Teri and Alan Romer
Former Shady Mansion, Po Town

“...Police are telling the public not to worry, that we aren't looking at another Team Skull--”

Click.

"...But the question remains: Who is the face behind the Hour--”

Click.

“...Natural Order Group should be investigated. At the very least--”

Click.

The room faded into darkness as the young man finally turned the TV off with a dismissive snort. “All garbage,” he muttered, staring into the darkness, not flinching as a piece of cloth reached up to wrap around his arm and squeeze once. Slowly, he reached up to place a hand against the cloth, a soft smile touching his lips. The Doublade that was resting against his leg had always been a bit motherly, and he appreciated it at times like these, when it seemed like Lucina had managed to read his mind, even though her telepathy didn’t extend beyond her two blades, unless her cloth came into contact with skin. As his fingers came to rest on the time-worn cotton, he felt an almost jarring calm fill him.

“Do not worry so much about tomorrow. The righteous will succeed, and those who would do harm will fail. In this, we do not doubt, even if it does take time.” The sheer amount of belief she held in these thoughts was impressive, but not uncommon. Honedge were said to contain the spirit of a fallen warrior in their blades, and Lucina had thought the same way in all fourteen years Teri had known her--she would aggressively protect her “lord,” and what she believed in. In this case, she’d long ago claimed her trainer as her lord, and she believed strongly in protecting the weak.

The young man’s smile grew wider, and her patted the cloth gently before dropping his hand to the pair of Stufful curled up by his side. “Thanks Luci,” he murmured, nodding to the Doublade, which seemed to shift closer to his leg in response. At the other end of the couch, there was another shift, and a quiet groan.

“...T’resa?” a soft voice called, still heavy with sleep, and the young man had to stifle a laugh as he moved his hand from the pair of Stufful to pat his brother’s leg, hard as it was to find with half the household cuddled up around him.

“Right here, Allie. ‘Bout time to get to bed, though.” In years past, Teri had picked Alan up and taken the boy to bed himself, but his little brother was now almost as big as he was, which put a damper on things. As it was, the pile of Pokemon he rested under would have presented enough of a challenge back then as well.

“Big day’s tomorrow,” the boy agreed quietly, shifting around slowly, attempting to work himself out from under his living blanket without disturbing the Pokemon any more than necessary. Teri reached down to tap Lucina lightly, and the Doublade moved, hovering just off the floor by her trainer’s legs. “Still sure I can’t come?” the boy asked, and in the dark, Teri nodded, his smile tugging itself into more of a frown.

“Still sure. Someone has to keep watch over the house--you know not everyone listens to Alexander and Soloman, and I don’t even like going to those rallies. Sometimes people get mean.”

“Makuahina and Kim would protect me,” the boy countered, not bothering to argue that the household would be fine without him. Despite their wealth of knowledge, not every Pokemon in the house quite respected the Oranguru and Slowking that tended to be left as the secondary command in the house when Teri was away, instead holding more respect for the ten year old some of the residents had helped raise. “Who’s gonna protect you?”


“Everyone,” Teri said decisively. “Beetle will play active guard, and Lucina will be his backup, but you know no one is going to let anything happen to me. But seriously, Alan, I need you play head of household for me.” He didn’t voice the worry that tomorrow might paint a target on his back, might result in an attack on the house that he wanted the boy’s unifying presence there for. After all, the household would fight to protect Alan above all else if the need ever arose. He prayed it didn’t, and that he wouldn’t even need the help of his team, but he wasn’t capable of predicting the future.

“Fine,” Alan grumbled, though the idea of staying home clearly bothered him. At the very least, though, the boy hoped that his brother’s plan to try to recruit supporters at the Natural Order rally tomorrow worked out. If Teri succeeded in forming a proper Team, he would at the very least have more people to watch his back and help his goal of stopping the group to succeed. He just hoped that the various messages and clues they’d left in various Pokemon Centers across Alola would be enough to draw a big enough crowd of Hourglass supporters to the Natural Order rally in Hau’oli tomorrow.