Swanna Song, Sung Throughout Sinnoh

A Friend Like Ben

"Gary, you're doing quite wonderfully," Prof. Cynthia said. "You have some great new Pokemon, so please feel free to transfer as needed. And please let me know what you come upon in Canalave City."

Despite being a lot, lot older than him, Gary couldn't help checking out such a beautiful woman. From her black, button up shirt, Gary could see some of her pale skin between a couple of buttons. As he nodded and smiled, rubbing at his face shyly and lowering his face, he wondered how good his attempts to hide what he was secretly doing were. "I will, and thanks again for all you're doing, Prof. Cynthia," Gary told her, returning his gaze to her only revealed eye, the other one hidden behind her long, flowing, dull-blonde hair with silver streaks. "I'm gonna need to call Prof. Sketchit to see what's up with my other Pokemon."

"Yes, and let me know how they are doing, too!" Prof. Cynthia's eye closed with pleasure.

"Will do! Speak to you soon!"

The screen went blue and after that, Gary held the receiver and punched in a different number. He held the receiver to his ear, listening to the ringing.

It wasn't long before the screen revealed...Kiwi! From behind her glasses with a blue tint on the lenses, she stared out blandly. "So you're back. Congratulations."

"Uh... For...? Wait..."

"Yes?" Kiwi stared at Gary.

"You saw me on Sinnoh Now...?"

"Yes."

"Already?"

"Yes."

"But I just did the interview!"

"And I just saw it."

Gary sighed impatiently. Kiwi was always a bit of a smart-mouth, but Gary wasn't used to such monotone sass from her.

"Anyway, that must have been a tough match. What did you use?"

"Uuuuh... Weeellll..." Gary thought out loud. "I had my... Scizor, Fashioned. My Dustox and then... an Electivire." Gary hoped Kiwi wouldn't press on any further.

Kiwi stared at Gary and blinked once. "Interesting," was all she said.

"Yeah," Gary said quickly before Kiwi could continue. "Hey, I have some questions, man. You hung up on me before I could even ask! What's up with my Pokemon? How's Charizard, Ivysaur, Weepinbell, Dugtrio, and Kingdra?"

Kiwi nodded. "Actually, me and Prof. Sketchit are just finishing some tests. They're mostly all fine, but Charizard did take a lot more damage. He's also very stubborn, just like you. He wants to get back to you and we're trying to let him know that the more difficult he makes things, the longer it's gonna take to get back to you. But he doesn't listen. Just like you."

Gary sucked his teeth and frowned at her, huffing out angrily.

"Not to worry. By the time you get to your next Gym, I suspect we'll have them all transfered over to Prof. Cynthia for ya."

Gary finally smiled. "That's great! How is Prof. Sketchit? I never see him anymore."

"If I weren't here, you wouldn't get your calls answered," Kiwi replied. "He's busier than ever, you know."

Gary kept quiet, feeling tears build up in his eyes.

"Any word on the monster? Or June?" Kiwi asked.

Gary's eyes widened and he put away his tears. He shook his head sharply. "No, nothing..."

"I'm sorry, Gary."

He just nodded. "Yeah."

"I didn't ask about it the last time you called. I was trying to read your situation, first. How you were doing. I'm sure you've been pummeled with enough about her, and your own stresses. I didn't want to add anything to such a sensitive matter."