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Gwynn is seated on her bed, watching Chandelure fret around. Since the sun has set, she's been floating and spinning her body all around in the middle of Gwynn's room, clearly agitated.
"You really think something's going to happen?" she asks. There's only one reason Chandelure gets like this and it's because all the other Pokémon in town are agitated, and what's got them agitated is the real thing that Gwynn's worried about. Chandelure lets out a low sound like a whine. Her flames flicker as if they're about to blow out.
Gwynn brings up her phone with a sigh, tapping through various news and social media apps to scour for any information. Nothing concrete is getting reported other than the usual things: the conspiracy theories about Quasartico bringing in more wild Pokémon through secret underground tunnels so they can create more wild zones (among other wilder projects people keep claiming), sightings of even more Alpha Pokémon hiding in the alleyways, and all the noise coming from the battle zones tonight (which certainly must be Ivor.) There's a few posts from people mentioning feeling strange tonight, sentiments that Gwynn echoes, but not much else for her to go on.
She releases her phone so it can zip back into her pocket and returns to watching Chandelure flit about her room. Chandelure's nervous energy is making Gwynn antsy as well, but there's not much else she can do now. She rises from her bed.
"Let's go for a walk," she says. Chandelure immediately chirps in response and phases out of the room.
Heading out through the door, Gwynn does one last check on her phone, swiping through her notifications. There's just so many of them because Ivor's been outside battling in the royale since the sun's gone down that she swears he's battled through the entire city at this point.
But the main one is that she hasn't received any notification that Canari is streaming.
Outside, the night is unusually warm tonight, enough that even Gwynn can notice it through the chill of her Ghost Pokémon sapping her warmth from her shadow. Maybe Chandelure is right to be restless and scared about something. Speaking of Chandelure, even though they're outside now, her Pokémon still hasn't stopped twirling her body all around, like she's trying to keep the shadows away from them.
Gwynn's not really scared though she wishes she could do something to calm Chandelure down. Chandelure has always been sensitive to the other Pokémon living in Lumiose even when she had been a Litwick, and it isn't like Gwynn wants to ignore her Pokémon. She can't deny that there feels like there's something tense in the air tonight though. Ivor's always explained it as a weird feeling in his gut, like he's eaten something bad. While Gwynn doesn't feel like that, the goosebumps lining her arms despite the warm night can't solely be blamed on her ghosts tonight.
As they're walking around the city, Gwynn's also been scanning all around them like something might fly out in the darkness at her. When night falls, she knows the alleyways of the city like the back of her hand, which is how she knows it's strange that she can also hardly find any wild Pokémon right now. Maybe several Pokémon are taking over another residential area and they're setting up the wild zone right now, but something like that wouldn't get Chandelure, and all the other Pokémon, worked up like this.
The night proves to be uneventful though, and not in a good way. There's always a number of Ghost Pokémon playing tricks and pranks all over the town that Gwynn needs to correct but it's eerily quiet tonight. Not even the Litwick have come out from the sewers to greet her or find their next victims. Every now and then, she can hear the cries of Alpha Pokémon echoing in the distance but even they sound off to her. It might just be her imagination, though. Chandelure's on edge so it's making her on edge too. Maybe she should take it easy for tonight, find a quiet place at a rooftop and relax until Chandelure calms down—oh, but Canari isn't even streaming right now so she's got no one to watch...
"Anything you want to do, Chandelure?" Gwynn asks but all Chandelure does is make a worried sound. "All right, let's just keep going."
Maybe she should head over to Hotel Z and bother—teach that fake Canatic another lesson. He'll be free too since Canari isn't streaming tonight. If Harmony is there as well, she'll have to challenge her to another battle too, for Canari's sake.
The path she takes to get to the hotel brings her close to tonight's battle zone. She hurries her steps through, especially now that she can hear Ivor's telltale shouting in the distance, no doubt mowing down the challengers inside if the nonstop notifications on her phone are any indication. What number is he even on now—no, she doesn't care that much. As long as he's kept busy in the battle zone, then she'll have approximate knowledge of where he'll be until the sun comes back up.
Just as she's about to slip into another alleyway to head away from the battle zone, she hears her through all the shouting.
There's no mistaking that sound she can hear perfectly even in her sleep... and the string of curses and profanity coming from that voice. Gwynn spins back on her heels and rounds the corner, hardly realizing that she's skipping now in her steps. No wonder why there's no stream tonight.
Canari's on the other side of the battle zone, cursing as loud as can be as she recalls her Eelektross back into its Pokéball. Her opponent's one of her grandpa's workers, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Gwynn recognizes him as one of the people who sneak her into the building's back entrance for Canari. He's nice so Gwynn feels a little bad for him. The moment he spots her though, he sends her an apologetic smile before scurrying away to where Gwynn can now see a Steelix cowering behind a street light, no doubt afraid of Canari.
"Hey! I wasn't done! Get back here!" Canari's about to chase after him but Gwynn calls out in time.
"Canari!"
Canari spins around, eyes wide as she stares at Gwynn. "Aw sh—I mean, G-Volt!" She laughs awkwardly. "Uh, you headin' in to do some battles too?"
Gwynn shakes her head. "No, I was just taking a walk around... and then I heard you."
"Geez, of all the times to catch me..."
"Are you going to stay? I can heal up your Pokémon for you." Gwynn is already going through her bag for her potions and revives without waiting for an answer but Canari stops her with a wave of her hand.
"Nah, losin' like that took all my charge out so I'm not really feelin' it anymore. I'm just gonna head over to the Center instead. How 'bout you?"
"I'm... not really doing anything right now," Gwynn answers slowly. Canari is undoubtedly annoyed from her defeat but there's a small part inside of Gwynn hoping that maybe she won't be feeling tired and then maybe...
"Yeah?" It's not hard for Gwynn to tell that Canari's smiling at her through her mask, the way her eyes crinkle. When Canari smiles like this, her whole face lights up, and sometimes Gwynn wishes she weren't wearing the mask so she can commit another smile to her memory. "I wanna get something to drink after so... ya wanna hang out?"
Gwynn's own lips tug upward. "Of course, Canari. I'd like that."
They head off to the Pokémon Center first before going to their usual haunt, Nouveau Cafe. The waitress there is crass as always but she's already calling out their regular orders the moment she sees them walking up. Something about her seems off tonight too though, the way she seems to be grinding her teeth together when she's not dealing with any customers. The man in the truck too, while he's always been quick to smile at anyone that glances at him, he's kept his head down the entire time as he works through the orders, like he doesn't want anyone to see his face right now. Even their Charizard seems agitated, slight puffs of smoke coming out from its nostrils as it huffs.
Gwynn wonders if they're having a bad time. Maybe they're all really having a bad time right now, except for Ivor still racking up his wins. Seriously, her phone's about to give out at the rate he's going; she might have to ask Canari to have one of her Pokémon charge it back up.
Whatever's going on with the baristas though, it doesn't affect the taste of their coffees, still delicious as ever. Gwynn slowly sips at hers while Canari breathes in deep and takes a mouthful of her drink.
All the available tables and benches nearby are taken already, even at this late hour. Gwynn recognizes a few of them as regular battlers. They've been getting fired up lately ever since there's been reports of newly crowned A-rankers. One of them must be Harmony.
It's made Ivor throw himself harder harder into his training, dashing away the moment it hits sun down. Gwynn wants to scold him, except nearly all their practitioners are also following after him as well, all fired up about all the new Pokémon too. It isn't bad that they're motivated... but if only they just wouldn't be so loud.
"Sorry we haven't been hangin' in person, G-Volt," Canari says. "Jus' got too caught up with both battlin' and gamin'."
Gwynn shakes her head. "It's fine. I've been doing a lot of stuff with the dojo anyway."
"Oh yeah? Stuff with your brother?" Canari doesn't bother hiding her disdain.
"Surprisingly, no, he's been behaving. But we've got all those new wild zones all the time now so a lot more people are coming around to ask us about the new Pokémon."
As they talk, Gwynn can see the others glancing toward them. Canari is good at ignoring them but Gwynn can catch the twitch of her eyes, the way she tries not to look out over the crowd. It isn't that Canari minds meeting her fans but Gwynn can tell she's not in the mood for it tonight. She gestures for her Ghost Pokémon hiding in her shadow to create a veil but Canari puts a hand on her arm.
"Nah, I'm done here. You good, too, G-Volt?"
Gwynn finishes the rest of her tea and nods. Canari gives her a grin.
"C'mon then, I've got a place we can head to."
She leads them to a holovator after. "It'll be quieter up on the rooftops," Canari says, "and I think I need the night wind to chill me out right now."
And she's right, there's hardly anyone up here even though it'd been so busy on the ground. It almost feels like their own special little moment, just the two of them, free from the obvious gazes and looks of people trying to pretend they aren't gawking at her. It's rare for them to be completely alone like this, and Gwynn is half wishing for this night to last as long as it can.
They sit side by side on the bench, and Gwynn notices that Canari's sitting so close to her, so close that they could bump knees. Gwynn folds her hands together, wondering what Canari must be thinking. It isn't that she minds but... her heart isn't prepared for this sudden closeness.
Canari speaks up suddenly. "Hey, G-Volt? You feel like something's about to happen soon?"
Gwynn nearly startles. "What do you mean?"
"Like..." Canari gestures vaguely while also making just as vague noises.
"Chandelure's been nervous all night," Gwynn answers, "and I haven't noticed any of the other wild Ghost Pokémon playing any tricks either."
"Oh yeah, you're always doin' that, huh?" Canari laughs as she slings an arm around Gwynn. "Thanks for always lookin' out for the city! Pops is always tellin' me how much the Ghost Pokémon like messin' with their electronics."
"I-it's no problem," Gwynn mumbles. It suddenly feels far warmer than it has been.
She looks at where their Pokémon are, on the opposite side of the roof. Chandelure is still nervously twirling her body all around but she's been facing toward Prism Tower, the giant building looming over them taller than ever since they're right next to it. Canari's Eelektross is next to her, idly batting at Chandelure's flames when they get close enough. Gwynn can't help but glower at it slightly; it had cost her advancing to the final round of the Canari Quiz Whiz... but it's keeping Chandelure company so she'll overlook it for now. And remember its favorite snack for the next quiz.
"By the way, you remember that guy we saw at Hotel Richissime a few weeks back? The one who jus' walked up to Harmony right before she was about to battle Jacinthe?" Canari asks.
Gwynn tries to remember. That day at the hotel, while she'd been more than happy that Canari had been invited too, she had grown bored and tired of being stuck there all day... and also all the food Canari had been feeding her was making her drowsy. She remembers though that there'd been some old man walking up to the middle the arena and some green Houndoom-like Pokémon barking at them and then several more battles involving Harmony.
"Yeah," Gwynn says. "Your grandpa said he caused that incident five years ago, right?"
"Yeah! Even people in my chat were bringin' him up when I was streamin' earlier this week. I tried to look a little more into it but everything jus' kept saying it was Team Flare's fault and their leader completely disappeared."
"But now he's back in Lumiose," Gwynn finishes. Truthfully, Gwynn doesn't remember much of that incident other than it completely rocked the entire region and now there's a giant crater in Geosenge. Also, Ivor had refused to let her out of his sights for a week because he'd been worried about any aftershocks and she had to get creative with trying to get away from him.
... That hadn't been a very fun time for her. It makes her sigh even remembering that time.
"You feelin' scared, G-Volt?" Canari takes her sigh as something else and pulls Gwynn closer so they're pressed even tighter together. "Don't you worry, I'll make sure nothin' happens to you!"
Gwynn freezes in place, her eyes widening. They're such good friends that Canari's always liked doing things like touching her shoulder and arm or even wanting to hold hands sometimes. It's a little too much sometimes but Gwynn won't complain. Recently though, she's been noticing that Canari's been... just a little more touchy than normal... but that means they're getting closer as friends, right? That has to be it. Nothing that Gwynn should think any deeper about.
It still doesn't stop her from panicking about whether she wants to stay here next to Canari or pull away immediately.
"... uh, G-Volt? You feelin' all right?" Gwynn's taking too long to answer that Canari is looking at her worriedly now.
"I-I'm fine," Gwynn says, coughing into her hand, "I was... just surprised to hear you say that."
"Does it really sound that weird comin' from me?" Canari scratches her cheek awkwardly.
"No, that's not what I meant," Gwynn says with a quick shake of her head. "Thanks, Canari. I'll make sure nothing happens to you too."
Gwynn appreciates the sentiment, but that's what she has Ivor for... so she wants to be the one to protect Canari instead. Still, the thought makes her smile, which she doesn't do often, but it always feels so easy when she's around Canari.
"C'mon, G-Volt, I was just tryin' to be cool for..." Canari trails off instead, staring at Gwynn with her eyes wide. Gwynn doesn't recognize that look and Canari quickly turns away from her before she can. "Uh, I mean, thanks, yeah."
That's... a little strange but Gwynn only nods. This entire night has been nothing but strange. Maybe something is going to happen. But what is that going to be? It can't possibly be a new wild zone, not when so many parts of the city are already sectioned off. She's also heard talk from the other Fists of Justice about how they're going to be able to keep up with teaching people how to live with Pokémon if they keep getting new species popping in every other week. Even Gwynn has to agree with them.
Gwynn looks to where their Pokémon are. Chandelure is still agitated although quite as much as she had been earlier when she left her room. Her flames are still flickering with uncertainty, blowing toward the middle of the city. That weird feeling that Gwynn's been feeling hasn't gone away either, and it feels like she's both too hot and cold at the same time. But the last thing she wants to do is have Canari worrying about her.
Speaking of Canari, she's been quiet since then, leaning back against the bench and looking up at the stars. Gwynn sneaks glances at her but she can't tell what Canari is thinking about right now. Maybe they should call it for a night; Canari had been battling earlier, and Gwynn still has some more patrolling to do before Ivor's done with his battling. The area around Prism Tower is still sectioned off for renovations but maybe it might be worth taking a look for Chandelure's sake.
But she wants to spend a little more time with Canari too. That time they had together at the hotel had been fun but since Harmony had beaten her again, Canari's jumped right back into binging battle video after battle video alongside her streaming. Gwynn had understood (even she's been frustrated at her lack of wins against Team MZ) and although she kept up with watching Canari's streams, there had been times where she hoped they could meet up... if only to give her something to look forward to after fielding all the complaints about Ivor at City Hall. Sometimes Canari will still call her after a stream and they talk until Canari dozes off and Gwynn gets to listen to her cute snores while she walks around Lumiose—she's getting off topic, but even after all of that... Gwynn still doesn't feel satisfied.
Maybe she's being too greedy, though. She's already more than lucky enough that Canari allows her to see her outside of streaming; she'd never take these moments for granted... but there's still a part inside of her that feels unsatisfied.
Is she getting too close? Is she overstepping as... a friend?
Maybe it's that strange feeling that's been going on all night but something inside of Gwynn feels like it's close to exploding, like Chandelure after Mega Evolving. Gwynn's always been so busy managing Ivor and her duties with the dojo that she's never had time for anything or anyone outside of it. Canari's the first time she's ever felt like this and... if Canari ever finds out about these feeling, she might start thinking of her as another one of those weird fans. No, Canari wouldn't be like that—Gwynn knows that—but the thought of Canari pulling away even just a little bit feels like a shadow ball inside dropping to her stomach. Once, she had been content to watch on the sidelines... but she's far too electrified by Canari now to give that up.
Gwynn turns, intending to say something, anything. "Canari, I—"
Canari is already looking at her, and Gwynn freezes in place again. There's an expectant look in her eyes like she already knows what Gwynn wants to say... but that can't be right, because why would Canari pay such close attention to someone like her? Gwynn has always made sure to stay back, unless to prove her love for Canari in front of others. No one's going to beat her there as long as she's around, no matter what.
But it really is just so much easier for her to stay back so no one has any expectations of her. Ivor takes up more than enough space and attention as it is, and she needs to spend all her energy and time managing him instead, and if something happens to her, then no one can step up to deal with Ivor.
And yet, the way Canari is looking at her right now makes her chest clench painfully. Canari is always so careful not to pay too close attention to a single fan and yet, when she looks at Gwynn like this... she wants to both shy away and drink it all up at the same time. Everyone deserves to see how great Canari can be but if Canari can look at her... look at only her right now... if only... then...
Canari straightens suddenly and pulls down her mask. Her expression's uncharacteristically soft but serious, and although all they've got is the moonlight, Gwynn can see there's a slight blush on her face. Her own face is heating up and the air feels even stranger than usual. It's like one of Canari's Pokémon is shocking the air, but it's also far too warm like Gwynn's overheating. Even through her gloves, her hands are clammy—and Canari gently takes one of them, the light touch sending shock waves through her body.
They stare at each other, with Gwynn hardly daring to breathe, hardly dare to... she doesn't even know what it is she wants. Her heart feels like it's about to jolt right out of her body and all it needs is just a spark... one that feels like Canari is about to start.
"Hey... G-Volt—actually, no, Gwynn, I—"
And then Prism Tower explodes.