DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon is published and owned by Japanese video game company Nintendo, and was created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996.

For Cynthia.

Thea turned over in her bed as the sun's rays peeked through her window and across her face. Normally, she was a rather energetic little girl, but she always had a bit of trouble getting up out of bed, especially if she used up a bit too much of said energy the day before. That said, it was not as if she didn't understand the value of getting up before it got to be too late. As such, she made contingency plans for in case she slept too long. Namely, she had her computer set to start playing Justin Bieber songs at full volume in case she slept past a certain time. After a few seconds of Sorry, she immediately sat up, pulling her brunette bangs aside as she looked to the computer in annoyance.

Why did I decide on Bieber? The 10-year-old brunette wondered as she got out of bed and turned the music off. And yup, I DO have to get angry at all of your 'honesty'.

Thea looked down at her pajamas. They were a light purple with Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander heads all across them. She was about to change out of them and into clean clothes when she heard a sort of twinkling sound come from her window. Her eyes brightened as she smiled widely, recognizing that sound. She immediately ran to her window and opened up, looking around outside before glancing up just in time to spot a pink, thin tail rush up across the side of the roof.

"...I'll play with you later!" she whispered up at the roof. "I gotta get my uncle up right now!"

With that, Thea slipped on a pair of Snorlax slippers and rushed out of her room, heading downstairs to the living room. Laying on the couch, snoring loud enough to wake the neighbours, was her 25-year-old redheaded uncle, Jaros, wearing a yellow t-shirt with a black Zapdos silhouette on the front, and a pair of dark blue boxers. Like Thea, he had also set up the downstairs computer to wake him up by playing music. Unlike her, however, he was sleeping straight through it, drool running down the side of his mouth.

"Aww, c'mon!" Thea grumbled, stomping over to her uncle and shaking him hard. "Wake up! It's morning!"

Jaros groaned, opening his blue eyes to look up at his niece before turning away and falling back to sleep. Thea growled, but quickly decided on a new, much better approach, having spotted his belt nearby, which had his team's Poké Balls set along it. Grabbing one labelled with a water emblem sticker, she opened it up, causing a Poliwhirl to pop out. With a mischievous grin, Thea pointed at her sleeping uncle. Getting the idea, the Tadpole Pokémon immediately launched bubbles from the swirl on its belly at Jaros, which popped hard on him.

"BAH!" Jaros cried, jolting hard and falling off the couch. He looked up lazily at his cackling niece, quickly putting together what had just happened. "...Was that REALLY necessary?!"

"Yup," Thea quickly replied. "C'mon, you told Mom you'd babysit me while she was away representing Team Instinct for control of the St. Frederick Gym. I don't think that meant you could sleep in past me."

"Can't you at least use your own Pokémon to wake me up?" Jaros demanded. "Or have you honestly still not gone to Professor Willow to get your starter?"

"I can't pick one, okay?" Thea admitted, blushing a little. "Now c'mon and get up, or I'm gonna tell Mom you needed me to get you up in the morning."

"Alright, alright, I'm up," Jaros grumbled as he got up, staring a hole through his Poliwhirl. "...As for you, Paul E., I hope you're remembering to practise using that Bubble attack for more than just tormenting your Trainer."

The Poliwhirl, Paul E., merely shrugged in response, clearly not caring much for his Trainer's scolding. He reached down and grabbed Jaros' black fedora with a yellow and black feather stuck in the brim, handing it to him. Jaros took the hat, muttering under his breath as he flipped it in his fingers before placing it on his head.

"You and that hat," Thea said with a giggle, heading to the bathroom.

"Hey, it's stylish, retro, and the ladies love it!" Jaros replied, pulling his jeans on.

"All two or three of them?!" Thea asked before shutting the bathroom door and locking it.

Jaros growled, looking down at Paul E. "...I'd LOVE to know where that girl gets her lip from."

Paul E. once again shrugged in response, just as the sound of someone doing a very bad imitation of a Dodrio cry sounded outside. Rolling his eyes, Jaros walked to the front door and opened it, looking upon a woman a couple of years younger than him with curly raven locks. She wore purple glasses, a black t-shirt with a picture of a Pikachu dressed as a conductor, grey yoga pants, pink sneakers, and a pink jacket with a yellow Zapdos pin. A Cubone was standing beside her, waving shyly.

"...Hey, Harmony," Jaros greeted his longtime friend, rival, and fellow member of Team Instinct.

"Did I wake you?" Harmony asked.

"No, the little monster did," Jaros replied with narrowed eyes.

Harmony blinked in confusion, looking to Paul E., causing Jaros to moan a little and say, "Well, okay, technically him, but under orders from the OTHER little monster."

"Ah, Thea," Harmony guessed. "Well, you shouldn't have stayed up so late."

"You're one to talk," Jaros grumbled. "If you didn't have to challenge for control of the Loyalist City Gym yesterday, you'd have been up just as late as me."

Harmony sighed hard. "Don't remind me of that, please…"

"Aww, did you lose again?" the two heard Thea ask as she suddenly walked out from behind Jaros, still wearing her PJs.

"Hey, little cutie," Harmony greeted with a small smile, giving the girl a hug. "Yeah, Team Valor whooped me again."

"Sounds like you could use some more training," Jaros suggested, folding his arms and smirking.

Harmony returned the smirk, standing up. "Is that a challenge? What do you say we settle this after breakfast?"

Jaros nodded, punching his right fist into his left palm. "Okay, let's dance!"

About an hour later, everyone was standing in a field out front of the house. Thea had changed into an oversized white shirt with a picture of Snorlax on the front, black shorts, black knee-high socks, and white sneakers. Jaros had put on his black jacket with the words 'TEAM INSTINCT' emblazoned on the back, as well as yellow and black sneakers. He was standing to one side of the field with Paul E., while Harmony stood on the other side with her Cubone, and Thea sat on the bleachers overlooking the action. A few other people from nearby houses had come and taken seats as well, deciding to watch this battle. And, unseen by all but Thea, a single pink Pokémon watched from atop her house with great interest.

"So, how about best of six one-on-one battles?" Harmony asked. "Those are usually good for quick training bouts."

"I'm game!" Jaros exclaimed confidently, pulling a Poké Ball from his belt and tossing it in the air. "Haunt R., go for it!"

"Elebelé, c'mon out!" Harmony called, tossing a Poké Ball of her own. The two balls opened to release a Haunter on Jaros' side of the field and an Electabuzz on Harmony's. "Low Kick!"

The Electabuzz, Elebelé, ran across the field and aimed a kick for her Ghost/Poison-type opponent. However, Haunt. R merely chuckled, turning into a puff of gas momentarily and letting the kick pass right through his body before sticking his tongue out at the Electric Pokémon. In a rage, Elebelé unleashed a small burst of electricity from her body at Haunt R., catching him between the eyes and knocking him to the ground. He quickly levitated back up off the ground and desperately darted around the field as the Electabuzz kept firing Thunder Shocks while swinging her arms around madly.

"Quit playing around!" Jaros ordered. "Dark Pulse!"

Jaros' Haunter nodded, the Gas Pokémon becoming a dark mist that floated through the blades of grass along the ground. He then reformed right in front of Elebelé, dark energy gathering in his disembodied hands, and hurled the Dark-type attack right in his opponent's face. Elebelé fell onto her back, smoke coming off her dazed face as her fingers twitched. She immediately returned to her Poké Ball, which flew back into Harmony's hand.

"Darnation!" Harmony cursed before looking down to her Cubone. "Cucubo, you're up next!"

"Good job, Haunt. R," Jaros commented, recalling the Ghost before tossing out a new ball. "Okay, Bulb A., I choose you!"

Bulb A., Jaros' Bulbasaur, popped out of the Poké Ball with a confident growl, landing on all fours before Cucubo. His Ground-type opponent quickly leaped forward, skull first, looking to slam into Bulb A., but he was too quick, slapping a pair of vines out from his bulb and to the ground hard to propel himself out of the way. However, Cucubo saw this coming, scooping up some loose mud from the field with his bone and slapping it across the field beneath Bulb A. The Grass/Poison-type slid across the mud as he landed, falling hard.

"Bone Club!" Harmony shouted, causing Cucubo to charge across the field and whack the Seed Pokémon in the head with his bone as he started to get back up. Bulb A. fell back down after a few seconds, a trio of tiny Pidgey apparently flying around his head.

"Aww man, poor Bulb A.," Jaros moaned as he recalled his Bulbasaur to his Poké Ball. "Better rest that noggin of yours."

"Good job, Cucubo!" Harmony cheered, high-fiving her Cubone before looking back across the field. "Gotta do better than that!"

"Try this!" Jaros yelled, pulling another ball free and chucking it over the field. "Licky T.!"

"Poreore!" Harmony shouted, tossing a new Poké Ball as well. The two opened up to release Jaros' Lickitung, Licky T., and Harmony's Vaporeon, Poreore. Immediately, Licky T.'s giant tongue rolled out of his mouth and gave Poreore a big lick, causing the Bubble Jet Pokémon to shiver in disgust.

"Cut that out!" Jaros admonished. "Use Zen Headbutt!"

"Water Gun!" Harmony called.

Poreore quickly leaped up into the air, firing a blast of water from his mouth at Licky T. Unfortunately, the Normal-type Pokémon powered through head first as blue light poured off his skull. He then leaped up and caught the Vaporeon in the gut, causing him to flinch in pain, before wrapping the Water-Type up with his tongue and slamming him into the ground, knocking him out.

"Oh, shoot!" Harmony cried as she slapped herself in the forehead, recalling Poreore to his ball before drawing a new one. "Okay, Fabalé, it's your turn!"

Harmony threw the ball hard over the field, which opened to reveal a Clefable. The Fairy-type Pokémon landed gracefully on the field, looking ready for battle. Seeing this new opponent, Licky T. immediately tried to lick her, too, but spotting this, Jaros sent him back to his Poké Ball.

"Wiggle E., this is your fight!" Jaros determined, hurling a ball that released his Wigglytuff. "Use Pound!"

"You use Pound too, Fabalé!" Harmony ordered. The two Fairies quickly leaped toward each other, their arms glowing white, and slamming their fists together, sending off a small shock wave through the grass. Fabalé, however, was quickest to make a move afterward, slapping Wiggle E. across the face. Outraged, the Balloon Pokémon puffed up to nearly twice her size and slapped Fabalé right back. The Clefable then returned this by jumping up and grabbing her opponent by the hair and shoving her face down into the ground.

"Uh oh…" Jaros muttered, watching as his Wigglytuff suddenly began turning red. She then leaped up and tackled Fabalé to the ground, dust coming up around the two as they started fighting wildly. However, this only lasted for a few seconds, as Wiggle E. was knocked back by a pink blast of energy from Fabalé and sent tumbling back across the field, almost colliding with Paul E. next to Jaros.

"Yay!" Harmony exclaimed, high fiving her Clefable before both gave the peace sign. "Who's top Fairy?!"

Wiggle E. puffed up hard, getting back up to stomp over to the two, but Jaros and Paul E. immediately leaped in to hold her back. "Whoa, Wiggle, better sit this one out!"

Letting herself deflate a bit, Wiggle E. returned to her Poké Ball, just as Fabalé returned to hers. Harmony then sent out a new Pokémon: A Pidgeot which flew over the field confidently. Thinking this over, Jaros selected one of the balls on his belt and tossed it out over the field, sending out a Hypno which was sitting cross-legged. He then sat up and let a pendulum drop from his left fist.

"Hypen O., bring it down with Confusion!" Jaros ordered, to which the Psychic-type held up his pendulum as it glowed red and created a red outline across the Pidgeot's body, dragging her down to the ground.

"Eotto, Steel Wing!" Harmony shouted. Hearing this, her Bird Pokémon let the Confusion attack drag her down as her wings glowed a sort of metallic grey. Using this momentum, she slammed her wings hard into Hypen O.'s gut, shoving him backward hard before he righted himself with his psychic powers while Eotto took off back into the air.

"Shadow Ball!" Jaros roared. Hypen O. nodded, dropping his pendulum and bringing his hands together to his side as a black ball of energy with purple crackles of electricity formed between his palms. He then sent his hands forward, launching the Shadow Ball hard at Eotto.

"Use Air Cutter!" Harmony yelled, Eotto flapping her wings and releasing a light blue X of energy that cut straight through the Shadow Ball and hit Hypen O. hard, knocking him out. "Yes, right on the button!"

"Oy, that's gonna need a Revive later…" Jaros noted, recalling his fallen Psychic-type to his ball.

"Down to our last Pokémon," Harmony noted, returning Eotto to her ball before drawing her final Pokémon's Poké Ball. "Bring home the win, Melelon!"

Harmony tossed the ball, sending out her Charmeleon, who stood confidently in the middle of the field. Recognizing this as his fight, Paul E. immediately ran out into the field, raising both fists. Melelon made the first attack, swiping his claws at the Tadpole Pokémon, who managed to block the attacks with his large gloves. Melelon then swung his blazing tail, sending out embers to burn the Poliwhirl, but Paul E. was just able to duck under it. He then leaped backward, firing shots of mud from his gloves that smacked Melelon hard.

"Use Flamethrower!" Harmony ordered.

Melelon smiled deviously, taking in a deep breath as the flame on his tail grew brighter. He then wheezed out a huge column of fire at Paul E., who held up his gloves to try and block the attack. Nonetheless, he was still getting scorched hard.

"Power through with Bubble Beam!" Jaros shouted, Poliwhirl dropping his hands and releasing a beam of light blue bubbles from the swirl on his stomach. The bubbles shot through the flames, putting them out, before smacking into Melelon, knocking him back across the field end over end. Finally, the Fire-type stopped on his back in front of his Trainer, his eyes spinning around and around.

"Nice going, Paul E.!" Jaros cheered before a thought struck him like a brick to the side of the head. "...Hey, wait, who won?"

Harmony recalled Melelon to his Poké Ball as she wondered the same. "Well, we both won three battles each...I guess it's a tie?"

Jaros nodded. "I guess so. Man, you're getting tougher all the time. Guess I need to keep it up too, or I'm gonna get left in the dust."

"Well, at least the crowd enjoyed the battle," Harmony pointed out, looking over at the bleachers as the people watching applauded, only to notice one particular absentee. "...Hey, where'd Thea go?!"

Jaros' eyes shot wide open. "Gah! Oh man, I was supposed to be keeping an eye on her! Where'd she go?!"

"I think I saw her head around the bush over there!" one of the neighbours yelled, hiking a thumb to some bushes a few yards to his left.

"Thanks!" Jaros yelled back, running over to the bushes with Paul E., Harmony, and Cucubo right behind him. Within a few seconds, he spotted Thea sitting on the ground. "There you are! Why'd you take off like tha-"

Jaros' jaw dropped at what he saw, as did Harmony's when she came up from behind him. It was as if reality had taken the first bus out of town, and they were now left looking into the realm of Bizarro World. For there, just a couple of feet from them, was Thea… … ...playing with a Mew.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: ...So I should probably make something clear from the get-go: This is a story I wrote for my 10-year-old niece right around the time of her birthday. So if for any reason this story feels a little lacking compared to some of my other work, that is why. Also, because it was late enough as it was, some of the ideas got condensed. I suppose I could've made the one posted here a sort of 'writer's cut' version, but I opted to post it as is for now, and if I ever decide to do a revamped, extended version for the story later on on my blog or wherever, that'll be then.

Other than that, you might recognize the characters of Jaros and Harmony from my abandoned X & Y fanfic (abandoned because I ultimately lost interest AND the rest of what I was going to write at some point). I decided to reuse them here since they were loosely based off of myself and N. Harmonik, just like how Thea is based off of my niece, and one or two additional characters who show up in the future will be based off of real life people as well.

I decided to take some liberties with how Pokémon Go works in terms of battles. Specifically, they don't need to wait around quite as much for their charge-up moves, and they aren't stuck with just a single one of the standard attacks, instead being able to use any standard attack they can learn in Go. So, for example, Poliwhirl can use Bubble AND Mud Shot along with his charge-up move.

Lastly, yes, I HAVE played Pokémon Go. It's alright, but it just isn't for me, though that's partly because I don't have a data plan for my phone, so I pretty much had to leech data from N. Harmonik whenever we went out to play the game. Otherwise, a major issue of mine is, as you can guess from what I talked about above, the battle system. I get that it's likely meant to be simplified for the sake of people who either didn't play the main games or wanted a new experience (or for memory restraints, who can really say), but the thing is, I DO play the main games, and frankly, I still prefer to play them over the side games. Not to say the side games are bad, mind you, I've found at least a few I've been able to enjoy, but most of them just aren't for me. I might give it another chance when trading and/or more Pokémon and modes are added, but for now, it's just not my thing. But, with that said, I'm glad people are enjoying it, and I hope the game continues to improve.

Anyway, check in next time when Jaros and Harmony learn more about Thea's little secret, right before their world turns upside down. Ja né!