Melia and Ren confront Ava as she leaves the Gym. "Congrats on your win, Ava! You were fantastic~!" Melia's excitement beams from underneath the umbrella Ren is holding for the two.
"No one's beaten Venam in quite some time, so it was refreshing to see her lose for once…" Ren scans Ava. "Hey, since you're strong enough to beat Venam, you want to consider challenging the league? I mean, the next Gym is in... Sheridan Village, if I remember right." Ren rubs his chin as he looks up to the dark pouring sky.
Melia taps his shoulder. "Um, Ren... I think you're jumping the gun a little bit. Beating Venam is one thing, but fighting the leader of Sheridan Village is another."
"Nah, that was the plan when I got my card. I don't care who's in my way, I will take on the league. Been having it easy for too long." Ava jokes as she hides from the rain under the door frame.
Melia opens her umbrella and walks over to Ava. "Then you might want to train a bit before you challenge them. They're known for being a lot more of a challenge than Venam." Melia starts to walk away from the doorway, leaving Ava no choice but to follow. "Ren, are you sure you don't want to come to Goldenwood Forest with us?"
Ren walks towards Venam's front door. "Definitely, Venam lost one win streak today; I'm going to see if I can make that two."
Melia chuckles. "Okay, I guess it's just us two!" Melia leans into Ava's ear. "I'll let you in on a little secret too."
"See you, Ren!" the two say as they leave.
"Take care, you two!" he replies as Venam's mother opens the door.
"So what're we doing first, captain?" Ava says, looking down at Melia.
Melia twirls in front of Ava. "I'll get our tickets and you get our snacks! It's a long ride."
"Fine by me…" Ava finishes as the two of them walk further from Venam's house.
"We forgot about my ticket…" Ava remembers as she sits down next to an old man rambling about losing someone. "I'll find it!" Her voice mimicked her irritation.
"Thank you, I'll have a reward for you when she comes back." The old man states with a youthful smile.
"I knew I recognized that voice!" Tesla walks towards Ava with a waving hand in the air. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
W-WHYYYY!! Sculpted like a goddess… King's poison feels like it's at its limit. Ava shifts her eyes to look at anything else. "I'm good, made some friends."
Tesla closes her eyes with an affirmative nod. "Good. You're strong. I admire that strength." She sits down next to Ava. "Please, do not give up hope. Even in the most powerful of despair, we must press on."
Dear god, you smell hot…I really need to find out where Amanda went. I don't think I can last much longer! Ava stands up and starts hopping in place as if she were playing jump rope. "I'm fine, really. You wouldn't have an extra water on you by chance?"
"Oh, I wish I did now. I wasn't expecting to need more than one." Tesla sounds slightly disappointed.
"It's fine! I just forgot to buy another." Ava brushes it off. "Just like how I forgot about my ticket." She mumbles.
"Oh! In that case, please wait here for just a moment." Tesla leaves, her hips unknowingly hypnotizing Ava, and not even a second later she returns with a giddy chuckle. "Everything's taken care of. I'm quite a regular customer here, so I told them you were my friend. You now have a lifetime pass!" Ava steps back a little with her widened eyes. "Are you surprised?" Tesla asks slyly.
"T-Thank you!" Ava bows her head briefly. I'm slappin the shit out of her daughter.
Tesla brightens up from the gratitude. "Don't worry about it! It's the least I could do to help you get out of the nest!" Tesla digs in her bag and brings out 3 potions. "Take these as well! Goldenwood Forest has a lot of beginning trainers there. Be careful about how you use them; the difference between victory and defeat is the timing of a potion."
Tesla walks past Ava and gives her a pat on the back. "I have a room at Chrisola Hotel. If you ever need advice or a place to stay, don't hesitate to come see me." Ava's heart skips a beat as she looks at the woman in front of her. "See you soon!"
"U-uh Y-yeah." Ava replies as she turns around. I need to NOT take her up on that offer. Think I might be in love. Ava walks through the turnstile, seeing a flustered Melia waiting for her.
"I forgot about your ticket. I'm sorry." Melia bows.
"Well, if it makes it even, I forgot the extra water so… Even?" Ava pushes the bag in Melia's direction.
"Even…" Melia pauses after taking the bag. "If you need help with anything, you can always come to me." She says sincerely with a faint smile.
"Same here. Now let's get on that train." Ava follows her friend onto the bullet train.
The train smoothly pierces through the air, whistling through the rain, being nothing more than a blur of neon yellow and gray through the darkness. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" Melia's questioning is filled with concern.
"I'm good, I just haven't worked out today, so I'm a little overflowing with energy." Ava responds by biting her bottom lip, non-seductively.
Melia arches a brow. "You shouldn't abuse energy drinks; they're a leading cause of trainer deaths," she says like a concerned therapist.
"Yeah…" Ava looks at Melia, on the borderline of staring at her. Ah, fuck it... I'm sorry, me. "Can I be completely honest with you?"
"We're friends, Ava, of course you can." Melia leans in with a caring smile.
"I was born with nymphomania, and I… I am struggling right now." Ava says as her breathing hastens. "I was wondering if you could let me rest on your shoulder. I just feel like it would help to have a calming touch."
Melia's head moves back a bit in shock before gathering her stuff and sitting next to Ava with a warm yet pained expression. "Sure..." Melia's flushed face looks away from Ava.
"Thanks."
"It's nothing, really."
Ava moans softly into Melia's neck, trying to find comfort. 'DAMN IT! I feel even more sorry for Melia.'
Melia beams her attention to her pokegear. "Interesting." she says loudly.
Ava sighs as she sits up. "Thanks for trying."
"Well at least it's not as big an issue, right?" Melia turns towards Ava with an overwhelmingly bright smile, her eyes closed
"Y-yeah... " Ava looks towards the window If there's a time to be me, now is definitely it "Talk about awkward." Ava says looking at Char who's cleaning themself like a dog. "Taste good down there?"
Char stops licking "Veevee~..."
Melia laughs a little. "He can't help it!"
"Uh huh. Sure he can't." Ava takes out a brush "Come here mate[1]." Ava starts brushing Char and looks over to Melia who starts a conversation about Pokémon Hygiene.
The train pulls into Goldenwood station with the two friends laughing as they step out, "I was still getting used to field research!"
"And battling apparently!" Ava lets out a hearty laugh as the cool wind howls through the trees
"You try doing field research then!." Melia switches the hand she holds the briefcase with. "But before I give you your training, let's take care of the cave."
"Why the cave?" Ava says looking at the golden sign that reads "GOLDENWOOD FOREST"
"My dad also wanted me to finish investigating the ruins back in Goldenwood Cave. But I'm really interested in investigating the-" Melia looks at a few Vivillon fluttering about. "-Butterflies of Fate!"
"...?" Ava looks at Melia like she just asked if her hair was pink
"Right, you're new here. So there are rumors of Vivillons with translucent crystal blue wings. They're extremely rare and people seldom see them…. Well, anywhere? But there have been reports of sightings in this area!"
"We need some photos of them!" Ava's eyes dart around "..For research purposes, ya know…"
"Haha, Agreed. Research must be thorough."
[1] You just busted my ass, 6 ribs for you.