Chapter 58: Victory Gift
{Isn't this nice? A walk in the woods is always something nice.}
"Can't argue with that. It's so peaceful and quiet here."
While walking, the figure behind stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Not hearing an answer, he turned and walked back to it. When just a few inches away, the figure pushed him.
"What the hell?"
Smiling, the figure waved at him before a torrent of boulders crushed it.
"Ghaaa!"
Opening his eyes in a hurry, it took a few seconds for Max to process that he was still lying down on the couch of the hotel he was residing in. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he rubbed his eyes before sitting up.
{A nightmare?}
Raising his head, Max saw Scarlet and Dusk sitting on the bed beside him.
"Is it that obvious?"
{Easy to guess when you wake up screaming all of a sudden while sweating a little.}
{You startled me greatly, master.} Dusk remarked, looking concerned about him.
"Sorry for scaring you like that, my pretty. Man, it's been a while since the last time I had one."
{What was it about?}
"I don't remember very well, but the very little I remember is about me walking with someone and later it got killed by boulders."
{That's very horrible!} The braixen gasped.
{Killed? Do you remember who it was?} Scarlet queried him.
"Not sure, but I have the feeling that it was you."
{Hm. Sorry to hear that. I remember when I used to have nightmares every night. I know how it feels.}
"I know that they're just dreams, but the emotions you feel in them seem so real. It's quite annoying."
{Try to forget about it for now.} Scarlet suggested before floating next to him. {Remember that we have a victory to celebrate.} She added, rubbing one of his thighs with a warm smile.
"How could I forget about that? How long did I sleep?"
{An hour and a half, roughly.}
"Good. If I sleep too much, I'll toss and turn in bed all night. Same for the girls."
{I could always help you with your surplus of energy.} Scarlet winked at him.
Rolling his eyes, Max reached for his pokeballs and released Aurora, Bonny, and May.
Of the three, only May was awake, while Bonny and Aurora were still sleeping.
"Wake up," Max said, gently shaking them.
They slowly opened their eyes and took them a few seconds to come back to reality. Lazily, Bonny stood up and stretched while Aurora sat up and yawned. Max couldn't help but smile at Aurora yawning cutely and stare at Bonny stretching in a rather sexy way.
{Good morning, master.} Bonny wished with a sleepy tone while rubbing her eyes.
"It's not really morning. In fact, the evening is about to start."
{I thought so.} Aurora pointed out. {I could have slept a lot more.}
"I too took a nap and I figured that maybe you wanted to sleep for longer. However, I thought that maybe only an hour or two was enough so you don't mess up your sleep cycle."
{So much kindness, like always.} Bonny praised before hugging Max lazily.
"If you say so," Max replied, petting her. "What about you, May? Did you take a nap?"
{Yes. I just woke up a couple of minutes before you called us.} May explained.
"Ah."
{So? Did we win?}
{Oh, that's right.} Bonny exclaimed with a sudden gain of energy and breaking the hug. {We won, right?}
"Of course we won. All thanks to you, girls." Max affirmed with a delighted grin, taking out and showing them the badge.
{Yes!} Bonny lowly said while tightening a fist in contentment. {It wasn't a dream, then.}
{Yay!} May shouted before jumping into Max's arms.
Aurora let out a relieved, heavy sigh.
{I was so stressed out back then. I was hoping that the others would succeed where I failed. Feels good to win for once.} The lucario shared.
{That's what you get from working as a team.} Scarlet commented.
"And you didn't fail at all, Aurora. Sure, you weren't able to defeat all three of them by yourself, which by the way I don't think anyone here could have done that, but you helped and contributed a lot to our victory. You really did make a difference."
Aurora then lowly cleared her throat while looking away with a blush.
{So what now? What did you wake us for, exactly?} Bonny inquired.
"Since you, three have made a lot of effort and won the battle, I decided to reward my champions with a surprise."
{A surprise?! I love surprises!} May exclaimed.
{What is it?} Aurora asked.
{You don't know what a surprise is, do you?} Scarlet teased, making the lucario roll her eyes.
"We just need to wait for Luna and we'll be good to go."
{Does Jade want to join us?} Dusk questioned.
"Well-"
{Probably not.} Scarlet cut. {She's probably too busy being afraid of her own shadow.} She added haughtily.
"And what if I told you that she's invited like everyone else here?" Max defended, glaring at her.
{Shouldn't you save up some money for future use?} Scarlet retorted, glaring back.
"By starving her?"
{She will have plenty to eat once we get out of this city.}
"That's true. However, with how little she eats, it will still only barely be a tiny fraction of what you're all gonna eat, so we should be alright with money."
{Well, sorry if we need to eat to stay alive.}
"Don't go with that emotional blackmailing crap."
{Damn. Good thing Jade isn't actually here.} Bonny whispered to Aurora.
{You tell me. She would have probably starved herself for weeks just for her to not create another situation like this.} Aurora whispered back.
*sigh* {I just hope she's not gonna be their discord apple.}
{Me too.}
"Whether you like it or not, my decision is already made," Max told Scarlet.
The red gardevoir then glared at Max for a moment.
{Whatever. You really like doing that, don't you?}
"Doing what?"
{Being bossy with your small authority crisis.}
"I'm not. I'm just being fair with everyone who I care for. I thought you liked me for that."
{Look who's emotionally blackmailing now.}
"You know how I am. I use the same weapon as my opponent."
{Because I'm your opponent now?}
"No, you're not. I'm just-"
*Ahem*
Stopping their argument, both of them and everyone turned their heads to see Luna sitting on the border of the now-opened window in her zoroark form.
{Am I interrupting something?}
{"No Yes"} Max and Scarlet said simultaneously, with what Luna looked at them with a raised eyebrow.
"We were just waiting for you. We're ready to go. I hope you're still coming." Max told to Scarlet.
{Yeah, yeah.} The gardevoir replied a bit apathetically.
"Then let's go."
Packing everything, Max left the hotel with his companions.
{If I may...} Luna started in her human form. {I spotted a good place for the 'surprise'.}
"You did?"
{Indeed. I'm sure everyone here will like it.}
"Lead the way, then," Max said, getting a little bit excited.
With a warm smile, Luna proceeded before the group with Max next to her.
"Thanks. Once again, you're a lifesaver." He lowly shared.
{It doesn't take me very long to know someone. I figured that you would have forgotten to check where you could go.}
"Heh, you all do cover all of my weaknesses. Though I still wonder if seven of you is enough to cover all of them."
{I think we can manage.} Luna assured nonchalantly. {Anyway, I'm afraid to know why you were arguing with Scarlet.}
"Nothing dramatic. Just her past getting in the way a little, that's it."
{Is that so? You have to admit that you weren't really nice back there yourself.}
"How come? I just defended one of my precious companions."
{Indeed, but I think you bit and slashed more than necessary.}
"...Maybe, but she's the one that started it."
{I'm not saying you were in the wrong and shouldn't have defended your point, but I believe that your relationship is more important than anything, don't you think?}
"...I guess so."
{I'm not saying you must apologize, but…}
"Yeah, yeah, I will, but not now. I want her to reflect on her behavior a little before that."
*sigh* {Youth these days. So rancorous.} Luna added with a smile.
Behind him were Dusk and May, followed by Bonny and Aurora, with Scarlet floating behind them. Bonny and Aurora then slowed their pace to be next to her.
{Don't you think you overreacted a little?} Bonny engaged.
{Not really. He must understand that I'm under no one's control and that he can't do all he damn pleases if I don't consent to it.}
{That's not really the point.}
{Yes it is.}
{You purposely told him in his face to starve a living being for whatever reason, so no, not really.} Aurora intervened.
{From all pokemon, why do you care?} Scarlet demanded.
{I'm not a complete asshole, that's why.}
{Oh. So that means that I am one now?}
{Didn't say that.} Aurora protested.
{You only understand what you want to understand. You literally know how kind and noble he is, so why did you ask him something like that?} Bonny spoke next.
{Because… Because I don't like her, that's why.}
{And?...}
{And nothing. She's just there, acting all frightened and being weak. She would have killed herself by now if she had a past like mine.}
{Maybe, maybe not. Who cares? No one reacts the same way to things and no one has the same strength or spirit. I know for a fact that you despise weakness, but I think that there is more to it than that.}
{My guess would be jealousy.} Aurora followed.
{Well, you already know where you can shove up your guess.} Scarlet retorted, getting defensive.
{Aurora might have a good point.} Bonny pointed out. {Yet, I think that's not all.}
{How about you leave me the fuck alone?}
{Okay. I suppose there is no point in pressing this topic even more. You may have a grudge against her for whatever reason it pleases you, but do you think master really deserves that? You went with master while knowing perfectly well his personality and interests.}
{What if he ever got interested in another female lopunny?}
{That's your vision of things. I might get possessive and territorial, but I know when master is really interested in someone else. If it reassures you, it's not the case with Jade.}
{He still gave her a name. Don't you find it strange knowing that he won't even keep her?}
{...}
{He what now?} Aurora demanded upon Scarlet's last words.
{Ooooh... right.} Bonny expressed awkwardly. {Well, I believe that cat's now out of the bag, so might as well tell you.} She added while twiddling her digits. {I guess no one besides master, Scarlet and I know about this, but master doesn't plan on keeping Jade.}
{Why?} Aurora asked, almost outraged already.
{Please keep it down, Aurora.}
{I can't believe it. I thought that you and he would have learned your mistake for doing that.}
{I'm really sorry, Aurora. But to be fair, let's just say that not everyone agrees that she stays permanently.} Bonny explained, looking at the red gardevoir from the corner of one eye.
{And by not everyone, you mean…?}
{Mainly Scarlet, or should I say, only her.}
{I don't remember having asked anyone about their opinion on that matter.} Scarlet protested.
{Hey, it's your fault for bringing it up.} Bonny said.
{Not sure I agree with giving her away, either.} Aurora sided with Bonny.
{I'm sorry, but that's the decision Max and I came to. And no, I don't feel remorse for it.}
{Pretty sure it was mostly yours. And if you ask me, that's unfair to Jade given how she is.} The lopunny retorted.
{If you say so.} Scarlet retorted indifferently.
{The point is, do you really think master deserves your mood swings just because of some perception problems?}
Not answering, Scarlet only looked in front of her angrily.
{If not, you should apologize to him.}
{...Ghra! I guess.} Scarlet replied after a short moment with clenched teeth. {But not now. If I apologize too soon, he will think I'm weak and that I don't stand up to my words. I'll let him think for a while so he realizes that he is no one's boss. Then, I'll apologize.}
{Do as you please.} Bonny said desperately while leaving her.
{And to think that I was the puerile one of the group for a while.} Aurora added before joining Bonny.
{Tss. I'll show you puerile.} She lowly growled.
{So that's true? About Jade?}
{Unfortunately, yes. She's only with the group because master made that promise to Scarlet.}
{Why is no one else aware of that?}
{Do you think that even if everyone knows it will change something?}
{I… guess not.} The lucario conceded.
{That was Scarlet's only condition for keeping her, or else… I guess he would've been forced to just release her immediately where we met her…}
{I think I'm starting to see the picture. I believe everyone should know.}
{I agree, but I'm afraid it's not up to us to decide. I don't want to be responsible for eventual disputes.}
{Well, that's a good point, but it will be worse if they all learn that one way or another later on.}
{Anyway, that's their decision.}
{A stupid decision, if you ask me.}
After a while of walking, Luna led the group to a great-looking restaurant. It was big, and the outside showed that it was pokemon-friendly.
"At Tchorkoal, huh?" Max read on the building.
{From the smell of this place, I guess it specializes in barbecue cooking.} Luna told him.
"That's awesome. Been a long time since I ate a nicely grilled steak or hotdog." Max enthusiastically expressed.
{It does smell really good.} Aurora commented, drooling a little.
{You should wipe your muzzle before losing points with master.} Bonny lowly suggested.
Embarrassingly, Aurora wiped her lips before her attention immediately went towards the smell again.
"Well, we won't get a taste of it if we stand here. Come on."
Closely followed by Aurora and the others, Max proceeded inside the perimeter. Quickly, a male waiter comes to greet them.
"Good evening, sir. A table for how many?"
"Hem, eight if possible."
The waiter then quickly looked at Max's companions. He then looked around them as if he was trying to see somebody else.
"Right this way." The waiter warmly said after a short moment.
The waiter then led them to a table for eight at the extreme edge of the dining surface, right next to the metal fence surrounding the whole thing. Just behind the fence was the road where people were passing by. While walking to their table, Max was glad to see quite a lot of pokemon with their trainers eating together.
"Is this place alright?" The waiter inquired.
"Yes. Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'll be back with the menu."
As the waiter was leaving, the girls sat on a chair while Max released Jade.
"Hi, Jade. I hope you have space for some good ol' barbecue feast."
{I… N-Not really.} She shyly replied, already feeling uncomfortable with the number of humans and pokemon around the place.
"Are you sure? If you say that you don't have room even for a bite of nicely grilled food, it's because you have never tasted it."
{...O-Okay.} She conceded, not because she agreed, but more because she wanted to be out of attention as soon as possible. {Maybe a little, then.} She concluded before sitting between Luna and Dusk but not before feeling the usual hostile glare from Scarlet.
Shortly after everyone took a chair to sit on, the waiter arrived with the menu that he then gave to Max.
"Call for me as soon as you have ordered for everyone." The waiter instructed before leaving them.
{As if we couldn't order ourselves.} Scarlet commented, annoyed.
"Maybe you can read english thanks to me, but not everyone here does. In fact, I think you're the only one." Max replied, making Scarlet huff.
{I have a few notions.} Luna pointed out.
{Why don't they make one that we can read?} Aurora mentioned.
"Now that you bring it up, what language do pokemon read?" Max asked while eyeing the menu.
{Pokemon, of course.}
"And how do you write it down?"
{I…} Aurora tried to answer, unsuccessfully.
{Come on, everyone, we're here to have fun.} Dusk intervened.
{Dusk is right.} Luna supported. {Trivial argument will just stain this moment.}
"Well, we weren't really arguing, but you're right. Let's all do our best to make this moment pleasant for everyone. We can always get back to our shitty attitude afterward."
{You have such a way with words.} Bonny commented, making everyone laugh while Max rolls his eyes.
After a moment, Max ordered his dish and everyone else's. Quickly, Max and the team got lost in trivial talk, divided into groups. Luna, Bonny, and Aurora were together on one side of the table, and on the other side were Dusk, May, and Scarlet. Obviously, Jade wasn't participating much. Luckily, Max and Jade were both seated in the middle and were right in front of the other.
"So? How is your travel with us so far, Jade?"
{Hem…} She hesitated, nervously playing with her hair. {It's okay, I guess.}
"Only okay? I reckon that I'm not the most enthusiastic human there is, but I expected a bit more."
{Sorry.} She apologized, going almost submissive.
"Please stop being sorry all the time, especially for the way you are. I was mostly joking, but even if it weren't the case, you don't have to apologize. For example, if I had said the same exact thing to Bonny, she would have retorted with something like, 'sorry for not meeting your expectations, but you have what you have, so deal with it'."
{Hey, don't make me look like a mean pokemon. I would have been nicer than that.} Bonny said upon hearing him.
"But I was mostly spot-on, right?"
{I would have used other words, but mostly yes.} Bonny told him before continuing her own conversation.
"See? And we love each other."
{Wouldn't that be disrespectful?} Jade asked, a bit lost.
"Not at all. It's only playful banter between us. We all love each other despite knowing that we all have a pretty tempered personality. I think what you need is to assert yourself a little bit."
{That… will be hard. I don't know how to do it since I was never allowed to show any sign of defiance.}
"Well, with us you're allowed to be a hot-head as much as you want. In short, just be yourself. I'll help you if you need to."
{I… I'm not confident enough. And I don't want the others and you to chastise me.}
"Jade, don't ever say that again," Max commanded with a calm tone. "Negative thinking like that will only keep hindering your confidence and self-esteem."
Before she could continue their talk, the waiter arrived with a small metallic cart with everyone's plates on it: a plate of ribs for Luna, same with Aurora; grilled and seasoned vegetable pottage for Bonny; iron-rich rice balls for May and weird tentacle-like food on a stick for Scarlet and Jade. Max and Dusk were both craving a spicy meal, so she proposed to share a big portion of spicy chicken wings. Normally, Dusk wasn't a very big fan of meat but today was an exception, especially if it means sharing the same dish with her master.
"Hmm! The taste is very good." Max expressed.
{I agree, and they're just the right level of spice.} Dusk agreed.
"...The right level? Any spicier than this and I would be spitting out flames like you." Max joked with disbelief, making Dusk giggle.
{Well, technically she doesn't spit fire since she's using her stick to do so.} Aurora pointed out.
"She was able to do so when she was a fennekin."
As the others were poking fun of Max, the human noticed that Scarlet was mostly looking in a specific direction while nibbling on one of her sticks. He guessed that her frown was towards Jade, but was proven wrong when he saw where her glare was landing on. Seated at a few tables away from theirs, Max noticed another green gardevoir. What got his attention though was her rather long hair for her species and that it was blonde. She was with two male humans and a wartortle.
"Huhn. I don't recall reading in my pokedex that a gardevoir could have that hair color." Max engaged.
{They don't.} Scarlet replied, trying her best to not sound annoyed.
"It's weird, then."
Luna then took notice of them with a quick look over her shoulder.
{Oh that? That's just some dye.}
"A dye?..."
{You know, when someone changes their color of hair.}
"I know what it is. What I meant was, why would she dye her hair?"
{To impress, maybe.}
"To impress? Who?"
{In her case, her trainer, I'd say.} Scarlet theorized.
"How can you tell?"
{Just look at them.}
Carefully and discreetly staring at them, Max noticed how the blonde gardevoir was eating with her eyes glued on the human right next to her, which was probably her trainer. She was laughing at whatever he was saying but could tell that some of her laughs were forced. He also saw how she was always trying to get his attention in various ways and touching him as much as she could.
{She's dying to get fucked by that human. What a disgusting slut.} Scarlet commented.
"Probably. Her trainer doesn't seem to care much, though. He keeps talking to the other one and is barely giving her any attention."
{Either he's retarded or not interested. Probably both, actually. Her blonde hair must probably be an attempt to look more like a female human so he notices her. Ugh, just how low can my species get?}
"In any case, others' love interest isn't really our business, right?"
{Our little pup is correct. No need to bother with the trivial issues of others.} Luna told them.
{I suppose.} Scarlet conceded before taking another stick full of her strange meat.
"...I guess it's true, then."
{Exactly what?} Scarlet inquired.
"Pokemon and human relationships are more common than I initially thought."
{Going outside from time to time sure helps you learn more about the world you live in.}
"I know plenty enough if you ask me."
{I get you. Sometimes, I wonder how my life would have been if I was that ignorant.} She shared while looking at the blonde gardevoir again.
"Probably a simple and ordinary gardevoir like any other."
{Don't forget that I'm basically a reversed shiny. I was meant to be out of the ordinary the second I was born.}
"True. You were meant to be exceptional the second you were born."
{Tss. You and your words.} Scarlet complained with a smile.
"Honestly, I don't understand why it is banned in some countries. I mean, it's not illegal here, but you'll have quite the reputation for the rest of your life."
{Glad to see that it doesn't stop some.} Luna commented, eyeing Max with a grin.
"It's not like I chose my preferences." Max retorted while looking away.
{We are what we are. I'm an angry sociopath and you're a pokemon molester, so what? Better make the best of it.} Scarlet expressed.
"You do not start a winner with the sociopath part." Max teased, immediately feeling a glare burning the side of his head. "I'm just messing with you," Max reassured, briefly rubbing her thigh. "Besides, you're less angry than when we began our adventure. From my perspective, at least."
{Or you're helping to pull out the best of me. Either one.}
"It's probably my kindness that made you a heart."
{Or it probably was your dick. Either one.} She jested.
After a good laugh, the group experienced a very good moment altogether. When they were finished eating to the fullest, the sky was getting darker and after Max paid the tab, they left the place to return to the hotel one last time before moving on to their next location and gym battle.
{I wish you a good night.} Luna said in front of the building.
"Yeah, you too. And as usual, don't get into any trouble."
{Of course.} The zoroark acknowledged with a mischievous grin.
After she left, the others proceeded inside, paid for the room, and headed towards it. When inside, Jade asked to get back in her pokeball. Aurora laid on the couch with Dusk sitting next to her and May jumped onto the bed as well as Bonny.
{I don't want to sound eager or annoying, but I'm curious about the next gym battle.} Bonny engaged.
"Good point. We should at least know where to go tomorrow morning." Max conceded before sitting at the end of the bed.
{The night is nice, so I'll take some fresh air outside.} Scarlet announced to Max.
"Sure thing."
With a kiss, she teleported away. Max then took out his pokedex and began to do some research.
"Okay. The closest gym leader will be at Oxgard and the gym leader's specialty is fire-type pokemon."
{Ah shucks!} May complained.
"I'm sorry, May. But if you really want to participate…"
{Nah, it's okay. We all agreed that in battles of three pokemon, we can't always get to fight.}
"That's a big girl right here." Max praised, gently rubbing the mawile's head. "Unfortunately, Aurora is also a steel type, so…"
{I'm not scared of a little disadvantage.} Aurora pointed out.
"I bet you're not, but-"
{Like May just said, we can't all get to fight every time. You should leave your place to someone else.} Bonny remarked.
{You're only saying that because you fight every time.} Aurora countered with an unamused tone.
{Not true. I didn't get to fight the gym battle before this one.}
{Whatever. Anyway, if neither May nor I will participate in that fight, that only leaves you and Dusk. Who's gonna take the third slot?}
{...Good point.} Bonny concurred. {Both you and May are steel type, so it won't help and Scarlet doesn't want to fight. It only leaves Luna available.}
"She told me before that she doesn't want to fight if she can avoid it." Max reminded.
{True, but we don't have much of a choice here. Maybe she will concede to do it this one time.}
{You guys seem to be forgetting someone else.} May intervened.
{Who?} Aurora demanded.
{Jade. She's one of us, right?}
"She is, but…"
{She can hardly fight her food without being scared, so her participating in a battle like those ones…} Aurora pointed out.
"Definitely no exaggeration here." Max retorted sarcastically.
{Well, she may have said it a bit too harshly, but she's not entirely wrong.} Bonny sided with the lucario. {I'm not convinced that she will accept.}
"...True," Max said, going thoughtful.
For a moment, the room went silent, as everyone seemed to think of something.
{Well…} Dusk shyly started.
"Hmm?"
{We could always… train her?} She suggested.
"It sure sounds like a good idea on paper, but we are still at the same point. Will she accept to let us train her?"
{What about Scarlet?} Aurora reminded. {She may not like Jade very much and… well, accepted her on one specific condition but she never said anything about not training her.}
{A condition? What do you mean, Aurora?} Dusk asked.
{Well, I believe it's time for you to do some revealing. Am I right?} Aurora said, glaring at Max in the eyes.
"What?" Max replied, looking at her confused.
{You know what I'm talking about.}
Max then searched in his mind for a short moment before quickly getting what she means.
"How do you…?" Max started with Aurora still glaring at him.
{You know a secret can't be indefinitely hidden, especially when one or two know about it.}
After glaring back at Aurora, Max looked at the others, mainly at Dusk and May, who he now guessed that only they didn't know, excluding Jade. He briefly thought about Luna too, but knowing her cleverness, she probably had learned about it one way or another, anyway.
*sigh* "Well, I didn't really want that to be known because I didn't want to worry any of you, but… Jade isn't staying."
{...What do you mean she isn't staying?} May questioned.
Max exhaled a long, sad sigh before continuing.
"The only condition and the reason she's here with us is that I have to find her another trainer."
{What?! No. Poor Jade.} Dusk commented, looking almost horrified.
{And why is that? Why was that condition there in the first place?} Aurora asked.
"That's Scarlet we're talking about. You all know how she reacted when she saw her for the first time. I managed to convince her that in exchange for not kicking her out by force or worse, I could keep her until I find a trainer which I can give her to later on."
{We should have guessed by how suddenly tolerant she was towards her. Her own kind.} Aurora remarked.
{But… she's one of us.} May said, starting to sound sad.
"Well, she is, but… temporarily."
Quickly, May and Dusk began to have the long face.
"But I promised to get her a really nice trainer, who will treat her very well, no matter how much time it will take. With a harsh negotiation, Scarlet agreed on that as well, even if it means diving her mind into humans to see if they really are to be trusted, despite hating that."
{But… why does she have to go away? You're a good trainer yourself, right?} Dusk expressed her mind.
"I'm sorry, but it's Scarlet's will. The most I could do was to at least add my own terms too."
{Hmmpf. Once again, she goes and does a little too much for her own benefit.} Aurora commented a bit indignantly.
"I know it may sound harsh, but I had to respect Scarlet's wish; it was either I accepted her demand or abandoning Jade immediately. Compromises aren't always fun, but at least we try to make it fair for everyone."
{Except for Jade.}
{So it means… we don't have to be her friend anymore since she won't stay?} May theorized with sad eyes.
"Hey now, sweetie, it doesn't have to be that way," Max reassured. "Remember those we've encountered so far and not with us? They still are our friends, right?"
{It's not really the same thing. We didn't spend weeks with them.}
At this point, Max didn't really know what to reply anymore. He didn't like the situation one bit, but he knew that if someone always does what they want and never considers the opinions or wishes of others, he or she was bound to spend the rest of its life either alone or hated, or in the worst case, both.
"I'm really sorry, girls... for having created that situation and for not telling. I thought that if Scarlet and Jade spent some time together, maybe she would have revised her demand, but I couldn't have been proven more wrong... She just has so much anger towards her species. She tolerates her presence around all of us, just for my sake."
{...I too wish that she could stay, but the situation is like it is. I more or less agree with master on that, but if they truly find her a human that can really give her happiness and even affection, it's not that bad in my opinion. Honestly, she doesn't look that happy with us, so if she can shine somewhere else, why not?} Bonny expressed her opinion.
{...I… suppose.} Dusk hardly agreed.
{But… But she's our f-friend! I don't want her to go!} May reminded again with a loud voice, now starting to cry.
"And she will always be, no matter the distance." Max comforted his mawile by taking her in his arms. "If that trainer will be that nice, surely he won't mind keeping contact with us so we can speak with her from time to time. Would you like that, sweetie?"
{...Yes, I would r-really like that.} The mawile finally agreed, wiping her tears away but still looking sad.
"Atta girl. Anyhow, what we can do for now is to enjoy the time we have with her and in the meantime, we can also train her a little. Surely it won't be too much, especially if we get her another pokemon trainer."
{Not sure Scarlet will see it the same way as you, though.} Aurora remarked.
"...Tsk. You're probably right. Well, let's just put an end to this gloomy mood and focus on our previous matter."
{I agree with that.} Bonny said. {Hmm, from how things are looking, Jade is gonna have to be our last resort for the third battler.}
"Unfortunately for her. I hope she doesn't outright refuse to train with us. I suppose I can always ask Luna again."
{Heh, good luck with that.} Aurora mocked.
"I don't need luck. I have charm on my side. In fact, I think I'll go ask her right away." Max told them, standing up to walk to the room's door.
{Do you want me to accompany you?} Bonny proposed.
"Nah, it's okay. All of you take a good rest. You really deserve it."
{But-}
"Don't worry. If I ever end up in trouble, I will just find her much quicker. It shouldn't be long." He assured, leaving the room.
{...Well, don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted from this really tiresome day and this bombshell of news.} Aurora announced, dropping herself on the couch.
{Good point. I had forgotten how tired I was with all of that. We'll see all about this tomorrow.} Bonny said, doing the same on the bed, followed by May.
Dusk wasn't especially tired for the moment, so she opened the window a little and stood in front of it, gazing upon the city at night, wanting to clear her mind from all that.
When out of the building, Max didn't really know where Luna could be, so he started where she most likely could be at the park. When arriving there, the night had pretty much settled.
"Luna?" Max called.
With no response, Max entered deeper into the park. Normally, he would have been quite uneasy in a place like this at night, knowing very well what can happen in a place like this during this time, but he was confident about either Luna or Scarlet coming to help him if anything came up. At this thought, Max couldn't help but smile a little, as he quite enjoyed that feeling of protection. He could pretty much go anywhere at any time without the fear of stepping in the wrong place. Sure, he wouldn't willingly run after trouble, but that feeling of unchained freedom was quite the euphoria.
"Luna?" Max called out again without any response.
He walked for quite a bit before calling out for her again.
"Well, looks like she's not around here." He mumbled before doing a 180.
{Giving up already?}
Sighing both desperately and in relief, Max turned back to see Luna lying on a branch of a nearby tree like she usually does.
"How long have you known I was looking for you?" Max asked, crossing his arms.
{Since shortly after you left the hotel.}
"Oh, and why didn't you appear sooner?"
{For two reasons. First, I was curious about how long you were gonna search for me before giving up.}
"Uh-huh. And the second reason?"
{I love hearing you call my name.} Luna replied nonchalantly.
With a bigger sigh, Max did his best to get rid of the many emotions that were rising in him.
*ahem* "Putting that aside, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
{Already? My, my, I was hoping for another date before going there.}
"Not that kind of favor, Luna." He retorted, blushing slightly.
{Oh. What is it, then?} She inquired with a grin.
"The next gym leader is a fire type trainer, so May and Aurora are pretty much out for this one, so I was wondering if you-"
{Could fight as your third pokemon?}
"Yeah." Max shyly answered.
{Oh, I'm sorry, little pup, but we already talked about this.} She replied, her tone turning into a more motherly one.
"I know, I know. Far from me of the idea of questioning your desires or anything, but since you don't have a special weakness to fire, I was wondering if you could make an exception for this one time."
{Don't you have two other pokemon that are in the same case?}
"Well, Scarlet doesn't want to fight at all, so I-"
{So you thought that the zoroark that doesn't want to fight either will accept?}
At that, Max wasn't able to form a response as he felt that his request was rather stupid.
"You're right. It was idiotic to ask you that. Sorry."
Seeing that she had made him uncomfortable, Luna engaged him again.
{And what about Jade?}
"She was my last plan if you happened to refuse. Looks like it will have to be that way."
{What is exactly the matter?}
"Well, you know how she is. No way I'll make a fighter out of her. Not in time, at least."
{How can you tell? Aren't you the one that is amazed every time at what a pokemon can do?}
"Yeah, but…"
{Why not simply give her a chance?}
"It's not that simple. I'm afraid that Scarlet will misunderstand my motive again."
{I'll admit that she indeed does not have an easy personality, but I doubt she will object that you help a pokemon to stand for itself.}
"Depends on the pokemon species," Max mumbled.
{I'm sorry, little pup, but you'll have to figure out what to do yourself.} Luna apologized with a reassuring tone.
"I guess. And what if I can't manage to find a solution?"
{We'll see in time.}
"Okay. Thanks, anyway." Max wished, not insisting anymore.
Turning around again, Max then proceeded to exit the park.
{Max...} Luna called.
"What is it?"
{I'm sorry if I was a bit blunt. I hope I didn't upset you.}
"No, it's okay. You have the right to refuse a demand. I'm not a dictatorial trainer. I'm... I'm just a bit disconcerted since I don't know what to do at the moment."
{I'll be happy to help you in any way if you need it.}
"I know. Thanks."
After a small smile, Max then left her alone. He sure was disappointed, but less than Luna seems to think. His last resort at the end will be Jade. Otherwise, he will have no choice but to go with either May or Aurora.
Not feeling the need yet to go back, Max took another path of the park. After a couple of steps and some thinking, he arrived at a rather big pond for a city park surrounded by the road and a wooden bench. Liking the soothing noise of the water slightly moving here and there, Max sat at the edge before letting out a sigh.
"Well, things are getting a bit complicated."
As he went thoughtful, Max noticed the water move at the center. He saw a silhouette popping out before moving towards him. When insight, a milotic's head revealed itself.
{Oh, didn't expect to see you here. Well, I didn't expect anyone at all at this time.} The pokemon said with a soothing voice.
"Hem... Do we know each other?"
Not answering, the milotic only looked at him with interest.
"Feel free to speak. I'll understand you."
{Understand? Like what I'm saying?}
"Exactly what you're saying."
{Oh my. That's interesting.} She said, sounding slightly more enthusiastic. {Well then, to answer your question, we more or less know each other. You probably can't differentiate me from other milotics, but here's a hint: we fought each other.}
"Each other? Oh, wait! You're Dulshin's milotic."
{Bullseye. And you can call me Miley.}
"Okay, Miley. And I'm Max. But may I ask, what are you doing here?"
{I like this place at this time of the day. It's empty and calm, well, most of the time.}
"I see."
{What about you?} Miley asked while moving closer to him.
"Me? Nothing much. Just some thinking."
{You indeed look distraught.}
Things got slightly awkward when the milotic stepped out of the water and coiled herself next to him.
"Distraught would be a bit exaggerated. It's more about... being preoccupied."
{You won a gym leader battle. And against my mistress, at that. What could possibly preoccupy someone as strong as you?}
"Well, a lot of things, actually. But at the moment, I feel very concerned about what I should do against the next gym leader, which is a fire-type trainer."
{What about it?}
"I only have two pokemon that can actually battle, my other two teammates are steel types and the other two don't want to fight."
{Don't want to fight? How so?}
"They don't want to, that's all. I'm not gonna force them if they don't want to."
{As a good trainer, that's the right thing to do. I wonder what reasons lie beneath their reticence to fight, however.}
"There are many reasons. Anyway, my only chance is to include Jade in the team, another gardevoir. The thing is, she's in no condition or state to fight. In short, I'm gonna break my head for a while."
{I believe you have a mawile and a lucario in your team, right?}
"Hem, yes," Max answered, not following.
{From my perspective, those two are your other option.}
"They are steel type, though."
{I also believe that they can mega evolve. If either one can do it, the type advantage won't matter much.}
"I do have a lucarionite. But how are you so sure it won't matter?"
{I may not be able to mega evolve myself, but I fought many battles against electric type pokemon and I won many of them. Pokemon types don't always define the outcome of a battle. A type disadvantage only means you have less room for error, so all you have to do is to not make mistakes.}
"Heh, easier said than done."
{You're a good trainer. I'm sure that in a while, type advantage won't even matter at all with you.}
"You think so?"
{I believe so. With a team like yours and you being the one to guide them, there's no doubt in my mind.}
"...Thanks."
{Speaking of team, there's something I was wondering.}
"What is it?"
{It's a bit delicate, but… I couldn't help but notice that the companions cheering for you and your teammates in our battle were all female. Since that's a really rare thing to see, I was wondering if you… well, do you have a certain type of special relationship with any of them? I'm a bit curious about how you ended up with so many females.}
"H-Hem…" Max stammered, almost shocked by the sudden question. "I don't know what you're t-talking about."
{Well, maybe you're aware of it, but some trainers have some kind of special relationship with their pokemon that goes beyond friendship if you catch my meaning.}
"Ah, y-you don't say. I mean, yes."
{So I was just wondering if it was the case with… them, you know...}
"Well, you see, that question is quite complicated, but-"
{Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if it's what you want. If it's the case, of course.}
For a moment, Max heavily considered answering her. He wasn't one to lie unless if it was a vital necessity, but why did she want to know that? He then concluded that he was already suspected of, anyway.
"Well, I… kind of have 'that kind' of relationship," Max confessed, almost crushed by the weight of his embarrassment.
{Oh, I see.} Miley replied, sounding a bit disappointed. {Can I know with who? I'm curious, but feel free to not tell.}
Max then cleared his throat.
"I… With… most of them?"
At that statement, Miley's eyes went wide and a surprised expression appeared on her face.
{That's quite peculiar.} She said, sounding even more disappointed.
"Yeah, I agree. The thing is, my true mate would be Scarlet, my red gardevoir."
{A red gardevoir? She must be pretty.}
"You tell me. She's the prettiest pokemon there is."
{But if she's your true mate, what about the others?}
"You see, Scarlet is special in many ways. One of them being that as long as I don't get intimate with another human or another gardevoir, I can mate with any other pokemon and she won't mind at all. In short, if everyone in my team agrees and understands that she is my one and only girlfriend and have the privilege of priority, I can have as many mistresses as I want."
{...That's…}
"Very unexpected, I know. I was the first one to be surprised by her generosity at first and it took me a while to get used to it. I mean, for humans it's kinda wrong and disrespectful. You must probably think the same."
{Oh, no, no. Of course not. Pokemon do that sometimes, but mostly when the male/female ratio isn't balanced.}
Suddenly, Miley's enthusiasm seemed to be back.
"Hehe. To be honest, a pokemon's way of thinking is one of the things that makes me like them so much."
{Really?}
"Yeah. You're smart almost as much as us, even more in some cases and yet, you have such a simple way of thinking and living. You have such an intense 'live and let live' way of thinking that…"
{That?...} Miley pressed, almost sensually.
"I don't know. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I sometimes feel stupid for being a softie."
{Don't say that. You know what makes me feel warm and fuzzy?} The milotic started before slowly coiling herself around Max.
"Hem, n-no?" Max replied, feeling his heartbeat accelerating.
{A male that is honest with his own emotions and is not afraid to express them. To me, a male shouldn't be afraid to show his true self.} She said, glaring at Max's eyes a few inches away from him with passionate eyes. {It makes me so… vulnerable.} She concluded with a perverted expression.
"A-ah! Is that so?"
{So, if I understood correctly, none of your companions will mind if we have a little bit of fun together?}
"Well, I-I guess not."
{Great.} She concluded before pressing her wet and slippery lips against Max's and immediately pushed her serpentine tongue inside his mouth. {Been a while since the last time I had fun with a good-looking human. The other water pokemon are nice and all, but some exoticism from time to time is very refreshing.}
"I believe not many had my chance."
{Indeed. Now tell me, will I be lucky as well?} Miley wondered while rubbing Max's crotch with the tip of her tail.
"I prefer not to give that away right off the bat."
{Modest, huh? Nice. I love surprises.}
Gently, the milotic then slid her slippery and slightly cold fan-like tail inside Max's pants.
{Hmm, not bad.} She commented sensually with a smile.
At this point, Max began to wonder if he was really alright for a pokemon or they just have low standards. He didn't think about it much as he was feeling a hard-on due to the female pokemon expertly stimulating him with her tail's appendices.
"You really know how to use them, huh?"
{What's a female if she doesn't know how to use every part of her body to her advantage?}
Max then remembered how his girls could also sometimes be creative when it comes to pleasing him.
{However…} Miley followed, a bit concerned. {There's, unfortunately, a limit to what a limbless pokemon like myself can do.} She told him, slightly stretching his pants.
"I guess so."
A bit shyly, Max stood up after Miley freed him and started pulling down his pants. As soon as he was butt naked, the milotic coiled herself entirely around Max, leaving only his head and shoulders visible.
"Hemm…" Max muttered, feeling a bit of fear.
{Don't be scared. I do not intend to hurt you in any way. It's just my thing.} She reassured softly.
"What a relief. For a second I thought you were gonna swallow me whole."
{Hihihi. That, however, is only a matter of time.} She assured him with a perverted tone.
Slowly, she reached down with only his shaft popping out of the serpentine prison and gently got a taste with her slippery but warm tongue, sending small shivers of pleasure through Max's body. She kept teasing him until the first drop of precum leaked, then went up a notch and engulfed the entire thing. The human immediately felt a shockwave of pleasure thanks to Miley's slippery, narrow and toothless mouth trying to milk him. Added with a well-controlled suction, Max felt his entire body going weak.
"Fuck!" Max growled in bliss. "That's… one hell of a blowjob."
Due to Miley's morphology, she had no trouble at all swallowing Max's entire shaft and pretty much deepthroated him constantly.
"Shit! That's way too good."
Unexpectedly, Max held up way less time than he first anticipated and was already about to come. He was about to tell Miley but knowing how much of a pervert she seems to be, it wouldn't have changed anything, so he kept lowly moaning until the pleasure was too much to bear. When she felt Max ejaculating, she pressed her nose to the human's belly and stayed like that while playing with his tip, swallowing everything that was shot at her.
*pant* "That was unbelievable."
{That's what a water type is all about. If you had one, like me, that could be your daily routine.}
"Maybe. Wait, you aren't really asking me to…?"
{Haha, of course not. I like having sex but not enough to ditch Dulshin. She's a very good trainer and caretaker.}
"No doubt about it."
{But I tend to profit every second of moments like this. Do you mind if I have fun now?}
"Of course not. But can I ask you to loosen your grasp a little? It's beginning to hurt."
Smiling, Miley loosens her grasp a little before starting to kiss and lick his neck while Max felt a cool and slippery entrance rubbing against his shaft while still being constricted by her. Max was quite surprised at how touchy she was being with someone she barely knew. He wasn't completely comfortable, but she had such a good way of doing it that he didn't mind that much.
{I hope my romantic side doesn't scare you too much.} She whispered sensually in one of his ears.
"N-No, it's okay," Max reassured, starting to get impatient to get in.
After a little bit more foreplay, the milotic slowly started to push it in. Her inside was very similar to her mouth but hotter and slightly tighter.
{Ahh!} Miley moaned softly after pushing the entire thing in.
At first, she ground a little before starting to slowly go back and forth with a part of her serpentine body waving at his crotch. Quickly, soft moans were escaping from the water-type pokemon.
"Damn!" Max moaned as well. "That's really… something."
Miley then put her forehead on Max's, closed her eyes, and moaned slightly louder. Shortly, Max felt another orgasm coming. In an ecstatic bliss, the human exploded inside the water-type pokemon, at which she slowed down a bit while contracting as much as she could as if she was trying to literally milk him.
{Not much endurance.} Miley teased.
"Sorry, but you felt so good." Max justified, making the milotic giggle.
{No worries, but I hope you have more pep in you than that. I love a good mating from time to time, but I also want to feel good as well.}
"I do. Thanks to a certain psychic type in my team, I'm used to going for a few rounds."
{Just a few? I shouldn't forget that you're still a human.}
"Hey, my girls are plenty satisfied with me," Max replied, knowing she was just messing with him.
{I don't even doubt it. But enough talk, we are not done yet.}
Barely letting the human catch his breath, Miley resumed the mating session with renewed energy. This time she made sure that Max's shaft was hitting the right spots so she could orgasm as well. A short moment later, weird but cute moans escaped from the milotic while getting a bit louder again. The pleasure now for Miley was such that she aggressively shoved her tongue inside Max's mouth, almost swallowing half of his face. It took them roughly around ten minutes to be at the edge. Feeling the human getting near, she went stronger and faster so they could at least cum at the same time. As the orgasm hit both of them, the milotic tightened her grasp, strong enough to hurt Max a little. Soon, he started to lack air while still unloading inside of her; the combination of both creating a slight euphoria sensation in his brain. Eventually, Miley's orgasm came to an end and released him. After being freed, Max dropped on his knees, taking fast and heavy breaths. Even though the experience was quite odd but at the same time euphoric, he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it again anytime soon.
{I'm sorry if I hurt you.} The milotic apologized.
"It's okay. I'm still alive, that's what matters. I'll probably feel it in a moment, though."
{It's kind of your fault. You shouldn't have been that good.}
"Tss, is being cheesy the genetic base of all female pokemon?"
{Who knows? Anyway, it's time for me to go. I hope we see each other again soon.} She wished while gently brushing his chin with the appendices of her tail before leaving.
After waving goodbye at her, Max put back on his pants and went on to leave the park as well.
(Well, looks like my only options are to either train Jade for the next battle, or work on trying to make Aurora mega evolve. Making Aurora mega evolve would be a good thing since it will be a must later on.)
After a moment of more walking, Max decided what to do.
"Actually, trying to do both would be my best bet."
As he was mumbling that, a couple passed next to him, looking at him weirdly. With an awkward smile, Max ignored them and kept walking.
(Damn. Being a pokemon trainer sure is something. If I knew how much work it can take as a kid, maybe I would have given up the idea sooner.)
After exiting the park, he walked back to the hotel.
(Ah well. No need to overthink it for now. I'll discuss this again with the girls tomorrow.)
Proceeding through the building, Max got past the empty counter and entered his room a moment later. Now dark outside, all the lights were out and everyone was asleep. Aurora was slightly snoring on the couch while Bonny, Dusk, and May are on the bed, snoring peacefully as well. With a smile, Max undresses before getting under the sheet.
"Ahh." Max lowly moaned in satisfaction. "Better enjoy it as much as I can. I won't have a comfortable bed for quite a while." He lowly mumbled to himself.
A second after he closed his eyes, he felt something crawl upon him. Opening his eyes, Max was confronted by a hungry-looking lopunny.
"Bonny? What are y-"
Cutting him short, Bonny gave Max a ferocious kiss.
{No questions, no talk, and no foreplay. Just fuck me, right now.} She lowly urged while quickly getting under the sheets.
"You know I'm always down for it, but…"
Almost in a fraction of a second, the lopunny was hidden and rubbing her already soaking wet entrance against Max's soft member.
"Damn. I've already seen you eager to start, but rarely like this. What has gotten into you?"
{Come on. Get hard already.} She replied, ignoring the question.
After a bit of perseverance, Max's meat got barely hard enough to get in, with what Bonny urged to impale herself with. After only a few thrusts, Max felt her insides getting tighter, her claws sinking into the mattress under her and muffling her ecstatic moans into his chest.
"Already?!" Max questioned, feeling very surprised.
Taking deep breaths of satisfaction, Bonny popped her head out and looked into Max's eyes, not speaking.
"Wait..." Max said, starting to understand. "When was the last time we did it?"
{Too long.} She only replied before resuming her ride.
Again, it only took a few thrusts for Bonny to orgasm again.
{Shit.} She whispered. {It has been way too long.}
Taking a moment, Bonny then went at it once again. This time, she could only hold on for a couple more thrusts before cumming once more.
{Damn it! I'm gonna fall unconscious before you cum.}
"Geez, Bonny, calm down. We have plenty of time tomorrow. No need to overdo it right now." Max whispered in hopes of getting her to stop.
{But I want it so bad. And... you haven't cummed yet.} Bonny explained, continuing where she left, only to come in a short amount of time again.
The lopunny then fell on Max's chest, panting a little.
{I still… need to… make you…}
"Bonny." Max softly called, grabbing her cheeks to make her look at him. "I think you had enough. There's no need for me to cum if you're satisfied and at your limit. We can do it again tomorrow."
{But… but…} She argued while slowly fading to sleep. {I… still… want…}
Shortly, Bonny was snoring in his hands with him still inside her. He unplugged himself from her, dropping her next to him and covering the both of them with the sheet.
*sigh* "Yep. It's hard being a trainer."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone