#i told myself not every pokemon needed an item...but alas....

[cinnamon-bunni]

behold......pokemon teams that took WAY too fucking long to make

[missusk]

Pecha Berries

A Pokemon Shield Nuzlocke Story.

Chapter 4 - Just Six, but Seven is Fine

[Team Roster: Jackson (Scorbunny), Bella (Yamper), Lacey (Wooloo), Orchid (Bunnelby), Sap (Grubbin)]

Dolly changed out of her uniform as quickly as she could, not wanting to wait another second to enthuse with Hop about what just happened. He must have had the same idea, because they both came sprinting out at the same time and nearly smashed into each other.

“That was wicked!” Hop yelled, pumping his fists.

“I know!” Dolly shouted, jumping up and down.

“Standing there on the pitch,”

“In the stadium,”

“In front of everyone!” he finished, clenching his fists. “I can barely contain myself!”

“My heart’s racing!”

The two blathered back and forth, talking a mile a minute, until two others approached them.

A familiar twirl of dark red and gold flickered, alongside a crisp light gray. Dolly was practically catapulted into the wall by the amount of charisma these two men brought as they walked forward. She had seen them both a thousand times through a screen, but something about the way Rose’s light green eyes pierced into hers made her heart quicken.

Oh boy.

“Seems like the two of you enjoyed the opening ceremony by the sound of it! You must be the two Trainers our Champion endorsed himself,” Rose said with a charming smile. “Welcome, and it’s a delight to meet you.”

He shook Hop’s hand, then turned to Dolly, taking her hand in his as well. Not for a handshake, however, as he placed his other hand on top of hers. His light green eyes met hers as he continued.

“I’m Rose, of course.”

Dolly’s eyes flicked from his eyes down to her hand held within his. She swallowed.

Oooh boy.

He needed to stop looking at her because sweet Arceus were those green eyes mesmerizing. Not this again. Why must she be bombarded with so many charismatic men? Her poor heart could hardly handle it. She swallowed again when Rose turned her hand over and smiled inquisitively.

“Oh, and what’s this? I see you both already possess Dynamax Bands,”

She wished he would let go of her hand before it slipped out from how much she was sweating. Her hand probably felt like a Cloyster tongue. He looked into her eyes again.

“It seems like you’ve been led here by the guiding light of the Wishing Stars.”

Instead of an eloquent and insightful reply, as was her full intent, Dolly’s throat just let out an unfortunate squeak. She could see Hop in her periphery raising an eyebrow at her and boy did she want to smack him. And herself. She thought she was more robust than this, but alas, she was just a wafery napkin that was easily charmed by powerful men.

Rose finally released her hand from his and stood back, smiling at the two of them.

“I daresay this year’s Gym Challenge is looking to be an absolute blast. Very good, very good indeed! The whole Galar region is in for some excitement!” he said. After a quick glance at his watch he gave them a slight bow. “I’m afraid I must be off, but best of luck to you both!”

Tall, handsome, charismatic men: 2. Dolly: 0.

Hop nudged her and waggled his eyebrows as Rose left. She shoved him.

Leon came up next, pumping his fists as she had seen his brother do so often. He explained to them a bit about the next steps of the Gym Challenge, and about something else too, but she only watched his golden eyes sparkle. And his arms when he moved his cape back as it cascaded over his broad shoulders. And his dazzling smile. She wondered if the previous Champion wore their shirt as tight as he did. What was he saying? Dolly felt like she was going to explode when he ruffled her and Hop’s hair and sent them off with some more Poké Balls and potions.

Hop whistled as they made their way to Route 3.

“It’s a good thing I’m going to be Champion and the one working with Rose, huh Dolls? Not sure Galar has enough towels for how much you were drooling. And you know, you’ve got to actually win your way up with Pokémon battles. You can’t just persuade Rose to give you Badges by using…other means,” he said with a wink.

Dolly gasped and smacked his arm.

“What kind of girl do you take me for? Arceus,” she laughed. “It’s not my fault he has hypnotizing green eyes.”

“Gross, girls are so weird," Hop said, pretending to gag. "He’s a tubby middle-aged man. Lee told me Rose picks his nose,”

“He did not tell you that!” Dolly laughed. “Whatever, you’re just jealous he’s handsome and magnetic and intelligent and you’ve got less charm than a brick,”

“What!” Hop yelped, stopping in the road. “I’m charming!”

Dolly continued on, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

“I don’t see any girls drooling over you,”

“I’ll prove it to you with a Pokémon battle, how ‘bout that?”

"Not sure what that has to do with charm, but I can’t stand here with you assuming I’m not going to win again,” she grinned, pulling up her sleeves.

The two Trainers battled in the streets of Motostoke, laughing and mocking one another as they darted about the bricks. Dolly was liking this feeling that continued to burn within her every time she battled. Sometimes it was fire, and sometimes it was a roaring ocean, with waves crashing and resurrecting her soul as she commanded her Pokémon forward.

As Hop withdrew his final Pokémon, he set his hands on his hips.

“Just what I’d expect from my rival! You know what? I’ll even give you one of my League cards! That’s how good I think you did in that battle,” he grinned, plopping his card into her hand. When he did, Dolly laughed again.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Floss my teeth with it?”

Hop reeled back at her comment.

“How dare you! That will one day be a limited-edition collector’s item! Keep it safe and sound and one day it’ll be worth millions,” he said with a decisive nod.

Dolly rolled her eyes as they continued into Route 3. Hop was nearly bouncing around her by the time they got to the edge of Motostoke.

“Just go,” she smiled, rolling her eyes again. “I don’t fancy sprinting everywhere anyway.”

“Great see you in Turffield then!” he beamed, already rushing toward Route 3. “Hello Galar! Meet your next Champion!” he called, startling a few Rookidees out of a nearby tree. “From the sleepy town of Postwick - it’s me, Hop!”

Dolly let out another laugh as she shook her head, meandering into Route 3 herself.

The fresh air filled her lungs as she took in a deep breath, the sun shining brightly upon her. She stretched up toward it, flexing her fingers. She agreed with Sonia when she said it was nice to be on the road - minus her aching feet and aching shoulders and aching back, at least the sunshine and breeze were nice. She was also excited to use the new tent she got in Motostoke instead of using that old fabric shrapnel as a blanket.

She looked about her, tall grass filling in more of the pathway forward. The blades waved gently in the wind as Dolly peered through. A new route meant a new Pokémon to add to the team. She could catch one more Pokémon, she would allow herself one final team member, and now it was just a matter of who it would be.

Her eyes locked onto a bit of brown trudging through the grass. There. She tossed out Jackson and pointed to the Pokémon flank facing away from them. He nodded, prowling closer, ears flat against his head.

In a flash he leaped, chomping down on the Pokémon.

“Nice hit!” Dolly enthused, running up to the two Pokémon. “I think?”

Jackson’s face was flush in the dirt as a Mudbray held it there. He squirmed and shouted a few choice words, to no avail.

“You a Pokémon Trainer?” the Mudbray asked, still holding Jackson down with his hoof.

“Uh, yeah?”

He nodded his head toward Motostoke.

“Saw you and that purple-haired lad battling, saw you could talk to Pokémon. Mind if I come with you?”

“Oh. But, uh” she stuttered, glancing around. “Aren’t we supposed to battle? And I catch you proper?”

The Mudbray shrugged, taking his hoof off Jackson and setting it on the ground. Jackson shot up and gasped, flinging mud onto her shoes.

“You sent out a Fire-type Pokémon. Didn’t want to bother hurting him if I was just going to come with you anyway. Not much to do around here.”

Dolly stuck her lip out in contemplation.

“Well, I suppose that’s pretty considerate of you. I imagined my last Pokémon catch would be a little more... exciting?”

“Yeah come on, I want to battle!” Jackson enthused, hopping around the Mudbray. He threw a couple air-punches, then tripped over a rock and back into the mud.The Mudbray shrugged again as Jackson fussed.

“‘Fraid you won’t get much excitement out of me. That’s why I’ve been looking for a Trainer to follow around, anyway. Name’s Hudson.”

“I’m Dolly. Welcome to the team, then, Hudson,”

He nodded as they continued along Route 3. Jackson kept punching at Hudson who only walked stoically along.

“Come on, Hudson! I’ve got all this energy and I want to battle!” he roared, reaching his fists to the sky. He punched a Zigzagoon, it fainted, and Jackson evolved into a Raboot.

Dolly couldn’t help but chuckle as Jackson sprinted around her and Hudson.

As the trio made their way through Route 3, battling and leveling and chatting, Dolly eventually ran into Sonia, who was gazing out over an energy plant in the distance.

“Heya, Gym Challenger!” she grinned, turning to Dolly as she approached. “You looked real ace out there during the opening ceremony! Oh, but where’s Hop?”

“He went on ahead,” she said, rolling her eyes. Sonia grinned.

“He can’t sit still at all, can he? Guess he really wants to catch up to his brother.”

Dolly shrugged as Sonia continued explaining about the local surroundings. She mentioned a building off in the distance that Rose owned, and suddenly Dolly was much more interested in the conversation.

“Can’t say I really get him, but the chairman seems like a pretty brilliant guy, right? He even endorsed a Challenger this time too, I think his name was Challenger Bede.”

Dolly nearly swooned, thinking of Rose and their interaction earlier. Of course he was brilliant, Sonia. He was brilliant, charming, enrapturing, handsome, captivating, etcetera. She thought back to those dark features, those dangerous eyes, that chiseled jawline.

“Oh, and here, these should help you,” Sonia suddenly added with a grin, holding out her hand. She plopped two revives into Dolly’s hand. Dolly stared at the two yellow tablets for a moment, her eyebrows pulling together.

“Oh, uh...thanks Sonia, but I can’t accept these,” she muttered, looking down and handing them back.

“Wow, look at you, Miss Confident!," Sonia said, letting out a laugh. "Don’t think you’ll ever lose, huh?”

“No, I...I can’t use them. ‘Nother part of the Curse.” Dolly said quietly, still kicking at the ground. Sonia tilted her head.

“What do you mean? Do they have the same effect as throwing too many Poké Balls?”

“Not quite. But they definitely won’t work for me.”

Sonia nodded, understanding dawning on her face. Dolly let out another breath.

“That part is the hardest to talk about, for obvious reasons. I figured you’d think I was selfish and cruel and whatever since I was battling again, risking the lives of my Pokémon like that.”

Sonia paused, scratching her chin again. Then, she shook her head.

“I don’t think less of you, Dolly. From what I’ve seen, you treat your Pokémon with a lot of love, care, and respect. They all seem to like you, too. And hey,” she said with a smile, setting her hands on her hips. “Maybe that part of the Curse doesn’t affect you anymore anyway. I’d say keep battling and moving forward in the Gym Challenge - maybe we’ll both learn more about it as we go along like this.”

Dolly couldn’t help but smile at the woman before her. Even though she wasn’t positive Pokémon fatality was part of her Curse still, it’s not like that was something she wanted to test anytime soon.

Sonia saw her off to Galar Mine No. 1, Dolly trying her best to be subtle when asking more about Rose. Just subtle things like his energy plant and his chairmanship and if he was married or not. Subtly, of course.

Dolly grimaced as she walked into the mine, a layer of grime and dust already forming on her clothes. She peered about, taking in the view of the new scenery before her. It was dirty, dusty, and gross. Little Pokémon darted about, popping up out of the dirt, but she was at six Pokémon, the limit she set herself, so she didn’t bother catching any as she traversed through the mine. After their training, she learned Hudson was quite the powerhouse. He obliterated the first Roggenrola they ran into anyway, so no new Pokémon even she wanted.

As she trekked farther in, her distaste for the mine wavered as she noticed little outcroppings of gemstones sparkling between cracks in the wall. Then she stepped in a Diglett hole, nearly rolled her ankle, and her distaste was right back where she started.

After following the Carkol tracks farther, Dolly could see daylight reflecting off of some of the gemstones in the walls. She let out a sigh, hoping she was getting close to leaving this rubbish mine. Her shoes and ankles were caked in dust and all she wanted was a hot shower. As she followed the tracks to the end of the mine, she saw someone standing in the way of the exit, looking about the room.

He looked to her as she approached. Had she met this guy before? His huge pink coat looked familiar...

“Coming this way? I’d advise against it. Any Trainer with a Wishing Star is in for a beating from me and my Pokémon,” he smirked, shoving his hand into his pocket, tossing a Poké Ball into the air with the other.

Great? She just wanted to take a shower.

“You. You’re the Gym Challenger endorsed by the Champion, aren’t you. What a joke,” he snickered. “You’re aware the chairman is more important than the Champion, correct?”

How dare he pit those two glorious men against each other.

“Uh...do I know you?” Dolly asked, peering around him to the exit of the mine.

“I was chosen by the chairman himself, and that makes me more amazing than you!” he laughed, still tossing his Poké Ball into the air.

A memory of him shoving Hop in the Motostoke atrium flashed through her head. So, she had seen him before. Was this that Challenger Bede Sonia mentioned earlier? What a stupid name to go with such stupid hair.

“Uh. Right. Look mate, I just want to get to Turffield,” she said, trying to sidestep around him. “Not looking for Wishing Stars or the bother,”

Dolly's brow furrowed as he blocked her path, standing to his full height.

“I said any Trainer who already has one is in for a beating,” the boy growled. “Are you deaf, or are you as stupid as the other bloke who the Champion endorsed?”

Her eyebrows raised. So that’s how he wanted to play. She took a step back and lifted up her hands in mock-defeat.

“You’re right, you’re right, my apologies, your majesty,” she said, bowing slightly. “Now, somebody who was endorsed by the most important man in Galar must have an important name, right? What was it again…?”

Dolly pondered, rubbing her finger to her temple. The boy smirked again.

“You’ll do well to remember it,” he started. “It’s B-”

“Brandon...Bryce...Bill…” she interrupted, setting her hands on her hips. She looked up and snapped her fingers. “Ah, I remember! It was Bidet!”

She could practically see the steam shooting from his head.

“Doing the hard work for the hand of Galar,” she continued. “Tell me, Bidet, do you and Oleana take turns wiping the chairman’s a-”

“That’s it!” he fumed, taking a furious stomp forward. “No one makes a fool of me or the chairman. Go, Solosis!”

He chucked his Poké Ball into the space between them and a Solosis’ cry echoed throughout the mine.

She tossed out her Poké Ball with a yawn and her Grubbin appeared before them. After a few hits, the opposing Solosis was down. Suddenly Dolly was grateful for the challenging training in the cave, as it would have been pretty embarrassing to lose to this guy. It only took a moment for Dolly to realize the pattern unfolding before her. That was quite a bit of pink...and quite a bit of Psychic. What a shame that her Grubbin was Bug-type.

It didn’t take long before her opponent was defeated and even more furious. He clenched his fists and took a step toward her. She stood her ground, staring up into his eyes as he glared down at her. After a moment he paused.

“Fine. It’s fine. I wasn’t even trying that hard anyway,” he grumbled, slapping some coins into her hand.

Bede took a step back and looked her up and down. Subtle.

“Well that was unexpected,” he laughed. “I suppose you’re more able than I thought.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Thanks, I guess. Off to Turffield then. Bye Bidet,” she said as she hiked up her bag and exited the mine.

The setting sun shone brilliantly over the fields of wheat unfolding before her. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust, but once she had she took in a breath.

Wheat fields rolled over the hills as far as the eye could see. There were trees dappled throughout the landscape, and giant stones artfully placed throughout. She could see Turffield in the distance, with its Gym watching over the town. This was certainly a much better view than the mine, she thought, as she started towards the route. She took a couple steps, tripped, and landed face-first into a pit of mud.

“Sorry,” she heard someone squeak.

“Who in the bloody he-” Dolly looked up and was met with a pair of big, brown eyes. Her mouth fell open. Unfortunately for her, some mud fell in. “An Eevee! No way!” she yelped, mud spitting on the Eevee’s face.

The Eevee cowered and started scampering away.

“Wait, hold on!” Dolly called, quickly picking herself up out of the mud. “I’ve only got one shot per route, I’m not letting this one go. Go, Jackson, catch that Eevee!”

Jackson took off sprinting. In a decisive tackle both Jackson and the Eevee were on the ground, rolling, tackling, biting. The dust was kicking up as the two battled, peppering the air around them.

“Careful Jackson, not too much!” she called as she caught up to the two of them. Once the Eevee looked just weathered enough, she tossed a Poké Ball, then it rolled three times and clicked.

“Alright!” Dolly cheered, pumping her fist into the air. “An Eevee, what are the odds of that happening?”

She cheered again, picking the Poké Ball up off the ground. Perhaps having seven overall wasn’t so bad? It’s not like she could let go of an Eevee.

“Let’s meet her officially, shall we?” she asked as Jackson came running back to her.

In a flash of light the Eevee was before them again, still panting.

“Here, take this,” Dolly said, kneeling down and holding out an Oran berry. “This’ll make you feel better,”

The Eevee took a cautious step forward, her paw hovering above the ground. After a moment she trotted to the berry and ate it up quickly. Dolly plopped onto the ground completely, crossing her legs.

“Welcome to the team, little Eevee. Do you have a name?” she asked, picking at the mud that was drying on her face.

“It’s Posey,” the Eevee whispered, looking at her paws. “Thanks for the berry…”

“Do you like adventure, Posey? Traveling? What do you like to do?”

“I’m Jackson!” Jackson said, interrupting Dolly as he grinned. He stood up to his full two-foot height and stuck out his paw. “Sorry about beating you up!”

“Oh it’s okay,” she said, a small smile appearing on her face as she shook his paw. “I like battling, and I’m pretty good at it, too.”

Jackson grinned and she looked back to the ground bashfully.

“I’ll say!” Jackson boomed. “Your Bite nearly tore my ear off!”

“Th-thanks,” she smiled, eyes twinkling.

After an introduction to the rest of the team, Posey melded in effortlessly. Jackson seemed to be paying her quite a bit of attention, and Dolly made a sly mental note of that.

After a bit more training, they found a nice outcropping to set up for dinner. Dolly sighed as she took a seat, peeling off her socks and shoes again. Not so blistered this time, she thought as she watched her small Pokémon team playing in the grass. Sap clambered up to sit on her lap.

It had been a while since she lived like this she thought, stroking her now-Charjabug who was emitting sparks in content. She’d never had so many Pokémon on her team, but she did have one once before.

It was before she and her mum moved to Galar. Even then she was pretty lackluster - all the other kids had hobbies like collecting pretty stones or doing crafts, or playing sports or competitive chess. It wasn’t until she met her in the forest near her home when she was looking for Pecha berries to pick. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old - even then she could talk to Pokémon, but her mum never let her have any. She was outside, meandering in the woods for the familiar bushes. She remembered it was spring, because her Pokémon’s coat was pink - her favorite color at the time. She was reaching in the bushes, but instead of grabbing a berry, she grabbed the flower on her head. From the second they made eye contact, their bond was solidified. Every morning that spring Dolly would ask her mum if she could go pick more berries because ‘she just really loved Pecha jam,’ and her new Pokémon friend would meet her at the edge of the forest. They would play together, splash in the stream in the forest together, tell stories - everything, really, throughout that spring and summer. It wasn’t until one summer dusk that her friend hadn’t come to meet her at the edge of the forest all day that day.

Dolly had wandered into the forest, a flashlight and the fireflies being the only guiding light as she called for her friend. Then, as she was walking along, she heard a familiar cry. Rushing through the bushes, ignoring the branches whipping at her face, she made it to a clearing in the forest. Her friend was surrounded by Unfezants, clawing and pecking at her in the clearing. Dolly had run up, trying to shoo the birds away as her friend cowered on the ground. It was then that she felt that fire within her first spark. When she and her friend blazed in unison and defeated the swarm of angry Unfezants, that was when the fire within her was ignited.

Dolly shook her head to the present and watched her new team hop around their makeshift camp. She had been on the road for a while, and she wasn’t any closer to figuring out her Curse than when she started in Postwick. That voice in the Slumbering Weald...what had it said? Shield of Galar? Overcome the Curse? She remembered that part as much. So someone, or something, knew about her Curse besides her mum and Sonia. But what did that mean?

“Miss Dolly, can you tell us another story?”

Dolly jolted into focus as Lacey trotted up to her, sauce from dinner still sticking to her wool.

“Maybe the one about the nice princess with the fluffy hair?” she asked bashfully, kicking at a rock on the ground.

“No, no, tell the one about the ninja who ate all the bananas!” Jackson quipped, bounding up to her as well.

“Or the one about the secretly courageous accountant and that venus flytrap and the treadmill,” Hudson added, joining the other two to sit before Dolly.

“I liked the ninja one too,” Posey added with a brief glance towards Jackson.

Perhaps deciphering her vision was a task for another day. She let out a laugh as she stood from her spot, setting Sap down and dusting off her leggings and skirt. They needed to get back on the road if they wanted to make it to Turffield before the sun set.

“How about a new story about a Pokémon team who loved washing dishes,”

“That’s lame!” Jackson pouted. “Make something cooler!”

“Alright, alright," Dolly laughed. "I’ll tell one as we clean up. This one is about a Snorlax who couldn’t touch his toes…”

As she wove the narrative for them, her small team cleaned up and set off again. When she finished her Snorlax story, she sent them back into their Poké Balls and hiked her bag up on her shoulders. She started back along the route, picking at the mud that was still caked in her hair. Suddenly she heard a call from behind her.

“Wooloo, where do you think you’re going?”

“I’VE GOT DREAMS TOO BIG FOR THIS PODUNK TOWN!”

Dolly turned just in time to be tackled to the ground by a runaway Wooloo, his wool squishing against her face.

It didn’t take long before someone lifted the Wooloo from her and tossed it to the side. Her vision was filled with the worried face of a man above her, his large sun hat blocking out most of the sky.

“My...Are you okay? You took that Tackle head on…” he said, lifting her to her feet.

Dolly winced as her back pinched when she stood fully. Just something else to add to her repertoire of aches and pains on this journey. She nodded when she saw his worried face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she grimaced.

“You must be one of those Gym Challengers, right?” the man asked, beckoning the Wooloo to his side. Dolly nodded in response. “Ahh, I thought so. I saw you at the opening ceremony.”

Wow, pretty impressive that he remembered her of all people. She was really hoping no one would have noticed she was there, then no one would notice that she would drop out after this town’s Gym. He stuck out his hand with a friendly grin.

“My name’s Milo, I’m a Gym Leader and rather partial to Grass-type Pokémon. I’ve been itching to see just how good the Champion-endorsed Gym Challengers are. I can walk you down the rest of the way to Turffield, I’m off there with this little guy anyway,”

Dolly nodded and walked in step with Milo as he chatted with her on their way to Turffield. He was pretty friendly, but she wasn’t sure how many of these questions she wanted to answer. If she was just going to quit after his Gym, the less everyone knew about Challenger 052 the better. They made it into Turffield before the sun fully set, and Milo left Dolly with a wave. She grinned as soon as she saw Hop waiting at the front of the town.

“Dolls I thought I already told you, you can’t win by flirting with every important person in the League!”

"Nice to see you too.”

“How do you manage to get so dirty so quickly? There’s literally mud in your hair,” he grimaced as he fell into step with her.

“Gotta do what I gotta do,” she laughed, picking little pieces out of her hair. “Now where’s the Gym?”

She looked about the town as she followed Hop down the dirt path. It was lush and green, with fields of wheat rolling over into the horizon, trees speckled throughout. Little brick houses sat humbly throughout the fields and dirt roads of the town, accented with colorful flowers, shrubs, and artfully placed wheelbarrows. Tall stones rose from the ground as well, marking the end of each path throughout the village. She and Hop made their way through the town, breathing in the crisp air as the sun continued to set. They finally approached a tall, round building, oddly out-of-character for the humble town.

“That’s Turffield Stadium right there,” he grinned, turning to her. “The place is jam-packed with Challengers, though. It’ll be ages before your turn comes up, but I’ve already got my Badge. I reckon I’m just about the greatest when it comes to wrangling Wooloo, I’ve had plenty of practice at it, after all!”

What? Wooloo? Why was he wrangling his own Wooloo? What did that have to do with the Grass Badge?

“Wow, check you out,” she grinned, flipping the Badge over in her fingers. “Leon better get ready for you and Wooloo.”

Is that what he meant about wrangling Wooloo?

“I’m sure you can win this one, too. You are my rival, after all,” he smiled again.

She looked up to Hop, up to his familiar face and his familiar smile. She would miss seeing that smile on the daily once she headed back to Postwick. They could always video chat, she supposed. Dolly let out a yawn as she rubbed her hands over her arms, the cold of dusk biting at her.

“Waiting until tomorrow is fine with me, I’m knackered anyway.”

She waved goodbye to Hop and looked back up to the Gym looming before her. It glimmered in the dusk, with the purples and greens contrasting the dark blue sky behind it. Dolly let out a sigh, picking at the skin around her fingers. Her mind flashed back to her first Pokémon, then back to the present. This could be it, she could lose another one. But, she set out to beat at least one Gym, and that’s what she was going to do. Beat Milo then head back to Postwick...maybe she could persuade her mum to let Munchlax have some friends. Bringing home seven Pokémon wouldn’t be so much more than one, right? Dolly speculated different methods of persuasion as the sun finally set over Turffield.

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