My Little Pokemon Silver Spoon Version

The next morning we were up bright and early. We figured we didn’t need more supplies just yet so we’d leave right after our gym battle. The Pokemon Gym was located a little further out so we had a bit of a walk ahead of us.

“Mm?” Misty took a deep breath and sighed. “Smell that? I’d heard this town was famous for their perfumes!”

“Huh?” Brock took a sniff and stopped. “It smells heavenly.” Brock and Misty then began moving towards one of the stores. I, Ash and Weiss could only shrug and follow. A woman stood with a tray just outside, minding several small vials.

“Welcome to Grassy Fragrance, can I interest any of you in our perfumes?” She held up a vial of perfume.

“Oh, that smells heavenly!” Misty gushed. The bottle was open and airing freely.

“Yeesh, can you believe this, Pika—…Eh?” When I looked I noticed Pikachu had abandoned Ash’s shoulder for Misty’s and was enjoying another vial. “Pikachu! Not you too!”

“What about you two? I’m sure we could find a perfume to make you feel beautiful, energetic, and soothe away all your worries!” The saleslady looked at me and Ash. I looked behind us and didn’t find Weiss.

Did Weiss just ditch us to challenge the gym without us?

“I’ll pass.” He folded his arms. “I’m plenty energetic all on my own and perfumes stink anyway.”

I didn’t get to say anything as the saleslady took exception to Ash’s opinion. I admit, he could’ve been a little more sensitive. Misty, Brock, and Pikachu were happy to go right inside and enjoy the smells while we were left on the sidewalk.

“Ugh, I can’t believe them! They’d rather waste time with that junk than go to the gym with me?” He shook his head. “At least you’re normal, Sarah.”

“I didn’t even get a chance to smell or say anything.” I shrugged as we headed for the gym. “We should be able to see the gym soon.”

“Fifth badge, here we come!” Ash took off running which, naturally, meant so did I.

One thing’s for sure, I’ll never have to worry about my figure if I keep traveling with Ash.

“Is this the place?” It looked like a greenhouse, probably styled after a pokemon, the restrictions of architecture made it hard to tell from the ground.

“Maybe they train Grass types here.” I suggested. It would make sense considering the greenhouse and the fact that Flora wanted to hang around here. She did like grass type pokemon afterall.

“Grass types, huh? Alright, let’s go!” He bounded up the steps two at a time. I followed at a more sedate pace and saw a group of girls gathered at the entrance.

“Hold it!” One of them parked herself directly in Ash’s path. “You can’t come in here!”

“What? But…This is the Celadon city gym, right?” I couldn’t see his expression but I could imagine the wide eyed look of shock.

“It is.” The girl in charge crossed her arms. The others looked none too friendly either.

“Well I’m here to challenge the Gym Leader to a match so you have to let me in!” He argued.

“We don’t allow anyone in who insult perfume.” She declared with a haughty sniff.

“Wha?” Ash and I shared a look, bamboozled. “But why?”

“Because.” She leaned in to make her point clearer. “We make that perfume here.”

They shut the door in our faces.

Either the perfume store had a phone and they called ahead of us to tell the gym that if we arrived we weren’t to be let in, or Weiss mentioned it. Exactly how widespread were phones? I couldn’t think of anything like them back in Equestria.

I’m not sure if I was included in the ban or not but I preferred to watch Ash battle the gym leader before challenging them myself.

“What now?” Ash began to walk despondently away.

“I’m not sure.” I rubbed my chin in thought.

Weiss could teleport us in, but would the gym leader accept Ash’s challenge or would he and I need a disguise? I hoped so because I couldn’t exactly make a pair of disguises in such short notice. I wasn’t Rarity after all, though Sweetie Belle could probably put something together.

“Gary will probably have eight badges before I can even get my fifth!” He complained. “All because I insulted their stupid perfume!”

“If you’re talking about perfume, do you mean the perfume that gym sells?”

We both stopped in our tracks.

That was a voice we were well familiar with, but we weren’t used to it coming from up a tree.

Team Rocket was strung up in the tree, dangling from the largest branch

“If you twerps get us down from here we’ll help you get into the gym to challenge the Leader.”
Jessie gave us an evil smirk.

“I have several questions.” I raised my hand. “First, what’s in it for you? Second, why are you tied up in a tree? Aren’t you guys supposed to be wanted criminals? Why didn’t they just call the police?”

Jessie sniffed arrogantly, paused and turned to James. “Why didn’t they, James?”

“Well you got me.” James shrugged. “By all accounts it doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh well, back to business.” She shrugged before turning back to us. “Now what are you two waiting for!? Get us down from here!” She pinwheeled her legs for a minute, getting nowhere.

“What do you think, Sarah?” Ash whispered.

“Honestly?” I wanted to call the police. Let Officer Jenny handle them. Lock them away and throw away the key.

But that’s not what I said.

“I still want to know what they’d get out of this. I’m pretty sure they aren’t supporting us out of the goodness of their hearts like in Vermillion City.”

“Oh, come now, what do you have to lose?” James wheedled, not denying that they were the…cheer squad from Vermillion.

“You need eight badges to qualify for the Pokemon League, don’t you? There’s not much time left before the Indigo League takes place again.” Jessie pressed.

Ash’s face twisted. A delay here, a delay there, and Ash could risk not qualifying in time and he’d have to compete next year. By then Gary would probably have already competed in the tournament and would never let Ash hear the end of it.

Ultimately, I left the choice to Ash. I trust him to do what’s right and if he makes a mistake then I trust him to do everything in his power to fix it.

“I regret this immensely.”

Jessie ignored me, teasing and tugging various strands.

I trusted Ash enough to help him get a team of Pokemon thieves out of a tree. We were in a department store and Jessie of Team Rocket was trying to fashion my hair into a more masculine appearance.

The plan was for me and Ash to dress as moderately wealthy twins, gender swapped, with Team Rocket posing as our parents to sign us up for trainer classes at the gym. Ash only had to keep the act up long enough to reach the Gym Leader, Erika, and make a challenge in person.

The perfume rule was not an official rule, meaning that Erika would be forced by League rules to accept his challenge. The only real problem was getting Ash into the building to make said challenge. I think I prefer the rules in Galar and Paldea. Beat their challenge and then you can battle the gym leader in front of a stadium of people. The only issue with that was if the challenger had stage fright or something.

“Why can’t I just get a wig like Ash?” I carefully kept from groaning or whining. Team Rocket, at least these members, may not be all that competent but they were still vicious criminals. I shouldn’t show weakness in front of them.

“Wigs are harder to pull off than you think.” She huffed. Finally, she grabbed a brush and comb and started working with my hair. I couldn’t see what she was doing but I was confident Misdreavus could do a lot worse on her if I didn’t like it. “If the twerp had hair even an inch longer we’d style it into a cute pixie. As it is, we simply have to improvise.”

She was surprisingly polite as she worked with my hair, not tugging too hard or scraping the comb against my scalp. She was quick about it at least. I didn’t recognize myself when I looked in the mirror twenty minutes later.

I was starting to get used to seeing myself as a human, but the boy staring back at me was a stranger. Azureish white hair had been smoothed back into a low ponytail, a few subtle bobby pins kept the illusion that the hair was shorter than it really was. A small, almost undetectable hint of makeup to change the shape of my cheekbones and jaw. I was dressed in dark semi-formal attire that hid my figure.

“Your own mother wouldn’t recognize you!” Jessie clapped her hands. “Now let’s see how James, Meowth, and the other twerp is making out.” She grabbed me by the shoulders and steered us to the next dressing room.

Ash, I recognized, if only because I’d spent the past few months in his company. He didn’t look too happy with the orange dress he had on or the blonde wig. Despite what Jessie had said earlier his wig looked fairly natural. If I didn’t know he had black hair I would’ve been fooled. The ringlets and curls were a little much though.

“Sarah?” He gave a double-take when he saw me.

“Hey, Ash.” I waved.

“Right.” Jessie clapped her hands once, sharply. “You two wait here a moment while we get changed. Think of alternate names you can answer easily and give each other tips on body language.”

“Names?” Ash gulped. He clearly hadn’t expected this ruse to require so much forethought.

“Better keep things simple, I guess.” I tried to remember, did we introduce ourselves at either the perfume store or the gym doors? Ash might have but I didn’t talk to anyone much.

“My mom once told me that if I’d been born a girl she would’ve named me Ashley.” Ash revealed to me. “I’ll just go with that. What about you?”

“Smith?” I shrugged. Ash was lengthening his name to make it easy to remember and answer to. I was…

"Alright, now how do I act like a girl?”

That took a little bit of thinking.

“Maybe, don’t gesticulate so much.” I saw he didn’t understand. “Don’t gesture with your hands so much. Try keeping them folded in front of you, like this.”

“Oh.” He tried it out. “And that means that you should move your hands more. You’re supposed to be a guy, so try sounding more confident too.”

“Can’t I be the strong, silent type?”

Like Big Mac?

I sighed. I scratched the back of my neck and put my hand on my hip, the way I’d seen Ash do when he was feeling sheepish.

“Yeah, that’s pretty good!” He nodded excitedly. “This’ll be a piece of cake!”

“Now, now, that doesn’t sound very ladylike.” Jessie scolded, stepping back into view. She was wearing traditional looking clothing.

“Oh.” He cleared his throat. The next words out of his mouth came out in a false soprano. “I’ll get those meanies!”

“Please…don’t talk like that.” My eye began twitching.

As Ashley and Smith, fraternal twins from a moderately wealthy family, we went to the Celadon gym.

“Good luck, sweeties! Mommy and Daddy love you!” Jessie put on a show of giving us big, slobbery kisses and waving a handkerchief as she left with James.

I remember how seeing Mrs. Ketchum with Ash felt. It made me homesick for something I can’t even remember.

This…did not inspire that feeling.

“Not a lot of boys join our classes here.” The lady at the help desk mentioned, as she led us into the greenhouse portion of the gym.

It took me a minute to realize she was talking to me.

“Ashley and I both like pokemon so we both wanted to take lessons.” I pitched my voice lower and hunched my shoulders defensively. Was that appropriately masculine?

“Yeah!” Ash’s voice almost cracked and he had to cough nervously, using his hand to curl a strand of blonde hair in his fingers.

“We always do these kinds of things together!”

“That’s so sweet.” The lady giggled. “Well, Erika is right in here with the rest of our beginner class.” She pointed through the window of another closed off room.

Erika was the woman at the front of the group, holding up a board with movable picture slots. We couldn’t hear anything until our guide opened the door and motioned us through.

“Erika, we have two new students for the beginner class.” She announced. “This is Ashley and Smith.”

“New students are always welcome.” Erika put her picture slides to the side so she could greet us. “Everyone, let’s help Ashley and Smith feel welcome.” She motioned for everyone to stand up.

I think Ash and I both had small panic attacks when we saw Pikachu, Misty, and Brock, among the class. Oh look, Flora and Weiss were there too…staring at us. Don’t tell me they recognize us.

“Excuse me, Miss Erika?” Misty held up her hand politely and waited for Erika to turn around and face her. “I was just wondering, how are we able to sit here with Gloom like this? I’d always heard their strong smell kept people and other pokemon away but this Gloom doesn’t smell bad at all.” She even lightly petted the Gloom’s petals to highlight her point.

“Glooms won’t release that foul odor unless stressed or frightened, otherwise they have a fairly neutral scent. In fact, this Gloom in particular once used its scent in order to save my life.”

“Really?” Misty’s eyes widened.

“Oh yes.” Erika bent down to pick up Gloom. “You see, when I was around five years old, I got separated from my parents in town and got lost. I ended up in an alley with a Grimer in it and got cornered. I was so scared, too scared to run or cry for help. When suddenly, I saw a Gloom out of the corner of my eye. Gloom saw how scared I was and it rushed to protect me. It chased the Grimer away, then led me back to the street and stayed with me until Officer Jenny found me. Gloom’s been by my side ever since!”

“Wow, what a heart-wrenching story.” Brock sniffed, tenderly wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.

“Yeah, too bad Ash and Sarah aren’t here to hear it.” Misty sighed.

“We heard it.”

Well that didn’t last long, I thought when Ash responded in his normal voice. Misty and Pikachu took a closer look at Ash, only for Ash to push Pikachu away and Pikachu zapped Ash in retaliation, destroying his disguise. Oh well, there wasn’t any point in keeping the charade up. We were inside, face-to-face with Erika so Ash could deliver his challenge.

“I’m Ash, from Pallet town, and I’m here to challenge you to a Gym Battle!” He declared, remarkably unruffled for a boy who looked like he got struck by a bolt of lightning.

For her part Erika looked gobsmacked at this turn of events.

“I…accept.” She blinked. “But why did you sneak in here in disguise instead of just walking through the front door?”

“We tried that but they wouldn’t let us in!” He pointed at our guide, now looking extremely embarrassed.

“Sasha, is this true?” Erika frowned.

“Well, see, the thing is…He insulted our perfume!” She broke down quickly. “We worked so hard to make it and he just blew it off like it was nothing!”

“Girls.” Erika dropped her face into her hand. Even Gloom looked disapproving. “Just because someone doesn’t like our perfume is no reason to refuse them entry into the gym.”

“Um, does that mean I can wash my face?” The makeup itched. Come to think of it, so did my hair.

After a few minutes for Ash and I to change and wash up we were led to the main part of the building. The biggest portion of the green house was here, along with the arena.

“You know, Ash made a surprisingly cute girl.” Misty commented as we sat down at the bleachers. “I never would have recognized you two if Ash hadn’t blown your cover!”

“Are you kidding me? That was totally just Ash in a dress and wearing a wig. Right Weiss?” Flora just played off twenty minutes styling and makeup.

“Mm.” Weiss had nothing to say to that. She and I had more important things to think about.

“Alright, this will be a three-on-three match, get two out of three wins and you’ll earn a Rainbow Badge. ” She held up one as an example. “Substitutions will count as a withdrawal. Any objections?”

“None here!” Ash adjusted his hat and grabbed his first pokeball. “Ready when you are! Bulbasaur, I choose you!”

“Then I pick Tangela!” Erika decided, throwing her own pokeball out.

Grass type versus Grass type, but Ash had no idea what Tangela was capable of. He was probably holding Charmander and Pidgeotto in reserve, a good strategy in a Grass gym.

He briefly scanned Tangela in his pokedex before he focused completely on the match.

“Bulbasaur, keep your distance and give it a Vine Whip!” He ordered.

Decent strategy, always good to be a little cautious.

“Tangela, draw Bulbasaur in close!”

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur struggled to pull its vines free as Tangela began to spin. They reached the end of their slack and Bulbasaur scrambled for something to hold onto. Bulbasaur could only use two vines at a time though, so it had no way of securing itself and was drawn in.

“Now use Stun Spore!” I winced as the orange cloud was thrown directly into Bulbasaur’s face. Paralysis set in almost immediately.

Ash pulled Bulbasaur back quickly. That would be a trip to the Pokemon Center.

“Charmander, I choose you!” Erika’s face flickered into uncertainty. She covered it up quick and returned her Tangela.

“Weepinbell, go! Use Razor Leaf!” She started out fast, already knowing this match up was bad for her.

After seeing Bulbasaur she probably didn’t expect Charmander. Most trainers only get one starter, if they have one at all. Ash was a little remarkable for having all three and none of them were given to him by Professor Oak. Well, directly that was. Charmander was Damien's pokemon and I was there when Damien got Charmander from Professor Oak. That reminds me, I should talk to Professor Oak about Charmander’s origins. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were abandoned as well, but Charmander was actively abused by Damien. If nothing else I’d like Professor Oak to be aware of Damien’s character. I’ll make sure to mention that next time.

“Charmander, Flamethrower!” I’d gotten so wrapped up in my thoughts that Ash’s shout startled me.

“He might actually win.” One of the gym trainers groaned.

“Yeah, he’s better than he looks, that’s for sure.” I made sure to glare at that one. Then Misty caught my eye and we both grinned.

“Weepinbell, return!” Erika caught our attention again. “Alright Ash, I respect the dedication and determination it took for you to sneak your way into my gym, but you realize I can’t let you off that easy, right? Time for you to learn that type isn’t everything!” She reeled her arm back, pokeball firmly in her grasp. “Go, Gloom!”

Gloom wasn’t happy and relaxed anymore. I was very glad the spectator seats were so far from the arena itself. Poor Charmander was hit by the stench full force.

“Oooh.” Misty winced in sympathy.

“Yeah.” I nodded. Ash had no choice but to pull Charmander out. That left him and Erika even. This last battle would decide everything.

“Pika!” Pikachu jumped from Misty’s lap and raced for Ash. “Pikapi!”

“Pikachu, you want to battle?” Ash kneeled down.

“Pika pikachu chu!” Pikachu nodded, as serious as I’d ever seen him.

“Alright, let’s win this!” Ash stood up, filled with new determination. I leaned forward eagerly, waiting to see how he’d get around gloom’s stench. Distance attacks like Thunderbolt would be good. Pikachu probably wouldn’t even have to get in close to finish it.

Unfortunately, before the last match could officially begin, a voice came from the rafters.

“Jeez, is that the Gloom or your pokemon skills making that awful stench?” Jessie purred, a large vial in her hands. Perfume?

To all our surprise, Team Rocket jumped from the rafters and landed in the center of the arena.

“Prepare for trouble!” Jessie made her landing with poise.

“And make it double.” James landed beside her so they linked arms.

“To protect the world from devastation!”

“To unite all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

“Jessie!”

“James!”

“Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”

“Meowth.”

He landed on their linked arms and…was that a detonator?

“That’s…right!”

Weiss pulled me and Misty down, twisting us so we fell beneath the bleachers just ahead of the blast. She didn’t waste any time after the blast while my ears were still ringing. Weiss pulled us crawled out from under the bleachers.

The gym was ablaze. Team Rocket was nowhere to be seen but there was a new hole in the high ceiling and a crater where they’d been standing.

“Silver!” Weiss yelled into my face, shaking my shoulder to get my attention. She pointed at a pokemon that looked like a group of large eggs and then toward the exit. I nodded and scooped the pokemon. I turned my attention to everyone else.

Misty and Flora were gathering a trio of Grass pokemon. Brock had called out Geodude and was directing him to move some burning timber. Geodude wasn’t bothered by the flames and Brock was already searching for trapped pokemon. Ash had Pikachu, a Bellsprout, and an Oddish in his arms and was already making for an exit. Weiss had Yun, Mien and Mr. Krabs douse the flames with Water Gun, clearing a path for all of us.

We each left with an armful of pokemon. Outside, a fire brigade had been formed. Trainers and students passed buckets to each other and a few were manning hoses. The siren of a fire truck was approaching but at that point the whole building was burning.

“Is that everyone?” I asked the gym trainer I’d escaped with.

“I don’t…I don’t know!” She cried. Now that we were out of the fire there were tear tracks washing away the soot on her cheeks.

I looked back at the gym and saw that Ash and Misty had their water pokemon out and Brock was directing Geodude to throw dirt over the blaze.

“Sarah, there you are!” Misty smiled when she saw me.

“Have any of you seen Gloom?” Erika was limping hard in our direction. When none of us answered she turned back to the burning building, fear and determination shining in her eyes.

“You can’t go back in there!” Misty grabbed her arm. “You’re already hurt!”

“Gloom’s my best friend, my partner, I’m not leaving it!” She snapped, trying to shake Misty’s grip.

“I’ll go!” Ash took off.

And I, of course, took off after him.

“Ash! Sarah!”

I think Ash and I both blame ourselves for what happened to the Celadon Gym. If we hadn’t relied on Team Rocket, if we’d just been more patient or tried to get in on our own, then they wouldn’t have gotten in so easily.

With their skill in disguise though, I can’t help but think they would have gotten in with or without us. We just served as a distraction for their true goals. All this destruction over perfume!

I’m firmly with Ash on this one. Perfume is nothing but trouble.

Gloom wasn’t in the arena.

“Where is it?” He cried, voice choking on a cough.

“Think, you’re a scared Grass type! Where do you go to hide?” There was nowhere in the main arena room to hide in. Everything was bathed in flames.

“This way!” Ash led the way to the same closed room where Erika had been teaching the beginner class. Through the glass we saw Gloom, sitting with its hands over its eyes and crying.

“Gloom, it’s okay, we’ll get…you…” Ash went in first and hit a solid wall of stink. My stomach revolted at the smell and for a second there was a very real risk that I might just throw up. We both had to retreat behind the glass again to get away from it. “The smell!”

“We’d need something like a gas mask!” I hacked up a lung.

“Please Gloom, we’re here to help you!” He called out. “Hold your breath Sarah!”

“C’mon.” He picked up Gloom one-handed, using the other to cover his mouth and nose as he held his breath.

But no one can hold their breath forever.

We bent over coughing up our lungs for a full minute before we realized we couldn’t detect anything like that overpowering smell from before.

“Gloooom.” Gloom was smiling. It wasn’t crying or shaking anymore.

It knew we were here to help.

The building’s integrity was being damaged. Pieces of the ceiling were collapsing around us and we had to be careful.

But we got out. We got out with Gloom. We got to hand it over to Erika and watch her sob with relief at having her oldest and dearest friend safely returned to her.

It doesn’t make up for our part in things.

But it helps.

We stayed and continued to do what we could to help until the fire was finally put out, thanks to the fire department. Everything smells like smoke and charcoal and we were all soot streaked by the end of it. The hour was late too, the sun had set without any of us noticing.

Mostly while the fire department did their job we kept the Grass pokemon occupied. They’d all been deposited in part of the courtyard surrounding the gym. We made sure none of them wandered off or got stolen and tried to calm them down.

Erika’s burn was only first degree. Painful, yes, but nothing that absolutely required a hospital visit, which was her argument for staying until the flames were completely put out. She held tight to Gloom the whole time.

Since I was looking her way I happened to notice when Ash quietly separated himself from a group of bellsprouts to approach her.

I followed him.

“Erika, I’m sorry.” He bowed, I followed a half second behind. “If it weren’t for me, Team Rocket wouldn’t have snuck in and gotten your perfume formula.”

“If it weren’t for us.” I corrected him, softly but firmly. “I agreed to let them help sneak us in. I shouldn’t have.”

Erika looked down at us for a minute. I risked a glance up and saw her slowly move her gaze to Gloom, dozing off in her arms. Finally, she sighed.

“Neither of you could have imagined they’d do something like this.” She said. “It was Gloom and I who caught those three breaking in this morning and instead of informing the police I decided to simply ban them and have them hung from a tree instead. I didn’t think they’d be so…” She failed to find a word to describe them.

“Thank you both for coming forward about this.” She continued. “And, even more, thank you for going back to save Gloom when I couldn’t.”

“And you know.” The change in her tone had us both looking at her questioningly. A slow smirk grew on her face. “Just so you know, I think those Team Rocket guys will be pretty surprised when they find out what’s actually in that vial they took.”

“Why? What’s in it?” Ash asked.

“Essence of Gloom.” It was a small thing, a tiny bit of revenge in return for all the damage they’d done, but it was enough to make us all laugh.

“That said.” She dug around in her dress pocket. “I want the two of you to take these.”

She held out two Rainbow Badges.

“I…I don’t…understand.” She smiled softly at me.

“The most traditional way of earning a Badge is through battle, but it’s not the only way.” She explained. “Here at the Celadon Gym, we value empathy for each other above all else. Your honesty in telling me about this and your bravery and empathy when you went to save Gloom, tell me that you two are exactly the kinds of trainers the world needs more of. So please, take them.”

“Are you sure?” Ash accepted his hesitantly.

I…

Weiss and Flora were behind Erika. Weiss stared impassively at me while Flora glared darkly. Did they…did they not want me to take the badge like this.

Not like this.

“I can’t.” I said shocking Ash and Erika.

“Everyone makes mistakes and I don’t believe you should be punished for yours.” She tried to assure me.

“No, I can’t. Not unless I beat you.” I stood firm, wondering if I was hearing Discord due to stress or telepathy. The former sounded like it should make sense, but considering it was Discord and what I went through in Saffron I wasn’t taking any chances. Not when going back home was on the line.

After that, we were given a lift to the Pokemon Center. We gave our pokemon to be checked for smoke inhalation and other things, we were given another room key, then we all took showers and Nurse Joy offered to wash our clothes for us while we slept. Because of the fire my gym battle with Erika would take place in a park close to the gym.

Despite our late night I was awake by breakfast, but I wasn’t the only one awake.

“You refused to take the Rainbow Badge.” Weiss looked down at me from the top of the bunk bed.

“I think you guys didn’t want me to take the badge that way.” I threw off the covers and sat up.

“Dam-darn straight.” Flora stuttered angrily from under Weiss’s bed.

“I mean, I think I heard Discord say ‘Not like this’ in my head.” I specified as I got up to get dressed. I glanced at Misty who was still fast asleep on the top bunk of our bed.

“Yeah, that sounds like him.” Weiss muttered tiredly.

“But why?” At their confused looks I continued. “Why does he want me to earn badges the ‘traditional’ way like everyone else?”

Flora opened her mouth, paused, and shared a look with Weiss before Weiss answered.

“Maybe we’ll tell you later.”