Contest Time in Chocovine

Swole-POV:

I'm standing in front of a corpse.

The body is female. Her eyes are purple and her messy hair used to be in neat, blonde twin-drills. She used to be very pretty.

Her name was Laura. Or Domino. I also knew her as Maria. She helped me realize the physical benefits of massaging my pokemon and made me a better trainer through it.

She was a very nice woman who gave Dawn a pretty new hairstyle.

Now her lifeless body is deathly pale. She lies in a pool of her own blood.

The colors contrast strongly with each other.

I know what her voice used to sound like. From the honeyed words to the scathing screeches. 

And I know what parts of her body felt like.

Her cheek. Her shoulder. Her thigh. Her pussy. It was arousing.

I remember how it felt when I plunged a knife into her. A rush of power. A sense of control.

A pair of eyes float in the darkness. Her brother's eyes.

I made him watch as I tortured her.

My hands are bloodied.

Her soulless, dead eyes stare at me.

'You did this.' I hear her say in her sweet tone.

"Land ahoy!"

My eyes snap open.

The smell of the sea assaults my nose, the bright light blinds my eyes and the stinging morning cold pains the exposed parts of my body.

Was torture really my only option? Was there really no other way?

"Swole? Are you alright?"

I release the death-grip with which I held on to my pokemon and look to my left.

It's Dawn. "Just a nightmare."

Her hand lies on my thigh. Soothingly, I guess. I would worry about startling her and making her pull away again but I can't even gather the energy to tense up.

"Must have been one hell of a nightmare."

Would I really have killed... Maria.

I... I don't think so. Now. But at that moment... Anything could have happened.

I have no idea how far I could have gone if her brother didn't break first.

"Yeah."

I felt so powerful back then. It felt so intoxicating. Everything I did to her made me feel more in charge and more confident to continue.

I could have done anything I wanted to her. And I had justified it all because she is a criminal.

... She wasn't even attacking me anymore. It wasn't self defense. I am a criminal too.

"Are you going to be alright?" Dawn asks the same question again. Just slightly different.

But am I going to be alright though?

I guess I am. It's just another blemish on my soul. Just another trauma for time to heal.

"Yeah." I got over Bibarel and Star-- Never mind. I still hate all Starly.

But I don't fear Starly. And I don't fear that Bibarel anymore either. We could probably take him on now.

"Actually, how are you doing, Dawn? I'm not sure if I asked you... yesterday? Last night."

"Oh, don't worry. You already asked and I'm fine. Just a little cold but you, Prinplup and Mawile kept me warm until now."

Now that she mentions it, Mawile and Prinplup are close to her now. And Mawile isn't biting her? Or maybe she already got bored from biting Dawn, judging by the marks on her arms.

My own pokemon and Lucario's egg are on my lap and they are keeping me warm despite the cold Sinnoh morning temperatures.

"I got your stuff from your room before I came for you." I say before digging out her clothes and handing them over.

"Thank Arceus! I mean, thank you, that's my favorite jacket! I thought for sure I lost it!"

Her hug feels nice. Especially her breasts, wrapped around my arm.

However... That reminds me of what I had done to my pokemon.

I had touched Salandit. Very inappropriately. Her b-breasts.

What the hell was I thinking?! Was I actually drunk? I only had 2 glasses of 'water', which tasted a lot like alcohol.

... Is it weird that I like Dawn's more because they are simply bigger?

But why has Salandit been giving me the cold shoulder ever since then? Did I make a mistake? Did I do something wrong? I thought it was what she wanted?

Damn it. Why are women so complicated!?

"Dawn, why are women so-- Wait... Hold that thought. Did we call for help for the M.S. Anne yet?"

Oh fuck! I think we forgot!

Dawn widens her eyes in shock and I pull out my phone.

I quickly put in 112 for the emergency services... Weren't they overloaded before? I delete the number again.

There is one more number that I could try to reach for help. And I know she's somewhere nearby. Definitely within flying distance of the M.S. Anne on her Garchomp.

With my freezing cold fingers, I enter a different number that I had memorized immediately after reading it.

The phone rings for a short while.

Oh fuck! This is actually cringe! What the hell am I thinking?!

"Hello?" Her mature voice sounds out through the phone speakers.

I could recognize her voice anytime. I have watched all of her champion battles for the past... I don't know how many years.

"H-Hello. Is this C-Cynthia? The M.S. Anne was hijacked by Team Rocket! The ship is to the west of Chocovine Town."

I should have just gotten the coast guard on the phone instead. This is so embarrassing. Did my voice really have to crack at that exact moment!?

"I understand. I'm on my way. I will take care of this."

The call ends.

"You called Cynthia?!" Dawn is as shocked about my connections as I am about Cynthia's professional, no-nonsense response. "You have her number? How?"

"I'm just that good-looking. It was easy getting her number. I barely even had to do a thing." 

Technically correct.

"Yeah right." She rolls her eyes at me before we continue the last few minutes of our boat tour in silence.

Eventually the boat shakes and everyone tilts forwards as we make landfall. Dawn rams into me but once again she displays the superiority of her breasts splendidly.

It didn't hurt at all when she fell on me because of her natural airbags.

---

Narrator-POV:

And thus the heroes have arrived at the next town on their journey across Sinnoh.

Or rather, they made it to a short strip of sand right outside the town. This is where the rescue boat had beached and emergency medical services were at the scene.

The escapees were quickly examined to ensure none had any lasting damage. A few staff members had sustained concussions during the initial takeover of the ship, and a few more had suffered minor frostbite from their midnight journey across the sea.

After a quick round of questions Dawn and Swole were let go, left to their own devices and they head over to the nearby small town: Chocovine Town.

Around the same size as Twinleaf Town and named after a local plant which fruits have a taste very similar to chocolate.

Nowadays, it features a small pokemon contest hall and once per year, during the summer, tourists flock to the city to watch the migrating Phione on their way to the cold but plentiful waters of Sinnoh.

The perfect breeding grounds for the blue little pokemon to create the next generation.

It is said that those who are lucky enough to see a Manaphy guarding the brood, will be blessed with fortune, health and happiness.

"Looks like a ghost town." Swole states as they walk past the closed stalls that shopkeepers use to profit from the tourism.

Sadly, Phione's breeding season is still a few weeks off and the unlucky heroes will not manage to see a Manaphy anytime soon.

The town features a small harbor and deserted stalls are placed along the entirety of the harbor in two neat rows.

"Sigh... After all the chaos we have been through, I was really hoping to do some relaxed shopping."

"We could hit up the pokemart?" Swole suggests but Dawn just gives a disappointed stare in response.

'Hitting up the pokemart' was not the idea of a fun round of shopping she had in mind.

But that disappointment only lasts until she remembers that she wanted to take her trainer career a little more seriously in order to impress her crush.

"Actually, yeah. Let's go. I want to try out pokeball seals to improve my odds in the performance stage."

"Pokeball what? And the what-stage?" Swole is still as clueless as ever about pokemon contests.

"Pokeball seals. You wrap a pokeball in a shell-like device and put stickers on it to create pretty effects when the pokemon comes out of their ball."

"That sounds made up. And you're telling me that it works by putting stickers on it?"

"Nobody knows how it works. But it works."

"Huh. Alright. Cool. Any stickers that add a blood effect?"

"That's gross. I hope not."

"It would be cool, not gross! And a nice fit for Buneary. Since she always ends up covered in blood anyways, I wouldn't even need to clean her up more than usual-- Ouch. I mean... Uhhh... Nope. I dunno. I can't talk my way out anymore. Buneary just loves to get bloody after every fight. Ouch! Stop hitting me, Buneary."

Salandit, who once again walks beside the group, cannot help but laugh out loud in delight at her team-mate's misfortune.

"I guess... But I know there are seals that create these cute, puffy, cotton-like clouds. They would look sooo adorable on Buneary! Don't you want her to look cute?"

The pokemon in question shoots Dawn a dangerous glare. A final warning, so to say. Because she would never want to be 'cute'.

"She's already cute enough. No need to overdo it." Once again, Swole receives a punch for telling the truth while Buneary grumbles out something with the general meaning of 'I'm not cute...'.

Their short stroll through the little town ends after a few more moments and they reach the pokemart; Not to be confused with the kiosk-like shop inside a pokemon center.

A pokemart is more like a supermarket that also sells a lot of trainer specialized equipment.

They sell the basic pokeballs, human foods, food pellets for pets, sometimes clothing and other equipment: Basically, they are just tiny shopping malls.

Inside, as if Dawn knew the layout beforehand, she moves with purpose through the aisles and immediately finds the section that sells pokeball seals and capsules.

A woman in her natural habitat.

Within a single second her shopping cart was filled to the brim with all sorts of pokemon merchandise.

"You're going to need food too, you know?" Swole reminds her and her face turns from elated and excited to miserable and mournful.

Piece by piece she puts everything back.

Somehow, the shelves end up fuller than before.

"Oh, they do have blood effect seals. Check it out." The final set of seals she decides to put away just happens to be the ones that Swole was looking for.

She hands him 3 different seals that have their effects advertised on the packaging. They have blood-rain, blood-explosion and oozing, creepy blood-smears as options.

"Hmmm... The ooze might be cool for ghost pokemon but for Buneary... I can't decide whether to use the rain or the explosion."

"You can put them together. I have seen some people use seals with different timings to make some beautiful effects."

Seals have been invented recently for performances with pokemon who do not have access to any flashy moves. It also allows for trainers to explore new possibilities.

Zoey, for example, deploys a smokescreen with a seal on her pokeball capsule and her Misdreavus uses it to create shadow puppetry.

"That sounds pretty cool, to be honest... Damn it, Dawn. You sold me on it! Good grief, now I need to think of something for Salandit and Riolu as well."

"Do you even know if it will want to do any fighting?" Her gaze falls on the egg that Swole always carries with him.

The egg shakes a little as if the pokemon inside heard her.

"She. And I'm sure she will be a splendid fighter, just like her mother."

"... Lucario was really strong, that's true. Wait, since when can you tell the gender of an egg? Magic?"

"Pretty much. Aura. Any ideas for Salandit?"

"I have some... but you're going to have to pay for my input. You need to help me with Mawile! I'm completely out of ideas for her!"

And so they share ideas and let their shopping tour continue.

Swole gets cool effects for his pokemon, to improve his villainous character during gym battles. Dawn gets cute effects instead.

The rest of the day is spent similarly by doing nothing important besides training.

The whole time Swole felt anxious. As if another misadventure was right around the corner. Or as if the ghosts of his decisions were haunting him.

He was forced to interrupt his aura training today because he still saw Domino whenever he closed his eyes for more than a moment.

But as soon as he noticed that his mental state had a negative impact on his training, he resolved to get over his trauma. Not to fix it, of course. Fixing takes time.

Instead he simply stops closing his eyes as often and ignores the occasional flashes from his memories. With that band-aid applied, he can go back to growing himself and his pokemon ever stronger.

In the evening they found a youth hostel where they plan to stay until Dawn's next contest begins on Friday.

Their room, designed for 4 people, was empty when they checked in and consists of 2 bunk beds, 1 bathroom with just a shower and a small kitchen that is combined with the bedroom.

A red table, which is way too small for 4 people to eat at, stands in the center of the room.

Nothing happens over the next few days.

But on Thursday evening, another trainer checks into the room...

---

Swole-POV:

There is a heavy storm predicted for tonight so Dawn suggested that we quit early.

She and I have been using the hostel's kitchen to make food for everyone when the door slams open and another trainer marches in.

She has twin-drill hair... I shake off the memories and continue watching her as she makes her way to the closest bed and plops down.

Her hair is peach-pink and she has cherry-red eyes. Her exhausted state is evident, since she simply plopped down face-first in Dawn's bed.

That hid her face and I couldn't tell how pretty she was from just a glance.

But I can see a pink pair of panties. She's accidentally flashing us a look up her blue and white, frilly sundress.

Nice.

"Hello? That's my bed." Dawn complains about having her bed under occupation.

Which is exactly what she deserves for always choosing the first bed.

But the girl is unresponsive.

"You think she already fell asleep?" I ask.

This time, she snaps her legs closed. Definitely not asleep. And she just ignored Dawn.

Slowly she inches out of the bed and falls over on the one next to it.

"That's mine. But you can have it if you prefer to be the bottom."

Dawn slaps my arm for the intended innuendo.

"Thnk." A muffled 'thanks' comes from the pillow that she's hugging to her face.

"Do you want coffee? You seem like you need it."

Even though coffee past 4 PM is supposedly bad for sleeping. Salandit still demands it every evening so I'm forced to make it either way.

... It doesn't taste as good, now that Akari isn't making it anymore.

She's in the middle of route 218 now and doesn't have an Internet connection anymore. I just hope nothing bad happens to her.

"Mhm." Another sound comes from my former bed. This probably translates to 'yes' in human-speak, so I get another cup of coffee done.

Salandit gets her cup first and she accepts it gratefully but shies away when I try to pet her.

She has become so distant ever since we... had foreplay. She doesn't want to do any petting anymore. She doesn't want to sleep on the same bed with me anymore. And she won't even travel on my shoulder anymore!

And I can't get an answer out of her either! It's always 'I'm fine'. Or 'I need to think'.

I had wanted her to be less attracted to me... And I guess I got what I wished for.

But why does it feel so wrong?

Maybe I should do something nice for her? To make up for whatever mistake I made?

But what could I do?

"Here's your coffee."

The girl sluggishly turns over and blindly grabs for the coffee.

After missing a few times, she opens her eyes and sees me holding it out of her reach. She would have burnt herself pretty badly if she had gotten a hold on the mug like that.

"Thanks." After sitting up properly, she takes a big gulp from the steaming hot coffee and closes her eyes to enjoy it better. 

They snap back open in shock. "Wait! Who the hell are you!? What are you doing in my room!?"

Dawn shouts back just as loudly and outraged. "What the hell are you doing in our room!?"

"A!" She looks around the room. "That's right! I'm not in Floaroma anymore. Hehe... Sorry?"

It's a non-issue for me. Seems like a Dawn-problem.

The diva rolls her eyes. "Apology accepted. But the question still remains, who are you?"

"My name is Ursula. I'm here for the pokemon contest tomorrow. Whew! I can't believe I still made it here in time!"

With the weather coming in, she might have ended up stuck on route 233. And then missed the contest by just a few hours.

"What about you two?"

"I'm Dawn Berlitz, from Twinleaf Town. Nice to meet you. I'm here for my second attempt at a pokemon contest."

"Me too! My first time was in Floaroma Town... But I lost in the presentation stage... I guess that means we are rivals?"

"Maybe we are... My first time was in Canalave City and I only lost the climax because of attrition."

"Phrasing." I mutter under my breath but they either ignore me or don't hear me.

"Wait! I heard about that! Second place on your first try? Not bad for a noob! How did you do it?"

They continue to talk about their first times as if it wasn't weird.

'My first time was on the M.S. Anne.' Is what I want to say but I just can't bring myself to do it.

It would be too cringe and would raise too many questions. And foreplay doesn't count, right?

"What about you, tough guy? I would guess you're doing the gym challenge?" Ursula eventually asks me.

"Your guess would be correct. My name is Swole. Swole Solo. I beat the Canalave City gym last Monday and now we're heading for Oreburgh City. Want to tag along with us? We're going through Floaroma and Alamos Town for the contests."

"Why did he say Alamos Town like that?" Dawn grumbles out. 

I didn't say it in a special way.

"Hmmm... An intriguing idea. But I don't want to ruin it for Dawn." She winks for some reason. "And I wanted to try to be a little independent for now. See the world and all that stuff. My next target is Jubilife City, Sandgem Town and then Oreburgh City, since Canalave is... not well right now."

At the mention of her trying to travel solo, I can't help but scrutinize her appearance a little more closely.

She's pretty, but not a tough girl, unlike Akari or even Zoey. Her own physical capabilities are probably closer to Dawn's.

And... "I can't help but notice your pokemon are inside their pokeballs. Don't you think it's a little unsafe to travel like that? And alone?"

In response to that she rolls up the skirt of her sundress and reveals one of these thigh-bands with pokeball slots. Nice.

She has 4 of them and selects the first from the front.

"I always have this guy out with me when I'm on the routes." The ball pops open and reveals a Gible.

The little, blue sand-shark pokemon opens his mouth to let out a small roar but stops in his tracks when he notices Mawile glaring at him.

He immediately loses his confidence and hides behind his trainer.

When Dawn looks behind herself to see what caused his sudden shyness, Mawile pretends to be innocent and looks cutely into her trainer's eyes.

Meanwhile, Prinplup is gazing out the window at the approaching storm clouds.

My own pokemon don't seem too impressed about her Gible either. Buneary preens herself in the fact that he has already put himself at a lower spot than her within their pokemon hierarchy.

"What are you guys cooking?"

"Steaks and eggs." Buneary's special reward for winning the gym battle. It's been steak and eggs for the 3rd day in a row now.

At this point, I'd almost prefer to give her a massage instead but I don't want to risk pushing her away too.

"You and your pokemon want some?"

"Oh, I don't want to impose and we have eaten already... Wait, you cook for your pokemon?"

"You wouldn't impose. We're already cooking for so many, a few more mouths to feed doesn't make a difference. And yes. I know that real food is way better for pokemon; And feeding them lots of love helps with bonding as a trainer."

I hear Dawn mutter 'phrasing' under her breath but I choose to ignore her. Let her find out how it is to have your jokes ignored!

"Oh, in that case..." Ursula presses the buttons on the other 3 pokeballs and a light brown, sandy-cloaked Burmy as well as 2 Eevee appear in a brief, red light show.

One male and one female Eevee and their actions mirror each other. When one tilts her head questioningly at her trainer, the other tilts his head the exact opposite way. Very cute.

"Are any of you still hungry? Steaks and eggs?"

All of her pokemon nod in confirmation despite having eaten already... Are they getting enough food? Or maybe it's just malnutrition from pellets? Professor Hedera really was right.

I guesstimate their weight and determine that the Eevee can most likely share one portion. Same as Burmy and Gible. So I'm adding 3 more steaks and another frying pan to the stove.

As I cook today's dinner, I listen a little to the girl's chatter.

Despite their future rivalry, they hit it off well together. They are pretty much on the same wavelength immediately.

Dawn is giving suggestions and ideas for Ursula to pass the presentation stage and Ursula gives Dawn tips for fighting.

Apparently she got home schooled by her dad who was pretty decent in the gym challenge and she picked up some tips from him.

Right now Ursula suggests to Dawn to use weaker moves more often to prevent exhaustion.

It's a trick that I know already. But Buneary's weaker moves tend to be so weak that our opponents can simply break through them.

Salandit doesn't have that problem. She can just attack from range and not worry about counter attacks.

How could I fix that for Buneary?

Maybe I need to train her to dodge more? If she can attack while avoiding the counter attack, she wouldn't get so exhausted all the time.

But how would I even train that? I would need a sparring partner... Another brawler like her.

Riolu could fill that role... But who knows when she will hatch.

...

... Could... Could I brawl with her instead?

She's definitely faster than me, but with aura, I should be able to survive her serious hits, as long as she doesn't use type energy.

And I wouldn't need to match her speed either. We can just work with handicaps again.

That... that could actually work!

Worst case, I pass out.

Fuck it! We're doing it! At least trying it out won't hurt-- Won't kill anybody. I bet it will hurt like hell, but she needs a proper sparring partner for brawls!

And so I get back to cooking with renewed fervor!

The steaks don't come out any faster but it's the thought that counts.

"Buneary! We're going to put in another training session after dinner! I have a new plan for you! And Salandit do you want to come with us? It might start raining at some point..."

Buneary nods immediately from her spot on my shoulder but Salandit... She takes a while to consider it... 

I really don't know what I did wrong...

But in the end she nods as well.

---

"Alright Buneary! You got everything?"

I get ready to fight. At least as ready as I can be. All I know about fighting comes from TV.

Dark clouds are rolling in from the horizon and we stand in front of each other in the middle of a public battlefield. Nobody else is around because everyone is at home already.

Salandit is watching Riolu on the sidelines under a tree.

Buneary shakes her head and my dumbfoundedness ruins my stance.

"Good grief... What did you not get?"

~"Everything?"

"Look, all you need to do is to fight me as if you were using your moves but don't use type energy."

~"Are you ssure about that? Did you hit your head or ssomething?" Salandit doubts my decision and Buneary nods along with her statement.

"I know I don't stand a chance. But this isn't about me winning. It's about Buneary dodging attacks. If I hit her or block her attack with my limbs, it's a point for me... If I get hit, it hurts but we don't have any other brawlers for your to practice with."

This time Buneary nods unsurely. And I'm guessing that she understands what she needs to do, but she doubts the results it's going to give.

Once again, I get into a battle ready-ish stance.

This time, Buneary follows suit. From the corners of my eyes I can see Salandit eating from a bag of popcorn.

I might have actually hit my head. "Try to avoid my neck and head. Please."

She nods.

"Alright." I gulp down some saliva and tighten my jaw. "Start."

Way too quickly, Buneary rushes across the battlefield, jumps and aims a kick at my chest.

I pull my arms tight and bunch up to block the Jump Kick imitation. It's already her loss because she's not supposed to get blocked in the exercise--

...

"Urgh. Fuck me... You hit like a truck!"

I'm looking at the clouds over my head. Buneary is at the edge of my vision looking down at me in a concerned way.

My arms are throbbing from the impact. "Ouch. You're supposed to avoid my counters and attack past my blocks. Not through them."

I remind her before I gently flick her forehead.

"That's 1-0 for me." Her eyes snap open in realization.

"B-Bunnie!"

"Yes. Tough luck. It's the rules. And we both agreed on it."

"...Buneary..."

"Get over it you baby. Ouch. Let's try again, now that you know the rules."

"Bun."

I get up and get ready to take another beating. It sucks that even my wins hurt but I'm doing it for the greater good!

"... Start." Hesitation creeps into my voice.

Buneary runs in again and I get my arms ready to take another blow. But this time she aims for my legs.

She's too tall for me to jump over, so I need to counter attack with my own kick.

My own leg seems to move in slow motion compared to Buneary's speed and at the last moment, she aborts her sprint and hops a step back.

My kick misses and she resumes her attack against my other leg.

...

The clouds are a little darker now. Can't be long until the rain starts. "Urgh. 1-1"

I get back up and prepare myself for the next round.

"Good job. Start."

She begins with the same tactic. Aiming for my leg again.

I know my kicks are too slow but I have no other option. I kick again and she avoids it again like last time.

This time, when she goes for my other leg, I let myself fall on top of her instead.

But she's too small and too nimble and weaves out at the last moment. I failed to grapple her and she gave my prone body a token-punch for: "Damn. 1-2."

I get back up and try a different stance. I put my arms much lower this time. If she goes for my legs again, I can just grab her-- 

Hah! 'Just'. Funny.

"Start."

I can see from the look in her eyes that she won't change her tactics. Once again, she aims for my legs.

Her movement is incredibly quick and she almost maneuvers past my shoddy defense but my greater height and mass is giving me an advantage this time.

The moment she slipped past my arms, I bunch my body up and trap her in a big, massive hug.

"Heh. 2-2."

And the training continues.

For what felt like hours, we continued to fight against each other.

My pains have become so bad that even Sitrus Berry can't heal them anymore. My bruises have gotten bruises. And the rain is terrible. It soaked us thoroughly to the bone.

The score currently stands at 7-30. But I'm pretty sure she let me grapple her 2 times so I wouldn't feel so bad.

I couldn't dodge anything from her more than once. As it turns out, she is really good at learning from her mistakes.

But I have one more trick I want to try out.

"Last... huff... one. Ready?" I pant out.

It's been an unbelievably exhausting training session. My limbs are actually feeling like lead.

Buneary looks just slightly winded but grins happily. I think she's having a lot of fun with this. Not sure if it's because she can beat me up almost freely or because she just likes brawling so much...

"Start."

She runs at me once more. Her tiny feet splatter mud all over the place as she sprints over the soaked battlefield.

My stance has lowered over the course of the training to an almost quadrupedal position. One arm is ready to strike at her, the other is poised to take my weight if I tip forward again.

With my striking arm, I quickly pick up some mud and toss it at her.

She jumps over the clump of mud.

Damn.

That was my new trick.

Her little jump lands her closer to me and she just barely stumbles on the slippery ground.

But she's within my striking distance.

I brace myself with my arm to get even more reach and try to catch her off-guard with a backhand strike.

She doesn't try to jump back. The ground is too slippery and she remembers what happened last time she did that.

Instead, she jumps over my strike and over my head. She prepares to kick my back.

I roll over to my left and toss another clump of mud at her at the same time.

Despite my almost blind throw, it manages to hit her. Swole used Sand Attack!

She has to close her eyes but I know she is still dangerous.

As soon as she hits the ground with her feet, she makes another hop to where she knows I still am.

I tighten up my abs and prepare myself to take one last hit for today.

Her feet collide with my stomach. Barely missing my ribs, which would have hurt like hell - it still hurts a lot, but I wrap my body around her once again.

She instinctively struggles to squirm out for a moment but then gives up.

"Huff... huff... 8 to-- huff... 30... huff."

I let myself fall over on my back for the last time today and release Buneary from my 'death'-grip.

The rain washes down my face. It's cooling and oh-so refreshing. As the life-giving liquid washes away all the mud and pain, it lifts up my spirits and strengthens my soul in turn.

I lift my head and look towards Buneary. She is hugging my chest tightly and looks up at me with a large grin on her face.

"Had fun?" Her smile infects me and I can't help but grow a smile on my own face.

"Bun!"

"That's good." And I think she managed to improve a lot.

She's definitely someone who learns by doing.

We should spar more often. ... Barry gets to fight Team Rocket daily!

I bet that he's catching up to us thanks to that! Damn him!

"I think it was fun too." I take a deep breath but notice all the sharp pains all over my body. "... But we can't do this every day..."

It's a very different kind of pain than simply sore muscles. Everything throbs and feels hot and swollen.

It still feels rewarding in its own way. Today, I was actively involved in my pokemon's progress.

It's an exceptionally rewarding feeling.

Beating a gym still feels a lot nicer, but this... This is what progress feels like... Amazing!

But man. I. Am. Beat.

Salandit can be seen past the rain, watching us. Still guarding Riolu. And she picked out some tarp from my backpack to keep herself dry. The rain has become too harsh for the tree to offer any protection for her.

She keeps the egg close to herself so Riolu doesn't get cold or wet either... Not that it makes a difference. Since she isn't a real, biological egg.

Some stinging sensations of pure agony on my chest notify me of Buneary who crawls closer to my face.

Then, more pain. "What the hell? Why did you bite me?"

She bit my ear!

~"I dunno. Felt like it. You don't like it?"

The pain was like a 2 out of 10. Especially compared to everything else. "It's alright. Just hurt a little."

She rubs her face against my cheek. Despite the wet fur and the cold rain, the cuteness warms my heart.

~"I will be more careful next time."

Next time? What's gotten into her?

If feels like-- No, it really was just a few weeks ago that she wouldn't even let me touch her unnecessarily. And even for necessary stuff she was always arguing first.

I still remember like it was yesterday when I first caught her. Perched in a tiny hole in the ground. Any wrong movement could have been the end of me and now... Now we're roughhousing together.

I really like this. 

The cold rain soothes my bruises and my arm finds itself wrapped around Buneary for some more cuddling before it's time to go back to the hostel.

I really, really like this.

---

With the setting of the sun, the ice cold Sinnoh night begins to creep in and combined with the rain it has simply become way too cold to stay outside any longer.

I pick up Salandit and the egg within the tarp blanket and start the painful march back.

Each step clings to the drenched, muddy paths between here and the hostel.

Every moment saps out more of my energy until I finally reach 'home'.

"Oh my Arceus! Swole! What happened to you?" Dawn immediately rushes up to me and inspects me closely.

My clothes are drenched and muddy. My tank top reveals dark blue bruises all over my arms and I walked in with a limp in both of my legs.

"Ouch. Be a little more careful? I'm tender. And I was just training with Buneary. Nothing to worry about."

Ursula looks at me from my-- from her bed with a startled face and her hands covering her mouth in fright.

"D-did your pokemon rebel?" She stutters.

She doesn't look at me. She looks at my pokemon with fear in her eyes.

"Huh? No! It's not what you think! It's just our new training. We're training to brawl more efficiently. Right, Buneary?"

And as if to prove that she's friendly, she nuzzles my cheek and... And did she just plant a kiss on the corner of my lips? ... No way... ?

"See? We're on good terms!"

"Too good terms." Dawn mutters quietly.

"Anyway, I'm going to hit the showers." I say while removing my tank top in front of the girls.

... I actually forgot about Ursula being in the room with us.

Muscle memory told me yo do it but she doesn't complain about the sight, so I think it's fine.

Well, she doesn't complain but only because she's too startled to complain.

Dawn too. "O M A. What the hell? What was your training? Did you just let Buneary beat you up the whole time?"

I look down and see my torso is entirely covered in dark bruises. It's in a much worse state than my arms. It's all the hits that went through my blocks.

"No... We finished with a score of 8 to 30... I'd say I did pretty well for myself.

"Holy shit! You won against your pokemon 8 times!?" Ursula is impressed.

I only won because of incredibly heavy handicaps. But I nod nonetheless to seem cooler.

"That's so cool!"

"Don't believe him. He's exaggerating." Dawn somehow knows the truth. "Have you used a Sitrus Berry yet?"

"Yeah." I say as I make my way to the bathroom. "I used a few and they stopped working."

Nobody knows how berries work, but their behavior is well studied. One of their traits is that they have a diminished return. You can't keep using them forever and just grind your way to success with enough money and willpower.

But money and willpower still helps a lot.

"Good grief." Dawn rolls her eyes. "Akari made a salve for bruises and sore muscles for me. I can apply it to you after you're done with your shower."

Dawn gets a confirmation and I close the bathroom door.

My pokemon are in a dire state. Buneary needs a shower. She's completely muddy.

Salandit... "Are you sure you don't want to shower with us, Salandit? A nice hot shower?"

Salandit shakes her head.

~"She's crazy." Buneary comments. ~"She'd rather wash herself in hot acid."

"Hot acid? Did I hear that right?" Salandit pokes her tongue out at us. Which means it's true. "Salandit... You can skip the shower if you want to... Since you didn't really get dirty today."

But that gives me an idea on what to do for Salandit. An acid bath. If that's what she likes.

But where could I get acid from? I'm not exactly a chemist. Maybe they sell it at the pokemart?

Who knows. Guess I'll just web-search it later.

We wait until the shower turns steaming hot and then Buneary joins me as I clean myself up in slow motions.

Every movement hurts, even the slow ones. And rubbing soap into my skin just makes it so much worse.

Still, today's training was absolutely worth it. Her skill in battle has obviously improved.

And as a side effect, she seems to be a lot more comfortable around me after today. She already began to be less restrictive with physical contact ever since Salandit joined the team, but now...

Now she leans against my leg while she enjoys the hot water coming from above. As if she actively tries to seek out contact with me.

But she doesn't really do anything to get herself clean. She will never finish on her own if I don't intervene.

So I take her pokemon soap and reposition myself behind her.

I turn off the water, sit down on the floor of the shower stall and put Buneary on my lap.

"Do you still remember our first time showering together?" I ask her as I start lathering her up. "You didn't want to go into the shower stall at first. But then you snarled and growled at me, just for turning the water off!"

Her shoulders tense up as I laugh out. "You used to act like such a wild animal." Salandit also lets out a small laugh.

When I switch to her ears to soap them up, she begins to purr and I can imagine the little pout she has whenever she tries not to purr.

"And now you're such a cutie!" Salandit's laugh becomes more intense and Buneary turns her head to glare at me, causing some of the soap to enter her eyes which lessens the effect of her glare.

So cute.

I continue washing the front of her body.

~"Just wait until she evolves."

Salandit ruined it. I don't think we can continue showering together after she evolves. Lopunny looks... almost human.

They have the right size, the right number of limbs... I've even seen girls dress up as Lopunny in the Pokemon Pals magazine!

That means I need to enjoy my time with my cute little Buneary before it's too late.

After turning the water back on and removing most of the soap and the rest of the mud and sand from Buneary, I lean over her and give her head a little kiss.

Her ears caress my cheeks and follow me when I pull back.

I take it as a sign that she wants some petting, so I scratch her ears a little and her purring becomes louder.

"This was nice, wasn't it?"

She confirms it in a relaxed voice. "Brrrun..." She couldn't keep the purring from mixing into her voice.

I will miss this the most when she evolves.

Although... I could... Nooo... Well, I already went too far... With Salandit... I mean...

Never mind. I'll just let this be the problem of future-Swole.

But should I ever decide to... cross the line with my pokemon again, I will need to make sure that they are really alright with it.

Salandit is still my reliable, trusted pokemon... But I can't help but feel like we lost something special. I don't want to lose that ever again.

And... And I will work to try and rebuild our bond again!

---

Taking my time to savor the nice, relaxing shower, I slowly wrap up our session. Despite the stinging pain in my body slowing me down, we eventually finish and I shut off the water.

I dry us both off, put on a clean pair of boxer shorts and get out to greet Dawn. Oh. And Ursula too.

They are sitting face to face on Dawn's bed. Talking with each other until they notice my arrival.

"Sheesh. Even your legs are a mess." Dawn says. "Come on. Lay down on the bed and I will get the salve on you."

I follow her directions and end up driving off Ursula. She doesn't seem very comfortable to be around my treatment. "You guys aren't going to... you know... with me around, right? I don't think I want to see that."

"W-with this guy?" Dawn asks before planting a painful slap on my back. "N-no! We're just friends. Hehe..."

"Just friends, huh? That's not what you said earlier."

"Ursula!?"

"Haha! I'm kidding! ... Or am I?"

We're still just friends. I need to work myself out of the friend-zone at some point if I want to do anything with my crush.

Or is this too selfish? I already have a girlfriend and an engagement.

Dawn's hands, cold from the salve, land upon my back.

No. It isn't selfish. Who am I to dictate who someone can or can't love?

If Dawn can be happy together with me, despite the other girls in my life, then who am I to deny her that?

Her hands rub gently across my body. "Mmmm. That feels nice. Thanks a lot for doing that, Dawn. You're an angel."

"Gladly."

I will sacrifice myself to get a harem so everyone can be happy. Heh. I'm such an altruist. Hehe.

"What are you chuckling about?" Her hands swap to my shoulders and arms.

She didn't hear me mumbling, right? "Uhh, nothing. Say, what do you think your chances are to win tomorrow?"

The few bruises on my arms are quickly treated. I didn't manage to block a whole lot, after all. Then she changes to my legs.

"I think they are pretty good. Not a lot of people in Chocovine Town at this time of the year. What do you think, Ursula?"

The peach haired girl answers. "That's why I went to Chocovine Town in the first place. Bum-fuck nowhere, out of season. The competition should be much weaker... But I still need to pass the performance stage! I just hope Eevee can pull through this time."

That's rough. To lose in the performance stage. Not that I really know what it is, but it sounds pretty bad to lose at.

I'm glad Dawn actually postponed her debut. It must have given her a much better reputation as coordinator already.

"Hey wait a second." I found a flaw in their logic. "Wouldn't strong trainers flock to rural cities to collect some easy, early wins?"

Dawn's hands stop moving. And from the corners of my eyes I can see the gears slowly turning in Ursula's head.

"Huh." Dawn resumes massaging my legs. "But I hope you know that I need to blame you now, if there suddenly is a much stronger competitor. You summoned her, or him, just now. It's your fault."

She has a good point. It tends to happen when people use my own flawless logic against me.

Suddenly she slaps my ass. "Hey!"

"Turn around. I'm done with your backside."

I turn over before she can slap my cheeks again.

... Alright. This is awkward.

Her face begins to glow in a crimson blush as she stares down at me.

Her hands land upon my bruised chest. They trace slow, gentle circles over my battered muscles.

If Ursula wasn't around, this might have been a proper moment to confess my crush to her.

What were we even talking about before?

She drew me in with her bright blue eyes and light pink lips.

Can't have been an important topic.

Her hands are so soft and pleasant. Her face is so sweet and beautiful. "Hey, Dawn?"

"Yes?"

She doesn't stop touching me, but I do notice that she slowed down. Her hands linger after every motion on my pecs.

"Didn't I promise to invite you to a restaurant?"

"... Oh right! You did! When we were stuck under the Tree of Beginning. I completely lost track of it with all the chaos right after!"

"How about, after you win your contest tomorrow, we check out the town and hit up a restaurant. Just you and me."

Her hands stop roaming my body completely. "A-alright... But what if I lose?"

Huh? Oh! I didn't even mean it like that.

... But Dawn could use that as some extra motivation to win...

"You won't lose, I'm sure... But if you do..." I have no idea! "Uhhh, you owe me a foot massage? I would say it's your kitchen duty for a week, but that would be punishment for me too! Haha-- Ouch!"

"Humpf. You can get dressed now. I took care of all your bruises."

"What about the new one!?"

"That stays."

Ursula laughs at my pain but infects the room with mirth. Dawn's beautiful laughter follows suit and her smile grows brightly.

Eventually I get dressed in my pajamas - I will need new ones soon. They don't fit properly anymore - and over the course of the evening and early night, we continue to discuss all sorts of topics.

Pokemon nutrition, care, strategy and Ursula mentions that Chocovine Town has a public aquarium with a decent restaurant inside. Her family took her there when she was younger and she can only recommend it.

I sit on Dawn's bed while we talk and I pet Buneary absentmindedly. Salandit has a look on her face that I really can't place as she watches us from a small distance.

But eventually the exhaustion sets in. "You girls can continue talking but I'm hitting the hay. Good night."

They send me off with a round of 'good nights' and I climb up the ladder to the top bunk bed. Salandit, once again chooses to sleep away from me. On the foot end. She looks... sad?

I don't want my pokemon to be sad!

I'm going to get some acid for her, first thing tomorrow morning before Dawn's contest! I need to cheer her up!

As for Buneary, she decided to cuddle up with me under the blankets. Her arms try to claim as much space on my chest as she can and her head comes to rest in the hollow of my neck. Her ears almost wrap themselves around my neck like a hug.

Finally, I put Future-Riolu into a nice position. I have a feeling like she will hatch pretty soon. I'm really looking forward to finally seeing her again!

Once I have made things right with Salandit again and once Riolu hatches, almost everything will finally be perfect!

Being a pokemon trainer is fucking awesome!

Even with all the messed up stuff that happened on my journey until now, I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.

With a smile on my face, with an exhausted body, with Dawn's beautiful voice in the background and with my arms held around the cutest pokemon in the world: That's how I'm slowly but surely drifting off to sleep.

... This is nice.