Chapter 97

Nina tried her best to smile in order to hide the exhaustion that she felt permeating throughout her body.

There was still some time until evening where the wedding reception was going to take place. So Violet thought it’d be a waste not to make full use of the downtime by scheduling a meet and greet session with their Gym’s two star apprentices.

Unbeknownst to Nina, the profiteering woman had released a limited edition album containing all of the Cerulean Gym’s greatest hits and featuring the song that Beverly and Nina produced just for today’s performance. And any children who purchased the album were entitled to a ticket for a meet and greet with the two young Gym Trainers.

Apparently, this was part of her broader plans to rebrand the Gym by shifting some focus away from the Cerulean Sisters onto their newer talent. Which Nina wasn’t opposed to, but she wished that the conniving woman would show some consideration and allow her time to rest after such an intense show. Nina barely dried her soaking body and had all her makeup redone before she was dragged out of the dressing room.

On the other hand, Beverly looked more energetic than she had ever been, still riding off the high of her maiden show. That was until she saw the line that formed in front of her, which consisted mostly of boys and butch looking girls. While all the cute girlies and timid femboys formed up in front of Nina’s table and stared at her with admiring Growlithe eyes.

Nina covered her mouth to hold back her snicker at the quietly fuming Beverly. “I told you, that’s what you get for not letting me be the prince.” She quipped, eliciting an annoyed look from her friend.

The event commenced amidst excited chatter after a Gym staff recapped a few rules over a loudspeaker. Basically, every ticket holder was entitled to one minute with the talent, they could ask for photographs, autographs or just chat if they wanted, so long as they kept it within the time limit.

Nina noticed that most of the kids asked her to sign their CDs for them, while the parents who were escorting their children took pictures all the while. The whole process was very smooth with minimal lag. Though there had been some kids who got too excited and made a commotion or were reluctant to leave once their time expired.

It was a brand new experience for her. Never once in Nina’s two lives had she done anything like this before. She felt like she was one of those cutesy Japanese idols. And honestly, seeing all these kids look up to her as much as they did really warmed her heart, especially when it came to the next girl in the line.

“A-Aquarium Girl… Erm… I… T-thank…”

Nina smiled at the familiar looking girl in pigtails who nervously shuffled up to her with a CD case clutched tightly in front of her chest. It was the same lost girl who ended up leading Beverly and her to the Team Rocket den — the one they witnessed getting kidnapped.

“Hi there… How have you been? I’m sorry I didn’t get to check on you after the police came that day. Things got really hectic.” Nina took the initiative to bend over and greeted the girl.

The girl lit up at being recognized by her idol. She looked up at her mom in excitement, who smiled encouragingly and urged her daughter to get a little closer.

“Erm, I… Thank you for saving me from those bad guys, Aquarium Girl. You were really pretty today!” The girl blurted hastily. “I really hope I get to be as strong as you one day and beat up bad guys just like Miracle Puffy!”

Nina had no idea who Miracle Puffy was, but based on the graphics on the little girl’s t-shirt, it might have been this world’s equivalent of a magical girl who fought monsters with her companion Slurpuff.

Nina held back her swoon and reached over the table to give the girl a gentle pat on the head. “So long as you love and care for your Pokemon just like Puffy does, I’m sure you’ll grow up to become a super strong trainer one day.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled at the acknowledgement, beaming a radiant smile at Nina. “Do you think I can become a mermaid like you and Miss Beverly and dress up all pretty on stage too?”

Nina didn’t have the heart to tell the girl to temper her expectations. So instead, she decided to give her some practical advice. “If you work hard and study hard, I’m sure you can achieve any dreams you set for yourself.” She then leaned in further and whispered to the girl in a conspiratory manner. “Ask your school to let you take part in our Little League and show to us how much you love and care for your Pokemon, I’m sure your efforts won’t go unnoticed.”

The little girl nodded enthusiastically at her idol, practically buzzing in happiness at the attention she was receiving.

“Now then,” Nina continued. “How about I sign that CD for you and we can get a picture together?”

“Okay!” The girl nervously handed her CD case over which Nina flipped open to mark with her signature. By this point, the movement was second nature to her as she wrote a stylized Nina, with an extended tail on the ‘a’ which looped around and crossed with the ‘Nina’ before curving back up again to end with a simple caricature of Nairy’s head.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Nina asked the little girl for her name, which turned out to be Melody. So she wrote a nice little message at the bottom of the cover sleeve to encourage Melody to never give up on her dreams.

The little girl grabbed hold of the CD case that was handed back to her and clutched it to her chest like it was the most precious thing in the world.

In truth, Nina had felt a little iffy about profiting off children like this. But seeing Melody, she realized that for these kids, such dark and complicated thoughts never really entered their minds. At the end of the day, this moment would become a precious memory that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. So it would behoove her to act as the proper role model that they all expected her to be, so as not to disappoint their lofty expectations.

Behind Melody, her mother gave a deep bow to Nina and thanked her once again for saving her daughter from Team Rocket.

“No worries, ma’am. I was just doing what anyone else would have done.” Nina responded with a casual wave of her hand.

“But in the end, it was you and Miss Beverly that saved my little Melody. So we still wanted to thank you.” The woman shook her head and bowed once more with Melody awkwardly mirroring her mother’s movement and muttering a thank you of her own.

The woman then took out two business cards and handed them to Nina. “I run a little travel agency here in the city. So if you or Miss Beverly ever have any need for my services, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We will do our utmost to repay you for your bravery.”

Nina let out an awkward chuckle. The girl was not used to being shown this level of gratuity. “Like I said, we were just doing what we felt was right. But I’ll make sure to keep hold of this. Bev and I are planning to go to Hoenn at some point, so maybe you’ll be able to help with travel arrangements when the time comes.”

Melody looked up at Nina with sad droopy eyes. “Does that mean I won’t be able to see you again?” She whined. But Nina simply laughed and casually dismissed her concerns.

“Don’t worry, Melody. We won’t be leaving for another few years. And besides, it’s just a journey. Journeys aren’t meant to be permanent, and every journeyman has to come home to roost at some point.”

With that, they said their goodbyes and allowed the person next in line to come up. Nina had actually exceeded the time limit with Melody, but the staff had enough tact to overlook it.

***

“Thanks, Nina. I know you worked really hard for today’s show.” Ali said as he pulled his niece into a tight hug at the wedding reception.

“Yeah,” chimed Misty, joining in on the hug as well. “Your uncle was crying like a Whismur by the end of your performance. Good work out there, sweetie. I’m proud to have you as a niece.”

Nina responded with a warm smile and a quiet thanks, feeling a surge of heat welling in her chest. It felt good to receive validation from her loved ones, especially after all the hard work she put in for the sake of the newlyweds. “I’m glad you guys enjoyed it…”

Patrick and Leanette expressed their own words of endearment as well. Leanette, in particular, was especially animated as she complimented her daughter on her stellar performance. Even going so far as to praise Nairy. “Your partner was great! For a few moments there, I really thought Nairy was going to crash into Beverly, but it all went well in the end.”

The fact that her mother used Nairy's name and the word “partner” to describe him meant the world to Nina. “Thanks mom…” Nina muttered as she pulled the woman in for a kiss and a hug, a little teardrop escaping the corner of her eye. The girl was glad that her performance contributed to an improvement in Leanette’s trauma. Frankly, just that alone made all the sweat and tears she had shed over the past month all worth it.

Patrick then followed up with a heated rambling of how cute his daughter was and went around showing off all the pictures and videos he took of the performance, eliciting a fiery blush from the girl and prompting Nina to sneak away to the buffet table to save herself the cringe. That and the fact that she was starving, having only had a single protein bar the entire day.

“Nina! You were great out there!”

Nina’s knees buckled at the weight of Kerry who tackled her out of the blue. “Hey there, Kerr… Glad you enjoyed it…” Nina responded, listlessly.

Kerry pulled away from her friend and looked at her with concern. “Are you okay, Nina? Did you hurt yourself?”

“I’m fine, just…” Nina yawned. “Just exhausted…”

In response, Kerry picked up her Happiny from the ground and held her up in front of Nina. “Do you want one of Peppy’s eggs? It’ll help you feel better.”

“Happiny!”

Nina gratefully accepted the nascent Soft-Boiled egg that was offered to her and reciprocated Kerry's hug. “Thanks Kerr, I really don’t know how I managed to survive so long without you.”

“Aww… you’re welcome, Nina. It’s the least I can do after you invited me to such a wonderful wedding,” said the young Joy. But their heartfelt reunion was interrupted by a very pronounced cough to the side.

“Ahem!” Beverly exclaimed, before inserting herself into the conversation. “My name’s Beverly. Nina’s best friend. I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

Kerry gave Nina a look and giggled at Beverly’s insecurities. “Hi there, I’m Kerry. I saw your performance just now. It was quite impressive…”

Nina tuned out the two posturing girls and shoved the egg she received into her mouth in its entirety. A huge mistake on her part since she started choking when she attempted to swallow the load.

Thankfully, someone handed a drink to her after seeing the unseemly idiot banging desperately on her chest.

“Thanks…” Nina choked and coughed. “Thanks for the save… Oh, hey Lilian. Didn’t see you there.”

Nina’s savior was indeed Lilian Blackthorn, who was wearing a stunning red party dress that matched perfectly with her fiery red mane of hair.

“Hello there, Melina Jones. I commend you on your performance today. That final act with the synchronized Dragon Dance was quite a sight to behold.”

Nina chuckled. Of course the Dragon obsessed Blackthorn girl would hone in on the Dragon Dance sequence. “Thank you, Lilian. I hope you’ve been enjoying your summer so far?”

“Indeed,” the noble girl nodded. “I made a trip to the Safari Zone to pick up a Mareep upon your recommendation. I was expecting to have to wait until Topaz’s evolution to Ampharos before reaping any benefits, but it seems that her expertise in Electric Type Energy has done much in aiding Sapphire’s development as well.”

Nina nodded. “That’s good to know. Looks like your summer’s been very productive. I can’t wait to bury my head in Mareep’s wool next time.”

Lilian chuckled in amusement. “Not as productive as yours. I read about your exploits in foiling Team Rocket’s machinations. As expected of the one I acknowledged, you do not disappoint. I simply regret that I was not with you in subduing those scoundrels.”

“It wasn’t that impressive, we had a lot of help from the police. And I’m sure that if you were with us, things would have gone a lot smoother.”

Lilian lightly shook her head. “Such humility. Perhaps we can join hands next time. It is the duty of the strong to protect the weak, and eradicate such incorrigible scum with the utmost prejudice!” The Blackthorn declared, as she clutched her fist in unwavering determination.

Nina almost reeled back from the sheer heat being emanated from the girl’s fiery passion. The peace loving Nina wanted to say that she would rather not have to deal with another Rocket encounter ever again, but held her tongue, knowing that Lilian wouldn’t listen anyway.