2:00 PM

"I beg your pardon?" Grandma Kristy said in disbelief.

Both Miranda and Roselia, who were helping Maylene's grandmother stock shelves in the pharmacy, stared at Maylene in incredulity at the accusation that had come out of her mouth moments ago. The Pokémon seemed especially surprised.

Maylene was stunned herself: her head was still reeling from the revelation that she'd put together, a revelation that had brought her back here, to PokePharm, accusing her grandmother of a crime she didn't want to believe she committed.

"Our sports drinks," Maylene said, her voice growing high with anger. Panic. "You poisoned them. And...and then Lucario, Meditite, Machoke...they drank the drinks, and-"

"Have you lost your mind?" Fury heated Grandma Kristy's voice as she rose up to her full height; behind her, Roselia looked up at Maylene in bewilderment. "How dare you come into my store and hurl these wild, unfounded accusations at me!"

"Lucario is dying," Maylene said, trying not to yell. "So are Meditite and Machoke. Because you poisoned them." She forced herself to stare up at her furious grandmother. "Because of you, Grandma."

"Miranda, call the police," Kristy snapped at Maylene's sister. "Have them escort this lunatic out of my store."

But before Miranda could move over to the phone, the pharmacy doors opened again, admitting Uncle Robert, Benji, Max, and Damian inside, sweat pouring down their faces, no doubt thanks to the exhausting run over.

"Maylene, you okay?" Max asked. "You left so suddenly."

"Robert, get Maylene out of my store!" Kristy snarled. "She comes in here raving about how I poisoned her Pokémon, and I won't stand for it. Get her out. Now!"

"It's true!" Maylene said, pointing down to Roselia. "Nurse Joy said one of the Pokémon that can secrete a poison that toxic is a Roselia! It makes sense!"

Everyone looked up at Grandma Kristy, and her face turned red with fury as she cried, "How dare you! Neither I nor Roselia poisoned your pathetic Pokémon!" She pointed to the door. "Leave. NOW!"

"Kristy." Robert's voice was placating. "All three of our poisoned Pokémon drank from the sports drinks we ordered from your store. Nurse Joy confirmed their toxicity."

"W-what?" Grandma Kristy's face slackened in shock- genuine shock.

"She said that the drinks had high concentrations of cadmium ions," Benji snarled, his face contorting in anger.

Grandma Kristy shook her head. "No, no, no... I...I didn't do it. I didn't poison your Pokémon!" Her face went pale, enough to put Maylene in doubt. What if Grandma Kristy was telling the truth?

But then who...?

Maylene glanced over at Roselia, who was standing behind Grandma Kristy, trembling. "Roselia," she said. "Did you taint the drinks?"

The grass-type Pokémon ducked further behind Kristy, who said, "Leave her out of this. She's done nothing wrong."

"She's a poison-type Pokémon who has access to the sports drinks we order from this shop," Uncle Robert said. "I say she's a suspect."

"Roselia," Maylene said, her voice pleading, "please. I just want to know the truth. I won't get mad. But I have to know." Roselia's trembling increased as Maylene said, "Did you poison our sports drinks?"

After a long minute, Roselia nodded.

"W-what?" Grandma Kristy cried.

"Stop playing the fool!" Max roared. "So you did try to kill our Pokémon!"

"N-no, I didn't!" Kristy protested. "I swear!"

Maylene glanced down at Roselia again. "Roselia, did Grandma Kristy make you poison the drinks?"

Trembling fiercely, Roselia shook her head, surprising all of them.

"Wait, she didn't?" Damian asked. Roselia shook her head again. "Then who?"

Roselia clung to Grandma Kristy as she slowly turned, glancing at someone who'd been, thus far, remained silent. Someone who scowled at Roselia as everyone turned to look at her.

"Miranda," Maylene gasped.

--

"Guilty," Miranda said, shrugging.

"Wh-what, Miranda?" Grandma Kristy said, looking floored. "You...you made Roselia...?"

Miranda shrugged. "It was easy- did you know that Roselias are terrified of blowtorches?"

Grandma Kristy's face reddened in fury. "You little-"

Maylene held an arm out, preventing her grandmother from lunging for Miranda. "Sister," she said, her voice weak. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Miranda snapped. After a long minute, she sneered, "You never were the smart one."

"The gym," Uncle Robert said suddenly. "This is about the gym, isn't it?"

Maylene turned back to her sister, alarmed. "W-what?"

"It was a mistake, Dad giving you the gym," Miranda snarled. "Do you even know how long I waited for him to announce me as the gym's heir? How much I wanted it? And then, when the lawyers finally crack open his will, I find out that skinny, weak little Maylene would be running this family's largest inheritance?" She shook her head sadly. "Dad must've been drinking something when he wrote that into the will. So I came to the decision that something had to be done."

"So you decided to poison our Pokémon?" Maylene cried, still reeling in disbelief. She couldn't believe this- she'd known that Miranda was spiteful, jealous that Maylene had gotten the gym and Miranda co-ownership of PokePharm. But to coerce Roselia, poison Lucario and the others... What had happened to her?

"That's right, little sister," Miranda said, reaching into the collar of her shirt. "I'm did what I had to, to get what I deserved. So you have a decision to make." She pulled out a chain from her shirt, a stopped vial of purple liquid dangling from the end.

"What is that?" Benji demanded.

"The antidote, doofus," Miranda said. "I made it for this very purpose. One drop of this, and your Pokémon will be right as rain in half an hour." She smiled at Maylene. "Give me the gym and it's yours."

Maylene stared at the vial. Lucario's salvation.

"Maylene, don't," Uncle Robert warned. "She could be lying. That vial could very well be filled with purple Kool-Aid."

"Would I lie?" Miranda asked.

"You're trying to extort the gym from Maylene," Max snapped. "Why wouldn't you lie?"

"True." Miranda sneered at Maylene. "Guess you'll just have to take the risk."

Miranda was right- they didn't have time for guessing games. The Pokémon were dying now, and the antidote was right here, inches away.

"Okay," Maylene said, reaching up. "The gym is yours. Give me the antidote."

"Maylene!" Damian cried.

Miranda snatched the antidote away. "Not so fast," she said. "You'll get it as soon as you sign the gym over."

What? "But...that could take hours," she protested. "Let me just cure the Pokémon first, and then-"

"Sorry, Maylene. Sign first, antidote later."

"Miranda, please!" Maylene cried. "They won't last much longer! I need the antidote." She stared pleadingly into her sister's eyes, hoping that some decent part of Miranda could put this...spite aside for the moment. For the good of the Pokémon.

But Miranda's eyes stayed cold, and her lips curled into a nasty smile. "Decide fast, sis," she advised.

All of her fear, anger, and panic came to a head, and Maylene snapped- she punched Miranda in the face, barely remembering deciding to do it. Miranda was knocked clear off her feet, but rolled as she fell to her back, coming up on one knee. Miranda grinned widely as she rose back to her full height, shrugging off her lab coat.

"That's my sister," she said, rubbing her mouth. "Dumb enough to punch first and ask questions later."

"Give me the antidote, Miranda!" Maylene screamed.

"Take it from me," Miranda challenged, lifting the vial by its chain and dangling it in front of Maylene. She dropped it back underneath her shirt. "You may have the stones to go for it, but do you have the time?"

Maylene lifted her fists, in a battle-ready stance, slowly shifting towards her older sister. She was right: Lucario, Machoke, Meditite...they were running out of time. This would have to be quick.

Maylene swung her fist towards Miranda's shoulder, hoping to unbalance her. But, faster than Maylene could trace, her sister caught her strike, locking her arm in her hand and twisting hard backwards. Maylene screeched as her body bowed backwards, and Miranda kneed her hard in the stomach, making Maylene curl in on herself. Before Maylene could recover, Miranda planted her foot hard in her stomach, sending Maylene crashing into the shelf on the other side of the aisle; bottles of capsules rained down on her like hail.

"Maylene!" Max cried.

"Looks like someone's getting rusty," Miranda jeered, cracking her knuckles. "You may have gotten the gym, little sister, but I was always the better fighter, or don't you remember?"

"You little-!" Damian took a threatening step towards Miranda.

"Uncle Robert!" Maylene snapped, pointing to her mobilizing apprentices. Her uncle quickly thrust an arm out, blocking the apprentices from moving any closer. She glared at her bewildered students, sending them a silent message: This was her fight, and hers alone.

Maylene slowly rose to her feet, warily watching her sister as she inched forward. Miranda was right, Maylene had forgotten: Miranda had always been the better fighter- she'd just proven it by knocking Maylene back without blinking.

Did she even have a chance at winning this fight?

Miranda surprised her by taking the first swing: she jabbed a palm at Maylene's stomach, fast enough that Maylene barely dodged by the skin of her teeth. But a duel strike slashed up at her face, striking Maylene's cheekbone so hard that she knew she'd have a raging shiner by tomorrow morning. It knocked her flat on her back, but she quickly rolled and popped back to her feet, just in time to see Miranda thrust an uppercut towards her jaw.

A harsh crack lit the air as Miranda's fist connected with Maylene's jaw: Maylene cried out as she fell hard on her back, but managed to catch Miranda's foot with both hands as it came down in a vicious heel strike towards her. She thrust Miranda's foot aside, sending the girl toppling to the floor, and before her sister could recover, Maylene leapt up on top of her, swiping for the antidote.

Miranda kneed Maylene hard in the stomach, making Maylene gasp, and before she knew it, she was on her back, her sister's hands locked around her throat.

"Maylene!" Uncle Robert shouted. His voice was fainter than she'd expected- she was losing air. Fast.

"Is this the best the Great Maylene can do?" Miranda sneered, her hands squeezing tighter. "This is all the fight the gym leader of Veilstone City can muster?" Her eyes were hard, angry. "See why I deserve to the be gym leader? Why you deserve to be working in this dump? I'm stronger than you, Maylene. My Pokémon are better. So why do you get to be the gym leader and I don't?"

Maylene clawed at her sister's squeezing hands, gasping desperately. Her vision was fading: darkness closed in on Miranda's snarling face, and her nasty words grew fainter and fainter.

But as Miranda continued to throttle her, the antidote vial suddenly slipped out from the collar of her sister's shirt, dangling down in front of Maylene. With the last of her strength, Maylene reach up and yanked the vial from around Miranda's neck.

"M-Max!" she managed, rolling the vial across the floor towards her apprentice. He snatched it up from the floor and Miranda gasped.

"No!" she snarled.

Her sister's hands loosened ever so slightly around Maylene's neck, and it was all she needed: she seized her sister's head in her hands and head-butted Miranda hard in the skull. MIranda screeched in pain and fell back onto her rear. Maylene scrambled up to her feet and cradled her throat, gasping in as much air as she could.

"Maylene!" Uncle Robert was suddenly at her side, followed by Max, Benji, and Damian. "Are you okay, girl?"

"Fine," Maylene gasped. She glanced back towards Miranda and saw her sister shielding her nose as she slowly rose to her feet, eyes furious.

"You conniving little-!" Before she could take a step forward, Uncle Robert stepped in front of her, forcing Miranda to a halt.

"The antidote?" Maylene gasped to Max. He nodded, holding up the tube. Maylene deflated slightly in relief and said, "Good. Get back to the gym and give it to Nurse Joy. Take Benji and Damian."

The apprentices obediently moved out of the pharmacy. Maylene turned to face her grandmother, who was standing with Roselia at her feet- the grass-type Pokémon looked scared, but Maylene gave her a slight smile.

"It's okay," she said to Roselia. "You didn't have a choice."

Roselia slowly smiled in relief, and Maylene looked up at her grandmother, her eyes a little harder.

"Call the cops," she said to Grandma Kristy.

"The cops!" Miranda cried in disbelief.

Maylene's voice was pitiless. "You're going to jail, sister- for Pokémon abuse and the intent to commit mayhem."

"Pokémon abuse!" Miranda screeched. "I didn't abuse any Pokémon!"

"I'm sure that Roselia, Lucario, and several other Pokémon would beg to differ," Maylene said as she rubbed her neck. "You poisoned our sports drinks, Miranda, tried to kill my Pokémon- and you forced Roselia to do it. And that's why you aren't the Veilstone City gym leader."

"What?" Miranda asked, furious.

"You may be stronger," Maylene said. "Smarter. Your Pokémon better. But you don't have any...any empathy. You're full of bile, and you use Pokémon as tools of vengeance. And I think...I think that's why Dad sent you to work here with Grandma Kristy. He wanted to teach you how to work better with Pokémon. How to help them."  She chuckled. "So much for that."

"You self-righteous little wench!" Miranda screamed. "How dare you presume to know what Dad did or didn't want!"

"Believe what you want." Maylene turned towards the door. "I just hope your attitude changes in the time you spend in jail." She glanced up at her uncle. "Uncle Robert, take care of her."