“NIIIIINS!!!!!”

  “Oof! Bev, your ribs… hurts…”

  “You mean my boobs, bitch!” Beverly rebuked with a squish of her friend’s cheeks, then turned towards Kerry with a haughty frown. “And who’s this patsy?”

  Nina sighed and got between the two girls the moment that she saw Kerry put on her evil Nurse Joy smile. “This is Kerry. You met her during Misty’s wedding, remember?”

  “Can’t say I do.” The delinquent girl, who was looking more tan than ever, denied as she offered a hand to the other, pink-haired girl. “I’m Beverly, Nina’s best friend.”

  Kerry covered her nose and gingerly grabbed hold of the proffered hand with just two of her fingers, like she was handling a particularly unhygienic Trubbish. “Oh? I wasn’t aware that Nina had a backup best friend. She always just referred to the women of this Gym as her colleagues.”

  Sparks flew and Nina could feel a migraine coming.

  “Tell her, Nins! Am I not your best friend?”

  Kerry smirked. “Indeed, Nina. You should stand up for yourself sometimes. We talked about this, remember?”

  The girl in question sighed and pulled Kerry into a hug. “No, Kerry’s right. You’re not my best friend…”

  “Wh-wha?!” Beverly sputtered in disbelief, the blood draining from her face.

  “My best friend is Kerry,” Nina continued before pulling Beverly into the hug as well. “And you Bev, you’re my dearest sister.”

  “S-sister?”

  “Yup. My sometimes reliable bimbo big sister”

  “Not a bimbo!” Beverly pouted, but just as quickly flashed an arrogant grin at an amused Kerry. “Sister trumps best friend,” she thought.

  ““Big Sis Nina!!!””

  Then came two meteorites that charged into the girls’ huddle and sent them crashing onto the floor.

  “Oomph! Natsu, Fuyu! You two look… different. Did you dye your hair, Fuyu?”

  Indeed, the twins of the Cerulean Gym no longer looked very twin-like. Natsumi was still the same as ever, albeit slightly bigger; adorably cute, prim and proper with her delicate features and black hair. Her sister though…

  “Bev, did you corrupt my darling Fuyumi?!” Nina accused, because the other twin had dyed her hair a light shade of golden blonde, cut it short and had it styled up in a spiky ponytail.

  “Hey! You’re the one who gave her the idea!” The suspect cried indignantly.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  And to Nina’s surprise, Fuyumi actually looked up and started nodding at her in affirmation. “Didn’t you say that I might look good in blonde when we were at Celadon, big sis? I tried it out after you left and liked it.” The girl proclaimed cheerfully. “Also, this way, people will stop confusing me for Natsu.” She said, eliciting a pout from her sister.

  “We can’t prank people anymore…” The other twin whined.

  “Huh? Did I really say that? Can’t remember. And Fuyu’s looking more like Mordred than Artoria right now…” But after deciding that she liked her junior’s new look. She responded to the younger girl’s expectant gaze with an approving nod and an affectionate ruffle.

  “You look great, Fuyu. Missed opportunity to name your Kingler Mordred though.”

  Fuyumi tilted her head in confusion at Nina’s nonsense. But before she could respond, they were interrupted by a shadow looming over them.

  “What in the world are you lot doing on the floor?” Daisy chimed as she gestured towards the surrounding rabble and their cameras in embarrassment — it was still business hours in the Cerulean Gym after all. “Fuyu, Natsu! I thought you two were feeding the Dewgong?”

  “Aww… Mel-Mel said she would handle it…”

  “You brats! Don’t just leave your junior to do all the work by herself. Get back in there! Now!”

  With a synchronized “Hmph!” The pair of twins reluctantly extricated themselves from the pile and made their way back to the aquarium. It seemed their minds were still connected after all.

  Meanwhile, the blonde Cerulean Sister pointed a finger at her younger cousin. “And Bev, show the Joy girl around and teach her some simple choreo.” Then turned to address Kerry. “Nina called ahead and told us about you, I’m assuming you have a Water Pokemon of your own?” Daisy asked the nurse girl, eliciting a fervent nod from her.

  “Good. Run along now, Bev will take good care of you. Won’t you, Bev?” That last part was said with a very pointed glare, completely shutting down the girl's protest before it even began. “And Nina, you’re with me. Chop, chop! Before you embarrass yourselves even further.”

  The three girls helped each other up in a tangle of limbs. And Nina gave Kerry a reassuring smile, whispered a warning to Beverly to take good care of her friend, before trailing after Daisy.

  “Pretty sure that heartwarming reunion will go viral on social media.” Nina remarked as she caught up to the older woman. “No need to come in and break us apart like that. Also, who’s Mel-Mel?”

  Daisy chuckled. “And no doubt having your boss come in and scold you girls for skipping work would have made that clip even more endearing. Adds to the charm, y’know?And Mel-Mel is Melody, our youngest apprentice. Big fan of yours, actually. She was loitering by the reception just now to greet you but you never noticed.” The woman scoffed. “Probably foisted whatever the twins asked her to do onto Hime, our other apprentice. Honestly, those lazy brats…”

  Nina chuckled. As expected, the women of this Gym were as conniving as ever when it came to money and publicity. It was like they had a sixth sense for it.

  “Anyways, Lily said you wanna hole up in our power spot, right?”

  “Err… I was thinking about commuting back and forth, actually. Is there no way to get out once I go in?”

  Daisy shrugged. “On the contrary, we don’t want you spending too much time in there, lest you cripple your Pokemon. The way to get in the first time, though, is a bit of a pain. So if you can convince Eric to Teleport you, then sure. I was thinking we dive in the proper way today. That way, you know where it is. Also, tradition and all that.”

  Nina nodded as they exited the Gym. Misty’s Slowking loved her, so convincing Eric to agree to a daily commute shouldn’t be too hard.

  The two continued on their leisurely stroll across the city, catching up on all the things that Nina missed during her absence before eventually making their way over to the Cerulean Quay, where they stopped by a cafe for overpriced croissants (read: quassó) and coffee before getting on board the Mizuhana Clan’s family yacht.

  “Alright, get your wetsuit on. The boat’s gonna take us really far out — in the middle of nowhere, really. Then, we’re gonna dive in real deep. And I know you’re not dumb enough to try but no pics or vids or Pokegram posts, okay?”

  Nina laughed. “Lemme guess? Bev?”

  Daisy groaned. “Urgh. Don’t even remind me. Luckily, her followers just thought she was in a random cave somewhere. We still made her take it down of course.”

  “So the place isn’t just all water. Good to know.” Especially since not all of Nina’s Pokemon could swim. She stripped off her clothes to unveil the swimsuit underneath before shoving them into her backpack and sealing it in a waterproof casing she got.

  “Have your Pokemon hold onto your bag for you. We’re gonna need the oxy tanks for this one.”

  “My Haunter can hide the bag in my shadow. And seriously? That deep?” The rebreathers in the Pokemon World were basically magic in how long they could last. And honestly, Nina didn’t fully understand its workings either — something about using Flying Type Energy for atmospheric conversion.

  Lily shrugged. “Better safe than sorry. If your rebreather breaks down, you’ll at least be able to hook it up to the tanks as a backup measure.” She explained, eliciting a nod from the girl.

  By the time that they reached their destination, Kanto was but a speck on the horizon. So Nina flipped open her Pokedex and marked down the coordinates as well.

  “Right, you’re not a noob. So you should know how to have your Pokemon shield you from the bends. But if you’re feeling out of sorts, I trust that you’re smart enough to inform me and bail out. Understood?”

  And with that final reminder, Nina and Daisy dropped into the ocean along with their Pokemon. Daisy had her Dewgong with her while Nina had Azzy in her shadow, and Brinny and Nitey as escorts.