Tommy and Ashley stood perfectly still while Yanma buzzed happily and lapped up pool water through his parted mandibles. Tommy always appreciated how even though Pokémon looked similar to animals in the wild they were still incredibly different and unique. He had seen plenty of dragonflies around the pond where he fished, they loved to fly around and land on the water, but Yanma was in a league of its own. He had never seen an insect this big before, he would believe it if Yanma was even bigger than Houndour!

Ashley extended her wrist over to Tommy, showing him the Pokédex entry for Yanma.

Definitely bigger than Houndour.

“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” Cecilia said. She was still seated in her chair sipping her tea as if this were a perfectly normal phenomena in her household. Tommy figured that it probably was.

“Well?” Ashley’s mother asked expectantly. “Are you going to show me what you can do young man?”

“You want me to chase him away?” He asked. The dragonfly wasn’t bothering anyone and would just fly away after he got his water.

“Chase him away?” Ashley said incredulously. “Tommy, why don’t you catch him? You only have one Pokémon anyway. He would be a great addition to your team!”

“I would love to catch him!” He said to Ashley. He reached down towards his belt and realized that the only Pokéball he currently had was Houndour’s. He sighed.

“You forgot your Pokéball again, didn’t you?” She chided him. “Watson!”

“You called for me, Ms. Ashley?” Watson said from right behind Tommy. He practically jumped out of his skin wondering how in the world the butler had gotten behind them. Had he been standing there this entire time?

“My friend doesn’t have a Pokéball but he wants to capture that Yanma,” Ashley explained to her butler, pointing at the big bug as if the man wasn’t already completely aware of it. “Give him one of ours please.”

“I regret to inform you that the villa’s supply of Pokéballs is currently empty,” Watson said to the group. “All we have left is this.”

He snapped his fingers and a maid walked out with a domed silver tray. She sauntered over to where everyone was standing and passed the tray off to Watson before bowing and taking her leave of the group. He grasped the lid with a gloved hand and removed it with a flourish, revealing a handsome black Pokéball with yellow stripes that rested on an embroidered pillow.

“Shall I present this Ultra Ball to Mr. Hartford then, Ms. Cecilia?” Watson asked, bowing low towards Ashley’s mother.

“Of course, dear Watson!” Cecilia beamed excitedly. “The boy needs something to catch Yanma with after all!”

“With respect ma’am,” Tommy said, inclining his head towards Ashley’s mother. “There’s no chance I’m going to take that thing. I’m well aware it’s over a thousand dollars. It’s at least ten times as expensive as a regular Pokéball if not more.”

“Ah, but it’s ten times as expensive because the catch rate is so much better!” Ashley’s mom smiled. “You’re all but guaranteed to capture that Yanma if you throw the Ultra Ball at it. You probably wouldn’t even need to battle it though I hope you will!”

“Make your decision Tommy!” Ashley told him. She pointed over to Yanma who’s wings started to beat faster than Tommy’s eyes could register. “He’s about to take off and head back to the garden.”

“I’ve changed my mind Tommy,” Cecilia smiled. “Ashley can’t leave the house this afternoon unless you successfully battle and capture Yanma.”

Tommy groaned but unclipped the Pokéball from his belt to summon his Houndour. She appeared in a burst of red and white light and Tommy quickly stepped out from under the shade of the parasol to engage the dragonfly in a battle.

“Let’s go Houndour! We’ll catch him for sure!” Tommy yelled. The Pokémon had started to fly away but turned around when it heard yelling. He widened his eyes and banked out of the way, dodging the Embers that Tommy and Houndour had launched in his direction.

“A sneak attack?” Cecilia teased. “I thought you were a gentleman, Tommy!”

“Whatever it takes to win,” He smiled to himself at the prospect of already getting another Pokémon for his team. “You didn’t leave me with much choice anyway.”

Yanma’s blue eyes turned bright red as it buzzed furiously and charged down to dive bomb Houndour.

“Foresight, to locate its prey,” Watson explained calmly to everyone. “Now it’s following up with Tackle! Be careful Mr. Hartford! Despite its size, Yanma is deceptively fast!”

“Dodge to the side, Houndour! Then use Ember again!” Tommy called just in time. Yanma streaked towards the ground and missed slamming into Houndour by just a few centimeters. It buzzed angrily, making its entire body glow blue for a brief moment. The embers flew forward but Yanma weaved in between each of them easily and then slammed into the puppy’s side, sending her sprawling across the pavement. She almost fell into the pool but narrowly missed, much to Tommy’s relief.

“I believe that blue light was Yanma’s ability, Mr. Hartford,” Watson spoke with awe. “Speed Boost! The longer the match takes, the faster Yanma will get. Time is not your ally here!”

Tommy swallowed as Yanma was enveloped in the blue light for a second time. The dragonfly shrieked and raced forward once more, already almost too fast for Tommy to track with his eyes.

“Houndour dodge it! Then Ember one more time!” Tommy said. She dodged the Tackle again but missed with Ember. Even though it had such a wide range of effect, Yanma was just too fast at this point and the slow moving Embers had no chance of hitting the dragonfly. It circled high into the air and buzzed loudly, diving back down towards Houndour once more.

“Do something else! Your strategy isn’t working!” Ashley said. She was frantically jumping up and down and hollering from under the parasol. “Does Houndour know any other moves? You have to do something else!”

Houndour barely dodged to the side again as Yanma flew past, the force of the wind generated by his passing was almost strong enough to knock Tommy to the ground. Yanma wouldn’t give up and flew high into the air again out of the reach of Houndour’s Embers.

“Fine,” Tommy muttered so only Houndour could hear his words. “Get ready to use our secret move. You’re going to have to take a hit from him though, okay girl? He’s too fast now. But once he rams into you, use Thunder Fang and hold on with all of your might. You’re only going to have one chance.”

“Here we go! Get ready, Houndour!” Tommy yelled. Yanma had reached high enough in the air and now dove back down towards Houndour using his Tackle. Tommy timed his own jump to block Ashley’s field of view at the same time that Yanma collided with Houndour. No sense revealing his tricks to a rival if he could help it. He was going to have to fight her eventually too, though he shuddered at the thought.

Yanma collided with Houndour who took the hit and the puppy clamped down onto the back of Yanma’s neck with her Thunder Fang. The bug screeched in agony at the super effective move and Houndour tossed his twitching body to the side where he lay in total Paralysis. Tommy heard Cecilia and Watson roar in approval as they witnessed the brutal counter timed to perfection.

“Finish him with Ember!” Tommy yelled. Houndour whined in pain from her various bruises but released hundreds of flaming embers which collided with the now motionless dragonfly. He screeched in agony but couldn’t move to douse the flames that were beginning to engulf his body.

“Mr. Hartford hurry!” Watson yelled. “Before you do too much damage to Yanma!”

Tommy turned to see the Ultra Ball flying through the air towards him. He caught it easily and then proceeded to throw it straight at Yanma who was engulfed in light and sucked into the ball. It wiggled once and then ceased moving, coming to rest on the pavement next to where Houndour had collapsed from exhaustion.

Tommy ran over and grabbed the Ultra Ball, shrinking it down to size and clipping it to his belt. He smiled at Houndour and patted her on the head but quickly jerked his hand away when she started to cough and hack. He looked on worriedly but after a moment she stopped and then exhaled a giant cloud of purple Smog. Tommy backed away quickly, not wanting to breathe any in, allowing the wind to blow the Smog away where it dissipated over the garden.

“You battled amazingly well, Houndour! And you learned a new move!” He recalled her to her Pokéball so she could rest until he had the chance to heal her. He clipped Houndour’s ball back to his belt alongside his shiny new Ultra Ball and then headed over to the umbrella where everyone was waiting for him.

“What an amazing battle Mr. Hartford!” Watson lauded. “It sets a fire in my old bones, I tell you. Next time you’re here we must do battle with one another!”

“How did you knock Yanma out of the sky?” Ashley frowned. “He was too fast for Houndour but then all of the sudden he was on the ground unmoving. What did you do?”

“Ashley, let the boy keep his secrets,” Cecilia smiled and Tommy silently thanked her. “No doubt he wants to save something for when the two of you battle each other.”

“It still won’t be enough to beat me,” Ashley grumbled under her breath and Tommy smiled to himself.

“Thank you for the Ultra Ball,” Tommy said bowing deeply to Cecilia again. He thought back to his father on the night that Ashley and Nessa had saved the ranch from the grass fire. “I won’t forget this debt. Anything you need, please ask for me. If it’s in my power, I will carry it out.”

“My, my,” Cecilia laughed. There was a slight twinge of pink in her cheeks. “Aren’t you just magnificent? I'll collect the debt now, will you marry Ashley?”

“Mom!” Ashley pouted and Tommy laughed.

“Maybe if I’m lucky enough someday?” Tommy tried to quip back. He blushed and looked at the ground though, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of Cecilia’s gaze. “Come on Ashley, I’m sure my mom has been waiting in the car for a while now. Thank you again for your hospitality!”

“Allow me to show you out,” Watson bowed. He swept Tommy and Ashley up with a flourish and led them back out through the door onto the front steps of the villa.

“Sorry about my mom,” Ashley said. “I can’t believe she met you in a swimsuit. I could die of embarrassment.”

“She was nice,” Tommy smiled at her. “And my mom is just as embarrassing. Now come on, let's get in the car.”

He opened the back door of the truck for her and she climbed in. Once he was seated in the front seat, Mom took off and headed back towards the entrance of the villa.

“Ashley, it’s wonderful to see you again!” Mom said. “Did my fool son apologize to you properly?”

“Yes ma’am,” Ashley said, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

“Excellent, well in that case we have just one more stop before we head back to the ranch,” Mom told Ashley.

“Oh? Where are we stopping?” Ashley asked.

“We still need to pick up Nessa,” Mom explained, watching Ashley’s reaction carefully in the rearview mirror. She jabbed Tommy in his ribs causing him to wince. “Apparently this numbskull here managed to make a fool out of himself in front of two women at the same time instead of just one.”

“Oh, we’re getting Nessa?” Ashley asked, a bit of tone creeping into her voice. Mom smiled to herself and adjusted the rearview mirror again so she could focus on the road in front of them.

“What are you smiling about?” Tommy frowned at his mother.

“Nothing, son.” Mom smiled. “Mind your own business as you sit there in your ignorance.”

“Okay…” Tommy muttered. “Weirdo.”

Mom was in a great mood for the rest of the trip as they headed over to Nessa’s house. Nessa lived in a suburb community not too far from where Ashley lived and once they parked Tommy climbed out of the truck, promising Ashley that he wouldn’t leave her alone with his mother for too long. He raced up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened and Tommy blinked his eyes in surprise as he saw Nessa in her pajamas. Her long blue and obsidian hair was a disheveled mess and she was wearing a silk crop top that exposed her muscled stomach along with a pair of very short shorts.

“Hi Nessa,” Tommy waved and blushed. He wondered what expression he had on his face at that moment. She widened her eyes in surprise then slammed the door in his face causing him to stumble backwards off the porch.

“Mom!!!” He heard Nessa scream from inside the house. A couple moments later the woman that Tommy saw in the gym a month ago opened the door for him.

“Well, you must be Tommy!” She said. She reminded him of his own mother so he smiled as she immediately put him at ease. She ushered him inside of her home which was very welcoming and quaint. “Come in, please!”

“My name is Alexis Anderson!” She smiled up at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nessa has told me all about you, Tommy.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Anderson,” Tommy shook her hand. “Did she say good things about me I hope?”

“Of course, you sound like a fine young man!” Alexis beamed. “Have you eaten lunch already? I insist you come into the kitchen and eat while you wait for Nessa.”

Tommy had already eaten but he didn’t have the chance to refuse Nessa’s mother. She herded him into the kitchen and sat him down at the table where she proceeded to stuff sandwich after sandwich into his mouth. While Tommy was eating his third sandwich Nessa raced around the corner into the kitchen.

“Mom!” Nessa yelled. She had changed into a t-shirt and blue jeans and her hair looked wet and sleek. “You didn’t tell me that Tommy was coming over!”

“Must have slipped my mind Nessa,” Alexis threw a wink in Tommy’s direction and he hid his smile behind his sandwich. It felt great knowing that his parents weren’t the only embarrassing ones.

“Tommy, why are you here?” Nessa blurted out. He opened his mouth to respond but before he could say anything she blushed and said, “Not that it isn’t nice to see you of course!”

He cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up. He glanced over at Alexis who was watching him with an inquisitive look on her face.

“I came here to apologize once more for yesterday,” he said bowing low to Nessa. “I was an idiot. I yelled at you, when you were only trying to help me and it’s been eating away at me ever since.”

Nessa was trying to raise his shoulders mid apology but she was struggling. “Tommy, please, it’s fine! I told you yesterday that it was okay. You had a lot on your mind!”

“True, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior,” he told her. He looked over at Nessa’s mom and spoke to her. “Can Nessa come over to my ranch again? Is she free? My family is all home and I plan to cook dinner for everyone as an apology. We’ll return this evening after dinner.”

“Can I go mom?” Nessa asked cheerily. “Will you watch the egg?”

“That’s fine, no problem,” Alexis said. “You seem like a fine man for coming all this way just to apologize and pick my daughter up. Take good care of her okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” Tommy nodded. “We’ll be back later, thank you!”

“Is that an Ultra Ball clipped to your belt? Those things are crazy expensive!” Nessa sounded awestruck as they headed to the front door of her house. “Have you caught another Pokémon?”

“Yeah,” Tommy told her. “At Ashley’s house, just before we came over here.”

“Oh, is Ashley with you then?” she asked flatly. He nodded to her as they went through the front door and walked over to the truck. He opened the door for her and she climbed into the backseat next to Ashley. Tommy convinced his mom to stop at the Pokémon Center so he could heal his Pokémon and soon after that the truck was rolling up the driveway of the ranch house. Everyone headed inside and Tori immediately pulled the two girls off to go run around.

“Ashley said you caught a Yanma today,” Tori said to her brother over dinner. Tommy had grilled chicken for everyone and they were now all seated around the table eating tacos. He was pleased that Nessa and Ashley had both cheered up, it might have been a better idea to apologize to them individually but he didn’t think he was comfortable enough for that yet. The two girls and his family were all munching on dinner but he didn’t have much of an appetite; too many sandwiches at Nessa’s house. He didn’t mind though.

“Yeah, I caught a Yanma,” he told his sister. He unclipped the Ultra Ball from his belt and held it out so that everyone could see it. You want to meet him after dinner?”

“Is that an Ultra Ball?” Dad interjected. He frowned at Tommy, “Did you blow your entire life savings on that at the mall today?”

“Ashley’s family insisted I use it,” he told his dad sheepishly. “I tried to refuse but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

His dad frowned and grunted. “I don’t like it. It’s too expensive.”

“It was just a sign of our friendship,” Ashley told Tommy’s father. “I insisted and Tommy took it.”

His dad frowned but muttered under his breath. It sounded like he had said ‘yes ma’am’ but Tommy’s ears must have been playing tricks on him.

“Thank you for dinner Tommy!” Nessa told him. She smiled across the table at him and Tommy felt very grateful his mom made him apologize again. It was worth it just to see that smile.

“Yeah, everything was great! Thank you!” Ashley agreed. She blushed when he looked over at her and he quickly looked away as he felt his own face get hot.

“Okay, the last part of my apology is one more surprise,” Tommy told the two of them. “Let’s head outside.”

They all headed out the back door where Tommy handed Nessa and Ashley each a small gift bag. They each opened their bag and smiled at the picture frames that they pulled out.

“I thought that the three of us could take a picture together,” Tommy said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Call out your Pokémon too and we’ll all be in it together!”

“And me too!” yelled Tori. “Don’t forget about me!”

Everyone laughed as they called their Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and posed for the picture. Dad took the picture and Tommy smiled as he looked down at it. He had his arms around his two friends and Tori was climbing on his back, and pulling his hair; it turned out great.

“Yanma looks so awesome in this picture!” Nessa smiled. The dragonfly was hovering in the air above Tori’s head and he took up almost a quarter of the photo. She slipped the photo into its frame.

“Alright I think it’s time to head home,” Mom told the girls. “Tommy, come with us. You need to walk them to their doors.”

They drove to Ashley’s house first and as they pulled into the drive Tommy shook his head again at the sheer size of the home.

“Is that your house?” Nessa blurted out. “By the Mother, it’s massive!”

“Yeah,” Ashley grinned as she hopped out of the car. “I’ll have you both over next time, okay?”

Tommy walked her up to her door where they bid each other good night. He returned to the truck and his mother drove them to Nessa’s house, where he then took his turn saying good night to Nessa.

“Thank you for the picture!” She smiled. She hugged him and raced back inside her house.

“Thanks,” he told his mom as he climbed back into the passenger seat of the truck. “I don’t know that I would have had the courage to go through with today without you behind me pushing.”

“You would have,” Mom told him as the truck wound its way out of Nessa’s neighborhood. “You did the right thing. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said. He thought back to dinner that night and the one from last weekend and frowned. “Hey, so this might be a weird question… Does dad know Ashley?”

Tommy saw his mother tighten her grip on the steering wheel out of the corner of his eye. “No, why would they be acquainted with one another?”

“Just a thought I had,” He said as he looked out the window.

He wondered why his mother was lying to him.