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Thea suppressed the urge of going even harder on the compliment showering for the little Pokémon. The way she was enjoying herself was adorable, but she didn't want to make it get old so quickly, so she restrained herself for the moment.[break][break]

For her order, she asked a large portion of fries and apple juice. She wasn't too fond of going for greasy food, but once per week wasn't bad. Besides, exercising would make all of the bad stuff go away from her body anyway.[break][break]

When Julian was the one starting up a topic, Thea perked up. "Hemlock is really fun, I love her! She's really skilled, and the way she speaks about Pokémon and the way she delivers her knowledge is very endearing." Thea hummed. "I guess you like Heidi Hemlock too? Well, at least the two of you have stuff in common, so it is probably easy to relate."[break][break]

She looked at the little Morpeko, the signature Pokémon of Heidi Hemlock.[break][break]

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As soon as Thea came to her senses, the light feeling around her neck snapped her awake. Instinctively, she reached for her neck, noticing the lack of chains. Her eyes shifted back and forth quickly, trying to find Cass and Knight immediately. Instead, she found herself in a place she has never been before... And one that seemed to come out straight out of some futuristic fantasy. Thea's heart stopped for a moment, had she died?[break][break]

That was a rather Cyberpunk Heaven (or Hell), if that was the case.[break][break]

But the surprise faded away soon as her mind started putting the pieces together. Right, the Megalapolans. Thea frowned, pressing her fingers between her eyes and sighing. They brought them to somewhere else..?[break][break]

"Hm..?!" Thea perked up listening to the familiar voice, and with wide open eyes, she leaped on Cass, hugging her tightly. "Cass! Of course it is me." She said, leaning away and looking at Cass' eyes. "You are Cass too, right? Where are we? Where's Kay?"[break][break]

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"Yes, pretty good! Hopefully I can be a good teacher for you today too." Thea giggled, and nodded. "A hairdresser, that's right. Potentially the best of the world." She huffed and puffed her chest proudly for her friend, in a totally-not-biased fashion.[break][break]

With both her and Lut positionated on the tatami, Thea handwaved about a way to address. "Not really. By etiquette, you should address my father as the 'Sensei', but he isn't around this time." Thea was thankful for that too, it would feel weird to have Lut calling her Sensei, when it felt more right to call Lut a Sensei, as they taught her a lot of things.[break][break]

"Alright, so, for the start..."[break][break]

And Thea bowed, making the introduction of the class as any martial class would start. She waited Lut to get the hang of it, and as soon as she noticed they were ready, she would start with a simple warm up. They didn't need to go too hard in the first day, after all![break][break]

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Thea hadn't considered the danger and the reason the Staraptor being hurt could still be around. She was grateful that someone that had that in mind was around.[break][break]

"Healing from distance... Hmm, the healing would lose its power, and it wouldn't be accurate, but you are right, maybe it will understand this way..." Thea muttered, casting a glance to Gominha as she voiced a request: "Can you do it, Gominha? Healing Pulse from this far?" She asked.[break][break]

Gominha huffed and squeaked like a balloon for a moment, swaying her head and tuff, as if feigning being offended for her trainer giving a remote thought that she couldn't do something as simple as a ranged Healing Pulse. Thea chuckled slightly. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to make sure." She looked at the wounded Pokémon. "Alright, Gominha, use Healing Pulse!"[break][break]

The Wigglytuff prepared herself, charging the healing energy while the wounded Pokémon shrieked more, feeling threatened and thinking it was an attack. It flapped its wings aggressively, which only injured it more... but as soon as the Healing Pulse landed... It calmed down, noticing it wasn't an attack. It still looked skeptical, but for once, it became silent and still.[break][break]

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The question caught Thea off guard. How far... The thought of how far Thea could go dreaded her, but answering this to Eris haunted her with the possibility of the little girl taking it as a reason to go beyond what she should, especially for her age.[break][break]

"... Eris... When I was younger, Slateport City was attacked by the Rockets, and my mother, that was an officer, stayed behind to fight protect me and my father, who was rescuing pokémons and citizens. I tried to go look for her during the attack, but I was too young, I couldn't do much, and I got in trouble myself. My Pokémons saved me." Thea admitted, unsure of how to put into words how far she would go, and afraid that if she gave a straightforward answer, it would give Eris the wrong mindset, especially in a space where everyone was being pushed to the edge.[break][break]

"I've never seen my mother since then." Thea said. "But if I had to say how far... I would go as far as she did." She nodded, then looked at Eris with a faint smile.[break][break]

"... And for now, I will consider everyone a family in here. We are in the same boat."[break][break]

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Thea smiled at Noah's words, and she grinned. "I hope so too, but I have a feeling that I will—" Life was all about ups and downs, after all. "— But when I do, I will remember there are people like you that keep standing, if you can do, I can do it too!" Thea gestured, calling for her Pokémons. "Be careful with your opponents, don't let them control the pace of the battle!"[break][break]

Zeus clenched the Cross Chop against Fong, and while backing off to attempt another strike would've been wiser, he doesn't back off and decides to follow Noah's words rather than Thea's, using Focus Energy to gather up the strength he needed to attempt to keep pushing. Yet, the difference of strength was just too much, as strong as a Primeape was, a Hariyama was just a wall of resilience and raw strength, brute forcing without a second thought wasn't the way to go.[break][break]

Gominha on another hand, felt concerned about Zeus, and decided to try to finish her battle as quickly as possible to go help him, she took the false opening Roda gave with the feint punch toward her stomach. She was ready to close the distance, to cushion the punch on her belly and grapple the Medicham with another flurry of Rough Play.[break][break]

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Thea's worries faded almost completely, seeing Belle's recovery and listening to the doctor's words. Of course, there was still a lingering concern, and a faint sense of guilty, she should've been more aware of her Pokémon's surroundings.[break][break]

At the mention of the recent events of the toxicity, Thea blinked. She was so worried that the fact didn't even cross her mind. "You... You are right. Maybe it has something to do with it..." Thea frowned. "If that's the case, the Pokémons of the forest could be in danger if the berries they usually eat become toxic like that..." It was probably a matter that should be brought up to the Rangers, if they weren't already aware of it. Well, it was better to be safe than to be sorry, that's for sure.[break][break]

"Yes, Hammy. They are rather close, so I think this has scared him a lot. He is a good boy." Thea ruffled Hammy's head, and while he didn't shy away from it, his eyes were mostly focused on Belle, approaching when the doctor gave him room to see her.[break][break]

"Ah!" Thea blinked, surprised and embarrassed. "My name is Thea, by the way... And uhm... Sorry for barging in, and everything..." After all the adrenaline, the rush of memories of what she had done until she got into the doctor's room returned to Thea's mind. She only ever realized what she had done when panicking after doing it.[break][break]

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The teasing only made Thea even more embarrassed, with lips quivering while her face was as red as a tomato. Scratching her nape, Thea averted her eyes, unsure of where to set them before finally meeting Bella's again, pursing her lips and finally giving in: "... I-I was trying to endure the sleeping singing from Gominha..." Her eyes shifted to the Wigglytuff, that was done enjoying her dinner.[break][break]

Whenever Bella was done, Thea would reach her hand to take care of the bowl and the wares. Despite the scary situation they were to get themselves in, and despite the embarrassment Thea just had gone through, a defiant smile grew on her lips. She liked Bella's way to think. "You are right. It makes things more exciting."[break][break]

A brief laugh escaped Thea at Bella's words, and she looked at the girl confidently.[break][break]

"Thanks for being caring. But if we are going together, we are in this together. If anyone wants to spook you away, they will need to get over my dead body for it. And I'm sure you will do the same!" She winked.[break][break]

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The sight of the running girl surprised Thea, but not as much as the fact she was suddenly yanked upwards as if she had fallen for a trap. The blonde's eyes widened as she looked up, trying to spot the source of the abrupt lift of the girl, but spotting nothing, the conclusion was clear to Thea: A psychic attack of the sorts.[break][break]

With the incoming Rocket goons snapped Thea to the right priority, and her teeth gritted as if she was baring them to the evildoers. "Those bastards..!" Chasing a young girl like that, they had no morals at all, truly unredeemable scum.[break][break]

Charging in, Thea rushed to be under the girl, exclaiming: "I will catch you, don't worry! Gominha, use Disable! Belle, help the Dunsparce!" She opened her arms, bracing herself to catch the little girl while the Wigglytuff stepped in, focusing on the unseen force to Disable it and release the girl.[break][break]

Meanwhile, Thea's Minccino approached Dunsparce, assisting him with a Helping Hand.[break][break]

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If Thea wasn't already used to go through this type of unorthodox and straining training, she would've already plummeted face first despite being quite athletic. Keeping the balance was hard, and she found herself regretting starting a conversation as soon as she realized she was losing air every second she spoke. The eventual turn relieved her muscles and lungs for a moment, but she couldn't help but frown at Navy's words. All for the glory of Rocket. Just how self-centered they could be?![break][break]

She used the frustration of listening those words to fuel her muscles and lungs, going for a last stretch on the running. Her stamina was higher than Navy's, but her resistance still wasn't quite there, so upon reaching the end, she released the weight and sent herself back first against the floor, panting. "G-Gods... Hah..." She gulped, feeling her heart throbbing against her chest. "I will warm up... Every day before going out... Just in case..." She chuckled, opening her eyes to look at Navy.[break][break]

Meanwhile, her Pokémons indulged of the training. Belle was still quite timid about it, but she followed along after Hammy encouraged her. Zeus and Gominha were veterans, in a way, so they engaged into the training quickly.[break][break]

Getting to a sitting position, Thea slipped a sigh while glancing at the weight. "In a real situation, it wouldn't be just my life on the line though, I can't just afford to give up." That bedroll could've been her cousin, or Cass.[break][break]

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Thea perked up, tilting her head as she looked at the boy. "I see! So I guess I should bother you about some lessons in the near future, whenever you are free." She chuckled, and smiled at him.[break][break]

"Shinobu isn't a mouthful at all, but Shin sounds cute, so I will go with that." Her smile widened, but expression sank as soon as Shinobu revealed his blindness. Her face turned red, and she retracted her hand awkwardly. "I-Is that so— Ah! Hahah..."[break][break]

Her hand reached her nape as she scratched it. "Sorry." Thea wasn't quite sure about what she should say, but she tried to push the silly mistake she had just did as soon as possible.[break][break]

Shifting her gaze, her eyes rested on the Pokémon Shinobu was patting, and she hummed. "But pastries don't seem to be the only good thing you are at. Your Pokémon is really pretty, you must take a very good care of them!"[break][break]

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"I see, so that's how it works!" Thea exclaimed. Even if Shalin was holding back, she still had to raise her voice to properly speak with her delivery partner. "I really thought only speed was what mattered when it came to the wing flapping sounds." It seemed she had fallen for a misconception.[break][break]

Kulsh was unbothered by the loudness, swaying in the sky while he calmly transported Thea on his back.[break][break]

"How hard it is to learn how to ride a bug anyway? Bugs that are big enough to ride are rare enough, after all." She doubted there were a lot of places that were specialized on training that, so she supposed most of the training was by oneself, rather than instructed.[break][break]

"My thighs are okay, for now. But do tell me about these suits." She asked.[break][break]

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Thea smirked faintly to Ettie at her compliment. "You are a pretty good pack leader yourself, Ettie~" She chirped, averting her eyes to spot the fight unfolding. The powerful Sludge Bomb Combo filled Thea with pride for her and her friends teamwork... However, the sight of Munkidori being brutally killed made her wince. A pang of guilt ran across Thea's heart, but as she reminded herself of the show of brutalility and the murders the evil Pokémon had commited, she tried to push those regretful thoughts away. Still, she wished things hadn't come to that.[break][break]

As she lamented, however, the mochis and the poison were aimed at her and Zeus, the Primeape. "Stand back!" She urged to Hammy and Belle, making the Pawmo and the Minccino embrace each other protectively, staying behind Thea as she shielded them from the poison, gritting her teeth as she had to endure it. Zeus the Primeape had his eyes wide open, but suddenly he was yanked back, and Gominha the Wigglytuff inflated to cover him with her body, taking the poison hits instead. Zeus oinked in concern and frustration, but Gominha kept a firm standing, squeaking like a balloon and smiling weakly to him. "Uck—" Thea felt her knees weakening for a moment, knowing her Toxic Chain could only push her so far before it became too much for her and her newfound powers to handle.[break][break]

Her eyes shifted from another dire situation before them and Cassandra Kubrick's plea and worries, along with Knight Naito's exasperated words. Thea's lips pursed, and she nodded to her friend and her cousin. "We need to fight just a little longer, Kay..." She replied to Knight, then looked at Cass' eyes for a moment. "We don't need any more deaths... Enough is enough..."[break][break]

"Do your thing, Cass. Kay..! I will help you to cover us..!" Thea used the last of her strengths to thrust her hand forward, calling for another order to her Pokémon: "Gominha! DISABLE any lethal moves and attacks you can! Keep Cass, Kay and the others safe!" The Wigglytuff huffed, and despite weakened, she inflated herself to grow big, trying to bounce off lethal moves or threats that endangered Thea's friends or the Megalopolans.[break][break]

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