Can’t believe I got roped into this, Penny half-thought, half-muttered as she went through the Pokémon she had on hand. I seriously cannot believe I got roped into this. Juliana had walked to the other side of the stage for a moment to ask some questions of Grusha, and she now waved to Penny as … Continue reading →

Penny didn’t make much conversation on the journey towards Casseroya Lake. She worried at first that Ortega would take her silence as brooding. But she soon discovered the time they’d virtually spent together as Team Star had not gone to waste. He understood she would never be a chatterbox, and he didn’t push her. In … Continue reading →

The second Ortega confirmed their deal, Arven shoved his phone into his pocket and did his best to look like he’d been paying it no attention. “Team Star…Team Star…” Nemona mused as the group finally reached the Pokémon Center. She’d been repeating it to herself to whole walk up here, with no context or explanation. … Continue reading →

Mela stood as close to the tent entrance as she could without slipping right back out again. “I’m sorry,” she began. No greeting, just an apology. She fidgeted with her fingers and kicked at the dirt, not typical behavior at all. When Mela made a mistake, she was more likely to double down on being … Continue reading →

“The center’s just over this ridge,” Nemona said, pointing ahead. The green meadows surrounding the Fairy Crew’s base were far behind them now–a green line in the distance. Their hike into the snowy mountains had started off pleasantly enough, but the farther they got, the more the temperature sunk. At least Arven was more or … Continue reading →

Ortega switched the call over to speaker mode and set the phone down in the middle of the desk. He’d barely gotten in a hello before Eri demanded updates on everything. Her scout had received reports of an assault on the Fairy Crew’s base, and she’d been on edge ever since. Were all the members … Continue reading →

The gates closed behind Arven with a demoralizing clang. He couldn’t believe he’d listened to Ortega’s Team Star buddies, talking him up about the Herba Mystica. And he doubly couldn’t believe he was thinking of taking them up on their offer. No. Juliana said she would help, and he would stick with that plan. Maybe … Continue reading →

Penny stood stunned. On one hand she could see how Juliana came to the conclusion that she did. Ortega did grab her only a moment before that horrible series of events occurred. Just watching Juliana’s body stretch and change like that was terrifying. If Penny had been in her position, she’d be looking to blame … Continue reading →

When Penny imagined finally speaking to her friends in person, she didn’t imagine it would go like this. To start with, the helmet didn’t come off as easily as she expected. It was one of those things that seemed like it should be intuitive but wasn’t. So instead of smoothly removing it to reveal her … Continue reading →

In the confusion of the giant olive fiasco, Penny had lost track of both Arven and the grunt showing him in. Nothing to be concerned about, she assured herself. The nice thing about being in charge of Team Star was that every crew boss had sent her layouts of their respective bases for approval before … Continue reading →