Kapitel 72: Togetheart (6/6)
{Eager to return, are you?}
{Yes. I can't wait to show him how much I've progressed.}
{You have and I'm impressed actually. You exceeded all of my expectations.}
{Well, I have to say that I had a big motivational drive.}
{And the results are obvious, you can be proud of yourself. You have great potential.}
{Thanks, master Fushiu. All thanks to you.}
{Oh, dear Aurora. I didn't do much besides giving you a tiny push. You did all of this by yourself.}
{Yet, you were patient with me. Eh, I remember the first day. I was so intolerant.}
One month had passed since Aurora left the Togetheart community with master Fushiu to control her aura and work on her psychology. With the training now behind them, they were on their way home and had almost arrived at the start of the evening. It was now Fall and the days were slowly getting shorter.
{You're young, Aurora. It's common to struggle with controlling your emotions. That can take years.}
Aurora raised a paw, looked at it, and emanated a modest amount of aura energy from it.
{Now I can say I have better control of them, as well as the aura. Eh, I just hope I didn't change so much that Max won't recognize me.}
{He probably changed on his own too, but I doubt that. You're way too unique.}
{Probably. I wonder how the others are? I can't wait to see them as well.}
{Eheh, we're about to find out.}
A couple of kilometers away from them was Togetheart, where Max and his companions were established for the time being. They quickly adapted and got integrated rather smoothly. Max had never been the very social type, so it took him a bit of time before starting to talk to others. We're not talking about having actual friends, but some got used to his personality. The closest he could consider as such was a trainer named Phineas who arrived roughly two weeks after Max and established himself there permanently. He was a pokephile as well but had a relationship with only one of his pokemon, a lurantis. He was a decent dude, friendly and serviceable, but had a tendency to not treat all of his pokemon equally. He had three other pokemon with him, but his lurantis was obviously his favorite since he was spoiling her a lot more. It didn't please Max as he found it unfair for the others, but they told him that they didn't care much, being three males.
After a few days of cleaning services at the beginning, Max was posted at one particular place; a farm outside the town. The farm owner was a middle-aged woman in good shape and her pokemon, an ivysaur. In the morning, Scarlet trained with Dusk and helped Max in the afternoon. Her psychic abilities were of great use to the woman.
{Well, I guess that's it.} Fushiu said, both him and Aurora standing in front of a forked path.
One led to his dojo, which was still far away, and the other to the main square.
{Thanks again for everything, master Fushiu.} Aurora said.
{It was my pleasure. I wish you good luck in your future.}
{Same, master Fushiu.} Aurora replied with a bow.
With Fushiu going his path, Aurora went to hers. She wasn't quite in Togetheart yet, so she enjoyed the walk with the woods around her in the meantime. She walked for a little while until she believed she heard a familiar voice. Then, she arrived at a farmhouse. She got closer and laid her arms on a wooden fence that separated the land from the road and looked at two sunburnt heads she knew so well, with her tail waving around.
"Why do you keep rearranging it? It takes me a lot of time to pile them the efficient way."
{Because it's ugly as shit and impractical. A little breeze would make all of it fall apart.
"If it happens, then your abilities could be useful."
{Sure. Just use me whenever it pleases you as if it was my only purpose.}
With a pile of kindling in his arms, Max was arguing with his red gardevoir; Scarlet.
{Well, good to see that not much changed over here.}
With both of them looking in Aurora's direction, it took them a few seconds to react to the lucario's arrival.
"Au-Aurora?"
{Who else?} She replied with a smile.
"Oh my god! It's really you!"
Tossing the wood away, Max dashed towards her and went for his strongest hug, with the wooden fences between them.
"I've missed you so much, Aurora! I'm really happy to see you back!"
{I'm happy too, Max. But can you go a little easier? The fence is hurting me.}
"Sorry," Max said, breaking the hug. "But… wow. You sure changed a bit."
Through her training, Aurora did a lot of physical activities, which modified her body a bit. She didn't get bigger per se, but a small percentage of fat had been replaced with thin muscles, enhancing their visibility a little. Her waist got a little smaller as well, making her look more feminine than ever.
"Have you gotten taller?"
{Don't be ridiculous. My growth has been long finished.}
{Must be because you got thinner. Proportionally, it makes you look taller.} Scarlet mentioned, joining them.
{You think?} Aurora said, pressing her sides.
{It's nice to see you back.}
{Eh, it's nice to be back as well. And I even managed to miss you too, Scarlet.}
{At least one of us did.} She jested with a smile.
{Really now?} Aurora replied, looking at Scarlet suspiciously.
{Ha, of course not.} The red gardevoir admitted before both of them had a brief and weak hug.
{How are the others?}
"Very well. Bonny learned Dizzy Punch and May was finally able to learn Fairy Wind."
{That's great.}
"It wasn't an easy task. From what I've heard, Toad had his patience put to the test. She just learned it a couple of days ago."
{Well, at least she can work with that to enhance her special attacks through practice.}
"Dusk didn't learn any new moves but got a bit stronger. We just saw Luna on a couple of occasions and I started working with Jade to help her train."
{Well, everyone sure did their best. And what about you, Scarlet? Learned anything new?}
{Unfortunately, no. I was too busy helping May, Dusk, and master that I didn't have much time for myself.}
{Hehe, I see you're still that devoted. That's good to hear.}
Briefly, Max and Scarlet looked at each other.
{What?} Aurora demanded.
"Nothing. I'm just wondering what that old lucario did to you. You're almost not the Aurora we used to know."
{Well, no one really liked the old Aurora, so…}
"I did."
{Does that mean you don't like the one now?}
"Ah, that however is a part of the old Aurora."
Aurora sighed with rolling eyes.
{Maybe I should have stayed another month.}
"Don't say that," Max said, petting her. "You will always be perfect to me, no matter how you are."
{Cheesy!} Aurora and Scarlet said at the same time.
"Yep, good to see things back to the way they were," Max stated while shaking his head. "Anyway, I bet you're eager to go see the others."
{Quite, yes.}
"Well, I'm almost done here, so if you can wait a moment, I can-"
{Just go. I'll finish on my own.} Scarlet proposed.
"You sure?"
{Yeah yeah, just go. There is not much more to do anyway.}
"Thanks, Scarlet. You're the best." Max praised before kissing her. "Don't you go say to Mimi that I escaped from work, though."
{Come on now. I never do the same prank twice.}
"Yeah. It sometimes depends on your interpretation of difference."
{Go before I pull those pants down for some spanking.}
"Hehe, maybe another time. See you later then." Max said to Scarlet before leaving with Aurora towards the town.
When they were out of sight, Scarlet lifted Max's woodpile with her power and went back to work.
{I said that, but it leaves me alone with that old hag.} She mumbled to herself. {*sigh* Oh well, it's just one more day left I suppose. Tomorrow we will be back on track.}
After she put down the charge she had, dropping it on the pile she decided was most efficient, she turned around to go grab more, and suddenly, she felt a strong sting hitting at the back of the neck.
{Ow! What the hell?} She growled, reaching to remove whatever was impaled through her skin.
Pulling it out, she recognized the thing as a tranquilizer dart.
{What the…}
Very quickly, her head began to spin and grow very drowsy.
{Who's… who's the…} She tried to say before all the light went out and she fell on the ground.
~POVC~
{So, made some friends around here?} Aurora questioned.
"Not many, but there's a trainer called Phineas I talk to from time to time."
{I was talking about pokemon friends, but that will do.}
"Ah. Well, there's Sally."
{Sally? I think I remember, but she's a…}
"A cinderace."
{Yeah, a cinderace. If I remember correctly, she was a bit of a… simpleton.}
"She's not. She's just really distracted. Believe it or not, she has gotten better since day one. I think she just needed a bit of affection and someone to encourage her."
{And you're good at that, am I right?}
"For pokemon, we could say that I suppose. Anyway, she and Bonny developed a certain rivalry/friendship. They train and spar together almost all the time."
{Oh, could there be a bit of jealousy behind that?} Aurora guessed, walking backward in front of Max.
"Tss. How? I like that Bonny is making friends."
{Uh huh.} She replied, skeptical. {Alright, let's just pretend I believe you. Anyway, knowing how much of a pervert you are, I'm surprised you didn't mention the possibility of a threesome with them.}
"Please. I'm more of a gentleman than that."
{Really now? Two bunny pokemon, giving you some attention and rubbing their bodies against yours. Surely, it's something you didn't think of.}
"*Ahem* Let's talk about something else."
Maybe she couldn't read minds like Scarlet, but Aurora had trained her aura well enough to sense others' aura and knew she struck the bullseye.
"What about you? How much did you progress?"
Still walking backward in front of him, Aurora only smiled at him.
{How about I show you instead?} She proposed.
"How?"
{With a battle of course.}
"Not against me I hope."
{That could be tempting, but no. I wouldn't be able to show you properly.}
"Alright."
{I'm really eager to see how much the other changed.} She said, turning to walk forward in front of Max, who wasn't able to avoid looking at her slenderer silhouette.
~POVC~
Back at the farmhouse, two suspicious-looking men, attired like trappers or hunters, were standing right in front of Scarlet, who was unconscious on the ground.
"Eh, I didn't believe him at first, but there is really a red gardevoir here. A specimen like that is most likely worth a fortune." One of them said, carrying a tranquilizer gun.
"Shut up and carry her to the truck. We have to put that thing on its head before it wakes up."
"You're not gonna help me?"
"Gardevoir doesn't weigh anything, you idiot. Unless a few pounds is too much for you."
"Whatever man."
The second man then grabbed the pokemon, draped it over one shoulder, and walked back to where they first appeared.
"Anyway, I thought they were never gonna leave. We have been waiting for days for that pokemon to be all alone. It always glued to that dumb-looking kid."
"There are sick people here who fuck their pokemon. It was probably the case with these two."
"Err! People are getting sicker and sicker every day. Disgusting!"
"Stop complaining and keep moving."
It took them approximately ten minutes to arrive at a large black van they stationed next to a dirt road.
"We should have parked the van closer. I don't want that thing to wake up on me."
"Not a chance. I've sedated it enough for twelve hours. We have plenty of time to set up the necessary equipment. I tell you, psychic pokemon are a real pain in the ass to capture."
"Amen."
With one holding on Scarlet, the other one went behind the van and opened the two back doors. Jumping in, he then grabbed a high-tech headset device.
"Just drop it here."
Complying, the man holding Scarlet dropped her on her back on the floor without a care in the world for her well-being.
"Alright, my pretty. I'll just put that on your ugly head and we will be able to sell you at a very high price. I wouldn't want you to use your power on us."
Crouching, the man with the device grabbed Scarlet's head and lifted it so he could put the device on. However, something caught his attention on her neck. He turned it and noticed a translucent liquid escaping from the tiny hole the dart inflicted.
"I'm not that much of an expert, but shouldn't a gardevoir's blood be red?"
"Who knows. Maybe it is even rarer than we think."
At that very moment, Scarlet's eyes burst wide open.
"The fuck?"
At lightning speed, Scarlet used her abilities on the one holding her head and tossed it at the one outside the van. Before they could even try to get up, Scarlet jumped on them, grabbed their head with her hands, and slammed them into the ground.
[Next time, make sure your sedative is strong enough to get me faster than I can extract it on my own.] She said telepathically so they could hear her.
Then, she used Thunder Punch and discharged a huge voltage through their heads, making a large radius of electrical light around them. She continued the attack for a couple of seconds before stopping. Slowly, she then removed her hands, revealing charred human faces and smoke coming out of all their head orifices. It took her a moment to realize that she killed them.
{Fuck! I used too much power. Rha!} She said, standing up. {And me, who promised master that I'll try to not kill if avoidable. What am I gonna tell him now?}
Scarlet got thinking for a very short moment.
{*sigh* What's done is done. Might as well get rid of the bodies for now.}
Then, she sensed a presence in the woods.
{Who's there?} She demanded, preparing two Shadow Balls in the direction of the presence.
Scarlet then saw Luna coming out.
{Calm down, it's just me.}
She glared at her one more second before canceling her attacks.
{You know I hate it when you sneak up on me.} Scarlet said, a bit aggressively.
{It wasn't my intention. I had just awakened when I saw two suspicious humans carrying something. I followed them and saw that it was you.}
{I see. Thanks for the help then.} Scarlet expressed, crossing her arms.
{I was about to, but you reacted before I could.}
{...Whatever.}
{I see you didn't go easy on them.} Luna commented, putting her paws on her voluptuous hips.
{Will we have a problem?} Scarlet demanded, wondering if she should consider her as a threat or not.
Luna then inspected the human bodies for a few seconds.
{Not really. You just defended yourself. A bit excessive, but better them than you.}
Scarlet looked at her suspiciously.
{I didn't know you were the kind that doesn't care about murdering humans.}
{I'm not, but those were despicable. Their deaths mean nothing to me.}
At that, Scarlet was a bit surprised by her answer. She always seemed to be the kind to be on the good side of the red line. Maybe she was hiding more things than she first anticipated.
{Alright.}
Scarlet then got on her knees, put her hands on their chest, and focused her energy on it. The bodies then began to glow blue as well, but by looking at the gardevoir's face, she seemed that she was using a lot of power. Then, the bodies began to disintegrate, and eventually, all turned into dust. Now done, Scarlet stood up while dusting her hands.
{What did you do?}
{I broke them down at the cellular level.} She explained.
Suddenly, Scarlet began to feel dizzy and was about to trip, but Luna caught her.
{But it's very energy-consuming. One is already tiring, but two…} She added, holding her head in mild pain.
{At least it's efficient to not leave any trace.} Luna commented.
{Yeah. No way anyone could tell that they were once human. They just disappeared from existence.}
{I see. Well, we should bring you back to the town. Can you move?}
{Yeah, don't worry. Maybe the sedative had the time to affect me a little.}
A second after Luna let go of her, her legs grew weak and she fell on her knees.
{Maybe I should carry you.} Luna proposed.
{I don't need your help. I…}
Luna wasn't fooled, it was obvious that even staying on all fours was quite demanding for her.
{Don't be that stubborn. Just hop on me. Unless you want to stay on the human dust for a while.} The zoroark commanded, crouching in front of Scarlet.
If she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, Scarlet didn't have much of a choice but to comply. Despite herself, she climbed onto Luna's back and coiled her arms and legs around the zoroark. Being extremely light, it was like Luna wasn't transporting anything at all. Holding her legs, the dark-type pokemon then departed for Togetheart. It didn't even take a minute until Scarlet was already more or less asleep in Luna's mane. Passing in front of the farmhouse, it took Luna nearly twenty minutes to reach Max's pitched tent.
{Here we go.} Luna announced.
Lazily opening her eyes, Scarlet dropped from the zoroark. With the rest, she could at least stand on her legs.
{Do you want me to get Max?}
{No, don't needlessly worry him. I'm gonna rest a bit and tell him myself.} She replied with an exhausted voice.
{...Alright.}
{Thanks.} Scarlet said before getting inside.
{...You're welcome.} Luna mumbled before disappearing into the woods again.
Inside, Scarlet was on her back, tiredly looking at the ceiling of the tent.
{Fuck.} She growled.
She then raised a hand in the air and looked at it.
{It's all because of that stupid color.}
Dropping it, Scarlet rolled to her side and closed her eyes.
{It's moments like this I wish I was a normal gardevoir.}
~POVC~
At the dojo, Max had just gone through the doorway with Aurora. He then spotted Bonny, May, and Dusk not far away. Without them noticing, Max got near them.
"Hey girls! Look who's back." Max announced.
Turning their heads, their eyes widened when they saw their friend.
{Aurora!} The three of them exclaimed, with Bonny rushing for a hug, followed by May and Dusk.
{I'm really happy to see you!} Bonny said.
{Hehe, me too.} Aurora replied, gently tapping on Bonny's back.
{We really missed you!} May stated, hugging her leg.
{So did I.}
They kept hugging her until Aurora looked at Max for help.
"Alright girls, let her breath before she goes all blue. Hem, figure of speech, of course."
{Wow.} Bonny commented, breaking the hug like the others. {Did you lose some weight? You look sexier than the last time I saw you.}
{Maybe I did burn some fat but can say the same for you. It seems that you gained a bit of muscle as well.}
{Hehe. The result of some intense workouts.} She boasted embarrassingly.
{Was Toad really that rough?} Aurora questioned.
{You shouldn't trust him. Behind his friendly face and personality, he's a real demon.} May commented.
{Don't be mean, May. He just wanted you to do your best.} Dusk defended.
{Easy for you to say. You didn't train with him.} Bonny replied.
{Believe me, Scarlet didn't go easy on me either.}
At that, both Aurora and Max looked at each other with a smile.
{Well, what about you, Aurora? Anything new?} Bonny asked paws behind her head.
{We could say that.} Aurora confidently answered with a grin. {Mind if I show master how much?}
{Sure thing.} Bonny accepted with a grin of her own.
Both of them then headed towards the center of the dojo. Further, Fushiu looked at them intently. They both faced each other and moved a suitable distance.
{Ready?} Bonny asked in a fighting stance.
Quickly, Aurora closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
{Yes.}
As soon as she got into a fighting stance, aura energy lightly started to leak from her being, surprising Bonny.
{Well, you sure got busy lately. I'll be nice, I'll leave the first strike to you.}
{I'm honored.} Aurora retorted before immediately attacking.
Using Force Palm to give her increased speed, Aurora was on Bonny in a split second and engaged with a simple sidekick. Bonny had just dodged the first one when another kick was thrown at her head this time. She then blocked it and counter-attacked with her new move; Dizzy Punch. As if she could sense it, Aurora was already dodging before the hit could be launched, making Bonny miss. Aurora quickly chained with Bone Rush and dashed at Bonny. Grinning as Bonny still found her predictable, she got ready to dodge the hit but was surprised by her next move. Instead of attacking, she used her bone to eject herself above Bonny and spun so the bone hit the back of her head. Turning around, Bonny barely got the time to block Aurora's attack and was impressed by the power, hurting her little. Stopping, they both looked at each other, still in a fighting stance.
{That aura thing sure is something.} Bonny commented, shaking her arms in slight pain.
{And yet, there's more where that came from.} Aurora announced before rushing at her once more.
{Not this time!} Bonny exclaimed before doing the same.
The first one to strike was Bonny with multiple Ear Punch. Since Bonny also grew in speed, Aurora wasn't able to dodge them all and had to block some, also hurting her a little. After doing a short backward jump, she charged at her with godlike speed. Bonny however was ready to greet her and used Ear Punch at two different angles to increase the chance to hit. Then, it was like she just disappeared and that Bonny only hit an afterimage. Guessing where she had gone, she did a one-eighty and immediately got touched by Aurora's paw, who only pressed it against her chest.
{Bam!} She simply said.
{Eh, you got me. I surrender.} Bonny declared with a smile.
{Good to see you didn't laze around yourself.} Aurora praised.
{Oh no, I didn't.}
{Well. From how we all got stronger, I say we could take on the next gym leader rather easily.}
"They are not to be underestimated, but I admit that I'm really impressed. You progressed that much in just one month?"
{I barely had time to breathe after I was done with Fushiu. That sly dog always had something ready for me. Isn't that right?} Aurora replied, looking at the old lucario.
{Yet, you kept going and never gave up.} Fushiu praised.
{Thanks, master Fushiu.} She said, slightly bowing.
While she did that, Max's gaze landed upon her mega stone.
"Well, maybe now you're ready to mega evolve."
{Maybe. We can try later on.} She said, not sounding as impatient as before with that topic.
Max was now more than impressed. She had changed so much in a very short amount of time. He was even wondering if it was really the Aurora he grew to love.
{I hate being the one to say that, but I'm guessing that Aurora's return means that we'll get back on the road.} Bonny pointed out.
"If you want one more day or two-"
{No need to, Max. I already made you wait long enough. We should stay for the night and leave tomorrow morning.} Aurora suggested.
"Tomorrow morning? Well, it leaves us very little time to say our goodbyes."
{We can always stay a little bit more before leaving. We don't have to leave at dawn specifically.} Bonny stated.
{If everyone agrees on that, I will too then.} Aurora affirmed.
{Unfortunately, I know someone who's gonna be very sad by that news.}
Max sighed at the thought of the one she was talking about; Sally.
"...If it's okay with you girls, I'll spend the night with her one last time."
{She might not ever see you again, so yeah. You should.} Bonny approved, looking a bit sad.
"What reassures me is that she was aware that I couldn't stay here forever, so it's possible she will take it well."
{'Well' would be a slight overstatement.}
"We have to go and she wants to stay here, so logically… but we'll have to accept it sooner or later. I can't say that I won't miss her little snout and clumsiness."
{We all will.} May said, looking sad as well before anyone else could say otherwise.
"Anyway, it's almost dinner time. We should go and enjoy this place as much as possible and make the most out of it before leaving."
{Yeah. Maybe it will pass better with food.} Bonny affirmed.
"Let's go then. I'm gonna get Scarlet and Luna and we'll join you there."
{Alright.}
With the plan established, everyone minus Max headed to the canteen for their last dinner here while the latter headed towards the farmhouse.
"She takes a lot of time. She should be done by now." Max mumbled to himself.
After a while, he passed in front of his tent on his way out to the farmhouse.
{Master? Is that you?} He faintly heard from inside the tent.
"Scarlet? Are you okay?"
{...Not really. Can you come in a moment?}
"Sure." Max complied, a bit perplexed.
Inside, he saw a gardevoir that he had never seen before.
"Wait, you're not Scarlet. Who are you?" He asked, dumbfounded.
{Who I am? Look, master, I'm not really in the mood for jokes, okay? I have something important to tell you.}
"Master? Are you perhaps also a trainer's pokemon?"
{Okay, Max, what the hell? I'm trying to be serious here. Can you stop now?}
"How… wait, Scarlet? Is that really you?"
{Of course, dumbass! What's wrong with you?}
"Well, if it's really you, maybe you should look at yourself."
{Myself? Why? Like this?} She aggressively said before raising one arm and briefly looking at it. {Happy n-}
Interrupting herself, she immediately reexamined at her arms.
{What the fuck?! Why am I green?!} She exclaimed in panic, looking at both of her arms.
"Calm down, Scarlet. It-"
{Don't tell me to calm down, it's gonna be worse! A mirror! I need a mirror!}
"Maybe I have one," Max replied, rushing to his backpack.
{Fuck that!} She said before quickly pressing her hand against his head and possessed him.
As soon as she was looking through Max's eyes, she saw her body falling on the mattress.
"What! The! Actual! Fuck!" Scarlet exclaimed.
She then crawled towards her body and inspected it, both with Max's eyes and his hands. Every inch of her body was now normal green, replacing any trace of her usual red color.
"How is that possible?"
When the shock was more or less passed, she freed Max and regained her own body. Opening her eyes, she sat up again.
{I… don't understand. How… What happened?} She said, looking at her hands.
"I don't know, but it sure is weird," Max stated, rubbing his eyes.
{Am I… stuck like this?}
"I don't know either. We should start by trying to understand what's going on."
{I can't recall what could have happened. Those fuckers I killed captured me because I was red, so I was at that time. Ah, maybe it's the tranquilizer they shot at me.}
"How come a simple tranquilizer can do that?"
{I don't know. Do you have a better explanation?}
"Well, not at the moment, but if we think this through…"
{I want to be red again! I want to be red again! I want to be red again!} She quietly repeated to herself with closed eyes.
"I don't think just wishing for it will-"
Suddenly, Scarlet's appearance changed to her normal self, all red instead of green.
"What?! Scarlet, you... changed back!"
{Huh?}
Opening her eyes again, she looked at her arms again and saw that they were indeed back to red.
{Thank god!} She expressed, now relieved.
"Wait, that transformation reminds me of something." Max pondered out loud.
{What transformation?}
"You didn't notice?"
{Noticed what?}
"... Can you wish to be green again?"
{What for? I don't want to be green again.}
"Just do it. I might be on something."
{...Alright. I want to be green. I want to be green.} She wished with closed eyes before re-transforming into a green gardevoir.
"That's it!"
{What? What the… Why, am I green again?}
"You're transforming just like Luna when she does."
{Luna? You mean when she changes her appearance?}
"Yes. I don't know how you managed to do it, but it's like you have the same ability as her."
{Ability? That would mean I can change to whatever I want, just like her?}
"One way to find out. Try to change into something else."
{Alright.} She said, focusing on what she wants to transform.
Again, she transformed like Luna and took Max's appearance.
"I think you really do, Scarlet!"
{Did it… It worked!} Scarlet said, looking at her human hands.
"But seriously? From everything you could think of, you changed into me?"
{What? You're just next to me, so you're the first thing I thought about.}
"Try something else. How about… Bonny? Change into her."
Focusing again, Scarlet changed into Bonny, looking just like her.
"Holy shit! That's… amazing, actually."
{How come I ended up with Luna's ability?} Scarlet asked, looking at her lopunny paws.
"That, however, I don't have an explanation. Maybe it has something to do with your ability. Let me check." Max told her, reaching for his pokedex.
{Your electronic junk couldn't tell my ability, you remember?}
"Hardly. Let's see gardevoir's abilities. Ah, that… Synchronize, the ability to transfer status, blabla… Trace, the ability to copy… wait! Hold on."
{What? What did you find?}
"Trace, the ability to copy the opponent's ability in combat. If you have that ability, maybe that could explain it."
{If I did, your pokedex would just say so, no?}
"True, but… it says in combat… did you fight Luna?"
{What? No. She just carried me here because I was too tired to walk.}
"I don't know, then. Maybe you have some kind of an evolved version of the Trace ability." Max theorized, sweeping through pages in his pokedex. "By contact, maybe."
{Maybe. That would explain this and that but still doesn't make a lot of sense.} She said, reverting to her default self.
"That's the best theory we have right now," Max said, putting away his pokedex. "To confirm that maybe you can try to copy someone else's ability."
{Maybe not yours because I might end up stupid.} Scarlet jested.
"Ah ah. Really mature."
{Hehe.}
"Well, maybe we could find some sort of use to it later on. Like, not appearing in red where you don't want to, like in cities. You won't be bothered by glares if you look like a plain and normal gardevoir."
{...I'm not sure I want to be a coward and have to hide my true self just because some pesky humans can't bear my natural beauty.}
"True, but if it can prevent you from going away every time we get waves of humans…"
{I'll think about it.}
"The least we can say is that it's quite the surprise."
{I agree. That was too unexpected, even for me.}
"Like what, we can catch you off guard sometimes."
{Ah, don't count on it. That was the first and last time it will ever happen. Now that I've seen everything, I can hardly be surprised anymore.}
"If you say so. Anyway, all things aside, what did you want to talk about?"
{Ah, yes. *sigh*}
After all of these emotions, Scarlet went on and narrated what happened after he left with Aurora. From his departure to Luna carrying her here.
"...I see," Max said when she was done. "Now I remember you mentioning that earlier, but I was a bit too surprised by your unusual appearance that I didn't pay much attention."
{I'm terribly sorry, master. I know you said you didn't want me to kill anymore, but I didn't do it on purpose. I just got so angry. I was very close to not being able to see you anymore.}
"Luna was there, so she wouldn't have let that happen."
{I know, but I didn't know that while I… fried their brain. I just wanted to inflict tremendous pain.}
Max then laid down, right next to her, and stared at the ceiling.
"The least we can say is that they had it coming. They shouldn't have messed with you."
{...I don't want to invade your mind, so… what are you thinking?}
"Honestly, I don't know what to think about it. I mean, you tried not to kill, just like you promised, but I wonder if it was avoidable. Again, they got what they deserved for trying to take you away from me, but… Nha! I don't know what to think anymore. What I can tell you is that I'm not mad at you as you did try. Just… try a little bit harder next time."
{Okay, master.} Scarlet complied, relieved while resting her head against him.
"Also, you told me the truth, so I'm even less mad at you. I should praise you, but only for that.' He told her, stroking her hair.
{That's good enough for me.}
"The girls and I were on our way to enjoy our last dinner here."
{I guessed that you would have wanted to leave the moment Aurora came back.}
"It was cool here, but we're nomads. We're not the kind to stay in place."
{Hehe, true. We won't live many adventures if we stay.}
"Indeed. To the canteen then." He announced, leaving for the canteen with Scarlet.
"Luna? Are you there?" Max called for his zoroark but got no answer.
{Maybe she's already there.}
"Perhaps. I hope so."
Luckily for Scarlet, she recovered enough to be able to float next to Max, but only that. They quickly arrived at the canteen where everyone was already eating. Like Scarlet guessed, Luna was already at the table in her human appearance.
"Thanks for waiting for us," Max commented when both of them joined the group.
{I was hungry. I won't starve just because you're too slow.} Bonny justified before taking a bite of her meal.
"Haha, good answer." Max praised, briefly petting her.
When they both had a plate, they headed towards the group to sit.
{Right here, little pup.} Luna said, tapping the chair next to her.
(Damn she's hard to follow. One moment we hardly see her, and the next one she almost looks overly-attached.) Max thought while sitting next to her.
Before digging into his meal, Max noticed the absence of Sally.
"Has anyone seen Sally? I was hoping we could have our last meal together." Max asked, at which everyone answered no. "*sigh* Poor Sally. I guess it's my fault."
{She'll get over it, master. You said it yourself. She just has to live her emotions, that's all.} Scarlet pointed out.
"Yeah."
At that, they ate their meal pretty normally. When they were done, they talked a bit between themselves and the others, saying they were about to leave, which was saddening to some of them. Too worried about Sally, Max left early with the others staying a little bit longer.
"She must be at her home," Max mumbled, heading towards Sally's residence.
When there, he gently knocked on the door so that only Sally could hear it, but with no response. Since she always forgot to lock the door, Max turned the knob and entered. Traversing the usual junk obstacles, he saw Sally on her belly, her face pressed against the mattress.
"Hey, Sally. I didn't see you at the dinner." He engaged, sitting next to her.
{I'm not hungry.} She bemoaned through the mattress.
"I see. No wonder then, hehe." Max laughed nervously.
Since he has never been good with words, Max was already without them.
{...So, it's the end? You're gonna go?}
"...Yeah. Tomorrow." He answered, making the cinderace cry even more.
"I'm sorry."
{Why do you have to leave?}
"My place isn't here."
{I'll go with you then!} She decided while sitting up, revealing eyes drowned in tears and strands of wet fur beneath them.
"That's not what you want, Sally. We both know that. Remember what you said the first day. You belong here and it's your place. It's your home here."
{But… but I don't want you to go.} She bemoaned more loudly, hugging him from the side. {It's not fair. It went too fast.}
Not speaking, Max only returned the hug and petted the back of her head while letting the cinderace wet his shirt.
{...You mean so much to me. You took care of me so much in the past month and helped me in many ways. You're the best thing that ever happened to me.}
"Now, now. You got so much confidence in that month. I'm sure you're strong enough to create other new best things."
{But… it won't be the same without you.}
"You know, Sally. Even though we will be far away, know that I'll always be your friend and an ally, no matter the distance between us or the time passed. It pains me too, knowing that we won't see each other for a while." Max said, with a tear of his own dripping despite himself. "But nothing prevents me from coming back here eventually."
Hearing that, Sally broke the hug.
{*sob* You… really mean it?}
"Of course I do. After becoming the regional champion of the league, I can always buy a car and visit you here.
Despite weeping a lot, she managed to smile a little.
{I would like that a lot.} She said, looking at Max with her teary eyes.
"Tell you what. How about we enjoy the last night together? Would it please you?"
{*sob* Yes.} She replied, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"I was sure you would. Come lay down with me." He proposed, hugging her and pulling her on her side on the mattress so they could snuggle.
{I love you. I'll never forget you, Max.} She assured him, hugging him strongly.
"So do I, Sally. You're way too unique to be forgotten. But for now, let's just enjoy this moment."
Sally then raised her head to look at him.
{I will.}
Breaking the hug, Sally then crawled over Max and began kissing him.
"We taught you well, Sally. You know so much about your stuff that you take initiative almost every time now."
{I had good teachers. Especially the one with the practical exercises.} The cinderace coaxed before kissing him some more.
"And to say that it all started because you bumped into me."
{Not checking where I was going was really the best thing I could do.}
"I think it was, indeed."
With more kissing, Max's hands began to rub all over her body, quickly turning her on. Like every time she was on top, Sally was grinding herself against Max as her heat was increasing.
{Mind if I start? It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me.} She proposed with lusty eyes.
"Of course not. Tonight, you're the queen."
With a smile and a last kiss, she crawled down and unbuttoned his pants. Gently, she pulled it out, revealing a half erected penis.
{Oh my god. I love seeing you getting that hard for me. I could just…} She lustfully said before shoving the entire thing inside her mouth.
She then immediately started to work on it, doing everything Max's companions taught her. Deepthroat, tongue play with either the shaft in or out, gentle nibbling, and brief handjob. Her favorite thing though was licking from base to top, a bit the tip, and running her tongue all across the skin of his cock. To her, it was like the lewd version of eating ice cream, one of her favorite treats. Also, she can more easily look at him while doing that. Max's pleased and lewd expressions were turning her on even more. On rare occasions, she could manage to make him cum at least once before riding him but was always getting too horny to wait. Tonight though, she endured the pain as she knew that he loved orgasming with a blowjob. While rubbing her legs together in agony, she kept sucking him until satisfaction. Luckily for her, she got good enough at it that it didn't very long for that to happen and exploded inside Sally's mouth. She kept sucking until she felt that his orgasm was finished. When so, she took whatever she could and swallowed. She didn't like the taste a lot but didn't like the mess that an outside ejaculation was making even more.
Without a word, Sally crawled over Max once again and sat on his manhood, rubbing her lower lips against it, knowing that it would reharden him quite quickly. With a depraved expression, she was panting a little and making the room hotter because the hornier she got, the more heat she generated. Most of the time, Max was sweating buckets while doing it with her, but he managed to bear it over time. When she was satisfied and/or unable to wait anymore, she raised her hips, aligned the meat, and sat on it again, piercing her fleshy cave this time.
{Aahh!} She moaned.
The first penetration was always a heart flutter for Sally, announcing an ardent mating session. The cowgirl position was Sally's favorite position, as she could see yet again Max's face and expression while using her body to please him. She then started slowly to go up and down, moaning at every movement before getting gradually faster. Max then presented his hands so he could take hers, something almost primordial in that position for her. Now in their perfect position, they could enjoy their last mating session for a while. During that time, Sally came four times and Max two more times. They were now at the end of Max's third one with Sally panting over him, not moving with him still inside.
{Wow… four times… It must be a new record.} She claimed.
"It is. You rarely go up to three."
{I guess… I wanted to make this moment… very special.}
"Thus making it unforgettable."
{Exactly. I wish I could have continued, but I'm dead.}
"It's okay, Sally. Don't force yourself, otherwise, you will make it the worst moment."
{Not a chance with you.}
With Max smiling, Sally unplugged herself from him and went for a hug.
{I'm gonna miss you so much.}
"I'm gonna miss you too, Sally," Max replied before both slowly drifted to sleep.
The next morning, Max was the first to wake up with Sally in his arms. He gently moved away and sat at one end of the mattress.
{You're already going?} Sally asked after a moment, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but it's time," Max announced, dressing up.
{...Can I at least accompany you until you leave?}
"Of course. It would be my pleasure."
With Sally widely smiling, both left her home and immediately headed towards his tent, where the other should be. When he arrived, he saw Aurora meditating right next to the tent.
"When did you become an early bird?" Max asked with a chuckle.
{A month ago, now. With master Fushiu, there was no such thing as sleeping until noon.}
{She's so cool.} Sally whispered to Max.
"If you miss that, you could always do that again with us."
{I'll try not to. Otherwise, I might fall into my old patterns.}
"Once or twice won't kill you, but it's your choice."
Aurora then opened one eye.
{I sensed a tiny disturbance in your aura. Is something wrong?}
"No, no. I just hope you won't think of me as a lazy sloth if I do it myself."
{Why would I think such a thing?} Aurora asked, closing her eyes again.
"...I don't know. For no reason I guess."
{If it pleases you, then do. Who am I to judge?}
"Hehe, you really became something, Aurora."
{Something? Am I related to an object now?}
"What? Of course not!"
{Relax, I'm just messing with you.}
"*sigh* Though you still have your special way to say thank you." Max constated with crossed arms.
{Fushiu is strong, but he can't do miracles.}
"Haha, damn right. Are the others still asleep?"
{Yes, minus Luna of course.}
"We'll call her when ready."
{So…} Aurora started, standing up. {We're ready to move on?}
"Not quite yet. We can't just leave like savages. I'm gonna advise the dean that we're leaving and we can have a big breakfast before going."
{Eh, same old you. Always up for an opportunity to get buffeted.}
"I don't know what you're talking about." Max lied.
{Of course not.}
{I understand you, Max. I also like to eat nice food.} Sally sided with him.
"Thanks for your support." Max praised while petting her, making her smile in a foolish way. "Let's wake everyone up." He planned while getting inside the tent.
Next to each other were Dusk, Scarlet, May, Bonny, and Jade, all lying down and snoring lightly. Max then went between Bonny and Scarlet and tried to wake both of them up.
"Wake up girls, it's morning." He announced, gently shaking them.
Suddenly, Max felt Bonny pulling him into a hug, making him fall on her.
{... Later, master… I still need to finish…}
A bit confused, Max quickly realized that she wasn't fully awakened and acted despite herself.
"Bonny. Time to wake up." Max repeated, shaking the lopunny a bit more roughly.
This time, Bonny opened her eyes and noticed Max, making a grin quickly appear.
{Oh my, master. It's rare to see you that horny early in the morning.} She commented, tightening her hug. {I may not be very active for now, but it's only a matter of time. Go ahead. I'm all yours.} She told him, starting kissing him.
He was about to interrupt her after a hard internal struggle to decide that when he felt being observed. Even before turning his head, he knew it was Scarlet, who had rolled on her side to observe.
{Please, just pretend I'm not here.} She legitimately requested.
"... Sorry to burst both of your bubbles, but maybe later," Max replied after breaking the kiss.
{Aww, come on, master! It's been a while since you woke me up with sex. That's just the best way to start a day.} She pouted.
"If it was just Scarlet, it could have passed, but you know I'm not comfortable with a big public display." He explained, making Bonny sigh in an upsetting way. "Okay, I promise you that if you're nice and that you stay quiet, I might do it another time. Okay?"
{*Sigh* I guess. It just sucks that it's not now.}
"You know that I always make your patience worth it, even if you have a bit of trouble with that."
{Yeah, I know.} The lopunny replied, still a bit upset.
"That's my girl." Max praised, kissing her one last time, which seemed to soothe her a little.
With both of them standing up to get out, Max went over the other to wake them up as well. A few minutes later, everyone was up and ready.
{So? Did you plan anything?} Scarlet questioned after putting the tent away on Max's backpack.
"Well, I thought we could go see the dean and advise him of our departure first. Is he up at this time?" He asked Sally.
{Normally, yes.} She answered.
"Alright, that's our first task."
The group then headed towards the dean's house. When they arrived, they went directly to his office and knocked.
"It's open." He said before the group entered. "Oh, what gives me the honor of such a visit?"
"I won't bother you for too long, but I just wanted to tell you that it's time for me to go."
"Has one month already passed? Time sure flies fast."
"You tell me."
"Well…" Zebb started, standing up. "If you have to go, then I'll say it was nice having you here. You and your pokemon were of great help and I'll thank all of you for that."
"No problem. It was quite enjoyable actually."
"But nature's call, am I right?" Zebb said with a smile.
"Yeah."
"Then it's a farewell. Feel free to take one last meal at our canteen before leaving. Can't really let you go with an empty stomach."
"Indeed. Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it."
"You kind of work for it, so it's the least we can do. Good luck on your adventure then."
"Thanks. By the way, I know Phineas and he might still be sleeping, so can you say goodbye to him for me?"
"Sure thing."
On those words, Max and his companions turned to leave before Zebb stopped them.
"Before you go, mind if I take a bit of your time?" He asked Max.
"Sure. Go ahead, girls. I'll be there in a moment."
With the girls nodding, they all left, leaving Max alone with the dean.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, don't worry," Zebb reassured him. "I just thought that you might find some news interesting."
"Alright," Max said, sitting in one chair.
"Remember the story you told me the first day you came here? The one with the man you found dead in his basement?"
"Oh, yes. Nasty memory. I almost shat myself back there."
"I've known it for a moment, but I forgot to tell you; The authorities managed to find the culprit."
"A pokemon?" Max guessed.
"Indeed. The thing that killed that man was a berserk hatterene. We don't know how, but it somehow became overly feral and aggressive. The authorities guessed that it suffered from mental degeneration or something. Some genetic diseases alter a pokemon's brain and make them go insane, but not a lot. At this point, there wasn't much we can do, but is unfortunately considered too dangerous to be free, so it has been shipped to Almondo."
"Almondo?" Max repeated interrogatively.
"A nasty place, let me tell you. It's an isolated island in the south. When they commit a crime, a human is sent to jail. However, due to certain laws, jailing a pokemon is unethical and cruel, therefore, we arranged one of the biggest islands on earth to a semi-prison for dangerous and uncontrollable pokemon. It's a place almost practically untouched by humans infrastructures to make it as wild as possible, but heavily monitored so none escape."
"Wow. I never heard of it."
"It's not info that doesn't travel a lot. Most people that know about it it's most likely because they know someone who works there, or knows someone that knows someone and so on."
"How are they kept at bay?"
"The one who told me talked about some agent with water-type pokemon that can mega-evolve such a gyarados."
"Why is mega-evolution necessary?"
"Wild pokemon can't mega-evolve, and you know how powerful a mega-evolved pokemon can be."
"Ah, I get it. To have more firepower."
"Precisely. Some pokemon that are sent there are very powerful, so we need to have ways to deal with them."
"Make a lot of sense."
"Well, it was just that. I thought you would have liked to know."
"You thought well. I'm feeling a bit better, knowing that justice has been served in a way."
"Some pokemon become so insane that they probably don't know what they are doing. Just put near-human intelligence and animal savagery together and mix everything up. That's the result."
"Hiss. Scary." Max half-joked.
"You tell me. I won't hold you any longer. You must be eager to continue your adventure again."
"I am," Max confirmed, standing up. "Thanks for the info, and for everything else again."
With the dean nodding, Max left his office and walked outside where he headed towards the canteen to get his last meal at Togetheart. Getting in, he sat with his entire team and ate his meal while telling them what he just learned. After some goodbye here and there, they exited the building and walked to the entrance where Max and Scarlet got in at their first arrival.
{Well… I guess… this is it.} Sally said as she was accompanying them.
"Yep."
Max then noticed by her face that Sally was trying really hard to not cry again.
"Sally…" Max said, kneeling to hug her, on what she couldn't hold her tears anymore, and hugged him back.
{I'm gonna miss you so much.}
"So will I. If it reassures you, know that I'll still be on this planet and there will always be a possibility that we can see each other again."
{I'm already looking forward to that moment.}
Max silently kept hugging her.
{The first nights will be hard now that I'll be alone again.}
"You won't be alone. Now that you're a combatant with a lion's heart, people will respect you more."
{It won't be the same.} She protested.
At this point, Max could hardly do anything else to reassure her, until an idea popped into his head.
"I know what we'll do," Max affirmed.
Breaking the hug, Max placed his backpack on the ground, opened it, and dug his hand in it. When he pulled it back, he had one of his shirts in his hand and handed it to Sally.
"It might not be much, but maybe having a piece of me can keep you company at night. That way, you'll never forget me and it will be like I'm still with you. It's a clean one, don't worry."
{I could never forget you!} She exclaimed. {...But… thanks.} she added, taking the shirt and pressing it against herself.
Even though she had a smile, Scarlet sensed that she was not as happy as she should be. She quickly understood why.
{That won't do.} She claimed before diving one of her hands herself in the backpack.
With Max and Sally looking at her confused, she searched for a moment before taking what she was looking for; another shirt.
{I believe you'll like this one better.} She said before both exchanged their shirts.
"What's the difference?"
He didn't have to wait for an answer when he saw Sally shoving her nose on it and took a big whiff.
{Oh yes! That's a lot better. It has your scent on it.} She exclaimed almost ecstatically.
A tiny grin appeared on Scarlet's face as she was right and immediately sensed Sally becoming all relaxed and reassured, vanishing almost all of her anxiety. Max then looked at Scarlet interrogatively.
{Don't forget master, almost all pokemon are about their noses and scent.} She told him, tapping on where her nose should be.
"I'll try to keep that in mind."
{If I close my eyes, it's like you're just next to me.} The cinderace said, taking another whiff.
"I believe it will keep you warm for a while then."
{Yes it will. Even more, since I don't plan to ever wash it.}
"Hem… might as well put it where it can't get any dirtier, then."
{I'm going to keep it in a drawer and sleep with it every night like a plushie.}
"I can imagine how cute you will look."
{Well, if you ever come back, maybe you'll be able to see that if you sneak up on me while I'm sleeping.}
"You, you have spent too much time with Scarlet." Max jested.
{Hihi.} Sally laughed with a big smile. {I'll take good care of it. Thank you very much.}
"Glad to hear. Now take care of yourself too." Max finished, petting her.
{Would it… be too much if I ask for a last goodbye kiss?} She shyly demanded.
"Not at all, as long as it doesn't make things worse for you."
{I promise it won't since I have your shirt.}
"Alright then."
Granting her wish, he leaned forwards and languorously kissed her for a short moment.
{I'm gonna miss that mouth and what it can do.} She seductively said.
"I was about to say the same thing."
{...Come on, guys. The more you make it last, the more difficult it will be.} Scarlet pointed out.
"Unfortunately, she's right. Farewell, Sally. I hope our paths will cross again." Max conceded, standing up.
{I hope too.}
With a last smile, Max waved at her and turned to leave the community of Togetheart with his companions. He told himself not to look back so as not to make it more painful, and made a good decision as behind him, Sally kept looking at him with teary eyes until they weren't in sight anymore.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein