Her decision

"Since that mysterious woman appeared... I've felt helpless through all of this..." Bibi begins.

She lowers her gaze, her hands trembling slightly.

"...I couldn't do anything to convince my sisters to stay away from that power. I couldn't stop them from attacking the town, and I couldn't do anything when we finally had to fight them... In the end, they all disappeared."

Her voice falters. She tries to hold back her tears, but a few gather in the corners of her eyes.

"Bibi..." you begin, wanting to comfort her, but Marcy gently signals for you to let her continue.

"Yesterday was so frustrating... I lost my sisters, and I couldn't do anything about it. Even though you all did your best to stop them, I still couldn't help them..." She pauses to take a shaky breath. "But last night... I understood something. If I want to become capable of doing something, if I want to make sure that something like what happened to me never happens again, then I have to become stronger too!"

Bibi lifts her face. Her eyes are still full of tears, but there's a new determination in her expression.

"Maybe it's just my instinct talking. Becoming stronger is in our nature, after all. I'm not smart enough to come up with some complicated plan like this, but I still think it's the right thing to do, so... please, bring me with you!"

You look at her for a moment, giving yourself a few seconds to let her words sink in.

"Are you sure about this, Bibi? Becoming stronger takes a lot of work, and coming with us could be dangerous. We have a mission to accomplish: we need to find and stop whoever did this to your sisters. We don't even know what we're going to face next."

"I-I know, but I'll do my best! And if I come with you, I'm sure I'll become stronger! So please, take me with you!" Bibi insists, looking at you with pleading eyes.

You smile gently before turning toward the others.

"Well, what do we say, girls?"

Everyone nods in agreement.

"You heard them. Welcome to the group, Bibi."

"Oh, yes! Thank you, everyone!" she cheers excitedly, her earlier sadness giving way to a small but genuine smile.

"Well, ladies, I'd say we take today off to recover from yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll head home," you announce.

Everyone agrees with the plan. After the exhausting battles of the past few days, a little rest is exactly what you need.

For once, you get to enjoy a peaceful day without having to worry about fighting, traveling, or chasing after dangerous enemies. Considering everything you've been through recently, from the battle against the Rocket clan in Viridian City to the fight against the corrupted Beedrill hive, it feels almost strange to have nothing urgent to do.

The evening is a little more eventful, especially since some of the girls demand your attention. Midori is particularly clingy after her recent evolution, seemingly eager to spend as much time with you as possible. You can already tell that her evolution has brought some changes to her personality, too.

Leaf, on the other hand, doesn't gets involved in the fun. She still seems embarrassed and a little shaken by what happened during the drinking party at her mother's house.

Eventually, the day comes to an end, and everyone gets some much-needed rest.

16th of March

The following morning, you all begin packing the things you'll need for the journey home.

Before you leave, Delia and Venus come to see you off.

"Everyone, I want to thank you again for all your help. A proper reward will be waiting for you when you get home, and I'll also put in another good word for Erik with the council," Delia says with a warm smile.

"Your mom is pretty cool, Leaf" you hear Charlie mumble.

"I know" Leaf replies proudly.

"Bye-bye, my darlings! I'll miss you!" Venus says, waving enthusiastically.

"Bye, Mom. And don't cause any trouble for Delia," Midori tells her.

"I never cause trouble!" Venus protests, puffing out her cheeks.

You can't help but chuckle at their exchange.

"Goodbye, Venus. Goodbye, Delia. See you next time," you say before the group finally sets off.

You travel along the main road for around four or five hours. The journey is relatively uneventful, giving everyone time to relax and chat after the recent chaos.

Eventually, you reach the valley where your base is located.

The moment you arrive, someone comes out to welcome you.

"Phew! You're finally back! The great Marine always knew you'd return safely!" Marine declares, placing her hands on her hips with a proud smile.

"Weren't you the one who was getting worried because they were taking so long?" Yellow giggles.

"T-that's not true!" Marine protests.

"It's good to see you two as well, Yellow, Marine" you say as you climb down from the wagon.

The others follow, and Yellow and Marine watch as everyone gathers their belongings. Their eyes soon settle on the unfamiliar girl among you.

"Oh? And who might this be?" Yellow asks curiously.

"H-hi... I'm Bibi," the Weedle girl replies. She seems excited to meet everyone, although her shyness is still apparent.

"Nice to meet you, Bibi! I'm Yellow, the doctor of this group, and this is Marine," Yellow introduces herself.

"Look at you, Drake! You brought a new girl home a few days ago, and now you've brought another one!" Marine teases, poking you with her finger. "You're such a womanizer!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Now, let's stop joking around and head inside. We should put our stuff away," you reply.

You all make your way into the base and unload the things you've brought back from your journey.

After putting away your belongings, everyone has time to return to their rooms, unpack their personal items, and change into more comfortable clothes.

Once you're ready, you decide to show Bibi around the base so she can get acquainted with her new home.

"...And that's why we're using this old laboratory as our base. It's actually pretty convenient since there's so much space," you explain, briefly telling her how you and the others ended up settling here.

"Wow... this place is so cool!" Bibi exclaims, looking around in amazement.

You continue the tour, eventually leading her into the kitchen.

There, you find Katy sitting at the table, slowly munching on a large bowl of leaves.

"Hello... Erik..." Katy greets you in her usual slow, quiet manner.

"Hello, Katy. Bibi, this is Katy, our seamstress" you introduce them.

"Hello!" Bibi says cheerfully.

Her attention is immediately drawn to the bowl of leaves.

"Want... some?" Katy offers, holding the bowl toward her.

"Really?! Thank you!" Bibi replies happily, taking a handful of leaves and beginning to munch on them.

"By the way, Katy, thank you for the cape you made me. It was sturdy enough to protect me from a dangerous situation" you tell her as you approach.

"Oh... I'm happy... that I was able... to help... after you helped me" she replies softly.

You smile and gently pat her on the head.

Suddenly, a floating head appears right in front of Bibi's face.

"And... who are you now?" Jen asks, her head hovering in midair.

"A-A GHOST!" Bibi screams, stumbling backward. Her long body helps her keep her balance, preventing her from falling over completely.

"OooooOOOoooh... this place is haunted!" Jen moans dramatically.

"Jen" you say sternly.

Your tone is enough to make her shiver.

She immediately stops fooling around and reappears in her full form.

"Y-yes?" Jen asks innocently.

"Don't scare our new guest. Bibi, this is Jen, our maid."

"H-hey! I'm not just a maid! I simply decided to take care of this place!" Jen complains.

"Whatever you prefer, Jen" you reply with a shrug.

"I-I see..." Bibi mutters, slowly calming down.

"Anyway, girls, after everything that happened, Bibi has decided to stay with us and train. So please, treat her well" you explain.

"Oh... she could... stay in the room next to mine" Katy offers.

"A-are you sure?" Bibi asks, looking at her hopefully.

"Yeah... when everyone is away... I feel a little lonely... so some company would be nice" Katy explains.

"Then I'd love that!" Bibi replies, beaming with happiness.

Suddenly, another girl appears beside Bibi and begins sniffing her curiously.

"Oh, interesting! You recruited another girl, boss!" Rash declares.

She must have sneaked into the kitchen while you were busy talking.

"Wah! And who are you?!" Bibi cries, startled once again.

"Rash, don't scare her. This is Rash, our most recent recruit before you" you explain.

"Yup, yup! The name's Rash, informer and spymaster!" Rash declares proudly.

"Yeah... we can call her that" you say with a sigh.

Rash pouts at your lack of enthusiasm, but you leave the girls to get acquainted and continue looking for the others to see what they're doing.

Eventually, you come across Sig.

"Oh, Erik! I was looking for you," she says.

"Hey, Sig. Do you need something?"

"Well... there's something I need to tell you" she replies with a sigh.