Annais walked along Route 9 on her way to Hammerlocke with a pep in her step.  After that phenomenal battle with Piers, she felt like she was on Cloud 9 instead.  God, he was so dreamy…  Was he flirting back?  She hoped he was flirting back.  She was always paranoid she was misreading signals, but something just felt so right with him.  

Piers…  Even his name was cute.  God, she felt giddy as a schoolgirl.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had been hit with a crush like this so strong and so quick… Never- that’s the last time it happened.  Maybe the closest thing was that other hot goth she slept with in Alola a few years ago.  Even then, that was a lust thing.  This was way different.  This was… Oh, she didn’t know if she believed in love at first sight, but if it existed, that’s certainly how she felt after meeting Piers.  Nothing could break her stride.

“Oi!  You wif the hair!”

… Except whatever the hell that was.  Annais stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder.  Two rather heavyset punks were yelling at her.  She sighed, hoping this wasn’t a catcall.  There was only one person was interested in now.

“Yeah!  You!” One of them pointed.  She turned around.  “That’s right.  Come on back here, then.”

They were wearing the same top as Piers.  Were they trainers from his gym?  They certainly were treating full length tanks like crop tops, like he’d joked about. Had Piers sent them to tell her something?  Curious, she stepped forward.

“What’s up?”

“Wot’s up?” the other mocked.  “Well, Miss, since ya asked so nicely.  You ‘ave somethin’ that belongs to us.”

“Huh?” Annais asked.  What did she have?  A gym uniform, a league card…  Piers’s heart?  Hehe… No, she was just being silly.  What the hell were they on about?  “Is this a joke from Piers?”

“Piers?”

They both laughed.

“Naur, we don’t answer to ‘im.”

“’Kay.”  Annais folded her arms.  She didn’t like their tone, to be honest.  “So, if it’s nothing from Piers, what are you claiming I have?”

“Oi, it’s from Piers awright, but he had no right givin’ it to ya.  That dark badge.  ‘And it over an’ we’ll let ya carry on yer merry way.”

Annais was just getting annoyed at this point.  The sooner she got to Hammerlocke, the sooner she could take a shower to cool down from how hot and bothered she was from thinking about Piers.  These two were just keeping her from that and killing her vibe.

“Yeah… Y’know, I don’t think I will.  I won it from Piers fair and square.”

“An’ we’re takin’ it back fair an’ square.”

“We overheard ya have some big plans for the tourneym’nt,” one of the punks said.  “Kinda a conflict a’ innerest ‘ere.   We’re not gonna ‘ave ya mussin’ things up for Miss Marnie!”

“Marnie?” Annais repeated.  “Piers’s sister, Marnie?”

“Oi!  Wot’s wif ya an’ Piers, anyway?  Y’polish his knob for that badge or somethin’?”

Annais’s jaw dropped.  Damn, was that an option?  No, no, not going down that line of thought.  Her reputation was on the line here, and she was only going take credit for cocks she had sucked, not ones she’d be eager and willing to if both parties were interested.  Not to mention she guessed her shot at the championship would be on the line if she lost her dark badge.

“Well, I’m not sure how you handle things in Galar,” she said, reaching for her Golisopod’s ball.  “But a claim like that back where I’m from gets settled with a good old fashioned Pokémon battle.”

“Righto then!  We’ll kick your bum so good you’ll go runnin’ back to whatever cracker barrel y’came from, y’ yankee slag!”

Stunned by whatever the hell that remark was supposed to mean, Annais blinked a few times.  What the fuck?  She’d gotten her fair share of shit for being from Carolus.  No one even knew where the hell that was, but this insult was a new one.  She had to admire creativity.

Despite what they said about Piers, she was willing to bet they had some kind of ties to dark type Pokémon judging by appearances.  Since it was two against one, she sent out her Golisopod and her Rapidash too.  Her hunch was right as they called out their Pokémon- a Thievul and a Liepard.

The battle was anti-climactic at best, a damn shame at worst.  With a First Impression and Dazzling Gleam, their forces were wiped out before either could even do anything.

“Oi!”  One of the punks smacked himself in the forehead.  “Not fair!”

“Y-You just wait right there while I go heal our Pokémon back up!”  One man turned to the other after telling Annais this.  “Gimme yer Pokémon.  Y’watch ‘er to make sure she doesn’t try anythin’ funny.”

“Me?  Wot am I supposed ta do if she runs off without my Thievul? Body slam ‘er?”

“… How about you just leave ‘er alone?”

Annais looked beside her to the source of the small, exasperated voice.  It was a young girl with a Morpeko on her shoulder.  Well, young to Annais.  She looked about 13 or 14, and had a striking resemblance to Piers.

Both of the men hung their heads in shame.  Based on the way they reacted to her, Annais could only assume this was the Marnie they spoke of.  Seeing how young this girl was definitely made this whole thing a lot stranger than it already seemed to be.  Were they related too?  They couldn’t be.  No way in hell those two came from the same gene pool as Piers.

“Run on back.  I’m sure my bro is waitin’ for you at the gym,” the girl told them.  “What if a challenger stops by?  They’ll get right through to him without a trial.”

They blubbered out apologies and headed back in the direction of Spikemuth with their tails metaphorically between their legs.  What a weird encounter.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” the girl muttered to Annais.  “They’re fans of mine… A bit territorial…  Y’see I’m doin’ the gym challenge and they just want me to do my best, but they don’ really know how to show it.”

Somehow this girl seemed even more emo than Piers.  Annais thought to herself that she would be too with fans like those guys.  Would she have to deal with that if she became champion? Lord, she hoped not.  She’d step down.

“No worries at all.  You’re Marnie, aren’t you?” Annais asked.  The girl looked at bit embarrassed.

“Yeah, that’s me…” Marnie confirmed.  “How’d ya know?  They tell ya?”

“Actually, Piers told me to be on the lookout for his sister… And you look just like him.”

Marnie’s eyes widened.  “Y’know my brother?”

“Well, just met him,” Annais said, pointing her thumb back in the direction of Spikemuth.  “I might not look it, but I’m a challenger too.  I just got my dark badge from him… And I guess they didn’t like that too much.”

Marnie looked her over for a minute.  “Y’know, I do think I remember seein’ you at the openin’ ceremony.  At any rate, if ya beat my brother, y’must be really good.”

“Ah, I’m okay, I guess. Piers was the most interesting battle I’ve had yet.  He’s awesome,” Annais rubbed her elbow as she said this.  He wasn’t that difficult to beat in terms of Pokémon since she had the type advantage.  If he didn’t have the handicap, it probably would’ve been a fairer fight.  It was the way he battled that caught her eye…  Okay, who was she kidding?  It all had to do with how attracted she was to him.  He could beat her ass and she’d still enjoy it. “Piers warned me you were even better than him.”

“… He said that?” asked Marnie, averting her eyes.

“He did,” said Annais.  “How many badges have you gotten, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Four so far,” she said.  “Just headed home for the night.  I’ll be off to Ballonlea in the morning.”

“Oh, that’s awesome!” Annais chirped.  “I live in Ballonlea myself… You’ll love Opal.  She’s a hoot.”

“You a fairy type trainer then?”

“No… I’m not type specific,” Annais said with a shake of her head.  “Though, uh, after talking with your brother I realized I may have a slight preference towards dark types…  Didn’t really realize how many I had with me until just a few minutes ago.”

“Mine are dark too, for the most part,” Marnie revealed.  “Runs in the family, I suppose.”

“Hey!  Since we’re both challengers, you wanna battle real quick before you call it a night?” Annais suggested.  “We can do dark vs dark to keep it interesting.”

“Oh!  Really?” Marnie asked.  “That does sound fun…”

“C’mon.  Consider it a warm-up for when we face each other at the Champion Cup.”

Marnie gave a nod of determination.  “I’m in.”

“I have three dark types with me,” Annais revealed.  “I won’t use the rest of my team.”

“Well, I’ll limit myself to three too,” Marnie said.  “That way we’re even.”

“Works for me.”

The battle proceeded with Obstagoon, Grimmsnarl, and Incineroar from Annais and Morpeko, Scrafty, and Liepard from Marnie.  It was an enjoyable battle, but clear that Annais’s Pokémon had rank over Marnie’s. That was to be expected as Annais had one gym left and Marnie was halfway through the challenge.  Annais was the victor of the 3v3 dark type battle.

“You are good. Despite losin’, that was fun, actually,” Marnie said.  “Don’ get comfortable, though.  This proves I’ve gotta work even harder so we can have a proper rematch at the Champion Cup.”

“You better.  I’ll warn you, my Golisopod won’t be off the table then. He’s a savage,” Annais replied.  

Marnie shoved her fist in her pocket.  She pulled out some cash and went to hand it over since she lost, but Annais held her hand up.

“Ah, you can keep it.  We were just warming up, remember?  In fact, here…”  She reached into her bag and offered Marnie three full restores.  “Take these so you can make it home safe.”

Marnie looked at her reluctantly. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”  Annais nodded.  “I really don’t need the money, or the medicine.  I’ve got plenty of both.”

“Thank you…”  Marnie took the restores, using the first of them on her Morpeko.

“I hear Piers and your city have faith you’ll see it through to the end,” said Annais as the girl healed up her other Pokémon.  “I’m sure that little fan club of yours does too.  And now so do I.  Do your best not only for them, but for your Pokémon and yourself too.”

“All a’ Spikemuth is cheerin’ for me an’ Morpeko.  We won’t let ‘em down,” Marnie said.  It was very faint, but she smiled a bit.  “Oi, Annais?”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Annais said.  She expected something about Pokémon or the challenge, but not what came next.

“You like my brother, doncha?  You crushin’ on ‘im?”

Annais froze as a furious blush claimed her face.  “… What? That obvious?”

First the punks, now his own sister.  What was she doing that gave her away?  

Marnie gave her a nod.  “’Fraid so…  You keep bringin’ him up.  An’ ya say his name funny.”  

“That’s just my Carolian accent,” claimed Annais.  “I say everything funny.”

“Don’ think it is,” Marnie teased. “Cos of the way you smile when you say it.”

A sigh fell from Annais.  It was embarrassing to be called out by a kid. How could she help that his name just felt so good rolling off her tongue?  She’d forgotten how blunt and up-front teenagers could be, even the quiet ones.  It’d been a long time since those days, but she still remembered the relentless teasing from peers when it came to crushes.  She never thought she’d have to deal with this in her mid-twenties.

“Don’t tell him,” Annais mumbled.  “Please.”

“I won’t,” Marnie assured her. “Though, I hope ya know this makes us rivals.”

“Y’know what?”  Annais couldn’t hold back her laughter.  “That’s fair.  I was feeling left out without a rival of my own.”

“So… You ‘ave his league card?” the girl asked.  “I have a few copies since he’s not very good about givin’ them away.”

“Yeah, I do actually.” Annais couldn’t stop blushing at this point.  Marnie raised a brow.  “What? He traded with me…”

“Oh okay,” said Marnie. “So, he likes ya too, then.”

Annais sputtered.  “What?  No, you’re just saying that…  Everyone trades league cards.”

“I know him,” Marnie said, shaking her head.  “He doesn’t just give those things out to anyone on his own.  Can’t be bothered.  Y’must have really impressed him.  Come to think of it, I think you’re his type.”

“Oh my God!  Enough about Piers,” Annais huffed and crossed her arms. Now, she was paranoid she said his name funny again.  “Wanna trade our league cards?  Since we’re rivals and all now.”

“Oh… Yeah,” Marnie nodded.  “That’d be nice.”

Both young ladies fetched their cards and passed them amongst themselves.  Marnie also took out something else and handed it to Annais.

“What’s this?” Annais asked, accepting it.  It was a jewel case with no labeling.

“Some of his music,” Marnie said. “He has a band, y’know.  Thought you’d might like to hear it.  Great stuff for gettin’ pumped up before a battle. There’s some on there for if you need a good cry too, if you’re into that kinda thing.”

Once again, Annais’s face turned red.  She had wanted to ask him about his music, but nerves and time got in the way.  “Are you okay giving this to me?  It’s not like, a personal copy?”

“Nah, plenty more where that came from,” said Marnie.  “I’m sure he’d want you to have it.”

“Cool,” Annais smiled and nodded. She went to put it away with Marnie’s league card.  “Thank you, Marnie.  I really appreciate it.  Kinda excited to give it a listen.”

“I think you’ll love it,” she said.  “Oh, Annais?”

As she zipped her bag, Annais looked up to Marnie.  “What’s up?”

“He is single, by the way,” she said, holding her hands behind her.  “Sure you don’ want me puttin’ in a good word?”

Annais groaned playfully, rolling her eyes at the younger girl.  “Are you trying to pawn him off on me?”

“Sorry to pry,” the girl said, kicking the ground.  “It’s just… sometimes I worry about him.  He’s always so lonely if I’m not around.  I know we just met, but I think you’d be good for him.  He’s so good to others; he deserves something good too.”

“Oh…” said Annais, trying to pretend that hearing that didn’t make her want to walk right back with Marnie and tell him herself.  “I…  It’s getting late.  He’s probably wondering where you are.”

“Right,” Marnie softly laughed. “I’ll keep my lips sealed for now. ‘Til next time then.”

“Wait,” Annais said before Marnie could walk away.  “Could you see what he says about me?”

“Pardon?” asked Marnie.

“Don’t tell him we met just yet,” she said.  “I know he cares for you a lot, and I don’t think it will, but I don’t want that to influence how he feels about me.  Pretend you don’t know me, and see if he feels the same.”

“You adults are complicated,” Marnie said.

“Yeah, I know,” laughed Annais. “But if you really want to play matchmaker for your brother, this is the best strategy.  I have a feeling we’ll run into each other soon.  The champion cup isn’t many days away.  We’ll talk then.  Sound good?”

One corner of Marnie’s mouth tugged upward.  “Yeah.”

“Good.  See ya in Wyndon if I don’t see you before then,” said Annais.

“Cheers!”

“Take care!” Annais waved her off.

Oh Annais, she thought as the girl walked back in the direction which she had just left.  What have you gotten yourself into?

She sighed and looked to the sky. It was late, and she felt that she needed something more than a hotel shower to calm her down now.  She needed her CD Player, possibly her own pillows to squeal into.  Sorry Hammerlocke, the next flying taxi to Ballonlea it is.