Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work is presented under fair protection where applicable.
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You should not read this work if you are not of legal age where you reside. This work may contain concepts or written actions that some readers may find excessive or disturbing. This may include (but not be limited to) rape, BDSM, or death.
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Chapter 15
Verdanturf
The setting sun cast its shadows over the ground in front of Nicholas as he stared out over the forested hills that fell away from Lavaridge Town to the south. The town itself was long gone, hours behind him.
After taking the Heat Badge Nicholas had, as he always did, gone immediately to the pokecenter to have his harem healed. They really were a blessing in modern society, the complicated and heavy machinery that could instantly chase away the fatigue and injury from a pokegirl and recharge her internal energy reserves. It almost made him jealous that there wasn’t yet anything like it for humans. Almost. He was rather content in not being the one who had to endure broken bones, shredded lungs, and other massive internal injuries on a regular basis.
Elaine, Aria, and Bea had earned their rest. He had a feeling that if he called it all off, right now, none of them would be seen as outsiders by the rest of his harem anymore. What he had seen inside that gym had been as excellent as anything his pokegirls had ever shown him. Even Morgana had pushed through and closed the battle without hesitation.
But it was that deserved rest, and Morgana’s reverie afterwards, that had led to his current traveling partner. None of them.
He wanted nothing more than to release Bea, to applaud her quick thinking in using her power without allowing it to harm her in return. To release Elaine, and celebrate her actions, the incredible inner strength that had finally come to the surface and allowed her to not only endure the Numel’s attacks, but retaliate with a devastating blow stronger than anything he’d ever seen. To release Aria, to show her his satisfaction – the satisfaction of her Weyrleader, her Lord, and maybe to explore the mystery of the gemstone. Even to release Morgana, if only so he could do his best to give her the same victory the others had achieved. Something within her was still in turmoil. Something he wanted desperately to quell.
He wanted nothing more than to do so, but in this moment he needed to be their tamer. Just as he so often reminded Bea he needed to make the right choice for them all, not the one that only benefited him. And they needed their rest.
Nicholas sighed quietly. He still needed to find an opportunity to train each of them how to sense outside of their pokeballs. That would make walks like this much less of a risk. Maybe he’d focus on that as they traveled back to Rustboro, tone down the combat training a bit.
He turned back to the road and continued walking. For now, he’d just stay alert.
The sun was starting to disappear behind the trees and Nicholas starting to consider making camp when he saw a jagged and broken wall of rock come into view ahead of him. For a few moments he was confused until with a curse he remembered the lava slide that had originally stopped him from getting to Lavaridge on this road.
Nicholas came to a halt and stared at the obstacle. The sun was going down. He’d walked hours away from Lavaridge and any other paths. He’d just have to make camp and figure out the plan in the morning.
He was moving to the side of the road when something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Whirling Nicholas was in time to see the last rays of sun glinting on a metallic form before a pokegirl swooped past, her wings flaring out to slow her as her head swiveled to capture Nicholas in her gaze. Nicholas slowly moved his hand to his belt as she landed in front of him, the Skarmory’s fierce gaze picking him apart. Well, a wild pokegirl had finally taken notice of him.
The girl made a few inquisitive noises before raising her head and looking up at the top of the lava flow. Against his better judgement Nicholas allowed himself to follow her gaze and take his eyes off the Skarmory.
More pokegirls were coming into view. A heavily muscular girl with pale, ash-gray skin, a Machop, but beside her was a breed Nicholas was astonished to find this deep in the mountains. The translucent sandy hair, oil black skin, and waving tentacles were completely out of place.
“A Tentacool? Tentacruel?” Nicholas muttered to himself before he noticed the chitinous blue exoskeleton covering the pokegirl’s legs. “Tentacruel.” He blinked when he finally noticed the rather obtrusive badge attached above one of the gelatinous pokegirl’s breasts. Not to mention, she seemed rather composed for a wild pokegirl.
There was a loud whistling sound and the Skarmory hopped backwards, her wings rustling as she folded them and waited. Stepping up behind the Machop and Tentacruel was a man in a bright orange uniform. “Ho! Glad we caught you before you tried crossing the slide in the dark!”
Nicholas waved up. “Hey, there! I wasn’t planning on it, actually. Was about to make camp. This your Skarmory?”
The man made a motion and another whistle rang out, causing the Skarmory to leap into the air and begin approaching him. “Mine, no. She’s just a wild pokegirl.” He held out an arm and the Skarmory took hold, jumping down from the slide and depositing the man safely on solid ground. The other two pokegirls were making their own ways down as the man made another motion, and now that he was on the ground Nicholas could see the strange, whip-like implement he was waving around and using to cause the whistling noises. This one seemed to prompt the Skarmory to back off again and the man coiled up his tool before extending a hand to Nicholas. “Ranger Keith. If you weren’t looking to traverse the slide what are you doing out here?”
“Another Pokegirl Ranger?” Nicholas asked. “Honestly I forgot that the road was blocked. I’ll head back to Lavaridge tomorrow and look for a path over the mountain.”
“If you’d like I can just have this Skarmory transport you to the other side,” Keith offered. “I was planning on letting her go pretty soon anyways. She’s been my eyes for a few weeks now as we surveyed the damage. Now that we’ve got demolition teams on the way I don’t need her.”
Nicholas blinked. “Sorry, I’m just catching up here. You said this Skarmory is… a wild pokegirl.” Keith nodded. “How are you controlling her then? And wait, you’re just going to let her back into the wild? I thought half a tamer’s job is to capture and tame wild pokegirls.”
“Half of your job as a tamer is, yes,” Keith replied with a laugh, “but for us Rangers, a large friendly feral population is much more useful than a smaller, less friendly one. I’m not controlling this Skarmory or that Machop, really, it’s more that we’ve come to an understanding and they’re helping me out.” He nodded at the Skarmory. “Pokegirl Rangers don’t have the luxury of a ‘home territory’ to get familiar with. This is only my third time on Mt. Chimney. So we rely on local pokegirls to assist us.”
“Wild,” Nicholas said. “Well, I’ll trust you if you say the Skarmory can carry me over. But what about you?”
“Eh, like I said the demolition teams are on their way, so I’ll be releasing this Machop too pretty soon,” Keith replied. “Helping humans and pokegirls in need – that’s the meaning of the Ranger motto. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll take you up on that, then.” Nicholas watched Keith command the Skarmory and nervously climbed on her back when her wings unfolded. “Thank you!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Aaaand… three!”
Two pokeballs on Nicholas’ belt burst open, Elaine and Bea both materializing before the two pokegirls noticed each other and each paled.
“Uh-oh,” Bea muttered.
“Uh…” Elaine stammered back.
“Elaine. I said ‘three’,” Nicholas chided. “You’re ‘one’. Again.”
Elaine grimaced while Bea held a look of relief as they were both recalled and Nicholas returned the balls to his belt. He intentionally waited a bit longer for the next call, chatting with Kalmiya, taking in the calm meadows he was currently walking through, before abruptly shouting another number. “TWO!”
This time only one pokeball triggered. Morgana appeared and almost seemed to be glaring at him for a moment before her face returned to rest. “Master.”
“Darn. I was hoping to catch you napping,” Nicholas chuckled. Over the course of a week, the time it had taken him to walk from Lavaridge, back to Mauville, and now along a westerly road that was the most direct route to Rustboro, he had been drilling the harem on the pokeball escape techniques. Bea and Elaine had gotten the hang of the ‘escape’ part very quickly, but still struggled a bit on extending their senses. Morgana, on the other hand, had apparently been sensing the world beyond her pokeball for a while, likely due to her more refined psychic ability. She had quickly learned the triggers to escape as well and now was the model student for the others. Aria was still struggling with both aspects but seeing Morgana pick up on it so quickly had motivated her greatly.
Morgana shook her head. “I feel like I am walking beside you, Master. I am maintaining my concentration the same as if I was always outside of my pokeball.”
“Sounds like I don’t need to be testing you anymore then,” Nicholas replied. “Want to stay on the outside for a bit?” He gestured down the road. “According to the map we’re approaching our next pit stop, Verdanturf Town. We should be there just after lunch.”
“Verdanturf…” Morgana murmured.
“Rings a bell, doesn’t it?” When Morgana nodded Nicholas explained. “If I’m remembering correctly that’s where Wally and his family live. So, it’s likely that we’ll see Gwen again when we’re there.”
“Yes,” Morgana immediately choked out. “I would like to remain outside of my pokeball, Master.”
“Heh.” Nicholas flashed a smile before continuing forwards. “I had a feeling you might.”
He continued calling out tests throughout the late morning early afternoon and only stopped when he and Morgana saw a great wooden archway ahead of them. Nicholas was reminded of the arches he’d seen at the entrances to Ecruteak City in Johto, though this one had a much different design to it. Regardless, it served a similar purpose as a marker for the town border.
‘Quaint’ was the first word that came to Nicholas’ mind as he entered Verdanturf. It felt like a village lost in time, from the log cabins and misshapen brick walls to the very atmosphere around him. Like he had just stepped away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. It helped that the town was nestled at the end of a low mountain valley, further enhancing the feeling of being sequestered away.
“The road apparently continues through the mountains,” Nicholas explained, pointing towards the other side of town. “I thought we could get some lunch first, you know, stall a bit.” He chuckled at Morgana’s expression. Her ears were standing straight up and he could see that she was completely focused on scanning the area around them, not whatever it was he was saying. “Morgana. Hey, Morgana.”
Morgana finally looked at him. “Master?”
“Let’s get some lunch.”
The others chatted away during the meal but Morgana was letting nothing distract her from her search. Every person that walked near captured her attention and it wasn’t until the table was cleared, the bill paid, and the rest of the harem returned to their pokeballs that she even took a moment to glance at Nicholas and it was only to check where he was heading as they exited the restaurant.
The two wandered around a bit but it didn’t seem like Wally was out and about. They did, however, find a contest hall like the one back in Slateport. Nicholas was looking over the advertisements as Morgana continued scanning around them. “Hm. I promised to take you to one of these sometime, didn’t I?”
Morgana’s ear twitched in his direction. “Yes, Master.”
“There’s a show tonight. If we attended, we’d have to spend another day here in Verdanturf.”
“Can we go?”
Nicholas chuckled and stepped over to the posters advertising the lineup that night. “I don’t see why not.” He was flicking over the various names and face when something caught his eye. “Hey, Morgana. Look at this.”
Morgana reluctantly turned away from the road and stepped over to him. “Master?”
“Look here. Doesn’t that look a bit like Wally?”
Morgana blinked at the smiling face. “Maybe a little, Master? But that’s a woman.”
“Hometown Hero, Wanda,” Nicholas read out loud. “If she’s from Verdanturf she might be Wally’s sister.”
Morgana perked up. “She’s in the contest tonight?”
“That’s what this says.”
“Then-“ Morgana started.
“Wally might be there tonight to watch. Or, even if he isn’t, she might know where to find him,” Nicholas finished for her.
Morgana clasped her hands together. “What time does it start, Master?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Morgana was fidgeting as the sun continued to drop towards the horizon. She and Nicholas had been waiting outside the contest hall for an hour now, watching the flow of attendees for any sign of Wally. There had been none.
Nicholas got to his feet and stretched. “He’s either not coming or he slipped inside without us noticing. Come on, Morgana. We’ll miss the contest.” He walked up to a ticket window and held up two fingers. “Two tickets, please.”
Unfortunately all of the best seats were long gone and so Nicholas and Morgana were in the process of resigning themselves to whatever was left when Morgana went completely still. With a gasp she scrambled away, ignoring Nicholas’ confused call, and he chased her through the stands as she raced towards the far end of the arena floor.
Nicholas finally caught up to her when Morgana was stopped by security personnel and he could hear her impassioned pleas to get through as he got closer.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but this section is for VIPs only,” the pokegirl was saying. “Friends or not, without a pass you cannot come in.”
“She’s not my friend she’s my sister!” Morgana cried. “Please!”
“Hey.” Morgana flinched when Nicholas clapped her on the shoulder. “Don’t just go running off like that.”
“This is your pokegirl, Sir?”
“Gwen’s in there somewhere?” Nicholas asked, ignoring the security guard for a moment. When Morgana nodded he turned his attention to the other pokegirl. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Miss. Did I hear you say this section was restricted to VIPs only?”
“That is correct, Sir.”
“I don’t suppose there’s a way I could be a VIP without a pass, is there?” Nicholas asked.
The girl frowned slightly. “That’s above my paygrade, Sir.”
Nicholas chuckled. “Fair enough. Morgana, you’re sure Gwen is over there?”
Morgana was trembling under his grip. “Yes, Master.”
“Wally must be too. I’ll ask him to meet us after the show.” Nicholas released Morgana to pull out his pokedex. “He gave me his number back in Mauville.”
Morgana was obviously unhappy with how easily Nicholas had conceded but she didn’t argue any further, waiting as he drafted a message while the security guard patiently waited for the two to leave.
“NICHOLAS!”
Nicholas’s head popped up from where he had just sent his message with a surprised expression. Wally was cutting through the stands ahead of them with a massive grin on his face. “HEY!”
“Huh.” Nicholas put his dex away and waved. “Hey, Wally! I just sent you a message!”
Wally glanced down at his own pokedex when it buzzed. “Haha, got it. Gwen was saying she thought she felt her sister in the building.” He gestured. “Come on!”
“Ah, we don’t have passes,” Nicholas replied apologetically. The security guard’s eyes had grown wide when she had seen who was approaching them so he remained patient. “We’ll meet up after the contest, yeah?”
“No, no! We’ve got spare seats!” Wally had reached them now and he looked at the guard. “Miss, these are my friends. They can come in, right?”
“Ah…”
“I’ve been told it’s the rules, I’m afraid,” Nicholas said to Wally. “No passes, no entry. Don’t hold it against this guard, she’s just doing her job.”
“No, no,” the guard stammered, “I… just give me a moment, Master Wally.”
Nicholas’ eyebrows shot up. “’Master’?”
Wally let out a sigh as the guard cupped her hand over her ear and began speaking. “My cousin is a celebrity around here so I get the same treatment.” He shrugged. “Hey, if we don’t get back to our seats we’ll miss the start of the contest.”
“Please. Just a moment, Master,” the guard said quickly before returning her attention to her radio. “Yes. Yes, ma’am.” She turned to Nicholas as she lowered her hand and sketched a bow. “Sir, you are welcome to join Master Wally as his guests.”
“We guessed correctly, then,” Nicholas said as he and Morgana joined Wally and followed him back through the stands. “You and Wanda are related?”
“Yeah, she’s my cousin,” Wally explained. “My whole family is from Verdanturf, but I was born in Petalburg since my mom had moved there for a job.”
“Gotcha.” Nicholas looked Wally over. If he hadn’t seen how weak and sickly the teen had been in Petalburg he would never have guessed that the young man in front of him was in anything other than perfect health. “You look even better than the last time I saw you, Wally. I’m glad you’re recovering.”
Wally grinned. “It’s all thanks to you and Gwen, really. I’ve… I’ve wanted a pokegirl of my own for so long, to travel to new places and be strong.” He let out a laugh and waved, Gwen coming into view as she got to her feet ahead of them. “It’s my dream, Nicholas. To be like you.”
Nicholas stiffened. What was that? Had he imagined it? He glanced over at Wally but the boy was focused completely on the waiting pokegirl. For just a moment, he’d felt…
Morgana’s hands were covering her mouth and tears dripped down her cheeks. “G-Gwen?”
Her wide-eyed sister reached out when Morgana got closer and the two embraced, both Nicholas and Wally watching with matching smiles. Nicholas chuckled when he saw how Gwen’s head was no longer only as tall as Morgana’s stomach. “Gwen looks different too, Wally. When did that happen?”
Wally squeezed past the embracing pokegirls to find his seat. “Oh, about a week ago.” He cocked his head as he surveyed the differences between Morgana and Gwen. “Funny, though. I thought they were twins. They’re both Kirlia now, right?”
“Hm.” Nicholas stroked his chin. It was true that Gwen and Morgana were much closer in appearance now that the Ralts had evolved into a Kirlia, but Morgana still stood one or two inches above her sister. On top of that it appeared as if Gwen’s evolution had been more on the ‘normal’ side of things which meant her proportions were more human compared to Morgana’s. “Well, every pokegirl is unique. I guess they’ve deviated from each other with their evolutions.”
“Oy. It’s starting,” Wally urged, prompting Nicholas to sit and Morgana and Gwen to quickly find their own places between their respective tamers.
The lights around the stands began to dim, leaving the ones illuminating the arena the only ones still at full power. After a minute a sharply dressed announcer walked into view and raised a microphone. “Welcome, one and all, to tonight’s contest spectacular. Please prepare yourselves as we introduce our contestants!” Nicholas blinked when he saw glowsticks begin lighting up around the stands and turned to see Wally cracking a few of his own.
“Glowsticks?”
“Eh? Oh, is this your first contest, Nicholas?” Wally asked. “Here. The judging starts from the very beginning. As each contestant enters the stage the crowd’s reaction is used to score their points.”
Nicholas accepted the glowsticks. “So…”
“Just cheer if you like what you see!” Wally replied.
“You’ll just be cheering for Wanda, eh?” Nicholas teased, returning his attention to the arena and the announcer.
“Our first pair tonight, Diver Layla and her partner, Flir the Gorebyss!” A woman in a full body wetsuit entered the arena along with a delicately built pink-skinned pokegirl in a bikini to scattered cheers from the audience. Nicholas glanced up at the screen above as cameras followed the pair. A few extra whistles could be heard when the cameras focused on the coordinator, as the zoom had revealed how Layla’s wetsuit clung to her body like a second skin.
“Second tonight we have Yoko the Dragon and her partner, Nova the Gyarados!”
This pair got Nicholas’ attention. A woman with long blonde hair was stepping into view. Completely unlike what he had seen with the celebrity coordinator back in Slateport, Lisia, or even the one before her, Layla, Yoko was dressed casually, in a biker’s jacket and jeans. And to his surprise she seemed to be getting just as many cheers as Layla, who had used her own body to appeal to the audience. Her pokegirl, as well, looked more rough than the delicate Gorebyss Layla had had. There was no killing intent in her snarling expression but it was certainly not sexual, and neither was her sporty outfit.
Nicholas found himself roaring as Yoko and Nova walked by. I guess there’s more to this whole thing than just being the sexiest, he thought to himself as he waved his glowstick in the air.
“Our third coordinator tonight, the Witch Addison and her partner, Luna the Lunatone!” This time the pair that appeared was a mix. The coordinator, as the cameras zoomed in, was shrouded in heavy black robes that cloaked her in an aura of mystery, while her pokegirl was completely nude. The lights of the arena reflected from her smooth, alabaster skin, giving her a radiant aura that contrasted completely with her tamer.
“And finally, as I’m sure many of you have been waiting for. Please welcome our fourth coordinator of the night. Your Hometown Hero, Wanda!”
“Eh? No introduction for her pokegirl?” Nicholas asked in surprise.
“Don’t worry. Mione will get hers!” Wally yelled over the sudden outburst from the entire stadium. It was obvious that the crowd was here to see Wanda and the cheers only grew in volume when a smiling green-haired woman stepped into view.
Wanda was dressed in a white button-up shirt and frilly beige skirt and as she walked further into the arena she raised a hand in greeting. “Everyone, thank you!” Nicholas blinked in surprise when he heard Wanda’s voice echo throughout the stadium. “But please, save some of that energy for my beloved partner, Mione!”
“Huh. Well if that isn’t blatant favoritism I don’t know what is,” Nicholas chuckled as the crowd erupted. “None of the others got a chance to make their own introduction.”
“Yeah, well, she’s the reason contests are as popular as they are out here,” Wally laughed back. A feline pokegirl with purple hair and fur in a black string bikini had appeared at Wanda’s side. “It’s her contest hall, more or less.”
“I hope you enjoy our show tonight!” Wanda was saying. “Show all of us your love!” The cameras were focused in on Wanda’s face as she tilted her head with a beaming smile. “’kay?”
“Huh. No ‘nyan’ from Mione tonight,” Wally mused. “She’s focusing. Should be a good show.”
“Hey, Wally?”
Wally glanced at Nicholas. “Hm?”
“I just remembered… don’t these contest spectaculars include, like… sex battles?”
“Yeah?” Wally replied curiously. “What about it?”
“Well, uh… I was just wondering, wouldn’t it be weird to be watching your cousin, you know…”
“Oh.” Wally turned back to the arena. The four pairs were standing together now as the announcer went through the rest of the opening ceremonies. “Maybe a little. But the coordinators don’t get involved every time, and besides, it’s all a show. If she can have the confidence to do that in front of all these people I can find the confidence to be here to support her.”
Nicholas blinked a few times before smiling. “I see.”
Wally raised a hand with a smile of his own and Nicholas could see Wanda looking in their direction. After a few moments she inclined her head slightly and Wally lowered his arm. “Well, here we go. Tonight’s starting with an exhibition stage.”
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“Wanda!”
Wanda looked up from where she was cleaning up and smiled at the approaching group. “Wally! I knew I saw you in the crowd.”
“Aw, come on, cuz, I’m always in that seat,” Wally laughed. “You know I wouldn’t miss one of your shows for anything.”
“No, I suppose not.” Wanda smiled at Wally for a few seconds before turning back to what she had been doing. “Who’s your friend?”
“Uh… I’m Nicholas Topolski, ma’am,” Nicholas stammered. The contest had consisted of only two parts, a pokegirl skill exhibition and a number of smaller competitions between the four pokegirls, so the coordinators hadn’t participated at all. Even still, by the end of the night Wanda’s white dress shirt had been as close to transparent as could be. And right now, she…
Wanda shrugged out of her dripping shirt. “There’s no need for the formality. Just call me Wanda.” Nicholas glanced away as she adjusted her bra. “Pleh. I should have known with two Water-types participating that I’d get soaked.”
“Do you have a spare outfit in your dressing room?” Wally asked, seemingly oblivious to the half-naked woman. She was his cousin, Nicholas supposed. And he’d no doubt seen much more than just this before. “I can run home and grab you a set.”
“No, I’ve got a change.” Wanda turned and smiled at Nicholas when she saw him looking away. “Haha. Nicholas, right? What’s wrong? Don’t like what you see?”
“…Sorry. I was just trying to give you some privacy.” Nicholas looked back and forced himself to maintain eye contact. “I didn’t mean any disrespect."
Wanda’s smile never wavered as she nodded. “I see. Sorry for testing you, then.” When Nicholas looked confused she grinned. “I wasn’t sure if my little cousin had been fooled into bringing another pervert backstage.”
“Wanda!”
“What?” Wanda glanced at Wally. “Just last week you said you’d made a new ‘friend’, didn’t you? And what did he turn out to be?”
“That’s not fair,” Wally protested.
Wanda shrugged and turned down the hall, flipping her wet shirt over her shoulder as she did. “You’re too trusting, Wally. I know you haven’t had anyone to be around for, well, your entire life, but that just means you’re getting to learn all these lessons now.” She opened a door with her name on it and vanished inside but not before giving them a little wave. “Come on in, all of you. Mione! Wally is here, and he brought a guest!”
There was a squeal from inside the room as Nicholas entered and he found himself staring straight at a quivering set of nipples. Mione was fully nude, her string bikini piled up under her feet as the Delcatty stood frozen in the face of two strangers.
“Oi!” Mione jumped and finally came to life when Wanda slapped her ass. “What are you doing standing on the couch, huh? Get down from there.”
Nicholas tore his gaze away. Right, he had been wondering why it was the Delcatty’s perky breasts and not her face that had been in his line of sight as he entered the room. This pokegirl wasn’t that tall.
Mione quickly scrambled down and grabbed at her bikini in a futile attempt to cover herself. “M-Mistress? Who are they?” Her eyes flicked between Nicholas and Morgana before settling on Wally. “Ah… Hello, Master Wally.”
“Mione, this is a… can I say ‘good friend’?” Wally asked.
Nicholas chuckled. “Sure.”
“This is a good friend of mine. His name is Nicholas, and he’s been helping me out over the last few months,” Wally explained.
“O-Oh!” Mione’s cautious look vanished in an instant to be replaced by an excited smile. “You united Master Wally with Gwendolyn!”
“That’s one of the things I’ve helped with, yes,” Nicholas replied. “Hey, how come you know that and not Wanda?”
“Eh? I recognized your name too, bud,” Wanda grumbled from where she was buried in a standing closet.
“Then what was that little test about?”
Wanda poked her head back out and Nicholas felt his cheeks start to burn. She’d taken off more than just her shirt now. “Whether or not you’re a pervert has nothing to do with being one of Wally’s actual, honest-to-goodness friends.” She blinked twice when she saw Nicholas’ expression before seeming to remember her own state of undress and with a laugh she vanished again. “Hey, Wally told me you’re some kind of bigshot tamer. That true?”
“Uh, yeah,” Nicholas stammered. He could acutely feel Morgana’s eyes drilling into the back of his skull and he didn’t need to look to know that she was likely scowling at him. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to get out of this room and away from the two naked women inside. “I’m a Champion of the Indigo League.”
“Hell, that big? Impressive.” Nicholas looked away when Wanda stepped back into view but she was fully dressed again. Well, mostly. He still had to hold his attention on her face due to her… now lack of a bra. “What brings you to Hoenn? Hm? Looking to settle down?”
Nicholas cleared his throat when he saw her teasing smile. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got a girlfriend already.”
“Aw, damn.” Wanda sighed. “Most guys who talk to me are just trying for a prize. You’re sure you’re taken?”
Nicholas laughed. “Yes, very. My girlfriend’s name is Sabrina, and she’s a Psychic-type gym leader from Kanto. With actual psychic powers. If I messed around with you she’d definitely find out. And then I’d be in big trouble.”
“Ah. Self-preservation.” Wanda giggled. “I can respect that. Seriously, though. What brings you to Hoenn? Sightseeing?”
“It started as a vacation, actually,” Nicholas explained, “but now it’s a badge challenge. I’m planning on challenging all of the World League’s Champions. Well, eventually.”
“Wow. That’s quite the goal,” Wanda said. “That’d make you World Champion, yeah? Can’t say I’ve ever considered trying to become the Kalos Queen, but I’ve definitely thought about going for the Ribbon Cup someday.”
“I assume that’s the equivalent of being Champion of a League?” Nicholas asked.
“Eh, pretty much. The Ribbon Cup is awarded to the winner of each region’s yearly Grand Festival,” Wanda explained. “You don’t have to defend it, though. There are a dozen Top Coordinators here in Hoenn, not just one.” Wanda frowned. “Well, right now there’s basically only one, but that’s just because nobody can beat her.”
“Oh?” Nicholas asked. “Who’s that?”
“Her name is Lisia. She and her Altaria Ali have won the cup something like five years in a row.”
“Lisia…” Nicholas nodded. “I saw her in Slateport, I think.”
“Oh! You’ve seen Lisia in person?” Wanda exclaimed. “Wow, lucky you! We don’t hold major contests here in Verdanturf so I’ve never seen her attend. And I don’t have the money to go to Slateport or Lilycove just for a chance at seeing her.” Wanda shrugged. “One day, though. One day I’ll be good enough to compete on those stages and that’ll be the first step towards the Ribbon Cup.”
Nicholas nodded. “That’s how it goes. Step by step. You’ll make it eventually.”
Wanda laughed. “Thank you for the encouragement.”
“Well I figured I’d introduce you to Nicholas since he was in town,” Wally said as Wanda walked to a desk and began rummaging through the drawers. “You coming back to the family house for dinner tonight?”
“Eh. I actually was going over to Riley’s tonight. He’s inviting a bunch of his mining buddies over. Oh! That reminds me.” Wanda opened another drawer, pulling it completely out of its socket and placing it on top of the desk. “Come take a look at these, Wally. Riley found them in the latest slide.”
Wally wandered over and looked into the drawer. “That’s a lot of gemstones.”
Nicholas wandered over himself and peeked inside the drawer. Dozens of gems shone back at him and his eyebrows began to rise. “Riley finds so many of them maintaining that tunnel that I’m sure these are just scraps,” Wanda was saying. “Still, they’re pretty nice.”
“I don’t think they are.” Wanda turned to look at Nicholas quizzically. “I think I see a firestone in there. That’s a pretty damn valuable scrap.”
“Huh?” Wanda turned back to the drawer. “A firestone? Where?”
“This one.” Nicholas reached in and withdrew a glimmering red stone. “It’s rough, yeah, so I can understand why you wouldn’t recognize it, but look.” He pointed at the concentric bubbles within the gem. “Those are the signs of compressed energy within the stone. I’m almost certain that this is a raw firestone.”
“But…” Wanda accepted the stone from Nicholas when he handed it to her. “But that’s… That’s worth thousands of dollars.”
“Tens of thousands, depending on the quality of the stone,” Nicholas replied. “That one’s pretty small, so probably only a few thousand.”
Wanda stared at the gem in her hand. “But he… he brings me handfuls of these gems all the time.”
A smile flickered on Nicholas’ lips. “Have you run your little tests on him yet?”
Wanda turned to him with wide eyes. “Huh?”
“Is he just looking for a prize?”
Wanda continued staring at him for a bit before she carefully returned the firestone to the drawer of gems. “Um…”
“I’ll tell aunty that you’re staying the night at Riley’s house,” Wally chuckled.
“WALLY!” Wanda glared at the laughing teen before whirling back to the drawer. “Urgh, and I was going to give you some of these, too.”
Wally stopped laughing. “Oh?”
“Now I’m not so sure,” Wanda grumbled, glaring daggers at him.
“Er, ah, they’re just… worthless scraps, right?” Wally asked lamely.
Wanda sighed. “You’re such a pain in the neck. Here, I saw these in the latest batch and they reminded me of your pokegirl.” Wally accepted the two cream-colored stones Wanda handed him. “Maybe make some earrings out of them.”
Behind Wally and Nicholas Morgana and Gwen both stirred when the stones came into view. Their movement was unseen by the humans, however. “I guess I can see why you thought of Gwen,” Wally said, peering at the swirls of green and pink that ran through the stones. “Thanks, Wanda.”
“Sure.” Wanda had returned to looking at the small collection with a vacant expression. “Was there anything else?”
Wally shook his head. “Sorry for keeping you so late.”
“No, that’s fine,” Wanda murmured. “Thanks for coming to cheer me on, little cousin.”
Wanda was completely lost in thought so Wally stepped back, pushing Nicholas and the two Kirlia out of Wanda’s dressing room and swinging the door closed behind them. “Huh.” He opened his hand to inspect the two stones Wanda had given him. "What do you think, Gwen? Earrings?” When a hand reached over his he looked up. “Hm?”
Gwen’s fingers hovered over one of the stones. “Master… May I have this?”
“Wha?” Wally looked at Gwen quizzically. “Of course you can have it. Wanda gave both of these to me for you. Are earrings not what you’d like?”
“They’re so similar…” Gwen murmured. “But there’s something… different, too.” She raised her eyes to Wally. “Like my sister and I.”
“Oh.” Wally looked over at Morgana.
The other Kirlia inched forwards as she felt the attention of the group turn towards her. “Ah…”
“It looks like you,” Gwen whispered as Morgana came to a halt, both Kirlia gazing at the gemstones in Wally’s hand. “And it’s beautiful, but… it’s not… mine.”
Nicholas was watching the two carefully. The stones in Wally’s hand… There was something familiar about them. The composition of the gems, the way the colors seemed to be infused within them. His fingers slipped into a pocket and ran over the gem the Draconid elder had gifted to him. Gwen was looking at those stones the same way he had caught Aria looking at this one.
And now it seemed Morgana was entranced as well. She didn’t even make the slightest of moves towards the stone Gwen was looking at. Instead, her hand came to rest next to her sister’s, each hovering over one of the gems as the two pokegirls spoke. “I see it,” Morgana breathed. “That one is as beautiful as you are, sister, but this one… it’s…”
“Do you think Wanda would mind if you split up her gift, Wally?” The two turned to look at him when Nicholas cut in. “Twin stones. Twin sisters. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that each one is calling to each of our pokegirls.”
“Calling to them?” Wally asked in surprise. “Sure, they seem to like them, but-“
“Call it intuition,” Nicholas interrupted. “I think that, like that firestone, this Riley guy has dug up something very valuable.”
“Well… if you say so,” Wally replied. “I don’t think Wanda would have a problem with it, not if it’s Gwen and her sister. Here- oh!” Morgana had intercepted his hand as Wally had moved towards Nicholas and the stone she had been watching popped into her waiting hands. Wally wavered indecisively for a moment before turning and showing Gwen hers. “Well, if there’s only one, earrings probably wouldn’t work. What do you think, Gwen?”
Gwen took the stone from him and held it up. “I think…” she whispered, “I think an earring would be wonderful, Master.”
“Ah! That way you could each have one!” Wally exclaimed. “As a symbol – a symbol that the two of you belong together, even though you’re apart!”
“Hey, now.” Nicholas scowled at Wally when he saw tears start beading in Morgana’s eyes. “Their last reunion was painful enough. Do you really have to go and make this one worse?”
“Uh, uh,” Wally stammered. “I’m so sorry, um, Morgana, I didn’t mean it like that.” He quickly turned to Gwen. “Gwen, I’m sorry, too.”
“Mean it like what?” Wally turned back at Morgana’s soft question. She was holding the gemstone between two of her outstretched fingers and raising her hand so the light shone through it. “Maybe a ring…” suddenly she blinked and the mesmerized look on her face vanished. “Ah… I’m sorry, master Wally. I can feel your hopeful thoughts. I shouldn’t have questioned you.”
Nicholas stepped in to save the flustered teen. “Hey. Don’t feel too bad about constantly being caught flat-footed, Wally. You were just trying to spar with two pokegirls that can read your most private emotions.”
Now Gwen’s glazed look faded and turned to one of confusion. “Spar?”
“Hah. You two were speaking without thinking, I could tell. Meanwhile Wally was trying to make small talk and getting rebuffed at every turn.” Nicholas hooked an arm over Morgana’s shoulders and grinned. “I doubt I would have done any better. Thanks for taking the heat for me, Wally.”
Wally still looked confused but he nodded anyways. “Sure.”
“If your cousin isn’t coming back with you tonight, do you mind if Morgana and I do?” Nicholas asked. “Otherwise we’d just be spending the night in some random motel or the pokecenter.” He smiled when Morgana’s ears perked up. “Plus, I know these two would like to spend as much time together as they can before I keep going to Rustboro.”
Wally’s confused expression vanished as he smiled back. “My family would love to meet you, Nicholas. Can I invite you back for dinner?”
Nicholas nodded. “I’d love to.” His eyes flicked to the stone in Gwen’s hands. He’d love to see if anything else happened to the two Kirlia as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
POKEDEX UPDATED
Tamer:Nicholas Topolski
Badges:
Knuckle Badge
Heat Badge
Harem:
Bea, Metang (Alpha) – Level 29
Elaine, Combusken – Level 28
Morgana, Kirlia – Level 28
Aria, Swablu – Level 26
Non-Com Harem:
Kalmiya, Porygon-Z – Level 5