Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh I'm way overdue for this one! One of you guys even called me out on it! (you know who you are!) I got sick last week so I was coughing and blowing my nose all day and didn't feel like writing so...yeah sure let's go with that...ahaha...

Anyway! Here it is! Ignore any typos and grammar mistakes (actually don't. Call me out on them lol) and enjoy! :P

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!


"Hope to see you again soon!" Mr. Arc waved out to us from the door. We waved back and thanked him for the delicious food.

"You know I'll be back!" Auburn answered back. She seems to be really close with her uncle. If only I could say the same about her relation with Tangelo. "So what's next?"

"Well we need to buy things for your room like a blanket and some toys, so I suppose we'll head to the department store. Let's head to Flaymart!" Cream replied back.

"Flay…mart?" I titled my head. "Is…that supposed to be a pun of flame and mart…?" I asked slowly. "It sounds like a really corny pun if you ask me."

Cream nodded, showing that I was right. "Homura actually means flame in some foreign language. Or at least that's what the owner says." Cream shrugged. Well...that's sort of interesting I suppose.

"It actually does mean flame! Mom told me that there are several places in the nation with foreign names." Auburn confirmed. Then she turned around and pointed out at the distance. "Like those mountains over there! It's called the Kazan Range! All of them are volcanoes and kazan means volcano!"

"Oh? Color me surprised! I'm impressed that you know that Auburn!" Cream said with a playful tone in her voice. Is she teasing Auburn again?

"Of course! I'm the princess after all; I should at least know these things about my nation!" Auburn said proudly, puffing her chest out with a grin and her eyes closed. However, her moment of pride was cut short when she realized that Cream was teasing her.

"Wait a sec, Cream! Are you teasing me again?!" She whined.

"No, no! Not at all! It's good that you know that! Knowledge is always good!" Cream said with her hands up to show she's innocent. However the annoyed Vulpix doesn't believe her one bit and just glares at her. I should probably break this up. I can't tell if Auburn is actually angry or not, and I don't really want to find out…

"N-now now, let's not argue. Let's just head to Flaymart." I get in between the two of them to try to cool the tense atmosphere.

Cream looked down at me and smiled, maybe because I tried stopping a potential argument? "Yes, let's go kids!" She said as started walking, leaving behind me with an annoyed princess.

"Cream is a bit…carefree isn't she?"

"A little TOO carefree if you ask me! Why does she always have to tease me like that?"

I shrugged as a response to Auburn. "Maybe you just remind her of Ms. Arylide or something? They are childhood friends." I spoke my mind as I begin catching up to Cream, with Auburn by my side. "Or maybe she's trying to make you have a taste of your own medicine!"

"Hey now, don't start teasing me too!" Auburn nudged me jokingly. I chuckled at her playful nudge and she smiles back at me. This is really nice, having Auburn around. I'm glad to have made such a nice friend.

The three of us regrouped and walked the rest of the way, deeper into the shopping district of Homura City. Again, many of the citizens greeted and waved at their princess, with the princess happily greeting back. A few of them tried getting into her personal space and bombarding her, but Cream quickly brushed them aside. I still found it a little hard to believe Auburn is really a princess, but after all that I've seen so far, she definitely is one! I guess not all princesses are super girly, ladylike and proper like in the fairy tales and picture books.

"There it is, just up ahead!" Cream pointed as she finished shooing a group of Pokémon away from Auburn.

I looked to where she was pointed at and stood in awe. "Th-this is huge!" I looked up at the huge building. It had to be at least three stories tall, and it was as wide as at least three stores from Miner's Town. It was bigger than the town hall back home! Pokémon were flowing in and out of the building. "So this is a department store? I've never seen one before!"

"Yup, it's pretty big isn't it? It's the nation's biggest department store! Actually it might be its only department store…" Cream informed me. "They sell everything here! It even has a food court inside!"

"Yeah, I love this place! The food court on the top is tons of fun!" Auburn said excitedly. "Even if it has a stupid name, I still love it! Let's gooo!"

We followed Auburn into the store, and I again stood in amazement of what it looked like inside! The place was filled with shoppers and aisles filled with groceries. The sounds of footsteps, registers beeping, Pokémon talking, and shopping carts moving filled my ears and drowned any other sounds!

"Woooow! This is amazing!" I shouted with excitement. "I've never seen anything like this before! The stores back at home don't even compare to this!"

"Hehe, you look like you're having fun! Come on, the home section is upstairs!"

Cream went ahead along with Auburn. I tried to follow them, but I was just too distracted by everything. I kept looking away and not paying attention to where I was going and I eventually got lost in this maze of Pokémon and groceries.

"Uh-oh…this isn't good." I said to myself. "Which way did they go? I could of sworn they were right front of me! Cream? Auburn? Where are you guys?!"

Though it was probably only a few minutes, it felt more like hours. There's just so much going on in here. I'm not used to so many Pokémon and groceries in one place. I was completely overwhelmed!

I stood still and tried to calm down. "Cream said the home department was upstairs. Should I head to the second floor? B-but what if they're looking for me on the first floor? Oh no what do I do?! This is so bad!" I began to panic and walked in a random direction. My pace started to increase as I desperately tried looking for Auburn and Cream.

"M-maybe I should just go back to the entrance? Or should I ask an employee for help? I can't believe I lo—OOF!" My chain of thought was cut off as I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" I bowed continuously and apologized to whoever I bumped into. I was busy bowing so I couldn't see who I actually ran into.

"Oh no, it was my fault! I was just stan—Oh! Cobalt!" Huh?!

I stopped my bowing and looked up to see who could possibly know my name. In front of me was a small Ralts giving me a look of surprise. I return her look with my own shocked expression "O-oh! M-mint!"

"Cobalt! You're all healed up! And you're still here! Does that mean you're staying? Wait a second, you're HERE! What are you doing here all alone?"

"Oh Mint I'm so glad I ran into you! Yes, I've decided to stay here! And I'm here shopping with Cream and Auburn, but I lost them!"

"That's terrible! But you have nothing to worry about! Cream actually has amazing hearing abilities! She can even hear your heartbeat! She's probably trying to listen for you and is looking for you right now! I'm sure she'll find you any second now!"

"R-really? Oh that's so reassuring…" I sighed with relief.

"Mint, what are you doing?" A voice came from behind Mint. I looked up to see an elegant and tall Gardevoir with a shopping basket looking down at Mint and I.

"Oh sorry Mother, I just ran into a friend. Or rather he ran into me…a-anyway! This is Cobalt!" Mint introduced me to the Gardevoir, who turns out to be Mint's mother. I bow politely and introduce myself.

"Hello ma'am, my name is Cobalt."

"Oh, how proper and polite!" She said, surprised at my manners. Every single time… I mentally sighed. "Hello I am Mint's mother, Sana. I hope Mint hasn't been any trouble to you."

"No, not at all! Mint is very kind and nice! She and Auburn are very kind and friendly! They would visit me every morning when I was still in the hospital!" I said happily. I looked at Mint, but she seemed to have flinched to my comment. Did I say something I wasn't supposed to?

"Hospital…? Oh you're the Riolu that Her Highness rescued!" Ms. Sana nodded. "And was staying at her hospital…" She mumbled.

"I'm sorry?" I replied, tilting my head in confusion.

"It's nothing." She said back, ignoring my confusion. Then she turned to Mint and her expression turned serious. "Mint, how many times do I have to tell you to not bother the princess? And especially going there?" She whispered to her daughter, but I was able to hear the majority of it.

Wh-what does she mean by bothering the princess? I thought they were best friends? And…there?

I looked at Mint to try to see what her mother meant by that. It's sometimes hard to tell Mint's expressions when her eyes are mostly covered, but she definitely looked upset. I tried to say something to her, but before I could say anything, all the surrounding noise was suddenly drowned by a loud call.

"Cooooooooobaaaallllttt!" I looked back to see a charging Vulpix headed straight at me.

"A-Auburn?! Slow down you're going to crash into me!" I put my arms up and closed my eyes to brace for the impact…but nothing happened?

"Huh?" I lowered my arms and opened my eyes to see Auburn floating in front of me.

"H-hey, what's going on?!" Auburn panicked. I turned around to see Ms. Sana with her arm up, using Psychic to hold her up in the air, stopping the princess from crashing into me. Ms. Sana slowly lowered her arm, causing Auburn to gently return to the ground.

"Auburn, are you okay?" Mint said as she rushed to her side.

"Oh, hey Mint! Yeah I'm fine…" Auburn said sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that. Thank you for stopping my crash." She apologized to Mint's mother.

"Princess Auburn!" Ms. Sana shouted sternly, causing Auburn to flinch. "That is not how someone of your status should be acting! And what are you doing here by yourself?! Who is watching you?! The princess should not be wandering a store all by herself!"

"I..err..I…" Auburn struggled to find the words to explain. Ms. Sana…is quite scary…

"Auburn! I told you not to run off ahead of me!" A voice came from behind us. It was Cream!

"Cream!" Auburn and I said together with relief.

"Oh, so this is who's watching you? That explains a lot." Ms. Sana said disgusted.

"S-Sana…" Cream said sadly. Her expression instantly turned depressed at the sight of the Gardevoir. The tension around us skyrocketed, and both Auburn and I were confused at what was going on. Mint seemed to stay quiet and looked away.

"So, you were able to heal this Riolu here? This quickly too? Hmph, miracles do happen." Ms. Sana shrugged and taunted. Auburn and I gasped, while Cream just stood there with her head down.

"Well, good job on healing him I suppose. At least you were able to save someone this time." Cream instantly looked up at Ms. Sana, shocked and hurt. I have no idea what's going on, but I do know that that was harsh and uncalled for. But…I shouldn't butt into their affairs… Mint continued to look away, but Auburn looked angry, like she was going to explode!

"Hey! Why are you being so mean to Cream?! Cream is an amazing doctor, the best in town—no, the best in the nation!" Auburn shouted, causing a small scene. I noticed the customers around us redirecting their attention to us and whispering.

"Auburn…" I heard Cream quietly. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Hmph, I don't mean to be rude Your Highness, but you don't know anything, so please mind your own business!" Ms. Sana said haughtily. She then looked around to see that a good amount of bystanders were watching, causing her to flinch. "Err, sorry Your Highness," she bowed, "Come, Mint, we're leaving." Ms. Sana said with a light blush on her face. She quickly turned around to avoid any contact from the bystanders. Mint complied and followed her mother, but not without looking back at us, giving us a sad wave good-bye. The three of us stood there speechless for a while, and the bystanders went on with their own business.

I decided to break the silence. "What just happened?"

"Yeah Cream, why was Mint's mom so mean just now? She's usually nicer…ish. Still strict as ever though…" Auburn added. Cream looked down at us, struggling to explain what just happened.

"I…I…well...it…it's a long story…I don't want to talk about it right now. I'll tell you one day…" Cream said quietly. She looked so sad and depressed; it made me sad just looking at her.

I decided it was finally my turn to help Cream. She's been so nice to me, so I needed to do something. I walked up to her and grabbed her hand. She jumped a little and looked down at me.

"Come on M-M-Mom…" I forced myself to say. I don't know why it's so hard for me to say, but I was able to do this one time! "L-let's go upstairs and go shopping for my room!" I smiled. Cream's eyes seemed to gleam, but the tears that were forming from before only became worse.

"C-cream?" I said hesitantly. Cream wiped the tears from her eyes, and gave me that warm, comforting smile I love so much. "Thank you Cobalt…" She managed to say. My smile only grew larger as I nodded at her. I'm glad I was able to cheer her up!

"Yeah! Let's go, let's go!" Auburn exclaimed as she started pushing Cream and I away, closer to where I assumed is where the stairs are.

"Alright, alright! You don't have to push!" Cream said playfully.

Auburn giggled and stopped pushing us. She went in front and led Cream and I, hand in hand, to where the escalators, elevators, and stairs were. We headed up to the second floor, which wasn't as packed as the first floor. On first glace I could see tools, cookware, and appliances.

"This way kids, the home section should be over here." Cream led.

"I'll stick closer to your side this time. We don't want you getting lost again!" Auburn teased.

"Hey! Sorry I was so overwhelmed downstairs! Besides it's not as crowded on this floor, I don't think I'll get lost." I pouted.

"Yeah, but there's a lot more fun and interesting things up here, so it's easier to get distra—hey, check out that weird thing!" Auburn stopped to look at some appliance thing I've never seen before. …Really? I face palmed.

"Maybe I should be the one making sure you don't get lost…" I sighed and grabbed one of her six tails, dragging her so we don't lose Cream.

"Ow, hey watch the tails, they're sensitive! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Auburn complained.

After walking past strange tools and appliances, we finally made it to home and room section. There were tables, rugs, and other things to decorate a room with.

"Let's see…" Cream stood still, thinking. "It looks like the kid's section is over there!" She pointed towards the corner, where everything was smaller and more colorful looking.

"Ooh! I see dolls! Come on Cobalt let's go find stuff for your room!" Auburn grabbed my hand and dragged me across the room.

"H-hey now calm down!" I tried telling her, but her excitement caused her to ignore my words. I sighed, but smiled at how much fun she was having.

"Hey look! These dolls are super cute!" Auburn slowed down and stopped, letting go of my hand.

"Dolls?" I looked and saw a shelf display filled with Pokémon dolls and plushies. It was completely filled with fire-types, from the adorable looking Fennekin, to the strange, why-is-there-a-doll-of-this Macargo, to the legendary fire-types like Reshiram and Ho-oh!

"Their selection is quite diverse in fire-types, but is it all fire-types…?" I questioned as I scanned the rows of shelves for a certain Pokémon. "Figures they don't have one here…" I sighed heavily.

"That was quite the sigh. What's wrong?" Auburn said, concerned. My ears perked and my face turned slightly red, realized what I just did.

"O-oh, n-nothing! Hehe…" I tried covering up.

"No one sighs like that for no reason! Were you looking for a specific Pokémon?"

"H-huh? N-no, not particularly." I stuttered.

"Lies! I know what you were looking for!" Auburn grinned.

"Y-you do?"

"Yup, ta-da!" Auburn presented a Vulpix doll in front of me. But it wasn't an ordinary Vulpix, this one had burning red eyes, and…a tiara?

"Is…this a doll of you?"

"Yeah! Isn't it cute? It looks just like me! Well, it looks like me when I'm wearing my tiara. I usually only wear it during royal events. Mom and Dad wear their crowns whenever they're at the castle; none of us wear them whenever we're out in the public casually!" Auburn informed me. "They have dolls of them too! Aren't they cute?" She pointed to a different display which was a lot fancier looking. It was filled with dolls of Vulpix, Ninetales, and Arcanines, all wearing their royal headgear. "These are super popular y'know! We were all embarrassed about the idea at first, but when we saw the final produce we thought they were adorable and that everyone would love them!" Auburn said proudly.

"Wow, that's pretty cool!"

"Right? So, you want one right? Or I bet you want all three!"

"Umm…I think I only want one of you…" I blushed slightly. "I-if I keep it, t-then it'll be like you're always by my s-side…" I looked away, trying to avoid Auburn's gaze. I can't believe I just said that! How embarrassing!

I waited for Auburn's response, but she remained quiet. "Err…was that too weird? I'm sor—WHOA!" I was suddenly cut off by Auburn jumping on me.

"Awww Cobalt that's so sweet! Haha you're so adorable!" Auburn squeezed me tightly and nuzzled her head against mine.

"A-Auburn, I can't breathe! S-stop that!" I pushed her aside. She gave me a grumpy face and groaned.

"Aw, you're no fun!"

"We're in a store! It's hardly appropriate to jump on someone in the public like that."

"I couldn't help it! What you said was so cute and it made me so happy!" She said so cheerfully, causing me to blush.

"S-stop you're embarrassing me…" I looked away, my face turning redder.

"See! You're just so cute!" Auburn laughed.

"Well, you two look like you're having fun!" We both looked up to see Cream with a shopping cart. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Oh, um n-nothing!" I quickly got up.

"Hey look Cream! Cobalt wants one too!" Auburn shouted while showing her the doll. "He can get one right?! He said if he had it then it would be like I'd always be by his si—mmrrfhmf?!" I quickly put my hand over Auburn's big mouth!

"Huh?" Cream tilted her head in confusion.

"N-nothing Cream! Ahahaha…" I tried to play it cool.

"Riiiigghhtt…" Urk, she's not buying it… "Anyway I don't mind getting you one! Those are quite popular y'know!"

"Really? Thanks!" I thanked her happily.

"Sure, no problem! You can let go of Auburn now…" She grinned.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Auburn!" I quickly removed my hand from her mouth, causing her to gasp for air.

"Geeze Cobalt what's your problem?!" She yelled angrily at me, making me flinch.

"I said I was sorry! And you were going to say something super embarrassing!" I argued back.

"But it was so cute! I want a Riolu doll now too! Then we'll always be together!" She said so casually.

"Y-you do?" I blushed in embarrassment. "B-but there are only fire-types here…"

Auburn turned around to look at the display, scanning the shelves for a non-fire-type doll with no success. "Hmm, you're right."

"I could probably make one! I'm pretty good with my hands! I used to sew a lot back in the day!" Cream offered and said proudly. "Though it's been awhile since I made a doll. It may take a while." She added, rubbing the back of her head.

"Really? I didn't know that! Thanks Cream!" Auburn jumped in excitement. "Oh! Hey Cobalt, weren't you looking for a specific Pokémon? I bet Cream could make one for you too!"

"Oh? What were you looking for Cobalt?" Cream asked. "I don't mind making one for you too!"

"Really?!" I exclaimed happily, but then my mood changed almost instantly. "Oh but…"

"But what?"

"It wouldn't be the same…" I looked down in depression and sighed.

"I see. It was something precious to you back at home wasn't it?"

"Y-yes…Sorry Cream, I really appreciate the offer though…"

"No, no! Don't apologize! I should be the one apologizing for bringing back sad memories to you and making you sad again!"

"I-it's not your fault! I'm okay Cream!" I tried cheering her up.

"Well, alright then…" Cream frowned, but then she smiled again as she grabbed some stuff out of the shopping cart. "Enough with being sad! Cobalt, I picked out some sheets and a blanket for you!" She said as she held up a blanket with sheets that were black with a blue fire design on them. "Almost everything here has a fire-theme going on, but I chose the blue flames because…well cobalt is a shade of blue!" Cream chuckled sheepishly.

"Hey that's pretty cool!" Auburn commented.

"Yeah, I like them!" I agreed.

"Oh, you do? I'm so relieved I picked a good one!" Cream sighed in relief. "I also got these matching curtains and rugs to make the room look nicer!"

"Oh, neat!" I said as I took a look at everything else in the cart.

"Hehe, is there anything else you want? Shall we look at some toys or books?"

"Yeah! Come on Cobalt!" Auburn shouted excitedly.

"N-no I don't need anything else!" I refused modestly.

"Nonsense! I already told you that you don't have to be so modest! Let's go get you some stuff!" Cream grabbed my hand and led the way.

"A-alright, if you don't mind…" I replied quietly.

"Hehe, of course I don't mind!" Cream laughed and I smiled at her.

We went across the floor, which contained a section with toys, sports equipment, books, and other things for fun activities. Auburn and Cream went ahead and started grabbing items off the shelves like crazy!

"How cute! This is perfect!"

"Ooooh that looks cool!"

"What about this? You definitely need this!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Cobalt we can play with this outside!"

"This looks like a good read! Oh so does this one! Hey, this one says 'Best Title Chosen by Kids and Parents!' We have to buy it now!"

"I have one of these! Cobalt you'll definitely have fun with this!"

Suddenly the cart was so stuffed with all sorts of toys and books, things we're starting to fall out!

"Err, isn't this a bit…too much?" I asked as I chase after a ball that fell out of the cart.

"O-oh. I guess we went a bit overboard!" Cream laughed sheepishly. "Well, let's go through everything and put away some of the stuff, then we can be on our way!"

I went through everything Cream and Auburn chose for me, and as much as I'd love to have it all, I can't take all of it! Auburn helped me decide what to take and after some tough decision making, the cart was left with a couple of books, a ball, a few action figures, a toy xylophone, a toy sword…

"Isn't this still a lot though? I didn't even have this many toys back at home…"

"Really? I think it's fine!" Auburn reassured.

"Yes, it's no problem at all! Let's go pay and then head back!" Cream agreed with Auburn. Well, if she says it's okay…I still feel bad that Cream is spending so much on me…

"I know what you're thinking! Stop worrying so much about it Cobalt!" Cream noticed the concern look on my face and cheered me up.

I nodded and smiled in respond. "Thanks Cream."

We headed to the check stands and Cream paid for everything. I caught a glimpse at the total and cringed a little. Oh no, everything was so expensive! Urgh, even if Cream says it's okay I still feel really bad for her spending so much!

"Oops, looks like we did go a little overboard. I guess we won't be eating for a couple of days!" Cream joked.

"See, I told you it was too much! This isn't something to joke about!" I argued.

"Oh don't be silly Cobalt! That was nothing!...kinda…n-no problem! The hospital makes enough for us to be fine! Ahahah…" Cream laughed nervously.

"That wasn't very convincing you know…" I glared.

"Guys, don't worry about it! I'll just ask Mom to help out a little and it'll all be good!"

"Auburn, you know how much I dislike taking 'donations' from the royal family…"

"Mom can't help it sometimes! She's just worried about your small hospital compared to Mint's mom's hospital!"

"Huh?" I butted in.

"Oh, Mint's mother Sana is also a doctor and owns her own hospital…" Cream sighed. "Her hospital is a lot bigger than mine and is fully staffed and everything…"

"Yeah, but you're the better doctor! I bet Mint's mom knows that too! No wonder she was so mean to you, it's because she's jealous of your skill!"

"Ahaha I wonder about that…" Cream said sadly. I looked at Cream and frowned. Hmm, so Ms. Sana has her own hospital. I suppose that makes them rivals, but she was still incredibly mean to Cream, almost as if they were enemies… I tried to concentrate and think of ideas as to why there was so much hostility between them. Maybe I'll ask for Auburn's help. Or maybe Ms. Arylide! She would definitely know something!

We left the store with several bags in both hands. The sky has gotten darker, and there weren't as many Pokémon walking the streets of the shopping district.

"Wow time sure does fly when you're having fun! I should probably head home now. It's getting darker." Auburn said, looking up at the sky. "Oh! Why don't you guys escort me home? I bet Cobalt would love to see the castle! I can even show him inside!" Auburn suggested. I gasped in excitement to her idea.

"Can we?! I've never seen a castle in person before!"

"Hmm…" Cream stood there thinking about it.

"Plllllleeeeeeaaaaasssseee?" Auburn and I begged.

"Well, alright. But we're only dropping her off! We need to take these bags home, and then I need to cook dinner!" Cream compromised.

"Aww I wanted to go inside…" I complained.

"And I really wanted to give you the grand tour…" Auburn joined in my complaining.

"You can go tomorrow then if you like! But for today, I think it'd be best if you stayed home. You gotta get acquainted with your new home after all!"

"Perfect! It'll be tons of fun Cobalt!" Auburn cheered.

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"Me too! But for now, I really need to get back home, so let's gooooo!" Auburn charged ahead. Cream and I went running after her, with me laughing along the way.

It's definitely going to be fun with Auburn around!


Gotta end it with Cobalt's thoughts like always! I've gotten used to it now lol. I tried mixing up the dialogue a bit, because I know I'm super repetitive. The last chapter was so bad in that part, so sorry!

Sooooo THE DRAMA STARTS! Sana is a total bitch to Cream! (I can curse! This is rated T!) But why?! imsuresomeofyouguyswillfigureitoutorsomething

Oh btw Sana comes from Gardevoir's Japanese name. Saanaito, or Sirknight. Why is it Sirknight? Gardevoir looks way too girly to be a sir lol

Thanks for reading and all that fun stuff. See you in (HOPEFULLY) two weeks!