine here!"

"True dat," he agreed. "But what do you have in mind?"

"Hmmmm…" Noni thought about it for a few seconds, having an actual hand to rest under her chin now as she deliberated. "HEY! I've got it! What if I agreed to jam with you? We could make a rocking collab!"

"Oh yeah?" Giacomo's eyebrows shot up again. "Do you like, play an instrument or something?"

"No, but I can sing! I sing pretty good too, or at least… my mama always said so. She and I used to umm, go to karaoke bars and sing songs all the time when I was younger."

Noni's head drooped a little, her face was shifting between a fond smile… and a melancholic frown.

"It always used to cheer me up when I was having a rough day. And my mama's a fantastic singer, one of—one of the best in the whole world. So… y-yeah."

…

"You know what?" Giacomo reached for something in his pocket—a microphone, and tossed it to Noni. "Maybe you're onto something! Getting to listen to someone else's voice while the chords are going—maybe I can do some experimentin' while we're both getting down! I like where your head's at, Noni."

He opened up his laptop again, and started re-activating the speakers, creating some brief reverb, and all the LED lights and spotlights that made the Segin Squad's base area colorful.

The member of the Segin Squad all started heading over, enthusiastic to see their boss dropping some beats with his brand new co-star.

"Alright, Noni! You tell me what I should play!"

"Oh! Well…"

Noni closed her eyes for a second, and… for just a brief second, allowed those karaoke nights to enter her memory again. As bittersweet as it was.

"Y-you can play anything by Roxie! I know all her songs inside and out!"

"WORD UP! I love me some Koffing and the Toxics! You've got impeccable music tastes, Noni!"

Smiling brightly, the girl looked out into the whooping and cheering crowd. Perhaps it would be more in-character for Noni to be all nervous and filled with stage fright. But just like Penny, or Nikita, Iono knew that even a shy girl can find her voice with enough effort.

So she nodded confidently. "HIT IT, GIACOMO!"

"UH-UH! YOU'RE ONLY TALKIN' TO DJ VICE NOW, HOMIE! LET'S RAISE THE ROOF!"

Noni heard that familiar tune blasting through the base's gigantic speakers. It was like being in the front row of one of Roxie's concerts, but better. And Noni the Normie was today's headlining performer!

"YOU READY TO ROCK, TEAM STAR!?"

"YEAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"1-2-3-4!"

music notes*

"P! O! K! E! M! O-N! POKÉMON!"

For the next hour, Noni belted out all her favorite tunes from the Unovan rock star. Giacomo was laying out the music through his laptop, and though the beats started out faithful to Koffing and the Toxics' steps, Giacomo slowly found the drive to start really cutting loose.

He started adapting some new sounds to the songs, and even modifying the backing tracks enough to completely alter the mood. One of Roxie's softer ballads for instance became an EDM power anthem thanks to Giacomo's improvisations, and Noni would adjust her singing to fit his tempo without even struggling, which just encouraged him to try even harder.

Eventually, the mood finally wound down as the duo reached the end of their playlist for the day.

"Yeah, we got that toxic looooove! It's like poison in both our lungs, and then we kiss to death!"

"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!" the grunts all bellowed out.

"Cause we got that toxic loooo-oooo-oooove! And if we don't stop now, you know we're gonna break right in two…"

Noni's voice slowed down as she reached the big finishing line, beads of sweat running down her face.

"I don't want my bones to shatter next to yours, but maybe I want you… gluing me back together."

Noni let out a relieved sigh as she stepped away from the mic. Instantly, all the Segin Squad members belted out in cheers. All their Dark-type Pokémon, which included the likes of Sableye, Weavile, and Zorua, had also come to watch and were crying out in delight.

"Phew." Giacomo turned to his Pawniard, which had been assigned DJ duties on the turntable. "Think we can just about call this a set, little dude!"

"PAWNI."

Giacomo shut his laptop, this time in satisfaction rather than disappointment, and walked up to Noni with a smile on his face.

"So how was that!?" Noni asked him with ecstasy in her voice. "We were rockin' out like a giga-charged thunderstorm rolling through a city wired straight into the SKY!"

"No bones about it! Say, you ever thought about becoming a real pro singer, Noni? 'Cause you've got the voice for it and I would totally help you rise to the top!"

"Oh, uhh… Ahaha!" Noni appeared bashful. "That's umm… that's not really the kind of career for me. Sorry."

"Ahhh. Well, I respect that. But hey, guess what? You really helped me out a ton anyway, Noni! I've got so many great ideas for original beats now because of that little jam session, enough to get me out of my rut probably!"

"Awww, that's awesome!" she beamed. "I'm so happy for you, DJ Vice!"

"Ha-ha. We're offstage now, you can call me Giacomo if you want."

"Ahh, yes. Of course," Noni said very studiously, having not at all forgotten what his real name was.

Giacomo held out his hand, which Noni happily took. A bare handshake felt odd to her, but… somehow quite warm and satisfying.

"Feel free to come back and jam with me ANYTIME, Noni! And bring Penny along with you! Then we can make it a real show!"

"Ohhh, it's a promise fo sho!"

"Then…" Giacomo made a show of using his folded up hands to make a star in the air. "HASTA LA VISTAR! ✫"

…

"Beh?"

"Ugh. Wish I'd spotted that there's a base right next door to Levincia! I could've uhh… econo-mized these trips a little better and my poor footies wouldn't be hurting so much."

Iono was in the rolling hills of the East Province now, her home city shining brightly on the horizon as she approached the next base. That late winter snow was trickling down now, making Iono very glad she went with the hoodie.

"But hey… this is all going GREAT!" she declared, putting a skip in her step. "I went out to help solve Team Star's problems, and I'm already one base down in making that happen! The rest of these should fall like dominoes!"

However, upon reaching the site of the Schedar Squad base, an immediate problem presented itself:

"Huh? This one's CLOSED? Por que?"

The gates to the base were shut, and as Noni walked up, she saw a group of young Trainers lined outside the walls looking disappointed.

"Hey-oh-hey! Why are you guys out here all glum instead of in there all plum?"

"Base is closed," one of them shrugged.

"But why?"

A short boy with brown hair, the only one standing up, answered her.

"We don't know… We showed up here as soon as the gates were open—well. I was actually camping out here a little beforehand, because I just really wanted to battle Mela. But… they just never opened the gates at all."

"We tried getting one of the Team Star people's attention," one of the girls explained. "But all she told us is that Mela had just… decided not to open up the STC today."

"Say whaaaat? That's pretty rude of her to leave you all high and dry with zero notice! I should give this Mela lady a piece of my mind! What is she like anyway?"

One of them scoffed and pushed the brown-haired boy forward. "This guy here can tell you alllll about Mela, can't you Flo?"

He huffed at his teasing friend. "Well, Mela is—she's all sorts of things. She's a big redhead who loves Fire types and has like, tremendous amounts of energy. She's also super-pretty and confident and a really powerful Trainer. I think she's the coolest out of all the Team Star bosses and… and yeah," he said, tugging his arm.

"Hmmm…" Iono eyed this bashful boy, whose face had reddened the more he spoke. "Ohhhhh, now I see what's going on here! You've got a little CRUSH on Mela, dontcha?"

"Ahhh! Well, I—I… Uh."

"So that's why you were camping out waiting for her! How romantic! Did you hold up a boombox over your head too?" Iono had a gleaming smile. "Well, I can't possibly let true love be thwarted like this! Hang tight dreamers! Ion—I mean, Noni will SAVE the day!"

To their disbelief, Iono went right up to the gate and started climbing over it with vigor. The short-haired boy closed his eyes, and sighed as he heard his friends chuckling.

"Well, there you go, Flo. Smooooth talking, lover boy."

"Hey, if it gets us inside the base, he and Mela can make out for all I care!" They all laughed.

He opened his eyes, ready to retort… only to find "Noni" suddenly standing in front of him again, staring into his soul.

"Uhhh…"

Iono's eyes drilled into his. "Haven't I… seen you somewhere before?"

"No? I don't remember ever meeting you before."

"You sure? I just—I keep looking into those cute little brown eyes and it's, nagging me…"

"My eyes? I don't—Oh, wait…" He started chuckling. "Have you by any chance met a girl named Juliana?"

Iono gasped. "WAIT! That's it! Juliana! WOWWWWW!" She started squeezing the boy's cheeks. "How ya doin', girlie? Feels like it's been forever since I've seen your face!"

"Wait, no! You've got it wrong, I'm not—!"

"What's with the short hair, Juliana? And why are you wearing funny boy clothes now?" She gasped again. "Wait a minute! Are you TRANS now, Juliana? Whoaaaa, that's so wild!"

"I'm not Juliana! My—my name's Florian!"

"Ohh. It's Florian now, huh?" Iono put a finger to her chin. "Hmm… has a weird ring to it, but I guess you know best what name suits you now. I support your gender journey 100%, Florian!"

"Please, listen!" he insisted. "Juliana and I are neighbors. We grew up together, but we're not related or anything. People always think we are, I guess because we look so alike."

"Wh—" Iono's face scrunched in disbelief. "Well—that's just WEIRD, then! You're WEIRD!"

"Huh? How am I weird?"

"You just… are! Listen, I'll go get your crush to come out, but… if you're not Juliana, then you gotta chance your face! Or your eyes! Or something! Cause you're totally FREAKING ME OUT!"

Iono sent out a Poké Ball, releasing her Kilowattrel.

"Alright, Trelli! FLY ME!"

Kilowattrel hoisted Iono up and over the gates, leaving a confused Florian behind.

"Well she could talk!" one of the girls piped up. "Am I the only one who thought her face and eyes looked exactly like that streamer Iono's?"

Once she was inside the Schedar Squad's base, Iono went into ninja mode. She covertly snuck around the base, keeping a watchful eye for any grunts as she creeped behind tents and dover between vending machines.

"If being a freelance problem solver doesn't work out, maybe I really can become a ninja," she whispered.

She slowly inched her way to a big tent in the back of the field, where she could hear a girl softly humming.

Iono positioned herself against a tall banner next to the tent, and peeked over with her eyes, to see a very loudly dressed girl, with an even louder red-and-yellow hairdo… painting on easels of all things. The Charcadet accompanying her spotted Iono and made a noise to alert her.

"Huh? What's eating you, Charlos?"

Welp, cover's blown. Might as well roll with it.

Iono pulled down the banner and went, "HIYA!"

"GIYAAAA! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Charlos" immediately let loose an Ember that scorched the banner, forcing Iono to leap out from it. She was about to speak, when Mela strode right up… in some very over-the-top red boots, and got up in Iono's face.

"You've got SOME nerve sneaking up on me in my own home turf, punk. Got any last words before we roast you on the spot?"

Wow, that Florian freak was right. She is very hot… heh. In more ways than one!

"Hey, simmer down there, firecracker. I'm not here to hurt you!"

"TCH! Like I'd even give ya the chance to try it."

"CHAR-CHAR!" Charlos agreed.

"What do you want, anyway? Didn't you see that the gate's closed? That's supposed to be code for 'Leave me alone.' I'm not in the mood for any battles today."

Alright. So this one's… not quite as friendly and welcoming as Mr. DJ Vice guy. That's alright. I just have to be more persistent!

"Hmph. Well, that's not a very polite way to introduce yourself to a new friendo, is it? Let me show you how to do it." Iono cheerfully held out her hand. "Hi! My name's Noni. I'm a friend of Penny's, just like you!"

"You're a weirdy, is what you are," Mela shook her head. "And hang on. You're seriously trying to tell me you're friends with Cassie?"

"Who's Cassie?"

"Cassiopeia? Our big boss? I know her real name's Penny now, but I still like calling her Cassie. I think anyone could've added those two together. So how am I supposed to believe you're really a pal of hers?"

"Well… I know that Penny really loves Eevee a lot! She calls them 'Veevee's and has a whole super-team of 'em!"

"Yeah…" Mela looked unimpressed. "Well no DUH! Everyone knows that, ya dummy. That really all you got?"

"Okay… Well, let's see. I also know that she goes to Uva Academy…"

"Uh-huh."

"She's really, really great at computers and stuff. And I know she's from Galar. Plus—"

"Time out. Penny's from Galar? That place where everyone's all stuffy and can make their Pokémon super huge?"

"Yeah." Noni tilted her head curiously. "You… didn't know that? Why did you think she had that adorable accent?"

Mela shrugged. "I dunno. Guess I thought she just kinda talked funny. Alright… I guess you know something about Cassie that I didn't. So sure, I'll buy that you two are pals… for now, even though she's never mentioned you."

"Yay!" Noni jumped up happily.

"Still haven't told me what you're doin' here. Cassie send you to check up on me or something?"

"Nope! I'm here 100% on my own adventure! I'm traveling around to ALL the bases to meet Penny's cool friendos, and help you guys out with your problems!"

"Heh. Guess you think you're some kinda superhero. But you don't need to worry about me, I've got no problems here. I've just been busy doing all sorts of painting."

Mela walked over again—moving her legs all funny because of the boots—and opened up the tent flaps to show Noni some of her pieces.

"Y'see? I've had a real knack for making art lately, ever since I joined the school's art club, and I think I'm getting' really good at it! What do you think of my masterpieces?"

Noni examined all these paintings on easels, which depicted things like vegetables in a garden, purple flames on a blue background, and a portrait of a Charcadet (presumably "Charlos" here). Noni gazed at each of them, trying to look all thoughtful like an artisan at a museum, even though… these works were all very simplistic, looking like a kindergartner had made them.

"Well, they're… they're sure something, alright!"

Mela's eyes sneered. "You trying to say I got no talent or something?"

"No, no! I just uhh… it doesn't really matter if you're talented, long as you're having fun! Right?"

"…"

"So anyway, these paintings are cool beans and all, but why'd you shut down the STC?"

"I dunno. Because I don't feel like keepin' this place running."

"Ohhhhh. …Uhhh. Why's come?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've got a hobby now, and I'm making new friends over at Uva now. So why should I bother with this whole STC crap?"

"I didn't know you hated the STC's."

"I don't! Running this place as a training facility is tons of fun. I love it. But I also love painting, and if you're good at one thing, shouldn't ya focus on that and not worry about other things distracting ya?"

Iono raised an eyebrow. "A distraction? That's… kinda silly."

"Well… what do you know, anyway?"

"But I don't get it then. If you feel that way, why don't you just close this whole place down?"

Mela sighed, and took a seat on her chair. "Cause… I don't even feel all that welcome in school right now. I was so excited to make new friends and get to enroll in cool subjects so I could learn all sorts of stuff but… the teachers keep giving me shit about how I look, like that's any of their business!"

"You're right! It's not!"

"Yeah but…" Mela looked off to the side, forlorn. "Eri told me that Penny got in trouble because of me and my stompin' around… I don't wanna do that to Cassie. Plus, that old Clive guy, or whatever his real name is, wants all us Team Star bosses to test out these new uniforms of his. The ones they already got are pretty tacky, so that's a pass from me. And that's my whole deal."

Mela's voice had gotten real low. Whatever hotheadedness she displayed when Noni first met her had all quietly simmered out, leaving a very aimless, melancholy girl in its place.

"Well… I dunno how to help you with all that," Noni admitted. "But I can tell you one thing! That whole nonsense you just said about being good at only one thing, that's kinda narrow thinking, friendo."

"So…?"

"I'm saying if you still love STC's, then you can do that AND make art at the same time!"

"I don't see how."

"It's easy! Lots of people can do lots of things they love all at once! I, I umm…"

She was about to tell Mela all about how she juggles being a mega-successful streamer, influencer, and a Gym Leader.

But… that's Iono's thing. Not Noni's. I gotta—gotta use another example…

Then her eyes widened as a dreadful thought occurred to her.

Oh no… I don't, I don't wanna use that. But—it's such a perfect example!

"Charr?" Charlos had straddled up to Noni, curious at her frazzled display.

I gotta be a helpful Noni… Guess I've got no choice.

"Hey, Mela. You wanna know who's really good at multitasking a bunch of hobbies at once?" With a sigh, she answered, "My mom."

"Like what? What does she do?"

"She does a lot of things! For one thing, she's one of the strongest Trainers ever! Like, on the whole planet IMO! And she's not JUST a great battler. Her main job is also, uhh- it's umm, well…"

Noni paused.

"Let's just say that she's also incredibly talented at what she does. She like, knows people really well. How to read them and all that stuff. My mom's got a REALLY sharp business sense. Oh yeah!" she remembered. "My mom also does a business-y thing on the side! So that's THREE things she does all at once!"

"Wow…" Mela smirked. "Your mom sounds… pretty cool."

"…Yeah. I guess to most people, she is…" Noni muttered. "But—I think you're pretty cool, Mela. You know what it is you want and you just go for it! I'm like that too, we must be kindred spirits!"

Noni looked around the huge field, and saw a lot of the Schedar Squad members just… laying around, with their Fire Pokémon, clearly looking bored out of their minds.

"But y'know… you've also got a whole squad here."

"Yeah, I know…" Mela grumbled.

"They probably depend on you a lot, don't they? Would you really want to close down this place and leave all of 'em without a purpose?"

"…"

"Or if I can shoot you in the face with another idea… what about asking one of them to take over?"

Mela balked at that one. "What!? You kidding me? I love all these guys like family. But… I sure wouldn't trust any of them to be a leader!"

"Well there you go!" Noni clapped. "You've got that spark after all, and you need to use it to light their fire, Mela! If you put your mind to it, you can find time to do EVERYTHING that you love and never lose your passion for any of it!"

"Heh-heh… You've got my fire burnin' a bit, I hate to admit it," Mela chuckled.

"Well, if you need some gasoline to douse on it…" Noni gave her a coy look. "Should I mention that there's… a really cute boy waiting right outside who wants to see you?"

Mela scoffed. "Lame! You think you can really get me with that one! Nice try."

She crossed her arms and turned away from Noni defiantly… for about ten seconds. Then, reluctantly, she turned to face again, her turquoise eyes looking a bit softer even under all that mascara.

"How… cute are we talkin' here?"

"You remember going up against Juliana, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah? Would've kicked her ass all the way to next Tuesday if it weren't for her using that Tera Orb on her stupid dolphin thing."

"Did you think she was really cute?"

Mela looked at her, confused. "For a… girl, I suppose? Yeh."

Noni had on a cat-like smile. "Well then… maybe you should put that brush down for now, and open those gates up. Who knows? Maybe after you do some of your cool STC stuff today, you'll have new things to paint about!" Or a new someone…

Mela finally sighed and stood up, stretching her shoulders.

"Alright, fine. I'll do it. But just to be clear, I'm not doing it because of YOU, Noni. I'm doing it for my crew."

"Hey, that's all I needed to hear!" Noni said cheerfully. "Guess my work is done here! Catch you on the flipside, Mela! Umm… hasta-la… vi-star? ℘" She moved her arms around, not remembering the exact shape Giacomo made.

"Uhhh, yeah, Hasta la Vistar. ☆" Mela just did a mini-star with her finger. As Noni started leaving, Mela bellowed out to her squad, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL SITTING AROUND FOR!? OPEN THOSE GATES!"

The Schedar Squad crew all belted out panicked cries of "Yes, ma'am!" and "You heard her!" as they scrambled to open the gates. The grunts ran to and fro, along with their Houndour, Torkoal, and Carkol, as they prepared the whole base for a Star Barrage.

No sooner had the gates opened that Florian, the young boy from before, swiftly sprung right through them and eagerly ran right up to Mela. She turned around to face him, and he gulped.

Scanning him up and down, she snidely said to him, "Well aren't you all hopped up. What's your name s'posed to be?"

"F-F-Florian! And you're… Mela!" Then he blurted out, "Gosh, you're so pretty!" before covering his mouth in embarrassment.

Mela smirked. "Alright, handsome. Well if you're able to outlast a whole five minutes of my Team Star crew throwin' everything they've got at you without getting burned, I'll let you battle me and my team so you can see up close just how 'pretty' I am when I get going. Sound like a sweet deal?"

She held out her hand.

"Yeah—AGG!" Mela started squeezing Florian's hand hard the second he gripped it. But he only winced for a second. Determined, he gazed into Mela's eyes and gave her a big, bright smile.

Mela looked into his dopey hazel-brown eyes and couldn't help but giggle.

That girl was right, he IS kinda cute…

Iono was trembling in her shoes.

Why did I think this would be a good idea? This was such a bad, bad, BAD IDEA! What was I thinking?

The hike up the other way from Levincia had started out nice. Iono actually used to live in this area a few years back before becoming Levincia's Gym Leader, and the sight of all these dirt mounds and mining fields was a bit nostalgic for her.

But any good feelings she had were gone when she stood at the opening of what she realized was the dreaded Tagtree Thicket… and those banners. Purple and green around the Team Star logo. They haunted her.

"Why the crap did I come back HERE…?" she asked herself, breathing heavily. "I didn't even think about the fact that I'd have to—to—come back to THIS PLACE AGAIN! They're—they're TOTALLY GOING TO SEE THROUGH MY DISGUISE!"

Iono was experiencing major PTSD at the sight of the Navi Squad's base. This wasn't the first time she ended up crossing paths with this group…

"EYAAHHH! What's the big idea!? Let me through!"

"Nay, wench of the streaming screen!" Atticus declared. "I was warned of an interloper looking to cross into this glade. And as its sworn protector, I will not allow thee to disrupt its sanctity! A plague upon your witchy Iono Zone!"

"Give me a break!" Iono barked. "I have a bounty out for a huge VIP that's going to get me mad clicks, and my loyal Ionites in Zapapico gave me a hot tip that he and Katy were heading towards this silly little forest! So I'm not gonna let some flashy Team Star punks intimidate me! I've got too much riding on the line!"

Atticus hmphed. "If it's entertainment thy seeks, perhaps thou could survive a round of battling in our fair running grounds with a cavalry of the most vexatious Poison paladins our natural kingdom can offer?"

On cue, a bunch of rowdy Poison-type Pokémon surrounded the edge of the thicket, including angry Amoonguss, gnarly Grafaiai, and some stubborn Stunky.

"Ehhhhh…" Iono looked really nervous now.

"Surely your noble followers vie to see their queen of pastels brave such harsh trials for the sake of courage and triumph…"

Iono gritted her teeth. "Man, the things I'll do just for views…"

"It took me a whole week to rip out all those barbs from my skin and stop feeling all sick…" she whined, thinking back on that horrid day.

Just looking into that dark thicket was making Iono feel all queasy again, and she had half a mind to just cut her losses and run away from this awful place.

She gulped hard. "Come on Iono, you—you can do this. You're strong, you won't let that weird-talking freak and his stupid goons scare you away from another mission. Remember, you're doing this for Penny. It's all for Penny." Another gulp. "And besides, you're—you're not that 'witch' Iono right now. You're Noni. Noni is kind and friendly and everyone loves her…"

After some hesitation, Iono finally convinced herself to put a foot forward and start walking through the edge of the woods. It was only moments into the thicket she heard leaves rustling all around her.

"Skrii-skrii-skrii…"

She heard the unmistakable skitters of Grafaiai up in the trees and looked up to see their terrifying green eyes peering at her from the branches.

"Those things still give me the freaking creeps…"

Iono's shoulders were shuddering, but she still pressed herself to move on.

"Noni is kind and friendly and everyone loves her… Noni is kind and friendly and everyone loves her…"

"HALT!"

"AAAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Iono screamed, immediately falling to her knees. "I'M SO SORRYYYYYYYY! PLEASE SPARE MEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Huh? Spare you?" said a very squeaky voice.

Iono looked up from her groveling… and was embarrassed to see it belonged to a very tiny young boy with dark skin and scruffy hair. "What are you talking about?"

He had a Croagunk with him. "Croaaaaak."

"Grrrr…" Feeling humiliated, Iono stood up, rubbing the dirt off her clothes. "Nothing, whatever. Who are you? And what's an adorable little squirt like you doing in a scary place like this?"

"Hey, I'm no squirt! I'm Youssef! I'm helping defend the base for my dear compadre!"

"Ooookay. And who's your compadre, compadre?"

"None other than Don Atticus, of course!"

"Ohhh, uhhh… D-D-Don Atticus?"

Is Atticus part of the freaking MAFIA now!?

"Yeah! He's the leader of the Navi Squad! I'm not—old enough to be in Team Star but… I owe Don Atticus my life, so I'm still helping out any way I can!"

"Right-o. So umm…" Iono looked around nervously. "Where is uhh, everybody else?"

"Oh, they're all preparing the base! Don Atticus warned everybody that a nasty woman called Iono might be showing up to cause trouble!"

…

"Uh-huh…" NASTY woman!?

"Yeah! One of Don Atticus's grunts said that she was talking about Team Star today and wanted to know where everyone's bases are! So Don Atticus thinks that Iono wants revenge and is getting ready to declare a huge WAR on Team Star!"

"Well… your 'compadre' has certainly got quite the imagination."

"I'm always game to help my compadre fight against the bad guys! Even if they're a girl!" Youssef pulled out his Rotom Phone. "Don Atticus even gave me a picture of Iono to study!"

"O-oh… He… he did, huh?" Iono said nervously.

"Yup!" He flashed his phone, showing Iono's own pastel-haired face to her dead-to-rights. "He wanted me to see what she looks like so I can alert everyone if I see her coming this way!"

He looked at the picture, then up at "Noni". And… then he slowly looked at the picture again, and back to "Noni".

"Hey… wait a minute."

"Croa!" Croagunk suddenly raised its fist, which lit up purple.

Iono's eye twitched. With a bright smile, she started backing up.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope! Nope! NOPE! NOPE! NOOOOPE! NOT DOING THIS! AHHHH!" And then she turned around and started fleeing as fast as she could. "HASTA-LA-VISTAAAAAARRRRR! 💦💦💦💦" the mysterious girl whined as she vanished.

…

"Huh? That was weird…" said Youssef. "I was just… going to ask if maybe she knew what Pokémon Iono has. So that maybe I could battle her while everyone else gets away!"

"Croaaaagunk?"

Chapter Text

Having narrowly avoided reliving one of the worst misadventures of her career, Iono dedicated herself to finding the next base, belonging to the Ruchbah Squad. She spent a few hours searching…

…and then promptly gave up, because Glaseado Mountain was way too big and way too cold, and she was getting way too lost.

"Okay… oh-for-two isn't… terrible, right?" Iono tried to rationalize, trudging through the snow. "Like, I still did really great on those first two bases! And I bet I would knock the socks off that Rhubarb boss if I could figure out where he buried himself. As long as I nail this last base, then that's still—ooh! Pretty!"

Iono found herself in a wide bamboo thicket now, at the foot of Glaseado Mountain on its northeast side. The tops of the bamboo trees were collecting all the snow trickling down from the mountain, making the whole valley into a pristine white wintery wonderland.

Clutching her red hoodie for warmth, It reminded Iono pleasantly of her childhood. There was a city she knew that became blanketed by heavy snow piles in the winter seasons, with puddles freezing over into ice ponds that she could skate on. Her parents used to—

…

"Ugh. I'm being reminded of home way too much today. Gotta stop that."

She followed the marker for the Caph Squad's Base on her map, and eventually found the gate at the top of the hill, surrounded by yellow banners.

"Ahhh. Well, that was a lot easier to find than the stupid Rhubarb place. And this one's open too! Nyohoho! This one will be a piece of cake."

There was a lone female grunt standing in front of the open gate, who smirked at Iono as she approached.

"Greetings, Trainer!" she called out enthusiastically. This dark-skinned girl was wearing a modified version of the typical uniform Iono had seen on Team Star grunts up to now, with extra padding and an open purple varsity jacket. "Welcome to base of Team Star's Caph Squad!"

"Hiya!" Iono greeted, giggling. "Wow, you guys are already a lot friendlier than the other bases!"

"Oh, so you've been to tour Team Star's other forts, eh? Well, here at the Caph Squad, we run a tight ship here and look after one another! So you'll never catch any of us slacking off! We wear that one with pride!" she declared, putting a proud hand to her chest.

"I can abso-toot-ly see that! So, can Eri come out to play?"

Iono felt very proud of herself. She'd struggled to remember all the other bosses' names, especially after having heard Penny's pet names for her friends several times, but Eri was the exception. Short, sweet, and didn't even need a nickname.

…However, the second she said that name, something changed in the female grunt's demeanor.

"E-E-Eri?" She then asked, sounding somewhat defensively, "Wh—what could you possibly want to see Riri for!?"

Iono was confused. "Umm… isn't she your boss? I just—want to talk to her."

"Just want to talk to her…?" Iono couldn't see this girl's expression through those star-shaped goggles, but her tone suggested she was… tiffed. "I don't know… does Riri even know you? Or are you a complete stranger?"

So Eri DOES have a nickname. Why is it longer? …Or is Riri her real name?

"Well, uhh—not exactly. But… I know Penny! Or Cassiopeia, however ya know her. I'm Noni, a friend of hers! That's gotta count for something, right?"

Now this girl lifted her goggles up… apparently, so her lilac-gray eyes could sneer all the way through Iono's skull.

Then she lowered them back over her eyes and drew a Poké Ball. "Well, if you want to get through to Riri… you'd better prove your worth as a battler first."

"…Seriously?"

"YES! This isn't some kind of game, y'know! I, Carmen of Team Star, challenge you to a battle!"

Iono sighed. Drama queen much?

"Alright. If that's what I gotta do, then I'm game. I accept your challenge, Miss 'Where in the World is Carmen Star-diego~♪'"

Carmen groaned.

TERA-PA-GOOOOS!

Iono's Luxray burst from its crystals… revealing a Dark Tera Type! Just after Carmen had already commanded her Pokémon.

"BRRRAAHHH…" Annihilape was charging forward with Rage Fist, an attack souped up by all the damage the brash ghostly Pokémon had taken. "RRAAAAGGHHHH!"

But thanks to Iono's quick thinking, Luxray bore the brunt of Annihilape's attack, still standing proud.

"Luxx!"

"Now Luxray, finish this spooky pig-thing off! Crunch attack!"

Luxray's black-maroon Tera Jewel sparkled with malevolent energy as it laid into the Rage Monkey Pokémon with the full impact of its dark fangs.

What was dead once may rise again, but not today, as Carmen's Pokémon fainted. "Sigh, Annihilape return!" Begrudgingly, she turned to Iono. "Well… you beat me. You're clearly a pretty seasoned Trainer, Noni."

"Thanks. You're not so bad, yourself, Carmen!" Noni winked. I wonder if she'd flip out knowing she just faced with a Gym Leader. "So, does that mean I can see finally see your queen Eri now?"

"Well, I—That is, err…" Carmen still seemed very reluctant, as her chin darted around. "Well, no! Rules are still rules! If you show up at our base, then… you've still gotta do one of our intense and grueling Star Barrages!"

She ran up to the bell and sounded it off, bringing the whole crew of the Caph Squad to attention.

"Hear this, Noni! If you can last five minutes against some of the most intense, violent Fighting Pokémon you've ever laid eyes on, then… maybe you'll earn yourself an audience against my Riri—I mean, against Eri!

"Awww, COME OOOON!" she whined.

"I'd better go and warn her right now—I mean, make sure she's getting ready!" Carmen declared as she slipped through the gate. But not before one last callout, "Feel free to turn around and run if you think you're in over your head! HASTA-LA-VISTAR! ✫"

Iono grumbled dramatically.

"I just can't seem to catch a break today, Luxray."

"Lux-rrray?"

Iono pumped herself up as hard as she could. "Anything for my friend."

And so, Noni threw herself into the gates and charged her way through everything the Caph Squad had to throw at her. She was faced with some very tough Pokémon. Primeape, Falinks, and Hawlucha and so many others. She had to rely on Kilowattrel's wind attacks, Mismagius and its Dazzling Gleam, and Luxray with its Psychic Fangs in order to defeat them all.

It was a long and grueling five minutes, made even worse by the Caph Squad's base being positioned at the top of a large valley that involved tons of running up cliffs and across bridges.

By the end of the huge raid, Iono made it to the top hill. Team Star recalled their fainted Pokémon, and the heavily exhausted girl was finally allowed to rest on a stack of girders in front of the biggest tent, panting heavily and sweating profusely.

"Well at least…" she coughed. "There weren't any icky poison barbs this time around..."

Then the tent doors were thrust open, and Iono was startled by what—or who—came out of them.

"Ahhh!"

The girl who stared her down looked like she stood at least a full foot taller than Iono, maybe even a foot and a half!

She's… like a giant!

And if that wasn't menacing enough, her extravagant outfit, with padding similar to Carmen's, on top of that terrifying facepaint and black chinstrap combo, made her look like some sort of giant, intimidating luchadora.

Iono found herself trembling as Carmen came out alongside this girl—which meant this must indeed be the enigmatic Eri/'Riri'—and whispered while pointing to Iono.

"Ehhhhh…" she whined uneasily.

Then the girl rushed forward! Right up to Iono! And made her want to melt into goo on the spot.

"Are you Noni?" the giantess asked her.

"Yes…? P-please don't eat me."

Carmen was quick to run alongside her companion and stand close to her, still guarded.

"I'm Eri, the leader of the Caph Squad."

Eri's soft, elegant voice completely betrayed her intimidating appearance.

"Normally… I reward anyone who manages to pass our Star Barrage with a one-on-one battle, as per new code for our Star Training Centers. But… Carmen here says that you went through all this trouble—just to speak to me personally?"

Iono nodded. "Yeah, I just—wanted to… meet you. In person."

"And you're… also claiming to be friend of Penny's."

Iono nodded even more vigorously.

"I see…" Eri turned to her companion. "I'll handle it from here, Carmen."

"What!? Riri, are you sure?" Carmen, strangely, started wrapping her arms around Eri's big, beefy arm for comfort. "Do you really trust this girl? I don't want to see you get hurt!"

"Yes, Carmen. Please… you always come to my aid when I need it. So this time, let me be the one to protect everyone, okay?"

Carmen wanted to protest, but she wouldn't dare against her Riri. "O-okay…"

Eri smiled. "Come on now. Sign off the proper way."

She groaned, but made the star-sign regardless. "Hasta-la-vistar…! ✫" and ran off.

"I'm sorry if Carmen was acting rough to you," Eri said to Noni. "She always gets like that… or at least, whenever a girl comes to our base and wants to battle me. I really wish I knew why that is."

Noni looked behind her, and saw that Carmen was still eying the two of them from the sidelines, her arms all bunched up and… looking like she was fuming.

"Uhhh… yeah. It's uhh, it's sure a mystery."

"So… Penny's friend." Eri put on a stern expression. "I probably talk to Penny the most out of our group. So I know that she's mentioned having a new friend. But she didn't give me a name, and I swore I will always look after my friends, so…"

"I get it," Noni nodded. "You need proof. Well, I know that she likes Veevees! Whole team of 'em, she's Galarian. She's Cassiopeia. The whole works. That about a satisfying resume?"

"…No."

"No!?"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about Penny, so that I can believe your heart is true!"

"E-everything?"

"Yes," she said very firmly.

"Oookay…"

So, Noni found herself forced to relay the entire story of her meeting Penny between the clothing racks at a convention, to becoming online friends, to explaining her current mission after hearing Penny moan about her struggles with being in trouble—something Eri sympathized with, it turned out, because she was the one Penny told about her rough meeting with Tyme.

She basically told Eri everything—well, minus that one teensy little detail that she's actually the worldwide famous streamer Iono. But y'know, details.

And by the end of Noni's story, Eri was no longer a tall, imposing statue of a goddess. She sat on the girder next to Noni, now playing the role of a caring, considerate listener.

"I see. Please forgive me for… making you tell me all that! It's just—I've always seen myself as everyone's protector. Even our big boss. I guess it's because everyone sees me a strong person and looks to me for guidance."

"So you're always trying to be a strong person for everyone else."

"Yes! Exactly that. How did you deduce that so well?"

"I guess it's because… I kinda sorta know what that's like," said Noni. "Needing to play the role that makes people happy, so that means I always gotta look like I'm happy too."

…

"But I mean… it's fine for me, cause I AM always happy!"

"Right! And I… am always strong, for everyone!" Eri declared. "Not because I have to be, but just because I want to be."

"Sure, yeah…" Noni decided to press a question. "So why do you need to wear that facepaint?"

"Huh? I don't need to wear it," Eri insisted. "It's just a part of my costume. That's all."

"…But you still wear it in school."

"S-so?"

"And… Penny said that's one of the things that teacher lady grilled her about, was you scaring people with it."

Eri looked lost for words, and indeed, some of that bravado she'd been emanating this entire conversation seemed to ebb away.

"I—I know but… but okay. So maybe I do think it's important I look this way! That way, our enemies know I'm not one to be trifled with, and my friends know that I'll always be there to protect them!"

…

Iono was still trying to figure out how best to approach basic conversations as this "Noni" character she'd created. She figured that maybe a shy person like Noni would be fidgeting right now, too afraid to speak the truth.

But she also couldn't deny that her Iono intuition was tingling right now. She could sense the pieces of the puzzle that both Eri… and Carmen, were missing, and that voice was just yelling inside her mind right now. Telling her she needs to put that Keen Eye to use and speak up.

"I'm sorry," she said a bit shrewdly," but I don't buy that."

"What?" Eri said with big eyes. "What do you mean, Noni? It's the whole truth. Honest."

"No… the truth is you're scared. You're hiding behind that big colorful face of yours, because—whatever's underneath it, you just can't bear to show anyone! Or… maybe just one person."

"Huh? Who?"

Noni looked behind Eri again. Carmen was looking more and more flustered the longer the two of them were talking alone.

"Carmen."

"Wh—" Eri looked behind her too to see Carmen, who quit fidgeting when she looked and pretended nothing was wrong. "No, you're… you're wrong. Okay? You just are!"

But even behind the facepaint, Noni could see a pained look in those milky white eyes—which she realized were contacts. Even Eri's true eye color was a hidden source of shame.

"I… I…"

Finally, Eri put her head down.

"Okay. You're reading me like a book here. Listen, Carmen is… something very special to me. Maybe the best friend I've ever had. But we didn't start that way at all. She got jealous of me becoming the new class queen and—and turned all the other students on me, but then they all started picking on her after they were done with me…"

"Wow… kids are so cruel."

"Yeah… I defended Carmen when everyone turned on her, since I knew what it was like to be bullied. Carmen has been a close friend of mine ever since, and she's basically my Number Two! That's why I have to… have to keep up my strong appearance for her sake. So she doesn't…"

She trailed off a bit.

"…so she doesn't see the weak, pathetic face underneath. The face of the girl that she hates."

"Wow, that's some story. But it's also total baloney."

"What do you mean by that!?"

"Eri… Carmen clearly loves you."

"Yes, and I love her too!"

"No, no, no. I mean… the reason she gets all huffy like that around us girlie girls is because she's jealous."

"…"

"She wants you all to herself! She… loves loves you."

"…"

"I know…" Eri said quietly. "I already know that she has feelings for me."

"And this whole business about protecting her and hiding your face—obviously, you love her too! That's why you're making up all these excuses."

"I know that too, Noni… No matter how much I deny it, I realized all that a long time ago."

"WELL THERE WE GO!" Noni declared. "If you both already know that, why not just stop moping and kiss her already?"

"Not so loud!" Eri cautioned her, glancing back at Carmen briefly. "Because it doesn't matter, that's why. As long as my face, the thing that made Carmen and the other kids hate me, is an obstacle, then she and I can only ever work as friends. That's how much I love Carmen, Noni. I'd rather be friends with her forever than ruin everything we have…"

"But if she already loves you, then that doesn't matter! Because if she loves you, that means she loves you for who you are, Eri! And that's not like, on your face or anything! It's deep inside your soul. It's just like—"

Noni stopped. She groaned inwardly, annoyed that she was really about to resort to this again.

"It's just like… my mom once told me about how… she and my mama knew that they both liked each other, but were scared to date, because my mama's job, it— basically, it made dating like really, really impossible for her. She just didn't think it could ever happen."

"So what did they do?"

"I don't know, they just… they both wanted it badly enough that they just decided to make it work somehow. I just remember my mom telling me that they tried to stay as only friends, but she knew if they kept on going like that, it probably would've blown up and…"

She sighed.

"…and then I probably wouldn't be here at all! So, yeah. Huge loss for the world, right?"

…

"I guess what I'm tryin' to say is… don't let yourself be stubborn about Carmen that you—end up losing her."

"…"

"Maybe what you gotta do is, for once, don't just be strong for everyone else. You have to be strong… for yourself, Eri. And let her see the real you."

Eri had her mouth open, but she just—had no response to anything Noni said. She just sat and stared at Noni for the longest time.

And then suddenly. She stood up, at her full height once again… and took off running back into the tent. "Huh!?" Much to Noni's surprise, and doubly so to Carmen's.

"WHAT THE—!? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO RIRI THAT MADE HER RUN OFF LIKE THAT!?" Two of the grunts nearby recognized Carmen was ready to erupt and quickly grabbed her arms as she tried to wrangle free. "LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO RIP THAT GIRL'S PONYTAIL RIGHT OFF HER HEAD!"

"CARMEN!" Eri's voice bellowed from inside. "Stop."

"Huh…?"

The tent doors flew open again… and everyone's mouths dropped, Carmen among the several who gasped.

Eri stepped out of the tent.

The facepaint and chinstrap were gone. Only her natural face, and a pair of large, gorgeous brown eyes like chocolate remained underneath that thick white mane.

Even Noni's heart skipped a few beats.

"Carmen."

The pale-faced Eri walked right over to Carmen. The nearby grunts all wordlessly backed away to give them space as Carmen stared up at her Riri, gobsmacked.

They were far away enough that Noni couldn't make out anything they were saying, much to her frustration. She bravely resisted the Iono impulse to sneak over quietly and eavesdrop—maybe even film it for spicy stream material—and instead relied solely on reading their body language.

Whatever Eri was saying to Carmen started off as firm, but Noni watched as her body began to rattle, and it became obvious that she was gradually professing something.

Carmen started shaking her head in dismay, as if denying whatever Eri was insinuating. Then, she gave a permissive nod.

Eri raised her hands above her head… and pulled off that frenzic white mane, revealing perfectly silky, long black hair underneath it.

"Whaaaat!? Even all that wild, white hair was fake!? I never would've even guessed that!" Noni exclaimed, gripping her own white hairpiece.

Now she could see Eri was being completely vulnerable, her shoulders and her stance completely guardless, unlike how she had appeared to Noni and her crew the whole time.

She said something that made Carmen gasp. Carmen seemed to be asking her if she was certain. Eri nodded.

…

Noni's smile lit up as Carmen leapt into Eri's embrace, her legs wrapped around the tall girl's backside, and gave her a huge smack on the lips.

"Yaaaaaaay!" Noni clapped excitedly. "They did it! I did it! I saved their relationship!" Then Iono rose to the surface. "…Aww, man. I really should have filmed all that, would've made for a record-breaking Iono the Matchmaker stream!"

But as she watched the two lovers spin around embracing each other, Noni's kind, compassionate nature found itself again as she watched them in a trance.

Carmen's feet were swinging completely off the ground, but Eri had her head tilted all the way down to meet her companion's as they continued passionately exchanging oxygen. Penny's eyes opened up wide, and Noni could see her gray eyes glistening behind those adorable glasses—

Wait. What?

"HUU—AHHH! UHHH!" Noni was so frazzled that her limbs all jolted like she had just been electrocuted by a Magneton. "What the frickity FRICK was THAT!?"

"Hmm? Oh," a nearby grunt said. "Did you get bit by a bug? We get lots of 'em up in this area. Here we go." He tossed her a can of Bug Pokémon spray.

Noni saw Eri start pointing over at her, and Carmen looked like she was in disbelief and urged Eri in some way. Then, they started rushing towards her, forcing Noni to put a pin on whatever just happened inside her mind.

Carmen leapt out of Eri's arms, made a beeline to Noni, and grabbed her hand so she could start shaking it furiously.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

"Woah-wah-wah-wah-wah!" Noni vibrated.

"I wanna thank you so much for helping Riri out of her rut and making her see reason, Noni! All I needed was to see that beautiful face of hers that got me so in love I thought it was jealousy to know what my heart truly feels!"

"I'm—I'm glad!" Noni said, feeling woozy. Little Wattrel birdies circled her spinning head.

"I'm forever in your gratitude, Noni! Whatever favor you need repaid from me or the rest of Caph Squad's crew, just say the word!"

"Uhhhh…" she graoned. "Directions to that Rhubarb Squad would be nice…"

"Right here, sir! That's the lighthouse alright!"

"You got it, ma'am!"

The Flying Taxi gently made its descent towards a small clearing at the foot of Glaseado, all the way at the very northwest tip of the large snowy mountain, where the snow neatly gave way to a cascading brook…

Which led to a very beautiful meadow-y hill. A huge lighthouse sat right by the coastline, and the familiar Team Star barricades surrounded the area past the backwater and the flowers with pink and orange-spotted flags waving proudly around it.

The Taxi stopped just inches above the ground, and Noni eagerly hopped off.

"Thank you sooooo much for the ride, Carmen!"

"You're very welcome, Noni. I'm still really sorry that I misjudged you so much when we first met. I hope this makes us square!"

"Tee-hee-hee! A rhombus, even!" she gleamed.

Carmen laughed. "You're funny, Noni!" As the taxi lifted up again and Carmen waved goodbye, she shouted, "Tell Ortega that Riri and I said hi!"

"Youuuuuu bet your bottom dollar!" she waved back.

Once they were gone, Iono started calibrating herself.

"Ortega, huh? That name should be easy to remember, I think. Lessee…" She went over all the other bosses in her head. "So we had loud music dude, crazy boots girl, scary facepaint lady, and… a spiteful jerk who's too up in his own poison gunk to be fixed."

She scorned a little thinking about Atticus again.

"That would mean this… Ortie guy must be the one that Penny said keeps skipping school." Iono put on a resolute face. "Well, that's nothing Noni the Magic Problem Solver can't fix! Let's go convince Ortega to be a good noodle!"

Iono paid attention to her footing as she skipped down the hill, following the brook's path. Peering inside the really low walls, Iono could see a lot of Fairy Pokémon like Wigglytuff, Marill, Morgrem, and the odd Daschbun enjoying the huge spacious meadow.

To her surprise, unlike all the other bases, the Ruchbah Squad's gates were just wide open. Free for anyone to walk through.

"Huh! Well that's easy-peasy convenient!"

A trio of Team Star grunts still met her at the entrance.

"Greetings miss, and welcome to the Ruchbah Squad's base! You looking to take the STC challenge today?"

"Nope!" she shook her head, not ready for another barrage. "I was wondering if your dear leader Ortega is open for some chit-chatting!"

One of them leaned in to whisper, "Must be another tutor."

"Good luck to her," a female grunt chuckled before pointing and saying, "Our boss is up there at the top of the lighthouse today."

"Oh. Brilliant! Thank you," she bowed politely before marching towards it.

"Just be warned, he'll probably be super cranky with ya!"

"Don't worry, I know how to out-crank people with the power of my LIGHTNING SMILE!" Iono confidently called back.

The grunt just scoffed. "Well, this one's got the tenacity, at least. Good luck to Ortega, more like it."

Iono fought not to puff for air as she climbed the ladder all the way to the top of the lighthouse. She quickly saw what looked like a young boy, dressed in a very fancy-looking outfit with rose gold hair, sitting against the wall playing a video game on his expensive Nintendo system. A tall, gilded cane with a Poké Ball design lay on the floor next to him.

From the top of the lighthouse, Iono could see the sun beginning to set very beautifully on the horizon, casting a warm glow over the sparkling ocean waves and the sunny beach down below.

"Wow, pretty."

"Ahh!" The boy was startled by her voice. "Aww, darn it! You made me mess up!"

"Whoops, sorry," she giggled. "Hey, do you knows where I can find the big boss of this crew? Guy by the name of… Ortie? Otis? Something like that."

"You mean Ortega?" he sighed. "Because that's me! I'm the boss around here."

"Oh!" Iono failed to contain her surprise.

"What, am I not what you were expecting or something? Just because I'm not all big and tall? Tch! Guess that'll teach you to judge a book by its cover!" he said sardonically. "Who are you supposed to be anyway? Another wannabe tutor?"

"As if! My name's Noni!" she said, eagerly holding out her hand.

"…So?"

Noni huffed. The audacity of this squirt.

"I'm a friend of Penny's."

This finally seemed to pique Ortega's interest beyond looking at her annoyed.

"Wait, Penny? Like, our Penny?"

"Yeah…" Noni answered him, bracing for what sort of questions he was about to grill her with.

"Well that's cool then! Any friend of Penny's is a friend of mine, I… I guess!" Ortega gladly accepted her handshake now, surprising her. "Sorry that I seemed so rude. I thought the academy sent you here to bug me."

Well, this is a piece of cake so far!

"Nah. I'm here to bug ya for entirely different reasons!" She paused. "Or… I guess kinda the same reason if it was that Uva Academy sending people out."

"Ugh. So you really came here to bother me about not going to my classes? For crying out loud. I actually thought you were cool for a second."

"Well hey, if you want me to leave quicker, then let's just get right down to it! So why aren't you going to school and learnin' yourself some smarts, huh?"

Ortega huddled his knees together and groaned.

"Cause I just don't see the point of any of it, that's why! All this complicated math stuff, learning so much boring history, and being asked to 'delve the meaning' from really stupid books."

"So it's… really just as simple as you thinking that school is all boring and lame?"

"Not just that, but USELESS stuff too! I don't know why Mr. Salvatore thinks it's so important to know what things mean in different languages. And having to cook stuff in Home Ec? Why do I even need to learn to cook? When I'm an adult, I can just hire someone to do that for me!"

Hmmm. Getting major pampered rich kid vibes over here.

"Like… I know the rest of the gang were really sad about us boycotting the academy, but I think I liked it better when we weren't going! Now I've got all this homework, and that Director and his weird hair wants me to run this place as a training center! So I decided to pick a lane and focus on that! That time I spend less of my energy trying to memorize the elements or whatever and have more time for ME!"

"Right…"

Noni quietly turned her head away to analyze this Ortega boy's head case.

"Okay, so we're dealing with the opposite of fiery hair girl. Instead of focusing on team responsi-blies, we need to get this one on-board with school responsi-blies! Hmmm."

"Hey, what are you whispering?" Ortega shouted. He picked up his cane and brandished it angrily. "I don't like people who backtalk! If you have something to say to me, you should say it right to my face!"

…Aren't rich kids supposed to be all well-mannered and stuff?

"Eh-heh… Hey, listen, Ortie… Can I call you Ortie?"

"Whatever."

"Good." Easier name to keep track of. "Here's the thing, Ortie. Usually, I'm all about partying it up too. Ordinarily, when people gripe about homework and responsibilities and wanting to just light it all on fire, I'm like word up! But at the end of the day… you still gotta go to school! It's just the facts of life!"

Iono knew that many of her viewers would probably call her a narc for hyping up the importance of schoolwork, but right now she was just in the business of telling this kid what he needed to hear.

"Besides, yeah there's a lot of useless gunk that they teach you in school, but—a bunch of it is important stuff that'll help you out tons in the future!"

"I don't see how," Ortega stubbornly sighed. "I mean… didn't you hate school when you were my age?"

When I was his age? I wonder how old he thinks I am…

"Well, yeah, sure! I hated waking up so early every morning, getting saddled with so much homework, and taking those super-hard exams! But… as much as I hate to admit it, all the stuff comes in handy all the time for what I do!"

"Okay. Well, what do you do, Noni?"

"Well! I, uh… I guess I'm kind of a freelance umm…"

Noni became stumped. How was she going to correlate her past studies with her supposed profession of being a "problem solver"? Should she make up another occupation for Noni to have, like a videographer or something…?

…

Finally, she sighed.

"Hey, Ortie? There's… no one else up here besides us, right?"

"Nobody here but us Flittle!" he laughed. "…Why?"

She sighed again. "Listen. I'm about to tell you something that you have to promise not to tell anyone else, okay? ESPECIALLY Penny!"

"Ummm, o-kaaay?"

"Promise!?"

"Yeah, okay fine, I promise!"

"Okey-dokey. Now, you also gotta promise not to shout cause—" She chuckled a little. "This might be a little bit of a shock to you!"

Noni reached up and dug her fingers under her hair—and to Ortega's surprise, pulled the white ponytail right off her head!

"Huh!?"

Then she undid the top bun she had most of her hair tied in, and let her natural pastel blue and pink locks spill forward. Opening her eyes, she looked at Ortega bashfully and waved out her hands.

"Ta-daaaaaa~♪!"

Ortega stared blankly at her. "Ummm. I don't get it!"

"Wh—"

…

"WHAAAAT!? Do you—do you seriously not know who I am!?"

"Are you like a clown or something?"

"NOOOOO! I'm the shining superstar IONO! The Supercharged Streamer! The zap-tastic queen of Levincia! The most famous influencer in all of Paldea! Blowing up Twika every single dang day! IS THAT SERIOUSLY NOT RINGING ANY BELLS!?"

"Ohh, so you're like… one of those people who's famous on social media?" Ortega awkwardly rubbed his head. "S-sorry! My parents don't really want me going on those places, so I dunno. I guess now that you mention it though, I think I've seen your hair before?"

Iono grumbled.

"Well, great. So I gotta tell you the basics of what I do, because I'm more than just really big on social media. Thousands of people all over the world make Iono part of their daily routine. I make 'em laugh, I put smiles on theirs faces! I tell 'em what to buy and watch those companies' stocks triple into oblivion! I have a whole legion of fans who adore me and will go to the moon and back for me!"

"Wow, that sounds super cool!"

Still kinda sounds like a clown, though… Ortega secretly thought to himself.

"But like, so you do all that just by sitting in front of a computer and talking to a camera, like I've seen in commercials and stuff?"

"I mean, that kinda oversimplifies the magic, but sure!"

"Then… I don't get it. How did school help you do any of that? Can't anybody just buy a camera and do what you do?"

He got an offended scoff in response. "Anybody can become a streamer for sure, but to become anywhere near as famous and skilled it as me takes years of practice, lots of hard work, and an intelligent super-brain like mine!"

Iono, realizing she was getting too wound up, decided to sit down and lean back against the wall along with Ortega.

"Cause the thing is, I really wasn't lying. School was pretty rough. My moms enrolled me in one of the best Trainer's Schools in the world, but it's also one of the strictest ones ever! And they also forced me to take a whole bunch of classes so it was even mooooore of a drag."

"They did all that just to make you even better at entertaining people?"

…

"No…" she said, her voice drifting low. "Kinda—the exact-o opposite, actually. But… that—that part's not really important. What is super important is how much of those lessons I ended up taking with me on my journey to livestream starhood!"

"Like what?"

"Like geography and stuff, knowing where to find people… like you and your friends! All those blech math courses ended up helping me be really good at statistics so I can track how my viewer numbers are going! And hey, don't make fun of languages! In a job like mine, they help me better communicate with ALL the Ionites around the world! All because I had to take five different languages!"

She cleared her throat and proudly recited, "Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour! Or for signing off… Sayonara! Ciao! Adios and au revior! Ya see?"

She finally got some laughing out of Ortega.

"Alright, I gotta admit, that's… actually pretty cool! FIVE language classes, you said?" She nodded, and his eyes bugged out. "Wow, that's insane! Huh. I guess having Mr. Salvatore teach 'em all in one class doesn't sound so bad after all."

"Hee-hee! Yeah, as much as I used to think school was the worst time of my life, I… really wouldn't be where I am today without It, I guess." Iono stared pensively out into the horizon. "Ehh. I guess that's one good thing mom and mama did for me. Kinda ironic."

Ortega still had his knees huddled up. He had been listening rapturously to this mysterious Iono person. The truth was, of all the 'tutors' and other people Mr. Harrington had sent to try to knock sense into him, Ortega felt like none of them were being genuine at all. And he had a nose for disingenuousness.

"Sometimes you gotta do the boring responsibilities stuff like going to school but... that just makes all the fun stuff that much better when you get to do it!"

Iono sighed again, before speaking up.

"Here's the 411, Ortie… it's not just you who'll suffer for many years to come if you don't take this stuff more seriously."

"Huh?"

"Penny, she's… in a lot of trouble right now." Even though the wig was off, Iono felt herself drifting into Noni mode again. She felt her lips trembling for some reason. "They're even… talking about sending her back home. To Galar."

"Well, y-yeah! I know about that…" Ortega said guiltily. "But—what's that got to do with me? It's not my fault the teachers wanna blame her for our messes and do horrible things like that!"

"I know, but…" She sighed again. "She's your friend, Ortie. She's one of the coolest friends you could ever have…"

…

"Yeah… d-duh! I already know that! Penny's one of the best friends I've ever had. I owe everything to her…"

Iono gazed down at the fake ponytail in her lap, then stared at the blue side of her hair. An idea seemed to spark in her noggin.

"OKEY-DOKEY! So listen up! I'm gonna add a little sweetener, okay? If you start going to school again, and get really good grades, then… I'm gonna use my cool little job to help you out a bunch."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm gonna promote the Rhubarb Squad as a special spot on the Iono Zone!" she said, shaking her sleeveless hands about.

"It's the Ruchbah Squad, you oaf!" he grumpily corrected her.

"Yeah, that thing. I'll tell everyone how cool your base is, and show 'em pictures of all those adorable Fairies running around! Then you'll get tons more people wanting to come try your little STC!"

"Really!?" Ortega's eyes lit up. "So you really do have that kind of pull? Cause… not a lot of students come here, and I get really bored. I think they have trouble finding this place!"

Yeah, tell me about it.

"Nyohoho! Well, don't you worry, Ortie McGlory! Now that I've got the location of your little hidey-hole all memorized up here…" Iono knocked on her head. "I'll send all those aspiring Trainers coming here in droves quicker than a Mienfoo Fighters concert!"

Ortega sighed. "Dang. Like, that'd actually be really sweet… And you're right, Penny is my friend. Ohhh, darn it!" he pouted. "None of the reasons I can come up with to keep skipping class are as good as the reasons you're giving me to go back! That's just not fair at all!"

Iono giggled. "So you'll really about think about goin' to school again, just because your new best friend Iono cheered you the heck up?"

"So annoying… Yeah, alright. But…" Ortega pointed his cane at her again. "You'd better hold up your end of the deal, Iono, Noni, whatever your stinking name is!"

"Hee-hee-hee, you bet. Cross my heart and, uhh, I hope that I die!"

"So your mission was a complete success!?" said an astonished Dot on Iono's computer screen later. "You really visited all five of those Team Star bases, and solved every single boss's problem? Just like that!? Iono, you're incredible!"

Iono smirked a wide grin in response, having returned to her usual branding, both appearance and personality-wise, as she sat in her favorite gaming chair.

"Nyo-ho-HO! Of course I am, Madame Dot." Iono pondered, "Well, most of them anyway. Never did get to Atticus. But that meanie butt's got problems for days, so I don't think I could help him even if I wanted to!"

"If you say so…"

"But otherwise, I would say that Noni's debut arc was a SMASHING success!" Iono spun around in her computer chair to punctuate her avid glee. "I'm sure Penny will think so too when she hears across the grapevine what I did for her!"

Dot scratched her head, confused. "You mean, you're not gonna tell her yourself?"

"Well, why would I do that, Dotty? That spoils the whole illusion of Noni! Sure, Iono would brag about something like this for days, and use it to try to go VIRAL! But today really helped me get a handle on how Noni the completely average normie girl ticks. A mysterious savior, a righter of wrongs that prefers to stay in the shadows rather than hog the spotlight!"

"Eee-veee!" Iono's Eevee, playing with Jolteon behind her, agreed.

"It's like having a secret superhero identity! And just like how Lucario Girl doesn't tell anybody who she is under that mask, NEITHER does Noni the Normie! You get the gist by now, my grapeity grape-haired pal?"

"Uhhh, well Noni sure must not be as… extra," Dot muttered to herself. Speaking out loud, she admitted, "I still don't think all this sounds right."

"You think I should approach Noni from a different angle? Like a peppier 'girl-next-door' sorta thing?"

"NO! I mean being in a relationship while pretending to be someone else! Isn't that basically catfishing?"

"What? No! Of course it isn't like that!" Iono retorted. "I'm not lying to Penny! I'm just… choosing not to tell her the whole truth yet, which is…" She paused. "Ehh—no. Still not the same thing. Anyway, kinda ironic that you're the one grandstanding me on this, Madame Nidothing sans the suit! What about you and your cute girlfriend? She didn't know about YOUR secret identity even though she totally looked up to Nidothing, right?"

"AHHH! Well that's DIFFERENT!" Dot blustered. "It was—totally NOT the same thing! I wanted to tell her I was Nidothing when we started being friends, but I was just too scared! And besides, I was still being myself around her, cause Nidothing's just a costume for me! It's just the persona I invented to be more confident on-camera! But you, you're…"

She gestured wildly all the time.

"You don't have an off switch, Iono! You're the same person offline as you are on-stream!"

"Why, thank you!" Iono accepted like it was a compliment.

"You're missing the point!" Dot was getting agitated. "For you, it's… Noni that's the costume you invented! But the costume is also who Penny thinks that she's become friends with."

"It's not… it's just… it's just not like that!" she denied, shaking her head.

Iono slumped down in her chair, half her face disappearing from Dot's feed, as she tried not to look all sullen.

"You don't understand, Dottie…" She said in a lower voice. "You just don't. Okay?"

"Hey, I'm sorry…" Dot said remorsefully. "I really didn't mean to… to make you feel bad, Iono."

"I really love being me, and having my streams and a whole network of adoring fans. It's everything I'd ever dreamed of when I was growing up and wanted to be a star! But you're totally right, Dot… I guess I don't have an off-switch. And that—that makes it a lot harder for me to make real IRL friendos just like you."

Dot gave her a sympathetic frown as Iono hoisted herself back upright.

"All you gotta do is unzip that big sweaty-looking costume of yours, and you can go outside and greet people like an average human being. Nobody has any clue who you are! But wherever I go, I'm always surrounded by people who fall head over heels for me and try to be just like me! Which is fantastic most of the time, but…"

Iono looked around her huge, spacious apartment.

"When I get lonely, well… it's a totally different story. And when I met, Penny, she was so cool that I wanted to get closer to her right away. But you should've seen what she was like meeting Iono! She was all shaky and nervous and totally starstruck by me. I had to work my charms overtime to get more than a sentence out of her!"

The dual-haired streamer was starting to smile and chuckle as she fondly remembered her first meeting—first two meetings with Penny.

"But when it was Noni who met her behind the curtains, it was a different story… Not only was Penny way less afraid to talk to me, but she talked a LOT! And told me so many things about her life. Even she thought I was a complete stranger, was still so kind, and wholesome, and she wanted to reach out and become friends with me just as badly as I wanted with her…"

Iono sighed in reminiscence.

"Iono would've never gotten that far with Penny. No way, whatsoever! But by being Noni, I…" She put her hands to her chest. "I finally have the chance to get to know someone the same way you and everyone else does. In a totally weird psychedelic way, pretending to be Noni, it's almost like… like I get to be myself more. But you're right, that absolutely makes no sense at all! My brain's just a crazy mess of wires."

"No, no! I—I actually sort of get it when you put it that way," Dot admitted. "I'm sorry that I gave you such a hard time about it. I guess I never really stopped to realize that being able to disappear and be completely ordinary outside of being Nidothing is… is kind of like a superpower."

"Yeah," Iono nodded. "That's why I'm doing all this. I want Penny to see me like… like any other person, so we have the best chance of becoming real friends. Even if it means that, I gotta fake it for a little while."

Just then, she heard a series of pings on her Rotom Phone.

"Huh? What's this noise?" Iono wondered, pulling it up.

"Oh! It sounds like she's calling you on PokéChat!"

"WH—WHAT!?" Iono shrieked. "AHHH! I—I- She wants to talk IRL!?"

"You don't even TALK with her!?" Dot exclaimed.

"Well, I—I—I just… I don't remember how to make my voice sound all not Iono-y with her! I… I CAN'T DO IT! GYAAAHHHH!"

She then received several messages on her phone.

botan700: Are you okay with doing voice calls?
botan700: Since we already know what we both sound like?

Iono's lips were completely sucked in. "I—I—I don't know what to do!"

"AHHHH!" Dot was panicking too. "Well then just—tell her your voice is shot or something, and let her talk while you answer with texts!"

"WHOAAAA! Good thinking!"

Iono rapidly sent Penny a message telling her exactly what Dot just suggested, and then… with a big suck-in, she hit the "Accept Call" button.

"NONI!" Penny's voice blasted out from her phone speakers. "I'm sorry, I know this is so sudden, but—but I'm just so excited about this that I don't think I could express it properly with just words!"

"It's okay." Iono answered in a throaty whisper, trying to sound hoarse. "Cough. Cough. You talk, I listen!"

"Yeah, of course, no problem! I'm just… WOW! I can't believe this really happened!"

She was pretending to be sick, but in reality getting to hear Penny's excited voice again was hitting Iono like a Z-powered Heal Pulse. That squeaky Galarian accent was making all of Iono's nerves flutter, like flowers blooming across all her bones and making the young woman's heart want to belt out and sing a full opera!

"Did you see Iono's stream today?!"

Iono smiled coyly, deciding to play with her IRL friendo a bit.

noni_the_normie: No I didn't get a chance to unfortunately

Once again, she wasn't lying by technicality. She was too busy chasing Team Star bases to watch her own playback.

"COOL! Then I get to just tell you, because you're never going to believe it! She decided to do a quiz show today that… I've never really seen her do before, but I guess it's something only people who were watching her longer than me would know about."

Iono pogged like a huge Gyarados opening its mouth as she slowly realized what it was that got Penny all buzzing like a sparkplug.

"But… but… her quiz! IONO! It was all about TEAM STAR! She—she actually knows about us! About our squad! The places my friends all run, they were the answers to the question she asked! I would've been the first person to ace it and win her prize if I wasn't freaking out so much about it!"

Iono's knees thumped excitedly enough that they could generate oscillations.

noni_the_normie: *a row of pogging emotes*
noni_the_normie: THAT'S SO AWESOME PENNY!
noni_the_normie: I'm so happy for you!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

She poked her head up at Dot, who had been listening with great curiosity, but was also trying to get Iono's attention.

"Huh?"

After some panicked gestures and rapid thinking, Dot figured out how to make a chat window appear on Iono's computer screen and type out a message.

SOPHOCLES TOLD YOU ABOUT PENNY BEING IN TEAM STAR

Iono covered her phone with her hand and whispered back. "Yeah? That's what I said."

Dot, holding up a finger with her own sly smirk, typed another message.

BUT DOES NONI KNOW ANY OF THAT?

Iono stared at the message, and then slowly, her eyebrows rose up and her mouth gaped like a Magikarp yet again.

Still covering her phone, she whispered "Dotty, you're a GENIUS!"

"Huh?" Penny said on the phone. "Did—did you say something, Noni?"

Iono had a cheshire grin as she typed on PokéChat.

noni_the_normie: So wait a minute…
noni_the_normie: that means?
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: YOURE IN TEAM STAR??????

She heard a loud gasp from Penny.

"I—I—Yeah! I, I'm so sorry! I could've sworn I told you that… Oh my gosh. I told you so much about my friends, but I never actually said that we're all in Team Star, did I!?"

Her voice sounded much more timid now.

"That's… that's okay, right? That I'm the leader of Team Star? That doesn't change anything about me in your mind?"

Iono smiled warmly.

noni_the_normie: of course not
noni_the_normie: you're still the same adorable Penny that I know

"Oh good. I'm so glad you're okay with that. Not everyone would be…"

noni_the_normie: yeah

Iono giggled a little as she gave Dot another mischievous smirk.

noni_the_normie: sooooo you're not just part of team star
botan700: ?
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: you just said you're the leader
noni_the_normie: does that mean YOU are cassiopeia???

"AHHHH!" Penny screamed on the phone. "I JUST DID IT AGAIN! Damn it!"

It was only a few seconds afterwards that Iono realized she was giggling loud enough for Penny to hear.

Dot had resigned herself to being the silent third party as Penny and Iono continued their dual-format conversation.

Now that the "secret" was out, and Penny was talking with her voice, she found it much more comfortable to speak in-depth about her involvement with Team Star, and describing all of her dear friends to a texting "Noni".

Most of what she said wasn't news anymore between Sophocles having dumped all the Cassiopeia lore on her and Iono having actually gone out and met these friends today, and yet hearing it all straight from that elegantly voiced source made Iono feel all buzzed up, and she still said as much through her eccentric messages.

After an exciting ten minutes of conversation, Iono saw Dot smiling but not hiding her impatience and decided to text Penny that she had to go, lest they both kept the poor tomboy hostage all evening and all night.

Because Iono totally would, too.

"Oh yeah, that's fine! You should rest up your vocal chords anyway. I hope you get well soon, Noni."

noni_the_normie: thank you
noni_the_normie: I appreciate that 😊

"I can look up a bunch of home remedies for helping you get your voice back and forward them to you if you want!"

Iono smiled, relishing once more in the warm feelings of Penny's boundless generosity.

noni_the_normie: That'd be so sweet of you
noni_the_normie: thanks!

"Yeah, no problem. I'll totally talk to you another time. Love you, Noni!"

…Wait.

…What did she just say!?

Iono's eyes widened, and she heard a squeak of realization on the phone.

"UMM! UMM! Yeah, I love you—like a really great friend! That's, totally what I meant to say! Oh crap…"

The streamer girl giggled, which made Penny groan nervously, and she whispered into the phone.

"I love you too Penny!"

She heard an even louder squeak before Penny hung up the phone.

"Nyohohoho-HOOOOOO!" Iono threw her head back on the chair, eyes closed and grinning to herself.

"Well that sure was something, alright!"

One eye opened. "…I forgot you were here, Dot."

"Seriously…?"

Iono giggled again and closed her eyes once more. She thought back to the kind of crazy, unexpected day she just had. Spending an entire morning and afternoon trotting the whole region. Visiting over four Team Star bases full of intimidating grunts and strong Pokémon.

Talking to four of Penny's friends one-on-one, and thinking about all the ways in which she successfully helped them with their issues. All the things she said in order to convince them. The anecdotes about her own life…

…

…

…

Dot watched, confused, as Iono's face went from naturally smiling to frowning on its own.

"…Iono?"

"Huhzit? What?" Iono opened her eyes and reared her head back up.

"Did you fall asleep or something?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I just umm…" She sighed. "I'm trying to be all positive about today, but I just can't stop thinking about something really weird and awkward that kept happening all day."

"Which is what?"

Her head drooped, looking a little melancholy. "Every single one of those bosses that I talked to… I don't even know how, but for some reason, every time I wanted to help them, I… I would end up talking about mom and mama, and my old region."

"Oh…"

"Yeah."

The room was quiet for a bit. Iono started wringing her fingers around in her hand, her expression very downtrodden.

"In fact, today might be the most that I've ever thought about all that stuff ever… ever since I left."

"I'm sorry," Dot said lowly.

"S'alright. I'll get over it. It just… yeah."

…

"I know this probably sounds like a dumb question, and if it is, then I'm so sorry!" Dot started. "But… you haven't ever tried… I don't know. Maybe calling them? Like maybe it's been long enough that all of you can put that stuff behind you and just start over?"

Iono kept her head down and thought it over for a few seconds. She could feel her sunset-eyed contacts starting to burn, which meant her eyes were getting teary.

"...Nah," she sighed. "They probably still hate me."

Chapter Text

Over the next several days, Penny and Iono kept a new routine of texting each other on PokéChat day in and day out.

And with each passing day, they would learn little snippets about each other. Iono was of course, still very guarded in how much to reveal about herself and would give Penny little truths here and there to nibble on. Like her favorite food, what she likes to do in her free time, the latest songs on her playlists.

Things that wouldn't make an Ionite easily guess her identity. Penny enjoyed learning these tiny things about Iono, even though she had noticed by now that Noni wasn't letting her in as much as Penny was.

Because Penny would share little nuggets of her life growing up in Galar, the things that led her to become interested in computer hacking, and especially her sister Peonia. Iono clocked early on that Penny would rather talk about her sister than… the rest of her family or Galarian connections.

Though she wouldn't dare bring this up, Iono just couldn't help but wonder about Sophocles's comment that Penny went through a "bad breakup".

There was just one thing Penny would go into detail about, which probably wasn't a huge surprise: her Veevees.

She told "Noni" the stories of how she caught each Eevee and decided which ones to evolve into their specific forms, the different personality traits they had, and the unique ways each Eeveelution brought comfort to Penny in her dark palace.

Like this one day. Leafeon, Flareon, Vaporeon, AND Sylveon were all asleep on Penny's bed, Flareon in the center to warm everyone up and Sylveon wrapping its feelers over its siblings to bless them with sound sleep and good dreams.

"Oh… my… GOSH."

And Penny was determined to get a picture of it with her phone. She fumbled several times trying to get the right angle, as she wasn't the kind of girl who took pictures very often.

SNAP

"O-okay… I think I got it. Thanks for your cooperation, my lovely models."

She eagerly sent her last camera capture to Noni on PokéChat, hoping to trigger a gush of heart emojis from her. After a few minutes, Noni responded.

noni_the_normie: awwwwwwww
noni_the_normie: CUTE!
botan700: RIGHT!? 😊

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: so that's what you look like!

…

botan700: what

Confused, Penny went to look at what she had sent Iono… and nearly dropped her phone. "GYAAHHH!"

Apparently, she was so nervous about getting the right shot of her Veevees, she hadn't noticed that she hit the button to swap cameras at one point. Penny had just sent Noni her own squinting, totally unglamorous face.

botan700: IGNORE THAT
botan700: I SENT THAT BY ACCIDENT
botan700: I was trying to get a shot of my Veevees looking adorable 😭

…

noni_the_normie: awww but that's great!
botan700: …really?
noni_the_normie: yeah yeah!
noni_the_normie: you look cute as a button Penny 🤩

botan700 is typing…
botan700: You really think so?
noni_the_normie: YEAH!
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: or maybe I should say…
noni_the_normie: cute as a BOTAN

The facepalm emoji Penny sent didn't illustrate enough the groan she made out loud. But that embarrassment gave way to a different realization…

botan700 is typing…
botan700: Do you really think I'm cute?
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: of course
noni_the_normie: I wouldn't say it if i don't mean it!
noni_the_normie: you're like an adorable GUMDROP! 🍬

The sleeping Veevees were startled and had to disperse as Penny flopped onto the bed, her brain short-circuiting and her face redder than Flareon's.

She thinks I'm cute... She thinks I'm cute!

Penny's brain was somehow both a million PHP statements and an empty console at the same time. Her curiosity was reaching peak levels.

botan700: Thank you. ❤️
noni_the_normie: You're welcome!
botan700: you know what?
botan700: I think in the interest of fairness you should take a selfie too

It took almost a full minute for Noni's response.

noni_the_normie: I'm sorry what
botan700: Well now that I know what you look like, shouldnt I get to see you too?
botan700: It's only fair.

Another minute passed.

noni_the_normie: i can't.
botan700: why not?
noni_the_normie: I'm scared.

Penny started feeling a little bad. She remembered now just how shy and desperate Noni was to hide her face when they first met, and wasn't meaning to push her too hard.

botan700: okay, sorry.
botan700: You don't have to if you really don't want to.
botan700: I just really wanted to know what you look like

Yet another minute or two passed. Penny, afraid she really had pushed Noni too far, got ready to log off and hope it would all be brushed off tomorrow, when…

noni_the_normie: wait.
noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: I have an idea.

Penny lay on her bed holding her phone up and waited calmly, curious what Noni was planning. Then, after about five minutes or so, she got another ping… an image to click.

"…!"

Noni sent Penny a selfie of herself from the waist up. Dressed in a red hoodie. Sporting a white ponytail. And standing in front of an open closet door. However, she had also strategically covered her face with her hand, leaving it the only part not visible to Penny.

Penny gazed at the picture for a few seconds, surprised to finally have at least a partial visual for what her enigmatic pen pal looked like.

botan700: Wow. 😲
noni_the_normie: yeah
noni_the_normie: I'm still scared to show my face, but i can show you the rest of me
botan700 is typing…
botan700: Honestly? That's good enough!
noni_the_normie: really?
botan700: Yeah!
botan700: It's more than I expected!

…

botan700: I think you're really cute too, Noni.
noni_the_normie: 😊😊😊
noni_the_normie: thank you.

Iono had found a creative way to meet Penny's needs for her visuals without giving the game away, and patted herself on the back for some intuitive thinking.

Little did she realize at the time though, just how much this little exchange was going to affect her relationship with Penny…

Come Tuesday, and Iono was sitting on a couch inside a fancy lounge room, setting Penny's phone abuzz with a variety of memes. Some of them were legit funny, and some were only sent to irritate the Uva student—which was extra legit funny for Iono.

A young man in a plaid blue jacket over a pink shirt, trucker cap, and a brown goatee over his chin stepped out into the lounge.

"Yo, Iono! Ten minutes until we start getting ready!"

"Okey-dokey!" she responded cheerfully. "Thanks a million for inviting me today, Billy! I've been itchin' for a collab this chill like you wouldn't believe!"

"Hey, thank you for responding so promptly!" said Billy. "Moze and Luke both took… forever to get back to me, so at least you were one less headache there."

"Nyohoho! Well, you can't rush true greatness, can you?"

"True dat!" he laughed. "Man, my fans are gonna love seeing Iono and BLAKBERY on the set together!"

"So are my Ionites!" Iono exclaimed, waving her sleeves excitedly. "It's a real mutual business transaction happenin' today!"

"Alright! See you in five when we make that magic happen!"

"Yup-eroonies!"

After Bille left, Iono returned to her phone with a smile.

noni_the_normie: hey, gotta go in a few minutes
noni_the_normie: Wanna talk later?
botan700: sure

botan700 is typing…
botan700: umm…

Iono's head tilted.

noni_the_normie: what's up?
botan700: I want to ask you something…
botan700: But I'm almost afraid to.

She settled back into her seat, wondering what was on Penny's mind.

noni_the_normie: Go ahead
noni_the_normie: You can ask me anything
noni_the_normie: I won't be offended!
botan700 is typing…
botan700: okay…
botan700: If the answer is no, then that's fine
botan700: I just
botan700: I just kind of want to know what the vibe is
noni_the_normie: IT'S OKAY PENNY! SERIOUSLY!
noni_the_normie: JUST SO AHEAD AND ASK!
botan700: okay
…

…

…

botan700: Are we dating?

"Ehh—"

Iono's brain shut down completely. Motionless. Hard reset. Dial-up noises.

…

"HUHHHHHHHHH?!"

The Magnemite hairclips on Iono's head popped off her cap and spun around the room in a huge swirling tornado as her eyes threatened to bug out looking at the screen.

"D-d-d… dating!?" she stammered. "We.. Why would she—What, because of all the flirting? And—and calling her cute, and following her everywhere and… and…"

Iono's eyes widened again in crisp realization.

"Oh my gosh."

A sleeved hand touched her cheek. Her brain was still installing updates please-don't-shut-off-your-computer as her head continued to spin.

In a horrified whisper, she croaked out, "Are we dating?"

…

"IONNIE!"

"AAA-KJKSDKSDKJ!" Iono was so startled she nearly dropped her phone. "How dare you interrupt me when I'm having an internal mo- mon…"

The angry, buzzing girl turned around, fully ready to scold whoever interrupted her… until her jaw dropped to see who it was.

"B-B-B… BLAKBERY!"

Perhaps it was a combination of Iono's shortness and this girl's tallness that made the 6'3'' streamer known as BLAKBERY tower over the young woman just as impressively as that Eri girl. BLAKBERY was a very dark-skinned, beautiful woman with a luscious head of dark purple hair teased in pink highlights. Her eyes shone a brilliant purple underneath those long, magenta-tipped lashes, with lipstick that matched the tips.

She wore a black jacket (which had pink linings reminiscent of Salazzle's patterns on it) with a pointed collar over her black-and-pink striped corset, and a ruffled black bow with a shimmering red gem in its center. Her black skirt with hot pink ruffles showed off enough of her thighs for people on the Internet to know they are indeed thick enough to save lives.

And finally, laced black leather platform boots that went almost up to her knees. Because you know, this gorgeously tall queen needed the extra few inches.

BLAKBERY smiled her sparkling white teeth at Iono. "Still not ready to call me Moze yet, Ionnie?" She laughed. "Maybe after today, we'll finally get there!"

"M-M-Moze! See, see I can say your name!" Iono stood up from her seat, her own comparatively thin legs quaking as she looked up at her fellow idol. "I… You, We… H-HI!"

"Hi, yourself!" Moze giggled. "Still the adorably funny Iono I remember! You looked pretty locked in on that phone of yours, my delightful pixie girl. Chattin' up a friendly face?"

"Ha-ha! As if! Just umm…" Iono cleared her throat. "Just checkin' out those weekly Twika hits, you know me!"

"Ho-ho-ho, of course! A good streamer always wants to keep an eye glued to those numbers to make sure they're apex predator above all the peons, like you and little old me!" Moze looked down at her with a smirk. "You totally ready to slam dunk this little show, sweetie?"

"Ready!? Ha-ha! Does a Roggenrola gather no moss? I'm always ready to follow your command, Mosie-kins!"

Deciding to channel some of her Iono brand of rizz, Iono flashed her a wink and said, "Nyohoho! If you're always gonna show up dressed that hot, I'd follow you right into a bursting volcano… sweetie!"

Moze couldn't help but cover her mouth as she laughed.

"You keep rizzing me up like that, and I'll have no choice but to take your cute little ass on a date!" Then she leaned in close and whispered, "It's coming really, really close to working too."

Iono's nerves shot up from her feet to the tippity-top of her head like someone had attached jumper cables to her. Moze saw how adorably frazzled Iono was and wrapped her big, leather-sleeved arm around the shaking streamer.

"How's bout you and I head into the booth a few minutes early so we can share a cream soda and catch up?"

"WOWZA! Uhh, yeah-yeah!" Iono said enthusiastically. "Just, just give me a second to…"

She glanced down at the phone still in her hand. That message was still on her screen… Threatening to make her shut down again.

botan700: Are we dating?

I still don't know how to answer that, Iono was still distressed to realize. But I should probably at least—

Her thoughts were interrupted by those magenta lips giving her a small peck. Iono could smell the scent of dark roses on her cheek and felt all rosy herself.

"Y-YES! YES! OKAY, LET'S GO!" she agreed.

"That's my girl," Moze smiled as she led Iono into the studio. On the one hand, Iono was sailing over the moon, her big-time streamer crush doting on her like this. But unfortunately, that nagging feeling in her heart over Penny wouldn't cease. But she resolved to just focus on the now, and let that part come later.

I'll totally reply to her after stream. No biggie.

Are we dating?

…Maybe then, I'll have an answer.

A synthesized track accompanied the beginning of the podcast as Billy spoke into the mic.

"…And that was our funky theme tune, composed by the extremely talented BeldumBeats! You can check his work out on Soundspot. Welcome to your favorite podcast noise everybody, it's Psychic Noize!"

A monitor was set up in front of the table so Billy and his cohosts could see the chat light up with greetings and excitement.

"As always, we're finding the cringiest corners of the Internet and hitting 'em so hard they have no hopes of healing! And today, I happen to be joined by not one, not two, but THREE incredibly great guests! You know him, you love him, our very awesome friend Zweilucas has stopped by once again!"

Lucas, aka Zweilucas, a tan-skinned young man sat on the chair next to Billy. He wore a thick Zweilous-themed hoodie over his head, his claim being "Just like our favorite Dragon Pokémon, I have two heads!"

"Always great to be here, man. Highlight of my day every time!"

"We love having you too, Lucas! Speaking of people we love, check it out! After so many months of begging, pleading, and attempted bribes, we've finally got Iono of the Iono Zone here!"

"Ello, ello! Bonjour and uhh… ciao! Whozit? Whatzit? ME! IONO!"

She watched on the monitor as the chat became filled with messages screaming for Iono. With her mods hosting the podcast on her own Twika channel too, Ionites at home were flooding the Internet with their love for the Supercharged Streamer.

"It's true, listeners! It's true! I held onto my guns as long as I could, but ol' Billy here roped me in with his terrifying String Shot! So I've come to liven up this dreary place with my bright, twinkling presence! You're weeeelcoooome~♪!"

"Ha-ha! Aren't we ever so lucky! Not just to have Iono here, but ladies and germs! We know her as our friend Moze, but all you listening in know her as… the one! The only! BLAAAAKBERY!"

"Hmm-hmm-hmm," Moze chuckled. "It's okay, my darlings. All your greatest desires are answered when BLAKBERY's on the scene!"

Iono watched as the chat messages on the monitor freaked out even more at the sound of BLAKBERY's signature greeting. It rivaled the amount of attention she had received—maybe even more. Any jealousy Iono might feel by that was defeated by the sheer amount of admiration she held her fellow streamer in.

The pink and blue-haired girl admitted to herself a while ago that she harbored a pretty intense crush on the gorgeous Moze, and sitting right next to the tall glass of chocolate milk, Iono could feel her insides swimming with Butterfree.

Psychic Noize was a podcast where the four personalities would all spend roughly 45 minutes talking about their careers, giving their biting takes on world news and Internet goings-on, and the most fun part: commentating over the best clips they could find of delicious scandals and Pokémon battling fails.

Like this one Zweilucas shared of an Alolan Trainer's toxic downfall while taking on the Battle Tree.

"Yeah, so he's got his Garbodor all lined up, going to call in a Gunk Shot…"

"So that silly Lurantis should be toast!" said Iono.

"This idiot's victory is being handed to him. Can't wait to see how THIS blows up in his face," Moze smiled.

The Garbodor on the video had charged up a heavy glob of purple gunk, ready to lob it onto the grassy Pokémon. But instead of aiming it straight forward, Garbodor lobbed it high in the air… causing it to instead drench both the Pokémon and its Trainer in the viscous poison!

"UGH!" the Trainer cried out.

All four of them laughed at the video.

"That's a serious venom shower, friendo!" Iono laughed. "The best dry cleaners in the world won't help you get that stuff out, and you'll probably be smellin' like rotten garbage for WEEKS!"

"Definitely makes me feel better about every Hydro Pump I've whiffed," Billy laughed. "You would know all about getting drenched in poison, wouldn't ya Iono?"

"Ehh?" Iono gave him a puzzled look. "Whazzat supposed to mean?"

"That's right, man!" Lucas agreed. "That whole run-in you had with the medieval-speaking dork from Team Star siccing all those disgusting Poison Pokémon on ya! Like geez, you meet all the crazy ones, Iono!"

Atticus was a lot of things, maybe… But Iono didn't know if she liked the way Zweilucas was talking about him. Because now she was thinking about Team Star. The kids she once dismissed as a bunch of silly hooligans, turned out to actually be kids with troubled souls and… deep problems that she helped them overcome…

"Uhh, well… y'know. All in a day's work to chase those views."

"Not that you're starving for them!" said Billy. "You've got enough fans to make your own nation! So let's talk about that. What's the cringiest thing you've ever seen one of 'em do?"

"Awww, I don't wanna rat on my fans! They're all a sweet bunch!"

"Some of them can get pretty weird though, right? I've seen them in your comments sometimes!"

"Well… that's why I stopped reading them," she snarked through her teeth.

"What about that one you told me about with the creepy body pillow, Ionnie?" Moze fluttered her long lashes at the short woman. "I'd love to hear you talk about that."

Iono was at a crossroads. She already felt bad embarrassing that fan of hers once at the Q&A, but if the great BLAKBERY was asking her, she couldn't just refuse.

"Oh, it was so silly. He just brought along his uhh, you know those daika—what'd he even call it?"

"Dakimakura," Lucas helpfully answered.

"Yeah, that!"

Billy leaned into the mic and said lowly, "Luke, you sure were uhh… quick on the draw with that answer. Something you want to tell us?"

Lucas scoffed playfully. "I just research otakus to make fun of in my videos man. I speak the language, but I don't walk their walk!"

"But Iono's got a point!" Billy said. "Like she said, most of her fans, those 'Ionites', are pretty chill. And that's because, and I gotta give you credit babe, you always have the most exciting ideas to make people want to chill out with."

"Like your matchmaker stream!" Moze said excitedly. "Ohhh, I was there to see you expose Larry and Katy like that, it was so amazing! HAA! Makes me really wish I could've seen both their faces when they saw their little puppy love being put on every screen in Paldea!"

"Oh, heh-heh, uhh, yeah… yeah, that was something, wasn't it? I'm really proud of that little stream."

"We've GOT to have you on this show again so you can tell us all about the lengths you had to go to get that undercover shot, Iono!" Billy proclaimed, pounding his fist on the table. "I heard that running from those crazy Team Star punks was just one piece of all the nutzo stuff you endured on the hunt for Larry!"

Iono wanted to gloat more about her matchmaking stream and how juicily satisfying it felt to sneak that video footage of Larry and Katy from atop the restaurant in Artazon. But… just thinking about those two Gym Leaders brought to mind her recent re-encounter with Katy while looking for those Eevee.

Katy's private moment was plastered on every screen thanks to Iono, and yet… the Sugarbug was still smiling as sunny as ever. Helping Iono out. Even giving her tasty treats…

"Well, nyo-ho-ho-HEH…" Iono said awkwardly. "It's definitely a super-long story, so… for sure next time I come back, I'll… spare you all the deets!"

Iono was confused. Mostly at herself. What were all these feelings that were rising up now? Her studio-mates were all reveling in the absurdity of what her relentless quest had borne to the masses, but something was rising up within the dual-haired girl's soul. It wasn't just guilt…

Was she… feeling offended? On the behalf of her own targets? That can't be, right? An influencer should think, not feel!

Maybe it really had to do with… the new face in Iono's life? The one that had been driving her happiness forward, developed a keen relationship with—

…

botan700: Are we dating?

No… no. I can't let these silly things affect my groove…

"Well if you guys want something juicy to sink those teeth into…" Moze leaned over the table, putting her elbows under the mic. "I might have some really under-the-radar intel on our good friend, Tisa-Belle."

"Tisa-Belle?" Iono lit up upon hearing that name, and it instantly brought her out of her stupor. "Awww! I've done collabs with Tisa-Belle before, she's such a lil sweetie! I've been so super-sad about her being inactive lately."

"Ho-ho-ho, well, I think I might have solved the mystery of her little 'hiatus'. So a friend of mine actually caught her out in the wild and snapped video of her, just like Ionnie! And you'll never believe this…"

Billy, Lucas, and Iono all leaned in, engrossed.

"She was caught DATING…"

All of them gasped.

Moze laughed. "…a total NORMIE!"

Iono's excited smile slowly deflated.

"She… she's dating a, a fan… of hers?"

Billy and Lucas both let out loud howls of amazement.

"NO WAY! Tisa-Belle, the totally pure sugerplum! Imagine!"

"Wowwww! Well come on, now you gotta hit us with all the deets!"

"I don't know, that's about all that's broken out so far!" Moze shrugged. "I don't know if what you just said Iono is true, him being a regular viewer and all. But MAN! Wouldn't that be something, Tisa-Belle knocking up one of her own simps!?"

Are we dating?

Iono was mad shocked… and beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Tisa-Belle…"

"What a huge betrayal of purity, right Ionnie?"

Are we dating?

"Uhh, heh-heh, yeah! HUGE betrayal!" Iono laughed nervously, desperate to fit in. "We all thought that Tisa-Belle was… just a pure, happy, innocent little bean. But… a f-famous super-star like her settling for a plain Joe? Wowee! That's pretty crazy, isn't it?"

I said, are we dating, Iono?

"It's delulu is what it is!"

"Got that right, Moze!" Billy agreed. "Tisa-Belle presents herself as an idol, right? Like everyone's soulmate! Her love is supposed to be reserved for her fans! When you consider it this way, it's—well, I feel like you can almost call it cheating!"

Iono! Did you hear me? I asked you if we're dating!

"C-cheating… Yeah. I guess that makes sense?"

"That girl is on her way to being cancelled, especially now that we've single-handedly EXPOSED her shameless ways!"

Lucas nodded. "Girl doesn't even need to wait to be cancelled! Her whole audience is gonna leave her high and dry now that she's betrayed her image." He put two fingers over his hoodie. "My Zweilous head foresees… a tear-stained PokéTube apology video two weeks from now."

ARE WE DATING? ARE WE DATING? ARE WE DATING?

"And I OOOP!" Moze had out her phone. "News travels fast, bitches! Looks like Tisa-Belle's already set her Instasnap profile to private and deleted the rest of her socials! Our girl's gone ghost!"

"Oh snap!" Billy laughed. He flashed a finger towards the camera for the viewing audience. "Tisa-Belle… looks YOU just got hit by PSYCHIC NOIZE! Good luck healing your way out of that one!"

Iono gulped, especially as she felt all three of their faces slowly turn towards her, as if noticing her unusual silence on the matter. The streamer didn't want any of her friends to have any reason to suspect that she had reasons to sympathize with Tisa-Belle, nor any of the viewers watching her like a Talonflame to know something was wrong!

IONO! ANSWER ME, DAMMIT! ARE WE DATING OR NOT?!

"Y-yeah! All of that is… is the biiiig yikes!" she said, throwing her sleeves up.

Iono didn't recognize when the podcast ended. Her brain was on complete autopilot as Billy wrapped up the show, did his signoff greeting, and they all filtered out.

The only one who talked to her afterwards was Moze, who briefly brought the Magnemite-haired girl out of her fog by asking for her number. Iono remembered giving it to her, and she was also pretty sure Moze said something about "keeping your channels open, I might get bored this weekend."

But after that, she didn't care about anything else. She made a mad dash into the ladies' restroom, closed the door, locked it, and then leaned against the wall, trying to stop her pounding heart.

"What the heck is wrong with me?" she wondered. "Why was I being such a flake today!? If this show happened like… a month ago, I would've totally been the same Iono who hunted business boy down like a Sharpedo and could revel in my own bloody greatness!"

She let out a frustrated grunt and let her head bang against the wall.

"Instead, my mind's all… poisoned by the silly adventures I've been having! Katy and those Team Star punks are all makin' me SOFT! I can't maintain my awesome image if everyone knows Iono has turned into a big softie! They'd cast me out of the interwebs just like, just like…"

Her defiant look, despite herself, softened up like she feared, and beneath those sunset-colored contacts Iono's eyes got glossy.

"Like Tisa-Belle… dating a fan." She shook her head. "We don't even know if it's a fan, I'm the baddie who started that train a-going! And maybe Tisa-Belle doesn't deserve all that… NHH! NYAAHHHH! I HATE these stupid feelings!" she bitterly declared, flapping her oversized sleeves like an angry toddler. "Everything's been getting my circuits all crossed and mangled around ever since—since…"

Iono was hit with that burning realization.

"Dang it… I promised I'd reply to her."

She took out her phone and opened PokéChat again… but that dreaded message was still what greeted her.

botan700: Are we dating?

And underneath it was a huge bubble for Iono to type out her reply.

"…"

Iono's insides began to rattle.

"I… I… I…"

Her fingers were shaking like she was being zapped. Why was this so hard? Just a simple "No. Of course we're not dating!" Why can't she type it?

Iono felt her breathing get faster, and it terrified her. She hadn't felt rising panic in herself like this since… since long ago. If she couldn't calm herself down, Iono was in trouble of suffocating. But on what? Guilt? Dishonesty? Leading Penny on?

Not wanting to get cancelled?

"…"

As a single teardrop rolled down her cheek, Iono—with a pained face—closed the app, without leaving a reply. And stuffed her phone back in her coat pocket.

"…I don't know! I don't know if what we've been doing is considered 'dating'!" she croaked. "I can't—I can't get my brain all moving on the right track again! If only I could just hit the reset button on this—heh! Heh-heh! Yeah, maybe that's it! I just need to… go out there and be totally myself for a while, and get myself 100% back into IONO MODE-O!"

Iono laughed, well more like… forced herself to laugh, as hard as she could.

"Yeah! YEAH-YEAH! There's nothing wrong inside this big old brain of mine! Just your favorite electrifying pal Iono, here to zappity-zappity-zap! Look out, world! I'll show you! I'm still ME!"

Meanwhile, in a dark room at Uva Academy, Penny was pacing anxiously around her dorm. She was trying not to constantly look at the phone sitting on her computer desk, showing the last message she had typed.

botan700: Are we dating?

"I just, I just thought…" She had a hand to her temple. "All the flirting, her calling me cute… And even showing me her picture like that…" Now both hands went up, clutching her sweating hand like a melon. "Isn't that what couples do?"

In a much quieter voice, she uttered, "It reminded me so much of how me and Marn started out…"

"Sylvee?"

Sylveon stood on the floor gazing up at her partner with a worried look. She tried to extend her feelers, but Penny was walking around too erratically for her to get a grip. Penny recognized what the Intertwining Pokémon was trying to do though, and looked at her with a pained expression.

"Sylveon, did I… did I totally just fuck everything up?"

Chapter Text

Another yearly quarter. Another fun committee get-together. Another chance to mine her fellow Gym Leaders' personalities for clicks, she figured!

Maybe it was her own fault. After the last one of these she went to, Iono's brief feature with Larry caused her viewership to spike like crazy. So she wouldn't dare turn down another opportunity for that "Larry bump".

Plus, if Larry was here then so surely so would Katy, with that kind and pleasant smile on her face that Iono knows all too well. Surely, she would help Iono stay chipper after the funky day she had yesterday!

But sadly, Katy ended up having to take a raincheck due to business booming over at Patisserie Soapberry. Now whose fault is that?

And so the Supercharged Streamer Iono was here. Dressed up in her favorite oversized yellow jacket. In the staff lounge of the Pokémon League building. With all the other Gym Leaders and Elite Four members of the League. And now that Iono was here, she proceeded to party the way she usually does.

"What a drab party, huh Ionites? Don't worry! That's why Geeta ALWAYS relies on yours truly to liven up this little Pokémon League shindig with my classic Iono charm! NYOHOHOHO!"

Iono's Rotom Phone was buzzing around the influencer, recording her coverage of the League party as she did her best to make sure her gleaming smile was the centerpoint of the footage in every frame.

"Now where shall we make like a Swoobat and descend FIRST?" She gasped. "I KNOWS! Let's go raid that snacks table and see what kind of yummies await us!"

Rotom dutifully followed Iono to the table against the wall of the room, where there was an impressive mixed platter that several of the culinarily inclined Gym Leaders contributed to. Her first target was a familiar sight for anyone attending these parties on the regular.

"AHA! I spy with my little eye Tulip's weird yogurt again!" she said, eyeing the frothy pink goo in its artisan bowl. "Aaaaand I spy with my little eye Tulip herself!"

The camera flew into the face of Paldea's most elegant model, standing nearby with Kofu and Grusha.

"Noni, darling!" Tulip fluttered her eyelashes to the camera. "Is it true? Is moi finally receiving an invite to collab on your stream?"

"GWEH! W-well…"

To be super honest, Iono was always a bit afraid to feature Tulip on her streams, fearing it would make her viewers realize how much better Tulip was than her in just about every way…

HEY! Remember, show no weakness!

"Well sad to say, but my schedule's fully booked until the end of the decade, lady Tulip. Fret not though, cause I've always got time to trap you in a quickie interview! So Tulip, can YOU tell me what's the deal with this yogurt?"

"I've definitely explained this to you before, but I'll be polite and assume this is for the benefit of your viewers. Hello, sweeties!" She gave a confident wink to the camera lens.

"We're—we're not live right now…" Iono muttered.

"The purpose of my homemade gourmet yogurt here is to boost your keratin levels. Some say skin is the most beautiful of one's features, sweetheart, and I must say yours is quite immaculate!"

"Aww, Tulip! Stop! I can't even right now!"

"Yes, indeed! And your beauty deserves to be shared with the world, sweetie! But that's not all my yogurt does, it's also rich in probiotics, which can greatly enhance your colo—"

"Yahh! I literally CAN'T EVEN right now!" Iono shouted dramatically. "Too many big words, Tulip! They're going to lose interest fast! Yogurt doesn't make someone else better than you, that's silly-silly-SILLY!"

Tulip cast a displeased frown. "Hmmph. Suddenly your aura today is quite vexing to me…"

"Ohh, I'M VERY vexing! You can count on that! Now what else we got here? Oooooh! Is this what Katy decided to whip up today?"

Iono's sunset-colored lenses drifted off from Tulip and her bizarre yogurt, to a huge display of wrapped treats on a Patisserie Soapberry-branded multi-tier stand. Iono recognized them as chocolate cake pops just like the ones Katy gave her the other day. But upon closer inspection…

"HEY! Woweee! Look at this, viewers! Last time I got some o' these from Katy, she made them look like cutie Pokémon! But now, they all look like cute Gym Leaders instead!"

These cake pops were designed after all of Paldea's Gym Leaders and Elite Four, even Poppy who's too young for the League parties. Kofu and Grusha had already taken the ones designed after themselves. Kofu appreciated that it was flavored after his favorite cheesecake, while Grusha just seemed to stare at it and mutter.

"Why would she want to make it look like me? That's seriously uncool…"

Iono was enamored by them. "What a sickeningly sweet gesture from our favorite pastry-maker! Even when she's not here, Katy is always lighting up everyone's day just as brightly as Iono! Hee-hee! Hey, Ionites? Check this out? See Larry's choco delight here? She wrapped it up with a cute little heart! NYOHOHO! I bet it's onigiri-flavored too! He loves scarfing those down! We should give it to him and—"

But as Iono rambled, her eye was caught to something that surprised her. Of course, there was one made in her image too. In fact… there were two Iono-shaped pops. And they were wrapped together. In the same heart-themed bow.

"Huh…?"

Intrigued, Iono picked them up. She couldn't help but gaze in awe at just how… meticulously the Cortondo chef had crafted them with the little details of Iono's face and hairstyle, right down to gumball eyes not just on her face, but on each of the Magnemite clips.

Attached to the red bow was a handwritten note.

For you to share with your special friend!
- Katy ㅤꨄ︎

She had signed it in her own delicate signature. Iono's mouth was agape.

"K-K-Katy…" she whispered, completely awestruck.

Iono felt a tear welling up in her eye, stinging her contact a bit—which is what brought her out of her daze.

"Ahhh! Gyeh! T-thank goodness I'm pre-recording this…!" she mumbled. "No! NO! Go AWAY, bad feelings! Stop trying to come out today!" she whimpered. "I need a BEEG distraction to take my mind off this ickiness! But who…?"

She gapsed. A certain tall man in a business suit caught her eye, sitting on a table with Rika with his back hunched like only one Gym Leader would do. Iono's smirk grew wide.

"Nyohoho…"

Meanwhile, our favorite gumdrop-haired student sat at the study tables on Uva Academy's second floor lobby. Multiple books were open in front of her, a few of them relevant to her STEM track.

But not all of them were related to Penny's studies. She had a copy of the Violet Book open, her own personal copy of Professor Sonia's "Galar: A History", several children's picture books, and a thick book containing the names of Pokémon as translated in multiple languages.

Penny wasn't exactly here to study like everyone else sitting in front of these bookshelves. All these books were a desperate, frail attempt to distract her anxious mind.

These attempts failed whenever she stole a glance at her Rotom Phone again, the painful reminder of what was making her brain go to such dark places right now…

botan700: Are we dating?

Penny squirmed, making an uncomfortable noise. She couldn't resist from opening it up and going to PokéChat, only to see that Noni still hasn't responded.

"Maybe she just hasn't… read it yet?"

Her Umbreon was sitting upright on the chair next to her, and replied, "Umbreon!"

A simple click on the message betrayed her optimism, by showing that Noni had read it at 5:13 PM… literally the same minute Penny posted it.

Penny laid her elbows on the table and groaned. "How long does it have to be until you've officially been ghosted…?" she wondered.

"Brrreon?"

The morose girl started looking around for anything else that might help her forget who she is and what she's dealing with. There were plenty of students around, some running to their classes and others looking for books too.

But then Penny's eyes caught sight of… one really tall, beautiful-looking girl who stood out from everyone else. Something about this girl mesmerized Penny. Maybe her outfit for starters. She was dressed in a very unusual uniform, with a peach-colored polo shirt and deep purple shorts that really accentuated her tall legs.

She was humming a soft tune to herself as she perused the bookshelves, and as she turned her face, Penny found herself lost in her deep brown eyes for a second.

"Now, where could it be…?" she muttered.

Wait. … I know that voice.

Penny suddenly realized why she was so drawn to this girl she didn't believe she'd seen before. She gazed at the girl's face a little closer, and gasped in realization.

"Eri?" she said in disbelief. "Is that… you?"

"UMBREON!" Umbreon's ears perked up to realize this was no stranger.

"Oh!"

The girl turned around and did a two-handed wave to Penny. Now everything about her voice, mannerisms, and movement totally clicked even if her appearance didn't.

"Hi, Penny! Hi, Umbreon! Fancy seeing you here!" she said pleasantly. "Of course it's Eri! Who else would I be?"

"You… you look so d-different…"

"I do?" Eri looked down at herself. "Oh! I suppose you're not used to seeing me dressed in a proper uniform, right? Especially one like this."

Penny gave the brown-haired bare-faced girl a look. "Uhh, yeah. That must be it."

She watched as Eri went back to scanning the shelves deeply.

"Are you looking for a book…? Cause I could help you find it."

"No, no, I've got it!" Eri assured her. "Giacomo told me it should have a particular title… A-ha!"

Having found what she was looking for, Eri took the book and put it on a cart… along with several other books. Penny raised her eyebrows, she saw the cart but hadn't realized those books were all for Eri!

"Hopefully, this suits Ortega fine…"

"Huh? Ortie? Is he… actually back in school again?" Penny hovered over, insatiably curious now. "What are you up to anyway?"

Eri's eyes grew wide, and she placed herself in front of the cart.

"NOTHING!" she shouted. "Nothing's going on at all! There's no reason for you to worry at all, Penny! I'm just… really hungry for knowledge! HONEST!"

"Uhh—"

"HASTA LA VISTAR! ✫"

Eri hastily made the star sign before grabbing her cart's handle and zooming away with it.

"…Buh?"

Penny was so confused.

"What was that all about…?"

"Umbreon."

She sighed at her ebony pal. "Eri may look totally different but… one thing's still true. She's still a tremendously bad liar."

Another glance at her phone, at the unanswered message, just added to Penny's unease.

"Suddenly… it's like everyone's avoiding me right now…"

Her hands began to fidget.

"Umbreon… be honest right now. Am—am I in the Twilight Zone or something?"

"Umbrr?" Umbreon's ear twitched.

"Are you really not worried about Geeta catching you working off the clock?" Rika teased.

"Mmm," Larry replied, taking a sip of his light beer. "If I don't get these liability documents for the Blueberry exchange program all signed and organized by Friday, she'll have my head anyway. What's the difference?"

"Oh!" Rika's eyes lit up. "Did you not get Geeta's memo? There's been a, uhh… a bit of a sudden update with the kiddo we sent over there."

"…Are you serious."

Larry was about to ask what Rika meant by that, when a wrapped dessert shaped like his own head was suddenly shoved in his face.

"HO-HO-HO! Your eyeballs are trapped by your own silly gray GUMBALLS! Whosawhatsit? IT'S YOU, SILLYYYY!"

He stared blankly at the cake pop. "...Yes, it is. I've already seen it. Katy made another one for me earlier, so I'm just taking that one home."

"AWWWWW! Aren't you and Katy such big mushy-gushy sweeties? And here I thought I was SPECIAL for getting two sweets by Crazy Katy!" Iono cozied right up against Larry's shoulders with her phone buzzing around. "But now that you've acknowledged my presence, you're ALSO trapped by the Iono Zone again! Say hi to all your fans Larry, you big superstar!"

Larry put down his tablet and sighed. "I thought I was done with you."

"NYOHOHO! Just cause I'm not keeping an eye on ya in the field, doesn't mean you can escape me here, Mr. Funny Romantic Business Dude!" she gushed, pinching his cheek.

"Is personal space just not a taught concept in wherever region you came from?"

"HA-HA-HA! Still the world's most amazing jokester, good ol' Larry! How can you be such a funny dude and still wonder why my audience loves you so much?"

Iono started pressing buttons on her phone with an annoyed expression.

"In fact, this friendly little reunion mayhaps just turned into a tough interrogation! I've been having myself a little peep at the League's popularity rankings, and it seems like you of all people are threatening my #1 spot as everyone's favorite Gym Leader!"

She pressed the phone right up to his face, showing a rankings leaderboard.

"The Ionites are gonna want to know what's your secret to winning over so many more hearts besides just sweet little Katy's, and I want to get to the bottom of this too so I can figure out how to BEAT you!"

"I promise you, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Larry grumpily responded, firmly setting her hand down. "Listen, Iono. Haven't you gotten MORE than enough unsolicited footage of me to satisfy this whole livestream thing of yours?"

"Awwww, C'MON LARRY!" Iono wailed petulantly. "You promised me another interview in exchange for telling my fans to give you two some space! Now you won't pay up?"

"I said MAYBE you'd get another interview. That was the key word."

"Pah! Whatever! It's time to pay your debts, briefcase man! I won't rest until we've solved this mystery of how you—"

"IONO, chill! Seriously." Rika's cutting voice silenced the bubbly girl instantly. "Larry told you no, and that should be enough. Can't you take a hint?"

"Awww, Rika! Why you gotta be such a party pooper, huh?"

"Hey, you'd better listen up, kid," she said more sternly, which made Iono a little unnerved. "I know Larry didn't see that podcast you were on yesterday, but I sure did! I don't like the way you keep wringing out the private lives of nice people like him and Katy on shows like that for your own selfish enjoyment!"

"Wh—You watch Psychic Noize!?" I thought Rika was totally way too uptight for things like that.

"It's… a guilty pleasure," she muttered. "But anyway, I think you've spent long enough harassing this poor couple."

Rika's eyes took on… a rather unnerving gleam.

"We wouldn't want Geeta finding out about things like this, do we?"

"G-GYEH!" Iono balked, stepping away. "I… I… AHHH! You really know how to hit it where it hurts, don't ya Rika!? HMPH!"

Her eyes buzzed around, before instantly landing on a new target.

"YO! HASS & BRASS!" Iono zoomed off, her phone trailing behind her. "So are you two totally dating or WHAT!? Quit queerbaiting all of us and SPILL THAT DELICIOUS TEA!"

Larry breathed a huge sigh of relief once the pastel-colored pest was gone.

"Podcast…?" he grumbled. "Do I even want to know?"

"Yeahhh, better you don't," Rika assured him.

Larry let his arms out on the table and sagged his head with a tired grunt.

"Feeling pretty miserable without Katy around?" his Elite Four colleague sympathized, rubbing his shoulder.

"I might not have even come if I'd known she was going to be busy… or if I knew that caffeine case was still making it her life's mission to annoy me… It's like that shrill voice of hers is a trigger now."

…

"Please don't touch me."

Rika giggled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Giacomo looked quite different too. Especially without his hat, you might not know it was him. He was wearing his own black-vested version of this unusual new Uva Academy uniform as he stood against a bookshelf with headphones on, jamming to a playlist on his phone. He was lost in his own little zone, at least until he glanced up and spotted a… rather frantic looking Eri running down the stairs.

He lowered his headphones. As Eri ran up to him, looking out of breath, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Whoaa! Where's the fire, Eri?"

"Ugh… just give me a minute," she mumbled.

"Sorry. Umm, did you find the books Ortega needed?"

"Yeah, I did…" she huffed. "They're on the cart, and I left in the classroom. Monsiuer Salvatore said he's okay with it staying there until the weekend."

"Cool stuff!" Giacomo gave a thumbs up. "That Mr. Salvatore guy's a rad dude! But what's up with you?"

"I umm, I ended up running into Penny. And she asked what I was doing."

"Ohhh. So did you tell her about our plans?"

"No! I told you, I don't want Penny being involved in this!" Eri scolded him. "We've caused enough trouble for her already! We can take care of this completely by ourselves, Giacomo."

"If you say so…" he sighed. "But I sure wish we could get someone who's just as smart as our big boss to help us with this."

"Patience, Giacomo. There's plenty of really intelligent students all around us."

"Yeah, right on! We just gotta find the brainiest one of the bunch and find a way to convince 'em to help us!"

Just then, Giacomo spotted someone looking at them and his eyes almost bulged out.

"HANG ON! Is it about to be much easier than I thought it'd be? Eri! Look who it is!"

"Hmm? Oh, wow! You're right, what a lucky break for us! HELLO!" she called out. The girl who had been eyeing them from a distance walked over. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Yeah! Not every day we get to see her around the academy, huh? So how you been, J-dog?"

She didn't answer.

"…You doin' all right, pal? Not sure what to make of that blank look you got goin' on there."

Meanwhile at the League party, Iono tried to strike up a conversation with Kofu, asking him all about the silly sayings he liked to spout out and asking if he thinks his restaurant the Kofu Lounge is really "on point!"

"I uhh… I suppose a lot of folks do point to it."

"Yeah!? No cap!?"

A frazzled Kofu just responded, "I don't know what kind of words you youngin's say anymore!" and blustered about having to leave to tend to that restaurant again, which was totally just an excuse and not because of him forgetting about the dinner rush.

"GRRRRR!" Iono growled, watching him leave. "What's going on with everyone today!? WHY DO NONE OF YOU COWARDS WANT TO GIVE ME A SOLID INTERVIEW, HUH!"

"It's because we can all see through your exaggerated veil, dearie."

"What?!"

Iono sharply turned to see both Tulip and Grusha standing by one of the tables.

"Yeah," Grusha agreed. "I mean you're always kind of extra these days, but today it just seems like you're trying way too hard."

"Ehhh!" Iono dismissively waved them off. "If I wanted comments from the peanut gallery, I'd open a poll! What right do you have to judge what I'm like anyhow?"

"A lot, actually." The Ice-type Gym Leader lowered the scarf covering his mouth just a tiny bit. "For one thing, you're pre-recording this when I feel like you usually want to broadcast crashing parties like this live for everyone to see."

"Yeah, well that's… just cause of logistics, icy boy! Not everything has a special meaning to it!"

"You still stream on Twika, right? The Iono Zone and all that jazz?"

"Say whaaat!?" Iono flared her eyebrows and marched up to him. "Grusha, you know about my streams?"

"I used to watch them before competitions and stuff, yeah. Cheered me up a lot. I've known about you since before you started doing that weird greeting thing."

"Wowza! So you're like… an OG!? Awww, Grusha! I never knew that! Hows come we've never done a collab then, and—wait a minute." Iono's happy mood quickly dampered. "What's with those words 'used to'?"

"I don't know. The stuff you do now just isn't my scene," he shrugged. "I think I like your older content better, if I'm being honest. You took more risks, y'know? Nowadays it feels like it's all about gettin' the most clicks—all the sponsorships and everything. Pretty uncool, if you ask me."

"Ooof, you're one of THOSE fans! See, this is why I quit reading the comments!"

Tulip couldn't help but giggle. "Well, I don't know if I feel quite as harshly as our dear Grusha. But I've been observing you as well, Iono. And while your persona and your streaming career has evolved in very beautiful ways over the years, it seems that with each passing day that glamor takes a price."

"Meaning…?" Iono sneered.

"I remember when you first started as the latest addition to our roster. You oozed a really… sparkling, almost glimmering confidence that I love seeing in the younger generation! But lately, it seems the bigger your ego becomes and the more you try to keep radiating that same aura of confidence, the more that I detect notes of… deep-seeded insecurity."

"…"

Tulip put a hand to her chin and stared Iono up and down even further. Iono was starting to wonder if all that mumbo-jumbo about Psychic-specializing Trainers like Sabrina being able to read people's minds was actually true…

"Yes. I'm afraid that what I often detect from you is suppressed feelings of inadequacy, maybe even imposter syndrome. Your aura speaks as if you often question whether you're good enough to be where you are. Perhaps you sacrificed a lot to get here." Her eyes lit up. "…Yes! I'm right on the money, aren't I? Much of the act you put on is really just a reflection of some deep-seeded trauma that you've been—"

"Blah, blah, blah!" the Electric specialist angrily cut her off. "I guess everyone else in this League thinks they're just a bunch of psycho-analysts now, huh!? Quit reading me like I'm bad fanfiction on the Internet!"

"Ya see? There it is again," Kofu muttered to Geeta as he hastily put his running loafers on. "What in Davy Jones' Locker is that sweet lass yappin' about?"

The chairwoman of the Pokémon League had been keeping a close eye on the Supercharged Streamer as she run amok with her antics. "Hmmm…"

Mic feedback echoed through the room as the MC of RIP herself took the stage to start spitting some bars.

"Listen now and listen good, my fellow Gym Leaders!" Ryme sang, her booming voice as hot as ever. "I've been digging today's shindig for real, and I hope you're all on the same page!"

"Here, here!" everyone in the room—except Larry—said enthusiastically.

"Looks like Geeta's handin' me for the mic for today's finale again. I don't blame her. She knows that I don't just close shows, I bury 'em!"

Although Ryme was the oldest person in the current Paldean Pokémon League, the soulful rapper always brought out a spry, youthful energy that made age seem like something only the crypts should care about.

And when Ryme's concerts were hype enough to raise the dead from their graves, even that much was left in question.

"The shows I put on in Montenevera always leave my Challengers clawing for an encore. And every time I get to share that groove with my peers, why it raises my spirits quicker than a Ouija board!"

Several of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four present cheered for Ryme and held their drinks high, excited for their colleague's big performance.

"Now that's the energy that gets my bones pumping! So let's crank it up a notch and—"

"YEAH, TURN UP THOSE SPEAKERS!"

Much to everyone's surprise, especially Ryme's, Iono bound right up on stage and selfishly grabbed the mic for herself.

"LEMME HEAR YOU SCREEEAM, PALDEAN LEAGUE! YOUR EYEBALLS ARE MINE, CAUGHT IN MY—" She was cut off by a loud reverb from her mic. "Hello? This thing on? Hello?" She rubbed the mic incessantly with her sleeve, trying to figure out why it wasn't working anymore. "Who…?"

Iono looked over to Ryme and saw that she had bent down and unplugged the mic from the stage box.

Twirling it around in her green-coated nails, she explained, "You've really been livening up this party with your high-def vibes tonight, Iono. I respect that a lot. But this ain't a duet. And even if it was, you sure picked a leery way of jumping into one."

"Don't worry, Ryme, I'm a born entertainer! I just lit up a whole base of Team Star peeps with my amazing singing!" Iono haughtily tried to assure her. "You might be the MC of RIP, but I'm the MC of watch-and-see! Together, we could really shake up this crowd and put this concert performance on the HIGHEST of pedestals, you and me!"

Ryme shook her head.

"Maybe some other night you and I could haunt the mic together, but tonight? Your place is in the sidelines. Just let me raise the crowd's souls on my own, and when our paths echo again we can chat about double acts."

"Nonsense!" Iono refused to budge, ignoring the displeased grunts she could hear from the crowd. "A collab with Ryme is exactly what the Iono Zone needs to raise its spirits up! And I think we can—"

But Ryme interrupted her by leaning right into Iono's ear and whispering her cold breath into it.

"Listen up, I'm trying to save you, girl. Geeta's been eyeing you like a grim Dusknoir ever since you jumped on stage."

"Huh?"

Iono looked over at La Primera… and immediately felt a chill running through her bones. Ryme was right. The tall woman's glowering blue eyes looked like they were screaming murder, and she even crushed her solo cup in her hand, causing Iono's heart to jump.

"Ehhhh…" she whined uneasily.

"Best you stick to the shadows for now, sister," Ryme warned her. "Last thing I want is for this scene of mine to become your graveyard."

The rattled influencer hesitated. But a stern step forward from the chairwoman scared her straight. She grabbed the mic and yelled out (even though it still wasn't turned on):

"THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT! THIS HAS BEEN IONO FROM THE IONO ZONE, BUT I'VE GOTTA DIP! PLEASE ENJOY RYME'S FUNKY SINGING! AU REVIORS, LATERS, GOODBYEEEE-AIIIEEEEEEE!"

And she took off from the stage like her hair was on fire, pushing past everyone and rushing right out the door, leaving everyone in the room completely gobsmacked.

Especially Hassel and Brassius, who stood close to each other's side drinking from Brassius's homemade dragonfruit-flavored spirit.

"Well! Looks like a sudden entrance gave way to just as sudden an exit!" Brassius observed. "Let it not be said that Iono doesn't have a flair for the unexpected!"

Hassel had noticed the piercing look his boss was giving to Iono and grimaced. "Whatever Geeta said to Iono after that little 'matchmaking' episode must've put the fear of the deities in her."

"A flagrant, abhorrent, completely inadmissible lack of professionalism from you!" Geeta's tongue bit with venom each step she paced. "Not to mention the STUNNING lack of respect for your trusted colleagues!"

"I'm sorryyyyyyy!" Iono wailed, covering her frazzled face with her sleeves. "P-please… stop yelling at me!"

Geeta had come up to Iono's sparsely used office in her Gym building to confront her. Poor Iono was still reeling from being scolded by Larry, who had also made an appearance in Levincia after discovering what Iono put on her livestream that morning.

But now the true terror had come riding into town to give the naughty Gym Leader a verbal beatdown.

"I'm just struggling to understand from WHAT corners of your mind you even thought that the League would entertain being scandalized like this! We are supposed to be a respected institution representing the serious pinnacle of strength in Pokémon battling. And instead, you turned it into… something to be talked about on gossipy tabloids."

"Well…" Iono was still shrunken in her seat. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Geeta removed the hand that was squeezing her face to look at the girl nonplussed. "I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, that's what—that's what happens to celebrities when they're popular! The paparazzis get all crazy and want a big scoop to put on the front covers! It's supposed to show how much value they have that people want to know more about them, I… I think!"

"Iono… you were hired to be a Gym Leader, NOT a tabloid reporter. Don't you realize that I would wish the disgusting actions of paparazzi illegal if I had the power?"

"So what? Are you saying I did something against the law?" Iono barked back, defiantly standing up and holding her sleeved arms out. "Well then, go ahead Geeta! Slap those handcuffs on me and ship me off to jail! Go on, do it!"

La Primera huffed at her. "Please stop being overdramatic for once and take this seriously, Iono."

"I AM being serious!" Iono got so wound up her shark teeth came up. "I'm being serious that it seems like everyone's just all waiting in a line to beat me down! You and Larry could've at least come together to cancel me all at once! And for what, anyway? I ain't no lawyer-y person, but I know it's not a crime to film!"

Geeta slammed her hands on the table, causing Iono to go "Eep!" and shrivel back into her seat.

"It IS when you jeopardize people's dignity, Iono!" she snapped. "I'm not just talking about the League, but what you've done to poor Larry and Katy! All this negative attention they didn't ask for! They're not your playthings for your little streams, they're your coworkers. Don't they deserve the same level of respect that you do?"

"Hey, I love it whenever I get lots of media attention, personally!" Iono cracked, flapping her sleeves around.

Geeta shook her head and put a finger to her forehead again. She was losing her patience fast dealing with this woman-child.

"But surely even an entertainer like yourself knows how awful it is to have strangers dissecting your private life with reckless abandon."

"That's the cool thing about me Geeta, I don't even have a private life!" she declared confidently. "Everything you see about Iono is what you get!"

The great La Primera was running out of tics at this point, now settling for bristling her shoulders together to try to keep her calm.

"Are you really so incapable of thinking about anyone but yourself?"

"Hey, what's the big deal anyway? I already promised Larry I'd get my fans off his back and leave him alone from now on, so you've got nothing else to even punish me for! We should just let those bygones be all the bygones they want, right?" Iono gleamed at her.

…

Geeta turned her back from Iono. "Not when your attitude is this remorseless…"

Finally feeling fed up, the chairwoman's heels echoed in their clacks as she started walking to the door, leaving the bubbly Gym Leader flummoxed.

"So what? Is that seriously it? Bygones going bye-bye for real? Heh! That was easier than I thought."

Geeta cracked the door open, gripping it tightly with her purple glove.

"If attempting the empathy card with you isn't working… perhaps I truly have to go for a more direct approach."

Iono frowned. "Huh?"

Geeta sighed.

"I think… in the interest of fairness, it's time I should be transparent with you about something." Her stern face turned back around. "Iono. I do know who you really are."

…

"W—whazzat supposed to mean?"

"Did you really think the League doesn't do extensive background checks on every applicant for the Gym Leader position?" Geeta's midnight blue pools meant Iono's colored lenses. "In fact. As it so happens, your mother is… someone that I hold a tremendous amount of respect for."

Iono's eyelids snapped open. She sank all the way down into the chair, her whole body bristling. The bravado inside her shriveled up in an instant.

"W-w-what?" her voice squeaked out. "You mean… you—you knew? This whole time?"

Geeta nodded. "Not only did I know, but I've even had the courtesy of meeting her a few times before you ever applied. And when you did, and I was making my final considerations on whether to accept you in the role… I decided to get in touch with her for her opinion."

Iono went from slinking in her chair to bouncing upright like a squeezed slinky let loose.

"You… YOU TALKED TO MY MOM?!"

"I did. And the conversation we had is what finally convinced me to make—what I had believed—would be the right decision."

"…" The once babbling girl was left truly speechless.

"Do you infer my meaning, Iono?"

"You're not…" Her heart was threatening to beat right out of her chest. "You're not threatening to TELL MY PARENTS ON ME, are you!?"

"No," she said firmly but gently. "Because unlike you, I do still maintain a sense of boundaries. I admit to being curious about why you've chosen to bury such an astounding pedigree, but that's entirely your own business. So I never pressed her on it, nor am I going to jeopardize the efforts you've made to operate under a name all your own."

…

Geeta sighed again and decided to turn to face the spellbound Iono fully.

"The point I'm making is: I think I've let my personal feelings cloud my judgments too much when dealing with you and your… unusual behavior. Now, I think I need to be more professional."

"M-meaning…?"

"If your need to build endless scandals and engagement with your streaming career is really so incompatible with your ability to guide young Trainers and show dignity as a mature Gym Leader…"

Her eyes closed. And then snapped open again, full of tranquil fury.

"Then perhaps next time I have to meet you like this, I'll ask you to consider… which of those two roles you'd rather keep."

Iono gasped.

"…That'll be all."

Deciding she had no other words to spare, Geeta bowed politely to her subordinate and calmly left through the door. Iono was all alone now to consider everything she'd just heard.

It took her almost twenty minutes to stop shaking.

And Iono was still shaking now in the present day, as she burst out the doors from the party and slung her body over a railing that overlooked a window so huge it might as well be the whole wall.

Outside this part of the Pokémon League building, the view wasn't terrible. As the huffing Iono peered out the window, she could spot the fields of Cortondo and the Great Olive Orchard in the plains below the mountain. Not to mention the funny windmills, and the spot where she now knew Giacomo and his Segin Squad liked to hole up.

…But seeing those things was doing the opposite of bringing the addled girl any comfort. Instead, she leaned her head against the railing, fighting as hard as she could not to start tearing up.

"I'm trying so hard to just… bury all these icky feelings forever and go back to who I was—who I've always been! The great Iono, all smiles and good vibes, not a single worry in the world! …So why is it suddenly SO dang hard now?"

Then she heard her phone dialing.

"Penny!?" she lit up.

She checked the caller ID… it wasn't Penny. But it still made Iono gasp. She instantly picked up.

"BLAKBERY!? Is that you!?"

"STILL calling me that when we're phone buddies now!" came laughter on the other end that started warming Iono's heart. "You're so unbelievable, Ionnie!"

"Ha-ha! Sorry, Mozie! Guess you'll never break me out of that habit!"

"Well, maybe I know a good thing to ween you off…" Moze said in a noticeably coy tone. "Remember how I said I might hit you up if I need to relieve some boredom this weekend?"

"Are—are you saying…!?"

"I'm still gonna be in town until Monday, turns out. So wanna go out to dinner this weekend, just you and me babes?"

Iono sharply drew in breath. A part of her—a really huge part—wanted to immediately scream out "YES!" Moze, THE BLAKBERY, was asking her out on a date after years of Iono crushing on her! Of course she would say yes, right?

But the problem was… with her phone open, it was still showing Iono the last app she had open since yesterday.

PokéChat. And Penny's message… still there. Tormenting her.

botan700: Are we dating?

Penny's message on the main screen. Moze's active call log in the bubble above.

Iono's eyes darting back and forth between the two.

"Hellooooo? Earth to my precious Ionnie? Is that a yes or a hell yeah about to come out of your mouth?"

The streamer's mouth hung open, distraught.

"…"

Penny sucked in some bravery. "I really hope these guys aren't too weird… Love Atticus, but he can be pretty weird himself."

She timidly knocked on the clubroom door. The loud voices inside all came to a stop. She heard clattering as someone approached the door.

And… well, she didn't know what she was expecting. But the person who opened it to greet her had on a cheap knight's outfit with fake chainmail, and a handmade shield that looked like it was made from paper-mache and duct tape.

"Ummm…"

"Well met!" the tall ginger-haired student greeted. "Have you come to join our fair LARPing club, dear maiden?"

"Ummm… not exactly. At least, not today. Not until I get a straight answer from Atticus what 'LARPing' even is…" she muttered. "Umm, is Atticus with you today? I was wondering if… I could talk to him about something?"

"Our dungeon master Atticus is being summoned? Hmmm…" He looked back in the room to see a bunch of shaking heads. "Sincerest apologies, maiden! He hasn't graced us with his appearance all day, it seems."

"I see. I guess I'll keep looking. Umm, thanks anyway."

"Wait!" called a voice inside.

A purple-haired girl rushed to the door, wearing what looked like a DIY mage's outfit.

"He told me what his plans were—err, I mean… I cast Arcane Eye to detect that… Atticus is involved in a secret meeting with all of Team Star today!"

"A-all of Team Star!?" Penny repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, yes… the eyes sees all. Well, not exactly where they've all congregated, but, y'know. General intuition…" Then she got a good look at the stranger. "Hang on, aren't you Penny? The girl who was running Team Star behind-the-scenes?"

"Uhh, guilty," she blushed.

"Heh! Guess you're late for your own meeting then!" said the ginger knight.

"Y-yeah, guess so…" Penny muttered, walking away to try to process this.

The knight then muttered, in a more normal-sounding voice, "Don't you have to be at least fourth level divination to cast Arcane Eye?"

"I dunno," the mage shrugged. "I just wanted to sound cool."

After they closed the door, Penny walked down the halls, grasping her head in confusion.

"So, it's not just Eri… All five of them are… are making their own plans and avoiding me all of a sudden? But—but why?" she whimpered. "I thought we were still friends. Do they just—just not want me around anymore?"

Before she could let her worries consume her any more deeply, Penny's phone dinged. A very specific kind of ding: a PokéChat notification!

"NONI!" she gasped in delight, quickly opening the app. "At least you haven't… a-abandoned me?"

But the messages she saw made that smile completely vanish.

noni_the_normie: Hey umm
noni_the_normie: This is kinda awkward to say
...
noni_the_normie: i think i'd like to take a break from doing these
noni_the_normie: if that's okay with you.

"…"

Penny was in such shock that she dropped her phone on the ground.

Chapter Text

Iono was the first to arrive at Jade Palace Garden that evening. She had been hoping to maybe eat at one of her favorite places like Barato's, but BLAKBERY—her DATE!—had insisted that Iono find the most expensive restaurant in Levincia for the two of them.

She was more than happy to meet her longtime crush's demands, especially because this was a place she hadn't eaten at before, and she liked trying new places.

"GREETINGS!" she enthusiastically greeted the host. "I believe if you'll look up the name IONO, you'll see a reservation for two!"

The host checked his sheet. "Yes indeed, Miss Iono. Your table is right this way, and may I see, you look absolutely splendid tonight, ma'am!"

"Awww, thanksies! You're way too sweet!" Iono blushed.

Iono was feeling very splendid in her fancy attire! She had decided to go all out for her date with Moze, trading her slick clothes for a long red dress with angel sleeves. She also wore red puffs over her forearms, which shook about just like the oversized sleeves of her signature jacket.

The host led Iono to her seat. Moze had insisted on a table right next to a window, and although it was one of the costliest ones to reserve, it was worth every penny to Iono.

"Will you be waiting for the mistress to arrive, Miss Iono?"

"Hee-hee! I know she'd want me to wait for her, so I'll hold off for now, but thank you!"

Iono had shown up ten minutes early, but she also quickly began to regret saying that when she remembered that people like Moze always have a penchant for being fashionably late…

Twenty-five minutes later, Iono's head lay on the table. The host had been polite enough to fit a napkin under her open mouth—or maybe he just didn't want her drool coating the table.

However, the sudden bouts of clamor and excitement around her brought Iono's head back up. She turned around and gasped.

"Holy crap-cakes, Moze…"

Iono may have turned some heads when she arrived at Jade Palace Garden, but the second Moze walked into the door, she instantly became the center of attention.

"She's dressed to the nines. The tens and twenties, even!"

The tall, glamorous black lady was rocking a strapless black gown that didn't just emphasize her gorgeously voluptuous body, it transformed her into a work of art. And with each supermodel-like step that drew the magenta-haired beauty closer to her, Iono really paid attention to the differences in how they presented themselves.

Whereas the skirt of Iono's red dress was loose and flowed to just above her knees, Moze's black dress had an open slit to show off some sexy leg. Iono's heels were blocky and wrapped around her toes. Moze's heels were pointed with thin straps.

Iono's neckline was a tall cross-halter. Moze's lack of neckline put her cleavage and her sparkling pink diamond necklace on display. Iono was focused on looking nice and fancy. But Moze, she realized, was focused on looking spectacular and sexy.

"IONNIE!" Moze cried out upon seeing Iono.

On some level, her glamorous date's appearance brought awe to Iono. But as she watched the taller and thicker girl's hips sway, Iono couldn't help but look down at herself… and her very modest dress. She shook the skirt around a bit, wondering if it would look just as sexy as Moze's or just… "cutesy".

Swallowing her pride, Iono turned off the pink-haired part of her brain like a switch and used the blue-haired part of her brain to be in love with her date.

"You look amazing, Mozie…"

"Awww, thanks sweetie!" she said, sitting down. "Looks like all I had to do was show some leg to get you calling me by my name, huh?" She quickly flipped open a menu and started looking through it. "Excellent choice of venue, too!"

"Umm… thanks," Iono said, a little confused. She didn't want to prod, but, "Ummm, how do I look?"

Moze glanced at her outfit briefly. "Oh yeah! You look great too. Sorry if I didn't say so." And then back to the menu.

"Awesome-tacular!" Iono beamed. "But yeah, I've seen this place plenty of times before, but never graced it with my presence before. It's pretty neat, if I do say so myself! I guess the most expensive place has gotta have the best quality food! That why you picked it?"

"Oh-ho, no!" Moze laughed. "If the food doesn't suck, that's just a bonus. But a place like this is really fantastic for my image—and yours too! Mega celebrities like us flashing our wealth by casually dining at a regal place like this? Imagine how much our fans will love that!"

"Ohhhhhh. You such a smart cookie! I never even thought about it like that."

She giggled. "Don't worry, Ionnie! Long as you stick with me, I'll make a cutthroat influencer out of you yet."

Iono felt all warm inside hearing that. There was just something that always tickled her whenever Moze called her "Ionnie". She didn't really know why, just that such a cutesy nickname was one of the first sparks that attracted her to the legendary BLAKBERY.

Their waiter come over and asked, "Can I start you two ladies off with something to drink?"

"Yeah, what's the strongest whiskey you have?" Moze promptly asked.

"Ahhh!" He reached out to a nearby wine stand and pulled out a thick bottle. "For the feisty mademoiselle, I recommend our finest Bouffalant's Bourbon. Aged in charred oak barrels and with a rich taste of—"

"Yeah, yeah, sounds great, gimme that," she said sharply, snapping her fingers.

"…Right," he sighed, pouring it into glasses for her. "And for you, miss?"

"Hmmm, what do you got that's sweet?" asked Iono. "Maybe a little fruity too?"

"Ahhh." He pointed to a section of the drinks menu. "We have quite a fine selection of rosé. Or spritzers if that's more your style."

"Nah, I love a good rosé!"

"Moscato or sweet lambrusco?"

"Ooooh, I get Moscato all the time but a sweet lambrusco sounds yummy! Lemme try that!"

"Excellent choice, ma'am. And may I quickly see your ID, please?"

"WHAT!? But I'm totally an adult!" Iono whined. "Do you even know who you're talkin' to here?"

Iono's face reddened even more as she heard Moze giggle. You didn't ask HER for any ID…

"Yes, I know who you are, Miss Iono," he couldn't help but chuckle. "But I have to check everyone who looks under 25. Even for someone as famous as you! I'm sorry, it's just policy."

"Fine," she grumbled, and fished out her ID to hand to him.

"Thank you very much."

The waiter smiled appreciatively, but as he stared at her card more intensely, Iono noticed an odd look coming upon his face.

"Uhhh, something wrong with my ID, buckaroo?"

"Oh! N-no, sorry. I just, uhh…" He handed it back to her. "Just, nothing. My apologies. Here you go. Drinks will be right out, madams!"

"Thanks…" Iono quietly put the card back in her purse. She had an inkling of what piece of information might've stuck out to that waiter, but didn't want to dwell on it.

Moze was still cupping her hands over her mouth and laughing.

"Hardy-har-har."

"Awww, sorry Ionnie! Looks like you got the short end of the stick." She took a big swig of her bourbon. "You know what you shoulda done to save face?"

"Whazzat?"

"Make a whole scene about it. You were halfway there already, but you should've raised your voice REALLY loud and let him know how insulted you feel! Demand to see his manager, maybe even threaten to blast this place on your livestream until they give in. You know, spicy stuff like that!"

"Awww, but I wouldn't wanna do things like that!" Iono shook her head. "I mean… yeah, that was really annoying that he couldn't tell I'm an adult. But like he said, he's just… doin' his job, right?"

"Yeah, but so what? He'll live. And just imagine the clicks you would've gotten, especially from other diners here whipping out their Rotom Phones. You'd be all over PikPek!"

"Yeah, by people calling me a stinky Karen…"

"Pssah! Any attention is good attention, Ionnie! It still means more subscribers in the long run. That's what's more important, right?"

"…I guess," she shrugged.

"Hee-hee! It's okay, Ionnie." With a smirk, she said, "I know you're still growing."

"Hardy. Har. HAR!"

Iono was enthusiastic to try out some delicious-looking menu items like exotic Qwilfish sashimi, the pickled Toedscool and cucumber salad, and especially all the really fancy types of gourmet ramen dishes that made her mouth salivate like a flowing brook. Moze dissuaded her gaze, however.

"Ramen's such a… basic food. You don't go to an expensive restaurant just to be seen eating something your viewers can buy at their local Sure Cans!"

So by BLAKBERY's powerful influence, Iono ordered the most expensive entrée on the menu, a plate of Mapo Tofu and Cetitan caviar on the side with a gold leaf fixing.

Iono squirmed a little at the thought of eating caviar and tofu, but Moze's words sounded… reassuring?

"Relax, dearie. The secret to being rich is that everything tastes good once you've busted out your wallet for it! The brain wants to drown out your buyer's remorse so it like, tricks your taste buds into thinking they're eating gold! Trust me, I watched a PokéTube video on it! Well, I had it playing in the background while I was doing my makeup, but y'know."

…Maybe it was just the silky sound of her voice more than her actual words.

The food arrived, and Iono took a bite of the tofu, dipping into the caviar juice hoping she could trick her brain or whatever two-fold.

The bland, bitter taste clearly meant she wasn't feeling remorseful enough. But her date was feeling vicious.

"I don't CARE what it says on the menu, bubby! If I order pepper steak, I expect an actual PEPPER STEAK!"

Moze was ranting because they brought out the pepper steak she ordered… and she was dismayed to find a plate just filled with braised Jalapeno pepper shavings (as described on the menu) rather than well, a thick, juicy beef steak topped with lots of pepper.

"Honestly, the nerve of places like this… you'd think they'd be able to read customers' minds! Like, isn't that what they go to culinary school for and shit?"

The waiter went back to the kitchen to acquiesce to Moze's demands—despite his insistence they don't usually make traditional steak—while she sat with her arms crossed.

"I thought you would've wanted to go for the most expensive stuff like you were saying…?" said Iono.

"Nah. Steak really is my favorite, so I'd rather just have that."

While they waited on Moze's 'correct' order to come out, Iono decided to break the ice by begging Moze to be her streaming mentor.

"I don't know if you'd want me as your mentor, Ionnie. I can be pretty, uhh… venomous."

"You're 100% venomous, Mozie! That's what I love about you! You just have that… that dark PUNCH to your aura that makes everyone around you faint!"

"Ohhhh, stop," Moze waved. "I'm kidding, of course. Keep going."

Iono giggled. "I'm just so envious of you, the way that you instantly put everyone under your spell and gain subs and bits and sponsor deals like it's not even hard for you. Everything you are is… is what I wanna be too!"

"Well, you sure know how to flatter someone, that's for sure. Alright, sure, little sport. I don't mind giving you some pointers on how to be the greatest influencer you can be."

"YAYYYYY!" Iono threw her arms up and flapped her arm flairs around.

"Yeah, uhh—let's talk about that first. This whole image," she said, pointing her finger all around Iono's figure.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I mean, the cutesy vibe. I'm sure it really hooks in all the youngsters and well… guys on the web looking for an innocent looking e-girl. But like, have you ever thought about what your next brand will be when that one goes dry?"

"I—I don't really get what you mean," said Iono. "I… I like the vibe I have now. It's 100% Iono! It's so me and genuine and it… makes me feel comfortable so that I can make all the Ionites feel doubly comfortable!"

"Really?" Moze eyed her up and down. "Even those gaudy hair colors? You don't think you'll ever re-dye 'em?"

Iono's eyebrows furrowed. "Umm, this isn't dyed. It's my natural hair."

"R—really!?"

"Yeah… Most of it's pink. The only thing I used a bit of dye for was to bring out more of the blue around the tippity-top of my head," Iono explained. "The—the blue part's umm, 'recessive' or something according to my granny."

Moze's eyes bugged out, and then she gazed some more with… a bit of a snarl. "Huh. Weeeird. You got some freaky genes, sister. Who were your parents anyway, the princesses on the Candy Land box?"

"…"

"Alright, well we DEFINITELY got to talk about making all of it a different color then. Maybe another pattern if you're so insistent on the whole 'dual tones' gimmick. And you gotta scrap that outfit too!"

"What!? But WHY!? I love my cool mesh clothes and big jacket and stuff!" she said defensively.

"Well, c'mon Iono. The Magnemite thingies just scream 'utter dork'. That fat guy from Alola designed 'em, right? And the big jacket is just so… I don't know. Extra."

Iono was sucking in her lips hard. She wanted to counter that Sophocles isn't even that fat—or that her jacket was a cherished birthday present from the same grandma, but she became self-conscious about being seen as just a 'granny's girl'.

"But the mesh is cool! I think you should emphasize THAT more."

"Really?"

"You've got such a great figure, Ionnie! I don't know why you don't show it off more instead of hiding your goods behind that big flea magnet! Even now, I don't know why you're wearing a dress like that that doesn't even show your tatas that well."

Iono began to shrink inside of herself and blush.

"Well—c-come on Mozie, you know I don't… want to use my body for views like that."

"Awww, that's just all the prude programming your parents put into you, I'll help you iron all that out so you can show everyone what a sex goddess you are! I'll get you so yummified on Twika that they'll be flagging your streams at least twice every month!"

Iono was too scared to commit, so all she could manage was a soft "…Mmm."

She took another bite of her caviar, this time getting a bit of that gold leaf in her mouth which… felt like eating actual gold, to the point of hurting her teeth. Uggghhh…

Moze meanwhile, finally got her big steak and happily scarfed down a huge bite of it, murmuring in delight at how good it was. She noticed Iono's downtrodden expression and snickered lightly.

"Hey, don't fret too hard, Ionnie! Just because you got a lot of work to do with your visuals, doesn't mean you're completely hopeless! Because one thing you've definitely nailed is your content. You barely even need my help there."

"No fooling?" Iono lit up. "Well, that's great! Content quality is even more important than everything else, right?"

"Oh yeah! Especially what you've been doing lately with that little matchmaker show! OHHH! Ionnie, you inspire me so!"

"I… inspire YOU?" Iono said in awe. "For real?"

"TOTES for real! That whole season you spent chasing down Larry across Paldea, drawing the map to his secret little relationship? It was GOLDEN, like that caviar! I literally skipped my favorite reality show to tune in to your little adventures!"

"Oh, stop!" Iono waved her off. The flattery was a nice change from tearing down her whole Iono-ness. "Yeah, that was pretty wild, wasn't it? Maybe a little invasive too, but… it all led to good things in the end!"

"Hell yeah it did! I heard Larry and Katy were straight up HUMILIATED that day! Katy had to ban all those tabloid germs from her restaurant, Larry was being thirsted for by perverts all over the web, man you really showed them up good!"

"Uh—uhh…" Iono paled. These words should've been comforting to her, but now these 'flattering' comments from Moze were creating some kind of pit in her stomach.

"Umm, yeah, well—I mean, Larry and Katy can express themselves and their super sweet love out in the open now! Isn't that also great?"

"Oh yeah, no, totally. Just makes your job a lot easier to follow them around and catch them in the NEXT embarrassing act to post online!"

"Well, that's—that's not…"

"Ohhhh, right! Right, right, right! That big hag Geeta came down on you pretty hard for that, didn't she? I had an idea about that, actually. She specifically gave you shit for spying on Larry and Katy, right?"

"I—I guess?"

"SOOO, loopholes, baby! She didn't say NOTHING about following anyone else around, and you made such a smart decision becoming a Gym Leader because you're sitting on a gold mine of celebrity coworker scandals! Get this, okay? Here's what I was thinking for your next matchmaker stream: Tulip… and Grusha!"

Iono's head drew back, dumbfounded. "The—the granola girl and the snowboarding man? Seriously? You see those two together?"

"…Grusha's a man?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"Oh." Moze paused to think about this suggestion a little more deeply. "Ooookay… well, that takes away a little bit of the scandal, but I still think it'd be a pretty cool thing to pursue. People see them together all the time and I guess there's even rumors about it! And who else can prove those rumors once and for all then…" She proudly pointed at Iono. "…someone already rubbing shoulders with them at every office meeting?"

"Well, yeah-yeah, but… what if it turns out to just be a rumor and Tulip and Grusha just… hang out a bunch for no reason?"

"Tch, so what? Then you fib a little. Truth is the last thing that matters to all those Carvahna that watch us! Just start filming yourself around Alfornada or… wherever up on the mountain that hobo lives, and I can promise you you'll find enough material to put yourself #1 on Twika for WEEKS!"

"…"

Iono had no words to say in response to that, and that's what confused her the most.

She was so excited for the opportunity to stalk Larry for views, and the day she caught footage of him on a secret date with Katy had seemed like the best day of her life at the time.

So what changed? Why did she feel so hesitant now to take up her own personal idol BLAKBERY on what could be the fresh game-changer she'd been looking for to hype her streams up?

An extremely horrid, unthinkable thought started to well up in the frazzled girl's mind.

Did I let my friendship with Penny trick me into growing a… a conscience?

…

NOPE.

The whole point of this date was to try to forget about her recent mishaps and bury all of Noni's intruding thoughts far below the ground where they belonged. But so far, Iono's self-esteem had been ravaged and she was inadvertently being forced to reckon with the pest she had been…

STOP IT! THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE!

"So hey uhh… let's talk about something else!" she said bluntly.

Moze scoffed. "Like what?"

"Well, ummm, lesse here…"

Iono ruffled her wrists together trying to think of a new conversation topic. She thought about the extravagant outfit Moze wore as BLAKBERY—including that slick jacket with the pink linings all over it like a Salazzle.

"Oh! Bingo! Your favorite Pokémon! Salazzle, right?"

"Uhh, yeah! Love my little lizard queen. What about it?"

"I've always been super curious to know why do you love Salazzle of all things?" Iono made a face. "I always thought it was kinda ugly. And mean looking."

"Really? That's what you wanna know?" Moze laughed in amusement. "Well, Salazzle isn't just mean looking. But if that's all you know it as is an ugly lizard, I guess you really don't know much about those mean queens."

"Well, go on, then," Iono persuaded, holding her elbows under her chin. "Enlighten me!"

"Alrght. Well, I'm not just being facetious calling Salazzle a queen. Did you know that every Salazzle has its own harem of male Salandit that she seduces to follow her every whim and are severely punished whenever they displease their mistress?"

"No way!"

"Yeah way! It's the whole reason why they're only ever female. Salazzle forces all the males in their harem to starve themselves in order to keep her well-fed! And her pheromones aren't just powerful enough to have her own slave army, they're also used in a bunch of perfumes!"

"Hee-hee. I did know that part."

Moze put a hand to her chest. "I first learned about Salazzle as a kid. And ever since then, I was inspired to live my life just like a Salazzle!"

Iono raised an eyebrow. "You mean… you want your own harem?"

"No! Well… not necessarily, but if it happened, then that'd be pretty sick. No, what inspires me about Salazzle is that she's a pure, raw dominatrix. She doesn't just put herself above all the weak pawns around her, she figures out how to exploit them for her own gain and power!"

As she was talking, Moze picked up a hard biscuit from the basket on their table, and crushed it to bits in her hand!

"That's what I aspire to be too, Iono. Someone dominating all the puny rabble, the whole world begging for mercy at my feet as I rise to the top of global influence! That's why all the Pokémon in my team follow the same theme as Salazzle—predators and master manipulators! Mandibuzz, Morgrem, Sharpedo, my friend Malamar… They know who the insects of this world are!"

Moze had really worked hard to pump herself up, and by the same she made her final proclamation, she was really giving Iono's shark-toothed fierceness a run for its money.

"Don't you see? Survival of the fittest is KING in this world, Iono. And I, the one and only BLAKBERY, consider myself… the queen of kings!"

"Wow!" Iono clapped. "I guess that's a pretty cool way to look at yourself!"

"Of course it is! That's why I love you so much, Ionnie. I can sense that you have the inner prowess to be just like me: an apex predator at the top of the food chain! As influencers, our harem is the whole WORLD! The masses on their knees, begging for our love and depending on our infinite wisdom to tell them how to shop, what to eat, and what to like!"

"An apex predator…" Iono loved the sound of that. She flexed her muscles. "YEAH! You try messing with Iono, and you get the horns, pal!"

"EXACTLY! See? You get me! You and me, we're on a whole level above all the other insects in this world! Our purpose in life is to seek out the weaklings out there like Tisa-Belle or your fellow Gym Leaders… and CRUSH 'EM!"

Iono's face sunk.

"W-well… okay. You had me goin' there for most of that. But, surely there's like a—a bit of wiggle room between who's an 'apex' and an 'insect' right? I mean, Tisa-Belle's like, a really cool person."

"Seriously?" Moze gave her a judging look. "You still think that about her after what I exposed on the podcast?"

"Well… yeah! I always love, collaborating with her. She's always been real, real sweet to me… I don't know, don't you think… maybe whoever that friend of yours was who caught her with a love for herself might've gone—too far?"

Moze tilted her head for a second. Then, much to Iono's bewilderment, she started giggling.

"Fufufu… Right, that little fib I told in the podcast…"

"Fib? Wait, you weren't fibbing about… Tisa-Belle having a normie lover, were you?"

"No, no, that part's real. I just said it was a friend of mine so that any heat wouldn't all come back to me!"

Iono widened in disbelief. "Wait, you mean… you…!?"

Moze gleamed a wicked smile. "Not bad, huh? I knew something had to be up with Tisa-Belle when she became such a recluse online, so I discovered she lives out near Cascarrafa and followed her secretly for a whole day before I finally found the dirt I was looking for!"

The normally unflappable Iono was rendered completely speechless by the information that she was sitting right across one of her favorite collabing streamer's… saboteur.

"So then…" she slowly began to connect the pieces. "That whole business… 'remembering' you had something to share on Psychic Noize… You had it all planned out from the beginning. The plan to ruin Tisa-Belle's career."

Moze still looked all proud of herself, so much so that she even flourished with her hand like a bowing performer.

"See? I'm not just all talk, I really do devour my prey just like a mighty predator!" She fiercely took another bite of her steak to compound her point. "But I can't steal all the credit. After all, I did learn from the best." She winked.

…

"Wh—what do you mean… the best?"

"I'm talking about YOU, bitch! Your masterful guerilla filming style. Laying to wait in patience. Using your own Pokémon to give you the best vantage points… I took a lot of notes during your hunt for that 'Larry bump' and used them all to perfection!"

Iono jerked her head back completely as she felt her whole skin go pale. It was like someone stabbed her right in the heart with a giant harpoon.

"You mean… you—you learned how to stalk Tisa-Belle and blow her secrets… f-from me?"

"That's right! Isn't that wonderful?" Moze continued raving, unaware of her date's stunlocked state. "You're not just the student Ionnie, you're the teacher too! You are… the INSPIRATION!"

"But that's… I—I… I never meant for it to… to come back around to someone as sweet and innocent as Tisa-Belle…"

This caught Moze's attention. She began eyeing Iono very differently now. It was no longer a gaze of admiration… more like a glare.

"Ionnie, what's this I'm hearing? You're not showing… sympathy for Tisa-Belle getting caught out, are you?"

Iono was too ashamed to answer—and getting increasingly unnerved by Moze revealing her dark nature.

"Listen here, Iono. Don't let feelings get in the way of your career, alright? THAT is weakness. That is the demon you must defeat in order to make it to the top. And Tisa-Belle… don't even worry about her, okay? Like you said, she's sweet and innocent, which is just all the more proof she never belonged in this industry."

"…"

"She was gonna get hit with reality one of these days. I just decided to be the one to pick up the axe, is all. She'll probably bounce back and make something else of herself now, somewhere she actually belongs. I guess. Who knows. Who cares. But hey, look on the bright side!"

Iono brought her increasingly cross head up. "What bright side could there be possibly be?"

"Just like you said about Larry and Katy. Tisa-Belle and her little mi amor can totally hook up now without any fear of how inappropriate it is for a celebrity to defile herself by hooking up with a total normie!"

This triggered pain in Iono's head. Pain as she was forced to think about Penny, who she herself had manipulated like a cold heartless Salazzle into thinking they were dating…

Moze is right… she grimly realized. We are the same. I'm a monster too.

"Hey, if it wasn't me, it was gonna be someone else anyway," Moze shrugged. "Some people are built to rise, others to fall. And you get locked into that pretty early on in life. The only way you can ever be happy is to figure out where your station is and just ride that wave. Instead of trying to be something you're not."

Moze slammed her fork into a piece of her steak and aggressively tore it off to display to Iono.

"Consider the Miltank that died to make this delicious steak!" she declared. "You ever see Miltank on farms, Iono? They're not trying to take over the farmer's job or rise to the top of the food chain, cause they know their place in the hierarchy! They're happy little cows, they don't mind being livestock. That's what makes Pokémon smarter than humans, because they don't stress abou—"

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence as she scanned her piece of steak closely. Iono saw a sneer forming on her lips and was confused.

"Wow… Fucking. Unbelievable."

"What's wrong, Mo—"

Moze slammed her fist on the table and screamed out "WAITER!!!"

"Eeep!" Iono squeaked.

The girls' waiter hurriedly set down the plates he was carrying and rushed over to the table.

"Is there a problem, madame?"

"Uhhh, yeah we got a problem!" She shoved the steak chunk in his face. "You wanna tell me why there's PINK in this steak when I asked for it medium-well? Earth to chefs, that means NO PINK!"

"Moze…" Iono tried to calm her down.

"I—I'm sorry, madame!" the flummoxed waiter responded. "Like I said, we don't usually cook things like classic steak here, so the kitchen—they did their best…"

"Well, your best is UNACCEPTABLE!" Moze threw down her fork. "If this Miltank were any pinker, it'd still be mooing! Now what are YOU going to do to make this right, huh?"

"Well, I—I can certainly get the kitchen to remake it for you," he stuttered.

"Tuh! Is that all? Maybe it's your manager I need to have a word with, because I don't think I'd feel good about paying for such slop!"

"Mozie, come on…" Iono urged her. "It's not that big a deal…"

Moze leaned in close to her and whispered, "Don't worry, Ionnie, this is how we're gonna get our meals totally comped! Just watch and learn."

She winked, and then resumed her indignant tone with the poor, flustered waiter.

"Do you even KNOW who I am?" She gave Iono a sly smile, like this was yet another idea she'd gleamed from the little gremlin, and flashed her phone at him. "You see those socials? Those numbers? I've got a lot of pull in this world buddy, and it all it would take is a few scathing reviews on PokéTube, Instasnap, and PikPek to have this whole place shut down forever!"

Sweating, the waiter shifted his gaze between the demanding Moze, and Iono who just managed a sheepish smile at him.

"I… I have to go talk to the manager. I'll be back."

With a nervous grunt, he shuffled away from the girls' table really fast. Moze looked all proud of herself, while Iono whipped around to her with an annoyed face.

"Was all that really necessary? That guy didn't do anything wrong by us."

"So?" Moze clapped her hands at her lightly. "Iono, this is what I'm tryin' to tell you, you gotta stop thinking about the peons! They're just the stepping stones to our greatness!"

Iono wanted to just shut up and let Moze have this one… but it just felt so wrong. Iono didn't realize until now that her anger had been boiling for quite a while, ever since Moze trashed her iconic image. And she couldn't hide the winces that were happening on her face.

"No… no they're not! That guy's just doing his job. Trying to make a living and support himself. That doesn't make him below us!"

Moze scoffed and was about to respond, but this time Iono was the one who cut her off.

"No, no, I'm serious! I'm sorry Moze, but, but… all that stuff about 'strong' versus 'crushing the weak' it all sounds like CRAP! Stuff like what job you work or how sweet you are doesn't make you weak at all!"

The dual-haired girl was so fired up she stood from her seat.

"The reason I became a streamer wasn't to be all stronger than everyone else! It was to be everyone's friendo! Spreading positive feelings and—and good vibes and make 'em not feel so alone in the world! Not to—not to inspire you to go around ruining my friends' lives and making everyone feel bad and then telling me that you learned it from ME!"

Her face was getting redder than her own dress, and other patrons were beginning to stare.

"People like Tisa-Belle deserve respect as much as anybody else!" She gestured towards the kitchen door. "That WAITER and those chefs deserve respect as much as anybody else! I love you a lot, Moze. You're really pretty, and an awesome friendo and mega-talented streamer but, but…"

Iono furiously shook her head.

"You know what? I don't think I wanna be like you at all. You keep talking about everyone as insects, but I think you got so famous you just forgot that they're all people with feelings that matter just like yours! I ALWAYS tell everyone anyone can be a star if they really try for it, because I think it's true! There is no strong and weak! Anyone can be a star, even someone like Tisa-Belle who's super nice and friendly!"

Tears were starting to come out of her eyes now.

"And—and maybe I DO feel bad for her! Maybe I think that Tisa-Belle deserves love and privacy and to be in a fuzzy wuzzy relationship and have a great life like everyone else! Being a celebrity shouldn't mean you forfeit all that stuff! It was just WRONG of you to do that to her Mozie, just wrong! And you telling me you got it from me just makes me feel like an awful person, and, and…"

Iono closed her eyes. In the deepest recesses of her mind, the memories she'd been trying to shove down into the abyss these past few days, she let them out. Katy's kindness. Team Star's friendship.

Penny's compassion.

She let them all come back out to the surface, and the tears that flowed down her cheeks now made her contacts sting like something fierce, but she barely even cared.

"And who knows? Maybe I am an awful person, and I'm finally getting sick of myself. Maybe you're wrong, and it's not too late for someone like me to change. And…"

She gulped.

"Maybe it's not too late for you either, Mozie."

Moze just stared at Iono with wide eyes. Iono looked around, realizing she had caught the whole restaurant's attention with her outburst. For the first time in her life, the bubbly streamer didn't know if she wanted this many eyes on her and blushingly sat back down.

Her date seemed to be staring at her pensively, perhaps even thoughtfully Iono figured.

…However, her blank look slowly turned into an unnerving sneer.

"…You can just call me BLAKBERY," she finally said.

"Huh?"

"Clearly, you and I are not in the same league at all. I thought I saw a kindred spirit in you and maybe we could see eye-to-eye on the true state of this world… I thought you were finally an adult."

"I AM AN ADULT!" Iono screeched, stomping her foot.

"No. You're not," she snarled firmly. "What you are… what you just showed everyone here tonight, is that you're still just a kid trying to play grown-up. No wonder you had to show that idiot your ID."

"Hey, c'mon that's not fair—"

"No you're right. It's the other way around! You're an adult who insists on dressing like a kid, and acting like one! While drinking the equivalent of spiked fruit punch!"

"No I don't—HEY!"

Moze brashly grabbed Iono's sparkling rosé and took a huge slurp from it.

"Uh-huh, yeah. Can barely even taste the alcohol in this, they might as well have brought it to you in a juicebox."

She had to grab her own glass of bourbon to wash the fruity taste from her mouth.

"Y'know why I started seeking you out, Iono? Despite not really caring for the kind of stuff you stream? Because all that matchmaker content made me believe that you were finally growing up. That you had the potential to finally become a serious streamer."

Iono was affronted. "I don't know you have any right to judge my content, I am a serious streamer!"

"No you're not, you're a kids' streamer. You're just like—like Nidothing, all bouncing around in a dumb, silly costume. Honestly, I always thought that this whole thing was a bit! The stupid clothes, and baby language and always acting like you're high on caffeine…"

She tutted at Iono while shaking her hand.

"But this is actually the real you, huh? … How pathetic."

Iono couldn't even meet her eye level anymore, just glancing down at the table, and her barely eaten tofu platter, shamefully.

"See, and before you start bawling again, like, I'm not even making fun of you right now. I just feel really genuinely sorry for you, Iono. There's so many better things you could be… and you choose this."

Iono wanted to refute her so badly, but her self-esteem was just… completely flattened and turned into a parking lot now. All of the sad-eyed girl's bluster was gone again. She sunk in her chair, feeling like a huge sap as Moze—her idol BLAKBERY—kept dressing her down like this.

Finally, with one more patronizing sigh, Moze grabbed her purse and started fishing through it.

"If this really matters so much to you… then fine."

She threw down some money on the table, as she gathered her things to leave.

"Thank you for dinner, Iono."

Hunching her expensive diamond-studded purse over her shoulder, Moze stood up and looked down upon Iono, who stared back up at her with her red, glossy eyes.

"Good lord, you make me want to throw up," she muttered to herself. Then, addressing Iono as she turned her back, "Hit me up again if you ever decide to finally grow up."

Moze started walking away, her heels pounding on the hard floor. But as she neared the door, she stopped… and turned her face, and those purple eyes, around to Iono one final time.

"…Unless you want to be that sad child forever. Then in that case… stay out of my lane," she growled.

Then with the final bell above the door, BLAKBERY was gone.

And Iono was left to sit alone and miserable at the big table. She could feel the urge to cry coming on again, but she was sick of the pain in her eyes, so she tried to distract herself with food.

She picked up her fork and started mousing around a piece of her tofu. But, wrinkling her nose, she just dropped it and sighed.

"…Not even that good," she muttered.

That same evening, someone else was going through a lot of stress down at Uva Academy.

Penny was pacing through the halls of the school, obsessing over her recent friendship failure.

"It's because I asked if we're dating, isn't it? UGHHHH!" She reamed her hand through her dyed hair. "You BLEW it, Penny! Stupid, stupid! What kind of a moron asks a question like that when we're just starting out as friends?"

Her boots pressed into the floors with her guilt. Penny had spent the past few days catastrophizing everything and looking for ways to blame herself for this mess.

"I should've never said that shit, I shouldn't have even given it a second thought! Of course me asking that was gonna mess everything up! Because that's just what I do, is I figure out how to ruin all my friendships and it's why I always end up alone and—and…"

Penny's runaway thoughts were interrupted by a distinct sound she could hear down the hall, inside one of the open classrooms.

It sounded like laughter.

But as she walked closer, Penny realized it wasn't just any random group of students laughing.

…I recognize every single one of those laughs. Eri? Momo? …Mellie?

Penny approached the open door to Classroom 2-G and cautiously pushed it open. When she stepped inside, she was shocked by what she saw.

"Wha—? Guys! What are you all doing here?"

"Penny!?" Giacomo reared back in surprise.

All five of Penny's Team Star friends were gathered in this room. Not just that, ALL of them were wearing special academy outfits now! And some of them looked even MORE different beyond that.

Atticus was completely out of uniform, Ortega didn't have his iconic cane with him, and she almost didn't even recognize Mela with that radically trimmed bob cut.

"Yeesh. Busted," Ortega shook his head.

"Um…" Penny timidly stepped inside, feeling very out of place. "I was just—walking down the hall and saw you all in… in… h-here!?"

The BIGGEST shock came when the three students standing up front all turned around. It wasn't just seeing the hatless Giacomo and Eri still foregoing her classic wrestler look that shocked Penny, but… who else was with them.

"J-J-JULIANA!? Is that… you!?"

"Hi, Penny!" Juliana casually waved to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Wh—what am I… Forget that, what are YOU DOING HERE?!!?"

"Me?" The brunette looked around, confused. "Well, I'm helping Team Star study for their exams."

"And performing admirably as our tutor," Atticus complimented her.

"Thanks, Atticus!" She gave him a thumbs-up.

"Well, that's—that's great, but…" The flustered Penny still had her guard up. "I meant… when the heck did you even come back to Paldea!? I thought you were still at Blueberry!"

Eri's mouth dropped agape, and she stepped forward to confront Juliana with a firm expression.

"Juliana… we first saw you back at school three days ago. You mean to tell me you came back from Unova that long ago and NEVER stopped to check in on Penny or your other friends?"

Three days…!?

"Ouch," Mela winced. "That's… kinda cold, dude. Not gonna lie."

"Oh." Juliana looked down pensively for a second… as if this had just occurred to her. "You're right. I guess I did forget to let everyone know." She turned back to Penny and smiled. "Heh-heh, sorry about that!"

Eri and Giacomo both shifted looks with each other, confused at just how… brazen Juliana's attitude seemed to be.

Her eerily chipper demeanor wasn't helping Penny's anxiety at all.

"B-but that's fine, Juliana! Clearly you… had more important things to do than check up on me! A-and none of you asked me to join, so I should just leave, shouldn't I?"

The Team Star bosses all looked at her with dismayed faces. Penny couldn't look any of them straight in the eye. She felt like the walls were closing in all around her, like she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be and needed to vacate.

I don't belong here… I don't belong ANYWHERE!

"S-sorry about that," she apologized to everyone. "See you later!"

"Lady Penny, WAIT!" Atticus stood up and tried to call out to her.

"It's not what you think, Penny! Hear us out!" Eri begged.

"CASSIE!"

But it was too late. Penny burst her arm through the door and fled from the room at breakneck speeds, leaving everyone in the classroom gobsmacked.

…Except for Juliana, who just stared after her blankly.

The door to Iono's apartment flew open so hard it smacked into the wall, startling her sleeping Luxray and tank full of crackling Tynamo.

Iono stood in the doorway, still wearing her red dress. But her hair was frazzled from how much she'd been scraping it with her fingers. Black streaks ran down her face, and her eyes were twitching—partly from irritation and partly from just how broken she felt.

Even Electrode, her most aggressive Pokémon by far, felt compelled to roll away and give the steaming girl a wide berth as she trudged through the apartment with loud, bristling footsteps.

She angrily ripped the band holding her braid in place, and tossed off her puffy arm flairs to the floor as she stomped over to her fridge and opened it.

Still completely empty. She forgot to make a run to the store for more sake.

"Great… just GREAT!" she growled. "Like ANYTHING ELSE can't go wrong!"

She threw her handbag to the couch in her living room, where it knocked one of her plushies off onto the floor.

Iono stared down at it. It was a very rare Iono Zone-branded stuffed Bellibolt with a real plasma orb inside of it you could switch on. She had done a limited-run giveaway of the custom plush via one of her sponsored streams sometime last year. Only 100 of them were ever made.

The streamer's teeth bared down. The anger she felt inside herself was inconsolable, and in an impulsive act of rage, she yeeted the Bellibolt plush high into the air in a huge wind-up kick.

It bounced off her apartment walls and crashed into one of her custom neon signs, shattering its circuit. She was pretty sure she also heard the orb inside the Bellibolt break open. She didn't care.

"ArrrrARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!"

With a bellowing yell of frustration, Iono stomped over to her window-side bed and threw herself on top of it. She made angry noises as she burst out crying into the pink covers, slamming her fist down repeatedly.

Her springy Eevee, distressed at Iono's state and hoping to help, leapt onto the bed carrying Iono's phone in its mouth.

"Mmm-fmm?" it cried muffled, as if it was beckoning her to do the thing Eevee always saw cheered her up.

Iono stared up at the brown fox Pokémon with her overflowing pools… but just the sight of an Eevee made her start crying even harder, much to Eevee's dismay.

"Eeee-voiiiiii…"

The walls around Penny were swirling around like a cauldron. She was completely disoriented as the rising panic in her throat made it hard to even run forward. Pushing through the empty dorm halls, she sprinted desperately towards her sole coven of comfort—the only place that didn't make her feel foreign right now.

All of the sleeping Veevee's were woken in a startled jolt as their haggered owner burst through the room and immediately dove straight to her bed, throwing off her glasses and crying her pathetic eyes out.

"I hate this, I HATE THIS SO MUCH…!"

Horrified to see such a distraught breakdown from their master, all the Veevee's gathered on the bed around Penny, pawing at her to try to bring her out of this meltdown.

Penny snagged her phone and wept some of her tears hoping—maybe, just maybe—she had a missed text from Noni…

But nothing. And she buried her head deep in the covers.

"It's happening all over again, like déjà vu but a million times worse!"

Sylveon went into overdrive extending its feelers all around Penny in a desperate attempt to bring her mood down. But for the first time in her entire history as Penny's partner… Sylveon's feelers were doing NOTHING. The Intertwining Pokémon was distressed to watch as Penny's emotions refused to stop boiling over.

"Noni's abandoned me, all my friends don't want me around anymore…" She sniffled hard. "Even JULIANA's basically forgotten who I am! How the FUCK is this happening ALL OVER AGAIN!?"

Sylveon and the rest of her Veevee siblings cried out to Penny to no avail.

"SYLVEEEEE!"

"I don't wanna be alone again… I DON'T WANNA BE ALONE!!!" Penny scream-cried.

Chapter Text

"ELLO! Hola, hola! Bonjour and ciao and umm—no wait, ciao is for goodbyes, isn't it? No, that's right! It can mean hello too! Umm, yeah! CIAO! Whozaw—whos… watzit? Uhh, that's right! IONO!"

When you're a content creator with a tight schedule to keep, nobody knows better than Iono that you have to throw everything else to the wayside. Even your own shattered psyche.

"Your eyeballs are mine—all trapped in, in my web and stuff! … YEAH! IONO!"

Whether or not you just had the most awful weekend of your entire life is secondary to the fact that thousands of people are still tuning in expecting to see your bright, smiling face appear on their screens the next day.

"How are we doing tonight, everyone? Me! Oh, I'm SUPER peachy! All good vibes here in the IONO ZONE!" Iono gleamed into the camera.

It didn't matter that Iono had spent the past night crying into her sheets so hard they needed to be washed. Nor did it matter that it took her three hours to clean off every trace of black smudges from her eyelids and cheeks so that her skin appeared porcelain smooth and everyone could see nothing was wrong.

All that mattered was giving the people what they want.

"We've got so many fun things on the agenda today! Lessee now, OOP! I know, Fun Games Friday! We got that awesome bumper cars game from our friends at Golurk Games to play! Plus, we'll do Iono's crafting hour with my amazing origami skills that'll delight you to—"

SavannahKid93 umm, wasn't that Friday's stream?

"Say WHA?"

ViridianNicky ohhh yeah I thought this all sounded familiar
Magnet_Holder Yeah today's monday, Iono. 😅

"Uh—GEH!"

Iono's sleeve wiped over her forehead as she began to privately fret.

"Drat, was I looking at last stream's schedule? You NEVER make mistakes like that, Iono!" she whispered to herself. "What the flippin' heck? You mean I've gotta IMPROV now? With my brain all malfunctioning?"

As if suddenly remembering the webcam was on, the streamer began scrambling.

"Umm—uhh—Ah ha ha… That was just a test, silly Ionites! Your friend Iono's making sure you still don't have the memory of a… of a FEEBAS! Yeah-yeah! What today's stream actually is a fun little wild card grab bag where YOU all get to tell me the latest what's haps, and yours truly will react to said haps!"

Iono giggled at herself a little for her ingenuity.

"I think today's stream will be called… 'What's the Buzz!' Ahaha… ha-ha… hahaha…!", she said, totally laughing for real right now.

She stood over her colorful Iono Zone backdrop in anticipation and waited for answers to flow in. So far, the majority of comments just seemed… confused about the whole gimmick.

And weirded out that their usually talkative streamer was just silently staring instead of trying to jazz up this lull. Iono's eyes flared up as she herself realized this.

"Oh! Right, uhh… gotta think of something funny to keep this stream going while we wait! Let's see, uhh, uhh… Umm…"

Another awkward silence followed. Iono seemed so out of it that one commenter asked if that was drool coming out of her lip.

"A-HA!" she finally exclaimed. "Here we go! MsFellStinger asks if I've seen… BLAKBERY's recent announcement…"

"You're not an adult. You're just a kid trying to play grown-up."

"About her big… upcoming trip to document a rare Clefairy gathering at Mt. Moon that only happens on one special day, never before filmed—"

Iono scoffed before she could even finish reading it.

"Well, if M-Moze wants to go watch some silly Clefairy dancing in some grimy Kantonian cave, then—" She paused.

"If you just want to be a pathetic sad child forever, then stay out of my lane."

"—then obviously I'd love to ask for an invite to such a viral-sounding campaign! But we all know I'm too busy uhh—preparing for my big two-year, I mean three-year anniversary stream and… and answering all your exciting…"

"There's so many better things you could be… and you choose this."

"…questions."

Now Iono was beginning to see several comments questioning whether she was okay. A part of her wanted to be touched that the Ionites would express such sincere care over her health, and a small part of that part wanted to respond, "No, I'm not okay, I really don't wanna be here right now."

But… Iono knew she couldn't show weakness. Not now. Not after what Moze said.

"Don't let feelings get in the way of your career. Don't show weakness. That is the demon you must defeat to make it to the top."

"Oh, uhh, lookie here! What does this one say?"

Venom_Drencher Did you hear that Katy and Larry broke up?

…

"They… they did?"

"I heard Larry and Katy were straight up HUMILIATED because of you!"

Iono felt her throat close up. This was earth-shattering news for her, especially inside her poor, poisoned mind which immediately started rationalizing without any evidence… that this was all her fault.

"Well, yeah-yeah! I mean, that's super tragic, they totally seemed p-perfect for each other."

"Our purpose in life is to seek out the weaklings like Tisa-Belle and your fellow Gym Leaders… and CRUSH 'EM!"

"But just… goes to show you love isn't real! Right?"

The normally cheerful girl became weirdly incensed all of a sudden, and put her face straight up to the camera to express it.

"Cause… we can't all have our happy endings! Sometimes, reality just goes and… flows a much different way than we want it to, like some kind of… evil river, or a… a babbling brook that just hates you and wants you to die, and… and…"

Her face was beginning to boil in her anger and fury at the unfairness of the world.

It took her chat going dead silent for Iono to regain clarity in that moment. And she began huffing out all the hot air she'd been burning up.

"And, I… I… I just…"

…

The silence on both sides was completely awkward. Finally, Iono let out a loud exhale.

"Alright… listen up, everyone. I love you all tons, and would never, even abandon you if I didn't have a good reason for it, but…"

Her head drooped shamefully.

"I think I might have to call a day off on today's stream. It's just that my head isn't quite in the groove today, and—and you guys all deserve Iono at her FULL GROOVE, vibes turned all the way up! Right?"

The anxiety-ridden girl tried waiting a few seconds to see what the response would be… before realizing she just couldn't bear to see the disappointment on her Ionites' faces and lunged for the webcam instead.

"Alright, I'll be back for next stream, totally back to 100% full Iono mode again! BYEEEEEEE!" came her hasty goodbye.

And then thousands of viewers watched in shock as the Iono Zone abruptly went dark after just a few minutes online.

One of them was a short-haired Uva student who was sitting in her dark room, hoping today's stream would be the thing she needed to lift her own deeply depressed mood.

Instead, Penny stared at the now black screen saying "OFFLINE" in bewilderment.

"Well, that was… unusual."

Instead of her favorite idol's face, the Galarian girl was now staring at her own reflection on the monitor. Although, watching Iono's fumbles live in surprise… almost felt like a reflection in itself.

"Eeee-voi!" Penny's Eevee jumped up onto the chair and started nuzzling her.

"Oh!"

She could hear the brown fox Pokémon's purrs and chuckled. She knew the reason why: all her Veevee's have gotten used to being fed as soon as one of Iono's streams ended. But as she stroked Eevee's gentle brown fur, Penny realized that its Pavlovian response was maybe just what she needed.

"I guess… both me and Iono are kinda struggling right now, huh?" she said, giving Eevee a sad smile. "Never imagined the two of us would have something in common."

Just then, there was a knock at her door. Eevee's ears shot up, and she grew nervous.

"W-who is it?"

"It's Eri", said the gentle voice on the other side.

"…"

Penny grew wary. Her heart skipped a few beats as she tried to figure out whether this is what she wanted right now.

"…Please open the door, Penny. We just want to talk."

We?

Well, now she was curious, if still apprehensive. But with a resigned sigh, Penny got up from her chair and walked over to open the door.

"Guys?"

She was surprised to see all five of them at her door, each of them wearing guilty faces.

Eri spoke again. "Will you hear us out?"

"Yeah," said Giacomo. "We really wanna clear the air on… what you thought you saw."

"…"

Iono sank all the way down until her body slumped almost all the way to the floor and her back was laying against the seat of her chair.

"Welp. Guess that's that, then…" she grumbled.

"Mis-maaag?" cried her Mismagius, sensing a disruption in its owner's usual routine.

"The whole Internet just saw pathetic Iono really is. The bright sunny yellow apple, all left without its skin… just a rotten core now."

She sneered.

"…Yeah, that sounded way cleverer in my head."

Staring up at her ceiling, the young woman sighed.

"What if Moze was right, Magi? What if people like me and… Tisa-Belle. Really aren't cut out to be anything more than just… someone's starting streamer? Entertainment for the kiddies. And not the big leagues like I always thought I was?"

…

"Is this the day the great, mighty Iono finds herself cancelled? Reduced to but a lowly Durant roasted by the fiery Heatmor dominating the interwebs?"

"Magiii?"

Iono sighed deeply, and forced herself up back onto the seat by gripping tightly, trying to find resolve within herself again.

"Maybe it's not so bad… I bet I'm just being totally mellow-dramatico again!" she giggled. "I just gotta fall back into routine and put these ultra-negative thoughts behind me!"

She browsed her favorite feeds to see what else was going on in her streamer circle.

"Oh, hey! Psychic Noize is broadcasting right now!" she lit up. "There we go! Nothing better to lift one's self up than to behold how much worse off other people are doing, right Magi?"

Mismagius hummed in response. Maybe in agreement, or disagreement. Who knows?

Either way, Iono eagerly clicked to start watching… and was shocked to immediately her own face, moments ago, as the digital backdrop behind Billy and Zweilucas.

"Like, talk about PEAK secondhand embarrassment here!" said some female guest Iono recognized from PikPek but was fuzzy on the name. "There's having a crash out live on stream and then there's… the opposite of whatever this sad clown show is."

Iono let out a dismayed grunt at realizing they were talking about her.

"What was that stuff she said about not hitting her 'full groove' today?" Billy shrugged with a condescending grin. "You think maybe the real issue is that Iono's just lost her groove completely and is in denial?"

"I don't get why she even turned the webcam on! It was so giving 'please roast me' vibes. Almost like she wanted the embarrassment, like it's sort of kink for her."

"S-s-SHUT UP!" Iono screamed at the screen, already feeling tears coming on.

"Iono does love to be the center of attention," Lucas observed. "Remember when she was on last week? I was picking up major 'it's all about me' vibes from her, now that I recall."

"Wha—what are you even TALKING about!?" Iono cried out. "I was too scared to even say anything in front of MOZE!"

"So what do we think, y'all?" Billy asked the room. "Just a little hiccup for our funny-haired gal pal? Or are we watching the start of a full-on crash-and-burn arc for the Iono Zone?"

"Mmm-mmm," the girl shrugged. "I guess I've seen people bounce back from worse."

"I don't know…" said Lucas. "The Internet's kinda picky with what it chooses to forget after ten seconds and what things it'll remember forever."

"And I don't think anyone's gonna forget this big L for a while!" Billy laughed in agreement.

Lucas started going that thing again where he put two fingers over his hoodie like he was channeling psychic powers.

"Using my Zweilous head's Foresight, I predict… a very muted attempt at a comeback. Probably that big third-anniversary stream she keeps hyping up. And then after that? … Prrrrrobably not gonna see a fourth anniversary happen."

"Shut, just SHUT UP, you dumb jerks!" she snarled, slamming her fists down hard on the desk. "You're not just a big weenie, but also a FRAUD! Ya know why? Cause Zweilous doesn't even LEARN Foresight! IDIOT!"

With that last outburst, she grabbed her mouse and angrily closed the stream.

Now there was just Iono's own red, pathetic, miserable face staring back at her.

…

"How can someone like me have over 50 million fans… and still feel like such a lonely nothing screw-up?"

She couldn't take it. Within seconds, her head fell to the desk as she started letting out several angry, frustrated sobs.

"This really is the end, isn't it?" she blubbered. "Bye-bye, Iono Zone!"

She lifted her phone up. It wasn't to go on PokéChat this time.

Instead, she opened up her contacts… to stare at one number in particular. The one number in her contacts she dared not call, yet couldn't bear to delete since she knew she would never get it back if she did.

So it was marked "THE FORBIDDEN NUMBER, NEVER EVER CALL!" instead.

…

More sobs came out. "What if they were right? What if they've always been right?" She started wiping away her wet face with her yellow sleeves. "That I was never… ever cut out to be a star?"

Her shaking finger hovered uneasily over the 'Call' button. She was so unbearably close to hitting it, and trying futilely to convince herself not to.

BLOOP

Just then, a text message appeared, making her gasp.

NIDOTHING
Hey Iono. Are you there?

"…?"

NIDOTHING
Are you free to talk?

NIDOTHING
Things looked really rough today. I just want to make sure you're okay.

"…D-D-Dottie…"

"So that's… really all it was?" Penny phewed. "I—I thought you'd all just decided not to talk to me anymore."

"We would never!" Eri fiercely replied. "That's what it must have looked like though, huh. Sorry we made you worry."

The five Team Star bosses had all gathered in Penny's dorm room to make amends—with Penny begrudgingly agreeing to open the curtains so they weren't stumbling around in the dark.

Eri and Mela sat on the bed next to her, Flareon having cozied up to Mela and fallen asleep in her lap. Giacomo stood near Penny's computer setup petting her Umbreon, while Ortega leaned against the doorway and Atticus stood with his arms crossed against the wall.

"Yeah… we really didn't mean to make it look like we were leaving you out," Giacomo explained. "It's just that… after we found out you got in huge trouble with that mean teacher lady 'cause of us, we figured it'd be best if we just kept outta your way and started solving our problems on our own."

"Yeah." Rubbing Flareon's purring head, Mela said, "We just didn't wanna drag you into another one of our messes... Our bad, Penny."

"…"

Penny closed her eyes, contemplating her friends' words. Then she opened them and declared, "Well, apology NOT accepted!"

Her friends were all a little jolted by her reaction, including Ortega. "...Wait, for real?"

"Why do YOU guys get to decide that I'd just be weighed down by your problems!? I... I'm your friend, right?"

"Of course you're our friend!" Eri insisted. "That's… that's why I felt like this was the best way to go. It was my idea, so I'll take the full blame and let you hate me for it, so long as—as you forgive everyone else."

"But that's what I'm saying, Eri! As your friend, as the one who brought you all together, I feel like it should be MY responsibility to take the fall for you all! That's why I did it back when Operation Star bombed, and—and why if Miss Tyme really needs to come down on somebody, I'll… always be the one you can count on."

Penny gazed around at all her friends. Seeing them all gathered like this, really brought all the memories back to her mind of how she used to take leadership through her phone, corralling them all together as they looked to Cassiopeia on the Rotom Phone for guidance…

A tear fell from her eye.

"So... you should come bother me more. Lean on me! That's what'd actually make me happy..."

"O, Lady Penny…" Atticus said remorsefully.

"A-and if things get really bad, I can just hack into the school system and fix your grades anyway!" Penny chimed in.

This immediately killed the mood. Most of them looked at her aghast.

"What!?" Eri shrieked. "That's a terrible idea!"

"Yeah, isn't that takin' it a bit far?" Giacomo agreed.

Ah... sorry. That was a joke!" Penny blushed. "I was trying to lighten things up in here, but I guess that was pretty out of character..."

"Glad to hear it! If you were serious, I would've had to pummel some sense into ya!" Mela threatened, raising her fist.

"I mean… you can bump my grades a little bit if you want," Ortega mumbled. "I won't complain too much…" But a sharp glare from his fellow bosses made him relent. "Or… or not. Y'know, whatever," he said sheepishly, clutching his cane.

"I am serious though," said Penny. "About what I said before. I care about you guys like, more than anyone else on the planet. You're more like family to me than my own family!"

"Ouch," said Mela. "Sucks to be your family."

"Well… not like that, I guess," she backtracked. "But you know what I mean! It hurts me so much to see my friends suffering. I only snuck around with Juliana and stuff because of how worried I was about you guys fitting in at school. But stuff like this, like you needing help with tutoring…" Penny bunched her arms down and gazed morosely down at the floor. "You know, I really wish you guys would come to me for stuff like that."

"Deepest apologies, Lady Penny," said Atticus. "Henceforth… we shall see to it that our fair queen is always included in our affairs!"

"Just one thing, though," said Giacomo. "I mean… you kinda got to meet us halfway here, Penny."

"W-what do you mean, Momo?"

"I think you forgot, we're all used to always gettin' our orders on the phone. Like, from Cassiopeia! But now, the mission's over. And our Cassiopeia ain't just a voice on the phone no more."

"Yeah!" Mela agreed. "Don't be afraid to come and visit us too, Cassie!"

"And not just when we got problems, neither!" Ortega smacked his cane.

"Yes!" Eri nodded. "We should all be making more efforts to see each other not just because we're a team, but… if we really are a family, let's treat each other that way and find more reasons to just—hang out."

"Indeed. A visitation from you, Lady Penny… would be something more cherished than any other treasure thou could muster. I would always…"

Atticus paused for a moment. For once, his quirky 'medieval' way of speaking was failing him.

"…make time, as you squires say."

Everyone in the room chuckled, and even Atticus couldn't keep from snickering.

"Well… okay then!" said Penny. "That's a fair call. From now on, I'll try to make sure to actually come out of my room and come see you guys too!"

"Yaaaay!" they all clapped.

Penny had a huge smile on her face. Within just a day, she went from thinking she had let all her friends down so much that they didn't want to hang with her anymore, to emboldening them all as Team Star's leader once again.

No, not just a leader. But… a friend. A true-blue friend!

She felt a wellspring of confidence rising up in her again.

"Alright, well… now that I promised to commit more to being a reliable friend, I've got something to say."

They all listened rapt with curiosity.

…

"You all look weird. Like, really, really weird."

They all reared back in surprise, several of them uttering variations of "Whaaaat?"

"SERIOUSLY!?" Ortega snarled. "That's the first thing you wanna say now that we're done being all mushy!?"

"I'm sorry! But it's true," said Penny. "I've only ever seen you guys in your big, fancy Team Star uniforms before. So to see all of you in these neatly cut uniforms, it's just… so bizarre. Not to mention the new looks. I mean…"

She gestured first to her tall, silver-haired compadre.

"Atticus, you're fine. In fact, you're really good looking underneath all that ninja garb."

"Lady Penny, thy compliment… IT WARMS MY HEART DEEPLY!"

And Eri, you're… you're really, really beautiful. Like, now I get why you used to be so popular because of your looks."

"Awww, thanks Penny!" Eri blushed, running a hand through her silky locks.

"But… Momo. I think… you shouldn't ever not wear a hat."

"D'oh…"

"And Mellie, I… don't even know what to say about that hair."

"Now where is this surprise attack coming from!?" she grumbled. "I'm tryin' a new look here, and you should be proud of that! This hair, it, it…"

Mela grasped her neat bob-cut and simmered a little, before finally blowing up.

"GRRR, I HATE IT TOO! I thought cutting my hair like this would make people less afraid of me, but it makes me feel so basic! Every time I look in the mirror, I wanna beat myself up and take my own lunch money!" She sighed. "Thanks, Cassie. I think I actually needed a spark of that brutal honesty so I can start tryin' to grow it out again."

"I jest at such harsh critiques, madam!" Atticus chuckled. "But as for mine new questing robes, they were indebted to us as a favor from the high lord."

"He's right!" said Eri. "That guy, Director Clavell, called us all to his office and asked us to be the test models for this brand new style of Uva Academy uniforms."

"Probably cause he recognized we're such fashion icons!" Mela boasted, proudly flashing her peach shirt and purple jacket.

"Or… maybe he just wanted to stop seeing our typical uniforms around class, since the teachers think they're 'gaudy' and all," Giacomo laughed, rubbing the white sleeves of his black sweater vest.

"Well, maybe he also remembers how much you love to stand out from the crowd, and wanted to take advantage of that." Penny reasoned. "And that's actually a pretty cool reason, so… alright. You're all forgiven for your faux paus crimes. …For now."

"Phew," Mela said jokingly.

"B-but about before! I'm actually a pretty good tutor, you know. So feel free to ask me for help with studying and stuff anytime!"

"Lady Penny, we are honor'd by thy generosity."

"Ugggh!" Ortega groaned. "Does this mean we gotta get lectured by Juliana AND Penny now? Well... I guess there are worse things."

"Oh…" Penny croaked. "Right, I almost forgot. What about Juliana…? Why… why didn't she ever come say hi to me before she started helping you guys? And she didn't even seem that sorry about it when you called her out."

The room dimmed as the sunlight from the window disappeared behind the clouds, seeming to reflect the mood's downturn.

"Yeah, that's still a total mystery…" Giacomo agreed.

Eri, displeased to see everyone frowning again, stood up from the bed.

"Well… fear not, Penny! I'm going to make sure Juliana DOES apologize!"

"Ohhh. Eri, please don't go so hard on her," Penny urged. "I don't want you to scare Juliana away. I'm sure she—must've had a good reason for it."

"It doesn't matter!" Eri declared. "That's still no excuse to leave your friends in the dust! Next time I find Juliana on campus, I'm definitely going to have a one-on-one girls' talk with her until she sees reason again!"

Mela chuckled and leaned in close to Penny. "When Eri talks like that, I still dunno if she means she's gonna beat a pal up or not. Juliana had better watch her back."

Penny snickered back.

Giacomo stepped forward. "Y'know, I guess it falls to me to point this out… but didn't Juliana seem kinda funny to you guys even before Penny showed up?"

"I dunno," Mela shrugged. "She seemed okay to me. Why, cause of that dorky yellow vest she's got on now?"

"No, I'm talking about… I don't know. I thought she looked like a zombie a little bit, all… dead-eyed and stuff."

"I concur with Sir Giacomo, for I too noticed a sharp contrast in Lady Juliana's demeanor between when she conquered our dominions prior, and her recent return to our stomping grounds."

Eri rubbed her chin. "Hmm, now that you mention it, I did notice that Juliana would only ever say something if one of us talked to her first. The rest of the time, she just kind of… stared."

"Which is weird, right?" said Giacomo. "Cause she was so talkative before!"

Atticus murmured with unease.

"It is more than a mere shift in personality. When I was within Lady Juliana's presence, there was a perplexing, yet disturbing aura about her…" He said grimly. "Given my vast familiarity with poisons, it was as if my senses attuned… some sort of new, malevolent influence running through her loins…"

Mela's face twisted. "Eww. Don't be talkin' about Juliana's loins like that, ya creep."

Some sort of poison influence…?

Penny didn't like the sound of that. Those words caused a brief chill to run down her spine, almost like a sense of déjà vu.

"Ehhhh. Sounds like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me," said Mela. "Maybe that other school she went to was full of nothing but losers, so she just forgot how to communicate n' stuff."

"Well, since I was worrying over nothing thinking you were all going to abandon me…" Penny gulped. "Then, m-maybe things will blow over with Juliana too. Maybe I just need to give her some space…"

Then she pulled out her Rotom Phone, and gulped.

"That's… two people I've said that about now…"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" asked Eri.

"Oh, umm… nothing," she replied. Eri's eyebrows furrowed a bit, and Penny, flustered, explained. "It's—just a personal matter, that's all! Another problem that I just… have to resolve on my own."

"Oh. Well, okay. But… if you ever do need help, then we're all here for you."

"Yeah," Mela nodded.

"Through rain or shine," said Atticus.

"Thanks. You're all the best."

The others nodded, while still looking quite glum and keeping their eyes to the floor.

"If only Ms. Tyme could understand how much we bring out the goodness in each other…" Eri mumbled.

Penny watched everyone's beaten moods, and Cassiopeia smirked as she stood up.

"Hey! No frowning's allowed in my dorm room guys! Did you really forget about the whole mission? Why we started Team Star in the first place?"

Everyone gazed at Penny in shock for a moment. Even though they had a face to put to Cassiopeia for a while, in a weird way this felt like the first real moment they heard the big boss's voice again.

"Who cares what Ms. Tyme thinks? She's just another big bully. And we proved that Team Star will always rise up against bullies! So right now, your mission is to quit worrying about me already and look happy!"

"Yeah, what Cassie said!" Mela stood up too, a fiery smile lighting up her face. "Pick those sad sacks up off the floor, you weenies!"

"You guys heard the boss. We all have to stop worrying about Penny right now." Even though Eri didn't have the facepaint anymore, she still mustered up the same fierce aura her friends all knew. "Boss's orders!"

"And for those who disobey the regal's orders, harsh punishments be upon ye!"

Giacomo grinned, proud to see Penny taking leadership again. "Now there's the big kick in the shins I used to remember our big boss giving us when we were down! She's right, y'all. If Team Star goes down, then… it only makes sense that we all go down together! That's the new code!"

"Yeah!" said Eri. "Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Mela was fired up. "Hell yeah! Spittin' truth as usual, G!"

Everyone in the room laughed again. All the tension in the group seemed to be gone now, and Penny felt all warm inside that things seem to have resolved themselves.

This bristling confidence she felt right now was one she hadn't felt within herself in over two years, and it was gratifying to know that spirit of Cassiopeia wasn't as quashed as she thought.

"You're TOTALLY right!" Ortega raved, feeling so pumped up he swung his ornate cane proudly. "What could that big meanie even do to us, huh!?" Then he winced. "Well… I—I guess she could still send Penny back to Galar again… that would be a bummer."

"HAH!" Mela barked. "No sweat! If Ms. Tyme ever tries to pull that shit, we just have to tie Cassie to a chair, duct tape that chair right into the floor, and stand guard over it night n' day!"

Everyone exchanged bemused looks.

"Uhhh…" A sweatdrop fell down Eri's face. "That might… definitely be taking it too far, Mellie."

"Aww, c'mon guys, it was obviously a joke!" Mela rolled her eyes. "What I'm tryin' to say is, so long as we combine all our powers together, nothing could ever break Team Star apart!"

They all chuckled, knowing deep down that Mela was right.

"Yeah…" Penny agreed, with a fierce expression. "Nothing will ever separate us again!"

...

"Are you quite certain that was a jest, Lady Mela?" Atticus opined. "Because if t'were indeed to come to that outcome, I happen to be quite proficient in the ancient art of knot-tying."

This caused the whole room to break out in laughter once more. Atticus looked around, not quite sure where the humor was.

"Man… I'm so sorry you went through all that, Iono. I always had a really bad feeling about BLAKBERY for some reason, but I never imagined she'd be that awful…"

Iono had decided to accept Dot's offer to talk, and once Dot expressed her worry for Iono after watching that failure of a stream… the buzzed-out streamer completely unraveled, spilling all the details to Dot about the dreaded question she received from Penny that caused her to leave the girl on read before straight-up ditching her, and worst of all, her disastrous date with Moze.

"And now she's like a bad root in my head!" Iono whined. "The whole time I was streaming and screwing everything up, I kept hearing Moze's stupid voice in my head telling me how weak I am! She's like… some kinda bad poison inside my brain, making me feel all woozy!"

She spun her head around in dismay.

"And now I'm in danger of getting cancelled by the entire Internet…"

"I'm… sure it's not that bad," said Dot, scratching her head on the video screen.

"Yeah, well you weren't watchin' those jerks on Psychic Noize just now, were you?"

She shook her head. "I don't ever like to watch content like that where they get their clicks from making fun of people. It's... not right!"

"Yeah…" Iono sighed. "Now I'm starting to feel kinda bad for being on that show. I feel like I sorta get now how bad some people must've felt when they were being hit with Billy's stupid Psychic Noize." She turned her vulnerable gaze up. "Is that weird?"

Her grape-haired fellow streamer just responded with a warm smile and a gentle gaze from her deep purple eyes, which Iono still wasn't used to seeing beneath those bangs they used to hide under.

"That's not a weird feeling at all, Iono!" She chuckled. "It's called empathy."

"Empathy... huh," Iono said thoughtfully, like a scholar. "What a revolutionary concept."

"Empathy is the reason I sought you out to talk. I used to have some pretty lousy streams too… Even as Nidothing, I used to be really shy and just—trip over myself all the time! Then I'd get in my head while editing videos, thinking it's all terrible. So when I saw you having problems just like that, I… I knew you'd be kicking yourself pretty hard over it, just like me."

"Really?" Iono's eyes glistened.

She nodded. "You should never doubt yourself after one bad stream, Iono! You were the one who inspired me to become a streamer, just like you still inspire so many other people! As long as you remember that, jerks like BLAKBERY or those podcast guys will never win trying to beat you down."

…

"Thanks, Dottie…" Iono finally said with a light smile. "You have… no idea how much I needed to hear something like that today." Indeed, she was quickly able to flash a signature Iono grin at her. "It's nice to know Iono still has someone great in her pocket!"

Dot laughed, and then frowned.

"So… I guess that means you're not going to try again with Penny?"

"Mmmm… mm-mm! No, no!" Iono shook her head about. "I shot my shot with that rad Penny, and I—tricked her into thinking we were doing funny little dates on our phones! Never again!"

The sad streamer wrapped her giant sleeves around her body like a blanket, hoping to cozy herself off from her doubts.

"Noni… Noni is dead and buried now. I guess you were right all along about me being some manipulating trickster thinking I could get together with a normie."

Dot looked confused. "Ehhhh!? I never said anything like that! But, does that mean… That question you said she asked. 'Are we dating'? Does that really mean the answer is no…?"

Iono took a few seconds to think about it, and then threw those sleeves up all around her, looking frustrated now.

"What it means I still don't KNOW! I've had all this time to think about it, and I—I still don't know if me sending her funny memes and calling her cute and wanting to follow her on PokéChat is considered dating or not!"

Dot leaned back into her blue chair and contemplated what Iono was telling her.

"I guess, I've got a question for you. It might be a bit… I don't know. Introspective, I guess?"

"Hit me with it, Madame Dot."

"…Do you WANT it to be dating?"

…

Chapter Text

"Let me see it again? … Oh yeah. Now that I can see it up close, that's definitely a Xtransceiver!"

"A cross… transceiver? Huh. I feel like I've heard of those before."

Once all the air had cleared and Penny made amends with the five people she considered more than ever to be her best friends, they all went their own ways.

Penny decided to look for something to distract herself from the emotional roller coaster she'd been experiencing all week, and searching inside her Eevee bag reminded her of the mystery she'd forgotten about:

That strange yellow wristwatch she'd found left behind after Iono's Q&A at the Loopline Center, and her failed attempt to relocate its owner, whether it was the friendly Mrs. Mei woman who accompanied her or someone else.

And she knew just who to call to help her out: an Alolan acquaintance from her inner hackers' circle, who was a few years older than her and who Penny knew liked to dabble a lot in older technology.

"Yup! People used to wear Xtransceivers on their wrist to communicate, in the days before we all had smartphones!" Sophocles explained. "I want to say they were discontinued about… 13 years ago or something like that? Show it to me one more time."

She held up the watch again, and the ginger gadgeteer gazed at it closely from his computer screen.

"Yeah. I remember my big cousin Molayne—I call him Big Mo—used to have one of those little watches when I was really little. But they basically disappeared when smart watches came onto the scene. That one you've got there looks like it's a really classic model, Penny!"

"Really?" Penny gazed at the apparently priceless gizmo in her hands, intrigued.

"Totally! I'm actually really surprised it's in such good condition. What I'd give just to be able to take it apart and look at it…" Then Sophocles' dotted eyes lit up. "Hey, that's not a bad idea actually! You could send it over to me, and I might be able to get it working again!"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. If you're right and there's nothing wrong with it besides the battery being dead, I bet it'd be super easy for me to find a new battery to replace it, or build a new one! Then you could look through the calls made on it and probably find its mystery owner that way!"

"Hmmm…" The idea sounded intriguing, but Penny winced a little. "I don't know… That seems like it could be invading someone's privacy. I don't know what kind of personal stuff might be on that Xtransceiver thingy if they've held onto it for so long."

"Heh…" Sophocles chuckled. "That's kind of funny to hear one of the most nefarious hackers I know be so worried about privacy all of a sudden!"

"Hey, this is way different from hacking student records or Pokémon League stuff, Soph!" she huffed. "We're talking about a total stranger here."

"Well in that case, I guess I get where you're coming from!"

The Alolan Gym Leader thought about it a little more, rubbing his chin.

"There is one way I know of you could at least get a small lead on where it's from. If you want to unscrew the back and send me a picture, I bet I could spot if it has an NTSC chip in it."

"NTSC?" Penny repeated, flipping it around.

"Yeah! If it's got an NTSC chip, that would at least narrow it down to being manufactured either here in Alola, or out in the Unova region. Then you would just… have to figure out who else attended that Iono convention who came from either of those places… which I guess might still be tricky. But hey! If anyone could figure out how to pull those records, my bets are on you Penny!"

"Oh yeah. It wouldn't be even that hard," she said nonchalantly. "Huh…"

As Penny gazed at the Xtransceiver's back casing, she spotted a faded-out marking on it.

"Someone drew on the back of this with a sharpie… It kind of looks like a heart mixed with the letter 'R' or 'A' or something. Might be a clue…"

Yeah, just have to find anybody with a name beginning in R or A in one of those two regions. So easy…

"Well, good luck in your search, Penny." said Sophocles. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you out."

"Ummm…" Penny's tone changed. "T-there is, uhh, one thing I kind of wanted to ask you since I have you on the line, Sophocles."

"Sure! What's up?"

Penny twiddled her fingers a bit. "You umm, you talk to Iono, right? Like, you designed those Magnemite clips for her and stuff?"

For some reason, Sophocles suddenly looked nervous. "Uhhh! W-well, yeah! I mean… not like we talk that often, but—but yes? Why do you—" His unibrow raised up. "WAIT! I forgot, you and Iono are—" He covered his mouth. "Wait, no! That's—that's not… aww, man."

Penny's eyebrows raised too. "Huh? Iono and I are… what? What are you talking about, Soph?"

"Umm, nothing! Sorry! Ahh… I think I've been spending too much time wiring this observatory for my Gym Puzzles. What I meant to say was… why do you want to know?"

"Well, it's just…" Penny rested her elbows on the desk. "Iono seemed really off on her stream yesterday. Like I've never seen her before. And you know I'm a huge fan of hers, so I can't stop thinking about that. So I was wondering on the off chance that you happened to know what's up with her."

"Ohhh… can't really help you there." Sophocles awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I promised her I wouldn't say anything."

"So you do know why!" Penny picked up from his tone.

"AHH! I mean… yes, but—it's… kind of a conflict of interest!" the flustered male replied.

"Okay… I guess I understand," she shrugged. Penny pulled out her phone with a wistful frown. "It's not just Iono, either. I made another friend recently that—I screwed up with big time, and now it seems like she's going through it too."

Her eyes squinted. "Like… almost at the exact same time Iono started having problems. Kind of weird, isn't it? I wonder if seeing Iono like that made Noni feel sad too."

Sophocles was beginning to sweat now. "Uhhh, yeah! Maybe you're right, there must be a connection there…"

Then his phone pinged, and he pulled it out to look, which made his face stumble back.

"H-HUH!? Seriously? Oh this is just getting too weird now…"

"Huh? What's wrong, Sophocles?"

"Ohhh…" Sophocles looked sheepish. "Sorry, Penny. This is kind of awkward, but a uhh—a client I'm working with just requested that I…" He peered at the screen. "Jump in on a call, so I've gotta go."

"No problem," Penny replied. "Thanks for helping me out, and… listening to me complain, Sophocles!" she chuckled. "Say hi to Acerola for me and… next time we talk, I want to see Togemaru's cute face!"

"Yup, of course! Alola, Penny!" he waved goodbye as he signed off.

"Alola!"

Penny sighed after he left the call.

"Huh, Sophocles was acting a bit weird too. I guess it's not just everyone in Paldea, but something in Alola's water too…"

Then she stole another glance at her phone, and sighed even deeper.

Meanwhile, Iono was on a video call too, seeking advice from her fellow streamer.

"So you really think that the only way you can keep your friendship alive with Penny is if you… agree to be her girlfriend?"

"I guess! I want things between Penny and me to stay the same, and if… if the only thing holding us back was not letting her hear my voice or that I just can't turn off the 'Flirt with her!' switch in my brain, then… yes. I would gladly accept the role of Noni the dependable girlfriend who cheers her up!" Iono sighed. "There's just one little itty-bitty issue that's still nagging me though."

"The whole pretending to be something else thing?"

"Pfft. No, not that. Just… I still can't help but think about how my little quest for views ended up influencing people like Moze to use their powers for evil. I feel less like a good person goin' around helping others and… more like, some kinda supervillain! A cool supervillain, but… still a villain."

Dot shook her head. "You're not a villain at all, Iono. Don't hold yourself responsible for the bad choices other people make."

"But some of those bad choices were miiiiiiine!" Iono fretted, flapping her sleeves. "Maybe what I'm doing is good for Penny, but is it good for me too or am I just being a toxic, selfish little baddie again?"

Dot groaned. "Why are you so stubborn, Iono? This is like arguing with a brick wall! Where is he, anyway?"

Just then, Dot's screen was reduced to half-size on Iono's monitor as another call started coming in.

"AHA! Here he is!" Iono hit a button to patch the other caller through. "SOFFY! Get your butt in here!"

"Okay, I'm here, I'm here!" said Sophocles as his face came into view. "What was so urgent you texted me saying 'EMERGENCY'? Oh! Hey, Dot. Long time no see."

"Ohh, uhhhhh!" Despite her years of streaming, Dot still blustered around people she wasn't close to. "S-soph…ocles, right? I remember meeting you once or twice, but I wish we had a more proper introduction! So, Iono here is—"

"SOFFY! I AM IN A LIFE-OR-DEATH SITUATION HERE AND NEED YOU AND DOTTIE TO SAVE ME FROM CERTAIN DOOM!" Iono briskly interrupted. "I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER PENNY AND I ARE DATING OR NOT!"

Sophocles stared blankly for a few seconds.

"Really? Wow, this is getting Rollie levels of spooky now. Believe it or not, I was just talking to Penny!"

"REALLY!?" Iono exclaimed, leaning all the way up to the monitor. "NYOHOHO! I knew you were the RIGHT kind of Penny-ology expert I needed, Soffy! So don't spare a single deet! How is she!? Is she depressed, super miserable? Completely lost without Noni?" Then she pouted. "Or… or the opposite?" A distressed frown emerged. "She's not like… super happy without me texting her, is she? Or—or found somebody else!?"

"Whoa Iono, slow down your gears!" the Alolan flushed. "Ummm… I don't really know. I was mostly trying to help her figure out this cool gizmo she found. All Penny told me was that she had just patched things up with her friends in Team Star, I guess she thought they had all left her behind or something."

"WHAT!? Those good-for-nothing Team JERKS!" Iono's shark teeth came out. "Do I need to go to their bases again and whack 'em all full of sense!?"

"IONO, RELAX!" he tried to calm her down. "She said things are all good now! It was some kind of misunderstanding, I guess! Umm… I guess now that you mention it… she still looked kind of lonely, even when we were just talking tech. Actually… she brought you up at one point."

"She diiiiid?" Iono's eyes lit up like stars.

"Well it's funny, she seems to be worried sick about both Iono and Noni at the same time. I guess both girls really made a huge impact on her!"

"And she's made an impact on both sides of me! I think spending time with Penny online is—is making me into a better person, guys! So I wanna share some of that love back, and help her enjoy life too!"

"Yeah… but for some reason, Iono thinks that she needs to become Penny's girlfriend in order to keep that train rolling," Dot rolled her eyes.

"Oh! Well that sounds cool!" he replied cheerfully.

"What!? Seriously!?"

"HA! See Madame Dot!" Iono pointed. "That means it's a 2-on-1 vote for Iono and Penny girlfriend good times! You're being outvoted!"

"Yeah, but, but… what about what you were saying before!? About… thinking you're still a bad person?"

"Oh, right…" Iono's Magnemite hairclips drooped and her energy levels seemed to drop again. "Sigh. Why'd you have to kill the mood like that, Dottie?"

"Huh? A bad person? I don't understand, Iono!" Sophocles said with a troubled expression. "You're one of the coolest people I know! Why would you even think something like that?"

"Yeah? Well maybe you won't think I'm so cool when I tell you who got trampled on my way up to Twika front-page stardom…"

The pixie-haired girl was still feeling extremely vulnerable, and both of the techies were saddened to see Iono in a state she'd never allowed herself to show in front of anyone before.

"My selfish little quest for that sweet, sweet Larry bump ended up hurting sweet, sweet Tisa-Belle," her lip quivered. "And now my streams are influencing bad people like Moze to go around and hurt other people. I—I just wanted to add more positivity to this world, not more ickiness!" Iono's eyes got glossy as she fought waves of guilt from crashing down on her. "After the lousy things my streams have done, who's to say Iono even deserves a girlfriend?"

"Hey! Don't talk about yourself like that—both literally and metaphorically!" Dot urged her.

"Yeah! Just because one or two bad electrons took the wrong lessons from your content and went rogue, that doesn't nullify the thousands of people who you make happy every single day and are inspired to do GREAT things because of you!"

"Oh yeah? Like who?" Iono barked back. "Name one person who didn't get totally screwed up from watching me."

The two callers sat and thought about it for a moment. Iono, dejected, laid her head down on her keyboard.

…

Finally, Dot put on a brave face and spoke up.

"Me."

"Huh?" Iono's head lifted back up.

"I doubt you'll remember this, but… a long while back, when I was just starting out with my Nidothing streams and hit a bad rut, I tuned into one of your livestreams. I left a comment under my old screenname, 'StuckInMyRoom' asking if you ever struggled for video ideas."

"Hmmm," Iono combed her memory banks. "That sounds like something I might very faintly remember in my little noggin. Maybe. Possibly… So what did I say?"

"You said that happened to you all the time, and that the answer was to go out and look for changes in scenery that would inspire me." Dot smiled fondly. "Your words encouraged me to finally get out of my room, join a crew that let me see the whole world, and… through all that, I met a really good friend who became something more than just a friend…"

Iono's eyes began to twinkle as Dot regaled all this information, and Dot's grin was growing bigger too.

"Before all that, I didn't know anything about the world, which is why it was so hard to come up with streams. I didn't know food could taste so good, or that people could be so nice! That I would want to become a Pokémon Trainer alongside my friends! Or… or that I would find someone I love who loves me both inside the costume and out."

…

"That all happened… because of you, Iono. So there's your good example!" Dot sat back in her chair, and began to look thoughtful. "Wow, I guess that's funny. I'm sitting here talking about how you got me to stop being such a hermit inside my dark, lonely room. I guess old me sounds a whole lot like… Penny."

"Y-yeah… YEAH! It kinda does, don't it? Most 'specially after all that stuff you told me about Penny, Soffy…"

He nodded. "I was thinkin' the same thing. And y'know, Penny wasn't always so lonely. I think it was ever since she and her old girlfriend broke up, and then all that sad stuff happened with Team Star, that she—started being more of a hermit."

Iono pondered this. "What can you tell me about this… girlfriend she used to have? Like, pretty? Confident? Glamorous? All of the above, but not as much as Iono? …M-More than Iono?"

Sophocles looked sheepish.

"Geez, umm… I think I've already told you more than I should've, Iono. Especially if you two really are gonna start dating now!" He winked. "Call it a conflict of interest."

"Hmph! What does that even mean, you ginger weirdo?"

"Hey! I'm just trying to respect my friends' privacy, I guess! I think that's the sort of stuff Penny should tell you about on her own. Although… if you still want some cool advice, I guess I can tell you the same thing Big Mo always told me."

Now it was the Alolan male's turn to smile warmly.

"Every time I've felt unsure about something and wanted to back out—y'know, because when I was a kid I could never finish anything, Big Mo would always tell me that when you start something... you should always see it through to the end. Or else you'll spend the rest of your life thinking about that big 'what-if'!"

"That big 'what-iffy'…"

"Yup! I remember he used to say it when I started helping out at Hokulani Observatory and became a Trial Captain there. He also said it every time one of my gadgets didn't work and I was so sad I wanted to give up. Or when I wanted to run my own Festival Plaza! And…" He started blushing. "He also said it when I wanted to ask Rollie, er—Acerola out for the first time and was really scared, because I really liked her and didn't wanna screw up our friendship."

"Wowza…"

Iono sat back in her own plush gaming chair, astounded by the stories her two friendos had just shared.

"…Can I tell you guys somethin' kinda weird?"

"When don't you?" Sophocles joked.

Iono laughed at that. "Umm, thank you guys… for always listening to my silly Iono rambles and helping me get this far."

"You're welcome, Iono."

"Yeah, don't mention it!" said Dot.

"All this time, I've been beating my poor little brain up because I thought I didn't have any IRL friendos but… I guess I lost the plot! Cause you're both the real deal wrapped in a seal. I'm totally ZAPPED to have you guys around! Two certified Iono FRIENDS!"

Sophocles nodded proudly, while Dot began to sweat.

"If—if the great Iono says that I'm worthy enough to earn the title of her friend… THEN I'VE GOTTA BE THE BEST FRIEND TO HER THAT I CAN BE!" she anxiously declared.

…

The veteran streamer burst out laughing now. "WOW! Having that mad-energy girlfriend of yours really has turned you into a whole different person, Ms. StuckInMyRoom!"

Dot grumbled, feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah, well… I think even as your friend, I—"

"BEST FRIEND!" she twinkled.

"R-RIGHT! B-BEST FRIEND! Even as your best friends, I don't think Sophocles here and I can decide anything for you. This is so important that… it's a decision you have to make yourself. But…"

She chuckled a little.

"I think I'm losing the plot too. After hearing all about about how lonely Penny is, I actually sort of believe you now about the power of 'Noni' and how she could really cheer Penny up and change her life for the better just like Iono did for me."

"YAAAY! I love corrupting people!" Iono cackled.

"There is just one thing, though…"

"Whazzat? Lay it on me!"

"This isn't something you should do just for Penny's sake, y'know. If you want to become really, really close friends with her, or even better than that, I think… I think it only works if you want it just as badly!"

"Only if I want it too…?"

"So you said Penny asked if you were dating, right?" said Sophocles. "And you didn't know the answer?"

"Yeah?"

"…What do you want the answer to be, Iono?"

"…"

"I guess once you're sure of that, then the rest of it should all be easy like changing a battery!" he said.

Iono fell silent in a way nobody had ever really witnessed from the usually loud, energetic personality before. For the first time in her life, the gravity hit her of just how seriously she needed to think about a decision.

They're right. I keep wondering about whether this is the right thing to do for Penny, but… how do I know it's the right thing for me too?

…Do I want to cyber-date Penny?

Sophocles and Dot sat patiently and gave their certified best friend the space she needed to think this out. Eventually, Iono realized she couldn't get her circuits running just sitting, so she stood up and marched around the apartment in big steps.

She is really cute… And adorable… And smart and funny, and brave… Basically everything that attracts me like a magnet!

Her Pokémon were all equally intrigued by the normally rambunctious girl's movements, and Iono decided to stop and pet every single one of them. She gave her Luxray a big hug in its bed.

"Rrrrray…" it purred.

She pat Electrode gently on the head.

"Trooode," it said lovingly.

She squished her Bellibolt tightly with her arms.

"Bell-bollll…"

And she walked into her kitchen where Jolteon and Eevee were hanging out.

"Jolt-jolt! "Vee-veee-eee!"

They both greeted her adorably. Iono was really beginning to understand Penny's love for "Veevees".

I guess I really wouldn't mind Penny as a girlfriend! It'd be tons of fun and who knows what other cool things she could show me a new appreciation for!

Inside her kitchen, Iono had a huge sand aquarium, where her three pet Wiglett popped out from the substrate and squealed. "Wigg, wigg!" She gave each one of the slimy Pokémon a gentle, caring face snuggle.

But how long can I keep that up as just Noni…? I still can't have Penny ever finding out who her new best friendo really is…

And she tossed out a bunch of flaky fish food to her happy, sparking tank of Tynamo on top of the bookshelf in her bedroom.

"Crackle, crackle, crackle!"

Especially cause of all the implications… A streamer. Dating a total normie. The same thing that apparently killed Tisa-Belle's streaming career…

After several minutes of touring her apartment like a petting zoo and setting a new Iono record for longest time spent without yammering, the streamer plopped back down onto her gaming chair, her face exuding a greatly thoughtful vibe.

Maybe that's the last missing piece of the puzzle…

Facing the two on her monitor again, she calmly asked them, "Do… either of you know how to get in contact with Tisa-Belle?"

Sophocles and Dot both blinked in surprise.

"Ummm, that's the VTuber who does those really cozy streams, right?" Soffy shook her head. "I don't think she's ever commissioned me for anything, so probably not. Sorry."

Dot was a little more wary. "Ummm, even if I do, what exactly are you going to do with that?"

Iono sat silently for a few seconds, puffed out her chest, and then spoke with resolve.

"I think I need to talk to her about some things. Things I should probably tell her I'm really, really sorry for, and… and I also want to ask her some questions," she said, bumping her sleeves together. "I… I also just kind of miss her…"

Dot thought deeply, and then sighed.

"I've done collabs with Tisa-Belle before… I don't know if I still have her personal number, I'm really bad at writing that stuff down. But if I don't, then—I guess I still know how to get it."

"Thank you, Dottie. That would be amazing-tacular!"

The dual-haired girl sighed, before looking down at her phone.

"But there is one teensy thing I should still do first…"

The sound of seven happy, hungry Veevees filled the dorm room as Penny laid down a set of food bowls for them all.

"Now remember," she cautioned them. "There's plenty for everyone! So don't start fighting your brothers and sisters for their scraps, okay? Or else mama will make sure nobody eats."

The Veevees all murmured out noises in response, which their owner decided to accept as their agreement.

"Good. Cause mama is feeling so beat right now…"

Penny glanced around her room wondering what would help her relax after the chaotic few days she's endured. But she also had to shield her eyes from the sunlight entering her room, the curtains still drawn from when her friends were here.

"Alright. Going to turn this place back into my solitary nerd cave again… and if I can't find a good anime to watch, I'll just boot up UFF and beat up some weebs online."

UFF stood for Ultra Fairy Fighters, the fighting game themed around humans (specifically, extremely attractive women) endued with the powers of Fairy Pokémon, that Penny was absolutely obsessed with—and after hours of extensive labbing, getting quite good at.

Especially with her main Talia, who hit really big with her Tinkaton hammer powers… and looked quite good in those sexy overalls. (Fans of UFF will swear it's not just about the jiggle physics in this game.)

As she went to close the curtains, Penny heard a ping from her phone.

"Now what…?" she grumbled.

She walked over, and… her eyes flew wide when she saw it was a PokéChat notification.

"Huh? Noni!?"

Penny eagerly opened the app… and was confused by what Noni sent.

A picture of a Gastly.

"…"

But that picture was followed by a message.

noni_the_normie: SURPRISE! 👻👻👻
noni_the_normie: I'm not a ghost!

…

noni_the_normie: As in… I'm not ghosting you.

"Ohhh!"

She—she's texting me back! I didn't scare her off!

Exhillarated, Penny bounced onto her bed, tossing the already messy covers around.

botan700: That's good to hear ☺️
botan700: So how are you?

noni_the_normie is typing…
noni_the_normie: I'm fine.
noni_the_normie: well… almost fine.

This made Penny chuckle.

noni_the_normie: how bout u?
botan700: it's been a crazy week.
botan700: But I'm almost better too…

noni_the_normie: awwwww
noni_the_normie: that's ALMOST great!

Now it was a full-on laugh. Penny put a hand over her torso, it felt really good to laugh like this again.

noni_the_normie: I got some things to take care of.
noni_the_normie: buuuuuuut
noni_the_normie: I'll probably hit you up tomorrow.

botan700 is typing…
botan700: That's wonderful.

botan700 is typing…
botan700: Just the fact that you texted me today has made my whole day Noni.
noni_the_normie: Awwwww I'm glad Penny!

Penny set her phone down and closed her eyes in a newfound state of bliss. She stared up at the stars on her ceiling. Not quite as visible with the light being drawn in right now… but still magical all the same.

"It's really starting to get all better again… Things are finally going my way!" she said with immense gravitas.

Everyone's talking to me again—we're all friends again! Everything's FINALLY coming up Penny! I don't know what could possibly ruin this!

KNOCK KNOCK!
KNOCK KNOCK!

Penny was suddenly rocked by a series of frantic knocks at her door.

"Uh-oh!"

Did I speak too soon? Am I in trouble again!?

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK "Penny!" KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK "Penny!" KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK "Penny!"

Oh… never mind. It's just Nemona…

Penny slouched off from the bed and opened up… surprised to see both Nemona and Arven right at her door, looking pale like they'd seen a ghost.

"Oh, Penny! Thank goodness!" Nemona said shrilly.

"Come on, you gotta come quick!" Arven urged her.

"Ahh! Why? What the heck's going on?"

"It's JULIANA!" Nemona practically shrieked.

"She's been in a horrible accident!"

"W-W-WHAT?!"

Chapter Text

Penny was stunned beyond belief when she heard what happened to one of her best friends.

It was already a bad sign when she and the other two learned that Juliana was being airlifted back to Uva Academy from the hospital. Then they heard the full story from their school nurse, Miriam.

Apparently, Juliana collapsed and passed out while exploring the snow-covered bamboo thicket up on the Northern Province, nearby the area where Eri and the Caph Squad's base is. Her unconscious body was carried all the way to the nearest Pokémon Center by her new partner, a Pokémon named Ogerpon.

Penny, Nemona, and Arven were all horrified to learn the full extent of Juliana's condition, that she had likely suffered from a combination of physical exhaustion and severe malnourishment that left her body in a terrible state.

When they went to see her, the trio of friends gasped at seeing a girl whose hair was all frizzled out in a mess, skin almost as pale as the snow falling outside, and her face looking deader than a Galarian Corsola.

As the school nurse explained, the tendons in her legs were completely shot—exacerbating an ankle sprain Juliana had evidently incurred while at Blueberry Academy.

Penny gazed at the offending ankle. "You sprained your leg while you were gone, Juliana?"

"K-kinda…"

Penny was gobsmacked. She knew in her time getting to know Juliana, both observing her as Cassiopeia and hanging out with her in-person, that the brunette girl was selfless to a fault, but that the flip side of that coin was she had an awful habit of stretching herself thin trying to help everyone at once, and acting lackadaisy about her physical health.

It got even worse as Nemona relayed to them all the rough, zombie-like state Juliana had been in ever since her return to Uva Academy, looking like she hadn't slept in days and even admitting to forgetting to eat. (The only reprieve Penny could take from any of this was finding out Nemona and Arven also had to hear through the grapevine that Juliana was back in Paldea—so she wasn't singling Penny out after all.)

And Penny just couldn't help but lay it out to Juliana out of grief, especially when Nemona and Arven refused to be so blunt.

"Do I seriously have to be the one to say it?" Penny remembered eyeing them both. "Look, Juliana, you've been making a really bad habit of pushing yourself too far, and—and there's just no other way to say it. You're killing yourself!"

Juliana gasped.

"Geez, Penny, I don't know if I would go that far," Arven winced.

"Am I wrong, though?" Penny raised her voice. "I mean… LOOK AT HER!"

Forced to reckon with her stubbornness, Juliana tearfully owned up to her faults and apologized to the trio for being so r-r-r…

"…reckless. Reckless!" she finally screamed out cathartically, raising her head up. "I'm sorry for being so reckless!"

She thrust her head back with a relieved sigh.

"Did that feel better…?" asked Penny.

"Weirdly enough, yeah."

Miriam gave Juliana firm orders that she couldn't leave her bed for a few days, and would have to spend the rest of the week inside the academy grounds exercising as little effort on her legs as possible.

After reconciling with everyone, and promising to take her recovery and her health much more seriously, the three friends all left Juliana to get some well-needed rest in the nurse's lounge.

As a favor to help lift up the moods of not just her friends, but her poor distressed new buddy, Juliana encouraged Penny and the others to take Ogerpon out to the schoolyard and play with her.

This, unsurprisingly, led to the three of them all taking turns battling the Kitakamite creature. Not just because of Nemona for once, but because Ogerpon herself turned out to be hungry for battles as the cure to heal her troubled soul.

"GYAH!" Penny shouted. "L-Leafeon! Dodge that big scary thing!"

A hunger that turned out to be matched by her incredible prowess. Ogerpon revealed herself an extremely special Pokémon.

Penny and Nemona were astounded to learn from Arven—who had gotten to see Juliana's new partner up close during their second expedition to the Great Crater—that the tiny monster girl utilized a set of masks in order to power herself up. Each mask didn't just change Ogerpon's appearance and fighting style, but even her Grass typing!

"LEAF! LEAFEEEEEON!"

After observing Ogerpon channeling water abilities with her Wellspring Mask on Arven's Pokémon, followed by rocking Nemona's world with the Cornerstone Mask, Penny believed that Leafeon would be the perfect choice to combat either of these forms.

"PONN! PON-YOOOOOOOOO!"

But Ogerpon surprised Penny and her Veevee by putting on her third mask… and brandishing a cudgel of scorching flames against the Verdant Pokémon! The flummoxed Penny was left to try to counter this blistering advantage.

"T-this is terrifying! Where did Juliana even find you, anyway!?"

"Pon-yo-pon!" Ogerpon replied completely cheerfully. While Penny was freaking out, to the masked ogre this all just appeared to be a fun game. "Ogie?"

"YEAH, OGERPON!" Nemona cheered. "That fiery move looks SOOOO COOL! You're AMAZING!"

Ogerpon blushed behind her Hearthflame mask. "Poni-ponn…"

Penny balked at Nemona's cheers for the opposition, and shouted "Hey, whose side are you on anyway!?"

Arven chuckled. "Yeah, it almost sounds like you're rooting for Penny to lose, Nemo."

"I'm not rooting for anyone to lose! I just love seeing incredibly strong Pokémon duke it out no matter the outcome! It's all in the fun of the thrill!"

The short girl was determined not to let her guard down. "Leafeon, use Baby-Doll Eyes! We need to put out this fire before that thing barbeques us!"

Leafeon put itself into position and went for the signature technique every one of Penny's Veevees utilized. It stared at Ogerpon with its adorable, twinkling eyes.

Ogerpon, absolutely mesmerized even behind her mask, let out a quiet cry of awe. "Poni…"

Penny smirked. But Ogerpon was quick to wipe it off Penny's face when she still went in for another flaming swing, knocking Leafeon out of its stance and roasting the poor Pokémon's leaves quite badly.

"Man, Juliana's little buddy just doesn't let up!" said Arven.

Arven's Scovillain, who had taken quite a beating from Ogerpon in her Wellspring form, weakly agreed. "Scroooohh…" It was still nursing quite a nasty bruise on its green-colored head.

"That's my rival for life for ya!" Nemona raved. "Juliana's Pokémon are just as bad at knowing when to quit as she is!" Arven shot her a stunned look, and she grinned sheepishly. "Oops, sorry… That's in poor taste, isn't it?"

"At least you realized it on your own this time…" he muttered.

Leafeon could barely stand up, the leaves that gave its verdant body life feeling the singe from Ogerpon's powerful blaze. Penny was just glad her poor Veevee didn't seem burned.

"Come on, Leafeon… We've won against bigger odds before. And we still have speed on our side! Use QUICK ATTACK!"

The Grass Eeveelution dashed in circles around the flustered Ogerpon, seeming to appear and disappear in front of her eyes, before striking her out of nowhere with a well-timed swipe.

"FF-EONNN!"

Ogerpon stumbled back, her grassy cloak getting bruised. But she was on her feet just as quickly, and swung at Leafeon with another powerful swing, leaving a trail of fiery sparks as Leafeon went flying. "GER-PONNNNN!"

"GEEZ!" Penny exclaimed. "This scary thing's a brute! An impossibly cute brute, but still…"

Ogerpon exhibited an offensively geared fighting style that was very unlike what Penny had seen from the rest of Juliana's Pokémon she'd raised up.

This vicious munchkin only seemed to care about taking out the enemy as brutally as possible. It was almost like she had been trained to battle by someone much more hardcore than Juliana.

"Leafeon…" Penny said sadly, realizing how close her poor battered partner was to fainting.

Ogerpon turned around to her human opponent, and lowered her mask a little bit, where Penny could see her star-shaped glowing yellow eyes underneath.

"You have such beautiful eyes…"

She wondered if the little creature was feeling remorse.

…But no. Instead, Ogerpon had only lowered the mask so she could give Penny a taunting wink and a smile. "Keh-hehehe!" And threw the mask right back up.

"Wh—HEY! Ughhh! Juliana definitely didn't teach you to do something like that!"

Nemona clapped in delight. "Ogerpon's got so many cool tricks! I can't express how jealous I am of our Julie right now!"

"You haven't even seen the coolest thing that little buddy's got up its sleeve," said Arven.

"Oh yeah! What's that?"

"Ogerpon's masks do something really special when it Terastallizes. I saw Juliana activate it down in Area Zero. Its mask gets HUGE!" he explained, stretching his arms out. "Super big! And the attacks it does with that little stick thingy get such a boost in power that it's nuts!"

Ogerpon made noises of agreement, and stretched her limbs out, trying to make her cloak look as big as possible. "Grrrr… GRAH! GRAH!" she growled underneath the Hearthflame mask. It was as if she was trying to demonstrate just how scary she'll look if she can reach full Terastallized power.

How can something like that be so extremely adorable and yet it's one of the most terrifying things I've ever fought…? Penny wondered.

"AWWWW! So you're saying Ogerpon can become ten times cuter and a HUNDRED times more powerful!?" Nemona sprung up from her seat. "That gets me so jazzed up, I kinda want to go back inside and snag Juliana's Tera Orb so we can make that awesomeness happen!"

"PONIII!"

"GYAHH!" Penny cried out. "ARVEN! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON!?"

The next day, Penny and the others agreed to take turns visiting a still bedridden Juliana in the nurse's lounge, partially to keep her company and—also to make sure she was sticking to the routine and eating the meals that would help her recover.

"Really Penny, I'm full," she insisted. "I can't eat anymore."

"Alright, fine." Penny took the plate of scrambled eggs off her lap. "I'll put the rest in that fridge over there and let Ms. Miriam know. But you'd better eat it all later, or else you'll learn the full wrath of Team Star's leader!"

"Ha-ha! Aye-aye…"

Penny put away Juliana's leftovers and came back, cleaning up the board game they were playing earlier. She was Juliana's last visitor for the day. "Alright. Is there anything else you might need?"

"Before you retreat into your dark, dreaded den?" Juliana chuckled.

"Hey!" she said half-heartedly. "Well at least your sense of humor is fully healed…"

Juliana smiled widely, and it made Penny try to hide a smile too.

"Hey, Penny…?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… sure you're not still mad at me?" she said with a bit of a quiver in her voice. "I feel so awful for not letting you and everyone else know that I decided to come back to Uva and—and the way you found out, just… seeing me with all your friends is, is not how that should've gone at all."

Penny sighed.

"I mean, it's… it's whatever," she said, shrugging her arms. "Yeah, that was a crummy thing to do, and I was very upset about it. But…" She gazed at Juliana's legs under the covers. "Now, I guess I understand how you had a lot on your mind at the time, and things like that just slipped away."

She turned back to Juliana, now letting her friend see the small smirk on her face.

"So yeah, we're cool now Juliana. I forgive you."

"Really? You mean it? That means we're—we're still friends, right?" Juliana whimpered, clutching her bed covers.

Penny was stunned by the sheer difference in the way her friend was acting now versus that brief glimpse of a more apathetic husk in the classroom with Team Star. It was like Juliana suddenly remembered she had a soul again after passing out in that snow.

"Yeah. Of course we're still friends," Penny assured her. "Juliana… you came through for me when I really needed it and now my pals and I are all stronger than ever, thanks to everything you did." Her smirk became even more defined. "It's going to take a lot more than just forgetting to call one time for me to want to throw all that away."

Juliana let her head fall back onto the pillow, the braid that Nemona helped retie for her wrapping around her smiling face. Penny gazed at her much livelier visage and smiled too. In all the time Juliana had been away, Penny had forgotten just how infectious the girl's smile could be.

"Thanks, Penny. Thanks so much," she said warmly. "That means… so much more to me than you could ever imagine."

"I'm glad," Penny smiled.

"I just—It's been so rough lately. I feel like all I've done is screw things up…"

Something shifted in her. Penny watched as Juliana's smile vanished almost as quickly as it appeared and she began acting differently… Clutching the covers even tighter. And her lip seemed to quiver harder.

"And I don't… I don't wanna be a screwup!" Juliana whimpered. "But ever since—since… UHHH! It's just been one thing after another, and I don't… I just don't know if I can…"

Penny stood up, alarmed. "Hey… Juliana. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah! Of course I'm okay!" she lifted her head up. "I'm just… thinking about stuff, that's all!"

The leader of Team Star groaned. She could sense Juliana's stubbornness acting up again, and was about to call her out on it when Juliana proved it even further by trying to get up off the bed, only to wince in pain as her legs started aching.

"Owww…!"

"Hey! Cut that out!" Penny snapped. "What did Ms. Miriam say about not getting out of bed?"

"Sorry… sorry. It's just…" Juliana sighed, and pointed to a bin on a nearby dresser. "Ms. Miriam said that all my stuff that I had on me is in there, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Could you please do me a real big favor, Penny? Can you look inside and see if there's a Pecha Berry in there?"

"Huh? A… Pecha Berry?" Penny was a little confused, but not enough to question. "Uhh, sure."

As she walked over to the bin on the dresser, Juliana tried to explain.

"It's going to sound a little silly. But that Pecha Berry was a gift from one of my new friends…"

Penny opened the box and combed through its contents, which included Juliana's school clothes, hat, backpack, Poké Balls, and after some digging… there was indeed a Pecha Berry inside. A very ripe looking one.

"And ever since he gave it to me, I just… really like holding It or having it in my pockets whenever I feel stressed. It—it helps me relax… Forget everything that's making me anxious…"

But Penny got concerned at how shaky Juliana's voice sounded. And as she stared at this seemingly ordinary Berry… something didn't seem right.

The Berry had a peculiar smell to it, much stronger than an ordinary Pecha Berry. And as that scent hit Penny's nostrils, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of… dread for some reason.

…

"…PEH…"

"Huh!?" Penny swore she almost heard some sort of voice.

…I really HAVE been staying in my room too long.

She thought about what Atticus mentioned before about a malevolent, almost poison-like influence on Juliana's person…

"Penny? What's wrong? It's—it's in there, right?"

The bespectacled girl didn't know why, but something about this Berry made her feel very uneasy—as did the thought of handing it back to Juliana.

"Umm—umm!" Acting on instinct, Penny buried the strange Pecha Berry underneath Juliana's neatly washed clothes. "I don't… think I see it anywhere in here!"

"WHAT!? … OWWWW!"

In her distress, Juliana's whole body hoisted upright, causing her spine to shoot up in pain, and Penny started freaking out too.

"AHHHH!"

"It—it—it can't be gone! It can't be…!" Juliana's pitch rose. "K-Kieran gave it to me… I—I need it! I REALLY, REALLY NEED IT!"

Penny looked over at Juliana and was shocked to see her hands grasping the sides of the bed tightly, shaking like she was suffering some sort of withdrawal. The sight of Juliana acting like this made her whole throat close up.

The bad déjà vu she had experienced before was suddenly rearing up again. But watching Juliana was making it come in full flashes now.

Memories… of the last time Penny had witnessed someone with a problem like this. Except they were using something far more dangerous than a Berry to satisfy themselves.

"I—I can't believe I caught you back here using again! You… promised you were gonna stop! I was in the room! You promised HER!"

"I know I did, I know I did. I just… I just needed one more hit before I go cold Torchic! I promise!"

"Promises—SHMOISHES! You just keep doing this over and over again like a bad cycle! She's going to be so disappointed in you!"

"Oh, no, no, no! Please Penny, don't tell my little sis about this! I don't need her to keep bein' so worried about me…"

"Fine… but—but you have to tell her yourself, okay? And—and you need to get HELP! Like, serious professional help!"

"I will…" he sniffled. "I—I'm so sorry… I promise I will…"

"You need to keep your promise this time, Piers. If you won't do it for me… Or for yourself… Then for crying out loud. At least do it for your poor sister…!"

"Penny? … PENNY!"

Penny was snapped out of her bad flashback by Juliana calling her name. The poor girl was staring at her from her bed with distressed hazel-brown eyes. Penny looked into those dead, baggy eyes and swore she had jumped back five years in time.

"Ummm… hey, listen. Now that I'm thinking about it, I—I remember Ms. Miriam carrying a Berry around yesterday when she was handling your stuff," she lied. "She must've taken your Berry out and put it somewhere cool to keep it from rotting, I bet."

She briefly glanced back at the stuff in the bin she had put over the Berry, and closed the lid.

"I'll talk to Ms. Miriam and makes sure she puts that Pecha Berry back with the rest of your stuff when you're well again. So… is there anything else I can do for you, Juliana?"

Penny looked at Juliana's still shaking hand.

"If you want, I… I could hold your hand? And we could talk until you're relaxed again."

"—until you're ready to walk out of this… smelly alley together."

She walked over to Juliana's bedside and gently grasped her shaking hand. She could feel the muscles in Juliana's hand slowly starting to relax. She warmly placed her other hand over it, and finally Juliana's heavy breathing slowed down completely.

A single tear fell down her his eye.

"Y-yeah… Thanks, Penny. I, I think I'd like that."

"…Y'know what? You're not bad, kid."

She smirked. "Don't mention it."

Penny pulled up a chair and sat next to Juliana in the nurse's lounge holding her hand for the next half hour.

"Nemona probably made you talk your ear off about Blueberry Academy, am I right? Since she was so excited about you going there? So we can talk about other stuff if ya want."

"No, it's alright… Nemona mostly just asked me about the strong Trainers there, so I wouldn't mind telling you a bit about all the new friends I made."

So Penny sat and listened as Juliana laid her head back and reminisced about her pals from the Unovan academy. She talked about all four members of the BB Elite Four and each of their funny little eccentricities, especially this one "lovable blowhard" named Drayton who apparently made her laugh a lot with his blustering words.

She also gushed about one of her most special new friends. Penny remembered Juliana talking about Kieran between the time she went on the field trip to Kitakami to being invited to attend Blueberry, and how she'd screwed up her friendship with him the first time around, so it was very heartwarming to hear that they had made up and were good pals now.

"And what about that other special friend of yours?"

"Huh?" Juliana blinked. "What other friend?"

Penny's eyes furrowed. "The girl that you met. The one you told me about the night we had our battle, who went through a lot of the same bullying Team Star did. Her name was… Carmine, right?"

"…Y-yeah."

"It seemed like she meant a whole lot to you. I remember how she sent you a letter after you came back to Paldea and you were smiling so big. Then on the day you left, you told us how you missed her real bad and you couldn't wait to see her again."

Penny looked at Juliana expectantly.

"And…?" the girl uttered.

"Well, did you? Did you reconnect with Carmine like you were really hoping to?"

…

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, we reconnected. She's—she's doing good. I think. We had a nice… goodbye and everything…" Juliana shrugged her shoulders, one of the things she always did when telling a lie.

"Right…"

Something was definitely off. It wasn't just that Juliana didn't mention Carmine at all until Penny's prodding. In fact, there were a couple times where it almost seemed like Juliana deliberately sidestepped bringing her up while talking about Kieran and the rest of her new friends.

Considering how much that apparently fun and extremely beautiful girl Juliana described seemed to occupy her mind before, Penny noticed the difference.

They must've had a really bad fight… Maybe that's why Juliana came back so suddenly, and was so moody before…

She noticed Juliana's nerves looking uneasy again. Whatever was going on with her friend, Penny didn't want to reopen tender wounds.

"Hey… you were talking about a uhh, a really pretty girl named Lacey, right?"

Juliana nodded.

"How pretty are we talking here?"

And just like that, her Champion friend seemed to relax again as she gushed about Lacey and her cute team of Fairy-types, like Granbull and Primarina.

"Does she have a Sylveon?"

"No."

"Oh. … Well, I guess nobody's perfect."

This made Juliana giggle. "I'll tell you what she did have though. This really cool regional form of Slowbro where the Shellder that's usually on its tail was hooked to its arm instead and it was shooting out poison!"

"OH! No way!" Penny lit up. "That's a GALARIAN Slowbro your friend has!"

"Wait, really!?"

"Yeah! That's what Slowbro looks like back in my home region! Well… in an island that's close to us, anyway."

"I had no idea! That's so cool!"

Having this interaction with Juliana was not just helping the returned exchange student relax, but Penny was growing surprised at herself that she could steer a conversation this adeptly, remembering how the prior times she and Juliana talked, Penny was still always tripping on her words a lot and saying things with no filter.

I've come a lot farther than I ever noticed…! I guess all that time I spent chatting with Noni and helping her relax at the convention has… has helped make me a better conversationalist!

The short girl felt a huge warmth burning in her heart at the memory of her first encounter with Noni. She gazed down at her hand, which was still gently wrapping around Juliana's. For how much physical contact used to feel awkward for her, Penny was finding this quite soothing now.

I really like holding hands. I think… I really want to find someone that I can hold hands with… all the time.

That was it. That's what Penny wanted, the purest form of romance in any manga. Handholding! She wanted to hold hands with a girl!

Probably not Juliana. I mean—she is pretty cute. But she's not really my type, I don't think I feel anything from her besides just… friendliness, and a little bit of wildness.

Penny closed her eyes and tried to imagine her dream girl. The one whose sweet hand she would always want to hold.

In the past, the first image her mind would've conjured up was none other than Iono. Her favorite idol, and biggest crush over the past couple of years. A hand concealed under funny yellow sleeves, but one she'd finally gotten to touch, and even shake, very recently, finally seeing the cute pink nail polish she wore.

But for some reason… it wasn't her anymore. Penny was surprised as she began to imagine a whole new phantom girl taking Iono's place. A vaguely familiar figure, wearing casual clothes. Sporting a bright hairstyle. Like a ghost without a face.

…

Wait, no. Penny suddenly remembered who this is.

That's… that's Noni.

The red jacket. The white ponytail. The brief glimpse of what looked like gray-ish tights. This was no phantom stranger, it was Penny's enigmatic pen pal. An image constructed from the only photo that gave her a hint of Noni's true appearance.

Noni's… who I want to hold hands with?

Her perfect dream girl had everything but a face. And the strangest part was—for some bizarre reason, Penny's brain had the instinct to draw… Iono's face over that blank slate?

"NYO-HO-HO…"

"PENNY!"

Juliana's loud call roused Penny from her romantic trance. "HUH!? What!?"

"Did you… fall asleep or something?" said her confused friend. She started snickering. "Geez, I wasn't trying to bore you by talking about the way Amarys acts like a robot, I just—"

"No, no, I didn't—I didn't fall asleep. Sorry… I think I just zoned out a little bit."

Penny was still trying to figure out the ramifications of what just happened: Noni appearing in her mind like that. Was her strange nerd brain trying to tell her something, that her longtime crush on Iono had been superseded with…?

"Just… lost in my own thoughts I guess."

Penny didn't want to think about that. Noni was the one person in her life who she probably wouldn't ever get to hold hands with, being that she was too scared to even show her face to Penny or have proper calls with her.

Besides, she was on the cusp of potentially regaining her friendship with the mysterious girl, and the last thing she wanted to do to jeopardize that was to develop feelings for her favorite PokéChat pal.

"Well, I guess I've been kind of hogging the conversation…" Juliana chuckled. "What about you, Penny? What have you been up to lately? Any fun hacking stories? I hope you didn't take down any governments while I was gone!"

"Ha-ha," Penny said sardonically. "Y'know… things have been pretty interesting for me this winter."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! Let's see, Geeta's still giving me some… really tedious assignments for the Pokémon League every now and then, but I guess it's good to know I might still have a job there when I graduate. I also umm, made up with my friends just a couple days ago. So we're gonna be seeing each other a lot more!"

"Aww, that's great Penny! I'm glad I didn't drive a stake between you and the rest of Team Star."

"Ha, like you could ever break us apart!" she smirked. Her mind briefly went back to that phantom image. "Actually… Something pretty cool did happen. I—I made a new friend."

"Really?" Juliana's eyes lit up.

"Yeah… I mustered up the courage to go to an Iono convention in Levincia, cause—she's my favorite streamer, y'know."

"Right."

"And while I was there, I managed to strike a really friendly conversation with a girl who was even more nervous than I was, if you can believe it! I got her PokéChat ID and… and we've been talking a bunch ever since."

Penny whipped out her Rotom Phone to stare in awe.

"It's crazy too, I—I thought I might've said something that made her totally ghost me, but… she just talked to me again yesterday like everything's fine now. I'm so glad—"

She was interrupted by a sudden ping on her phone, which made her eyebrows raise.

"…Is that her?" asked Juliana.

"Uhh—yeah. Yeah it is."

"Great! … Why do you look so confused?"

Penny stared nonplussed at what Noni had sent her: it was an image of a Slakoth hanging from a tree branch with a phone in its paw, with macro text saying "YOU UP?"

"…Because I am."

Luckily, Noni was quick to follow up that strange meme with a message.

noni_the_normie: I really wanna chat with you
noni_the_normie: can you let me know when you're free to talk?

"She—she wants to chat!" Penny said in surprise, letting go of Juliana's hand. "Like, right now!"

"That's great! You should do it!"

"Umm…" Penny looked back at her bedridden friend. "You don't—you wouldn't mind if…?"

"If you left to go talk to her? Of course not," Juliana shook her head with a smile. "I'll be fine here. You and Nemona and Arven all spent a lot of time with me today and I'm… I'm really grateful for that."

She laid her head down with a sigh.

"I should probably try to get some more rest like Ms. Miriam said anyway. Especially if I want to be out of this room tomorrow!"

"O-okay!"

Penny was having trouble hiding her excitement as she clutched the phone in both hands, eagerly wondering what Noni wanted to chat with her about. She stood up from Juliana's bedside and started to make for a run out of the room.

"Hey, Penny!" Juliana called out.

"Yeah?" Penny stopped and turned around.

"I think I said it already but…" She put on a hearty grin. "Thank you for forgiving me."

"Yeah, I already told you, it's no problem," Penny nodded.

"I know, I know. It's just… really nice to know that I was able to fix at least… one, of the things that I—that I screwed up."

Penny looked back at Juliana and thought she noticed a tear.

"Hey, are you—"

Juliana shook her head and furiously waved Penny off.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm fine! Just GO!" she laughed. "Chat with your friend! Make awesome memories together!"

Penny groaned at her stubborn friend one last time with a smile before heading out the room.

"And don't throw it all away like I did…" Juliana sadly mumbled.

Penny made it back to her room and didn't waste any time hopping onto her bed, completely desecrating any last lingering suggestion of neatly made sheets, and opened her phone.

botan700: Hey I'm here
botan700: Got all the time in the world to chat!

…

Penny sat there eagerly, waiting for her to respond with a message.

So it startled her greatly when instead… her phone started ringing!

"Huh!?"

The PokéChat call screen came up, with the name noni_the_normie and a Dedenne pfp requesting to call!

"…!"

Penny's eyes shot up wide. She didn't realize this is what Noni meant by chatting! Was Noni's face about to appear on her screen and complete that phantom image!?

With a shaking finger, she timidly pressed the button.

"H-hello?"

"Hellooooooo!" said a voice on the other end. "It's meeee. Noni. I hope this is okay!"

It was audio-only on Noni's end, but that didn't detract from the excitement.

"Uhh, Y-YEAH! OF COURSE THIS IS OKAY!" Penny blurted out. "I just… wasn't expecting this! You—you never do straight-up phone calls!"

"Well, I've been thinking on that a lot! And… I've decided I'm ready to change that. From now on, I'm totally 100% comfortable talking to you with my voice."

"That… that makes me so happy, Noni. I—I would feel so much better if we could actually talk and hear each other's emotions rather than just through text…"

Indeed, just hearing Noni's sweet, quiet voice like this for the first real time since that first meeting at the Loopline Center was putting all sorts of fuzzies in Penny's heart. Fuzzies, that… she really wanted to ignore, since she knew Noni wasn't interested in—

"Oh, and umm… and another thing," Noni said, her tone sounding a bit more nervous now.

"What's that?"

"So listen… about that last thing you texted me. When you—when you asked if we're dating…"

"OH! No, no, no, no, no!" Penny shook her head. "Noni, I'm sorry for that message! Please, you can just ignore it! I really didn't mean anything by it—"

"Hey! Hey! Calm down there, Penny," she laughed. "It's okay! I'm not mad! Umm… in fact, what I really want to say is… is…"

Penny heard a gulp on the other line.

"If you were serious about that, then—then the answer can be yes."

The Uva student bolted upright in her bed, her eyes practically bulging out as she gawked at her PokéChat screen.

"…Y-yes to what?"

"Yes, as in… I would love to be your girlfriend."

Penny sharply gasped as her whole face turned red.

"You—YOU REALLY MEAN THAT!? You're not—just saying that to make me feel better!?"

"No! The truth is, in fact, the whole reason it took me so long to respond was so I could realize that… I really like you, Penny. Like, a whole lot."

Penny clutched her heart tightly. She couldn't believe this was happening!

Her eyes closed again, and she tried once again to picture that phantom girl in her mind. That final push was all she needed to be absolutely certain—Yes! That girl IS Noni!

"I—I like you too, Noni!" Penny finally said with confidence. "Very much! I think… I think the whole reason I asked if we're dating is because of how much I secretly wanted it to be true!"

Noni giggled. Penny realized just how much she loved hearing that giggle.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's make it totally official!" she proclaimed, sounding more excited than Penny had ever heard before. "Penny, will you be my girlfriend?"

"YES!" she said ecstatically. "Noni! Will—will you be MY girlfriend?"

"DOUBLE YES!"

"Then that settles it!"

"It sure does! Thank you, Penny! Thank you so much for accepting my little proposal! I'm gonna go make a Facedex account right now just so I can update my relationship status on it!"

"YEAH! And—and I'm gonna tell all my friends so I can see how happy they are for me!" Penny laughed.

"Hecks to the yeah! Tell the whole world that Penny of Uva Academy is officially OFF THE MARKET!"

Penny laughed even harder at that, which made Noni laugh too. They sat there, laughing on call with each other for several minutes before their windpipes finally had enough.

"Well… that was kinda all I got today," Noni admitted. "I just really wanted to get that off my chest today and see if you felt the same way."

"Heh-heh! I get what you mean! Today's actually been uhh… a pretty crazy day for me!" Penny replied. "This feels like such a sweet topper to it all!"

"Yay! I love being a topper!"

Penny blushed hard. "W-what was that?"

Noni just giggled back.

"Nothing, silly. Just agreeing with ya. Let's call it a day for now, but tomorrow… I'm totally gonna chat you up HARD now that we're tied the knot and are never letting go!"

"Ha-ha! Don't act like you're going be the only one doing the chatting!" said Penny. "My throat might hurt right now from all the other talking I've done today, but tomorrow you're going to get a fresh mission report from Cassiopeia!"

"Ohhh, I can't WAIT to meet Cassiopeia!" Noni raved. "It's a deal, friendo! I mean—girl… friend! Hee-hee-hee! Talk to ya a bunch later… my sweet gumdrop!"

Penny laughed. "Yeah! I'll talk to YOU, umm… b-babe!"

This elicited heavy laughs now. Almost vaguely familiar sounding laughs. "You're so ADORABLE, Penny! I can't believe I just hit the girlfriend mega-jackpot! LATERS!"

She hung up, and the Dedenne pfp dipped from Penny's screen.

Penny didn't know how to contain herself.

…

…

…

"SQUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEE!"

She quickly covered her mouth after that loud squeal, embarrassed to know if anyone in the nearby dorms heard that. Once she was sure that wasn't the case, Penny held a hand to her chest again and tried to steady her breathing.

"I can't believe it… I really can't believe it! Noni and I are… are really dating now! And we're gonna talk together all the time! I have a girlfiend…! I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND! This is… THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

Penny was so excited she flew back onto the mattress and kicked her feet wildly into the air.

"Phew… Ohh… Oh, man… I really have drained all my batteries today. Guess the only cure to bring me back down to reality-land is to get lost in a really good anime."

A huge grin came upon her face.

"Maybe something romantic today. To celebrate. What's that one about the two kids in love fighting ghosts and aliens?"

Penny sat up from the huge mattress that used to hold her beddings, and the sun shined out the window in just the right angle to make the girl squint through her glasses.

"Ugghh… right. In all this tornado of emotions today, I forgot to shut these curtains."

She got up and walked over to the blackout blind, preparing to coat the room in darkness again. As she did however, something stirred with a rumbling growl.

"Rrrrowwww…"

"Hmm?"

Penny saw a huge, lumbering beast slowly emerge from the shadows, having been all curled up. Anyone else would be frightened at the sudden appearance of such a creature, but Penny just looked at it and smiled.

"Oh! Hey there. Nice to see you out and about." She scanned the room for her absent Veevees. "Huh. I guess that explains why the others all went back in their Balls…"

"Grrrrr…"

Penny chuckled a little, and noticed the way the encroaching sunlight cast sparkles over the beast's capped body. "Awwww. So that's it, then. You just wanted to get some sun."

"Brrr-roww."

"Yeah, that makes sense." The calm girl looked out into the big ball of light that was casting all of Mesagoza down below in a warm sunset-y glow like orange sherbet, and smirked.

"Alright, y'know what? Just for tonight…"

Instead of closing the blackout curtains, she decided to open them out more.

"I guess we can let in a little sunlight."

The grateful beast growled out its thanks before circling around to lay on the floor again. Penny hummed a little tune to herself, feeling more spry than ever, as she started gathering all her pillows and sheets that had fallen to the floor.

Chapter Text

"Repetición is the key to memorizing key words and phrases! That's why these quickfire sentences are the best way to practice! Even if we have to repeat some of the same preguntas—or, questions, that you've heard before!"

Salvatore was instructing one of his language classes at Uva Academy. The suave-haired man, a polyglot of many languages around the world, saw it his mission to enhance his students' vernacular as maximally as possible.

"Let's try a simple one first! Mi padre trabaja en una fábrica," he spoke slowly but with confidence. "Now who can tell me what that means?"

One hand in the class shot up eagerly like a fast spring. Its owner started jumping up and down in the seat to try to bring more attention to it. When that didn't work, the girl raised both hands and waved them about, making Salvatore chuckle.

"Ha-ha. I appreciate your enthusiasm as always, Nemona! But… for the sake of learning, let's let someone else answer for a change."

Nemona lowered her hand and pouted.

"Anyone else want to take a leap?" he gazed around. "Nien? I suppose I'll have to call on someone then." His eyes scanned the room. "Eri!"

The tall girl shot up in her chair. "Me?"

"Yes indeed! Can you stand up, por favor?"

Eri's eyes darted around the room. When she wore her facepaint, she felt vibrant and confident, because nobody could judge her for her beautiful face like they used to. But now with her face naked, it felt so much more nerve-racking.

Luckily, her fearless leader was sitting next to her today. Penny gently laid her hand on Eri's to comfort her. With a grateful smile, the Caph Squad's boss found the courage to stand up to her full height.

"Muy Buena!" Salvatore nodded. "Look at our hermosa Eri, everyone! Isn't she muy alto? Very tall?"

Eri shrank inside herself a little, fearful of the comments that would ensue. But she was surprised to hear mostly noises of agreement from her classmates instead. And one girl mumbling, "Gosh, she's pretty."

Penny grinned at her, and Eri smiled back, no longer feeling nervous at all.

"Can you translate, Señorita Eri? Mi padre trabaja en una fábrica," their teacher repeated again.

"Of course…" She nodded. "That means… 'My father'… 'works at'… let's see, umm…"

Her mind blanking on the last word, Eri turned to her best friend and new Languages tutor for guidance. Penny mimed a series of motions with her hands on her lap that looked like hammering something down, and turning a circular crank.

"Oh! Of course! My father works at… the factory!" Eri confidently spelled out.

"MUY BEIN! Full marks for you, Eri!" Salvatore proudly clapped.

"Thank you," Eri whispered to Penny, who nodded back.

"Now try this one next! Mi padre trabaja en el banco, y mi madre es bibliotecaria."

"Ahh, yes! My father… works at… banco… the BANK! And… my mother is umm, is…"

Her eyes shifted down to Penny again, who was about to do another mime, before her eyes lit up and she said on her own, "OH! My mother is a librarian!"

"FANTASTICO, SENORITA ERI!" Salvatore clapped for Eri, and the rest of the class was encouraged to join in.

The tall girl did a modest curtsy with her school shorts and sat down with a blush, as Penny beamed at her friend proudly. Just then, the class bell rang.

"See how practicing over and over again enriches our knowledge and understanding? These are the principles I want you to carry forward… especially before the exam next week!" said Salvatore. "So, now we say goodbye. Or, who can tell me how in Kalosian we—"

"AU REVOIR!" Penny shot up from her chair excitedly, stunning everyone in the class. Especially Eri and Salvatore, who both stared at her with wide eyes.

For once, the talkative teacher was speechless for a moment.

"Y-yes! Yes, very good, Penny! Très bien! It… pleases my ears greatly to hear you speak up in class for a change! Much less, attend one!"

As everyone walked out from Language class, Penny strolled out of the room with a confident stride, which her tall squadmate watched in admiration.

"You were really cool today, Eri!" Penny complimented her. "I was so impressed that you got that last one on your own! See? You're not anywhere near as bad as this class as you think!"

"Hee-hee! Thank you so much, Penny! But… talk about me? You were a KNOCKOUT today! Monsieur Salavatore's right, I've never heard you call out an answer in class before!"

"Yeah, I'm… usually pretty quiet, right?"

"Almost always! You must be in extremely high spirits today! What is it, Penny? I can tell something really good happened to you!"

Penny sighed. "I guess you know me too well, Eri." She leaned in close and started blushing. "Umm, so… actually…" Then she sputtered a giggle or two, which made her blush harder. "I… I have a girlfriend now."

Eri gasped. "Ohhh, Penny!" Penny was quick to shush her, and she said in a lower voice, "I had a feeling it was something like that! Isn't that warm feeling of being in love great? I feel like I've been on the same high ever since Carmen and I finally got together!"

"I know, right!" Penny whispered back, and then both girls stood against the wall, letting their ecstatic giggles out hidden from their peers. "Anyway, I—I actually gotta go!"

"Oh, right!" Eri nodded. "That streamer that you like is live, isn't she? What was her name?"

"Iono!"

"Iono?" Eri repeated back, with a thoughtful expression. "…Hmm."

"But no! In fact, wow! I think this is the first time I even forgot Iono was streaming! No, we agreed to meet up after my classes were done—I mean, my girlfriend and me! Not Iono and me, that'd be silly!" she laughed. "So I gotta go!"

"Oh! Yes, of course!"

Penny started to inch backwards, eager to get back to her room. "Oh! Hey, Eri?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone else yet, okay? I—I kinda want to see how everyone else will react!"

Eri giggled, totally understanding. "You can count on me, Penny." And cheerfully waved her goodbye. "Tell her I said hellooooo!"

Penny nodded and swiveled around, preparing to make a dash. She briefly turned around for a second.

"Hang on. Did I know that you and Carmen finally…? AHH! Later, later! We need to talk soon, cause I want to know all about THAT!"

Eri laughed heartedly as she watched Penny leave.

"Gosh…" she blushed quietly. "So even Penny knew, huh?"

The Iono Zone was indeed live and broadcasting on Twika at that exact moment. In fact, its charismatic host was just preparing to wrap up.

"NYOHOHOHO! Wasn't that an amazing finale, Ionites? NAY! Holdst thou breath! Wasn't that an amazing STREAM? Probably one of the Top 20—maybe even Top 10 livestreams of all time! You know what? NO! Iono doesn't settle for double digits! We made Top 5 best livestreams on the history of Earth today, take it or LEAVE IT!"

And today's viewers were being treated to a much bubblier and more confident Iono, who led a parade of excitement that got everyone so hyped—literally, the Twika hype trains today set a new record for donation bits—that her big failure of a stream a few days ago was all but forgotten.

"Man, today feels so unreal! Getting to play that cute furry Pokémon shooter game with our own furry costumed pal Nidothing…"

A message from Nidothing herself appeared in chat begging Iono not to call her a furry.

"Hee-hee! Sorry, Madame N. But let's not forget, we also had our own very successful debut episode of 'Iono's Amped-Up Advice Corner' where I got to put my genius brain to use solving your silly little dilemmas! And howzabout QueenXania's awesome guest spot?"

She was of course referring to her special collab with QueenXania, better known as Xanthe Raifort, daughter of Uva Academy's history teacher. Though she inherited her mother's eccentric passions in digging up the past, her special interest was in a much more… modern kind of relic.

"Who knew we'd have a certified MEME HISTORIAN on our stream today? I guess you could say all my viewerbase were belong to her… or, whatever that prehistoric meme was! What do you think, friendos? Was today's stream a smashing success or WHAT?"

The chat lit up in enthusiastic responses. Although the Iono Zone's viewership was… noticeably smaller today, the infectious positivity of her loyal subscribers made up for that in spades.

xXBayleefBaeXx YASSSS so much fun!
Sprigatito_Love This was one of the BEST streams you and Nidothing have ever done!
5K337lord As an interwebs dinosaur, seeing all those old memes again made my whole day. I hope you have QueenXania on again! *smiling emoji*
LordCof@grigus thanx so much for answering my question Iono!

"Thank YOU ALL for being the best most supportive fanbase in the whole world! The Iono Zone was on top form today, and it's all thanks to YOU my lovely lovelies! Don't rest for too long, Ionites, because next time we meet again I'll make sure to TOP this stream in every single way! That #1 spot on Twika will be OURS!"

The chat cried out in a resounding chorus of agreement, lighting up Iono's smile ever greater.

"Nyohoho! We're all like a huge army about to mobilize on Twika's viewing stats like a stampede of Bouffalant! Have a safe evening, loyal soldiers! Sayonara! Ciao! Adios and AU REVOIR! Laters!"

As soon as she hit the button to stop the stream, Iono went "Yippee!" and stood up as she eagerly unzipped her big yellow jacket and did all her standing stretches with tons of energy.

Her powered-up vibe resonated with all the electrified Pokémon in her apartment, who shot out crackling cries of happiness.

Iono opened up her mini-fridge, but now it wasn't just stocked with cans of sake. Chugging down a caffeinated lemonade-flavored soda, Iono let out a satisfying gasp, feeling all charged up and full of buzz.

"AHHH! Today has been such an awesome day, and it's only gonna get a lot BETTER!"

The streamer gazed at her Rotom Phone, sitting calmly on a nearby dresser throughout her whole stream, and let out a happy squee as she shook her fists in excitement.

"Cause today, I get to talk to my one-and-only GIRLFRIEND!"

With a frenetic twirl through the room, she swiped the phone off its resting spot and flew into her chair, sending it flying several yards back.

"NONI MODE… ENGAGE!"

Penny closed the door behind her, safe in the comfort of her Veevee-infested dark den once more, as she sat down in her chair and picked up the phone.

"…Should I be the one to call first?" she wondered, suddenly feeling nervous. "I mean—I don't want her to think she has to drop everything for me!"

She looked to her Umbreon for sage advice, who just tilted its head curiously. "Ummbr?"

Penny swallowed a gulp and decided to text her.

Iono stared at her phone, facing the same dilemma.

"Is it kinda weird to chat her up immediately after logging off? What if she was watching the stream too?" she mused out loud. "What if that just increases her suspicions of Noni and Iono being the same blood?"

Her eyebrows curved in a curious position. "Hmmm. Is it too late to claim we're sisters? Nah, that might just make it weirder. Plus, I don't wanna seem all pushy and scare her away!"

Then, her phone got a ping.

botan700: I just got done with classes if you wanna talk :)

"Huh? OHHHH, right! Classes! Cause she goes to school and stuff!" Iono realized, jamming her knuckles together… and then realizing how much that hurt without the padding of thick sleeves. "Ouchies."

"Caw-caww?" Her Kilowattrel cawed from its birdstand.

"Awww, that means she had to miss my totally awesome stream! Crap-cakes!" Then she gasped. "DING-DING-DING! There's my little ticket to non-awkward fun times!"

After a few moments, Penny got a text back.

noni_the_normie: I just got done watching Iono's stream! Let's talk 3

Penny squeed upon seeing that, and shocked to hear such a mousey noise leave her mouth again. But that chuckle at herself also gave her the confidence she needed to feel like she could hit that call button.

*ring*

*ring*

*beep*

"…"

"H-hello?" Penny said into the phone.

"Helloooooo, girlfriend!" came a spry but sweet voice that made Penny's body want to melt. "How are you today, my adorable candy-coated sweetness?"

Penny tried to respond with words, but they came out as flustered noises instead, which earned a giggle on the other line.

I've been a loner for way too long, I forgot how good it feels to be complimented like this!

"Hi! Hi! Yes, I am sweet! I mean, I'm doing great!" Penny answered, trying to keep her composure.

"Tee-hee! Well, you're right on both counts there, gumdrop."

The Uva student's face went red again and she threatened to sputter into more incomprehensible noises.

"Well—YOU'RE sweet too, Noni!" she shouted. "Your voice is so sweet that every time I hear it, I imagine the pretty face that must be attached to it!"

She covered her mouth after saying that and turned to Umbreon with an embarrassed moan.

"She's probably laughing right now, isn't she?" she whispered.

She wasn't.

Iono sat at her computer chair, her face even redder. She could feel all her bones tingling.

"W-wowza…" she whispered to her wandering Bellibolt. "Penny has a little bit of the sauce, huh?"

"Bell-bol."

"How was Iono's stream today?" Penny asked. "I made the bold decision to actually attend my Languages class today to make my friend Eri feel better, so I missed it."

"Oh, it was a BLAST! One of the best streams she's ever had!"

"Really?" That made Penny smile a lot. "So Iono… she wasn't so sad today?"

"Nope! She was all sunshine and sparkles today and hosted the stream really, really well!" Noni raved. "I was captivated! Truly. Y'know, I kinda think maybe someone special must've really helped lift that Iono's dreadful mood and be her happy, true blue self again."

"Awww! I think you must be right if her show today was that much a success," Penny beamed. "Hey! Maybe we could watch the VOD together."

"Oh! Uhh—well…" Noni's voice sounded unsure. "I—I don't know, it'd be… kinda awkward to watch the same stream back twice for me."

"Oh. Yeah, guess I didn't think about that," she admitted. "Sorry. I'll watch it on my own later."

"It's cool."

Iono phewed. Imagine how mega-sus that would've been to watch my own stream while I'm on the phone with her? She'd definitely pick up on my voice being the same after that!

"So w-what did you think about my idea for our first p-phone date?" Penny asked on the phone, suttering a little.

It made Iono giggle to hear the socially-awkward girl being brave with her conversation points. She started typing away on her computer.

"Yeah-yeah! I think 20 Questions sounds like a great first-date phone-date icebreaker, Penny! You're a certified little genius, you are."

"Ohhh…" She could hear Penny melting on the other line again.

"Okay!" said Iono. "Ready whenever you are!"

"Yeah, I'm—I'm ready too."

"Shall I start breaking that ice right now and ask the first question?"

"Sure."

"Cool beans! Alright Penny… are you a person, a Pokémon, or a thing?"

…

"I… what?"

Iono looked bemused. "I said! Are you a person, Pokémon, or thing? I thought you were a super-smartie, Penny! Surely, you know which of those three things you are!" she laughed.

"Uhh, I—I think you're looking at the wrong kind of '20 Questions', Noni."

"What!?" Iono, flustered, started mashing away at her keyboard again. "O-of course! I knew that! I was testing you! See, cause I knew you're a smartie! So just gimme one second!"

"Look up 20 questions for couples on a first date," Penny instructed her through phone. "I found some great examples of really basic questions plus more abstract ones that—that will really help us get to know each other."

"I see, I see… Very creative thinking going on in that gumdrop noggin o' yours."

But privately, Iono gulped. These questions all look… super personal. Wish I'd known what she meant earlier so I could run myself a little 'Noni' cheat sheet. I'll either have to lie really good or use details that don't give me away…

"What's a hobby that you're either currently exploring or really want to get into?" Penny read out as her first question.

Oh! I CAN be truthful here!

"I wanna learn to bake!" she answered.

"Really?"

"Yeah… I'm pretty bad at it though," she giggled. "Last time I tried to make pancakes, I burned my stove and set off the fire alarm for this whole building."

"You and my pal Juliana would get along!" Penny laughed. "Apparently, she's such a disastrous cook that her mom banned her from being near ANY kitchen appliances!"

I guess I don't have to lie so much after all… Iono realized. I just gotta tell Penny things that—that I've never told anyone else!

After asking Penny what her favorite dessert was (something called "sticky toffee pudding") that realization was put to the test with her girlfriend's next question.

"This one's pretty simple: what color are your eyes?"

It took Noni a few seconds to respond. Does she have to look in the mirror or something? Penny wondered.

"They're… blue. My eyes are blue!"

"Oh."

There we go, Penny thought. Now she had a little piece of the puzzle to put over her phantom girl's blank face.

Blue eyes… I don't know why, but that makes a lot of sense.

"Alright!" said Noni. "Next question on my list is… oh."

"What's up?" she asked.

"Well, it's… asking what your favorite Pokémon is. I don't think you need to answer that."

Penny laughed. "Shut up, I'm not that predictable!"

"Yeah, I know. … So which Veevees are around ya right now?"

"Umbreon and Sylveon, but—ugh! I said shut up!" she groaned.

"Sylveee?"

Noni giggled on the other end.

"Well, what about you? What's your favorite Pokémon, Noni?"

"Uh-uh-uh! That's not how it works! It says you can't ask me the same question I asked, ya gotta come up with a whole new one!"

"Does it really say that?" Penny asked skeptically.

"Yeah. Totally."

It did. But Iono, looking at her ghostly partner Mismagius slumped over the couch and sleeping, was anxious to disclose it being her favorite Pokémon above all the Electric types she loves.

That would be the most sus 'I'm-totally-the-imposter-Iono' thing to say.

"Alright, well…" Penny looked at her list and sighed. "Both of these questions sound pretty cool, I'm torn on which one to ask first."

"Well, lay 'em both on me and I'll pick one!"

"So the first one says 'What's your go-to karaoke song?' and the other is 'Who is your biggest inspiration'?"

"Oooh!" Iono said excitedly. "Well, I can give you a SUPER two-for-one deal there, gumdrop! Because the answer is kind of the same answer! You totally know Roxie, right?"

"Ummm… who?"

Iono let out an affronted gasp. "Roxie? The famous rockstar from Unova!? Leader of Koffing and the Toxics? Penny, you WOUND me!"

"Ohhhh, okay yeah. Sorry, once you said all that, now I know who she is."

"Hee-hee! Good, because if you really never heard of Roxie, I might just have to dump you on the spot!"

There was audible silence on the other end, which made Iono panic.

"I—I meant that as a joke! You know that, right Penny?"

"Oh, I know. I just didn't think it was funny," she said with a hint of a snicker.

"Hardy-har-har," Iono rolled her eyes. "Well aaaanyway, yeah. Not only is Roxie probably my biggest inspo ever, but I can sing any one of her songs on a mic!" she bragged, knowing that she got to prove that with one of Penny's own friendos not too long ago.

"I've heard Roxie's stuff before on the radio, I think. She's like… heavy rock, right?"

"That's oversimplifying it a TON!" Iono giggled. "Roxie's very talented and has dabbled in a bunch of genres! Rock, pop, techno, synth, fusion, ska and house! Even a little bit of R&B here and there."

"Okay."

"I got to see her perform live a few times when I was young!" Iono recalled. "My mama always got us front-row tickets, every single time. I remember seeing how cool and confident she was and… and deciding that I wanted to be just like her."

This was… mostly true. If you asked Iono this question honestly, she'd give the incredibly gorgeous super-strutting model Elesa just as much credit as Roxie for helping craft her current image as Iono (especially when it came to specializing in Electric types).

But this was another case of the streamer worrying about making it way too obvious.

"Just like her… in what way?" Penny wondered. "Like, music wise? Or… being famous just like her?"

Don't say she made you want to be a star, Iono urged herself. Not a star. That'd be super corny to say!

"She made me wanna be… a SHINING STAR! Just like YOU, Penny! My sparkling gumdrop!"

The auditory cringing that ensued on the other line left Iono thinking, Worth it!

"Alright-y, Penn-y! Here's a pretty simple one!" said Noni. "What do your parents do for a living?"

"Ugggh…" Penny groaned.

"Whazza matter?"

"Oh… nothing. I just wasn't expecting to talk about my parents today." Penny sneered a little. "Not that I don't love my mum and dad or anything like that! They're just… really annoying sometimes. No, more like all the time. But y'know, whatever. I guess we don't get to choose our parents, right?"

"…Sorry, what did you say? Something about your dad and a mummy?"

She sighed. "Nothing. Just rambling. Umm, well what I can say about my dad is that he's a super strong Trainer, and—he's held quite a few titles to show for that."

"Ooooh, really?" Noni sounded excited. "Like, we talking Gym Leader!? Or… or maybe a Champion?"

…

"Something in that ballpark, yeah."

How on Earth did she get it DEAD ON? Does she know who my dad is!?

"A-anyway! Because of all my dad's achievements, we moved around a bunch so my mum—*sigh*, my mom, has done a bunch of stuff too. When we lived in Wyndon, she was a—I think it's called a 'sales representative' for all the big fashion stores in the city."

"Really?" Noni sounded enamored, which surprised her.

"Yeah… I don't really know too much about what she does now ever since she and my dad separated, just that she works in Circhester now. I think she's a hotel manager? Iunno."

"Yeah?"

"What?" Penny blinked.

"Uhh—nothing!" said Noni. "I was just gonna say… your parents both sound super RAD, Penny!"

Penny scoffed. "Ehh, maybe they sound that way but my parents are actually ultra-dull. Frankly, what my sister's doing right now is much more interesting!"

"Awww, you've got a sister? I've always kinda wanted a sister…"

She smiled. "Yeah, her name's Peonia and she's awesome. Right now, she goes to college at Saffron University, all the way in the Kanto region!"

"Whoaaaaa!" Noni said, sounding impressed. "I've heard of Saffron U! That's like… one of the most prodi-gee-ous schools in the world, isn't it?"

"And one of the most expensive!" Penny laughed. "But only for the best for my sis, I suppose!"

"What's she studying?"

"Psychology! She wants to go all the way until she gets a Master's degree in it."

"That… is… AWESOME! So Peonia like, wants to become a therapist or something like that?"

"Well… I guess," Penny shrugged. "It's a little weird, though. Right now, the professor Peonia's studying with—that she likes to brag about all the time—is someone really famous: that Psychic Gym Leader, Sabrina."

Noni drew a sharp gasp. "NO! WAY! Is—is your sister training to be a PSYCHIC!? Reading people's minds and all that jazz!?"

Penny laughed. "Nia really hates it when you say that, but… it really does feel like she wants to read everyone's minds sometimes! Especially mine."

"You must be really proud of your sister."

"Ohhhh… yeah. Yeah, I'm proud of her." Then Penny mumbled, "More like jealous that Nia gets to be mentored by someone as hot as Sabrina…"

"Why do you sound so salty talking about your family when they all sound so cool?" Iono giggled, finding tons of amusement out of the groans she kept hearing from her girlfriend's voice.

"BECAUSE! That's why! There doesn't have to be a reason!" she sounded indignant. "How about you, Noni? What does your family do?"

Iono began to sweat a little. "Hey—no, no! Remember, I told you—"

"Yeah, but forget the rules!" Penny insisted. "I never live by rules! You've been getting all the fun questions while I feel like mine are all really basic! Besides, you made me talk about my family, so I think it's only fair!"

"What, that—that I… I talk about… m-my parents?" she stammered.

"Yeah! Well, unless they're like… bad people or something? Or are they dead? If so, that's okay. I just—I want to know more about you, Noni! If we're gonna be girlfriends, don't I get to know a little bit about your life too?"

Iono blinked several times as she laid back in her gaming chair. Penny was making her nervous, but… she couldn't lie that Penny's brazenness was doing funny things to her thumping heart.

Wow. So Penny CAN be really upfront when she wants to be…

"Alright, yeah… I guess you got me there, gumdrop."

She sat back up in her gaming chair and sighed. Really deeply. Enough that Penny could hear it through the speaker.

"You alright?"

"Yeah… Just, give me a minute," Iono said softly.

She closed her eyes for a few moments, and then slowly opened them again.

"So, first thing's first. I don't actually have a mom and dad."

"O-oh!" Penny was surprised. "Geez, I'm… really sorry, Noni, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no, no! What I'm trying to say is, I've actually got two MOMS for parents! Or mums, whatever funny thing you call them!"

"Wow! That's… that's really fascinating. I don't think I've ever met someone with two moms or dads before! That must have been a very unique childhood."

"Yeah! You wouldn't know the half of it!" Iono chuckled a little. "So… it's actually kinda funny! What you were talking about before, about… your dad being a super-strong Trainer with lots of titles. And your mom being all business-y and representing shopping malls."

"Why's that?"

"Because… believe it or not, both of those things are kinda just like my mom. My mom's one of the strongest Trainers I think I've ever met in my entire life. I don't think I've heard of a single person ever beating her in battle," she boasted. "And that sales representative thing, I think that's… that's actually pretty close to what my mom does for money. Well, for money on the side anyway."

I probably shouldn't tell her about Mom's BIGGEST profession…

"She helps run and promote this sort of shopping district back home with lots of cool specialty shops. It's called a 'joint avenue' or… something like that!"

"Cool."

"Yeah, and my other mom—I call her 'mama'…" she smiled wistfully, before realizing she should be careful about this one too. "Well, uhh… It's a little complicated, but let's just say that she works in uhh… communications. Yeah."

"Alright. Wow," Penny sounded amazed. "I gotta say Noni, your parents both sound like total BOSSES!"

"Ah ha ha! I guess they kinda are!" Iono giggled. She grimaced a little, thinking about how Penny might take that back if she knew the true nature of her 'awesome' moms… "So do yours!"

"Yeah, I… I guess I'll concede that," Penny grumbled.

Even though she had somehow gotten trapped into reminiscing about her parents again and the life she'd tossed out forever, Iono still couldn't help but smile.

The pink and blue haired girl was very nervous about this '20 Questions' exercise and how much she might have to fib about herself to keep up the image of plain Noni, but… it really has just been a whole bunch of digging into herself and trusting Penny with information that Iono has never given out to anybody.

Nobody else who watches the Iono Zone knows that Iono has two mothers. Even if they've tuned into every stream. Or that Roxie was one of her biggest inspirations. Or that she has blue eyes.

I guess instead of creating a fake life, all that Noni has to be is… everything Iono's never let herself be in front of everyone else! This whole 'phone girlfriends' thing really does have its benefits!

"It's my turn, right?" asked Penny. "Well… I want to answer a FUN question now!"

"HEH-HEH-HEH! Yes, madame!" Iono laughed heartily. "One super-fun question on the way! Lessee here… OOH! I like this one! Real brainteaser right here."

"I like brainteasers."

"Nyohoho, well here it comes!" She asked this question as dramatically as possible. "If you could have ANY superpower in the whole world, any power! Which one would it be?"

"Wow…" Penny's head reared back a little. "That's a great question. I actually think about that a lot, because I watch so many shows and anime about superheroes! But there's so many to choose from…"

"You're a computer whiz, right Penny? Like, really really good with hacking and stuff?" said Noni. "That's already kind of an amazing superpower!"

"Wow! Y-you think so?" Penny blushed a lot. "I've never heard anyone… describe it like that before. In fact, I'm kinda used to most people seeing me as a villain for what I do…"

"Nahhh, you're awesome Penny!" Noni encouraged her. "There's plenty of superheroes whose powers are super-intelligence! They usually got the big glasses and the big brains—sometimes LITERALLY!"

"Yeah, but they're usually the LAMEST heroes!" Penny retorted. "I don't know… I guess if I could have any power in the world—it'd be the ability to teleport."

"OOOOH! So you could be everywhere all at once?" Noni sounded very excited by that idea. "Just pop into one place and be like, 'Hello I'm over here!' Pop again, 'Now I'm over there!' A few pops and you're all the way in Castelia City eating Casteliacones!? You could even POP to the front of the line and never have to wait! YEAH!"

Penny found herself chuckling really hard at that.

"I was thinking about it more in terms of using it to escape any uncomfortable situation or conversation I don't want to be a part of, but that sounds like fun too!"

"See? ANY question can be tons of fun when you put your mind into it!" her girlfriend said ecstatically.

Penny was already really growing to like having Noni as her phone-based girlfriend. Her cheerful, bubbly energy was really having an effect on the bespectacled girl's mood, making her feel very attentive and eager to contribute to their conversations, which was very weird for her.

As was the way that Noni's comments were making Penny reevaluate some of her perceived faults, such as her counter-programming knowledge being seen as "evil".

"Ooh! Ooh! Hit me with a basic question and let's see if we can't be fun about it!"

"Okay…"

Penny looked up at her monitor again with her list of questions.

"Huh. This one's pretty simple. Like the eye color thing."

She cleared her throat and asked.

"How old are you?"

Iono's eyes widened a little at that question.

"My age? Well, I'm… I'm…"

Crap. I don't know how to fudge around that one. She knows how old Iono is!

She sighed and decided to just be honest this time.

"I'm 20."

Penny's eyes widened even more.

"R-really? You're… t-twenty?"

"Yeah."

"Why, how… old are… you?"

Iono blanched a little bit. The realization hit her mid-sentence that Penny is a schoolgoer, which means she must logically be…

"You're a… a teenager, aren't you?"

Penny cleared her throat.

"Umm, well I'm b-basically an adult!" she sputtered. "I mean, age is just a number, right? If you look at it a certain way—"

"Penny, how old?" Noni cut in rather bluntly.

She gulped.

"Umm… s-seventeen. Well, almost 17. Uhh, a few months away from being 17…"

"Oh."

The silence was long… and awkward.

…

"But that's… that's okay, right?" Penny was the first one to break, her voice trembling a bit. "That doesn't… make you uncomfortable, does it?"

"N-no. Not really!" Noni stuttered back. "I just—I don't want it to be weird for you if… if. Well, that's the whole rub, is that—that it's illegal to date with that kind of age difference if we were to—to, umm…"

Now Penny's face flushed even redder than the red dye in her hair.

"A-AND WE'RE NOT DOING THAT!" she sputtered. "You're right! We're just—just talking on the phone, and loving each other with words! Nothing criminal about that!"

"Yeah! Yeah, so it's—it's not wrong at all! You're totally right, Penny!"

There was another really long, uncomfortable silence.

…

"I don't even feel like an adult anyway."

"Huh?"

Iono slumped back in her chair, her face looking sagged.

"I still feel like a kid, in every single which way…" she said morosely. "Inside my head, I—I'm still a kid. But my age… it doesn't feel real to me to me. Like, I never grew up, even though according to every single silly law in the world, I was supposed to."

The misty-eyed young woman gazed at her oversized yellow jacket flopped on the desk next to her, and the pastel-colored Magnemite hairclips sitting nestled in their charging dock. These were the markers of Iono's whole personality, but in a way… they also reflected her childlike demeanor, didn't they?

Especially after… a recent dressing down.

"It was just last week, someone told me, that…" Iono choked. "That I'm just a dumb kid playing grown-up. Too dumb and kiddy to sit with the grown-ups but… but too old to be dressing the way I do and being all happy and me. That I'm just, p-pretending to be something I'm not…"

She hung her head shamefully. Moze's words stung deeply in Iono's poor noggin and she started to wonder what she was even doing right now.

"That's… that's okay," came Penny's words from her phone speaker.

"It—it is?"

"Yeah! Can I tell you something, Noni?"

"Of course."

Penny rubbed the back of her head. "The way you're saying you feel younger than how old you really are, well… for me, it's like the opposite."

She sighed.

"I feel like everything I've gone through has made me an adult already, that I'm old enough to think for myself and understand the way the world works, but everyone… even my own family. They still just see me as a kid. That I still don't understand anything because I'm not old enough and that I'm just a scrawny little rascal…"

Penny laid her arms out on the table and drooped her head over them.

"It sucks, y'know? Everyone wants us to act our age, but acting your age is just dumb stuff that society made up. And—and I guess we shouldn't let that define us, right?"

Her own head perked up. Because for once, it was Penny's own words taking herself out of the funk.

"I mean… if you really look at it, between you feeling younger and me feeling older, we're… practically the same age mentally! Right?"

Iono tilted her head at Penny's… interesting leap of logic.

"I… I guess?" She chuckled a little. "Wow. I've never had someone else render me of all people speechless before. Feels… kinda weird!" she said, swinging her arms around.

That was another 'childlike' motion, Iono quickly realized. But… maybe Penny had a point, she realized. That age only matters when you let it get to your head that badly…

Maybe… maybe this feels right after all?

Iono allowed herself to smile a little more. But… that pesky little drop of doubt was still swimming around in her head.

"You really don't… think it's weird to date me then? Now that ya know how old your pal Noni really is? That doesn't… make feel you all insecure and stuff?"

She was surprised when Penny responded to that with a laugh. A very vibrant stuff that Iono realized… was the cutest, most heartening laugh she'd ever heard in her life.

"What's so funny? I'm not trying to be a jokester right now, Penny," she said a little huffily.

"It's funny because you sound way more insecure about it than I do, Noni! Of course I don't care that you're a little older than me!"

"Are you super-positively sure about that? Cause… I don't want you to think of me as like, some kind of groomy groomer who's grooming you."

Penny scoffed through her toothy grin.

"I don't think you're a 'groomer', Noni! I'm way beyond smart enough to know when I'm being groomed! That's my superpower, remember?"

This finally seemed to change Noni's depressed tone on the phone, and she began giggling that bubbly giggle that'd been giving Penny the tingles all evening.

"Like I said, I'm not a kid. I had my first girlfriend when I was 12! And—and even though it didn't work out in the end, at least… I've got experience under my belt to know when someone's taking advantage of me."

"Awww, I didn't know you had an ex." Okay, so that part was a lie. But Iono had been so insatiably curious about Penny's prior relationship, and now the crumbs were being fed. "Now you gotta dish out those deets!"

"Heh-heh, yeah, I guess I owe it to you now," Penny chuckled reminiscing. "The only real relationship I ever had before this. She was this super cool punk chick who I met cause we went to the same school back home in Galar together. The two of us were practically inseparable for a whole year before we broke up."

"What happened?"

She let out a sad sigh.

"We just… didn't see eye-to-eye in the end. She had these really huge dreams of becoming the Champion of Galar and being a hero for her hometown. She… really wanted me up there with her, supporting her all the way. Maybe I should've tried harder to be that person for her while we were dating…"

There was a lot of regret in Penny's tone now.

"But… I guess the problem was just that our dreams made us too incompatible with each other. I started getting really interested in studying abroad in a different region. Somewhere with a really good computer studies program."

She tugged on her sleeve a little.

"And… kinda just wanted a way to get away from my folks. She argued with me a lot about it, how she wanted me to be her #1 support, and how I didn't want to be tied down to one place… My dad really hated the idea too. Felt like everyone was kind of against me."

Penny scoffed.

"My mum was a huge advocate for me going to Paldea, but… she also really didn't like my girlfriend, so maybe she just wanted to split us up…"

Iono grew concerned when she heard Penny go quiet after telling her all this.

"…P-Penny?"

"Hmmm? Oh…" Her voice finally came through. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Hey… I should be the one saying sorry," Iono admitted. "I was just… so curious about your other girlfriend, but I—I didn't mean to make you all sad n' stuff…"

"Ohh, it's okay. It all… happened a long time ago. I'm pretty much completely over it. Honest!"

Penny's tone sounded… a bit pushy. But Iono decided to ignore it. "This whole '20 Questions' idea kinda went over like a wet blanket, didn't it?"

"Huh? I don't think so."

Iono looked at her phone in surprise. "You—you don't?"

"No… this was great, Noni! Like, really really great! I had a lot of fun with this, and we hit our goal, right? We both learned a lot more about each other."

"Yeah…" Iono nodded in agreement. "Even the parts where we got really dark and depressing were okay?"

"I think so, yeah. I mean… we're dating now." She let out a small squeak on the phone. "Sorry, it… it still gives me the jitters a bit to say that! This is how we upgrade from just being friends, right? By—by processing as much information as we can about each other."

"I guess you're right…" Iono realized. "Hee-hee! When you put it like that, it's a good thing we got those icky skeletons out of our closet on the first date!"

"Yeah!" Penny agreed. "Hey, Noni…?"

"Yes?"

"This was a fantastic first date. Thank you."

Iono couldn't help but grin from cheek to cheek.

"Awww, thank you Penny my sweet!" she giggled. "I had a fun first date too! So, you probably have to head to bed soon, right? Classes in the morning and all that?" She let out an even louder giggle.

"Yeah, sure…" Penny snickered. "If going to bed early is code for binging anime and eating snacks all night long."

Iono laughed. "THAT'S my girl! Down with the shackles of bedtime curfews! You rock, Penny!"

"Ha-ha, thanks, Noni!" Then Penny said rather bashfully… "You rock too. E-even harder than Roxie!"

"Awww! You've already figured out which compliments will send my brain into serpentine mode! I knew I bagged a good one! Y'know what Penny? YOU'RE an even bigger influence to me than... than Iono herself!"

The flustered noises that Penny responded with on the phone cannot be transcribed into text.

The two new lovers decided to wrap up their conversation for the evening and ended the call by saying their goodbyes to each other.

"Goodbye, my sweet!"

"Yeah, goodbye, babe!"

They both sounded much more confident now than when they'd started their conversation, and Iono hung up feeling positively elated.

…

"YyyyyyyeeeeEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!"

She pumped her fists loudly into the air, setting off sparks among all her excited Electric pals once again, and inspiring Mismagius to float around her ecstatic partner.

"Mis-maaaaag!"

Iono hugged the spectral Pokémon and let her carry the girl around the apartment in a spinning bliss.

"Oh, Magi! My super-duper favorite partner! Having Penny as a girlfriend is the awesomest feeling I've ever felt! I'm way beyond cloud eleven now… I'm on like, cloud TWENTY THOUSAND!"

Mismagius hummed in delight, happy to share in Iono's emotions as they whirled around the whole room. The rest of Iono's Pokémon reflected the charged energy circulating through Iono's apartment.

Bellibolt, Kilowattrel, Luxray, Electrode all crackled with electricity. Jolteon and Eevee danced around the room. And the Wiglett and Tynamo in their respective tanks all chirped happily.

Iono felt the whole world spinning by the time her ghostly partner let her down onto the floor, and it wasn't just because of that whirlwind.

"My happy little heart feels like it's about to burst right out of my chest and explode into a million pieces! Like a hundred 9-volt batteries all operating at max juice!"

Mismagius made a cooing noise as it circled around the pastel-haired girl's head, and Iono giggled, seeming to know what her purple partner was guessing.

"No, no, silly. This feeling couldn't possibly be love. Love is way more than just dating someone for a little while! Cause that's all me and Penny are!" she said with confidence. "Eventually, we'll fizzle out when she meets somebody who'll love her for real, and we'll all stay good friends spreading happiness in each other's lives till the end of time!"

Iono dashed over to her windowside bed, and spread open the lavender curtains, revealing the twinkling night sky outside.

"It's the most brilliant long-term plan ever! And the best part is, nothing can POSSIBLY go wrong!" She turned her head back to all her Pokémon with a shifty gaze. "Sure, that sounds like the thing they say on TV right before everything does go wrong, but if I point it out, then it's like a double jinx!"

The Supercharged Streamer had a huge, beaming shark-toothed smile on her face as she stared out into the sky and saw it again… that same bright, glimmering star that stood out above all the others over the skies unshrouded from the Million Volt Skyline.

More than ever, Iono realized that this star tickled the memory of another similarly bright star that she saw once as a child. She still couldn't place exactly where this happened, just that it was somewhere up really high. And it made her feel good for some reason.

All the girl knew right now is that right now, tonight, she knew that everything finally felt right.

"Yeah… everything is going exactly as it should be, Magi."

Chapter Text

Soon enough, Penny was having another phone date with her girlfriend Noni, who like always was bristling with energy.

"Hey-ho, to and fro! How will today's date go?"

Her phantom girl had found a new game out of coming up with quirky new greetings to make Penny laugh every time they called.

"It'll go… smoothly… I say so!" Penny giggled back.

It reminded the Galarian-born girl a lot of the funny rhymes Iono would always spur in her streams, to the point that she wondered if that's where Noni honed her skills, having clearly been a fan of the Iono Zone for much longer than Penny has.

"I've never seen what any of her streams were like before she reached the peak of her popularity. Is it true she used to live in Zapapico and broadcast out of her apartment?"

"Yup. The real dark ages, those times were." Noni caught her tone and clarified, "Y'know… for Iono probably. I'm sure the Ionites back then still enjoyed it!" She then wondered aloud, "I wonder how many of them are still around…"

"Yeah, Iono has a million times more viewers now than she probably had back then!" Penny giggled. "But I'm sure she remembers who the most loyal ones every time they're in her chat."

…

"…Y-yeah," Noni said after a long pause. "Uhh, anyway, let's get off the topic of Iono for once, amirite? Hee-hee, it's like we're both obsessed with her or something!"

"Well, it's how we met was through our shared love of Iono, so it makes sense!" Penny crossed her arms and said thoughtfully, "Gosh, wouldn't it be so great if there was a way to let Iono know that I found a partner right after I got to meet her using all the charm and confidence she gave me that day? That'd be so awesome."

"Ha-ha-ha! Well I'm sure somehow, in some magical way, Iono knows it already and is super proud of ya, gumdrop! Let's keep this train going and give you more things to be proud about!"

Penny laughed. "You sound like Iono trying to segue to the next segment of her stream!"

"Ohh, umm, yeah maybe a little bit I guess! But that's because I really want to know how YOUR week's been going, Penny!"

"My week's been going… fantastic actually!" Penny said. "It's been one of the most productive weeks I've ever had."

"Tell me all about it!"

"So… you remember me talking about my friend Juliana, right? About her injury and strange moods and all that?"

"Yeah-yeah. So she's doing a lot better now?"

"She's doing great! She's up and moving again, but she really seems to have learned her lesson and is taking everything really slow for once. I'm really proud of her." Penny smiled. "And best of all, yesterday we doubled-teamed tutoring my friends and made a lot of progress!"

"So think of the carbon element as the ships you're piloting in Galactic Onslaught. The numbers aren't random! They pertain to how many stock goes into which cargo bay."

"Okay…" Ortega stared at his chemistry sheet, starting to understand. "…So who are we fighting?"

"Uhh…" Penny squinted trying to come up with an answer to that, and turned to Juliana for help.

The three students were sitting at a table together inside Uva Academy's first floor study hall. The rest of Penny's Team Star friends were dotted around them, focusing on their own assignments and helping each other where possible.

Juliana thought about it and answered, "I guess… other elements? Like chlorine and sodium here," she pointed.

"Yeah!" Penny said, revigorated. "Chlorine's like that scavenger alien boss on Level 10, trying to steal your weapons and add it to its own arsenal. Sodium? Total rookie pilot with one plasma cannon and no shield."

"And then after the first phase, it just throws the cannon away," Ortega laughed.

"Right! And then… chlorine snatches it up!" Juliana added. "Like a… like a power-up, right?"

"Exactly," Penny nodded. "Together they're the nightmare co-op team. Better known as…"

Ortega examined the numbers, and arrived to an answer on his own.

"OH! Sodium chloride! Right?"

"Yeah, that's—that's it exactly!"

Juliana clapped excitedly. "Good job, Ortega! I knew you could do it!"

Ortega raised an eyebrow at the excited brunette. He was still very confused about the extreme contrast between Juliana's more stoic demeanor before and her bordering-on-annoying bubbliness now.

"Uhh, thanks."

"I never thought about explaining complicated subjects like chemistry by using video games and other stuff Ortie's familiar with," said Penny. "Good call, Juliana."

"Yeah, I always knew it would be a really good idea. And I'm really glad you helped me see it through, Penny."

"Also a good call," she smirked. "Since I know you don't play a lot of video games."

"Guilty…" she chuckled bashfully.

Ortega pointed at Juliana and said, "This oaf tried to push her whole idea of making chemistry be like video games the other day, but it just got really annoying instead because she knew almost NOTHING!" he seethed. "I even had to explain to her what an MMO is!"

"Ha-ha! Well… don't go calling Juliana an oaf. She may not be an expert on geeky stuff like the two of us Ortie, but you know she's a genius with other stuff she could probably run circles around us on."

"Yeah, like… making sandwiches!" Juliana said proudly. "And art! And, and…" Her brain actually struggled to think of a third thing, but Penny helpfully filled it in for her.

"And being a good friend."

Juliana smiled appreciatively at her.

"Well, yeah, okay…" Ortega conceded. "I guess everyone's good at what they like. Sorry for calling you an oaf, Juliana."

"It's okay!" Juliana laughed, playing with her braid. "I never took any offense to it." Penny snickered a little bit. "…What?"

"Just thinking, you look really fantastic, Juliana," said Penny. "You look way less dead than you did a few days ago."

"Hey!" Juliana pretended to be angry. "Now I'm actually offended!"

"Seriously though, the yellow vest looks really sharp on you. Like, way sharper than it does on Arven."

"Thanks… I think?" Juliana tilted her head. "I have to say though Ortega, the outfits you guys are wearing kind of rock."

"Ya think so?" Ortega looked down at his peach shirt with a face of disapproval. "I think the shorts are a little tacky."

"Seriously? That purple color is the best part!" Juliana argued. "I could use a whole new style for a whole new me! I would want to wear one just like… HEY! Mela!"

Mela happened to be walking by, munching an apple. "Uhh, yeah?"

"Your purple jacket combo is so CHIC! Where did you and the rest of Team Star all get your cool new uniforms?"

Mela made a disgruntled noise as she swallowed the bits of apple in her mouth.

"Who's to say I want someone like you crimpin' on my style, Juliana? I'm a one-of-a-kind diva!"

Ortega burst out a snicker. "That Director Clive guy or—whatever, gave us these clothes. You should totally ask him for a set, Juliana. Just so it'll make Mela all mad!"

"You little runt!" she growled, tossing her apple at his head before strutting off with a pout.

"Owwww…! Geez, even with that dorky haircut, Mela's still fired up."

"…You okay, Juliana?" asked Penny, noticing a somber look on her friend.

"Mmm, yeah," she answered with a low tone. "Just something about seeing Mela's rage reminds me of… ehh. Nothing. Doesn't matter." She sighed. "Being stylish is one thing, but I wish I could also be a lot more useful right now…"

Penny thought about that. "You know… I think Atticus is still struggling with maths. He could always use some help there."

"THESE FOUL DEMONS OF ARITHMETIC SHALL NOT BEST ME!" a defiant shout could be heard across the hall. "FOR THOU HAVE MET A WORTHY ADVERSARY INDEED!"

"You see?"

"Right! Math! That's something I can do very well!" Juliana lit up. Feeling encouraged, she started to rise up from her chair, audibly groaning as she did so.

A concerned Penny cautioned, "Hey! Make sure you're taking it easy, Juliana!"

"Don't worry, Penny. I promise I've been watching my limits!" she replied. "But I really appreciate you looking out for me."

The recovering girl grabbed a familiar ornate cane and used it to keep herself steady as she stood up. "Thanks so much for letting me borrow your cane, Ortega! This thing has really come in handy!"

"Yeah, yeah, just—make sure not to get it scratched or anything, alright!?" Ortega replied, anxiously watching the way Juliana handled his prized golden prop. "That thing was a very expensive design order!"

"Don't worry, I'll treat it with love," she assured her. Once she stood up all the way, Juliana stretched her back a little to ease her muscle tension.

"HAVE AT THEE, JOHNNY! Shame upon your clan for such poor mastery in generating proper fence measurements!"

"Uh-oh. You'd better help Atticus with that math problem before he flips another table over," Penny snickered.

"Aye-aye!"

Just as she prepared to start walking, Ortega spoke up again.

"Hey, Juliana. I've really wanted to ask ya something."

"What's that?"

"So, Blueberry Academy, it's like… a really awesome school, right?"

"Oh yeah! There's tons of cool things about Blueberry!" she gushed. "Really strong Trainers, fun classes all about Pokémon battling, and you should SEE the huge artificial Terrarium they've got, with so many exotic Pokémon!"

"Okay, cool…" Then, with a shrug, he asked, "So then, why'd you quit so soon?"

"…"

The brunette girl grew quiet, her smile drooping down. Penny recognized Ortega had just hit a sore spot and was about to interject when Juliana spoke up.

"Beeeeeeecause I missed my friends a lot! That's why!" she answered with a slight timber in her voice, but flashing them her signature beaming Juliana smile.

Both students watched as Juliana turned and started walking to Atticus's table, using Ortega's cane for support.

"Wow…" said Ortega. "So Juliana is… just as terrible at lying as Eri. Maybe even more so."

"Yup."

"That's super cool!" said Noni. "I'm glad to hear you've decided to start using your super-intelligence powers for good, Penny!"

Penny laughed. "Yeah. No more being on the dark side for me. Well actually… maybe just a little bit."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, talking of Atticus… My pals told me they they wanted come see them just to hang out more. So, this week, I—I put a lot of effort into making sure I hung out and did something special with every single one of my friends. For Atticus, well… I decided to be really brave and actually check out that strange LARPing club of his."

"Uh-huh. And how'd that go?"

"It was… really interesting!" she said, scratching the back of her head.

"Like, a good interesting or… Atticus's kind of interesting?"

Penny chuckled. She always noticed a subtle shift in Noni's tone whenever Atticus was brought up, and wasn't really sure why.

"It was good interesting! And… Atticus's interesting! Which is good in its own way!"

"My spells are all used up…! I can't go on!" the once-brave druid collapsed to his knees, shuddering. "The pain of my own queen's treason has left me USELESS!"

The dark queen responded with a cackling laugh. "I guess all the dark arts of Arcanine-us are MINE for the taking! This spells a… a new age of wicked witchery for this once dull, boring kingdom!"

"And… time!" said the gamemaster with a click of the timer.

Everyone in the clubroom relaxed their shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. All the "knights", "mages", and "druids" who'd fallen at the hands of the "bandit master" and the surprise "evil queen" final boss picked themselves up off the floor and began picking up their foam weapons.

"Awwwww!" one of the female LARPers, dressed as a paladin, groaned. "Did we really JUST hit an hour as the story was getting good?"

"Fraid so," the student who had been designated gamemaster for the day replied. "And we used up our one overtime chance last session."

"Bravo, everyone!" Atticus stepped onto the scene, clapping. "A fine show indeed! Most particularly from thyself, Lady Penny!"

The evil queen sputtered a little before doing as gracious a curtsy as she could in her purple dress. Penny had found this garment uncomfortable and hard to move around in for most of the session.

"T-thanks, Atticus! Err—Lord Atticus! I hope my improv… didn't wreak the campaign too much."

"Blasphemy!" he assured her. "In our club, we strive to allow creative thinking and encourage each other to craft their own character motivations as the storyline unfolds!"

Atticus was all dressed in his green and purple ninja garb whenever he took charge of the LARPing club he'd started in Uva. But to engage his Team Star squadmate more sincerely, he removed his masking and allowed Penny to see his silver hair and cerulean blue eyes.

"And to allow myself honesty, it warmed my heart to witness thee make lemonade from lemons as they say. Thy dismayed emotions upon drawing the role of 'queen to be rescued' Lady Penny were… evident."

"I mean… I get it," Penny shrugged, the puffy sleeves on her shoulders crinkling loudly. "I joined this little scenario of yours late, so all the good roles were taken and I got stuck with the lamest one."

"All the more reason thy initiative to take what was considered a 'droll' civilian and spin it into such a nefarious scallywag was all the more impressive!"

"Yeah!" said the same druid whose heroic march Penny had just stifled. "Nobody's ever had the idea to make the queen suddenly evil as soon as heroes hand over the dark book!"

"What an exciting plot twist!" the purple-haired mage Penny met before chimed in.

"Heh-heh… thanks, everyone!" said Penny, flattered by the compliments. "I guess being a villain is in my blood after all."

"What is thy opinion after taking the first excursion into the ranks of our passionate guild, Lady Penny?" asked Atticus.

"It was… actually, a lot of fun!" Penny admitted. "More than I was expecting!"

"You've GOT to come back for the next session!" said one of the rogues. "Your evil queen character was so cool!"

Penny blushed as she looked at all the eager LARPers.

"Gosh, I—I guess maybe I will…" She hiked up the long skirt of her purple dress a bit. "…I wouldn't have to wear this again, would I?"

"Oh! You should come on one of our workshop days, Penny! That's when we all work hard on making props and costumes! Brenda here's also the head of the sewing club!"

"Yeah! So I could get your measurements and opinions on how you want your outfit to look and we'll design something that's totally made for you!" Brenda explained, showing off her own cleric's robe to demonstrate.

Penny's eyes popped. "Wow, that'd—that'd be so cool! I'd LOVE that!" Stunned by all the generosity and positive vibes in this club, she smiled sheepishly. "Geez… I feel so embarrassed for thinking you guys were weird. It turns out, I'm just not at the level of your awesome geekiness!"

None of the LARPers were offended. In fact, they took Penny's words in good jest, especially Atticus.

"If thou wish to immerse thyself in even more of our 'awesome geekiness', our guild's gates will always be open for thee, Lady Penny!" Atticus smiled. "Especially if thou should bring along an acquaintance to our next gathering!"

"That's right. He did say I should bring a friend next time…"

"Absolutely not," Noni said bluntly.

"Calm down, Noni, I was just thinking out loud!" she laughed. One day, she'd get to the bottom of her girlfriend's strange disdain for LARPers.

"Uh-huh. Well, you hung out with your other pals too, right? Let's shift gears and talk about that!"

"Ha-ha! You did it again!"

"What?"

"THE SEGUEING!"

"Aggghhhh!" came Noni's exasperated reply on the phone. Penny was perpetually trapped in the giggles at this point because of her funny girlfriend, and her throat had never hurt from so much joy.

It was very peaceful inside Uva's art room. The walls were adorned with pieces of art made by passionate students, half-finished artworks on easels dotted everywhere and on the shelves, various clay sculptures and wood carvings were displayed.

The sun was casting a very warm, bright glow into the room, creating the perfect environment of light for two students to sit in the otherwise empty space, both toiling away on their canvasses.

Mela hummed quietly as she worked, which Penny found surprising. She had never seen Mellie quiet before. The girl was always a firestorm of energy whenever Team Star was having their group meetings with Cassiopeia. But Cassiopeia of course, never had the opportunity to interact with her friends on a basis as casual as this.

But this… this was nice. Penny found the girl's humming very friendly and comforting. She figured she must be part of a select few that were in Mela's good graces enough to allow them to see her softer side.

"You doin' alright over there, Cassie?" she broke her humming to say.

"Hmm. Yeah, of course. Why?"

"You're just being real quiet. Which, y'know…" She looked over at Penny with a smile. "If ya just like being quiet all the time, that's cool too!"

"Just in the zone, I guess!"

"Ohhhh, yeah. I totally get that."

Penny stopped painting for a few seconds to ponder something she wanted to ask.

"Hey Mellie…?"

"Yeh."

"Why do you call me Cassie?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, not looking away from her easel. "I didn't know your real name, so I had to call you something!" After a few seconds of thought, she turned to look at Penny, with a rather vulnerable expression. "Do you… hate being called Cassie? Cause if so, then I don't hafta—"

"No, no, it's cool!" Penny interjected. "I was just curious, that's all." Smiling, she affirmed, "I like it. You can keep calling me Cassie if you like. It's cute."

"Well good, cause I wouldn't have been able to stop! I'm just so, so…"

Then Mela grumbled and started tussling her straightened bob hair until it got all frizzy, resembling her classic hairstyle again.

"I NEED my old hair back!" she growled. "I don't even feel like myself anymore! Forget what Florian said, this was the WORST idea ever!"

Penny giggled. She's thinking about her appearance way too much, because a moment like that was stiill so perfectly Mellie!

This brought a small tinge of angst to Penny's mind again, wondering if Ms. Tyme's complaints about Mela's 'scary' appearance had something to do with the fiery girl's attempts to look more normal and unassuming lately.

Mela had begun sticking her tongue out as she worked, so maybe she wasn't afraid to be so weird after all.

"Think I'm just about done with this! Wanna see?"

"Yeah!"

"TA-DAH!"

Mela took her painting and flipped it around for Penny to see. "Wow… you sure used a lot of colors, Mellie!"

Penny could tell Mela drew a person. A person with brown hair. It was a little hard to make out with all the vibrant colors Mela used around the person's face, but Penny could see some notes of familiarity, especially in the big brown eyes.

"Oh! Is it supposed to be Juliana?"

"Wh—NO!" Mela replied, affronted. "It's—it's a boy that I've… been talking to lately, that's all. I wanted to make a real nice portrait of him."

"Oh. Sorry, Mellie. It looks nice!"

"Tch. It's alright," she shrugged. "Just need to make it more distinct, I s'pose. I also s'pose I don't need to guess what you're drawing."

"VEE-VOII-VAY!"

Penny's Eevee was working hard to maintain a statuesque pose as it stood on a stepladder in front of its owner's canvas, lifting one hind leg up and raising its front one up with a dignified look on its face.

"You're doing great, Eevee!" Penny encouraged her partner. "Just keep holding that pose!"

"Vee!"

The two girls continued painting in the quiet hum of each other's company as the bright sunlight helped illuminate their paintings on both a physical and spiritual level.

After a while, Mela was the next one to break the silence.

"Real shame Juliana didn't wanna come and paint with us, since ya brought her up. I heard she's supposed to be a really good painter."

"Yeah, I did ask her," said Penny. "But I guess she just doesn't have the drive for it right now."

"That sucks. When she came back to school—I mean back to this one, I was hopin' maybe I could catch her in art class and we could work on something together. Somethin' really amazing."

Mela's eyebrows furrowed a little bit as she continued studying her portrait.

"Hey, you think there's any truth to that crap Atticus was spewing? About Juliana's mood being because of some kind of poison or whatever?"

Penny thought back to that strange Pecha Berry she had found in Juliana's possession in the nurse's room… and how it almost seemed like it was speaking to her.

"I dunno," she choked a little. "…M-maybe."

The short-haired girl decided to shrug off that weirdness and focus on her portrait of Eevee instead, which was coming along very nicely. She looked up at Eevee, and found a huge burst of inspiration.

"Ooh! That sunlight's hitting you at a really nice angle, Eevee! Keep holding that, okay?"

"Eeee-vee-veee!"

Eevee, just proud to be receiving so much positive attention from Penny, closed its eyes and flourished in the sunlight. And then…

*FLASH*

"HUH!?" Penny and Mela both gasped.

They were astonished as Eevee became enveloped in a white light. They watched as its white form grew bigger and longer, until the light dissipated… and Eevee was completely gone, replaced by a slender purple cat!

"ESS-PEON!"

"Penny!" Mela pointed. "Your Veevee… it evolved! Into an Espeon? I sure hope that's what you were goin' for."

"Uhh—well, it was!"

"See? Paintin' together WAS good for the both of us after all! By bringin' you out of that scary dark room and into the sunlight, ya got the Espeon you were trying for!"

The newly evolved Espeon turned to its owner in delight, and jumped off the stool as it began nuzzling its light purple head against Penny, purring happily.

"E-Espeon! Wow!" Penny was in a mix of emotions. "I'm… so happy that you finally evolved and I finally have my own Espeon! But, but… AGGH! Couldn't you have let me finish painting you while you were still an Eevee!?"

"ES-PEE!"

"Yaaaaaaay!" Noni could be heard clapping. "I'm SO HAPPY for you, Penny! And Espeon too!"

Penny had turned her phone's camera on so Noni could see her Espeon curiously sniffing at the phone screen, tilting its head at the familiar voice it could hear from this strange voice.

"Espee?"

"That's the little buddy you had with you at the meet-and-greet, isn't it!? You said you were gonna evolve it into an Espeon, I remember that! Awww, and it's so cute too! You must be really super proud!"

"Oh, I'm very proud alright." Penny affectionately nuzzled her newly lavender buddy's head as it purred. "Espeon was the last one I was going for, so I'm extremely happy. No Veevee has been left unturned!"

"Huh? That's funny, I could've sworn you were still missing a Glaceon."

"Ohh. Yeah, that's right," Penny realized. "Heh, I keep forgetting about Glaceon actually. That's gonna be a weird one, since I technically already have Ice-type coverage on my team."

"Really? What doe'zzat mean?"

"Well, it's—it's kind of a long story. Hard to explain. I'll tell you some other time!" she said. "And maybe even show you."

The proud Veevee rancher watched as Espeon engaged in a happy dance with all of its Veevee brothers and sisters, who were excited at their sibling's evolution.

She chuckled. "I just wish it would've had the patience to wait to evolve until I finished my portrait! I tried to use purple paint and just overhaul the whole thing and that didn't work! Do you know what happens when you mix purple on brown, Noni?"

"Uhhhh—"

"GRAPE DOO-DOO! It looks like grape doo-doo!" Penny whined. "I was so frustrated that I even wrote 'Grape Doo-Doo' on it and submitted it! And you know what happened? I CAUGHT MR. HASSEL LAUGHING AT IT!"

Noni burst out laughing. "That IS funny!"

"It doesn't END THERE! He thought Poppy, that little girl from the Elite Four made it and spelled her name wrong, so he put it UP ON THE ART WALL and told everyone, and I got to hear everyone look at my painting and say how great it looks for being made by a TODDLER!"

Penny reared her head back and groaned in her shame.

"I'm so embarrassed I don't even want to say anything! And Mellie won't stop teasing me over it!"

"NYOHOHO! Well now, your little Mellie's got a partner in crimes of teasing! Hee-hee, my grape doo-doo flavored gumdrop!"

"GRRRRR! Why did I think it was a good idea to tell you?" Penny crossed her arms and pouted. "You were supposed to sympathize with my mortal grief."

"How do you expect me to do that when you say something as funny as grape doo-doo? Hahahaha! Even just SAYING grape doo-doo is makin' me laugh!" Penny was starting to see what Noni meant about not mentally being her own age…

Just then, she heard a knock at the door.

"Oh!"

Penny quickly went to the door while Noni was in her giggle-fits and answered it. Then she hopped back on.

Hey, Noni?" Noni was still too busy laughing to hear Penny, so she had to shout out her name. "NONI!"

"Huh? OH! Right! Noni, that's me!" she said for some reason. "Whazzup, Penny my—" She stifled more laughs from coming. "—grape… doo-doo, gumdrop!"

"Ha-ha, very funny. Listen, I'm really sorry but I actually gotta get going."

"Oooooh, what's this?" Noni was instantly curious. "Pen's got plans?"

"Yeah, actually! Uhh, Eri talked me into… going on a hike with her."

"WOW! So not only are you talking to your friends on your own, they're even making you go OUTSIDE! You've come so far since we've started dating, Penny! I'm so proud of you!"

"Ha-ha, thanks."

The two lovers said their goodbyes and then Penny opened the door again to a patiently waiting Eri.

"Sorry about that, Eri. I was talking to… y'know, my girlfriend."

"It's no problem at all, Penny!" she smiled. "So are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess so…" She started going through her phone. "Let me just… get my playlist ready."

"Oooh! Does that include some of the music Giacomo helped you find? He told me about you coming to hang out and talk music with him yesterday!"

Yesterday, Penny sat on Giacomo's dark-sheeted bed with headphones on, absorbing a peculiar and frenetic song from Chandelure Manifesto, an indie ska band her music-loving squadmate suggested she listen to.

This dorm room was exceptionally tidy and well-organized, which Penny found extremely surprising for the kind of eccentric person Giacomo is.

"I keep the mess all up here in my head!" he explained to her. "Only way to keep those beats in focus!"

Giacomo had blackout curtains in his room, but unlike in Penny's room, they only seemed to shroud the room in darkness when he needed to go to bed.

"…and that's when they'll see everything waaaaaas wrong!" the singer finished before the song ended in a crescendo of hard-pounding drums and deep trumpet notes.

Surprised by how loud that song stayed even to the end, Penny popped off the headphones as Giacomo nodded expectantly.

"So, what'd you think?"

"It's… definitely like nothing else I've ever heard."

"Ha-ha-ha! Well, you wanted to know what ska sounds like Penny, and you totally got the ska treatment!" Giacomo chortled. "Yeah, out of all the genres right there, I'd call ska one of the most acquired tastes out there."

Penny had been rapturously curious about all those music genres Noni mentioned while boasting of Roxie's musical repertoire to her, especially because… she didn't know what half of them were.

And who better a music expert to turn to for help expanding her knowledge? Thanks to her jamming friend DJ Vice, Penny had found a new appreciation for rock subgenres, unconventional synth pop, and melodic R tracks.

"Thanks a lot, Momo. All this music talk has been… illuminating! You got me jotting down so many bands I've never heard of but really want to listen to now!"

"Sweet!" he gave a thumbs up. "This has been real wicked for me too, Penny! I love expanding people's horizons through music, and you made me want to experiment with some new genres on my own set!"

Giacomo's eyes lit up.

"Say, now that you've given me a better idea of what kind of music you might like, maybe I should spend tonight whipping up a specialized playlist just for you Penny, and you'll have a buncha music to try out on that hike Eri says she's taking you on tomorrow!"

"Wow, really? That'd be AWESOME, Momo!" Penny chuckled, "I guess up until now, I mostly just listened to video game soundtracks and K-Pop stuff." Giacomo tilted his head at that. "You know, K-Pop…? All those big groups from Kanto?"

"Ohhhhhh. Never really got what that K-Pop stuff meant, I thought everyone was just excited for that movie that came out recently. You mean there's a whole genre of songs like it?"

"Yeah!" Penny was both surprised and delighted that she could introduce Giacomo to something. "I could… send you a list of all the groups I like and you could figure out who your ult bias is!"

"Whatever that means, I'm totally into it!" Giacomo beamed. "I love gettin' into new stuff from other people! I'm still mad jamming to stuff from Koffing and the Toxics."

"Oh, wow!" Penny's eyebrows went up. "What a funny coincidence."

Penny didn't know how Eri talked her into a mountain hike of all things. She had asked Eri what she'd like the two of them to do together, and her athletically inclined friend instantly threw that out there as a suggestion. Penny tried to balk at the idea, to which Eri floated…

"Well… if you're not in the mood for a hike, I could always show you how all of us at the Caph Squad like to work out in our spare time!"

"…You know what, I'd rather take the hike. Less sweaty…"

And so, despite her better judgment, Penny found herself hopping off a Flying Taxi onto the cliffs above the pristine Casseroya Lake. The cliffsides were capped with wintery snow from the neighboring Glaseado Mountain, with a brilliant view of the beautiful water down below and the various Water Pokémon swimming around in it.

"I was supposed to come here once."

"Oh, really?" said Eri.

"Yeah. Me and my friends Juliana, Nemona, and Arven decided to go on a fun hunt for some ancient stakes hidden in the ground. We each split up to find one of those four shrine gates the stakes open up, and at first I wanted to come and look here around Casseroya Lake because of how pretty it is."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Tch. By the time I got here, I saw Arven already running around up here. He had a bunch of green stakes he'd found already," she recalled. "I realized there was no way I'd beat him to finding the rest and decided to turn around and look all over the West Province instead."

"Oh," Eri giggled. "Well, call this good fortune then! Now you get to experience this place and its splendor at last."

"I suppose… Gotta admit, it's really beautiful!"

"If you think all this looks pretty, wait until we get to the Socarrat Trail, Penny! It's like a hidden corner of the world that feels autumn-y all year round."

"That does sound cool," Penny had to admit. She looked around. "So… Carmen's not coming? I heard you like to go on hikes with her a lot."

"I do, but today is your day, Penny!" Eri smiled. "I know you don't know Carmen all that well, so… I figured you'd be more comfortable if it was just me and you."

"I see."

"Besides… Carmen's very competitive. She would probably want to turn this into a race!" she giggled. "I'll match your pace today, Penny. We can go slow as you want to. And take breaks whenever you want."

"Really?" She was surprised at Eri's accommodative nature. "And… and you're really okay with me listening to music for most of the walk instead of talking?"

"Yup!" Eri affirmed. "I want to make you as comfortable as possible, Penny. I'm not all hot air, y'know!" she laughed. "I wouldn't push you into something like this if I didn't want you to have fun the way that suits you! Because I think once we really start walking and you get into your own groove… you're going to enjoy this a lot."

Penny wanted to be snarky. But, as much as she tried to resist, Eri's generous vibe was extremely comforting, and made her feel very secure.

"Okay… let's do it," she smirked.

Penny couldn't lie. The hike through the upper falls of Casseroya Lake was a very pleasant, soothing experience. She started out walking quite slow, and true to her word, Eri paced herself to be in tune with her friend, not looking the least bit annoyed.

Gradually however—especially as Giacomo's music recommendations started to pump her up, Penny found herself walking more briskly, even hopping a little bit. She started to feel so energized that when they came upon a rickety wood bridge, a mischievous side of her came out and she started rocking the bridge around.

It made Eri a little nervous, which just made Penny enjoy it even more.

By the time they crossed most of the lake's edge and made it to the brown grassy trail, Penny was walking at a faster pace than Eri was, and the tall girl was nursing a proud smile on her face whenever Penny wasn't looking.

"Woah…" Penny took out her earbuds when she finally stopped and looked around. "You were right, Eri. This is gorgeous!"

The Socarrat Trail looked like something out of a fairytale storybook. Unlike the rest of the wintery landscapes of Paldea right now, this section of the lake seemed stuck in a moment of time, carrying feelings of autumn bliss and crisp air.

"I told you hiking here would be worth it! This is one of my favorite places to camp," said Eri.

Penny heard weird squiggling noises. Against the bark of a tree nearby, she saw what looked like moving mushrooms. But as the girls got closer, the funny fungi revealed themselves to actually be Toedscool, who saw humans approaching and got on their legs, skittering away in fright.

"Toed!" "Toed!" "Toedscool!"

"Ha-ha-ha!" Penny giggled. "Wow! So that's how Toedscool runs? I've never seen that before! That's so funny after growing up somewhere where I'm used to seeing Tentacool in the water!"

Eri giggled too. "Hey, that tree looks like a relaxing spot to take a break."

"Yeah," she agreed. "I didn't realize until we stopped how much my feet are killing me."

Penny and her tall squadmate took a rest against the tall tree, overlooking a hill that spanned out into the rest of the Socarrat Trail, with a sparkling view of the pristine lake still visible.

Eri bunched her knees together and let her head rest upwards, where she could spot Pineco sleeping in the branches above them.

"Today was fun for you, right Penny?"

"Yeah. I really… wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, but…" Penny sighed. "I guess I forgot that once upon a time, I did this sort of thing all the time."

Eri turned her head and shoulders to face her. "Is that so?"

"Yeah… When I was little, my dad and I would go out on hikes all the time. Sometimes, my sis would come along too. Wow, I haven't really thought about that in years."

"Oh, so your dad's a hiking afficionado too?"

Penny laughed. "That's an understatement. If my dad ever went somewhere without his big boots and camping equipment, my mum used to say that's how she knew he must be under the weather!"

Eri smiled, but then she gave Penny a sad look. "I take it that was… before your parents separated?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Before Dad became all annoying and clingy, and wanted to take us on hikes whether or not the answer was 'no'."

"Wow." Eri gazed at the sky thoughtfully. "So… you must've been more athletic as a kid than you are now!"

"I suppose…" Now it was Penny's turn to look thoughtful as she combed her old memories. "I guess it was after I started dating my ex that all that changed. She gets sweaty really easily, so we never did stuff like that!"

Penny huddled her knees together a little, taking in the shade underneath the tree.

"I guess she's the one who made me a homebody… Especially after her friends introduced me to coding. And—and for a while, I liked hanging around with her more than my folks…"

Eri listened to Penny's reminiscences with a lot of interest. But when she turned to look at Penny, she saw a small tear running down the girl's cheek.

"Penny?" she said in a concerned tone. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Penny sniffled. "I just got caught up thinking about how, how you don't know what you got until… it's gone."

Eri hummed in response, seeming to understand. Being the Team Star boss who was always closest to Cassiopeia pre and post-Operation Star, she could always tell that Penny had a lot of unpacked baggage to sift through. And talking her feelings out was a great way to do that.

"Well…" She chuckled a little. "I was about to say it's never too late to try again, but… I guess that's kind of silly, because you've found a new love for yourself, right?"

"Yeah, yeah that's true. And Noni's pretty great!" Penny finally brought it in herself to smile a little. "I love spending time with her."

Unheard to Penny, Eri chuckled a little. She had a feeling that Penny's new beau was the same energetic Noni girl who had visited her base, and was pleased with that subtle confirmation.

"And besides, Marnie's got someone else of her own now too. I guess we both kinda moved on from each other…" After a minute, she said more wistfully, "I guess I kind of moved on from my home region in general."

"Everyone… but your sister, right? I thought you and Peonia were still on good terms."

"Yeah. I guess that's true."

"…When was the last time you called her?"

"Well, I—"

"Besides asking her for money!" Eri smirked.

…

"Alright Eri, you and I need to hang out less, I think," Penny snarked. "You're starting to read me almost as much as Nia likes to."

"Sorry!" she giggled.

The two of them sat under the tree for a little while longer, watching the wind blow all the Socarrat Trail's brown leaves around in a flurry, and observing the schools of Slowpoke and Veluza that splashed around in the glistening lake below. As well as the occasional Dondozo gobbling up Tatsugiri on the water bed!

"WOW!"

Eri chuckled. "It's not just a predator-versus-prey thing, you know. I've heard that Dondozo and Tatsugiri work together in pairs! Like a symbiotic relationship!"

"Hmm. Yeah… symbiosis. Like two perfect siblings."

Penny sighed.

"Hey, Eri? Could we start climbing down now?"

"Oh! Sure, Penny!" Eri replied, quickly standing up. "Had enough fun for today?"

"Not really. It's just…"

Penny couldn't help but grin a little.

"I think I do want to call my sister."