It hadn’t been his intention to fall asleep. One moment he was watching Isaac perform his heart out, the next moment darkness took a hold of him.

When next he woke nothing was as he remembered. A large spinner wheel named Pop Tart Mystery attached to one wall. Miniature pop-tart-box constructions made in the likeness of some city sprawled the floor, although, from a glance, it seemed the majority of the would-be city had been trampled by the gigantic feet of several Kaiju.

Moving on, his eyes glanced at the word ‘butt’ though to be fair he dared not look too much into the details as he quickly moved his gaze upon the Isaac who was standing in front of him. He was not prepared for that view. A surprised chuckle almost escaped him, though he quelled it. But perceptive as Isaac probably was, he would notice it.

“I thought that was kind of the point of a sleepover, no?” Gerald replied. His voice just woke up from his nap. He stretched for a moment and got up from the chair. “That sounds like a good idea.” Lord knows he could use some fresh air after that nap. “Do you have something in particular in mind?” To Gerald, it sure sounded like it. Though he didn’t want to start on something before getting the details from Isaac.

For all his attentiveness to the details around him. He did not notice the giggling group of kids behind Isaac. And so his mind began to worry where they, and Anna in particular were.

Gerald nodded, noticing just in time, the group behind Isaac, some of them looked mildly disappointed that they did not get to do a surprise make-over on Gerald. Alas, they decided not to challenge Isaac for they wanted to go outside as well.

Once Isaac had finished explaining the plan, Gerald would give him yet another nod as he said. “Sure, I’ll go fetch them.” Leaving Isaac once again to handle the children for a brief period of time. Gerald walked into his bedroom. The mess that was a bachelor’s home announced itself loudly as he stepped onto the mix of shirts and magazines that he had thrown upon the floor at some point. I will clean that later, not now. He reminded himself.

He quickly went over to the shell where row upon row of red and white Pokéballs laid neatly. The Pokémon inside snuggled quietly as they had for most of the day. Even the Pokémon which had annoyed him earlier had returned to their Pokéballs. Since Decidueye and Corviknight were supposedly still on the roof, the matter was rather simple. He picked up the Pokéballs containing Charmeleon, Salamence, and Aururos before heading outside into the small garden which the house had, where he presumed he would find kids and potentially Isaac setting up.

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Gerald’s gaze fell upon the group as he watched them prepare the campfire. Both Pokémon and humans alike worked together until at last the fire was eating happily of the kindling they granted it. Gerald went to join the group. He listened to how Isaac spoke about the camping trend in Galar. Though Gerald had never been outside the region, so he couldn’t deny nor confirm it.

All the kids cheered enthusiastically at the prospect of letting their Pokémon out. In fact, they didn’t wait at all for any further comments. Soon the garden was lit up by red light after red light of materializing Pokémon. And as Gerald looked out over the group, his thoughts were confirmed. They were all basic Pokémon like Ratata and Poochyena.

And then Anna walked up to him and brought her hands forward asking for the Pokéballs. Gerald nodded and said. “Remember, play nice.”

And with those cautionary words. Anna was allowed to summon her bunch. The first to manifest was the Charmeleon, announcing its arrival by spewing a quick bit of flame up into the air. The second to come forth was Salamence, which stretched its wings by beating a quick breeze into existence around it. And last but not least the Strong looking Aururos who pridefully looked around.

With her Pokémon now in tow, she walked straight up to Isaac, and like any six-year-old would do in the company of stronger friends she said. “Look at my Pokémon, pretty impressive huh,” Anna spoke with a certain confidence that only a child could have. “Bet I could beat you in a match.” Gerald looked towards Isaac out of sight from Anna. He waved his right hand at neck level gesturing for Isaac to turn down the challenge for he knew where that would go.

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A deep sigh escaped him as what he feared became reality. The eyes of the two trainers meeting. There was no way to avoid it now. They had to battle. Still, a few words were exchanged between Isaac and Anna. Isaac assured her when she grew older that the Elite Four had to keep an eye on them. To which she smugly giggled and said. “They don’t have to keep an eye on me. I will defeat them and be champion.” To which most of the kids seemed to agree as they looked upon her Pokémon.

While Isaac tried to ease Gerald’s fears. It didn’t particularly help. He trusted Isaac to hold back. But the same couldn’t be said for his expectations of Anna.

Anna knew Isaac was stalling. He would decline the challenge for surely he could see that she was the superior trainer. But then something unexpected happened, words that she never thought would come out of Isaac’s mouth reached her ears. “Gym Battle?” She mumbled. Her resolve suddenly steeled tenfold, and the kids around them cheered loudly. They wanted to see this supposed Gym Battle, even if it wasn’t a real badge that was on the line.

Anna nodded as Isaac explained the rules. Three on three challenger picks, the challenger meant her, right? She was a bit unsure but decided that it would be what she would go with. While Anna took her position Gerald made sure to get all the kids at an appropriate distance so there would be no danger to them.

“Charmeleon I choose you!” Anna loudly announced. The Red Fire lizard happily jumped onto the scene ready for the opponent’s pick of Pokémon.

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Charmeleon looked baffled as his opponent showed up. He wasn’t particularly amused by the display. Anna however was sold. She loved the entrance, and her enthusiasm was clear for all to see, though a lot of the kids seemed to be equally enthused by the sight, some of them even beginning to chant some sort of nickname though neither Gerald nor the Charmeleon could quite make out the name.

The battle started not long after the entrance. Isaac had the upper hand when it came to battles. Anna suddenly found herself caught in fear at the spotlight being pointed at her. Charmeleon did not move and awaited the command of its trainer. But Anna did not say a word, paralyzed by the decisions she had to make.

The Charmeleon crossed its arms on its chest as the tail bounded toward him. The cold water washed over him. Still, the Charmeleon stood its ground making sure not a single drop would hit Anna. It sensed that something was wrong with her.

“Anna, you have to tell Charmeleon what to do!” Gerald said. But his brotherly instincts were catching on.

But Anna was gone not only could she not make a decision. And though the connection between a Pokémon battle and what happened no less than a few months ago was thin if not nonexistent. The very act seemed to remind her of something unpleasant.

The kids noticed nothing, they simply thought Anna had talked a big game, and some of them even laughed at her. Kids could truly be cruel sometimes.

However, Gerald noticed the change almost immediately. Anna had done mock-battles before, she usually didn’t freeze like that. Gerald walked over behind Anna, kneeled, and placed a pair of reassuring hands on her shoulders. “It’s alright Anna. I am here with you. Isaac won’t hurt you.” His words were strong, calm, and reassuring. A complete 180-degree turn from the before so tired and almost non-existent Gerald. But there was no way he could stay like that when his role as Big-brother was called into action “Just do like you normally do.”

Anna took a deep breath and calmed herself. The thoughts in her head, the images flashing before her slowly faded as she felt the reassuring cape of protection that her brother was to her, gently falling upon her. She nodded. Though Gerald did not move. “Do you think you can continue?” Gerald asked.

Anna nodded. She looked at Isaac apologetically and said. “Sorry, I am ready now.”

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Isaac handle the kids like a professional, turning those who had been quick to turn on Anna away from the notion by offering a prize worth fighting for. And so their laughter died down, while Gerald did his best to deal with Anna.

Gerald had not been trained for this. But that didn’t stop him from stepping in. Anna was his flesh and blood after all. So while it sounded like Isaac was dealing with the kids, he would focus on giving her the attention she needed.

The breaths she took, which had spiked just before, were slowly going down to a more average pace. Isaac returned his attention to her. Telling her there was nothing to apologize for. She still felt guilty though. She gave him a small nod after one final big heave of air. She was ready once more.

The Charmeleon returned its attention to its opponent as the battle resumed. The Charmeleon noticed the telegraphing of the attacks and did the same so that Anna had an easier time following. While Charmeleon was dodging about. Isaac took the liberty of suggesting some additional things for the match. She gave him a nod as she said. “Okay.”

Isaac’s question was a weird one. Five things she saw? “Uhm, there’s Charmeleon, You, Totodile.” She counted each thing she mentioned upon her fingers. Okay, that was three. She just needed two more. “Uu uhm the grass, and…” She struggled to find the last thing. What was a fifth thing that she could possibly be seeing? She looked up. “The sky!” She stated with an enthusiastic pep, as she slowly returned to her pre-episode state.

It was then that Anna remembered the match. Charmeleon had done his best to dodge whatever Totodile would be throwing at him while he waited for Anna to finish the questionnaire. “Charmeleon, Slash!” She gave the command. The Charmeleon was all too happy to comply. Claws shone a light silvery-white as he charged at the Totodile.

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Charmeleon did his best to be a part of the stage performance. Alas, he was not an actor by heart. Luckily it seemed the Totodile did enough acting for both of them. Meanwhile, he focused merely on adding a touch of authenticity to the battle. The slashes seemed mostly ineffective at hitting, to begin with. But then the last slash hit, and he was pleased.

Anna was surprised at the power of her Charmeleon. She had not expected the slash to knock the Totodile out. But maybe, just maybe Isaac had been right and the questions she had answered did unlock some secret power in Charmeleon.

Anna’s eyes stayed upon Isaac and the new Pokémon he called forth. At first, she was a bit disappointed, but then the theatrics began and she was pleased, having already willingly forgotten about the previous situation. The tension in Gerald dissipated for now. Though he did not move from his position behind his little sister.

Anna returned her focus to the battle. The Cubone wasn’t attacking. Using her big-girl brain she could easily deduce that maybe Cubone was waiting for Charmeleon to attack, which meant it was ready for a counter-attack. She had to deal with that somehow. Using all of her brain jujus, she formulated a plan.

“Charmeleon, Smokescreen, then slash!”

Charmeleon was all too happy to oblige. Black smoke shot out from its mouth, enveloping the arena within a short second. Before it charged towards where the Cubone might be unless it moved of course. But hey, no plan was without its flaws.