Chapter Text
Saijou Claudine would never forgive herself for giving Maya her number. After a particularly heated battle, she'd insisted Maya take it so she could call her up and demand a rematch whenever she wanted. Unfortunately, it hadn't yet been used for that purpose. Instead, Maya had called Claudine every so often, usually to chat, but sometimes to trade. Maya didn't have anyone to trade with, so the amount of Haunters, Slowpokes and Seadras that had changed hands between her and that terrible woman was slowly driving Claudine insane. She knew she shouldn't even accept the trades - it was only making Maya stronger to evolve her Pokémon for her - but Claudine was always won over by her smiling face.
The last time Maya had called her, though, the Scyther she'd sent over had given Claudine a letter after it had finished evolving. Maya had left her with a wink and hung up before she could even open the thing, and that only spelt bad news. Written on Mosaic Mail, an utterly hideous choice, the letter itself had been an invitation to dinner. Needless to say, Claudine had definitely screwed it up and thrown it in the bin. After admiring Maya's handwriting, though. She'd sworn, at that moment, to never accept another call from her.
So, why had she picked up this one?
"Good morning, Claudine." Maya smiled through the receiver, then stopped to take a sip of whatever herbal tea she'd made herself. So casual , as if she had no idea what she was doing. Claudine was tempted to smash the screen, but then she wouldn't be able to turn the thing off, either. "I trust it's a good day in Alola," Maya was in her living room, looking enviously comfortable as she leant into the creases of a sofa. The room had been redecorated since Claudine had been there last, and was now wearing it's Autumn skin - soft browns and reds, and lots of blankets for Maya's poor circulation. "It certainly is in Sinnoh." Whilst it was mid-evening for Claudine, the bright, perky light of the afternoon filled Maya's side of the call.
Claudine's shoulders relaxed as Maya reminded her of the considerable distance between them. "So?" She got straight to the point, hardly wanting to go through the formalities with Maya. "What is it this time? I already told you I shan't be trading with you, anymore. Not after that stunt." Just remembering it made Claudine crunch a lump of the chocolate bar she was eating between her teeth, startling the Tailow that she had perched on her shoulder.
Maya laughed as she recalled it. "I didn't expect you to like it so much you'd put in on your fridge." She practically cackled, however, as Claudine whipped around to her fridge to find Maya had tricked her. Maya was making record time at pissing her off. "I can see you're tired, so I'll cut to the chase, Claudine." As Maya said Claudine's name, her Umbreon padded up to the camera, throwing himself onto Maya's shoulder and peering into the camera. "Oh, it looks like someone wants to say hi!" Maya moved out of the way to let her Umbreon yip and yap at the pixelated Claudine. To be honest, she didn't mind it; Maya's Umbreon was much more approachable than her trainer. The 99th class had all been given Eevees as their graduation gift, so she felt an odd companionship with the feline. "It's been so long since Umbreon and Espeon have had a playdate, hasn't it?"
"I'm not about to fly across the planet to let our Eevees cuddle." Claudine groaned, amazed Maya would even try to make such an excuse. "Surely you called me for a better reason." Claudine spied her Espeon looking about the kitchen with an odd look in it's eyes. Surely, it hadn't sensed she was talking to Maya's Umbreon? Claudine hoped not, it'd only make matters worse; she could say no to Maya, but she certainly couldn't say no to her own Pokémon.
"I did, yes." Maya's face switched back to a more serious expression in an instant, all business and less of her usual brashness. "I actually have a request to make of you." Maya waited for Claudine's answer, but after a few seconds had passed in silence, she realised Claudine wouldn't be saying a word until Maya had spelled out exactly what it was that she wanted. "I recently caught a Deino."
Claudine knew exactly where this was going. "I'm not flying out there to fight it, either." Deinos and Zweilous were known as violent, aggressive Pokémon, to the point that even their two heads fought, and Claudine didn't want any of her Pokémon having to face it.
"No, no," Maya's grip on her receiver grew a bit stronger as she sensed Claudine was about to hang up. "I managed to evolve it into a Zweilous with minimal trouble ," Something about that sounded like a lie. "But now I need your help to tame it; the two heads are too busy fighting to give me the time of day." Maya sighed, a flash of fatigue breaking out across her face. "Your competition Pokémon are so well behaved, I'm sure you could work wonders with her."
Whilst she appreciated the compliment, Claudine's shoulders dropped; this wasn't much better. Either have her Pokémon get bitten by an infamously bad-tempered Pokémon, or let herself get bitten. "Haven't you called Mahiru? Or Nana? I'm sure they'd be happier to help out."
"I would, but Mahiru is dealing with Karen and Hikari," Maya's expression became uncomfortable. Hikari had gone missing again , and Karen was staying at Mahiru's whilst they searched. Suspicions were that she'd followed a Nihilego into the Ultra Dimension. Claudine just hoped she wouldn't be trapped in there for seven months, like last time. "and Nana is already here."
On cue, Nana popped into frame with Slurpuff on her shoulder, both of them beaming. It was nice to see Nana well, and Tailow agreed, chirping contentedly at the image of Nana's face. "Hey, Claudine!" Nana's expression quickly became less giddy as she recalled the events of the last few days in Alola, with Maya and Zweilous. "Yeah, Maya isn't lying. We really need some help down here. Zweilous is just biting everything." It had probably been a bad decision to bring Slurpuff considering, but Nana didn't go anywhere without her little baker-friend. Now that Claudine thought about it, it had probably been a request from Maya. "I'm afraid she'll eat Slurpuff..."
"I'm sure it learnt that from Maya." Claudine got her first laugh of the day. Maya really needed her. It was satisfying enough to make her want to go, just to see how dire the situation really was. She always welcomed a challenge, after all. "Fine. You're paying for my flight, though."
“But of course.” Maya’s expression melted as Claudine gave in to her demands.
"By the way," Nana began just before Claudine hung up. "How is the charm working?" Nana was still smiling, but she looked a bit worried.
"Badly." Claudine admitted, falling back into the plush of her armchair as Espeon finally found what she'd been looking for. Settling on Claudine's shoulders, it wrapped it's tail around Claudine's neck and looked at the screen quizzically, perhaps trying to calm her down. "It showed up again last night." Claudine had been preyed on by a Shuppet for the last few months, and whilst it hadn't hurt her, she knew exactly why it kept showing up.
"Oh," Nana pouted, probably sadder that Junna's charm hadn't worked than she was for Claudine. "Maybe you'll find one in Sinnoh when you come visit? I hear Celestic Town is good with spirits."
Claudine made a note of it in her head, but she knew what would work even better: a win in a Hearthome City contest, and a soak in a spa in the Resort Area. As she figured out the details of her trip - with hopefully as little Tendou Maya as possible - Claudine began to look forward to it.
"I'll send your tickets over in a moment, Claudine." Maya took the phone back from Nana. "I look forward to seeing the master in action."
With that, the line went dead, and Claudine couldn't help but feel robbed of the chance to hang up. She dropped her phone to her side and took a breath, finding she was spent after dealing with Maya. Espeon hopped off her shoulders to sniff the phone, still curious as to how exactly she'd just seen her friends through it, and Claudine took the chance to have a drink. She was always left thirsty by Maya's unannounced calls, having to over-exert her vocal chords with social acrobatics, or forcing her tone to stay amicable.
Maya stuck to her word, though; the tickets had been in Claudine's inbox in a few minutes. First class, and departing tomorrow. Tomorrow?! Is she trying to kill me? Saijou Claudine had never had less than a week to prepare for a vacation. Dumping half a bottle of soda in the bin, she darted up the stairs with half a plan already in her head.
Nonetheless, Claudine was on the plane when it departed. She wasn't about to show herself up infront of Maya, even if it was preparing for a holiday. Along with her Espeon, as promised, that sat across from her in a special Pokémon-sized seat, Claudine had brought a small team consisting of her Raichu - having been brought up in Alola, Raichu hadn't had much of a chance to see the outside world; her Delcatty - in case her holiday went as planned; and her Tyrantrum - in case her holiday didn't.
As for her packing situation, she'd given up shortly after realising all this rushing and hurrying would just make her look flustered and unprepared in front of Maya. So, instead, she decided to simply buy everything she needed upon arrival at Sinnoh, and turn the situation on it's head. And Maya would be carrying her new wardrobe, whether she liked it or not. Claudine might not be as rich as Kaoruko - Arceus knows how she gets all that money - but Claudine wasn't a stranger to splashing out every once in a while. Especially if it was to impress someone.
In truth, she was eager to get into her holiday. Sinnoh's cities and forests were a nice change of pace to the beaches and tourist traps of Alola, and even if it was terribly cold in Sinnoh all year round, there was more than enough fun to merit a trip. The first time she'd come to Sinnoh, however, she'd expected it to at least be warm in the summer, and had ended up having to borrow jumpers from Maya's drawers. This time around, though, Claudine was more than prepared, having gone as far as to buy winter coats for Espeon and Delcatty on the way to the airport. After all, if a trainer's Pokémon weren't happy, then neither were they. Able to forget about the daunting tasks ahead of her - both of them - Claudine relaxed into her first class seat, closing her eyes and instinctively reaching out a hand for Espeon's chin.
Maybe it was the change from the stuffy, filtered air of the plane to Sinnoh's fresh atmosphere, but Claudine always seemed to taste something different in the air when she arrived in a new region. Well, perhaps it was the smell of Tendou Maya. Espeon could certainly smell something, judging from the way it's head darted about. Enjoying itself too much with the new setting, it was too distracted to even get into it's Pokéball for inspection. Eventually, though, it obeyed and hopped inside, and Claudine was able to hand them over to the clerk: A moon ball, a premier ball, and two normal pokéballs. Everything was going as expected.
What Claudine hadn't expected, though, was to find Nana and Maya in the main parlor, holding a sign, almost a banner, that read 'Saijou Claudine, Welcome to Sinnoh!', in Maya's perfect serif. They couldn't have just waited for her like normal people. Claudine had been too jetlagged to respond with her usual venom, accepting the bearhug from Nana, and almost one from Maya's Goodra, too; thankfully, she'd demanded Maya to call it off before it ruined her clothes.
"Allow me to be the first to welcome you back to Sinnoh, Claudine." Maya smiled, wrapping an arm around Goodra without a second thought. She appeared to be sporting some stylish goo-resistant leather jacket, however. She always loved to show off the kind of high-tech gear only a Champion could afford. "My house in Canalave is a short way from here," Maya eyed Claudine, seeing she wasn't accompanied by any suitcases and making the only logical assumption. "Unless you'd like to make a stop somewhere, first."
Claudine's little scheme to impress Maya with her frivolous spending hadn't gone quite to plan. Sure, Maya had held the clothes she bought, and Nana had applauded her fashion sense at every chance, but Claudine was far too tired to even pretend to be smug about it. Even Espeon seemed exhausted from the four-hour flight, choosing to nestle into Nana's warm arms instead of follow after Claudine like usual. And after a light lunch, the three and their Pokémon departed for Maya's apartment.
Canalave city was certainly the prettiest part of Sinnoh - that was what Claudine thought, at least. As a port town, it had fresh, salty air that tasted like Alola, and elegant architecture that made the most of the limited space. From the soft grey of the cobblestone streets to the rich blue of the ocean, Canalave was at the pinnacle of the modern fashionings of the Sinnoh region. The city gave Claudine a moment of pause and peace, and she found she was able to enjoy spending time with Tendou Maya.
"So, where is it?" Claudine had expected Maya's apartment to be a wreck, torn up and bitten to pieces by Zweilous, but it was closer to the opposite. Exactly as it had appeared over the phone, the colours were far more vibrant in person, and the late-evening lamplight shining through the bay window gave it all a soft, romantic atmosphere. Maya's Umbreon lay on it's back in the windowsill, and her Lickilicky was enjoying a snack on the sofa, hopping off of guiltily it as soon as it caught sight of it's trainer. Claudine had been hoping to get to work, but the sleepy mood of Maya's house had only made her weariness worse.
"You really think I'd keep her in my own house?" Maya strolled across the room and threw herself down on the sofa, her arms tired from a day of carrying Claudine's new wardrobe around. "She doesn't like being kept in her Pokéball, either, so I had a friend in Oreburgh look after her. Currently, I imagine she's on pest control duty." Maya didn't seem to malign having the Pokémon she was trying to calm down be used as pest control. Maybe she saw it as a form of anger management. "We'll start work tomorrow. As your host, I could hardly force you to go out and work so soon after arriving." Throwing her feet up, Maya's Gliscor dropped down from the ceiling and glided down onto her stomach, almost giving Claudine a heart-attack. As Maya began to pet what was essentially a bat, Claudine wondered how she could enjoy scratching the Pokémon's chitin like that.
"Tomorrow?" Claudine didn't know what to do with herself. She'd been a guest in Maya's house plenty of times, but Maya had never acted so lax around her. Perhaps it was Nana's influence, or maybe she was genuinely tired. Claudine's Espeon wasn't feeling the same hesitance, though, having trotted over to Umbreon and collapsed onto them as soon as they'd met eyes.
Neither was Nana, who had taken to cuddling Lickilicky as soon as they’d arrived, grooming the tuft of hair on his head affectionately. The pink pillow wasn’t much of a replacement for Junna, but Claudine doubted that mattered to her anymore.
“I couldn’t force my guest to work so soon after arriving.” Maya offered Claudine the spot next to her, just before it was taken by Nana’s Aipom, who had been dutifully ‘looking after the house’ for them. Maya tried to wrestle them out of her friend’s spot, but Aipom stayed put, probably waiting for a treat for it’s ‘hard work’.
Still standing in the portal to Maya's living room, her arms full of shopping, Claudine found it hard to relax. But, when Espeon - and Umbreon, for that matter - returned to their trainer and curled around her feet, she couldn't help but loosen up. "Tomorrow, then. Have you had any success with her so far?" She followed Espeon across the carpet and towards one of the cream beanbags Maya had piled up in the corner and dumped herself on it - she wasn’t so cruel she’d steal a seat from Nana’s Aipom. The two cats piled on top of her, and she felt immediately at home.
"Success...?" Maya fiddled with her lip as her Bagon emerged unannounced from inside the pile of beanbags Claudine had just chosen to sit at. It came and threw itself onto Maya's lap instead; a much softer place than where they'd just been, half-crushed under Claudine. "I can't say we've had anything even close to success. If anyone gets near her, she bites them. And if no-one is nearby, her heads just bite each other." Maya hated to admit it, but she was at a loss. Running her hands across the ribs of her Bagon’s bony forehead, a pensive look crossed Maya’s face as she considered the task in front of them.
"Do you even need to tame her, though?" Claudine asked, her hands fully occupied with stroking and petting. At some point, Nana’s Sylveon had escaped it’s Pokéball and joined the group, now competing with the other two fluff-balls for the attention of Claudine’s hands. "You'll evolve her to a Hydreigon, and then she'll only have one head. Problem solved." She hadn't been expecting the spiteful look Maya had shot back.
"Whilst you’re certainly correct,” Maya began, lifting her Bagon up to eyeline and examining the way he wriggled about playfully in her grasp. “At that point, Hydreigon would be too far gone to befriend. I want all of my Pokémon to be my friends; that’s when they’re at their strongest." That Maya loved her Pokémon, and wanted them to love her too, was evident from how well Maya treated the rest of her Pokémon. Whether it was keeping her Lickilicky as well-fed as herself, or investing in a special jacket so she could give her Goodra a hug, Maya didn't make any compromise. "If I can't get along with my Zweilous, then I shall simply release her." For a Champion, Maya was an exemplary trainer - to reach so high whilst keeping hold of her ideals was something to respect in itself. "So, I want to at least try to reach her. Do you understand, Claudine?" She placed Bagon back on the sofa, sitting back as he crawled back onto her thighs.
"Can't you just catch a Ditto, and have it turn into a Hydreigon instead? It'd be easier than this charade , either way." Although Claudine could only approach Maya's insistence with reluctance, she understood why it was necessary.
Her own Tyrantrum had been a challenge, but after years of working together, they'd become friends. Whilst they were a bit too big to play with, the way the eight-foot beast obeyed Claudine's instructions told her they at least had a begrudging respect for her. Nana seemed to have the best method of them all, though; she made sure to only befriend the cuddliest, friendliest Pokémon around, and it worked for her.
"Well, looks like I've got my work cut out for me." Claudine didn't dare ask herself again why she was doing this, because she was sure the reason would be lost on her. A challenge? Impressing Tendou Maya? Right now, all Claudine wanted was a nap.
It seemed she'd gotten her wish; Claudine awoke a short while later, buried under assorted Pokémon, and Nana too, somehow. Waking up, she almost forgot where she was - had the last twelve hours been a fever dream? As much as Claudine might have hoped that was true, it certainly wasn't. And to confirm those fears, Tendou Maya entered her vision, plates of confectionary in her hands, and Nana's Slurpuff on her shoulder. Claudine had no idea how that Slurpuff contributed to baking, but they had a perfect track record, so far.
"You looked awfully comfortable, Claudine." Maya laughed as she came over, reminding Claudine that she had, in fact, been asleep and defenseless in Tendou Maya's house. "I would've joined you, but Slurpuff had a better idea." Thank goodness.
Gingerly moving the still-asleep Pokémon off of her, Claudine managed to stand without waking any of them, including Nana. The darkness outside didn't give her any idea what time it was, but she was sure it was that awkward part of the evening where you couldn't just turn in for the night, especially after just having a nap. She stretched her back and mentally prepared herself for a good few hours alone with Maya. "Nice place you've got here. I never knew you had an eye for interior decorating." Sitting across from Maya, she eyed the sweets her host had made - along with poffins of every flavour was a set of mathematically perfect doughnuts. Claudine was half-tempted to take one, but she would rather have waited for Maya to start. Gliscor had already taken more than it's fair share of the poffins, having swooped down and plucked it's favorites without any hesitation. It might have been coincidence, but most of Maya's Pokémon seemed just as gluttonous as their trainer. They landed next to Maya as she sat down, stuffing a poffin in it’s mouth and giving it’s trainer an approving look - Claudine imagined that was what approval looked like at least, coming from a creature like that.
"I'd accept the compliment," Maya took one of the sweets and popped it into her mouth after staring it down, reassuring Claudine that they were safe to eat with a blissful grin. "But I've got nothing to do with it. Yachiyo came around, and I accidentally left her alone for a few hours. It does look quite nice, though, doesn't it? I'll have to thank her, after all." Picking Slurpuff off her shoulder and carefully placing them next to her, Maya patted the ball of fluff on the head and fed them a peach-colored poffin of thanks.
Claudine crossed her legs and sat back, easing into the flow of the conversation. "You ought to be careful around her, Maya. You know how obsessed she is with Akira." Tsuruhime Yachiyo was a woman Claudine knew painfully well; if she wasn't chasing Yukishiro Akira across Unova, then she was having her Gallade trounce Claudine in every beauty competition across the globe. Picturing her dallying about the very same room she was in, rearranging the furniture and dressing the floor stung Claudine in the neck.
"What, are you afraid of her stealing me away?" Maya chuckled, picking Slurpuff up again and placing them on her lap, treating them more like a cushion than a Pokémon. If she'd been awake, Nana would surely have objected to seeing her Pokémon being squeezed every which way. Slurpuff didn't have any qualms, though, still wearing that dogged smile, even whilst it was compressed to a pinprick.
"It's for your own safety." Claudine huffed, her Espeon slinking into her arms, still half-asleep. Their head bobbed against Claudine's arm as they eyed the plate of poffins hungrily, too sleepy to bother hopping onto the table to take one. "You can never tell what she's planning." Claudine was entirely convinced that that was the truth. Yachiyo had slim eyes and a permanent smirk; she couldn't help but keep her distance. Espeon bumped it's head against their trainer's stomach insistently, and Claudine gave in and handed her a poffin. As with many of her Pokémon, they were terribly spoilt.
As they all enjoyed their snacks, human and Pokémon both, the air grew uncomfortably silent. Whilst Maya didn’t seem to mind - one look at her could tell you she was more than distracted by the doughnuts she’d just cooked for herself - Claudine wasn’t the same. She wracked her brain for some small-talk. “So, Maya,” She hated the off-handed tone of voice. “How’s the life of a champion?” Having earned the title not too long ago, Maya was now ‘enjoying’ a small period of downtime, and trying to think of what to do next.
“Hm?” Maya didn’t respond immediately, too caught up in choosing her next mouthful of pastry. Collecting herself, she recalled what Claudine had just been talking about. “How’s life as a contest champion?” She turned the question around on Claudine.
“The same it’s always been.” She, too, had reached a comfortable peak in her career. And even though the tastes of the public, and the judges, always changed, Claudine seemed to stay on top. That was, at least, if Yachiyo wasn’t involved. But whilst Claudine might have found her match, Maya had been left with no-one to challenge her; even Claudine’s Pokémon practically crumpled under Maya’s team, much to the girl’s chagrin. “But you can’t play this game with me, Maya. I asked first.”
Maya huffed in response, unusually put off. “You know exactly how it’s going.” Sighing softly, her Gliscor seemed to notice it’s trainer’s melancholy and squeaked in response, earning a cuddle for its concern. “Frankly, I’m bored.”
Claudine had guessed as much. “And this Zweilous, it’s supposed to be a challenge?” Maya obviously hated being seen through so thoroughly, throwing what was at least a handful of sweets down her throat and refusing to meet Claudine’s eyes. “So I’m right.”