Chapter 19

POV: Daisy Oak

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Was the sky falling?

Was her perception of time and the date so skewed that she didn't notice it was Opposite Day?

Daisy Oak was simply perplexed because just the night before, she had gotten a text from Luke asking if she was available the next day for a nice little outing to the Xanadu Nursery. No mention of their little brothers joining them either. Just the two of them. Alone.

Now Daisy felt extra silly for acting up at Erika's Gym the other day. She had already promised herself to use her own funds to buy her friend a new tea set after accidentally breaking the one from their sudden battle in her break room. Gah, if Daisy didn't have a plethora of other friends to share this with, then she would have broken from the tension of Erika ignoring her until she righted her wrongs.

Martha was ecstatic about the news and as always was a chatterbox about recommending every dating tip and recommendation under the sun despite never having a boyfriend herself. Daisy at least promised her that she'd tune in to the Johto station to watch her contest debut. She was happy that her friend was able to pick herself up after failing to breach past her fifth gym battle and found something new and worthwhile to do.

Sunny was "happy" but didn't message her anything beyond a "Knock him dead". Daisy reminded herself to check in on her old friend for the ninth time this month, unlike Martha, Sunny couldn't pick herself up the same way that Martha did after failing to complete her own Gym Challenge. Daisy figures that after reconciling with Erika that she could maybe put in a good word and see if she'd like to try out being a Gym Trainer.

Next came the wallflower in her posse of friends, Marina, who had actually become one of the few like her and Garnet to complete her Gym Challenge and make it to the Top 62 of the Indigo League Conference. Daisy was surprised that the quietest one in their group would make it as far as them with nothing, but a Marill that her grandfather had given her for a starter. At first, Daisy was happy that her friend had broken out of her shell and achieved quite the feat, but this later came to Daisy's detriment.

[I won't lose next time.]

Daisy really hated that the number of rivals that she had to keep at bay were only rising, even ones who were by her side for years. She never quite did understand how every one of her friends had a good first impression of Luke as kids when hers was just downright awful…

…Well, she could make a guess from just how awful her behavior was back then starting a preschool.

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"Hey, we want to sit here! This is our table!"

"…You can still sit around me though."

"Ew~! No, you're a boy so sit somewhere else!"

"…No."

"Wha-? No, b-but we want to sit there!"

"…Too bad."

To Daisy Oak, she was never denied once by those in her same age range. The boys were either too intimidated or excited to get on her good side and the girls simply followed her because she was cute and bossing the bothersome boys around.

Though it was outrageous that a girl at the tender age of 3 could exert such power, it all came down to the fact that she was an Oak. She was praised by her teachers, envied by the other kids for being around the amazing pokémon her famous grandfather studied, and having a cool police dad. Counting that she was smarter than most of the other kids her age, and she'd even be deemed exceptional.

If not for a quiet boy, who received far more praise than her and always kept to himself in class, reading and writing notes on all the books that he read. The teachers kept heaping praise onto him and even some of her so-called friends went to him for help when she was clearly smarter than the weirdo.

That's why she targeted him and wanted to show him who was boss. Yet when she was denied the exhilaration of cowing the boy, who didn't seem to care about who she was and what he could possibly lose out on for getting on her bad side, she responded the only way how a 3-year-old girl could act.

*THUD!*

She pushed him out of his seat. She felt bad for a second before reminding herself that he was in the wrong for saying no to her. She took his spot and gestured for her friends to sit around her while nastily giggling at the boy, "Serves you right, stupid!"

Now she waited for the boy to tear up and cry like the others, then she'd have solidified herself as the better of the two in front of her friends and the rest of the class, who were watching.

Except the boy didn't cry. He quietly picked himself up, dusted himself off, took a deep breath and…

Daisy blinked in shock as he quickly approached her. "What are you-?"

*THUD!*

Daisy hiccupped in pain and barely had the chance to whimper as the chair she was sitting in was pulled out from underneath her. "Y-You-!" She did her best (and failed) not to cry as she shot a teary glare past her worried friends to the boy.

She had wanted to scream and demand that he pushed her, but she was galled to see him ignoring her in favor of moving his book and chair to a different free table.

Indignant anger blossomed in Daisy and before she could even think, she lunged at the boy's back and got into her first ever school fight.

That was the first fight that she had ever gotten into.

It was also the first time she had ever gotten in trouble.

The first time that her parents seriously scolded her.

The first time that her doting grandfather was disappointed in her.

The first time that she was made to apologize to a stinking boy.

And the first time that her parents actually encouraged that she'd be much closer to said stinking boy.

It wasn't supposed to go like this! Why did she have to be friends with the weirdo who never played with anyone and kept to himself?

That was why Daisy refused to even make her parents happy by befriending him. There was absolutely no way she'd ever be close to an icky, weirdo boy like him. Never-never ever!

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Daisy sighed.

Okay, so perhaps her old bratty behavior may have been the cause for her bad impression. It certainly blinded her to notice how her friends seemed quite taken with the sole boy in class, who wasn't obnoxiously loud, rude, or disgusting and was consistently nice.

Still, Daisy could count on one friend not to pull a fast one like Marina.

Garnet Joy's lackluster reply of [You're both hopeless], but that was to be expected from one of her oldest friends. Daisy used to remember a time where Garnet was just as bubbly and cheery like her mother, Ruby Joy, until one family reunion later left her as the jaded and tough to approach girl that she was today. Still though, Garnet was loyal and unlike some of her friends, knew not to cross a line that Daisy had made to the rest of her posse long ago. Although Garnet was never interested in romance like the rest of them so that was more conflict avoided.

Her friend had even informed her of Luke coming over to pick up an injured pokémon, so that gave Daisy more than enough time to prepare herself.

Luke never invites her out unless they talked and planned the outing beforehand or she had to take the reins and initiate the outing herself. Which made this sudden request to just hang out for the day bizarre, especially after he stupidly added bringing their brothers with them the last that they spoke of this. So, something had to have happened for this sudden outing to even be a thing at the last minute.

Still, she wasn't going to say no to spending a free day with a close friend, who she totally wasn't going to butter up in case ghosting him these past couple of days may have ticked him off. Also, she had wanted to check in with her and Luke's old classmate and see what's been going on with her.

"Ouch." Daisy hissed in pain as she once more accidentally cut the tip of another finger with her knife when chopping the berries for the fruit salad.

"You okay, sweetie?"

"Flora?"

Her mother came in from the dining room, face writ with worry alongside her peppy Sunflora, Sunny.

"I-I'm fine, Ma. I was just too lost in thought was all." Daisy laughed it off before sucking the blood that beaded on her appendage.

"Now remember dear, if you are holding sharp kitchen utensils and your mind isn't focused on the meal that's being prepared-." Her mother began to speak sagely much to Daisy's begrudging acceptance.

"-then I should focus otherwise I'll end up serving pieces of myself as a meal. I got it, Ma…" Daisy groaned with a roll of her eyes.

"Good, I wouldn't want you to accidentally serve one your fingertips to Luke when you're out on your little date with him~!" Ugh, and there it was. Again, Daisy rolled her eyes as she avoided looking her cheshire smiling mother in the eye. She loved her mom, but Daisy had to admit that she was quite the gossiper around town and seemed to enjoy gathering the other mothers and grannies in town just to spread juicy "deets" down the grapevine.

She was the reason why she and Luke were made to be so close in their childhood after her first school fight with him. One little comment about how cute they looked set off a chain reaction that influenced her father, Luke's parents, and a good majority of the adults in town. In Pallet Town, everyone knew everyone and so word was impossible to prevent from spreading, and none other than her own mother orchestrated the whole thing.

Now in hindsight this was helpful to her in a way, but getting constantly doted on and teased by every known face in town just for being near Luke was so god damn embarrassing, and Daisy knew that the townsfolk just loved to pester them for fun. Luke seemed just as annoyed by it, so Daisy chose to work through her own merit than rely on the "oh-so helpful" advice and deeds of her mom and the nosy denizens of Pallet.

"First off: Ew." Daisy stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Second off: It's not a date, mom. We're just going up to the Xanadu Nursery to do some stuff and chat. Nothing too major." Her attention shifted back to the Berry Salad that she was making.

"Just chat, eh?" Her mother giggled, pointing to the picnic basket, already filled with the rest of the food contents that she made earlier this morning.

"Sun-sunflora~?" Her mother's eyes glittered as she and her Sunflora crept to either side of Daisy with knowing and teasing smiles.

Daisy did her best to ignore them so she could focus on her task of completing her dishes. It was difficult not to just fold under their gazes and scream for them to leave, but she was in a good mood and didn't want to further indulge their troublesome curiosities by ruining it.

"Yes, just chat." Daisy coughed. "I've been up since 6 AM preparing all of this so excuse me for wanting to have a little cheat day for my hard work."

"Sun? Sun Sunflora~!" Daisy gasped as she noticed Sunny open up the picnic basket to retrieve and knowingly inspect a few berries.

"Wait, Sunny don't-!" Daisy reached out for them but was too late once the Sunflora tossed them to her mother, who quickly swiped them out of the air.

"My my~! Nice find, Sunny." Her mom giggled once her Sunflora gave her a ladylike curtsy. "And as you young lady, I'm seeing a lot of dishes in here that are lacking in Tamato and Cheri berries." Her mother peered into the basket.

Swiftly closing it shut and ignoring the playful little "rude" her mother huffed out, Daisy said, "I'm trying something new."

"Nuh-uh, sweetie. I know my child and I know that she loves to drown her tastebuds in spices. Also, you hate Salac and Leper berries with a passion."

"I-I'm a growing girl, Ma. M-Maybe…" Daisy trailed off, trying to find something to say and almost falling short. "Maybe…you should be paying attention a little more. I mean, I think I'm close enough to becoming a full-fledged woman, don't you agree?"

Daisy expected her mom to speak and redirect the conversation back to the food, not her smart aleck little brother poking his head into the kitchen to butt into her business. "But sis, how can you even be close to being a woman when you're so rough and ungirly most of the ti-whoa!"

The cheeky little bastard dodged the ripened Oran berry she chucked at his twerp face.

"BARELY!? I AM A GIRL! I AM REFINED AND DELICATE LIKE A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER YOU TINY JERK!" Daisy growled and glared at Gary's retreating back.

*Pompf!*

"Ugh." Daisy winced and rubbed the top of her head.

Hand upraised from chopping her daughter's head, Willow disapprovingly shook her head. "No wasting food, young lady."

"O-Oh! Right sorry, I…" Embarrassed, Daisy coughed and righted herself. Reminding herself to get back at Gary later and focus on the Final Boss standing right beside her. "Ma, I'm really just going out to hang with Luke like usual. The food is just in case we stay out a little too long and need a bite to eat."

Sighing in "defeat", her mother shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's reasonable, sweetie. Sorry for being super nosey like that…" Daisy sighed in relief until her mother's hand slowly clasped against her shoulder, sending a bit of a chill down her spine. "But…if hunger is an issue, then why not skip stop around the house with Luke? I'll whip you two a fantastic meal fit for both of your tastes~!"

"N-No, that's fine, Ma. You really don't have to-!" Daisy stuttered, growing pale.

"But I insist, sweetheart! I may have told you that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but there's no shame in asking for help. Plus, I may even get to see something entertaining during the meal." Her mother snickered in her hand and Daisy just prayed for an angel to come and save her from the clutches of her overbearing mother.

And an angel did arrive, and in their hand held a mug of scalding hot black coffee. "Willow, please try not to fluster our daughter with your hijinks." Cyan Oak, Daisy's father, sighed as he strode into the kitchen with a slouched gait.

"Aw, don't be such a buzz, Cy. I'm just having my fun after putting up with your father's antics." Willow pouted.

"Dad is one thing but we both know how far you take it when you tease the kids, especially when you've been riled up." Daisy's eyebrow twitched at the mention of being a stress reliever for her mother, who shamelessly didn't deny the accusation and instead winked and knocked her knuckles against her head. "Moderation is the key, right?"

"Fine fine, I'll stop." Her mother laughed it off and gave a quick peck to Daisy's forehead and Cyan's cheek. "Enjoy your date, sweetie~!"

"Urgh, mom, it's not a-ggrgh!" Daisy growled, sometimes her mom was so frustrating to deal with.

"There that bought you enough time, honey. Make the most of it and keep safe." Daisy rushed so fast to hug her dad that it had nearly knocked all of the air out of his lungs.

"Thanks, Pa." She muffled into his shirt, the familiar scent of her dad's cologne, aftershave, and caffeine sent comforting waves of nostalgia to flow through her.

"Don't mention it." He chuckled and patted her on the back. "And be sure NOT to bring Luke back with you if you don't want her to go TOO far. Even I won't be able to save you then."

"Got it." Daisy seriously nodded and frowned as her dad roughly petted her head, messing up her hair. His wide smile annoyed her since he knew what he was doing.

"Good. Now hurry up and get outta here, I may have an excuse for being late to work by living in another town, but you don't." Cyan ended the hug and approached the coffee maker, pulling out one extra coffee mug. He poured a bit more coffee into his own mug before filling the extra mug up. Rapping his hands against the kitchen's marble countertop, the extra coffee mug vanished with a satisfying "POP" sound.

"I know…" Daisy huffed and rushed back to her picnic basket. Her mom may have distracted her, but she was still fully capable of finishing the meal on time before she departed the Oak household. "Ow!" She winced after accidentally cutting another finger with her knife on the chopping board.

"Careful." Cyan worriedly frowned.

"Y-Yeah, I know sorry…" Daisy breathed out in pain and carefully set the layout of food in the picnic basket after a quick visit to the cabinet that held the house's first aid kit. With the essentials prepared, Daisy rushed back upstairs to redo her hair, change her clothes, gather the few pokémon she had on hand, grab her pokédex then split…

…That is until she can find her pokédex! Daisy literally tore her room apart trying to find it before realizing after flipping her entire bed over that if she hadn't already found the device, then the true culprit for swiping it could only be one person, who was brave/stupid enough to even think of getting away with it.

*SMACK!*

"Ow!" Gary reeled back on the step of their front porch, massaging the spot on his head that Daisy gladly smacked the backside of her hand against.

"How many times do I have to tell you, dweeb. Don't go through my stuff without permission!"

"I was just curious, sis…" Gary grumbled.

"Still doesn't give you an excuse to go rummaging through my belongings, Gary. Just because I gave consent once doesn't mean that you can just take whenever you want afterwards."

Gary huffed. "I don't even know why you're getting so worked up about it. You know I won't take it far from the house and lose it like that forgetful chump Ashy-boy almost did with Luke's, ya know."

Daisy sighed. "That remains to be seen…"

"Tch! C'mon, sis, I'm not that bad." Gary rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, you're Ash bad but you certainly are Gary bad." Daisy smirked.

"H-Hey, what does that even mean!?" Gary squawked.

"It means that you're your own breed of brat who can be just as bothersome as your best friend." Daisy snickered when her brother petulantly clicked his tongue and looked away from her. She loved and hated putting Gary in his place, but it was necessary.

Like her in the past, Gary has been developing quite the ego. Most of it is deserved, he's the smartest in his class, has many friends, and is quick to apply what she and grandpa taught her when interacting with pokémon. It's just that with all the praise he gets, he tends to get a big head. Thankfully it isn't too overblown because of his good friends, Daisy's constant reprimands, and Luke's general presence in town (both for good and bad).

"Plus, do you honestly think you can identify that huge mess on the lawn without messing with the pokédex's system?" Daisy casually pointed to the massive cavalcade of fluffiness and warmth that dogpiled their poor grandfather into the soft, tender grassing of their front yard. Her Arcanine, Valentine, was joined by her dad's and her grandfather's Arcanine, who proudly laid atop Prof. Samuel Oak's prone squirming form.

"U-Uncle! Uncle! I give! I give! I get it, Willow! I won't sneak off to my lab again so j-just let me go! I need to deliver something of great importance!" Grandpa loudly muffled through the fur of his Arcanine atop his face. His hand rapidly batted at the one-eyed Arcanine's snout in desperation. "I won't forget this treachery Komainu AND Zam! I know you're still there watching this happen! Teleport me out of here this instant!"

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip~!*

"*SIGH!*…Alakazam…" Slurping his black coffee, Zam levitated above the mass of wriggling Arcanine to enjoy this morning's news article. Daisy had to guess that the fact that her grandfather could even breathe much less talk through the dogpile was thanks to his Alakazam's telekinesis.

Their mother had caught grandpa trying to sneak out early in morning when he should have been in bed at rest. So as the top cook in the household for both pokémon and human alike, she only needed to snap her fingers and sick the family's easily bribed Arcanine on the old man. It was a sad sight and cruel reminder that Daisy's own Arcanine wouldn't even hesitate to betray her if it meant getting fed more treats by her mom.

"I just wanted to compare all of their specs and see which direction that I want to go with when it's time for me to go out on my own journey." Gary muttered to himself. "Having all of them bunched together would have made it easier than going to each of them one at a time."

Daisy rolled her eyes at that and pointed at herself. "Uh excuse me, you have three trainers with Arcanine who live with you. Just ask dad, grandpa or me to give you some advice if it's too hard for you to figure out alone."

"It's not hard for me, sis." Gary sniffed and haughtily raised his nose to the sky.

'Ugh, don't be such a faker.' Daisy internally groaned.

"I just want more up to date advice, sis. Dad doesn't count since he's not that much of a battler and Gramps is good, but I don't want to copy from him too much." Daisy could somewhat understand the feeling of not wanting to strictly follow in the steps of their grandfather. "And…" Gary hesitantly glanced over his shoulder at her.

"And…?" Daisy smirked, knowing that whatever her brother had to say about her would earn him another slap to the back of his head.

"I just feel that…it would me a lot if I can get advice from someone who made it the furthest in the Conference." Gary quietly sighed and stiffened up, expecting another dope slap to the head. But it never came since Daisy felt like she got slapped by him instead with that honest admission.

…Daisy was…

She was…

Y-Yeah, it did make sense to her on why her brother wouldn't be so quick to ask her for advice like he had used to. After last year's conference, he wasn't pestering her too much like he used to when she was beginning to prep for her journey and was in the middle of it. Logically, it did make sense to seek tips from a trainer who worked their way up to the Finals than one who was knocked out in the Top 8. This at least lined up with Gary's behavior these past few months. Sure, he'd come to her for help for proper pokémon care and grooming but for battling and training specs, he'd…

…

Deeply inhaling, Daisy recovered just enough to smile. "When I go out with Luke, I'll be sure to tell him that you need help. I'm sure he'd be glad to lend an ear when you visit their place next time."

"W-Whoa, really, sis!?" Gary gaped.

"Of course, if you're this serious about needing help then its only my duty as your diligent older sister to help you." Daisy spoke the words as cheerily as she could, she was glad that Gary was too caught up in his excitement not to notice how forced she sounded. "Just don't grab my pokédex out of my room without asking again, yeah?"

"I-I promise for real this time!" That's what he said last time, but Daisy believed that he wouldn't pull this again for at least a month. "Thanks, sis, you're the best!" Gary jumped up from his seat to wrap Daisy up in a hug. Sadly smiling, Daisy returned it a bit too tightly before pushing Gary off of her and shooing him away so she could leave.

But the little twerp had to say something after being so generous with him. "I doubt anything will happen considering how hopeless you are but have a fun time on your date."

"You cheeky little-!" Daisy growled as her brother retreated into their home's interior. "For the last time it is NOT a date; we're just hanging o-! Ugh, forget it, you're just as bad as mom…" Descending down the steps, Daisy observed the mess of Arcanine and sighed. "Nice to know that I won't have access to Valentine anytime soon…super…" Taking out a pokeball, she prepared to call on her psychic type to teleport her to the town's pokémon center.

Then her grandfather's Alakazam teleported in front of her with another long sip of his coffee. "Oh, hi, Zam. Is there something you want because I'm kind of in the middle of going to see Lu-." Daisy blinked in surprise as a pokeball materialized and floated in front of her face before neatly miniaturizing and slipping into the pocket of her shorts. "Eh? What was that?"

"Upon your return with Old-New-Friend, give that to him but only when you return. Friend-Trainer is currently preoccupied with the machinations of your Alpha-Matron's wrath." Alakazam's words buzzed through her mind before he teleported back over Oak's valiant struggle against the three fuzzy menaces holding him down.

"Uh…okay?" Daisy sweatdropped. She didn't really get her grandpa's Alakazam as she did his other pokémon. She knew he was an exceptional genius amongst others of his species, but he would always be hard to read at times. Plus, his mannerisms were a little weird around others like how he never clarifies why he keeps calling Luke "Old-New-Friend" much to her and Luke's confusion.

Still, he'd never steered her wrong before and so she decided to take his instructions to heart. Though she may have to plan a way to drive Luke away if she had to bring him back home lest her mother catch them and drag him to join them for dinner.

She resumed pulling out the pokeball that she had chosen before the interruption and released a well-groomed Espeon, who affectionately rubbed itself against her leg. "Good morning to you too, Nova." Her fingers brushed the slim back of her pokémon. "Hey, I need your help with a quick teleport to the Pokémon Center." Her Espeon stiffened at the tall ask before she quickly clarified. "No don't worry, just the one in town. We'll keep practicing your long-range teleportation for another day."

Her Espeon was more accustomed to Pallet Town and its landmarks than some of the other towns and cities that they had come across on their journey. She was hoping that they'd knock this skill issue out before joining Professor's Aide, Mr. Willow, on his expedition through Mt. Silver.

Brimming with self-assured confidence, Nova's eyes took on a mystical blue glow then in a mere instant, Daisy found the scenery of her front lawn replaced by the familiar exterior of the Pallet Town's Pokémon Center. She thanked Nova with a quick pat on the head and an Oran berry before balling her back up in her pokeball.

Looking around, she found that apart from a few passersby, the entrance was bare of any sign of a person entering or emerging from the building. "Is he still here?" She pulled her phone and texted Garnet on Luke's whereabouts.

Garnet: [He's leaving now but…I'd take my time to meet him on the courts outside.]

"Why would I-?" Daisy felt her heart skip a beat as the Center's automatic doors quickly slid open. Emerging from the building was a small, quick blur of a shadow who locked their sights on her. She yelped in fright and defensively held her picnic basket in front of her.

"No! Lift it up! He's after the food!" Daisy followed the advice of the panicked and suspiciously familiar voice ahead of her and just barely managed to avoid the pair of clawed, grubby paws trying to snatch the picnic basket out of her arms. "A Teddiursa?" Daisy was perplexed that a cute little cub pokémon was assailing her. The little cub kept jumping and swiping the air in a hungered daze, searching for any opening to steal her basket.

"Yogi, nononono! Stop it! I already promised to get you some food later!" And following after the Teddiursa was Luke (because of course it's his…) with his new Dratini, Fafnir, wrapped around his neck. Daisy had to admit that the poor little thing did seem to be bigger than when she'd last seen it, so it relieved her that their good health was developing.

"Lu-?" Daisy gasped as a blue blur sped past Luke's running form to pursue the preoccupied Teddiursa.

"Grrrrr! Olu! Ri-Riolu!"

"U-Ursaaaaaaa~!"

With a growl, the R-R-Riolu managed to stop the Teddiursa's thieving attempts on her picnic basket, which had sent the little cub pokémon running around her in clear distress as gouts of tears poured out their eyes. Then Riolu kept chase of the Teddiursa while angrily barking something at them much to Luke's exasperation.

Running up to her, Luke grabbed the other end of the picnic basket and helped her hold it up higher. "Hi, Daisy. Sorry, Daisy." He hurriedly sighed before sternly looking at the two pokémon running circles around them. "Aurion, stop chasing Yogi, you're scaring him! Yogi, quit it with the Fake Tears, you won't be getting any more sympathy from me after I told you to behave!"

"Luke, what's happeni-Luke! Hey, Luke, your Dratini is-!" Daisy panicked, fed up with how things kept escalating.

"Wha-Faffy, no! That's not for you! I just fed you three bowls of pokéfood this morning!" Luke exclaimed and wriggled in discomfort as the Dratini that hung around his neck took a deep sniff of the air and slithered up his arm for the picnic basket held up in their conjoined grasps. It was utter havoc and a very loud ruckus that had garnered the attention of one of the work staff in the pokémon center.

"Can't you two rubes see that this is blocking traffic and disturbing the resting pokémon inside!? Take your bothersome crap elsewhere already!" Garnet stomped out, furiously reprimanding the pair.

"GARNET! LANGUAGE!" screeched Garnet's mother, Ruby Joy from within the Center.

Daisy should have known better than to lower her guard. She'd been so caught up with the prospect of being invited out by Luke that she'd forgotten how utterly nonsensical it was to be around him sometimes. After begrudgingly sparing some of their food to Luke's Dratini and Teddiursa, Daisy and her friend furiously apologized for the commotion and made themselves scarce.

"U-Ursa…" Teddiursa used Baby Doll Eyes.

"Nice try. You'll eat when we go home." It was ineffective against Luke. Daisy never saw a Teddiursa click their tongue before today which was weird…although she'd never seen a live Riolu in person either, so she'd have to say that she was two for two today.

When the Teddiursa named Yogi then tried to the same trick on her, Daisy simply smiled and waved. As a fellow older sibling, she'd endured way worse looks from Gary when he was much cuter and was way less of a brat than he was today. Choosing to cut their losses, Yogi then turned to Fafnir, who was still enjoying their prepared bowl of berries with a grin that slowly morphed to that of an innocent, teary mien.

"Ri…!" But coming to the rescue was Riolu, who bravely stood between the mischievous Teddiursa and the unaware Dratini pigging out on berries.

"Tch! Tedi…!" Treating Riolu like a buzzkill, Teddiursa then chose to run off into jungle gym of the park with Riolu following closely to bark/nag him about something that was beyond what Daisy could translate from the interaction.

Luke tiredly observed the two pokémon and called out, "Don't go too far away, we'll go after Faffy's done eating!" Of the two pokémon, Riolu diligently stopped their chase to deeply bow at him before they yelped upon realizing that Teddiursa was still gaining some distance. Another one-sided argument broke out between the two young pokémon much to their trainer's exhaustion.

Luke tiredly rubbed his neck and slumped back on the park bench. "Ugh, it's like Macaque and Thor but more juvenile…or wait, shouldn't it be less juvenile if they're always eager to kick the snot out of each other?"

"Well, they certainly have personality." Daisy sweatdropped.

"Too much of it if you ask me…" Luke groaned. "Sorry about all of that Daisy. I didn't mean to spring all of that nonsense on you like that."

"No, I get it. You just wanted to get to know Tedi-I mean Yogi a little better after he got healed. I totally understand." Luke had told her how he assisted Ranger Gabe with the whole incident around Pallet Peaks. If she were in his shoes, she'd do the same and boy was she glad that the little cub wasn't too traumatized by getting harmed by the Graveler.

"So, you're going to keep him?"

"Yup." Luke lazily popped the "p". "I still have to convince his mother and figure out what to do with her, but Yogi didn't take that much to convince. Garnet told me how much he loved the steady supply of meals during his treatment, so I bought him loads of snacks from the vending machines." He scratched his cheek with a wry smile.

"So, you bribed him?" Amused, Daisy leaned her shoulder against his and smirked.

"Ugh, I hate to use that word, but pretty much…" Luke sighed. "The promise of having more food given to him did appeal him more to joining me."

"Do you have a plan for him?" Because it seemed a little random for her friend to just keep these two on a whim. Although the Dratini that was currently pigging out on the ground beside them did give Daisy pause on that doubt.

"I do. One that's way later down the road, but it's one that will pay off with enough patience." Luke explained much to Daisy's surprise. He caught on to that and tilted his head. "What?"

Daisy sheepishly smiled. "N-No, it's just…I thought you would have yawned and say that you'd come up with something later."

Daisy expected a snappy retort or an "offended" look, but worriedly received a subdued sigh from her friend. "Would have but…not anymore." Luke narrowed his eyes and looked off to the side, much to Daisy's concern.

"O-Oh." Daisy frowned as silence awkwardly filled the gap of their talk. Seeking to fill the quiet lull of the conversation, Daisy checked Luke out (NOT LIKE THAT!) and huffed in good nature. "I-I see that you've retired your sweatpants. Good! Now you look as respectable as any trainer from Pallet should."

"Y-Yeah, I guess I do…" Luke weakly chuckled much to Daisy's consternation. Come on, give more of a reaction than that. The vibes that she was getting from Luke were a little off. Extremely familiar, but not the kind that she would have expected or liked for today's outing.

"Y-Yep, you sure do." Daisy coughed.

"Mmmm-hmmmm." Luke hummed.

"…"

"…"

Just what the hell happened!? Daisy thought to herself in panic.

This wasn't how she expected the day to go. Sure, she'd get peeved with Luke's laziness and downright frustrating procrastinating attitude, but he ironically had a certain "energy" that Daisy could latch onto and respond in kind. Not whatever this was. He actually looked up and alert for being so up in the morning and hasn't even yawned once since she's seen him.

…Wait, hold on a minute. Luke hasn't yawned once since she's seen him.

Was something wrong? Did some freak accident happen since they last chatted? No, if that were the case then she'd have already heard it from her mom, and her mother who was the ringleader to all of the gossip amongst the other housewives in town.

So, what was happening right now?

"Say are you-?" She began only to stop short as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hm?"

"I-." Thinking quickly, she chose a more subtle approach to directing the conversation. She whipped out her pokédex and pointed at Riolu, who was currently chasing Teddiursa up a slide. "I wanted to know if you're alright with me scanning your Riolu. You know, to just be courteous."

Luke shrugged. "Sure, I'm not using him in any advanced battles anytime soon so feel free to observe him to your heart's content."

"Right, cool…thanks!" God, Daisy hated how off-kilter she sounded. To be honest, she did want to identify the Riolu. Those pokémon were so exclusive to the Kingdom of Rota that you'd need to win either an annual tournament or get special permission from Rotan Royalty just to have one.

Which made the prospect of Luke suddenly having one a little odd and perhaps a reason for his current behavior or indirectly involved with the cause.

["Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. Riolu can discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokémon, and other living organisms by feeling and observing a wave of life energy called Aura. It has been recorded in the annals of a kingdom's history that a Riolu possesses a flexible body with enough power to cross three mountains and two canyons in a single night to ensure the safety of an ailed knight. It's current moves are:-."]

Daisy shut off her pokédex before it continued.

"You could look at his moves if you want." Luke crossed his arms and bounced his leg.

She shook her head. "Getting to have Rio-I mean Aurion's entry in my Pokédex is enough for me. Still, I have to ask…" She trailed off thinking of the perfect way to ask the question. "How'd you manage to get one? I know you didn't just stroll up to Rota and asked for one. For one, you barely hav-had the effort to change out of your sweatpants much less cross over to Eastern Kanto and somehow get permission from royalty to have one."

Although it was a weary thing, Luke laughed. "No, it wasn't that. I got him as a…" Luke's smile then fell once more. Dammit. "Gift."

"From whom though?"

Luke scratched his cheek and sighed, "To be honest with you, I haven't the clue."

"Oh…" Daisy frowned.

"But…" Daisy's frowned deepened as her friend's leg started to bounce rapidly in place. "The "messenger" who passed him along to me was someone I'd never forget."

Daisy narrowed her eyes. "That sounded ominous. Care to share who this messenger was?"

"…" Ugh, Daisy felt like she could do without the knowing silence. Her hope was renewed when he turned to her only to have them dashed with a shake of his head. "I-I don't think I should be the one to tell you. Just ask the professor, I'm sure that even he has a good clue on who I'm talking about, but if he doesn't want to tell you then forget about it."

"Okay, no." Daisy deadpanned at this. "Redirecting me isn't helping, Luke." He avoided her gaze. "Your hiding something." She quickly raised her hand to stop him from talking. "And…it's okay to keep it to yourself if it's too personal. I want to enjoy our day together and apparently also help you through whatever is eating at you because you're starting to act-"

'Like you did during our journey and after the passing of…Mr. Asch.' Daisy thought to herself in remorse.

"-weird again." She winced at her poor choice of words but saw no hint of offense from Luke and kept going. "Seeing you so alert and tense is worrying especially after seeing you so relax after the Conference, so I definitely want to handle this now, so it doesn't carry over through the rest of the day."

"…"

"I mean…" It all started to click for Daisy. "Isn't that the reason why you wanted to go out with me today?"

"…S'not the only reason…" Luke grunted and knowingly Daisy huffed in vindication for figuring the boy's true motive out.

"Sure, it wasn't." She good-naturedly rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, it wasn't just that. I also wanted to check up on you since you've been practically ignoring my messages and calls." Daisy froze at the admittance as both warmth and guilt warred inside of her.

So, "playing hard to get" did work and during the worst time imaginable. Now she felt like a bitch for ignoring Luke when he was probably in the middle of something awful that was the cause for his current slump.

"I was training and learning at Erika's Gym." Daisy admitted. "And I was so caught up that I…missed your calls." It was a half-truth so that was fine, right?

"Oh, I get it." Luke nodded then looked up with an irked expression. "But weren't you mad that I suggested we bring Ash and Gary along to Xanadu Nursery with us?"

She was. "Of course not, I just…wanted to broaden my skills in battle after Clair showed up is all." The sting of her defeat against the Dragon-type trainer still stung at her, so it served as the perfect excuse to cover up her and Erika's strategic boy talks and flower arrangement lessons.

"Ah, I get it." Daisy felt even more guilty as Luke seriously nodded and smiled at her. "I'm glad that Clair's presence managed to do some good for you. I can't wait to see what you've come up with next time."

"Y-Yeah, I'll be sure to show you a spectacular sight next time, ehehehe…ergh…" She could just feel her guilt eat away at her. "But let's not change the subject, will you finally tell me what's wrong so we can enjoy the day and this…amazing picnic I made for us?"

"…" Luke blinked, frowned, looked to the side, then at the picnic basket. His gazes lingered there before moving up to gaze at Daisy's eyes. "Any Tamato berries in there?"

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Of course not, I know how much you hate them, you big baby."

"…" Luke took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, I'll tell you, but only after we reach the Nursery and eat. Deal?"

That's as good as she was going to get, besides, she didn't want to stay sitting at a park bench all day with this back and forth. "Deal." She nodded back.

"Hey, everyone! Look two pokémon are wrestling at the sandbox!" Excitedly cheered a child on the playground as Aurion (Riolu) was roughly tussling with Yogi (Teddiursa) for everyone to see.

"I'll go handle this." Getting up, Luke returned Fafnir back to his pokeball, and began running to his troublemaking pokémon.

"Good luck." Daisy waved.

"Thanks, I'll need it." Luke groaned.

"O-Oh if you don't mind me asking, what did you do since we last talked?" Daisy asked.

"Me? Oh, I just…went out with Brock to help an old friend manage a compromise to keep their farm, nothing special."

"Aw, that's so sweet. I'm glad everything worked out for them." Daisy smiled.

"Me too. It sure was awfully surprising that my friend's dad offered up an engagement between the two of us, but we still figured out a way to help them without going that far."

…

…

"…What?" Daisy croaked out.

Luke didn't hear or see her distress when he ran off to break up Riolu and Teddiursa's fight.

…

…It was from that point on that Daisy decided that it would be for the best to retire some of Erika's relationship advice.

______________________________________________________________________________________________The Xanadu Nursery was located northeast of Pallet Town. To even call the steep incline trip up a hassle would be an overreaction for those already accustomed to hiking up to it. Daisy's grandpa would happily tell her of how there used to be a vast congregation of herbs, flowers and plants that played a crucial role in upkeeping the old unnamed settlement before Pallet Town was established. The family who watched the land would care for the grass and bug type pokémon that upkeeped the flora for generations.

The Nursery was basically a place that everyone and their own mothers in Pallet Town had to have at least visited once. Daisy's parents took her and Gary to see it, Luke's mother took him and Ash to see it, their school took Luke and Daisy's class to see it, and so on and so forth. It was odd but the older folk wanted to hammer in the Nursery's importance to the younger generation.

Daisy had been curious to ask her grandpa why that was the case, but each time he would get a faraway look that told her it dealt with something during one of the wars like most other stories that he watered down for her and Gary to hear. She never pushed him to tell the full details since that either made him uncomfortable or defensive that she was too young to hear about it.

Their trek up the hills to the location was a 45-minute walk from town, and through that time they just talked. Nostalgia hit them like a truck as memories of their days as younger kids resurfaced once they crossed familiar landmarks and spots where certain conversations and mischief occurred when traversing the woods upward. Daisy had also gotten a better grasp on Luke's new additions of Aurion and Yogi as they clung to their new trainer albeit for different reasons.

Aurion kept walking closer in step with Luke and kept a steadfast vigil by keeping a constant watch on the forest around them like a silent guardian. It would have looked intimidating if the little guy wasn't so small and cute. The Riolu batted her hand away when she tried petting, but that stubbornness only made her want to pet it more!

As for Yogi, he kept following along with Luke like a baby with how they tugged the boy's jeans and followed along with a drooling smile and their paw in their mouth. Unlike Aurion who focused on Luke, Yogi focused on Luke's bag like a pokémon on a mission as they were no doubt plotting a way to snatch any remaining snacks from within. Daisy felt relieved that he wasn't trying to sneak off with her picnic basket again.

Although the pair didn't seem to get along quite as well. Aurion was a stickler for following Luke's orders and commands then would get on Yogi's case for not listening or running off to make more trouble. For Yogi, he followed Luke's orders but only did so with the promise of a snack or praise (via headpats).

Their personalities were naturally liable to clash.

Although, she'd seen Luke's pokémon and knew that he'd somehow get them to at least function together in some weird way. She never expected that bitchy Sylveon to ever work in tandem with his other pokémon with how much she hissed and growled at Asch in one of their double battles.

Speaking of that vile pokémon, "You didn't bring your Sylveon did you?" Daisy asked as they climbed the last of the incline to the oncoming greenhouse before them, hoping she wouldn't have to deal with their nonsense.

Luke shook his head, "No, she didn't want to stick around last night."

Daisy's eyes widened. "Oh, that's rare." That little pain in the butt always glued herself to Luke's side even when she was a tamer Eevee. Then upon realizing the severity of such a change, Daisy frowned, "It's that bad, isn't it?"

Luke shook his head. "She'll be fine, I hope. I sent Asch and everyone back to the Sanctuary to discuss things."

Daisy couldn't care half a whit about how that meddlesome pest felt. "And you'll tell me why you're not fine." She said it more as a statement than a request and Luke slowly nodded. "Good. Now let's talk about something more upbeat like grandpa's upcoming summer camp."

Luke shrugged. "What's there to talk about? As his sponsored trainers, it's mandatory for us to attend as program aides."

Daisy couldn't refute that as this was only a role given to the top three of their class who obtained their region's traditional starter pokémon. Grandpa wasn't super strict about attending if you had any other business holding you up, but if the opposite were true, then he'd freeze your access to his support for a year.

"Well, we can talk about the one doof who currently isn't with us." Daisy said.

"Oh, Joey." Luke rubbed his chin in thought. "I-I…I think he'll be here by then." He didn't sound too sure.

"But at the last minute?" Daisy added.

"At the last minute, yes." Now he sounded completely confident in their friend albeit in Joey's ability to barely avoid being tardy.

Obviously, Luke and she were going to attend due to their younger siblings never missing out on an opportunity to play with the lab's pokémon. Then there were most of the kids in Pallet like Blossom, and a few kids from out of town who managed to win *UGH!* her grandfather's poetry competition to earn some spots. Also, there were some kids who would get in thanks to their connections like Aide Cerise's kid who would be joining them too.

Like every other year, the summer camp would last a whole week with tons of brash children to guide and babysit. It will be a hassle dealing with so many young faces, but she's already been given loads of experience handling a snot-nosed brat like Gary so her odds of snapping at a few annoying kids are low. Also, kids, who attend the program are just as likely to earn grandpa's notice and potentially earn a sponsorship from him, so there was also that benefit.

It was even how Luke and Joey had solidified grandpa's thoughts on sponsoring them although Daisy did consider Joey lucky that he had Luke around to lug his forgetful mug to the camps each year when growing up.

"I wonder how Joey's doing…" Luke looked upwards into the sky with a small smile.

"Knowing him, he's probably doing something stupid." Daisy groaned.

"Yeah."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

(POV: Joey)

"UNHAND ME! UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM BOY!?" Screeched the Mayor of Trovitopolis, who struggled against the tight bindings of his scorned, former pokémon, Bulbasaur, who Joey gladly adopted for himself.

"I don't give a Rattata's ass who you are, ya old coot! This is about paying you back for sending all those trainers to hunt poor Caesar after you clearly abandoned him!"

"So, what if I did? Isn't it only right to release a pokémon that couldn't evolve? If he couldn't give me what I want, then I'm better off without him!" The mayor exclaimed.

"Are you serious!? You freaking mook, Caesar flipping loved you!"

"Well his love clearly wasn't enough if he couldn't evolve when I asked him to!"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing! Everyone, boo this man!" Framing his mouth with the palms of his hands, Joey heatedly exclaimed out to the public.

"""BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"""

To the mayor's horror, the crowd of his town, who were gathered with the help of Joey's travelling partner decried him after witnessing and hearing the true extent of his poor sense of character.

"Is this how you really act, mayor!?"

"You suck!"

"I can't believe I voted for you!"

"You mean to say that mysterious creature stealing all of our food and supplies through the sewers was a pokémon that you abandoned, mayor!?"

"No wonder there was always greenery and vines at the crime scenes!"

"You're a monster!"

Joey snickered alongside his Blastoise, Raphael, at the blanching expression of the future "former" mayor of Trovitopolis. "Well well well, isn't this some ironic poetry?"

"Joey, I think you mean poetic irony…" groaned his travelling partner and guide, Cissy.

"Oh, I, uh…of course I did! I just got a little tongue tied there! Thanks for the reminder, Cis!" Joey just laughed it off, hoping she would buy it.

She didn't.

"Ugh, no need to be such a tryhard." Cissy rolled her eyes. Joey decided to ignore his friend's snide remark to focus on the source of everyone's ire.

"Now for the piece de resistance!" Joey remembered Lou saying that weird phrase before and found it fitting for this opportunity. "Yo, Caesar…spread his legs!" His new large Bulbasaur happily conceded with his command much to the growing dread of the mayor.

"W-Wait, what are you planning?" He sputtered.

"Justice." Joey began taking steps back.

Looking for help, the mayor cried out to the most dependable officer in the city, "Officer Jenny, this is clear violent misdemeanor in progress. You can't just allow this ruffian to get away with this can you? Do something about it!"

The officer solemnly nodded and crossed her arms. "You're correct Mr. Mayor. If I see then I must act to see the offense stopped." Her hands dug into her breast pocket to pull a strip of cloth out.

"Then arrest these fiends right this inst-what are you doing!?" The mayor gaped at the woman blindfolding herself.

"I can't act unless I see the offense, right?"

"B-But what about justice?"

"I'm afraid for this instance, sir… Justice is Blind."

The mayor's jaw fell. "I-I feel this is about the budgetary cuts I made to the local police enforcement this year. Is this because of the budgetary cuts I made to the police enforcement this year!?"

Officer Jenny smirked. "Pfft! What, no, it isn't because we lost half of our motorcycles and stables for our Growlithe and Arcanine just for you to build that gaudy statue of yours. I would never be so petty as to hold a grudge, Mr. Mayor." Her teeth peeked past her lips as Joey's footsteps rapidly beat against the ground. "By the by, you better grit your teeth."

"Wha-?"

"JUSTICE!'

*WHAAAAAAAAAAM!*

Joey roared and kicked the one place that many a male would wince in sympathy, but not today. Everyone who watched this public humiliation roared their approval over the pained squeals of the overweight mayor.

Joey had to say that this adventure during his Orange League circuit would be rated as one of the highlights for his current adventure.

______________________________________________________________________________________________(POV: Daisy Oak)

"Welcome back to the Xanadu Nurs-!" Florinda Showers, daughter of the owners to the massive greenhouse that they all are currently residing in, happily greeted the pair upon reaching their destination.

Daisy broke all pretense of courtesy in favor of giving her old friend a big old hug much to the purple haired girl's surprise. "Hi, Rinda!"

"H-Hi, Daisy." Florinda shyly smiled and patted Daisy's back.

"Hey, Flo." Luke happily raised a hand in greeting behind Daisy and received back a timid wave from the girl in kind.

"Hello, Luke."

Florinda Showers was one of the quieter kids from their old class days and was quite an expert in flowers, plants, and any species of grass pokémon that resided in her family's greenhouse. While Erika was the person who had helped her get a better grasp of how to better utilize grass types beyond an Intermediate level, Florinda's family Nursery and support had given Daisy the building blocks to implement their plants and integrate/copy them into her Ivysaur's moveset.

Knowing how Pokéta (Common Name: Pokénip) affected the olfactory neurons of pokémon and made them more subdued, Daisy wasted no time in having Venus work to copy the properties and incorporate it into her Sweet Scent move. It was a struggle at first but with Erika's help later on, Venus was now capable of lowering the guard of any unprepared pokémon that stood in their way. It was exactly because of this that she was around her grandfather's sanctuary in order to subdue the rowdier pokémon.

"Your folks aren't here today?" Luke asked, looking about the nursery as droves of Beedrill and Butterfree fluttered in the sky surveying their surroundings for flowers and plants to pollinate.

"T-They had business over at Celadon with an old friend of theirs. They'll be back tomorrow." Florinda stuttered as she volunteered to lead them to the Nursery's Common Room.

"So, you're watching the place on your own, I hope your not pushing yourself too hard." Daisy worriedly frowned.

"N-No, I'm fine. Just the other day, they had posted a job down at the pokémon center for any trainers who wished to help for the day and already one of them agreed to give their support for the sum of 5,000 pokédollars an hour." Florinda explained.

"Wow, you're parents spared no expense for the job."

Florinda blushed. "D-Dad thought it would provide some good incentive and screened some of the trainers that came in. Only one of them made the cut after verifying that they…wouldn't cause me any…trouble."

"Trouble?" Luke tilted his head but he earned nothing but Florinda's damning silence and reddening face.

Ah, Daisy can see where this was going. "How many of them were male?"

"All of them." Florinda squeaked.

"And how many of them got through the screening?"

"One."

Daisy was aware of how overprotective Florinda's father was and how restrictive he was when allowing those of the opposite sex to hang around his daughter. The fact that one of them was allowed to work here meant that they were a similar case to Luke.

"Hm?" Luke noticed Daisy look at him, and curiously blinked at her.

Completely and utterly clueless, or just downright uninterested.

"Its nothing, Luke." The Oak patted her friend's shoulder much to deepening confusion. She turned back to Florinda to drive the conversation forward. "So, is this trainer doing fine?"

For the first time since they got here, Florinda brightened up, "Oh no, he's doing great, Daisy. He and his pokémon have been a major help in tending to the plants, communicating with the bug types, and tilling the soil. His pokémon are certainly an interesting bunch like yours, Luke." She pointed to Aurion and Yogi clinging to his legs.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he even has one that's a lot like yours."

Something flashed in Luke's eyes as he rubbed his chin, "Really now, huh? Good to see that he's still around."

"Someone you know?" Daisy asked.

"No one in particular." Luke stuck his tongue out at her to which Daisy tightly pinched his side in a huff. She quickly retracted her hand before he could bat it away.

"So if I may ask, what are the two of you here for today?" Florinda asked as they finally finished ascending the stairs toward the common room.

Luke nudged his head in her direction so Daisy decided to go first, "I came to ask permission if I can pick some of your flowers for a arrangement I want to make."

"Oh! You're doing another flower arrangement, Daisy?" Florinda exclaimed in excitement. "Your last one, the "Pretty in Pink" has been a favorite of mine the first time you came over from your journey! What's the occasion for this one?"

Daisy sheepishly looked off to the side. "An apology…"

"For?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"No one in particular." Daisy stuck her tongue out at him much to his eye rolling annoyance.

"Okay, I'll lead you to one of our finest flower fields." Florinda nodded then turned to Luke. "And you, Luke?"

"I just wanted to see if you had any peat lying around?" Luke said.

"Peat?" Daisy asked, utterly baffled.

"That's…" Florinda tilted her head and rubbed her chin. "That is a very strange request. I don't think we have any leftover beyond what little reserves needed for the plants we get from Hoenn. Its usually hard to get some of great quality, the little we can get usually run out fast if not properly maintained."

"Is it that hard to get a big amount of the stuff?" He questioned.

"Very." Florinda nodded. "You see, peat isn't like any old soil. It's the type of soil that takes at least 10 years to form. They are abundant in places with wetlands like swamps and bogs, but the Kanto region lacks these areas so we usually outsource them from Hoenn. My mother has a few friends from over there so we're lucky to have a steady supply, but its not enough to expand our collection of Hoenn flora beyond what we currently have."

She turned to Luke with a frown. "I'm sorry Luke, but I can tell my parents to see if they can order more, but you'd basically have to pay them an arm and a leg to get it."

"I'm fine with footing the cost for the order, I don't need much of it so I'll leave the rest of what I have to buy with you guys as thanks. Plus, I don't need it right this instant, but it would help to know the cost of it for the future."

And so, Florinda shared the cost and Daisy's jaw nearly hit the floor with nearly how many pokédollars that the Showers fork over for such high-quality peat. Luke was unaffected and happily revealed that he'd pay it off when the time was right. With the future transaction set, Daisy quickly asked Luke why he even needed it, but all she got was a quick, innocent "investment" before he patted Yogi on the head and walked off to the flower field that Florinda told them about.

The purple headed girl ran off to her house to get something for Daisy and promised to return.

So that left her with Luke and his two pokémon. He had decided that they could help her pick the flowers while she set up the tablecloth and picnic. She had wholeheartedly subscribed to the idea until she had to play gatekeeper to what flowers they brought to her.

"Do these work?" Luke brought over a collection of sunflowers.

"Of course not, Luke. I'm trying to apologize here, not obnoxiously wish good vibes." Especially after she ruined said vibes by messing up Erika's stuff in their tussle.

Luke sighed and returned to the flowers.

Next was Riolu, who brought over a bundle of roses. "Olu?"

"You're going in the right direction, but I want something that's softer in color. Do you think you can find it?"

"Ri!" Riolu steadfastly nodded, delicately lowered the roses and ran off deeper into the Nursery, away from the flower field. "H-He didn't need to leave to find the-ugh, forget it." She sighed and reached for the roses before recoiling back in pain. "Sweet Mew! He plucked the ones with thorns still on them?"

Finally, there was Yogi, Daisy knew to keep her eyes peeled on the little cub pokémon. Especially so when he approached her side with the picnic basket open. Instead of a flower, he had brought her some luscious green leaves that would look good in her planned flower arrangement.

But…

"These are Stun Stem." She deeply inhaled and blew the spores on the surface of the leaves back into Yogi's face. The mischievous little cub stiffened and fell straight onto their back.

Luke apologized and returned the pokémon, believing that skipping out on the rest of the trip and his lunch would serve as a justified punishment for trying to pull a fast one.

"So…" Daisy began setting the plates. "Are you ready to share what has you acting so off kilter today?" Luke was just a foot away, his attention on the flowers and his back to her. His constant search for flowers halted for a second before the sound of rustling resume.

She quietly remained on task with placing the utensils next to the plates, albeit slowly. Her attention both on it and her friend. She could wait a little longer if he needed the time.

"…"

"…"

"…My mom." He started.

"…?" Daisy paused but didn't turn to face him.

"Last night at dinner, she…did something that worried me and…made me mad. It just really bugs me, you know…"

Daisy slowly nodded. "Yeah." If he's acting this off then Daisy could believe, but this was the first time that Luke voiced a grievance about his mom. Sure, he'd complain and gripe about her overprotectiveness and punishments but those were good-hearted.

'Just what did Mrs. Ketchum do?' Daisy gulped. She decided not to pry on the specifics and focus on Luke's feelings.

"I mean, she apologized for doing it and I…I forgave her. She was sorry, truly sorry for putting Ash and I through that. Obviously, I had to. She showed remorse and I can't hate her for it." Luke muttered and Daisy felt like he was talking more to himself than to her.

"You just hate what she did." Daisy clarified.

"I-!" Luke started then deeply exhaled. "I-I do."

"There's no shame in feeling that way, I mean, I sort of relate with the feeling too." Daisy thought back to her own mother and how she loved to push her buttons. There were times when she pushed a little too hard and that made Daisy snap back at her. There was a bit of back and forth, but in time they reconciled, and her mother avoided the touchy landmines that started the argument.

Luke's silence told her that he must have agreed with her sentiment.

"I guess for a non-troublesome mom like Mrs. Ketchum, it must be hard to feel that way about her. You already forgave her but it seems like…you still haven't given yourself the time to fully come to grips with whatever she's done." Daisy concluded. "Knowing you and your penchant to being blunt, tiring about future work, and…caring for your family, you chose to prioritize Mrs. Ketchum's feelings before your own."

"…"

"I might feel like crap for doing it later, but Pa tells me that it's not a sin to feel mad and frustration at him and mom if they ticked me off. You have to feel your feelings, Luke, otherwise that baggage you'll carry will grow to be come too much to process."

"You think…" Luke scratched his head and tiredly sighed. "…time away from home would be enough time to process things?"

Daisy raised an eyebrow at this. "That can work…"

"…I'm heading to Johto for a month on April and coming back before the 30th​ to do some training and traveling. You can join me if you want?"

"…!" Daisy nearly let the forks she held clatter against the plates. She would have jumped at the chance for this opportunity. Grandpa had been tightlipped about the list of potential regions that Luke had wanted to go to for the next Circuit, so this would have been her chance.

It would have…

"Thanks, but…no thanks." Daisy reluctantly shook her head. "I have my own plans next month that I can't cancel." She held up her index finger. "First, I'm about to join Mr. Willow on his expedition up Mt. Silver. I'm interested in seeing what he's researching on the harsh environment's effects on the species of pokémon there and how they differ to the same species in different locales in Kanto." Also, she wanted to train up some of her pokémon, she can admit that she's been slacking with it after returning home like Luke.

She then raised her middle finger to join the index finger. "Second, my family has a planned trip just before summer comes to go and visit our relatives in Johto."

"Oh…" Luke slowly nodded.

"Besides, I don't think I should join you. This needs to be something that you go through by yourself if you want any closure for your feelings." Daisy explained.

"…Huh, I-I can do that." Luke slowly nodded, some confidence coming back into his tone. "Y-Yeah, I guess that would have been the obvious thing to do, right?"

Daisy rolled her eyes with a smile. "Pretty much. When you're not being a lazy bum, you tend to overthink things. Good thing you have me around to knock some good old sense into you."

Luke chuckled and crawled over to hand her something. "Yep, you're right."

"Hm?" She curiously looked at his hand and found white tulips in it. Those were perfect for the flower arrangement that she wanted to do, but she found herself more taken with the renewed smile on her friend's face.

"Thanks, Daisy." Luke happily closed his eyes and widened his smile.

Relief flooded her as Daisy plucked the flowers from her friend's hand. "Don't mention it." She didn't feel like she dispelled most of his worries, but it felt like it was enough to no longer hamper his heart. Now she can enjoy her time alone together with him. "I've got everything ready for lunch so we can put off the flower hunt for later. C'mon, I'll prepare your plate first and-"

"Ah, you were right Rio, this one really doesn't match the one we saw earlier." Daisy and Luke jumped in fright and whipped around to spot their surprise third party.

It was some boy around their age with a resting bitch face that gave Clair a run for her money, wearing the Xanadu Nursery's brand apron, gardening gloves, and headscarf. His blue eyes quietly scanned the pair of them while an exasperated Lucario garbed in the same apron carried a proud looking Riolu holding a bundle of orchids in his paws. Next to them, an impatient Kirlia also garbed in the apron impatiently tapped their feet while telekinetically holding a…vibrating, dirt covered Pupitar in the air.

It was an odd sight especially with the floating Pupitar, but Daisy assumed that this was the trainer that Florinda talked about. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why this guy looked familiar to he-.

Luke blinked in surprise as he seemed to recognize the new face. "Oh, Aaron? You're still in town?" Aaaand of course Luke knew him. Daisy groaned, slowly scrounging her memories for whoever this guy was.

"I am still lodging at the Pokémon Center and require currency, so yes." Daisy winced at how blunt the boy was. Although this did make remembering a little easier since she only knows a few people like that.

"Right on…" Luke nodded and looked to the teen's pokémon, particularly the Riolu in the Lucario's arms. "Also, thanks for bringing Aurion back to me."

Aaron shook his head and gestured for Lucario to hand off the pokémon to Luke. "Odd that you have a Riolu considering their rarity outside of Rota, but I will not pry. Besides, we came across it and had a little argument." Daisy happily fell into the background in order to realize who this guy was.

"I hope it wasn't too serious." Luke frowned, placing Riolu on his lap.

Aaron blandly sighed. "It wasn't. We searched for you to confirm whether you're the culprit for the big portion of pokénip that was recently swiped today." That sounded like a serious deal to Daisy. "I saw an individual who looked exactly like you, but Rio dissuaded that notion, stating that your aura didn't match the culprit. So, rest easy that we won't report you to the Showers family and authorities."

Wow, Daisy didn't know if the guy was being apologetic or a dick with how he phrased that situation.

"O-Oh, well thank you?" Luke seemed just as off put as her.

"Why thank me when there was no need to suspect you in the first place?" Aaron curiously tilted his head before pausing and turning to his Lucario who grunted and shook their head. "My delivery of the news was not crude. I was precise an- why should I apologize for going the extra mile to help the Showers?"

Ah, so Lucario was using Telepathy to communicate with their trainer. Neat.

"Thanks for apparently defending my good name, Aurion." Luke patted the Emanation pokémon's head.

Aurion proudly beat his paw against his chest in pride. "Rio!"

"Ahem, I apologize if my delivery of my report soured your good mood." Aaron begrudgingly bowed his head as his Lucario victoriously nodded his head (looks like the pokémon won the argument), and his Kirlia snickered at their trainer. "I noticed the deep color of desperation and sorrow from the true culprit and yourself just now and instantly made the comparison at first sight. Although now…your almost emitting the same colors that you had when we last battled."

"I…okay, so I don't really know how to respond to that." Luke sighed.

"I was simply apologizing and stating an observation. It wasn't an invitation to make conversation." Aaron closed his eyes and grunted in pain when his Lucario sternly bonked him on the head. "What?"

Aaron shook it off before continuing much to Daisy's displeasure and Luke's awkward confusion. "Anyways, at least have faith in Miss Ketchum, Luke Ketchum."

"What?" Luke blinked while Daisy bristled at the unmentioned admission that the boy eavesdropped on them. Even the Lucario at the boy's side shook their head and facepalmed at this blunder, but Aaron just seemed to plow on through when getting his point across to Luke.

"I won't stop you from holding resentment since I'm the least qualified to preach on it. However, I can only provide facts as thanks for her providing me meals and the chance to battle you when I stumbled into town." Aaron began. "I'm no master at it and I doubt I'll measure up to the prodigious psychics back…home." Aaron lowly growled to himself.

"Wait, you're a psychi-?" Luke jaw dropped.

"But Rio has been helping me…understand what the colors I see represent for individual's emotions. What I saw when your mom helped me prepare for our battle were deep shades of red and pink, love and adoration." Suddenly some bitterness laced Aaron's tone. "It's hard not to be envious of how much she cared to give you some stimulation in order to cheer you up. The relief that I see you start to feel dwarfed hers once she saw how ecstatic you were with our match."

"…!" Luke gasped.

Turning to leave, Aaron shook his head. "I do not know what Miss Ketchum has done to earn your ire nor do I have the right to say that she isn't at fault. I can only tell you that, she cares and if you choose to take me for my word, know that you are lucky, Luke Ketchum. You are lucky." Lucario landed a paw on the boy's shoulder while Kirlia gruffly patted his leg.

"Right, I'm off to complete my work for today. Until we meet again, Luke Ketchum and Daisy Oak." Aaron trudged off with his pokémon in tow which left both Luke and Daisy stunned from the boy's sudden appearance and exit.

"S-So, you know him?" Daisy asked.

"I should be asking you that." Luke sheepishly smiled.

Slowly nodding, Daisy's face scrunched up in realization. "Yeah, I…I think I may have met him before when I crossed paths with Joey in Fuchsia City. He's…a bit…"

"Rough around the edges?" Luke coined in.

"Rough pretty much everywhere." Daisy groaned. "Sort of glad that he didn't bring me into the conversation especially after listening in and butting into our conversation. Honestly, its not like you came to that conclusion on your own about Mrs. Ketchum loving you. Sounds like he's obviously projecting something onto you."

"I don't know…" Luke shrugged with a sad smile. "I guess this is his own way of showing his concern."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "If you say so…" She began to set up a plate for Aurion, hoping to salvage their lunch. "Now help me portion out some of the food for Aurion if he want to-"

"DAISY!" And Florinda's here…joy. Not that she would ever hate being in her shy friend's presence, but she really just wanted to eat and enjoy some time together with Luke.

"Oh, Florinda's here now." Luke grinned.

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the astute observations, Captain Obvious." Daisy grumbled.

Turning back to face her oncoming friend, Daisy sighed, "Hey, Rinda, you said you wanted to give something back to m-?"

Daisy froze as Florinda stopped before her to hold out a plushy little Clefairy doll. Suddenly, Daisy's mind screeched to a halt and her heart began to beat a few ticks faster than normal.

"Y-Yeah, I keep reminding myself to give it back to you but never had the chance to. We used to joke about how I could toss it at pokémon to escape when we went on our journeys, but since I don't have to worry about that…I wanted to give it back to you and…Daisy? Hey, are you okay?"

…

…

"Daisy?" Luke exclaimed in concern, but neither his or Florinda's voice reached her.

…

…

…

She tried her best to take deep breaths.

Deep, calm breaths.

The plate and utensils that she held were dropped to the floor in favor of rubbing her shoulders, legs, and neck.

She was fine.

She could move, breath, and-and-!

She quickly clamped her hands over her mouth, relieved that she still had one.

There was no need to be scared. There's no fake houses, other dolls screaming for help, or massive girls in dresses to toy with her like an object for their amusement.

She was fine.

Everything was fine.

Blinking the bleariness out of her vision, Daisy took a deep breath and shook herself off. "Uh…I…" Daisy noticed the concerned looks of her friends and shakily smiled. "Sorry about that, I just…had a…bad thought. Yeah, just a bad thought popped up into my head." Daisy flinched before hesitantly reaching for the doll in Florinda's hands and gently pushing it back to her friend's chest. "You should keep it, I don't really keep a collection of dolls anymore."

After the circuit, she tossed all of them out. Even the ones her father had gotten her much to his sadness, but Daisy just couldn't stand the sight of them anymore to feel sorry about it. Grandpa understood, but she knew keeping a secret from him about her experience in Saffron would be a fool's errand, that went double for her grandmother.

"O-Oh, are you sure?" Florinda stuttered in worry.

"Y-Yup." Daisy sniffled and hated how shaken she was when she should be putting up a strong front.

"Hey, Flo…" A reassuring hand clasped her shoulder as Florinda's attention fell onto the other individual who shared in the same experience at Saffron City but made it through with a different conclusion to hers. "Why don't you join us…I mean, after you put the doll away?"

"O-O-Oh, o-okay!" Florinda quickly nodded and bowed her head. "Sorry if I did something to scare you!" Their friend quickly retreated, and Daisy wasn't sure if she'd be quick to return to them. Still, she did get the chance to breath because of the opportunity that Luke afforded for her.

"T-Thanks for that." Daisy sighed in relief. "And sorry for-."

Luke shook his head and sighed. "Don't. Not for that. Just take it easy, Aurion and I will set the food and get you what you need." He reassuringly smiled and nodded. "Just say the word."

"Ri-Ri-Riolu!" Sensing her distress, Riolu quickly nodded and held up a large plate of berries over his little frame.

How pathetic of her, she was supposed to help Luke with his baggage and now here she was getting cheered up in return because of a stupid doll. "O-Okay."

Florinda did return to join them for lunch after profusely apologizing for whatever offense she made to send Daisy into a panic. Things cleared up between the girls and the picnic despite having one extra member was rather enjoyable with the company of another friend to join them. They talked about all manner of things like old classmates, class rumors, whereabouts on where their friends are now, and general grass-type pokémon debates.

It was fun.

Luke had fun and Daisy had fun.

At the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

They bid Florinda farewell once the day was close to ending, Aaron and his own pokémon left before they did much to Daisy's relief and Luke's disappointment. Honestly, she doesn't know why Luke wanted to thank the guy for butting in to his business like that.

Upon going down the trail to Pallet Town, Daisy remembered Zam's advice chose to bring Luke back to her home. Well, Luke had insisted on walking her back, but curious to see how the Alakazam's advice would turn out, she repressed the urge to shoo him away to avoid her mom dragging him into their family dinner.

Approaching the front yard to her home, Luke frowned at the news that Daisy gave to him. "Don't worry, I'll slap some sense into Gary for you the next time he comes over to our house."

"You really don't have to do that, Luke. He's just excited to learn from you is all." Daisy nervously rubbed her arm.

"Tough." Luke shook his head and narrowed his eyes at the door to her home. "You're just as skilled as I am as trainer. Getting to the finals is cool, but it's mostly the luck of the draw when opponents are placed in their own brackets. I could have just as easily lost to my final's opponent in the preliminaries while you could have made it to the Finals. You proved your stuff by making it to the quarterfinals and I'll remind Gary about that by telling him to knock it off."

"T-Thanks, Luke." Daisy blushed.

Crossing his arms, Luke stoutly breathed through his nose and nodded. "Anytime." Soon his gruff demeanor fell, and a worried one marred his face. "Now…are you okay?"

Knowing what he meant, Daisy nodded. "Yep." Her lips grew into a small smile as she chucked up a peace sign. "Nothing that a quick talk with Grandpa won't fix."

"Daisy…"

"I'm fine, Luke. Don't worry about me." Daisy tiredly giggled. "But what about you? Are you going to be, okay?"

Scratching his neck, Luke shrugged. "I have my head on straight at least, but…you'll be the first one to know when I come back."

"Three days?" Daisy asked to confirm her friend's departure date.

"Three days." Luke nodded.

"Then be sure to keep in touch and don't go all dark on us like Joey." Daisy tittered.

"I only promise to try."

"Luke…" Daisy groaned.

Raising his hands in surrender, Luke chuckled. "Kidding… Just kidding."

"Good." Daisy huffed then snorted and began to join him in his laughter. The cawing of Murkrow through the night sky of Pallet signified how late it was currently getting. It was about time to part ways.

"See you later, Daisy." Luke waved goodbye, turning on his heel to leave.

"Night…" Daisy quietly waved to him back. Then she paused and flinched upon realizing a certain psychic type's instructions. "Oh, wait! Luke, catch!" Daisy stuffed her hand into her pocket, grabbed the miniaturized pokéball, and tossed it to her friend.

"Catch what no-ow!" Daisy winced as the pokeball fell onto his head. "Ugh, overhand? Why throw it overhand?"

"Sorry…!" Daisy squeaked out in apology. Ugh, hopefully Alakazam didn't tell her to do this just to watch her die of embarrassment.

Rubbing his head, Luke picked up the pokeball and curiously looked it over. "What is it?"

Daisy shrugged. "No clue, but Gra-."

"Say that you wanted to give it to him and that he should refer to Friend-Trainer the next morning."

Daisy did her best not to flinch at Zam's sudden intrusive telepathic link. She questioned the Alakazam's intentions, but felt like she was already this far deep in so what could hurt by following along. "I mean, I wanted to give it to you today, but I recommend you go talk to grandpa tomorrow when you have the chance."

She smiled as brightly as she could, hoping that it would mask her befuddlement with this current scenario.

"Okay, that's weird…" Enlarging the pokeball, Luke bitterly smiled. "Well, I'll gladly receive a pokémon from you over some others any day." Activating the release function of the device, in a flash of light, a rather odd and unfamiliar pokémon emerged with a blank and curious look.

"Gib?" It was small with a row of sharp teeth that gave even a Sharpedo a run for its money along with a shark fin. Yet despite that, it certainly didn't look like a pokémon that belonged in the water.

"What pokémon is that?" Unaware of Luke's stiffened form, Daisy pulled out her pokédex and scanned the little pokémon.

["Unknown. There is no known data on the detected species of pokémon. There are still pokémon yet to be identified."]

Daisy reeled back at the reading. "A pokémon not even known by either the local or regional database?"

Just what kind of pokémon was grandpa about to give, Lu-?

Daisy never did get to finish that thought nor did the unknown pokémon get to gain some bearing of their current surroundings. Like an Ekans in the grass, Luke's hand snapped to swiftly return the confused pokémon as he bodily ran up to give Daisy the tightest hug that she's ever been given by her friend.

"W-What? Luke, what's up with you all of a sud-!?"

*CHU!*

Daisy immediately stopped thinking and slapped her hand against the cheek that just got pecked in silent astonishment.

"…Thank you!" She received one last bone crushing hug before Luke ran off laughing and hollering like a mad man.

While Daisy remained in place, holding one of her reddening cheeks with her jaw slowly dropping.

"D-Did…? Did that really-?" She stopped short each time, trying to compute what exactly had happened. It wasn't until late at night after weathering more of her mother's teasing and answering her grandfather's concerned questions about a missing pokémon that she realized who was exactly the source of that…miracle.

______________________________________________________________________________________________(POV: Third Person)

"Hmhmhmhmhm~! Do you want me to make you more coffee, Zam?"

"Ala-Ala-Alakazam!"

"Ah, we're all out of coffee biscuits! Wait right there, I'll go bake some for you right now~!"

"Zam! Alakazam!"

The youngest in the Oak household watched as his elder sister bend backwards for his grandfather's psychic type. Gary had never seen Daisy act so charitable and sweet. She didn't even get on his case to clean up his room or to go wash the dishes since today was his turn. No, she volunteered to do all of that with a flipping smile.

It was so weird!

What in the heck was going on!?

"Hmph!"

"Dad, why are you pouting?" Cyan, the patriarch of the household stumbled into the dining room with a cup of joe. He tiredly regarded Samuel Oak, who was currently trying to bury his face in the morning newspaper.

"Grumble…grumble…trifling Alakazam…grumble…grumble…stealing my credit…grumble…grumble…plotting revenge…grumble…grumble…"

"Well, it looks like its going to be one of those days, huh?" Cyan tiredly turned to his wife who walked in with a tray full of delicious smelling pancakes.

"Ufufufu, it would seem so." Willow giggled.

Watching everything play out, Gary could only wonder aloud as his sister brought out another fresh pot of black coffee to fill Zam's half-full mug, "What happened last night?"

Managing to hear this, Daisy slowly turned her head around to Gary, freaking him out further in the process, and held a finger to her lips, "Secret~!"

"Sis, you're scaring me…!" Gary whimpered.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

(POV: Luke Ketchum)

______________________________________________________________________________________________[Three Days Later]

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"So, this is the border, huh?" The hot sun beat against our forms as we stood before the large building/wall that separated Kanto from it's sister region. The tall walls were rigid and cracked with bits of graffiti spray painted on them consisting of derogatory messages of Johto and its citizens.

I surmised that crossing to the other side will have the same negative messages for Kanto. Joy. Well, it was good to at least have a preview for what I might face upon stepping onto Johto soil.

"You ready to cross into the Land of Heart and Soul, pal?" I turned to my best friend and starter.

With a low grumbling growl, Asch happily nodded and turned to look up into the sky just past the intimidating border's walls.

"Great." I nodded then looked off to the side. My thoughts of home began to cloud my mind before I shook them off and focused on Daisy's words. "Just gotta feel my feelings, yeah?" Deeply inhaling, I smacked both of my cheeks and psyched myself up. "Okay, I can do that!" I took a deep breath and cracked my knuckles.

"Now then let's get back into the grind, shall we?"