The blue facade of the Team Galactic building seemed to constantly be hovering at the edge of my vision, its white dome and yellow arch always just in view.

  It even had spikes for Arceus’ sake, how were people not aware that it was a villain’s lair?

  Well. I had actually asked a few people who lived in the town, and while they all admitted that they thought the building was tacky and ruined the vibe of the city, they just thought it was an ugly bit of architecture.

  We’d only been in Veilstone for a couple of days, and the city was already getting on my nerves. For once I agreed with my companions that we should get a move on, and leave the area as soon as possible.

  It wasn’t that the city wasn’t beautiful, or that the people were rude… but the entire place reminded me far too much of my old world.

  There were more people in Veilstone than I had seen in any other place besides Jubilife City, but while those people had been local residents, here all of these people were clearly tourists coming to visit the Department Stores or the Game Corners.

  In the games there had been only one of each building, but that was a gameplay limitation. Here in the real world, the entire city felt like the shopping and gaming center of Sinnoh. Long avenues had been set aside just for outlet stores and retailers, while casinos were almost a dime-a-dozen.

  We had been in the outskirts of the city when we first arrived, and had thankfully avoided most of the chaos of downtown, where the shops never closed and the lights never went out.

  It was loud, it was flashy, and I wanted out.

  So of course my companions wanted to stay for as long as possible.

  “Come on Alina!” Lucas whined. “Can’t we stay a little longer?”

  “You can stay as long as you want, but I’m going back to the motel.” I said primly, taking another step towards the exit of the Department Store.

  “Don’t girls like shopping though?”

  I shot him a glare, and Lucas wilted.

  “Okay, okay, foot-in-mouth, I get it.”

  I sighed. “I mean, I do like shopping but this is…” I waved my hand around me.

  “Too much.”

  Back home, I’d been on the very tail end of malls being popular. There were a few memories I had of going to the mall with my parents, but those had always been the relatively small, local malls.

  The Veilstone City Department Store was more like the Mall of America, and the Pokémon world was still firmly in the grip of mall-fever.

  Thousands of people were packed into the building like sardines, and there was a constant drone of half-heard conversations that filled the air. The smell of greasy, salty fried food at the food court was layered with countless perfumes from the various beauty shops.

  For the regular person, it probably would have been a bit much.

  For me, who regularly got a headache from smelling too many flowers at once, it was nauseating.

  The mass of people, the smells, the hum of conversation, and the bright fluorescent lights had all come together and given me the worst headache I’d had in a while. If it got any worse, I was sure that it would develop into a full-blown migraine, and then I’d definitely need to leave the Department Store.

  “Hey guys!” Ted said eagerly as he hurried out of a shop.

  “Did you find it?” Lucas asked, eyes sparkling as he turned to the older man.

  Ted grinned, and pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle out of a brown paper bag. Unfurling the cloth, he revealed a glimmering metal talon, several inches long.

  “A Razor Claw!” He said excitedly. “It cost me a lot more than I was wanting to spend, but now Switchback can finally evolve!”

  “Is he ready for it?”

  Ted met my eyes for a second, then slowly nodded. “I think so. Might take a little bit longer just to be sure, but he should be.”

  “What about you Lucas?”

  Lucas shrugged, but pulled out a long scarf out of a bag, which both Kevin and Ted made appreciative noises over.

  I stared at it. “A scarf? I mean, it’s a pretty scarf but I thought your current one works fine.”

  “Not just any scarf! This is a Choice Scarf! It cost me most of my savings though.” He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.

  It deserved a much closer look now.

  Held items were one of those parts of the Pokémon games that I still wasn’t sure exactly how they worked in this world. I’d never been much into the competitive scene, and only used held items in my casual plays, where they weren't as important. I had no idea how something like Heavy Duty Boots would fit onto a Volcarona, for example.

  Most held items were actually restricted for low-level Pokémon matches and Gym Challenges. Certain ones were allowed once you got four Gym Badges, mostly Berries and the like, and more were “unlocked” when you got six. During the Conference, all kinds of Held Items were allowed - so long as they were legal.

  But how they actually worked was still a mystery to me. For example the Choice Scarf - how did wearing one increase a Pokémon’s speed while restricting the moves it could use? Was that just a game mechanic?

  I shook my head and returned to the conversation, wincing as the movement made my headache worse for a second.

  “- on Sunny. I think he would get the most out of the Scarf.”

  Kevin was nodding. “We still have a ways to go before the Conference.”

  “I know, but I want to get him used to the speed sooner rather than later.”

  “Smart.” Ted said. “I need to look into getting some more items, but I’m still trying to figure out who needs what.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “We can work on that tonight.” Lucas chirped.

  “Lucas!”

  The boy looked over to Kevin, who was blushing furiously.

  “What? Oh. Oh! Sorry Ted, I’m busy tonight!”

  “Oh?” I said with a grin. “Hot date?”

  Lucas spluttered while Kevin turned an alarming shade of red.

  “I- we- there’s the new Wonder Fighters movie and I thought-”

  I waved my hand, trying to stay somewhat composed. Ted, on the other hand, was coughing quite suspiciously.

  “That’s fine, I hope you two have fun!”

  If Kevin got any more embarrassed there would be steam coming out of his ears, but remarkably he didn’t blow up at me.

  Guess he really is starting to grow up huh? Good for him.

  I knew that when I’d come out, it had helped with my mental health and anger issues. Being in a group of people who accepted Kevin for who he was was probably helping a lot.

  “What about you?” Lucas said with a slight squeak, desperate to change the conversation.

  I smirked, and reached into the bag at my side. I hadn’t gotten much shopping done thanks to the overwhelming nature of the mall, but I had found one store that I was willing to splurge at.

  “Behold!” I said and whipped out my prize.

  My three companions stared in what was obviously awe and envy at what I held.

  “Alina.” Ted said flatly, because surely he was trying to suppress his jealousy. “Why did you buy a Tyranitar onesie?”

  /^\

  So maybe they weren’t as impressed as they should have been, but that was their problem, not mine.

  Jira loved it though, and when she saw me wearing it she let out the tiniest roar and toddled over to me, eagerly hugging my legs.

  The rest of my party were a bit more blasé about it. Zetian was more interested in how it smelled and if she could sleep in the hood. Once it became clear she was too big for that, she let out an approximation of a huff - and where had she learned to do that? - and went back to playing with Jira.

  Venus gave it the sniff test, and when it passed, she treated it like any other bit of my clothing. Namely, when I wasn’t wearing it, it was fair game to be used as a napping spot.

  I was going to have to invest in some rollers to remove her black hair from all of my clothes.

  And the best boy Kōjin didn’t even notice that it was any different from my other outfits.

  While their reactions to my onesie were entertaining, it was how they were treating Jira that I was the most worried about.

  And of course, I shouldn’t have been worried at all.

  Kōjin was ecstatic to have somebody new to play with, even though I had to remind him to moderate his strength while playing. It only took a couple of accidents for him to finally realize that Jira was, in his eyes, a puppy, and he adapted quickly.

  I was pretty sure he was trying to teach Jira how to breathe fire, something she wasn't exactly suited for.

  Venus was much the same, except she understood how young Jira was right away, and was content with teaching the little Larvitar the more delicate matters of life.

  Namely, the best places to take naps and how to convince me to give them Poffins.

  Zetian, of all of my Pokémon, had the most interesting reaction, however. I was worried about introducing her to Jira, because of the Type-differences. Larvitar were Rock-types after all, and if she accidentally hit Zetian with a move, even at her young age it could prove dangerous.

  I shouldn't have been worried, because Zetian’s motherly, or rather queenly instincts quickly took over once she saw a newborn.

  Whenever Jira was out, Zetian wanted to be out as well, and was often literally hovering around the little Larvitar. She could be seen trying to teach Jira the basics of Combee dances, which didn’t work very well considering Jira couldn’t actually fly.

  I was a little afraid that Zetian would smother Jira, but I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. She was more than willing to let Jira fail, whether it be at doing a Combee dance, or learning how to interact with the world around her.

  Despite the constant buzz of people and the consumerism of Veilstone City, I should have been enjoying myself. I’d gotten more supplies for our journey, checked in and made sure the Veilstone Meteors were safe (they hadn’t been touched at all), and my Pokémon were helping support one-another in their growth.

  If I really tried to relax, I probably even could have at least been neutral to the Department Store and the casinos.

  But I couldn’t relax, because every time I felt my shoulders start to untense, I would turn around and there it was.

  The Team Galactic building.

  /^\

  “I don’t get it.” Lucas said. “What’s so impressive about this building?”

  “It’s not the building itself.” I hissed as we walked down the street. “It’s about who's inside.”

  “Cryron.”

  “Cyrus!”

  “Right, sorry.”

  “Is it just me, or does this whole thing sound like a conspiracy theory?” Kevin said skeptically.

  “It’s not a conspiracy!”

  “Then how do you know about it? I mean, you’re trying to tell me that there’s a group of cultists that want to end the world led by a guy with blue hair? But you can’t tell me how you actually know about it, and there’s nothing online about this ‘Team Galactic.’ There’s the Galaxy Team, sure, but they’re like, centuries old by this point.”

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “Why not?”

  It wasn’t that I distrusted Kevin, but I just didn’t really know him well enough. It had taken me a long time to trust Lucas and Ted with it, and we’d been through a lot more together than we had with Kevin so far.

  “Alina knows a lot, Kevin.” Lucas said. “It’s how she became Professor Rowan’s assistant.”

  Kevin tripped on something, but managed to catch himself.

  “Wait,” he said, hurrying to catch up. “You’re Rowan’s other sponsored assistant?”

  “Yes?” I said, drawing the word out. “Didn’t we tell you that?”

  “I mean, you said you worked with the Professor, not that you were sponsored by him!”

  “Is it that big of a difference?”

  “It’s a massive difference! It means that-”

  “We’re here.” Ted said, as we finally rounded the corner.

  The Team Galactic building was even more threatening up close. It seemed to loom over the entire street, and I could have sworn that as we walked down the sidewalk, the temperature got noticeably colder.

  “... Okay.” Kevin said, staring up. “Maybe it’s a bit suspicious.”

  My steps faltered as we walked up to the front door, but I took a deep breath, trying to center myself and get ready for the confrontation with Team Galactic.

  The others were waiting for me to be the first one, and once I got my nerves together, I stepped forwards, trying to project confidence and surely coming across as “shaky” instead.

  Of course, that all fell apart as I reached the sliding glass doors, and they failed to open.

  I blinked, looking closer. The doors didn’t have handles on the outside, and through the tinted glass I could see that most of the lights were off inside.

  There were building hours listed on the doors, and I double-checked my watch.

  It was supposed to be open right now.

  “Well.” I said, the energy draining out of me. “This was anticlimactic. I guess we're going home now?”

  “Nope!” Lucas said, and reached past me, pushing a button on the side of the doors.

  There was a soft chime, and I froze.

  A long second passed, then a voice on a scratchy speaker said “One second! I’ll be right down!”

  My head slowly turned to look at Lucas, who smirked. “See! It’s just that easy!”

  I sighed, and after a minute or two I could see a figure behind the doors hurrying across the lobby.

  They pressed something on the opposite side, and the automatic doors opened with a soft hiss.

  Then my anxiety spiked as I recognized who was standing on the opposite side.

  The red hair in a short bob was unmistakable, even if she was wearing a smart pantsuit instead of the Team Galactic uniform.

  At least it was in white, black, and grey.

  “Sorry about that!” Commander Mars said with a smile. “How can the Galaxy Team help you today?”