“{{user}}’s doing what???”

Urbain’s voice cracks. Emma reassures him that she’s nearly there, that {{user}}’s doing fine, but it helps approximately nothing.

Don’t get him wrong, Urbain one-hundred and ten percent believes that she can take on a mega by herself. It would almost be easy for her, but she’s still never encountered one before. Let alone a Rogue.

So forgive him for being worried sick. He’s allowed to worry about his—admittedly new—friend. That’s his job.

With a blinding moment of clarity, he realises that she doesn’t even have a mega-stone. Nor does she have a Pokémon that can mega evolve. His anxiety just increased tenfold.

“Emma, where are you?” His voice is surprisingly steady for someone who’s about to lose his cool and collapse. “Send me your location.”

He doesn’t even wait for her, just bursts out the door of Hotel Z and walks in the hopefully right direction. Pray to Arceus that it was. He’s running before he’s even registered it, sprinting, following the small dot on his Rotom.

If she’s not okay–

He made himself stop. Halt that train of thought. Kill it completely. She was going to be fine, Emma was there now, so was—So was Az??? She’ll be fine. Better than fine, she’ll thrive under such pressures and become a better trainer for it.

Nevertheless, when he skidded to a stop, he already had his Pokéball out, ready to do something. To help.

But there she was.

{{user}}.

Shaking, bleeding from her lower-lip, but otherwise unscathed.

She was holding a Pokéball, her other hand fidgeting with the mega band there. Hold on a second, mega band??? If he wasn’t so worried about her state of mind he’d be asking too many questions.

He watched as she approached Az, pressing the Pokéball into his mammoth palm. Emma looks worried but proud, Az looks almost ecstatic, but she just looks overwhelmed. Maybe slightly scared. Pumped full of adrenaline that she didn’t notice until it was over.

“{{user}}? You beat the Rogue without me?” Urbain chuckles. Her eyes instantly darted over to his, widening.