Camping and conversing.

There is an extended minute of silence once Violet vanishes, all four of you struggling to pick your jaws back up as the events of the evening replay in your heads. You all met one of the most famous career trainers ever, she fucked Blue, then had her battle you, invited all of you to a tournament, invited your rival onto a cruise ship that she owns, then Teleported away with a Gardevoir. And all of this after the mega bat-swarm earlier today and dealing with Team Rocket… What a fucking day.

Eventually, the silence is broken by Kayla. “Okay, she’s pretty cool… I get why you let her sit on your face now.”

“Right!?” Blue says excitedly, spinning around to look at the young woman from Vermillion and ignoring the face-sitting comment entirely. “She’s AMAZING! I had no idea she owned a boa- ship! That I get to go on! A-And she’s MC-ing a tournament! That I get to participate in!” The ecstatic girl caps off her last statement with an adorable squeal, the biggest smile you’ve ever seen from her on her face.

You see the brunette’s eyes narrow, and you can tell she’s about to make a snarky comment, but you catch her eye. Giving her a pleading look, you quietly implore her to just let the blonde girl be happy. Both because you like seeing her like this, and because it’s a lot better than her bitching at the three of you. Kayla gives you a soft sigh and a small smile, keeping whatever comment she had to herself.

Daniel, however, does pipe up. “It’s pretty fucking crazy that she owns the St. Anne-Marie, and I’m looking forward to the tournament back home, but I do have one question… Why didn’t she just Teleport the four of us to Cerulean, then Teleport to Vermillion? Would’ve saved us several hours of travel tomorrow, and made it easier for us to make it to the tournament on time. Not that I foresee us struggling with that, but still…”

“…Uhh.” Blue blinks slowly, then stammers out a response. “Y-You can probably only Teleport one person at a time with a Pokémon, so-“

“No, you can definitely Teleport multiple people. How do you not know that? It’s pretty basic Pokémon info…” The green-eyed girl interjects, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh… Well…” The sandy-blonde gesticulates, grasping for a reason. “She, uh, was running late already, so she just couldn’t spare the time… Even a few extra seconds, I guess…”

“That… doesn’t sound convincing.” The Vermillion boy frowns slightly, and you chuckle at the three’s predicament. “Oh? Something funny, Casanova?”

“Yup.” You reply with a half-grin. “I can tell you exactly why she left us out here. Or rather, she told us, just before she left.”

“She did? What do you mean?” Your rival asks, and both of your friends seem stumped as well.

Again, you let out a small laugh. “Come on guys, it’s obvious!” You clear your throat, then do your best impression of the famous young woman. “‘Good luck on your way to Cerulean, and do try to get along with each other.’ That’s what she said, right?”

“…That was a terrible impression, moron.” Blue says flatly, before sighing deeply. “But I see what you mean now… Oh brother…”

“So, she wants us to all play nice together, eh?” Daniel smiles brightly, glancing down at the girl in his arms. “Well, I think we should all be able to manage that, right? And hey, it’s almost dark at this point, so why don’t we just set up camp for the night now? Then we can get an early start tomorrow and make it to Cerulean for Casanova and Blueberry’s second gym battles, and Kay and I’s thirds.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” The newly designated Blueberry asks, narrowing her eyes at the golden-blonde.

“Blueberry!” He answers simply, smiling as if all has been explained.

“…Fucking whatever.” The Pallet girl just shakes her head, then sighs again. “Well, I guess we should probably call it a night, and I guess I’ll camp with you guys. Since it seems like that’s what Lady Violet wants.”

“Wowww, how magnanimous of you.” Kayla replies sarcastically. “Maybe we should move to another spot first though. This place kinda smells like sex for some reason, I can’t imagine why.”

“Kayla, come on. The trying to get along thing applies to you too. So can we all just stop with the jabs and taunts?” Your comment is basically only directed at the two girls, who both just grumble wordlessly in response. “Let’s just set up camp, eat some dinner, then get some sleep. Okay?”

The argumentative girls eventually mumble agreements, and then the four of you go about getting a camp ready for the evening. There’s no dedicated site within view, but it’s late enough that none of you feel like going further to search for one. Instead, you all move a short ways off from where you and Blue had just battled, finding a large flat area that should work well enough for the evening. You set down the bags while Daniel sets down the Kayla, who he tells to sit tight, and then you and the two blondes begin searching for stones and wood to make a campfire with. The brunette uses what the three of you collect to build the fire, and you all gather around the flames and settle in for the night.

It’s an almost surreal experience, sitting at a fire with both your rival and the Vermillion pair together. Things are pretty quiet, as it seems like the girls have decided that the best way to avoid arguing is to avoid speaking. The same can’t be said of the buff blonde however, who still chatters away as he normally does. He did so while gathering materials for the fire as well, doing his best to break the ice with your fellow Pallet trainer and bridge the gap between as he does so well. Blue responds minimally to the golden-blonde, but at the very least she doesn’t insult him or anything… much. It’s… oddly nice to have your rival here with your friends, even if things are a little awkward. She’s sitting separately from the rest of you, on the other side of the fire from your trio, but she’s here nonetheless. You think interacting with them could actually do her some good, like it’s done for you. Just like you, she could use some more friends her age, though saying that to her would be the opposite of helpful.

It’s once you all decide that it’s time for dinner that conversation picks back up a little. As Daniel is pulling out a pot with the intention to get a stew cooking, Blue reaches into her own pack and starts rummaging around for something to eat. “Oh, don’t worry Blueberry, you’re free to join us. I can easily make enough for four people, it’s no trouble.” The blue-eyed boy says, smiling at the sandy-blonde across the fire.

“Daniel’s a really good cook, Blue. You should take him up on it.” You chime in.

The brown-eyed girl blinks in surprise, then replies in an unusually quiet voice. “Oh, um… Well, actually, I’d rather just… eat what I have. So, no thanks.”

Kayla clicks her tongue, an irritated frown on her face. “Really? You’re gonna be like that? We’re trying to be nice.”

Blue actually shrinks into herself slightly, eyes downcast. “N-No, it’s not like… I just… I don’t really feel comfortable taking food from someone I don’t know all that well right now… Sorry…”

The sight of the abrasive girl acting meek and actually apologizing catches everyone off guard, and the Vermillion girl replies confusedly. “Oh… Um, okay…?”

You lean forward, worried about the way the sandy-blonde is acting. You’ve never seen her quite like this. “Blue, is everything okay? What’s the matter?”

“I-I… Well, it’s…” She looks around at the three concerned faces across from her, and slumps even further. With yet another heavy sigh, she explains. “I… ran into some trouble in Mt. Moon. Someone… **** me. So I just… I-I’m not saying I think you’re going to, but-“

“It wasn’t someone from Team Rocket, was it?” Daniel cuts in, all joviality fading from his expression.

Blue’s head snaps up. “How did you…?”

Your heart starts to pound in your chest, and your fists clench. Fuckers had gotten to her too. “We had a run in with them earlier today. It was… rough.” Your voice is tense with anger as you respond, and you can feel yourself trembling slightly. “What did they do to you?”

“I… I’d rather not… I’m fine now, that’s all that matters. What happened to you guys?” Your rival evades your question, looking uncomfortable.

“We bumped into a bunch of them who were trying to rob some scientists. Managed to beat the weak ones, but got our asses handed to us by a bastard that called himself Inferno. Then…” The blue-eyed young man’s face screws up, and he doesn’t finish his sentence.

His **** however, does. “Then he claimed a forfeit from me.” She states matter of factly. “Had me blow him until he got bored, then fucked my throat until I almost passed out. Had me ride him until my legs gave out, then finished by pounding me hard. Wasn’t pretty.”

Blue’s eyes grow as wide as tea saucers. “Oh… So that’s why…?”

“Why Daniel was carrying me? Yeah, it is.” Kayla locks eyes with the other female trainer, staring at her defiantly.

The Pallet girl flushes slightly, averting her gaze. “W-Well… I wouldn’t have made fun of you for it if I had known that! Speak up next time!”

The brunette shakes her head, laughing slightly. “Gee, my bad… Still, at least that’s kind of an apology.”

Your rival stiffens a little, chewing on her lower lip. “…No, it’s not. I’m… I’m sorry Kayla. For what I said.”

The slim young woman’s green eyes widen, but she gives her opposite a wry smile. “Thanks. I’m sorry too, for whatever happened to you… Heh, you’re tough, though.”

“Tough? Are you making fun of me?” Blue bristles, eyes narrowing from the other side of the fire.

Kayla gives her a warm smile. “Nope, not at all. Whatever happened to you, you dealt with it alone, somehow. Without the boys there, I doubt I would’ve been able to recover from what Inferno did to me so easily… Did the Rocket you ran into give their name?”

“Leon, or Agent Blade. He said both… Hey, wait a second!” Blue’s eyebrows furrow, and she frowns. “You didn’t apologize for calling Lady Violet a pervert!”

The brunette throws her head back and laughs before responding. “Nope, sure didn’t. Your mind really went back to that though, huh? Well, I don’t really feel a need to apologize for that. She didn’t seem to mind.”

“Still though… Hrngg.” The sandy-blonde grumbles, and the two girls go back to lightly bickering with each other in the firelight. It seems a lot less venomous than earlier though, almost like they’re just playing around. You can’t help but smile at their taunting now, happy to see that they’ve found a common ground of sorts.

Still, that’s not all that’s on your mind… or Daniel’s. Both of you went quiet and let the girls talk things out with the Rocket stuff after a little while, but one look at your blonde friend’s face tells you that he’s thinking about the same things you are. Inferno and Blade; two Agents, two sins, two grudges. Team Rocket is weighing heavily on both of your minds as the Vermillion boy finishes cooking and you listen to the young women argue. Two different instances of them in Mt. Moon… The ones you ran into were looking for Moon Stones, but what about Blade? Why was he there? Blue doesn’t seem keen to talk about it, so it’s probably best to leave it alone… There’s also the question of why Inferno was so interested in you… Above all though; when will you run into Team Rocket again? And how will you handle it next time? So many questions… will you ever get any answers?