Chapter 106: Sixth Badge
"Whoa! Look, girls! We've finally arrived."
Max, Scarlet, Bonny, and May were walking alongside each other on their way to reach Boontown, which could finally be seen in the distance.
{Sweet!} Bonny commented. {I wonder what kind of stuff this place has to offer.}
"Cool stuff, I'm sure," Max replied.
The way he said it sounded as casual as it could be, but to Scarlet, his emotions told her he was up to something.
{Master? Are you hiding something from us?} She accused him with suspicious eyes.
"What makes you think that?"
{I don't know, maybe the fact that your entire mind is repeating the phrase 'Don't tell her! Don't tell her!'?} She stated, making the others look at him suspiciously as well.
"...Alright. I wanted it to be a surprise, but since we're about to arrive anyway, I might as well tell you. I searched a bit about Boontown and I discovered something really interesting."
{Which is…?} Scarlet asked.
"The PokéSpa."
{Poké…} Bonny started.
{Spa?} May finished.
"Yup. It's exactly what it says it is."
{What is a spa, exactly?} May asked, curious.
"It's a place where people go to relax and forget about their worries, and the one I picked out is specifically designed for pokémon."
{What do we do there?} Bonny asked.
"Depends on where you go, really. Getting a massage is one of many things you can do."
{What's so special about this particular spot besides being exclusively for pokémon?} Scarlet asked.
"I thought you'd never ask. This spa, my pokémon friends, is one of, if not the best, spa for pokémon. It's famous for having the most varied and executive ways to make a trainer's team relieve some of that pent-up stress they got."
{That sounds awesome!} May exclaimed, getting hyped.
{Indeed. It sounds… interesting.} Scarlet commented.
{Sounds like my kind of place.} Bonny approved.
{I can't wait to see it!} May said.
The group walked along and made more small talk until they reached the edge of Boontown. The "town" looked more like a city than anything since the streets were pretty crowded with lots of buildings towering over them.
{So, where should we start?} Scarlet asked while dodging incoming humans.
"Hm… I was thinking we could get our gym battle out of the way first, then can go to the Spa right after if you girls do well."
{What does that mean? Are you saying that if we don't win, we won't go?} Bonny wondered out loud.
"Precisely, so you better win."
{Oh? Since when did you become a tyrant?} Scarlet asked, half amused.
"Haha… Relax girls, I'm just kidding. Of course, we'll go there, no matter the outcome of our battle."
{Hmph… That wasn't funny.} Bonny complained, upset.
"Hehe, sorry."
{So where's the gym, then?} Scarlet questioned.
"One second," Max replied while taking his pokédex out. "...This way."
Max and his team then walked for a while through the city until they arrived in front of a fancy-looking restaurant.
"And we're… here?" Max said while looking at the building in confusion.
{I think your GPS might be broken.} Scarlet remarked.
"...No, this is the right place, but this doesn't look like a gym at all."
{Maybe it was and got replaced by this restaurant.} Bonny theorized.
"That could make sense. Maybe it's too recent and the info didn't get updated."
{What do we do then?} May asked.
"Our best bet would be to go in and ask. Surely they know where the gym went."
With the girls approving, they headed towards the main entrance. To their bafflement, they saw a sign saying 'No pokemon allowed' on the front door.
{Tch. Seriously?} Scarlet complained, a bit mad.
"Great. I guess it's one of those human-only establishments," Max said, a bit annoyed as well.
{So what now?} Bonny inquired.
"*sigh* If we really want that information, either you guys wait outside or I can put you back in your pokéballs."
{I need a break from all the walking, so I'll take the pokéball.} Bonny chose.
{Me too.} May followed.
"Alright. See you girls in a moment, then," Max said before recalling them. "What about you? You can take a human disguise and come in with me."
{No thanks. I wouldn't be caught dead disguised as a human, plus if I go in there, I'll just get the urge to kill everyone, so it's for the best that I wait outside.} Scarlet stated.
"Is it because of the sign?"
{Yeah, let's go with that.}
Max couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but it was obviously pissing her off, so he didn't press any further.
"Alright. Sorry for that."
{Don't. It's not your fault. I'll be back as soon as you're out.} She said coldly before teleporting away.
"...Okay," Max mumbled. "You're lucky that you're the prettiest gardevoir ever…" He mumbled some more with a smile before heading inside.
It definitely didn't fit the bill for a five-star establishment. It might have been four stars, perhaps and a half at most. Seeing how many customers were there already, it seemed to be a fairly popular and well-renowned eatery. Unfortunately, he had to wait in line as others were waiting for their turn to be served. With an annoyed sigh, Max had no choice but to be patient since no one else other than the table giver further ahead was in sight. Luckily, the line was moving pretty quickly as he only had one last customer in front of him after what seemed like a five-minute wait.
"Hello there, a table for one?" the waitress greeted him after helping the previous customers.
"Actually, I'm looking for the pokémon gym that is supposed to be here."
The waitress then looked at Max in an unexpected way, her expression completely unreadable.
"...Right this way, sir." She instructed him.
"Hem…"
Unsure of what was going on, Max decided to follow her until they arrived at a single table.
"Have a seat, sir. He will come as soon as he's available."
"Who's 'he'?" Max asked, but it was too late as the waitress already left. "...Okay. Not suspicious at all," he commented before sitting down.
Despite not coming for food, there was still a menu on the table, so he decided to browse through it to see what kind of food was served here.
"Hmm… These dishes look pretty exotic." He mumbled. "This Alolan halibut looks pretty good…"
"Excusez-moi, monsieur."
Looking up from the menu, Max saw a man in a rather fancy suit coming to greet him. He was rather short, looking a bit snobbish with an overly-trimmed mustache.
"Yes?"
"It's brought to my attention zat you've come here to challenge ze gym leader, oui?"
"Does my safety depend on my answer?" Max asked.
"Haha! Of course not, mon ami," the man laughed heartily.
"Then yes."
"Suivez-moi, alors."
Max wasn't good with the French language, but judging by his gestures, he deduced that he wanted him to follow. Max then stood up and the two went to the back area of the restaurant. Passing through the storage room, they arrived at the bottom of the room where they took a mechanical elevator where the metallic door is dropped manually.
{Good thing I'm here to watch over you, otherwise you'd end up in a nasty situation.} Scarlet pointed out, appearing next to Max as soon as the elevator started moving. {If I didn't know better, I'd say you're being taken to a sex dungeon, and not the fun kind.}
"Come on, now. I have more common sense than that." Max replied, catching the man's attention.
"Lord! Zat is one pretty and unique gardevoir you have zere!" He exclaimed upon seeing the red gardevoir.
{Ah, shit! I forgot to change my appearance. Here we go again.} She complained.
"Thanks. I'm really proud of her."
"Zat color looks so natural… Is she a new kind of shiny?"
"Kinda. She's the only one of her species that looks like this, no artificial dyes needed."
"I see. Quelle chance!"
{Okay, I get it, I'm different. Now shut up.} Scarlet growled softly.
[That's the price of being one of a kind, love.]
{Maybe, but the thing is that I didn't ask for this.}
[Whether you did or not, you're still the most beautiful pokémon in the world, so of course, you're gonna turn some heads.]
{The only eyes that I—}
[Care about are mine, I know.] Max said while discretely grabbing one of her hands. [But you can't blame them for doting on you, yes?]
{I don't care, as long as they keep their hands and ideas to themselves.}
"To that, I agree."
"Qui ya-t-il?" The man asked.
"Oh, sorry. Just speaking telepathically with her."
"Ah, je vois."
A short moment later, the elevator came to a halt and the man opened the gate. They passed through a short hallway and a door before they arrived at a large room, which seemed to be designed for pokemon battles.
"Kinda like with the fire-type gym leader, this place doesn't really scream "fighting-type gym", does it?" Max commented.
"Really? Were you expecting somezing specific?"
"I don't know. Maybe something about a dojo or a boxing ring at least."
"I see. I zink you may be a bit too used to ze stereotyped gym leaders. A steel-type doesn't have to live or work in a factory, nor does an electric-type in a power grid..."
"Haha. I guess so."
"As for me, I just like ze overwhelming strenf of ze fizing-type pokemon. Zey taugf me a lot in life."
{Damn, his speaking is shit.} Scarlet commented.
"Don't be mean, please." Max whispered.
{Who cares? He can't understand me.}
"Enough of my small talk, shall we proceed?"
"Sure. I didn't quite catch your name yet, though."
"Oh, silly me. Je m'appelle Martin," The gym leader said before heading to his side of the room.
{I think my sense of hearing just deteriorated.} Scarlet shared as she and Max moved to the battlefield.
"Malheureusement, I'm quite busy, so we shall begin at once. Come on out, Raphael." Martin said before releasing a throh onto the battlefield.
"A throh, huh? Alright Dusk, you're up!" Max said before releasing his delphox in front of the fighting-type.
"A psychic-type?" Martin remarked. "Good choice, but type advantage alone will not win you zis battle. Let's begin, shall we, Raphael?"
{Let's go.} The throh growled.
"Get ready, Dusk…" Max said, with Dusk getting ready to attack.
Instead of moving, the throh began to flex muscles with a serious expression on his face.
[What is he… oh shit! Dusk, he's using Bulk Up! Stop him with Flamethrower!] Max commanded inside Dusk's mind.
Immediately, Dusk obeyed and used the fire attack, engulfing her opponent in flames. While the throh did cancel his Bulk Up, the Flamethrower didn't do significant damage to him.
"Holy… that's a close one," Max commented.
{Stay focused. He's coming.} Scarlet said.
Right as she said that, the throh charged at Dusk with opened arms and tried to grapple her. Fortunately, she had superior speed and was able to leap away in time.
[This isn't good. Don't stay on the ground, Dusk. Keep yourself airborne.]
Using her telekinetic abilities, Dusk began to levitate a couple of feet in the air.
"A flying adversaire? It does not matter to us, does it, Raphael?" Martin said.
Since she was in the air, Dusk was feeling rather safe despite the throh running below her. However, the throh surprised everyone by leaping into the air and grabbing a hold of her waist before plunging the delphox into the ground with Seismic Toss.
{Ghaa!} Dusk yelped upon impact, the throh landing with a thud and rolling away before standing back up in a battle stance.
"You holding up there, Dusk?" Max asked.
{Yeah, I-I'm good. Just wasn't expecting that, is all.} Dusk replied while getting on all fours with little difficulty.
[Me neither. Alright, Dusk. Let's try to distract him with Fire Rend before giving him a 'mystical' surprise.]
[Understood.]
As soon as she got back on her feet, Dusk used Fire Rend and unleashed an onslaught of pyro-missiles, which immediately honed in on the throh. He remained on the offensive by punching and backhanding the homing projectiles with none touching him directly. After swatting away the last one, he looked at Dusk waving her stick in a circular motion. The throh failed to notice the circular glyph forging under him, which he recognized as Mystical Fire, and not having enough time to react, he was engulfed in multiple pillars of colorful flames. The attack burnt him for a moment, causing him to drop to a knee after the move had dissipated, fatigue already starting to set in.
[Nice job, Dusk.] Max praised as Dusk descended onto the ground. [Finish him off with a Psybeam.] Max commanded.
Doing as she was told, Dusk charged a powerful Psybeam and launched it at the throh, throwing him off balance onto his back.
[Quick! Mystical Fire, again.]
Before he could retaliate, Dusk initiated another Mystical Fire under him. Even though the move was fast, there was a brief delay between the beginning and the actual attack, which left a tiny window of action for the receiver. Unfortunately, the throh was fast enough to roll out of the way, resulting in a miss for the delphox.
(Damnit!) Max cursed in his head.
{He's fast for a fatass.} Scarlet commented.
"And tough too. He took a psychic attack at full power and didn't go down."
{Dusk has to stay away while attacking. He will go down eventually as long as she keeps her distance.}
"Right. The last thing you want to do with a throh is to get within arms reach of them. He's just a counter machine."
{Dusk was a good choice.}
[He's fast, Dusk, so slow him down with Psychic until he stops moving.]
With a nod, Dusk locked her eyes on the throh and used Psychic. The move dealt a lot of damage, making him drop to his knee again.
[Again.]
"Raphael, destabilize zem." Martin commanded.
As Dusk was about to use Psychic again, the throh quickly retaliated and slammed his hand onto the ground while using Superpower. The action led to the entire basement shaking from the sudden tremor, almost like an earthquake, making Dusk lose her balance. Before the shaking could even die down, the throh rushed at Dusk and grabbed her before using Storm Throw, tossing her across the room.
{Oof! That must've hurt.} Scarlet said, feeling bad for Dusk as she bounced off the wall and landed with a thud.
"She's not done yet." [Can you continue?]
[Yes, but I won't be able to take any more of those moves.] Dusk informed.
[You won't have to, it's time to end this. Give it everything you have and use Fire Rend, try to add some psychic energy into it too.]
[Okay… I'll… try.] Dusk acknowledged, feeling quite the pressure all of a sudden.
[Only if you can. Even Mad-Ji said it isn't easy.]
Taking a deep breath, Dusk closed her eyes and focused herself to gather as much energy as possible.
"Stop zat delphox!" Martin commanded.
[Shield yourself, quick!] Max ordered.
With the throh charging at her, Dusk used Protect before he could land any hits. Doing so while gathering energy was very demanding, which was noticeable due to the strained look on her face. Using all of his might, the throh grabbed ahold of Dusk and tried to crush her shield, with Dusk's strength getting more and more depleted. Then, just before she felt like she was going to break, Dusk dispelled her shield with a tiny wave of force, pushing the throh a few meters away before releasing all of her accumulated energy and creating hundreds of Fire Rend missiles. She tried her best to add some psychic energy into them, but couldn't pull it off like she practiced as the projectiles were almost the same orange color. With a wave of her wand, the projectiles all began to home at the throh, who immediately took an even more defensive stance and tried to block and deflect all of them. With astonishing speed, he managed to protect himself for a while, but eventually, there were simply too many for him to handle as some began hitting their mark. When all had either dispersed or successfully connected, the field was again free with the throh still standing, albeit with great difficulty.
[It's do or die, Dusk. Give it everything you got left and use Overheat.]
Without a moment of hesitation, Dusk gathered whatever energy she had left and used that very move. All across the inside of the dome, intense heat and power emanated from Dusk as she wailed on the throh. Her Overheat attack lasted for roughly ten seconds before it subsided, causing Dusk to float down and drop to her knees as soon as she touched the ground, exhausted. As for the throh, he collapsed on his back, unable to fight anymore.
"Awesome! Good freaking job, Dusk!" Max praised energetically. "You may not fight often, but you're a real monster when you do!"
{*pant* T-Thank you… master.} Dusk replied, happy from the praise.
"Purée! Zat was one intense figh." Martin said. "It's obvious zat you're not a beginner. Take a rest Raphael, you did very well," He added before recalling his pokemon.
The gym leader then pulled out a second pokéball and called out the creature that was inside. Out from the ball, appeared an urshifu.
"Whoa! An urshifu!" Max exclaimed softly. "I've always wanted to see one in person."
{And judging by his stance, he uses single strike style.} Scarlet remarked.
"Oh, right. An urshifu has two forms; Single strike and rapid strike."
{You got that right. The former is all about strength and power to end a fight in one hit, while the latter is about speed and not giving its opponent a chance to fight back.}
"I see. Well, if this one was rapid strike style, I would have used Aurora, but since he's single strike style…"
Max then withdrew Bonny's pokéball and released her onto the battlefield, getting in a menacing battle stance as soon as she appeared.
{Oh. First time seeing a 'mon like that.} The lopunny mentioned.
"You're gonna like it. It's a single strike urshifu, he's all about strength and power."
{Interesting.} Bonny replied with a sly smile.
"But he's still a fighting-type, so it's best that you mega-evolve right off the bat."
{You're the boss.}
"Good. Now then… Mega-evolve!" Max announced before Bonny began to glow and change into her mega-form."
He hadn't seen her in that form for a while now, so he couldn't help but to appreciate it from behind.
{Strange time and place to think about that kind of stuff, don't you think?} Scarlet shared with a grin. {Not that I'm complaining, though.}
"Tsk, c'mon… It has been a while since the last time she mega-evolved."
{We probably should've reconditioned you before that battle, then.}
{Not to sound like that 'mon, but if I don't attack soon, he will.} Bonny pointed out, getting impatient.
"R-Right, sorry. *ahem*" [Let's start with a nice High Jump Kick and some Ear Punches.]
{Finally, some action!} Bonny mumbled before dashing towards the urshifu.
"Let her come to you," Martin instructed his pokemon.
At a blurring speed, Bonny got near her opponent and initiated her move. From how much she practiced with it, the delay between the jump and the hit was minimalistic, making it easier for her to hit it rather quickly. Yet despite that, the urshifu blocked it efficiently, almost nullifying the damage.
{What the…}
The urshifu immediately countered with Wicked Blow, directly hitting Bonny point-blank and sending her flying across the battlefield. With a strong impact, Bonny landed on her back against the dome's wall, falling onto the ground a second later.
"Holy shit!" Max exclaimed.
{That urshifu's not playing around.} Scarlet commented.
{Eh. All the better.} Bonny said, slowly standing up with a slightly unhealthy grin. {Beating him is just gonna be even more satisfying.}
"We'll have to think this through a little bit, then. He seems to have both great offense and defense."
Too absorbed by their thoughts, they didn't notice the gym leader giving commands as the urshifu dashed towards Bonny. He went for another Wicked Blow, but Bonny dodged it effortlessly this time.
{Sorry buddy, but you're gonna have to be faster than that if you—}
His first strike was rather slow, but the second one was surprisingly fast as he chained it immediately with Mega Kick. Bonny dodged both attacks by doing a backflip, followed by a triple backflip to create some distance.
[Okay Bonny, let's try this. Use Attract to slow him down.]
{Tsk. It's moments like this that I almost regret learning that move.} She mumbled.
Doing as she was told, albeit reluctantly, Bonny did a twirl before getting into a seductive pose and winking at the urshifu with a warm smile. The wink produced a swirl of hearts heading towards their target, however, despite them circling the urshifu and making contact, it didn't seem to be effective as the Attract didn't even faze him.
"Huh? Is it a female, or…"
{No, he's not. However…} Scarlet answered.
{What the hell?!} Bonny blurted, infuriated. {Hey! How are you not falling on your knees over all of this?!} She asked her opponent while waving at herself.
{Fighting-types are known to have an iron will. Even if that Attract did affect him, most are very good at keeping their "urges" at bay.} The gardevoir explained.
"That, or he's probably not into girls."
{That could be a possibility, indeed.}
{Alright, jerk! Now it's personal!} Bonny growled before rushing at the urshifu.
[Bonny, no! Don't charge in-] Max said, before already remembering that there was practically no way that she'll listen to him when she's like this. In fact, she had already rushed towards the urshifu in a fit of anger. [-head first… And there she goes…]
{*sigh* That's the only downside of that form of hers. Damn she's susceptible to that pride of hers.} Scarlet commented, briefly facepalming.
As soon as she was onto him, Bonny assaulted the urshifu with a flurry of hits, mostly using Ear Punch and Mega Kick along with a few normal punches. With her attacks being easy to predict, the urshifu managed to easily deviate all of Bonny's strikes, despite her bolting speed. After creating an opening, the urshifu used Force Palm and pushed Bonny a couple of meters away.
{You motherfucker…} Bonny growled before dashing at her opponent again.
[That's enough, Bonny!] Max assertively blurted inside Bonny's mind.
Upon hearing him, she stopped mid-charge, still glaring at the urshifu angrily.
[Don't let his nonchalant attitude get under your skin, that's what's giving him the advantage, now settle down!]
Balling her paws into fists, Bonny took deep breaths and almost snarled as she kept staring at the urshifu without moving.
{...Wow, I'm impressed.} Scarlet commented. {Since when are you able to make her listen to you like that?}
"Since now, apparently," Max mumbled to her. [You're smart Bonny, so calm down and think. There must be some kind of trick he's using.]
{Of course, there is, there's no way anyone can resist me and my charm.} She grumbled angrily.
[Then I say we show him a few tricks of our own. He seems to be very aware of frontal assaults, so go underground and try to get him from behind.]
{Alright. You're going down, bitch.}
Bonny then jumped up and dived towards the ground using Dig, the urshifu staying on guard and trying to anticipate where she would pop up. His eyes dashed back and forth with him turning his body to try to spot the lopunny. However, Bonny reappeared right below him and hit him with an uprising uppercut under the chin.
[Blaze Kick, now!]
Still in the air, Bonny attacked with a Blaze Kick, aiming at the side of his head. Surprisingly enough, the urshifu somehow managed to block her attack while still recovering from the last hit.
"Counter!" Martin commanded.
Absorbing Bonny's attack momentum, the urshifu used his left palm to hit Bonny back twice as hard, sending her crashing onto the ground. The urshifu then landed back on his feet with a few bruises but was still standing tall in his battle stance.
{...Gha…} Bonny growled as she looked at her opponent, now getting on all fours. {He's starting to really piss me off.}
The lopunny then stood up, her blood starting to boil.
{Enough playing around.} She mumbled with balling fists.
{Oh boy, there she goes.} Scarlet said, a bit amused.
With dilated eyes and veins showing on her body, Bonny got consumed by her anger and activated her trademark ability: Berserk.
{RRHAAA!} Bonny roared as pure power took over her body and her sense of reasoning.
The lopunny briefly got on all fours before lunging at the urshifu at lightning speed, pulling her leg back for an ungodly Mega Kick. The urshifu blocked it, but the impact was so great that it pushed him away a couple of meters.
"Houla! Heat is rising over zere." Martin commented, impressed by the lopunny's sudden burst of power.
As soon as Bonny was back on him, they exchanged blows for a bit before going all out with their strikes. With the urshifu having more experience and Bonny an extra pair of limbs — her ears, they were more or less at equal power, the two of them blocking or deflecting every strike that they threw at each other. That clash lasted for a moment until they both leaped away before exhausting themselves.
"It is time for the grand finale!" Martin commanded.
Upon hearing his trainer, one of the urshifu's fists began to glow as he prepared a Focus Punch.
"Same here. Bonny, show them what you're really made of."
Understanding what he meant, Bonny crouched a little before her muscles tensed up, showing that she was about to use Return. The two then charged at each other with their respective moves at the same time, creating small dust clouds upon doing so. Both attacks connected, creating a powerful shockwave strong enough to make both trainers fall on their asses and shake the restaurant above them. Fortunately for Max, Bonny seemed to have the upper hand as she mostly stayed in place as the urshifu skidded across the floor and crashed into the dome wall. With both out of breath, the urshifu quickly dropped one knee to the ground, almost unable to fight anymore. Even though she was tired from her last move, Bonny walked toward her opponent to finish him off.
"That's enough, I forfeit this round," Martin said before recalling his pokemon. "No need to give the finishing blow."
Respecting his wishes, Max looked at Bonny who nodded before calling her back to her pokéball.
"Nice job, Bonny. Thanks for listening to me, juggernaut," Max said proudly before putting the shrunken pokeball away.
"I am going to be honest: trainers like you are few and far between." The gym leader expressed. "It has been a while since a trainer put me on edge like zat. I can even say zat I am having fun in our battle."
"Glad to hear it."
"But I am certain zat you understand zat I cannot hand over ze badge zat easily. My goal is to not give it to you, n'est-ce pas?"
"I figured as much, so hit me with your best shot."
"...D'accord." Martin complied. "Time to call upon my most faithful companion."
Withdrawing his last pokéball, Martin released his third pokémon; a blaziken. By its silhouette, Max could guess that it was a female one with mildly thick legs and hips. With one of her hands on her hips and an overly confident and serious expression, she reminded Max a lot of Luna, both sharing the same amount of subtle sassiness. For a brief moment, Max stared at her, but quickly came back to his senses as the blaziken's gaze was almost burning into him. Her stare was such that she could jump and rip him to pieces at any given moment. Feeling a bit uneasy despite appreciating the view, Max chose a pokeball, but unconsciously went for Luna's.
{Luna, Max?} Scarlet asked, welcoming him to reconsider.
"What? No, I… *sigh* I guess that unknowingly to me, I wanted to get Luna to fight that blaziken, to see who's best at keeping an arrogant attitude." Max replied with a tiny smile, putting the pokeball away.
{Be thankful she's not here to hear you, otherwise, I wouldn't be sticking my neck out for you.}
"Maybe not, if I could pass it off as a joke."
{Please, she's not that naive.}
"Tsh, you're right. Well, I guess it's up to Sally to finish this battle."
{…Are you sure she's ready?}
"Pretty sure, yes. Besides, I already told her that she would fight in this gym, so I can't not send her."
{That's true…}
"Anyways, worst-case scenario, Dusk, and Bonny are still able to fight. They might be tired, but they can finish what Sally started if things go south."
{...Alright.} Scarlet conceded.
And at that, Max sent Sally onto the battlefield. She got into a fighting position right as she appeared, albeit with a bit of uncertainty. She wasn't as confident as she would've preferred, but she was getting better. However, the blaziken's intense glare switched over to Sally, sending shivers in her spine and making her scared all over again.
"Je vois. Fighting fire with fire. Très intéressant." Martin commented. "Build up your spirit, Michie."
The blaziken followed suit by concentrating her energy and boosting her critical hit ratio with Focus Energy.
[Don't give her a chance to act, start building up speed with Flame Charge.]
{O-Okay.}
After engulfing herself in flames, the cinderace charged at the blaziken.
*vlam*
However, after a couple of steps, Sally got interrupted by a Fire Punch to the side of her head, making her lose her balance and fall helplessly a bit further, canceling her move.
{Ow. That hurt.} Sally said, standing up while rubbing where she got hit.
[It's okay, Sally. Don't let that slow you down. Open your eyes and keep using Flame Charge.]
Taking a deep breath, Sally did what she was told and aimed at the blaziken. This time, she waited until Sally was near her to dodge at the last second and countered with a Blaze Kick when at leg's reach. Luckily, since her sense of awareness was a bit better, Sally managed to dodge the hit by spinning and backing up.
[Nice dodge, Sally.] Max praised.
Sally couldn't respond in time, as the blaziken was on her again, grabbing her and tossing her in the air. The blaziken then immediately followed up with Aerial Ace, hurting Sally even more before crashing onto the ground. Now on her back, Sally was already out of breath, feeling her strength leaving her, little by little.
[Come on, Sally. You can do it. You're stronger than you think, and I know you can do a lot more than that.] Max encouraged her. [You're the best Sally, so get up and show that blaziken who the better fire-type is!]
Her trainer's encouraging words were raising Sally's fighting spirit. Her will to win was slowly starting to sink in, causing her to roll on her belly and get on all fours, staring at her opponent with a look of determination.
{Going for her ability, I see.} Scarlet said with a grin.
"Yup, Heat Up. An ability that increases the user's combat power proportionally to its fighting spirit. The hotter she burns, the more passionate she gets. The more passionate she gets, the stronger she becomes." Max mentioned proudly.
{That is quite the ability, even if the drawbacks are pretty bad.}
"Not having any weaknesses would have been suspicious. Not only does it burn up more energy than she can produce, but if used too much especially outside a battle context, it can actually kill her."
{Having your own organs melted away by overheating. That's pretty gruesome.}
"Yeah, but luckily, inside a battle dome, she's safe on that side. Besides, her internal temperature needs to get incredibly high in order for that to happen."
{And she still has a long way to go before her fighting spirit can get that intense.}
"Now let's wonder if that's a bad or good thing." [Come on, Sally. Kick her ass!]
As she was standing up, Sally's temperature rose, visible due to the steaming air around her and the very little embers that were coming out of her nose and mouth with each breath.
[Flame Charge again. We need more speed.]
With much more power and speed, Sally charged at the blaziken with the same move, the blaziken dodging it despite that. However, the good thing about Flame Charge is that the user's speed increases regardless of if it hits or not, even if by a little.
[Again!]
Doing the move again, Sally dashed at the blaziken, who dodged her once more. This went on a few times until Sally became fast enough so her opponent couldn't dodge in time, making her resort to blocking. With Sally landing a strong punch on her foe, the blaziken got pushed a couple of inches away, before going for a Fire Punch. To everyone's surprise, Sally somehow managed to grab her wrist and threw her a few meters away, making the blaziken land on her back with a grunt.
{What was that?} Scarlet wondered out loud.
"I'm not sure… Maybe a little maneuver Bonny taught her? That lopunny is good with locking down her opponents, kind of unexpected that she uses that now."
{It just shows that pokemon battles aren't always about screaming moves. Regular self-defense and fighting tactics can work just as well.}
"You couldn't be more right." Max approved proudly. [Continue with Jump Kick.]
As soon as the blaziken was back on her feet, she got hit by Sally's attack, knocking her down once more.
"Hm, this does not look good… Michie?"
Standing up with one knee down, the blaziken gave Sally an intense glare before reaching inside her beige mane. With Martin doing the same with a trinket they failed to notice until now, the blaziken glowed brightly and changed into her mega-form.
"...Shit…" Max expressed, having a bad feeling about this. "That's not good."
{Max. Sally. Move. Now.} Scartle urged a little.
[Don't let her get near you! Pyro Ball Barrage, now!]
Spotting the debris of Bonny's Dig move, Sally grabbed a large chunk and dribbled it a few times until it became a large fireball, kicking it at the blaziken, which she obviously dodged. Sally immediately retaliated by firing multiple Pyro Balls, essentially raining hellfire on the blaziken. While dodging everything, the blaziken rushed towards Sally and hit her with a Flare Blitz, getting a critical hit thanks to her Focus Energy. The cinderace landed with a thud a few meters away and was having a harder time getting up, her opponent standing tall despite Flare Blitz's recoil damage.
"Let us finish off with some dessert!" Martin commanded.
Before Sally could even get back on her feet, the blaziken went all out and used Brave Bird, tossing Sally against the dome wall at high speed. She crashed into the wall and fell to the ground, unable to continue as she fainted shortly after.
"...Damnit," Max growled before recalling her. "Good job, Sally. No matter what you think, you were amazing," Max whispered before putting the pokéball away.
{This loss isn't gonna do well for her confidence.} Scarlet mentioned.
"Tell me something I don't know, Scarlet."
She didn't like how rudely he replied to her, but she let it slide knowing that he didn't mean it. After all, this wasn't the first time they've had to help a friend get over losing.
{...Who are you gonna call back to finish the job?}
"I don't know. Bonny's the one who's less exhausted, but Dusk has been resting for a while now."
{You should go with Bonny. At worst, it'll give Dusk more time to recover.}
"And that blaziken can mega-evolve, too. Bonny should definitely be next since she can too."
{Indeed, but she'll have to finish this quickly. Mega blazikens have a really annoying ability that boosts their speed as they fight.}
"It's risky, but it's the only chance we got."
{If that chicken stays in the fight for too long, no one would be able to catch up anymore.}
"Then let's not waste any more time," Max replied while releasing Bonny again.
Since she had just been recalled, she seemed to have recovered a little, but it was obvious that she was still fatigued from her last battle.
[Okay, Bonny, I know it may sound reckless, but you'll have to give everything you have right off the bat.]
[I see.] Bonny replied while eyeing her opponent. [Is it that bad?]
[Her speed will keep increasing so long as she can still fight, so we better knock her out before she becomes unbeatable.]
[Alright, not the most preferable way to get back into battle, but if anyone's unbeatable… It's me. However, I'll have to take a few more hits to go berserk again.]
[Are you sure you can take it? It's risky, especially since that mega-blaziken is gonna hit like a truck.]
[Hey, I didn't master my ability to activate it at will, alright? Cut me some slack.] Bonny replied contentiously.
[...*sigh*. Okay, but don't you dare go down before that.]
[Pff. As if.] Bonny retorted arrogantly.
Oddly enough, the blaziken didn't attack first and only stared at Bonny. In fact, she smiled confidently with her arms crossed as Mega-Bonny stood before her, hoping that this bunny would give her a better fight than the last one. Whether it was her nature as a fighting-type or her own pride, she was excited about this next battle; Two mega-evolutions battling for dominance.
Max then communicated with Bonny to give her their game plan. [Let's get her riled up for now. Start with standard moves like Mega Kicks while trying to incorporate Ear Punches.]
[On it.] Bonny acknowledged before rushing at the blaziken at an alluring speed with Mega Kick.
Bonny's speed threw the blaziken a bit off-guard, but managed to dodge her despite Bonny closing the distance so fast. She immediately followed up with a few Ear Punches, all of which were blocked by her adversary before the two of them traded blows for a bit. The blaziken then tried to surprise her with Low Sweep, but Bonny dodged by jumping while using Mega Kick, causing the fire-type to stumble back a bit with Bonny leaping back in a tactical retreat. She quickly rushed over and was about to use Mega Punch, but saw a Counter at the last second and instead hit her on her side, the blaziken immediately counter-attacking with a flurry with Fire Punches. Bonny raised her arms to defend against the assault, however, she wanted to tank every hit so she'd get closer to activating her ability again. Then, after a while, the blaziken stopped her Fire Punch assault and tried to get through her defenses with a quick Flare Blitz.
*Vlam*
However, it was too late. Bonny took just enough damage to activate her ability, her power now at its peak as she stopped her opponent with her bare paws.
[This fight has gone on long enough.] Max said. [Time to finish this!]
Using her extraordinary strength, Bonny pushed the blaziken a couple of meters away and immediately used Return, tossing the fire/fighting-type pokemon against the dome wall, despite her blocking the attack to the best of her abilities. Bonny then immediately jumped in the air before hitting a very powerful High Jump Kick onto the blaziken, creating a rather strong shockwave as the fire-type crashed head-first into the wall before tumbling down. Now out of breath, Bonny moved away from the unanimated pokemon with a back jump before her opponent collapsed to the ground, reverting back to her normal form. After doing the same, the lopunny sat down, trying to catch her breath.
{There…} She commented exhaustingly. {How do you like… *pant* Them apples?}
"Yes!" Max mumbled with a balled fist. "That's how we do it!"
{Another win for the books.} Scarlet praised.
Looking disappointed yet a bit amused, Martin recalled his pokémon.
"You put up a good fite Michie, so zere's nozing to be ashamed of," Martin said to his pokéball.
With the dome disappearing, Max walked and kneeled down next to Bonny to pet and praise her. Meanwhile, Martin gently and slowly clapped his hands as he approached the pair.
"Bravo! You are truly a daunting trainer!" The gym leader praised them. "A little more and I would not have been able to beat any of your pokemon, which hasn't happened for a long time."
"Yeah. My cinderace is a novice when it comes to real battling, and she still has some trouble with her self-confidence."
Bonny immediately felt bad for her friend, knowing that another defeat would wreck her morale for a while.
"Ah, pokemon… Such magnificent creatures, so full of mystery, yet so simple at ze same time. As a trainer, it will be your responsibility to support and make zem flourish so zey can become ze best version of zemselves."
"Haha. It's not easy, especially with the crazy bunch I have…" Max replied with a smile, scratching the side of Bonny's head. "But you're right. They need us as much as we need them."
"Indeed. Zerefore, I am pleased to bestow upon you ze fist badge." The gym leader announced while handing Max a badge shaped like a side-viewed fist, the latter standing up to grab it.
"Awesome. Six down, four to go."
"You have six already? You are one step closer to ze regional league championship. It always takes place around September, so you should have plenty of time to get the remaining four."
"Yeah. I missed the last two, so I'm gonna make sure to participate in this one. Once we win, it's off to Worlds for us."
"Seigneur! Such passion, I love it! But be sure to be well prepared first, the Rados Regional is no joke, let alone the world championship. I have seen trainers giving up their careers after participating just once."
"I appreciate the heads up, but I'm not worried about the competition at all. Not with the team I have," Max assured him before showing Bonny a hand to help her up.
"Trust between trainer and pokémon… If you have zat, then half of the job is already done."
"Just leave the other half to us," Max affirmed, petting Bonny, who let out a soft, content squeak.
"Magnifique. Keep that state of mind and you shall go far, indeed. Unfortunately, I'll have to ask you to leave at once as more work is awaiting me."
"Oh, yeah. Of course."
With Martin smiling, Max recalled Bonny and followed him back inside the elevator, accompanied by Scarlet. Going through the same way in which they came, Max was saluted once more by the gym leader before exiting the building.
{Well?} Scarlet asked eagerly.
"Heh… Eager, are we?"
{What makes you say that?}
"I don't know. Maybe how you said it with overwhelming excitement gave it away?"
{I don't know what you're talking about.}
"Haha. Let's just ignore your pounding heart then and let's go."
{...A well-renowned Spa for pokémon… I wonder what I should expect?} Scarlet said a short moment later.
"Nice stuff, I'm sure."
Max then looked at Scarlet next to him.
"I rarely see you that excited for something. What gives?"
{Not true. I'm often excited when it's about you.}
"But today, it's not about me, which makes it even more surprising."
Scarlet then pondered for a few seconds.
{...Honestly, I don't know. Maybe I just have a good feeling about this.}
"Haha, perhaps. Intense pampering is always something to be interested in."
{Although, I will make one thing absolutely clear: no human is allowed to touch me. Pokémon, whether male or female, I can tolerate in this setting, but you're the only human who has that privilege.}
"And that status quo will probably last for a while."
{Will last forever, you mean.}
"But don't you want to feel good? I know I've taken classes for that, but there are true professionals that have years of experience working there. Some might be better than me."
{I don't give a fuck, if one tries to get their hands on me, they're gonna lose their arms, okay?}
"Their entire arms? That's mean. You could at least remove only their hands."
{I think I'm being nice enough by only ripping their arms off and not killing them.}
"Well, when you put it that way…"
{It's not gonna be fun for anyone, so please, just tell them to keep their hands away from me.}
"*sigh* Alright." Max complied. "I'm sure there's plenty of other ways to relax without having staff members be involved."
The two of them walked through the city for a while until they arrived at the location of the PokéSpa. The building was strangely on a small hill, creating the need to build hundreds of steep rocky stairs to reach it. The infrastructure itself was visually appealing without being too fancy, especially since it had large glass doors at the front.
{Oof. It smells pretty weird here.} Scarlet commented after both entered. {I mean, it doesn't smell bad, but…}
"It's a spa that specializes in pokémon treatment. What, did you think there'd be some kind of dark ritual or sorcery going on?" Max jested.
{…No comment.}
As a customer was leaving with a jigglypuff, Max approached the counter where the man behind it was just being done helping another.
"Welcome to the PokeSpa, sir. What can I do for you, today?"
"Hi there. It's my first time here and I was wondering what I could expect from this place."
"Oh, but a lot of things. Here's a list of the services we offer here," The man replied while pointing at a paper inside a large plastic case lying on the counter.
"Alright. Let's- Damn! That's quite the list. You guys really do all of that here?"
"Of course. If you think it's a bit too much for you, we have two different methods for you to enjoy your stay; You pay for individual services that strike your fancy, or you pay an 'all service' fee that lasts for the day."
"I can understand the first one, but what does the second imply, actually?"
"That for the price listed plus tax, you will have an all-day pass that allows you to use whatever services you request until closing time."
"Ooh! That's actually pretty neat. Now the big question: How expensive is it?"
"The base price is listed here, but it all depends on the amount of pokémon in your party and their size."
"Well, I have seven pokémon and they all vary in size, actually."
"I see… So long as they're smaller than a tyranitar, the fee will be the same. Anything larger than that and we charge extra."
"Sounds like a pretty strange rule."
"More or less. You'll agree that a pikachu doesn't have the same needs and doesn't take up as much space as a steelix."
"Ah. When you put it like that, that does make sense."
"To calculate how much it might cost, may you show me your pokémon, please?"
"Sure, one second…" Max complied before releasing his entire team. "Here they are."
"Fascinating…" The man said as he inspected his team. "They are all more or less the same size… Your zoroark, is quite imposing, however."
"Yeah, she's a pretty tall lady," Max said before both he and Luna exchanged discreet seductive glances.
"Alright. Let me enter the info and calculate how much it will cost. Will you be taking the all-day pass?"
"Yes."
With a nod, the man proceeded to type on his computer.
{So, this is the PokéSpa…} Aurora commented while looking around.
"Not quite. We're still just at the entrance." Max mentioned.
{I can't wait to see what awaits us.} Bonny said.
{Me too.} Dusk replied, quickly joined by May.
Smiling, Max then looked at Sally, who was looking absentminded and a little gloomy. He wanted to go cheer her up but got interrupted by the man who held out a plastic card.
"Here you go, sir. Your total will come up to $1,285."
"Ouch…" Max expressed. "Am I glad that I actually have money to afford this sort of stuff. No way I would have been able to pay that two years ago," He added before taking his debit card out.
{And to think that some humans say that money doesn't bring joy. I know eight pokémon/human who will have fun today.} Scarlet mentioned with crossed arms.
{You bet. Ohh, I can't wait to just lay down on a bed and let my worries just melt away.} Bonny said.
{I'm curious as to what group activities there are so we can all have fun together.} Dusk remarked.
{It could be fun, unless there are a lot of things that are too type-specific.} Aurora mentioned.
{We'll manage, we always do.} Luna said.
Right as they were leaving the counter, Bonny was the next one to notice Sally's long face. Immediately knowing why, she walked next to her and gently tapped her back.
{What about you, sis? Aren't you excited about this?}
{Huh? Oh, um… y-yeah. Of course, I am. Hehe.} The cinderace replied, faking a laugh. {With Max as our master, it doesn't matter if we deserve it or not, right? Hehe.}
Bonny then looked at Sally with concern.
{Of course, it matters to him. Everything that he gives us, we've always deserved it.}
{I…}
"Here you go, you're all set. Enjoy your stay." The man wished after handing him a brochure to go with the card.
"Thanks. Come on, girls. Time to have some fun."
{We could have some real fun, but you don't like doing it in public-} Scarlet said while she and the girls started following him.
{Come on, Sally. Let's try to have some fun, we'll think of other things later. Okay?} Bonny said to Sally, trying to encourage her.
{...Alright. I'll try.} She complied before giving a convincingly fake smile and followed the rest of the group.
Not one hundred percent convinced Bonny let out a soft sigh before doing the same.
"Okay. Where should we start… Wait a minute," Max said, stopping.
{What is it?} Aurora asked.
"Is there anything here for humans? Am I even allowed to be here?"
{I didn't see anyone trying to stop you.} Scarlet pointed out, a bit confused by his sudden worries.
"Maybe, but… what will I do in stuff like an iron powdered bath or a… soul chamber? Shit. It sounds like a place to be sacrificed."
{We'll figure out something. Mind if I see that?} Scarlet said before impatiently snatching the brochure from Max's hand.
"You forgot to say 'please'," Max scolded with crossed arms.
{Please. Now let's see…} She said in a disinterested way. {Well, I guess you guys can start with a standard massage.}
{A massage? Why?} May asked. {We already have master who takes care of that.}
"I know, but there are experienced professionals who do this for a living."
{It says here that the masseurs are grapplocts. From what I know about them, they would be perfect for that kind of job.} Scarlet mentioned.
{Better than master?} Bonny asked, skeptical.
{They have four tentacles they can work with, all of which are strong and agile.}
{...Well… I mean…} Bonny said, starting to reconsider.
"Call me paranoid, but did you try to make it sound sexual?"
{Yep, you're totally paranoid, mister 'sex isn't everything in life'.}
"*Sigh* Anyway, four limbs are better than two, especially if they are smooth and flexible."
{Not sure I'm really all about tentacles.} Aurora shared.
{Me neither.} May agreed.
"It won't kill to try. At worst, we can leave and try something else. Is it okay with you, Scarlet?"
{Why are you asking?}
"Because it won't be a human who will be touching you."
{Ah. Well, I… guess it's better…} The gardevoir replied. {...Like I said earlier, I can tolerate it at most…}
"Awesome."
{But not without warning him that if he tries something funny, his blood will splatter everywhere.}
"And if it's a she?"
{Same deal.}
"...Alright then." Max said, raising an eyebrow.
{What? Did I crush your hopes of seeing female-on-female action?} She asked with a small smirk.
"Not really. Just thought you would be more… tolerant towards females."
{Only one person in this world is allowed to inappropriately touch me, no matter the gender.}
"Alright, alright. Gotta appreciate being the lucky guy. Onward, then."
With an enthusiastic team, Max walked through the building and headed where the grapploct massage was happening. Along the way, they snooped around, trying to get a glimpse of what could be done here. To Dusk's slight disappointment, practically no one was interested in the same activity, with each one interesting half of the group at best. However, she more or less anticipated that from how different all of her friends were from each other. Later, they reached a rather large room where multiple massaging tables were aligned. When in, they saw a few of them being used already.
{Hello there, welcome to the grapploct massage center.} A young woman greeted them at the entrance.
"Hi. Is there room for seven pokemon?"
"Certainly. Do you have an all-day pass with us?"
"Yes, I do," Max confirmed while showing her plastic card the receptionist handed to him.
"Perfect. I'll take it for now and give it to you as soon as you're all done."
"Really?" Max replied, handing her the pass. "That's peculiar."
"Believe it or not, we had some problems with people 'sharing' their passes within these walls, so we had to take precautionary measures."
"Ah, I see."
"Thank you for understanding, have a great day." She wished before leaving them.
{Pass contrabands for a spa… Just how low can humans sink?} Scarlet commented with disdain.
"Let's think about that kind of stuff, alright?" Max said with a confident smile. "We're here to forget about our troubles for a bit, not add on to them."
{...You're right. Sorry. I don't want to ruin anything.} Scarlet apologized sincerely.
"Great. Now girls, let's enjoy ourselves."
A moment later, the entire group was lying on their belly on a massaging table with grapplocts working on their tense muscles. Since Max was doing a good job himself, there wasn't a lot for the grapplocts to work on, but due to them being trained professionals, they were able to reach certain parts of the body that Max missed.
"This… *moans* Where has this been all my life?" Max commented while having warm and oily tentacles pressing against his back.
{Well, I still prefer your touches, but this actually isn't half bad.} Scarlet shared who happened to be right next to him.
"And it's not a human. Nothing but joy, right?"
{Kinda. I wouldn't be where I am if it was the case.}
"Hahaha."
Max then looked past her and saw his team receiving the same treatment, everyone seemingly enjoying it. At the far end, Sally and Bonny were lying next to each other, probably talking. They were a bit too far to see and hear them properly, but Max just remembered how down Sally was looking earlier and couldn't see if she was feeling better. He told himself that he'll take time for her after their spa day, hoping that she'll feel a bit better after. Next to them were Aurora and Luna, who seemed to be doing the same with their impassable faces. And on the other side of Scarlet were Dusk and May, with the mawile having a special treatment due to her smaller size; Instead of a grapploct handling her, it was a sylveon, who was standing over her doing what a grapploct would do with its surprisingly large ribbons. Strangely enough, seeing a sylveon reminded him of the one he met not long after he started his journey.
[I'm a little too busy to know what exactly, but you're thinking something, aren't you?] Scarlet asked with closed eyes.
[Kinda… Seeing that sylveon reminded me of the one we met a long time ago. You know, the one that was into her trainer but he was oblivious to her approach?]
[Oh yeah, Jack and Livia. I honestly feel bad for the guy, he has no idea what he was missing out on.]
[Why is it that you remember that specifically?]
[Because it's the only thing that was worth remembering.]
[…Fair enough, I guess.] He said, looking at the sylveon.
Max wasn't very fond of quadrupeds, but he had to admit that some were very pretty and enticing.
[Oh. So you finally decided to go that way, huh?] Scarlet said with a small grin.
[What do you mean by "that way"?]
[I can feel your slight lust for that sylveon.]
[Well, I'm actually thinking about that time I did with Livia. Besides, they are pretty pokemon, don't you think?]
[Even him?]
[Him? Wait, is that…]
[A male sylveon? Yes.] Scarlet confirmed, a bit amused.
[…Nevermind, then.] Max said with Scarlet feeling his desire going away. [Well, I guess it doesn't change the fact they're still pretty.]
[Haha. Someday…]
[Seriously, what's up with your desire to make me do homosexual stuff?]
[Because it embarrasses you and it amuses me, I'd say.]
[Uh huh… Well, I wonder how you would like it if I were to do that to you.]
[Go ahead. I highly doubt that it will affect me as much as you.]
[Why? Don't tell you don't have a little bit of lesbian in you?]
[You know too well that not really, but it's not that big of a deal.]
[Really now?]
[Hm hmm.] Scarlet confirmed.
[...What if I was a girl, then?]
[What? Say that again?]
[On the day we met, if I were a girl, what would you have done?]
[What would have I done? I'm not sure I understand what you mean.]
[Me finding and helping you back outside of Ousa, only I was a girl. Would you have the same affection for me as you do right now?]
Scarlet then thought for a moment. Not for an answer, but more for imagining how he would have looked like as a woman.
[If you had saved me as you did, I don't see why I wouldn't love you all the same.]
[Even if we were the same gender?]
[The gender in that situation is pretty irrelevant.]
[...Okay. Now what about your sexual life?]
[What about it?]
[Would you still have one if I were a girl?]
This time, Scarlet legitimately thought about the question.
[Well… maybe I would have desired you just the same as today.]
[As a girl?]
[Yes. What's wrong with that?]
[Nothing, but you just said that you're not much of a lesbian.]
[And I don't.]
[You… Okay, you completely lost me there. You're contradicting yourself.]
[Not at all. Since you're a male, I'm considered straight, but if you were a female, I would have been lesbian. It's that simple.]
[Speak for yourself. So you're telling me that you can change your orientation at will?]
[Of course, nothing can change that. Well, I mean, maybe if we spent years modifying our own minds, but who would want to do something so tedious for something that doesn't matter?]
[I'm… Not sure I follow.]
[*Sigh* Say, ever wondered why I always wanted to mate with you after knowing each other for only three days?]
[Well, if we include the horrible things you went through, yes. I do ask myself that question sometimes. How come someone so broken and violent be so docile almost instantly?]
[Well, for the most part, because I was too weak to try anything against someone I didn't know. But after that, it's because it was you, master.]
[Me? What do you mean by that?]
[Before meeting you, all I ever felt in life was pain and regret. Punches, scratches, bites, and every painful thing you can imagine were the only things my skin ever felt. So what do you think happened when I felt your soft, gentle, and delicate touches for the first time ever?]
[Hem… something… intense?]
[Yes, but not quite there yet. It's hard to explain, but discovering that there was something else in life other than suffering made my entire being melt. I immediately got addicted and intoxicated by that positive behavior. For the first time since I was born, I was allowed to live and exist and be myself. So yeah, when you asked about where I came from or if my friends and family were worried about me, I lost control and burst into tears before wanting to feel you inside me. It was like my lust, which was caged in a dark corner and forgotten because of how many times I was raped, manifested at that moment, starving for true, genuine love after all those years of abuse.]
[I… I understand now. That was… Pretty deep.]
[You asked, so I answered. Where I was going with that is that whether you were male or female, it wouldn't have changed what happened and I would've loved you just the same.]
Max then got thoughtful at what he just heard.
[You know what I'm thinking?]
[Hmm?]
[I think that... you were meant to be a nice and kind pokemon from the very start, Scarlet. Life just… tried to break you and deny you of that. I'm glad it didn't succeed.]
[Not without leaving a few scars, at least.]
[Well, nothing that my love can't heal from, right?]
[Pffft- Holy shit! It has been a while since you have been that cheesy.] She said, amused. [But… yeah. It's a slow process.]
[We'll get you there. Remember what I told you? Slow and steady improvements are what real progress is.]
[...Maybe…]
~POVC~
{Aah! Isn't this great?} Bonny commented, feeling the tensions from the last fight slowly fade away.
{...I guess.} Sally replied, not as enthusiastically as Bonny.
{Come on, Sally. Stop thinking about that battle. Anyone would tell you that, but you're just beating yourself up about it.}
{I… I'm trying, but I can't. I've trained as hard as the rest of you, so why can't I still win a fight? Master will probably get tired of me.}
{Now that's just crazy talk right there. I-... Wow, I guess I'm not one to talk since I used to think like that too.}
{Well, it would make sense to me. Everyone gets tired of me eventually.}
{That's not true. Back then, maybe, but not anymore. Nobody is or will ever get tired of you, much less master.}
{Yeah… For now…}
At the moment, Bonny didn't know how to respond, so she very softly sighed so Sally couldn't hear her.
{I just want to make him happy, Bonny. Is that too much to ask?} Sally started. {I'm dumb, incompetent, and even with my Heat Up ability, I still couldn't beat that blaziken. It would only be fair that I ended up alone again.}
{Now that's something that would hurt Max if he heard you.}
{See? That's what I'm talking about! It's just impossible for me to do anything right.}
Bonny definitely didn't like how Sally was degrading herself, even more so since she now sees her as her sister. Yet despite it being a simple defeat, she knew that her pain was so much more than that, and she could speak from experience. Like everyone else in the group, some recurring instances could make old habits reemerge.
{I'm not so sure about that. He's always smiling and laughing whenever he spends time with you.}
{It's… not that hard to believe. I mostly do as he asks and-}
{Yeah, that's just bullshit. Hell, he praises you sometimes for how much initiative you take when in bed with him.}
{That's not hard either. Everyone on the team can do that.}
{Really? Was it always that way with you? Would you have said the same before meeting him?}
{I…}
At that, Sally didn't have anything to retort.
{That's what I thought. You may not have noticed because you're too focused on your mistakes, but you're improving, Sally. At your own rhythm, sure, but still.}
{...Really? I don't really see how I'm any better than back in Togetheart.}
{Well, it's there, and trust me… Master won't get tired of you or belittle you for your mistakes. He's not like anyone you've ever met, you know this. I know this.}
{...I know, but… I'm still scared of messing things up. For the first time in my life, I have everything that I could ever want, and I don't want to waste it.}
{You won't Sally, so stop thinking about it. If you weren't making any effort in anything I wouldn't say so, but you are. If you never stop, you'll just get better and better until you succeed in pretty much anything.}
Sally then sighed softly.
{...I just wanted to show him what I can do and make him win, but that was an epic fail.}
{Haha… You seem to love that term, don't you?}
{Well, kinda. Yeah.}
{Hehe. Those 'epic fails' videos sure make you laugh hard.}
{Yeah. They're really funny.}
{Those videos just show you that there are others worse than you.}
{Hehe. Although it's not technically a fail video, that one with the dancing mareep is my favorite. I almost peed myself the first time I saw it.}
{Agreed. It's almost funnier than messing with master. Say, next time we settle in the wilderness, we could go watch some more.} Bonny proposed.
{Definitely. That would be nice.} Sally approved with a warm smile.
After a while, the group massage session was over and they left to do something else. Unfortunately, this is where everyone went to do their own relaxing activities, those that were meant for their specific typing. Scarlet and Dusk were together inside a psychic-type relaxation chamber, where they sat on a comfortable chair inside a smaller room and have artificial psychic waves make contact with their brains, almost debilitating them of how relaxing it was.
Aurora and May, on the other hand, went to take iron baths together, which had them dip in a sand-like metallic powder. The sensation would be horrible for anyone else, as it is known to cause itching and rashes for all non-steel types and was especially unpleasant for ground and rock-types. For a steel-type, however, it was as if the powder was magnetically pulling their stress and tensions away, vibrating the ions in their bones ever so slightly.
Not wanting to leave Sally alone inside a fire-type room, she and Bonny opted for something they could enjoy together; music therapy. With both having great hearing due to their well-developed ears, the various sound waves penetrated their very souls, making them feel relaxed and even a bit nostalgic depending on the settings they chose.
As for Luna, being a dark-type, she went for one that best suited her; "The Cube". Not wanting to leave her alone as well, Max proposed himself to accompany her, which she gladly accepted. The Cube was a virtual reality room in which users can submerge themselves into any calming environment, complete with synthetic touch sensors so they would feel like they were actually there. The environment they ended up choosing was a calm night in a forest environment, complete with relaxing sounds, a starry sky, and even a large full moon shining down on them. Luna was impressed at how this room reminded her of the illusions she made, only that they felt real, and she was very grateful to share that moment with Max.
Once the group was done with their respective activities, they all tried different things while switching partners and groups. One moment the clawed pokémon were getting manicures, the furry pokémon were getting their fur-trimmed while the rest were getting pedicures while wearing mud masks. Aurora even received a nice polish of the metal spikes on her paws, with May receiving some special treatment for her maw. After some more activities, they were now all resting in one large jacuzzi, with Dusk and Sally sharing another that was boiling hot next to Max and the gang.
"Ahh… I'm telling you, I can't remember the last time I've felt this good," Max expressed while resting the back of his head against the wall behind him.
{Amen to that.} Scarlet agreed, who had her head resting against his right shoulder. {When Dusk and I were in that psychic-type room, oh boy… I literally felt all my muscles melt into a puddle, I felt so good. And when I say all my muscles, I mean all of them. Even those we can't see directly.}
"Okay, no need to go into that much detail," Max interrupted.
{What? I thought you liked dirty jokes.}
"I like jokes, but they don't have to be that gross."
{Hmph. Pussy.}
"Kiss my ass," Max retorted while briefly tickling her neck.
{Sure. Turn yourself around and I'll do it.}
"Aaand now that you want to, I'm gonna have to decline."
{Suit yourself. That means I can stay here like this without moving.}
"Tsk. Alright, I'll say the thing you love to hear the most; you win."
{Yay. And it's not the one I like to hear the most. It comes third after 'I love you' and 'Let's fuck right now'.}
"You don't say… Well, glad to see that you're relaxed. How're my other champions doing?"
{Never better.} Bonny answered. {This place is amazing.}
{Incredible.} Dusk approved.
{I definitely didn't expect them to polish my spikes.} Aurora mentioned, looking at her right spike. {I mean, they don't get dull so easily, but I never thought about giving them attention like that.}
"And the results turned great. They never were that shiny."
{I just hope it won't make me look too girly.}
"Is that actually a thing?"
{Yes. I believe for lucarios, it's the equivalent of having false nails or makeup on humans.} Scarlet theorized.
"Really?" Max said, looking at Aurora.
{Well, more or less. It wouldn't be that much, but for us, why waste so much time on your looks when you could use that time to train instead?} The lucario explained.
{*sigh* Training, training, and more training. Does a fighting-type ever talk about something else?} Scarlet commented with closed eyes.
{...Of course, we do, given that we actually have interesting subjects to discuss.} Aurora replied a bit defensively.
"It's okay, Aurora. I'm sure she didn't want to sound mean. Right, love?" Max asked before giving her an elbow nudge.
{Did I?} She inquired, opening her eyes.
"A little bit." Max confirmed.
{Oh. I was more or less lost in my thoughts, so sorry if it came out wrong.}
{It's alright, but what did you mean?} The lucario asked.
{Well, I wasn't referring to you specifically, but I know that fighting-types, in general, are just a bit uptight in my opinion. It's as if their entire lives revolved solely around training.}
"Well… it's kinda in their nature, thus why they are labeled as 'fighting' type."
{I know, but sometimes I wonder if they ever have fun in life. Always talking about the next fight can get annoying after a while.}
{In that case, I must be more annoying than Aurora.} Bonny stated. {I'm more about kicking ass than her.}
"She has a point."
{I was just sharing a personal statement, geez.} Scarlet replied calmly.
"That's why you have the right to remain silent, as everything you say can and will be used against you."
{Uh huh… And if I don't, will I get handcuffed?} She asked with seductive eyes.
"If you're becoming a nuisance, I might just do it."
{Aww, look at you, acting all tough in front of everyone, but we all know that you're the one who likes being tied up.}
"Pff. No way. Don't listen to her, girls. I'm the boss around here," Max affirmed confidently.
{Haha. You wish.}
{Come on, Scarlet. You're gonna make him cry again.} Aurora nagged playfully.
{Hehe. Alright. Let's pretend that it's true, then.}
"Yes, score one for the human," Max jested.
{Speaking of fights, any information about what gym is next?} May asked, who was in Max's arms so her head stayed out of the water.
"No clue… I'll look into that after we're done here."
{So far, the gyms we battled were rock-type, grass-type, water-type, electric-type, fire-type, and now fighting-type.} Bonny enumerated. {I wonder what the next gym will be.}
"Well, we can pretty much exclude ghost-types and, well… normal-types," Max said, hesitating with the last part.
{Hmm… Understandable, I guess. Without me around, there's no point in specializing in normal-types.} Bonny boasted confidently.
"Heh heh, you said it. You could have an entire gym all to yourself if you wanted to." Max praised.
{Hihi.}
{Why ghost-types, though?} Aurora asked.
{Aside from being annoying freaks of nature, ghost-types aren't very human-friendly.} Scarlet explained. {Well… most of them.}
"And also because they are pretty hard to capture and train. Being able to be intangible at will makes them quite rare amongst trainers."
{Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a lot of 'honest' trainers with dark-type pokemon.} Luna mentioned.
"Yeah. I did some research, and it's no wonder why dark-types have a bad reputation. They are so inclined to be marginally evil that neither they nor humans get along very well unless they're both scumbags. Fortunately, not everyone follows that stereotype and there is a decent percentage that remains civilized, so to speak. I feel very privileged to have a gold-hearted zoroark such as yourself, Luna. Not only are you kind, but you break that stereotype altogether. Sure, you're a little anti-social, but you have a nice personality to make up for it."
{...Thank you, little pup. I can't really speak for myself, but I trust your judgment.} The zoroark replied with a warm smile.
After mimicking a kiss at her, Max looked to his right.
"What about you, girls?" He asked his cinderace and delphox in the hot tub next to his. "My two hottest 'mons didn't really answer my question."
{Hem… well…} Sally started, looking at Dusk, in the hope she would answer first.
{Go on.} Dusk said softly with a smile, motioning her to begin.
{I… I had a good day. Really.} The cinderace answered with a semi-faked smile.
"Great. How's the water?"
{Pretty nice, actually. Though I wouldn't mind it being a little bit hotter.}
{I agree.} Dusk approved.
"Seriously? Your water is almost past its boiling point. It already would if it wasn't from the minerals in the tub."
{Kind of expected from a fire-type, no?} Scarlet remarked, half-mocking Max, making him roll his eyes.
"That's nice to hear, but how do you actually feel? Like, emotionally?"
Upon hearing him, Sally's eyes and ears dropped down.
{...Okay, I guess.}
"Still feeling bad about that defeat?"
{...Kinda…} She shyly admitted, looking away.
"It's okay, Sally. Don't feel bad about it. Even though you lost, you contributed to the win nonetheless."
{Maybe, but… it's… not really about losing.}
"...Eh, I figured as much," Max announced.
{You… did?} Sally said, looking at Max, slightly surprised.
"Of course. To be a competent trainer, you have to be a pokémon expert at a minimum as well as know your team on a personal level. And I'm confident to say that I know you, Sally. You feel useless when you don't succeed, even if you do your absolute best. You love me and your friends so much that you put way too much pressure on yourself to not disappoint us. You're also terrified that we'll end up leaving you and you'll be forced to go back to your old life because of your "incompetence", am I right?"
The girls took a moment to look at each other a bit impressed, Scarlet feeling proud of her trainer. Sally was astonished at the fact that Max had read her like a book, even the parts she didn't notice herself.
"It may take a while for you to understand and we might even have this conversation multiple times, but I don't care. We're not like everyone you've known so far. It sucks to lose, I'm aware of that, so we won't scold you for feeling bad or frustrated for not succeeding. However, keep in mind that no one here will think less of you no matter how bad you think you did. You're a pokémon who's cute, smart, and has a lot of potential, and I love you for who you are, Sally. You wanted to be with us, and now you're stuck with us."
{Hehe. He's right.} Scarlet confirmed. {You should actually be more scared that you'll never be able to leave.}
Fortunately for Max, his words finally reached the cinderace's heart, and she's now able to cope with her defeat a little better. She even started to really enjoy herself and had fun for the remaining time they spent at the spa. A few more hours had passed and it was getting late as it was approaching closing time. Around half an hour before the spa closed, they all gathered at the entrance to check out and leave.
{Damn, that was awesome!} Bonny commented while stretching her arms upward.
"Exactly. Another place to take note of for future visits," Max approved.
{The sun is just about to set, so what do you want to do? Leave this town and walk until nightfall to set up camp or stay in a hotel for tonight?}
"Hm…" Max pondered.
{It has been a while since we last slept in a hotel.} Dusk remarked.
{To be honest, now that we have the module, I don't see much of a difference between it and a hotel in terms of comfort.} Aurora pointed out.
{Kinda pointless to sleep in one if you ask me.} Bonny approved.
{But hotel rooms have more space…} May remarked.
{And it changes the scenery a bit.} Dusk said.
Still thinking, Max's eyes landed on Luna.
{Don't look at me, I won't be sleeping in either one.} She told him.
{...What's a… hotel?} Sally wondered out loud.
"Hm? Oh, that's right. You've never slept in one, have you?"
{I don't think so.}
"How about we give her a new experience, girls?"
{The moment she said that, I knew what your choice was gonna be.} Bonny said with a smile. {I don't mind.}
{Me neither. Besides, I'm not the one paying for the room.} Aurora followed.
"Alright. I'm just gonna have to recall you in case you're not allowed," Max said before doing so, leaving Max alone with Scarlet and Luna.
As soon as Max walked away from the spa building to find a hotel, Scarlet and Luna took each side of him. At first, Max was too busy searching when he eventually noticed how nice his two girls smelled. The care they'd received seemed to have enhanced their already predominant femininity. Not only was he suddenly aware that he was walking with two very sexy pokemon, but rather his most aggressive and intimidating pokemon. He then thought back to how he first met them and how they attacked him almost immediately. A few images popped into his head before he noticed that he was walking alone. He turned his head and saw Scarlet having her hands behind her back next to Luna, both walking side-by-side a couple of inches away from him.
"You two okay?"
{Of course. Why would we not?} Scarlet replied with a warm smile.
"I don't know. Seeing you being closer to Luna rather than me is kinda rare."
{Aww! Are you jealous?} She asked while moving back next to him. {You're so cute.}
"Yes, Scarlet. If it makes you feel good," Max conceded sarcastically.
Around half an hour later, they finally found a hotel, checked in, and went to their room on the top floor. After entering and flicking the lights on, he dropped the compacted module next to the bed.
"*groans*! What a day. If only we'd come across spas like that more often." Max commented while stretching his back a little before the lights suddenly turned off again.
"Ha ha. I know it's you, Scarlet."
Next, all the curtains closed on their own as well, now making the room significantly darker, making Max practically blind.
"Very funny, girls. I'm not scared of the dark."
He then felt someone swiftly move next to him.
{It's not the dark you should be afraid of…} Scarlet told him in a low whisper.
{It's what lurks inside it.} Luna finished before immobilizing Max by grabbing his shoulders from behind with her large claws.
"Afraid of what lurks…?" Max repeated, feeling her claws stinging him, but not enough to bother him. "A bit of an overdramatic act, don't you think?"
{Who said we were acting?}
Upon hearing Scarlet, Max heard her walk in front of him. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and could make out her silhouette, allowing him to see that she was just a few inches away from him. Then, Scarlet used Flash to create a ball of blue cold light, enlightening the zone in a rather spooky manner. What got Max nervous, however, was the fact that she had a mildly sadistic expression.
"Hem… Girls?"
Suddenly, Scarlet grabbed Max's jaw with a rather strong grasp to glare at him.
[Remember, we're not going to hurt him.] Luna said into Scarlet's mind, temporarily allowing a brief connection.
[Don't worry, I won't. However, if we want him to be extremely turned on from this, we have to make it believable.] {Listen here human, and listen well: If you play your cards right, you might just walk out of here alive.}
"Alive? W-What are you talking about?" he asked, with Scarlet nodding at Luna before letting him go. "Seriously Scarlet, you're—"
With a confused look, Max got caught in psychic energy and got tossed harmlessly onto the bed.
"What are you girls playing at?" Max asked while sitting up.
{Oh, but we're not playing… Little human.} Luna said with a small grin before getting on the bed and pushing him onto his back and holding him in place.
Max trusted them with his life, however, his heart began to race as he saw Scarlet approaching him with a sadistic smile, causing him to breathe a little faster.
{Aww! He's scared. How adorable is that?} The zoroark said to Scarlet, feeling Max's heartbeat in her paw.
{Not surprising, coming from a lower life form. He just knows who's superior here.} The gardevoir belittled with a seductive tone while running a finger under his chin. {You know what we should do?}
{I'm not too sure.}
{Strip him of his clothes and his dignity.}
{That doesn't sound like a bad idea.} Luna approved.
At this point, Max had a pretty good guess that they were role-playing with him. However, the lingering thought that they might be serious was not only scaring him but also arousing him in an unexpected way. With glowing eyes, Scarlet made all of his clothes vanish, leaving him in only his underwear.
{Hm. Not bad, for a human.} Scarlet commented while staring at his body, pretending to be unimpressed.
{Still looks weak to me.} Luna added.
{True. After all, humans are always weak to the likes of us.}
"Alright, no—"
A second after Max opened his mouth, Scarlet immediately shut it up with her powers.
{Lower life forms aren't allowed to speak.} She told him. {Now let's see…} She said before noticing his erection. {Seriously? You're just one mistake away from getting killed and you're getting hard? I think this human has a few screws loose.} She commented.
{Survival instinct.} Luna affirmed, quite amused. {He's trying to arouse us so he can live.}
{How pathetic.} She said before making his underwear vanish as well and grabbing his tip.
After feeling something wet, she withdrew her hand and showed Luna a sticky fluid between her fingers.
{He's even trying to win us over with his overflowing essence.} Scarlet commented, rubbing her fingers together.
{Does it convince you?}
{Hm…}
She then gave her fingers a good licking.
{...I don't know…} The gardevoir started, looking lewdly at Max. {This specimen is rather… interesting. It would be a waste to dispose of it without having a little bit of fun, don't you think?}
{Well, it would be a waste to kill him, so…}
With a seductive expression, Scarlet moved her head an inch away from his dick.
{Do you understand what that means, human?} The gardevoir asked, with Max motioning no. {You will be our personal plaything, and there's nothing you can do about it.}
To Scarlet's amusement and joy, she sensed a surge of lust running through Max's body upon hearing her last statement.
{Oh ho ho… That confirms it, this human is craving to fuck a pokémon. Pathetic, don't you think?} Scarlet asked Luna while starting to gently give Max a handjob.
{It is rather peculiar, I can say that much.}
Luna then traced her claw across his skin while passing over his throat.
{He's pretty good-looking, I must say.} The zoroark commented.
{Hmph.} The gardevoir replied, shrouding her shoulders. {I don't know, they all look the same to me. However, he's carrying quite the package here. He's looking pretty big, he might just be enough to satisfy us…}
{I suppose he is, for a human.} Luna confirmed after briefly looking at his manhood.
The way they were playing their roles was incredibly on point. They were dominant, straightforward, aggressive, and even the way they were humiliating him was very convincing. It was at that point that Max's arousal grew to the point where had he not been pinned to the bed and silenced, he would be begging them to relieve him.
{You like that, don't you, you dirty little creature?} Scarlet said with a haughty expression. {Let's see how pathetic your face becomes when I make you come.} She added while giving him a proper handjob.
[Holy fuck! It's so good, Scarlet!]
Even though she didn't give any answer, her smile slightly grew wider.
{Need some help? He seems very slow.} Luna proposed.
{Do what you must.}
With Scarlet pumping him, Luna reached for the same zone, only a bit lower, and used her claws to delicately fondle his balls. That small add-on was enough to make Max reach his peak. A few minutes later, his intense arousal got the better of him and made him come, spreading his seed everywhere, including Scarlet's arm.
{Well, that was quick. And here I thought he'd last a bit longer.} Scarlet commented before making the semen vanish with her powers.
{Do you think he'll survive what's next?} Luna asked.
{I don't know. I do hope that he stays alive long enough for us to have some proper fun beforehand, though. Otherwise, I would be very, very disappointed.} She said while getting in his face again in an intimidating manner.
Right as she did, a tremendous urge to make out with her lover emerged within her. However, if she wanted to stay in character, she had to contain herself, for she was determined to show him a great time.
(Oh my god, why couldn't we have gone with something more loving, instead?!) She thought to herself before speaking to Max. {Now then, human… I believe you know what comes next. This is where you better not disappoint us. Because in this reality, there are many fates worse than death.}
She then looked at Luna.
{I'll go first with your permission.}
{Permission granted.} The zoroark said before slightly moving away.
The red gardevoir then moved over Max, kneeling over his groin.
{Be grateful, human. You're about to feel the best vagina ever before leaving this world.}
As she lowered herself, she grabbed his still semi-hard shaft and rubbed her entrance against it. Max was starting to get hard again as her heat and slipperiness was just what he needed.
{Good boy…} She said haughtily.
Slowly, Scarlet then slid his shaft inside herself, stretching her insides a little.
{Aah~! Oh, my stars! He's better… than I expected!} Scarlet exclaimed ecstatically, trying her best to justify her slight break in character.
Over time, Scarlet's arousal also reached its peak, and feeling her master's dick pushing against her fleshy walls somehow doubled that pleasure. Almost taking it all, Max's tip pressed against her cervix, which was her cue to start the fun. With her hands on his chest, she slowly began moving up and down. Despite the great pleasure it was giving her, she tried her best to keep an impassable and superior expression.
{How's that, filthy pervert? You love it, don't you? Of course you do… How disgusting.} She said, barely able to keep her haughty tone.
However, the pleasure was now starting to get the best of her, making her close her eyes and maintain her steady breathing to prevent herself from moaning in ecstasy. As she was riding him, Luna grabbed both of his arms and made sure he couldn't move them at all.
{Hah~… you better… enjoy it… while you can.} Scarlet taunted between muffled moans.
{Indeed. One slip up…} Luna approved while looking into his eyes, baring her teeth at him. {And you'll wish you'd never been born.}
Without saying anything else, she moved her mouth closer to his chest and gave it a few licks. She then immediately traced up and went over his neck, licking some more before briefly feigning to bite him. She then raised her head to look at him in the eyes and saw some intense lust in them.
{You like that, didn't you?} She softly asked, knowing that Scarlet was busy to notice.
Obviously, Max wasn't able to reply, but the way he looked at her answered for itself.
{Good. Consider this as a reward for today.} She said before starting to make out with him.
Even though he had become more resilient, it was only a matter of time before he let himself go from this never-ending pleasure. He managed to hold on a little while longer, but only for a few minutes as Scarlet rode him harder.
{What the hell is taking so long?!} Scarlet ordered as she felt her own orgasm approach. {Just come, human! I command you to come! HRGH…!}
After that delay, he exploded inside her with an intense orgasm that lasted for roughly ten seconds, Scarlet doing her best to not break character as she let out a disgruntled moan. Once the two of them had calmed down from their sexual highs, Scarlet pulled out of him and let his seed drip all over his crotch. She then gave Luna a nod and stopped her makeout with Max, allowing him to speak again.
"*pant*...Wow." Max began, after letting out a loud, satisfied sigh. "That was… arousingly spooky."
Scarlet smiled arrogantly in response, all while catching her breath.
{It's not over yet. Although you've proven to be… adequate for me, you better hope you still continue, for your sake that is.} She said, almost sounding like a threat.
"I—"
{No need to say anything.} Luna interrupted with a claw on his lips. {Whether you think you can or cannot, you don't have much of a choice.}
After Scarlet moved out of the way, Luna took her place above him. Suddenly, instead of lowering herself, the zoroark grasped onto Max without hurting him too much and rolled on her back with Max lying on her chest.
"Woah… I didn't expect that."
{Time is of the essence, human.} Luna urged a little. {Do not disappoint me.}
Luna's sudden change in position was making Max smile. If he asked her to be a bit rough, she would go with his desire to a certain limit. This time, however, she seemed to take her role more seriously. Without being overly aggressive, her assertiveness was kind of intimidating, with Max being used to a docile zoroark. Not wanting to get some sort of reprisal by making her wait, Max adjusted himself before diving deep into the dark-type. Then, as soon as Max shoved his tip, Luna used her flexible legs and pulled him forwards, making him go all the way in.
"Eager to start, aren't you?" Max commented.
{Silence.} She ordered rather softly. {You may proceed.}
Max then began to move with Luna's help, who was actually doing most of the work, forcing Max to go at her desired rhythm. Luckily for him, it was a pace that he could enjoy. With lewd eyes but an unreadable face, Luna controlled the human for a while with Scarlet watching with interest. One of the main reasons why the gardevoir allowed her master to mate with others is that when she was present, she could enjoy his lustful expressions and ecstatic moans. She just loved seeing him so happy and pleased, something she couldn't fully focus on when in the heat of the moment. A couple of minutes later, Max was reaching his second orgasm.
{You want to finish inside me human? Fine… Fill my walls to your heart's desires!} Luna exclaimed, making it sound like a command.
"I… Hah~... I… Can't…!" Max moaned as he rutted inside her as hard as he could.
Unable to hold himself back, he released his second load into Luna's womb, the zoroark looking pleased with his performance. It was at that moment that Luna decided to break character and give him a loving expression, Max responding in kind as he pulled out of her.
"Oof! That was quite intense." Max said, laying limp against Luna's chest.
{Did you have fun?} Scarlet asked, on her belly with her head resting on her hands.
"Fun? I had a fucking blast. Seeing the two of you act so aggressive and dominant was… really exciting to say the least."
{Hihi. I knew you'd say that. Your perversion knows no bounds.} Scarlet affirmed with a smile.
{Kinda glad that's over, though.} Luna said. {Playing such a disrespectful character isn't easy.}
{Hehe. You're right, that was so not you. Thanks for playing along, though. I really appreciate it.}
{Well, if it pleases our little pup, perhaps I can improvise from time to time.}
"That would be great," Max started, rolling away from Luna to lay on his back in between the two of them. "However, it's something that needs to be done less often if we want to keep the suspense."
{Good point.} Scarlet approved, going for a hug. {It'll just ruin the concept if we made it a regular thing.}
"Exactly. I'm surprised that you stopped after just one orgasm, though."
{Honestly, one is enough for now. I'm a bit tired from today.}
"Hehe, I understand," Max said, stroking her hair.
{Well…} The zoroark began while standing from the bed. {I'm afraid it's time for me to leave you.} She said while getting near the large window of the room.
"As always, be careful out there." Max wished.
{Of course… little pup.} Luna replied with a smile before opening the window to jump through.
As soon as she was gone, Scarlet closed the window with her abilities, leaving it slightly ajar for a slight draft.
"I admit that I'm pretty tired myself, so I'm gonna release the girls and go to sleep right after."
{They're probably asleep already, so why bother?} Scarlet stated, not wanting Max to move.
"You know that they don't like staying in their pokéballs for the night, especially if I don't warn them first."
{*sigh* Alright, let them out.} The gardevoir conceded before giving Max his pokeballs.
The first one to be released was Bonny.
{Good evening, master- *sniff sniff* Aw, come on! I thought I would get to join you in some sexy times.} She complained with crossed arms upon seeing Scarlet over her naked trainer.
"Sorry, Bonny, but she and Luna were… very persuasive."
Bonny pouted as she wasn't satisfied with his answer.
"I promise that my three champions will have the attention they deserve tomorrow," He reassured her.
{...Alright.} Bonny acknowledged, half satisfied. {But you better keep your promise.} She added before climbing on the bed to lay on the other side of Max.
"Since when do I not keep my promises?"
{I know, but I just wanted to be sure.}
With Max rolling his eyes, he released the rest of his team. With him saying the same thing to Dusk and Sally, without nearly as many complaints, they all shared space on the bed. Being smaller than theirs in the module, they were rather tight on it, but were comfortable enough to get some quality shut-eye.
Meanwhile, outside with Luna, she was on the city's outskirts, resting atop a tree branch and looking at the stars above. She was thinking about today's events, replaying everything in her mind, especially that little roleplay session she and Scarlet planned. Although he still hadn't found a way to make her orgasm, Max has been steadily improving. Whether it was the roleplay itself or not, this particular session made Luna feel slightly more pleasure than the previous times they had sex, and even though he still has a long way to go, she wouldn't have it any other way.
Then again, she couldn't help but think about her previous life; How simple and peaceful it was, how she lived without a care in the world, and most importantly… how happy she was with him. Try as she might, no matter how much she grew to love Max, or how much she's grown as a pokémon, she still can't get her mate and child out of her head. Her son is dead, and even after all this time, she has no idea where her mate is if he's even still alive.
She let wicked forces take her first family from her, and she would do everything in her power to ensure that the same wouldn't happen to her new one. She tried to remain head-strong, but there was no denying the pain in her heart, and she believed that Max would be able to fill that void. There was still so much she wanted to tell him, so many things she had yet to show him, and she could only pray to Arceus that he'd be ready sooner rather than later.
As her memories of her mate and son began flooding her mind, she looked down at the ground below before closing her eyes in sorrow.
{What would've happened if those humans hadn't come for us?} She wondered to herself as a single tear formed in her eye. {*sniff*…I miss you.} She whispered as that tear fell, a soft breeze flowing over her as she looked back at the stars above.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone