“I can't believe I am saying this,” Fiona said begrudgingly, “but that is almost as cute as my Skitty.”

  “I need it,” Chloe agreed, eyes sparkling.

  “Nope, it's mine. I have dibs, remember?” Eleanor stepped forward to stake her claim on what had the girls so transfixed.

  Blue. Fuzzy. Round. Almost impossibly round. So round it gave Mochi a run for her money. Before them, happily rolling around in the snow, was a Spheal.

  “But…” Chloe protested.

  “Nope, we had a deal. You get shoes, I get the Spheal.”

  “Aww,” Chloe pouted, “but roly-poly sea puppy!”

  “My roly-poly sea puppy,” Eleanor said smugly, moving towards the Spheal, who was rocking back and forth, staring at her with big eyes.

  “Hi there!” Eleanor said, squatting in the snow to meet the Spheal at eye level. It looked back curiously.

  “My name is Eleanor, I’m a trainer. I would like to catch you.”

  Spheal didn’t respond, instead looking at Eleanor with a blank expression. It wobbled back and forth.

  “I’m not the best trainer,” Eleanor confessed, “but I can promise you an adventure.”

  “Spheal,” it said, rolling onto its back, looking at Eleanor while upside down, apparently wanting a different angle.

  Eleanor hesitated.

  “Try offering snacks!” Chloe called from behind her.

  “Or money,” Troy suggested.

  A smack rang out.

  “He doesn’t want money, you idiot,” Fiona hissed.

  “Snacks is a good idea though,” she added, agreeing with Chloe.

  “Will you lot be quiet?” Eleanor shot back, before turning back to Spheal.

  “Sorry about that. If you come with me, you’ll have to deal with those idiots. But they’re not all that bad when you get to know them.”

  Spheal considered, before nodding. Or at least, Eleanor thought it nodded. It was hard to tell with how round it was. Still, she was pretty sure that was what it did, and it didn’t resist as Eleanor pulled out a Pokeball and caught the Pokemon.

  “Nice job!” Chloe cheered, Troy joining in on her jubilation. Eleanor stood back up and rejoined the others.

  “Should we keep moving?” Eleanor asked casually, attempting to play it cool.

  Fiona, as usual, didn’t let her.

  “Sure, right after you finish shaking in your boots,” the other girl said, looking Eleanor up and down.

  “I’m not shaking!” Eleanor protested, before she was forced to concede, “My heart is pounding though. Really, I don’t know how Chloe does it, just walking up to Pokemon without a care in the world.”

  “It’s about confidence,” Chloe explained helpfully. “Confidence, and being super pretty and amazing.”

  “Amazingly stupid more like it,” Fiona muttered.

  Chloe smiled smugly.

  “So you agree that I’m pretty then?” she said, posing with one hand on her hip.

  “You certainly are,” Fiona admitted.

  “...pretty ugly, that is.”

  Chloe raised an eyebrow, turning to Troy.

  “Hear that, Troy?” Chloe said, “That’s the sound of jealousy.”

  Fiona rolled her eyes.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the sound of a girl with a huge crush… crushing lack of self-esteem,” Troy corrected quickly as Fiona glared at him.

  Chloe giggled again, “You tell her, Troy!”

  A sudden breeze swept past, causing Chloe to wrap her arms around herself and shiver.

  “Brrr,” she said, “let’s get out of here, I want to get inside.”

  “Yeah, let’s,” Fiona agreed, “then me and Troy will be having words.”

  “Oh, what about?” Chloe asked, “Is it important?”

  “Very,” Eleanor said, “Fiona needs Troy’s help planning your shopping trip.”

  “Ooh, yay!” Chloe cheered, “Is the shopping good in Snowpoint, Troy?”

  “Sure is,” Troy agreed, “plenty of very expensive places where Fiona can spoil you.”

  “I can’t wait!” Chloe said, “Let’s go!”

  She skipped off, leaving Fiona to glare daggers at the other two, who were holding their laughter in.

  “I am going to murder the both of you,” she hissed.

  Eleanor giggled, “Look how happy she is though!”

  “Not as happy as those stores will be when Fiona has to pony up her card,” Troy added with a guffaw.

  “Maybe I’ll spend all the money I was planning to use on you guys on Chloe instead,” Fiona threatened, “or do you guys not need a new phone?”

  Eleanor paled, “No, wait. Mum will kill me if I ask her for money for another phone.”

  “Well,” Fiona said, “you shouldn’t be dissing the hand that feeds you.”

  “Are you guys coming?” Chloe called from up ahead, having turned to see they weren’t following.

  “Be right there, Princess!” Fiona called back, shooting the other two a smug look as she left.

  Still, Eleanor couldn’t help but feel like the winner this morning. After all, she had a new Spheal.

  That afternoon they were drawing close to Snowpoint, the city occasionally peeking into view between the hills and trees as they marched through the snow. Chloe couldn't wait to arrive. She longed for a warm bed, a hot chocolate and to not be freezing her nose off for a few hours.

  “Hey Chloe?” Eleanor asked, breaking the companionable silence that had fallen over the group.

  “Yeah?”

  “Have you and Fiona battled yet?”

  Chloe shook her head.

  “Nope!”

  “Why not?” Eleanor quizzed, the question clearly having wormed its way into her thoughts.

  Chloe considered, trying to decide how to phrase it, but Fiona answered instead.

  “It would be pointless,” Fiona said simply.

  “It would be good training,” Chloe added, “but yeah, Fi’s right. It's not fun when it’s obvious what would happen.”

  Eleanor frowned, “You two seem pretty evenly matched to me.”

  Fiona shrugged, “We are, but the matchups are one-sided. Either we do a four vs four and Star wrecks house, or more likely, he sits out and Chloe wins instead.”

  Chloe nodded.

  “Yep! I don't have an answer for Star, and Growly isn't ready for battling yet anyway. But without Star, Fiona is handicapped. Either way, it's not fair.”

  “What about Tank?” Eleanor asked, “He’s a beast.”

  “So is Mimi,” Fiona replied, “Pretty sure Tank would win, but it would be close. That leaves me with no way to handle the Dangerpuff.”

  “Plus,” Chloe added, “Heather is awesome, but she isn't quite there yet. Reinette would win.”

  “Yeah,” Fiona agreed, “don't get me wrong, it would be a good battle, but artificial. I’d rather wait until we have six. That's way more interesting.”

  “Same,” Chloe agreed.

  “Huh,” Eleanor said, “so it's not because you don't want to lose?”

  Fiona snorted, “I fucking hate losing. But no, at this point, we’re saving it for the tournament. You and me, Chloe, Grand Finals.”

  Chloe grinned, “See you there, Fi. I’ll make sure to thank you in my victory speech.”

  “Only way you’d be doing that is if you were thanking me for letting you win.”

  “Well you’ll have to get through me first!” Troy declared boldly, flexing for emphasis.

  Chloe giggled, “Sure thing! Wanna battle later?”

  “What, so you won't battle each other but you will battle us?” Eleanor asked, eyebrow raised.

  “Absolutely,” Fiona responded, “nothing like a freebie to start your day.”

  “You are such bullies.”

  Fiona laughed, “You know it! Though really, you guys aren't too far behind. In a one vs one you’d have a chance. Not much of one, and it would depend on matchup, but there is a chance.”

  “Well that's reassuring,” Eleanor muttered.

  Troy clapped her on the shoulder, “Cheer up, El! You may not be as strong, talented, or as rich as Fiona is, but at least you are… uhh, Chloe?”

  “Nicer?” Chloe suggested.

  “Nicer! Exactly!” Troy finished, beaming at Eleanor, “You’re way nicer than Fiona, and way smarter than Chloe!”

  “Hey!” Chloe protested, “It's true, but…”

  Eleanor rolled her eyes.

  “Thanks, Troy,” she deadpanned, “Nice to know that my two qualities are being nicer than Fiona, who prides herself on being a bitch, and smarter than Chloe, who can barely count.”

  “Why does everyone keep calling me stupid,” Chloe pouted.

  “Because you make it way too easy. Now come on, let's get moving. It's getting dark, and I want to be in town before then,” Fiona said, leading the way through the snow.

  They arrived at Snowpoint right as the sun was setting below the hills that surrounded the city. Houses and businesses filled the valley that sheltered the city from the harsh winds, roofs pitched to ward against snow.

  At the centre of the city, juxtaposed against an ever-increasing number of modern buildings, was the majestic Snowpoint Temple. Snowpoint was a city on the rise. Quite literally in fact, as the surrounding suburbs began to climb up the sides of the hills, and the city centre added more and more storys to its height.

  They picked their way through the snowy streets, making their way to the Pokemon Centre where they could get a room to spend the night.

  Fiona led the way, having taken over from Chloe when the others had remembered that the blonde had a terrible sense of direction, and soon enough they had found the Centre, conveniently attached to the Gym where they would be facing Candice.

  They checked in, the Centre having plenty of space, and Chloe relished being able to have a nice, hot shower.

  Chloe had settled onto her bed to brush her hair when a knock sounded at her door. A moment later, Fiona entered, also freshly changed and washed.

  “Hey Chloe, you check your page yet?” Fiona asked, walking over to settle down next to Chloe on the bed.

  “Page?” Chloe asked, curiously.

  “Trainer Page,” Fiona said, pulling out her phone. She tapped through a few screens while explaining.

  “All the Aces have their own official page on the Challenge Site, with links to their battles and so on.”

  Chloe examined the screen on Fiona’s phone. Sure enough, there was the official Fiona Abernathy Challenger Bio.

  It listed her Pokemon, just Tank and Thistle at this point, since they were the only ones Fiona had used so far, as well as a short bio. One thing however, stood out.

  “Fi,” Chloe said, eyes narrowed as she read the information, “explain yourself.”

  Fiona frowned, “I thought you might want to see what your page looked like? There's a part where the analysts go over your battles.”

  “That's not what I am talking about, Miss Fiona Clarabelle Abernathy,” Chloe said, tapping the offending piece of text, “I am talking about the fact that you chose not to tell me that tomorrow is your birthday.”

  Fiona blinked, “Why would I tell you that?”

  Chloe bonked her friend on the head.

  “So we can celebrate you, dummy!” she declared, stunned by her usually intelligent friend’s stupidity.

  “We need to have a party! With cake!” Chloe declared, standing and heading over to find her shoes.

  “We don't need to have a party,” Fiona said dismissively, “it's just a day.”

  “It's not just a day, it's your day,” Chloe countered, having found her shoes, “and I will be damned if I let a friend spend it without cake.”

  “Chloe, it's really not important.”

  “It is!” Chloe said, whirling around to face Fiona. “Birthdays are important, and spending them alone sucks. We’re having a party, and that's final.”

  Fiona sighed, “Do we have to?”

  “Yes!” Chloe replied, grabbing her phone and turning to head out the door.

  “Where are you going?” Fiona asked.

  Chloe paused in the doorway, “To find the others so we can plan. I can't believe you didn't say anything!”

  With that, she left, leaving Fiona alone in the room.

  “...but I don't want a party,” Fiona mumbled. But Chloe had spoken, and Fiona knew that there was no getting out of it now.