Arc 2: Promiscuous I: Carmine

US- and thus begins arc 2, after a short break to get some planning and logistical stuff done. Last chapter we dealt with some… minor… changes to the tempo of this. Fun fact- we have a plot, and stuff is starting to slowly but surely happen to our protags. With this arc, the pace should hopefully pick up a little more.

DV- Yep, just a minor tonal change. After all, we didn't limit our reader base by setting it at an 'M' rating for language, as we may have been able to squeak 'T' out of that. For those familiar with the analogy, the snowball finally started rolling. Arc 1 was about setting the scene and building it, and the final chapter of that arc saw it released.

US- oh yeah! Onto this new arc! Just for the uncultured (Or those who don't care enough to look up obscure symbolism on Wikipedia), today's title, Carmine, is a shade of red often applied to describe blood during crime scenes investigations (According to the bare minimal of research on Wikipedia, anyway). Make of that what you will. The More You Know...

Disclaimer: When life gives you lemons, make explosive lemon grenades. And when life refuses to give you the rights to a massive multi-million dollar franchise like Pokemon, then we shall take it. The revolution will be bloody and magnificent! But by the end, we will FINALLY own Pokemon… and may even get that Gen IV remake we've been begging to own for years. Ha. Fat chance.


Ben POV

"Ben?"

Slowly turning to look at Giovanni, blood dripping from my body, most of it not mine, I freeze, much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.

Because there are some things that can't be reversed. Some lines from which there is no return. And taking a life is one. On the other hand, it's not like it wasn't deserved. But it deserved to be recognised- I had just killed someone.

Karev's death could be justified. I won't feel bad for him. Hate is my sword, spite my shield, and denial my armor. But can I get out of this? It looks pretty damning. Me, a corpse and bloody clothes.

Giovanni pinches the bridge of his nose, waving his hand vaguely, "Really? Not even six hours? I'm getting too old to deal with this crap. Go take a shower and get some clean clothes from the storeroom, then meet me in my office. This needs to be dealt with now."

Uh. Well then. I somehow expected worse. Hell- I'll take that out.


Letting the hot water run over me, tainted red, I give a bitter laugh. Karev is dead. Dead. That sicko is gone forever. As a first responder (Well, former nowadays), he's hardly the first person I've watched die, but it's...it's different when you're the killer.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish."

The scent of blood, thick with iron, once again reaches my nose as the blood in my hair, sticky in a macabre imitation of hair gel, finally begins to disperse.

Soon, there will be little trace on my person a murder ever happened, minus the cuts on my hand, but those could have been from anything.

Walking down the darkened hallway as fast as I can without drawing even more attention to myself, I mutter, "How easily a life is snuffed from the world. Like a candle. Is that all we are then?"

Readjusting the temporary clothes, I enter Giovanni's office, asking, "You wanted to speak to me, uncle?"

"Shut the door. Were you followed?"

As I push the heavy doors shut, throwing the latch on it for good measure, I give a shrug, "Not that I was aware of, but I admit, I wasn't paying the best attention. Is it that important anyway? Not like people will think you having a private meeting with your nephew is suspicious."

He pushes a stack of papers off to the side, looking much older for a moment, before saying, "I knew this would come eventually. Since you and Karev first met, there's been a betting pool on long it would take before it came to blows. No one thought you would murder him on your inauguration night, not even me."

Sitting in a chair and fiddling my fingers for a moment, I state, "I'm not sorry if I've caused you trouble. Karev got everything he deserved."

I stand, just shy of shouting, "Seriously! What the hell was with allowing him his demented fantasies?!"

"Sit. Down. Ben. Calm yourself. You're smart. We both know that being in charge results in having to do things that aren't pleasant to keep things cohesive. This is actually rather good. I'm meeting with you right after Karev is killed? Even if everyone doesn't know for sure, it'll pretty much be an open secret that you killed him. It's a sign. That's good, for the most part. If anyone had any doubts about your ability to be one of us, well, they'll be gone now. That is good. But…"

I hesitantly probe, "But?"

Giovanni looks around the room for a moment, sighing before saying, "Karev had allies, close associates, and even I was not privy to all his contacts. They won't openly move against you, some not at all, because that would bring my wrath, but expect little bits of sabotage or someone giving the Jennies an anonymous tip about any suspicious activity."

Brilliant. Just great. What was that old phrase, 'after victory, tighten your armor,' or something like that? And so, now I have to dedicate time to tracking down rogue elements. Why me?

Giovanni leans back in his chair, slowly rolling a cigar in his hands before offering, "I suppose I have been lax. I made assumptions on similarities between here and wherever you are from. Having observed you for several weeks, I believe I have identified at least the most egregious of them. I...apologise. There are things I should have made sure you were aware of first. I would expect that to have caused much of the current predicament we now find ourselves in."

I sigh, "This is all going to be a pain, isn't it? Maybe if I just wait for them to screw up? Catch them then? I have little interest in seeking out people who want to eliminate me."

"Perhaps, but that has it's own issues. It'll be easier certainly, and makes sure you have the right targets. But who knows how long that will take and the damage to you or Katsumi in the meantime?"

Dammit. How could I forget, even with so much going on right now? I'm not just responsible for my own well-being anymore. I can't pull some of the same tricks I would if there was no potential collateral. Ugh… .

Leaning back in the chair and crossing my legs, I contemplate for a minute. What should I do here? What can I do?

You know what, fuck it, I'll talk to Katsumi later. So, back on track.

"You still with me, Ben?"

Giving a small smile to Giovanni, I bring my attention back to my current situation..

Readjusting in the chair slightly, I sigh, "Yeah, sorry about that. Bad habit at times. Actually...do you mind if I ask you about a few things?"

He smiles benignly at me, asking, "You can talk to me about whatever you'd wish."

I'm impressed he can say that with a straight face given what just happened. Still, he has an angle. And this might be a good opportunity to further his trust in me if I come to him for mundane advice on things.

"Well," I start, before looking around quickly, "My home has a few similarities, quite a few actually, but the point is that there's plenty of differences as well, and I realise, now that I almost certainly have enemies, I should probably get it all cleared up."

"In retrospect, this is something we should have done some time ago. But we can no more change the past than man can walk on the moon."

I want to snark that reaching the moon is something that was accomplished in my world, but it wouldn't really be helpful.

Now, what to ask first...well, "I've had time to look over maps and the like, but the lands are unfamiliar to me and I have yet to leave the city. That will inevitably change, I'm sure. Despite this, I don't know much about culture and the like."

"The answer to your question is complex. As I'm sure you'd say if the situation was reversed, culture is not something that can be...taught overnight."

I have to concede that, "Very true. Still, I have to be brought up to speed with all reasonable haste, lest others get suspicious."

Giovanni turns away, presumably looking at one of his cabinets filled with trinkets, before stating, "I agree. And that would be a disaster."

He sighs and continues, looking about a decade older for a moment, "You have filled your assumed identity so totally that it can be easy, even for me, to remember the truth. In only releasing choice information about you, others were left to make their own assumptions about you. I neglected to consider the possibility of significant differences between wherever you came from and here besides what might have benefited me. Even when you were reshuffled into a different role, figuring out and correcting your knowledge was left by the wayside. While you have done an admirable job in realising such and keeping it to yourself, it cannot continue that way forever. Even the best of us will slip and fall eventually. And getting John a new apprentice he likes as much as you would be such a pain."

That explains it, at least partially. Despite his clearly fake sentimentality, because no real crime don would care like that, it explains things. If he's to be believed, I'm currently considered a valuable asset of sorts. Or at least one that would be difficult or annoying to replace. And thus it would take less net effort to bring me up to speed as opposed to another option. It's a modicum of safety, for now.

He turns back towards me, interlocking his fingers in front of his face, before questioning, "I've been keeping tabs on you, as I do all my subordinates. And I've noticed where I think the gap is. What we have here that you didn't before. If I'm wrong, we have only wasted time. In your previous experiences, does the term 'pokegirls' mean anything to you?"

Well then. That explains it. Actually no, that explains just about everything. All the similarities with Pokemon with enough differences to discount them as coincidences due to the conspicuous lack of Pokemon. Because if he wasn't lying to me, and there's no reason to do so here, he has more to gain by being honest with me, I was...really fucking blind.

Holy shit. I mean, I had the clues in front of me this whole bloody time. Why did I not put them together? It's not like I didn't have just about every clue I could ever need or something.

"Fuck. Fuck. No- really. Fuck everything."

Standing up and beginning a slow pace around the room, I grind my teeth in frustration. Superpowered women, small containment spheres and Nurse Joy and Jennies? Of fucking course it's bloody Pokegirls.

On the one hand, it's nice to know the one piece of the puzzle that finally lets me see what the image is. On the other, there are few worse off Pokemon AU's to live in. Coincidence my ass! I am so…

I toss my hands into the air, "Agh!"

Giovanni is looking at my nonsensical pacing with a bemused expression, "Might I ask what's troubling you so?"

I give him a half-hearted glare before stating, "Just annoyed at myself. I should have figured out the clues faster. But I was prideful. Coincidences, I told myself. It couldn't possible happen, I said. Even were I to accept them, there was just as great a chance of it being a drug induced delusion or a particularly vivid dream than this!"

I trail off, "Is this how Neo felt when Morpheus revealed the existence of the Matrix? That everything you thought you knew and figured out is wrong? That there's a whole 'nother set of rules to work off?"

"I'm afraid that's a reference I do not understand."

Because Pokegirls, despite being a somewhat interesting discussion of philosophy, would...does...suck to live in. Or at least it will? I really need to get a handle on what was going on in the world right now. Flying blind was clearly not working out.

Turning away from him, I say, "Tsk. Of course not. Things are different here. And yet, not. Still, at the end of the day, I'm in a better position than I could be, than I perhaps deserve to be. And despite my thoughts on the situation, this is my situation."

No hope.

I continue, "I'm a criminal now, not that I mind, but they say crime never pays. Which is of course untrue, but I'd like to not make the mistake of believing myself infallible. One day the bells will probably toll for me."

No love.

Furthering, I state, "In a world of slavery. Sure, not all of us are racists...sexists...not quite sure on which term best refers to the predicament in this world concerning Pokegirls, actually, who treat them terribly, but slavery is well….yeah. It was outlawed over a century ago where I'm from. Is any love developed from slavery tainted by Stockholm syndrome despite the genetically coded need?"

"Stockholm syndrome?" He questions.

"...It's complicated overall, but the easy version is that someone in a form of captivity against their will develops affection for their captor. It's quite odd."

No glory.

Because pit fights aren't glorious, even with animals. With people who I may eventually care about, certainly not. In that sense I'm lucky I have a job, I won't have to run the gyms and battle others to scrape up just enough to get by.

Because Pokegirls had a lot of extremely nasty elements, some of them closer to deities. I'll have to cross-check my knowledge, whatever I can remember now that I know what to look for, which is a tad faded but still mostly usable. I know things. Or more specifically, I have a general idea of the lore which may help a bit, and I have a good handle on the general conventions and societal quirks that this world operates on. That will make all the difference.

Imagine if I had no idea what I was doing? Oh man, that would suck. Getting stuck in a world whose conventions you don't know would shoot up the 'Just save yourself the embarrassment and commit Seppuku' list.

Still, despite that, the probability is that at the end, I'll end up roadkill with not even a footnote to my name in history.

No happy ending.


It was with heavy eyes that I looked out the window of my apartment the morning after, and the inevitable hangover headache from the 'festivities' didn't make anything better. How did I even get back here last night?

Oh yeah. After finishing the...enlightening...talk with Giovanni last night, he gave me a briefcase and got me a cab. Told me to open the case tomorrow morning. Which is now I guess.

That's the problem with alcohol, you have to face reality eventually, and the hangover just makes it worse. Because, for worse, this was my reality now. A post-apocalypse world of ruin where slavery is common, encouraged and humanity survives because the legendaries are too busy fighting each other to annihilate humanity all at once. The only thing that would make this worse is if this was also a Warhammer 40K cross somehow.

And yet, it was humanity that brought this world about. Admittedly the how's and why's were another really long story altogether, but if this was the 'canonical' Pokegirls world, then it was humans that made Pokegirls and caused this entire mess. For we have always been our greatest enemy. I think the original authors' were probably Planet of the Apes fans.

Sighing, I recall a quote I was always somewhat fond of, but seems particularly pertinent now in...light of recent evidence, "Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet."

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Then again, cancer is rather hard to totally get rid off, so it's not the worst thing to be in a world like this.

With great effort, I haul myself up onto the couch, the briefcase flying through the air barely guided by my hand and landing on the table with a thud.

A slender hand places itself on my shoulder, "Something bothering you dear?"

I stop myself from shivering slightly. Her insistence on using such terms of endearment when we've not known each other that long was kinda creepy in a sense. Yes, she's my fiance, but still. Ah well, the less I have to hear my new name the better. I don't much mind it, but there's something about being someone else that I've yet to work around totally at times like this, when I'm at my most vulnerable.

Gratefully taking the cup of green tea she brought to me, I let it warm my hands for a moment, "Thank you. Also, no, nothing is wrong. I think. Just musing."

As Katsumi sits down and leans on me, she persists, "Would you like a second opinion?"

She's trying, I know. Yet I can't share. It's an Outside Context Problem, and Giovanni and I will take my origins to the grave.

"I..Uncle Gio gave this to me last night. Said it was important and I should open it this morning. I just…things happened last night. And I'm not sure I'm comfortable with them," I state with a seriousness contrasting my fallen face.

Katsumi nods slightly and places our respective tea cups on the table before leaning back into the couch, dragging me with her as she melds onto my side, hand on my chest, "Tell me. It's clearly bothering you. Holding it in will just make it worse."

I sigh. She's not going to let me up until I tell her, is she? Taking another look, my frown deepens. Nope, she's still waiting.

I look out the window. Given the position of the sun, I'd say about ten in the morning, "Karev died last night."

"And?"

I start and look at her in surprise. She continues, "Well, everybody knew the two of you pretty much hated each other from the get-go. Why is this bothering you?'

"Normally I wouldn't. But he was killed. By me. And well… ."

Katsumi wiggles herself in closer to me, "Oh Ben. I can't say I understand, but...how did you kill him?"

With an overly long look at the cuts on my hand, I ask, "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Do you truly think me so weak?"

At that, I come up short. Giving it a thought, I decide that there's no real reason to hide the truth and say solemnly, "I took a broken piece of glass and shredded his throat."

Because when dealing with rough, jagged cutting tools, 'shred' is usually more accurate than 'slice.'

As the sun climbs higher towards high noon, we shift a bit, and she ends up half on top of me. It used to bother me, but it's actually rather comforting these days.

She nuzzles her head in on my shoulder, nearly whispering into my ear, "What aren't you telling me? That thing that's bothering you the most?"

With my free hand, I slip my silver cross out from under my shirt, holding it with my left. To tell her would be to admit the sin, but God already knows anyway. Perhaps there's a special section of Hell for those that sinned via the murder of other sinners. I hope so.

Watching it dangle in the near-noon sun, shadow cast, I look away in shame, saying, "I...I enjoyed it. His helpless face, so like his victims, when I grabbed him and dragged him in, the same level of fear he's inflicted back on him as I moved in. Watching the light fade from his eyes, knowing he'd never hurt anyone again. I enjoyed it all. How do I live with that? What does that make me?"

In response, Katsumi swings a leg over me, straddling me before practically laying on top of me while catching me in a passionate kiss.

I get the message, and in response I simply wrap my arms around her in a hug which she returns after we run out of oxygen. We stay like that for a little bit.


Joseph POV

"Heeellllloooo people!" The joyous cry accompanied the living freight train like a warcry, as Whitney blatantly ignored all rules about both 'calling ahead before coming over' and 'knocking first' and invaded my home. She immediately noted myself and Sophie in the midst of our breakfasts, and promptly pulled out a chair for herself. She also shamelessly stole my last slice of toast. "How's it going!?"

"A lot better before you dropped in unannounced." I grumbled, lamenting the loss of both my peace and quiet and my toast.

"But then it wouldn't be a surprise check up!" She declared happily, and began digging into the food she stole. "Who knows what you two could have been doing while I wasn't around! I had to come over for my darling sister's sake, if anything!"

… we all knew she was really here hoping to either catch us in a compromising position and tease us about it, or just to subject us to her normal brand of teasing.

"It's really too early in the morning for this shit." For the record, it was half ten, but for me that was early. "And I still haven't found a supplier for proper teabags yet."

So sue me for being grumpy and tired- Johto is a Pokemon version of Japan, so naturally favours a very different style of tea. It is also immensely difficult trying to find the tea you are looking for when asking for Earl Grey prompts requests about foreign nobility, and all my favorite British blends are likely named something radically different here.

And no. I can't wake myself up with Coffee. Because it tastes terrible.

"And you, sister mine?" Whitney pressed her Sentret sibling.

"You're embarrassing." she finally settled on saying, with red face.

"Aww, you know you love me. Hey Joe, did you know that when Sophie was smaller and more adorable she used to ask to be an only child for Christmas?"

I turned to Sophie to offer her my sympathy and agreements, but Sophie was too busy looking away with the massive blush on her face to recognise my silent support. "That was once." she muttered softly.

"In all seriousness though, how are things going?" Whitney asked. "It's been like a week since you two first got together, and I haven't seen you since then, so tell me everything."

"Well, we moved out of the hotel, as you can see." I gestured to the slightly shabby (And most importantly, cheap) one bedroom apartment we were within. "We've settled in nicely, and luckily enough we both get along fine."

"It's not bad here. We've found all the shops, and have all our basic living necessities." Sophie basically summarised.

"More importantly, how are things between… well, y'know… " Whitney trailed off, gesturing at us to continue, obviously expecting more.

I deliberately missed the conversation cue. "Ahh! Between our eating habits? Luckily Sophie likes western style dishes too so I haven't been forced to adapt to the local cuisine, while she also likes Italian- sorry, I mean Atlo Marean- style food, so I could even cook sometimes too. She's trying to convert me, but we both know she isn't exactly trying."

"Muuuu~~~" the Gym leader stomped her foot beneath the table petulantly, "That isn't what I wanted and you know it! Give me the gossip already! How are things between the two of you?"

Whooo boy, is that a loaded question.

Me and Sophie looked at each other, and in a non-verbal conversation we quickly came to the same agreement. "It's all fine." we said together.

Whitney was non-plussed. "That's it? It's fine? C'mon sis! Give me the juicy details! How is he in the sack!?"

"F-fine." Sophie stuttered, and looked away. I smiled a little at that- Sophie was most definitely covering for me. "He's fine."

Here I saw a sly smile slide its way onto her features. Clearly Whitney, troll that she was, was not satisfied with such a boring answer. "So… what's your favorite position when doing-"

Enough was enough, and she'd gone too far. My chair scraped loudly as I pushed it away. "We said. It. Is. Fine. Okay?" I emphasised. "We're taking things naturally, so just leave well enough and alone and we'll all be happy, okay?"

The pinkette looked ready to press on, but upon seeing the uncomfortable shuffling of Sophie's sweater covered hands beneath the table relented.

"Fine. We can stick to boring conversation… you prudes. Happy now?"

"Much." Sophie agreed. "S-so, Sister, how has your week been?"

"Urgggh! So long! So hard! Why did I become a Gym Leader anyway!?" Whitney grumbled, then began to go off on a rant I barely half listened to. I was far too relieved that me and Sophie had escaped our interrogation intact to pay attention.

Because really, the relationship between me and Sophie was not one either of us really wanted to get into with other people. Sophie because she is shy, and me because I feel awkward and marginally-angry-as-hell about the whole fucking topic.

After our massive argument when Sophie tried to have sex with me, Sophie had thankfully not brought the matter back up again- though clearly my words still affected her, as an awkward air always came up between us every time we strayed too close to the topic or she had to fall asleep with me. Hell, if it wasn't for a double bed being cheaper and thrown in with the apartment, I would have insisted upon a pair of single beds.

Either way, while it could be awkward as hell sometimes, it could have been way worse. When I managed to forget about the 'Tamer/Pokegirl' thing, times between us were pretty chill. We went shopping together, cooked together, and even watched shitty tv shows together (Now if only every sci fi and fantasy show we watched didn't include enough uncensored sex scenes to make HBO blush to its roots). I had also read a few fiction books from the local library on the recommendation of Sophie, and had also noticed a scary large amount of smut everywhere.

So yeah… things had been okay.

"URRRGGHHH!" I heard an especially large sigh from Whitney which dragged me back into the conversation the sisters were having about Whitney's job. "It's gonna be MONTHS before the prices settle back down again!"

"Hang on a sec… prices… settle down…"'

"Whitney, what do you mean by that? Back up a bit."

SHe glared at me. "Were you even paying attention or are you just really slow in the mornings?"

I paused for a moment, before answering, "Yes."

"Fine, I'll give you the cliffnotes. Be grateful for my magnanimous generosity." I rolled my eyes. "So yeah, I just got some shit news and it's going to add TONNES of extra work to my job. I am NOT looking forwards to the stress of the coming months."

"Why? What's happened?" I asked.

"Only the stars aligning all at once to spit on us with all the misfortune they could spare at once!" she despaired, slamming her head onto the table so strongly my cereal spoon rattled from the impact. "Firstly, deliveries from Azalea Town have stopped because all the Tamers are too busy dealing with the Rocket cabel there rousing the Slowpoke species over there into a furious frenzy. Hell, Rocket in general are just being a pain in the ass because they're recruiting like mad and clearly something is going down soon!"

She took a deep breath, and groaned loudly. "Then we have the food shortages in Cherrygrove because the harvest over there has been terrible this year, and because of all the swarming happening over there. And just to add the proverbial cherry to the shitty cake, Jasmine's had a bad couple of fishing months so she's raising prices on exports to counteract this, fuck how equally screwed everyone else seems to be!"

"Ouch." I winced. Any one of those things seemed like a troubling for the leader of a city to face, and to have all three come at once likely did make Whitney feel like the universe was taking a dump on her. "So… prices?"

"FUCKED!" Whitney shouted into the table (As her head was still pressed against it). "Grain prices are up by 150 percent, fruit's up by 60, veg by 65, fish is 60 and meats have risen up to 40! It's ridiculous, is what it is! And that's just the food. The ramifications of this are gonna hit everything, and will still be smacking me in the face months after this mess is sorted out. And it's me who everyone is going to complain to!"

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sophie said. "It's bad for everyone. The people who will go hungry, and the leader that they complain to."

"Good point. We're gonna starve, aren't we?" I voiced aloud. "Barely surviving as it is. Looks like we're gonna have to swap to the BB&SC diet."

Despite her intense frustration, Whitney perked up. "Diet?"

"BB&SC- Baked Beans and Soup Cans." I nodded my head sagely. "If we also murder hobos and cook their remains we could perhaps even keep up our present standards of life."

"This isn't funny." Sophie reminded me sharply. "Even with the money in the bank, we'll be struggling."

I sobered quickly. "Yeah. I know. Not a laughing matter. Still, that's what I do. I snark. When the going gets tough, and things are just generally bad, I try to make shitty jokes to distract me from the fact that holy hell the universe is a scary place, everyone is alone and we exist only to fail to find meaningful purpose in our empty lives and then we all die."

Even with her face in the table, Whitney had a way of making herself look really incredulous. "Can you go back to shitty jokes, please? It's too early in the morning for suicidally depressing nihilism."

"It's always too early for nihilism." said Sophie.

"So yeah. That's why I make shitty jokes. Because, dayam, this is shit." and it really was. Money was short to begin with, and now food prices would be going through the roof. This would hit us especially hard as Pokegirls (And consequently Sophie) eat way more than normal.

"That's sort of why I dropped in here unannounced like this. To let you know beforehand." she offered an apologetic smile. "The public will be keeping a real close eye on me in the future, so it seemed like giving you some forewarning to stock up on stuff now before the real shortages start cropping was the least I could do."

"Thanks, Whitney." I smiled gratefully. "At least we had some notice. Plus, we have the money you gave as a 'gift' to me, so we won't starve immediately."

"I know. It still pisses me off that I'll have to be more cautious about giving you funds now." she sighed. "Considering I'm the literal Big Cheese for Goldenrod, it's really sad just how little power I can actually flex when I actually need it."

Sophie got out of her chair, and gave her sister a light hug from behind- nestling her sisters head in the crook of her neck. "It's okay, sis. We'll be okay. We're tough, after all. We'll all be alright."

Whitney enjoyed the hug for a few moments, before sighing happily. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for the cool down hug- really needed it."

"No problem." She replied, releasing her, and going back to her own seat.

"So… what now?" I asked, feeling slightly awkward.

"Well, not all is lost." Whitney said. "I might not look it, but I do have some brains up in here." she rapped her skull lightly. "And I can be quite dependable when I want to be. After all, I already have an idea of how to get you through this mess."

"Ohhh." Sophie said softly, and her ears drooped. I think she had a good idea of what Whitney was suggesting (Even if I didn't), and didn't seem very enthusiastic about the idea.

"Yup. Your present paycheck is insufficient, but your potential paycheck is. And the easiest way for a Tamer to raise their cash intake, aside from employing themselves and their Pokegirls in additional jobs, is to take on the Gym Challenge- to visit Pokegirl Gyms and obtain badges from them."

"I don't mind that bit." Sophie muttered worriedly.

"What's the other bit?" I asked.

"Well, you and Sophie can challenge me to a battle. But since we're siblings I can't actually throw the match or everyone will throw a hissy fit. And while Sophie is good, and I've personally trained her a bit, she's a bit out of shape-"

"Hey." Sophie protested weakly, and pulled her form-masking sweatshirt down even more.

"- and she isn't exactly a battling species either. So yeah, if you want a quick win and a quick buck then you'll need to raise your Team's overall 'power level'."

"Byyyyy…" I gestured for her to continue impatiently.

"She means we need to recruit." Snapped Sophie, cutting her big sister off before she could even start. "She wants you to 'Tame' another Pokegirl so your power level is higher. Understand?"

I paled. Whitney wanted me to get another Pokegirl. To serve as Tamer to another one. When I was still regretting becoming the Tamer of the Pokegirl I presently had (And was basically ignoring what I was meant to be doing to her), and was still really unused to this whole Taming business "Oh."

"What's with those looks!?" Protested Whitney. "It won't be too bad! Look, I know it's a little soon, but we both knew that there would be a strong possibility that you'd someday need to deal with other Pokegirls. Tamers have four Pokegirls on average, anyway."

"I just…" Sophie began nervously, no doubt struggling to find words. Afterall, how do you explain to your own sister that you've been lying to her about the progression of your relationship with your Tamer, and that he was basically a failure at his job by their archaic and bullshit societal standards? And how do you explain why adding another girl to the mix was a terrible, terrible idea, without giving away the former problem entirely?

"I don't think Joseph is ready for another Pokegirl…" announced the Sentret, before adding on for good measure "... and I wanted to have him to myself for a bit longer, y'know?"

Whitney rolled her eyes. "It's not too bad adding a third person you know. Why, when me, Maisie and Clara first got together…"

"Eww." Sophie squicked. "I don't want to hear about what you get up to in the bedroom."

Another eye roll. After that though, Serious!Whitney was back in the room, and was legitimately trying to get her sister into a threesome. "Fuck my life."

"Fine." Eyeroll. "Look, the point I'm making is that you need to get used to this eventually. And there aren't many options open to you. It's not ideal, but taking on the Gym Challenge and getting a second Pokegirl is really the easiest way for you. Admittedly you'll likely need to earn one or two extra badges to compensate for having a third eater in the household, but by going out of Goldenrod you'll also be further away from the food shortages. So yeah- win-win."

"I know objectively it's a good idea…" the Pokegirl began, but she knew how literally bad an idea it was.

"Hey, how come I don't get an opinion in this?" I asked, raising a hand.

"Lifelong blackmail." she reminded me with a finger waggle. "So sit down, shut up, and tame who I tell you to."

Well, when she put it that way… "Yes Ma'am."

Sophie's face was funny to observe as she quickly flitted from annoyance, to depression, to exasperation and finally into resignation. "I guess… there really isn't a choice."

"Not really," Whitney shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry."

"Have someone picked out, then?" I asked her.

"Nope. I'm not that cruel. Here." she reached into her horrible pink handbag, and pulled out a sealed envelope, "Tomorrow is the seasonal bonding faire, held once every three months. Pokegirls who find themselves without a Tamer due to either misfortune or circumstance, ranch owners looking to sell reared Pokegirls from the wild and other Tamers looking to lessen their roster all attend to sell, trade and buy Pokegirls."

"A slave ring?" I asked in disgust.

"A faire." Whitney reaffirmed her word choice. Either way, if it looks like a ducklett, walks like a ducklett and quacks like a ducklett, then it is probably a ducklett. "And that is a slave auction."

"Anyway," Whitney pressed on before I could continue inquiring about the topic (Perhaps sensing it would become increasingly heated if we continued), "I'm not that big of a bitch, so I'll give you a chance to pick out someone by yourselves. In that envelope is letter of recommendation from me. Take it to a Breeder of some kind, or pretty much anyone that's selling, and they'll let you take any Pokegirl of your choice. So yeah, go wild, and make sure to pick someone strong enough to look like they could maybe defeat my badass self." Here she finished with a confident wink, before offering the letter to me.

"At least I have the choice to pick, I guess." I couldn't keep the frown off my face though, and couldn't bring myself to take the letter either.

Sophie could tell I wasn't going to, and so instead grabbed it off her sister on my behalf instead. "Thanks for giving us the choice, sister."

"No probs! I'll always do my best for you after all!" Whitney's smile was genuine, and her adoring gaze real. She truly thought giving her little sister a ticket to buy a slave to share her bedroom with was 'doing her best'.

"You know nothing Joseph. Don't judge. Wait and see first." I tried to force my slumbering anger down, and barely succeeded. I knew better than to get my hopes up though.

"Joseph!" Whitney suddenly began, forcing me to snap to attention.

"Y-yes!?" I burbled, wondering if I was about to be called out for my apparent disgust for her actions.

"Don't feel too guilty about this, okay?" She offered a radiant smile. "I give you my permission and blessing and know that you'll still treat my Sophie right, even with another girl."

I tried to return her happiness with a shaky smile of my own. "I won't feel too guilty about this. Because I really don't think I can be too guilty in a world like this. Not when circumstances here seem to be forcing me closer and closer to immortality despite every attempt on my part to do otherwise… and making it seem oh so reasonable as I'm dragged into my own personal hell."