Yolanda sat on the edge of the pier, dangling her feet. She’d begun her journey knowing that she’d learn a lot, but she hadn’t expected the world to go crazy like it had in the span of a few weeks.
Fires, pokenet shut downs, and even the transceiver network going down had forced Yolanda to get to Porta Vista much faster than she’d planned and to bunker down.
Although in truth, she suspected that if there had been trouble coming her way, she would have felt it before she could have reached a police station.
Brock had always warned her about how some people could be greedy and her family, along with the pokemon she had could cause her a lot of problems, through no fault of her own but birth.
It was strange how having good fortune could be a curse sometimes.
She snorted as a memory came to her for Brock looking over building plans while on the phone about delays to the construction of what would be their gym. He’d hung up, annoyed about the delays, only to shake his head and mutter, “First world problems,” she parroted aloud to herself.
Feeling a little better, Yolanda reviewed her situation.
Porta Vista was safe, as while other major cities were attacked due to their corporations, data centres or gyms, Porta Vista had none of those, being a city that had fallen on hard times after last year’s disaster of a hotel build.
Strange how their bad luck had allowed them to miss being targeted by Blaine’s wrath, as some people were calling it.
A ping on her transceiver heralded her brother’s response, and she eagerly raised it to devour the news he had for her.
She knew she wasn’t supposed to share it around but she knew Brock wouldn’t mind if it was with her travel companions. Hopping to her feet, Yolanda began to march towards their accommodations while reading the message, only to jolt a moment later when she almost ran into Greta’s Venusaur who’d been sunning himself next to the pier.
“Oh, hello. How long have you been here for?” Yolanda asked.
“Saur,” replied Venusaur as it stared up at her lazily.
“We’ve been here the entire time you have,” called Greta from nearby.
Yolanda glanced over only to find Greta and Crystal lounging in chairs of their own while their pokemon also lazed about. Now she felt a bit silly sitting on the pier and staring out into the waters while trying to get her thoughts in line.
“Oh… sorry,” she offered, knowing they’d been lingering close by for her.
Greta shrugged. “It’s fine. My pokemon don’t mind having a bit of rest in the sun, and I don’t think Crystal’s did either.”
When no reply came from the other girl, Greta leaned over and lifted Crystal’s sunglasses off her face to reveal that she was asleep.
Yolanda giggled, pushing down the guilt she had that she’d kept her own pokemon in their balls.
"Well, thanks anyway, not like you needed to do it. I’m pretty safe here with the various—”
“Yolanda, a giant Tentacruel was spotted here,” Greta said firmly. “There are multiple accounts and videos of it going into the water.” Greta stared at her, daring her to challenge her on this. “I’m not getting in the water, and frankly, I’m amazed you got as close as you did. You must really be out of it.”
Jerking a thumb at Crystal, Greta continued. “Her, I can understand. She’s a pokenet addict who has had to deal with withdrawals. You on the other hand? What’s going on? You're not usually this spaced out."
“Just…” Yolanda sighed. “I feel small all of a sudden. I never really thought about it, but with everything going on I’ve been thinking about what I could do to help and I realised that most of the answers I came up with were to stay out of the way.”
“And you want to be able to do more,” stated Greta.
“Yeah…” Yolanda murmured, curling in on herself.
“So you’ve got to get stronger,” Greta stated like it was that simple.
Yolanda wanted to refute it, but she had to agree that Greta was right. She did just need to get stronger.
Greta began packing up her gear. “But before that I think you need a shot in the arm. How about we jog on to Vermilion City and win yourself a badge?”
“That… would actually be really nice,” Yolanda murmured. “Thanks Greta.”
“No problem! As the more experienced senior trainer of the group, I have to be the brains!”
At that moment, Crystal snored loudly, causing both of her friends to look at her before sharing a look between themselves as they broke into giggles.
Crystal blinked awake at the sound only to glance around while smacking her lips. “Oh sweet, you’re done pouting?”
“I wasn’t pouting!” Yolanda huffed. “... I was contemplating.”
“Oh, so you were brooding,” Crystal replied as she stood and stretched. “What did you decide on? Beating Visquez for a badge or running a charity show to spark donations?”
Yolanda hummed. “That should be doable. We had to cancel my show here due to the pokenet being down.”
Crystal twitched. “Hehe, yeah, that’s still a thing. You know that Peddit still hasn’t rebooted?!”
She clenched the ends of her hair and leaned into Greta’s personal space with a manic look. “It’s been a week already! Damn League and its slow priority on actually important Pokenet pages!”
“Isn’t that a shitposting Pokenet page?” Greta pointed out. “The only way to get anything of worth on there is to post something deliberately wrong so that people can jump down your throat to correct you. So of course the League is going to prioritise things like the maps, radio, emergency services and—”
“I don’t care about those pages! And as for dealing with the community of toxic-loving punks? That’s just part of the charm!” Crystal drew herself up, more than ready to fight and die on that hill, so Yolanda decided to end the fight before it gathered any more steam.
“Well, it should be fixed up soon. And I can’t run my event in Porta Vista or post online as much. I might just have to do some busking, which isn’t going to do much.”
“It’s something; that or we run a pokemon challenge in the park?” Crystal suggested.
“Not the worst idea,” murmured Greta, "but I don’t think you should put yourself down so much. So what if you busk? We can just do some hype work, set up in a park and get word out.”
“Hmmm, I’ll consider it. For now, let’s see about getting that win happening,” Yolanda suggested, only for a ping on her transceiver to make her pause and read a new message.
Her eyes widened instantly, and her breath hitched.
“Oh? Good news?” Crystal asked.
“Crowley sent through my Tyrunt! I’m gonna have super rare but strong pokemon! We need to get to the pokecentre now!” she growled, turning and dashing off, leaving her friends in the dust.
It didn’t stop her from hearing Crystal chasing after her. “Jeez I don’t think she needs to beat Visquez now, she just got her win out of nothing!”
_____________________
Yolanda almost broke the transfer computer when she all but slammed into the chair, causing Nurse Joy to peek over the divider and give her an unimpressed look.
“Sorry!” Yolanda offered even as she began logging in. The camera turned on and performed a secondary verification as she slid her pokedex into the identification slot.
It took a few moments to get to the right screen but within moments, she had the image of her newest pokemon before her.
She instantly started mashing the accept transfer button, in the vain hope that it would somehow speed up the process. Surely the rumours about mashing buttons at the right time that Forrest had mentioned to the other boys had a semblance of truth, right?
When the ball materialised in the transfer slot, Yolanda perked up. Once again, Brock showed that he was thinking of her.
He’d transferred the Tyrunt while it was in a Luxury ball!
A surge of love swept through her. Brock really did go out of his way to take care of her.
Taking the ball from the slot, Yolanda almost released it straight then and there in the pokecentre.
Only to reconsider it and instead dart back out the front doors, where she almost bowled her friends over.
“Whoa! There’s a time and a place for that!” called Crystal only for Yolanda to glance back and stick her tongue out.
“That’s for bicycles and skateboards inside! Not running!” Yolanda called, pointing towards a poster of Professor Oak with a cap on backwards remanding what looked like a much younger Gary Oak attempting to ride a bike inside.
The others gave chase and soon found themselves at a clearing. Yolanda released the rest of her team and drew in a deep breath to centre herself. “Right! I have a plan for our new teammate!” she announced.
“Are you going to beat it up?” called Crystal from the edge of the clearing as she and Greta gave Yolanda space.
Yolanda shot her an unimpressed look. “Nope! I’m going to make it love me!” she announced.
She was already chopping her hand towards Crystal in preparation for the follow-up only for her friend to nod.
“Oh, that could work. Like a newly hatched pokemon it will bond with you strongly, won't it?”
Yolanda stared. Huh, maybe Crystal’s break from the pokenet had done her some good?
“Or did you mean—” Crystal started to say as a grin spread across her face, only for Greta to bonk her.
“No, just no.”
With all normal in the world, Yolanda shifted her focus back to her team. “So we’re going to show our new friend the ropes going forward. Slash, he probably won’t like you, try not to antagonise him too much, or when he gets a hold of you with a Bite or a Crunch I might look the other way.”
Her Sneasel adopted an innocent expression that wasn’t fooling anyone, earning a smattering of laughs from her pokemon.
With that said and done, Yolanda deposited Tyrunt’s pokeball on the ground and tapped it once to release her new pokemon.
She firmed her expression but at the same time softened her stance slightly.
The small rock-dragon pokemon shook its head and snorted as it materialised from red light. Instead of looking around to inspect its surroundings, its head snapped toward Yolanda.
Its mouth began to salivate. Instantly, Yolanda knew she needed to act fast.
Her hand darted into her pouch behind her even as Tyrunt crouched and prepared to jump at her.
Terra, spotting this, angled the jets on her body, ready to intercept, only for Yolanda to raise her other hand and warn her off.
Tyrunt leapt with a cute, “Ruuuuuuunt!” cry, leading with its much larger legs while its jaw opened wide.
Only for Yolanda to toss a prime piece of steak that she’d been saving for Slash into its mouth.
Tyrunt hit the ground, chewing and started… purring?
Leaning closer, Yolanda realised that her initial assessment was correct. Tyrunt was making happy noises as his jaw worked furiously up and down to devour his catch.
Within seconds, it had the steak devoured with a mighty gulp. Even as his belly began to swell, it looked around and loosened a soft croon towards Yolanda.
She’d seen that same expression on her younger siblings too many times not to recognise it.
Although it didn’t make any sense that Tyrunt knew a fairy-type move, considering it was supposed to be weak to such moves as a part dragon.
“Ruuuuu!” the little rock-dragon whined at her.
“Be patient, let me check you over. If you’re good and wait, I will give you another steak!” Yolanda declared as she drew out her pokedex.
“Tyrunt, the tiny tyrant pokemon, or Royal heir. This pokemon is a newly rediscovered pokemon that has been resurrected from fossils. They are noted to have extremely strong legs and jaws along with a strong sense of pride. The feathers around its neck are thought to be its primary source of protection from cold winds and ice-type attacks to critical parts of its anatomy. Continued documentation of this pokemon is desired. Please record this pokemon frequently for continued data gathering!” announced the tinny voice of her pokedex.
Tapping a button, another list was displayed. “This pokemon knows Rock Throw, Roar, Tail Whip, and Charm.”
“Oh? You do know a fairy-type move!” she murmured in surprise.
“Ruuuuuuunt!” whined the little pokemon as it began stomping its feet cutely as it stared at Yolanda pleadingly like it was about to perish from lack of food.
Yolanda eyed its large stomach and sighed. “Only a little, I don’t want to spoil you,” she stated, drawing out some choice bits of pokechow that a carnivore would enjoy. Which again meant Tyrunt was dipping into Slash’s store of food.
Something that Slash realised right as Tyrunt devoured the snacks.
“Sneasel!”
Instead of waiting for it to whine at her again, Yolanda pre-empted the little pokemon and brought out a water bottle that she poured into a bowl.
Tyrunt blinked at the bowl then lowered his head only to twitch and glare at her.
Yolanda tilted her head. “Something the matter?” she asked only for Tyrunt to inch around so that Yoladna was to the side when he lowered his head again.
“Did you just not want to lower your head to me while drinking?” she asked, incredulous at the pride this pokemon had.
Tyrunt sniffed and continued to drink.
She half considered pointing out that he’d already done so for the food but decided better.
Yolanda tilted her head and inched around, causing Tyrunt to snap its head up and glare, forcing it to reshuffle lest it be seen lowering its head.
Unable to stop herself, Yolanda continued to scoot around, forcing Tyrunt to match her in the odd little game as he slurped up the water. When he’d drunk the entire bowl, his head shot up triumphantly and let loose a Roar. The feathery mane twitched in the wind as the tiny pokemon tried looking strong.
Only for the tiny Roar to be disrupted as a burp escaped from his mouth.
Then a yawn followed.
“Oh, all tuckered out from a little food and water? That’s alright, want to snuggle?” Yolanda asked, offering her lap.
Tyrunt considered her for a moment, then nodded regally and approached. He stepped onto her lap and stomped lightly as he turned, reminding Yolanda of Spot and his ritual to get ready for sleep on a bed.
Giggling would be sure to flare up the proud little pokemon so Yolanda bit her lips and observed as her little ‘royal heir’ pokemon claimed her lap and settled down.
He let out a small contented sigh, burped once more and then shut his eyes.
Yolanda grinned as her hand came up to slowly pet him.
He opened an eye and considered her before shutting it with a soft chur that she took as permission to continue her ministrations.
She stroked his scales, noting how they were still relatively leathery rather than hardened plates of rock that would be present with older, stronger pokemon.
There were also the feathers around the neck that acted like a tiny mane. She gave them a light ruffle and enjoyed the way Tyrunt chuffed, with what seemed like pleasure.
There was a bit of conflicting information as the tail was twitching in short back and forth motions that spoke of a carnivore preparing to lunge, while certain rocky ridges along Tyrunt’s body were softening visibly.
So it was something of a mixed bag. Adjusting her petting, she made to move along the base of the throat, only for Tyrunt to still while its eye opened slightly.
She stopped petting that area straight away and instead moved her hand up, towards the top of the neck, stroking down.
As she did so, she held her breath, knowing that if this too displeased Tyrunt, she was going to have to clench up and protect her vital organs before Tyrunt could go for a bite.
She didn’t fancy her chances with such a large mouth so close.
Thankfully, Tyrunt relaxed and let out a soft churr of pleasure.
Alright, message received. She should avoid the throat and jugular and always stroke along the feathers on the top of the neck.
Her team approached and inspected the new teammate, with Slash staying well clear of the jaws while shooting Yolanda highly unimpressed looks. Ah, he’d seen her feeding Tyrunt the choice bits of treats that were usually allocated to him, hadn’t he?
“Sorry! It’s not a permanent solution, and it won’t impact you when you earn your treats.”
Slash sniffed and made to pretend that he was hurt by the very thought.
“I’m not giving you some now. Tyrunt having some and you earning them are two separate situations,” Yolanda stated firmly.
He collapsed as if hurt and whined.
He then ruined the act by peeking at her to see if she was going to budge on her previous stance of not giving him any. She replied with a less-than-impressed look of her own.
With her pokemon and herself settled, her friends approached slowly.
Yolanda paused, recalling that her acquisition of Tyrunt was pretty much entirely due to their work when they’d encountered that Alpha pokemon.
“Thanks for hanging back, and thank you again for giving me his fossil." She ran a finger along his back. “He’s going to be strong.”
Crystal grinned at her. “It’s all good Yol! You were watching our backs in that situation, which was just as, if not more important, considering what came out of the dark back then!”
Greta nodded in agreement. “We’re a team, and this time we were all fortunate,” she grinned and then revealed her new Omantye, which wiggled its small tentacles in greeting.
Yolanda beamed and turned towards Crystal, who gave Yolanda a smirk. “I got a Cranidos with the skull fossil, which, if you recall, typically tries to crash into anything and everything it can. I’ll be keeping her locked up until I get some padding, some crash dummies and a bunch of skittles that I can point her at,” Crystal ticked off her list of prerequisites.
“Oh, that’s a pretty cute idea," Yolanda giggled. “Just watch out if you send her back to the ranch because Brock’s Cranidos will probably challenge it, and he’s had a lot more time to train his. I read a few of his notes, and Cranidos is expected to evolve sometime this year.”
“Hmmm, that might impact my training rotation when I get around to it,” muttered Crystal thoughtfully.
Greta rolled her eyes. “You need more than four pokemon for that! You need at least three more before you can even practise roster rotations!”
Crystal sighed but bowed her head to the more experienced girl only to clap her hands. “So! I propose we do a training trip! Head out to Vermillion! It’ll work great with the route’s pokemon!”
Yolanda frowned. “But there are lots of grass type pokemon along…” Yolanda paused, recalling that there had been a transceiver tower on the road to Vermillion. The grassland had gotten caught up in some of the fighting that had broken out and this had resulted in fairly widespread fires.
“There are lots of fire types out there at the moment, isn’t there?” she asked rhetorically.
“That and flying types,” offered Greta with a slight grimace. “The Spearow flocks will need to be dealt with, considering all the… deceased pokemon around.”
“Urgh, Erika’s gym is going to be busy, isn’t it?” Crystal whined. “That means we’ll have three Gym Leaders that will pretty much be out of commission for this circuit."
“Oh… actually, Brock mentioned that the Cinnabar Gym Leader got injured pretty badly in the recent chaos,” Yolanda offered, causing her friends to turn their heads towards her. “I only just got the message earlier?” she offered at their unamused looks.
“Four Gym Leaders?” cried Crystal. “At this rate, we’re going to have an eight badge set instead of the full twelve that we should!”
Yolanda offered an apologetic smile. “It’s not going to be that bad, I’m sure?”
“Urgh! We’re doomed!” wailed Crystal theatrically.
“Perhaps we should just focus on getting the badges that we can for the moment?” Greta prompted. “Starting with the Thunder badge, no?”
“Roger!” Crystal replied, shooting to her feet and mimicking a salute.
Yolanda snorted. “That doesn’t work so well with Visquez taking over the gym,” she pointed out, earning her a tongue poked in her direction.
Returning her pokemon Yolanda sighed and waved her hand to the road. “Alright. Let’s head off, shall we?” she asked, earning her a pair of firm nods.
Yolanda made sure to give Porta Vista another look when they passed the outskirts.
It was a lovely place. A wonderful set of beaches, a lovely reef, and people who were recovering.
She’d had plans for this small town, but it seemed that they weren’t to be. She decided to take that as a lesson.
Sometimes things just didn’t work out, through no fault of your own.
And that was perfectly alright.
_________________________
The road to Vermilion, hadn’t been the nicest of experiences, despite being a bevy of battles for her team.
Burned out grasslands and forests that were strewn with feral, soot-covered Growlithe and the rare Houndour, along with flocks of Spearow, Fearow, and Pidgeotto, had made for fairly simple battles where Terra had been able to dominate.
Slash had his work cut out to etch out a win with any pokemon he faced, with fire types being his natural counter. It had made for tough fights that had been worth the hardship with how Slash had grown faster than ever before.
Flapper and Spot, on the other hand, had both had relatively normal fights, if not the expected encounters that they might have had with the lack of bug or grass types around. Instead, they’d been facing pokemon much like themselves, which forced Yolanda to adapt.
She’d taken to using the landscape itself with the soot and ash to choke up some fire types whenever she used Flapper, which made it tough for fire types to launch their Flamethrowers or Embers like they normally would.
On the other hand, Spot had to control himself by staying low and throwing up ash clouds before launching out of them and bearing any flying types to the ground.
When Yolanda finally fielded Tyrunt she’d been careful not to send him out against anything too strong.
It was a Spearow and had come out with more pluck than actual skill.
Which made it perfect for a young dragon to take down.
Yolanda had released her pokemon and snapped her hand forward. “End it fast! Rock Throw!” she commanded, making sure to use more words with her command than she normally would. It would help to impart control later on and also direct the new pokemon.
Tyrunt had taken a moment to lock on to Spearow before hurling rock after rock at its foe.
Spearow had squealed in outrage only to be flattened a moment later, which caused it to be knocked unconscious.
“Yes! Nice first victory! I knew you could do it, Tyrunt!” she cheered. “Let’s find another fight for you!” she announced, before her pokemon could become too interested in the downed pokemon and potentially decide it might make for a tasty snack.
Natural it might be, but she wasn’t looking to teach her pokemon to eat what it beat.
That would cause problems when she faced off against another trainer. So instead she kept her pokemon moving along, and after the third victory, she declared that Tyrunt had earned himself a meal to recover his lost energy.
Tyrunt of course turned towards the defeated pokemon.
“No! No!” Yolanda ordered quickly, hand dropping into her pouch. “I’ve got something nicer for you!”
She made sure it was relatively extravagant while once more dipping into Slash’s stash of food.
She’d need to restock in Vermillion at this rate.
Checking on Tyrunt after the meal, she noticed that it might not have been the best idea to feed her pokemon as Tyrunt once more became sleepy, but then again, as a newly resurrected pokemon the food following intense work would put them into a stuporific state.
With that done, she returned him and sent Terra back out.
Terra gave her an amused look and Yolanda just shrugged. “He doesn’t have your endurance. Three fights and he was tuckered out.”
“Pupit!” chirped Terra as she glanced towards a tree. A moment later she threw a rock and revealed a Fearow that had been lurking in wait.
“Fea—” the giant bird cut toward them in a rapid dive, only for a barrage of rock to blow it out of the air almost contemptuously.
“Pu!” snorted Terra, and Yolanda giggled, knowing that her friend had just announced ‘one’ in pokemon speak.
She was more than ready to set a record for the others to attempt it going forward. The fact that this environment and the pokemon within it favoured Terra? Well, that was just good fortune for her.
Surprisingly they also encountered the local Bug Catcher’s clubs. “Hello there Trainer! Have you witnessed any Caterpie, Venonat, Scyther, or Weedle in distress? We are out looking to help with the local bug type pokemon,” he announced quickly.
Crystal blinked. “Soooo, you don’t want to fight us?” she asked.
“Another time I would, but right now I need my pokemon as healthy as possible!” remarked the bug catcher.
The girls shared a look and shook their heads. “No bug types from us sorry.”
The boy nodded grimly and handed them a brochure about looking after bug type pokemon.
Crystal took one look at it and stuffed it in her bag while Yolanda gave it proper consideration. “Good of them to be out like this,” she mused, before turning her attention back to her pokemon.
That night, when the girls had set up camp and were well into cooking their meals Yolanda released her pokemon to enjoy some quiet time before dinner.
Terra had turned with a glint in her eyes. “Pupitar!” she announced.
The others blinked in surprise only for Slash to gain a sly look as he shot the newest pokemon a condescending look. “Sneasel!” he declared, putting a claw to his own chest.
Yolanda straightened as Flapper squawked next, obviously giving his own answer.
Then Spot woofed.
Tyrunt’s head swivelled around, and a spark of annoyance emerged.
“Terra, Tyrunt did perfectly well for his first day. Better than I’d imagined even! Three pokemon down with no injuries. Most of you didn’t have such good first days!” she lied, knowing that some of them had had just as good first encounters considering that they’d either been strong already in Slash’s case or they’d been trained intensively prior to facing another wild or trained pokemon.
They thankfully didn’t have anywhere near as good a memory as her, though and bowed their heads, chagrined, while Tyrunt puffed himself up.
“And Tyrunt, don’t forget the number Terra just posted today. That’s a personal best that all of you will be attempting to either match or beat going forward,” Yolanda declared.
Crystal tilted her head. “What was her number?”
“Terra faced fifty-three Pokémon today before taking a scratch,” Yolanda replied with a smirk, causing Greta to snap up and look at her.
“But Terra is one of your more stationary pokemon. She can barely dodge.”
“And her number is fifty-three,” replied Yolanda, puffing out her chest.
Crystal considered that number. “Did you get like a freakishly large number of flying types attacking you or something?”
“No, but even then, that would have been dangerous as Terra has to deal with their speed and maneuverability.”
“So how did you do it?” Greta asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried it, but ten or more pokemon in a row seems like the most I’d get away with unless I was to sit my Venusaur in a small creek.”
“I’ve been working on Terra’s accuracy, as that’s one of the few things that will transfer pretty well once she evolves. The only other part of her current form is the strength of her shell.”
“Which requires you to take some damage,” Greta concluded, only to blink. “Oh, I forgot. Pupitar is still a rock-ground type, isn’t it?”
Yolanda nodded smugly. “I’m aiming to sweep Vermillion Gym with just Terra. But I suspect Visquez won’t let me do that, so I’ll need to have some tricks,” she nodded towards the burned landscape. “Thankfully, I think I have Terra to where I need to be with one such trick.”
Greta gave the area around them a long, thoughtful look. “Sandstorm?” she asked.
Crystal giggled as Yolanda started pouting.
Greta smirked only to give the landscape another look. “I might stay out here for a bit. This environment is almost perfect for Omantye with fire and flying types in such numbers. I doubt I’ll reach Terra’s numbers, but I can still get some solid results, I think.”
Yolanda and Crystal pursed their lips before nodding. "You want us to double back for you?” Yolanda asked.
“No, let’s meet up at Celadon.”
The three of them all sat quietly for the rest of the night, enjoying the time together as they knew it would be a few days at least until they saw each other.
In the morning, Crystal and Yolanda continued on to Vermillion while Greta turned her attention to training.
Yolanda glanced back over her shoulder as Greta released her Omantye. “You know, it’s moments like this that remind me that she has a whole year extra under her belt. I did that Terra training session mostly as a gag and cause Terra wanted it, but now I think it’s sparked something in Greta.”
“It’s why she’s a contender for the cup this year,” Crystal murmured. “Just means we’ll have to work harder to catch up if we want to stand on our own this year.”
Yolanda nodded at that, reaffirming that she would rise as high as she could, for now that meant turning her eyes upon Vermillion, where Visquez awaited.
_________________
A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter!
Now it’s obviously not been 6-2 or anything close to that with the vote, but I felt I couldn’t drop the Blaine fight like a hotcake, so I kept going with that.