Since Plasma was nowhere to be found, I decided to train my team and then fight the last gym. I was focused on training Maria, primarily, since she'd form the spearhead of the team for the gym. She loved Humilau - the climate was warm and the plants and trees were beautiful.

We explored the island caves fully, fighting trainers and the occasional Excadrill. Then we went north and explored as much as we could of Route 22, fighting trainers. I had three wild Pokemon I had caught, but I didn't want to get any new eggs yet. I couldn't shake the feeling that Plasma was somewhere around the corner, and I didn't want to have to protect three infants from them.

When Maria was level 65, I decided she was ready, so I went to train the others. "Alright, Belle, Charlotte, do you want to train now?" I asked them, while we rested under a tree in Route 22. "Only a few more levels and you'll evolve, I think."

At that, Charlotte bolted straight up, and Belle let out a little squeak. "It's that soon?" asked Charlotte, sounding unsure for the very first time. Belle shook her head wildly. "No, no, it can't be that soon! It can't be!" She gasped. She sounded close to tears.

I stared at them, bemused. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

They looked at each other, then back at me. Belle hung her head a little. "Don't...don't tell Fang." She murmured.

"Or Leon." added Charlotte. She sounded very worried.

I sat up, concerned now. "Okay. What's going on?"

Charlotte scratched at the dirt, then sighed. "You don't know much about our species, do you, Tabby gal?"

"Evolving...isn't a good thing for us." said Belle, looking away.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Hydreigon only has one head."

"What?" I frowned. "But Iris's had three!"

Belle shook her head. "No, that's a common misconception. The two smaller heads aren't heads, so to speak. They don't have minds or personalities. They're just a second set of mouths and eyes. Only one head makes it to being Hydreigon." Her voice trailed off.

I scratched my head. "I don't get it."

"It's simple, darling." said Charlotte, grimacing. "When Zweilous reach the time to evolve, then the two heads have to fight to the death."

I froze. "What?!"

Charlotte's voice sounded grim. "Only one head can survive and be the dominating head in Hydreigon. So Belle and I will have to fight each other. The head that survives becomes the one head - the head that dies becomes a hand."

"That's...that's awful." I said, stunned.

Charlotte shrugged and sighed, and Belle bit her lip. "It's nature. Hydreigon are one of the fiercest and strongest dragon types for a reason. In the wild, I wouldn't have an qualms about tearing Belle apart when the time came." She hesitated, looking at Belle. "But now...it's...different."

"We have Fang and Leon to think about." said Belle.

"And I don't mind Belle. She's a sweet girl." said Charlotte. She shook her head. "I don't know what we're going to do, honestly,when we get to the time to evolve..."

Belle mumbled sadly, "We'll just have to fight..."

"No, no." I said, shaking my head. "Why can't - I mean, I have an Everstone, you could just not evolve!"

Charlotte smiled wryly. "It's a sweet thought, Tabby, but instinct's too strong for Zweilous. Everstone or not, we're going to have to evolve when we hit that level."

"Well - for now we can just avoid it." I stood up. "I'll just...wait to train you. Wait as long as we can afford to, before you're too weak to fight." I put a hand on each of their heads. "We'll figure this out, Char, Belle. I promise."

They both smiled at me. But it was a sad smile. "It's a nice thought." said Belle softly. "Just promise us you won't tell Fang or Leon. They wouldn't take it well."

I bit my lip, and then nodded. "I promise."


Remnants (c) me
Pokemon (c) Pokemon

(I did some training, so I decided to use this opportunity to really establish our dragon gals' situation. Yep. Zweilous are awful. X'D And poor Fang and Leon! One of them will get to keep their love all to themselves, the other will be left with a memory. Not even a body to bury. Sigh. So for now, I'm avoiding training them until I really have to. And yes, I could keep them from evolving entirely in the game, but that would be such a blow to their chance in battle...I don't want to risk it. I'd rather lose one of them than both.)

Current Stats: One more update.