The world of pokemon! A spinning globe of wonderment, home to an infinite array of creatures too varied to fully comprehend! Hundreds, perhaps thousands - meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory, as only nature can.
No matter what corner of the world you find yourself in, rest assured you'll find pokemon there as well. Soaring overhead, gliding above the clouds among a flock of Starly, Spearow, and Pidgey, guarded by Braviary, feathers fall in their journey across the planet.
Riding the currents under sea - Manaphy, dozens of Phione and a Primarina who jumps off an iceberg, diving underwater. Unbothered by it, an Avalugg swims just off the coast of the Sinnoh region.
Sharing the snow-tipped mountains' majesty, Articuno takes flight. Her untamed, bitter cold feathers sparkle in the wind as she flies through the heart of the storm in search of her next meal.
And emanating from our frozen white tundra - Sawsbuck and Frosmoth, even a mighty Glastrier, happily make it their home.
Well, even our sprawling cities and towns are teeming with them. Snubbull, Zigzagoon, and Rattata share a simple meal out of a trash can - not an uncommon sight in Sandalstraw Town and many others - as they say hello and goodbye in their own ways to trainers traveling from Eterna City to Snowpoint City.
This town, serving as the last fortress of humanity before the eternal snowstorm, is merely a stone's throw away from that winter wonderland in the north.
Just a few more tosses of the stone, and it brings us to a young trainer who has dedicated his life to the love of pokemon and battling... as well as girls: Swole Solo of Twinleaf Town, with his partner Lopunny working side by side, catching pokemon and perfecting the art of the battle, traveling with lovers, and training with boundless energy.
For every pokemon our heroes meet, a new adventure awaits around the corner... And right now, somewhere in this world, an old pokemon is waiting, as it has been waiting for an eternity, poised to soon make itself known to our heroes, heralding the start of a new and terrifying adventure.
And elsewhere, just out of earshot of our heroes, a battle looms. This one is between two hungry Piloswine. Both of them have found a great, nutritious patch of dirt underneath the thick layers of snow, but they cannot agree on who gets the first bite.
They scrape at the ground. Their hot breaths send plumes of mist into the air as they threaten to make the first move.
Suddenly, they charge at each other at the same time-- "Stooop!" A redheaded girl, just under 20 years old, runs between them with outstretched arms.
The pokemon listen, breaking and sliding until they almost squish the poor girl between them.
"Mutton!" She smacks his pink snout before turning around and repeating the punishment on the other Piloswine. "And Swooly. What the hell do you think you're doing? Stupids. You're not going to be fighting over a patch of dirt. Mutton, start digging right here. Swooly, go and help him."
Begrudgingly, the pokemon follow the orders, revealing a second patch of equally nutritious dirt for them to munch on.
"Unbelievable." One of Zoey's older sisters, Emily, mutters to herself before stalking off. "Typical boys."
A nearby, sniffling boy sneezes in the cold. "D-did y-you h-hear t-that?" Swole shivers. A snowflake lands on his nose.
"N-no." Zoey shakily shakes her head as an icicle breaks off her nose and falls to the ground. "D-darn. I-it's t-too c-cold t-to h-hear th-things."
Dawn yawns loudly and rubs her cheeks with her glove-covered hands. "You warned us it would be cold. Why didn't you follow your own advice?"
Zoey would never, ever support another clothing brand competing with her family's Piloswine business. Sadly, Eterna City currently stocked only Wooloo-wool sweaters. They ran out of Piloswine clothes, and all her precious winter garments had been deleted in Alamos Town.
In a show of solidarity Swole did not buy anything warm either.
Dawn feels bad watching her friends shiver. "Want one of my other jackets?"
"N-no, it's a-alright. L-let's h-hurry. M-my p-place i-sn't f-far."
In fact, they can already see the faint outlines of the little hut where Zoey's littlest sister sells their family's clothing to unaware, stupid, or stubborn trainers.
The hut is illuminated and warmed by a large, billowing fire. Daisy, the little girl, sits inside, resting her head on a snoring Swinub. A bubble of snot expands and shrinks with each of his breaths, until - pop - it bursts and the pokemon awakes. He looks around and catches Daisy's attention.
Then she sees it. Past the snowflakes and past the warming flames, she spots a red head of hair running towards her with two companions closely behind. "Big sis Zoey?" Daisy rubs her eyes; surely they must be deceiving her. However, no, her eyes do not lie. "Big sis Zoey! You're back!"
She vaults over the shack's counter with Swinub running closely behind. The girls meet in the middle, by the fire, and embrace each other closely, with Zoey tussling her little sister's hair.
"Hahaha, stop it, big sis! Ouch." Daisy pokes herself with one of the many icicles hanging from her sister. "Where are your clothes? Did you run here dressed like that? Ma is going to tan yer hide for that."
Still, the girl laughs, too caught up in the happiness of seeing her favorite sister again.
After a while of hugging, patting each other's backs and pressing her face against her sister's bosom, Daisy notices something. Their hug misses... "What's the matter, Zoey?" Daisy pulls back. The hug feels colder than in her memories... "Z-Zoey? Where is your arm?!"
"Oh. Uhm. I lost it."
"That can happen?!"
Zoey chuckles. "No. It's complicated. Let's get inside first, alright?" She watches her boyfriend and his pokemon gather around the fire to keep themselves warm. "Then I can tell you, Mom, Penny, Ruby, Emily, and Debby all about it. Oh, well, maybe not you. It's a scary story."
"But I wanna hear it too!" Daisy whines only to stop when a random thought flies through her mind. "Oh. By the way, ma is super mad at you."
"I guessed she would still be." Zoey's smile strains. She picks up her sister - her portable source of heat, who giggles up a storm - with one arm before leading the way to her family's cozy mansion. "Come on, slowpokes. Follow me."
"Oh, and another by-the-way, Debby isn't home either."
"Well. There goes my support. That's pretty bad for me, ain't it so?"
---
Zoey-POV:
Oh no. She taps her foot. That's a really bad sign.
Daisy slips out of my hug before running up to Mom instead. She looks up and recoils when her seething glare briefly lands on her. The brief moment, the brief glance of hatred, causes Daisy to bolt upstairs after just a brief stare... I want to flee too.
Mom keeps her arms crossed and her eyes stern, switching her attention between me, Swole, and Dawn. Occasionally, her eyes land on my missing arm, and they soften for just a fraction of a second.
"Good evening." Despite the obvious danger we're in, Swole tries his luck and offers his hand for a handshake. Mom sneers at it as if it were poison.
She ignores him completely. She doesn't even look at him now that he's trying to catch her attention. A stare flicks at him, looking as if he brought the pest to our house, before returning to me. "... Zoey." She hisses through gritted teeth.
This is the first word I've heard from her since I abruptly ended our phone call. What was a Team Galactic commander doing at our home? Why did that woman grin sadistically when she threw me under the bus? How did she know about our relationship? ... And what have I ever done to turn a Team Galactic commander into an enemy?! Was it something I said during the school tournament?
Mom's face reddens as she waits for me to respond. I could try being cute... It always helps Dawn when she gets herself into trouble. I clasp my hands-- hand in front of my chest and bend my knees to make myself meek. "Yes, Mama?"
"Don't act cute with me! Get into the kitchen! All of you!"
"Yes, Ma..."
"Daisy! Come down here and fetch Emily!" Mom cups her hands in front of her mouth. "RUBY!"
"Just a moment!" It sounds like my older sister is in the bathroom upstairs.
"DON'T MAKE ME WALK UP, OR YOU'LL BE IN EVEN MORE TROUBLE!"
"Alright! Sheesh." I hear the door slamming open and her thumping feet as she approaches the stairs. She appears at the top, wearing white socks and a dress that ends above her knees.
She presses her lips together to finish the messy lipstick she must have applied just moments ago. Her deep red hair looks wild, but in a way that looks alluring rather than slobby.
Ruby bats her eyelashes at Swole. As she descends the stairs, she lifts the hem of her skirt just enough to flash a teasing glimpse of black lace panties - the same type I lost in Alamos Town - the type Ruby had recommended I wear if I ever tried to seduce someone... "Hey! Stop flirting with my boyfriend!" Swole's looking at her too! "And you, stop looking at her."
"GET IN THE KITCHEN! ALL OF YOU!" Mom swings her arm, and I flinch, but she simply points at the kitchen.
With hasty steps, Dawn follows Mom's command and flees from the scene first. She pushes herself through the cramped hallway, past Swole and the sideboard. She catches the vase she has knocked over in her hurry and disappears into the kitchen.
Swole grabs my hand before pulling me along. If glares could burn, Mom would have burned off my remaining hand clean. Our steps are muffled as we walk across the thick carpets covering every floor in the house. They are a similar shade of red as my family's hair.
Mom once said it's Grandma's carpet, and Emily joked about Grandma making it from her body hair. I remember pointing out Grandma doesn't have a beard... That day I learned hair will grow in strange places when girls grow older.
"Wow." Swole gasps, and I look up from my feet.
The rest of my senses catch up. A rich aroma wafts to my nose - crispy roasted fowl, served on our finest platter. Beside it, thin slices of smoked ham glisten a deep, luxurious red - the kind wealthy folks across the globe pay a fortune to buy from us. Bowls of mashed potatoes, thick gravy, black pudding, and beans complete the spread.
A real, proper feast.
A chill runs down my spine when I hear Mom's voice from directly behind. "I wasn't sure whether to cook you a nice and proper meal to celebrate you coming home for a few days, or... or perhaps I should skin you alive for-- for-- for ALLOWING your boyfriend to cheat on you!"
I fear she settled on doing both.
"So I have settled on doing both."
Darn. I hate being right.
"Zoey! What were you thinking?! I didn't raise you like that! And you, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?!"
He scratches the back of his head before catching himself and straightening his posture. "She wanted it."
"Wanted?"
He nods firmly, and I silently make my way to my chair. Third from the right, where I always sit.
"Did you say wanted? Not allowed!? Not spinelessly accepted that it happened; she wanted it!?"
"Yes, madam. That's what I was told by Akari, and Zoey agreed over the phone."
Mom shoots a glare at Dawn, who quickly sits down next to me and makes herself smaller. I don't think she has met Akari yet. It was only Dawn, Swole and me in the call - and Mars for some reason. She mustn't know that there are actually three of us! Maybe I can keep that bit hidden--
"That's not Akari. That's Dawn. Akari's on Route 218 right now." Nooo! Swole! You idiot! "She's founding a town there - where we're going to get married. As things are going right now, I am building up a reputation, and I will become the champion. Then I will build homes for myself, Akari, Dawn, and Zoey. Maybe Cynthia too."
The fucking audacity of this guy! Did he snap or something?
"The audacity..." Mom mutters. "Unbelievable." She looks at me as if asking me if he's serious or not.
I can't do anything except shrug and look down at the empty plate of food in front of me.
"Did you even hear yourself when you were talking right now?"
"Yes." He nods firmly. "And I mean everything with the utmost sincerity and certainty. This is what will happen in the near future."
Is he high? Did he hit his head during his constant training? Pop an aneurysm?
"Sit down." She hisses through gritted teeth. Maybe Swole didn't, but Mom is surely about to pop a blood vessel.
What the hell is he thinking? Is he even thinking at all?
"I will not compromise on any of that." Stop it with the handshake! Just listen to Mom! Pleaaase! "I am Swole Solo of Twinleaf Town."
An evil glint flits across Mom's face as she looks at his hand. She takes it; her skin shifts, and her arm tenses as she squeezes his knuckles. A vein on the back of her sunspot-filled hand juts out under the strain.
Mom's really trying to give him hell, but he just takes it. It's... almost cool? No. Considering the rest of his antics, he's still lame! And he's getting us into way too much trouble!
Swole pulls at her hand, almost lifting Mom's rigid body along. With wide eyes, she relents just as she starts to stumble. He effortlessly pulls her hand up to his chest's height before bending his back and planting a kiss on his thumb.
It looks like what they do in the movies. Except, they are both way too tense to be comparable to the actors' grace.
"It is a pleasure to meet my future mother-in-law." Mother-in-law? Mom clenches her jaw until her teeth loudly grind against each other. "I didn't get your name yet, Mrs.?"
"I am Margaret. Of right here." Mom is about to kick him out, isn't she? She deflates. "Siiigh. Just sit down. Please."
Swole nods, approaching me. He plants a kiss on my cheek and moves over to Dawn to repeat the process. He finds the seat to Dawn's left side already taken by Penny, so he returns back to me, sitting down to my right.
I didn't notice Penny joining us. "Hi, Penny."
"Hi." She's dyed her hair raven-black, and her lashes are dark with mascara. Probably a phase.
Mom takes her seat at the head of the table and rubs her temples, leaning over her plate. Her voice sounds weak, tired and exhausted. "You're Dawn, did I get that right?"
She jumps a little, knocking the table with her knee and dropping the spoon she had been chewing on for no reason. "Y-yes, madam."
"Dawn, start eatin'. You look like yer starving." She commands. "Penny, can you go and grab the extra chairs for our guests' pokemon?"
Swole piles food on his plate. Even though I can tell from his eyes that he hungers for more, he still stops after reaching a polite amount.
She continues rubbing her head while Penny sneaks off. "She wanted it... I can't believe my poor old ears... Emily? Ruby?"
"Yes, Ma?" They both reply at the same time.
"It's double the chores for the both of you. I told you over and over again not to give your sister these ridiculous ideas. Now see where it got her!"
Huh?
"Double the chores?!" Ruby complains but backs off the moment Mom shoots her a deadly glare. "... It was just a harmless prank..."
Wait, "What? Prank? What are you talking about?"
"Don't. Speak. Right. Now." Mom's arms tremble as she clenches her fists. "Just start eatin' something. You look like yer hungrier than a Piloswine in the ocean."
I... am fairly hungry. Walking through the cold just sapped all my energy.
Swole already moves his knife, carving through the tender, juicy poultry. Dawn lifts a spoonful of mash with gravy to her mouth. Penny returns with the chairs, and once they are in place, the cutlery scraping and tinking against plates are the only sounds in the room.
The atmosphere is awful. But the gravy is perfect. The meat melts on the tongue - tender, rich, impossible to beat. No one cooks like Mom. Swole finishes his portion first, but then Mom just refills his plate; same for Dawn and me when we were done. She even cuts the meat into bite-sized pieces for me.
Mom gently holds my stump afterwards. "When did you plan on telling me about that?"
"Now?" She raises her eyebrow. "... Never."
Before returning to me, her eyes flick to Swole as if accusing him. "Did a wild pokemon do this to you?"
"In a way. Remember Alamos Town from the news?"
"How could I forget? Terrible thing, really. So, it was one of those pokemon who took your arm?"
I almost nod. "Not quite. My arm was the only part left of me."
Her jaw drops open, and the knife she used to cut my food slips through her fingers.
"One moment, I was there - afraid, clinging to Swole in the chaos, thinking we were safe in the pokemon center. I remember the warmth of his hand in mine. The next moment, I was dead. And then I continued to exist somehow. It felt truly surreal. Like a ghost, but even a ghost could see itself, right? I couldn't speak, I couldn't hear, and I couldn't see or feel, but I knew what was going on around me. My thoughts were just a stream of consciousness. It's all still so vivid in my mind as if it was branded into my memories. I remember wanting to help Swole, and then I reappeared next to him. He must have done something to bring me back to life."
"You..." Tears form in the corners of her eyes. Ruby, Emily, and Daisy look close to crying as well. "You were dead?"
"Super dead. Like, all except my arm got deleted."
"And he revived you?"
"Hmhm. Swole, why don't you tell us your theory around it?" A perfect distraction!
He puts his cutlery neatly aside as the attention of the whole room lands on him. He wipes the corners of his mouth with a napkin and speaks. "You see, aura is real. It is the soul of living things. But it is also the body and mind of creatures. By training one, the other becomes stronger. Consequently, when there is only the aura of a person without a body or mind, then..."
---
"... Considering it all, this proves that Zoey and I are - quite literally - soul mates."
I always knew this would be true the moment I let him unlock my aura, but hearing logical proof of it is a whole different story. There is no way around it anymore; we are soul mates, and it is the major contributing factor to how I am still alive.
A pea strikes my forehead. "Psst." Ruby sits across from me and spins her finger near her temple while whispering. "Zo-zo, your boyfriend is crazy."
"It's the truth. He is crazy, but aura is real. I can sense where anyone is within the room, and I can point in Swole's direction no matter where he is."
Swole nods along. "It also makes her stronger and more durable."
"That's gonna be pretty handy for later, right, Zo-zo?" Emily winks.
Huh? I mean, it will make my chores easier if that's what she means.
"Emily!" She shrinks into herself when Mom suddenly shouts. "Ya can't--" Her eyes flicker to me, Penny, and Daisy. "You're doing the dishes later."
"But--"
"Don't you but mooom me!"
"Alriiight. I get it." Emily slumps in her chair, crossing her arms.
Ruby giggles. "That guy got it. See how he's blushing?"
Why is Swole blushing? Because I'm stronger and more-- Oh. Durable. "Hehe, good one, sis."
"Zoey, stop listening to your sisters. They're a terrible influence." - "Hey!" - "Swole Solo..." Mom pauses, waiting for him to properly meet her eyes.
"I must thank you for saving my daughter's life. I don't know a lick about aura, these godlike pokemon, or whatnot, but if you truly brought back my daughter from the dead, then you will forever have my gratitude."
"I appreciate your gratitude, but I would rather forever have your daughter instead."
I'm a laughingstock. I can hear my sisters chuckling, giggling, and chortling into their fists, even as I try to hide underneath my arm.
Just a few days ago, I thought it would be my mom who would be embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend. Who could have known it would turn out to be the other way?
"Do your parents know about that... relationship of yours?"
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I can see how this will play out! My mom will want to talk with Swole's and Dawn's parents, and then everyone is going to know, and it's all going to fall apart!
He speaks up as if it were just another regular topic. "Both of my parents know." No way. "As far as I am aware, my mother suspected it for a while already, and my father supports me in my decision to have a harem."
I'm dying. He actually said the h-word in front of my mother.
"Then you won't mind me having a call with them, right?"
"Of course I won't mind. Here," He hands over his phone after tapping away on the screen, showing the numbers of his parents.
"This is crazy." Mom mutters to herself before addressing Dawn. "What about you? Do your parents know?"
Dawn lets out a squeak that sounds a little bit like a yes. "My mom knows. I always tell her everything. She..." She pauses, searching for the right words. "She says she will support whatever I choose to do."
"What about that third girl? Akari?"
"She doesn't have any parents." Seeing the shock in my mother's eyes, I explain further. "She's one of the time travelers."
"Oh no..." Emily gasps while Daisy looks around confused, not getting the implications.
Concern grows on Mom's face. "She has no one?"
"She has us."
I can only stare at my plate. What kind of friend have I been to her? I haven't called her in forever. I must rectify that today! Yes. Before I can go to bed, I will give her a call.
From the looks of it, Dawn must be going through the same thoughts. Wait, why is she handing over her phone now? Did I miss something?
Mom presses some buttons before placing hers and Swole's poketch phone in front of her.
It takes a while, but eventually two voices come from the phones at the same time. Two stretched-out, excited 'heyyy's before they trail off and become confused.
"What is going on? Who are you?" The blue-haired woman speaks up. Judging by the fact that she looks like a MILF version of Dawn, she must be her mother. Then the dark-haired lady with blue eyes on the other screen must be Swole's mom.
"Good evening. I am Margaret, Zoey's mother. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I apologize for this unexpected call. I must ask, are you aware that our children are engaging in debauchery?"
Arceus, smite me, please. This is so embarrassing. All of my sisters are laughing at me - even Penny, for Mew's sake! Even though she entered an emo phase!
"Shush, girls. Actually, since y'all have finished eating, you can go upstairs now. Ah, not you, Dawn." Dawn was about to flee again. "You, Swole, and Zoey would better stay here."
The women on the other side of the phone screen seemingly look at each other, as if communicating wordlessly across the screens while my sisters leave the room.
"Ahem. Nice to meet you, Margaret. I am Johanna, and this is Lisa." Dawn's mom clears her throat. "I was only aware that they are playing girlfriend and boyfriend. I thought I raised my girl better than to have sex this young."
S-s-sex?
Dawn waves her arms around in front of herself. "Woah! Hold on! That's not what's going on!"
"Mom!? We're not having... you know!"
Swole stays awfully quiet for some reason.
"What exactly are you doing then?" Mom looks directly into my eyes, likely able to see through any lie I might spin.
"Nothing." She keeps staring. "Alright. Nothing like that. Just smooching. And stuff."
"What is stuff?"
Petting, cuddling, hand-holding, teasing, feeding each other... "I'm not telling!" It's all too embarrassing!
"Zoey?!" Mom warns, but my face is just growing hotter under scrutiny. Dawn is even worse off as her mother glares daggers at her.
"Swole."
"Yes, Mother?"
"You're being responsible, right?"
"Of course. The girls and I are doing nothing I wouldn't also be doing with my pokemon."
He smooches his pokemon? Ah, yes. He does. I caught him doing it often when he thought nobody was looking. As for the rest, I do those with my pokemon too. I pet Glameow, I tease Mismagius, I feed them all, and I've technically been holding Mothim's hands a bunch of times.
Right. In other words, there was nothing strange hidden within his statement. I don't need to overthink it.
"So don't worry, Mom. It will take some more time before you get a human grandchild."
"A what?"
"A grandchild."
I could have sworn he specifically said 'human'. Eh, I must have misheard it.
"Let's not talk about grandchildren!" Mom doesn't like the topic, even though she kept hounding on Debby for taking too long when she still lived here. "So the two of you are just... alright with it?"
Dawn's mother, Johanna, nods. "I know little Swole since he still pooped his diapers." He groans as if the embarrassment physically hurts him. "He's a good choice for my daughter, I'm sure of it. And so, I will support Dawn in whatever decision she makes."
Swole's mother, Lisa, grins brightly. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't want my little boy to be successful with women? In fact, you need to collect even more girlfriends, you hear me?"
"Y-yes, Mom." He grabs his stomach and chest in discomfort.
She laughs. "But in all seriousness, as long as he hurts nobody, I am in support of it. Let the kids play around. It's not like it's the end of the--" She interrupts herself, but her silence is louder than anything else said today.
It's the end of the world. We won't get to see our children grow up, even if we had any. Ten years at most. Some even say we have as little as one year left to live.
"Mom?"
She looks at me. "Yes, dear?"
"I want to spend my time with the people who grew precious to me. My pokemon, Swole, Dawn, and Akari too. No matter what you say, I won't break up with them."
Swole sneaked his hand around my waist as I said that, somehow managing to ignore Mom's burning glare in the process. She lets out a long, guttural, and defeated sigh. "Alright. I will let y'all have your fun. Just please, promise me you won't do anything you will regret."
I nod--
"All of you."
I nod more firmly. "I promise, Mom. That's why I'm traveling with him in the first place."
Swole pulls me and Dawn closer to him. "I promise, Mrs. Evans. I won't let any harm come to my girls."
I'm starting to believe he's doing this on purpose to embarrass us. What an asshole.
Dawn is so embarrassed she can't even meet Mom's eyes. "I promise."
"Enough of that. Go upstairs, will ya? Allow me to speak to your mothers in private."
"Thanks, Ma. Goodnight." I take the opportunity and flee the dining table.
Dawn follows my lead. "I'll call you later, Mom! Bye!"
"Goodbye, Mom. I will call you again soon." Swole gives her a little wave for goodbye. "And have fun on your pokemon journey."
She and Johanna look surprised. "How did you know? It was supposed to be a surprise."
"Dawn figured it out. Four veterans sweeping up the Jubilife contests aren't very inconspicuous. Besides, I recognize the background. You are in the hotel you showed us before pokemon school."
"Astute as always. Elena and Cornelia are here with us too. They said hi."
"Hi, Mrs. Diamond and Mrs. Pearl! And bye, Mom, bye Mrs. Solo." Dawn completes her escape and flees out of the door. Following her lead, I leave as well, waiting just behind the doorway for Swole to finish up some last-second, private conversations.
I eavesdrop - Mom threatens to feed him to our Piloswine if he breaks my heart. Even though he couldn't do that. After all, as he has logically proven beyond a doubt that we are soulmates. He would only hurt himself.
---
After Swole catches up and reaches the top of the stairs, I show him and Dawn around. "And this is my room." I open the door... and reveal a mess. I was hoping Mom had tidied it while I was gone. "Don't mind the mess. Penny sometimes plays in here." Sorry, Penny.
"It's alright." Swole strolls inside, walking past the tops, skirts, panties, bras, pants, and socks that didn't make the cut. He sits down on my bed. "I've seen worse messes. Besides, I've left my room just like this too."
"You left your bras and panties on the ground?" Dawn teases and takes a seat beside Lopunny.
"Very funny. No, I packed my bag and threw everything on the ground that wouldn't be suitable for travel."
While they banter, I pick up some of the clothes. The decently cute ones go into my bag since I'm awfully low on clothes. Dawn and I have gone shopping a few times since I lost it all, but they just aren't good replacements.
This is the blouse I wore to my boarding school graduation - ruffled, white, and very cute. And here's the dress I never got to wear - I was sick during our school dance. Poor Riley. I had to stand him up.
Maybe that was a good thing? I doubt I would have ever dared to push myself onto Swole if I had a potential boyfriend waiting at home for me.
Contrary to what Akari might say, I'm not a harlot. My sisters have simply trained me well in the subtle art of seduction. "What do you think of these?"
He blushes slightly before catching himself. "Plain and white is always a nice sight."
"You don't think they would make me look fat?" I hold them up to my waist. Dawn blushes too.
"They might be a little tight for everyday use, but I'm sure they would look great on you." He's definitely imagining it. They would bite into my waist, and the skin would squish. I got them when I was eleven or twelve.
"Hmm... do you think I should try wearing them right now?" I hook my thumbs into the waistband of my jeans. "I'm not sure how they would look on me."
"Yes. Definitely. We can't be sure until we see it with our own eyes."
"Pervert." I fling the old panties across the room. He doesn't even flinch; they hit him right in his grinning face. Seduction is an art, and the best artist is as subtle as a Tyranitar in a bakery.
Uh! That top is cute. "Dawn, what do you think? Does pink still suit me?"
"I would go with darker colors to contrast with your hair. Try out that purple sweater."
Swole quickly gets bored of watching us pick out regular clothes, and his eyes wander around the room.
"You play the piano?"
"Eyup." Another skirt is up for debate. It's black and matches the colors Dawn prefers on me. "And also the violin."
As I reach for the skirt, I notice a glaring issue. "Well, it's not like I can still play those instruments with just one arm. Actually, most of my old hobbies are probably impossible now: Piloswine racing, playing with sock puppets, juggling, and solving Rubik's cubes."
Dawn giggles. "Sock puppets?"
"Yes, haha. I had some when I was a child. Mom didn't want to buy another set of dolls, and my older sisters... didn't... want to... share."
"What's the matter?"
"... They lied! Those lying skanks!"
"What? Who lied? About what?"
"Emily and Ruby! They taught me sharing a boyfriend is normal for girls! But they would never share! They lied!"
"Duh." Dawn mocks. "You know, that explains why you're such a weirdo sometimes."
"You're a brat sometimes."
She blows a raspberry at me.
"Don't blame them. We've got an amazing relationship going thanks to them." Swole says, making me roll my eyes. He picks up the old Rubik's Cube from my nightstand. "You did speedcubing?"
"What?"
"Oh. So just regular solving."
"What the hell is speedcubing?"
He demonstrates it by solving the cube really fast. Now I feel stupid for asking.
"I taught myself when I was younger, but it was too much of a distraction from learning about pokemon, so I stopped."
"Nerd." - "Nerd." Dawn and I share a laugh.
After a while, I turn to Dawn with the cutest pair of socks I own. They are pink but have little cat ears! "What do you think-- Dawn? What are you searching for under my bed?"
"Nothing." She lies.
"Damn. That's where I should have checked."
"You're not going to find... sex toys or whatever you're hoping for under there. And I expected more of you, Dawn. I am disappointed. I never knew you were such a pervert."
She laughs it off before pulling out a leather-bound booklet. "Don't worry. That wasn't what I was looking for. But a diary - now isn't that something?"
"That's not my diary." Its sight doesn't remind me of anything. "Can't remember what it is, though."
Swole solves the cube for a third time while hounding Dawn to open up my diary - even though it's not my diary.
She opens the first page, and Swole reads it aloud. "Dear diary, today I met this really handsome guy in pokemon school. I really love his eyes and wild hair--"
I can't help but chuckle.
"-- just kidding. You collect pressed flowers?"
I do? "Ehhh, there are faint memories that I might have done that as a child. Scoot over, lemme see."
We all sit on the bed; it creaks as Dawn leafs through the pages. Blue, pink, white, yellow, and red flowers in all shapes. Some roses, and this one is just some petals of a sunflower. "Wow, I have a Frosblossom? That's awesome."
"A what?"
"A rare flower that only grows in patches near where a Froslass is born. Mom once said, the pokemon tends to them like grave ornaments for someone they loved."
Swole sounds sad for some reason. "Oh."
"Oh?"
He nods and pulls out his pokedex, scrolling, tipping, and typing away until he finds the entry for Froslass. "It is their own graves. Do you think ghost pokemon remember why they exist?"
"Maybe. But if they do, Mismagius never told me about it." This would explain why most of them have some kind of creation story in their pokedex entries.
He sits quietly while Dawn and I flip through the rest of the pages... The rest is empty. Maybe I should resume collecting flowers? It could be... my only hobby...
Yeah. Sure. Why not? In the bag it goes. Same as the cute socks. They are simply too adorable to be left at home. And what about that pink top? "Hey, Dawn? You should try out that one."
"I did eye it the whole time, didn't I?" She giggles and squirms, itching to grab it.
"It can be yours if you want; pink's not my color anymore."
"Thanks!" She bolts for it. Maybe I should get her a matching pair of cat socks? She'd look adorable in them... And even better if she only wore them.
For the rest of the evening, Dawn and I try out outfits while Swole solves my Rubik's cube over and over again. Every time we show him a shirt, he becomes more bored from solving them. Eventually, he groans out loud. "Sorry, girls. My legs are itching. I'm going out to train my pokemon some more."
"Are you sure about that?" I ask, flinging a boring bra into the corner with all the other boring clothes. "Once Dawn and I finish discussing something in the bathroom, we might have a little surprise for you."
"Discussing what?" Dawn asks. She's as clueless as always. It's something I've been looking forward to for a while. I never had the courage before, but now that Mom's on board with our relationship, I think it's time--
A voice rips me out of my dreams. "He can't stay here."
"Penny?! Since when have you been here?! What are you doing here?" The little goth-gremlin stands in the boring corner, watching us creepily.
I don't even know how she can see with that weird new hairstyle. Her black-dyed bangs cover most of her eyes. Her lower eyelids peek past her hair, covered in black makeup. The cups of my bra covering her face don't help her see anything either.
"Mom said, he has to sleep on the couch."
"Well, we don't plan to go to bed yet--"
"Not my problem. Discuss that with Mom. Goodnight." The ray of sunshine leaves the room, taking all hopes and dreams out alongside her.
"Darn. I guess no surprise for you, darling."
"It's alright." He gets up. "And we'd better listen to your mom. I was ready to leave the house earlier, but now it would just be rude." He prepares to leave, Lopunny clutching his arm as they walk side by side to the door.
"Wait, what did you mean by that?"
"Well..." He rubs the back of his head. "I would not compromise on you, Dawn, or Akari. So, if your mom kicked me out, I was totally going to abduct you."
Is he serious? "Abduct me?"
"Yep. Sling you over my shoulder, and walk out with you."
"You wouldn't."
"Nope. I would. You're mine, after all." He winks and leaves.
Heh. Subtle as a Tyranitar.