Chapter 55

"Brother!" Anira lunged at him and hugged him tightly. There was a bright smile on her face that warmed his heart. "Where were you?" She inquired.

"I had an appointment for lunch with Uncle Joseph." He smiled at her.

"And he didn't want to see me?" She pouted.

"He was tight on schedule, but he did give me something for you." He nudged her nose with his and put her down.

"What is it?" She excitedly asked.

Aizen reached inside his jacket's pocket and took out a device.

"This is the latest PokeNav+." He smiled when Anira hurriedly took it and started inspecting it. "It has a Holo-Caster on it for calls too."

"Yesss!!!" She screamed happily before jumping joyously.

The Princess hurriedly took off the PokeNav she was wearing and started transferring all the data to the new one.

Her scream had alarmed both Leaf and Misty who came out of their room and worriedly looked around.

"What happened?" Misty asked after she saw that nothing seemed wrong.

"Anira is just excited about her new PokeNav," Aizen told her.

"New PokeNav?" Misty became excited as well. She saw the new device in Anira's hands and happily joined the Orayen Princess to check out the new features.

The girls spent the next half an hour going through all the features of the PokeNav+. After that, the first thing Anira did was to call their Grandma, and both Misty and Leaf were very nervous about it.

Professor Grisha looked to be in her early forties, decades younger than her real age and gave a warm motherly aura. The typical Orayen features enhanced her beauty to a level that enchanted both Misty and Leaf but overwhelmed them at the same time with her elegance.

Grisha did not let the girls feel awkward and engaged them in a polite conversation. She asked them about their families, how they were doing, and about the adventures they had so far experienced on their journey. Grisha already knew about them, since Aizen didn't keep anything from her over their calls. But she decided to ask the girls as well. She had a way with her words that made people feel at ease in her presence.

The three girls happily chatted with her for over an hour, and then Grisha meaningfully looked at Aizen before saying goodbye and ending the call.

"She's so graceful!" Leaf gushed at her after the call ended. "I envy you for having such a Grandma!" She honestly voiced her thoughts.

Both Aizen and Anira smiled at her words.

"I think she has taken a liking to the two of you." He gently patted her head and smiled.

"You think so?" Misty hopefully asked.

"Yup." Aizen nodded to her. "She is happy that Anira has some more friends. Well, counting you two, she only has four friends."

"Three!" Anira corrected him and folded her arms on her chest. "Only May, Leaf, and Misty are my friends." She glared at him.

Aizen decided not to talk about it anymore. No matter how she behaved, he knew that she cared for her future sister-wife.

"There's something I need to talk to all of you about." The smile on his face ceased and he seriously looked at them. "Uncle Joseph has warned me that Team Rocket might come after me since I have something that belongs to them." He waited for his words to sink in before getting to the point. "He suggested that I send Anira back to Blanc Island, and he says that it would be better if both of you are not with me on my journey." He looked at Leaf and Misty and honestly said. "He fears that you would come in harm's way because of me. And since you have nothing to do with anything that is happening, it would be selfish of me, and unfair to you to risk your lives."

There was silence after his words.

Misty and Leaf were frowning as they seemed lost in some thoughts, but Anira unconcernedly sank back into the couch and brightly smiled at him.

"I am not going anywhere." She calmly declared.

"I know." Aizen chuckled at her words. "And I don't want you to go." He gently smiled at her before looking at Misty and Leaf. "You can take your time to think over it. Know that the threat is real. And there's no blame on you for whatever you decide."

"I can take care of myself..." Misty argued but Aizen cut her off.

"The danger is real, Misty." He shook his head. "Think carefully over it. It concerns your life."

"There's no need for that." She stubbornly looked at him. "I decided to travel with you guys, and I am not backing out because some criminal organization is after one of us. It is just not me. I can't leave my friends behind to save myself from trouble. Whatever it is, we will deal with it together." She confidently said.

Aizen nodded to her words and turned to look at the hazel-eyed girl.

"If I stay, would I be a burden to you?" She decisively asked.

"No." Aizen shook his head with a smile.

"Then if you don't want me to go separate ways, I am staying." She replied with a smile.

He playfully nudged her nose before caressing her head, making her cheeks bloom in a blush.

"Well, then prepare for some intense Training. We are going to start by doubling your daily regime."

Leaf's eyes widened in horror at his words. She looked at him and found him wearing a serious expression on his face, and against her will, her eyes turned misty.

"Okay..." She then lowered her head and nodded.

There was no reply for a few seconds, but then she heard him chuckle before her friends burst out laughing.

"You looked like a lost puppy when he mentioned Training." Misty hugged her to comfort her and teased her a little.

Leaf felt that Aizen was messing with her, but her heart and mind were not calm. The fear of the Training was now deeply engraved in her bones.

"Don't worry. I was just messing with you." Aizen calmed her down. "We don't need to make any changes to your training regime. You are doing it better than I ever expected." He honestly said.

Only after hearing his words did she bring herself to show some dissatisfaction at his bad joke.

"Why are you so mean to me?" She complained.

"Because you are too adorable, and I like getting these reactions out of you." He winked at her, causing her to blush. "Now, tell me, have you registered us for the Gym Battle tomorrow?"

"I have. Your battle is at 10 am, and mine is at noon. It will be a 2v2." She informed him. "And I have already decided on the Pokemon I will be using."

"Which ones?" He curiously asked.

"Magnezone and Pidgeotto." She smiled at him. "Magnezone is strong, and Pidgeotto is immune to Ghost-Type attacks. What about you?"

"I haven't decided yet." He smiled at her. "By the way, have you scanned Magnezone?"

"Yup!" She was happy that he asked about it. "It knows some really good moves." She pulled out her Pokedex and showed him the moveset of her Magnezone.

'Moves Known: Barrier, Supersonic, Magnet Bomb, Spark, Thunder Wave, Discharge, Electro Ball, Tri-Attack, Magnet Rise, Gyro Ball, Flash Cannon, Zap Cannon, and Explosion.'

"That's a good moveset. And since it knows Barrier, learning Light Screen should be easier for it. I suggest you teach him that before tomorrow's duel. Dexter will help it out with the move." Aizen smiled at her.

"Thanks!" Leaf was really excited about helping her Pokémon learn a new move. "By the way, have you scanned Elektra?" She asked.

"Elektra?"

"That's the name I gave to Elekid! She loves it." Anira playfully stuck her tongue at him. "And I won't allow you to change it!"

"Why would I change it? I like it." He smiled at her before taking out Elekid's Pokeball and scanning it.

"Elekid, the Electric Pokemon. Elekid is a yellow, round-bodied Pokémon with black stripes. Elekid's arms are bulky in proportion to its body, and it has three claws instead of fingers. It has two stripes on its arms, which wrap all the way around. There are two horns on top of its head which resemble the prongs of a plug, complete with holes in their sides. These horns glow bluish-white when Elekid is fully charged. Elekid has a black lightning bolt marking on its chest. It tends to become restless and full-on rowdy when it hears the sound of thunderstorms coming, and likes to play out in the middle of thunderstorms."

"This Elekid is Female."

"Ability: Static."

"Moves Known: Leer, Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Electro Ball, Fire Punch, and Thunder Punch."

"I think I will put her to training with your Magnezone. It would be good for her to learn Light Screen." Aizen smiled after seeing the moveset.

There was a lot of work he needed to do on Elektra, and his mind was already making plans for the right moves to teach her.

"Do you have anything planned for the evening?" Misty smiled at him.

"Do you have something on your mind?" Aizen smiled back at her.

"Since we are in the Town that is famous for Ghost-Type Pokemon, why not get one for our Teams?" She bared her intentions.

"Sure!" He readily agreed to her words and then turned to look at Leaf who looked undecided. "Scared of Ghost-Types?" He teased her.

"No!" She stubbornly shook her head, but still looked unsure if she wanted one on her team.

"You can come along, and if you find anything interesting, go for it." He suggested.

"I don't want to go inside the Tower..." She whispered.

"You will be fine!" Anira stood up by her side and held her hand. "Ghost-Types are very fun! You should get past this fear before it takes root and you end up like Misty." She seriously said.

"Hey!" The orange-haired girl was upset that she brought up her Entomophobia. "It's not like I hate all of them..."

"Yeah, right." Aizen decided to join in the fun and teased her.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing around with each other, and then Leaf and Aizen put their Pokemon in the care of Metagross to teach them Light Screen.