this is one of the times that mimi can't help but marvel at how strong lance's parents are. as he speaks, she nods. she agrees. but as angry as she still is at lance, his parents deserve none of her ire.

"i do love auntie's casserole," she concedes.

mimi lets the weight of her body fall by the pond, where she now crosses her legs. "you've been missing out." not only on the food, but on the years that have been eroding both their parents' physiques.


[attr="class","mimi"]

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

with a tilt of the head and a deep sigh, mimi motions for the rest of the kids to scatter. "it's good to see you, aave." the shedinja hovers quietly beside him, leveled to her height. she doesn't answer lance's question, though beneath her boiling anger she knows that she is glad for at least that much.

mimi's feet shift towards the double doors. "walk with me."

the outside of the dojo has its own handful of students, practicing with the training grounds' different meihua poles. mimi leads lance past them, towards the garden area she's started to make her own in the past couple of years of her on-and-off stay. a small bridge overlooks a koi pond that was once devoid of life.

"did uncle and auntie say anything?"


[attr="class","mimi"]

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

PASSERBY ANALYTICS HQ

ANONYMOUS SURVEY ANSWERS IC

SURVEY #1

Rumors say that the League is developing suits that match the style of a Pokemon a trainer has bonded with. Which Pokemon would you select as the style for your suit and what would it look like?

Garchomp, hands down. She was my starter pkmn, the one who's seen all my ups and my downs and remains my lifetime partner. As for an outfit—

"this question is so weird," mimi says out loud, readjusting herself on the sofa to cater to the young jangmo-o grumbling about cuddling space. "why would anyone wanna wear stuffy suits fashioned after their pokémon?"

it just sounds like adding annoying props to what should be a straightforward, honorable profession.

SURVEY #1 (CONT.)

I'd go with something simple. Your typical activewear. Ripstop, breathable and comfy, in navy blue.

satisfied with her answer, mimi turns to her friend with a grin. he seems to be engrossed in his own survey. "are they making you wear any dumb suits?" she teases.

SURVEY #2

All skilled trainers have a rival! Who's your rival and why?

A certain League member has been consistently getting on my nerves since we were children. Commissioner, if you're reading this, get HR on the case.

her gaze flicks to the unimpressed face staring at her screen over her shoulder. she chuckles. "what? am i wrong?"

SURVEY #3

Do you agree with the League's plan to warp the incoming meteoroid into an alternate universe Hoenn? Why or why not?

Fuck no. Are you ready to face the consequences of a potential inter-dimensional war? Because I'm not. It all comes back around one way or another. To even entertain the idea is truly the epitome of human arrogance.

mimi tries to scroll down the rest of the survey, but it seems one can only move onto the next question after completing the current.

some questions are more amusing than others, but steadfast, she continues answering each of them, one by one, to the very last.

SURVEY #15

What do you need and want out of relationships (humans or Pokemon), and how do you go about getting it?

I used to seek thrill. In battles, in relationships, in life. But I've come to realize that there is beauty in mundanity. Happiness can be found in a knowing look and a shared laugh, in a chill afternoon answering silly questions online. What I seek now is companionship.

How to go about achieving it? I'll get back to you on that.

SUGGESTIONS?

Do you have a suggestion for a future survey question? Please submit it below.

I dunno, maybe something cheesy like 'what's your favorite secret getaway?' I'm taking suggestions too.

RIDDLE

I have rivers without Basculin and roads without cars, I have deserts without heat and snowlands without cold, I have mountains without height and canyons without depth. What am I?

SPOILER: Click to show

You're the Map from Dora the Explorer, aren't you?

mimi takes a moment to stretch, after hitting submit. that was such a long survey. the jangmo-o frenetically jumping around seems to agree. she shakes her head but decides to indulge him this one time.

"are you done with your survey, lance? tuanzi is a little cannibal and wants some takeout dumplings. wanna grab some with us?"

maybe it also has a little bit to do with her unusual craving for dumplings.

(ft. LANCE VOLLANS)

mimi wants to erase that grin off his face. lance knows how to get on her nerves and he knows she has not forgiven him for his last brush with death. mimi, on the other hand, knows how devastated he had been with the loss of ava and their little girl. she was, too. still is. but she doesn't get to lose herself to grief when lance is even more likely to, at any given moment.

was he visiting their graves?

mimi's scowl relaxes. a little bit. "depends on who's asking," she offers, tentatively. a hand is suddenly running through her hair, letting out her frustration with a body language that doesn't yell blood.

"is it my age-old friend or the man who decided to throw away his life?"

[attr="class","mimi"]

LANCE VOLLANS

her family dojo has seen many faces over the years. weathered and sprightly, lax and ambitious, familiar and new. whatever the reason to seek the ancestral training methods of the cheng, the dojo is ultimately a congregation of people with the same goal: to become stronger. it's difficult to surprise her nowadays, yet surprise is exactly what shakes her when he sees lance's familiar face.

mimi was just wrapping up a spar, shaking things up with the younger, more arrogant clientele; and it takes all of her ardously trained self-control not to slam her first in the man's face.

mimi lowers her fists.

"what are you doing here?"

she doesn't exactly look happy.

[attr="class","mimi"]

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

mimi's self-planned vacation tour has her traveling the scenic length of route 134. attempting to, at least, boarded atop her trusty drampa's back. the dragon's droning movement is slow and methodical. it's the speed that shifu uses when teaching life lessons to the youths back home. today is no different, because taken along for the right is also an enthusiastic jangmo-o. tuanzi jumps up and down his trainer's lap, excitement oozing from his every move.

"you'll fall off, tuanzi," the woman chuckles, pulling the little dumpling closer just as a wave rises tall before them.

the drampa is quick to cast a lightscreen to ward the smmall party off getting themselves wet, though a few droplets fly off the move's edges and onto the jangmo-o's nose. he jumps again, trying a little too desperately to shake it off his face.

what is such a big wave doing so close to the shore? the answer presents itself in the form of a wailord. alarmingly, it's headed straight for the beach chock-full of tourists.

mimi frowns. "let's catch that boy before he gets himself hurt." with a gentle pat to the neck, she instructs the drampa to move. a light-colored mist is released from his mouth, a dragon breath to weaken and paralyze the wailord.

satisfied, mimi finishes the job by throwing a pokéball at it.

Jr_utZ3S

[attr="class","mimi"]

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon drampa"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon jangmo-o"]

[attr="class","mimi"]well, this isn't how she expected her trip to go.

"what?" comes a slow, drawled out answer of her own. she stands her ground as her eyes narrow into a pair of slits. her voice is harsh, much different from the tone she'd used until that point. mimi's silent annoyance is hard to hide.

by now, the jangmo-o has returned to her, and he runs in circles around and between her feet. he wants to be picked up and spoiled, but mimi won't comply this time. not after the little scene.

"do i look like i want your deino?"

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-jangmo-o"]
Morgan Drake

[attr="class","mimi"]the swablu floats without a care in the world. its cloud-like wings flap slowly, measurely, and for a moment mimi is lost, too, on cloud nine along with it.

mimi's feet come to a halt when she notices the pair of mortal clouds get too close. still, the swablu manages to bump straight into her face. multiple layers of wool brush against her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. her entire face is surrounded by the pokémon's defensive cotton guard.

pulling back, mimi coughs a couple of times before she can regain her composure.

"it's not safe to fly around so carelessly out in the wild, little rice."

the nickname comes naturally, and the attachment grows exponentially from there. in the end, mimi promises to take care of the airheaded swablu, while the swablu promises to wandering like this alone. a good compromise.

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-jangmo-o"]

[attr="class","mimi"]tuanzi's wagging tail is preceded by a buzzing sound. he jumps and tries to catch the vibrava, time and time again without tiring. without luck, as well. mimi's eyes soften. her view changes, and she watches him for what he is, then - a baby, playing around with a slightly older kid.

the vibrava zooms past her, returning her jangmo-o to her side. she picks him up, and he rolls contently in her arms. a soft chuckle escapes her lips. "you've left him exhausted." almost on cue, tuanzi yawns.

procuring not to move the baby in her arms, mimi flicks one of the pokéballs on her belt bag open. a dragonite appears with a red light, and she moves to climb onto his back. tuanzi's head rests soundly on mimi's shoulder when she turns to the vibrava.

"what about you? wanna take a nap with tuanzi while we fly home?"

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon jangmo-o"]

[attr="class","mimi"]"bold words," she whistles. "are you the same guy who was terrified of stepping on their partner's shoes?"

regardless, the challenge has been accepted and there is no backing down now. this time, mimi can't lead by example due to the giant that lance had grown up to be. instead, she takes his hand and guides it up above their heads, giving her enough room for a twirl and a dip. she falls back into his arms with an arm secure on his shoulder.

"you got this one?"

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","mimi"]is it pain or annoyance that drives her next words? she doesn't know anymore. it's almost funny. she's turned thirty-three this year, but fate's brought so many uncertainties to her life that she doesn't feel it at all.

"you lost the two people most important to you," she concedes, "but you did not lose everything."

her voice is firm, the complete opposite of the sea she could see herself being lost in. to balance it out. to reassure with her tone what she couldn't do with her words. lance or herself, whichever of them it worked on. neither, probably. her eyes follow a tear down his cheek, but her feet are attached to the ground under the weight of the departed.

"you didn't lose everything," she repeats in a whisper.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","mimi"]the sight of an ice-type pokémon so close to the forest is a little odd, but her jangmo-o speeds up and that's all the attention mimi can spare the sneasel before she's dragged ahead by tuanzi's neverending energy.

"'coming!" she answers to the little dragon's growl.

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pokesprite pokemon jangmo-o"]

[attr="class","mimi"]the figure in the distance doesn't wave back. or, in fact, move much at all. mimi's hand is lowered again, but her gaze remains fixed on the boy and the large dragon cuddled up with him. it's a sweet sight; one she would have been happy to leave be, if not for the events that followed.

they say opposites attract, but similarities bind even tighter together. mimi's jangmo-o meets the deino only a couple meters away from the sleeping trainer. they greet each other, jump excitedly at something one of them says in their draconic language. finally, one of them must have tackled the other, because the next thing mimi sees is the two of them playfully rolling around.

it's all fun and games until they hit a rockruff, and then a marill, who both try to retaliate in vain. they know better than to keep trying. the two young dragons are getting increasingly farther and farther away, out of mimi's reach. "tuanzi! stop!" but he doesn't. neither of them does.

"come back here!" she calls, her voice much louder and authoritative, and this time the jangmo-o does hear her. chances are, so did the boy and his other pokémon.

[attr="class","seelie"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-jangmo-o"]
Morgan Drake